#Look the Ghost King status gave him power

[nelkcats]

The invasion

When Danny started learning the duplication ability on his own he thought it would be easy. After all, Frostbite had told him that he could learn it and if Vlad could master it, then so could he. He was the bloody Ghost King now, he had to!

What he didn't expect was that his duplicates had a different mind than his, and escaped saying that they would not "be destroyed by the original", Danny had no idea what they were thinking.

Another problem was that since the first ones escaped, he kept practicing thinking that it was only a matter of time before he mastered it and maybe the duplicates would disappear on their own. He didn't master it, and well, the world ended with an invasion of Danny's.

What the Justice League didn't expect was to be called all day because of the same boy. Reports of a meta fighting the Joker, playing cards with Croc, or kicking Scarecrow, the same meta going after the Young Justice. Even Klarion was being stalked by the boy!

And they weren't all the same version, because at some point Danny got a little distracted and half of his duplicates were just Little Baby Man. Feral Little Baby Man's which escaped too.

The League didn't know who the original was, nor what was happening, even the Watchtower had been invaded! What were the intentions of the mysterious boy?

[ready-to-read7]

The Ice Prince

(I am not the best writer But I’m doing my best)

the nuke that the GIW had created, was devastating and catastrophic, destroying Danny’s entire home universe with only a few survivors and unfortunately none of them were human only the halfas had survived.

And the blast had even reached the infinite realm, but the ghost King Phantom/Danny had used his own power to stop  it from causing any devastation to the realms but in return he was weaken and badly injured, every ghost was terrified of what would happen to the king but clockwork had a solution, he used his powers to de-age Danny down to maybe a month old so that his body would have enough power to keep him alive in a  smaller form. Every ghost was terrified for the safety and well-being of  their king especially considering he was not fully ghost so they knew he couldn’t stay in the ghost zone for long especially now, so while clockwork and the  yetis was looking for a dimension for Danny to stay in Vlad, Dan and Dani as his only remaining family were making preparations for his new living circumstances, preparing caretakers creating a layout for his new home and even picking out and having toys and clothing created.

 Clockwork in the end with the help of the yetis end up successfully finding a dimension that will both meet Danny’s ghost needs and human needs perfectly and with the designs provided by Danny’s family, they started creating a beautiful ice castle for him, and once it was finished it was transported to the dimension in the Arctic.

_________________________________________________

Meanwhile at the watchtower the alarm started going off alerting the justice league on a unknown entity/entities in the Arctic near the fortress of solitude, alarmed supermen wants to immediately go to the Arctic but Batman refuses him to go alone offering to go with him.

Once they reached the fortress of solitude, they do not notice anything out of the ordinary, but as they search, they find a small Castle not too far away in the crevice of a cave, Superman at first tried to use his x-ray vision to see you what or who was inside but something was preventing him from doing that so both determined to figure out if the beings inside are a threat they enter the castle.

As they explore Batman and Superman come across many different rooms, first they find a kitchen, then they find the storage room, a living room, and a few more before they hear footsteps, they decided to hide in the closet nearby and what they see is a bunch of living ice statues walking past them with trays blankets and many other things, they decide to go in the direction opposite to that of the living ice statues.

They eventually come across a large room with two green-skinned humanoid creatures with dragon-like features inside, the two creatures were looking down at something that neither Superman and Batman could see what it was, after a few minutes, one of the Dragon like creatures turned off the lights and unfolded there large wings, gave a few flaps and flew out alongside their companion out of a large window.

Once Batman and Superman were sure the Dragon like creatures were gone, they entered the room, and, Batman would be looking around while Superman would look for the light switch, and once he did what they found was confusing, the largest room in this building was a nursery with a  crib in the middle with a space theme mobile above it, and they both would be confused why the largest room in this building was a nursery, they would then approached the crib to find a baby more shockingly a human baby by its appearance,   Black hair with the faintest of freckles across his face accompanied by his light skin that could mistake him as dead, wrapped in the finest silk blanket they have ever seen  while wearing some sort of Greek clothing.

Batman terrified that the child might be dead turns to Superman to silently ask whether the child has a heartbeat or not. Superman would take a moment to listen and would then inform Batman that the child does have a heartbeat and unnaturally slow one but a heartbeat, nonetheless.

While Batman’s trying to figure out what the situation is, Superman is fearing that the child was kidnapped, he would pick up the baby wanting to take him back to the watchtower to have a proper checkup done on the child, when Superman told Batman that he wants to take  the baby back to the watchtower for a proper checkup Batman would counter saying that the  Dragon like creatures are probably his parents, before Superman can protest they hear the Dragon like creatures returning, and in panic they both flee and Superman not realizing that he still has the baby in his arms carries the baby away from the castle.

Somehow neither Batman or Superman realized that Superman had the baby until they reached the JL base, and once they do realize Batman start scolding Superman for stealing a child especially from a species that they aren’t fully aware of or know anything about. Superman counters that the child had no features from either of the possible parents and could be an infant that the two Dragon-like people stole from Earth so that they could playhouse.

While the entire Justice league is split on siding with either Superman or Batman who are both giving valid reasons for why their point of view is correct, the Green Lanterns are trying to find the origin of the Dragon-like people or more specifically where they are from.

As they argued the volume continued to increase eventually resulting in the child waking up still cradled in Superman’s arms. The most beautiful pair of blue eyes like ice shards reflecting the beauty of the sky looked up at them and as the infant yawned it gave a cute grumpy little face indicating that he was upset that they interrupted his nap time.

Once everyone noticed the baby was awake, they started cooing and absolutely adoring the baby and the flash that was literally vibrating from excitement would run up to the baby so he can hold the infant, but the moment Danny spotted the slightest amount of electricity coming from the flash he immediately started crying and wailing.

The cry was loud, not loud enough to destroy the JL base but loud enough that anyone with enhance hearing had to cover their ears to try and avoid going def, Batman then immediately grabs the child from Superman and thanks to his years of experience with helping calm down small children and infants he calms the baby down, which is a relief to everyone.

After Batman managed to calm down the baby until he was only slightly whimpering, a very pale and panic Constantine,Dr. fate and  zattana burst into the room, as they entered they started searching and scouring each nook and cranny of the room until their eyes landed on the whimpering child still in batman’s arms, Constantine immediately goes even paler something no one knew could happen and in his frazzled state he would scream demanding to know why there was a child of the infinite realms in batman’s arms. but nobody knows what the infinite realms are so while Constantine was drowning in his own panic, Dr. fate and zattana would explain to everyone what the infinite realms are, and Batman would explain the situation back telling them how Superman had taken the baby from an ice castle near the fortress of solitude.

Superman realizing his mistake offers to take the child back immediately but before he could the alarms at the base started to go off again, cyborg who was the closest immediately started typing across the computer in order to see if there was any world ending threat but what they see made all the magic users take a double take on what they were seeing.

A man with a blue skin tone whose hair is unbound by gravity and behaves like fire and blood red eyes alongside two more people, one of them who looks like a vampire who also has a bluish skin tone and the other one looks like a female version of the first one but younger and also with green eyes and a more humanoid skin tone.

Zattana would then stutter out loud and ask herself why on earth King Phantom is destroying government facilities alongside the Count Masters as well as Princess Spector, of the Infinite Realms. she would also ask herself why they were specifically targeting government facilities.

But then a giggle along with some clapping of tiny hands would catch their attention as they turn around to see the baby still in Batman’s hands happily giggling and clapping their hands as they started grabbing out towards the screen specifically towards the three people on the screen.

Constantine would look at the screen and then at the child  and he would see similarities between King Phantom and the child, the dots will then connect in his head and he would start having a strata panic attack and before anyone could realize what was going on Constantine would scream at Superman telling him that he just kidnapped the son of the king of the infinite realms.

________________________________________________

Dan, Vlad and Dani were all frantically searching for Danny since he randomly disappeared from the ice castle and due to past experiences, all three of them thought it was some form of government who took him so they immediately start destroying every government facility they could find so that they could find Danny.

They had gotten through 15 government facilities with no luck of finding Danny, until they were approached by three weirdly dressed individuals who addressed dan as King Phantom Dan was obviously confused at first and so was Vlad and Dani but Dan eventually realize that they probably think that he is Danny because of their similarities and the fact that no one knows that Danny is now in infant, Dan thinking that it would be funny decided to play along and he used his core to communicate with Vlad and Dani.

Funny, play along, funny, help find Danny,

Dan would then float over to the three weirdly dressed individuals and ask them what they want because he’s kind of busy,

The very strong looking woman would bow down to him and ask him if he is looking for his child.

Dan then applies himself properly telling them that he is indeed looking for his child and if they try and stop him, he won’t hold back.

The strong looking woman then introduces herself as Diana/wonder woman and reassures Dan that they are not here to stand in his way, she instead tells him that she actually knows where his child is.

Dan raises an eyebrow, and addresses wonder woman telling her to describe the child, so he makes sure that they are talking about the right kid.

Wonder woman would then talk describing Danny, black hair, blue eyes, pale skin with freckles and she would even mention the unbelievable loud cry that left many members of the JL disorientated.

Dan realizing that they actually have Danny and would ask her who they are and why they have Danny, wonder woman seeing the rage billed in his eyes would invite him back to the watchtower so he could retrieve his child and that they can explain the situation to him, dan agrees.

As they were going up to the watchtower dan, Vlad and Dani would speak in ghost dialect to each other.

Dan: so, these people think I am phantom, and I think we should keep up the act because it’s safer for Danny if they believe I am him and that he is my son.

Dani: that makes sense but what am I then?

Dan: while we don’t have to change the fact that you are his sister so just continue just pretend to be his older sister.

Dani: ok :D

Vlad: what about me?

Dan: I don’t know old man pretend to be his grandfather.

Vlad: ok :/

once they reached the main room of the watchtower, Dani immediately zooms into the room right in front of batman politely asking him if she can have her little brother, batman who had gotten Danny to fall asleep again would then give the baby to her.

 She would then float over to Dan and gives Danny to him, Dan and Vlad then look over Danny to make sure he has no injuries and then Dan would address the group asking them what happened and why his son was here, Batman would then explained that they got an alert about something near the fortress of solitude and that alert would be the castle where they found the baby and Superman thought it was a human child that was stolen so he ended up accidentally kidnapping the baby.

Dan would have given Danny to Vlad as he uses  his fingers to rub his nose in annoyance before giving a sigh of relief thanking the ancients that it wasn’t some government facility that kidnapped him wanting to experiment on him, the justice league especially the magic users would get very concerned by the comment and dani realizing that they might be confused, would explain that in another world a government facility had labelled all beings from the infinite realms as not sentient  and started kidnapping and experimenting on them, but that universe no longer existed mainly due to the idiotic actions of the government facility blowing up their own universe.

Dan would then turn to Vlad and tell him that they’re going to need to move the castle and maybe add a bit more security, Superman would then speak up saying that they could keep the castle where it is and they will make sure no one will go near it without authorization.

Dan would look at Superman and nod his head, but would still remarking to Vlad that they still need to increase the security since no one should be able to get near his little sunshine (he holds back the need to throw up after saying that), batman  would look at Dan wanting to ask questions but even he knew now was not the best time also he could feel someone staring daggers into the back of his neck something that didn’t bother him nor cared about but he didn’t want to give Constantine a heart attack not yet at least.

Dan would then open a portal directly to the ice castle and would give his farewells to the Justice league as he went through Vlad with Danny in his arms following close behind and dani  just after them and once the portal closed all the magic users in the room gave a sigh of relief along with a few of the other heroes who based on Constantine’s reaction understood the severity of the situation

And in the meantime, Dan, Vlad and Dani would be settling Danny back in his room and would be arranging more security and more caretakers since they do not want another situation like this.

@unadulteratedsoulsweets

(If there are any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes or anything like that just ignore them I'm not going back to fix them)

Original prompt here 

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Ok, I'm going to say something a bit dodgy, do take into account that my beef is with Rick and not Annabeth.

I might have been tempted to read The Chalice of the Gods (as opposed to anything after Staff of Serapis, which I've given a pass) if I didn't know that, as long as Annabeth is there as well, Percy won't be well-written. More specifically, he won't be written as himself.

When Rick wrote HoO, he had to figure out how to include Annabeth in the seven without having all these other powers dwarf her out. He did this by establishing a strict division of labour, according to which she was the strategist, and no one else. That has never been the case, at least not in such an exacting way.

Percy's saved their butts with his plans at the very least as often as she has. He's outsmarted his opponents, he's manipulated them, he has like a signature move that he pulls in almost every single book that basically goes "forget you're an almighty entity who could probably just ignore me without any problem and get down here and fight me at my level!" (tlt: Ares, Luke (unsuccessfully, since he refuses). som: Luke again (successfully, since he plays on his need to control his army's opinion of him). botl: Antaeus. tlo: Kronos. technically Gaia in son), he's been the one to figure out what they needed to from the prophecies (som: that they needed to send Clarisse to camp. ttc: the thing with Atlas's curse. botl: that Nico was the ghost king. I don't include tlo bc Annabeth figured it out first), he often comes up with the winning plans, like how he was the one who figured out how to get past Cerberus, even if it was Annabeth's expertise that allowed them to pull through (just like it was Percy's skill and weapon that allowed Annabeth's plan for Medusa to succeed) or tangling Antaeus on the ceiling chains. The scene with Chrysaor? Perfect blend of knowledge of myths, strategic genius and pure labia. For all the times we see him lose his cool or speak impulsively, we also se him go "wait, this person is trying to provoke me, I have to chill". I saw a comment a little while ago that Percy should've been dragging Giants to the gods feet for them to finish off -- that's what he did! Only he didn't physically drag them there, he planned them there. He tricked Polybotes into following him to Terminus, into pissing Terminus off so he'd agree to help, then killed him. While it was far from complex, he's the one who came up with the strategy to beat Otis and Ephialtes, so they only had to wait for Bacchus to step up.

I'm not saying Annabeth isn't smart. She has an impressive store of knowledge, which in itself is a clever thing to store, because it matches with her style of managing resources -- be they mental, like her facts, or physical, like her hat or things she finds in her surroundings, like the glass balls in Medusa's lair. Annabeth is probably the best at looking at a situation and going "okay, let's look at what we have. Ah, yes, a limitless credit card. Ah, yes, a store-full of clothes that no one's going to want back. Ah, yes, those weird-ass proteins that Hermes gave us, just like Hermes gave someone else food for a place just like this. Ah, yes, knowledge of how to fly a helicopter."

Here's the thing, though. When I read the phrase "Athena-like chatter", I almost broke something laughing. She's good with lies, hers are better and more believable than her friends'. When it comes to chatter, though... I couldn't even tell you how good she is, because I don't think I've ever seen her do something like that before MoA?

But, you know, okay, Rick has to spend more time in her head, she's been elevated in status to one of several protagonists instead of a deuteragonist as she was in PJO (he has to solve this oopsie - I don't agree with everything here, like how, except for her intelligence, Annabeth's other skills are "dump stats", but...), so he has her expand. Good for her. I think it worked alright in her fights in MoA -- a little bit of the old (impressive expertise in certain areas, management of resources), add a little bit of the new (a perceptiveness and gift of gab that she's rarely shown before, if ever, although you could argue she might have taken the "talk your enemy into beating itself" from Percy just like she learned to simplify from Frank).

That's not my real problem. It's this, from when they're fighting Akhlys:

Percy wanted to give her more time. She was the brains. Better for him to get attacked while she came up with a brilliant plan.

... What. Of everything that we've seen of Percy. That I've described just now. Makes sense with this? And please don't give me crap about "it's because his self-esteem is so low!" because 1) this isn't just about what he's thinking, it's about what he's doing, which is pretty much nothing while he waits for Annabeth to save them. He's never lacked initiative like this. Even while thinking, "wow, this absolutely crazy and dimwitted plan is so bad that it's going to get us all killed!" he still did it. ( 2) I've heard "it's bc of his self-esteem/ he plays dumb on purpose" to justify fandom's constant underestimation of Percy's smarts too many time to let it fly now.)

"It's because he trusts Annabeth's judgement more than his own, and he lets her do what she does best when she's available. Other times he's been forced to come up with a plan, it's because she isn't." Did he wait for Annabeth to shoot her shot with Ares before going in with his own plan? Did he keep quiet his misgivings about her level of preparation for the Labyrinth in BotL? Did he leave her to organize the battle plan in TLO? Did he give up after Chrysaor beat him twice in a sword fight and wait for her to come up with a plan? Absolutely not.

"Well, he still beat Akhlys, so I don't see what you're complaining about, it's not like he's useless or anything." True. It wouldn't be the first time he has to resort to brute force to get past an enemy he couldn't outthink (the telekhines come to mind) or that he never even bothered trying to outthink (Hyperion comes to mind), because it's not like strategizing is something that's essential to Percy's style, even if it does come up a lot. I said before that it's his actions that bother me and not what he was thinking, but there is some of that, too. That he wasn't thinking "I can't figure out what to do" or even too busy fighting to start to wonder about what to do, but "there's nothing I can contribute here but my fighting skills". It's sadly a dynamic that Rick has tried to encourage between them.

Sure, Percy only ever gets more powerful, but, even without Annabeth around, he loses any of his braincells. Look at his underwater fight with Polybotes. He starts off in the ship with an impressive display of power -- holding the ship together in the middle of a supernatural storm. Then he gets underwater and immediately loses to PB. The guy he would've one-shotted several times if he could kill him without a god's help. "He doesn't have experience fighting underwater," water not only gives him a strength boost, it gives him a skill boost, as we see in TLT. Besides, how much skill do you need to not swim directly into a cloud of poison? And really, he doesn't get to do anything but that.

Compare it to SON. He's fighting an almost-whole legion of dead people, with a mix of sword fighting and a whirlwind, and he might have won if they hadn't been able to reform. Recognizing that he was about to lose and to give Frank and Hazel a chance to fight Alcyoneus without having to worry about the army, he brings a whole end of the iceberg down to drown them all. And yet, you know what really struck me of all this? How smart Percy was, because he didn't just fight the legion. He aimed for the eagle, realizing that that would be the best way to keep them focused on him and not Frank.

If he's this capable, though, where does that leave Annabeth, who's a skilled warrior but whose most distinctive trait is thinking?

The whole power/smarts dichotomy is also the actual context of that line about Annabeth being the most powerful demigod. He's just spent two weeks teaching Magnus how to survive at sea, when it suddenly occurs to him that the most helpful thing for him to learn is how to "use what you've got on hand -- your team, your wits, the enemy's own magical stuff." Which is how, despite how often he's done just that, he concludes that Annabeth is the most powerful demigod and the best person to teach him how to survive. (Which is, sadly, all that that comment amounts to. Annabeth doesn't then get a chance to strut her stuff, teach Magnus, show off her smarts, play a part however small in his quest, give some insight into her mind -- nope! She says it was sweet of him and then just leaves with Percy.)

With a bit of luck, RR reread pjo to nail down the feel of it in order to write a book that's supposed to be a tie in for a tv show set in the early days (that's a lot of subordinates!), so he might've rediscovered the characters and found a way to balance that with the... way that he writes them now. I'm not optimistic, though.

(Also, if I have to read more of Percy being always afraid of Annabeth getting angry at him or her looking angry at the smallest of things and this being played as her being a girlboss, or how you "have to keep your boyfriend on his toes", I'll claw my own eyes out, but that's another topic.)

[yeonslayjun]

Dumb and Dumber - Hualian

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are so OBVIOUS and OBLIVIOUS at the same time Honestly They amaze me ngl

Cuz Hua Cheng be Like - Wdym Gege Loves me?? That's impossible like I don't think he loves me solely for the fact that I'm one of his last believer left and that I built a FUCKING CITY for him and how I ran helped him in a case and dressed up as a Groom and gege was a bride (Oh his dead heart definitely started beating then pls ) and how I Built a temple to worship him and how I released 3000 lanterns for him and that I've made 10,000 statues for gege and not how I have red thread of fate on my finger bc he tied his hair on my finger

ALSO wdym I had my gay awakening at the land of tender??? Impossible He's my god I can't have those feelings for him bc I'm a dirty piece of shit (NO YOU ARE NOT)

and DEFINITELY NOT HOW I GAVE HIM Spirtual Power... DEFINITELY NOT HAHAHA.... Now let me just ask his hand for marriage OH nvm I'm unworthy he doesn't like me ( WHILE XIE LIAN IS SITTING ON HIS LAP ) let's make it into a joke hahaha..... OH? Gege's says he's happy for my beloved when will he know it's him talking about?? :( ( let's ignore he didn't know half of these lmao)

OH MY GOD GEGE SAW THE STATUES That's it I'm getting disowned by him He'll hate me ofc he will... I knew this would happen no I'm okay, IT'S FINE... Yeah he really should make it clear that he doesn't love me huh? :((

Like Hua Cheng is SO DOWN BAD for Xie Lian Like Honey we get it You exist to LOVE your Taizi Danxia and to serve Cvnt and angst

AND

My guy Xie Lian here is SO VERY OBLIVIOUS like I get that he was practicing abstinence but bro's like -

Oh Hua Cheng is such a pretty name *giggles* Oh and his hands were so beautiful and he was gentle with me too when he dressed as the Groom *blushes* Oh Crimson Rain Sought Flower is his name? *swoons* HOLY SHIT HE'S HOT *nosebleeds*

I like this kid san lang. OoO Did he just suck the poison out of me?!?! DAYUM he killed so many people at once *swoons x2*... WAIT IS HE HUA CHENG??!?! Oh my gosh IT IS Hua Cheng ajhsjdhsudhu Let's act calm and composed hehe. Let's sleep together cuz He would never hurt me >:( I wonder what happened to the kid who said he'd worship only me :( He was a good kid yk? Had one eye covered too kinda like you actually haha Funny Right???

He's so perfect as a "sworn brother" ( Yes I'm looking at you SQX) protecting me and shit. Wait he trusts me??? ME?!?! huh?!?!. San Lang~~~. AHHH HE RELEASED 3000 LANTERNS FOR ME AHHHH I LOVE HIM as a friend ofc ofc.

Oh I LOVE getting Spiritual Energy from him <3 that wasn't a kiss nope it wasn't.... ERROR 101 San Lang asked my hand in marriage ERROR.... o h He was Joking :( ofc he was :((( I wish he wasn't tho :((((( SAN LANG HAS A BELOVED?!?!? Ofc he has He's such a handsome and kind man he probably gets all the bitches he wants But why do I feel smth weird in my heart?? (IT'S CALLED JEALOUSY YOU DUMB MOTHOFO )

Honestly God (Jun Wu LMAO) Knows how he survived the past 800 years like BRO WHY IS YOU SO STUPID when it comes to love?!?!? Like ISTG He's one of the smartest of all the jokes called "GODS". But he still doesn't get it till he saw the 10,000 statues Hua Cheng prepared like pls

ALSO Hua Cheng the ghost king who defeated 33 gods and how his smartass self esp rubbed the floor with them Civil Heavenly Officials But the one moment he needs it to realise the VERY OBVIOUS FACT that Xie Lian loves him The Genius Smartass is nowhere to be seen

But tbh I can't blame Hua Cheng much here cuz Xie Lian was very oblivious to his own feelings pls BUT STILL

Their Slow-burn was too much for me Like the chemistry was SO OBVIOUS but they're just Dumb kids when it comes to feelings *sighs* The Hualian Brainrot is rotting my brain away as we peak

[hopefulvittori]

Birds of Prey - Chapter 3

Carlo/OC & Romeo (AU)

Reposting my novel from ao3. Enjoy!

A tragedy struck when the father of puppets suddenly died in an accident. While the whole city of Krat has been mourning the engineer, the son of Geppetto only felt the sweet smell of liberation. What is he going to do now that the source of his hatred is gone?

An AU series where the puppet frenzy didn't happen, Carlo and Romeo didn't perish from the petrification disease. This is the story of a hawk, a falcon and an eagle about finding their purpose while they're uncovering dark secrets behind the origins of Krat's prosperity.

──────────

Chapter 3: An eagle's ambition

"Teach? I don't understand something."

"What is it, R?"

"Why would they divide the Stalkers into two groups? Aren't they fighting for the benefit of all of Krat?"

"...Heh."

"Did I say something funny?"

"No. You just made me realize how this city is in dire need of a king."

If Romeo hated any places around Krat, it was Elysion Boulevard. The high and mighty nobles didn't pay attention to those who had lower social status. They didn't care about those who were stuck in the mud, begging for better lives. It was inevitable though. Those with power had the opportunity to gain fame through encouraging the development of technology. Enkindling the spark of evolution through wealth and power. Romeo despised how the ways of Krat shackled the future generations. If he could've done something about that, he would. And he swore to himself: he will.

Even though he went around Elysion almost on a daily basis, he always braced himself. He basically ran through the long but narrow streets in an urgent hurry. Romeo had a certain destination in his mind: Theodore Books, the most famous bookstore all across the city. He made some deal of allowance there by part-time labour. The owner of the shop - a middle aged woman called T. Dora by the visitors - was on friendly terms with the blond youth. Through his charming and theatrical persona, he gained a valuable base for his schemes. He didn't think too much about how the nobles or the higher ups looked at him. He always standed out like a sore thumb.

As he entered the book store, the bell's ringing signaled his arrival. T. Dora gave him a wave as a non-verbal greeting. She ran a hand through her grey-touched hair and pointed to one of the bookshelves at the back of the store. Romeo took a bow as appreciation then walked towards his destination. The rarely visited corner was cold and dark. Only the candlelight's gleam offered some lightsource of sorts. The youth only could find old ragged books here, barely worth anything. Despite this, he knew exactly what his search was for. It was an old version of the "Tale of the Mischievous Puppet". It looked like a pile of papers rather than a book. He didn't mind though. He purposefully took it from the shelf and started turning the pages. He thoroughly searched each piece of paper until he found something out of place. One of the papers was folded in half. Someone left a faint blue-ish tint mark in the middle of it. Romeo recognized the small four-leafed flower mark. As soon as he saw it, he abruptly opened the note. The handwrite was a mix between elegant and rough. Its writer probably wrote it in urgency.   

Dear R,

Forgive me for the late reply. They've been calling back every Bastard all across Krat due to the disappearances. Probably the same goes for the Sweepers too, though I'm not entirely sure. In any case, I can't return to the Orphanage yet. I have to look out for Abel. Ever since those disappearances, he started to become more paranoid...

Apparently, a problem has reared its ugly head around the Quarantine Zone, but HQ couldn't afford sending a Stalker to the area to investigate. Some deluded patients heard a "howling ghost" around those parts. They said it's just a rumor because they don't value the infectees' testimony, but they're lying... even to themselves. They only care about their new toys at the Union... while condemning the masses.

We shouldn't hold onto our secrets too tightly, my friend. Promise me that you'll become a magnificent Sweeper. Be a light in the wide darkness of uncertainty. I'll make sure to do that on my part as well.  

Please consider checking out the Quarantine Zone if you have the time. I know I can count on you with this. It would ease my mind for a bit. Give my best regards to Lady Sophia.

Yours truly,

L

As soon as he finished reading the note, Romeo quickly hid it in his sleeve. He looked around himself, searching for any customers or curious observers on sight. When he convinced himself that no one's watching him, the boy deeply sighed. He took another book from the shelves, then tore an empty paper from one of those. Then he pulled out a pen from his pouch and started writing.

Dear L,

As long as you two are well, I will try not to worry too much. Just make sure your step-brother won't do anything reckless.

You can always count on me, friend. I'll see what I can do about it. I really hope your "ghost" stays as an urban legend though...

Even if you lost hope in the Stalkers, as a man of action and words, I will keep my vow to you. Together, we shall deliver salvation to all of Krat.

For that purpose, I need you to ask one last favour...

...

But before he could write down that sentence, he heard some commotion from the entrance. Worrying for the owner's safety, he took a peek from the bookshelves's shadow towards the apron. T. Dora was talking with two men. Judging by their tattered clothes and weapons hanging on their belts, they were Sweepers. Surprisingly, they took off their ragged masks. Maybe a way of respect or the lack of wariness... or maybe bumptiousness. Either way, the taller man lifted his voice high enough to make Romeo drop his ploy.

"Come on, Missy! We know all too well you're hiding something." he said impatiently while leaning on the checkout counter.

"Why, this bookstore only hides the common knowledge from all Krat." T. Dora replied with a mysterious smile spread across her face.

"Yes and I'm going to be the next Archbishop of this city." he snorted while leaning closer to the shop's owner. "Why don't you make our job easier and tell us where we can find a certain lion, hm?"

Romeo raised his eyebrows in worry. As soon as he heard that, he showed no hesitation to intervene... if not for T. Dora's defiant gaze. It was just a moment, but the cold yet objecting look immediately made him halt. Seeing his reluctance, the owner smirked before attending to her "customers" once again.

"A lion, you ask?" she asked curiously.

"Indeed, a lion." The short Stalker said with a curt nod. "This certain cat has been leaking out valuable info about..."

"Be quiet, you idiot!" The tall Sweeper roared, smacking his partner at the back of his head. Before he could completely lose his composure, he coughed a bit before continuing: "Anyway Missy, we know that a certain Stalker has been visiting this shop. Where can we find our lion friend?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm no lover of cats nor predators in general." T. Dora said innocently, pressing a hand to her face thinkingly. "As such, if you're in a dire need of reading, I can suggest the "Tale of the Great Magician". You can find your cowardly lion hiding amongst those pages."

Deadly silence filled the air. Meanwhile Romeo tried to hold back a chuckle and the younger Sweeper hid his face in his palm, the tall man took a sharp breath. He clenched his fists on the apron while growling like a savage beast. He leaned closer to the owner. She could practically feel his breath on her face.

"You can't fool us forever, Theodora. We know you're hiding him here... amongst other things besides these ragged books." he said menacingly, leaned his head towards the back of the shop. 

Romeo mouthed a small "damn" out of exasperation. He has been found out. Despite all of this, T. Dora stayed as cool-headed as possible. She blinked once or twice as the tall man before beaming a warm smile at him, bowing her head slightly. 

"Have a nice day, good sirs."

The tall Sweeper tilted his head towards the door, calling his partner in a silent manner. Clicking his tongue, the younger Stalker hurriedly left the shop. His collegue shortly followed him, but he took a last menacing gaze at T. Dora. He then closed the door as loudly as possible. When their menacing forms disappeared before the showcases, the owner of the shop took a deep sharp breath.

"You owe me a big one this time, boy." T. Dora said, massaging her temple worriedly as Romeo slowly came out from the shadows. "It's not enough that you two are plotting your intrigues beneath these walls, but these hyenas have been ruining my business."

"Forgive me, Miss. I didn't know that the Sweepers have been bothering you." he replied quietly, face etched with guilt.

"It was inevitable. Your friend has a bad reputation amongst them, after all. I knew what was coming, but..." T. Dora shook her head as she leaned against the wall.

"...You can't keep the appearances up anymore."

She looked at him tiredly. Romeo's gaze held both guilt and resolve. She sighed in surrender as he touched her shoulder as a way of comfort. "I'm sorry, Romeo."

"Don't worry about it."

He looked outside of the transparent showcases. The boy had to make sure that no other Stalkers watched over them talking. After the realization of being supervised, he felt anxious. 

As soon as he was convinced that nobody was watching, he asked T. Dora to pull the curtains back before the showcases. The owner didn't object. The crimson velvet curtains darkened the room as the very last source of natural light disappeared from the store. Only the bracket-lamps's gleam offered enough lightsource to the youth and the owner. After she was done, T. Dora offered him to take a seat on one of the reading chairs. Romeo shook his head as he was perfectly fine sitting on the checkout counter. The woman shrugged indifferently.

"For a self-styled gentleman, you're way too informal."

"You didn't take me in for my manners, T." Romeo crossed his arms across his chest, raising one eyebrow smuggly.

"Of course not. Ever since my husband got the disease, I needed someone to do the heavy lifting." she said tiredly with another shrug. "But enough small talk."

The youth nodded as he sighed deeply through his nose.

"Leo is going to be in big trouble. Or he already is in one."

"How could he leak out intel about the Sweepers if he's a Bastard?" T. Dora raised an eyebrow questioningly. Romeo shook his head.

"He was well-liked amongst the whole Stalker community. He could have some supporters from there."

The woman gave him a doubtful look. The boy gazed back in confusion, then let out a small "hmm" out of pensiveness. Although he tried to rule out that possibility, he had to face a certain fact. Even the King of Beasts had to watch his own back. While his chivalrous ways brought light to some people across the mercenary group, that shine will always beget darkness. It doesn't matter if L was well-liked or not. To some people, those secrets are worth more than some ephemeral light. That's why Romeo couldn't rule out that possibility: treachery.

As that epiphany hit him like a ton of bricks, the boy worriedly looked at his ex-superior. He took the incomplete letter out of his sleeve and handed it over to T. Dora.

"Please, give this to him. He mustn't come here anymore."

"Sure, as long as it won't cause me any more trouble." she gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she took the letter. Romeo gave her a thankful nod. As he standed up, another thing came to his mind. He turned back to the woman. She rolled her eyes in tiredness.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"...What is it, boy?

"5131126197149115185823." Seeing T. Dora's dumbfounded face, the boy took the letter for a second. He hurriedly wrote those numbers down before handing over the note once again. "He'll know what to do with it."

After he said a brief farewell to the shop's owner, the woman tried to say something. Sadly, Romeo was already on the streets, running away in urgency. She couldn't ask him how his friend was going to reply to his question. Then again, these children chose a pretty unorthodox way to send messages to each other. She didn't have any doubts that the two of them would find a way. She would've lied to herself if she didn't care about them. As sad as it was, their plotting cost T. Dora an efficient manpower to keep her business lively.

'Oh well. It's not like I have infinite time to begin with. I just hoped I could see how the King of Skies would take its first flight…' she thought in regret as she pulled back the curtains once again. 

──────────

The youth cursed quietly. He realized that he forgot to ask about the location of the Durante Household. While his problem held urgency, he hated the idea that he couldn't keep his promise to his best friend. He couldn't return to the Monad Charity House empty-handed.

The sun has already set down. It was an unusual sight for the boy, seeing this many people out on the streets in the evening. Then again, the nobility didn't worry too much about tomorrow. Wealthy people are usually moved to Rose Isabelle to spend their nights at the Arcade or at the Opera House. This evening wasn't any different. Like a herd, people moved in and out from Elysion Boulevard. If he could've left without keeping his promise to Carlo, Romeo would've done it immediately. The sight made him more disturbed than he expected from himself. Despite this, he braced himself and tried to endure it. The weirded out gazes of noble women, the entitled behaviour of so-called gentlemen. Although he tried to ask for help in the most graceful and respectful way, some of them still looked at Romeo like a stray dog.

After an hour of unfruitful search, relief washed over him. He heard some people talking about Marcello Durante's house. How despite his rise in fame, he still lived in a relatively small apartment in a storeyed house after the Quarantine Zone. The youth sighed deeply as he didn't waste any more time to look for Vittoria's home. He was familiar with those parts. It was an eerie sight how the crowd suddenly disappeared just as soon as he got closer to that area. He could hear the sewer's water dripping within the pipes and the faraway coughs of the infected. Before he could enter those parts, he read the weared placard hanging on the bricked column:

Warning! Petrification Disease Quarantine Zone. No Trespassers.

Everyone is a patient or a lunatic. Do not speak to them.

The silence was almost touchable. It was a sharp contrast compared to the loudy bustling streets from earlier. The comparison disgusted the boy. How much these high and mighty people enjoyed themselves while leaving the weak and sick confined within these quarantine zones. It wasn't any better than entombing and leaving them to rot.

Taking a deep watery breath, Romeo entered the quarantine zone. Despite the earlier warning sign, he didn't see any guards or dogs in sight. Strangely, everything seemed peaceful. The public squares were left empty. Only the lights leaking out of the upper windows indicated that there were people up there. Although they were still alive and kicking, their horrible coughs made the boy cringe out of guilt. They were dying, so slowly and painfully.

Trying to dismiss these thoughts, Romeo walked past the squares at a hasty pace. He thoroughly searched for a clear sign that he was on the right track. The one direction he could move is forward. A small street led him to another yet bigger square. Unfortunately, there were less light sources, but for a different - a worse - reason. The street lamps were blinking uncertainty as the lights were slowly dying out. The boy could've sworn the weather also turned colder. A shiver went through his spine as he heard something else besides the wind and distant coughs. As he walked past a statue of Valentinus Monad, he heard mechanical growls. When turned his head to the right, he could've sworn his mind played tricks on him. But no, that wasn't the case.

His mind painted a picture he couldn't easily forget. That painting etched into his memory forevermore.

A blackened puddle covered the cold stones of the statue. He saw a pile of mangled puppet parts overlapping each other. In a morbid way, it looked like those parts were partaking in an embrace. The boy's eyes spotted a mechanical dog - a beast - having its feast among the pile of automaton corpses. Judging by the static growls, it clearly took enjoyment from the banquet. The bronze canine flashed its reddened eyes menacingly as Romeo started at it. He tried to sneak past the puppet beast, only to stand on a scattered mechanical part and snap it in two. The weared metal snapped into two beneath the youth's heel, thus he drew the dog's attention to himself. Guttural metallic growls rang in Romeo's ear. Those piercing red eyes stared right into his soul. The puppet interrupted its feast then turned its whole attention to the boy. Its leaps were swift yet robust. Despite this, it didn't start running towards the youth. It tried to gap the distance between themselves before finding pleasure in a more organical taste. As he kept backing away, a shout was heard:

"Run, Romeo!"

Like a primal instinct, it was an order to which he obeyed. He turned tail to the beast and started sprinting. Seeing that, the beast's eyes flashed in crimson once again: the hunt was on.

The youth ran towards the next corridor like frenzied prey. He didn't look back. All he heard is the mechanical wheezing of the puppet-cannibal dog. It wasn't even a question: it was out for blood. It flicked across the walls like a grasshopper as it tried to gap the distance once again. The rocks cracked beneath the beast's legs. Romeo covered his head as the crumbled debris fell everywhere. That didn't stop him from getting away from his chaser. He took a sharp turn on the next small street. The mechanical beast mistook its last step and fell into the wall. Despite the small impact, it was barely damaged. The dog puppet howled and started its frenzied assault once again.

Romeo gasped in panic and confusion while he tried to double his pace. He basically felt the cold metallic breath on his shoulders. Not only that, but a looming shadow also followed him. Although it was smaller than him, it was twice as fast. Even when it jumped from one roof to another. 

"Turn left!" it shouted as a two-way corridor appeared before them. Once again, the teenage boy obeyed the command. Just as the cannibal puppet leapt forward, he took the turn. Although he was lucky to avoid a direct attack, the automaton's sharp claws teared into the fabric of his long light brown coat. Learning from its previous mistake, the dog lightened its impact with its paws. It could easily continue its chase. On the other hand, the boy was getting exhausted. Every time the only way was forward, his chaser tried to grab his leg to pull him to the ground. All those sharp turns and jumps took a toll on him. Seeing this, the shadow tried to assure him:

"It's not too long! Keep running!"

And Romeo ran. Despite seeing the shadow disappearing in a house, he obeyed. As soon as he was alone with his chaser, he saw an opened workshop before him. The scuttle was open and waiting. He let out a small amused chuckle, despite his strained condition. He had some ideas in mind what the shadow was meant to do.

Trusting his shade like his own instinct, he made his last hoorah. Seeing his carnivorous chaser's previous tries, he wanted to do something similar. Romeo gathered his last energy to make a leap towards the scuttle. As he used his legs to push himself towards the workshop, he supported this jump with his arms. He showed himself away from the walls, barely dodging the puppet's penultimate assault. With his last strength gone, he fell onto his back when he was inside of the building. However, that wasn't the last of his problems. The dog flashed its reddened eyes in fury, seeing this as a disgraceful tact. With a more terrifying pace, the beast lunged forward. Almost like a bullet, it flew through the air with an open maw. Its claws were sharpened, ready for the kill. Like a mirror, the boy saw his own terrified look on the beast's metallic skin. Its screech hurted his ears. Bracing for the inevitable impact, he closed his eyes in silent surrender. Surely, if it wasn't for a certain shadow, the orphaned boy would've breathed his last. However, he was still alive.

Opening his eyes, he saw the mechanical beast lying half-dead at his feet. Its barely indestructible body was crushed beneath the scuttle. Small bluish sparks flew around the puppet's body. Its red eyes gazed onwards, blinking in black. It was in its mortal agony.

His trust in the shadow earned its fruit. It could easily pull the lever at the right time to close the scuttle, thus ending the deadly chase between the boy and the beast. Romeo exhaustingly laid across the wooden floor... until his saviour offered her hand.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise." he wheezed as he accepted the girl's hand immediately.

After she pulled him up, Vittoria took a good look at him. After she was convinced that he was unscratched, she shook her head in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?"

Romeo scratched his temple, avoiding her thoughtful gaze in the meanwhile. "...Just taking a walk."

"A walk. In the Quarantine Zone." she repeated in an unimpressed tone.

"Look who's talking!" He made a comeback in a similar manner. He walked past the dying puppet, overshadowing the girl's smaller form. "What are you doing here?"

"I went out trading food for lint. Since the pharmacy is already closed, I asked the infected if they had any." she said quietly, rolling her eyes. Romeo raised his eyebrows in surprise.

To his shock, he saw both of her hands bandaged. When he and Carlo met with her two days ago, she wasn't injured. Did something happen in the Durante Household once again? When Vittoria saw his eyes locked on her hands, she hid them behind her back and let out a fake cough. Seeing that she had no intentions about filling him with the details, he let the topic go.

"Anyways, thank you for saving my life." he said with a warm smile. The girl nodded, then a similar smile graced her lips.

"I'm just glad I coul..." But before she could finish her sentence, the dying puppet dog let out a static howl.

Romeo and Vittoria immediately shifted their gazes towards the automaton. Bluish light leaked out of its chest and reddened eyes. Although its time was up, something was very wrong with this faulty machine. Its limbs were twitching, twisting them in a way nature didn't intend. The soulless eyes looked at the boy, then at the girl. And to their surprise, besides of all those horrible growls and howls, a monotonous voice was heard:

"Aaaaaa... b... urns... it... burns... the V...oice... it... burns... wit... hin."

It let out a static yelp, wheezed a bit before its struggling body stopped moving. The blue and red light were out and with it, the faulty puppet stopped functioning. A pool of oil covered the wooden floor. With all that darkness, it didn't look too different from blood.

Both of them looked at the corpse with distress gracing their features. Neither of them wasn't sure what just happened. Despite these strange events, Romeo turned to the girl.

"Do you know what it means?"

Vittoria said nothing at first. Her cerulean eyes curiously examined the dog puppet's corpse. She hummed in her pensiveness. "I'm not entirely sure. I heard some rumors besides the "howling ghost". It's... related to the Workshop cases."

"You mean those gossips about the disappeared inventors and technicians?" Romeo asked, resting his hands on his hips.

The girl nodded. "Every time someone disappeared, they heard a static record from the radio. It mentioned the same thing over and over again."

"The burn?"

"...Yes."

No one said anything anymore. Too much has happened in a single day. Although the boy was quite curious about this certain howling ghost, he had a promise to keep. When he saw the girl making her exit through the upper stairs, he grabbed her hand. Vittoria looked at him with genuine surprise. She mouthed a quiet "what?".

"At least let me escort you back home. As a way of thanks." he said warmly, letting go of her hand. The teenage girl tilted her head to one side. "Please, Vittoria."

Pressing her lips together in deep thought, she bowed her head once again. "Why not?"

A satisfied grin graced his features. He immediately shifted to the girl's side. They began walking to the upper stairs of the workshop, then leapt outside of a window.

Romeo was hit with genuine surprise. He didn't expect that this uptight girl could've chosen a pretty dangerous way to her home. Surely it was shorter, but more threatening. She didn't seem too fazed about it though. To think about it, she wasn't even fazed about the puppet's odd behaviour. Maybe... just maybe, she might hold some secrets regarding his plans. One thing was certain: Vittoria caused him more than one surprise today. He was genuinely confused about her.

'Guess you can't judge a book by its cover' he amusedly thought.

As they jumped from one roof to another (in a short distance), they saw a two-storeyed house at the near distance. A wooden plank was connected to the roof which they were standing on. The home-made bridge led them to a balcony. A fireplace's gentle light leaked out to the streets. When he was about to ask a question, the girl nodded in his direction.

"This is my home." she said solemnly.

The home of the Durantes wasn't anything extravagant as Romeo expected it to be. A simple, two-storeyed home. Plainly speaking, it looked poorly compared to other apartments in that area.

"Thanks for escorting me. Can you find your way back to the Charity House though?" she continued, crossing her arms across her chest. 

"But of course." he nodded in affirmation. His gaze softened before continued: "Are you gonna be okay?"

Vittoria blinked at him questioningly. "Yes? I always have been." 

Romeo didn't say anything. Even when she pulled away from him to walk over the wooden plank, he watched her in silence. His thoughts were drifting between his friend, the frenzied puppet and this girl. A swirl of confusion and sudden helplessness reflected in his dark brown eyes. The girl noticed it too, as she looked back at him from the balcony. She smiled at him softly, waving in his direction. It was a way of reassurance, a small kind gesture from her part.

"Can we discuss something tomorrow?" The boy shouted after her. "It's about today's..."

"You know where I live. It's not like I have any choice." she replied half-jokingly. "Goodnight, Romeo."

He beamed a thankful smile at her. "Goodnight."

Even though it couldn't erase his doubts completely, it relieved him a little bit. Like a warm blanket, it covered him. He sighed after he said his farewells to the girl. When she disappeared from the balcony, Romeo turned his back on the Durante Household. Instead of his thoughts being looped back for his worrisome thoughts, a new feeling became dominant in his heart: righteous anger.

'Carlo, you fool.' 

He made a silent vow to himself: tomorrow he will see this friend of his make an official apology to the younger Lady Durante.

The plot thickens. While I mentioned that there's no puppet frenzy due Geppetto's death, it's not the same for the petrification disease. What will it change though? Well, we'll find it out in time (with a lot of things)! L was mentioned in the game if you wear the Blueblood's tailcoat against the Survivor (who goes by the name Abel according to the game files), so there's that. There's a deep connection between him and Romeo, even though they could only talk with each other through messages for a long time. We'll see where their plotting is going to take them. I enjoyed writing Romeo's character overall. He has his own agendas/motives besides being Carlo's wingman. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

[mopbucketwithablog]

Someone said they wanted to read the essay I wrote bout homestuck so here u go (it's a character analysis)

Character Name: Vriska Serket

Literary work(can be short story, novel, etc.): Homestuck

Speech: What does the character’s dialogue, dialect, and the way they speak affect the story/characterization?

Her speech starts out as very egotistical and self centered, frequently making fun of others and declaring her superiority over them. However, as the story progresses, she begins to soften up and share more (especially to her patron kid John). We begin to see *why* she does the things she does and her egotism is shown to be a shield against the world, developed due to her harsh upbringing.

Thoughts: How does the internal thoughts and feelings of this character affect the story?

Vriska’s thoughts showcase her upbringing on Alternia and how it has affected her. Her lusus, a giant spider, required regular feeding of other trolls in order to sustain it. This upbringing created a “do whatever is necessary, even if it isn’t morally correct” mentality, forcing her to take desperate measures in her role playing games to sustain the beast and keep herself safe. This (as well as the culling culture of Alternia) also gave her a Darwinian mentality of strength, that one must struggle and stay strong in order to survive. This leads to her morally gray actions upon others, which shall be discussed later.

Effects on Others: Does this character positively or negatively affect others?

Vriska Serket is an extremely morally gray character. She paralyzes, kills, and psychologically torments others; yet she is an integral part of the Sburb party. This is shown best through her relationship to another troll, Tavros Nitram. During a live-action role playing session, Vriska used her mind control powers to paralyze Tavros. What makes this interesting, however, is she did this out of care and not malice. She wanted to give Tavros a challenge, something which would encourage him to get stronger and more confident. This ended up working very well, as during their Sburb session Tavros ends up a very strong member of the party who plays an integral role in defeating the Black King. Later on, he would even gain the courage to fight Vriska when he believes she has done wrong. Despite his loss of the battle, this still shows immense growth of confidence. This spirit carries on later as well, as Tavros is the one to round up the ghost army to fight Lord English. This shocks Vriska, as it is a massive juxtaposition from his rather whiny old self. Thus, though it was through morally incorrect actions, Vriska helped Tavros grow as a person and a fighter.

Actions: How do they act throughout the story? What does this reveal about the character?

Vriska’s actions exemplify one concept best, Noblesse Oblige. This is the idea that those with more power or a higher status must take on the responsibility to protect those who are weaker. This is shown best by her battle with Jack Noir; where despite her being significantly weaker than him, she is still the strongest among the trolls, and fights him to the death to protect her friends and let them fight another day. Her other actions show this concept as well; she helped Tavros get stronger to not only avoid culling by the Alternian government, but also to prepare him for the fight ahead. On the meteor, she helped protect others from their temptations; such as with Terezi and her ultimately unhealthy love for Gamzee, or rose and her alcoholism. Through this we can see an image of Vriska who, while seemingly self centered on the outside, actually deeply cares for her friends and wishes the best for them.

Looks: How does the physical appearance affect your reading of the character? Is what they are wearing symbolic or push the narrative forward?

All trolls in Homestuck are based on zodiac signs, with Vriska representing Scorpio. Thus she has a very arachnid-esque appearance, with fangs and her vision eightfold. This also plays into her misunderstood nature. Spiders are often feared, and seen as dangerous; however, they play a very important role in the environment via their predation on numerous different insects. Vriska is much the same. She is seen as a dangerous and psychopathic person, yet what she’s trying to do is clear the weaknesses (or bugs) from her friends to help them become the best person they can possibly be.

Examining these elements, what can you conclude about this character? I want you to consider character development and characterization as one piece of the literary analysis process. The characters can act as symbols, plot devices, and thematic connections.

Vriska Serket is my favorite character in all of fiction. She has an amazing design, witty writing, and most importantly an extremely interesting characterization. She is willing to do whatever it takes, be it good or bad, to make sure things stay alright and her friends live their best lives. Yes, she takes many drastic, even downright evil, actions; and I am not attempting to defend them. However, what makes Vriska different from a simple villain is her selflessness in these actions, taking these awful steps to keep her friends as safe and as strong as they can be in the cruel world ahead. The idea behind her character is summed up excellently by Vriska Herself, “You don’t have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero” (Hussie 6053).

The worst part about homestuck is a lot of it is shit like the mayor chugging tab and Howie mandel piss bottles but then it has genuinely good writing and characterization and symbolism and other elements of literature so I can't just hyperfixate on it a little bit and move on I have to think about it constantly

[majoras-puppet]

Why Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is so heartwrenching

!!!PLEASE DONT PUT ANY END OF GAME SPOILERS IN MY COMMENTS!!! TEARS OF THE DRAGON QUESTLINE MAJOR AND MAIN QUESTLINE LEADING UP TO THE FINAL DEFEAT GANON QUEST SPOILERS AHEAD

People talk about how sad totk is, but not exactly why, and why we feel such a strong connection to the characters. First off lets talk about the Sages. The first four (Riju, Yunobo, Tulin, and Sidon) already carry the trauma from Breath of the Wild (Tulin less than the others). Riju lost her mother at a young age, and was thrown into politics at around the age of 9. At the age of 12 she was forced to save her entire town and her people from a threat much larger than her, and she feels as though she let the town down by letting the Thunder Helm get stolen. All this is happening while the people of Hyrule think that the world will be ending soon due to the Calamity. Sidon lost his elder sister as a young child, seeing what it did to the people of the Domain. He had to look at a statue of her every day and remember his loss, all while Link shows up, presumably having known him when he was a child, and doesnt remember him OR his sister that was in love with Link. Then HE has to save the Domain with Link just like Riju, afraid that he's going to lose his friend. In totk, Sidon has a fiance and is afraid to leave the Domain in fear of losing her like he did Mipha. Yunobo had to deal with life threatening issues while helping Link with Vah Rudania, almost dying many times having to rely on a power that couple potentially fail. Tulin was very little when everything was happening, but the fact that he almost lost his father and his entire village as a child, and started training at such an early age has put a huge weight on his shoulders. The sages now have to save Hyrule yet again only a few years later, each of them fighting an internal struggle with not feeling good enough, then pledging their lives to aiding Link, seemingly having no other purpose in their life. They gave up part of their spirits for him, all while Sidon has become a king, having to take on those responsibilities as well.

Now onto Zelda. In her lifetime, Zelda has lost her mother, her father, her father emotionally and verbally abusing her, telling her that if she doesnt unlock a power that she has no control over she would be useless, assigned a personal knight that reminds her of her failures simply by existing, falling on love with said knight, he almost dies trying to protect her and if she had unlocked her power one moment sooner he would have been ok, her mother figure (urbosa) dying in a horrific manner, all the champions that SHE assigned dying and blaming herself for it, and the fact that she couldnt protect everyone, THEN has to seal herself in the calamity for 100 YEARS ALONE using up her power with no rest, then finally when things are going back to normal people get sick around the castle, she finds a corpse under the castle, falls in a hole and goes BACK IN TIME where she doesnt know if link survived or not until he sends her the master sword, then she TURNS INTO A DRAGON GIVING UP HER HUMANITY WHILE SHE COULDNT SAVE RAURU OR SONIA LOSING TWO MORE PARENTAL FIGURES IN THE PROCESS?????? This poor girl needs a break.

And finally Link. He was made a knight as a toddler, who knows what happened to his mother, she was never mentioned, the princess he is assigned to seems to hate him, then everything goes to shit, the calamity returns, all his friends and soon-to-be-fiance are dead, he still has to protect the princess, falls in battle, feels like a failure because he was supposed to be the savior, passes out, wakes up 100 years later, no memory of who he is, gets told by a ghost of the king that he needs to go to the castle, fight the calamity, free the divine beasts, and save the princess, gains back his memories sowly but he cant remember his family, THEN after he saves the princess (while saving EVERYONE ELSE in the process) and it probably have taken months, then he gets her back and only a few years later after they probably fell in love he LOSES HER AGAIN and has no idea where she went only to find out that shes 10,000 years in the past she turned herself into a FUCKING DRAGON JUST SO HE COULD SAVE ALL OF HYRULE and he finds out that she sacrifices herself AND THEN HE SEES HER AT THE CASTLE ONLY FOR HER TO TURN BACK TIME AND BRING UP ALL HIS TRAUMA AND FOR A FEW MOMENTS HE THINKS THAT THE PERSON HE LOVES MOST IN THE WORLD HAS INTENTIONALLY CAUSED HIM TO RELIVE HIS TRAUMA AND TAUNTING HIM WITH IT THEN SHE TURNS OUT TO BE A PUPPET OF GANON LIKE THE HURT IN THIS POOR BOYS EYES. THIS MAN HAS BEEN THROUGH HELL AND BACK AND HE CANT GET A BREAK AND NOW HIS ZELDA IS GONE WITH NO WAY TO BRING HER BACK BECAUSE SHE MADE HERSELF IMMORTAL OMGGGGG

this game is so heartbreaking istg. It may not be the darkest game like we were told, but it sure is the saddest by far, at least in my eyes

reminder please do not put any end game spoilers in the comments

[apenapaperandadoofus]

Hi! So first of all, I don’t mean to fight or say any of this in any disrespectful way, I just like discussing books and such but this is not meant to be a fight.

1. The stalking: while I understand why some people might perceive it that way Hua Cheng was NOT stalking Xie Lian. This is a common misconception. He was LOOKING for him but thorough-out the entire 800 years Hua Cheng had NO idea where Xie Lian was. How can you stalk someone without knowing where they are? He was looking for his god to protect him now that he had the power to, unlike in the past.

2. Hua Cheng never keeps Xie Lian from his friends. He never says “hey leave those guys, don’t hang out with them.” Is he mean and fiesta towards them? Yes. But keep in mind the reasons why

Mu Qing: left Xie Lian during the second flashback, and then didn’t defend him during the land argument. Hua Cheng was 15 at most at that time and watched as his God was betrayed (we know MQ had his reasons but for XL POV he was getting betrayed) PLUS being practically bullied by the other officials and HC couldn’t defend him. You know who could? MQ but he didn’t. If your partner was hurt by their friend wouldn’t you be a bit cold towards them? Also add the fact MQ kicked out HC out of the army solely because of jealousy.

Feng Xin: from HCs POV FX left XL during a terrible moment for him, yes XL asked him to but HC didn’t KNOW and it looks like after XL ��fell from grace” his friends betrayed him. Also when he was a kid FX treated baby HC super shitty, no wonder he fell in love with XL since he was the only decent human being to treat him well.

Banyue and PX although I can’t speak much bc I read the books a while ago, I don’t recall HC ever being purposely antagonistic towards them. When XL goes to talk to Banyue and comfort them, HC doesn’t stop him, in fact he encourages him and the words he said. After all, it was those words that saved HIM. PX also did a lot of bad things, and Hua Cheng hates corrupt Gods. Of course he isn’t going to like him but he doesn’t stop XL from hanging out with any of them. If he didn’t want them there he would’ve made them leave from Mt. Tonglu.

While he teases and tries to irritate FX and MQ and YES he did try and separate them in Mt. Tonglu, it was bc they were arguing about MQs thing with the holy land. Bringing back those memories wouldn’t have made him feel empathy for them exactly. Besides he wasn’t even going to kill them, he was trying to get XL out of the cage as fast as possible to not see the statues (more on that later).

Shi Qingxuan and Black Water

The only reason HC was trying to get XL to not hang out with SQX was because he didn’t want him to get involved in BW revenge. He warned him bc him and HX have been working on this revenge for about two centuries, they made a deal long before XL even knew SQX.

And why didn’t he let XL help SQX at the end?

Literally just ghost politics. Remember, HX is a calamity, just like HC. They say in the books that if two calamities came face to face no one knows what would happen but it wouldn’t be pretty. Of course HC isn’t going to go back on his deal with HX who is his informant and spy on the heavens because of XL, as much as he loves him. Plus he didn’t want XL to be in danger as well. Whether XL had been or not SQX’s friend, his fate in black water arc would have been the same pretty much. PLUS HC gave XL SO many hints before hand (like actual hints to get him to realize Ming Yi was HX and HELPED him figured it out even though he had already made a deal with HX to not get involved in the revenge or stop it. HC helped before they were friends bc that was the deal the two made as ghost kings: HC gave HX the money and means to get to heaven to get his revenge, HX gave HC information on the heavens bc HC doesn’t trust them and rightly so)

Also not to spoil much, but you’ll see later on that HC never separates SQX from XL. In fact there’s multiple chapters showing the contrary.

HC first of wall, was never asked by XL to look for SQX and find him and if he was he would have (although given he couldn’t find XL for 800 years im not confident on his finding skills lmao), and second of all, HX made sure he couldn’t be found. HX is also powerful, so easily he couldve stopped HC from looking.

Plus in the future if you see them interact and he’s literally super chill about it and in fact, we could argue is the person he treats the nicest apart from Xie Lian. (He’s shown to be nice to Guzi, Banyue, SQX, Yin Yu, we could even argue HX)

Hua Cheng never separates XL from his friends, he never kills them (which he could) or tells them to stay away. Apart from the cave of 10k statues where he was literally having a panic attack inside bc XL would realize that HE was his beloved, plus MQ and FX treating him like dirt (even since he was a child, FX treated HC like dirty trash they found on the street) and even in the extras, you will see they eventually have a good relationship, and to quote HC:

Even if HC doesn’t like his friends which again, we can see change in the extras, he lets Xie Lian make his own decisions and he follows him. The ONLY time he opposed him was during BW arc and we already explained why as a ghost king he couldn’t.

Final thing: about the cave of 10k gods.

I totally understand why it would seem creepy at first glance without thinking about the place and the characters (but psychotic??? How?)

However if we break things down and see the reasons you’ll see Hua Cheng never did it with a dirty intention (even the murals are explained bc it’s land of the tender, and it’s part of HCs moments with XL, it wasn’t like a random sex statue, it was part of the theme of being his memories and moments with his beloved, which the land of the tender was part of).

First hundreds and thousands of statues of one deity or person are completely normal in other religions and even for emperors. You can probably find tons of examples on google. So there’s an explanation that this is a religious practice HC was taking part of.

In Mt. Tonglu we can deduce HC was going through it, he was NOT having fun and it was a hard process for a whole decade. Remember HC was bullied practically to the point of wanting to die, and the only reason he was there and got saved from death twice was bc of XL. Of course hea going to think of him during this moment since it’s his comfort and reason to be there. And once again, he was doing a common religious practice for his God. The beauty of it too, is that along with it being religious it’s also shaped into love, which is for HC two separate matters, since he both sees XL as his god and as his beloved, but that’s why he always leaves a flower on XLs shrine, why he made the statues. Bc it was part of the religion. It wasn’t a creepy, oh let me make the person I’m obsessed with over and over (bc we can see HC is not obsessed. Head over heels in love? Yes. But obsessed? No. Look at Luo Binghe from SVSS if you want that, and compare the two. You’ll see the difference right away). HC has things outside of XL, he has his city, his gambling, he paints and sculpts bc he likes it, not bc XL is forcing him to.

While it’s understandable why some people would see it like MQ or FX, see it from HCs perspective. He has never, and will never try to make decisions for Xie Lian or make him do something he doesn’t want. He respects him as a person and lets him have his own autonomy- we can see it so much throughout the books. (Super small spoilers for the extra) If he wanted to he could’ve separated SQX and XL, not only in the past but later in the future when they find him. XL literally mentions he goes visit him daily! HC contacts MQ and FX when something is wrong with XL he literally contacts them straight away, and THEY contact HIM (which means they have an ARRAY) if there’s anything wrong. He COULD have separated them, he could have killed them, but he doesn’t because even if he doesn’t like them which is understandable, he knows XL likes and cares about them so he won’t separate them.

Sorry for the long rant lol. Anyway, while I do see why some people see it that way, I feel a deeper need of understanding of all of the characters situation plus the era. Now if you wanted to talk about toxic and even compare, like I said before, look at Luo Binghe from SVSS. As much as I love SVSS he IS toxic, he actively tries to separate his love from his friend MULTIPLE times and does more things that are kind of questionable.

Anyway long story short, HC does care a LOT about XL but it is not toxic or obsessive. In fact he does it in the healthy way. He is a rational human being that knows his partner is his own person, he lets XL make choices, even the wrong ones (black water plus calamity era!) and he keeps the people that hurt him away, unless XL cares about them (like MQ and FX). For example. Look at Qi Rong. Xie Li doesnt really care about his cousin or like him, and HC has ANGER towards Qi Rong when he disrespects XL (and it is only until then he hears him up, might I add) but when XL shows he doesn’t want to kill him (bc of the body he’s possessing) and keeps him in his shrine, HC doesn’t kill Qi Rong. He pisses him off, sure, but when XL and him are away for some time he even sends people to take care of them AND the shrine. If he wanted to keep and aisle XL from everyone he could have sent them away.

Phew thank you for coming to my ted talk. Also this wasn’t done in a mean way or anything I just like character analysis lol. Sorry if English was crap, not my first language and yeah.

This might be controversial but…like the vindication I've felt when Mu Qing and Feng Xin spelled it out for Xie Lian that Hua Cheng is creepy as hell in book 6? I was thinking the same since the start and I felt like I was the only one. Unreliable narrator and toxic shipping are fun but genuinely everyone seems to think that HuaLian is like a "goalsss" kind of relationship in the fandom, super cute and romantic but uh? If it wasn't the main ship, everyone would likely hate Hua Cheng for being a creep, let's be real. I felt like I was living in a bizarro world until those two finally spoke about it. Not that I had any doubt he would not turn creepy. I have believed since the start that Hua Cheng picked the colour red so he could use all his red flags as clothes lol He was always so... icky.

[echoghost1]

Ectober Day 03: Order & Chaos

Title: By The Word Of The King

Characters: Danny Phantom, Pariah Dark

Word Count: 1,065

Summary: Pariah Dark was sealed away because he had a power too strong to resist.

Danny finds out exactly what that means the hard way.

AKA another Reign Storm AU

Warnings: Horror, Body Horror, Ectoplasm, Bleeding, Mild Gore

You can read below the cut or on AO3

When the ghosts poured out of the portal, people were screaming and running in the streets. No one had ever seen this many ghosts at once before.

Danny did his best to figure out what was going on but nobody would tell him anything. Or at least they didn’t say anything that made sense.

Something about the ghost king having been set free. How they hoped the rumors were true and he won’t be giving any speeches or something?

Danny had never heard of the ghost king before and certainly didn't understand why everyone was so upset either. Unless ghost king speeches were worst than Mr. Lancer’s lectures, he could understand wanting to get away from those.

With no other idea of what to do, Danny went into the zone in the hopes to find some answers.

The ghost zone wasn't a place he knew well or was very comfortable in, but if going there meant his friends and family would be safe, then he'd go.

He was surprised at how easy it was to find the Ghost King's castle, but seeing as it was the only thing that wasn't a flaming ruin, it certainly narrowed down his options.

Danny floated down the corridors, careful to avoid the skeletons standing around. He wasn’t sure if they were ghostly skeletons or just regular skeletons, but he didn’t want to find out the hard way.

Eventually, he found a room that reminded him of a museum. There were lots of pillars and statues and in the center of the room was a huge upright coffin.

It was open.

He noticed there was something that had fallen to the left of the coffin, like it had been tossed aside. Danny floated over and found it was some sort of sign.

Curious, he pushed it upright so he could read it, “After a grueling battle, the Council of Ancients were able to successfully defeat the King. Together they sealed him inside the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and as an added precaution, should he ever be awakened, they cut out his tongue,” Danny shivered at the gruesome detail before continuing, “to spare the future generations the burden of hearing the King’s True Speech.”

“Geez, that seems a bit extreme. No wonder he’s mad.”

Danny took a moment to ponder what he should do next when a large shadow started to loom over him.

He spun around and found himself face to face with the Ghost King himself.

He didn’t have a chance to do much else before the King was gripping him by the throat and held him high above the floor.

On reflex, he gagged.

The King’s eyes widened and the next thing Danny knew his mouth was filled with ectoplasm and pain.

It took him a moment to realize that he could only feel the cool liquid as it spilled from his mouth and dripped down his chin, but he couldn’t taste it.

He slowly looked up and found the King had a grin on his face, “That’s better,” said the king who shouldn’t be able to speak.

The King set Danny back on the floor but his legs gave out and he crumbled into a heap at the King’s feet.

The King knelt down and gently held Danny’s face in his hand, “Now, now, my boy, you have no reason to fear me.”

And Danny stopped trembling because he is no longer afraid. He has no reason to be.

“You’ve been so helpful it would be foolish of me not to reward your efforts.”

Those words hit Danny in a way that nothing else had. A reward for being helpful? That sounded so nice. More than nice. He didn’t even care what it was going to be, just the offer alone made him happy.

The King paused momentarily before he spoke again, “Your reward is to regain what you sacrificed for the sake of the crown but to do so, you must rest.

Danny found his eyes getting heavy as a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

“Don’t sleep just yet, young one. Let me get you somewhere more comfortable first.“

Danny did his best to keep his eyes open, but it was so hard. He was so tired.

The King scooped Danny up with ease and carried him to the sarcophagus.

Danny wondered if it would be comfortable. He would have asked, but he couldn’t do that now.

He is slowly lowered into the sarcophagus as the king gives his orders, “When your head hits the pillow you will fall into the deepest of slumbers and nothing will wake you except for the opening of this sarcophagus.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pariah Dark looked down at the foolish young ghost as he slept soundly in the sarcophagus that had been made to imprison him.

He wondered what sort of things the boy would have said to him if he had given him the chance. He hoped one day he’d find out.

He could practically taste the quick wit and dry humor on the boy’s former tongue like a fine wine.

It had been far too long since Pariah had enjoyed a glass. Would it still be as good as it was before or would it be different? If it was different would it be due to the time or his new taste buds?

He looked back to the sleeping ghost child, the lid of the sarcophagus still held open in his hand.

The way the boy looked at him when he had praised him for helping, even though he was being a little sarcastic, wasn’t what he had expected.

The poor boy had been so pleased. It was as if Pariah had given him something he had always wanted. Something he had so desperately craved but didn’t get enough of.

That shouldn’t be so rare.

Pariah gripped the lid tighter and pulled until he snapped the hinges off before tossing the lid to the side.

If the people this boy had risked so much for were really worth it, they’d come. He’d let them see what their inaction and neglect did to him.

He’d even let them take him back with them.

It’d be amusing to see how long it would take them to realize there’s nothing they could do to rouse him.

He couldn’t wait to hear what sort of things they would offer just to wake him again.

[toonpel]

To a Brighter Future - Chapter One

Bright had made his amends and said his goodbyes.

It was finally time to rest, along with his two best friends, Heart and Soul. Rozen and Silvio. They were once again a team, just the three of them. No longer burdened by the terrible power known as Absolution and the lingering regrets of all his past deeds, Bright’s soul felt at peace. And so just before he departed, the Sun King gave Zero a smile as bright as the sun. He felt forever grateful for the spirit’s help, from adventuring together with them, Reca and Lumen throughout the scattered pieces of Soma, to remembering who he truly was.

Friends were important, and he was one of the luckiest guys to have such amazing comrades.

He felt himself begin to slip, to fade after everything had been said and done, and he fully embraced the feeling of letting go. It was a beautiful day to be alive, and yet Bright would let those still living experience this joy in his stead.

He had a place amongst the stars now, shining bright like the sun right next to his best friends.

…

So that was why it came as such a shock when he blinked his eyes open and found himself standing atop the Sun King’s Citadel. From atop his sundered throne room, Bright could see all of Soma as it once was back when it had been spit in two, and yet despite this fact he could not believe what he was seeing. He felt like pinching himself had he not been wearing the replica of Absolution’s mask, just to make sure this wasn’t some form of vision from hell, as a form of punishment.

But no, this was very much real. Bright was alive, and back in the past. How or why, he could not tell, but he had this lingering feeling that something was terribly wrong. And – as if affirming his suspicion – something quite sinister crept into his ears, like the wind carrying a whisper.

T̶h̶i̶s̸ ̶t̶i̴m̵e̴,̵ ̶t̴h̸i̶n̸g̸s̶ ̸w̷o̵n̶'̵t̴ ̵g̷o̷ ̴t̸h̴e̶ ̸w̵a̴y̶ ̴y̷o̷u̶ ̴e̶x̵p̵e̸c̴t̸ ̷i̴t̸ ̸t̸o̸.̸

Bright tried not to flinch from the words.

W̸a̷t̶c̴h̶ ̴a̸s̴ ̷y̵o̵u̶r̷ ̴w̶o̴r̷l̷d̴ ̴b̵u̷r̵n̵s̶ ̶d̵o̵w̷n̶,̸ ̷o̵ ̶b̸r̵i̸g̶h̶t̵ ̴S̵u̴n̴ ̴K̸i̷n̵g̴.̴

The wind carried no more words, and Bright closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Beyond the confusion he felt – and even beyond the fear of being back in time – the Sun King had a duty to fulfill. He steered his resolve and decided, then and there, to no longer be a spectator, to no longer be a ghost of the past. This time, Bright would take action and help his best friends in any way he could, even if things might not go as he expected them to.

He was the Sun King, and the Sun King saw all. Therefore he knew that terrible times were ahead, just like that voice had said. After all, no one would be able to forget the voice of Absolution, least of all Bright.

So with that in mind, Bright took off his mask and threw it harshly on the ground, never looking back as he made his way past all the statues in his likeness, past the gold and red and everything he once stood for. Those were all pointing towards the sins from his past, but he was beyond the point of self loathing and self pity.

On the way down he met up with Sunny and Lunar, his two most trusted guards. They had stayed with him until the very end, and for that he couldn’t be more grateful. He only wished their end didn’t have to be in vain.

“Oh, Your Majesty-!” Lunar said, bowing. Sunny gave a half heated wave. “Hey there.”

Bright smiled. “Hello you two. How are you both doing?”

“The castle hasn’t been breached in years, and no intruders have found their way in here! We have kept a vigilant watch over your kingdom, as you have instructed us to!”

Sunny nodded. “Yep. All that stuff, you know… Sometimes it’s such a drag though.”

Lunar looked appalled. “SUNNY! How dare you speak like that in front of the King! Take our job more seriously!”

“If I did, I would turn into you, and we both don’t want that to happen.” He shrugged. “Trust me.”

Lunar fumed. “You-!”

Bright cleared his throat, and both guards stood at attention, though one with far less enthusiasm than the other.

“No need for any of you to worry about that.” Bright sighed and closed his eyes. “Actually, I’m… here to fire you.”

Both were silent for what seemed like minutes. Then Lunar exploded.

“WHAT?! But-but your majesty, you can’t-!” He flailed his arms around. “Wh-who else is going to look after this castle, and-and keep everything in order and keep you safe?! You-you CAN’T fire us! Who’s going to look after the legendary weapons?!”

“Whoa, am I actually allowed to leave?” Sunny said, his eyes widening.

“SUNNY, take this SERIOUSLY!!”

Bright couldn’t help but chuckle, witch in turn quieted his two guards.

“Don’t panic, Lunar.” The Sun King gave them a reassuring smile. “I am doing this for a good reason. I’m not firing you because I find your work to be inadequate, but rather because I do not need any service any longer – nor does this fragmented castle of mine.”

“What do you mean, my King?”

“I’m leaving this place.” Bright said resolutely. “And if I can help it, I’m not coming back.”

“WHAT?!”

“Finally decided to ditch the place?”

Bright nodded at Sunny.

“Yes. I can no longer act like a ghost of the past. I have decided to atone for my sins in a new and different way. And I want the two of you to live your own lives, free of this burden I have put upon you for so many years… So please, go out and experience Soma as it is now.”

“Your Majesty…” Lunar said. “B-but… this IS my life!”

Sunny turned to look at Lunar with a serious expression. “Lunar, dude, learn to differentiate your life from your work. There’s more to it than that.”

“I… I guess you’re right, but I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. What else could I possibly be good at?”

Sunny shrugged. “Why don’t we find out?”

“You mean...together?” Lunar asked.

“Well, we’ve always been a team. Why stop now?”

This tugged at Bright’s heart in both a good and painful way. What he wouldn’t give to have Rozen and Silvio right beside him in times like these.

“...Thank you, Sunny.” Lunar turned to look up at Bright. “And thank you, your Majesty. It has been an honor to work for you. May you find whatever you are looking for!”

Bright’s smile widened. This had gone better than he expected, and for that he was grateful.

“Thank you, Lunar.” He turned. “And thank you, Sunny.”

The two of them nodded and then left, leaving Bright to stand alone in one of the many golden hallways of his castle.

It was time for him to leave as well.

-------

Chapter Two: https://at.tumblr.com/toonpel/to-a-brighter-future-chapter-two/y983chkv87f6

[cominfromtheforest]

Still Wip: Veil of Shadows

Ghost was truly something special, completely different from their siblings. Quirrel watched them walk in, surrounded by the Royal retainers that often followed the King himself in a similar fashion. Ghost’s head was held high, veiled and adorned in golden jewelry, their gaze locked somewhere ahead. They paid the retainers no mind, no matter how much they tried to get their attention.

They had on their usual blue robes, leaving their shoulders exposed, the fabric tight around their hips and waist, flaring from the bottom into a short train. They had a signature regal look, a mixture of their parents. And Quirrel knew that the facade of delicacy was made up of expensive fabrics and jewelry, to hide the signs of a skilled knight. The sharp talons of their feet underneath the long hem and their sharp claws hidden in the long sleeves, not to forget the weapons they surely had concealed on their person. The only thing that gave them away once you knew were the clinks their claws made against the stone floor.

They seemed to notice him standing on the side, and with a one swift movement of their hand, every Royal retainer was scrambling back to the door, to allow Ghost their privacy. As much as the retainers adored their company and attention, they were also afraid of Ghost. Quirrel had yet to figure out exactly why, but he assumed that they knew something that he didn’t. Not that he also wasn’t afraid of Ghost, even if just a little bit, knowing what their status and place was in the kingdom's hierarchy.

Quirrel could see them let out a deep breath, their shoulders relaxing as soon as the door was once again closed. Then they turned quickly, walking towards where he was standing, and Quirrel couldn’t help but once again marvel at the way that Ghost moved. Smooth and practiced, paired with the gentle sway of their body, like they were more floating rather than walking. 

“Quirrel,” their voice purred inside his head. He loved the way they said his name, like it was little more than just that. 

“Your Highness… Ghost,” Quirrel smiled, knowing that they had asked him to stop the formality, but dropping it straight away still made him nervous. 

They hummed, and Quirrel was sure that their eyes were fixed on his, even if he couldn’t see them behind the veil. “You requested a private audience with me, is everything alright?”

“Well I don't, I don’t really know…It’s… I keep having this dream and it feels off. But it didn’t feel like something I should go to the King about, but that I, that I should come to you.” he meddled with the edges of his jacket nervously, feeling out of place.

“Well,” Ghost placed their hand gently on his shoulder, getting him to look at them again. “Dreams are not my domain, but I do think that it is important to trust your intuition. So please, tell me about it and I’ll see how I might be able to help you.”

Quirrel nodded, clearing his throat. He had gone through this conversation likely a hundred times while waiting, but now he just hoped that he could remember everything that he had wanted to say. “It’s always the same, which is why I think it feels so wrong. I can see myself, kneeling in this dark ocean, not dark the way deep water is, but completely black like it’s eating all the light. But it isn’t ferocious, and I feel an almost impossible sense of calmness, of safety. There are waves, but they’re gentle and the darkness is not deep, the surface barely reaching the top of my thighs. It’s cold, but I don’t mind it.

On the other side, opposite to me, is this golden desert. It doesn’t seem to have an end, but the horizon is covered in clouds and it’s impossible to actually tell for sure. Above hangs a massive sun, a stark contrast for the darkening sky behind it. It burns so hot that the desert sand below is turning to glass, and I can tell that it’s trying to burn away the darkness and me with it, but it can’t. Despite all of its power, it's not strong enough.

The sun is screaming. I think. And then the ocean rumbles, the waves hit a little higher, and this giant figure emerges from within, infinitely dark. It has horns adorning its head like a crown and its white eyes burn into me. As it raises up, it covers the sun and it now shines through those horns like a halo. We stare at each other and…” Quirrel swallows, mouth now dry. “The figure turns, and it… It swallows the sun. Then as the world falls to darkness, I wake up,” he looks at Ghost, though they are unreadable, as usual. 

“How intriguing,” they whispered then, something about their tone sending shivers down his shell. “Tell me, please, how does it make you feel?” Their fingers lifted Quirrels chin up, possibly to meet the eyes he couldn’t see behind the veil. “Does it scare you? The burning sun or the infinite darkness?”

“The sun is terrifying, there is intensity in its presence. It burns like only a heavenly body could, scorching, like rage would.” The moment feels, personal, somehow, with Ghost's fingers still on his face, full attention on him. “But the darkness in its infinity feels the exact opposite: safe and calm, the waves washing over me gently. It’s what keeps me from burning up. And the figure… It doesn’t scare me either. It feels like an extension of the darkness, but stronger.” Quirrel twists his hands around nervously, not really knowing what Ghost was getting from all of his ramblings.

“It feels like I’m supposed to be there. To bear witness to the end of the Sun,” he whispers, realizing it as he speaks it aloud.

Ghost humms, their finger retreating back into the sleeves, as they turn to look out of the window they’re standing in front of. They stand in silence for a moment, thinking.

“Do you pray?” they break the silence.

“I.. On occasion, yes..” Quirrel swallows. Of all the things, he hadn’t expected that. 

“To father?”

“As is tradition on sanctified days, yes.”

“Pick a typical day, and pray, ” Ghost whispers into his head, turning back. They seem to loom over him and Quirrel feels like they’re once again flooding all of his senses, like everything else has suddenly ceased to exist. “But when you decide to do so, don’t pray up to the King, to father,” their hand recaptures his chin, and Quirrel thinks he might end up becoming jelly in their hands.

“Pray to me,”

[thesoulspulse]

I posted 427 times in 2022

That's 82 more posts than 2021!

393 posts created (92%)

34 posts reblogged (8%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dp-marvel94

@ecto-stone

@kennymayovo

@floralflowerpower

@krossan

I tagged 427 of my posts in 2022

#danny phantom - 413 posts

#thesoulspulse - 390 posts

#the soul's pulse - 389 posts

#the souls pulse - 389 posts

#thesoul'spulse - 388 posts

#danny phantom oc - 142 posts

#danny phantom fanfiction - 117 posts

#oc - 114 posts

#danny phantom fanart - 107 posts

#original character - 107 posts

Longest Tag: 80 characters

#but no seriously i love getting fanart from people of my precious cinnamon buns!

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Regarding The Ancients (Part 2)

I think this screenshot says it all. In the last post I talked about the Ancients in general and there are a lot of great candidates for who they were in the Danny Phantom cast. After all, villains could count among them too because all Skulker said was that “...a group of powerful ancient ghosts banded together in a last ditch effort to defeat the King” which when you think about it doesn’t necessarily mean they were all ‘good’ ghosts. They probably had no choice but to become allies to take down someone who threatened the balance of both worlds...

Part 1: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/698786699553177600/regarding-the-ancients-part-1

Still, I like to think of most of them as the good guys so we’ll start with them.

Clockwork is obviously the most logical choice because not only is he already wearing a purple cloak that’s extremely similar to the Ancients in the flashback, but he also has statues of the Grim Reaper, aka Death, all over his tower along with lots of scythes. But it makes sense given how he’s probably old enough to have known Death personally. Bonus points if they were brothers since time and death go hand in hand.

See the full post

120 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#4

Got another stained glass window redo! I really like how much better it looks!

P.S. Technically this is for the sequel story but I haven't decided whether to combine it with the current one or not.

Haunted Soul: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14016455/1/Haunted-Soul

123 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

#3

Danny Phantom Randomness (The Way of the Ninja)

“Infinite Realms” is a really interesting episode despite being from Season 3 since it gave us a lot of cool concepts like Blood Blossoms, Frostbite & the Far Frozen, and the Infimap. And in the most recent chapter of my fanfic “Nevermore” I wanted to come up with a way to get Danny and the gang to Salem and figured why not use the Infimap since Vlad wasn’t there to steal it in this timeline? Still, this one scene where Danny was a Ninja always stood out to me for some reason and now I think I know why...

On the surface it looks like he staged this dramatic entrance but what if there was a bit more to it than that? What if the timing was a little off and Danny, Sam, and Tucker got there a bit earlier than Vlad and Danny actually trained with someone in the Ninja ways? Say, a guardian spirit he warned about Vlad trying to take over the kingdom?

To be fair, Danny’s a fast learner so picking up sword fighting probably wouldn’t take too long. And better yet, it would explain how Danny managed to blend in so well in this scene because I’d like to think that if Vlad didn’t already KNOW it was him, Danny learned how to mask his ghost signature Ninja style.

See the full post

123 notes - Posted September 22, 2022

#2

To cease the storm… To end the fear… The sword must sheathe… In pumpkin near!

~ Danny Phantom, Season 1, Fright Night

Original:

See the full post

131 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Once I got started on this, I couldn’t stop. Literally all I meant to do was make some line art for later out of a title card template I found to redraw from scratch for Halloween, but I got carried away while experimenting with some recolors as you can see...

I did redo Danny’s face since there were a lot of subtle differences between the concept art and the final version. Still, I’m sure you all know how much I love the Fright Knight so here’s another preemptive drawing since October is right around the corner!

Disclaimer, this is purely a work of fanart and Ray Leong gets credit for the original line art since they used to work for Butch. I don’t want to get in trouble or anything for using it so I won’t be sharing the line art template I made for this just in case, I will share a link to the original its based on though so they get proper credit!

Lineart: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ray_leong/2314966970/in/album-72157604059837585/

Official Title Card:

See the full post

133 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[doodlingadventures]

BOTW2 Theory time!

I may have had a moment of galaxy brain (hours before the nintendo direct and I don’t remember typing it xD) over on twitter and I want to elaborate on the theory I have now that we could see the teaser!

Ok so, after seeing the trailer, I still don’t think it’s gonna be the whole time on the past, but I still think we’re gonna be mind-traveling back in time in some sections, using the memories sistem from the first game. Only, instead of experiencing it as a cinematic, you play through it as the “original character”. If you’ve ever played memories sections on a video game, or the first games of the Assassin’s Creed saga, you know how that goes: you’ve got a clear objective and a few things you cannot do because the character didn’t do them. Obviously Breath of the Wild stands out for the freedom it gives you in completing most tasks, so I think the limitations on this case would just be “don’t die” or “don’t fall from the sky” xDD

I think this because the trailer very pointedly differentiates the Link from the skies from the Link on the ground (or No-Ponytail link and normal Link) using the green garb and the champions garb.

If you check the trailer, you’ll notice that Sky Link always wears green and ground Link wears blue, even if skies Link’s boots sometimes change, both maintaining the “cursed arm” (have you noticed how we never see their face after the cave scene is over?). Maybe it’s because to do the sky stuff you need that special garb, but if you look at the tapestry from the original game

You’ll see that the ancient hero wears blue, white AND green (also the glowy yellow hand). This is why I think present Link is seeing the memories of the ancient hero trought the sky trials (to give them a name). In this case he is not proving himself, like he was during the Sheikah shrines, he is gaining the knowledge/power neccessary to seal Ganon once more. Obviously we’re playing through it, but by videogame logic, that’s how it was originally done because it’s the original character doing it, so we’re learning of it. Maybe we’ll even unlock cinematic memories as the trial is completed or in another way, seeing as that’s how the original also told us part of its story.

I also think green cloth Link is the ancient hero because of how Ganondorf looks.

No, not the dried bacon skin! xD I mean their clothes! They’re both that one shoulder free plus skirt style

You can see sky Link’s brown cloth under the green part. It’s more or less the same style of garb, with the difference of Ganon’s being longer, and more decorated with gold and stuff (which makes sense if Ganon the Gerudo King in this game too, nothing shows your status like jewels).

This detail would technically make sense if they’re from the same era, and, especially, if they’re from the same society/group of people.... <  <

Which takes me to my next part of my theory! And pure speculation territory xD

Ok, the green glow, the cursed arm, the ghost arm. What the hell is this (aside from the obvious substitute of the Sheikah slate) and why is it there?

There are small glimpses of it during the trailer, that the sky constructs seem to work with the same energy of the arm/seal of Ganon

(which, again, sheikah slate 2.0) but, why did it exist, why is just an arm what seals Ganon, and why does the depiction of the ancient hero show him with a glowy yellow hand? Is it their actual arm but with runes, or is it like a prosthetic?

Ok, so, my theory is that it is actually a sort of magic prosthetic. What if the ancient hero lost his arm for a specific reason, and the people that used this green magic (The Zonai maybe) not only gave him a new arm so that he could have two arms again, but for the explicit purpose of stopping and sealing Ganon. Something that seems it’s what’s going to happen to present time Link, the malice takes away his arm, and he gets it replaced by the seal arm.

Maybe, like with present Link, the reason Ancient hero lost his arm too was because of Ganon, but just not in a lost battle or something.

We’ve already seen on the first BOTW that each race and group of people, while living on the same period, they wear different and characteristic styles of clothing. Think the difference between the Hylians and Sheikah, the first wear a more medieval-european style of clothing (mostly) and the second it’s lightly inspired by traditional japanese (and the ninja theme). And when you look at the Gerudo, the Rito or the Zora (what little clothing they wear xD), again, it’s completely different from one another. So it’s not too wild to assume that maybe if Ancient hero and mummy Ganon have a similar clothing style, they were part of a same group. Which is curious because we know this Ganon is Gerudo, he wears gerudo symbols on jewels and clothing, and ancient hero was almost certainly Hylian, given what we know of him.

This could be because just like in Ocarina of Time Ganon feigns loyalty to the royal family of Hyrule to later seize power. OR, maybe it’s because (bear with me, I’m just having fun here xDD) ancient hero was part of Ganon’s army?

On the first trailer we could see a mural that shows someone marching on a horse, with long hair and the gerudo symbol on his back, followed by what looks like soldiers.

So it’s probably Ganon with his army traveling or conquering or other stuff. And maybe, Ancient hero was part of that army. What if, just like in the present Ganon’s malice takes away Link’s arm, Ganon took away Ancient hero’s arm?

Why tho? Well, maybe in his endless thirst for power, Ganon did something that collided with ancient hero’s morals, and he stood up to him?

(Sorry I’m using this one, but I don’t know how to better portray this idea. Also it’s much more juicy and dramatic if Link and Ganon were once friends xDD Just swap bravery for courage. Yes JKRO sucks for what she has said and done)

What if, at that moment, the triforce of courage showed on ancient hero’s hand (it has shown both in his right and left hand in diffferent games, so why not the right hand in this occassion), and Ganon, recognizing the threat, chopped off the ofending arm and left him for dead, prompting all the events that would lead to the sealing of the calamity?

Just a thought xDD

What do you think? Too far fetched? Maybe a bit of possibility? Will Zelda be allowed to DO STUFF INSTEAD OF HAVING TO EB RESCUED AGAIN??? Let’s see what Nintendo gives us, I can’t wait for 2022 to arrive!

[books-of-the-great-leviathan]

Chapter 10- Azare

***

Word came with the dawn: a missive under the swift flag, traveling from Lapide across Bellana's Arm.

An ill omen, Azare thought. He folded the paper once more and looked to the king. Daval faced the sea and an early morning sky slashed with red. Best to make plans by evening, when Bellana's exhausted her wrath for the day. Not morning, when she hasn't yet begun.

"Then it's done," Azare said.

"It's done." Daval's hands were clasped behind his back. He looked, in the dawn, like one of the statues along the sea walk, his handsome face expressionless. "Your assassin used the knife. The princess carries its curse. Now, all we must do is prepare."

"Queen Sofia Valere has killed your men. Taken Prince Alois as a war prisoner."

"As expected."

As expected. A phrase cold as the executioner's blow. He was as much a reason for their deaths as Daval, had schemed alongside his king for this precise result. Had he also expected triumph? No, his heart was too guarded for that, and Daval would not rest until Lapide was in chains at his feet. This was the first link, the first of many, and if it meant a triumphant Estara in the end, Daval would do far more than sacrifice his disappointing first-born son.

Estaran kings knew the power of sacrifice centuries ago when the splay of fresh entrails on stone wrote certain futures. This king had been preparing his own tithe for a long time, as long as it had taken him to realize his son was unfit to rule, to find a new queen and breed a new heir, one he could train without the interference of a strong-willed queen. Alois was far too much Margaux's son, and it had cost him. How we mock the innocent. Maybe once Azare had dreamed of more, but there was no room for doubt in him now, not at the crux of Estara's final victory.

Then why think of Margaux, her words rising thick and fast, like some ghost clung to his heart?

"You did well, Severin," Daval said. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Like I knew you would. And there's no breaking the curse?"

"No." Azare had overseen the tests conducted on prisoners in the deep war halls carved into the cliffs beneath the Tower. Black rooms, chains, the choked wheeze of dying men. Himself, striding between rows upon rows of cell doors, watching with eyes narrowed at the unnatural death that surrounded him. The whaleglass knife did more than wound; on the contrary, a wound inflicted by the knife would not kill. Not at first. It leached life, stealing piece by piece, sapping the strength of the victim until they became too weak to stand, too weak to crawl, wracked with pain and fear until they at last gave out. A cruel and lingering death.

Lapide's beloved princess would die that way, a young girl's life stolen, heart blackened and crystallized from the inside out.

He had done that. He had ordered that. He'd wrought that fate, as much as if he'd held the knife himself.

What would Margaux say? He saw the disgust on her face like she stood before him, not Daval. She would fly at him, all anguish and stinging words. He'd deserve every one.

For Estara, he told himself, for Estara, for Estara.

Lapide would crumble. There was no question. It would fall: first their queen and then her country, one after the next, like game pieces. Once they had, Daval would advance and sweep the board clean. No longer a sundered empire, but an Estaran empire, Daval Belmont at last reigning sovereign over all.

All it took was a knife, and a girl's heart to sheathe it in. All it took was Alois's life.

"Good." Daval faced him. A blast of sea wind swept the walk, ruffling Daval's gray-streaked hair. "Severin, I know you were always fond of my son. But you are loyal to me."

"Always."

"I hold that loyalty dear," Daval said. "And it grows more valuable than ever in the coming time. When my empire rises, so do you."

"I'm honored by your trust."

Daval clapped his hand to Azare's shoulder. "Alois is as good as dead. He's served his purpose, and now we must serve ours. You know that, don't you."

"Of course I do."

"As well as you know your place?"

"My place is as ever by your side."

His grip tightened on Azare's shoulder. "Come now, Severin," he said. "We both know that wasn't always true."

Azare took a slow breath. Daval's dark eyes were narrowed, full of steel and cold as the depths of the sea, where so many soldiers on both sides of this war had drowned. Azare could imagine Daval's next words like he was some witch, to whisper into being the thoughts of others.

Once, you were weak.

Once, you took more than you had the rights to.

Once, I know, something burned stronger for you than Estara.

Far below, waves crashed and boomed. Seabirds scattered on the high winds, pale scraps tossed against a bloody sky.

"The past is the past," Azare muttered, his voice rough.

"Is it," Daval said.

He released Azare's shoulder. It ached with the force of his grip. "Kneel."

Azare drew his Witchhunter's blade and sank to one knee, his head bowed. Another gust of salt wind swept past them both, drowning the memory of snowbloom, of what once might have devoured Estara from the inside out.

Let it stay there. Let it die there along with all my weakness, all my betrayals.

Once, he'd committed treason with a song in his heart.

He will kill us-

I don't care. Words that freed him, words that drowned him. How happily he'd let the waters close over his head. I don't care.

Alois's eyes were so like his mother's. Would they dull like the queen's had? Would he join her, wherever her ghost drifted, far from this world, far from Azare's reach? It was his only consolation to pray Bellana would embrace them both.

He offered his sword to his king. Daval made no move to take it, no move to use it on him. "Look at me," Daval commanded. Azare raised his head. "You know what must be done. For Estara. For all of us. More than one man. More than you, or me, or the dead. That is what matters. Legacy. Estara's legacy. The liberation of our people, an end to their suffering. They look to you as much as to me. And I will not see them bow to Lapide. Not now. Not ever."

Daval nodded, a hard jerk of his head. "Rise, Witchhunter."

Azare did, slowly. The sword in his hands caught the red gleam of the sky, and for a moment it seemed sheathed in blood. Alois's, the princess's- it was of no consequence. Daval was right. Estara was what mattered, the lives of the many, not those Azare clung so selfishly to.

He slid his sword home in its scabbard. "My king. I am at your command."

"Then come on, Sev, and show me how I'll win my empire," Daval said. "Take me to the dreadnoughts. "

Azare glanced to the ocean, to the warships visible at the edge of the sea border. Maybe Bellana's wrath had come after all.

Maybe this was her hand, as much as Daval's.

They left the sunrise for the shadowy depths of Pavaloir Tower- not the halls of politic and strategy, not the dead queen's gardens and the court strolling under martyr boughs, but deeper, through metal doors only the king's or Azare's presence could open. They descended long spills of stairs into echoing darkness. Around them, the air grew so cold Azare could see his breath in it. Trench-darkness, this place, no memory left of sunlight or sea wind. These halls were black stone so highly polished Azare's reflection walked, spectral, alongside him. Even the air seemed dead in these depths, windless and frigid, far from the sun and sky.

A shadow detached itself from the wall as they approached a pair of metal doors. A woman, in Witchhunter grays. Her curly black hair gleamed in the lamplight, a shade lighter than her Witchhunter uniform. It sprung in a halo about a pert, sly face, all tilted eyes and rounded edges nicked with scars. Ziva Lapin, Azare's second-in-command these seven years, and his soldier for longer still.

"Lieutenant Lapin," Azare said.

"Captain." She gave him a nod, then bowed low for Daval. "Your Majesty."

"I hear you've been overseeing construction while your captain and I discuss weddings," Daval said.

A grin hooked the corner of Ziva's mouth. "Weddings, wartime. Both make for a fine show folk nevertheless can't wait to see the end of. The work's nearly done, Majesty."

He clapped her on the arm. "That's what I want to hear, Lapin."

She pressed a control by the twin metal doors. They were plain steel studded with star-shaped bolts, set deep in within the Tower, far enough down the hiss and boom of the waves became a low, omnipresent roar in the walls, underfoot, in the air itself, in the pit of Azare's skull.

Gears ground in the walls, and the doors slid open. Inside was an iron cage, illuminated by a pair of lamps bolted to the walls, beaming harsh blue-white orklight.

Daval entered without hesitation. Ziva gave Azare a glance and an arched eyebrow. He nodded in assurance, then followed.

The doors slid shut, trapping them off from the black Tower depths. With a shudder and the high keen of machinery, the cage began its descent. Estaran engineers had made this place, Pavaloir's ancient Guild of Iron and its highest thinkers, alchemists and scholars and the makers of war machines, those who sought to rival even the warrior Saints in their potential for bloodshed. It was here the warships and spellfire bolts of the King's Navy were forged, here the witch-weave armor of its soldiers was born, providing protection against even the worst Lapide could do.

"What you are about to see, Majesty, is a work in progress," Azare began. "But I think the full scope will be apparent."

Daval shifted from foot to foot, back and forth, restless. "And the engines?"

"Refined ork-oil," Azare said. "Less volatile. A hundred times the power of impure crude. This armada will be unstoppable."

Gears caught, and the lift ground to a halt. The doors slid open, and forth came the smoky fumes of hot metal and ork-oil, the bitter sting of alchemic forges and spellfire. Daval strode onto the metal balcony. It looked down, and down, echoes lost in the roar of the forges below. Spellfire glowed the hot blue of a summer sky, illuminating the cavern heights of the War Hall.

These halls had been excavated from the vast natural sea caves beneath Pavaloir, their upper limits left raw and clustered with stalactites. Lower, a grid of stark light illuminated the forges, vast swells of riveted iron pouring forth tongues of spellfire, pouring forth armor. Sheets and plates of it, hammered to sheathe the flanks of the warships.

Warships, Azare thought. That was a weak word for what they were- there were no warships like these in all the oceans. Even half-built, their scaffolds standing naked and silhouetted black amidst cascades of welding sparks, they were monstrous, bows equipped with ramming spikes sized to impale sea-orks, hulls bristling with cannon-slits and armored niches for alchemic bolts. Each stood a hundred feet high in their berths, chained into place like fighting beasts. Countless technicians and machinists in Guild black hammered, and welded, and worked the forges, carrying steel to the spellfire to be made into yet more armor, more guns.

The Estaran fellfox snarled across each bow. Now, though, it held not a sword in its teeth, but Lapide's crown crushed between its jaws. This was no mere fleet, but an armada to forge empires.

"Bellana give me strength," Daval breathed.

He stepped to the edge of the railing, staring down at the warships. Two waited in this hall alone; there were two halls more. Six dreadnoughts in total, six warships equipped with enough firepower to blast Lapide from the map. Maybe with its queen at the head, Lapide might survive. It might gather its navy; it might find a way. Sofia Valere was a fellfox herself, a force to be reckoned with. But with the queen lain low, with her country reeling and raw, with Estara's assassin able to strike them to the heart, they could not hope to stand in Daval's way.

"How long?" Daval's eyes shone blue in the light of the forges. "How long until they're finished?"

"Weeks, Majesty," said Ziva. She cut her eyes to Azare, then away again, just as fast. "Weeks, and they'll be watertight. Ready to sail. Ready for your hand, your command. Ready to dance a pavane if that's what you want."

"And I'll be ready too." He looked to Azare. "You remember the parable of Bellana's Saints, Sev?"

"Of course I do." His father and Daval's alike had made well certain they knew Bellana's books, Bellana's word, written on their hearts as much as vellum.

"The Sky-Queen, trapped in her wars against the beasts of the deep ocean," Daval recited, soft and reverent. "Unable to break free of the horrors that beset her. So she reached out, and when she had reached far enough, she gave. Mortals, flesh given fire, as of the hearts of falling stars. Saints, made to fight in her stead against a sea of horrors, an unjust world. And they were as gods, using their holy fire in service of Bellana, yes, but moreso in service of those who were not given the same."

He lifted his head, bathed in the spellfire glow, in the heat shimmer and waiting death. He might have truly been Leaure, warrior Saint reborn, guided by the hand of Bellana herself.

All save for the look in his eyes. Azare watched him, watched the look in them, the longing, like a soldier's at sunrise. Like a child's. He remembered Daval as a boy. Both of them as boys, young and frightened and doing their best to hide it. Dust in their lungs, the sting of dawn as they stood at clifftop. The first cast of gold light over the waves.

Daval's eyes narrowed against the sunlight as he looked through it, past it. He had the same look now. The same longing.

Bellana's mercy. Such a long time.

"We'll be gods, Severin," Daval said, and laughed, softly. "Gods."

And Azare was back, and that sunrise was gone, and the years returned to him, and to Daval. He was right. Only gods could hate like them. Only gods could kill like they would, the seas turned red, not with dawn, but with blood, all the way to the horizon.

***

The Witchhunter training rooms occupied a flank of Pavaloir Tower, a single bastion spire that had housed the order of Witchhunters since the days of the Sundered Empire. The tower jutted overhead, casting dense shadow across the rooftops, its sharp finial visible through the high windows of the training rooms.

Echoing white halls, they rang this time of morning with the peal and scream of blade on blade, shouts and thuds as fists and wood connected with flesh. Azare had trained here, a boy with eyes narrowed in concentration, his father at his back as he and Daval sparred and clashed. Now Witchhunter cadets fought against each other, sweat darkening their white uniforms, higher-ranking Witchhunters who'd earned their grays patrolling to examine form or bark a command. All stopped to click heels as Azare and Ziva entered, dozens of heads bowed and hands clasped to hearts, weapons lowered, drills halted.

"Sir," cadets called, and Azare nodded, his eyes fixed straight. He felt pent-up, like some wild animal trapped to pace in its cage, and knew that if he spoke it would be to snap. He headed through the halls, searching for one sparsely occupied. He felt Ziva's presence needle at his back. She had a way of doing that, of making it known when she had more she wanted to say.

They reached a hall empty save for a pair of cadets drilling disarms. "On your way," Ziva commanded, and they bowed and marched out, poorly hiding their stares in Azare's direction.

Azare pulled loose the fastenings of his coat and slung it in a corner. He worked his arm- his right shoulder had a way of aching when summer came, an old injury pulling at his bones- and paced to the racks of weapons hanging on the far wall. It was a museum of war: blunted blades and training swords weighted with lead, thin snakeknives, wicked stiletto daggers in the Lapidaean style to better prepare recruits against their enemy's fighting techniques. Shields, too, bucklers and spellforged towers of metal, such that would shrug off rifle fire. Sabers and poleaxes and sword-breakers, even long whips, such as the fighting warrior-priestesses of Belamere used. Witchhunter recruits came from all across Estara's sister isles, and they brought their ways of killing with them.

Azare brushed his thumb to the hilt of a snakeknife. Not so ornate as Margaux's had been, not by half, but the shape was the same, the blade thin as a needle.

"Captain," Ziva called.

She stood opposite him. The morning sunlight poured through the west-facing windows, but where she and Azare stood, the room was bathed in shadow, still full of the night's chill. "You feel like hitting something?" she asked.

She held a pair of long staffs reinforced with steel, weighted to crack skulls. Her sleeves were rolled up, showing bare, muscular forearms gleaming like bronze in the sun. She spun the staffs and held one out. "I know I do."

Azare rolled up his own sleeves and nodded. She tossed a staff; he caught it, spun it, slammed its end into the ground. Chalk dust billowed.

"Remember not to leave your left side open," he called.

"Come now, sir. I haven't-"

He sprang before her sentence ended, whirling the staff; wood cracked against wood as Ziva caught his blow on the shaft between her hands. Her eyes sprang wide, then narrowed as a grin curled her lips. She shoved hard, throwing her weight against his. He was taller, but she had stability, and Azare threw himself back before she could shove him off balance.

Wood whirred; he looked up and jerked away as her staff flashed for his side. His left side, he noted wryly, batting her next strike away with his staff's off end. She paced, panting, a loose curl fallen over her forehead.

"What was that again, sir?" she said, puffing the strand away.

"You're gripping the staff too tight."

"Don't want to drop it on accident."

She jerked toward him: a feint. He jabbed back, connecting with flesh. She cried out, lashed out, real anger glinting in her eyes. Azare stumbled back, Ziva's attack a whirling onslaught of steel and wood and bared teeth. Azare ducked, dodged, dropped; his staff struck her ankle, and she half-tripped, attack interrupted. Enough. Azare brought his staff against her throat, wood kissing the skin of her neck.

Ziva jolted, chin raised, eyes wide. Sweat glistened on her brown skin. He felt the ferocious beat of his own heart, the ache in his shoulder; he hadn't realized how much it hurt until now.

"That was close," he said. "Almost got me."

"Almost, sir?"

Cold pricked through his shirt. Ziva's bared teeth became a grin. Azare glanced down: her plain bone-handled knife was out and poised under his last rib, angled upward toward his heart.

Azare gave a choked laugh, then lifted his staff and stepped back. "You win."

She sketched an elaborate bow. "I win."

"You're still gripping the staff too tight," he called, going to the spigot in the wall to drink and splash cold water through his hair. He let his breath out. The ache had leveled out around a deep pulse in his muscle, like a new bruise.

"Captain," Ziva said.

He looked round.

"Are you all right?"

There was a crease between her eyes, one she only got when she was worried over him. She did that too much.

"I'm fine."

Ziva eyed him, clearly disbelieving, then shook her head. "You look exhausted."

He wasn't the only one. Her skin had an ashen cast, the lines of her heart-shaped face gaunt. Again he felt that pull in his heart, like an old wound. "War does little for the complexion."

"What about victory?"

He didn't answer. She set her staff back in its stand and crossed to him. She reached out, as if for a strand of damp auburn hair that had fallen over Azare's face, then stopped, and pulled away. Azare saw the movement in her throat as she swallowed. "Saints, this is like a dream, isn't it? I can barely believe it."

She let out a laugh, wild as gull-cry. "It's a bloody miracle is what it is."

"I wouldn't call this a miracle."

Ziva's brows arched. "No? What else would you call it? I've seen so many soldiers die. So much Estaran blood fed to the waves."

She grinned. "The witch-queen brought low, and Lapide with her. I don't know what meter you have for miracles, but for me..."

Her dark eyes glowed, struck by the light slanting through the high windows. She took a sharp breath, lifting her face to the day. Her hand strayed to her side, to the plain knife, again sheathed. She always kept it at her fingertips. Its sweat-worn bone grip hardly matched her sleek Witchhunter grays. It didn't matter. Azare would no sooner tell her to stop wearing it than tell the sun to not rise with the dawn.

"So many years," she said. "So much lost. Everything I've fought for has been for this. Not for killing, sir, not for bloody Lapide. For us. For Estara. Everything we've fought for, bled for. Everything we've lost. To see Estara rise again."

What we've lost, Azare thought, studying her as she spoke, as she shifted her weight from foot to foot as if she itched to lunge back into combat. Ziva had lost more than most. Before becoming a Witchhunter, she was one of Estara's countless orphans in a plague of twenty-five years ago that had swept across the sister isles, sparing none it touched. She'd survived, a mere child, though her family had not. Daval's father had succumbed to that plague, leaving him the crown. A nation crying for vengeance was his inheritance. He was ready, and so was Ziva, hungry for her nation's victory, to grind Lapide into the dirt.

For all it had stolen.

For all it had taken away.

For all it had killed in its cradle, killed before it began.

"Everything we've fought for," Azare murmured.

Ziva looked at him again, and this time didn't avert her eyes. Azare wanted- it didn't matter. There was work to be done. And there was his own weak heart, his own shame. He could not sling that weight onto Ziva's back. How would she look at him if she knew the truth?

Not like this. Not with sunlight in her eyes.

She smiled with that fishhook of a grin. "You really do look tired, Captain," she said, and reached for his face, her fingertips light on his skin.

He caught her hand before she could touch him. He felt the way he trembled, and hated it, this part of himself he couldn't control. Azare closed his eyes. He felt Ziva's pulse through her wrist, pressed tight to his.

What are you waiting for? Margaux had whispered once as they'd danced slow and close in candlelit dark. Lips, and mingling breath, and ache, then and now. What are you waiting for, Severin?

What did he wait for now? The end of the war? Daval's empire? A dead woman, bones in a tomb?

Azare opened his hand. Ziva pulled away from him, head bowed. He would wait forever if he had to. Only if Estara sank beneath the waves would he betray his duty again.

For Estara, he vowed, turning from his lieutenant. There was no pull in his heart this time, and  his ghosts at last stayed silent.

[tf-vigilante]

A better life

Hi guys ! After years of reading exciting stories from other authors, I decided to start writing by myself. English is not my native language so I'm sorry if I make mistakes. Feel free to comment, react and make suggestions for the future ! Any feedback is appreciated.

________________________________________________

My existence and my origins are a mystery. For most people I do not really exist... I think that I am more a power that has become consciousness by itself, an entity whose purpose is to transform, to make the world as it should be, or rather as I wish it to be. I am particularly powerful to transform men into what they deserve. I take pleasure in trapping them, punishing them by transforming them into another version of themselves. But not often the one they would like...

Will (on the left) and Dan (on the right) had decided to work out together at the local gym that evening. They had been buddies since high school and now in college theyr were the two kings of their little town. Popular and charismatic, they were also arrogant, disdainful, true bullies and terribly homophobic.

I watched, invisible and ethereal like a ghost, the two young men doing their workout. Then I followed them to their car, thinking about how to use my powers over them. With malice I took possession of the car radio to talk to them directly with a robotic voice.

Good evening gentlemen, I will now cancel your status as an oppressive alpha male in order to restore peace and balance in your environment.

“What the fuck is that ?” asked Dan while driving. 

“I fuckin dunno bro. “ answered Will. “I’ll turn it off !” He tried, in vain. 

You are not allowed to stop the process. I detect that most of your pride comes from your muscles and athletic habits... starting physical changes... starting reality adjustment...

Suddenly the two friends could feel a wave of weakness running through their bodies. With painful creaks, their bodies began to shrink, both in muscle and size. Years of gains form working out disappeared. I mischievously watched the biceps, abs and pecs diminish in volume. The muscles were deflating like balloons and the bones were cracking.

“What’s happening ? Dude stop the car !” The poor Will was looking at his now thin arms, horrified and on the verge of crying. Funny how it is easy to break strong and fearless boys with that simple change... 

“I... can’t... need to drive back home...” Dan was the dumbest of the two. I could force him to continue drving without breaking a sweat. I’m a nice spirit, his car seat came closer to the steering wheel by itself to allow him to drive even with his smaller body. Talking about the car, it also had to change. The boys were too focused on their bodies to realize that the car interior was also smaller to suit their future life. The loud black Jeep soon transformed into a cute blue Fiat 500. In the back of the car, the two gym bags vanished without a trace. In mere seconds, their sportswear changed into casual clothes, a simple t-shirt and jean shorts. Then I took a break in the changes for the rest of the drive back home, leaving them shocked, lost, screaming in fear for the loss of their precious pride...

20 minutes later, they arrived at Dan’s small flat. Will ran to the bathroom to see the damages in the mirror. I followed Dan in his living room / bedroom. It was a stereotypical jock room : messy with stuff and clothes everywhere. This wouldn’t do for my projects for them. I took control of the TV and turned it on. I appeared on the screen as a handsome news presenter

Tonight our guest is Daniel ! But I’m affraid he doesn't deserve any applause for his disgusting flat. I am committed to turning this into the perfect love nest. What do you think of that?

Terrified, Daniel unplugged the TV and my face disappeared from the screen, which turned black again. But the mischief was done, and soon the whole flat grew larger with extra rooms and much cleaner. Photos of the two young men appeared at some places. Fearing a mental breakdown of my two subjects, I instantly change their reality. They are now living together under the same roof. Daniel knew something was wrong. In his mind, a part of him was screaming to run, to flee before it was too late... But he couldn’t. 

Will came out from the bathroom, confused and demoralised. They looked into each other's eyes and the magic took effect. The two young men were captivated and mesmerized by this sight. Their homophobic personalities were fighting against new feelings for each other. Daniel suddenly felt the need the need to reassure his friend :

“I’m so sorry I don’t know... how to reverse this...” He was about to stop talking but words came by themselves “Babe come into my arms it will make you feel better...”

As they were getting closer and closer, I could feel their willingness to resist. Daniel was already asking himself why he called his buddy “Babe”. They were slowly starting to become a cute couple I told myself when they started cuddling. 

Their homophobic beliefs were infuriated and disgusted by this scene. But they were slowly fading, already in passenger seat of the boys’s life. I turned my attention more specifically to Will. He was the worst of the two in his previous life. I needed to make sure to break his spirit. In Daniel’s arms, Will or should I call him Willy now, started to feel more sumbmissive and dependent on Daniel. Before meeting them, him and Daniel were both 23 yo. I took 5 years of age from Willy to gave them to Daniel. Now Willy was 18 yo and Daniel 28. 

Willy was a teenager who just graduated from high school but he was madly in love with Daniel for a year already. He moved in with his boyfriend only last week. I gave Willy a beta male personality, seeking guidance, attention and security from his boyfriend. Daniel worked as a chef in a local restaurant now...

They kissed with fondness and passion for quite a while. I was proud of my first achievement with this cute couple. Willy moaned with pleasure when he felt his boyfriend’s beard stubble on his neck. 

“I will cook us a nice meal for dinner honey.” Said Daniel with kindness.

“Can I stay with you ? I love watching you cooking !” answered Willy with a much higher voice than before. Shrinking his adam apple was a nice addition for him. 

“Of course my little koala. Come here...” 

Willy then lowered his hand under his boyfriend’s underwear and started to jerking off the hairless dick. “Mmm a little Willy will have a tasty whipped cream for dessert...” continued Daniel with a sensual voice.

I left them at their new life. Some straight remnants in their minds were still fighting but they wouldn’t for long. I liked leaving them knowing that by my powers they became the kind of men they hated. But the world will be a better place with Daniel and Willy than with Dan and Will... 

[bleachanimefan1]

The Song of the Titan

Chapter Nine!,

In a secret room of the castle, Belos stood in front of the repaired door of the human realm, that he had managed to salvage and recover. He ordered an abomaton to turn on a switch and it did as it was told. Glowing green goo flowed down from the pipes of the machine and headed towards the door, powering it up. Belos took out a handmade key and stuck it into the keyhole.

It disintegrated almost immediately as soon as he turned it. Hidden in a corner, behind the emperor, Hunter quietly watched, curious about the portal. Lil rascal had managed to sneak into the room as well and landed on Hunter's shoulder and let out a small chirp.

"Shoo!" Hunter brushed his hand to get the cardinal to leave.

"Would you like to see how this works, Hunter?" Belos called out. Hunter gasped and went tense. He had heard him. The cardinal went ridged and turned to wood and Hunter quickly put the bid inside his cloak, hiding it. Hesitantly, Hunter stepped out approaching Belos.

"I didn't mean to hide, Emperor Belos," He murmured.

"We found every piece of the door, but without the power of the real key, it refuses to open," He told him.

"Is true that rain doesn't boil in the human realm?" Hunter asked. Belos turned to Hunter with a surprised look.

"It is. But, how did you know that?" He asked, smiling.

"I ran into the other human the other day. She told me," Hunter told him. He saw his uncle's smile immediately drop. Hunter immediately shifted his gaze away from Belo's cold and dark eyes as they stared intensely down at him. Hunter nearly jumped as he felt his uncle's fingers tuck under his chin, tilting his head up, making Hunter look at him.

"Hunter, I need you to promise me that you won't see that human girl again." Hunter's eyes widen a little as he stared up at Belos confused.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"She is a bad influence, especially since she's hanging around with the owl lady, learning about wild magic," His uncle told him. "She's dangerous, so promise me that you will stay from her."

"I-...I promise, Emperor Belos," Hunter said, his eyes dropping a little as he looked down.

"Don't make that face, you know how I feel about that, Hunter."

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Hunter replied.

"You know I've been there before, the human realm, did I ever tell you that?" Below asked, immediately changing the subject. Hunter looked back at him, and shook head. Belos had a soft smile on his face.

"The trees they're green, nights are quiet," He told Hunter. "I look forward to seeing it again." Then he turned Hunter as he walked down the stairs with him. "Were you spying on me just to hear these boring stories?"

"The operation at the knee, why did you switch me out with Kikimora?" Hunter questioned. Belos smiled.

"Everyone has a use, Hunter. Kikimora has her intricate little plans, the scouts carry out orders, and you, well..." He wrapped his arm around Hunter, placing his hand on Hunter's shoulder as they continued walking down the stairs. "The Titan has BIG plans for you and it would be such a hassle to try and find an replacement." Hunter's eyes widened. He was going to be replaced? No! He worked so hard to get where he was! If he was replaced then what use would he be? He wouldn't be able to help his Uncle.

"So right now you can be useful by staying "safe" here in the castle," Belos told him as he led Hunter out.

"If this is punishment for failing my last mission, I swear that I can do better!" Hunter insisted.

"Good night, Hunter," Belos smiled, closing the door.

Hunter stood in front of the door for a minute, before making his decision. He was going to help his uncle, no matter what happens. He had to prove that he wasn't a failure...not again.

Hunter turned around and ran, heading straight to his room and dropped off Lil' rascal. The little bird made a confused chirp as it looked at Hunter.

"I'll be back," Hunter told the cardinal palisman. "Just STAY here and don't be seen. I have to do this on my own."

As he turned around to leave, Hunter heard the small red bird began chirping frantically before he saw Lil' rascal beginning to fly straight towards him. Quickly, Hunter shut the door, before Lil' rascal could get out. It nearly broke his heart hearing the frantic and coming from the small bird as it heard it pecking and clawing the door.

Hunter shook his head, making up his mind and quickly grabbed a coven's scouts uniform as a disguise. So no one would recognize him, since his own had been eaten and was getting the uniform and mask fixed and replaced. He put the scout's clothes and cloak on and left the castle, heading to the Knee.

Back at the owl, Amity was prepping and fortifying the security of the house. She walked past the window, seeing Hooty outside.

"Hooty, what's your status?" Amity asked.

"The perimeter is secure nothing's getting past me!" The owl beast told her as he broke the window, coming in.

"Good! Clean up that mess," Amity smiled.

"Ma'am!" Booty saluted. He sweeped the broken glass aside, using his neck. Amity walked into the living room to see Willow coming in and placed some groceries on the table.

"Willow have you gathered the supplies?" Amity asked.

"Yes! We're ready to attack this at all fronts!" Willow told her.

"Excellent!" Amity smiled. A small white car walked over to her. Amity bent down petting the cat. "Aw, Ghost, did you help, too? Who's a good palisman! Great, now all we is-"

"Rain? Beach wave?" Gus suggested as he and King walked up behind the two girls.

"Something called "Lo-fi beats to study and relax to." We've got it all!" King shouted.

"Eda was rummaging through her basement and gave us these soothing human noises!" Gus explain.

"That's, great," Amity replied. "Wait, Eda's still here? Eda you're supposed to be helping Hooty build up our defenses." Then she heard Eda scream.

Amity walked into a room to see, Eda screaming loudly at nothing, while Azara and John watched in amusement. "Whoo! Don't mind me, I'm just learning how to turn into Harpy Eda on demand. According to this human workout, you just got to scream a lot until you forced your inner beast out." Eda said.

"Eda, this is a cartoon," Azara told her. "Of course, it's not going to work."

"Gee, you just love to suck the fun out of everything, do ya kid?" Eda teased.

"This looks ancient," Amity replied picking up the tape.

"What? No! You're telling me-Thirty years old? I remember seeing this in theaters," Era frowned.

"Yes, you're old. Who cares? We have a crisis on our hands!" Amity exclaimed.

"Chill bossy boots. Everything's fine," Era reassured her. Amity gestured Eda to follow her, along with Azara and John as she walked them to Luz's room, opening the door.

"Does THIS seem fine to you?!" Amity asked gesturing over to Luz.

"It's like I have snake for arms!" Luz exclaimed, as she wildly waved her arms in the air at nothing. Luz's hair was a mess and she was inside of a sleeping bag. Her nose was red and her eyes looked blood shot and tired. She was sick.

"Please, she just has the common mold," Eda explained. "it's harmless."

"But, she's a human," Amity said, worried. "We have no idea how this will affect her!"

"If I eat the portal key, would I return to the human realm?" Luz questioned. Azara's eyes widen.

"Luz, no!" she tried to stop her. Luckily, Amity made a small abomaton and it quickly took the key from Luz, walking away, and gave it to Amity.

"I am not giving this back until you are better, okay?" Amity told her. Luz whined and took out a small device that looked like a tomagachi and started to type something on it. Amity had one as well as it pinged. She looked at it seeing the strange emojis, not understanding them.

U R PRETTY...

"Uh, you got it!" Amity smiled and winked at Luz. Luz stared at her confused and disappointed as she closed the door.

"I got to admit, Amity, seeing you around more often is different, " Willow told her as Gus, King and her approached the them.

"I know but I was taught to see every situation as an opportunity," Amity told them. "And today I am going to show Luz that I am an awesome girlfriend!"

"Feels like is it a few months ago you almost got her dissected by your crazy principal," King pointed out.

"She did what now?" Azara asked, interested. Amity blushed and looked away.

"That was a few months ago," Gus added. Suddenly, everyone jumped as they heard Luz scream.

"AAH!" They quickly opened the door to see Luz frantically grabbing a pen and paper. "Luz!"

"Mouse! Uh, Philip's dairy entry!" Luz exclaimed, frantically. They saw the echo mouse projecting something on the wall, in black and white, like an movie from an old film reel. Azara a strange man dressed in weird clothes that looked like from the 16th century. His hair was tied up in a pony tail and had two long strands of hair hanging from his face.

"After five years, I have finally found it. A power source so potent it can pierce through realms, Titan's blood. There are old tales of lakes reflecting green trees and blue skies. The Titan's veins run through the land and many believe that these wild portals are created when a little of It's blood leaks into the water. That is how I came here, so that is the first place I shall look. I will journey back to Eclipse Lake."

"I have to go to Eclipse Lake!" Luz shouted as she finished the drawing the location down and quickly got up, practically jumping out the door. Willow and Gus quickly caught her, dragging Luz back inside the room, putting her back into the sleeping bag.

"Luz, no! You are not well!" Willow told her.

"She is shockingly strong!" Gus added.

"Alright, Luz. Me and King will get your Titan blood," Eda told her. "if you just calm down."

"Yes! Perfect chance to take our new powers for a test drive!" King cheered.

"You guys are the best!" Luz smiled. She handed Eda the paper, however it looked like it had some snot on it as well. Eda cringed in disgust and took it, holding the map in front of her, walking away.

"You might want to get that disinfected," Azara chuckled.

"I volunteer as well, as Luz's girlfriend, I must -" Amity immediately volunteered, following after Eda.

"I get, Boots. Just grab a coat," Eda told her.

"I'm coming too!" Azara replied.

"Well, if you're coming, you're going to have to wear boots. Where we are going is cold and I can't afford to have another sick kid on my hands," Era told her.

"Fine," Azara pouted but agreed.

"I'm coming as well!" John shouted. Azara frowned and shook her head.

"No, you're not. You're staying here," she told him. John whined.

"You're not the boss of me!" he complained. Azara smirked.

"Actually I am, since mom's not here," she reminded him. "Therefore, I am in charge of you." She approached him and bent down to his level. "And if YOU get into trouble, "I" get into trouble, and WE don't want that, do we now?" John pouted, crossing his arms, before sticking out his lips.

"Fine," he replied.

"I need you help look after Luz, okay?" Azara smiled. John nodded his head, understanding.

"Willow, Goops, watch after Luz," Eda told the two. "She thinks she has snakes for arms." Willow and Gus looked back at Luz who had her arms in the air before she noticed them and hissed.

High above, on a snowy mountain, Kikimora and the coven scouts were digging around outside in the ruins of an abandoned mine.

"Dig faster, scouts!" Kikimora ordered.

"Kikimora, these tunnels are unstable, maybe we should slow down?" One of the scouts suggested.

"Not now, captain. This could be my last chance to show Belos what I can do! And I just know that brat golden guard will try to spoil it!" Kikimora said. "Hey Steve! Jump over that chasm before I throw you into it!"

"She's getting so paranoid," the captain shook her head.

Not too far off, from the scouts, Hunter was hiding behind a tree as he watched them. He leaned back against the tree and pulled back the hood his cloak, only to be startled as he saw the cardinal palisman right there next to him.

"Why do keep following me?!" Hunter hissed. "How did you even get out!?"

I'm.....h#r% to h#lp! Lil rascal chirped. Hunter frowned as he looked at the bird.

"I don't speak palisman," He replied then continued to explain his plan to the bird. Lil rascal was nodding his head the entire time, listening.

"Here's the plan, I slip in with this disguise, I find the Titan blood before Kiki, I give it to Belos. Boom! I'm useful again!" Hunter smiled. It suddenly dropped as Hunter heard one of the abomatons fired in his direction. He and Lil rascal quickly ducked and took cover as the blast exploded the tree that they were hiding behind. Hunter gulped nervously and quietly crawled way before the scouts noticed him. That blast almost blew his head off!

"Ma'am, is everything alright?!" The captain asked. Kikimora's eyes narrowed with a dark glare.

"I just thought I heard an annoying voice!" She hissed.

"Uh, another way in! We'll find another way in!" Hunter stammered, nervously. He ran got up and ran away while Lil rascal rode on top of his head. Lil rascal 's eyes widened as it sensed something nearby and happily chirped.

Hunt*& Th%$ #ay!

Hunter stopped and saw the cardinal land on a branch in a tree and walked over. His eyes widen in surprise to see Eda, King and Amity, approaching.

"The owl lady and her dog and is that the youngest Blight?" He questioned to himself. Then his eyes noticed a familiar pair of green eyes as he saw Azara walking with them as well. Hunter's eyes widen and he had almost fallen off from the steep slope, slipping on a small patch of ice, as soon as he saw her. He nearly lost his breath and felt his cheeks burn as he felt strange feeling in his chest. Hunter's heart began to beat faster, watching Azara as she and the others got closer. Her again!?

"This place is crawling with tools! What gives?!" King asked.

"Titan blood is the most powerful source of magic on the Isles. I'm not surprised Belos wants it too," Eda explained.

"Well, we can't afford to mess this up," Amity said. "Luz is counting on me! I mean, us!" She blushed.

"Well, as soon as we find this Titan's blood the sooner I can get out of these boots!" Azara complained. She was shaking her feet as she walked along side them. Eda and King laughed.

"She's like a small cat!" Eda chuckled. Azara frowned, as her cheeks turned red, embarrassed.

"I heard that!" she yelled out.

"Alright, new plan," Hunter smiled. "They can lead us to the Titan blood."

Lil rascal stared at Hunter for a minute before he lunged out and pulled on Hunter's strand of hair.

I'm doing Th&$ for you# #wn &ood!

"Hey! Hey! AH!" Hunter screamed and he lost his balance falling right in front of the group. He groaned as he sat up. That little sh-

"A coven scout!" Amity exclaimed. Hunter's eyes widen underneath the mask as he looked up at the group. Eda and Amity had their staffs ready and pointed at him.

"Uh, yes, I am but a humble scout and I surrender," Hunter surrendered holding his hands up. Azara's eyes widen, recognizing the voice.

"Heh, that was easy!" King smiled. Eda narrowed her eyes at the strange scout in front of them.

"Not so fast, King. Don't you recognize that annoying voice?" She asked.

"Why does everyone say that?" Hunter replied, sadly. He quickly took off, running away, trying to escape.

"Don't let him get away!" Eda shouted. Amity made some abomaton goo fly out of her flask with a wave of her finger. It shot out, wrapping around Hunter, knocking him off of his feet, and he flipped over, falling down to the ground. His mask had fallen off, as well, revealing his face. The group walked up, looking down at him.

"This is none other than-"

"Hello, Hunter!" Azara smirked.

"Wait, you know him?!" Eda asked, confused.

"Yeah, he's the guy I've been telling you guys about." Azara told them.

"Well, did you know that he's Belos right hand man?" Eda frowned. "I thought I told you to stay away from them!"

Azara smiled sheepishly, shrugging her hands.

"The golden guard!" Amity gasped. "He is a lot scrawnier than I've imagined." King laughed.

Hunter growled and glared up at them.

"Did I do it? Did I go into harpy mood?" Eda asked, excitedly, busting through a wall of ice.

"No, you just screamed "Hoot!" and ran head first into a wall of ice," King told her as he walked into the mines from the hole Era had made, along with Amity, Hunter and Azara, "It was pretty funny actually."

"You can put down your staff, I won't run," Hunter said.

"Too bad, because I don't trust you," Amity answered, still pointing her staff at him.

"Huh? This stuff is old," Eda commented the old abandoned mining equipment that was left behind, lying about near them.

"Ancient witches used to mine the veins for titan blood-" Hunter tried to explain.

"They're not listening," Azara told him.

"Go on, fire it! Maybe the adrenaline will kick in and bam! Harpy Eda!" Eda insisted. King jumped on top of the mine drill, getting ready to activate it.

"Sounds perfectly safe!"

"Wait! Don't!-" Hunter tried to warn them. But, King had already activated the drill and it unleashed a blast of magic. It barely missed Eda and started to ricochet off the walls bouncing around wildly like a ping pong ball!

"This isn't a normal cave! These walls are made from the veins of the Titan any magic that you shoot will bounce right back at you!" Hunter shouted.

"Oh, you must be fun at parties," Eda teased. She turned back to King. "Hey, King How about you use your new power to echo-locate the lake?"

"Okay!" He jumped off the drill running to the tunnel in front of them. King opened his mouth and let out a sonic blast. There was silence, then King turned around to them, shrugging his hands.

"Nothing," he replied.

"These two are definitely going to get us caught," Hunter frowned.

"Us?" There is no us! Now, keep walking," Amity said.

As they started to head deeper into the mines, walking further in, Azara stopped when she heard a voice whisper in her ear.

Azura...

Azara eyes widened and she wildly began looking around.

"Who said that?" She asked.

"Who said what?" Amity asked. The others stopped, as well seeing Azara looking around at nothing. They stared with confused looks on their faces.

"We didn't say anything, kid." Eda told her. She frowned seeing the uneasy look on Azara's face. "Is there something wrong?"

Azara shook her head. "It must have been my imagination. Let's just hurry."

"Oh hey, look! People died here." King added. Everyone gasped as they saw a couple of skeletons lying on the ground.

"Okay, this is getting too creepy. Let's just find that Titan blood and get out of here." Amity said.

"Maybe, it's the lost souls of the witches who died here in the mines?" Eda joked. "And now they're angry that their tomb is being disturbed!"

"Eda! You're not helping!" Azara shouted. "I know that I heard someone! They said Azura..."

"Azura? You mean, the the good witch Azura?" King asked and chuckled. "But, she is just some storybook fantasy. She's not real!"

"I know what I heard..." Azara replied.

"Maybe, you're crazy," Hunter sneered and commented. Azara frowned, looking at him.

"Alright, let's just keep going," Amity told them. "Hearing voices is never really a good sign. Let's just find that Titan's blood then get out."

"You know, Luz told me about her trip to Latissa, where she met someone very interesting," Eda explained as they walked further into the mines. "A beat-up blond with no magical powers. She called him and these are her words, "A bad but sad boy," She snorted as she finished and chuckled. Hunter cheeks and ears turned red, blushing, embarrassed.

"If I ever see that human again," He muttered.

"Hey, watch it!" Amity warned him as she narrow her eyes.

"At least I'm not delusional to think that I can turn into a harpy!" Hunter retorted. Eda turned around and hissed.

"Hey, come on, give it a rest, you two!" King said, although he looked amused at the fight between.

"Yeah, listen to your rat," Hunter replied.

"Whee!" King screeched angrily and jumped off of Eda, pulling on Hunter's hair.

Suddenly, Amity shushed them telling to be quiet. She motioned them to take cover and they did. Everyone saw Kikimora, along with two abomatons and two coven scouts had made their way into the mines, too.

"Why are we stopping?" Kikimora demanded. "Is it the golden guard?!"

"No, ma'am, this is a dangerous area," the captain told her. "We need to move carefully."

"Careful takes too long! My butt is on line!" Kikimora shouted. "And so help me Titan, if you ruin this, I will throw you off of the peak of the tallest knee with a smile!"

"She definitely has issues," Azara cringed.

"That poor girl is going through something," Eda commented.

"She's also blocking the path to Eclipse Lake," Amity added and pointed ahead.

"We should create a distraction," Hunter replied.

"We should create a distraction!" Eda shouted. "You kids wait for my signal!" She and king jumped over the edge, getting into place to create a plan.

"Ha, that was easy! When they're caught, you two and I can take the Titan blood for ourselves," Hunter said as he leaned against an old mining machine.

"Stop talking like we're a team!" Amity shouted.

"Why not just quit the emperor's coven and come with us?" Azara asked. Hunter's and Amity's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you kidding me?" Amity asked in disbelief. Hunter chuckled and sneered.

"That's an attempting offer, but no thanks," he replied.

"Better than being miserable." Azara commented.

"I never said anything about being miserable," Hunter frowned, looking away from her.

"But you are, aren't you?" Azara asked. "Why can't you just admit that you need help?"

"I..Don't..Need..Help," Hunter replied, coldly, as he narrowed his eyes at Azara. She sighed.

"Everyone needs help every once in awhile," Azara told him. Amity stared at the two in silence with a disbelief look on her face.

"This is crazy," Amity said, shaking her head. "I am not working with the emperor's coven just because you two have a crush on each other."

"WE DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON EACH OTHER!" Hunter and Azara yelled at the same time. The two blinked and looked at each other.

"But we might as well work together," Hunter replied. "The owl lady and her pet have nothing at stake unlike us."

"You have no idea what you're talking-" Amity's tomagatchi bleeped in her coat pocket, interrupting her. "I was going to say, you have no-" It bleeped again. Hunter and Azara stared at her, blinking and raised their eyes staring into the witch's pocket. Amity huffed and turned around, her back facing them, and pulled out the device. Azara walked closer peeking over Amity's shoulder. She saw strange emojis on the screen but couldn't understand them. She was never really any good with that kind of stuff, it was from confusing.

"Oof, that doesn't look good," Hunter replied reading over Amity's shoulder. Amity jumped as she saw Hunter and and Azara behind her. She glared at Hunter.

"Stay back!" She demanded. He stepped away as she wanted. Amity frowned, wondering what he had meant. "But, what doesn't look good?"

"Seems clear to me, come back with results or else....you can figure out the rest," he told her.

"That doesn't sound right," Azara replied. "That doesn't sound like something Luz would do."

"No, Luz wouldn't make that kind of threat." Amity agreed, shaking her head. "I'm an awesome girlfriend!"

"Has she told you that?" Hunter asked. "We have a lot in common, Blight. We both trying to show what we can bring to the table. And we can't fail cause there's nothing worse than disappointing someone who thinks you are special." he finished. Azara stared at him, silently.

Amity bit her lip and looked down, with an uncertain look on her face.

Suddenly, a blast of purple magic bounced near Kikimora and the scouts. The abomatons deployed a shield to protect them.

"Why didn't you wait for our signal?!" Eda called out as she and King, ran to catch up with Hunter, Amity and Azara, heading straight into the tunnel ahead of them to Eclipse Lake.

"We don't have time to play around! We are getting that titan blood!" Amity shouted.

As they ran, Amity's tomagachi had fallen out from her pocket and landed on the ground. Kikimora spotted it and picked it up, inspecting the device with a crazed look in her eyes.

AS the group walked down the tunnel, the cardinal palisman had been following them the entire time, unnoticed by them. Lil rascal landed on Hunter's shoulder and made a small chirp.

"Hey, find a different perch, bird," Hunter replied, shrugging his shoulder. Lil rascal flew off of him. At the end of the tunnel, everyone walked out to see some strange dried up crystallized dark blue liquid surrounding all over the room.

"Is this titan's blood?" Eda asked.

"But, Eclipse Lake is farther ahead," Amity said, confused, checking the map again.

"Who cares!? We did it!" King shouted. Eda and King began to approach it.

"STOP!" Hunter shouted. "That's fools blood. Don't touch it!"

"Oh, so you can keep it all for yourself?" Eda smirked. "Pfft! Hard pass!" She slammed the end of her staff into the crystal. It cracked and suddenly the ground began to shake beneath them, before ripping open giving away under their feet. Eda and King fell into the huge chasm below.

"No!" Amity and Azara cried out. Amity was about to hop onto her staff to go after them but Hunter stopped her.

"Wait! Take me with you!" he shouted.

"Yoo hoo! Golden guard!" The three heard Kikimora call out, getting closer to them.

"Can you at least untie me so I can escape?!" Hunter insisted. "Please, I don't want to be replaced."

"Fine!" Amity groaned. She waved her finger and released the goo from Hunter, freeing him. Hunter stretched his arm as she glanced behind her, seeing the shadows getting closer. "So, where will you go now?"

"Now..." Hunter sweeped his leg and knocked Amity and Azara off of their feet, knocking to the ground. He ran and hopped into a mine cart and wheeled off. "I get to Eclipse Lake before anyone! BYEEEE!"

"That little-!" Azara growled as she got up.

"That jerk!" Amity shouted, angry as well. Just as the two were about to get up, a spear pointed at their faces. The two girls froze as they saw Kikimora and the coven scouts in front of them.

"Would you look at this, captain?" Kikimora said "We find our little fire starter." Then she noticed Azara, and glared at her. "YOU! You will pay for blinding me!"

"Well, you shouldn't have walked so blindly to my trap," Azara scoffed. "Some coven scout leader you are."

"Silence!" Kikimora shrieked angrily. The abomatons aimed their cannons at Azara, ready to fire. Azara's widened and she gulped. She stared at the end of the cannon, glaring up at Kikimora. "But, after a deal with another little pest. Then I'll deal with YOU!" The abomatons lowered their arms. Azara felt a sudden relief rush over her as they did.

"So, the golden guard is also looking for titan's blood and he took off to Eclipse Lake," Kikimora said. "I knew it! That little snake is always making me look bad. Well, now I can get my revenge!"

"Ma'am, what about the Titan blood?" The captain asked.

"Oh, yes, I'll get that too," Kikimora replied. "This is going to be a good day!"

"What should we do with these two?" The captain asked.

"Oh, I don't care," Kikimora replied. The two abomatons transformed into carts and she rode in one, as well as the other scouts as they went after Hunter. The captain aimed her spear at Amity and Azara.

"So, did you come with anyone else or...Ugh! This is boring!" she picked up Amity and tossed her into the cavern.

"Amity!" Azara cried out. She felt the captain push her as well as she kicked Azara into the hole. Amity and Azara screamed as they fell down into the dark depths. Suddenly, several hands grabbed the two girls, catching them. Eda and King pulled them up as they hang on tightly onto Owlbert. Amity quickly grabbed onto the tomagachi, catching it, just before it fell as well.

"Guys, you're okay!" Amity said in relief.

"Just barely," Era told her. "Owlbert's knocked out so we can't fly."

"I'm just like throwing it out there, but, this would be a great time to bring out harpy Eda!" King said.

"I don't know how! I tried yelling at it, scaring it-" Everyone gasped as they saw Owlbert was starting to crack.

"Did you ever think about talking to it?" King asked.

"Ha! I-I guess I didn't, but it's a wild animal," Eda said unsure.

"You thought I was a wild animal, once," King commented.

"Okay, I'll try. Just give me a second," Eda agreed. "What?! You want to make a deal? I-I don't know if I can." Owl was beginning to crack more as a large crack appeared on it's head. "Okay, okay, I'll do it! Just change NOW!" Her eyes turned black and golden irises appeared.

"Haha! Yes!" Eda cheered as she flew out of the pit in her Harpy form, carrying Amity, King, and Azara.

"What did you promise to do?" Azara asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Eda told her.

"I can't wait to see a real life mine cart chase!" King exclaimed, excitedly.

As they reached the end of the mine tunnel, everyone had saw that Kikimora and the other scouts had gone off the rails and crashed.

"Ooh..." Everyone cringed.

"I guess mine cart chases are a lot more dangerous than videogames make them seem." King commented.

"There it is!" Amity pointed out.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Eda as she was caught by an abomaton. The captain of the coven scouts got up.

"I don't know who you freaks are, but that blood belongs to Kikimora!" she yelled. The abomaton slammed Eda to the ground with the others.

"Get to the lake!" Eda shouted, telling them to go on. "I'll take care of-" The abomaton pulled Eda away from them and slammed her into the wall.

"Eda!" King cried out in worry. Azara grabbed him and ran after Amity. The captain of the scouts threw a spear at them but Eda caught it and snapped it with her hand, breaking it in half. She turned to the captain and smirked.

"Alright owl beast, let's see what we can do!" Eda flew up high into the air and began spinning around as she corkscrew straight towards the captain.

Azara caught up to Amity and looked ahead to see a large crater of what appeared to be a pool in front of her. However, it was dried up and there was no Titan's blood. The trees that surround the pit were dried up as well as roots extended all over the area. She froze as she saw Hunter, desperately digging in the dirt.

"Don't worry, I won't pick a fight," He told them. "There's no titan blood."

"Then why are you digging?" Amity asked. Azara eyes widened as she saw Hunter turned around. His eyes looked a little off and a little crazed. Great, she was dealing with a crazy person. This guy was literally digging his own grave.

"It's simple really. Belos needs Titan's blood, to make a new portal key. Can't get to the human realm without it," Hunter explained.

"There's blood in the key?" Amity questioned. Azara's eyes widened in surprise. This trip had been for nothing! The key had Titan's blood all along...and it was the one thing that Emperor Belos needed. It can't fall into his hands!

She frowned, staring at Hunter, concerned.

"Since, I failed my last mission, I thought "Hey! A chance to make up for it!" But, I can't go back empty handed!" Hunter let out a hysterical laugh. "Not again. Long story short, this is my grave! Do you want me to make you one, too?"

"This is really bumming me out," King replied.

"That's just life, rat. Everyone has a use and if you don't-Pfft! Bye-bye! Your friend gets it!" Hunter said.

"What's he talking about?" King asked confused.

"Luz has been sending me these strange human codes. I don't understand all of them, but this one seems pretty clear," Amity explained and showed King the emojis. "Come back with results or we're done." King frowned until he saw something strange about the emoji's. He turned the device sideways and the emojis appeared to spell out words. Amity's eyes widened surprise.

"U ARE RAD," She read. "FOOLS BLOOD BAD. U OKAY. COME HOME."

Amity laughed and smiled overjoyed and happy. "Of course! This is Luz we're talking about!"

Suddenly, the three heard frantic chirping and turned their heads back to see Lil rascal trying to pull Hunter out of the hole that he had dug. He swatted the bird away from him.

"Hey, go find a better witch to be with!" He groaned, falling back into the dirt face first and shoveled some more on top of his head.

"We need to help him," Azara told King and Amity. King frowned.

"I don't think that he's your type," he replied. Azara blushed a little.

"I don't care, we still got to try and help him," she insisted. "You told me how your parents treated you. You and him have the same experiences, maybe you can get through to him." Amity nodded, understanding. She knew how he felt. This was a chance to help him. Amity and Azara walked over as they approached Hunter. Amity bent down to Hunter and Lil Rascal landed on her shoulder.

"You know, you were right. We do have a lot in common. I grew up thinking that everything was an opportunity to justify existing. But, there are people out there who won't make you feel worthless. You just got to let yourself meet them." Amity smiled and held her hand out to him.

Hunter opened his eyes and looked up at her then turned his attention towards Azara. He saw that her eyes were pleading at him to take it.

"We want to help you Hunter," she told him softly. "Come with us."

Hunter's felt his chest began to grow warm as he heart began to beat faster at the sound of her voice. It relax him, made him feel safe. Just as Hunter was about to get up, something shined in Hunter's eyes. He gasped a little and his eyes widen as he slowly got up.

"What are you?" Amity questioned before glancing down to where Hunter was looking at. The key!

Hunter lunged at her, and Amity quickly rolled out of the way. He quickly turned back towards her, with a desperate look in his eyes.

"Oh, come on!" Amity complained. "Being nice usually works for Luz!"

"Hunter, please don't do this!" Azara cried out. But, Hunter ignored her and ran towards Amity. King quickly jumped in front of her.

"Weh!" King shouted unleashing a sonic wave.

Hunter's eyes widened as it came closer. Lil rascal quickly jumped in front of him, reflecting the blast. Hunter grabbed the staff but Amity shot out some abomination too at him, wrapping around Hunter's body. Hunter struggled to get it off when suddenly he teleported out of the binding then started to teleport uncontrollably a little unleashing a yellow burst of energy.

"The staffs are weird," Hunter frowned looking at the staff. Hunter teleported again as Amity shot an abomination goo at him again to catch him. Now high in the air, Hunter aimed the staff down at them and unleashed several burst of yellow magic, and it began to bounce wildly all over the room. Azara quickly made a ice pillar as she made a spell circle with her finger just before a ball of magic hit her.

Hunter teleported next to Amity and she tried to block his attacks as he teleported wildly around her, trying to break through her shield. As he stopped in front of her, King tried to jump at him and knocked Hunter to the ground. Amity created a giant bubble with the goo encasing Hunter inside of it. She quickly got on her staff and grabbed King, heading towards Azara.

"We are leaving!" she shouted, getting ready to grab her. Azara shook her head.

"Not without Hunter!" she shouted.

"We HAVE to go! NOW!" Amity urged her, grabbing her hand. "Forget him!"

"No!" Azara argued, pulling back. "I won't turn my back on people who need my help!" Amity's eyes widened in shock.

Suddenly, the abomination cage exploded and a giant hand made out of earth smacked right into Amity, knocking her off of her staff.

"Amity!" Azara cried out trying to reach her but Hunter sent another ball of magic at her, stopping Azara in her tracks. King had managed to land safely but his horns were embedded deep in some tree's roots. Amity used her goo to make a slide and slide down to the ground landing on her feet. Then Hunter quickly appeared beside her. Amity's eyes widened.

"You really want to help then gimme that key!" Hunter shouted. He used the staff to rip the necklace off of Amity's neck and Amity quickly caught it before he could get it. She quickly made a sharp weapon and aimed it directly under Hunter's neck as he pinned her hand with his staff, glaring up at him. Hunter panted completely tired and exhausted and sweat dropping from his face.

"Listen your strong and I'm tired. If this continues, you'll probably escape. But here's the thing: we know where to find you and your human." Amity gasped. "So just, hand over the key."

"Fine," Amity said. "Just stay away from Luz." She let go of the key and Hunter took it from her.

"I appreciate it," He told her. "I, uh, mean that, too." Just before he was about to take off with Lil rascal, Azara stopped him. She stepped in front of Amity, clasping her hands together.

"Hunter, wait. Just think for a a minute," She tried to reason with him. "You don't want to do this. You know that this is not right. I know that your not happy there. You know that your not happy there. So, come with us..."

Hunter turned and stared at her for a minute, silently.

"Can you really turn your back on your own family?" Hunter asked. Azara's eyes widened. Hunter took off flying away with Lil rascal.

"Hunter! Stop!" She cried out. But, he was already gone.

"HaHa! Yes! I heard fighting!" Eda smiled as she flew in. "I'm ready to go! Where's the nerd?" She stopped when she saw everyone.

"Weeh!" King whined as he tried to pull his horns out from the tree root that he was still stuck upside down on. Amity looked like she had made the worst decision in her life. Azara was still standing where she was, frozen. Tears were slowly beginning to fall from her eyes as they run down her cheeks.

"Oh, dang it." Eda sighed.

Back at the owl house, in Luz's room, Luz gasped and suddenly shot up with a surprised look on her face. "Huh?! I feel great!" Luz exclaimed before she realized that she had mushrooms growing on her head. "I wonder if this is permanent?"

"I got to find everyone!" She yelled. She quickly got up, the mushrooms fell off from her head as she did, and she quickly ran into the hall. Luz bumped into Willow who was carrying to bowl of soup, knocking it out of her hands, along with Gus. Hooty caught it with his head. "Have the others returned?"

"Ow, ow ,ow! Just get an elixir!" Luz gasped as she heard Eda shout and ran into the living room . She saw King and Azara trying to pull on her wing go get her inside, but she was stuck at the door. "I got into harpy mode and now I can't get out."

"She also ate like nine voles on the way home?" King added.

"Hey, I had to keep up my end of the bargain," Eda said.

"Amity!" Luz ran over to her, knocking her down, and hugged her tightly. She smiled. "I'm so glad my awesome girlfriend is okay!"

"Me, too!" Amity smiled back.

"No king hug? What is this?!" King complained. "You are a swindler and a thief!"

"Come here, buddy!" Luz rushed towards him and swooped King up in her arms hugging him.

"I regret this!" King shouted. Eda leaned in closer to Amity.

"You want to break the news or should I?" she asked.

"News?" Amity asked, confused.

"The empty lake, the golden guard, losing the portal key?" Eda told her. "Today was an disaster."

"Actually, we might be okay." Amity said, as she showed Eda the Titan's blood that was stained on her glove.

"How did you get the Titan's blood?" Azara asked, surprised.

"I broke the key." Amity told her.

Nighttime was beginning to fall, and stars were shining in the sky. Hunter stared at the key in his hand as he held it in front of him. He had an unsure and confused look on his face. He felt terrible and guilty about taking the key. Then Lil rascal landed on his hand and happily chirped at him.

"Oh, hey. You stuck with me the whole time, huh, bird?" Hunter asked. Lil rascal made another happy chirp.

Orion.

Hunter's eyes widened in surprise. He had understood what Lil rascal had said! He can understand him!

"I think I understood that!" He smiled. "Is that your name? Can you say it again?"

My name is Orion, Hunter.

"Weird." Hunter chuckled. He thought it was a funny name to name a bird after a star constellation. But, it did seem to suit him. Hunter's life had been brighter since the little bird came into his life, even leading him to Azara. Hunter's eyes widen as her name came into his mind.

It didn't matter. She must hate him now. He quickly shook it off and looked back at Lil rascal.

"Can you say other things?"

Hunter continued on ahead, heading to the castle, as Lil rascal continued to chirp talking to him.