#On the other hand Battle's got so many attacks and you probably can form whirlwinds and the like with PK too

[true-blue-sonic]

I’ve always been fond of the idea of Silver learning to replicate attacks of his friends with his powers: Espio’s shuriken and kunai and Amy’s Piko Piko hammer and Knuckles’ punches and maybe even something similar to Shadow’s Chaos Spear, all created from pure psychokinesis.

Not only would it give him so many more opportunities to showcase his powers than mostly Pick Up Item And Yeet It, it would show he’s learned from his friends and he carries something of them all inside him, and I love that thought a lot❤

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

TEN OUTTA TEN 1010

Welp, its happened. I’m into No Straight Roads, and the boys with the K-Bop in their step has got me hooked.

So I’m gonna celebrate (for the moment) with lots of gathered info I’ve found, seen, or heard speculated, regarding the Top Boy Band of Vinyl City... 1010. [Possible OCs to come later]

Some of this stuff might be common knowledge, some is already on the wiki, but hey, no shame in having a consolidated list.

But for now...

The Names of 1010 were deciphered by out of universe fans. They are Rin (White), Haym (Yellow), Eloni (Green), Purlhew (Blue) and Zimelu (Red).

An old placeholder model for 1010 had Black Hair and different tron lines.

1010 in binary is... literally just 10.

Eloni does not get fan letters; He’s the “Funny Band member”, and Funny Band Members don’t get fan letters.

1010 wears Sailor uniforms (The US Navy would call them Dress Blues, so think... Popeye. But no hat.) In fact, their flying limo is a god damn Tron-lined Battleship. Even the Cannons dance to the music.

They’re a parody on K-Bop bands or Boy Bands to the West. And while they’re listed as Funky, they’re technically Synthpop. (Haha, Synth)

In the background of their fight, when the Battleship Limo stops for pictures, you can see that there is a set of pictures of 1010. Rin the White has a Fuschia or Purple Background, while all the others have a background matching their aesthetic colors.

1010 have common powers... ... Firing Lasors. ... Levitation (Or small time Flight; as they rush to the side to meet the Cameras) ... “Taking to the Sky”, or just really powerful jumping. ... Being powered by Cheers. ... There’s a reason I left Shield off in a moment.

1010 are both outrageously tall (Mayday only comes to their waist when they stand up properly), and outrageously heavy (did you hear them walk backward in their intro cutscene? How heavy are these guys!?)

It could whatever kind of AI they have, but they are waaaay insynch, almost preemptively. Perhaps 1010 are directly linked to each other?

In most of their appearances outside of battle, they all have the same colored eyes as their aesthetic colors. But in Battle, they all have White eyes. Mind that in their Show Stopper picture, they’re back to having their aesthetic eyes again. Take that as you will.

1010 has associated attacks, when you’re in the Phase facing the Factory and Neon J. ... Yellow has Missiles or Splash Damage explosions. No literally, the yellow droid is the missle. ... Green has Bombs. HIS HAIR IS A BOMB. ... Red has Saws. He-He literally uses Red Droid as the Saw. ... Blue has some sort of Staffs or Whirlwind strike. They are staffs made of Purl-Hew. ... Because of his Picture’s Purple Background, White’s likely isn’t an attack but is, in fact, the Shields that occured early in the battle. Which is probably why they’re never deployed, because how the hell can you make a shield out of Rin Bots.

It was pointed out in one of the many Youtube Comment Sections that 1010′s hairstyles match their respective attacks in some form or fashion. ... Zimelu’s Mohawk indicates his associated Saws. ... Haym’s hair looks like a missile. ... Eloni’s hair looks line a Grenade Pin. ... Purlhew’s flat top hair could indicate the fact that he’s literally used as a Staff End. So basically he’s Blue. That’s his attack. [Hah] ... Rin’s the sexy one. Look, for a Band of Robots with fancy hairdos and attacks, he’s not considered remarkable.

As they are a parody of Boy Bands across the World, they may follow the boy band “archtypes” ... Rin is the Leader, and the Heartthrob (He doesn’t have a weird hairstyle, and he does the most flirting / talking; as well as the most promoted) ... Eloni, as already established, is the Funny Guy, or the Comedian. ... Purl-Hew is the Cool Guy, (consider his Sunglasses) ... Zimelu is the Bad Boy (Mohawk, his ANGRY EYES AARGH) ... Haym’s is apparently considered a Pompadour. Maybe he is also a Bad Boy? Consider his name, he may be the Smart Guy. ... There is no known “Shy Guy” or “Cute Guy (Technically, the Second Heartthrob, but isn’t a threat to first Heartthrob’s position). So, go forth and create.

Fun Consideration on my part. Since Names can have meaning in No Straight Roads and meaning in personal names... ... Rin is a japanese name, and boy can it mean a lot of stuff depending on the Kanji (Some of the meanings are “Dignified” “Compassion” “Cold”). He’s probably coolly impassionate off stage. ... Purl-Hew is apparently a pun on Pearl Hue (cos I guess blue Pearls). Perhaps he likes puns. ... Zimelu is an ooold fortress in Lativa apparently. Perhaps he has a warish personality. Or I guess knows very Niche military history. (Perhaps, in-universe, it was the name of a base Neon J served at?) ... Haym is the name shared by a few people, but in the themes of music, its probably Nicola Francesco Haym (Italian Poet, Opera Librettist, Composer, Manager, Editor and Numismatist (That’s uh, a guy who studies Currency)). Perhaps our Haym is quite the Nerd. ... the name Eloni means Lofty. Which can me “Of Imposing Height” (They all are), “Noble or Exalted Nature” (Possibly?) “Proud, Aloof or Self-Important” (They all are that too, yes), or in regard to Lofty Wool “Thick and Resilient” (I mean, if you look at those thighs-- Ahem). So basically Eloni’s name defines all the group... Wow, poor fella. No wonder he’s the Comedian, he’d have to pull anything to get noticed (when its not about his hair) [THE DUDE DABS]

If Battledroids all have background memories to be more efficient in combat... Does 1010 have backup memories from Neon J?

Metro Division shows other kinds of Robots, and the progression of 1010′s Mark Models (1 looks like your typical Sailor, 2 looks a bit like our 1010 but more droid, jointed and blocky, and our 1010 is currently mark 3... There are 4 known Types of Droid, so a 4th Mark may be on the way)

Neon J, Manager and Creator, is a Vetren of Vinyl City’s Navy (It only has a Navy); and his District is literally a Theme Park mashed with a Ship Yard.

Neon is the 10th element of the Periodic Table, and J is the 10th letter. Dude loves his 10s.

Considering how he replaces the bots in battle, or even outright uses them as weapons... Perhaps his “Troops” are not the Bot bodies, but the AI possibly hosted inside? 1010 has more personality out of battle after all, and Neon is seen fervently protecting 1010 when their eyes share their hair color. (As their eyes are only white in battle...) Hm, mayhaps the HC is, that when their Eyes have color, the AI is truely present.

Neon is a Cyborg, note that his body appears to be the same kind of droid as 1010′s, with a Radar head. His brain is apparently in his radar, and as we saw post-battle, that head was smashed to hell. Perhaps the reason he was reminiscing so much and though that BBJ was really after him, was because of some serious onset head or brain trauma.

Apparently, Vinyl City has or has had Border Wars. This could be a reference to the Korean DMZ Conflicts (As 1010 does distinctly include Korean K-Pop, and South Korean men do have to serve 2 years in the military forces by law), but there have been hundreds of different Border Wars throughout the world. [ I wonder what war Vinyl City was in. Perhaps against the Artist Capital of the World, Canvas City ] [ Oh take me down to the Canvas City, where the grass is green and the pics are pretty--]

Neon’s passion is Dancing.

Neon J and DJ Subatomic Supernova do seem to be in a lot of pictures together. No wonder everybody ships them.

Neon J used to make toys, as seen by the collectibles you can get. Done by hand too. Though if each toy found is a stage in his life... I wonder who the doll with the violin is.

Think maybe Neon J has direct control over 1010? I mean they share the same voice, they have a passion for poses and dancing, he does directly command them...

Are Cyborg parts cheap? Or was Neon J someone important enough in the Vinyl City Navy to actually become a cyborg? Military doesn’t do expensive prosthetic surgeries for random grunts without reason.

Okay, regarding what the Azkar faction is. Its probably suppose to be Askar. Azkar is a type of Islamic Prayer. Askar is actually Arabic for Army. So it’d be The “Army Faction” (which makes more sense for a nation city-state that only has a Navy)

The place he called “Kewan” is not a real world place. Its either Persian for “Saturn” (What, is he... Is he a SAILOR SCOUT!?) or Kurdish for Mountains (He does mention mountains).

Possibly more as information arises.

[lo-55]

Lightning In A Bottle Ch. 2

Nanohana wasn’t changed much, to the point that Nao was beginning to wonder how long she had been inside her crystal prison. She had no idea how much time had passed, but if the boy who had broken her out of the rock hadn’t recognized her or her flag it had to have been a while. 

And that hat…

It had to be a duplicate, surely.

Nao tucked her hands into the pockets of her pants. Her high leather boots kept the sand out of her socks, at least, and when Luffy managed to burn whole sacks of Raindance powder her cape kept her dry. At her side, Odenta and Mikazuki hung as heavy comforts in their sheaths. They didn’t garner nearly as much attention in the city as Nao and the Gem’s had when they had arrived however long ago that was. Back there the city had emptied out as soon as they stepped foot in the sand covered streets of the Alabastan port. 

No, no one even looked twice at them, there were so many people going through the city. 

Not her, or Luffy in his hat. 

How peculiar. 

Nao made a mental note to get a hold of a newspaper as soon as she could, or maybe visit Ohara. They would have the best records about what she’d missed. 

It would have to wait. Ohara was a long ways from Alabasta, and it would be hard to sail Blood Stone without someone else helping her. The ship was just a little felucca, hardly big enough for fifteen people, but she was tough as nails and made for the roughest waters in the world. All the same, it wasn’t safe to sail alone in the Grand Line, where the weather might change without warning, when there wasn’t someone to stay awake and keep watch. Not to mention Marine’s, other pirates, and all sorts of other dangers. Sea Kings probably hadn’t gone extinct since she went under. She’d rather not deal with them. 

Nao was so busy contemplating her ship that she nearly walked right by the restaurant that Luffy went shooting into. 

She had to backtrack to poke her head inside. A crowd had gathered, and Luffy was ignoring it entirely in face of ordering lunch. A pair of unconscious bodies lay through several broken walls. 

Nao cocked her head. Had Luffy done that when hed stretched out and launched himself like a demented rubberband? She knew it had to be a Devil Fruit, but she didn’t expect him to go causing that much destruction mindlessly.  

What a weird kid. 

Ah well. Pirate.

Nao took a seat next to Luffy while the chef frantically started cooking. Whoever had been in before them had eaten a lot, with dirty plates stacked nearly to the ceiling. Now he was feeding Luffy, and her too. 

Nao made a mental note to tip him well. 

She casually elbowed Luffy’s face out of the way and stole a whole chicken to rip into. 

“Hey!” he shouted around a mouthful of food. His head stretched unnaturally away on his neck. “That’s mine!” 

“Finders keepers,” she said succinctly, and shoveled it into her face as fast as she could. Time hadn’t passed for her at all inside the stone. Her injuries from the battle weren’t healed, and she didn’t feel well rested. She was famished, but not starving like she’d spent months unconscious. 

Nevertheless, she’d always been a big eater. She needed the energy to keep up with her lifestyle, and to keep herself strong enough to fight. She wouldn't let her broad shoulders shrivel or her powerful legs grow weak if she could help it. It was a death sentence.  

She nearly bit Luffy’s hand inhaling spicy noodles next, and a hank of lamb. The chef was sweating and out of breath but he kept putting food on the counter and they kept eating. Luffy was chatting with the locals while he ate. 

“Why’s there a hole in the wall? Is that some weird hobby of yours?”

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO PUT THE HOLE IN THE WALL!” 

She knew it. 

Nao was in the middle of a plate of roasted peppers when one of the formerly-unconscious men climbed out of the hole in the wall. She watched him get slammed back down by a man in a fur coat, and the next thing she knew she was getting dragged through the streets of Nanohara by Luffy. 

Why are we running? That guy isn’t even that strong...

“Tashigi!” the man chasing them shouted, “Stop them!” 

Nao looked forwards to see a girl with a sword. 

“I’ll handle her,” she offered Luffy, who nodded and let go so he could go bouncing up onto the rooftops like a ninja or something. In one smooth move Nao drew Odenta from her side and lifted it to block a blow from the other girl, Tashigi. 

“Nice sword,” Nao grinned sharply at the girl over their locked blades. Her form was good, but she wasn’t very strong. Too bad. 

“Yours is too. It’s a shame it’s being used by pirate scum!” 

“Xeshishishi, tell you what, if you can beat me you can have her.” 

 The man who’d been smashed into the floor landed next to the two. An orange hat rested on his head and he had a bad slung over one shoulder. Black hair fell in soft waves to frame his cheeks, which were covered with freckles. 

There was something familiar about him… 

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said politely, startling both of them into looking away from their crossed blades to him instead. He tipped his hat towards them, then the building that Luffy had jumped up onto. He was blocked from it by their swords. “I have to catch up with my brother now.” 

“Uh, sure,” said the marine girl. They pulled their blades away to make a path for him. 

“Why are you telling us this…?” the redhead countered, looking confused. She faltered when she got a good look at his face, recognition shooting through her. Nao sucked in a breath. He looked like- 

“Hey, hold on-!” 

“Sorry, I can’t,” Portgas waved to them and shot over the rooftops, after his brother and the marine. Nao shook her head. She would see him again, if he was chasing Luffy. 

Nao drew back and slashed again easily. Each move was economic and graceful. She spared no energy, partially because she simply didn’t have any. Tashigi blocked, but the force pushed her back a few feet. 

Nao parried her next attack and side stepped to smack her on the back of the neck with Odenta, sending her careening to the ground.  

Someone screamed, but no blood came from the fallen marine. 

She touched the back of her neck in confusion. “Wha-?”

Nao didn’t answer. 

She was already gone. 

Nao ducked around a corner and ran after Luffy, following his Haki until she caught up with him and a group of colorful people. Hadn’t he said he was a pirate? Or he was going to be King of the Pirates. That was what he’d said. Well, to be king of them you needed to be a pirate in the first place, right? 

That sounded right. 

So these people were probably his crew. 

When he saw her he grinned and threw his hand out. It stretched far enough to grab her by the wrist and yank her forwards. 

“Hey! You made it past the sword lady!” 

“Well yeah,” Nao landed beside him running. Her leg was starting to ache where a cut had caught her over the knee.  

“Who are you supposed to be?” A curly haired young man with a long nose demanded, eying her. 

“She’s a rock person I found,” Luffy said cheerfully.  

“That. About sums it up,” Nao felt herself smile involuntarily. “I’m Roche Nao,” she said for the second time that day. She really hoped they stopped running soon. Her leg was seriously starting to ache. 

“So Luffy picked up someone else weird,” an orange haired girl looked exasperated more than anything else. Nao felt like she should have been offended, but she just shrugged. She was too tired to be upset with people who hadn’t actually done anything to her.

Besides, she wasn’t wrong. 

They came upon a pretty caraval, with a sweet looking figure head. A sheep. Nao felt herself smile. It was cute and light hearted, like this crew seemed to be. Nothing at all like the swift, devil faced Blood Stone. Her eyes were two carved rubies, and a pair of snakes twined around her in a macabre necklace that matched the one that hung beneath Nao’s own shirt. 

“Permission to come aboard?” she asked Luffy lightly. The boy beamed at her and tipped the brim of his hat. 

“Granted!” 

They scampered onto the ship and in a whirlwind of motion they set sail. The caravel carried them away from the port. The pirate flag flapped in the wind, showing off a skull wearing a straw hat. 

Seriously, what was up with that hat? 

Had that up-and-coming volcano really given it to some upstart?

...actually. That sounded exactly like something he would do.

She realized that their little pet (a raccoon?) was staring at her only when he shouted suddenly. 

“Ah! You’re bleeding!” 

It was a testement to how tired she was that she hadn’t noticed that he was a mink, and not just a weird animal. 

“Hah? Where?” 

“Your leg! Quick, take off your pants and I’ll- ouch!” 

The orange haired girl smacked him over the head. “Don’t ask it like that!” she scolded. 

“But I need to see how bad it is! She might need a doctor!” 

“You’re the doctor!” 

Ah. Nao would have preferred they didn’t know she was actually injured, or weak, but there was nothing to be done about it. They seemed like good people anyhow, as far as pirates went. 

“Well then, mister doctor, where’s your office?” 

“A-ah! I don’t have a real office yet. We’ve been using the bathroom.” 

“Then lead the way.” 

The doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, guided her down to the bathroom. The Caravel was small without being cramped. Nao took off her boots and pants, now stained with blood, so he could clean and stitch her leg. He treated her smaller scrapes and bruises as well, and stuck bandaids across her cuts. 

He left so she could clean herself properly, wash her hair and get the blood off of her. She watched the pink water wash down the drain and wondered where her crew was. What had happened to Elba, Talisa, Adrien and Pearl? Were Rize and Hinami still injured? Had the marine’s tended to their wounds? Tier had escaped into the sea before a blast from a marine flagship had sent them hurtling out of the little cove they’d been hiding in and beached their ship. Had she made it back to fishman island? 

She needed to find out. She owed it to her crew after she  had failed them all.  

There was a knock on the door.  

She cracked it open to find the blond man standing outside, holding a bundle of clothes in his arms. Her red hair dripped across her shoulders, but in a few minutes it would be dry and wildly curly again. 

“I bought an extra outfit for Nami or Vivi, but now I see it was destiny that I have it ready for you!” 

He had literal hearts in her eyes when he presented them to her. 

Nao took them carefully. The clothes were lightweight and soft, so soft that they caught on the sword-callouses on her fingers. 

“Thank you?” Her clothes weren’t ruined, by any means. Did she really need a new outfit? 

“If you need any help changing I-” 

She shut the door on his face. “Nope.” 

They definitely didn’t recognize her. No one who did was stupid enough to flirt with her. Her dad would kill them. 

Nao changed into the clothes and was disappointed to find that they were dancers clothes. 

Yeah. No. 

She couldn’t fight in that! 

Instead she cleaned her pants as best as she could, used a small sewing kit she kept in her cape to fix the cut in them, and redressed. 

She'll have to find a hair tie eventually. 

When she came back up to deck the other man they’d run into was crouched on the outer rail. With his back partially to her while he chatted with someone else Nao caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his back. 

It was familiar, too. He nodded to Nao when she came to stand beside the green haired man. Solo? 

Most of his attention was on Luffy, not her. 

“Luffy. Will you come join the Whitebeard Pirate Crew? With your friends, too, of course.”

Whitebeard pirates. Whitebeard. Edward Newgate. 

Nao could feel a headache starting to throb behind her eyes. 

“No way!” 

The man laughed. “Just thought I'd ask! Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever known. I want to make him the pirate king. Not you, Luffy.” 

Nao internally winced. Brutal. They were obviously close. Childhood friends? 

“That's okay! I'll just fight him.” 

Nao blinked at Luffy’s back. Was he stupid? Or just crazy? 

Either way, Nao liked him. 

She couldn’t start her hunt for her crew yet. She didn’t know how long she was trapped, and she didn’t know where everyone had gone. She also wasn’t in any shape to go rushing off and finding out. Her mother would have killed her for doing something as impulsive as grabbing the nearest Marine and demanding to know where her crew had been taken. And her dad… 

Her heart twisted in her chest. Nao shook her head. She wouldn't let herself have a breakdown yet. Not here. Not yet. 

“Hey, Luffy.” 

He turned his head to look at her. Nao offered him a half bow. “Sorry but, I’m going to have to take advantage of your hospitality for now. Until I can get in contact with my own crew.” 

Luffy shot her cheerful grin. “Sure, okay. You can hang out with us for a while.” 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” the blue girl stepped forwards. Nao really needed to figure out everyone’s names. She only knew Luffy and Chopper. “We’re not here for tourism. Where we’ll be going is bound to be dangerous.”

Nao cocked her head. Yeah. “I appreciate you worrying. But I’m a pirate as much as anyone else. I won’t change my mind just because it’s dangerous.” 

Besides, they were going to Yuba, where Nao was supposed to meet with her crew. 

Molly should have already gotten there and set up shop. 

“Wait for us, Moll. We’ll get there, even if it takes a while.”

Molly pursed her black-painted lips. “I don’t like it, captain. This splitting up stuff. You already sent Harry and Monty back to Zou. We’re stronger together.” 

“I know we are. But with dad-”  

“Don’t worry,” Nao looked the girl in the eye and lay her hand on Odenta’s hilt. “I won’t ask any of you to be responsible for me.”

“I am my own captain, after all.” 

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 39

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

I took my position alongside the mansion. Stealth was the goal and it was the dead of night which made my semblance a no-no. My semblance was the antithesis of stealth. I waited next to Neapolitan for a pair of guards to approach the same blind corner we'd snagged Nickel from and killed his buddy.

Random chance that we ended up with Nickel and depositing the other guard's body in an alley. I suppose Nickel ended up in an alley too so there's that.

A patrol was coming up.

I activated my semblance at the last second and spent it leaping out and grabbing one of the pair. "Hey-gck." I broke his neck by using my semblance on the move. He had aura and I just went right through it. It was blue colored and small compared to the flare of my semblance. A double flash of blue accompanied the sound of breaking bones and cartilage.

The shattered moon shone it's soft light down overhead, giving everything an otherworldly appearance.

Neapolitan brought her's down much more stealthily. She smirked up at me to rub it in while she choked the dude she was holding to death or unconsciousness.

We dragged them into the mansion's blind corner. I stepped up, jumped off the wall, and pulled a security camera off the wall and crushed it with my bare hands. The metal crumpled beneath my fingers.

"How long do you figure we have?"

She held up five fingers.

I nodded in relative agreement. It could be as many as five minutes. That wasn't all that much time all things considered. In a fight it was practically forever but for a series of fights as we infiltrated? Not so much. I started charging up my next Limit Break. When we moved we moved together like we'd practiced it. In truth we were both relatively skilled hunters. This just came par for the course. I pulled my longsword and tried to jimmy the mansion doors open with the tip of the shorter, thinner blade.

Neapolitan teleported up high on the mansion walls and disabled another security camera. Whoever was supposed to be watching those wasn't doing a good job. Or malfunctions were common in which case Don Corneo deserved this. He deserved what we were about to bring down on him.

I struggled with the lock. The long blade I was using wasn't designed for this kind of play. In the end I resolved to simply cut it at the lock. I stepped back, took careful aim, and swept my sword down at the door. I hit the lock dead on and prayed I wouldn't trigger an electric alarm system.

Cink.

The door opened and we trickled inside. No alarms went off. Maybe it was luck or maybe there wasn't one in set up at the door. Could be a silent alarm, too.

Inside there were places the plaster had been redone recently. They stood out amongst the neater walls as the places most likely to conceal explosives. I entered into a fine atrium, nowhere near as large as that of Haven's. There were five guards there. I brought my sword to bear and Neapolitan silenced them with her semblance.

We were on them. I brought the longsword around and neatly divided one's shoulders. I side-flipped through the air, low to the ground, both hands on Crocea Mors with the shield still on my back and cut into another with two rapid horizontal swings.

One of them was trying to speak into a microphone at his collar. Barking out commands for reinforcements or similar but it came out hushed. I cut him down with a piercing movement that ran him through near the heart.

The mansion's quarters were tight. I thought it would be best to just use the longsword for now.

Neo killed one by stabbing down through the collar bone down into the chest cavity. A spray of bullets chased her and silently shattered a large chandelier. It fell to the ground and scattered across the ground. She backflipped and cartwheeled back away from the arms fire, her eyes drawn in focus.

Her gaze fluttered. Her eyes rolling back in her head and her eyelids moving fast as she tried to concentrate. I got between her and the shooter. Blocking her with my body and shielding her from the damage.

I was on to the last man by then. I picked him up with one hand and drove my sword through his chest with the other. My shield was slightly folded in sheath form on my back and my breastplate shone in the darkness.

Things were going well. The current objective was to get at least Neo into the Don's office. That was our win condition. Our lose condition was getting caught too soon and being forced to fight all the guards and wading through the minefield. In that case we wouldn't even get the Don. He'd be sealed away inside his little vault and not even Limit would let me get access to him.

The chandelier had scattered glass all across the floor and it crunched under my boots as Neo let sound return to the room. Her semblance was fucking crazy. Though mine was a little like that too. Mine was about damage and raw skill. Her's, on the other hand, had utility in spades.

She could put up both visual and auditory illusions and had at the very least some kind of short range teleportation feature. Maybe longer than I thought, but she could do about fifty feet in my estimation. That's the biggest cap I'd seen on her doing it.

She was how I was going to win this thing.

Soft blue light preambled through the atrium and windows. The moon was high tonight and light trickled into the now dark mansion from outside.

"You ready?" I whispered.

She just gave me an eager grin and we proceeded through the house. There was a choke point ahead with more guards. Neo hushed them and I started cutting them down.

This room still had the lights on unlike the atrium and the blood was plainly visible in the soft yellow lights as it splashed across a fine painting.

I tried to cut through flesh and met aura. I sent the man stumbling even if I didn't kill him. He fell down to his knees and tried to rise. A wordless shout at his lips.

I thrust up under the ribs of another and charged a little. My semblance activated. I used the speed and strength to slice another nearly in half. He fell down in a silent scream.

I came back to the one with aura and I spent my semblance on a whirlwind of attacks. The same one I'd done to Cinder. His head hit the ceiling hard enough to crack it and he died from the trauma I put his torso through before I flung him. His red aura shattered under my assault. I'd perfectly timed the arrival of my semblance to deal with this more difficult foe.

Machine gun fire peppered my back and I lanced out with a leap and reached out, grabbed the man and tossed him behind me into Neapolitan's waiting arms. She put the small blade into his throat and beamed as he died in her loving arms.

I looked around and spotted a security camera. I pointed it out to Neo as I sliced the last guard down and she destroyed it.

We had to be fast. This whole operation was speed dependent. Otherwise the Don might start setting off his explosives and calling his men enforce. Neo drew back from where she put her blade through the camera.

Anything could give us away. Missing camera feeds or guards which didn't check in when they were supposed to. Plus someone could come across the bodies we were leaving behind in our wake. I figured that might give us away, too.

There was a plan B. I had an explosive that might be able to crack the vault open but without knowing what kind of locks were on it I'd had to make a guess with the fire dust crystal.

Neo had watched me rig the thing up with rapt attention back in the motel room with the dead man still on the chair.

"Just in case."

I'd said.

"Might be able to blow our way into the thing. You think you can teleport through a crack in the wall?"

She'd just nodded. It was good to have back up plans. If nothing else we'd make the Don uncomfortable and he'd probably be loath to call the police and have them go through his house. The last thing he wanted was cops around.

We might be able to wait him out. He'd have to come out eventually. Of course if his men overwhelmed and killed us it would be over.

Killed me, rather. Neo could just escape.

For now she was sticking things out with me because I was fun and I might get her that shot at Cinder. If that changed I'd be willing to bet she'd be gone.

We battled our way through a hushed corridor next. Neo's parasol was bullet proof, probably with webbed Titania. And she led the charge with her legs. A flurry of kicks broke the lead sentry's neck. I leapt over her and brought my sword down on the next. I went right through the gun he tried to raise to shield himself and bit deep at the collar. He went down.

If our map was accurate, that just left the Don's office ahead.

He was the first to notice us in the next well lit room.

I rolled into the room and thrust forward into a guard's stomach only to meet aura. I stood and slashed at him once, twice, thrice at the neck until I got through. Neo handled a guard with an electric stick by using his own charging momentum to fling him into the ceiling.

The electric door to the vault started to slowly close.

It was big with these metal knobs which would undoubtedly be hard to blast through or force open.

The Don was on the other side in a disheveled office with a mahogany table hammering away at a button.

Limit activated as I sliced into the stomach of another aura ridden sentry. I'd get through the last two of them eventually but not soon enough.

I used my great strength and an arcing wide swung to clock one in the head. He dropped like a sack of rocks from the trauma to his head. Then I stepped forward and smashed the pommel of my sword into the nose of the last hard enough to drive it back into his head.

I flicked my weapon into the door to wedge it open. The Titania in my sword groaned but held. The metal really was incredible. Maybe a bit of edge warping but nothing I couldn't get repaired if the rest of this op went well.

I gestured to Neo and she flickered inside through the tiny gap in the door. She pulled the Don's hand off the button and hit a different one and the door started to open.

I strode inside and Neo unhushed us.

"So," I said with heavy footfalls. "Should I tell you how this plays out or let you guess?" He leaned away from us with fear in his eyes.

I pressed a button with an arrow to the left on his desk, the same way the door was going and the mechanical vault closed behind me, reversing a second time on electric hinges.

Wide eyed, he was locked in with us.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

I examined the edge warp on Crocea Mors with a scowl. There were some things that were sacred, some things that should remain as they were. For gods' sake if my mind and body weren't one of them then my sword should be.

The warp wasn't severe enough that the blade wouldn't sheath or anything. And it wasn't in a bad location per se, about midway between the hilt and tip. It could be worse, I decided.

I looked from the blade's edge down at Don Corneo.

From the corner of my eye, a shadow jumped out at me and I turned swiftly, prepared for more of a fight.

There was a secondary security deposit box at the edge of the room. At a guess that was where all the Lien was. Maybe the adrenaline just had me jumpy, was all. I hoped I wasn't going to start seizing. That would be pretty bad right here and now.

I put my sword in the shield and put my face down in Don Corneo's. I said nothing.

"Please…" he begged from his comfy looking chair.

"Listen, my friend here likes to torture people. She likes it a lot. She even gets off on it a little. A bit like you do with honey bee costumes."

He looked over at Neo and she nodded, eyes full of mirth as she loomed over him in those heels. A wicked smile etched in her face.

He shuddered. Maybe he didn't get off on those costumes anymore. "Wait… You haven't even told me what you want…"

I was maybe letting him stew in it.

"You're going to give us all your money. All of it. Every last Lien."

"You don't understand," he pleaded. "Cash is pretty much all I have right now. I'll be destitute."

"You hear that?" I asked Neo. "Cash rich and asset poor."

She smirked up at me. I bent back down over Corneo.

"You have your body. You have your life. You want to keep them?" I pulled out my explosive and stuck it to the smaller vault. Then I slammed his head right next to it.

"Oh please. Oh please. Gods please don't."

"See I don't really need your cooperation. I don't really need you to open this little vault. I can open it and your head at the same time. I can hand you over to my friend here and she'll cut your balls off and she'll like it too. There's only one way you get clear of this mess alive."

I wasn't really going to set it off while we were locked in this airtight compartment. But I could always open the door a little and give it some space. I could maybe survive an explosion like that. Maybe. But I would be none too fresh afterward and we still needed to fight our way out of here.

"Please I'll be nothing. I'll be no one."

"Cut his fingers off."

She held his hand out against the vault wall and drew her blade from her parasol.

"Fine! Fine! I'll open it, I'll do it. Just don't hurt me. Please!"

She cut him anyways and he screamed. His thumb dropped to the floor at my feet. I held his head against the little vault while Neo worked at his hand.

I looked at his desk. It seems the Don got a fancy looking new scroll, too, after Weiss made off with his last one.

"And I want your scroll, too."

He whimpered quietly.

"I'll do it. I'll do it please no more. Please."

Suffice to say we got the safety deposit box open and made off like criminals. I let Neo kill him too, couldn't let him start blowing things up on us or calling his guards.

There were millions of Lien in the little vault. We even had to leave some behind just because we couldn't carry it all.

"A thousand Lien for you." I counted out. "And one thousand for me."

She grinned down at me while I worked. Something nostalgic in her smile. Maybe a little wistful.

I let her think what she wanted. It'd be only cruel to crush her dreams and memories.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[chatousgirl]

only forwards never backwards

Summary: There is something different about Rex too. Something broken, out of place in a trooper, more so in a captain.

TW: depression, low mental state, suicidal thoughts (the character doesn't act on them but they are described). Please, do not read this if you don't feel well. The warnings are there for a reason. It's mostly emotional hurt, with a small dose of comfort. If you need somebody to talk to, my inbox is open.

I wrote this impulsively, yesterday, and wondered whether to post it at all. But then, not all emotions are pretty and this is what makes us human.

Rex stares at the bland ceiling above him and tells his body to move. There is a meeting he needs to – wants to – attend. An informal one, with his  vode.  It is rare for them to be able to meet in person, so they take advantage of every opportunity to do so. The lull in battles drew the Jedi Generals to Coruscant Temple, their home, and some of their squads came with them. They managed to find a time that roughly suited them all, cashing in favours and exchanging shifts. Cody was the only one that got called on a sudden mission this morning and would leave in several hours. Thire, Fox and Ponds are all here. It should push him into action. The anticipation made him excited and yesterday he managed to do several additional tasks in an attempt to burn out the excess energy. It feels like he burned a tad too much since he can’t get out of the bed no matter how much he wants to.

“I’m alright,” he says but even to his ears it sounds unconvincing. Basing on the look Cody levels on him, he doesn’t believe him either.

“Don’t give me that pile of bantha shit, vod.”

Rex wants to reassure his brother it will be better because in the end there are periods when it is, but in this very moment the words get stuck in his throat.

“I need to fill out the forms,” he says instead. What he needs to do is get his shebs to the meeting.

“You filled three in the four hours you have been hiding there,” Cody says and his tone is almost gentle. Rex would sigh if he had enough energy to spare. The mattress dips when Cody carefully sits on the edge of the bunk. “I’ll bring them to Beam, he’ll be happy to help.”

Rex wants to protest. He’s the Captain, he can’t delegate his duties to someone else, no matter how eager they are to prove themselves. That’s an abuse of authority.

“Let us help,” the words are soft, just like the hand that cradles the back of his head. Rex leans into the touch, hates himself for it as he rolls over to wrap an arm around Cody’s middle. He thinks about the sheets of text written in the smallest font possible, rereading the same passage for the umpteenth time when the words don’t make sense and… concedes. Beam is thorough with his assignments and there’s no sensitive data in the documents to be worried about.

“Vor entye,” he manages to get out and pushes himself away, gritting his teeth at the loss of contact. Cody needs to leave, to take care of his own squad, to prepare for the upcoming mission. He wraps the blanket more tightly around himself, trying to ignore the burning wave of guilt and shame. Something must show on his face because Cody takes one look at him and practically throws himself on top of Rex, tangling their legs and pressing their foreheads together.

"Don't you ever feel like you have to apologise for this," he whispers, tightening his grip. Rex nods and rests his head in the crook of Cody's neck, the warmth radiating from his body anchoring him in the present.

He feels like crying, yet the tears don’t come. If the Kaminoans could see him right now, he would be decommissioned in a matter of seconds. It should serve as a motivation to get up, to prove his worth – his team is on leave, but there are always drills to work on or new strategies to plan. Instead, the though leaves him oddly numb, muddled brain pushing forward an image of his batch-mate failing to keep his cool during one of many assignments. Looking back, it was a major panic attack of a child too terrified to move in the rain of bullets, visions of death playing right in front of him. They didn’t understand it then. Good soldiers follow orders and the orders were to get across the battlefield. So, they did. Quick and efficient. Or as efficient as a group of cadets could be, anyway. All but one. Kaminoans took him aside and while the word ‘defective’ was never spoken aloud, the brother didn’t return.

There is something different about Rex too. Something broken, out of place in a trooper, more so in a captain. He pushes it aside for as long as he can, the adrenaline from the battles keeping him afloat. But there are days when the low hits and he can’t find the energy to get up from his bunk, to lead his brothers into the war they were bred for and will take their lives. There are days when all he can think of are murky waters of Kamino’s oceans, waves crashing against the shore as the storm keeps raging on. Rex sees himself walking on the pier, freezing wind whipping into his face as he kneels by the edge. He never jumps. Part of him wants to, imagines the shock of ice-cold water as he slips into the darkness, water filling his lungs. Part of him knows that in the same moment he will do everything to survive, primal instincts kicking in, trying to breach the surface, fighting for the oxygen. He wouldn’t manage, not against erratic tides, not with the armour weighing him down.

Sometimes it feels like falling. The world crumbles, slips from his fingers, and then he’s falling, a strange sense of vertigo and heart beating rapidly in his chest. He doesn’t hit the ground. Sometimes it’s Cody who catches him, with a firm grip but warm eyes. Sometimes it’s Ashoka, tips of her canines visible as she smiles at him. Sometimes he just stops, sudden and jerking and he wakes up covered in a cold sweat, the wind knocked out of him.

Rex wonders whether General Skywalker knows. He’d bet no, given the whirlwind of emotions General himself is. Commander Tano, on the other hand, probably suspects. During his worse days, she keeps an eye on him, strikes up a conversation or leaves him sweet fruits when the sight of ration bars alone makes him nauseous. It warms his heart and makes his steps just a little bit lighter, a day a little bit easier to get through. He thinks of his brothers, their steady warmth and shared life, stories filled with both joy and remorse, and the next breath takes less effort. It’s still painful as if there are shards of glass in his chest, but it’s a small step forward.

Only forwards. Never backwards.

[scone-lover]

@findingniamho​

HAHAHAHA thank you so much for this ask!!! ❤️ This is exciting. Honestly the Egghead fight was one of the most entertaining scenes to write. (Coming up with all the puns was an egg-celent time.) Rereading it just now was like an out of body experience 😂 

Link to the original chapter here - passage & commentary below the cut!

So I have to start with how this scene was born. This is a Simon scene. He’s had a couple fight scenes with Vampire, but I wanted to show him off as the superhero of the city. What was he doing before Vampire appeared on the scene? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Despite the scene’s silliness, it’s also one of the first where we start to get a sense of what Mayor Mage is up to. 

So I knew I wanted him to do the typical defending-the-city thing, and showcase him and Penny as the dread companions power duo.

Besides the plot stuff, my main goal was to make this scene as ridiculously, stereotypically comic book-ish as possible. 😂Hence, Egghead the Villain.

Most of the credit for Egghead goes to my friend -- they’re really into DC and helped me with a lot of the plot stuff in this fic and making things semi-realistic. (Every time you read a clever plot point, it was probably them. 😂) For this non-Vampire fight, my friend suggested a gangster who was doing crimes and bribing the police. Hence this exchange--

“Okay, okay, um-- fuck. Did you call the police?” She huffs. “Yes, and I think they’ve been fucking bribed, because they pretended they didn’t even know who Egghead was! Can you believe that?”

I made him a repeat villain because honestly, I just thought it was more compelling that way. They know who he is already, Simon can grumble about him, they have egg-themed quips at the ready, etc. 😂 

As for the name, Egghead. I love how it came together because Simon is a baker, and I was able to work a couple baking jokes in there eventually. But in reality, it was me begging my superhero expert friend (named t below) to help me out with crafting this villain and coming up with some witty exchanges. A transcript of our conversation with the brainstorming and some of the rejects--

t: the gangster has a nickname right? he has to if he’s a supervillain t: make it a gimmick t: like if he has a red outfit call him mr. red or something t: he has a flamethrower and call him dragon (this made it in, later) me: Vampire already has a flamethrower t: they can be forced to fight him together me: Vampire is at home studying bc he’s a NERD t: ok he can be bald and simon can call him egghead me: THANKS I HATE IT t: simon throws him on the ground at the end of the fight - that was over-easy me: I hate you where do you get this shit t: I mean it’s typical superhero stuff t: he wears yellow and white and deals crack me: This fic is so food themed I love it t: that’s your villain. that’s it. t: listen, if the Flash can have an ice skating villain, YOU CAN HAVE EGGHEAD. And he was born.

(And yes, The Flash does have an ice skating villain. AND SHE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE ICE POWERS.)

Okay, let’s do this! Warning that this is definitely going to go through more than 500 words of the chapter. 😂 

Men dressed in black suits with bright yellow pocket squares. And larger men around the perimeter, wearing grey and holding flashlights. It looks more like a business transaction than anything; there are briefcases and money being passed back and forth, hands being shaken. “Hey!” I call. There are six men, and they all turn to stare at me, and then make a run for it. The flashlight beams dart wildly and I hear a few of them clatter to the floor. Everyone starts yelling at once and looking for an escape.

I basically watched an episode of Brooklyn-99 and crafted the warehouse drug deal based on that. 

“Don’t move. There’s only one exit,” Penny says in my ear. “And you’re standing in front of it.” I stand my ground, but no one comes near me. The suited guys stay slightly behind the muscular ones. Finally, one of them steps forward. “Mage’s Head Boy. Come to tell us off?”

This scene was also an opportunity to have Penny in Simon’s ear! I wanted them to work together more closely than just talking about superhero stuff - I wanted Penny to be invaluable to Simon’s superhero success and in on the action, too. She’s kind of modeled after Oracle from Batman throughout this fic. 

Mage’s Head Boy is a pretty transparent CO reference. 

There are times when I’m grateful for my ability to just have muscles and growl at people and make them disappear, and there are times when I wish I was witty like Vampire. This is definitely the second. I can’t think of a response to that. Luckily, I have a best friend with a head full of wit. “Tell them to fuck off,” Penny says. Then again, maybe not. What would Vampire say? I get hot and frustrated in the face of danger. He seems to get cooler the higher the stakes get. I fall into a fighting stance. “You wish.” The guy takes a step backwards. “But since I can’t bring you to the police, I suppose I’ll just have to teach you a lesson.” “That was good,” Penny says in my ear.

I obviously had to work a bit of Baz jealousy / crushing into this. I like the idea of Penny being super blunt. She’s smart and sometimes witty, but more often she just says it like it is. “Cooler the higher the stakes get” was a direct reference to the similar line in Carry On. With Simon’s last line - this scene was all about showcasing him as a “typical” superhero that you’d find in a comic, fighting a classic comic book villain. So I gave him one of those cheesy lines.

I’m surrounded. There must be fifteen or twenty of them. Eight huge muscular guys, and the rest in suits. They form a loose circle around me. Almost all of them wield knives, but I don’t see any guns so far.

I knew from the outset I wanted this to be a one-against-many fight. At this point in the story I’d set up a good dynamic for Blade vs Vampire, but not so much Blade vs. other city threats. What makes him a trustworthy hero? Simon’s origin story is that he got news attention by fighting off a group - so putting him in this group fight setting was a chance for him to shine.

A man steps out from the shadows. He’s bald, with a straight, dark mustache, and he’s wearing a pristine white suit and a shirt the colour of an egg yolk. “Egghead,” I say in what I hope is a threatening tone. The name sounds absurd. I’m glad the mask covers my mouth, because I don’t think I can keep a straight face. Penny coughs. Benedict Eggerton, better known as Egghead, is a drug lord who wears yellow and deals… crack. (I know.) (He got into crime early; his parents were poachers.) (Okay, I made that one up. I can’t help it.) I put him in jail earlier this year, but he escaped and fled north.

I was laughing so hard while writing this. You can see in the text exchange above where the suit and nickname came from. I was trying to come up with what his first name might be (my first idea was Sunny). I was so amused when I finally thought of Benedict. 😂 The poachers line is also from my friend T, and the “north” is a reference to Scotland, which comes back later as the Scotch Egg joke.

I draw my weapon, trying to look as menacing as possible. “I remember your blade being bigger,” he says, eyeing my kitchen knife. “Is it too cold for you in here?”

PFFFFFT I LOVE THIS JOKE okay so. I originally made Simon forget his sword because I thought the fight would be too easy - and going back to what I said above, he’s kind of returning to his “roots” with this fight - that spark he has that makes him a hero. And then I wrote the line “I remember your blade being bigger.” TO BE CLEAR, this was not originally intended as an innuendo. 

And then my friend said something like ‘he should turn up the heating in this warehouse then’, and I was like OH DING DING DING PENIS JOKE! 😂I’m oblivious sometimes. I’m glad I realized in time because this is honestly one of my favorite villain lines I’ve ever written.

I really, really wanted to give the “too cold” line to Vampire. It would be perfect for him. But Simon always has his normal sword with Vamp, so Egghead it was. And he instantly became an icon. 😂 

I twirl the knife between my fingers. “I can crack you anyway.” “Good effort,” Penny whispers. “But a bit rough on the delivery. 'Take a crack at you' might have been better...” “Sword or no sword,” I continue, “you’ll be an egg wash by the end of this.” “What?” Penny says. “Is that a baking reference?” Egghead cracks his knuckles, and his men rush me.

Much like Penny does later in the scene, I had a tab open of egg-related words up while writing this. I had to work in the baking reference. But a terrible one. There’s a French term for whisking eggs that basically translates to “beating eggs into snow” - and I wish it was a thing in English, because, you know, Simon Snow. Oh well. 😂 

I Google a list of ways to make eggs. Simon needs to win this fight, but more importantly, he needs to get some egg-themed one-liners in there to show them who’s boss. Chances like this don’t come around very often. 

Listen, Penny is very dedicated. I love the idea of heroes just being quick-witted and coming up with these ridiculous quips on demand. But ultimately, I thought it was funnier - and more in character for Penny - to do this. (Even though her Superhero name is Quickwit, oops.) She has the world of Google at her disposal. Egg puns may not seem important, but superhero image and reputation is half the battle.

Simon is being attacked from all angles, but he fights like a whirlwind. The bulky guys attack first, mostly with their fists. Simon kicks their legs out from under them. He throws them across the floor like they weigh nothing. “Behind you!” I say. Simon spins around and disarms the man behind him, twisting his arm, and I hear a shout through my earbuds. He grabs the guy’s knife and kicks him in the stomach, sending him sprawling. Simon Snow faces fifteen men with nothing but two knives, looking like he’s ready to explode.

I loved writing this from Penny’s POV. I am used to writing fight scenes from the POV of the person fighting, so this was definitely a cool challenge. It’s part of why I brought Penny into the scene in the first place - so I could show Simon in third person. Almost like we’re watching a movie and getting some overhead shots. From his POV, you don’t realize quite how awesome he is. So getting to showcase him like this was really fun.

I still have to wonder how Shepard knew… well, everything. 

Don’t tell anyone but I didn’t know yet either

“He’s Scottish,” I tell Simon. “Scotch Egg.”

I know. This one’s bad.

He’s a blur of gold and white in motion. He throws his knife—I have no idea where he learned to do that—and it embeds itself in one of the men’s legs. He rolls across the floor, picking up two more discarded knives.

I don’t do a ton of plotting/outlining with fight scenes, but one thing I decide in advance is where and how everyone gets hurt. I didn’t want Simon to win the fight too easily, but I did need to injure him somehow. So it wouldn’t be too easy, but also to serve as a counterpoint to the socks thing later.

I watched a lot of action sequences to write this fic, especially with the trickier one vs. many scenes. 

Simon tosses him like a sack of flour.

Couldn’t resist the baker!Simon reference.

“Hard or soft boiled,” I whisper. “Which way is it gonna be, Egghead? Hard or soft boiled?” Simon shouts. He whispers to me, “That was stupid.” Egghead raises an eyebrow. “Last chance to leave us alone, Blade.” I consult my list of egg dishes. “Give up before you get scrambled.” Simon twirls his blades. I love it when he does that; he looks like Deadpool. “It’s your last chance to surrender before you get scrambled.”

I loved the hard or soft boiled line at first. And then I wrote it down and said it out loud, just to check, and it sounded SO DUMB. 😂I almost took it out, but then figured—Simon is probably not going to think this through, either.

Maybe the Deadpool line was a bit on the nose here, but I wanted to give readers some really vivid imagery of what Simon looks like right now with these dual wicked blades kitchen knives.

“I prefer my eggs… poached,” he says. 

Even though Egghead has turned out to be quite a serious villain—there are guns, drugs, and a backstory—he is, after all, original master of the egg puns. He would never turn down this opportunity.

Egghead scrambles (ha) to his feet

I think Penny is just me in this.

“Over-easy,” I whisper.

“That was over-easy,” he says.

Not my best. But it had to be in there.

I’ll skip the serious bits, since the plot there is pretty self-explanatory, to this:

I wish he’d asked what we serve, because I have so many egg puns at the ready. Eggs-ecution. Hash-ing out justice. Karma served hard.  

My beta ashspren gave me this line, and I could not be more grateful. Imagine the chapter without this. It would be a shame.

Here are a few egg puns that didn’t make the cut, SADLY:

You're washed out, egghead

*Egghead gets angry* hey, it was just a yolk

I had to go "beat" some eggs

*uppercut* Sunny side UP!

I'll bash in your Eggnoggin’

Some people are just bad eggs

Sorry this is so long—this has been a purely self-indulgent experience. Thanks so much for this ask, I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you like it! ❤️ 

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 41: *SCREAMING*

:THE BLOGGER IS NOT OKAY WITH THIS:

We open with the final scene from episode 40; Sougo charging Oma Zi-O, after getting a pair of Blade transformation screens (specifically, Blade and Garren’s) thrown at him, and a green-and-purple whirlwhind sent in his direction. Interestingly, when the whirlwind connects, the W emblem rises up along with the explosion. After attempting to trade punches – with zero effect on Sougo’s part – the kid summons Build with his Grand Zi-O panel, and. Oma Zi-O summons Kuuga.

Sougo uses the same technique as in 40 – he touches the figurine, the Build emblem appears while the name is announced, and a window reading 2017 moves backward, with Build appearing through it. Oma Zi-O, however, just holds out a hand, with the Kuuga emblem showing up with the same announcement. Notably, the emblem here is torso-sized, as opposed to figurine-sized. Kuuga appears in a bit of a blur, but there is a distinct lack of any other adornment.

Oma Zi-O’s jump over the two now-fighting riders has a bit of a flashstep effect to it, which is. Worrying. Also it breaks my heart a little to see Build and Kuuga fighting, which is not helped in the slightest by my having recently finished Decade and watching Showa V Heisei for the first time. But as Sougo attempts to hit Oma Zi-O, still with zero effect, Build and Kuuga launch their respective Rider Kicks at each other – no announcements from the Build Driver, which is probably for the best. Build disappears in an explosion, shortly followed by Kuuga winking out of existence.

Hm….

OH NO. SOUGO NO! YOU STILL HAVEN’T PROPERLY GOTTEN THE DRIVE WATCH! DON’T USE DRIVE!

-

See what you’ve done? Now Oma Zi-O’s taken control of him, with a scary red spark effect, and definite sounds of struggle that are very much Shinnosuke’s voice. His helmet’s eyes momentarily light up red, and the standard Tridoron horn sound plays – and then plays again, slowed way the heck down.

And it’s really nice to see the Type Speed finisher again, and to hear Krim announcing the Tridoron, but! Those are still Shinnosuke’s grunts of effort! And said finisher is being launched to great effect at Sougo! To the point of knocking him out of Grand, and back to being just plain old Sougo.

Woz warps in – with a very Time Jacker-y blur to his first few steps – and rushes to Sougo’s side, helping him up. And Sougo is angry when he asks why he can’t even touch his future self.

“You haven’t obtained the powers of all the Riders.”

And at least SOMEONE based in 2019 remembers that we still haven’t had a Drive arc! Namely, Woz, reminding Sougo, the kids at home, and the production staff, that the Drive watch we currently have was stolen from 2068 by Geiz.

…I wonder why they went with Ghost and Drive. I know that at least part of the reason is that the staff wasn’t sure if they’d be able to get the actors back, but that didn’t exactly stop them in other arcs.

SOUGO NO! You can’t go trying to fight him still! You’re not transformed! You can barely walk!

I don’t think we have ever seen Sougo actually angry before. Not like this – all furious and glaring, desperate to take. Him. Down. Not that it helps him at all, not with the massive explosions that Oma Zi-O is setting off around him.

Woz’s scarf is so handy. He sends it out to wrap around Sougo, warping him away.

“For personal reasons, I have decided to side with Past You.”

Oma Zi-O looks surprised, but then. Woz starts walking up to him. (Drive is still here, by the way!)

Oma Zi-O: “Well done, Woz. You’ve made a wise choice.”

Me: wait what.

Woz: “It is my pleasure.”

Me: Wait WHAT?

A multicolored rippling effect washes over the area, incidentally fading Drive out of existence.

Woz: wait what.

Oma Zi-O: Oh, looks like someone’s changed the flow of time...

The entire scene fades out – in a manner very reminiscent of what you see when film footage dissolves.

-

Sougo wakes up on the ground, in a location that we haven’t seen before. A mansion is at the top of the staircase. In front of said mansion…

Me: WAIT WHAT?!

In front of said mansion is a statue. The statue… is of Kakogawa Hiyru, Another Zi-O, in his not-so-civilian form that we saw in the preview. He’s holding his Another Watch at his waist, in the manner he previously used to transform, and is surrounded by Another Riders in action poses. It’s all grey and aged, with a plague at the base that I can’t read, because RiderTime didn’t sub it. But I’m willing to bet that it says “In commemoration of the first transformation of Kakogawa Hiryuu.”

-

I AM THREE MINUTES IN. THIS HAS TAKEN A HALF HOUR, WITH THE REWINDING TO CATCH DETAILS AND THE TYPING. SEND HELP.

-

Okay I made the grave mistake of jumping into Discord for a minute, and have promptly left Discord, but not before being cued in to look carefully at the Another Rider statues.

So, the first shot of them… From left to right, we see Kiva, OOO, Fourze, Ghost, Build, Ex-Aid, Gaim, and Wizard. Interestingly, all of them except for Build are doing their Rider’s signature poses, albeit with the standard corruption. Because Early Installment Weirdness is such a thing for Another Build that he was basically feral, and that has clearly carried over.

I can’t get over how the statues are just. Clearly still shots of the actual characters with a really bad filter over them, and terribly CG’d in. The budget for this episode must be going tot he fight scenes. … HUH. From the back, it looks like Another Build is trying to do Sento’s pose, albeit with considerably less success than everyone else. I guess the terrible filter made it really hard to see from the front, with him overlapping all of the other sections.

Okay, as the camera pans down to the plague, I see Another Agito on the right, and I can’t for the life of me make out who that is second from the left, but. The second from the right sure looks like it has Decade’s shoulders. And the head on the left sure looks like a warped version of Drive’s helmet.

Guess we’re getting Another Drive and Decade after all!

-

Woz’s Recap this week is him on an inexplicable bench swing in the middle of a wooded area, with Sougo none the wiser to his presence as he stumbles around the trees.

And apprently, by ‘the flow of time has changed’, we mean Woz warped Sougo to yet another alternate timeline, except this time it’s 2019, and he’s implying that the future where Sougo becomes Oma Zi-O has been completely derailed.

And that mansion is in a wooded area, alright. A large one, several city blocks worth. And we can tell.

Because we get a zoom-out, and see that it’s in the middle of a city.

With a whole lot of sirens in the background.

And a whole lot of buildings on fire.

-

!!!

New opening narration for the OP!

RiderTime translates it as… “The Heisei Kamen Riders have run through the era. Their powers now collected, the curtain of the final battle has risen! Clear the way! For the future of the True King!”

For reference, the previous narration, as subbed by RT, is “The Heisei Kamen Riders have run through the Heisei era. A new legend is starting that inherits all their powers. Rejoice! For the birth of the new King!”

And as translated by Overtime, it’s “The legacy of the Heisei Kamen Riders has carried on throughout the era. Once their power has been passed on, a new legend begins… Rejoice! For the birth of the ultimate king!”

The shot of () in the OP has been replaced by all the Heisei Riders striking their poses, and then coalescing into a ball of light, which breaks and shows Grand. First with just the helmet – then zooming out to a fullbody shot, with the 20 emblems fanning out behind him in a circle… and those odd circles of light dropping down around him, that I failed to mention from the first Grand transformation last time.

-

Sougo emerges from the forest into a city apparently at war. Rubble is strewn everywhere, and several people in fatigues with guns run by down the street, the sound of gunfire in the distance. Sougo, time-traveler that he is, goes to pick up a tattered poster, confirming that it is, in fact, 2019.

Our camera zooms out, freezeframing with the sound of a camera shutter and framing the scene.

Hey there, Tsukasa! Nice to see you again, you wonderful troll, you! He’s in fatigues – clearly what he was assigned when he arrived here – and. TWO cameras. Tsukasa, ffs. He’s still got his Magenta one, but also a brown one – that is some variant on a polaroid instant camera, since it ejects a photo right after he takes it. It’s about time he learned to carry something like that.

And his photos are still supernaturally bad – with all their eerie foreshadowing abilities intact. Case in point…

Tsukasa: “So, this is the end of this world.”

He pulls the printed photo from the camera.

Tsukasa: “Then what will you do now, Tokiwa Sougo?”

We see the photo. There’s none of the recurring double-imaging here that used to be seen in so many of Tsukasa’s pictures. Instead… Sougo is half faded from existence, the wall and abandoned shop stall showing through him in places.

(Also, Tsukasa looks exhausted. Get some sleep, sir.)

-

There’s barricades and fencing outside of 9-to-5. It’s not a clock repair shop anymore.

It’s a resistance shelter.

And one of the people, a woman tending someone’s wounds, asks who Sougo is.

And his uncle doesn’t recognize him – tries to attack him with a daikon radish, even.

Tsukuyomi’s voice comes in over the radio, saying that Another Riders are attacking a shelter, asking someone to send help.

Sougo asks where it is, and says he’ll be right back, running off.

Junichiro: (scandalized) “Young people these days act overfamiliar… even though we just met!”

Ow, my heart.

-

Another Kiva and OOO are attacking some refugees. Please note, literal machine guns have no effect on them! That’s! That’s just great!

(I’m still not okay with the eyes on Another Kiva’s shoulders, BTW.)

Geiz – in armor – and Tsukuyomi work to fight off the Another Riders and get the former civilians out of there, respectively. Geiz draws Another OOO away, and Tsukuyomi gets Kiva off of a group. At least the Faiz Phone X can make them flinch, if only a little. Enough to actually serve as a nuisance, before Another Kiva lifts her by the neck as Sougo runs in.

He knocks Kiva off of her, by vaulting over the staircase railing and nailing them with a kick, and asks if she’s okay. Tsukuyomi also does not recognize him!

Hey, Sougo, maybe at least try using your name when you’re trying to totally-not-re-introduce yourself to people who don’t know who you are? It might help, I dunno, jog some memories locked by the time distortion.

You know, I’ve commented before on how Sougo could take hits really well at the beginning of the season. But now he’s full body tackling Another Riders, knocking them back. Actually, no, scratch that. After Tsukuyomi paused time for everyone in the room sans herself – good for her – and grabs the Faiz Phone X to shoot Another Kiva, when time starts back up? Said Another Rider goes after her, and Sougo just blocks them. Just takes the hit, arms raised defensively, and Another Kiva is the only one to be knocked back. Sougo doesn’t even budge. This young man is made of iron.

And also very confused as to why Geiz would think that he would run, proceeding to pull out the Zi-O II watch, transforming.

Geiz knows who Zi-O is.

I somehow doubt he knows the same Zi-O as we do, though.

Also, for this Geiz, at least, the Time Burst kick can be channeled through just. Straight up holding Another OOO against the wall with his foot, and charging the attack down through his leg, exploding Another OOO with a notable coin effect amid the flames.

And although we can’t exactly seen Geiz’s face, because helmet, he’s probably sharing Tsukuyomi’s scared expression right now.

-

What, no stained glass effects when Sougo’s finisher takes out Another Kiva? I’m disappointed.

Tsukuyomi and Geiz come on the underground scene… and Tsukuyomi immediately shoots Sougo several times with her blaster. Geiz is ready to do a violence, and proceeds to start attacking.

Geiz: “So you’ve made your presense known, Zi-O – today you meet your end!”

Sougo: “Why?”

Geiz: “I’ll defeat the Great Overlord and save this world!”

Geiz: “That is our, the Resistance’s, mission in life!”

I noticed that he used the term ‘daimyō’ there – not whichever term it is he usually uses to refer to Oma Zi-O in the regular timeline. Interesting. Though, to be fair… the preview shots of Hiryuu looked like he was using a very different version of absolutely terrible taste than the regular Oma Zi-O.

A single direct blow from Revive Fury is all it took to knock Sougo out of his transformation.

He’s so confused, and scared, because nobody recognizes him, and he doesn’t know what’s going on. He can’t get any answers, and he’s so sad that his only family and friends, the only ones he’s had around him in years, have no idea who he is. Are all so willing to attack him.

To the point of when Sougo is practically begging to be told what’s happened. Geiz attacks him.

Still transformed.

Still using Revive Fury.

Still using the buzzsaw.

Sougo’s not transformed.

Me: :BARELY CONTAINED SHRIEKING:

There’s a painful looking slice on Sougo’s arm and cheek – there are scorch marks where his shirt was cut open.

Geiz refuses to listen to anything Sougo has to say… and readies another attack.

Aimed right at the prone Sougo’s neck.

Me: THIS IS NOT FINE.

I mean, yes, time paused, leaving Sougo free to move – BUT VERY CLEARLY HAVING BEEN AT MOST A SECOND FROM LITERAL DECAPITATION.

AHHHHHHH!

But… who paused time? UHR. Telling Sougo to run, unless he wants to die there. Sougo rolls to his feet, and stumbles away down the tunnel. When Uhr unpauses time, we see that Geiz and Tsukuyomi definitely still know about the Time Jackers, although not Uhr specifically, with her aiming the phone-blaster at him, and him just skipping off and presumably disappearing once he gets out of their line of sight.

He can’t let them kill Zi-O now.

-

Here on a roof – a decidedly shabbier roof than usual – we find out that the three Time Jackers are still around… and that they, at least, know who Sougo is. Know that he has an incredible power, and that going after him with brute force won’t work. So, Swartz is going to leave the new overlord to Hora, for now.

And here’s something interesting. I’ve always thought that Swartz was clearly their superior. But.

Hora thought their positions were equal. Swartz smirks as she storms off, followed shortly by Uhr leaving in the other direction.

And yet again, we have evidence for Swartz having a different plan than everyone else.

Hat!Woz called him ‘Sir Swartz’, and was acting largely according to a plan they shared.

The previews for Over Quartzer imply that Scarf!Woz’s outfit is a uniform for the group trying to stop Sougo from ever having the chance to obtain the Drive watch.

And they all have those grommets scattered all over their wardrobes.

Different sides of the same group? Different departments, where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing?

Interesting.

-

Back to the former shop…

The more things change, huh?

Junichiro is still a nice guy, offering to make something for Geiz and Tsukuyomi to eat.

Tsukuyomi has her doubts about Sougo being the overlord, since he did help defeat the Another Riders.

But Geiz has a point, too. An overlord probably wouldn’t hesitate to take out his minions to fool people. (You know. Like might be going on with Woz.) The Time Jackers are still the enemy, in some way, and Uhr helped him. And, most damning of all, he transformed into Zi-O.

Geiz vows… he’s going to take him down.

-

Sougo, in pain, is by a riverside. It’s… it’s really depressing to see the abandoned bicycles just laying there. And Woz, at least, still seems ot remember him.

…or, maybe not. He’s acting incredibly restrained, not even really looking at Sougo, and hasn’t… actually… indicated directly that he knows who Sougo is. But he has seen the statue, and knows it’s of Hiryuu.

He saw it because Hora took him there.

…Wait. Sougo. SOUGO DO YOU NOT KNOW HORA’S NAME?!

Okay, just gonna put the realization that our main trio might not even know the time jackers names aside for now, because we’ve got bigger issues.

Namely, that Sougo’s future as Oma Zi-O has disappeared from the book. (Dark Toei, give us the forbidden book backstory.)

Namely, that Woz has decided to serve a new Overlord.

Namely, said overlord is Kakogawa Hiryuu.

That he wants to pay back the humiliation of being told to live in the present, instead of the past, of ‘not being chosen’.

And, since we’re having a dark mirror of what Sougo could have been, if he’d grown up bitter…

Let’s have a dark reprise of one of Sougo’s old catchphrases.

Hiryuu: “So, I’m going to give this a try.”

Hiryuu: I’ll take everything away from you, and then you can try ‘living in the present’.

And now…

He’s not Another Zi-O.

He’s Another Zi-O II.

…Is it just me, or does he have an actual Driver? Because when he holds his watch at his waist, that black copy of the Ziku Driver appears first, and then the rest of his form as an Another Rider.

And that Driver looks an awful lot like a black copy of Oma Zi-O’s, but with a watch attached on the right-hand side.

Sougo is still heavily beaten up, and it looks like he’s struggling a bit to raise his arms enough to insert the watches, even though he’s not using his usual flair. He’s putting them in before he puts his driver on.

Grand Zi-O starts to charge at Another Zi-O II.

-

Geiz and Tsukuyomi are trying to find Zi-O, but not having any luck.

That is, not until Uhr shows up, saying that Zi-O is running amok, and offering to tell them where he is.

With an incredibly smug look on his face.

The right hand doesn’t know what the left one is doing, either.

-

Back at the Zi-O Vs Zi-O fight, Hiryuu just straight up summons copies of Another Agito, Den-O, and Gaim out of thin air.

Agito appears with green smoke and a single light, coming from right about belt-level.

Gaim still has the orange smoke and juice-droplet effect from last time we saw Another Zi-O.

Den-O has lines of light around him that look distinctly like the lines in Actual Den-O’s attacks.

(Where was this attention to detail in the first arc?! They got much better at it pretty quickly, actually, distracting forced-amnesia subplot be damned, but still!)

Sougo summons Den-O and Gaim to take on their respective Another Riders – both of whom have those windows, still – and takes on Another!Another Agito himself. All three Another Riders go down simultaneously.

But. You know. Hiryuu is Zi-O II now.

And Zi-O II can do more than predict the future.

He just reverses the attack, rewinding time for the three Another Riders, and incidentally turning daytime into night. The same rainbow ripple effect from earlier shows up as he does it.

The Another Riders de-spawn Sougo’s summons, and he tries to defeat them with his “Giri Giri Slash” finisher… only for Hiryuu to undo that, and turn it back into daytime.

Sougo is just getting his ass KICKED today!

…and then machine gun fire blocks Hiryuu and his mooks from going further after him.

Shots fired by one Kadoya Tsukasa, still in miliary fatigues, with a magenta button-up underneath and matching bandanna tied around his arm.

TSUKASA, you’re STILL wearing two cameras! At least. At least let the pseudo-polaroid not be brown. Maybe a nice violet color, you know, for Natsumi, or a bright Cyan for Daiki. Even a yellow or some such for Yusuke.

(Yes, I ship them as an OT4. Come at me. I’ll carry my Photo Studio Polycule forever.)

-

So, this speech Tsukasa’s giving… it’s a pep talk. Yes, in his standard, trolling manner, but a pep talk nonetheless. “So, you’re just giving up here? Because it got hard? Because they left you? You were all high-and-mighty, going on about being a King, but here you are, an Overlord. Did you want this because they came to you? Or did they come to you because you wanted this?”

“This world is coming to it’s destruction. The only way you can stop it is to defeat Kakogawa Hiryuu.”

And at one point, Tsukasa lifts the BSOD’ing Sougo up by the collar, and he’s almost entirely limp. Just, being jerked around, almost slumping back down to the ground when he’s pushed against the wall.

Sougo stumbles off at Tsukasa’s challenge. He! Is in no way able to fight at this point! He’s just gotten beaten up three times in less than a day, all of which were very brutal! This boy! Is not okay!

The three Another Riders show up.

Tsukasa: “Defeat them, and then we’ll talk.”

So, Sougo enters Grand Zi-O. Almost reluctantly, it takes him a moment to even pull out his belt, but he still goes into battle.

(I do appreciate that they don’t show the full Grand transformation every time. Unlike certain other anniversary riders. Tsukasa. Fricking. Six episodes having to watch the full transformation into Complete. UGH. That was painful. If it were a better form, or a better sequence, I wouldn’t have been as made. But Complete is ugly, and the transformation cutscene for it is just. Bad.)

Sougo summons Den-O and Gaim’s weapons to take out the respective copies, and that leaves Agito. Who, you know. Doesn’t always have a weapon – his and Kuuga’s are form-based, unlike the more recent riders.

SO INSTEAD!

Sougo pulls out a translucent COPY of Agito, and sort of. Just. Merges with it to do Agito’s Rider Kick.

THAT’S REALLY CLEVER!

Tsukasa seems at least a little impressed. But here comes Geiz, going straight into Revive Typhoon, saying that he’s going to take Zi-O down to save the world.

And while Geiz is attacking at normal speed, so Sougo could have dodged…

But he doesn’t.

He just takes the hit.

We close out to the end screen, with the Another Den-O and Another Agito watches in the back… and once again, the Zi-O watch, glitching and being replaced by the Another Zi-O watch.

-

In the preview…

Zi-O II, Geize Revive Fury, and DECADE fighting Another Zi-O II.

Sougo: “There’s no point in fighting Geiz.”

A bunch of fight scenes, with Swartz saying that someone will help him, and Hiryuu sitting on a throne.

Daiki’s coming back! And still going on about treasure, because of course he is. (Still mad at Tsukasa about the first Super Hero Taisen movie, I’m guessing)

Tsukasa – still in the army jacket, but seeming to have ditched the helmet – spin kicking Another Build away from Tsukuyomi, and holding an honest to Gaim PISTOL.

AND SON OF A-

SOUNDS LIKE TSUKUYOMI IS, IN FACT, SWARTZ’S SISTER.

Or, at least, that’s what she’s being told, and Uhr – who looks to have just been holding a Faiz Phone X to Tsukuyomi’s head, being just as surprised as her.

THIS IS FIN-

YOU KNOW WHAT NO NONE OF THIS IS FINE.

THIS EPISODE IS SCARY.

-

So, Tsukasa’s ‘pep talk’. That’s the voice of experience that he’s using. That’s a man who has done the whole ‘evil ruler’ thing, and would really rather not see his latest successor go down that route. He’s just. Kind of terrible at saying it.

And of course he’s trying to point out to Sougo that he needs to rely on his allies, if in a roundabout way.

It was only because of Natsumi, Yusuke, and Daiki remembering him that he came back to life, after all.

Memories are a powerful thing in Kamen Rider. We just came off of the Den-O arc, which is largely powered by memories, and to go right into people not remembering that Sougo exists… well. There can’t be a coincidence that it’s also a Tsukasa arc now.

-

Also, as a note, we had some of the first decent shots of Oma Zi-O’s belt in this episode. Previously, we only got to see one side of it, the one not obstructed by his sash. This time… well.

The places that used to be for Ridewatches? Those look an awful lot like the extensions on the Grand watch.

[la-voce-to-me]

An Alyanette story for a-typical April! @larvesta and @breeeliss really inspired this story!

On AO3

“Hey Ladybug! Do you have a last name, or do you want mine?” Marinette blanched. She whipped around to see a smirking Alya, completely untouched by the utter chaos around her. Uncharacteristically, Alya wasn’t recording, in fact, it looked like she didn’t have her phone out at all. Marinette quickly tore through the ropes of caramel and over to her best friend.

    “Aly-I - you! This is the middle of an Akuma attack! You need to vacate the premise immediately! Are you hurt?” She rushed out, frantically looking around to ensure the Akuma was far away. “Wait. What did you ask me?”

    Alya let out a tinkling laugh, smirk stretching into an endeared grin.

    “I asked if you wanted my last name. I’d settle for a date if that was too much to ask.” She added with a wink, completely unaware to the grinding halt Marinette’s mind had screeched to.

    “I… are.. Are you hitting on me?” She asked, fully aware that if Chat had said the same thing it wouldn’t have been a blip on her radar. Alya laughed and Marinette couldn't figure out why there were sirens going off in her head.

“Of course, who wouldn’t want to score a date with the cutest savior of Paris? I’ll let you get back to work, you know how find me!” With that, Alya took off running, bringing Marinette back to the battle, shoving the sirens to the back of her mind as she turned to the Confectioner.

    “I just don’t understand, Tikki! Why would Alya hit on Ladybug? Is she gay? Is she bi? If she is why, hasn’t she told me? I mean it’s her business and if she feels uncomfortable sharing it then I don’t want to pressure her in any way but I just… I thought she trusted me!” Marinette wailed throwing herself onto her chaise. Her guardian sighed and flitted over her.

    “Alya does trust you Marinette! Just because she might not have told you something doesn’t mean anything! Why would her liking girls in any capacity be a big deal anyway? She’s always shown affection towards Ladybug, so why is it a big deal now?” Marinette whined into a pillow.

    “I don’t know! I just… I can’t stop thinking about what she said! It was so forward! How- how could… I don’t know why I can’t get the image of her grinning so confidently out of my mind!”

    “Maybe Alya assumed you would know? Not everyone has to come out. Maybe she thought you had already talked about it?”

    Marinette shifted her weight so one eye was peeking out at Tikki, blue eyes round with worry.

    “I really don’t think so, Tikki. I… I think she believes I would react badly. I don’t know why though… why doesn’t she trust me?” Closing her eyes, Marinette curled into herself, trying not to think about all the times she didn’t stop someone from using a slur, or all the times she fell silent during conversations of identity.

Without warning, she bolted up, practically flinging herself into her desk chair and frantically pulling at her sketchbook.

“Ah! Marinette? What’s- what are you doing?” Tikki exclaimed, her antennae twitching from the sudden movement.’

“If Alya thinks I wouldn’t be supportive, I’ll just have to show her otherwise!” She chirped, frantically scribbling. “I’ll make clothes that have all sorts of flags on them! Something for every identity because- well obviously I don’t want to assume- I mean just because she might like girls doesn’t mean she can’t-”  Tikki cut her off with a cheerful laugh, and finally perched on Marinette’s computer to watch her work.

***

Mission 1: Verbal Support

“Hey Alya, you look cute today! Trying to get someone’s attention? Not that you couldn’t be dressed cute for yourself- but if you were trying to- I mean- no, wait, give me a second- gosh why am I so- ANYWAY. It could be anyone. Y’know? Anyyyoneee at aaaalll.” Marinette stumbled out, looking intensely at a incredibly confused Alya.

“Uh. Thanks, girl. I’m not trying to catch anybody’s eye though, I just got some new makeup I wanted to try. The one I texted you about last night?” Alya cocked a hip and an eyebrow as she spoke, staring down her best friend in such a reporter way that Marinette might have wondered what Alya was investigating, if she wasn't so preoccupied with her own.

“Oh, yeah. Well. The color really suits you!” Marinette finally chirped back, deflating at the failed show of support.

Mission 2: Clothing

“Alright girl, you look dead on your feet. What were you making last night?” Alya said, hovering over Marinette’s slumped figure.

“It… I’m wearing it… I just… I’ll show you later..” She mumbled, slowly drifting off to sleep. Alya smiled and tucked back a piece of Marinette’s hair, grinning harder when a small smiled appeared on the designers face.

Mission 2, 2.0: Clothing

“Wow Marinette, that’s a cool shirt! Did you make it?” Adrien asked the wide eyed girl. She slowly nodded, desperately trying to catch Alya’s eye to save her. Instead, Alya was studiously facing away, probably giving Marinette a chance to talk to her long time crush.

“I-uh. Yeah. I’ve been thinking a lot about current events and figured some solidarity was in order,” she breathed out, still mostly looking at the back of Alya’s head, mentally begging her to turn around.

Due to this, she missed the look of incredulity that passed of Adrien’s face at her fully fledged sentence.

“That’s awesome Marinette! If you ever want to-eh, I mean, you don’t have to, but if you want I’m sure some of our classmates would be proud to wear something like that too! Including me! Just a thought…” he trialed off, placing a hand to his neck as he slowly followed Marinette’s line of sight. He let a small smile form on his face before excusing himself, leaving the pair of girls alone.

“Oh my gosh girl! He totally asked you to make him a shirt! He- oh! Is that what you were going to show me earlier? It’s so cute! I want one too, if you make one for him!” Alya gushed, eyes roaming over the design. An embroidered rainbow heart was the center of the shirt, and had stripes of color coming out from it, each stripe a pattern of a different identity flag.

Marinette smiled, thinking her mission was working, and soon enough Alya would feel so comfortable that all trust would be restored.

Mission 3: Be public

“Alright, we can get this student congress meeting started. As your president I am very concerned about how safe and comfortable our student body feels at school, and thus I am suggesting we start a GSA in order to ensure a safe space for all students of all identities. Thoughts?” Marinette stood with her hands on her hips, almost daring anyone to challenge her motion.

No one did.

“Perfect. We can discuss the specifics at the end of our agenda. Next…”

Mission 4: Get others involved

“Hi everyone! Even though I’m not an officer for the GSA, I thought for our first meeting I could make everyone something to wear throughout school, so we can not only advertise our club, but also be more visible with our support! I fully understand if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe wearing these pins, but if you are so inclined, please take one! I have a whole bunch so we can also hand them out for anyone who wants to join or just generally show support!” Marinette held out a box with multi colored pins, each saying “GSA”. Some were rainbow, some were grey and purple, other pink purple and blue, and others still pink yellow and blue. Not wanting to out anyone, Marinette had also made many generic white ones.

In the rush to grab a button, Marinette missed which one Alya took. It would have been a low way to find out anyway, she reasoned. However, she didn’t miss Chloe searching around in the box before pulling out two rainbow ones, and handing the second to Sabrina.

Marinette smiled, momentarily forgetting any plot, plan, or investigation as her friends and classmates chattered excitedly in the safe space she had helped create.

She turned and smiled at Alya, who was focused on Marinette’s hand as she absently stirred the leftover buttons.

Mission 5: Surprise

“Marinette, can we talk for a minute?” Alya said suddenly, sitting up from her place lounging on Mari’s floor. Marinette turned slowly in her desk chair, facing her friend.

“Yes? Is something up?”

“I… I’ve been thinking. A lot. About the whole GSA thing, and the line of shirts you’ve been making, and all the… support. You don’t have to tell me anything, I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, and I also didn’t want to assume but… You can tell me anything. Okay? I just want you to know that.” She seemed to bore holes into Marinette’s skull as she processed what Alya had said.

“What.” Was all the petite girl could manage. Alya’s shoulders slumped before she started to laugh.

“Oh my gosh, okay, nevermind. Did you figure out number 14 yet?” She asked, pushing herself off the floor to look at Marinette’s paper.

Mission 6: Recon

“Chat? Can I ask you something, judgement free?” Ladybug asked, swinging her legs off her perch on a roof.  He turned and examined her slouched posture, before turning fully to face her.

“Of course, My Lady. Is everything alright?” He reached out a hand to bump her shoulder, silently asking if she needed one of his signature hugs. She turned and flopped back dramatically, making him huff out a laugh.

“I think I might be in love with my best friend.” She said, pausing a moment before looking at him. He was waiting for her to continue, no sign of jealousy or hurt on his face. “She… she said a pick up line to me a while ago when I was suited up, and I realized that she might like Ladybug, which meant she hadn’t come out to civilian me. It sent me on a whirlwind of support to try and show her how much it would be okay if she was into girls, and… and then she asked me if I wasn’t straight. More or less.” She took a deep breath and frowned.

“Ladybug, it’s okay to question your sexuality. Is that what the problem is?” Chat asked gently.

“No... it’s more that I don’t know how to question it. I’ve always known how pretty she is. She’s got the most beautiful hair, her smile is amazing, and she always knows what to say. She goes along with my antics while also helping me calm down. I’m a mess as a civilian, but I would be a disaster without her.” She sat up and started tracing patterns onto her legs, a habit that Chat realized was a confidence builder. A reminder of who she was, a lady in spots.

“It sounds like you are at the very least platonically in love with her. If it’s no more than that, it’s okay. That can happen!” He said, bumping her shoulder with his. “I know this probably feels so scary right now, but I’ll be here to help you talk it out. Okay?” He held out his fist, and she tapped it with hers.

“Thanks Chat. You’re such an amazing friend.”

Mission 7: Oh Fuck

Alya twirled in front of Marinette, letting the red satin pool around her feet as she slowed to a stop.

“Marinette, this... This is too beautiful for words! We’re going to be the best dressed at a fashion gala! I can’t believe Adrien invited us! I can’t believe you made this! I look like a model! Oh my god do you think people will give you internships when I tell them you made this dress?” Alya gushed, waving her arms and still slightly swaying to feeling the fabric flutter around her.

Marinette could only weakly smile as she took in the sight of her best friend wearing what could only be described as a ball gown. Red satin skirt with a black crop top, haltered and attached to the bottom with sheer glittery lace. The edge on the skirt had dark red embroidery, only becoming apparent when light hit the iridescent threads. Matching black embroidery flowed over the shoulders and collar of the dress, giving the illusion of a glow around Alya’s head.

    “We’ll get so much attention tonight! We both look like princesses! Marinette?”

    “Ye-yeah… you… we-” She stuttered, suddenly wishing she had given her own dress a little more breathing room as she struggled for a full breath. Alya blushed and scanned her eyes over Marinettes slightly matching dress. The dress was composed of a blue crop top attached to a black skater skirt, overlaid with the extra lace that adorned Alya’s midriff. It was as eye catching as Alya’s but showed significantly more skin, something Marinette was more and more aware of as she blushed under Alya’s gaze.

    “We should head out soon!” Alya and she said in unison, effectively breaking the tension that had crept into the room.

Mission 8: Recon Part 2

“So, I definitely like her-” Ladybug said, dodging Chat’s baton and swinging her yoyo towards him. “The thing I’m hung up on is that I also still like that one classmate I’ve told you about?” Chat leapt away from her kick, forcing her to turn it into a jump.

“The guy you said doesn’t pay attention to you? What are you thinking then? Bi? Pan? You don’t have to have a label if you don’t want to…” He lunged at her, swiping at her. She raised an arm to block it before swinging a leg out to trip him. He fell with a large thud, and she lightly rested her foot on his chest. “How on earth can you spar while talking and not get distracted?” He whined, accepting his loss with a huff.

She grinned and sat down next to him. “You’re getting a lot faster, with that last move you nearly had me.” He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, causing her to laugh. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I think… I think I’m probably pan. From what I’ve read, sometimes bi is described as your gender as one and then just any other gender but I think it would get misinterpreted if I didn’t say pan.”

“Well then. My lady thank you for sharing that with me. It means a lot that you trust me enough to talk about this with you.” Chat said, lightly elbowing her side. She looked down at him and grinned, slowly realizing that she liked Alya and… and Alya liked her.

“Oh my god. Oh no. Oh no oh no….. Alya likes Ladybug, Chat what if she doesn’t like civilian me? I don’t know that I could handle that, I couldn’t handle a rejection from my best friend, what if she hates me for telling her I like her? Chat what am I going to do?” Ladybug turned on him, blue eyes round and filled with self doubt. He sat up and put a hand on her back.

“LB, take a deep breath, okay? From what it sounds like, this girl is super kind. You and she wouldn't be friends if she didn’t enjoy your company, and she sounds smart enough to handle a rejection in a way that wouldn’t end your friendship. That having been said, she sounds super into you. You are Ladybug, in and out of the suit. I bet she likes you.”

Marinette bit into her lip, trying to convince herself that Chat’s words were true. He watched her in silence for a moment before sighing and standing up.

“Ladybug. If she doesn’t like you, it’s not going to be the end of the world. I’ll always be here if you need help. I do have to get back now, but I promise Plagg will tell me if you call.” He squeezed her shoulder before leaping off the side of the building, back towards his real life.

Logically, Marinette knew that telling Alya how she felt was a good option. Logically, she knew that if Alya didn’t return her feelings, their relationship probably wouldn’t change much. Logically, she knew that her best friend, her kind, beautiful, sassy best friend, was not going to hate her for something like this. However, Marinette didn’t give a damn about logic. Her mind was spinning circles around the idea that herself as Ladybug and the person Alya knew were two different people.

She rose and withdrew her yoyo, deciding she should work off some of her nervous energy before going home. With a solid leap, she took off, hoping the repetitive pounding of her feet would linger in her mind like a metronome to pace her erratically beating heart to.  

Mission 9: Abort Mission

    Even though Marinette’s plan for exhausting herself hadn’t worked, the bags under her eyes and wild hair had much more to do with how intensely she was avoiding Alya. She hadn't forgotten that Alya still hadn’t actually come out to her, and it only added to her concern over what to do.

    Another concern was in the way that Alya’s eyes scanned over her in the morning, and when how she made no comment after seeming to reach a conclusion about Marinette’s current state of being. The concern was in the way that Alya asked no questions about how she slept, what kept her up, or if she needed to borrow the hairbrush Alya always carried around. The concern was in the way that Alya saw through everything Marinette ever did, and today she had decided not to comment on whatever she saw going on in Marinette’s head.

    It wasn’t fair, really. It wasn’t fair that Alya always knew what Marinette was thinking, or that she was so pretty, or that she saw how one word would probably cause Marinette to have a breakdown. Even though it set the petite girl on edge, it was the first moment since she realized the Ladybug dilemma that she felt it might end up okay.

    This didn’t stop her from avoiding Alya all day, of course. Every time Alya spoke, Marinette’s shoulders flinched, and she all but sprinted out of the room when the bell rang for lunch. Alya didn’t text or call asking why Marinette ran home, and though Marinette was slightly put out at this, she was more overwhelmed with the thought that Alya knew.

    There was no other logical explanation for how fastidiously Alya was giving her space. Marinette’s mind was a whirlwind of white noise, a radio station in between actual channels, where little blips from miscellaneous wavelengths shot through, still unintelligible but painfully loud. She knows. Does she like me. She knows. Does she hate me. I’m still Ladybug, I’m still Ladybug, I’m still-

    A knock.

Mission 10: She Knows

    Another knock.

    Marinette is frozen on her bed, hands knotted in her hair, staring at the trapdoor as it creaks open. Alya’s auburn hair peaks out over the top of the opening, soon followed by her warm eyes and a concerned frown. Silence muffles her footsteps as she fully emerges, the white noise in Marinette’s head forming into a dull roar as Alya crosses the room and sits next to her.

    Their eyes don’t meet after Alya sits down. Even though there are only inches apart, Marinette feels an ocean away. The tide is quickly coming back in, and Marinete finds herself thrown ashore as she realizes Alya has placed something in her lap.

    It’s a photo of Marinette. A photo from the day of the Confectioner attack that seemed years in the past.

    Marinette knows why Alya wasn’t recording that day.

    “We can talk when you want to. Do you want me to leave? This is normally when you would call me in order to talk out your thoughts, but I’d understand-”

    “Alya, I’m really not straight. Like super not straight.”

    Marinette still hadn’t moved her eyes from the photo, trying to remember everything about that day, but she could feel Alya drag her stare from the floor to Marinette’s face.

    “When did you figure it out? I thought something might be going on, but when I tried to ask you…”

    That made Marinette laugh, and the tension eased out of the room. She looked into Alya’s eyes for the first time that day.

    “I didn’t think to question anything until you asked. I-uh I did some research and stuff afterwards. Recon you might say…” She blushed. Alya let a smile stretch across her face. “Um. Before we talk about that, we should probably talk about this,” she waved the photo. “I’m so sorry you had to find out like this. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, I’m not allowed… and now you know. So… ta-da! I’m Ladybug.” Marinette said weakly.

    Alya barked out a laugh, and then the two of them couldn’t stop. All the secret holding, the silent questions, were out the window. Alya had managed to follow Marinette to the akuma without her knowledge, and had started recording, accidentally managing to catch her friend ducking behind a tree to transform. The blurry photo was undeniable, pink light, half red spandex and half white cotton, dark pigtails, and a face of pure determination.  

    “Girl, I know how secret identities work. It’s completely okay. I just- I mean you know how gay I am for Ladybug, even before i knew it was you, and then once I did know… well lets just say I didn’t know if I could be gayer until that day.” Despite Alya’s calm and confident tone, the blush across her face broke through her facade.

    Fortunately for Alya, Marinette was frozen, replaying her words. A swell of embarrassment came over Marinette and she let out a low groan, burying her face in her hands. You know how gay I am for Ladybug, of course! Alya said that all the time and Marinette never thought twice about the confession, chalking it up to general admiration of superheros.

    “Goddammit, I’m so ridiculous. I started this whole LGBTQ+  campaign to try and let you know I would be okay with you coming out to me, never once realizing you already had. Oh my god. Wow. Okay.” Marinette was still hiding behind her hands, but at Alya’s nervous laughter she peeked between her fingers.

    “Um, that’s great and all, but I high-key just confessed to being in love with you-” The white noise stopped, and in her first moment of reprieve since everything started, Marinette celebrated by darting forward and kissing her best friend.

    “Sorry, I forgot I hadn’t responded. I… I love you too. If it wasn’t obvious.”

    “You dork.” Alya responded, grinning from ear to ear. “We’re going to be late heading back to school. Can… can we hold hands? Like on the way there? And maybe in class? If you wanted?”

    Marinette answered by slipping her hand into Alya’s, and didn’t let go.

Not when Nino yelled “FINALLY” after he saw them.

Not when Alix wolf whistled.

Not even when Adrien offered them a quiet congratulations.

    Instead, she just smiled and squeezed Alya’s hand, happy to exist, embarrassment and all.