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robinsonranch · 5 months ago

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Cameras were rolling when a chopper killed an actor and two kids. Was A-list director to blame?

BY CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD | STAFF WRITER

June 12, 2024 3am Front page top article

Los Angeles Times

In the last seconds of his life, the 53-year-old actor Vic Morrow was struggling through knee-deep water with a child in each arm. The location, 35 miles north of downtown L.A., was Indian Dunes, which set designers had repurposed as a wartime Vietnamese village.

Morrow, who performed as a surly delinquent in “Blackboard Jungle,” a tough soldier in the TV drama “Combat!” and a volatile baseball coach in “The Bad News Bears,” was on this day playing a bigot dreamed up by writer-director John Landis for a segment of “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”

Landis, 31, stood in waders nearby while his cameras rolled. Brash and exuberant, he had a reputation as a gleeful impresario of envelope-pushing stunts. He liked to brag about all the cars he had demolished filming “The Blues Brothers” a few years earlier.

For this shot, he had dropped Morrow’s character into the Vietnam War to enact what was intended as a redemption scene, the heroic rescue of two children from a village as it erupted in flames.

“I’ll keep you safe, kids,” Morrow was supposed to say.

The children in his arms — My-Ca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Chen, 6 — had never acted before. They were not supposed to be on this movie set, at 2:20 a.m. on July 23, 1982. Their parents were receiving a few hundred dollars for their work. The director knew their presence at this hour violated labor laws, but he did not want to use dummies.

About 24 feet above Morrow and the children hovered three tons of noisy metal, a combat-style Huey UH-1B helicopter. As a special effects man fired gasoline-and-sawdust mortars skyward, Morrow stumbled in the water, righted himself and slogged on.

The effects man was not looking up when he shot off the fireball that engulfed the tail rotor, sending the helicopter into an uncontrollable spin. The machine plummeted, crushing and killing Renee. The main rotor blade, 44 feet long, decapitated Morrow and My-Ca. In the footage shown over and over on TV, a curtain of water mercifully blocked the fatal split-second from the camera’s view.

At Morrow’s funeral, Landis struggled to speak and invoked art.

“Tragedy strikes in an instant, but film is immortal,” the director said. “Perhaps we can take some solace in the knowledge that through his work in stage, television and film, Vic lives forever.”

One of Morrow’s friends, Rick Jason, gave a reporter his opinion of the disaster. “It’s just an outlandish freak, and I don’t think you can draw a conclusion from it.”

Sgt. Thomas Budds drew a conclusion. The veteran L.A. County sheriff’s detective believed it was criminal recklessness. He arrived before dawn that day, stepping carefully around the toppled chopper, its big blade sideways in the mud of the Santa Clara River.

He examined the charred remains of the mocked-up village. He examined the three bodies and ordered the river drained, so that remaining body parts could be located. The permeating reek of gasoline would haunt his memory.

Budds, the sole detective on the case, conducted hundreds of interviews in the following months. He spoke to camera operators and assistants, makeup artists and hairstylists. In Budds’ mind, a picture formed of an arrogant, overbearing director who was cavalier about risk and whose subordinates were fearful of second-guessing him.

He had the impression of a director who believed himself in competition for spectacular spectacle with Steven Spielberg, who was co-producing the “Twilight Zone” movie but would not be implicated in the case.

Budds assembled his evidence in two binders and brought them to the district attorney’s office to recommend charges. Pivotal in his decision, Budds told The Times in a recent interview, was the account of cameraman Steve Lydecker, who said Landis ignored his warning about the dangers of the special effects.

“We may lose the helicopter,” the cameraman recalled Landis joking.

There were other signs of recklessness during the filming, Budds thought. At 9:30 p.m. the night before the crash, the two children had been placed in a hut, unaccompanied, near big drums of gasoline.

“All you needed was a spark, and those kids would have been killed.”

At 11:30 p.m., in a precursor to the fatal flight, a fireball singed the face of a production manager riding in the helicopter.

“The explosions were too big. They were put on notice at that point. If the 11:30 event hadn’t happened, I would never have pursued the case.”

Budds added: “It’s like they had a swimming pool and someone almost drowned. You’d think they’d put a fence up.”

Between the fatal crash in summer 1982 and the beginning of his trial in summer 1986, John Landis remained an in-demand artist. He directed the hit screwball comedy “Trading Places” and Michael Jackson’s comic-horror “Thriller” video. “Twilight Zone: The Movie” came out, with the helicopter scene omitted.

Then, Landis took his seat in a downtown L.A. courtroom as the first Hollywood director to face criminal charges for a death on set. The possible penalty was six years in prison. He and four others — his production manager, his associate producer, his special effects coordinator and the helicopter pilot — faced charges of involuntary manslaughter.

The prosecutor, the fiery and theatrical Lea D’Agostino, bragged that she had never lost a case. She liked her nickname, the Dragon Lady, because it connoted toughness.

She called Landis a “tyrannical dictator,” a reckless director who ignored common sense and sacrificed safety for realism in service of “a lousy motion picture.”

Sitting at the government table beside Sgt. Budds, D’Agostino was confident she could hold her own as the lone prosecutor against a seven-man team of aggressive defense attorneys. Among them was James Neal, the barrel-chested legend who had prosecuted the Watergate conspirators and Jimmy Hoffa, and who insisted to the “Twilight Zone” jurors:

“Not one of these gentlemen intended to hurt anyone. Not one of these gentlemen thought the scene as planned and rehearsed was dangerous. Not one of these gentlemen is guilty of criminal negligence.” He called the crash “unforeseen” and “unforeseeable.” If the helicopter had crashed a few feet away, he pointed out, Landis himself would be dead.

He and other defense attorneys directed blame to the effects man, James Camomile, who had been given immunity for his testimony and admitted that he had not looked up when he shot off the fatal fireball.

The most wrenching words came from the parents of the dead children, who said they had been misled about the danger.

“Did [associate producer George Folsey Jr.] or Mr. Landis or anyone else on that motion picture tell you that your daughter Renee was going to be filmed with explosives in close proximity to her?” the prosecutor asked.

“No,” testified Mark Chen, who had lost his only child.

“Did either Mr. Landis or Mr. Folsey or anyone else on that set, Mr. Chen, tell you that your daughter Renee was going to be filmed with a helicopter approximately 24 feet over her head?”

“No.”

He had agreed to let Renee do the picture, he said, so that “she would have a lot of memories” when she grew up.

My-Ca Le’s father, Daniel Le, who had been on the Indian Dunes set, said he heard someone ordering the helicopter to descend as the special effects went off: “Lower, lower.”

Having lived through the Vietnam War as a child, he said he was so startled by the on-set explosions that he dropped to the ground.

Jurors piled into a bus for a trip to the crash site, and to the Academy theater in Beverly Hills, where they watched the crash from six angles. (“A glamorous setting for a grim task,” one reporter called it.) Celebrities occasionally visited the courtroom, including Dan Aykroyd, a “Blues Brothers” and “Trading Places” star.

When defense attorneys presented their case, co-defendant Dorcey Wingo, who had piloted the downed chopper, stunned the courtroom when he seemed to suggest that Morrow bore some responsibility for the tragedy.

Five seconds had elapsed between the helicopter’s loss of control and the crash. “It distresses me to the max that he never looked up,” Wingo testified, which the prosecutor derided as “blaming the dead man.”

Landis took the stand in his own defense and quickly conceded that he had flouted the rules in hiring the children.

“We decided to break the law. We decided wrongly to violate the labor code.” Landis called it “a technical violation.”

The director denied joking to the cameraman that they might lose the helicopter. He denied that the parents were in the dark about the nature of the scene (he had told them personally, he said). He denied ever being warned that the filming of the fatal scene was dangerous. He denied any recollection of having ordered the helicopter to go “lower, lower.” At times, the director appeared to choke up.

“Would you like some Kleenex, sir?” D’Agostino mocked him.

Talking to reporters, she called it a calculated performance worthy of an Oscar.

“The whole world is lying, according to John Landis, except John Landis,” she said. “I find that somewhat incredible, and I’m assuming that the jurors will, too.”

She was badly mistaken about the jurors. After 10 months of trial and nine days of deliberations, all five defendants were acquitted on May 29, 1987. The jury forewoman echoed the defense’s main point, saying: “You don’t prosecute people for unforeseeable accidents.”

Landis, who declined to be interviewed for this story, told a reporter afterward that the prosecutor was “grotesque” and her case “completely dishonest.” “I feel that accident very strongly,” he said, adding that he was grateful for the jurors’ wisdom and comparing the outcome to a Frank Capra movie.

A year after his acquittal, jurors received invitations — along with their families — to a special preview screening of Landis’ new movie, the Eddie Murphy comedy “Coming to America.” Harland Braun, the acerbic attorney who represented one of the director’s co-defendants at trial, did not like how it looked.

“I wonder if he invited the parents of the children, because they were part of the case, too.”

The dejected prosecutor said she hoped, at least, that the case would deter future filmmakers from taking unnecessary risks. She believed the jury had been starstruck, a conclusion echoed nearly 40 years later by Budds, now 78. He thought it was unseemly, the way jurors embraced Landis and his wife after the verdict.

“They just identified with the whole Hollywood scene, and I think they missed the whole point about the responsibility to protect children,” Budds said. “It’s one thing if Vic Morrow chose to be under the helicopter, but to put little kids in that situation, it’s just unconscionable.”

In the aftermath of the deaths, the Directors Guild of America reprimanded Landis and tightened safety procedures.

“I think it made people more conscious of safety concerns on film sets,” Stephen Farber, co-author with Marc Green of “Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case,” said in a recent interview. The book argues that whatever the legal outcome, Landis bore moral responsibility for the tragedy.

“It was a wake-up call for many filmmakers of that period. I think they all were very much chastened by this case,” Farber said.

The length of the trial ensured that the terrible footage was constantly on the nightly news. It replayed endlessly, Morrow struggling through the water with a child under each arm, stumbling, righting himself, carrying them to the spot where they would all die behind the curtain of water.

On-set deaths, when they do occur, rarely dominate the news, with some exceptions, including the prop-gun deaths of Brandon Lee on “The Crow” in 1993 and Halyna Hutchins on “Rust” in 2021. There were at least 43 fatalities on sets in the U.S. between 1990 and 2016, many of them behind-the-scenes crew members who died without public notice, according to an Associated Press investigation.

The rise of computer-generated imagery makes it possible to achieve effects without actual explosions, so that now “you wouldn’t really have to blow up a whole village,” Farber said. But memories are short, and “I’m not convinced that something like this could not happen again.”

At Universal Studios, where Landis was sometimes spotted walking to his office in the 1990s, tram guides were forbidden from mentioning his name.

In the decades after the trial, when Landis gave interviews, he spoke in a booming, jovial voice and conveyed the impression of a man whose outsized self-confidence remained undimmed.

Did he escape accountability? Farber thinks the case ultimately hurt Landis’ viability as a big-time director. It made him easier not to hire, when he stopped creating hits.

Strangers made a point to remind the director of that night at Indian Dunes. Drew McWeeny, a screenwriter, once found himself on a TV set with Landis in Vancouver, where a local Teamster was reading “Outrageous Conduct” in conspicuous view of the director.

“Teamsters are on sets where they’re asked to do things they know they’re not supposed to do and told to take one for the team,” McWeeny said. “I think that for a lot of crew guys, Landis is the ultimate symbol of that.”

By McWeeny’s account, a frustrated Landis yelled at the Teamster, who was unimpressed and instead proffered the book with a question: Can you sign it?

#the twilight zone the movie #john landis #vic morrow

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firstbuzz · 1 year ago

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Italy's Mount Etna eruption captured from space as ash, lava spews out

Mount Etna, the towering volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, has once again captured the world's attention with its eruption.

The event was so significant that it was observed from space by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, which used shortwave-infrared bands to highlight the lava flow at the time of acquisition.

The eruption sent a dramatic plume of ash and lava into the sky, visible from various parts of the Mediterranean island. Social media was abuzz with footage showing the fiery spectacle as molten rock and ash were ejected into the night sky. Despite the potential hazards, operations at Catania Airport, located near the base of the volcano, have not been disrupted.

Mount Etna stands at an impressive height of approximately 3,329 meters and is known for its almost continuous volcanic activity. This recent eruption is part of a series of events that have characterized the volcano's behavior, with frequent ash emissions posing risks to the surrounding areas, including the densely populated city of Catania

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uzumakgi · 3 years ago

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mha boys on hell’s kitchen

[. masterlist ] who will rise as a culinary god? who will crumble under pressure?

warnings unedited, swearing, stressful situation, name-calling, steroid mention

characters bakugou, todoroki, denki, kirishima

genre, type crack, headcanons

bakugou: mad and lil bit of a fan

bakugou made sous chef at his current job in less than 2 years and yah, he doesn't mind rubbing it in.

he's essentially a culinary godsend for the first 7 episodes. he knows wtf he's doing and doesn't mind rubbing it in everyone's (deku's) face during team discussions.

that being said, he's got a mf temper. he almost clocked the blue kitchen’s sous chef for breathing wrong around him.

the only time bakugou seems to be non-volatile is around chef ramsey; he respects him a shitload and tries not to fuck up by doing anything wrong...

but of course, no one's perfect. one time bakugou kept messing up the scallops during service and ramsey switched him out with deku.

a loud growl (?) erupted from the kitchen followed by a string of "not fucking deku" and "i've got this chef".

chef didn't appreciate being given lip... he got kicked out after that.

bakugou made it to black jackets in the end, but got eliminated for his explosive behaviour.

todoroki: clueless and wrong

todoroki has a culinary background... but maybe he shouldn't have disclosed it.

on the first day, the rest of the contestants thought he'd be the one to beat because of how well he did during the 'signature dish' segment. they were wrong.

see, todoroki is a good chef. but only in his own kitchen. he's constantly clueless and manages to scrape by because someone is always slightly worse than him.

he definitely puts 110% into the challenges!! that's for sure!! there's bottomless footage of him rolling around with chickens and scavenging through garbage. he's not even trying to be funny, he's just reality tv show worthy in that sense.

chef ramsey keeps him on partly because todoroki is a one man circus show but also because when he's in his groove, he makes perfect cuisine.

one time the chef asked him "what's wrong with this risotto" and todoroki, like a dumb hot bitch, said "nothing, chef" bc he thought it was reverse psychology LMAO

he made it to episode 6. #legendshit

denki: the guy that brought his own bandana

denki used to work at his aunt's catering business and willed himself into learning how to cook. which thus prompted him into wearing his bandana on the first day of HS. he's serious and he wants to show it. plus he's trying to impress the ladies.

he's very much self taught and doesn't know a lot of chef jargon, which fucks him up for the first couple of episodes, but contrary to popular belief, denki picks up new technique very quickly.

everyone kind of understates him because the man made a pickle flavoured tuna steak for his signature dish (ramsey threw up).

but slowly, he proves himself to be the underdog. he def carries the blue team during the team challenges and everyone eventually acknowledges him for it (even bakugou sometimes!).

he’s got an awesome palette. mans can identify a fig from a mile away.

this doesn't translate to the services though... he can get himself into a rut and not get out of it. it doesn't help that he's got the rest of the team screaming in his ear to "snap out of it!"

denki almost made it to black jackets. chef ramsey let him keep his jacket because he has potential. and he does!

kirishima: the unbreakable champ

y'all already know kirishima is everyone's #1 hype man.

before hell's kitchen, he already had a large following in part due to his good physique, but as well because he's both a personal chef and trainer.

so when kirishima made a protein shake for his signature dish, you bet your ass chef called it "gerber baby's lunch". he trended that night.

chef picks on him more than the others because of his famous background, but kirishima doesn't let it faze him! in fact, kirishima really thinks chef is just trying to motivate him, so when he's called "muscles" and "steroid donkey" (rip my man he did nothing he just lifts) kirishima jus smiles and carries on with a little "alright chef! i've got the garnish ready!!”

he can't help but hype everyone up and tell them to "keep it pushing, guys!" ... maybe he accidentally yells over chef sometimes.

kirishima is a bulky guy. he def bumps into people and runs across the kitchen like it's track and field day and yeah, his team has definitely put him up for elimination because of those mistakes, but he's never actually been at risk of being eliminated.

nonetheless, he's a good cook and becomes bakugou's new biggest competition when they both make black jackets.

#bakugou x reader #bnha #bakugou katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugou #shoto torodoki #shouto todoroki x reader #todoroki imagines #todoroki x reader #kirishima x reader #kirishima eijirou #denki x reader #denki kaminari

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invisibleanonymousmonsters · 4 years ago

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All Men Have Limits - IX

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 2,800+

Warning: Violence, Mentions of past domestic abuse

Previously on…

A WEEK LATER...

Of course it had to be raining the night they needed to execute their plan.

Y/N didn’t know if she was shaking because she was freezing or because she was so nervous. Even with all the layers and her knit hat, she couldn’t seem to warm up.

Y/N had been walking around for half an hour. They’d mapped out her route so her face would get picked up by as many street cameras as possible. If The Court was as sinister as rumored, they’d be watching.

“Scratch your nose if you’re doing alright,” Dick said in Y/N’s ear.

The whole family had explained how imperative it was for Y/N not to speak. They had to assume that Y/N was being watched the moment she left the manor. And if her lips moved, the Talons would know something was up.

So Y/N scratched her nose and looked over her shoulder suspiciously, just like they had talked about.

“Remember: you want out at any moment, just press the distress button on your watch,” Dick added for good measure.

Y/N wanted to roll her eyes at his worry and overprotectiveness, and say, ‘I know. I know.’ But she knew better than that.

“Someone’s tracking her,” Jason spoke up in the comms. “Civilian clothing.”

Jason started calling out the identifiers to his family, and in 30 seconds everyone spotted the man that was tailing Y/N.

But this was all part of the plan.

“I still don’t like this,” Dick muttered to his family, making sure he cut Y/N’s connection off so she didn’t hear his nervousness.

“’Course you are. We’re throwing your girlfriend to the wolves,” Jason commented.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dick muttered with annoyance.

“Focus,” Bruce chimed in for the first time.

“She’s stuck to the route we gave her,” Tim commented. “All well-lit and crowded with people. They won’t make a scene with this many witnesses.”

The family moved across rooftops, following Y/N’s path from their designated points.

Dick and Bruce both hated this plan, but they were handling it in different ways.

Bruce had become almost mute with focus. He didn’t want a single thing to slip past him. His senses were acute as ever. He was barely communicating with them because he was too busy keeping an eye on Y/N. His eyes hadn’t stopping shooting around, making sure to cover all angles.

“She’s entering the warehouse,” Damian announced.

Everyone shifted their focus and made their moves.

Y/N stopped at the computers she had set up. Or really that Bruce had hired men to set up for her.

She started typing away rapidly, not sure how much time she’d have before deadly ninjas would start dropping on her.

With one final slam of a key, she let out a shallow breath. “Signal’s been sent out. We’re live.”

“Nice!” Tim answered.

Jason started to chime in, but suddenly his voice became crackly and then the line went silent.

“Red Hood?” Y/N asked.

Nothing.

“Anyone read?”

Nothing.

Y/N felt a chill go up her spine.

She whipped around to find three Talons awaiting her attention.

Y/N quickly took a step back and pressed the panic button on her watch. She hoped The Court hadn’t somehow intercepted that signal as well.

“You were lucky with our last encounter,” a Talon stepped forward to speak.

Y/N ignored him and took out both of the guns that had been hiding in her trench coat.

He laughed at the weapons. “Have we not already tried this?”

“At least I’m not a coward hiding behind a mask. Won’t even let me see the faces of the idiots who want to kill me?”

They all ignored her attempt to get them to unmask themselves, but started stepping toward her. “Not want. We will kill you this time.”

But before Y/N could answer or the Talons could get any closer, a smoke bomb was dropped in the space between her and her enemy.

Just as it erupted, Dick dropped down from the bannister above and shoved a gas mask over Y/N’s face.

This wasn’t just any usual gas bomb that Batman and the family used as a distraction. No, this was a special formula designed to burn eyes and cause coughing fits.

One thing was made quite clear, the Talon’s masks were not used to protect them from such attacks. They were meant to hide their identity and nothing else.

Y/N smirked when she heard the sudden coughing and groans of pain. They weren’t muffled by fabric, meaning they had no choice but to remove their masks.

“Stay back,” Dick warned her before lightly pushing her behind a pillar as the smoke bomb started to settle.

Barely giving them a chance, Dick attacked the weakened Talons.

But now the three of them were unmasked. Their eyes were burned red and watery with tears.

And their faces were exposed.

Y/N’s stomach dropped as she saw Dick flip to them and attack.

But she had a job to do and started tapping away on the high-tech watch around her wrist. She was walking backwards, staying away from the fight, just as Dick had instructed.

But then she backed into a body.

“Fuck,” Y/N muttered as she froze and her eyes widened in panic.

She whipped around to find a Talon with his sword drawn.

Then other blurs were dropping down from the banisters, more were joining the fight.

Y/N reached for both of her guns and was ready to start firing – despite that not benefiting her in the slightest bit last time.

But before she could take even one shot, someone dropped in front of her protectively.

Bruce was a like a wall of shadow, blocking Y/N from the enemy.

“Run, Y/N.” He demanded without breaking eye contact with his opponent.

She knew better than to fight him on it. This was what they had agreed upon: Y/N was to be used as bait and do her job, then get the hell out.

“No matter what you hear or see, you run like hell,” Dick had told her. His eyes had been desperate and his grip on her shoulders had been tight. Y/N hadn’t been able to find it in her to do anything but give a slow nod.

Barely a second passed after Bruce’s warning before multiple Talons were on him. But Bruce was a worthy opponent and was able to distract them enough for Y/N to get away.

She ran for the nearest exit.

But the warehouse was now crawling with Talons.

Two more blocked her path, making her screech to a stop and turn around, facing Jason.

“Get down,” he told her calmly as he raised two guns.

She dove to the ground and covered her ears as Jason cleared out his ammo.

Without waiting for further instruct, Y/N jumped back onto her feet and tried to find the least chaotic route out.

Tim was using his bow staff almost like a windmill, taking out multiple Talons at a time with just a simple swing.

Y/N looked across the warehouse to see Damian and Dick fighting alongside each other. Despite Damian’s capabilities, Dick couldn’t help but look out for the boy, and he was never far from his side during a fight.

Damian slashed down opponent after opponent with his Katana sword. Meanwhile, Dick had the boy’s back, using his escrima sticks and countless acrobatic kicks and flips.

They were all holding their own, which further urged Y/N to get out of the way.

‘Run, Y/N. Run!’ Her brain screamed at her.

She spotted her opening and sprinted for it.

With only a few yards to go, Y/N felt a sting in the back of her leg.

No.

It was more than a sting. It was a lightning strike of pain that threw her to the floor.

As she sat up, Y/N looked up to see that a knife had clattered to the floor with blood staining it. Her blood.

Then she looked at the back of her thigh to see that she was bleeding from an open wound. It could’ve been worse. The knife could’ve embedded into her muscle and flesh. But she had gotten away with a graze – but one that brought her to the ground.

It all happened so quickly.

One moment Y/N was looking at the blood dripping from her leg. And the next, there was a Talon standing above her – unmasked – with his sword about to swing down on her.

Y/N winced and shielded herself as best as she could. But there was no saving her from such a blade – and a blade wielded by a Talon of The Court.

Just when Y/N thought she’d feel the sword strike her, a presence flew between them.

Y/N opened her eyes when she heard the sound of metal clashing with metal.

Bruce’s forearms were crossed into an X, with his gauntlets intercepting the Talon’s sword swing.

Y/N crawled back to get out of the way, ignoring the screaming pain from her leg.

All she could do was watch as Bruce now fought the Talon one on one. They wielded two katana swords – one in each hand.

Meanwhile, Bruce was using his gauntlets and therefore could really only be on the defense.

It was clear that he was trying to disarm them and make the fight even.

Eventually, through many complicated maneuvers, Bruce knocked one of the swords out of the Talon’s grip. He picked it up.

Y/N didn’t know why it was so surprising to see Bruce wield a katana. Of course he had been trained in sword fighting. That just wasn’t his chosen weapon. It didn’t stop her from being amazed by his skill with the blade.

But Bruce was getting tired. Y/N could see it.

His movements were still quick, but they had slowed since the beginning of this particular fight.

Y/N managed to clench her teeth and fight through the pain of her leg, slowly bringing herself to a standing position.

But just as she did so, Bruce’s sword was knocked clear out of his hands and the Talon followed it with a kick to Bruce’s abdomen and a punch to his face.

Y/N’s stomach dropped at seeing the infamous Batman get knocked to the ground.

Of all the footage she’d seen, Batman always seemed to have the upper hand. She never doubted that he was going to win a fight – and he was going to do so without killing the enemy, which as always impressive.

“Get up, get up,” Y/N hissed to herself as she watched Bruce struggle to get back on his feet.

“So much time spent protecting her,” the Talon patronized. “Such a waste.”

He landed yet another punch across Bruce’s face. A punch that was harder than anything Y/N had seen before.

And it knocked Bruce out cold.

Y/N felt it – the death in the air.

Time seemed to slow.

She was about to watch Batman get slaughtered right in front of her.

Her eyes raced around her, looking for one of the boys to call for help or anything that could be used as a distraction. But Dick and Damian were suddenly being overpowered. Tim wasn’t even in Y/N’s eyesight. And Jason was failing to shoot every Talon that surrounded him.

Then Y/N saw the katana that had been ripped from Bruce’s grip. It lay just a foot away from her.

Without thinking, Y/N picked it up.

She lunged forward just as the Talon was bringing his sword down to finish Bruce.

With just an inch away from his victim, Y/N’s sword intercepted the final attack.

The Talon gaze whipped to her. And Bruce was oblivious to his life being saved.

Y/N’s eyes widened, realizing she acted without any sort of plan. And now she had the Talon’s full attention and she had no clue how to wield a sword of any kind – or how to physically offend herself to any degree.

“You have been a nuisance long enough,” the Talon growled.

“Oh, but I’m not even done yet,” Y/N smirked wickedly.

He tilted his head to the side, choosing to amuse her instead of strike her down immediately.

“You really think I can hack the oldest and most powerful secret, but not every major news network in the country?” She asked offensively.

But then she smiled and tapped a button on her watch.

The screens in the warehouse flickered to life and their volume was turned all the way up.

Everyone ceased their fighting.

Each screen showed that every network was hacked, their signals interrupted with Y/N’s own broadcast.

It was live footage from inside the top secret base for The Court of Owls. All of its members were unmasked, either being gathered by FBI and Gotham PD or pinned to the floor, getting handcuffed.

“That’s not possible,” the Talon gasped.

Y/N tapped her watch and a tiny drone, almost the size of a bumblebee zoomed in front of his face. Then his face was being broadcasted across the world.

“Say hello to America, Calvin Rose,” Y/N announced as her face-recognition system instantly identified him and his name appeared on her watch.

Then the camera moved to another unmasked Talon in the warehouse. “William Cobb,” Y/N announced, adding his name to the screen when he appeared.

As her footage was live-streaming on all major networks, the names of each member were appearing on the screen as well.

Calvin Rose screamed in frustration.

“Detonate the bomb!” He yelled to his men.

“You mean the bomb you first threatened me with?” Y/N cooed.

He whipped back around to glare at her, not understanding her meaning.

“You really think we wouldn’t be able to find it? After you gave us weeks to track it down?” She teased. “The bomb is in the possession of the FBI, safely neutralized. But not before I helped them reverse trace a signal back to the detonator.”

They knew they lost. But they had not only lost, they had been discovered.

There would be no recovering from such exposure.

And Y/N hadn’t even told them about all the evidence she had stored that tied The Court of Owls to every corrupt act they had performed in the last 20 years.

Sirens suddenly blared in the distance.

All the boys had stopped to look at Y/N, realizing that their plan was coming together.

“You lost,” Y/N declared as she lowered the sword to her side. “And they’re coming for you, too.”

That was finally what set him off.

He growled before stomping to her.

Y/N was surprised by this new attack and quickly stepped backwards, but not nearly fast enough.

In one motion, he grabbed Y/N by the neck with one hand, lifting her off the ground with his sheer strength and rage.

Not a second later, he shoved his sword into her abdomen.

It seemed like the sound of metal cutting flesh and muscle echoed through the entire warehouse.

“No!” Dick screamed shoving his way across the warehouse to get to her.

In the same moment, Y/N was dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

Chaos had erupted around her, a new fight had begun. But she heard none of it.

Her hands warmed from the blood that was leaking from her abdomen.

The pain was something different to her.

She couldn’t even put a number on how many times her father beat her to a pulp. Nothing could ever compare to the pain of being physically hurt by the person who was supposed to love you the most in the world. This was nothing.

Y/N was just happy she’d die doing something good for the world. A final act of sorts.

Just as she was about to succumb to the tired and dark feeling threatening to envelop her, she felt a warm presence next to her.

“Y/N!” Dick yelled when he reached her side. “You’re OK.” His voice started to shake. “You’re gonna be OK. Y/N, I need you to hold on.”

Police and FBI agents flooded the warehouse as Dick pulled Y/N into his arms.

Y/N looked up to see tears had filled his eyes.

“It’s OK, Dick.” She tried to tell him. “I’ll be fine. I’m fine.”

But when she reached up to cup his cheek, she stained his skin with her own blood.

Y/N was starting to lose her grip on life.

She swore she could feel Jason and Damian’s presence move her side, and then hear Tim talking to the cops. But she could also be imagining it. She could be imagining it all. Maybe she had already died and this was just how she had wanted to go, her mind giving her that final wish.

Things went from being so loud and warm to cold and silent.

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

Part 10

I edited this really quick. And for that, I apologize.

#all men have limits 9 #all men have limits #bruce wayne x reader #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x reader x bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader x dick grayson #batboys #batfam #batman x reader #nightwing x reader #dick grayson reader insert #bruce wayne reader insert

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diavolosthots · 4 years ago

Note

Hello may I get MC pranking the brothers by filling there room with balloons. Thank you

***REQUESTS ARE NOT OPEN THIS IS FROM LAST TIME***

THE BROTHERS getting pranked by MC with a room full of balloons

Lucifer:

In all honesty, he’s slightly impressed. You managed to catch him off guard and not in his room for once, congratulations. He’s also most likely to either blame Mammon or Satan for this before even considering you, so when he finds out they’re actually not guilty and he yelled at them for nothing well not nothing because they’re always up to no good, he’s actually shocked. However, that does not mean that you’re off the hook once he figures out it’s your doing. Expect to clean all of it up, without popping them, and a proper cleaning of his room as punishment…. Which may or may not be an excuse to have you around him.

Mammon:

The scream that erupted from him when he popped a balloon, causing him to trip and fall, popping at least ten more, was absolutely hilarious. You managed to record it, actually, and you’re proud to say the footage is selling for quite a lot! What can you say, you learned a few things from Mammon. “(Y/N)! Help me, will ya?!” He’s practically frailing, trying to get up out of the mess of balloons that are filling his room, all types of colors and now a few that were popped by him. Your laughter is a dead giveaway that this was your doing and honestly he doesn’t know if he should be angry or hurt. “Why would ya do this, huh?!” What had he ever done to you?

Leviathan:

This is exactly why he never leaves the room! He had to go for training once! ONCE! Ya know, as the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy… And he comes back to THIS! And right as the second season of one of his favorite animes premiers tonight! A scream of frustration escapes him, sad puppy eyes meeting yours when he finds you laughing in the doorway. “MC… I… I’ll miss my show because of you!” He starts throwing the balloons at you, slightly irritated when they just fall to the ground slowly instead of actually hitting you, to which you laughed more. And maybe, just maybe, your laughter was worth missing the first twenty minutes or so…

Satan:

He. is. Very. displeased. Not only is he glaring at the absolute mess inside his room, he also knows it was you almost immediately, dragging you by your collar to look at it, “do you see this? Yes? Good. Clean it up.” He’ll throw you straight into the pile of balloons, trying not to laugh himself when you pop a few, although his stern face and crossed arms didn’t do very well in hiding his amusement. “I’m losing precious time over here, MC.” Even he had to admit that it looked maybe, just a little bit… kind of… fun, and he actually joined you, throwing balloons at you and letting loose… but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to clean this up.

Asmodeus:

Much like Mammon, he actually screams. Not only is his whole room covered in balloons, but he literally can’t get through them without popping a bunch, which honestly scares him, “Lucifer!!!” Calling for his big brother seems like the only logical solution here. How is he supposed to change outfits for shopping now?! Get his nails done?! Check on his hair!? The other bathroom is all the way down the hall!! Why are you laughing, MC? This is an absolute emergency!! Stop!!!

Beelzebub:

He… quite honestly… doesn’t care. He still walks into his room, popping and stepping on a few balloons along the way, gets what he needs, and walks back out. May take one or two balloons to play with because he’s a child at heart… as a matter of fact, there’s a 75% chance that Belphie and him will end up drawing faces on all of them and scaring everyone in the house instead. He’s not really someone you can prank with balloons… he’ll like the balloons. Actually thanks you.

Belphegor:

Belphie? Oh yeah, no one has seen him since you did that prank. You see, he was sleeping under the bed when it happened. Why? No one knows, he just likes it down there. So when he woke up and saw all those balloons blocking his way, well… that’s just too much work, you know? So he just stayed under the bed. Rumor has it, he’s hibernating and only comes out once every 300 years or so.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #asmodeus obey me #belphegor obey me #mammon obey me #obey me lucifer #leviathan obey me #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #cheys headcanons

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i-need-air · 4 years ago

Note

I just read your nsfw Hybrid with Bakugou and it's SOOO PERFECT. So, I was thinking, imagine this: Relationships between hybrids and humans are still frowned upon and one of your co-workers begins to disturb you about dating Katsuki. You are annoyed, but you don't tell Bakugou until one day your co-worker tries to harass you (kiss you, pull your clothes off) saying "you shouldn't be with that damn DOG". You run away and come home crying and sobbing over and over. Giiirl, Bakugou will go FERAL. ❤

I'm so glad you liked it 💗💗💗💗💗 Yes, god, Bakugou would indeed be F E R A L indeed; ok, i started writing it and I somehow progressed this story further. MORE LORE TO HYBRID!BAKU. I also went with the flow, got very carried away and gave it a different ending to what you suggested, so I really hope you don't mind. 😅 It just happened, maybe made it darker than it should've been, oop—, BUT everything works out.

Warnings: mentions of attempted sexual assault;

Word count: 1.8k or so, I just keep adding stuff 💀;

[ Masterlist ] [ Part 1 and Part 2 of General Hybrid!Bakugou HCs. ]

× you weren't really hiding it because it was legal, yet some [ many ] were judgemental about it

× you also weren't publicly proclaiming it but whatever, that didn't stop you from putting a picture of Katsuki playfully biting your cheek as wallpaper on your phone

× one of your co-workers, Albert, was somewhat pushy

× while you got along with everyone and had an okay relationship with them, he wasn't part of your friends group

× yet you always found him near you everywhere, to which you paid no mind

× it was once he looked over your shoulder when you unlocked your phone to see that picture, and Katsuki's sandy ears could be seen

× again, you didn't hide it so when he asked who was that you just said your boyfriend

× "Uhm, your boyfriend is a... hybrid?" he asked making a face; that's when you knew Albert had to stay away for real

× you just smiled and minded your own business

× but throughout the days he kept dropping comments about, his attitude even pushier than before and you realized talking to him about it wouldn't help

× "is he any better than a normal man?"

× "like... I don't get it, [Y/N], he's a dog..." he'd whisper at you while on lunch break, baffled expression on his face

× you gave him a look of disgust, getting up from the table and going somewhere else; why the hell was he following you around?

× "seriously, tell me, is it the sex?" Albert asked hours later, following you to the exit, unaware of your absolutely uncomfortable responses as you quickened your steps, but he grabbed you by the arm, surprising you with his strength

× "if it's just the sex you better know there are some men, real men out there that can take good care of you, [Y/N]."

× you had to raise your voice for him to let go of you since heads started to turn towards both of you

× "Just drop it, Albert, it's none of your business!" you said before turning to leave

× when you walked through your apartment door you were rattled

× Katsuki walked through the door just as you prepared yourself a tea, shaking slightly, frown on your face

× "Hey, what's up?" he eyed you and sniffed the air, feeling you nervous, cup of tea almost spilling everywhere; "Hey, hey, hey, give me that. [Y/N], seriously, are you ok?"

× "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." you lied and he knew, it was obvious even if you pretended everything was dandy

× on the other side you didn't want to make him worry or anything, Albert was just annoying and hopefully he now understood where he was standing

× but Bakugou Katsuki ain't having it, babe, nuh-huh

× he didn't say anything else about it that day though, just acted as normal but prepared your favorite dinner and a warm bath for you

× the next day he decided to pick you up from work by just arriving there half an hour earlier and see if something is really up, to make sure you're fine and the issue is from there

× he'd have to walk there from his job and then you'd both drive home and it wasn't a problem as he'd do overtime some other day;;

× what he did not expect was to hear your scream of help from the wooden area behind the parking lot in your office building

× let's go back in time for context;

× you walked out of work in a rush, finishing earlier than anyone else, car as your destination just ready to bolt home; Albert was eyeing you funny the whole day but stayed behind, so you didn't know if to feel worried or relieved

× as you walked to your car and pulled your keys, someone smashed you against the door

× "ungrateful bitch" you recognized the voice instantly and froze

× before you could open your mouth he put his palm on it and dragged you somewhere

× you dropped everything on the cement, bag, keys, phone...

× of course you were putting a fight but he was strong

× "I tried to be nice, sweeheart—" he mumbled while struggling to drag you into the wooden area

× "I told you, yeah? You shouldn't be with that damned mutt!" he pushed you unto a tree, making his first and last mistake, because he freed your mouth

× "HELP!" you screamed while he started grabbing your clothes, ripping sounds could be heard

× "I'm gonna have to show you what a real man can give you—"

× and as if planets aligned, in a blurr, Bakugou Katsuki appeared, jumping straight on him and knocking him out instantly, a loud crack deafening your ears

× Katsuki was shaking in anger

× he barely could control his body, his eyes were bloodshot and he had the most feral scowl you'd ever seen on him

× you just trembled in place, grabbing your clothes to cover yourself as you could

× Albert groaned on the floor, twisting his body to turn around and see what attacked him and in a broken speech, blood coming out of his mouth, he attempted to swear, but Bakugou's growl made him freeze in realization

× he was about to pounce again, any self-control leaving his mind when you hugged him tight

× in your arms you could feel his ragged breath, a deep continuous growl still coming from within his chest

× at this point some other people heard your cries too and called the police

× meanwhile you tried to calm him down because you felt he wanted to murder that son of a bitch

× intention was clear in his eyes, even Albert stood there terrified, broken jaw forgotten as he tattered on the floor like a weak animal

× "If you ever fucking dare to look in [Y/N]'s direction again I will find you—" he said and you shivered, holding him even more tightly "—I will kill you." he tried to take a step further but you wouldn't let him "And I'll make sure your body is never found."

× sirens could be heard in the distance and after that everything passed fastly

× they took Albert away, who was muttering scrawled stuff, and took both of your statements

× much to everyone's surprise they didn't cuff Bakugou [ 💖because we live in a society💖 ] so that was a good thing;

× although you did have to go to the station; they found security camera footage of the attempted assault, which Katsuki had to watch and almost erupted in rage yet again

× but it all came to an end when you got home, both absolutely silent

× he was huffing and walking around the place, shoulders tense and hands fisted into balls

× just to distract himself he started cleaning around the house and not looking at you, while you still stood there with his jacket on staring at him

× it wasn't until he finally looked at you when he really took in your state

× until now you behaved exemplary, calming him down, giving a statement, just acting strong

× yet once you reached the comfort of your own home you just couldn't take it any longer

× tears were falling on your face, you were shaking in place at the entrance, hugging his jacket close to your body as if it were your salvation and you just watched him

× it dawned on him how his rage took over him so hard that he couldn't focus on anything else, not even your heartbeat, your scent, your breath

× in an instant he was all over you, hugging you tight and lifting you up

× "I got you, baby, you're safe now." He'd whisper in your ear as you'd pull him closer

× he'd prepare you a warm bath and never leave your side while whispering sweet nothings to you

× "I'm never leaving out of my sight again, do you understand?"

× "I'll kill him if he ever comes close to you."

× "You're safe." he'd say as pulled you into him

× you spent the following days at home as you were granted emergency leave from work and found out the bastard was, of course, fired and prosecuted

× it would've been a lengthy process but from there on some things changed between you

× he'd walk to your job from his, even changed his work hours to fit yours, and you'd go home together, for starters

× his behaviour changed and even if he still gave you the Special Bakugou Attitude, he was gentler and sometimes you'd catch him looking at you like you're the most precious thing ever

× he wouldn't really word it at first but seeing you like that and finding out it was basically because of him really fucked him up

× it would take you to remind him that it's not his fault he's a hybrid, you always want to be with him, you don't care what he is really and the only one to blame was Albert

× [ he'd growl whenever his name would be mentioned ]

× anyway, remember, he needs to be held just as much as you do and that guilt will take some time to wash away; you got each other's back and that's what mattered at the end of the day

× but the weirdest thing was, as you went to the police station some more times, Bakugou somehow impressed the Captain, Tsunadu Hakamada:

× "That dude reeks of cocaine." he'd scowl and point with a sharp glare at this cuffed man sitting in a corner, making you look at him in wonder

× "How do you—"

× "Excuse me, did I hear that correctly?" someone said behind you, making you turn towards a tall blond man in uniform watching your boyfriend curiously

× "Hah?"

× low and behold, he's the captain of the precinct and asked Bakugou to come by any other day noting it would be a pretty great opportunity that would benefit both

× [ and after some attitude and snide comments from Katsuki, he agreed ]

× you went through a lot in a few weeks, like the trauma you'd both have to work through together but one good thing that came out of this situation apart from putting a piece of shit in jail was that Bakugou was offered a position as a special officer in the precinct as long as he went through the academy as anyone else would

× people were starting to see the value of hybrids and the Captain wasn't one to let go of such an opportunity

× things were progressing little by little and it gave you hope for a better tomorrow with Katsuki by your side.

Notes: For those that don't know, Tsunadu Hakamada is Best Jeanist.

#bnha #mha #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #hybrid!bakugou #hybrid!au #best Jeanist #the lore thickens #bnha headcanons

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moogoth · 3 years ago

Photo

OKAY my fwiend sent me this vid without the ugly ass dcca watermarking all over it (every1 say thank u xou)

uuhhh, im pretty sure this was a non-fatal free for all? its hard to remember after so many LMFAO. i got my ass beat after this but this is deffy the best clip i could find from this 1

[VIDEO POST: Professional, flying drone shot footage of an enormous arena that, even from the inside could only be a coliseum. Brief glimpses of the packed stadium seats can be seen as the camera drone follows the action. A barely visible watermark in the corner reads AVALANCHE TETHER 3. More visible just above it is a timer counting down from what seems to be three minutes.

The action in question is impressive, chaotic, fast. About a dozen armored tyrians fill the sand pit, each uniquely equipped with a signature weapon and armor style, but none so unique as the troll this camera tethers to. The only one in so much white, down to her hair.

Trolls in pairs and triples fight around her. She herself has about two significantly larger tyrians on her, each with a differently shaped spear. One sizing her up only takes about a half second before she lunges, missing her target for her temporary companion when Avalanche drops to the ground between them. In the confusion, Avalanche drives a gauntlet into the already injured ones leg. Hard. Noise erupts from the crowd as they go down and Avalanche throws herself back to her feet.

The remaining standing opponent just catches her in the arm with her spear before she fully rights herself, making her shout in pain. She leaps back, nearly toppling over again. The other tyrian lunges at her again. She grabs her opponent's spear just under the head, yanking hard enough to pull the much more substantial troll towards her and disarming her in the process. Avalanche looks primed to drive that same gauntlet right into her face as her opponent stumbles, but seems to change her mind at the last second.

Instead, she runs up the other troll’s thighs and latches on to her torso with her legs. Avalanche grabs her by the horns and headbutts her hard enough to take her down. She kicks off of her opponent and does an impressive bit of acrobatics to land back on her own feet, once again to a ravenous crowd.

Avalanche whips her head around to the camera, a loud noise behind it catching her attention. The footage glitches aggressively as, presumably, the drone is knocked to the ground, and cuts out after showing a vague, fading image of a bunch of boots thundering past it.]

#ic #bessface #blood #actn pst #[[welcome 2 delhon city gladiatorial wrestling my name is zilly and ill be your guide]]

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wormlino · 2 years ago

Text

right on target

chanlix | >1k words | fluff, uni au, roomates, just chanlix, snow storm, twister, first kiss, domestic, chan producer, felix housewife/j

It was a week into the new year and their break was on it’s way out, until “The hardest blizzard in eighty years” as the news channels called it hit with barely two days for residents to prepare in advance. And as the first morning rolled in, it was indeed a spectacular blizzard.

University students Chan and Felix were stuck with each other, trapped in their small apartment as the world grew quiet under the snow around them. A day had now passed since it first began to fall, and there was no sign of stopping. The two had spent the day mostly keeping to themselves, Chan burying himself in composition commissions and Felix puttering around doing chores, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. The clock had long since struck ten thirty when Chan finally emerged from his room, startling Felix who was stacking cards. His (although not very impressive) paper structure came tumbling down as his knee hit the coffee table, a string of curses leaving his mouth as Chan closed the door behind him with a chuckle.

“Sorry,” He said sheepishly, peering over his roommate’s shoulder as the smaller boy began shuffling the deck together again.

“Fuck, Chris. You scared the shit out of me.”

“So-orry,” He sing-sang, patting Felix’s head. “Where’d you get those? I didn’t know we had cards.” Felix tried to ignore the jump in his chest when Chan said “we”.

“Found ‘em in that box over there, it was under the bookshelf. I haven’t seen it before.” He said, pointing to the said box at the other end of the coffee table. Chan followed his gaze, and went over to investigate.

“Woah! We have Twister?” He exclaimed, holding the folded up tarp and looking over his shoulder at Felix. “We have to play! I don’t think I have since like the 8th grade, or something.” Felix just smiled, setting the deck of cards down and nodding.

He helped Chan push the coffee table flush against the couch before they spread the tarp out over the floor, the edges pushing up against the legs of the table and the opposite wall. The square footage of their two-bed apartment wasn’t anything to shake a stick at.

“Okay, you first. Since you’re so excited.” Felix teased, handing Chan the spinner who just nodded happily and flicked it, not minding the joking tone in Felix’s voice.

“Left hand, blue!” And so their game started, continuing for a long time. Both men were highly competitive, and held their stances well, until eventually the cramped space paired with a few two many unlucky spins of the wheel landed them locked around each other.

Chan had two feet at diagonal ends of the tarp, a hand shooting under Felix’s head and pressing up against his neck, the other at his left shoulder.

Felix had somehow ended up on his back underneath Chan, his legs crossed over each other and one arm above his head holding himself up like a crab. The other, moments before had shot up to clutch around Chan’s waist in a desperate attempt to catch balance.

The force lurched Chan down, his nose crashing with Felix’s erupting groans from both men, wincing in sync. Chan opened his eyes in a few seconds, whole body freezing up as he processed their situation. He could feel his breath fan out and reflect back at him off Felix’s face, who was so close he went cross-eyed as he opened his eyes to meet Chan’s gaze above him. They were still and silent, two deer caught in each other’s headlights.

Chan felt his body flush with embarrassment. At the same time, he felt his foot slip from the plastic tarp behind him, sending him to fall again on Felix. This time, hitting just under the other boy’s eye. He jerked up, apologies spilling from his lips before Felix grinned up at him.

“I think you missed.”

“-Orry -wait what?” He paused mid-sentence as Felix’s smile only grew, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

“I’ll show you how to make a shot right on target.” Chan felt dizzy all of a sudden, Felix reaching a hand up to rest on the back of his neck before raising his own to place his lips right in front of Chan’s, their breaths damp against each other. “I’m going to kiss you now, Chris.” He whispered, eyes half closed and focused intently on the other man’s lips.

“O-Okay.” He stuttered.

With that, Felix pulled Chan down the rest of the way, kissing him firmly on the mouth. A second passes for Chan to register before he returns the kiss, bringing one of his own hands up to cup at Felix’s jaw; smiling slightly as the other boy deepens the kiss with a close hold around his waist.

Around them the world glows peach, white snow reflecting streetlights and the moon alike, no wind present to stir up the peace; just steady, gentle snow piling up around warm buildings and the people inside them.

#skz #skz fanfic #chanlix #bang chan #lee felix #fanfic #stray kids

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 4 years ago

Text

(Accidental 150 Follower Special) IOTA's Top 10 Worst Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug (Part 1)

If you saw one of my earlier posts, an anon asked what my favorite and least favorite episodes of Miraculous Ladybug were. So, I decided to make a little list explaining the best and worst this show has to offer.

A few quick ground rules here. I'm not going to list any episodes I had previously talked about in some of my other posts. This includes “Kung Food”, “Animaestro”, “Syren”, “Reflekdoll”, “Chameleon”, and most of the episodes relating to Chloe's “damnation arc” that Astruc planned since he first created the character (“Despair Bear”, “Queen Wasp”, “Malediktator” and “Battle of the Miraculous”). Also, I'm not counting the specials, mainly because aren't listed as episodes, and because I don't want to talk about them.

Other than that, anything goes, so let's get things started with the worst list.

These are the Top 10 Worst Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug (in my personal opinion because your opinion is also valid)

#10: Stormy Weather 2

“Stormy Weather” was the very first episode of the show, and it really made a good impression on new viewers. So naturally, when it was announced that Stormy Weather would return, fans were excited. Then when the episode aired, Hawkmoth gave her even more powers, including the power to create a volcano big enough to potentially knock the planet out of orbit when it erupts. So Ladybug and Cat Noir have no choice but to stop the villain once again.

What does this plot lead to?

youtube

Yep, this episode is nothing more than a clip show. I understand that clip shows and bottle episodes are a necessary evil, but why would you set up something this awesome with a fan-favorite Akuma like Stormy Weather, and then not even bother to show it?

This episode is yet another attempt at showing that the show totally has character development. The whole reason Aurore is Akumatized into Stormy Weather again is because Chloe says that people can't change because Astruc (who was one of the four people writing this episode) is determined to make you hate this teenage girl more than the main villain of the show.

So of course, everyone spends most of the episode talking about how much they've changed, which is represented through clips of past episodes that do a horrible job at actually conveying any development.

According to Marinette, Adrien has “become a friend she can talk to about anything, except when it comes to her feelings for him”. Ah yes, you can tell they're friends by the fact that they barely hang out together, much less share a conversation because the writers are going to drag out the whole “Marinette stammering in front of Adrien” until they get tired of it. So basically, never.

All Alya and Nino talk about is how Ladybug helped them become a couple, and become superheroes, even though neither of those are actually related to character development. Though that is a fitting metaphor for the way both of their personalities have basically devolved to “the couple”.

Chloe talks about how nicer she's gotten, while footage of her doing awful things is played. I wonder who wrote that part in...

Even Ladybug and Cat Noir talk about how much they've grown and how stronger they've gotten, as opposed to focusing on STOPPING ANOTHER ICE AGE FROM HAPPENING. How can Hawkmoth even think this will get him the Miraculous? Yeah, sure I guess he can get them from the frozen corpses of our heroes, but what then? He still doomed humanity, and I don't think he can reverse the damage like Ladybug.

Towards the end, the clip show becomes slightly interesting, as Adrien mentions an unsigned card he got for Valentine's Day in “Dark Cupid”, and how similar the handwriting looks to Marinette's.

Does this lead to Adrien figuring out Marinette has feelings for him? Is the sky bright red? Both of these questions have the same answer.

Yeah, out of nowhere, Adrien just mentions Luka, who wasn't mentioned at all in this episode, and immediately thinks Marinette is in love with him. And that's how the episode ends.

I put this at the bottom of the list because I don't think it's completely fair to judge clip shows, but even some clip shows at least try to put in some effort and justify the clips, like what The Legend of Korra and some seasons of Power Rangers did. And the fact that the whole point of the episode is a poor excuse to claim that there's character development in the show only makes it even more infuriating.

Oh my God, this is only Number 10...

#9: Oblivio

While I already talked about “Cat Blanc”, this episode shares a similar theme as that episode: Giving viewers what they've wanted for three seasons, Marinette and Adrien finally learning each other's identity and starting a romantic relationship... only for the reset button to be once again slammed, making the entire episode pointless.

The only difference is that unlike in “Cat Blanc”, where there was an actual love confession that made sense, here, Marinette and Adrien find out the other's identity when they get their memories wiped by the Akuma of the week, Oblivio.

From then on, it's just fanservice. Instead of actually developing the relationship between Marinette and Adrien, the writers just decide to cram an entire episode worth of Adrienette content into a single episode just to tide fans over. Marinette and Adrien seriously fall in love despite only knowing each other for like, an hour at most. And the fact that the writers undo all the romantic progress of the episode makes it come across as pointless.

But the ending is what really cements this episode's spot on the list. As soon as Oblivio is defeated, Alya takes a picture of Ladybug and Cat Noir kissing without their consent and then rubs it in Ladybug's face.

Even though Ladybug doesn't know the circumstances (she has no memory of the events of the episode), this was still an invasion of her privacy, and she looks horrified by the picture that Alya is obviously going to post on her blog.

And of course, Cat Noir is more than happy to see it, ignoring how Ladybug feels and claims that they'd make a great couple. Because everyone knows good couples are formed by someone gaslighting the other into going out with them.

But wait, it gets better! In the next scene, we learn that Alya and Nino were akumatized into Oblivio... because they were caught in an embarrassing situation by their peers.

Alya: Remember when we visited Montparnasse Tower? Well, we went and hid to play Super Penguino, but Ms. Bustier caught us, and...

Nino: And you guys made fun of us for playing that game, saying it wasn't our age and all.

Alya: We were totally embarrassed at getting caught.

This was my thought process when I first heard Alya and Nino's explanation.

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How can Alya claim to take a compromising picture of Ladybug, ignore how she feels, and not realize the similarity from when she and Nino were akumatized? This is what completely killed Alya for me in canon. This was the point where I couldn't care less if Marinette was friends with her or not. Sure, there are still fanfics, but those actually portray her with some kind of conscious. So to summarize, Fanon Alya is awesome, but I hope Canon Alya's 4G plan runs out.

This episode is just forgettable, but the ending made things worse. Apart from, I guess the action scenes and some funny jokes, this episode has no redeeming qualities. Like, literally the best thing to come from this episode was @miraculouscontent‘s LadyBugOut AU, as it actually addressed the hypocrisy of Alya's character, among other problematic aspects of the show.

#8: Oni-Chan

Just a heads up, most of the episodes on this list are from Season 3. Just want to give you an idea of what to expect.

This episode is about Lila tricking Adrien into helping with her homework, when she is only doing it to get closer to Adrien. Marinette tries to spy on the two and stop Lila from hurting Adrien... even though she knows Adrien is aware that Lila is a liar, and is visibly uncomfortable around her.

And because the episode spends so much time on Marinette following Adrien and Lila, the buildup to Kagami getting akumatized is incredibly rushed. Seriously, she gets a single line of dialogue before she gets akumatized, and the motive is ridiculous too. Lila sends a picture of her forcing a kiss on Adrien, and Kagami immediately bursts into tears at the sight of it.

But wait, it gets better! When Kagami is akumatized into Oni-Chan (the writers know that's a term used for males in Japan, right?), she turns into a psycho hellbent on killing Lila because “Adrien doesn't deserve her”. Most of her dialogue is her saying how much she loves Adrien, making her come across as, for lack of a better word, a yandere.

This episode just destroys Kagami's character, making her as unlikable as Katie Killjoy in the process. If it wasn't for “Ikari Gozen” actually treating her like a human being (obviously Astruc's planned character development from the beginning), I'd completely hate her.

It also shows how much of an evil genius Lila is, as she has the brilliant idea to convince Oni-Chan to kill the only person capable of saving her from the Akuma's wrath. And this somehow gives Hawkmoth the idea to forge an alliance with Lila. It's also another reason why I believe in Darwinism.

This episode is low on the list because it does have a few redeeming qualities, like Lila facing consequences for lying, however brief they may be, and it has a great character moment with Adrien realizing on his own how terrible Lila really is, a far cry from what he was like in “Chameleon”.

Other than that, it's pretty bad, and still deserves a spot on this list.

#7: Antibug

HA! I said MOST of the episodes involving Chloe's “Damnation Arc” wouldn't be on this list, but not ALL OF THEM, so this one counts! Take that, convoluted rules I made up for some reason!

What was I talking about again? Oh right, “Antibug”. Oh crap, “Antibug”...

This is one of of several episodes in Miraculous Ladybug that really should have been a two-parter. It tries to be daring and includes two Akumas in one episode, but both of them are poorly executed.

An invisibly entity starts harassing Chloe, so Ladybug and Cat Noir start an investigation. It turns out to be Chloe's lackey Sabrina, who was akumatized after a falling out between the two. Well, I say “falling out” lightly, because what actually happened was that Chloe and Sabrina were cosplaying as Ladybug and Cat Noir, Chloe pretended to be the real deal while crashing an interview with Jagged Stone before Sabrina accidentally blew her cover, causing Chloe to be humiliated on TV and end her “friendship” with Sabrina.

Ladybug learns this from Chloe's butler, while Chloe never mentions the incident. So when Ladybug and Cat Noir engage the Akuma, Ladybug ignores Chloe's advice on where the corrupted object, naturally not trusting her judgment. And this is portrayed as a bad thing.

This episode is the start of a long-running trend in Miraculous Ladybug: Marinette needing to learn a lesson, while Adrien/Cat Noir is the one to help teach that lesson.

Chloe did nothing to help, only made things worse, and lied about why Sabrina got akumatized. It's kind of obvious why Ladybug wouldn't trust her word. The whole point of The Boy Who Cried Wolf wasn't to trust the liar after all.

But if that was all the episode did, it wouldn't be on the list, because now, the narrative wants to make the audience feel bad for Chloe before she gets akumatized into Antibug... who is just a lazy palette swap because new character models are expensive.

This part of the episode isn't nearly as bad as the first half, but like “Oni-Chan”, Chloe's akumatization is incredibly rushed, and we don't really get a chance to sympathize with her before she goes full Antibug.

Even Antibug herself isn't that interesting of a villain. The whole idea of an evil doppelganger is that they're a perfect match for the hero, but we only see Ladybug and Antibug fight for a few seconds, while Cat Noir does most of the fighting with her while Marinette's Kwami recharges. I like that Ladybug and Cat Noir show their teamwork to defeat Antibug, but I feel it would have been more interesting to see Ladybug and Antibug duke it out before Cat Noir helps turn the tide.

Again, this episode really needed to be a two-parter to better expand on the story presented here, because it had a really interesting premise. I'd personally read the version of “Antibug” in @justanotherpersonsuniverse‘s “The Adventures of Panthera Noire” (an AU fanfic where shy girl Juleka gets the Cat Miraculous instead of Adrien). Not only does it have two separate chapters for Vanisher and Antibug, it also does a good job of setting Chloe on an actual redemption arc, unlike Astruc's “damnation arc”.

#6: The Puppeteer 2

As much as I've ragged on Adrien/Cat Noir in some of my other posts (and will continue to do so in this list), that doesn't mean I think Marinette has problems too, and this episode is a prime example.

Marinette and Adrien go to a wax statue museum with their friends (and Manon), but because of a poor choice of words by Nino, Adrien thinks that Marinette hates him. So he does something that everyone loves, practical jokes.

Adrien seriously thinks that pranking Marinette will improve her opinion of him. Even the prank is ridiculous, pretending to be a wax statue to make her laugh. And it leads to... Oh God... This is easily the contender for one of the worst moments in the entire show. Marinette goes up to the statue and... gets close to it. Yes, we, the audience know that this isn't a statue, but putting that aside, just look at what Marinette does to the “statue” (AUTHOR’S NOTE: I made a gif from the episode, but it wouldn’t go through, so I recommend you check out the episode and watch the statue scene for yourself if you don’t value your sanity). Even Adrien, as dense as he can be, is a little unsettled by what Marinette does.

If the scene was about Marinette talking about her feelings for Adrien, I'd be more lenient on it, but this? This is just uncomfortable to watch.

Even the dialogue makes Marinette sound incredibly creepy.

Marinette: Wow... it looks so... real. The wax is nearly as hot as skin. It even smells exactly like him...! Oh, beautiful statue of Adrien, your wax is so soft! Your yak hair is silky. Your eyes are so green. Oh, shall I be a statue, too! Everything would be so much easier. Why haven't we been molded together in the plaster of destiny? Marble to marble, wax lips against wax lips, entwined for eternity...

I think Gilbert Gottfried said it best.

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This scene alone put this episode on the list, and the Akuma doesn't make it better. I really liked “The Puppeteer”, and I thought her ability to control past Akuma victims was incredibly fun to watch. And when she returns to take control of the wax statues of past Akumas they... don't use their powers (with the exception), and serve as cannon fodder for Ladybug and Cat Noir to plow through, making the return of the villain very underwhelming.

Even the end where Adrien tells Marinette that he is in love with someone and only sees her as a friend. This should devastate Marinette, but in the next scene, thanks to some fortune cookie nonsense from Tikki, she's still unsure about her relationship with Adrien, and that's how the episode ends. Seriously. Because just need to keep the status quo consistent, right? It's not like Marinette doubting her crush on Adrien and worrying that she's just wasted her time would have been interesting to see, right? Play that happy ending theme already!

Of all the episodes on this list, this is the one I was dreading talking about the most because of some of the moments here. And yet, there are still episodes that are worse than this one...

Here’s Part 2

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sailorsol · 4 years ago

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I did the thing! I present to you Shereshoy, AKA Mace Windu gets to bail a drunken Obi-Wan out of jail at oh-dark-thirty. Rated T for some swearing.

***

This was not how Mace wanted to start his day.

Contrary to popular belief, Mace Windu did not actually enjoy being a hardass. But as head of the Order, it was a carefully crafted persona he did his best to maintain anywhere outside of private quarters and behind closed Council doors.

It was a useful tool, to be able to look at errant Initiates or the occasional unruly knight and have them apologizing for misdeeds of which Mace wasn't even aware. And he found it an extremely effective deterrent against nosy politicians and pushy reporters. There were some people, though, who would meet his deadliest glare with a beatific smile and not even blink.

"Somebody's in trouble," one of the troopers sing-songed. With two dozen of them in adjacent cells, there was no way for Mace to know whether it was a Guard member or someone from Ghost company. Another trooper giggled, and his own commander stifled a noise behind Mace, doing his best to uphold his end of the bargain for being allowed to accompany Mace.

Caf. He needed more caf for this. Especially when the beatific smile turned into a full blown, eyes sparkling, still karking drunk grin. "Mace!"

Mace scowled. "Kenobi. I'm not sure I even want to know why I am having to bail out a member of the Jedi Council from the drunk tank like he is some sort of truant Padawan. I generally only expect this kind of behavior from you when Vos is in town."

Another giggle, followed by a scuffle of elbows being shoved into arms and stomachs, and Mace is pretty sure he sees a handful of creds being handed off. There was not enough caf in the world for this. Somewhere nearby, he could hear Commander Fox swearing colorfully at Captain Rex, and Mace could empathize with the man.

"It isn't anywhere quite as bad as all that," Kenobi protested. Mace arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms, waiting for Kenobi to continue. Ponds was likely recording this, so Mace figured he could at least put on a good performance. "The Guard expressed some... skepticism...in regards to recent tactics that Torrent utilized in the field."

"That does not explain two destroyed speeders, thousands of credits of property damage, or why there is video footage of the High General of the Republic shouting Sooran, shab! after the Marshall Commander back-flipped from one moving speeder to another."

Kenobi's expression wouldn't melt butter as a soft Oya rippled among the troopers. Commander Cody had a lazy smile on his face, shoulder to shoulder with his general. Mace had watched the video on the way to the Guard offices; it had been quite an impressive feat, but he wasn't about to encourage Kenobi or his men any further. If he'd wanted them to be indulged, he'd have sent Plo or Adi.

"Commander Cody graciously offered to provide remedial instruction in said tactics." Ponds was shaking behind Mace, but at least his external speaker was off so Mace could pretend like his commander wasn't laughing hysterically. "Besides," Kenobi continued, looking entirely too smug, "it's not as if the general public would recognize him."

"Perhaps not," Mace conceded that point. One clone was the same as any other, as far as most of the galaxy was concerned, and the commander hadn't been wearing his distinctive armor to make him more easily identifiable. "But," Mace said, holding up a hand to stop Kenobi's pleased grin from spreading. "You are quite recognizable, on or off the battlefield."

Kenobi fluttered a hand dismissively. "Half the population still believes I'm dead, Mace, and there is quite a large faction that believes the Jedi Council replaced me with a convenient clone."

"And if I might say so, sir," one of the clones spoke up. "What with him looking like a shiny with his hair growing back, the General's hardly recognizable either."

"Thank you, Boil," Kenobi said, his mouth twitching up in a smile that was definitely more obvious without his full mustache and beard.

"Of course, sir. Besides, you obviously aren't pretty enough to be a clone."

Mace bit back a sigh. It wasn't surprising that the group had felt the need to blow off steam after the Hardeen mess was finished. The entire thing had been an easily avoidable shit show, if the Council had just been allowed to assign protection to the Chancellor as they saw fit instead of being ordered to send one of their most visible people undercover.

“You owe me big time, vod,” Captain Rex said as he approached the cell. He didn’t look it, but Mace knew the captain had been dragged out of bed for this too. “Like ‘giving the next three batches of Shinies the Sex Talk’ owe me. Or maybe the Padawan Commanders. I haven’t decided yet, but you definitely owe me.”

“Somebody’s in trouble,” Kenobi sing-songed. The clones erupted into giggles. Mace clenched his jaw and pinched his nose, massaging the throbbing headache forming between his eyes. Captain Rex shared an unimpressed look with Mace. Ponds was nearly bent double in laughter.

It was Commander Thire who came to open the cell. “Alright, you lot. You’d better get out of here fast before Fox changes his mind about letting you go.”

Kenobi was the first to stand, wobbling dangerously for a moment before his commander steadied him. “Thank you for taking such wonderful care of us, Commander Thire,” Kenobi said to the Guard officer, all flash and charm. “I will be sure to put in a commendation for you.”

Thire seemed mostly unaffected by it, at least, though he grinned in response as Kenobi and his men shuffled out of the cell into the hallway. “Probably best if you didn’t, General. I think Commander Fox would prefer not having any evidence from tonight.”

“If only that were possible,” Mace said dryly, taking Kenobi by the elbow to steer him away from his troops. He ignored the way Kenobi pouted at him. “We’ll deal with whatever the fallout is from this later.”

Captain Rex nodded in agreement, herding his stumbling and giggling brothers towards the exit. Commander Cody hung back from the others, giving his general a frighteningly intense look. “K’oyacyi.”

Kenobi gave him a soft smile in return. It was clear where Skywalker had picked up the absolute lack of subtlety in regards to emotions from. “K’oyacyi. Thank you for an entertaining evening, Commander.”

Cody nodded at his general, paused long enough to give Mace a dark look, then turned and allowed Captain Rex to see him out. Kenobi sighed, but was wise enough not to comment when he caught sight of Mace’s scowl.

“Try not to cause any more trouble today,” Mace said, ushering his friend out of the station, Ponds trailing behind him dutifully. “And you get to fill out the requisitions for the replacement speeders.”

“That hardly seems fair, Mace. It was the Guard driving them, after all. It wasn’t our fault that they became so distracted that they crashed.”

“I honestly don’t much give a damn whose fault it was,” Mace said. He sighed and stopped, turning to face Kenobi. With a flick of his fingers, he signaled Ponds for privacy and the commander stepped away. “I’m happy you enjoyed yourself,” Mace said. He truly was; the war had taken its toll on all of them, and Kenobi bore the brunt of it. Mace couldn’t remember when he’d last seen the man so relaxed and happy. “But in the future, you may want to consider toning your dramatics down below a Skywalker level.”

Kenobi scoffed. “I’ve always been less dramatic than Anakin. A Mon Cala opera is less dramatic than Anakin.”

Mace leveled him with an unimpressed look. “You may be able to fool the rest of the galaxy, but I’ve known you since you were knee-high. Also,” Mace added, starting them back towards the Temple. “You owe me several favors after this.”

“Now wait one moment,” Kenobi started to say, but ever faithful Ponds was the one who cut him off.

“Perp pictures,” the commander declared gleefully, and Mace let himself smile. It was, he had been told, even more terrifying than his glare. Kenobi blanched. Mace patted him on the shoulder.

Perhaps today wasn’t off to such a terrible start after all.

***

Sooran, shab - an insult, essentially “Suck on that, pal!”

K’oyacyi - Cheers/stay alive

Shereshoy - lust for life and much more - uniquely Mandalorian word, meaning the enjoyment of each day and the determination to seek and grab every possible experience, as well as surviving to see the next day - hanging onto life and relishing it

#star wars #clone wars #soft wars #mace windu #obi-wan kenobi #drunken shenanigans #ghost company being extra #commander cody #macewinduappreciationday #perp pics #aka mugshots #ponds is having the time of his life #fic

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imagine-loki · 4 years ago

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Blushing in His Colours, Chapter 26

TITLE: Blushing in His Colours CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 26 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki being a Daddy Dom, his adores and loves his little, worships the ground she walks on. She has vaginismus, but he couldn’t be more supportive with her. RATING: M

When Loki and Mia returned, they didn’t even get time to unpack as they were ushered straight to Fury’s office. The whole team was there for support.

Fury got the World Security Council on the line. There were five of them, including the head councillor.

Loki stepped forward, he looked smart in an all-black suit. Hoping that wearing Midgardian clothes would make more of an impression. He was more nervous than he wanted to let on, but that was purely because of Mia. He wasn’t going to leave her, but he didn’t want to disrupt her life by taking her off Earth. Taking her elsewhere was risky too.

His heart melted though when a small hand slid into his. He looked to his side to see Mia standing forward with him, smiling up at him and squeezing his hand. He squeezed her back and leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

‘You can understand our concern after seeing the footage from the Hydra base.’ The councillor started.

Loki jumped straight in.

‘I do, completely. But you must know, I was just doing what I had to do to protect the girl I love. I wasn’t going to take any risks with her safety by fighting half arsed against Hydra. I would do anything to protect Mia. I would do it all again if I had to, on front of thousands of civilians if need be. I do not regret it… But you also don’t have to worry. I am no threat to Midgard, I’ve been here over a year, helping the Avengers to save the realm. Not destroy it. And I just want to live peacefully with Mia.’ Loki said calmly, but firmly. Putting his main points across.

‘That is the problem, Loki. You already tried to take over Earth once. What’s to say you won’t try again?’

‘That’s the thing though.’ Mia spoke up, surprising everyone. ‘If he really wanted to, he could’ve completely ripped the world to shreds back then. But he didn’t. He was under control by another being, not of his own mind. Hell, he probably could’ve torn the world in complete half by now if he was going to, but he hasn’t!’

The councillors frowned. ‘Could you?’ The head asked.

Loki smirked and shrugged one shoulder. ‘Yes, likely. Though it would take a while, building up enough energy and then tearing through the’

‘Loki… Mia… Not helping!’ Steve hissed, making Loki shut his mouth.

‘Uhm, I mean… Yeah, if I wanted to put all my effort into doing so. It could be possible. But I don’t want to do that, I wouldn’t.’ He sighed. ‘As much as it pains me to say, I may have become rather fond of these idiots over here.’ He nodded to the team behind him. ‘And Midgard isn’t that bad, it’s rather beautiful in some places. Besides, Mia is here, so I won’t be putting her in any harms way by doing anything reckless.’

‘Aww, I love you too reindeer games!’ Tony piped up, patting his shoulder. Loki rolled his eyes and ignored the urge to toss him out the window.

‘We will keep an eye on him, of course.’ Natasha said to the council.

The team were quite shocked at Loki admitting he was fond of them. And also that he admitted he loved Mia, they knew he adored her but didn’t realise it was love now.

Mia spoke up again. ‘Please, don’t send Loki away. I love him, so much. And I will go wherever he goes, but he told me he wants to stay. He’s made a life for himself here, please don’t ruin that. It’s my fault anyway for getting taken by Hydra. Don’t punish Loki just for doing what any decent being would do. If the drone hadn’t been there and captured the footage, no one would even know about his powers and everything would still be as it was.’

The councillors looked between one another. Then the head councillor spoke.

‘We have spoken at length before this meeting and came to our decision. What’s been said now has only confirmed it.’

Loki swallowed hard. Mia put her arms around Loki’s arm and hugged into him tightly. She was so scared, what were they going to say? What would they do if they said he couldn’t remain here? How long would they give him? Where would they go? Would she be safe on another planet?

‘You can remain here on Earth, providing you remain with The Avengers, and we will be keeping a close eye on you.’

Loki and Mia barely heard what he said after saying Loki could remain on Earth. Loki grabbed Mia and lifted her up, spinning her around excitedly. She laughed happily and hugged him tightly once he stopped spinning her.

Fury thanked the council and then closed the screens down.

The team all erupted into cheers and suddenly Loki was in the middle of a huge group hug. He grumbled under his breath, but there was a smirk there. He was secretly glad that they all wanted him there as much as they did.

‘So, now the rest of us can just kick our feet up and let Loki do all the work, right?’ Clint grinned as he sat down and put his feet up on the table.

Loki narrowed his eyes at him.

‘Not quite. We need to keep Loki’s powers on the down low, only use what’s necessary. To try and keep as little attention on him as possible.’ Fury announced, making Loki stick his tongue out at Clint.

‘Well, mere mortals. If you don’t mind, my Queen and I have some unpacking to do.’ Loki said as he put his arm around Mia and led her out of the room.

‘Oooooooo.’ The team all chanted as they left.

Tony stuck his head out the door after them. ‘I hope you left my villa tidy!’ He called after them.

‘Oh, absolutely… Although we did defile every surface possible, of course.’ Loki shouted back over his shoulder, laughing wickedly at the sound of repulsion Tony made.

‘I’m gonna have to burn the place. The whole damn island!’ Tony said exasperatedly as he ducked back into the office.

Loki and Mia grabbed their bags and headed up the lift to the rooms.

‘So… I uhm… I really enjoyed being with you for so long, together. All the time.’ Mia started shyly. ‘I don’t know how I’ll sleep on my own.’

Loki put his arm around her and tugged her in close to him. ‘Who says you’ll be sleeping alone?’ He purred.

‘I… I dunno. Just now that we’re back and we both have our own room.’ She shrugged.

‘Well, I thought we could move in together. Share a room.’ Loki suggested, watching her carefully.

Her huge smile told him everything he needed to know. ‘I was hoping you were going to say that.’ She giggled and hugged him.

Loki hugged her tightly and buried his face into her hair.

‘So, who’s room do we move into?’ She asked, looking up at him.

‘Hmmm. Yours?’

‘Sounds good.’ Mia nodded. ‘Mine is bigger, so probably best.’

‘On that subject, how did you end up with a bigger room than me?’ He raised an eyebrow at her.

Mia burst out laughing and ran out of the lift, as the doors opened just in time for her escape. Loki grabbed their bags and ran out after her.

#Loki #Lover #Submitted fic #submission #Chapter 26 #Blushing in her Colours #fanfichiddles

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k7l4d4 · 3 years ago

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Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 5 Part 10

Hello, and once again, I welcome you to Midnight Striga. Please, enjoy.

Perry Porter strode into the Covention Center, eyes easily panning across and compartmentalizing the tragic sights around him, a skill he picked up by virtue of sheer experience. Clinically, he noted the amount of bodies present, living and dead, as well as the brow-raising sight of what could only be human corpses, if the ears were any indicator. He felt a sinking sensation within his stomach; whatever had occurred today would rock the Isles to its core, of that he had no doubt.

Shaking his head, Perry scanned the crowd again, eyes widening at the sight of a hand waving him over. Rushing over, he slid to a stop in front of his son, Augustus; his silly, energetic, passionate, brilliant son, Augustus, alive and well. “This is Perry Porter, on the scene saying,” He started, before pulling Gus into a hug. “I am so happy you’re alright.” He sighed, relieved, feeling Gus relax into his grip.

“I-I am really glad you got here so quickly dad.” Gus choked out, a light sprinkling of tears in his eyes. “A lot’s happened, and I really, really want to talk with you about it, but something more important came up, and I think you can help out, you know?” He put on his bravest smile, trying to hold in the scream that was building ever since he had managed to process that yes, everything that had happened to today was all but over.

“I really think it would be best that I try and talk with you about what happened here,” Perry began, before noticing the stubborn expression on his son’s face, “But I can see that you won’t budge on this. So, shall we?” He calmly asked, gesturing for his son to lead the way, which he did with a beaming smile.

As they walked through the clinic, Perry idly noted the general behaviors of the people around him; there was his son’s friend, Willow Park, tearfully talking with her parents, a relieved smile on her face. There were the Blight Children, the two eldest tightly squeezing themselves around their younger sister, a baffled look on her face. He saw the crowds of crying, pleading, nervous faces all around. As his son led him into a backroom of the small clinic that had been established, Perry came face to face with three figures; the Emperor’s Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne, Eda the Owl Lady, and a human girl, all seated around a central table, gesturing for him to sit. As his son quickly saw himself out of the room, Perry had the sinking suspicion he was in a bit over his head.

After they explained the situation, as much as they could at least, Perry took a deep breath, holding in a sigh. They wanted his help to spread this information, which he could see the basis behind it- a group that invested this much effort into an attack wasn’t going to just stop and people needed to know about them- but the sheer depth of this reveal would completely change the social landscape of Bonesburough. “Very well, I agree to help with this. Do you have a plan for how we go about this?” He asked Lilith, who seemed to be trying a bit too hard to hold authority over this meeting, despite the lack of resistance from the other two.

Lilith nodded. “We have two real options at this point.” She said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. “We can either do multiple takes and present them later, or we can have this meeting broadcast live as breaking news.” She ticked off the options on her fingers, a grave look of contemplation upon her face. Lilith pursed her lips. “Personally, I favor the second option.”

That caught the group by surprise. “Huh, I honestly thought you’d prefer to get this all perfect and have it presented later.” Eda commented, arching a brow.

Lilith snorted. “Please, sister, give me some credit. The longer we go without addressing this, the more severe public unrest and hysteria will become. While the release of this information will certainly have its own consequences, those are still preferable to the people being left in the dark, and drawing more unsavory conclusions.” Lilith calmly stated, gaining impressed looks from the others.

Perry calmly assembled the equipment he would need, adding in his own take on the situation. “While an official report would normally be prepared by the Emperor’s Coven,” He carefully ignored Eda’s derisive snort, “that would be contingent on them possessing factual information to present. Without it, anything they provided would be woefully inadequate for informing the people. While a Live Report of this interview will most certainly cause a stir, it will ultimately be a mere fraction of what would result if the Emperor’s Coven issued a report that ultimately proved to be false in some capacity.” The group blinked, but, after mulling it over, agreed with what he said; it made sense, if people placed trust in an organization and it failed them, whether as a result of malice or otherwise, there would be backlash.

Perry clapped his hands. “So! Let’s begin, shall we?” They all shared a look, and nodded.

As they gathered around the table, Lilith leaned forward. “Now then, human, it’s time for you to answer my questions. The People of the Isles are dying to hear what you have to say.”

Luz gave a challenging grin. “Ask away. I’m all ears.”

Taking that as his cue, Perry started up the broadcast. Turning the camera to himself, he began, voice grave. “To all the citizens of the Boiling Isles, this is Breaking News, Live from the Covention. I am Perry Porter, reporting on behalf of Emperor’s Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne.” He paused, allowing the prepared footage to play across the crystal balls of all watching; the broken walls and shattered stands, the caged prisoners held under guard, and the bodies of all those who’d died, some gathered together for examination, others… not so much. He continued. “Today, tragedy has struck. For the first time since Emperor Belos’ ascendancy, an organized attack on our people has been committed. Of the over 2000 attendees, approximately half have been slain, and a third of the remainder have sustained moderate to severe injuries. Many of them were children. Of the 300 Coven Guards assigned to the Covention, over half of them have died, with all but a quarter sporting severe injuries.”

“What is most shocking, however, is that those claiming responsibility, a group known as the Black Dog Squadron, working on behalf of a group or individual known as Oroboros, are humans. That’s right, humans!!” Perry exclaimed, milking the drama a bit more than he liked, but needing to keep the audience invested; tragedy could only captivate for so long. “During the attack, all displayed some form of magic, but none, bar a handful who commanded Plant Magic, utilized any of the Nine Magics. How is this possible? Why did this happen? What will we, as a society, do next? To help answer these questions, Lilith Clawthorne has initiated an interview with a human who fought on behalf of our people, one Luz Noceda.” He knew that the girl’s image was now emblazoned across every crystal ball on the Isles at this very moment, leading further weight to his broadcast, in theory at least. “I am here with Coven Head Lilith herself,” He indicated the prominent Witch, who raised her hand to the audience. “To broadcast the interview to you all. Please be advised, some of what may be discussed may be shocking to some viewers.” With his part finished for the moment, Perry fell silent, allowing the broadcast to focus on the interview, more of an interrogation really, going on in the room.

“To ensure that what you say is true,” Lilith began, cutting right to the chase. “I must insist that you swear an Unbreakable Vow to that effect. This way, none can claim you are attempting to deceive us. Is that acceptable?” She asked, holding her hand out to begin forming the spell.

Luz raised an eyebrow, but saw no problem with the spell. She shrugged. “Sounds fine to me.” She said bluntly, prompting a nod from Lilith as she formed the spell. When the circle was completed, the two shook hands through it, sealing the oath. Luz was blissfully unaware of the shock rippling through the Isles, as now none would be able to refute or deny her words without looking insane or foolish. She had effectively solidified her legitimacy irrefutably in a single instant.

“Excellent.” Lilith replied, a grim smile playing across her face. She began. “First of all, I must ask, for how long have humans been capable of magic?”

Luz gave a shrug. “I can’t give you an exact figure, but at least 700 years, most likely more.” She said, unaware and uncaring of the shock that erupted at her statement. Even Lilith wasn’t totally immune, managing to school her features, expertly concealing the bewildered shock at the girl’s reply.

Lilith cleared her throat, forcing her instinctive urge to dive into the historical implications of that statement. As calmly as she could, she continued. “I see. How is magic utilized in Human Society?”

Luz tilted her head a bit. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that. There are a lot of Human Societies, all of whom have magic capable individuals, and all have their own ways of doing things. A benefit of being the dominant species in our world, is that we can afford to divide ourselves into a LOT of individual cultures and communities.”

Lilith paled at that, unable to stop the question that bubbled up in response. “Just… how many humans are in existence, exactly?”

Luz pondered that for a moment before replying. “I can’t give you an exact number, but I’d say there’s about several hundred million of us. Our world is big, and there are very few places we can’t survive on it.”

Internally shaking her head, and forcing herself not to focus on all the implications that came to mind, Lilith continued with her questions. “What is this Oroboros that the attackers claimed to be working for?”

Luz’s eyes sharpened, a burning hate filling her eyes, enough that even those watching at home suddenly felt very unsafe at the moment. “Oroboros is a criminal organization; specifically, they are the single largest Dark Guild active in the world right now. Oroboros prides itself on its ability to seize control and orchestrate things to its own benefit, without any regard for the harm and chaos that erupts in their wake. Cruelty and brutality are prized and cultivated among their members, almost as much as magical power is. No crime is too heinous, no line too sacred for them to cross.” She hissed out, the pure malicious hate coloring her tone forcing Lilith to gulp in nervousness.

“I see.” And Lilith did see. She had personally borne witness to the aftermath of that cruelty and indifference; however, Luz’s response brought another question to mind, one she felt she needed an answer to. She narrowed her eyes. “Edalyn told me you would be an excellent source of information for this. So far, you have proven to be so, even if my questions have not been exacting enough to gain satisfactory answers as of yet. But that response of yours has me thinking. How do you know about Oroboros, Miss Noceda?” Lilith inquired, eyes focused.

Luz raised an eyebrow, stood up, and turned around. After ensuring her back was presented to the broadcast, she reached back, and pulled down at the back of her outfit. Seared into her flesh lay a symbol, a serpent arranged into a Sideways eight, biting its own tail. “I used to be a member.” Luz said, voice dead and hollow. She turned a heartbreakingly sad smile towards Lilith. “Specifically, I was a member under protest.”

“Elaborate.” Lilith ordered, voice hard and unrelenting. She could feel the urge to bring out her staff and blast this child into oblivion, but tamped it down. She didn’t have all the information yet.

Luz gave a chuckle, bitter and full of the kind of spite that made people glad for what they had. “Oroboros has no limits to what they are willing to do, and that extends to what lengths they are willing to go to for recruits. Whenever someone with a useful skill or magic appears in their information network, they send out recruiters. For those with a few too many morals, such as myself, they like to employ a more… decisive argument.” She turned an empty smile upwards, oblivious to the daggers Lilith was glaring her way. “Oroboros kidnapped my sister, and used her as a hostage to keep me in line.” Lilith froze, unblinking.

Luz continued, oblivious. “Whenever I talked back, Vee was beaten. Whenever I failed an assignment, she had a bone broken. Whenever I completed a job, she got a good meal, after having been starved and deprived of water to just short of death that is.” She smirked, an angry, tired thing. “I hated myself. I wanted to die. I only kept living for her. And then she died; one of her guards decided they wanted to have a little fun with her, and the next anyone knew, the guard was dead, and my sister had a knife in her liver. I was free in the worst way possible.”

Stunned silence rang throughout the Isles, such that even Lilith herself was rendered speechless. Forcing herself to speak, Lilith asked the next question on her mind, one she felt the Isles would wish to know. “Should we consider this an act of War from the Human Realm?”

Luz blinked. Then, she laughed; a deep, cackling laugh filled with so much loathing and misery it was genuinely astonishing a living being could make such a sound. “No. Or at least, not the way you’re thinking. Oroboros is in no way affiliated with any form of Government or Ruling power. It’s a criminal organization that supports itself alone.” She gave a poisonous smile. “While I have no way of knowing if any Human Governments know about the Isles, I can assure you that none of them were involved in this.”

“Well, that’s something good at least.” Lilith said dryly. “What can you tell us about Oroboros in regards to how it is structured?”

Luz leaned back, gathering her memories on the subject. “Oroboros originally began as a Dark Guild that took jobs that other Dark Guilds shied away from, stuff that was extremely messed up and depraved in what was involved to go about them. When the big three Dark Guilds were dismantled, Oroboros clawed its way to the top of the heap after all the infighting died down. After that, they started breaking down and assimilating other Dark Guilds that they thought might be useful. You actually met one of them out there.” Luz offhandedly mentioned.

“Truly?” Lilith broached.

“Yup.” Luz nodded. “Before they became the Black Dog Squadron, the Squad was originally a guild in its own right, Barghast. Barghast was a mercenary guild at first, selling the services of its members as soldiers and fighters to the highest bidder, with an emphasis on fighting in wars. But when the local groups started fighting less, Barghast decided it would be better to start the wars they fought, and sell their services to both sides to keep the conflict going longer.” Luz smiled at that. It was not a nice smile. “When their little scheme came to light, they were branded a Dark Guild and went on the run, before being absorbed into Oroboros.”

Luz leaned forward. “Oroboros likes to present itself as one big unit, and while it can act like one in the field, Oroboros is full of splintered factions and units. The Black Dog Squadron is one of the neutral factions, actually; they don’t care which faction is using them, just as long as they can cause as much suffering and bloodshed as possible. I was an unaligned member, mostly because none of the Squadrons trusted a conscript like me not to stab them in the back, so I didn’t really work with any of the Factions or Squads outside of being paired with them for missions. My jobs were assassinations, thefts, and… less savory things.” Luz admitted, eyes downcast. Tears pooled in her eyes, dripping onto the table.

Lilith pursed her lips, feeling unwilling to judge the girl for compromising herself in the name of her loved ones; if anything, she was impressed the girl had the sense of self not to justify the atrocities she had done as anything other than what they were, a means of sparing the life of her loved one at the expense of others, and felt remorse over having done so. Still, she had two pressing questions to ask. “I must ask, you keep referencing Oroboros as a Dark Guild. Just what is a Guild?”

Luz slumped, feeling spent from the roller-coaster of loathing that always came when she thought about… all she had done. “Guilds are the Human Version of your Coven System, if far less restrictive. I won’t go too far into it, that would take way too much time, but Dark Guilds are essentially guilds that flout the laws that govern what Guilds can and cannot do, and actively have their members engage in crimes. If I had to give a close equivalent, Dark Guilds are basically for us what an Assassin Coven or Thief Coven would be for you. An organized effort to commit crime with little to no regard for who would be hurt as a result.”

Lilith felt a chill run up her spine at the thought. The idea of the Coven System being twisted like that, perverted into a warped, criminal mirror of itself, made her shudder; the implications of what such a thing could do, producing criminals whose magic was specialized to enabling criminal acts… it was a horrifying thought. Lilith swallowed, before jumping into her last question. “I thank you for agreeing to this; some of what you’ve revealed could not have been easy for you. But… I must ask you this; can we count on you to aid us against Oroboros?” She peered forth, unknowingly mimicking the apprehension of many of the citizens watching.

Luz gave her a smoldering glare. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve already seen enough misery because of Oroboros. I won’t let them do as they please anymore, not while I can do something about it.” Luz paused, a thought coming to mind. “Huh, this reminds me of something my teacher said while I was training.”

Lilith raised any eyebrow. “Oh?”

Luz gave Lilith a soft, tired smile. “Yeah.” She reached up, rolling back her sleeve; Lilith recoiled at the sight. From her elbow to her shoulder, Luz’s arm was a maze of scar tissue, deep gouges and rents woven through the veil of poorly healed flesh; the fact she could use her arm without issue was awe-inspiring, when one considered the pain she must feel every day from such an injury. “I got this when I first tried using my Magic in a combat situation. I was fighting a monster that was bothering some of the fields near the village I was staying at during my training. I had barely been training for a week, having only just barely made a proper spell for the first time less than a day ago. The monster dashed me against a cliff, driving my arm so deep against the stone that it started scraping bone. If my teacher hadn’t intervened, it would’ve eaten me.” She turned to Lilith, sober eyes burning with shame. “I was an idiot. My teacher made sure I remembered that. What they said to me that day, I’ll never forget.” Luz leaned back, before reciting something with the air of quotation. “‘Magic is an unreasonable force. It is wondrous and horrific. It cares nothing for good or evil, or the intentions of those who use it. If you wish to put your skills to such a task as fighting for truth and justice, grow strong. Otherwise, you’ll never be anything more than prey for those with less moral compunctions than you.’” Luz gazed fondly at the ceiling, tears pooling at the memory. “Ever since that day, I swore I would never let myself be too weak to stand up for myself, or what I believe in. I would be strong enough that I could protect others, but also to protect myself.” She gave a chuckle. “Things didn’t work out too well for that promise.”

Lilith just looked on with pity, before turning to Perry. “I think that would be a good point to end the interview. At least for today.”

“Indeed.” Perry nodded. “Well then, you heard it here first, Citizens.-”

“What are you doing?” Lilith queried.

Perry blinked. “I’m… ending the broadcast.”

Lilith shook her head. “Not yet. I still have one thing left to do.” She beckoned her sister forth, who had been silently looking on as the interview went on. Eda’s mind was brimming with questions for Luz, but she was willing to put it aside for when they got back home. For now, she had her sister to deal with. Lilith gazed upon her sister, an unreadable look in her eye. “Earlier, when you defeated me in a Witch’s Duel, your request for your win was that I would tell the truth about your curse to the public, dispelling the official story. We even swore an unbreakable vow over it.” She held up her arm for emphasis, her arm flashing with a white ring. An ominous smile graced her features. “Well, I do believe a live broadcast all across the Isles is certainly public, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah, it is. And I’m glad you’re not putting it off, I am! But… are you feeling okay sis? You seem a little out of it.” Eda asked, genuine concern coloring her voice. The hysterical laugh Lilith gave just added to that concern.

“Oh Edalyn, if you only knew.” She said, wiping away a tear from her outburst, before sobering. “But then, I suppose you will in a moment.” Turning to the broadcast, Lilith braced herself, fully willing to bear the backlash her actions would cause against herself and the Coven from this. “Citizens of the Isles, I, Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne, stand before you to reveal a bitter truth. For years, the story of the Owl Lady has been told, how her defiance and dismissal of the Coven System was punished by the Titan. That story… it is a lie.” She bluntly stated, almost feeling the gasps rippling through the Isles. “The Emperor’s Coven itself has no knowledge of how Edalyn was cursed, but it was most certainly no work of the Titan, or its will.” A mysterious smile, almost beatific were it not so filled with pain, crossed her features. “The one responsible for Eda Clawthorne’s curse was a witch. Specifically… the one responsible was myself.” Lilith felt more than saw Eda freeze up beside her. She could see it now on Perry’s own face, the look of horror, accusation, dumbfounded shock.

Lilith turned to Eda, feeling an almost spiteful glee at the look of horror, denial, and hurt that crossed her features. “Y-your lying, Lily. You-” Eda stuttered (Edalyn stuttered!), denial and shock filling her voice. Lilith slowly stroked Eda’s cheek, an almost tender gesture.

“Edalyn, we both know that, for all your hatred of the rules and authority, you are far smarter than this. You know I can’t be lying.” Lilith said, just barely loud enough for the broadcast to pick up. “Think about it, you’ve surely pieced it together after all this time. Who else could’ve gotten into your room to curse you? Who else would’ve had reason to curse you?” Eda shook her head, denial still burned across her features, backing away from Lilith.

“Why?” Eda hissed out, forcing it through the denial. “Why would you do this!? To me!? TO YOUR FAMILY!?!?” She screamed, hurt and rage finally making themselves known in full.

Lilith chuckled, the same bitter, empty laugh Luz herself had used previously when discussing her failings. “Because you were going to win, dear sister!” Lilith cried, almost relishing the horror on Eda’s face, were it not for how sick she felt at it all. “We were set to fight for a place in the Emperor’s Coven, and you would win!! I knew you would!! You were the prodigy, the gifted genius that everything came so easily to when you bothered to try, the powerhouse who could already level buildings at the age of TWELVE!!!” Lilith felt the tears coming, the bitter, hot tears of her own weakness surging forth. “I was the one who wanted to serve the Isles, I was the one who wanted to help people!!!! You only cared about joining the Coven so you wouldn’t have to give up any magic! So why should I have given up my dream, my future, for you!?”

“I ONLY WANTED TO BE PART OF THE COVEN TO SUPPORT YOU!!!” Eda cried, her own angry, hurt-filled tears flowing. “All I wanted was to support you, to give you the future you deserved!!” She shook her head, anger and shame filling her heart.

“I KNOW!!” Lilith shrieked. “I Knew it then, and I know it now!!” The tears were like waterfalls now, bitter pain coating her every word. “But I couldn’t accept it, the idea that you, someone who so effortlessly and deliberately flouted the rules, would have what I wanted, what I dreamed of! How could I have known that you would forfeit, how could anyone!? A position in the most prestigious and influential of covens, and you throwing it away for me!?” She shook her head. “No. I didn’t believe you could be that selfless.”

Eda gave a bitter snort. “And I didn’t believe you could be that selfish. I guess we were both surprised.” Not staying to hear another word, Eda grabbed Luz, who wordlessly followed her, and stormed off. Luz shot Lilith a look of empty disappointment. It was exactly what Lilith deserved.

Lilith turned to the still running broadcast, a blank smile on her face. “And you’ve heard it here first, folks.” Lilith mockingly imitated the standard reporter line. “The Enforcer of the Emperor’s Will is a cheat, scum who would betray her own family, and a fraud. What a shocking revelation, is it not?” She wandered off, tears still streaming. Perry wordlessly cut the broadcast. He suddenly felt the need to give his son the biggest hug of all time.

All across the Isles, people were reacting to the horrifying news. Some focusing on some parts over others, of course, but none could deny that the Special Report was on everyone’s minds.

“This is unacceptable!!” Kikimora cried, frantically pacing in front of the Emperor’s Throne, heedless of her standard deference. “How could Coven Head Clawthorne reveal such sensitive information through a broadcast of all things!? Your Highness, this mutiny cannot stand!!” Normally, Kikimora would never be so blatant and emotional in front of her lord, but she felt now, of all times, was the best moment to voice her worries.

“Hmm… it seems I must adjust some of my plans.” Belos murmured. While Lilith publicly revealing the secret she so fervently guarded was certainly a surprise, if anything the revelation of her obsession should make her even more fervent in her future attempts to apprehend her sister. The revelations of Human Realm Magic now infesting his realm… oh he would definitely need to broach this carefully, but his ultimate goal remained unchanged. Wild Magic would be PURGED from the Titan, that was non-negotiable. But the revelation of Human Magic would certainly prove a useful tool for later…

“My lord!?” Kikimora frantically pleaded.

Hunter contemplated the revelations he had just witnessed. Humans were capable of magic, something deemed impossible. If it was possible for them… could it prove possible for himself? Something to think about for later. Right now, he had to attend to his Emperor. He owed the man everything, and this did not change that fact. He would probably have to keep a closer eye on Lilith though,

Alador calmly adjusted the latest adaptation to the Abomiton project, carefully tuning out his wife’s frantic screams and rage. She would burn herself down, if not out, in a little while, and then he would intercede. For the moment, he needed to properly calibrate the Coiled Composition System, truly a marvel really; if it worked properly, even the lowest quality of Abomitons would be a force to be reckoned with.

Odalia slammed herself down across from Alador with a huff, blistering rage burning in her eyes. “Well, at least now we know who our mysterious clients are.” She bit out, forcing herself to calm down with a cup of tea. Alador merely raised an eyebrow. He would see what she said in full, before replying. Odalia chuckled, a nasty, angry sounding thing. “It truly makes sense, you know. Such mysterious customers, wanting such a variety of goods and supplies! And they turned out to be murderous criminals. Fitting.”

“Will we stop supplying them, then?” Alador faux-absentmindedly asked. He had a feeling as to what she would say, but it was still imperative he hear it in truth first.

Odalia snorted. “No. We’ll keep selling to them. We’ll just covertly sabotage the goods we grant them, and use our dealings to pump them for information. Once we’ve gained everything we can, we use the resources we’ve acquired in our dealings to crush them.” Her eyes sharpened. “They endangered our children. Our FAMILY. They will not be allowed to survive for this offense.” Alador gravely nodded. Oroboros had made a crucial mistake already. They’d tried to challenge the Blight family, and harm their children. There would be a reckoning for this sin, of that neither Blight had any doubts.

Raine Whispers was conflicted. On the one hand, they now knew who had cursed Eda, and their heart went out to their old flame about what she must be going through. On the other, more clinically minded hand, the revelation that Humans could wield magic was in itself a massive blow to Belos’ authority, particularly in regards to his edicts on magic and the Titan. It was certainly something to explore for the future. For the moment, they had to get to their meeting. If all went well, they would finally, finally have prospective members willing to step out of the shadows with them. To be honest, that Katya girl had seemed almost too eager to join up, but they would at least give her a chance to step back and explain before making… hasty judgments.

Eda slammed the bottle of Appleblood back, her tears pouring down as fast as the heavy beverage went down her throat. It still hurt. Luz cuddled up to her, lending a comforting presence, King sitting on her lap. Words could wait. The three of them had enough pain to work through. Eda allowed a small smile to cross her features. At least they had each other to share the burden.

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countessofbiscuit · 4 years ago

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cherry picked

Find yourself someone who looks at you like Lady RaRa looks at a Coruscant Guardsman.

OCs with a side of Foxiyo. 1400 words. Teen. Also on Ao3.

A Star Wars adaptation of this story. Happy Valentine’s Day!

♥ ♥ ♥

“Why is that on?” Fox asked upon coming in off the balcony. The new penthouse viewscreen was for sports, soaps, and stakes; the holonews offered none of that, and was garish and obnoxious besides. Who wanted to watch debacles and disasters in half time with inane commentary? Fox had his own HUD for that.

Jammy tried to stand up reflexively. Fox’s heavy hand on his shoulder told the captain he’d do better to stay casual and answer on his shebs. “Piers’s interview, sir — it’s supposed to air during the nine o’chron news.”

“Ah.”

Lieutenant Piers had been in the right place at the right time with the right face during the rehearsals for Republic Day, and had gotten tapped to escort a galactic pop star down some stairs. Fox hadn’t seen it live, having been stood below the Chancellor’s dais to take the salute. But he’d seen reams of cam footage since. And holos. So many heart-eyed holos.

The Senate Public Affairs office was always looking for quick wins for the army, but they had a PR endurance ruck on their hands with the Guard: door-kickers, boot-lickers, box-tickers, and generally unpopular. Piers had told Fox that Rugeyan happened to be standing nearby at the deciding moment, and that it’d been his idea to have a Corrie grunt to do the honors on this, the first wartime Republic Day.

But it was Lady RaRa who had the real flashbang of brilliance by asking Piers to remove his helmet for the cams and kissing a clone on both cheeks, before she stepped up to the mic to belt out the Republic anthem.

At least, that was the general opinion of the Guard, especially the gaggle gathering ‘round the screen.

Piers himself was absent that evening. His duties hadn’t ended when the spotlights cut out. After earning a reprieve from staff duty for a successful one-man rapid clear of the penthouse a couple weeks back, when his CO had been inbound with a very particular DV, he’d landed himself dignitary duty in the run up to the annual celebrations. Plum job or punishment, depending on your assignment of principals.

Fox was pouring out the last of the liquor he and Senator Chuchi had recently shared, unbelievably eager to see her again, when the opening bars of the “All Stars Burn as One” tinkled from the speakers and a great roar of excitement billowed from the lounge.

“Yesterday’s Republic Day celebrations at the Senate were distinctly martial in nature, as the Republic marked its 979th year and nine months of conflict with CIS forces,” began the HNE anchor. “One soldier, however, captured the attention and hearts of everyone when he gallantly escorted singer Lady RaRa before she sang the Republic anthem. One of our correspondents spoke with the clone trooper after the ceremony yesterday.”

Fox ambled over from the bar to get a view of the screen. It cut to some busy scene in the Dome portico. And there was the guardsman of the hour, running a hand through that damn hair of his, a finger’s breadth taller than regulation, and wearing his service medal — the one Fox had declined in favor of the junior officer who’d actually shot down that hijacked convict vessel and rescued the CSF officer with some quick-thinking and a jetpack. Fox had merely picked Piers and piloted the peppered pursuit gunship — a singular act for a marshal commander, but not exactly award-winning. Not outside Corrie’s atmo, certainly.

“Lieutenant Piers, tell us how you were chosen for the privilege of leading out Lady RaRa,” the reporter asked.

Piers had no formal media training, but he was a consummate soldier. Fox wasn’t too nervous. Besides, there was Rugeyan himself in the background, wonderfully breaking the fourth wall, staring alternately at the back of Piers’s head and at the reporter behind the cam as he listened in, finger in his ear, like the consummate dingbat he was.

“Well, they’d almost finished rehearsing for the function, when it was flagged to the MC that Lady RaRa would be wearing this very beautiful, very large dress,” Piers began. “And obviously, there was a concern — there are a lot of steps outside the Dome and she might need some help. And the MC looked ‘round and I was standing there, no helmet at the time, and I guess —” smirking a little into the cam — “he just liked the look of me. And there was some back-and-forth, ‘cause I wasn’t really supposed to be dressed for the occasion, I was just security. But since I was definitely one of the, uhh, taller and larger individuals around and sturdily dressed myself, they asked if I wouldn’t mind and I said I’d be happy to.”

Even if Rugeyan hadn’t fixed it, Piers had said there hadn’t been much competition for the honor: a bunch of interns, old civil servants, and some Blueys who weren’t impressive enough to be stationed in the visible parts of the ceremony. Still, as he’d been randomly shunted over from a command unit at decant and was one of Dodger’s gym groupies, he wore his armor very well.

“When did you first meet Lady RaRa?”

“About fifteen minutes before the ceremony.”

“You must have been nervous.”

“A little.”

“Were you familiar with her music? Any favorite songs?”

Piers’s reply was drowned out as the lounge audience enthusiastically offered up their own opinions. Maybe Lady RaRa was the key to really engaged briefings.

“Tell us your first impression of her.”

Piers bit his lip, charmingly. “Pretty. Kind. And funny — said we had an equal chance of tripping over her dress. That cut the ice pretty quick.”

“You said something to her in the doorway. What was that?”

“We’d been waiting up there a while and I felt her start to — well, she seemed a little nervous and it just seemed a natural thing to do, the right thing to do to reassure her, before the spotlights hit us.”

Fox smiled. Aristos, politicians, and celebrities all put their panties on one leg at a time — and sweated into them just the same. Delightfully. Fox knew, because he’d recently sucked a senator’s face and spread her skirt on the couch now crammed with soggy guardsmen.

“What did you tell her?” the reporter pressed.

“I said, ‘Hey, ma’am, you’re a great performer, really brilliant. You’ll do a cracking job. You always do.”

Various sounds of approval, some more crude than others, echoed this, and Piers was roundly urged to get in. The din only magnified when a holopic of The Kiss flashed up next to Piers’s head. Fox didn’t catch the next few seconds, as sergeants were finding it bloody difficult to silence other sergeants, but the lieutenant continued to smile and nod placidly at the volley of prodding questions which sought out his embarrassment. For the first guardsmen on HNE, he was doing pretty brilliantly himself. Speaking like he’d been there, done that, and bought the ashtray.

Eventually, the reporter could be heard again. “What did you think of her performance?”

“It was phenomenal. And her dedication to the troops at the start was very heartfelt. I hadn’t — no one had expected her to do that.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to share, lieutenant?”

“Yes. That I was really proud to represent the Republic Guard.” Fists punched the hushed air below Fox, but no one made a sound. Everyone wanted to hear this. “It was an honor and I hope I did my brothers proud with this one. Trillions of people have now seen Lady RaRa with a guardsman — with a clone.”

The lounge erupted. Piers would never have to pour another drink for himself in his short life. Red and whitejobs alike would be lining them up for klicks.

The anchor reappeared on screen. Fox was about to sew sky back to barracks when his compad vibrated: a haptic alert for time-sensitive messages. He popped his bucket on and pulled it up. A transfer request from Thorn. Apparently, Lady RaRa had been assigned DES for her trip home. And she’d enquired after Lieutenant Piers specifically.

Fox actually grinned. He approved the request immediately, gratified at this convenient and curious opportunity to return Piers’s favor. Her yacht was fucking luxe and it was a mighty long jump to Cantonica …

#commander fox #coruscant guard #foxiyo #the clone wars #clone troopers

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fanficimagery · 5 years ago

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Natalie’s Half-Sister [Part 1 of 3]

Summary: Imagine being Natalie's half-sister and visiting her. Your week long vacation gets prolonged into a month and you hit it off with quite a few of the group.

Words: 4.3K Warnings: Language. Drinking. Most likely OOC since this is my first time writing for the Vlog Squad. I told myself I'd never write for real people, but the Vlog Squad got me fucked up, man. That said, I'm 95% sure I'll only keep these imagines platonic-friendly because I find it weird shipping someone with a real person. Then again these are the Vlog squad boys and they're quite flirtatious.

Having finished filming for David's latest video, a few members of the squad stick around to help David and Natalie clean up.

So after all the glass and broken drywall is swept up, the water all mopped up from where Zane threw a bucket of it on a small fire, and the demolished trash cans and ping pong balls taken out to the curb, everyone drops onto the couch with a tired sigh as Mariah proceeds to order a smorgasbord of food through Postmates.

"So David," Natalie drawls, attention focused on her phone as she addresses her friend. "I have a favor to ask."

"No, Natalie! You can't go on another vacation."

Those surrounding them laugh, Natalie included, but she rolls her eyes fondly as well. "Shut up. Y/N is coming to visit and I was wondering if she could stay with us."

"Y/N?" David lowers his camera. "Your sister Y/N?" He then slowly grins.

"Wait, what?" Zane leans forward in his seat, gaze darting between his two friends. "Natalie's got a sister and we're only hearing about this now?"

"It's because she's hot. She's hot, isn't she?" Todd laughs.

"She's my half-sister," Natalie says at the same time David answers, "Definitely hot."

"Wait a minute." Jeff looks up from his phone to address his friends. "So does this mean that if Natalie won't go on a date with me, then I can ask her sister?"

"Jesus," Natalie groans and then grips a couch pillow to swat Jeff with. "No hitting on my sister."

"No promises," He, Todd, and Zane all muse at the same time.

The room erupts with laughter.

Then finally, David says, "Y/N can stay with us. I don't mind."

"Thanks. She's only staying for a week, so.."

"That's fine," David assures her. "When does she get in?"

"Two days from now."

After a three and a half hour flight, you're more than ready to find your sister in the busy airport and go wherever it is she's putting you up for the week.

With the strap of your duffel bag hooked over your shoulder and you pulling your rolling suitcase behind you, your tired gaze scans the crowd waiting for their loved ones. It doesn't take you long to find your sister in the crowd, a familiar face at her side with a camera attached to his hand. David still looks the same, but it's obvious he's grown into his dorky appearance. The other two men, however, is what gives you pause. Both are incredibly good looking, dark haired, one clean shaven and the other with a fair amount of facial hair.

They're all joking and laughing, and you already know your week with them is going to be an entertaining one. The two unknowns with your sister put their heads together, laughing as they play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. The clean shaven one loses and after David has his camera pointed at him, the stranger stands up on a chair and shouts that he loves penis. Several people stop and stare while others laugh and continue walking. A few young teens get excited over seeing them, so while the guys are busy taking photos with their apparent fans, you pull down the sunglasses over your eyes and attempt to walk on by.

You've barely made it a few feet before someone is rushing in front of you, shoving a camera in your face. "Did you really just walk on by us, Y/N? How rude!"

You laugh and playfully shove the camera away. "Well if it isn't Dobrik all grown up. Tell me, David, have you boned my sister yet?"

David only cackles in response, lowering his camera to give you a brief hug. "You haven't changed a bit. Thank god."

"Neither have you," you say. "Well I lied. You finally grew into your looks."

"Hey!"

Laughter erupts and you watch the two other men join David, smiling. Arms wrap around your waist from behind and you manage to turn your head just so in order to spot your sister's beaming expression. "Natty. God I've missed you." You turn in her arms and give her a proper hug, sighing. "LA suits you, sister-mine."

As soon as she pulls out of the hug, she gestures to her two other friends with David. "Sorry for the welcoming committee. The whole squad has been non-stop trying to dig information up on you since I told them about you, and these two threw themselves into the back of David's Tesla when we were leaving to come here."

"Hey. I'm Jeff."

"And I'm Todd."

You laugh at their too charming smiles, shaking your head as David films the entire encounter. "Y/N," you say. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. And let me take that for you," Jeff says as he reaches for the strap of your bag. "It looks kind of heavy."

"It's not."

"And I'll take the suitcase," Todd's quick to jump in, taking your suitcase from your hand.

You laugh as your sister groans. "Aw, Natty, your friends are adorable."

Arm in arm, you and your sister then walk out of the airport as David continues to film you and his friends acting a little too chivalrous. David and Natalie end up taking the driver and front passenger seats, leaving the boys to play yet another game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would be sitting with you in the middle seats. Todd wins.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" Natalie asks after setting up David's camera on the dash.

"Honestly? I just want to keep things chill. And that goes for my entire stay here. Don't go out of the way to plan something special. If you're gonna stay home and edit videos, that's fine with me. I'm seriously okay with whatever."

The entire car goes quiet and the group start to nervously chuckle.

"Goddammit," you grumble. "What did you do?"

"There may or may not be a party happening tonight to welcome you," David giggles.

Smiling, you shake your head. "You're really trying to get me to relive my party days. Shame on you, Davey."

"Party days," Todd muses. "That makes you sound old." Laughter fills the car, it dwindling when you shrug.

"Well I am older than Natty."

Todd quirks an eyebrow. "How old?"

"Old enough."

"Yes!" Jeff cheers from the back. "I can hit on this one without feeling weird."

Glancing over your shoulder, you wink. "Flirt all you want, hot shot, but I don't do hook-ups or relationships."

Natalie turns around in her seat, smirking. "Fun fact about my sister, guys, is that Y/N doesn't have sex."

Todd practically gapes. "Like at all?"

You shake your head. "I will hold hands, I will cuddle, and I will make-out, but nothing more. I'm just- I'm not hardwired like everyone else."

David suddenly cackles, he pulling over to the side of the road and picking up his camera. Turning around in his seat, he says, "Look at Todd and Jeff, guys. They just found out that Natalie's sister doesn't do sexual intimacy and they look like someone murdered their dogs."

You and Natalie laugh, and you reach over to grab Todd's hand. "Aw. Don't pout. If it helps any, you and Jeff are really attractive. I just don't feel the need to have sex with you."

Jeff leans forward. "But you will make-out with us. Right?"

You glance at him again, grinning. "We'll see."

- X - X - X - X - X -

David's house leaves you in awe when you get there. He and Natalie give you a tour when Todd and Jeff take their leave to get dressed for the party, and you end up shedding a couple of tears over how proud you are of him. David laughs it off, but you and Natalie can see how much it means to him to hear that you're proud of him.

Natalie then ends up ordering the three of you a late lunch/early dinner and encourages you to eat as much as you can because the alcohol will be flowing later that night and she doesn't want you to get too sick. Then after you nap off your food baby in the guest room Natalie had set up for you, you shower and dress in a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans and a white sports bra that's visible through your mesh crop top.

You go searching for your sister, only to find her in David's room and helping him choose a decent outfit. Laughing, you fall onto his bed and then snatch up one of his numerous Clickbait caps.

"Hey, can I wear this?" David glances at you and watches as you put his cap on backwards, fixing your wavy hair to drape in front of your shoulders.

"Yeah." He turns back around, but then quickly faces you once more. "Hey, I forgot to ask earlier, but is it okay if I use the footage with you in it? I kind of need your permission to post anything you're in."

"Yeah. Go for it. I don't mind."

"Thanks."

People soon start showing up and you're introduced to every one of Natalie's friends. Zane is, by far, the loudest and most blunt with his first impression of you. Being called baby and hot amuses you to no ends, and then you're relieved to see that when the camera is turned off their personalities are a lot more calmer.

There's a bit of pre-gaming before David turns his camera back on, Todd and Jeff letting everyone know about your personal choices pertaining to dating, or the lack there-of, when Jonah and Dom take their flirting a little too far. Everyone seems a little surprised, but you're relieved when they respect your choice and a few volunteer themselves to make-out with you should you feel yourself wanting to kiss someone. You laugh it off, but make no promises.

When everyone is loose-limbed and loose-lipped, David finally turns his camera back on. Lights are dimmed, multi-colored lights flash, and a tray of shots are passed around.

"A toast!" Zane shouts, already glassy-eyed. Everyone gathers around, shot glasses raised. "To Y/N! Baby girl, you are a hottie and I honestly hope you let loose enough to stick your tongue my throat. I'm game." The group cheers and you snort, laughing.

"To Y/N!" Everyone then shouts before downing their shot.

"Y/N. Y/N, wake up." You startle at the voice and the gentle nudging of your shoulder, flinching as the lights are suddenly flooding the room. David laughs and you groan when you see the camera in hand, pulling up the sheet to cover your face. "Wake up, sleepy head. Your sister went out to get some lunch."

"Screw you. I'm never drinking with you guys again." David laughs some more. Then after making sure you're not going to barf, you shove the sheet away. "How bad was it? I feel like shit, so.."

"You and Mariah ended up dancing atop my pool table. I've never seen Heath look so happy before."

"Anything else?"

"Not as bad as you're thinking. The squad really likes you. Natalie was happy you got along with everyone."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Now get up and shower. Natalie will be home soon."

"Okay," you mumble, rolling over onto your side and letting your eyes close once more.

"I'm serious, Y/N. If you don't get up in five minutes, you're not going to like your wake up call."

Unfortunately for you, you don't listen to David and then someone's bursting into the room. Water splashes you and you shriek, sitting up only to see a hungover Zane cheering. "Ice bath, baby! Get 'ya perky ass up. Food's here."

"You. Are. Fucking. Dead."

Zane blows you a kiss and takes off running.

- X - X - X - X - X -

After taking a warm shower, you dress in a pair of leggings and yet another sports bra beneath a baggy tank top. You accept Zane's hug and apology for the rude wake-up call, and then eat the greasy burger and fries Natalie had slid in front of you.

Your sister and David have hours of footage to go through and edit for his next video, so you have absolutely no problem dropping onto the lovesac (giant beanbag) in the living room while they edit on the couch several feet away from you, but only after you've down some ibuprofen. You're in and out of sleep, eyes fluttering open every time someone pops in real quick for a visit.

Todd, Scott, and Jason stick around, laptops in front of them and headphones plugged in as they edit their own stuff.

You end up falling asleep, only to be jolted awake by something jumping onto your lap. "Wha-" There are sounds of panting and then slightly heavy footsteps walking up your body until a flat tongue is sweeping across your cheek. "Aw. Doggie," you sleepily chuckle, petting the animal.

"Nerf, no! Get down."

You manage to fully open your eyes and spot Jeff looking a bit alarmed that the dog has jumped on you, but you wrap your arms around the dog as it lays down atop your chest. "He yours?"

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout him."

"Don't be," you smile, gently scratching around the dog's neck. "Dogs are my favorite." Turning onto your side, Nerf slides off of you but he doesn't go far. In fact, he lays right in front of your chest and snuggles in. Then chuckling softly, you curl around the dog. "Oh my god. I want one so bad."

"Hey Jeff," David suddenly pipes up. "How does it feel to have the hot girl cuddling your dog rather than you?" His friends all laugh, including your sister who snaps a picture of a pouting Jeff as he stares down at you.

"Like a cosmic joke."

"Aw, Nerf, daddy seems jealous. Should we allow him to cuddle too?"

"Yes." Before you can even laugh, Jeff is sliding up behind you.

Everyone laughs louder and more video/pictures are taken. "I'm down for some good cuddling, but if your hand ends up on my tit I'm gonna throat punch you."

"She'll do it too," Natalie muses. "Trust me."

"Noted." Jeff's arm stays draped over your bare waist and you soon find yourself drifting off back to sleep.

"That dog is seriously the luckiest little shit I've ever met," Todd grumbles.

You have no idea how long you've been asleep until a phone ringing startles you awake. You're no longer cuddling a dog, but a person instead, and as you glance up at the equally sleepy face you grimace. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Jeff yawns. "Did what?"

"When I get cold I tend to curl into the nearest source of warmth. I'm so sorry."

He chuckles as you unwrap yourself from him. "Don't be. That was the best nap I've had in a while."

Then glancing around, you notice the living room is empty and it's starting to get dark outside. "Where is everyone?"

"Hey, you guys are finally awake!" Natalie enters the room and she readily pulls you up from the giant beanbag you'd fallen asleep in. "Since last night was a bit wild, David rented out a theatre for ourselves. We can watch a movie and still be loud little shits without ruining anyone else's movie night."

"That's fine." You stretch and then guiltily glance at Jeff before looking back at your sister. "I really wish you'd have woken me earlier. I only met your friends yesterday and already I wrapped myself around one like a-"

"Y/N," Jeff chuckles. "It's fine. Really."

"It really isn't," you frown. Natalie faintly smiles as she wraps an arm around your shoulders. "We only met yesterday and if I made you uncomfortable-"

Natalie snorts. "Doubt it."

"Listen to your sister," he tells you. "It was only cuddling. I know where you stand and I'm cool with it. At least this way I know you're the only girl I can actually just sleep with without you trying to wheedle anything out of me."

You nervously chuckle at his pretty smile. "You sure? Like I didn't cross any lines?"

"I'm positive. In fact, if you want a cuddle buddy for the rest of your stay, all you have to do is ask."

Sighing in relief, Natalie finally laughs at you. "Now that that's settled, you two need to shower and get dressed. We're getting dinner before heading to the movies."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

The next few days are a whirlwind of drinking, laughter, cuddles, and pranks. You seemed to fit in rather flawlessly with your sister's friends and it was a running joke that you'd end up in a threesome with both Jeff and Todd because after that night with you cuddling Nerf and then cuddling Jeff, the boys seemed to find you fair game as a cuddling partner. More often than not, it was Jeff or Todd cuddling you or placing their head in your lap and falling asleep when your nails lightly raked against their scalps.

Now it's the morning of the day before you're set to fly back home, but instead of doing anything, you're laying in bed with your sister as you lazily scroll through social media.

"You ready to head back home tomorrow?" Natalie asks.

"No," you mumble. "I've forgotten how much I loved being around you and I've grown quite fond of your friends."

"They're your friends too," she grins. "Even though some might secretly wish there was something more going on."

"Christ," you chuckle, rolling onto your side to face your sister. "I've never met a more attractive group of people. I recently found myself wishing I was sexually attractive to people just so I could sit on one of their faces."

"Oh my god!" Natalie cackles, her phone falling and hitting her in the face. Her hands then cover her face as she continues to laugh, it completely masking the sound of her bedroom door opening.

"Room for one more?" You turn and see David standing there, still a little sleep mussed with his camera and laptop in hand.

"Sure."

As Natalie tries to control her giggles, you roll out of bed and let David take the middle. Then once he's situated, you climb back in. "What did I miss?" He asks, absentmindedly turning on his camera and angling the lens towards you three. When you only smile and shrug, he then says into his camera, "Look, guys, I'm living the dream right now." He moves it around to show you and Natalie on either side of him.

You flip off the camera just in time for Natalie to tell him what he had missed moments ago. "Y/N admitted to wanting to be sexually attractive to our friends so she could sit on their faces."

David cackles as a blush heats your face. "Who?" He wonders.

"Nope. Not telling. Knowing you, you'll tell them what I said or put this clip in your next video and surprise them. I'm not stupid, Davey."

"Come on, Natalie, tell me since your sister won't."

"I don't know either!" She laughs. "We didn't get that far into the conversation."

Luckily for you, before David can pester you for any more information, your phone starts to ring and you see Boss Lady flash across the screen. "Oh shit, guys. I need to take this." David and Natalie instantly calm down, and you sit up to answer the call. "Hello?"

The call goes no way near what you expected and your blood slowly starts to boil as your boss reprimands you over the phone. You can feel yourself getting agitated, so you crawl out of bed, choosing to pace by Natalie's closet. "So let me get this straight," you say, voice cold. David and Natalie lose their grins, the snickering coming to a full fledged stop as they watch you. "Because no one wanted to listen to me when I said nurse Tyler wasn't ready for solo rotations, I'm the one being punished for her screw up?"

The bedroom door slams open, making you flinch, but before a clearly exuberant Zane can say anything, David and Natalie wave him off and gesture for him to join them on the bed. Seeing your eyes flash and jaw clench as you remain on the phone, Zane clamps his mouth shut and plops down on the foot of your sister's bed. "With all due respect, ma'am, this is such a bullshit call. I'm well aware I was the one in charge of her training, but I warned you before I left for vacation that nurse Tyler wasn't picking up as quick as you'd hoped. I told you she wasn't prepared to be on her own and even left clear instructions for the other nurses on shift to help nurse Tyler should she find herself overwhelmed."

Once again the door opens and it's almost comical as the three other occupants of the room wave their arms in hopes of catching Jeff's attention to not make any noise. His smile quickly falls and he warily joins the others on the bed as you huff over the phone. Aware of all eyes on you, you will yourself to not cry the angry tears threatening to fall.

Your boss' next words have you freezing, eyes subtly widening. "Suspended without pay?" You repeat the words back, almost in disbelief. Even your sister and friends seem shocked. "Are you kidding me!? It wasn't my call to let nurse Tyler out on the floor!" More words are had until your shoulders slump in defeat, but the anger is still there simmering. "Aw. Bless your heart, ma'am," you mockingly coo. Natalie snorts. "But I have a better outcome for you: I quit." With that you end the call, squeezing your phone until you just let it drop with a sigh.

The room is eerily quiet until, "Did you just say bless your heart?" Zane muses.

Natalie starts to giggle. "In Texas speak, she just told her boss fuck you."

David and Zane laugh, and Jeff appears surprised. You shrug. "She wanted to punish me for someone else's mistake. The hospital I work for has been having a lot of problems lately and a couple of the doctors are sketchy as fuck. I've been meaning to look elsewhere for a job and she just gave me the push I needed to finally quit."

"Hold up!" Zane sits on his knees, staring at you intently. "You're a nurse!?"

"Yes." And before Zane can ask anything else, you hold up a hand. "And no I don't own a sexy nurse costume, nor will I model one for you."

He deflates. "You're such a buzzkill."

Everyone laughs and it's David who then finds his voice, realization dawning. "Holy shit. Did you really just quit your job?"

"Yep."

"You know what this means. Right?" Natalie then asks. "You don't have to fly out tomorrow. With no job, you don't have to be back home for anything."

"What? No," you laugh. "I've already disrupted your lives for a week."

"So? Lets make it a month." You gape at David, content to let him record whatever plan he's no doubt concocted in that brain of his. "Anyone got a quarter?"

"Yaassss, baby," Zane cheers. "Where we going?"

"What?" You glance around in confusion and it's Jeff who takes pity on you as Natalie searches for a quarter.

"The last time David flipped a quarter, if it lands on heads, we go on a trip of his choosing."

"Oh."

You tiredly sigh and pick your phone up from the floor. "You okay?" He then asks.

"Hmm?" You see Jeff's concerned expression and flash him a small smile. "Yeah. I really have been meaning to find a job elsewhere. My boss just gave me an excuse to finally quit and get on with it."

"You can always find a job out here," he then muses. "It's LA. There are jobs everywhere."

"Aw. Are you gonna miss me, Jeff?" You tease.

"Maybe." He shrugs. "But Natalie will miss you more. Since you've been here, she's been a lot more happier. Everyone can see it."

"You say that now. Just wait until she has to see me day in and day out for a month. She'll be ready for me to leave then."

Jeff grins, but then Zane catches everyone's attention as he makes phone call after phone call to the rest of their friends. He tells everyone to get to David's asap without giving away the surprise and half an hour later you find yourself with your legs draped over Jeff's lap as you both absentmindedly look at hospitals hiring around the area just in case.

"Okay so what's going on?" Heath asks as he and Mariah are the last to show up.

David stands, camera in hand, recording. "Y/N just quit her job earlier today and from the sounds of it she had a real shitty boss." Everyone boos and glances at you in sympathy. "So to cheer her up, I thought we'd play a game." David pinches a quarter between his forefinger and thumb, holding it up for all to see. "Heads we go to Vegas tonight, tails we move Y/N out here tomorrow."

"What!?"

"Deal." Natalie snatches the quarter from David, beaming. "Its a win-win for me," she says. "I either get to go to Vegas with you or I get to live with you. I'm taking this deal for us." And before you can refuse, Natalie flips the coin.

Everyone seems to hold their breath and then when it lands, David zooms in. "WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!"

The whole group cheers simultaneously, laughing hysterically. Natalie rushes over to you, falling into your lap and making Jeff groan. "This is going to be so much fun."

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