#also i may be insane but what if the shop represents the world and seeing it in flames means the members couldn't save it and their lore

[p1harmonie]

I JUST REWATCHED PIWON MOVIE AND I HAVE THINGS TO SAY

[mistressoftherant-blog]

Hypocrisy in the TMNT Fandom

I may come back to this topic at a later date, but I feel like I need to address the hypocrisy in the TMNT fandom when it comes to how 12 Donnie is treated for his crush on April, compared to other characters such as Bayverse Mikey and Mutant Mayhem Leo, or I might explode. Do I condone everything that 12 Donnie does in the name of his crush on April? No. Do I sometimes find the cringiness of his actions unbearable (keeping in mind that he is my favourite character in 12)? Absolutely. But is there context behind his actions that often gets ignored? Yes. Do the fandom vilify or make fun of behaviour from him that they let slide in other characters? 100% yes.

People love to bash 12 Donnie for his actions, without even considering the reasons behind them (poor choices from the show writers aside). April is the first human his age that Donnie really sees and gets to interact with. He's a deeply insecure character, who feels out of place even amongst his family and, as people have pointed out before me, April represents a wider level of acceptance to Donnie. If a pretty human girl can love him, maybe there is hope for him gaining wider acceptance from humanity. I do think he has genuine feelings for her, but I also believe that part of his obsessiveness is a desire to be more human, or at least be accepted by humans, and he subconsciously views gaining the love of a human to be a part of this. 12 Donnie (like most Donatellos), is keenly aware that he will never get what he wants, or deserves.

He is a genius, and that will never be acknowledged by the world. He will never get everything a human genius would get. He doesn't get go to school, or go shopping for new resources, or make friends who share his interests. He risks his life saving the world over and over again, only to be seen as a villain for the way he looks.

That's part of why he sees 12 Casey as such a threat, Casey is human and doesn't need the same level of acceptance that Donatello does. He already has everything that Donnie wants (he can go to school, make other friends etc), but yet he still wants to be with April. The first human to show Donnie any acceptance. One of the only people to even tentatively seem interested in Donnie's science. If April chooses Casey over Donnie, then that truly does mean that Donnie, as a mutant, and a nerdy outcast mutant to boot, can never find love or acceptance, (again, this would be Donnie's perspective, and it is not April's duty to validate Donnie's self worth by getting in a relationship with him - that being said, the mixed signals she sent definitely didn't help matters).

Also, his stalking is creepy, but this is a kid who grew up with no social interaction besides his brothers, watching shows that provably had dubious ideas of romance. All of his ideas of romance are influenced by media, which isn't exactly a healthy way to gain an understanding of how to express those feelings. And when he knows the exact distance to her apartment, I always thought that he was just insanely good at estimating distances? He's shown to be able to make advanced calculations around distances and things in seconds on the show, so this never really seemed that bad to me, even if the show itself deemed it creepy?

Moreover, for the most part, he does genuinely follow April when he believes she is in danger, or when she is distancing herself from them (again, absolutely not a healthy thought process, but he misses her and wants her safe, and thinks is the best way to handle it). Is it still wrong? Yes. But should Donnie as a character be completely dragged for this for eternity? Not really. Also, can we please move past reducing Donnie's character to nothing more than his failures at flirting?

There is also the fact that April definitely did flirt back with him on numerous occasions. Whether or not this was done consciously, or to manipulate him, or whatever, is a rant for another day, but 12 Donnie definitely does have reasons to believe that April could want a relationship with him. She kisses him, on the mouth, right after he had told her that he was going to stop with his behaviour.

People also genuinely forgive 12 Leo flirting with his sister more than they do Donnie calling April his sweet chinchilla (and yes, Leo and Karai are still flirty even after the reveal that they are siblings, though it is thankfully toned down later on, and though I've seen people jumping through hoops trying to deny it). And Leo's flirting with Karai (even before the reveal), is equally as cringy as Donnie's. He's the poster boy for the 'I can fix them' mentality, even when the person he was trying to fix was actively trying to destroy everyone he cared about. 12 Leo also puts his brothers in danger due to his obsession with Karai, hurting them both physically and mentally, but a lot of people sweep this under the rug and only focus on times that 12 Donnie puts the others in danger due to his crush on April, or see this as a positive thing, showing how Leo never gives up on the people he cares about.

Moving on, 12 Donnie can be possessive of April (again, not great behaviour, and not something I particularly enjoy or condone), but 12 Mikey is the same way about Renet, and no one mentions it? Donnie hugs her (or says he could hug her, I can't quite remember the exact context), and Mikey gets all pissy about it? He's known Renet for barely any length of time, and they have no relationship at this point, but he gets annoyed at Donnie having a friendly interaction with her, as if it hasnt been well established that Donnie is only interested in April? Why is this more acceptable than when Donnie gets annoyed at Casey (a confirmed love rival), shows off about being close to April?

Additionally, why are Bayverse Mikey and Mayhem Leo hardly ever given the same treatment as 12 Donnie? I see countless crossovers where 12 Donnie is given endless shit for his bad flirting, especially as it's towards someone who the other counterparts see as a sister figure, with hardly any of them ignoring how unfair it is to criticise 12 Dee for seeing April differently to the others when their circumstances are different, or bringing up anyone else's behaviour.

Bayverse Mikey is just as bad! In fact, some of the things that he says are far worse than anything 12 Donnie has said, and it just gets brushed over? Even in crossover fics where 12 Dee gets slaughtered for his crush, no one brings up the downright crude things Bay Mikey says?

He constantly calls her a babe (I think 90s Mikey also makes similar comments), and even says 'she's so hot I can feel my shell tightening' which is hella gross tbh. Sure, 'sweet chinchilla' is weird, but it's far less demeaning than babe? And Mikey keeps this attitude up throughout both films? Why is this treated as being more acceptable than 12 Donnie's behaviour? This is even worse as Bay April is clearly an adult compared to the teenage turtles, and is clearly depicted as an older sister figure. At least in 12 there is only a year age gap, and neither April nor her father had anything to do with them when they were babies.

Hell, a few chaarcters (I think 03 Mikey and either 90s Raph or Mikey) make a joke about getting to 'keep her' when they bring an unconscious April back to the lair, and no one bats an eye?? It's played off as a joke, but even so, it's still freaky, and I've never seen anyone mention it before. They don't even get admonished for it!

Also, Mayhem Leo is absolutely just as much of a cringefail flirt as 12 Don, but everyone is acting like he comes across as so much better?! We've only had one movie with him so far, but his behaviour so far isn't all that different to 12 Don's?

They basically act the same way upon their first meeting. The rooftop scene when he first sees her is almost exactly the same as the scene in 12. And the comment about her beautiful, perfect mouth? If 12 Donnie said that he'd be slaughtered, but because it was Mayhem Leo, it's considered cute? When 12 Donnie gets super excited about getting April's number even though they already have it on the fridge it's embarrassing, but when Mayhem Leo tries to get Mayhem Donnie's phone to swipe her number it's endearing? Both ramble and get nervous around her, but people think this is sweet from Mayhem Leo but annoying from 12 Don.

Plus, Mayhem Leo has far more experience with humans than 12 Donnie. He has been going outside of the lair for a while, he has definitely seen other girls before. In 12, Donnie had never left the lair before the night he saw April, she's genuinely the first girl he's ever seen in person.

This point may also be a little unfair as we only have the Mayhem movie at the moment, compared to entire seasons of the 12 TV show, but it's also irritating me a bit how many people are acting like Mayhem Leo has far more of a chance with April than 12 Donnie did, purely because she agreed to go to prom with him, ignoring her line about how it was just as friends, and the many instances in 12 where April reciprocated Donnie's flirtation (again, April kissed him on the lips in the cartoon. It is canon that she did so).

Why are there so many double standards around the turtles having crushes? Either address all of their behaviour, or stop throwing 12 Donnie's flirting in our faces. It's exhausting seeing people openly bashing 12 Donnie, ignoring all of his great characteristics due to his crush, and then turning around and glorifying 12 Leo, Bay Mikey, or Mayhem Leo, or just ignoring their behaviour. It's grating to see almost every chat fic (even ones I thoroughly enjoy!!), have a seemingly obligatory bash 12 Donnie's crush and flirting chapter, yet hardly ever address the way any of the others behave.

[aizenat]

Like, to this day, I still don’t understand what Us was trying to be. Like I get it in a sense. Idk, I tend to be good with subtlety, and I love a good indie horror. I get it, and I read all the essays to get an even better understanding of it. But the execution was kinda....meh to me. It’s too exposition-y. And the “twist” that the Adelaide we spent the movie rooting for was originally a Tethered one was like “okay.” I mean even with its themes, what was the point of that other to just be a twist? 

I think that no matter how good an actress is, if the story is pretty confusing and convoluted, general audiences are not going to go crazy over it. Especially if you don’t get pretty campy with it. Us was also very dark both in themes and execution. It was more horror than the psychological thriller we got from Get Out. Get Out was crazy and insane, but rooted in a sense of fantastical science that obviously reflects a lot of what we see irl. With Us, you have to think and think and think, and even though I love thinking, I wasn’t able to start putting pieces together until I read a few essays to get me started. Like, I’M the sort of person that if I’m confused on something, I’ll look it up, but the rest of society will be more like “hm. wasn’t like Get Out. Anyway, are we going shopping after this or what?” 

I think what made Get Out work was that it was very obvious and on the nose with what it was saying while also being so over the top and satirical that it had a camp element to ease fans into the horror better. You know something is off from jump. The weird silent auction. Lakeith Stanfield’s behavior (and how changed he is from his intro in the beginning). The blind artist who takes a liking to Daniel’s character. The weird looks Daniel gives every time the white people he’s around say something stupid and so “I’m not racist, I voted for Obama” in a move that feels like it could have came straight from a Key and Peele sketch or even Family Guy. 

As such, when the horror part comes in, the thought of being trapped in your body while a white person invades it and uses it against your will, the audience (no matter their personal race or experience) understands it. I think that was another element to the movie as well: it actually showcased what it felt like to be a Black American, especially with how we have to dance around whites to not make them feel uncomfortable all while they don’t care how they make us feel. And then when it’s revealed they don’t care about us but how they can use us, it made even white audiences pause and think about the Black experience in a way most had never done before. It forced whites to face their own attitudes and behaviors, turning a mirror on them. 

With Us, I don’t think it does that great of a job of holding up that mirror. The Tethered represent how our lives are able to exist rather comfortably because of the oppression of others. But we don’t see that oppression until AFTER the Tethered come to attempt to murder and replace the main characters. It’s also confusing on what the Tethered are. I think if Peele had been brave enough to take a supernatural approach, a shadow world would have made things flow better. But instead, these mother fuckers are just “underground?” Like what? What was keeping them there? Why couldn’t they just leave and live their lives? 

Also, if the Tethered exist to suffer so that the “real” people can live, then why do they look like us? Oh, because we’re all the same, we’re all human, blah blah blah, gag me. Seriously! I may sympathize with a poor Indian woman working in factory, or a girl in Latin America whose parents were killed by cartels, but they’re NOT me. That doesn’t take away they’re humanity; they shouldn’t have to BE ME for me to see their humanity. So what is the point? Are the Tethered a part of ourselves that we suppress, or are they representative of those oppressed in our world for the benefit of the few in “developed” nations? It’s like it’s trying to be both, and Peele needed to focus. 

The whole shit with the white family too; idk why that needed to exist tbqh. I felt like they could have just focused on the Black family and it would have been fine. It felt like we were trying to pad the run time a bit. The gag of the white family existing and Duke Winston’s character feeling constantly jealous over what they have, as though they are always one-upping him and his family also feels unfair to the Black family. They are still oppressed in the context of their own society, but they are put on the same level as the white family when the Tethered come?

I’m also never sure what the takeaway is supposed to be from the movie. Like when it’s all done, how are we supposed to feel? What are we supposed to take away from it? 

I think if Peele wanted to just have a horror movie for the sake of horror, then make it horror. Make the shadow people simply supernatural creatures that want their revenge. Let them be more representations of the main characters “shadow selves.” Not necessarily suffering so they can be happy or whatever, but literally their shadow selves. Opposites (instead of just supped up versions of who they already are) who are also everything the “real” people wish they could be if they just let themselves go. Stop holding back. And make it more about the shadow people trying to corrupt the “real” people so that they can then take over their bodies and finally live outside of the shadows. I think that would have been more interesting, more focused, and also stays consistent with the body snatcher trend of Peele’s movies that would make it familiar enough with Get Out to know it’s saying something without confusing audiences so much that they just walk away like “huh?” 

Virtually everyone I know who watched Us was confused by it after immediately seeing it. Sure they understood SOME pieces after thinking of it, but the overall message was not clear, and was not conveyed to the general population. And without some film critics who get paid to review this shit (and whom many have more insider knowledge that they could then use to provide context and improve their commentary) helping to springboard some ideas on, I can’t imagine the average movie goer just going into the movie and immediately GETTING IT. You know? 

It’s a shame because I WAS excited to see Lupita in a horror film, and I really wanted it to be good. But it was just a bit too chaotic to fuck with completely imo. 

[nearer-than-the-eye]

I'm sending this out of sudden but I just read your xxxholic rou meta and it left me wondering if I got it all wrong. Even if watanuki hadn't wished to see yuko again, he'd still become the shopkeeper, grow up and die like a normal human? His inmortality comes from his wish, or from his own nature? Sorry if this sounds dumb

edit: i said vol. 18 instead of 19 lmao, fixed now

original post

nah I think you raise a good question! So good, in fact, that this answer is basically a short essay lmao. My meta focused primarly on watanuki’s confinement, because that IS a result of his nature as a blip in the universe or whatever, and I‘m pretty sure I had been mistaken about the cause of that. He didn’t choose confinement, he had confine himself in order not to cause harm, just like Syaoran does not choose to keep traveling, he’s similarly forced to do so.

Whether or not his immortality/unnaturally long life came from his wish to see Yuuko again or from his confinement to the shop is, I think, ambiguous, though whether or not CLAMP did that on purpose or it’s just not great writing is up for debate lol. At the end of volume 19 Watanuki says that he no longer has to “hide” in the shop anymore and can re-enter the world, and that seems to be a result of the amount of time that has past since the events of the main series. He also expresses that he will probably never see the same Yuuko again, but he doesn’t want to forget her and will continue being shopkeeper. IDK if that means his desire to not forget her is making him live past his normal life span now (kind of a wack way to represent grief, CLAMP) but we don’t know what happens when he re-enters the world so he very well could begin to age from this point on. It’s almost like CLAMP should finish the series!

It’s also worth noting that there are actually two wishes at play here: Watanuki’s wish to see Yuuko again and Yuuko’s wish that Watanuki continue to exist. I wonder if Yuuko’s wish is partially what’s fueling his immortality, and if we’re in a repeat of what happened w her and Clow: she was frozen in time bc Clow wanted her to stay alive, Watanuki gets frozen in time because Yuuko wanted him to stay alive. That seems EXCEPTIONALLY DARK, especially since Yuuko understood her existence was an aberration. Alternatively, since it seems like the reason Watanuki can re-enter the world is because of the time that has passed (time he could not have had as a normal human), maybe Yuuko’s wish kept him alive SO THAT he could re-enter the world and “exist” as a normal human. Perhaps that would grant Yuuko’s wish, and he would begin to age again. (BUT AGAIN WE DON’T KNOW THAT BECAUSE IT’S UNRESOLVED, THANKS CLAMP.)

It ALSO seems like CLAMP maybe wants to retcon volume 19, because Rei appears to take place while Doumeki Shizuka is still alive (Himawari doesn’t have perfect lookalikes for descendants, as far as we know) and CLAMP is doing SOMETHING with Yuuko in volume 4 of rei, though god knows what. So that may give us some more info eventually too, if CLAMP ever finishes the damn thing.

The fact that this is still so ambiguous is, I think, emblematic of CLAMP’s tendency to get carried away with their insane plot bullshit and lose out on making sure the emotional narrative is cohesive and clear. The Tsubasa ending, in my opinion, feels a lot more conclusive, even though it has 10 times the plot bullshit of xxxHolic. Fai and Kurogane are together and a cohesive unit, Syaoran and Sakura know how much they mean to each other. Syaoran’s need to keep moving makes the ending bittersweet, but we know where everybody stands with everybody else and HOW we got to that point emotionally.

xxxHolic obfuscating the reason Watanuki is staying in the shop and immortal does its emotional arcs no good: has Watanuki thrown away his lessons of connection with others to chase after the chance of seeing Yuuko again, or is he making the best of a bad situation and using his confinement as an opportunity to also wait for Yuuko? He seems to have plenty of connections in Rou, and his relationships have matured and deepened with every character we see (he and Himawari tell each other “I love you” as dear friends, he’s on even footing with the Jorougumo and Ame-Warashi, dear friends with Kohane, and his relationship with Doumeki is still complicated but in different, adult ways). But he’s still choosing to take on Yuuko’s mannerisms and role because he misses her and mourns her.

The reason for his confinement and immortality is the lens the rest of Rou is filtered through, and when that reason is up for debate, the lens we view Rou through is up for debate. I don’t think that adds to the series, and I think the ambiguity specifically hurts Rou (one of the most interesting arcs of the series!). CLAMP’s decisions and/or bad writing that resulted in this ambiguity can’t be fixed, even if the stuff I talked about gets answers down the line, and that’s a damn shame. This fucking mini essay I’ve written here really shouldn’t have needed to exist if CLAMP had just done their job right.

[carminite-wyrm]

A Genshin Impact Hermitcraft AU Idea, God Help Me

Last year, on September 28, a particular gacha rpg game was released and I, occasionally regrettably, fell straight into playing it. In honour of the fact that this will mean I have lasted nearly a whole year (I got the game a week after bc uni) determinedly not spending any money on Genshin whilst also trying to roll good characters…here’s a bunch of Hermitcraft Genshin AU ideas that I initially came up with at roughly 2.40 am.

The general idea of this AU is that the Hermits end up in a new world that has Genshin-esque mechanics, on top of the usual Minecraft shenanigans. So, Visions and stuff. Also, we’re gonna just…briefly ignore the actual Genshin lore in regards to how Visions and Gnosises (Gnoses?) come about, for this one.

Post-S8, the Hermits are travelling to a new world, ready for another season.

The moment they arrive, it is clear to them all that…something is different. Something is vastly different with this world, for all that it appears much like the previous servers that they have lived in and travelled to. There is something of a…presence to it, in a sense.

When the Something Different doesn’t appear immediately, being the demigods/almost-deities that they are, they go about their days, setting up starter bases, gathering the basic resources and tools, the usual beginnings.

Things change when Doc wakes up one morning after a hard day at work building a new redstone machine, to find a small glowing chess piece lying next to his head, crackling with an ethereal purple light

Upon picking it up, he feels a burst of energy, almost like that one time in the previous world where he and Ren built a lightning-summoning tower

However, the changes it has wrought become apparent later that day when Scar comes out of nowhere with the recording of a creeper’s tell-tale hiss and explosion, and Doc sends him flying backwards with a startled blast of lightning

At first, they chalk it up to ‘Something Funky With Doc’s Current Project’, but after some tests, some experimentation to confirm if it was a one-off reaction…they end up confirming that they may have found out what the Weird Thing about this season’s world is

The duo go to Xisuma with their findings, and, to their collective surprise, X can’t find anything blatantly broken in the server’s code, but he does find a few interesting lines within.

By all appearances, this is not a glitch, but simply an intended feature of the server

Seven lucky hermits, designated as Archons in the server code, will receive a Gnosis, an artefact of elemental power that the server can assign, given to the ‘player who best suits the element’

The server notes speak of how the power granted (and represented through the chess-piece-shaped item) will grant the receiver the capability to shape the land around them

By random chance, other players on the server will also be gifted a Vision, a somewhat lesser artefact that will still grant them a form of elemental power

Given that the Hermits are practically gods in their own right, considering they are already capable of shaping the worlds they arrive in as they see fit…are more curious than worried, at this point

They agree to keep an eye out, to see how chaotic the sudden acquisition of elemental powers will turn out

The next person to receive a Gnosis is Grian, who delights in the bursts of wind he can use to buffer his flight, gliding across the server with naught but the turquoise magic the server has seen fit to grant him

After that, most of the Hermits soon receives some sort of Elemental power from the server

A Summary of Who Gets What (That I can think of so far):

Doc: [Electro Archon]

Can summon lightning, without need for a trident, a thunderstorm, or a machine that can generate an ongoing thunderstorm for as long as its activated

Can also generate an Electro shield, though it does require his active concentration to maintain for longer than a few seconds. This shield appears like a charged creeper’s aura, except purple

Capable of generating a thunderstorm at will, but rarely does it on account of mob spawning dangers

Has found that by channelling a low level of Electro energy, he can in fact power redstone machines just by tapping them/being in close proximity to them

This has proven to both be a blessing and a curse, considering that on occasion, when startled, he has short-circuited some of his machines

Grian: [Anemo Archon]

Generally, uses his powers as a free rocket boost for flying around the server

Upon finding out that he can use the Anemo energy to create pockets of energy that can boost flight, he takes to leaving them all over the server, in convenient locations to make flight that much more efficient

Yes, he absolutely sets up a fancy elytra course that makes use of his flight-boosters to send players rocketing around a course at breakneck paces (poor Scar experiences many instances of kinetic energy)

Bdubs: [Geo Archon]

Suddenly, making mountains and other works of major terraforming is a lot easier

Certainly, he still prefers to sculpt them and detail them by hand, but bringing the basic shape of the mountain forth by brandishing the power of Geo is something that he can do with ease, in this world

A new shop pops up in the shopping district rather quickly after this realisation: Bdub’s Landshaping Service, Now offering quick terraforming at a budget price! (it is, in fact, a service that makes him quite the amount of money)

And when he wants to sleep, without the other hermits breaking his bed? A glowing shield of steadfast golden magic takes care of that.

Gem: [Dendro Archon]

The patch of the server that Gem has claimed for herself quickly springs to life as plants of all varieties grow to surprising proportions, energised by the power that she now can radiate

The effect is most notable in and around her home, of course, but wherever she travels, the plants grow more vibrantly for days afterwards

Adding a forest of birch around her house takes little more than a thought, a fact she uses to prank some of her friends, those who in the last world were rather vocal about their dislike of non-stripped birch

Another power Gem finds herself with is the ability to summon vines even without a surface for them to initially grow upon, and thus it is not uncommon to see Gem building or resting in a hammock of woven vines

Cub: [Cryo] (cannot make up my mind if I think he’d be Archon material or not)

Gathering powdered snow has never been easier, as instead of waiting for a storm to form and last longer than it takes a Hermit to get into the nearest bed, he can simply clap his hands together and a lump of snow shoots out from just above his shoulder.

It does hurt, getting hit by the sudden snow barrage that Cub is now capable of, but except for the occasional snowball fight, his newfound snow-creation ability is used for making increasingly more insane mob farms and snowy building decoration

False: [Pyro]

The magic her Pyro Vision grants her doesn’t become apparent, not for a while, until she visits the Nether for the first time in this world

A mis-swing in a bastion, and suddenly a horde of piglins and hoglins are chasing after her, and there isn’t enough time to pillar away.

She readies her sword and shield, ready to fight, and suddenly her blade crackles to life with bright flames, unlike the fire aspect enchantment in that it actually is on fire.

Every attack she lands, whilst her sword is alight, seems to invigorate her, return strength and stamina that was lost when she had first tried to flee the enraged inhabitants of the bastion

Xisuma:

The admin is one of the few to not receive a Vision or a Gnosis

Quietly, he does admit to being relieved, considering his powers as an admin are already much greater than that of the other Hermits, for all that they are still his equals

And then, one day, whilst X is placing his diamonds to sign up to one of Grian’s newest competitions, he feels a rush of foreign magic, so unlike the familiar ordered pulses of server code

The blast of wind that comes with a swing of his sword, much later whilst he is mob-farming, is greatly surprising, if not unexpected.

The funny thing about all these new powers, granted by the server itself in the form of artefacts that can easily sit in one’s palm, is that for all they are miraculous on their own, the natural capabilities of the Hermits are already enough to rival them

In the hands of an ordinary person, an ordinary player, the powers from this world would bring them close to the near-omnipotence of Creative, could even be the driving force of server-wide conflict.

Powers such as these, while they can build great things, can so easily be used to destroy, to cause war and destruction, and in other realities, they have.

Perhaps whatever trick of fate that caused the server to be capable of granting these powers hoped to create that conflict, to see what would happen when only a few of their number were gifted such strengths.

Later, when the initial surprise and rush to test out the limits of the server’s granted magics dies down, Zedaph approaches Xisuma, one of the few to not possess an artefact of elemental magic, with an observation

Zedaph notes that, from his studies of the Hermits’ new powers, almost all of them are oriented vastly towards combat, whether they be summonable blades of frost, elemental shields, or even the ability to soothe aches and hurts

And even though the Hermits have all found ways to make those powers work in the ways that they wish them to, it does not take away from the fact that the likeliest original purpose of this server’s magic was for fighting

Any other server, any other group, Zedaph quietly says, and there would more than likely have been bloodshed, given the inequality in the range of power granted

At the end of the day however, unexpected gifts of power or not, the Hermits, at their core, are a group that creates and innovates, a band of friends that shape entire worlds with naught but their own ideas and willpower, and regardless of what powers they now possess in this particular realm, that will not change.

[unnecessarywriting]

Oh, They Win for Sure - Harry Potter

Request: Hi can I have a Christmas theme request please for Harry Potter x reader where they both struggle to find a gift for each other and end with some fluff. I’m in the mood for some fluff

A/N: I hope you enjoy this one. It’s a little short, but its sweet. Merry Christmas!!

Oh, They Win For Sure

Christmas is the best right? No! It really isn’t. Especially, when you are trying to shop for the most simple, yet complicated person in the world. Harry is spectacular, but trying to find the perfect gift is near impossible. You spent several days in Hogsmeade looking around at stores, asking friends, and you even asked complete strangers what to get. No one gave you and solid ideas that would be great for him. The frustration built up, but you were determined. 

One of these trips, you asked Ron to accompany you. Who better to give an idea for a gift than Harry’s best friend? Of course, you had to promise him some chocolate frogs, but you had to look at the bigger picture. Unfortunately for you, Ron was not the best person to get gift advice from.

“Ron, please. Help me find something he will actually like, and do not say sweets because I know you will steal them. I want it to be special.”

“Harry is simple Y/N. Just get him something for his broom or something for quidditch. He’ll like anything that you get him.” You had walked in and out of nearly every shop in Hogsmeade together, and came up empty handed. Little did you know, Harry was having a hard time as well.

“Hermione, you are practically her best friend. What does she like?” Harry complained. He had asked Hermione to help him in Hogsmeade. He wanted this Christmas to be perfect for you. This was the first Christmas together, and he wanted to get you something that would knock you off your feet. 

“Harry, stop thinking too much, or you’ll hurt yourself. Y/N will like anything that you get her, so long as it’s from you.” Hermione was no help, just like Ron.

Harry broke away from Hermione as she met up with Ron and you at the Three Broomsticks. He just needed to clear his head. Then he thought back to his last trip to Diagon Alley to visit Fred and George. There was a vendor that made custom jewelry. He remembered watching you look through some of the items. He returned to his dorm and wrote a letter to the twins hoping that they could deliver an order to the vendor. He promised to pay them back when he saw them at Christmas at the Burrow. He wrote down the details for his gift and gave the letter to Hedwig. He couldn’t contain the excitement. 

You had left the Three Broomsticks early to walk around Hogsmeade. You hoped for a little inspiration. You stopped by a tree and looked at the Shrieking Shack. Your thoughts drifted to Sirius and Remus. You missed both of them dearly, and you knew that Harry was struggling with the loss of his godfather. Then, an idea smacked you in the face. You practically ran back to your dorm. You started writing a letter to Remus. You had asked him if he had any photos from his time at school, and begged him if he could send you a few for Harry. You told him your plan and hoped that he would be willing to help you out. Luckily, you received a letter back, with a box full of photos from his time at school. He told you about some of the photos in his letter, and even thanked you for looking out for Harry.

With a couple days left before the break, you took to making your gift perfect. You had never put so much energy into a gift before, but you needed it to be perfect. As you put the final touches on the gift, you thought to Harry. He deserved the world, and you were hoping that he would enjoy his gift, although, you wondered if you were overstepping. This was very personal, and he may think that you were slightly insane for gifting him something so meaningful. You pushed those thoughts away and tried to stay positive, although you were quite nervous. 

Harry was also feeling nervous. More than anything, he wanted you to be happy. He couldn’t but feel that jewelry was a little cliche and basic, but he was going for sentiment. He couldn’t wait to give you your gift. It wasn’t a competition, but he secretly thought that he was going to win the unspoken “who gave the better gift” competition. 

The time spent at the Burrow was nice, but he was focused on the Draco Malfoy situation back at school. He tried to stay in the Christmas spirit but it was sometimes falling away. You were always there to remind him to be positive and enjoy the time he had with everyone there. Finally, though, it became time to exchange gifts. There were a few couples at the Burrow this year, and he watched them all exchange gifts first. He was excited to see you two in a few years, exchanging gifts still, and being closer than now. He thought of your future together as he watched Molly and Arthur, Remus and Tonks, and Bill and Fleur. 

“Harry don’t you have a gift for Y/N?” He heard Hermione speak. He told her what he got to get her approval. She thought it was adorable.

“Yeah, here it is,” he said, awkwardly handing you the box. You started unwrapping it, and when you finally opened it you smiled warmly. It was a locket in the shape of a golden snitch. Inside was a picture of you two from only a couple months before. “You see, you caught my heart, and the snitch represents that.” He seemed nervous as he watched you. 

“Harry, this is the sweetest.” You turned around so he could put in on you. “I have a gift for you too.” His gift was absolutely perfect, and now you were even more nervous. He unwrapped it and met the front of the photo album you put together.

“So, I know that you haven’t really been able to learn a lot about your parents and Sirius. I asked for some help, and well, I put this together  so you can always have your family with you.” You were nearly shaking as you saw him flip through the pages. You included some of the stories that Remus told you on the pages, as well as some cheerful commentary of your own. 

“Y/N, this is perfect. This is the best gift ever. I don’t even know what to say.” His eyes were slightly glossy as he pulled you in for a tight embrace. You sighed in relief knowing that he liked it.

Bill glanced over at Fleur. She was gushing at the adorable couple. She felt his eyes and she looked towards him.

“I thought we would win the cutest couple here, but maybe I was wrong.” She muttered to him. Bill laughed at her comment. They had talked about who would be the most adorable couple, considering they thought they had it in the bag,

“Oh, they won for sure,” he responded with a big smile on his face.

After gifts were exchanged, you helped Molly prepare for dinner. Remus sat with Harry by the fire.

“You know Harry, that girl you got in there is something special. James and Sirius would approve of her. She really loves you.”

“I know. I really love her too. She’s unbelievable.” 

Remus had been struggling dealing with the loss of his friend, but he was happy to know that Harry had the support system he needed, and that he had someone who would always take care of him and love him.

[365days365movies]

February 19, 2021: The Phantom of the Opera (2004) (Part 1)

I love musicals.

Hands down, when talking cinematic adaptations of musicals, my favorite is Little Shop of Horrors. I’ve seen it MANY times, and will see it many, MANY more. And I’m not the only one. I mean, obviously, but in this case, I’m referring to my girlfriend. She’s chosen to represent herself with a GIF from her favorite musical, Hairspray. So, here she is:

Ravishing. Now, because it’s currently our anniversary, I let her pick today’s movie from my list. And so, she chose a musical that neither she nor I have seen: 2004′s The Phantom of the Opera. And some of you may now be saying, “What, this guy said he liked movie musicals, and he hasn’t seen TPotS? That’s like saying you haven’t seen Grease, or Singin’’ in the Rain, or, PFFT, West Side Story!”

...About that...

Yeah, yeah, I know! It’s insane, and I’m a hypocrite. I’ll be getting to the rest of those eventually, and one of them’ll be coming in the next couple of days, I promise. You can probably guess which one. Anyway, fact of the matter is that we’re gonna watch it tonight, and I’m looking forward to it. 

However, there’s another factor to this, and that’s the fact that this film...doesn’t have the best reputation amongst fans of the original musical. And, yeah, this should ideally be the Michael Crawford version, but the Butler version is the one I have access to, so we’re going for it. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Paris, 1919, back when the whole city was in black-and-white for a year. They lost the budget for color after World War I. Anyway, at an old opera house, an auction is taking place, and items found within the theater are for sale. One of these is a music box with a monkey on it, an item which sponsors a bidding war between an older woman, and an older man in a wheelchair. I’m sure we’ll find out who they are eventually.

Anyway, a broken chandelier is also up for option, and was involved in the mysterious disaster of the “Phantom of the Opera” fiasco. They turn it on with electric light, and as they raise it to the ceiling, the organist goes fuckin’ NUTS. The song’s so loud that it REVERSES TIME, and we’re now in color, in the year 1870 at the same opera house.

The theatre, managed by the soon-to-retire Monsieur Lefèvre (James Fleet), has just been purchased by Richard Firmin (Ciaran Hinds) and Gilles André (Simon Callow), who are there to observe. On stage, a rehearsal for the opera Hannibal is taking place, and the costume’s are already...like, a LOT, not gonna lie. The headliner for the show is soprano (and drama queen supreme) Carlotta Giudicelli (Minnie Driver), and is being funded by patron Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Patrick Wilson). 

The background dancers are instructed by Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson), and include her daughter, Meg (Jennifer Ellison), and her adopted daughter, Christine Daaé (Emmy Rossum). As the rehearsal takes place, an accident happens on stage, almost injuring Carlotta. Enraged, she leaves, and refuses to perform.

Meanwhile, Madame Giry finds a letter from the Phantom, who demands his normal monthly salary of 20,000 francs, as for Box 5 to be left open. While the new owners think that this is ridiculous, they also note that it’s pointless without a lead singer for their show. 

However, Christine is volunteered, and shows that she is indeed a talented singer. The show goes on, and Christine is a smash, much to Carlotta’s dismay. At this point, Raoul also discovers that this is his long lost childhood friend (and possibly long lost love) Christine, which she also noticed earlier.

But this is because of a mysterious teacher, who sings to her from the walls of the theatre. Meg comes in to congratulate her (through song), and asks who her tutor is. Meg responds...in song (”Angel of Music”).

Afterwards, Madame Giry also congratulates her, and tells her that the Phantom is pleased with her. Right after, Raoul also pays her a visit, and the two reconnect on shared memories of times in an attic in the summer. She tells Raoul that she is visited by an Angel of Music, and cannot go to the dinner that night with him. And the Phantom agrees, as he locks Christine in her room. YIKES. 

And as literally every person in the theatre except Christine leaves, the Phantom serenades her, angered by Raoul’s presence, and Christine’s potential dalliance with him (”Mirror”). And through the mirror, he takes her to a mysterious crypt beneath the theatre. And as they sing their strange duet in the form of the title song (”The Phantom of the Opera”)...I try to resist talking about Gerard Butler until later. And it’s hard. It’s SO hard, guys.

But, OK, he takes her away on a...sewer horse...how the FUCK did he get that horse down there? And wait, WAIT, does he put her on that horse to walk her, like, 20 feet to the gondola? Like...WHY DO YOU HAVE THE HORSE? That is...monumentally wasteful. Where do you keep the horse? Does he feed the horse? How much? How often? With what? Does the horse eat the sewer rats? Is there naturally growing sewer hay? Does the Phantom’s salary go towards buying food for the horse, or buying new horses when the original ones DIE OF STARVATION - WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS HORSE?!?!? WHOMSTVE THE FUCK

And yes, I love this fuckin’ song (not the singers, but we’ll get there), but this is distracting me alongside the statues of naked men in the sewer, because...well, Joel Schumacher. What can I say, it’s kind of his aesthetic. Anyway, we get officially introduced to the Phantom of the Opera (Gerard Butler), a very handsome-looking man who likes wearing a half-mask.

I say handsome, because the Phantom in this movie, looks...fine. HE LOOKS OK. HE LOOKS LIKE A DUDE WEARING A MASK. What, did somebody throw a hot candle at his face once, and he freaked out over it and ran into the sewers forever...WITH A HORSE? NOT OVER THE HORSE SHIT.

Look, the Phantom is supposed to be HIDEOUSLY scarred. Famously, in one of the film adaptations of Phantom, actor Lon Chaney Jr. purposely distorted his own face using adhesive face in order to play the role of the hideously disfigured character. Now, other versions have just given him severe, and I mean SEVERE burn scars. But behind the mask, Butler looks...fine. HE LOOKS FINE GODDAMMIT. He looks like he’s wearing the mask because it looks edgy and shit.

But OK, what’s happening in the movie? Oh, right, more serenading (”Music of the Night”), with another song that I like quite a bit. This and the previous song were songs Id heard before, and that I’d already had on my playlist. They’re great, what can I say? Now is Butler doing it justice? Ehhhhhhh, we’ll talk about that in the Review.

During this song he kinda seduces her, or attempts to, and also shows her a wedding dress. She sees herself in it and IMMEDIATELY faints, Jesus!  Curtain falls on Christine while she’s in a bed, and we go back to her room, where Meg is looking for her. She finds the mirror, and is about to go back there, but her mother finds and stops her.

Meanwhile, stagehand Joseph Buquet (Kevin McNally) tells the chorus girls of the legend of the Phantom, and describes a physical description that doesn’t match him...even a little. We cut back to Christine, who wakes up in what my girlfriend refers to as a “bomb-ass HQ.” Which is fair, let’s be honest. Anyway, she heads over and tries to unmask her new masked lover (?).

He’s not the biggest fan of this, and he emos all over the screen (”Stranger Than You Dreamt It”). And then, as he puts his mask on, we suddenly (and I mean suddenly) jump to 1919, where the old woman, Madame Giry, bids farewell to...wait, that’s Raoul? HOW DOES HE LOOK SO MUCH OLDER THAN HER, WHAT???

Back in the past, inexplicably, the theatre owners and manager sing about the theatre and the Phantom’s demands ("Notes..."), and are soon joined by Raoul, who brings them a separate note, saying not to look for Christina any further. THEN, Carlotta joins them, delivering a letter of her own from the Phantom, warning her not to return to the theatre.

In his letters, he details how his theatre is to be run, threatening a disaster if Christine is not cast in the lead role, and if Carlotta is not cast in a silent role. However, the theatre owners and Carlotta refuse to obey, and Carlotta is cast in the role, as the owners try to appease her (”Prima Donna”).

That night, during a performance of Il Muto, Carlotta’s singing the lead role. Additionally, Box Five is full, and the Phantom is PISSED. So, like a Phantom do, it’s time for some good old fashioned petty revenge! He switches her throat spray, causing her to lose her voice on stage, and causing the audience to laugh when the show ends abruptly. They quickly and publicly recast the role, giving it to Christine instead. Well, mission accomplished by the Phantom! Guess we’re good without retribution. And then he hangs the stagehand.

Well...fuck, man. Realizing that the Phantom is EXTREMELY dangerous, Christine goes to save Raoul, who she...is in a relationship with now? Wait...wait, hold up, the fuck did I miss? I mean, yeah, he probably is gonna kill Raoul, but there is, like, NO lead-up to their connection before this point.

Anyway, as Christine explains that there is a Phantom when Raoul says he doesn’t exist...wait, WHAT? MOTHER FUCKER BUQUET JUST NOT MURDERED IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY WHAT IN THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN????? YOU LITERALLY HEARD THE...you know what? Break. BREAK. This is...this one’s tough.

See you in Part 2!

[caitybug]

(Also sorry you are working on sads and feel blegh) maybe Rain is too "mundain" as far as prompts. 5? 7? 8? Any of those sound fun? 😂

5. Typed kisses.

7. Kisses after decades apart.

8. Kisses after dark.

Birdy, bc I love you, I’m going to try to do all of these haha.

(Shoutout to @adamarks​ for looking this over to make sure I wasn’t going insane.)

(1:35): Good morning! 

(1:35): Snow, it’s 1 in the morning. 

(1:36): Why are you messaging me?

(1:36): It’s 7:30 here.

(1:36): It’s still morning, though. So my original text stands. 

(1:37): Good morning, Snow. 

(1:37):😘 😘 

(1:38): XO. 

Day 2:

(10:03): Let me know how your appointment goes. 

(10:03): XO.

(10:04): My what?

(10:04): Your check-up.

(11:05): You forgot about it, didn’t you?

(11:10): I’m here, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Baz. 

(11:12): You’re an idiot, Snow.

(11:12): 😘 😘 love you.

(11:13): I love you too, XO. 

Day 3:

(15:03): Do you think the milk is still good?

(15:04): When did it go bad?

(15:05): It says it went bad a few days ago.

(15:06): But the date says best by…

(15:06): So it just means it isn’t at its BEST right?

(15:07): How does it smell?

(15:07): Not good.

(15:08): Then don’t drink it.

(15:09): What if I just don’t know how milk is supposed to smell? How often do I really smell milk?

(15:10): Snow, just get more milk. I think we can spare the money it costs.

(15:10): But I’ve already started cooking. 

(15:12): I’m just going to try anyway. 

(15:12): It’ll be cooked anyway, right?

(15:13): I want it known I believe this to be a bad idea. 

(15:14): You also said that subscribing to three different butter services was “unnecessary and excessive”

(15:15): I stand by that, Snow. 

(15:15): How can one person eat that much butter each month?

(15:16): I can’t believe you would doubt my abilities like this. 

(15:16): I thought we were in a loving and supportive relationship. 

(15:17): I love you and support your health.

(15:17): Which means cutting back on butter sometimes, darling.

(15:20): I’m going to use the milk. 

(15:22): I wish you the best.

(15:22): 😘 😘

(15:23): XO. 

Day 5:

(7:40): How is your stomach?

(7:45): Better.

(7:45): I told you to buy new milk. 

(7:47): I think there is a stomach bug going around.

(7:47): Probably that.

(7:49): Sure, Snow.

(7:49): That’s why you spent yesterday regurgitating the entire contents of your stomach.

(7:50): Yes, it is.

(7:52): Have a good day.

(7:52): I miss you.

(7:52): 😘 😘

(7:55): I miss you too.

(7:55): XO.

Day 8:

(20:46): The people above us are pounding it out again.

(20:47): Earplugs are in my bedside drawer.

(20:47): If you were here I’d just try to compete.

(20:48): You certainly would not.

(20:50): I bet we could beat them.

(20:52): Come on, Baz, I know you’ve got a competitive streak. Don’t let Richard and Shelly show us up.

(20:53): You’ve got two hands, Snow. I’m sure you could manage something.

(20:54): Oh? Good idea.

(20:54): Talk later.

(20:55): 😘 😘

(20:57): I regret so much about this conversation.

(20:57): XO.

Day 13:

(14:05): YOU COME BACK TOMORROW!

(14:07): Please stop yelling at me.

(14:07): But yes, I do. 

(14:08): 😊 😊 😊

(14:09): I love you.

(14:14): I love you too.

(14:15): Can we facetime?

(14:15): In a couple of hours, Snow.

(14:15): I’ve got one more meeting.

(14:16): 😔

(14:16): Alright.

(14:17): XO.

(14:18): 😘 😘

Day 14

I get through security. It’s always a painful even, especially in America. Have to practically strip just to stand in a machine that tells everyone what I’ve already known. 

No gun here the machine says with a green light and a beep.

As if I’d need one. 

It’s been delayed several hours for a reason I’ve yet to figure out. The weather looks clear, planes are moving in and out. People on other flights are still departing on time. 

The only reasonable explanation I’ve come up with is the airline is incompetent. 

“Snow,” I say, putting a finger in my right ear, trying to ignore the man screaming at the poor help desk person. “I may not be back until tomorrow.”

I look at the clock. Even if we left now I wouldn’t get home until midnight.

“What? Why?” He asks. His voice sounds frantic.

I hate worrying him.

“This airline work flew me through is set upon ruining my life,” I growl under my breath. 

The service representatives have been berated enough, they don’t need me coming after them as well. (Even if I want to.)

(Crowley do I want to.)

“Right now it doesn’t have us leaving for another two hours, so at earliest I won’t be home until 3 in the morning. With the trend of how this has been going, I won’t be surprised if it gets canceled altogether.”

He huffs.

“I miss you.”

It comes out as a whisper, any quieter, and I would have missed it.

It’s not that he’s ashamed of saying it. We’ve said it a lot over the past two weeks.

He’s sad. I am too. I was supposed to be home by dinner. We were going to order takeaway and watch a movie, kiss and makeup for lost time.

Ignore all responsibilities of the world around us for the evening. 

“I miss you too.” I face the large windows, looking at planes that aren’t mine leaving the runway. 

The blasted airport is under construction too. Everyone said to fly in and out of La Guardia because it is easier, but I’m wondering if I should have taken JFK. 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“You better. Preferably before I drink more spoiled milk.”

“Stay away from all dairy products until I return,” I chuckle into the phone. 

An announcement comes over the intercom.

“They’re announcing another delay, I’m sure,” I groan. “I’ll send you a text.”

“I love you,” he says from the other side.

“I love you too,” I respond, ending the call and slipping it into my pocket. 

(14:36): I hope you get home soon.

(14:36): Threaten to suck their blood, or something.

(14:36): I’m sure that would work.

(14:36): 😘 😘.

(14:37): You’re an idiot, Snow.

(14:37): XO.

Day 15, 4:16

I turn my key in the door, trying to quietly walk into the flat. My suitcase softly rolls against the wood behind me as I pull it in, letting it sit next to the door.

Unpacking can happen after I get at least fourteen hours of sleep. 

I place a brown paper sack of scones on the kitchen table.

I couldn’t resist. The shop next to us had just opened, and I knew it would make him smile. 

I continue down the hallway, stopping only to take a piss.

In our room, still blanketed in darkness apart from the street lights coming from the road beside us, Simon softly snores. 

He still sleeps on his side of the bed while I’m away. It makes my heart feel softer than I’d like to admit. 

One hand rests next to his head, his wings spread out across the bed.

I change clothes, relieving myself of all the feelings of travel before softly lifting a wing to get under the blanket and allow him to cover me again.

I don’t have long to process the fact that I’m with him again before I feel something wrap around my calf. 

I pause for a moment before I remember.

The tail.

He is, for all I can tell, still asleep. Meaning it’s recognized I’m here and is saying hello in its own way.

I rub it softly with my other foot.

It dislikes not getting attention, you see.

Simon’s mouth is open as he breathes deeply. I think his pillow is a little wet.

I’d call it disgusting (it is, truly), but I missed him so much that I can’t help but smile.

I risk moving closer and kiss his cheek softly, trying not to wake him up.

I know he hasn’t slept well without me.

(I haven’t either, without him.)

Side effect of sleeping for so many years in that tower. We both got dreadfully used to hearing the other breathe, the way we each navigated and slept.

At this point, I think even his snoring lulls me to sleep.

(I still complain about it, however.)

An arm wraps behind my back and pulls me close.

He takes a deep breath, and when I pull back I see one eye open.

“Hey there,” he says, voice hoarse with sleep. 

“Your breath smells.” I lean in, kissing his forehead. 

“Well your hair is greasy,” he replies, pulling me into a kiss, his hand moving to my hair. 

“You don’t seem to mind it.”

He hums in response.

I pull him tighter. I need to feel this. Everything. 

His lips.

His hands.

His chest against mine.

“And you don’t seem to mind the morning breath,” he states, smiling at me as we break for a moment.

I open my mouth to retort but he puts a finger to my lips, shushing me.

“No talking, only kissing,” he whispers. “I’ve not kissed my fiancé in decades.”

He leans in but I pull back for a moment.

“It’s been two weeks, Snow.”

“Decades,” he states matter of factly. “Each day was like five years passed. It’s been 70 years. I’ve gone grey and wrinkly, waiting for you to return.”

I laugh, being shut up briefly by another round of kisses.

I should sleep.

But this is so much better than sleeping. 

I feel something wet hit my cheek.

Backing up, worried there is a leak from the ceiling, I realize why. 

It’s Simon.

“Love,” I say.

What’s wrong?

“It’s fine; it’s fine,” he says, wiping a stray tear from his cheek. “I’m just tired, and I missed you.”

Another tear drops from one of his eyes, and I brush it away with my thumb.

I open my mouth to say a response, to comfort, but I feel a stinging in my own eyes.

(My eyes have been open for too long, you see. Couldn’t sleep on the plane. I’ve been up far too long to be able to control any tears that fall.)

I lean in to kiss him again.

We kiss, and kiss, and keep kissing. Hands roam, trying to remind our brains of what it feels like to have each other again. 

It was dark when we started, but soon an orange haze comes over the room as the sun rises.

The tears start, stop, start again.

Laughter rings out a few times.

“You did WHAT to our oven??” I shout at one point. 

He lays now with his head on my chest. My eyes are closed, fingers scratching his head lightly.

His hand is softly rubbing my stomach.

“Wait,” Simon says, jumping up and looking at me.

I blink a few times, trying to fight off the sleep that was about to overcome me.

“Did you get?” He asks, question incomplete.

I search his eyes for a moment, frowning, trying to comprehend before I realize what he is saying.

“Yes, they are on the table,” I laugh softly.

He jumps up and starts to go to the door. 

He pauses, looking back at me, clearly wracking his brain with a question. 

“We can eat them in bed,” I say, knowing where his mind is trying to go. 

He smiles and continues his run to the kitchen.

I look out the window and see the sun hit the windows of nearby buildings.

It’s good to be home.

[thesilkenlair]

(Casey Here!)

As much D&D as I play, you'd imagine I would eventually get around to illustrating some of their most iconic monsters! Which is to say, the ones that I personally find the most iconic. Which is to say, the ones I memorized when I was reading my dad's monster manual at age nine. Purple worm - Sandworms never go out of style. I've seen a lot of rad designs for this bugger over the editions, but I favor the slightly less reptilian older takes for this particular critter. It's kinda basic, but sometimes that's what you want. It's like a shark or a crocodile: Just flat out unchanged across the ages. Hook horror - I've heard it rumored that Gygax used a small Gigan figure to represent this monster. I can't verify that, but it definitely sounds right. Hook horrors are one of the very first things you meet when you play around in the caves, and they kind of remind me of the Father Deep monsters of the Hork Bajir homeworld that way. Mind flayer - Mind flayers! Basically, take all of your Dracula conventions and dip them in a fresh coat of Lovecraft. There's that old "decadent aristocratic upper caste system who literally eats the poor, but still somehow comes across as less evil than the actual real life 1%" setup that will never stop being relevant. Though personally, I see mind flayers as the first alternative for folks who want to play that monster-who-feels-the-urge-to-eat-their-friends-but-refuses-to-do-it shtick but don't want to deal with vampire baggage. You know, the furry option! ... Slimy? Rubbery? Do we have a word for anthro-cephalopods? I'm only a casual furry. Gelatinous cube - I'm not apologizing for giving this one a slot. Froghemoth - So, back when I participated in my very first long-term campaign, I played a druid. You've met Talia before. Naturally, I was chomping at the bit for the day I finally got to turn her into a froghemoth, and celebrated the day my wish was finally granted and she was allowed to chug human-supremacist-cultists like popcorn. Yeah, okay, the froghemoth is one of the classic vore-monsters. But it's a charming design in its own right. Kind of a freaky Hanna Barbara critter, like you'd see Space Ghost fighting. No matter how many artists draw it, they can never shake that inherent goofiness that third edition tried so hard to purge. I would probably cram them somewhere onto Fronterra if I was sure they were public domain. As is, I'm 99% certain that this is what Visser Three turned into when he ate Elfangor. Tarrasque - D&D's original kaiju! Kind of just takes the name and nothing else when it comes to its mythological origins, but I don't mind. The Tarrasque is that endgame "let's test the players" final boss monster... Or at least it's supposed to be. My DM reskinned it for our final Pathfinder session, and one of the PCs still nearly killed it in a single turn. Also, he let Talia turn into one, so maybe Pathfinder is just bullshit? Regardless, the Tarrasque has one of those simple, iconic designs. I've heard rumors it was based on the concept art for Fallout's deathclaws, and like the Gigan-figure, I can't verify this in any way. With its reptilian features, twin horns, spiny carapace and grabby fingies, it has an undeniable lizardlike quality that I can't help but find charming. Kinda feels like a more refined version of Zilla? Though for an insatiable eating machine, I notice a lot of artists give it very little belly to work with. Come on, this guy eats entire cities! Give him somewhere to put it! Rust monster - An icon of icons, the rust monster! Drawing its origin from a bizarre Chinese "dinosaur" toy, later designs have made it more insectoid in appearance, but never feeling QUITE like anything Earthly. It's the four limbs. Between the four limbs and the tail, it's hard to tell if it's an arthropod mimicking a vertebrate or the other way around. I'm pretty sure this is part of what inspired my ossaderm creatures for Fronterra. Also, Ryla can turn into one in our campaign. I have no shortage of havoc to wreak when the opportunity comes. Behir - Dragons in D&D are kind of... extra. Godlike beings, paragons of whatever personality trait they represent. Whenever there's something uber powerful in D&D, it gets compared to dragons. It makes them kind of unapproachable. Behirs provide all the essentials of a dragon - Serpentine body, scaly skin, horns, sapience, breath weapon, taste for human flesh - wrapped up in a smaller, weirder, IMO cooler package. You know, your Lambton Worms. A lot easier to port in and out of adventures, a lot less of an event when they show up, but still a formidable force in their own right. I like the behir. The behir knows how to taunt me just the right amount. Bulette - Another Chinese "dinosaur" figure monster, the bulette is actually another one I associate with Talia. Whenever we faced a problem that didn't have a glaringly and immediately obvious solution, she would turn into a bulette, whether it was for beating up robots, digging through obstacles, trampling smurfs, navigating labyrinths, distracting slashers with cute dog tricks... it was kind of her signature form. But shenanigans aside, the bulette is just an excellent monster. While the "land shark" shtick may be common, there's a lot more going on with the bulette's design. It's rumored to be a mad wizard's creation, as he combined a snapping turtle with an armadillo and mixed in a helping of demon blood to taste. Personally, I always considered that to be a neat little rumor to flesh out the world, but never assumed it to be true. The bulette just feels too naturalistic for that. Like some kind of protomammal or crocodylomorph, or weird triassic monstrosity. Magic and demons and dragons and so on DO affect the ecosystem. I always figured the bulette was just something that evolved to compete in this new biosphere. Owlbear - This one, on the other hand, I fully believe the "mad wizard was bored" explanation. Another chinasaur critter, the owlbear is frequently made fun of. What makes it scarier than a regular bear? It can't fly, so why have owl parts at all? Why trade fangs for a beak in what is at best a latural move? Well, first of all, fuck you, owls are creepy motherfuckers, and that alone is enough to justify it. But secondly, that's part of its charm. Besides some improved vision, the owl DOESN'T make it more dangerous. What makes the owlbear dangerous is that it's an insane, Frankensteinian monstrosity roaming uncontrolled through the wilderness! It doesn't need weaponry, its sheer temperament is enough to make it a worthy opponent. Sure, the practical threat might not be hugely above that of a bear, but storytelling isn't about numbers. Any asshole can go outside and get eaten by a bear. The owlbear is part of this world. The owlbear is a reminder of what magic can do. Someone somewhere actually made this thing, for whatever reason, and now the world is irrevocably changed because of it. Owlbears go beyond practicality. They bring the lore! Also, bears don't have very good eyesight, so the big owl eyes probably make them better hunters. Flumph - Is that a Japanese-style martian? Do we just have aliens in D&D? Dear lord, I love them! Okay, the flumph has got a sizable hatedom. And that hatedom can eat my ass, because the flumph is precious and perfect just the way it is! Flumphs are designed as a sort of sidekick-type creature. They're not very good fighters, but they bring knowledge and lore to the table. Whether they're aliens from some far off star, seeking your aid to prevent catastrophe, or psionic natives of the Underdark eager to bask in your positivity and hopefully stick it to the tyrants they're forced to share real estate with. My group generally treats them as straight up aliens, benevolent but strange. Course, we're all pretty strange, so we get along just fine. Otyugh - Okay so, the aberration creature type implies that this is something from another world that doesn't belong. And yet otyughs, which are aberrations, are an essential part of this world's ecosystem? Okay, I can buy the idea that an alien organism adapted to our world and is now a key part of it. Fronterra's got a TON of that. It just feels like after a point, the otyugh would be considered a beast? Otyughs are great. Every ecosystem needs a decomposer, and every fantasy story needs at least one dive into the sewers. Otyughs provide both, and are intelligent enough to keep the plot moving if it hits a snag. There's always going to be garbage, refuse, carrion, decay, things that need to be broken down and processed. Carrion crawler - The carrion crawler is pretty similar to the otyugh in that it's technically not considered a beast, and therefor must have its origins elsewhere, but feels so integrated into the ecosystem that it just feels like it belongs. They usually can't talk, so they're not just reskinned otyughs, but I still consider them pretty essential. Otyughs find a singular spot where waste is dumped and shovel it down at their leisure, while carrion crawlers skulk through the tunnels, actively seeking their food. The crawler got one of the most radical redesigns on the transition from second to third edition, but I can't really choose a single favorite. The oldschool tentacle-faced cutworm looks like it could be a real animal, while the googly-eyed Halloween decoration feels like it could be from another world, merely having set up shop here. Could there name apply to two wholly different creatures? If so, then I'm not sure which one mine would be considered. I kinda mashed them together into something that doesn't quite feel like either. But I like it for what it is. Maybe I'll sneak it onto Fronterra. Aboleth - Tentacled, telepathic sea creatures who turn humans into slimy minions, who remember everything their race has ever seen, and who are always plotting something behind the scenes. Yeah, the aboleths really crank up the Lovecraft elements. Actually, between the mind flayers, the flumphs and the aboleths, even the most oldschool D&D covered quite a few essential Lovecraftian bases. The flayers are your corrupt yet still recognizable humanoids who can be considered truly evil, the flumphs are benevolent-yet-bizarre guardians who know more than you, and the aboleths are the truly unknowable, sinister intellects. The fact that they can barely function on land honestly only adds to that, IMO. They're inherently difficult for a party to reach, and they offer some nice underwater adventure seeds. Not enough adventures go underwater. There's this perception that the ocean is bad for storytelling because so many writers lack the creativity to make it work. I wanna run an underwater adventure now. Beholder - Icon of icons! THE D&D monster! The beholder! Paranoid, jumpy, always five steps ahead and twenty steps perpendicular! Beholds are fun in just about every way. Between their wacky, diverse designs, their elaborate lairs, their eccentric personalities, their bizarre powers, you're never gonna run out of fun with beholders. Remorhaz - It's always been a thing that bothered me with environment-based monsters. Why does the ice monster who lives in the cold use ice as a weapon? Aren't most of the things it encounters going to be resistant to the cold? Sure, a cone of cold will still kill a polar bear, but a lot of the monsters in the tundra are outright immune to cold. A while dragon's not going to get much use out of its breath weapon fighting frost worms and frost giants. That's one reason the remorhaz sticks out to be. We have an icy tundra beast whose insides are a scorching furnace, which it can intensify and weaponize as it sees fit. Which also conveniently explains why its design - a sort of cobra-esque centipede - invokes warm-weather creatures, despite its icy environment. It's a nice subversion of the usual tropes, plus it's just a memorable, cool looking critter to begin with. On a smaller note, the remorhaz feels like a good loophole for Ryla's "no cold weather morphs" rule. Turning into something elementally affiliated with ice is no good, but a non-magical monster that survives the cold by superheating its insides? That seems perfectly viable to me!

[alternatefandom]

Hakugei, A Physics Meta, or: the physics of backspin on tennis balls

Back in the day when I read Tenipuri for the very first time, I possessed a combination of three unfortunate traits: 1. I was a high school student, 2. I was a physics nerd, and 3. I played tennis. All this means I ended up loving Fuji Shuusuke far more than I should, because his counters are a thing of beauty and look like something that could just pop up in my physics exam. I may or may not have spent weeks playing with ball spins and getting yelled at by my tennis coach trying to figure out Fuji's counters. I admit to nothing.

So now I will hold a little physics class on one of my favorite tenipuri shots. Several disclaimers before we start:

Bear in mind that I am in no way an expert in physics or tennis; do not read this meta for anything other than your own amusement, or the Gods of Tennis, Academia, and References will judge you.

While I will be talking about how certain tenipuri shots are physically possible, I will not be talking about whether or not a human being can hit these shots with a racket. That would require calculating force and rotation speed, and I’m not doing that because I hate math.

For ease of understanding, I will be oversimplifying certain things. That said, if you spot a mistake, please tell me so we can discuss how to fix it.

Considering the age of this fandom, I’m assuming most of you have learned about force and momentum in high school. If you haven’t, however, here is a short crash course:

Force is something that causes an object to move faster or slower in a certain direction. For example, when you hit a still tennis ball with a racket, your racket is applying force to the tennis ball. Force is defined as Mass x Acceleration.

Momentum is what an object has when it’s moving. For example, when your tennis ball is flying over the net, your tennis ball has a forwards momentum. Momentum is defined as Mass x Velocity

Applying force to an object causes its momentum to change. The longer force is applied, the more its momentum changes. For example, the longer you spend pushing a shopping cart, the faster it will roll after you let go of it. Momentum is defined as Force x length of Time force is applied

Okay! Now we can start with the meta. The first shot I will be talking about is my favorite Fuji counter, Hakugei. @sandreeen, this meta is dedicated for you.

Amongst all of Fuji's counters, I think Hakugei is actually the simplest, and easiest to replicate by hand. Below is an illustration of Hakugei, plus the explanation we got when Fuji used it against Akugatawa Jirou for the first time.

From this illustration we can summarize the movements of the ball as follows:

1. The ball was hit with a slice, resulting in a backspin.

2. The ball then flies in an upwards curve.

3. The ball falls back down.

4. The ball bounces back towards Fuji.

5. The ball is caught by Fuji.

Now let's analyze these movements one by one.

1. The ball was hit with a slice, resulting in a backspin.

A backspin is simply a ball that rotates backwards towards the player. Fuji slices the bottom of the ball to create this spin. It could be illustrated as follows.

For the rest of the meta, all illustrations will be drawn with the assumption that Fuji is standing to your left, hitting the ball towards your right.

2. The ball flies in an upwards curve

Have you ever seen a fast-moving train pass by a pile of leaves? If you have, you may see the leaves get sucked into the path of the train. This is a demonstration of the Bernoulli Principle. The fast-moving train drags the air around it along, causing the air to move very fast. As a result, the air pressure near the train drops. A bit farther away, though, the air is still, meaning the air pressure there is higher. The pressure difference causes air from farther away to rush near the train, taking the leaves along. 

This is basically what happens to Fuji’s Hakugei. As the tennis ball moves rightwards with a momentum of p, the air around it moves leftwards (A). Above the ball, the ball’s backspin (LA) drags the air to the left, moving it faster (A + LA). However, below the ball, the air was dragged to the right (LB), so it moves slower (A - LB). As the air above the ball is moving faster (A +LA) than the air below the ball (A - LB), the air pressure above the ball is lower than beneath the ball. Thus, the ball is rushed upwards (FM). This is called the Magnus Effect.

3. The ball falls down.

Not much to say here. Because of air resistance and drag and all those pesky forces that we generally ignore in high school physics, the ball will eventually slow down, meaning the effect of the ball’s spin on air speed will fade. Therefore, the Magnus effect will grow weaker. Gravity will eventually prevail, and the ball will come crashing back to the ground.

4. The ball bounces back towards Fuji

Now this is the interesting part--how the ball bounces back. Note that for this part, we will assume that the effects of air resistance and drag is negligible, and thus can be wholly ignored. Now, let’s first examine the most important forces acting on the ball in the instant before it hits the ground.

On the vertical axis, the ball is accelerating down, thanks to the force of gravity. This force is represented by Fg. 

On the horizontal axis, the ball is moving to the right. The ball is not being affected horizontally by any kind of outside force, therefore, it moves at a constant speed. We can say that the ball is moving rightwards with a momentum of p.

The combination of Fg and p causes the ball to move in the direction of A.

Speaking of movement, other than vertical and horizontal movements, the ball is also spinning. Again, the ball’s spin is not being affected by any outside force. We can say that the ball is spinning constantly with an angular momentum of L.

And then the ball hits the ground.

Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. On the vertical axis, we have Fg, which applies a downwards force upon the court. The court gives an equal and opposite reaction in Fn, which applies an upwards force upon the ball. This explains why the ball bounces upwards [1].

Meanwhile, in the horizontal axis, things get a little more complicated. We have the ball’s backwards spin interacting with the ground here. The ball’s spin produces an angular momentum of L, which gives a rightwards linear momentum of ps for the court. 

Since the court is a stationary object and (hopefully) cannot move, the court’s momentum itself should stay at zero. We can now forget about the court. Any change of momentum will happen to the tennis ball, so let’s get back to that green fuzzy thing.

Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Momentum Conservation Principle, which is derived from this law, states that in a collision, the change in the colliding objects’ momentum are also equal in magnitude, but opposite in directions.

According to the Momentum Conservation Principle, because its initial momentum (ps) is directed rightwards, after the collision, the ball’s momentum should change leftwards in the opposite direction. This change in momentum is represented by pr.

So when the ball hits the ground, horizontally, there are two different momentums fighting for dominance--pr and p [2]. To ensure the ball bounces to the left as Hakugei would, pr has to win this battle. Since pr is derived from ps, which in turn is derived from the ball’s angular momentum (L), the key to making Hakugei bounce back is to ensure that the ball’s angular momentum (L) is great enough to overpower its linear momentum (p). In other words, the ball has to spin quickly enough to overpower its own linear momentum (p).

Should pr be able to overpower p, the next direction of the tennis ball can be summed up by the following:

As you see, the ball will bounce back in the direction of B. No physics-defying magic necessary.

And now, let’s ask the real question: how great is the spin you need for the ball to bounce back? Well, not so great that you can’t achieve it by hand [3]. In fact, this was my favorite trick to do while running laps; the ball bounces back to me, so it’s easier to control, and I can maintain a slower pace without having to chase after recalcitrant balls. Of course, this only works on even grounds that can provide enough friction for the ball, such as tennis courts (if you’re using tennis balls) or basketball courts (if you’re using basketballs). On uneven grounds, the bounce is much less predictable, so beware where you try this trick!

5. The ball is caught by Fuji

To complete Hakugei, the ball must bounce back to the opposite side of the court and is caught by Fuji. Now considering that the ball has lost a lot of horizontal momentum when it hit the ground (in the battle between pr and p), it’s hard to believe that Hakugei could have enough force to return to Fuji all by itself. Therefore, Fuji cannot rely on the tennis ball itself to come back to him. Instead, he has to rely on another force: the wind.

How strong does the wind need to be to carry Hakugei all the way back to Fuji? Well, I honestly have no idea. Tennis balls are unexpectedly heavy, so I think it must be pretty strong, but I can’t say if it could reliably happen in your average tennis match. So, even though Hakugei should be physically possible, the wind factor makes it hard to use in an actual match.

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, this is why Hakugei is not only totally badass but also obeys the law of physics. If you read all the way here, thank you; you’re brilliant, and I hope my explanations didn’t give you too much trouble. I have no idea why I was insane enough to write this. However, I hope now you appreciate Fuji’s Hakugei as much as I do. After all, it takes a certain kind of person to be a Badass Normal in a world of Ten’imuhou no Kiwamis, Devil Modes, and Pirates of the World--and Fuji Shuusuke may just be the right genius to pull it off.

————————

[1] The reality is more complex than that, of course, involving air pressure inside the ball and such, but it’s not quite necessary to discuss that to understand Hakugei.

[2] There are a lot of other things going on here, especially with friction, which helps turns the ball’s point of contact with the court into a ‘pivot’ for pr’s momentum. There are also things going on with the air pressure inside the ball, which affects the length of time the ball stays in contact with the court and may further help pr overpower p.

[3] Theoretically, hitting a Hakugei with a racket should require a greater spin than throwing a backspin ball by hand. This is because the ball needs to travel further from the racket, against a strong headwind, not to mention other things that will reduce its spin such as air resistance.

[4] Hakuryuu probably works with similar principles, but with an angled backspin/topspin, depending on the situation. If I had to guess, I’d say Twist Serve works the same way, too. However, I still reserve judgement on whether Hakuryuu is physically possible.

[5] Tennis ball image by freepik.

[ask-de-writer]

KURIN’S FOLLY : World of Sea : Part 12 of 15

KURIN’S FOLLY

Part 12

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

23,699 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck

writing begun  2006

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  Part 1 is here

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The apprentices sullenly brought tools up and stood while they were told off in pairs to assist the contestants.  The journeymen were watching angrily.  They kept heckling the contestants.  That only stopped when Yoram was caught surreptitiously taking a rocker knife that a contestant needed.  He was caught in the act by the Captain.

Removed to the after deck, the journeyman was given five lashes for attempted theft.  The other journeymen were required to watch. After that, they were a subdued lot.

The building of the boats took up the next several days.  Kurin left the supervision of the contest to the Craft Council to be sure that nobody could say that it was conducted unfairly.  She spent the days in her shop with her apprentices, printing envelopes and instruction leaflets.  Parts for toy kits and models were being produced by etching.

The sheets of glued parchment or thin Strong Skin were screen printed with the mess cleaner paste from the galley.  When they were dipped into the thinned activator in the vats, the combination ate through the material at the lines and freed the parts.  The finished parts were removed with tongs and rinsed to stop the action of the etch.

A sheet of thick Strong Skin, etched with words and drawings was being inked, wiped, covered by parchment and run through a pair of rollers to print instruction leaflets.  The same technique was being used to make the printed and illustrated envelopes that held the kits.

Lissa looked at the processes in something like awe.  She took Kurin aside and asked, “How many copies will that etched Strong Skin slab make before it wears out?”

Kurin shrugged and said, “I don’t know, maybe a few thousand.  I’ve been using the one I made for the simple dory instruction set since I was eight.  It’s still good.  Why?”

Lissa grimaced and replied, “The Scribe’s Guild would kill for that printing process.  The best one that they have now is a soft glue hectograph.  It is only good for about seventy five copies before a new master has to be made.

“I was a Scribe before I married your father.  The Longin didn’t need another Scribe. That’s why I fixed things.”

Just then there was a tapping at the door.  It was Juris.  He his shoulders sagged and his eyes were bagged from lack of sleep.  Contritely he asked, “Kurin, will you come out and talk with me?  I need to know how you are going to save me from this mess.  I know that I’ve gone too far.”

Lissa laid a hand firmly on Kurin’s shoulder and said, “You are harassing my daughter.  In the last week, I have learned all about this foolishness of yours.  I experienced some of it.  The short of it is simple.  Kurin wanted to save you.  In fact, Kurin did save you.  You rejected her help so thoroughly that now Kurin can’t save you again.  You have finished yourself.”  She looked down at Kurin fondly and gave her a small hug.

“The Dragons do know that she has tried every way that she knows.  Kurin’s already appealed to the Great Sea Dragons.  They won’t interfere.  You have successfully blocked her at every turn.

“I was there when she asked the whales if they would help you as they once helped Jenn the Whale’s Friend.  They replied that they don’t like you enough to do more than celebrate your life.  They have promised to do that.”

Juris looked at Lissa incredulously.  Drawing on his vast store of arrogance, he drew himself up and said, “You’re still mad.  Whales don’t talk.”

Smiling like someone who actually knows what she is saying, Lissa agreed, “Not in words, no.  You are correct.  The Orca’s vocal equipment can’t reproduce our vocal range.  When Kurin talks to them, they use their echolocation clicks to make something like drum talk.  They understand us just fine. Understanding them is the challenge.  They click about four or five time as swiftly as the fastest drum beats that we are used to.  The way that Kurin likes to put it is, you have to listen fast.”

About them, Kurin's other apprentices were sill busily preparing kits.  Luin was busy at a set of molds, pressing the parts for Kurin’s toy fish, birds and dolls out of specially prepared soft glue filled with fine strong Skin shavings and scraping dust.

Kurin leaned against her mother, absorbing the simple pleasure of contact while she thought.  Raising her eyes to meet Juris’ She said, “There is one last possibility. I can’t do it for you.  In fact, nobody else on this ship or the Grandalor can do it for you.  The first step you need to do in person.  At the next Combined Council meeting of this ship you must request a reconsideration of your sanity declaration.  You must have a finding of insanity.  

“Our Council’s finding will open the way for a plea of clemency before the Captain’s Council. You will also need to get a neutral advocate to present the case.”

Curious but still truculent, Juris demanded, “Why can’t you do it for me?  You represented Barad.”

Kurin shook herself a little and pulled free of Lissa’s gentle hold.  She sat at her design table and turned to face Juris before replying simply, “Barad was innocent.  Both others and he himself proved it to me. You did slander me, my ship, and my Master.  Besides reports, I have heard you do so with my own ears.  By that reckless talk, you have endangered this ship’s existence.  Because of those facts, none of us can legally represent you before the Captain’s Council.  All that we can do is be witnesses for you and state that we are willing to stand for your care until you are recovered.

“High Cloud will carry your request for representation and other information to whoever you wish.  That is the best that I can do.  I have to warn you, that it may not work.  It will all depend on the Captain’s Council.”

Brows furrowed right up onto his bald pate, Juris asked, “Why wouldn’t it work?”

Kurin leaned back in her work chair, and looked straight into his eyes as she replied, “Because you have already made a declaration of sanity.  We can accept your change of declaration but your first statement remains a matter of record.  If the Captain’s Council sees your change as a self serving attempt to avoid a just penalty under the law, they will still sentence you to death.”

Juris had actually listened to all of what he was told.  He stroked his jaw as he thought through what Kurin had told him.  He had to struggle a little with himself to say it but he did manage.  “Thank you, Kurin.  I really had no idea how bad the situation was.  I wish that I had listened earlier.”

Luin looked up from her molding task and said with a surprising degree of sympathy, “You won’t believe me but we wish that too.”

**************

Five new catamarans sat on the foredeck.  Kurin was examining them critically.  They all appeared to be at least acceptable.  Careful sighting of their lines showed minor differences and some trivial errors.  The boats with easily visible errors were eliminated immediately.  That left only two.

A large crowd had gathered to watch the judging.  The jealous journeymen were in the forefront making scathing remarks.  Kurin ignored them and crawled into the hulls, examining the interior seams and joints.  She even tried the bunks, checked the food and equipment lockers and examined all of the fittings.

Finally, Kurin chose the winner and stood on its deck to announce, “Conner, you are now in charge of the boat shop.  Congratulations!”  The journeymen were spectacularly silent.

To everyone’s surprise, Juris stepped forward and put out his hand.  As he shook Conner’s hand, he said, “You did a very credible job on this boat.  Guide my shop’s journeymen in their work and be guided by them in matters of craftsmanship.”  He glanced piercingly at the journeymen before adding, “That should allow the shop to serve as well as it can.  I wish you well.”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS ~ NEXT==>

[unnecessarywriting]

Heeeya love, can you please write about Luke in which Luke is your sugar baby? I couldn't find a imagine like that. If you do that, it would be really appraciated by me. Have a good day angel xx 💖

My Sweet Boy - Luke Hemmings

Sugar baby!Luke Hemmings x Reader

A/N: Hello. I kinda took this on in a different manner. I hope you all enjoy it, and I am willing to add on to this world more! Requests are still open!

As the CEO of a very successful company, you made quite a lot of money. You worked very hard to get to where you are today. The constant business meetings with people around the world just furthered that idea. The only problem...You’re a woman in a man’s world. If you weren’t being looked down on by all of the old white men, you were being hit on by them. It’s not your fault that you’re younger than them, beautiful, and insanely successful. Well, successful at work. The relationship department of your life was always lacking, especially with your long hours and rushing around the world to make sure deals didn’t fall through. 

One day, you decided to get your own coffee. Typically, your errand boy or personal assistant would do it for you, but you had time to kill, and it wouldn’t hurt to walk into the office 15 minutes late. What was going to happen? You firing yourself?

As you walked into the coffee shop, you stood in line behind a young man. He ordered his coffee, but as he went to pay, his card was declined. He was digging through his pockets trying to find any spare change. 

“It’s on me.” You say behind him. 

“That’s not necessary.” He turns to look at you. When your eyes reach his face, you can't help the small intake of breath. He is absolutely stunning. What a handsome man. Picking your jaw up from the floor, you begin to speak again.

“Listen, I’ll buy the coffee this time, but you can at least drink it with me.” The smirk he sends your way brings up an idea.

You walk over to a booth over by the windows. Both of you sit down before he starts to speak.

“I guess I should say thank you.”

“Well, I guess you should. I will say it is nice to have company in the morning, so I think I should also be thanking you-” you look at his cup, “Luke.” He smiles down at you and thus a small conversation about anything pops up. After about 20 minutes of mindless conversation, you get the nerve to strike up your proposition.

“Listen Luke, I think you are very attractive. You do, however, seem to be struggling in the financial department of your life.” He avoids eye contact with you, most likely out of embarrassment. 

“I would like to employ you.”

“Doing what exactly Y/N?” 

“I go to plenty of events, and the media is quite fond of my life these days. I am willing to provide you with whatever you may need, so long as you fulfill your duties to me.”

“And what exactly do I have to do?”

“Well, it would start by attending these events with me, but also going on public dates. I’m not saying that we have to really be dating, but you will be paid well for your time spent by my side. Anything else that happens behind closed doors, is up to what you are comfortable with, but I will say it again, I do find you very attractive.” You say the last part staring him deep in the eyes with a hint of seduction in your tone. 

He continued to gaze into your eyes before he nodded his head. 

“Okay. So, what should I call you? My sugar mama? Because that seems to be what you are.”

You laughed in his face at the thought. You exchanged numbers and told him that you would be seeing him soon. 

----

Clear your day and night. We’re going shopping and then to a gala. 

Come to my office now

Luke looked at your texts and couldn’t help but smile. He did really like you, but he somehow couldn't stop thinking about what you meant about things behind closed doors. Did you really see him more as just eye candy?

He got out of the Uber and walked up to your office. Your assistant led him in, where you were on the phone, angrily yelling at someone to get off of their ass. You slammed the phone down on the desk before looking up at the amused expression on Luke’s face.

“Is that the kind of treatment I’ll get if I do something wrong?” His words were lightened by his playful tone. You smile in response.

“C’mon. We have to get you a new suit for tonight.” You say grabbing your coat and ushering him out of your office. 

“So what exactly are we doing tonight?”

“Like I said in the text. We are going to a gala, so I need you looking extra sharp.”

----

A few hours later, he was on your arm as you entered the overly extravagant ballroom. 

“This is your world?”

“Sadly, it is.” You groan and find a waiter with some champagne. This night needs to be done as soon as possible. Luke catches your glance and frowns. Sure, he may just be seen as the attractive young man on your arm, but he can make these events as fun as possible for you. To be fair, you did pay for his suit, and a few other things while you two were shopping.

“Hey, you see that guy over there. He’s in the red suit.” You turn in the direction of his pointing finger.

“Yeah. What about him?” 

“Nothing, except I can’t seem to figure out if he has a mole on his face, or if he’s sharing his face with a rodent.” Luke watches your face as a smile begins to form.

The whole night continues like this. Whenever you’re talking to someone, he is whispering terrible jokes and observations about the rich assholes that seem to be a part of your life.

A while later, you two were outside of his apartment, sitting in your car. 

“Thank you for making my night fun. I typically go home afterward, grateful that I no longer have to be in that room.”

“Well, isn’t that my job? You give me anything I could ever want, which is wonderful, but I feel like I should do something more than just stand around and look pretty.”

“You’re right. Thank you again. Goodnight Luke. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He gets out of the car and walks up to his apartment. You drive home with a smile tattooed to your face. 

When Luke enters his apartment, he starts to undress. In his jacket pocket, he feels a card and note.

Spend what you want. There’s no limit. Have fun.

The credit card sat in his palm. This was his payment. He did his job, and nothing more. That was how you saw it. You could never have real feelings for someone like him. Of course, but he just needed to get that through his head.

----

A few months had passed since the first night you two had worked together. Things had been, well, different than you had initially hoped. You thought that with time, you two would spend time together, the money would act as a sort of aphrodisiac of sorts, and then you two would be together for real. That was not the case. This became ever apparent at this moment. 

You were in the middle of some friendly small talk in hopes of developing a relationship that could ensure that there would be business deals in the future. You had left Luke at the bar when a young tall blonde had made her way to him. You kept glancing over at their conversation. She was laughing and rubbing her hands all over his body. Now, you weren’t a jealous person, but this was unacceptable. He seemed to be enjoying her company.

Little did you know that Luke hated this. He was trying to not indulge her, but this girl just wouldn’t leave him alone. When he glanced over at you, you were deep in a conversation with another man, most likely about business. The girl next to him continued to speak, so he just started laughing, hoping that she would be fulfilled with that. Soon enough, you made your way over to him, saving him from his personal hell.

“Hey, honey. I think it’s time to go.” Your voice was too sweet. It was more fake than he thought you could ever muster. The other girl scowled and huffed as she walked away reluctantly. 

In the car, you were more silent than usual. Typically, there was music playing, and your voice showed through lightly as you hummed along. The silence was deafening to Luke. despite his trials of reminding himself that he was only your employee who was spoiled beyond belief, he couldn’t help but fall for you. Everything you did sparked some interest and by the end of the first month, he was in love. He was just oblivious to your passes.

You are inexperienced in real love, so you tried to buy it. Neither of you knew that you were so in love with each other. 

“What’s going on with you?” Luke looked over at you trying to figure you out.

“I buy you everything. I give you money, cars, a new apartment, all the clothing you could ask for, and yet I’m not enough for you. Yes, I am your sugar mama or whatever you call it, but all I want is to be someone you love. And God Dammit, I don’t know what else to do.” You pull up to the apartment you bought for him. “Just go. I have to go home and sleep. I haven’t slept in a few days, and I just need to be alone.” Luke got out of the car, stunned. Before he could process anything, you sped off. He could almost smell the tire burning at how fast you had left. You had feelings for him. There was no way, but he knew that he needed to show you how much he cared.

----

You woke up the next morning with mascara all over your face and pillow. You didn’t care to take off your makeup. You were too exhausted and your tears were represented by the makeup being pushed around everywhere. You knew that this was your fault, but it was time to put an end to whatever it was that you had with Luke. After a shower, you made some coffee and sent a text to him.

I’m sorry Luke, but I can’t do this anymore. 

You can keep the card. I feel terrible about leaving you behind like this, so spend all the money you want. 

Thank you for working for me. 

When Luke woke up, he checked his phone. You ended things with him. He didn’t even get a chance to tell you. He got up and walked around his apartment. Everything in there was paid for by you. You were everywhere, and he couldn’t help but feel terrible. He moved around his place getting ready to see you.

A couple of hours later, you were sitting in your house watching nonsense television hoping to take your mind off of Luke. There was a knock on your door, but you were too unmotivated to go and answer it.

“Y/n! I know you’re in there. Can you please open up?”

You rolled off of the couch and opened the door, but immediately you made your way back to the couch.

“Can we talk?” Silence.

“Fine. I’ll talk. You listen. I have fallen for you. I kept trying to tell myself that you could never feel that way about me, but then you confessed, and I don’t know. I was shocked that you could feel that way. I don’t need the money, but I’m not gonna lie, I do enjoy having it. I want to be with you, not just as your employee, but something more.”

“You love me?” he reached over the couch and took your face in his hand. He pulled your face to his and pressed his lips against your forehead. Then to your nose. And then his lips reached yours and you fell deeply into it. It was better than you could have ever imagined. It felt right.

“So, am I still your sugar mama?” He threw his head back and laughed. 

“Of course. You think I could afford to keep up with your lifestyle?”

You beamed up at him. His eyes looked past you and saw your gift to him.

“What..is that?” You turned your head and saw it.

“Well, before I confessed like an idiot, I bought this to thank you and hopefully make a more successful advance.” He got up and picked up the guitar you had specially made just for him. He returned to you and swallowed your body in his.

“I really do love you. Thank you for being the best sugar mama in the world.” You giggled.

“I love you too, my sweet boy.”

[ask-de-writer]

KURIN’S FOLLY : World of Sea : Part 3 of 15

KURIN’S FOLLY

Part 3

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

23,699 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck

writing begun  2006

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  Part 1 is here

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“Very well.  Master Juris having declined to open the meeting, as Captain, I shall.  The Combined Councils of the Longin are now in session.  By default, the Purser, in her role as ship’s legal officer will chair the meeting and present the issue that has forced this emergency meeting.  Are you ready, Alor?”

In a heavy voice the gray haired, elderly woman replied, “No.  I shall never be ready for a duty this hard.  I will do it, though.

“Simply put, the actions of one person have placed the entire ship in jeopardy of dissolution, renaming and total crew Scattering along with the execution of at least three more of our crew.  The Wergeld agreement with the Grandalor that shields us from this disaster is now in danger of being dissolved.”

Master Juris snorted angrily, “The damned Wergeld!  It’s tied us to the Grandalor!  That stupid thing is an Arrakan Fleet custom. This is the Naral Fleet.  It shouldn’t even be recognized at all!”

Alor took the interruption in stride saying, “I almost agree with you.  The Wergeld is the only thing standing between you, Juris, and execution. If I had to choose between you and this ship, the choice would be easy.  It’s a pity that letting you swim to Iren will also cost us the Longin!”

Master Juris’ jaw dropped. “What do you mean?” he demanded.  “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Alor shook her head.  Looking straight at Master Juris, she asked, “No?  What is the penalty for trying to influence an officer of the court by bribe or threat?”

He responded, “A swim to Iren’s halls, everyone knows that!”

Alor said gently, “When we were being investigated by the Naral Fleet Court for the piracy attempt against the Grandalor, didn’t you, as the senior representative of our Combined Councils, threaten to call an expulsion vote against Kurin?”

Still surly, Master Juris replied, “I was furious at her.  I still am. So what?”

Making a little come hither gesture, Alor coaxed, “And as the Grandalor’s advocate she was a what?”  As Master Juris’ silence drew out, she answered her own question.  “Kurin was an officer of the court.  

“Since you made your threat directly in front of the fleet’s judge, the case against you was prima facie.  Captain Sarfin had already drawn up your death warrant. I’ve seen the document.”

Incredulously, Master Juris demanded, “Then why am I here now?”

Alor pointed to Kurin and said, “There sits your answer.  When Kurin negotiated the Wergeld, she carefully worded it to include your offense without stating it directly.  You owe her thanks for your life, not hate.”  She sat, leaving Master Juris in shock.

Alor turned to Captain Mord and said, “I’m sick at heart.  Can you please carry the rest of this?”

Captain Mord drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “We were incensed and hurt when Kurin did not show up for her welcome party.  Now we know why.  Master Juris was given the job of sending her the invitation in the hope that the responsibility would help him set aside some of his ire.

“Instead of doing as ordered by this Council, he sent Kurin this note.”  He displayed the copy of Master Juris’ note for all to read.

Mistress Daeron took one look and said angrily to Master Juris, “You lied to us!  When she was late, you said that you sent the invitation and that she wasn’t coming.

“She had to chase us down with the Grandalor to keep her promise to come and help us.  Your lies had us all so angry that nobody even showed up to help her come aboard!”

The short, motherly woman turned to Kurin and said, “I don’t know how to apologize to you, Kurin. This was an awful thing.  We should never have trusted Master Juris.”

Kurin replied gently, “I understand.  He’s always been a  reliable man before, if sometimes difficult.  I would have trusted him myself, in your place.”

Mistress Daeron turned to Captain Mord and asked, “There’s more, isn’t there?  Something has endangered the ship, Alor said.  She’s not given to exaggeration.”

Master Juris rudely cut in and jerked a thumb at Kurin.  “That something is sitting right there. Your little white-haired saint.  She filed a Wergeld violation against us.”

The accusation actually made Kurin angry.  She stood suddenly, eyes blazing, white hair flying, High Cloud flapping for balance.  She pointed at Master Juris and exclaimed, “That is why I filed the complaint!  Even now, in front of you all, he lies about me.  The complaint was a provisional one, a preliminary to a violation complaint.  Subject to withdrawal if investigation showed good reason for the events.  He knows the difference but still tries to create more bad feeling!

“Alor, do you have an actual copy of the Wergeld here?”

She rummaged in her records and pulled out a few pages.  “Yes, Kurin.  This is it.”

“Would you please read out the portion of the rules of the Wergeld relating to behavior of the parties?”

Alor took a moment to find her place and read, “All parties to this Wergeld must lay aside all rancor and animus toward each other or this Wergeld is dissolved and all of its covered cases must go before the appropriate courts of law for settlement.”  She looked up with haunted eyes and surveyed the entire Combined Councils of the Longin and said, “These simple words are our doom or salvation.

“Master Juris, can you not see how far onto dry land your behavior is?  If we are not to be dragged to destruction in your wake, we have few choices.

“We can renounce you for endangerment of the ship, remove you from the crew roster and put you off on the first ship that we meet or the next Gathering, whichever comes first.  If we do that, your death warrant will be put into force.  You will swim to Dark Iren.

“Our second possible course is to declare you to be insane.  You will be, like Kurin’s mother, Lissa, entrusted with only the simplest of tasks and, by law, need to be watched at all times.  You will lose your Master’s Certificate and your shop.  Your accounts will be frozen against your recovery. When we judge that you have safe water under your keel, we can restore all except your Master’s Certificate.  That matter will be in the hands of the Fleet Craft Council.

“Finally, we can remove you from all posts of responsibility in the ship’s governance and try trusting your promise to behave in regard to Kurin and the Grandalor. If you fail us, we can decide which of the two other things we should do.

“These are now the only options that you have left open to us.”

“Me?” exclaimed Master Juris in outrage.  “If she hadn’t gone to the Grandalor in the first place none of this would have happened at all!  It’s her fault and hers alone!”   He thrust his hand violently at Kurin, pointing and trying to swat High Cloud off her shoulder at the same time.

Two things happened so fast that many there did not even see them occur even though they were all watching Master Juris’ outburst.  High Cloud’s claws rent large rips in Kurin’s shoulder padding as he maintained his place and jabbed with his beak at the offending hand.  Kurin’s knife, ten inches of the finest razor honed Lesser Dragon fang, leaped up in her hand and struck Master Juris’ wrist away.  At the same instant, Kurin kicked back out of her chair and landed in a combat guard, watching Master Juris over the edge of her knife.

A shocked group watched as Master Juris cradled his injured hand.  Blood was welling from the back of it where High Cloud had defended himself, striking to bone, and there was another cut to the bone on the side of his wrist where Kurin had entered the fray with her knife.

In quietly dangerous tone, Kurin said, “Don’t attack either of us again. Rookery Flock all defends its own.  That’s why there are no tame Wide Wings.”

The ship’s doctor was tending to Master Juris’ wounds and looked up curiously at Kurin’s statement.  “Rookery Flock?  Do you consider yourself to be a bird?”

That brought a smile to Kurin’s lips, and she relaxed her guard, putting away the big knife in her sash-belt sheath.  “No, Doctor, I’m not a bird.  Still, I am part of the Grandalor Rookery.  I’ve known High Cloud since just before he hatched.  I felt his mind beginning to stir in the egg.  I’ve taken my place and spent time caring for all the young ones and feeding them.  I do have a bond with them all that sometimes overrides my personal safety issues.  Dari has said that we humans who participate in the rookery life and are accepted by the adult Wide Wings are part of the rookery.  Who am I to question a Great Sea Dragon?”

Master Juris looked up from the bandaging of his arm and snarled, “How would you know what a Great Sea Dragon thinks?”

Kurin said offhandedly, “Blind Mecat remains fond of this ship, from her time in human form among us.  She asked me not to file a full violation complaint with the Council.  The message was relayed through Dari, who was nearby. Captain Tanlin and I had a long talk with her.  I like her.  She’s fun.”

Master Juris subsided with a muttered, “Hard aground and sinking fast.”

Alor overheard him and retorted tartly, “At last, you recognize your folly?”  Then, she turned to Kurin and said, “I think that we need to know what the basis of your provisional complaint is.  How hard aground are we?  Is it a sandbar or a reef?”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS ~ NEXT==>

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 13

Previous / Next

The monster village sure had expanded from the small place it used to be. There were more houses, some that became able to hold bigger families, and they even had their own inns and shops. The place was getting to be as developed and advanced as the butterfly kingdom now. A river surrounding the place, making it practically a small island with a bridge to cross over, and there were farmlands seen in the distance for the monsters to grow their own food.

Sky had come here a few times each month, usually because her mom always wanted to see buff frog and check up on him after he became the monster's official representative. Other times she came to get some cool fabric or come up with designs for her hats. Judas sometimes came with, liking to get out and get some fresh air every once in awhile. He was over stressed a lot of the time anyway, and it probably was always nice to breathe fresh air and see green everywhere instead of lava.

She knew where eclipsa wanted to stop as soon as they stepped in.

"The withered leech?"

Eclipsa turned to luna and clapped her hands together, "Never been here before? Trust me, you'll <i><b>love </b></i>it, and the locals are so nice.". Luna looked to sky as eclipsa went to find them a place to sit, "She's not wrong, me and jude ate here before, though he's more into monster food then me...plus I know the owner...well part time owner.". Luna was about to ask when someone jumped from the crown to hug sky, arms wrapping around her and pulling her close "SKYLER! Where you been!".

The monster stopped hugged sky as sky let out a laugh, "The castle, sucking as always....you?". The monster smiled, proud of herself, "Ah, just got back from another "Secret mission", luckily drew didn't set this place on fire while I was gone....". She eyed luna, who was gaping at her as sky explained, "Oh, luna, this is Katrina! She's kinda a bit of a family friend.". The frog lady instantly shook hands with the blonde, looking up at her from head to toe, "Ah new customers! Good to have you! Dig the herbal necklace luna!".

Luna then remembered the stuff eclipsa gave her earlier to ward off whatever happened, he held it and considered taking it off before tucking it into her shirt instead. Katrina still talking excitably to the princess about seeing her before stopping as though she just remembered something.

Then she looked around the room before going back to sky, "Judas isn't with you? I usually don't see you that often without cursed boy.". Sky waved off, "He's busy, things have changed a lot the older we get, i'll let him know you said hi though, maybe we can all hang out again soon.". Katrina shrugged, "No telling of that blue girl, sometimes I'm here, sometimes i'm not.". Katrina was adopted, but it was clear she had grown accustomed to her father's accent, she'd gotten a lot from him.

"But it's ok!", she patted sky's shoulder, "We'll meet up again soon, hopefully my other work will get easier with time! Anyways, you need a table? We can talk more there, i'll pay, my treat.!". Sky tried to brush it off, "Nah, you don't gotta do that, eclipsa is getting our table and i'm sure you need the money.". Katrina snickered, "Nah, come on blue girl, i heard about what happened during the ball with your magic? You could use a treat after messes like that! And your brought queen Eclipsa too? Even better!".

Speaking of eclipsa, she returned to the group to also receive a hug from the monster lady. Smiling and very happy to see her again, though it also appeared eclipsa was most likely a more regular customer then sky was. "Why Katrina, I was just trying to get us a table, i had no idea you where in today!". Katrina shrugged, "No need to find a table now, I'm the boss when i'm actually here, i'll get you one pronto...follow me.". She motioned for the group to follow her and so they did around the restaurant.

The place was built with wood and old fashioned decorations lined the walls, as well as some.......grosser aspects...such as the bugs and unusual stains. There was even a bar in one section, though luna seemed thankful to not be eating anywhere near it judging by the strange drinks that were being served. Was bug juice mixed with mud served with lemon even edible? Katrina found them a booth and invited them in, her taking a seat next to eclipsa on the edge as the girls sat next to each other.

Luna kept her posture though she looked clearly uncomfortable, she didn't seem quite used to monster life. How she reacted to the food, the living style, everything. Sky could see it in her facial expressions, guess she wasn't used to spending time in monster culture. Geez, all the bashing she did about sky's magic before but luna never seemed to really try to get comfortable with the other kingdoms? Eh, maybe she was making assumptions again, though luna didn't quite seem like she wanted to eat here.

Sky couldn't help but wonder.

If Katrina and eclipsa weren't here sky would probably ask her just how involved she was with monsters back home, but that was a question for another day. Sky put her arms on the table and watched katrina hand them some menus, " Ok, ladies, it's on the house, pick what feels good today.". Luna took one look at the menu and slowly put it back down, choosing instead to  talk to her companions. "So katrina, you seem rather young to be running a place like this...no offence of course.".

"Er, none taken, you're not the first to tell me so and you're right. But I had help from my brothers and sisters and papa had the money to help out, plus miss star of course when she helped build the town.", sky put her menu down as well, "I know a lot of your siblings got other jobs, any more still working here?". Katrina sighed, "just two, I miss them, but at least they call me and catch up, I think i see them less then I get to see you blue girl."

"That sucks....".

"Can't rope them to me forever, but yes, it does suck.", There was a hint of amusement in her voice when she said that, "But let's not think about the negative, I want to hear more about all the stuff I've been missing! Your mom do anything crazy lately?". Sky stuck out her tongue, "You tell me that as if she hadn't been doing insane things before i was born! Eh, recently she tried cooking again, you know how that probably went". Katrina snorted, "Eh, maybe we can help her out sometime."

"Maybe, don't be so sure of yourself, Queen lucitor tried that and it didn't end well...", the frog monster could only smiled, "Oh, i gotta see the boys again, those kids are always entertaining in some way, you never get bored of them going at each other. How those two handle those three i'll never know." Eclipsa joined in, "Oh they're lovely, the oldest is going to be king very soon in fact!". Katrina sighed, "He's almost 18 already? Where has the time gone?".

"Eh, don't worry, i'm sure when jude becomes king things will get even better...", everyone turned to sky, "I mean, as king at least he has the authority to do what he wants.". She did have a point, and katrina could only snort, " You both are making me feel old and i'm not even that much older then you, well not THAT close but...you know.". Luna bit her lips, "We all have to grow up sometime, we just can't live in the past i'm afraid, better off looking to the future.".

Eclispa seemed to agree, "Yes, we can focus on newer memories instead, come on now, no need to get emotional yet.".

She wiped at her eyes, "Sorry sorry, I'll make sure i'm here for your coronations though sky, I'd prefer not to miss seeing you both become rulers.". Luna huffed as she went back to looking at her menu, "Miss Katrina? I'm sorry, I've just never been a fan of monster food, is there anything on here you think would be more suitable for me to eat?". Katrina only blinked at her, "Well, i'm not sure about that, it kinda depends on what you consider "Edible" doesn't it?"

She wasn't wrong.

Sky intervened, "I'll help her pick, I've eaten here before, i can find something she'll probably like.". Katrina agreed on that as she and eclipsa started up another conversation, Sky saw this as a chance to talk as she used the menu to cover up their faces. "Ok, do you got a thing with monsters back home? Cause you kinda seem like it.", luna almost looked offended to a degree, face becoming suspicious, "I just don't like monster food and think the conditions are unsanitary and uncomfortable, what's wrong with that?".

"Nothing! I just was wondering if well....maybe, I mean I don't exactly know much about your world..."., luna sighed, "Sky, don't look so deep into things, some people are just not into monster culture.  Now can we focus on other matters?". Sky grumbled, "Ok, like what?", Luna made sure the adults were still talking before speaking again, "Sky, what's this about katrina's "Other job?". Sky blinked at her before answering, "Ok, before you point the "She's the villain" finger at her, Katrina's just another spy for my mom. She sends her stuff by letter. But don't flip out, she wouldn't hurt a fly, actually wait, bad metaphor. She wouldn't lay a hand on <i><b>us</b></i>, she usually doesn't do much besides keep an eye out for potentially hostile situations...".

"Such as?".

"Gangs, potential rulers turning against us, stuff that leads to wars. C'mon, aren't you obsessed with being a queen and the military, you should know this?", she crossed her arms, "Spies can be used for many things sky, she may not even be doing what you think she's been doing.". Just then eclipsa pulled the menu down, exposing the girls, apparently the waiter had showed up to take orders and the adults had already taken theirs. Eclipsa laughed, "Oh sorry, were we interrupting something?".

Sky eyed luna before eyeing the waiter, "Me and luna here will take the soup of the day, some corn on the side, and some punch!". Luna didn't even get much time to respond as the waiter left and she shot sky a dirty look, sky couldn't help but smile. Truly this must be how judas feels with having brothers, someone they could tease without thinking they're gonna hate you for life. To be fair the soup of the day DID actually look pretty good anyway, though maybe sky should've kept a closer eye on what was in it.

Welp.

The private conversation was over, they were back in the open once again. "-cresenta though did make that spell, the tentacle arm virus one? I don't think I've ever asked, how come it's so hard to cure from judas?". Sky's ears pricked up, answering quickly, "Whatever spell they made judas with? It kinda screwed up the spell a bit, it's just not the same spell it used to be, it's it's own thing that we kinda haven't seen before. Guess that's why it's so freaky and unpredictable, it doesn't function like queen lucitor's arm used to i guess.".

"Poor kid...", the frog woman sigh, "Honestly magic is such a hassle, sometimes it works great and other times it ruins you for the rest of your life.". Sky laughed, "Well, just hope I don't cause the end of the world or something, this thing sucks...". Eclipsa could only tap her chin, "It's just possible that's how your wand is supposed to function, after all, everyone's wand if different in some way and has it's own features, maybe yours is meant to challenge you.".

"Well if it's meant to do that it hasn't been doing too great so far.", sky grumbled back, she set her wand on the counter, "Eclipsa, i mean, you're just so much more gifted then me, i'm lucky i can beat angel with this thing at all!. And that dude can barely do squat!". She spun it on the counter and everyone just glimpsed at it, "So you shot green magic I heard?.". Sky looked at her monster friend with some guilt, "I got mad ok? My mom was pressuring me...".

"Pressuring you?'.

"To be better, It's just....I dunno, i get it...but i'm not her...".

Sky leaned into the counter, head resting on her arms, "Like do you ever sit and think people want too much from you too soon? As soon as you're born they're already preparing you to do so many things in your life and it's all just a reminder that you won't be a kid forever. And it's weirder cause EVERYONE loves your cool mom who was such a goody two shoes and made everything better for everyone! Watch me be remembered for almost shooting her with magic, all anyone remembers about me being that incident.". Eclipsa snickered, "Hey, you're still young, you have time to work things out, you could always wait to be queen a bit longer, like great grandma comet, just until you're sure you're ready.".

Sky huffed, "Yeah maybe....i dunno...", then she felt Katrina tug at her hat, "Well if the queen thing doesn't work out i'm sure you could make a killing selling these! Or hey, maybe you could come with me on a trip sometime! Something small of course, but it could be fun! Well, I know your mom wouldn't be cool with that unless she had another kid, but...we can sneak you out.". Sky shrugged, "Sorry, not big on talking about the ball just yet, i'm pretty sure the whole kingdom is still talking about it.". Eclipsa tapped the table, "Well, it's not all bad, it may be you just dipping down finally. I mean, it's not a good dipping down, but it's a start.".

"Wait, dipping down?".

"Yeah, you know, some queens never are able to dip down but if that really was you, perhaps that's what that was."Then she got giddy, "And if you can dip down, that means you may reach your butterfly form!". Sky blushed, "Oh god, that? Ugh......". That got a chuckle from the adults as sky grumbled on, "When i went through mewberty it was the WORST, i literally webbed up EVERYONE! Freaking angel was on his rant and he somehow ended up stuck to the bathroom CEILING!!".

Luna snorted, "Stuck to your bathroom ceiling?". Sky groaned even further, "It gets weirder when you find out judas got stuck to him as well until my mewberty ended. At least landon and mason got it easy, just being stuck in the hallway. Judas got stuck with ANGEL". Luna crossed her arms, "When you're about to have mewberty, you're supposed to do it in a controlled environment you know? All alone, safe room, doors locked. Then she looked to the adults before correcting herself, well, as i'm told at least.".

"Hey, when mewberty catches you off guard, there's not a ton you can do about it!", luna smirked, "I can only assume the boys all were a little freaked based on your expression.". The princess just looked like she wanted to hide in her hat, tugging it over her head. "Like, how would you react when you wake up to find all your friends were traumatized as a giant bug you traps them to walls and refuses to let you out of their sight!? It took a month before mason could approach me normally again!".

"You'll do fine sky.", the former queen sipped her tea, "Once you figure out your form you won't have to worry about attacking anyone, you'll be able to do wandless magic. Can't say I can quite do the same, besides, i'm sure your form will be lovely sky.". The table was silent for a minute as the waiter came in and brought their orders, which allowed them to change the subject from something other then her embarrassing mewberty awhile back.

It sure wiped the smell off luna's face, as the soup, though not as bad as other things on the menu, was very much full of things mewmans did not commonly eat.

Mushrooms, some insects, and a few other thing that made her wince.

Sky though, took a bite and found herself actually kinda liking it. Then again, it might have to do with the fact she had eaten with the lucitors countless times so she may be more immune to stranger foods then luna was just for being friends with them. Luna hadn't even taken a bite yet, despite sky sorta telling her it wasn't that bad. Sky could hear luna's hunger and grabbed her straw, blowing the wrapping at her. The blonde shot her a dirty look but her stomach must have got the best of her as she grabbed a spoon.

And went for the corn.

Well, it was a start.

-

Tom had been gone a few hours, almost making the experience in the bunker all the more uncomfortable. The worries of the kids weren't helped as marco left soon after, mask on and magic and sword at hand. This left judas and technically his grandparents in charge. Though some of the members looked worried, landon and judas seemed more then confident in their parents returning. Relaxing back on the sofas in wait for the king and queen to come back with any news they may of gotten.

It was normal for the boys to be a bit anxious when their parents left for stuff like this, as would be for any child. But over time they started to relax, comforting each other and reassuring themselves that things will be fine and they were only jumping to the worst of conclusions. The older sons took it better though, as they'd seen enough of their parents getting into scrapes more then anybody. Marco still kept their sword in their bedroom just in case.

Mason looked a little more nervous though, perhaps he hadn't been nearly as used to his parents running off to handle threats and leaving him behind in this manner. His wings were wrapped around him and he seemed lost in his thoughts, judas reached over to reassure him as best as possible as the wait continued. Sunny and Galexia were still trying to make some light of the new situation, drawing cute things and such, hoping to cheer everyone up though it didn't seem to be doing much good.

Galexia had been filling her small book with drawing after drawing, guess ideas just came her her naturally, even when it tougher situations where sometimes it's hard to be creative. Landon sure seemed bored, fiddling with his violin but clearly wanting to go back to texting his crush. Part of it maybe because he really did start to feel confident in himself to maybe actually make a friend, but also maybe because he just wanted to ignore his family a bit more.

Typical landon though, not wanting to be here.

The boredom crept in and judas eyed his grandfolks, who had managed to stop freaking out and were pacing at the far end of the room. It was probably killing them to be forced in this safe room instead of going out there to be with their son and their in-law. Judas reverted his attention back to the group if kids, looking for something to try and cure their current boredom. "So, what do you girls like to do? I mean, for hobbies? Well i think lexi makes hers very clear but what about you guys? We could all share to pass the time.".

Sunny seemed to appreciate his efforts to try and ease the tension and replied, hoping to get other on the bandwagon. "Well, I like to train, and sing, and I always just loved acting! I always liked to practice in mirrors or to my little brother. Plus it helps me in real life too!". Attention was then moved to Celeste, who grumbled, "I used to work on vehicles with my dad, but mainly I cut wood, so is that a hobby? I used to just..I dunno, sit on the roof and just cut up little pieces of wood....it's just something I do when i'm bored.".

"Ever make anything out of the wood?".

"Sharper sticks.", she answered plainly.

Landon only snorted at her, "Well, at least you're prepared for a vampire attack.". That seemed to get a bit of a smile out of everyone as landon made himself a bit more comfortable in the hoodie he was wearing, clearly a very recognizable one to Celeste though she still choose not to say anything about it. The oldest brother looked at her before looking at landon and held his youngest brother close in order to make him feel just a bit safer, "Mom gave him that hoodie, landon wears it all the time.".

"Not ALL the time!", the pink boy corrected, "I just....like wearing it. I mean, you wear barrettes all the time and sky never goes anywhere without one of her silly hats, so i don't know what's weird about me wearing mom's old hoodie. I'm sure mason's hat is WAY dirtier.". Judas ruffled mason's hair, "I think we all know mason in general is just WAY dirtier! Look at this little scruffball! He might as well live in the dirt at this rate! No wonder mom and dad had to bathe him so much when he was even younger!".

"HEY!!", Mason grumbled, "A little dirt is perfectly fine!". His wings stretched out and he crossed his arms, "You all outta help out in my garden more! It might do you guys a ton of good! All the nice fresh air and the green, not to mention my plants love company!". Judas patted his brother's head, "Maybe later mason, we aren't going to be able to do much in here.". Mason looked to the girls instead, "How about you guys? I think my bloodflowers are finally blooming!".

Judas and Landon exchanged looks, acting fast, "Mason, i'm sure the girls might have some other things to take care of-". Mason tugged his arm though, "Nah, we all just played some games together when the guards got us, they don't seem busy.". His older brothers shared looks again, now more concerned knowing he'd been with them. Sunny took note and butted in, "It's ok guys, we were having fun! Nothing to worry about, mason is so fun!".

Judas still looked nervous but it didn't seem mason caught on to anything suspicious so at least that was a relief, Mason seemed pleased to know he made some new friends, sticking his tongue out playfullly. He was 13, but he was still a little baby. "I got my garden as a birthday present when i was 8! The place was so dead but then it got bigger and bigger and bigger! Now it's literally a jungle! It was the perfect place to play hide and seek around here!".

"Was?".

"You gotta watch where you step now, some plants are nicer then others.".

"Yeah no kidding.", Celeste grumbled from where she sat, "I was almost killed by one myself! It's bad enough you guys are surrounded by lava and pointy rocks everywhere you go, now you guys have a garden of killed plants? Are you guys trying to die?". That seemed to get a laugh from everyone as the oldest lucitor spoke, "Well no, but what do you expect when we live in a deathtrap like the UNDERWORLD? Though to be fair, at least demons are adapted to our environment, dying up above is much scarier and unpredictable.".

"How so?", the brunette looked skeptic.

"Think of it this way, demons can swim in lava normally because we've adapted to that, we have harder skin then other beings. Well, that's with most demons, who knows with us three. But anyway when you go up to mewni, sure you can adapt to killer plants of their own and awful weather by learning to survive. But can you predict your queen going rampant and causing mass destruction? Can you predict being under attack by another kingdom close by? The underworld in itself is run by one kingdom and a few smaller ones and even though well....our ancestors are kinda scary, we've never been awe powerful as the queens of mewni. And they can blow up entire dimensions just from dipping down, that's some scary stuff".

"Didn't one of your ancestors pull down half of the butterfly kingdom into the underworld once?".

"Still less scary then blowing up am entire dimension out of anger."

He was being entirely serious, brows furrowed, "Demons are powerful, we can do extraordinary things, but there's a reason we never once pitted ourselves against the butterfly people. Their queen is never someone to cross, where there's a will there's a way. Monsters wouldn't have been in the bad state they were unless the queens had a way of fighting back and destroying them the way they did. Even when the monsters were starting to take back, the queens still find a way...", he sighed, "Like teaming up with us......putting our strength together".

He sighed, lost in sad thoughts, "We don't have the best record with monsters either, it's why we're so desperate to fix things. The sad part for us is monsters and mewmans being friends is still a new thing and not everyone is comfortable with it yet...". He hugged his younger brother closer, "Sometimes even other monsters aren't ready for it yet, I think you can tell me and my brothers aren't exactly <i><b>brimming </b></i>with friends despite being mewni royalty."

Sunny frowned at that last comment, "Yeah, I know how that feels....it's ok though, things get better in time right?".  Everyone in the room seemed a tad somber but nodded as the doors swung open, thankfully a tall purple skinned demon and a tanned human with a mole stepped in, looking perfectly unharmed. However, they didn't look very happy either, followed by the rest of the search team as they looked to their kids, "No trace of anyone, someone broke in and there's somehow no trace of them."

Marco sighed, wrapping an arm around tom, "We're safe to leave but we're going to have to check our security and figure out how this guy even manged to sneak in. If this guy could get in, much worse could get in as well, and that's not a good sign.". Tom took a breath, "At least the thief only got away with something small, nothing too important. We're having the castle staff searched and checked now just in case, but we all are to be under guard for at least the rest of the day.".

"Don't we already have guards? there's always someone sitting outside of our door as is.", Celeste stood up, the adults diverting their attention fully on her. "At this point we might as well stay in here, you can't promise us freedom and still chain us up. "Look if we have to stay here for the night, it's fine, whatever. I think we can live with it if it means not being attacked by some freak thief.". The adults exchanged looks and shrugged, "Fair enough, we just didn't want to force you to stay here.".

"Well I kinda wanna go, I have someone to call!", Landon stood up now, compact in hand. He walked out quickly, a couple of guards following behind as he left the safe room and the rest of the group. Marco took on look at tom's worried face and kissed his cheek, "I'll keep an eye on him, ok?". Marco followed after their son and tom seemed to feel a little reassured, though that didn't last long as his folks made their way over. No doubt they were still angry and on edge.

He could still see it in their faces.

"Thomas, what happened, did you catch the culprit?", Dave crossed his arms, tapping his foot and looking as though ready to punch someone. "No dad, we didn't, whoever broke in seems to have gotten away and covered up their tracks so we couldn't find them. We're still looking into it bur for right now it appears we're out of luck, sorry.". Dave didn't seem to be happy with that answer, no doubt if he were still king he'd be ruthless in finding the culprit.

"Sorry is not good enough tom! The underworld has NEVER had something like this happen for hundreds of years!", he was clearly upset, though his anger mostly seemed to come from the fact of what the thief COULD have done by getting in then him getting in in general. "Thomas, no one has ever managed to get into lucitor castle like this! Now is time to worry! You know full well our magic can't just be foiled so easily, someone had to have known what they were doing!."

"Yeah, i KNOW dad!", Tom grumbled, "I'm doing the best i can, ok? This was all so sudden today and right now i'm just thankful no one got hurt more then anything. Like it or not we're going to have to worry about finding this guy later, he was too smart for us this time around, and we'll have to make sure he never gets back in again. Dad, we'll be fine, hopefully. The plus side at least is we're all safe and he took nothing of any real value anyway.".

The large demon growled and tom smiled at her mom.

"Mom, I promise, we'll find the guy...eventually, we're too smart for him, remember?", he wrapped his arms around his mother's hand and hugged it, C'mon, let's not freak out just yet, it's not the end of world for now. He can't have gotten far.". Judas took a look at his father trying to comfort his grandfolks and found himself stepping in, getting up and off the couch to approached his family. "Dad's right, it's clear the guy had been predicting some of our moves, but we can still beat the thief at their game."

His grandfolks sighed, "We're heading back out thomas, we want a good look ourselves, we'll speak to you soon.". The two stepped aside and the doors opened for them as they left, the door shutting behind him and leaving tom with the rest of the kids. "I'm very sorry about you kids being worried about us, and well, my parents. My parents are known to get a bit...emotional when something bothers them, especially when it comes to the kingdom being attacked or us being put in danger....don't worry, we'll sort things out.".

He took a seat on one of the couches, crossing his arms, his sons looking at him with a bit of concern that maybe he would burn something. However tom seemed a bit cooler then he normally should, he eyes his sons and reassured them. "I'm not angry, just worried, I promise. Just like judas said, we'll get the jump on him, our family has taken out way more threatening people then this!". He let out another breath he didn't know he was holding, "I'm sorry we scared you kids."

"Dad, it's fine, we know you guys got this.", Judas put a hand on his dad's shoulder, "It was just some thief, not an evil creature! No way that guy was ever going to lay a hand on you.". Tom nodded, "I just hate failing, when the kingdom hears we had a break in I don't know what they'll think! Will they be scared? Angry? Those guys always feel as though they want a good reason to hate me and what kinda king am I going to look like for losing a magical artifact so easily?".

"Dad, c'mon, they won't think that much of it. Just think how cool it'll be when you get it back!", Tom nodded, "Yeah, you're right, you get a lot from your mom you know that right?". His tail slinked out of his jeans as a smile spread upon his face, "Alright, I think that's enough freaking out for now anyway. Any of you kids feel like playing some ping pong down here?". Celeste groaned as every other person jumped up with excitement, maybe she should've reconsidered leaving.

-

Landon hung up from his call, sighing as he put the compact back in his hoodie pockets and taking a seat on one of the major staircases and yawning. Great, guess dinner was a bit of a bust with the staff being under investigation and the rest of the family deciding safe room life was apparently the best option. Guess Celeste had more reasoning though, he just wanted time alone to talk to someone and she had really no one else to talk to, she had less of a reason to leave.

But now he didn't know what to do with himself until Bernard texted him back.

And going back might make him just look kinda silly, he was already uncomfortable enough with the guards on his back, listening in on his conversation no doubt.

"Landon, you feeling ok?".

The boy almost jumped when marco came in, waving off the guards to head maybe into the next room. They didn't seem too happy about leaving the royal family out of their sight but marco's sterner face seemed to make them move. They shuffled off as landon turned his head and threw the hoodie over it when his mother sat next to him. Marco was smiling at the sight of their son, and landon knew that look, that teasing and playful look they gave when they knew something was up.

"Glad you finally called him by the way, you seem a lot more cheerful lately.".

Landon mumbled, "Mom, please don't creep up on me like that....". Marco wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him into a semi-hug, "It's good to see you too....". Landon didn't generate much of a response as marco kissed their son's forehead. "I'm proud of you for making so many friends recently.", landon blushed harder, "You make it sound like I was never good at making friends.". Marco gave their son a look and landon groaned, "Ok fine, I suck with people, you don't have to rub it in."

"Nothing to be ashamed of, me and your father weren't exactly the most "popular" people either, seems to be a family thing.", landon tried to hide in his hoodie a little as marco took their arm off of him, "Don't think you can't talk to us about any of this, we know you want to.". Landon sat his head on top of his knees, "What if he comes over is gets grossed out by me? I mean, i know you got used to the underworld but I dunno if he will, he might just think i'm not worth it...".

"Is that one of the reasons you're talking to him so much, you're worried he won't like you?".

Landon was silent.

"Landon, you're a charming and friendly young man, that boy would not want to spend so much time with you if he didn't like you already.", a hand reached up and petted the soft pink hair, avoiding the boy's stubby horns, "Don't worry so much, we'll make sure not to embarrass you in front of your new friend.". The boy was still unconvinced and his mother sighed, "Hey, you know how I met your father?". Landon shot her a look in return, "You chopped off his arm, yep, been hearing that one since I was four.".

"Yes, well, the point i'm trying to make is. Me and Tom had a rough start if anything, we didn't trust each other or even considered maybe making friends until we started talking and stuff. And it's like, if me and tom can be married to this day despite our rocky start, your and your friend will be just fine . You both had a much better start then we ever did and he seems really nice.". Landon only huffed and brushed some of his hair from his third eye, "Doesn't mean I won't screw it up....".

"Why do you think you'll screw it up...?"

"Cause people don't like me....".

He felt his mom kiss his face again, but he held no reaction to it, "C'mon you know how I am, everyone wants to see judas or mason, not me, i'm just their grumpy stick in the mud brother.". He tugged the hoodie to him closer, "I know you're going to say that's not true and i'm being too hard on myself but I know you see it......i'm that sibling everyone forgets. Not even all the jerks that go on about judas or mason even remember that I exist.".

"Hijo, you're a very talented musician and you know it, ALL of us know it. I know it's easier to look at what you don't have then what you do have but you are no failure. All I see is my little talented demon, all of you are special in my eyes.". The boy didn't entirely seem to be buying it though, in fact he looked like he might cry, "Mom, what if bernard DOES stop wanting to spend time with me, what If I invite him over and he freaks out too much or something?."

"Then he doesn't deserve someone as nice as you anyway.".

He slowly nodded, wiping his tears on the old hoodie, "Thanks mom....sorry, i just , i kinda y'know......". He hated acting like this but his mom had seen him cry more then anyone anyway, always reassuring him, always calming him down. They had become a natural at it after being with tom for so long that they were a pro. The human patted their son gently and smiled as he started to smile a little, "Hey, if that boy ever breaks your heart, me and your papa will make sure to maybe give him a little scare."

"MOM!"

"I'm just teasing you, but hey, you're always allowed to talk to me if you need it...i have my own history with embarrassing crushes.", landon snorted, "Don't tell me you're about to go into that sappy love story about you and dad again.". Marco was bemused, "I don't know if I'd call all the times we got angry at each other and fought "Sappy", but you do you.". Marco stood up, "Hey, interested in maybe going to check up on lucy or something before we go join the others?".

Landon stood up quickly before realizing how eager that made him look, he quickly blushed before trying to counteract it ."Yeah, uh...yeah sure, I can..",, marco pullede him close as they walked off, petting their son's head happily. "That's my special boy...", Landon blushed and grumbled under his breath, "MOM....".

-

Eating the soup was surprisingly the easy part. Though Sky wished she had a proper recording system to catch the look on luna's face as she forced herself to eat the soup She did eat it too, and sky could not tell if she liked it or hated it based on her expression. For all sky knew she was just being polite to Katrina. However, finishing their food and then some dessert after, ice cream, meant that it was time to start heading out. And more specifically, meant that it may be awhile till sky saw katrina again.

Eclipsa even looked saddened by this fact, but hopeful for another visit like this again in the near future.

They packed their things and luna gave sky a look of clear annoyance, though for the food or for the teasing sky had done earlier it was hard to tell. But it was clear she wanted a word with sky when everyone was out of earshot. Eclipsa hugged Katrina and Katrina happily shook hands with luna, though Katrina was far more strong and it showed based on how luna felt her hand afterwards. It was sky's turn to say goodbye and to her surprise katrina pulled her in close to speak to her quietly.

"Sky, I have a gift for you."

The frog woman held out something sky did not recognize at first, but then noticed it was a...pendent?

"When you need me, you'll be able to find me, stay safe out there blue girl".

"Wait, but, this is a necklace? Ho-".

Katrina hugged sky tightly, "You'll see, bye sky, see you soon. Tell Judas hello for me, and i promise i'll make it to his crowning.". The woman left quickly and before sky could react, her group was ushering her to move on so they could go back to the castle. Sky sighed and followed suit, putting the pendent on in the meantime. Guess she'd had to figure it out later with the rest of her group. The walk home was rather unexciting, trenching through the mud and green as always, though sky could'nt help but feel like someone was watching them out here.

Then again, the forest was fun of critters, anything could be watching them.

She stuck a little closer to the group as they approached the castle doors and returned back home.

Eclipsa said her goodbyes as she head back up to her tower, finally giving the girls the freedom to talk to each other in private as they made their way to sky's bedroom. Sky looking over her texts from judas and sighing, being in their safe house wasn't a god sign, as if things weren't scary enough. Luna took a sneak peak of the compact herself and put her hand to her chin, "Break in huh? That sounds like a thing we should dig a little into, don't you think?".

"What, you think it has to do with...you know?", Luna simply snorted at her as if she was being silly. "Well of course I do, at this point i'm suspicious of anything that may be going wrong around here! Maybe the thief is the same person responsible for this mess and they're after something to destroy us.". Sky was about to say that maybe she was reaching to conclusions too soon but luna seemed determined, she turned to sky with a stern look on her face.

"We should go and investigate, before your mothers call you for dinner.", the princess didn't quiet seem to think that was a good idea herself based on her face. "Investigate the lucitor's current crime scene? Are we not trying to be stealthy anymore? We take one step in there and we're done for! Especially ME!!". The girl held her hands out in front of her, "That's not what I meant, judas is your friend, we go there as friends and he can tell us the details and give us any additional info without us looking suspicious. He may even give us access to the scene himself.".

"We won't look suspicious for asking so many questions about the crime scene? What?", the blonde's hands landed on her hips, "No, we won't look suspicious for talking to a friend, walking into the actual crime scene all by ourselves would be stupid if we had no permission and the investigation was seriously underway!". Sky grumbled, "That's what I said!", luna folded her arms once again, looking down upon the girl. "Don't you get into a lot of "Situations"? How does that even come about if you're so resilient to avoid getting into trouble at all?".

"Well normally when we end up in "Situations", It's usually me trying to do something good, and just not having the best kinda result, or I may of done something stupid but <i><b>anyways</b></i>. Like, I didn't <b><i>want </i></b>to deal with dangerous criminals, I just ended up doing so cause they tried to kidnap jude and me and we had to kinda take them out or i made a mistake and things got out of hand." Luna raised an eyebrow as sky grumbled, "I mean, yeah, judas did most of the fighting, but I still helped! Or that time I wanted to get my mom something cool and me and jude got lost in the woods for a bit, almost fought what we thought was a beast trying to eat us.".

Sky's foot tapped the ground, "Jude is usually dragged in cause i can't always handle everything by myself...I can't, i can barely do any magic, not to mention how useless every mewman ever thinks I am! Judas is cursed, but he's at least more capable then me at times, we're more capable together." Luna was about to say something when she heard someone around the corner, she tugged sky's arm and they headed into sky's room, talking out here was a bad idea, especially with a queen wandering in the walls.

The door was shut and locked behind then and sky collapsed on her bed,"I'm not some super hero you know, I do things cause I feel like i HAVE to."

Luna leaned against the door," Regardless of whether you are or not, you don't need to be one to help us. Sky, you are the princess of this dimension, as far as everyone else is concerned, we're peasants you met . As the princess you have an advantage over the rest of us, you can say and do things we can't. We need you, whether you think you need someone like judas to help you or not. So maybe you aren't some superstar who breaks all the rules like our mom was, but surviving against dangerous criminals like that at all is still rather impressive".

"You think so?".

"Considering what you did in the woods earlier, i have a hard time believing judas did everything, you appear to have your own clever benefits . You may not always ask for what happens to you, but you seem to know quite how to hold you own if you try hard enough to do so as far as I'm concerned.", the girl on the bed sat up,"You're weird luna, one second you'll be angry with me, the next second you'll be complimenting me as if you didn't say anything potentially rude to me just a few minutes beforehand." 

"Well we won't get anywhere if we put ourselves down and stop trying to escape. Honestly, it's probably BETTER you don't go looking for trouble, those who go looking for trouble usually find more then then they bargained for .", she rubbed her hands together, "We'll be cautious, but we won't get anywhere without doing something.". Sky didn't seem reassured but luna nodded to her ring, her disguised wand, "At worst we can mind erase them, but if some creep is up to something we NEED to know, and you're higher up then me here.".

"Yeah but What will happen if I get in MORE serious trouble, the commission might-".

"The commission has no real dirt on you, those jerks would be reaching to call the princess some kinda criminal for just talking to the prince of an alliance kingdom. Being princess means to be concerned with the matters of your friends and to to be made aware of current issues is it not? The commission might have you under suspicion but they have no real evidence against you. We're just going to talk to your friend, and ask him about the situation in person, does that make you feel better?".

"But you were worried about them before weren't you?".

"I was worried about them because they have the power to frame you if they could, but so far there's nothing they can really use against you. And with us by your side, i feel like if worst came to worst, we would all be able to back you up with proof. The archives was a mess, but, no trace of you was left behind. They ASSUMED you did it, I admit to my worry, but, time has passed and they have done nothing, suspicious or not if we continue to be smart, you will continue to be innocent."

Sky bit her lip, the high commission only freaked her out so much because of just how powerful they could be. But yeah, luna wasn't exactly wrong, not to mention her mom would totally be on her side anyways. "I will go, with or without you, if you're that concerned you can stay here, but i'm going. I'm not losing any chance i get to figure this all out and go home.". She pulled out some royal dimensional scissors, ones handed to knights for missions, "You coming?".

Sky felt her chest stop before she gave in and sat up, making sure she had everything before joining luna.

"This is revenge for the soup right?".

"No, do you want it to be though?", luna cut open the portal needed and stepped in before sky, who grumbled as she followed closely behind.

-

Ping pong was WAY more fun with multiple teams of people, now they were allowed to have three on each team. Tom of course chose the team with his two sons, but the girls seemed to hold their own rather well, mostly sunny. Tom even asked her where she learned her skills from and of course she said her father taught her. Judas couldn't help but sorta roll his eyes and celeste even seemed to follow suit, At least tom didn't suspect anything though he did wonder if he could meet this "Father" of hers someday.

Her reply?

"Don't worry, you will, in fact you probably already have."

Leaving the poor king confused as to what she meant as she scored some extra points on them.

Celeste had a good arm on her too, though lexi was both in and out of the game at multiple times. Sometimes she wandered off, other times she suddenly showed up and saved them from losing the ball out or nowhere, it was like she had on and off superpowers. Tom didn't seemed to question it though, though it's very likely in all his time he'd seen much crazier and colorful people then galexia running around anyways. Especially as the king of a wide cast of demons.

At least the situation allowed them to cool down from the incident for the time being, marco and landon were still out and despite some worried tom easily dismissed it. "Marco and landon like to hang out at times, if something happened, trust me, we'll know.". Tom got freaked at times but if there was anything he was confident in, it was his spouse taking care of themselves, years of adventures with them seemed to make him trust marco more then anything.

The boys sure knew, considering how often their parents used to tell them stories when they were very little about them meeting, their first date, the defeat of countless villains, it was the stories that used to make them want to encounter dangerous beings. Though growing up now, and dealing with them, especially if you were judas, he really did miss that kinda innocence and unknowing. Nowadays he was begging for more quiet moments then exciting ones, especially when he was dealing with enough as is WITHOUT being in danger.

Kinda like this game, he still felt bad the last game his dad suggested got called off fast cause everyone was too eager to go to bed instead. But this seemed to make up for it, even if the whole family wasn't here to play. His father was a ping pong champion after all, and it showed well, as he was the one who scored the most points for his own team. No powers required. The king was in his element and it was clear when he wasn't being worried, angry or serious, he was incredibly playful.

They took a break in the middle, mostly as an excuse for tom to get some juice and use the bathroom. Using his powers to make things much easier, even despite the short distance he was still using his fire powers to hover his way where he needed. Celeste didn't seem to find him nearly as entertaining as the others did, and scoffed at him, judas giving her a curious eyebrow, "Y'know, i know in his verse your dad married him, but you don't have to treat him that way.".

"Don't pretend you understand how i feel", she snapped back, "You have no idea what kinda stuff I deal with back home.". Judas's brows furrowed, "Still, my dad took you in, he's happy to have you here and hang out with you and sunny. Whatever my dad may be where you come from, that's not who he is here.". Celeste turned her head and moved away from him, honestly judas had never asked about what celeste's world was like, sunny and lexi seemed happy to share but luna was secretive and celeste sounded as though she hated talking about it.

I mean, his dad couldn't really be THAT bad where she came from, right? Though she still seemed to be more bothered by marco then tom, maybe she had a rocky relationship with her father back home? That seemed the most likely cause though there had to be more to it then that. Judas's fangs pricked his lips, maybe he could have landon ask her. Though they still had their moments, celeste at least seemed to find landon rather enjoyable to talk to, maybe it had to do with their shared sour looks on the world.

Figures they of everyone would get along, even if it took some time for them to actually talk to each other.

Judas waited as the rest of the kids enjoyed their juice when the doors started to open. He was sure it would be his mother and maybe landon but instead he found a guard followed by two very familiar girls , one being blindfolded as to not show her the location of the safe room. Guess luna was suspicious enough for the guards to take this kinda precaution, though she didn't seem happy about it. The only reason the girls weren't given this treatment is they were protected guests, luna was a stranger, and this was what strangers got, "Prince Lucitor, Princess Butterfly and her..."Friend", are here for you.".

Judas waved them off, "Thanks, i'll take it from here, uh, you can remove her blindfold. She's fine, promise.". The guards obeyed and the doors locked behind them, Luna blinking around at the room with a approving sigh followed by some looks that said she wasn't nearly as impressed. "Safe rooms you know should take more time into being "Safe", then being fun y'know?". Judas snorted, "Hey, this place is magically protected by spells so secretive only we know of them, it's safer then it looks.".

"I'll take your word for it.".

"What are you two doing here anyway? You had to have gotten my texts.", Luna nodded to sky, "Your texts are why we are here....". A cough was heard and Luna turned her head to notice the other kids in the room, who were all staring at her. Luna took a hold of the boy and sky's arms and moved them away, "Pardon me, we need to speak.". Moving them to a corner, Luna unhanded them and let out a sigh, "What happened, what did they take?".

"Whoa whoa, even I haven't been told that yet, what's going on?", he looked to his friend, who sighed. "Luna's just worried that maybe our uh..."Special someone" might of been the same person who broke in, so we kinda came to maybe just see what we could get?". Judas crossed his arms, biting his lips, "Sorry, I'm currently out of the loop myself, you'll have to ask my parents if anything, but the most important thing is the guy was clever enough to keep Lucy from tracking them.".

"They were prepared for Lucy? She has THREE HEADS! She's got more of a sniffer on her then normal dogs!", her friend nodded with her, "I know, it's why my folks got a little on edge, not only did they know how to get past our defenses, but past our dog too? They're doing a sweep of the castle and questioning the servants. I assume they had you both supremely checked before you were allowed in here?". Luna's face said it all, "your guards are a little too handsy for my taste, though they were much rougher with me then your friend here.".

"Well, like you said earlier, i'm the princess, I got some power here.", sky smiled, "The high commission and butterfly kingdom might be iffy with me at times, but the underworld always kinda seemed to like me, probably because king and queen lucitor would be upset if they didn't.". She stuck out her tongue, "Plus I've been in here before, when you're in good relations with the royals and well...", she nodded to Judas, "-Future royals, you're trusted with more of this.".

"We're getting a bit off topic here....", the blonde turned to the demon, going eye to eye with him as they were almost the same height, "You sure you don't know much else about this?". He shook his head, "Honest, most stuff I even found out came from my folks, they know more about it then anyone. And i swear to god if yo suspect them in any of this.". Sky giggled, "Oh trust me, she probably did, my mom is already on that list, right next to eclipsa, and probably half the other people in this castle. Heh, we're probably on there somewhere too.".

"Take this seriously, you can't trust everyone, even friends sometimes."

"We <i><b>are </b></i>taking it seriously, and we know our folks aren't responsible for this mess. We don't always agree with our parents and sky well....has issues with her mom.", sky show Judas a dirty look as he kept talking, "But our parents are not this irresponsible, be suspicious of them all you want but they have nothing to do with this. If they wanted to hurt your or something they would've done so already.". It was clear Luna was not fond of being talked down to , she was more then used to being the one giving the orders and being treated as an adult then an irresponsible child.

"Judas, you seem to be one of the most responsible people I've met since I got stuck here. You clearly want to be the best you can and make everyone happy, but being a leader means making tough choices, if your folks did something bad, would you hold them responsible?". He looked taken aback, "This has nothing to do with our conversation luna, I told you, our parents are to be left out of this! We have much more likely targets to keep an eye on for now.".

"You didn't answer my question.".

"What happened to not getting off topic?".

Sky, sensing the tension quickly and noticing their voices were getting the attention of the others, stepped in between the pair. "Guys, c'mon now, this REALLY isn't a good time to be at each other's throats. Sorry for like, butting in Jude, we'll just-". But Luna didn't listen, "Sky, I told you you should take this seriously, being a good leader means to consider <i><b>all </b></i>outcomes." Judas was clearly not getting any better himself and sky was worried what could happen if she didn't break this soon, "You can't just accuse everyone you see! You want us to help you understand this new universe but won't even take our word on our folks!".

"GUYS!"

The two turned to sky, who calmed herself down with some steady breaths. "Look, you're both right!", shy looked between the both of them, "You're right because yeah, we can't always trust everyone, but you're also supposed to trust us! Look, we can't get at each other's throats if we wanna do anything, we need to work together." She stared at Luna, "You're free to kinda think what you think but me and Judas are sticking to what we believe, ok? Can we just leave it at that? We have an audience."

Luna noticed the kids and sighed, "Fine, we'll leave it there. But I still want more on what happened.". Before they could say anymore a door opened and Tom re-entered the room from the bathroom. Surprised at the sight of two new guests in his home, and that's when judas realized after all this time his father had really not seen Luna before. "Dad! Uh, sorry, sky came over to check on us and she brought her friend, Luna here is er.....a knight in training!".

Tom blinked at her before welcoming her and smiling, luna looking him over as the demon gave sky a hug. "Good to see you princess, but you didn't have to worry about us so much! We're all just fine, safe and sound. Are your mothers here too?". Sky shook her head, "Just me and luna, is it uh...cool if you tell us what happened. Like, what did the guy steal?". Tom reassured them, "It was nothing important, trust me, but i'm afraid we had a supposed break in and that put all of us on edge tonight.".

"Wait, there's really nothing else to it?".

Tom shook his head, "Not much else besides the guy being smart enough to keep us from tracking him with lucy. No trace of him, not even finger prints, don't worry your heads though, we're not done yet. Right now, while you're here, might as well join the fun! We'll be having dinner in here, oh, and marco and landon are out if you're looking for them. We're allowed out of here with an escort until further notice, though marco could honestly kick anyone's but.".

He put his hands on his hips, "We were in the midst of a ping pong game, you girls could play with us if you like?". But Luna shook her head, "It's fine, we're good, you can continue with your game.". Tom eyed her, "That's fine, though just telling you, the room that got broken into? It's swarming with guards right now doing their best to figure out what they can and make sure the guy doesn't come back. ". Luna looked unphased though she knew this meant tom was suspicious of her.

The feeling was mutual though.

Judas wrapped an arm around his suspicious father though, "It's ok dad, luna here, she's just not much for those kinda activities. She can be a bit of a stick in the mud sometimes." . The boy winked at luna, who furrowed her brows at him. Sky couldn't help but snicker, judas could be such a mom at times or be moody and anxious, but he was no stranger to being a smartass when he felt like it. And boy he wanted to get back at luna after what just happened.

"Hey, I could easily take all of you all! But I have no reason to! I-I.....", but found she really couldn't finished that sentence. Jude was smirking at her and she looked ticked, "You know what, fine, i'll play, but not as teams, i'll play against this little troll.". Sky and Tom exchanged looks, tom wondering if there was something he was missing here, but judas didn't seem to mind the challenge, in fact he was probably counting on it. "Fine, I can do that, but you'll just have to wait for us to finish first.", he turned around and smiled as he headed back to the other kids, tom following him, still looking mighty curious.

"Ok, have you actually played ping pong before or-?", sky put a hand on her hips and looked at Luna half amused, half thinking she was probably crazy. Luna shrugged, "It's fairly simple, I just gotta have precise aim and reflexes, which i already do.". That wasn't exactly the answer sky was going for though, and her face dripped with skepticism. "You know, knowing how to play matters too, you are facing a lucitor after all, and a lucitor can and will kick your butt in ping pong.".

Luna gave her a dirty look and sky couldn't help but snort, "Fine fine, whatever. You know Jude is a nice guy, but that doesn't mean he's void of being a smirky jerk when he feels like it. He likes to tease people sometimes for fun, you're only just playing into his game.". She twiddled her fingers, eyeing off to the side, "Just don't think when he beats you neither of us will let it go, we'e gonna tease you about it as long as you're stuck in this universe.".

"Your friend is clever and he'll make a good king, but forgive me if I kinda wanna punch him in his teeth for a second.". Sky wagged her finger at her, "Tsk tsk, what happened to being a responsible queen now? Responsible queens don't typically think about beating up other royals.". Luna shot back, "I'll be fine, sky<i><b>wynne </b></i>was it? Or purple marked eclipsa?". Sky turned around to join the others, "Oh don't even try to start with that one, you're gonna need all the support you can get.".

-

Honestly, Luna going from wanting to figure out a crime scene to wanting to beat Judas in a game sounded ridiculous for Luna. But I guess she didn't have much of a choice, and at least this might raises suspicion off of her from King Lucitor. She was instead busy analyzing Judas's movements as the game came to a close between the teams. As though this would somehow prepare her to beat him in the game, though luna could tell what sky was thinking as she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm thinking if I challenge him, I may be allowed to get the info I need."

Sky shook her head to herself, "You don't honestly believe that do you? Like, look, you're way more competent then to think someone doing something like this is gonna lead to anything huge!". Luna shook her head, "Not that, I need the lucitor's favor if I want to keep myself from being suspicious, and a sport he likes is a quick way to bond. I can already tell your king lucitor is currently not a fan of me, and me leaving would not be a good idea, i need to avoid suspicion. Besides, that's where you come in.". Sky raised an eyebrow at the girl as she explained, "While I'm distracting them, I want you to go and check the crime scene yourself."

Oh, so luna wasn't <i><b>just </b></i>doing this to mess with judas, there was a plan attached.

Great.

"Wait, what?".

"You heard me.", she tried to be as quiet as possible, "As princess of mewni and friend of the lucitors you're the best set to go down there yourself, king lucitor would never let me set a foot in there but you have a better excuse.". Sky felt the girl tug her arm, "Say you're going to go find your friend, landon, then head off to check out the place. Yes, there may be guards, but you have magic, you can use it to get past them and figure out what was stolen.".

She continued before sky could protest, "Remember earlier? The high commission has nothing on you. And we need to know what's going on in there, c'mon, you can do it.". Sky stared at the floor before sighing, "Fine, but you owe me big time for this. I could be in serious trouble for wandering over there so soon.". Luna nodded to the wand, "Just use your wand, in fact, use a spell of skywynne's. "Easy peasy time freezy", that way they won't even know you were there. Father time can handle it afterwards.".

"Girls? If you're done whispering i believe someone challenged my son to a game. "

Luna and Sky were startled as King Thomas stood above them, judging by his smile, it seems the outcome of the game they were finishing was clear. Sky wasn't too surprised though, even with their best efforts, the girls were never going to be a match for the lucitors, especially not if lexi kept getting distracted like how she was. Luna stood up, challenging face upon her as she turned to judas, "Well, I hope he doesn't feel too intimidated by me, I tend to have that affect on people.".

"I've been traumatized by a curse for 17 years, it's gonna take a lot more then that to freak me out.", They stared at each other and despite their earlier spat judas was still more bemused then mad, but then again he wasn't one to hold grudges or stay mad at anyone for too long. Luna was tossed a paddle and sky took this as her cue to start moving, "Hey, Mr Lucitor? I'm gonna head out and find landon, I dunno, I think he'd just kinda wanna see this".

"Alright then sky, marco should still be with them, when you find them, tell them team lucitor as won again!", Sky shot him a finger gun and began to leave when tom spoke again, "Wait wait wait wait, one of the guards comes with you, all royals on on guard while they're here for the rest of the night.". He motions for one of the guards to follow sky, much to her dismay, though really? Why would she expect the lucitors during this time to not have her protected?

Her moms would have a fit if anything happened to her on their watch.

Luna and Sky exchanged glances as a guard walked behind sky, door closing swiftly behind.

[taco-night-frenzy]

Crocs and Robbers

Toadette and Goombella, two of New Donk Police Department's (or NDPD) finest.

It's a night in New Donk City like any other when they get the call that a certain crocodile crook is causing crimes. Can they apprehend such a slimy sleazebag? (Spoilers: Probably.)

Fandom: Mario Characters: Goombella, Toadette, Croco Rating: G Mirror Links: AO3 Notes: Think of this as a teaser for a much longer Detective Luigi fic I'm working on that will be based in the same universe as this one, and takes place before it. Thousand Year Door and Mario RPG will be represented most here, but there's going to be some slight references to Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga as well, as that game will play a major part in the longfic that I'll be posting later. Hope you enjoy!

New Donk City moved with its usual hustle and bustle. Neon lights twinkled like the stars in the night sky, or at least Toadette assumed that’s what the stars looked like. Not that she ever saw them here. Toads of every shape and size mingled happily along the sidewalks, with even a few Koopas and Goombas mixed in! Maybe things here in Mushroom District were actually turning around.

“Hey, hey, Toadette!” Goombella yelled, mouthful of shroom crepe, crumbs spilling out with each word. “After our shift, we should totally go shopping! You need some better off-duty clothes, girl! Also, you gotta try this, it’s great!”

“I’m driving!” Toadette complained weakly, but truth be told, she just didn’t want to eat it. It probably wouldn’t look good for a couple of cops to be eating sweets while patrolling. “Plus, I think I dress just fine! It’s comfy! My vest and dress match with my hair, you know?”

“Yeah, but every Toad dresses like that! It’s so basic, y’know?” Goombella completely ignored Toadette’s complaint, holding up the crepe in front of her with her mouth. It wasn’t like she could use her hands.

Toadette tried to mask her expression but felt at least a little heat in her cheeks. To Goombas, mouths were just like their hands. It wasn’t anything weird to them, but it still took some getting used to. Toadette took a tentative bite of it, making sure not to get too close to Goombella’s lips. Sweet creamy vanilla meshed together with light rubbery mushroom, all tied together with a fluffy wrap. It shouldn’t work, but…

“Tastes all right,” Toadette admitted, not exactly a huge fan of mushroom style foods, being a Toad and all. “Is this from Zess T. again? Isn’t she, like, basically holding you ransom for money?”

Neon yellow from a Fire Flower sign hit Goombella’s shocked face, her blonde hair highlighted with red light. “Huh? W-well, I mean, I did step on her contacts… You gotta respect her culinary talents though.”

Toadette frowned. “I don’t like the way she treats you. You’re a cop, you know? People should treat you with respect. Just because you’re not a Toad-”

“She does!” Goombella argued desperately. “Just, um, in her own way. Or else, I don’t think she would have given me this treat.”

Before Toadette could counter with ‘Well you gave her those ingredients to make it!’ a raspy Toad voice screeched out from the radio.

“All units, all units! There is a robbery in progress at Dixie Orphanage over at the intersection on Dixie and Cranky Street! Suspect goes under the name of Croco and is reportedly armed and dangerous!”

“What the heck?”

“What the hell!?” Goombella practically spat out her crepe. “Orphanage? Who the hell robs an orphanage?! I knew Croco was low, but this?!”

Toadette wracked her brain. She should know this one, she really should! But… just in case. “Uh, who is Croco again?”

Goombella shook her head. This kind of thing always came so easily to her. Goombella knew everyone and everyone knew her. Toadette didn’t understand how this could be.

“He’s that purple skinned crocodile! He’s partners with Popple! You know, the self-proclaimed shadow thief? They’re a bunch of jerks who’ll do anything for a quick coin! Apparently, even stealing from an orphanage. Croco’s known for his bombs, so it’s best we keep a safe distance. Also!” Goombella seemed to get really offended at this part. “That freak wears crocodile skin crocs! Can you believe it? Totally messed up, and totally tacky!”

Like always, that was a little more information than Toadette needed, but she appreciated it anyway. Before she could hit the sirens, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She quickly glanced at the message.

Yahoo! Hiya, Toadette! Just lettin’ you know I’m gonna be out late tonight! Gonna go explore some old building by Smithy’s territory! Heard a rich old Boo used to haunt the place, so there’s probably treasure! Don’t call the cops on me if I’m not in time for breakfast at Shimi’s lol. -C. T.

“Eh? Who is it?” Goombella asked anxiously, gobbling the crepe down quickly. She really wanted to hit the siren button.

“Just my brother,” Toadette sighed. “Going out to explore some haunted house by Smithy’s. I’ll call him back later.”

Goombella frowned, the effect less powerful when she had whipped cream around her lips. “Hey, you sure he’ll be okay? That’s not a safe part of the city, y’know?”

Toadette quickly put away her phone. “The Captain’s always fine, you know him. He’s done stupider things. Anyway, we really should get going! I want to show Chief Toadstool we don’t need Mario’s help for everything!”

“Ohmigosh, I know!” Goombella said excitedly, bonking the siren button with glee. Red and blue lights swirled above, and already cars were moving out of their way. “Peach never thinks I can do anything! She always credits you!” She rummaged under her seat.  “Hold on, grabbing the mushroom.”

Grinning, Toadette slammed her foot down on the pedal, deftly weaving through the streets. “I know, I know, the Chief still has a little trouble with Goombas,” Toadette said, drifting left through an intersection, the blaring sirens filling her with adrenaline. “But she’s warming up to you! Honest!”

Goombella hopped back up onto her seat, red speckled mushroom held daintily in her mouth. “Psh, don’t I know it. Even took you a while to trust me.” It was hard to tell what with the world spinning around in flashes of light and sound, but Toadette felt a hint of sadness there. “I’m glad I can help with the Goomba rep though, y’know?” She grinned. “Anyway, you ready to boost, girl?!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With an excited huff, Goombella stuffed the rubbery thing inside a little tube on their dashboard. Instantly, the engines exploded with power, and the exhaust rumbled as their little cop car shot out of the streets and dangerously into the night air.

“Woo ho ho hooo!! Yeah!!” They screamed in unison, barreling towards whatever criminal thought he could cause trouble in their city.

Tires screeched, and car doors slammed. The orphanage was illuminated in the color of justice, red and blue. As per usual, Ted N. Toad was the first to arrive, but also the last to actually do anything. Luckily for Toadette, he had at least set up some police tape and was hooting and hollering at any passersby to stay away.

“What’s the situation, Ted?” Toadette asked the worried looking Toad, hands at her hips.

“H-he’s got the kids and Monster Mama hostage!” Ted said, stumbling over his words. “I-I would have gone in there and handled this myself, but I left my bazooka at home…”

“Sure,” Goombella said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. A very powerful move, considering most of her body was eyes. “You say that every time, Ted.”

Other Toads didn’t take well to Goombella’s sass. “H-hey! I would have! Really! Where’s your bazooka then, huh?”

Goombella didn’t back down to them. Not anymore. Toadette was here. “Don’t need one. Isn’t that right, Toadette?”

Toadette nodded smugly, her hand motioning around the glowing Fire Flower in its holster at her side. Goombella may not have been issued her NDPD (New Donk Police Department) Fire Flower like everyone else, but Toadette would be damned if they’d give her crap about it. A bonk from Goombella hit way harder than a Fire Flower ever would anyway.

“W-well, whatever!” Ted whined, pouty face at full force. “Things are a mess right now. His demands are insane! I have no idea what we should do!”

“What’s he want?” Toadette asked, already afraid to hear the answer.

“A million coins!” Ted cried, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. Are us Toads always like this? Toadette thought to herself.

“A million?!” Goombella repeated angrily. “The Dixie Orphanage barely makes ends meet as it is! Monster Mama relies on donations to keep it open! What the hell is Croco thinking?!”

Hearing the commotion outside, a slimy voice oozed out into the streets from the orphanage. “Nyah, see, it’s a great plan you maroons!” Through one of the windows, the purple croc stuck a megaphone cautiously, his cliché voice echoing out for everyone to hear.

“Ain’t nobody wants to see a buncha kids explode, see? You pigs’ll pay up! And, AND! If ya don’t, I bet that big palooka, Bowser, will, see? Buncha little Goomba kids and Koopa kids in here! That jerk’s LOADED!”

“You slimy freak!” Goombella yelled back, hopping up onto one of the police cars. “Bowser talks big, but he’d sooner smash you and the orphanage just to shut you up! If you keep talking like that, there’s gonna be an army of Koopatrol’s out here, busting down the door!”

“S-should she be talking to him like that…?” Ted whispered.

“It’s fine,” Toadette replied. “She knows what she’s doing when it comes to speaking.”

“But, uh… antagonizing the guy holding a bomb to an old lady and kids?...”

“Shhh, Ted.”

Croco’s voice broke over the megaphone and an old lady’s raspy voice made it out during his shocked state. “…see I told you…” followed by an overly loud “Quiet, ya wise guy!”

“Toadette, hand me a megaphone will ya?” Goombella said in a hushed tone. Toadette retrieved it quickly from their car, propping it up in front of Goombella. “Thanks.” She cleared her throat.

“Hey, Croco! So where’s your pal, Popple, eh? Not like you to go out on your own!”

The gator’s eyes swiveled back to the window, his pupils sharp as his teeth. “Why should I tell ya nothin, ya dumb broad!?” He hissed into the megaphone, making sure to puff his cigar out the window for everyone to see. “Popple was busy, see? Said he had more important things to do than rob an orphanage! Can you believe the nerve of that guy?”

Goombella grinned a toothy grin to Toadette, one that only they could see. “Oh, really? Why’s that?”

Croco was clearly getting worked up talking about his partner, leaning outside the orphanage’s window. “Said he had some bigwig to talk to! What’s a bigwig want with a thief likes us, eh? He just doesn’t wanna hang out anymore, I bet!”

Goombella nodded along, but her eyes locked onto Toadette’s. She was giving her a signal. Her eyes glanced at the front door of the orphanage. The place only had two floors, and certainly wasn’t well fortified. Next to all the other tall buildings, the orphanage looked like an on old sack of potatoes left to soak in the rain.

Toadette cautiously stepped forward, making sure to stay out of Croco’s eyesight. He was busy complaining. She gripped the stem of her Fire Flower tight, feeling the heat of its petals burning the air around her. One wrong move, and everything could come burning down. Literally and figuratively.

“Yeah, Popple always has been a totally bossy jerk, hasn’t he?” Goombella said. The way she talked about the guy, it was so strange, it was like she really knew everything about him. “Gets angry at the drop of a hat, too, right? Bet you hate having him as a partner sometimes.”

“Ugh, yeah!” Croco groaned, opening up the window just a little more, cigar now held casually between his scaly fingers. “Literally, too! I drop my hat off while we was muggin’ some chump last week, see? Guy blows a gasket! Starts callin’ me a big dumb palooka, sayin’ I don’t respect the job!”

Toadette used this time to reach for the door. Flimsy. Felt like she could rip it off its hinges pretty easily. But also locked. Croco wasn’t that stupid. She turned to Goombella who was chattering away with Croco like a gossipy school girl and motioned a fist silently at the door. Goombella nodded.

“OhmiGOSH!” Goombella shrieked into the megaphone. “TELL me about IT! My BOSS is TOTALLY the SAME WAY sometimes, Y’KNOW?”

Croco rubbed a slimy finger into his ears, cringing at the horrible static noise coming from Goombella’s megaphone. “Yeah, I know, but do ya gotta scream about it, ya dumb broad? Geez. Thought I heard somethin’ too…” He turned back away from the window for a moment. “Hey, old hag, you trip or somethin’? Keep quiet!”

Toadette let out a sigh of relief, brushing off the splinters from her uniform. The door had fallen apart like a wet pile of twigs at her tackle, and thanks to Goombella, it seemed Croco was none the wiser.

“Man, and just who is Popple to tell you off like that?” Goombella went on, her voice carrying that strange attentiveness. Toadette hoped she never faked it like that with her. “In front of a dude you’re robbing, too? Like, hello!? Embarrassing much?!”

“Oh yeah! And get this…” Croco continued, completely lost in her storm of gossip. At least Toadette knew she should be fairly safe. For now. She’d have to act fast. Gossip only stayed interesting for so long.

Three pairs of eyes gazed out of a doorway at Toadette’s sneaking form. Each eyeing a different part of her. One on her badge, one on her pigtails, and one on her Fire Flower. Goomba triplets. They were tiny, even for Goombas. Their age couldn’t even be in double digits yet.

“Heya, lady!” One called out. “Hey, are you here to get that stupid gator guy?” Another said. “He’s a jerk, I hate him! He kept saying to call ‘Uncle Bowser!’” The third whined. “We don’t know him! Our daddy did, but he’s gone! Monster Mama said he’s working for Uncle Bowser.”

If Toadette hadn’t spent so much time with Goombella, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to interact with these little Goomba kids so easily. Being chatty was clearly a Goomba thing, wasn’t it?

“Shhh,” Toadette hushed them softly, nodding along to them. “I am here to get him, but you guys need to be quiet for me, okay? Why don’t you three run along and…” She struggled to think of something. “Play pretend shop or something?”

“But lady!” The third little Goomba whined. “We got nothin’ to sell!” The first one explained. The second one was happy just looking upset and giving Toadette big puppy-dog eyes.

Gah, she didn’t have time for this. Toadette was no good with kids! She had to think fast. She swung her head around, looking for anything in his dingy little building, her pigtails slapping her in the face at the motion. Ow! Stupid things!

…. Oh! Wait!

“Here, sell some mushrooms!” Toadette whispered, undoing the pink mushrooms at the end of her pigtails. Her braids fell apart, pink hair falling at her back, but she saw the way the kids’ eyes lit up and knew she had made the right decision.

“Gee, thanks, lady!” The Goomba triplets said in unison, catching the pink mushrooms in their fangs with ease. Smiles on their faces, they scampered into another room, calling out some other kids to come look at the new stock they got in their store. At least maybe the others wouldn’t be too scared.

Finally, she could make her way up the stairs unhindered. Each stair creaked awfully, but Goombella appeared to have Croco in her chatty clutches.

“So, I says to him, I says…”

“No way! He said that?”

“He did! Like, I get that he takes thieving seriously, but I gots feelings too!”

His voice became clearer and clearer, and Toadette knew she had found the right room. She’d need to end this quickly. Breathing deep, she clutched the doorknob, and swung it open, shouting in her most police-y voice, “Freeze! Claws where I can see ‘em, Croco!”

“Nyeh?!” Croco grunted, cigar falling out of his fangs and onto his crocs. “Yow! W-what’s the big idea!?” He stuttered, staring into the emotionless eyes of a burning Fire Flower. “Y-yous dumb broads! You tricked me! That ain’t fair!”

The old Toad known as Monster Mama quickly scrambled out the doorway past Toadette, whispering her thanks along the way. She’d keep the kids safe. Now it was just him and her here in what looked to be the orphans sleeping quarters.

“Sorry!” Toadette grinned, loving the power that came from a situation like this. “Let’s make this nice and easy, okay?”

“Oh nice!” Croco growled, gritting his fangs together so hard that sparks flew out. “Real nice! Pretend to be my friend, eh? Knew I shouldn’ta trusted nobody but good ol’ Popple! Well, well, tell you what, kid!”

“Stop talking!” Toadette commanded, her hand tensing over the stem. “I told you, put your claws up!”

“Sure, sure,” Croco conceded, lowering his sack of presumably stolen goods to the floor. “I just need to find a way to pay ya back, see?”

“Enough!” Toadette growled, eyeing the wall behind him. “Claws up, now, or I shoot!”

A snarl. A flash of fangs and white. His claws were out and lusting for her neck. “Pay ya back in spades, kid!” He spat, saliva dribbling wildly down his snout as he lunged.

He was quick, but Toadette was quicker. She fired her shot. It missed him.

“Ha, dumb broad!” Croco laughed manically, clearly forgetting the bouncy nature of these fireballs.

Before he could reach her, the flaming ball bounced harmlessly against the wall and back at him, engulfing his tail in hot red. The thug toppled down before her, legs a blur as he ran circles, smoke trailing behind like he was trying to send out a smoke signal. If anyone could read it, it’d probably say, ‘Help, my tail is on fire.’

“Yeowch, my tail’s on fire!” Croco translated helpfully, chasing after his own tail like a dog. Still, even now, he thrashed about, sack and all, pushing Toadette into the center of the bed filled room. She waited till he calmed down, finally having caught his flaming tail, sucking on the thing with tears in his eyes.

“Give up yet?” Toadette huffed, clutching her Fire Flower confidently. “Or should I turn up the heat?” Oh, that sounded cool. She wished Goombella heard that.

“Grrr! You’re a filthy cheat!” Croco hissed. “Well, I can cheat too, see?!” In an impossibly quick motion, he reached into his sack and pulled out a tiny bomb, shaped like a bob-omb. Cute. “Bombs! Never leave home without ‘em.” His fangs splayed wide in a terrifying smile. “Try settin’ me on fire again, dumb broad! See what happens! Blow us all to smithereens!”

Toadette flinched, still keeping the Fire Flower’s gaze at the smug crook. “You’re out of your mind!”

“I’m a bettin’ gator!” Croco growled, eyes glowing wildly in the doorway. “And I bet you can’t do it! Sure, you’ll get me, but you’ll be blowin’ up all the kids too! Boo hoo, ain’t that sad!?”

Her mind was a torrent, her hands were shaking. She had nowhere to run here in the middle of the room. She had no time to think. She messed up. Bad.

“That’s right,” Croco said, his voice low. “That’s what I thought, toots. Now, yous is gonna drop that Fire Flower, real slow, see? And when yous do that, I’m gonna cut ya up into mushroom stew! And then I’m gonna-”

Bonk!

Huh!? Bonk!?

Croco’s body fell to the ground like a pile of fake crocodile-skin wallets, his tongue lolling out of his snout. Goombella landed next to him with a stylish flourish and a wink, her head only slightly bruised where as his was already growing a massive red bump.

“What a sleazebag!” Goombella huffed, looking over his unconscious head. Coins danced around him instead of dazed Power Stars. “God! I’m so glad I got to slug him after talking to him so long! Yuck! Next time, Toadette, you do the talking, and let me do the action stuff.”

“Oh, Goombella!” Toadette cried, running forward and hugging the blonde girl tight. “You saved me! Thank you so much!”

“W-what’s with you?” Goombella’s voice was muffled in their embrace. “I thought that was your plan! Get him in the doorway so I could sneak up and bonk him, y’know?”

Toadette shook her head, smiling so hard it hurt. She kept squeezing Goombella in her arms like she was a big soft plushie. “Nope! I didn’t mean to do that at all!”

“Ohmigosh, you ditz!” She laughed, now finally accepting the hug more. Toadette’s pink hair fell onto hers making them a big mess of sweat, tangled hair, and maybe some tears. But that’s okay. Goombella wouldn’t tattle that part. It was tough to let go, but Toadette decided it’d probably be good to let Goombella breathe.

Her cuffs made a satisfying clink! as Toadette snapped them over Croco’s limp wrists. Just in case.

“Peach is gonna flip when she sees you nabbed Croco!” Goombella cooed, gathering up his body onto her head, carrying him out of the orphanage with ease.

“When she sees we nabbed, Croco!” Toadette corrected, opening the car door and stuffing him in like a bunch of old socks and sandals into a closet. “I couldn’t have done it without you!”

“Aw, she’ll never believe I did anything.”

“I’ll make her believe it if I have to!”

Goombella looked down at her feet. “You totally don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t, but I want to.” Toadette nodded, her hair feeling weird against her neck. Maybe Goombella’d help her braid it back to normal again after.

She turned to the dumbfounded Ted N. Toad, who looked like a bazooka had gone off right in his face. “Take care of this for us, will ya, Ted?”

“U-uhm! Y-yes ma’am! I’ll, um! Get statements and clean up and let everyone know we’re good here!”

“Thanks.”

When they got back into their car, Goombella grinned towards Toadette. “I totally heard your corny line, by the way. About ‘turning up the heat.’” She giggled. “That was GREAT.”

“Oh my gosh, don’t tease me!” Toadette whined playfully. “It sounded cool in my head!”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say, girl!” Goombella laughed as their car pulled back out into the bustling streets of New Donk City. Just like always, the neon lights greeted her with their alluring twinkling. “But after this, we so gotta go shopping, okay?!”

“Aw, c’mon! I gotta be up early to meet my brother for breakfast! How about tomorrow night?”

“Okay, okay, fine!” Goombella agreed happily.

It wasn’t long before their conversations returned, talking about this and that, and what tomorrow might bring them. Toadette was glad she had such a good partner, glad she had someone to share these lonely drives with. Maybe she’d miss their shopping spree or whatever, but there was always tomorrow. Goombella and this city would always be there waiting for her tomorrow.

[theinquisitivej]

SteamHeart Episodes 9 & 10 Reactions

It’s been a while, but we’re here – this is SteamHeart.

Whether you’re a newcomer or a long-time fan of the alternate history fictional series New Century, there’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to this new entry. SteamHeart is a grand road trip narrative that follows a group of charming and capable characters embarking on a mission of utmost importance. It’s set in the late 19th Century in the Reunified States of America, a country that has just barely come back from the brink of total disintegration after being confronted with the Wendigo, a devastating and savage new species of uncertain origin.

         That’s the set-up, and while there’s a few extra details from the preceding New Century stories that will doubtless come up in SteamHeart as it progresses, that’s all anyone really needs to know before jumping into this new story. It may be the instalment that closes out the first phase of this overarching narrative, but SteamHeart is very considerate towards newcomers. Relistening to the first eight chapters of the audiobook through the podcast, I found that everything you need to know about the setup of this world and the pasts of all the key characters is given to you in a way you can easily digest if it’s all new. Not too much is thrown at you all at once, and the personality of the different characters narrating all of this always comes across, meaning that you not only know who they are straight away, but you also have a compelling way to find out all this information. You will not be at a disadvantage if you’ve never heard of New Century and start listening to SteamHeart.

         But, if you are curious to know more about what this story is, and what the first eight episodes are about, then I have a list of writeups you can check out if you want to take a deep dive into one of the best alternate history fantasy series out there. If appealing characters, the steampunk aesthetic, Westerns, huge anthropomorphic badass purple tigers, nail-biting human drama, survival horror/action against savage and fascinating beasts, or decent writing in general is up your alley, start listening to SteamHeart here, and then read the following articles to get you all caught up on where we were when we last left off on this story.

Since these chapters were originally published in a slightly different order before the definitive edition of Secret Rooms was a thing, the titles of these articles may not reflect how they are currently ordered or titled in SteamHeart.

‘Chapter One: The Fall’, ‘Chapter Two: Sharpshooters’, and ‘Chapter Three: Last Survivor’

‘Chapter Four: The Subtle Engineer’, ‘Chapter Five: The Starlit Eyes’, and ‘Chapter Six: The Shadow in the South’ 

‘Chapter Seven: Return of the Hunter’ and ‘Chapter Eight: Armor’ 

         So, after finishing Let Them Go, reexperiencing Secret Rooms in its best form, we have returned to SteamHeart. We’re back in – Let’s ride.

 Chapter Nine: Eight Dresses

You can listen to the episode here. 

Preparations are underway for the ball that will introduce Team Steam, the new name for the group going on this expedition, to the general public. We get a brief discussion on the stifling world of formal women’s fashion of the time period. Despite the Reunified States being an even harsher place to live than the America of our world in the 19th Century, keeping up appearances is evidently still a necessary duty for anyone dealing in politics or public engagement. There may only be one dress maker left in Washington, but their services are nevertheless still required, so society hasn’t entirely moved past unnecessary decadence. The whole thing seems ridiculous and uncomfortable to Abigail. She reflects on the excessive and dangerous lengths people go to in order to put together a finished ballroom dress, and when she’s pushed into the pink monstrosity and the suffocatingly tight orange dress, this insane world of fashion and Abigail seem incompatible with one another. It’s cathartic to see her rip the orange dress and talk about buying and burning the shop down once she returns from the mission a rich and famous hero. Still, Abigail is aware that the mood has changed after she vents her frustrations, noting that whatever playful levity had been there had been sapped away by her behaviour. There’s no dramatic altercation, but the development of the scene does echo those moments in life where spirits flare up and all of a sudden the easy-going atmosphere of the situation has dissipated without our meaning it to.

         We move on to a scene with some really solid characterisation of Annie and a wonderful moment shared between her and her husband Frank Butler. Annie is still turning over in her head the weight of responsibility that has been put on her by Director Arlington. She has been given a direct order to execute her charge if the situation calls for it, and the possibility of that scenario coming to pass is messing her sense of surety in her own judgement. She has no idea what tiny decision might set off a chain of events that means she has to make that call, and that much anxiety would make anyone susceptible to indecision. It could explain why Annie seemed particularly upset in the previous scene when Abigail was being deliberately difficult with Truth; Annie doesn’t want Abigail to be butting heads, because one day that could reach a point where the two of them will fall out to such an extent that Annie will either not be able to make a clearly thought out decision, not be able to properly protect Abigail, or even be forced to follow her orders and execute her. Annie made a promise to Katherine Holloway to look after James and Abigail, and she must be feeling torn up inside to know that she may one day have to break her promise in the worst possible way.

         But bless Frank, he lifts the situation up in just the right way. Giving Annie the dress and the means for her to make all the changes she actually wants for her very own dress shows just how well he knows her. Frank knows that Annie can sew, he knows what kind of dress she would want, and he knows that having something she can work on and control right now will do her the world of good when so many things feel out of control. The performances of Laureta Sela and Spencer Leeb do hit just the right tone of tenderness and genuine joy that their respective characters feel when they’re in each other’s company. Seeing this perfect moment that these two people who love each other get to enjoy is profoundly touching. Don’t you dare harm them Alex, I know you’re thinking about it. AH- DON’T.

         We transition to another tender moment of a husband and wife enjoying a secluded minute to themselves as Sarah and Thomas Arlington get ready for the ball. Sarah recalls the effort that she, Truth, and Harry had gone through to reconvince Thomas that it makes the most sense for Harry to go on the mission with the others, even if his paternal protectiveness and general wariness of danger on all sides makes this a difficult decision for him. We see Thomas exhibit his characteristic mistrust of the world when he lays Sarah’s bullet proof jacket on the bed, asking her to wear it as a precaution and a favour to him. If Thomas had it his way, he would enclose himself and the people that matter to him in the most airtight, perfect suit of armour he could find. The events of Arlington make it easy to see why he feels this way.

         But Sarah isn’t Thomas, and his gesture presents her with a dilemma that she has to seriously consider. Wearing the armour is a statement, and even if its disguise as a civilian jacket means that very few people will realise she’s making it, she has to decide if she’s comfortable knowing that she chose to make that statement. Sarah wants to trust people – it’s an elemental part of who she is, as represented by Sarah’s remark after her mind goes to the many outfits in her wardrobe, as she says “not all of which went with this jacket of mine”. This jacket is a part of her wardrobe, but it’s not compatible with every outfit she would normally wear, and I would argue it’s not entirely compatible with who she wants to be. This time, she resigns herself to wearing the armour, but she resolves with a strong determination that she will step outside without armour another day. It’s a small decision that provokes an introspective moment that explores meaningful questions of trust and our unspoken interactions with the rest of the world. And yes, it does have a profound resonance for those who have a strong attachment to Arlington.

         The epilogue of this episode tells us that Truth fantasised as a child that she would grow up to be Queen of America. It’s a cute fact about Truth’s childhood that provides a small glimpse into a more playful side of her character. It also provides context as to why she has such a head for politics and public engagement. She’s played with the idea of leading a nation her whole life, and the fact that the childhood version of her wanted to be Queen of a monarch-less country is indicative of a romanticised vision of what a leader could and should be. It’s a surprising thing to learn about the pragmatic, more calculating version of her that we know.

 Chapter Ten: The April Ball

You can listen to the episode here.

I love those episodes or chapters of ongoing fiction where we get to see the main characters go to a party. Cutting between different individuals or pairings to see how the different personalities are handling themselves in an environment we don’t usually get to see them in can be a source of memorable humour and especially enjoyable character moments. It can also lead to some meaningful moments of introspection that can come out in a unique way; sometimes there are those strange, lucid moments that sneak up on you when you’re at a party where you suddenly become very reflective or melancholy. It doesn’t always have to be a party either. ‘The Ember Island Players’ is one of my favourite episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender because it’s a respite for the main group right before things are going to get more intense than they ever have before, so it’s a chance for both the characters and the writers of the show to have a little bit of fun before they close out their journey. I bring this up because I get a little bit of a sense of that with ‘Chapter Ten: The April Ball’, especially due to its name which suggests the ball is a spring-time event, a season of vitality and optimism when things are on the up and up. Team Steam is going to be heading out on a grand journey that will be full of perils, so it makes sense both within the context of the story and from a structural point of view to have this ball where we get to see our characters at a party.

         Having said that, it’s not a fun filled jubilant occasion for everyone. Raven’s opening narration catches new readers up on the current state of class divisions in the Reunified States, going over how, when the Wendigo was at the doors of the people of America, high social standings didn’t do much to help you out, and they certainly didn’t give you a lot of skills to fall back on when you were part of little pockets of survivors and had to find a way to contribute to the group. A large percentage of the upper class didn’t make it. Even so, this ball has brought out the last remnants of that world, along with those who have risen up and established themselves at the top of the ladder in this new society. The atmosphere is hardly convivial, and several members of the main cast don’t appear to be at ease in this setting. Abigail feels out of place and sees James, who looks completely right for the occasion, as her lifeline, but is denied this when they’re separated. Harry finds that there’s a little too much information to take in, managing to stay afloat when James, sympathetic to her feelings in this situation, walks her through the steps (both for the dance and how to get by when surrounded by this many people). Most heart-breaking of all, Jeremy and Donald have been partnered with other people and, for all-intents-and-purposes, have been forbidden by Truth to dance together or show any signs that they’re a couple. It’s painful to hear about Jeremy putting on a smile while barely keeping back his tears. The injustice of society working against people being with who they love if it doesn’t fit their standards is eloquently summarised by Harry’s remark “it’s such a shame they won’t let us dance with who we really want to”. A perfect summation of denied love. Even Truth, who has an eye for navigating her way through these parties, addresses the fact that this is not a place for our characters to relax. She briefs the other female members of the group on their approach, telling them that they’re here to make connections and work on making the best impression of the group and the mission they can – “There’s a time for fun and games, and it’s not at parties”. The mood of this episode is playful at times, and there are moments where you’re happy for this chance to rest before things get dangerous. But it also shows why these settings can be a source of anxiety, and why putting on a show for the world can be soul crushing.

         One of the most intense scenes at the ball is when Abigail dances with Arlington. Hearing her thoughts as she struggles to get a read on him shows how striking the effect he has on people is. He has a quiet fire that is frightening and magnetic all at once. Abigail even confesses that she sees many of the qualities in him that attracts her to James. The two men do share a calculating disposition that values logic which seems cold at first, but it hides a passionate resolve that flares to the surface when it counts. Arlington moves with a stoic surety that compels Abigail to follow his steps as they dance, which acts as a poetic metaphor of his approach to politics and his efforts to lead this country. For the time being, Arlington is leading this dance, and the country, in a way which seems correct and will likely get them through to the end of all this. But he and Abigail talk of the desire to deliberately put a foot wrong, just to see what will happen. Arlington is conducting himself exactly as he knows he should, but there is a part of him that wants so badly to kick the table over and meet the people he sees as enemies on his terms. When Abigail asks how long they can continue this dance, he answers “as long as we can” with sad, tired resignation. I find Arlington to be one of the most fascinating characters in all of New Century.

         There are so many pieces of great writing and enjoyable character moments peppered throughout this chapter, so to finish off I’ll quickly go through some of my favourite bits. Abigail noticing Thomas and Sarah Arlington’s armoured jackets and wondering what they expect to happen and feeling worried is a decent payoff to the end of the previous episode when Sarah deliberated over whether to wear the jacket or not, showing us that she was right to think about the message such an action conveys. The footman announcing each of the main characters and his occasional embarrassment and frustration at being interrupted is a fun to watch, and Abigail’s commentary on how each person is received and how they conduct themselves speaks volumes of their different characters. When James and Abigail share a mischievous laugh together afterwards, it’s absolutely adorable. I ship it. Later, Abigail meets the blusterous buffoon Dutch Van Tassel, and she describes him as having “a great big bushy beard”. Now, this might just be a result of having watched this film a dozen or so too many times, but hearing that statement makes me wonder if that’s intended to be a reference to Hot Fuzz. Abigail gets bailed out from her conversation with Dutch by- oh sweet, it’s Li! She was a cool addition to the cast in Arlington, and I’m definitely glad to have her quiet, steely temperament back. Annie and Frank have the good fortune to be able to dance with the person they love and openly display that connection to the world, but they’re also compassionate enough to help those who aren’t having as great a time. I’m glad that Annie helps Jeremy get close to Donald, and when Frank speculates that Harry has feelings for James it did make sense, as I had similar suspicions. I continue to enjoy Frank and Harry’s relationship, as he’s a good friend to her and knows just how to word things. I’m pleased that Abigail gets to meet Nathanial Curtis and that she gets along with him. He’s an accomplished and immensely respectable man who nevertheless has the humble nobility of an old friendly soldier, so it’s no wonder that Abigail likes him immediately, especially with her father being a soldier as well. The episode and the party conclude with Abigail stepping outside for some air and meeting Raven, and his honesty is refreshing, even if his attitude means he isn’t the smoothest conversationalist. The instruments finish playing their music, and the applause signals the end of the episode.

I do love a party.

         Chapter Ten’s epilogue tells us that Thomas and Sarah have twelve days left, referring to the closing events of Arlington. But I have to wonder whether the wording means that the significance of the statement is that they each have twelve days left, or that they have twelve days left of being together. Either way, it’s an immensely sad thought.