#also my gift of prophecy when she posted that pick months before like not a lot going on

[whiskeyswifty]

happy 4 years to the most insane day in known swiftie history when i woke up to 300 texts from my swiftie friends that we were about to get hit with a category 10 taylor swift event at midnight. Happy "i'm pregnant with folklore and the baby is yours" announcement day to all.

[thedykeprincess]

So you were disappointed in Throne of Glass...

 (DISCLAIMER: This post does not intend to offend anyone who loves ToG. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and likes and dislikes and is allowed to express that. This post is meant to share books that have similar qualities to ToG for people who were disappointed in the series, like myself, but anyone who does like ToG can absolutely find great recs here! However, if you don’t want to hear anything ToG critical I recommend skipping over this post. Thank you!)

So last week I finally got rid of all my ToG books. I was mostly relieved that I now have more room on my bookshelf but I also felt a little sad. It was a series I really enjoyed when I first read it two years ago, and on some level it will always have a special place for me. It was one of the many books that got me back into reading after a five year slump, it’s the reason I became friends with the wonderful Nicole (@/rainbowbooktheif on Instagram) who was the first person irl to make me feel less alone as a bookish nerd, and it, unintentionally, helped me hone my critical reading skills. However, I slowly began to care less and less for the story and characters as the series progressed and ended up not reading the last two books because I just stopped caring. I wondered why a series that I loved so much in the beginning went down hill so fast for me, but in the process of falling out of love with ToG I realized I wasn’t the only one who felt this way about the series! The lack of diversity (and misrepresentation/mistreatment of diverse characters when they were there), sexism, lazy editing and lackluster world building, among other things, came up many times for me and other former ToG fans when discussing why we became disappointed in the series. But the pitch for the book (badass morally gray assassin taking down a tyrant king for her freedom, so cool!) and some of the elements (romance, female friendships, magic, trials) sounded so amazing even though in the end it was executed poorly. So, I decided to compile a list of books that I have read and loved that have some elements and themes of ToG. This list is by no means exhaustive and is limited by the books that I have read (which is not many when you look at how many books exist in the world) so I would love to see your recommendations! Please feel free to add onto this post any recs that you have! Now onto the list!

1) Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I read this book the summer before I started ToG and completely loved it. It was one of the early books that got me back into reading and it was honestly the perfect book for that. It was exciting and I couldn’t put it down. It follows an assassin for a tyrannical king who begins to realize her own gifts for killing are more then she ever thought they could be. Cashore does a fantastic job developing the lead character Katsa and the ways that she dolls out information to the readers slowly is impeccable. While this book is technically the first in a trilogy of books taking place in the Graceling world, it can be read as a standalone fantasy (which I feel like are very rare). Another part of this book that I really loved was the romance. I usually don’t read very many straight romances (due to the sexist/problematic aspects many of the ones that I’ve read have) but the relationship between Katsa and Po is honestly a breath of fresh air when you’re used to a lot of toxicity and sexism with cishet romances in books. The two take care of each other and their relationship is very balanced. There are no gender roles pushed on either of them and they truly grow to become a team throughout the story and it’s wonderful to see! I would consider Katsa and Po, while canonically cis (there isn’t any explicit queer rep in this book), both quite androgynous characters who often express themselves in a fluid manner which I really appreciate. Over all this is an amazing classic YA fantasy that everyone should check out!

Synopsis: “Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.”

2) Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

This book is the first in a five book series about three royal sisters raised to battle it out for the throne. I must admit the first book in the series is a little lackluster due to the fact that it’s setting up a lot but the second book just blows everything out of the water in a fantastic way. This series is dark and bloody and intriguing. I got completely hooked on this series and it brought out a lot of emotion to the point where I was gasping and shouting and throwing my book around as I was reading it (I got very invested)! I think that’s one of the things SJM can do well is get you hooked on her characters and Kendare can do the same (if not better). I love the dynamic between the sisters, this book does a great job at exploring the darker side of familial and female/female relationships (mostly platonic.. there isn’t very much queer rep unfortunately) that I really appreciate. The magic system and wolrdbuliding are also something that I enjoyed and I though was quite well done. Kendare does a good job at weaving in worldbuilding and magic system seamlessly into the story and I love that so much. Three Dark Crowns is just a fun and exciting series that I think anyone who loves fantasy YA should check out!

Synopsis: “ In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown. “

3) The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

So a little disclaimer, this book is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. I read it over the span of a few months last summer (its a long one guys...800+ pages) and it was one of the greatest, most well thought out fantasy books I’d ever had the pleasure of reading. I loved the characters, the world, the plot, the magic system etc. I loved everything! There’s some great political intrigue, dragon riders, epic battles, prophecies, weddings, funerals, romance and just general badassery and kickassery happening. Shannon clearly put so much time and effort into this book and it shows. That kind of dedication that shows is something that I really appreciate in a book, especially a fantasy book. Another aspect that I loved so so much is the diversity in this book. It came so naturally and didn’t at all feel like tokenism. The characters, with their differing genders, ethnicities, sexualities, ages, and nationalities etc, and their relationships with each other are truly what made the story. This book also has one of the BEST f/f romances I’ve ever read (as a queer woman I really loved that representation so much and felt very connected to both of those characters). Priory is a long one but if you have the time I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: “ A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. “

4) Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

As a queer woman, I’m always a little on edge when someone mentions f/f friendship in a book. This is entirely because of the erasure many many f/f romances experience when they are just brushed off as friendships (we’ve all heard the term “gal pals”). It’s frustrating and even though I love a good f/f friendship when the f/f romances get erased and replaced by friendships it gets exhausting. However, Truthwitch is a true f/f friendship that I can fully get behind! Dennard is an author that I had been following for writing tips for a while before I finally picked up her book. I knew that she’s someone who is invested in making her series diverse, even if she herself doesn’t fit into those categories, and accepts criticism because she want’s to do her characters justice. That’s something I really appreciate seeing from white cishet authors and is one of the reasons I picked up Truthwitch. It’s so much fun and the heart of the story truly is the relationship between the two leads Safi and Iseult. Their friendship reminds me a lot of my relationship with my friends. Books about f/f relationships (romantic or otherwise) are few and far between so I really love that this book exists. Strong platonic relationships are so often pushed aside for cishet romantic ones so it’s SO refreshing to see a series where the book would not exist without Safi and Iseult’s bond. They are truly soulmates and their relationship with each other is the most important one in their lives and that is just beautiful. Not to mention this book has got an awesome magic system and is building up to an amazing fantasy series! There’s pirates, priestesses, princes and, of course, witches! It’s loads of fun all around!

Synopsis: “ Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. “

5) Monstress by Marjorie Liu (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Illustrator) 

Another disclaimer! This book is my favorite graphic novel, period. There is really nothing like Monstress out there and I think that it’s criminally underrated. Liu and Takeda are the perfect combo of writer/artist to make this GN come together. I’m constantly in awe of the world, characters, and story Liu built and the frankly stunning art Takeda creates to go along with it. It’s steampunk and dark and dirty and beautiful. The lead character, Maika, is one of the few truly morally gray characters that I’ve read. Her decisions will make you question if you’re a good person because you still love her despite the fact that she just killed that guy... and that guy... and those other guys. This graphic novel series is very reflective of the dark animes (like Tokyo Ghoul and Castlevania) that we are seeing more recently and I personally believe Monstress would make a fantastic animated series if it were ever to get an adaption. This book has also some great representation of queer women (Maika herself is a queer, disabled, WoC). It’s totally the norm for the world and all of the lead female characters are queer, which I just love. This story has amazing woldbulding, magic, characters etc. It’ll give you everything from giant dead gods, to talking cats with multiple tails, to demonically possessed teenage girls who need to eat people. It’s honestly amazing. (I would give a major trigger warning for blood/gore so as long as you know you can handle that I think you should check it out!)

Synopsis: “ Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers. “

6) The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

I never thought I would love a cishet romance as much as I love this one but here I am. The Bridge Kingdom is not really the kind of book I would normally pick up but it was on sale on kindle so I thought “why not!” And I was not disappointed. This story follows the assassin princess, Lara, who was raised to be married off to her fathers rival kingdom and kill the king. However, things get sticky when she begins to actually fall for the king and starts to realize that her father isn’t exactly who he says he is. Not only was this romance steamy as hell (this is an ADULT book folks so there are some explicit sex scenes, beware) but the world is super cool. The political intrigue was something I really enjoyed and I loved to see the world unfold from Lara’s eyes. I also totally loved Lara’s character. She’s complicated and cutthroat but ultimately want’s to do what’s right and is a character made to change and develop. I usually don’t go for that character trope that Lara fits into (beautiful and badass and despite being the MCs they somehow end up being very bland...) but Jensen managed to create a very mature and ever changing version of the YA trope that I ended up loving completely. If you love steamy fantasy romances with cool worlds and intriguing characters this is absolutely the book for you!

Synopsis: “ Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil - and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara's homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.

But as she infiltrates her new home - a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas - and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people? “

[llendrinall]

(1) Draco, Harry, Hermione & Ron (aged 23) all are working on a case. Harry & Ron are Aurors. Draco & Hermione are both Healers & Unspeakables. The case is something like a bunch of Death Eater wannabes trying to resurrect the dark lord. So while busting in on their ritual all 4 are transported to their younger bodies at different times. Draco (5), Ron (7), Hermione (9), Harry (11) (The day before Hagrid comes to fetches him.)

(2) Harry and Draco were married so they use a phrase to each other so the other knows that they're the other and then plan a meet in the Room of Requirements. After confirming that Ron and Hermione (Married) are who they are too they go to the meet too. While each playing the roles they had the first time around. They then work out a plan for the war (Since Draco hasn't found a way back they plan to change things).

(3) Draco needs to play the bully/death eater and work to save the lives of the war victims. While Harry, Ron and Hermione work out the horcrux ect. Befor and during the war they secretly work to make preperations and stuff to minimize the damage while also playing their parts as school rivals. And they manage to minimize the deaths and they manage to save a lot of familiar faces. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, George ect.

(4) So after Harry kills Voldemort (He had an argument with Draco cuz Draco was worried he wouldn't come back this time) they're in the grand hall and everyone just sees the golden trio going to Draco with smiles. Ron gives him a handshake, Hermione a Hug, and shockingly Harry kisses him infront of everyone (Draco's parents are like "WTF?") And says "Told you i wouldn't die." "Shut up you bloody git". (In my head its a long fic with a LOT of stuff added. I just wanna know how you'd write this)

 Mmh, yes this would be a long plotty fic, so I won’t detail the structure, just some of the elements I would use to build it.

First, I would have them go back to exactly one month before they turn 11. There is a very nice symmetry there and we avoid having Draco too long in his child’s body. An adult Draco in a 5-year-old body would be terrifying. Lucius would just flee the country.

So they go back to 11 minus one month. Harry and Draco have 1-2 summer months to get settled and start figuring things out, Ron gets around 7 months to think about family dynamics and draft a plan to contact his friends. Hermione has a whole year plus change to rage, study and come up with a definite plan to Get Things Right.

There is a beautiful tense scene as they board the train, because Harry and Ron don’t know if their friend is their old self or their young self. They are both very cautious around each other until Harry notices the way Ron looks at Scabbers and he knows. It just takes a couple of loaded comments afterwards to recognize each other.  

Hermione barges in their compartment in her usual way and they have to drop some very heavy hints to remind her they are not alone. They can’t spook Pettigrew.  Draco comes by, stares at Harry in silence for a whole minute and then passes him a note saying he can’t find the diary and also he ordered Dobby to go serve Harry, he should be waiting in Hogwarts. It is unclear whether Draco knows this Harry is the old Harry because Draco is, and has always been, kind of odd. It took them a while to discover it, but Draco is just a bunch or random powerful ideas held together with anxiety and fire. Harry loves him so much.

They go to Hogwarts. You would think that in this timeline Harry would be the most belligerent/hostile of them, but it is actually Hermione. Hermione is a nightmare student. She has a list of one hundred and fifty names and she is going to save all of them (except maybe Dumbledore and Snape). She has no time nor attention to waste in silly classes telling her what she already knows. She only comes to class sporadically, aces all her tests and hands out beautiful neat homework that barely took ten minutes out of her day to complete. Teachers hate her (or heavily dislike her), but they can’t expel her. It’s beautiful. The twins develop a crush on her.  

Harry waits patiently until Christmas so Dumbledore can gift him the Invisibility Cloak and then announces that he is not going back to the Dursleys. Dumbledore insists. Harry says softly “by Jove, I will not” and Dumbledore thinks about that exchange for a week. He forgets about it when ten days later there is an incident in Transfiguration class and McGonagall discovers that Ron’s pet rat Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew.

(They were going to wait until Quirrell tried to steal the philosopher’s. Hermione insisted they couldn’t deviate too much of the original timeline or they would lose their advantage of knowing what was going to happen. If something was going to change, it was better to attach it to some other important event.

But Harry pointed out that it would be much easier to keep Sirius alive if he had some extra months of freedom and he didn’t have to live as a fugitive and Ron was certain that they would be fine even if they changed everything. It wasn’t just their knowledge of the events to come, it was their knowledge, period, their experience.

Ron is a man now, and adult, and he is kind of freaked out at the shenanigans they did when they were merely children. What were they thinking? Was there no competent adult to point out that were kids? It shouldn’t be up to them to rescue Sirius or Buckbeak, what in the seven hells.)

Anyway, Sirius is freed and Dumbledore is forced to explain everything about prophecies and love magic and blood protection early, because Harry insists he is going to live with Sirius. Harry agrees to go back to the Dursleys for two weeks, but Sirius has to come with him and no, he will not come as a dog, that’s demeaning. He will spend his time at the Dursleys as a human, thank you very much.

Sirius is the first adult to realize that there is something not quite right about Harry. The others had noticed that Harry was… special. But Sirius is the first one to see through, although he doesn’t know what he is seeing exactly.

Lucius still uses the Diary against the Weasleys, but this time Ron picks it up. Their first week back in Hogwarts, they all go for a nice excursion down to the Basilisk lair. They bring the Diadem, too. Harry speaks to the Basilisk and both horcruxes are destroyed.

The rest of the year is spent plotting. Draco takes on the role of the bully and plays it up to hilarious heights. He picks on everyone, and that’s everyone, except Neville and Luna. Funnily, Cedric Diggory is a big fan of him and always answers to Draco’s banter.

Draco suggests having a Duel Club to Lockhart. There has been no student attacks, of course, but Lockhart loves the idea and Draco wants the opportunity to fight Harry and make ridiculously sexually charged comments. They have five very nice duelling sessions until the curse of the DADA post acts up and professor Lockhart is unavailable the rest of the year.

(Harry tutors everyone in his year so this time people will actually now how to cast a protego. Ginny comes to the classes too and is by far his best student).

That summer, Ron has a very long chat with Percy explaining everything. Ron is now eight years older than Percy and understand why his brother fell to the Ministry and rejected his family. The Weasleys had pushed him that way, hadn’t they? Ron also understands that suddenly being nice to Percy and giving him recognition won’t work. It’s too late. But telling Percy they come from another timeline in which Fred died gets Percy’s attention immediately. Percy spends a whole weekend freaking out in silence (nobody notices, of course, and boy is Ron appalled at his family dynamics). Come Monday, Percy emerges relatively calm, all things considered. He has given himself a haircut and is resolved to infiltrate the Ministry.  

The locket is destroyed that summer. They let Sirius and Kreacher do it.

They were hoping to have all horcruxes down before Voldemort rose back, but Pettigrew escapes Azkaban and Voldemort comes back a year ahead of schedule. (Early 4th year).

Dumbledore locates the ring. Despite warnings from all of them (and Snape) he still puts the ring on and gets a curse for it. Hermione says if he is going to be like that, she will take him from her To-Save list.

Barely eight months after Voldemort comes back to power, the Ministry is full of his followers. For now, Voldemort is happy with acting from the shadows, but soon he will want more and the four of them want to avoid open war as much as possible.

Percy sends Ron Helga’s cup, broken. Ron asks how he did it in case they ever find themselves in a similar situation (new timeline and all), but Percy only says that he asked politely. That means there are only two (two? Or is it one?) horcruxes remaining. Draco decides to speed things up, before Voldemort stars his terror campaign. He tells his father than Dumbledore has a mysterious ring with an interesting crest and that’s enough to have Voldemort attack Hogwarts with all his might.

It may not seem like a good idea, but if you think about it it’s much better to have dark wizards try to take over a castle than over a cottage where a half-blood family lives. Plus, now they don’t have to sweep Britain looking for Nagini. They can see her perfectly well down in the grounds trying and failing to eat Hagrid.

The battle draws on and almost becomes a siege. The Ministry comes to help, only they help Voldemort’s side, what with being infiltrated and all.

It’s still preferable to the years of the war.

Sirius has been put under a careful and insistent treatment of “Sirius, no”, so he actually stops when he is told to, he doesn’t follow Pettigrew to a trap and he isn’t killed by Bellatrix. Well done, Sirius! Another advantage of Sirius surviving, beyond the fact that he survived, yay, is that he gets to save Snape when Voldemort decides he might not be a good double spy after all. Snape hates the idea of owing his life to Sirius. It is very entertaining.

Neville kills Bellatrix Lestrange. Luna kills Nagini (and feels bad for it, and cries, sweet Luna, may she always have a soft heart). Peter Pettigrew dies in a freak accident in which both the giant squid and the twins are involved. Cedric Diggory bullies seven Ministry wizards into switching sides.

Things are going good. There are many wounded, more than the last time, but no dead, not on their side.

Harry knows he will have to die, again. And it will have to be Voldemort. He can’t risk having anyone else cast the curse (would they even meant it?). They have changed so many things… They can’t be sure that all those changes won’t coalesce in this one instant in time. They can’t be sure that Harry will make it back.

But Harry still goes, because that’s what he has to do. He tries to make things as similar as possible, act the same way, say the same things. Maybe having Sirius and Moody and Tonks and Lupin alive and well and fighting won’t matter if Harry just follows the script on this.

But just in case it will matter, just in case Harry doesn’t come back this time, he throws some ad lib.

“Hey, Tom,” Harry says, holding his thumb between his index and middle finger. “I’ve got your nose.”

Well, at least he can be sure that Voldemort means it when he cast the curse.

 The honour of killing Voldemort falls on Hagrid this time. It isn’t pretty.

And Harry comes back. Draco forgives him just for having said that line.

[brooktrout96]

The World is Waiting for you, The Warrior of Light Who Will Light up The Dark Night! Part 2

Chapter 5 of The Deeper The Darkness The More Dazzling The Light Shines! 

AO3 is Here

Monslive: Darklops Zero!

Shit!” Zero mumbled as he dodged the Nomu’s attack as far away there stood a black and  version of Zero’s Ultra form stood where Mari once was. “Izuku!”

Yeah!” Izuku appeared as Zero turned to look at him.

Let first take care of this monster first.” Zero gestured to the Nomu as he dodged another one of it’s attack.

Right.” Izuku and Zero turned to the Nomu and they began to run at it with One For All’s green sparking around them

Detroit Smash!”

The duo each sent a downward punch with enough force that the wind pressure sends the Nomu flying far away from the USJ and those on the outside watched as the monster went flying. Zero had a smile on his face as he turned Izuku. “Are you ready to transform?”

Zero returned to Izuku as pulled out the Ultra Zero Eyes NEOS from a hidden pocket of his utility belt. “Yeah, let’s do this.” He put it to his face as he clicked a button as he spreads his arms outwards as Zero's body forms via incoming ribbons of light.

Zero landed as Darklops Zero went to attack the students with a beam attack as he created a emerald green colored shield to protect the student using Ultra Zero Defensor. The two tumbled around as Darklops Zero was getting the upper hand as Zero’s Color Time turned from blue to red

Shit! Izuku, there should be something in your pockets that should be able to help us.”

Izuku was searching in his many pockets of his belt as he found two weird device and four weird capsules. “What is this?”

It the Zero Riser, the Knuckle Loader, and the New Generation Capsules. First load the Ginga and Orb Capsules and then scanned them using the Zero Riser. Ginga is the one with the crystal on his head and Orb is the one with a ring shape Color Timer.”

Right. Ginga!” He then slotted it into the Knuckle Loader. “Orb!” He slotted in the Orb capsule and then he scanned it with the Zero Riser

Ultraman Ginga!

Ultraman Orb: Orb Origin!

New Generation Capsule Alpha!

Now the other two.”

Right, Victory!” He slotted in the Victory Capsule into the Knuckle Loader. “X” He then slotted in the X Capsule into the Knuckle Loader and scanned them.

Ultraman Victory!

Ultraman X!

New Generation Capsule Beta

Now put the other two capsules into the Zero Riser and then attached the Ultra Zero Eye NEO to the Zero Riser and then scanned the capsules again.”

“Right.” Izuku did what Zero told him to do as he attached the Ultra Zero Eye NEO to the Riser. “Ginga! Orb!” He slotted the first capsule into the Knuckle Loader and then he slotted the other capsule. “Victory! X!” He then scanned them with the Zero Riser

Neo Fusion Rise!

I have no limits!” He put the Riser up to his face and click the trigger.

New Generation Capsule Alpha, Beta!

Ultraman Zero Beyond!

In a flash of light, there stood a pure silver being with blue crystal on it as the students and heroes all looked on in shock. The two began to fight, and now the match was even as Zero and Darklops Zero tumbled on the ground and fought. Zero finally got clearance and a moment to breath. He releases eight energy cores from the crystals on his arms, then he stretches his arms to the side and proceeds to fire beams from those energy cores destroying Darklops Zero and sending Mari flying away. Zero took off to the sky and into space to recharged before detransformed back to Izuku

Zero and Izuku detransformed as Zero as Shin reappeared and pocketed the Spark Doll for safekeeping and then disappeared back to Izuku (Support groups really don’t need to figure out that Spark Doll are living creatures) as Izuku slipped the Ultra Zero Eye NEO into a pocket of his utility belt .

Izuku, where are you? Kero!” Tsuyu was yelling for him, Zero disappeared and reappeared in his spirit form as the frog woman hopped over to the clearing

Over here, Tsuyu!”

Are you alright? Kero.”

Yep as far as I can tell but I’ll probably have Recovery Girl check me over before I leave today.”

Okay, kero. Let’s get back to the others, Aizawa-sensei and Uraraka are worried about you.”

~***~

“Ow.” Mister Hands groan as he pulled himself threw the portal. “I can’t believe that the vigilante got both of my arm and legs. We were completely defeated and not by All Might. Our underlings were routed instantly even the kids were strong. You were totally wrong, Sensei.”

“No, I wasn’t, I was just simply overly optimistic. Hmm but you know, it seems that they underestimated us. I’m glad that the League of Villains’ name is so cheap. Incidentally where is Mari and the Nomu’s body, did it not get retrieved.”

“Mari was dealing with remaining heroes using Osamu’s gift and I don’t know about the Nomu.”

The door to the bar slammed as Mari entered all disheveled looked and covered in slowly repairing injuries. “The Nomu was sent flying away by Zero and then I was bodied by him when I was using the Spark Doll, it seemed that he has a Gigantification Quirk. I don’t know what happened to the Nomu though” Mari shrugged her shoulders.

Even though I loaded the Nomu with Quirks to rival All Might. Oh, well, can’t be helped, what a shame.”

Power like All Might’s… that reminds me. Mari that one kid.”

Boss, are you talking about the greenette that was fighting off the small-fries as I and the Nomu delt with Zero?”

Yeah, his speed was comparable to All Might’s.”

There’s no use crying over the failure of this mission! After all, it’s not as though today was entirely in vain. Let’s gather a new group, handpicked for efficacy, and let’s take all the time we need. Remember, we can’t move freely and that why a symbol like you and Mari are necessary. Shigaraki Tomua, next time you must show the true world the true horror of your existence!”

~***~

Fatgum was wrapping up Aizawa’s injuries. He was talking to Aizawa as he was doing it. “Wow, that villain and the vigilante did a number on the USJ.” Fatgum said as he looked around the destroyed courtyard as the students trickled back to the courtyard as the police arrived to arrest the small fries as Iida and the rest of the teachers made their way in.

The students recounted what happened to the police officers as Tsukauchi walked up to the two pro heroes.

This was a daring attack, wasn’t it?”

It was and if I hadn’t been tipped off it possible could’ve been worst if it was only me, Thirteen and the students.”

Tsukauchi turned to look at the underground hero with a confused look on his. “What? You knew about the attack?”

Yeah, I was given information from an informant and then I relied it back to Nedzu, hence why Fatgum was here today as he is one of the best heroes when it’s comes to multiply same time villain capture. We’re expecting the small fries but we were attacked by a villain-for-hire named Mari. Zero made an appearance and fought her and then she transformed into a giant orange and black version of Zero and then the giant from three month ago appeared.”

I have business to attend to. Sana, you see to the rest!”

Affirmative!”

Nedzu was pondering to himself, “So the information that Zero gave Aizawa was true then but my only question is how did he get here to help out.”

So, what are we going to do, Nedzu?” Midnight asked the principal

Well we’ll have to focus on fortifying our security across the board.”

Tsukauchi hadn’t even left when a officer came in. “Detective Tsukauchi! Word has came in, sir! We’ve apprehended the suspect thought to be the monster that attacked Eraserhead.”

What’s his condition?”

No external injuries, sir! He’s not showing any signs of resistance, either. Moreover, he’s unresponsive to stimuli and he’s not uttered a single word.”

Tsukauchi turned to Nedzu. “Nedzu, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to investigate  every nook and cranny of this campus. “

Oh yes, yes, of course! I realize the police are often buffeted by less than civil remarks these days, but we recognize their jurisdiction over these matters is higher than ours! When it comes to investigations that is your gentlemen’s field of expertise! Please, by all means conduct yourselves as usual!”

~***~

It had been a long day for Aizawa, dealing with the villain attack, the appearance of Zero at the USJ and then the villain and Zero no Shin turned into a giant proving that Shin and the Zero from three month ago were the same person.

Aizawa, good you’re here. We need to talk.” Aizawa set down as Nedzu poured tea for the two of them as he picked up a tablet in his paws.

What’s up Nedzu?”

I found out more on our mysterious vigilante. You said our villain-for-hire called him a Ultraman?”

Yes, she called him Ultraman Zero and according to Mt. Lady the giant she corner three month ago said that it’s name was Ultraman Zero.”

What do you know of the Pacific Records?”

The Pacific Records are supposedly ancient texts from the time before Quirks that holds information about ancient kaiju and some prophecies pertaining to them.”

Well the prophecies part is true. There is evidence that eight prophecies in the Pacific Records have came true in the past.”

Nedzu pulled up a website called SSP. “This is a website that has been active since the mid twenty-tens and in 2016, it posted these video.”  Aizawa watched each video in shock.

Are we sure these videos aren’t doctored?”

We’re sure, I even talked to the owner of the website.”

That would be me. Ello’ there.” A voice said as Aizawa turned around and saw a short black-haired woman standing at the door. She was wearing a brown trench coat with blue and red band with the word SSP and below it was Something Search People. “My name is Nadia Yumeno, my 10-times great-grandmother, Naomi and her friend posted those video.”

I called her here as her family has been studying the Pacific Records since those video were posted.”

My family also have studied the incidents in Ishtal Civilization and Rusalka since they are tied to one of the prophecies in the Pacific Record.”

Which one?” Nedzu asked as he love trying to put together a puzzle

Maga-Orochi and the Lord Monsters of Elements. Grandmother Naomi theorized that the myth of Yamato-no-Orochi and Susanoo stem from Maga-Orochi and the Ultra that fought it but enough of that, that’s not why I’m here. You said your mysterious giant and our mysterious vigilante were called Ultraman Zero?”

Yes, even the villainess call him that when she saw him.” Nadia pulled out a large binder out of her bag and began to search threw it but not before she looked at the two who had a confused look on their face.

What, oh the bag. My best friend and I work support and right now they’re focusing on making it easier for both normal people like the police and pro-heroes to keep their equipment handy without taking up space and I’m their beta tester.” She then flipped it to a page, it was a photo of a black, silver blue and red giant

This is the Ultra that my grandmother Naomi saw, she called him Ultraman Orb and he’s in one of his form changes that she called Emerium Slugger. It’s said that this form was granted by a father and son duo of Ultras.”

Aizawa stared at the Ultra. “Aizawa are you alright?” Nadia asked him in confusion.

Yeah but Zero looks a lot like this but not this Ultra.”

So, it seems that the Ultra you’ve met isn’t the one that my family knows of but it one of the Ultras that make up one of his form. I’m going to have research this but for sure I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

The three lights have bonded, now, stand up! The three lights have bonded, now, stand up!"

Nadia frowned as she pulled out a phone out of the pocket of her jacket. “Ello’ hey Jet what’s up?”

What? Send me the design, I think the people that I’m talking to might find this information useful.” She ended the call as she turned back to Nedzu and Aizawa. “That was the person who created and designed my bag. You see, Jet and I are the owner of the SSP Support Company and the main Support Company that designs most of the heroes uniform for the Heroes Schools like Yūei.” She pulled out a tablet.

“Well a week or two ago, I talked to a Heroic student and his original costume was destroyed in a training exercise, he had a new idea for his costume and we’ve been very quite swamped with repairs and redesigns since the hero school just got back in session. So, Jet just got to the design the student sent just a moment ago and well I think the design says it all.”

She showed the three the design. Aizawa noticed that it was similar to Iida’s uniform except it was sleeker and more armor like but Aizawa froze since the design looked like Zero’s giant form except as armor

So, who commissioned this hero uniform?” Aizawa asked as Nadia type into her tablet.

Let’s see.” She typed a few more thing into her tablet. “A Yūei student by the name of Izuku Midoriya.”

Aizawa let out a sigh. “It just had to be my Problem Child.”

So, you think Midoriya is our mysterious Vigilante then Aizawa.” Nedzu asked the 1-A’s homeroom teacher.

No, I don’t because I saw both Midoriya and Zero at the same time during the attack on the USJ. I also got to see Zero with his hood down and the face staring at me could’ve been Midoriya but there was small differences like for instance the color of his eyes weren’t the emerald green of Midoriya’s but they this orangeish yellow that seemed to glow and that seem to be hiding something.” Aizawa paused and looked at Nedzu.

He gave me his age and name, he said that he was eighteen and his name was Shin Moroboshi and  I looked to see what his Quirk is and to see if he was using a fake name. There is no one at all with that name.”

Nedzu then piped in. “Well, we shall confront Midoriya after the Sport Festival and see what he has to say.” He turned to Nadia. “Make him that uniform and well see what happens from here.”

Right!” Nadia said with a smile as she began to type away on her tablet. “It will happen right away, Nedzu.”

Aizawa let out a sigh, every class that he had that was never fully expelled only partially always had that one student that was his Problem Child and it seems that Midoriya was this years Problem Child alongside this Morobosh

[jungle321jungle]

Book Rants: The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

Book Rants: The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

Page 304 out of 426.

That’s the page I’m on as I’m writing this because I lowkey can’t stand it anymore.

What I can’t stand is The Storm Runner, by J.C. Cervantes.

I’m not gonna touch on all the representation and all of that or anything. Simply because well, I need to rant. So, if you’re looking for a spoiler free review I’ll make it short for ya: Zane exists. He has a dog. He meets a girl. He’s told not to do the thing. He does the thing. Evil dude is released. Goes on a mission to put evil dude back with girl and uncle. And uh I haven’t finished the book so I can’t say more than that right now. Anyway to the rant!

Warning this rant will be a certified mess. I’m just writing whatever comes to mind.

The first thing which pissed me off about this book, is Zane himself. Like this kid- God. So Zane is your main character and he has a limp, and he’s a godborn, and he kinda likes the girl. And he’s trying to undo everything he did.

That’s legit all I can say about his character rn that’s not negative.

So Zane, Zane, Zane’s inner voice. The monologue of the story. Is just so bad. Here’s so examples of actual lines from this book from the most recent section I read.

"It was party city!"

"If only they knew I was godborn, too. And not just related to any god, but Hurakan, the creator and destroyer!"

Like cringe? I don’t know what else I can say besides the word cringe.

Like I have seen reviews where people says Zane’s voice is Percy-esque. And what annoys me is that’s true. But only a small percent of the time. It flips between lines I just read, to bland, to boring and then you get a full on sarcastic thing and it just seems badly timed and out of place for Zane. There’s one I just read but I’m not gonna torture myself with trying to find it.

Another thing which annoyed me about Zane is how forgettable he is? Like he’s the main character that shouldn’t be possible. But like when reading this there was about a three month gap in between me putting the book down and picking it back up a few days ago. And while reading a few days ago I could remember what had happened in the last chapter but I couldn’t remember Zane’s name.

So I text my friends as I read to vent. And I literally sent: “wow i read like four chapters and i didn't realize until now when it was mentioned that i forgot mcs name”

I shouldn’t be able to forget his name.

So another thing which annoys me about Zane are his decisions and how it moves the plot. But before we even touch the plot let me touch on the other characters.

First off Brooks.

She’s the mysterious girl who’s there to help, the living expert on Maya everything. And a girl so full of secrets and depression she belongs back in 2003.

Oh and she can turn into a hawk... until she can’t.

Next up we got Hondo.

Hondo is my fav of the three. He’s Zane’s uncle and he’s there for the wild ride just because. Like I’m sure there’s a logical reason? I think it was just cause they needed someone with a car? I can’t remember it was three months ago. Actually it could be longer, cause before that last time I had set the book down for a long time too. Anyway he has the best personality. And I would pay to see him be the main character instead.

So while my favorite of the three is Hondo, my favorite character is actually Ah-Puch. Mr. Evil Dude himself. He’s more interesting than the other three combined, and I just read when broke into the Twins’ lair and all that jazz and I got so happy. To be honest I much rather watch him destroy the world than anything else.

Of course my happiness was immediately undermined as it always is with this book, but I’ll say more about that in a sec.

So the plot... Oh the plot.

I will say the plot on the whole is brutally fine. The gist is that Zane is the prophecy kid (cause we’re in the realm of Riordan) and he's supposed to be the one to free Ah-Puch and he does, because he wants his dog brought back to life. I’m not gonna go into people and love for dogs and all, but I just think a smidge more thought could be put into things? Like theres another point where the seer old lady Ms. Cab tells Zane to stay home ‘cause his house is the only place with special protective wards. And like I didn't expect him to stay there, since the story needs to happen, but it seemed like he didn’t even try to make an effort to stay in the house? It was just like welp, there’s danger and murderous creatures, but nah I need to go talk to my mom.

Like just think a tiny bit more, just a little. Please.

When Ah-Puch shows up at the twins (I’m gonna keep mentioning this part cuz it's what I just read) he was super badass and him and Muwan was super cool. Watching the Twins shake in their boots was a bit satisfying especially because something unexpected was happening. But during that Ah-Puch goes on and on talking about how the Twins are liars and this and that, but like Zane believes every word. He doesn’t even doubt the validity for half a second. This man- this super evil man who wants to destroy everything. Like look Zane may be thirteen but there's gullible and then there's ridiculous.

(Semi off topic: during this scene Brooks just kinda vanishes. She says they need to run then kinda just sits there next to half dead Hondo watching until it's time to remind Zane to run again via telepathy- oh yeah she has telepathy)

Now switching gears to my previous comment about undermining my happiness. It seems like everything I enjoy is immediately shot in the face not much later.

When Zane is doing a coin toss with the Twins, he picks the death side of the coin and the way its written and the fact that the chapter ends with this. It sounds so profound- so powerful.

Then on the next page we learn it’s a mind game the the coin is weighted so he picked the wrong side. Yes, I understand that the Twins always win and whatever and this shows that. But it felt like such a quick switch in tone, in Zane it completely dashed all happiness I just had on the page before. Ah-Puch showing up during deadly basketball is the same thing. I loved reading him swooping in and the glass shattering violently over the crowd, and I thought it wa so cool how he had done that. The Twins thought they were untouchable but then here comes Mr. Evil Dude to destroy it all. It was perfect.

Then you learn he just followed the tracking device he put on Zane.

I will admit I had forgotten about the tattoo deal thing- given my few month break- but had I read this book consistently it wouldn’t have been a surprise whatsoever. It’s super expected. Also I thought it would show just how powerful Ah-Puch is. Even not at full strength,and freshly back in the world he tracked them down and was ready to give them a slow painful death.

LOL NOPE HE FOLLOWED THE LEASH HE PUT ON ZANE.

I hope you can just feel how much I am groaning and sighing right now.

So after that Jazz shows up to save the gang and you’re like cool cool good timing whatever. I’m glad he agreed to come, but then he admits he put cameras in their clothes insert more sighs. So this guy was just watching them agree to play deadly basketball and meet Mr. Evil Ah-Puch and did nothing until the dangerous people were gone? They could’ve used some help sooner Jazz. A lot sooner.

Well, I think I got the rant mostly out of my system purely because I haven’t read the last 100 or so pages, but if you’re probably wondering why I read this book if I can’t get through without getting annoyed.

Honestly I think the whole reasoning is the fact that my boss gave it to me. She was the one who told me about Riordan Presents and gave me the book as a gift. So I think I just feel sort of pushed to finish it (and read the next one she gave me)? Regardless of if that's the reason or not that I keep reading, for some reason I am still pulled into this book?

I am driven insane by it- and yet I still read it, and I might even read the sequel ‘cause I am trash. But I think this factor is what annoys me the most overall.

I want to like this book and I want to hate it. But I can’t do either. It's the definition of a love hate relationship. And I don't think I’ll ever get out of it.

Idk if I’ll post something about the end of the book yet, it depends on how much I want to pull my hair out

Someone please kill me before I finish this thing

[larksinging]

okay I'm gonna submit a few ideas of christmas stuff and you can pick whichever works best for you I guess! some art of ivypool and hollyleaf hanging out, a long post about my writing or my roster maybe? or idk maybe some hollyleaf meta in general bc Fave Cat

alright here’s a second gift before i need to leave

alright storm! i’ve only known you for a few months but those months have been super rewarding. building up rp dynamics and talking about fight cats is always a joy with you, and i always appreciate little moments when you reach out when im upset. thank you for everything! 

i wanted to add a little something to the meta post gifts i did, so here’s a quick storyboard thing, i call “as thornclaw says, still gotta patrol even in the snow”

alright so let’s do the ultimate warriors thing: talk about how hollyleaf deserved better

i think i’ve said before that one of the erins’ actual strengths is in writing sibling relationships. considering how “the three” colloquially in the fandom still means “lionblaze, jayfeather, and hollyleaf” i think that says a lot about how good that sibling dynamic is. the setup of those three is so good and you can really see how deeply they care about each other and how strong their bond is from even the very beginning of the sight. plus the original setup creates this really interesting dynamic with jayfeather and the op but bitter and rebellious one involved in spiritual stuff, lionblaze as… strong maybe a touch densebut well-liked, and then hollyleaf as clever and super lawful. also in typing this i realized how they all have some potential to go a little dark, esp with how the prophecy treated them. anyway this is hollyleaf meta not three meta. that dynamic is so good and something that i think dovewing never really fills, because the erins don’t know what to do with dovewing.

though in some ways i’ve always found hollyleaf not having powers as something interesting? theres something really compelling in someone being surrounded by all this special stuff and being denied it. it would have been even better if her lack of starclan specialness was actually key to her doing something important, but… trust the erins.

actually now that i think about it, hollyleaf as a character is really unique? she is defined by her strict adherence to the code, which is something we… really don’t see any other time. sure, plenty of characters are strict, but nobody is quite as focused on upholding the code to the letter of the law in the same way hollyleaf is. warriors is full of a lot of rulebreakers, honestly. even outside of her role in the three, that makes her one of the most unique wc characters? i’d put her up there with mothflight, fireheart, and needletail as “having extremely interesting views and relationships to the warrior code”.

as much as POT’s ending is kind of a trash fire, i always thought hollyleaf’s breakdown at the end of that was pretty well-done and compelling. nothing is gonna break someone like hollyleaf more than knowing she is the product of such a huge infraction of the code and the way of life she holds so dear. her spiral into darker and darker actions makes sense but is also heartbreaking. it’s a shame ashfur wasn’t developed more as a villain, because i think there’s a lot of potential for him to be a foil to hollyleaf. he is obsessed with romance and revenge, whereas hollyleaf is too preoccupied with her ambition. but moreso, ashfur shows that he actively doesn’t care for the code or the good of the clanwhen he’s preparing to reveal the leafpool thing. ashfur choses his personal biases and emotions over the clan and the code to a point where it’s destructive, but i’d argue… hollyleaf does too. hers is more self-destructive, and she isn’t as willing to admit it, but the end of POT is hollyleaf spiraling as she can’t let go of how her family situation torments her, to the point where she begins to disregard the very thing she held dear. that’s really tragic

i’m glad they did bring her back for oots, because her return sets up a lot of themes that become important towards the end. OOTS has this sense of finality and old conflicts finally ending, so hollyleaf returning and being welcomed back into the clan (and the subsequent, though i think poorly handled, forgiveness about the leafpool thing among everyone involved) really is a first step in the reconciliation theme. then that sense of desperation, and everyone coming out of the woodworks and banding together to face the dark forest. buut one of her most compelling themes in OOTS is her natural parallels to ivypool. they could have had a lot more interesting development together than they got, which is a shame. they are both excluded from the prophecy and that drives them down a dark path (for hollyleaf it was more complicated, but). and while they’re different they both have a sense of determination and willingness to do anything - even self sacrifice - for the good of the clans. honestly while i think her disappearing isn’t bad for her arc, hollyleaf still being in thunderclan and having been ivypool’s mentor would have been interesting

alright to keep this from getting too long ill make this “au i want” part short, but. where is hollystar and ivypool deputy au. hollyleaf becoming leader was kind of foreshadowed in her desires early on, and the idea of hollyleaf getting redemption to the point of becoming deputy and leader afterwards would have been so satisfying. plus you get her getting to be special despite not being in the three, or because of not being in the three? it would also fit thunderclan’s whole “we don’t care where you came from or who your parents were, if you’re a loyal warrior then that’s all that matters” for someone from such a complicated situation to become leader. also though, hollyleaf should have had powers. what the fuck. give her jayfeather’s empathy power, or give her some kind of minor future-sight, or maybe she can view time more slowly to plan better, or something. jayfeather’s power is spiritual/emotional, lionblaze’s power is physical, so giving hollyleaf a power that’s mental would be a perfect way to complete the trio.

tl;dr hollyleaf is one of the best and most interesting characters in warriors and she got robbed so hard and it’s a fucking shame

[revwinchester]

Color The World - Chapter 4

Summary: Sam meets Jessica early in their freshman year at Stanford and his world is suddenly brighter.  When he loses her during their senior year, Sam’s life is plunged back into grayscale.  With the help of his family and friends, Sam starts to get his life back together.  He works and travels with Dean, restoring classic cars, and eventually meets Gabriel but struggles to let the other man in.

Author: @revwinchester Artist: @bluefire986

Pairings: Sam x Jessica, Sam x Gabriel; background Charlie x Dorothy, Dean x Castiel

Chapter Word Count: 2463

Warnings: Soul mate AU, fluff and angst (50/50 split), major character death, fire/arson, mention of suicide (no suicidal ideation, though), depression, internalized homophobia, cursing

A/N: Chapter 4!  Back to all fluff!  Someone breaks their arm but even that’s done in the fluffiest way possible.  This is snippets of Sam and Jessica’s college life together.  Since this is a bang, everything got posted at about the same time so you should check out the master posts here: 

Color The World - Fic Color The World - Art

I hope you enjoy it!

Like most soulmates, Sam and Jess had become practically inseparable as they learned as much as they could about one another.  They explored the world around them together, taking weekend trips and starlit drives in Sam’s mustang.  

On a hike, Jess told Sam about how she’d always wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle and then proceeded to tease Sam about how the helmet would probably ruin his hair.  A few weeks later, the pair was in a gallery checking out some local artists and one of the photographs reminded Sam of a story from when he was a kid.  He shared the tale with Jess and soon he and his girlfriend were breathless with laughter over the “good luck” Sam had found when his Dad had given him a rabbit’s foot as a kid.  

“So, then Dean managed to convince me that, if you lose a rabbit’s foot, it’s bad luck and it was some self fulfilling prophecy or something because I had the worst luck right after,” Sam shared.

“Oh yeah,” Jess laughed, “like what?”

“We went out to dinner and I noticed the thing was missing while we were there.  I knocked over my dad’s coffee and then, on the way out, I slipped and fell on my ass,” Sam huffed.

“That’s not so bad…” Jess interrupted.

“Just wait,” Sam assured her.  “Dad was on a restoration job so we were staying in some motel.  As soon as I got out of the car, I stepped in some gum in the parking lot and, when I went to scrape it off on a sewer grate, my shoe fell off and went down the drain.  I had only brought one pair of shoes on the trip and we were supposed to be there for another two weeks at least.”

Jess was giggling now and Sam paused his story for a moment just to listen to the sound.

“Then, that night, something went wrong with the heater in the motel room and while we were all asleep, the drapes caught fire.”  Sam was still laughing but Jess stopped.  “The only reason I can laugh is no one was hurt.  Dad smothered the fire and the motel’s management gave us the rest of our stay for free in a swanky hotel that they also ran and Dad made sure they serviced all of the other heaters in the place”  Sam pushed  forward, noticing that Jess was smiling again.  “Dad also told them I’d lost my shoes in the fire and I ended up with the nicest pair of sneakers I’ve ever owned.  Though, to this day, I’m vaguely afraid of fire,” Sam confessed.

“That’s why you always ask Charlie or me to make your s’mores when we go camping!” Jessica exclaimed.  

---

Sam and Jess were on a picnic when they started talking about the future.

“So, I was pissed that my dad missed Christmas for a job again and I gave his gift to Dean.  I’ve never regretted it and I don’t think Dean has ever taken the pendant off.”  Sam’s voice was serious and Jess thought she could even hear a sense of reverence.

“As an only child, I’d love for any future kid to have a sibling or two,” Jess said a bit hesitantly, wording her comment carefully.

“I wouldn’t trade my experiences with Dean for the world,” Sam replied quickly.  “I’d always kind of pictured my life with at least two kids, eventually.”

Jess smiled up at Sam.  “Eventually is right, Winchester.  You’ve got a law career to start in order to support my starving artist lifestyle.”

The pair laughed and talked as they ate and drank, goofy grins on both of their faces as they made hypothetical plans for the future.  After a lengthy discussion it was agreed, that their future twins would be named either Mulder and Scully or Monet and Manet, both of which had been Jessica’s suggestions that Sam had reluctantly agreed to after missing her dry humor once again.

---

The first time Dean met Jess it went almost exactly as Sam predicted it would.  Sam had just picked his girlfriend up from the airport and pulled up outside of his uncle’s house.  “So, we’re not actually related.  Bobby became a family friend and Uncle Bobby just seemed appropriate when Dean and I were young.  Sometimes, Dean and I would stay with Bobby or he’d come down and stay with us when Dad was on a restoration job.  We had a home base in Kansas but every couple of months, Dad would have to travel for a job and, as we got older, he would travel more frequently.  That’s where Bobby came in.”  

Sam put the car in park and got out, jogging around to open Jessica’s door before she had the chance to do it herself.  She laughed to herself at seeing Sam on his best behavior.  She stepped out of the car and her laughter was short lived when a large form, though not as large as her boyfriend, pulled her in for a bone crushing hug.

“Jessica!” the man said.

“You must be Dean,” Jess responded  “It’s good to meet you, too.”  When Dean continued to squeeze her, Jess added, “Can’t… breathe…”

Dean released her with a laugh and a huge grin on his face.  “Was that un-embarrassing enough, Sammy?” he asked with a wink.  

After Dean welcomed her to the family, Jess also met Bobby, Ellen, and Jo on this visit.  She ingratiated herself to Bobbly immediately when she requested a beer upon arrival and seamlessly fit in with the women when she started sharing some of the more sordid details from stories that Sam was telling, making some of his stories more flattering while, in others, Sam didn’t come out so well.

“Yeah, and then Sammy grabbed his butt and ran out of the room screaming,” Jess laughed finishing one of Sam’s tales for him.

“And I spent the next three days sick as a dog with the stomach flu but no one ever remembers that part of the story…” Sam grumbled, causing Jess to giggle again and lean in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

---

Sam’s first introduction to the Moores didn’t go quite as smoothly but he couldn’t blame her parents for looking out for their daughter.  The initial meeting was tense and took place in the parking lot of a restaurant.  Jessica’s father looked Sam up and down as they shook hands.

“Daddy, be nice,” Jessica instructed.

With a final glance at Sam, her dad replied, “when am I not nice, princess?”

Jess broke into a smile and dashed into her father’s arms.  She was a daddy’s girl through and through and wanted her father to like her soulmate more than anything in that moment.  

Once Jess and her dad broke apart and Sam was introduced to her mom, they made their way inside the restaurant.  It was fancier than Sam was used to but Jess had helped him get ready for the evening so he, thankfully, didn’t feel out of place.  

Once they were seated, the group fell into an awkward silence.  Jess tried to fill it with stories from school with Sam doing his best to contribute, but the conversation felt forced and Sam couldn’t help but feel there was an axe hanging above his head that would come crashing down with one wrong move or mischosen word.  

“So, Sam,” Jessica’s mom began during a lull in the conversation, “tell us more about you and your family.”

“Well, ma’am, it’s just my brother, Dean, and I.  Mom died when I was a baby and my dad passed away right before I got into Stanford,” Sam responded.  “Dean’s a mechanic, one of the best in the business.  He restores classic cars and is in pretty high demand.  Took the business over from our dad when he passed.”

“Ah, a family of mechanics.  That would explain the Mustang, at least,” Jessica’s dad interjected.  “I thought it might be a rental in an attempt to impress me.”  Sam couldn’t read Mr. Moore’s voice.

“No, sir.  Dad taught me a thing or two about being under the hood of a car and we restored her together when I was in high school.  He worked on a ‘67 Impala with my brother.”  Sam didn’t particularly enjoy or want to talk about cars but if it’s what he had in common with Jessica’s dad, he’d make it work.

“And what are you here studying, Sam?” Mr. Moore asked.

“Law.  Well, pre-law.”  This was a topic that Sam was much more comfortable with and, seeing that his response seemed to surprise his soulmate’s dad, one that he dove into head first.  “I’m at Stanford on a full academic scholarship as a pre-law major.  I’d love to go into family law, helping kids who are in bad situations, you know?”

Jessica’s dad nodded, mulling Sam’s words over before he spoke.  “I’ve got some great connections in that world, Sam.  I’ll have to introduce you some time.  And if you ever decide you’re interested in criminal law, you be sure I’m the first to know.”

Sam could feel Jess relax next to him as he, too, breathed a sigh of relief.  It would seem that he had passed whatever test her dad had planned.  “Thank you, sir.  Though, I have to be honest, you’ll be the second to know.  It seems that Jess is the first one to hear all of my news these days.”

---

Over the next three years, holidays and summers were split between Sam’s family in North Dakota and Jessica’s in Southern California.  The time in between, however, belonged to them and their friends.  Sam, Jess, Brady, Kevin, and Charlie would go on hikes and camping trips together, they would play video games and board games together and they always made it a big deal to celebrate birthdays and milestones together.  

For Jessica’s birthday one year, Sam and the rest of the gang surprised her with a vintage motorcycle experience.  They drove out to a closed track where they learned about the mechanics of riding and the history of the bikes.  Then they had an opportunity to ride.

Jess turned to Sam with a look of pure joy on her face when she heard they were headed to the track to do some laps on the motorcycles.  “How did you know?” she asked, awe and wonder coloring her voice.

“You told me you’d always wanted to learn to ride, right after we met,” Sam reminded her.

“I can’t believe you remembered!  I don’t even remember telling you,” Jess laughed.  She was so full of joy and excitement as the quintet followed the instructor, Dorothy, out to the course.  Sam smiled, and grabbed her hand.

“I haven’t even told you the best part, yet,” he informed his girlfriend.  “Apparently, I’m too big for anyone on the staff to counterbalance while we ride so you get to take my place and go twice.”

Jessica’s face fell a little.  “You don’t get to ride?”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Sam assured her.  “I grew up around cars and mechanics and all this kind of stuff.  I’ve been on a bike before.”  Sam kissed pulled Jess in for a hug and kissed her forehead. “You’re going to love it.”

Since it was her birthday, Jess got to ride first and she and Dorothy took off around the track.  When they returned to the group, Sam could see the light and elation in Jessica’s eyes and he couldn’t help but fall even more in love with her.  

Once her feet were back on the ground, Jess ran over to Sam and flung herself into his arms.  “That was amazing!” she exclaimed.  “You are amazing!  Thank you so much!”  She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Sam’s lips before turning back to watch her friends have a chance to ride around the track, too.

Kevin and Brady both rode with little incident but when it was Charlie’s turn, things went a little pear shaped.  Charlie climbed onto the bike and wrapped her arms around Dorothy, who was dressed in simple, vintage clothes to match the bike.  The motorcycle shot off onto the course but at the first turn, the bike wobbled and Charlie and Dorothy were both thrown onto the grass in the center of the track.  

The four friends standing at the starting point sprinted over to them, Jess pulling out her cell phone in case they needed to call for emergency services.  Luckily, when they arrived at the crash site, both women seemed to be more than okay.  They had landed on top of one another in some soft grass and their helmets, pants, and jackets had kept most of the potential injuries at bay.  Charlie was now sitting, straddling Dorothy’s hips and pulling off her helmet while Dorothy scrambled to do the same.  When both women’s heads were free, they just stared at one another.

“You guys ok?” Kevin asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Dorothy breathed at the same time Charlie responded, “Never Better,” smiles growing on both of their faces.

“What’s going on, guys?” Sam asked but Jessica elbowed him in the gut.  

When he turned to look at his girlfriend with a question written across his face, Jess mouthed, “Soulmates” and Sam realized what was happening.  

“Right after we started riding, everything got really blurry,” Dorothy started explaining.

Charlie cut her off and added, “yeah!  And then there was a flash and BOOM! Colors!”

“Wait, you… and her?” Brady asked, his voice skeptical.  

His question was answered when Dorothy sat up, Charlie still in her lap, and kissed the redhead.  Dorothy’s hands landed in Charlie’s hair and one of Charlie’s hands ended up on Dorothy’s cheek.  The other was cradled gently against her body.  When Dorothy’s hands wandered down wards, first to Charlie’s shoulders and then running down her arms, Charlie gasped and pulled back, pain written on her features.  

“I think we should be getting you to the hospital, Char,” Kevin observed, his eyes having turned back to the couple at the sound of his friend’s pain.

“I’ll take her, if it’s alright,” Dorothy offered, looking to Charlie for confirmation.  “You guys were the last group of the day.  One of the office guys can take care of the putting the bike away.”  

Charlie nodded, not trusting her voice now that she was feeling the pain of what was likely a broken arm but also not wanting to have to leave Dorothy just yet.

“You call us as soon as you know anything,” Jess demanded and Charlie nodded again allowing Sam to scoop her up off of Dorothy’s lap and set her down on her feet, careful to not jostle her arm.

Next Chapter

All tags are posted with the master post for this one so that no one got inundated with a dozen tags in a matter of minutes when this went live. :)

[dotshiiki]

A Blue Secret (Percy/Annabeth)

Summary: Annabeth is hiding something. The secret is driving Percy to distraction.

Notes: So it’s my birthday today, and I felt like doing blue-related things. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to finish writing this in time to post as I’ve been working on it a while since the bunny hopped into my head last month when I was baking cookies for my friend’s birthday. (Yes, blue M&M cookies. And yes, I was sorting M&M’s, which was the inspiration for the fic.) But then the last bit that was evading me came together and voilà! Fic to share! Be warned, though, it’s high on fluff but low on plot. 

Plink, plink, plink. The unusual noise coming from behind Annabeth’s room door makes Percy halt on the landing, his brow furrowing with curiosity. It sounds like quarters being deposited into a coin bank. Or maybe a wonky percussion instrument. ��Annabeth?’ The sound stops abruptly and is followed by a quick rustling noise and a loud thump. Then footsteps, and Annabeth’s door opens. 

'Percy! What are you doing back so early? I thought you and Frank were organising the Pyrrhic War re-enactment at the Coliseum today?’ 'Oh, well, it had to be cancelled. Some junior legionnaire fed Hannibal peanuts. No war elephant equals no elephantry display.’ She looks at him a little blankly. 'Hannibal the elephant? He’s peanut-intolerant. Huge mess—Frank’s sorting it out now.’ 'Oh, right. I forgot.’ 'So what are you up to?’ 'Nothing, just studying.’ She looks away from him when she says it, to the thick tome of a textbook sitting open on her desk. He has the strange suspicion that she actually pulled it out right before she opened the door. But he can’t think of a reason why she would lie about it, and he has a feeling she won’t take it well if he says the first thought that pops into his head, which is, ’Didn’t sound like studying.’ He doesn’t want to be the suspicious boyfriend, after all. And then he’s distracted by Annabeth asking if he wants to join her. He says yes, of course. She picks up the book and moves so they can sit together on her bed. As he plays with her hair and listens to her talk about structural supports and Doric columns, he forgets about her mystery activity. OoOoO He is reminded a few days later, though, this time when a freak thunderstorm puts an end to his plans to go canoe-surfing in the lake with Piper (thanks a lot, Zeus, or Jupiter, or whichever form he’s meant to be for a Greek demigod living in New Rome) and he gets home to hear the same steady plink, plink, plink coming from behind Annabeth’s closed door once again. He knocks this time and there’s the same abrupt pause, the rustling—maybe a drawer opening and closing? Annabeth opens the door and this time he notices the little details he overlooked before: her eyes just a bit wider than normal, her breathing a little too fast. 'You’re back!’ She glances at the window and the weeping skies outside. 'Oh. I guess they closed the boating docks.’ He decides to be direct. 'What was that noise?’ The furtive expression that passes over her face is so quick, if Percy wasn’t on the alert, he would have missed it. 'What noise?’ says Annabeth, a little too casually. 'You know, that, er, clinking sort of sound.’ There’s a moment’s hesitation, and then she says, 'You mean the rain?’ 'No, I thought I heard …’ She cocks her head to one side. 'Sounds like the rain to me,’ she says with a shrug. She gives him an affectionate peck on the cheek as she passes him, heading for the bathroom. He catches sight of her fingers by chance. They are stained with multiple colours, like rainbow ink stains from different pens. When she emerges from the bathroom a minute later, her hands washed clean and smelling of lemon soap, Annabeth launches immediately into a complicated narration about the interior design she’s sketching for a temple Jason asked her to help with. This isn’t exactly atypical for her, except that she usually waits for him to ask first before going all Alex Dunphy on him. It’s almost as though she’s trying to steer the conversation away before he gets a chance to ask questions she doesn’t want to answer. Yeah, he thinks, she’s definitely hiding something. OoOoO He begins to notice a pattern. It’s always when he gets back at an unplanned time—earlier than expected, cancelled plans—that he finds Annabeth holed up in her room doing whatever it is that she’s not sharing. She’s doing it only when she knows he’ll be out of the house. This conclusion makes him uneasy. It’s not that he doesn’t trust her, or that he thinks she’s up to something shady. If there’s one thing he’s certain of, even more than the fact that pizza makes the best dinner and blue makes food taste better, it’s that his girlfriend always has his back. Besides, this is Annabeth after all, the girl with a million projects on her plate, most of which he doesn’t even understand when she does tell him about them. It’s probably just a new hobby she’s picked up—maybe sewing; it did sound like she might be rustling through buttons in a bag. Except Annabeth is probably the least domesticated person he knows, so he can’t really picture her hunched over a needlepoint. Or it could be—there’s some brainiac game that involves chucking marbles in a wooden board with holes, right? No, the fact that Annabeth might have a new hobby doesn’t faze him. What he doesn’t get is why it has to be a secret. She’s trusted him with everything since they were kids: her problems with her family, her deepest fears, even her embarrassing crush on Gregory Peck that she swears she’ll kill him if he ever tells anyone. There’s nothing she’s ever needed to hide from him. Except … well, except for that stuff with Luke, ages ago. But that was before they got together. Back when there was a war with the Titans and they all thought he was marked for death by prophecy. Gods, he hopes it’s not some new war-related shit. Haven’t they done enough with the Titans and then Gaea, and that whole debacle with the Norse gods that he still doesn’t understand. Oh, and not to mention Apollo and his Roman emperors? He goes so far as to ask her how she’s been occupying herself when he’s out, but she only raises her eyebrows and says, 'Are you suggesting I don’t have important stuff to do that don’t involve you?’ He wisely backs off from that line of conversation. Still, he wishes he knew. The curiosity is starting to drive him a little crazy. One morning he comes out to the kitchen to find Annabeth sitting with her elbows propped on the table, looking like she’s waiting for him. He frowns, confused. Has he forgotten something? It’s too early in the day to figure it out—at least he can’t really think clearly before he’s had some coffee, which thankfully Annabeth has brewed. He makes a bee-line for the pot on the counter and takes a huge gulp before facing her. 'Um,’ he says, running his fingers through his hair. He notices she’s wearing an oversized Camp Half-Blood t-shirt (probably his, which always turns him on way more than it should) and her pyjamas shorts underneath, so obviously she’s not all ready to leave the flat or anything. That’s good—it means he hasn’t forgotten a morning date. Then he sees the jar sitting on the table in front of her. It’s one of those giant jam jars, about the size of a football, with clear glass all around, and it’s filled to the brim with M&M’s. With blue M&M’s, to be exact. It all falls neatly into place then: the slow clink of tiny chocolate pieces into a glass jar, the rustling of candy packaging and fingers rifling through a colourful packet. The secret that was driving him crazy the last two weeks is sitting as a big blue present in front of him and he feels like a real idiot not to have put it together earlier. Between being distracted by Annabeth’s mystery activity and how different spending summer summer in California has been, he’s managed to forget that today is his birthday, which probably means that he’s going to be in a world of hurt since his birthday is also conveniently their anniversary. Well, there’s a reason his nickname is Seaweed Brain and not hers. 'Well?’ says Annabeth, her impatient tone at odds with the way she’s chewing her lip. Annabeth is always brusque when she’s nervous. Although why she would be nervous, he has no clue. She’s the amazing girlfriend who made him a thoughtful gift. He’s the dork who’s failing as a boyfriend. 'I—wow. You did this … for my birthday?’ he manages to say, feeling every bit like the kelp-head she likes to call him. Annabeth shrugs. 'It’s your first one away from home, so I thought you’d like … well, I would have done blue cake or cookies, but you know me and baking. I didn’t want to burn the house down. This seemed safer.’ 'Geez, Annabeth, you must have gone through tons of packets!’ He can’t really guess how many M&M’s are in the huge jar—he never was any good at those guess-the-number-of-jellybean games—but she would have had to go through ten times the number to sift out that many. He pictures her sitting at her desk, patiently rifling through packs of multi-coloured M&M’s. He can’t imagine doing it himself without getting distracted and giving up. Percy puts her arms around her and squeezes her tight. 'You’re the best, Wise Girl,’ he murmurs against her hair. Annabeth relaxes into his embrace. 'I know. You’re not so bad yourself, Seaweed Brain.’ They don’t say I love you; but then, they’ve never had to.

(For anyone who didn’t get the Alex Dunphy reference, she’s a nerdy character on Modern Family. Let’s just assume Percy watches, yes?)

Here, have some blue M&M’s!