#also need to change my username maybe??? its still a much older one

[sketchy-tour]

Kicking my feet

So

Yall plan to do artfight this year?

[elareine]

If you could, can you please write JayTim or RoyTim (whichever one you want) trying to be romantic and woo Tim (maybe with some puns, I love puns), but Tim is a bit oblivious towards it, because the other is so cool, therefore they must be trying to make friends and be nice with him and nothing more. So when he does finally realize its an italicized "Oh" moment.

Hi lovely!! Thank you for waiting so patiently for this fill. I... ended up making it JayRoyTim, I hope that's okay? It just fit so well, but I can totally write something else with JayTim or RoyTim for you if you want :)

Also, it turned out to be about pick-up lines more than wooing, sorry. I might’ve gone overboard with googling the puns. It's long enough that I put it on ao3, too. What's your username on there? Then I'll gift it to you.

if you were a transformer (you’d be optimus fine)

“Well, here I am.”

Tim looks up, utterly confused. “I didn’t call for you, but… that’s… great?”

Roy waggles his eyebrows. It looks faintly disturbing. Redheads should maybe not do that. Or, actually, Tim revises mentally, thinking of literally every other redhead Dick ever dated—that’s just Roy. “What are your other two wishes?”

“Coffee and some silence to finish working this case?”

Roy looks weirdly deflated at that, but he does get him some coffee. Tim soon forgets about it.

—

(“How’d it go?”

“Does obliviousness run in the family?”

“Yes. Yes it does. Have you met Bruce?”

“…okay, fair. Your turn next.”)

—

“Jason? What’re you doing here?”

Sure, Jason and Roy have been spending a lot more time in Gotham lately. Something to do with a case, Tim assumes. Maybe even with the one that they worked on together in Star City five months ago?

Anyway. They’ve been around, is what Tim is saying. Not at the manor, but at Tim’s apartment and his workspace, cause apparently it’s not worth rebuilding their safe house after it went up in flames, and Bruce and Damian are too often at Dick’s place. He’s not exactly surprised to see either of them anymore. (Pleased, yes. But not surprised.) However, Tim has no fucking clue why Jason is currently grinning at him from the other side of the library desk.

At least Tim has the good sense to check his name tag before he gasps: “Jason?”

“Oh, hey, Tim.” Jason’s grinning. “Guess you figured out my new job, huh?”

“Yeah.” Tim shakes his head. “Color me surprised.” So this is what Jason’s spending his days doing. He’s gotta be shadowing someone, right? Tim’ll ask him tonight.

“I’ve always liked this place.” Jason’s gaze is far away for a moment. Tim badly wants to know what he’s remembering. Then the older man seems to come back to himself and gives Tim a weird—maybe angry?—look. “It’s a good thing I’m a librarian, too, cause I’m totally checking you out.”

“Alright, I can take a hint.” Tim grabs his book and demonstratively walks over to the self-service scanners. Really. How rude.

—

(“Are you telling me he managed to resist you in your cardigan?”

“Apparently.”

“Aww. C’mere, babe.”)

—

So Roy blows things up all the time. No, really, Tim now totally understands why Dick was so happy when he heard the duo is camping out at Tim’s place for a change. His older brother even gave Tim a thumbs-up, for God’s sake. He must’ve known.

Cause yeah, there’s at least one explosion every two days. Or Roy dropping something cause he’s too focused on what he’s thinking to remember what his hands are doing. Or something dropping on him. Jason seems used to it; he just catches whatever it is or laughs at Roy. Tim… is starting to learn to do the same, actually. Whatever Roy comes up with at that moment is usually worth it, and besides, he’s kinda adorable.

Aaaaaaanyway. (He’s using that word a lot in his own thoughts right now. Almost as if he’s avoiding thinking about something. Hmm.) Tim’s not surprised when Roy walks into a room, stumbles, and slaps a hand over his eyes with a dramatic exclamation.

Tim, in shorts and not much else cause he got drenched in pollen earlier, just raises an eyebrow. “Alright, Roy?”

“Nope.” Roy’s hand is still covering his face, but Tim can still see his grin underneath. “I’m gonna need your name and phone number for insurance purposes.”

“Roy. You have both of these things,” Tim explains slowly, wondering if Roy sustained a brain injury or accidentally dosed himself on something. “And why insurance?”

“I was blinded by your beauty.”

God. Sometimes Tim wonders about the original Titans and their socialization for the two dudes if this is how they think making friends works. Then again, Kori, Donna, and Dick probably appreciated constant compliments about their beauty. It all makes sense. Roy must be so used to it that he even uses those same methods when someone unexceptional like Tim is around.

He smiles gamely. “I’m looking forward to hearing that phone call. Must be almost as great as the time Bruce tried to convince his insurance company that Clark dropping on his car wasn’t an act of God because God is demonstrably not a Kryptonian. Neither was the giant ape punching Clark out.”

Roy drops his hand at that. “…Batman did what?”

—

(“You were doing so well, too.”

“I knoooow. How much more obvious can we get?”

“I dunno, but I intend to try.”)

—

“Do you like Star Wars? Because Yoda only one for me!”

“Haha. No. Star Trek or die.” Tim’s answer is automatic. He’s had these discussions soooo many times with Kon before. Of course Jason also goes for the space cowboy soap opera.

Besides, Jason’s boyfriend is standing right next to him. He doesn’t mean to sound flirtatious with Tim. Or maybe he does, and it’s just good fun? Or maybe teasing him? Tim can’t figure it out, but he knows he doesn’t like the weird hollow feeling he gets in his stomach when he thinks about it, so he changes the topic.

And makes both of them sit down to watch some classic Captain Kirk, of course.

—

(“Should I be insulted by that pick up line?”

“Nah. There aren’t that many lines that imply a polycule, though.”

A kiss. “Alright.”)

—

One of the things Jason and Tim have in common is their predilection for motorbikes and fiddling around with them. Not that makes them unique in the batclan; Tim has never spent days quietly working side-by-side with Dick, though, the way he does with Jason. They started out with separate projects. Then Jason saw this vintage Ducati at an abandoned warehouse he was about to blow up and, well… Would be a shame, right? Tim just happens to have had one of these before—regrettably lost to one of Harley’s exploding baseball bats—so he offers his expertise.

It’s not because it means bending over the engine with Jason, closer than they ever are, their hands brushing when they hand each other instruments. It’s not.

Roy doesn’t join them. He’s too polite to say so, but he finds normal cars and bikes boring af. Doesn’t stop him from popping his head into the garage and whistling when he sees that they are shirtless and covered in grease. It’s a damn good look on Jason, so Tim can’t fault him for that.

Roy follows it up with a: “Are you a parking ticket? Cause you got fine written all over you.”

Tim can’t help it; he blushes at the suggestive tone. Those two never stop flirting with each other, do they? So far, he has managed to avoid stumbling over them while they’re making out (not that they’re making that easy—the kitchen? Really?), and he’d like to keep avoiding that, thank you very much. He’s already feeling guilty enough for his fantasies as it is.

“Uh. I should clean up,” he mumbles and flees.

—

(“Dammit.”

“…do you think that was a rejection?”

“Nah. He was definitely checking me out before you came and fucked it up.”

“That’s saying something if you noticed it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”)

—

So Tim has magically acquired cat ears and a very fluffy tail. Don’t ask. They’re gonna go away in eight hours, and until then, he’s gonna stay in the cave and work himself to distraction. Jason seems intent on keeping him company, though.

(It’s nice. Tim loves hanging out with Jason—that’s not the problem. The issue is that Tim is looking ridiculous, and Jason is being nice about it, and none of this is helping his stupid crush go away.)

They’re absently chatting about nothing until Jason says: “Kinda a pity you’re a cat, though.”

Tim looks up. Huh? Admittedly, he never pegged Jason as the type to go for catboys (though maybe… he did hang out with Kyle… perhaps it’s just that he definitely doesn’t go for Tims), but that’s still a weird pronouncement.

Jason is grinning. “If you were a chicken, you’d be impeccable.” He pauses. “Wait. Like even more than you already are. Uh.”

Tim sighs. Great. And now Jason is making fun of him again. “Whatever.”

—

(“A chicken?”

“Shut up. I panicked.” A sigh. “He was so cute with these ears.”

“…yeah, he was.”)

—

“You must be tired. You’ve been running through my mind all night.”

“I’m not tired,” Tim says automatically. Why does everyone keep asking him that tonight? Surely the shadows under his eyes can’t be that bad? He used concealer!

Something in Roy’s expression softens. “Aww. C’mere.” He pats the space on the couch next to him, and when Tim sits down, Roy pulls him half of on top of him and into a hug. “Relax for a bit, little bird.”

Tim sinks into the embrace, boneless all of a sudden. Roy just has that effect on him. Tim vaguely remembers thinking of him as his oldest brother’s cool friend and then Jason’s cool boyfriend, kind of a fuckboy but clearly good for Jay.

Now? Now, Roy just makes him feel safe.

—

(“So you spent the night on the couch just so he could sleep in your arms?”

“Yeah. Totally worth it.”

“Duh.”

“I just wish we could do that with him every night. Bet he fits perfectly between us.”

“Yeah.”

A pause.

“We might have to up the ante or switch tactics.”)

—

They’re talking about their favorite books—Tim doesn’t read as much as Jason does, but they discovered a shared love of sci-fi weeks ago—when Tim says: “Actually, that book kinda reminds me of you.”

“Oh?”

“Overly dramatic but good.”

Jason makes an offended noise, and Tim grins.

“I’m not sure which part I should argue about first.” Jason pretends to think.

Tim is always down to tell Jason that fuck his self-perception—Jason is a good man, one of the best Tim knows; that also feels too revealing right now. Instead, he gets up from their comfortable position on the couch and grabs the first stack on the table, carrying them over to the shelves to replace the gaps. “What kind of book would I be?”

“Babe, if you were words on a page, you’d be fine print.”

“Annoying and no one reads it?” Tim asks without turning around, trying to ignore the babe. That’s. That’s gotta be a slip of the tongue, right? Force of habit from spending so much time with Roy?

“No, fine,” and the emphasis is clear this time. Jason continues before Tim can reply: “Though if we’re talking books…”

Tim whirls around. “Save it. You don’t have to make fun of me just because I—“He swallows down the words.

Jason looks alarmed. “Tim—“

As if he can smell trouble, Roy chooses that moment to enter the room. Tim has barely heard him approach, Jesus. He doesn’t want to have this argument in front of Roy, though, so he just stands there in the middle of the room. Jason, too, has stopped speaking.

Roy, of course, takes one look at the awkwardness and decides to make it worse. Or more confusing.

“Did you just come out of the oven?” he asks.

“As this isn’t Hansel and Gretel, no, I didn’t.” Tim checks his shirt, just in case this is an actual conversation opener and not just a weird attempt at a distraction. “Do I have soot on me?”

“Nope.” Roy shakes his head, and he’s smiling that smile again, the one Tim is startled to recognize, the one he thought is reserved only for Jason— “Because you’re hot.”

And finally, Tim gets it. “Me?”

“Yes, Tim.” Roy’s moving in closer. “You.”

There’s a soft touch to Tim’s shoulder, and Tim whirls around, expecting Jason to be mad, cause his boyfriend is—is hitting on Tim, right, that’s what’s happening, Jason can’t be happy—

Jason is smiling down at him. His hand is still resting on Tim’s shoulder, but it slides down to his collar bone, a gentle presence as he murmurs: “You’re so beautiful that you made forget my pick up line.”

Oh. Oh.

Tim says the first thing he can think of: “Are you a raisin?”

Jason starts grinning. “I’m not even gonna qualify that with an answer.”

Tim smiles back. “Cause you’re raising my hopes for a kiss right about now.”

And he gets one. And then another, and then Roy joins in, kissing Tim’s neck and then his mouth and—Yeah.

They’re too busy for any more pick up lines right now.

[free-pool-trash]

folklore - isaac lahey {7/?}

Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait I’ve been ridiculously busy the past few weeks 😓BUT!!! As compensation I made this part super long and fluffy with sooooooo much Isaac/reader content (enjoy it while you can because shits gonna be messy from here on out 🤭🙈)

Having said that, I don’t have my laptop right now as I moved houses and my stuff got put into storage so I’m working with the mobile version 😓 sorry in advance if formatting is weird I tried to make it better 😓 also there’s no continue reading button so sorry if this comes up on your dash 😭

Let me know what you think tho I’d really appreciate it 💕

Word count: 5.5k 🙈

Warnings: Fluff 😳, mentions of blood, Derek being a PAIN IN THE ASS, Isaac being the cutest 😌✨, ✨kissing✨, swearing

Masterlist

Tag list (open as always): @makeusfreefromthisfandom om, @cece-lives-here here, @chocolate-raspberries , @belsandthings , @dancing-tacos-23 , @truly-dionysus , @britty443 , @tanyaherondale , @furiouspockettoad , @yunsh-17 17, @random-thoughts-003 , @gloomybrieyxb , @futuristicslimemongerbanana , @linkpk88 , @big-galaxy-chaos , @im-a-stranger-thing , @riaisnotcool (I think u had a username change but idk let me know and I can fix it), @its-evita-here , @pad-foots , @sweetpeabellamyblakedracomalfoy , @bookswillfindyouaway , @what-the-hap-is-fuckening , @awkwardnesshabitat , @pieces-by-me me, @wreny24 , @kerosene-angel (if this is the wrong username I’m sorry it wasn’t working the way I had written it down so I’m assuming I just took it down wrong 😳 it it’s not you let me know and I’ll remove you), @marveloucnco o, @babypink224221 let me know if you’d like to be added <3 (strike through means tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you)

The days you’d spent in Mystic Falls bled into weeks and soon enough you were being beckoned back to Beacon Hills with a head full of things you hadn’t had a clue about two weeks prior.

There, of course, was the matter of Peter- who was now dead, well technically, he was murdered.

Derek’s first course of action as Beacon Hills’ new alpha was to break the news to you. He’d killed him but due to Scott and Stiles’ constant text updates, you knew it would’ve had to be done sooner or later. But still, you had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last of him. That small intuitive feeling in the back of your mind told you that you’d see him again soon. You just hoped your next meeting wouldn’t be happening because you ended up buried next to him.

Over the course of your stay with Alaric, who had left you in the care of the Salvatore brothers- Stefan and Damon, you’d honed several new vampiric powers. As it turned out, some of the powers you possessed were completely unfamiliar to the vampires of over a hundred years.

You had super speed, it wasn’t just enhanced as you’d previously thought. As well as that, you’d discovered that you could run circles around both Stefan and Damon Salvatore, who were obviously a lot older and therefore should’ve been a lot faster.

And for that matter, they should’ve been stronger than you, they should’ve been able to snap you like a twig. They should’ve been able to. But they weren’t. Because not only were you faster, you were stronger too.

While having super speed and super strength was nice, mind compulsion, your most recent discovery, now that was incredible. All you had to do was look into someone’s eyes and they would become completely entranced to do whatever you told them.

Despite being over a hundred years old, neither Stefan nor Damon had ever seen a vampire quite like you.

They’d never seen a vampire who was also an empath, that, apparently, was usually more of a witch thing. Neither of them had ever come across a vampire bite which had a euphoric effect either. But having said all of that… they’d never heard of someone being turned from a wolf bite. Or a vampire who still had a beating heart, for that matter.

Your only real downfalls were that, for one, your blood’s healing capacity didn’t operate at the same speed for you as it did when being used to heal others. You’d put this down to the possibility that maybe your system had just grown too used to it. To be perfectly honest, though, you had no idea.

Secondly, your empathic tendencies were beginning to bring you down, but it wasn’t just that… it was the way in which you’d been instructed, by Damon Salvatore himself, on how to make them stop.

The plane ride home to California dragged on longer than you would’ve liked, the flight was delayed and you were absolutely starving by the time Derek picked you up from the airport. Your parents were still away, they’d travelled to Romania in search of answers to your predicament and they wouldn’t be home until at least next week, so that left Derek on chauffeur and babysitting duty.

“How are you?” He’d only spoken up thirty minutes into the car ride, you let out a sigh from the passenger seat and gave him a tired smile, you could feel the nerves radiating from him. He was afraid you’d be mad at him for killing Peter, and maybe you should’ve been, but again, you had a feeling he’d be back, and besides, spending time with Damon had helped you realise that everything wasn’t so black and white. It finally registered with you that people like Derek and Damon, the dark mysterious bad boys with secret hearts of gold- they sometimes did bad things but with good intentions.

Once you discovered this, you decided amongst yourself that you’d ease up on your not-really-big-brother in the future. Even if it meant you got hurt a little in the process. If hurting you was what he needed to do to learn his lesson then you’d be willing to make that sacrifice.

So you gave him a soft smile and answered, “Hungry.”

Derek let out a chuckle at that, nodding his head towards the backseat, drawing your attention to the three full blood bags laying on the leather seats.

A delighted gasp left your mouth as you snatched the plastic bags into your hands, wasting no time you stuck the attached tube into your mouth and began gulping the first bag down- it was definitely Stiles’ blood you were drinking, you’d gotten so used to the taste of it you were sure you could recognise it anywhere.

Letting out a happy groan you threw your head back against the headrest, “Stiles Stilinski you are a doll.”

Derek chuckled again, glancing at you fondly before his steely eyes returned to the road ahead.

It was only another 30 minutes before you were back in your driveway. “So are you staying here until my parents get back?” You questioned from the porch as Derek got your bags from the trunk of his car, the wolf shook his head with a smile, “Nah, I’ve got some stuff to do at home.”

“Derek, that home isn’t even structurally sound.” You chastised softly. Surely he’d be happier spending time with the family he still had breathing rather than living in the remnants of what used to be his.

Walking up to the porch, Derek placed your case down gently by your feet and moved himself to stand in front of you. A genuine smile painted his lips as he gazed at you, “New rule.” He stated, placing both of his hands on either of your forearms before going on, eyes staring affectionately into your own, “From now on, I will be doing all the worrying about you, alright? Not the other way around.”

With a defeated sigh, you nodded your head. “I’ll try my best.” That had been a lie. Unable to blind you with his unusually sweet sentiment, through the physical contact you could tell he was scheming.

“Good. Now, go get some rest I’ll come check up on you in the morning.” He kissed your forehead and then made his way back to his car, speeding out of your driveway and out of sight before you’d even unlocked the door.

The house was cold and empty when you’d re-entered. A shiver ran up your spine the second your feet stepped past the threshold. Something was very wrong, and unfortunately, you couldn’t tell what exactly it was that was so wrong. The feeling was unnerving, it was dark and it was agonisingly heavy. Like anxiety on steroids, lots of steroids.

Swallowing thickly, you gripped -more like clawed- at your chest. Nails scraping your skin as you attempted to catch a single breath, though it seemed that oxygen was determined to outrun you as you glanced around helplessly.

Almost twenty minutes has passed as you heaved and gasped frantically, overwhelming dread flooded your chest while simultaneously tears flooded your eyes, and still you didn’t have even the slightest idea of what it all meant.

And then it hit you. That panic- it didn’t belong to you.

Within a second you’d risen to your feet, breathing still staggered while you rushed out the front door, your vampire speed being put to good use as within seconds you were where your panic had led you. Night had fallen by now and it was completely dark, not to mention absolutely freezing, the hoodie you had on doing nothing to protect you from the biting cold in the air. The trail of feelings you’d been chasing had led you to Beacon Hills cemetery and before your eyes, there it was, the something that was very wrong.

Derek and Isaac. More specifically, Derek’s teeth buried in Isaac’s arm. You hadn’t even registered what you were doing when you ripped Derek from Isaac and violently threw him across the cemetery, the impact in which the Hale hit the tree all the way at the edge of the graveyard was a testimony to your strength. You hadn’t even used half it.

Without hesitation, you inspected Isaac’s body frantically, eyes lingering on the bloody bite across his right arm. Slowly and mournfully, your eyes met his, which were wide with shock. His heart was beating out of his chest to the point where you couldn’t ignore it.

“What did he do to you?” The question slipped out as a whisper, your anger melted away only to be replaced by dread as Isaac began to speak, “He offered me the bite and I- I said yes.”

“Isaac…” Your gaze drifted to the bite and you weren’t surprised to see it already healed. “I’m sorry.” You heard him mutter from above you, his anxiety pooling in your chest and mixing with his guilt.

Shaking your head softly you pulled him into you, your arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders while his own arms held you tightly against him as you kissed his temple to release him of the intense anxiety plaguing him. “Don’t be sorry. I understand.”

He relaxed against you upon hearing your words, the two weeks you’d been gone made him realise something, he was utterly useless without you, or so he thought. He felt weak. He felt as though if he didn’t have you as emotional support he was defective. Derek had honed in on that and manipulated it to his advantage, convinced Isaac that the bite was what he needed in order to be strong by himself. To keep you safe instead of you protecting him all of the time.

“Was that really necessary?” Derek’s voice broke the moment and you found anger was surging through you once again. You separated from Isaac to face Derek.

At this point, you didn’t care what his intentions had been, you weren’t going to let him away with this.

“I’m going to give you three seconds to explain why you did this.” As Derek moved to speak you ruthlessly cut him off. “Too slow.” And with that the back of your hand met his cheek, again sending him flying, only not as far this time.

His fangs were barred now, as were yours. Both of your eyes glowing, his red ones threatening as he attempted to demonstrate his power. And yet again, you had a revelation.

You couldn’t stop the laugh that fell from your lips, a synacal and sarcastic lilt to it as you towered over Derek’s form on the floor.

“Oh I get it!” You exclaimed, lip held between your teeth in mock disbelief you pressed your palm to your forehead as you spoke, “You thought you’d go around and stalk some kids so you could add to your big bad pack. Right?” He growled at you and attempted to pick himself up, only for you to give a swift, hard kick to his chest, returning his back to the dirt.

“I guess you told him it’d make him stronger? That it’d make all of his problems go away? And what about the Argent’s, huh? Did you tell him that you were manipulating him?” It was then, again in panic, Isaac spoke up to your surprise, in Derek’s defence.

“(Y/n), I promise it isn’t like that! He told me everything, it was my choice I said yes!” You spared him a glance before crouching down to Derek.

“Well did you tell him how you usually treat your pack?” The words were dripping in venom and the guilt that radiated from the man didn’t deter you from moving forward with you verbal attack, your head turning to Isaac, your eyes sparkling with sadness as you locked eyes with him, speaking hoarsely you wondered out loud, “Did he tell you that he’s a liar? That he doesn’t know how to run a pack? That if he doesn’t understand you he’ll leave you in the dust?”

The look on his face spoke volumes as he recalled the state Derek had put you in the weeks previous.

With a final sneer in Derek’s direction you delivered your parting words, “You better treat him better than you continue to treat me or so help me Derek Hale I will tear you to shreds.”

As you angrily stormed away, Isaac stood in confusion for a second before he began to chase after you, leaving Derek on the dirt floor to help himself.

“(Y/n)! (Y/n) please wait!” He shouted as he was just starting to catch up to you. When you felt that you were at a good enough distance away from Derek you finally slowed your pace.

When Isaac finally made it to your side, he was panting slightly, swallowing the lump in his throat he nervously grabbed your hand.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated, his eyes resembling those of a puppy and you could already feel your composure slipping away from you as you looked at him.

It’d been almost three weeks since you’d seen him, three weeks since you’d made out in the school basement and this definitely wasn’t how you were expecting the reunion to go.

“Isaac it isn’t your fault. I’m not mad at you, ok? I get it. I’m just worried, this town isn’t exactly kind on the supernatural.” You reassured him gently, squeezing his hand and giving him a sad smile.

“Don’t worry about me.” Isaac told you and you had to laugh, “Sorry, babe but I will not be taking my eyes off you until this town becomes normal.”

Isaac’s face was then taken over by, what could only be described as, a Cheshire Cat smile, “Did you just call me babe?” His voice was teasing and you felt your face heating up despite your freezing temperature.

Sucking on the inside of your cheek you tried your best to conceal your growing smile, you shrugged innocently, “Yeah. What about it?” The playful lilt in your voice had his smile widening even more as he began to lean down to you, his face getting closer to yours by the second.

His breath fanned across your lips when he spoke next, “I liked it.” With that, his lips pressed to yours cautiously, as if he was still unsure of whether or not it was okay to do so.

His uncertainty melted away when he felt your lips begin to reciprocate his actions and your hands moved to cup his cheeks.

The both of you could agree that this kiss was different than the last one you’d shared a few weeks ago. “Why is it that we only ever kiss when one of us is coming out as a supernatural creature?” Isaac laughed against your lips as you pulled away with a sigh.

“It would be us wouldn’t it.”

After a few minutes of nagging at Isaac you managed to put all the pieces of Derek’s plan together. Isaac himself didn’t actually know all that much, just that he was the first to be turned, but that alone told you everything that you needed to know.

Derek was now an alpha with no pack, so logically, a pack was what he was building and that would have been perfectly understandable- if he hadn’t started with your best friend.

“There’s a full moon coming up, did he tell you what would happen?” You questioned gently, ready to throttle Derek when the boy in front of you shook his head.

Heaving a deep breath you squeezed his hand reassuringly, the initial excitement of being turned had worn off and Isaac was beginning to radiate anxiety once again.

“Don’t worry okay? I’m gonna call Scott, he’ll be able to help you.” Isaac’s eyebrows came together in confusion, “Scott McCall?”

You nodded your head, “He’ll know how to help.” You tried to convince Isaac without spilling Scott’s secret. Not that it was going to stay a secret for too long, but it wasn’t your secret to tell.

Isaac shook his head rapidly, his hands moving to hold your forearms, his panic at your suggestion hitting you like a freight train as he stared into your eyes, a wild look in his own.

“No no no no. You can’t tell anyone. (Y/n) promise me you won’t tell anyone okay? If my dad finds out I’m a werewolf he’ll-“ The words came out almost as fast as you could run and his panic only intensified when his father entered his mind.

Quickly catching on to his looming panic attack as his eyes began to glow yellow you cut him off, “Isaac.”

He didn’t hear you as he kept rambling, claws growing past his nails and digging into your arm, “No he’ll kill me. Oh my god he’s gonna kill me. (Y/n) he’s go-“

Yes, it would’ve been easy to rip your arms from his grasp that was causing you quite a lot of pain as his nails sunk into your skin as his hands held onto you desperately. However, you had a feeling that his hold on your now bloody forearms was the only thing keeping him from spiralling completely out of control.

“Isaac! Look at me!” Your voice was strict but served to make his amber eyes finally settle on yours.

Gently, you finally slipped your arms out of Isaac’s clawed grip, although you were sure it would’ve been less painful to just leave them, his claws dragged down your arms while you lifted them slowly and cautiously until you replaced them with your hands, using your new grasp of the boy to provide him with some peace of mind.

You focused your energy on shifting a sense of relaxation from your own palms to Isaac’s sweaty ones as you spoke, voice soft again, “I’m not going to tell anyone. It’s just you and me, alright? Focus on me, yeah?” Isaac nodded his head, still slightly frantic but calmer than before as he did as you told and simply focused on you, “Take a deep breath.” You instructed, breathing steadily along with him until his eyes returned to their natural blue colour and his claws retracted.

A moment of silence passed with Isaac slumped against you, hands held tightly in his while he steadied his breathing. You placed your lips to his cheek and then again to the bruise forming beneath his right eye, you hadn’t noticed it earlier. You’d almost forgotten it’d been nearly three weeks since you’d been together, he’d probably been though it with his demon of a sperm doner over the time you were away.

“I’ve missed you.” It was Isaac that broke the silence when your lips disconnected from his injured face.

“I missed you too.” You replied simply, there was so much you’d planned on saying to him while you were in Mystic Falls but at the moment, you felt there were more pressing matters to discuss and again, it was Isaac who spoke.

He pulled away slightly to look at you properly, hands still clasping yours, he gave them a squeeze before he started speaking, “This pack that Derek’s building… I’m guessing you’re not in it?”

“I was never asked. But I’ve kind of already got a pack, which you are more than welcome to join.” You responded hopefully, wishing he’d agree but you knew he wouldn’t. As such a fresh beta he’d stay loyal to his alpha, but, you had to ask.

Isaac nodded his head sadly, “Scott McCall?” You let out a small laugh, at how quickly he’d caught on, “Yeah. He’s not exactly an alpha but he’s helped me out a lot, more than Derek has.”

“Derek told me that wolves are stronger as a pack, he didn’t say anything about vampires though.” Isaac went on, a confused lilt in his voice.

“I found out in Mystic Falls that vampires rarely belong to packs and by vampire nature I don’t need one, but Ric figures that it’s in my nature to want one since it’s all I’ve ever known.” You relayed the information to Isaac.

“Then why not, you know, join mine?” His lip was pulled between his teeth and he was looking at you with a hopeful expression.

“Isaac I just told you…” You said pleadingly, you didn’t want to upset him any further but you also couldn’t throw away the pack bond you’d built with Scott and Stiles when you’d first turned. If it was a matter of Isaac’s pack being made up of just Isaac there would’ve been no problems, it was the fact that it wasn’t Isaac’s pack but Derek’s.

Scratching what you’d decided about Derek earlier, you came to a new agreement with yourself: all of hell would freeze over before you even thought of easing up on Derek Hale.

Isaac threw his head back with a groan, “Come on, (N/n)! We are not going to let our love play out like Romeo and Juliet!” The way he spoke was humorous but it was obvious that he wasn’t really joking.

With a sigh you moved your shaking hands, that were now covered in scabbed over cuts as opposed to their previous status of raw and bleeding, to Isaac’s face. Your thumbs moved gently along his cheek bones as you took him in with an encouraging smile on your face as you told him confidently, “I refuse to let us become a modern day Romeo and Juliet, that’s not happening.”

You pulled him closer to you, slipping your arms around his shoulders and doing your best to ignore the butterflies rioting in your stomach when his arms wrapped tentatively around your waist.

You brought your lips to meet his briefly before fixing him with another determined look, “But listen to me, we might be loyal to different packs but I’m on your side, no matter what.”

Isaac nodded his head in understanding, “If it comes down to it, I’m always gonna choose you.” He responded honestly, arms tightening around you to hold you against his chest, his height causing his chin to be tilted downwards so that he could meet your eyes.

“I meant what I said to Derek, by the way.” You informed, Isaac’s eyebrows rose in confusion again, “If he mistreats you I’ll tear him apart.”

“Should I give Scott the same warning?” Isaac asked humorously and you had to shake your head in order to hold back a laugh.

It wasn’t until you’d separated from your embrace with Isaac that you took into account the fact that your body was now shaking with the cold.

“Come on, I’ve gotta call my dad and probably the sheriff and you’re freezing.” Isaac stated, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and leading you back to the cemetery where you noticed his overturned excavator and the dug up grave plot.

You listened with curiosity while Isaac spoke to his father on the phone, trying to explain exactly what had transpired in the last couple of hours since his shift started.

“How the hell does an excavator just flip over, Isaac?” You could hear his fathers anger through the line and Isaac fumbled for a response, “Someone, or something- I don’t know it could’ve been an animal, but it got pushed from the side and tipped over. I fell into the plot I was digging and that was it, I didn’t see the rest.” He explained weakly.

“You still stuck in hole, you idiot?” You watched as Isaac clenched his jaw and motioned to yourself when he was finally looking at you, “No. No, um, (Y/n) just got back from Virgina, she came looking for me and helped me out.”

“She still there?” His father questioned, seemingly cooling off at the mention of your name. You hated how much that man seemed to like you when he should’ve held that affection for his actual son.

“Yeah, she’s with me now.” Isaac confirmed and you offered up a fake cheerful, “Hi, Mr Lahey!”

“Invite her over while I call the sheriff and see about getting this mess cleaned up.” With that, he hung up the phone and Isaac sighed, “You’re starting to look like Mr. Freeze, let’s get you warmed up.” His arm stayed comfortably wrapped around your shoulder and as you reached up to hold his hand that was hanging over your shoulder you stopped dead in your tracks, “Isaac, I can’t go and greet your father looking like this.”

You motioned to your torn and bloodstained hoodie, immediately regretting it when his eyes widened in shock, “Did I… oh god (Y/n) did I do that?”

Not missing a beat you grabbed his hands and made sure you soothed his panic before you got a rerun of earlier.

“It’s not your fault. You’re new to this, okay? Mistakes happen and that’s fine it’s all part of the process. And look!-” You pulled off the hoodie to reveal your now completely healed arms and hands, nothing but dried blood to show that the claw marks were even there in the first place. “‘M all healed up! No harm done.” You reassured him, bringing his lips to yours to further convince him that you were okay and distract him from the guilt you could feel building within him.

Your arms, although no longer cut, were covered in goosebumps as Isaac ran his hands affectionately down the length of them. “It won’t happen again.” He promised and you gave him a shaky smile, teeth beginning to chatter, “Let’s go home?” Isaac nodded his head, nothing short of ripping his own hoodie off before pulling your arms through the sleeves and moving himself in front of you to zip it up.

You watched completely content as he fumbled with the zipper. His curls were falling in front of his eyes and his eyes were squinted in concentration. The quiet, but triumphant, “got it” he let out when he finally finessed the zipper had you grinning like a fool.

When he moved his focus from the zip and back to your face, he smiled bashfully, “What’re you looking at me like that for?”

The sleeves of his hoodie, that was miles too big for you, hung far past your wrists and brushed against the nape of his neck, your fingers finding a place tangled in his hair while you stared at him, grin ever present.

Your other hand was otherwise occupied being placed firmly against Isaac’s chest, enjoying the feeling of his rapidly beating heart, and you didn’t know it entirely. But in that moment it was beating for you and you alone.

Isaac’s hand made itself comfortable holding your waist, the other holding your own against his chest, keeping it in place.

Neither of you needed to say it. You could both feel it. But still, you found yourself uttering the words, “I love you.”

Not half a second had passed before Isaac echoed your declaration, “I love you.”

“I feel like if I kiss you right now I won’t be able to stop but I’m still freezing my ass off so… your place?”

Isaac nodded his head in agreement, “My place.”

*

Upon arrival at the Lahey residence, Mr. Lahey had greeted you with a wide smile and ushered you into the kitchen where he instructed Isaac to make you some tea, to which Isaac had to restrain a grumble as he’d been planning on doing it anyway.

Mr. Lahey was happily chatting away to you when Isaac set down two cups of tea, one in front of his father and one in front of you, his eyes lingering on you with a certain kind of glint before he turned back to the counter to grab his own cup and returning to sit beside you at the table.

Isaac was, in all honesty, losing it. He didn’t even know why. You were just sitting there, wrapped up in his hoodie, nose ever so slightly pink from the cold, talking politely to his father. It was nothing out of the ordinary but he was finding it hard to think about anything other than how his hoodie would look splayed on the floor of his bedroom.

He wasn’t very good at hiding it either, you could feel it as clear as day. Teenage boy hormones mixing with teenage werewolf hormones were causing havoc and it’d be a lie to say it wasn’t having an affect on you.

Trying to return your attention to whatever Mr.Lahey was babbling about you clearing your throat and took a sip of your tea, keeping your expression neutral as Isaac’s hand slipped to your knee under the table. His attempt to pull you into his mess of hormones was obviously successful as you found yourself ready to yell out in frustration when his hand stayed put on your knee for a solid twenty minutes before his father finally rose from the table.

“I’m going to check out the situation at the cemetery, you’re welcome to stay tonight, it’s pretty dangerous out there these days.” Mr. Lahey offered and you smiled innocently at him as he stood in the doorway, “I think I’ll take you up on that. Thank you.” The older man gave you a nod but said no more before walking out the front door.

“What the hell are you doing?” You finally burst when the front door clicked shut, whipping around to face Isaac.

“What?” He asked as if his hand didn’t start sliding further up your leg the second his father left the room.

You groaned, “Don’t ‘what?’ me when you’re about four centimetres from having your hand between my thighs!”

“Sorry.” He immediately retracted his hand, eyes wide as he realised how close his hand was to reaching the top of your thigh, “I, um, I didn’t mean to- I mean, I did mean to but i won’t do it again if you don’t want me to-“

“Isaac.” You cut him off, lip pulled between your teeth, “I want you to.” You declared and he let out a heavy sigh full of relief, “Thank God.” He muttered before he was pulling you up off the chair and right against his chest.

His lips immediately found yours and his hands were gripping your waist like there was no tomorrow.

At this point, the butterflies in your stomach were going absolutely bat shit feral when his lips began to trail past your lips, to your chin, then to the curve of your jaw. It was when his hand slipped deftly up your side to settle against your jaw that you realised just how much you’d been wanting this.

Isaac’s lips fell further to your neck and you couldn’t stop the hum of approval that escaped your mouth at the sensation of his soft lips sucking and licking at your pulse. “It this okay?” He asked in a mutter, the dainty and nervous nature of his voice contrasting greatly with the confidence and ferocity of his actions.

Your hands tugged gently at his hair to get him to meet you clouded eyes, when he looked at you you were sure that his eyes had flashed yellow, his breathing was getting heavy and you had an inkling that his lips on your neck was the most exciting thing that was going to happen between you tonight.

“It’s more than okay.” You told him with a dopey smile, letting out a laugh when he dived back into the crook of your neck, kissing your skin through a smile.

Despite your words your hands moved to his chest to push him away slightly, “But…” you started as Isaac threw his head back with a groan, “I think we should stop, and maybe revisit this after the full moon passes.”

After taking in a steadying breath Isaac nodded in agreement, “Yeah, you’re probably right.” His hand slipped into yours and he intertwined his fingers with yours, he spent a moment just looking at your linked hands with a fond smile and the look of achievement on his face. It was easy to tell, with the help of your empathic powers, that Isaac was proud of himself.

You yourself couldn’t quite pinpoint why he was feeling so prideful in the moment, but he knew. To be truthful he wasn’t just proud of himself, he was downright ecstatic. He’d been nothing more than your best friend since you were both eleven, and now, six years later he finally crossed the threshold from being your best friend to being your- well actually now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure what he is to you now.

A few hours passed before Isaac worked up the courage to ask the question that had formed in his mind after his make out session with you earlier.

The pair of you had since gotten comfortable in his bed, which was nothing particularly new. You laid on your side with your back to the bedroom door, Isaac was behind you, his chin tucked in between your shoulder and your neck with his arms around your torso holding you close to him.

“Can I ask you something?” His voice broke through the silence and you responded with a tired hum, adjusting his arm so you could snuggle closer and tried your best to stop yourself from falling asleep while he murmured softly in your ear.

“What are we?” He kept his eyes trained on the dark room ahead of him, his hand grabbing yours as you readjusted his arm and he absentmindedly began playing with your fingers, the action being successful in calming his nerves.

“What do you want us to be?” You asked sleepily in response, a small smile forming on your face as you heard his heartbeat speeding up.

Isaac let out a nervous breath against your neck and you held back a shudder at the feeling, “I was kind of thinking that all the kissing would make us a couple.” Letting out another sleepy hum, if it was even physically possible, you snuggled deeper into his hold. You sluggishly turned your head to place a light kiss against his cheek, “Then we’re a couple.”

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

I want to write an original story with a similar basic premise to Animorphs (kids use alien technology to fight a secret guerrilla war against other invading alien species and are subsequently severely traumatized), but I'm not sure how clearly distinct from Animorphs I need to make it to be legally okay. The plot's pretty different asides from that and none of the characters are really similar, but I'm not sure if it's still too close. Any advice?

Yes!  All advice comes with the whopping caveat that I’ve never published a novel myself, but I can make recommendations.

Step 1: Write the dang thing!

I feel like we writers worry too much, too often, and especially too early about copyright issues.  I’ve had friends fret over the possibility of mentioning Disney in novels that they haven’t so much as outlined; my usual response is to hand them a copy of Percy Jackson with the 30,000 mentions of Diet Coke flagged, or to highlight the words “PlayStation” and “Sellotape” in the Harry Potter series.  Heck, Animorphs itself takes potshots at Nickelodeon and Planet Hollywood.  Worrying about copyright early on in the writing process is useless to the extent that it’s almost impossible to predict what copyright issues the final product will or won’t have.  I successfully published a poem trashing Dole fruit company in an anthology, only to have the whole anthology pulled because its inside cover accidentally (incorrectly) implied that it was published through our university’s press.

Trust me, I get why this problem draws the mind — it assumes a reality where my novel is finished, an agent accepts it, a publisher puts it out, and it sells enough copies for senpai to notice me.  But if you’re not talking to a publisher about this issue over your sixth or seventh draft of your polished manuscript, you’re borrowing tsuris.  Maybe by the time you’re done writing your novel, the resemblance to Animorphs will be less than passing.  Maybe you’ll run into a completely different set of copyright issues.  Point being: cross that bridge when you come to it.  Even better, let your publisher cross it for you.  That’s part of why they’re there.

Step 2: Draw out what makes your story unique, and avoid what makes K.A. Applegate’s story unique.

If you’re writing about mind-controlling aliens, that’s fine!  Those date back to at least Robert A. Heinlein, and arguably as early as humanity itself has had a concept of possession by spirits.  If you’re writing about shapeshifting kids, also fine!  Those definitely date back to the dawn of human culture, and can be found in the religions of every continent.  If you’re writing about trauma, fine.  I think you’re okay to borrow almost all of the broad strokes of Animorphs.

Things that wouldn’t be okay to borrow:

Specific descriptions of specific aliens.  If you have any vulcan-like beings in this universe, don’t make them four-eyed four-legged scorpion-tailed blue people.  Same goes for all the unique species and creatures.

The exact words KAA uses to write the scenes.  Hopefully you learned this already in middle school, but you have to do a hell of a lot more than rewording a quote to avoid plagiarism.  Don’t even paraphrase any passage from an Animorphs book, ever.  Write your own stuff.

Exact plots.  If you’re having your child shapeshifters chased by a sentient tornado that senses their shapeshifting energy while they all drive around continuously shapeshifting to play keep-away with said tornado, then that’s copying KAA’s homework even if you never use the words “yeerk” or “veleek.”

Exact characters.  This one’s nebulous, but try to avoid having your first narrator be a thirteen-year-old boy who enjoys basketball but was cut from the team, whose older brother is mind-controlled by an alien, whose friends all describe him as middle-aged before his time, and whose girlfriend is an animal-loving assistant vet.  You can write a Jake-like character if you change anything from his sport of choice to his ethnicity — and then ask yourself how that difference would change his outlook or upbringing.

Macguffins.  This is similar to the specific aliens: however your protagonists gain the ability to shapeshift, don’t make it a blue box.

Step 3: TELL NO ONE.

If I had to guess, at least one author has already done exactly what you’re describing — written heavily modified Animorphs fan fiction and published it as an original work.  If I had to make a specific guess, it’d be either that Veronica Roth’s Divergent series started as a work of Rachel/Tobias fan fiction, or that Stephenie Meyer’s The Host started as a fan sequel to the whole series.  However, I can’t go beyond guessing, because both authors are (WISELY) keeping their traps shut about the issue.  Yes, Roth has mentioned that Tobias “Four” Eaton is named after Tobias Fangor, but hasn’t gone beyond that.  Meyer has pulled the ultimate Mary-Shelly-worthy power move by responding to questions about her inspiration with “it came to me in a dream ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” which, honestly, life goals right there.

Speaking of Stephenie Meyer, let’s talk about E.L. James as an example of what not to do.  Sure, she didn’t have a ton of choice about people knowing 50 Shades of Grey was Twilight fan fiction — she initially published it on FFN under that heading — but it’s also this unavoidable fact about that novel that has contaminated many people’s perceptions of it.  Meyer has chosen to be classy as fuck about the whole thing through making no acknowledgement whatsoever of James, but she’d be well within her right to sue.  And James’s own work is forever going to be “that Twilight fan fic that made it big,” never considered purely for its own merits.  Jump from E.L. James to Cassandra Clare, and things get uglier: Clare’s been open about the fact that the Mortal Instruments originated as Harry/Draco fan fiction, and as such there’s widespread awareness in fandom spaces that Clare was that cyberbully on FFN back in the day, and is probably guilty of plagiarism.

How to avoid that nonsense?  Take it to your grave.  I know that one of the bestselling YA novels of 2015 was an utterly-revamped Supernatural fic idea; I only know that through the author being a friend of a friend, because the author has (WISELY) made zero public statements that that’s the case.  I know that Tamora Pierce, D.J. MacHale, Stephenie Meyer, and Noelle Stevenson have all quietly acknowledged having FFN or AO3 accounts, and I also know that none of their fan fiction usernames are widely known for good reason.  I know that Applegate herself has made statements that, shall we say, do not definitively rule out the possibility that Animorphs might have in its earliest incarnations borne passing resemblance to Lord of the Rings fan fiction.  But none of these authors have said as much on the record, which is the right way to go.

Anyway, happy writing!

[nimmy22]

A Mistake: Chapter 1

summery: Set before the events of spencer's mansion. Slight AU where the Birkin's most recent babysitter gets more than she ever bargained for on one stormy night as she watched over Sherry. Cara was ready for a blackout but she almost got her life snuffed out when two forces attack the Brikin’s home, their goals unclear. All Cara wanted to do was get Sherry to safety but with the phone lines dead, she has to rely on herself. Will Albert Wesker be an ally? Or will he add Cara to the list of things needing a "clean up"?

I hope you enjoy!

Reposted from my account on AO3 under my username doomer.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/doomer

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

This was not how she thought the night would go. The worst that should have happened tonight was a power outage due to the howling winds and rain threatening to shatter the glass and uproot trees.

Cara was prepared, having dug around the house for a flashlight as soon as she arrived, making sure the windows were closed. Her clothes clung to her like a second skin, suffocatingly tight. She regretted the black skirt and navy-blue sweater she chose to wear for the day as the wind wouldn't stop nipping at her skin. The whole way here, Cara clung onto Claire's body as the redhead dropped her off after school on the back of her motorbike before heading home. Her red leather jacket was envy, but at least now, Cara had found shelter in the spacious home.

Storms like this weren't out of the norm here in Raccoon City. Nowhere in the city was immune to the outages, not even in this affluent neighborhood where the Umbrella's most prominent employees, as well as the mayor, lived.

And so, it wasn't long before the cartoons playing on the bulky T.V screen flickered to darkness. Sherry turned back to Cara, immediately crawling towards her babysitter from where she sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor in front of the TV.

Cara was ready and flickered the flashlight on, but it seemed like the batteries were nearly dead. The beam was weak, and she had to shake it a few times before the light would give a steady glow.

"Cara, I'm scared," Sherry said, sliding next to the high schooler on the couch. Her tiny fingers wrapped around the hand that Cara held the flashlight with as if to help power it up. It did not work—what a surprise. Cuteness is not an energy form.

"Don't worry. I am right here. You live on the nice side of town. It won't be long before we get the power back." Cara said, pinching Sherry's little chubby cheeks. "While we wait, let's go look for some new batteries. These won't last for another hour."

"Ok, I saw some batteries in daddy's office the other day," Sherry said, beaming at her friend. The scent of Cara lingered around the house more often than her own mother. It helped soothe her loneliness for a time, until it faded. She had been beyond happy to finally convince her parents she still needed a babysitter after her old one vanished mysteriously. A babysitter was the only way to have any form of company in the empty house. No friends were allowed over while her parents were out. And they were never home.

"Great! I would rather replace these before we're forced to run around in the dark to find some," Cara said, returning the young girl's smile.

Sherry grabbed Cara's hand and began leading the older girl up the stairs. Two steps up, and her little feet paused their ascend.

"Daddy wasn't happy the last time I snuck in there. He just knew that I went in, but I didn't even touch anything. What should we do, Cara?" The little girl looked down at Cara from where she stood, fiddling with her pendant. It was a present from her mom for her last birthday. The pendant regularly brought the little girl comfort, but she would have easily traded it for more time spent with her parents.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we can find some in other places without getting in trouble with Mr. Birkin." Cara said, leaning towards the little girl with a grin.

While Cara hadn't expected anything from this babysitting job over the weekend, she got something she didn't know she was missing out on. A little sister. Like Cara, Sherry was also an only child, and they found an instant connection with each other. Cara felt a familial love towards the young girl that she herself never received from her mother and father—another thing they had in common.

While Cara was at the Birkin’s home, she found herself pretending that she was watching over her little sister while their parents were working into the late hours of the night. Her real home, real family, were something that she would much rather disengage her mind from for as long as possible. Any excuse to stay away was a good one.

With Sherry in one hand and the flashlight in the other, Cara set out to search the house for batteries. They rummaged through the kitchen drawers only to come up with eating utensils and loose change. Strangely, the kitchen was very much lacking in cooking appliances, but it was clear the Birkins were rarely home, and when they were, cooking was not a priority.

The trashcan was piled high with takeout boxes, and Cara made a mental note to take it out before she left, seeing as no one was going to remove it anytime soon. She could come next Friday and find it still there. The house wasn't exactly dirty. Almost everything was covered in layers of dust. Other than Sherry and her parents, Cara did not know who else sets foot into the spacious home. Many rooms went unused. The home appeared grand on the outside, but the inside did not live up to the expectation she once had the first time she came here. However, this was still a safe haven for her away from home.

Everything was all too quiet, too still—no buzzing of the fridge, no cars passing by, no humming of the electricity. The silence was filled with the sound of their feet, and their exhales. Compared to Cara, Sherry's feet were much quieter against the wooden floors. But her nervous breathing was louder.

While Cara was trying to appear strong and confident for the little girl, she couldn't help but begin to flatter in her steps. She wasn't afraid of the dark, but something did sit right.

Tik Tok. Tik Tok.

As they neared the staircase on their way back to the living room, they passed a clock hung on the wall. It was half-past ten.

"This will have to do," Cara said, reaching for the clock and removing its batteries. "Don't be scared, ok? I'm just going to replace the batteries. Can you hold these for a second?" the little girl nodded, clutching her tiny hands onto Cara's shirt as she accepted the batteries with her other hand. The metal cylinders were icy cold in her hand, but she gripped them harder. With a reassuring smile, Cara removed the batteries from the flashlight, and the room was engulfed in darkness.

"Here, pass them to me," Cara said, feeling for the little girl's hand.

Just as Cara felt the now warm metal cylinder in her hand, a bang startled them both. It wasn't loud, it wasn't enough to shake the walls, but it started them just enough for the batteries to drop to the wooden floor before rolling into the darkness. There was nothing but the sound to indicate which way it went.

Sherry yelped, clinging to Cara even tighter. "What was that?" She whispered, a tremble taking over her lips.

"I don't know," Cara answered, her pulse racing. She drew the girl closer to her body, waiting for another sound—but heard nothing.

"Maybe daddy or mommy came home?" Sherry said, completely unconvinced by her own proposal.

"I don't think so. Your dad said they won't be back tonight." Cara answered, gently nudging the little girl toward the staircase. She inserted the old batteries back into the flashlight before leading Sherry upstairs. The beam was weak, but it got them there.

"You'll be safer in your room," Cara said before reaching to close the bedroom door as the little girl entered. "Wait here, Sherry, I'll be right back, I promise. It's probably just kids with nothing better to do on a Friday night. I know a few idiots right off the top of my head who would think this is funny."

"Wait! Where are you going, Cara?" The little girl said desperately, her eyes growing twice their size as she realized Cara was leaving her.

"I'll be back," Cara said and again attempted to leave. Above them, a skylight window bathed the little girl's room with the pale moonlight.

"But what if you don't come back?" Sherry whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Why wouldn't I?" Cara said, her eyebrows furrowing. She was trying to convince herself that this was nothing, but Sherry wasn't helping whatsoever.

"Sorry," Sherry responded, crawling her way under the bed.

Cara left, gently shutting the door behind her as she went. She made her way downstairs, doing her best to muffle her breathing and lighten her footfalls. She checked the front door and found it pleasantly locked. "It's probably some idiots," She muttered, feeling the tension lifted from her shoulders. She checked the windows on the first floor and found them similarly untouched. With an eye-roll, she made her way to the staircase, keen on heading back to comfort the little girl and inform her of the lack of danger.

She hadn't taken four steps before she spotted a shape in the darkness that hadn't been there before from the corner of her eye. Her heart jumped a beat better than she could've ever jumped the obstacles in track and field. Her gut screamed at her to flee in the other direction, to hide next to Sherry under the bed. Instead, she Collected her scattered courage and pointed the flashlight at the source of her unease.

Only there was nothing. The silhouette was gone. Before Cara could continue her search, the flashlight died, and she was left with an even stronger gut feeling. "Not now, damn it!" She cursed, aggressively shaking the flashlight.

She sighed in relief for a split second as the weak beam returned, only to feel all the breath being snatched from her lungs. A six-foot-man, heavily armed and dressed in black fatigues, came straight for her, face obscured by a ski mask. A scream bubbled its way out of her throat, only to burst prematurely as the intruder raised a gun to his lips. She forced her lips shut, feeling hot tears build up before they trickled down her cold cheeks.

[strawberrypiratenin]

Kanzashi (Ornamental Hair Pin)

Disclaimer: One piece owned by Oda. If I owned it, wouldn't really change a thing other than it would be updated faster and ASL bros will forever be protected. This is my take on Nami’s Onigashima raid attire from ch 975 in the manga, and my first ever fic.

This is also posted on my ff.net account by the same username if some people use that site :)

Word count: 3k+

Rating: T (for a tiny tiny coarse (?) language, but mostly K)

Genre: Romance, Friendship, Humor, Just pure fluff... i think.

Pairing: Zoro/ Nami

Note: Italicized words in ' ' are thoughts. The part where everything was italicized was a recollection of the past.

* * *

He extended his right hand once again. Tightening his grip on his new sword. That feeling of sucking his ryuuou is no more. The crows nest is also still intact, testament to his now control on this 'cursed' sword. As he moved to place his sword on its scabbard by his waist, he felt something shift in his haramaki. And stuck his hand in to take out the offending object.

'Oh.'

He thought, staring into the dainty object on his calloused hand.

* * * * *

A few days earlier…

"Momo was sent 20 years into the future… and stayed 8 years old. And that's why his younger sister is 26 now…" Zoro said recalling the perverted brat's face.

'That would mean that brat should technically be 28 by now!' He thought, his frown deepening as he remembered how that pervert snuggled into a certain navigator's chest.

He tried to shake off the disturbing thought of a fully grown man with his face on Nami's chest as he listened to rest of Hiyori's story.

* * *

Zoro tried to rest after his conversation with Hiyori, but can't seem to take off his good eye from the girl's head. Noting the bright color of her hair, he can't help but think of another troublesome girl with bright colored hair. How that hair was so short when he first met her, and how long it has gotten when the whole crew got back together after 2 years of being separated. He never seemed to remember if said girl ever adorned her hair with such trinkets as that on this girl's hair. Sure she would sometimes tie it up, or put in a 'pig tail' as they call it, but never with such decorations. Save for that time in Zou, with that beaded thing draped on her hair and shoulder… and that… dress. Noticing where his thoughts were dangerously heading, with his face almost scowling, he steeled himself to look at the blue haired girl's head once again, staring at the ornament placed on top of it.

"Beautiful." He thought. He was never one to be interested into such things. He's not that damned love cook after all. But for some reason his eye seem to fixate itself on that ornament. And no, it has nothing to do with how he imagined it adorning a certain orange head. At least that's what he kept telling himself.

"Eeeh!" His thoughts were broken by the sound of the older girl accompanying him and a tiny laugh from the younger one. Shifting his gaze to her face, he noted she was holding her palms to her cheeks in apparent shock, and… flattery?

'Wait. Did I say that out loud?' The swordsman frowned.

'No sense to keeping it to myself then', he sighed as he sat up.

"OI, where do you get those things?"

"Huh? I mean… pardon?" The girl said, obviously not expecting what he said and losing her 'lady like' manners for a moment.

"That thing. On your hair. That flowery thing? Where can I get one of those?"

The girl stared at him for a moment then brought her hand up to one of the ornaments on her hair. "You mean this kanzashi?"

He nodded. Not really bothering what it's called.

"Well I have a lot of these back at the flower capital, being an oiran and all. You can buy them there too, but they come at a price." She said, bringing up her index finger to her lips as though in thought. "Why? Are you interested in getting one Zorojuro?"

Zoro frowned, 'back at the flower capital? And with a price?' His frown deepening. 'So much for hoping to maybe get one.' With the witch always seeming to find ways to rack up his debt, he never seemed to have money on his person. 'Heh, see what you get for being money hungry, witch? Can't even give you something nice even if I wanted to.' He thought with an almost smirk then caught himself. 'Why the hell am I even bothering to get something for her anyway?' His almost smirk turning into an irritated frown as he scratched the back of his head.

The older girl observed as the swordsman changed facial expressions as if having a conversation with himself. "Zorojuro, if you want I can give you one. I have one still with me after all, they seem to put a lot on my head and had to remove some when I left. They tend to be uncomfortable after all when there's a lot." She said with a smile.

"Really? That would be great thanks!" He said eyeing her.

"Of course. It's the least I can do. You saved us after all." The older girl smiled, thinking it weird why a man would want a Kanzashi. 'Could other men be wearing this outside of Wano?' She thought. As far as her memory serves her, no men on the ship they were on back when she was very young had such thing on their heads. She even tried picturing a certain pineapple headed boy with a floral kanzashi on his head but quickly pushed the thought out as it looked really weird. 'Unless…' She laughed softly as she thought of the other reason why a man would want a beautiful ornament.

'That witch's luck never seem to run out after all huh?' He thought. Then he heard soft giggling from his two companions and grumpily tried to get back to taking a nap.

* * * * *

Back at the sunny, present day…

"Luffy you can't put that there! It's not gonna fit! I'm not going to tend to that after you ruin it over something so dumb." Nami scolded their ever so childish captain as she found him, along with Chopper and Usopp in front of the women's quarters. The boys were trying out the Samurai gear for their upcoming battle and Luffy was trying to put a helmet on top of his strawhat.

"Eh! But Nami! I need to look cool for battle too! I mean look at them!" He gestured to the other two Strawhats who were busy gushing over their attire with Chopper in a Samurai Helmet and Usopp in an armor and a forehead protector.

Nami sighed. "Well you have to choose just one! Either your hat or the helmet."

"Wha- No Nami! I have to wear my Hat!" The rubber boy said, as if what she said was just impossible.

Nami felt a vein popping on her temple. "Then don't wear the helmet! Why don't you just wear the armor? That way you will still look, uh, 'cool'."

"No way!" the stubborn captain said with a pout. "I won't be able to stretch freely with that!"

Nami sighed heavily, this boy won't drop this until he's satisfied he's wearing something 'cool'.

It was then that she remembered something. "Wait here." She ordered her captain as if ordering a child and went inside the women's quarters.

* * *

After a few minutes, she emerged from the room, relieved to find that Luffy actually stayed put instead of trying to find some kind of way to both wear his hat and the damn helmet. The other two boys with him have now run off to admire Franky who is also now, in a samurai helmet.

"Will this make you look cool?" She said as she handed him a black coat. She can't really remember when she got the garment but does recall thinking it looked fitting for a captain.

Luffy eyed the coat, seeming unconvinced that it would actually make him look cool. But as he grabbed and unfolded it, a grin slowly crept up his face. "Hey this looks like the one Shanks wore!" He said as he eagerly put the coat on. "Ooooh! You're right, this does look cool! Thanks Nami!"

Nami smiled back, glad to have pleased their stubborn Captain.

"Here, now you can have this! Shishishishi!" The boy excitedly pushed the samurai helmet and armor towards her.

"Ehh! I'm not gonna wear that! That would just cover my beautiful body!" The navigator protested as she hugged her curves. "And I won't be caught dead looking so ridiculous!" She barked at Luffy. But then a thought came to her… she does need to protect her 'beautiful' body after all, maybe it won't be so bad to try at least the armor? So she did.

"Oooh! Looks cool Nami!" Luffy effusively praised.

"You think so captain?" Nami smiled as she can't help but to be enthused as well. The armor doesn't look bad, it actually even hugged her figure. "Guess I'll wear it after all", she said smiling at her captain.

"Now the helmet!"

"Wha-?!" Nami's smile immediately dropped as she tried to fend off Luffy's hands as he tried to put the helmet on her head himself.

"No way am I going to wear that!" She screeched as her hand connected to her captain's head fast.

"No cool, Nami." Luffy pouted as he nursed the now enlarging bump on his head.

"You're all 'cool' now captain. Now go bother someone else!"

She sighed as she watched her captain run off laughing towards the rest of the Strawhats who were gushing over their new battle gear.

* * * * *

Inside the women's quarters, Nami adjusted the armor on her body as she inspected herself on the mirror. 'Now what to do with my hair? Keep it up maybe?' she thought.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." She shouted, not really paying mind to whoever was knocking as she started to gather her hair.

* * * 

On the other side of the door, a certain moss haired swordsman tried to maintain a straight face, not really sure what he's doing knocking on the women's quarters.

"Come in." He heard her say.

He sighed and went in, thinking what he's doing is not weird.

No, not weird at all for him. He tried to convince himself.

* * * 

"Hey."

"Hm?" Nami turned her gaze towards the door as the person she was least expecting to come over to the women's quarters walked in.

Zoro's gaze ran over the other occupant of the room. Noting the short…uh, kimono (?) dress and the armor on top of it. Can you really call something so short a Kimono? Never mind, he need not to boggle his mind over women's clothing anyway. Nothing new with her and seemingly shrunk clothes after all. Not like he disliked it but that's not saying he's obsessed with it like a certain perverted dartboard brow. It does looked good on her though, anything probably will. 'Wait what?' He caught himself with that thought. He shrugged the offensive thought and distracted himself with the armor instead, now that's new.

Nami watched as Zoro walked towards her. As he closed in on her, she decided to break the silence.

"What?"

He stood in front of her and frowned slightly with his gaze stuck on the navigator.

"Zo-" She was about to say, as she noted his gaze, the slight frown, and how he seemed to be in some kind of deep thought but was cut off by one of his hands suddenly being held towards her.

She looked at said hand then shifted her gaze toward his face. "Uhh… huh?"

Seemingly embarrassed, he looked away then opened the hand extended towards her.

Still confused, her gaze was back to his hand and was surprised to see a flowery ornament there. She paused, trying to grasp what's going on.

"Wha-?"

"Just take it." He said as his gaze shifted towards her face for a quick moment then away from her again as he tried to look annoyed.

'What's with him?' She thought as he observed him. This is the second time he cut her off in the few minutes he's been in the room. If this was any other situation, she would've nagged at him already, but... there is something different here, she felt.

"Uhm… okay?" She gently took the ornament from his hand all the while suspiciously eyeing him. He then immediately retracted his hand after.

Bringing the ornament closer to her face, she inspected it with interest with the fingers of her other hand. It's a hair ornament. She noted. A flower, with petals dangling below it. 'And it's pretty, no, it's beautiful. It looks expensive too. Wait, is Zoro… giving this to me?' Her cheeks seeming to heat up as she mulled on the idea.

She looked at him, a smile helplessly growing on her lips. "It's pretty! Where did you get it?"

Hearing her cheerful tone, his gaze was drawn back to her and was taken aback when he was greeted by a smile.

"Eh?" His previously 'annoyed' face softening. "Uh... some girl?" He replied.

"Some… girl?' Her eyes narrowing on him. "What girl?" Oh she's really curious now, not really sure why it mattered who this girl he got this ornament he's giving her from is.

"The girl with the blue hair, that pervert brat's sister." He answered coolly.

"Oh, that girl." She said in a soft voice. 'He got this from the most beautiful girl in Wano? Why? And… how?' The idea unknowingly consuming her thoughts as she tried to wrap her head around how Zoro ended up giving her such a beautiful hair ornament from the 'most beautiful girl' in the current country that they're in.

He can see as the gears on Nami's head start to be turning now and continued to observe her face as she seemed to be lost on her thoughts.

A good few seconds passed and he decided to end this slightly awkward moment. 'Look at me for once finally shutting up the ever so loud witch now', he snorted inwardly.

Then he sighed. "Just-"

She was broken from her trance as she looked up to meet his eye.

"Just thought it might look good on you." He declared, easily.

She stared at him for a while, noting his relaxed, earnest face. 'Did he just say?-'

Seeing the gears on her head turn again, he realized what he just admitted. Lone eye suddenly enlarging. If his left eye could, it probably would too.

Her mouth opened, about to speak, when he beat her to it.

"W- witch! I meant you might like it! The hell I care what looks good on you!" He said hurriedly, a little loudly, and almost choking. Then he gritted his teeth. 'Not that anything would look bad on her anyway' some invasive voice muttered in his mind, startling him. 'The heck was that?!' He thought, mentally kicking himself.

Amber eyes enlarged. Caught off guard. Boy was she caught off guard by that. She refocused her gaze on him, noticing the inner struggle he seem to be now in. Turning her gaze on the object on her hand, the very thing that brought this situation upon them, a smile once again began to blossom on the navigator's lips. 'It IS really pretty' she admitted to herself, with a slight blush powdering her cheeks and that smile she no longer can seem to fight off from reaching her eyes.

"Thank you, Zoro."

The swordsman halted his inner struggle and met her eyes. Now it's his turn to be caught off guard.

She's smiling. Not the mischievous trademark cat thief smile. But that smile. That smile he didn’t know until now he really liked seeing. That smile she has whenever they succeeded fighting off a great enemy. That smile she had when they all got back together on the Sunny after 2 years of being apart. That bright, genuine smile that sometimes makes you forget it's the same girl that can rob blind anyone she wanted or hit you in the head so hard that bumps would grow ON TOP of bumps. Not that he would have her other way, truthfully.

The swordsman's lips can't help but turn ever so slightly upwards. "Ah."

He can't tell how long they were smiling at each other like that. But he can't say he didn't like this moment of change from their usual banter. Not that he would really deny liking those too, at least to himself, but not to others. 

Unsure of what to say next, now satisfied with his 'mission', he turned to leave.

As he turned his back, the navigator brought up the ornament to admire it further. 'He really thought to give me this huh?' Their resident, lazy ass, always napping, can't find his way out of a box, swordsman. 'Turns out he's not just all, steel, muscle, and devilishly handsome face after all." Her face about to break into a grin once more. 'Wait. Handsome face?' She blinked. Her face now again starting to heat up. 'Wait no! This is Zoro we're talking about! Why am I suddenly like this?' She silently gasped, wide eyed, her other hand resting on her cheek while the other still grasped the hair ornament.

Zoro was about to push the door open when she suddenly spoke.

"But hey! Don't go thinking this means your debt will be reduced!"

He cringed, one hand resting on his swords, the other still plastered to the door knob. So much for thinking they actually had a nice moment there. He sighed, turning to look back at her, a scowl starting to form on his face.

"… s- so don't go injuring yourself or even getting yourself killed out there! Or I'll have to electrocute you back to life and drag you back from hell to make sure you can pay me back!" She blurted looking a bit flustered.

"Tsk." He said, bringing a finger to his ear. "Yeah yeah, not like you can drag me back from hell anyway. I'll be the one dragging you down there after all." His previous almost scowl now an amused- trying to look annoyed look.

Her hands are now on her hips as she puffed her cheek and stared at him.

… "So make sure you don't go down there on your own just yet, witch." He said staring directly into her eyes, now smirking. He then proceeded to turn and walk out the door and was about to close it behind him but not without hearing a sigh and the word "idiot".

* * * * *

Once alone in the room, Nami looked at the ornament in her hand once again. 'Well that was… nice', she thought, a soft chuckle escaping her.

"Guess I won't be putting my hair up after all."

** End.**

.

.

.

Bonus:

With her new hair ornament now fixed near her right temple, Nami headed out the women's quarters. Shutting the door on her back, she noticed the samurai helmet their captain previously tried to put on her head. 'See if I had that on, I won't be able to wear this.' She sighed with a smile as she tucked her hair on her right ear.

A sudden thought hit her then. 'What if…' She held out her climatact. 'He would be really helpful, might as well have him fit the theme'.

"Oh Zeus~"

"Woooh! The inside of your tact really is the best!" a delighted cloud exclaimed.

"Hmm, I wonder if it will work? Hey Zeus, I was thinking, how 'bout we replace that cap with this?" Nami suggested as she picked up the helmet on the ground.

"Huh?" The cloud said, curious but complying after remembering how her new 'master' can be when ticked off. "Okay I guess…", the cloud said as he lowered his position to allow the girl to put the helmet on his head.

"Oh, not bad after all!" The navigator commented, cheerily.

'Someone’s in a good mood.' The cloud thought looking at his new 'master' and smiling himself as he looked up at his new hat.

"Hey, the cloud is now looking cool too! Shishishishi." An amused laugh can now be heard from across the deck, followed by the cheer of a certain Tanuki, 'Almighty God Usopp' who once lead and entire army of samurais back in one of his adventures, and a 'superRR cool' robot samurai.

* * * * *

There you go. My first ever fic. Wow the last time I actually wrote a story was maybe a little more than 10 years ago? I was but an awkward teen back then. Now I'm but an awkward adult.

Just had to headcanon this after chap. 975 came out. Was lying in bed at 1 am and just thought ‘hey what if?...’. So here I am, trying to be productive by putting my daydreams into writing.

Hope you like this. If not, then it's cool too. :)

[kazamastar]

Welcome to 2021

Ver. 2.1 - Ok. February but still, here we are. “Behold it’s me” as Logic would say. [...] I’m sorry I’m a bit shook because I started to write at 10:01AM, and it’s precisely 12:07AM, I was progressing pretty well in the process of writting and then I made a bad move and lost everything I wrote. I’m kinda mad. Really, I was this 👌 close to give up on writting it, and you can notice that the pixels are touching. But I guess the “I said I’d do it, so I’m going to do it” mentality is taking me places, once again. Even if I have to start again (that's called mental strength, take notes). And I said I’d write it baked so here I am, baked and hella motivated to do it. So, W shouldn’t help me reminding me what I wrote in the first version but nevermind. So I guess I'll put the most things I remember. I can tell there were good ideas ! I'll take this occasion to remind everyone the concept of these posts but first we will recap numbers of this year (well, more or less accurate for 2020 as I'm writting one month late) (and I'll fucking stop writting on the tumblr site and switch to OpenOffice so my next words are not lost again). 637 Nakamas (thank y'all for being here, even if I post 12847 times in a row. You're the best). 3609 posts and 23 376 likes. (109 drafts : lol it's less than a few weeks ago)

Pic : Plot twist 2. No more smile, but the return of the bowtie. (aka « The 4 days late suit » aka « I'm old enough to know better »)

The choice of this picture was so simple. Or maybe I should have chosen the one with the mustache only I took during lockdown ? Ahah. But … this picture could almost resume the year on its own. If I'd describe it in depth and explain the context, I could review 70% of the events that happened this year (and I think I'll go for that later, interesting exercise).

So. First let me explain the goal of these sums up. Each « Welcome to XXXX » is a resume, a sum up of the year XXXX-1. I write these for me, it's a funny way to keep track of all these years. I try to describe more or less precisely what happened during the year. I allow myself to be more or less precise because I firstly write these for me. And sometimes these posts tend to be long. Especially this one. It's gonna be sooo long. Like, idk maybe highlight this line and take a few seconds to scroll down and see how looooong it is. Kinda discouraging isn't it ? Lucky you it won't go on forever though as today, as I'm writting that it's 12:23PM and I'll have to be gone at 4 or 5PM. But I think contraints make art, even if I don't like to write under any kind of pressure. But I'm determined to do it in one take. So in these posts I also write about the TV Shows, manga, anime, movies I've seen/read. Even books, as I finally had the chance to read « Le Petit Prince » this year. We all know we had time this year, don't we ? And at the end, I post a 12 songs playlist (+ songs that I discovered this year that also are going to remind me of the year). We can roughly say it's « 1 song/1 month » but it's not always true. These songs are songs I like a lot, like really (but not necessarily my favorite) but above all, they remind me of the year I'm resuming (it can also be older songs). I also post my top 3 albums of the year. I'm thinking also of detailing my choices of playlist. Maybe not explaining all of them but a few. [12:36PM. And I'm already hungry.] On the 1st try I remember I talked about the TV shows I saw. I forgot to mention it but I write in English for a few reasons. First is : it helps me exercising my English. For me, it's the most beautiful langage to talk and it's a good occasion to do so. And then I actually enjoy writting in English. And it prevents unwanted people who don't master English to read all that (as it is pretty intimate). But joke's on me, I'm conscious the people I'd like to keep away from reading this all master English, and even better than me for some of them. (It surely is the case for 27 at least, even though we all know she still won't read this lol). Yes, I never drop names in these sum ups. Or at least, some names are blacklisted. I always chose a number to nominate them they would normally recognize themselves. So, talking about English, I've seen « Emily in Paris » on Netflix. It may surprize you but I'm very interested in dubbing. French dubbing is amazing. For example I bought « Spiderman » on PS4 this year and the french voice is the same voice actor as in the « Amazing Spider-Man » (yes the one with Andrew Garfield). (UNPOPULAR OPINION : Andrew Garfield actually is the best spiderman. Or at least the one I prefer and by far). Emily in Paris is funny because I watched it in English and it kinda disturbed me that it took place in Paris but everybody spoke English. On the other hand, if you watch it in French, langages people are talking become logical (French people speak french) but you'll have to deal with the DEADLY ANNOYING French voice of Emily. And her accent. I think I just watched 1 or 2 episodes like that, I couldn't take more ?. If you have time you should take 5 seconds to listen to what I'm talking about. But it was quite a good show. It was so fun to see these streets I've been visiting for so long in a Netflix show. By the way, I think it's easy to say that I'm missing Paris so much. But not only for the tourism, but most and foremost for the competitions. Before being a tourist I was a competitor there. So, I'm missing Paris but I'm also missing karate competitions. And also just karate. I haven't stepped on a tatami for 3 weeks and it still seems like it won't get better, and we all know why. I'm curious if I could talk about this year without mentioning a very famous virus but I think it's just impossible. But this virus gave me a lot of time in March and April. Maybe less in November tho. I could finally finish The Walking Dead, which last seasons were surprisingly good. And it was so fun to watch the reactions of people on Youtube [#]. Talking about karate competitions, I also watched Cobra Kai ! What an amazing job they did there. Adding more depth to the first movie, it's funny to change perspective and see that the Daniel we were rooting for wasn't that much of a « perfect good guy » we saw (I'm not talking about the kick in the face etc). It's also funny to notice I kinda went fro Daniel to Johnny lol. But having a Netflix show talking about martial arts and value they teach to their students ? It was perfect, even more when you see that some of my students also saw it so when we were training I was refering to it they almost all got it. And it's also funny to see that it's not as Manichean as the 1st movie was. It's a 9/10 for me. If I read the last sum up right, I said : « This year 2020 I really need to watch Kimetsu no yaiba, Jojo, Violet evergarden, Gintama and i have to keep ready 7 deadly sins. » So : Kimetsu no Yaiba was dope. The anime was beautiful and the manga was very entertaining. Not a top tier manga but definitively a good one. Jojo's anime was cool but too long. I stopped after season 2 or 3 I guess ? Violet Evergarden was TRASH (and very bad for a date, if you ask me) and I didn't take time to explore the 2 others. I also saw : Assassination classroom (5/10, i couldn't finish it so i skipped directly to the last episode, was as moving as people said), Validé (8/10, with an insane final episode), No Game No Life (8,5/10, i loved it), Freaks and Geeks (7,5 but i didn't finish it, I really like the old school vibe), Code geass (7/10, great anime and great opening). I finally discovered Community and it was worth it. What a funny show. And what a pleasure to see Mr Donald Glover on screen. Makes me think that I need to watch Atlanta again. The problem with Community is the last seasons broke the 4th wall too much for me, it became painful to watch. But the 3 or 4 seasons are crazy. Another show that was even more funny : IT Crowd. I finally had the chance to see the episode of « I came here to drink milk and kick ass, and I just finished my milk ». This show is a 9,25/10. Grand Army was also a great show of 2020. Dom is an amazing character (but I already said it). Kengan Ashura was also so cool ! I think it's what Baki would have liked to become. This year I also started to watch « American horror Story » again (alone and not alone). These last seasons were awesome. I also converted Elodi to «my hero academia », it was so cool to share that. Other things I saw : SAO S4 (AMAZING, SO BEAUTIFUL), Erased, SNK Last season) ; The Mandalorian, 24's 9th season.« Queen's gambit » have been one of the greatest show I've seen this year. And I really want to say that I played chess before the show came out (add me on Lichess if you want to play with me. Same username. I'm not strong -about 1000 ELO I guess- but I'm always happy to play and learn). If you want a precise idea of my level, on the chess.com app, I can beat Emir 🇹🇷 (1000 ELO) often but I didn't win once against Sven 🇸🇰 (who is ~1100 ELO). I'm so happy talking about all these lengthen the post even more. Kinda satisfying. But I could also talk about Tekken and chess this year. I think I have a thing with dueling sports. I'm a Karate competitor, I love Tekken and I like chess. I guess someone has something to prove haha. But come on, chess is incredible. For the 1st lockdown, I was just playing (not alone) but I wanted to make progress just by practicing. And that's how I got BB 5 or 7 (yes, it means Beat By = my number of loss in a row). But at the end of the 2nd lockdown I finally allowed myself to study a little more, thanks to Youtube (once again). This is SO INTERESTING. Like the strategies, the top players. French content creators are fun but I like american ones more. Eric Rosen is my favourite. He's always calm, he often finds solutions. GothamChess is also very entertaining. You can say by how he talks he has been a teacher. He's great. So, once again on some shonen shit, I started studying more. Mid December, a kid beat me 2 times in a row. He's a smart kid, I like him. He didn't brag or anything. And then, during Christmas Holidays I spent 2 or 3 hours a day watching chess videos. I guess he hasn't been able to beat me since then haha. By the way I should play with him later on today. Playing chess is a way for me to make sure my brain doesn't let me down, like gym for the brain. At least, it's what I thought when I started but I quickly discovered that it's a game of patterns recognizing, so memory is really challenged here. I mean, in the middlegame you have to be smart to get by but at the beginning and ending … you have to know your openings. I have also thought of joining a club but I don't know if chess communities are benevolent. I also noticed that high ranked players seem to have strong personalities. And then for Tekken (yes, 3 years and a half later I'm still on this game) I'm still making progress. In March, someone made me want to play Heihachi. What a funny character. Not top tier, but fun. Leroy Smith is also fun to play. There was no offline tournament but I won one, the 1st organized by Tekken Toulouse and finished 5th at the second. It's funny to live that level of stress straight from my bed. Usually, that kind of stress making my whole body trembling is usually found nearby tatamis of Karate competitons. (Yes, these Tekken tournaments make me stressful and that's the reason I can't play Jin in tournaments). But Eddy is still a sure value. Still progressing in movement, and whiff punishing. Mishimas are getting more consistent on electrics but it's not perfect. By the way, if you love fighting games and Bruce Lee, there's a video you need to see (whoever you are) : [#]. If you're really interested in these topics, you should appreciate this video as much as I did [2:10 PM. I have eaten, but now I have the feeling that I'm late.] Btw I don't skip line to add some « length » effect. Once again I'm sorry if making it until here was painful to read, but I need to make this paragraph the least attractive I can. This line I'm writting is almost on the 3rd page of OpenOffice. And I try to avoid using emojis, so there's just text. Tout dans le fond, pas de forme. Also, congratulations for making it until here, you must be very motivated. I'm writting slowly because it's the 1st time I write this by daytime, and I swear at the begining people were harassing me ahah. It's fun because the sum up of 2019 was so short. Just with its form, you can tell how 2019 have been peaceful. I don't remember if I talked about it already but a disaster could have happened in September/October 2019. But karate kept my mind busy so the worst have been avoided. Time spent on the tatamis kept me away from overthinking about my problems. And that was a good strategy indeed. Because in 2020 it wasn't the same. If we count right. Dojos were opened in January, February, 1st half of march, reopened in September and october, closed on november and opened in December (Mon Dieu quel … CASSE-TEX hahaha merci c'est tout pour moi). It was a weird karate year. Today is the 1 year anniversary of my last competition. During the 1st lockdown, I had litteraly no desire to train. Some of you know why. But let's talk a bit more about COVID and lockdowns. The most important thing is that I didn't spent the 1st lonely. This was the most challenging time of my life, but I can say that I made it thanks to 0808 so I'm eternally grateful for that. So, if we recap months by months : January was a funny month. One thing that I thought a miracle happened (until I found out months later what a real miracle was). I also almost went into a brawl. I guess this weird ass month set the tone for the 11 months to follow. February … was one of the calmest month. I had an awesome dojo session in Balma with 0808 in February. I think there were a lot of beautiful sunsets this month. Guess our weather power was at its peak. These 3 1st months of 2020 had a lot of trainings, even if I was injured due to kumite. March and April are kinda the same for me. I won't talking long about these but I'd simply say that I'm glad that I hadn't to write to 27. So, the Miracle happened by mid April. Mid april to mid may, it was cool. We were at home but … the weather was nice, I was doing sport everyday (but no real karate trainings) and I could keep this rythm of exercising until … Half July, which is good. It's the first time in my life I'm that consistent in doing sports at home. From mid may, I started to train with Coach O. on a weekly basis. It was incredible. These days were still bliss in my mind. I was there, no « real problems » in mind, I wasn't alone, I was making progress physically … It was really great. And from mi may to end of July, it kept getting better.Indeed, I fell in love again in January and it was getting stronger by the months. It's been a while I haven't fell this hard for someone. But she gave it back to me nicely. And then … Mala suerte 3.0. This point of the sum up is funny because I do remember when I talked about mala suerte in the other sum ups. I do realize how it's always the same thing when I write those : « 1st part of the year is cool, then not cool, then cool again but in a weird way because I have insane difficulties to repair broken parts of me » but hey. This time it's not my fault. It makes me realize how cyclic all this is. So, August, September and October have been terrible and chaotic months. A level of sadness rarely reached until there. Maybe comparable to September 2018. A high level of anger also. But still, with rare occasions to train, so no occasions to let go off steam. In fact, let's talk a bit about this anger. I've always took a lot of pride in the fact that I could most of the time remain calm in a lot of situations. Plus, being patient isn't something natural but … I learned to be through the years. I was so surprised to notice how angry I became … It simply wasn't me. But the reason is simple : I really think karate brings me balance in life, on a lot of levels (and it concerns me a lot for when I'll stop competing one day …). But I realized it so I'm working on it. In 2020, I led a lot of fights, sometimes I won and often I lost, but I also avoided a lot of them. One of the reasons I think I'm not ready to be a good partner is first I think I'm too angry. I don't think I could be mean to my partner but … I think I could be annoying to deal with. But mainly, I'm not ready to better myself now. To find the good partner, you need to become a good partner first, and this is precisely what I'm not ready to become. Despite being not perfect, I'm fine that way and I know how far from perfect I'm right now. But nevermind. This is the kind of state of mind you can't afford when you're in a relationship. I'm not saying you need to change to fit your partner's ideals. But if you notice something's wrong in your behaviour/habits and don't want to correct it, you might be a bad partner (but I could be wrong, I'm not a couple therapist lol).

Oh. And that's the moment I can describe my photo to tell the story differently. So this shot was taken precisely on Sunday, 4th of October. 1302 got confirmed so we had to go to the Temple du Salin. I went there with my father and he decided to rock a bowtie so I wanted to match him. It was so fun. That was the first time we stepped in a church after « all these events ». It was a strong moment for me. So, this picture (taken by me, thank you tripod) was taken 4 days after I « took a gamble ». I took a lot of gambles this year. One memorable gamble that lead to beautiful pictures of Toulouse was on August 27th (lol). This was after our breakup. I gave her an adress and an hour, and I hopped she would come. She never came so this was a lost gamble. (So I had a great time watching « Back to the future » outdoors, on a big movie screen, but I was alone). But this time was different. I did suppose she would be at one place on a certain day at the end of September. And I gambled right because she was there. And even if the context was so particular, I can tell we had a great time. I was so ready that I put on my best white shirt, because I knew she kinda liked it. I was there to win her back but I simply failed. Guess the shirt wasn't enough. So it was funny to wear the full suit 4 days later, I was like « Dude, nice effort but it's too late  lol» (plus the Temple du Salin is on the other side of the closest bridge from her home) but I still hopped to cross her road on that day. Oh and as we're analyzing this picture, I really like the bokeh on the autmun-colored leaves. I had the luck to have a very sweet light when I took these pictures. And the post processing was really funny. I have a lot of versions of this picture indeed. But all these colors in the background always make me think of a quote I love :  « Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go » and this quote is so damn right. I discovered this year that I have difficulties to let things go. The thing is I hate injustice. I hate to see things that litteraly belong to me, things I deserve, simply run away from me. Sometimes I'm telling myself it's just my karma making me pay for all the شيطان I've done in the past. But other times I just try to convince myself to let go. It's been the 2nd most challenging thing this year. These levels of depression have never been reached before. But still, here I am. But not stronger than before. I had this conversation a few weeks ago about « what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ». To support this idea, some people might evoke the principle of « Kintsugi » as an example. But I strongly disagree about the first statement. I'm not a goddamn bowl. I take the example of my lower belly scar : it didn't kill me but it didn't get stronger either. That's the exact opposite indeed. Sometimes it still hurts even though it's been done 12 years ago (the last time it hurt was this night, almost stopping me from finding sleep). It's a personal opinion but what didn't kill me made me weaker. And I'm not just talking about physical injuries. Losing the ability to trust after all these events isn't what I'd call « getting stronger », even though « I didn't do anything wrong ». That's an expensive price. Bref. I think you can overcompensate with something else but the damaged parts may stay weak after. [3:03 PM. So I have about 1 hour to finish it. Easy.] There's one thing I wanted to talk about in this sum up, related to the fact of « being strong ». I read Blach again (you can tell by my december posts) and I started with the lost agent arc, followed by the TYBW arc. There's 2 things about it : its poetry, through the words and the drawings will always amaze me (it amazed me even if it’s the 2nd time I’me reading it), and the 2nd thing : I love how Ichigo become stronger. He lost his Shinigami powers but then found his Fullbring powers. And that is very important because he becomes strong again, but it's a different kind of strong and I LOVE THIS. It's like in real life. I was very strong in June 2012 (videos as proof), but it's not the same strong as in July 2017 or April/November 2018. June and July 2020 have been a different kind of strong. Not that I gained 10 kgs in 2 months (unfortunately) but I was exercising daily. I was getting my body ready for the supposed heavenly month of August that was awaiting me (us). Unfortunately there was no videos of karate at this period (but I made some in september!) but I was feeling great physically. In fact. This May/June/July 2020 period could be considered as “bliss” for me. Of course there was some background problems but ... Mentally I was getting back on my feet, I was deeply in love, physically pretty feeling myself. Plus on the 1st half of July i could go back to the tatamis ... I swear this level of peace and life appreciation have rarely been reached before. Well, this concept of getting stronger differently is almost obsessing me for a simple reason : I'm feeling like I'm getting older. 27 is a weird age for competing in karate. If I look back, I realize I'm older than William when he stopped (it's his birthday tomorrow!!). Also older than Zak, Teddy and so on. I guess I'll never be physically like 10 or 5 years ago but I'm really asking myself if I can be better. But as seen as the pains I go through after the trainings … It's going to be complicated. Plus I did my body wrong this year. There was pain in mars, april, august, september, october, november and december. I tried a lot of things to make it go. I tried to smoke it, i tried to sleep it, i tried to drink it also. I tried to fuck it of course but none of these things worked. But can we consider I won if only my cock still works ? Compared to 2018 : yes it is a win. And at least when I'm with someone, that makes less time crying and overthinking shit. Anyway, I also tried to smoke it really hard. And that's an habit I'll have trouble to let go but nvmd. Still, one of my 2021 resolutions is to smoke less. Also, I took a funny resolution that is : « I'm not accepting defeat this year ». And I realized only a few days after taking it how hard it will be. I'm not dumb, when defeat is unavoidable, I'll just take it. But I decided to be a real Scorpio and be more stubborn than ever. We can say it's above all pride. Same pride as Vegeta, Bakugo or even Endeavour. Really touched me when Bakugo talked about « Absolute victory ». Sometimes I find myself too soft. I'm not going to become an awful person (or at least, not more awful than I am right now). I'll still be kind … But I'll go get the victories I deserve a little harder. Talking about my age, I'm a bit deceived I have no close old friends to share the memories. Every one is kinda gone. Sometimes it's my fault, and sometimes it's just people who are shit but life's like this. Also, every year I try to think of my best encounter of the year. It's kinda hard because sometimes, you meet someone a few years earlier but you really get to know each other later etc … So I'm not clear if this should count only people met this year or simply the people I've spent the best times with. Because I received a curious message this summer and my God. What a luck she took the chance to write me. We realized a few days ago we were in the same class in 10th grade (2nde) (we saw the class picture, what a laughter we had). We get along so well. And it's the proof that 2nd chances deserve to be given. I swear that I also lost some important people this year. But I'm not fighting to get people back anymore. I've done it too much and I'm simply done. People need to realize it's a luck to be in my life. I have my ways but you'll hardly find a friend that's patient and kind as I am. But nevermind, it always makes more time and attention for the people who are here, who really care for my hapiness. Focusing on the people who are here was one of the main concern this year, for a lot of reasons. I thought I was good for selecting the good people in my life but looks like I still can improve. So I'm still letting people go off my life. [3:36PM. Guess I said mostly what I had to say. Maybe 5 pages is enough, but maybe not.] Oh I can still tell the rest of the year. November have been one peaceful month. Away from all the obsessions. Focused on me. No karate but still courses by videoconference. The weather was very sweet even tho it was November. This second lockdown was not that funny but we've seen worst. And December … had it's ups and downs. It was cool to meet my kids 1 month after all these video courses. They clearly got stronger, it was cool. I could also talk about my experience as a sensei this year because there's a lot to say. At the beginning of February, it was my last competition but also for my kids. We litteraly took the competition by storm. On était TROP CHAUDS. But then the Covid stopped us. We kinda were ready for Occitanie championship, if you forget that I was sick the week before the competition. I'd have loved so much to see how far their training would have taken them on this competition. But thank God they cancelled it, guess He didn't want to see me lose ahah. So, I've seen a lot of kids getting better. What a pleasure. Later on this year I told them that I wanted to see them become stronger than me. Seems cliché, but I'm happy they took it seriously. Of course I'm dead serious. We also talked about I will be waiting for them in Senior. Hope they'll continue until then. And above all I hope I will still be competing. I really want to have a positive impact on these kids, competitors or not. And I guess it's working. (Btw I'll surely do a post about Whitebeard soon, just to show him love). So. What lessons can we draw from this chaotic year ? Always treat your high school comrades well. Be picky about who you let in your life. Before engaging in a relationship, ask why her previous relationship ended. Trust no B. (And BBW's are heaven sent). Now it's 3:50PM and I guess I'm done. But I keep myself the possibility to add things if I think of things to add. It's 6 pages long (Arial, 12) but if I can make it longer I will.

[Friday. 00:55AM] Edit : Ok. The story is funny. I really wanted to finish that in one day. So I wrote the previous lines between 10 AM and 4 PM Wednesday knowing I would need more time, just to check and to add a few more details. And one of those Lonely Wednesday Night would have been perfect just to finish the job. So I planned to finish it on wednesday night but the fact is I forgot my computer home …. So here I am one day later. Still baked, so still in the right state of mind to do it. It gave me time to proofread myself (?) and most importantly, it gave me time to read again some of my previous sum ups. It was interesting to compare how they're all different, and also how my writting evolved. Tbh I think I'm becoming more comfortable with my English. Or maybe the more I express myself, the more I look at ease with the langage. This sum up is the longest I've ever written. But still, I'll add things because I still haven't told everything. For example, I haven't spoken about the fact that all the Kazamastar adventure might be closer to the end than the beginning. Like, I'm not immediatly done with all that. I'm still having a lot of fun here. Anon visitors are also part of the game, but it's still all fun. It also keeps my « photograph eye » opened. This makes me think of the quote «I want to be so awfully happy that I never need to write poetry again. » [#] and more precisely I'm thinking about : do I post more when I'm happy or sad ? But I noticed this tumblr kinda works like therapy for me. (And especially, this post is a therapy by itself. Wednesday I woke up feeling bad, lower belly aching and making this post really helped me going through the day.) I post a lot when I'm sad but it really allows me to get all of these negative feelings out of me. I do stylize things but I know I'm not a poet or anything. But can you imagine being so happy that you don't write again ? Would be an amazing feeling. (Indeed, I've already done it once [#]. I've ended a blog on a perfect happiness and yes it felt amazing. ) Imagine if I do it here. After all the trials and tribulations I went through, it would be a perfect way to finish this tumblr. But as I'm speaking, I think there's like … less than 5% chance that it ends happily. If it does, it could be in a long time. I have a few ideas of when and how it could end, but Imma have to keep these selfishly for myself. You'll see when we'll get there.:) Also, I'm realizing right now the things I'm adding to the text make the timestamps through the text a bit less accurate but that's just a detail. [2:37 AM] Earlier I talked about this blog being a therapy for me. But it’s not only this tumblr. This year I proudly finished another tumblr (yes you can guess I was proud as I posted about that 17325 times already and pinned a post). This was such a relief to end it after letting it still for litteraly 2 years. Well that’s it for tonight !

No transition : let's go for the explanations of my choices for the playlist followed by the playlist itself. It's kinda easy to understand why « la mienne » is here, for the first month. This “I can’t touch you I’m not allowed to” really made me think of someone and this someone came back. Incredible. The next song with a Boogie is perfect for February. Very peaceful month, really full of very good moments (in the backseat of a certain car for example). The 2 next songs are for March. These are kinda « lockdown anthems » as The Weeknd album came out right at that time and so did Laylow's. Plus « Escape from LA » have the vibe I really love from Abel. 2 next songs are for April. Dsvn really smashed when he put that « A muse in her feelings » album. (and the « Amusing her feelings » is even better but that won't happen before January 2021). The sequence between « Outlandish – Keep it going - flawless » was one of the best thing I heard musically this year. But keep it going is insane. « Meilleurs » from Oboy is … special. And so are the 2 following songs. Meilleurs is now blacklisted but it's still one good song. But I can't listen to it anymore. Maybe that's exactly because it reminds me June and July. Count me in reminds me precisely of August 8th. Btw what a funny day, very far from all expectations we built up through the years (let's remind that the countdown started with more that 400 days, but I guess patience and loyalty is not always rewarded). I might digress from the playlist one second, but on this day we were in Treilles with the guys, and thank God I had them in this moment ... That’s when I drank to heal, with “count on me” for soundtrack. For September, I hesitated between « DEUX TOILES DE MER » or « MEVTR » (which means « Meilleur d'Entre Vous Tous Reunis », the 1st stage name of Damso). Damso’s flow on MEVTR is huge. He makes a whole verse rhyme and on but … 2 toiles is more iconic. Talking about iconic, « Bande organisée » wasn't a masterpiece but a force to be reckoned with (i find this expression funny ahah). I mean, in hip hop nowadays we don't see often rappers teaming up with big groups like that. Plus on this song particularly some of them have interesing flows and a lot of energy. And you can tell it comes from the South. Not of them are goods, some are excellent but this makes a very decent track. « Route 66 » was cool, even tough it's for November (so 2nd lockdown) it gave me really lovely vibes. And I take this occasion talking about November 2020 to remind it was the 10th anniversary of Kanye West's MBDTF and I celebrated it the right way héhé. Finally, this featuring is really ending the year well. Dinos dropped an insane album, his best since a long time and Tayc also (respectively « Stamina, » and « Fleur froide »). So having them on the same track was risky but it paid very well, incredible vibe from those two combined. They could have been in the top 3 albums but some people made better than them. Trinity is my top 1 one 2020. The concept, the musics … it was INSANE. QALF was also great. It's insane to see Damso get rid of « artistic barriers » to focus only on sound and music. No communication etc … Just music. And Eternal Atake from Lil Uzi Vert because it was long awaited but also because it was perfect, also a 1st lockdown album so it helped me forget my loneliness but so much good tracks ! And finally we have the very special songs that I coudn't tell why I like them. I just love their vibes. So now is 4:15 PM and I'm offically finished but I still have to tweak it. Know I won't hesitate to add things that are related to 2020 and that come to my mind :) Thanks for reading me. Have a lovely day, or night.

2020 Playlist

Tayc – La mienne (Accoustic)

A Boogie – Reply feat Lil Uzi Vert

The Weeknd – Escape for LA

Laylow – Nakré

dvsn – Keep it goin ✨

PartyNextDoor – Believe it feat Rihanna

Trippie Redd & Russ – The Way

OBOY - Meilleurs

Kehlani - Serial Lover

Juice WRLD & Marshmello - Come and go

THEY. - Count me in

Damso - Deux toiles de mer

13 Organisé - Bande organisée

Joe Dwet File - Route 66

Dinos & Tayc - Je wanda

Spécial : Lil Tecca - Last Call  YNW Melly  - City girls

Jessame - Times we had ~ Dennis Lloyd - Never go back ~  Elliot Trent - computer love

3 top albums de 2020 : 

Trinity de Laylow - Qalf de Damso - Eternal atake de Lil Uzi vert

[quintessence-sentimentalist]

quintessence-sentimentalist Takes on 30 Days of W.i.t.c.h.versary!: Week Three

Week Three already! Days 15 through 21 below the cut!

Day 15 Something that needs a quick fix

Ahaha, well, some 99.9% of things that need fixing with this series can’t be completed quickly, so let me just go with the simplest thing that comes to mind:

The uniform color errors.

In both the comic and cartoon, there are color swaps between the top and bottom, with Irma being the most frequent offender (frankly, I only remember Cornelia’s top being purple on the cover of one of the final Ludmoore arc issues, and maaaaaaaybe Hay Lin got a color swap once too, so basically it was all with Irma). I don’t know if it’s because she and Will might look a little similar in black-and-white or something and that’s why there was confusion over whose top is which color (although if that’s the case then why didn’t it happen to Will too?), but it just kept happening throughout the series. It’s even wrong on the official promo art/opening sequence end card for the animated series. 

So yeah. Easiest fix I can think of is to please check which color goes where before inking them in.

Day 16 Something that needs an overhaul

I’m just going to spin the wheel here...

Better executed romantic break-ups/avoidance of shitty break-ups altogether. Consistent lore. All the arcs New Power and beyond. New Power Matt. That one self-indulgent what-if I had about leaving Medina, McTiennan, and Sylla’s memories intact and they basically become the girls’ non-magical mentors and trusted adult figures who help them balance their lives between Guardianship and just being normal girls.

Uh... I can’t choose. 

I’ve talked at length about and reimagined a lot of these before (and will do so again, for sure), and those I haven’t people have discussed much more eloquently than I can. And I’m sure I’m still missing some, so I’m not going to get too deep into this and save that all for inevitable rambles later on.

Day 17 Something that needs to be revisited

The Astral Drops, hands down. Why bother sending them off to live new lives of their own, while pointedly leaving them with magical tattoos that will light up when Kandrakar must call on them, if you’re not going to loop back around to that? Honestly, this is something that should have slid back into the narrative in at least some way before things wrapped up.

Day 18 Something that needs more love from the fandom

It’s going to be too predictable if I start chanting “animated series Matt and Will/Matt” (but really, they do deserve all the love), so let’s go for a different angle this time.

Oh... well, I guess since I was already at it, maybe the animated series itself? 

Alright, look: I was a comics purist for a solid eight years. I watched the show in full and enjoyed particular (largely season 2) parts, but I still had the frequent complaint that it wasn’t a faithful adaptation and didn’t watch it again for years even when I regularly reread the comics. 

But then the English translations of the comic ended, and I was left without any real new material. A couple years later, I was about to go off to college and came across something that reminded me of the cartoon (more on that later on), and I figured what the hell.

It’s still not a perfect or even great adaptation of the comics, and sometimes I still struggle with getting through the first season, but going back to the animated series as a young adult - after years of distance from it and easing up on my rigid stance on comics-only - helped me gain a newfound appreciation for it. The animated series did some things I liked better than in the comics. It had a badass theme song. From a fan creator perspective, I found the cartoon universe a little bit more malleable and full of possibilities than with the comics, partially because it unexpectedly got cut short.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t necessarily have impeccable taste when it comes to media (I have a guilty pleasure for short-lived and long-forgotten early 00s sci-fi action shows. I unabashedly enjoyed the live-action Birds of Prey series, and that’s even more wildly inaccurate a comic adaptation than the W.i.t.c.h. cartoon). Still, I think about some other animated series that are based on beloved comics/manga but not direct adaptations, and some of those are considered just as good or even better than the originals (and potentially subsequent accurate adaptations). I feel like at the very least, the W.i.t.c.h. animated series could be a guilty pleasure, or even enjoyable AU adventures of the girls as they are in the comics. 

Day 19 Something small but unforgettable

Nothing was immediately coming to mind, but then it hit me. I love that the animated series changed the name of Will’s power to quintessence in the second season. 

In the comics, her powers were a bit of a nebulous space, while the others’ were clearly defined elements. I remember it being called “energy” or “absolute energy,” which... while not wrong, it’s just such a broad term, and frankly is missing some pizzazz to it. It wasn’t even a consistent name, since oftentimes Will just called out for the Heart, and then with New Power it became “the power to unite them” or something (uh... what?). I just think it’s weird to have one of your main characters without a clearly defined - or simply named - ability, unless it’s intentionally vague to allow for various deus ex machinas from the Heart, with Will serving solely as the conduit.

And that’s kind of what happened with the first season too, where Will was honestly only able to activate the Guardians and close portals and had no inherent offensive ability. So season 2 was great in the respect that they actually gave her a power, but then there was that name!

Seriously, quintessence. Even before you really know what it is, it’s a pretty kickass name, right?? It definitely has the mystical quality to it, and the fact that it literally translates as fifth essence/element makes it just too good. Guys, there’s a reason why it’s in my username.

(Well, that and the fact that seeing the word and its definition again after many years reminded me that I should rewatch the animated series, and that was what kicked off my spiral back into W.i.t.c.h. fandom. It did tie into the “sentimentalist” aspect in the end.)

Day 20 Something you’d always come back to

Hmm, I’m a little unclear on the prompt for this one, whether it means something I’ll reread/rewatch, or some idea from the series that just sticks with me. I’m going go with the first interpretation, which I guess also ties in with the second.

Hardly a surprise at this point, but I regularly rewatch the most pivotal episodes of the Shagon arc - those being L is for Loser, M is for Mercy, and S is for Self. I just love seeing Shagon in the forefront as a villain, and how Will knows how to deal with Nerissa in some respect at this point (staying suspicious - maybe a little bit too much - and learning to out-strategize the ex-Keeper), but goes absolutely ballistic and loses her calculating edge whenever she’s facing Shagon on his own. He knows exactly how to needle into her vulnerabilities, and the two of them engaging in emotional warfare is just so good. Watching these always gets me wondering how the fallout from this arc would have gone had we had more time and the series had a different tone (maybe more along the lines of Young Justice, to borrow a different Weisman show), because I’m firmly of the mind that Matt would have some lingering trauma from the experience (which he’s had to put aside to take on a new role and deal with everything else that came after he was freed) and I would have loved to see that play out.

As for the comics, though, I like to loop back around to the girls’ potential futures from issue 50. Their careers just fit them all so well, and the way their designs and friendship evolved into adulthood just felt right to me. They’re all grown up and more sophisticated now, but they don’t simply look like a slightly older version of their Guardian forms, and manage to maintain a semblance of their styles from their young teen days. And even though they’re no longer active Guardians and are busy with their own lives (sometimes in various other places), thus not being in each others’ back pockets anymore, you can tell their bond is holding just as firmly as it was forged back in the day. I vastly prefer this glimpse into the future over the one we’re shown in the post-New Power era, so I like to use it at least as a basis for when I imagine the girls post-Guardianship. 

Day 21 A memorable architectural design

I do love the design of Sheffield Institute. It’s just so elaborate and wildly different than what you’d normally see for a high school, at least from my view and experience. It certainly looks like a place with a rich history, and honestly I think it’s a great parallel to Kandrakar and the castles of Meridian and Arkhanta - not quite as regal or mystical, but still a structure with some elegance.

[iprincezzinuyoukai]

Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Chapter I

I know, it's been a few months since I updated a fanfic, but this one was taking me a long time to write, edit, etc. At the end of writing there were almost 7,000 words, and at the end of writing there were 6,700 \_(ヅ)_/¯

I think everyone was waiting for the final confrontation, well I'm going to take a slightly different route than some other fanfics did.

I'm not sure that the second part will be published soon, I only have half written and a few notes. With luck only one month... SORRY!

Well, I leave you with this really long chapter (´・ω・`) Love you!

As always, this goes to my AO3 (same username)

Maddie remembered her childhood pretending to be a wild animal living in its natural habitat than a princess living in a castle, watching wildlife documentaries with Andrew, and camping in the woods for the whole summer.

At that time Maddie knew that she wanted a job similar to her Father’s, however she was sure that she’d never be a nature photographer. She was always looking for things she could touch, that could be in her grasp. A veterinarian or zoologist seemed like the best career for her in her future.

Then Godzilla appeared, changing her world and everyone else’s. Titans who were older than mankind, who were Gods at some point in the past.

Andrew perished in Los Angeles, the relationship between her Mother and Father strained. Then her Mother came in one day, and said to pack her things because they were going on a trip, her Father also said goodbye to her, he’d his bags packed, too — But he didn’t go with them.

Her parents had divorced.

So for the coming years Madison lived in the outposts distributed around the world, until they finally settled in Yunnan, China, a few miles from the Moth Temple. Talking with her Father from time to time, at first with postcards, and once she’d access to a cell phone by E-mail.

Things seemed to be going well. At least that’s what she thought. But her Mother had become involved with a strange, cold-looking man, who shared the same ideals as her. The dream for a new world. Emma mentioned a better world, one where humans and Titans could coexist. And that dream cost her her life.

Madison must have seen it coming. Yet in some way, that dream seemed to come true with Godzilla as the King of the Monsters.

Mark would go back to Monarch only if he and Maddie got away from all this. The world opened up to the idea of living with the Titans and her Father wanted her to live a normal life. Well, she couldn’t blame him, they lost half their family, friends, innocent lives during the awakening.

And maybe he was right.

At night she’d wake up anxious, breathless, choking, the sound of thunder resonating in her ears, and the smell of salt water — It was her tears, but part of her related it with the rain. Madison didn’t know whether to tell her Father, he already had enough trouble dealing with a judge, as well as working with Monarch to try to locate Alan Jonah.

She was sure that she’d died for an instant in Boston. Her house collapsed on her, and somehow she was still alive. She could swear she’d heard someone sing, it was more like a humming or the sound crickets make, though.

As her new classmates didn’t know anything about her past in Boston, or with Monarch or even anything related, except that she lived in China but she didn’t speak Chinese, blending into her school was normal. And as she expected, everyone kept mentioning the Titans. Most of her classmates hadn’t seen a Titan, only on television, Internet, and only one had been evacuated from Boston.

Maddie preferred to keep quiet, and only gave short answers, as much as she wanted to talk about the Titans, especially Godzilla or Mothra, she knew she could get into trouble, and the last thing she needed was to worry her Father.

Chen was one of the few people at Monarch who kept in touch with her. Madison told her everything she couldn’t tell her Father, Chen knew she needed someone who would listen to her until she’d tell her Father. Other times she’d tell her about what she’d do when she and her Father will return to Castle Bravo — She wasn’t a patient girl, but she could be if she wanted to, she’d sit by the ocean, waiting for Godzilla’s trail.

Chen informed her that they weren’t at Castle Bravo, with the exception of a staff chosen by her to guard the base, most of them moved to Isla de Mara. In the last few months, Isla de Mara had fallen and risen due to the presence of the Titans, especially Rodan, near his volcano were found an old mine of what they supposed to have been gold, but now it was something else. The fishing didn’t seem to be the same since the Oxygen Destroyer hit, the few fish that returned its meat had become bitter.

So, at first, Madison thought that Ghidorah had been causing trouble, probably in their never-ending hunt for Godzilla, but the King must have been dozing off somewhere — Following that, Chen told her about the eggs.

Ghidorah’s and Rodan’s offspring.

The thought was so strange and yet so curious, how was it possible? — She already knew how, her childhood was full of nature documentaries — It was more to do with the fact that Ghidorah is an alien. As far as most could see, Rodan seemed more excited to await the birth of their offspring, (presenting the behavior of an aviary parent), than Ghidorah, the hydra preferred long days off Isla de Mara or simply didn’t approach the nest, prefering to rest at the other mountain, and rarely approached the eggs.

It seemed a coincidence that on the day of her arrival the eggs hatched, and that eighteen titans were born, what’s more she proudly named them — And that made Ghidorah leave, this time they seemed really upset, not when they saw her with the ORCA, she could sense their killer instinct towards her, instead towards their children she saw rejection.

Why had Ghidorah abandoned their hatchlings? They didn’t have the paternal instinct that Rodan seemed to have, but it still didn’t make Madison any less nervous. She’d seen documentaries where parents or predators ate their young — She ended up crying usually — So if Rodan hadn’t been there, Ghidorah would have gotten what they wanted.

Ghidorah was soon put to one side when it leaked to the press about the birth of the Dorats, no one but Monarch’s staff knew it. Chen not only had to deal with another trial, but the threat that Jonah or someone else would try to capture the Dorats.

Madison didn’t think anyone would actually try to kidnap the cubs of a Titan, especially considering that Titan was a volcanic-stone pterodactyl, that could destroy buildings like a tornado, and used to had human sacrifices.

However, Mark told her that she should worry about things unrelated to the Titans, and that she better go out and enjoy Isla de Mara and its surroundings, Maddie would have preferred to help the agents the way she did in China — But at the same time Ghidorah returned; Unlike what her worst fears had grieved her, the three-headed hydra didn’t return to harm their offspring, but rather to protect them.

It didn’t take a genius to know why the poachers got close to the volcano, even if it was the gold ore, they might as well have raided a wagon, let alone who should have hired them. Despite that, without their bodies — Since Ghidorah and Rodan had feasted on them — Monarch had no clue or idea who might have leaked the information.

The only good thing was that Ghidorah was back, and this time, it seemed for the best.

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Trueno was the first to wake up, he was always the first in everything. Firstborn, first to dive into the lava, first to learn to flap his wings, and first to fly. So as soon as the sun appeared over Isla de Mara, he ran through the nest, awakening his siblings.

His parents were already awake, especially the three-headed dragon. Ghidorah almost never slept — They did rest, often Nebulosa had joined them when she didn’t want to play with her siblings, being underneath them made her feel safe — Most nights, after Rodan had settled them in the nest, the youngling could see the hydra take flight all over the island, flying majestically, and then land elegantly at the feet of the volcano, and rest.

Ghidorah never had the need to sleep, surely when they were young, and wandering through space they slept enough, given that once they fell on this planet sleep was no longer necessary, perhaps because it was an unknown place and anything was a threat to them. Even eating was a nuisance, the radiation from this planet was enough food, though they did devour some other rival and insect that crossed their path or tried to fight against them.

Now that they’d a mate and offspring to protect they couldn’t afford to lose to the Weak King, not until they’d defeated him and killed him, not until they were sure no one else would rise up against them.

Ghidorah rose from their place, being followed by a few of their younglings. The three-headed alien spread their wings to fly around the volcano, then get lost into the clouds, and start another day, taking care of their nest and herd.

Rodan watched his mates, while biting the little ones who tried to fly to follow them. Their wings weren’t strong enough, yet, their bodies had finally gotten used to the lava, and Rodan wasn’t sure how far and high their young would reach.

Even though Ghidorah could be a good father, they were in other ways rough, as the younglings grew up Ghidorah got a bit mean when they played with their offspring — Not that it bothered them, the little ones actually found it funnier — Rodan had to bit or growl at them when things were getting out of hand.

Like when Ghidorah had tried to teach them how to fly, throwing Rubí away from the volcano, thankfully Rodan was close by so the youngling was unharmed, however the others thought it was fun to try, so Rodan had to put a stop to it, and show them how to do it.

His parents were loving, but impatient. When he was a hatchling he was the last to fly, he’d broken his wings and part of his beak the first time he tried, watching from his nest as his siblings flew alongside their parents — Even though being the runt was what made Manda forgive his life.

It was a cruel joke, Rodan thought sometimes, that Manda would let him live when any of his siblings had a better chance of surviving, they were bigger than him, they were faster at flying, and they were better hunters than him — And now he was bigger than his parents ever were.

The last time he faced Manda, the sea serpent was about to devour a group of human travelers, and although those creatures were indifferent to Rodan, all of them ended up worshipping him as soon as he made the snake bleed and flee, becoming his first worshippers, even raising a human nest over the lake. Rodan decided to stay for a while in the nearby volcano, healing his wounds.

Soon after Rodan decided it’d be time to return to his volcano, some of his worshippers decided to follow him, settling on what’s now Isla de Mara.

Ghidorah returned, Ni brought a few gulls that they captured in their hunt, one that another was still alive, they were teaching the younglings how to hunt, and Ghidorah was proud when their young devoured their prey as fiercely as they’d have done.

The young gathered around Ghidorah’s claws, waiting for the moment. As soon as the seagulls fell on the volcanic floor, the younglings pounced on them. Cometa and Relámpago preferred to hunt those who were still conscious.

Observing that their young were eagerly eating, Rodan spread his wings and took flight around Isla de Mara.

Watching the coast and the reefs, looking up to the sky, in search of — Rodan had no idea who, maybe it was just paranoia, but as much as he tried to cover up that bad feeling, he’d felt it, he’d felt the moment that shell broke, and the earth beneath shook; If any of the others felt it too, Rodan couldn’t be sure.

Running away had been an idea he came up with on a sleepless night, but it was immediately discarded, this volcano had been his home, and no matter how many volcanoes were out there, Rodan always returned to his nest in Mara.

Ni roared.

Rodan screeched, descending to the volcano to be received by his mates, nuzzling the three heads, until Ghidorah spread their wings and flew away from Isla de Mara, lost in the clouds, and the sound of thunder in the distance. Satisfied with their work as hunter and teacher.

If Ghidorah found out about Godzilla’s offspring, the alien would go on to continue their hunt, in hopes of fighting him. Rodan preferred his mates to remain in the darkness of the matter, because in case Godzilla headed towards his volcano, Rodan preferred to have Ghidorah by his side.

Rayo ran towards the edge of the volcano, roaring in the direction where Ghidorah flew away, and returned to play with his siblings, a few were still feasting on the remains of the seagulls. Once there were more bones than flesh the younglings began to chase each other, competing to be the first, calling out to their winged Father, flapping their wings to fly near him.

Rodan returned to his nest, grooming his wings, small scales falling over the volcano’s caldera, he’d seen his worshippers’ descendants collect them during the night along with the gold metal they extracted from his volcano.

Once his work on his wings was done he’d take one of the little ones and help them remove that green fur from their bellies, even though it’d eventually fall, the little ones had to learn how to keep their scales clean.

A known, annoying noise was heard near the volcano.

Another tiny, metal insects were flying over the volcano. Rodan growled at the sight of the object lurking near his young. The humans have an interest in their young, however since the time they tried to kidnap them, neither Rodan nor Ghidorah would allow another offense like that.

The armour of his wings shined bright red, opening his beak and ejecting fireballs at the metallic insect, one of them plummet into the lava, the younglings didn’t hesitate for a second to dive into the lava to try to get it first.

Rodan watched his young bite and destroy the human machine, they’d be good hunters, they could survive in the world outside, find other volcanoes to claim them as their own, make their own nests, but most of all, they’d live.

And as long as their younglings learned that, Rodan would be satisfied that he did a good job.

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“Why do we bother spending so much money on these spawns?” Mark asked, putting his hand over his forehead while the other hand removed his headphones.

“Because otherwise we can say goodbye to Monarch.” Stanton spoke, turning around in his spinning chair. “We have to keep the top ranks happy.” The doctor mentioned, clearly being sarcastic, “And since Godzilla isn’t here to keep all the Titans at bay, we have to assure them that we can handle some babies. A mistake and it’s the end for Monarch.”

The doors opened, letting Chen and Coleman inside the place.

The mythologist had returned from a new trial, this time regarding the poachers, their likely connection to Alan Jonah, and a possible traitor among their ranks, as Stanton had begun to call them.

Many of their colleagues lost their lives after the awakening, then the resignations followed, and it was after that they’d to make public the information they’d about the Titans. Whoever the traitor may be, they didn’t like the way Monarch had to work now; Most scientists refused to kill the Titans as soon as they woke up — So if someone decided to ally with an eco-terrorist group that wants to save these creatures at the cost of innocent lives, it seemed justified.

Monarch had been fighting terrorist, the black market, and smuggling groups for years, rescuing everything they could, but many times those organizations had either moved everything to another location or they’d already destroyed everything.

At first it seemed that everything was fine — Until Admiral Xavier (He’d taken the position when Admiral Stenz was presumed dead in Boston) asked about Godzilla’s whereabouts. After Mothra’s egg hatched, she, together with Godzilla disappeared, in Infant Island, with only her Mother and Aunt keeping her up with the news. Then Colonel Markim demanded that Monarch should watch better over the King of the monsters, and if they could rely on him to support humanity when another calamity hit.

Chen tried to stay calm, though, her eyes showed anger as Coleman whispered in her ear that Sergeant Hilton wouldn’t stop whispering about them. And how could she? The military tried to set up a base at Infant Island, a sacred place, not to mention the distrust they still had on the Titans, especially Godzilla.

Luckily Coleman stepped in, saying the trial was about Alan Jonah’s whereabouts. “The real threat.” He emphasized. Monarch never got Rodan’s and Ghidorah’s mating montage or Coleman would have threatened to play the footage.

Days after the failed abduction of the infant Titans, agents who were still in Germany reported the sightings of highly suspicious people hovering in the area where Methuselah once hibernated. Whether it was Jonah or a new group, Monarch had already sent their forces to Europe, hoping to cover a vast area before they decided to flee.

Other sightings around Loch Ness had been reported, as well as suspicious fishing boats approaching Skull Island.

Maddie listened while in her hands were various documents that she was to file later. It wasn’t the summer job she expected, but at least it kept her busy all day and she’d access to information not officially published.

Previously Stanton had left her in charge of the monitors and trackers, she’d no idea how many drones she’d broken, Stanton couldn’t help, but laughing when she crashed one against Ghidorah’s right head, moments later Mark scolded both of them telling them how dangerous it might have been if the drone hadn’t landed on the coast.

She’d have preferred to be with the others on expeditions, but her Father had refused, arguing how dangerous it could become. They weren’t sure that the alien dragon would recognize her, but since Ghidorah was determined to kill her after they destroyed the ORCA, Mark wouldn’t expose his daughter to such a monster, no matter how much she wanted to be close to their offspring.

Chen finished talking and they all returned to their respective jobs, muttering among themselves as she left the room.

“Not everyone liked when Serizawa took office, either.” Stanton assured her, trying to encourage her, when she returned from her first trial after Boston. “Of course not everyone is a psychic.”

She hoped that things would improve soon. Her grandmother always said that people appreciate the Sun after a long, dark night.

Madison glanced at Coleman sit next to her, as tired as Chen. This job isn’t easy. “Is everything fine?” Maddie dared to ask.

“Yes, of course… Just...” Coleman answered absent-minded, not so sure of his words.

“They’re idiots, aren’t they?” Maddie spoke, loudly enough.

“Madison —” Mark scolded her, Stanton rolled his eyes, hiding a smirk.

“But it’s the truth.” The teenager defended her position and went back to see Coleman, with a look of understanding, “Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go ape-shit?” Maddie asked, with a smile from ear to ear.

They heard Stanton choke in his drink and Mark slapping him on the back as he told him that those words Maddie had learned from him.

Coleman laughed, feeling the tension fade from his shoulders, “Like Kong? I think a giant ape is more than enough.”

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Chen massaged her temple, waiting in front of the coffee machine for her cup.

She tried to concentrate, to disappear all the noise around her, to transform it into white noise, but as before, there was nothing. At first she thought it was the stress of work, however her sister had also failed to contact her Mother or Aunt.

They needed to talk, Chen needed to know what was happening in Infant Island right now, she needed to tell them about the military’s plans... They’d never before had problems with their psychic powers, for their family it was natural and basic, as if it were breathing and walking. Now, the fact that she’s cut off from her family made her feel lonely, like a ship that sank and moves adrift with no idea if it’ll ever touch land.

The sound of a chair dragged made her open her eyes, Maddie was sitting in front of her, Chen rearranged her composure, drinking her coffee, noticing that it was warm, how long was she unconscious?

For a few seconds there was silence between them, but Chen had known Maddie since she was a toddler, and the soon-to-be-priestess knew that Maddie wouldn’t be silent for so long if it wasn’t because she was worried.

“Do they intend to use the Oxygen Destroyer again?” Maddie finally asked, her eyes showing concern.

Oh, God no, she hoped that never ever it’d be used again, Serizawa had hated his son’s project, the aquatic fauna of Mara was affected, and if it weren’t for the Titans’ natural radiation maybe Mara would have ended up being the new Chernobyl, she couldn’t imagine what would happen if a second one fell in the same place. “I assure you, Maddie, as long as I am in charge I won’t allow them to use it again.”

If that reassured Maddie, it was hard to know. “So,” She spoke, nervous and shy, but with a rising smile, “If someone wanted me to join their exploration group, someone my Dad trusts, who’s a good leader, and don't touch my “self-destruct” button — ” Maddie air-quoted.

Even if it was for a second, Maddie was determined to meet the Dorats, she was stronger than anyone Chen has ever meet, she’s indeed her parents’ daughter, and made her proud. But still, Chen wouldn’t sign anything without Mark being aware or not allowing it, it was his daughter’s safety, and Maddie lived firsthand what no one her age should.

“Even if you have that permit you need to train — ”

“I have training!” Madison interrupted, startling Chen, “When I was with my mom she took me every day to run in the jungle, I was in the riskiest places known, I even learned to boxing — ”

“I know what you’ve done, Maddie,” And you’re stronger than anyone for all that, that’s what she’d have liked to tell her, “I promise you maybe some other day we’ll go to the volcano — Just… Not today, Maddie.”

Maddie shook her head, she could feel the room falling into a tense atmosphere, the animated noise around her was like a soundtrack that shouldn't be playing at the time. “What were you trying to do?” The teenager asked, “The moment I stepped in, I mean.”

While the new outpost on Isla de Mara wasn’t as large as the previous one on the volcano, not everyone knew of her lineage and perhaps seeing her in the state she was in before could be another reason to distrust her leadership, and even if she lied to Madison — Even if people kept things from her, Madison found the truth, often in the worst possible way. “There’s some disturbance on Infant Island.”

“How do you know?” Madison was aware of Chen’s lineage and their relationship with Mothra. She’d always wanted to ask her since the battle in Boston, to find out what had happened to her, but she never found the moment and that such a personal matter would only be mentioned when necessary.

“Infant Island has been my home since I was born, all of us are connected to it.” Chen explained, “When something’s wrong we feel it, and…” The mythologist swallowed, “There’s only silence, and mist surrounding me, as if it were on purpose.” As if the island didn’t want me to know what’s happening.

“The Shobijin,” She hoped had said it correctly, “Did you know it over time or from the beginning?” Maddie had read stories about the Shobijin in Monarch's records. Priestesses of Mothra, twins born in each new generation, they were no bigger than the palm of a hand, their first encounter with humans, and as for three generations the family worked for Monarch.

“My family’s prepared for this, since we are born it’s another system in the body, and as we learn to walk, to talk, to think, we learn to use it.” When their nieces were born outside the island, her family had worried, they feared that the connection that linked them had been broken, and that the egg in Yunnan wasn’t Mothra’s, but Battra’s.

Ling, her sister, thought otherwise, she believed that just as Mothra laid her only egg outside Infant Island, it was a sign that she saw the outside world as safe, that she trusted them, a sign that she’d be born without problems — And she was right, Mothra had been born under Ling’s watch, she saw Mothra emerge elegantly under that waterfall, and after Boston Ling’s daughters found Mothra’s egg.

The link was still there.

Maddie stayed with a thoughtful look, “You think this is because Godzilla, don’t you?” She knew that some people still feared Godzilla, but millennia ago they’d lived by his side, had loved him. And he loved too. “You said he took care of Mothra until she hatched.”

“I don’t think Godzilla’s presence is what blocks it. Not because we have this ability, it means we can control them.” If that had been the case, the ORCA would never have been invented. This gift was to communicate with them, to prove that none of them was above the others. “Serizawa knew we could never control the Titans, it’s like trying to control the sun, make volcanoes erupt at will — ”

“It’s just that… If the ORCA — ”

“The ORCA was invented to just drift the Titans away from the cities, we hoped to avoid a disaster like Los Angeles. We never believed that it’d be used for such dire reasons.”

In the end there were more disasters, Maddie thought guilty. If only she had gone with her Father when he found them in Antarctica, if she’d turned deaf to her Mother’s words, perhaps she’d have seen that being on Jonah’s side was wrong, that Andrew wouldn’t have wished this, and perhaps neither Serizawa, nor Vivienne, not even all those people in the outpost, would have lost their lives.

“Dr. Chen,” A brown-haired woman burst in, drawing their attention. “Dr. Shiragami wants to talk to you about the flora activity in Las Vegas.”

“Please tell him I’m coming,” Chen replied and the doctor nodded, walking away. The short-haired woman came back to see Maddie, “Time to keep working.” Chen stood up, taking her cup of coffee with her.

“I'll do it on the condition that you talk to my Dad.” Maddie did the same, heading out and standing in front of her.

Chen sighed, Maddie would never give up. She wasn't sure how much Mark would allow her to expose his daughter to the volcano, “I'll do what I can, I assure you nothing, though”

Madison nodded and standing aside she saw Chen go away.

The sun was already setting on Mara and a few faintly shining stars were appearing in the sky. Dr. Sandoval won’t be happy that she isn’t in the archivists. Well, that means she’ll be working under Stanton’s supervision again. It was better, her Father didn’t like it because every day she came back with a new, discreet way of insulting someone.

The volcano could be seen from the outpost window, its new location was on the opposite mountain, and Madison watched for a while. She knew that her Father would never let her approach it, she wouldn’t see the Dorats in a long, good time, not while Ghidorah was near the nest or Mara.

Screeches were heard nearby, followed by a louder roar. Maddie observed two silhouettes take flight, a golden one being followed by a red one, hovering around the island, with the pterodactyl-like Titan being faster than his mates, splashing them with ocean water, to finally head towards the sky being chased by the golden one, and disappear among the clouds.

Did anyone ever think they would get to see a scene like this? Hundreds of years ago, seeing Ghidorah experience something other than destroying or killing must have been something that many longed for. Perhaps something like her Mother once thought she’d get to see. Just like what Serizawa expected humanity to appreciate.

As she hoped Ghidorah would appreciate.

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Rodan had made a number of decisions throughout his life that had gotten him into trouble, but could anyone blame him? He did what he needed to survive, the strongest is the one who survives, and he’d never fall, not without fighting, and taking the enemy with him.

Rodan observed from the hillside of the volcano the human nest and its metal worms coming out of the tunnels they’d dug near their home, which must have been the last one, the humans were unable to work without sunlight, so there’d be no bother around their nest.

A strong wind blew, Rodan covered himself with a wing while some of their younglings rolled over the volcanic rock. The fire demon turned his eyes to see his mates, flapping their wings.

Cometa jumped out of the pool of lava, waving his body, and once his wings were dry he flew up to Rodan, trying to mimic his three-headed Father’s roar in challenge, but was still nothing more than a squish. Ghidorah’s tails moved in the air, producing a rattles-like sound, mocking the poor intent of their offspring, proud when Rayo, Trueno, Amber, and Rubí tried the same. If they keep behaving that way they’ll be able to leave the nest and fly along with them in no time.

Ichi roared, calling for Rodan’s attention, eager for their flight around Isla de Mara. Rodan nodded to the three-headed hydra, turning around he took their younglings that were still playing around and lay them down in the nest, one by one they curled up to make a greenish hillside, feeling the vibration of their siblings’ bodies was like a cooing for them.

Rodan nuzzled his young before spreading his wings and join his mates in a flight.

If Rodan didn’t know him well he’d say that his mates were slowing down their pace so that he could be at their rhythm. Rodan wasn’t amused, he didn’t need his mates’ mercy.

The alien Titan saw their mate fly below them at a fast speed, so they did the same hoping to catch up until they saw Rodan barrel-roll in the air, bringing his wings closer to the ocean, whipping them against it, and splashing them.

Ni grumbled, shaking his head as Rodan splashed his brothers who growled as they got wet again. The three brothers heard their mate’s mocking laugh before he left the ocean on his way back to Isla de Mara. So that’s how it’ll be. It may not be a hunt, but what awaited them at the end of it excited them just as much.

Rodan watched King Ghidorah approach him, they didn’t look happy about his prank, yet Rodan saw a glow in those eyes that made him tremble with excitement, the same excitement he felt every time a battle was guaranteed on his side.

Unlike their shared moments in Ghidorah’s conquest, Rodan understood that the new Titan lived solely to kill and destroy, nevertheless once Ghidorah was wounded, he tried to get them to get used to some of his habits. Hunting was more of a pleasure to them than a necessity, and he understood perfectly, after he reached adulthood feeding was a burden as the magma and the radiation was enough to keep him alive. Even Ghidorah had also taken advantage of it and for that very reason they’d survived even frozen.

As the hunt had become the tie that had bound them together, Rodan taught them how to catch their preys, which was much easier seeing that they were too tiny, and Ghidorah showed him how they could be smashed and crushed. Only in this way did they begin to understand each other better, to get to know each other better.

That’s how Rodan saw more of Ghidorah’ emotions, being hard for him considering that it was three different mentalities, what surprised them, what excited them, what enraged them (their flying competition), what hurt them (even though they didn’t admit it), and what they yearned for wasn’t going to be a problem that was done in a matter of hours.

But that naughty glow meant only one thing, they yearned for him.

Rodan increased his speed, making it impossible for them to overtake him, but not difficult enough not to catch him. It’d taken Rodan time to teach them how to do it correctly, how they were supposed to persecute each other, how they were supposed to caught themselves by their talons, how they were supposed to fall together, and how they were supposed to sing.

Sensing Ghidorah closer to him, Rodan quickly turned up, heading for the sky and hiding among the clouds where his mates would take a couple of minutes to find him, though by then Rodan would have thought of his next move. At any moment Ghidorah would roar desperate and irritated because once again Rodan won, and made them work by themselves, but they must have been used to, he’d never let the job easy when dealing with him.

However the silence that followed after he lost them made him feel uneasy. They followed him, didn’t they? Rodan looked everywhere for some golden trail, how could something so big hide so well? He’s the King of the skies! It was impossible even to think that he wouldn’t find his mates on his own playground — Unless... Ghidorah gave up on going after him...

It was impossible to even think that... Wasn’t it? He always played this with them — He didn’t do it with the intention of pissing them off, and they knew it...

The sound of something breaking the air made him look up, just at the moment when a giant shadow landed on him, and he felt a pair of claws take him by the back, holding his wings, while he heard his mates’ roar, in a mocking, wicked way as he was lifted up to be tossed above them. Before he could even take flight, Rodan was immobilized by his mates’ claws and throw him back above them.

Oh, at this point Rodan didn’t know if he must have been laughing, angry, or both. Ghidorah had been waiting for a mistake on his part to surprise him, he liked it, made him feel that he was wanted, that he was needed.

He still didn’t like to be treated like a mindless prey, though.

Ghidorah was ready to hold their mate in their claws when they felt his talon scratching their belly. Standing aside and ignoring the pain, they were quick enough to grab Rodan’s talon with their own, and in the face of surprise and imminent anger, Ghidorah let themselves fall, taking Rodan with him.

Despite Rodan was agile, he wasn’t strong enough to stop being pulled down, however, realizing what his mates intended to do, Rodan had no choice but to leave them on their own; He’d later apologize for hurt them, not that they’d have taken it too personally, they knew that if Rodan wanted to hurt them he wouldn’t be content with a simple scratch, their mate just hated to be manhandled.

Ghidorah was the first to open their wings, by the time Rodan was going to do the same, the Titan noticed that their talons were still attached to each other, and Ghidorah’s spiked tails had coiled around him as well. By the time the False King resumed their flight Rodan had been pulled with them without even being able to fly.

San came close to gently nuzzling Rodan’s beak. Ni licked Rodan’s neck with his bifid tongue, savoring the volcanic rock, while Ichi laughed at their mate’s delight.

It’s true that King Ghidorah wasn’t the most expressive thing Rodan had ever met, he’d eaten lions that smiled more, but when they endeared to show him affection they were the best, and Rodan liked to be the center of that affection. To be bathed in constant demonstrations and flattery.

Ni and San had begun to bite Rodan’s neck with gentle bites, with no intention of doing.

Though as much as Rodan was enjoying this rare, pleasant show of affection, he needed to feel his body responding to him.

Ghidorah felt their mate wring between their claws, he wanted to be free and be able to move to their pace, the three-headed dragon unrolled their tails and claws as they watched Rodan spread his wings, as well reddish-colored sparks fall. They understood, they didn’t like to be restricted either.

Rodan wasted no time to fly around his mates, singing in intonation with their roar.

Ichi listened to his brothers and mate, deciding if he should start a new race between them, perhaps this time going further, perhaps above the clouds where the stars touch the sky — But Rodan couldn’t go higher, they could never take him into space, they couldn’t show him the stars.

The middle head felt someone pulling him by his horns, San had bitten him — The audacity!

Different they may be, but many times their thoughts were similar, and the irrational fear of losing their mate was one. Rodan wasn’t like them, if he was wounded he could never regenerate, he only had to go back to his volcano and go inside the lava, if he was killed that’s over... Isn’t it? So, what comes next?

Destroying this planet was no longer in their plans, for the first time in their lives, Ghidorah would move away from here, the fate of this world would be their progeny’s choice, this planet belonged to them — And Ghidorah assumed they’d leave, of course if they had defeated the Weak King by then, if Rodan would have helped them —

The memories of the last battle returned, the Insect Queen stabbing Rodan with her stinger, leaving him paralyzed, and they facing the Weak King, defeating him, and draining him of his vitality.

They were sure that the next time they wouldn’t hesitate to kill the Weak King, no more wasting time making him suffer slowly and painfully. They’d go straight to the jugular, to the heart, to exterminate him once and for all, just as they planned to do — Until then, they’ll be at their mate’s side.

A weight landed on their backs, Rodan had landed above them, nuzzling gently the middle head. These days, when Rodan could enjoy his mates and offspring, he wished they’d last forever.

It was then that the air became salty. More salty than usual.

His gaze lost in the surroundings of the island until he set his gaze on the ocean, far from his home, even though his body was made of warm magma, at that moment it was as if his body had become Antarctica itself.

Ghidorah looked in confusion at their mate, just a few seconds ago he was nuzzling them, until he suddenly walked away from them, with an agitated look, stopping at one point to turn around, and return to their nest in the volcano.

Then they noticed that luminescent blue glow approaching their island.

[crossbowking]

The Road Ahead : Chapter 3

Chapter Index HERE

Summary : (Set in the beginning of season 1) Anna Brooks lost everything after the world ended — the last remaining part of herself being her older brother, who she lost contact with after communications dropped. While en route towards Atlanta to find him, Anna’s truck breaks down, leaving her at the mercy of the cruel new world. Now, Anna must face her fears head on as she struggles to deal with devastating loss, constant danger, and finding her way in a land that now belongs to the dead. But sometimes, a glimmer of hope can be found disguised as a short-tempered, hard-headed redneck who may just save her life in more ways than one.

Pairings : Daryl x Original Female Character

Warnings : Slow-Burn, Language/Violence/typical Walking Dead themes

Author’s Note : Thanks for all the love! I’m sorry if the pace is a bit slow, but I’m trying to turn this into a true series and all the good stuff can’t happen all at once! Hope you babes understand. 

ALSO. If you’ve asked to be added to my tag list and aren’t getting notified, I’ve BOLDED the blogs that I’m unable to tag for some reason. Either your account is hidden from the search bar or maybe I have the wrong username or something, but let me know if there’s anything I can do on MY end to allow you to be tagged.

Happy reading!!!

xx crossbowking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previously...

“Where ya headed?” Daryl suddenly spoke, making her pause. She hadn’t expected a question in return.

“Uh, the city, actually. I hear Atlanta’s safe,” Anna finally murmured, staring down at her boots.

The archer shot Anna a funny look, before uttering two single words that shattered her world completely. “Atlanta’s gone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now...

“What?” Anna whispered in horror, her head snapping up at his response.

Daryl quirked a brow and straightened, wiping his hands on a red rag he’d pulled from his back pocket. “Ain’t nothin’ left. Jus’ them geeks. Whole damn city’s overrun,” he rumbled, watching her reaction carefully.

“How do you know?” she demanded, unable to stop the sharpness in her voice.

Daryl didn’t seem to be affected by her tone and continued on. “We got a guy. Makes runs downtown. Says everythin’s gone ta’ shit.”

“But…but they said Atlanta was a safe zone,” Anna shot back desperately, her thoughts immediately going to her brother, who had still been in the city last she spoke to him. “There’s a refugee center and everything — the broadcasts said to go there. They said that the military set up camp —”

“Military up an’ left,” Daryl interjected. “Or turned if they didn’t.”

Anna felt her last remaining bit of hope shatter, the pieces scattering amongst the ashes of her heart as images of her family clouded her mind. Her father skimming over the morning paper, peering over his reading glasses as he sipped a steaming mug of coffee…her mother perched in front of her vanity mirror, gently brushing her hair…her brother hunched over his car’s engine, patiently pointing out each part and its purpose to his little sister who was thrilled to be spending time with him.

Her entire family was gone, ripped away by this horrible new world. Her parent’s were dead and now her brother was…well, he might as well be dead too.

Anna dropped her head to her chest, hiding the tears that suddenly sprang to her eyes. Atlanta had been a long shot — but it’d been her only shot. And she wasn't naive. Part of her had always thought that maybe her brother had left the city before the outbreak got too out of hand — maybe he found a less populated town to hole up in. But now, hearing that the city had been totally destroyed…what if he never even made it out of Atlanta to begin with?

Ben could be dead. Ben could be missing. Ben could be hiding out in the middle of nowhere. But all Anna knew for sure was that he was gone. The chances of finding her brother now were nonexistent, the reality weighing on her heart like an anchor. She would never see him again.

Anna could feel Daryl’s gaze burning a hole into her and quickly pushed away from the truck, heading towards the cab instead. Wiping a tear that snaked down her cheek, she hopped into the bed of the truck, letting her legs dangle off the back.

Toying absently with her necklace, Anna brushed away another tear, staring blankly down the long deserted road behind her. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now. Things felt incredibly hopeless, incredibly bleak, and she suddenly found herself wondering what purpose she truly had left here.

Anna heard the hood slam shut and Daryl’s footsteps quietly approaching, coming to stop beside her. She peeked over at him, noticing how he was staring off in the general direction she had been, eyes far away. He stood awkwardly, like he had something to say but couldn’t exactly get the words together, which led him to just shift his weight back and forth.

For the second time, Anna wondered what this man was still doing here. Trying to make up for Merle’s actions? Trying to pay off some kind of debt he thought he owed? Whatever he was trying to accomplish, he didn’t need to suffer through her misery alongside her.

“Why are you still here?” Anna whispered thickly — not accusingly, more so just curious.

Daryl seemed thrown off by her question, looking even more uncomfortable as he shrugged a shoulder up, grunting softly — almost like he himself didn’t even have that answer. “What’s in Atlanta?” he suddenly asked.

Anna cast her eyes down, letting her necklace fall back into place as she took a steady breath. “My brother,” she murmured, hating the way her voice broke.

Daryl didn’t respond, instead choosing to just nod absently. Loss was a part of life — and it became a bigger part of life after the world ended. It was the nature of the game. People lived, people died, people suffered — it was just how things were.

Anna glanced over at Daryl, her brown eyes locking with his blue ones — his expression remained impassive, but something deep in his gaze shifted as a moment of silence passed between the two strangers.

The archer suddenly cleared his throat, pushing away from the truck. “Uh, try startin’ ‘er up.”

A small glimmer of hope bubbled in Anna’a chest as she hopped off the truck. She slid past Daryl, yanked open the drivers side door and jumped inside. Grabbing the keys still lying on the dashboard, she said a silent prayer and shoved them into ignition.

Then, she took a deep breath, turned the key, and the sweetest noise she’d ever heard in her entire life filled the air — an engine roaring to life.

Anna’s breath caught in her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head fall back against the headrest, reveling in the moment. She opened her eyes and looked over at Daryl, who was standing next to the open door, the corner of his mouth quirked up in what she assumed was the closest she was going to get to a smile.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Anna murmured, catching his eye. “How did you do it? I can’t…you just…thank you,” she babbled, hoping her words expressed how truly grateful she was.

Daryl merely shrugged, clearly not comfortable taking a compliment. “Gonna need another car soon. Engine’s pretty shot,” he mumbled, shutting the door softly, but hovering near the open window.

“Thank you,” Anna said again, feeling some pressure lift off her chest.

Daryl nodded once, scooping up his crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder. He took a couple steps backwards, clearly waiting for her to drive off.

But Anna paused. She wasn’t exactly sure what her next move was. She could still head for Atlanta, regardless of what Daryl told her. She knew where Ben’s apartment was — maybe she could find answers there. Maybe he was even still alive, waiting for her to arrive. It’d be a suicide mission, navigating a city full of the dead on her own…but then again, what did she truly have to live for?

“Fort Benning,” Daryl suddenly spoke.

Anna turned her head, looking at him curiously. “What?”

“Fort Benning. The army base. Hear it’s a safe zone, still up an’ runnin’, an’ all. There’s been talk a’ my group headin’ that way,” he offered, adjusting the strap of his crossbow restlessly.

Anna nodded thoughtfully. If Ben wasn’t in Atlanta, maybe he’d made the trek to Fort Benning. It was definitely a possibility with it being the next closest safe zone. “Thank you, Daryl,” she murmured, now feeling like she owed him something. “Is there anything…can I give you something, or — I-I don’t have much but — ” she began rambling.

“Nah,” he immediately interjected, shaking his head.

Anna sighed. It still felt unfair to just leave. “Are you sure —”

“We’re square,” he countered with a nod, voice unwavering.

And then with nothing more left to say, Anna shot him a small smile, put the truck into drive and started forward.

She’d only driven a couple feet when she heard Daryl call after her. “Hey!” he shouted and she slammed on the breaks, putting the truck back into park.

Anna stuck her head out the window in confusion as the archer jogged towards her. “What is it?” she asked, puzzled as he came to a stop beside her.

“Look, uh…uh,” he paused, eyebrows furrowed as he cocked his head to the side.

Anna then realized that the man didn’t even know her name. “Oh,” she murmured, a bit embarrassed. “Anna.”

Daryl nodded. “Look, Anna, if ya want —  my group, we’re, uh, we’re holed up by the quarry on the other side a’ the mountain. End a’ the road here, ya make a left. Head up the mountain for ‘bout half a mile,” he spilled out, almost in one breath. “If ya ain’t got no where ta’ go.”

Anna couldn’t hide the shock from her face. That was the last thing she’d expected to come out of his mouth — and she couldn’t say she wasn’t intrigued by the thought of not toughing it out on her own anymore.

But after her little encounter with Merle…maybe sticking it out alone was her best bet. “Thank you. But, I’ll be okay,” Anna declined.

Daryl nodded, shrugging a shoulder up. “If ya change your mind, then. We got food…people…protection,” he added with emphasis. “Ain’t too smart bein’ out here on your own anymore.”

Then Merle’s face popped into her mind and his “see ya ‘round, darlin’,” echoed in her ear. “I’m probably safer out here than in a camp with your brother,” she couldn’t stop herself from spitting out, hearing the venom clearly in her voice.

“He won’t bother ya,” Daryl immediately shot back, resolutely.

“How do you —”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

And she believed him.

But, Anna didn’t know him — any of them, for that matter. And her stubbornness got the best of her. “Thanks for everything.”

Daryl seemed to get the hint and nodded once, taking a step back from the window.

Anna sent him a small wave, before driving off. She looked in the rearview mirror to find Daryl standing in the middle of the road, watching her drive off. She kept checking the reflection until he was nothing but a speck behind her.

As she continued down the road, she couldn’t help but start to second guess herself — had she made the right decision? Had she made the smart decision? Were those decisions even the same anymore?

She was torn.

Sure, there was safety in numbers. There was also resources back at Daryl’s camp — resources that she just did not have right now, water being the most vital. Atlanta was apparently in ruins and who was to say that Ben would even still be there? Fort Benning was another option, but what if that place had also been taken over by the dead? It was nearly a hundred miles away from where she was — would she be able to make that trek on her own?

And then there was Daryl. He was the first person she’d come across who gave her hope that not everyone left on earth was a prick. She felt okay with him around — something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

But Anna hadn’t come this far just to give up. She knew how to take care of herself. She knew she could make it at least another five miles to Atlanta. And she had a big brother out there somewhere, maybe looking for her the same way she was looking for him.

The truck rumbled beneath her as she slowed, coming to a stop at the end of the road. Anna looked left and right — left sent her up the mountain towards Daryl’s group and right sent her towards the city.

Anna grabbed her necklace, squeezing her parents rings in the palm of her hand as her stomach flip-flopped.

She’d made it this far on her own. If Ben was somewhere alive out there, she’d never forgive herself for not at least trying to find him. He was all she had left.

His final words to her on their last phone call rang through her mind —“It’s gonna be okay, Annie. Me, you, mom, and dad, we’re all gonna be okay. The freakin’ military just rolled into the city, so don’t you worry about me, okay? I’m safe. Just focus on getting you guys to Atlanta. We’ll figure this out together. I promise.”

Anna took a deep breath. “I’m comin’, big brother,” she murmured, determination coursing through her as she finally turned right.

But as she drove towards the city now populated by the dead, thoughts of her brothers promise replaying in her mind, another voice made itself known — “I’ll make sure of it.”

Anna swallowed the lump in her throat, pushing away any thoughts regarding the gruff redneck who’d saved her life.

She was on a mission — live or die, this was the right decision. Family was the most important thing and damn it, if she didn’t have her family, what did she really have left?

Forcing herself to take a calming breath, Anna began to map out a game plan as the Atlanta skyline came into view.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N : We’ll be spending some quality time with Anna for the next few chapters as we follow along her journey in search of Ben...but will she find him? CHAPTER 4 WILL BE POSTED SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD. 

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[1bea2ma4-blog]

Thumbnail Blaster Review and Bonus

Welcome to my Thumbnail Blaster Review and Demo YouTube first became popular because an online platform for musicians to generate the name for themselves and obtaining more views was, and still will be, the ultimate goal intended for online video media content creators. In older days, people would use misleading title, tags, and thumbnails to a great extent to get more views and now nights Google and yahoo has won typically the war on spam by adding brand-new voice and image reputation technology to find an idea involving what exactly a video is approximately when compared with what the content material creator says in the title, tags, and even outline. This helps to give individuals with a much greater customer experience when looking a little something up on YouTube. Online video media content creators are today up against having to in fact make quality movies that people will take pleasure in and to get more views, it should be seen by enough visitors to find the appropriate customer who will upload this on his internet site, or at least share the idea on Facebook. Rightfully therefore, Google's top main concern can be user experience over this content provider's view matter, however some authorities say the new changes in order to often the algorithm will trigger old video tutorials, that persons have already seen, get more attention than new versions and could actually produce it complicated for the user to find fresh new content in search outcomes to get popular search terms. So, how could a video content creator in 2011 fights impotence the latest changes to be able to often the YouTube Algorithm? Produce Movies Like Never Before Create a Following Comment Your own personal Way for the Top Off of Site Seo Know This Difference Involving Junk mail And even Optimization Create Video tutorials Much like Never Prior to With YouTube's 92 Billion web site ideas a month together with soaring, a video clip has to be one of a kind for it to have popularity. Planning a movie and server scripting are now a must along having display quality. By comparing the videos with millions connected with views into the lesser regarding the tribes, you will observe the fact that high definition and exceptional lighting are two popular traits shared by this best viewed videos. This specific doesn't lead to you have got to get an pricey HD camera to get more views. 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Be careful definitely not to be called out to be a spammer because this idea of, "You subscribe to me and I actually may subscribe to you" is often frowned upon by people of a professional background. YouTube picks upward on heavily repeated responses and even auto-marks them as junk mail so just apply a SUB4SUB profile picture and be participating in the SUB4SUB channels inside Vimeo community. Set aside some sort of day to work on building some sort of following about other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, in addition to Facebook or myspace. This stretches your own personal right away to those who have no a good channel on Dailymotion which in turn surprisingly enough tends to make up for a lot of the home page's 92 billion readers each month. Comment Your Way For the Top Uploading a good video twice a week and commenting on the readers video clips and programmes often the working day before is a superb tip of thumb. Being consistent from doing so is definitely the work section of the whole entire issue. However, by doing this you brand yourself using your readers and build a awareness among them which starts the particular snowball effect associated with even more landscapes and even subscribers when they think and share your movies. This is the reason you want for you to stay within your specific niche market. When leaving comments, become sincere about what an individual sort. Never just point out 2 words and abandon. This particular totally defeats the particular purpose which is not necessarily heading to make people need to know who also left said brief review. Leave comments people need on their videos and share this comment on Facebook and Facebook to help make it show up as a "linked comment" on top of often the brief review feed. Each moment a good fans from Facebook or myspace or Twits clicks in this, the comment is certainly moved back in the top of the comment nourish. Be creative in your current comments and it can get thumbed upwards also gaining more and even more interest towards the author of mentioned comment. Often the ultimate goal here is to compliment the online video user's work which companies your own personal username and station so that when your videos show up in their subscription give food to, it will probably be hard to resist. Off Web-site Optimization The following is more "work" of which has to be done in order to move your videos to typically the top of search success. When people are searching for a person, it is best to be able to be easy to find. Just making use of a lot of tag words individuals are searching for just isn't going to trim this cake. Google wants to find out back links on well-liked sites leading to your video to compliment your states of everything you have since your title. When a well-liked site has a connect to your video using the particular terms in your subject, it gives PUBLIC RELATIONS points for that phrase following a certain amount of time. However, in case you go all-around posting unrelated hyperlinks, chances are the idea will end up being taken out and wouldn't count like a new back web page link anyway with the time aspect threshold. Upload your online video to other websites relevant to your niche along with participate in forum talks and post your online video like some sort of hyperlink any time it is relevant to the particular discussion. You have in order to keeping it related and that has to add value to the debate. If your links get taken off, the idea will have a change effect on your search results positioning so always be sure and respect the terms and conditions connected with forums that allow back links to videos and internet sites. 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When selecting a title for your video, you should be creative and employ words and phrases that are intending to get results by search engines at the similar time. Decide on a search expression you wish to be found simply by (that best details the video) and use the idea in your title. Yahoo and google like wide variety so give a few support words to your phrase. For example: Goal phrase: Remote Control Yard Mower A good title will be: Remote Control Grass Mower vs. Steep Hillsides Write a brief information using the target phrase only once towards top yet not really as the first sentence. Be organic and discuss to your viewers. Typically the tags for the online video media should be specific to your own personal target saying with plus without quotations. To illustrate: "remote control yard mower" out of the way control grass mower. Following a thirty days of positive viewers allergic reactions, you will notice your online video media climbing often the charts. With thumbnail blaster review to competitive key phrases, your movie has for you to generate lots of beneficial viewer reaction before it is going to show up on leading of listings and at some point on Google as some sort of online video result. Patients, difficult work, and consistency can be a must. You should publish videos on a regular basis most with a little bit different targeted phrases related to your niche market. It is a lot regarding work. Nevertheless , when a person get your first video clip up to a thousand views, you will be hooked about YouTube, wearing Dailymotion Tshirts, and even making courses to help others.

[geniusbillionairephilanthropist]

— ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS THEN TAG 20 BLOGS YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

NICKNAMES: Ah well I don’t really go by much lol! My real name is Lorrie so you can call me that or I like the nickname, Mimi! It sounds cute uwu.

ZODIAC:  Capricorn

HEIGHT: 5′6″ 

TIME: 8:51

FAVORITE BAND / ARTIST: I have so many O-O, but lately my favorite artist right now is Billie Eilish and one of my most favorite bands would be Imagine Dragons.

SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD:  Heaven(Don’t Have A Name) by Jeremy Renner

LAST MOVIE I SAW: Zombieland(One of the best Zombie movies ever in my opinion).

LAST THING I GOOGLED:  Endgame DVD Release date.

OTHER BLOGS: Ummmmmmmm I have so many...I mostly use this one because I love Toni to pieces and have more roleplays and wonderful partners to keep this blog active.                                     DelicateBlackRose- The main blog that I follow and follow back from, leave comments, likes, etc.  You will also be able to see details on my other blogs.                                                                                                    ProtectiveWinchesterSister-  This is a roleplay blog for my Supernatural oc Elizabeth “Lizzy” Winchester, she’s the older sister of Sam Winchester and the younger sister of Dean Winchester. Look at her About for more if you're interested she’s not the usual cliche Winchester Sister oc...at least I don’t think so lol! The blog is dying a bit since I only currently have one partner so hopefully, it changes around soon!                                               theladymercwiththemouth- My female Deadpool Roleplay blog, I honestly need to revamp this, maybe pick a new face claim but I haven’t had much luck with getting partners yet so this is a work in progress.                       farmorethananybagginsdeserves-   My Bilbo Baggins Roleplay blog it’s currently dead T-T I need to see if my old partners are still alive and bring this back because I adore Bilbo Baggins and the Hobbit.                             rosiesadventures- A roleplay blog for how I view Rosie Watson from Sherlock when she is older, I tried to get this blog booming but partners died off before a roleplay could really kick off, hopefully, I can figure out what to do with this blog and keep it alive again.                                         ghostriderhayes-    This was actually the first roleplay blog I started on Tumblr before I wanted to do more side blogs and just changed the name to DelicateblackRose and made this into its own separate blog. It’s my Marvel Oc Isabella who has the powers of a Ghost Rider, this blog is most definitely dead but I need to revamp her and her profile before I start doing stuff with her again.                                                               supernaturalpup- Not a roleplay blog, it’s one for my fanfiction for my supernatural oc named Cassidy whose a dog on adventures with Sam and Dean Winchester...mostly dead because of lazy writing planning to start chapters again hopefully soon.                                                              cinnamimi-roll-  My art blog that I need to start posting on...I don’t do anything with it yet xDDD                              

WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS USERNAME: It’s based on a quote Loki said about himself. Started off as a placeholder for something better but it stuck.

FOLLOWING: 376

AVERAGE AMOUNT OF SLEEP: 5-7 hours

WHAT I’M WEARING: Comfy pants, fuzzy socks, and my Iron Man T-Shirt!

DREAM JOB: A film director with a successful movie blockbuster!

DREAM TRIP:  I wanna go to New Zealand and visit all the beautiful places to hike! And of course, visit the Hobbit place!

FAVORITE FOOD: Mozzarella sticks...I could eat them every day. 

PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS:  I’m not that talented OwO I’ve never played any instrument.

EYE COLOR:  Blue

HAIR COLOR:  Natural Blonde

LANGUAGES YOU SPEAK: English 

MOST ICONIC SONG:  Er...I don’t know...Sweet but Psycho by Ava Max 030

RANDOM FACT:  I have large amount of hearing loss and have to wear hearing aids because of it.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS AESTHETIC THINGS: I don’t know...like at all O-O

Tagged(Stole): @benevolentgodloki Tagging: If we’re partners consider yourself tagged or if you want to do it yourself <3 

[semi-imaginary-place]

KH3 is like half a game, it feels incomplete and clunky. It sets up events that never happen and tries to force moments without having the build up to support them. The game does some things really well and reaches some truly heartfelt emotional beats and solid character moments.

3:48 PM - 31 Jan 20191 reply0 retweets1 likeReply 1 Retweet  Like 1 View Tweet activity

The Disney (and Pixar) worlds were pretty well incorporated and mostly able to contribute thematically to the game unlike sometimes in past games were the worlds were kind of just dropped into the game.

The Toy Box much like Halloween Town brings up how dolls/toys/those who begin as inanimate objects can gain hearts. Monstropolis allows a plausible  entry point for Vanitas with the connection between fear induced scream  energy and the negative emotions of the unversed.

Of all the worlds, I enjoyed Sora's time with the Big Hero 6 gang the most. Their interactions felt genuine and I had a lot of fun watching them. It also had the most complete arc of the worlds with the continuation of the movie's theme of living after loss.

Most of the worlds' story arcs felt incomplete. Starting in Olympus we are left hanging with Pete finding Pandora's box and the city in ruins. The story just kind of ends. There also was not enough time and build up to give significance to Hercules' choice to rejoin the mortals.

In Twilight Town, with all the discussion surrounding hearts and data from Coded to KH2 to KH3, that a whole other Twilight Town exists was completely dropped. It felt like the game was leading the audience somewhere and then never followed through.

With the Toy Box, the Sora, Goofy, and Donald leave and don't come back with Woody, Buzz, and the others still stranded in another world just hoping to one day meet Andy again. The search for Andy and the other toys is the main arc for this world and its never resolved.

While some worlds aren't quite as obviously half a story arc, all of them could have used more time. Many of them assume you have already seen the source material. In Frozen, Hans being the villian is the big twist but with the first half of the movie cut, there's no impact.

Pirates of the Caribbean makes no sense to anyone who hasn't seen the movies. I wish there was a scene of Sora unlocking Tia Dalma given how it was setup to happen. There was good characterization for Sora here though on how both he and Jack are free spirits.

The Winnie the Poo part while sweet (because I love Winnie the Poo sections) doesn't go anywhere. Sora just loses his connection with Poo and disappears from the cover, and then a few mini games later he's back. Sora's comment on how their bond has weakened never goes anywhere.

In the other games you search for lost pages or help Poo regain his memories, here there is no story. It's a lost opportunity to do, well something,  but that can be said of much of the game. They could have used this part to talk about how relationships must be nurtured.

The ending also fell a bit flat because of the buildup-payoff problem. The game tries to show the characters despairing only for someone to swoop in and give them hope. The problem is that in the Keyblade Graveyard they do this so many times it loses its impact.

Given the amount of stuff this game should have resolved, not enough time was spent on that. Instead precious time was spent trying to create sequel hooks. In doing so, the cohesiveness of the game as a unit was compromised. The game was too short for all they tried to achieve.

At times the narrative would point "Look! its a  happy/sad/intense/etc. scene", but without a proper build up, these  scenes lacked emotional weight.

I'm conflicted on KHUX in KH3.  I liked Chirithy reuniting with Ven, Laurium possibly remembering, and Strelitzia's maybe cameo. The black box stuff could have been cut. Its to connect  KHUX with future games, but it does nothing for the Xehanort saga and bogs KH3 down.

Then there is the mysterious girl with connections to Lea, Isa, and Ansem that we are only hearing of now. Who is she? Is she Ava? I don't know but they should have saved it for another game.

I thought all the keyblades of the Union members coming to help was a nice touch, but why did Ephemer of all people show up? He was a Dandelion; the player was the one who chose to stay (except the player has no canon appearance in khux which makes them hard to depict).

On one hand I got really excited looking for my KHUX username but on the other hand it was a little too 4th wall breaking and took me out of the game. The other 4th wall leaning scenes with Axel didn't do it for me either.

I did like the definitely-not-instagram loading screens. They were just this side of absurd to be amusing. It was cute. Humor is a subjective thing but I didn't like the increase in jokes in this game. It broke immersion for me.

Some were funny like Verum Rex. Others though felt forced. KH3 had more Donald, Sora, and Goofy poking fun at each other. At first it was fun, but then they kept doing it and it got old.

Maybe its because of all the jokes and narrative problems broke my immersion in the game or maybe its because I'm older now, but KH3 wasn't as magical an experience for me as the other games.

I don't mean magic in how many spells Donald can cast but in that sense wonder, that the extraordinary is possible. That sense of magic is why the Roxas prologue of KH2 is one of my favorite parts of the franchise.

Part of it also is that the section where Sora goes saving everyone's hearts from the Lich after they "died" didn't reach me emotionally. Which is a shame since the part right before where Sora runs around in the Final World and talks with the stars is one of my favorite parts.

I was surprised we didn't see more Dives to the Heart and battles at the center of the heart given the Terranort, Ventus-Vanitas, Xion, etc. After Sora got the power of awakening I was expecting him and Riku to use that to free Xion and Terra.

And then we would get an epic battle where Terra finally kicks Xehanort out of his own body. I also wanted to see Aqua beat up Xehanort. Aqua's suppose to be super strong from spending 10 years in the Realm of Darkness.

Kairi deserved better. Kairi deserved more. 3 games (II, 3D, III) on how Kairi trains to become a keyblade wielder and she doesn't get to do anything. Why was she kidnapped anyways? The answer is to give an excuse for Sora at the end to have a "I must do this alone" moment.

Kairi was kidnapped just so Sora could angst over her and so he could go save her. She deserved better.

The developers really pushed the Sora-Kairi romance this game. I was disoriented since we since the last game we saw a lot of romantic indications was 17 years ago in KH1. Riku got third-wheeled this game.

Enough complaining, parts that worked pretty well/were well executed: Big Hero 6, Monsters Inc, Sora finding the Door to Darkness in Destiny Islands and Aqua returning to the Realm of Light, Sora's interaction with other characters(Rapunzel, BH6, Jack, etc), the Final World.

Visually the environments are amazing! I was so happy running around everywhere. Its pretty. (and the heartless are cute)

KH3 was on the low side for number of worlds visited. Again, I'm surprised how (comparatively) short the game is. There was a lack on Final Fantasy characters as well (or well videogame characters given how TWEWY was in 3D).

I would have loved to see a Moana world. Moana, Maui, and Sora interactions would have been great. Thematically it would have worked too since Moana's plot centers on how Te Fiti losing her heart changed her.

In every KH there's always been some wham moments and that didn't happen to me at all in KH3... until the every end with Luxu. Many of us have been suspicious of Xigbar for a very long time. His organization chair height is too high. He seems to know more than he should...

As much as I am complaining, I do like the Kingdom Hearts III. Its a good game.

I've said it before, but KH:coded is a thematic summary of the entire series and one of the important points in that game is how Data Sora understands hurt. Data Sora understood how to live through hurt and this is something we see Sora learn as well through the games.

In CoM Sora did not understand this. All the way to 3D he did not know how to deal with hurt so when Roxas shared all his pain, that contributed to Sora sinking into darkness. In KH3 though Sora has grown and can accept hurt.

I would have though liked to have seen a more overt conclusion to Sora's relationship to darkness. Sora has always had darkness in him, he's not a princess of heart (or Ven) and there were hints before KH3 that he was falling to darkness.

Anti/Rage form are a manifestations of that darkness. Maybe this was just sloppy character writing, but Sora is noticeably meaner during KH2 and at the end he says "maybe the darkness has gotten to me, too". In KH3, besides rage form Sora's darkness isn't directly addressed.

Back to UX. The devs connected the epilogue, the secret reports, and UX well. That's all that was needed really. From Backcover we already know the black box is important. KH3 shouldn't have wasted time focusing on it.

And about X girl )Shuld?? idk). It really is awkward how they bring her into KH3. If she's the reason Lea and Isa got into this mess they should have dropped a line in 358/2 or one of the other games something like "Don't forget we're doing this for her"

Another good scene was Aqua giving Ven head pats. This gave me life.

Scala ad Caelum was built inverse on top of Daybreak Town. I didn't notice! Never mind what I said earlier, there's the "oh shit... what" moment. I'm just going to sit here mind blown thinking of all the implications...

[g-on-ef]

Dusk till Dawn

A/n: Guess who's birthday it is ??? This girl's !!!!! and in celebration of my birthday I am going to update all my stories this week ^^ starting with my favorite Dusk till Dawn hope you guys enjoy this chapter ^^

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Rejected?

“I would kindly as you too not do it,”

Nine little words that have been floating through Damian’s head since he left the café, after Jon headed for the break room Damian wanted to run after him and ask him what he meant by that but before he could Kon, Jon’s older brother stopped him and told him that it would be best if he left him alone and kindly asked him to leave.

He didn’t want to leave if anything he wanted to fine Jon and talk to him but the look on the older boy’s face told him he should leave now unless he wanted trouble and if he were honest the last thing he wanted was for the paparazzi to find his hiding spot and give Kara as well as himself trouble.

His father made it clear that he wanted no trouble, no PR nightmares, no bad press from the media at all. With the wedding coming up soon his father was doing everything and anything to make sure nothing soiled the Wayne name.

Which is why Grayson was forced to stay away from Wally and spent as much time as he could with Gordon while Todd wasn’t allowed to be seen anywhere near Star City since people were already hinting he and Roy may or may not have something going on between them.

It bothered Damian to no end that he, Todd, Drake, and Grayson had to hide their sexualities from the world, but his father and Selina made it clear that everyone had to know or at least believe that the Wayne brothers were as straight as a pole. Which was stupid if you ask him.

One look at Grayson and you would no he was anything but straight. Rubbing his forehead, he entered the Mansion and was annoyed to find Melody and Selina sitting in the living room talking about Allah knows what.

“Should’ve gone to the park,”

Maybe if he was quiet enough he could sneak pass them and into his room so that he won’t have to deal with either one of them.  

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to walk by undetected, Selina caught Damian trying to sneak pass them.

“Damian,”

Damian cursed himself for not moving fast enough, turning around he saw Selina walking over to him, it took everything in him not to run the other way or yell at her and call her every horrible word he knew, and since he knew almost ten different languages he knew plenty of horrible names he could call Selina.

“What,” he asked rudely, Selina ignored his rudeness and instead continue speaking to him as if his hatred for her didn’t mattered.

“As you know, tomorrow is Gotham Fashion Week,”

“Yeah, I already know that,” he grumbled.

“Which is why you and Melody must be seen everywhere and anywhere as much as possible, it is important that nothing, and I mean nothing ruins the Wayne name before the wedding. Everything has to be perfect or as perfect as we can get it with you and your brothers,”

Damian just rolled his eyes and stopped himself from saying the first thing that came to his mind and that was telling Selina to shut up and not worry about his brothers or him since neither one of them had control over what the paparazzi say her and his father however...still Damian chose to say something that wouldn’t cause an argument which would result in his father punishing him,

“I already know this Selina, now, can I please go to my room there are somethings that I need to do,” she looked at him for a moment before dismissing him with the wave of her hand.

Damian rolled his eyes before he headed for his room. He’s twenty years old and yet Selina treats him like his sixteen or worse five.

Still, he had no time to worry about Selina and her stunts right now he had other things to think about. Once he entered his room he turned on his computer and waited for the monitor to finish loading. Once it was completed he began his search.

“It’s not stalking, I just want to know more about him,” one thing that his mother always drilled in his head was this, knowledge is a powerful weapon and the only thing that can make brute force fall to its knees.

He needed, wanted, had to know everything he could about this boy. From what he gathered is he is Kara’s nephew so assuming if she’s either related to Jon’s father or mother he should probably start with Kara first and work his way from there.

Looking through Kara’s social media he found some photos of Jon lucky for him she tagged him in them. Smiling to himself he clicked on Jon’s username on his Instagram and cursed out loud.

“Fucking hell! Why did you have to have it in private?”

Looking at Jon’s IG he saw that it was private and the only thing on it was a picture of him smiling, his arm around a girl with orange hair and freckles on her cheeks. She was cute, she was more than cute she was beautiful and her and Jon…they looked good together, maybe that’s why Jon asked him not to flirt with him, maybe Jon was already dating this girl and he didn’t want to cheat on her, Damian felt a little bad for flirting with someone who was taken.

Despite all those cheating rumors, Damian hated cheating, despise to the point where if he saw anyone doing it he would do everything in his power to ruin them, maybe that’s why he hated Selina. Oh, who was he kidding it was exactly why he hated both Selina and his dad.

Taking a deep breath Damian rubbed his temples, he did not need to think about his dad or Selina; right now, what he needed to do was go back to Kara’s café and apologize to Jon for even trying to flirt with him.

Sure, he didn’t know he was taken but he still felt bad for even thinking of asking the boy out. Taking a deep breath, he turned off his computer grabbed his keys and headed back for the café, if he explained his reasons maybe the boy would forgive him and hopefully they could be friends. Maybe not friends since the only thing that he will be thinking about is having the blue-eyed angel beneath him, or above him whichever works well for him.

“No, stop Damian bad thoughts very, very bad thoughts,”

Leaving the room, he went through the back door of the mansion to go see Jon, no way in hell did he want to see either one of those money grabbers at the moment.

“Damian,”

Damian stopped dead in his tracks. Cursing everything he knew he turned around as his father stepped closer to him.

Most people say he looks like his dad but then again, if anyone saw his mother they would surly change their opinions and say he was an exact replica of his mother.

Bruce Wayne was a good man, sometimes when he wasn’t trying to control of his sons lives, of course his status of playboy billionaire did back fire even if it was just a ploy that he for some reason wanted the world to believe he was.

Because of his sleeping around resulted in four children being born out of wedlock. Dick Grayson was an accident that happened when his father was only 18, Bruce met a woman who was traveling with the circus a one-night stand resulted in his older half-brother.

Unfortunately, Grayson’s mom died in a horrible accident when Grayson was only eight.

Todd’s mother was a prostitute and didn’t want her son to do anything with Bruce Wayne, sadly for her she had no choice but let him in Bruce’s life, when it was discovered that Todd was his second son, Bruce filed for custody and won, because of her addictions as well as her profession she was seen as an unfit mother despite her doing her very best to make sure that Todd had a happy childhood, still, the court didn’t care if the child was happy they only cared about the money and Bruce’s lawyers paid them a lot of it.

Drake’s mom wasn’t anything special, she just slept with him, had the kid, dropped him off at Wayne Manor and left. No one knows where she went or who she really was since Bruce found out that everything about her was a lie and vanished into thin air.

The final woman his father had a child with was Talia Al Ghul. A beautiful woman who was once an actress, then model, then a fashion designer. She was a successful woman whose career ended before it began but that was something Damian did not like to think about if he did he would feel more anger towards his father and that harlot.

“Yes, father?”

“Where are you heading off to?”

No way in hell was he telling him where he was going, the only people who knew of the café where his brothers and all four of them sworn to secrecy and never tell Bruce about it. It was their go to place to be whenever they needed to escape the craziness that is their life.

“I was going to the park,”

Bruce looked at him before saying,

“Well, your stroll to the park can wait you and I are needed somewhere,”

“Where?”

“We need to go with Selina and do some wedding shopping, I also need you to be seen with Melody as much as possible,”

“We’re going to town so that the paparazzi can see me walking with the beard?”

His father glared at him,

“Melody is your friend and I already promised Dick after your break-up with Kitty you’ll be taking a break from bearding,”

Damian rolled his eyes, both he and his father knew he only said that bullshit to Dick so that he will get off his back about Damian and the unnecessary bearding.

“Then why does Melody have to come? More importantly why don’t you and Selina go off by yourselves and let me head over to Maya’s instead?”

“I already told you Damian, the wedding is all Gotham and the world is talking about and everyone knows about your relationship with Selina and how you don’t get along with her-“

“Not my fault,”

“Damian,” his father turned into a disapproval tone one that made him roll his eyes.

“I already told your brothers and you from the beginning that I do not want anything to ruin this wedding and the public needs to know that you and Selina are getting along,”

“You mean they need to see me getting along with her and they need to see me dating a girl so no one assumes I’m anything but straight right?”

Bruce stared at his son while Damian glared at him,

“Of course the public also needs to see me as a cheater, a liar, and someone who breaks their precious blond princess, they also need to see me as white as possible so that my music could sell faster, of course that doesn’t stop them from calling me every horrible name in the book because my mother is Talia Al Ghul, but of course they already saw me as a horrible person when I punched a guy for calling me and Maya horrible names and instead of helping me you allow the story to spin to see me as the bad guy and Kitty as my ‘savior’,”

Damian glared at his father as he continued with his speech, he wasn’t sure why he was lashing out at his father, but he felt great about to do it,

“You and Selina say you don’t want any PR nightmares or for the Wayne family name to be soil but don’t you think it’s already too late since both you and Selina were the ones who allowed The Word, and every other source of media to talk shit about me, hell you guys were the ones who decided to give me the playboy image, but now with this stupid wedding coming you want me to be well behave young man? Fuck that,”

Bruce’s face was bright red as Damian threw every horrible thing the media has said about him back at him and while he didn’t want to admit everything he said was true he couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for putting Damian through all of the crap he’s endured and instead of helping him he made it worse.

Before Bruce could even form a retort the door from the back open and in came Maya.

“Hello Wayne family!”

Maya was a beautiful woman and Damian’s best friend; the girl wasn’t afraid to speak her mind or tell the world that she was a proud lesbian. It swelled Damian’s heart with joy that his best friend was free and able to be herself, she was an amazing person and deserve to be happy. Like Damian, Maya was a singer as well as an actress and she was amazing in both. Her voice was incredible and was able to go through different styles of music, she even won a Grammy for her album.

“Maya, what brings you here?” Bruce asked confused as to why she was hear.

Maya smiled brightly at him before she hooked her arm around Damian’s and lead against his shoulder.

“The answer to that is simple, Damian and I made plans for lunch and I decided to swing by early so that we can head over to our favorite diner since it’s always pack during lunch time,”

“I see,”

“Welp, if you need us you know where we’ll be,”

She then pulled Damian out the door before Bruce could say or do anything, once the two were out the door they looked at each other before sprinting to her car. Knowing Bruce, he’ll come out the door and order them to stop whatever it is they are doing and force them to go with him and Selina to go wherever it is they were going.

Once they reached her car, they both got in and drove off.

“Where to bro?”

“Kara’s café, I need to see someone,”

“You, need to see someone at Kara’s café?”

Maya knew about the café, she was one of the few Damian trusted to know about the place, not only did she know but she was also a frequent customer, the two loved the place and always enjoyed going there together whenever they could.

“Yes,”

“And who is this someone?”

“Some guy I met,”

“Oooh, Damian Wayne met some guy and he wants to see him?”

“Yes, but it’s not like that,” he quickly said before she could form an idea that he did not want to hear.

“You sure?” she asked giving him a smirk.

“Positive, I just need to talk to him and apologize,”

“For what?”

Damian’s became a bright red color before he said,

“Flirting with him when he has a girlfriend,”

Maya looked at her friend, if there was one thing she knew about her friend in shock.

“Did he tell you? More importantly did you know?”

“No, and no,”

“Then how do you know he has a girlfriend?”

“Because I was going through Kara’s Instagram and found his Instagram and in his profile pic was of him and cute red head hugging each other and smiling with one another,”

“And that made you think he had a girlfriend?”

“Yes,”

“You know, that might just mean they are friends, right? I mean you and I cuddle all the time and we’re still friends,”

Damian thought about her words, of course she might have a point, the two might be friends but then again…

“I don’t think they are friends,”

“What makes you say that,”

“Well, when I was at Kara’s café earlier today I saw him and flirted with him and he looked uncomfortable, so I think she might be his girlfriend,”

“Ahh, okay so maybe he is taken,”

“Yeah so I need to apologize to him,”

“Question,” Maya asked as she pulled into the parking lot of the café.

“What’s that?”

“How are you gonna tell him that you know he has a girlfriend without sounding like a stalker?”

Damian’s eyes widen in fear, he…hadn’t thought of that…  

[horanggae]

hi my dear aera! (=^･ｪ･^=)

wow, your major is so cool! what made you decide studying psych sci? aww, yes it was!!<3 a fun fact about me is that my grandparents also have their birthdays on july a few days before and after mine so that’s why we celebrate all together! yes, they mainly serve breakfast dishes (everything related with eggs and bacon) and they’re mainly famous because of their pancakes!! but every time I go there I usually order chicken tenders or burgers because I’m not so keen to eating scramble eggs outside home (i hope this doesn’t sound too weird). oh, may I know when its your birthday? is it soon? I kinda feel your birthday was on spring because you give me warm vibes.

oh really? that sounds so easy, i really thought it was something more complicated (*μ_μ) thanks for the help!! you’re pisces!! (i just googled the dates between this sign and you might be a baby born in spring or late winter!!). I’m glad you don’t know who am I yeeet! (I swear I have pressed the damn follow button around three times already?? instead of your inbox, i’m really clumsy (＞﹏＜) oh, and are you good with handling alcohol? actually I don’t drink any type of alcohol, I only have tasted strawberry soju (it was really good but definitely burned up my throat) and radler’s! (germany’s lemon beer, and it is really good).

I do count this asks as convos! that’s so nice to read!! (I really try to always send you nice asks so I’m really happy that you get to experience some of my feelings and emotions) no way aera!, but I consider you such a good english speaker? I really thought you were from north america or europe because of your way of writing and the use of some words I have never read before! May I ask when did u became so good with english? I bet you’re really good with your mother tongue! thanks for the recommendations! I’ll try to write some drabbles this last vacation days!

oh it’s really cool to read your type of sleeping! for me once I lay down I completely die and wake up until the very next day, so I’m a heavy sleeper (alarms never work for me unless I have something pretty important like an exam or a vacation trip, and when I’m really worried about something).

oh! me too<3 on real life (well not real? just in person lol) I really tend to talk a lot so I’m glad I’m not overwhelming you with all of my questions and writing! thank u for the nice wishes, obviously I wish you to stay safe as well ^^ oh so you’re also fully protected now! did u get any side effects after the two shoots? I couldn’t move my arm for the whole day haha. oh my I have never thought about living the y/n lifestyle?? maybe I am??

this is already so long and I haven’t answered your questions, i’m deeply sorry!

oh I would totally love to see you become part of the performance unit!! and also if you really get to marry hao can I go to your wedding? (･ω<)☆  shipping expenses are really the worst way of spending money (｡╯︵╰｡)

time to reply back!!

what’s in the ihop menu & your favorite item on it? – somehow I already replied to this question at the beginning! ^^ but it is chicken tenders with dip of honey mustard!

astro sign? – i’m leo!

do you like alcohol? if yes, what type and/or brand! – haha, again I already talked about this! I don’t dislike it but I’m also not the greatest fan? and the only one I like drinking is any brand of radler beer! (I don’t have so much experience with alcohol) a small fact: I started to drink alcohol only two years ago when I was studying abroad!

which unit would you like to join? – vocal unit!! I would love to be part of the creating process of writing a song and also would love to learn how to sing (I don’t know how to sing but I would love to learn from any of the members!! specially dk’s!!)

kiss, date, marry: hoshi, jun & dino!! – i see what you have done here      ♡( ◡‿◡ ) i would kiss dino, date hoshi and marry jun. (I think of dino as someone to take care of, for hoshi I think it would be kinda overwhelming because he deserves a lot and also is kinda highly demanding? and for jun, he’s my type! tall, funny, smart and caring<3.)

your fave album? – teen age or you make my dawn! both albums have some of my all time favorite tracks also the special units on teen age are something worth repeating!!

your current stash of svt goods or maybe are you starting collect rn? – I happen to also pay a lot on shipping and I also recently started to like svt, so far I have bought some albums along with my sister who’s also a big fan (we have one of each of this albums: semicolon, director’s cut, an ode, henggarae and for your choice we bought the three versions!) I think I’m only missing their first ver. of lightstick because its the prettiest lightstick I have ever seen! (also my bank account suffers every time I buy something (╥_╥).

how is it working at your sister’s cafe? (any out of the ordinary happening (✷‿✷) – it’s really great! i love spending time there and I also love to work with coffee! I also enjoy preparing food (we sell salads and sandwiches). I think asia’s cafe’s are something from another world? they are so pretty and have such a wide variety of drinking options! i really enjoy bubble tea drinks! do u like milk tea with boba?

this is really long, please take all the time you need to reply and don’t feel obligated to answer all of it (I just wanted to share all my thoughts with you)!! I hope you’re having a great week, wishing you a lot of health and happiness, also a lot of luck with your college homework! (≧◡≦) ♡

–f🐯❤️

hello f🐯❤️ how are you doing!

IHOP sounds like a nice place to chill before classes and probably late into the night... Naw it doesn't weird though, it's your preference! I don't eat prawns outside of home either, I just find it icky(?). You're right!!!! I'm a spring march baby! I swear I never receive notifications from you at all? Only recently the one I saw was tmttxt (?) but I think they changed their username so I can't find out now when I tried searching for them again. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

I've always wanted to learn and understand the human mind more when I was in high school but my grades didn't allow me to pursue psychology in college (in my country you'll have to be the top percentile to get into courses like psych) so I ended up diverging from what I want, to something that piqued my interest as a child, which was design. Loved it as a pastime and as a getaway but I couldn't churn anything out for assignments. I decided to just follow what I really wanted in uni since I was still set on studying psych even after meeting with a college guide + I had a window of opportunity and now here I am as a year 1! ( ꈍᴗꈍ)

I enjoy alcohol but my tolerance level isn't high :-( so I usually drink with caution unless I'm with the people I trust! I prefer cider more though bc of the crisp and light taste! Talking to you feels like a writing to a penpal; we are living our own respective lives, but we make time for each other to write back!!! I enjoy talking to you sm like there isn't any pressure to immediately reply back and it's really like receiving a letter but in asks form!! ❤️❤️❤️

English is my first language, but i kinda winged it the entire time when I was younger! I learned a lot of English words from reading; I was an avid reader until I was 17 when I started using smartphones, my reading habit disappeared. But when it comes to grammar and sentence structure, embarrassingly, I'm extremely bad at it. (´ . .̫ . `) my vocabulary is pretty strong bc of the books I've read over the years! I just started picking up reading again and have just finished the miracles of namiya general store & the seventh day, both recommended by wonwoo! I'm so happy I managed to read a little everyday and still retaining the same eagerness and anticipation (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Do link me your drabbles if you ever do write, I'd love to read your works!!! ( ◜‿◝ )♡ aw man i wish I was a heavy sleeper like before ㅠ ㅠ feels like growing older made me a light sleeper. The first was worst in terms of soreness, the second was mild— felt like they didn't administer the vaccine at all ahskskdlflr but I did felt a little feverish during the night but everything is fine! How about you, are you feeling better now?? If I ever get married to hao that is (≧ ᴗ ≦) but I'd love for hao to just be a friend who I can speak freely to under the stars hehe.

I realised I haven't asked about your major, also why did you pick that major?

I hope you're doing well in the cafe! Damn, makes me wanna work in a cafe too... There's vacancy at my uni's Starbucks but it's too far of a commute for me to consider </3 ㅠ ㅠI hope interesting things happen at the cafe so that it spice up your vacation break hehe.

[roman-reigns-princess]

Cat & Mouse (Roman Reigns): Chapter 4

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 5 Read it on Wattpad Writing Masterlist

Warnings: alcohol consumption, r*ndy *rt*n gets a little rapey, um i really cant think of anything else??

Word Count: 2156

A/N: I’m so sorry its been like 2 months since i updated, i went thru a writing slump lmfao. i think im back now tho, and there’ll be actual smut in the next chapter (im alr like half way thru w it). Also I know a lot of yall changed your usernames, I dont remember every new user name, I tried my best to change them but if im tagging your old account please let me know

Tag List (if anyone wants to be added, let me know): @m-a-t-91@mrsamberlopezgoodanoai@simulated-heat @greatbreadwizard @hoodgirl163 @sabrina-blyton @reignwithflair@sunflowers-and-swear-words @alexahood21@ii-love-roman-reigns @queenreignsempire @flawlessglamazon @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @fivefootxo  @finnbalorsdemonqueen @romanempressfics @rocketgirl2410@sausagefest1996 @vebner37@macfizzle @cute-face-chubby-waist @wwefoever70@horcruxhunter5972 @cool-snowball-22-blog @designrwriterchic @metaldeedsblobfish@inkedirishbbydoll-blog-blog @calwitch (sorry if i missed anyone)

Finally around 9pm, they headed out of the hotel to meet the men in a club a couple blocks away.

15 minutes later, Lyra and Naomi entered the club to find the guys occupying a secluded booth near the bar, and away from the dance floor. Even as they walked up to the table, Lyra could see Jimmy's eyes change colour as he drank in his mate's flawless figure.

Lyra was thankful that the club was mainly filled with humans, there were a couple of Alphas and Betas sitting at other tables, but most didn't seem to notice her. She made it a point to avoid them, and try and mask her scent with the humans.

On their way there, she'd managed to convince Naomi to keep quiet about her heat. She didn't need the guys treating her weird, or worse, making her go back. Naomi went to join the guys while Lyra went to order an Appletini for her friend, and a Vodka Sunset (A/N: these are really good tbh) for herself.

Lyra hopped up onto a barstool to wait for her drinks. It was a pretty busy night due to the fact that it was a Saturday, and wrestling fans going to the Rumble the next day were also out and about. Roman and his cousins had chosen a darker corner to hopefully minimize people interrupting their personal time.

Lyra glanced back at her friends and chuckled when she saw Jey looking bored and a little irritated as he tried to ignore his brother and Naomi who were basically grinding on each other, not giving a fuck about either of the other two men at the table.

Despite promising herself that she would not acknowledge Roman that night, Lyra found her gaze sliding over to him. He was already staring at her, an intense, hungry look in his eyes that had turned a bright silver-grey. A shiver of lust ran down her body, and she forced herself to turn away.

It was going to be a lot harder than she'd anticipated to ignore him. Not only could she barely keep her eyes off him, but his scent had hit her the moment she walked into the club. Her heightened senses constantly drew her attention to him even when she tried to focus them elsewhere.

She stiffened as she picked up on his footsteps through the clamor of people and music. She pretended not to notice him until she heard him clear his throat. She slowly turned the bar stool to face him.

"Oh hey, Roman," she blinked up at him, putting on a sickly sweet smile; he stood before her, arms crossed with a stern look on his face. She hated to admit it, but he made the simple jeans, shirt, and a leather jacket look mouth watering. "Can I help you?"

"You shouldn't be here," he said. She should've known he'd say something like that, of course he'd notice, she grumbled to herself. Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back, not wanting to deal with his shit at that moment, earning a snarl from him. "Don't fuckin turn away from me."

"Don't fuckin tell me what to do," she shot back, refusing to look at him. She let out a soft whimper, and her grip tightened on the bar in front of her as she felt his fingers sliding under her jacket and shirt to grip the right side of her waist; her cheeks flushed as he brushed her hair aside with his other hand, leaning in till his breath tickled her ear. His scent wrapped around her, calming her nerves down; he smelled like a delicious mix of hot chocolate and caramel, and she wanted nothing more than to drag him back to her room and let him play out his worst fantasies with her.

"Baby, you can't be here, you think us Alphas don't know what a shifter in heat smells like? That little jacket's doin shit to mask your scent," he spoke low enough that the noise around them would hide his words from any wolves or shifters nearby. Part of her knew that he was right, and that he was only saying these things because he cared, but she was too stubborn to agree with him.

"I'll be fine, I can handle myself," she mumbled, luckily Roman's reply was interrupted by the bartender bringing over her drinks. Roman let go of her as she grabbed the drinks. "Listen all I'm asking is that you leave me alone tonight, you clearly aren't interested, and I get it, but I deserve to have my fun."

She brushed past him without waiting for his reply; silently, he followed her, looking like she'd just punched him in the gut. Putting a smile on her face she slid in next to Naomi, handing her the Appletini. The older woman downed her drink then waited for Lyra to finish hers before dragging her out to the dance floor.

Several dances, and even more drinks, into the night, Lyra staggered over to their booth that was now empty. She had had a little too much to drink, and the room was starting to spin a little; groaning, she rested her head on the cooling surface of the table.

She'd given Jimmy all her cards both for safe keeping and to make sure that she wouldn't be able to drink anymore, but she'd cut herself off too late, and she knew she was going to have a splitting headache the next day.

The sound of someone sliding into the booth next to her had her head jerking up, she shook her head a little as the room was still swimming. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she saw Randy Orton, one of the other Alphas in the locker room, sitting next to her, his head tilted a little as he looked at her with a sneer.

"What's a pretty little shifter like you doing getting drunk during her heat?" He said in a soft, condescending tone, as his eyes swept over her, lingering a little too long on her chest.

"I-I dunno what you're talkin bout, I think I should go now," she mumbled, trying to inch away from him, pulling Naomi's jacket around herself, but his smirk only widened when he heard her words.

"Is that right?" He replied, his voice had a dangerous edge to it, and, unlike Roman, his scent set her nerves on edge as he leaned in. She tried to cringe away but she was pressed up against the end of the booth, and he blocked the only way out. A shiver of fear ran through her as she realized she was cornered by an Alpha that was both bigger and stronger than her. "Well you certainly smell like a shifter in heat, first day am I right? Why don't I take you back...make sure that no one gets to you, it's not safe for a little shifter like you out here."

"N-no I dontwanna-," he ignored her words, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the booth despite her slurred protests. She had no choice but to stumble after him, her hazy mind still trying to work out what to do as they exited the club. Before she could think her way out of the situation, a large hand grabbed her free wrist and jerked her back, making her yelp in pain.

"Let go of Lyra," came Roman's voice from behind her, she looked up to see him glaring at Randy.

"Oh yeah, why should I? What I do with this little shifter is none of your business," Randy retorted, his voice adopting a mocking tone. Lyra glanced between the two Alphas, this wouldn't end well if it got physical.

"Because I fuckin said so, she's mine, get your dirty little paws off her," Roman warned, Lyra's eyes snapped to him, the surprise at him calling her his was evident on her face.

"She doesn't seem to know that, I've seen they way the two of you act around each other, you send some very mixed signals, Roman, no wonder she's getting drunk on the first day of her heat if her Alpha can't satisfy her," a viscous smile carved across Randy's face as Roman snarled at him. He finally let of of Lyra, allowing her to curl into the safety of Roman's arms. "Or maybe that's what you were waiting for, so you could do whatever you want to her with minimal resistance, can't say I never thought of it."

A shiver of revulsion ran through her, making her cling to Roman's shirt. Randy turned away and walked back into the club before Roman could spit back a reply. He stood there for a moment, glaring after the retreating Alpha.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed, you're gonna have a shitty hangover in the morning," he said, turning her around and walking her in the direction of the hotel. He kept a hand on her waist to stabilize her so that she wouldn't trip over in her heels. "D'you got your keycard?"

"Left it with Jimmy," she replied, not in the mood to talk, keeping her eyes firmly on the ground to try and avoid any more stumbling.

"Ah fuck, okay you can have my bed, I'll take Jimmy's, I got no idea when or if he's coming back to the room," he said, more to himself than her. They walked the rest of the way in silence. Lyra was practically falling asleep against Roman by the time they reached the elevators. He had to half carry her to the room, then pushed her towards the bathroom. "You gotta get that makeup off, can't have you messin up the sheets. I think Naomi keeps some of her stuff with Jimmy's shit."

He left her leaning against the counter as he went to rummage through his cousin's things. She had to grab the edge to stop herself from falling over when he left her side, the alcohol mixed with the fatigued caused by her heat was not a fun combo. By the time he came back with a little makeup bag, and a black shirt in hand, she was falling asleep standing up. He gently shook her awake and handed her the stuff.

"I hope Naomi got some of that makeup remover stuff in there, and you can change into this shirt if you wanna, is up to you," he said, she mumbled her thanks and unzipped the little bag to find a small packet of makeup wipes as he walked out, leaving her alone to change.

Eager to get to sleep, she made quick work of the makeup, washing her face with some warm water to get rid of any residue. She pulled off her boots, shorts and tank top and left them in a pile on the floor of the bathroom along with Naomi's jacket. Finally, she pulled on Roman's shirt, the material soft and soothing against her skin, before making her way out of the bathroom.

She found Roman perched on the edge of what she assumed was his bed, and she headed straight for it.

He looked like he was about to say something to her, but her exhaustion prompted her to ignore him, and crawl under the covers with a groan. She heard him snort; in amusement or annoyance, she couldn't tell.

The bed shifted as Roman stood up and padded over to the bathroom to take a shower, leaving her tossing and turning on the bed as she tried to find a nice spot.

By the time Roman was done, coming out in nothing but a pair of shorts as usual, he found Lyra buried under the covers, face down in the pillows. He sighed to himself, walking up to her to turn her over.

"Babe, you had a lot to drink tonight, you shouldn't be sleeping face down or face up," he said, not even sure if she was awake as he rolled her onto her side, but before he could pull away she grabbed his arm and hugged it to her.

"Cuddles please, warm," her sleep riddled mind barely even registering what she was doing. Roman froze, torn between wanting to give in, and wanting to keep his distance as he'd managed to do so far. He tried one more time to dislodge his arm, but her grip held tight as she nuzzled her face against his palm; groaning to himself, he careful slid onto the bed until her back was pressed against his chest.

As he pulled the covers up around them, he halfheartedly promised himself that he'd sneak out once she was properly asleep.

He took a sharp breath as she wriggled around, trying to find the perfect position, which just happened to include her ass pressed against his dick. He wrapped his arms under her chest to keep her still against him burying his face in her hair. Taking a deep breath, he slowly drifted off to sleep.