#and three fourths through his aspiration

[starvail]

wdym i have a head dent?!

narumi gen / gn!spouse!reader

synopsis : "narumi gen is highly respected in his own division, with every officer following him with determination and every platoon leader dyeing their hair like him as a sign of respect."

content : only crack, fluff, gender neutral reader, reader works in jakdf, a few flashbacks, a little bit more on the lore side, the word beautiful is used to describe the reader, shinonome's age is just a guess, mostly shinonome pov, narumi should have his own warning fr, vice captain and platoon leaders are tired.

words : 1.7k

a/n : you can’t convince me that this man hasn’t went out on a mission with a head dent at least once-

part two of 'a cheers to our youth'

She remembers years ago, newly turned twenty, and nervously standing in front of your desk, arms crossed behind her back, posture rigid.

This would be the first time she will be meeting you in person, rather than listening to your demands through a communicator.

Now is the time to make the best lasting first impression. To prove that she is capable of handling things much bigger than an ordinary officer.

"Thank you very much for deeming me worthy of a rank review! I will not let you down!"

"Don't thank me for something as trivial as just a chance of a promotion. I know you'll do well in the future, Shinonome. The person you really need to impress is the First Captain."

You do not look up from your paperwork, and though many will see this as quite cold and rude, she's heard from numerous people that you simply do not have the time to entertain anything or anyone else within working hours.

The fact that you even spared a one-on-one meeting with her was an honour, and Shinonome will forever respect your dedication. Unfortunately, her lips move to articulate her thoughts before she could stop herself.

"I aspire to contribute to the Defence Force as much as you and Captain Narumi, Head! Please wait for me!" She slaps a hand over her mouth.

Stopping your editing to the paper before you, you look up at her in surprise at her outburst. Shinonome is swift in attempting to correct her statement.

"Uhm...! I did not mean it in that way, Head. A-Apologies for speaking out of line. I'll commence however many push ups-"

"Hahaha!" You made no move to hide your mirth and Shinonome does not know whether to be concerned or relieved at your reaction.

She curses at herself. Dammit, well done, Rin. You definitely made a lasting first impression alright. Great, now Head is gonna see you as a clown vying for their hand.

"No need for the push ups. I appreciate your passion, Shinonome. However, I am already married, so I will have to decline." It seems that you will not let her forget this. How cruel...

Wiping a forming tear at the edge of your eye, you sigh lightheartedly. "It's a good thing that you didn't say that to your Captain or else his head would blow up bigger than it already is!"

By now, the officer is bright red at her blunder before your words catch up to her. Wait, married...? Weren't you only a year or two older than her? Is she already falling behind her peers in yet another department?!

And though she does not say her thoughts aloud this time, you seem to be able to read her befuddled face too well. You hold up your hand and lift two fingers up like a peace sign, a soft smile adorning your own face.

At that moment, Shinonome realises that you are much friendlier in person compared to when you are communicating with Captain Narumi.

During missions, it was like listening to dogs fighting.

"I am two or three years older than you, I think, If I remember reading your files correctly. I just got married really young so don't worry too much about finding love or whatnot for now. Live in the present and all that." You wave off casually.

"If I may be so bold to ask..." Shinonome only now notices the metal band that you adorn around your fourth finger and shyly looks at her own twiddling bare fingers.

"Hm? Go ahead." Your focus is still on her.

"What age did you get married?"

"Eighteen."

"?!"

You burst back into laughter when Shinonome's composed and seemingly nonchalant persona crumbles and she is left there dumbfounded.

A feint 'don't mind' playfully slips out as you excuse yourself to deliver your now finished papers and pat her shoulder on your way to the door.

Shinonome finds that you will truly not let her live down her moment in your office.

Even months later, after she was proven competent and promoted to Platoon Leader. Be it during a mission, passing each other in the corridor, or in a meeting.

("Platoon Leader Shinonome, please wait for me in my office after this." / "Shinonome, please wait for the arrival of new equipment sent over by...." / "Ah, Rin. Thanks for waiting for me, traffic was atrocious today!" All of those interactions being followed by a knowing smirk.)

Despite this, the two of you have grown closer, more casual. Dare she say that the two of you were even friends.

She learnt that you are married to the Narumi Gen and that you have known him since you were children (she had always assumed those endearments he torments you with during missions were a joke).

Learns you prefer drinking iced coffee rather than hot.

You only wear shoes you can very easily slip on.

You like to make edits to documents using a purple pen rather than the standard red.

You personalise your lab coats by stitching your initials and operator number to the cuffs (swearing her to secrecy, you tell her that you also stitch Captain Narumi's initials, but instead at the cuffs, it's hidden inside the pocket over where your heart is).

In spite of your seemingly intimidating work front, you are still very much human.

(Years down the line, Shinonome has well learnt that you were never scary, or aloof, or anything of the sort. She guesses your role in the Defence Force just forces you to seem like it, given your importance.)

Shinonome also learns that you and Narumi dye each other's hair.

"Oh, this?" You motion to the groupings of fresh silver highlights in your hair. The Platoon Leader had to deliver some documents and noticed the change and decided to compliment you on it, it fits you. She asks if you had it done professionally.

It looks really nice... maybe she would suit something similar?

"No, I didn't go to a salon. You think I have the money for that sort of thing?" Yes, yes you do, Head.

"I've been dyeing Captain Loser's hair since we were teenagers, and he decided while we were touching up his roots that it's been a while since we were matching and wouldn't leave me alone otherwise. I didn't get to sleep until two last night!"

You say it with such disdain that if she were a new recruit, she would think that you meant it.

But Shinonome knew you better than that, because you could never hide the adoration that shone through your irises, or the fondness in your smile.

Perhaps, one day, she will meet someone that would elicit the same reaction when talking about her...

"He wanted to do my hair without my help so now there's a chunk of under layer hair that's all silver instead of just highlights. If you look even closer, you might see just bleached bits that he forgot to colour! He botched it!"

She would be lying if she were to say she wasn’t jealous.

You are beautiful and intelligent and considerate and sincere. And though you are not physically strong, you show your strength in a plethora of other ways, your contributions named on newspapers displayed along your office walls are evident of that. Your strategies and tactics have led many to victory and the Eastern Defence Force is as strong as ever.

Truly, you and Narumi Gen are forces to be reckoned with and Shinonome could not be more thankful to be so in reach.

She does not realise she was staring at you for so long until you speak up.

"Ah! Would you like me to do your hair sometime?"

"Oi, Dumbass. Stop trying to act cool in front of the newbies."

Narumi, dramatically posing solemnly atop a fresh kaiju corpse, tilts his head back to face the flying drone's camera and shows off a smirk at the sound of your voice.

"Well, if it isn't my darling dearest, everything okay at Comms?" He waves lazily, but this seems to irk you more.

"You were playing Underwatch, when I told you not to, weren't you." You frame it as a statement, rather than a question.

Everyone in Operations and Officers around Narumi watches as their Captain's jaw drops to the floor, eyes bulging out of his skull.

He is quick to grab at the drone and shakes it wildly, as if it was a person he was trying to gouge information out of. The propellers are swift to turn off, you knew this kind of reaction was coming from miles away.

"Who snitched?!" His face is all up on the camera.

At this point, Narumi knew that it was of his best interest to admit the truth rather than make up excuses on the spot, especially if you used that tone.

But how could you have possibly found out? He even made sure to download a special VPN so you couldn't track his gameplay! Was it Hasegawa? It had to have been Hasegawa. Damn you, Hasegawa-

"Your galactic-sized head dent gave it away. Do you not have enough sense to at least fix it before you leave for duty?" You sigh on the other end of the mic, disappointment evident in your admonishment.

"Huh?"

The drone starts up again and Narumi is forced to let go as it turns to face ninety degrees away from him and projects a hologram of himself, but from his side.

Lo and behold, all of the Captain's hair is sticking straight up, as per usual when he is in combat, except for the areas at the centre of his skull, a clear band of hair matted down with a sheen of presumably sweat.

"Pfft, I hope the news articles capture this very flattering side of you! 'What a loser,' they'll all say." You do your best to cover up a snicker. The drone is now happily emoting like an actual person, tilting side to side as if it were someone's head, taunting him.

"NO!!" Narumi is on his knees, frantically trying to fix his hair while maniacal laughter resonates from the floating device.

From a distance, a certain Platoon Leader watches on, irked. Out of all of the people to admire for the power they bring to the Defence Force, out of all the people to strive to be like, why did it have to be these two?

[sugar-grigri]

Crazy theory, but since I don't really read them, I don't know if it's ever been mentioned before.

I've already talked about this urge to discover the demon of death. So much so that fans see them in every new character introduced.

We know that Pochita punctuates both the birth and death of demons with his chainsaws.

I've always been surprised by the way Pochita calmly took hold of Makima, allowing Denji to knowingly save her by recommending that he give her love

Just as I'm surprised by Fami's interest in separating Chainsaw Man just as Yoru is stubbornly intent on revenge

How can these three horsemen of the apocalypse have so much interest and connection with a single demon?

We already know that Fujimoto has opted for the metaphorical, choosing the instrument designed for childbirth: the chainsaw, as the keystone of his story.

Chainsaw Man is intrinsically linked to birth and death

Denji's rebirth alone is linked to death having been cut up as well as Pochita?

Demons are born out of fear of one thing, so I know it might be strange that Pochita, representing chainsaws, represents death and isn't the chainsaw demon.

But two things: firstly, the impostor is actually the real chainsaw demon.

Fujimoto likes to undo our first impressions, so I find it absolutely INCREDIBLE that Denji should be the impostor from the start, the false Chainsaw Man in a part 2 that focuses on identity.

Secondly, how can simple chainsaws have so much power? I mean, sure, they're scary, but how can they have so much power as to be able to wipe out demons? Why should it be the chainsaw demon who's capable of this, and death remains crouched in the shadows?

This would also explain his promiscuity with the other Knights of the Apocalypse.

The demon of control wanted to play with Pochita - death was the only thing she couldn't totally control, the only thing she aspired to be on an equal footing with.

If Pochita understood her so well, it was as the fourth knight of the apocalypse. If Makima considered him her equal, it was because she couldn't control a demon she knew to be of her own rank. The logic follows with Nayuta.

The demon of war doesn't accept death, it accepts to spread it through conflicts and weapons of mass murder, but a general doesn't accept that death can touch him too. To spread death represents victory, to be touched by it a defeat that demands vengeance.

Famine works hand in hand with death, and is feared because suffering and death are the end result of not being able to eat. She's the one with the clearest goal at the moment: to save humanity. She doesn't hesitate to recruit her fellow Apocalypse members, whether it's proposing it to Nayuta, trying to recruit Asa and Yoru, or splitting Chainsaw Man in two to work with the pure state of the death demon.

The public hunters' aim is also to protect mankind from Nostradamus' prophecy, but by paralyzing death's actions as much as possible. They exploit Denji's flaws and desire to be normal to the full, threatening those around him. While the church, represented by Fami, titillates Denji's heroic side, his abnormalities, they want death to act.

It would also explain why everyone close to Denji is disappearing.

All the signs are pointing to Asa's imminent atrocity.

Wouldn't it be incredible to think that it's because death is in Denji's belly ?

Everything would then make sense: it's normal for Denji's development to stagnate, and for him to go through so many existential crises.

He doesn't know his own identity

What's more, it doesn't contradict my most meta theories: Fujimoto places himself in the work through Denji (cf. chapter 133), just as he responds directly to his fans (chapters 136 and 137).

We're all hating him, seeing all our favorite characters meet unfortunate deaths

It would all make sense if the manga we were holding in our hands, "Chainsaw Man", actually referred directly to death right from the start.

It would all make sense if we saw Part 1 as Denji's introduction to the ranks of hunters governed by an early death.

It would make sense for Aki's love for him to be a metaphor for accepting death, in the continuity of mourning.

It would make sense for Power to be reassured by Death when traumatized by the demon of darkness: she died twice for love, and the total disappearance of body and spirit allows us to escape the darkness.

I don't know if this theory holds, but let's agree...

It's poetic

[loveswrites]

ok so how about cullen poly during the fight scene in the fourth movie orrrr cullen poly with how spending a day with them would be like

Tomorrow Poly Cullens x reader

Summary: Basically what the lovely anon asked for but I didn’t listen what so ever so I might make a part two if you guys want.

Etc: And if you loves want a part two let me know and drop some ideas for what they could do in their two hours aloneee. Also thank you my loves for all of the notes it encourages me to write more things for you guys and not just myself lol <3

Word count: 1694

Time it took: 1 hour and 40 minutes

“How could you be like a thousand years old and still so stupid!” You huffed holding your head in your hand. You and the Cullens had been fighting lately. You don’t know why.. Well maybe you have something to do with it.

“How am I stupid? I really can’t hangout with you today my darling. We need to hunt. Especially Jasper, with you being around a lot more his hunger levels tend to double.” Carlisle said. You could just picture him looking at you in sympathy. 

You had called him because apparently all of your lovers are just too busy to hang out with you. You thought Carlisle would be free seeing as he was off today but I guess that wasn’t the case. He was off to go hunting with the rest of the family. Jasper had to leave earlier than the rest. So Alice, Emmett and Esme went with him. You thought Edward would be free since he didn’t go with him but he was in one of his petty moods ever since you went to hang out with Seth and Jacob with Bella. You told him he had nothing to worry about but he insisted that he did. Him and his stupid stupid mind reading. Which led to a fight with him so he was on the bottom of the roster right now.

Then there was Rosalie which was just a hard no for you. You didn’t want to hang out with her right now. Why you may ask? She threw away your pasta three days ago because she said it stunk. Who is she to throw away your pasta? You don’t walk around here popping her blood bags because you don’t like the way it looks to you. Maybe you should. I thought about it for a while and eventually said it out loud, Which was another fight with her that you could just add to the list.

So that left Carlisle who was perfect. Just perfect. He had picked you up from school just earlier today because you told him that you needed a ride. Since everyone else was busy he came and got you. Which he usually doesn’t do because it draws attention. But by now everyone was used to you being with and around the Cullens. Though they don’t know that you date them all. They only know that you date Jasper and Edward which they already thought was weird as hell. But you never cared. You're in love with two vampires that are the downfall to all of the human race. And you think that the world can know that. Know just enough without blowing the cover of it all.

“My love, I know that you are disappointed and upset with us but sadly there is nothing that I can offer for a solution.” Carlisle said after hearing your long aspirated sigh. 

“It’s like you guys are avoiding me. I don’t feel loved at all. I want some love without an argument following through not even two minutes in.” You said, Stripping yourself of your clothes preparing to take a shower since you had nothing better to do. 

“We are not avoiding you-” Carlisle paused and you could hear voices in the background. Listening closely you could hear that it was Esme.

“Is that-”

“I’m sorry but I have to go, the hospital is calling.” He rushed out and before you could even say a word the line was clear. 

Pulling your phone away from your ear you could do nothing but stare at it in disbelief. He hung up on you. And not only that but you were completely sure that that was Esme's voice in the background. No one else around her sounds like her. And you know damn well the hospital did not call him. He was lying. Esme was lying. They’re all lying. 

You couldn’t feel anything but disbelief. 

You knew they lied to just about everyone but that was to protect their family. Not everyone in the town could know that they drink animal blood and sparkle in the sun like a fucking case of glitter. But you knew those things already. You’ve seen those things already. So there would be no reason to hide anything from you. At all. 

Finding a new sense of adventure sparling through your veins you put your clothes back on now determined to find some answers. 

Running down the stairs with your bookbag you almost bumped into Charlie. “Woah there kiddo, What's the rush?!” He yelled out to you as you ran past him.

“I’ll be back later, don't worry I just need to see something really quick!” You yelled back getting into your car Carlisle got you for your last birthday. You had told him that was a big mistake. Even though He bought you a car you always felt guilty using it because you didn’t want it to look like you were using him. So you’d always catch a ride with one of them or go with bella. But right now you didn’t care about any of that. 

Pulling up to the Cullens residents It looked deserted. But then again when did it not? Parking your car you walked up to the door which was already being opened by Alice. Once you saw her you immediately frowned. She was supposed to be with Jasper just like Esme was. 

“What are you-”

“You need to go home.” Alice said firmly with her head held high light always.

“What? I don’t understand, why are you here?” You grow your eyebrows in confusion.

“Cleaning. Now go.” She said pointing back to your car.

“Do you see me walking away from this house anytime soon Alice?” You said standing your ground. She wasn’t just about to go and rush you away when you had only just gotten here. Seeing her face you knew the answer. 

You pushed her out of the way gently but made it known that you were going to back down and bow like a little puppy. 

As you walked closer to the heart of the house you heard mumbling and hushed whispers. Finally reaching your destination your eyes widened a little with what you saw. And your heart skipped a couple of beats.

Standing in front of you there was a sign on the wall that read. "We're so sorry’ And the loves of your life were each holding a sign that read ‘I love you because…’

“I know we lied to you but we had too. It was the only way for us to be able to put something together to try and show you the love that we have for you. You came sooner than expected.” Jasper said, looking a little ashamed. Him and his southern accent would always make you smile. Sometimes you wondered if it was just him. Or him using his powers on you. But either way you didn’t care it made you happy.

“Once Alice saw you coming we had to throw something together really fast. We were still brainstorming ideas Roslise didn’t like anything we suggested.” Edward said, shooting Rose a pointed look making you let out a small laugh. That was more like a sigh of relief. 

“It wasn’t enough, all their Ideas sucked. You deserve nothing but the best and I think I'm the only one in this room that understands that.” Rose said in her know it all tone that you loved so much.

“When you said over the phone early that you didn’t feel loved anymore that broke a piece of my heart. I- We never want you to feel that way. We want you to feel like the most loved person in this world. Because you are my love. We would die for you.” Carlisle said taking a step closer to you.

“I’d live for you.” Edward said, taking a step closer to you.

“Fight for you.” Jasper and Emmett said at the same time. Also taking a step closer to you.

“Smile for you.” Rose said, taking her step.

“Care for you.” Esme said taking a step as well.

“We couldn’t imagine a life without you and we're going to prove it to you. Starting today.” Esme said.

“Well more like tomorrow.” Rose said Shrugging her shoulders when everyone looked at her with a look as if to tell her to shut up.

“Rose is right, the full day starts tomorrow but doesn’t mean we can’t start tonight. You’ll have at least 2 hours with each of us until it’s time for us all to gather together. Since tomorrow is saturday.” Carlisle said kissing the top of your forehead, making you smile. Realizing you hadn’t said a word in a while you decided to throw something out there.

“Really?” You whispered but you know they heard you. Perks of being a vampire.

“Yes.” They all said collectively. 

This made you so over filled with joy squealing you kissed all of your lovers with a big wide smile on your face. They of course kissed you back like they always do. Biting your bottom lip in anticipation you looked up at all of them in expectation. Making them all break out with a soft smile. In admiration. 

“So what’s first?” You said basically bouncing up and down in excitement.

“I mean we could take you up to the bedroom right now and start the fun immediately.” Emmett smirked looking you up and down with suggestive eyes. 

“Emmett!” You all said collectively.

“What? What did I say wrong? Don’t tell me you all haven't been thinking the same thing.” 

Tomorrow just couldn’t get here fast enough.

[bridenore]

HD fic recs : Curses (part 2)

Here are a few recs dealing heavily with curses. This is part two of three and focuses on fics ranging from 30k to 50k words. Listed in alphabetical order, as always. Part one can be found here.

Aeternus Solem by @onbeinganangel  [36k]

On December 1st, Harry Potter gets sent halfway across the world to attempt to break a possibly fatal curse on an unnamed British Unspeakable — except said Unspeakable is not unnamed at all and Harry has been in love with him for over four years.

The Arc of the Pendulum by brummell [30k]

After his father casts a mysterious curse on Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy is forced to try to make things right.

Catfished by Saras_Girl [32k]

Draco is in deep water, Harry can see straight through him, and that’s not even the full scale of the problem.

Darkest Before the Dawn by @dualwieldteacup [47k]

The last thing Draco wanted was to show up at Harry Potter’s door, cursed blind and holding a boxful of his friends Transfigured into snakes, but here he was. Between breaking the curse, adjusting to life without sight, and teaching his Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, Draco’s got his hands full. Being forced to live with Harry Potter might just be the death of him. This is a story about the bonds of friendship, fairy tale endings, and learning to ask for help (even from Gryffindors).

Draco Malfoy, It’s Your Lucky Day by @faith2wood [37k]

Even though he’s unarmed, injured, lost in the Forbidden Forest, and facing a possible murder charge, Draco Malfoy gets lucky.

En Passant by @dodgerkedavra [41k]

Harry and Draco survive the apocalypse. This is what happens after.

Fearless by Bounding-Heart (Brief_and_Dreamy) [34k]

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” – John Lennon

Hades Paradox by @romaine2424 [32k]

For reasons unknown to most, Draco Malfoy came to Hogwarts soon after the battle and for five years had never left its premises. Auror Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts to deal with his psychological daemons, but soon realises Professor Draco Malfoy has his own magical and physical daemons to deal with. However, much to Harry’s surprise, Draco is coping well with help from the person Harry aspires to be.

In Our Blood by @secretsalex [37k]

Draco is an accomplished pure-blood curse breaker, and Harry is tasked with accompanying him on his latest job—cleaning up the Van Boer mansion, which has been under a devastating fertility curse for seven generations.

Lover, Where Do You Live? by @dodgerkedavra [38k]

Harry Potter has been running away since the War, disappearing into his job as a freelance curse-breaker. Work is his life. Home doesn’t exist. He’s about to disappear again when he runs into Death Eater-turned-Healer Draco Malfoy. It’s supposed to be a one-night-stand. They’re not supposed to pine for each other. Harry’s not supposed to sleep with Draco a second time. Or a third. Or a fourth. But when a nasty curse sends Harry back into Draco’s arms, he might be forced to admit that home’s been waiting for him all along… Or: Harry wants to go home. Draco wants to be a home. It’s hard to say it out loud.

Orion in the Sky by space_wingding [30k]

Draco Malfoy owns a bookshop in the Lake District. He’s also cursed. Enter: Harry Potter.

Potential Gravity by @lol-zeitgeistic [32k]

Draco is not good at Cards Against Humanity, but Harry’s not good at being human, so it all works out. Except for the explosions. And Harry’s inability to live when Draco’s not around.

Renaissance by @dysonrules [33k]

Harry awakens after a long sleep to find things terribly changed. He’s not in an alternate universe… it just seems like it.

The Rules of War by calrissian18 [40k]

“After having his tentative advance rebuffed, Harry has been Imperius-ing Draco into having a relationship with him. He’s needed to make the curse stronger and stronger, the more he wants – desire, sex, love, marriage, baby. However, when Draco falls pregnant, the power of the curse starts diminishing, no matter what Harry tries. What happens when the curse finally fails?”

Somebody to Love by khasael [31k]

Draco’s life after the war is quite different than it used to be. When he finds himself cursed, with little hope for lifting the spell, he sets out to make the most of the time he has left. Getting to know his Aunt Andromeda and his young cousin Teddy feels like a good thing to do, even if it can’t help him in the long run…or can it?

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did!

[donotnomi]

SLOW HORSES S4 FINALE COMMENTARY WITH HUGO WEAVING

source: this interview (worth reading using your browser's translation tool)

I’ve already translated the most interesting and curious parts and made a snippet list here for you. Enjoy and beware of spoiler from season 4.

How he got involved with the series – I was familiar with the books but hadn’t read them yet. When I got the offer to join the cast, I was still torn between intending to watch the series and actually doing it. I had heard so many glowing things about it, and I thought, “I really need to watch this,” but I never got around to it.

Since I had to quickly decide whether or not to join the project, potentially for more than one season depending on the character’s development, I dived into the first book to get a sense of the story, then the fourth and the ones that followed to learn more about Frank and understand what would happen after his introduction.

The changes between Frank in the book and the series – In the series, he’s more of a classic villain, but with a certain messianic aura. During filming, I kept going back to the original text to give him as much humanity and depth as possible. He’s intelligent, has a certain charm, is always calm and in control, and he’s very skilled at what he does.

Somewhere I read this guide for aspiring mercenaries: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.” When he meets someone, his professional mind is already planning how to kill that person, if necessary. But I also sense a deep fatigue in him.

The pub scene with River – I love that scene. The whole season is built up to reach that moment, to that exchange of “Hello, Dad. Hello, son.” It was very exciting to film because Jack and I kept imagining how the audience would react to discovering the truth about River and witnessing this first-ever interaction between the two characters. I discussed the pub scene with Jack long before we filmed it, and we prepared for it for a long time.

As for Frank, I think he goes to that meeting driven by a mix of different desires. He really does want to meet his son and offer him a job, no matter how senseless or morally questionable that offer might be. At least by the standards of someone like River. But neither of them can deny the connection: River is Frank’s son, and Frank is River’s father. There’s a magnificent tension between them, culminating in Frank finding a way out through deceit. It leaves the impression that we might see him again.

River, Frank and the other 2 fathers - The grenade is not exactly the kind of gift a father gives to his son, no (laughs). I think with Frank, there’s this sense of training and testing River, giving him advice but also putting him in danger to see how he’ll handle himself. He’s a very dangerous father, and that’s what makes him so fascinating. In that sense, he’s really like Darth Vader: a mix of dark force and paternal will. He takes care of River but constantly puts him at risk.

Frank’s presence also brings out more of River’s darkness, because it connects to other difficult family figures that have shaped him: his mother, his grandfather who raised him. You mentioned earlier that Lamb is a kind of alternative father figure. I agree—he’s the father River has in his dysfunctional Slough House family. So, in terms of fathers, River has three: his grandfather who acts as his father, Lamb as a paternal figure, and Frank, his real father. Since the series revolves around a dysfunctional family, Frank’s arrival adds even more tension.

The atmosphere on set – The atmosphere on the Slow Horses set is very calm, even though everyone gives their absolute best. The people involved are incredibly skilled at their jobs and have a deep love for Herron’s book series. They’re the kind of professionals who watch the final result on TV and feel proud of it. It’s a lot of fun working with them, especially on a set that mixes drama, action, comedy… and a lot of pain.

The growing popularity of Slow Horses – A few days ago, when I was still in Sydney, I was stopped by some passersby who told me they are loving Slow Horses and enjoy my character. The series is gaining international popularity, even though critics have held it in high regard from the beginning. In this season, many people have started watching it.

[talonabraxas]

Solar Angel Contact with the Solar Angel

The Solar Angel channels life from the Monad to the lower self, responding to karmic necessities and orchestrating a sequence of incarnations through which the individual can gain evolutionary experience. The Solar Angel’s point of attachment to the human individual is the causal body. It links the mental permanent atom on the first subplane with the mental unit on the fourth. Between these subplanes lies the great gulf that has divided us, since our inception as human beings, and which eventually we seek to bridge by constructing the antahkarana.

The causal body is a sheath that contains the astral and physical permanent atoms and the mental unit. It is the lowest vehicle to survive from one incarnation to the next, and through the three permanent atoms (for convenience treating the mental unit as such) serves to preserve a distillation of the experiences from successive incarnations. Prior to physical birth, life flows down from the causal body to the lower mental, astral, and physical planes, energizing the permanent atoms and sweeping the devas of those planes into action to build the new incarnational form. 29 At the end of that incarnation, life is withdrawn from the lower vehicles, and the permanent atoms are enriched by what has been learned.

For millions of years, the lower self is unaware of the Solar Angel’s existence. For its part, the Angel looks down on its charge, like a hen brooding over its egg, waiting for the first stirring of awareness that can develop into more definite contact. In the Tibetan’s words, the Solar Angel “is in deep meditation for the greater part of the cycle of lives of any one individual, and that it is only when a fair measure of personality integration is set up that the soul’s attention is drawn away from its own interior considerations and egoic affairs to those of its shadow.”

Techniques for developing contact with the Solar Angel can be found in many esoteric systems, whether or nor the concept of the Solar Angel is properly understood. For example, Ron Scolastico’s popular book Doorway to the Soul provides an interesting sequence of meditations that could be used even by people with minimal esoteric training. 31 As the individual invokes his or her Solar Angel, the Angel responds, at first sporadically and then more continuously. Golden Dawn initiate Israel Regardie provides an eloquent description of the process:

The everlasting abode of the Higher Self is the Eden of Paradise, the supernal sanctuary which is ever guarded from chaos by the flaming sword of the Cherubim... From that aloof spiritual stronghold it gazes down on its vehicle, the lower man, evolved for the purposes of providing it with experience—involved in neither its struggles or tribulations, yet, from another point of view, suffering acutely thereby… (S)eldom does th(e) Genius leave its palace of the stars except when, voluntarily, the lower self opens itself to the higher by an act of sincerest aspiration or self-sacrifice, which alone makes possible the descent of the Light within our hearts and minds.

The Tibetan makes a similar point and goes on to emphasize the need for a reciprocal response in building the antahkarana. He tells us that, “as it lives its own life on its own level of awareness,” the Solar Angel “is not always constantly aware of its shadow, the personality, in the three worlds. When the antahkarana is being built, this awareness must be present alongside the intention of the personality.”

Some types of service can only be performed with the Solar Angel’s participation. For example, the Tibetan explains that the practice of white magic requires the Angel’s resources:

Only the solar Angel can do the work of the white magician, and he effects it through the control of the lunar angels and their complete subjugation. They are arrayed against him, until, through meditation, aspiration, and control, he bends them to his will and they become his servants… The worker in white magic utilises ever the energy of the Solar Angel to effect his ends. The dark brother works through the inherent force of the lunar lords, which are allied in nature to all that is objective.

Similarly, in that important application of magic, healing:

The healer who works on a higher level, and necessarily therefore with a higher type of patient; he uses the energy of his own overshadowing soul in conjunction with the energy of his individualised soul, and thereby radiates it forth into the soul of the patient, via both of the auras.

If white magic requires the Solar Angel’s assistance, magic ritual has also been explored as a means of invoking the Angel. The most famous ritual for that purpose was recorded by the medieval Kabbalist Abraham the Jew (1362-1460), but attributed to a sage, Abra-Melin, whom he claimed to have met in Egypt. 36 What is particularly significant about Abraham’s work is that, in a preamble to the ritual, he dismissed the then-customary use of elaborate magic paraphernalia to emphasize a life of prayer and concentration, akin to the spiritual practices of the mystics—or indeed to our own esoteric disciplines. The early 20th century occultist Aleister Crowley adapted Abra-Melin’s ritual to invoke what he termed “the knowledge and conversation” of the Angel.” It is not clear whether Crowley succeeded, but he affirmed that the central role of ritual is “the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of mysticism, Union with God.”

Another ritual for invoking the Solar Angel, used by members of the Golden Dawn, focuses on participants’ personal transformation. Interestingly, it refers to the “true Self,” a phrase often used by the Tibetan:

Come forth unto me, Thou that art my true Self: my Light, my Soul… Thou that art crowned with Glory… Thee I invoke. Come forth unto me, my Lord: to me, who am Thy vain reflection in the mighty sea of Matter… Without Thee I am nothing; in Thee am I All-Self existing in Thy Selfhood to eternity.

Yet another includes this affirmation of personal sacrifice and sacrifice and courage:

Let the influence of thy divine ones descend upon my head, and teach me the value of self-sacrifice so that I shrink not in the hour of trial, but that thus my name may be written on high and my genius stand in the presence of the Holy One. In that hour when the Son of Man is invoked before the Lord of Spirits and his Name before the Ancient of Days.

[vacantgodling]

@void-botanist

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE

so to provide some context and backstory: lord biand sunniva used to be the ruler of The Brass Autumn Court of Alizath--one of the 4 ruling lordoms in the country alongside The Titanium Summer, The Iron Spring, and the Steel (sometimes spelled Steele) Winter; which are all made up of prominent, war and politically savvy families, their nobles, and their vassels who live on their land. many ages ago, these 4 clans were constantly at war with one another, and eventually came to an uneasy peace via pressure of their vassels, who believed that they should not have so much power to turn their lives into turmoil whenever they saw fit. so they created like an assembly thing of some kind that would make decisions for the betterment of all the vassels in every court, and it was basically up to the lords and their nobles ot uphold those decrees. now, this obviously doesn't work that well at first. if you know anything about history and how parlimentary monarchies work, then think that but worse bc not just nobles, but there's basically 4 kings at any given point competing for total influence at all times. however, it takes these political squabbles out of the battlefield and bloodshed, and into the realm of political balls, alliances, and favors.... so at least there's more stability. to a certain extent.

lord sunniva always had grand aspirations, and this hubris would prove to be his undoing... though perhaps less so than his largest rival lord dominiq atherton of the iron spring. but we'll get there eventually cuz rn we're focused on jeanna, who is lord sunniva's younger sister.

after she and biand's parents died, biand took the mantle of lord of the brass autumn, and quickly made it his mission--even if not necessarily to overthrow the council (or whatever im calling it) entirely, that he wanted essentially absolute power over all the other lords because he believed that only through unity would alizath become truly stable. and why not all unify under the most consistent, wealthy, and powerful house, the brass autumn--which it was at the time. biand's parents and ancestors before him did well for themselves, and biand himself was a good ruler, despite his voracious pride.

jeanna herself always found her brother a bit intimidating however. he never had any interest in her, her interests, or her desires, and it lead her heart and mind to stray away from his ambitions, out into the world. she wasn't necessarily looking for love. she was looking for companionship, more than anything. she first initially found that as balls began to take root and the courts began to mingle together; meeting lady love of the steel winter and lady elzbia of the titanium summer. the three of them became a tightnit group of friends, but there was no fourth matriarchal presence that could complete their friendship--as there was no lady of the iron spring; there never was. and the lord of the iron spring; dominiq atherton... he was always a rugged, handsome, and mysterious man.

jeanna's affections first started off as insignificant as a crush. he was handsome, and she could acknowledge that. she, love, and elzbia all tended to have their gossips about the men of the court, so when she mentioned she found him attractive, she didn't think anything of it-elzbia agreed, and while love didn't share their taste she got the vibe. this culminated with her two friends gently encouraging her to speak with dominiq at the balls. jeanna knew her brother wouldn't approve of it because of his hatred of lord atherton, but lord atherton was charming, calm, and made her feel at ease, which was MUCH different than how she felt around her brother. out of her brother's eye she struck up a companionship with him, and this went on for some time before biand found out and berated her super harshly, forbidding her from stepping foot outside their castle walls for a month.

but dominiq appeared at her window with flowers one night. and that was probably when she was doomed.

she became hopelessly enamored with lord atherton; she couldn't help it. he was a safe space away from her brother and the mounting pressure he put on her to conform to his will. maybe she vented to lord atherton about how controlling and heartless he was towards her and how she felt conflicted because she loved him as a brother but many times it felt like he didn't see her as anything more than a pawn for his goals. lord atherton listened and she ate his attention up, none the wiser to his own plan.

it wasn't long before dominiq was able to seduce jeanna into his bed--on more than one occasion. he did everything right and jeanna kept this close to her chest that she'd slept with him, not even telling her closest friends. even though dominiq was isolating her from her brother, she was isolating herself from those who genuninely loved and cared about her and without their guidance she fell deeper and deeper into lord atherton's web. until... it finally happened.

it being that the leader of the council of alizath that was supposed to keep all the nobles and lords working to the people's wishes, was found dead. and lord biand, the most proud, outspoken and perhaps flashy with his displays of wealth and power, was determined to be the most likely culprit. biand wasn't having it, and set to work using their family's witch to try and gain more intel about who actually killed the minister and cleared his name, though his suspicions were always on lord atherton. and he had a right to be suspicious.

when he went to confront dominiq, ready to expose him before the trial... dominiq dropped a bomb. that he had impregnated his sister, jeanna. and it was true. jeanna while all this was going on had begun to experience all the woes of pregnancy and she knew that it would only be a matter of time before her brother found out and discarded her, but while she was having these thoughts, dominiq and biand were hashing it out. dominiq said that he would not only pin the blame on biand, but that he would expose jeanna and ruin their family forever, or, biand could take the high road and skip the trial, but also banish himself from alizath forever--never to return until dominiq himself kicked the bucket. biand had to admit he was out played. and in a rare show of care for his sister (or perhaps more in fear of his reputation), biand withdrew.

he didn't admit fault, but he didn't contest the banishment. jeanna had her baby, quietly, greye, which as promised, lord atherton took as his own. then the sunnivas were cast out of alizath altogether, and the brass autumn's future was left up in the air.

SO all of that rambling to say that jeanna was badly hurt by all of this. she lost her child, earned even further ire and distrust from her brother, and realized the man who she thought was bonding with her, was only interested in using her just as her brother did. but in a worse way. this is 30 ish years before the main story, and jeanna is in her 50s now, and time has both mellowed and hardened her. she no longer questions her brother's will--she just assumes that he's right, because he was right about lord atherton, she just didn't want to see it. so she's become subservient to him and his.... abusive tendencies. she also keeps all her thoughts and opinions to herself. she doesn't agree with how biand is going about getting his revenge, especially involving an innocent girl (kirsi) in it, but she doesn't question him anymore.

to kirsi, she is strict and distant, but can't deny she cares for her. she tries to do as biand wills and not look at her like the daughter she was forced to give up, but she can't help but feel that way, and is softer on kirsi especially once she and kirsi return to alizath alone and get some space away from biand's influence.

overall, i really love jeanna (and most of these characters); she didn't deserve what happened to her, but ik she feels like its too late for happiness for her. but kirsi views her as a mother and wishes she could help her be happy.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

‘Black Sails’ Star Luke Arnold Is Creating A Graphic Novel With A Strong Creative Compass

Though he’s had a long run as a working actor, Australian born Black Sails and INXS: Never Tear Us Apart star Luke Arnold says he’s always been a writer. He says that’s related to his favorite part of acting – figuring out the strategy for the performance more than the performance itself.

For Arnold, getting into the space to create is vital. Drama school was followed by the start of his on-screen career, but while he was still writing, he felt a truth that will resonate with many aspiring creators: “For so long you’re so desperate for a paycheck and for something to happen in your career that for so long as a young actor, it’s hard to really focus on something [else],” he says while recounting the process of trying to find time to write in between auditions and jobs.

Arnold is talking with us as he readies the launch of a Kickstarter campaign around a new, high concept graphic novel that he-co-wrote with Chris “Doc” Wyatt. The story plays with shifting realities, twisting truths, and anti-science ideas. It sound expansive and timely, deploying multiple heavy-hitter artists (including Bill Sienkiewicz, Glenn Fabry, Jason Howard, Vince Locke, Brendan McCarthy, Andrea Mutti, and M.K. Perker) in collaboration with The Lab Press. This follows his three novels with a fourth on the way.

Arnold’s writing work is the result of a careful balance that grants him the time to carve out dedicated space to write, doing it in a way that seems to not just impact the work but also reinvigorate him when a new acting role comes along. That balance has come from having worked steadily and from legit financial planning.

“I do put time aside and I know I’ve got to make the acting money last through that time. And make sure there’s enough, all the rent and bills and everything are covered while the money isn’t pouring in the same way it does when you’re on an acting job that gives you a check every week,” says Arnold.

Working in this fashion gives Arnold the ability to not be pushed into bad creative decisions by necessity, accountable to his audience more than to the business side of things. It’s a luxury, to be sure, but one that he is happy to lean into with focus and humbleness (believe me, Arnold gets how lucky he is to be able to put one career down for a moment to pick up another, mentioning it more than once).

“If you start spending so much that now you have to make all your decisions based on finances, you start making the wrong decisions, you start taking jobs you don’t want to take.” says Arnold.

The desire to chase a kind of purity with the creative process extends beyond planning and striving for dedicated time. It also factors into how he chose to pursue this specific process, turning to Kickstarter.

“It takes so many barriers away, because so much in publishing and getting books out can be about this whole network of agents and publishers to the booksellers, to the bookstores, to the people in the bookstores recommending it to readers. And that can be such a great pipeline of people, but it can also limit what people have access to,” Arnold says. “Kickstarter is a very level playing field and very creator driven. So it’s a perfect place for this whole journey to start.”

While Arnold also lauds Kickstarter’s creative community and other benefits, he acknowledges the advantage his name recognition brings, though we both agree that it may, at times, be overstated.

“I think that the’ve got to be careful how I say this. I’m sure when I get opportunities like this, some part of it is that I have have a profile from a TV show. But I think it often gets overestimated, this idea of how much of an audience will follow you between different fields and different mediums,” he says, before I co-sign the thought by reminding that there is a big difference between following someone and giving them a credit card number.

At the end of the day, while some may click because of Arnold’s run on Black Sails (the pirate epic is about to hit Netflix in full), the idea for Essentials has to win them over. It’s why we’re talking with him, to be honest. And so, to end off and share info on the Kickstarter, let’s have him make that sales pitch in his own words.

“Essentials follows Harris Pax, who was the one scientist who foresaw this inter-dimensional collision happening where our dimension collided with another. Now objective reality has become untethered. And people’s subjective realities are becoming real, the way they see the world, their fears, beliefs, ideas are manifesting around them. This was a kind-of COVID baby. This was an idea that we were forming in 2020. A lot of it is dealing with that idea of what the hell do you do when everyone is in their own little world. And we can no longer agree on some basic facts, science, the world we’re in, and how hard is it to do what Harris tries to do, which is to go into these subjective realities and try and convince the person inside that they need to come back to the real world.”

You can check out the Kickstarter for Essentials on April 17.

Source: Uproxx

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (October 4)

On October 4, Roman Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Italian deacon who brought renewal to the Church through his decision to follow Jesus' words as literally as possible.

In a January 2010 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI recalled this “giant of holiness as a great saint and a joyful man, who taught the Church that the secret of true happiness is to become saints, close to God.”

The future Saint Francis was born on an uncertain date in the early 1180s, one of the several children born to the wealthy merchant Pietro Bernardone and his wife Pica.

He originally received the name Giovanni (or John) but became known as Francesco (or Francis) by his father's choice.

Unlike many medieval saints, St. Francis was neither studious nor pious in his youth.

His father's wealth gave him access to a lively social life among the upper classes, where he was known for his flashy clothes and his readiness to burst into song.

Later a patron of peacemakers, he aspired to great military feats in his youth and fought in a war with a rival Italian city-state.

A period of imprisonment during that conflict turned his mind toward more serious thoughts, as did a recurring dream that suggested his true “army” was not of this world.

He returned to Assisi due to illness in 1205, and he began to consider a life of voluntary poverty.

Three major incidents confirmed Francis in this path.

In Assisi, he overcame his fear of disease to kiss the hand of a leper.

Afterward, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he deposited his money at Saint Peter's tomb and exchanged clothes with a beggar.

Soon after he returned home, Francis heard Christ tell him in a vision: “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.”

Francis began to use his father's wealth to restore churches.

This led to a public quarrel in which the cloth-merchant's son removed his clothing and declared that he had no father except God.

He regarded himself as the husband of “Lady Poverty” and resolved to serve Christ as “a herald of the Great King.”

During the year 1208, the “herald” received the inspiration that would give rise to the Franciscan movement.

In 1223, he arranged for the first live nativity scene as part of the annual Christmas celebration in Greccio.

At Mass one morning, he heard the Gospel reading in which Christ instructed the apostles to go forth without money, shoes, or extra clothing.

This way of life soon became a papally-approved rule, which would attract huge number of followers within Francis' own lifetime.

Through his imitation of Christ, Francis also shared in the Lord's sufferings.

He miraculously received Christ's wounds, the stigmata, in his own flesh during September of 1224.

His health collapsed over the next two years, a “living sacrifice” made during two decades of missionary preaching and penance.

Francis of Assisi died on 3 October 1226.

Pope Gregory IX, his friend and devotee, canonized him on 16 July 1228.

St. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in Roman Catholic history.

He founded the Franciscan orders, including the Poor Clares and the lay Third Order.

He and St. Catherine of Siena are the patron saints of Italy. He is also the patron saint of ecology and of animals.

Francis is associated with patronage of animals and the environment.

It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of the fourth of October, which became known as "World Animal Day."

[etruatcaelum]

On the Branwen Tribe.

In brief, the bandits shown in the Mistral arc represent only a fraction of the Branwen tribe; they're a war party.

The Branwens belong to a predominately-human ethnic minority, the Manogans, indigenous to the Kuchinashi region in southern Mistral. Driven out of their homeland by Mistrali conquest long ago, Manogans have eked out a living for centuries as nomads on the southern fringes of Mistral, where they're regarded as bloodthirsty, warlike thieves and widely reviled.

In reality, however, Manogans have always been shepherds—and capable warriors, a necessity in the grimm-infested hinterlands they claim as their own.

Still: life is hard, the Manogans rely on steel and dust to survive, and the enmity between them and their sedentary neighbors is ancient and deep. Though they trade when they can for what they need, raiding has long been the way of life for many Manogan tribes.

Qrow and Raven were the eldest children of Rook, chieftain of the Branwen tribe, and his wife Corinne. The twins were three when their mother died in childbirth; their younger sister, born sickly, did not live long enough to receive her name. Rook remarried seven years later, and his second wife bore him a fourth child, Vernal, when the twins were eleven.

He was not a kind man, and he held a particular grudge against Qrow, whose semblance he blamed for Corinne's death—an attitude shared by most of the tribe, for tragic accidents did seem to follow in the boy's wake.

Both twins learnt to fight from birth a matter of course, grimm being an inescapable threat; but only Raven aspired to become a warrior, while Qrow joined her in that pursuit because no one else wanted him, and he could at least try to turn misfortune against the tribe's enemies.

In this life, huntsmen were horrifying figures, monstrous men and women possessed of supernatural powers, each with the strength of ten men—a far greater danger to their people than the grimm, which even a child could hope to defeat. Going to Beacon did little to change Raven's view of huntsmen, or even her view of the world: she had, after all, been taught that the strong live and the weak die, and the true mark of the tribe's strength lay in being strong enough to defend its most vulnerable members… Ozpin, it seemed to her, believed in the same ethos. The only difference between him and Rook was that Ozpin saw the whole of human civilization as his "tribe."

So she agreed to work with Ozpin, accepted the magical gift he offered, tried to save the world; but as far as she cared, the warriors of the Branwen tribe were equally justified in fighting to protect their people from grimm and huntsmen alike. This became a frequent point of contention between her and the rest of the inner circle.

When she returned to the tribe, she challenged Rook for leadership of the Branwens and bested him in single combat. Her commitment to the tribe is sincere, and she is bound to many of them through Kindred Link. She appoints her stepmother, Mynah, to rule in her stead when she leaves them to join the fight in Vale.

[adaratrixie]

Poetry & Blood Chapter 1: The Initiate

By Trixie Adara 

Laura held the advertisement in her shaking hand. 

“You have to be kidding me.” 

This was the address the secretary had sent her to. It was a massive estate, at least four stories tall and almost as large as a city block. In the middle of downtown Memphis? That didn’t make any freaking sense. 

Laura checked the ad again:

WANTED: English major. Experience with editing and copy editing. Female. Experience with romantic fiction, reading or writing. Must be able to read poetry with emphasis, clarity, skill, and accuracy. 

She found it on her old college campus on a bulletin board. It was dark purple with a picture of “The Purpose and the Passion,” by Camille K, a successful romance writer. She wrote mostly fluff, stories of overly buff and wealthy men pursuing strong and independent women. It made money, but it wasn’t the Next Great American Novel. 

Laura had assumed she’d be working for Camille, though the ad wasn’t clear. What she hadn’t assumed was that Camille K lived in a giant estate in the middle of downtown. It looked like a library or a cathedral. It was oddly Victorian, standing out against the modern and concrete aesthetic around. Not many buildings from that time period were downtown, and even fewer had survived a giant fire from the early 1900’s. 

Laura shivered. The building wasn’t just impressive. Impressive was a word you used for skyscrapers and giant arches. This was intimidating. Camille K, her new boss, had somehow managed not only to live here, but to afford living here all while writing dressed-up smut. It was entirely possible Laura was way, way over her head. 

Laura approached the door and looked for a doorbell. It didn’t have one. All it had was a giant knocker attached to a lion’s face like a nose ring through the lion’s nostril. It was heavy, dark black iron. The circle itself must have weighed ten pounds. Laura pounded away with it and waited. 

Eventually, a tiny blonde woman, she looked to be no more than thirty, with a cute pixie haircut appeared. She wasn’t in a maid’s uniform, though Laura must admit she expected a maid from the 1800’s to appear. The woman was in a simple sleeveless white blouse and a black pencil skirt. There was nothing eye-catching or extraordinary about her, really. 

“Can I help you?” she asked. 

“Uh, hi. My name is Laura Delazier. I got hired for the copy editing job?” 

Laura had assumed it was a copy editing job. She’d be plundering Camille K’s predictable plots and painful dialogue for typos. But she needed a job. The world wasn’t desperate for English majors unless you wanted to be a teacher. Laura wanted to be a writer, but first she needed to find a story worth telling. She was still looking for it. 

Unfortunately, her landlord wouldn’t take that reason for rent. Neither would her grocery store, her student loans, her phone bill, her insurance, nor gas for her car. No one wanted aspirational stories. They wanted money. Camille K had enough money for a mansion, and apparently, enough money to help out lowly English majors only a few months out of school. 

“Copy editing job?” asked the woman. 

Laura held up the ad. The woman scrunched her nose to try and read the ad, then took it from Laura. As she read, her face relaxed. 

“Ooooo, the assistant job.” 

“Assistant?” 

“Oh, yes. Come right this way Miss Delazier.” The woman disappeared into the estate, and Laura followed. She turned around to make sure the door was closed behind them, then scampered after the short blonde.

As soon as she stepped inside, she wanted to pause and gawk. There was a grand staircase that wound all the way up to the fourth floor, and maybe even the roof. There were three different hallways to choose from. The building was rich with dark wood and pale marble that made Laura feel dirty, clumsy, and poor all at once. 

But Laura didn’t have time to investigate closely. The blonde was fast, and Laura had no idea where she was taking her. She lost track of all the turns they take. They seemed to go up a side flight of stairs, and then down another flight of stairs. One floor had a garden in the middle of it, and another floor had a grand dining room. 

“Am I getting the tour?” asked Laura. 

“Sort of,” said the blonde without turning around. “Miss K is in a meeting. It’s a moving meeting, and I’m to make sure they don’t see you or me. Hence, the roundabout course. 

“I’m not going to Miss K?” 

“You’ll meet with her shortly. For now, I’m taking you to her primary assistant.” 

“She has multiple assistants?” 

The blonde stopped abruptly, and Laura almost slammed into her. She turned and gave Laura a look of disappointment and amusement. “Miss K employs a research assistant, a personal assistant, a primary assistant, and now you, an editing assistant. Not to mention: me, two other housekeepers, a personal cook, several lawyers, an accountant, and a personal trainer. Her primary assistant oversees all of us.” 

“And she’s the one who  -” 

“Hired you. Will pay you. And will direct you. You’ll spend most of your time with her.” 

The blonde turned back around and led on. They went up to the fourth floor - Laura’s calves were killing her - and came to a glass door. Behind that glass door was a beautiful office that had giant windows overlooking the waterfront of the Mississippi River. 

Sitting at the desk, was an elegant Asian woman. She wore a flowing pantsuit that looked like it came off the runway in Paris. The legs flared a little below the knee, but were tight at the thigh. The neckline of the jacket was plunging, but the woman wore a simple white blouse underneath. She had long and straight black hair, going to her lower back. She looked to be only a little older than the blonde, in her mid or late thirties. She stood as she saw them round the corner and opened the door for them. 

“Hello,” she said. “You must be Miss Delazier.” 

“Please, call me Laura.” Laura extended her hand and shook Miss Lancaster’s. 

“I’m Lucy Lancaster, I’m Miss K’s primary assistant. We spoke on the phone.” 

“Yes,” said Laura. 

Everyone stood awkwardly outside Miss Lancaster’s office. Miss Lancaster and the blonde had some type of conversation with their eyes, and Laura tried to avoid eye-contact entirely. 

“Is Miss K still with the -” 

“Yes,” said the blonde quickly. 

“Good.” Miss Lancaster turned to Laura. “Come on in, Laura. Let me tell you more about the position.” Miss Lancaster turned to enter her office, but Laura turned to the blonde. 

“What was your name? I’m sorry, but I never got it.” 

The blonde blushed and smiled. “I’m Angelica.” 

“Thank you for showing me around, Angelica. I appreciate it.” Laura held out her hand to shake the blonde’s, but Angelic curtsied instead, and walked away. Laura turned and entered Miss Lancaster’s office. 

Miss Lancaster was in the wrong job. The woman belonged on Wall Street or in Washington. Her talent, intelligence, and composure were wasted working as the staff manager for a romance writer. Laura respected her immediately, but was too intimidated to like her. She wanted to like her. Laura wanted to like everyone. But Miss Lancaster made her feel stupid and foolish for being an English major. She disapproved of Laura’s tiny writing credentials. She kept saying “we can make that work,” and everytime she said it, Laura died a little inside. 

Laura’s job was to be feedback and copy editing for Miss K. Apparently, Miss K often gets stuck on story ideas. She needs help finding inspiration. She needs someone to bounce ideas off of. And yes, Laura will need to go over Miss K’s writing at the end of each day, line by line, to check for grammar, spelling, and inconsistencies in the text. 

“What about the poetry reading part?” asked Laura. 

“Miss K likes to have poetry read to her. It moves and inspires her.” 

“Sure,” shrugged Laura. Whatever Miss K wanted, Miss K was going to get. 

Miss Lancaster sighed and pushed back her chair. “Now comes the unpleasantness of this meeting.” She opened a drawer a pulled out a one-inch-thick stack of paper. She dropped it onto the table in front of Laura. 

“Unpleasantness?” squeaked Laura. 

“Unfortunately.” 

“What’s this?” asked Laura. 

“This is a Non-Disclosure Agreement, or NDA. It is a legal document binding you to privacy, secrecy, and confidentiality while under the employ of Miss Camille Kontalban.” 

“Kontalban?” 

“Doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it?” said Miss Lancaster with a smile. 

“Not quite.” 

“Hence, Miss K.” 

“Right.” 

Miss Lancaster flipped through the pages and explained them as best she could to Laura. Laura couldn’t tell people things that were happening in Miss K’s books. She couldn’t talk about Miss K’s process or methods. She couldn’t reveal Miss K’s creative or inspirational process. She couldn’t reveal Miss K’s lifestyle or homelife. In short, she couldn’t talk about Miss K in anyway to anybody outside Miss K’s employ unless she wanted an avalanche of legal troubles.

“Should I have a lawyer read over this?” asked Laura when Miss Lancaster was finished. 

“You can if you want to. It’s pretty straightforward, though.” 

“It’s a lot. And it’s … scary.” 

“We’re not trying to scare you. We’re trying to protect Miss K.” 

Laura sighed. “Where do I sign?” 

“That-a-girl.” Miss Lancaster flipped to several spots, and Laura signed at each of them. 

“One last thing,” said Miss Lancaster when they were finished. “And unfortunately, this was not in the add.” Laura went cold. “We insist that while you are in Miss K’s employ, since you will be working so intimately with her, that you should live in the manor.” 

Laura’s mouth dropped. “In the manor?” 

“Yes,” said Miss Lancaster. She chewed on her pen, nervously. “Is that alright?” 

“You mean, I have to move out of my crappy apartment to live in a mansion with a greenhouse, a ballroom, a grand staircase, and and and …” 

“A swimming pool?” suggest Miss Lancaster. 

“This place has a pool?!” squealed Laura. 

Miss Lancaster grinned and nodded. “And a gym. And a hot tub. And a spa.” 

“Holy shit,” whispered Laura. Then she gasped and covered her mouth. She blushed with embarrassment. 

Miss Lancaster laughed. “Holy shit, indeed.” She seemed to relax and sat back down at her desk across from Laura. “I take it you’re not upset by this?” 

“Am I allowed to leave when I want?” asked Laura. 

“Of course. It’s just easier for everyone if you’re nearby in case Miss K writes in a fevered passion at five in the morning.” 

Laura shrugged. “Fair enough.” It certainly beat paying rent. She’d also get to cancel her membership to the gym? What might have been the sketchiest ad for an English major in history, may have turned out to be her luckiest break. 

“I’ll have a full write up on the routines for the house: when meals are served, laundry, guests, etc.” 

“Great,” said Laura. 

Miss Lancaster stood and extended her hand. Laura stood and shook it. “Graumann will show you to your room.” Miss Lancaster pointed behind Laura. There, on the other side of the glass door, was a man in a white button-down shirt, a black tie, and black pants. 

“Um …” started Laura. 

“Yes?” 

“When will I meet Miss K?” 

“Ah, yes,” said Miss Lancaster. “Each night, Miss K has what she calls a Muse Session. You will meet her there tonight to start. It will be after dinner.” 

“Not until then?” 

“No. And let me make this clear,” Miss Lancaster’s smile faded, “you are not to harass or bother Miss K. You should not go near her office, her study, or her quarters. She will ask for you when she wants you. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Laura. 

“Good,” said Miss Lancaster. “Grauman?” she asked to the man behind Laura. He opened the door for Laura and gestured for her to exit. She followed him. 

“What kind of name is Grauman?” asked Laura as they climbed down the stairs to the second floor, the one floor Angelica had made her skip. 

“My name,” he said in a thick European accent. German maybe? 

“Right, but where is it from?” 

“My mother gave it to me.” 

Right, thought Laura. Angelica nice. Lancaster scary. Grauman might be crazy or stupid. Got it. 

Grauman was surprisingly young for a butler, or whatever the hell he was. He seemed to be in his late twenties, the closest to Laura’s age of anyone she’s seen so far. He had thick hair that was parted to one side and slicked with something. It was a dark brown to match his dark eyes. Laura didn’t ask him anymore questions. 

When they arrived at her room, Grauman held out his hand. Laura stared at it.

“Oh, um,” she reached into her pocket. “Am I supposed to give you a tip?” 

“No,” snorted Grauman. “Your key.” 

“My key?” asked Laura. 

“To go and get your things. Yes, your key.” 

“Oooo,” said Laura. “The key to my apartment. Right. Sure. Here.” She took the key off the keyring and handed it to him. In turn, he handed her a key. 

“This will open your room, your bathroom, and the front door of the house. After midnight, the house has an alarm. You do not get to know the code.” 

“Okay, but -” 

Grauman turned around and stomped off. 

“Guess I’ll figure that out later,” muttered Laura. She turned around to inspect her room. 

It was gorgeous. And spacious. Room isn’t the right word. It was a suite. Laura had a small kitchen, a seating area for guests, and large four-poster bed. She’d seen rooms like this in movies or on television, but she never thought she’d get to sleep in one, let alone live in one. 

She squealed when she found her bathroom. It was huge. It had two full length mirrors, a shower, and a bathtub large enough for her to lay down, sprawl out, and share. 

Not that she’d shared a bath with anyone ever, but she now she could if she wanted to. Well, she wanted to, but if someone else wanted to, now they could. 

After completely freaking out about how incredible her amenities were, Laura went to explore the house. No one had told her she couldn’t, but she felt nervous that she might accidentally bump into Miss K or go into some forbidden section of the house. 

Luckily, she wasn’t ten feet out of her room before Angelica found her. 

“Lost?’ chirped the blonde from behind her. 

Laura turned around and smiled. “Unfortunately.” 

“It takes time to get used to.” 

“I mostly don’t want to accidentally bump into Miss K. Miss Lancaster made it sound like she’d bite my head off.” 

Angelica giggled. “Oh, I certainly don’t think she’d do that. Miss Lancaster is overprotective of Miss K. She wants to make sure nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, interferes with Miss K’s creative process. None of us get paid if Miss K can’t write.” 

“Makes sense,” said Laura. 

“Anyways, I can explain the house to you like this: fourth quarter is entirely business related. There are offices, like Miss Lancasters’, meeting rooms, etc. Your office will be up there.” 

Laura nodded, but inwardly she jumped up and down, screamed, fist pumped, and danced. Her own office? She had her own office and her own apartment and a swimming pool and a gym and a personal chef and …. Her own office?! She needed to get into romance novels ASAP. Apparently the pay is to die for. 

“The third floor is for used for a variety of things. I showed you the gardens. That’s also where you can find the gym. There’s also the movie theater. It’s recreational, I guess.” 

A movie theater?! 

“The first floor is for entertainment. That is where the primary dining rooms, ballrooms, and guest rooms are. If we host as a party, which we don’t do too much anymore, it will stay on the first floor. The second floor is the residence. The east wing is for staff, like us, and the west wing is entirely for Miss K. Her office and suite all occupy that space. Once you come to the double burgundy doors, you’re entering into her space. Stay away from the doors, and Miss K will be left in peace. If she finds you in the garden, you’ll have nothing to fear from her.” 

Laura nodded. Double Burgundy Doors are the point of no return. Got it. 

“I’ll go through those doors tonight, though, right?” 

“Hmmm?” asked Angelica, turning around. “Oh, yes. For the Muse Session. Yes, those will happen in her suite tonight. Yes.” 

“Where are we heading now?” 

“I want to make sure you meet all the staff.” 

Angelica took Laura all around the house (there were so many stairs! Her thighs burned!). She met the personal chef, a man named Jacques. Angelica said he only spoke French. The other housekeeper was a curvy redhead named Nikki. She had an adorable Southern accent. Miss K’s personal assistant was a mousy girl with thick and large glasses named Erika. She wore a thick sweater and scarf even in the depth of a Memphis summer. Those were the only staff that lived in the house. Miss K kept the “non-essential” assistants worked “off site,” normally from their homes. 

Laura had dinner with Erika. Nikki waited on them. Erika said nothing, but Nikki talked her ear off. Apparently, she had only been working here a week or two. Miss K felt things were being missed and wanted an additional maid at all times to help out Angelica. 

Nikki was sweet. She reminded Laura of her roommate, Claire. Both girls were extremely extroverted and had no issues sharing any bit of personal information. Laura learned that Nikki didn’t have a boyfriend, but she went out several times a week to find “a nice gentleman to ride.” 

Laura blushed like she used to do with Claire. Where Laura grew up, people didn’t talk that way. They pretended they never had sex at all. Sex was what whores and prostitutes had. Respectable people made love, at best. 

But Claire helped Laura mellow out. Claire liked to tell Laura who she had recently hooked up with and gave her explicit details about it. Laura learned that Claire went to clubs to explore her kinks and fetishes. Laura followed Claire two or three times on these expeditions, out of curiosity. The clubs were strange and hot. People were pushy or needy. It was too intense for her. It was no different than going to a wild pride parade. Yes, people were celebrating their sexuality. No, Laura didn’t want to participate. Yes, she could be around them and not freak out. 

That was precisely what was on Laura’s mind as she pushed through the Double Burgundy Doors to Miss K’s side of the second floor. Laura noticed immediately that the air was staler here, stuffier, almost thicker. It felt like Angelica and Nikki had not dusted here in years. Which is strange considering the fact that if Laura was a housekeeper, she’d make sure the area around her boss’ room was the cleanest of all. 

Nevertheless, Laura wandered through the hallways, looking for Miss K’s suite. Luckily, Miss Lancaster found her and led her to the right door. Laura hesitated before entering. She’d barely heard of Camille Kontalban a day ago. She hadn’t read a single book by the woman, nor would she read her books if they were given to her. But now she’d seen the house and the staff. The woman must be made of money. And ambition. What kind of woman was she? 

Miss Lancaster pushed open the door and revealed an empty suite. “She’ll be in her bedroom,” said the tall asian woman as she stepped past Laura. 

“Her bedroom?” asked Laura. 

“Yes.” 

“What are we going to do in her bedroom?” Laura raised an eyebrow at Miss Lancaster. The woman smiled and waved off Laura. 

“I’ll admit, this will be the strange part. But she writes in a highly sexualized genre for women who want steamy sex scenes with gorgeous men.” 

Laura blushed and looked down at her shoes.

“But you won’t be doing anything sexual,” said Miss Lancaster, raising her voice as she caught how her words sounded. “I promise.” 

Laura looked up. “Oh,” she whispered. 

“I promise. We’d have mentioned that in the ad or in a contract or something. There may be sexual things going on around you, but you will not be asked to do anything you’re uncomfortable with and nothing sexual.” 

“What kind of sexual things?” asked Laura. Were they going to watch porn together? 

“That’s hard to explain,” said Miss Lancaster. “It will be easier to show you.” 

Miss Lancaster reached for Laura’s hand, but Laura pulled back. “Wait. Before we go in there, tell me what I’ll be doing. Exactly.” 

Miss Lancaster sighed and looked at her watch. “You will be asked to read a poem for Miss Lancaster while she is … serviced.” 

“Serviced?” asked Laura. 

“Yes.” 

“And by serviced you mean …” led Laura. 

“Yes,” nodded Miss Lancaster. “Exactly what you think I’m hinting at.” 

“She wants me to read poetry while this happens?” 

“Exactly.” 

“That’s why the ad wanted me to be able to read poetry well?” 

“Exactly,” sighed Miss Lancaster. She looked at her watch again. “Are you ready? We really can’t be late.” 

“Wait,” said Laura, lifting her hand to Miss Lancaster. “I’m trying to figure out how I feel about this.” 

Miss Lancaster stepped forward. Laura almost jumped back, but held her own. “Miss Delazier,” she said with iron in her voice. “You will be paid handsomely. You will edit her work, while having little editing experience yourself. You will copy edit her work while having literally no experience doing copy editing. You will give her feedback on a genre you know little of. You will have access to this home and all its amenities. And you get all this, despite your low qualifications, precisely because Miss K likes the way you read poetry. It is for that you were hired. If you won’t do this, we will be forced to dismiss you. Is that clear?” 

Laura thought about all the magical perks of this job. This is the catch. Of course, there’s a catch. It was too good to be true. In order to keep the job, she’d have to participate in Miss K’s bizarre inspirational sex acts. 

Well, not really participate. It was just reading poetry, right? She’d recorded poems and read them publicly hundreds of times. Sure, it was weird. But it was just reading. What bad could come from reading a poem?

Laura nodded. “That’s clear.” 

“You’ll do as your told?” snapped Miss Lancaster. 

“I’ll read the poem,” said Laura. “But that’s all I’ll do.” 

“Good.” Miss Lancaster gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” She smiled at Laura, and Laura smiled back, though she didn’t know why. But Miss Lancaster didn’t linger. She stepped ahead of Laura and opened the door to Miss K’s bedroom. 

Inside, candles were lit all around. There was no lamp of any kind. In fact, Laura didn’t think she saw a single electronic thing. No alarm clock. No television. No stereo. No phone charger. Nothing. There weren’t even outlets for electricity to get into the room. There were no windows, but there were two doors to the far corner. One was to a bathroom, where Laura could see shadows moving inside. The other was closed. 

In the room were Grauman and Jacques. They both had unbuttoned their shirts considerable and taken off their ties. Laura admired their physique. Before, they looked like simple servants or businessmen. Now, she could see that their muscles were taut. Their shirts were constricting. They were strong and young. Laura could imagine their abs beneath their shirts. She wondered if they ever modelled for the covers of Miss K’s books. She felt herself flush with desire or embarrassment, she wasn’t sure which. 

Neither Grauman or Jacques said anything to her. They barely noticed her. It gave Laura the chance to balance herself and adjust to her surroundings. The room was filled with the scent of candle smoke. Things felt surreal and thick. Laura wandered forward and caught herself on a stool near the door. On it, was a book. It was titled Poems by Marcilla. The book had a brown cover. It was old. The pages were thick and yellowing. Laura opened it and flipped through it. It looked as though the words were transcribed by hand in old ink. The script was flowing in beautiful calligraphy. How old was it? Laura felt she was holding a piece of history, but she’d never heard of Marcilla. 

Laura looked up when she heard ruffling in the bathroom. A woman Laura had never seen, in similar clothes to Nikki and Angelica, scampered out of the bathroom and past Laura, almost knocking her over. Laura looked behind her to watch the woman go, but there was a sound from the bathroom. Laura turned to see the light come off and a woman who could be none other than Miss K stepped out. 

Laura didn’t know what she imagined Miss K would look like. Perhaps she imagined some mousy bookworm that spent all day writing fantasies with men she would never have. Perhaps Miss K was an elderly woman: wiry, twiggy, and fragile. Silvered and ancient. But Laura never expected Miss K to look younger than her. It couldn’t be possible. Miss K had been publishing for ten years or so, but the woman that stepped out of the bathroom looked like she stepped off of a college campus. 

Miss K was pale. Paler than pale. Pale women were cream. Miss K was snow. Her skin almost glowed in the dark room. Her hair was dark and curly, falling over her shoulders in waves. She was neither tall nor short. She wore a thin gold robe parted down the middle. Laura’s eyes were drawn to Miss K’s plump breasts and her ghostly nipples beneath. Laura’s eyes went to the floor, following the length of Miss K’s body. Miss K’s bush was absent, and two smooth and bare lips teased and embarrassed Laura. 

But despite her impressive body, it was Miss K’s stride that struck Laura. She took small steps, carefully swinging each foot in front of the other before lifting a leg. Her hips swayed from the effort, but her feet moved in a perfect line. One foot swung out in front of another. There was a breath. Then the other foot swung out in front of the first. And decorating Miss K’s feet were a pair of bright blue heels. At the sound of their click on the wooden floor, Grauman and Jacques stood at attention for Miss K. Laura forgot about the missing maid, the ancient book, the hairless pussy, and everything else. 

Miss K commanded the room. 

“Laura,” she said with a smile. She reached out both hands for Laura to take, as though they were old friends about to embrace. Laura hesitated, but stepped forward and took both of Miss K’s hands in each of hers. 

“I’m so happy you could join us here,” said Miss K. Her voice was heavy and thick, as though it were coming from underground, or through a veil. But it was pleasant and inviting. Laura liked her instantly and smiled despite the situation. 

“I’m honored to be here, Miss K.” 

Miss K laughed and threw her arms wide, releasing Laura’s hands. Her robe billowed and Laura saw more of her naked body, her glowing skin, her rolling flesh. 

“Please,” she laughed. “You’ve seen me naked. The least you can do is call me Camille.” 

Laura smiled. “Of course, Camille. Thank you for inviting me into your … process.” Laura tried not to sound judgemental with the last word, but she knew Grauman and Jacques weren’t here for moral support. 

“It is a strange one,” admitted Camille with a shrug. “But it’s worked so far,” she spread her arms again and gestured to the entire estate, her entire writing career. “After this, my mind will be brimming with stories and words and sensations to put into my characters.” She stepped towards Laura and whispered, “and thus my readers.” She winked, and Laura found herself smiling again. 

“But, let’s get to it.” Camille stepped away and clapped her hands. “Laura, darling, all you have to do is sit on that stool and read those poems. The words and the boys will do the rest.” Camille gestured to the poems Laura had found already. “Start at the beginning. There is a bit of a narrative to it all.” 

Laura was about to ask about the author and the book, but Camille shrugged out of her robe. Grauman picked it up and carried it into the bathroom. Camille sat on the edge of the bed, turned, and faced Laura. Jacques went around the bed and sat next to Camille, facing away from Laura. He held a silver bowl, and in it was a flash of black and red. He extended his hand, and Laura saw a chocolate-covered strawberry. He lowered it, and Camille bit into it. Rivulets of red juice dribbled down her lips and her neck. Laura blushed and looked away. 

Grauman came back from the bathroom without the robe. He stood in front of the bed, between Laura and Camille, and sank to his knees. Laura finally figured out that he was going to eat out Camille while Jacques fed her strawberries. 

All while Laura read her poetry. 

Grauman lowered himself to Camille’s flawless pussy. He began with long licks. Camille shivered, but she didn’t pay him any more attention than that. Instead, she caught the dripping strawberry juice as it slipped between her breasts. She licked her fingers and motioned for Jacques to feed her another bite. 

She went back to college, back to Claire and the orgies and the kink clubs. She’d seen someone eaten out before. It was strange, asking her to participate with poetry, but no stranger than people dressing up like animals to have sex. 

All she had to do was focus on the poems, the words. 

She could do that. She could do words for days. 

She opened the book. There was no table of contents. No publishing or copyright information. The first page began with a poem, like someone’s personal journal. Laura read: 

The Yawn

Across the hall gather the women,

Each watching their husband, 

Each daring him to dance with

Each strategic tittle of breast. 

But Miss Laura Karnstein

Turns her head and yawns. 

Her unadorned neck grows tight, 

Then sags with parted lips, 

Her mouth wide with boredom. 

Laura looked up at Camille. Her mind ran over the name. Laura? The poem is about a Laura? Coincidence? It must be a coincidence. Laura is a popular enough name. But odder than that was the poem itself. This is what she wanted to read? And a poem about a yawn? Again, Laura wondered at the age of the text. Tittle? That’s an old word. This is what Miss K wanted to listen to while she was serviced by her two strapping employees? Laura watched Grauman as he went deeper into Camille’s pussy. His tongue gave long and deep strokes. Camille’s lips were bright red from strawberries. Her chin, neck, and the top of her breasts were also faintly pink. 

Laura shrugged and continued: 

But her porcelain skin catches me. 

The length of her thin neck, 

The pale skin masking 

So much red life, so much 

Thrumming potential, 

But she passes it on 

As yet another yawn. 

I look for Mr. Karnstein, 

But he is neither in Miss Karnstein’s eye

Nor among the men. 

He must be a yawn, 

Missing the twitch in her 

Pulsing throat, 

The brazen sign of desire 

For more than this,

Camille moaned. Laura looked up again. Camille’s eyes were open. She was staring at Laura. Jacques offered her another strawberry, but she shook her head. She ran her hand through Grauman’s hair. Camille kept her eyes locked on Laura and moaned again, tilting her head back, but never looking away. Laura blushed and kept reading: 

More than traditional dances. 

She pulls away, and I follow. 

I see the vein of her neck shiver, 

And I join it. The first twitch 

Of game before it runs; she rises 

To excuse herself, 

As though it possible, 

As though a resting note, 

A caesura, 

May be 

pardoned 

or ignored. 

Laura paused again. A line break like that wasn’t conventional for the time period. That’s a visual element of a poem, saved mostly for the early 1900s. She felt tempted to skim through the book, to find more evidence of who Marcilla was and when this poem was written. 

Camille moaned again. Laura felt heat rush to her thighs. She blushed at being turned on and the impossibility of the scenario. Heat spread through her cheeks and down her neck. 

Her neck. Laura’s neck. 

She saw it clearly, Laura Karnstein bored at a party. Laura Karnstein’s neck stretching and yawning. Her neck taught. Her neck bare. Her neck pulsing. Laura’s hand brushes her neck, self-consciously trying to hide it from Camille’s gaze. She dare not look up, dare not see Camille staring into her, moaning at her. She read the last couplet: 

But I rise and follow. 

She retreats, and I give chase. 

Camille let out a shrill moan. Laura looked up and sees Camille’s back arch, her head flung back, as she humped Grauman’s face. Jacques abandoned feeding her strawberries, and licked one of Camille’s nipples. Camille spasmed and let out another moan. 

Laura found herself hoping Camille would cum and be satiated. She didn’t want to endure another poem. She wanted to take the book away and pour through it. She wanted to find out how it was made and who wrote it. Who was Marcilla? Was this autobiographical? Was Laura Karnstein real? Her warm, throbbing neck? 

But Camille’s moans rolled on. She almost fucked Grauman’s face with her fevered thrusting. Jacques used a free hand to administer to Camille’s other breast, but she stopped him. She paused, hesitating. She went rigid, and then sighed. 

Laura couldn’t help but notice Camille’s thighs quiver as Grauman moved away. 

Both men went the bathroom. Laura heard the sink turn on, and then both men walked past her and left the room. Could Laura join them? Did she need permission to go? Would Camille dismiss her? Or would she read more? Would she give chase to Laura Karnstein as Marcilla did? 

Camille lay on the bed for a minute. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath. Another finger absentmindedly swirled over her clit. Laura’s thighs were warm from watching such a beautiful woman glow in the dark and openly touch herself without shame. What a power, to be so shameless. 

No. Shameless implies she ought to be ashamed. Camille was free of shame, and that stirred Laura again. 

Camille sat up and smiled at Laura. “Thank you, Laura. That was a beautiful reading.” 

“Really?” asked Laura, flustered from the compliment. 

“Yes.” Camille came to sit at the edge of the bed, but one hand never left her smooth mound, keeping soft circles rolling over Camille’s clit. “You have a beautiful voice. It fills the room, like your words roll over my body.” 

Laura blushed and hid her face. 

“But don’t pause next time. Read it all in one rush of emotion. Poetry is a storm, not a story. Okay?” 

Laura nodded, embarrassed at the gentle reprimand.

“May I go?” asked Laura. 

“Soon, darling.” Camille fell back into the bed and kept touching herself. Laura looked away, wanting to give Camille privacy, though Camille clearly didn’t need it. She flipped through the pages of the strange tome in her hand. She turned to the next poem, something about a peach. She tried to read, but the light was dimming in the room. Laura looked up to see the candles low, and Camille sitting up, her robe back on. Her lips were still bright red. They glowed on her pale skin in the fading light. 

Then everything went dark. 

** If you want to follow me, get more of my writing, or support me, check me out on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/trixieadara **

[howlingday]

My idea for a potential DEATH BATTLE! #5

2023, October 18, 19, 20, 27

Link to the fourth post: https://www.tumblr.com/donotmindme1/731349657571278848/my-idea-for-a-potential-death-battle-4-2023?source=share

Master list: https://www.tumblr.com/donotmindme1/731003687600881664/mind-what-you-do?source=share

Korra vs Delsin Rowe (Avatar vs inFamous)

They're the second legends in line!

Fighter 1: Korra, the continuing spirit of the Avatar cycle.

Fighter 2: Delsin Rowe, the accomplishing Akomish Second Son.

Wiz: Many of us aspire to live up and uphold the legacies of our predecessors.

*insert clips of Miles Morales & Peter Parker, Deku & All Might, Ruby Rose & Summer Rose, Batman & his Robins*

Boomstick: However, just because they're tough acts to follow up shouldn't discourage you from making your own path. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE: I am wasting my time writing this. I should be working on an important project. I wanted to write an idea that suits the chilly weather of autumn to serve as a nice gateway into other MUs. I played inFamous Second Son during the last three months of 2021 and I fell in love with the gameplay. Being able to scale the buildings of Seattle with Conduit powers, doing drug busts, and saving innocent people really gave me a sense of power. I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed when Season 8 announced Korra vs Storm due to how unbalanced the powers are between the two (however, I enjoyed the episode, mainly Storm doing the Moses and Wheather the Elements). So, now that Cole made his debut on the show, we can finally let Delsin have his time in the spotlight. Besides, I think that Korra vs Delsin is a more fitting MU, and you'll see why later on. Also, I will mainly be using True Hero Delsin (Good Karma) as it is the canon ending. I'll consider Infamous Delsin (Bad Karma) separately as it does affect the fight.

WHY:

Connections:

1. Both carry on the legacy of a famous protagonist who was able to control multiple forms of matter (Aang and Cole McGrath).

2. Both are capable of manipulating at least 4 different forms of matter (Korra has Earth, Fire, Air, and Water; Delsin has Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete) due to a physiological trait (Korra has the spirit of the Avatar, allowing her chi to pass through all of her body better than the rest and manipulate the elements; Delsin has a Conduit gene that lets him obtain the abilities of other Conduits upon extensive contact and draining Core Relays).

3. Both started their journeys being childish and/or immature but through their actions and strife, rose above and became better people and consequently, better idols and saviors.

Personal reasons: I wanted this to be Korra's MU during Season 8, but alas, it was not to be. More than anything, I want them to react to each other's powers. Delsin would ask Korra if her conduit gene is like his but better since she doesn't need to absorb matter to change her powers and Korea asks about how the heck is he manipulating light and becoming invisible. After all, conduit powers and bending are different in their manifestation, how they manipulate the environment, and more importantly, how they interact with each other.

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation: The animation will most likely be 2D like all Avatar fights, but the dream is to have it be a 3D battle with fluid movement and lots of different camera angles. The animation from Korra vs Storm is good for Korra, so reusing it would benefit her, but Delsin tends to fight from afar using his projectiles. While he does have dashes, his chain, Comet Drop, and some support abilities, Delsin is mainly a ranged fighter, and the 3D team works best with characters that have a wide assortment of abilities, especially ones used in midair or while running. However, to be able to get the most out of both worlds, the fight is best in 2D, and it's not like Cole was limited to ranged combat in his fight. It could really go either way and still be great regardless, and that's honestly the best part. I really want this fight to be a finale so it could be a long fight with lots of pretty stuff to gawk at, especially since Spiritbending, Neon, and Video allow for flashy maneuvers.

Possible setup:

In a metropolitan area, the Second Son is doing stencil art dedicated to his dear brother. "Man, I miss you, Reggie."

"Hey! You can't paint the walls of this city!" Delsin sighs. He misses his brother, but not his overly bureaucratic attitude. As he turns around and puts down the spray paint, he sees Korra who is looking a little stern. "Hey, there. Isn't art a form of self-expression? I'm building a masterpiece here, and it'll be my gift to the world."

"That's fair, but you're painting on public property. Unless you have a permit to do so, step away from graffiti." Korra was a little miffed. The graffiti looked cool, and it looked to be a dedication to a departed soul, but duty calls. Besides, it's just graffiti, not a murder or kidnapping. If he refuses, however, she can have her way.

"Who are you, the fun police? I'm not hurting anyone." It's like dear Reggie was still with him: being a pain and not letting him have his fun.

Korra smirked. "Fun? Oh, I'll show you fun." She got into a fighting stance. Hey, if you're having fun on the job, good for you, right? It's been a boring day of patrolling, so she's itching for entertainment.

"Oh."

FIGHT! :

1. As it turns out, she was nothing like Reggie. Korra firebends at Deals and catches him off guard. However, Delsin absorbs the smoke, unharmed. This causes Korra to look puzzled. "Wait, how did he- He barely moved." She then attempts to earthbend, summoning rising pillars, but Delsin smoke dashes away. "How did you do that?" Korra had never seen someone turn into smoke before. Maybe she should ask him how to do that.

2. "I'm a conduit. I mean, aren't you one?" Delsin starts to use Smoke Shot as he moves around, but they're easily dodged and dispersed with more earthbending. "I'm the Avatar, master of all the elements." "Is that right?" Delsin uses a smoke dash to sneak up on Korra from behind and tosses a Sulfur Bomb.

3. The Sulfur Bomb explodes, but Korra just rolls up to Delsin and engages him directly. Delsin tries to punch her and use his smoke-imbued chain, but all his attacks are evaded or blocked. Korra roughs up Delsin, punching him in the face, kneeing him in the stomach, etc. Delsin drops another Sulfur Bomb that leaves Korra coughing, and attempts to subdue her.

4. Korra bends away the ash and sulfur and launches Delsin into a building using waterbending. Delsin is able to recover and takes the high ground through a smoke vent. On the roof, he shoots a Cinder Missile. Korra is able to notice and puts out the Missile before it hits. "Wait, she didn't drain water." Come to think of it, she was able to use fire and then the cement beneath. Is her Conduit gene better than his? Korra starts to airbend projectiles and Delsins fires Smoke Shots (like Might Guy's Morning Peacock vs All Might's air punches). Korra then firebends her way to Delsin and delivers a powerful kick, sending him flying.

5. Delsin crashes onto another building, but drains the neon from the nearby signs. Noticing some injured civilians, Delsin starts to heal them, earning him Good Karma. As Korra rushes in, Delsin rushes her first due to his Neon Dash. "Wait, are you a Spiritbender!?" She's good up close, but it doesn't matter if she can't hit him. He strikes her with his chain, but Korra grabs it and uses a powerful earthbending punch on him. Delsin Neon Dashes away. "Oh, no you don't!" She knows that he has powerful ranged attacks, so she needs to be close to him. She gets on an air scooter and chases after him as she shoots air at him, chasing him to near a spirit portal.

6. Delsin is able to outrun Korra and fires a stasis bubble. Korra uses a firebending soccer kick on the bubble, punting it away. Delsin runs before he's hit with his own bubble (he doesn't seem to be affected by it in-game, however). He then rushes up to Korra who attempts to strike him, but he instead rushes past her and fires a phosphor beam, successfully hitting her and knocking her off balance, and successfully uses a stasis bubble. He attempts to obtain more powers, but he feels nothing. "What..? Then how..? You must not be a Prime Conduit." Korra gets back up in fiery fashion and Delsin employs hit-and-run tactics, firing phosphor and neon beam, but Korra is able to block with her bending. She then does Zuko's "breakdance" and catches Delsin off-guard.

7. Delsin quickly heals by absorbing video from a nearby TV. He then uses Video Torrent. Korra simply dodges and attempts to get in close, but Delsin strikes using his longsword, damaging Korra a fair amount. He then uses Bloodthirsty Blades. Korra dashes away, but is unable to avoid the blades, so she destroys one with a fireball, another by raising a stone wall, and the last one by creating an ice structure. Korra is then attacked by a... Is that a spirit!? Whatever it is, it has wings, metal plating, and is currently shooting a laser. Korra dodges and bends water and freezes the spirit, but it... Disappears into wisps of light... These are not like the spirits she knows, but she is then pushed and pinned to the ground by smaller swords. Delsin appears out of thin air. "How did you do that!?" "A friend lent me his powers, you could say." Ok, that is NOT how bending works. Using a combination of earth, wind, and fire, Korra frees herself by creating a crater underneath her, enters the Avatar State, and then bends the concrete around Delsin, encasing him in a shell, and bends him to her. He's a fire bender and a spirit bender, but he is not the Avatar.

8. Delsin absorbs the concrete before being fully encapsulated and does his boulder dash. He starts to engage Korra, but she is nimble enough to dodge. Korra then gets an idea and starts to make her way to the spirit portal. Delsin starts to climb on top of a building and does a Comet Drop, doing his pose on the Second Son cover art, and he starts to fire concrete shrapnel and a concrete barrage, but Korra instead redirects them. However, Korra gets a leg up and is able to use bending to get Delsin into the Spirit World and she enters.

9. In the Spirit World, Delsin is taken aback due to the colors and... weird animal things... He doesn't get to gawk for long as Korra makes her bombastic entrance. However, she firebends at Delsin who promptly absorbs the smoke, but he's starting to struggle and to get hurt so he smoke dashes away

10. Korra wins by overwhelming and overpowering Delsin. Since they are in the Spirit World, Korra becomes stronger, and in the Avatar State, she is in no need to wait for Delsin to exhaust himself. Even as he tries to distance himself and use his sulfur bombs and sulfur headshots, the Avatar is easily able to bend them away. She then is able to unleash a powerful bending attack that overwhelms Delsin and he blacks out, thinking of Reggie. After Korra finishes the job, she exits the Avatar State. "That was fun, but I'm sorry. I hope you find you and your departed family can reunite here". She then bows to her opponent. She's fiery and hotheaded, but she's still empathetic.

11. Delsin wins by being able to stall Korra and connect a successful attack. The fire is hurting him, but if he keeps his distance, all it serves is to fuel and heal him. He gets in a good sulfur headshot, briefly stunning Korra and leaving her coughing again. He then tosses another sulfur bomb, leaving Korra coughing more. He then does his Orbital Drop, but as he reaches the apex, Korra bends away the smoke and then launches herself, attempting one last attack. They meet halfway, and after a noticeable explosion, both are left on the ground, Delsin tired, and Korra dead. Korra, in her last moments, apologizes to her friends and family for being able to say goodbye. Delsin recollects himself, and upon returning to the Human World, finishes his graffiti of Reggie. However, we see him painting another mural, and he says "Say hi to my brother for me". He then turns to leave, and we see a mural of Korra, reading "Dedicated to the Avatar."

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Korra:

+ Physically stronger and more durable.

+ More experienced.

+ Has superior training.

+ Easier access to her elemental manipulation.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel Delsin, but Smoke and Concreted are easily negated.

- Energybending cannot negate the Conduit Gene.

- Energybending cannot manipulate Video or Neon.

- Is vulnerable to suffocation. When she was poisoned as she was. suffocating, the Avatar State only held off the poison and not the suffocation.

- Can be immobilized via the stasis.

Delsin Rowe:

+ Can heal from firebending and earthbending.

+ Has a healing factor.

+ Is likely faster with Neon.

+ Neon allows for fast attacks, and the stasis bubbles are immobilizing.

+ Infamous Delsin has easy access to instant kill options.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel him, but Smoke and Concrete attacks are negated.

- Untrained in physical combat.

- Physically far weaker and faster. Is also slower without Neon or Video.

- Is not immune to fire when using smoke or to earth when using concrete.

- Cannot access all his elements at will.

- Draining a power source leaves him vulnerable.

- There's no evidence to say that he can resist being immobilized by being surrounded/encased in concrete like he did to Augustine.

- Cannot obtain bending powers as they are spiritual and not genetic. Even then, he'd need Core Relays and blast shards to be able to get any use of his newfound abilities and to be able to absorb any other element.

Ending puns:

"The Avatar's victory was elemental."

"Delsin got a concrete victory."

MUSIC:

Name: "Four Infamous Elements"

The title makes reference to both combatants' abilities to manipulate four elements or states of matter as well as the inFamous game series' name. Brandon Yates used Second Legends for his commissioned track, so I cannot use it.

Art: The art would depict Delsin's chain forming a circle imbued with Raava. One half would have Korra's elements spiraling outwards. The other half would have Delsin's elements spiraling inward, forming a Yin Yang. The center of the circle would have a gene symbol like that of the Second Son power skill tree on the side of Korra's elements and the symbol of Raava on the side of Delsin's elements.

Sound: the start of the music is that of the Second Son main theme and it plays during the initial confrontation. The music is kicked up a notch when Korra first attacks, where the sound shifts to be more Avatar-centered, but with some hip-hop elements, and even has parts and bits that sound like Second Legends as a callback, much like Final Formersr referenced Deceptive Tyrants. As the battle gets closer to its climax, the sound is that of the main theme of Avatar, but with a mix of Asian instruments and rock instrumentation.

Holy cow, I love doing this one! Especially imagining the track and its art due to the possibilities of symbolism.

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

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

Ooh, another interesting match-up! Although, to be honest, I already have my doubts as to how this plays out. Great fight idea, though!

URBAN SPRAWL

Honestly, the Avatar fights have been kinda meh in Death Battle, usually because they've all been so one-sided (except for the first, Toph v Gaara).

I really like the premise of the fight and how it plays out. Unfortunately, I gotta give it to Korra here for one reason; resource. Korra can bend anything from anywhere with little limit on where. Delsin, however, has very specific sources from which he can draw his power, such as his concrete abilities can only be drawn from conduit enforcers gifted with the same powers.

Still, though, it would be a pretty neat fight.

[petri808]

Day 4 @flufftober - “Cinderella moment” Bakudeku

Through her own stymied tears, she pulls her son Izuku into her lap to explain how daddy is not coming home anymore. At first, the three-year-old doesn’t say a word and only looks at her with his head tilted in confusion. Again, she tries.

“Izuku, papa is going away and won’t be coming back.”

“Papa weave? Why?” His eyes are wide and curious.

Is there even a right way to tell a child their parent won’t be coming home? “He, um… has something he thinks is important to do.”

“Oh,” Izuku pats his mom’s face reassuringly. Perhaps he’s too young to fully grasp the gravity of her statements or due to the man barely being around anyway, Izuku’s connection to him is simply too weak. “It’s oh-kay, momma, we be okay, wite?”

Inko Midoriya is like most mothers who’ll do anything for their children. It isn’t their fault that she picked the wrong man to have a child with and they never asked to be born. So, it didn’t matter how hard she’d have to work— anything to help her child succeed. She pulls her son into a hug, “yes, we’ll definitely be okay! I promise.” After leaning back and clasping his cheeks in her hands, “And when one day you find someone you love, it won’t be like you’re papa and I— they’ll love you and cherish you just like I do.”

“Ewww, mama, das gwose!”

That makes Inko snort a laugh, oh the wonders of a child’s mind and heart. She pulls his face closer and gives him a peck on his forehead. “You’re right,” since it’s nothing he needs to think about now, “leave it to mama, it’ll be my wish for you.”

Life isn’t always fair, and if anyone knows how true the adage is, Izuku Midoriya does. Growing up, it was just him and his mother Inko once his father had left them high and dry. He was too young at the time to remember the man, but his absence is certainly felt every time he looks at his single mother. Inko worked 1 or 2 jobs to support them, which often left Izuku to his own devices. He cooked his own meals and did house chores on top of his school work, but he never felt any ill will over it because he knew she is doing her best. When he turns 15, Izuku even offers to get a job to contribute, but his mother adamantly refuses because she knows the path to success lay in education. So, to honor her wishes, he studies hard to achieve good grades and rarely dips below the top 5 percentile of his class. Then all that hard work pays off when he is accepted into Waseda University with a full scholarship in data engineering.

After college, Izuku found a job working in the IT department of a large manufacturing company. There are different engineers that focus on different areas of the business such as sales performance or raw materials to labor hours by department, designing programs and systems to collect the data and turn them into understandable reports. It’s where he’s remained for ten years. During that time, he works his way up, and now his job is to maintain the overall operating system of the entire company. It’s his job to make sure all the systems are working together or to step in and help as needed. In a way, he’s one step lower than a supervisor, but he has no aspirations to take that position either.

It’s not a bad job or place to work at all. Their office is located on the fourth floor, divided with cubicles, and separated by speciality. Because of his role, Izuku’s cubicle is next to the supervisors office along with two other data engineer assistants who he assigns jobs to work on. Their supervisor, Toshinori Yagi, is a good boss, fair and firm in his decisions, and a brilliant engineer in his own right. He is much older than Izuku and sometimes acts more like a father figure than a supervisor. They often work closely on bigger projects, take lunch breaks together, and Izuku fills in from time to time when Yagi cannot make it to a meeting.

The only annoyance comes from his two assistants, who if they weren’t so good at their programming skills he would’ve let go by now. Neito Monoma has a very snobbish attitude and feels he should have Izuku’s position, while Seiji Shishikura is similar, but has no aspirations for management. Except for the occasional whispering or snarky comments, they’ve never come out and said anything to him. However, according to other employees, they make fun of him and say mean things like he’s not as good as he thinks he is or his personality is so bland no wonder he’s still single. Never mind that it took him almost ten years of working double time to gain the respect he has. His performance speaks for itself.

One of the company’s suppliers is holding a party to celebrate their 75th Anniversary, and on the day of the event, Yagi calls Izuku into his office.

“Is something wrong?” Izuku asks as he walks in, “a system go down?”

“No,” Yagi gestures for Izuku to sit on the chair across from him. “I have a big favor to ask.”

“Sure, whatever you need.”

“You know about the party at Dynaspark Industries tonight that I’m to attend?”

“Yeah…” Red flags are going up in Izuku’s mind.

“I need you to go in my stead because I have another meeting to go to.”

Izuku pops up from the chair. “WHAT?”

“I know you really don’t like large gatherings, but every supervisor is required to attend and since I cannot, as my assistant, we need you to go.”

“B-But Toshinori-San,” he waves his hands up and down, gesturing to his clothing. “I don’t even own a suit!”

“Don’t worry, I figured as much. That’s why I’ve already contacted a tailor to get you fitted for one— don’t worry about cost, it’s covered. I’m letting you leave now to go to the shop and get ready. A company car will pick you up from the tailors and take you to the party.” Yagi gets out of his chair and stands next to Izuku, then hands him a gift to take and gestures to the door. “So, get going.”

Holding the gift with both hands in front of him, Izuku is as stiff as a board like he’s just seen a ghost. “I-I’ll do my best, Toshinori-San.”

Yagi puts his hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Just mingle a little, find their IT supervisor to chat with. A couple hours should be sufficient and the car will take you home from there.”

Two hours later finds Izuku standing on a stool in a tailors shop while the owner and assistants figure out a suit that will fit him in color and style. To the untrained eye, it’s just a regular looking business suit, but a puckered seam here or there or a tie tied incorrectly is extremely unsightly in the business world. The one they chose for him is a dark gray, almost black jacket and pants over a white button up, and finished with a deep reddish orange tie and matching handkerchief. It looks quite good on him, he must say, though he feels strange wearing it— Like is this what his father looks like in a suit? That’s not something he wants to envision.

After some finishing touches, the company car takes him to the main offices of Dynaspark Industries. A receptionist in the lobby directs him where to go, a large conference room on the sixteenth floor. When the doors of the elevator open, Izuku had’nt expected almost the whole floor to be an open space! It gave no time to prepare his nerves. There is one other couple in front of the reception table, so as he waits, Izuku tries to get a flow for the room. Where’s the food or drinks? Near the bank of windows that stretch the length of the right side of the room. Looks like there’s a bar too. Are there any tables or chairs set up? Yes, raised bar-types scattered around the room. Stage? No, but there’s a podium against the far back wall. Restroom signs? Yup, to the left. On the off-chance, does he recognize anyone? Nope. And what is the IT supervisors name again?

They’re given a clip-on name tag that provides the last name, company affiliation, and title. Well, that is certainly handy. So, Izuku hands the receptionist the gift while asking her to point out the IT supervisor for him, thanks her for the information, then heads in that direction. The man is standing about 10 feet from the bar holding a bottle of beer and talking to someone. The supervisor’s name is Eijiro Kirishima and he’s looks around the same age as Izuku. According to Yagi, he’s been the supervisor for only two years having replaced the previous one when that person retired. Eijiro must have seen him coming, because once he’s a few feet away, the man waves and calls out Midoriya-San!

“Hello, Kirishima-San,” Izuku bows and hands the man his business card. “Thank you for having me. I’m sorry that Toshinori-San couldn’t come instead.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve wanted to meet you anyways.” After giving Izuku his business card, Eijiro turns to the other person he’s talking to and gestures at them. “Midoriya-San, this is Iida-San, he’s from the accounting department.”

“Hello, Iida-San, it’s nice to meet you.” Izuku bows and hands the man his business card who reciprocates with his own. The man is a foot taller and wears glasses. He notes Iida’s first name is Tenya.

“Nice to meet you as well,” Tenya bows, then readjusts his glasses. “Did Toshinori-San retire? Are you the new supervisor?”

“No, no,” Izuku waves his hands as if to erase such a statement from the air. “He has another meeting to attend, so he asked me to come instead.”

Eijiro bumps his shoulder against Izuku’s in a teasingly tone. “I hear Midoriya-San is the top IT person next to Toshinori. Nobody can program better than he can!”

“Eh!” Izuku’s cheeks flush redder than a ripe strawberry. “I-I wouldn’t say that!”

“Oh, don’t be modest,” Eijiro continues to tease, “maybe I should steal you from him,” he laughs.

“You shouldn’t tease so much,” Tenya scolds. “You’re making him embarrassed.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Eijiro apologizes in humorous tone. “I tend to go overboard. Anyway,” he holds up an empty bottle, “I need a refill— Midoriya, drink?” He motions with his head towards the bar.

The two men grab drinks and settle on some chairs near a few other employees. The conversations are going well as they discuss some of the types of programs they’re working on recently, or about a new virus that’s going around, what do they like to do on their days off, food or movie genres, etc. A couple of hours goes by and the beginning jitters Izuku felt have melted away thanks to the courage juice, rather he’s feeling pretty good now. Eijiro is a great host too, introducing Izuku to everyone they encounter. He’s gathered quite a lot of business cards from this party so far. Yagi will be surprised.

While Izuku is standing around just listening to the conversation going on between Eijiro and two other employees named Shouto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu from the sales department, he’s oblivious to how close they are to another group. The conversation is something about another good restaurant that Shouto found recently to take clients to and what the food is like. Everything Shouto describes sounds delicious and Izuku makes a mental note to look up the restaurant later. Suddenly, someone bumps into Izuku’s back, not very hard, but enough to tense the front of his feet to tense up for support. He turns around at the same as the other person.

“Sorry for that,” the yellow-haired man apologizes, but then his expression abruptly changes from normal to surprised to happy almost instantly.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Izuku smiles wide. “I was too close as well.”

The man smiles with a light chuckle, “You’d say something like that.”

Confused, Izuku immediately moves to ask the man what he meant, but in the same moment, another man walks up and tells the yellow-haired man that he’s needed up front.

The man nods in acknowledgement, then quickly finishes addressing Izuku before leaving with the messenger. “Don’t leave, okay?”

Izuku is even more confused now, but there’s nothing he can do about it. “Okay…” He’s not sure what the man meant by don’t leave. Leave where? This spot or the party?

“And that is our big boss,” Eijiro can now cut in and introduce the man. “Bakugou-San is the son of the President and the current Vice President.”

“Wow, so young to be a vice president,” Izuku is captivated, “must be nice.”

Eijiro laughs, “Not having to worry about anything, I’d say so, but he’s not the type to flaunt his money. In fact I get the feeling it annoys him,” he shrugs. At least, that’s the impression Katsuki Bakugou gives off when women try to gain his attention. “Nothing we’ll ever understand.”

Izuku chuckles, “so, true.”

At about 9 pm, the president of the company gives a thank you speech for everyone who attended to celebrate their companies 75th Anniversary. This company was started by her father and in the near future her son will become the third generation owner. Izuku hadn’t known the president is a woman which is rare, but he can tell from all the employees around the room she is highly respected. It makes him think of his mom… women are so much stronger than society credits them for. At the end of the speech, they are asked to raise their glasses in a celebratory kanpai (toast) and wished safe travels when they return home.

With another hour left of the party, Izuku decides it’s time he should leave. He does work in the morning after all and it’s already 10pm. Having forgotten Katsuki’s request, Izuku goes around and says his goodbye’s to the new acquaintances he’s made, then heads for the restroom. The car ride will be at least 20 minutes and with the amount of alcohol in his system, well… let’s just say its a precaution.

Izuku pushes the restroom door open without thinking much of it when— a BANG! Followed immediately by cursing. Oh, no he hit someone! He quickly goes inside and sees a man hunching over the sink holding his nose. “I’m so, so sorry!” He rushes over to see the damage. “Oh, no you’re bleeding?!” Izuku pulls the handkerchief from his breast pocket. “Here,” he hands it to the man yet also guides it to his nose and presses it to the nostrils as he tips his head back. “Should I call 911?”

“No.” The man nasally mumbles. “Don’t think its broken.”

“B-Broken??” Izuku feels like he’s gonna faint. This evening has gone so well, and to end like this? Why him? “W-What should I do?”

“Just keep holdin’ it there.”

“O-Okay.” Izuku does as hes told, but continues to chatter nervously, apologizing over and over. Telling the man how he’s guest from a manufacturing company who is filling in last minute for someone else and how he hadn’t planned on staying this late, but he is having so much fun, but he thinks he drank too much, that’s why he wasn’t paying attention and ended up hitting him with the door and how he’ll make this up to him somehow, eventually rambling about his life and how it was tough growing up because they didn’t have much, but that his life turned out okay and hes happy for the most part…

After several minutes, the man finally speaks up. “Still rambling huh, but it’s amusing.”

The comment causes Izuku to blush. He doesn’t know how to respond, so he changes the topic. “I think it’s stopped bleeding.” he points out as he moves the handkerchief out of the way. “Looks like it’s stopped for now.”

The man too looks at the handkerchief and sees the drying blood. “Yeah, I’ll probably go to the doctor in the morning.”

When the man turns to look at Izuku, all the blood rushes from his cheeks. With the alcohol wearing off, it finally clicks— It’s the VP of the company! The president’s son that’ll take over one day. Of all the people he could’ve hit. “Well, then…” Izuku back peddles for the door as he continues to apologize. “Since it’s stopped, I should get going ‘cause the drivers waiting for me.”

“Wait!”

Katsuki gestures for him to stop, but Izuku keeps going. He puts his hands together in a prayer pose. “Again, I am so so sorry!” Then leaves the restroom.

The second hes out the door Izuku beelines it for the elevator and thankfully it’s already waiting for more passengers. When he reaches the car, he realizes he forgot the handkerchief, but oh well, they can take it out of his pay cause hes not going back there. What a mess. By the time Izuku reaches his apartment his nerves are so wracked, with a quick shower he passes out with a prayer on his mind. There’s no way he’ll get out of this without at least some kind of punishment like a demotion or worst case, being fired. It’s the vice president, after all.

When Izuku wakes up the next morning he contemplates calling in sick. Is the fact he has no voice messages on his cell phone yet a good sign? Ugh, he hangs his head. No, he needs to go to work if at all to bring the suit back. Plus, he’s not someone who’d run from consequences if it’s his fault. So, he puts the suit into the garment bag it came with along with the shoes, grabs his back pack and heads to the train station.

Izuku takes a deep breath as he walks into their office and heads straight to his bosses office where he can see Yagi already in. It’s gonna be okay, he tells himself like a mantra. Whatever happens, he’ll deal with it. He knocks and walks in. “Good morning Toshinori-San.”

“Ah! Midoriya-San! Sit, sit," he gestures at the chair. "How was the party? Did you have fun?"

"Oh, yes, Kirishima-San was very nice and introduced me to a lot of people so I was able to make many new connections."

"That sounds wonderful! I figured it'd be okay since you two are closer in age." Yagi then gestures at the garment bag. "You can take a long lunch today and return the suit please."

"Sure! I can do that."

"Good, well we'll touch base again later about the sale project programming, but I need to get to a meeting soon."

Izuku stands up and bows. "Thank you, Toshinori-San."

At his cubicle, Izuku hangs the garment bag on the wall of the cubicle and flops into his seat. That went well. No one from Dynaspark has contacted Yagi or the company because Yagi would have also heard about it. Why not? It seems quite odd, but Izuku takes it as a tentative sign he's fine. He did apologize profusely and attended to the mans nose, so perhaps the VP holds no grudges over an accident. And if so, it makes Izuku respect him and his company even more. Still, he should send a formal apology gift, so after work that'll be the first thing he takes care of.

The first four hours goes by very quickly because shortly after starting, Izuku is called to help someone in accounting whose computer is freezing. At first they can't figure out why, but eventually they discover a virus has tagged onto a received email and started trying to shut the computer down. That takes him three hours because once he stopped the virus he still needed to go through each system to make sure everything is okay, as well as fix anything that was altered. Things have been going so well, he forgets all about the restroom incident and just does his job like normal. Finally, 11:30 am rolls around and he's free. So he grabs the garment bag and heads out after notifying the two assistants he'll be back late because of the extra stop.

Around 12:30 pm, there's a knock at the IT office door. Because of the potential trade secrets, only authorized individuals have key codes to access the door. An employee closest to the door answers and finds Katsuki wearing an expensive looking outfit who asks to see the supervisor. With Yagi and Izuku out of the office and assuming based on appearance this might be important, the woman takes Katsuki to one of Izuku's assistants.

When Katsuki walks up to the cubicle, Monoma stops what he's doing to stand and address him. "How may I help you?"

"My name is Bakugou from Dynaspark industries and I'm looking for Midoriya."

Monoma gives Shishikura a mischievous look before he answers. "Oh, I'm very sorry you came all this way, but he was fired this morning."

"Fired?" Katsuki questions, taken aback. "What for?"

"I’m sorry I don't know sir," Monoma shrugs, "but they didn't give us the details."

"I hope it wasn't—" Katsuki mumbles then stops. "Thank you for the information. I'll let myself out."

Stunned and troubled, Katsuki starts to leave and even contemplates going straight to the President to ask why they would fire such a valuable employee. But by the time he reaches the lobby on the first floor, he realizes it's not his business to question someone else's decisions. He’d waited too long before, and now he’s done it again. After walking about ten feet out the front doors onto the plaza fronting the building, Katsuki stops walking and pulls the handkerchief out of his pocket. He had so hoped to find it's owner. With a solemn sigh, he starts walking again, but as he looks up, he sees Izuku coming in his direction.

Katsuki perks up instantly and starts to wave and call for the man. "Midoriya!"

When he's within five feet, Izuku stops, completely surprised. Is he here to give him a bill? But he’s smiling... "B-Bakugou-San?? What are you doing here?"

"Your handkerchief," Katsuki holds it up. "You don't remember me, but I remember you from Waseda University." He smiles and his eyes drift up in reminiscence. "The sweet freckle-faced guy who was so focused in class. Quiet but friendly and cute. Sometimes I would stare at you the whole class and not pay attention." Chuckling, he quickly covers the distance to the stunned Izuku and takes his hand. "I was too afraid to say anything back then, but I've always loved the owner of this handkerchief, you, Midoriya, so how lucky am I that ten years later we meet again."

Izuku's eyes widen when a long held memory returns. His knees buckle and collapse him to the ground. "Y-You… H-How me? Cute? Impossible," he shakes his head. "I do remember seeing you now and also remember thinking how guys like you would never give me a second look, so I never gave it another thought. "I'm just a computer nerd and you… you're the vice president of a major company!"

Katsuki kneels and takes both of the trembling man's hands. "Yes, you and it is possible.” He lifts Izuku’s chin. “I despise people who only go for looks and everyone always just wants to date me because of my family. Which is why someone like you would make me happier. We were just simple college students when I fell in love and seeing how you haven't changed, it brought all those feelings rushing back last night." He places a hand on Izuku's cheek forcing him to look at him and affixes his amorous gaze. "Come with me, since they fired you, come be with me and I'll take care of you."

That gets Izuku’s attention. "Wait, what, fired? I was fired??"

"That's what those two guys in the IT department said.” Katsuki explains. “That you were fired this morning and since you weren't there it appeared true."

Izuku shakes his head. "I was returning the suit… Those guys… I'm so sorry they lied to you, they're jealous and don't like me."

"It doesn't matter to me," Katsuki thumbs Izuku's cheek. "Now that I've found you, I'm not letting you go. So, please say yes."

"But I can't just leave Toshinori-San…"

Katsuki shrugs, "I already got his blessing this morning."

"He didn't tell me anything!" Izuku is stunned.

"That's because I asked him not to, that I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh, wow…" Izuku's brain is short circuiting like a broken program.To think this cute guy from college wants him, loves him enough to track him down. There’s no way he’d imagine anything like this. Why not take the risk? His cheeks heat up a little at the idea of love and happiness, and the acceptance of his quirky personality and freckles. "I-I… Is this some kind of fairytale? Things like this never happen."

"Believe it," Katsuki shocks him with a kiss on the lips. "So say yes, so our fairytale’s ending is a happily ever after." He stays close with their foreheads touching, speaking softly. “Please say yes Izuku.”

At the intimacy of hearing his first name, moisture pools in Izuku’s eyes as he kisses Katsuki back and answers, “yes!”

Some wishes do come true…

[cheswirls]

sa pkmn au

takes place in olden almia (oshima-kuni) during hisui's time but also right around the time period hisui would be rebranded to sinnoh

before rangers are established in the region - runs until the ranger union is formed

sabo lives in a settlement in hia valley, riolu partner pkmn, descendant of the third prince from the old legend about almia castle; he carries around a shard of the blue gem and is known as a mediator able to quell the disputes of both people and pkmn

ace lives in the chroma highlands, luxio partner pkmn, distantly related to the first prince in an old almia folk legend; he's the de facto leader of the people settled in the highlands and knows the terrain like the back of his hand; ace keeps his territory under wraps and solves all his problems with brute force

the two groups in northern almia are separated by three mountain ranges that keep them out of contact; each range hosts a hidden pathway traversing the length that was traveled by a prince of almia when they were all sent away from the castle; only the youngest, who returned to the castle, knew of another path back - a mountain range that curled around the east side of the region, snaking behind the chroma highlands to lead to the top of the snow basin where hia valley sits

the region is separated from the rest of hisui (ezo) by a wide bay to the northeast (unsailable due to mesprit's influence) and some sort of difficult terrain due north (mt. kariba?)

hia valley ref is assabu, chroma highlands is futamata-dake

an invasion of the valley by an enemy force has sabo making an impossible choice, escaping out one of the mountain passages to go and get help; he exits close into the start of the highlands and catches unwanted attention, and then is taken to camp

sabo leaves knowing the castle will be safe bc of the guardian pkmn protecting the treasures it contains

sabo and ace butt heads with their conflicting ideals yet end up working together surprisingly well; not seeing the hope of defeating sabo's foe with ace's people, the two set off with a small team to the settlement of puel in central almia, hoping to gather allies there

along the way, they travel to boyle and venture deep into the volcanic cavern in order to solve some conflict on the island; they do the same in the forest south of puel, and through these actions, begin to make names for themselves among the people of almia

the two end up shipwrecking north of the haruba desert and separated from their crew, and then have to survive on their own while hiking the cliffs back to a port

sabo finds purpose in the good he and ace do and aspires to push it further, seeing a future where almia has a task force of sorts dedicated to bringing peace to the region when conflict should arise; ace doesn't get it, but his mind is one-track focused on retaking hia valley from the invaders

when the time comes, sabo leads ace and co around the hidden fourth path from chroma to the basin

smth abt ace's people hiding out in the chroma ruins (but before they become the ruins)

altru marks the halfway point between sabo's and ace's homes as a symbol to their unity and shared goals for the region; it's not altru park like in present, but it's something like a monument

the ranger union construction begins on top of a lookout point that later gets re-worked to be an observatory, a surveillance area being established in order to grant easy access to anywhere in the region; the construction is the shared project of ace and sabo, and after many trials and tribulations, sabo surprises ace by his plan to rethink and they end up making the roof the great tree they build the structure around

at some point near the end, sabo and ace end up in charge of a manaphy egg; when the egg hatches, the manaphy imprints on them both, driving the pair reluctantly closer as manaphy refuses to part with either of them for long; they end up staying at the ranger union more and more as a way to make sure everything goes smoothly and stay close enough that there are no issues with manaphy

epilogue where the two retire to modern-day veintown, others also settling there over time and forming a small village; the founding of the town becomes another shared legacy of theirs, along with establishing the first remote "ranger base" as they discover the response time to southern almia is lacking compared to the rest of the region; having an independent team that can answer to the union while also responding to incidents in their surrounding becomes the basis for area rangers, and it's a practice that spreads across almia long after the two are dead (change bases to depots maybe so veintown is the only base but the idea of having places solely for rangers throughout almia is what sabo and ace inspire)

creative means of solving conflicts without the aid of capture stylers: sabo is observant and knowledgeable on the wild pokemon in his area, and these traits carry with him so when he runs into new pkmn, it doesn't take him long to discover what would make them tick and what would get them to behave - also what the problem could be, if the issue is a human error, so being a "human pokedex" is his main mediator/diplomat skill; ace knows better how to match a pkmn's emotion and tends to quell a pkmn's anger through brute force - he corners them in place and demands they calm down, which goes hand-in-hand with sabo's tactics, only their order switching depending on the situation; information networks are everything in this time period so the early establishment of "operators" to gather any know-how that could come in handy ends up being extremely clutch; handy items assist in diffusing odd situations (berries!! the various shards of the tears of princes, kinda weird to have as an item but ahem 'various pokemon befriended to perform specific tasks benefiting of each unique situation' aka a water type being able to douse a fire, partner pkmn assistance to start if all else should fail)

issues that arise include: lost children and/or pkmn, poachers, rampaging pkmn, unintentional destruction of habitat and/or property, pkmn kidnapping people/children, people being unable to travel past a certain point because of terrain and/or pkmn, pollution issues, the long river running thru almia being blocked somewhere upstream and causing drought further down, boyle volcano erupting and causing ash to lay thick on surrounding areas, territorial squabbles over the great tree that will later become the foundation for the ranger union - the symbol of peace and prosperity between pkmn and people, rockslide, forest fire, flooding (bad storm, puel reconstruction), the siege of almia castle (and subsequent reclaiming in a duo suicide infiltration mission by ace and sabo, possibly with help from the guardian lucario), either an avalanche in hia valley or collapse or smth in chroma highlands (underground that becomes "ruins" possibly) > each of these leads to the "collapsed" structure both areas have in present almia

maybe possibly?? ace and sabo touring the western half of recently-established sinnoh territory and promoting the idea of pokemon rangers in the foreign land (eterna, west of canalave, snowpoint)

sabo and ace basically use their interpersonal relationship skills to become the first "rangers" of almia, but this ends up becoming the foundation of standard ranger operating procedures even down the line when capture stylers get invented and the act of befriending pkmn becomes a task anyone can do with enough training; they teach what they know to their various companions throughout their journey who each form their own quirks to establish good relations with wild pkmn, so that by the end when the ranger union is operative, there's a small batch of "pokemon rangers" ready to serve almia capably in various ways that work for each of them individually (assisted in their tasks also by a smaller group of aides that will later be known as "operators")

if going with the western sinnoh roadtrip, manaphy gets released to migrate home along the way :( big sad they both cry over it bc that's their child

[donotmindme1]

My idea for a potential DEATH BATTLE! #5

2023, October 18, 19, 20, 27

FOURTH POST

MASTER LIST

Korra vs Delsin Rowe (Avatar vs inFamous)

They're the second legends in line!

Fighter 1: Korra, the continuing spirit of the Avatar cycle.

Fighter 2: Delsin Rowe, the accomplishing Akomish Second Son.

Wiz: Many of us aspire to live up and uphold the legacies of our predecessors.

*insert clips of Miles Morales & Peter Parker, Deku & All Might, Ruby Rose & Summer Rose, Batman & his Robins*

Boomstick: However, just because they're tough acts to follow up shouldn't discourage you from making your own path. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE: I am wasting my time writing this. I should be working on an important project. I wanted to write an idea that suits the chilly weather of autumn to serve as a nice gateway into other MUs. I played inFamous Second Son during the last three months of 2021 and I fell in love with the gameplay. Being able to scale the buildings of Seattle with Conduit powers, doing drug busts, and saving innocent people really gave me a sense of power. I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed when Season 8 announced Korra vs Storm due to how unbalanced the powers are between the two (however, I enjoyed the episode, mainly Storm doing the Moses and Wheather the Elements). So, now that Cole made his debut on the show, we can finally let Delsin have his time in the spotlight. Besides, I think that Korra vs Delsin is a more fitting MU, and you'll see why later on. Also, I will mainly be using True Hero Delsin (Good Karma) as it is the canon ending. I'll consider Infamous Delsin (Bad Karma) separately as it does affect the fight.

WHY:

Connections:

1. Both carry on the legacy of a famous protagonist who was able to control multiple forms of matter (Aang and Cole McGrath).

2. Both are capable of manipulating at least 4 different forms of matter (Korra has Earth, Fire, Air, and Water; Delsin has Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete) due to a physiological trait (Korra has the spirit of the Avatar, allowing her chi to pass through all of her body better than the rest and manipulate the elements; Delsin has a Conduit gene that lets him obtain the abilities of other Conduits upon extensive contact and draining Core Relays).

3. Both started their journeys being childish and/or immature but through their actions and strife, rose above and became better people and consequently, better idols and saviors.

Personal reasons: I wanted this to be Korra's MU during Season 8, but alas, it was not to be. More than anything, I want them to react to each other's powers. Delsin would ask Korra if her conduit gene is like his but better since she doesn't need to absorb matter to change her powers and Korea asks about how the heck is he manipulating light and becoming invisible. After all, conduit powers and bending are different in their manifestation, how they manipulate the environment, and more importantly, how they interact with each other.

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation: The animation will most likely be 2D like all Avatar fights, but the dream is to have it be a 3D battle with fluid movement and lots of different camera angles. The animation from Korra vs Storm is good for Korra, so reusing it would benefit her, but Delsin tends to fight from afar using his projectiles. While he does have dashes, his chain, Comet Drop, and some support abilities, Delsin is mainly a ranged fighter, and the 3D team works best with characters that have a wide assortment of abilities, especially ones used in midair or while running. However, to be able to get the most out of both worlds, the fight is best in 2D, and it's not like Cole was limited to ranged combat in his fight. It could really go either way and still be great regardless, and that's honestly the best part. I really want this fight to be a finale so it could be a long fight with lots of pretty stuff to gawk at, especially since Spiritbending, Neon, and Video allow for flashy maneuvers.

Possible setup:

In a metropolitan area, the Second Son is doing stencil art dedicated to his dear brother. "Man, I miss you, Reggie."

"Hey! You can't paint the walls of this city!" Delsin sighs. He misses his brother, but not his overly bureaucratic attitude. As he turns around and puts down the spray paint, he sees Korra who is looking a little stern. "Hey, there. Isn't art a form of self-expression? I'm building a masterpiece here, and it'll be my gift to the world."

"That's fair, but you're painting on public property. Unless you have a permit to do so, step away from graffiti." Korra was a little miffed. The graffiti looked cool, and it looked to be a dedication to a departed soul, but duty calls. Besides, it's just graffiti, not a murder or kidnapping. If he refuses, however, she can have her way.

"Who are you, the fun police? I'm not hurting anyone." It's like dear Reggie was still with him: being a pain and not letting him have his fun.

Korra smirked. "Fun? Oh, I'll show you fun." She got into a fighting stance. Hey, if you're having fun on the job, good for you, right? It's been a boring day of patrolling, so she's itching for entertainment.

"Oh."

FIGHT! :

1. As it turns out, she was nothing like Reggie. Korra firebends at Deals and catches him off guard. However, Delsin absorbs the smoke, unharmed. This causes Korra to look puzzled. "Wait, how did he- He barely moved." She then attempts to earthbend, summoning rising pillars, but Delsin smoke dashes away. "How did you do that?" Korra had never seen someone turn into smoke before. Maybe she should ask him how to do that.

2. "I'm a conduit. I mean, aren't you one?" Delsin starts to use Smoke Shot as he moves around, but they're easily dodged and dispersed with more earthbending. "I'm the Avatar, master of all the elements." "Is that right?" Delsin uses a smoke dash to sneak up on Korra from behind and tosses a Sulfur Bomb.

3. The Sulfur Bomb explodes, but Korra just rolls up to Delsin and engages him directly. Delsin tries to punch her and use his smoke-imbued chain, but all his attacks are evaded or blocked. Korra roughs up Delsin, punching him in the face, kneeing him in the stomach, etc. Delsin drops another Sulfur Bomb that leaves Korra coughing, and attempts to subdue her.

4. Korra bends away the ash and sulfur and launches Delsin into a building using waterbending. Delsin is able to recover and takes the high ground through a smoke vent. On the roof, he shoots a Cinder Missile. Korra is able to notice and puts out the Missile before it hits. "Wait, she didn't drain water." Come to think of it, she was able to use fire and then the cement beneath. Is her Conduit gene better than his? Korra starts to airbend projectiles and Delsins fires Smoke Shots (like Might Guy's Morning Peacock vs All Might's air punches). Korra then firebends her way to Delsin and delivers a powerful kick, sending him flying.

5. Delsin crashes onto another building, but drains the neon from the nearby signs. Noticing some injured civilians, Delsin starts to heal them, earning him Good Karma. As Korra rushes in, Delsin rushes her first due to his Neon Dash. "Wait, are you a Spiritbender!?" She's good up close, but it doesn't matter if she can't hit him. He strikes her with his chain, but Korra grabs it and uses a powerful earthbending punch on him. Delsin Neon Dashes away. "Oh, no you don't!" She knows that he has powerful ranged attacks, so she needs to be close to him. She gets on an air scooter and chases after him as she shoots air at him, chasing him to near a spirit portal.

6. Delsin is able to outrun Korra and fires a stasis bubble. Korra uses a firebending soccer kick on the bubble, punting it away. Delsin runs before he's hit with his own bubble (he doesn't seem to be affected by it in-game, however). He then rushes up to Korra who attempts to strike him, but he instead rushes past her and fires a phosphor beam, successfully hitting her and knocking her off balance, and successfully uses a stasis bubble. He attempts to obtain more powers, but he feels nothing. "What..? Then how..? You must not be a Prime Conduit." Korra gets back up in fiery fashion and Delsin employs hit-and-run tactics, firing phosphor and neon beam, but Korra is able to block with her bending. She then does Zuko's "breakdance" and catches Delsin off-guard.

7. Delsin quickly heals by absorbing video from a nearby TV. He then uses Video Torrent. Korra simply dodges and attempts to get in close, but Delsin strikes using his longsword, damaging Korra a fair amount. He then uses Bloodthirsty Blades. Korra dashes away, but is unable to avoid the blades, so she destroys one with a fireball, another by raising a stone wall, and the last one by creating an ice structure. Korra is then attacked by a... Is that a spirit!? Whatever it is, it has wings, metal plating, and is currently shooting a laser. Korra dodges and bends water and freezes the spirit, but it... Disappears into wisps of light... These are not like the spirits she knows, but she is then pushed and pinned to the ground by smaller swords. Delsin appears out of thin air. "How did you do that!?" "A friend lent me his powers, you could say." Ok, that is NOT how bending works. Using a combination of earth, wind, and fire, Korra frees herself by creating a crater underneath her, enters the Avatar State, and then bends the concrete around Delsin, encasing him in a shell, and bends him to her. He's a fire bender and a spirit bender, but he is not the Avatar.

8. Delsin absorbs the concrete before being fully encapsulated and does his boulder dash. He starts to engage Korra, but she is nimble enough to dodge. Korra then gets an idea and starts to make her way to the spirit portal. Delsin starts to climb on top of a building and does a Comet Drop, doing his pose on the Second Son cover art, and he starts to fire concrete shrapnel and a concrete barrage, but Korra instead redirects them. However, Korra gets a leg up and is able to use bending to get Delsin into the Spirit World and she enters.

9. In the Spirit World, Delsin is taken aback due to the colors and... weird animal things... He doesn't get to gawk for long as Korra makes her bombastic entrance. However, she firebends at Delsin who promptly absorbs the smoke, but he's starting to struggle and to get hurt so he smoke dashes away

10. Korra wins by overwhelming and overpowering Delsin. Since they are in the Spirit World, Korra becomes stronger, and in the Avatar State, she is in no need to wait for Delsin to exhaust himself. Even as he tries to distance himself and use his sulfur bombs and sulfur headshots, the Avatar is easily able to bend them away. She then is able to unleash a powerful bending attack that overwhelms Delsin and he blacks out, thinking of Reggie. After Korra finishes the job, she exits the Avatar State. "That was fun, but I'm sorry. I hope you find you and your departed family can reunite here". She then bows to her opponent. She's fiery and hotheaded, but she's still empathetic.

11. Delsin wins by being able to stall Korra and connect a successful attack. The fire is hurting him, but if he keeps his distance, all it serves is to fuel and heal him. He gets in a good sulfur headshot, briefly stunning Korra and leaving her coughing again. He then tosses another sulfur bomb, leaving Korra coughing more. He then does his Orbital Drop, but as he reaches the apex, Korra bends away the smoke and then launches herself, attempting one last attack. They meet halfway, and after a noticeable explosion, both are left on the ground, Delsin tired, and Korra dead. Korra, in her last moments, apologizes to her friends and family for being able to say goodbye. Delsin recollects himself, and upon returning to the Human World, finishes his graffiti of Reggie. However, we see him painting another mural, and he says "Say hi to my brother for me". He then turns to leave, and we see a mural of Korra, reading "Dedicated to the Avatar."

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Korra:

+ Physically stronger and more durable.

+ More experienced.

+ Has superior training.

+ Easier access to her elemental manipulation.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel Delsin, but Smoke and Concreted are easily negated.

- Energybending cannot negate the Conduit Gene.

- Energybending cannot manipulate Video or Neon.

- Is vulnerable to suffocation. When she was poisoned as she was. suffocating, the Avatar State only held off the poison and not the suffocation.

- Can be immobilized via the stasis.

Delsin Rowe:

+ Can heal from firebending and earthbending.

+ Has a healing factor.

+ Is likely faster with Neon.

+ Neon allows for fast attacks, and the stasis bubbles are immobilizing.

+ Infamous Delsin has easy access to instant kill options.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel him, but Smoke and Concrete attacks are negated.

- Untrained in physical combat.

- Physically far weaker and faster. Is also slower without Neon or Video.

- Is not immune to fire when using smoke or to earth when using concrete.

- Cannot access all his elements at will.

- Draining a power source leaves him vulnerable.

- There's no evidence to say that he can resist being immobilized by being surrounded/encased in concrete like he did to Augustine.

- Cannot obtain bending powers as they are spiritual and not genetic. Even then, he'd need Core Relays and blast shards to be able to get any use of his newfound abilities and to be able to absorb any other element.

Ending puns:

"The Avatar's victory was elemental."

"Delsin got a concrete victory."

MUSIC:

Name: "Four Infamous Elements"

The title makes reference to both combatants' abilities to manipulate four elements or states of matter as well as the inFamous game series' name. Brandon Yates used Second Legends for his commissioned track, so I cannot use it.

Art: The art would depict Delsin's chain forming a circle imbued with Raava. One half would have Korra's elements spiraling outwards. The other half would have Delsin's elements spiraling inward, forming a Yin Yang. The center of the circle would have a gene symbol like that of the Second Son power skill tree on the side of Korra's elements and the symbol of Raava on the side of Delsin's elements.

Sound: the start of the music is that of the Second Son main theme and it plays during the initial confrontation. The music is kicked up a notch when Korra first attacks, where the sound shifts to be more Avatar-centered, but with some hip-hop elements, and even has parts and bits that sound like Second Legends as a callback, much like Final Formersr referenced Deceptive Tyrants. As the battle gets closer to its climax, the sound is that of the main theme of Avatar, but with a mix of Asian instruments and rock instrumentation.

Holy cow, I love doing this one! Especially imagining the track and its art due to the possibilities of symbolism.

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

[slashcrz]

☼☾ ( peter capaldi , 60 , he / him , cis man , stuart 1 ) - have you seen GRAEME STUART?  we’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re AMBITIOUS but also DEFENSIVE. when you think of them , you think of A CROWN TOO LARGE FOR A SMALL, INNOCENT HEAD, A PROUD FATHER WITH DAISY CHAIN CROWNS MATCHING HIS GIRLS, A HUNGER FOR THE FURTHEST REACHES, A TASTE FOR SUNSHINE && VICTORY.

-> tw: illness, death, loss, religion themes && mentions, religious discrimination.

the likelihood of he, the fourth born && the third son to the king of scotland, would ever ascend to the throne of the highlands was slim... but evidently, not impossible, && he remained the only one of his brothers to either survive, and to rule. a horrible illness when he was 14 years of age swept through their family && castle grounds, taking out many, the death toll rising nightly. it claimed not only both older brothers, but his father, too, & his mother leaving him the last && only son in the stuart line to step into the throne. the only lasting remnant of his family was his younger sister; the baby of the 5 of them, the surprise child.

with no suitable regent in place to step in for the young heir, the only uncle caught up in affairs far overseas, graeme assumed the throne despite his age that left him inexperienced, && with the assistance of his advisors, rose quickly to be one of the most adored kings the highlands had seen for generations. as he grew, the nation he governed with a surefire spirit grew with him, and scotland fell into great glory && wealth, no horizon seeming too far for the king.

he wore power well, having done so for much of his life. the marriage he engaged in was one of his own orchestrating, though aided with input from his trusted advisors. betrothed as a wee babe, his fiancé had also passed in the sickness, as she was stayed indefinitely with the scottish royal family leading to their marriage - an alliance dissolved, but not ruined, and graeme was able to stave off his necessity for a wedding until years later, in his early 20s.

blessed with three daughters, graeme raised them to be well-rounded, educated, cultured, and strong. scotland continued to grow in size && strength, and his hunger for more was never slated. fiercely protective of his family, && eager to leave behind a legacy that will span infinitely, graeme is beginning to spiral down a descent of power-hungry fever.

he aspires to leave france with much more than he arrived with, and is hoping to gain support from those who oppose france (or france's biggest supports) && in turn, gain favor && alliance with a new network. perhaps the next union for control over the globe - perhaps further. graeme is having fitful sleep as his desires grow stronger && his thirst intense.

he hopes to establish strong alliances for his daughters through marriage, but will also take their happiness into consideration. currently, with alliances in the marking with both spain && china, major && growing powers in extended reaches of the globe, his plans are falling perfectly in order... but he aspires for more, more, more. in these endeavors, graeme has been reaching for further inspiration && advice, finding the input from his trusted council that he had been guided by for decades no longer reliable. some whisper he is losing his edge, while others think he is simply doing his best as king to exhaust all possible options. a seer has been employed in his court, and rumors say that the king has been caught partaking in pagan rituals with this aid. some wonder what his opinion of the holy roman empire is, and if he is truly a friend of europe, or what his end goal may be with the bourbon's restoration in their palace.