#guy who is way too phoenix pilled

[javajamboree]

All those hours for this fuckass wip 😭😭 thank you @tired-vampire1o9 for lending me a lot of shit to help with this ily I'll make you proud

[translatemunson]

file 002 — brand new bar, same old problems

chapter two of death defying acts

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cw: MDNI thank you, fem!reader, afab!reader, no descriptions of reader (i'm really trying to keep my descriptions of her and her background to a minimum so i can be inclusive to all people, but let me know if i can improve), no use of y/n, reader has a call sign (i had to pick one, it makes sense for the story), innacuracies about the navy, topgun and army (i did my best guys), this takes places after the events of the movie, yes don't kill me but reader has a fling with another aviator won't say who, implied smut.

If surviving Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and the Dagger Squad would be required for you to be sent overseas, you were not sure there was gonna be a lot of you left to fit in a plane seat.

In just two days and one quick chat with Maverick, you had to recognize there was no easy task in front of you. Maverick didn’t show any enthusiasm in your work or questions on that quick meeting, which was somewhat discouraging. You had been spending your morning reviewing previous logs of all of the fighter pilots, your afternoons watching them live on radar, taking notes of their data, style and skills, your evenings analyzing all of your notes and coming up with plans for the simulation.

You were in bed way past your normal schedule on Saturday morning. Your belongings would definitely sit on boxes for another week or two if you didn’t do anything regarding it. You had the essentials out — uniforms, underwear, laptop, hygiene products, and a picture of you with your parents —, but that was it. Even your kitchen was getting appliances as you started to need them.

You grabbed a clean change of clothes, your bag and headed out to do groceries and get your mind out of work. There were a lot of things to get done before you were back to base on Monday: firstly you needed some real food in your fridge, including new tea blends and pasta for when you’re too tired to cook anything that takes longer than 20 minutes. Then you had to pick up more pills for your headache. Maybe some flowers for your living room would make the place livable — and also push you to unpack a few boxes with your books and portraits.

Also you had to call your parents and brief them on your first days. Well, maybe that was easier said than done: while you couldn’t share much details about what you were doing, you knew they were ready to pull some interrogation tactics or whatever to get all the intel. Your father was the one helping you with the moving — because he was free in between flight classes —, but your mom was the one texting people to know why now they wanted to transfer you to San Diego.

Once the call sign Maverick was brought to the table, your father did all he could to get you another opening somewhere else. And as soon as you got the bigger picture of why you were being moved to work with Maverick and his team, the puzzle made sense. Even though they were successful on their mission, they had one more challenge ahead, and there was no margin for errors or close calls for this one — you were gonna receive more information about it after the first few weeks.

Maverick and the Dagger Squad were definitely a lot to deal with. Excellent pilots, an amazing sense of a team — maybe almost being killed does this to a group —, but you could see some flaws slipping through the cracks of their personalities. Maverick still hated authority and being told to follow orders. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin — not Bagman, unfortunately — could be a team player only if that benefited him, otherwise his wingman was the first to go down during training. Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace was an excellent pilot, and Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd as her WSO was a great combo, but if paired with someone else, it was a hit or miss — you asked to change pairings on Friday morning, just to check if there was margin for new combos. Reuben ‘Payback’ Fitch and his WSO, Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia, were also a great combo, but they needed a strong flight leader to shine and succeed. Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado was a good pilot, but only on good days — and that was something you couldn’t risk on a mission. And Bradshaw was living for his call sign Rooster, even though he had amazing decision making skills, he was always waiting for the last second to make a move. And that, in the field, meant death.

And those were just a few observations you could get from a few hours in front of the radars and live data from their training exercises. 

You went through your shopping list in no time, stopping for headache meds and some flowers just after you got lunch. Back at your one bedroom apartment, you, once again, found an excuse to avoid a Facetime call with your parents, but you made sure to text them some pictures of your progress — and thank your dad for finding a good place for you to stay, a 20 minutes drive from the base, and also in a walking distance of the Golden Hill Park.

Clothes on drawers and hangers, cutlery in the right places, uniforms in the washer, books in the shelves. You were slowly bringing together the sense of home to San Diego. Your last few weeks in Nevada were crazy: you were back from one deployment in the Pacific just to be called for another quick job in Alaska. Thankfully your dad had a few weeks off to go to Nevada and help you pack, driving all your stuff three days before your arrival and saying he would take care of housing. All you had to do was sign a few papers, pack the stuff you could send ahead and get ready for a quick stop up north.

The sun was setting when you realized you were almost done with things. Maybe you should let some for Sunday, so you could also keep your mind off of work. You got up from your bedroom floor, took a long shower and checked your messages.

On Friday, you were able to catch up with Bob over lunch, asking him about his journey after training. You also got close to Phoenix, kinda relieved she was just as nice as you remembered. You got their numbers, they got yours, and that’s how you end up with an invite to join them at a bar called Hard Deck in an hour. If you were gonna be around for at least ten weeks, you might as well do something else besides working.

 So you went through your clothes, searching for a black top, some jeans and a jacket for when it got chiller from the autumn air. Just some casual clothes to share a few beers and a few more stories. Still getting used to San Diego streets and skyline, you drove like you weren’t in no rush to get to the bar, appreciating the change of scenery from the desert to the beachside.

You parked outside the Hard Deck just a few minutes late. For a Saturday evening, the place was pretty packed, and you could see some clients were proud to walk around in their work khakis — something you avoided as much as you could. After all, you were just a few minutes away from the station. Texting Bob back to ask him if they were already there, you didn’t even hit send before you were able to pick your new colleagues amidst the crowd.

Nat was holding a pool cue on the side of her body, explaining something to Mickey and Bob. Hangman and Coyote were trying to impress some ladies on the darts board — and you were very sorry for those two poor souls, if they knew everything you’ve been hearing while on duty. You stopped by the bar, getting yourself some bar soda and starting a tab.

“You’re sure I can’t fix you anything else?” The lady behind the bar asked you.

“I’m good for now.” And then you turned to your colleagues and thought better, “Do you happen to remember what they’re getting?” You pointed to them.

“Sure thing, they’re just having beers. Are you friends with the Daggers?”

“Not exactly,” you watched her grab six bottles, serve some ice in the bucket and hand it to you. “I was relocated here to work with them. I know Bob and Phoenix from previous training, but that’s about it.”

“Oh, so you’re part of Maverick’s team?” She definitely knew them, not just because they would be spending their down time on Hard Deck.

“I’m part of the Intelligence Team working with them.” It didn’t get easier every time you talked about it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Penny, honey. Well, let me know once you decide to try something else.”

“Thank you, Penny.”

You took the drinks with you to the high top table just on the side of their pool table. Your upbeat spirit died down as soon as you realized Bradshaw was there. After being lectured about Maverick and Goose, Bradley’s father, you weren’t looking forward to tolerating him outside of work. His short temper and slow decision making was something that got on your nerves easily. But you should’ve expected this, since he’s a long time friend with Nat.

“Look who’s out of that desk, guys.” And unfortunately, Hangman was the one to announce your presence. “I thought you were the type to wear your uniform everywhere since you’re a goody-two-shoes, Hyde.”

“Unlike you, Seresin, I have a life and personality outside of base.” You pointed to his khakis. “And don’t worry, I’m not writing down your lack of hobbies, outside women and pissing others off of course. I could already tell that based on your flight maneuvers.”

“Looking forward to reading the file you’re writing about me.” He reached for a beer, and you rolled your eyes. “Thanks, honey.”

“I’ll be surprised if you can actually read,” you bit back. “But I’m not here to work. And these beers are a peace offering. I’m not the enemy.”

“So you just like to point out our weaknesses for fun.” Mickey approached you, but you could tell it was more of a lighthearted comment than a critique. “Thanks, Hyde.”

“Thank me next week when you ace the mission simulation.”

You passed them their beers. There was only one left, but since Bradley was more concerned with his pool game than a beer, you moved the bucket aside and turned to Bob, asking “Is this every Navy favorite place to go?”

“Kinda. It’s close to base, and the service is nice and fairly priced.” Bob looked at his water. “How long have you been here?”

“I arrived this week. My father helped me move, but I had zero time to wander around.” But who’s fault was that? Definitely yours. “They are a tough crowd, I fear.”

“Don’t worry, they eventually warm up to strangers,” he explained. “We’re still fresh from last mission, and fresh blood always disturbs a little of a group’s balance.”

“I guess I would know that if I worked closely with fighter pilots,” you confessed. “Most of my missions consist of assisting with data and probabilities when tracing plans and assessing risks. Sometimes I don’t even know who is receiving my reports.”

“But you’ve been training with pilots, right?”

“No real missions, just simulations, mostly with graduates from Top Gun back in Fallon.” This job could be the perfect blend of what you’re good at and your passion, but even though you had extensive training with Air missions, you were stuck with assessing risks for admirals and captains to take charge. “It’s my first real chance to be on a mission where I’m able to build a relationship with the people I’m working with, not just being briefed on the mission and its goals.”

“I see. Yeah, I believe you’re gonna do a great job, not just because I know you, but because there’s still room for improvement and you’re gonna be the key for it.” Bob tried to cheer you up, and even though you wanted to believe his words, the first few days were tough on you.

“Thanks, Bob. But I’ve meant it when I said I’m not here to work,” you laughed, leaving the pressure of your relocation for another time.

“So you better start sharpening your pool skills, Hyde.” Natasha passed you her pool cue and smiled. “Do you even play it?”

“Who do you think I am, Phoenix?” You gasped, as if her words were the biggest betrayal you ever faced. “It’s been a minute since I last played, tho.”

“It’s ok, you don’t need to be good at everything you do, you know.” She joked. “Ok, cutthroat rules. You, me and Rooster.” 

She reseted the table as she explained how it was going to work: she was protecting balls 1 to 5, you were in charge with 6 to 10, Rooster had 11 to 15 to himself. The goal was to pocket any opponent's balls while protecting yours. If a foul occurred, the other players had the right to place a ball back at the table.

Natasha breaks, and one of hers was pocketed right away. On her shot, she aimed for the 7-ball, but it lacked strength to send your ball to the pocket. You took a look at the table, spotting a chance to pocket the 12-ball. You walked to the other side, passing just inches away from Bradshaw, and sending his ball to the pocket. He looked unimpressed when you checked for his reaction. You tried to get one of Nat ball’s, but you picked the wrong angle.

Bradshaw fixed his sunglasses on the neck of shirt, assessed the table and went for the 8-ball. Everyone was tied on losses. He sent the 1 straight to the pocket. His third shot scratched the 6-ball and moved it to a dangerous spot, and you held your breath.

“Don’t worry, I’m on your side,” Natasha aimed for the 15-ball and sent it straight to the corner pocket. But it was still a risky position for your 6-ball, and you watched when she pocketed that one as well. “I mean, I took one of his first, which makes us even, right?”

“That’s not what I’ve learned on Math 101, but ok.” You shook your head. “What are you gonna do next?”

“I’m gonna,” she elongated her words, “maybe this one,” she pointed to the 5-ball, “or a small challenge with the 14.” She positioned herself, and missed the latter for a lot. “Your shot, Hyde.”

You sent the 14-ball straight into the pocket, then missed your shot. Bradley took the 3-ball out, followed by the 10, and missed the 7. Nat got the 9-ball, then missed. You tunnel vision on the 13, in the middle of the table, with a huge chance of error. The white ball hit all the wrong corners and you miss it. And it got the white one on the perfect spot to send your last ball to the pocket.

“It was nice playing with you, fellas.” You turned over your cue and crossed your arms, destiny sealed since Bradshaw was a way better player than you. You watched the 7-ball disappear inside the pocket. 

“Wait, Hyde, someone could get a foul, and you can come back,” Nat tried to pull you back to the table.

“I’m good with my loss, don’t worry. I’m not leaving, just wanna get something from the bar.” You took the now empty bucket — did Bradshaw get his beer or someone stole it? — to the bar and returned it to Penny.

“How is it going?” She smiled and motioned her head to the group.

“Could be worse. Can I have a tequila shot?”

“Sure, honey.” Penny checked something under the bar. “Is house tequila ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Can you get me one water and two more beers as well?”

“Coming right up.”

You took your phone of your pocket, and checked your messages: you were setting the family group chat aside for tomorrow morning; Lisa, your roommate from Fallon, was sharing updates on the gossip you were missing — not even three days and they didn’t failed to surprise you — while in San Diego; Ashton, still unaware of your transference, was asking if you were free. Yeah, things would never change.

“Here.” She laid your order on the counter. “I know you’re an Officer, but do you happen to have a call sign?”

“It’s more common to hear people calling me by it than my own name,” you shared, and she laughed. “It’s Hyde, a character from a gothic novel.”

“Oh, I believe I’ve read this book in high school.” She pressed her lips together and stared at you, like she was trying to put the pieces together. “Do you need some lime and salt for the shot?”

“No, not really.” Maybe not a smart idea since you’re driving, but that was the Hyde in you: nice face, good manners, but short tempered and always down to some trouble. “Thanks, Penny.”

You balanced your shot and the water in one hand, held the two beers in the other and moved carefully between the crowd to your friends. Back to the pool table, you watched Rooster send Nat’s last ball to the pocket.

“Oh no! And I thought you were each other's lucky charm,” you pointed out between her and Bob. You sat by her WSO’s side and passed him a water. “Or do you want a beer?”

“Water’s fine, thanks,” he offered you some nuts, and you gladly took a few.

“Here, a consolation prize for you.” You slid a beer for Nat as soon as she joined the table. You looked over her shoulder, seeing Bradshaw walking to the piano. “Is he always like that?”

You looked over your shoulder to Bradshaw. He carried a lot of resemblances to his parents — you could tell after hours looking through your parents’ photos, and seeing Goose and Carole in a few, with a kid Bradley closer. This was way before you were transferred to San Diego or decided to join the Navy.

You thought Bradshaw was just like you, until your father told you what happened to him. Father died after a failed ejection, his mom died of cancer, Maverick pulled his papers and set him back. You felt sorry about it, but if he was raised by Pete Mitchell after all of that, you were expecting to meet the younger version of the captain.

“Give him some time, Rooster is not much of a fan of changes,” she explained.

“As long as this doesn’t interfere with my job, I’m ok with not being friends with everyone.” You drank the tequila shot without making an ugly face, and quickly moved to your beer.

“Do you happen to know anything about our next mission?” Nat asked.

“I’m afraid I’m just as in the dark as you,” you shook your shoulders. “I know about the uranium mission though, which was pretty dangerous. I would’ve done a thing or two differently.”

“What exactly?”

“I mean, they could’ve timed the missiles to hit a few SAMs as you were leaving the valley, and make your way out of there smoother.” They were already flying a dangerous zone on less powerful planes, and exposed the hell of their jets, so not having at least a few bombs to help out was a little dumb.

“You’re kinda right,” Bob threw another nut inside his mouth. “Do you think they considered it?”

“Nah, I bet 20 bucks Admiral Simpson was looking for an opportunity to get rid of Maverick.” You took a sip of your beer.

“That’s cruel. But hey, if you have the chance to make our mission less dangerous, you have my approval.” Nat smiled.

“I’ll remember that.”

“Hey, have you always been part of Intelligence?”

You and Bob shared a look. “No, I joined the Navy after graduating from college. My parents are from the Navy, and they gave me the chance to choose. So education, then enlisting. My records say I graduated from Flight School because I completed the training successfully, but I got in an accident during the last week. Then, because of my college degree, they gave me a spot as part of the Intelligence, and I liked it there.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your accident. I bet you miss being in the sky sometimes.”

“Thanks, Nat. My dad is a flight instructor nowadays, and everytime we’re in the same base, he finds a way to let me fly for a few minutes.”

“So you’ve been keeping your flight skills in check? Why don’t you apply to Top Gun?” Bob inquired.

“I really don’t see myself doing what you guys do on a daily basis,” another sip, waiting for them to be convinced. You were way past that Top Gun chance now, anyway.

“A pretty thing like you fits better as a Top Gun pilot's wife,” Hangman came up to the table, a beer in hand.

“I rather crawl naked over hot tarmac than date an aviator, Bagman.” Maybe if the aviator wasn’t part of your team, but just maybe. “You guys are just trouble. Can’t keep your missiles in your pants, and flee as soon as possible.”

“You’re funny, Hyde,” he pointed his beer’s neck at you.

“Don’t let it fool you, Hangman, they don’t call her Hyde for nothing,” Bob warned him.

“Don’t have a lot of Jekyll going on, hun?”

“Oh god, you’re insufferable,” Nat exited the table as fast as she could.

“No wonder those girls left you hanging on the darts,” it was kinda undeniable that there was some tension in the air.

“If you’d excuse me, I think it’s the perfect time to call my girlfriend.” And Bobby was smart to take his cue to leave you two alone. He motioned to his phone, and you noticed the picture on the wallpaper: the WSO with his arms around a beautiful girl. But she didn’t look like anyone you’ve seen around at base so far.

“Needs babysitting, Bob?” Hangman teased.

“Should I remind you who fell for the feral koalas story, Seresin?” Bob biting back? That was a first for you.

You looked between the two men, intrigued.

“Go talk about pandas or whatever, Floyd.” Jake waved his hand.

“See you later, Hyde.” Bob walks to the external deck, phone in his ear.

“What did he mean with feral koalas?” You inquired.

“His lady is Australian, and one time she told us about how koalas got a disease and were attacking people, and she sounded very scared.”

“And you believed it?”

“I mean, there was a lady in distress!”

“Jeez, we should legally change your call sign to Himbo.”

“Him-what?”

You laughed and stared at Jake, “I’m dead serious about not dating aviators, tho.”

“Who said anything about dating?”

One thing led to another. Coyote left the bar with a girl on his side, Hangman was left without a ride. You offered to drive him there, since it was on your way home, but you were none the wiser after a tough week and a few tequila shots.

When the sun started to peak over the waves, you were far away from Jake’s bed and still very much sure of your promise. You were in San Diego with one goal and one goal only: earn that promotion. And nothing or anyone was stepping into your way.

a/n: hello aviators! first of all, thank you SO MUCH for the support on the first chapter. yes, i wrote what i wrote and i don't regret it (hyde hooking up with hangman, but it was mostly implied so don't worry, it's almost like it didn't happened haha). also even tho we know who the daggers are, hyde is still getting to know them, i couldn't pass on a hard deck introduction scene (top gun: maverick movie style!). well, let me know what you guys think about this chapter, don't forget to reblog, vote and comment! see ya soon!

[angelbby555]

"Controlling each other's tinder dates!" pt. 2

Summary: Bradley finds out his weird Tinder date was a YouTube prank. After that he obsessively stalks your channel.

pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x female reader

word count: 3000 K

warning: second hand embarrassment, a few naughty jokes, one suicide joke

"Honestly... I'd still do it." Bradley grunted as he lowered himself down before he pushed himself back up. The only thing getting Bradley through this repetitive excessive was talking about, his shitty tinder date.

"We might have to get you some pills Bradshaw. Because that's wild." Phoenix replied to her comment. They had 100 push ups to go and everyone's speed had decreased heavily.

"Come on she called him daddy. I would do it too." Jake huffed right next to Bradley. All the daggers had witnessed the crazy girl Bradley had gone on a date with. For the past 3 months that's all any of them could tease him about. 90 days passed and everyone was still hung up on the psycho girl. Including Bradley.

Bob didn't indulge into the conversation but Bradley was 100% sure he agreed. He was pretty confident every guy had a daddy kink.

"I don't kink shame but... you guys are fucking gross." Phoenix exhaled. Bradley could see his best friend arms shake violently. He laughed at her comment and her struggle. They were all struggling.

"She was crazy but, at least she wanted me." Bradley smirked. At first, Bradley really, really, hated you for putting him through that. But then he remembered how gorgeous you looked next to him. "Plus she called me daddy." Bradley repeated.

Bradley heard Natasha scoff. Phoenix was the one to introduce Bradley to tinder. You were the first tinder date he had been on, and would certainly be the last. Right after his date, the first thing he did was delete the app. Most weirdest girl he had ever meet, and he's had a lab partner who use to eat glue.

Yet he was very much curious. Almost itching to see what more unhinged things you had to offer. There was a lot of insane that came with you but Bradley seemed to become blind to all of it only watch you through rose colored glasses.

"Oh and she's protective of you." Jake agreed. Bradley was glad the blonde saw him eye to eye, it made him feel less crazy. He didn't like the way you got jealous over Penny, it was very unattractive. Somehow endearing too.

"Yeah my ex could never." Bradley smiled. These were obviously jokes... some of them. He just liked to make them to annoy Nat. But deep down he didn't want to admit he had zero self respect, when it came to you.

Terrible personality, incredibly gorgeous. Stupidly hot.

⊹☆~⟡⋆

"Bradshaw! Bradshaw! Bradley!" Bradley was on the lunch line when his buzzing friends came crashing into him. All he wanted to do was go home, and drink a beer.

"What?" Bradley rolled his eyes, moving forward in the lunch line. Natasha was scrolling through her phone, looking up at him with a cheeky smile. Bradley thought she was gonna show his an ugly picture of him asleep in the rec room.

"No I'm serious, you got to stop with your bum ass attitude." Bradley furrowed his brows when he saw a YouTube video pulled up on her phone. Right now Bradley truly didn't care what, meme video she had to show him. He didn't care about anything except eating at the moment.

"Just show me already." Bradley growled. Natasha was clearly not appreciating the suspense that he was crushing. She was attempting to prepare him for the video he was about to watch. But since he didn't care, whatever. Natasha would throw him in the deep end.

As they waited in line for their lunch Natasha pointed her phone to Bradley. The title of the video was "Controlling each other's tinder dates!" Right in that moment Bradley saw himself in the clip. It was the exact moment you stood up on the bar stool and announced to everyone, you loved him.

"What the hell?" Bradley fumed snatching Nat's phone from her hand, to get a closer look. That was him in the video, looking at Penny with an apologetic look. That was Bradley's bar, that was his tinder date. It was all a stupid YouTube prank. Bradley glanced at Nat, silent asking if it was real, even though it clearly was.

"Yeah, I tried telling ya." Nat laughed at his surprised look. Suddenly it made sense why two girls outside the Hard deck had asked Bradley for a picture earlier this week. Not because he was handsome but because, he was in your video.

Phoenix started to push Bradley into the kitchen as all his attention was on this YouTube video.

⊹☆~⟡⋆

Bradley didn't care about his cozy home that waited for him at the end of the day. He also didn't care about the mission at hand, or even eating the food he had craved before. All he cared about was watching the YouTube video.

He watched the whole section of the the video that included your date. It all added up, that's not how you really acted. He should have noticed the way you tried to cover your mouth when you wanted to laugh. Or how there was people secretly filming him. He should have noticed.

The outro of the video is where Bradley was fully paying attention. You had run out of the bar, and we're an embarrassed mess in the parking lot. Your friend comforted your vulnerable feelings and that made him smile. But what had him stop breathing was the next words you spoke.

"Bradley Bradshaw, if your watching this. I'm so fucking sorry!" You whined out covering your face while your friends were hysterical. "If your fine ass wants to go on another date with me, please, please! Hit me up."

Blushing. He could feel his whole face go red as his other friends pat him on the back in congrats. He had never heard a girl flatter him this much.

"Please, like you even have a chance now!" The girl behind the camera laughed. Her words made you cover your face and let out a whine. Jeez you really were making Bradley feel like a catch.

The camera pans to the Blonde girl that was hugging you a moment ago. "Well, That's the end of this horrific video. Well see you all next Wednesday." The blonde girls grins as the camera goes back to you.

"I'm never gonna get over this." You dragged a hand over your face. There appeared to be tears in your pretty doe eyes, from the pure humiliation. The video ends abruptly leaving Bradley very baffled.

Yes, obviously Bradley wanted another date. No hesitation yes, he would happily give you another chance. You were way too good looking to be cursed with a crazy personality like that.

He felt this weird ache in his chest. That you used him for a video. That it was all fake. Apart of him was glad that the teasing from his friends could finally stop. While the other part of him hurt that he felt like a closing chapter.

The mystery was solved on why you acted so weird. Now he could stop being a joke- because it was a joke. But now the funny part was you could have been faking your attraction to him just for the videos sake.

"You should sue her for not consenting with you to be in the video." Jake took a swing from his water bottle.

"So it was fake?" Bob asked. Bradley heart broke at the thought. It hurt that you hadn't been taking this date seriously at all. It kinda sucked considering, he was slowly being able to brush your obsessive attitude under the rug. It wasn't real. It was for some silly video. You used him for your pay check, and he was the butt of the joke.

"Yeah." Bradley attempt to not sound upset, when he handed the phone back to Nat. "At least we can all stop making fun of me for the weird date." Bradley started to eat. He lost his appetite, now he was just eating the sadness away.

It was one date that happened 3 months ago. Except Bradley really did like you. You were beautiful and he adored the small glimpse he got to see of the real you in the beginning of the date. It was fake though. All the things posted on social media, were scripted and fake.

⊹☆~⟡⋆

Obsessed, Obsessed, obsessed. He acted nonchalant in front of his friends. But as soon as he got home, he was searching for your stupid channel. Just 3 girls. Of course he memorized it, to search it later for himself.

He had already knocked out 3 of your old videos. Bradley had only intentions of watching one, but then he actually found you funny. He liked the way you got along with your friends. Loved the way you laughed. Adored how your eyes brighten when they brought up one if your favorite topics.

Living with your 2 friends. That were named Josephine and Camilla. You lived here in San Diego and had fun with your friends. The videos on the channel got a nice handful of views. A good audience, that were there for each upload on Wednesday's and Sunday's. You were known but didn't have an over the top amount of fame.

Bradley was hooked. Mad that his date with you was faked. In love with your internet persona, and couldn't stop watching the entertaining roommates.

An hour later Bradley was still lying in his bed, dressed in his uniform. The sun was going down, and he hadn't moved off his bed in the past hour. Bradley was watching one of the old pranks titled "ding dong ditching" when he saw another video catch his eye.

"Y/n not being over her tinder date for 5 minutes straight."

Bradley furrowed his brows together. Surely the said tinder date wasn't him. But the thumbnail was of you pretending to lick your phone screen, the same way you did with his picture out of the Hard Deck. Bradley felt his heart rate start to increase, when he clicked on the video.

The video started with a black screen stating the following: "This video is dedicated to y/n being obsessed with here tinder date."

"I mean who can blame her, he's sooo sexy 😏." Bradley was trying not to get his hopes up. No way was he the sexy guy you still obsessed over.

"Anyway, enjoy!" The video went to a multi color TV glitch before a clip of you blessed his phone. You and your friends were sitting around the coffee table with a pink frosted cake in front of you. There were toothpicks stabbed on the cake and on those toothpicks were images of cartoon characters and celebrities.

"Okay ladies, here me out. Like seriously." You glanced at Josephine's and Camilla while you held a tooth picked image close to your chest.

"No judgement zone." Camilla put her hands out in defense. You sweetly kissed the image before stabbing the picture of Bradley shirtless at the beach, into the cake.

"No fucking way." The words tumbled out his mouth. It was him. His douchey picture on your pink cake, was him. His brain was short circuiting and his whole body felt hot. This had to be a fat joke.

"Oh my gosh not this tool." Your friends muttered.

"My man! My man, my man!" You screeched out followed by a giddy laugh. This was just a joke. You were obviously joking.

Then played the next clip of you. It was you in the gym, wearing a pink workout set. The pink bra fits you like a second skin. Bradley groaned at the sight.

"I wasn't gonna work out. But then I remembered how ripped my husband is." A smirk pulled at your lips before a picture of Bradley popped up on the screen.

Good things like this never happened to Bradley. His jaw was practically on the floor. You still thought about him, the same way you lingered in his mind. What were the odds.

Next clip, was of you and your friends wrapping gifts by a small Christmas tree.

"Giving or receiving?" Camilla asked while cutting wrapping paper. Before Josephine could answer, you responded first.

"Usually receiving, but for Bradley Bradshaw giving." Both your friends groan in response, but Bradley was nothing but smiles. "Giving, giving anything... till the bed breaks-"

Wow and you had a mouth on you. Bradley was more then happy to apply this vice versa. The gears were turning in his mind, that perhaps he wasn't a fading memory in your mind.

Next clip you're in the car with Josephine and Camilla. You looked at them, a bit hesitant to speak. Bradley was on the edge of his seat, to get his ego boosted another time. To hear whatever sweet or naughty thing to leave your lips.

"We listen and we don't judge!" The group yelled at the same time.

"I made my tinder date my lock screen." You shamefully dropped your head down, while your friends erupted in laughs. You showed the camera your phone wallpaper of Bradley in his dress blues. You were a blushing mess. Oh Bradley was in trouble because he really need you bad.

You furrowed your brows, pressing your lips together. Debating to add more.

"We listen and we don't judge, sometimes I go to the Hard Deck hoping to see him." Both of your friends dramatically gasped, and so was Bradley. He never saw you again. The thought of you showing up at his favorite bar, made him start thinking about his vows.

The clips went on after, with all your thoughts of Bradley. While he gripped the edge of his mattress, needing something to grab.

"Bradley Bradshaw is my roman empire." You randomly confessed during dinner making your friends laugh.

"Some times, I yell out honey I'm home. Then I realize Bradley only lives in my mind." You said while you were laying down in your bed.

"And I'm sitting across this handsome guy... yet all I'm thinking about is how bad I fumbled Bradley!" You exclaimed while eating a burrito, sitting on the kitchen counter

"Bradley, come home the kids miss you." You joked putting your hands together in a begging gesture.

If Bradley thought he was obsessed before memorizing your channel name, he was a fanatic now. Then Bradley was exiting off of YouTube and downloading tinder again. Hoping to maybe meet up with his use-to-be weird tinder date.

⊹☆~⟡⋆

Even though Bradley downloaded the dating app again, he never sent you anything. You would probably know that he saw prank video, if he randomly texted you. But there was nothing to fear, since you liked him so much. Still, he was a bit afraid of rejecting, since he was now stalking your YouTube channel.

What started out as curiosity of your channel was now growing into casually watching your video for entertainment. While he was at the gym, he was listening to your videos in his headphones. Eating breakfast his phone was proper up on the cereal box. In bed before he went to sleep.

The girls had tons of uploaded videos that started 4 years ago, when the three of you were in college. Bradley had already watched half the videos on the channel, in under a week. Gosh he felt like such a creep because he knows he had a lot of information about you. Information that you never told him, that he learned through videos.

Your usually got ice cream after dinner. You loved flavored lip palm, having a large amount which some of them you didn't use. There was a teddy bear on your bed that you owned since you were 8 years old. You slept on your right side, you preferred the passenger seat over driving. The longest relationship you had was 2 years. You disliked Stanley's but once you got one, you swore by it.

Bradley felt like a stalker, yet he couldn't stop stalking. He had become so dedicated to the girls YouTube channel- Bradley waiting every Wednesday and Sunday's for the weekly upload. His schedule was now revolving around the videos since, Bradley had once canceled on Nat's invitation to the Hard Deck to watch the new video.

He couldn't tell anyone about this guilty pleasure. The daggers would grill him alive for it. Bradley only watched the channel for you. To see your bright smile, how amazing low-rise jeans fit on you, and how absolutely sweet you were with your two friends, and secretly hoping for a mention. But it hadn't happened. He felt his heartbreak when he saw that your phone wallpaper was no longer him.

Bradley was gonna cancel on Nat again when she invited him to the Hard Deck. However he realized, his obsession was becoming unhealthy. Seeing the sun, and having a couple beers would do him good. So he dressed in his worn out jeans and his favorite Hawaiian shirt and was out the barracks.

Just because he moved locations, doesn't mean Brad was gonna stop thinking about you. All he thought about was you. Specially how you shamefully admitted that you visited the Hard deck from time to time hoping he was there.

When Bradley strayed away from the pool table to get another beer. His mouth was moving on it's own as Penny handed him a beer.

"Pen you remember, that weird girl I had a date with?" Bradley took the beer from her,immediately taking a swing. He watched as she slowly smiled.

"Is that even a question?" Penny raised a brow.

"Probably not." Bradley laughed. Everyone has witnessed you hop on the bar stool declaring your love for him. "Anyways. Was wondering if you saw her around here, if you could call me."

Penny furrowed her brows together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if she's here one day... and I'm not, if you could call me." Penny looked at him like he had grown 3 heads. Which he understood the weird look completely, considering how odd you were. "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it some other time. But please just call me if she shows up here and make sure she doesn't leave, before I see her."

"Sure thing Rooster." She nodded her head. He was grateful for Penny because, she always thought of him as a good person.

"Thanks." Bradley moved back to the pool table. If you turned up to the bar one day, and Bradley caught you here- then it was fate. If you didn't show up then he would have to swallow his pride and text you over Tinder.

Who would have known that 3 months later Bradley would suddenly be obsessing over his weird Tinder date.

[m--rtyr]

Okay I do genuinely think I was right in my extreme Brendan reach, proven by how HARD jesson is going AGAINST it in episode 24.

I haven’t finished episode 24, but I’m gonna make my point either way.

Episode 22, Brendan implies he has an interest in Pursuing a romantic relationship with someone, but is denying this, (“not that I’m looking for a woman to marry or anything like that! I mean… unless someone wanted to… (Brendan mumbles nonsense under his breath)”), and with how it’s generally framed I do think Jesson was kind of playing around with the idea of him being interested in Aphmau.

Jess’s response to this was, more or less: ‘Take a chill pill there Mister Brendan. You can date Sean Connery if you’re into dating hamsters or whatever.’

Which is kinda defensive. So… I just take that as Jess at least taking that to be aimed at her.

And I think this was very shortly scrapped, and instead replaced in episode 23 with Garroth (Dale saying: ‘hey ever think of hooking up with garroth? He’s a fine man.’ and the dialogue options for Aph all leaving it open to interpretation that she is interested in him. Even the no option says that she’s just too busy, nothing about her actual feelings towards him)

Jesson wanted romance, played with Brendan, realised it wasn’t working, scrapped it, moved onto Garroth. And that’s fair, that’s the writing process, making decisions and then deciding they don’t work.

The next Brendan dialogue is also in episode 23, with him progressing on an earlier bit he started about girls loving guys who carry babies. Namely in an attempt to impress Sasha, who has only just arrived. I also think it’s funny that he brings up Hamsters when talking to her, considering in the Potential Romance line with Aph, she brings up Hamsters. But. Whatever.

I think they wanted to quickly move on from any idea of him being interested in her and used the Sasha Showing Up plot as a guise. He is now interested in Sasha. Any previous interest in Aph is discarded either way.

And then, in Episode 24, he obviously is a little creepy to Sasha, and namely states ‘she’s the first girl I ever… liked’ which… feels false considering his dialogue in episode 22.

He’s already shown an interest in romance, and with his overall trend of falling for girls throughout MCD, it doesn’t really align that he has only suddenly found a girl he’s interested in. Especially since Phoenix Drop isn’t the only place he’s ever lived, we know that him and Kiki grew up in Brightport.

I think it’s genuinely just to cover up, fully, any implication of him liking Aph. And that’s funny to me. But alas. Brenmau death May 1st 2015.

If anyone wants screenshots of the dialogue I can find it for you, I’m taking all of this from the notes in my little book so I don’t have all of them right now.

[bagelbun333]

Writing WIP

I've never done this before but thanks for the tag @tanaleth

Idk who to tag but anyone can feel free to join in ^-^

I happened to have this Wrightdot fic WIP that’s just been collecting dust for more than a year, so I might as well use this as an opportunity to share what I have so far c:

Major spoilers for aa3, minor spoilers for aa4, aa5, and aa6.

For context, this takes place after aa6.

Diego Armando is a man who had far from an ordinary life. From being poisoned in a courthouse cafeteria, to being comatose, to waking up alone, to taking a life of another person, then to rotting in jail… alone. But his life didn’t end there — no, far from it. His sentence was lessened down to 10 years due to his circumstances. But that’s not to say it wasn’t a long time, it’s still a whole decade out of his life after all. Five years in a coma and ten years in prison, a third of his life just… gone.

He was a broken shell of the man he used to be — he still is to be honest — but there was one man who saved him, a certain spiky headed idiot, who goes by the name of Phoenix Wright. He’s the one who put him in prison in the first place, but that didn’t matter to him. Phoenix saved him from further descending into madness, into Hell. Even though he still killed a person, he deserved to be saved. He had to be saved from the vengeful persona that was ‘Godot’, because he wasn’t the man that he truly was — Godot was an inner demon that was slowly but surely taking over his mind and body, something that Mia would’ve hated to see.

Once his prison sentence was finally over, he actually had someone waiting for him… several people in fact. More than he ever had in his life. Some people he recognised and others he had never even seen before. Of course, there was Phoenix, Maya and Pearl… but who was the little magician, the horn headed boy and the futuristic space girl? Turns out, they were Phoenix’s subordinates and family. It was strange to be welcomed back with open arms. He never thought he would have anyone waiting for him ever again, especially not after that unforgettable crime he’d committed.

He eventually settled into the Wright Anything Agency as an assistant — and with Phoenix and Edgeworth pulling a few strings, he was actually allowed to be a prosecutor again. If Blackquill was allowed to prosecute while serving his sentence, so could he. Phoenix even let Diego live in the same house with him, because he had nowhere else to go.

After months of taking cases, Diego was slowly getting his swing back. He often took cases against his colleagues — including Phoenix himself. Diego was so good at handling cases that he even gave Phoenix a hard time, he was a tough guy to beat. Even though they’re not enemies anymore, Diego still loved making Phoenix fall apart like a house of cards — but not in a vengeful way, more like in a playful way. He was happy that he still had that fire in him and could still embarrass Phoenix in a tease.

His new life wasn’t 100% perfect though, he still has his drawbacks. His health was far from stable. He still relies on his visor for vision of course. Not only that, but he needs to take a concerning amount of medicine every day. Medicine such as blood pressure control, cardiac pills, pain relief, antidepressants, and anti hallucination pills — his hallucinations worsened during his time in prison. Only Phoenix knows about the amount of medicine he needs to take, and it does concern him quite a bit. Diego doesn’t want anybody else to know about it so Phoenix promised to keep quiet. Maya and Pearl already know about his broken down body because of the poisoning incident and why he had to wear a mask, but they didn’t know the extent of how bad his health actually was — especially not his hallucination problems.

He also has a lot of trouble remembering things sometimes. Like random memory lapses that just hit him out of nowhere. Most of the time they aren’t too bad, like sometimes he just loses his train of thought. But other times he forgets too much. Trucy witnesses this at home every now and then. She notices Diego stressing out, forgetting where he puts things, and even forgetting things that happened five minutes prior. Sometimes Trucy would ask her dad about it. “What’s wrong with him? Is he okay?” She would ask, but Phoenix could only respond with “We all have days like these, it happens…” then later he said “It’s a long story…” Trucy was just left confused and a little worried, but she decided not to question it further.

While living with Phoenix and his daughter, Diego felt like he was part of a new family. It felt like he belonged somewhere. When he first found out that Phoenix had a daughter, he couldn’t believe it. He was so shocked. People younger than himself were already moving on with life much faster than he was. Everyone else was moving forward while he was just frozen in time. He was like a human artefact, for everyone to gawk at. It made him feel much more inferior to everyone else.

But even so, Trucy treated Diego as if he were her other dad, she even started calling him Papa. This wasn’t a position that he thought he would ever experience, but he greatly appreciated it nonetheless. Trucy loves showing Diego her magic tricks. He was genuinely entertained each time he watched, although he was very confused and concerned when she first showed him her magic panties — he wondered if Phoenix raised her right.

Eventually, one day, during a trial… a scary and unforgettable event took place. Phoenix and Diego were working on a case against each other. Diego had the upper hand on this case as usual, he was making compelling arguments and had hard evidence… but something unexpected happened while he was in the middle of explaining something.

The judge banged his gavel. “Prosecutor Armando, please explain to the court the significance of this evidence.”

“The footprints left at the crime scene only belonged to the defendant and the victim. There were no other traces found at the-” Suddenly Diego went completely out of it and lost his train of thought. He stared blankly at his desk for a solid minute until someone snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Prosecutor Armando? Your evidence?” The Judge asked with a confused expression on his face.

Phoenix looked across at him and immediately knew that something was wrong. Diego was clearly becoming more and more stressed. “Your Honour! I humbly request for a recess! Just for ten minutes. I think… he needs a quick break.”

The Judge nodded. “Very well. The court will now take a ten minute recess.” He banged his gavel.

Diego sat in the prosecutor’s lobby, still clearly out of it. Phoenix and Trucy decided to check up on him while they had the time. Phoenix sat next to him on the sofa. “Hey, are you alright?” He asked, holding his hand.

Diego was rapidly losing his memory. He was so confused when Phoenix sat so close to him. In his head he thought “Why… why is he sitting so close to me?” Then when he suddenly felt Phoenix’s hand on his own, he flinched and hissed at him aggressively. “Don’t fucking touch me, Trite!”

Phoenix gasped at his sudden bitter remark. He covered Trucy’s ears because his fatherly instincts told him to. “Diego… what’s wrong? Why are you acting like this?”

“H-How…?”

“Huh?”

“How do you know my name…?”

Phoenix looked heavily concerned. “W-What?”

“I never told you about- Why do you know this??”

“Arman- Godot! Calm down…”

Trucy moved Phoenix’s hands away from her ears. “Daddy? Papa? Is everything alright?” She asked as she looked at Phoenix and Diego.

The prosecutor was completely baffled by Trucy’s question. It felt like she was referring to him as her “papa”, but how could that be? He had no idea who she was, at least that’s what he thought at the moment anyway.

Phoenix got up and whispered to her. “Ah… I think he’s having another one of those brain farts again. Let me handle this.” Trucy nodded and stepped back while Phoenix tried to sort this problem out.

Diego was looking around the lobby being completely confused. Himself, Phoenix and Trucy were the only ones in the room so that could only mean that Phoenix and himself were Daddy and Papa. “I… I don’t understand… what did you just call me?”

“Papa?” Trucy tilted her head with a bit of worry.

“I-I’m not your Papa…”

“Well… I guess not… but…”

“Godot…” Phoenix interrupted. “Don’t you remember? It’s been six months since you and Trucy met…”

“What are you talking about? Who’s Trucy?”

Phoenix stared at him for a second and then sighed. “Okay, this is worse than I thought…”

Suddenly Gumshoe entered the room, wondering if everything is okay. Unfortunately it wasn’t, so Phoenix asked Gumshoe to ask the Judge for another trial day. Diego wasn’t in any state to prosecute in this trial and a ten minute recess just wasn’t enough time to sort this out.

“Alright, we have an extra trial day. So let’s head home, you need some rest.” Phoenix said, holding his hand out for Diego.

The prosecutor just slapped his hand away as he kept getting more and more confused. “You… But you don’t know where I live??”

“You live with us, Papa…” Trucy said, becoming more concerned.

Diego’s heart sank. He felt ill. He felt like he was in a completely different world. The only familiar face he recognised was Phoenix, but he wasn’t someone he wanted to be on friendly terms with — not to his knowledge anyway. Diego hates him, he wants to humiliate him. So why is Phoenix being so friendly and openly concerned about him? Why is there suddenly a little girl who sees him as a father? So many unanswered questions. It’s making his head spin.

Suddenly, Diego stood up and tried leaving the room. His mind was racing with thoughts and he didn’t know what to do about it. Phoenix followed behind him. “Hey! Where are you going?”

“I’m going home! I don’t want you near me!” He hissed.

“But… you live with us now…”

“In what world would I live with you? I hate your guts!”

“Godot, just please listen to me! This is serious.” Phoenix shut the door before Diego could leave.

“And why should I listen to a lowly, worthless scum of a lawyer like you?”

“Because… you’re a different person now. You have a new life.”

“What?”

Trucy took out her phone and showed Diego her lock screen. It was a picture of the three of them at a zoo together. It also pictured Diego carrying her on his shoulders. Once Diego saw this image, he was at a loss for words.

“I…I don’t understand… When did this happen?”

“Just last week, Papa…”

“Huh…?”

“Diego… let us take you home. You’re clearly not well. We’ll try explain everything once we’re there.” Phoenix explained and led the way. Diego sighed and slowly nodded and then followed behind them until Phoenix remembered something. “Ah! Actually, I left some things back at my office. We should go there first before I forget again.”

The three of them headed back to Phoenix’s office, or as it’s now known as The Wright Anything Agency. Once Phoenix opened the door, they were greeted by none other than Apollo and Athena.

“Oh hey, you guys are back early!” Apollo said as he was watering Charley.

“So, who won the case? I’m placing my bet on Mr. Godot!” Athena said in her usual high-spirited attitude.

Diego just became more and more confused as they continued talking. He felt so uncomfortable by everyone acting overfamiliar with him. He’s never seen these people in his life. Why are there so many people being so friendly and close to him? He was becoming overwhelmed. Not only does he not know who these people are, he is also far from used to talking to this many people at once. He’s so adapted to his crippling loneliness, he has no idea how to react to this kind of attention.

Phoenix could tell that Diego was quickly getting stressed. He kept giving confused glances around the room and was nervously sweating. “Not now guys, he’s not feeling too good…” The blue lawyer said as he dragged Diego into the other room and switched the lights off before he quickly shut the door behind him.

Apollo and Athena just gave each other worried glances as they watched their boss pull Godot into the other room. They could hear him breathing heavily, almost as if he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Trucy understands what was going on, but she had never seen it get this bad.

“Ehh… what’s going on?” Athena asked with obvious concern all over her face.

“Papa is… having one of those… hard times again…” Trucy suddenly said.

“Again? This isn’t the first time?” Apollo asked.

“No… well… not exactly. You see, he has these… memory lapses from time to time. Although it’s over small things like forgetting where he puts things and where he was going. And in the trial today, he was in the middle of talking until he suddenly stopped. I thought he lost his train of thought like he usually does but… it got much worse than that.” Trucy obviously didn’t like talking about this particular subject.

“Wait! Don’t tell me…” Athena gasped.

Trucy nodded. “He forgot who I was. He forgot what happened during these past six months. He forgot a lot of things. And I guess seeing you two made him lose it even more…”

“I see. That’s very… unfortunate. That would explain the overwhelming shock and sadness I heard inside his heart.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Apollo asked, determined to help.

Trucy just averted her eyes, looking concerned. “I think… we just have to hope that this will all pass soon.”

“I know! When Boss lets him out of the room, I can give him a quick therapy session with Widget!”

“Of course! That little toy has worked wonders in the past!”

Athena pouted. “It’s not a toy, Apollo! It’s my trusty partner!”

Eventually, Phoenix and Godot came back out of the room. Both of them looked exhausted. “Okay, this isn’t working…” Phoenix sighed.

“Is everything alright?” Apollo asked.

“Simply put… no. Everything is not alright.” Phoenix said bluntly.

“What isn’t working, Boss?”

“This is hard to explain… but Mr. Godot isn’t well today. He needs to go home.”

“I sense a lot of discord in his heart. How about I try using Widget on him?”

“Widget…?” Diego mumbled.

“Well, no harm in trying I guess. Go ahead.”

“Wait… what are you doing…?” Diego nervously asked, still trembling.

“I’m going to give you a little therapy session, Mr. Godot.”

“Therapy? I don’t need therapy! Leave me alone!”

“I-It’s okay! It will only take a moment.”

“No! I refuse!”

“We’re only trying to help you…”

“Please! Leave me alone! I don’t know who any of you are!” He yelled desperately.

Phoenix sighed. “Perhaps we should do this another time. He’s being very uncooperative right now.”

“Alright… fine.” Athena sighed and put away Widget.

Phoenix grabbed the case file that was left on the desk and headed for the door with Diego.

Apollo tilted his head. “Mr. Wright? Where are you going?”

“Well I said we’re going home, didn’t I? We came back here because I left one of the files behind. I wasn’t planning on staying long.”

“So you’re staying home for the rest of the day too? What about the trial?” Apollo asked.

“The trial will resume tomorrow. I’m going to prepare for it of course. You two stay here and take care of the office and other errands.” Phoenix said. “Oh, and Trucy? Are you coming with us or are you staying here?”

“Oh! I’ll stay here actually. I can help Polly and Athena out with stuff. You go on ahead with Mr. Godot and sort his problems out.”

Phoenix smiled softly. “Alright, I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

The esteemed lawyer waved goodbye to his little family as he left the premises with his confused and agitated adversary. The three youths were still very concerned about the unusual man’s circumstances, so they hoped that things will blow over without any dire consequences.

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Day 20: Cramping Pain

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Maya Fey, Phoenix Wright, Dick Gumshoe, Pearl Fey, Godot, Larry Butz, channeled!Mia Fey Notes: So this idea quite literally came to me in a dream last night so I am obligated to write it. Maya’s very clearly not doing so great during a long-awaited investigation reunion of sorts. She insists she’s fine, though, because it has been way too long since she’s had the opportunity to not only investigate with Nick but also see some familiar faces. Of course, it’s Sicktember, there’s no such thing as “fine!” Again, set post-SoJ for timeline purposes, no real big spoilers beyond T&T here, just that it’s been a good while since Maya and Nick got the chance for an old fashioned investigation. There are small mentions of background Magshoe, Fradrian, Miego, and past Feychols, but nothing really impactful on the story.

“... And that’s when he showed me his sword collection! One of them looked just like the one the Steel Samurai used in episode–” Maya’s retelling of last weekend’s events was once again cut off by a wince and instinctive press of both her hands on her abdomen.

“Maya, I’m starting to think you might not be feeling up to today’s investigation. You know, you can go back to the office any time and use one of the heating pads there. Athena and Trucy made sure the bathroom cabinet’s fully stocked, too…” Phoenix dug through his suit pockets to find the office key he was more than ready to hand over. Maya already had the original office key, but after an incident with Trucy attempting to pick locks while blindfolded, both the office door’s lock and key needed replacements.

“No, Nick, it’s not cramps like that! I’m on the pill, anyway.” Maya took a deep breath through clenched teeth as pain waved over her once again. “It’s kinda… worse,” she held up her right hand to stop Phoenix from interjecting, “but I can handle it! Trust me, Nick!” 

“Alright.” Phoenix had no intention of arguing with Maya, especially when they both were eagerly looking forward to this investigation. “Wait, I thought you weren’t allowed to go on the pill. Kurain politics and all that.”

“I’m breaking the cycle.” Maya shrugged with as much of a grin as she could muster. 

“Aw man, you were the one who broke my bicycle, pal?” The familiar voice of Detective Gumshoe joined the conversation, though he clearly lacked enough context. “I mean, it’s not that bad with my new salary, but I wish you would’ve told me!” 

“Detective Gumshoe!” Maya ignored the misguided accusation and ran into a hug with the scruffy detective. He wasn’t very scruffy anymore; in fact, it was so clear he had recently shaved that Maya could smell the aftershave on him. The strong chemical smell made her nose run, but she didn’t care. She missed the big guy so much! “It’s been forever! How’ve you been? How’s Maggey? How’s–” 

“Woah, woah! Calm down.” Gumshoe chuckled heartily. “Maggey and I have been doing fine. Missile’s been dealing with a bit of arthritis lately, but the vet said he’s in otherwise great shape.” 

“Aw, poor old guy.” Maya’s eyes wettened in sympathy. “I hope he’s not in too much pain–!!” Speak of the devil, her own pain was making itself known again. 

“Did I hug you too tight, pal?” Gumshoe stepped back to give Maya some space. He waited a few seconds to see if she would be alright, only for her to still be doubled over in pain.

“Maya!!” Phoenix couldn’t help but shout. A memory of his daughter flashed in his mind, prompting him to feel Maya’s forehead out of pure instinct. “Gumshoe! Get an ambulance! I think it might be her appendix!” 

“On it, pal!” 

. . . 

The nurses told him that she’d be fine, so why was Phoenix’s mind still playing a loop of everything that could go wrong? Was it because he should have figured out what was going on sooner? Was it because he remembered Trucy’s medicated ramblings about Houdini’s demise prior to her own appendectomy? The latter certainly didn’t help, especially when he was sure that was a moment his family could look back on with light laughter in the future. Clearly, whatever that future was hadn’t come yet. 

“Is Mystic Maya okay?” Pearl’s arrival and worried questioning brought Phoenix back to the present. “I would’ve come sooner, but Mr. Godot got pulled over…” 

It made sense for Godot to come with, now that Phoenix really thought about it. His relationship with Mia essentially made Maya family in all but blood. With the Kurain Channeling Technique, Mia’s death was hardly an obstacle for that, at least once Godot was finally free from the grasp of needing to find someone, anyone to blame for what happened. 

“Surgery wrapped up about a half hour ago. The last nurse I spoke to said she’s still asleep, but she should be fine.” Stating the situation aloud helped Phoenix to calm his own worries.  

“So help me if anything–” Godot started, but quickly calmed himself once Phoenix’s words registered and he saw Pearl’s relieved expression. “I’m, uh, glad she’s doing alright.” He corrected his initial angry tone. 

“Is it okay if Mr. Godot and I make a trip to the gift shop?” Pearl asked. “We saw some Pink Princess themed ‘Get Well’ balloons on our way here.” 

“Sure,” Phoenix nodded, “I’ll, uh, be here and let you know if we can see her once you get back.” 

. . . 

Phoenix wasn’t sure if Maya had woken up well before the last time he checked in with the nurse or Pearls and Godot just took a really long time buying nearly every Steel Samurai and Pink Princess themed item they could afford at the hospital gift shop. Either way, the three of them were not at all the first visitors Maya received. 

Larry was right there at Maya’s bedside, puzzling Phoenix because he was in such a rush that he hadn’t had an opportunity to inform anyone besides Pearls. 

“Nick!” A unison greeting from the two beckoned him closer. 

“Larry was reading one of his books to the kids in the hospital playroom.” Maya explained happily, but she still sounded groggy. “He was on his way out when he saw me in the window.” 

“Not a lot of people have a topknot quite like Maya’s.” Larry laughed before returning his attention to the recovering patient. “Franzy and Adrian hope you get well soon, by the way, and Edgey’s boarding a flight here as we speak.” 

“Please tell me you were at least aware of what was fully going on before you told anyone.” Phoenix pleaded, not wanting a repeat of the time Larry had nearly everyone convinced he had died after falling into Eagle River.

“Well, uh, not really…” Larry answered sheepishly.

“It’s okay! I’m okay with my condition being shrouded in mystery.” Maya smiled. “You need to lighten up, Nick.” 

That was easy to say when Maya wasn’t the one internally panicking in the waiting room over what sounded like a matter of life and death. 

“That reminds me, Pearls and Godot are here, too.” Phoenix gestured to the open door, not sure what was taking the two so long until the pair walking in did not include Pearl. Well, technically, Pearl was there, but…

“Sis!” Maya recognized Mia right away. 

“Mia?” Phoenix pulled his channeled mentor aside. “What about Pearls?”

“She figured Maya would want to see me first.” Mia handed over a Get Well card filled to the brim with Pearl’s handwriting. “She did a great job of filling me in, too. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” She wiggled her arm free from Phoenix’s loose grasp and went back over to Maya’s bedside, which Larry happily stepped aside from to give Mia priority.

Godot stood next to Phoenix, giving him a look encouraging him to let the sisters have their moment. Even if Phoenix was a little intimidated by the close proximity, it was clear Godot had no hostile intentions toward him, which still felt almost foreign, if Phoenix was being honest.

“I’m gonna look so badass with this scar!” Maya beamed. It was almost like Mia’s presence alone boosted her energy significantly. “You know, when Penny and I were going out, I think she had a scar like this, too. I’m gonna text her a pic once I can get out of bed without feeling like I’m about to keel over.” 

“Sounds like you still need a lot of rest.” Mia observed. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Noooooo!” Maya protested. “I was gonna watch the Samurai Series DVDs that Nick borrowed, that is, if he felt bad enough for me to finally return them.” Though she still wanted those DVDs back, her teasing was lighthearted.

“I returned them!” Phoenix interrupted to object.

“Not all of them!” Maya turned back to Mia and lowered her voice. “He’s been holding on to the Sniffling Samurai box set for way too long.” 

“Oh, has he?” Mia raised a brow. “A curious choice for someone you’ve told me swears up and down that the Samurai Series stopped being good after the Rainbow Samurai.” She shot Phoenix a devilish grin. 

“Alright, I’m going straight home to return them and grab the portable DVD player, too.” Phoenix threw his hands up. “Do you want anything else?” 

“Maybe some lunch?” Maya suggested innocently, almost too innocently. “The usual, please!” There it was, turning the suggestion into a demand.

Phoenix sighed and left, with Godot and Larry following him just after a wave and some goodbyes in order to give the sisters their time alone. 

“So, what else have you been up to, Maya?” Mia continued the conversation once the crowd left. “I’ve heard you caused a stir with some of the older folks back home.”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe!” Maya started. “See, it started a couple years ago when I decided…” 

The sisters went on to discuss all kinds of matters, filling each other in on various events. Maya spoke mostly about her efforts in making the village a better place, using her power as master whenever anyone tried preventing her hometown from trying anything new. Mia had some updates on the sights she was able to see while channeled by various trainees around the country; being a sort of celebrity within the Fey clan had its perks like that. 

When Phoenix returned with the lunch, returned DVDs, and portable DVD player, he simply quietly set the bags near the bed before heading out to let Mia and Maya keep chatting. 

What a lucky woman Maya was, to have a sister who refused to let even death itself prevent her from checking in on her when she was in the hospital. 

Not many people could say they had a sister like that, could they?

[axgmented]

[ 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇 ] ― sender cooks receiver their favourite meal from dom uwu

@attroxx

If the Heavenly Father could see her now, mingling and creeping about with a "lesser" of the plains, he probably would tear her other wing from her back as punishment. The thought makes her huff, a quiet little exhale of breath through slightly flared nostrils; her eyes scan over what sparse clothing she has. Rem's never been one to buy herself things-- it's always for the fledgelings. Everything she's ever done since her time on the mortal plain has been for those who were cast from their clouds and sentenced to a life of constant vigilance: there were always poachers around. From their hair to their wings, their bones and their teeth-- every part of an Angel, fallen or not, was worth something on the market. As long as the Big Guy kept casting them out, there would always be a poacher for everyone.

Her hands rub at her neck, working the stiffness out with minimal success before grabbing a faded pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt, a flannel top to go with it. Fall was quickly coming to the city and the evenings were chilly but not enough so for an actual coat. Socked feet find themselves being shoved into tattered old high-tops before she gathers starlight hair and pins it to the back of her skull-- Dom had messaged her earlier, something about food. Rem was always down for food. Half of the time, the Fallen barely consumed food and chose the comforts of the bottle and copious amounts of sleeping pills. The fledglings that have been at the Sanctuary the longest know when a bad night hits.

Her wing presses tightly against her back and like second nature, she whispers a glamour over the appendage-- to hide it from the humans. Nervously, she glances at her reflection before wondering if she needs make-up. The sudden thought makes her blink in surprise. She's never wanted to put that stuff on, never worried about her appearance but… suddenly, she wonders if she's too plain for Dom. What would it matter? They were friends. She's helped him, he's saved her-- how ridiculous. She shakes her head and snatches her phone, pulling her bedroom door shut with a slam before stomping down the stairs. What the hell was wrong with her?

Walking out of the Sanctuary, she pauses to adjust the iron stake at the corner of the yard-- the younger ones must've been playing soccer and hit the ball against it. She's off, down the sidewalk with one hand in her jeans and the other cradling her phone; thumb scrolling through the messages between her and the demon. Rem gave up on the whole animosity towards the creature weeks into their meeting. He wasn't like his brethren. Dom was kind, he got nervous easily and was very protective of cupcakes. Rem was the complete opposite of him; she was mean, with flashes of teeth and snarls like a dog, protective over the fledgelings and that was it.

She stops at his doorstep, a finger reaching out to tap at the buzzer before there's that god-awful metallic noise and the gate demagnetises and she's allowed in. She takes the steps because Rem would never survive in an elevator before she's scuffing her feet down the carpeted hallway. It reminds her of the hotel she stayed at, all the way in Phoenix, to help a stranded fallen. Her hand raises, rubbing at her eyes before pausing at his door; bruised knuckles are about to rapt against the surface of his door before it's suddenly being pulled in and Dom stands there with that goofy smile on his face. He reminds her of a puppy-- he's practically vibrating at the edges. What's gotten into him?

She steps over the threshold when he steps aside, and her back and shoulders easing off the glamour before her wing ruffles. Her feathers shake, the limb stretching faintly before tucking back against her spine where it normally found its home. Confusion in on her face when he stands beside her and smirks. She knows that smirk; that's a smirk of mischief. Her arms crossed, eyebrow lifting in suspicion. What, did he find a hell hound puppy or something?

"out wi'it."

He chuckles, motioning to her eyes. Oh, he wants her to close them? She glares, a stubborn pout finding itself on her lower lip and she goes to argue before he hits her with those goddamn puppy eyes. Even if he was a demon, those eyes were something she almost always caved at. A suffering, dramatic sigh before she relents and lets lavender lids flutter close. He reaches for her wrist, his fingertips warm against her skin. She nearly jumps, but lets him touch her-- she trusts Dom, she always will.

His hand curls around her own and she fights the flush that crawls across the bridge of her nose. She is not about to be some blushing, naive, stupid girl. He's leading her through his home and Rem stubbornly follows; he wouldn't hurt her… he wouldn't sell her off. Would he? She tightens her fingers on his hand just a little bit more, scarcely a noticeable pressure change but Dom rubs his thumb across healing knuckles and she feels the knot in her chest loosen. No; he wouldn't put her in harms way.

"Ta-dah."

she opens her eyes when she feels him stop, after hearing his little presentation. In front of her, on his dinning room table, were two empty plates at the head and foot-- but more so on the centre were two plates of waffles and fried chicken. Her mouth drops open slightly, disbelief on her face. Chicken and Waffles were her absolute favourite human meal-- she had nearly bitten into his hand when he snatched a chicken tender from her styrofoam container one night.

Rem swallows, closing her mouth so she didn't resemble a fish anymore. Something strange swells in her chest and Rem makes a small, wounded noise. There hasnt been a single time, since she's fallen, that kindness (other than the founder showed her) has been extended to her. Her throat is tight and she blinks rapidly, fluttering her lashes so the tears stay back. She won't cry. Her lips press together and Dom has that worried look on his face, like he's messed up and he looks like he's about to apologise.

"y-ya remembered?" she whispered to him, almost sounding in awe.

"well… yeah, every time I see you, you're at the same little corner vendor with a big ass container of the stuff.. you nearly took my hand off when I stole a tender."

His laugh is soft, it's gentle and kind. he was so, so kind. Rem raises a hand, wiping her eyes quickly before swallowing that thick lump down. There's a sniffle before she suddenly turns, throwing her arms around him and hiding her face in his chest. he tenses beneath her, probably preparing for a hit to his stomach or his shoulder… but she's just hugging him tightly and his face softens. His arms wrap around her slowly, because he's still new to touching-- still new to letting people near him.

"Thanks, Dom… i-I mean it."

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[footprintsinthesxnd]

The Happiest Man Alive

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd x reader

Warnings: mentions of sex, unplanned pregnancy

Summary: how do you tell Bob after you find out your pregnant.

Sat on the floor in the bathroom on base your whole world had been turned upside down. Three small, white sticks sat in front of you on the counter all completely positive. The tiny, pink plus glaring back at you. You let out a strangled sob, covering your hand over your mouth to keep the sound from escaping. How were you going to tell Bob? You had been together for 2 years and you both knew you wanted children but not right now. The plan was to get a place together, get married then have children. That was your plan but now the future was looking a little different. You and Bob had always been very intimate. He may look all innocent but between the sheets, Bob was a wild man. He was a passionate lover and was besotted with you and you were with him. So for two people who were so in love why did it feel so hard to tell him?

…………………….…………………….………………………….

“I’m telling you guys they are so going to hook up,” Hangman remarked, pointing toward Rooster and Phoenix, who were talking near the bar. The pair were standing closer than normal and Phoenix was running her hand up Rooster's arm.

“What do you think Bob? You think they're gonna get it down.” He snorted, thrusting his hips at Bob. Bob looked flustered, cheeks becoming bright red as he stuttered an excuse and moved away from Hangman and through the crowd towards you. You had been talking to Penny and Mav when Bob rushed over to you and whispered in your ear before disappearing.

“Sorry guys, I’ll catch up with you later.” You waved them goodbye before making your way after Bob, to the storeroom at the back of the bar.

“Bob? Bob, where are you.” You called into the dark.

“I’m here love,” he pulled you towards him, wrapping his arms around you.

“Hey what’s wrong?” You asked.

“Just Hangman,” he mumbled into your shoulder. “He’s just being a dick.”

“Tell me when he isn’t,” you snorted. “You're gonna let Bagman ruin your evening.”

“No, I just. I hate how I get so flustered. I can’t help it. I’m so awkward.” He sighed, sliding his back down the wall and sitting on the floor.

Sighing, you knelt in front of your boyfriend. “You're not awkward Bob. You are the love of my life and I don’t care what Hangman says. I love you for who you are, which is perfect.” You caressed the side of his cheek and he shut his eyes enjoying your touch.

“I love you too.” He said, lifting his hand and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You shuffled forward, straddling the aviator underneath you and pulled him close, pressing your lips to his. He let out a surprised yelp before moving his lips in sync with yours, hand tangled in your hair. You slowly began to unbutton his shirt and he grabbed your hands stopping your movement.

“In here…?” he whispered.

“Why not.”

…………………….…………………….………………………….

Well, the rest was history. Penny found it less than amusing when she found the pair of you in the morning, naked bodies tangled together. To say that Bob was embarrassed was an understatement and his cheeks had been bright red the whole way home. You could believe you’d forgotten a condom. You had always been so careful and even though you were on the pill, you both had always been extra safe.

You sighed, wiping the tears from your cheeks, before standing up and stuffing the tests into your pocket. You needed to figure out a way to tell Bob, sooner rather than later.

…………………….…………………….………………………….

“Do you think (y/n) has been acting weird lately? She seems to have been spending a lot of time in the bathroom,” Rooster said, as he gathered his belongings from his locker. “Is she ok Bob?”

“Yeah, I think so. Although, she has been pretty quiet today and she’s been sick the last few days. She said it’s just a stomach bug but I’m not sure.” Bob sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He’d been fretting about you since the weekend when you woke up and started throwing up your guts. By lunchtime, you had been fine but it happened the next day and the day after that. ‘What if you were sick?’ Bob thought to himself.

“You haven’t knocked her up have you Bob? Not really got a Baby On Board there have you?” Hangman jokes, trying to stifle a laugh as he looks at the fear on the young aviator's face.

“Hangman piss off. Leave him alone.” Rooster stood up, sauntering over to Hangman and pressing his chest against his.

“Alright, big man stand down. I’m only joking. I don’t think Bob has it in him anyway.” He laughed again and Coyote and Fanboy joined in. “Come on boys, let's leave them to it.” The other aviators left the locker room, leaving Rooster to deal with a terrified Bob.

“Oh god.” He groaned, “what if she is pregnant? i

It’s all my fault. How could I do this? But we always use protection so I don’t know how? This is a disaster. I don’t even know when we last…” Bob trailed off before he could finish what he was saying and went as white as a sheet.

“Oh god.”

“Bob. Hey buddy you wanna fill me in on this or… oh no he’s going. He’s gone.” Rooster trailed off as he watched Bob disappear around the corner before he could finish. Rooster sighed. He was happy for you guys if you were pregnant. He knew you’d be amazing parents and Bob doted on you.

…………………….…………………….………………………….

You were in the kitchen preparing dinner when Bob came hurtling through the door and startled you.

“Jesus Bob, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” You held your hand to your chest, feeling your heart beating against your rib cage. When you looked up at him you noticed the state he was in, hair dishevelled, his shirt untucked and his glasses halfway down his nose.

“Honey, you ok, you look a little frazzled?” You came around the counter towards him, concern evident on your face.

“Is it true?” He blurted out.

“Is what true?” You asked him, reaching over and pushing some of the hair back off his forehead.

“Are you…? Are you pregnant?” He asked, his bottom lip wobbling as he spoke, eyes darting from your face, down to your stomach and back. You were taken aback by this outburst. ‘How the hell did he know?’

“What? How did you find out? Did Phoenix…?”

“So it’s true, you are pregnant and instead of telling me you went behind my back and told Phoenix. It took Hangman joking about me getting you knocked up to figure it out. Are you kidding me (y/n)? I thought you trusted me enough to tell me you're carrying my child.” His hands waved wildly and you had never seen Bob so mad before. He paced up and down, ranting and the more he ranted the more tears sprung to your eyes. It all became too much and you broke down then.

“I’m sorry,” your shoulders shook uncontrollably as you let your tears fall freely.

“I’m sorry I messed everything up and… I’m sorry you don’t want this baby with me… and”

“Wait! What? What makes you think I don’t want this baby with you.” He turned to you then and noticed the state you were in. “Oh, love come here.” He pulled you into his arms as you wept, rubbing soothing circles on your back.

“(Y/n) look at me.” He spoke softly but in a tone that you knew he meant. Looking up, your tearful eyes met his soft ones.

“Oh love,” he brushed his thumb over your cheek, wiping away the stray tears.

“I'm so sorry I didn’t tell you. I was scared and I only found out a few days ago. Phoenix only knew because she was in the bathroom when I was sick and… I’m so sorry Bob.” You began to tear up again.

“Hey, hey, hey it’s ok. It’s ok. I get it. I was just a little hurt that I wasn’t the first to know but that’s ok. Hey, we’re gonna have a baby.” He was grinning at you now, a wild smile dominating his soft features.

You smiled back, wiping your eyes with your sleeve. “Yeah, we’re gonna have a baby.” You repeated giggling at the thought. You were going to have a baby with the love of your life.

“You have no idea how happy this makes me (y/n). God, I love you.” He pulled you into him and placed a delicate kiss on your lips before crouching down and pressing a soft kiss on your belly. His thumbs caressed your hips as he spoke.

“Hey, little one. I’m your daddy. I can’t wait to meet you. You have the best mum in the world.” You laughed at this and placed your hand on Bob's head, stroking his blonde locks.

“You have a pretty great dad to little one.”

Bob stood up to face you. “Thank you.” Was all he said before pulling you in for another kiss, more passionate than the last.

“For what.”

“For making me the happiest man alive,” laughing he said, “ I know this wasn’t part of the plan just yet but now their here I just can’t wait. I can’t wait to be a dad.” Several tears slipped down his cheeks, as you both pulled each other into a tight hug.

“We can do this (y/n), I know we can. I love you.” His hand came to rest on your non-existent bumb, “both of you.”

“We love you too.”

Tags: @callsign-phoenix thank you for supporting me through everything

@topguncortez @mayhem24-7forever @imjess-themess

[translations-by-aiimee]

Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 6

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 6 - The Truth Behind the Scenes

Yue Wuhuan thought that his eyes would be gouged out by Xianzun soon, and he was shaking from fear.

After Song Qingshi checked him over, he was puzzled: "Are you cold?"

Yue Wuhuan shook his head stiffly.

"If your eyes are not uncomfortable, we can treat them later." Song Qingshi judged the injuries according to its severity. He returned to the table and took off his gloves, picked up the spirit bead, and walked back over. "I found a white powdery medicine around the edges of your nails. After a preliminary inspection, I determined that it contained Deer Spring Grass and Confusion Scented Flowers, which have a strong aphrodisiac effect. In addition, I also found plant ingredients in the incense on your clothes and feather skirt attracts cats. This is the reason why the demon tiger attacked you at the banquet."

He found out. . .

Yue Wuhuan thought in despair.

This was the loophole that he had found when searching for the edge of the Acacia Seal's control. Slaves can't kill themselves, slaves must obey their master's every command. But it was also the master that was happy to see the slave perform an unbearable performance, and was also happy to see the slave played with until death.

All he was able to get were aphrodisiacs that he extracted from psychedelic ingredients. He refined it greatly to make it more likely for animals to lose their sanity.

Therefore, he calculated the time and wrapped the medicine in wax pills to delay the onset of the drugs in the demon tiger's body, and then prepared the smell on his body to attract the monsters. After the atmosphere on the court reached its peak, the demon tiger rushed out under the stimulation of the drugs. He was definitely going to be chosen as its prey. He pretended to be absent after taking the aphrodisiac and took the initiative to step forward. The guests thought it was a show arranged by Jin FeiRen and applauded.

Jin FeiRen was far too proud to do anything and had already found a new favourite anyways. He would never interfere with the entertainment of his guests. Even a little hesitation could mean the demon tiger would completely lose control and tear the guests to pieces.

Yue Wuhuan carried out this plan with the determination to die, and never thought that the truth revealed because he survived.

In Golden Phoenix Manor, if a slave was found to show signs of disobedience, he would be severely punished. What's more, what he did was calculated something behind his master's back, which was absolutely against the rules. . . But what about this?

Yue Wuhuan’s flustered heart gradually calmed down and he recalled that when he first became a slave, because he was unwilling to yield and his wood-type spiritual root was suitable for a speedy recovery, he suffered all the humiliation that the world could inflict under the control of Acacia Seal. He was forced to endure all kinds of unbearable postures, forced to admit that he was more lecherous than the most lecherous flower girl in the brothel; because the beasts thought that he never reacted sufficiently during sex, they used countless kinds of drugs to transform him into having a very sensitive physique until even the friction of ordinary cloth will make him extremely uncomfortable.

Every time he thought that he reached the limit of this hell, he would always see that hell went so much deeper. Finally, after realizing that his despair and resistance would only make those people happier, he gave up these meaningless struggles as well of the idea of getting rid of the Acacia Seal.

His body was so dirty that he just wanted to destroy it. . .

God knows that when the demon tiger rushed forward to tear his body apart, he didn't feel any pain, only utter bliss.

Whether it's plucking out his eyes or cutting off his limbs to make him into medicine, whether it's being thrown into a brothel and toyed with by thousands of people, or thrown to a beast for fun. There wouldn't be any punishment in this world that would make him feel pain.

Yue Wuhuan narrowed his smile and stopped pretending. He looked at the spirit bead coldly and provoked disrespectfully, "Now that you know, what are you going to do?"

Song Qingshi declared with certainty: "Someone wanted to harm you!"

Yue Wuhuan failed in his provocation, and almost missed a breath, thinking that he had misheard: "What?"

Song Qingshi felt that his reasoning was sound. Although he didn't read novels very much, his senior sisters said that the protagonists were good people since the bad guys acting as the protagonist couldn't pass domestic publication censorship. The system's introduction mentioned that the protagonist suffered a miserable fate. These injuries now must also be related to the original plot.

Based on the social news he had read, 80% of the people in Golden Phoenix Manor were jealous of the protagonist's beauty and favour, and want to destroy him. They must have used medicine on his body and nails! So after careful consideration, Song 'Holmes' Qingshi concluded: "I suspect that it must have been the person who dressed you that day. I will find the murderer later and give you justice."

"No." Yue Wuhuan felt that the corners of his mouth were twitching. He didn't believe that the great Xianzun could be so stupid, but the other party seemed to be very serious about making him believe that he was stupid. He didn't know what expression to put on. Finally, he answered stiffly, "There's no need. . ."

When Song Qingshi saw this kindness, he was more sure about his guess of the protagonist. He put the spirit bead into Yue Wuhuan's hands: "This thing belongs to you, so you can put it away."

Yue Wuhuan realized that the spirit bead had not been marked with new spiritual thoughts, and he was dumbfounded.

"I studied this stuff," Song Qingshi explained, "The Acacia Seal involves a spell which is decently complicated. Medicine King's Valley has no way to solve the curse. I have asked the valley servant to go to the Night Rain Pavillion to offer a reward. The master of Night Rain Pavillion said that, although the method of explaining spells is not expensive, it's rare, and it will take some time to hear back."

Yue Wuhuan was stunned for a long time after listening, and asked in a quiet voice: "What price do I need to pay?"

Song Qingshi had been helped by many people, and no one has ever asked him for something in return. He has also helped many people and has never asked for repayment.

In his eyes, the Acacia Seal is a sin against basic human rights. It was the source of the protagonist's suffering is, like the shackles on the feet of a bird. After saving the bird, it is a matter of course to untie the shackles, and it was not worth mentioning.

So he replied casually: "You can focus on recovering and just get well with peace of mind."

The valley servant came to report that the medicine boiling in the yard was almost ready.

Song Qingshi hurriedly went out to check, lest the effect of the medicine would not achieve its desired effect.

Yue Wuhuan looked in disbelief at the spirit bead in his hand, and his noisy thoughts became more confused.

In the world he knew, things that don’t cost anything were the most expensive. . .

Medicine Master Xianzun was even more well-known in the cultivation world for being cold-blooded and cruel. He never knew the meaning of the word 'mercy'. What did he want from him? His body? His life? Or what about his soul? Yue Wuhuan thought for a long time, and couldn't help but chuckle. He tightly grasped the spirit bead in his hand, determined to make a desperate move. If it meant he could get rid of the shackles, he would do anything, even if he had to sell his soul to the devil. . .

When Yue Wuhuan saw Song Qingshi bringing the medicine in, he pondered for a moment about Song Qingshi's impression of him and what he wanted from him. His expression quickly switched to a well-behaved and weak look. He carefully raised his eyes and glanced at him secretly, showing just the right amount of gratitude, leaving himself at the mercy of Song Qingshi's treatment.

This patient was super obedient! He did whatever the doctor told him to do. No matter how disgusting the medicine tasted, he would drink it in one sip. No matter how painful or irritating the needle was, he wouldn't make a sound! He would also thank the doctor in a gentle voice. Song Qingshi took care of him with a sense of accomplishment. He hoped all the patients in the world could be as well behaved as him.

The physical regenerative skills of the wood spirit root were amazing, and the wound on the shoulder of Wuhuan would scab over in five days.

After Song Qingshi checked him over, he was allowed to get out of bed. He was ordered to spend more time in the sun and Song Qingshi proceeded to prepare for the next treatment.

The Medicine Master, whether it was the original body or the current Song Qingshi, does not care much about what he wore. Therefore, the Medicine Master rarely had shark silk or ice silk. The hospital gowns prepared by the valley servants were made of ordinary cotton, which was comfortable for ordinary people, but Yue Wuhuan felt uncomfortable with the friction of the fabric, so he dared not stray too far from the palace. He only took a few steps then stopped.

At night, Song Qingshi noticed that he was walking strangely, so he went to check on him. He didn't expect the slight touch to his collarbone. He hadn't gone down yet and he was still making a fool of himself.

Yue Wuhuan looked at Song Qingshi's stunned expression and those clear eyes that held no evil intentions. The shame that hadn't appeared for a long time came out. He couldn't help avoiding those gentle hands and curled up into the dark corner.

The contrast between purity and sex, clean and dirty, brought out the unbearable reality.

Yue Wuhuan repeated the truths he learned a long time ago in his heart over and over again.

Even if the Acacia Seal was lifted, he couldn't erase the past. . .

Song Qingshi pulled his hand back in embarrassment. He looked at the person hiding in the dark, opening his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Yue Wuhuan quickly realized that what he did was wrong. The other party had long known that he was not a clean person, and it would only be more embarrassing to try and cover it up. He quickly collected himself, and his figure slowly unfolded from the dark depths.

When he smiled and raised his eyes to look at Song Qingshi, there was a thick lust in his eyes. He licked his lips, put his hand on his belt, and said the shameful words that he was used to: "It's so hot, Xianzun wants to see look at this slave's body?"

Rather than letting someone discover he was embarrassed by his body, he would rather take the initiative to show the embarrassment. No matter what kind of contempt and humiliation he endured, as long as he convinced himself that he was a shameless bastard, his heart wouldn't be sad.

Song Qingshi woke up to what was happening before he started to strip off his clothes. He rapidly lowered all the curtains to block the spring scenery in the room.

Yue Wuhuan's ambiguous voice stopped abruptly.

Song Qingshi calmly said: "It's too late, the patient needs to rest."

Yue Wuhuan sat blankly on the bed, watching the faint figure outside the bed's canopy putting out the luminous beads, and then lighting the incense burner. The faint medicinal scent mixed with the smell of agarwood swept over, letting his feverish body gradually cool down. He slowly lay down, curling up again in the lonely darkness.

He suddenly realized that no one would be ravishing him tonight. There was no need to speak disgusting words, let alone force himself to flatter. There was no messy smell in the air, only the unspeakable clean air, which made his always vigilant mind begin to grow dizzy. His eyelids could not stay open, and he dragged into his dreamland.

There was no hell in this dream, only the fragrance of the magnolia tree outside his childhood bedroom window. . .

His body gradually relaxed and he immersed himself in this sweet dream that he hadn't experience for such a long time.

. . .

Song Qingshi stood silently outside the door for a long time, lost in his thought.

Once he was sure that Peaceful Soul Fragrance had played its role, he went back in. Holding the luminous beads, he gently opened the curtain, sat on the side of the bed, and looked at the various problems hidden in this scarred body again with his spiritual thoughts.

After a while, he withdrew his thoughts and quietly looked at Yue Wuhuan’s face. His eyes were clenched shut, and the completely relaxed youth's charming attitude had faded away. He was like a sleeping wild cat with his claws sheathed. Letting his vigilance fade away, as if forgetting the pain he had suffered and showing his true colours.

Freedom, pride, stubbornness. . .

His life should never have been what it was now.

Song Qingshi gently pulled the blanket around him. He brushed his tousled long hair carefully behind his ears, and promised in a low voice:

"I will heal you."

[lulu2992]

What I learned listening to Far Cry 5′s audio files

The game’s lore, as told by its characters.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Charlemagne “Sharky” Victor Boshaw

Biography

Sharky was conceived at the Grand View Hotel despite the fact his mother was on the pill and his father had a condom on. He calls himself a miracle because it sounds nicer than “unwanted”. His real name is Charlemagne and he got it from his uncle Charlie who won a bet with Sharky’s dad. Charlie had to get fake breasts and keep them for six months to have the right to name his nephew. He did and decided to eventually keep the breasts because they brought him luck. Sharky is Hurk Jr.’s cousin and the nephew of Hurk Sr. and Adelaide. In his family, he has another uncle, Stuart, who ripped his own penis in a church because he was on drugs, an aunt named Paula who looks like a vulture, a cousin who was a sex worker, and another who was a goat (but he’d rather not get into the details). His mother worked at a lumber mill. He claims his family has done “four generations of time” in prison. When he was little, he used to light fireworks with his “blitzed” grandfather on a parking lot. He tried to win a pie-eating contest to impress the first girl he kissed (a friend of Grace’s) but threw up on her shoes instead. When he was thirteen, his first date with Wendy Snorbush at the roller rake outside Fall’s End didn’t go as planned (he tried to touch her bra, she kicked him between the legs, he fell, and it created a “Tour de France accident”) so Sharky decided to light a trashcan on fire to make himself feel better. Even though the rake and half the city block burned as well, it did make him feel a lot better because he happens to be sexually aroused by fire. When he was fourteen, he had a girlfriend in each of the cabins at the Sacred Skies Youth Camp and claims he “finger blasted all of them”. As a kid, he used to go watch the bulls have sex at Kellett Cattle Co. to pass the time. A pilot from Lansdowne Airstrip once “stole” his girlfriend and, when he got her back, he burned the guy’s house. He cried for a week after a girl broke his heart but he then “rose up” like a “man-phoenix”.

Sharky claims he has “the biggest piss bottle collection you can imagine”. He started it because he says he hates to walk and barely has the courage to go to the toilet every morning. Interestingly, when he was younger, he instead used to empty all the bottles full of urine he found to get the deposit. He also used to do skateboarding tricks but just ended up in the hospital. One day, he kissed a skunk on accident and, at some point in his life, he went to jail. According to him, “eating pussy and kicking ass” is the way he lives his life. Well, mostly the “kicking ass” part because he’s actually pretty lonely… He says most people think he is stupid and don’t want to be friends with him. They are also “mean” and “judgy”, which is why he doesn’t want them to know he shamelessly loves disco music. Before working on his flamethrower, he used to work on a rocket launcher but he stopped because he realized he didn’t know where to find rockets. Sharky wanted to be a race car driver but there are too many rules. He never even wears a seatbelt... He doesn’t like religion much and doesn’t believe global warming is real. He says he is lactose intolerant, that he has “ADD”, and he describes himself as “an equalitist”. He hopes all the shooting will attract a Predator. Since he urinated on every wall in Fall’s End, he says that “according to dogs law, which Fall’s End was founded under”, he owns the town, not Eden’s Gate. He hates goats (because of a rumor about him). He also hates hospitals because they are full of old people.

Comments about other characters

Resistance

Sharky really likes the Deputy and sees them as a true friend. As “family”, even. When the fight against Eden’s Gate ends, he hopes they’ll still be friends and doesn’t want to go back to being on opposing sides.

He apparently doesn’t like Boomer. He says he’s ugly, that he smells bad, and that he looks like he “had his day a long time ago”. He doesn’t seem to hate other dogs and doesn’t have the same problem with Peaches or Cheeseburger. He writes poems and a lot of them are about his aunt Adelaide whom he’s always had a crush on. He’s also mildly attracted to Grace and Jess. When he was seven, he taught himself how to do “donuts” and other driving maneuvers with his cousin. Hurk Jr. was operating the pedals and Sharky was sitting on a pile of phone books stolen from his neighbors. He says it was pretty smart of them, especially considering all the paint chips they ate. They also used to go watch the Hope County Cougars every Sunday together, drunk. They have a team name: Shurky. At one point, he accidentally calls Nick “Daddy”.

He used to dress up as Clutch Nixon every Halloween.

Despite the name of his shop (Master Bait), Sharky says Dylan doesn’t like it when people actually masturbate in it.

He thinks Jerome might be the next messiah.

He says that Kim is hot, even pregnant.

He hates Wendell because he is old and gave peanuts and pennies instead of candies at Halloween.

Zip told him about the evil machines and spider eggs on Mars. Sharky just asked him what the name of his drug dealer was.

He frequently refers to the Resistance as “the Resisi”.

Eden’s Gate

Sharky hates Eden’s Gate and, like Adelaide and Hurk Jr., doesn’t understand why they don’t have sex. He explains they used to recruit people with barbecues. He once went and had what he says was the worst potato salad in his life. He doesn’t understand why they don’t just “go to Cuba live like kings” if they have so much money.

He uses various names for Joseph, like “(Big) Broseph” or “(DJ) Daddy Seed”. According to Sharky, John knows pressure points that can make people feel immense pain. He also makes fun of him a lot and, for this reason, hopes ghosts aren’t real because he doesn’t want John’s to haunt him. He calls him “old Johnson” at one point and says that, if he were him and owned his ranch, he would be “dicking down every female in this region”. Sharky frequently calls Jacob “Jake-n-Bake Seed”. He admits Faith has power over him and that he wouldn’t mind exploring her “bunker”. He says she’s interesting in a weird way but that he also hates her. He once saw her at a gas station and gave her 20 dollars for absolutely no reason. He used to think she was sweet and gentle and to love the sound of her voice. He still calls her a “witch”, though, and says the Pilgrimage is a stupid idea.

Other characters’ point of view

According to Adelaide, he always “looked at fire like it was wearing a bikini” and “the Boshaws aren’t the brightest”.

Dutch says many of his stunts ended badly but he admits he is a good fighter for the Resistance.

Grace confirms Sharky is the kid who threw up on her friend’s shoes years ago.

Hurk Jr., who is convinced the Judges are actually werewolves, says Sharky thinks they are just regular wolves on HGH. He also says he basically raised him and that he’s a good person, the “second coolest dude in Hope County”. As a kid, Sharky used to huff gasoline and, together, they jumped in front of cars to yell “surprise”. Mosquitoes like Sharky a lot, it seems.

Hurk Sr. explains Sharky is his sister’s son and that he once caught him “tugging it to a fireplace”. He tells the Deputy to stay away from him.

Jess advises him to “never go full furry” because he would “never come back”.

One NPC warns the Deputy that he loves to talk about “finger blasting”.

[fandomrewrites]

Season 3a; Episode 6: Motel California

Hello all! I really love this chapter because it let’s everyone see a little more of (Y/N)’s Zeta powers. We also have a few nice moments between (Y/N) and some of the other characters. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and as always constructive criticism is appreciated! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist. 

Season 3a; Episode 6: Motel California

Pairings: Scott McCall x Twin Sister, Lydia Martin x Best Friend, Isaac Lahey x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of suicide, near death

Word Count: 3,955

Season 3a masterlist

Everyone steps out of the bus looking up at the old motel. "I've seen worse." Scott says.

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asks.

"Seriously, this place looks like the setting to a horror movie." I reply.

Coach blows his whistle before anyone can reply, "Listen up. The meet's been pushed to tomorrow morning. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment in accepting a group of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely."

Coach starts handing out the keys, he gives Allison and Lydia a confused look as they approach. Allison smiles brightly taking the key from him, "Thanks Coach."

Once all the keys are passed out Coach addresses the students once more, "And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves."

Once he finishes everyone disperses, trying to find their rooms. Lydia and I hang back, looking at the motel buildings with unease. "Lydia? (Y/N)?" Allison's voice breaks us from our thoughts.

"I don't like this place." Lydia states.

"I don't either. I feel like something bad is going to happen." I say.

"It's just for one night." Allison replies, trying to reassure us.

"A lot can happen in a night." Lydia says. I nod in agreement then take a breath and loop my arm through Lydia's, gently pulling her with me.

Once we make it to our door Allison and I pause to look at Stiles and Scott. They both smile then head into their room making Allison turn and walk through the motel door. She throws her bag on the closest bed then looks back at Lydia and I who still haven't entered the room.

"You're both really freaked out, aren't you?" Allison asks.

"I just have this feeling like coming here wasn't an accident." Lydia replies.

"What do you mean? Like we were supposed to come here? Like fate?"

"I don't know. Something." Lydia whispers. As they talk my eyes scan the room and I strain my ears to listen to anything that screams 'danger'.

Allison takes both of our hands, tugging us into the room, "I don't believe in fate."

"Well, maybe you should start." Lydia turns towards me as the door swings shut, "Are you getting your danger sense?"

"I don't know. It doesn't feel like it has before. But I know something is... different about this place. And it definitely doesn't feel good." I answer.

"Well, I'm going to shower." Allison says. She pulls clothes out of her bag then heads into the bathroom. A few seconds later she comes back out, "Can one of you get towels? These all smell like smoke."

Lydia and I both nod, taking the towels from Allison's hand. "I'll go." Lydia says to me.

"I'll come with you. I need to get out of this room." I reply, standing up and following her out of the room.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Lydia and I step into the lobby. Lydia walks up to the front desk, placing the pile of towels onto the counter. I stand slightly behind her, trying to focus on my breathing. "Excuse me, but the card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room. Yet somehow every one of our towels reeks of nicotine."

The desk clerk turns around revealing a permanent tracheostomy tube in her throat. "That would explain it." I mumble.

At the same time the desk clerk addresses Lydia, "Sorry about that, sweetheart."

"What's that? That number." Lydia asks the clerk.

My eyes flicker to the number '198' posted behind the desk. "Oh, that's kind of an inside thing for the motel. My husband insists on keeping it up." The woman replies.

"What does it mean?" Lydia asks once more.

The woman leans closer, "We're not going to make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction."

"Obviously." Lydia states as I roll my eyes.

"But we are number one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening, more than any other motel in California, we've had the most guest suicides." She then points to the number.

"198." Lydia and I both say in disbelief.

The woman smiles, "And counting."

Grabbing the new towels, Lydia and I turn to leave the lobby. I suck in a couple of deep breaths once we are outside. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine."

"That doesn't really answer the question. Are you fine right now?"

I look at my best friend, "I feel a little sick. And I still have a feeling that we're in danger." I take another deep breath, "I've dealt with this feeling enough to know not to ignore it."

"Too bad the danger sense doesn't tell you what the danger is."

"That would be too easy." 

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Back in the room Lydia and I tell Allison about the suicides. "198?" Allison gasps out in shock.

I lazily nod, leaning against the headboard and trying to relax. "Yes. And if we're talking forty years, on average that's only about four point nine five a year which is sort of expected." Lydia says. "But commemorating it with a framed number? Who does that?"

"All suicides?" 

"That's what she said." I answer, closing my eyes to avoid the girls concerned looks.

Lydia continues, "Hanging, throat cutting, pill popping, both barrels of a shotgun in the mouth suicides. And I don't know about you but-" She cuts herself off then starts speaking in a whisper, "Did you hear that?"

My eyes flutter open and I use my heightened hearing to try and figure out what she's talking about. "Hear what?" Allison asks.

Lydia stands up and looks towards the air vent. She quickly climbs onto the bed to try and get closer to it. "Lyds?" I question.

Lydia stays silent, intently listening to something that neither Allison nor I can hear. "Oh my God..." She mumbles.

"What is it?" Allison asks.

"Lyds, what happened?" I ask at the same time.

"You guys didn't hear that?" Lydia questions.

"Hear what?" Allison asks once more.

"They shot each other. Two people in the other room- they just shot each other."

Lydia stumbles off of the bed and rushes through the door. She moves to the room next door, Allison and I following closely behind. She swings the door open and reaches for the light switch. 

The room is empty, plastic sheets cover the furniture and paint cans litter the floor. A heater is near the wall drying the paint. "I don't get it. It had to be here. You didn't hear them?"

Allison and I both shake our heads, "It was a guy and girl. They sounded young and... they were here. I'm not lying."

"Hey we believe you." Allison starts, "After everything we've been through, we believe you."

"It has to be because of what you are." I say watching as Lydia hurries out of the room.

"Have you figured it out yet?"

We walk back into our room and Lydia starts packing up her bag, "No. I know it has to be a banshee or phoenix like I said before but from what I've found so far a lot of the information online is just stories and myths. Nothing explaining the powers which makes it hard to figure out what you are."

We all pause for a minute then Allison asks Lydia, "You want to leave? Like find another motel?"

"I'll sleep on a park bench if I have to. Something's seriously wrong with this place and we need to leave."

"But they were suicides. Not murders. And it's not like the place is haunted, right?" Allison questions.

I bite my lip as Lydia replies, "Maybe it is. I bet that couple did their suicide pact right in that exact room. Maybe that's why they're renovating it. Maybe they've been scraping brain matter off the wood paneling."

"Maybe we should find out."

We all make our way to the lobby to ask the woman about the room next to us. A sign on the front desk reads 'back at 6am'. "There goes that." Lydia sighs.

Allison looks past the desk, "Didn't you both say that the number was 198?"

Lydia and I both look at the number which now says 201. "It was 198." Lydia replies looking at me for confirmation.

"Yeah, it definitely was 198." I nod, wrapping my arms around me.

"What's that mean? There have been three more suicides?" Allison questions.

"Or three more about to happen." Lydia replies.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Sitting in our room Allison, Lydia, and I tell Stiles about the suicides and the feeling of doom lingering over Lydia and me.

As Allison talks about something that happened between her and Scott earlier, I rest my head on Stiles shoulder and close my eyes, "Last time I saw Scott act like that was on the full moon."

Stiles adjusts the way we sit, wrapping his arm around me so that we would be more comfortable. He then starts speaking, "He was definitely off with me too. But actually, Boyd was really off. I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."

"See? It's the motel." Lydia then gestures to me, "Look at (Y/N)-"

"I am not acting strange." I defend myself, cracking an eye open.

"No but you're sick. I'm new to this werewolf thing but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to get sick." She glares at me. 

I sigh and close my eyes again, waiting for Lydia to continue. "We either need to get out of here right now..." She trails off.

I hear a drawer being yanked open as she continues, "Or someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP before all the werewolves go crazy and kill us."

"Hold on. What if it's not just the motel? The number in the office went up by three, right?" Stiles asks.

"You mean like three sacrifices?" Allison questions.

"What if this time it's three werewolves?"

"Scott, Isaac and Boyd."

"Scott and Boyd maybe since we know they're acting weird but Isaac isn't the only other werewolf here. There's me and Ethan too." I say, opening my eyes once more.

Nobody replies as Stiles reaches out, "Let me see that." he says pointing at the bible in Lydia's hand. Lydia hands him the book then he opens it pulling out newspaper clippings.

"What is that?" Allison asks.

Stiles reads the piece of paper, "28 year-old man hangs himself at infamous Glen Capri." He turns a few more pages, finding more newspaper clippings.

Lydia grabs two, "Look at these two. They both mention room 217. These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."

"So if there's a Bible in every room..." Allison starts, mind racing.

"There could be articles in all of the rooms."

"That's just beautiful. Most places leave a mint on the pillow. This one leaves a record of all of the horrible deaths that occured." Stiles sarcastically states.

"What if the room next door has the one about the couple?" Lydia asks.

"Well, let's go check." I say, sitting up. The two other girls have already made their way to the door as I move to stand, though when I do I stand quickly and almost lose my balance. 

Stiles grabs my waist to steady me before I can fall, "You alright?"

I nod, "Yeah, just stood up too fast." He still looks concerned so I smile, "Seriously, I'm fine."

I grab his hand and pull him out the door with me. Lydia and Allison stand in front of room 216, "It won't open. It wasn't locked before." Lydia says.

Not getting the chance to reply, we all look at the door as we hear the sound of a saw. "I'm not the only one who heard that, am I?" Lydia asks.

"It sounds like someone turned the hand saw on." Allison states.

I gently elbow the two girls out of the way and reach the handle. I take a breath and using all the strength I can gather in my weakened state, I snap the handle. Opening the door we see Ethan raising the hand saw to his stomach.

"Ethan don't!" Stiles says, moving past me to grab the saw from the Alpha.

Lydia grabs the power cord from the wall just as Stiles wrestles the saw from Ethan. I rush over to Stiles as he falls almost landing on the still moving saw. I quickly help him stand and check him over to make sure he's okay. 

Before I can ask, Stiles and I both turn our attention to Allison and Lydia who are trying to stop Ethan from putting his claws into his abdomen. Stiles and I join the girls but Ethan pushes us away. He falls back and hits the heater with his hand. "What the hell? What are you doing?" Ethan frantically asks us.

He examines our out of breath and concerned looks then asks another question, "What just happened?"

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Ethan shoves past us heading out the door, "You seriously don't remember?" I ask, rushing after him.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't remember how I got there or what I was doing." Ethan snaps.

I glare as Stiles replies, "Hey, you could be a little more helpful, you know? We did just save your life."

"And you probably shouldn't have."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing." I say.

We watch as he slams the door to his room shut. "What now?" Lydia asks.

"I'll find Scott. You three grab Isaac and Boyd. The best we can do is get them out of here." Allison answers.

"If you need us just shout. I'll hear you." I say. She nods then quickly goes back up the stairs. I start moving in the direction of Isaac and Boyd's room but stop when I hear Lydia's voice.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"I wasn't-"

"Stiles." Lydia warns the brunette.

"Okay," He sighs, "I didn't want to say it. But we've kind of been through something like this before. A lot like this."

"What do you mean? When?" I raise an eyebrow when Lydia asks, just as confused.

Stiles quickly glances at me then looks back at Lydia, "Your birthday party. The night you poisoned everyone with wolfsbane."

"If it's wolfsbane then that would make sense why I'm not being affected the same way as the others." I say, turning back around to continue walking towards Boyd and Isaac's room.

The other two follow, "Lydia I didn't mean you're trying to kill people. I meant that maybe you're somehow involved in getting people to kill themselves." Stiles tries to explain.

"But last time she didn't really remember much of anything because Peter was controlling her. She's perfectly fine right now and-"

Lydia cuts me off, "Do you hear that?"

We both shake our head, exchanging a look. "What do you hear?" Stiles asks.

"A baby crying. It's mother- she can't get it to stop crying. And I hear... I hear water running." She pauses as she listens, "Oh my God, she's drowning the baby."

She then whirls around to face me and Stiles, "Someone's drowning."

We quickly rush to Boyd and Isaac's room. In the bathroom, Boyd has a safe on top of him, keeping him under the water. "He blocked the drain with something. I can't get to it. Help me move the safe." Stiles says.

We all grab onto the safe and try to move it but it's too heavy. "Now would be a great time for the werewolf strength (Y/N/N)." Lydia mumbles.

"I'm a Zeta. I'm not as strong as a Beta or Alpha. And with me being weak right now I'm probably just back to my normal weak human strength."

"You weren't when you broke that handle earlier."

"Fine, maybe only slightly stronger than you two. But that still doesn't mean I'm strong enough to move this."

"The heater- Ethan came out of it when he touched the heater." Stiles interrupts our arguing.

"Okay, but he's under water." Lydia says.

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Stiles snaps back.

"Wait, the bus, they'll be emergency road flares. They've got their own oxidizers. They can burn underwater."

Right after the words leave her mouth I stand up and rush out the door, "(Y/N/N)!" I hear them both yell after me but I don't let them finish. I'm the fastest out of us, even with me being weaker right now.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Running into the bus, I quickly found the emergency kit and pulled out three flares. I rushed back into the room, "Okay, here." I handed one to Stiles.

"What do I- how do I do this?" He asks.

"The cap. It's like a match- the cap lights it." Lydia quickly explains.

He twists the cap trying to light it. Lydia and I look on in worry waiting for it to take. After what felt like ages the flare ignites. Stiles shoves it into the bathtub, burning Boyd's arm.

Boyd lurches forward, shoving the safe off of him and onto the bathroom floor. Boyd quickly stands up and starts breathing heavily, "She's gone." he whispers between deep breaths.

"What?" Stiles asks.

"My sister. She's gone." He leans against the wall with a sad look in his eyes. I take a breath and turn around, going back into the bedroom. Stiles reaches for another flare so that he can ignite it.

Once it's ignited he kneels down to come face to face with Isaac who is hiding under the bed, "Hey, Isaac. Got something here for ya." He says as he places the ignited flare on Isaac's skin.

Once it touches he jumps and pushes himself away from Stiles, "What happened?"

"C'mon Isaac. You're okay now." I say as I reach a hand out, helping him stand back up. "You and Boyd should pack your bags. As soon as we find Scott we'll probably spend the night on the bus. This motel is messing with all of us."

Isaac nods, "Are you alright?" I ask before I leave. Lydia and Stiles already left to find Allison and Scott.

"Yeah, Boyd and I will meet you guys at the bus in a little bit." He leans down giving me a quick kiss and lightly pushes me towards the door.

I make my way over to Allison, Lydia, and Stiles, taking note that Scott isn't with them. "We still can't find Scott." Allison says as she sees me.

I don't answer her though and I quickly walk past her. My connection with Scott is kicking in and I know that he is in danger. I let instinct take over and walk to where I know Scott will be. 

The others follow me as we all start smelling gasoline.

Scott stands drenched in the gasoline, a wet puddle around him and a lit flare held tightly in his grip. He seems to be in an odd trance-like state as he looks at us. "Scott?" Allison asks from behind me.

"There's no hope," he replies.

"What do you mean? There's always hope."

"Not for me. Not for Derek."

"But Derek wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't." She tries again. Tears rush to my eyes as I look at my brother.

"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. And the harder I try to protect everyone, the more people get hurt, the more people get killed."

Finally I speak up, no longer being able to listen. "Scott you know that's not true." I take a step closer. Lydia tries to stop me but I shake her hand off.

"Scott we need you. I need you. I couldn't do half the shit I do without you. You always do the right thing, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. Scott, I love you. I can't live without you." Tears are sliding down my face as I slowly take more and more steps towards him.

"You would be fine without me. You always have been."

I shake my head, "No. No that's not true. You've always been my rock. I may pick on you sometimes and I may not say it enough or hell, this may even be my first time admitting it but I never cared what others thought about me. As long as you loved me and cared about me that's all I ever needed."

I take one last step, now in the gasoline puddle with my twin. I slowly reach for the flare, "You’re my best friend, my brother. I wouldn’t know how to survive without you. So if you really want to do this, you're going to have to take me with you."

I gently and slowly pull the flare out of Scott's hand. He doesn't try to object. I throw the flare away from us and the puddle and instantly pull Scott in for a tight hug. Behind me I hear Lydia scream, "No!"

Then she pushes Scott and me away from the puddle. Landing on the ground we all turn to look at where we were just standing. The flare rolled back towards the puddle and a fireball erupts. 

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 My head rests on Isaac's chest, his arms wrapped tightly around me. We wake up to bright sunlight filtering in from the windows and Coach and the cross country team entering the bus.

"I don't want to know. I really don't. But, in case you missed the announcement, the meet's canceled. We're headed home. Pack it in." Coach says, looking at all of us.

I get out of Isaac's grasp to move my seat to share with Lydia again. Ethan stops near us, "I don't know what happened last night, but I know you probably saved my life." He says to Scott.

"Actually, I saved your life. But it doesn't matter really. Minor detail." Stiles says. I smile and shake my head waiting for Ethan to continue.

"So, I'm going to give you something... We're pretty sure Derek's still alive. But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack."

Scott interrupts, "And kills his own."

"Or Kali goes after him. And we kill him. That's the way it works."

"Your little code of ethics is kind of barbaric FYI." Stiles states.

Before the bus starts moving Lydia quickly stands up, "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?"

Not giving him the chance to respond she quickly grabs his whistle pulling it off of his neck. "I want that back." He says.

Lydia cups her hand around the whistles vent and gives a short breath. She pulls her hand away to show her palm covered in purple dust, "Wolfsbane." She says.

"Every time Coach blew the whistle in the bus- Scott, (Y/N/N), Isaac, Boyd-" Stiles says.

"And Ethan." Lydia adds, cutting him off.

"We all inhaled it." Scott says.

"You were all poisoned by it." Allison continues.

"That's how the Darach got into their heads. That's how he-" Stiles starts.

"Or she." I pipe in.

Stiles looks at me with a look of disbelief. "What? I'm just saying not all killers are men."

"Yeah, you've said that before (Y/N/N). Thank you." Stiles then turns to Lydia and grabs the whistle out of her hand. 

Just as the bus starts driving away he tosses the whistle out the window. Coach glares and starts to scream but Stiles speaks before he gets the chance, "I'll buy you a new one."

~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:  @crazy-fan-101 @rogershoe

[much-obliged-timothy]

Dad Tim & Uncle Rhys Part 4

Self-indulgence part 4 is here! I’m always amazed when these get any notes at all, so thank you for that! Debating if I want to do a continuation of this part or not, so feel free to let me know if you want part 5 of this to be a continuation of part 4! And if you have no idea what this even is, you can read part one here

Rhys wondered what the hell he was doing as he approached Timothy Lawrence’s house.

Tim had called out of work sick about three days ago, his voice raspy and coughs constantly interrupting him as he tried to assure Rhys he’d work from home when he could manage it. Rhys, despite tending to rely on Tim’s quick turnaround time on assignments he was given, had told Tim to just check in every day until he was ready to return.

Tim had sounded progressively worse each day, and this morning he hadn’t even called. He’d sent a short, apologetic email to Rhys.

Rhys knew Tim had no friends on Promethea. That meant he was trying to look after himself and his son as his illness grew worse.

So pity had overtaken him, and Rhys had made some soup to bring over. He’d check on Tim, see if he needed anything, and then be on his way back to Atlas.

But as he approached the little house Tim lived in, his steps slowed. Was this appropriate? He worked closely with Tim, but they rarely saw each other outside of work, so was it really appropriate to just show up at his house?

But what if Tim needed medical attention? Phoenix was too young to be looking after Tim properly, so it was possible Tim’s condition had grown worse if he was unable to care for himself or get medicine. 

Rhys took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way to the door. Regardless of if Tim liked to tease him and piss him off on occasion, he was a good man and he was Rhys’ employee. Rhys would make sure he was okay and get him medicine or groceries if he needed them. 

Rhys knocked on the door, looking around. Blinds were drawn over all the windows, giving him no preview of the inside of the house. 

He was waiting for so long that he wondered if anyone would answer the door. But then it finally creaked open, Tim leaning heavily in the doorway.

Rhys stared. Tim always wore his mask at work, but he’d taken it off now, Jack’s scarred face on display.

Even more, though, was that it was clear how sick Tim was. His face was flushed with fever, a light sheen of sweat on his skin. He wore plaid pajama pants and an Atlas T-shirt Rhys had given him as a welcome gift, though it clung to him from the sweat. Tim had heavy bags under his eyes, his breathing labored. 

“Rhys,” he croaked.

“I brought...soup?” He held it up helplessly. “Shit, Timothy, you’re bad.”

“You can set that in the kitchen,” Tim said. “I’d take it myself, but I’d probably drop it.”

“Sit down. I’ll take it to the kitchen,” Rhys said.

He followed Tim inside, Tim dragging himself into the living room and over to the couch. It was made up with blankets and pillows, Phoenix sitting in front of it with a toy gun.

“Boss guy,” he said in surprise.

Tim collapsed on the couch, running a hand through Phoenix’s hair. “Go take him to the kitchen, please.”

Phoenix got up, setting his toy gun down and picking up his tattered Hyperion bear. He gestured for Rhys to follow him, leading him into the kitchen.

There was a chair pushed up to the sink, and another pushed up under the microwave. Rhys looked at them curiously.

“I can’t reach,” Phoenix explained. “But I gotta make food for us ‘cause dad’s too sick to get up.”

“He seems really sick,” Rhys said, opening the fridge to put the soup in it.

“He is,” Phoenix said, fidgeting with his bear. “I dunno what to do. He got worse. Is he gonna die?”

“What?” Rhys said in surprise. “No. He just needs medicine and rest. Has he taken medicine?”

“Uh-huh,” Phoenix said. 

“Can you show me what he’s been taking?” Rhys said.

“Uh-huh,” he repeated, wandering from the kitchen. 

Rhys followed him. They passed Tim, who seemed too tired to pay them any mind. Phoenix took Rhys upstairs to a bathroom, pointing at a medicine cabinet.

“It’s in there,” he said.

Rhys opened the medicine cabinet and looked through the various medications Tim kept. They were all over the counter medicines, and Rhys took time to read the labels to see what could be taken together without hurting Tim.

He settled on a few medications, leaving the bathroom with Phoenix trailing behind him. They went downstairs to Tim, who reached out to ruffle Phoenix’s hair.

“‘M okay, pal,” he mumbled. “Just need to sleep a little more.” 

“Here, this should help with your fever,” Rhys said, shaking a pill into his hand and holding it out to Tim. 

Tim took it dry. Rhys realized the glass of water near him was nearly empty anyways.

“Tim, do you need a doctor?” Rhys said. “You look terrible.”

“No, no doctors,” Tim said. “I’m fine. Just gotta rest.”

“Dad, let boss guy help,” Phoenix said, clutching his bear tighter. “I don’t...I don’t want you to die!”

Tim reached out, drawing Phoenix close and trying to sit up so he could hug him. “Hey, I’m not dying. It’s just a fever, Phoenix. But you know I hate doctors.”

Rhys opened his mouth, then shut it. Of course. Tim was surgically altered. Who knew what he’d been through at the hands of Jack’s doctors to make him a perfect doppelganger?

Still, he looked bad right now. Rhys went back upstairs as Phoenix clung to Tim.

He searched around the bathroom until he found a thermometer. He cleaned it off and took it downstairs, holding it out to Tim.

“Take your temperature,” Rhys said. When Tim opened his mouth to refuse, Rhys shot a pointed glance to Phoenix.

Tim deflated a bit and took the thermometer. He placed it under his tongue until it beeped, glancing at it and wincing.

Rhys peeked at it and shot Tim a look. “If it goes any higher, you need to go to the emergency room, Tim. I’ll drag you there myself.”

“I can’t!” Tim protested, having to stop and cough into his arm. “I don’t have anyone to watch my son if I’m laid up in the hospital. And I don’t do well in hospitals, regardless.”

“Dad, stop!” Phoenix said, gripping Tim’s arm. “Stop, you’re sick. Let boss guy help. Please, I don’t want you to die.”

“I’m not going to die, Phoenix,” Tim said. “Hey, can you get me some more water, please? It’ll help me stop coughing.”

Phoenix hesitated, then nodded. He kissed Tim’s cheek and picked up the glass, heading into the kitchen.

“You’re scaring him,” Tim said.

“Me?” Rhys said in disbelief. “You’re the one half dead on the couch.”

“I’ll be okay,” Tim said, slumping back on the couch. “Please, Rhys, I can’t go to the hospital. I’m...I’m terrified of them. And I don’t have anyone to watch my son. I can’t send him back with his mother. We don’t want him back in the casino. But if I’m in the hospital, we won’t have a choice.”

“You can’t take care of him like this,” Rhys pointed out.

Tim pressed a hand to his head like he was in pain. “I know. But at least he’s not separated from me.”

“If it comes down to it, he can stay with me. But if your fever gets higher, you’re going to the hospital,” Rhys said. His eyes widened. “Oh, hell, I just committed myself to that, didn’t I? Dammit, Timothy, you’re a nightmare of an employee.” 

“You won’t need to act on it, because I’m not going to the hospital,” Tim said, looking miserable but stubborn.

Phoenix returned to the room, sitting on the couch by Tim and handing him the water. Tim took a few sips before setting it down.

“Thanks for the soup, Rhys,” Tim said. “You better head out. I’m going to sleep for a little.”

“Oh no,” Rhys said, putting his hands on his hips. “Phoenix, make sure he takes his temperature once an hour. If it goes up from this,” he showed the number on the thermometer, “then you call me and I’ll make sure we get him help.”

“That’s cheating. You can’t use my kid against me!” Tim said.

“I’m gonna tell boss guy if you get any sicker,” Phoenix said, his stubborn expression mirroring Tim’s. 

“God, I wish I never forgot a condom,” Tim groaned, pressing his knuckles to his eyes. “Freaking Jack. I swear he left me fertile just so I could be tormented in this moment. What an absolute dick.” 

“Timothy!” Rhys said, face heating up. He gestured to Phoenix. “Your kid is right there!”

Tim waved a dismissive hand. “He knows I love him, and he knows he’s a pain in the ass.” 

“You’ll make him get help?” Phoenix asked Rhys anxiously.

“If I have to drag him my- Well, probably not myself, because he scares me. But I’ll...make Zer0 drag him to the hospital?” Rhys said. “He’ll go there if he needs to, is my point.” 

“N-Not happ-” Tim fell into a coughing fit, hacking away so hard that Rhys was worried he’d cough up his damn lungs. Phoenix pushed the water into Tim’s hands, rubbing his back as Tim tried to drink a little to calm his fit. 

“Dad, please,” Phoenix said quietly, putting his arms around Tim. “Please let boss guy help.”

Tim looked at his frightened, worried son, and groaned. “Screw both of you. I’m going to sleep. Wake me in an hour to take my goddamn temperature.”

Phoenix looked relieved at his father’s reluctant agreement. Tim tugged a blanket over himself, shivering despite how badly he was sweating.

“Get him something to eat before you leave,” Tim muttered, closing his eyes. “Thanks, Rhys.”

Phoenix tucked Tim in before getting off the couch and going into the kitchen with Rhys. Rhys searched around for something to make for him that wasn’t a microwavable meal.

“You’ll really make sure dad is okay?” Phoenix said, hugging his bear tightly. 

“I...yea, I promise,” Rhys said with a sigh. “But you need to take his temperature every hour, okay? Uh...do you know how long that is? Shit, can you even read numbers?”

“I know how to tell time,” Phoenix said. “Kinda. But I know how long an hour is. And I can’t count that high, but I know three comes after two so I gotta call you if it’s one-zero-three, right?” 

“Right,” Rhys said, surprised. Kid was smarter than he’d given him credit for, that was for sure. “103 is a high-grade fever. He needs to get help if it gets that high.” 

He was at 102.7 right now, which was bad news. Rhys would prefer to get him help now, but he also didn’t want to stress Tim out in his current condition. He hoped the pill he’d given him lowered the fever a little. 

“You need to make sure he drinks a lot of water and juice, okay?” Rhys said. “He needs fluids. And don’t let him get off the couch if he doesn’t need to. He should be resting with a fever like that.” 

He felt bad. This was a lot to put on a kid, but with Phoenix’s distrust and paranoia, it would be hard to bring in help. Rhys couldn’t stay here; he had to get to work before his meeting in an hour and a half. 

“I have to go to work after you eat, but I’ll come back after,” he promised. “You can call me if his fever gets worse, though.”

“Thank you,” Phoenix said, and Rhys was horrified to see tears in his eyes as he hugged his bear. “Everyone always tried to hurt dad, but you don’t hurt him.”

Oh, god. “So, um, um...what do you want to eat! Food. Food is good. Can’t cry if you’re eating!”

Maybe he should see if Vaughn would come be a babysitter. Vaughn would probably be good with the kid. Rhys had no idea how to handle a child.

He got himself busy cooking a meal for Phoenix. Phoenix retrieved his toy gun while he waited, sitting quietly and taking practice shots at some cardboard targets he’d lined up for himself.

Rhys gave him the meal and did the dishes while he ate, deciding to at least help out a little since Tim was too sick to look after the house. Rhys ended up putting away some laundry that had been abandoned long enough in the dryer to go cold, cleaned up the kitchen, and even changed the sheets on Tim’s bed, which he clearly shared with Phoenix despite Phoenix having his own bedroom. 

He woke Tim just long enough to take his temperature, confirming there was no change before letting him pass back out. He got him a fresh glass of water and set medication near the couch, writing out instructions for what Tim should take and how often. He knew Phoenix couldn’t read, but Tim should be able to handle that part himself.

“I’ve got to go,” he said at last. Weird as it was to clean someone else’s house, he was glad he’d stopped by to check on Tim. Phoenix was too young to properly care for Tim or the house. They were going to need help until Tim was better.

“I can call if he gets sicker?” Phoenix said, taking his dad’s hand in his.

“I did say that,” Rhys said, sighing a little. “Yea, call me if he gets worse. And make sure you get some sleep too, okay? I know it’s just you and him, but it shouldn’t be your job to look after an adult when you’re just a little kid.”

“He needs me,” Phoenix said, that stubborn look back on his face. “Dad takes care of me. I gotta take care of him too.”

“Alright,” Rhys said, raising his hands. “Just get some sleep tonight, Phoenix. You don’t want to get sick, too.” 

“Thanks, boss guy,” Phoenix said, getting up to walk him to the door. 

Rhys hesitated, then reached out and ruffled his hair like he’d seen Tim do, although he was a lot more awkward about it. Phoenix winced a little at the sudden touch, but he didn’t freeze up like he did when he thought someone was going to hurt him.

He stared up at Rhys, with a surprisingly contemplative expression. Finally, he nodded to himself.

He held out a fist to Rhys. Rhys stared at it before awkwardly bumping his own fist to it.

“Thanks for being good to my dad,” he said.

“Oh,” Rhys said. “Uh, right. Of course. He’s, uh, he’s my employee after all. Even if you’re both pains in the ass, I’ll...I’ll look out for you.”

Tim had been a good, loyal employee. It was the least Rhys could do, especially knowing the situation Tim and Phoenix came from.

He left the house, waving to Phoenix before he shut the door. He heard the lock click before he walked away from the door.

Shit. Rhys really hoped Tim got better, because he didn’t think he could handle Phoenix’s separation anxiety and Tim’s fear of hospitals at the same time.

[sunshine304]

I am so so sorry that it took me this long to continue my LoF watching posts! RL, y’know. Ep 26 felt like a good place to take a breather, as well, so that’s what I did.

 Anyway, let’s move on to eps 27 and 28!

It’s exposition time! Zhou Fei and ChuChu are at a tea house and hear about an army deserter who was trained on the Mountain of the Immortals (has this been mentioned before... IDK), was poisoned and became a monk. A-Fei thinks this story sounds familiar (indeed it does, indeed it does...) and ChuChu remembers having read sth like this in a book (the book of ... Peng Lai? I think?).

Oh look, Huo Fort becomes relevant again! I forgot about them. Anyway, Huo Lintao, who is now the boss and seems to not be well liked basically everywhere, wants to fight Disha and invites people from Jianghu to his Destroy Disha Assembly (God, I just love that name XD). Li Sheng & 48 Strongholds get an invite and he wants to investigate. Huo Fort is also... attacked by random cultivators I guess?

Meanwhile, let’s check in on Yin Pei! He still can’t deal with his internal injury (loss of internal power? still not sure; I’m assuming it’s sth like severe damage to a golden core in xanxia or even complete loss of one) and scours Old Daoist Master Chongxiao’s rooms for the Phoenix Pill, which... I think gives you lots of power but is also really super dangerous? 

This show sure has lots of useful but also dangerous power restoring/improving pills and needles, huh?

Anyway, Yin Pei takes the pill. He does not feel so good. Uh oh.

Li Yan and Yang Jin go in search for A-Fei again – uhm, didn’t A-Fei simply go into town with ChuChu? Why are they searching for her again, other that Yang Jin wants to fight her because one obvious defeat isn’t enough? I'm guessing there has been a time skip again...

Meanwhile, at Disha Manor! Shen Tianshu is nursing his wounded ego I guess, while Chu Tianyu, an older member, is now supposed to take care of all this drama, but he doesn’t really want to because he’s retired. How many weird members of Disha are there?

Oh okay, so Yin Pei goes kinda crazy because of the scabbard since it seems to be gone, takes more of the Phoenix Pills, which is a fucking stupid idea, we get some exposition that this might turn him into a demon of some sort, and then he kills Chongxiao for the scabbard because he thinks that the old master wants it for himself.

Which, you know, isn’t true, but that’s what you get for being so secretive, I guess. Chongxiao actually wanted the scabbard so a forger could make lots of copies of it, so that Yin Pei can keep the original one. *sigh* Well, too late now. Yin Pei also meets that evil guy from way back in ep 7 or 8 who’d fought Chongxiao and Li Sheng, who calls himself the Black Judge (I’m too lazy to look up his name and hope he doesn’t really become that relevant). 

I’m kinda sad that Yin Pei simply seems to go the “Oops I’m super crazy now“ route instead of having a more interesting redemption arc. I also... don’t really know what he wants to do now? He’s got the scabbard of his father... Are there still people alive he could take revenge on? Disha I guess?

But! The song that plays while Yin Pei confronts Chongxiao is awesome! I'm in love.♥

Back to the main characters, thank you! Xie Yun is really ill and freezing, the poison taking its toll. He’s at the same inn as two new characters (noooo, no more characters, have mercy!) Zhu Chen and Zhu Ying of the small Zhu sect, who are there for that assembly. They eye XY and feel sorry for him. We instantly know that these are Good People.

Aaaaaand introducing another new character, Ying Hecong, Poison Doctor! I know he’s relevant because he’s got a poster!

Of course Zhou Fei just misses Xie Yun in that inn. *sigh* But then she meets Li Yan and Yang Jin there, which is nice. 

Yet another new character!  He’s Black Tortoise Ding Kui and has henchman that are dressed in a rather peculiar way. Is this now the same as with that Azure Dragon guy, and I don’t really have to remember him? He’s from the 4 Guardians Mountain (speaking of which, where tf is Mu XiaoQiao!?).

Okay okay I see now. Everyone is in LingLing for that meet up with the Huo family! Madame Nichang is there too! Ah my beloved! ♥ She tells Xie Yun to follow his heart, and not be stupid and only think of his end. 

Xie Yun is all evasive of course, and then he meets up with Cheng Zichen who of course is also there! Because of this he finds out that Zhou Fei is there, too, which puts him into a conflict. Because his running away was going so well, dammit!

On to Ep 28!

Xie Yun hides out in the carriage with Ling Yu of the Feather Robe Troupe, who slyly comments on him running away from Zhou Fei. He’s sad and says that it’s not A-Fei’s fault and that he’s just an unlucky person who is not good for her. T_T Kill me, why don’t you.

A-Fei has learned a lot and notices XY’s ruse, yay go my heroine!♥

She catches him and they fight, and she asks him about the poison. Zhou Fei obviously suspects ahhhh! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ But of course when XY seems happy that she was looking for him, she goes all haughty again and is like, “It’s only because of the HYTS!“ (although no it was mainly because of him and she looks light she might burst into tears any moment now, too...)

They get distracted by the procession of Black Tortoise Master walking by and A-Fei knocks XY out. They’re even now! XD

Nice to see the whole gang together as A-Fei drags the unconscious Xie Yun to an inn! ChuChu my beloved! ♥

OMG Li Sheng and Yang Jin getting into this peacock fight! XD Li Sheng scolds his sister and Yang Jin is super pissed about it. Li Yan is looking sooo smug, like “Yep that's my very own protective himbo!“ XD

Then Li Sheng is sent off to find Madame Nichang because she at least might know what to do about Xie Yun.

Ding Kui arrives at the Hui Fort. If I understood correctly... Hui Lintao wants to... kill all the cultivators when they arrive for his assembly? Or just those other cultivators that are randomly attacking him? There's traps in the forest they have go through. He specifically mentions that the traps are set after Daoist Master Chongxiao’s design, so hm might Li Sheng be of great help here later? Anyway, that old guy from Disha is there and seems to find all of this very funny. I’m confused.

Mu Xiaoqiao my love!!!!!!! He’s back!!!!  For about 5 seconds but there he is, looking fabulous! ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

Ding Kui (who... has left the Huo Fort I guess) wants to work with him and reminds him of his debt to the Huo Fort. I had forgotten about that.

Oh let’s check in for about a minute on Yin Pei, who is still crazy and slaughters some people... uhm somewhere. He also now calls himself the true Master of Clear Light. [at least I think it’s supposed to be his new name?] Nicely written on the door in blood. Okay then.

But the instrumental of his song plays in the background, making all of this much more epic, so it’s fine.

Madame Nichang arrives, is shocked, and states that Xie Yun is poisoned, as A-Fei feared, and he has a year if he doesn’t use his internal force anymore. A-Fei is devastated and we get their love song while she rubs his (supposedly) ice-cold hand. Oh my heart. T_T

Ying Hecong arrives because he wants to see the poisoned guy! XD He has never heard of tact. 

Since A-Fei is desperate she lets him in, and we get some exposition in bits and pieces. Ying Hecong first assumes that XY must’ve been poisoned about a month ago (which fits the fight against Disha, where he used the needle), but wonders how that could be because Lian Sheng (the poisoner known for bone piercing blue) has been missing for a while longer. He lets slip that he isn’t actually a doctor, uhm yeah....

Oh not A-Fei is so sad and crying, nooooo T_T She’s angry at XY, asking why he had to meddle in her affairs and then leave to just die somewhere alone. Oh nooooo.  ಥ_ಥ ಥ_ಥ ಥ_ಥ

(side note: easy scene for Wang Yibo, just lying there the whole time, no lines for once XD)

A-Fei gets the Tianmen Lock from Madam Nichang (a special lock that has a double lock mechanism that is very difficult to open. Md. Nichang actually alludes to this lock being very useful for lovers and I’m like... okay XD). YunFei are kinky as ever, nothing new here – A-Fei is so pissed at XY that she doesn’t want him to have the chance to run away again. XD

Loved how XY complained about the lock destroying his posture. XD And how Zhou Fei’s like, “It’s not my fault you’re bound like that, Li Sheng is to blame!“ while the flashback tells us, that uhm no, he’s not. XD

Ending with A-Fei telling Yang Jin about the Hai Tian Yi Se. Ah they’re important relics it seems. Well whatever. XY listens in.

I really need to keep on watching, it seems stuff is happening.

[popculturebuffet]

Jake Reviewcaps Stuff: X-Men Evolution: The X-Impulse

Two of the series most popular characters, and one of its’ more popular ships: Jean and Xavier try to lead kitty away from charming asshole Avalanche whose trying to use her for crimes, but have trouble due to having taken stupid pills before this episode. Meanwhile Kurt and Scotty follow Logan as he confronts Sabertooth for the first time and gets cars thrown at him. No really. Abusive Romance, Flying Cars, and probable Gilmore Girls refrences under the cut. 

So yeah i’m doing another one already. This pace MIGHT slow eventually, as I want to get through the show faster.. but this episode gave me a ton of material to work with so I wanted to strike while the iron was hot. So as I mentioned last time the show started with slowly shoveling characters in one at a time, giving each time for focus and to breathe a bit. So with Nightcrawler and Toad out of the way it’s time for Shadowcat and Avalanche.. who happen to be one of the biggest ships for this show.. and also one some don’t like. Me, i’ll form an opinon as I go as I don’t remmeber much of them together other than him trying to join the x-men in one episode, so we’ll see. For now it’s time for some X-Impulse. Wait isn’t impulse dc? Is there a marvel character named that too? 

Yup there is! Two in fact, but somehow one is x-men related. This is impulse a member of the Shiar imperial guard I entirely forgot about because there’s like 40 or 50 diffrent members and he’s not one of hte more promeinet ones. For those who’ve never heard of these guys there the elite superpowered muscle for the Shiar Empire, an intergalactic empire whose former empress Charles Xavier dated for a while after dethroning her brother and who serve either as allies to our heroes or people for them to beat up depending on if someone sane is in charge that day or not, and who often have members killed to show off some new baddy, hence why there’s been three impulses apparently.

 Their based on the less military, more heroic and more fleshed out if still hugely sized,  legion of superheros from dc, which Guard co-creator David Cockrum was one of the  most famous artists for and originally actually CREATED Nightcrawler as a legionnaire, but he was rejected for being too demonic and thankfully recycled into the rougish religious elf we know today. The Guard were as far as I can tell made as a wink and a nod toward that and a gentle jab at the competition and is far from the first or last time either side would make characters based on the other side. I also bring up the Shiar because despite being a sizeable part of the X-Men mythos in the comics.. they’ve BARELY been used outside them. Cartoon wise only the 90′s series used them, though to be fair....

Given Evolution had both hinted at exterterstials apparently, and was planning on doing the Phoenix Saga in season 5, so they MIGHT have used them eventually, but I somehow doubt it and WOlverine and the X-Men didn’t live long enoguh to even consider it. As for the movies they were considered too ungrounded for them and thus were basically exiled from appearing on film for 20 years. Now the Shi’ar aren’t perfect characters, the fact before he took the throne himself Gladiator would just obey whatever assshole took the reigns due to some misguided loyalty didn’t help, but they could be used intrestingly and the guard are at least intresting in a fight, so it is a shame they couldn’t be used till recently and hopefully with the fox merger the mcu will put them to use at some point. Also for those curious if they showed up in any other cartoons.. nope. According to wikipedia, their mentioned in Avengers; Earth’s Mighteist Heroes (Which will also be covered here some day) and Legion (probably too though also probably not episode by episode if I do), and show up in two of the video games, with Ultimate Alliance being the biggest role outside of the 90′s cartoon from the looks of it, having the well, alliance, head to shiar space to get the mkrann crystal and battle with the guard and deathbird. Anyway, i’ve spent enough time on this weird sidebar, let’s get on with the actual episode!  We open with a pretty good scene. We meet Kitty Pryde, your average teen whose having a weird flying nightmare.. emphasis on weird as it is a bit wonky, but the idea is fine enough.. as is the result where she finds herself having fallen to the basement and FELT it, her panicked parents coming down and Kitty only being able to sob about having fell, her mom putting it off to sleepwalking.. until her dad notices her pillow and blanket fused into the celing above, which only makes the poor girl more upset. It’s a good, tense scene and a reminder that wether your mutant powers are benign or not.. having them awaken can still be traumatic as hell, and uses this world NOT having them be a public concern well: Kitty has NO IDEA what’s happening to her, no one to turn to and is understandabily terrified. For all she knows her body is breaking down and she might not be tangible again, not an unresonable fear given her comics counterpart once ended up in that very situation due to taking some heavy damage in battle from an energy charged harpoon.. from a guy named harpoon because even Claremont had an off day with names sometimes. My point is it’s a very good scene. Naturally Charles notices from cerebro.. and with a weird computer thing that somehow fully researchs who she is because tha’ts not creepy, but It is somewhat understandable. Cue the credits.  We then get a REALLY pointless throwaway scene with Kurt, now having’ been at school for long enough to be late several times apparently, late again and running into Mystique, in her guise as principal before Scott thankfully rescues him. Why Mystique is confronting her son like this I dunno, but what I really don’t is why this scene is here at all. It could’ve easily been replaced with a throaway line about Charles only wanting to have one student miss midterms or not wanting to arouse too much suspcion with the facultiy by taking too many of the kids out of school. Instead we just get this scene to establish their home. And yes they could’ve just needed to fill out the episode.. but there’s plenty of ways, that i’ll mention later, this minute of screentime could’ve been used better and we really didn’t need a whole scene of them to set up that they’d be home for their subplot this episode.  Back in scene’s that actually matter, Kitty is trying to sneak off to school but her mom stops her, with her family apparently having agreed to keep her home but Kitty just wants some normalcy and her family won’t even talk about it, so her mom relucntantly agrees. I can’t blame Kitty: even if it’s a terrible idea to go to school while she has no idea what’s happening to her and can’t control it as far as she knows.. she’s also a scared kid whose body is changing in ways she can’t fully grasp, and unlike puberty, which mutation is a mild metaphor for, there’s no deep years of study on it or how it changes a body: she has no idea what’s going on and just wants to grasp onto SOMETHING normal while she’s clearly not. It’s some well done character stuff.  Meanwhile  Jean and Chuck are on their way to what i’m assuming is that same old place, sweet home Chicago since that’s where Kitty is from in the comics and they had to fly there anyway. Jean questions why her.. out of the three junior x-men so far she’s the least intresting. Charles explains he thinks she can reach Kitty which.. makes some sense. Jean is uber popular at school, easy to get along with and endlessly nice, so she’s a good choice. Another likely part of it, and why not scott, is scott’s powers: it’s a lot easier to sell her parents on powers doing good with someone who can lift objects versus someone whose constantly cursed to never open his eyes, and this way kurt has his buddy back home so he dosen’t feel lonely his first time without his new dad. Now granted I question why STORM didn’t come with them, as she seems like a good choice and it’d be a nice nod to her bond with kitty in the comics, but I suspect it was simply easier to just have two x-men to focus on. Maybe she was busy getting Evan for two episodes down the line...

So then we get.. Charles being really, REALLY dumb.. like out of character dumb. See in the comics when the X-Men came to recurit kitty, they all came in civlian clothes, though ironically Jean wasn’t with them for the initial meeting because even more ironically she, Scott and Kurt were split off into their own group to try and recruit Dazzler, and Charles was nice and polite about it and promoted the school as well. a school. Granted Kitty’s parents didn’t know about her phasing here and Emma Frost was also trying to recurit kitty for HER school for gifted youngsters.. but still, there’s NO reason for Charles not to use that sort of pitch to get into the door, especially since as we learn in the scene after this Kitty’s a straight A student, retaining her deep intelgence from the comics, so there’s an easy foot in the door before he drops the mutant part in. Instead he just casually mentions he tracked her that he’s diffrent and comes off really fucking creepy and naturally they say fuck no to that. LIke.. how do they know he’s not with the goverment or forming a teen militia or just a pedophile who happens to be a mutant.. they do not and their already scared. So chuck gets a well earned door to the face. And thus I get to introduce a new running gag: The Chuck, you Blockhead, Count,. Now granted the obvious name may be the xavier is a jerk count, which i’ll probably also do but that’s more for being an asshole, like he often is due to poor writing or currently pragmatisim in the comic. No no this is for when Chuck is just out an out an idiot. Plus I love a good Charlie Brown refence so Chuck,  You Blockhead Count: 2 It’s at 2 since we also have last episode where Toad showed up with his own uniform, and attacked kurt.. and Charles did nothing and questioned nothing about that. And now I mentioned that other count Xavier is Jerk Count: 1 The Scott thing is more in character but for having his test be.. have a grown woman chase a teenager with Lightning. Storm was involved too but I doubt she’ll be an asshole as much so she’s safe for now. So having throughly botched it Xavier decides to have them split up, gang: Xavier will go to social services to find out more about lance since he’s an orphan, while Jean will infiltrate the school. Now while watching this I questioned why no one in school at all questioned a random teenager they never met roaming the halls.. but odds are jean just used her telepathy to either make anyone who saw her think she belonged there or masked her self from them seeing her, the latter being a signiture move of both jean and her teen self brought to the present because complicated bollocks, so fair enough. I also thought charles was just fucking off but accoridng to the wiki he was at social services, so he avoids another count and was doing something useful, checking on lance before he tries to offer him a spot: both to make sure he’s a good fit after last week’s debacle and figure out the best course to legaly take the boy in if so, and if not knowing charles still find the kid a home anyway because even if he’s not x-man yet, he’s still a child in need asshole or not and Charles is a good man. Such a good man he had to be told 9 timelines ended in utter disaster and ruin for mutantkind for him to even humor breaking from his dream according to recent comics, and according to Moira’s notes STILL took a good 15 years in universe of attempted genoicdes , 1 actual genocide and his people being reduced to a nub to finally cave and even THEN he admits he still loves humanity and wants them to be better. While I did put up an xavier is a jerk count just now at his best Charles Xavier is a good if flawed man who, while prone to ocasionally making utterly terrible decisions, loves both humans and mutants and just wants peace in our time and only created the x-men to foster it.  Meanwhile back at the ranch her mansion, Logan.. senses sabertooth.. I mean even with Logan’s adept sense of smell, I question how he could smell him over the exaust of Sabertooth’s goofy metalic penis, aka his own motorcycle, but it IS part of his mutant powers. Either that or they just have a magic force bond like Rey and Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy.. minus the sexual tension and forced face turn for the latter.. maybe just minus the forced face turn. So Logan prepares to go fight his rival, and suits up for the first time. and while it’s in a black void for.. some reason it looks REALLY badass and really gives gravatas to seeing wolverine in costume for the first time. And since he’s one of ONLY two looks to look at this episode, since Kitty and Lance don’t get their uniforms this episode, let’s talk about it. 

I fucking love it. Like Kurt’s it’s basically his comic’s costume but slightly modified.. but unlike Kurt it’s a diffrent costume than last time, going with his cool brown look that he wore for quite some time in the comics, though made a bit more orange. However it honestly STILL looks fantastic and I get wanting to go with a color that’s a bit more eyepopping in the more muted tones of Evolution. It just looks fantastic and i’ts nice to see a cartoon use an alternate costume for a character as their main look.   Logan passes a returning from school Scott and Kurt, who decide to follow him and after debating which car, Scott gestures them to his.. which is scott’s sports car from bot the previous series and the comics. Why a 17 year old has this, I can only assume because Chuck is a really good dad, really rich.. and likely knows having a bunch of teenagers around means if one of them DOSEN’T have hteir own car they’ll be borrowing his rolls royce all the time and this way he can have his nights after training free to smoke a blunt with logan while they watch the next generation and eat a pile of cheeseburgers the children dropped off while crusing around out of his lack of hair, you know why you give your teenager a car in the first place. 

Anyways while Kurt and Scott buddy up and go on an excellent adventure, with Kurt even bamfing inside and god I love this dynamic. So fucking adorable. But anyways while that’s going on, Kitty is at school being mocked by two alpha bitches for being sad despite her grades then is shoved in a locker. When then meet Lance, soon to be known as avalanche and the other mutant at school who decides to graffito tag the place.. in the laziest but somehow still coolest way possible by just taking his spray can and spraing one long streak along the lockers. Not as neat as doing an actual tag but it does more petty dumbfuckery faster so fair play to him.  Kitty begs him to let her out.. before her powers trigger again. She tries denying it when he comments on them being cool.. before he shows off his own, making the earth move under his feet, though not the sky tumbling down a tumbling down.. that’s Storm’s job. It shakes the lockers and Kitty rather than be impressed, runs like hell. But yeah, I get the feeling, even with him having evil plans for her right after.. that he does feel some attraction to her here. And as I made clear i’ts not shipping goggles.. the way he acts.. he’s elated to meet someone else with powers, to after likely being pinballed around foster care and treated like shit by his piers over it and then finding out he has a special power but is still seen as a weirdo even by his minons.. he’s elated. It’s what draws him to her: that for once he’s NOT alone, and there’s someone else to revel in the sheer power and joy he feels using his powers and even though she runs he vows he’s gonan rock her world.  Since we’re where a commerical break would be, I figure now’s a good time to talk about Lance. In the comics he had a diffrent name entirely, and avalanche was more of a one note villian who later became a retired bar owner. Here he takes bits, the long metal hair and love of his powers, from Rictor, a more heroic mutant in the comics who only started out doing crimes because he was forced to and quickly joined the original x-men’s class of mutants the x-terminators before joining the new mutants and later x-force. He’s also , as you probably know, one fo the x-men’s most prominent gay mutants, but while hinted at in comics made before this series was fully canonized years after, and like iceman who came out even later, there was no way of knowing that at the time, so it made since to use him as partial template here. It also makes sense not to use the rictor name as while it makes more sense given the earthquake motif, Avalanche is an actual villian.. and you know the obvious fact that Lance is white and Julio Richter.. is not.  Granted they COULD’VE made him latino, and used sunspot for spike to ballnce it out representation wise, but this was the early 2000′s and they cared about as much for repesentation as Jeph Loeb does. Hopefully Rictor gets an adpatation at some point outside of Logan, but I get why not here. 

On with the show. Kitty shows up late for track due to thing one and thing two, and has to run first and trips, while on the nearbye rooftops Lance and his two goons try to break into the administration building to get test answers. They don’t as Lance notices an alarm, and while one of his goons asks why he dosen’t just quake a hole in, Lance points out the obvious: If there’s obvious tampering they’ll just change the test answers.. and since he knows about kitty now, he has a better way and when questioned rather than explain her powers, he just shakes rattles and rolls. He also makes one of Kitty’s bullies trip but it only scares her further. I”m getting. serious heathers vibes here jesus.. I mean Lance isn’t nearly as bad as Jason Dean but still jesus. I need to listen to more of that musical good stuff. 

Kitty retreats from her admierer/stalker to teh autitorim, where Jean finds her.. given Jean again slipped in here without no o ne noticing and no one came after kitty , i’m thinking she use her telepathy to mask anyone from seeing Kitty come in and seeing Jean at all so she could talk in private. Granted Lance shows up right after, but odds are Jean didn’t notice him and thus didn’t think to shield him and probably isn’t up to Charles level where he can create a psychic blindspot in an entire crowd. Anyways Jean tries to comfort kitty who’s still angsting about her powers and again hard to blame her when the only other mutant she’s met is a budding psychopath whose idea of a romantic gesture is injuring one of her enmiies for her. Jean does try to calm her down, first showing she’s a mutant and admitting she was freaked out too when she got her powers.. and given most depcitions of jean getting her powers are far from plesant that tracks. She does however make the mistake of telling Kitty, already figuring this is some sort of trick and jean will throw a puppy across the room to also try and get in her pants or something, that she’s a telepath and Kitty screams at her to get out of her head. Jean truly is taking after her mentor in thef ucking up department. Lance then shows up as I mentioned earlier, and tells Jean to backoff and that’ she’s mine and you get it. Oh and as a side note Jean DOES admit to having read Kitty’s mind so she CAN read minds, and likely has gotten a surface level look of duncan’s thoughts which I feel go a little something like this mnus the actual context of when the song’s going on. 

Lance then finds kitty, whose changed into her regular outift and promises not to use his powers this time, admitting he too felt lost and scared, and wants to help her take control and help her.. and while it is partly for his own petty scheme.. I do genuinely think he means part of that, that he does genuinely wnat her and want someone like him by his side.. it’s just in his warped head doing crime and whatever he wants is the right thing to do, that control means using this power to knock down whoever’s in your way and TAKE what you deserve. 

Jean instead phones xavier and both agree that if lance fully gets his hooks in her they might never reach her and Xavier tells him to stay on her and that she can overcome lance as an obstacle.. and then bemoans that some obastacles are more annoying than others as the social services building has a large stone staircas,e a nice quip and they beat the ulitmate universe to that joke by a few years. 

Meanwhile our two best buds track Wolvie to a car park because fuck if I know why he decided to make his stand there. Probably because the writers had a cool action scene in mind as we’ll see, but it still comes off dumb though given how every other x-man has been acting this episode it tracks. Anyway Sabertooth strolls up on his demonic wang-shang-a-lang, 

Seriously I mocked it before but it bears repeating. While Wolvie has a normal looking, if still badass, bike Sabertooth’s.. looks like something Skeltor would ride after he man. It Looks like warlock is horribly stucki n the form of a motorcycle. It looks like the kind of bike on some random asshole the bikers from sons of anarchy would beat up forposing. It looks like he stole it from the biker mice from mars. It looks like the polution from it’s exaust alone is the reason big bird die. it looks like Creed just brought it off the joker and remonded it. It looks like something the battletoads bought and regretted. It looks like ghost rider’s first trike. it looks like Tooth lost his dick in a horrible acciden tand is compensating with theree metalic ones. It looks like something the BAND creed sold to victor creed here. It looks.. bad is what i’m saying.  As for his actual outfit.. it’s okay,b asically his movie outfit with osme of the skin missing. That look isn’t my faviorite of his but it works to sell him as a savage monster and fits good with the more tactical less comic booky looks of this shows costumes. 

Creed, the man not the band though  he does look like the lead singer of creed, charges at Logan who simply pops his wheel while tooth falls off the roof.. and then the most rediculous and awesome part of the episode starts.... right after Scott’s car gets hit with the bike because what else did he think was going to happen when the fighting started.  Sabertooth , who apparently has really good super strength in this universe, starts CHUCKING CARS UP THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE CAR PARK UP AT LOGAN. Points to the team while the setting for this fight is nonseical, it is WORTH IT for this, with great action as Logan dodges the cars bursting through the roof. it’s rediclous, over the top.. and UTTERLY spectacular and not just in a so bad it’s good way. Logan eventually slips through a car hole, a sentence i’d never thought i’d say mostly becasue that’s the moe syslack approved term for garages but it works well here too, and into the garage before sabertooth RAMS him with a car, ranting about it’s their “destiny” only one is left. Which seems like some weird “applying highlander logic to former goverment weapon mutants’ bollocks, but instead is foreshadowing for the end of the season. Nice touch. Scott and Kurt arrive, in uniform since even if he’s a bit more personably here, Scott still is no dummy, and they sucessfully save Logan, whose pissy about it because it was his buisness and all, but Kurt thinks he secretly loves them and Scott sarcastically agrees. Not a bad subplot and it makes up for a weird choice of battleground on logan’s cart iwth utter insanity. Fun stuff.  Back at not so fun stuff, Kitty finds lance outside the office and takes him up on his offer, and he admits they ARE outsiders, there is something wrong with them.. but instead of moping about it, they can do something about it and revel in it. It really ties into Lance as a character: He’s probably felt, due to being an oprhan and not having a stable home life likely buffeted around foster care and acting out as a result, that he really is an outsider and his powers not only proved it.. but finally gave him POWER over all the people that cast him out. The power to take what he wanted and return what he got. The power to move you. He finally had power and he was going to make them pay for making him feel like he had none and wants Kitty to join him. And for a moment it works, kitty joyfully breaking in with him and actually enjoying her powers for the first time. Meanwhile kitty’s parents showed up, Jean having called them and somehow got them to listen.. and this is what I meant by that one minute earlier. We COULD have built up Kitty’s parents guilt and fear by having Charles approach them again.. and with them panicked over her not returning from school, have him explain what happened and help her father see how wrong he’d been to hide from it or had her argue with her dad then storm out. Instead they just show up here for the first time in almost 20 minutes so we could get a filler scene of kurt being late. 

Anyways inside Lance steals the answers and Kitty is horrified to find out that “Gasp” the juvinele delinquent who hurt someone to impress her is doing BAD THINGS. Lance tries to change her grades but she refuses.. and then Jean and the Prydes show up, with Kitty’s dad admitting he was wrong, he shouldn’t of hid fro her power and shoudl’ve been a better parent.. better than her comics dad who got in bed with gangsters i’ll give him that. But Lance not wanting to loose his new sorta girlfriend knocks a bookcase on kitty and abusively tries to drag her with him.. while jean says if you go with him now, her powers will be a curse like she thought earlier... even though Kitty’s pretty terrified of lance right now and dosen’t actually want to go with him.  it comes off like this bit from final space played entirely seriously

So yeah apparently I need this too...: God Dammit Jean Count: 3 The other two are for the telepath thing earlier and the duncan thing last episode. And given the duncan thing is going to be going on till season 3 yeah i’ll need this. I’ll probably also need a WHAT DOES SHE SEE HIM HIM COUNT, but i’m playing that one by ear. But yeah kitty does the obvious and breaks it off and phases out and Lance takes it well.. by trying to destory the entire school.. my god this really is heathers! Did .. did lance kill some popular kids before this? I have questions. Jean struggles to hold things up and worries about kitty, who falls under some ruble but charles assures her to focus: She can do this.. and as we seen Chuck likely sensed kitty who phases out and reuintes with her parents before rescuing them all. Kitty realizes her powers are a gift after all and says the x-men have her best intrest and heart and Charles finally decides to have an actual discussion with the prydes which had he had one might’ve helped this episode go faster.  We then end on Lance, angry and hurt starring into the distance, when Mistque approaches in her principal disguise, saying there may be an opening for her and transforms ending with a great line “I have much to teach you, my avalanche”. Which ihs a better code name than Rictor when put like that credit where it’s do. And we’re out. Final Thoughts:  This one was a bit of a step down as you could tell: The main core of Lance and Kitty IS really strong, being a good way to breifly touch on toxic relationships. If this gets better in season 2 I have no idea but it’s a compelling dynamic here, with Kitty being terrified of her power while Lance loves his and both are what prop this episode up alongside the fun car park fight and great dynamic with Kurt and Scott. HOwever what drags the episode down is EVERYONE but Kitty and Lance, who act in character, and Scott and Kurt, who had no idea logan was going into combat and were just curious what their cool teacher was up to acts like a fucking moron: Logan, rather than pick a fighting ground where he has an advantage chooses one where sabertooth can easily use stealth and gives him an opening too as well as a garage full of weapons that nearly ends him, Xavier decides just randomly revealing he knows where they live wiill impress scared parents, Jean decides telling someone she’s in their head is a great idea, Kitty’s parents think not talking about the thing tht just happened will make it disappear, which is at least realistic if nothing else, and Sabertooth thought that was a valid choice for a motorcycle. The climax is good but feels unearned and overall this episode could've neen fantstic but is bogged down by bits of stupid, but is still enjoyable thanks to it’s emotional core. Next time, whenever that is, another popular charcter arrives as we go Rogue. Until then, follow for more reviews, like this if you enjoyed it, send asks iwth suggestions for more shows and episodes to cover and until then, stay safe and stay mutant and proud. 

[dreamingsushi]

Dance of the Phoenix - Episode 1

As if I am not late enough on my other reviews, I’m starting a new drama. Yes. Believe it or not. But lately, this has been helping a lot with my mood, so I will keep going and hopefully I will finish every series I started. Hopefully.

What brought attention to this drama to me was that I joined the French subtitling team for it and it looked pretty interesting from the previews and then I finished my part for the first episode and the bits I saw made me curious. I figured I can’t see all the dramas I might sub for but, this one needed to be on my watchlist.  So here we go!

So for a start, I’m not sure I am going to watch it every single time, but the opening of this drama is really beautiful. I am personally the type of person who likes to watch it every time, because it’s part of the drama and they spent time to make something nice. However, if you like to skip to get into the story faster (which I can understand because sometimes... cliff hangers) I would still recommend to take the time to look at it at least once. I super soft and touching. Beautiful is the word. Honestly.

The continent Qianyuan is separate in four territories: the Junwu Academy, the Celestial Palace, the Penglai pavilion and the Darknight court. The first three are in alliance to keep the peace under the leadership of the Junwu Academy, while the Darknight court has their own ideas. Once, demonic beasts were called upon the mortal realms and the cultivators fought them to bring back peace. The strongest cultivator at that time was Mu Jiuzhou and after he repelled the creatures away and erected an energy barrier, he left to focus on cultivation until the day he tried to ascend to immortality and got in an accident before disappearing.  That very same night, Feng Wu was born and she was the second person after Mu Jiuzhou to be born with phoenix blood.

When she was twelve, she found a spirit ring in which Mu Jiuzhou lived as a ghost since his disappearance and he becomes Feng Wu’s master. Being his disciple makes her become a very talented and powerful cultivator, which aroused other people’s jealousy and amongst them, there is Zuo Qingyun who catches her by surprise one day and steals away her phoenix blood before trying to kill her.

Fortunately for her, when she falls down the cliff, her master saves her and gives her his phoenix blood. However, she lost all her cultivation and her memories. To regain that, she has to find the celestial fruit and make the nine transformation spirit restoration pill. But before Mu Jiuzhou can explain more to her, he disappears back into the ring. When she was found, her family banned her away because they believed her personality changed because of the loss of her spiritual powers, not her memory loss. And the energy barrier was cracked up as Mu Jiuzhou’s star faded away.

Three years have gone by since that incident and Feng Wu is making a living by selling medicine. But a new place opened up which causes them trouble to make a living. So she manages to trick the son of the prime minister to buy something from her, but at a higher price.

Many cultivators are hoping to get the celestial fruit, not only Feng Wu. One of them is the prince of Junwu who needs to get it for his dad. Also, the Darknight court wants to prevent him from getting it, but he’s just way too bad ass. Plus his two friends are cute. The dad looks kind of creepy, I don’t trust that guy.

Feng Wu’s mom is waiting for her and his very worried. She tells her not to stay out that late, she’s not as strong as before. She’s really worried she would die at the hands of demonic beast. Feng Wu tells her not to worry, that she just went to see the Old Ba.

At night, Feng Wu dreams of her master who tells her to get the celestial fruit, as he preparer the best path for her. At first she thinks it’s just a dream but then she figures it must be a sign sent from her master for her. So the next day she goes in disguise with her maid to the Yunlai tavern to gather info on the fruit which is located in the Frozen Forest. There she hears people gossiping about her past engagement with Jun Linyuan which was broken when she disappeared. Rumours have it that he’ll marry Zuo Qingluan and that they are a good match.

But then a beggar collapses in the tavern. The girls from the Celestial Palace don’t help him, so Feng Wu wants to lend a hand. She knows some kind of acupuncture technique that only her master Mu Jiuzhou knows of, but she’s stopped by the leader of that group saying she might kill him if she does that, they argue a little bit, but in the end, Zuo Quingluan is the one to save the beggar. Something seems to be triggered in Feng Wu when she sees Zuo Qingluan, but before she can confirm it, the tavern starts shaking: the firecloud giant hawk came over, causing ruckus in the little town. It draws Feng Wu’s attention too, but her maid pulls her away. They don’t get to completely run away, so they observe the battle from up close, but the girls are not strong enough and theeeen! Handsome prince comes to save them. AND THAT CRINGE THOUGH. He’s like reaching for his sword, but she thinks he wants to help her get up and he pushes her away because well she’s in the way. And that’s the end of episode one.

The rhythm of that episode was kind of weird, as we skipped many years and it was actually more to set up the story and the background. To know a little about our main character girl. The 3D animations are really not bad so far, for a C-drama, I was rather impressed. Plot wise, I’m waiting to get more meat around the bone before deciding wether it’s interesting or not. Visually, 100/10. Gorgeous drama. After episode one, I so far highly recommend.