#help my mama mana

[yourbustedkneecaps]

i lied i have a starter “handbook” for monsters and mana now 👍

[xblackreader]

SydCarmy Meets The Family <3

>>> The thought of Carmy being introduced to Sydney’s tons of Nigerian Aunties and Uncles is very humorous to me.

“And Here he is! I brought you my boyfriend, Carmen finally. So everyone leave me alone about it.” Sydney starts, once she has hugged everyone.

The ‘Please go easy on my white man’ is silent but they nod. Raising up to shake his hand and her littlest clingy cousin who greets her, stares him down like he’s an alien.

He sticks out like a blonde haired blue eyed sore thumb, but once he’s been greeted and given a general threatening message via all her uncles (in tight jeans and sandals, which lightens the threats) he is told to put down the things they brought in the kitchen.

“Nice firm handshake.” He hears an uncle comment as he leaves and he is elated. It’s small but it’s approval!

Once in the kitchen, the auntie’s crowd to greet him with hugs and get distracted seeing him for the first time, squeezing his muscles and touching his hair.

“Eh… nwa ocha ya di short mana sara mbara…”

“Ma o nwere big muscles!

“No! Yana min kyau! Cute!”

Carmy: “Uh, do… do they like me?”

Sydney: “Oh, they love you. They’re plotting to steal you away from me.”

“Big nose though…”

Carmy: “well… okay, that was English.”

Her younger cousin, David, walks up to Carmen as he chops vegetables. Pulling a little stool over and standing at his side, wordlessly. He stares first at Carmen himself then the vegetables the white man cuts so effortlessly.

Little sticky fingers rise and reach for the knife and Carmen just laughs as he attempts to pry it from much larger stronger hands.

“Can I see?” David asks, confused on why his big cousin’s boyfriend thinks he’s so funny.

“Unfortunately, this is a knife. Too heavy and too sharp for you to use.”

David is heavily offended that he is being underestimated. “I can chop! I chop for Mama everyday!”

“David!” He heard said Mama begins to scold him, “Do we raise our voice at guests?” David begins to tear up.

“Not at all, Auntie.” Carmen inserts, David cut off from his whine. “He’s just asking if he can help me cut vegetables. I didn’t know he had experience.”

David’s mother melts immediately and confirms that yes, David does chop carrots and garlic for her. “Oh, He’s very smart! Knows how to hold the knife properly and everything!”

So Carmen lets David help him ‘chop’ keeping a steady hand in his as the little boy is taught new techniques and tricks.

By day’s end, David is smitten with his new weird looking friend and makes it plain by crying when it’s time to part. Sydney is so proud that she lets him parade around as the new favorite cousin.

>> And Sydney meeting a couple other “less-than-woke” Berzattos? Older Italian people setting eyes on their introverted little nephew’s girlfriend?

“Che bellezza!” A drunk uncle of his screams almost immediately before Carmen can get her name out.

“Gambe piuttosto lunghe… You guys will have such cute babies!”

“Oh, mixed babies are the cutest!” Donna throws in.

“Ma…” Carmy warns.

“Oh, you’re so WOKE, Carmen. Chill out! She’s givin’ her a compliment!” His Uncle says before turning back to the game.

“Ya mother’s right, Carmen! See, my sista has the cutest little grandchildren! Remember little Joey, Carmen? He went and found himself a black girl too!”

Carmy: “Okay, Aunt Glo, thank you. Can we move o-“

“And they have just beautiful little caramel children! And their hair! Ugh! Ricci e belli!”

Sydney is just nodding and trying not to laugh at how mortified Carmy is. He looks over to her in apology, but none of these comments are particularly too inappropriate and they mean well.

“But she’s skinny…”

“Skin and bones! Let’s feed her then, come with me, sweetheart!”

Sydney: “O-oh, uh…” but her hand is captured and she’s being led into the kitchen to be fed by hand.

She tosses a help look to Carmy and he shrugs with a small smile.

“Hopefully this’ll make your hips wider… The Berzattos have large heads when they’re babies, unfortunately.”

Carmy: “Ma! Cut the baby talk!”

Fin.

[v3nusxsky]

Could you please write a lesso and dovey agere fic, where r is scared of thunderstorms and just needs to be held by her mommy and mama?? Maybe either lesso or dovey gets home before the other one does and finds r crying because of the storm, and r cannot calm down until both lesso and dovey are home with her?? Thank you so much, your writing is really amazing!! <333

Too loud|Agere

*Authors note~ Agere is saving my life rn ngl especially being sat in a car with my ex high school bully who is now my younger brothers gf*

Trigger warnings~ little r mana lesso and momma Dovey thunderstorms sensory overload fear suckling on boob?

Prompt~ see ask^^^^^

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

You had slipped about an hour ago, Dovey telling you to go and colour while she finished up her work before she would come and give her angel all the attention you could ever ask for. You were happily colouring in a picture when you heard it. At first your little mind thought it wasn’t real, after all there was nothing to follow it and no rain. It couldn’t possibly be a storm. Not while you were alone.

The second clap was louder than the first and it had you scurrying into the corner of the room hands over your ears as you rocked yourself in an attempt to self soothe. You still had tears flowing down your cheeks as your body shook with fear. No matter how tightly your hands were pressed over your ears nothing seemed to dull the sounds. The first flash had a frightened squeal escaping you, your colouring long forgotten as all your little brain could process was you were alone and scared.

The first clap of thunder alerted Clarissa to the oncoming storm, instantly packing up her office and heading to the room you shared with your girlfriends. The thought of her baby alone and scared had her feet moving at an unimaginable speed. And the way she found you absolutely broke her heart. “Oh my little Angel, momma is here baby” she whispered coming to kneel in front of you. Through your teary eyes you knew it was momma and threw yourself into her awaiting arms.

You freed up on hand by pressing your ear above Clarissa’s heart. Sobbing for momma and mama as the storm raged on. “Mama” you blubbered, “no safes momma need mama!” It was truly heart breaking to see you in such a state but as your panic built so did all the sensations you were feeling, everything is loud, the clothes you are wearing feeling uncomfortable and scratchy while any touch to your skin felt like fire. “Off! Hurts off” you cried tugging at your clothing and skin in an attempt to make it feel better only to be startled by another clap of thunder causing you to flop to the floor and curl up in a ball sobbing, “mama! Momma! Momma make better mommy help”

Leonora heard your refer to Clarissa as mommy which showed how distraught you were. Only in moments or panic would you call her that, just like lesso became da in those moments. Your brain reverting smaller than you would usual allow yourself to go. “Oh baby mama is here now too” Lesso muttered coming sit near you both. “How long?” She whispered to Dovey who is still trying to help you through the sensory overload. “About five minutes? How much longer for the storm do you think?” You were oblivious to the conversation but another clap of thunder followed seconds later by a strike of crisp white lightning had you sandwiching yourself between the two women who held you tight.

Lesso lifted you to the bed where the two women snuggled up with you, you now finally able to begin the climb down from your panic. Leonora knew you needed Dovey so she decided to suggest you have some special momma time. You happily took that idea but whined in protest at the red head leaving the bed. So that’s how you found yourself with a topless Clarissa suckling on her breast, as Leonora ran her fingers soothingly down your back. This never failed to soothe you.

A clap of thunder sounded causing you to become scared and Clarissa’s nipple to slip from your lips. Angry whines came from you causing lesso to guide your head back to her breast, chuckling at how you instantly became calm once more. Your eyes fluttering shut as you fought sleep. “Shhh princessa you can sleep baby, mama and momma are here and you’re safe my darling” she whispered before kissing your head and Clarissa’s lips sweetly. On nights like this it was always cherished by the redhead. One day this would be a reality, mana momma and mommy, but you’d always be her princessa no matter what happens.

[malixxxmizer]

Hi!, I saw your comment that you do headcanons. Can you do a headcanon of Mana x Bassist! Reader who is in a punk female band? (Please bare with me cause this is my first time requesting on a writer 🥹)

Mama Sama x Bassist! Reader (AFAB)

Notes & Disclaimers: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THE FIRST ASK, it’s truly an honor! 🥹 I hope you enjoyed this ask as much as I did making it! Hope to have you back anon 🫶🏻 also sorry if something is grammatically incorrect or misspelled, I was so excited I forgot to proofread. This is so teeth-rottingly sweet, but enough talking from me (I loved this ask so thank you so much)!!

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Mana Sama with a Bassist! Reader who’s in a fem punk band:

⛤ I imagine Mana would be the type of significant other to absolutely love to support you and your craft. They go to every show no matter how far or how busy they are, and they absolutely love watching you work your magic on stage. There’s nothing more attractive than watching someone you love do something that they excel in, same goes for when you watch them perform!

⛤ Mana is a skilled guitar player and because he’s so caught up in his work he never really got a chance to mess around with other types of instruments, this is where reader comes in and gives Mana all the bass lessons they want. Reader teaching mana how to slap the bass brings a smile to my face because they probably feel so out of their element when it comes to bass and reader is just so good at it; it makes Manas heart flutter knowing that their significant other is willing to help them learn an entirely new instrument.

⛤ Imagine standing behind Mana as you wrap your arms around them and place their hands where they need to be. Being so close to each other creates a romantic atmosphere between the two of you which has both of you dreading when the interaction will have to come to and end. Although since Mana always knows which heart strings to tug at with you, something tells me that this won’t be the only time you have your arms wrapped around them giving them a bass lesson.

⛤ Mana is a huge fan of your punk band and even goes as far as to slip out of the show for a couple minutes to make their way into the merch line for new stuff. As much as you try and convince them that they don’t have to spend their money because them simply being there is enough, they argue against it and claim that they choose to support your band by any means necessary 🤍

⛤ Sometimes when you’re stressed and can’t sleep, heading to the studio to compose at ungodly hours of the night means mana joining you because they simply cannot stand the fact that their pretty little lover is worrying themselves. This usually leads to you and Mana creating the most beautiful pieces of music but simply because the raw emotions and lack of sleep get the best of each other allowing for a different type of creativity to form. All I’m hearing is Malice Mizer punk era coming soon…..

⛤ If the time ever comes for you two to be apart for some type of tour or event, Mana will make sure that they have daily and maybe even HOURLY communication with you. Mana is a lover through and through and they are absolutely and irrevocably infatuated with you. They are obsessed with every little detail of your being and they can’t stand not being able to be around you for long periods of time.

⛤ Because Mana is so infatuated with you, they believe that it’s only fair for them to spoil you absolutely rotten because of how much happiness you bring them by simply existing. This means that you get absolutely anything you look at when you’re out shopping together, whether it’s some really cool clothing pieces or even a new signature bass that you’ve had your eye on. (precision bass, jazz bass, any bass you want mana will buy for you because they think you deserve the WORLD)

⛤ The first time you told your band mates that you were talking to a SUPER attractive guitar player, they simply played it off as nothing even when you admitted you both had begun dating a little while after the news. The day finally came for your band mates to meet Mana, and they were left completely speechless because I think you failed to mention that you were dating the LEAD GUITARIST OF MALICE MIZER AND MOI DIX MOIS!

⛤ After the introductions between Mana and your band mates, they all quickly warmed up to each other and alas a new friendship had begun between them. Mana thought they were the coolest people ever, but of course they had to be because they were friends with you. Your band mates also couldn’t believe that someone as big as Mana had heard of your band, but nonetheless they were stoked that your music was getting the recognition it deserved.

⛤ You and Mana were two creatives who absolutely clicked like missing pieces of a puzzle whenever put together. You two produced some of the best music that the industry had seen in the long time and it was all due to the love and mutual respect for each other. Hit after hit after hit, your band was topping the charts and as your punk band began to rise more into fame you and Mana had turned into THE power couple of the century. The media was absolutely eating up all the content you two were giving them and they couldn’t have been more happy claiming “when the punk princess meets her visual kei match, the world will know true peace” and then the world really did.

END!

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Authors note: I really hope you guys enjoyed this short and sweet head cannon, I was so excited that my first one was for Mana, I really love them. I had fun writing this and I hope you had fun reading it. Continue to keep sending in asks or requests I’m always happy to respond (even though it might be a little late with my crazy school and work schedule) but I will ALWAYS get it done! Thank you so much for reading my work I absolutely love this!!! Have a great one!!!🤍🤍🤍🤍

[travajoke01]

I wanna enroll her in a contest so infopost here we come

casual outfit still developing, please stand by

rottmnt OC Chimera Solbritt, she’s a bombyx. Aaaaaand also she’s a witch (i’m almost sorry for Donnie).  

Va: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFOBe5rGrqc&list=PL0ZdQpFsexGEB8-p_dN7jflu7y7bB4Upe&index=5 Noël Wells

Her little caterpillar-like buddy is Cat (as in Cat-tools and caterpillar)

 Really hate that we saw so little of witches and furthermore they were not so…..thrilling. I’m not a good writer, so i’ll just throw out some facts about her and backstory. Maybe my headcanon will make creators and nickelodeon so angry that they’ll decide to continue the show just to prove me wrong.

So this little cutie has problems with her family (on account of them being killed) and were took in by Big Mama and trained by her great-aunty Moti, so her english is better, otherwise that would be a disaster.

BM took her as last favor to her friend (a witch), trying not to dig Chimy into her illegal business too much, but girl would peak her nose once in a while (she’s a real fan of true crime, how could she miss something like that?). 

She’s a product of love of a human (scientist) and yokai (witch), whose bond was a problem for the witch’s town by itself, and a reason of their demise. Chimera was thought to be dead too, but she was teleported by her papá along with Cat, who was supposed to be her nanny, but became a life-long companion. He recorded some things from the crime scene, including her father’s goodbye and face of the killer.

Unfortunately, it took some time to reach her mother (she was in the witch town currently, while dad was above), and since she had no idea her daughter was alive, she took the poison to rejoin her fam.

Knowing that Mira (I really see so much potential In her being evil), would want her own granddaughter dead, Moti knew that girl cannot stay, so by the advice of  Chimy’s mother, she took her to the hotel, sneaking there once in a while to teach her and tell stories of her parents.

Of course, Mira was playing the victim, crying and telling that both of her parents died in the accident from one of their experiments.(those damn scientists can’t do anything right). 

It was hard for Chimy to study, especially, when she saw Gentry getting the attention and magic lessons from Mira she craved so much. But i guess  with having the half of capabilities of others-it is how it is. Or maybe Mira didn’t trust the bombyx just as much.

So to begin her way to the top properly, Chimera had do enlarge the amount of magic she can hold\produce, call it mana if you want. Before that, to learn magic ways properly, she had to use her enchanted umbrella and Cat’s help to make and store potions and elixirs, particularly healing ones. Quite a useful buddy this Cat, after all, a creation of magic AND science. 

School days weren’t exactly easy, on one hand, because she enrolled in the already formed collective that got used to each other, on the other, because Chimera was mostly looking humanish, the only things visibly telling that she is certainly not a human were her little wings, teeth, eyes and ears. She’s not unusual enough to blend in with yokai, and way too unusual to blend in with humans. Her fluff, retractable arms, spots and colour, the size of her wings were developed during all these years, heck, even the silk wasn’t always the thing. All of that made it only harder to get used to, she was clumsy and insecure. You can’t say she was bullied necessarily, but she’s never felt being a part of community. It definitely affected her, so she seeks admiration and attention.

Being tired of this buzz of thoughts and failures in her head she quitted the school and embarked on her little adventure outside the New York, (approximately during the time of season 1-2 and the movie) travelled to the temple where she empowered her dark magic (hence the mark’s ob her hands, the more she uses them, the more they grow), and enlarged her mana. 

Coming back to NY, she had to pass an exam to show her progress in magic, which wasn’t a problem for her this time, and took private lessons from a wizard.

FACTS TIME

second and third pair of arms are retractable. First pair, normal skin, second-fluffy, third-more like a chitin, they’re thinner than the other pairs. Her height is actually about Mikey’s, but since she’s walking on her “tiptoes” (it’s more comfortable bc of her bone structure) she appears to be higher.

produces silk (uses it to lengthen the range for touch-based spells or to crochet) and pheromones (to attract or to repulse)

umbrella has planetary signs and on the top is a sun sign (solely decorative)

her bailiwick is dark magic mostly (darkness based harm\destruction spells, creating a field of darkness), but she tries to learn other kinds of elementary attack spells, but they’re more tiring for her to perform.

has bags under her eyes,mostly because she stays up late, her sleep schedule is a mess. She just likes staying up late and doing hobbies, with all that learning there’s should be time for fun, right? After meeting the Mad Dogs, she could spend several nights without sleep, learning\practicing spells or looking for a particular one that they need. 

Even though she sometimes seems insensitive, she’s very emotional towards animals and animated little creatures (like robots),probably because she feels they are weaker and has an instinct to protect them.

doesn’t like any physical touch if she doesn’t like\know you. For some reason, this irritating, orange masked turtle grew fast on her…maybe her shell is getting thinner. (they’re totally besties, she freaking loves Dr. Delicate touch)

They also share a hobby with Mickey-drawing. Also she crochets, watches true crime videos, destroys the patriarchy, u know, girl stuff  

uses her wings for DAZZLING and casting(it’s absolutely extra), more than for flying, because that would be an easy target and not as fast as umbrella and magical means. So she uses umbrella for fast travel\dodging, but at least she looks great

She considers incident in witch town very amusing (Donnie vs witch town),considering her tense relationship with this place.

She genuinely finds Donnie entertaining. Her reaction to his noises and attempts to be a mad scientist is pretty much the same as Luz’s reaction to King (like: awww he steppet his wittle foot~) Does it irritate him? Very much. But at least they both have a topic to infodump (science and magic) and they can’t understand eachother, which is a new experience for Donnie, to be in his brothers’ shoes. But she actually supports Donnie and tries to listen, though rarely understands terminology.

Giggles almost every time boys have an argument (if it’s not very life-threatening situation or it’s a real time to be serious)

She likes Raph’s roughness combined with his sweetness. She would totally crochet smth for him.

Leo is the one she shows her new nails first.

April is a kind of friend she always wanted, she can tell her about her nails with the same interest as about true crime (and learn smth new from April). She would also teach her magic too or escort her somewhere she could learn it.

She has a good developed emotional intelligence but rather from a logical point of view, like “ofc they do not know they’ve hurt u, they’re not u, but if they did it on purpose and u found out about it-ditch them, u deserve better that that”. Also, she’s a crybaby, but hates showing strong emotions like crying in public, cause it makes her feel weak.

 She tells “failing is okay” to smbd mostly to absorb it herself, she will try to comfort them with the words she would like to hear. But it’s only if she cares for you, otherwise you can jump off a roof and she’ll be like “do a flip”. 

Even though she seeks attention, she’s an introvert and she needs to “recharge” every once in a while to avoid being overwhelmed. Otherwise she’ll be a real buzzkill.

Totally infodumps boys about serial killers and true crime stuff, Raph and Leo ARE DEFINATELY CONCERNED. 

Greets u with “Supies~” and it irritates Don-Don (that does too)  because it’s not a real word

She hates dancing, because she hates embarrassment. But somehow Donnie takes it personally and insists on dancing lessons from him ofc. She says yes just to get him out of her hair ,but he takes it seriously. Somehow, it’s fun with him, even though very awkward at first. 

eyesight isn’t that great, wears special lenses to be less sensitive to light

learns spanish 

sings when she’s nervous

has slight anger issues

[zexal-club]

Zexal Club as DBZA scenes/quotes

This had to happen eventually

Bloom: You put the lime in the coconut and drink 'em both up~ you put the lime in the coconut and drink 'em both up~

Daphne: Bloom! Come in!

Bloom: Oh hey Daphne!

Daphne: Your son and his friends are in trouble, Bloom. Are you healed yet?

Bloom: Uh, nah, I don't think so.

Daphne: Well how long do you think it's gonna take?

Bloom: Well, I think the machine will tell me when I'm done.

Daphne: Okay, you think, or you know?

Bloom: ... You put the lime in the coconut-

Daphne: Bloom!!

Bloom: Aww, c'mon, Daphne, they don't need my help. I bet they're doing just fine on their own.

Kite: Healer's down!

Casey: Need a res!

Yuma: Out of mana!

Kite: AAAAAAAAAHH....!!!!

Casey: AAAAAAAAAHH.....!!!

Yuma: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH...!!!!

-

Yuma: (Uses magic)

Dark Mist: Oh, you think you're being cute?!

Yuma: B/tch, I'm adorable.

-

Seeing Astral for the first time

Mari: Looks like a total F.A.G.

Cody: Mari!

Mari: What? A freaky alien genotype. What did you think I meant?

Cody: Oh, I thought you were calling him a derogatory term for a homosexual.

Mari: THAT THING'S A GUY?!

-

Yuma: My mama's not gonna let you get away with this!

Nistro: Big f*cking whoop! We beat Icy, and she's strong as $hit!

Yuma: Yeah? So did my mum.

Nistro: By herself?

Mr Heartland: (Realisation) Oh God, your mother's Bloom. OH MY GOD! YOU MORONS STOLE BLOOM'S KID?! How?! How did you steal Bloom's kid?!

Dextra: Well, first, we beat up her husband...

Mr Heartland: Oh my $hit!

-

Yuma: Magic Winx!

Vetrix: Magic wha- (Gets knocked to the ground)

-

Flora: Bloom has a baby.

Bloom: You're damn right!

Sky: Yeah, and you won't believe who the father is...

Flora: Kazuma.

Roxy: Kazuma.

Tecna: Kazuma.

Stella: Kazuma.

Sky: Well, it could've been mine!

Bloom: It's Kazuma.

Sky: I'm just gonna walk over here...

-

Yuma: Oh right, Magic Winx. (Transforms)

Mari: Oh right, Magic Winx. (Transforms)

Vector: Oh $hit... Magic Winx. GAAAAAHHH!!!!

-

Mr. Heartland gets hit by lightning

Mr Heartland: Alright, who has the balls?!

Transition to Leo

Leo: Kiss my a$$ b/tch! I'm immortal!

-

Miyuki: I am making an announcement!

Kikyo: Please be leaving the city forever, please be leaving the city forever, please be leaving the city forever!

Miyuki: I am leaving the city forever.

Kikyo: Woohoo!

Miyuki: After I blow it up!

Kikyo: OH NO!!

-

Yuma: What do you think happened?

Kite: Well, either I got hit so hard I'm in a delusional coma, or...

Yuma: Or?

Kite: THE MAGIC SYSTEM IS BULLS***!

-

Kikyo: Well, if this is it, then... (Holds Mari's hand) I love you.

Jason: Hey, Yuma... since this is the end-

Yuma: If you're about to say, "I love you" , I swear to the Dragon...

-

Yuma: Oh, really? Because if it's a fairy of the dragon's flame your looking for... I can fill the part.

-

Tori: Remember Miyuki?

Silence

Jason: Who?

-

Nistro: By the way, I only hate you because I have pent-up aggression against your mother.

-

Kikyo: I just have hope, okay? Is that so wrong?

Astral: The fact that you have any hope left in your life is your most admirable quality.

Kikyo: Huh... thanks, man.

Yuma: Kikyo, for the love of the Dragon, don't thank him!

-

Bloom: So what're you doing?!

Villain: What am I doing?

Bloom: What're you doing?!

Villain: Nothing much.

Bloom: Traumatising my son?!

Villain: Traumatising your son?

Bloom: Are you?!

Villain: ...Yes.

Bloom: ... I'M GONNA F*CKING KILL YOU!

@yukii0nna @fair-night-starry-tears @kousaka-ayumu @bibookdemon @bakawitch

[trash-king18]

m pt. 17

no warnings just reader with her sister

————

“you’re late” crystal says as she opens the door

“only by two minutes”

“two minutes that i will be later to work”

“lo se lo se lo siento”

i know i know i’m sorry

she shuts the door

“i thought you and miguel were on the outs”

“we are, what are you talking about”

“wet hair that was clearly washed with men’s products”

“hey!”

“-glowing skin” she sniffs “day old clothes. my guess? you were at his place not even ten minutes ago”

you turn around and roll your eyes at her but when you do your hair that you had positioned to cover your neck falls off your shoulder

she gasps “and y/n Pardo are those hickies?!”

“what?! no” you hastily pull your hair back into place

“oh. my. god.”

“it’s not a big deal”

“mana are you kidding. hickeys are how men claim their territory. they can’t pee on you so they mark your neck for every other person to see that you’re taken even when they’re not around. he’s essentially saying “hands off! she mine”

mine. the thought sends shivers through you

“i thought you were gonna be late to work”

“mm you’re lucky, but we ~will~ talk about this later.”

“Niños, ven a despedirte de tu mamá”

boys come say goodbye to your mama”

Diego and Matias run in and tackle her with hugs and then immediately run over to you next

“se bueno hijos”

be good boys

“tu tambien hermana. hey do yourself a favor borrow something from my closet and uh concealers in the bathroom” she winks

you too sis

she heads out leaving you to a whole day with your favorite boys in the world.

you help Matias with his worksheets for school while Diego showed you all the toys he had gotten for his birthday.. again.

Then you make lunch and decide take them to brighton beach for the afternoon. the water will be too cold to go in but it’ll be a good chance for them to blow off steam and get outside.

the day passes quickly, but you still find your mind wandering back to miguel every so often.

why was he being so… good. even though he was a super hero compared to every other spider man sometimes he didn’t seem like one. superheroes didn’t brood or throw things. and yet he had comforted you through a panic attack, cooked food for you, helped you in… a few other ways.

he had done a fair share of asshole things and you had no intention of mothering him into shape. still he was trying.. and you weren’t perfect either.

you weren’t necessarily thinking about a relationship but… it was starting to feel like you were in one.

before you could spiral any farther down that rabbit hole diego came running up with a shell he’d found.

“woah chico eso es genial”

that’s cool

“puedo quedármelo?”

can i keep it

“por supuesto, podemos enseñárselo a tu mamá”

of course we can show it to your mama”

“Matias, vamos, hora de irse”

come on, it’s time to go

after a lot of begging to stay and a little bit of bribery you were back in the taxi on the way home.

it was dark out and the boys were in bed, Matias was reading to Diego to help him practice. his teachers had apparently noted that he was a little behind but since he’d started doing story time every night he had definitely improved.

Crystal walked in the door looking absolutely exhausted. she came in and kisses your forehead

“i am so glad i never have to worry about you swallowing balloons full of hallucinogenics ”

“what” you laugh

she waves you off and goes to say goodnight to the boys. she comes back out in pajamas and flops down on the couch next to you

“wine?”

“tequila”

“ay ya veo, one of those cases huh?”

she snorts “si”

you pour some tequila and guava juice over ice and hand it to her. she takes a greatful sip and sinks into the cushions.

“wanna talk about it”

“god no. i don’t want to think about work tonight, tomorrow, or at work for that matter”

“fair”

“you know what i do want to talk about”

“the super cool seashell we found at the beach today” you ask hopefully

“yeahhh that and your super fine super hero friend”

“there’s nothing to talk about crystal”

“mm see if you were just fucking that would be true but you’re fucking and fighting and then fucking again”

“so?”

“soooo there’s feelings there. and you are not good at those”

“hey give me some credit here i’ve gotten better about it”

“mm fine maybe a little bit. seriously though y/n you need to talk about it, i know you enough to know you’re probably overthinking about it right now”

“no i- i mean.. maybe a little”

“cmon, spill it, gimme all the juicy details”

“we’re not teenagers im not gonna gossip about boys with you”

“uh yes you are because i’m your older sister and i’m basically the boss of you so talk”

and you do. the tequila makes it easier. you fill her in on every single thing, leaving out only a few select explicit details. when you finally stop talking she stares at you with her mouth hanging open.

“why are you looking at me like that”

“i’m not looking at you any way”

“yes, yes you are. i know that face, you have something to say”

“no no im fine im good”

“i gave you every detail you don’t get to hold out on me now”

“i just.. want you to be careful mana. i know you can take care of yourself but this sounds complicated.. not just physically, emotionally. don’t get caught up in the good moments if they don’t outweigh the bad.”

you look down at your drink

“i know. i’m trying”

“what is it tia may always says? for every bad day, a good man-“

“-makes a hundred good ones. yeah. shes such a bad ass.”

“yeah she is, she never let tío ben get away with anything”

“no she did not. I can still hear her “Benicio! no te alejes de mi”

don’t walk away from me

“Benicio! necesito un bolso nuevo”

i need a new bag

your laughter eventually dies down and you’re quiet for a while.

“i went to see him”

you don’t have to explain. she knows exactly what you mean

“oh you did?” something about the way she says it sounds weird but you dismiss it

“marcus suggested it actually, figured it was time”

“i miss him”

“me too”

she rests her head on your shoulder and you two sit like that until she dozes off. you gingerly take the glass from her hand and set it on the coffee table. it’s almost 1.

you support her head as you lay her down and cover her with a blanket. you check your phone and notice there’s multiple texts from jess and the kids asking about what happened last night. you scroll through them but you stop when you notice a text that had come through two hours ago.

it was from miguel. he never texted, hated using a phone, he just had lyla call you or showed up evidently.

will you be home tonight?

you knew he meant home as in your other universe, but if you were any other two people it could just as easily be a partner asking if you’re coming home, to our shared space. the thought weirded you out.

you weren’t sure wether or not to text back, you

knew he was probably awake working since you weren’t there.

you were so sleepy, you could’ve easily crawled into crystals bed and passed out but you didn’t want to spend another night away from home. you sneak into the boys room and plant a gentle kiss on both foreheads and then climb onto the roof because the living room is too cramped for opening portals.

you step in and step out into your kitchen. you tug your clothes off as you walk to your bed and drop your bag on the floor next to you. you don’t even have the energy to grab pajamas for yourself so you reach for the closest thing which happens to be miguel’s shirt that you’d stuffed in with your jacket on accident before leaving.

you’re asleep before your head even hits the pillow.

————

taglist:

@urmotherswhor3 @kirke-is-my-name @rexxesgirl

@simp4miguell @urmomisafinewoman

@dammittjanet @cheezit-luv3rr @miggyyyyohara

[dreadfutures]

I was doubly inspired by this prompt from @rosella-writes for my #shadows in the sun AU for young!Ixchel & Kieran and what they get up to during DA4.

For @dadrunkwriting

Words: 2109

-:-:-

Ixchel knew mana exhaustion when she saw it, and she was honestly surprised Kieran hadn’t died from it yet. He had been a dragon, and then himself, and then he had flung not only himself across a whole canyon but taken her with him in one Fade-step the likes of which she hadn’t thought possible.

She had been surprised enough when he was capable of speech after all of that, but his impressive reserves of strength or foolishness could not last forever, she supposed. He had collapsed not long after they had made their way to the other side of the mesa. It had been up to Ixchel, then, to carry him down to where the cliffs dripped into a valley of trees, where they might be hidden from those that pursued him. She hoped.

Ixchel nestled Kieran in the roots of a tree to keep him out of the wind, on a bed of leaves to keep him from losing too much heat to the ground. While he rested, she worked.

She was no stranger to finding her way in the wilderness without supplies, though she resented the fact that she had been forced to leave them in her mad dash to help Kieran. Her bedroll, the oiled tarp, and the wrapped packages of salted fish she had brought with her now lay scattered on the red floor of the desert to the southwest. Regardless, she had no trouble making a lean-to, and setting up some snares, and digging a pit for a low-smoke fire, with nothing but her hands and the tools she could find in nature. It was a matter of principle, if nothing else, that she was annoyed.

They were near water—she had made sure of that—and she had fortunately had her canteen, flint, and a few other small trinkets in the pockets that lined her clothes. She left Kieran to quickly refill the water she had drained while crossing the desert, and when she returned, she found him just on the cusp of waking.

She was relieved, and she plunked herself down beside him, ready to offer him a sip as soon as he could sit up.

“What happened to finding shelter?” he groaned, with the expression of a child pulled out of bed too early, and she considered upturning her canteen on his lap in retaliation.

“We’ve got cover from the wind, water nearby, dry earth, and plenty of game,” Ixchel said instead. “Your mother would be grateful for such bounty.”

She reached for him as he struggled to sit up on weakened arms, and he wrapped his hand around her singular wrist for support—but then he didn’t let go.

He held her there and stared at her intently, golden eyes like a dragon’s, like his mother’s, boring into hers.

“My mother is missing, ‘Chel,” he said soberly.

Ixchel hated how the news, which should have been a punch to the gut, was just another bitter truth she could roll with. She was not shaken like she should have been, and she returned his gaze without surprise.

“Have you heard about the—” she began, but Kieran cut her off.

“The evil gods returning? My grandmother warned us all of that a decade ago,” he said.

“Alright,” Ixchel said. “Tell me what you know.”

“After Papae died, Mamae let the Well guide us to places that were safe… Places where the ancient people hid from the Evanuris.” Kieran’s voice had softened a little, gaze turning glassy and distant. “But then—the Well warned us that nowhere was safe. That the refuges we had found belonged to Fen’Harel, and so would she if we stayed. We were going to make a decision together, but she disappeared in the night without a trace. She left everything: her staff, her books…”

“Do you think Mythal took her? Fen’Harel?” Ixchel asked. “Controlling the Well?”

Kieran shook his head vehemently. “No,” he said, “because Fen’Harel came looking for her. And—” he sucked in a breath, having grown pale as if he felt ill at what he was about to say “—I know that it wasn’t Mythal, either. The part of me that she took… Fen’Harel holds it now. I could feel it in him, and I know my grandmother wouldn’t have given it to him freely, not after everything she did to take it!”

Kieran’s grip had grown exceedingly tight around her wrist—enough to make her flinch. Despite his wiry frame, delicate in ways his mother was but his father wasn’t, he carried a surprising strength in his hands. He did not seem to realize it, fixated and nearly frantic as he continued his explanation:

“I think Mamae went looking for the same thing my father did. It was his only hope, and he failed, and I think it’s her only hope, too. Our only hope.”

“A cure for the Blight?” Ixchel asked.

“No!” Kieran exclaimed, as if she had uttered the most disappointingly stupid thing he had ever heard. “An untouched place, a place where time, and magic, and war, and death, and yes the Blight, have never trespassed.”

Ixchel pursed her lips and waited for him to continue, loathe to say something else to earn his disapproval. Her silence, unfortunately, seemed to earn the same outcome, for he released her hand and fisted both of his in his hair.

“It’s the only place where she wouldn’t be in danger of being controlled,” he said insistently, “because the Evanuris have no power there—and that’s why we need to lure them to her.”

“What?” Ixchel yanked her hand back from him, a fury rising in her that did surprise her. “If she made it there, she’s safe, Kieran. What the fuck do you mean ‘lure them to her’?!”

Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her feet. “She’s your mother, Kieran! I know she talks a lot of shit about sacrifice and using people but she’s your mother!”

“Do you think I don’t feel that!” Kieran shouted back, further shocking her, but not shocking her out of her anger. “This is the only option! I know—I just know this is what she wants us to do, since she can’t do it alone—”

“Gods above and below, maybe it’s what she wants you to do,” Ixchel spat, “but you can’t ask me—”

“To bring danger to the only person who’s ever treated you like family? That’s exactly why I am asking you!”

Kieran looked up at her with tears of desperation in his eyes, and she was haunted by his words, and by the eyes that looked so much like Morrigan’s.

Tears welled in her own eyes as his words sank in. He had given voice to something she had never had the courage to admit even to herself. But on a level that was fundamentally worse, he had noticed it in the first place—the one thing she had so dearly wished to hide when they last traveled together.

Morrigan and her Warden had taken her in like family, after Corypheus’ defeat scattered all her friends in the Inquisition to the far corners of the world. Morrigan had taught her elven, and ancient elvhen, when even Solas hadn’t deigned to. Morrigan had shown her a softness that her steely exterior hid from all but precious few. Morrigan had made her feel wanted, safe, and special, like no one else had ever made her feel.

Yes. Morrigan had been the closest thing to a mother to the young Inquisitor, and it went against every fiber of her being to jeopardize that.

Even if Ixchel had turned her back on them once before.

“You have no idea—” Ixchel didn’t know where she was going. “Do you think I owe—” But that was terribly, terribly wrong, too. “Kieran, I just—I can’t.”

“No,” he said bitterly, “and neither can I. Not alone.”

Ixchel’s lashes fluttered, sending hot tears spilling down her cheeks, and she took a step back, and then another, and then another, until Kieran was just a shadow in the crook at the base of the tree and she was beginning to melt into the forest.

Despite the anger and—and fear that filled her, she found herself calling out to him on reflex: “I’ll be back.”

“Take your time,” he said, sounding defeated.

Ixchel turned her back on him, and she walked away into the woods.

Instinct guided her where her turmoil-rattled mind could not. Her stomach was aching for food, and she needed to set up the snares for small animals, and to forage for some other forms of sustenance in the interim. One by one the ropes she had fashioned left her hands, placed on game trails she sensed more than saw. She dug up roots and nibbled at them to identify which ones might be worthwhile, ignoring dirt and fibers. And when she finally felt calm enough to think again, she found herself crawling in a dense thicket of tangled berry trees.

They were similar to those she had scavenged in Ferelden as a child: red-turned-black, with many tiny beads of juice squished together into oval gems. These, however, she found to have thorns.

Her blood welled berry-red in her thumb, drawing her out of her stormy fugue and back into the moment. As she sucked at the wound and considered the lay of the land, she gave thought to Kieran’s request.

It was no fault of his that his maternal lineage was tangled in occult mystery, curses, and cursed luck. It was not his fault that his mother had become entangled with the Well of Sorrows, submitted to the slavery of the Evanuris in one way or shape or form—if anything, that blame lay on Ixchel’s shoulders. And it was not Kieran’s fault that he had been left alone in this world, robbed first of a childhood, and of friendship, and then of his father… and now, his mother, too.

He needed Ixchel, and he had reason for seeking her out. It wasn’t unkind, at least at its core.

She was all he had left.

Her heart ached at that acknowledgment. She felt entirely unworthy of his hope, but it was fact: Morrigan and Halevune had taken her in, kept her safe, educated her, and brought her on their travels, with Kieran. They had been companions, and friends, for years. She cared deeply for his parents, and for him.

Who else could Kieran say that about?

She wished he had someone better equipped to help him than the meager shadow of the Inquisitor she had become in recent years.

Ixchel sniffled as she reached for the berries again, and with greater care she began to collect them. It was difficult and tedious work to avoid the thorns and apply enough force to pluck the fruit from the branches, all with one hand. It had been mid-afternoon when she’d left, and it was getting quite dark by the time she returned, laden with the spoils of the forest.

“You returned,” he said, and her heart sank, realizing he had thought she’d left him.

…Again.

Ixchel set down the folded cloth full of berries and began to dig roots out from where she’d stuffed them down her clothes.

“I did,” she grunted.

They were quiet as she smacked dirt off of the vegetation. When she went to figure out how to light the fire, Kieran saw her intentions and cast a simple spell, bringing sparks to life in the tinder.

“Thanks,” she said, and sat back with a thump on the ground beside him again, nestled against the tree. “Look, lethallin—”

“I don’t know if she made it, lethallan,” he said quickly, squeezing his fists in his lap. “I don’t know what we’ll find there. I don’t know how we’re going to lure the old gods to the edge of the world. But I know, I just know—”

Ixchel held out her fist in front of him, and he fell silent. Realizing he had misinterpreted the motion, she opened her hand and dropped a berry into his lap.

“I’ll help you,” she promised.

Kieran gave a wet laugh. “Why?”

She shifted uncomfortably and looked down at her thorn-pricked hand. “Because I don’t have a better idea, I’m tired of turning my back on the world, and…” Her throat worked in vain to keep the tears out of her voice. “…And I’m tired of being alone.”

Kieran rolled the berry in the palm of his hand, leaning into her shoulder like he had been struggling to keep himself upright.

“Yeah,” he said down to his hands. “Me too.”

[paytato435]

Chapter 14 - Off Beat

Mama Knows Best

“Why did you do that?” Sunshine growled after Casey had left the office. Completely dejected, shaken, and broken, Sunshine wasn't even sure he'd noticed she was there.

She should have said something, but she'd never seen Big Mama so scary before. She was strange for sure, and she knew the woman was keeping things from her, but this was too much.

He had been trying to help his brothers, and she destroyed his cloaking brooch for that?

It was wrong.

She also wondered why he had been disguised in the first place, but it was clear that what Mama did was just another way to torment him.

Mama drummed her fingers on her desk thoughtfully. “You don't really know someone until you hurt them,” she sighed. She turned to look at Sunshine. “It's my job to make sure everyone here knows their place, too. Love is ugly and hard.”

“You love him?” Sunshine asked, confused and concerned.

Mama rolled her eyes. “I'm saying this for you, foozle. I see how you get on.”

Sunshine felt her cheeks warm. “What?! That's not…” she didn't know what to say, honestly, but it didn't matter because Mama interupted her with her laughter.

“So sweet! I love it,” the woman sighed, resting her head in her hands. “I wish I could feel so young and reckless again.”

“Please stop being so mean to him,” Sunshine pressed again. “He was trying to help his family-”

“At the expense of this one!” Mama snapped. “We deserve better than that. You deserve better than that,” she emphasized. “Loyalty is everything. I can't afford to have anyone's attention divided.”

Sunshine wasn't sure what to say to that, so she nodded nervously.

Mama gave the musk a thoughtful look. “He's a little misguided, if you hadn't noticed. Thinking he can play around with humans.”

“What do you mean?” Sunshine asked, confused.

“They're dangerous!” Mama explained. “They've hunted yokai for thousands of years! There is a reason we stay hidden from them. Do you not remember?”

Sunshine shook her head.

“They're dangerous, murderous creatures. His brothers and their… father too. They want to become friends with humans. It's a foolish sympathy. They're ungrateful creatures, all of them!”

“Then why keep Casey around? He's not happy here anyway.”

Mama winked. “He's not like the others. I know you probably don't remember, but I have to ask, do you remember the Krang attack a few weeks ago?”

Sunshine shook her head. Mama smiled wickedly.

“That boy's from a future where everything died because of what his brothers did, and they were hunted mercilessly by the Krang. Another species of hateful, murderous people. They're not so different from humans.”

“His family was killed by them?”

Mama nodded. “Obliterated. I saw it the first moment I laid eyes on him. He's a survivor. But his family is holding him back.”

“How?”

“It's confusing,” Mana admitted, tilting her head to one side and back. “And what I'd like to ask him about when he's better. For now though, he needs discipline.”

“I think he needs more than that,” Sunshine noticed. “He needs…”

“A friend?” Mama winked. “Family? Something more?”

“Stop it!” Sunshine flustered. “I meant he needs to be left alone!”

The yokai cackled again. “You're probably right, foozle. But what about you? What do you need?”

Sunshine bit her lip. It seemed Mama wanted her to say something, but she was unsure what.

“You can't carry the sword Synth gave you,” Mana reminded her.

“Oh! Yeah, that…”

“It's not a problem, musky moodle. It's been on my mind for a while, and I've come to the same conclusion: it doesn't suit you.”

Sunshine shook her head.

“You've been watching those Lou Jitsu movies I sent to your room right? And the training videos?”

Sunshine nodded.

“Good girl! I have one in mind I want you to watch this evening. The Rhythm of 10 Strings. Can you do that?”

“Yes Mama,” Sunshine answered with a small smile. She loved watching Lou Jitsu movies.

“I think it’s one rather underappreciated, but it’s what got me to fall in love with that man in the first place.”

“With Lou Jitsu?” Sunshine asked.

Big Mama nodded wistfully. “Don't be deceived, moodle; this life is not like the movies.”

Off Beat

The first thing Casey thought when he woke up was how much everything fucking sucked.

The room, despite being more dark and intimidating than any bedroom ever should be, was losing the battle against the bright shining lights from the arena outside.

And that shit kept Casey rolled over and hidden under his covers for far longer than he should have. You know when you sleep in for too long and then you just feel sluggish for what feels like the rest of the day? Yeah, that was him.

But let's not forget the excruciating pain from his concussion, right? That light had sent daggers right through his eyes when he first woke up, and now, even though he was turned away, he could hear the splintering cry of steel on steel in the arena below him, nevermind the deafening cheers of Mama's numerous patrons. It was like they were all screaming at him to get up, only to wail even louder if he dared move. When he moved the world sloshed around him like water in a fish bowl. Closing his eyes wasn't much better, it was as if he were constantly spinning.

But the worst part was he had no idea what the fuck he was doing here. Sure he figured this was a hotel room in the Nexus, but he had no idea how he got here. What day was it? What time was it? Had he fallen asleep after that girl had bandaged him up?

He knew he had to get up at some point. He kinda hoped that one girl would find him so he wouldn’t have to do it himself. Another part of him didn't want her to see him so fucked up. Why was he in so much pain by the way? What was her name?

He curled himself up as tightly as possible, and let his mind wander. He wished he was home. Hell, he wished he was at school. In his mind’s eye, he could see Angel scowling at him and calling him out for showing up late to practice. He’d certainly rather be yelled at by her than his fucking head. Or maybe things could just be quiet?

Somebody would get him eventually, surely.

…

….

Finally, eventually came.

And it wasn't who he thought it would be.

He didn't even knock when he entered. Just the sound of the door squeaking open made Casey want to pass out. Well, he wanted that anyway; he'd been lying on his side for ages hoping he'd fall asleep.

The yokai grumbled something but Casey didn't know what it was. It didn't make any sense. The voice and demeanor was familiar, but guess what? Casey wasn't going to try and figure that out. He just wanted everything to stop.

“Hey!” the yokai snarled to get his attention. The voice boomed through Casey's head like a gunshot.

Casey screamed into the sheets. The sound fucking hurt. It fucking hurt it fucking hurt why why please stop stop fuck fuck fuck-

And then there was pressure against his head. It was completely involuntary but he screamed again, and then he was screaming because he was screaming. The hand didn't let go- it stayed there, despite his thrashing.

Let me go let me go let me go “LET ME FUCKING GO.”

He was sitting upright, and for a dazzling moment, the room was heaven bright- and then softened. He had pushed himself up, his weight anchored by his hands clenched tightly around loose sheets. Had he pulled them off?

He looked around the room and found the source of his torment; Leatherhead was standing a foot away from the edge of the bed, his arms crossed and his snout looking down at Casey with measured frustration.

“What the hell was that?” Casey sputtered.

“You're fixed. Go downstairs.”

“I'm what?”

“Your concussion is gone.”

“I have a concussion?” he sputtered dumbly.

The alligator made an irritated grumble.

“Stinkpot's waiting for you.”

“Oh, shit.”

“If I have to hear her complain about you anymore I'm killing you both,” the alligator sneered before moving toward the door.

“Gee, thanks.”

The yokai answered by slamming the door so hard it shattered and he took the door handle with him.

Yikes.

But at least the sound of the slamming didn't hurt as bad. What the actual fuck, how was he suddenly just… ok again?

His brain was still a broken record; what the fuck was going on?!?!?

Figuring the only way to find out was to actually meet up with that girl that he couldn't believe he'd forgotten was Sunshine, he pushed himself up and onto his feet.

The world still kinda swayed when he stood upright; probably because he had overslept, but also because he had once again forgotten he was a turtle. He needed to stop doing that. He was sick of the back and forth.

His chest clenched as he remembered his cloaking brooch. Big Mama had destroyed it. Shit, how had that happened?

He stumbled to the door but paused when he realized he probably looked like shit. Glancing down, he wondered how long he'd been in his… wait, he was wearing his patrol gear. His knee pads were slid down to his ankles, his shorts were wrinkled and so was his jersey. He looked back at the bed and saw he'd torn off his hoodie sometime while he was out. His hair was a fucking mess.

What was he doing before?

Fuck it, he needed a shower. Surely Sunshine could wait a few minutes more.

That turned out to be the best decision ever. God, just when he thought he was getting used to nice things like hot water, they turned around and made him cry again. Ok, just a little bit. He wasn't actually sure he was crying because he was already wet but you get the idea.

Fuck he was a mess.

When he pulled back the shower curtain, a flash of movement caught his eye from the wall across from him. Partial, incomplete.

Half of his face looked back through a shattered window. When had that broken?

Shards of broken glass glittered along the wall and in the sink. Looking down, he noticed it was a marvel he hadn't sliced his feet on any of the pieces scattered on the floor.

He must have been in a really bad mood to have done that. At least he knew why. He pulled the rest of the glass off at his eye level and threw it in the trash; the problem was fixed.

Onto the next.

The bad news was that Big Mama didn't seem to care for his preferred style of dress, as the wardrobe by his bed was full of jeans. How was he supposed to move in those, huh?

Whatever, it was better than putting on dirty clothes. He threw on a sleeveless hoodie too and called it good enough.

Casey pulled away what was left of his door and stepped out into the hallway. To his surprise, Sunshine was already outside waiting for him, leaning against a door opposite him. It was the door to her room; they shared the same floor.

“Hey!” she smiled warmly.

“Hi. How… how long have you been there?”

She pursed her lips in thought. “Not sure. Twenty minutes? Since Leatherhead came up.” her eyes darted away. “I'm sorry; I asked for his help. That uh, sounded pretty bad in there.”

She had called him?

“Why?”

Her eyes snapped back to meet his. “Because when I tried to get you up you couldn't stop screaming.”

What?

“I didn't do that-”

“You almost attacked me. So I let you sleep a while longer.”

He didn't remember any of that.

“What… what time is it?” He asked, running his hands through his hair, embarrassed.

“It's almost 2pm.”

Casey bit his tongue. “What day?” he mumbled.

“Tuesday.”

Tuesday?!

“You've been in and out of it since Saturday night,” she explained. “Do you… not remember?”

He shook his head.

Casey felt his cheeks burn as she looked him over, as if she could decipher everything wrong with him with her eyes alone.

“Well, let's get breakfast first, I guess,” she decided instead, shrugging. “We can talk about it then.”

He nodded lamely. ‘I'm sorry.’

“Don't worry about it,” she smiled again, before turning and waving at him to follow. “It's been a lot, take your time.”

—

Sunshine seemed to be doing her best to keep herself from skipping down the hall as she chirped about her favorite places to eat in the Nexus. If you could believe it, Big Mama had four different restaurants, and, depending on how well her little playthings behaved, they could wander around and eat wherever. In the elevator, she decided they were going to the diner with an all day breakfast. When they stepped into the dining area, the first thing Casey noticed was the polished white floor that perfectly reflected his face back at him. Sunshine dragged him to a table, and he slowly took in the rest of the bright environment. Everything worth noticing was retro-pink or so glossy or chrome it made Casey want to poke his eyes out. Thankfully, Sunshine passed him a menu to pretend to care about instead.

Casey had a sneaking suspicion that Sunshine was having breakfast for the second time today not for his sake, but for hers. He really didn't care what he ate, but Sunshine jumped at the opportunity to order waffles again, this time with four different flavors of syrup to pour over top.

“Do you eat anything else?” Casey asked her curiously as she spread whipped topping between every little square she could manage.

Sunshine squinted her eyes at him as if it were a challenge. “No,” she answered with a straight face before stuffing an oversized bit into her mouth. She immediately choked, and Casey wondered why she even bothered to lie to him in the first place. When she recovered, she mumbled “got a problem?”

“I guess not,” he shrugged as he looked down at his own plate. He had the plainest looking cheese omelet and hash browns. Sugar was the last thing he wanted right now. “Sorry.”

She didn’t say anything, and when he glanced up, she didn’t seem to have given his question or apology any thought at all. Her head bobbed from side to side as she seemed to be humming something to herself. When she caught him watching her, she just winked and stabbed another waffle.

“How are you so… happy?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Uh… vecause you’re here?” she asked through a mouthful of fried dough.

“What?”

Sunshine rolled her eyes. She tried to say something else but caught herself talking with her mouth full again, and cut herself off. “You’ve been completely out of it, I guess I’m just happy you’re back again.”

“What happened?” he wondered.

Sunshine tapped her plate nervously. “You got in big trouble with Mama,” she said quietly.

She set her fork down and told him everything that had happened since he left her Friday night. She didn’t have all the details, but some things came back as she described them.

Donnie strapped to the operating table, Aderman chasing after him and Leo, he vaguely remembered trying to get away, the feeling of dirt and grass dragging against his skin as she pulled him back to her.

On the ground. Over and over again.

“You came into Big Mama’s office with Synth afterwards,” Sunshine sighed, her cheek pinned to her palm. “I don’t think you saw me there. Mama was really upset with you.”

Casey nodded. He remembered staring at the polished desk, and how she wanted him to look at her instead. He caught movement in his periphery, and noticed Sunshine had reached her hand across the table, palm up.

“I’m fine.”

“Bullshit.” She closed and opened her fingers. It wasn’t really an ask, was it?

He took her hand, and she squeezed his.

“You can go home Casey, you don’t have to put up with all this.”

He shook his head. He vaguely remembered his last conversation with Leo. How had he managed all that? He could feel tears threatening to emerge again, and he took a deep breath.

“I’m not leaving here without you,” he said finally. And he meant it. Fuck the cloaking brooch and his drama for the moment- he couldn’t let Sunshine stay here with Big Mama. It was convenient that he could hide here, sure, but as he thought about that evening more, he imagined Sunshine on his side of that desk. What would happen to her if she stayed here? There was no way she could be happy here.

He looked back up at her, and she gave him another reassuring smile. She said something else, but he wasn’t really listening. He just nodded in agreement.

He wanted a reason to smile like that.

—

“We're meeting up with the guys after this, I hope you're ready for that,” Sunshine smiled cheekily as she finished her food. Casey had finally started to make his way through his omelet, albeit much more slowly.

“The…” Casey hoped she wasn't telling him what he thought she was.

“Bebop and Rocksteady!” she confirmed to his chagrin.

“Are you guys like, friends now or something?” he grumbled. “They'll probably put me back in the hospital. Or more likely, in some dumpster to be eaten by rats.”

“Don't you live with a rat?” Sunshine raised her brow.

“My grandad would eat me if he had to…” Casey figured. “Provided I was already dead of course.” he figured. “Rats are survivors. It's an admirable quality.” He smiled darkly.

Sunshine nodded approvingly like that wasn't a terrible thing to hear while licking her plate clean.

“Okay but really, they're actually pretty nice guys. When we're not training we go up onto the terrace and Rocksteady wrestles Bebop until he lets him freestyle.”

“He asks permission to rap?”

Sunshine gave Casey a pained smile. “It's insufferable! He couldn't rhyme fat with cat if they were magnets on a fridge. He loses the beat all the time too. Bebop's a lot better at it, but Rocksteady can't keep time and it drives the other mad.” She rolled her eyes. “It usually ends up in them fighting again.”

“And you're looking forward to this?”

“Well yeah!” she nearly jumped out of her seat. “It’s funny! It passes the time, anyway.”

“It sounds like it's going to be pretty one-sided if you said Bebop's better,” Casey pointed out.

“That's honestly part of the fun,” Sunshine smirked, folding her napkin on the table. “Rocksteady never gives up, and you know what they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

“So is that where we're going after this?” Casey asked.

“No, we have weights first,” Sunshine groaned. “Want to join us?”

“What else am I going to do?” Casey shrugged.

If Casey knew what he was getting into, he probably would have tried harder to find something else to do.

–

“Shoot Sunnyside, I didn't think he'd actually come!” Bebop snorted as soon as Casey stepped into the weight room. The large mutant was spotting his partner on an oversized bench press. Casey immediately tensed, and not being able to see the warthog's eyes behind his glasses didn't help either. He wasn't mad right? Sunshine assured him they weren't…

Sunshine rolled her eyes. “I told you he would!”

Bebop snorted again. “An’ he ain’t gonna spaz out on us again?”

Casey frowned. He didn’t like where this was going. “Spaz out? What got you there in the first place?” Casey snarled. Sunshine nudged him in warning.

“Hey, hey, guys, that’s… uh, not why we're here,” Sunshine reminded them, stepping between the two parties. Sunshine gave Casey a no-nonsense look. “Rocksteady already apologized. We’re good.”

Casey’s eyes slid over to the rhinoceros, who was now racking his bar. The giant pulled himself upright, and his beady eyes settled on Casey’s face.

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks.”

“I mean you look smaller than you should be. The other one’s taking much better care of himself.”

“The other one?” What was he on about?

“The red one,” Bebop snorted. “What’d you say his name was, Sunshine?”

“Raphael,” she answered nervously, giving Casey a quick look before darting her eyes away.

“You’ve seen him?” Casey asked, feeling a lump rise in his throat. “And you told them about him?” Casey turned to Sunshine.

“He came looking for us, actually!” Bebop smiled. “He’s a real one. Wanted to make sure we were doin’ okay.”

“Blue one was annoying tho,” Rocksteady mumbled. “Kept askin’ about you.”

“Did they see you?” Casey asked Sunshine nervously.

“No! I wasn’t there,” Sunshine assured him. “I was uh, out.”

Casey wanted to know what that meant, but he was more concerned about his brothers. “What… what did you tell them?” Casey asked Bebop.

“We didn’t tell them shit!” Bebop guffawed. “They were so pissed. But Sunshine said we shouldn’t say nothin’ so we just act like we never heard of ya.”

“There’s no way they’d believe that, they know I’m here,” Casey reasoned. “But they left?”

“They were here yesterday,” Sunshine explained. “They had a lot of questions for Bebop, but when you got brought up Steady chased them away.”

“It was a load of nonsense,” the rhinoceros grunted, standing up to lower the weights for Bebop. “Some human world stuff, I didn’t know what they were on about.”

They were trying to get them to remember who they were before they were captured, Casey realized. How had they found Bebop and Rocksteady on their own? Casey couldn’t find a way to connect the dots.

Casey looked over to Bebop, who suddenly didn’t look so sure of himself. “What did they ask you?”

“Doesn’ matter,” the warthog grumbled, sitting at the bench. “It was dumb.”

Sunshine nodded in agreement. “Your brothers are nuts. Wanna warm up with me?” she pointed over to a more open space in the weight room. Casey nodded and followed her over. He wondered again why the hell Big Mama had only left him jeans to wear. He stretched uncomfortably, and noticed that at least Sunshine was appropriately dressed. Sneakers, joggers, and a tank top with loose, open sides. The way she moved, Casey noticed she looked very comfortable with the way she carried herself now. No longer thrown off by the balance of her shell, she’d come a long way in the days he’d been gone.

“You need to stop showin’ up late, snoozefest!” Rocksteady taunted her.

“It wasn’t me this time!” Sunshine defended. “Leatherhead didn’t come through until after lunch.”

“What an asshole,” Bebop grunted through his set. Rocksteady gave him the stink eye. “Mother… trucker can’t even look after his normal patients!”

“At least it worked,” Sunshine shrugged, stretching her arms. “Mama said concussions are so common here she had a team of spellcasters figure them out years ago. It’s one of her most profitable investments, or something.”

“Probably slowed down her turnover rate exponentially,” Bebop agreed.

“If she could have fixed my head sooner, why didn’t she?” Casey asked. “It’s been what, three days?”

Sunshine looked down at the floor. “She was going to, but uh, decided against it.”

“But she wants me to help you.”

Sunshine nodded. “I think she wanted to punish you more.”

“What changed?” he asked, confused.

Sunshine shook her head. “I don’t know, I just finally got Leatherhead to agree with me today.”

What a vindictive bitch.

They finished warming up, and Sunshine spun over to a more reasonably sized bench.

“Are you pressing too?” Casey asked as they lowered the bar together.

“Mhm!” She looked around the room for a moment. “Oh, our trainer's not in today. Bebop, how many sets are we doing today?”

“Six. He left a page on the mirror.”

Sunshine groaned and moved across the room to the sheet taped to the mirror he indicated. While she looked it over, Casey couldn't help but voice a question to Bebop that had been on his mind.

“You said it was Raph that approached you guys, not Leo?”

“Yeah, he was the one who saw us. We were at a… uh…”

“A what?”

The warthog was suddenly nervous. “It ain't nothin',” he grumbled. “He found us, is all.”

“You were at that magic show again weren't you?” Sunshine smiled as she returned with the paper and began picking up weights to load onto the bar.

“Really?” Bebop growled.

“Oh please, like he cares,” Sunshine figured. “He's just worried about his brothers.”

“You know, I see it in the red one, but I don't in the other,” Rocksteady piped up. “Is he like… the black sheep or somethin’?”

“See what?” Casey asked, confused.

“The family resemblance. Well, you're the same as the red one right? The spines and all…”

“Oh, that,” Casey realized, feeling a little silly for not catching on sooner. “Yeah, Raph and I are snapping turtles. Leo's a slider.”

“Slider? That describes him pretty well,” Sunshine smiled. “He looks shifty.”

Casey nodded in agreement.

“But you got the good genes, huh,” Rocksteady chuckled. “Wish I had half the hair Bebop's got.”

“A blessing and a curse,” Bebop grumbled. “What do you brush a boar's hair with, huh? Not a boar bristle brush, that's for sure!”

Rocksteady laughed at that, and they continued on with their work out as Sunshine started on her first set.

“You saw Leo?” Casey asked Sunshine when she finished her set.

‘I did,’ she signed unexpectedly. ‘I snuck out to see where those two were going,’ she gestured to Bebop and Rocksteady.

‘You snuck out? And she didn’t say anything?’

Sunshine shrugged. ‘Stir crazy I guess. But don’t worry, your brothers didn’t see me.’

‘I’m sure Leo was way more interested in the magic show,’ Casey smiled. ‘He loves that shit.’

‘I don’t get it, it’s not even real magic,’ Sunshine signed, frowning. ‘That’s why Bebop’s self conscious about it. Everyone else here makes fun of him for going.’

Because yokai don’t need to see a magic show. Poor guy.

“Who’s doing a magic show in the Hidden City anyway?” he wondered out loud.

“Hypno!” Rocksteady announced excitedly. “He’s amazin’!”

Casey rolled his eyes. Why did he even ask?

“It can’t be the right audience for him though, right? He’d be better off performing for humans.”

“He’s got a promotion goin’ on with his husband, I think,” Sunshine explained. “He’s been everywhere… What was his name again?” The others shrugged. “Some new book coming out about mutants in the human world or something. I think it was called… Mutant Me!?” she threw up air quotes.

“That’s it!” Bebop snapped and pointed. “Yeah, Hypno wouldn’t stop talking about it. Come to think of it…” he whipped out a phone. “Yeah, I preordered it. I don’t even remember doing that,” he scratched his head in confusion. “I’m sure it’s gotta be interestin’ though.”

“You can barely read instructions on a soup can,” Rocksteady grumbled.

“You can’t read at all!” Bebop guffawed.

“Hey, that’s not my fault,” the larger mutant grumbled. “I have dysflexia.”

“Dyslexia,” Sunshine corrected.

“Yeah, that,” Rocksteady nodded.

“Sounds like Hypno was putting on more than a show,” Casey figured, smiling to himself.

“What do you mean?” Bebop asked sincerely, but Casey just shook his head. He hoped the poor guy hadn’t been scammed into buying anything else.

—

Rats Like Us

“...I’m back at the show

The only place I visit

Now I wish I’d share it sitting next to her

Eyes are on them

Wish they were on my face

But that’s not how it goes i don’t think you’d glance at me

A world beyond your flowers

I’m taller than this hotel

My heart’s breaking… yeah.”

Rocksteady rapped in front of his small captive audience on the terrace. The swishing of a huge willow tree big enough for all three of them to sit against came back into focus as Sunshine paused her rhythmic knocking against its wide roots.

Casey leaned back and admired the shuffling leaves above him. He hadn't expected something so heavy from the mutant. Awful and out of time, but still very sad.

“Jeez sandbag, you're opening with that?” Bebop asked, tipping his head. “I'm starting to think maybe this just ain't your thing. Maybe you should write a love song instead.”

“What? I can't do a love song, that's too squishy,” the rhinoceros deflated. “I'm just throwin’ it out there, it's not finished yet.”

“Do you really think that though, Rocksteady?” Sunshine piped up.

“Of course! I just gotta write it down-”

“No no, I meant about what you were saying; you don't think anyone can love you?”

Rocksteady sat down on the ground across from them.

“Dunno. A lot of the time it feels that way.”

“The Hidden City is so big though! There's so many different kinds of people, too. You'll find someone.”

“There's not a lotta gals my size, Sunshine,” he grumbled.

Casey suppressed a chuckle, but Bebop turned a sharp eye in his direction.

“What's so funny huh?”

“Ah! Nothing, nothing,” Casey tried to wave it away, but Bebop refused to let up the protective act.

“I'm sorry,” Casey apologized. “I was just reminded of something my mom said once.”

Seeing he suddenly had an audience, he instinctively went to reach for his hair, but caught himself and squeezed his fingers instead.

“She used to joke that if she ever got married it would be to a volcano.”

“That’s silly, you can’t marry a volcano,” Rocksteady huffed.

“I think it’s a metaphor, Steady,” Sunshine explained.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t though,” Casey smiled. “She was crazy. In a good way.”

“Sounds like trouble,” Bebop sniffed. “Think I got enough crazy in my life.”

“Thanks Bebop, I’m glad to hear you aren’t interested in my mom.”

“That’s not what I meant!” the warthog snapped, but Rocksteady burst out laughing.

“Then what did you mean?” Sunshine asked with a stupid grin on her face.

“I meant what I said,” Bebop huffed. “Think I’d date someone quiet.”

“To be seen and not heard?” Steady teased.

“Stop putting words in my mouth!” Bebop roared. “No,” he sank back against the tree. “They need to like, invite the quiet, ya know? There’s enough noise in my head for the both of us.”

“Aww,” Sunshine cooed. “And I thought Rocksteady was the romantic.”

“He is, have you seen him?” Bebop chuckled. “Last two nights we’d been out he kept starin’ at that flower stand down on 39th. ‘Hey Bebop, do you know flowers mean different things?’” Bebop rolled his eyes. “You think I know what different flowers mean?” He scoffed.

“They do! That’s what she said to me!” Rocksteady huffed. “And the colors of the flowers matter too. The lady at the shop was showin’ me them. There were some cute yellow ones, but she told me they symbolized disappointment.”

“That’s silly. Yellow flowers are cute!” Sunshine argued.

“I know right? She said the white and pink ones were more romantic, but really? Who ever looked at Sunshine and was disappointed?” Rocksteady smiled as the musk turtle giggled.

“I’m sure there are other yellow flowers you could give someone,” Casey suggested.

Rocksteady shrugged. “Sure, but they’re not as bright as those whaddaya-call-ums?” He looked over at Bebop.

“Carnations,” the warthog gave up.

“Yeah, those,” Rocksteady smiled dreamily.

Casey had never heard that flowers had meanings before, but then again, flowers weren’t something he had ever really paid attention to. He couldn’t see himself buying flowers for anyone. Not anyone who would appreciate them, anyway.

His heart sank. He could imagine quite a few people sending him yellow carnations. Most notably from Sunshine beside him. If she found out what he was keeping from her…

“What about you, Sunshine?” Bebop chuckled. “Do you believe in love?”

“Of course I do!” she answered immediately. Casey smiled again; there was no hesitation at all in her voice. “How could I not? My life is a musical; my true love will find me for sure.”

“You haven't even seen a musical!” Bebop roared with laughter.

“I must have!” Sunshine pouted. “If I didn't, how would I know what they are?”

“You can know a lot about things without really knowing them,” Rocksteady guessed.

“Yeah, go ahead and name one,” Bebop teased.

Sunshine looked absolutely flustered. “That’s not fair, you wouldn’t even recognize them anyway!”

“I would too!” Bebop challenged her.

“Liar! You couldn’t even name an artist but you go around telling Rocksteady what is and isn’t hip hop.”

“Brockhampton. And I’m not gatekeeping; Rocksteady can do whatever he wants.”

“Whatever,” Sunshine raised her hands, frustrated. “I'm not wrong though. Just because I can't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen.”

Bebop shrugged. “Didn't say you were wrong, I just think you're naive.”

“Naive?” Sunshine's muscles tensed like she might jump up and fight him. “You… ugh!” she sank back into the trunk between them, defeated. “I don't even care anymore.”

“Hey now, I didn't mean to upset ya,” Bebop told her, sitting upright. “I'm sorry, I thought it was cute. You'va… you have a good heart.”

Sunshine rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”

There was a quiet pause, and then she pushed herself up onto her feet.

“I'm gonna go back to my room. I'm tired.” She stretched. “You guys won't fight while I'm gone will you?”

“What's that supposed to mean? We're decent people!” Rocksteady protested.

“I just wouldn't want you getting hurt again is all,” she giggled.

Casey flinched, and Sunshine's eyes darted over to him.

“Sorry. Too soon?”

‘A bit,’ he signed back, frowning.

‘Be nice,’ she winked, and then left.

What did she think he was going to do? He had just gotten over a concussion!

“You guys have your own little language there?” Rocksteady asked when Sunshine had gone back inside. “That's cute.”

“It's sign language dummy,” Bebop told him. “I'm kinda startin’ to think Mama wiped a few more than just your memories dude. I swear you weren't this stupid when we met.”

Casey looked over to Bebop, surprised. “You met Rocksteady before this? And you remember that?”

Bebop shook his hand uncommitted. “It's come an’ go,” he grumbled. “But yeah, I'm pretty sure we were friends before this. Been here longer than Sunshine, too. I think it's been what, two months, Steady?”

Rocksteady shrugged. “I leave the days up to you, guy.”

“He don't remember anythin',” Bebop pointed out. “I swear if I was like… his reluctant mom-partner before all this, I'm gonna throw up.”

“I don't think we were datin’, Bebop,” Rocksteady grumbled.

“Your evidence?”

“Your face,” Rocksteady guffawed.

Bebop frowned and looked back over to Casey. “I walked into that one.”

“You did,” Casey smiled. “Sounds like you guys have been friends a long time.”

Bebop nodded. “And we been thinkin’ a long time too…” he glanced over at Rocksteady for a moment. “-with varying degrees of success.”

“Hey!” Rocksteady snapped, but Bebop ignored him. “We wanna know what your deal is. Not gonna come after ya, but you smell different from the other mutants around here.”

“I smell?”

“Sure do!” Rocksteady chuckled. “That's not what he means though.”

“I didn't think so,” Casey snorted. “But yeah, I get you. You wanna know why Mama has me hanging out with Sunshine.”

“Not exactly,” Bebop narrowed his eyes. “I wanna know why you wanna spend time with her.”

Casey shrugged, wondering how much he should say. “It’s as easy as blackmail,” he answered cryptically.

Bebop frowned. “That seems to be a common theme around here. The other mutants stuck here are the same way, except us and Sunshine, of course.”

“She wants you to like her,” Casey pointed out. He bit his tongue. He probably shouldn't talk too much about Big Mama's intentions where she could easily overhear them.

“But Sunshine, do you like her?”

“Of course, she's cool,” Casey smiled. “It's hard not to.”

Rocksteady nodded sagely.

“But like, you aren't doin’ this for her,” Bebop figured.

“It's a bit of both. After your debut I'm hoping Big Mama lets me go.”

Bebop looked at Casey as if the snapper expected Jesus to come down and save him.

“You know that ain't gonna happen,” Bebop looked at him from over his shades. “I been around here a bit, I know who to talk to and what to put out there, ya hear me?”

“I'm not sure you do,” Casey frowned.

“I do,” the warthog huffed, and leaned down to be eye level with Casey.

“We aren't all friends here, kid. There's a weasel here, and they've got their own ideas about the debut. I need to know you're a rat like us.”

Casey blinked. What the hell was this guy on about?

“No one gets your riddles, Bebop,” Rocksteady grumbled, shaking his head. “He just wants to know if you're gonna help us out.”

“With what?”

Bebop sighed and raised his hand. Casey thought he looked like he was trying to find a boil on his hand or something, but to his surprise he started finger-spelling.

‘G-E-T-U-S-O-U-T.’

“Is Sunshine teaching you guys?”

“I didn't know you could do that too, Bebop!” Rocksteady beamed.

“I can't. Don't get too excited,” Bebop huffed.

Casey frowned. “I promised Sunshine I'd do that for her.”

Bebop gestured to himself and Rocksteady. They both wanted out too.

“I can only do so much. I think you're talking to the wrong guy.”

“You mean the weasel.”

Casey fingerspelled Synth's name, and Bebop nodded.

“I think you're mistaken. He's cool,” Casey explained.

‘W-E-A-S-E-L.’

“You don't know him like I do,” Casey shook his head. “I trust him.”

“Then he's eating well,” Bebop grunted. “You'll see.”

“See what?” But Bebop was getting to his feet.

“I see why Sunshine's worried about you,” he said as he moved to go back inside. “You should talk to her more. Wouldn't want to scare her away, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“He means you-”

“I heard him just fine!” Casey snapped, standing up, bristled. “You've got a lot of nerve,” he told Bebop.

Bebop opened the door to the interior and paused.

“More than most,” he smiled wickedly.

—

The Rhythm of 10 Strings

“Are humans dangerous, Synth?”

The bobcat's nose twitched at the question, but he was otherwise focused on his book keeping.

“Mama says they are, but Casey's the only other person who talks about them, and they don't sound so bad.”

Synth looked up and blinked slowly. “It's all perspective, probably. It's a very controversial topic.”

“What's your perspective, then?” Sunshine crossed her arms and leaned against his counter. She might have lied about going back to her bedroom.

“They’re not exceptionally dangerous, but there are too many of ‘em. Like most people, they’re prejudiced, and like to hurt others that are different from ‘em. And since they're up there and we're down here, you can imagine who's winnin’ here.”

“Winning? Are we fighting them?”

Synth made a note in his book and closed it. “Always have been. In our own ways. It's been quiet in recent years, but since mutants have gone public in New York, tensions are rising. Things could continue as they are… or we could face extinction.”

“Oh.”

“Mutants are in a unique situation, Sunshine. Most of them were humans once. If a war were to happen, who mutants decide to stand with could very well decide whether or not we continue to exist.”

“But mutants… aren't humans afraid of them too?”

“They are. But some of them, like Lou Jitsu, are also public heroes. He is especially dangerous. Influential, connections, and a sympathetic figure. Humans might let him fight for them now, but later? They'll turn on the mutants. They always do. Hell, they turn on each other. But for now, they'll use them against us. The mutant turtles are playing with fire by trying to be accepted by humans.”

“So you think Mama's right,” Sunshine surmised.

Synth shrugged. “She has an understanding.”

Sunshine frowned. It was not something she had expected him to say. Didn't he want her position? She thought he would be opposed to whatever she said.

But what he said sounded sensible, at least. There weren't any humans in the Hidden City for a reason. Casey used a disguise around humans for a reason.

But if he was scared of them, why did he and his brothers spend so much time around them?

The bobcat yokai stretched and yowled, blinking his bug eyes again and looking across the room.

“Your knife is ready by the way.”

“It is?!” Sunshine jumped, pulled from her thoughts.

The creature turned and picked up a black box from behind him that she hadn't noticed sitting there before.

“The weight will be much different from what you've seen with the kunai,” he explained, gently removing the lid.

Nestled inside was a sheathed black trench knife with a leather grip. But the handle…

“It's wrong,” Sunshine pointed out, gesturing to the rings on the grip.

“Pardon?”

“Ah! Sorry, I mean, it's beautiful!” Sunshine apologized, snapping her hand back and scratching her head. “But…”

“How many fingers do you have, Sunshine?” Synth blinked at her.

There were two rings on the handle grip. She looked down at her hands. Two and a thumb on each, as they'd always been. Yeah, that made sense.

“Sorry, I… I was confused,” she mumbled, pinching her fingers the way she'd seen Casey do several times before.

Synth picked up the knife and unsheathed it. The reflection of Sunshine's brown eyes watched her from the dark blade.

They were more familiar than her own face.

“Pretty?” Synth asked, turning the knife over.

“Yeah!” Sunshine agreed a little too loudly, but she took the blade when he offered it to her.

It fit her hand perfectly. And for some reason, that bothered her.

“You don't like it,” Synth accused.

“No, that's… that's not it at all!” Sunshine shook her head. “It's just, not what I expected.”

Synth narrowed his eyes. “If you don't love it we should try somethin’ else.”

Oh, now he was listening to her? After how many times she told him she didn't want a sword?

She gripped it tighter. “It's mine.”

“Then I'll not hear anymore complaints about it,” Synth sniffed. “Get out.”

“Ok. Sorry,” she apologized, sheathing the knife and replacing it into the box.

He chased her out the door, and she shuffled quietly back down the maintenance hall toward the elevators.

It was a really nice blade, Synth had worked very hard on it.

So why did she feel like she was about to cry?

She faced the corner of the small carriage as the elevator ascended, her forehead pressed against the wall in an effort to hide her face from the other staff stepping on with her.

When she got to her room, she locked the door and set the box onto her bed. She immediately flipped on the tv. The Rhythm of 10 Strings was already on and rewinded as she'd done the night before.

She started the movie and pulled her comforter around her shoulders. She forwarded past the ads and title screen, skipping to where Lou Jitsu made his first appearance.

He leapt out onto the screen and challenged the small-time baddies that would show off his character's strength.

But then she appears; the villainess of the movie. She is the daughter of the last movie's big baddie and she catches Lou Jitsu entirely off guard and captures him.

Tang Shen, she's too beautiful for this world. Sunshine could understand why Big Mama liked this movie so much. She starts out as the villain, but then she falls in love with Lou Jitsu and they work together to stop evil father's evil spirit from returning to the world of the living. Lou Jitsu becomes possessed, and it's Tang Shen who has to fight and defeat him to save the world.

A lot of people were upset that Tang Shen technically beat Lou Jitsu in a fight. The eighties were rough.

But Sunshine wasn't focused on the relationship between the action heroes, she was watching Tang Shen's weapons.

Tang Shen was small, fast, and dexterous. She flew across the screen like an acrobat, and she kept larger enemies at bay with her kunai. Her secret weapon though? She had an invisible wire she strung to the rings on the handles so she could manipulate the knives after she threw them. She'd also use it to trip or ensnare her opponents. Tang Shen of the Ten Strings. Ten knives. Sunshine wasn't sure if it made much sense, but she had one for each finger.

Ten fingers.

Sunshine clenched her hands again, and remembered the dream she had the morning after Casey came back; after she'd watched this movie for the first time. The first dream she'd remembered since she got here.

“Dad, are you okay?” This wasn't the first time she'd found him in his room, staring at his desk.

“It's gone,” he told her without looking up. “Someone must have taken it.”

“Taken what? What's gone?”

He pointed at the glass case behind him. It was empty. “Grandpa's knife. It's supposed to protect us.”

She took a step closer. “I'm sure we can find it,” she assured him. “I can help you look.”

He turned to face her, and Sunshine screamed. The trench knife was embedded in his right eye. Four rings on the handle.

Her dream self moved on its own. She reached out and gripped the knife in her left hand, her fingers curling around the handle perfectly. All five of them.

When she pulled the knife from his face, the last thing she remembered was him asking her:

“When are you coming home?”

Sunshine wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore.

Prev. Masterpost Next

Notes: So sorry for the delay on the tumblr version y’all, the drawing for Sunshine took over 12 hours and I lost my pencil over the weekend so I couldn’t finish it. Love that it’s finally done. No more updates for a while tho. Need to figure out where we are going again, haha!

[callmemana]

Papa Mine:

Summary: This is a series of Drabbles about Iceman and Slider having soft!dad moments with their daughters Baylie & Raven Kazansky and Amanda Kerner as they watch them grow and become the beautiful and smart women they are now, just like their mothers!

Thank you @dragon-kazansky , @mrsjaderogers , @bayisdying , and @starlit-epiphany for helping! 💛💛

Key: smut -🍓|fluff -🌼|angst -🐂|personal fav -👓|

Key 2: baby -🍼|tot -🧃|child -🧸|teen -🚙|y/a -🎓|adult -💍|bootcamp -🪖|navy -🛟|

Key 3: Bay -🍀|Mana -🪺|Ray -🐭|Mama Jade -🥃|Mama Rach -🐉|Dad-miral -🧊|Sli-dad -🍔|chaos sisters -🎞️|all -📹|

🍼:

Two Plus Signs = We’re Gonna Be Parents!|The Kazansky’s finding out their expecting 🐉🧊

Unexpectedly Excited|The Kerner’s finding out that their pregnant 🥃🍔

Officially Ours!|The Kazansky’s are home with a baby Raven 🐉🧊

Hear My Voice|Tom talking to utero Bay 🧊 (dad-miral’s version)

Remember Me|Ron talking to utero Mana 🍔 (sli-dad’s version)

Daughter Mine|Tom talking to 2 mo. old Ray 🧊 (dad- miral’s version)

Her Silver-green Eyes|Tom holding Bay for the first time 🧊 (dad-miral’s version)

Little Bundle of Chaos|Ron holding Mana for the first time 🍔 (sli-dad’s version)

Our Little Blessing|Tom holding Ray for the first time 🧊 (dad-miral’s version)

🧃:

The Howling Kerner’s|Beach Volleyball Game 📹

🧸:

Bloody Noses & Ice Cream|Bay & Ray fight for Mana’s sake. 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

Our Protector|Meeting Bradley 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

In Your Absence|Big Brother Bradley steps up when Ice & Slider are deployed 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

🚙:

Do Me a Favor, Kill Me| Jr.Prom Dress Shopping 📹

The Sparkle in Your Eye|Jr.Prom 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

Treat Her with the Respect She Deserves, Boys|Jr.Prom 🧊🍔 (dad’s version)

Absolutely Not!|Sr.Prom Dress Shopping 📹

Second Times the Charm|Sr.Prom 🧊🍔 (dads’ version)

Hey Ya Big Stud, Dance with Me or Lose Me Forever!|Sr.Prom 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

Never That Close|Meeting Jake 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

You’re Wayyyyyyy Outta His League!|Meeting Grace 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

You Kissed Him? Like on Purpose?| Best friend to Boyfriend (🍀 version)

Nepo Babies; UNITE!|Meeting Alana 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

Shots & Stims|First HS party 🎞️ (chaos sister’s version)

🎓:

All Grown Up|HS Graduation 📹

🪖:

Here’s Lookin’ at you Kid|Bootcamp Grad. (🪺 version)

💍:

Do Me the Honor?|Proposals (🐭 version)

From Ring Pops to Diamonds|Proposals (🍀 version)

Where Our Adventure Starts|Proposals (🪺 version)

You Have a Question for Me?|Proposals (🧊 version 1/2)

Glad You Asked, My Answer is Still No|Proposals (🍔 version)

Tell Me Why|Proposals (🧊 version 2/2)

🛟:

Lead Me to Your Heart|Naval Award Ceremony/Ball 📹

Birdie’s Basket 🧺: @dragon-kazansky @whiskeyswriting @bayisdying @faerieroyal

🏷️ list: (open)

[balthazarslostlibrary]

I recently used an extended experience of transphobia I endured in writing for a university assignment. I wrote a last bit in te reo Māori, not as something for more context for the assignment, but for myself.

Although my experience turned out ok, it damaged my mana in a way that I can’t quite move on from. Even now, a month and a half out from it, I still don’t feel like my mana is fully restored. It makes me feel weak to not have healed by now, it makes me feel that I’m not cut out to pursue the career I want to pursue.

After reflecting upon it and using academic language to describe it, I needed something more. I needed something to help me move on. And so, I wrote the following.

Kia kaha ki ōku whānau takatāpui katoa

Ahakoa te wero

Ahakoa te mamae

Ahakoa te aha

Be strong all of my queer whānau

No matter the challenge

No matter the hurt

No matter what

It started as something to say to myself quietly, and to a professor who might not even understand it. I hoped that it would make me feel better, that if I can say it to other people, they would say it to me. That if they said it to me, I could believe in its meaning, it could apply to me, I could be strong no matter what.

The hope that it would make me feel better hasn’t come to fruition yet unfortunately, but I also have hope that it will. Because really, if I don’t have hope, hope that my words will resonate, hope that the world will get better, hope that I will get better, what else do I have?

I hope that you, yes you reading this right now, can take strength from this. I hope your queer whānau can take strength from this.

I hope that we can all be strong. No matter what.

[the-missann]

I really love being on Everskies, so I wanted to share a few of the outfits I made. I have back stories on a few of them, so I'll put them in order of "it's just cute to me uwu" to "I designed a character I created 🗿" (also, it's earliest to most recent)

I was playing around with the face on this one and eventually made this. I had been a little obsessed with the yandere troupe at that point. So she does have the vibe of "I found you love~<3"

Randomly made, but after I made it I wanted to come up with some kind of Renaissance, medival ages, 1800 horror story or something.

I need to get an idea for this 😩

This one is more or less the same as the first one, but more like the story of the smiling woman. It was just kind of cute and uncanny.

From various:

This is a beautiful Mama who's been in my head since I was a kid. I finally get to see her made beautifully and not drawn by me 🤡

Her name is Mana and she's the Queen of the Clouds and Qydians (my made up species). Also, also, I really envisioned her to be wearing a sweater, it just seemed cozy to hug her and we all know how soft a good cardigan is.

From Manifested Malevolence:

This woman right here has no name, but has her entire plot developed 🗿. I suck ass at making names so if you enjoyed the post, drop a name for... Pretty much all of them lol.

She's a villain I have in this story where my MC (which is almost always a girl named Cassie) can manifest her thoughts into reality. Not like she can conjure an object, but if she thinks something will happen it manifests and actually happens. If I explain who she is exactly it'll spoil her role in the story, so I'll leave it there.

She uses her good looks to trick men and the rest is up to her abilities.

The 2nd image is how she appears when manifesting. I was just playing around one day and created the prettiest villain I've ever thought of.

Luck was on my side.

This little cutie patootie is another part of the story little miss no name before her is from. Ig this is a spoiler, but this happens within the first 4 chapters, so it's not really a spoiler. No one's gonna ever read your shit so calm down.

Anyways, she is a manifested being named Mika (who is also based on a stuffed rabbit I had as a kid with the same name). She shows up and explains to Cassie what her ability is and her main goal is to help her however she needs it.

Mika is suppose to be very childish and gives me the egirl, overly (and borderline cringey) cute girl, but I can never see my baby as cringe 💞

From normalities:

I was in the middle of writing a story when I thought of this random spin off idea. So, I made her and then wrote it.

Essentially, this Cassie is a super shy girl with a popular boyfriend. While he's at a party, his friends force ask him to get something they've forgotten. He's upset, but agrees to get it, but he wants some company while he goes to get it and she (up there) offers to get it for him since she's closer.

Going to the dorm she needs to, she walks in on some gathering in the room and everyone thinks she's a huge weirdo for looking so scared just walking into a room. She gets what her bf needed and goes to give it to him. She was so anxious by her encounter at the dorm that she ends up looking like she's about to cry and her bf decides to ditch his friends to comfort her 😀

The end.

Thanks for Reading~🍂

[empressofthesunwriter]

The Queens Gambit: The Story

The most powerful piece in chess is the queen.

When this piece joins the game of Duel Monsters anything will change.

With two dragon sisters, a magician and her descendant, the queen will take her rightful place.

As it should have been.

8th Millenniums Items

Reborn!Kisara

Reborn!Mana

Queen!OC

QueenReborn!Oc

RedEyesBlackDragon!OC

Pairings:

Atem/Yami YuugiXOC

Yuugi MutoXOC

Seto KaibaXReborn!Kisara

Anzu MazakiXReborn!Mana

Here we are now people, in chapter 3 with the first duel :D I admitI took Yami and Pegasus duel as a base and my dear friend Light guardine35 helped me to write it. So if you haven’t read any of her stuff do it now what are you waiting for?! Enjoy the chapter and tell me if the duel was okay if you could follow along, all right?

Chapter 3: Card Games through a TV

Redone: 29/08/24

I mixed a bit of Japanese dub with English dub, I hope it's okay ^^

The next few weeks in Sehrazat's life were… interesting to say at least.

She and her whole family and friends got Afya, the spirit of the Millennium Fragment and her supposed ancestor, to know.

Afya was 100% a queen, no doubt. Her presence, how she moved, how she talked, the way she could command a whole room…it screamed it.

And her soul room was a giant ass ancient Egyptian palace.

Sehrazat had now for a few times visit it and the place seemed to have no ends. What really surprised her, were the Duel Monsters carved on a few doors that wouldn’t open. Not even Afya knew how to open them or what was behind them.

Anyhow, the most important place was the little arena the palace had. There were a lot of weapons, mostly swords, and shields and Afya made it her quest to teach Sehrazat to wield a sword.

No kidding!

So Sehrazat got her ass mentally kicked once per day and her respect for Afya grow.

The woman was a merciless teacher, but how she kicked butt was art!

So elegant and deadly!

It doesn’t mean that the blue-haired girl didn’t want to make her ancestor a bit suffer. She could literally feel all the wounds Afya had inflicted on her, even if they didn’t show on her body.

So she did what she could do best.

Challenging Afya to a children’s card game.

Also known as Duel Monster.

Before her father died he had taught her anything about the game. She didn’t want to praise herself, but she was a damn good duellist. She had won the last Europa Championships and if she hadn’t moved to Japan she could have participated in the World Cup.

Sadly you had to still live in Europa to be the champion, so her title had gone to the creepy Paulo Ramirez, the third place in the classify since Kihana played Duel Monster too and was second place.

Anger couldn’t even describe how Sehrazat felt about that.

Stupid technicality.

To get back where we started, Sehrazat was a damn good duellist and would beat Afya’s ass in Duel Monster.

That evaporated in a few minutes in their game since Afya picked it up fast and completely destroyed her.

Afya was even better than her in Duel Monsters!

How the heck the ancient queen managed this was beyond Sehrazat.

After that brutal loss, she had gone to her Mama to get comfort. It was so unfair!

It didn’t end there, Afya wiped the floor with Kihana too and Maja gave up after a few turns.

Afya was not only a formidable swordswoman but also an incredible duellist. Even if she repeated she preferred her sword over cards.

All in all, it was an experience that was not forgotten and Sehrazat asked herself if she and Afya teamed up if they could have beaten Seto Kaiba, the former World Champion.

Yes, the former.

A boy named Yugi Muto kicked the rich kid and three of his Blue Eyes White Dragons behind with Exodia.

If Sehrazat ever met this Yugi he would get a big Kudos from her.

That was impressive.

Today in the Faizan and Schariq household Maja was to guest since they all wanted to watch together how the Japanse Championship ended.

After a nice supper, all were in the living room together.

Sehrazat was snuggled up against her Mama, with Maja leaning on her. Sadiye was sitting on Aunty Rahila’s lap and Kihana had taken one of the armchairs for herself. Afya, as spirit, was also out of her Millennium Item and sat down on the other armchair.

Various snacks and beverages were laid out on the couch table and everyone, besides Afya of course, took some snacks and drinks.

Then it was time for the final duel.

The Announcer was full of energy as he said: ”To the millions of Duel Monsters fans, it's time for the tournament finals! Among the 200 duelists who won their regionals, who will stand at the top? Here come the competitors! Representing East Japan, 14-year-old Insector Haga! Representing West Japan, 15-year-old Dinosaur Ryuzaki! ”

“Are these the guys’ real names?”, asked Maja and bit into her chocolate bar.

Kihana finished drinking her coke answering her: “No, I’m pretty sure that’s are invented names. Who would name his kid Insector or Dinosaur?”

“Someone with bad taste.”, said Amira, which made everyone laugh.

The all-female group watched how Insector Haga destroyed Dinosaur Ryuzaki with his tiny insects.

Sadiye pouted like no tomorrow as she had to give Maja her Yens since she bet that the Dinosaur Dude would win. Her mother and sister hugged and kissed her, so she felt a bit better.

But she wouldn’t bet again against Maja.

 “Presenting the award is Industrial Illusions CEO and the genius creator of Duel Monsters...”, told the announcer. “Mr. Pegasus J. Crawford!”

Pegasus, holding a trophy, was raised by a platform into the middle of the duelling arena.

“The creator personally, what an honour for the young boy.”, said Rahila, stroking Sadiye’s black hair.

“That guy has some serious fabulous hair. What shampoo does he use?”, wonders Maja.

Sehrazat wants to answer her, yet she feels something in her mind. Or more she feels the connection she shares with Afya. Her Yami stares at Pegasus with a frown.

“What’s wrong, Afya?”

“I don’t like this man…something is strange about him. How he gives himself, his posture…it rubs me the wrong way.”

Meanwhile, Pegasus walks over to Insector Haga and kneels down. He gives him the trophy and congratulations, Haga is of course really happy.

That’s when Pegasus says something which turns all attention back to him: “You are granted entry into an upcoming event sponsored by my company.”

“That’s a first.”, says Amira. “Pegasus never hold an event or sponders something.”

“Oh that reminds me!”, shouts Rahila.

She puts Sadiye down from her lap and runs out of the living room.

The rest of the women and girls look all at each other confused.

A few seconds later she returns with two boxes in her hands.

“These packages were delivered today to us. One is for Sehrazat and one for you Kihana, my child.”

Still confused both take their package. Sehrazat shakes it.

“I wonder what’s in there.”

“It’s from Industrial Illusions!”, gasp Kihana surprised.

Amira crosses her arms and Afya’s frown deepens.

“Pegasus announces an event sponsored by him and you get the same-day packages from Industrial Illusions. I don’t like to say it girls, but something about this is fishy.”, says, Amira.

“You think so, Mama?”

“I agree, it is a bit of an obvious coincidence.”, admits Rahila. “But, Mira, both our daughters are top duellists, it’s not strange if Pegasus wants them in his event .”

“Can we not just open the boxes and see what’s inside them?”, whines Sadiye, who is sitting now on Maja’s lap.

“I’m curious too.”, agrees Maja with her.

Well, what else should they do? So together Sehrazat and Kihana open the boxes under the eyes of their family and friends. Both find a glove, two golden stars, and some cards.

Only Sehrazat’s one has a VHS in it. She picks it up with a frown.

“Why do I get a VHS?”

“Don’t make us watch it Sehra!”, shrieks Sadiye and hugs Maja tight. “That thing could be cursed!”

“Did you watch again bad movies, even if I didn’t permit them, Sadiye? You are still too young.”, scolds Rahila.

“Sorry, mommy!”

“We will talk about this later, young miss.”

Sehrazat looks to Afya, who has crossed her arms fixing this strange device with an uncertain look.

“Well, let’s just watch it.”, she decides for anyone. “We will know then what’s it about.”

So Sehrazat puts the VHS in the VCR.

The woman and girls huddle all close together till the static shows Pegasus on the TV screen.

“Greetings, my dear Sehrazat girl. I am Pegasus J. Crawford.”

“Hello?”, greets Sehrazat and waves awkwardly.

“Did you really say hello to a pre-recorded video?”, whispers-shouts Kihana in disbelief.

The blue-haired girl just shrugs her shoulders.

“It’s quite a shame that just because you moved to Japan you aren’t the Europa Champion anymore. You and Miss Schariq are formidable duellists, but you Sehrazat are even more a special case.”, tells her Pegasus. Afya stands now beside her with crossed arms, fixing the screen with a sharp look. “In fact, I've decided to investigate your amazing duelling skills personally. Right here, right now, we shall hold a special duel. We will play with a strict time limit of fifteen minutes and when time's up, the player with the highest life-points will be the winner. Are you ready?”

“This guy nuts, he is on a videotape.”, points Maja out.

“How is this going to work?”, wonders Sadiye.

Suddenly Pegasus laughs really evil. Something behind his hair glows in gold.

“With magic!”

The woman and girls let out a shocked sound. Her mother, Aunty Rahila, Kihana, Sadiye and Maja turn black and fade into the background.

Only she and Afya are still standing.

“Gran-Gran are you feeling this?”, she asks her Yami. “Everything's growing dark and cold and the others aren't moving.”

“Yes, I do. This is some kind of magic I bet with you!”

“Pegasus what have you done to my family!”, Sehrazat demands to know.

“Don’t worry, they are fine, you should worry more where we are now, little Sehrazat!”, tells her Pegasus.

“He is right. This place…this isn’t our normal world.”, informs her Afya.

“Do you want to take over, Gran-Gran?”

Afya just nods.

The symbol of the Millennium Items appears on Sehrazat’s forehead and her Millennium Fragments start to glow. With closed eyes the switch takes place and where once Sehrazat was in control of the body it is now Afya.

The spirit opens her eyes and smirks at Pegasus.

“All right, let’s duel and then you unfreeze my family and friends!”, declared Afya in her more mature and womanly voice.

Pegasus nods.

“Certainly. Let's begin. But you should know one thing, someone like me you never faced in a duel.”

The VCR timer is set to 0: 15.00 and both duellists get their cards ready.

“You will pay for what you did to my family!”, growls Afya and draws the Alexandrite Dragon.

Again something behind Pegasus’s hair glows

“You won't save anyone with that dragon card.”, he tells her nonchalantly.

“How did you?!”

“I told you, you've never faced anyone like me before.”, he reminds her. ”I know every move you'll make. Before you can even make it.”

Afya just growls angrily at him.

“Knowing every move you'll make gives me a distinct advantage, wouldn't you say? For example, I can anticipate your next play and counter it with this Dragon Capture Jar.”

“Hah?”

“It will draw the Alexandrite Dragon from your card and imprison the beast. Trapped. Never to be played against me.”

How can he see my cards and make my monsters real?!, thinks Afya desperate.  There is only one explanation!

“You have a Millennium Item too, don't you?!”, shouts Afya accusing.

“Right you are Sehrazat girl or should I call you queen?”, he smirks at her gasp. “Since you inhabited the body of your descendant.”

“How do you know this?”, wants Afya to know.

“My Item showed me a lot of things, including the little secret of the Faizan family. Now back to our game, my Dragon Piper has his flute of resurrection frees your Alexandrite Dragon, but puts him under my control.”

I have to defeat myself!

“I play Amazon of the Seas!”

The mermaid-like monster appears before her and the Alexandrite Dragon.

Alexandrite Dragon: ATK2000/DEF2100

Amazon of the Seas: ATK1300/DEF1400

The Alexandrite Dragon attacks the Amazon of the Sea.

I can feel the heat of the attack!

Afya’s life points are reduced from 2000 to 1300.

“A bit too hot for you my dear queen?”, asked Pegasus amused. ”I imagine it must be a long time since you played a Shadow Game, you seem a bit rusty.”

“Don't be so sure Pegasus, I will beat you!”, promises Afya and draws a new card.

Pegasus lifts his hair aside to show his Millennium Eye which glints with the image of a woman in a golden dress with six white angel wings. Afya’s eye also glints with the same image.

I have to turn this duel around, maybe with my Wingweaver?

Suddenly Pegasus laughs out loud and the once queen of all of Egypt gets insecure.

Wait a minute, he definitely knows what I'm about to do. I bet it's his Millennium Item that gives him this power. He must see the cards I draw with it, but what if I don't know what I play?

“Hurry up now, Queenie. Time is running out for you and your family. I already know what you will play and have a surprise for your little fairy type.”

Afya looks at him with cold orange eyes and takes blindly a card from her deck.

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, Pegasus! I figured out how your power works. You may be able to see the cards in my hand, but you can't see the cards I pull from the deck.”

Pegasus narrows his eyes at her.

“My next card is... the Dark Magician Girl!”

The Dark Magician Girl appears with a twirl and a cute smile. She hovers protectively before Afya.

“Your little cute Magician and Alexandrite Dragon how the same attack points.”, points Pegasus smirking out.

Dark Magician Girl: ATK2000/DEF1700

Alexandrite Dragon: ATK2000/DEF100

“What do you plan on doing my dear queen?”

“I will use this handy spell card.”, now Afya is smirking and shows him the card. “I play the magic card, Magic Formula which will give my Dark Magician Girl 700 more Attack Points!”

 “Well, if you think this will help you. Then go on.”, say’s Pegasus nonchalant.

“It will do more than that!”

Dark Magician Girl: ATK2700/DEF1700

Alexandrite Dragon: ATK2000/DEF100

“And now my Dark Magician Girl destroy the Alexandrite Dragon!”, shouts Afya, as her monster twirls her staff and sends the dragon to the Graveyard.

Pegasus Life Points drop from 2000 to 1300, yet he seems very calm. Afya narrows her eyes at him.

“I have taken a good chunk of your Life Points how can you be so calm?”, she questions him.

The man just draws his next card.

“Oh my dear queenie, you are so old, yet so naive. But by using your Dark Magician Girl, you've let me manipulate you once again.”

“You are lying!”, accuses Afya, while Dark Magician Girl hovers closer to her with a worried look on her face.

“By playing that one card, you have ensured my victory.”

“You are out of your mind!”

“We shall see, Queenie. Oh, a very rare card. This is the fearsome Faceless Mage.”

“I've never seen that card before.”, admits Afya. “But my Dark Magician Girl never let me down.”

Dark Magician Girl: ATK2700/DEF1700

Faceless Mage: ATK1200/DEF2200

“But how will she fare once I combine my Faceless Mage with the, equally rare, Eye of Illusion?”, wonders sarcastically Pegasus.

“Dark Magician Girl get ready, use your powers to defeat it! Dark Burning Attack!”, commands Afya.

Dark Magician Girl attacks, Faceless Mage holds up the Eye of Illusion and her attack has no effect.

Both the duellist and Duel Monster are shocked.

“How can this be?!”, shouts Afya.

Pegasus does not give an answer, just laughs at her desperation.

It didn’t make any sense. Pegasus Monster should be toast! The ancient queen looked worried at the timer. 0: 05.00. She didn’t have much time left! She needed to end this Duel.

“I attack your combo with my Amazoness Paladin!”

The female warrior appears on the playing field swinging her sword.

Amazoness Paladin: ATK1700/DEF300

Faceless Mage: ATK1200/DEF2200

“My fearsome Amazon will cut your Faceless Mage down!”, promises Afya.

“True, your Amazon is fearsome. But you have once again underestimated the incredible power of my Eye of Illusion! Hah hah!”, laughs Pegasus in her face. “Dark Burning Attack!”

Amazoness Paladin shatters, and Afya's life points are reduced from 1300 to 300.

“How can this be?! The Faceless Mage doesn't have a Dark Burning Attack?”

It’s like lighting struck her as the once queen of Egypt realized what this meant.

It was my own Dark Magician Girl that attacked me. Pegasus is controlling her with the Eye of Illusion.

“Well, queenie, our time together is nearly up, and as I have more life points than you, it appears I am the victor.”, informs her Pegasus giddy.

Fractionally Afya looks for a way out and draws a card, but before she can summon it, the timer hits zero!

“No, please no!”, she screams. “I was this close to ending it!”

“It seems luck was not on your side queenie, but you were a formidable opponent.”, mocks her Pegasus.

“What do you want? Why are you doing all of this?!”, demands Afya too.

“It’s quite simple. As you already guessed right I possess one Millennium Item, the Millennium Eye. My goal is to have all eight, then who shall have all eight of them shall have a power beyond imagination!”, tells her Pegasus passionately. “But I have to win it from you, or his power will not be mine.”

Shocked the blue-haired woman grips her amulet.

“I will never hand you over my Millennium Fragment! I’m done playing games with you!”

“Oh, you will. You see, I have found that given the proper incentive, anyone can be made to play my game.”

The Millennium Eye glows and pulls Sehrazat’s mother’s soul into the television screen.

“Amira?!”, shouts Afya in disbelief.

Amira appears on the TV screen, crying for help: “Sehrazat!”

Afya gets formally kicked out of the body and Sehrazat is again in control. Crying she puts her hands on the TV.

“Mama, MAMA!”

“Yes, we will duel again, Sehrazat. How else will you reclaim your mother’s soul?”, asks Pegasus a rhetorical question, till the TV turns into static.

The world returns to color and Sehrazat’s Family and friends are now able to move. Amira's eyes are blank and she falls over.

“MAMA! MAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Her screams of pain and anguish can be heard even outside of their home.

Next

[mxbbadperson]

fandom: kamen rider revice ship: vail/ikki warning: vail's out of character notes: someone help papa-san, mama-san's gonna kill vail lmao

vail walked into the bathhouse, he didn't even bothering with wash basin and towels by the door. he didn't even glance at it. he walked up to the counter and leaned against it.

vice was talking to people, voice loud and cheerful. how annoying. people turned to look at him. their eyes were confused and curious. vice followed their gaze. he looked at vail. he let out a squawk.

he ran to vail's side. 'what are you doing here!!' he hissed.

'i'm here for him,' vail said simply.

'that doesn't mean that you have to be here!! GET OUT.'

'No.' vail turned away. they really did rebuild this place.

vice sputtered. 'vice? what's wro-' yukimi saw vail,' -ong?' she frowned in worry. 'what are you doing here?' she asked carefully.

'i'm not here for junpei,' vail started, her expression turned to one of relief, 'i'm here for the boy,' vail finished. vice flinched.

yukimi's expression to confusion then, a second later, into anger. 'what do you want with ikki?' she demanded.

vice stepped closer to her. 'well, mama-san, he doesn't mean it that way...'

yukimi stepped forward. vice helpless tried to reach for her. she looked into vail's eyes. 'what do you want with ikki?' she repeated angrily.

'mana-san!' genta said quickly. he ran to her side, touching her arm. 'vice is right,' he said gently, 'vail doesn't mean it that way. he's not going to hurt ikki.' he looked at vail. 'you're not going to hurt ikki are you, vail?'

vail looked back. junpei's eyes were completely serious, none of that annoying cheerfulness when he acted like a fool. 'i wouldn't,' he promised.

genta's expression was of surprise. vail agreed with that, he was surprised about it too. even angry at himself at first. 'he actually... said that...?' vice mumbled confused.

'then... what does ikki mean to you?' genta said slowly. he wondered if he could have an answer from vail.

vail thought of ikki. of his stubbornness and his stubbornness to be close, his voice high in alarm and in anger then his voice low in his coaxing and strange gentleness, the bowls of food and bottles of juice and how he sat beside him, the line of his body unguarded.

'the boy is...' vail looked at yukimi. yukimi straightened, her eyes defiant. '...my wife,' vail declared.

yukimi's eyes widened, mouth dropping open and vice made choked noises while genta's expression softened, nodding in understanding. yukimi sputtered. 'what does that mean?!' she said alarmed, ('why did he say that?!' vice said annoyed) she turned to genta, 'papa-san, what does that mean?!?'

'it means that vail cares for-'

yukiki turned to vail. 'you can't be ikki's husband!'

'yes'! genta agreed with enthusiasm. vail glanced at him with annoyance. 'but really, mama-san, isn't that for ikki to deci-"

'because vice is ikki's husband!!' yukimi insisted, gesturing at vice with force.

'really?' vice asked confused.

'yes!' genta agreed with enthusiasm.

vice perked. 'thank you, mama-san!' there was joy in his voice. 'i'll take good care of ikki!!' he said determined.

'and you'll be a bad husband anyway!!' yukimi said wity certainty.

'yes!' genta agreed, pointing at vail. vail looked at them with confusion. *what* were they talking about?

'ikki's husband... ikki as my wife...' vice whispered amazed. he giggled.

'vail?' ikki asked, vail turned to him on reflex, 'vice? kaa-chan? tou-chan?' he looked at them confused. there was a bag in his shoulder and sakura standing beside him. she also looked confused.

'ikki! we can get married!!' vice called out joyfully. sakura's face brightened.

'what?' ikki said.

vail pushed himself off the counter and went to him. sakura scowled at him. 'ikki! you can't marry him!! that's not allowed!' yukimi yelled.

'yes! i agree!!' genta also yelled. sakura nodded.

'*what?*' vail stopped beside ikki. ikki looked at him. 'what's going on?' he asked vail quietly.

'they're babbling,' vail answered. ikki smiled. there that was that strange and strangely familiar feeling of victory in vail's chest. he wrapped an arm around ikki then pulled him close. ikki was warm against him and there was that familiar scent.

'bring back my fiance, okay?' vice called out.

'yes! you better!' yukimi, genta and sakura said in unison.

vail and ikki disappeared. ikki blinked and they were in a park far from the bathhouse. 'that was annoying,' vail said with annoyance.

ikki's smile widened. 'do you want to have a picnic with me?' he asked gently.

8'yes,' vail answered. ikki held out his hand. vail took it then gave it a squeeze. they went looking for a place to sit. and after ikki spread out the blankets, he reached into the bag to get the food and vail watched him. he was admiring ikki's face.

[senstless]

Splinterlands BATTLE MAGE SECRETS Featuring Silenced Summoners in a 12 Round Brawl Victory!

Featuring Bronze League Summoner and Monsters in Action!

I was excited to see this week's challenge of silenced summoners under the battle made secrets post. Silence to summoners can have an big impact on how the game plays out as quite a few monsters become much less powerful, while other monsters have a much better chance of surviving due to the lack of attack boost, especially those that are more prone to magic attacks. This turned out to be a very lengthy battle going 12 rounds that played out in a bronze brawl, let's take a look at how we played and the outcome.

CHALLENGE RULES

RULESET: Silenced Summoners:

Description: Summoners do not give any buffs/debuffs.

Reasons Why I like it

Silenced summoners provides an opportunity to play cards without worry of being beaten by basically just the summoner. Some legendary summoners, especially those from untamed can be quite troublesome to overcome. I mainly thinking of Mama, kitty, and Zaku that all have amazing abilities that can make otherwise mediocre teams be almost unstoppable. This eliminates those and allowed to focus to purely be monster vs monster

The Matchup - Where Rules Sets, Splinters and Mana Collide

The Rule Sets

Watch the Match Here

MANA: 28

Ruleset: Briar Patch: All Monsters have the Thorns ability.

Ruleset: Silenced Summoners: Summoners do not give any buffs/debuffs.

SPLINTERS: Water, Earth, Life, Dragon

Initial Rule Set and Mana Gameplay Thoughts

Rulesets These two real sets combine meaning they are not going to get any boost from their summoners, while they are also going to be all given thorns. Thorns will play a very big part if anyone chooses to play melee monsters as they will receive an additional two Thorn damage in most cases for each attack. This will likely push the match away from heavy melee.

Mana 28 Mano is almost low in my mind. While it used to be a high mana count I feel that over time that has certainly transitioned to low middle or upper low. I think the number of monsters that have a mana cost greater than eight or nine has increased significantly. This will make it a bit tougher to feel the team

Splinters I don't see too much of an issue with the splinters that have been removed. Fire is largely unfavored due to the briar patch thorns rule set and less using Zaku, and death benefits typically is a melee-based set that uses Thorn to protection. When all monsters get thorns it becomes less of a benefit.

Summoner VERA SALACIA Since the summoners don't provide any benefit I wanted to spend only three mana on my summoner versus more that don't do anything

First Position DJINN OSHANNUS I wanted to put a stud in first place this time around. High health and speed with void and thorns and two magic damage as a base means it's likely to be troublesome for my opponent to knock out especially with the cards I have behind

Second Position FLAGULON REINE Girls are great cuz you get a baseline gladiator card. This is one of my favorites as it gives two magic damage with splash that can help to take out some of those pesky second row cards.

Third Position MERDAALI Guardian Since I'm putting so much focus on my tank, I want to heal it to keep it around and have it deliver damage while absorbing a lot

Fourth Position RIVER NYMPH I feel like I have run into a lot of cards that play affliction so I wanted to be able to cleanse that away to keep healing Djinn Oshannus

Fifth Position VENARI SPELLSMITH This card has certainly been moving up in my play frequency. Having to spell is becoming more and more important as an increased number of cards seem to have bloodlust, or martyr that gives a boost to surrounding cards. Having to spell takes that boost away and returns them back to their original stats thus removing some of those unstoppable freight trains

Sixth Position TORRENT FIEND Just trying to protect the cards that I have in the back row from a sneak attack for one more attack

Opponent Lineup & Match Play

Summoner STHISPA interesting choice is I believe it's a higher man a card and I'm not sure why they picked it.

CHAOS AGENT Not bad I guess if you just looking to have it protect the back line cards a little bit longer

VOID DRAGON One of my favorite tracking cards, it's speed flying and void make it very difficult for non-magic monsters to hit it.

FUGNUS FLINGER Almost a guaranteed play in the Earth lineup. That martyr ability is just too good to give up

QUORA TOWERSHEAD The heavy hitter the match of course. quora is looking to get a boost for murder plus has healing and bloodlust plus is going to get healed from goblin psychic

GOBLIN PSYCHIC Well not great on its own, it's likely to stick around given I have no sneak attack to the thorns and it's going to be tough to get through my opponent

FURIOUS CHICKEN Same as me, just blocking the back with something that's thorny

Round 1

Round 2

At this point it's clear that both of our tanks will be healed, and the only progress I'm making is a slow splash damage on fungus flinger of each round of one health. This will eventually knock them out and give a boost to both Cora and void dragon.

Round 3

Almost comical that everything stays the same except for the fungus flinger is going to drop a health in round 4 and eventually get eliminated in round 5.

Round 4

As mentioned before fungus fingers finally eliminated giving a boost to void dragon and quora towershed. The good news for me is that before the round is over I applied dispel to void drag and dropping at stats back down to the original. This also means that Flagulon Reine good to boost up to three magic damage with two splash.

Round 5

Round five marks the start of the ever so slowly death avoid dragon. It will be one less health in round,6,7,and 8 before getting knocked out in round 9:00.

Round 6

One less health but no other changes it's almost like we're a stalemate other than the very slow health draining

Round 7

It's down to five, it won't be long and it'll be gone

Round 8

Down to four soon it will hit the floor

Round 9

Down to three it will cease to be.... We also had quora move to first position and I managed to hit it with dispel. This is quite beneficial as it is now going to be doing less damage to me while taking significantly more damage. Again my monsters will be dealing eight magic and two Thorn damage to quora well only receiving five damage. This means that given the heel rates I can't lose

Round 10

Okay, things are going to look very good for me, one more round and Cora should die which will mean a quick elimination of anyone else that's left.

Round 11

It's true the screenshots have been after the first attack since my back button won't work to reload the start of the round. But either way it doesn't matter core will be gone quickly followed by the rest of the team given the heavy splash damage and other attacks. It took to around 12:00 to win but it was a well thought victory.

Thoughts -

I really like my lineup, and I think it worked out really well. While traditionally not going to work in all situations, the addition of the briar patch and thorns made melee a much smaller risk and something I could take a gamble on and completely leave myself a vulnerable too. The addition of healing splash magic and dispel was a deadly combo that I think could overcome most teams. I will probably play similar lineups again in the future if given an opportunity considering how well this one worked.

~~@senstless

[itashiro-writing-corner]

Alright so here we go. Time to convert one of the characters from the video game Atelier Iris 2. Today's character is Viese Blanchimant.

So for this conversion we'll need to take a look at what stats she focuses on in the game as well as what her skills are and what she actually does mechanically. Viese is an Alchemist, but not in the sense you'd think in 5e. In this game Alchemists need the help of mana spirits, elemental spirits, to synthesize and make new items by combining other items together. The game makes a point that she needs to make pacts with these spirits. So therefore there is some Warlock vibes as she makes pacts with these spirits to use their power.

But she is also known for her high intelligence in the game so that should be her focus stat. As she makes items and is more of a support character. So this brings in the Artificer levels where she has her main focus. She's the go to healer so healing spells and item usage are her main focuses. With that said here's what I believe her character sheet would look like.

Name: Viese Blanchimant

Race: human (variant)

Class: Warlock 2/Artificer 8

Background: Sage

Stats:

STR 8

DEX 10

CON 13

INT 15(16)

WIS 14

CHA 12(13)

Archetypes: Archfey Patron/Alchemist

Pact boon: Talisman

Invocations: Eyes of the Rune Keeper, Eldritch Mind

Feats: Healer, Ritual Caster (Wizard), Prodigy

Skills: Arcana(E), History, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception

Now the reasons for picking the Archfey Patron is mostly due to the weirdness of the Mama spirits. I liken them to Fey creatures as they are embodiments of the elements found in nature. Their pact boon is a talisman cuz in the game Views uses a gem that signifies her bond to the Mana spirits she's made pacts with. Although since she is more focused on healing and the original mana was the Mana of Creation, Celestial can work as well, possibly better mechanically speaking. So for flavor Archfey is best, for mechanics Celestial is best, both can be solid options. As for spell choices she would mainly focus on the support spells as she isn't much of a fighter. So healing and buff spells are her forte. The only equipment she doesn't work on with possible infusion choices is weapons. That belongs to a different member of the party.

So there we have it. Viese as a D&D character. She is pretty solid all things considered but due to her support focus she can be a bit lacking in combat situations but what she lacks in damage capabilities she makes up for in keeping her allies alive and enhancing the usage of their items. She's also the main nerd of the group perfect for info dumping and solving riddles and puzzles. This is not to say this build is the best for support, cuz it's not, this is just going off of the flavor and info the game provides and doing my best to convey it.