#his gang his squad his posse

[amoratearte]

daemon finally sends news to his wife from harrenhal

[to-fly-with-clipped-wings]

A Fight Well Fought 

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary: when Hogwarts is being faced by a surge of bullies, Remus Lupin finds himself at the brunt of it. As a prefect, and a victim, he has to bring in extreme measures to get this surge under control.

And you, the knight in shining armour and self-proclaimed bully buster, are the extreme measures.

Inspired by the bully x student council member trope. I read some really great ffs with like the student council x delinquent trope and I feel so bad because I can't remember their titles for the life of me TT but my heart goes out to the authors of those books <3

Reader's house and gender is ambiguous!

—---------------------------------

“You-Know-Who is an incel.”

You sweatdropped almost immediately after you said it. Perhaps that wasn’t the best thing to say to Bellatrix Black and her gang of future death eaters, but on the other hand, you didn’t really care. Someone needed to put that daft cow in her place, and boy, had you been lined up for a long time.

The mass of curly hair that was once hovering over a sobbing first year snapped in your direction. Bellatrix’s right eye twitched as she made her way toward you, stopping inches away from your face.

“What did you just say?” she wasted no time in brandishing her wand at your throat. A shadow was cast on her face. “How dare you. You foul little no-life! How dare you speak of the Dark Lord in that manner!” You narrowed your eyes at the tip of her wand before spitting out your reply. “You heard me. He’s an incel. A loser. A joke!”

You expected her to curse you on the spot, but instead she let out a high-pitched laugh as she bent down closer to you, her breath hot on your ear. “Oh, how amusing. You really think you know anything about the Dark Lord? You really think you can - ?”

You don’t give her the chance to finish her prolonged monologue. You leaned back, curling your fingers into fists, and whirled forward, causing your knuckles to make full contact with her face.

The punch sent Bellatrix flying backwards. Her head slammed into the wall of the corridor with a loud strike, accompanied by the gasps of the portraits surrounding you. You glared at her with a deep scowl, watching as blood slowly began to seep out of her nose. You flexed your fingers, ignoring the stinging sensation that was blistering out from your hand.

Adrenaline coursed through your body. You basically thrived from it, your love for fights and conflict often resulted in an overdose of the hormone. You grinned a malevolent smile, wiping the back of your blood-stained hand over your lips; you were pretty sure you now had a streak of red painted across your face.

Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix’s husband-to-be, rushed to her side, blubbering panicked words of comfort to her. You had no idea where the other members had run off to.

Listening to their quiet whimpers (well, Rodolphus’s whimpers, Bellatrix was still quite motionless), your expression falls flat into a look of deep annoyance. “It’s funny how just one punch can take you down so easily.”

Now, it was you who took out your wand. You pointed it at the couple, with a derisive taunt. “Let’s see how your precious master reacts to this. Stupef- ! ”

You were cut off by a rush of frantic footsteps headed in your direction. “A-ah! (Y/n) (L/n), right?”

You turn your head to face the new voice, still keeping your wand poised at the centre of Bellatrix’s forehead. 

Oh. Remus Lupin.

You appraised him with furrowed brows. Remus Lupin was a member of the notorious boy-band squad “the Marauders”, but from what you had gathered, he was the most tame of the group. Your eyes dropped to the shiny red prefect badge on his chest. Yep. A goody-two-shoes indeed. 

Remus skidded to a halt several steps next to your posse of four, if that’s what you would call this exchange. He was completely out of breath, steadying himself by placing his hands on his knees as he hunched over. 

Now, just what did Remus Lupin want? He was in your year-level, and in quite a few of your classes, yet you couldn’t say you were well-acquainted with him - or any of his friends, for that matter. 

Remus, rather unimpressively in your opinion, sucked in a final breath of air before standing up straight. He ran his hand through his brown head of hair and made his way next to you. 

“Black and Lestrange,” he started, his voice now enforced with authority, a stark contrast from the huffing boy you had witnessed literally seconds prior. “Harassing younger year level students, let alone any students at all, is a clear violation of the student code of conduct at Hogwarts! For that, I will be speaking with your Head of House to ensure you receive the proper punishment.” 

Wow, you thought. That sounded really scripted.

Remus paused, and added as an afterthought, “20 points from Slytherin, each.”

Rodolphus, the only one conscious between the two, twisted his ugly mug into a snarl, evidently severely displeased with Remus. “You filthy half-breed! Do we need to remind you of your place, again?” 

You internally raised an eyebrow at this. Had the Remus Lupin gotten into a fight with the ‘slytherin gang’, as the school lovely christened the huddle of death-eaters-to-be.

Rodolphus suddenly stretched his arm out, presumably to drag the other boy close to attack him. His fingers circled around Remus’s collar, ready to seize and-

Rodolphus’s head was slammed back into the wall, narrowly dodging the bombarda curse you’d just fired. He blinked rapidly, as if just remembering your presence. Your lips twitched as you saw the tremors in the hand that was holding onto the front of Bellatrix’s robes. Someone needed to put the fear of Merlin in him. Asshole. 

You sneered at him. “You and your girlfriend better get out of my sight, because I assure you that the next time I see you, I won’t miss.”

With that, Rodolphus grabbed Bellatrix and scrambled away.

You stuffed your hands in your pockets, watching the pair run away with a sense of amusement. As the supposed leaders of ‘the Slytherin gang’, you would’ve thought they’d put up more of a fight. Maybe they weren’t on the tops of their games today, you’d heard complaints that they usually do much worse. Well, whatever. It’d do you good to keep your guard up for the next few days anyways, in case they decided to jump you in the middle of the night.

The first year student, who you’d totally forgotten about during the tussle, suddenly stood up, tear stains trailing down his cheeks. He didn’t stop to acknowledge you or Remus in his haste to get the hell out of your corridor.  You rolled your eyes and sighed. Kids.  Realising that it was just you and Remus left now, you began to follow the first year boy’s cue to leave, still scowling and fiddling with the wand in your robe pockets. 

“(L/n)!” said Remus, snapping his head away from the notebook he held in his hands - when the hell did he get a notebook - and toward you. 

“You’re (Y/n) (L/n), aren’t you?” he asked, repeating his previous question.

You eyed him from your spot near the end of the hallway. “...why do you care?”

He gave you a soft smile. “I’m Remus Lupin. We’re in the same year level. I don’t think we’ve met before.” You stayed silent, blinking lazily at his tall figure.

He gave a nervous laugh. “Anyways,” he said, scratching his cheek. “I just wanted to say thanks for helping out. Bullying has gotten completely out of hand and even though we’ve been trying to catch people, it's been really difficult to get everyone. So, I just wanted to say thanks! It’s really nice of you to step in for that first year boy.”

He has a lot of scars, you noticed, staring at his face. Gazing at him, you realised that he was still staring at you expectantly. “I wasn’t doing it for him, or for you. Black and Lestrange annoy me. I wasn’t trying to help out anyone,” you answered shortly.

“Well, regardless, thank you!” he gave you a cheesy thumbs up, causing you to roll your eyes.

An abrupt thought crossed your mind. 

Remus had to have been there the whole time, right? 

The corridor you’d been in was one of the most secluded in the school. From what you knew, prefects were given small sections to patrol each night plus the fact that the confrontation between the Slytherins and the first year boy had been going on for quite a while before you stepped in. There was no way that such a loud fight (especially when one of the three was screaming at the top of her lungs) would go unnoticed by him. Hell, if you were able to hear it from the next corridor over, then there was almost no evidence that Remus wouldn’t have known about it before.

You let your gaze settle on Remus. Just what has you so scared that you can’t step in first? The question sat at the tip of your tongue. The most plausible reason was that he was afraid of being harassed by those Slytherins (not to mention that sketchy line Lestrange had shouted before. ‘Again’? Did they usually gang up to teach Remus a lesson?)

Huh. Maybe that’s why he has so many scars.

Regardless, your eyes swept Remus up and down once more before you spun around and stalked out of the corridor. It doesn’t concern me anyways.

—---------------------------------

The next time you bump into Remus, you realise that your theory-conspiracy skills were surprisingly on point.

A midnight stroll, stemming from you raiding the kitchens, had led you to a dark, dingy little room in the corner of the dungeons as well as a front row seat to what looked like a Slytherin, pure-blood ritual with Remus Lupin as the sacrifice.

One, two, you started to count in your head, three, four. 

You could make out Wilkes (from his foul stench) and Avery’s scrawny physique in the weird circle they’d formed but you had no clue who the other two were.

Wilkes had been muttering something into Remus’s ear, his hand firmly gripping the ends of his chocolate coloured hair. Remus looked quite dazed, and you realised with a start that his left eye was darkened and deeply bruised. 

Wilkes sneered and he suddenly reared back, only to bash Remus’s head into the floor. What followed was one of the loudest cracks you had ever heard, as well as the ugly cackles of the four Slytherin lackeys.

Forcing his head up, Remus raised his gaze to the roof, revealing the wound on his forehead that was beginning to drip with blood.

What happened next was quite unclear to you. 

One moment you were glaring down the group with your hand coiling around the base of your wand, and then, the next were occupied by the groaning sounds and creaking limbs of four students who’d been ungracefully tossed into a heap. 

You stood next to Wilkes, staring intensely at before raising your foot and ramming it into his face. Good Merlin, did you hope that the heel of your shoe had dug into one of his eyes. He let out a howl and he brought his hands to his face to assess the damage. But before his hands could contact his skin, your foot harshly slammed down onto his fingers once again. 

Irritation was flooding through your veins, pounding like an alarm, as you glowered down at him and his lackeys. You held out your wand, your dominant hand busted from the force of your punches, as you intended to use reducto on them (or at the very least turn him into a chicken) when a hasty thud caught your attention.

Remus had fallen over trying to stand up, his mind clearly still blurry from when the Slytherin brutes had struck his head into the ground. You watched silently as he staggered over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder in an attempt to both placate you as well as regain his balance. 

He offered you one of his small smiles. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

Your eyebrow twitched as you raked your eyes up and down his lanky figure. Aside from the wounds on his face and the slight tears on his robes, he seemed to be relatively functioning. 

You turned your gaze away from him and toward the Slytherins convulsing on the floor. “How long have they been giving you shit like this for?” From the corner of your periphery, you saw his smile falter. He didn’t answer your question, and from that you could presume that it had been going on for quite a while. 

Taking in his sullen expression, a fresh wave of anger coursed through you as you bent down to grab the hair of one of the Slytherins moping on the ground. With a satisfying ‘thwack!’, you threw a punch that left a lovely, blooming purple bruise just underneath their eye. 

Before you could crack his skull into the floor, similar to the way they had done to Remus, the said boy spoke up. “(Y/n).”

His eyes pleading with you to stop, for some Merlin-forsaken reason. Though you wanted to say that you were an independent person who took no crap from anyone, it was enough for you to drop the Slytherin’s head and stand back up.

You glanced at Remus, your eyes dropping to his busted lip. Huh. When did that happen? 

“You said there was a bullying problem,” you spoke suddenly, diverting your gaze. You scuffed the floor with your foot, where a dark red liquid was stained across the ground. 

Remus blinked, surprised that you were initiating the conversation. “Yeah. Heh. Maybe I should’ve mentioned that I knew that from first-hand experience…”

You pocketed your wand and raised your eyes to meet his. The tips of your ears burned slightly. “I’ll help. I’ll take care of it.”

And for the second time, in the span of a few days, you stalked out of the room, plotting murder in your mind and leaving Remus to his own devices.

—---------------------------------

The next time Remus bumped into you, there was at least a dozen thoughts running through his head - the loudest one of all being “what the fuck.”

There were, if he had to estimate, about twelve students dangling above you, strung up like some gruesome chain of fairy lights. It didn’t help that their eyes were shiny with tears, reminiscent of little flickering bulbs. 

You were sitting under your halo of bruised and bloodied students, apathetically scanning your nails. You only looked up when you heard him approaching.

“Lupin,” you acknowledged dryly, looking vaguely unperturbed about having beat up members of the Hogwart delinquent squad that were at least double your size.

“(Y/n),” he meekly responded, dipping his head in greeting. His eyes were fixed on the students dangling above you, swaying whenever a soft zephyr passed by. The handiwork of levicorpus, he supposed.

You frowned at the concern etched on his face. How could he still have sympathy for punks like these, when he knew first-hand the damage they'd done to the students of Hogwarts. “I took care of it.”

Noticing how he was now staring into the widened eyes of Rosier, who was hanging pleasantly upside down, you helpfully added “I know it's not all of them, but I’m working on it.”

Remus’s shoulders shook slightly as he attempted to muffle his laugh. 

“Oh,” you said, “I almost forgot.” 

You waved your wand and about 4 of the students were sent crashing down. They groaned, clutching their heads. The sudden transition from hanging upside down into foetal position must have been unsettling, but you held little sympathy for their plights.

You nudged one of them in the back (more like kicked) and they all scrambled into a bow at Remus’s feet. 

“Lupin!” it was the four Slytherins who had jumped him the other day. They spoke in almost precise synchronisation, like they’d been forced to rehearse it several times over. “We’re sorry for attacking you! We promise to never do it again! Never!”

Remus, charmingly surprised at their sudden revelation, looked over at you. You were frowning again, and you shot off a spell at Wilkes, who let out a whimper. “Lupin!” he cried out. “I’m worse than worse! A monster among men! Please accept my sincerest apologi- !“

His apology speech ended shortly as he paused to hack out blood. You death-stared him, plotting only Merlin knows what, to force him to continue his apology to Remus.

Sweat-dropping, Remus bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder. On any other day, Wilkes would have spat in his face and called him a disgusting half-breed for touching him; but this was not like any other day. Wilkes’s teary eyes met Remus’s own as he mouthed out ‘help me.’

“W-well,” Remus flashed Wilkes one of his gentle smiles - you fought the urge to ram the Slytherin bully’s skull into the portrait of Sir Ewarn the Fifth (who had been watching the scene with a vague horror in his painted eyes). “I accept all of your apologies. Just, preferably, don’t do it again. Please?”

He stood up. Some of the people you had strung up weren’t even the traditional, pureblood supremacist Slytherins, he realised. Jeez. This bullying problem had spread to all the houses. His lips twitched when he caught you scowling at Zacharias Smith (senior), a fourth year Hufflepuff notorious for stealing people’s homework assignments and hiding them in the abandoned girls’ lavatory.

You watched as the Slytherins you had released began to scramble away, and with a sigh, you let down the remaining students. Before they sprinted away, though, you stared intensely at them, reminding them to promise Remus never to torment anyone again.

Once they were all gone, you turned to Remus with an almost cheery demeanour - or at least the cheeriest he’d seen on your face so far. “I don’t think you’ll be hearing any complaints about them anytime soon!”

Remus, bless his pure soul, cracked a weak grin at you. His golden eyes furrowed as he took your hands in his. “Everytime I see you, your knuckles are always split open. Do you not get them treated?” Your somewhat happy expression had returned to its typical deadpan. “I used to go to the Hospital Wing, but after a while Madam Pomfrey got wary of how many times I would show up. Eventually, I just stopped showing up altogether.”

Wow, thought Remus, absentmindedly glancing down at your hands. (Y/n) is just a fighting spirit through and through, huh? Of course, he had his own reasons for his perpetual presence in the Hospital Wing, but that was a story for another time.

He grabbed your hand and began tugging you softly to follow along with him. 

You weren’t entirely sure if he was aware of the extensive hand holding he was doing, and it made your ears burn with embarrassment. The two of you stopped in front of a broom closet, where he leaned in to grab a roll of bandages. 

“Sorry,” he said, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he gazed upon you gingerly. “I’m not really that great with healing spells and I don’t want to use you as my guinea pig just yet.”

Merlin, you thought angrily. He needs to stop smiling like that.

Remus kneeled down in front of you. He began unravelling the roll to wrap the bandages around your knuckles in a firm, yet delicate??, way. A way, you thought, glancing off to the side as you felt your face heating up, that felt oddly specific to Remus. 

When you felt his warm touch leave yours, you glanced back down, your face starting to cool down. You flexed your fingers experimentally, pleased to see that you could still curl them into fists easily enough.

“Hey, Remus,” you said, surprising both yourself and him with the use of his first name. 

You bent down to peer closely at his face.

He made eye contact with you, and you could hear his breath hitching as he realised the distance, or lack thereof, that was between the both of you. You reached your hand out, cupping his jaw and brushing your thumb against his cheek. You could feel his face heating up at your touch.

Just as Remus’s emerald eyes began to flutter shut, you pulled back abruptly. Your ears were warm as you too took notice how close the two of you were. You quickly showed him your thumb, where a single strand of brown lay.

“Eyelash.”

—---------------------------------

“Oi! (L/n)! Sit with us!”

You spun around to face the voice who had called out for you. You were greeted by the grinning face of James Potter (who was standing way too disturbingly close to you). 

“(L/n),” he repeated. “You’re friends with Moony, yeah? You should sit with us.”

He grabbed your wrist and dragged you over to the spot at the table where the infamous Marauders had claimed for today. You opened your mouth to protest (you and Remus weren’t really friends, more like partners in crime or something along those lines), but you decided to leave it. 

You took a seat next to your (favourite) marauder, who gave you one of his insufferable, pure, tender smiles. You forced your lips into a straight line, praying to whatever higher power watching over you that no one could feel the heat radiating from your face. 

You glanced around hoping that by the time you have to look back at Remus, your face would have cooled down. Lily Evans, Marlene Mckinnon, Mary Macdonald and Alice Fortescue were seated on your other side, deeply engrossed in whatever conversation they were having. Lily Evans was sitting unusually close to the Marauders today, especially considering how much she allegedly hated them (or did, at least, before her falling out with Snape which kind of neutralised her hate for them. Slightly).

Lily caught you staring and offered you a smile and a giggle, You froze awkwardly and blinked at her greeting.

“So, (L/n),” began Sirius Black, the resident Hogwarts heartthrob. He was grinning cheekily at you. “How are you on this mighty fine day?” You deadpanned at his wack attempt at a Texan accent. “Good.” “Ah, good, good.” he sweatdropped at your lack-luster answer. “Yep. It’s great to be good.” 

You raised an eyebrow at him before glancing at Remus, who smiled sheepishly at you.

“I- we noticed how you usually sit alone during mealtimes,” he said, shoulder brushing ever so closely to yours. “I thought it would be nice if you could join us.” 

Merlin, you could feel your ears burning again.

Remus continued on, seemingly taking no notice of your internal (and external) struggles. “We’re friends now, so you’re more than welcome to sit with us if you want.” 

He finished with one of his dazzling smiles and - jeez, you had to stop getting flustered over his smallest gestures.

“I’m James Potter, in case ya didn’t know before!” James Potter announced helpfully.

“Right, and I’m Sirius Black,” he said, grinning at you. “It's siriusly great to meet’cha!”

James and Remus chuckled at the joke. You blinked awkwardly at them before swivelling your head to look at the final boy. 

“I-I’m Peter Pettigrew,” he said, smiling nervously (though his smile wasn’t nearly as cute as Rem- wait, what on earth were you thinking?!)

They all looked at you expectantly. 

“Oh.” you began ever so eloquently. “I know who all of you are. We’re in the same year level. We take most of the same classes as each other?” Seeing them stare blankly at you, you sighed. 

“Well, whatever,” said Sirius, leaning forward, a shit-eating grin on his face. “We heard, from our dear pal Moony here, that thanks to your solo vigilante efforts, Snape, Wilkes, Rosier - the entire little death-eater wannabe squad were basically prostrating on the floor, begging for forgiveness!”

“They piss me off-,” you began, wanting to repeat the same speech you had given Remus when the two of you had first met - that you didn’t care about honour, or revenge for the ickle first years who had fallen victim to their wrath - but Lily Evans suddenly cut you off.

“That was you?” she said, eyes wide. You didn’t even know she was listening to the conversation. “Like, you’re the person they’ve been talking about?”

James was practically bouncing up and down in his seat. “Tell us, Evans- the rumours!” Lily ignored him (for the most part), but she did in fact tell you the rumours. “They say that there’s been a monster of sorts attacking wandering students in the dead of night! But they only target the ones who no one really likes.” 

Marlene gasped, bringing her hands to her face. “So, you’re telling me that the other day, when I saw Lucius Malfoy sporting a black eye, that was you?”

Everyone in a five-seat radius of you was looking at you with new-found admiration. To top it all off, Remus patted your shoulder and announced “bullying at Hogwarts is at an all time low, thanks to (Y/n)!”

With that single touch, you basically combusted.

For all of your years here at Hogwarts, you’d remained fairly asocial. You’d sit by yourself during mealtimes, be the last to be partnered during group projects and stuff like that. The only socialising you ever got was when you beat the crap out of your enemies. 

How were you supposed to know that your enemies also happened to be everyone else’s enemies?

But still, it had all unfurled to where you were now.

And so, surrounded by Remus and the rest of your new friends, you found your lips twitching into the smallest of smiles.

—---------------------------------

It had been a few months now, since that first time you had run into Remus. And it was now, that we would be witnessing your final fight.

You were standing behind Remus, hands stuffed in pockets as per usual, whilst the boy gave his usual lecture on why not to bully others (well, ignoring the fact that you were essentially a bully now too pretty much).

Remus waved off the fifth year student you had cornered prior before turning to face you with a great smile.

Remus hadn’t been touched for the last few months either. Not with you, basically standing around as his bodyguard. Even a wrong glance at the boy would result in your death-stare gracing the halls of Hogwarts. 

“That was it,” you began, your voice quiet and hoarse.

Remus blinked at you.

You coughed. “I mean, that was the last one. There are no more delinquents left.”

“Ah,” he said. “I see.”

He exhaled, seeming to work up the courage to do something. Then, he leaned forward, taking your hands into his and smiling earnestly at you. “Well, then. Thanks, (Y/n), for putting up with me and being my partner in crime for so long. It’s been really great having you with me, a-and I’m glad we could work together.”

He laughed his little nervous laugh, the one that he usually did, and you were pretty sure that your heart rate had tripled.

Yeah, you wanted to say, but the words died coming out of your throat. Me too. We make a great pair.

Your final fight wasn’t one you were expecting. It wasn’t one that involved you beating anyone up or stringing them upside down. Instead-

You took a shaky breath, cursing yourself for getting so flustered over Remus’s words. Your fingers furled into their typical fist shapes, but rather than them swinging back (like they typically would), you rested them softly on his chest.

Ah. So your heart wasn't the only one having palpitations right now.

“(L/n)...?” Your hands gripped the front of his robes as you shut your eyes and pressed your lips to his. You can basically feel him falter against you at your action, but almost just as quickly his own lips begin to move. 

His kiss was gentle, and very, very unsure. You move your hands to the back of his neck, to press him impossibly closer to you. You don’t know what’s going on, but all you know is Remus. Remus, Remus, Remus your heart is quite literally singing.

That revelation - the one where you realise that the only reason your heart was beating was because of him - literally shoots spikes of warmth through your body. The tips of your ears are red-hot, and you were pretty sure that you were seconds away from overheating. You glance to the side, trying to hide your face from Remus.

Nevermind. Your eyes flickered back toward him. He looked dazed, and he brought his hand to brush softly against his lips. He met your gaze and you could see the blush rising to his face. He cupped his cheeks, darting away from you as you had previously done. 

You, laughing - yes, laughing - took his hands in yours once more and allowed your lips to finally reunite. 

A fight well fought, indeed.

[therubyreader]

My Review of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 752 Review Word Count Total: 1,436

I have done it again folks, I’m writing the review of this book right after I finished it. Can I get a round of applause? Now I was kind of on the fence about writing this review, I honestly wasn’t sure how many people cared (myself included) but my friend who recommended me the series, [insert name here, don’t want them to get doxxed or anything], encouraged me to write this after reading my review of the first book (click here to read it if you’re interested). They did also say, and this is an exact quote, “I forget that you’re like a good writer dude,” so there is that. 

The Dream Thieves takes us back right, kind of, to where we left off in The Raven Boys after the boys plus Blue managed to wake up the ley line and Ronan has let the gang (real quick, do they have an official name because if not I'm going to keep finding new and creative ways to say “group”) know that he’s able to take stuff out of his dreams. Now that his secret is out Ronan starts to learn more about his powers, along with the consequences of using them, while hunters are looking for the Greywaren, believing it is an artifact that makes dreams a reality as opposed to a person. The squad are also experiencing the effects of waking the ley line, Adam is learning what his sacrifice means while they try to recover Cabeswater, the magic place in the middle of the woods, that has mysteriously disappeared.

While, in comparison to the first book, we don’t spend the entire first half waiting for something to happen, there were parts where I kind of sped through them since they weren’t directly linked to the plot until much later. I honestly should’ve learned my lesson and paid attention to everything because I know from the first book every detail was going to come back later, but I am known to have a horrible track record of not learning from my past mistakes, so I didn’t. But it wasn’t that big of a deal with this book because everything had already been established so most of what was going on was able to hold my attention while actively advancing the plot. 

I think that the biggest change from this book to the first one is that we see more into the mental state of the posse than we did in the first one. There are a lot of things going on in their lives along with the search for Glendower that is impacting their mental health, and it’s expected that a couple of breakdowns are bound to happen, especially when it comes to teenagers. We see this the most with Adam and Ronan, Adam because he has gone through a lot in a short amount of time, leaving an abusive home, the discovery of Cabeswater, and his financial issues on top of what his sacrifice really means. Ronan, on the other hand, same soup from the first book just reheated (we actually get a look into his mind). I think this was a wonderful addition to the book, usually the mental health and struggles of characters in books is overlooked or just not expanded on properly. These kids have to deal with this magical mystery on top of being kids with real problems and they are obviously going to take a toll on their mental health.  

I think my biggest complaint with this series is how drawn out everything is, and I get it, Gansey has been looking for Glendower for seven years, this is going to take a bit of time, but I just think everything could move slightly faster. And this is totally my own problem, and it’s the author’s writing style to add details and draw out story lines (which is very good writing by the way) but I, as you may have noticed, have the attention span and need of instant gratification of an iPad kid. I think since the plot is advancing and getting really juicy now leading into the third book (which I already have by the way, so if people (my friend) are still interested I’ll get that review up as soon as I finish it) I’m going to complain less about the pacing. Overall, a solid continuation of the series, again not my favorite book ever of all time but I’m enjoying the series as a whole and I’m going to finish it.  

Spoilers Below!!

One quick thing I’m going to say before I start talking about the plot points is that I read the scene where Ronan admits he’s gay to Kavinsky (who I’m pretty sure is gay too and has a crush on Ronan) on the first day of pride month, so happy pride everyone!  

There’s honestly a lot of the plot I want to mention so I’m going to rapid fire some of the smaller plot points right now before I get into the meat. First, the kiss between Blue and Noah was actually very cute and sad, shout out to Noah for being a good friend about it and letting Blue have a kiss that won’t kill anyone and shout out to Blue for managing to pull every single guy in that crew except for gay icon Ronan. The almost kiss between Blue and Gansey was cute and sad also but for different reasons mainly because she’s going to kill Gansey. Calla, Persephone, and Maura beloved. Matthew beloved. Literally everything in the Barns is so strange that I won’t even attempt to get into it in this post, but just know I’m thinking about it. The whole Kavinsky thing too, how many dreamers are there? Why him? How does dream land work? Did he really commit suicide? Was he in love with Ronan? What was up with that “with me or against me” nonsense? Also, what happened to the dragon and dream horror after their epic showdown?  

Ok, cool, now that that’s out of the way let’s talk about Adam. I know this is bad, I have to give props for the way that his mental health struggle is written. I mean the internal battle between the violence he inherited from his dad and his need to be better only being exacerbated by his sacrifice to the ley line was such a beautiful arc in like a twisted way. It felt really real and raw and I enjoyed reading his chapters and seeing his growth as a character from a scared boy to the magician was probably my favorite part of the book.  

Alongside that Ronan’s arc was also very similar with him learning his father was also a dreamer and his mother was a dream he brought to life which kind of reminds me of that old Reddit post about Ogtha the roach if anyone knows what I’m talking about. I also want to know if Declan is also a dreamer, because there is only one Graywaren and its Ronan, and maybe also Matthew as since they’re the products of a dreamer and a dream. That whole thing is bonkers and I’m excited to see how this plot point evolves over the course of the next two books.  

Lastly, I didn’t get the point of the Gray Man. I know he’s supposed to be strange and mysterious but he was too strange and mysterious to the point where I didn’t understand why he was needed in the book at all besides to be in love with Maura and talk about her feet too often, which like I get is supposed to be some sort of metaphor for them being opposites or whatever, but like dude, get some hobbies. Maybe this is because I speed read through his chapters because I didn’t like him so I didn’t get it or they’re going to expand on his character in future books but he was easily the worst part of the book. I hope for less of him in the future and if they give Maura a love acute angle (because its technically not a triangle if you think about it) with the Gray Man and Blue’s dad I will riot, on God.  

Anyways, if my friend commands it, I will be back for a book three review in the coming days, I will admit I did read the first chapter already because I have no self-control. Unfortunately, the fourth book is currently unavailable so I have it on hold which is going to make me slow my roll at least a little. Until the third book!  

[agreenroad]

KILL THE MESSENGER: How The CIA Created Jamaica’s ‘Shower Posse’, The Death Squad That Shot Bob Marley & His Family – By Casey Gane-McCalla (Flashback) | RIELPOLITIK

New reports are surfacing around the world reveal that the United States of America is responsible for creating and cultivating this violent gang, the Shower Posse. The American government’s roll is said to be CIA training, arming and supporting the Shower Posse. It is interesting to note that “Dudus” was a second generation Shower Posse leader. His father, Lester, was co-founder of the gang…

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! Do you have any tip choosing a group name? All the ones I can think about sounds stupid. I really want a group name for muy main characters. Thank you.

Choosing a Group Name

The answer depends on what kind of group it is.

Is it a big group or a small group? A formal group or an informal group? Is it a Team Good group or a Team Bad group? Is it a group based around a business, service, or industry? Is it a social group? Is it a philanthropic group?

Group Synonyms for Social Groups

group, cortege, gang, association, band, crowd, faction, circle, society, bunch, clique, crew, league, lot, pack, coterie, platoon, posse, set, club, clan, retinue, cortege, entourage, squad, troupe, peeps. Also: boys, boyz, girls, girlz, guys, ladies, gents, folks, kin, kids, etc. You could also use any collective name, like idiots, nutters, geeks, nerds...

If it's a business or corporation, my guide to Naming a Fictional Business or Corporation might help.

Otherwise, Group Synonyms for Business/Organizational Groups:

group, association, faction, society, league, club, federation, guild, league, alliance, coalition, confederation, fellowship, fraternity, consortium, syndicate, company, union, team, community, assembly, order, organization, cooperative, institute

Now, look for a word that will go with one of the above synonyms. Let's say we're trying to come up with a name for a group of friends who go to Seaside High School in a town called Nanover, in an area called "the bight." Their town mascot is a seagull, and as a social thing, they all drive red cars.

They could be known as...

The Seaside (Group, Gang, Circle, Girls, Society...)

Seaside (Girls, Boys, Kids, Peeps...)

The Seaside Gulls

The Gull Gang, The Gull Squad, The Gull Guys

The Bight Bunch, The Bight Boys, The Bight Band

The Nanover Nerds

The Red Ride Crew

You can also look at shared hobbies, jobs, or events. The B-Ball Bunch, the Paris Pack, The Homecoming Club, The Cinema Crew

Play around with things. List out common elements among this group and try them out with different synonyms. See what works!

You can also try the Fantasy Name Generators site to see if it offers anything that works.

Good luck!

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[assortedmutts]

also for both cal + saul pls: what do they most regret? what achievement are they most proud of? what qualities do they admire in other people? when was the last time they cried?

Character facts.

What do they most regret?

Merc: the botched operation which killed off half his squad; not sure whether he regrets not being more aware/not being able to save them, or his military service altogether; suppose it depends on the day. 

The way his last encounter with his mother went, and generally not being a better son to her and seeing her more often when she was still alive. 

Parting ways with his gang of street punks - things did not end well between them and, in retrospect, his life might have been much better had he put his own ego aside and chose to stick around. 

Saul: not spending enough time with his family - which is a bit preposterous, considering he’s spent most of his life with them, and that his relationship with them is still very much present in his life long after they’ve gone - but all the same, he misses them very much and wishes they’d had more time together - especially his mother and grandparents. He also regrets not being able to keep Shosh close or help her out with whatever difficulty she might be experiencing, even if he has no idea what he could have possibly done for her to make things better.

He also possibly regrets not being able to find someone to settle down with in his twenties. I say ‘possibly’ because Saul is clever and self-aware enough to know that he did his best, and that there are more things as play here than just finding the right person. But he regrets none of his deceased family members were ever able to see him wed off when they were all still alive, knowing what it would have meant to them - and especially with Shosh also being unmarried.

What achievement are they most proud of?

Merc: his work, mostly. His level of skill and expertise, the manner with which he conducts himself, and having built his own business mostly alone and entirely from scratch. Not an obvious thing to achieve at all for a mentally ill, disabled veteran with nearly no formal education.

Saul: much the same, but from a different angle. He is very proud to have inherited the family business and being able to take it to the next level. For reference, the deli’s only ever had one branch before Saul inherited it; the casino in AC is a very cushy passive income (which, in turn, allows him to expand the deli) and, though the Undzer Shtik has been notorious for their acts of charity since the days of Saul’s grandfather, they have never given so much to charity and the community as they do under Saul’s leadership (he also does plenty of charity work on his own, regardless of the Shtik).

What qualities do they admire in other people?

Merc: professionalism/high work ethic, not taking shit from anyone, the ability to overcome trauma and make oneself vulnerable. As someone who lets his own trauma run his life and who experiences great difficulty showing or expressing vulnerability, it mean the world to Merc when someone is able to do so despite their own pain and difficulty. This is the easiest way to get him on your side, and the reason why he is so ride-or-die, blindly loyal towards anyone who shares that sort of thing with him.

Saul: many things. He obviously admires some of the qualities he, himself, aspires to: generosity, charitability, humility, a sense of responsibility towards one’s community, etc. With that said, though, he also admires many qualities which he feels he does not posses and wishes he could, such as individuality/individualism, originality, a sense of self-agency, daring to go against the flow, etc. The ability to forgive and accept oneself is also one he wishes he possesses - would have made it a hell of a lot easier to put himself first, sometimes, especially at the cost of letting others down.

When was the last time they cried?

Merc: whenever his most recent meltdown was. He tends to have them roughly once a year, so not too long ago. Needless to say, this - or any demonstration of weakness - isn’t something he does in the presence of others.

Saul: probably when his father died. Though I wouldn’t describe him to be repressed the same way Merc is, he isn’t one to show weakness purely because he feels like he cannot/is expected more of. He is the pillar a lot of people lean on and look to at a time of crisis - as mentioned in the previous question, showing weakness means letting them down.

[popculturebuffet]

Scooby Doo (2002) Review: The Most Punchable Fred Jones of All Time

It’s one last hurrah for Halloween as I take a look at the often derided 2002 Scooby Doo Movie! See what happens when you combine future superstar director James Gunn with .. the guy who thought directing the Smurf’s movie and Big’s Mama’s House were good ideas. Oh and with a splash of the guy who wrote the loveable family film Cheaper by the Dozen and the utterly loathed Percy Jackson film. It’s as messy as you’d expect with that.. but is it BAD? good, so bad it’s good, just sorta okay? Come with me as I try to find out under the cut with a full review. 

I’ve always loved Scooby Doo. I grew up with the guy, watching reruns of the non-scrappy classic series from Where Are You to the Scooby Doo Movies, the three Superstar 10 movies (Boo Brothers, Ghoul School and Reluctant Werewolf), or the at the time brand new What’s New Scooby Doo. And later in life i’d absolutely adore Mystery Incorporated.. minus the whole Shaggy, Scooby Velma love triangle, but i’ll likely cover that at some point or sooner, you can comission reviews from me for 5 bucks each, 5 dollars off group orders if you really want to make me suffer through that that bad. But getting off self promotion point is I loved and still love the franchise. While I”ve yet to see “Scooby Doo and Guess Who”, though given there’s Weird Al, Kristan Schaal and Urkel episodes you can be sure i’m going to eventually, and Scoob was VERY ehhh even if Dick Dastardly was awesome. But despite my history with the great dane much like with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, despite my rich history with the franchise I haven’t dove in yet and with a friend who could use a nice halloween suprise and loves scooby doo, I figured now was the time to take a look at it.  And since i’d been wanting to take a look at it again anyway, and decided going big wasn’t a bad way to start, i’m taking a look at the 2002 Scooby Doo movie. I saw this flim first run in a drive in, and saw the sequel the same way and loved it as a kid, and fondly remember checking out the Sountrack Preview page back before youtube existed to make checking out soundtracks easier. It was a simplier time. And even rewatching it later with my nieces, I found myself liking it.  And the thing was almost every time this film comes up it’s with a turned up nose. The CGI, the confused audience, the deciding to cast Freddy Prinze Junior.. all terrible decisions that overshadow the film, when it’s not that bad. It’s not GREAT, but it’s not TERRIBLE either. So what is it then? Well i’ll tells ya. Let’s start with

PRODUCTION: Wait James Gunn Wrote This?

At the turn of the millneium Scooby Doo was back on top. After waning popularity during the Scrappy era, the advent of the warner affilated Cartoon Network meant a whole new generation of kids (raises hand) got to experince Scooby Doo for the first time. This new audeince lead to Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, the first of the franchises 80 or so DTV movies that will continue on long after the earth dies, and brought back the franchise after it’s long slumber. Scooby Doo went from dead to as popular as he was in his hey day again. Naturally Warner wanted to cash in and thus this movie was born.  Originally the film was supposed to be a more adult project, a send up of the franchise with more sex jokes and what not than made the final cut according to writer James Gunn. Yes, the same James Gunn who wrote and directed the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and whose currently saving the suicide squad. It was one of Gunn’s earlier films but just from when he’s talked about it, you can tell he genuinely cared about the project.  Along for the ride with our future Guardian was his co-writer, Craig Titely,  who i’m convinced only came in to do punch ups as the guy has only written three other movies. One of them was being one of MANY writers on Cheaper by the Dozen and thus likely not doing much of note with that, and the other.. is being the only writer on Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief’s movie adaptation.. aka the movie the fanbase and general audiences rejected in droves yet SOMEHOW got a sequel. Which is somehow still worse than his other film, one that asks “was the moon landing a hoax?” Spoilers, it wasn’t. Point is this isn’t a resume that screams co creator and more screams “Guy brought in to kid freindly this up”. More on that in a minute.  The director is another less than reassuring face: Raja Gosnell, whose credits BEFORE this film were Home Alone 3, Never Been Kissed and Big Momma’s house.. so already he dosen’t have the best track record but somehow got worse because AFTER this film and it’s sequel he directed both live action Smurfs Movies and the universally hated Show Dogs, aka the film  that thought dog rape was funny. The fact this film isn’t out and out terrible is a miracle. 

Even more so because naturally, as Studios tend to do they interfered: The film was supposed to be more adult, cracking jokes about common things fans of the series growing up thought like Velma is Gay or Shaggy’s a stoner, and having both be fully true. But wanting to appeal to kids, Warner gradually lightned it, hence Craig, and Raja clearly having no shame gladly took it instead of you know.. standing his ground.  So Velma has a love intrest thrown in and her kiss with Daphne is gone, while Shaggy’s toke smoking was lowered to subtext.. because either of those things is bad apparently? I dunno the 2000′s were fucked. 

Point is THAT’S why these films are so tonally confused and why I don’t hold it agains the film now I know: It wasn’t James Gunn or even, as dumb as he is, Raja Gosnell’s fault that the film had some tones clashing when the studio was demanding it, instead of you know, thinking this through at all and realizing more kids cared about Scooby Doo than they would’ve josie and the pussy cats instead of bringing it up DURING production, when most of the adult stuff was in there. It’s also why the sequel has no real adult stuff, though it’s STILL damn good, but i’ll get to that some other day. 

The film was also shot at an actual theme park in australia. Neat. 

So yeah the film’s humor kind of ping pongs between knowing adult winks and kids stuff. We get Scooby dressing like a grandma in the same film shaggy enhales his demon possed love intrests breath like weed. The jokes themselves on average are pretty good: Some of my faviorites include the grandma scene, everything rowan atkinson does, Velma getting drunk off her ass, and the instructional video bit which is easily my favorite bit of the episode and one of my faviorite scooby doo jokes period:

This is even FUNNIER to me on rewatch, as we now know this is an instructional video for demons.. and that Scrappy clearly had enough problems with his demon horde to have to pay for this thing. It tis glorious.  However there also are also a few that HAVE NOT aged well, are very creepy at best and disgusting sexual assault at worst with Daphne getting her ass grabbed by the Luna Ghost at the start being treated as a joke and Fred oggling Daphne’s body when he’s in it being treated as a ha ha and not...

So yeah the humor’s USUALLY good, but the slipups are noticable and do bring things down a bit when they come by. So the humor is decent if mixed and the production’s a nightmare, how’s the plot? The Plot: Scoob, We’re Getting the Band Back Together!

I won’t be as through as usual because this is a 90 minute movie, I’m running behind as is and it’s 20 years old, 

We start with your standard mystery inc case with the Luna Goose, aka Old Man Incel who resented Pamela Anderson for not boning him. But Fred hogging the glory during the resulting News Cast leads the gang to start fighting over lingering tensions: Velma is tired of Fred hogging all the credit when she does most of the legwork solving things, Daphne is tired of being kidnapped and being mistreated by Velma and Freddy who laugh at the idea of her doing more, and Fred..

We’ll get to him later. Shaggy is the only one wanting to stick together, but no one’s having it and the group breaks apart and Matthew LIllard REALLY sells Shaggy’s heartbreak over his friends all abandoning him well. 

Two years later though, with Shaggy and Scooby naturally getting stoned and eating large quantities of food on the beach, have made peace with retirement, and have apparently had to duck tons of people coming to them to solve mysteries since they aren’t about that. The latest in that line is a man representing Emile Mondovarius, the owner of Spooky Island, a vast island resort and theme park. Naturally since it has spooky in the name the boys want nothing but Mondovarius does what honestly every previous guy coming to them should’ve done: offers them an all you can eat buffet.  Since they’ve done more traumatizing for Dog Treats, they agree and it soon turns out the entire gang was invited, though none of them but Shaggy and Scooby are happy to see each other. I will say one of my complaints about the film is it never tackles the emotions behind the breakup: while the teams slowly repairs there are never any outright apologizes or scenes of them recociling or scenes of Shaggy chewing them out for abandoning him due to their spat. It just skips over the emotional bits to either wave a joke for the kiddies around or scream 

Really the jokes aren’t bad, the film just has trouble with actual emotion or depth that could’ve been there and tries for it once in a while, but dosen’t really do anything with it. The gang splitting up’s a good concept, and at this point on Scooby Doo on Zombie Island had really used it, and that was one where they were clearly still close friends and were still in touch they just quit mystery solving for a while till Zombie Island happened. Mystery Incorpreated would finally give this story justice later: Instead of over a petty ego squabble, the gang broke up over underlying tensions: The revelations about Fred’s dad caused him to go try and find himself, Velma alienated herself by hiding things from them, and Shaggy was shipped off to Military School and Scooby doggy prison camp... thankfully the last two didn’t last and Scooby rescued Shaggy with a tank but the tension DIDN’T go away: While the gang mostly reunited, Velma took time to forgive them and also tried bringing in the friend/girlfriend she’d made in the meantime only for her friends to isolate her and throw her out while Daphne took her time to return due to being hurt by fred. It’s complex and good stuff versus here where it’s just “WE’RE APART BECAUSE WE HATES EACH OTHER. And now we’re NOT”. It’s just a waste of a good concept and i’ m glad the franchise got around to doing it right. 

But my gripes aside our heroes head to the resort and meet Mondevarious, who admits outright to having tricked then and with confronted with the gang being broken up, makes it clear he knews.  “That’s the thing about broken things.. you can put them back together.”

And so he did. He needs the Gang’s help as he’s worried about the island and something going wrong there: The teens are leaving polite, well behaved. and clearly not themselves as one reacts to an old friend by neck lifting him and tossing him aside. Something’s deeply wrong here and the gang’s intrest is piqued enough to stay though everyone but Shaggy is determined to solve it themselves out of ego. Mondvarius is played by Rowan Atkinson and while I watched the bean movie as a kid this is where I fell in love with the guy, with later watches of Blackadder confirming that in my college years. Rowan just brings a fun dorky energy to the character and a nice earnestness too but when he later takes a turn for the bad, he does that well too. Atkinson is HIGHLY underated in my opinon and easily the MVP of this film’s supporting cast.   So the investigation begins, and we get our supsects: The first we met on the plane, Mary Jane, a kind blonde played by Isla Fisher who got the job becasue Gosnel, in a rare good decision, saw how talented she was and while still picking Sara Michele Gellar for Daphne, made sure she had  a part. She’s a nice sweet girl who Shaggy falls for and Scooby’s annoyed by it.. though unlike earlier the film beats mystery inc easily here as it’s a more understandable conflict and dosen’t act like Dog Issues is a thing people says. Again i’ll get to that clusterfuck of an arc some day. The other two are N’Goo Tuna, a shady worker at the park who spouts off the legends of the island. In a nice twist, he’s NOT the vilian, as is obvious but is his right hand man. He also has his own right hand and muscle in Zarkos a cool looking Luchador and N’Goo’s muscle. Also N’Goo may be one of the worst names in Scooby Doo History, and that includes Dabba Doo. But the legend claims the island was once owned by demons who want revenge since the resort took the island from him. 

The other is probably my faviorite non Rowan Atkinson character, Voodoo Maestro, played by Miguel Nunez. He’s basically just a guy who lives on the fringes of the island and also hates the resort and tries using voodoo curses. He’s honestly a delight from his attempt to sacrifice a chicken (An already dead one at that), to his general hammy and annoyed at dealing with these teenagers demeanor. NAturally he has nothing to do with this but he’s still a fun addition and I wish he was in more scnenes than the two he gets.  But with what they’ve gathered the gang all end up at a spooky castle attraction, with Scooby and Shaggy of course being bribed by daphne while Velma and Fred show up indpeendntly and end  up finding the weird training video from earlier but all get caught when the traps are activiated> There’s also a farting contest which.. eh not funny to me but i’ve seen so much worse i’m not even remotely upset. But then the traps trigger though during the chaos Fred and Velma are forced to work together and finally start doing so, and Daphne finds a clue: A mysterious pyramid known as the damon righus and finally gets some, if not nearly enough, credit.  So the gang is back together.. even if it’s a tenative peace, the high from solving this and relay to their boss the suspects, including him, though Fred assures Mondovarius it’s just because he’s spooky and rowan’s character’s delight over that is fucking glorious.  So the gang enjoys some down time at the local bar, with Fred and Daphne doing their own look ins, Scooby and Shaggy eating and encountring mary again and Velma getting hit on by a dude while looking over the ritus, revealing it’s some sort of soul sucking aparatus, and going into their history... which is really just an excuse to bring Scrappy in who in this universe, is a horny egotistical little shit whose abandoned as a result. ANd before anyone boos he’s not a puppy here, he’s got.. dog dwarfisim.. which while .. how does that even work... means he’s a grown ass man and deserved this. We also get drunk velma and Linda Caredenlli is a delight

The night gets interupted by terrible cgi monsters, the aformentioned emon who soul suck most of the college kids present and also get fred and velma who both find out these are very much real. We also get the best song on the soundtrack, man with a hex. It slaps. But it makes good chase music as with Mondvarious, Fred and Velma captured, the rest of the gang and mary escape.  The next morning we get a surreal as hell scene as everyone’s partying, Fred’s talking in slang and Velma with clevage, thank you, is chatting up.. Sugar Ray? For those younger of you they were a band at the time. They were a big thing. Not half bad but faded away. They looked as 2000′s as hell though. WHy Smash Mouth gets all the memes and not them is beyond me. Look at lead singer Mark McGrath!It’s like the early 2000′s gained sentience and took a human form. But the gang is quickly forced to run from sugar ray, though they get Daphne in a deleted scene. Why it was deleted I dunno. Point is Shaggy, Scooby and Mary are all alone.. oh and Mary’s possessed. Shaggy and Scooby argue over it because Shaggy just thinks Scooby is jealous and while he is .. why would he lie about this? He’s as cowardly as you are. But Scooby falls through the floor, and Shaggy is now going solo but luckily finds his friends souls, and eveyrone elses in a massive cool looking vat and frees them all.  Velma, when the demon leaves her and confronts her, finds out sunlight kills the demons and saves Daphne from hers... only to find Fred in her body. Daphne is naturally horrified and we do get a great bodyswapping scene.

Our heroes reconvince on the beach where htey find the Maestro who explains what’s going on to a point, with the gang’s clues filling in the blanks: The ritus, which they stole back earlier, is used for a ritual that will allow the Demons to rule over the earth for “a thousand years of darkness” but it requires a pure soul to work. Cue our big bad talking Scooby into being their willing sacrifice since Scooby dooes not understand what a sacrifice is.  Shaggy naturally rallies the group to go save him after their understandably worried since they usually dealt with weirdos in costumes and not the apocalypse.. well okay Velma and Fred aren’t, Daphne dealt with this kind of thing once a week back in Sunnydale. So they set up a plan to destroy all the demons at once by unleashing the soul bath, setting them all loose and then using a spooky disco ball from one of the attractions rigged up over the ritual area to shine the light in. It’s classic scooby doo. 

Things naturally go wrong as while Shaggy goes to rescue scooby and makes up with him, he’s caught, so are fred and velma and they have to scramble, while Daphne looses a fight with the luchador up top while trying to let the light in to finish the trap. Meanwhile Shaggy saves Scooby’s soul just as Mondovarious sucks it out by shoving the guy.. revealing him to be a robot! DUN DUN DUN. And inside is Scrappy.. which you all probably knew already but try to act suprise who wanted to conquer the world as revenge for the gang abandoning him and because again, in this universe he’s kind of an asshole. He absorbs the souls gathered so far and merges with the damon ritus, because we’re operating on video game rules now apparently, so final boss time.  But we get a great climax as Scrappy chases scooby, Daphne goes buffy on Zarkos ass , and as a result he shatters the glass and lets the light in releasing the disco ball the kill the demons.. man I love that I get to type things like that. Scooby removes the ritus and defeats his nephew and the day is saved. Velma hooks up with random guy, Daphne and Fred get together, I die inside a little and Shaggy and Mary Jane bond. At the press Fred does his good deed for the movie by letting Velma explain things and get the spotlight and the group have firmly reunited. THE END. Overall it’s a solid plot, that works well, comes together in the end and was well put together, it’s more the filling that causes it to tilt back and forth a bit, but overlal outside of the issue I mentioned it’s a good scooby doo plot. While some have pointed out it is similar to zombie island, a case reuniting the gang, the person who brought them there wanting to sacrifice them, or just scooby here, monsters being real, it works because everything else is so different. But since there’s more to break down and it’s easier to give it it’s own section let’s look at...

THE CHARACTERS: NOT HALF BAD, FRED CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF. 

So we’re down to character.. and since there’s a blonde, preeening, selfish, arrogant, sleazy, sexist, obnoxious, loud mouthed, useless elephant in the room, let’s start with Fred. And to quote it’s always sunny....

Yeah so that fury of a thousand crashing waves (Cracks Knuckles): Fred is the worst part of this movie, the worst version of the character across the entire franchise that i’ve seen with the sincre doubt that there is ANY version worse than this. Everything I said above is true and THEN some. He is one of the most unlikable characters i’ve seen in a film that wasn’t INTENDED to be. There’s just NOTHING to like about him. Nothing. He treats his “Friends” like garbage, all four of them: He basically ignores shaggy and scooby at best and treats them as if they were nothing. For Velma he’s your classic power abusing douche who pushes her to the side and often steals the credit for things she did. He’s still a good mystery solver, but he acts like he does all the work to the press and takes all the credit when Velma works as hard as he does if not harder. And worst of all is Daphne, who he basically either treats like some moron who gets kidnapped due to incompetence and not because creepy old dudes want to feel her up, which given the intro is VERY likely the reason she’s the resident victim of the group, and not like a person, or like a pair of boobs and legs he wants to bang or feel up creepily while he’s in her body. For fuck’s sake his reaction to finding out he’s in her body is a creepy and smug “I can see myself naaaakeddd” If that dosen’t make you want to smack him get off my blog. And they get together in the end! 

Who who wanted that. I genuinely want the presumibly original ending where Daphne and Velma hook up and Fred falls off a pier and is never seen again. The acting does not help. While the other four gang members are expertly cast Fred was given to Freddy Prinze Junior, who made a career out of playing arrogant dicks who are somehow the main character so I can’t fault the casting but I can fault that he can’t delver any line without that smug air of trying to be cool douche and it’s at it’s worst with Fred since Fred’s already written as the biggest creepiest douche in the world and Freddy somehow makes it WORSE. He also has zero chemstiry with Daphne, which would be weird given he and Sarah Michelle Gellar had dated for 2 years at this point and as of this writing have been together for 20 overall and have two wonderful kids together... but given how badly written Fred is here, I can’t blame either of them. And i’m sure FPJ is a swell guy, loves his kids loves his wife seems like a really plesant guy, nothing against him as a person, but at least at this point in his career he wasn’t very good. And I am actually planning on trying to seek out one of his later works in his career to see if he’s gotten better in recent years, and willing to give him the benifit of a doubt that he probably has. I just don’t like him here, and while the script does most of the work he only makes it worse.And works before this (Pup Named Scooby Doo) and after this (Mystery Incorperated) would prove you can give fred a personality that’s not dick tip, so fuck this character, fuck the writing.. and I hope Freddy is having a happy halloween with his loving wife and children, seriously I meant it I have nothing against him as a person. A terrible actor can still be a WONDERFUL guy. 

Now that’s thankfully put to bed, let’s pivot over to Shaggy, whose easily the best of the cast. Matthew Lillard looks the part pefectly, has the right combination of heart and goofus and has some great comedic timing. Granted Scream had already proven the guy’s got genuine talent, but still he’s great here and is currently playing Shaggy in most films and productions, except Scoob which.. was far from it’s only mistake but easily the biggest. There’s not much else to say: the guy IS Shaggy and is the only person whose taken up the roll to equal Kasey Casem in it. As for how he’s written.. he’s basically the same and apart from one line of him wanting to leave everyone to their deaths, which feels like it was added later, he’s written really well and is easily the most likeable of the group. 

Scooby is alright. Not the best version but funny and charming enough when he needs to be and while I hated the CGI at one point.. it’s honestly not that bad. It’s not GREAT, but time has actually been very good to it both in how it’s held up and in the fact we’ve gotten SO MUCH WORSE with so much better techlogies. I mean.. Cats exists.. Marmaduke Exists.. the Bill Murray Garfield exists. This was offputting at the time but now it’s just okay. But character wise he’s good and again not much diffrent. 

Velma is the second best casting of the movie. Played by Linda Cardenelli, who i’ve harbored a crush on for a good few decades now and admire mostly for her talent and charm, Linda kills the roll and easily slips into it as easily as Matt did, and while not picking it up full time like he did, still did it a few times afterword and played hot dog water in mystery incorperated, so she did finally get to play a Lesbian Velma it just took a while. And while Velma being gay is kind of sterotyping, it would’ve been nice to have been kept in instead of edited out for bullshit reasons. But overal her character is decent: While she ALSO bullies and belittles daphne like fred, unlike fred it comes less from just being a douche and more from insecurity. As her scene at the bar makes clear she feels undervalued like the other, like the nerd who the cool kids LET hang out with them instead of part of the team. While it dosen’t make her treatment of Daphne OKAY, it makes Velma understandable. We also get Velma Clevage which.. okay not sure if the world needed that but whatever. Point is it’s throughly likeable portryal that I wish got some character growth.  Finally out of the main 5 there’s Daphne, whose alright. Not as good as the other two, as it feels they lean a bit too heavily on her having taken self defense and wanting ot be tougher, but Sarah Michelle Gellar gives her a ton of charm and likeablity that her husband’s character sadly lacks. There’s just a fun, adorable energy to daph that ends up coupling with her buffy style badassery at the end and Sarah plays both beautifully. The script didn’t give her a ton to work with, though that’s the same for all four of htem, but Sarah really made the character work and made her somewhat memorable despite not being as good as Linda or Matthew. Basically not the best, but still a comfortable third ahead of scooby doo and jackass jones. 

As for the rest of the cast, Rowan Attkinson i’ve covered and is utterly fantastic as is the Voodoo Maestro, and both should get hteir own hbo max spinoff together. The minons.. stupid name and luchadoor are decent enough, nothign special but they have presence and do the job of goon well. And Mary Jane is alright.. the joke is WAY too on the nose to be funny and she’s mostly just there to be sweet, but she’s harmless. Not good but not bad.  So finally we have our big bad, Scrappy. And i’m.. mixed about this. On one hand, Scott Innes, who it turns out is also from Missouri good on you dude!, does a terrific job and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t don messick as Scrappy and he plays him as evil great. On the other.. it’s just kinda goofy. Out of all the tips of hte hat to scooby stuff this feels the most over the top. Scrappy was hated, including by james gunn.. so he’s the bad guy. It’s just a bit on the nose, and the twist is pretty easily teligraphed since Scrappy suspciously is mentioned in one scene so him showing up at all is pretty easy to see coming. It’s not terible but it’s not great. His demon minons also just suck.. the designs are wonky and their cgi, unlike scooby and scrappy’s, is just REALLY bad and dated, and even as a kid I never liked them. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:  Scooby Doo is a decent but messy movie. The clashing tones, dated humor and godawful version of fred drag it down at times, and it’s very clear this had a lot of hands in the pot. But.. I still enjoy it. It’s not the best scooby ever, tha’ts mystery incorpeated, but it has great atmosphere, some good ideas, an utterly spectacular with one exception cast, and some really funny jokes. I genuinely feel the film is overhated when it’s a unique, weird and wonderful slice of Scooby. For better or worse there’s no other Scooby doo property quite like it, and that’s what makes it so fun. And it has enough good performances and jokes to smooth out the edges. It’s not the best, it’s a mess.. but sometimes a mess is fun and I like this flim for being a fun mess I can enjoy with my nieces and talk about to all of you. And sometimes that’s all you need.  Thank you for reading this. If you like this you can comission your own review: 5 bucks for a tv episode, 15 for a movie, 10 for an hour long special, and 5 dollars off when you order more than one episode of a show at a time. Just send me a direct message or ask on here and we’ll get started. Until then you can check out my backlog of reviews, check this space every monday for ducktales reviews, and VOTE DAMMIT VOTE. Until we meet again it’s been a pleasure. Play us out Atomic Fireballs, it’s been a wonderful halloween. 

[verai-marcel]

Verai’s Backstory

Name: Verai Marcel (Real name Lin Hui-Min, “charming gift of the forest”) 

Personality: Because of her upbringing, Verai is the more serious, quiet member of Death Squad, sometimes taking on the leader role when Roxy is away. For the most part, she is a loyal posse member, following her new family to the ends of the world, even if it means diving head first into the chaotic trouble they sometimes bring upon themselves. She is unflappable, goes with the flow, and a strong believer in letting go of grudges, since she wasted so much time on one long ago. 

Background: Born in a village in the outskirts of Guangzhou, Verai doesn't remember much of her life there. Sold to another family, the Lin family, when she was just a young child, she was raised as the companion and servant girl of a rich lady and her husband, who had a daughter of their own. Because she was also to be their daughter's bodyguard, she was trained in martial arts and medicine.

Various siblings and cousins of the husband with their families made up the clan, with the husband as head of the family. 

The family moved to California when Verai was 6 years old, seeking more fortune and escaping a rival family's jealousy. Setting up an opium den to make ends meet, the family continued to prosper. 

That is, until a sting operation by the feds broke up their drug ring, with many of the men going to jail or just outright executed. The women and children fled; Verai, who was 19 at the time, helped many of them escape with the skills she had picked up as a bodyguard. 

As she helped her adopted family into a train to Mexico, she was lasso'd and dragged off, watching the only family she'd known take off to safety, feeling both proud that she had seen them off, but also dread for what was to come. 

The man who had lasso'd her was a bounty hunter, and when she tried several times to make a break for it, managing to break his nose in the process, he opted to not turn her in. Instead, he offered to train her as a bounty hunter too, in exchange for training in her fighting style. 

While Verai loved some of her adopted family, the harsh punishment of being the servant of the rich, spoiled daughter, with a mother and father who had seen fit to whip her instead of scarring their own child left many bitter memories and a lot of physical scars on her back. She took the man's offer, never looking back. 

Teaching her more English and giving her a more western name to hide her tracks (A bastardization of the French word for "truth", and the last name of one of his associates), the man became her mentor, teacher, and lover, as he taught her everything she knows. 

They stayed together for 5 years, until the two of them went after a bounty that was too much for them to handle. He made Verai run, and took a bullet to the head just as he was about to join her. 

In a cold, dark rage, she slowly took out the gang that killed her lover, one at a time, until only the leader was left. When she confronted him, with his pants down around his ankles as he fucked a whore behind a saloon, she showed no mercy, knocking him out and taking him to a cave, shooting his hands and feet off, one by one over a period of time. She cannot recall how long she tortured the man, for she was drowning in sorrow, overcome by a thirst for vengeance. With her knowledge of medicine, she cauterized and bound his wounds, keeping him alive just long enough to castrate him, finally leaving him to slowly bleed to death. 

She wandered to a river afterwards to wash herself clean of the evidence of her revenge, and seeing her bloodied reflection in the water, she cried for the first time in years. She cried for her lover, she cried for her family, and she cried for herself, of what she had become. She vowed then to be more like the river, to let her rage go and live and let live. 

Heartbroken and alone, Verai wandered the countryside as a bounty hunter, making her way east from California, away from all the painful memories, until she stopped in New Hanover. 

There, she met Roxy (@r0xy-w0lf), a tough woman who looked like she could handle herself in a fight. Asking her if she'd like to help with a bounty, Verai came to appreciate Roxy's moxy, her sharpshooting, and her playful nature. She would work together with Roxy again and again, until finally they agreed to just form a posse.

Soon the posse became a family of ragtag outlaws as Stevie Carywn (@theunholyoutlaw), Michelle Delacruz (@sad-sweet-cowboah​), and Alejandro Escuella (@eddescuella​) joined up. They run around the countryside, shooting those who needed shooting and helping those who needed helping.

A year after she started running with Death Squad, she ran into a man by the name of Everett Osborn (@au-everett​), an infuriating outlaw who tests her patience at every turn with his teasing demeanor. And yet he’s proven himself to be a solid partner on bounty hunts, so she tolerates him whenever he asks for her help on a job.

When they first met, he was intriguing, a strange mix of playful and intense. As they got closer, she started talking to him more, to the point where she told him her real name, which no one since her lover knew. In a moment of weakness, she slept with him, but she hasn't let him seduce her again. She doesn't regret the encounter, and they remain close friends; he even calls her Min in private, his pet name for her. But she's also cognizant of the difference between their personalities, and wants their relationship to remain platonic, despite his constant attempts otherwise. She is rather fond of him regardless, knowing that Everett's like the wind, going wherever he wants and doing whatever, and whomever, he likes. 

Horses:

Ceridwin was her first horse, a red chestnut Arabian mare with a sassy attitude. Verai loved her at first sight and rode her for years. After a few falls, she wasn't nearly as nimble as she had been, and while Verai still rides her from time to time, she knew she had to get a sturdier horse for her more rigorous jobs. 

Sleipnir is her second horse, a bay frame criollo. He’s a powerhouse with the stamina to last. He's young and finicky at times, but so far, has been a loyal and strong steed. 

Morrigan is her newest horse, a beautiful black Klaudruber that is a little dumb, but big and strong.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hope you guys liked that little story about my PS4 RDO OC! I want to write one about Everett soon, let me know if that’s something you’d like to read!

[venezolanoanimations1]

Legoshi´s stand (JJBA x beastars) ACT 1,2 & 3

I haven´t seen jojo, i mean, not a full episode but some clips, a few wikis and fan made content, but i have seen beastars (the anime, and few parts part the manga) and i was wonder what if legoshi was a stand user, with the idea that the shadow of his savage tendencys was actually his stand.

Information: the STAND born from the instints of legoshi, he unlock it when he was a pre-teenager, Posses diferent Acts that legoshi can select and switch through the battle. This is a dynamical stand meaning that it requires the user to fight by themself with the enemy user ( i mean againts the person, not the stand) and each Act have its onw abilitys

Name: Wild Side (localization name: Savage Side or primal tendency)

Stats:

 Power: Unknow

 Speed: Unknow

 Range: Unknow

Durability:Unknow

Precision: Unknow

Potencial:Unknow

 Abilitys (general):

 Predator: this can turn the tide of the battle real quick and make a [Wilde Side] one of the most powerfull stands. It allow to change the stats of [Wilde side] specific way, turnig it into the best counter for the enemy stando, and either making the user inmune to the enemy stand ability, counter the ablity, interfer or just stop the ablity. But legoshi need to know the name of the stand and have a small idea of the ability.

 Well, there´s the option of leave this to the hunting instincs of the stand with the promise of have 100% correct guess but is a huge gamble cuz it leave a big fat oportunity to the stand get out of control and go complete apeshit (like purple haze).

 Example: it make legoshi and the stand able to move in the stop time world or be fast enough to outrun made in heaven and it slow down to cancel the universe reset.

 However it can only preying on one stand at a time

Animality: Allows legoshi to gain any ability of any animal he do desire and multiply it by 50 (like speed of cheetah, strength of gorilla, etc.), and if he say a specific part of his body, only that part it going to be power up, being able so use more abilities from anothers animals and combine them. but he has to know the animal not only by name but species, and it not have to be a real animal, but it has to be considerate as one. It doesn´t changes the physical appearance, only change either the resistance, strength, density, etc.

Example: The tough back of a turtle and the ablity to fly of the eagle by using his arms. (something similar of kars ablity but with no need of grow up wings)

Stand´s User Card:

ACT 1:

                                                 Mostly for combat

It is base in the shadow that hunts legoshi mind. having the idea that is something than just escaped from a heavy containment, wearing a prison looking pants qiht the number 18 on it and classic fetter-ball, have many rusty prison chains made of combination of iron and silver. This chains represent the will, determination and struggle of legoshi to keep this side of him under lock

I added some things like the lines of legoshi beast mode, and dog-prison-collar with the word ACT and the number 1 on it.

This ACT try  often to take over control of legoshi mind to make him puppet of his instins and go in rampage, being controled by Act1 makes legoshi mostly invecible, almost inmortal, like if Lobo and Deadpool have a bab, but this is not good thing, he have no control of his actions in that stade, only able to see the horror from a loony place of his - now- controled brain and heart.

To give a idea of how screw up this situation would be: imagine if legoshi have Cartoon cat´s personality and evilness, and mulplied for 50.

 Unique abilitys:

Wild instincs: power up user´s sences, to levels that he can see the essence of the prey (enemys) throuhg walls, can hear sounds in 700 metros radio and say what makes that sound, the same thing with the smell.

Beast mode: it give to legoshi his iconic beast mode. As simple as it is, but this time - being aware of his stando- come with a insanely high pain toleracen ( can even being injured like Kakyoin and still fighting like hell) and light self-healing factor.

Act II

This one comes after legoshi meet Gohin and build a more deep relationship wiht him, since he is a doctor and help legoshi with instinct issues, making him to take control of his strengh, showing him that he can use his inner beast to protect and help others ( or in this case, his love one) but it do not mean that he accept that part of him yet, and still thinking that it must be under look and locked, but now, teh containment is less heavy that the previus one. It wear straitjacket with a gohin logo in the back, a light chains and the keys hanging in the belt of it, the sign of act II in the rigth arm and a ¨love one¨ sticker in the left arm (Lousi haru and jack)

Unique abilitys:

Containment belt: can tie up enemys (stands or users) with the belts that come out of the straitjacket with limit of 8 belts, wiht a range of 10 meters, it also can transfer information from the user mind to digital divices of any kind and to other person by using said belt.

Lobotomia or brainwash: By a deep look into the enemys eyes, allow to go inside of their minds and screw it up, making them a sorta of zombie-slave for a period of 10 minutes, this can be inflected by legoshi or act 2, but the conditions are that if stand do it, It have to look into the enemy stand eyes to be efective, meaning that i need to get the stand closer; like point blank, it takes 2 minutes to complete (givin the enemy space for try ro escape or for legoshi to being interrupted)

Bioquimical engaged: since legoshi is the grandson of a komodo dragon his front fangs have small hole in them, but legoshi posses not bag of venom (this is not canon as far as i know, is just a thing that pop my head) well, this ability allows to uses his hybrid reptilian-canine to infelct a hard bite to inject any kind of substance into targets veins. (something like harvest)

Act 3

The strongest version of the stand when it comes to abilities, but the most difficult to summon, cuz it need to be a complete balance and domination between act 1 & 2. Legoshi need be focus and calm to use it and keep through the battle.

It appears when he ate the foot of louis to save their butts, accepting that he cannot denied or ignore his carnivore status, either the upsides and downsides of being a carnivore, and he can’t change it, but it doesn´t mean than that part of him can be used for good, or to protect his friends in his full capacity at least.

Now completely free and balance, this ACT of [WILD SIDE] has total loyal at his master commands.

It has written in the back the names of the people, that mean something to legoshi, the ones that he sees as friends or care about, wears the same pants that legoshi have in that part of the manga - when he unlocks it- and it was design to look like a function between act1 & act 2

Unique abilities:

Wolfpack: this is a very but VERY unique ability, is simple, it can bring to the battlefield the other to ACTs, in cases to fight multiples enemies, allow them to use predator in two more enemies. but in need a big concentration and mind strength from the user, cuz now, it is like he was controlling 3 stand a once.

Legoshi must to be careful in his choice of abilities to use, to which enemy send the ACT and which one use, the strategy to follow, to which act pay more attention, or just let go the other two ACT on free run with the gamble of lose control over them. A least, it minimizes very much the harm that legoshi get from stands injures by distribute the pain.

Catarino spit: its more for support stuff, in a few word is like have [Crazy diamond´s] ability but it only can use through saliva, and in a limited amount with a cooldown of 30 seconds.

The name is reference to a Mexican song - I’m from Venezuela by the way- called ¨el paciente¨ on the line that said ¨quisiera ser catarino pa´ curarme con saliva¨ translated something like: I would want to be a ladybug to heal myself with saliva -yeah, do not attempt to find any sense on that- which is another reference to other Mexican musician called Erasmo Catrino.

Catarino= male version of the word Catarina, which´s mean ladybug in Spanish.

Lone wolf´s call: this is for when the satiation turns ant color (very hard) Act 3 shout a big noise howl, so high, that can kill a person with it; if them no cover their ears. This not only can alert the alleys of legoshi about unseen dangers, but also give them – the allies- the localization of the wolf by showing his aura through the walls.

it can bring for 15 minutes the essence of any stand (Even enemies) that was in that area the last 10 minutes and give them just specific command either to defend legoshi, attack the enemies or just distract them and take the user out there. The thing with this is that make legoshi very tired, so it is an only-emergency-move.

(the command cannot be changed and the stand that show up go complete auto mode and half of capacity)

Example: Legoshi is outnumber, heavy hurt and bleeding, surrounded by enemies, unable to fight any longer, take deed breath and realized ACT3 and it call the cavalry, so, Stands starts to appear from the floor, looking at legoshi, the wofl has no ideads that what shit guys do, so he choice the buy time by make a divercion.

Meanwhile in the distance: The Cherrintong gang run as faster as they can, cuz they hear and see the backup call of legoshi, they know what that means, he is in trouble and big ones.}

And in the end but not less important.

The Stand User Card:

So what ya think guys, did you like it, lads? i hope so.

 Well, i have another ideas to make a gang of stand users with the characters of beastars, like the stardust crusaders, Mama bruno squad  (passione) or Josuke´s friends.

 What ya think,did i should make it?

[buttdawg]

All Out 2020 Predictions

Just gonna run down the card here, because I keep forgetting what’s on this show, and it is stacked.    

Side note: Looking this up on Wikipedia made me sad, because the article points out that the show was originally planned for a whole other venue before the pandemic started.  I had gotten so used to every AEW show being held in Jacksonville, that I had forgotten the good old days, when they could run every show in Chicago.

Casino Battle Royale, winner gets a shot at the AEW title

I thought they gave up on this stip when they did the Casino Ladder Match at Double-or-Nothing.   Here’s a dumb thought: Ditch the casino nonsense.   The last two casino battle royals were kind of dumb, because they sent out five guys at a time, and then the 21st guy got to come out last by himself.   The problem I had was that I had no idea who half the participants were, and sending them out in fives made it that much harder to keep track.  

Anyway, this time around it’s easier to just list them by faction.    We have

Eddie Kingston’s group (Eddie, Butcher, Blade, Pentagon Jr., and Rey Fenix)

Team Taz (Absolute Ricky Starks and DA MACHEEN Brian Cage, who is also the FTW World’s Heavyweight Champion of the World, Excalibur)

Gunn Club (Billy Gunn and Austin Gunn)

The Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz)

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent)

Lance Archer

Darby Allin

Wait that’s only 16 guys.   You know, it’s been a long time since I learned the rules to Blackjack, but I think that’s about where you want to stand pat.    If you take another card, you’re much more likely to go over 21.    Anyway, I hope Warhorse ends up in this match somehow.   I guess I’ll pick Eddie Kingson to win, since he’s got the most guys helping him.  

No, wait, fuck all of that shit.   Lance Archer wins everything.    Call this Casino Battle Royale a George R. R. Martin novel, because Everybody Fucking Dies.

The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Colt Cabana) vs. Scorpio Sky, Matt Cardona, Dustin Rhodes, & QT Marshall.  

This is like the Dark Order vs. the Dark Order Revenge Squad, trying to make Brodie pay for beating the shit out of Cody.   I saw a video package for this on Dynamite yesterday, and it was fucking stupid, because they wanted me to believe that the good guy team are “four badasses”, even though one of them is QT Marshall for crying out loud.   They do this horseshit all the time, where a group of babyfaces try to gang up on the Dark Order, but it never works because the faces never bring enough guys.   There’s like eight or nine dudes in the Dark Order, so unless your team has ten or eleven, you’re gonna get your asses kicked.    Brodie killed Cody like he was nothing, so why am I supposed to believe Dustin has a chance in hell?  

The last time Scorpio Sky was on one of these anti-DO posse teams, it was with Colt Cabana and his partners in SCU.    Well, Colt ended up switching sides, and apparently Chris Daniels and Kazarian aren’t even booked, so that tells me what I need to know.     Dark Order wins.  

Britt Baker vs. Swole in a Tooth and Nail Match.

I don’t know if “Tooth and Nail” is an actual stipulation, or if they’re just calling it that for promotional purposes.  I wish they’d spell out the rules to these things instead of just calling out the names of matches like catchphrases.   Swole would look pretty dumb if she loses this, so I’m picking her to win.  

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara  in a “Broken Rules” Match.

Wikipedia says this is a Last Man Standing match, so maybe they should have just called it that?  I mean, less than a month ago Matt claimed that he was ditching all his characters for the duration of the pandemic, and now he’s right back to chanting “Delete!” like nothing changed.   I heard a lot about Matt’s cinematic universe run in Impact, but so far I’m not overly impressed with his run in AEW.   He just makes a bunch of callbacks to stuff he did in WWE, Impact, and ROH like I’m supposed to know or give a shit about that time he was a douchebag.     If Matt loses, he’s supposed to leave AEW, but I’m pretty sure this is a trick, and he’ll just come back as “Leviticus” and pretend to be a robot from outer space.   I don’t think I care who wins.

Jurassic Express vs. The Young Bucks.

Why are these guys fighting?    I feel like they already did on TV?    I’m gonna pull for JE to win this one.    I think the Bucks might be my favorite act in AEW, but I mostly enjoy seeing them get the shit beat out of them.    Yeah, kill the Young Bucks.   

Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy in a Mimosa Mayhem Match.

You can win Mimosa Mayhem by pinfall, submission, or dumping your opponent into a big tank of mimosa.    I guess this is a way for OC to win their feud without actually pinning Jericho twice?    Alternately, the loser can get pinned, only to dump the winner in the tank to get a moral victory.    I’ll go with Orange to win.  

AEW Tag Team Championship: Kenny Omega/Hangman vs. FTR

Now that they finally kicked Hangman out of the Elite, and FTR has finally stopped pretending not to be heels, and now that Kenny Omega finally seems to give a shit about his tag team, I think this program could finally lead to something cool.    I sort of want FTR to win, just to move the Hangman/Omega angle onto the next stage.     If the tag titles are the only thing keeping that team together than we need to see what happens without them.  

Also, I want FTR to defend the titles against Santana and Ortiz.    Yeah, no offense to Omega and Hangman, but fuck this Elite Drama Bullshit, gimme FTR vs. PnP.

AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa.

Fuck yeah, this is the real main event right here.    Thunder Rosa kicks ass, and now she can show her stuff without the nonsensical soap opera booking found in the NWA women’s division.   The last time I saw Thunder Rosa in NWA, Melina had inexplicably declared that she had a title match against Rosa, but when the match actually happened, Melina just rolled out of the ring and took a countout.    Seeing Eddie Kingston, Ricky Starks, and Thunder Rosa has opened my eyes to a lot of problems in NWA.

Anyway, here’s the AEW storyline for Thunder Rosa: Shida wanted competition, and Thunder Rosa showed up to kick her ass and take her belt.   I suspect Shida’s going to win, because Rosa’s NWA title isn’t on the line, but I’m rooting for Thunder Rosa to become the double champ.  

AEW Men’s Championship: Jon Moxley vs. MJF.

I want Moxley to win, although I’m not 100% sure this isn’t MJF’s time.   It feels too soon, but I didn’t think Moxley would win the title from Jericho back in February either.   Also, if Moxley loses the title, it might make it easier for AEW and NJPW to open the Forbidden Door long enough for him to defend the IWGP U.S. title against KENTA.    Is that worth putting the world title on MJF?   Probably not, but it’s fun to think about.  

I don’t understand this feud at all, because MJF has been “campaigning” for a world title shot, even though he’s the #1 contender and he’s undefeated, so I’m pretty sure he could just request the match and he’s all set.    MJF has also successfully lobbied to have Moxley’s finisher banned from their match, but what if Mox uses it anyway?   They’d just disqualify him and he’d retain the title, right?    Or maybe the ref would just stand there and let him do it anyway, because that seems to be how AEW referees do things.   

I really don’t get why MJF wanted the Paradigm Shift banned.   He got hit with one like two weeks ago, and he acted like it half-crippled him, but then he revealed it didn’t hurt him that badly, so why does he care if he takes another one?  MJF also seems to have this thing going on where he pretends to be this high-road-taking “pure wrestler”, who can out-finesse Moxley’s brawling style, but we’ve seen MJF just go apeshit and use hardcore tactics himself.  

This is kind of an aside, but I find it funny when Jim Cornette acts surprised when people accuse him of playing a character on his podcasts.   He’ll be like “No, no, you don’t understand, I really hate Vince Russo and Kenny Omega and I want them both dead for not respecting kayfabe!”    The thing is, wrestlers like MJF and FTR are out here repeating a lot of Cornette’s talking points on TV, specifically to get heel heat.   They praise themselves for being workhorses who stick to the fundamentals, but they’re hypocrites who use gamesmanship and trickery to get ahead.    So people hear Cornette blowing a gasket about Joey Janela and they just assume he’s being some sort of cartoonish supervillain character to sell his merch, because the alternative is too absurd to contemplate.    It’d be like MJF assuring people that he really does bloody people up with his diamond ring in real life, just like he does on TV.   

Anyway, I’ll stick with Moxley, but if MJF wins, I’ll be more intrigued than disappointed...

[yasbxxgie]

N.W.A. was formed back between 1986 and 1987 with the original lineup consisting of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E & Arabian Prince. A 17 year old Ice Cube joined after his old groups Stereo Crew and C.I.A (Criminals In Action) with Kid Disaster (K-Dee) and Sir Jinx who Dr. Dre produced for both dissolved. Shortly afterward, MC Ren and DJ Yella entered the fold and in November 1987 Macola Records released and distributed N.W.A’s debut project on their independent label funded by local hood Eazy-E called Ruthless Records. At the time, Ice Cube was 18 years old and responsible for writing the songs that put the group on the map both locally and nationally, Eazy-E’s “Boyz-N-The-Hood” & “8 Ball” plus N.W.A.’s “Dopeman”.

In August 1988, N.W.A. who were less than satisfied with Macola’s handling of their material switched to Priority Records as a national distributor. They re-released “N.W.A. & The Posse” (not “Straight Outta Compton”) which immediately began moving units and entered the Billboard charts. They also released a new single “Gangsta, Gangsta” on Ruthless/Priority that garnered them even more attention and spread nationwide like wildfire. The song was once again, penned by Ice Cube. It was soon followed by one of the most influential songs in Rap history, “Fuck The Police”.

The next step was to release Eazy-E’s debut LP “Eazy-Duz-It” which was mostly written by MC Ren and The D.O.C. formerly of Fila Fresh Crew but featured contributions from Ice Cube on the aforementioned “Boyz-N-The-Hood”, “No More ?’s” and the spoken word album closer “Eazy-Chapter 8 Verse 10”. It was released in September 1988 and soon joined the re-released “N.W.A. & The Posse” on both the Top Black Albums and Billboard 200 charts, climbing them both at an impressive rate.

In February 1989, N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” was unleashed on the masses, its meteoric rise up the charts was powered by the Ice Cube penned pre-release singles “Gangsta, Gangsta” & “Fuck The Police” in addition to the single “Express Yourself” that got them some radio play with a video that landed on BET’s “Rap City” and MTV’s “Yo! MTV Raps”. “Express Yourself” featured Dr. Dre kicking rhymes written by Ice Cube and the single and video exposed N.W.A to a much wider audience and expanded their reach even further. Following the sales success of both albums, N.W.A. went on their Straight Outta Compton Tour then picked up some other dates later on but as the tours progressed Ice Cube kept close tabs on his publishing and royalties statements.

By Fall 1989, Ice Cube became frustrated with his situation at Ruthless Records and felt he wasn’t receiving his proper compensation for contributing to the empire Ruthless was becoming. By then, J.J. Fad was Gold, Eazy-E had gone Platinum, N.W.A. was certified Platinum and The D.O.C. had just received his Gold plaque. Cube noted that neither Priority nor Ruthless was spending an exorbitant amount of money on marketing or promotions, they typically sold via word of mouth thanks to the coverage they got in mainstream press as the poster children for “Gangsta Rap”, derived from the N.W.A. single “Gangsta, Gangsta” Cube made significant contributions to.

Ice Cube was 20 years old at the time, constantly butting heads with Jerry Heller and Eazy-E over his splits, points and his royalties from N.W.A’s back catalog in addition to Eazy-E’s. Rather than sign another contract with Ruthless that would no doubt result in Cube continuing being under compensated for his role in the group as well as other albums on the label, he instead opted to go solo. By December 1989, Ice Cube leveraged his value to Priority into a solo deal by telling them Def Jam was interested in signing him.

This resulted in Ruthless Records blocking Dr. Dre from producing Ice Cube’s upcoming debut on Priority Records so he contacted several people in New York in search of producers, among them being The Bomb Squad which he had preliminary talks with. Ice Cube traveled to New York in January 1990 with Sir Jinx heading for the Def Jam offices to meet with Sam Sever, one of the main producers of one of his favorite albums of 1989, 3rd Bass’ “The Cactus Album”.

Sam Sever never showed up for the meeting but by chance Ice Cube ran into Chuck D of Public Enemy who was in Def Jam’s offices handling some business. Ice Cube and Chuck D first became acquainted back in December 1988 when Public Enemy brought N.W.A. & Eazy-E along with them on the Bring The Noise Tour with Ice T, Stetsasonic & EPMD. Public Enemy was in the process of completing their album “Fear Of A Black Planet” and Chuck tells Cube he should come to Greene Street Studios tonight because they were going to record a song called “Burn, Hollywood, Burn” with Big Daddy Kane. Cube came through, recorded a short 4 bar verse and sounded at home over Bomb Squad production… the rest was history.

Ice Cube then spent time with Chuck D fleshing out what he wanted on the album in notebooks and Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad stressed that they wanted to make a concise body of work for him as opposed to a few tracks here and there. Next step involved Ice Cube and Sir Jinx spending a couple of weeks at Public Enemy’s pre-production studio and rehearsal space at 510 South Franklin Street in Hempstead, Long Island poring through a mountain of records.

After taking careful consideration of the many records at their disposal, Cube & Jinx selected Funk from Kool & The Gang, Commodores, Betty Davis, Steve Arrington, Funkadelic, Parliament, Sly & The Family Stone, Maceo & The Macks, Bar-Kays, The J.B.’s, Fred Wesley & The New J.B.’s and Zapp in addition to staple breaks from Bob James, Mountain, The Meters, The Turtles, ESG, Cerrone, Melvin Bliss, King Curtis, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Kid Dynamite and Soul Searchers. Between Ice Cube, Sir Jinx, Hank & Keith Shocklee, Chuck D & Eric “Vietnam” Sadler we have all the ingredients necessary for a classic album.

After close to two full weeks of culling together sample material, additional loops, sounds and song ideas from a cassette tape Chuck sent Cube a month or so prior to him arriving in New York and having Eric “Vietnam” Sadler craft together a bunch of skeletons to work from they eventually moved from there to Greene Street Studios to begin the recording process. Ice Cube had notebooks full of rhymes, some originally intended for Eazy-E and future N.W.A. projects, the ideas he laid down with Chuck and now the beats (some of which were demos originally recorded by Son Of Bazerk and True Mathematics). All that was left was for the Bomb Squad’s mad scientists to put on their lab coats, safety goggles and gloves and try to make a timeless piece of art.

The album itself was created over a 4 week span by The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube & Sir Jinx. The Bomb Squad’s attentions were split between finishing “Fear Of A Black Planet”, putting finishing touches on Bell Biv DeVoe’s debut “Poison”, tour dates and working with other talent they were developing like Leaders Of The New School, Young Black Teenagers and Son Of Bazerk featuring No Self Control & The Band. It was rough going given the scheduling conflicts but eventually the team was able to finish the project. Everyone worked relatively quickly and the album was done, mixed and mastered by Howie Weinberg then was turned in by March 1990. Ice Cube wanted to deliver the album to Priority as soon as possible so it could beat the next N.W.A. project to market.

The album consists of 17 tracks, 3 of which are skits (“Better Off Dead”, “JD’s Gafflin’” & “The Drive-By”) and 3 more were short songs like “What They Hittin’ Foe?”, “I’m Only Out For One Thang” & “Get Off My Dick & Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here”. “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” had a few features on it, Chuck D on “Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside)”, Flavor Flav on “I’m Only Out For One Thang” and Yo-Yo on “It’s A Man’s World”. Given Ice Cube’s track record for making misogynistic anthems, the first member from his crew to get a deal was Yo-Yo and his manager was a Black woman, Pat Charbonnet.

Yo-Yo’s verse on this album led to her getting signed to EastWest/Atlantic later on that year. The experience Sir Jinx & Ice Cube gained working on this album plus having The Lench Mob in tow gave them the foundation for Street Knowledge Music. Eventually it led to Ice Cube working with his own iteration of The Bomb Squad, The Boogie Men (DJ Pooh, Bobcat & Rashad) in concert with his road dawgs Sir Jinx & Chilly Chill.

Priority released a single from the upcoming album in April, “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” b/w “Once Upon A Time In The Projects” but there was no video and although the single was selling it wasn’t receiving any radio airplay. On May 15th, 1990 Ice Cube’s Bomb Squad helmed debut LP “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” finally hit store shelves. When it debuted on the Billboard charts it was #110 on the Top Pop Albums on June 2nd, 1990. The single “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” was #2 on the Hot Rap Singles chart right behind Public Enemy’s “911 Is A Joke”.

To provide some context to the era, A Tribe Called Quest’s “People’s Instinctive Travels & The Paths Of Rhythm”, Public Enemy’s “Fear Of A Black Planet”, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s “New Funky Nation”, Audio Two’s “I Don’t Care: The Album”, Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Holy Intellect” & X-Clan’s “To The East, Blackwards” were all recent releases. By June 9th, 1990, “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” entered the Top Black Albums at #47 and jumped all the way up to #62 on the Top Pop Albums as the single occupied the #1 spot on Hot Rap Singles.

On June 16th, 1990 it leaped all the way up to #19 Top Black Albums and #27 Top Pop Albums while “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” b/w “Once Upon A Time In The Projects” remained the #1 Rap single for the 2nd week in a row. It occupied the top position on the Rap charts as #2 was Snap!’s “The Power”, #3 was Power Jam featuring Chill Rob G “The Power”, #4 was MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” and at #5 was Public Enemy’s “911 Is A Joke”. Ice Cube had just turned 21 and his first solo single was a #1 Rap hit in the age of MC Hammer & Pop/crossover Rap…

What makes this feat all the more impressive was Ice Cube’s single got little to no support at Black radio whereas all of the singles charting below it were. Nonetheless, Ice Cube’s single was still outselling all of the others while Priority was spending the bare minimum on their marketing campaign and promotional materials. The album was pretty much selling itself via word of mouth.

The subject matter on the album included some of the West Coast fare N.W.A. fans were used to from the same Ice Cube who made “A Bitch Iz A Bitch”. Songs like “The Nigga Ya Love To Hate”, “You Can’t Fade Me”, “Once Upon A Time In The Projects” & “A Gangsta’s Fairytale”. The Bomb Squad/Public Enemy influence was evident in cuts such as “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”, “Turn Off The Radio”, “Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside)”, “Rollin’ Wit The Lench Mob”, “Who’s The Mack?” and “The Bomb”. The way Ice Cube was able to blend elements of Gangsta Rap with Conscious Rap themes and Sir Jinx managed to combine his West Coast roots and East Coast influences to result in the incredible finished product was a revelation for many who thought Cube couldn’t do it on his own.

The fascinating thing about “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” was how it was RIAA certified Gold on August 9th, 1990 with no video, no Black radio support and at the time not even a 2nd single released. One of the motivating factors behind the Bomb Squad knocking the album out of the park was when Ice Cube told Hank Shocklee and Eric “Vietnam” Sadler when he informed N.W.A. that he would seek out production from them if Dr. Dre wasn’t involved with his solo project they said he’d be lucky to even go Gold. This was odd considering “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” was Platinum at the time as was “The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick” which the Bomb Squad had also made significant contributions to.

Around the same time, N.W.A. released their EP “100 Miles And Runnin’” and a video for the title track on Ruthless/Priority containing several Ice Cube disses whereas Ice Cube made a conscious effort to not address his situation with N.W.A. or even mention them at all on his album. That same month, Priority decided to finally shoot a video for the follow up single, “Who’s The Mack?”.

The job of directing the clip went to Alex Winter and Tom Stern of Propaganda Films, it debuted on BET’s “Rap City” & “Yo! MTV Raps” in mid to late September 1990 and had entered the regular rotation of The Box on October 13th, 1990. Priority urged Ice Cube to release some follow up material which resulted in the “Kill At Will” EP released that November. The EP was self produced by Ice Cube, Sir Jinx & Chilly Chill and was supported by two videos, “Jackin’ For Beats” and “Dead Homiez”. It went Gold in under 3 months and “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” eventually went Platinum. Far more important than the sales was the lasting influence of Ice Cube’s debut album and the accompanying EP…

What “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” did was take the style of music Spoonie Gee created, Schoolly D pioneered, Ice T, KRS One (BDP), Just-Ice , Toddy Tee & Mixmaster Spade innovated and Ice Cube made style evolutions in then marry it with the sociopolitical themes Public Enemy addressed on wax but from the perspective of a young person from South Central Los Angeles. This album became a new benchmark for not only artists looking to rebrand themselves after going solo but for new artists making their first project. “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” was revolutionary but gangsta before 2Pac was.

It set in motion a new timeline and created a lane where Paris, Geto Boys, The Coup, The Lench Mob & later on dead prez for a new generation of emcees and groups that could toe the line between gangsta and conscious post Boogie Down Productions’ “Criminal Minded”. Ice Cube was further able to merge the fanbase that loved Public Enemy, BDP, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, X-Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers and Brand Nubian with one that also loved Ice T, King T, Geto Boys, Compton’s Most Wanted & Above The Law in a way that N.W.A. couldn’t do without Ice Cube.

Ice Cube’s output and evolution between 1988 and 1992 is easily one of the best and most impactful 5 year periods of any Rap artist in the genre’s history. It’s insane to think that span only covers Ice Cube between the ages of 18 to 23. By the time he was 25, he was considered a legend who was instrumental in launching several Rap careers, including Yo-Yo, Del The Funkee Homosapien (and Souls Of Mischief & Hieroglyphics), Threat, Da Lench Mob, Anotha Level & Kausion amongst others.

Sean “Puffy” Combs once told Ice Cube that while he was in the process of putting together “Ready To Die” for Biggie during his days at Uptown/MCA he studied “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”. Over the past 30 years solo acts, groups and producers alike have all drawn inspiration from this album and cite it as influential. This opus is one of the many bodies of work that inspired me to write about music, frame it and put it into full context for those who may not have lived to experience the era for themselves. Ice Cube went and fucked up the program… Fuck you, Ice Cube!

[x]

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 47: Faith and Lust

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

Earlier chapters can be found here

Akaya Koda in Tears From a Stone

Akaya tossed a handful of seeds into the water and called out to them with her Quirk, causing the water plants to grow larger and more rapidly than they ever would if they had been left to their own devices.  The water lilies large and strong, forming the perfect series of rafts between the sinking yacht and the Oki Mariner.  Other members of the Oki Mariner crew, most of whom had aquatic Quirks, worked to help safely transport the yacht goers across.

Aunt Tsu—Froppy, when she was working, of course—directed the action like a consummate professional. “Don’t worry,” she said.  “You’re in safe hands with my girls.”   As always, her expression never seemed to change, unless you were familiar with her.  

There’d been six people on the yacht, three adults, a young boy, and a pair of teenagers about her own age, a boy and a girl.  The two parents were highly inebriated, the other adult, a butler, slightly shaken. The inebriation probably explained the fact that the yacht had dashed itself on rocks.  The younger boy’s eyes were wide, quite taken with all the Heroes.

The teenagers, on the other hand, seemed more annoyed than anything else.  No, annoyed and… disgusted?  The looks they were giving her and the other crew members like Octo-Pod, Tera-Spin, and even Aunt Tsu, she hadn’t encountered such cold looks in some time.  But they were frighteningly familiar all the same.

“Can’t believe we got rescued by the aquarium patrol,” the teenage boy said to his sister, sneering.

“Were all the other Heroes busy?” the girl asked, her haughty tone of voice carrying easily. “I don’t remember ordering sushi.”

“Or a rock garden,” the boy added.  “Think she’s hard everywhere?”

“Don’t be gross,” the girl shot back.  “Nobody ought to be thinking anything about any of these freaks.”

Akaya felt her face flush as she looked away.  Meanwhile, Asuka Sakamata, the daughter of Gang Orca, and third year student at U.A., hauled her massive black and white bulk up onto the deck.  She was Froppy’s Work Study student and the largest woman Akaya had ever seen, easily dwarfing her and even larger than Grandmother Koda. Despite her fierce appearance, Akaya had already come to know her bark was far worse than her bite.

Still, it did not take strong powers of observation to see the hurt in her eyes. She’d heard it too. Hurt that Akaya was certain was mirrored in her own eyes.  Her own Quirk was, technically, an Emitter type.  But she carried with her inherited mutations from an ancestor on her father’s side that had possessed the Quirk “Rock Skin” that had been passed along her bloodline in the form of changed appearances even as other Quirks had combined and mutated.  It gave her her great size and perhaps some small measure of greater strength and resilience with it, coarsening her skin even still.  Her moss like hair came from her mother’s side of the family, where plant-like Quirks and appearances were common.

She was well aware that she appeared to be something of a walking mountain range.  Or perhaps a troll, as some of her middle school classmates had called her.  She’d thought she’d buried such hurt long ago.   But she was only fooling herself.

“Buncha ingrates,” Sakamata said, crossing her arms.  “Shoulda just let them drown.”

“They are young and foolish,” Akaya said.  “Perhaps they may yet learn in time.”

They watched as the parents avoided the touch of Cephalo-Squad and Rockhopper, the mother in particular shrinking away from Cephalo-Squad’s tentacles.  

Sakamata grunted. “Looks like it ain’t just them.  Bastards.  Maybe we should just throw them overboard.”

Akaya only wished it were that easy.

***

Space aboard the Oki Mariner was at a premium, even with the improvements to the ship Aunt Tsu had been able to make to it during her rise to being one of the Top Ten Heroes.  But Akaya was able to steal a few minutes in the cabin she shared with Rockhopper and Tera-Spin.  She was grateful for the all-female crew, at least.  But she appreciated the all-too-brief moment of privacy even more.

She got down on her knees, feeling the slight rocking of the ship beneath her, and folded her hands. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head. “Lord, grant me the strength to endure their slings and arrows,” she prayed.  “I try not to listen to their words, but the hatred in their hearts does me great pain.  I do not mean to question your plan, Lord…”

She opened her eyes and, as a tear fell down her face, found herself staring at her hands, with their wide palms, and thick, coarse fingers.   Akaya folded them again and closed her eyes.  “And I am not unhappy with who I am.  I know this is but another challenge I must overcome…  But I do know if I have that strength.”

Life, she knew, came in many different forms since the advent of Quirks.  The nature of attraction itself had changed.  But there were still many who perceived those with inherited mutations or Mutant-Type Quirks as less than human.  And even within those who were open-minded and accepting, deviations from the norm were often scrutinized.  Even before her… developments, she knew her dear friend Mika’s appearance had elicited far less shock and discomfort than Akaya’s own.   Sero, Tokoyami, Shoji, even Ojiro, many of Class 1-A had unusual appearances.  But even with his extra-arms, Shoji was considered quite handsome, and Sero cultivated his look in such a way that few people called him on it.  Those with animal characteristics, like much of the crew here and Tokoyami, had their own problems to bear, but it was more varied. Her own younger brother Rikido appeared basically human, with only green hair to show for his differences, and thankfully did not endure what she had to.

She still remembered one of her first crushes, three years ago, a hasty and mumbled confession when she’s skewed up all her courage to ask him out.  He’d been a friend.  He’d said “I’m sorry, Koda, but I just don’t find you attractive.”  Somehow, that had hurt far worse than anything else could have.

Her friends at U.A., both those she had grown up with and those she had made since starting at the school, at least, had no problems with her appearance.  And many of them, Mika, Kana, Shiro, and even Aoyama, would be ready to “throw hands” in Shiro’s words, with anyone who had spoken to her as the people they rescued had.  None of which made it hurt any less.

She was but as God had made her.  Why did so many see that as wrong?

***

“Fuck ‘em all,” Sakamata said, as she and Akaya were on deck-swabbing duty.  The events of the rescue still weighed heavily on Akaya’s mind, even though most of the other crew appeared to have moved on from it. For now, the Oki Mariner was docked in the harbor, much of the crew ashore getting dinner, with only a skeleton crew left behind.  It still left them plenty to do.

Aunt Tsu had tried to be reassuring, but she could not understand, not really.  For all that Frog was a Mutant type Quirk, Aunt Tsu’s deviations from baseline were fairly minor.  She was a beloved Hero and a favorite of children, seen by many as cute. She could not understand.

Akaya regarded Sakamata for a moment.  “That hardly seems the Christian thing to do,” she said.

The orca-woman pointed a finger at Akaya.  “You gotta be you.  Don’t apologize for it.  Don’t let them tell you what you’re worth.  You think I gave a shit what meatheads and dumbasses thought when I started transitioning?  You think I give a shit what some bigot thinks of how I look?”

Sakamata was the daughter of a former Top Ten Hero and a rising star at U.A.  One of the Big Three of her year, alongside Nejire Togata, and a Speed-Quirk user named Hayai Sokudo. Akaya had already seen how she threw herself into every task before her, the way in which she walked unapologetically through life.  And yet, Akaya had already seen that she could be kind as well.  She was not soft-spoken, but could be soft when it came to children or animals like dolphins and whales.

Truthfully, she reminded Akaya of Kirishima-Bakugo.

But there was something behind those red eyes of hers, the same pain Akaya had seen there earlier.  “I think,” she said, “you care more than you let on.  Or more than you would like to, at least.”

“…Yeah, okay,” Sakamata growled.  “What can I say?  People suck.”

“More people are good than not,” Akaya replied.  “At least, so I chose to believe.”

“And when they’re not?”

“Then my faith sustains me. Or so I try.  I pray for the strength to endure and I pray for their enlightenment.”

Sakamata snorted.  “No offense, but what sounds like a lot of wishing.”

Akaya was used to such reactions when she spoke of her faith.  Christianity was not common in Japan and not well understood.  “None taken.  But my faith sustains me when I feel like breaking.”

Sakamata gave her a skeptical look, but then shrugged.  “Whatever works,” she said.  “I’ve probably punched a few more people than I oughta have.  Tossed a couple of ‘em around.  Might be a reason for all the black marks on my record.

“But if you want me to, I can punch the next guy who says somethin’.  Lots of bigots in this town.”

Akaya nodded as they resumed their work.  “It is appreciated, but I will decline.”

There would always be those who were cruel and thoughtless, who judged others for matters beyond their control.  But at least she had found someone else who knew how she felt.  She remembered her mother’s words, that prayers were not always answered in the way you would think.

Sakamata lived her truth, unapologetically, with strength and courage.  Akaya, truthfully, struggled at times with her appearance, especially when so many of her friends and classmates were so much more traditionally attractive.  That she was from a long line of people who looked like her suggested it wasn’t impossible that someone would find her pretty, but some days, that seemed like a very far off possibility.

But perhaps she could find something worth following in Sakamata’s example.  She just had to have faith.

***

Mika Mineta in A Lustful Morning

Mika had never been awake at 0500 hours before.  She was pretty sure she hadn’t even been aware 0500 was an actual, for real, not made-up time before now.  But Ingenium insisted upon an “early patrol” every Wednesday, in order to “remind people from all walks of life and occupations that Heroes will be there for them, every hour, of every day.”  This explanation had been punctuated by significant hand waving.

How someone could be as attractive as he was—a little over two meters of pure, rock-solid beefcake—and be that big of a stick in the mud, she had no idea.  

She’d only been here since Monday and she’d already worked harder than she ever had before, even in her Hero classes at U.A.   Intense physical training, readiness drills, and so many manuals to read and procedures to memorize.   Not to mention having been forced to make her bed in the Sidekick’s berth multiple times until she’d gotten it right.  And there was the criticism of her costume, as “overly sexual” and “not fitting for a woman of your young age.”  Just because Ingenium’s daughter ran around in full armor…

Ingenium ran a tight ship.   Which was not to say everyone under him did.   His brother, Tensei Iida (not to be confused with the Tensei Iida who was in her class), who lent his expertise as mission control, was a much more easy going individual.   And several of the Sidekicks were more relaxed as well, though a few did try to model themselves after their leader.

Speaking of, she knew Team Iidaten had a lot of Sidekicks working for it, but seeing it in the flesh was quite another.  Many of them had mobility-related Quirks, though not all of them.

“Ugh,” she said, rubbing her eyes.  “I’ve already been up thirty minutes.  Why can’t I have coffee?”

Ingenium was standing before her and the four other Sidekicks selected for morning patrol. “Coffee is an addictive stimulant!” he said, waving his arms through the air in what seemed like random, but carefully controlled motions.  “A Hero must always be prepared to function at their best, regardless of circumstances, and without artificial aides!  While some coffee is acceptable in moderation, relying upon it as a jumpstart is unacceptable!”

“Okay, okay,” Mika said, rolling her eyes.  Guy definitely didn’t do anything by half measures.

“And stand up straight!” Ingenium continued.  He was wearing the helmet, but she could tell he was scrutinizing her all the same. And not in the way she liked to be scrutinized.  Objectifying her was one thing, but actually judging her and trying to correct her faults? What was the world coming to?

There was a sudden rush and a red and gold blur suddenly arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, next to Ingenium.  It resolved itself into a woman with long blonde hair, wearing tall red boots with yellow trim, a red and gold leotard, and long red gloves, likewise with yellow trim. Red trimmed goggles with yellow lenses completed the outfit.  On her chest—yeah, she was looking—was a yellow lightning bolt symbol.   “SorryI’mlate,” she said, tossing off a small salute to Tenya.  “Hadtostopapursesnatcheronmywayhere.  Don’tworry, I’llgetallthepaperwork filedbeforetheday’sover!”

Okay, Mika was reasonably certain those were words.  But they’d come out way too fast for her to follow.  And probably for Ingenium too, as his expression passed through irritation, confusion, and then acceptance.

“Flash-Step,” Ingenium said, cheerfully, “glad you could join us for this early patrol.  And do not worry, your duty to the citizens of this city outweigh your duty to be on time. Just please remember to slow down before you file the paperwork.”

“Ofcourse,Boss,” Flash-Step said.  

“Sorry,” she said, finally slowing down.  “Was still going pretty fast there.  Back to normal now.”

She shook her head, sending her hair cascading in a halo around her. Mika took a moment to take in everything, from her well-toned legs to her chest to an ass that looked like you could bounce small change off of to what looked like a six-pack under her leotard.

“Mineta,” Ingenium said, “please meet Hayai Sokudo, my Work Study participant, from U.A.  She will be responsible for supervising you during this morning’s patrol.”

Maybe 0500 wasn’t so bad after all.

***

Mika’s hooves made a soft clip-clop­ on the pavement as she and Flash-Step walked through the streets of Hosu City.  It had been pretty boring.  According to Ingenium, crime never slept.  Right at that moment, though, it felt like crime was sleeping in.  Of course, she’d managed to nearly walk into three street signs, two mailboxes, and one phone booth (Why was there still a phone booth in this day and age?).  So there was that.

She couldn’t help it. The view was incredibly distracting.  Of course, Mika found most people distractingly attractive.  But Flash-Step was really distractingly attractive.  Like, on the level of Shinji distractingly attractive.

Speaking of her boyfriend, she surreptitiously took a picture of the Work Study student with her phone while she was speaking with a civilian, then sent it to Shinji.

Babe, look who I’m working with.

Sorry, right, it’s stupid early.

Hope I didn’t wake you up.

But, she is, like, super-hot.

Should I hit on her?  Y/N?

Hot Boyfriend: Holy hurricanes!  

Hot Boyfriend: She is nearly as spectacular as you!

Hot Boyfriend: I INSIST that you hit on her!  To waste this opportunity would be criminal!

Babe, you are –the best-

Wait, crap.  What if she’s straight?

Hot Boyfriend: You won’t know until you try!

Hot Boyfriend: But if she is straight, could you try and talk me up?

What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?

Try and talk my boyfriend up to the hot girl that we’re both trying to hit on?  

Of course I will!

An open relationship with a super-hunk worked out really well.

***

Flash-Step, as it turned out, possessed a Quirk called “High Gear.”  It let her shift into super-speed for five minutes, but then required another five minutes to cool down afterwards.  It also took the full five minutes to come out of it, as evidenced by the fact that she remained accelerated and fast talking if she finished whatever high speed task she’d set herself before that time was up.

“Saw you at the Sports Festival,” Flash-Step said, as they walked the streets.  “They had Third years helping with security, but I caught your first match on my break.  When the Boss said you were coming, I watched the rest.”   She paused stuck a piece of gum in her mouth.  “Don’t tell the Boss.  Not supposed to have this, but I gotta get my oral fix.”

She blew a bubble with perfect lips and such breath control that it made Mika’s heart and other parts flutter.  It popped, noisily, and she sucked the pieces back in.

“Oh yeah?” Mika asked. The pop had snapped her back to her senses, letting her formulate an actual response, instead of stuttering like a moron.  “What’d you think?”

The older girl considered, chewing her gum.  “Boss says you’re undisciplined and a trouble-maker.”  Mika’s heart sank for a moment.  Of course, that was what pretty much everyone thought about her, so she was used to that.  Hell, most of the time, she encouraged it.  Flash-Step shrugged.  “Now, me, I think…”

 “You take that back, you bastard!” the voice cut through the air and cut off any possible answer from Flash-Step.  Mika followed the source of it, finding what looked like a bunch of high school boys, two groups of them judging by their uniforms, six in total, getting ready to rumble.   Probably a good old fashioned school rivalry.

It was entirely too early for this kind of dumbassitude.

“You gonna make me?” one of the boys in the other uniform taunted.  He’d activated his Quirk, idly tossing a fireball from one hand to the other.   Next to him, most of the others were calling up their Quirks as well.

“I’ll beat it out of you if I have to!” the one who’d called out originally snarled.  He raised a palm and a spikey ball of inky blackness appeared, floating around him like a miniature sun.  Around him, his own schoolmates were activating their Quirks.

“We going to clobber them?” Mika asked.

“Not if we can help it,” Flash-Step said.  “If this turns into a fight, we’ll have to call the police.  It’ll go on their records, they might get charged with petty Villainy.”  She frowned. “But we need to do something before they get tired of posturing.”

“So what you’re saying is we need to diffuse the situation without violence?”

“Yeah.  Guess we could try talking to them…”

A grin spread across Mika’s face.  Her time had come.  “Let me handle this.”

“I shouldn’t…”

But Mika was already in motion.

“Heeeeey boys,” she called out, putting a little bit of extra swing into her hips as she approached. She bent forward entirely more than was necessary, giving them an excellent view of her cleavage.  “Think you could break up your fight and spare a minute for little old me?”   She gave them her best “airheaded beauty” look, the kind with pouty lips and half-lidded eyes.  

This got all eyes on her. Good.  That meant they were all straight, or at least bisexual.  Being pan herself, she tried not to make too many snap judgements about other’s sexualities, even if her radar for that was very good.  At least two of them were openly undressing her with their eyes.  

She put a hand on her cheek. “I think I’m lost, any chance you could help me?”

“Sure,” the one who’d made the spikey black ball early said.  “But what’s in it for me?”   He was leering.  Maybe in a slightly icky way.  

“Dude,” one of the other ones said.  “She’s a U.A. student!  See the costume?  Didn’t you watch the Sports Festival?”

“I did,” the fireball user said.  “She’s the one who kept talking like a slut.”

Mika pushed down the urge to growl.  She owned her own sexuality.  To reduce it like that…!  But she was playing distraction here.   “Oh, tee-hee,” she said, forcing herself to giggle.  “What do I know about anything like that?”

“You little boys down?” Flash-Step said, having gotten behind them while they’d been distracted by Mika.

“What?”  “Huh”  “Who’s..?” Various exclamations of surprise rang out from the six as they realized they were surrounded.

“Get to school, all of you!” Flash-Step shouted.  “I’ve got all your faces recorded on my goggles!  If you don’t get moving in five seconds or if I hear about you trying to fight like this again, I’m sending it to the cops and every Hero in the city!”

With a grumble, the boys dispersed.  There were a few half-hearted “this isn’t overs” but the fight had clearly gone out of them.

“Bye-bye, boys,” Mika said, waving and blowing them a little kiss.

“Good job,” Flash-Step told her, after the boys had left.  “Definitely not a strategy I’d have thought of.”

Mika grinned.  “No?  You could have pulled it off, real easy.”

“Maybe,” Flash-Step replied. If she’d picked up on the subtext Mika was radiating, she didn’t show it.  “Still, nice distraction and non-violent escalation.   Pretty sure the Boss wouldn’t approve, but he can be kind of a stick in the mud.”

“The stickiest,” she agreed.

They continued walking after that.  “Anyway,” Flash-Step continued, “Nejire and I were talking about the Spots Festival. She was rooting for Midoriya, of course, but I was rooting for you.  You’ve got guts, kid.”

Mika turned so Flash-Step wouldn’t see her frown.  Kid?  From somebody only three years older?  

Ah, well.   Win some, lose some.

[dngrdyke]

May The Best Bitch Win Part 2

"Let's go, bitches!" Dyke whooped. "Last one to the Hub has to clean up after the party!"

Poison rallied the engine. "I can't wait to beat your ass twice!"

Dee said nothing, and instead sped off without warning, making Faggot yelp and grab her waist tight.

A vague "motherfucker!" was heard and soon the Trans AM was catching up on her right. On her left, Ghoul and Cola were keeping pace, seemingly effortlessly.

Assholes.

The convoy made it to the Hub just as another gang pulled up. Dyke skidded to a stop in front of the leader of the pack, followed closely by Ghoul. Poison rocked up a split second behind and climbed out.

"I wanna rematch! You've less mass so you go faster!"

"I have better mass," she grinned, kicking down the stand and flicking her hair out of her face.

"Why'd I join a posse with a bike," Faggot mumbled as he climbed off shakily. Dyke killed the engine.

"The Fabulous Killjoys, huh?" one of the other gang scoffed. "Seems like a buncha kids to me."

"And who the fuck are you then?" Poison asked, coming over to stand beside Dyke with a hand on his hip.

"The Angels of Road Slaughter. I'm Roadkill. This is my second, Rock Machine. You gotta be Party Poison, or is it bootyshorts there beside ya?"

"The name's Dyke. Pretty sweet ride ya got there, Roadkill. What is it, a Chopper?"

"Yeah, got her from some Blind warehouse a while back. You don't have a bad bike yourself."

"Power cruiser, baby. I'm gonna smoke all you bitches outta here."

"Nobody's smokin' me out unless it's your little friend there," Roadkill said and winked at Poison.

"I think that's enough conversation for one day," Doctor D said, materialising out of nowhere. "At least while your old man is listening. The afterparty is a different story. Don't gotta pay attention to no-one at a party."

Dyke glanced at Poison, who was looking anywhere but at Roadkill, who was looking directly at Poison. You coulda cut the tension with a knife.

"Oh, hey, D, you'll never believe what happened earlier," Dyke said, seizing her chance to escape the awkward situation unfolding before her. "C'mon, let's get a soda and I'll tell you. Ya still got orange?"

He took the hint. "Sure do, DB. Come on in. I got a tape just about to hit replay so you can pick the next one."

He turned himself around and went back inside. Dyke took Faggot's arm and squeezed gently. He glanced at her and nodded.

"Jet, you wanna go over your battle plan?"

"I- yeah, good call." He silently thanked whatever god there was.

"I'm coming too!"

"Yeah, same here!"

Kobra and Ghoul followed, with Cola shaking his head and coming in the rear, saying nothing.

"Y'know, Roadie, a soda sounds pretty good right now," Rock Machine said. The rest of the gang murmured their agreement.

"Fine. We'll get some soda then. See ya later, prettyboy. You're gonna eat ass on the track."

Dyke bit her lip as she walked away, trying hard not to laugh. Doctor D looked back at her with a glint in his eye.

Poison ran up and draped his arms around Dyke and Jet. "Those are some hardass motherfuckers."

Dee snorted but covered it up with a cough. It was a talent of hers.

"Anyway, DB- you said you had some crazy story to tell us."

"That I do, Doctor D, that I do." She ducked out of Poison's grasp and lead the group walking backwards. "So I was headin' out to the Rendezvous- thanks for those supplies, Cola- and I saw these two assholes without any masks on takin' the kidneys outta some Drac. Y'all know I hate Blind as much as the next person, but you just gotta show some respect, ya know? Anyways, I pulled my guns on 'em and told 'em if they didn't scoot asap I'd shoot. They left together on a bike but they kept the kidneys for some reason. Dicks." Dyke turned back around and smacked her face into the beads that hung over D's doorway. She moved them out of her face and went straight to the kitchen- the only place with a working refrigerator. She took out an orange soda and cracked it open. Everyone else just stood, watching her.

"What? Somethin' on my face?"

"Dyke... Like, no offence or whatever, but how in the hell are you still alive?" Faggot asked. His eyes were huge, as if her head would explode at any second.

"DB my good friend, I'd bet my left arm that you just had a clap with Scarlet Ripper and the Mongoose," D said, running a hand through his hair.

"Those freaky-ass motherfuckers you were talkin' about earlier? Then why ain't I dead?"

"You musta got lucky," he sighed. "I gotta go tell the world to start showin' up. You gonna choose a tape?"

She chugged her soda and tossed the can into the trash. "I nearly died today. Of course I'm gonna choose the fuckin' tape."

"And it's Doctor Death-Defying back at you desert-dwellers with a whole new tape. But first, a drag race update from our very own DB."

Dyke's eyes widened and D motioned to the mic. Go crazy, he mouthed.

She grinned.

"Well hello there, desert kings, queens and everything in between. Tonight's gonna be a clear night with a high chance of road dust. Anyone willing to eat my shorts in the drag race better hurry up and get here, else someone'll take your spot. So far we have tension brewing 'tween the Killjoy squads and the Angels' racers. Who knows what's gonna happen next? Not me, but 'til then, here's Quiet Riot to keep ya kickin'."

D loaded the tape and set it playing.

"Not too bad for a first-timer."

She shrugged. "Sometimes you want the attention. I'm gonna go take a smoke break, see who else is here. We should get goin' soon."

Outside, the Angels were milling around on their bikes with some sodas.

"Hey! Dyke, wasn't it?" Roadkill jogged over to her.

"That's me," she said lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. "You need somethin'?"

He scratched the top of his greasy, black hair. Roadkill sure lived up to his name.

"Party Poison he, uh... he knows I was just dicking around, right? Well, kinda, anyway. Mostly."

"Probably. He's not pissed or anything, if that's what you're worried about. He just hasn't had anyone 'cept the mirror flirt with him in a while."

"Ah," he said and nodded, then "can I bum a smoke?"

She said nothing, but instead drew out the pack and offered it to him.

"Hey, thanks. You know you look like him though, right?"

"Long story. Might tell you one day."

"Hey, Dee! Doc says we're ready to go!" Faggot yelled out a window.

"You two gonna come out and watch?"

Dee knew from experience that he had the Girl scooped up in his arms and was making faces at her.

"Be right there. Oh, and Jet says to meet him out back with the bike."

She stubbed out the cigarette under her foot. "You comin' to the afterparty?"

"Wouldn't miss it, DB."

Jet was standing with his arms crossed when Dyke rounded the corner, pushing the bike.

"Poison wanted me to ask you if Roadkill was being serious. He said he has a nice butt."

"Kinda serious. He would. It could happen."

"God-fucking-damn it."

"Racers!" the crackly sound of Doctor D's PA system came towards them. "If your bedazzled ass isn't at the starting line, go put it there or get it kicked out."

"My ass isn't even bedazzled..."

"C'mon, Jet. We got a race to win."

They took their places at the starting line, Jet with his lanky frame scrunched up behind Dee. She had the motor running and her legs on either side of the bike for balance. Doc had better start the party soon, she thought.

She scanned the crowds lining the track and saw Faggot with the Girl on his shoulders. He grinned and waved, then took the Girl's hand and waved with that.

She smiled.

"Alright racers, I want a nice clean match. No bashing, slashing or body flashing, ya hear? And that includes you audience members, too. We don't care how well God has made you- this is a road race. Save it for the afterparty! But I think that's all an old man like me's gotta say so... On your marks!"

Dyke snapped back into reality and tensed her legs. A few of the racers revved their engines. Road Kill caught her eye and winked.

"Get set!"

She flexed her fingers and tightened her grip on the handlebars. For her, driving gloves weren't just a fashion statement.

A foghorn sounded and Dyke kicked off. "Heads down, elbows tucked in, DB and Jet Star take an early lead," the Doc's voice came over the roar of engines. "But look's like Party Poison and the Kobra Kid are close behind. Damn! Road Kill and Rock Machine leading by a hair."

"We need more speed!" Jet shouted in her ear.

"No fuckin' shit!" She sped up, taking back her spot. No way was she losing to some short, ratty-ass clown. Or Poison either, for that matter.

"Nice view, Dyke! You steal Poison's ass, too?"

"Jet, honey?"

"Yeah?"

"You remind me to break his nose at the afterparty."

"Sure thing, Dee."

She pressed harder on the accelerator. "C'mon. Please. Carla, if you can hear me..." she mumbled.

The bike, against all odds, against all the laws of physics, went just that much faster.

"Holy shit!" Jet shouted. "Dee, we- Dee! We're gonna die!"

"No way, Jet Star! We're gonna win!"

They could still hear Doctor D's voice narrating the race, but quieter now as they sped further away. "And that's DB with Jet still in the lead! I didn't know her bike could even go that fast- but don't tell her that, else I'll lose the use of my remaining working limbs."

"We almost there, Jet?"

Dyke was trying to focus on keeping the bike going as fast as possible. Sure, she had here eyes on the road, but it was a kind of tunnel vision. She didn't care about anything that wasn't directly in front of her.

"Not sure... maybe- yes! I can see someone with a flag!"

Dee whooped. The engine whined.

"Shit, will we make it?"

"If we believe, Jet! Just pray and don't stop 'til we cross that line!"

Sure enough, Jet started to mumble something. Whether he was praying or cursing her, Dyke didn't know.

She couldn't speak Spanish.

She saw Road Kill out of the corner of her eye and her face hardened. They were so close. She could almost taste it.

A rush of colour. The flag was waved. They did it. They did it!

She screamed. "Jet! Jet! We did it! WE DID IT!" She gently lifted the accelerator and braked hard to skid to a stop. Down went the kickstand.

"Did we do it?" she asked doubtfully, looking between Jet's face and the person with the flag.

"Only one way to find out, Dee. We gotta wait for the rest of 'em."

The Trans Am and Road Kill's Chopper had come in neck and neck, while someone riding solo came in just before them. The only people the two had been keeping an eye on were Road Kill and Poison. Other than that- who knew?

The crowd at the starting line started to make their way to the finish. Some people had spread out along the track, but most had stayed at the start where they could see everything that was going on.

"Alright, alright, simmer down you folks."

Doctor D spoke through a megaphone. Where the hell was he getting all this stuff?

"After careful consultation with our flagboy V, it would appear that Dyke and Jet Star have stolen the scene and come in first place!" There was a mix of cheering and groaning from the crowd as accessories were exchanged. Faggot ran up with the girl on his hip and threw an arm around Dee.

"I knew you could do it, you old bitch!"

"Hey! Poison's older than I am!"

"Dee! Dee!" the Girl giggled, clapping.

"Now that first place is settled, in second place we have Maximum Voltage, riding solo."

The crowd clapped half-heartedly. Nobody knew who this Max guy was.

"Wait... Maximu-?" Dee started. She was cut off by the Doc shushing the crowd again. The flagboy whispered in his ear.

"And in an exciting turn of events, in third place is Party Poison and the Kobra Kid tied with Road Kill and Rock Machine!"

More accessories were exchanged. Dyke was even sure she saw masks being swapped.

"Yeah, yeah, all prizes will come in due time, but for now I think we all just need to party."

Dee and Jet were swarmed with people congratulating them, and all thoughts of Maximum Voltage were pushed from her mind.

"We did it, Dee. I can't believe we actually did it!"

"Fuck, me neither! Hey- careful, these pins are sharp. To the afterparty!"

[4lix]

bad boy hyunjin ☹︎ pt I.

literally after i posted that i wanted to write a bad boy hyunjin the whole world and their mama msged me a request dfjfsldj so here it is kiddos! 

part one. part two. 

ugh okay jfc where do i begin

this is gonna be a school au bc like, it just is 

bad boy hyunjin would honestly be the school’s heart-throb

he’s already gorgeous as shit and just something about his smirk drives everyone insane, except you of course 

because you’re an enigma, the odd one out, the only person who just sees him as a delinquent and a shit show

he’s just a complete ass, on countless occasions does he bump into people and not bother to help them up, he smokes on campus and comes to class just to sleep the whole damn hour before skipping the rest of the day 

him and his posse of idiot friends were so loud and obnoxious holy hell, especially that minho kid like did he ever shut up? 

but somehow the whole school was absolutely smitten. 

girls and boys alike would just fawn over him every minute of the day, especially after school when him and his gang of losers all lean on their motorbikes like some cringey street gang and smoke cigarettes to take the edge off of a long day of doing absolutely nothing besides skipping, talking back to teachers, getting into fights and flirting with the teacher’s assistant to get out of detention.  

so you’ve always hated him and his dumb hair and his dumb piercings 

and whats with the lollipops? on the days he’d bother to come to school he’d always have a lollipop in his mouth, his whole clique of fuck-ups did

bad boy hyunjin 100% would have that greasy 90s jock look, im talking leather jackets or the schools football team’s varsity jacket because he was their star player 

but deep down you knew you hated hyunjin because you secretly found him attractive as shit balls

you guys are chemistry partners, despite your protests to your teacher, and hyunjin always had the same stupid smirk on his face whenever you were paired up 

“oh this is exciting, now i know for sure i’m getting an A.” 

“yeah i’m sure you need it considering you basically flunked last year, oh and this year too.” 

“see thats what i have you around for babe, what would i do without that big bright brain of yours?” he’d say with an ugly wink before ruffling your hair and you’d just roll your eyes bc why the fook is your heart racing??

what sucks is that very same day, your class’ results were posted on the bulletin board outside your school

hyunjin was in the top ten and the honor roll, his whole squad of monkeys were, the name kim seungmin sitting bright at the top though, the school’s angel and student body president, luckily some things were still sane and in check. 

literally how hyunjin’s name sat beneath seungmin’s though was beyond you. 

“shocked? i know, i know, how can i be this hot and a genius?” shit he scared you, hyunjin was right behind you, a lollipop in his mouth again god how did he not have a billion cavities? 

he saw you glaring angrily at a sheet of paper stapled to the wall and figured it had to do with him, conceited asshole

“yeah i wonder who the poor soul is who’s doing your homework and projects for you. how much do you pay them? hell, doubt you even pay them, besides in bloody noses and black eyes huh?” 

“y’know, i’m not that bad of a guy y/n, you’d be surprised.”

“i highly doubt that, you’re an asshole and even if you cured cancer it wouldn’t change my mind.” you scoff.

“you’re so sassy, i like that, it’s cute.” he’d wrap an arm around your shoulder just to egg you on more and you’d shove him off, face burning slightly for god knows why

“fuck off hyunjin”  

“aw but you’re blushing, do you like it when i call you cute, babe?”

god what is wrong with him and what in the actual fuck was wrong with your face and heart? why were your cheeks burning so bad and your heart basically having a seizure in your chest?

“n-no i don’t, fuck off.” before he could bother you any further you grab your bag and practically run the hell out of there. 

the next day shit only gets worse 

hyunjin is breaking dress code yet again, not bothering to wear his blazer and his tie is a complete mess and did this boy own a comb? why was his hair always a damn mess

but what really caught your attention was the scar on his eyebrow, it wasn’t there yesterday, and for some reason you couldn’t shake the thought about how he could’ve possibly gotten it. 

in chemistry he seems a bit more quiet, and he’s actually taking notes for once, he hadn’t greeted you with the usual hey babe or good morning doll like he usually does and even though you tell yourself you hate it you secretly really liked it and just what was wrong with hyunjin?

it isnt until after school do you get your answer 

it seems like there’s beef between his clan of monkeys and the other bad boy gang over at sm high (im laughing my ass off) 

they catch hyunjin off guard, and the poor baby is basically jumped when he’s all laone

honestly? hyunjin got fucked up pretty bad. 

i mean like, busted lip, his eyes turning a shade of yellow so clearly they’re bruising up and his nose was bleeding slightly.

but where was the rest of his friends? why was he all alone? why the fuck were you the unlucky soul to have to clean up this damn mess?

but no matter how much your anger and hatred for him tells you to leave him just laying there on the concrete, bloody and bruised, sympathy, a shed of infatuation and pity drags your feet over to him

“they fucked me up pretty bad, huh babe?” he says with a bitter laugh, wiping at the blood on his lip

your heart kind of falls into your stomach at the sight of him, he still looked fucking gorgeous which sucked but the sight of hyunjin, so beaten, really took a toll on your heart. 

“are you okay? should i take you to the hospital?” you cup his face in your hands, wiping at the blood on the side of his cheek and he shakes his head

“nah i’m okay, i just, fuck-” he groans when you touch his arm, you apologize immediately

“okay come on, i’ll take you home.” you offer, helping him up and lo and behold, he’s fucking smirking 

“i thought you hated me, what happened?” 

“i do hate you.”

“then why are you helping me?” 

“because i have this thing called pity and a heart.” 

“huh, you have a heart? didn’t know.” 

“oh fuck off hyunjin before i leave you to limp home.” 

“you wouldn’t”

“you dare me?”

“you like me too much to do that.” he says with a dumb grin and you turn and scoff letting his arm go.

he immediately falls to one knee though, wincing again and his face contorting into one of pain and your heart just kind of aches at the sight 

you groan in frustration before wrapping your arms around his waist, hoisting him up and he just laughs, tucking his face into your neck

“i told you.”

“just shut up will you?” you say, trying your hardest to avoid eye contact with him because he pulls away from your neck and just why the hell is his face so damn close to yours?

“y’know its easier to just admit it than keeping up this facade y/n.” 

“facade? and admit what? that you’re a dick?” 

“that you like me.”

“i-i don’t like you hyunjin.” 

“then why are you stuttering? why are you blushing? say it again and look me in the eyes.” he teases, a glint in his eyes and you just know this isnt going to end well

“look can i just call minho or something i can deal with you.” your face is literally on fire and hyunjin keeps smirking at you and your heart is racing in your chest and just fuck why

“i’m just going to assume that was a yes.”

“it wasn’t.” 

“then say it.”

“no.”

“so you like me?”

“i don’t like you!” you practically yell, hyunjin’s face dangerously close to yours and his eyes literally staring into your soul

“then why can i feel your heart beating?” you forgot you were still basically hugging him, keeping his body held upright, and just shit hyunjin leans forward and kisses you gently, it only lasted for a second and your brain was practically short circuiting so you did nothing but stand there, frozen.

“you’re so cute when you blush.” 

of course that makes your face turn even redder who knew it was possible and before you can finally give in to hyunjin and his stupid good looks and irresistible advances, he opens his ugly mouth again. 

“but your breath is a little stinky, i’d recommend some mouthwash after lunch-” 

and then you just drop him at that moment, letting his body fall to the floor and hyunjin just lays there laughing his ass off while you give him the bird before screaming “crawl home you dick” 

minho luckily comes by just a moment later, only to see hyunjin still clutching his stomach because he can’t stop fucking laughing and a very red faced you walking the other direction. 

“what happened?” he asks while helping hyunjin up, clearly referring to his bloodied lip and swollen eyes but hyunjin couldn’t care less about the bruises, he’s just happy he got to tease you and finally kiss you. 

hyunjin just smiles dazedly, “i kissed y/n.”

“you still like them? and i was talking about your face, hyunjin.”

“oh, yeah, i got my ass kicked, do you have y/n’s number by any chance?” he says while slipping a lollipop into his mouth. 

✐  requests are open!

[natsuxlucyfanfiction]

Superhero Part 2

Hey guys, what’s good? I saw that a couple of you wanted a second part to Superhero so here it is. Your comments are super encouraging, I seriously love reading them. For real, the more the merrier. Make sure to read the end note on this too, please.

Also, I have a Halloween one shot planned but I want you guys to choose what the Fairy Tail cast dresses up as. Either comment, leave an ask, or private message me what you guys want our gang to represent!

*********

Sighing, she headed towards the place she dreaded the most that day. Lucy was always the last person to get to their table since her class was always released late. Seeing all of her friends at the table made her want to do a 180 and bolt out of the cafeteria. But she didn't need to. She was stopped before even making it to her table.

"Lucy, you blowing me off?" She turned around to see Natsu with his lunch in hand. "And here I thought we were gonna have lunch together."

Lucy’s shoulders slumped in relief. Once again, Natsu saved her from an uncomfortable situation. She knew she couldn't avoid confrontation forever, but delaying it just a little bit wouldn't hurt. He led her to a bench outside near the entrance of the school, which was surprisingly empty. The only other person outside was a student taking pictures of shadows, which Lucy assumed was for a photography class.

"It's so nice out here," Lucy commented. "Why do people not sit out here more often?"

"We can," Natsu shrugged, popping a grape into his mouth. "It can be our little lunch spot."

"I doubt either of our friend groups would be okay with that," Lucy sighed. The thought was nice, but it was too unrealistic to be true. Keeping friends in middle school is so hard; why are there a bunch of dumb unspoken rules and codes and stuff?

"Who cares what your friends think?" Natsu countered. "First of all, your friends are so toxic, Britney Spears is shook. Wendy and Levy are fine but Lisanna And Cana? Don't get me started. They might not be completely bad people but all I know is that they're bad for you."

"Preaching to the choir," Lucy groaned in response. She took another bite of her sandwich, which Natsu was not-so-secretly eyeing. "Just take it already," she said, handing it over to him while rolling her eyes.

"Thank you so much Lucy, I'm freaking starving," he managed to say with his stuffed mouth.

"Why don't you just pack more?"

"I never wake up early enough so I just steal someone's lunch box every day," Natsu admitted casually. "They never figure out it's me cuz I steal a different person's lunchbox everyday. Once, I even brought my own lunchbox to school and pretended to steal it so I would look extra innocent, but then i remembered it was empty so I stole someone else's lunchbox too." Natsu tapped his head with a dumb smirk, believing himself to be the genius of his era.

"How did you go from wise monk to dumbest moron in such a short amount of time?"

"Rap music."

Lucy let out an exasperated groan, half jokingly. "It's like I don't even know you anymore," she complained. "I do but I don't, you know?"

"A good superhero never reveals his identity," Natsu saluted to the flagpole. "Rest well, America."

"Middle school boys are an enigma," Lucy stated, shaking her head in disbelief. It was Natsu's random quirkiness that she loved and missed, though. Somehow, it was the same Natsu but also someone completely different. They haven't gone through the same experiences throughout middle school like they did in elementary. Their storyline wasn't identical anymore.

Natsu and Lucy spent lunch together for the rest of the school year. Once freshman year began, they continued being their own squad. They had their friends, of course. Every so often Gray and/or Erza would hang out with them. Occasionally Wendy and Levy. Lucy grew distant with her friend group.

That was, until homecoming season rolled up.

Freshman girls were in a frenzy, fervently searching for the absolute most perfect dress for the homecoming dance. All of them were under the impression that they were definitely going to get asked, which was not necessarily true. At all.

"Come on, Lucy. You're not even a little bit excited about homecoming?" Levy tried to hype Lucy up more about boys. She hoped every time she came to school that it would be the day Gajeel asked her to homecoming. He hadn't yet, but he still had two weeks left to ask.

"I am, I just don't care about all this dating stuff. I'm going to go to homecoming, dance with my friends, then go home and play video games with Natsu. I'm excited for that."

"Okay, okay, sounds good, just gonna make a few tweaks," Levy said. "How about this: you and Natsu go as a couple, stay the entire night, go somewhere romantic afterwards, have your first kiss, and then go home and think about him all night!”

Lucy blinked twice, then pinched her arm. "Woah, this isn't a dream. It's real. You actually think that Natsu and I have something romantic going on between us? Gajeel's making you loosen a couple screws up there.” Lucy gestured to Levy’s head.

"Very funny, Lucy," Levy retorted drily. "I'm trying to help you. One day, you're gonna realize you're all alone and cry because you wouldn't listen to me."

"I'm 14, chill," Lucy chuckled. She spotted Natsu in the distance and used that as an excuse to leave the conversation. He was with his friends. She strided towards them, not mentally prepared to be stopped by another one of her friends to talk about homecoming. Though, what Levy said did repeat in her mind.

I couldn't date Natsu, right? He's literally like a brother to me. There's no chemistry between us. It's not possible. Is it? Well it doesn't matter, because I don't like him, so take that Levy!

She reached Natsu's friends, and she soon realized that she had jumped from one conversation about homecoming to another.

"Stop teasing the girls and just ask one of them to homecoming already."

"Gray, do you know how hard it is when I have every girl to pick from? I wanna ask them all, and I know all of them would say yes," Loke exaggerated, making sure to flip his hair at the end of the sentence.

"So you guys are planning on asking girls to homecoming?" Lucy stepped in.

"Nope, just Loke," Natsu answered. "Anyway, what's good with you?"

"Well, I-"

"Never mind shut up the Tartaros kids are coming this way," Natsu spoke quickly. Lucy swiveled around to see Jackal strutting over along with the rest of his posse. They were jerks, straight up mean to everyone with no clear reason. Even the seniors were wary of that group of sophomores. Never had the Tartaros kids ever spoken directly the Natsu or Lucy, but they've heard stories. None of them ended well.

"Lucy Heartfilia," Jackal bellowed, making sure to capture everyone's attention. "Will a drop-dead beautiful, angelic woman such as yourself grace me with the honor of coming to homecoming with me?" His words were laced with high levels of sarcasm, and his short giggle afterwards told Lucy all she needed to know: it was a joke. She struggled enough with self image issues, as did most girls in her age. A stunt like this made her confidence drop and tears rise. Am I that bad that someone would ask me out as a joke? However, she wouldn’t show Jackal that he bothered her, not that easily.

"I don't know...get your teeth fixed, then we'll talk." Lucy smirked at her own insult, knowing that she hit one of Jackal's insecurities. With jacked up, sharp teeth like that, who wouldn't be self-conscious?

His menacing glare gave her goosebumps, as if setting off little bombs across her skin. She just noticed how he towered over her. Not only that, but seeing his lips curl into a sneer and white-knuckled fists ready to pound into her made her want to flee the scene. “I get dared to ask you to homecoming and you try to turn this on me?! Get one thing straight," he seethed, spit flying into Lucy's face. "The purpose of this was to humiliate you, not me! Don't go thinking you've turned the tables. I’m not getting rejected by a girl like you.”

Natsu pulled Lucy away from the sophomore. "One little comment and you explode," Natsu said while pushing Jackal with the back of his hands. "Now you stay away from my homecoming date before you eat dust," Natsu threatened with thin patience. His fire matched Jackal’s. He didn’t let the height difference or Jackal’s undefeated streak waver his confidence.

"Threatening me, little boy?" Jackal scoffed, pushing Natsu back in the same way. Many people had their phones out, snapchatting the entire thing. "Show me what your daddy couldn't teach ya."

Lucy grabbed Natsu’s arm right as he lunged for Jackal. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew Natsu was livid beyond belief. Lucy wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Natsu got destroyed in a fight because of her. “Please, Natsu. Not this time.” Lucy heard Natsu slowly release a huff of air through his nose, like a dragon trying to control his anger. He honored her plea and dropped the fight before it could begin. Once the Tartaros crew left, Natsu erupted.

“Lucy, he totally deserved it!” He roared, pacing around with his hands on his head to release steam. “You heard what he’s done to others, and now he disrespected you! I say death penalty.”

“If anyone believes that Jackal needs a fist to the face more than you, it’s me.” She grabbed his hands and rubbed them, slowly intertwining hers with his. “I’ll be okay, Natsu. No big deal, really. Not like he actually hurt me or anything.”

“I promise you, Lucy,” he spoke with sincerity and passion, “I will give you the best homecoming experience that I possibly can. You are an actual queen and only deserve the best. Don’t tell yourself otherwise, you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” Lucy smiled. Everything would always be alright in the end. Her superhero would make sure of it.

*******

Okay, I usually don’t add end notes but I felt like this was important. What Jackal did might not seem like a big deal to you, but honestly, a stunt like that could really kill a girls self esteem. I know many girls in many points of life and most of them still struggle with self confidence issues. Please, never ironically ask someone out or ironically compliment someone. Be genuine or just leave that person alone. Of course, it’s a different story if you’re friends with that person and that’s how you joke around, but generally, let’s keep it real and positive, please. Support our sisters!

[fereality-indy]

Botbots Repaint Ideas

Got bored and decided to come up with a few repaint ideas, one for each tribe. This was started after I received my Screen Fiend & thought how much his ears look  like cat ears.

Name – Original – Repaint Idea – What They Are - Tribe

Knoll Mist or Miss Trus or Dispensed (As an ode to Despensor) – Nrjees - Silver grey top, can two shades of green, yellow green soda, & silver face - A can of citrus soda - Lost Bots

Roll Full - Greed Feed - Pink body, black printing, & inner body painted black with red highlights - Raffle tickets - Backpack Bunch

Mic Check - Dizzy Bones - Black with red & Gold highlights, red hat, & a gold face - Microphone - Music Mob

Not-I - Fit-Ness Monster - Black body & gray screen - Smart watch - Techie Team

Yep Sum - Grumpy Clumpy - Black carton with blue highlights, white salt crust, pleasant looking face - Epsom’s salt carton - Toilet Troop

Coco Crazed - Sprinkleberry D’uhnut - Dark brown, crazy white eyes on a light brown face - Chocolate doughnut - Bakery Bites

Ducoy – Quackles - Green head, brown body, & an orange bill - Hunting decoy - Jock Squad

Not-Wurst - Hawt Diggity - Light brown bun, brownish gray sausage, & yellow brown mustard - Brat on a pretzel bun - Greaser Gang

Feline Fine - Screen Fiend - Black body, gray screen (maybe with a cartoon cat, Steeljaw, or Ravage), white pentagon, white arms, & white face with a black eye spot - Cat decorated cell phone - Swag Stylers

Buzz Sawer - Stickey McGee - Retooled arms (remove the tape and replace with half a saw blade on each side). Gray body, silver blade. silver visor, & black arms - Table saw - Shed Heads

Cheez Tart - Sugar Breath - White (or cream) body with red sauce & brown base - Cherry (or strawberry) cheesecake - Sugar Shocks

Prunehilda - Snippy Snappy - Green handles & black blades with a brown wash - Dirty pruning shears -Lawn League

Left Behind - Fun Gus - Geen body, brown crown, scared face - Mold - Spoiled Rottens

Gnaw Breaker - Sprinkleberry D’uhball - White with red and blue speckles - Jawbreaker - Arcade Renegades

Ornery-Ment - Tutu Puffs - Green with a gold wash – Ornament - Seasons Greeters

Draco Fruit - Sour Wing - Red retool of the shell, dark brown worm, & the dragon in white with black speckles - Dragon fruit - Fresh Squeezes

Numb Gums – Knotzel - Aqua colored body, light green face that looks cold - Teething toy - Goo Goo Groupies

Whiff It - Batsby - Light yellow bat with red tape, worried expression on a pink face - Wiffle bat - Playroom Posse