#however pooping has been her enemy as of late :(

[loser-brain]

Very long Vent

I hate the fact I cannot focus on what is important to me such as transportation. I cannot drive due to my mental health. I will have a panic attack and become overwhelmed thanks to my mother putting trauma in me when I was driving.

I already made a vent post about that went in-depth about it too. So, changing the course of the story here is another reasoning on why I won't fix an old bike in my garage.

I'm 4'11 and I'm very short. We have a child bike (a childhood bike) and an adult bike (way too tall for me to ride). I want to fix that child's bike (literally need a change of wheels) but the reason why I can't is because my dad won't let me really not really work on the bike.

It's confusing I know. I'm also confused as well. I even express that I want to fix a bike in our garage because 1, I can ride it and 2, so that way I can also have the ability to ACTUALLY LEAVE THE HOUSE FOR ONCE.

Everyone in the house always complains about me not leaving the house... Well yeah, I have no way of transportation. And even when I do make plans such as I want to buy something for either my dogs or a project for myself. I'm always told that everyone is free and can drive me. Like I am told, constantly that no one has a schedule or plan. They are free and can drive me where I want...

I ask hey I want to go to blank and blank. They always respond. I'm busy, we have plans, I don't want to drive you, maybe another time, not today, and so on.

So back to the bike. That is my reasoning, I get told whatever. It's frustrating. I want to fix the bike I said Just buy a new bike they said How much does a new bike cost I asked A lot of money that you don't have they answer Okay so back to my idea let me fix the old bike I responded you should just buy a new bike they sternly spoke but you said it's expensive I retorted You wanted to buy an electric bike right? They asked Yeah, why? I answered with a question Then get a driver's license so you can have that bike they spoke no, I can't drive I'll have a panic attack and freeze up and become a hazard or a dangerous driver I spoke back in anger

and here's the kicker that really pisses me off

whatever. They spoke. Ending the conversation.

If I were to somehow get my driver's license, they will buy me an electric bike. That's the deal since their argument is that an electric bike is similar to a motorcycle.

I just... want a way for me to ride my bike to my dog's vet with ease and even be able to go to my downtown and possibly sell in-person art. BUT NO I CAN'T BECAUSE MY MOTHER SAYS THAT'S DANGEROUS! MY FATHER SAID JUST GET A DRIVER'S LICENSE.

it's frustrating when I come up with a solution to my long-term problem and only be told no. or stop. or do something else. it's frustrating that I can't drive and it's frustrating that I can't work on the bike.

Not because I'm getting mixed signals but more because I can't reach the bike... it's hanging from the ceiling and my dad won't get it for me because he doesn't want me to work on the bike.

Like, I would become so much healthier riding a bike around, and possibly it might even boost my confidence instead of being called lazy for not doing anything even though I do clean the house and take care of my dogs.

My mother is so toxic. For some reason, if she comes home and sees my sis and I on the couch, she just assumes we're lazy. Even though she comes home at 4pm and we (mostly I) wake up at 9am. You know what I can get done in that amount of time before she comes home.

Chores such as vacuuming, cleaning the windows and the bathroom, taking the dogs outside, clean their crate and their mess outside of the crate. Heck, if I am very bored I will sweep the patio. I'll mop the floors too if the dogs actually behave and not track their wet paws in the house (I'll have to dry their paws or just wait for their paws to dry on their own. I prefer to wait since they are messy drinkers as well).

My mother is sadly old-fashioned, in other words, she doesn't know that abuse can come in different forms. When you say abuse she will assume physical. Mental abuse, Verbal abuse, physiological abuse, and other types... Yeah, that doesn't exist to her. When I say old-fashioned, I mean she just doesn’t know, even when you try to explain to her about abuse coming in different forms... She'll call me insane or not right in the head.

Saying because of the internet I have become delusional... and stupid. She doesn't understand mental health either. So when you tell her about depression. She just thinks you're sad and eating ice cream. Crying and stressing out of your mind thinking it's the end of the world for you like a breakup... She even told me when she wanted me to work and I respond I'll need to be on antidepressants then because I cannot work in an environment like that.

Her response to me saying that... I also have depression too. I also get sad but you don't see me needing antidepressants.

...

My mother hasn't even been diagnosed by a behavioral psychologist. MEANWHILE, I HAVE. THIS IS THE SAME WOMAN THAT DOESN'T BELIEVE IN MENTAL HEALTH AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN SHE TOO HAS MENTAL HEALTH!?

MOM! ANTIDEPRESSANTS AREN'T JUST FOR DEPRESSION! I HAVE MAJOR ANXIETY I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME HANDLE PEOPLE INTERACTION.

I have a phobia of being in large areas fill/crowded with people. I just can't handle that at all. At my last job, I got overwhelmed to the point that I stop paying attention to my job. Which was bad!

It just got way too much and way too loud for me that I ended up looking around and not at my machine. That's really reckless because these are our client orders that I am possibly ruining by not paying attention.

So ye, I love my mother btw, but it's just... so exhausting having to deal with her and my dad (mostly her). I love my parents and they just want what is best for me like getting my driver's license. That would make my life so much easier and not just transportation-wise but just for everything-wise. But sadly, they stop taking me seriously now when it comes to my mental health.

It's sad to hear I know blah blah blah. I'm gonna work on the bike tomorrow whether they like it or not... If I can reach it, if not, then I'll cry :'|

[dumbsack]

I beat the original Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana without changing my characters' classes. YouTube keeps suggesting me stupid challenge runs for other games, so I had to do my own for my very favorite. In the past, I've done the solo character run with Duran... Twice! How hard could this be?

[Inaudible screaming here]

I told my sigma reader and good buddy pop I wanted to try the challenge. I asked if he wanted to play too to make it a little easier.

He messaged me, "why? That sounds unfun. What's wrong with you?"

"My curiosity is piqued," I replied.

That's how it goes. So, I embarked SOLO without that dork LOL. Take that. 😠

As a disclaimer, there was heavy use of savestating on my, uh, very legitimate Super Famicom that I definitely own. Otherwise, I think I would have stress-grayed the rest of my hair doing this challenge.

Now, onto my character choices... Behold! The squad handpicked for this task after about two minutes of thinking about it.

I guess I should explain why I chose these three dingbats (besides two of them being my favorites... No bias in my selection process for this, I promise!)

It was imperative that this challenge was done on the Dragon Lord route due to my familiarity with it and for a few other reasons I'll explain later.

I picked Duran as the leader. He's a pretty beefy boy who can tank hits and dishes out damage pretty decently. Had I gone with Hawkeye or Riesz, I don't think my damage output would have been good enough, even with Hawkeye's cracked CS building capabilities. Also, he's explicitly told to class change in his intro. That's one of his goals. Uh, yeah... too bad for him, I guess. He also gives access to some very important items later on.

Secondly, Kevin is a given. He's similarly beefy and comes with that invaluable beastman form that can poop out damage like no other. Also, Kevin has an exploit I could use in case of an emergency... But I did my best to only save that in case I didn't think the challenge was possible.

Lastly, I chose Angela to round out the party. To more seasoned players of the original, she appears to be a counterintuitive pick, what with her slow cast times and arcane ability to piss off boss monsters and invoke their counter attacks with her spells. But! She might have been the crux of this entire team and this challenge being successful— The MVP, even!

Despite her magic being basic, it came in handy in later parts of the game and managed to dish out even better damage than Duran and Kevin in some cases, especially against normal enemies. Go figure! She was also there to throw Poto Oils to heal the party. And she tanked magic spells like a champion! You go, Angela!

In fact, here's a recreation of the Dangaard fight below with my super awesome phone drawing skills to demonstrate:

Speaking of poto oils... Wow. Doing this challenge taught me some more shit about the game I didn't know. I had no idea Mind Up/Sahagin's Scales actually decreased your casted healing magic! Yes, I would watch Angela's poto oil heals go from 130 to 100 after a Sahagin scale. Very peculiar. Then again, SD3 is a game that manages to run despite itself by being fueled by Ishii's drunken hopes and dreams.

Another thing to note is that stats cap off. Once you hit the cap, well, that's it. Angela's MT Poto Oil healing was locked in at 130 HP for the rest of the game once her spirit had been maxed. Defenses also don't scale very well, it seems. HP... Seems to, however? I found their HP at the end seemed to be pretty comparable to their class 3 counterparts. 🤷‍♀️

Also... ??? Seeds. You will always get light aligned items even if you're still in your base class. This was absolutely CRUCIAL to the late game. And, we can't forget the Black Market, purveyor of chopped off monster hands, chipped off monster scales with buffing properties, healing oils squeezed from cute little lizard monsters, and... prince slaves.

... Ew. Kill me

Thanks!

The first part of the challenge is simple. I won't detail how the journey went in the first phase of the game because we all know how that goes. Blah blah, Duran gets owned by Crimson Wizard, blah blah, he goes on a journey to get stronger, blah blah, Faerie, go to Wendel, blah blah, meets his future wife in front of a cave, beat up crab, werewolf Goku busts you out of prison, blah blah elementals, etc.

You don't technically class change until after you return from Beuca... Unless you're a crazy person (like me.).

So, the golems fight and Bil and Ben fights went fine. Nothing really remarkable. The Ludgar fight was kind of... Weird? He never used Seiryu Death Fist or Suzaku Aerial, only the janky throws I intermittently forget Kevin used to have. He also went down like a little bitch despite having no elemental weakness. Gg, Jobgar, you dumb baby.

Grapplavine wasn't too difficult, either. But, I was getting destroyed by the normal enemies. Oh, yes. The enemies just kinda... They're awful when you play like this. Towards the end of the game, I found myself simply running away from encounters whenever I could. I could not always do this and oh my God this one part might have been the hardest thing I've done in any video game ever. The reason why? Even though you get weapon upgrades even in Pedda you stop getting armor upgrades in Mintas!

Now, this is deceptive. It looks like I can buy and equip this stuff, but I can't. Believe me, I TRIED. And, Weapon/Armor seeds didn't give me jack shit. Yep. I was stuck with shitty, pre-Ludgar armor for THE REST OF THE GAME.

So, that's really what it boiled down to. Normal enemies could clap my character's cheeks like a hearty round of applause. But, bosses?

Total cinch in comparison. All I needed to do was use buffs from the Black Market, the appropriate sabers on Duran and Kevin, and go to town. Since the bosses usually focus on using spells and the occasional physical attack, my dumbasses were rarely in danger of getting killed. Magic damage actually scales with what class you are, from what I can tell. I rarely took heavy damage from any magic spells, yes, Ancient included. And, when the boys got low, Nurse Angela was there to shove candy into everyone's mouths.

All in all, I'd say the hardest Benevodon was probably Lightgazer. I didn't have access to a dark saber item equivalent for it. Oh well. Two uses of the Minor Mallet and a Poto Oil would undo the damage from Prisoner. It was just a war of attrition, but its was PLUCKED and SQUASHED eventually.

When I needed to grind in between Bendovers, I found the safest place to do so was in Gusthall. It was decent XP and enemies died pretty easily.

... But then, I found out something very strange. After you defeat every Benevodon and get the Mana Stone scholar to tell you where the darkstone is, the enemies in Benevodon dungeons just straight up disappear. I did not know this happened. Pop didn't either when I told him this discovery after scouring for safer places to level up before Crystal Desert. Thankfully, I farmed for a set of important items I needed before that happened.

So, with all eight Benenedovers defeated, it was time to tackle the penultimate dungeon.

...

God, Crystal Desert was a friggin' nightmare.

[END OF PART ONE]

[mikanyuzu-26]

Is Chapter 139 of Attack on Titan being messed up deliberately?

*Views are my own. I barely post anything on social media but I feel the need to express my thoughts as a long-term AOT fan.

You need to be a genius in getting everything wrong. As a reader who has been following the series for 8 years, the frustration and disappointment the recent chapters brought me are beyond words. The series Attack on Titan has long been known for its well written plotline, with pieces of hints eventually leading to the reveal of mysteries, ranging from the identity of enemies to the origin of titan. Isayama the author is more than capable in building a story, as evidenced by the carefully arranged setups and successful characterization in 130+ chapters. Probably echoed by other readers, the story surprisingly went downhill since Chapter 124 (aka the alliance arc) when pacing becomes slow with no major progress in overall plot. Eren who is the supposedly main protagonist is nowhere to be found in most of the chapters, let alone his inner thought. The conclusion in Chapter 139 is even more confusing, showing clear disconnection with previous chapters and major characters being OOC. There are fans who are kind enough to summarize the inconsistencies.

Chinese netizens’ comment on the story quality

I would interpret the bad writing in Chapter 139 as intentional, with two possible reasons, or both: 1). To betray and hurt the readers as expressed in his interview. He is free! 2). To passively protest against a plot change by his editorial team

“I was a big fan of Game of Thrones, so I can relate to the feelings of those fans who were disappointed with how the series ended. But when I’m drawing, I’m expressing my own feelings, and I think as long as I’m doing that, my fans will be able to accept whatever ending I come up with for them”. The question is – was Isayama hinting at a GOT-like ending that expressed his true feeling? Looking at his response at this point of time, was he foreshadowing a disappointment?

Personally I am a believer of (2) – the plot was hijacked. I see the pacing issue starting from Chapter 124 as Isayama and the editorial team trying to buy time in reconstructing the plot. This is the period when multiple minor subplots (e.g. Connie’s mom, Aruani, conflicts with Yeagerists like Daz, formation of Alliance, Reiner’s mom & Annie’s dad) are introduced and closed off shortly after, while Eren is nowhere to be found.

Also note that Isayama did not even show up in the interview/live stream after the end of the manga in on Apr 10 and Apr 14, 2021. The editor represented him instead. It was also revealed in the most recent live stream that the editorial team had quite a lot of influence over the plot, in which they changed the last few pages of Chapter 139.

As many of you have already raised, early chapters already mentioned the “only way to put a final end to the cycle of revenge” is to do a full rumbling. I believe this is the first draft of the ending of the story as this idea has been expressed more than once directly out of the mouth of Eren.

The other possible change is the way of how Ymir is being freed. In earlier chapter, Eren clearly understands what Ymir has been waiting for 2000 years in Chapter 122, and this is also the reason why Eren is able to start the rumbling in the first place. The possibility of Mikasa freeing Ymir is not being introduced until Chapter 138 (or 139), and certainly comes out of nowhere as the only people outside of path who have seen Ymir are Armin and Ramzi.

How is Chapter 139 being intentionally messed up? The inconsistencies above suggest that at least two plot twists are only being decided at the very late stage of the story. • Eren’s true intention (Eren Requiem vs. full rumbling) and the reasons behind • What Ymir wants

Throughout Chapter 139, there are definitely better choice of words which even average Reddit/Twitter/Tumblr users were able to re-write in the past few days. However Isayama just somehow chose the worst way in presenting the story as if it is a shoutout to readers. The presentation also makes Chapter 139 memorable, though not in a way most have expected.

“Why Mikasa?” “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” When I reread Chapter 139, it seems to me that Isayama is not trying to shy away from admitting the plot change. The disbelief from Armin’s way of saying “Huh? Did you just say Mikasa?” is an analogy to the readers’ reaction due to the lack of interaction between Ymir and Mikasa before the last panel of Chapter 138. Eren is also drawn with a resigned expression. If this is an over interpretation of the frame, Eren’s next response “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” directly points out how the statement lacks a clear and sound reasoning. You can translate it into “Well…only [the company/my editor] knows that one…” or “Nothing I just want to throw this in”. Isayama clearly knows what he is writing and indeed “only Ymir knows that one” becomes a meme.

Also to add that prior to Chapter 139, Ymir has always been a parallel of Historia/Krista, not Mikasa, even as early as Chapter 51, but this plot was just somehow nowhere to be found eventually.

Why Rumbling? The most disastrous consequence of a plot change, from wiping all history and civilization (that has been repeated in his conversation with Historia in Chapter 130 and his internal monologue in Chapter 131) to an Eren Requiem, is that it takes away all the justification and rationale for Eren to eliminate 80% of the population in the first place. Whether or not Eren executes the rumbling and dies willingly, the world will still be in conflict and future generation will remain in the forest. If the plan is to free Ymir, a better way is probably just asking Mikasa to chop his head off. That saves humanity (Ymir likes drama, after all!).

Isayama could have easily used phrases like “I just want to move forward” but he put “I don’t know why, but…I wanted to do that…I had to”. This is also Isayama speaking from the Eren – he does not know why Eren is doing rumbling just to achieve the 80% plan. He just “had to” draw it.

“10 Years, At least!” This is probably the most debatable and dramatic part of the chapter. Eren expresses his love to Mikasa but the scene is presented in a way as if it is a kid throwing a tantrum. In addition to that there is Armin’s comment “Oh ok…I didn’t expect something that pathetic..” as if it is again, the readers’ comment. The scene is portrayed in an unbelievably comedic way, especially when you compare it with Eren’s conversation with Ramzi in Chapter 131, which is supposed to serve the same purpose in showing Eren’s human/soft side. Most importantly, freedom has always been Eren’s core value throughout the series. The outright contradiction this line shows only makes the whole idea of this panel questionable.

Character Regression Needless to say, characters’ behaviours surprisingly regress back to the first arc, wiping out all developments throughout the series. The worst thing is it even kills the hype of re-reading the manga as you know the characters never grow, after all the sufferings and hearts sacrificed. Examples include: • Eren is still a crybaby • Mikasa remains trapped by her relationship with Eren and the scarf • Historia is not living proudly for herself after the Uprising arc • Reiner sniffs Historia’s letter after going through depression and wars (there is even a petition online asking Isayama to change this! You see how problematic this is.) • Jean and the horse joke

Almost everything that could possibly go wrong is wrong in 1 chapter These are written by the man who have been writing good chapters in the past 10 years. Can you believe it is just a lack of sense?

• “Thank you. You became a mass murderer for our sake.” • The “poop” that Armin gives Eren (Isayama likes using meme right? :P) • Eren’s face when he is punched

Is this the High School AU style?

Compared to Chapter 112...You can tell the difference.

The way how the fandom views Chapter 139 is certainly very divided, but even amongst those who like it, most still think “things could have done better” (source: SNK Chapter 139 Poll), showing how awkward the style is compared to previous chapters. The inconsistencies in character portrayal and plot are too hard to ignore. It pains me to see a well-constructed and reputable series, one step away from legend even just with an average ending, closed with a chapter that almost defeats the purpose of the rest. Trust in Isayama – while he can build a legend in 10 years, he can also take it down with 1 chapter.

By the way, Levi is one of the few characters who isn’t ruined. Probably also a conscious choice.

[agentnico]

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) Review

It all started with Sonic’s teeth. Ever since fans successfully bullied a studio into reanimating their titular hedgehog character after the abomination shown in the first trailer, fans realised that rallying together (on Twitter) can make a difference. So you’d think it would mean we could all come together to restore world peace and get rid of racism, injustice, poverty, war and negativity of all kind? Nope, nope it does not. But at least we get a better version of a bad DC movie that came out in 2017. I mean, baby steps I guess.

Plot: Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes -- Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash -- it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

I recall my younger simpler self in 2017 at the early age of 20 soon to be 21, sitting down and watching the new Justice League film with zero to no expectations, as by that point the DC Extended Universe was a trainwreck and was a franchise that was literally falling apart before out unblinking red hay fever filled eyes. However, after watching Justice League I was baffled at the fact that I still managed to be disappointed after having zero expectations! With zero expectations this film took me into the minuses, and we all know I’m not great at mathematics so boy are we in the danger zone when we hit the minuses! Looking back at my review of the film back then, I used extreme yet fitting comments like “generic”, “predictable” “messy” and plain “dogsh*t”. Which is what it was. 2017′s Justice League is exactly how I’d imagine a dog’s poop would look if it was turned into an abstract film! It was truly abysmal. After that I thought I’d never have to talk about this film again. How wrong I was. But, in a rare turn of tables, I am glad that I was wrong...

A little history lesson first. Alright, settle down kids, settle down.... Rob, put the paper plane down, do not throw it, I said DON’T THROW IT! NO! Stop! Stupid child!! Headteacher’s office right now! Also, say hi to your mother for me, okay? I’m having brunch with her on Saturday and you better not be there as you should be doing your homework watching the 4 hour cut of Justice League and questioning your life choices!! Anyway, now let’s have ourselves a history lesson. The topic is - What In The Flying Fudge Happened Behind-The-Scenes Of Justice League For DUMMIES: Condensed Edition. A really condensed version as honestly none of us have the attention span to read loads and I’m probably losing the vast majority of you due to this overlong rambling session. So anyway, to the last couple of readers left, here we go! Following the success of Man of Steel, Warner Bros. gave Zack Snyder the reigns to oversee and create a DC cinematic universe to rival the success of Marvel. And so came Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which turned out to be a bit of a hodgepodge, receiving mixed to negative reviews and though was a box office success, earned diminishing results to what Warner Bros. originally anticipated. However, by the time Batman V Superman released, Zack Snyder was already hard at work on the big superhero team up film Justice League (which was meant to set up many characters and future films for the DCEU) with a lot of filming already underway, so Warner Bros. couldn’t particularly pump the breaks on it by that point, even though they evidently lost trust in the Snyder formula. To be honest, at that point I too lost trust in Snyder’s vision and the DCEU as a whole, but my opinion doesn’t class for a single dime, whilst the opinions of Warner Bros. executives make millions, so there aren’t any hard feelings on my behalf for them not enquiring on my thoughts. Anyway, midway through production Zack Snyder was hit with a family tragedy with his daughter committing suicide, so Snyder naturally had to depart the project to be with his family during this grieving time. Warner Bros. had the option to pause production and await for Snyder’s return, or progress at their own accord. Naturally they decided to do their own thing cause they are a business and want that dollar dollar bill baby!! So they hired Joss Whedon who was riding fresh off the success of two Avengers movies and obviously had experience in cinematic universes and such, to rework the Justice League movie by condensing it into a 2 hour film (from the over 4 hour material that Snyder shot) and reshoot scenes to fit the smaller runtime. So you cannot particularly blame Whedon for taking out so many great scenes as he had a contract to fulfil with Warner Bros, but then you look at the many forced jokes and unnecessary reshot scenes and you realise how self-indulgent Joss Whedon was during filming, as he basically was spitting on everything Snyder did and was trying to do his own thing. Low and behold, the mess that is the 2017 movie is created, where its the visions and creative minds of two director with evidently different styles clashing and not really mixing well at all, and as such we have a messy movie that doesn’t really make sense and is a bit of a middle finger to DC fans and honestly everyone and all. Also, there was that little aspect of Henry Cavill’s deformed upper lip due to the fact that during reshoots he had a moustache that he’d grown and was contractually obligated to have for his Mission Impossible role, so the visual effects team had to digitally remove it in post production and the result is, well, see for yourself...

Yes, they made the dashing handsome my-sexuality-questioning Henry Cavill look stupid, and that is UNFORGIVABLE. Funny, yes, very funny but unforgivable!! So for this and many other reasons the 2017 film turned out horribly. Then after that many months later, Zack Snyder and cast and crew members began teasing of this mythical version of the movie that was befit of Snyder’s original vision. You see, apparently before he left the project, Snyder actually filmed everything he wanted and it was only awaiting to be reworked with visual effects and edited properly, but then Whedon came in with his scissors and cut everything mercilessly with a cheeky grin and his ginger beard. Speaking of his ginger beard, is Joss Whedon Irish? Or has Irish roots? Honestly, I would Google it, but wait, I don’t think I really care. So anyway, Snyder still had all of his filmed scenes saved on his ridiculously oversized hard drive just waiting to be looked at again. This is where the fandom did its magic by creating a Twitter hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut and began spam posting for Warner Bros. to let Zack Snyder release what he originally intended to. Honestly, who would have thunk it, but this actually worked!! Warner Bros. allowed this, and not only that, but gave Snyder an additional $70 million to finish up the visual effects as well as to film a couple of additional sequences and gave it the prestigious honour to debut it on HBO Max, so as to boost the subscriber rating on Warner Bros. new streaming service. And here we are.

Honestly, I thought seeing this Director’s Cut of sorts wouldn’t bring much to the table as I didn’t believe that a film that was so broken had originally been in any way good. After finishing this 4 hour Snyder vision I must admit though that I was pleasantly surprised. Completely baffled by the studio and Joss Whedon, but really happy for Zack Snyder. The guy was fighting for it and finally was able to accomplish and bring out his true original vision, and though Zack Snyder’s Justice League has its flaws, its so much better than what we got in 2017, and in fact is a soaring science fiction sci-fi epic that literally feels epic!! It takes time establishing the characters and every single plot point as well as building out this rich mythology of this world of the DC Extended Universe, and so as you move into the second half of the film, there’s a feeling of pay off. You actually care about the characters and understand the plot points and it doesn’t feel rushed. Its truly astounding that there are producers out there who thought it was a good idea to get rid of all of that and instead bring out whatever the heck Joss Whedon did with the 2017 version. Look, I quite enjoy Joss Whedon’s work, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel to Cabin in the Woods and his work on Marvel, the guy obviously has a talent, but also he obviously does not belong to the dark and brooding style of DC. Zack Snyder on the other hand, though makes his mistakes, truly embraces the epic feel of the DC material. And it seems once you give Snyder enough time and space, he can actually bring out something like this:

The main characters are all given so much more to do, or at least those that got side-lined in the 2017 version are given more to do here. One of my complaints with the original was how pointless the League turns out to be. Basically in the theatrical version the main team all end up being useless and only once Superman shows up he saves everyone’s asses and literally does EVERYTHING. Might as well have called the film Man of Steel 2 (feat. Justice League). However in this new version, every main character serves a purpose. Well most of them do at least. Cyborg and Flash are much more compelling characters with more layers and backstory, and in fact are a prime reason to defeating the great evil in the end. You now understand why Cyborg actor Ray Fisher was pissed at Joss Whedon, as the guy literally got rid of his best stuff. Superman strikes a cool black suit and is still powerful, however as the finale shows, he isn’t all-powerful and does need the help of the rest of the team. Wonder Woman gets a lot more to do in this theatrical cut, and in fact this is probably Gal Gadot’s best performance as Wonder Woman and she really shows herself as a powerful female superhero! Aquaman’s role stays largely unchanged, however to be honest Jason Momoa’s character was one of the only ones who didn’t suffer in the theatrical cut. That’s unsurprising seeing as Jason Momoa is such a naturally cool dude! A big panda that is friendly in real life, but when necessary can turn into a roaring bear. To be honest, the only League member that ends up a bit pointless is actually Batman. He still serves a purpose in the film in that he’s the one who assembles the team, but otherwise the rest of the group is so overpowered compared to him that in the end you do kind of think that he doesn’t really belong there. Still, Ben Affleck is great in the role and it’s a shame we won’t see much of him past Flashpoint film that will be released in the next few years.

There are a lot of characters in this film and one can still say the movie is overstuffed, but also seeing as the movie was originally intended to spring board the DCEU properly, all these teases are actually welcome. There are an abundance of cameos, and to be honest so many characters are so well cast that you do end up wishing that Snyder was given the opportunity to make his entire Justice League planned trilogy, but nevertheless at least we have this. There are truly an abundance of cool appearances here, from the menacing villain Darkseid (played by Ray Porter) to Willem Dafoe doing what Dafoe does best, only in this case underwater and I’m certain that’s gonna span many comparison memes with The Lighthouse. Joe Morton as Cyborg’s dad is given a lot more to do here and in fact is pivotal towards building up Cyborg into the important character that he is. There’s also a cameo from Jared Leto’s Joker, who in some ways redeems himself after his appearance in Suicide Squad. Also, we need to talk about Steppenwolf, who’s the main baddie in this film. In the theatrical cut the guy was the most generic one-note villain who also looked like a PS2 character. It was honestly embarrassing the way he was animated. Luckily in this version he’s been put through enough Skyrim mods to looks much more intimidating and is also given a better motivation. As we find out, the reason he does what he does is because he wants to go home. He’s been banished and he simply wants to earn his place back home, so it’s actually kind of sweet. Steppenwolf is a sweetie. I mean, yeah, he wants to destroy half of the world to fulfil his dream, but hey, haven’t we all taken something extreme measures to get what we want?

The film is far from perfect though. At the end of the day, the movie is just about a guy hunting down a bunch of magical boxes. That was the premise of the theatrical cut and its the same here too. Yes, there is more substance and gravitas to the proceedings, but at the end of the day the story doesn’t really surprise much. And with the entire thing running at 4 hours, it is definitely too long and there is the element where there is simply too much in this thing. Also visually, though the movie has plenty of gorgeous shots and Zack Snyder’s signature slow motion sequences are on full display here, there are still many sequences where the CGI and green screen are super obvious and look really fake. That being said there’s still so much visual goodness in this, and also I have to mention Junkie XL’s new music score that does reiterate the epic feel of this movie, in comparison to Danny Elfman’s weak uninspiring notes in the theatrical cut.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a massive surprise and completely changes the perception of what we saw in the original 2017 theatrical cut. It’s a sprawling massive adventure that’s a dream come true for any comic book fan. It shows how vital film editing is, and how important it is to have a cohesive plan when making a movie. Gone too are the silly forced jokes, and though there is still some humour here, it feels more grounded and fit of the setting and scenario. This is Snyder’s vision through and through, and though at times it is clunky, it overall is incredible to behold, as it’s this one guy’s mind and his love for the DC lore. It’s a credible achievement, and I’m actually sentimentally happy for Snyder that he finally managed to complete this. He even during the credits dedicates this to his daughter Autumn that passed away, and I found that to be truly bittersweet. Justice has indeed been served.

Overall score: 7/10

[mcatra]

AU where Catra works at burger king

Catra works minimum wage at burger king, Adora comes in every day as the world’s worst customer.

AO3 

‘I am being HARASSED.’ Catra groans, sprawling on her side of the register. ‘I’m begging you, just kill me.’ 

It was another slow afternoon at Burger King, or as she likes to call it the absolute shithole she only got minimum wage for. Catra could be out there living her life as a youthful teenager, instead she was serving chicken nuggets to her worst enemy- Adora. It didn’t help that said blonde was currently sitting in the corner, laughing obnoxiously with her friends she had replaced her with. 

‘Aw I’m sure Adora isn’t here to harass you, she probably just likes our food! I do cook these to perfection you know.’ Scorpia says conversationally from her spot in the kitchen as she flame broils another patty.

Catra scoffs, her eyes trained on her most hated customer. 

‘There has to be some sort of law against coming to one’s workplace every day! No one likes Burger King that much! NOBODY!’ 

Suddenly she sees Adora sit up from her chair, that makes a horrific screeching noise on their unmopped floor. 

‘Oh god she’s coming.’ Catra whispers, trying to duck into the kitchen. ‘Scorpia! Hide me!’ 

Her friend shoves her back to the counter, as Adora approaches. ‘You’re the only one on this shift who is allowed to use the register-’

‘Do not make me serve her I swear to god-’

‘Hi Catra.’ Adora smiles, and Catra’s eyes narrow. 

‘Whatchu want, princess?’ She sneers, avoiding her piercing blue eyes that reminded her of still lakes. Or swirling oceans. Or the fluffy white cloud bath bombs from Lush. Wait, no.

‘Mmm, can I get a strawberry sundae?’ Adora chirps, looking above her at the menu. 

‘Can’t.’ Catra drawls, looking at her black painted nails. ‘The machine’s broken.’

Adora’s face falls in disappointment, and Catra cheers inwardly at her small victory until Scorpia’s voice cuts through their conversation.

‘That’s not true, the soft serve machine is fine.’ Her traitor friend says, pulling down on the lever and swirling a perfect sundae into the cup. She adds the syrup before handing it to Adora.

‘That’ll be $1.50.’

‘Thanks Scorpia.’ Adora smiles, rummaging through her purse to collect her coins.

Catra rolls her eyes. 

‘What a cheap ass. Little rich girl can only afford a dollar-fifty ice cream? No wonder we’re running out of business.’ 

Adora frowns at this. ‘Did you want a tip or something?’ 

‘What? FUCK no. I don’t take charity.’ Catra scoffs, snatching the coins from her old childhood-friend-to-enemies palm. She swiftly jabs in the total and throws the coins into the drawer. They’re forced into silence as the receipt slowly prints, and she tries to ignore the way Adora is staring at her. 

Suddenly Adora leans in close, and she can hear her murmur close to her ear.

‘I’ll see you at student council.’

Catra flushes at the proximity, every hair standing on end. Before she can stutter out an insult, Adora rips the receipt from the machine and is sauntering back to Bow and Glimmer. 

The brown haired girl deflates, her nails scratching on the old countertop. All that mental damage, for $1.50? Life was not fair. 

Adora always had the perfect grades, the perfect family and friends, the most cushy and royal upbringing. After their falling out involving a scholarship to a private school, they hadn’t spoken until the merger. 

It filled Catra with sick pleasure that the private school had lost their prestige to embezzled money, and now had to be government funded. However in consequence of this, they had decided to merge the public and private school so they could sell off the land to build skyrises or something. 

This meant Catra lost her position of School Captain to Adora after a fierce election, and had been demoted to Vice Captain. Not to mention no matter how hard Catra tried, she could never beat her in the school rankings. She couldn’t work to support herself and study 6 hours a day, like rich privileged Adora. 

So now here she was, forced to interact with the one person she could’ve gone her whole life without seeing on a daily basis. 

Ever since Adora had discovered Catra had been working at Burger King during a late night drive-thru run, her ex best friend had made it her life’s mission to make her life hell. 

Of course she had done her best to make the experience awful to drive her away. Catra knew Adora hated pickles, so she would threaten Kyle to slice up an entire pickle’s worth in the blonde’s Whopper before giving it to her with a sweet smile. She is filled with glee watching Adora picking them out one by one in disgust. 

This doesn’t stop Adora from coming though. Not even when they had made it into some sort of competition to see how many pickles could physically be crammed into a bun. Or even when she had put every single condiment including the salt and pepper into an unholy liquid concoction and served it in a cola cup. Not even when she gave Adora food poisoning when they got too carried away trying to stack as many patties as they could to recreate Sky Burger. 

No matter what she did, the girl never went away. Even though she had so easily disappeared from her life when she had needed her the most. But she didn’t need Adora, she had gotten this job herself, she had gotten a roof over her head with her own power. She had worked so hard to become independent from Shadow Weaver, and no matter what, Adora will not jeopardize it. 

--

‘I’m doing, what exactly?’ 

Catra stares dumbly at her manager, a sinking feeling dawning on her.  

‘Adora ordered a birthday party at Burger King.’ Lonnie drawls, ignoring the look of complete horror on Catra’s face.

‘No, you can’t do this to me! Roster me for any other day. I cannot psychologically take this.’ She begs. 

‘Sorry dude, the deposit has already been paid for. We’re short staffed, and it seems like Kyle has gotten fryer oil burns from your last burger experiment with Adora.’ Lonnie whaps Catra with the birthday catering pamphlet. 

‘Stupid Kyle.’ Catra hisses, clenching it in her fist. Curse this damn place that can only afford to hire teenagers. 

‘Anyway, just set up the tables and decorations after school on Thursday. Should be a good day for business, with Adora and her posse being rich kids and all.’

‘Can I at least get time and a half?’ 

‘Are you gonna be paying Kyle’s medical bill?’

Catra pouts. ‘Not my fault you guys don’t provide gloves. This place is an OSHA violation haven.’ 

WE do the PLANNING, YOU have the FUN! The bold font emblazoned over the small child’s smiling face mocks her from the pamphlet. Catra clenches it in her fist. 

‘Also why the fuck did she book a kid’s birthday party package when she is like 17, and not 6 years old?!’ 

Lonnie rolls her eyes. ‘Do you still want a job or not? Just read the rest of the form, counting on you to organize it.’ 

Catra squints at the crumpled paper in her hand. 

GOLD PARTY PACKAGE

-Themed birthday cards!

-Party bags!

-Birthday gift for the celebrant!

-Jumbo birthday cake!

-Pinata!

-Special birthday songs!

-Dedicated hostess!

Catra can feel her soul physically leave her body. This was gonna be a long week.

-

It was terrible.

Adora had handed these obnoxious Burger King birthday invitations to all her friends, so now she had all these RSVP’s to the worst birthday of all of human history. In between working shifts until midnight, dealing with Adora at student council and not eating, Catra was on edge. 

‘No, you can not write ‘Die Adora Die’ on her cake.’ Scorpia chides, slapping Catra’s hands away to pipe the icing. 

‘It’s what she deserves.’ Catra seethes. If she couldn’t eat it, she could at least ruin it, right? 

‘They’ll be here soon, so try to take that dying grimace off your face.’ Scorpia replies, and Catra rolls her eyes before adding the finishing touches to the cake. 

Suddenly the door opens, interrupting her decorating. The once quiet establishment was now full of loud chatter as their classmates piled in one by one. All of Adora’s old private school friends were here, all unironically celebrating their school captain’s children’s birthday party at the worst fast food restaurant in their state. 

She plasters her fakest customer service smile she can muster. Dignity at the door. 

‘Hi, you must be here for the Birthday Girl’s party.’ Catra says, approaching the group. Just treat it like you don’t know them.

‘Aw you don’t have to be so formal with us, Vice Captain.’ Glimmer teases, and Catra almost snaps from her facade. Almost.

‘Let me show you to your table.’ Catra grits out. 

She had chosen the ugliest poop brown balloons she could find, and had deliberately made the HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner lopsided on the wall.

‘Thanks Catra!’ Adora grins, bouncing past her to admire the decorations. 

Catra imagines Adora’s face on the pinata and smashing it into a million pieces. She forces herself to take a deep breath. It was just the one shift, and she really needed this job. Plus after the party was over, she could probably nab some leftovers for her trouble. 

All of the girls (plus Bow and Seahawk) sit around the table, and Catra marches over with the laminated menus. 

‘Ooh, we all get hats!’ Perfuma says, placing her Burger King cardboard crown on top of her head.

Frosta squints at the menu. ‘I’ve never eaten fast food before. Looks disgusting.’

‘I think it’s fine! Adora wanted to eat here.’ Glimmer says in a sugarly sweet tone that just came off as passive aggressive. ‘Even though I had suggested my penthouse by the ocean and we go here nearly every day.’

‘I much rather would be at the ocean beach house thank you very much.’ Mermista retorts, swatting Sea Hawk off her shoulder.

Yeah me too, Catra thinks bitterly. She stomps off with their orders, cursing them inwardly the entire way to the kitchen.

Adora’s friends start playing with the so-called ‘entertainment’ they had haphazardly set up. 

It was ridiculous, seeing grown teenagers lining up to try to smack the shit out of a glittery pinata. They squabble over who gets to hit it first, Catra feeling very much like a glorified babysitter to her most hated enemies. 

After a while, she sees Scorpia emerge from the kitchen. ‘Happy Birthday to you,’ Scorpia sings with Adora’s birthday cake in her arms. ‘Happy Birthday to you~’ 

The others join in on the song, Catra only mouthing the words in silent rebellion. The cake is emblazoned with a crude doodle of Adora’s face with HAPPY BIRTHDAY written on her enormous forehead. 

‘Oh my gosh, I love it!’ Adora’s sky blue eyes light up, and she’s practically sparkling. Catra huffs, she wasn’t supposed to like it. Didn’t she see the drawing was supposed to make fun of her five-head? 

Adora catches Catra’s eye, beaming. ‘Did you draw this for me?’ 

‘She did!’ Scorpia tattles, and her enemy’s smile increased tenfold. Catra can feel her cheeks grow warm. Dammit. 

‘Whatever.’ Catra bites out, unable to meet her gaze.  

Luckily no one else seemed to be paying attention to the weird atmosphere between them, as they were split between eyeing the cake and pinata wrestling. 

‘Get over here Sea Hawk, we can do the pinata later!’ Mermista chastises, watching Bow spin her blindfolded boyfriend. 

‘Let me just get one good hit in, and I’ll join you!’ He crows, swinging the bat in random directions as Bow ducks the blows, laughing. 

Just for anything to do, Catra takes it upon herself as hostess to snatch up the knife and start cutting. She cuts into the cake to start portioning out the slices, but as the knife touches the bottom Glimmer lets out a shriek. 

‘What?’ Catra deadpans.

‘If you cut to the bottom of the cake, you have to kiss the person closest to you!’ Glimmer says, a demonic look in her eye. Adora elbows her, embarrassed. 

‘Excuse me?’ Catra’s never heard of this tradition. Though to be fair, she had not been to many parties in her lifetime. 

‘Oh, that’s right!’ Perfuma claps her hands together. ‘Adora’s closest right? Go ahead Catra!’

To her horror, Glimmer starts pushing Catra towards the blonde. She digs her heels into the linoleum, only to find that she was sliding from the newly mopped floors. 

‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ The girls start chanting, like they were her friends and that she wasn’t their damn server.

‘What the hell- fuck no, let go of me!’ Catra finally snaps, wrenching herself from Glimmer’s grip. 

The momentum sends her stumbling into Sea Hawk, who was still attempting to hit the pinata. 

‘Ack!’ He squawks. 

The bat goes flying straight out his hand and into their double doors. There’s a huge crash, and everybody winces at the noise. 

The glass pane shatters, and so does Catra’s sanity. She was so fired. 

Sea Hawk lifts the blindfold. 

‘Did I get it?’ 

---

It was nearly closing time, and Catra was still sweeping up bits of glass from the floor. This had been one of the worst days of her life, and she had been beaten and homeless before. To make it worse, Adora was still grovelling when she should’ve gone hours ago like the rest of them. 

‘I am so sorry Catra, I’ll pay for everything, I’ll take full responsibility so you don’t get fired-’ 

‘Stop it.’ She was too tired to even argue with Adora like she usually did, wishing Adora would just go away already so she could grovel over the phone to her regional manager without an audience. Catra always pretended to hate her job, but she couldn’t afford to lose it. She could barely make rent with her Burger King wage. 

‘Please, let me help clean. It was my fault anyway.’

There was hardly any money left over to feed herself most days, that’s why she was skinny as a rake as opposed to the toned, buff, well fed Adora. She had only been functioning on a few nuggets that Scorpia snuck her yesterday. Did Catra still have those food coupons? How long until the bank charged overdraft fees? 

‘Catra are you listening-’ 

‘I said stop it!’ Catra snaps. 

Adora has the audacity to look stunned. 

‘Why do you insist on harassing me at work everyday? Is it fun? Forcing me to play servant to you rich girls, to sing and dance for you? You already beat me in everything at school, you’re already School Captain, you have all the money and a loving family you need, so can you stop rubbing your privilege in my face just for one second so I can THINK?’ 

‘I...I just…I’m sorry.’ Adora starts and aborts a few sentences. Catra can’t even stand to look at her face. 

‘This party at your work. It was the only way to get you to celebrate my birthday with me.’ 

‘.....’

‘Um, I-’

‘Whatever.’ Catra retorts, trying and failing to pick up the last shards with her too long fingernails. She hisses when the glass nicks her finger, cutting into skin. Drops of blood fall to the floor.

‘Are you okay?!’ Adora gasps, rushing to her side. Catra slaps her hand away, she needed to go find the cleaning supplies. Blood was a biohazard, there was some protocol for it but she was having trouble remembering. 

She goes to stand up, but the fatigue rushes to her head and her legs give in underneath her. Instead of smacking her head against the floor, she feels herself land on something soft instead. 

Adora hooks her around the waist, gently placing her into the booth. She grabs a napkin from the dispenser and wraps it around Catra’s hand. She can feel Adora’s warm hand squeezing her own. 

‘I’m just applying pressure to the cut.’ Adora says quietly. 

Catra just closes her eyes. It’s well past midnight and she should be locking up the store, but she can’t bring herself to move. 

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Forty-Five: Say it with ___ ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

There is no Uchiha clan without pride. For better or worse, there is little rending an Uchiha’s pride in their people. To them, their bloodline is everything. No other clan loves like the Uchiha...and with that love comes a stubborn belief that those they hold dear are above all others.

Sasuke was inundated with such beliefs from a young age. To him, there was no greater bloodline to be part of than the Uchiha. They were strong, smart, kind, and wise! Everywhere he went in the Uchiha compound, he was met with smiles, friendly words, and affection. And even had he not been a son of the clan head, he would still be met by those like him with that same care and attention.

Because to be an Uchiha was to be special.

His father only pushed the idea on him further. Which made his apparent disappointment in his younger son all the more difficult to understand. Was he not...good enough? But...he was an Uchiha! And one of the main house! Surely...surely that meant being destined for great things! Itachi was a prodigy, sure...but Sasuke would be strong, too! He would!

...he would…

Even after the clan was lost...even after the precious blood of his people ran in the gutters, soiled and spilled...he never lost his pride. Even if the Uchiha were gone, their strength would be remembered! And avenged...he’d make sure of it. The most skilled of them all had stolen their lives...but Sasuke swore that he’d never rest until justice was done. Until the pride of the Uchiha was secured..

...of course...it wasn’t a simple thing. Training took years, and eventually saw him leave his home, and join an enemy. Everything else was stripped away and forgotten in the pursuit of his one dream: to bring justice to his clan. But just when he thought he’d found it...a new truth was brought to light. So he shifted targets, did what he had to in order to make Konoha’s wrong right. He didn’t care that his so-called friends and teammates tried to bury the tragic truth and bring him back kicking and screaming. Even if it marked him as a traitor until his death...he wouldn’t give up on them. On his people. On those massacred for wanting their independence and freedom.

And when that was done...he was going to change the entire shinobi world. This...would never happen again.

...but as usual...Naruto got in his way.

By that time, it had been over ten years. Ten long...painful...lonely years. Sasuke was tired...so tired...so when he’d reached his limits, but the blond still refused to back down...Sasuke relented. Maybe...there would be another way. He’d been so blinded, so focused...perhaps he’d lost his path.

But that wouldn’t stop his ultimate goal. Upon Itachi’s return, he made a decision: the council had to be faced, tried, and removed from power. They were the last pieces of the game tied to the massacre. So long as they were stripped of their influence...their ideals could never again harm another clan.

It wouldn’t bring the Uchiha back...but he hoped, at least, it would bring them peace.

He, however...still had challenges to face. Itachi’s pardon, much like his own, was still met with animosity. Cleared or not, their actions still sat sourly in people’s mouths.

Some more than others.

But at least the Uchiha did not have to face them alone. They instead found themselves with new allies: their distant cousin clan, the Hyūga, came to their aid...for a small price. Uchiha became a valuable commodity to the right people, and now they were tied to another clan. Useful, yes...but with pros always came cons.

Sasuke rebelled at first. Losing his freedom to a clan as stuffy and upright as the Hyūga was the last thing he wanted. But Itachi worked to ensure their independence.

And though no longer heiress, Hinata served as a liaison of sorts between the two clans.

Which was good...she was the only Hyūga Sasuke could stand. And as time went on, he found himself learning more about their subtle parallels, their diverging choices...and their striking similarities. The more he spoke with her, the closer her felt to her. Unlike so many, he held no grudge against her...nor she against him. They had a perfectly clean slate, and more than one reason to get along.

So, was it really any wonder that he fell in love with her…?

The feeling scared him. By then, it was more than clear that someone was after them: the remnants of the Uchiha...and anyone who dared to align themselves with them. Itachi’s wife and children had already been targeted...and Sasuke didn’t want to put Hinata in any more danger than she’d already found herself in as their ally.

Of course...when he brought forward his concerns, she brushed them aside, insisting she could handle herself. And that - with feelings much the same as his own - she was willing to take that risk regardless, if it meant being happy.

So...they gave dating a try. Not that there was much need - they’d already grown that close. So it didn’t take much for them to simply skip ahead to engagement.

And then, over two years after his return to Konoha...Uchiha Sasuke got married. Something that - had you asked him before they met - he would have simply laughed at. Him, married? Living in Konoha?

Well...stranger things have happened.

In the wee hours of the morning after their marriage, Sasuke snuck out of the house, and made his way across the village. Almost no one was awake, even the bars closed down and empty. But he wasn’t looking for any business, or in fact any person.

...living, at least.

Kneeling at the foot of his parents’ headstones, he remained in silence for a good long while, just...thinking. About all he’d seen, done, and come to be. How - in the end - he couldn’t bring himself to regret any step in his journey. Here, and now...he was exactly where he needed to be.

“...I think I’ve done it,” he murmured, voice small in the oppressive silence of the night. “I think I’ve reached a point where...I can finally be happy again. And not just in a moment. Not just...fleetingly. But for the rest of my life, however long it stretches.”

Another long silence. “...I hope your pride in me outshines the shame I brought you. I know my actions were often flawed...and I hope you can forgive me. In all I did, for all those years...I thought of you. Acted for you. Strove to bring you peace, even if I’d never find it myself. All I ever wanted was to avenge you. All of you. I think...I’ve gotten as close as I can to that. I hope it’s enough.”

Staring at his mother’s name, Sasuke sighed. “...and I know what you’d say now. You’d say...that my work was done. That I’ve toiled enough. That it’s time for me to rest, and to be happy. Well...I dunno if I can quite yet. There’s still threats to face, for those of us still here. We’re not safe. But I’ll do everything...and anything...to protect us. I won’t let another drop of Uchiha blood be spilled by our enemies. I swear...I’ll be strong enough this time.”

Unbidden, his jaw clenched, chin shaking and a few traitorous tears slipping down his cheeks. “...I can say it with pride, now...no matter what anyone says. I am an Uchiha...and no matter how written in blood our path has been...I’ll never lose my pride in who and what I am. Thank you...for all you did for me. Even if it was cut short. I loved - and still love - you all with the entirety of my heart. Maybe it will never be fully whole again. Maybe there will always be a part of me unable to heal. But...I hope this will be enough. That I was enough.”

After a moment to reflect, he carefully bowed forward, hands flat and brow to the cool, dewy grass. “...thank you...for everything. Please continue to watch over me...over us.

“I hope we’ll make you proud.”

                                                        .oOo.

     This isn't my best cuz it's late and I'm tired / rushed, but I'll admit the ending made me tear up a bit. Had a long day and I'm pooped, BUT! I'm finally caught up. Just one drabble a day now, up to the end of the year! Less than a third left...we can do this!      Anyway...I think in reality, Sasuke never once lost faith or pride in his clan. It's more others' opinions he's referencing in being able to say his name with pride. Sure, he doesn't much care for the opinions OF others, but it's still a big deal to him that - by the time he marries Hinata - he has a real future again. A wife, a few fragments of his family, rebuilding friendships...and the justice he's always wanted for his clan. Or as close as he can get to it. Things are finally starting to look up, despite the lingering threats and obstacles.      ...I'm rambling cuz I'm tired, but I hope you get my point xD So, I'll stop there for tonight, and be back tomorrow! Thanks for reading <3

[decadentenemyturtle]

Some other nights

Chapter/Promt 3 coming a bit late for @sdavid09 writing challenge.

Pairing: Dain Ironfoot x Rienna, Thorin’s company x the siblings

Words: 1840

All the chapter's of Some other nights

Rionna could still smell the foul odour from the troll's cave. And it had been an hour, maybe two when they had started to walk towards the city of Rivendell.

Gandalf and Thorin had found weapon's - as in, swrods and daggers and kinds of - from the cave and since Rionna and Gabriel had none in their eyes, they gave them swords.

"Well, it's kind of futile to give these to us, since we can't use these kind of... weapons" Gabriel had said with an frown. Thorin and Gandalf shared an look, both seemingly confused of how these two didn't know how to use an sword.

"We have different kind of weapons. They... Well... Are some what close to arrow and bow, I guess" Rionna had said, even showing her gun to them. But Thorin had glared at her and then the gun at her hand, and told her to use the sword instead. Then he had turned and went to talk with few of the dwarves. Rionna had stared after him for a second, before she turned up to look at her brother, who in turn was glaring after the dwarf king.

"I don't like him" he had growled. Rionna rolled her eyes and decided not to say anything. If Gabriel didn't like someone, then he didn't like them, and she had no intrest of making her brother to like someone. But she had to admit that she wasn't a big fan of this Thorin neither.

Then they had encountered the "brown wizard" called Radagast, who was an interesting and somewhat weird person in Rionna's, Gabriel's and the company's eyes. But surely anyone with dirty clothes and bird poop on their face could be a bit of an interesting character to anyone. And even at first when he seemed to be in drugs.

Bilbo, the small man - a hobbit as the siblings learned a bit later on - and few other dwarves gathered near the siblings as they had waited the wizards to finish their talk. And as they waited, Rionna suddenly felt it. The weird kind of... pull... in her chest, somewhere between heart and her back. And her bearing must've changed quite quickly as the other around her had looked at her with worry.

"Are ye alright there, lassie?" the dwarf with reddish, long hair and beard - Dori? Oin? Dwalin? No, Dwalin was the grumby, bald one... - asked. Gabriel was immidietly by her side, his hand on her shoulder, peering at her worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just... I just...." Rionna had said, staring at the woods, frown on her face. The feeling didn't leave, instead it had settled deep in her chest. Then she continued "I just got a weird feeling in my... I don't know, around my chest" The dwarves and Bilbo shared a look, while Gabriel frowned and looked down at his sister worriedly.

"Are you getting ill?" he even asked. Rionna looked up at him and shrugged. She felt fine, other than the weird feeling in her chest.

"I doubt it has anything to do with a sickness, master Gabriel" the white haired dwarf says as he steps closer to the two siblings. Their eyes snap at him and they wait him to continue, but instead other dwarf takes his place in explaining.

"Aye, it would seem that miss Rionna has found her One" the fat dwarf - Bofur? No, Bombur! - says with an fond smile. Rionna tilts her head and stared at him.

"My sister has found an what now?" Gabriel asked. And so the dwarves and Bilbo went on explaining, what One was, and how lucky Rionna was to find her true love. Rionna and Gabriel weren't sure how long they explaind all this to them, but they knew they were just scratching the surface with all this information. And by the end of it all, Rionna just wanted to laugh.

She had found her "true love" or it at leas existed in this world. And they called her lucky to find it! For what Rionna knew about love, it could be beautiful or monstrous! But she hadn't figured out which this would be. She hadn't even met her supposed to be One true love. So how could she know, if this love was true or not, if she didn't know the person behind this pull. And how was she suppose to find the said person?

It all stayed as mystery to her for now, since the wizards had done with their talking and had merly waited - in amusement - that the dwarves and a hobbit would stop their talk. And after they had finished, Gandalf walked back to the group, eyeing Rionna with a little mishievous twinkling in his eyes. Then he turned to address the rest of the group.

"This monstreus dog we saw earlier had come across with a group of wargs and their rider's..." the dwarves started to yell at the same time, their voice's muffing together so that none could understand what they were saying. "... AND THEY ARE ALL DEAD" Gandalf's voice boomed over the dwarves. Bilbo, Gabriel and Rionna had stood quietly and stared at the grey wizard, Bilbo being a bit worried and scared, Gabriel being just curious of these wargs and Rionna was worrying over their safety. They were suddenly keeping too much voice for her liking.

The dwarves had quieted down thanks to Gandalf's booming voice, and they all stared at him. Gandalf looked at them with an similar look the dissapointed teacher would give to his student's. Then he turned to Gabriel and Rionna.

"The dog is also dead. Radagast found it as it was killing the last of the orcs and wargs, and managed to kill it with his magic" he says, then glancing at his brown friend. Radagast gave look to the human siblings and then he turned back to Gandalf. Gabriel Ronna glanced at eachother, glad to hear that the dog was now dead.

"Never have I seen anything like it before. And I do wish that this was the last one I see. But, alas, as the dark ages are rising, I fear more of them will appear" Radagast had said, sounding now more normal than when he had arrived. Gabriel took a step towards the wizards, addressing both of them with an serious look.

"Radagast, it is nice to meet you. My name is Gabriel, and this is my baby sister Rionna. We hail from another world and that monsterous dog you saw earlier came from our world just before we did" Gabriel addres Radagast, who in turn stares at him with keen worry in his person. "And we came in here from a sort of an portal, made by the... Well, kind of an wizards's of our world. And unfortunately that dog was not the only monster that lives in our world, but whatever the dog or the other one's might appear in this world, I do not know" Gabriel finishes. The silence is heavy around them as everyone takes the news in.

"So, these wizards in your world can sent these kind of monster to our world? As well as your kinf of men?" Thorin asks. Gabriel turns to him, and nods.

"Yes. But these wizards are not good like these two are. The wizard's from our world work for the goverment, for the enemy..." Now most of the company were frowning, for how could someone working for the leader's of the kingdom be bad?! "... And they have found a way to sent these monsters, or SCP's as we call them, to other world's. I'm sure this world of your isn't the only one where these portal's open" Gabriel tells. Radagast and Gandalf share an worried look, while the dwarves and Bilbo look each other in worry and horror. 

It was obious that these two came from far more dangerous world than they had expected.

No one had had anything to say for what Gabriel had told them. They all understood, well kind of, that their world was as dangerous as Middle Earth. After few seconds of silence, they had started to walk towards the mysterious destination, Radagast taking off to somewhere. Gabriel and Rionna had no idea, where this company was travelling to. They had a secret journey to do, that much was clear, but to where, they didn't know. While they were walking and talking with Fíli and Kíli, Bofur, Nori, Bilbo, and few others, Thorin and Gandalf were fighting with each other of whatever they should go to Rivendell or go past it.

"Maybe we should ask direction's to this place and go there" Rionna murmured to Gabriel, who lowered his eyes to her, his other brow up.

"Why? Here I thought we could have a little adventure with these guys" he answered. Rionna sighed and send an grimm look to Gabriel, who just shrugged.

"Haven't we gotten enough of it back in our world?" she asked, staring rather sadly ahead of her. Gabriel looked down at her and sighed, his face growing rather serious. The others had looked at them silently, until Kíli stepped next to Rionna, smiling to her.

"What about your One?" he asked. Rionna looked at the brunette and her brow rose.

"What about it?" she asked rather annoyed voice. Kíli leaned a bit away from her and stared at her as if she had grown a second head. What about it, she asked?! Surely she was crazy! Everyone around her thought.

"I don't think she understands the deep meaning of finding her One" Gloin, the red haired and bearded dwarf said, glancing at Kíli and then giving meaningful look for Rionna. She sighed and shook her head. Yes, she didn't understand it, and wasn't even sure if she wanted to.

The others kept on talking and she had stopped listening. Gabriel on the other hand took part the talking, seeming to enjoy these weird new friends of theirs. They weren't talking about the monsters of their world or anything too heavy, just some light chit chat. And finally Gandalf boomed that they would indeed go to Rivendell. However he had persuaded Thorin to go there, because he deffinetly seemed to be against going anywhere near the city. The other dwarves seemed to be a bit sour after hearing this news, but Bilbo on the pther hand seemed to be the only one to be happy to go there. Gabriel looked around them and then leaned towards his sister.

"Are you absolutly sure you want to stay in Rivendell?" he asked silently. Rionna looked around them, thinking why the dwarves refused to go there and were now grimm. Maybe there was something in the city, in the people who lived there, that dwarves couldn't stand for?

"Honestly? I don't know. It would be tempting to stay somewhere safe for once, but if the city is unsafe or something else, then I guess I'm following the company" she finally answered. Gabriel didn't say anything, just hummed. He would have loved nothing more than see his sister somewhere safe, but since they weren't from this world and he wasn't sure how dangerous it was in here, he didn't want to leave Rionna without being sure she would be safe.

[foxydodo]

How about hcs for cartman.

Sorry for the late reply to you and another anon. I was thinking about it ever since I received your ask but I’m honestly pretty bad with headcanons hence my snail speed :’D That ain’t gonna stop me bc I love headcanons.

OK so assuming Cartman being self centered, racist, anti-Semitic and a literal psychopath has already been acknowledged, I don’t think he’d change. It’ll kinda be like A Clockwork Orange where he’d just revert to his old ways even with therapy. I’m gonna try to do something light hearted with this though.

- Grey Asexual. Food porn for this boy please.

- Pretty popular one is Cartman becoming a photographer. I’d like to think he actually focuses on very whimsical themes for his works or toy photography. Sometimes they get dark or morbid and even inappropriate. He’d probably also be the type that would photograph literal poop as a joke but people will start praising him for how clever he is. (Kinda classic South Park honestly.)

- Cartman also has a lot of candid pictures of his friends or selfies with them. He has so many that it’s almost suspicious but he actually just appreciates those moments with them. Of course, there’s the few where he keeps for blackmailing purposes.

- He genuinely cares for his friends to a certain extent but mainly it’s because he doesn’t want to be lonely. They are the only people willing to entertain his nonsense. This is due to how Liane brought him up with unconditional love and pampering.

- Cartman is probably one of the last to mature his thinking amongst all the other kids, leaving him to be alone most of the times. He will occupy himself with cartoons and still have his soft toy friends accompanying him. However, he won’t ever show that he’s lonely and actually manages to barge into other cliques’ activities most of the times. So on the surface he still looks pretty normal and social.

- His biggest enemy is himself with anything he does. He can gain support from anyone and lose it just as easily.

- Is a great cook but for heart attack inducing type of recipes and monstrosities like 15 cheeseburgers loaded with cream cheese and 20 packs of bacon for crunch. Actually knows how to cook most foods to perfection and would tell you in his nice voice how to handle certain ingredients. Would even demonstrate it for you. He also has some splendid knife work..which is rather terrifying.

- Would eat a bowl of salad but it’s swimming in dressing and he’ll start a huge rant about how diets don’t work. Or he’ll only have KFC fried chicken skin and throw the rest of the meat away then call it a diet.

- Furry. Has a hoodie with cat ears and the kind with paws prints on the sleeve end. Probably owns a pair of those cat ears that move.

- Commissions people to draw The Coon and opens an account under another name claiming it’s his fan base creating fan art of him. - He actually still hangs out with Shelly and they watch chick flicks, have snacks and talk about music or princesses together. Of course they also gossip. Shelly is strong enough to keep Cartman in check but they get along well with shared similar interests. Shelly will also play instruments while Cartman will sing to it. He’s probably most himself and relaxed around her.

Thank you very much for your ask and if you actually read through this!

[conleyhorace]

Cat Peeing On Bed While Im In It Portentous Tips

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Cat Spraying Causes

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Cat Pee Finder

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[tipsycad147]

Fox Spirits

By shirleytwofeathers

Also known as: Kitsune (Japan); Kumiho (Korea)

Origin: East Asia

Fox Spirits are not ordinary foxes. They are spirits whose true form is a fox shape in the same way that other spirits take the form of humans, cats, snakes, or birds, Fox Spirits may resemble ordinary foxes. The older a Fox Spirit gets, the more powerful it becomes. Age and power may be displayed by additional tails. The most powerful and ancient Fox Spirits are nine-tailed foxes.

Theoretically, ordinary foxes can eventually evolve into Fox Spirits in the way that humans can evolve into spirits, too.

Most Fox Spirits are shape-shifters; they can take many forms, including that of humans. Often they appear in the guise of seductive young women; however, any form is possible. Fox Spirits can also shape-shift so that they appear identical to a specific person. Thus, someone may recognise a friend or relative at the door and open it, only to admit the Fox Spirit in disguise.

Fox Spirits, seductive, sneaky, and often treacherous, are staples of modern manga, anime, and other forms of entertainment. Once upon a time, Fox Spirits were considered protectors, teachers, providers, and sponsors of the occult and alchemical arts. Even now, some Fox Spirits are saintly and helpful.

The foxes that serve as Inari’s messengers are miracle workers, understood as sacred and godly.

Among the functions of Chinese Fox Spirits is protection of archivists and librarians. If a book or document cannot be found, ask the Fox Spirits for help. Make an offering alongside the request. Offerings should be proportionate in size to the importance of the request. Then leave the room for a little while to give the spirit space and opportunity to work some magick. If the Fox Spirits have cooperated, whatever you’re looking for should stick out or somehow draw your attention itself.

Fox Spirits may once have been a feature of pre-Buddhist East Asian shamanic religion. Fox Spirits tend to be sexually assertive, female spirits. As centuries passed and, society became more conservative, women were expected to be modest and subservient. Fox Spirits developed a bad reputation and became feared, especially in Japan and Korea.

In China, their reputation is somewhat milder, although some sexual associations exist.

Fox Spirits cause illness and misfortune.

They possess victims, similar to possession by demons or dybbuks.

Fox Spirit possession isn’t ritual possession or channelling; it’s involuntary and invariably unpleasant. Degrees of Fox Spirit possession exist, depending upon the innate strength of the Fox and its victim. Some resist better than others. Full possession – true spiritual takeover – may result. Alternatively, only symptoms may manifest. Symptoms of Fox Spirit possession include:

Hearing voices where none should be heard.

Insatiable and indiscriminate appetite. The person may eat anything, even food they wouldn’t normally eat; even things humans wouldn’t normally eat.

Nocturnal sensations of suffocation and paralysis.

Increasing facial resemblance to a fox. Sometimes the person develops a visible foxy snout.

Eventually the Fox Spirit may push the true individual out, taking over body, mind, soul, and personality – either full time, or just intermittently. The Fox Spirit speaks through the person’s mouth, often indulging in obscenities, frequently sexual, which the person would normally never use.

Although most Fox Spirits are perceived as greedy or power hungry, spiritual motivation may exist, as well; what the Fox Spirit may really desire is a shrine and daily offerings. The only way for them to make their desire known is through a human mouth, similar to African Zar spirits. Sometimes this is enough to satisfy them and the Fox Spirit evolves into an ally rather than an enemy.

Fox Spirits’ very favourite food of all is inarizushi: fried tofu bags (aburaage) filled with sushi rice; however, you can negotiate their actual diet. Feed daily. Foxes get hungry.

Fox Spirits provide for their devotees, although it’s generally believed they do this by redistributing wealth. Just like real foxes are believed to raid chicken coops, so Fox Spirits are believed to rob the neighbourhood. What they provide for their devotees rightfully belongs to others, but has been stolen. Very ancient Fox Spirits, however, may have developed the alchemical and magickal skills to actually produce wealth, no stealing required.

Fox Spirits can be exorcised by knowledgeable shamans; however, gifted exorcists tend to be tainted by their very success. Extortion rackets are suspected: the exorcist who specialises in Fox Spirit removal may actually be in cahoots with the Fox Spirit, who may be his servant. No wonder he can exorcise the spirit: the Fox is his familiar who always does his bidding. Independent practitioners are particularly suspect. Exorcisms may also be successfully performed at Inari shrines.

Fox Spirits are also attached to specific families and individuals, whom they may serve in exchange for care, feeding, protection, and veneration, or perhaps because they are ancestral spirits. Fox Spirits run in families. Families who are hereditary owners of foxes typically transmit this hereditary power through the female line.

Association with Fox Spirits may indicate vestigal memories of ancient fox-oriented shamanic religion. For centuries tremendous fear and social stigma have been attached to families rumoured to be Fox Spirit owners.

Kitsune no Yomeiri ~ The Fox Wedding

On a day when the sun shines bright and the rain falls, wise parents advise their children to play indoors. It isn’t that they are worried about them catching a cold. No, it is something more mysterious. For on such days the kitsune, the magical foxes of Japan, hold their wedding processions.

In Tokushima, the Kitsune no Yomeiri is a less happy occasion. It was called the Kitsune no Soshiki (Fox Funeral) and seeing one is considered an omen of death.

From Sakurai city in Ibaraki prefecture to Kashihara city in Nara prefecture, tales of Kitsune no Yomeiri appear all over Japan— with the sole exception of the northern island of Hokkaido. Most stories follow similar patterns with only slight variations. There are two phenomena referred to as Kitsune no Yomeiri—the bizarre weather called sunshowers where rain falls in broad daylight; and the procession of foxfire, called kitsune-bi, winding through the mountains late at night.

A description of Kitsune no Yomeiri comes from the book Echigo Naruse published during the Horeki period (1751-1764):

“On dark and quiet nights, in secret places, strings of lanterns or torches can be seen stretching out single file in an unbroken chain more than two miles long. It is a rare site, but an unmistakable one. It can be seen most often in Kanbara county, and it is said that on such night young foxes claim their mates.”

The procession of lights became associated with weddings as it mirrored Japanese wedding ceremonies at the time. Based on traditions established during the Muromachi period (1392–1573), weddings were held at night and the bride was escorted over to her new home by a lamplight parade. This type of ceremony—called the Konrei Gyoretsu (Wedding Procession) —lasted until the mid-Showa period when Western wedding ceremonies replaced traditional Japanese ceremonies.

Legends of the Kitsune no Yomeiri merged with existing stories of kitsune magic and bewitchment. People who tried to follow these foxfire lantern processions would find that they disappeared as soon as they got close—although on rare occasions traces of the ceremony were found. Shunjitsu Shrine in Saitama prefecture was said to be a popular place for fox weddings. Whenever a Kitsune no Yomeiri lit up the night, the mountain road leading to the shrine was covered with fox poop the following day.

In both Niigata and Nara prefectures, Kitsune no Yomeiri was thought to be a good omen for the harvest, with the more lanterns being seen the more fruitful the harvest. A year with no fox weddings made people dread the upcoming famine.

The foxes of Gifu prefecture didn’t just content themselves with lanterns. The foxfire procession was accompanied by the sound of cracking and blazing bamboo, although when examined the following day the forests appeared untouched.

Scientific Explanation for Kitsune-bi

The procession of lamplights is not only a widespread phenomenon in Japan; it is worldwide. Japanese kitsune-bi is different from foxfire in Western legends, which comes from a phosphorescent fungus. It is more akin to the Will-o’-the-wisp, also known as ignis fatuus or “Fool’s Fire.”

The most common explanation is that these fires are the oxidation of the chemical phosphine caused by decaying organic matter, such as can be found in forests. Other suggestions are that they are a mere optical illusion caused by the setting sun. But there is no scientific evidence for either of these theories.

The foxfire procession kind of Kitsune no Yomeiri are rarely seen today. This is most likely due to the 1950’s deforestation of Japan’s native forests and replanting with fast-growing industrial cedar. Whatever magic of the forests that produced the foxfire lights, it is now gone, sacrificed to industry.

Sunshowers and Fox Weddings

The Meiji period Tanka poet Masaoka Shiki wrote:

“When rain falls from a blue sky, in the Hour of the Horse, the Great Fox King takes his bride.”

Another strange natural phenomenon goes by the name of Kitsune no Yomeiri, and in the modern era is much better known. On days when the sun shines and it still rains—a weather condition called tenkiame in Japanese or sunshowers in English—foxes are once again thought to hold their wedding ceremonies.

How sunshowers became associated with fox weddings is vague. Some say that it has to do with mountains where foxes are mostly found. There are times when mountains are covered in rain, while the town below is clear. People said that the foxes summoned the rain with their magic to hide their wedding ceremony.

Others just think that because sunshowers are a mysterious occurrence, going against the natural pattern of clouds and rain, that people assumed a supernatural origin and associated it with foxes.

As always, there are regional variations. In agricultural regions the sunshower version of Kitsune no Yomeiri was a good omen, promising rain for the crops and many children for the any new brides lucky enough to be married on such a day. In Tokushima, sunshowers are known as Kitsuneame (fox rain) and not associated with weddings. In Kumamoto prefecture fox weddings are associated with rainbows, and in Aichi prefecture they are associated with hail.

How to See a Fox Wedding

While most people go out of their way to avoid seeing strange phenomena (getting wrapped up in kitsune magic is rarely healthy in Japanese folklore) there are a few rituals for the brave and the curious.

In the Fukushima Prefecture, a bizarre ritual exists of wearing a suribachi mortar on your head and sticking the wooden pestle in your belt, then standing under a date tree. Of course, this only works on the 10th day of the 10th month of the Lunar calendar.

Aichi prefecture has a much easier method—just spit in a well and weave your fingers together. You are said to be able to view the Kitsune no Yomeiri though the gaps in your fingers.

But most stories advise against seeing a fox wedding—foxes are powerful in Japanese folklore, but dangerous. A wise person keeps well away.

Fox Wedding Festivals

Kitsune no Yomeiri remains a popular aspect of Japanese culture and folklore. Many towns hold Kitsune no Yomeiri festivals re-creating the famous processions. Most of these festivals are modern—coming from the 1950s to as recently as the 1990s—and were started as tourist attractions to draw people into town. Local politicians and businesses participate in the festival, and sometimes the fox bride and groom are selected as a sort of “beauty pageant.”

Not all are modern tourist traps, however. The Yokaichi city, Mie prefecture Kitsune no Yomeiri procession to Suzakiha Mamiyashimei Shrine dates back to the Edo period, and is a ritual to drive out evil spirits and ask for blessings for the harvest.

The festival in Kudamatsu city, Yamaguchi prefecture, has also been held since ancient times, although it bears little relationship to popular images of the Kitsune no Yomeiri. It involves asking the blessing of a pair of white fox deities whose wedding ceremony is re-enacted every year on November 3rd. More about this festival can be found at The Pagan Calendar.

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Spirits

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/powers-that-be/category/asian-gods/

[thewritersguardianangel-blog]

Hey, I'm writing this story and I have all my characters planned along with a few main points of the plot. Now, I'm writing a pirate fantasy romance story and I wanted some advice on it, especially on the relationship with the pirate and the main girl. Since most of the story will be set on the pirate ship I needed some help on things that could happen between them on it to get them to get close (The girl is captured by the way). Also about parts of pirate ships if it's too much.

Ooooh boy did you come to the right person! I know a few things about pirates and definitely knows the parts of a ship. I’d say “don’t get me started on pirates” but I’m afraid it’s too late.

Let’s talk about the ship first, since familiarity with it well help you set the scenes more naturally, and then we’ll brainstorm some things that they could do together on board.

First of all, let’s talk about types of ships. There isn’t just one established “pirate ship” that all pirates use. Ships were designed and redesigned for different purposes and conditions- some were built for speed, some for cargo, some for long voyages or harsh conditions, some for defense and some for attack. No single ship would ever be completely perfect- if you want your ship to be fast, for example, you might have to sacrifice some cargo space, which meant a smaller crew and less months at sea before you have to make port to re-stock again.

However, with all that being said, there was definitely some favorites. While it’s true that pirates from different parts of the world sometimes preferred different ships, the most common and popular would probably be the sloop. (Yes, I know it’s a funny word, lots of ships had funny names.) 

Sloops were a favorite among pirates because they were slim and fast, which made them great for intercepting other ships and escaping attacks themselves. They typically only had 1 or very rarely 2-3 masts, and usually had up to 75 crew members, at its largest, and a max of 14 cannons, which is pretty darn good.

Of course there are other options, depending on the needs of your particular pirates. Another popular option was the brigantine, which was not nearly as fast, but better suited for the long term, with a crew closer to 100 members and usually around 12 cannons. 

I know more ships, but let’s not get carried away. Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting parts of the ship.

Basics:

  Port= left, starboard= right, stern=back, and bow=front. When you refer to something as being “aft”, you mean it’s towards the back of the ship, towards stern. When something is “fore”, it means it is found closer to the front of the ship, or the bow. 

Galley= kitchen

Brig= prison

The head= the toilet

The Helm= the “steering wheel” of the ship

First, let’s know our decks. As you probably know, the deck is the top part of the ship, the wood that you walk on and where you see most of the action take place in movies, but there are different names for the different parts of the deck. The “poop deck” is the highest part, usually raised above the captain’s quarters, which was typically found “aft”, towards the back of the ship. The quarterdeck, on the other hand, is the important deck, usually where the captain or quartermaster stands and gives the orders. The big part is just called the deck or main deck.

The Captain’s quarters were briefly mentioned- the captain was the only one who had his own residence, and they were typically pretty luxurious.

Now the actually somewhat interesting parts.

NOT “The Crow’s Nest”!!!: The part you know as the “crow’s nest” is not actually called a crow’s nest, or at least, not on a pirate ship. That’s actually whaling terminology. The platform at the top of the mast is actually called the “top” or “fighting top” and yes, it can be used for scouting out land or obstacles, but it was actually known for a being a good place to sit with a gun and shoot your enemies on the deck, like a pirate sniper.

The Forecastle: This is the quarters of the crew. Often times in stories I see the crew each having their own cabins, or at the most, a roommate or two. That’s not exactly how it worked on an actual ship. Not that they actually spent much time in the bunk- it was really just a place to sleep when not on duty.

The Bilge: The is the bottom part of the ship. Dark, dank, musty, gross, but also the first place to tell if you have a leak. If you do have a leak, you want to run down to the bilge and fix them quickly, because if it fills up, you’re going down.

The Mast: There are actually different names for the different masts, depending on how many your ship has. If you have a speedy ship, it’s probably slow and you probably only have the one “main mast.” If the mast is destroyed, it’s not uncommon to build an emergency one really fast, called the “jury mast”- since you do need a mast to sail. The mast is the big wooden pole in the middle from which the sails are hung.

The Yardarm: This is the long pole that goes across the mast to hold the sails. I included it because it was also a popular place to hang people on.

Gangway/Gangplank: They’re actually different things. The gangWAY is the passages along the side of a ship, like a hallway. The gangPLANK is what is set down to walk on between ship and pier. 

In honesty, all of the sails and lines have different names and purposes too, but I’m not going to get too into it right now. You can find some of them on websites like this or this.

Now for what they can do together…

A lot depends on their status on board. If the girl has been captured, determine how her captivity is taking place. If she’s being locked in the brig or cabin, their first interactions might involve them bringing her food or care, etc.

- It’s also possible that they are made to guard her, and hours of boredom turns to conversation after a while

It also matters what role the pirate has on board the ship. Here is an idea of roles on board a pirate ship.

If she has some amount of freedom (it is a ship at sea, what’s she gonna do, run away?), that will open up some more possibilities.

If the girl is curious, she might be interested in seeing how the ship is run. Or, the captain could potentially decide to make her help out with things. She is an extra pair of hands, after all. 

There are lots of tasks involved within the running of a ship. She doesn’t necessarily have to be doing the sailing- she could help out in the galley, sew sails or clothes, maintain weapons, and so on. 

Maybe she is made to do some tasks, but she doesn’t know how, and they take pity and try to help her out a little

 There’s nothing like a nice emergency to make people work together. Being forced to work together for survival- a storm, a mutiny, an attack,etc- is a great bonding experience for anyone.

Perhaps the girl has something that the pirate wants, depending on her background. A random example- perhaps she has an educated background, and the pirate has something that they need read, or written, or something else. Really, it could be any knowledge that she has that they might be interested in.

Maybe she has something they want to know, so they’re nice to her in trying to get information, but then end up actually becoming close

Conversely, maybe she is interested in something that they can do, and keeps talking to them about it until their interest becomes mutual

I’m going to have to wrap this up, as it exciting as it is, my inbox is flooding, but I hope this helps some! Good luck, sounds like fun! Hit me up for any additional help with pirates or otherwise!

~Penemue

[jestloo]

HO HO HO! Too late! by Jestloo

While fighting tentacled, rock monsters, Sherwood Misty-Stepped up to his friend, who was suspended in the air by the monster, and attempted to save him. Only to fail his action and be stuck atop Akio, high above the ground. Sherwood immediately regretted his decision and told Akio, "Please don't do anything stupid." To which Akio laughed, "HO HO HO! Too late!"

Akio is notorious for falling in battle practically every major encounter, especially boss fights. Typically, it's because of his poor decisions and love of his favorite spell, Shocking Grasp, which requires him to touch the enemy. Basically making him a glass cannon who tries to play as a tank, and fails. XD

He collapses so much in battle, that the team now calls it the "Turning Point," as the fight seems to turn in their favor, afterwards...

On the flip side, it has been almost 100 episodes, and Sherwood is the only character to not fall in combat. He's also the "healer" of the group, but typically uses his power to heal himself. "Should have picked a healer. You guys are idiots." - Sherwood

                                                              ~

As a Druid, Sherwood has the ability to transform into any animal he's ever seen. Currently, his favorite beast forms are: a black house cat, black bear, and a black horse. He's also been a boar and a reef shark. Sherwood can't turn into a flying creature yet, but I believe he just needs to reach one more level.

The gang was in the first room of the Chronikum standing on pressure plates to complete a puzzle, when they were attacked by two black, tentacled, rock monsters from the floor and ceiling. During the fight, Akio was grabbed and suspended about 30ft in the air by one of the monsters. Sherwood Misty Stepped up to him and tried to free Akio, only to fail to do so. While he was up there, the monster smacked Sherwood off and he fell to the rocky ground. He tried to transform into a cat to land, but failed the timing, hit the ground, and THEN turned into a cat. He did take damage from the fall, but brushed it off like it was no big deal. (Sherwood's a bit prideful and hates showing any kind of weakness in front of his friends.)

Sherwood has a habit of fully committing himself into the animal role when in beast form. Like, after landing as a cat, Brenna told him to get back onto the pressure plate, only for him to blankly stare at her, and then begin to lick his paws. Or when he pooped in a tavern as a horse. XD He's also dragged a dead body to the bottom of a bay and feasted on it as a reef shark. Usually he has full control of himself and just chooses to act the part. However, when he frenzied as a shark, he had never swam with blood in the water before, causing him to actually lose himself to instinct. (Greaek was lucky that he wasn't bleeding, else Sherwood would have attacked and dragged him to the bottom too.)

The SneakAttack Podcast is an original D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) storyline, hilarious, has characters with good chemistry, and the very real possibility of a character dying for good. It is also divoid of cussing or crudeness. So, unless you have a problem with a description of a hammer crushing a bad guy's head, then it's pretty family friendly. It feels like a marriage between radio drama and improv/role play. There are sound effects and the audio is good quality. If you love listening to stories, or have long drives in the car, then I can not suggest this high enough. Please listen to a few episodes, it gets so good.

[fallen029]

No Big Deal

For as big a deal as the whole thing was, it was also basically not so big a deal. And yeah, that made no sense, but if one were only to observe the recent goings on around the hall, they'd get it.

Mirajane Strauss had somehow found herself in a very real relationship with Laxus Dreyar. Which, yeah, was kinda a big deal to nearly all the women in the guild that she was close too and destroyed the Thunder Legion (namely Freed) in some ways.

At the same time though, it seemed to be such a non-deal to Laxus that, for the most part, unless one was to have heard the news, they wouldn't even realize that he was involved with the eldest Strauss. He hardly came around the hall to begin with and, when he did, he mostly just sat in a corner with the Thunder Legion, ignoring everyone else, or went downstairs to shoot pool or throw some darts.

He wasn't a very affectionate person. Even when it came to relationships. And he'd long explained this to Mirajane. If they were going to be anything, then she was going to have to abide by that. He wasn't going to sit around the bar and giggle with her or brag her up to all the others.

She could be his demon, but he wasn't going to be her bitch.

Quite honestly, Mira wasn't interested in that at all. The past few years, since getting her sister back, dating had more or less fallen to the wayside. There was so much going on at the hall constantly and then she was trying to make up for all that lost time with Lisanna and, well, men were definitely on the back burner. She still saw a few, of course, but nothing that ever became serious. It just wasn't worth her time.

Originally, Laxus wasn't supposed to be either. Then again, Laxus wasn't really even supposed to be a date, but there she was one night, moaning on to Kinana as they closed up about how even Lisanna had something to do that weekend (albeit it was just hanging very platonically out with Natsu, but whatever) as well as Elf (his hanging with Ever not nearly as platonic or even happening as the two would have a massive fight before then) and it just wasn't fair. The one time she got off on a Saturday and Lucy was off on some rare mission with only Erza and Wendy so she was out.

What was Mirajane supposed to do with a whole day to herself?

"If I were you," Kinana said, "I'd just sleep in and then do absolutely nothing. At all."

"That's so...boring."

"And? Sometimes boring is nice. And oh, Laxus? Are you about done? We're closing up."

She was speaking, of course, to the very much so still finishing his dinner slayer that had been dismayed earlier in the evening to find the hall so filled up that he had to actually sit up at the bar. Where, it was still so busy, that he didn't receive his food until twenty till close and that was just unacceptable.

In the old days, he'd have probably scared off most of the posers that hung around by throwing his weight around. Or, better yet, back then he'd have gone to his mostly private upper floor to eat and drink in peace. Not sit up at the bar like some sort of...commoner.

"Yeah," he grumbled out to Kinana, still cutting at his steak. "Almost done."

"What are you doing for the weekend then, Laxus?" Mira asked, almost to be polite. She was passing by him, going to put away a bottle of liquor, and felt awkward not saying something. "Taking a job?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Snort. He wasn't in a good mood, at all, and only said, "Nothin' that you could keep up with anyhow."

That made Mirajane glance back at him. "I highly doubt that whatever it is could possibly be that extreme."

"Oh, it is."

"Sure."

"It is."

"Well, whatever it is, I could more than, what was it you said? 'Keep up with?' I could definitely keep up with anything."

"Doubt it."

"Tell me what it is then. Or is it nothing?"

And he didn't know why she was getting under his skin so badly, but she was. He'd had more than a bit to drink since arriving and, paired with the overly crowded hall, left a very annoyed slayer.

"I know," Kinana said all of a sudden as she stood over at the register, counting the money. "You could take Mira with you, Laxus. Then she'd have something to do and prove you wrong and you're both glaring at me, so never mind."

Another snort. Then, after taking a long sip from his ale, Laxus said, "You wanna come out with me? Huh? Mira? Since you're so big and bad?"

"Are you challenging me to hang out with you?' Mira almost gave a snort of her own. "That deprived of friends, are you, Laxus?"

"I ain't the one bitching about not having anything to do on an off day, am I, Mira?"

He sealed his fate then as, letting out a slight huff, she said simply. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine."

Narrowing his eyes, Laxus got to his feet before reaching into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. "Alright then. I guess you're comin' with me on Saturday."

"I guess so."

He tossed some jewels down on the counter before turning to walk off. It wasn't until he was completely out of the building that both she and Kinana broke out into giggles over how silly Laxus was. Far too easy to get worked up.

It wasn't like the man thought about it again though. He didn't go tot he hall for the next few days and, on Saturday, when he showed up, it was just to hang out with Bickslow and Freed a bit. Other than that, he had no plans.

He just hadn't wanted to be shown up in front of Mirajane.

Which would have worked and been fine. You know, until she freaking showed up at the hall around seven, approaching his table before asking where they were going.

"Going?" Bickslow asked, the five voices of his wooden dolls mimicking this. "Why would the two of you be going anywhere?"

"Laxus offered to take me out tonight," the woman said, though she kept her glinting eyes on the slayer who only glared in return. "Unless, gee, Laxus, did you really actually not have plans or-"

"Of course I did," he growled, shoving to his feet as Freed and Bickslow only watched in shocked silence. "I's just waiting for you. That's all."

"Sure."

"It's true!"

"I'm agreeing."

"Uh, L-Laxus-" Freed tried, but the man was busy glaring at Mirajane.

"I got shit to do tonight," was all he told his male followers before gesturing towards the hall doors. "After you, Mirajane."

"Thank you, Laxus." She nodded at both Freed and Bickslow though before turning to walk off. Laxus only headed after her with an inward growl.

He had to figure out something and fast. The woman was an idiot, fine, but she wasn't completely foolish. She was going to be ready to call his bluff at any time. He had to take her somewhere. Somewhere hardcore. Somewhere that would scare her off. Or at least do something that would scare her off.

The only problem with this, of course, was that she was Satan herself; and there was nothing short of a crucifix that was going to be fix his problem at the moment.

"Where are we headed?" Mirajane asked not soon after they left. "Lax-"

"Shush. There will be no talking."

And then he put his headphones on and lead her on a huge maze throughout Magnolia, hoping for something to strike him. He was nearly certain that the only reason Mira was still with him was because she wanted to force him to say it. Force him to admit that he had just been being rude and argumentative for no reason other than he was an old grump in his late twenties that purposely tried to find enemies constantly.

But Laxus was prideful and arrogant and definitely not going to lose to Mirajane. No way. She'd blab to everyone about the whole situation and, well, they just couldn't have that, could they?

Then he stopped, suddenly, out side this really seedy bar that he'd been (drug) to before with the Evergreen. Glancing at Mirajane, who still had on her usual ditzy facade, he decided that it would be the best place to take her. Some creep in there would hit on her, freak her out a bit, and then bam! Laxus had pretend plans and Mirajane made some excuse to leave.

Perfect plan.

Until, well, they went into the dimly lit bar that stank oddly of old pizza (the place did not serve such a thing and no other place around did either) mixed with cigars and mmm. It smelled like home to Laxus, who's apartment had just the scent practically infused into its very being.

However, it was Mirajane that seemed far more at home than he as she only pranced right into the bar and, upon glancing over at the scowling man behind the bar, waved and called out his name. All she got from him was a nod in return, but Laxus about drug her right back out of there, he was in so much shock.

"You," he hissed as she headed over to get a drink, "come here?"

"Well, sure, Lax. I've been to nearly every bar in Magnolia. Sheesh, I've only lived here since I was-"

"Why would you even go to a bar?" he complained. "You work at a bar!"

"You don't poop where you eat, do you?"

"What are you even talking about?"

Gah!

Mira only took a seat at the bar and, to Laxus surprise, even spoke to another guy there. He was huge and burly and just all around nasty looking. Mira, however, seemed to be friendly with him and it was just blowing Laxus' mind.

Is that what she did on days when she had no plans at all? She hit up disgusting dives and made friends with its inhabitants?

"-guy over here," Mirajane was saying to the man, gesturing to Laxus as he slowly sat down on the stool next to her, "was bragging up what a hardcore night he has. But if this is his idea of fun-"

"I came in here for a drink," Laxus complained as the other guy only stared at him. Holding down a snarl, he said, "So let's have one drink and then we can get down to what I'm really doing tonight."

"Whatever you say, Laxus."

He thought that perhaps a drink would give him an idea. At the very least it would buy him some time. Mira was so keyed in, however, on the bartender and the guy next to her (she was explaining something stupid to them that Laxus would have just ignored, but they were both leaning forwards, carefully paying attention; they probably just wanted to sleep with her) while Laxus was drinking himself into boredom that neither noticed over in a far corner a very, very embarrassed Evergreen, who was torn between rushing to her idol's side and rushing right out the door because, hell, there was Mirajane who would no doubt tell Elfman (who Ever was very much so not in a relationship, regardless of what he said or she did on days when she felt up to admitting it) that she was out scoping trashed guys to take her home.

Then something occurred to her.

Just what were Laxus and Mirajane doing together exactly?

The seed was planted from there as Ever, none so casually, managed to slink out of the place unnoticed, already deciding that she knew what they were doing.

They were on a date.

Which they weren't. In fact, another guy showed up at the bar around that time that Mira knew even better than the bar tender or the burly guy and, upon seeing her, he keyed in on the woman all at once. Mira seemed relieved to see him as well and there went Laxus' obligation as it wasn't long before the guy managed to get Mirajane out of there and, well, she felt bad and promised Laxus that it wasn't her intention to ditch him, but whatever. He only waved her off, called them both even, and then called it a night himself. Went back to his apartment and just, well, sorta passed out.

He'd had a long training session earlier in that day after all.

The next morning, however, he had no idea of the things he'd already set in motion, just by taking Mira to that bar. As it turned out, she took that man home with her only for him to leave before either of her siblings woke up. Not that they hadn't, err, heard him when he had been there. Because they had.

Which wasn't wholly unusual. In fact, it wasn't until they arrived at the hall that anything got weird. A perfect storm, as it was.

Ever had arrived at the guild early that morning, looking for one of her teammates or their idol, in hopes of some sort of explanation for that date she'd assumed he was on. Only none of them were around. Erza and Lucy, however, were back from their job and had come around to get some breakfast. Short of her siblings, the two of them were the ones that Ever saw Mirajane around with the most. Or at least Lucy was. And, not one to speak so casually to Erza, she went to speak with the celestial wizard while avoiding even glancing at Titania.

But Lucy, of course, had no idea what she was talking about. At all. Lucky them, however, Mirajane arrived about twenty minutes later for the start of her shift, siblings in tow. Which gave Ever something to do, as she had a certain Elf to avoid in just a way that she also managed to catch his eye at every turn, while Lisanna only went to sit up at the bar and watch her sister work.

"Lucy," Mirajane greeted as she approached the bar. "You're already back from-"

"Did you go on a date with Laxus?"

And Lisanna about choked on her own spit as she got out, "That was Laxus in your room last night?"

And Mirajane only stared at them both in shock before saying, "W-Well, I went out with Laxus last night, but he wasn't who-"

"You and Laxus are dating?" Lisanna was still in shock, but Lucy was already giggling over the whole thing. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's not tr-"

"Too bad poor Happy's not here," Lucy remarked as she still only grinned at the eldest Strauss. "He'd really be into this."

"I don't think you understand," Mirajane told them with a frown. "I didn't do anything with Laxus. Honest. He-"

"Oh, sure, Mira." Lisanna even winked. "You went out with Laxus, but came home with someone completely different. Right."

"It is right! Laxus and I weren't on a date!"

"Ever sure said you were," Lucy said with a knowing look in her eye. "You don't have to hide it. I mean, sure, it's weird and odd and hopefully, like, a one time thing, right? Because Laxus is… I mean, if you guys started getting serious, that would completely-"

"We're not anything," Mirajane told them all, blushing deeply then. "So just drop it."

They couldn't of course, not even when Kinana corroborated Mira's story of how she and Laxus wound up out together on Saturday night. It didn't matter, Lisanna told them, how it happened; it just mattered how it ended up. And, as it was, it ended up with someone back at the Strauss house.

Unfortunately for Mirajane, Laxus didn't show up at the hall that day. Or the next. Which wasn't unusual. Really, part of her was glad as it gave Lisanna and Lucy time to find something else to latch onto. By the time Laxus came around looking for a job, it happened to be the fact that they both agreed that Natsu's hygiene, although typically horrible, had slowly become atrocious. They were so busy bothering him about the fact that bugs could (and possibly did) live in his pink locks when Laxus came in.

Instead of heading right over to the board to snag a job, he went over to the bar where he stared at Mirajane with a heavy frown.

"Hi, Laxus," she greeted as she filled a tray of beers. "Did you need-"

"Why are you telling people that we-"

"I didn't!" She almost dropped the pitcher in her hand. "Lucy and Lisanna just think that we slept together because after I left you, me and that man I was with-"

"-went on a date?" Laxus had an eye brow raised then, along with his interest. "What are you talking-"

"Oh, Laxus, I just-"

"You slept with that guy?"

"Please don't-"

"Mira, he had to be, like, so below your standards."

"Shut up."

"Was he not?"

"Leave me alone, Laxus."

"You took home a guy that wore sandals to somewhere other than a beach?"

"Why do we have to talk about this?"

"Not to mention the way he gelled his hair. Like he was still twelve."

"Would you just st-"

"And he didn't even pay out your tab at the bar! He stood there and waited for you to pay before you guys left!"

"Why do you remember so much about some random guy that has nothing to do with you?"

She had him there.

For a moment anyhow.

"If I'm being mistaken as him," the man said, "then I should know everything about him. Is he even a mage?"

"What difference does that make?"

"Uh, gee, I dunno, Mirajane. Maybe I wouldn't want people confusing me for some low level regular old citizen who, for the record, is definitely subpar for you. If you won't give yourself standards-"

"You're being rude."

"You're letting people think that we're dating."

"No. I'm not letting them. They just are."

"Yeah, well," the slayer grumbled then as he glanced around, as if looking for the Thunder Legion. None of them had been in the hall all day, however. He was stuck finishing his conversation with Mirajane. "I ain't one to not get what's due to me."

"Due to you?" she repeated. He only shrugged.

"If they're sayin' I got with you, well, you might as well just give it up to me. Wouldn't want to make all your friend liars, would y- Damn it, Mira!"

She couldn't help it. Of all the stupid passes she had to put up with at the hall from overly intoxicated guys, the last one she wanted to deal with in that moment was one from the slayer. Though he'd cleaned up his character immensely since becoming associated with Fairy Tail once more, he and Mira, who had both went through some dark years around the same time, had something of a history. One in which she'd never liked his superior attitude or the fact that, when they were younger, he took great pride in teasing her brother relentlessly. Though they'd over the years grown passed that and even to respect one another, Laxus had a short leash with the woman. She'd forgiven him for his past transgressions, but at the same time, was frequently leery of them popping back up.

She and Gramps had that in common.

The only response that Mirajane had in that moment, it seemed, was to take that pitcher of beer in her hand and toss it in the slayer's face. That alone was enough to draw the attention of all the others in the guildhall, who stared in shock over at what was occurring at the bar.

It looked like, for a moment there, that Laxus and Mirajane were going to have it out. Which, for Natsu, who was sitting to attention then, would have just been the best thing ever. Other than, like, him getting a chance fight with them as well. But seeing the two of them go at it? For real?

They'd probably have to go ahead and get the funding ready for a new hall because there was no way that the current one would withstand that sort of damage.

"Awe, man, Laxus, where are you going?" Natsu complained loudly as the man only turned, still dripping with ale, to head out of the hall. And Mira stood behind the bar, glaring after him, not saying a word. "You guys gotta fight!"

Lisanna, giving up on ever getting Natsu to wash his disgusting hair, only sighed, resting an elbow on the table as she stared over at her sister. "Poor Mira. I think her and Laxus just, like, broke up."

"And just when I was workin' up the courage to tease Laxus about it," Happy complained from Lucy's lap. The blonde only made a face at him.

"You had that courage?"

"More than you," he replied, glaring up at her.

Natsu though just slumped back over. "I wanted to see them fight. Could you imagine that? It would be, like, the best thing ever. Don't you think?"

"I'm convinced you don't think," Lucy mumbled as Happy and Lisanna snickered. "But other than that-"

"I was almost on board with them as a couple," Lisanna said, holding up her fingers. "I was this close. Swear."

"All they did was sleep together," Lucy pointed out. "I really don't think you could call them a coup-"

"This close."

Heh.

That wasn't the end of Mirajane and Laxus though, obviously, as even as the man went home to wash all that damn ale off him, Laxus was already realizing just how big he had screwed up. Ever was going to be so pissed at him. She and Elfman had some sort of weird shit going on and, as the man was so keyed in on his sister's constantly, learning that her idol had pissed Mirajane off would not go well with the big oaf. Not at all.

Not to mention, Laxus had kinda grown to like the subtle, yet there respect that he and Mirajane had formed with one another over the years. He wouldn't call her a friend, not by any account, but they definitely were on the same side of things in the guild. Minus the Thunder Legion, she was one of the very few people in Fairy Tail that he could stand for long periods of time.

So he had to apologize. That was just it. Apologize. To Mirajane.

Because...uh…

Oh, right. Because the last thing a person wanted was for Satan herself to be upset with them. Sure, at one time, the whole hall resenting and hating him was fine, perhaps even something he thrived off, but recently, he'd gotten so accustomed to others at least somewhat liking and accepting him that there was no way that he could go back.

Not a chance.

The biggest problem with this, of course, was that Laxus didn't apologize. Not to anyone. Hell, he'd never even told his grandfather sorry for attempting to steal Fairy Tail! He'd done so with his actions and more than made up for it, but verbalizing it? Not so much. It wasn't in the Dreyar blood.

He felt like it was, however, a big part of the Strauss genes though. His options were pretty much either apologize or go ahead and write Mirajane off as a foe. Not something he wanted to do in a guild where she was, perhaps, one of the most loved fixtures.

How could he apologize without saying sorry though? Wtih everyone else he knew, it was easy. Fuck up with Bickslow? Just go and watch him perform some tricks with his babies; all would be better. Neglect Freed for a bit? Sit around for a day and listen to him complain about all the others until they were friends again. Do something horrible to Evergreen? Take her out to dinner. A nice dinner. A fancy dinner.

Ever and Mira were both women.

Could Laxus just take her out to dinner and fix things?

Hmmm.

Or, sometimes, he just bought Ever flowers. That sounded like a good idea too. Dinner might seem as if he were coming off as presumptuous. Especially considering what they were fighting about. But so would flowers.

Ugh. Maybe he'd just have to try a new pseudo-apology with Mirajane. Either that or suck it up and get those words out. That word out, really. Sorry. Sorry, Mira. Sorry.

Bleh. It tasted horrible even as he mumbled it to himself in the shower.

But what had to be done had to be done. There was no two ways about it.

He gave it a day though. Because there was no way that she deserved an apology so soon. She did, after all, throw some freakin' beer on him for a joke that, fine, was a tad crass, but definitely not that offensive!

She just had to sit on her hurt feelings for one more day and that was that.

Until it wasn't that. Because there was a knocking on Laxus' door later that day as he was sitting around the living room in his underwear, enjoying a cigar. Figuring it was Freed or Bickslow or Ever (Mira had been right; they were his only friends), he called out to just come in; it was unlocked.

"Uh, well, okay," he heard the voice respond that very much so wasn't one of his followers. "If you're sure."

He was scrambling too, as Mirajane entered his apartment, to find a blanket or something to throw over himself. He usually wasn't so bashful, but for some reason felt he should be, given the situation.

"Mira," he got out as she came through the door to stand there in the front room, staring in shock at him on the couch. "I didn't realize it was y- Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I came to...to… I shouldn't have poured a drink on you. Especially in front of everyone. You just… I've been embarrassed over this whole thing."

"What thing?" Laxus finally found the blanket on the floor and tossed it over himself. Which was just silly. He was in his boxers. No different than if he went swimming.

Other than it was very different.

It just was.

So there.

"Lisanna and Lucy have, like, told everyone that we slept together and we haven't and I know that it's stupid to get all worked up about, because we didn't and I shouldn't care what they say. Not to mention, what difference would it make if we did? Huh? So what? We're both a part of Fairy Tail? Who cares?"

Laxus blinked. Then he frowned. Then he took a puff of his cigar. Finally, he spoke.

"I got covered in ale because they made you feel uncomfortable?"

"No," Mirajane said, losing some of her nerves as she gave him a look. "You got ale poured on you because you were a jerk and made a rude joke about us sleeping together."

"Oh, right, like I'm the only one in the bar that's ever-"

"I don't care, Laxus. It was rude and- And never mind. Because I just came to apologize. So I'm sorry that I did that and-"

"No way."

"Excuse me?"

Puff. Hmmm. Another puff. Then, "You don't get to do this, Mirajane."

"Do what?"

"Apologize," he explained, settling back into his couch. "I was going to do that."

"Fine. I'm not stopping you. You can apologize too."

"Thank you."

And then they just both looked at one another.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Puff. "I'm not doin' it right now. I'm over here, in my skivvies, and you expect me to apologize? Bah."

"Laxus-"

"I accept your apology, Mirajane," he said simply. "Although I now have to wash my coat and my shirt and my-"

"I'll do it."

"Huh?"

"I'm the one who messed them up," she pointed out. "And I really am sorry. So, if you want, I'll wash your-"

"Really not that big of a deal," he was quick to tell her. Fine, she'd called his bluff. Great. "Honest. Besides, Freed does all my laundry, so-"

"That's even worse." Shaking her head, she said, "Go get them for me and I'll get them washed tonight. Then I'll bring them back to you tomorrow."

He only stared. "Why are you trying to do this? Make up with me? I mean, come on; everyone other than the Thunder Legion would probably sit around and lament with you about how horrible I am."

"That," she told him simply, "would be the last thing I wanted."

"Why?"

"You just got everyone to appreciate you again, Laxus," she told him simply. "And yeah, you were a jerk to me or will be a thousand times from now, you're still a way better person than you were before. And if you don't care about what others think of you, fine, but I do."

Puff. Then pause. Another puff. Then a long sigh.

"Well… Hey, uh, I'm...sorry, that I offended you. And if it really bothers you that people think that you slept with me, then I'll tell them all to shut the hell up about it."

"It's not that it's you, Laxus, that I don't like," she was quick to tell him, as if it were her offending him then. "It's just in general. I-"

"I get it, alright? And I'll take care of it." Puff. "Although, just so you know, you coming over here after work probably won't help our cause any."

He could see it then, finally, her relaxing as she even gave him a slight grin. "Yeah, I know. I just had to tell you sorry. The longer I stayed up at the guild, the more I realized how rude that was of me. Uncalled for."

"Not completely," he offered up as, slowly, he got to his feet. Mira blushed for some reason and then he glanced down to remember he was still in his boxers. His kinda old boxers, too. Luckily there were no holes in them… Coughing, he got her attention again before saying, "I'm sorry, Mirajane. For being a dick."

Slowly, she nodded and smiled and it would have been the perfect place to end it, but for some reason, Laxus found himself talking and man, maybe she'd used some sort of satanic charm on him or something because the words that came tumbling out of his mouth next were not ones that he would ever wish to claim.

"You know," he said as Mirajane still just stood there, keeping her eyes on his. Puff. "I's going to go out for dinner tonight and, since I apparently screwed up your whole day by making you feel guilty and shit, maybe we could , I dunno, go get dinner together?"

"L-Laxus, I don't-"

"It'd really get back at your sister," the man enticed. Why? Why was he enticing anything? To do something he didn't want to do? And that she clearly didn't want to do? What was wrong with him? "Or at least further along her little fantasies. You know, she's literally told everyone I know that we're dating."

"She's really happy about it for some reason."

"For some reason."

Puff. Staring.

Slowly, Mirajane whispered, "I guess we could go get something to eat. Together. I did kinda ditch you on Saturday."

"I remember. For a guy in sandals-"

"Would you stop bringing that up?"

"And were those socks I saw with them?"

"You're being really rude again. And since when are you so fashion forward?"

"Try always."

"Okay, animal print."

"It was a phase!"

"Says the man standing here in his boxers-"

"And my body looks damn fine in them, thanks." Puff. Then, turning, he called over his shoulder, "Wait here. I gotta get dressed."

"Well, I'd hope."

And no, it wasn't just all perfect from there. Not by any account. Dinner was decent. Mirajane was actually rather fun to spend time with, he found out, when he wasn't so reserved around her. He treated her to a nice dinner and, even though she offered to pay, he didn't feel so bad about turning her down. Or ordering them some wine to drink. And dessert was just on him because, well, he felt like having some, so why couldn't she? Huh?

It wasn't spoken about between them for a few weeks. In fact, they didn't even see one another. Laxus left on a job and Mirajane just did her usual time at the bar, neither even thinking of the other. Until Laxus got back and found this funny feeling inside where he wanted to hang out with someone that didn't constantly just tell him how awesome he was, which put out all his usual dates and the Thunder Legion alike, leaving him pretty much with Mirajane.

"Careful, Laxus," she taunted when he showed up at the bar to ask (in the most roundabout way, of course). "I might get used to this."

"This?"

"Going to fancy dinners."

"You can get used to whatever you want," he retorted as Kinana, who was passing by, giggled. "'cause it's you payin' this time."

That was kinda how it went for awhile. Laxus would usually treat her to dinner or ice cream or a play. Just something to do. And yeah, sometimes Mirajane would chip in (he ragged on her the entire time if she didn't at least offer), but for the most part, Laxus seemed to like to throw his jewels around. It was probably supposed to impress Mirajane. It worked on most women, no doubt. But as a twenty something year old that owned her own house and had since becoming an S-Class wizard all those years ago, jewels were something that were extremely attainable.

Not to mention, she had plenty of men that were willing to do that for her and keep their stupid gripes about it to themselves. It was the other things that Laxus brought to the table that kept her interested.

Namely, he didn't doubt her power. Not for a second. Didn't treat her like she was someone to look out for. Yeah, sometimes when they were out walking around the two and she was about to get duped into buying something stupid by a merchant that saw her as a sucker, he did step in, but that was just because she was too trusting. Not because she couldn't take care of herself if a problem should arise.

It was actually her strength that partially attracted him to her. As their infrequent dates turned into the only dates the other had and Mirajane spent a lot of time around that apartment (being around her in his boxers wasn't so blate at that point), he found that it was actually quite the turn on.

Belonging to Satan in that sense wasn't so bad.

That didn't, however, change their relationship up at the hall. Not in the slightest. Up there, Mirajane was just a barmaid who happened to go home with him most nights and do such crazy things to him that if he thought too much about it, he might just get hard right then and there.

But no. He wasn't hers up there. She was his, definitely, but he wasn't hers.

Mirajane just thought that it was cute that he felt that way. How he'd purposely avoid glancing her way and usually went through Kinana for his drinks. There were times, however, when she was wearing an extra tight dress and the guys were all paying far too much attention to her however that Laxus felt the need to sit up at the bar and, though he wouldn't admit what he was doing, actually would attempt to scare the other men off. His glares were just as scary as Evergreen's at times like that.

Still, their relationship was rather downplayed all the same. Which was pretty much an order from Makarov when he caught wind of it. In fact, he even yelled at Laxus about it, how if he started dating all the women in the guild and running them off, he'd have no problem with sending him packing.

"I'm dating all the women in the guild, old man," Laxus grumbled as his grandfather only glared. "I'm dating one woman. For now. Mirajane's very capable of making her own decisions, don't you think?"

"About a battle? Sure. What liquor to order for the hall? Why not. But about you? No."

"Lovin' this vote of confidence." Then, with a sneer, the man said simply, "ME and Mira aren't kids, you know. Less you go lookin', you won't even notice that we are dating."

"I better not."

And he didn't. No one did. Which greatly disappointed Lisanna, who wanted so badly to have something to tease Mirajane about. Other than the few times Laxus actually did sleep over, there weren't many. The two were actually quite boring.

It did open a new thing for Lucy to bother Happy about, however.

"Another day," she'd sigh sometimes as they sat up at the hall, "another lack of courage, eh, cat?"

"Natsu, she's picking on me again!"

"I am not."

The slayer would only sigh though and ask Lisanna, "You think when they break up, they'll have a huge fight then? Or-"

"Just like I told you last week, no."

"It'd still be the coolest thing ever."

Heh.

On some days though, when the bar was slow and her siblings were out on a job and Kinana had offered to let her have an extra long break, Mira wouldn't even think about it as she headed downstairs to watch Laxus shoot pool or even throw a few of those darts with him.

She liked him best on those days because, as hard as he tried, he couldn't help, but to get a bit flustered around her and throw off his game. He just tried so hard to show out in front of her. And that would screw up Freed and Bickslow, who he usually was playing against, because then they'd have to mess up their games even further because, after all, they were trying so hard every single time to let the slayer win, but it was still nice, they both knew, to see the man care about someone that much. And, even Freed would have to admit, if he couldn't be him, then Mirajane was a nice replacement.

"Demon," he'd mumble on the few days when they actually had the whole downstairs to themselves. It only happened once or twice a month and was usually extremely early in the morning or nearing closing. "How many times do I have to tell you about your horrible stance? Huh?"

"It's just so hard, dragon," she'd tell him as she purposely screwed up a shot, knocking the eight ball into a hole even though all her others were still very much so laid out on the table. "I'm no good at it."

Then he'd grumble and have to show her just how to position herself and the pool stick and, hey, maybe there were other ways to do this than leaning against her at the table and wrapping an arm around her middle, but Laxus did not know it.

Or at least he didn't care to show it.

Because maybe they weren't a big deal around the hall. Maybe he didn't go around telling everyone about how much he loved her or constantly need to be around her. And hell, he sure didn't stop from going away for months at a time on jobs to do whatever he wanted as she stayed back in Magnolia, doing the same.

But she was a big deal to him. The biggest deal. The only deal.

Eventually he even stopped blaming it on the satanic charm stuff he was nearly sure she'd used. Not for over a year, but eventually.

[mrsmarybranson]

Holly, Jolly Shit

Inspired by Christmas prompts I previously reblogged. MODERN AU. Also, trying a Larry Grey isn’t an asshole thing. This is where Mary has to spend Christmas with Tom Branson, a guy she dislikes. Enjoy!

Her fingers frantically type as she switches between her primary iPhone and her Blackberry, used for work emergencies. Though her coworkers use the term “emergency” for anything beyond spilt coffee

She’s wearing a grey Alpaca sweater (wool retrieved in a kind manner, she was told) along with a black skirt, black pantyhose, and black heels. Her grandmother has referred to it as her brooding phase when she wearing more than one piece of dark clothing. In truth, she doesn’t own a pair of bulky, obtrusive snow boots. She wore sneakers earlier when she jogged. Her loafers are still caked in dog poop from the last time she visited and met Papa’s new puppy.

And, Sybil gave her these pumps. A surprising gift, truly. Another moment where darling Sybil was just trying to be thoughtful. Her youngest sister cared nothing for fashion labels, however, she gifted the Michael Kors shoes anyways. They were a bit overpriced in Mary’s opinion, but she would cherish them anyways.

Her hand rakes through her hair as her phones continue to ding. Her hair now extends just past the nape of her neck. Mary’s other sister, Edith, takes every opportunity to point out that she was the first to rock the latest hairdo. Her younger, honey-colored head sister was always trying to make things a competition. Her sister walked around in ballerina flats with scuffs on them, pastel colored dresses, and heavy trench coats. It was like she couldn’t decide whether to abandon 1950’s America or let it swallow her whole. It was embarrassing, but the woman wouldn’t take advice from even their mother.

Now, well they were all coming together for Christmas. Mary had argued about why a friend should come to a holiday get together.

“He’s not family!” she had insisted.

“He practically is to Larry and I… Mary, are you sure this isn’t just because you both disagree a lot? Or, well, because Larry is having Christmas with us… again?”

Mary had laughed it off. As if her ex-boyfriend, who was now engaged to her sister, was nothing bothersome.

She had made peace with Larry Grey a while ago. They had flirted, kissed in the back of taxis, and yelled their hearts out. It was long over. But... his friend. He was one of the reasons she now sacrificed Sybil’s company. The Irish prat couldn’t keep his mouth shut. And that is why she had decided to fly out to America. Her grandmother, as close as they were not, had invited her out. Uncle Harold would be there to add the oddball comment about European politics or his opinion of the latest Adele album. Her cousin Rose and her beau Atticus would be there. She could be plenty merry there. Besides, Rose would only encourage drinking and so Mary could down any woes.

Mary thumped her fingers against the airport cushion again. She was supposed to be on her way to LaGuardia three hours ago. It was snowing heavily there, apparently. It was beginning to look bad where she was as well.

Huffing again, the pads of her fingers pressed quickly against her phone.

“Mary!”

“Hello Rose.”

“Do you know when you’re going to start boarding?”

“They’re still saying delayed, but no idea till when.”

“It’s a long flight… I’m not sure you’ll make it in time,” Rose replied. Doubt dripped into the younger woman’s tone.

“I haven’t given up hope yet… Look, I’ll text you when I know more either way. Say hello to Grandmother and Atticus for me.”

“Of course. Love you, Mary.”

Mary sighed, slipping her phone back into her purse. Her family was no doubt beginning to gather around. Edith had a bit of a drive, but even she would be arriving there soon.

“Attention! Flight 6029 to LaGuardia International in New York is cancelled. Flight 6029 to LaGuardia International is cancelled. See the help desk for more assistance.”

Mary swore, her hands bunching up. She slipped out her phone, quickly typing.

Bad news. Flight was cancelled so there’s no way I’m getting there in time. I can still try and make it out later? Love you. xx

Her plans were ruined. And, unless she wanted to spend Christmas alone, there was only one other place to go. She could picture Edith’s lip curling down in disappointment. Her grandmother would ask if this was really the latest fashion. Darling Matthew would be there, but she wouldn’t know what to say to him.

No, she would go there, but there was no point in letting the enemy know her moves.

It was another two hours before she stood on the front steps of her childhood home. The top part of her hair which had been pulled had unraveled. Her clothes were wrinkly from her careless positioning at the airport. Licking her lips, she rung the doorbell.

It took a few moments for the door to swing open. She stood there clicking her heels together, practicing her cool mask of indifference. She was about to impatiently knock again when Carson appeared.

“Miss Mary!”

“Hello, Carson. Happy Christmas. I hope Papa isn’t planning on making you serve the entire eve of Christmas.” “No, Miss Mary, I was on my way out, actually. The family was not expecting your arrival. It was believed you were spending the break with Miss Rose.”

“That was the plan. However, weather there and here prevented it. Are they in the drawing room?”

“Yes, Miss Mary. I believe they will be quite happy to see you.”

Mary chuckled. “Thank you, Carson. Happy Christmas.”

She heard the laughter before she saw them. Her shoulders slumped briefly in her personal defeat. Mary schooled her features though and strode into the room.

“I hope I’m not too fashionably late,” she said, chin tilting a fraction of an inch.

The laugher quickly died. She spotted Larry first. He was in a suit with a hideous Christmas tie. Sybil was next to him, dressed in an emerald colored dress that looked to be of Mama’s choosing.

“Mary!” Papa said, instantly rising. “Good grief, we were not expecting you, child.”

Her parents enveloped her in a tight hug. “Well, I couldn’t make it to New York because of the weather. And, well, why spend the holiday alone?”

“You’ve been at the airport all this time?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Did you talk to Rose?”

“Everyone knows where I am. Even Carson. I’m not hungry but a chardonnay would be nice.”

“I’ll grab you one, Mar,” said Larry.

“Thanks, Larry. Edith, Sybil love, hello.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Mary.”

“Yes, aren’t we all,” mumbled Edith. Her grin soon turned wicked as she asked, “You remember Tom?”

Mary’s gaze flickered to the Irishman across from her. His blue eyes bore into hers. “Charmed, again.”

His lips turn up as he mumbles a casual greeting. His hands are still in his pant pockets as he waits. It’s her move.

“I was surprised to hear you wanted to spend Christmas with us,” she said. The rest of the room has gotten bored watching them and moved on to small conversations.

“Why? Did you believe you scared me off?”

“Nothing of the sort,” she replied. She slid into the chair next to him, crossing her ankles. “I just thought perhaps you would spend it with your family, as most do.”

“They’re in Ireland and this year I can’t afford to get back there. For Easter, maybe.”

Mary was surprised at his honesty. He showed no embarrassment. Her cheeks warmed as she replied, “Oh.” She’s hardly ever at a loss for words.

“So your very kind sister and friend brought me along. Larry insisted no one would mind, though, he must’ve left you out of that equation.”

Mary gripped her drink tighter. “Larry is like that. He was right though because I was due to spend Christmas with American relatives in New York. But, it seems fate didn’t want me there. Or God. I don’t know.”

“So you’re stuck with us.”

“I don’t ever see spending time with my family as something punishable.”

Tom let his glass rest against his slip as he surveyed her. “You’re a saint.”

“What was that?” she asked. She was sure her cheeks were rosy with anger at this point.

“Nothing.”

“I would remind you, Tom Branson, that you’re a guest in my home.”

“Yes a guest. Not the help. I am worthy of your time, believe it or not. I don’t know why you’re so settled on disliking me.”

Mary rolled her eyes, glancing about the room. Edith was watching them with amusement. Sybil and Larry were in the corner, like something out of a bloody romance novel.

“I think you live to make me mad,” she whispered.

“It’s not always about you, Miss Mary.”

Mary stuffed a sigh as she tugged her skirt down. She did not miss the way his eyes lingered on her stocking clad thighs. She needed another drink. Lord, they still had dinner and presents left!

Mary could not count on one hand the amount of glasses of wine and champagne she had consumed. The fizziness spread over her entire body; she felt the lightest she had in a long time. They were headed out of the dining room to gather for presents. Not all of them, but just a few.

Her legs shook slightly as she pushed her chair in. Laughter swirled around her as everyone began to shuffle out. In front of her, trudging along, was Tom. He was dressed rather nice, she supposed. She had never really taken a good look at him. She was too busy focused on Larry or Sybil or Larry and Sybil. Her lip puckered at the memories.

Her left hand reached forward, grabbing Tom’s shoulder. “Wait a sec,” she whispered. Her words weren’t slurred. At least, she didn’t think so. But it did not matter anyways. It was just dear Tom.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed. They were the only ones standing in the hall. Her breath smelled like pinot noir and the red velvet cake (Mum’s favorite) they had for desert.

Mary still wore her heels and was just about eye level with him. They stared at each other for a moment, basking in the feel of Christmas Eve. He wasn’t scared or intimidated by her. She could see that.

“I think there is supposed to be some mistletoe or some other holly, jolly shit.”

His surprise at her language was evident along with his confusion. “Why do you say that?”

“I just do,” she whispered.

And then, her hands were on his cheeks, pulling his face towards hers so that their lips met. He was receptive, his hands going to her waist, fingers tracing up and down. He pushed her against the wall and yet, he was not forceful. His hands were gentle, as if she would come to her senses and then sock him. If she were not drunk, she would. Instead she mewed in protest when he would not part his mouth. Finally, he did and her tongue slipped in.

Pulling away was harder than pulling him to her. Her finger traced around her mouth, wiping the smudges away. He did not look as if he would keel over and that was, well, a good sign. But he also looked as if he wasn’t going to forget it anytime in the near future. Mary was not sure how she felt about that. She let out a laugh and he slowly cracked a smile.

“Ha, Christmas,” she said.

“Mary–”

“All that holly, jolly shit,” she mumbled.

She couldn’t tell if she broke him. Did she want to? She thought of Sybil and Larry. Mum and Papa. She glanced at Tom. He was expressionless. Licking her lips, Mary went to join her family.

So yeah. I was trying to post this about four weeks ago? Five? Instead, here I am, on the 23 of January. I almost considered holding off until Xmas 2017, but why… Some of you might not want to read a Xmas fic because it’s the twenty-third of January. I get it. I am sort of like that as well. It’s too soon. But at the same time, it’s Christmas. And I’m almost ready to get back into the wanting-it-to-be-Christmas-tomorrow feeling. So yeah. Here’s this thing.

Larry isn’t a prick in this. Mostly because I want to write a Larry not being an ass character. He knew the sisters as kids so there’s a backstory and I kind of wanna run with it. So this is the first in the Larry Is Nice fics. Tumblr only. And they’ll be severely infrequent.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I tried to link the prompt up top but it did not work. Check through my page and they’ll be there if you’re truly interested. Anyways… catch you later.