#human weapons besties agenda

[beliscary]

argh dion and jill parallels because when jill is like I have to kill this guy clive is like YEAH you do and when dion is like I have to kill my stepmom and her kid terence is like YEAH you do

[beevean]

Do you think part of the reason for Hector's treatment in NFCV was because the writers did understand Hector was a parallel to Dracula, but N!Dracula is "uwu sympathetic <3 husband ignoring my last wishes and beliefs!" so of course Hector can't have same storyline as the games?

You're giving too much credit to Warren Ellis lmao. dude wanted to name Godbrand "Mathias Cronqvist" become somehow he missed that it was Dracula's human name, and you think he understood, or even cared about, Hector's narrative significance?

I can believe that the original plan for him was to slowly become the Hector we see in CoD, in the same way Alucard was meant to be perceived as younger than his SoTN self. That makes sense, in theory. While the real Hector would never consider culling as a good compromise, N!Hector displays some morals and doubts as early as episode 2: "All I'm saying is that our goals can be met without gleefully paddling in the blood of children." You can already see the contrast between him and N!Isaac, who is 100% loyal and ready to throw hands at anyone who dares to question Dracula: "No, no, no! Dracula will decide, not you. Threaten me all you like, I will die for him, if I don't kill you first. You do not question my loyalty." So this checks.

(also this is the mother of nitpicks but i hate how N!Isaac just calls Dracula by name. It's "Lord Dracula", asshole, at least be consistent with your bootlicking.)

Carmilla's inclusion threw everything off. She turned a perfectly good story of Hector slowly coming to terms with his own humanity and choosing to flee rather than become a weapon of mad slaughter, into a shitty GoT ripoff where she basically played politics and manipulations by taking advantage of the Lord's weakness to further her own agenda. And she used Hector's doubts to turn him on her side, stripping him of his agency. And then she humiliated him because look at the stronk kween as she beats the absolute shit of this weak, helpless, defenseless man. And after that, Hector derailed too much to even approach his original storyline: Ellis was too busy jerking off to his mommy fetish to care about an actual character arc, and the Deats allowed it because uhhhhh kojima already brought the horny we're just continuing her work :V

(Dracula doesn't look good either, btw, as he simply let Carmilla go after she humiliated him in front of the court and did what she wanted out of apathy because muh depression. Same for Isaac, who understood that making Carmilla happy would not be beneficial to them but went along with it because "she will stop causing mischief". No wonder Carmilla thinks all men are idiots :V oh but Hector, the only one who actually cared about unifying the squabbling generals, is the one called "a simple creature". fuck you.)

Speaking of which, it doesn't help that, as early as S2, Hector was seen in-universe as the weak link of the court. Dracula and Isaac have zero respect for him and constantly question his intelligence, a complete 180° from canon where Hector was Dracula's special babyboy favorite and Isaac was torn between respect and resentment. My questions about what the hell is he even doing there aside, I honestly don't know what was the point of that: I can see a parallel with Lenore later on, who also seems to not be very respected by her besties despite her alleged cunning, but since I doubt Lenore was in the plans, I can only see that as Ellis deciding to weaken Hector's character for... shit and giggles?

That being said. It sure is interesting how Dracula was treated as a poor grieving husband who totally deserved his happy ending with his happy wife, Isaac was given a whole speech about How Much He Has Changed and how super cool and badass and awesome he has become, while Hector, after being literally dehumanized and raped, only "evolved" by... deciding he had to bring Dracula back. And he was stopped by the ever so wise Isaac. Oh but who gives a shit about Curse of Darkness and its lore, it's just an aggressively mid PS2 game, totally irrelevant, we can mangle it as much as we want who cares about the stupid games they're old anyway hahahahahhahahaa

[basically-rainbow-aus]

Prizma Amitola (Based on the Goosebumps books, mainly ‘Night of the Living Dummy’ and ‘Say Cheese and Die’)

Name Inspiration: Prisms

Nickname(s): ‘Prize’ by Ilia, ‘Bug’ and ‘Firefly’ by Penny, ‘Sunshine’, ‘Hon’ and ‘Robo-Love’ by Candy

Iolite-isms: Scale Face, Gay Agenda, Rainy Day, Slap Happy, Tangles

Languages: Menori, Atlesian, Valean, RSL, Mantlan

Gender: Female

Species: Android-Chameleon Faunus

Aura Colour: Grey

Schools and Team: Beathach Academy (combat school), Flora Academy (Academy)/Leader of Team ASTR (Aster)

Bestie Better Than The Restie: Byzan Tianium

Homeplace: Menagerie

Orientation: Homosexual Demiromantic

Semblance: Tangle Up, a semblance that grants Prizma the ability to eject colourful strings out of her fingertips and attach them to a person or object. These strings are not massively durable and if used to control something’s movements, they snap after the intended forced movement is completed. The colour of the strings also plays a factor in their effectiveness and her battle strategy, for example red strings have fire Dust woven into them and can scorch someone if need be. 

Weapon: Foxglove, a pair of fork-tongued whips decorated in colourful crystal shards. If need be, they are able to either twist together to form two lance-like structures, or pop open their handles to spray a toxic compound of Fire and Lightning Dust, which dazes and distracts opponents momentarily. 

Voiced by: Mica Burton

Trivia: 

Penny is her biggest role model and she super hopes that someday she’ll be able to be as great of a protector that her mom is, both of Mantle and Menagerie. She has very mixed feelings about the Maiden powers, though, and if she’d be a good fit -- if Penny considered her for it, that is.

Candy and Prizma were best friends as kids after Ilia and Ruby met in Mistral to discuss business about the leftovers of the White Fang splinter cell known as the True Bloods. The two girls got along extremely well and kept tagging along with their mothers to the meetings. After years of bonding and laughing and closeness, Prizma admitted her feelings for Candy when they were 15. They’re a very sweet and gushy couple, even if they’re a long-distance one.

She’ll happily eat anything she’s given, but her all-time favourite food is tempura soft-shell crab.

She puts up a very spunky and happy front, but Prizma can be offended or hurt in the slightest of ways. The tenderest spot is being teased or pushed around for being not being a human person and if Candy isn’t around, she’ll find a place to hide and calm down.

She’s a mama’s girl through and through.

Prizma has gotten multiple comments over the years that she is a ginger Ilia, being very similar in manners of height, structure, casual fashion style, and their near-matching eyes.

Since she was 12 in combat school, she and her friend Byzan have run a navigation and music radio station on Menagerie. Being the daughter of a Maiden who navigates the island daily and a woman who has lived there all her life, Prizma knows all the nooks and crannies of the paradise, even with the rapid development that it has gone through.

Taking pictures is a little thing that Prizma picked up on patrols with her moms. Her eyes have a built-in camera feature so she doesn’t need to carry a bulky manual one to continue her hobby.

Presenting Prizma! Candy’s secret girlfriend and apple of her mothers’ eyes. 

Inbox is OPEN for questions to the admins, the RWBabies, and the RMEN crew!

[mcutrio]

Bar Night [11]

Bar Night [11]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind​

“You awake,” Thor smiled, standing at the foot of the bed in new clothing as Kat groaned to herself and rubbed her eyes. It took her a moment to adjust before she remembered that they were watching a movie before everything turned to blackness, meaning she must’ve passed out halfway through.

“Augh, good morning,” she greeted, running her fingers through her hair and cracking her neck. “God, I have the worst neck ache.”

“I did try not to disturb you in your slumber,” Thor smiled.

“About that,” Kat sat upright, “I’m so sorry I fell asleep, I totally didn’t mean to--”

“It’s fine,” Thor beamed, “you are quite peaceful when you sleep.”

“As opposed to when I’m awake?” Kat groaned, rubbing her tired eyes before standing up and snatching her phone. “I am starving.”

“As am I. Fortunately they’ve already served breakfast,” Thor announced.

Kat brushed her fingers through her hair, realising she must’ve missed the morning call for breakfast. “Shall we go, then?”

“We shall,” Thor agreed, gesturing for her to leave first.

The two rejoined the rest of the team, and Tony immediately pulled his shades down onto his nose as he paused, staring at the pair with an incredulous, humoured expression.

“And what have you two been up to, then?” He questioned, the lilt in his tone showing that he already had an idea of what he thought they’d been doing.

“Sleeping,” Kat shot back, grabbing a cereal box before he could say anything else. She sat herself down between Tabitha and Steve, who immediately turned to her and smiled.

“A win,” he repeated quietly, and Kat socked him in the shoulder so much so that he dropped the bagel in his hand, though he daresn't say a word to her as he stifled his laugh.

“Is everyone coming out tonight?” Nat suddenly questioned, taking a slug of coffee.

“Out?” Kat asked, confused.

Tabitha swallowed a bite of toast. “Yeah, the other night when you were busy with Thor we all decided that we were going out for drinks tonight.”

“Alright,” Kat said.

“So… as I’m not hearing any screams of protest, I’ll take that as a yes,” Natasha smiled, putting her mug down on the marble counter.

“What’s on the agenda today, bestie?” Court shot at Steve, who seemed unfazed by the nickname she gave him. Though confused at the terminology, the two girls decided not to question Courtenay upon it, just as the super soldier seemed to be doing. What Court says, goes.

“Spar day,” he nodded. “I think it’s time we get some combat training in, especially for the twins. They’re inexperienced.”

“When you’re as fast as I am there’s no need for fancy punches and kicks, Mr Rogers,” Pietro grinned, biting down into a green, shiny apple. “And my sister can move things with her mind. You’d never get a hand on her.”

“It happens, trust me,” Tabitha’s brows shot up as she poured more orange juice into her glass. “It’s better if you’re both prepared. Who knows how effective Strucker’s experiments were, anyway? What if your powers are only temporary?”

“Then you will not need us,” Pietro argued, causing Tabitha to roll her eyes.

“All I’m saying is that learning how to punch your way out of a situation is a good idea instead of just relying on your… powers,” Tabitha explained.

“She’s right,” Steve agreed. “Be ready. Training starts in twenty minutes,” he finished, dumping his plate into the sink before leaving the room.

Kat rolled her eyes before looking at Thor, who had his usual plate of pop tarts in front of him. “Did you hear? You’re partnering with me for sparring.”

“Oh, yes. It was my idea,” Thor told her nonchalantly.

Kat was taken aback. “Oh, okay then.”

Tabitha stood to her feet after slamming her empty cup of juice down. “Right. Better get ready then. You coming?”

Court, Kat and Bucky followed close behind, the rest of the team finishing off their meals. They separated into their designated rooms whilst getting ready, though Buck followed Tabitha.

“What are you doing?” She questioned, noticing he had followed her inside as she rummaged through her drawer for workout clothes.

He came up behind her, wrapping his hands around her torso as he lay his head on her shoulder. “Nothin’… keep doing what you’re doing.”

“It’s hard when you’re holding me like this,” she smiled, plucking his arms from her waist and turning to face him,  pressing a kiss against his lips immediately. “Save it for later, gosh.”

He smiled against her cheek, placing a kiss there quickly before stepping back from her. He cleared his throat after flushing from the close proximity, then promising that he would see her later as he left to go change.

“Hurry up, Tabs,” Court said, knocking her door a few minutes later. Tabitha tied her hair up into a ponytail before bounding out, grinning, being greeted by her two friends.

“I’m ready, I’m ready,” she breathed, cracking her fingers. “Let’s go.”

Kat tucked away her mobile as the three of them walked, turning up last to the gym as per usual. Steve, waiting for them somewhat impatiently, clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention as he started the session.

“Grab your partners,” he said, watching as everyone shuffled to their designated partners. Courtenay was teamed with Tabitha, the twins with one another and Kat with Thor. “Now follow me,”

Steve demonstrated the jab-jab block grapple pattern he wanted them to follow and then would allow for free-form sparring to see what everyone was capable of. The experienced ones in the team were able to execute the simple task easily, while Pietro and Wanda lagged behind before perfecting their form.

Afterwards, the partners were ordered to ‘take down’ one another, and whoever was first successful would be the ‘winner’ despite that there was no real reward other than pride, perhaps.

Thor stood over Kat, having knocked her on her back.

“I think we’ve proven who’s stronger,” Thor teased.

Kat then twisted her legs around his feet so that he fell to the ground, too.

“Call it a tie.” She smirked.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Courtenay stood solid, locked arms, unable to move the other. With their equal training, they found it difficult to outsmart their opponent, though eventually, Courtenay twisted her elbows until the pain caused Tabitha to fall to her knees, though she disabled Courtenay’s locked knees until they were both on that mat, too.

“Good session today, guys,” Steve said after another hour of sparring, “I expect you to be better tomorrow.”

They all filtered out of the gym, immediately running for a shower. As soon as the trio had showered, they ordered themselves a few pizzas for lunch, so that if they decided to drink lots later that night, they had a full stomach to do it on.

“Do you ever think about the others?” Tabitha wondered out loud, her eyes dragging over to Courtenay as they dug into their mozzarella pizza.

Kat’s expression deadpanned as she realised what her friend was hinting at before she nodded. “All the time. You?”

“Yeah, it’s hard not to,” Tabitha agreed, placing her slice down back onto her plate and rubbing her hands on her jeans. “How are we the only ones that survived?”

“They weren’t as friendly with the ones who didn’t cooperate,” Courtenay said.

It was horrifying, really. Though the girls worked together, there were many times in their life that they were separate. They were teamed together when they were ten years old, and they honestly had no idea how they would work in the world without one another. Before that, they were trained in physical combat, where the strongest out of the bunch were plucked from the academy and used for experimentation. It was exciting for them at the time because it was seen as an honour and taken with great gratitude, but now they see that they were mere puppets in a far bigger show than they’d ever thought could’ve been booked.

Courtenay was one of the few who was taken from her family. Usually, you were born into the business or taken as a first-born from a family who required protection or weapons in exchange. Both Kat and Tabitha were part of this ordeal; they had no idea who their parents were, but they knew that they were of importance. But Courtenay’s parents owed a debt, and because of her situation, she was one of the few who did resist, which resulted in a far more inhumane form of training.

“I wish I knew my parents,” Kat sighed, where a solemn Tabitha agreed with a quiet nod as she took another bite of pizza.

“I wish I didn’t, sometimes,” Courtenay added quietly. “It’s hard to think about.”

“There has to be a reason that they let us live, don’t you think?” Tabitha wondered suddenly. “Surely they know where we are, and what we’re doing. I can’t ever imagine that escaping their grip would be as easy as it was, yet here we are; unscathed. How does SHIELD not even notice? Hydra was compromised.”

“Well, with Rumlow dead, there’s not much that they have on us,” Kat nodded, “we were kept off of the files, right? He’s basically the information bank.”

“Yeah, so SHIELD couldn’t get their paws on us,” Courtenay said. “It’s funny; we worked under their noses for so long. What if they find out?”

“I don’t think they will, honestly,” Tabitha shrugged. “Hydra is dead. That’s not our life anymore.”

“But it was,” Kat pulled her knees to her chest. “I mean, it’s a big ordeal. We used to work on the opposite end of the stick and preach that freedom was the world's ‘greatest lie’. That’s everything that SHIELD fights for.”

“But as soon as we got a taste of that freedom, our opinion switched,” Courtenay finished. “Surely our decision speaks louder volumes than where we came from, who we worked for. Right?”

And while it was mundane and somewhat melancholic to think about their past, where they had come from, and their rash decision to help the Avenger’s rather than kill them, they knew that better things were to come. You can only go up after human experimentation, after all.

“Right, instead of all this talk, how about we get dressed for tonight?” Tabitha finally added.

Kat, through a mouthful of pizza, agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Time to get fucking wasted,” Courtenay whooped, standing to her feet. “I don’t know about you guys but I was a little underwhelmed with the alcohol from that party the other week.”

“Unlike you, we don’t intend to get absolutely fucked every time we have a drink,” Kat grinned.

Courtenay put her hand on her hip. “It helps drown out the voices, love.”

“You sure that’s not just you talking to yourself again?” Tabitha smirked.

“Shut up and get dressed,” Court shock back, shooing the two girls out of her room so that they could all change.

When the three of them were ready, they walked out to the main entrance of the headquarters where they found their vehicle waiting. They’d be driving with Bucky and Steve whilst everybody else carpooled with either Tony or Nat. Tony had reserved a few tables in a bar for them to hand out in; it was a private, secluded and somewhat extravagant, but it would do for a social outing.

“This place is fancy,” Kat commented, digging her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. Tony took them all to their private booth, where they had their own bar, own servers, own privacy. It seemed a little much, but nobody was about to complain.

“First round's on me, kids,” Tony smiled, pulling out his wallet.

“Are you doing this out of the kindness of your heart or just taking another opportunity to flash how rich you are, Stark?” Kat teased, taking a seat in one of the booths, besides Thor and leaving a seat beside her for Tony to take after he ordered the drinks. Soon, he returned, a waitress close behind him with a serving of shots. “Oh boy.”

“Down the hatch, team,” Tony said, just as everyone scooped up their shot glass, clinked them together and took them back with a grimace. Thor and Steve shared an Asgardian concoction, considering there was nothing else that would get the pair drunk.

“Eugh, gross,” Tabitha complained, wiping her mouth. “At least get something that tastes nice, Stark.”

“If it tastes nice, it's not strong enough,” Tony cheered.

“True that,” Courtenay agreed, standing to her feet. “More.”

Tony spun his finger around in the air, gesturing for another round. Within the next twenty minutes, the team had drunk about three or four shots each, giving them all a decent amount of intoxication to be slurring incoherent yet hilarious nonsense to one another.

“So, can you like, take control of animals and stuff?” Bucky questioned, his eyes slightly lazy looking.

Tabitha pondered over this for a moment, clinging to his arm. “You know, I had never thought of that. That’s such a great idea, let me do it right now--”

“Hey, take it easy,” Kat hiccuped, pressing a hand to Tabitha’s shoulder to ensure that she stayed seated and didn’t take control of any stray cats.

“Shhhhh,” Tabitha swatted Kat’s hand away. “You can’t tell me what to do anymore,” she slurred.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Thor grinned. Smiling seemed to be his go-to expression, even when he was particularly confused.

“Let me tell you, buddy,” Tabitha began, slapping her hand on the table. “Back when we used to get trained by--”

Courtenay suddenly leaned forwards, feigning that she had accidentally knocked over her drink that went sloshing over onto Tabitha’s jacket, who yelped in surprise.

“Oh, gosh, oh… no, I’m so sorry,” Courtenay spluttered, humorous expression lingering underneath the fake, apologetic one.

“Gross, Courtenay. It’s everywhere, why did you do that?” Tabitha pouted peeling off her jacket after dabbing it down with tissue.

“You’re getting a few stares, Lady Courtenay,” Thor announced, lifting his glass and gesturing towards a prestige looking bundle of people who kept shooting stares at the rather loud Courtenay, who was laughing away to herself.

“Who’s staring?” She snapped, turning around and locking eyes with the people across the room. They must have recognised her, or at least someone in their group, as they cleared their throats and looked away, feigning a smile. “Oh, no. They’re not getting away with this. Thor! Back me up.”

“What--” Kat began, though she was cut off as Thor and Courtenay stood to their feet, going over and starting a row with the other table. Tony immediately put his face in his hands, shaking his head.

“Why do I ever try and do something nice for the team?” Tony questioned with a groan. “You’re an embarrassment to my dignity.”

Courtenay and Thor, across the room, over flipped a table and caused the slurry of rich people to jump from their seats with a yelp. Thor laughed in appreciation and the pair high-fived, but it wasn’t long before the disturbed bar members from outside of the secluded area sauntered in, unimpressed. Thor and Courtenay nodded at one another, grabbing chairs.

“Oh my God, are we seriously just going to let them do this?” Kat stumbled, her brain a little fuzzy as she faded to and fro with sobriety, trying to focus on the duelling pair.

Tabitha raised her hands, shooting purple flashes of energy towards a glass that came flying towards the team, stopping an inch or two from Steve’s face. Tabitha then twisted her hands and pushed them outwards, flinging the drink back over towards the bar fight.

Suddenly, someone pulled out a gun, causing Courtenay to back up with her hands raised. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of red and her over-the-top demeanour melted and she broke out into a grin.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Spider-Man asked, crawling in from the skylight after webbing aside the man's gun. “Get outta here, guys. Scoot.”

The man who had pulled out his gun snarled towards Spider-Man, smashing his glass down on the ground before he turned to leave, the rest of his group following. Spider-Man lingered on the ceiling for a few moments, ensuring that they had left before he gently dropped to his feet and waved at the team.

“Hey, guys,” he said, his voice instantly familiar to the team. Tony looked at him, eyebrow raised, and a smug grin on his face. Spider-Man instantly coughed into his hands, his voice changing. “I mean, uh, hey. Sorry about the trouble.”

“It’s okay,” Courtenay beamed, almost swooning at the sight of him. Peter might not even try and keep his identity hidden at this point because it became aware to most of the team-- minus the confused, air-heads of Steve and Bucky --just who this masked figure was.

“I should-- I should go,” Spider-Man suddenly said, appearing particularly awkward as he rubbed his hands together before backing away slowly, making his way to the door. “I’ll uh-- I’ll send a friend in!”

Not five minutes later, Peter appeared. It was embarrassingly obvious that he was Spider-Man, and just how he had remained to keep his identity hidden this entire time was incredible. Courtenay slung her arms around him immediately, burying her reddened face into his neck as he patted her back.

“I can take care of her,” Peter announced with a soppy grin, nodding towards Kat and Tabitha who eyed their drunken friend warily. “I’ll make sure she’s back later on. Come on, Court. Let’s get you sobered up.”

“What a sweetheart,” Kat sighed, watching as he practically dragged her out of the bar as she clung onto him. “What was all that about, anyway?” She questioned, turning to Thor who looked particularly dazed, an intoxicated glint to his eye.

“A night of drinking is not a night of drinking without a good fight,” he beamed.

“Alright, sure,” Kat shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Bucky suddenly nudged Tabitha in the side and leaned to whisper as soon as she sprung to his attention. “How’s about we get out of here?”

“Sure,” Tabitha agreed, downing the rest of her vodka and coke before shimmying out of the booth and following him. At this point, the team didn’t think to question them, far more focused on the damage that they had-- or, more specifically, that Thor and Court --had caused.

“I’m sorry about that,” Tabitha rubbed her nose, the night air of New York particularly cold. “She tends to get a little over excited when she’s drunk.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he laughed, throwing his arm over his shoulder as the pair aimlessly wandered through the streets. Any other day, Tabitha would probably feel particularly anxious to be walking around the streets at this time of night. However, with Bucky by her side, she felt confident. “She’s got a good heart, though.”

Tabitha hummed at this. “Yeah.”

“Peter seems to bring out the best in her,” Bucky thought. “It’s funny. He’s the timidest, most awkward boy I’ve met in my life. And she’s just… she's..."

“A lot?” Tabitha suggested with a laugh.

“For lack of better word, yeah. She’s very loud,” he shrugged.

“Well, she turns to mush whenever she’s with Peter,” Tabitha thought over the times in Hydra, how her friends had been treated. “He’s one of the few things that have ever loved her, you know? It’s the same with all of us. Before, we…” Tabitha took a deep breath. “Never mind.”

Bucky froze, having stopped under the dim, flickering light of a lamppost. He pressed his hands to Tabitha’s shoulders.

“You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?” He encouraged.

Tabitha looked away, anxious. Was she really about to do this? Was she really about to tell him everything?

“Where we came from wasn’t a very nice place,” Tabitha finally said. “They didn’t treat us all that well.”

Bucky frowned, thinking back to his own time at Hydra. He suddenly thought back to his conversation in the farm house, remembering how she seemed to forget a huge portion of her life. Perhaps it was for the best.

“I’m sorry.”

Tabitha looked at her hands that became alight with purple flames before she clenched her fists. “It’s okay. It doesn’t seem to affect me as much. There’s this big, empty hole where all of the pain should be.”

Bucky frowned. “Coping mechanism?”

“Yeah,” Tabitha scoffed. “Almost like my brain programmed itself to forget everything that happened.”

“Is that a good thing?” Bucky asked.

“I don’t know if I’d rather remember or if I’d rather never know,” Tabitha sighed, running her fingers through her hair. It pained Bucky to hear her talking like this, to be sharing the same feelings that swarmed his own mind. “Sometimes I hear them… Kathryn and Courtenay. They cry in their sleep, or they don’t sleep at all. What happened to them that seemingly flew right over my head? Am I wrong for not feeling the same way?”

Bucky could feel his throat swelling with emotion and he swallowed, pulling her into a strong hug as he felt a supernova of emotions explode in his chest as he let out a mere, ragged breath, holding Tabitha close.

Meanwhile, Kat had repositioned herself to sit on one of Thor’s legs as the team laughed away, the spirits having been lifted as Sam took it upon himself to do some Karaoke. Of course, being the fanboy that he was, decided to sing some Marvin Gaye, ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Kat pulled out her phone, laughing away as she filmed the entire fiasco, drunk Sam still managing to hit every note and lyric, if not with a little extra passion. The team, heavily intoxicated at this point, all joined in on the song, and though Steve and Thor stumbled over the words, they managed to pick it up after Sam’s third round.

“Alright, I’m pooped,” Natasha yawned, her eyes bloodshot. “I think it’s time we get home, huh?”

Kat, although thoroughly enjoying herself, agreed. She had to make sure that Tabitha and Courtenay got home safe. Tony slapped down the money he owed for the drinks, and everybody shuffled out of the booth. Happy chauffeured everyone home (requiring multiple trips back and forth from the bar and back to the HeadQuarters) but he didn’t complain.

As soon as Kat got through the doors, she just about tripped over before she was caught by Thor, who smiled at her drunken form. She wasn’t particularly sure if she’d tripped on purpose or if she was genuinely clumsy, as her subconscious was screaming for her to throw herself at Thor anyway.

“Are you alright?” Thor questioned, holding her as she remained mid-fall, gazing up at him with reddened cheeks. She broke out into a smile, her mind fuzzy with the remaining buzz of alcohol before she cleared her throat and nodded, standing up straight.

“Get her to bed, Thor,” Tony grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “And leave her there.”

“I had no other intentions, my friend,” Thor rolled his eyes.

“Will you make sure Court and Tabs get home safe?” Kat whispered, worrisome although exhausted at the same time.

“Of course,” Thor reassured her, which instantly made her relax.

Eventually, Thor managed to coax Kat into bed, where she almost immediately fell asleep. He flipped off the light and retired to his own quarters, tip-toeing as to not wake anyone else. He checked quickly in Courtenay’s room, who was already there, asleep. About forty minutes later, Tabitha and Bucky crept back into the HeadQuarters, giggling and shushing one another, evidence that they’d had a few more drinks after their emotional conversation.

“Shhhh!” Tabitha ushered, clasping a hand over her mouth as Bucky knocked over a lamp before snatching it quickly, stopping it from hitting the ground. “You’re sooooo clumsy.” She laughed, holding onto his arms.

“I don’t know why you’re holding onto me then,” Bucky hiccuped. “If I fall we both  fall.”

The moment he said that his foot caught on a stool in the living room and himself and Tabitha fell into a heap on the floor, laughing their asses off, though they froze and lay flat-down, side-by-side as they heard somebody walking past.

“Hello?” Happy called out.

Tabitha breathed out in relief, peeking out over the sofa with a grin on her face.

“Freeze!” Happy yelled at the sight of her.

“Calm down, Happy! It's just me!” Tabitha reassured, waving her arms before pulling Bucky up beside her. “And Buck!”

Happy grimaced. “Whatever you’re doing, don’t make a mess.”

Tabitha opened her mouth in shock as Bucky doubled over laughing. “We weren’t doing anything! We tripped!” Tabitha denied.

Hogan rolled his eyes. “Get to bed, children.”

“Okay Happy,” Tabitha hummed, a childish, smug smile on her face. “You heard the guy. Get to bed!”

“That’s where I was trying to go until this stool got in my way,” Bucky exclaimed, pointing at the stool. “I don’t even know where it came from. Tackled me out of nowhere!”

“Well let’s go before he gets his stool friends to back him up, ‘cause then we’d be in big trouble,” Tabitha said seriously. The pair then stumbled to bed, parting ways, though not without a kiss on the cheek first.

Finally, Tabitha collapsed onto her bed with a content sigh to be actually wrapped in the bed covers. However, her mind continued to race as she thought back to her conversation with Bucky earlier. Her heart jumped with happiness at how understanding and comforting he was with her, though she remained feeling emotional giving the topic they’d stumbled upon. Drained, she eventually found herself falling asleep.

[spindlesplinters]

So I've just recently started reading Noragami after watching the anime a couple months ago, and the whole time I can't stop making comparisons to the Legend of Eli Monpress and seeing similarities in several of the characters. Putting most of this under a cut because there's only a few of you who have read Eli Monpress, and also because my lovely roommate/bestie has only just started reading Eli Monpress and there's gonna be some later novel spoilers in here. 

 This all kinda got started when, as I was watching the anime, I began to draw connections between the relationship between Nora and Yato and the one between Eli and Benehime. There was the whole mysterious past vibe going on, and the feeling that Nora had a similar role in his past of someone Yato once considered dear but whose manipulations had brought him to the brink of hating her, but not quite able to get away despite wanting to. The farther along I get, the less I'm thinking of Nora as Benehime exclusively and the more I'm feeling like she and Fujisaki together kind of fill the Benehime/Lord of Storms roles together on a sort of composite. Fujisaki's obviously the real one Yato can't get away from because Fujisaki could destroy him in an instant, and I definitely get the vibe that he's mainly using Nora as a weapon in his agenda regarding Yato as well as his apathy toward mankind, similar to how Benehime viewed the Lord of Storms as a weapon both to corral Eli and to escape her duties as Shepherdess. But Nora's still the one making the unwanted visits at inconvenient times in life and doing the meddling so I can still kinda see Benehime in her too. (Side note: personality-wise I also definitely see the demon in Fujisaki but I digress.) 

 Yato is obviously my Eli in this analogy, but it goes beyond just being the protagonists. Both feel a strong desire to remake themselves in a different image than the one set before them by their fathers, both have a desire for fame and are largely driven by their pursuits of that fame, both tend to be driven and determined in an optimistic way (except for their periods of captivity, where they seem to fall into the same hopelessness before finally regaining the determination to stand up for themselves) and while they can be viewed by those who don't know them as miscreants and troublemakers, the ones close to them are able to see their hearts of gold. 

 I wasn't expecting it to go much beyond this until I got to the arc in the manga where Hiyori nearly turned into a fully-fleshed ayakashi and abruptly realized that she was the Nico in the story. Their personalities are so different that I never thought to make that comparison but it definitely fits: characters toeing the line between their human nature and the potential to give in to a very dark, destructive side of them, who both prove to have the determination necessary to come back from what would have normally been the point of no return, and who both have a goal of returning to fully human while at the same times coming to terms with the reality that this may not be possible and learning to accept and utilize their difficulties to help the ones they love. 

 Another obvious one I nearly missed was Bishamon as Miranda. Both women take no nonsense and can seem hardened and scary from the outside but prove to be very caring and kindhearted in reality. They both feel a responsibility for spirits in need and are known for taking in many of those spirits to offer them their own strength, even to the point where others see them as reckless because they're offering that strength to too many or too powerful spirits. They are introduced as enemies of the main character and their entourage, who over the course of time develop a grudging respect bordering on outright trust and friendship for them, and both ride unusual, fearsome mounts. I would have originally put Kazuma as Mellinor when I first realized Bishamon as Miranda (i.e. like thirty minutes ago) due mainly to his being her most powerful shinki and his unswerving loyalty, but the more I think on it the less I'm married to that idea. I've still got about ten chapters left to catch up so I'm mid-battle arc and don't know how things are going to play out ultimately, but I'm definitely seeing Mellinor similarities in Nana: imprisoned for a long period of time, way too powerful for most people to think it wise to bind her, mad at all of those who she feels wronged her, but united with Bishamon for a common goal, at least for the time being. 

 It's obviously not a perfect comparison (and nor would I want it to be or why even read both stories?) I'm kind of disappointed I haven't found a suitable Josef, and that I haven't really been able to give roles to Kofuku and Daikoku, who are far and above my favorite noragami characters (although maybe Slorn and Nivel a tiny bit?) but that's just where my brain has been recently. If anyone has any to add to my list here though please let me know your thoughts!

[kidsviral-blog]

Michael Ian Black jabs Coulter, ‘Founding Father fetishes'; Update: Waah!

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/michael-ian-black-jabs-coulter-founding-father-fetishes-update-waah/

Michael Ian Black jabs Coulter, ‘Founding Father fetishes'; Update: Waah!

http://twitter.com/#!/michaelianblack/status/281617291832082432

And yet another entry in the celebri-ghoul marathon rush to ghoulish jackassery. Now, if you defend the 2nd Amendment, you aren’t just a bitter clinger. You are also a “Founding Father fetishist.”

Comedian and actor Michael Ian Black started off exposing his idiocy by swooning over Piers “Musket” Morgan, the genius and noted firearms expert who just yesterday claimed one can buy AR-15s at the supermarket.

Holy shit: @piersmorgan is a boss. gawker.com/5969741/piers-…

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@truthfuljabs @piersmorgan He made the only point that matters: 12,000 gun-related deaths in US per year vs. 55 for England.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@truthfuljabs @piersmorgan He made the point that we have 300000000 guns in this country and correctly asked how more will help?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@truthfuljabs @piersmorgan Not true. statemaster.com/graph/cri_mur_…

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@reedroberts Agreed. He lied his ass off about the phone hacking scandal, which I am not as angry about as I am about guns.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Whatever! Because, guns.

Black then oh-so-classily responded to a Twitter user who is fed up with the ghoulish influx of celebrities who are pushing an agenda on the backs of the dead.

I live ten miles from Newtown CT.RT @retroradiogirl raise your hand if your ill that Hollywood is full of libs that can’t relate to the 99%.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Don’t tell me I can’t fucking relate. I’m living it. @retroradiogirl

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@retroradiogirl What the fuck does one have to do with the other? Are you out of your mind?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@retroradiogirl “Obama’s guns?” What are you talking about? THIS is the debate you want to have now? THIS?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

That doesn’t help push his agenda. Don’t look behind the curtain!

He then pitifully tried to slam S.E. Cupp and Ann Coulter.

@secupp Your argument for a nation that has 12,000 gun-related deaths a year is to do nothing about guns? Nonsense.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Wanting to stop mass murder is LOLZ! RT @anncoulter Words under photo of Pres. Obama in Lawrenceville, GA gun shop: “Salesman of the Year!”

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@joseph_mcbride @anncoulter You’re probably right. I’m neither a pundit nor as shrill as her. Doesn’t mean her views are correct.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Get back in the kitchen, shrill girls!

And then the straw men came out in droves; evidently, Mr. Black just loves the sound (or sight) of his own tweets. A few examples:

@makattak40 Banning guns does help. Please look at Australia, England, etc.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@4_rodger @kounteeline Nonsense. America is the most religious Western country.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

@djcaudill @makattak40 Further I would rather have more live violent crime survivors than murder victims.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Better to be unarmed and unable to defend yourselves from rape or another violent attack! Suck it up, ladies.

The whole “evil in the world” argument attempts to reduce people to “other than humans,” eliminating any societal factors.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Evil implies a supernatural cause for heinous actions, and since we can’t fight the supernatural, we are excused from blame.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Er. And what does blaming the gun do?

@michaelianblack blame the gun companies, blame the NRA, blame society, blame gun owners.Blame everyone except the shooter.

— joshua wade (@HenryHill25401) December 19, 2012

Bingo! Liberal alleged thought is all about sloughing off responsibility for absolutely everything. Poor rubes can’t do a darn thing on their own; Big Daddy Government must do all for you. You can’t be expected to even function on your own, never mind take responsibility for anything!

@pogue009 If loose GC would make us safe, I would too. Unfortunately, loose laws don’t seem to work.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

And strict gun laws, like in Conn., do?

Obama calls for US gun control proposals by January. So CT being #2 Most Strict Gun Laws in the U.S. not good enough??? bbc.in/XIMahp

— John Schafer (@johnschafer) December 20, 2012

Question One in Our National Conversation: If gun control is the “answer,” why did it fail the families of Newtown? redstate.com/2012/12/17/que…

— Brad Thor (@BradThor) December 19, 2012

Answer that one, Mr. Black.

Next came the blowing off of our Constitution and our rights. Rights aren’t absolute, you see. They are only given if Smarter Than You people believe you deserve them. Know your place, people!

@carcartercarter Finally, these large capacity guns/ammo clips serve no societal purpose. None.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

So threaten to kill the president. RT @herald_ml you either want our constitutional rights or you don’t. See 2nd amendment, enough said!

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@jrp4kids @herald_ml Do you believe we should able to lay landmines in our front yards? Should private citizens have ballistic missiles?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml And not you. Our freedoms are not absolute. There is ample precedent for this; the question is where you draw the lines.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml Not going to argue framer’s intention of rights, only interpretation: our rights are not absolute.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml Or what about that nice mosque down the road? If they want a Blackhawk with Tomahawk missiles, you’re cool?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml The amendment does not mention firearms, only “arms.” Def: weapons and ammunition;armaments.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml @jay_gord @jrp4kids @michaelianblack What does this mean? In what way does President Obama necessitate a private militia?

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml @jay_gord @jrp4kids Nobody has done that. Nobody.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

Not surprisingly, he is a Meghan McCain bestie.

@barret_swatek @mccainblogette Please don’t kill her with booze.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 19, 2012

Founding Fathers fetishization? What about deranged ghoulishness?

“We are not a decent society, and the ghoulish, deranged left is once again trying to use a tragedy as an opportunity.” bit.ly/VMxNHx

— Brady Cremeens (@brady_cremeens) December 18, 2012

You want a “dialogue?” Then respond to these questions, Mr. Black.

“So here’s the challenge for gun control advocates: explain why you failed the people of Newtown.” ow.ly/gbX4I

— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) December 18, 2012

Must-read: why did gun control fail Newtown? is.gd/3m0Fn0 Note that CT *already has* an assault weapons ban.

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) December 18, 2012

More from RedState:

You want this one event to be a national test? Fine. Why are there 20 children dead when the state of Connecticut did what you said they should to keep their people safe?

Once you answer that question, we can get this conversation underway.

But, you know, it’s easier to just slam the grown-ups and the people who defend freedom and liberty as “fetishists,” huh?

Update: Aww, he doesn’t like being questioned, evidently.

@dudeforromney “Updating my profile to ‘celebri-ghoul.’”

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

@herald_ml @avschad2112 I think Avs was talking to me. I’m trying to ignore this morning to the best of my ability – Twitchy Team is on me.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

The whining continued when Black retweeted things he thought were meany pants.

RT @shannityshair: Hi @secretservice,@michaelianblack is encouraging others to threaten to kill the president.I’m not amused. Hair …

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

RT @strangisk: @michaelianblack Our rights are absolute, you frigging tyrant wannabe

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

RT @loganrachel: @michaelianblack living it? you mean you were shot too? could you get any stupider

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

RT @bronson5624: @michaelianblack The Bill of Rights are STATED RIGHTS. Not granted rights by Government. You’re a blithering idiot.

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

RT @jerrycamp68: @michaelianblack Your extensive experience as a Canadian sketch comedy actor qualifies you as an American Constitutiona …

— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) December 20, 2012

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2012/12/20/celebri-ghoul-michael-ian-black-jabs-coulter-founding-father-fetishization-swoons-over-musket-morgan/