#i have no idea if this was an intentional reference

[lostinlovingrevery]

Trap

Trilogy! Logan X Mute! F! Reader

The team falls into a trap

A/N: This came out WAY differently than what I originally planned lmao. It started as a fluff piece and turned into a whole ass plot.

Warnings: Plot based, Fluff, Logan being a goof, reader is mute! Sign language is used, also gets referred to as "Quiet" by the villain, reader is a mutant with the power of animal communication/suggestion and is implied to be able to do more, reader gets attacked/chased, slight body horror descriptions, villain may or may not based off an re4 monster lol, canon typical violence, mention of blood, Logan saves you and kills the bad guy (for now)<3

You watched your frosty breath dissipate into the air.

The cold nipped at your nose and cheeks. The leather of your suit had done good at keeping you warm for awhile, but you've been outside, crouched in the snow for hours at this point.

The only source of warmth you have is the sweet little fox who decided to curl up next to you and take a nap.

You glanced down at the furry creature, a small smile stretched across your face as you reached down to gently pat it's head with your gloved hand. It sleepily blinked it's eyes open and looked up at you.

You sensed that it wondered how much longer you were going to be here.

No idea

You looked around, taking in your quiet, scenic surroundings. Evergreen trees stood tall over you, blankets of snow hid the Earth underneath. The only trace of any disturbance was your - and the foxes- footprints. You looked back forward, perched atop of a small cliff, you observed the facility below you.

A place colder than the forest you were surrounded in. It seemed to have been abandoned lumbar mill, but now was a hub for mutant trafficking. A bunch of sick assholes kidnapping mutants and putting them under control, selling them off to fighting rings, slave trades, hell- there's a possibility of military contracts going in and out of this place. An anonymous tip sent to Charles.

The team all felt unease from it. The topic already a dark subject. An anonymous tip meant you couldn't fully trust the source either. What if it was a trap? Ever since the X-men have become a...public entity, the more and more you have felt like you and your friends have become a target.

A team full of mutant superheros? The world hates you.

You can't bring yourself to hate it back.

The fox, perked its ears, turning its head to a new direction as it stared intently. You didn't have to look to know why it was so curious.

"Got yourself a lil friend?"

Logan's voice warmed your cold body, as you smile to yourself, ducking your head as you heard his footsteps approach. The fox watches him with both caution and curiosity. She stands up, taking a few steps away from him, but still close to you.

"Replacing me already huh bub?" He crouches down next to you, and you look at him with the tilt of your head. A big smile stretched on your face as you greet him, before you raise your hands and sign,

Not possible.

His eyes softened at your expression. He leaned forward to peck you on the lips, which only became something more lingering. You gently put a hand on his chest to push him away, only so you could speak.

You should be at your post, You tell him, a raise of your eyebrow, before dropping yours arm back in your lap.

"Got bored. Ain't nothing happening." He says, looking over the cliff. "Plus, I missed you."

You tried, and failed at suppressing your smile as you shake your head. He already knew what you were going to say, a small roll of his eyes.

"Yeah yeah we're on a mission." He says. "What does it hurt if I come see you for a few minutes?"

You shot him an unimpressed look, raising your hands again, It's never just a few minutes with you, my love.

A large goofy grin came across his face, his hand slid across your back, his touch making shivers run down your skin. He begins pulling you towards him. "Damn right it ain't." He mumbles into your lips, capturing you into a kiss once more. You began to giggle, your hands coming up to hold onto the collar of his suit, as you curved your body into his. "You cold?" He asks in admidst of your heated make-out session. You nodded. "Let me warm you up baby."

Before you could react, he began to push you down into the snow- but the fox comes and starts pouncing on him. Excited squeaks coming from her, as she frantically pushes herself between you both, attempting to curl up on your chest and practically screeching at Logan.

"Woah! Hey - I was here first bub." He scowls at the small animal. You laugh, pushing yourself up from the snow, the fox still maintaining a barrier between you both.

We can't, love. mission, remember?

He sighs, reaching out to pet the little fox- who nips his fingers, in a playful way. "Watch it." He growls, a point of his hand. He goes to pet her again, and she allows him this time. "Reminds me of you-" He glances up at you. You leaned back on your arms, tilting your head questioningly. "Little spitfire at first, but can't resist me." He shoots a wink and a cocky grin stretches across his face.

It makes heat bloom in your face as you look away bashfully, then look back at him with lidded eyes.

"Don't look at me like that." He says with a deep rumble in his voice. "I know that look." He voices a mocking tone, "The mission, remember?" He shakes his head. You reached over, playfully pushing him away into the snow.

Despite how his heavy frame couldn't technically be budged if he didn't want it to, he allowed you to push him; while grabbing your hand and pulling you down with him.

Snow fluffed around him as he pulled you on his chest, capturing you in another deep kiss. One of his hands slid across your waist, while the other buries into your hair. Just as he predicted, you melt into him

So insatiable, you thought to yourself. The fox ran playfully around you both.

"Wolverine, do you copy-"

Scott's irritated voice comes across the earpieces you both were wearing. Logan's face contorted into disgust. Scott spoke again and he groaned, going to unmute himself from the comms.

"What do you want, Cyclops"

"Are you at your post?"

Logan looked at you with a quirked brow and you stifle a giggle. "Sure I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm looking at you and someones tracker positions and it says you're together."

"Why don't you keep you nose out of my business Summers."

"Logan I swear-"

"Yeah yeah." Logan muted himself and Scott. "Pain in the ass."

You out an amused noise, sitting up and pulling him up by his collar. You sign,

He's right, we should get back to focusing.

"Yeah." Logan sighs, disappointment etched on his face, as he looks at you with kind regard. "Alright." He groans pushing himself up from the ground, brushing the snow off himself. He looks down at you, hands on his hips. "Y'know, we should go away for a weekend, or something'" He shrugs casually- but you notice the tips of his ears turning red, despite his already flushed appearance from the cold. "Just, you and me."

You smile, and nodded. He takes a few steps back, staring at you- like he was hesitant to leave. You blew him a kiss, which seemed to ease him, and he winked before turning and walking away. You looked at the fox who was now sitting and watching this interaction.

She yawns. A tilt of your head, you motioned for the fox to go with him.

Keep him company

She obliges, quickly hopping up and following the tracks that Logan had left behind. You watched with an amused smile, now feeling warm again from your interaction with him.

He was cute. Always wanting to be by your side. He tells you you're imagining things when you tease him about it, but always pulls you a little closer. His little visit to you just now is nothing new, during missions, work, hell even your private meetings he'll find some way to sneak into- force himself to into the topic, just so he can be near you.

He just can't seem to stay away.

Not that you minded. You reveled in his warm body pressed against yours. His voice always soothing you to sleep as he plays with your hair. His large hand calmed your nerves as he places them over yours when you begin picking at your nails. The way he watches you, every detail, with intensity as you speak with your hands.

He always listens.

He was such an arrogant prick when you first met him. You both butted heads all the time, yet somehow, with time, you became soft for the other. You found yourself watching him all the time, you'd blushed, and Jean would tease you for the thoughts that were in your head whenever you saw him - while Charles gave you a knowing smirk.

It was when you walked in on him, staring at a laptop he borrowed from Jean, trying to mimic the sign language video that was playing on the screen.

He was so incredibly flustered, but you just kissed him right there.

You both been inseparable ever since.

Static crackled over your earpiece as you heard Scott.

"We got a situation! Down in the factory-!" He sounded out of breath and panicked, so you didn't waste time to move.

Technically, you were more of discreet part of the X-men. You communicated with animals, and it allowed you to spy and gather intel on anything. You weren't a fighter, although you could fight if needed, and you could also call on your furry, feathery, or scaley friends to assist you; it wasn't a preference of yours though. You don't want them to get hurt in your battles.

However, when it came to your friends, your family. You wouldn't hesitate for a second to throw yourself into the heat of a battle.

The snow crunched under your feet, as you attempted to climb down the hill without falling, searching the area for signs of distress, listening for any shouts. Scott's distress and sudden silence afterward worried you.

Once you reached the bottom of the hill, you stealthily crouched around the old mill. Your eyes searching for something, anything. It unnerved you completely.

Things were too quiet. Too empty. Your eyes scanned the bottom, and you spot a flock a birds- crows, above you, circling the mill, likely in search for a meal.

Using your senses to call out, one flew down to join you, landing on your arm as you hold it out.

It caws, telling you that the mill was a dangerous place. Yes, you knew that already.

What do you see up there?

It informs you about a group of people- fighting, doing strange things. Some of them wearing suits similar to yours. Bingo.

It flaps its wings and takes off. You stay crouched, going along rusty assembly lines that were used to transport logs, going deeper to the large, towering factory until you found a door.

You still kept your eyes open, listening for the familiar sounds of fighting- but it was dead quiet. Other than the creepy creaks of the building, groaning against the cold that freezes it's frame.

You slipped inside to the darkness, only the windows that sat up high allowed for dim light that shined your path through old machinery.

Your steps where the only sounds that echoed through the factory. Other than small drips of a water source unknown, and creak of chains, blowing softly from wind that came through cracked windows.

You had a bad feeling in your gut.

A deep chuckle reverberated through the factory, the source coming from behind you, and the hairs of your neck rose, as you slowly turned around to see where the sound came from.

The man stood a few feet away from you. An arrogant smile on his face. He was tall - very tall. Pale skin, bald head. He just looked like a stereotypical bad guy, the kind you see in a James Bond movie.

"Ah, there she is." He tips his chin up, his voice had a hint of an accent that you couldn't place. His hands going into the pockets of his grey blazer- an absolute awful color on him by the way. What kind of person is not able to pull off the color gray? Everyone could wear gray. Not this guy apparently. "We weren't sure how you would be lured, always hiding you are. It worked out though, didn't it?"

You shook your head, reaching your hand to your utility belt to grab the knife hanging there. "I see great potential in you, beautiful. Do you know that the things you can do go so much deeper?" He tilts his head, taking a step closer to you. "You seem so unassuming on the outside, but that power inside..." He grins. You creased your brows, stepping back as he reached closer. "My colleagues.... They don't quite see the potential yet. They also say the quiet ones aren't fun. I digress. The quiet ones are always fun. Although I suppose I'll miss the banter."

You made a disgusted face, as you set yourself in a stance, prepared to fight. He looked at you with a questioning tilt of his head, and then laughed, his shoulders falling forward as he claps his hands together.

"I was waiting for a response-" He chuckled. "How silly?"

A breath passed, and suddenly he wasn't normal anymore. Your face dropped as you watched him grown taller- his torso seemingly split at the waist- his spine exposed, and extended - making him at least 14 feet tall,. His appearance was something that reminded you of a centipede.

Albeit centipedes were much cuter to you than this asshole.

It made you want to puke.

But his words, that made it worse. He didn't say it directly, but how he addressed you told you everything- It was a trap, it was all a trap. To either kill, or capture you- you loathe to find out.

He lunged after you and you immediately dodged and rolled. You began running away, weaving your way through the poles, and machinery, jumping over various obstacles.

You glanced behind you and wished you didn't- as he was chasing after you on all fours- skittering across the floor with his extended spine - maneuvering the obstacles of the mill with much more ease than you- and closing the distance between you. It was enough it made you want to jump on a chair like a little old lady who saw a mouse and scream, the sight being very unsettling, and you picked up your pace running away.

The only sounds of the warehouse was your frantic breathing, your footsteps, and your attackers laughter. You made your way through the maze you had found yourself in before finding the doors that would lead you outside.

You sensed help outside- the only problem were the doors were barred, keeping you escaping.

You felt a hand on your ankle as you were yoinked and lifted high into the air- a frightened noise escaping you as you attempted to grab something to get away. He brought you up to his face with a big smile.

"Got you!"

You punched him, his head snapping back.

"Ow!" He hissed, his head tipping forward, as a small stream of blood rolled down his nose. "Not very nice, sweetheart."

You attempted to swipe at him again, using your knife you still had ahold of, but he leaned back, extending his arm to hold you at a distance- apparently his spine not the only thing able to stretch. His other hand grabbed your wrist, shaking the knife from your grip.

"What did I say? The quiet ones are always fun. " He hummed, and you stuck your tongue out at him, "Oh, my feelings are so hurt." He mocks. "Don't worry dear, you'll be on my side soon enough."

You were left dangling in the air. You watched him pull out a syringe from his blazer, stretching his arms towards you. Your heart beating out of your chest, you frantically searched for something- Anything, to help you, when you spotted the murder of crows from earlier. All perched along the broke windows, watching the scene unfold with curiosity.

You waved your arm, and they take flight- diving towards your attacker. He yells, jostling you in the air as you swung back and forth as he tries to swipe away the offending birds. He dropped the syringe, and his grip loosened on your ankle, and you slipped out.

You prepared for the inevitable pain that would come to plunging onto the concrete floor- but it never came.

Instead, you were graced with two strong arms, catching you - like a princess. Your arms automatically wrapped around his Logan, as you blankly stare off in the distance- not quite sure how you ended up where you were. You turned to look at Logan, a cocky look on his face.

"Look at that." He purrs. "I got you."

You tilt your head, quirking a brow. He turned to look up at your attacker, still yelling and fighting off the hoards of crows.

"That guys a real weirdo, ain't he?" Logan says, setting you down carefully and pushing you behind him. He clenched his fists, his claws sliding out as he ran forward with a snarl, stabbing them into the legs of the James Bond-esque villain.

The crows took that as their cue to disperse, as the man cries out. He morphs back into his regular size, and Logan removed his claws, before grabbing the man by the collar of his ugly gray blazer, turning and slamming him against the wall. Logan's hold on him kept him up, but his legs were weak as blood stained his pantsuit.

"Who are you?" Logan growls.

He laughs through the pain, shaking his head. "We, are many. I am just one of all. All with the same goal. " He grins, a smile that sent a chill through you, a chill colder than the air inside the mill.

"You always talk like that?" Logan sneered. "There wasn't that many of you out there- and I took care of them all."

The man smirked. "Cut off one head, two more takes place." He reaches shaky hands up to pull open his collar shirt- a tattoo on his chest.

Hydra

He looked at you, a shaky breath escaping him. "You don't know- The power you have ins-"

Logan retracted the claws of one hand, stabbing it into the stomach of the hydra member, he lets out a choked gasp, turning to look at Logan with a sinister smile.

"Don't talk to her." Logan snarls. He pulled back the claws, letting the man fall to the ground. Logan steps back from the limp body, shaking his head. "Fucking Hydra." He scoffs. He turns to you, concern crossing his face, as he walks up to you, his hands grabbing onto your arms gently as he observes you up and down.

You nodded. Signing. It was a trap, they were trying to get all of us.

He nods. "Yeah, we got tricked. You heard one of us on comms, right?"

You nodded, signing Scott's name.

"One of the assholes out there had something sort of dumb ass mimic ability. Used it to draw us all out." He says. "Went a little crazy, but we handled ourselves or-" He clicked his tongue, tilt of his head. "I, handled it." He smirked.

How did you find me?, You signed.

He smiled, and his hand reached out, placing over where you heart beat. "I'm always listening for this." He says. "And when I heard it beating fast- and I wasn't the reason for it, I knew you were in trouble."

You smiled. His hand, reaching up to cup your face, leaning in to press a firm, but loving kiss to your lips. Your hands came up to grip onto the collar of his suit. Your lips parted from each other and he sighed.

"Definitely going away for that weekend soon. Understood?"

You let out a laugh, and nodded. He glanced at the body, then to you.

"What do you think he meant?" He raised a brow, "Bout your power?"

You shrugged. Signing, he said something similar when I came in here. I don't know, and don't really care to find out.

He chuckled, putting an arm around your shoulders. He noted a broke syringe on the floor nearby. "C'mon, lets get out of here. Chuck said he's putting in a call to get this place cleaned up. I think I need a little debriefing, just the two of us, after all this."

You hummed, a hand going around his waist as he led you out. You didn't see him looking at you, a face of concern. He didn't tell you yet, but he found out from the other so-called Hydra members that this trap was solely for you. The details, the why's, were a little fuzzy and he didn't care. All he knew is he needed to protect you. The best thing that's happened to him in a very long life.

It scared the hell out of him. Not for whatever power you might have. The fact that this may not be the only time where everyone gets the wool pulled over their eyes. What if this happens again? What if he can't get to you next time? Hydra could just snatch you off the street, what was the point of this ordeal?

He didn't know anything, but he sure as hell knew that you weren't going to be leaving his sight, anytime soon.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Translation question. I read Japanese Jade x Prefect comics using a translator and sometimes it will translate "mate" into something like "my turn". Like Jade will refer to the Prefect as his "turn" and his "mate" interchangeably. This has happened a few times with different artists. Do you have any idea if this is a misinterpretation of words or does the Japanese fandom have something going on with mer culture or...?

I assume this happened because “mate” and “my turn” are written with the same kanji (Chinese characters used as one of the Japanese systems of writing), 番 (fān in Chinese; generally refers to something foreign). It can be read multiple different ways depending on the context. 番 is read as つがい (tsugai) if you mean mate/pair. It can also be read as 番 (ban), meaning number. For example, 一番 or 1番 (ichiban) is “number one”/“best”/"first" (ie in terms of ranking). Sometimes it also refers to "guard", like 番犬 is "watchdog". I believe 番 can refer to "turns" too, but only in the context of "being the first to take their turn" in an order.

Most likely what is happening is whatever automatic translation tool you’re using is considering the surrounding text to guesstimate how to best translate the kanji (which, again, can be read multiple different ways). However, these tools are not the best at judging context. This results in sometimes going with the “my mate”/"watashi no tsugai") interpretation (which is likely the intention of the original artists) and sometimes going with the (likely incorrect) “my turn” ("watashi no ban"/"it's my turn") interpretation when the kanji or written version is the same for both phrases.

I think “mate” is the correct reading; it’s pretty common to see that term being used in cases of ships involving at least one part animal character like Jade. This is the case even when one partner (in this case, Yuu or the self-insert player) is a regular human.

And um, just a friendly reminder for everyone in case you see this post and get excited about sending things in 💦 I DON'T do translations. This is stated very expressly in my blog ask rules. Asks about little things like JP vs EN differences or terminology are okay, but do NOT ask for entire story sections, vignettes, events, fan comics/doujins, etc.

[sakurablossoms-world]

True Parentage Theory:

(Art belongs to @quesocheeso)

As the title suggests, I propose the idea that Mei is not Ao Lie’s very distant descendant and is in fact his daughter. I know that reasonably speaking that idea sounds ridiculous, but I have reason enough to believe that this is in fact a very likely possibility.

Let’s begin:

-Mei’s family and powers:

Let’s start with the Long family, or more specifically their family name. I find it fairly unusual that they refer to themselves as Ao Lie’s descendants, yet they don’t use the Ao family name. Granted the name could’ve been picked up from a husband of a female descendant, however a common enough practice in China is to have husbands take on the family name of their wife if she is of significantly higher status than him, so where could the name have come from?

Simply put the Long’s are not descended from Ao Lie, but rather his older sister.

It’s safe to assume that after Ao Lie accidentally destroyed his father’s palace, the western Ao family lost a significant amount of their status, so when Ao Lie’s sister married, she would’ve taken on the family name of her husband.

(I understand this bit sounds like a bit of a stretch, but just bare with me)

Another thing to note about the Long family is that whenever Mei’s heritage is brought up by others (particularly when referring to how she could survive the Samadhi Fire) it’s stated that she has dragon ancestry, but never that she is a dragon. This to me implies that the dragon blood in the Long family has become so diluted that they are for all intents and purposes human.

This would also explain why the Ao family sword hasn’t been wielded by anyone in centuries (based on the fact that it had been placed on display like the many other artifacts in the Long estate). As it was stated that only a true member of the family could wield the sword, which was most likely referring to the Ao line itself. Not to mention that one would at the very least need dragon chi in order to wield and manipulate a magical weapon such as this.

Diving further into the possession of dragon chi Mei has not only been the only member of the Long family shown using magic, she has also been shown to be on roughly the same level of power as Ao Guan, a pure blooded dragon. Even if we are to assume that the Long family still possesses natural magic abilities, Mei should not be anywhere close to Ao Guan’s level prior to obtaining the full Samadhi Fire.

Speaking of which:

-The Samadhi Fire Fragment:

For starters long dragons are not in any way aligned with fire magic (the closest thing to it is lightning), they are aligned with water and storms. So the explanation we’ve been given as to why Mei’s body could contain the Samadhi Fire makes no sense.

Further more how could the fragment contained in Mei have transferred from one generation to the next completely unnoticed. Even if dormant, the fragments needed powerful containers in order to keep them from destroying the world. And as mentioned earlier the Long family’s dragon blood has been diluted to the point of non existence, so there is no possible way a human could’ve safely contained the fire fragment, let alone the full Samadhi Fire.

Even Ao Lie himself could barely handle the force of the fragment and likely suffered a tremendous amount of pain as a result. After all Wukong would not have felt such intense guilt for this incident if not for the fact that Ao Lie had been suffering because of his mistake.

Speaking of our sweet little dragon:

- Ao Lie and the scroll of memories:

Before I go into the similarities held between Mei and Ao Lie, let me give you another theory that will help further explain things later down the line.

(Note I am not the first to come up with this theory, a YouTuber by the name RV Sketch was the first to propose this idea)

I firmly believe that Ao Lie is still alive and is simply trapped in the scroll of memories. How am I sure of this? Well firstly Tang sated and I quote “Monkey King is the only original companion we know for sure is still alive”, now I know that many will take this to mean that it was in reference to Tang, Pigsy and Sandy themselves, however this wouldn’t make any sense as by the logic of reincarnation they’re no longer the pilgrims themselves and so logically those particular pilgrims couldn’t be considered still alive, so it could only be referring to Ao Lie.

Another thing to note is the behavior of the memories themselves, while they do interact with others, they behave more like actors following a script that are simply improvising for any changes. Ao Lie on the other hand does not behave like this at all, his interactions with Mei are too complex and emotion driven to be a script.

Even when Wukong is briefly remembering the pilgrims during the fight with the ink demon, Ao Lie once again behaves differently than the others, walking past Wukong and placing a hand on his shoulder with his face obscured, while the other pilgrims stand by Wukong’s side smiling.

Now I know some of you will ask why didn’t Ao Lie recognize that Mei wasn’t a memory if he really is the actual Ao Lie, well simply put he’s been in the scroll so long that he’s no longer able to tell the difference. After all Wukong who spent a few hours to a day in the scroll needed a moment to recognize that MK was real.

Many of you will ask who put Ao Lie in the scroll and the answer is obvious, Xiangliu the ninth king of Diyu. Why exactly, well we unfortunately don’t have enough information on the nine headed demon to make a decent guess, so I’ll have to end this part here for now.

And now onto the similarities between our two dragons:

Aside from their temperament, they are completely identical in personality.

In terms of morality and values, aside from their stance on action vs inaction, both are once again identical.

Both are often underestimated by others, and themselves.

Both have the same cat smile when being particularly goofy.

Both have similarly placed green streaks in their hair (and I know many of you will point out that Mei’s streaks are hair dye, but considering that the streaks didn’t disappear when Mei first obtained the Samadhi Fire while her makeup did, I have reason enough to believe that they’re natural).

Both have an affinity with lighter shades of green, compared to the other members of the Long family who have an affinity with darker shades of green.

Additionally something to note about Ao Lie is just how young he actually is, comparatively he appears to be as old or a bit older than Mei, so there’s very little chance that he was ever married prior to his sentence and the jttw, it’s also unlikely that he would’ve been married off post journey, as Ao Run would’ve still held contempt towards his son. Which adds further credence to the idea that the Long family are descendants of Ao Lie’s sister and not him.

-What happened:

Now that we’ve gotten all the details out of the way let me tell you how I believe these two are related.

Ao Lie had been suffering as a result of the Samadhi Fire Fragment for a long time and would’ve likely died soon enough if it were to remain inside him.

Eventually the Ao Family managed to perform a ritual to safely remove the fragment from Ao Lie’s body.

The ritual was a success and went exactly as planned with the exception of one detail. Rather than forming a ring like the previous Samadhi Fire ritual an egg appeared instead. This is because the fire had attached itself to Ao Lie’s chi and took some of it with it when it was removed. In turn creating Mei.

At some point Ao Lie was abducted and trapped in the scroll of memories. Years passed and the family was unable to find him, so he was presumed dead.

Due to the lack of her father’s presence Mei was unable to hatch for a very, very long time. Eventually hatching twenty plus years pre canon.

She would be taken in by Mr and Mrs Long to be raised as their daughter.

They would inform her that she is a descendant of Ao Lie (a half truth, as a child by definition is a descendant of their parents), as a way to allow her to form a connection with the parent that she’d never get to know.

And that’s everything feel free to tell me what you think, just please remain polite in the comment section 😊

[photogirl894]

Friends and readers of "Sun and Rain"...I have a special surprise 😊

Kind of as my way of saying farewell to part 2/season 1 of the Bad Batch, I have undertaken an art project that I've been meaning to do for a while now. If you've read everything, then you'll know what this is! If you haven't, no worries, it's not too huge of a spoiler.

In between episodes 6 and 7, the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force go undercover at an Imperial masquerade gala. This idea came from my bestie, @l-lend , and it was so much fun to put together, from the outfits to the mission itself. Well, I have now drawn all those who were part of the mission in their gala ensemble and I now want to share those art pieces with all of you so you can see what I have envisioned 🥰🥰

Let's start with the Clones, shall we? 😉😏

First, we have Hunter! (As a note, in the story, his tattoo was covered with makeup as it would still be a dead giveaway of his identity even under the mask, so don't worry! I didn't forget to add it 😜)

Then next, we have the big guy himself: Wrecker!

Last of the Clones is Echo! (Tech was doing recon for the mission, so he didn't get a masquerade look, sorry!) Echo's was the most elaborate of the Clones because he had a side cape and a helmet mask to hide his cybernetics.

And now...the lovely ladies! 🥰

We'll start with Rina, @l-lend 's OC! As a note, normally her hair is purple, but the color was stripped before the gala so she wouldn't be recognized, so here she has her natural hair color. Everything she's wearing was all chosen by K herself 😊

Next, we have Lex!

Then there's Kida, who designed and created all of the outfits herself, as the resident fashionista!

Then last, but certainly not least, my girl in all her splendor: Kimber! 💜 She was undercover as a performer at the gala and Kida wanted her to stand out, so she made her look as regal as the Queen of Naboo!! 🥰😍

(Also I realize, I pretty much made Kimber look like a Star Wars version of Belle from Beauty and the Beast 😅🤣 not really intentional lol)

Irys, also, was with Tech doing recon, so she didn't get an outfit, as well.

One last thing, these pictures will be added to the Imperial masquerade gala chapter for visual reference!

And there you have it!! The Bad Batch and the Koriena Force in their gala attire and don't they all look fabulous?? 😍 I hope you all like them! I put a lot of thought and effort into their looks when I wrote the chapter a while back and drawing them took just as much effort.

You can read my fic, "Sun and Rain", here!

Love you all! Stay tuned soon for some Part 3 news!! 💜

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado ,

@ladykatakuri , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @thebadbatchscyare ,

@chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend ,

@nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter ,

@techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified , @theknightofivanhoe , @dreamsandrosies ,

@seaofsunberries , @flowerfellfrans

[murdercide626]

I can't be the only person who thought this, right? lol

[anne-is-confused]

Captain Francis Crozier, at Furthest North.

[radiance1]

"May I help you, mister...?"

Pariah Dark paused, slowly looking the old (by human standards) butler up and down before slowly sheathing his sword and crossing his arms. He looked the butler up and down once more, before glancing at the mansion and back at him.

Hm.

Hm.

"May I come in?" The king asked calmly, voice kept carefully lower than he would usually speak with. He was aware that his normal tone of voice was 'loud' in human standards. The butler stared at him for a moment, before slowly stepping to the side. "Of course, sir. Though I am certain I have not yet gotten your name."

He pushed his foot forward, soon passing through the threshold as fire wrapped around his body as he shrunk. Armor being exchanged for more 'comfortable' clothing besides his cape as he stepped through the doorway and grunted. "You may refer to me as War."

The butler nodded, not batting an eye as the sudden shift in clothing or size. "You came at quite the convenient time. Would you like to join us for dinner, sir War?"

Him?

Eat mortal food?

Perposterous.

"If you would have me and it's no further effort on your part, I could make such an arrangement." He fell in step easily behind the butler, hands folding behind his back in a similar if not a bit more extra way as his cape and hair swayed behind him with his every step.

"I believe I can arrange something to your liking," There was a sliver of mischief in the butler's tone as he led the king to what he assumed to be the dining room. "So far, all of my guests had only good things to say about my hospitality. I do so hope you're among them as well, words of praise from one of your station is quite hard to come by."

"I trust that your hospitality be nothing but kind." The king said, coming to a stop at a door the butler soon held open.

"Please, make yourself comfortable while I go inform those who will join you and make something more..." There was a slight twinkle in the butler's eyes. "Attuned, to your pallet."

The king chuckled. "I look forward to it." Then stepped inside.

[ofswordsandpens]

I rewatched Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai recently and it's left me wondering – when Zuko begins to goad Azula into striking him with lightning, was he making the decision to kill her?

Because had Azula shot lightning directly at him like he planned and not at Katara, the most forthright implication to me is that he was intending to strike Azula with her own lightning. And Azula, for all her mastery, would not have been able to counter that.

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't planning to kill her at all and was simply planning to redirect it elsewhere (similar to what he did with Ozai). But given the tone of tragedy throughout the Agni Kai, the fact that they both acknowledge that this fight will be "the end" to them, I don't think it's inaccurate to read Zuko's actions as him preparing to kill Azula, even though an Agni Kai doesn't have to end with death (and in canon it didn't). Also, why goad her into striking him with lightning if he wasn't planning on doing something intentional with it? If anything, it adds another layer to the tragedy to me, because I don't believe Zuko wants to kill her. And it stands in such contrast to the way that Azula desperately wants to kill him.

I also think that there would have even been something sadly poetic in that sort of demise for Azula should the Agni Kai had gone this direction: Azula, struck down by her preferred sub-skill. Azula, struck down by the very bolt of lightning that she intended to kill her brother with. Azula, struck down by her own power.

[azaracyy]

"...that's all from me. does any of you have any questions?" "nope! crystal clear." "kew!" "that's good! um... thank you for this discussion." "you're the one who came up with this awesome plan, lopmon. have more confidence in yourself." "kew, kew kew kew!" digimon survive week 2024 day 2: cooperation

[all-my-ocs-are-evil]

Grojband, but as a band from an early 2000s shoujo manga

[dietmimo]

🥛

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ooh big hug

[arathejedi394]

yikes,,, i'm so butthurt,,, it's like this fictional character is illegal to reference unless you're worshipping him. he's not real. i use him in everything bc he's fictionally steve rogers the fictional character's fictional best friend.

also nobody mentioned,,, sambucky??? i've never tagged a post sambucky? maybe i did that one time when I wrote a sam/steve/bucky fic. but that was like two years ago?

anyway i will continue tagging sam wilson in anything I write him in. bc that's how writing works. when you include a character you tag them. ok? calm down. I'm not being serious here. this is all for shits and giggles. also I will continue using sam wilson as a character in my mcu fics. bc he's a fictional character. that should be included in fictional mcu settings bc he's important. bc he deserves more screentime. his arc is as important to the mcu as steve's; captain America was created by jewish immigrants and all the content related to that story delivers important messages to the readers. it also provides a forum where I can write bucky barnes calling steve rogers a faggot to reclaim that slur while sam wilson observes.

also nobody asked you? nobody asked you to comment?

[fvckw4d]

The concept of queerbaiting annoys me. I was told that it refers to a work of fiction pretending to cater to a queer audience but then pulling back from it to avoid alienating homophobes, which is an incredibly specific thing. But a lot of people seem to think that it instead means "any time there's any gay subtex, metaphor, or ambiguity" or "whenever something from 1995-2012 was being a normal amount of homophobic for the era."

[pestorik]

It was the "Try to remember" in the AT x TWST tittle cards....

i thought you were gonna say my freakish obsession with worldbuilding and lore. i guess im at a point in life where homestuck is so deeply ingrained in me that im not even aware when im making references to it

[springespronge]

???

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