#i just put most of my titan blood in that and power aspect is going great

[axeknee]

I recently started playing Hades again after like a year long break and I thought I would be like garbage at the game now but I'm maybe actually good now?

Just playing a couple hours every few days I just got to the surface for the first time and almost defeated the final boss??

[bicsbec]

Natural Melodies

Chapter 4: places to rest (ao3 link)

Raine loved every single aspect of performing, except the performance itself. As they saw it, the point of music wasn't to show off natural talent or how well one could perform a particularly nasty piece. Music was nature condensed into sound, the musician its translator. But Raine was a bard, performance came with the job description.

As their little concert came closer, Raine felt queasier at each rehearsal. 

"I think Raine needs a drink," Derwin joked when he saw Raine’s pale face. They were packing up, spelling away their instruments and repertoire. 

"I think Grimgrub's Pub is still open," Katya suggested. Amber immediately perked up.

"We're getting wasted? With Raine? Sign me up."

"Oh, no," Raine interjected. "If I'm drinking anywhere, it's in the comfort of my own home. I can't keep up with you kids."

Katya nudged them with her elbow. "A bottle of apple blood with Eda sounds like a better time than us, that's for sure."

Raine felt their face go red. "I miss when I was your superior. You kept your noses out of my personal life."

"No, we didn't," Amber said. "We just did it behind your back."

"I'm flattered," Raine said sarcastically.

"So, that's a no to Grimgrub's?" Katya asked.

"Thank you for the invitation, but no. I have to get home. Kids and a girlfriend to get to."

Katya and Amber cooed at that, but Derwin gave Raine a smile.

"A family looks good on you, poet," he said.

Raine smiled back. "Thank you. I think so, too."

But Katya wasn't wrong. And Eda always did like to put Raine on their back. 

Darius and Eberwolf had taken up residence near the heart of the Titan, where most Coven Heads had lived during Belos' reign. It was now an empty villa, occupied by them as they set up a council that was separate from the coven system. Raine had given them Luz's notes and they'd taken off with a running start, trying to set up before anyone made a dangerous grab for power.

They seemed busy every time Raine stopped by. Even as they stopped by to pick up Hunter. 

"Raine, what brings you here?" Darius answered the door. Raine was almost surprised to see that Eberwolf wasn't perched on his shoulder.

"Eda sent me to pick up Hunter early," Raine said, holding up Owlbert. "We're having dinner with Camila. She wanted to give Hunter some time to get ready."

"Hm, the human mother, yes," Darius said, looking over his shoulder. "Well, come on in. We've been wondering if we could bother you with a few questions." He stepped aside, opening the door further.

"Uh, sure," Raine gave him a funny look. "What about?"

"More like pick your brain, get your opinion." Darius led them to the office, where Eberwolf was buried under various scrolls. He seemed to be straining his eyes; Raine suspected he had a migraine. 

"Hey, Eber," Raine greeted. He only closed his eyes, raising a hand in return. "So, what did you want my take on?"

"We've been looking into this parliament business, how to set up democratic elections, who can qualify as a candidate," Darius started.

"Sure, right."

"We figure the Isles would have a representative per body part."

"Mm-hm."

"So, uh," Darius was fidgeting, talking with his hands too much. The next words tumbled out of his mouth. "How would you feel about being a candidate for the Knee?"

"Wouldn't I have to live there most of the year or something? And more importantly, I'm not a politician, Darius. Leading a coven and making decisions for the whole population are two different things."

"Yes, but see, most people don't know that. You're already a step ahead."

The proposal wasn't particularly appealing to Raine, as they recalled Coven Head meetings and the headache of dealing with self-important idiots with a fragile ego. But they also considered every other person that might want that seat, being a driving force into the decisions made over the Isles. Raine could see why Eber had a migraine.

"I don’t know, Darius," they said honestly. "I'll think about it. But I'm not moving back to the Knee for this."

"Yep, no, that's perfectly fine," Darius said quickly. "We just couldn't imagine doing this without you." The tension in Eberwolf's shoulders seemed to ease. 

"You'd be fine, I'm sure of it," Raine said dismissively. "Opposition to authority doesn’t equate to having the means to lead." 

"You underestimate yourself, songbird."

"Ha! Sure," Raine smiled at the nickname. "I'll just grab Camila's kid and twitter my ass out of here before you force me to be in your parliament."

Darius laughed at that.

"Dang, you can hold a grudge. Fine, take the princeling. And please give this some thought."

"I will," Raine said, waving to Eberwolf before calling for Hunter. 

They heard his footsteps before they saw him. "Raine? What are you doing here? I told Miss Eda I'd be back before dinner."

"Camila and Luz are coming over, Eda thought you'd like to be there before they arrived."

His eyes lit up, his palisman turning into a staff as soon as Raine finished. They barely had to wait for Hunter to dash and say his goodbyes before he was hurrying out of the house, flying on his palisman.

The flight back to the Owl House was tranquil. Hunter seemed to be in his own head, his passive smile the only hint of what he might be thinking. Even with the damage Flapjack had received in the Human Realm, he seemed to be able to fly smoothly enough, a few hiccups here and there that Hunter didn't seem to mind. 

Raine had always gotten along with Owlbert, the palisman had been playful and endearing, often focusing that energy on Droplet. Their heart thumped heavier at the thought. Magic with no companion to flourish. 

Owlbert was no substitute. No one palisman would be, really, but…

"Hunter, Eda told me you carve palismen now," Raine started, still not loving the idea of a new palisman. Palistrom wood was still so rare.

"Oh, um, yeah. I do. I'm still learning. Mr. Clawthorne says I have a good steady hand."

Raine chuckled. "I suppose you do."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I lost my palisman to—um, she's gone. And Eda said you could help me out. But it's not urgent," they said. "I'm aware of the state palistrom trees find themselves in." 

Hunter softened, his eyes falling to Flapjack. "I'd be honored, Raine. I have a feeling that palistrom trees will be fine, we just have to wait a little."

Raine could do that. After all the years in the Bard Coven, ascending ranks, patiently plotting, carefully organizing to strike against Belos, the countless hours spent trying to disentangle themself from the Collector's grip, waiting a little was easy. 

Luz was an eager student. Even when she was away at her human school, she continued to practice on Eda’s lute. Before Tassie had hatched, all Luz could do was learn the pieces and patterns that accompanied bard spells. With Tassie's aid, she could now produce magic. Their lessons had taken off after that.

Every time she saw Raine, she was a little bit better, her fingering and chord progressions growing smoother.

" Mamá really liked Raine's Rhapsody. She told me she wanted to hear its original composer play it," Luz told them, much to their tiny horror. 

"Right, but I'm sure you do it justice," Raine said anxiously. An audience of one was significantly more terrifying than a faceless crowd. Smaller groups, especially if it was just their family, were more manageable. 

"Say, when are you gonna teach me all the cool spells Eda said you knew? Rearranging molecules, manipulation spells, all that stuff," Luz said excitedly. She cradled Tassie in her lap, the weird creature clicking its odd chatter contently. 

Raine brightened at the question, sliding into teacher mode.

"Well, basic bard magic consists of altering the 'mood' around you, working with the atmosphere and how it affects people's feelings. Technically, you're already doing one of the cool things you wanted to do. Bard magic works through sound, which is just variating vibrations, which we can manipulate to our liking. It's anything and everything you want it to be. That's why many overlook it and underestimate it. They just think it's limited to entertainment," they explained, summoning their violin. "So lets say I were to play a tune with pizzicato," they plucked at the strings with their index, "and my only intention is atmospheric, how does it affect you?"

"Right now it just feels jolly or bright," Luz said, trying to find the right word. It was always difficult to verbalize how Bard magic felt. Raine changed the pattern. "Agitated, like I have to run," Luz amended. 

"Good, now I'm going to move your feet," Raine warned her. It was a subtle shift, like a grace note placed at the end. Luz stood up, Tassie moving toward Raine to avoid her feet, and started marching in place.

"Woah!"

Just for fun, Raine made her feet dance a little before releasing her.

"It takes practice, but you're already messing around with cool spells," Raine said with a smile, dispelling their violin.

Luz got a look of excitement that made Raine understand why Eda said she'd get starry-eyed. It was a spot on description.

"I'm gonna practice 'til my fingers fall off!"

Raine chuckled nervously, believing her entirely capable. "Maybe not until they fall off , perhaps just until they're sore."

"I'll make no such promise." 

Weirdly enough, Luz was very much Eda’s kid.

Unfortunately, not all days could consist of enlightening bard classes, mirthful rehearsals, and family dinners. Some days started with a fright.

"RAT! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"EDAAA!"

"HEY!"

The door to their room slammed open, a stumble and a crash making Raine jump awake. They'd taken to waking up a little later ever since moving into the Owl House and were deeply regretting it. They sat up against the weight of Eda’s arm around their waist, startled by the claws crawling up their sweater and the weight settling in the back hood, pulling at their neck. Their bow was in their hand instinctively. 

There were two figures crashing into the room, frozen at the entrance. 

"Sorry, sorry!" It was Luz's voice.

"This is low, King," Hunter accused. 

"What the f—" Eda cleared her throat, starting again. "What the heck is going on? King ."

Raine pulled him out of their hoodie, which made King hug their neck so as to not be pulled off. "Hunter was chasing me," King said desperately.

"Care to tell them why , rat?" He was using his Golden Guard voice. Hunter was pissed .

"Stop calling him that," Luz interjected. "He said he was sorry."

Raine was too blind and too tired to follow the conversation or connect any dots, so they laid back down, hugging King like a pillow and dispelling their bow. 

" Really? All I heard was—"

"Alright! That's enough! Out!" Eda said, getting up and ushering them out. "You, too, King."

King was lifted out of Raine’s arms, picked up by his scruff.

"Weh! Wait! Hunter will skin me!" 

"And why's that?"

"I, uh, I might've scratched up a palistrom log?" King said timidly. "It had the bark off! I didn't know what it was!"

"Ignorance doesn't exempt you from guilt," Raine mumbled, almost asleep again.

"Raine’s right, King. You gotta make it up to Hunter."

"How? I can't just grow a tree!— Wait ." Small feet padded out of the room. And King's voice, now muted, called, " Luz! "

Quiet settled over the room again, Eda’s arm returning to Raine’s waist.

"Sorry about the kids," Eda said in a low voice.

Raine shook their head. "Nah, it's nothing. I know what's the deal. I just wish they'd fight quietly." 

Eda snorted. "You and me both." She held them closer, kissing their cheek. "I lucked out with you, huh?"

Raine shook their head again. I'm the lucky one.

Heart attack and all, Raine would do it again. The headaches and the scream-fights and the occasional wrestling matches that had to be pulled apart. Raine would do it forever; they loved those kids and they loved the woman that mothered them. 

King made it up to Hunter. Raine was still a little dumbfounded by it. King had grown a tree.

As he told it, he asked Luz to help him cast a plant glyph on a palistrom seed they had snatched from the Bonesborough Botanical Garden. Raine thought they probably could've asked to the same effect, but that wasn't likely with a Clawthorne and Eda's apprentice. 

King had excitedly dragged everyone out of the house, even Hooty had slithered out to follow King into the red pine woods. Where there used to be a clearing now stood a young palistrom tree. 

Hunter marveled at the tree before rushing Luz and King into a tight hug.

"Oh, my Titan," Hunter laughed. "Do you know what this means?"

"I've found my next summer project?" Luz half joked. Raine could see she was already set on the idea.

Hunter gave her a bright smile. These kids were going to single handedly change the Isles.

Hunter walked up to the tree, running an appreciative hand over the smooth bark. The bark under Hunter's hand shone, spreading through the rest of the tree. The trunk grew thicker, the bark rougher, the branches taller, the leaves fuller.

He laughed, almost hysterically. " Luz ," Hunter called with a tone of incredulity. 

"You kids are really something," Eda said, taking a step closer to inspect the tree.

Raine was pretty sure their jaw was hanging open. Only Luz seemed unfazed, excitedly jumping on the balls of her feet.

"We are kicking palistrom butt this summer! But, like, in the good sense," Luz said, shaking his shoulder. 

Hunter had been right, the palistroms would be just fine under the care of the Nocedas and King.

Raine picked up King, saddling his weight on their hip. "Nice work, buddy."

"Thanks," King said sheepishly. "It was the least I could do."

"I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but I'm proud of you. You really owned up to your mistake. And Eda definitely thinks the same," Raine told him.

King hugged them, a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you. It means more than you think."

There was a small lump in their throat that Raine hadn't expected at King's words. A startling sense of relief washed over them when they realized that not only did they love Eda’s kids, but her kids loved them back.

King never told Raine what his nightmares were about, and Raine never really asked, but they had their suspicions. It was likely the same type of nightmare that kept them up at night as well. 

Limp limbs and cold skin and unseeing eyes. Impotence and dread. Moments they didn't quite witness but had a part in. Watching and dreaming, a blur of what was real and what wasn't. 

Sleep was a heavy prospect to face with dreams like that, vividly confined.

The nightmares were less frequent now that they were away from the cold of the Knee, but when they did occur, Raine worked on their reminder that things were different now.

They kept playing around with the name, torn between the nomenclature of its composition or of the poetry it emulated. Raine finally settled on The Owl's Ballad, considering how long they'd been wanting to write something about Eda that wasn't about their breakup. And considering that the piece they'd been working on was every feeling Eda brought to their mind. 

It was taking flight and starting anew, warmth that coursed through their veins and pooled in their heart, magic that roamed free and unbound from strings and strange hands. It was love, young and naive, unrealistic and unreasonable; older and well-worn, compromising and understanding. It was home, she was home. In the same way that grudgby matches on hot summer days were home and quiet sunset duets among flower fields were home. Fleeting moments of happiness that felt too good to be allowed, like their existence broke the rules. 

And breaking the rules always felt like a good place to rest.

Raine spent their sleepless nights transcribing the piece into its first draft, papers scattered over the desk in the corner of their bedroom, a few glyph lights illuminating the scrolls.

"Rainestorm?" Eda’s sleep-ridden voice carried over to them, startling Raine. "What're you doing up?"

"Eda! I didn't mean to wake you," they whispered.

"You didn't," Eda whispered back, peaking over the edge of the nest. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. You can go back to sleep."

Eda crawled out of their nest and looked over Raine’s shoulder, inspecting the notations.

"The Owl's Ballad? Is this about me?"

Raine suppressed a smile, only a little self-conscious. "Yeah, it's about home."

"Will you play it for me?" 

They blushed at that, their nerves mixing with the upcoming performance. Raine had played for Eda all of their works in progress, all of their shit drafts, all the embarrassing firsts. She'd heard them all. This one was like an exposed nerve, everything they still hadn't put into words put into feeling. Eda would feel how they felt about her. It rattled and emboldened them.

"Are you nervous?" Eda asked teasingly.

"A little, which is odd," they said, summoning their violin. 

"I can turn around if you want." She used to do that for them the first few times they showed her a draft. Their heart melted.

"Nonsense, take a seat."

"If you say so." She straddled their lap, a very annoying smirk playing on her lips.

Raine felt their face heat up. " Eda ."

Eda laughed in that contagious way that always ended in a snort. "You barely get flustered! You can't blame me for taking advantage of it." She kissed them chastely and stood, leaning on the desk instead. "Let's hear it."

Raine shook their head with a smile and started to play.

With the first note, moments that were familiar to both of them began to bleed together as Raine weaved each feeling to the next.

The jinxes and mayhem that ran through the school as Eda had her fun and Raine tagged along. The rush of getting in trouble but having no real consequences to show for it; the rush of showing Eda the first draft of their Rhapsody, which they'd written for her to play. Eda's erratic nature, Raine always on their toes, always after her. 

When she dropped out of school, shortly after her duel with Lilith; when she ran from home, showing up at their door weeks later. Their first kiss, their first time, their first fight. Their first secret, the curse, and everything they didn't say about it. 

The melody ran through the contrasts of their days together now, the quiet new things Raine noticed about Eda. The way she carried herself, the way she cared for King and Luz and Hunter, her enthusiasm when she got to teach them about wild magic, the way she had let them in her walls, the way those walls continued to crumble.

This was home, this was where Raine finally got to rest.

The final note died out into the quiet of the room, fading into the darkness of the night.

Raine let out a breath, the kind they held the first few times they ran through a piece, like they weren't sure they wouldn't fumble.

"Well, that was—" Raine looked up to find Eda red-faced. She cleared her throat. "Flattering isn't even the right word. This was keeping you up?"

"Only partially. I, um, sometimes get nightmares. Like King. This helps me calm down," they gestured to their annotations, dispelling their violin. 

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Your curse already makes you so tired, you need to rest. A few late nights won't kill me."

"They won't kill me either, Raine," she said, sliding back onto their lap, kissing their nose. "You can wake me up if you need company."

Her weight trapped them in the chair, leaving them with nowhere to go. But the dread never settled. Eda wasn't imposing, wasn't unwelcome. Raine was there, present, free to move their hands to her waist and feel the warmth of her body and see the shine in her eyes as she smiled at them. She was a salve to the Collector's lingering damage. A good place to rest.

"Yeah, I can do that." 

Sleep didn't come much easier, but it seemed lighter to face now.

prologue | < chapter 3 | chapter 5 >

[agentofmischief]

Birthstone Legacy Challenge

Ok, I don’t post a lot on here, but I’m a huge fan of the sims. I’ve been playing it since gen 1 back in 2000. So, I’ve been having fun with challenges, especially the past couple years with 100 Baby, and I’ve found online. And after reading hearing and reading up on Lilsimsie’s Not So Berry Challenge, I had an idea of my own challenge. So, I thought I’d share if anyone else wanted to play along.

Disclaimer: These challenges mean nothing in regards to people born in that month. I simply took symbolism and cultural aspects of each stone to create a challenging and interesting playthroughs you might not think to do.

Lifespan requirements: Normal (not sure if it’s possible on Short, but if you want hard mode, do it).

The idea is to start with your month’s birthstone, then each generation is the next month’s stone for either 10 generations (traditional Legacy), or 12 if you wan to do the full year. You could also start on the month after your birth month with a full year play-through, so your birth month acts as a “finale”. Might be helpful if say your birth month is April, and you know your month’s stone is Diamond and to you it sounds like a finisher, or if your birth month is December, and you’d just prefer to start with January’s stone. It’s up to you.

These will just be listed month by month, so they are easy to find.

Like in the other color challenges, you want to model your sim with the stone’s colors in mind. You should also build their house with their stone’s color in mind.

1. January stone: GARNET

    Color: Dark Red

Garnets have a high refractive index, which causes them to look as if they are emitting light. Due to this phenomenon, travelers during the crusades would carry them to ward off evil. The stone represents Faith, Love and Constance.

Traits: Good, Ambitious, Cheerful

Goals:

 - Complete the Soulmate aspiration

- Complete the Law career as a judge.

- Must maintain career until death (meaning no retirement, quitting, or being fired).

- Must have at least 2 kids after the soulmate aspiration is fulfilled.

- All children must be raised with all green character values and no lower than Bs in school.

2. February stone: AMETHYST

    Color: Purple

The word Amethyst comes from the Greek word, amethystos, meaning “not drunken.” This comes from a myth where Dionysus was so enraged, he vowed his wrath on the next human he saw, which was a young woman, Amethystos. To “save” this woman, Artemis turned her to stone (note to self, don’t ask Artemis to save you ever, because her track record sucks). Dionysus calmed at seeing the stone’s beauty, and poured his wine on it, giving the stone it’s purple color. In more recent centuries, amethysts have been associated with piety and rank in the Catholic Church, as bishops are given amethysts when they are appointed.

Traits: Genius, Bookworm, Snob (If you have Snowy escape, replace one of these with Proper).

Goals:

-Complete the Knowledge - Renaissance Sim aspiration.

-Complete the Education Career as a Professor.

-Can not go to bars or nightclubs

-Max out Logic, Writing, and a musical skill (Violin, Guitar, Piano, or Singing)

-Can never marry or enter into an official dating relationship; HOWEVER must have at least 1 kid at some point to continue the legacy. This can be through adoption, which is more likely if you want to play pure piety or you have an Ace sim in mind, and the adoptee must be a child or teen. The other option is through secret woohoos if you want to play the more historically accurate, seedy way. **If you are playing with Risky Woohoos, you can have max 2 kids living with you. All others children must be removed from the house and into a Townie’s home once they become toddlers.

3. March stone: AQUAMARINE

    Color: Light Blue

Due to aquamarine’s sea-like color, they’ve long been associated with traveling and the sea. Sailors used to put them under their pillows to calm themselves. They are said to inspire peace and ward off poisons.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Glutton, Loner

Goals:

-Complete Angling Ace aspiration.

-Eat out of the trash 5 times without getting sick.

-Have an aquarium with 10 fish.

-Catch a vampire squid. ** Or if you have Island Living, you must become a mermaid.

-Must eat and learn to make Pufferfish Nigiri.

4. April stone: DIAMOND

   Color: White/Silver

Diamond is the hardest stone on Earth, and is often associated with wealth and treasures. The word diamond comes from the greek word adamas, meaning unconquerable. They are the most popular of the stones, and so recently have been “Lab Grown.”

Traits: Ambitious, Insider, Perfectionist

Goals:

-Complete the Scientist career.

-Complete Leader of the Pack aspiration.

-Find all the crystals.

-Must clone a diamond.

-Become best friends with Judith Ward and have a framed selfie with her in your house.

-Date/marry someone in the Style-influencer career.

5. May stone: EMERALD

    Color: Dark Green

Emeralds are an old stone, first mined in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was known to wear them frequently. They are said to symbolize fertility, wisdom, and Spring. It’s also said to heal heartbreak.

Traits: Jealous, Romantic, Materialistic

Goals:

-Master Gardening skill.

-Date and 100% romance a politician, then break up with them.

-Have at least 3 kids from multiple partners (each must have reached 100% romance first).

-Breed a frog worth over $100

-Must complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

-Does not marry, UNLESS you have Strangerville, and can marry an Officer in the Military Branch. However, when they die, so does your sim.

6. June stone: PEARL

    Color: White/Cream

Pearls are created by oysters and are considered the “perfect” gem, as it needs no man-mad alterations. Pearls are often attributed to wisdom through experience, as well as innocence and fertility.

Traits: Childish, Perfectionist, Family-oriented

Goals:

-Must have 5 kids before becoming an adult.

-Must complete the Curator aspiration.

-Must master 10 skills. ** If you are using Tiny House perks, 15 skills.

7. July stone: RUBY

    Color: Bright Red

Rubies are well known for their blood-red color, earning their association with health and vitality. They are also symbols of love, passion, and prosperity.

Traits: Self-Assured, Romantic, Self-Absorbed

Goals:

-Complete Serial Romantic aspiration.

-Master Cooking, Athletic, and Charisma skills.

-Complete Doctor Career.

-Must Woohoo at least once in each: Closet, Jacuzzi, Observatory, Bush, Spaceship, Lighthouse, Pile of leaves, Shower, Coffin.

8. August stone: PERIDOT

   Color: Light Green

Peridot is the stone of compassion, bringing health and peace to emotions and the mind. It inspires eloquence, creativity, and good cheer.

Traits: Creative, Vegetarian, Goofball

Goals:

-Complete the Painter Career.

-Master Painting, Photography, and Handiness skills.

-Paint 5 Masterpieces.

-Craft a bathtub of excellent quality.

-Complete Painter Extraordinaire aspiration.

9. September stone: SAPPHIRE

    Color: Royal Blue

With the most famous sapphires being Princess Diana’s iconic engagement ring and The Heart of the Ocean in Titanic, it’s now wonder Sapphires hue long been associated with nobility and power. The stone symbolizes strength, loyalty, and focus through self-discipline.

Traits: Materialistic, Genius, Insider ** If you have snowy escape, Proper takes place for Materialistic.

Goals:

-Complete the Law Career as a Private Attorney.

-Complete the Mansion Baron aspiration.

-Must start a club with Wealthy requirement ($30,000+). *If you start a fraternity/sorority in University, it counts if wealthy is listed as a requirement.

-Max out Charisma, Logic, and Writing skills.

-Must marry another club leader.

-Must get Gold in Wedding Social Event, and pay full $1750. Minimum of 10 guests.

-Must have a son. (He does not HAVE to be the continuation of the Legacy, but he can if you want. Also, if you have a born daughter, but decide to transition her, that does not count. Since it’s a click of a button without game mechanic influence, it’s kind of cheating. HOWEVER, if you decide your born son should transition, it still counts. This is mostly to take the steps during pregnancy to make a boy (since we’ve all watched others influence for a girl 1000x), That or to keep going until “the odds are in your favor.”)

10. October stone: PINK TOURMALINE

      Color: Pink

Pink Tourmaline, also known as October rose, represents humanity, sympathy to others, and humanitarian work. It’s believed to carry the virtue of love that is unconditional, offering comfort to children and lasting friendships.

Traits: Unflirty, Gloomy, Outgoing

Goals:

-Complete the Politician career as a Charity Organizer.

-Complete Friend to the World aspiration.

-Adopt 2 kids (Do not have to be legacy continuation).

-Max out friendship/be best friends with 4 sims before becoming an Adult. The friendship must be maintained throughout life.

-Have a rose garden.

-Write 5 Children’s books.

-Volunteer with family 5 times.

*If you get the pop-up asking to donate to charity, you must if you have the money.

11. November stone: CITRINE

     Color: Dark Yellow (almost Gold)

Citrine’s yellow stone radiates happiness, creativity, and wealth. Named for it’s citrus like color, it���s no wonder it’s the stone for a month known for it’s food. Citrine is known also as the Merchant’s stone for it’s golden color.

Traits: Cheerful, Foodie, Creative

Goals:

-Complete Culinary Career.

-Complete Culinary aspiration.

-Master Cooking and baking skills.

-Own a fruit and vegetable garden with every possible fruit and veggie in your game.

-Own a Bakery or Restaurant.

-Cook an Excellent quality Grand Meal.

-Learn 10 Food Stall recipes.

12. December stone: Turquoise

     Color: Blue/Green (Teal)

Turquoise is an odd one. In European cultures, it’s the stone of friendship and attracts money and luck, but is also frequently used in Evil Eye talismans. Historically, Montezuma II gifted these gems to Cortez, the Spanish Conquistador. The Apache used turquoise as well, as a charm on their bows for better aim.

Traits: Evil, Outgoing, Kleptomaniac

Goals:

-Max out Mischief and Charisma skills.

-Complete the Criminal Career.

-Complete Public Enemy aspiration.

-Start a Kleptomaniac club.

-Steal an object worth $10,000

-Marry someone with the Good trait, and cheat on them 5 times.

Happy simming!

[detectivemarvelingcomics]

Could you do some hcs for dating the teen titans?

Yes I can!! I just got HBO Max so I’ve been binging both the animated and the live action series haha 😂 Thank you so much for being my first request!

Also I’m guessing you’re referring to the original teen titans, so if you want the new teen titans just shoot me another request!

Dating the Teen Titans Would Include...

No Specified AU

TW: Language

Genre: Fluff

[DC Masterlist]

Word Count: 2.0K (About 0.2K per Titan)

Dick Grayson

You must have an insane amount of patience, truly, to be able to date Dick Grayson

If the joke book he probably carries around isn’t enough, I would’ve been certain that the ego would drive you away but nope you’re still here

And that’s how you both knew that it was true fucking love you’re both inseparable and the Titans know it.

To put things simply... he loves you and the Titans fear you.

While you’re both somewhat easygoing and hospitable, one would do well not to piss off one or the other because you both come as a package deal and you can kick ass when necessary you just choose not to embarrass Dick like that because you could totally outmatch him.

Don’t ask him that though he’d insist that he’d win.

Best not bring up the first time you met or else the Titans would never let him live it down

But in all seriousness, I see the relationship as rather lighthearted and enjoyable, maybe a bit spontaneous too. Want to go to the beach? Done. Want to kick some ass in Gotham? For sure. It’s like a match made in heaven.

Not to mention that the Titans rather look up to you, which is a definite plus. Not just anyone can date the Dick Grayson.

Wally West

As opposed to popular opinion... I’d think that this is a rather slow relationship. 

Speedsters are more than just familiar with how life just flashes by so I think Wally would like to enjoy the relationship at a slower pace, he wants it to last as long as possible.

With that said, you’re both menaces. His speed combined with your cleverness? No one is safe and the Titans know it.

The best moment of your relationship, although this is debatable, was when you and Wally successfully turned the Titan tower into an all-out prank minefield. Trash cans were covered with plastic, buckets of water places on doorways, even wardrobes were switched.

And all done in ten seconds, impressive. Nothing quite like starting a war in the Tower then grabbing burgers after, right?

Kind of cheesy but I can see you both having frequent movie nights that differ in genre according to month. You both probably rotate on who chooses the movie too.

Overall I think you both have a lot of fun together, if I were to compare the “vibes” to something, I would say a summer relationship (that obviously lasts longer than just a summer) where everything is just living life as it goes

Nah because like I said before you guys don’t want to rush things, and you’re always there to remind Wally to just slow down every now and then.

I should probably mention that this is a competitive relationship too, before I go, not everything’s a competition but everything’s a competition, you know? It’s a shame that the Titans often get caught in the cross fire though-

Donna Troy

Oh this one’s fun. Donna’s new to this whole “rest of the world” stuff but luckily she has a wonderful partner who’s willing to teach her everything.

A lot of the relationship consists of you explaining things, but it’s kind of endearing despite Donna’s headstrong attitude towards anything

But Donna is also the kind to be open to learning new things, and you’re open to trying new things. It works like clockwork, you’re both young and willing.

Now these “things” can range from baking cookies to extreme mountain climbing so be prepared for anything in this relationship.

Overall I think the Titans see you both as a really cute relationship, one that anyone could be slightly envious of and one that they’re glad that exists

But despite this loving relationship I think you’d both be absolute machines in a battle, I think one thing that is important to Donna is ultimately respect for each other’s abilities, having grown up on Themyscira and all, and maybe that one battle where you absolutely demolished the enemy was when she really caught interest.

Or not. It could’ve also been when you mistakenly ran into one of the glass walls in the tower and she developed a crush over you while you mumbled a series of curses.

This relationship is strongly built on loyalty, so I think you both would be describes as a pair of ride-or-dies who typically tend to lean towards the latter, especially when trying the more extreme things that Donna asked you about.

But overall I think it’s a really sweet relationship with few bumps, they’re still there but I mean that you’re both good at working through them.

Victor Stone

I feel like this relationship is very classical high school romance, you know?

Like walking to class together, holding each other’s books, stuff like that.

But on the other hand I feel like you’re both a very fun couple to be around, like you know how when you’re with some couples it feels like you’re third wheeling? Not these two. You feel like you’re part of the crew

You guys probably switch between fun couple and parent couple every now and then, I can see the Titans relying on both of you a lot for different things.

You and Victor are definitely the type to play games to determine who buys food, like things as simple as rock-paper-scissors to things as complicated as 8-Ball, and so far you’ve been winning at a ratio of 3:1.

Definitely a very trusting relationship, I feel like you both reach that comfortable stage faster than most, but it feels right, you know? I think you’d both understand that relationships go both ways.

There are probably times where you’re both in a teasing mode too, I think, but they’re mostly light hearted pranks, definitely not anything in the realm of what Wally would do

I kinda want to say that you’re a very active couple in that you both like to go to the gym together and idk take hikes together but at the same time I also want to say that you’re both inclined to stay home and play video games so I guess it’s like a 50/50

I can also see Victor being the type to do small acts of generosity as opposed to like buying gifts to show his appreciation for you, like I feel like he’s more inclined to help you with small tasks when he knows you need it, you know? Overall very cute, hehe

Raven (Rachel Roth)

Now this one’s interesting, you and Raven are certainly an interesting duo, but the most interesting thing would likely be how you met. Let’s say it involved a blood sacrifice, a bat, and a very old bicycle.

No you weren’t trying to summon her someone else was you just ended up being at the wrong place at the wrong time anyway moving on

You’re both the perfect example of opposites attract for more reasons than just one. 

But what makes it better is that you’re always open and willing to learn and understand many of the things that Raven does and she appreciates it a lot

It goes both ways also! She’s always willing to do whatever you ask her to and you both end up having at least some fun even if it happens to be something she isn’t used to.

Random, but I think a favorite pass time for both of you is simply sitting in her room and reading books, weird, I know, but like there’s something inherently romantic about either of you excitedly showing the other a certain passage you both enjoyed or telling them about your book, it’s just so sweet.

She definitely has a personal bias towards you, obviously, Garfield can say a joke and she’d stare at him with a straight face but you could say the exact same joke probably right after him and she would crack a smile and she probably does that on purpose but it still feels nice

You also may or may not have caught on to her incantations and now you may or may not be able to perform these spells but you haven’t tried because you wouldn’t know how to but it’s just telling of how much time you spent together.

I only mention this because there was an event in which you corrected her incantation and suddenly hell fire appeared which she had to figure out how to get rid of and since then you both mutually agreed to both (a) not tell the Titans and (b) not say incantations out loud

Koriand’r (Starfire)

STOP YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE anyway you’re definitely both kinds to see beauty in everything

Maybe this relationship is rather dangerous considering you’re both curious people and Kori happens to be able to shoot lasers out of her eyes so maybe you should both be just a little more careful

You’re both probably very doting on both each other and the rest of the Titans and although you’re both well intentioned it has become a case of “oh no there’s two of them” but in like a teasing way

I feel like Kori is very open to sharing a lot of aspects about her culture with you, and you have always found Tamaran culture to be beautiful so it fits

Likewise you share a lot of things about your culture too and you both bond over finding ways to combine them together to make a nice fusion of understandings and it’s all a sweet combination

See a big thing about this relationship if that you both put your everything into it, it is an equal push and equal pull kind of thing where you both love each other with everything that you have and it creates this unbreakable bond that even non-supers have come to acknowledge

Though this also results in the both of you frequently being in your own world even when others are around and that’s something you both promised to fix but yeah...

It’s coming around, don’t worry. You’re both making active efforts but sometimes it just slips your mind and whoops

Now this should go without saying but this trust often leads to powerful combinations when in missions, you’re both fiercely loyal to each other and this often plays in overall favor so all is well

Garfield Logan

This is a fun relationship, definitely, and one that’s also very fulfilling.

You’re both definitely an outdoorsy couple, things like hikes, nature walks (which I guess is also a hike but I’ve been told otherwise), trips to the zoo, etc. but this all just builds the relationship

Also a very sweet one! You both have an unlimited amount of energy and love that you’re often expending said energy volunteering somewhere and helping others out

But when it boils down you’re both also very touchy, I think, you both like being together at all times and cuddles are a frequent occurrence but at the will of the other Titans you both do this in privacy

I also feel like this sweetness can also “flip,” so to say. As in if someone messes with either of you in the relationship the other will come running regardless of whether or not they could do anything about it.

To put it short, you both have each other’s back all the time. Literally, like I said you’re both inseparable. 

Despite these I think the relationship would actually be rather lowkey, I don’t think he would be the type to constantly showcase the relationship. I think he’d mention it like once to get it out there but after that he wouldn’t flaunt you around.

I just think that Garfield, even with his usual out and about behavior, is rather modest when it comes to this topic because you’re more to him than just someone to show off, you’re someone who’s important to him and overall he just wants you to be comfortable

If there’s one flaw in this relationship it’s that when you have arguments it’s just horrible, but also rather comedic. Neither of you talk to the other but you both end up still being in the same room together subconsciously. It’s kind of awkward but the coincidences are what makes the other Titans laugh and honestly you both make up within, like, a day or something.

[0aurelion-sol0]

SNK'S Afterlife: Another plane of reality.

(This is my first meta so i'll try to be as clear as possible. (Also, sorry for the qualities of some screenshots.) )

Death is something that has been almost nothing but cruel and tragic in the world of Attack On Titan. Whether it's the horrific murder of Marco, the gruesome death of Ymir Fritz, the traumatic death of Eren's mother Carla or the sacrifice of Erwin Smith and lately Hange living up to the morals of the Survey Corps, death is always the end.

Or is it ?

It has only been with chapter 132 " The Wings Of Freedom." that the prospect of an afterlife has been solidified.

After sacrificing themself for the sake of comrades and the hope of stopping the Rumbling, we see Hange in one of the Colossal Titans's foot crater. It is revealed that indeed Hange entered the afterlife. It is there, we meet Erwin and all of the dead comrades of Hange. And even a horse.

It is the first time where the afterlife has been shown in SNK.

Yet many people think it's only an illusion, a dream or a vision. I disagree. I think it's real and is another plane of reality. Most definitely something connected with the paths.

First, the fact that the environment is the same as the one in the living world. The craters are an example of it. The remaining blood of Hange on the ground.

It also seems as the dead are able to see what's going on in the living world yet people in the living world, can only see them partially, sense or feel them. The " They took off " by Erwin seems to confirm that since they are able to see the plane.

Also Hange and Erwin still have their injuries, it is because their scars have healed and so their body remains the same in the afterlife. At least that's what I think make the most sense.

But it isn't the first time we are dealing with this aspect of SNK. In chapter 80, Erwin reminisces and guilt about all his dead companions with Levi. Both who deeply suffered from losing all their comrades are the ones who are the most prone with Hange and even Jean to be connected with the afterlife.

It also seems that those who guilt about their dead loved ones will soon meet their ends. Erwin and now Hange are dead, it is still unknow whether Levi or Jean will survive. Jean seems to be the most in danger because he saw the same things that Erwin and Hange saw during their speech while Levi only had memories of them. But that is a question for another day.

The people who see the dead all see the same thing, a blurry version of them.

That brings me to something else.

Ymir.

Ramzi saw Ymir just like all the others because he was on the brink of death. She appears just the same way as all the other dead characters. Less clearly probably because Ramzi isn't an Eldian but who knows ?

Since Ymir connected herself with what we can call " The source of all Life" as Kruger putted it, perhaps even non-Eldians can be connected to paths, the afterlife or the powers of that dimension as they are also living beings.

This is also not the first time characters sees something that seems to exist in another plane of reality or that some characters existed in a certain place or time.

They are already two people that we know who have done it and one is still missing at this point of the manga.

The Jeager Brothers.

As we see here, Grisha and even Baby Eren seems to see them. Yet both of them are alive at that time since the time in paths moves differently but it works the same way as the afterlife. This leads me to think that all of this has something to do with paths.

But the one that is extremely creepy yet I saw no one talk about it is this one.

This page has alot to uncover especially something about Eren and his attitude and how it relates to Frieda but let's stay focused. The way the page is composed is clearly showing us that Frieda is seeing Eren here.

So this particular trend of characters seeing things that others cannot and characters living in another plane of reality has been explored for quite a while now. And now we have the afterlife with dead characters like Ymir Fritz, Erwin and Hange, etc... who also works in similar ways.

I believe the afterlife is a real thing, it's too big for not being explored. They are alot of unfinished storylines for many characters who died.

I can think of Bertholt, Porco and Historia's ex-lover Ymir. I think that we will see them in some ways because of that possibility of an afterlife. Yes, they've been eaten but who knows, the paths opens up a lot possibilities. Marco and Carla could make an appearance at some point. Zeke's mother could also be back if she came back as an human. Many of their stories aren't finished or at least can have a new role now.

Erwin, Hange, Marco and many other characters can now possibly come back. They know the truth of outside of the walls.

And if Isayama showed us Ymir Fritz, it's not just because she is watching, she has a role to play but is still dead. So if she has a role to play, why can't the others also have a role to play ?

It is also not impossible that they'll try to do something as they seem to be searching for something in the afterlife. Maybe Erwin has a plan.

On top of that since Eren has transformed, paths seems to have been glitching first during his announcement to all Eldians during chapter 123 and in chapter 131 with Armin. A possible opportunity to connect with the dead as all Eldians were concerned, we even saw Historia's back in one the pages. All dressed up and prepared.

Could she have something prepared ? Will she meet Ymir Fritz and work together to stop Eren ?

There is so much possibility to what could happen now.

Also...

A tease of what's to come. The E.M.A trio watching young Eren while young Armin sees adult Eren watching them. Interesting.

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TOWER OF NERO (The Trials of Apollo #5)

***No spoilers until you go under the cut!***

After months in the human form of Lester Papadopoulos, the former god Apollo is nearing the end of his trials alongside the young Meg McCaffrey. All their adventures and misfortunes have landed them back in the place it started-- New York. Meg and Apollo must defeat the final, most powerful emperor of the Triumvirate, who also happens to be Meg’s manipulative stepfather. Meanwhile, Nico, Will, and Rachel have important roles to play as the final battle looms. Even if they can defeat Nero, a more terrible enemy awaits in the form of Python, Apollo’s nemesis. Still, if they can succeed, Apollo will finally be restored to godhood. But after everything he’s been through, going back to the way things were doesn’t sound so great anymore. Apollo and his friends will have to find a new way to make all the sacrifices and pain they’ve experienced and witnessed worth it. That is, if they can survive their final trial.

As both the culmination of The Trials of Apollo series and the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Tower of Nero excels at bringing the complicated, moving themes of the saga into final, meaningful reckonings. Nero proves to be a chilling and impressive enemy who forces Apollo and Meg to put everything they’ve learned through their journey together to the ultimate test. New and old characters combine to see the story to its end, and long-time readers are rewarded with actualized development and a bittersweet farewell. The Tower of Nero is a fitting and robust conclusion that shines with all the heart, humor, and growth that makes this saga a worthy frontrunner in children’s literature.

SPOILER SECTIONS BELOW

Welcome!!!!!!!!! Y’all. Y’ALL. I am REELING. If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know I’ve been online here since 2012 (?????!!!!!) where I subjected by followers to weird takes and frantic excitement about the upcoming installments of Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo. Since I was ten years old, this story has been such a huge part of my life. Now I’m 22 (?????!!!!). So. How am I feeling? I’m feeling like I need to flip over every piece of furniture in my house. In a good way. Look. I gotta break this down into three parts because I’m the worst!

I. TRIALS & TRIBULATION

The Trials of Apollo, to me, felt like the inevitable conclusion to Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heroes of Olympus. We went through two series where we intimately followed the lives of young demigods growing up through two brutal wars, dangerous quests, and personal reckonings. Gods certainly made appearances, and some were more helpful than others, but the message was always clear-- the demigods were on their own. Two wars fought, two wars won, and at what cost? For what change?

Bringing a god down to earth (both literally and metaphorically) is really the only way a story like this could be rounded out. Especially when the god in question is Apollo. He’s the son of Zeus, who punishes him by turning him mortal. This family set-up already has enormous implications in reference to the previous chain of mythological events: Zeus killed his father Kronos, Kronos killed his father Ouranos, etc. 

Prophecy is also the scaffolding of this entire saga. Everything is dictated by it-- every quest relies on it, most of the demigods we meet are led by it, and the whole Greek/Roman world seems to build their lives around it. My point is, Apollo was a great character to use as the mouthpiece of this last series. He’s been present throughout the previous two series, and he’s relatively unaffected by the Greek/Roman divide. The enemy, the Triumvirate, is also an exciting antagonist-- they’ve fueled and funded the previous two wars, and their obsession with becoming “gods” is loaded with implications as Apollo races to return to his own status as a god.

Apollo himself is also a completely terrible being. From the first pages through his perspective, there’s certainly little sympathy or commiseration with our narrator. Apollo is many things: spoiled, petulant, selfish, and arrogant. He is not good, and now, he is no longer a god. Still, his voice and struggle remained compelling and engaging throughout the series. 

His bond with Meg McCaffrey is, without a doubt, the emotional heart of the whole series. I think they both see aspects of themselves in each other, and it was a genius move to make her the stepdaughter of the enemy. Nero literally sent Meg to be Apollo’s controller and thought that she would easily bring him down; the fact that both these very troubled people cling to each other in the face of such manipulation and frightening circumstances-- and then repeatedly choose to fight their ways back to each other time and again-- is really what makes this series work so well.

With Meg and Apollo at the forefront, after The Hidden Oracle the series takes on something of a “tour” format. We discover new places and revisit old characters across the country, which was definitely exciting for long-time readers to see familiar faces undergo even more development. (This might just be me, but I don’t think ToA can really stand on its own without the worldbuilding/establishment of the first two series-- that’s not a knock on it, but so much of it picks up where the previous series left off, which might make it a disorienting read for someone new to the world.)

Of course, the obvious midpoint reversal of the series is the death of Jason Grace in The Burning Maze. A flip switches completely-- not just for Apollo, but for the whole cast. This is not an incident that just “happens” and is swept aside. In the final two installments, Jason is threaded throughout the story, showing how grief is never truly over. But his sacrifice saved everyone he loved, and had profound impacts on everyone he knew. As brutal as it was, I appreciated how Jason really changed everything through his choice. 

By the time Apollo and Meg return to New York in The Tower of Nero, they are better, stronger versions of themselves. The things they once wanted-- godhood restored, or a father’s approval-- are no longer appealing. Their development (both individually and as friends) is utterly believable and hard-won. We see characters from The Hidden Oracle return changed, too. Losing Jason has dredged up dark feelings within Nico, Rachel is warding off the influence of Python in her mind, and Will’s healer heart is put to the test in yet another final battle. (Listen, this kid played instrumental roles in The Last Olympian, The Blood of Olympus, AND The Tower of Nero. The fate of the world really is in his capable, glow-in-the-dark hands.)

Together, Apollo and team venture into Manhattan for a very intense, exciting, and profound final reckoning with Nero. (CHAPTER 20, ANYONE????) Both Apollo and Meg, once and for all, come into their own and reclaim their power and independence. The pay-off is immaculate, and it’s jarring to remember the Apollo we once knew-- the easygoing one from The Titan’s Curse, the snobbish one from The Blood of Olympus, and the self-pitying one from The Hidden Oracle. His development throughout ToA is seamless and incredibly moving, and we’re left with a protagonist that we can truly, unequivocally root for and love.

II. HAVE YOU LEARNED?

When Nero is defeated, the real enemy still lurks. Apollo’s age-old nemesis, Python, has long haunted him. Their final reckoning is one-on-one, and after everything Apollo’s learned and been through, he goes into his last battle not necessarily caring whether he lives or dies-- he just knows Python must be defeated, no matter the cost. Don’t get me STARTED on his last conversation with Meg!!!!?????? (”Just come back to me, dummy.” I LOVE THEM) 

So, yeah, I’m already crying at that point. Apollo (slowly regaining his godhood) goes into this completely by himself, assuming all risk and responsibility. He’s forced to sacrifice the Arrow of Dodona, and eventually chooses to sacrifice himself by flinging them both down to Tartarus. But we don’t stop there! Oh, no, we go all the way down to Chaos. The primordial soup of all the pantheons, all of existence. Python crumbles, and Apollo clings to the edge-- he clings to life.

This is it. This is the literal rock-bottom moment of the saga, and I’m completely unsure of how he’s getting out of this one. Who’s going to rescue him? What can he even do at this point? Genuinely, I had no idea where this was going-- and I never would have guessed that it would be the goddess Styx who shows up. She’s played an important, but also very minor, role in ToA. I was baffled at first-- I thought, what does she have to do with any of this? But then it ended up playing out in like the most breathtaking, moving way possible. It’s one of the most defining scenes of the entire 15 books to me. 

She only asks him: “Have you learned?”

This is the goddess of promises and oaths. Since The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen how oaths are tossed around like confetti. Percy’s very existence (not to mention Thalia and Jason’s) is because of a broken promise. An oath to keep with a final breath is one of the revisited elements throughout the Heroes of Olympus series. Apollo makes willy-nilly promises in The Hidden Oracle, which he later regrets. 

Then, at the end of everything, Styx only asks Apollo if he’s learned. All the talk of promises and oaths in this story doesn’t actually have anything to do with “keeping promises”-- certainly, so many promises are broken we can’t keep track. It all boils down to whether we learn from what we experience and use that to become better people moving forward. It’s about making sure we mean what we say and what we do. It’s about commitment and devotion to the people we love and the things we care about. Promises don’t matter. Only action does. 

I can’t understate how thoroughly pleased I was that this was the final reckoning of the saga. It was an unexpected and completely profound moment, and such an important scene to use as the emotional climax of the book.

III. WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

After 15 years and 15 books, The Tower of Nero had to find a way to bring the saga to a close without nailing the coffin shut. More standalone novels are surely on the horizon (I’m looking at you, Nico and Will), but as a whole, this saga did need to come to a satisfying end. 

Let’s pick up after Apollo is restored to godhood. He wakes up to his sister Artemis, and the very first thing he does? After finally returning to his true form, the thing he’s relentlessly yearned for the whole series? He just breaks down sobbing. He’s miserable. There’s no relief or joy in the realization that he’s once again an Olympian. 

I’m always a sucker for the trope of “Character does everything possible to reach Goal only to realize that Goal isn’t actually what they want or need at all”, so of course, I was moved to see Apollo learn that he doesn’t actually care much about whether he’s a god or a human anymore. (In fact, he later remarks that he envies Lu’s new ability to grow old and age alongside Meg and her foster siblings.)

I was doubly-moved that Apollo’s restoration to godhood was not an action on Zeus’s part. From what little context we get (a lot happens “off screen” and even Apollo isn’t sure), it appears that Apollo either reclaimed his own godhood through sheer force of will to return from Chaos and reunite with his friends, and/or Styx aided him. But it seems obvious Zeus wasn’t involved, which has HUGE implications for the power structure of the Olympians moving forward.

A lot of us, myself included, had certain expectations for how Apollo’s inevitable reunion with Zeus and the rest of the Olympians would go. I, for one, was excited to see Apollo either tell off his father, or possibly assume a position as the new Camp Half-Blood director or New Rome’s pontifex maximus. Instead, we got a somewhat quiet, but incredibly tense interaction between all the Olympians. The closest thing to an outburst is actually between Hera and Zeus, as she tells him off for not mourning his son Jason, as Apollo did. (Dare I say....I liked Hera for a moment?) (ALSO, I’m fully on-board with the theory that Zeus did not intervene in Jason’s death as a punishment for Jason publicly calling him “unwise” in The Blood of Olympus.)

The whole scene reads as a powder keg. Already, it’s established that Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus (and possibly even Athena and Hera) have no illusions of Zeus’s grandeur. They do not view him as family, or even as a leader. He’s simply just the one with enough power to punish the rest of them when they get “out of line”. 

Apollo began naming Zeus as his abuser fairly early on in the series. Perhaps witnessing the way Meg thinks and speaks about her stepfather Nero made this clear for him. In either case, he begins to explicitly mirror the very same advice he gives Meg in dealing with her abuser: distance yourself from the abusive person/situation, and accept that tyrants do not change and it is not your responsibility to attempt to make them “see the light”. Thus, Apollo makes no appeal or argument to Zeus– he understands by then that it’d be fruitless. Instead, he’s concentrating his energy on doing everything he can do with what he has; he’s committed to being a protector and friend of demigods, and he sees that other gods are beginning to (if not already) see Zeus’s wrongness. (More on this here.)

Was it what I expected going into the book? Nope. But I have to admit that it was really exciting to see Zeus try to hide the very real fear of realizing that his son Apollo is no longer afraid of him, and is quite possibly more powerful than him, too. Apollo switches gears entirely away from Zeus, and focuses his energy back on the friends he’s made and the children he has. It’s a refreshing reminder that it’s often more productive to concentrate on helping others instead of harming those who harm us. 

That being said, I would have liked a few paragraphs or pages discussing what practical differences there will be for the lives of young demigods in the wake of this change. I understand that might not have worked given the very condensed timeline post-returning-to-godhood (the story ends literally the same day or day after), but I do hope and believe that Apollo’s transformation is going to change the way demigods perceive gods-- and what they will expect of gods in the future. Just look at how Apollo is received by the campers at CHB. They’re ecstatic to see him. They think of him as a hero. Apollo is coming back just to help and spend time with his kids, his friends, and the campers, and he’s going to keep coming back. The other gods are certainly going to feel some pressure to follow suit. 

Speaking of Apollo’s reunions...shall we?

I loved that we got to see all the main-players one last time. Mimicking the “tour format” of the series, we get to watch Apollo catch up with his loved ones, who helped him learn how to be a better person throughout his trials.

It was sad, but reassuring, to watch Nico come to terms with Jason’s death. I like how he outlined the differences between Hazel’s and Jason’s deaths, and why he isn’t interfering out of respect for Jason. Watching Jason appear to Apollo (ambiguously as a ghost or as a figment of Apollo’s dream-imagination) was another moving reminder of the stark differences in the ways that different demigods prioritize and think about what it is to be a hero. Jason’s idea and Percy’s idea, for instance, are super different because of the way they were raised. Percy would put anything on the line for his family and friends; so would Jason, of course, but he also has a much broader view of what’s worth sacrificing your life for...which is admirable in ways, but also painfully sad, since a lot has to change in order for Jason’s death to carry weight. Over the course of the last two books, I think it’s very safe to say Jason’s death did change just about everything for the people who knew and loved him, and even those who didn’t. 

Whew. Okay, back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will are clearly now very comfortable with each other, and it’s refreshing to see how they both watch out for each other and bring out the best in one another. I’m excited for their inevitable solo book, but regardless, it’s good to see Nico getting the help he needs (from his own experiences, from Dionysus, Will, etc), and for Rachel to get some distance from her terrible parents by living out her art student dreams in Paris. 

Then, we drop by the Waystation. I simply cannot get over the fact that Calypso is at BAND CAMP. Anyway, it’s unsurprising to find out that she and Leo are still “complicated”, but I’m glad she’s experiencing the highs and lows of mortal life, and that Leo is working on helping out vulnerable youth (and has two mom figures in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Glad we get to see Thalia and Reyna both happy and healthy, too.

Next up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome. LOVE that Hazel and Frank have both reclaimed the curses that haunted them since The Son of Neptune. They really both did just...like...basically die to bring down the Big Bad and then come back better than ever. (Side note: I still obviously have issues with the fact that Hazel is SO YOUNG! There was no reason for her not to be 15/16 like the rest of the Argo 2 crew! Ugh.)

Anyway, then we say goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. Except for the annoying continuity error in terms of the timeline of them learning about Jason, I really really really loved this parting moment with them. I know some readers wanted Percy and Annabeth to stay in New York, but it always felt very natural and meaningful for me that they’d want to relocate to New Rome. That was always the Big Dream for most of Heroes of Olympus, and it makes sense to me that they’d choose to live somewhere designed for demigods to actually live and grow old and raise families. Besides, I’m quite certain they’ll frequently be visiting New York. I digress. 

It was super bittersweet to see these two finally off on their own (and basically living together, as Apollo teasingly implies) going to college! Definitely a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction after following all their exploits since they were twelve. I’m so glad we get to see them (all things considered) happy and excited for their new life together. They certainly stepped back in this series, as they deserved. But they still lose Jason, and that’s something that weighs heavily on them and likely always will. Apollo calls Jason “the best of us”, and I don’t think that use of “us” is lost on Percy, Annabeth, or anyone-- Apollo’s identity and alignment is with them now, which will hopefully lead to positive change.

Then, simultaneously the saddest and happiest (?) reunion-- with Piper. This was obviously really heavy, since the last time Apollo sees her is in the wake of Jason’s death. For me, I’m very proud and excited by the fact that Piper is the only character who basically forges a whole new life (outside of the sphere of the Olympians) for herself. She’s far from other demigods and gods, and is committed to reconnecting with her mortal family and making a beautiful life. She has a new friend, too, which is absolutely awesome. (I mean, we all KNEW, right? But it’s really great to see this confirmed on-page.) When Piper told Apollo that he did right by Jason, I definitely lost it. And I also just really loved the final beat with her-- Apollo’s stammering a goodbye, but Piper’s already turned around to walk back to her new friend and her new life.

The final farewell, of course, went to Meg McCaffrey. She’s reclaimed Aeithales, and is now foster-sibling-extraordinaire by rescuing Nero’s other adopted demigods and giving them a new chance. Meg’s really matured and grown into such a kind and strong leader, but it was super bittersweet to see how much she still values Apollo. Their reunion just about broke me. They share a bond that no one else will ever understand, and they brought each other out of darkness that nearly ended them both. I literally can’t think of a better final dialogue than what they share:

You’ll come back?

Always. The sun always comes back. 

I’m fine!!! 

Anyway, this brings me to the closing lines of the story. Just as Percy opens The Lightning Thief by directly addressing the reader, Apollo closes The Tower of Nero by bidding farewell to us. 

Call on me. I will be there for you. 

On so many levels, this line works really well as the ending. For me, and I imagine for you too if you’re reading this, these 15 books are a pillar of our childhoods. We grew up alongside these characters, and found enormous excitement and identity and magic in these pages. The story may have come to a close, but it lives on within us-- it’s something we can return to time and again for enjoyment and understanding.

More than anything, this story pulled off something I didn’t really know was possible: it makes me feel genuinely and enthusiastically glad to be human, no matter how strange or hard it gets.

____________

My fifth-grade teacher assigned The Lightning Thief as mandatory reading when I was ten years old. I picked it up reluctantly, but from the first lines, I just completely fell into this story. Twelve years since that assignment, I’m now a traditionally-published author myself...writing about what else but mythology, of course. These books saw me from elementary school all the way to post-college life. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without them-- certainly, I’d never have achieved my lifelong dream of becoming an author, nor would I have found such an incredible online community like the one I’ve found here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up alongside these characters and their incredible story. 

I know we’ve likely got more standalones in this world to come, but this is still the end of the saga. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but I’m so ecstatic with the send-off we got, and I’m excited to let the story settle and become a part of me-- something that will always affect how I see the world, something that reminds me of why I write, and something that’s always there to welcome me home.

[cynwritess]

My Outlining Technique As A Pantser

I despise outlining with every fiber of my soul. I don’t care how much people persist you need an outline, I will put it off to the very last minute and do it very half-assed. Even in school, its straight to the first draft. Outlining requires a very precise skill of breaking things down as small as possible and my mind simply does not function that way. It’s literally all or nothing. Unfortunately while this may work for writing school essays, it’s not exactly a good idea when it comes to a book. Writing a book requires structure and precision because you need to carefully place information, have an idea where your characters are going, tedious yet necessary things. Fortunately, I’ve come up with a way to outline without completely frying my brain.

Characters. 

I almost always start with the characters first and build the world, other characters, and plot around them. If you have a name in mine, perfect! Go ahead and use it! If you don’t have a name, don’t dread scouring through dozens of baby name websites. Give them a place holder name or better yet, give them a role/title. I’m going to use one of my current characters (steal anything about her and I’ll send demons after you). When I first created Selina I only had a vague aesthetic and the idea that I wanted her to somehow be attached to spirits. Her name didn’t come to me until 25k into the story, but I had to refer to her as something so I used a conjunction of a place holder name and calling her “Reaper of Souls”. This way I know exactly who I’m referring to. Also, this helps me know what path my character needs to go down. Reaper of Souls is who she’ll become, but its definitely not who she is when the story begins. It makes me thing: What steps do I need to take to get her there? This is where you can start brainstorming character arcs and give them trauma. 

Another essential part of creating characters in my opinion is giving them “role models”. Personally, if this is a brand new character I’m creating off the top of my head its hard to write them because I know nothing about them. I don’t know their sense of humor, who they would and wouldn’t get along with, their inner monologue, etc. Now you have to be careful with this and make sure to mold them into their own unique characters at the end of the day, but you can use other already existing characters to help begin the process. When creating Selina I knew vaguely she needed to be connected to spirits. What characters do I know like that? Jodie from Beyond Two Souls is a good one and Zelie is a bit of a different twist to it but still the same general idea. But wait! Selina’s vibe doesn’t match either of them. So in this case I might look at Jude Duarte for inspiration for her personality. Nitpick all your favorite things about different characters and use that to your advantage! It gives you the jolt you need to really begin to explore who your character is. 

Always do the main character first, then follow with the supporting character or villain. In my opinion, the main supporting character and villain should be foils of the main character in order to get the most out of each one, because you’ll be able to see different aspects and different arcs they could’ve/will have. Once you have those three characters you can create the others as you progress with your story.

Setting.

This can either be really simple or your worst fucking nightmare. For me, it’s a mixture of both. If your story is taking place in the real world then this can be relatively simple even if you’re creating your own town/city. If your town has a very specific location like a town square or maybe there’s a river running through it, then just google “towns with a river going through it” for a start. If you have a specific town in mind you can also google the map and start dissecting different aspects of the town and incorporating it into your own. You can even use your own town for inspiration! The town my story takes place in is made up, but my hometown actually resembles it quite a bit so I’ve been using it for references. So far, its been working out pretty good.

Now if you have a high fantasy setting... I wish you the best of luck. I’ve only written one high fantasy story when I was twelve and... well clearly its never seen the light of day for a reason (partially because I deleted it, partially because there was absolutely zero world-building). I’m sorry to say my skills have no improved much since then. I’ve dabbled with the idea of high fantasy worlds and honestly my only advice is to look at other fantasy maps and draw inspiration from that. Narnia, Ravka, the ACOTAR world, the shifting isles of Elfhame, the Avatar universe, Orisha, to name a few. You’ll also have to look at some basic geographical stuff like the climate, but overall you have pretty much free reign over how your world looks. This is the one part I feel like you can’t bullshit if you don’t want your story to seem halfway. Really go in with the details even if its just for you. The more fleshed out your world is, even if its set here in the normal world, the better.

The main issue. 

This is pretty much a given but you do need to have some sort of idea who the main antagonist is/what is the big issue your characters are fighting. If you’re writing a series then chances are book one will probably focus on an entirely different issue before the big one is revealed. There’s not really much advice I can give for this because it’ll be tailored specifically to your story. I don’t think your antagonist has to be fully fleshed out if you’re going to be introducing them very late, but do have a general idea who or what it is, their goal, and why your character feels the need to stop them.

Usually you’ll notice the problem in the beginning of the story isn’t the ultimate problem, its just a gateway to it. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a subplot but I guess technically that’s what it is. Think of Percy Jackson. The main issue of book one is him being accused of stealing the lightning bolt, but the ultimate issue was the war with the titans. Or The Cruel Prince. The main issue was Jude feeling helpless and wanting to create a place for herself in the faery world, but the ultimate issue was those attempting overthrowing the entire Greenbriar family from the thrown. 

This kind of goes without saying, but there has to be a strong motivation for the character to stop them or it just won’t work. You don’t see characters going after the antagonist because nothing in their life isn’t threatened. There’s always a motivation, something to fuel them even if done so reluctantly. For example, Zelie from Children of Blood and Bone was sick and tired of constantly fighting and being the hero, but she did it anyways because she was the only one who could truly help the maji. Or you can take a slightly antagonistic approach and look at Kaz from Six of Crows who did what he did out of greed for money, power, and revenge. Usually when I begin my stories, I only have a vague idea as to why my main character is joining the fight, which is perfectly fine. As long as you have some sort of idea and begin to build on it as you write, you’ll be probably be fine. 

Brainstorm.

I cannot for the life of me sit in front of my computer and write a bland summary of what it is that is going to happen in my book. Sorry, but I am simply not built that way but it also makes writing your books ten times harder as well. I’ve found a bit of a cheat. For one, brainstorm. Get a general idea what some of the main events you want to happen are. Do you want a character death? Does a specific location need to be mentioned? Is there subplots or character arcs you would like to explore? Is there any themes you’d like to explore? Jot them all down, along with your word count goal. You probably won’t be able to incorporate all of them in one book, but at least you’ll have an idea what path you’re going to head down in terms of your story.

And now onto my actual cheat. Because I’m a pantser who hates outlining, I usually jump into my stories without knowing what direction they are going. Recently I’ve discovered that I can outline the first five chapters, write them out, and give myself complete free reign. I’ll explore all sorts of character personalities, different beginnings, different writing styles, different scenarios, different relationships, anything I can realistically include in the first five chapters of my story. Then I’ll go back and edit it. Don’t completely delete anything, always save it in a separate file! I’ll go back and decide which characters are unnecessary at this point, what plot points can be introduced later on, what writing style suits this story, things like that. Then from there, I’ll go back to my outline and make any appropriate changes before proceeding to write the rest of the draft as normal (WITHOUT GOING BACK TO EDIT). The reason why I do this is because I need a solid base to begin my story, otherwise its so easy for me to go off track and begin to tell a completely different story. This way I’ll know exactly what I’m going after, I’ll be able to explore and get to know my characters and setting, and it’s enough chapters that I can even begin to incorporate the main issue at hand. 

[currentfandomkick]

JL confronts Marinette

From bio!dad Strange au, where they made her kryptonian to keep her alive. This is post-Hawkmoth (debating using a random and revamping Gabriel altogether tbh)

“Don’t.” Marinette was tired of heroes, tired of being one. She had to handle hawkmoth’s fallout, keeping so many secret identities (hers, JL, miraculus team, her gotham family’s) and she just wanted to sleep.

Flash found her first, but Superman grabbed her and put her in the air for a ‘talk’.

“Don’t what?” She knew superman wasnt a detective. She knew he was a reporter though and she could see baiting and needling just under the surface. He’s an interrigator then, she decided.

“Don’t come in and try to fix what the miraculous team already handled. Paris was abbadonned by your league.”

She figured this was about Ladybug. Paris is always going off the the miraculous holders and ladybugs were always deemed the defacto leaders. She liked that Daesuqa (Talia) took over leading long term missions for the most part, handled meetings and politics so her and Chat and the others could be more like the teens they are in theory.

And everyone knew Marinette was Chat Noir’s favorite after she got how many akumatized people to release their akuma on their own? And that she supplied mirauclous users with kwami food (though it was common for many other civilians). It was common knowledge to all, but Hawkmoth apparently, that if Chat or his miraculous team or the entire team was needed, you went to Marinette.

Superman furrowed his brow at that though. “I didn’t know there was an active team here.”

So it wasn’t about the miraculous or years of magic terrorism her city endured?

“Been here for years. Hawkmoth’s sentencing is in a few hours.”

She hoped it was the kwami’s choice. Tikki murmured that people were surprised by what they could live through, and she is thw kwami of life. Tikki would make him wish he was dead routinely. He deserved it for regualrly slaughtering the city.

“No, that’s...” superman shook his head. “I came here to talk to you about...” he gestures to her then. She didn’t get it until she realized she was floating on her own.

When did he let her go?

“I know you’re Princess.”

Marinette’s blood stopped then. No. He can’t. They can’t.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know Chloe changed my handle to Princess of Paris a few years ago but indont think heroes can stalk teens for that.”

Good, play into that. Distract until someone you trust can come. She hit an alert on her phone while he wasnt looking.

Pegasus should be here soon.

“I know you know it only as the Chimera project.”

Wrong. It was the surgery that kept her alive.

“And i know you’ve been poisoning yourself to stay hidden.”

Antidotes came from venom. It was fone to ise the stickers, they kept her human. The crystals were for emergencies only.

“What I don’t get is why.”

Why would she want him to kidnap, or abduct her? Take her from her family? Her life?

Don’t show that you’re who he thinks, anvocie whispered. Keep being the Paris Marinette from social media. The savage who snarled Weredad into submission.

“I really think you have the wrong girl. Its listed under my file as a volunteer flyer that i’m a flying meta, like most of the flyers.” Good, keep it up.

“And superman, if I had to guess why some girl that i look like would supress their powers, its becuase this is France and until the Miraculous team came clean about some being meta, you were imprisoned on suspicions of being meta, even infants were, are in the rest of France. Paris is the only place you arent imprisoned for it.”

Superman paled at that. “I. I wasn’t aware.”

“why would you be?”

Superman did respond to that.

“And if this Princess of yours is still hiding, she might be protecting her loved ones. Or maybe she thinks you’d steal her away from her life and home? Everyone knows about the fortress of solitude and i dont think anyone besides you would like living there, especially so far from people.”

Marinette watched him process. As long as Red Robin didnt see her, didnt confirm her identity, she was in the clear.

“Now if you’d excuse me, I’m needed to finish filling out a report on the final battle.”

That had superman’s attention.

“Final battle.”

“Yes, we just took down Hawkmoth a week ago.”

“He already has his trial, in a week.” Disbelief. Not worng either.

“It took the citizens of paris a week to finish voting. Finally tallies come in tonight if we try him as humans or if the kwami—gods of various concepts—are the ones to try him for his crimes. Afterall, he enslaved one kwami and abused another.”

Superman was not doing well, far too pale. Shock? No, they sent so many videos before the JL banned them.

Guilt. Regret, too. Probably.

“Now can you put me down somewhere? I’m not out as a meta and indont plan on being out anytime soon. Any supporting the miraculous teams do have their enemies too, and i dont want to be targetted.”

Superman nodded. Numb? Possible.

She let hersef be taken down.

Pegasus was there, Flash on his way. Another person who could make her.

She had to move fast.

“I hope I cleared things up?”

Superman nodded.

Max was ready to fight, glaring at the blue boyscout.

“Ready to go Miss DC?”

Marinette nodded, letting him guide her to the portal.

Flash didnt make it in, but he didnt see her face either. She’s take the narrow victory.

They exited in the Paris Grande Hotel. The Mayor had Batman and Red Robin with him. Crap.

“Is this...”

“Our civilian contact, Miss DC,” Pegasus stated almost too professionally. Great, now Red would know they know each other as friends. batman too.

“Batman, Red Robin, correct?”

“Yes. We, we just found your heroes videos and came to help. I see we’re too late too.”

Marientte nodded, avioding eye contact with Red. She wasnt sure if he learned to act infront of Batman yet, and wasnt risking it.

“I heard you came up with many of the emergency procedures and built the comms system with Pegasus.”

“As a flyer, yes. As Miss DC I just make sure the team stays fed and Chat doesnt forget to sleep.”

Batman shot Red Robin a look as he said, “I know the feeling.”

Marinette didnt fight the smile then. Yes, that was her Hero Stalker Tim alright.

“Would you two be interested in helping the league develop a better system to sort incoming messages?”

Pegasus moved first. “If we do, Miss DC is to be left alone. Her mother is very atrict about her not getting involved in science, and refuses to believe that her daughter has been actively helping the miraculous team.”

Batman turned his attention to Marinette then. “Is that so?”

Marinette nodded. “My birth father and her left on... terms i never got the jist of. He and his friends teach me in secret. Mama,” not maman, she forced herself to say, “she said something about it being destructive and dangerous, so she wants me to stick to the arts instead.”

Batman nodded. “Experiments can be, but that doesnt undercut the good you’ve done. I’ll tell the league you will work off-site should you accept.”

Marinette nodded along. “I can help where Pegasus gets stuck, and be contacted through him but otherwise would prefer not to be contacted by the League. I’m a civilian, and no offense, but there ahve been leaks before.”

“Understandable. The league thanks you for your help, and apoligizes for what you went through.”

Marinette could feel the hole Red Robin was burning into her. He earings. And the fox miraculous. Shit. He knew.

Marinette wanted to punch the league in their face collectively.

“All May i go now, i have a meeting to get to.”

“Of course.”

Pegasus opened the portal and escorted her out.

They both waited five minites, Max feeding Kaalki, for the call.

“So why didnt you tell me?” Tim was pissed.

“Media blackout. Any time i tried to call it was blocked.”

Tim swore. “Alfred!”

“You are so lucky Pegasus doesnt know anything about gotham.”

“He’s there?”

“I work with him alot.”

“So when you visited Gotham...”

“French government would know. Not hard to connect the dots of girl leaves to see gotham fmaily and suddenly the league shows up after banning all of Paris from contact.”

“I. When did it happen?”

“Before Chrismas. I would have had Nonna tell you but she didnt know either until after the fact and they said if she told anyone itd be me going to jail for her.”

“That’s. What hellscape do you live in?”

“I died so many times i don’t even know now.” She stopped keeping track after she got into the eighties. That wasn’t even a full year into being Ladybug.

“That’s not comforting.”

“Please tell me that you’re not outing me to Bats. I just got two leaguers off my tail.”

“I won’t tell him, but if the new Robin does i’m not stopping him.”

She almost forgot Talia’s son was a Robin. She didnt see him in uniform yet—as Damian (not wayne but damian who was mourning lost family, damian who didnt know how to talk to people his age). She knows he’s a bit thick with social cues, and his detective skills need work in her opinion but he’s skeptical and has good insticts. He might make her as Marinette if he’s there.

“Is he...”

“He’s with the Titans now, but theyre debating coming here to yell at the league.”

“Videoing it?”

“Obviously. Want a copy?”

“Ill make popcorn before watching.”

“Rkc are doing well by the way—stopped a human trafficking ring and i think they took the victims.”

“Harley’s working with them,” marientte got he update earlier. “Hood and zsasz took out the lower and mid tier that woudlnt snitch. The case should be smooth sailing—the sirens put out a blanket hit on anyone trying to touch the witnesses.”

“So managing two teams this whole time,” red murmured, almost... bitter, or disapointed in something—no someone. Himself?

“Just tweaking things. Daesuqa handles most the team since she found me and Chat. Apparently she was compatible enough to do a lot of the non-fighting work. I still did battle strategy and all but,” Marinette shrugged.

“She focused in survival aspects here, and long term stability for Gotham. Daesuqa has handled most of non-kwami work here outside of kwami and candidates,” Max added. “On top of her work as a student and designer and inventor.”

Red Robin groaned. “When do you sleep?”

Marinette hummed. “I have meds to make me. And angry family to make me take them.”

“Her... what are we calling him now?” Mac was asking about Felix, adiren’s gremlin cousin who’s mom isntryign to adopt her. Also a fellow reverse theif and possessive friend.

“Uh, gremlin.”

“Her gremlin calls to let is know if she does get rest on the weekends and we trade off on weekdays.”

Red robin hummed into the phone. “So staying to the shadows?”

Trixx and Tikki looked up at Marinette at that. tikki wanted her to be the Ladybug, the be seen and everywhere and she...

Trixx knew why Marinette liked the shadows and background. Trix understood that bit.

“Yeah, i’ll still play in between and have some kwami things for life now.” She and Chat were working out gaurdian duties still.

She wasnt interested in the JL.

@emeraldpuffguide @ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @mystery-5-5 @weird-pale-blonde-person @dast218

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

so I really wanted to update earlier but my life sucks and my phone stopped working so I had to run and get a new one and it took like two hours. So that was a fun night lol. 

Never Wanted to be Here Now pt. 5

It was at the point when Slade gassed them did Jason really begin to panic. He knew he should’ve started panicking long before but he was Robin; he’d fought Gotham’s worst. He’s fought Scarecrow, Riddler, Two-face, Joker and even Bane and came out fine in the end. Jason could handle Deathstroke. And if anything Batman would come for him. Batman always came for him when he needed help even if he didn’t admit that he needed it. But no, Jason didn’t panic until Slade told the kids to stay in the car when they reached their destination and the driver was thrown out of the car, leaving them alone in an abandoned area in the Narrows.

           Jason was going to intervene as Slade ripped the driver out of his seat, throwing him to the ground. As Slade took his seat, he floored it as the driver stared after them, unsure of what to do. The moment the car moved Jason let himself fall sideways, his head resting on Halley lap as he kicked his feet out, intending on smashing his car side window. Slade had expected an attempt like this though and moved quickly.  He swiftly slammed on the brakes, causing Jason to fly off the seat and fall onto the floor, his body twisting. Slade reached back with a blank expression and shot him in his shoulder. Jason cried out; he’d never been shot before.

           As her father began driving again, Halley watched with a shaky breath as he reached in for the duffel bag he brought. Throwing a med kit in the backseat, his daughter caught it right away, he ordered her to wrap the boy’s wound quickly. Halley was thrown off for a few seconds but Jason’s whimpers brought her back out of it. Shifting in her seat she dropped down to the floor. Putting the boy’s head back on her lap, she apologized before telling him she was taking his shirt off.  Slade kept peeking in the rearview mirror as his daughter struggled to take the top half of boy’s school uniform off without causing more pain. His ears perked when he heard her softly whispering to him, trying to get her voice down as if he wouldn’t hear her anyway.

           “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She kept repeating as she finally got the stupid vest he wore off and started unbuttoning his now red stained white button up. She winced as they hit a bump in the road, causing Jason to close his eyes close in pain, biting his lip as he was jostled. “I’m sorry.”

            Slade watched in disgust as his daughter began to wrap the Bat brat’s wound. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel impatiently. Eventually when she stopped fumbling about she finished, Slade taking note and reaching back for his duffel bag. He was disappointed at how long she took, mentally adding another tally against her. He taught her better than that. She’d wrapped his own wounds in the field when needed in a matter of minutes without hesitation of causing him a little discomfort. But she faltered just now and it was clear her emotions were clouding her actions. Biting his lip it was then when he placed the gas mask he had in his duffel bag on, and let loose a canister of knock-out gas.

           His daughter was the first to come too hours later, finding herself sat on a metal chair, her hands tied tightly with zip ties to the sides of the chair, along with her feet being tied to the legs of the chair. She wiggled her toes, feeling them again. Like her father, she too had regenerative healing, alongside with his enhance stamina. The bones and muscle still hurt, as she could still feel them healing. Bones mending themselves together, as it was useful, was also just as painful as the feeling of them break.

           She let out a moan as she looked up for her father. She could feel Jason behind her, tied up to his own chair. “You have me, let him go.” She croaked, her voice hoarse still from the gas.

           Her father, working off on a desk in the corner of the warehouse he had them in. looked up towards her. He turned around as she spoke, still holding the sword he was sharping. He was now in his suit, minus his helmet, wanting her to see his face. He looked at the edges of the sword closely, turning it over in his hand before sheathing on his back.

           Halley glared up at him as he neared her, his hands rested on his gun holster, his fingers fidgeting with the strap that snapped the gun in its place. His pace was slow, as he sized her up, taking in all the changes she went through in the two years apart. He’s always kept tabs on her of course but to see her in person only made him feel even more saddened. He trained her better than this. Back before the Titans brainwashed her into their ranks, she would’ve escaped him by now or at least put up a fight in the car. He didn’t have high expectations of her performance today but it hadn’t expected her to fail in every aspect.

           “Of course, I’ll get right on it.” He greeted sarcastically stopping as he stood directly in front of her. Leaning down to get in her face, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

           Letting it drop he clicked the button on the strap, releasing the pistol. Halley prepared to hear the nostalgic sound of it firing but instead grunted as her father brought it down to strike her in the face. The force jerked her head to the right, also shaking the chair. Her eyes widened, the sting and taste of iron in her mouth all she could clue in on until she felt his strike her again; and then again and again, again until she swore she could faintly hear Jason’s voice shouting at Deathstroke to “Fuck off,” or something sounding like that.

           But her father didn’t fuck off; he placed his gun back in its holster before pulling her face up to look up at him by her hair. She felt the blood tripping down from her forward to her chin and the cut on her cheek swelling. She felt like she was a child again getting in trouble for not doing a job correctly or messing up on a maneuver in training, or simply not cleaning her uniform or guns up to Deathstroke’s standards.  Her childhood flashed before her eyes with each punch to the gut Slade now dealt to her.

           “You’re going to kill her!” Jason shouted, his voice cracking like her had. He couldn’t see what was being done but he could hear and feel it, which he thought was just as bad. Her chair had been tied together to his and he felt each jerk as her heard each hit being delivered.

           “No I’m not boy,” Slade jeered as he then moved to forcefully hold his daughter’s chin, jerking her head up again. His facial expression sent shivers down her spine. He let go of her just as he spoke, “I brought you a welcome home present.”

           Halley watched as he moved away, through the strands of hair that fell in front of her face. She closed her eyes as she saw him exit through a doorway. She sat speechless and dazed, her jaw hurting and refusing to try and talk. Jason didn’t waste a second, the moment he heard their captures footsteps fade he tried craning his neck as far as he could, trying to see how bad she look, “Are you okay?”

           Halley just shook her head, unable to speak and instead started pulling at her restraints. She felt Jason join in when he figured out what she was doing. Pulling and rotating their wrists they set themselves to work. Her wrists felt strained as the hard plastic rubbed and dug into her skin.  Looking up to take in the room, looking for any other way to leave besides the door her father left. She noted one far off and towards the right. Tugging harder, she looked over her shoulder, managing to get somewhat of a peek at Jason’s shoulder. Blood appeared to seep through the gauze and wrapping cause her to curse to herself.

           The door her father had exited from was now opening again, causing her to halt her actions, but Jason still went at it. Her eyes widened as she saw her father make his way into the room but dragging a body with him. Halley narrowed her eyes trying to get a better view as the warehouse was dimly lit. The moment she saw the slight glance of the familiar blue bird emblem, she began yanking at her restraints again, desperately.

           “What is it? What’s he doing?” Jason rushed, his voice now showing how panicked he really was. He gritted his teeth when the girl ignored him again.

           “What did you do?” She shouted, baring her teeth as her father threw Nightwing’s body at her.

           “What’s happening?” Jason asked, hearing the sound of something heavy hit the floor. He tried looking over his shoulder but couldn’t clearly make out what it was.

           Halley only watched as Dick’s body landed with a thunk in front of her. Her eyes were wide as she took in his appearance. He looked like shit. His suit has tears, showing off the cuts her father most likely gave him with his swords. His face was bloodied and his domino mask removed. She could see that he was breathing but he was out cold; for now.

           Deathstroke kicked him in the side harshly. The vigilante shuttered, pain shooting through his broken ribs forcing him wake up with a gasp. Eyesight blurry, it took another rough kick for him to focus himself. His eyes looked up to see Deathstroke standing above him looking forward. Dick groaned as he twisted his head to the side to see what he was looking at and groaned. His eyes met Halley’s bloody face and felt a pit in his stomach. He failed.

           He should’ve known that Slade set the Titans up, but Dick ignored the signs the moment they reached the supposed target and rushed them into the attack. Slade was prepared for them and they didn’t see it coming. They’d faced inter dimensional threats and super powered power houses but somehow this middle aged man with a couple of guns and swords just knew exactly how to take them down. After nearly half of his team members were down in the middle of the battle, Dick called it. He ordered Victor and Wally to get the rest of his team out while he distracted Deathstroke. That was mistake number two. Slade wanted him alone and Nightwing gave him exactly that.

           “Don’t hurt her,” he wheezed, looking down at his tied hands resting on his stomach.

           “She need discipline and she needs to learn to finish jobs given to her.” Deathstroke smirked. He gave his daughter one final look before retreating across the room and back to his work desk. He would give them some time take in their predicament. “I’ll give you a moment to talk,” he smirked.

           Once he was out of earshot, Halley let her head fall forward, wanting to hid the tears leaking out of her eyes and it also just hurt to hold it up high. She could already start to feel the pain in her head starting to numb itself away, but knew her father wouldn’t let her stay in one piece for long. Her head shot up at the sound of Jason coughing.

           “Well you’re dad’s an absolute asshole.” He grunted, not even trying to keep his voice down, the searing pain in his shoulder taking his usual cynical tone away.

           “Are you two okay?” Nightwing asked softly, ignoring Jason’s comment. He shifted, trying to sit up.

           “Shoulder hurts.” Jason grunted again.

           Nightwing nodded looking at Halley for her answer. He frowned when he saw the tears running down her cheeks. “This is all my fault,” She shook her head. “He’s going to make me kill you. That’s the job. I was supposed to kill you then and I didn’t.” She let out a sob, angrily. “You should take Jason and try to get out of here.”

           “No, we don’t leave anyone behind. We’ll figure this out.” Dick glared at her, pushing himself up to sit, grimacing at the throbbing in his side.

           “No we won’t. He won’t stop until he gets me back and you’re dead. I’ve never seen him so determined about killing someone before.” Halley shook her head with a hush tone. Her father wasn’t one to just go kill people without being paid for it. He never told her what his reasoning was for wanting the Titans dead and she was too scared to question his motives.  

           Dick looked down, trying to think of plan to get them all out of here alive as Deathstroke returned, sauntering back over to the three. Dick took his chance, bolting up and darted at the older man. He shot his fists forward, nailing Slade square in the jaw only to have the assassin grasp his outreached hands and grip it tightly. Using his weight, Slade tossed Grayson up and over his shoulder, slamming him back down to the ground.

           Dick cried out, hearing his bones make a crunching sound at the impact. Slade saw the boy struggle but still try to get back up. He was going to try and protect his daughter until he was beaten to death, Slade rolled his eyes. Reaching down, he held a firm hand around his neck before smashing down his other in a tight fist, stopping the boy from anymore feeble attempts for the time being.

           He stood again, making his way to his daughter. Pulling his knife out from the holster on his belt he chuckled as the other boy now began swearing at him to back off. In one swift movement he cut the zips ties holding his daughter down one by one. As soon as she was free, she pounced. Reaching for the knife she was only stopped by Slade palming her face and pushing her back into the chair. She didn’t stop, kicking her feet out to swipe his legs out from under him. With another eye roll, he grabbed her legs pulling her off from the chair by them. Her head smacked again the flat of the chair but it didn’t halt her attacks.

           She landed with her head next to her father’s feet and saw the small daggers attached to his calf. In a blink she had two of them in her hands, kip-upping and turning to face him. Swiping the knife at him with one hand, throwing the other knife in front of her own face, catching the blade with her teeth, she used her now free hand to block a punch Deathstroke aimed at her. She managed to swipe a cut up, the blade piercing upwards against his cheek. Throwing his fist away from her she spit the knife out from her mouth and caught it, swiping again.

           Deathstroke backed up, giving himself room to push her hands away as they got close to him again. She jumped at him, kicking her feet up and at his chest. Almost climbing up him, she delivered a strong kick to his chin before pushing and flipping backwards. She threw one of her knives at Dick, careful not to hit him. The clanking of metal, caught his attention, opening his eyes and looking towards the commotion. Eyes wide, he took the knife given to him, wincing as he staggered up, slowly but surely making his way towards Jason as he used the weapon to cut the zip ties.

           He kept his eyes on the fight as he also focused on freeing Jason. He paused, ignoring Jason’s protests as he saw Deathstroke swipe Halley’s feet out from under her, slapping her weapon out of her hand. She gasped as her father reached for his gun. Dick moved faster free one of Jason’s hands, handing him the object to let him finish freeing himself as he raced to help Halley.

           Slade cocked the gun, pointing down at the girl, only to have the weapon kicked out of his grasp by Grayson.  The glare he gave Nightwing put a smirk on the blue and black dressed hero’s face. He raised his hands up, ready to kick Deathstroke’s ass. He moved slow as the two were now engaged in a battle but couldn’t help the smug look appearing on his face he took in the assassin’s frustrated face. Even with Nightwing taking more hits than giving them, he knew Slade hadn’t planned on being tagged teamed by him and his daughter. The sweet he had built up from the pain mixed with the adrenaline he felt coursed through his veins.  Halley and Dick worked together, one on defense and the other on offense, wordlessly switching in the blink of an eye.

           The pattern they had was cut off as Dick saw the assassin draw his sword and had to barrel roll out of the way or else he would’ve lost his head. Deathstroke marched towards him, swatting Halley away like a fly. Dick landed, losing his footing as his side was starting to catch up with him. Tripping, he fell backwards, using his hands to slam against the blade as if came stabbing straight at him.

           Halley jumped up on her father’s back, trying to not push the sword further down, as her father nearly impaled Dick. She pulled his shoulders back, giving Dick the chance to roll out of the way just as her father jabbed the sword down. It clashed against the floor, causing Slade to let out a frustrated snarl at his daughter. He reached up, ripping her off his shoulders and throwing her directly at Grayson, who had just stood up. The pair met the ground again.

           Deathstroke used this time to march over to the younger bat brat. He had just freed himself and wasn’t prepared to be clutched up by the assassin. Jason fought against him but nevertheless was pressed against him, his bare back pressing against the cold armor on Deathstroke’s chest. He held a grip on Jason’s bad shoulder, squeezing as his other hand moved to his belt. Jason couldn’t stop the cry that he released. Jason was in Slade’s grasp with a gun digging into the side of his head. Dick and Halley paused, helping each other up as they silently planned their next move, both mentally cursing,

           Shit,

[hellswolfie]

The Mark of Athena Review

Ok so once again i continue reading “The Heroes of Olympus” and once again i need to vent so Tadaaaaa !!

So before I start, here is a  more general Review : I really REALLY liked this book. Favorite of the serie so far. Also, obviously, SPOILERS !!

THINGS I DIDNT LIKE : 

- The role of Frank : I can maybe forgive that, because with 7 main characters i  understand it’s difficult to give them all an important role in one single book. But I really loved him in “The Son of Neptune” and I really wanted to see more of him, and the most of what we got was him being the Jealous Boyfriend. It was kind of disappointing so I hope it’ll change in the next books. 

- Piper : it costs me a lot to put her there because I really really loved her in “The Lost Hero” but I have to admit I didn’t like one single chapter of hers in “The Mark of Athena”. Or at least not completely. In the first book there was the relationship with her dad, her culture, her dealing with the fact she was an Aphrodite children, the begining of a friendship with Annabeth and Leo... But in this book ? It’s only about Jason. Endlessly. And it’s so tiring and eyeroll worthy, especially when we compare her “issues” over JASON with the others’. And even without that, she was really not a great person in this book and not in the interesting way : she was ready to put the whole World in danger just so Jason wouldnt stay in New Rome, kept Charming Up her friends just for convenience (like srsly i know thats not supposed to be a Big Deal but thats still mind control so yikes), and when it came down to it, no matter what she said about how Leo is like her little brother or Annabeth is her BFF, she only gave a crap about Jason Jason Jason...There was barely a scene of her with the other two. And I find it frustrasting that it didn’t even feel like the plot during her chapters were about her, but more about Jason and her being a support for him, even though they were HER chapters !!

- Jasiper : Well I guess that’s not really a surprise lol. I never liked this pairing and this book didn’t change my mind on that at all. Piper keeps clinging to the three months THAT NEVER HAPPENED (and that apparently weren’t faithful to Jason’s character like srsly is she even really in love with HIM or the idea of him she had in her mind ?) instead of the 8 real months they spent together, thinks it’s a miracle when Jason appologizes (he’s a real catch huh ?) and is so so sure he’ll leave her to go to New Rome which first : wow you really have faith in this relationship huh ? But also second : why is this such a Big Deal ?? Even if he did go to New Rome she could still follow him (she made it pretty clear she’d leave all of her friends in Camp Half Blood to be with him), it’s not like he’s a whole new different person when he’s there !! And my baby Reyna was so hurt by that, like Jason was a reall asshole here, even if he was oblivious and didn’t realize her feelings for him she’s still supposed to be his friend and the first thing he asks after 8 months of disappearing is if he can spend alone time with his gf ? And I found it kind of frustrating that in the end, all the others left on their own to do their own things (yk, to save the fucking world ?) while literaly risking their life and Jasiper just...went on a date. Like seriously ? So yeah. Not a fan. 

- The whole Frank x Leo “rivalery” : Why make another older character be attracted to 13 years old ?? Can you stop that ??? Leo could also be a real ass sometimes, even tho I still love him and Frank well...I already talked about that. This book had enough pissing contests between guys as it is. 

- Percy apparently forgetting all the Hercules stuff  he learned in “The Titan Curse”. I know it might not seem like THAT much of a deal but it was a really important thing for his character ? That he learned how Heroes, especially Hercules, were real assholes too and that he had to learn to not be like them ? That Zoe, his friend who sacrificiced herself to save the world, was treated like shit by this guy but now he was still like “omg this is Hercules I SO want to meet this guy he seems great !!” ???. It was just one sentence but I hated it. 

- The focus on the Romantic relationships. Look I have nothing against romance and ships. I love romantic love in stories !! But I also love friendships and I really wish this book would have given us more of that instead of spending so much time on romantic relationships. I mean it is pretty well illustrated in the end of the book when they all separate : all the groups are romantic pairings. Percabeth, Jiper, and Frazel with Leo who has kind of a crush on Hazel. And as much as I love Frazel and Percabeth, where are the friendships ?? Percy and Jason’s relationship was supposed to be very important in this book so why didn’t we see more of that ?? What about the friendships that were already established like Percy with Frank and Hazel, Leo with Piper and Jason, Piper and Anabeth,...And all the new friendships that could have had more screen time like Annabeth and Frank or something !! So yeah that was disappointing. 

THINGS I LOVED : 

- the River God scene. Ok so yes I kind of lied : I enjoyed this chapter of Piper. Well this scene at least. And only kind off, because it is still a Jasiper moment but anyway. In my last review of “the Son of Neptune”, I mentionned how it always annoyed me that the heroes have a habit of always making the Good Moral Decision, without any hesitation, even if the fate of the world is in the balance. I was like “Give me morally conflicted characters damn it” !! And that’s what I got here. Piper having to lie to the God, taking his horn that was so important to him, even tho he was just a very tragic dude, to save Jason and the World, realizing that even if it is bad and she feels like shit after doing it, she still had to do it...YES !!! THANK YOU !! I LOVED THAT !!!

- The LEO X NICO INTERACTIONS !!!!!! After spending 2 books shipping them (they’d fit so well together i will die on this hill) they finally talked !!! Well once, and about the fact that Percabeth just fell into fucking Tartarus but like !!! TALKING !!!! And the first thing Nico tell him is to reassure him <3 (look I know it won’t be canon but the POTIENTIAL!!!)

- Annabeth’s chapters. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t like them like we finally got her point of view people !!! And it was awesome !!! I loved seeing her on a quest, the way she thinks and sees the world, how she uses her intelligence,... Like she’s so brave and smart but also so sentimental even tho she’d never admit it (like getting emo about having lost the white hair because it was a connection with Percy ? My baby is so fucking precious). And obviously we already knew that but to actually be in her head ??? It was so fucking good !! And it really succeeded to make me feel so much for her, like she’s just a kid and her mother literaly sent her to her death and she was so scared but she still kept going (only to end up in Tartarus WHYYYYYY) and I’m so proud of her. I love this character so much !!

- Percabeth : The reunion !!!! FINALLY !!!! That’s my first ever OTP right there and they’re so in love !! They’re such a badass power couple and they love eachother so fucking much !! God i missed them X( I loved every Percabeth scenes, they were so adorable and beautiful. I loved how even tho they are differents and are not always in the same page, they still know eachother so well and the communication was just so cheff’s kiss. And omg their lasts scenes together ?? Chills !! Like when Percy almost begged the (kind of?) gods to let him stay just a few more moments with her because he was so scared of never seeing her again almost brought tears to my eyes and then of course their final scene when they fall together into Tartarus, because all that matter is that they’re together...MY HEART !!!

- Percy’s and Leo’s chapters. I put them together because I don’t have much  to say except that I love them so much and that I would literaly lay down my life for this two. Their chapters are always such joy to read, and after one whole book without him, I was really glad to get back with Leo. Probably the funniest chapters too. 

- The Crazy Dolphins scene. This scene was fucking hilarious. Pic comedy ^^

- The crumb of friendhips dynamics we got. So much potential I want to see more !! Like Percy x Jason, Annabeth x Frank (so much Hermione x Neville vibes), Leo x Frank, Hazel x Annabeth, Percy x Frank, Annabeth x Leo (Leo who is so scared of and impressed by her as he should lol),...That’s probably one of the reasons I was so bitter about the romantic relationships getting so much more time, like ALL the friendhships that were so interestings like come on !!

- Percy thinking about LUKE !!! hjfgjehgfjhsegf !!! The fact that he still considers Luke as his fighting teacher, still thinks about his training and his advices !!! Even going as far as thinking he totally understood where he came from for doing all this horrible things !!! That was so awesome !! And such a character development !!! And that makes Percy even more of an interesting character !!! Anyway I loved that ^^

- All the mythological aspect like Rick can be such a genius sometimes with how he uses them, managing to stay faithful to them while sill adapting them to a more modern setting and that works so well !! Well its there in every single one of the PJO series book, but I just wanted to put it out there so here. 

- Hazel story. Look I didn’t like the whole weird kind off “love triangle” thing with Leo and Frank. But I love Hazel and I LOVED knowing more about her and also knowing more about Leo’s ancestor (who was awesome btw). That was such an interesting story, how she discovered that her only friend back then and first love spent his whole life thinking her disappearence was his fault.  And the flackback was so cute too ^^ Also Loved her being so desperate finding her brother because that’s what Nico deserves and that was adorable. I really hope we’ll get to see more of their bond. 

- The end. Such an amazing cliffhanger. I could feel the tension in the scene, I could’t stop reading and then the last chapter were everyone was just so in chock but Nico still believed that Percy would come back out of it alive because he admires him so much. It was SO !!! FUCKING !!! GREAT !!! Amazing way to end this book.

And that’s also how I will end this review ^^ Feel free to comment on it (respectfully) in the comments if you want. 

[weirdbananasblog]

TOP 10 BEST ANIME GIRL CHARACTERS

As an anime fan, I always admire the great story of an anime and its core part is a variety of characters. Female characters have been important and evolve over time. This list includes the best female anime characters in history. From the strong to the cool, week, cute, beautiful, powerful, badass, and to the hottest character. In short, these anime female characters have earned their places on the list. Which one of these popular anime characters is your favorite?

1. KURISU MAKISE

Quote – “You can run away, but that’ll just make it worse!” – Kurisu Makise

Kurisu Makise is the female protagonist of the anime series Steins;Gate and the love interest of Rintarou Okabe. She is Lab Member 004. And her nickname is Christina put by Okabe. Kurisu gain interest in Science because of her father experiments and theories about time machine/time travel and others scientific topic.

For being so smart when she was a little kid and outwitted her father’s intellect. Generally, she is calm and a collective girl who is capable of keeping herself. Kurisu is not very talkative but loves to talk about science. She also does display sarcasm, usually at Okabe for his annoyance. She is the most love anime girl character.

2. MIKASA ACKERMAN

Quote – “This world is cruel. It is also very beautiful” ― Mikasa Ackerman.

Mikasa is one of the main characters of Attack Of Titan. She was adopted by the Eren Yeager family after her biological parents were murdered. Mikasa has become emotionally withdrawn and noticeably dangerous, sometimes intimidating her enemies or even her comrades.

She is quite and level headed, rarely seen to lose her cool, no matter how bleak the situation seems to be. But when someone tries to do anything wrong to Eren she became a whole new person. Usually, she is by side of Eren.

3. ASUNA

Quote – “Sometimes the things that matter the most are right in front of you.” – Asuna Yuuki

Asuna was one of the 10,000 players trapped in Sword Art Online. She is in the novels a sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. She is depicted as having earned a reputation as a skilled player in-game, giving her the nickname Lightning Flash. Asuna main weapon is Lambent Light.

For me personally, she is one of the beautiful character, and stronge too. Asuna is a kind and helpful young woman. Asuna is also somewhat proud and despite her kind personality.

4. CHITANDA

Quote – “If you can never get mad at anything, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing you like either!” – Chitanda

Eru Chitanda is the main character of the Classic Literature Club series and Hyouka.  She is a student at Kamiyama High School and the president of the Classical Literature Club. Chitanda is very cute girl. And, Eru is resemble as stunning beauty. She is a kind of anime girl character which you need in your life.

Chitanda is a polite and cheerful girl. And she is sensible, emotive, friendly, and innocent, coming across as “childlike” in many aspects. One day Eru meets Houtarou Oreki at the Kamiyama High School’s Geography Prep Room. Chitanda is very close to Oreki and it is heavily implied that she has romantic feelings for him.

5. ERZA SCARLET

Quote – “Hurt me with the truth. But never comfort me with a lie.” – Erza Scarlet

I already assume that you all have know that Erza Scarlet is a strong character. As we can see from above quote of her’s, she is clearly a powerful character and strict person. She often criticizing the bad behavior and habits of the other guild members, causing most of them to apologize. So, her personality also brings fear into many of the members in fairy tail and other guilds.

Erza is an extremely skilled fighter and high class wizard. And, Erza can summon any type of weapon she want to use in an Instant she has over 200 + different type of weapons and can summon multiple weapons at once. Erza have master swordman ship.

6. RIAS GREMORY

Quote – “The first strike decides the battle.” – Rias Gremory

High School DxD have popular over the year. And it’s main factor is their female character. This anime series is full of female characters. Rias is a very kind and compassionate, optimist, especially to her servants and people close to her. Moreover, Rias is competitive and hates to lose, especially after losing her first Rating Game against Riser as she strives to always win, whether it is in sports or Rating Games. Rias is the hottest anime girl character the whole series.

7. TOUKA KIRISHIMA

Quotes – “There’s no way someone who can’t even protect himself can protect anyone else, is there?” – Touka Kirishima

Touka Kirishima is the main female protagonist and a ghoul of the anime series Tokyo Ghoul. She wears a rabbit mask while hunting, earning her the alias Rabbit. She is inherently kind, but this was repressed due to her losing her father and thus having to survive in the ghoul world from an early age.

After the time skip, Touka is more openly gentle and warm and became a beautiful woman that many characters including Ken Kaneki have been left speechless by her attractive appearance.

8. NAMI

Quote – “Life is like a pencil that will surely run out, but will leave the beautiful writing of life.” – Nami

One piece has produced a different variety of versatile characters and one of them is Nami. Nami is a member of the famous Straw Hat pirate crew. She is 2nd crewmate of Straw Hat pirate. Nami has a good sense of navigation skill. In the world of Sea, she has been useful to her captain (Luffy).

After the time skip Nami have improve her ability. She has a supernatural ability to sense changes in the weather, “with her body” according to Vivi, and can even predict the emergence of supposedly unpredictable cyclones in the Grand Line.

9. HINATA HYUGA

Quote – “Never… Go Back… On My Word… Because… That’s… My Ninja Way, Too!” – Hinata Hyuga

Hinata is timid, soft-spoken, thoughtful, polite and very shy, often using appropriate name suffixes. Her father’s contempt for her, so Hinata lacks self-confidence but is very hard working. She is a member of Team 8, which consists of herself, Kiba Inuzuka with his ninja dog — Akamaru, Shino Aburame, and team leader Kurenai Yuhi. Hinata is a very shy anime girl character with the kindest heart.

10. REVY

Quote – “You’ve got to enjoy life, or else you’ll end up wasting it.” – Revy Rebecca

Revy is a troubled, loud, rude, sarcastic, deadly, very competitive, short-tempered, cynical, confident, and considerably aggressive nihilist (a person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles) who exhibits a wild temperament. She does most of the fighting for the Lagoon Company. Revy is very confident, grumpy, aggressive, cynical, and emotionally unstable.

Check out our new post – Top movies like ‘your name‘

[duker42]

NSFW Alphabet for Erwin Smith:

A-Aftercare: Erwin is a pretty considerate lover. His aftercare is off the charts. Especially after he has worked you out! Expected to be carried into the bathroom where he will draw you an amazing hot bath. Sweet words and kisses will accompany the bath. Afterwards expect to be cuddled for a long as you want.

B-Body Part: Erwin had a particular weakness for thick thighs. There is just something about them. He loves the way they wrap around his waist and he particularly loves watching the rub together when you walk. Expect those bad boys to become his personal pillows when he wants to lay down on you.

C-Cum: He’s not squeamish about the body fluids revolving around making love. He would prefer to cum inside you, that’s the best, feeling you around him while he releases. Although he does enjoy cumming in that pretty little mouth of yours.

D-Dirty Talk: Erwin loves dirty talk....come on, he’s your Daddy and he knows it. That commanding voice of his is perfect to push you closer to orgasm as he talks dirty to you. “Oh kitten, you love this cock, don’t you?” “Fuck you feel so good on my cock, why don’t you cum for me, princess?”

E-Experiment: Erwin’s pretty conservative when it comes to experimentation. He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t. There’s no need to try to get wild when you fit so well together in the regular positions. He has no doubt he can keep you satisfied, but if it’s something you truly want, he will entertain the idea seriously.

F-Favorite Position: Every position he can get you in is amazing. But his all time favorite position is having you ride his cock. He gets to fill his hands and mouth with your breasts and grip your ass as you bounce on his lap.

G-Goofy: Erwin doesn’t have a goofy aspect to his personality but he can be teasing. He will tease you sexually or use teasing comments in foreplay. But crazy antics and goofy jokes aren’t the Commander’s style.

H-Hair: Erwin doesn’t have a lot of hair to begin with, but what he does have he keeps neatly trimmed. He doesn’t enjoy wading through a jungle to get to your sex and he wouldn’t expect you to have to.

I-Intimacy: Our Commander is a, secret to the public but not so secret to you, romantic. He loves the intimacy associated with sex. Words, looks and touches are all used to show you just how much he adores you.

J-Jack Off: Like most men, he has urges that sometimes can’t be handled by you for various reasons. Travel has taken him away from you or you are out on a mission without him. Whatever reason, he will take care of himself if he needs to. Most of the time that is take care of late at night, sitting behind his desk as he replays that time you stripped for him while standing on it.

K-Kink: His kink is the Daddy and a power trip. He loves the domination that he’s wielding over you. All with your permission of course. He loves the fact that you freely give him control.

L-Location: He loves fucking you on his desk, a part of that Power Trip kink he has. Making you cum on the symbol of his power as Commander of the Survey Corps is an incredible rush. Other places is of course the bedroom and he enjoys putting you up against the wall of his massive shower.

M-Motivation: When you are walking that pretty ass around the base and he notices the other soldiers admiring it, really gets his blood pumping. He might be a low key freak that gets off on having what others want. There is also that tone of voice that you use when you call him Daddy. One day you said Yes, Commander in that tone and he needed to bend you over his desk as soon as everyone cleared the room.

N-No: Anything that puts you in danger is a no go for Erwin. He really wants to use his position to keep you safe but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of humanity. But he can keep you protected while in his arms.

O-Oral: Erwin Smith is FUCKING TALENTED with his tongue and he knows it. He loves nothing more than burying his face in your pussy and licking you until you cum all over his face multiple times. Has actually just gone down on you without expecting anything in return. Does absolutely love when you suck him off on your knees. Loves the idea of you giving him a blow job under his desk, but hasn’t asked you for it yet.

P-Pace: He loves when he’s able to take his time and throughly make you some apart with a slow and steady pace. But when he’s really horny, expect the power of his hips to make you feel like he’s breaking you as he slams his cock into your aching pussy.

Q-Quickie: While he doesn’t love quickies, it doesn’t allow him to go down on you, he understands that sometimes thats all you two are going to have time for. These are the interlude on his desk as he satisfies both of you before getting back to work.

R-Risk: He can do risky sex sometimes. As long as it doesn’t conflict with his image as Commander. By that, I mean he’s willing to bring you out to the ODM course and fuck you in the middle of the night. Anything else involving safe words or hand signals is a no go for him.

S-Stamina: Erwin is in fantastic shape and can hold off his orgasm for hours. He is one shot kind of guy, but by the time he is done with that one you are a sweaty exhausted mess anyway. You just want to go to sleep when he finally cums.

T-Toys: He will raise one of those gorgeous eyebrows at you when it’s brought up, but he doesnt see the harm in it. Loves using it on you to make you cum even more. One of the hottest things he’s ever witnessed is the day you masturbated in his chair with a toy behind his desk while he watched.

U-Unfair: Erwin might love to edge you and tease you, but at the first sign of discomfort or begging, Daddy is going to take care of his kitten.

V-Volume: The Commander can be pretty loud in bed, much to the annoyance of his officers. Expect dirty looks from everyone the next morning and a pretty shitty comment about how you killed Levi’s sleep....hahaha like he sleeps anyway.

W-Wild Card: Erwin Smith is actually pretty damn jealous. You are his damnit. He hates when he has to bring you to the balls and all the nobles undress you with their eyes. He knows he has nothing to worry about, but that still doesn’t stop his blue eyes from turning green.

X-X-Ray: Erwin is a large man and his package is no exception. His cock is a solid 9 inches long and VERY girthy. He doesn’t curve too much, sticking mostly straight out and is perfect for letting you ride.

Y-Yearning: Commander Erwin Smith is afraid that he’s not going to survive to see a world without Titans. But while he is still breathing, he is determined to make the most of his time. He’s a busy man of course, but you are never far from his thoughts or desires.

Z-Zzzz: Sleep after sex is the best for Erwin. He is relaxed and mellow, you are in his arms and the world is perfect for a moment. After cleaning up, he will fall straight asleep after the cuddles, his light snores filling the room.

Mobile MasterList

[dogmeatthedead]

We need to talk about The Methuselah Device:

Son of Enoch, grandfather of Noah, oldest human to ever live. Methuselah is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, said to have lived to well over 960 years old, Methuselah was the link between Noah (of arc fame) and Adam (of first of humans fame.) After living for so long Methuselah died the same year as the great flood, although he died before it stuck. Methuselah meaning "Death of Sword" is an important biblical figure, as well as impacting pop culture. "Old as Methuselah" is a great way to say that someone is extremely old.

This is a hill I'm willing to die on. The last 15 or so issues of Eric Wallace's 2008 Titans run should be considered Deathstroke's (unofficial) second book series, but that's not a debate for today (mostly because there's no telling me I'm wrong.)

This will contain spoilers for Deathstroke lore as a heads up.

Across the last issues, Deathstroke has one agenda: save Joseph. In "The Methuselah Imperative", Deathstroke and his team of losers (people who have lost a loved one) cross paths with Ryan Choi (killed,) D.J Molecule (kidnapped,) the Justice League (owned,)  and finally themselves in an attempt to save Joe.

As Deathstroke proposes it, The Methuselah Device would allow his group of Titans (Cinder: was promised that she would be able to kill her abusers later offered her dead brothers. Arsenal and Cheshire: promised the rebirth of Lilian. Tattooed Man: promised the resurrection of his son. Osiris: promised the resurrection of his sister) the ability to resurrect their loved ones.

Cinder becomes enraged by Deathstroke's offer to bring back her two brothers and ultimately turns on the team destroying The Methuselah Device along with (we can only assume) herself. The twist being that Slade never had any intention of bring his team's loved ones back. He had been using them to help him bring back his son.

Why Methuselah?

Even among religious groups a reference to Methuselah might go over unnoticed, so why did Slade name his device after the oldest biblical human.

Lazarus of Bethany

Lazarus was resurrected after being dead for four days, and his name has become tied to the idea of resurrection. Joe wasn't dead, he was on death's door, still Lazarus may have been a better example.

Job

If we're looking for biblical figures that could have been a better fit for a device that brings people back from the brink of death, perhaps there's none more fitting than the story of Job. Job was holy man who was blessed with many things. The devil asked God to test Job by taking his family and affecting him with illnesses and misfortune. Job still remained faithful to God and in return for his faith was given more than what he had lost.

I could probably draw a connection between Slade wanting to test Joe's love and wanting his son to love him regardless of what suffering Slade puts him though, but that isn't the time nor the place. My point is that the story of Job would be a better fit as both Joe and Job were healed from the brink of death and given good things after they were healed. (Joe and Roy resurrected the Titans, then New 52 struck so that went nowhere)

Job is about as cool as Judas in terms of names so the device could have been called The Job Apparatus and the arc could have been the Job Gambit.

So why was it named after Methuselah?

In order to understand my line of thinking we have to understand what timeline this is.

New Earth

Okay, for those of you who don't read comics New Earth was the timeline that predated New 52 and Rebirth. Although Rebirth (poorly) tries to bring back aspects of New Earth, it is for the most part its separate thing.

One of the most important aspects of New Earth Deathstroke is that after being resurrected by Cheshire (their history is super deep and worthy of it's own blog) Slade becomes immortal. 

This terrifies him.

Slade fears being left alone. Deathstroke Annual #4 is an elseworld but Slade is driven insane after he keeps outliving his loved ones.

Even though it's likely Jericho controling him, in Deathstroke #51 Slade (or Joe) tries to drag his city into a virtual reality where no one will ever die.

Get this man some therapy

Clearly New Earth Deathstroke has major issues with the people he loves leaving him in death. Here's another tidbit of information: Slade's blood can make people practically immortal.

However the draw back being it also drives them insane. Rose's superpower is precognition not enhanced abilities like her father, she only got those powers after Slade gave her a refined version of the ATCH 24 serum that gave him his powers. Slade clearly had time to fix the fourmula as Rose's skin never fell off (Slade's skin would have fallen off after he got his powers. That's what happens of your DNA comes undone, just a fun fact.) plus this is after the Cheshire incident so Slade is still immortal but is aware that his blood drives you insane. He could have fixed the insanity problem when he gave the serum to Rose thus making her just as immortal as he is.

Hopefully you've figured it out by now

I think that the true goal of the Methuselah Device was to make Joe immortal (or long-lived) like his dad and sister.

That's why he wasn't going to let anyone else use it, and why he didn't care when it was destroyed. Slade just wanted to make his son live forever with him, and he hinted at it by naming it after the person who was practically immortal in the bible.

[bigskydreaming]

It really, really, really can not be stressed enough, what a disservice fandom has done to the complexity of Dick and Slade’s canon comic book relationship, by simply reducing it to your fairly standard hero/villain trope. As well as making it just a master/apprentice dynamic like in Teen Titans. Their comic book dynamic is just not remotely interchangeable with that one. At all.

Among other things in the comics, in all of their encounters, Slade’s very presence is a constant living, breathing reminder of three of the outright worst moments in Dick’s life, and a walking embodiment of some of his biggest issues, all rolled up in one package.

1) Slade’s entrance to Dick’s life is the accompaniment to one of the greatest betrayals Dick has ever experienced. In order to get revenge for the death of his son, Grant, that he wrongly blamed the Titans for, Slade enlisted Tara Markov as his accomplice BEFORE any of the Titans ever met her. When her ultimate allegiances were revealed in the Judas Contract, and she singlehandedly took down and captured practically every Titan except for Dick, who escaped Slade when the latter saved him for himself....Dick, along with the other Titans, had to reconcile the fact that this woman they’d called their teammate, their friend, that they’d shared so much with, told so much to...had never been one of them. 

Not really. She’d been plotting their betrayal and deaths from the literal first moment they ever met her. With Dick having to shoulder the additional burden that like...he was the team leader. He was the one who ultimately was responsible for approving her addition to the team, who made the decision, who vouched for her and said okay. I am giving you my trust, and by extension, telling everyone of my teammates who puts their trust in me to do right by them, that it is safe for them to trust you as well. Whether or not Dick needed to heft that much responsibility for Terra turning out to be a traitor is really not the point in this specific instance. All that matters is that he did.

Now, as an example....how many fics that touch on Slade and Dick’s relationship in comic book settings in any capacity....how many of them offhandedly reference the fact that Slade is unique among many villains or enemies of the Justice League, Titans and Batfamily, in that he knows Dick’s secret identity...and by extension, has long since figured out those of every other member of the Batfamily?

Now with that in mind.....how many of those fics ever do anything with the fact that....Slade only HAS this knowledge in the first place....because TERRA told him Dick’s secret identity way back when....after Dick trusted HER, his teammate and Slade’s secret plant from day one....with his identity and by extension, Bruce’s as well, and Jason’s, and every other member of their family who was later added in the future?

Like, it isn’t just something where Slade figured it out on his own, or Dick told him....this highly crucial, critical and rare information that Slade has when few others have it, even other heroes....Dick never voluntarily gave to him. Its stolen goods, effectively, with Slade only having gotten it by virtue of Dick’s mislaid trust in someone else entirely.

My point being.....we talk a lot in fandom about how Dick is so trusting, but the reality is....even while Dick does make a point to give people the benefit of the doubt and extend his trust at times to people with not so great reputations....this is a willful, deliberate choice on his part, a conscious effort, and not evidence of Dick having an easy time trusting people or being naive.

The reality is, Dick has massive trust issues, born in large part of the fact that his team once all almost died because he put his trust in the wrong person.....and SLADE IS QUITE LITERALLY THE FACE AT THE ROOT OF MOST OF DICK’S CANON TRUST ISSUES.

(It also needs to be acknowledged that this was while the team was very much the TEEN Titans, and Slade’s earliest appearances absolutely made not at all veiled inferences that Slade seduced Terra and used a sexual and/or romantic relationship to manipulate her and get her allegiance in the first place. When she was very much a teen herself. She was a victim as well, and Slade predatory in his interactions with her. It was statutory rape every bit as much as Liu with Dick. Like.....it is what it is guys, and you might not want to go with that take for him yourself, but no different from when people choose to focus on instances of Bruce’s abuse, you can’t get upset at people who DO want to acknowledge this aspect of things and be like....fuck any kind of Slade redemption or Slade positivity.)

2) Slade also happens to represent one of the single worst moments of Dick’s life, and what he’s often regarded as one of his greatest personal failures.....and that’s Joey’s death. Joey was possessed by the evil spirits left over from Raven’s home dimension after the team finally banished Trigon for good, with his own possession powers having made him particularly vulnerable to them possessing him en masse, and they over time took more and more control of him until he was effectively just a helpless passenger in his own body for a period of months, maybe even longer than a year. 

While these spirits went about using his body to infiltrate and then hijack control of The Wildebeest Society, a group made up of former Titans foes for the express purpose of defeating the Titans.....and then as leader of the Wildebeest Society....having them systematically hunt down every Titan to ever exist, past or present, murdering many of them and capturing most of their superpowered members for the intended use of their bodies as hosts for the spirits sharing Joey’s body.

Now, not only is this a pretty direct parallel to Dick’s own experience being a brainwashed mole of the Church of Blood for over a year, secretly working to undermine his own teammates without any conscious control or even awareness of his own actions there, and with none of his teammates any the wiser, just as Dick himself hadn’t suspected anything wrong with Joey leading up to this reveal....

But after the Wildebeest Society had successfully either captured or killed every other Titan, Dick infiltrated their headquarters in disguise, in an attempt to free his teammates....only to be be caught and imprisoned by ‘Joey.’ With the latter then revealing the truth of why he was acting like this....and then continuing to keep Dick as his prisoner, chained up right by his side and tortured and helpless for over a week, as he and his minions continued with the rest of their work in preparing the carefully drugged/comatose Titans to be the spirits’ new hosts.

Let me reiterate....for over a week, Dick was the prisoner of evil spirits parading around in the body of one of his closest friends - the literal first person Dick chose to place his trust in again after it was first broken by Terra’s betrayal in the first place - while these spirits, did all of this in front of him with Joey’s face and body....gloating, taunting him, trying in every way imaginable to break him and his spirit. The whole time callously speaking of their intentions for the rest of Dick’s closest friends and their bodies, as they went about the final steps of their plan to basically use Dick and his team as the very tools they used to destroy everything they’d ever worked to protect and save.

Dick was only able to stop this and wake up the rest of his team...with Slade’s help, when the latter came in search of Joey himself. And at the end of it all, Joey was able to retake control of himself long enough to beg his father to kill him, before the spirits were able to overpower him again and use him to fulfill the rest of their plans.

Right in front of Dick.

Dick of course had spent the entire time he was a prisoner, trying his best to get through to Joey, believing with all his heart that Joey was in there still and could be saved, and of course, blaming himself for not seeing that something was wrong with Joey and stopping all of this sooner.

And then and there, Dick saw Joey resurface just as Slade did.....but while Dick saw this as proof that Joey was still there, could still be saved, they shouldn’t give up on him....Slade believed that doing the right thing then and there meant honoring Joey’s wishes for one of the first times ever in his life....even though that ultimately meant....also running Joey through with his sword. Again.....with Dick right there, still powerless to do anything to get up and help Joey, stop Slade, or propose another plan of action. He watched one of his best and dearest friends killed by his own father, because...in Dick’s own eyes....he’d failed to come up with an alternative in all the time he was prisoner....and failed to stop things from getting to that point in all the time before that, while Joey was possessed.

My point being....in the comic books, whether Dick and Slade are currently on good terms, bad terms, or neutral terms....they always exist for each other as a constant reminder of the death of one of the most important people in their lives. With that death being something they each blame themselves for and consider one of their greatest failures...as well as that death also being something they each at times have blamed each other for, for failing to come up with a way to save Joey, or protect him before he got to that point.

3) And finally, the third item of importance that I’m gonna gloss over for now as its more directly relevant to a post I wanna make about this later.....Slade’s direct involvement in the destruction of Bludhaven literally can’t be stressed enough. Whether you deem it in character or think he was written largely out of character at the time, with a case to be made for either stance, I think, the point remains that if you’re referencing Bludhaven having been destroyed at all, to any degree....Slade is once again at the heart of that matter, integral to every step of how that ultimately played out....with his position as the Society’s point man on that operation and his own personal grudge with Dick over various things, as well as Dick’s training of his daughter Rose - at Slade’s own insistence, but in ways Slade wasn’t pleased with, since Dick helped cultivate Rose’s actual heroic inclinations and instincts, which Slade did NOT sign off on - like, these things were directly step by step the path towards the Society ultimately following through and dropping Chemo on Bludhaven. With like, that being something that Slade absolutely could have stopped, thanks to his position, and even promised Dick as part of the agreement they made, that he WOULD keep from happening....only to renege on his word there.

In conclusion, Dick and Slade’s relationship and dynamic is SO SO SO SO SO MUCH MORE complex and varied than its basically ever made out to be in fanfics, and stems in large part from this one specific little tidbit that hardly ever seems to make it into fics’ final cuts.....

Slade respects Dick. Even when he doesn’t like him.

And I know, I know that fics pay a lot of lip service to this idea, but for the most part, its not substantiated. Or its clarified as though Slade respects Dick’s potential, or what he could be with Slade’s help or instruction....but that’s literally not the point of their canon.

The point is despite Dick being decades younger, Slade respects Dick as an opponent. As someone who has beaten him, bested him, in various ways and at various points. As well as respecting Dick as being a person who Slade’s son respected, and trusted, and valued a great deal. With a lot of Slade’s own memories of his son transferred onto Dick at times as a proxy, with Dick essentially acting as a stand-in for the son that Slade regrets never taking the time to get to know better...and here’s Dick, who knew and understood Joey better than just about anyone, certainly better than Slade. Which I personally believe Slade resents and even hates Dick for, for being someone that Joey both trusted and loved when Slade knows that likely wasn’t true of Joey’s view of him.....but I believe its also why Slade has never been able to bring himself to actually try and kill Dick and be rid of his threat to his plans for good....because doing so would be like killing the last real link Slade sees to the son he himself killed by his own hand.

Dick Grayson, for Slade....also happens to be the man who had every reason to not want anything to do with anyone associated with Slade, after Terra broke his trust, because of Slade’s own machinations.....while at the same time...Dick Grayson and his willingness to still extend that trust to Slade’s own son not long after that....are the very reasons that Joey ever had the opportunity to be the hero that Joey had always wanted to be....and that people ultimately remembered him as. There’s a reason Slade wanted Dick to be the one to train his daughter, after all - with the reason he was pissed at Dick for it ultimately being that Dick ended up being better at it than Slade had hoped, and Rose ultimately siding with Dick instead of Slade herself.

And even more importantly, IMO, Slade - even at times when he resents Dick for it at the exact same time - respects Dick for the choices Dick makes. For the precise fact that they aren’t the choices that Slade himself would make, that they’re choices Slade often thinks he couldn’t make.

He doesn’t disdain Dick for his choices or priorities or look down on him for them. Dismiss him because of them. They’re the heart and soul of WHY Slade respects Dick....and the fact that even with those extremely different priorities that Slade often doesn’t agree with...Dick STILL manages to come out the winner in a lot of encounters.

So this Slade Wilson who grudgingly admits that Dick Grayson has potential, but that its stunted and wasted without his own training, and because of the ‘weak, ill-advised’ choices that Dick makes and the things Dick prioritizes.....

Like, that has as little to do with actual canon pre-Flashpoint Slade, as the actual canon pre-Flashpoint Dick has to do with the depiction of him in many of these fics. Where Dick feels hopelessly outmatched and inadequate next to Slade or when facing him, like, he desperately starts praying the second Slade enters the fight cuz that’s the only way he’ll survive....or else he feels naive and dumb, or thinks how foolish he must look to Slade, or how raw or untrained or novice.....not to mention the times he’s focused on viewing Slade as a reflection of Bruce in various ways, or his dynamic with Slade as having anything to do with his dynamic with Bruce.

Again...umm, what? No. That’s not how Dick has ever been shown viewing their relationship either. The times he’s in conflict with Slade, he’s not questioning himself or second-guessing his abilities or praying he survives - he’s usually just PISSED, because of whatever thing has brought him into conflict with Slade this time. And not in that fanfic way where he’s unreasonable or irrational because of his anger and it clouds his judgment...in the way where he uses his anger to hone and focus his skills and just keep him going no matter how many hits he takes. Slade is an opponent whose skills Dick absolutely knows better than anyone else, and by extension respects those skills absolutely - but he is at the same time an opponent Dick has faced many times before, AND WALKED AWAY FROM EVERY TIME. 

No, Dick doesn’t take his victory or even his survival against Slade for granted, but he’s not remotely fear-stricken or rendered inadequate by the possibility of failure....he knows that there are no guarantees of success, but by the same token, he’s equally aware that Slade’s reputation is no guarantee of his own failure....with his own track record with the man being proof of that.

And at the same time....when they’re not directly in conflict....Dick does not feel invalidated or naive or dumb when around Slade, because of their age difference. He isn’t suddenly rendered like he feels like he’s a little kid sitting with a grown up. He’s usually just tired. He has as little illusions about Slade as Slade has about him. Dick KNOWS better than ANYONE, just how much Slade doubts and second-guesses his OWN choices, regrets his OWN priorities and decisions at times. So by extension...Dick doesn’t take their encounters OR Slade’s opinion as reason to feel inadequate or second-guess himself? He knows damn well that Slade has a higher opinion of choices that Dick himself even regrets making, than Slade does some of his own decisions. 

There’s not this.....gap between them experience wise, not in the sense that Dick can remotely compare to Slade’s much vaster library of life experiences, but rather in the sense that like.....Dick doesn’t care, you know? That’s not the point. Dick’s never comparing himself or his decisions to Slade’s with a measuring stick any time they encounter each other, because each encounter they have is so vastly more weighted by what they both represent to each other, their shared tragedies and personal failures and regrets, and their mutual awareness of these things and what they embody for each other. Dick - just like Slade himself is - is usually too preoccupied being focused on every thing that being around the other brings up for him....to have any mental energy left over for all this other stuff.

Comic book Dick and Slade, for each other, just carry too much knowledge of the life experiences they both have in common, because of their past interactions and shared connections.

Anyway, I will do another post soon about the comic book Renegade arc in particular, because its SO much more interesting than just the ‘Dick was Slade’s student or apprentice’ facsimile that I think people assume it to be. Like, Dick didn’t go to him as a supplicant, and Slade didn’t for a second think he was actually turning traitor. Slade asked him to train Rose in exchange for Slade’s help with his own plans, in part because Slade RESPECTS Dick’s skills as a trainer of heroes, not seeks him as a student for himself....but ALSO as a kind of manipulation - personally, I think he was hoping to use Dick’s inevitable concern and compassion for Rose as a buffer to keep Dick from betraying Slade or tripping him up when he tried.....and of course Dick actually ended up getting ROSE to turn on Slade instead? 

But at the same time, its not one sided at all, because there was a particularly clever bit about how Dick faced off against Superman as Renegade, and tried to use his heartbeat to send Clark the message that he wasn’t actually betraying the heroes and not to listen to the words he was saying, but the fact that his heartbeat showed that he was lying....except Slade had ANTICIPATED this, and had rigged the glove of Dick’s Renegade costume ahead of time to be like, wirelessly linked to a remote he had as he watched Dick and Clark’s interactions through the video feed on Dick’s mask.....and Slade used this remote to send wireless signals through Dick’s glove that matched the sound of Dick’s heartbeat and in essence let Slade alter the rhythm of what Clark thought was Dick’s heartbeat....but was actually just Slade literally clicking buttons. 

So Dick was getting more and more confused about why even though he was saying all this stuff about being too jaded by the League’s failures and done with heroism, like, why was Clark actually BELIEVING him instead of realizing he was clearly lying from the sound of his heart....and Clark was actively getting more and more upset as he talked and actually trying to FIGHT him and Dick eventually had to flee with Clark actually like.....furious with him, and Dick had no idea why. With this, I think, being one of the things Dick actually full on HATES Slade for the most (and I think what directly motivated Dick getting Rose to turn on her father) - like, Clark has been Dick’s number one support and fan from day one, even when Bruce wasn’t at times. He’s the one person who has pretty much ALWAYS believed in Dick no matter what. 

And Slade managed to take that away. To get Clark to literally look at Dick as the enemy. To not believe him, believe in him. Like. That’s something I don’t think Dick has ever forgiven Slade for or ever will.

So yeah. There’s so much more to Dick and Slade’s dynamic than fics represent, and I wish people delved more into this other stuff, because its so much more INTERESTING in my opinion than just like, your usual ‘older supervillain toys with younger outmatched superhero’ or master and apprentice stuff, etc.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hello! Which would be your top 5 fight scenes in anime/manga?

Hello anon!

This is a tough question. I am not sure tbh. I can generally tell you about series whose fights I enjoy, but I am not sure I can pick specific fights.

In no particular order:

1) ATLA

I know this is not technically an anime, but I love the fight scenes in the series and how the animators adapted different kinds of martial arts to each bending. Seeing so many different kinds of movements and so many different styles has always been one of my favourite aspects of the series.

When it comes to specific battle sequences, I love in no particular order

-Toph vs Earthbenders: I love the episode The Blind Bandit and Toph’s battle against the earthbenders is amazing. I especially like how she fights in a smart way by moving very little and using her opponents’ movements against them.

-Zuko and Katara vs Azula: I like this fight for several reasons. On one hand Zuko and Azula’s opposite state of minds and developments are beautifully conveyed through their fighting-styles. On the other hand I love the way Katara fights against Azula by using the environment to her advantage. I also like the character moments between Katara and Zuko since we are shown that they really value each other despite everything which went through between them.

-Katara vs Master Pakku: this is one of the first episodes of ATLA I saw and I love how creative Katara is in this battle and how she keeps on fighting fiercely despite not standing a chance. I think the battle conveys very well Katara’s creativity and talent, but also the fact that she has still much to learn when it comes to water-bending.

-Katara vs Hama: in this fight we see waterbenders taking water from the grass and the plants and I like that this possibility was explored. The use of blood-bending is also extremely interesting and the way Hama tricked Katara into using this technique she despises is very interesting.

-Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph against the Ba-Sing-Se’s soldiers: I like how well the characters work together in this battle and how they manage to basically take down a whole army with just the few of them.

2) HxH

I like battles in this series because they are often smart and have the characters think out of the box. What is more, after it has been introduced, they make use of nen which is a power system which mirrors the characters’ interiority.

When it comes to specific battles I have especially enjoyed

-The fight between Gon and Hanzo because it highlighted how twisted it was the system invented by Netero. What is more it was both a deconstruction and a reconstruction of the shonen trope according to which one can win out of sheer willpower. In this case, we are shown that this is not true because Gon’s willingness doesn’t make him stronger than Hanzo who keeps dominating him. However, in the end Gon wins precisely because of his stubborness which is precisely what Netero wants to test. At the same time we are shown how Gon’s determination can be a double edged sword since he wins, but only because of the fight’s rules and even then he ends up badly hurt.

- Gon vs Knuckle (the training match): I am referring to the fight where Knuckle does not use his nen power against Gon. The fight is a minor one, but I like how Gon develops while training and how he finds smart ways to use Jajanken despite the dangers linked to that ability.

- Hisoka vs Kastro: this is one of the first battle where we learnt how nen works and it is one of my favourite because of how we get to see it from different perspectives. First of all we see it from Killua’s perspective and later on from Machi who explains what happened and how Hisoka’s powers work. I also really like how the battle sheds some light on Hisoka’s personality.

-Hisoka vs Chrollo: I have talked about the fight here and I think it is complementary and the inverse of the Hisoka vs Kastro one.

-Shizuko vs Pike: I have enjoyed this fight mostly because I have a soft spot for Shizuko, but I liked how she approached the whole battle in a smart yet ditzy way and her going back to tell Pike he could have still avoided death was a nice touch.

3) Madoka

I enjoy the fights against the witches because of how symbolic and aesthetically charming the witches are. In particular, I like Homura vs Walpurgis, Mami vs Gertrud and Sayaka vs Elsa Maria. I have talked of every witch (so indirectly of every fight) here.

4) YYH

It has been a while since I have read the series, so I don’t remember all the battles, but I remember enjoying them. They were funny and had some great character moments!

5) Assassination Classroom

I enjoy the fights in the series and the fact the story puts on the same level exams and battle against assassins makes so that the fight scenes end up being very original.

I have especially enjoyed

-The kids against the exams questions all three times we have had it. It is one of the charms of the series to use smart metaphors to convey study-related topics.

-The kill team vs the save team fight. It was great to see the students show each other their most hidden abilities and I like how in the end Nagisa and Karma’s friendship is mended.

-Nagisa vs Takaoka (the first fight). It is the fight which reveals Nagisa’s talent for assassination and I think it manages to do so in a very interesting way.

-Class A vs Class E during the sport festival. I like the rivalry between the two classes and this figth specifically was just hilarious to watch.

Apart from these series, here are some single fights I have enjoyed:

-Ino vs Sakura in Naruto, which I like because of Ino’s plan, the flashbacks and Sakura’s will.

-Levi and Mikasa vs the female titan in snk because it was short, but effective into conveying Levi’s competence, Mikasa’s feelings and their relationship evolving througout a very short interaction.

-Levi vs Kenny in snk because it was the first time we saw a battle among humans and it was interesting to see weapons usually used to kill titans transformed into weapons against humans. What is more, Kenny and Levi’s interaction was interesting.

- I also like several fights in RWBY (even if it is not an anime) when it comes to scenography. I especially enjoy Neo’s figthing style and watch her battles with pleasure.

- Yako vs X in Nogami Neuro. I like that this fight is not really a fight, but simply Yako managing to use her emotional intelligence to get through to X. All in all it is a great way to wrap up both Yako’s development and X’s arc. On one hand Yako shows how much she has grown and how much her empathy can be useful. On the other hand X finally finds themselves.

Thank you for the ask!

[twitchesandstitches]

Average Day for Hyper Muscle Polypa

commission for a slice of life story featuring the hyper amazonian and muscle gut Polypa from one of my most frequent comm-ers!

Features hyper muscle, mini-giantess aspects, and a vore scene later on.

--------

It took some time for the mutated troll woman, Polypa Gozee, to wake up all the way. She rolled and shifted around in her recuperacoon for a while, her impossibly muscular and oversized body straining the poor device’s ability to contain her. The questionably fleshy recuperacoon’s surface was strained particularly hard by one especially huge lump forcing out its front, and two significantly smaller (but still quite big) spheres on top of that. As she woke up, they shifted heavily, forced this way and that way as she slowly got to her feet inside the sopor slime. And then, she yawned heavily, so hard that the windows of her hive almost rattled. And then, there was a gurgling growl from her massive stomach that did make the windows shake almost out of their frames, and the sound knocked down a couple trolls who had been walking past the huge and overbuilt complex of her hive.

It was surprisingly large for an oliveblood, who never got the kind of resources for something like that. But when it came to questions about Polypa, her hive being too big was really the least of it.

And in any case, even her hive, engineered as it was to cope with her unique and empire-compliant mutations, couldn’t quite cope with the kind of power even her hungry rumblings could perform.

Consider a view through her hive, through its many winding hallways, its twisting corridors, the walls with handholds put into them near furniture at just the right angle for beings of a considerably smaller size to move up, and a general sense of scale. Walking into this home was a bit like being transported into a world where you were suddenly far smaller than you ought to be; everything suddenly looked massive.

It was also the home of a fangirl, it seemed. Finished assembly kits for many different series lined the shelves end to end, arranged into complicated dioramas telling their own self-contained stories. Models and miniatures, patiently handpainted with a few sloppy mis-strokes that indicated someone not well suited to precise movements, occupied display shelves.

And the scale of the rooms, and its furniture, were massive. Most trolls were giants compared to the unfortunate aliens they met, save perhaps for the mineral entities known only as the Gems, and the titanic shapeshifting robots known as the Autobots, whom had called an alliance together specifically to stonewall the Condesce so badly that in her frustration she had postponed her eternal conquest and allowed the adult trolls to return to Alternia, to repopulate and bide their time. And even so, the size of these rooms would make even the biggest troll brute feel like a lost infant wriggler. A chair alone, for instance, was more than ten feet across (by the measurements of humans, at least), and higher than most trolls were tall.

The walls were decorated in the colorful and bright shades of various animated series, some fairly obscure and some autographed in the careful, pictogram calligraphy of the written languages in the regions they had originated in. Most of these were of cute characters, with incredibly buxom, amazonian troll-women as the primary focus; given that the cultural expectation was for women to be more ruthless, cruel and ferocious than the smaller and frailer men, they also tended to be somewhat bloody and gory. Even the cutesy and lighthearted shows featured at least a few bloody heads on pointy sticks here and there. Fuchsia princesses predominated, their frilly dresses and armored attire suggesting a few popular trends from a troll genre broadly similar to the romantic and self-discovery of human shoujo series, but other posters, as well as a truly shocking breadth of collectable miniatures, models and dioramas constructed from those very collectibles, had the softer and more stylized looks of something like action-packed shonen series.

(Those were not quite the same terms as trolls themselves would have used, but in lieu of direct translations, those terms suffice to get the general vibe of those genres across.)

It bore some repeating that the collectibles weren’t just fairly diverse, but they were hand-painted, though not handcrafted. They’d clearly been bought from a store or assembled from kits, but they had been painted at home, with a lot of love, if not necessarily a lot of skill. They were something of a contrast to the bloody trophies kept in little glass desks throughout the home, like a predator’s way of saying ‘heck yeah, I killed THAT’.

They were unlabeled, preserved in jars and transparent boxes and even living jelly spheres that kept particularly brief things going, but they were clearly trophies from dead trolls. A broken horn there, its base scarred by some kind of horribly vicious digestive fluid that still tinted it olive-green. Several orange-red bones, preserved in fluid. More than one or two skulls, and there weren’t many of these larger trophies. There were necklaces and bracelets of teeth presumably taken from dead jaws, torn out and strung up, and it was always one tooth per kill. There were many necklaces, a bit bloody from their original owners, mostly in the colder shades.

There was another oddity of them; the hive was mainly made of a blend of the various living substances trolls built their homes out of, interlaced with a tough resin that was pretty similar to some plastics and provided al ot of structural strength, and the composite was a hardly material that would gradually heal most damage done to it. It was, after all, a living thing. However, this hive’s walls were coated in a glassy substance often used in fireproofing; it had a very high melting point, and saw a lot of industrial use. It protected the cases all her books, movies, animations and various collectibles were all set in, and the impression was that she was worried about fires. There were still a few scorch marks, here and there, in the shape of handprints and footprints.

Now, consider her bedroom.

It was a surprisingly small space. There were fewer collectibles and trophies compared to the rest of her home, and only a few photos. Most of those were on a small desk on the other side of the room from her recuperacoon, and generally showed her with the long-dead lusus who had raised her from wrigglerhood. There was one photo from before her adult molts, with her moirail Tegiri. The photo showed her towering over him even them, one buff arm looped around his neck, him with a stoic expression of long-suffering complacence, and the other photos of them largely followed this trend, even some of the more recent ones that had so much trouble fitting her into frame. Besides them were the ashes of her lusus, preserved in a jar. They were positioned in a way that the sleeper would immediately see them as soon as she woke up.

Most of the room was otherwise taken up by a monstrously huge recuperacoon; a gigantic cocoon, oozing a green ooze with sedative qualities to soothe the mindness rage and lust for blood inflicted upon trolls by mysterious entities in the distant past. It filled up the entire room, which was still a fairly large room despite being small by the hive’s general template standards, and was filled nearly to capacity by a very big, extremely feminine, and rather rigidly built body that had been tossing and turning for some time.

A pair of horns poked out the ground; using human measurements and scaling them up to troll size, they would perhaps have been about five feet long each and two feet wide, from a height of nearly 20 feet, bringing the height of the recuperacoon and its occupant at around 25 feet, by the measurements of trolls (which used different terminology, but was fairly close to the human Imperial measurements).

Both horns extended at an angle, branching into heavy hooks, and one had a large chunk broken out of it, still raw and green all these molts later. They rose up as Polypa groggily stood up to her full height in a slow and groggy way, her amazon figure looking like something being constructed out of the cocoon. It became clear, as the huge distensions at the front moved upwards, and the cocoon shrank inwards as more Polypa rose up, that it was almost all her. Massive shoulders rose out of the cocoon, each one at least a few feet around and looking even bigger from inhuman levels of muscular development; alien analogues to deltoids extending at least a foot away from her in ropey curls, the chitinous armor of her black skin adhering to her form as closely as latex.

The first impression of her was ‘no troll should be that big’. Her presence was a physical force, distorting attention around her like a lead weight shot of a cannon into a wall. The second impression was of sheer, unbelievable muscle mass, swelling out of her to such an extreme that it was hard to tell what was actually her main body, and what was muscle grown so huge and heavy that it had swelled out into a kind of meaty carapace.

Polypa kept rising upwards, and the two huge lumps surged out as a pair of gigantic rumble-spheres, or breasts by human nomenclature; if her belly had been slimmer, they would have dipped down all the way to her thighs, heavy and laden with some form of nectar. Certainly her nipples (or sap ducts, as trolls considered them) were enormously huge, puffy and ready to disgorge into a receptive mouth. Each rumble-sphere was wider than the entire circumference of her body by a foot or so, and would likely have projected out by eight feet, at the least.

They nonetheless looked small compared to her belly, which was the much larger lump beneath her boobs. It flopped out through the lip of the cocoon, which made it deflate and contract in relief around the rest of her admittedly still gargantuan body like a living film. Her stomach surged out and smacked heavily into the ground, denting the floor beneath it, and settled; all of Polypa’s body, nude as she was in the sopor, was absurdly muscular, her body mutated to increase her muscle development to the point that most of her apparent mass was…

Well. Very little of it was her actual body. She was a massive troll even for her size, but most of her bulk was just muscle mass grown straight from her body. Her head, dwarfed by her growth, poked out like someone piloting a mech made of muscles, and seemed startlingly small compared to her overall size.

This beefy carapace was bulkiest around a few specific areas, such as her arms and legs, but nowhere was more heavily muscled than her stomach. Round though it was, abdominal muscles completely encased it, so solidly defined they looked like carved markings on an anatomical engraving; latissimus dorsi like slabs lined the sides beneath her rumble-spheres, external oblique were a muscular rim jutting out over even her enormous hips, and her abdominals proper stuck out so much that they made her belly a surprisingly gravid globe.

That it was nearly as long as she was tall, and wider besides, gave such an awe-inspiring sense of mass. It gurgled faintly, mysterious chemical processes going on in that magnificent gut; it was the secret to her tremendous growth, it's perfect digestion breaking down all food and turning it into raw mass to fuel her increased size and muscle mass. Bones, trees, poisonous fungi, other trolls; if it was organic, Polypa could digest it and neutralize all poison, making them all nothing but fuel for her magnificent form.

It was quite sensitive, to boot; Polypa shivered as her nook and bulk (both swollen to extreme heaviness beneath her belly) rammed into its lower regions, and she grinded her hips into it as an automatic reflex, enjoying a particular abdominal crease she clenched around herself right there, and spent about five minutes ramming into herself, until the early morning lust resolved itself, and her head cleared.

Polypa stepped out of her cocoon, thighs nearly eight feet across and as hyper muscular as the rest of her moved out, her digitigrade legs flexing and the clawed toes powering her out of the cocoon. A short, slim tail bulging with more muscle slapped against a huge butt rather softer-looking than the rest of her body. Her mane of hair fluttered down, messy from the sopor and sliding against her butt too.

Sopor slime dripped off her face, off the scars. The burns were terrible, distorting almost all her face except for a small circle around one eye into a mass of off-green crags and pinched sections, the chitin there half-melted. Even her lips, massively puffy and swelling outwards, had uncomfortable streaks tinting them a faint green from those old injuries. The burns continued down her neck, at least until the swelling piles of her neck muscles swallowed them up.

The chitinous carapace of much of her body still bore some sign of those old burns, all the same. Down her back, a meandering trail across her arms, erratically spiraling around the base of her tail, and a few dappled spots on her thighs and finally the heavy tread of her feet, and even that was still scarred by old fire.

And as she walked out, her body shimmered, psionic energies in her eyes, and heat pulsed out from her hard enough to nearly evaporate the slime off her body on the spot.

With a grumble, Polypa sloughed off, dripping sopor slime off her nude body all the way to the showers, her digitigrade paws scraping her short claws against the ground, and her tail dragging behind to make little trails in that slime behind her.

The shower woke her up a little bit, though it wasn’t easy. Polypa didn’t do well in confined spaces, and even if her shower had been built for over a couple dozen trolls (if they didn’t mind getting unnecessarily intimate), she filled it pretty much to capacity. Her stomach did, mostly, which was the main issue. She kept bumping into things as the water washed the slime off her, and she hissed with suppressed pleasure as her stomach ground sensually into the hydration spigots. There was so much to… entice her. Polypa’s butt ground against the wall, her rumble-spheres were pushed into the ceiling, she had to wedge her face into those rumble-spheres just to avoid headbutting her own ceiling.

And then. Her soft and sensitive muscles pressing into each other with an overpowering friction with every other movement so that this tight space was a sweet kind of hell. And her rumble-spheres, packed tight and full as they were, kept getting pressed against each other, and her face, and the walls, and her own massive arms, and kept gushing out sparkling and frothy streams of green nectar right all over her front like a hose going off, so much that she almost screamed.

A lot of green fluids wound up washing down the drain when she was done. It wasn’t just her nectar either.

Polypa finished her shower, with some embarrassed difficulty, but figured it was best to get that sort of thing out of the way so the need as fierce as her hunger or various other cravings didn’t overwhelm her during her morning run.

A small towel hung by the shower, far too small to dry her off. And the reason why became clear, in this bathroom with the walls so very heavily reinforced by fire-preventing slabs. Heat pulsed from Polypa, and she felt her muscles swell up a bit as she tapped into just a small store of the psionic powers unlocked by her mutations. It was enough for her rather singular talent.

There was probably a technical term for it. In plain terms, she burst into flames.

Heat swirled around her as she glowed, her scars shining even brighter so that their ragged dips and swirls looked like mystical runes, and then she ignited completely, flames exploding from her. It whirled around her like an aura, blasting into every inch of the room with so much force that it was like an explosion going off. The room was reinforced to deal with it, and there was no damage caused.

After a few moments of this, Polypa shut it off. The flames that her body was continously creating and converting raw psionic energy into fire simply went out. She was left still smoking, an exhiliaration and rush still pulsing in her, and there was a faint steam from all the water being evaporated right off of her.

Polypa thought to get dressed, but the pressure in her rumble-spheres demanded otherwise.

She left her bathroom and went to a storage cabinet in one of her hallways. With a stoic expression, she hauled out a milker and slapped its cups to her engorged nipples, her rumble-spheres still totally full, and powered it on as she did her stretches: she bent low, tensing her back and adjusting her back shell and twisting her muscles in various directions, as the milker went to work. She panted in relief and pleasure, both from the feeling of her muscles working, and the sweet delight of being milked.

She twisted her arms up, one after another, and they were massive, broader across than the average troll’s entire body, her biceps nearly eight feet across each, bigger even than her torso. Her rumble-spheres bounced atop her gut, rivers of green flowing down the tubes, and she very carefully maneuvered her arms so she didn’t get lost in the moment and popped something loose; the mess would get everywhere. ...Again.

Then her hips; enormously wide even on her titanic body, swayed back and forth as she limbered up. This went on for about five minutes, and her industrial-grade milker sucked her nectar with commendable ferocity, its contents ejected in several tanks large enough to feed a dozen trolls each for a day. A large milking lusus might be expected to fill one or two a month; Polypa went through a dozen in just those five minutes alone. She kept doing more stretches, and ten minutes passed as she warmed up her body with a variety of movements to wake herself up as much as possible, until a faint burn suggested she was done.

Her belly rumbled, and a faint but demanded emptiness inside her beckoned. Polypa glanced at the many nectar tanks, and reached for the closest one.

The first to slake her hunger, but far from the last. A body like hers demanded a lot of food.

-----

A while later, her belly was stuffed with her own nectar and happily gurgling it away,, and Polypa set off at her morning run, to the expectant delight of the neighborhood.

Her belly was a bit more distended, sloshing audibly with each heavy slap against her bulbous thighs, a slight swelling in the lower regions suggesting various splinter-stomachs had been filled up and were happily digesting her breakfast. Polypa struggled to maintain her sense of decorum, frowning faintly. ‘Can’t believe I went through almost the entire morning stack’, she thought grimly, only a few of the tanks she’d produced tucked under one arm, ready to be sold.

She’d changed, too, after her milking; a sports bra did an admirable job of at least supporting her massive rumble-spheres even if it couldn’t do much to conceal the puffy juts of her nectar-ducts, and a pair of micro exercise shorts showed off her spectacular leg muscles to all their extreme spectacle. Bandages wound around her face, soaked in a sopor derivative to minimize pain to her scars, leaving only one olive-green eye to indicate her feelings. Her big lips did press against her bandages, but she rather liked the impression of that.

More bandages covered pretty much most of her limbs. It was a bit time-consuming to put them all on, but she felt much more comfortable when she had them worn. The sopor treatment kept her scars from hurting or feeling too sensitive, and it also helped her control any periodic outbursts of psionic flames if she got too worked up or surprised. The bandages wound around her arms and fists completely, thin enough to show off her build, and were a bit more sporadic around her legs. They only needed a few loops at the base of her tail, which was just as well; it was hard enough getting that covered.

The bandages had to be changed daily, and more than once Polypa considered moving in with her moirail, Tegiri. He would be happy to help her keep her bandages changed, and she did need to change them every day. It was a lovely thought, imagining him living with her and patiently working the sopor into her scars, or to cuddle him and kiss him, platonically, between his horns, a gesture so pale it almost made her blood-pusher twist in longing.

She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for that, though.

And her flaming psionics, she thought grimly as she walked, was something to be careful about. Tegiri knew, yes, but even during her occasional expeditions into arson Polypa didn’t like anyone seeing her. Not even her enemies as she slew them. Mutations were treated leniently if you could be useful to the Empire; even something as dramatic as Polypa’s transformation was fine, as long as she could fight for her empress. Olives with psionics were rare, but not too unusual, and her muscles being produced by an excess of psionic energy made an okay explanation, but still: Polypa didn’t want to take any risks. Not to herself, not to Tegiri, not to any of her friends.

Eventually, these serious thoughts winded down, and she got to the serious work of just jogging and getting herself warmed up for the day.

As she ran, her hair swayed with the movements of her monstrously wide hips, gathered into a loose ponytail, the loose bits of mane lengths making a dramatic display against her slabbed back.

Her mouth still cold with the taste of her own delicious nectar, Polypa picked up her speed a bit, her early morning grumpiness fading into a calmer alertness. She didn’t have much to do today; she’d probably have what she euphemistically called ‘commissions’ be brought her way (and that would be another breakfast sorted out, if it happened soon), and certainly she’d meet up with Tegiri in a few hours to do some friendly shopping. There was a particular show she’d recently gotten into and she wanted more merchandise for it, though she was pretty sure Tegiri had mixed feelings on it.

He hadn’t said anything negative about it, though. He normally never held his tongue, and that was a great show of respect. She felt a bit happier thinking about that; it was good to know there were people on your team, however it was expressed.

Polypa completed a couple laps around the neighborhood block she lived, and attracted a small group of muscle enthusiasts, troll boys automatically lured to the biggest and most imposing girl around, and a few who just really wanted to try to be the ones to beat her. They might have been trying to play it cool, but their tails were whipping excitedly, smacking into each other like a little soundtrack playing for Polypa.

She did her best to mind her own business and not bother them, but she just knew they’d be fixed on her. She felt their attention refocus at every wobbling gyration of her swelling backside as her thighs beat it up and down, at the gravid thundering of her gut smacking up and down with her stride-strokes, and a great surge of pride flowed through her at this. Not so long ago, she had been a slimmer troll, and it had been hard to get noticed at all.

Now everyone noticed her. It was gratifying, to say the least.

She kept these thoughts to herself. She always did her best not to say anything to anyone at these times (unknowingly giving herself a reputation for being distant and imposing). She did love the blushes, the looks of shamed infatuation they sent towards her immense bulk and power, but she just had no idea what to do with herself then. She had little experience with it; before moving to this more upscale area, Polypa’s neighbors had generally shied away from a monster like her as a matter of common sense.

Here? People would run right up to you and dare you to snarl back, just as a challenge. Polypa was a direct troll, but she needed a bit of a run to do challenging right back; she usually approached it from the side. She always had a bit of a tense moment whenever someone approached her.

Fortunately, today she didn’t really have to do that. It was a tealblood woman, a stout and busty girl in the uniform of a legislacerator trainee outfit, that ran in a game attempt to keep up with her longer stride. Polypa didn’t know her name, just that she was a reasonably friendly neighbor. “Morning, Miss Goezee,” the competitor said politely, from somewhere around Polypa’s knee at a comfortable distance.

“Sup,” Polypa said shortly.

She noticed her early morning companion glanced up at her, and Polypa was smugly gratified to see a faint tremor in her blinking eyes. A nervous sort of look, even after her living her for half a sweep. Her eyes couldn’t keep from studying the rigid swells of Polypa’s monstrous biceps; the spiky protrusions along her chitin, and the way her chitin slotted so perfectly against the growth of her muscles. The extreme swell of her thigh muscles, her legs swinging out and then slamming back together in a shockwave that sent her belly jiggling right up and down.

Polypa put a little extra swing into it, just for an impish thrill. She had an uncanny control over her muscles, able to flex them in ways impossible for normal trolls, and she flexed at her butt at just the right time to make it wobble in every direction at once, a careful set of clinches threatening to make her sweatpants tear in very sexy ways. Her thighs swelled and contracted, muscles sliding against each other with an audible noise, veins standing out like swollen tubes against her bandages and clothing. Her tail lashed out, accidentally smacking against the tealblood’s shoulder, and then into Polypa’s enormously round bubble butt.

This went on for some time, as they ran a couple laps around the neighborhood, a sweet burn filling Polypa’s muscles with a relieving sense of exercise, the wear and tear making a strange euphoria for her. Polypa’s teasing escalating a bit, to the point that she was briefly blinded by her rumble-spheres slapping up right in front of her eye, blocking her vision, but she still had a sense of her surroundings, and she smirked smugly when the tealblood’s composure slipped, just for a moment. Polypa heard a faint panting noise from her, a sound of longing, desire, and quite a lot of envy.

“Something wrong?” Polypa said, her tone flat and calm enough that she sounded perfectly serious.

The tealblood flinched. Her tail, long and slightly broad like some kind of reptilian monster that snapped at things in rivers a lot, shook a lot with a cute wiggle at the tip. “Absolutely not, Miss Goezee! I was just…” She paused for a brief moment, just enough to sound genuine while also giving her time to come up with an excuse. “Thinking. Yes, indeed.”

Polypa chuckled, in a way conveying that she absolutely did not buy it at all. The tealblood had the dignity to at least scoff and turn her gaze pointedly aside. And, for a while, they and the small crowd of admirers and the curious that Polypa tended to accumulate like an elder god attracted worshipers carried on in silence. Companionable, between Polypa and her neighbor. Tense and adoring and lustful, from the crowd of trolls from across the hemospectrum, their shining eyes fixed on a juggling butt big enough for them to sleep on, on the undulating wobbles of a belly they could all have been sucked down into, the hypnotic wiggling of her muscle-swollen tail, and the slightest shift of her ponytail across shoulders broader than any of them were tall.

Being around them made Polypa feel bigger; it made her feel good. She wondered, sometimes, if the Condesce or her Heiresses ever felt like this, and she supposed that they were so confident and on top of the world that their baseline mood was somewhere past the soaring feeling she got when she really worked out just how much people adored her, sometimes.

Perhaps to change the subject, one of the runners spoke up, his chunky tail curled like a bit of punctuation with a tuft of fluff at the tip. He sped up just to keep pace with Polypa for a brief time; getting too close was an extremely bad idea, as with the one troll who had accidentally been hip-checked by her and had sort of… splattered. “How’d do you get your belly to stay stable like that?” He asked, apparently honestly curious.

Polypa glanced down at him, and he froze up so much he almost tripped in the resulting leg confusion. Fortunately for his dignity, he managed to keep moving. “Whaddaya mean?”

“Your stomach should be hitting the floor. It’s, big. Really, really big. How do you keep it up like this?”

“I got real good muscle control, and VERY strong belly muscles.” Polypa raised her arms up over her back, and just for a moment, relaxed. The muscles lining the side of her belly went limp, and her stomach sank against her approaching leg, kicked back into the air. Polypa winced at the sensation overload, and the heat in her hips, but she mastered it and devoted a tiny bit of concentration to her belly muscles again. They stiffened, encircling her gut like a built-in girdle or harness, and pulled up, raising her stomach to a marginally more practical level.

He goggled. “How do you even keep concentrating enough for that!?”

“It’s a gift.” She wiggled one huge claw scoldingly. “Pretty sure it's rude to ask too much about hemospectrum-compliant mutations, kiddo!” He swallowed, taking the point, and slowed down until he was again part of the crowd.

Polypa secretly crowed to herself as she passed the rest of her morning run in relative silence, the milk jugs nestled into her biceps already processed to food-quality levels by the sheer force of her body’s impact on them; she needed very sturdy containers just to survive it, and avoid additional leakings. But she loved those kinds of questions. Seeing those tiny faces off the ground, staring up at her in envy, in awe, in open admiration of her and the smallest details of her body…

She loved it. She got questions like that every day, and she had gotten good at pretending to be the confident and cool badass she assumed people expected someone as big and strong as her to be. She privately made a note to study some shows later, to really look for hints on being as cool and inspiring as possible. She was pretty sure she’d missed on the empathetic and distant vibe that she was trying really hard to project.

One by one, people peeled away, still giving her longing looks. Polypa felt a vague sense of loss, as if not having worshipful eyes on a particular part of her body at once was a physical pain to her.

Ah, well. She continued onwards, leaving her neighbor and the others behind to their own business.

-------

Her own business came up as she fitted herself, with some difficulty, into a warehouse used by an acquaintance who sold slightly illicit and moderately discouraged merchandise. She felt her palmhusk, as trolls called their equivalents to cellphones, vibrating in a concealed pocket against her vast hip, and her tail looped in to fetch it out as she dropped the milk jugs onto a counter. With a sense of irony, she peered down at a yellowblood, who put some effort to look spooky, from between her other milk jugs (to turn a phrase) and said, “The regular stuff, on demand.”

The yellowblood whistled, tapping the jug. It gave the faint echo of a container full of liquid, and he popped it open to dip a cup in. He took a swig and visibly wavered back, his tail slapping against the ground to keep him upright. “Geez, that’s almost as strong as a dose of the mind honey! Without the side effects, too.” He wiped off a smear of green nectar from his mouth and sealed the jug up again. “The stuff you bring in keeps getting thicker and stronger; I’m making a killing off it! Where the hell are you getting this stuff?”

Polypa, as far as she knew the only troll who had mutated to produce nectar in these amounts, shrugged. “Hey, don’t make me give up trade secrets, buddy.” Her palmhusk continued buzzing insistently.

“Fair enough.” He turned around and got to a load-bearer, his own mild psionics levitating the jug to it.

Polypa turned around, discreetly. The other troll’s back was turned, and she never could be too careful, given her real line of work. Her palmhusk wasn’t holding a call, just a text message. Her expression didn’t change as she saw the plain message there.

It didn’t have a return name; she made a point to avoid specific names, even from repeat commissioners. She didn’t want to get embroiled in political conflicts or highblood power struggles, or even underground revolutions she hadn’t made a choice to side with. She did what she had to, as everyone did. Nevertheless, she was pretty sure she knew this one; as usual, it was signed off with a strange sign that looked a bit like a pair of shackles, or crab’s claws.

The message, unsigned, read: ‘cerulean target. Is in your vicinity. Has unfavorable proclivities, if that mmmmatters mmmmuch for your commmmfort.’ this was followed up by a photo of a tall troll woman; her skin the deep black of a grown troll, her armor polished and chipped away as if to imply she had no need of natural protection; her claws long and thick, her fangs almost like a rainbow drinkers, and her huge belly and massive rumble-spheres so enormously swollen even in her clothes that Polypa was stunned. That was a lot of troll.

Her appetites had shifted over the years, and her belly rumbled at the sight of her… well, prey.

Polypa checked her appointment schedules, and studied the time. She calculated the odds of resolving this in, say, twenty minutes or so.

Okay, she decided. She might cut it kind of close, but she could pull it off.

She banged a hand on the counter, almost cracking it into pieces. “Gotta head off, man. See you with my next batch tomorrow!” She paused. “Um. Someone else busted up your counter!”

“No they didn’t!” he scolded her from deeper in the warehouse as she hurried away.

-------

As a rule, Polypa didn’t much like going into rich areas, even if she was big and imposing enough to pass as any shade of highblood she cared to attempt. She didn’t care much about the hemospectrum as some did, but the idea of pretending to be a colder shade just gave her the screaming willies.

For such a massive troll, Polypa moved through it in complete silence. She didn’t move in the open, either, but she climbed up sheer walls, above the oblivious highbloods and driving her claws on both hands and feet right into the plasticine exteriors, and hauling herself up. The weight of her belly pressed against the walls, and wiggling her legs underneath her stomach, provided so much leverage that she was effectively catapulting herself upwards. It was a bit of a mystery how she was able to still be silent, doing that.

Her biggest advantage, as far as potential onlookers were concerned, is that trolls didn’t often look up.

She slid against the wall, moving so smoothly and quickly she seemed to be sliding straight up it. Her inability to see over her gigantic rumble-spheres or in front of her at all from her belly, it did not hamper her very much. Polypa’s muscles weren’t just impossibly strong, flexible, or in some way fusing with her body fat, but a unique property of their outer surfaces functioned as an all purpose sensory organ. Her twitching, veiny and swollen muscles could ‘see’ as well as anything else, and given that even the compact muscles stuck out a full foot away from her body, she had a 360-degree view of everything around her, to the smallest detail.

So up she went, hopping from one wall to the next, leaving behind surprisingly little damage. These buildings were made from very high quality breeding lines of bio-structure, and they’d eventually heal the damage. Not quickly, but they would repair themselves. Holes in the wall from her claws that would heal eventually, and deeper dents where her belly had moved up there, impressions of her abs.

Polypa climbed up to the ceilings, and quietly made her way to the next rooftop, and all the while, her muscles kept twitching.  Her unique vision showed her an elaborate neighborhood of sprawling buildings and expansive complexes, most of them shining with gilt and complicated murals that advertised how fabulously rich they were.

Polypa turned her attention from the most opulent buildings to the ones that were still richer than anything she’d normally have gotten in her entire life, the ones that had a little less gold or imported coral hauled right from the seas where the Condesce supposedly had arisen like a particularly bloody-handed goddess out of ancient fables. Highbloods, as a rule, had the money to afford decorations like that as a matter of course, but the warmer their shades, the less extreme it got.

She flowed across what were probably proper blueblood homes, the wings of the mansions providing plenty of space to move skyward and get a better view for her target. She turned herself slowly, biceps swelling and pivoted in such a way that was probably a little similar to a telescope aligning itself for the best possible vision. The armored sections shone like polished latex, and she moved carefully towards manors that were less gilt-studded, but far more rich than teal homes like what Tegiri lived in.

The homes of cerulean trolls. Tradition and population distribution usually saw them living near the sea, perhaps an echo of their traditional role as naval powers, but that wasn’t really an option for the few ceruleans in subgrubs like this. That said, they tended to look a fair bit like boats that had been flipped around, and Polypa found what she was looking for sitting around all seductively near a energy-burst shop designed to look like a swashbucklers arena, and considering the many flags around it, it made it quite useful for Polypa to gently swing her way across the rooftops to it, and then down.

The troll matched the photos. She was tall, perhaps nearly up to Polypa’s mid-thigh, her horns dramatically hooked at various angles; even the gashes in her horns looked hook-shaped. Her stance was haughty, her high ankles and foot-claws secured in spiked high heels that made her look even taller than she already was. Every bit as buxom and stout as her photo had suggested; the tight skirt and half-dress she wore clung to her body like a wrapper, and the whole image would have been nicely set off by long hair, rather than the short and prim bun she actually did have her quills pulled into.

Between the fishnets, her glasses, and the general air of cold disdain she projected, Polypa felt that she was giving an impression somewhere between ‘high class dominatrix’ and ‘librarian you do NOT want to cross’. Polypa withheld other judgments; she was a mercenary, not someone who made judgments. Still, she was getting very good at giving a feel off people, and she did not like the feeling she got off this troll.

And no one came her way if they didn’t deserve to be killed, in some way. Her callsign for this business was ‘Goezee’s Lightbulbs; I Make The Universe Brighter’. Nothing made things brighter like getting rid of people who made it worse.

Polypa waited, and mulled over a few plans to draw her out, and they all fizzled up as her target got up and swaggered towards the side of the building, out of sight of the main street on some errand, and most importantly from a tactical perspective, right below Polypa.

Her target didn’t look up, either, and it was a grave mistake for her.

Briefly praising the good luck of this morning, Polypa swung her gut off the gargoyle she had positioned it on, and the bit of statuary broke off in surrender to the inexorable pressure of Polypa’s body; it plummeted down, banging against the ground right next to the cerulean; she paused, her haughtiness freezing and her swinging stride halt. “What?” She said, looking for the noise. And above her, as the gargoyle piece had fallen, Polypa had taken advantage of it and crawled down the side of the building just like she had crawled up other walls early, her eyes glowing a faint green.

No one looking in from the street could see them, despite Polypa’s immense size. All the better.

The target picked up the gargoyle piece. “Who is littering around here?” She wondered aloud, not noticing a massive shadow falling over her until Polypa landed on her, belly first.

The noise was surprisingly soft, because Polypa held her gut back as much as possible, so it wouldn’t hit with all its force, but it was still enough to break nearly every bone in her target’s body, and the volume of it muffled her pained screams. Polypa didn’t say anything to her: not ‘shush’ or ‘be quiet’, or anything like that; she took it as a matter of professional dignity not to open up a dialogue with her targets. She had standards, after all.

Polypa’s belly wriggled, and the abs writhed, and clenched in ways that grabbed at her target’s body, slowly hauling her up with a few solitary whimpers. They kept her pinned firmly into Polypa’s belly, so that she couldn’t yell for help or otherwise alert anyone, and Polypa hissed at the marvelous bulge-pumping shiver of the curvy body being slid against her stomach, her muscles twitching and giving under her, molding to her and little fibrous bunches clutching her as tight as firm hands, and the yielding of her target’s own body. Her waist was wide against her, her rumble-spheres squished so nicely into her.

‘Focus’, she told herself as she did her best not to pant or anything. Stay on track. Do not get all… ravenous.

Her target was forced up into her rumble-spheres, and by now Polypa was able to grab her with her hands, forcing her upwards, making sure to squeeze her hard enough that she couldn’t breath enough to yell. And now Polypa was tugging her bandages off, just enough to reveal her mouth.

Her target’s face briefly curled into disgust at her scars, and Polypa was gratified to see her face sour into a horrified look as Polypa’s mouth widened. “No! You don’t dare-!”

Polypa’s massive lips met against her face, sucking on her so hard the breath was forced out of her air-sacs, and then her face slid right into her mouth, resting on her tongue. Several tickling feelings went on in Polypa’s jaws as several biological locks opened themselves; sinews and chitinous ‘pins’ kept her lower jaw together. A troll’s lower jaw was actually a pair of mandibles, normally locked together. But they could separate, to swallow particularly big meals.

Such as this cerulean, for instance.

Polypa’s lower jaw split, gaping wide and spreading wider than her face, her mandibles spreading out into her rumble-spheres, and a thick, green membrane connected them. The cerulean’s face was mashed into this, outlined against its surface, her rumble-spheres and shoulders mashing into the rubbery ring that was Polypa’s lips; without any real effort, Polypa pushed her in, her head, her rumble-spheres and her shoulders all easily sliding down her throat.

Polypa swallowed. Her throat muscles were as strong as the rest of her; more bones broke, and she felt her prey squirm in pained reflex as her chitin was pulverized nearly off her body, shards and fragments sliding down her moist insides. The lovely sensation of a solid, moving mass sliding down her mouth, moving down her meat-slide. Her prey’s thick body, her big belly, her huge butt; none of it posed a hindrance. It all slid down with a delicious ease, down into her guts.

The plural mattered. Polypa’s on-going mutation had multiplied her stomachs into a complex network to digest her food, treating them to a chemical process perhaps more similar to industrial refinement until they were a raw biological soup, or perhaps an organic grist, that her body simply absorbed and converted into energy and more muscles.

Her digestive fluids gushed in, drenching the cerulean still doing her best to wriggle inside Polypa; she said something, but Polypa’s belly was several feet thick, her abs even bulkier, and any sound was muffled. Polypa simply enjoyed the sensation, for a while, and lay there.

The first stage was simple enough; her pre-treatment fluids gushed in, drenching her prey and invading her body through her mouth, absorbed through her skin, plumping her up and softening her skin, bones and muscles.

Fifteen minutes passed in this manner. Polypa suspected she was pushing her luck, in her meeting with Tegiri and hanging around this neighborhood without getting noticed, and shakily stood up. It was harder to get up now, with an additional weight inside her, but it felt very good, her sliding around inside her-

Oh, she just slid down, into a secondary stomach. She must have been primed and, well. Juiced; Polypa suspected that anyone in that situation probably looked considerably puffier and slimy. She was still wriggling in there, though not very much.

As Polypa hurried out of the cold neighborhood, other fluids pumped into that belly, efficiently absorbed by the treated flesh of her target, who was pinned down, compressed by the stomach walls pressing down on her like a trash compactor. Polypa felt her wriggling slow down, and something in the texture of the troll in her guts shift. It wasn’t much of a change. It took days for her live prey to fully digest, and they were zoned out of their minds for most of it, and there wasn’t any particular change at this point, but Polypa supposed this stage of the digestion process started doing something to their body. Made it a bit more fluid, perhaps.

As Polypa went on her way, hurrying along and enjoying the bubbling sensations going on inside her, the cerulean calmed down completely. She felt a few solitary wriggles, possibly out of habit. Her belly muscles kept her pinned, but only because that was her default flex; the chemicals injected into her must have had a sedative quality, perhaps not too different from the sopor, because all her live prey went very quiet and peaceful extremely quickly.

Polypa called a buggy, and put her target out of her mind, apart from a few pleasured shivers at the way she slid down into another belly to be pumped full of digestive fluids on the gradual route into being reforged into bulk for Polypa’s muscles, thicker nectar glands, a bigger butt, perhaps a few more inches to her height, and incidentally making the universe better for her absence.

Alternian society did not have much of a problem with this sort of thing; Polypa upsetting the hemospectrum would have been the issue, and she didn’t much care anymore.

As her buggy arrived, Polypa mused that as so much of her bulk had come from assassinations she had carried out like this, her body was a testament to the number of people she’d removed from the world. She flexed a little bit, and catching a sight of her magnificent biceps, and a glimpse of the gigantic abs rising up even over her cleavage horizon, it was a warming thought.

Polypa sent a quick message to her commissioner. ‘Job’s done * will update you further in a few days.’

She received a fairly prompt reply, so ambiguously worded that they could have been talking about artwork or a coding commission. ‘That was speedy. Will update you for any further jobs. You how it is; always a little mmmmore to do.”

Polypa texted back. “Sure thing * always good to do your work * you’re reliable at these, you know that? *|’

Before she left, Polypa bent low, picking up the gargoyle statuary she had destroyed, and deposited it in the nearest salvaging bin. She might have been an assassin, but she wasn’t a litterer.

------------

Tegiri was a quiet troll, and had a way of fading away even when he was the only guy in the room. In a crowd, he became a background detail, lurking there, and drifting like a shadow.

Here and now, his shift from passively lurking to moving so abruptly he appeared to have materialized, was marked by an especially large buggy not so much rolling up, as sliding in, a bit like a cholera-bear that was opting to move without actually engaging it’s legs at all.

It rose up as its passenger departed. The long, heavy horns of Polypa appeared over the other side, and then rose up as she stood to her full size, stretching. People around froze up and turned to look at her bulbous form with awe, their eyes fixed on the shift of her platform-sized shoulders, and those closer to her were totally still, their eyes wide, completely overwhelmed by the sheer scale of Polypa unexpectedly appearing before them.

‘Weak’, Tegiri thought unsympathetically. If you couldn’t handle a little bit of majesty in your life, how were you supposed to serve the Condesce?

His secret shame was that he sincerely believed, in the rare moments where he could admit it to himself, was that he thought that Polypa looked far more impressive and mighty than the to-scale images and models he had seen of the Condesce.

A great heresy, to be sure, but he didn’t care about that anymore. It bothered him that he didn’t care, but as the days went on, it didn’t bother him as much.+

Polypa bowed again out of sight behind the buggy, to discuss something with the driver. At least, if you didn’t count her belly sticking out and rising above it, with her rumble-spheres buoyed atop it, and her backside very plainly visible from the other end, her tail curling around one leg and the tip wiggling anxiously. Tegiri couldn’t hear the fine details of what Polypa might have been saying, not over the soft murmurs from the crowd around both his side of the street and hers, but he had his suspicions; the buggy WAS a lot lower in the street, and any vehicle trying to carry her tremendous weight was bound to sacrifice itself in that noble goal.

The buggy tipped over briefly; Tegiri supposed that Polypa had thrust one muscular arm in it, with such force that the air moving from her hand alone had nearly knocked it over; if he knew Polypa, it was to over-pay the driver in apology for any damage transporting her had incurred. He made a point to suggest to the local consort-governance, running the city on behalf of the Heiress, to make a budget specifically for repairing damage caused by especially big trolls like her.

Then, she was moving across the street. Slowly, yes, actively trying not to put so much force as she could into it, but she still moved so fast that she seemed to have bounded straight from one side of the street to the next. He didn’t blinked, but it felt like he had, because now a vast shadow loomed over him, and it was Polypa, her body blotting out the moonlight, her squishy chitin shining an iridescent pink and green  He mostly just saw her stomach, her great work and the pride of her carefully sculpted body, and he felt a great surge of diamond-pale affection as she patted her belly, smiling faintly down at him. Long ago, their most ancient ancestors had gathered, and the small weak ones had gathered to the big, strong troll-women to protect them, and he supposed he felt something of that.

The oldest forms of the quadrants had been built from strong things. Love, certainly. Affection, reassurance. The need to stabilize others. Safe venues to voice the aggression and test oneself against a worthy lover. And for Tegiri, one of the strongest feelings was loyalty.

He saw a hand move from inside her stomach. Briefly, barely budging against a broad abdominal, and no one else could have seen it but him, his eyes adapted to note anything that might be wrong with Polypa.

Polypa’s express changed, just for a moment, and Tegiri knew what that had been. He knew the fear of disapproval.

Tegiri gazed up at Polypa, and followed up on a decision he had already made some time ago. He patted her stomach, almost stroking her belly, at the spot where her prey had moved. “You’ve been doing art commissions already?” He asked. “This early in the morning?”

Polypa stared blankly, until her one revealed eye blinked. Oh, right; the code they’d agreed to. “Yeah; figured I might as well do it as early as possible… thought I’d get it done before meeting up with you. I wasn’t trying to delay meeting up with you, or anything!”

“IT’s fine, it’s fine!” Tegiri said quickly. Polypa instantly calmed down, her raising chitinous plates lowering into something less agitated. “I just wondered… you didn’t have to use, ah.” He thought of a way to phrase it without giving her away. “Colder shades in your work, did you? That can be troublesome.”

She worked out what she meant, and like a mountain inclining, nodded her head gravely. “Yeah. You know i usually do.”

Yeah, I killed a highblood today. Again.

It was a bold thing, he knew, to just say that to a tealblood, one charged with enforcing the law, with killing mutants and accusing those they felt like bringing low. In sweeps not so long ago, when he had been younger, he would have enforced his imperial duty, without a second thought.

Now, though…

He patted her stomach again, and Polypa purred shortly, a dense rumble that spread out and made the windows rattle. “Well, you do what you must,” he said firmly. “I support you regardless, my moirail.”

Polypa grinned, leaning down (knocking a few people away with her on-rushing belly, and she was too focused on Tegiri to notice or care much) and raised a fist, extending two claws in a triangle shape.

He extended his own claws in a similar pose, and pressed them against digits nearly thick around as his entire arm, and completed the diamond. Then her hand moved downwards, to his sleeve, and took a gentle but inescapably firm grip, pulling him protectively close to her leg. “C’mon, let’s get our shopping in,” she said, smiling behind her bandages.

Tegiri was not much for open displays of emotion. He found big smiles a hard thing to maintain, a performative thing that he struggled with. Nevertheless, he smiled easily around her. Being around her made a lot of things easier.

Accepting things he’d never thought he could ever begin to even consider, for one.

Polypa led him onwards, and though there wasn’t really anything he could realistically do to stop her, she would if he asked, but he saw no reason to alter her course. He was loyal to her above all else now, even though the changes to his world view this demanded was upsetting at first, and would accommodate her however she wanted.

Even if it meant indulging her fondness for some anime series he absolutely detested, but when they left, carrying quite a lot of new model assembly kits from a recent series she’d absolutely fallen in love with, Tegiri felt fine with that.

It was all just part of the routine now, and he didn’t mind being adaptable.