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collectingsparechangemadeeasy1 · 2 years ago

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Painting the Town Red

So I’ll be adding it in the tags, but there’s a trigger warning of a child being beaten, and a very brief mention alluding to kidnapping, if there’s anything else I should add to that, let me know!

Oscar bounded after his dad after leaving Fairytale at the stables with Long Memory. They were visiting the town today to run some errands, and Oscar was ecstatic! He so rarely got to go into town, partly because they had what they needed to live at the farm, but partly because dad was a little over protective, and said it was dangerous. But he was going today! He was so excited, he could just explode! In fact, he kinda was! Little green magic fireworks shot off randomly from his head, sometimes his magic would do funny stuff when he was feeling something really strongly.

He bounced along his dads side, half listening to the itinerary of the day. Hot cocoa ingredients, new horse brushes, blah blah blah, potions from aunt Glynda! But she wasn’t in today… so they would get them from her assistant Gray, boo. Seeds, blah blah blah.

Oscar looked around in wonderment at all the stalls and built shops around them. People selling clothes of bright hues to the left, someone cooking delicious smelling meat to the right, and ahead some someone yelling about how amazing their jewelry was, another was arguing about prices.

Oscar pressed a bit closer to his dad. It was… so much. He’d been to town a few times, but they didn’t go through this part… Was there an event? Was something special happening? It was hot outside too… His head was starting to spin, people were yelling, some calling out to him, everything was so bright, it hurt his eyes. He tried to cover his ears and close his eyes, but people shoved into him and made him stumble, they glared or even shouted at him. He didn’t immediately register he wasn’t with his dad anymore.

His breathing was heavy and erratic, he felt hot and uncomfortable, his clothes were clinging in all the wrong ways and places and he felt tears brimming in his eyes. He wanted his dad! He wanted to go home! This was a bad idea! He should have stayed on the farm today! He wanted to go home!

Finally he stumbled into an alleyway between two shops and was able to scurry away from all the noise and heat and light. He curled up, putting his head between his knees as he sobbed softly. This was turning into a horrible day… He felt gross but in a bad way, not in the “just worked the fields and now I’m gross” way. He’d lost his dad, he had no idea where he was, and he was too scared to leave the alley…

He didn’t know how long he cried for, when someone roughly grabbed his hair and yanked him into the air, making him cry out in pain. He wriggled and kicked, fearful tears coming faster now. He sobbed, looking into the eyes of the man that held him. He was clean shaven, and smelled like something sweet and cigar smoke. The smell was oddly comforting, since his dad smelled like cigars sometimes.

He had bright red hair that covered one of his eyes, the visible one was a bright flashing green. He wore a white trench coat, his hands bore black gloves with orange jack-o-lanterns faces on the backs. His shirt was a black blouse, a gray ribbon tied around the neckline, with gray pants and black shiny shoes. He also wore a bowler hat, with a dyed pink, brown, and white feather in the band.

His companion was a small girl, with half pink and half brown hair, little streaks of white running through the dual colors, her eyes matched. She wore a white three quarters sleeved sheath dress with a slit up to her thigh up the side, and a half pink half brown demi-loop corset that had black lace around the edges.

“Well… look what we have here? A little brat all alone. Where’s your mommy?” The man holding him up asked mockingly, shaking Oscar and making him cry out in pain.

“I-I don’t have one, let me go!” He pleaded, but it only made the man laugh at him, the girl smiled cruelly.

“Awwww! He doesn’t have a mommy!” he cooed patronizingly. “How sad! Say Neo, you want a kid?” The girl, Neo, gained a look of utter disgust and spat on Oscar. “Woof, tough break kid. My partner here doesn’t seem to like you.”

He shook horribly, his head hurt so much from where the man was holding him, and he wanted his dad more than ever right now. “W-what do you want from me?”

The man scoffed and jostled him roughly with another cry of pain.“There’s nothing a pipsqueak like you could really give me. But I’ll take whatever you have, and since I’ve had a rough day, I think I’ll take it out on you. Sounds fair?”

Oscar grunted in pain as he was suddenly thrown to the ground, his head banging against the curb, making stars dance in his eyes. And then… pain exploded through his abdomen as a hard kick connected, making him gasp, gag, and wretch horribly. Tears dripped down his cheeks as darkness blurred across his vision.

Another blow rang out, but this time it wasn’t aimed at Oscar. A rock clattered to the ground, one that had been thrown at the man, hitting him square in the forehead. “Ah! What the- who would dare- Ow!” He cried out as another rock hit him, and another and another! It was a malstrom of projectiles.

Oscar looked to the end of the alley where the rocks were coming from. Three teenagers stood there, throwing the rocks at his assailants.

“Get lost creep!” the shortest girl cried, hurling a large rock at the pair. Her hair was short and a bit choppy, like she’d cut it herself, and a bright pale orange. Her eyes were a bright baby blue. She wore a white long sleeved shirt, a pink heart painted on the front. A dark grey sweater where she seemed to have endless rocks stored, was around her shoulders. And her skirt was a pink and blue plaid design, a white petticoat under it.

“Yeah! Leave him alone!” The blonde boy agreed, though his voice was shakier. He had blue eyes and a little brown cap on his head, and brown fingerless gloves. A black hooded cloak with a gray bunny on the front was around his shoulders. As well as a white blouse and blue pants, with brown mud caked boots.

“Go away! Get out of here!” The boy with the pink streak in his hair huffed, using vines to throw more pebbles at the pair. He had bright pink eyes, like the geraniums his dad planted last year. He wore green overalls with a pink lotus on the front chest pocket, a pink long sleeved shirt with black sleeves, and black boots with gold laces. His hair was tied back with a white and pink ribbon.

“And don’t come back!” The tall girl nodded, levitating some of the stones to hurl at the two. She had bright green eyes, but not like the mans, hers were kinder, even in her furied state. Her hair was long and red, held back by a black cord and kept neat with a gold circlet that had a green emerald in the center. She had a brown blouse with a braided design on the sides of the chest and a collar. Her knit sweater was a dark red color and seemed a bit big on her. She wore a golden yellow skirt with matching suspenders, black tights, and brown boots with gold heels.

The pair looked ready to attack the group of teens, but realizing they were outnumbered, and that the four were magic users. They shared a look, glared at Oscar, and ran, leaving the scent of cigar smoke and something sweet. Oscar didn’t get up when they left, the kick was strong and Oscar was sure the man had been wearing some kind of metal shoe. His stomach ached, his head was throbbing where the man had grabbed him, and he was sure he was bleeding… “Hey, are you ok?” the short girl with orange spiky hair asked, kneeling next to him.

Oscar shook his head, whimpering softly. “N-no…”

“Here, this might help.” the boy with pink eyes knelt next to him and hovered his hands over Oscar. They glowed a bright pink color and Oscar felt his pain easing and he breathed a sigh of relief. Healing magic… Not an easy thing to learn.

“Thank you…” he said softly, slowly sitting up with the aid of the tall girl and the blonde boy. “You saved me.”

“Awww, it was nothing. We just saw a creep and knew we had to put the beat down!” the orange haired girl declared, sticking out her hand. “My names Nora! These are my friends!”

“Jaune.” the blonde one smiled sheepishly.

“Lie-Ren.” The one with pink eyes bowed slightly.

“Pyrrha!” The red haired girl chirped. “And what’s your name?”

“It’s-”

“OSCAR!” there came a cry from the end of the alley, and Oscar’s heart leapt to his throat.

“DAD!” he cried, trying to stand to rush to him, but could barely take a step before falling over. Luckily, his dad was there now, and he caught him.

“Oscar! Oh Oscar! I lost you in the crowd! I was so scared! Oh never scare me like that again!” his dad all but sobbed, holding onto him like his life depended on it. “What happened? Who hurt you?”

“I-I don’t know… One was named Neo I think…” he sniffled, holding tightly to his dad.

“Neapolitan and Roman Torchwick.” Ren informed, “Known criminal kingpins of Vale. Guess they were having an off day.”

“We scared ‘em off though! They ran like a couple’a babies!” Nora smirked triumphantly.

Oscars dad breathed slowly and stood, holding Oscar still. “Thank you. All, I don’t know how to repay you for this.”

“No payment needed!” Pyrrha laughed a bit nervously, pausing as Jaune whispered something in her ear. She went a bit red and quickly snatched the circlet off her head. “Just uh- doing the right thing!”

He smiled and kissed Oscar’s head. “Well… why don’t I at least buy you all some treats, hm? Candy floss or ice cream perhaps? You did a great deed, let me thank you.”

Before Pyrrha could protest Nora was already tugging the older man by his coat, “Both! Can we do both! I want both!”

“Nora, remember your manners.” Ren chided as he followed along, Jaune trailing behind, holding Pyrrha’s hand as they followed his dad like ducklings.

Oscar smiled softly, sighing contently as his dad slowly wound his own healing magic through him. Maybe this trip to town wasn’t as awful as he thought…

#tw child injury #tw child abuse #tw mentions of kidnapping #Small Moments au #Oscar pine #Ozpin #rwby au #Dadpin

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musikat18 · 2 years ago

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DCEU Upcoming Slate: Films (The Final Countdown & The SafGunn Starter Platter)

The last time we all gathered here, I talked about my feelings on the DCEU in the last ten years because I felt like as the DCEU was preparing to come to a close, it was a good time to kind of look back before the new slate of content was announced.

There are, of course, four films left in what is known as the DCEU. I actually don't think people will stop calling it that? But I think, for me, the term DCEU really kind of goes along with this library of films more than whatever is coming next. "DCEU," just because of All The Everything, evokes a kind of messy feeling that I think will end up being replaced as the new slate starts releasing, and so I wanted to do a post where I could kind of talk about those last four movies as they get ready to come out and the five movies that were announced to start off what I'm calling the SafGunn Slate.

You may have noticed that the cover image for this post is a still of Florence Pugh at the end of Midsommar, which is of course not a CBM at all. But I do feel like the way that Midsommar is very much a cornerstone of Good For Her Cinema is a good way to summarize my feelings on the DCEU coming to a close and a new (mostly possibly we'll see) canon coming together, because to me Midsommar is very much a "You're Going To Suffer But It's Going To Feel Good Even If It Might Not End As Pretty As It Looks" kind of movie.

Also The Flash trailer dropped and I'd rather just get all the movies out of the way instead of doing a post about the trailer than the other movies so let's go.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods-- 03/17/23

I actually feel like, other than The Lost Kingdom, this is the franchise I'm kind of the most sad about seeing come to a close because the first Shazam was a movie that I think really captured the comic book-y feel that I've been wanting out of movies of this genre for a really long time. It really wasn't afraid to embrace the bright colors and goofy concepts and kind of playing-in-a-sandbox feeling that comes from a good superhero story. It was a world the directors were clearly very excited to play in and wanted to treat as a dangerous world without taking itself too seriously, because it is at the end of the day Big With Superpowers and that is a very silly concept.

But really, I'm soooo excited to see this one, even if it means there probably won't be any more of this Shazamily for a while. It's a fun set of characters and you can tell the creative team is so pumped to really dig into the magic side of the DC Universe, which is a lot more than I can say for other similar franchises and we won't talk about that right now.

The Flash-- 06/16/23

I'm not actually using a gif from the trailer here, because this one was actually there when I searched The Flash and I feel like this sums up my feelings about this movie best because Every Single Thing That Has Ever Given Me Pause About The DCEU & Even Some Parts Of DC Culture Has Touched This Movie and like. Okay.

*presses mouth to the microphone*

I'm going to see this movie because I want to see more non-Trinity content. I want to see Flash movies and Green Lantern movies and that Black Canary movie that I am fairly sure I am not getting anymore but I still want it I would like to see it I would like to have it. But I am not excited for this film and I want to carefully outline why.

I kind of want to start from the core of the Flash stuff outward and just come out and say upfront: Flashpoint is not a bad concept. But the original story did nothing for me and nothing for the mythos of The Flash or the DC Universe at large except make Barry Allen More Like Batman and Give Us The New 52 (which had a wonderful stellar Orm I adored but very little else). Also, the more I think about the Flashpoint story, the more and more not absurd but illogical it feels, not so much in that the characters are acting illogically but the writers are not thinking logically about how the characters should be in this situation.

Like, I do not see the logic behind Barry's mother being alive keeping Hal from the ring, or causing Bruce to die instead of his parents, or causing Superman to get locked up by the government. And I suppose you could make the argument that "well, Eobard made sure the timeline would break perfectly in a way that prevents the Justice League from coming together so no one could stop him" and???? I feel like Eobard as a villain works best when he's so obsessed with Barry Allen and so obsessed with the legacy of the Flash that from a big picture distance, his plans look airtight and foolproof, but when you actually dig into them, there are holes and flaws caused by sheer hatred-driven oversight and him not actually understanding what makes The Flash The Flash.

I also feel like it is a SHAME that the FIRST big-screen Flash solo film is Flashpoint, because Flashpoint is the kind of story that you need to be very emotionally invested in Barry Allen for. For Flashpoint to work, you need to be familiar with how Barry acts and thinks and feels, and between One (Two) Justice Leagues and no other appearances, I don't think this is a conflict that's been earned yet, so the movie hasn't really sold me on its basic premise.

I also am,,,,,,,,,,I don't want a Batman-heavy Flash movie. If I am seeing a Flash movie, I want to be there because the Flash characters are being done well. I don't really think having Batman there as a mentor figure for Barry does much other than exacerbate the Batman Content Loop DC is stuck in right now. So um. I'll be glad when this is over.

...Anyway.

Blue Beetle-- 08/18/23

As someone who has a deep fondness for the two most recent Blue Beetles, I'm so utterly DELIGHTED that Jaime is going to be introduced to a broader audience. I think there's a lot of fun you can have with his character because while he shares a lot of attributes with Billy Batson-- powers he didn't ask for, being the bridge between our world and a larger and possible more threatening force, having to grapple with regular teenage coming of age struggles and the very grown-up responsibility of protecting the world and his loved ones-- he has a very different feel than Billy.

Jaime has a blood family that he has a strong bond with right off the bat. He has a lot of different perspectives and ethos influencing him as he comes into being a hero. He very much does not have to CHOOSE to be a hero. And his powers don't come with the euphoria of sudden adulthood, but the dysmorphia of having an alien potentially taking over his body as a weapon if he lets it.

Not to mention, the film is definitely going to be touching on the legacy aspect of Jaime's chosen identity, if the inclusion of Victoria Kord (who JUST popped up in Blue Beetle: Graduation after just straight up never existing???? interesting) and the featuring of Kord Tech on the concept art aren't big enough hints. It all kind of dovetails into this really relatable story of struggling with identity and your place in the world that I'm SO excited to see come to the big screen.

Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom-- 12/25/23

You know what blog you're on.

And if not, you can have this: *presses mouth to microphone again* Fish Man Buddy Adventure Good.

And Now The New Stuff They Announced

Superman: Legacy-- 07/11/25

I feel like this is a very predictable and safe option to TRULY start the reboot with, and I'm not super pumped about having another Superman again. It doesn't really have as much to do with Henry Cavill as much as it has to do with the fact that we've had a LOT of movie Supermen over the years-- a LOT.

I do think if this movie took Superman: Man Of Tomorrow as a blueprint, they'd be on a really strong track to start off with. The title here makes me think of that newer animated Superman movie immediately, and when I actually went to watch it, it had just about everything I wanted out of a modern-day Superman movie.

My biggest concern here, I think, is that James Gunn is going to be writing it (I don't think I'd want him to take double-duty and direct, for that matter). James Gunn to me works a lot better with hard-to-empathize with, hard-to-like characters-- the Guardians, the Suicide Squad, Peacemaker-- they're his bread and butter. Superman is very much not that kind of character. He's an everyman, he's kind, he's selfless, he's a little dorky. It's not that I think James Gunn is incapable of writing such a character, but I definitely haven't seen anything by him that would suggest he'd be able to do well with a character like that, so I'm just going to have to wait and see.

The Authority-- TBD

All I could find in here were Wrestling gifs so have the villains from the second Scooby-Doo Wrestlemania movie ig

I'm not super familiar with the characters DC bought out from WildStorm, so I'm not really going to say much here except I would hope to see Apollo and Midnighter, and also if we're going to implicitly keep the Suicide Squad part of the mythos in canon, I don't think we need a second Secret Edgy Government team.

The Brave & The Bold-- TBD

So we're really doing Damian, huh.

I don't really have anything against Damian as a character, I just think starting out our Batman at a point where the first Robin we meet is Damian is a fairly risky move. It's really going to be hit or miss, especially if Morrison's work is going to be used as the main source for this to pull from. I love what Morrison did with Green Lantern and their work on that book, but I'm not overly familiar with or fond of their work on Batman barring their rework of Damian's origin that made me and a lot of other fans cry justice for Talia.

I think the only thing that interests me about this project is the potential to FINALLY see an extended Batfam in live-action. I think Batman in the wider cultural context has suffered without a lot of the other characters from his mythos around to challenge him and give him another perspective to bounce off of, so getting to see him with Damian and potentially other Robin and Batgirl alums will be a nice change of pace.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow-- TBD

I'm actually excited at the prospect of a Supergirl project so close to the start of things. I think for this to really succeed, they need to get as far away from the TV series as possible, and I mean that lovingly. The CW series and Melissa Benoist did a lot to bring the character to a wider audience, but I don't think it was a particularly good Kara or even one useful to the larger DC mythos.

I think for Kara to work best, she needs to be a foil to Superman in a way. What I like most about a Kara is when it's very clear that she doesn't have a lot of influence from human culture in the way Clark does. She's more brash, more arrogant, more rough-and-tumble. She is, in many ways, stronger than Clark, and the CW series I think leaned too far into making Kara more SIMILAR to Clark to get the audience to like her more. She's not without empathy and compassion, but she expresses it in a very different way from Clark, and I think that's important to show.

Also my greatest fear stems from the fact that this is supposed to be based on a Tom King work, and we all know how I feel about Heroes In Crisis. And how he writes my special boy. But we won't get into that here. We'll save that for next time.

Swamp Thing-- TBD

I'm one of those people who remembers when Swamp Thing came out and was really sad when it got cancelled even though DC Universe as a streaming service was always doomed to fail, so to see Swamp Thing included on the new slate perks me up a bit.

The magical corners of comic mythologies have always been some of my favorites, and I think Swamp Thing can really help open the doors to that for DC. Swamp Thing and John Constantine and the Endless are all very linked, and I know two of those are very widely beloved by comic fans, so this Swamp Thing project has the potential to either go really well or crash and burn horribly.

But this one seems to be the farthest off of the five films, so I'm not going to put too much thought into it now. Also, if they can get Guillermo Del Toro on board, we're set.

In Conclusion,

I think there's a lot of good things we're leaving behind for the moment, but frankly, there's a LOT of be excited about, and that's just on the film side. I think these last four movies are going to be a little bittersweet-- some more bitter and some more sweet-- but I think a year's break from some DC content is going to lead the way into some of the most promising years for the fandom in film to come, and I would rather be looking ahead, in the end, than dwelling too much on what we're losing.

Feel free to reblog and reply with your own thoughts below!

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darks-ink · 5 years ago

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Self-Perception

A ghost's appearance is based on their self-image. How they see themselves. So when you've been told your entire life that ghosts are monsters, well... That does things to one's appearance, that's for sure.

Prompt: I think it would be interesting to see Danny’s phantom form either more monstrous from the get go, or become monstrous in some way, and people's reactions to that Prompt by: @sylph-feather Word count: 5,392

[AO3] [FFN] [more Phic Phight fics]

---

Danny was hu— no… Yes! He’s— Or maybe he just…

His heart was still in his chest, replaced by an alien whirring. His body glowed, a white aura surrounding him, flickering wildly.

Danny was…

His reflection stared at him with wide unblinking eyes. Vivid green. Unnatural green, the color of ectoplasm spilled on the kitchen table.

Danny couldn’t be a ghost. He was human. He couldn’t be dead, couldn’t be a ghost.

His breath caught in his throat. He felt like he was choking.

Ghosts didn’t choke. Ghosts didn’t breathe. He wasn’t a ghost.

Danny closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the mirror. The surface was pleasantly cool.

Just… breathe, Danny. It will all be okay when you open your eyes.

He opened his eyes.

His own face looked back at him, although the eyes were still vibrant green, his hair still white. It was still, undeniably, his own.

But he could feel his heart thudding in his chest. Felt his lungs greedily suck in air as he tried to stop himself from hyperventilating.

“This is fine,” he told the off-colored reflection in the mirror. “I’m not dead. I’m— I’m human.”

Something stirred in his core. Light flashed, suddenly, washing the entire room away with brightness.

When Danny finally blinked the spots out of his sight again, he saw—

Black hair. Blue eyes.

“Human,” he whispered, watching his lips curl into a hesitant smile. “See? I knew it.”

He nodded to himself. It was just— just something weird! That kinda stuff happened all the time in FentonWorks. Nothing to be concerned about!

Danny ran a hand through his hair, watching the heavy locks muss up in the mirror. No matter what, he was human. This was just…

Nothing. It was nothing.

He turned to leave the bathroom, smiling at Sam and Tucker when they saw him.

He was perfectly human.

---

Ghosts were an inevitability if you were raised as a Fenton. Whether you personally believed in them or not didn’t matter. They were a fact of life. It was impossible to not know anything about them.

One of the many things Danny had learned, forgotten, and learned again, was what ghosts looked like. They were monsters. You could tell, his parents always told him, because they looked like monsters. Because a ghost’s appearance reflected the way they saw themselves.

A ghost’s self-image was literal, really.

Danny stared down at the hands in his lap. They were pink, and fleshy, and warm. Detailed to an extent that he couldn’t imagine.

Human.

In a flash of light, it could all be gone. Or, not gone, but hidden. Covered up by skintight white gloves.

It wasn’t voluntary, not really, but he could control it a little. Could stop himself from shifting around his parents, around Jazz. And thank goodness, because he hadn’t… hadn’t really figured out if he wanted them to know.

They—he, and Sam and Tucker—had thought it was temporary. But it had been more than a week, and the cold-hot-cold in his chest still hadn’t gone away. No, it felt stronger by the day. More present, if hidden behind the sound of his heartbeat.

Not quite as human anymore. But human enough. He was… a little ghostly, maybe, but human first and foremost.

He let the cold in his chest wash over him. Walked over to the full-body mirror he had in his room.

A ghost looked back. But not— not a proper one. Because Danny wasn’t really a ghost, no matter what. He was mostly human.

And so was the ghost that looked at him.

It looked like Danny, really. The messed up hair, even if it was white instead of black, pressed down by gravity. The bright eyes, even if they were a little too bright, an unnatural glow emitting from them. And, y’know. Vivid green.

The jumpsuit was just like his parents’, but at least it was deep black instead of eye-searing orange. With the white gloves, boots, and belt, it almost looked… well, not decent, but okay. Kinda superhero-y, he supposed.

Not that there was anything superhero-esque about dying in your parents’ basement, but…

No! No thinking about that! He wasn’t—

Wasn’t dead.

A flicker of light drew his eye back to the mirror. To the undoubtedly human ghost. Its glow had brightened, but settled down, now. Almost like… an expression of emotion? Odd. According to his parents, ghosts didn’t feel emotions.

But then, he wasn’t really a ghost, was he?

He let the cold withdraw into his chest. Watched his hair turn black and his eyes blue. Watched his jumpsuit make way for normal clothes.

Nothing else changed. Because, even as a ghost, he was still human.

He was human.

---

“Are you sure that keeping this a secret is a good idea, Danny?”

Sam perched on the edge of his bed, and Danny dropped his eyes from the Thermos in his hand to her. “Weren’t you against telling my parents?”

“Yeah, but…” She shrugged, throwing a look at Tucker. “It could be dangerous.”

“Telling them could be dangerous as well,” he pointed out, pointedly shaking the Thermos. “I don’t know if my parents could’ve stopped the Lunch Lady without me. And…” And he might end up in a Thermos as well.

She sighed, then nodded. “As long as you’re sure, Danny.”

“Well, I thought it was pretty cool!” Tucker leaned back against Danny’s desk, grinning at him. “You were like a hero! A half-ghost hero!”

“Half-ghost?” Danny echoed, dubiously. Tasted the word in his mouth. It was… It almost resounded in the ball of energy in his chest. Like it had a physical feel to it, except not physical.

Tucker nodded energetically. “Yeah! You’re not a ghost, but you’re not fully human either. So a split between the two— half ghost, and half human. Half-ghost!”

“I don’t know, Tuck.” Danny let his arm fall down, ignoring the way his… the thing in his chest itched, churned, purred, at the concept. “I think that you might be overplaying it a little. Half ghost?”

“Hm. Maybe not, then.” Tucker clicked his tongue. “Just a human with ghost powers, maybe?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, toying with the Thermos in his hand. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Because he was human, first and foremost.

“So…” Tucker started again, slowly. “If you’re gonna be doing that sort of thing more often, you should probably come up with a name to use for your alter ego.”

Danny huffed out a laugh. “You’re just using me as a dumping ground for all your superhero fantasies.”

“Guilty as charged!” Tucker chuckled, and Sam did, too.

“He’s right, though,” Sam admitted, prodding Danny a little. “What if someone sees you as a ghost, and asks who you are? Knowing you, you’ll just panic and blurt out your actual name.”

“Ugh.” Danny pressed himself deeper into his bed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll think about it.”

---

Phantom was the name he ended up settling on. Phantom was… just a ghost. That was the one thing he had going for him. Phantom was just a ghost, a ghostly form of Danny.

And it was Phantom who took down the attacking ghosts. The mindless feral animals, bad caricatures of real creatures.

The occasional intelligent ghost, too. Like the hulking metal Skulker, who was weak and pathetic on closer inspection. Like Sidney Poindexter, who looked like a regular human being except in monochrome. Like Desiree and Ember and many, many others.

It was Phantom who became known as Amity Park’s protector. The one ghost they could rely on to fight off the others.

Danny was human, but Phantom was a ghost. Even if they were the same person, no one but Sam and Tucker knew this.

Phantom was a ghost. Danny was too, at least a little, no matter how much he’d tried to deny it.

But that was okay. They were two sides of the same coin. Danny was the human side, and Phantom was the ghost side.

And because Phantom was a ghost, because Danny saw him as a ghost, he looked like one, too.

The changes weren’t sudden, of course, not spontaneous. They crept in, slowly. He hadn’t realized he was changing Phantom, not until he overheard his parents talking about it.

About how Phantom was becoming more monstrous, a clear display of his inner nature.

Danny… stopped. Almost dropped his bag onto the floor.

Then promptly rushed up, to his room, and locked the door. Tugged on his core, like he’d done so many times, and shifted into Phantom.

A ghost met his eyes.

Its glow was strong, flickering like a candle, in sync with his racing heartbeat. Bright green eyes, like the eyes of a jack-o-lantern, met his gaze. They were the color of ectoplasm. Only the color of ectoplasm. Green from end to end.

He grimaced, and jerked as his reflection did the same. Fangs. Large, sharp, pointed.

Danny carefully ran his tongue over the offending tooth. Yeah, definitely sharp, yikes. And since when was his tongue as Phantom green?

He lifted a hand with the intention to pull his lips up, to look at the rest of his teeth. But his eye caught on his fingers—or, more accurately, the ends of his fingers. The white gloves no longer ended at his fingertips. No, instead they continued into hooked claws that extended from the tips of his fingers.

Carefully, he grabbed one of the claws between the fingers of another hand. Definitely hard, and, ouch, definitely sharp as well.

Looking back at the mirror, Danny met his blank gaze again. One of his ears flicked like an animals, and only now did Danny realize that they were misshapen as well. Overlong and pointed. He grimaced, and watched the ears drop as well. Great! Just what he needed! Ears that responded to his emotional state!

Aggravated, he ran his hands through his hair. Felt the claws scratch along the skin of his head, not once catching on the tangles of his hair.

“Fuck,” he told his reflection, and it hissed back. He scratched his cheek, careful not to claw himself. “I should’ve— Man, I guess I should’ve fucking expected this.”

And that was the worst thing about this, wasn’t it? Because he really should’ve expected this. He’d known for how long that a ghost’s appearance was based on their self-perception?

Phantom had looked human because that’s what Danny was. And Phantom was Danny.

But over the last few months, he had stopped being Danny. Phantom had become, well, Phantom. The ghostly protector of Amity Park.

Danny rolled his neck, flexed his fingers. Tried to flick his ear, but failed. Tried snarling at his reflection.

This was certainly a ghost, yes, but not much of a protector. Maybe he’d been more stuck on his parents’ tales of ghosts than he thought. Ghosts were monsters, he’d always been told, but… but were they really?

The Dairy King hadn’t been. Cujo hadn’t meant ill, either. Sidney had been hurt, and Johnny and Kitty had just wanted some fun, and Wulf hadn’t even done anything wrong!

He shook his head, watched the locks linger in the air for just a touch too long to be natural. Well… So be it. He was a ghost, he was allowed to be a bit ghostly. It would make it harder for people to connect Phantom with Danny, wouldn’t it?

Phantom was a ghost, but he was no monster. That would have to be enough.

If Sam and Tucker hadn’t noticed yet… Well, it couldn’t be all that important, could it? He could hold off on telling them about all this until they asked.

Danny turned away from the mirror again, shifting back to his human form.

And if his skin seemed just a little pinker, just a little healthier, after shifting… Well, that just a trick of the mind, wasn’t it?

---

Phantom was a monster.

It was all Danny could think of. The sight of Phantom, massive and entirely ghost, surrounded by flames. Surrounded by destruction the ghost had caused.

Phantom was a monster, and Danny’s humanity was the only thing holding it back. Because Phantom was him. Because, as long as he was still him, Phantom was human enough.

Danny let his transformation wash over him, not looking at himself in the mirror. Not yet.

Instead he started peeling off his gloves. Carefully unbuckled his boots. Dropped the belt. Unzipped his jumpsuit until it hung slack around his hips.

Only then did he look at himself in the mirror.

Empty green eyes, emotion almost impossible to read. White hair. Long pointed ears that drooped downwards, upset. A scowl on his face, lips curled far enough to reveal the fangs underneath.

A massive injury—scar—something scrawled over his chest, his arm, his side. It was, somehow, simultaneously dulled and healed, and vivid green like a fresh injury.

He flexed his left hand, a mess of green scars and blackened flesh, only broken up by the white claws. Twisted his arm to see the injury branch its way up his arm, jagged and spiked like lightning. It lessened the closer to his body it got, before leading into the massive scar on his chest.

It looked so fresh, so brand new, that Danny could feel the phantom pains emanate from it. Could feel— lightning, cold-hot-cold-hot, like every nerve was on fire and frozen solid.

At its very center, the injury was slick, shimmering almost like liquid. Green like freshly spilled ectoplasm. So soft, so transparent, that Danny could see the glow of his core through it.

Other branches from the lightning-like scar sprawled down over his side, over his shoulders onto his back, and even onto his neck. Danny made a face as he inspected that branch, which stopped just low enough for his jumpsuit to cover it.

At least the more scar-like parts of it faded away against his skin. The injuries were dull green, yes, but his skin had definitely changed tone. No longer was it pink and warm, but it wasn’t… wasn’t teal like Dan’s, either. Just… pale, and cool.

Danny watched his reflection, holding still. Watched his core pulse in his chest, and realized…

Realized that he couldn’t feel his heart pounding. His reflection didn’t blink— Danny didn’t blink.

His breath caught in his chest, and he held it. Held it almost indefinitely.

Phantom was a monster, only held back by Danny’s humanity, and… and he was losing it. Losing said humanity.

A knock on the door. Danny startled, flinching so hard that he lifted off of the ground. He had—

He hadn’t locked the door, apparently, because it swung open.

“Danny?” Sam asked, blinking wide eyes at him. “Wow, uh, you’re… shirtless.”

“Oh my god,” he whispered, dropping limply onto the ground. His core churned so loudly he was sure Sam could hear it. “You scared me to death.”

“I think it was too late for that already, dude.” Tucker shoved Sam further into the room, also coming in. “Wow, what’s up with those scars? And, uh…”

Tucker trailed off, then fell silent.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, voice muffled by the floor. “That.”

“What happened?” Sam asked, wandering closer. She paused. “This is… This looks like it was caused by the accident…”

Danny hummed wordlessly.

“But you didn’t have these scars before,” Tucker pointed out, also walking up to Danny. “And your skin… Danny, what’s happening?”

He laughed. It wasn’t a good kind of laughter. “Don’t you know that a ghost’s appearance is based on self-perception? So if you think that all ghosts are monsters…”

“Dan,” Sam gasped. “But you don’t look like…”

“It’s been happening for longer.” Danny braced himself on an arm, pushing himself up slightly to look at her. To meet her eyes. “Slowly but surely. Ever since I started seeing Phantom as a ghost…”

“Wow.” Tucker flicked Danny’s ear, laughing when it twitched in response. “Dude, how did we not notice this? I mean, I know you do a lot of solo patrols, but…”

He shrugged slightly. “I didn’t want to mention it, not until either of you said anything about it. It’s… not a big deal.”

“You’re literally seeing yourself as a monster to the extent where you’re starting to look like one, too,” Sam pointed out and, ouch. No need to be so vicious about it. “Danny, that’s a huge deal.”

“Nah,” he denied, shaking his head. His hair fluttered freely, the locks continuing to shift unnaturally. His claws dug into the floor as his fingers twitched. “It’s… fine. Just part of being a ghost.”

“Yeah, but most ghosts aren’t told 24/7 that all ghosts are monsters.” Sam crouched next to him, one hand cautiously batting a lock of floating hair. “Danny, you don’t have to pretend that this isn’t upsetting you.”

He sighed, pushing himself up into a sitting position. His feet were unscarred but off-colored, the nails just a little too pointed. Why had he even taken off his boots if he wasn’t planning on taking his pants off?

“It’s just… It wasn’t all that big of a deal, before. If Phantom was a little more ghostly than before, well… that was right, wasn’t it? Phantom was supposed to be a ghost.” He shrugged. “And it would make him more different from me. From human me. But then…”

“But then Dan happened,” Tucker finished, sitting down next to him. He was a comforting warmth against Danny’s side. “And now it’s all messed up.”

“Yeah,” he agreed gustily. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. I didn’t mind Phantom being a ghost, but now… now I know that all that’s holding him back is my humanity.”

Sam continued to play with his hair, flicking locks of his hair until they all floated freely. “It’s not all on you, Danny. That wasn’t just Phantom, was it? It was Plasmius too.”

“But Phantom was the one who ripped Plasmius out, who fused with him.”

“According to Vlad.” Tucker nudged him. “According to Vlad, that’s what happened. No offense, dude, but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, and that’s not very far. How can you be sure that he told you the truth?”

“I…” He swallowed. His throat felt dry and constricted all of a sudden. He was glad that he didn’t need to breathe as a ghost anymore. “I guess I can’t know.”

“So stop worrying about it.” Sam crowded up next to him as well, warm against his other side. “You’re Danny Fenton, and you’re Phantom. Half human, and half ghost. Protector of Amity Park.”

“But what if—”

“If you ever go too far,” Tucker interrupted. “If you ever become too much of a ghost, we’ll be there. We’re a team, Danny. We’re your friends.”

His core hiccuped in his chest, the light visible through his chest. “I—”

“If that’s not an agreement I don’t want to hear it,” Sam said, sharply, but not unkindly. “Seriously, Danny. You’re allowed to not be okay, and you’re allowed to accept help. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Yeah, I…” He looked up at the mirror. A ghost looked back, bright and lively green eyes and white hair which flickered like a flame, a vivid scar running over its arm and chest. On either side were humans crowded against it, their skin tones so warm compared to the ghost’s.

“I’m a ghost,” he said, slowly but resolutely. “And… that’s okay. Ghosts aren’t… aren’t inherently bad. And if Dora isn’t automatically bad, and Cujo, and all those others… neither am I.”

He grinned, and his reflection grinned back. Sharp fangs and all.

“There you go, dude!” Tucker smiled as well, nudging him again. “Now self-percept yourself some muscles because this is just sad, Danny.”

“Wow!” He gasped dramatically, planting his right hand against his chest, fingers splayed wide enough to curve the claws away from the injury. “At least I’m actually physically active!”

Tucker clicked his tongue, shook his head. “Now that’s just hurtful, man.”

“You started it, Tuck,” Sam pointed out, reached past Danny to swat at Tucker. “Now, Danny, any other serious things we need to know about?”

He opened his mouth to tell her no, but paused. Listened to the quiet whirring in his chest.

“Actually…” He licked his lips, a quick flash of green. “I guess I kind of… might also influence my bodily functions with my self-image?”

She stared at him, incredulous.

“Are you telling me that you’ve barely been blinking because you’re too ghostly to do that?” Tucker demanded from Danny’s other side. “Dude!”

“My heart also kind of stopped beating?” Danny grinned, awkwardly. “And I don’t think I’ve been breathing, either.”

Tucker laughed, startled, then pressed his head against Danny’s shoulder. “Why are you like this?”

“I blame my parents.” Danny shrugged his free shoulder. “They’ve been going on and on about Phantom’s changing appearance, and, y’know, the workings of ghosts. They don’t have any organs, or bodily functions or anything, so I guess I just… automatically stopped with all that, too.”

“Well, I guess that that’s fair.” Sam made a thoughtful noise. “That’s not gonna carry over to your human form, will it?”

“Uh…” He blinked, frowned. “I mean, maybe? It hasn’t before, but I’ve also been trying very hard to keep human and ghost separate, so…”

“That can’t be good for you.” She pressed closer against him, too. “Danny, you’re allowed to be half-ghost, you know? You’re not entirely human, and not entirely ghost, and that’s okay.”

He sighed, gustily, and nodded. “Yeah, I… I should stop doing that.” If he let his ghost be more human, that’d be… Phantom would be more human. He wouldn’t be—couldn’t be—Dan.

“We’ll be keeping an eye out, now, so don’t think about trying to not do it.” Tucker rolled his head around so he could meet Danny’s eye without lifting his head. “And, dude? I’m serious, you should conjure up some more muscle for yourself.”

“Tucker.”

---

“Don’t you get it?!” Valerie ranted, her arms waving wildly as Danny picked away at his lunch. “Phantom is getting more and more monster-like in appearance! That’s a direct link to personality!”

He rolled his eyes, lifting up his sandwich to take a bite. “Valerie, my parents are talking about that stuff all. The. Time. Trust me, I know.”

“But he’s…” she trailed off, falling silent. “Danny?”

Why. He had literally just taken a bite. “Hm?”

“You—” She huffed, suddenly, dropping down on the bench attached to their lunch table. She stared at him. Didn’t say a word as he slowly chewed on the bite in his mouth.

He swallowed it. “What?”

“Are you aware of the fact that your teeth are, you know.” She gestured vaguely. “Enormous fangs?”

Well, fuck. “Ha, well. Ecto-contamination, am I right?”

“Your eyes are glowing.”

“Ecto—”

“Your ears are large, pointed, and just flattened down.”

“No they didn’t!” he countered, because he knew they wouldn’t have. Maybe in his ghost form, but he tried very hard to repress that in human form!

“Ha! You didn’t deny the oversize ears even though you don’t have them!” She grinned victoriously, but the smile dropped almost instantly as she leaned over the table. Valerie’s fist closed around his shirt, dragging him closer until their faces were almost touching. “You fucking idiot.”

“What?” he blurted out. “What did I even do?”

She stared at him, incredulously. Let go of his shirt and dropped back onto her seat. “How on Earth have you kept the fact that you’re Phantom a secret for so long?”

“Well, you know.” He shrugged, vaguely. Scratched his cheek with his too-long, too-sharp nails. His heart rate had spiked, almost up to a healthy human speed. “Most people don’t think a ghost can be a human too, and definitely not the ghost hunters’ son.”

“But you’re…”

“Danny,” he finished for her, before she could come to the wrong conclusion. “I’m Danny Fenton. I’ve always been Danny Fenton. I just… had an accident. Became half-ghost.” He grinned sheepishly. “Started calling my ghost half Phantom, and then kind of accidentally shaped its appearance based on how I saw ghosts.”

“Like a monster,” Valerie realized, eyes wide. “God, Danny, that’s…”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

“Yeah,” he agreed anyway. “I know right?”

“Does anyone else know, at least?” She ran a hand through her hair, looking like all wind had gone from her sails. “Or have you been going through this all alone? I mean, your parents—”

“They definitely don’t know.” He huffed. His heart slowed down again, and he blinked, deliberately. “Sam and Tucker know. Knew from the start, they were there when it happened. Jazz knows, but she only told me recently.”

He fell silent. Valerie waited for a long moment. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he confirmed.

“Well. That’s some shit, Danny.”

He laughed, startled. “You don’t know the half of it!”

“You— Was that a pun?” She groaned, loud and exaggerated. “I should’ve known. No one else in this town loves puns like you and Phantom. Should’ve figured that you were one and the same.”

His core chirped, whirring up into a pleased purr. “That’s all on you, I’m afraid.”

“I’ll get you for this, Fenton,” she warned him. The grin on her face didn’t fall. Stayed joyous and hopeful and teasing. “Keep your ghostly unblinking eyes peeled, or you’ll never see it coming.”

---

Danny took a deep breath of air, deliberate and slow. He was in his ghost form, so it wasn’t exactly necessary. Hell, even in his human form breathing was of debatable importance.

Sometimes it scared him, how ghostly he had become.

He sighed out the air, dropping his eyes down. There, in front of him, laid a vast expanse of water.

Or, well. It really wasn’t all that vast. It was just a small lake in the park. But let him be dramatic sometimes, dammit!

The surface was still, reflective like a mirror. It was dark, yes, but Danny’s eyesight was crazy good these days, even in the dark.

He smiled at his reflection, waved a hand. White-gloved and tipped with fearsome claws, a smaller curve covered with jagged but clear ice. The light of the moon caught in its many reflective surfaces, shining onto his black jumpsuit, his white flickering hair, his horns.

Danny combed a hand through his hair, carefully avoiding the horns. They were growing quickly, curving blades of ice. They reminded him of Frostbite.

Actually… He bit his lip. That was probably what had caused them, wasn’t it? Frostbite and his people?

Phantom was a ghostly protector, but for most of Phantom’s existence, Danny hadn’t known what that looked like. He’d shaped his form based on… on hatred, on visions of monsters, on nightmares.

But Frostbite… Frostbite was a guardian. He and his people, they protected their domain, their artifacts. They were ghostly protectors long before Danny had been.

They had taught him about his powers, too. About their shared power over ice.

It wasn’t all that surprising, then, that Danny had automatically copied traits from them for his own ghost form. And, all things considered, claws and horns of ice weren’t the worst thing he could’ve gone with.

Hell, he could’ve gone all hairy! Or a tail! His spectral tail was enough for him, thank you very much!

He shifted until he laid flat on his belly, floating a little above the water. Gently swirled one finger through the water, breaking his makeshift mirror. Despite their appearance, his claws weren’t cold like ice; the water barely cooled, and remained unfrozen.

That, at least, had been deliberate. Danny, even in his ghost form, touched people surprisingly often. Sam, Tucker, Jazz, hell, even Valerie hung out with him in his ghost form regularly. And he grabbed onto random people all the time during ghost fights, to drag them out of the way of an attack or to free them from debris they’d gotten trapped in.

It was the one thing about his ghost form that didn’t quite match up with proper ghosts. Despite his ice powers, Danny remained warm. Not human warm, but not disturbingly cold, either.

The last thing he wanted was for someone to flinch into the danger he was trying to get them away from.

He smiled, weakly, letting just the slightest bit of cold energy leak from his finger. Ice trailed after his finger, now, forming swirling patterns on the water. Curls and twirls and elegant curves, paper thin.

Grass rustled, and Danny’s eyes snapped up to the lake’s coast. There, clear as day, were the Fentons. Both had their goggles down—had they integrated night-vision into those? They must’ve, to be out here at this time of night.

“Phantom,” Jack growled—because he was Jack, now, not Dad—raising an ecto-gun. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing to worry about,” Danny replied, rolling his eyes. He waved his hand through the water, breaking up the ice, letting it melt away again. “Looking at my reflection, creating art, y’know?”

Maddie snorted disbelievingly. “Worried about people figuring you out, Phantom?”

“Figuring out what?” He huffed, righting his position so he floated upright. “That I have ice powers? That I’m strong, and a competent ghost hunter?”

“That you’re not human,” she sneered back. “That you’re losing that little humanity you might’ve had. That you’re finally showing your true side.”

“Oh, please.” He shook his head, flapping a dismissive hand. “I’m no less human than I was when I first appeared. But you’re clearly not going to listen to me, and I’ve got better things to do, so.”

He turned himself invisible, lifting up. Their eyes tracked him, confirming his suspicions that they had some sort of infrared in their goggles, too.

Well, no point in sticking around. He probably should’ve gone to bed instead of coming to the park, anyway.

As he left, he could hear the sound of a gun discharging. But not, like, fire a shot discharging. No, like someone had stopped charging it altogether.

Danny strained his ears towards his parents, even as he flew away. And it was just, just enough, to overhear their quiet muttering.

“He’s getting too cocky,” his mom said.

“He knows how strong he’s getting, yeah,” his dad agreed. “He’s dangerous, and he knows it.”

“And nobody realizes. They all see his continued good behavior, and no one sees the literal proof of him becoming a monster.”

Danny bit his lip, swiveling his ears away. Whatever else they were going to say, he didn’t want to hear.

He wasn’t becoming a monster.

He had been one for years.

---

Phantom was… Danny.

And Danny was…

People cheered as he dove low over the crowd. As he fired blast after blast into the chimeric animal ghost that attacked them, its heads snapping at bystanders.

Danny pushed for just a little bit more speed, his legs blending together into a spectral tail. Slammed into the ghost, dug his claws into its side, and dragged it up—up, and away from the people.

He released it, the ghost disoriented for a brief moment. Brief, but just long enough.

The blue vortex of the Thermos trapped it, warped it, caught it.

Danny capped the Thermos again, floating above the crowd of Amity Park’s citizens. Clicked the Thermos back onto his belt, his claws clicking against the metal. His tail curled, almost anxiously, as he looked over the gathered people.

And they—

They cheered for him, still. Despite everything that had changed, despite the—claws, fangs, eyes, skin, scars, horns, inhuman inhuman inHUMAN—they still celebrated him. Celebrated his victories, yelled positive reinforcement and thanks and love at him.

He felt it deep inside him, in his very core. It rumbled, powerful and loud, purring like a cat. He glowed, pleased, bright as the sun.

And Amity Park still yelled for him, still cheered for him. They called him their ghostly protector, their— their ghostly angel.

It felt like— like pure power. Coursing through his core, through his body. From his horns through his twisted scars all the way to his claws. Through his fangs and his green flesh and his inhumanly pale skin.

It was like drowning. Like drowning in positivity, in goodness, in… in love.

He was their ghostly protector, and they called him their ghostly angel. And that… That was…

Angels weren’t human. And neither was he.

And that was okay.

#phic phight #phic phight 2020 #phic phight 20 #danny phantom #dp fanfic #phanfic #dp fanfiction #phanfiction #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #valerie gray #dark writes #i mean... being a ghost after growing up being told theyre monsters has gotta do something to your self-image right?

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mischiefandspirits · 3 years ago

Text

Titanic Beginnings

Part of the Six for the Age of One AU

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dick was excited when Bruce helped form the Justice League, babbling on about Bruce’s new friends and begging to meet them. Damian also wanted to meet the JL, but to appraise them to see if they were worthy of his father’s time and ensure they were capable of watching Batman’s back.

Not wanting the boys to get involved in the more punishing missions the JL faced, Bruce continually denied their requests.

That was ruined during a meeting a month later when Superman sheepishly admitted that his sons had also been badgering him and his wife to meet the other JL members and asked if he could bring the boys to the next meeting.

Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter appeared as resistant as Bruce. However, Wonder Woman adored children and agreed before any of them could speak up. She even offered to bring her young sister to keep them company. Aquaman agreed as well, mentioning that his apprentice could use the land experience. Flash and Black Canary were fine with it, which left the League at an even split.

At a nudge from Canary, Arrow broke the tie by reluctantly agreeing to bring his protégé.

Any ideas Batman had at keeping his boys out of it were dashed when Lantern turned to him and asked if he would also be bringing his kids. Superman sent him a look that clearly stated he would invite the boys if Batman didn’t so the Gotham vigilante nodded after giving Lantern a fierce glare.

Batman, Robin, and Serin were the first ones to the temporary headquarters the Justice League were using while Batman, Arrow, and Lantern finished the work on the space station they were retrofitting.

Before they arrived, Bruce had reminded Dick that, allies or not, only Superman knew the Bats’ identities and it was to remain that way for the time being. He had also negotiated with Damian. The boy wouldn’t challenge anyone to a fight and would abide by sparring rules with anyone who challenged him, no matter what abilities they may have. In return, the boy could assess whoever he wanted. He also allowed the boys to bring their dogs, hoping that would help keep Damian from going too far.

Titus (or Birdhound as Dick insisted despite Damian’s arguments that Great Danes weren’t hounds) had swapped out his red collar for a yellow one that matched Serin’s belt and had a tag with Serin’s logo on it. He also wore a grey ballistic vest with dark coral straps and handle. Haley (or Bitewing, a play on a character from Dick’s favorite story in Bruce’s extraterrestrial files) had a green collar with Robin’s logo hanging from it in place of her usual blue. Her vest was red with canary straps and handle.

Robin and Bitewing immediately went off to explore while Serin and Birdhound stayed at Batman’s side as he got things ready for the meeting. The boy kept an eye on the meeting room’s door, so he was the first one to notice the Supers’ arrival.

Superman was talking to his foster son when they walked in, his younger son flying over them with wide eyes. Superboy (aka nine-year-old Jonathan Kent) nearly looked like the spitting image of his father with his blue-black curls and neon blue eyes that didn’t quite look human, though his nose and lips were shaped a bit more like his mother. Meanwhile Hyper (aka fourteen-year-old Christopher Kent) only shared his foster father’s physique, his skin not having that same natural sun-kissed look while his hair was a dirty blond and his eyes were a bright amber that was just a little too close to yellow to be humanly possible. Superboy was wearing jeans, red high tops, and a Superman costume shirt that had a small red cape attached. Hyper was even more underdressed in just jeans, black tenner shoes, a yellow and blue flannel, and a black shirt. A black band wrapped around his wrist, appearing to all the world like a watch though, having helped create it, Batman knew it was a device to help Earth’s newest kryptonian keep control of the powers he’d developed on arrival.

Robin reappeared suddenly, dropping down onto Superman’s shoulders. “Heya, Kal!”

“Hello, Robin,” the man chuckled.

The twelve-year-old did a backbend so he could hold a hand out to the older boy. “Hi! You’re Hyper right? Kal’s told us about you.”

“Oh, yeah. Or K’Riss. Uh, K’Riss-El, but just K’Riss is fine,” Hyper said, accepting the hand.

“And I’m Jon!” Superboy said, dropping down in front of Batman and Serin. He smiled up at the man before holding his hand out to the other boy. “Dad’s told us about you too. Nice to meet you. I like your dog. Can I pet him?”

The eleven-year-old looked at the hand, then glanced over Superboy’s outfit. “No. What kind of attire is that for fighting crime?”

The half-kryptonian looked down at his clothes and shrugged. “I thought it looked cool.”

“It offers no protection.”

“They’re kryptonians,” Robin pointed out as he stood up on Superman’s shoulders so he could pet Bitewing, who was leaning out of a vent on the ceiling. “Their skin is better armor than the stuff we wear.”

“What if they were to lose their abilities? A shard of kryptonite would easily pass through that flimsy shirt.”

Superboy frowned and glanced back at his dad, which gave Batman time to give his son a reprimanding look and hold out his hand.

Serin scowled and palmed him a small lead case.

The Supers didn’t notice the actions, distracted by unsuccessfully trying to get Bitewing out of the vent.

“Neither of us really dressed for fighting crime,” Hyper said over Robin’s soft cackling, pulling away from the vent. “Jon’s too young for that stuff and I’m still getting my powers under control. Our superhero names are more honorary than anything.”

Clicking his tongue, Serin crossed his arms. “Heroes or not, we are in the base of a team of superheroes. You should be prepared to be attacked at any minute by any of the members’ various enemies.”

Superman aimed an incredulous look at Bruce, who shrugged.

His son wasn’t wrong.

“Hello there!” Wonder Woman called as she walked in with a teenage girl in red and black Amazonian armor.

The girl looked exactly like a fifteen-year-old version of her sister with her curly brown-black hair, warm olive skin, and dark green eyes. She gave a smile that looked a bit more forced than her sister’s, which quickly dropped away when she noticed Superman still near the vent with Robin clinging to his back. “Why is there a dog up there?”

“She likes it in there,” Batman grunted when Wonder Woman looked like she was going to try to help as well.

“She’s Robin’s,” Serin added, which did explain it if you knew Robin.

“Dogs shouldn’t be inside vents,” Wonder Woman said pointedly.

“And children shouldn’t nap in chandeliers,” Batman muttered, earning snorts from Serin and Superman. Accepting that the issue wasn’t going to be dropped, he gave Robin a look.

The boy pouted, then gave a sharp whistle. Instantly the pitbull sprung from the vent, hopping off superman’s chest, then Hyper’s shoulders, before landing on the ground as gracefully as her boy despite her missing limb. Robin dropped to the ground next to her and scratched her neck before grabbing the handle on her vest and going over to greet the Amazons.

Wonder Woman introduced her sister as Troia, who had recently left Themyscira so she could learn more about Man’s World at her sister’s side.

After respectfully greeting the sisters, Serin turned to Superboy. “See, the Amazons wear armor.”

“Well, they aren’t quite as durable as us,” Superboy shot back.

“They also don’t have a well-known weakness to a rock, yet they still understand the necessity to be prepared for battle.”

“So that one is definitely Spooky’s,” Lantern joked as he walked in with Hawkgirl.

Robin did a cartwheel into a backflip, landing in front of the two with Bitewing racing to stay by his side. He gave the heroes a wide grin, leaning cutely against the alert dog. “Hi, I’m Robin! It’s so nice to meet B’s friends! I like your wings, Ms. Hawkgirl! They’re very pretty!”

“Thank you,” she said, bemused.

Lantern gave Batman a smirk as he shook Robin’s hand. “You sure this one’s yours and not Supe’s or Wonder Woman’s?”

Robin’s grin turned sharp, then he pulled away.

A green flash lit the room and Lantern was left in just a black tanktop, Flash sweatpants, and mismatched fuzzy socks. The man yelped and looked down to find his ring missing from his hand. His gaze shot up, but Robin and Bitewing had disappeared with the light. “What the heck!?”

The boy’s laughter echoed around the room, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“Okay, maybe he is yours.”

“Why is Lantern in his sleeping clothes?” Martian Manhunter asked as he and Aquaman came in with a young Atlantean.

“Robin stole his ring right off his hand,” Hawkgirl answered with poorly hidden laughter in her voice.

The test pilot scowled and held out his hand. His ring shot out from inside Batman’s cape. As it slid onto Lantern’s finger, returning his suit in a flicker of green, Robin and Bitewing poked their heads out of the fabric. He pointed at the smug boy. “You won’t do that again.”

“Unless I want to.”

“Kid -”

“Hey, my first idea was to come up and throat-punch you so be glad I just stole your ring,” he snickered, slipping back into the shadows. “Can’t talk bad about my family if you can’t breathe.”

“It seems the Bat’s family are as entertaining as he is,” Aquaman joked. He set his hand on the young Atlantean’s shoulder. “Speaking of family, this is my mother’s ward and my apprentice, Aqualad. Lad, this is the Justice League and their young companions.”

The boy appeared to be around fifteen with alabaster skin that was edging towards grey. His eyes were plum-colored and his hair was long and pitch black. With teeth slightly sharper than a human’s, he smiled and gave a small bow. “A pleasure. You may call me Garth.”

Baring the Bats, the group all greeted Aqualad cheerfully. Batman grunted and nodded with Serin copying his actions while Robin’s hand poked out of the cape to wave.

Before anyone could introduce themselves to the newcomers, Arrow and Canary entered with a grumpy thirteen-year-old.

Speedy had fair skin and pale red hair, alongside eyes hidden behind a domino mask like the ones Robin and Serin wore. Batman knew from his day-life that Speedy’s backstory wasn’t too far off from Robin’s. He’d gotten Oliver Queen’s attention during an archery contest so when the boy’s adopted father died, Oliver took him in.

“Are we the last ones here?” Canary asked.

“We’re still waiting on Flash,” Wonder Woman answered.

“As per usual,” Hawkgirl joked.

“Well, in the meantime,” Arrow set a hand on Speedy’s shoulder, “this is Speedy.”

“‘Sup,” he said, giving a sarcastic salute.

Introductions went around. Robin took the distraction as his chance to slip out and greet Aqualad and Speedy properly. As the time for the meeting grew closer, the group got the kids settled in a room near the meeting room. Just as they were about to leave for the meeting, a steak of red shot into the room.

“Sorry I’m late,” Flash said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re actually on time,” Superman said. “Though you’ll have to wait to meet the kids until after the meeting.”

“About that…”

A second streak came into the room, which turned out to be a red-headed teenager. The boy was tan and freckled. When he pulled up his goggles to smile at the group, his eyes proved to be a grassy green. “Hi, there! I’m Kid Flash!”

The group turned to Flash, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. “My nephew became a speedster last week. I’m training him how to use his powers.”

“Then I’m going to be his sidekick!”

Batman held back a snort at the imploring expression Flash gave him and Superman. The kryptonian patted the speedster on the back and led him out of the room with the others following.

Behave, Batman said with a grunt, giving his boys the kind of glare that would have the JL flinching back and the criminals of Gotham fleeing.

Robin batted his eyes innocently and Serin gave a half-hearted nod.

When the meeting was through, the adults returned to find the room worse for wear.

Robin and Kid Flash were sitting cross-legged on a battered table (one of the few remaining pieces of furniture) with Bitewing draped over their laps. They were both fidgeting with the dog’s ears and tail as they happily talked about a fight the Bats had recently had with Penguin.

Serin and Troia were standing off to the side near some cracked flooring, talking about the Amazonian knife she was showing him. Superboy was sitting on the floor next to them, though he appeared more focused on the pets he was giving Birdhound.

The last three boys were standing next to a hole in the wall. The older two were inspecting the hole with guilty frowns while a snickering Speedy patted Hyper on the back, looking more relaxed despite the bruise on his cheek.

“What happened in here?” Arrow asked, all the adults except Superman and Batman looking shocked at the destruction.

“Sparring competition,” Superman answered, proving he’d kept an ear on the kids throughout the meeting.

“We locked a bunch of superpowered and vigilante children in a room together. I’m just pleased the room’s still standing,” Batman added.

Robin and Kid Flash laughed while Speedy bit down his own laughter at a look from Arrow.

Lantern slapped the archer on the back. “Lighten up. As much as I hate to admit it, Spooky’s got a point. We should have known the kids would screw around and set them up somewhere a little less fragile. So, who won?”

“Troia, technically, since Robin was disqualified after the tournament was over,” Kid Flash said.

Batman turned to Robin, who gave a wide grin. “I don’t want to know.”

“I would have won had I had my full arsenal,” Serin said petulantly.

“He was eliminated because Superboy managed to bear hug him right at the start of their go and he couldn’t squirm free before the time ended,” Robin explained.

“You utilized kryptonite in your spar with a kryptonian so I do not see why I couldn’t!”

Superman gave Batman a look and the vigilante sighed, holding out his hand.

Robin skipped forward and dropped a lead case into his palm. “For the record, I brought blue kryptonite.”

“Was that why you were disqualified?”

“No.”

I will be having a conversation with both of you when we get home, he said with a grunt and put the case in his belt.

“And how did you fare?” Aquaman asked his apprentice, coming over to set his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“I won my match against Kid Flash, but Robin proved too formidable an opponent.”

“I lost first round to Troia,” Speedy said before Arrow could ask as he and Canary came up to the teen.

“His close combat abilities could use some work, but his skills with a bow are comparable to some of our best archers,” Troia argued. “Had our arena been larger, the fight would have been much closer.”

“Yeah, Arrow’s not too good at close range either,” Canary said, earning a huff from her boyfriend. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ll show you a few tricks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're wondering why I put Donna in armor instead of one of the suits she wears in the comics, I ask you this: Why the flip would she want to wear some spandex suit when she could wear sick Amazonian armor? This applies to Cassie too.

And yes, Dick's treatment of Hal is a reference to a certain movie and a certain TikToker. Thanks for asking.

#batman #dick grayson #robin #damian wayne #teen titans #Robins are the Same Age AU #fanfiction #64ao1

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butwhybother · 4 years ago

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Lego cover of Shadows For Silence In The Forests Of Hell

More photos below. I also rambled. I allowed myself to do that.

The Shade is all black and really hard to see against the black background. Silence Montaine's silver dagger isn't glinting very well. It's still the best photo I got. Here is a similar photo with brighter lighting:

Alternative version:

I tried using the lego ghost as a white shade. Shades are white with green eyes normally, then black with red eyes when they are enraged. So, the white ghost didn't really work for the scene where Silence is fighting the Shades. The ghost is glow-in-the-dark, but it doesn't show in this light.

Different scene:

I tried making something smaller for a white Shade. There it is in the background, kind of mindlessly wandering about. If I had more control over the depth of field, I would have focused on Silence and blurred out the Shade some more.

This is a few scenes before Silence fights Shades. She is cutting across a field of mushrooms, called the white span, traveling by the light of stars and glowpaste.

The "pole" that Silence is using to hold up her glowpaste jar lantern is actually a wrench. The lantern is stuck on the wrench with a bit of putty. I filled the lantern with the liquid from glowsticks. It provided much better glow than a glow-in-the-dark bead (which was so dark that it barely registered on the camera), but it was very messy! I really regret putting that stuff on my Lego!

If anybody is thinking about cutting open a glowstick and using the liquid inside for something, please, I plead with you, don't. It is so messy and hard to clean up.

A closet look at Silence:

I gave Silence the most serious looking face I have. (Which, unfortunately, is not yellow.) She has a lot of pockets and pouches for carrying things. She is ready to survive.

Silence in darker darkness:

These two photos were taken without the additional lighting from flashlight. I hoped that the glowstick liquid would be bright enough to light up the set, but alas, it wasn't. It lit up only a very small radius around it, so I had to use a flashlight in all the other photos.

The forest:

That's enough about Silence and Shades and glowy things. Let's talk about the forest! I really like how the mushrooms turned out. Some of the mushrooms are white flowers. Some mushrooms aren't on stems. Some of the white mushrooms toward the back are lever/small antennae base, with the black stick removed. They work together to make the white span.

Technical stuff? (I found out that Tumblr has 10 image limit to a post, so here's a collage) These photos were taken with flash or bright light to show detail.

This 18x18 plate needed to look like it had the depth of a forest to it. To fake the depth, I did several things:

Bump out the corner of the plate that will be the furthest away from the camera. Above, you can see this in the side-view and top-view photos. In the top-view, I marked where the base plate would have ended. In the side-view, you can see I gradually bumped out the top more than the bottom.

Use lighter colors in the foreground and darker colors in the background. There are brown treetrunks in the front, dark brown ones in the middle, and black sticks that imply trees in the back.

Make trees, shrubs, and mushrooms in the foreground bigger. Make the ones in the back smaller.

Stagger the black bricks that make up the backdrop with little nooks. In my first build, the walls were smooth. I worried that might work like a mirror and ruin the look of what is supposed to be a deep, dark forest. So I made the backdrop more uneven on the second build.

Build up plates in the back corner where the base meets the wall. I used darker green plates to blend the edge between the green base and the black wall.

Alas, most of that detail and work got lost in the darkness.

That is it. I didn't do the best job with photography, but I like how the build turned out, it was fun to do.

#Cosmere #Threnody #silence forescout #shadows for silence in the forests of hell #lego #my art

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star-captain · 5 years ago

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Illuminate

Another part of what I’ve started to call ‘Wandering Stars’, stories of self-inserts interacting with hermits. I dunno if the name is gonna stick, that’s just what the Google Doc is called.

But here’s another piece! This time with the incredible, kind, and talented @theguardiansofredland ‘s character Red. This was a challenging story, but I very much enjoyed writing it and playing with a character I never could have come up with on my own.

The sun settles on the horizon, dipping into the ocean and leaving behind a trail of orange streaking across the surface. It looks like it’s melting, orange fire spilling out. As sunset turns to twilight, the coral and sea pickles below begin to illuminate. The ocean comes alive with color, unbothered by the loss of the sun. Fish swim through pillars that glow softly, shadows playing out like puppets controlled by kelp.

The last hint of the sun drowns into the sea, leaving behind a sharp flash of green across the air. Glass catches the light, refracting the emerald flash over the blue floor and twin towers, across the open cavern. And as the light fades from the sky, a glow begins to materialize on her skin. Blue specks, flecks of light swirl across her skin, fighting off the darkness and growing brighter. Like stars, they grow in intensity as the world settles into the night. Waves of light flow around patches of larger blue, the brightest resting on her shoulders and inner forearms. Symmetric stripes are barely visible through the fabric of her pants, wakes of bright blue against the swirling flecks.

They push their glasses up the bridge of their nose, squinting to get a better look at what they’ve been staking out. Red knew that a monument has been missing for some time now, but they haven’t been able to check out the report until now. There’s someone down at the bottom, below the seafloor. From sea level, all they can see is guardians rise up bubble columns of the twin spires, before falling down into a hole.

She needs a closer look. Red looks over the edge of the glass, at the sharp drop down into the backwards aquarium. There’s no water, and she obviously can’t fly. A flying fish is just ridiculous. She chuckles at the idea, before turning to the other side of the glass, which is holding the ocean at bay from the unusual structure. Peering in, Red can see her reflection in the glassy water. It’s a calm night.

Streaks of bioluminescence mark her face, symmetrical against her cheeks after rising up her neck from her back. They look a bit like shark’s teeth at her chin from this angle, which looks pretty cool in her mind. Red’s hair is still wet from clambering out of the sea, orange and blue tones plastered against her head. Her reflection is broken as she dives in. Down, down down, into the depths of the sea. Where most people would be scared of such deep waters, she calls it home. She can feel the water rush past her face, over her fins as she speeds towards the bottom, and breathes in the cool water.

At the bottom of the structure, Red pauses to look at the strange building. It’s all made of glass, and she’d hate to break something that someone worked hard to build. Maybe she can just push a pane or two out, and sneak in without actually breaking the glass. Red reaches out, placing her palms on the smooth, cool window. She gives a push, but it doesn’t budge. She pushes again, harder. And harder, and harder, until suddenly the glass gives way under her strength.

Red and water sweep into the structure, pooling on the floor and depositing the surprised Kipling on the prismarine tile. Red only chuckles to themself. “Whoops. Maybe pushed a little bit too hard.”

Red stands, slopping through the water back onto dry stone. They made it to the bottom, but wandering around on the floor yields no information as to what is happening here. Red wanders up to the towers of water. Stepping up, they watch as guardians shoot up the column like some elevator on the fritz. The guardians flail about as flowing water sweeps them out and down a mysterious tunnel. Even when Red cranes their neck to look down the middle pillar, they can’t see the bottom.

But on the other side of the glass, around the pillar, he can see a ladder leading down. Abandoning the drop tower, Red quickly clambers down the wood ladder. Deep into the depths of the earth, the ladder spits him out in a cramped room. He looks around. The space is filled with metal hoppers and wood chests, in design that he can’t make out but knows is some sort of collection system. Down the short hall, Red sees the owner of all this.

He’s in a well dressed green suit, asleep in a chair rocked on it’s back two legs against the stone wall. Red jumps at the sound of a crash, but it’s only another hopper filling itself with goods. She turns her attention back to the human. Curiosity draws her closer. The most unusual part of the man is one of his eyes. It looks like it’s metal, with some sort of crystal or something acting as the iris. Can he see her, even though he’s asleep?

She turns away from the human, focusing back on the reason she’s here. And that reason is to understand why this is here, and what is happening to the guardians that enter the tunnel. Just beyond the sleeping man, she can see the guardians. Humans can’t notice it, but each guardian is different. Different scale patterns, different tints in the orange and blue, all making each ocular fish unique. And she can see there must be dozens of guardians crammed into a small place at the bottom of the pit. They’re wounded, but alive.

“There must be a way to get you all out of here. You guys see anything?” She jokes, winking her eye at the cycloptic guardians. She turns around in the small room, seeing lots of different buttons and levers. But none of them look to be hooked up to the fences that hold back the guardians. Red doesn’t want to mess with redstone, as much as she likes flipping switches and pushing buttons- that stuff is too much for her. It doesn’t work well in water anyways. Though sometimes she wonders what it tastes like.

But one stone button, hardly visible against the stone wall, seems like a good chance to free her fishy friends. Red hardly wastes more than a second stumbling to the button and crashing into it. At first she’s smiling, waiting for the fences to open up and for the guardians to be freed from whatever cruel trick this is.

The smile fades into horror as pistons tug stone blocks out from under the guardians, and the pit deepens just enough. Just enough that those already sitting at the bottom fall just a little further. A chorus of shrill cries escapes the stone, echoing around the hall and haunting Red’s mind. How many just died? Hoppers rumble around her, and she starts to put this all together.

She watches the farm run, even though it’s owner is fast asleep in his chair. Wind whistles across the squirming, flailing guardians. Red watches in horror through her glasses as the helpless fish fall all the way to the bottom of the pit. One after another, they screech and die with a sickening crunch against the deep, dry stone. Every time they fall, she feels her heart fall as well, breaking with their bones. The prismarine is quickly scooped up by the hopper system, rumbling and sorting out the goods that dropped upon death.

It’s horrifying, monstrous. Humans tear down an ocean monument, stripping a home for the resources it holds. And then humans build a contraption only for death and their insatiable greed. They have to stop it. Red grabs at the button, pulling it from the wall. It doesn’t stop the endless cycle of death. They haul the heavy double chests out from under the hopper, but the items just sort into a different chest. Behind the chest, Red can see the thin trails of redstone snaking between hoppers. Lit up, making sure the system is running. They crouch down, shoving a scaly arm through the tight space between two hoppers.

She reaches her hand across the redstone, and cuts the connection. The activated redstone gives her a jolt, like holding a channeling trident during a storm. The entire system shuts down, including the water that flushes the guardians to their doom. The sorting machine falls silent, though the dying screams of guardians still echo in the cave and in Red’s mind.

Behind her, chair legs scrape against the smooth stone. “Grian I swear if you plan to shove something into my inventory again!”

Red and the human freeze, staring at each other. The suited man blinks, gazing at the unusual visitor. She’s not sure if he’s ever seen a Kipling before, much less one covered in redstone dust. She hasn’t even noticed that tears were falling until now, and her bioluminescent markings glow brighter than a sea lantern. “What are you doing to my guardian farm?”

“These aren’t for you to take!” Red states, standing up for her home and family, and standing up to her feet. “This isn’t a farm, this is massacre!” She returns to ripping the death machine apart, piece by piece, without a tool. Tossing filled hoppers across the room and risking being electrocuted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, wait!” He approaches Red, before backing off. “Let...let’s talk about this. I’m Iskall. Why are you destroying my...my building?”

“Because you’re killing them.” Red whimpers, looking at where scales and blood splatter the wall of the pit. “Those are...that’s my family, my home you’ve destroyed.”

“The ocean monument?” Iskall questions. He looks up, as if observing the world beyond the stone cave. “I never thought anyone except these laser fish lived there.”

“It’s their home too. Would you like for someone to come and rip it all up and kill your family?” Red tries to wipe away the tears. He hates being so sensitive, forcing himself to be open to a person he doesn’t trust. It’s hard to trust humans when they do this. “All for what?”

“Sahara needs the prismarine to sell to other hermits, taking down the monuments and killing guardians is the only way.”

“If you just looked for help, looked for a different way then you wouldn’t have to! I have more prismarine than I know what to do with, all without ever hurting another guardian.” To prove her point, Red pulls out a handful of prismarine crystals. She lets it fall to the ground, Iskall’s metal eye watching her toss it away like it’s dirt.

The bearded man rubs his chin. “I never thought that anyone lived in ocean monuments, that could talk with us. This does change things.” Red looks up, meeting his gaze. “Let’s make a deal then, shall we? A real Sahara contract. You can supply Sahara with that prismarine, get it all out of your way. In return, you can...ahem, decommission my farm here. And maybe I can talk with the others and see if they can find other ways.”

Red looks around, not quite sure if this is some sort of trap or something. Not until Iskall pulls out a diamond pickaxe, offering it as a sign of good faith to the young Kipling. “You look tired, I’m sure you’re hungry. Let’s see.” He digs around in his pockets, finding a bag of sweet berries. The two munch on the fruit, until Red is satisfied and ready to get back to destroying this place. Using the pickaxe is so much better than using his hands, and he can’t help but smile as each hopper and chest is removed. Iskall even joins in, climbing up to the empty ocean. While Red frees his oceanic brethren from the twin towers, Iskall begins to refill the water he had removed. He can’t rebuild the monument, but at least he can make this place habitable again. Maybe they can make something new here, for everyone.

Destruction has never been so fun, so relieving to Red. Tearing down all her frustrations, and filling it back with the cool ocean water. It’s sunrise by the time the two finish, and Red’s markings are fading in the peeking sunlight. The two stand on the last remaining concrete block, the water below teeming with life. The pit has been waterlogged, and hopefully the tides will eventually wash away the stains of such a death-covered place.

“I think that went pretty swimmingly.” Red chuckles, looking over the ocean. In the morning light, they can see the bright colors of the coral, and thousands of tiny fish go on with their lives among the stony creatures.

Iskall laughs at the pun. “You remind me of a friend of mine, at least when you’re happy. Speaking of, I should probably get back to the other hermits. Call a meeting with the Architechs and tell them our job just got a lot easier.” He holds up a couple of prismarine shards. “And we’ve got a monopoly on the prismarine trade! Please, come visit if you ever have the chance.”

The green-suited man takes out his elytra wings, and soars off towards the mainland. Red looks out at the sunrise, the quiet ocean. Her home. She pushes up her glasses, rolls the sleeves of her shirt, and dives into the water.

#minecraft #minecraft ocean #ocean monument #hermitcraft #hermitblr #hermitcraft iskall #iskall85 #oc #writing #red #persona #minesona #self insert #wandering star

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years ago

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Best of DC: Week of August 7th, 2019

Best of this Week: DCeased #4 - Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo and Saida Temofonte

This book went out with a bang and it’s only been four issues of the six!

Captain Atom is one of the strongest heroes of the DC Universe. He’s right on par with Superman and under the reigns of the government, he’s an asset that they have complete authority over. The Atom, likely Ray Palmer, has dived into the body of an infected girl to see if there were a way to solve the crisis before it gets any worse, but then he goes dark. Captain Atom tells Amanda Waller to just way for The Atom to chime back in, but she orders him to go outside and clean the mess up.

He does so, but soon realizes that something is horribly wrong. The next thing we see is The Atom tearing his way through Captain Atom's body, infecting him with the Anti-Life Virus.

We cut to the aftermath of the last issue with Clark bringing Martha Kent to the Daily Planet, crying about Jonathan as the entire Kent Family embraces each other over the loss. One of the big themes of this issue is the loss of family as there will he two big examples later on, each feeling more devastating than the last.

Soon after Superman returns, he's ready to go back out there and rescue more people, but Dinah reminds him of the danger everyone could be in if he were to become infected. He counters that with the fact that he's been using x-ray vision to counter the effects of the virus as it's transmitted through screens. Lois makes a transmission to any hero or villain still alive and tells them to all come to the Daily Planet building.

It's one of the few bits of hope that we get in this issue as we see that some people have boarded up their homes, some of the Titans are still alive and even Lex Luthor is listening in. Best of all, the transmission makes it to Themyscira and Wonder Woman makes her presence felt as she tells her mother and an arriving Mera that she's going to Metropolis.

In Keystone City, Superman and Green Lantern Canary find Flash and Kid Flash who are doing their best to stay down as them becoming infected would be a nightmare for the world. In Gotham, Harley is being rescued by Ivy, who kills the infected versions of Catwoman, Huntress, Batwoman and Batgirl. I really liked this because, on top of finally getting one over on the Joker, Harley is saved by the true love of her life, albeit in a gory and bloody manner that I'd hoped I'd never have to see for some of my other favorite characters. But they do make for a really adorable couple.

Back in Metropolis, however, things have taken a horrible turn for the worse. Hairsine struts his stuff in an amazing double page spread that shows an infected Giganta tearing her way through the city like a Kaiju. She looks absolutely monstrous with a giant scar running down her face, eyes and clothes caked with the blood of untold tens or hundreds of people that she's likely killed or eaten. With only Black Lightning, his daughters, Green Arrow, Robin and Superboy to defend the Planet, things look incredibly dire.

That is, until a surprise Batwing appears and distracts her… only to get knocked out of the sky, but saved by a returning Canary, Superman and the two Flashes. Wonder Woman also appears and prepares to cut the head off of the infected Giganta as she is knocked over by Superman. However, he stops her, pleading that there may still be something left there.

The little bit of hope that he may have had is crushed as Cyborg reappears and blows a hole straight through her head, explaining that none of them are alive anymore. While it's a mostly clean shot, the few bits and blood that do fall out feel gnarly as hell and her dead eyed expression is enough to send chills down the spine.

While the other heroes are talking, the Batwing's hatch opens and Damian somehow expects it to be Batman only to be met by Alfred. He hugs his grandson and tells him Bruce's last words before his untimely passing and we're brought back to another tearful embrace.

*HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD*

But this somber moment doesn't last as Hawkgirl appears, crashing down into Diana's arms, telling everyone that Captain Atom is infected and that he's about to explode. Superman and Wonder Woman do their best to contain it, but the sheer power of Captain Atom proves too much as his eruption destroyed Washington DC, then Baltimore and eventually...Metropolis where Black Lightning tells his daughters to close their eyes as he embraces them, the bright light engulfing them all.

*SPOILERS OVER: PRESS ON*

DCeased has gone way beyond the gimmick that a lot of us thought it might have been. Exploring themes like the loss of family, love and hope versus hopelessness, we see these characters placed in a new light where they have to adapt to a harrowing situation that no one was prepared for. Black Canary taking over as Green Lantern after Hal gets infected is a new and fresh take for her and she absolutely fits the role like a glove. Superman having to dissociate in order to keep himself focused on saving people gives him more depth as it clashes with who he is as a hero. Diana is far more willing to cut the head off of Giganta where normally she would try to talk her down or knock her out, she’s ready for the high stake over the situation. Also seeing Damian actually show his feelings, crying as Alfred hands him the briefcase of Batman’s gear, gives a lot more humanity as he’s been showing a lot of it because this is legit one of the first times he’s been truly afraid and didn’t have a plan.

Trevor Hairsine’s art by itself is enough to sell the book on. It has a flavor of horror that hearkens back to some of DCs Vertigo stories, but also has the color and flair of normal superhero stories. The feelings of despair are very clearly shown and the gore, for how little there is in this issue is still unsettling to see. It’s all very high quality and appropriate for the story. Unlike most Marvel Zombies books, I’m actually scared for everyone here and I love it. High recommend.

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

Jarro is the best new member of the Justice League and I will not be persuaded of the otherwise.

Runner Up: Justice League #29 - Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Bruno Redondo, Hi-Fi and Tom Napolitano

Since the events of No Justice (2018), the Universe has been without Starro, the sentient and powerful telepathic starfish that served as the Justice League's first ever villain. In an uncharacteristic act of heroism, the conqueror sacrificed his life in an effort to save the universe from being destroyed. All that was left a small part of him that was kept in a jar and maintained his sense of heroism, becoming Batman's newest son, Jarro.

Jarro is the epitome of "doing his best" as this book involves him single handedly taking on the Legion of Doom.

Lurking in the shadows of the Hall of Doom, listening to their top secret plans, lies Jarro dressed as Robin! He waits for the perfect moment and strikes at Lex and the others! They're all stunned that someone had the knowledge of their location and the gall to attack them. They all think that they can overpower him, but forget that Jarro still has all of the memories of his former self and creates an energy weapon that knocks them all back, including Sinestro and his constructs.

Though things take a turn, even after Jarro manages to take control of Braniac for a moment, and Lex gains the upper hand, pinning Jarro to a wall. As he's about to lay the final blow, the Justice League arrives to save their companion!

Throughout the book, however, there are numerous questionable things that makes it seem like it's just too good to be true. Jarro is referred to as Batman's favorite Robin by Sinestro. How did Jarro even find the Hall of Doom and how did the League track him? Hell, when Batman sees Jarro, he SMILES. That's a huge red flag.

When Jarro begins to spawn more stars and takes over the minds of the Legion, Batman chides him for his actions and eventually realizes that he's had a star on his face the whole time. Jarro had been showing the good guys a vision where the League wins after deciding that control is the only path to victory after the shared vision he had with Starman in the last issue.

It's all very reminiscent of any time that the Black Mercy plant is used and while what Jarro did was horrible, Batman manages to convince him that everything will be okay. So he releases the hold on everyone, jumps on Batman's shoulder and tells the others to prepare for war.

What this book does best is simply allude to the idea that not everything is as it seems. It has little hints planted with things that only a could would say about themselves or their parents thoughts. Told through Jarro's perspective, it's good to see that Batman has raised him to be a being of hope and a cute one at that. Even his little Robin costume made me absolutely giddy and excited for the little guy.

Once again, it's Batman that has to save the day because he's always the most sound of mind. Though what this story does is shine a light on just how powerful Jarro could be. He managed to take over the minds of the Justice League without anyone being the wiser and shows just what an asset he is. It's even implied that he has a potential that even he can't see yet and I'm excited for his future.

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i-am-arcana-trash · 6 years ago

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Lovely Hands

I have so many feelings for Laurel, so I wrote about her meeting Julien for the first time also based off that terrible comic I drew.

Pairs: Julien/MC (Laurel)

Pronouns: She/Her

CW: Swearing, mostly fluff, SFW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long day. Asra left early in the morning for another trip, as they hugged goodbye he whispered sweet thoughts into Laurel's ear.

'Even apart we'll still be under the same moon.'

'You really liked that sparkly crystal I brought last time, I'll get you another in a different color, maybe two so we can keep them close.'

Laurel smiled into his shoulder before gently pulling away. They looked at each other for a long moment before she leaned over planting a kiss on each of his cheeks. 'Safe travels...'

With a flick of her wrist, a stream of pink magic settles over his form and he grabs her hand planting a light kiss to the palm, smiling into it. 'That spells always keeps the sea sickness at bay' he murmurs. She grins 'well yeah, you have never been good on ships, you always go green, just a little something to make traveling easier'

Asra smiles radiantly at her and gently releases her hand, his eyes flashing something Laurel can't quite read. He speaks softly 'Ill be back before you know it, don't forget me.' 'You know I never could' she murmurs back and watches his form walk away from her little shop.

They never spoke on feelings, Laurel didn't really think she deserved them. And besides Asra was always affectionate with people, his kisses for her we're no different than the ones he gave Auntie Ophelia. So instead she would watch him leave, aching in her chest.

The day had passed by quickly, with the spring season upon them, everyone needed their potions to help crops grow, keep allergies at bay or to find out if their new romance was the real deal.

As the sun set she helped Auntie Ophelia close the shop before the kind older woman yawned. 'Laurel I think it might be time for bed for me, these old bones aren't what they used to be'

'Do you need any help?' Ophelia waved her off, 'I'll be fine, you mentioned earlier we were running low on red flame ferns, my friend on the south end should have some, it's a beautiful evening, go enjoy it I'll be fine'

Laurel adjusts her hip bag before she feels Ophelia's open the pouch, placing coins in it. "There's some extra there, grab some dinner for yourself, also put this on.' She wraps a long scarf around her neck several times. Laurel scowls 'its too warm for this Ophelia.'

'Nonsense' the older woman quips and pat's her arm, 'Off you go, don't be out too late.'

Laurel signs as she is gently pushed out the door and places a cross-me-not spell over the door.

The streets are quiet, couples milling about, the marketplace a glow with lanterns in all kinds of colors. The baker is closed for the day. 'Ugh I'd love some pumpkin bread' Laurel thinks to herself 'I'll wake up early tomorrow and get some.' But continues on her path to the South end of Vesuvia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She's been on the South end plenty of times. Her boots scuff against the cobblestones as her thoughts drift to Asra, wondering how the trip has gone so far, hoping he's eaten enough, wondering if he's staring up at the moon too.

Her thoughts are interrupted by loud laughter, she sees bight lights on a side street, and a delicious scent wafting in the evening breeze. Her belly rumbles and she decides that now might be the best time to eat.

Pausing at the door she reads the sign over it 'The Rowdy Raven' she smirks a little at the name, cute.

She notices a raven on a nest nearby and reaches into her pocket, she always keeps treats for Vesuvias animals and places a few berries in the nest, gently stroking the soft feathers of it's back before making her way into the bar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside is warm, the smell of beer is strong. Scanning for a seat, she notices a few open spots at the bar and makes her way over, pulling off her scarf. As she untangles it from her form she accidentally bumps into something, or rather someone. She jumps back, eyes wide. 'Oh no I'm so sorry, are you okay?'

The person in question laughs gently, curly auburn hair falls over one of his eyes and he smirks wide 'No harm done my dear, I shouldn't have gotten in the way of a woman on a mission.'

Laurel turns to the side to let him through, but he doesn't pass her, instead his steely grey gaze roams her face before settling on her lips and then back up to her eyes.

Her pulse quickens ever so slightly, though her expression remains neutral. Suddenly he shakes his head and walks away, dark boots clicking as he makes his way to a far table with several other men.

She scurries to a far stool at the bar and orders dinner and some sort of fruity alcoholic concoction. She doesn't know what it is, but it's sweet and bubbly on her tounge. Unknown to her, from across the room, the man from before watches her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making his way to the table with 4 steins of Salty Bitters, he passes the drinks to his companions.

'Aye mate, who is she? some long lost lover from your torrid affairs overseas?' Julien flushes under the question 'I've actually never seen her before in my life, but.....' he peeks over his shoulder at Laurel, she's pulled out a small pad of paper, scrawling over it, her cheek smooshed in one hand, rings glittering in the candlelight as she doodles.

'Dont get your hopes up, look at her face, she's got bitch written all over it, she'll grind you up my friend and probably use you for a spell or something.'

Julien bristles, he's never been a fan of the term bitch, but beyond that, when she bumped into him, the concern in her voice was real, she didn't brush him off or get angry. When he looked in her eyes, they were almost unreadable, but he saw a flash of insecurity as he looked at her.

Julien decides that maybe he could get a win-win senerio, steepling his fingers, his eyes glimmer with mischief. 'Let's wager then, my drinks for the night are on you if I get her to dance with me, also her meal. If I lose I pay for drinks'

The three howl before the blonde man across from him sticks out his hand to shake on the wager 'You'll be scrubbing dishes to pay off tonight mate!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laurel tenses when she feels someone slide into the stool next to her, she's on her third drink of the night, her curry dinner completely gone.

She turns her head slightly realizing it's the man from before. He motions for the barkeep and whispers to him before he turns more fully to face her. His jacket is off, his white shirt unbuttoned revealing a defined expanse of chest, light red hairs, his sleeves rolled to the elbows.

He smiles at her and offers a hand 'I don't think I caught your name before.' She eyes him warily before turning away 'because I didn't say my name before.'

His grin falters slightly and he drops his hand back to the bar 'and what does a guy gotta do to get on a named basis with you?'

She feels a blush crawling up her neck, she wills it away and closes her eyes before fixing him with an icy look. 'Do you want to die?'

His expression changes then, suddenly his confident air drops and he shifts a little closer blush creeping up his face and murmurs a few inches from her face 'Does that mean I'll get to feel your lovely hands around my neck?'

Her jaw drops, usually that worked wonders for getting over interested folks away from her. Instead he seems to enjoy the prospect of her hurting him. The blush covers her face and she sees his eyebrows raise slightly, he looks smug.

Bristling she sighs but she doesn't get a negative aura from him. If anything his aura is teasing and gentle. She fixes him with another look, downs the rest of her drink and mutters 'It's Laurel.....'

He smiles at that 'I'm Julien and I was hoping you might do me the kindness of a dance, just one and I'll leave you alone the rest of the night, heck I'll even pay for your meal and drinks.'

She eyes him, insecurity taking over, this feels like a trap, one she's been the target of far to many times. Some guy says cute things, she let's her guard down a little, turns out it was some big joke at her expense, she leaves disappointed and her resolve to keep everyone at bay grows even more.

She freezes when she feels a hand on her chin, turning her face to fully meet his gaze Julien's face is gentle 'One dance, no funny business, just, you look like you'd be a worthwhile dance partner, usually I have to dance with one of those idiots.'

Julien gestures over his shoulder at his companions, they all are watching with great interest and Laurel feels a blush in her face again. Ugh these drinks were not helping her keep a cold exterior.

Minutely Laurel nods, and gently takes Julien's gloved hand in hers, he smirks as he guides her to the center of the bar, there is no real dance floor but the jaunty tune from the band forces people to create space, a twirling collection of bodies and heat.

Julien is in fact a good dancer, his long legs might give the impression of a gangly colt, but his movements are as sure as a mountain goat on a sheer cliff face. Julien can't stop himself from grinning over her head at his companions, their jaws hanging, as he spins her through the steps.

As the song comes to a close he hooks one of her legs around his hip, dipping her as he supports her low back, he notices the long line of muscles in her neck and for a moment has to wrestle with the idea of burying his face there, tasting the salt of her skin.

As she stand up against him, his senses return and instead he become acutely aware of the woman in front of him, her chest presses firmly to his, her lips parted slightly as she takes a few heavy breathes, a few beads of sweat hang at her temple. Her palms are pressed to his bare chest and he feels himself flush under her gaze, his heart beat rapid. Gently she pulls away from him, bowing slightly. 'Thank you for the dance....' she then turns quickly grabbing her stuff from the bar and makes a hasty exit, face bright red all the way to her ears.

Julien is dumbstruck for a moment before he turns back to his friends, they all stare at him wide eyed. He absently traces where her hands had settled on his chest and he sighs, his head swimming with sensation. Her muscles under his hands as he guided the dance, the little noises she made under her breath as they moved. He leans on his elbows, and he chugs the last of his Salty Bitters before smirking at his companions, 'I believe I won the bet gentlemen, pay up'

Outside in the ally way, Laurel tries to calm her breathing, her heart is rushing a million miles a minute, and the cool air removes the heat from her skin. She leans against the wall, trying to steady her shaking legs before she hears Julien's voice 'I won the bet, pay up'

Her heart sinks, once again she was the butt of a joke and anger wells up in her chest before her walls come back up.

It's late she realizes, too late to get the red flame ferns from Ophelia's friend so Laurel makes a slow walk back to the shop, she decides to get up early tomorrow, get the ferns and pumpkin bread for her and Ophelia for breakfast.

Unbeknownst to her, Julien peers down the street, he watches her leave. He notices how the moonlight shines off her short hair and watches her hips sway as he feels a deep sense of longing.

'Next time...next time I'll definitely touch her head.....'

#the arcana #the arcana julian #julian devorak #asra x apprentice #julien x apprentice #my apprentice #the arcana fanfiction #the arcana fanfic #the arcana fan apprentice #im not sure what this was #mostly self indulgent nonsense

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robininthelabyrinth · 6 years ago

Text

Fic: Should’ve Known Better (ao3) - Chapter 7: “In Which Everyone Else Objects”

Fandom: Flash, Legends of Tomorrow Pairing: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Iris West

A/N: For @coldwestallenweek - Day 7: Space

Summary: Seven sexy roleplay ideas that Barry, Len, and Iris came up with together…that were not good ideas.

Really, their lives would be so much easier if they weren’t all such sticklers for accuracy.

——————————————————————————————-

"Pretty cool, ain't it?" Mick asks proudly.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Iris exclaims. "I love it!"

"So cool!" Barry chimes in, beaming.

Len just nudges Mick approvingly with his shoulder. "Good one, partner."

Mick smirks. "Second I found out what it did, I came here," he says. "I knew you guys would appreciate it properly. Unlike the Legends."

"Oh?" Len drawls, his eyes narrowing. He's still a touch sore about the Legends stealing away his partner for a few months out of every year for missions, but he's agreed to accept it since it makes Mick happy. But if they've started not appreciating him properly again...

"Nah, nothing bad, don't start plotting revenge just yet. They just wanted me to give it back."

"I thought they'd loosened up about the whole stealing thing," Iris says.

"Me, too," Mick says with a shrug. "Dunno why they were so anxious about it - I checked the timeline, and no one was using it. As long as I get it back sometime that decade, no timeline impact. So it should be fine!"

"I can't believe they wanted you to give it back before we even had a chance to give it a test run," Barry says, reaching out and running his hand along the side of the bright green spaceship that Mick had produced seemingly out of nowhere. "Can we fly higher?"

"I can take you to the Moon if you like," Mick says proudly. "The thing's intergalactic."

"Do you gotta wear the new outfit to use it?" Len asks, gesturing at Mick. "Bright green ain't really anybody's color. Maybe Iris’. But definitely not you."

"No, I agree. Ain't my color at all. But I think the outfit’s part-and-parcel with the whole thing," Mick says, looking down at himself ruefully as he guides his friends through the air in the glowing-green replica of his old spacetime-ship that is emanating out of the green ring he'd found. He hadn't yet come up with anything it couldn't project if he just thought about it hard enough and really wanted it to work, and if there was one thing Mick Rory didn't lack, it was strength of will. "Whatever, though. Worth it for the cool stuff."

"No kidding," Iris gushes. "We can finally do a really good alien abduction scene with this!"

"Or a proper spaceship one without the Legends butting in at awkward moments," Len agrees. “The way they invariably do even when they’re supposed to be out on mission.”

"Where'd this ring even come from?" Barry wants to know. "And how many things can you make from it?"

"Basically anything, s'long as it's green. Least that's what the space cop that tried to nick me said, what little I heard, anyway. I wasn’t really listening."

"Awesome!"

Suddenly, there's a sharp rapping - knocking, really - on the outside of the spaceship.

"Not the Legends," Iris says. "Please don't be the Legends. We haven't even gotten to the sex yet!"

"Uh, Mick?" Ray's voice comes through the hull. He sounds apologetic.

All four of them sigh.

"Could you maybe land the ship? We - that is, Sara - well, also - okay, it's a bit complicated. Someone needs to talk to you. Urgently."

"Do we have to?" Iris mutters under her breath.

"We should," Barry says reluctantly.

"What do you say, Mick?" Len asks. "Stop or run?"

"He'll be intolerable if I run," Mick grumbles. "I'll land. Hopefully it'll be quick and we can get back to whatever roleplay you've decide on."

When they land, the green plane disappearing into Mick's ring once more, Sara is waiting, her arms crossed and her expression pinched, and there's someone in the same bright green outfit that Mick's currently in standing next to her.

"Seriously?" Sara demands. "Seriously?!"

“Hypocrite,” Iris coughs into her hand.

"Listen, you can't escape your destiny by running away from it," the guy says earnestly to Mick. "Trust me, I've tried. It's a lot to take in, I know -"

"He didn't run away," Sara says, glaring at the lot of them. "He ran towards."

"...sorry, what?"

"I don't actually want your ring," Mick explains. "I just wanna use it to let my friends act out their weird sexy roleplay thing. I'll put it back after."

"...sexy roleplay?" the guy in green says, his voice strangled. "You accepted the Green Lantern ring to use it in sexy roleplays?!"

"Not me," Mick corrects. "My friends. I'm ace, personally. But otherwise, yeah."

"Seriously, man?"

"That's what I said," Sara says with a sigh.

"I said I'll give it back after," Mick says. "I promise, you'll barely notice it was missing. Can you lot buzz off now?"

“You’re definitely killing the buzz,” Len agrees.

Mick rolls his eyes.

"It's not - you can't just - the Ring is a solemn duty - you can't use it as some sort of sex toy!"

"Seems like a pretty good sex toy to me," Iris says, "what with the 'take any shape you imagine and will'."

"...well, yes, but -!"

"Anyway, what's the problem with having us borrow it?"

"Having a Green Lantern ring makes you a part of the Green Lantern Corps!" the guy yelps. "You have to help protect the universe, not - not fuck around with it! Literally!"

"I keep telling you, I don't do any of the fucking," Mick says irritably. “I just make sure things work out, that’s all.”

“Everyone in the Corps is laughing at me right now,” the guy groans. “We’re giving humans such a bad reputation.”

"Hold up," Len says. "Mick, I thought you said space cop here was trying to nick you for stealing the ring thing."

"Yeah?"

"Sounds to me more like he's trying to recruit you."

Mick looks horrified. "Become a pig? Fuck no!" He starts trying to tug the ring off his finger. "Being a Legend's bad enough as is!"

"You can't just reject the ring now!" the guy exclaims. "If you do it in this time period instead of its original era, it'll go to the next person with the strongest willpower no matter where they are -"

Mick gets the ring off - his green costume disappearing and being replaced by his usual outfit - and flings it aside.

It hovers in mid-air, glowing softly green.

It drifts hopefully over towards Len.

"Not a chance in hell," Len tells it. "The fact that I'm about 90% of Mick's self-restraint doesn't actually make us one person. Nice try."

The ring dips in a manner that suggests a sigh, then abruptly zooms very quickly up into the air -

"Great. Now we'll never find it," the guy in green moans.

- and then straight back down to slip itself onto Iris' finger.

"Uh," Iris says. "I'm really flattered and all, but that ring finger's kinda already being used by my wedding ring..."

"You know," Barry says dreamily, "the skin-tight black-and-green uniform you've got on now looks really good on you."

"And you know I'm always up for some space-cop-and-robbers," Len agrees, his eyes equally avid.

"You've got to be kidding me," the guy says, putting his head into his hands.

"Oh, believe it," Sara says. "They're always like that."

"The universe is doomed."

#cwachangingchannels #coldwestallen #leonard snart #iris west #barry allen #mick rory #my fic

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haleruby · 4 years ago

Text

Slipping Through Your Fingers (3)

Characters/Pairings: established Mal/Evie*, eventual Mal/Evie/Reader* (Quim), Reader & the Rotten Four, Reader & Carlos, side Jaylos*.

*In the flashback, there are not really any “/” relationships more so “&”, iirc, but the start of feelings will be present for all ships.

>This part is Mal centric with you meeting Mal, platonic Jal, and hinted Jaylos.

(^Evie checking her nails in the background made me smile. They all have such badass shoes too.)

Summary: Mal’s visit to the condemned part of the Isle leaves her with more than just potential items to trade. A near death experience, a new friend (?), a pocket watch, and so many questions…?

Word Count: 4.2k

Notes: I am using a sideblog that is empty and not tagging bc this is only for your eyes, so no need to reblog/like, etc.

*chanting* Flashback, flashback, flashback…Please keep in mind the Rotten Four are not quite ride or die yet; the flashback section is not only about Shadow, but also how the four of them grow closer with time. The flashback is 13 to 74 memo-wise, so you will be able to tell when we get back to present time bc Shadow will react to Carlos in the dorm hall, but that will be in a while…

(This chapter is 13 to 18 memo-wise for context).

Also, as you know, I adapted the rules of the Isle and how the four met to a slight degree. Annnnd made up a section of the Isle among other things; it be like that sometimes. XD

- - - - -

Mal should not be jumping at shadows. Another distant noise sounds that could be a branch hitting against something or the rusted metal she is traversing settling, except her mind briefly conjures up something with claws following her. Exploring the condemned part of the Isle to score items for bartering was a good idea...In theory. She could get an edge over the other kids, could claim this area as another addition to her territory, and could get a boost in reputation for not only having survived, but thrived, if this goes successfully... That is a big if. Another gust of wind causes the old warehouse to positively groan as the holes, fissures, and cracks are filled with rushing air; it makes it seem alive for a moment. She has to kneel to keep her footing on the metal walkway that sways ever so slightly. Another sound makes her tense further until her mind supplies that it was a hoot from an owl, not a prowling creature or an odd, deformity riddled being that are alleged to dwell in this complex from the rumors and whispers. A white knuckled grip on one of the semi-intact rails is released, her palm comes away grimy from the rust and age. Get a grip. Mal is better than this. She is the daughter of the Mistress of All Evil and that comes with expectations. Her small satchel has her dagger and a few odds and ends she has picked up so far; however, she plans to do a sweep of all the levels. The condemned part of the Isle has a few skeletons of warehouses, some sort of obscure facility, and other buildings Mal has yet to place. A small hole in the barb wired fence allowed her to slip into the depressing premises. The state of decay found on the Isle is accelerated in this place likely because no one tries to somewhat keep it up or inhabit it. There is no grass, but gray-white gravel that would crunch under even the most light footed of individuals. The trees are more like thin sticks that were cobbled together and lack any leaves. Any color or street art is lacking and what once decorated the walls has since faded into indistinct ghosts of the former hues. The air seems heavier here and cooler than elsewhere on the Isle. It's creepy. Mal prides herself on being a cause of fear as opposed to someone who feels it, but this place does put her on edge. Teaming up with Jay crossed her mind due to his skills and having an extra set of eyes, but with eyes comes hands, so she discarded the idea. This area has not been mapped out, which means there is a preemptive advantage. Repeating the logic of that reasoning busies her as another walkway is crossed carefully, before metal gives way to slats of wood that look suspect considering the state of everything else, but they hold her weight. An office or store room could be made out from the ground floor, and that is the end goal. Only one more level to go, and then-. Chains suddenly rattling diverts her attention; a groan from the wind did not coincide with the noise.

The flickering circular beam of her lantern does not help with gauging things that are far away, but she still raises it above her head to extend the pool of light. It is too dusky to make anything out... Rationalizing kicks in before her imagination can in an effort to keep a level head: it could have been a mouse or bat, it could have been the rusty death trap settling again, it could have been one of the ancient pulleys finally giving way, and it could be nothing at all that would threaten her. Mal unfreezes after completing the list of possible reasons for that noise. Steps continue, though they are more measured. Green eyes squint when another catwalk is completed since the end of it leads to stairs that are not caked in rust or a worn out gray steel, but look like they were made out of coal. Ebony coats the banister and each individual step like a residue of ink; why are they black? It is the last obstacle between her and the overseer's office that probably has the best stuff in the entire warehouse. Drawing a metal measuring stick she snagged off a workbench from her satchel, Mal prods the bottom most step as a test. Nothing happens. "Anticlimactic," she mutters. Her voice sounds small within the vast, desolate space, it provides some much needed familiarity. If anything her reactions to this place spurs her to come back, because she needs to be without fear and stronger than a creepy abandoned building. "Come on." That was not so much encouragement as it was a self-directed order. Something falling somewhere below is chalked up to the wind as opposed to a warning. Her foot momentarily settles on the bottom step. Another step is quickly taken at the hesitation that would cause her mother to look at her in disdain, if she even bothered to look at all. Mal is now fully on the staircase, and that is when it all goes wrong. Small prickles of numbness set in like when her foot falls asleep from being in an awkward position for too long, before the soles of her feet feel disconnected from her body. Snapping her head to look down just reveals her leather boots that--Wait, they are more black than usual. There is something on her. The feeling infiltrates further up her feet to her ankles in an odd sensation of something being there but not quite that has her clumsily getting off the steps in a rush, almost tripping because it feels wrong. "Fuck!" Mal curses loudly. The darkness is going to eat her. Mal is backing up so quickly from the staircase to try and regain feeling in her lower legs that the dead end of the catwalk is forgotten. The sound of metal snapping is not registered because she is trying to scrape off whatever is latched on to her feet, until she feels something behind her give way. There was a rail there, but not anymore...Oh. The panic to her thought process suddenly ebbs away as the clarity of what happened is reinforced by falling backwards. Even if she survives the fall, who would come looking for her? Her mother pays her no mind aside from the occasional judgment or test that always has her coming up short. Jay is...Her trading partner, not really a friend, because attachments are weaknesses. The little runt, Carlos, is scared of her and she only sees him in passing with Jay; they hardly talk. She does not have anyone. The cold air snatches at her as she plummets a short distance, until it feels like it is coalescing into something else. Her eyes that were screwed shut, as if that would lessen the brutal impact, now crack open slightly. There should be an addition of a Mal shaped splatter to the dirty concrete flooring, instead she feels herself set down on it with more gentleness than she has probably been showed her entire life. What...?

Her heart is pounding, threatening to break free of her rib cage and her breathing is uneven and quick after the fall that she can clearly track from her new position on the ground level. She was up there and is now down here. Mal's eyes dart between the two positions, mind working to try and make it make sense. Motion in her peripheral vision has her scrambling away reflexively on her hands and knees; the lack of dignity of this retreat can be considered later. She lost her lantern, but a portion of the roof is missing so shafts of moonlight chases away the ever present gloom in this area. A shadow. Tendrils of darkness break off lazily before rejoining the central mass that is vaguely humanoid, if a person was dipped in viscous tar. Where are its eyes...? The dark figure slowly rises from a kneeling position, retreating to sit a distance away to remain on the same level as her, though she is certain if it stood, it would be taller than her. There is no move to rush or attack her, but Mal's eyes still flash a glowing emerald in warning. It is hard to gauge a reaction from the thing, but it feels like she is being assessed. Mal is simply staring, even though she should be running. A sudden brightness draws her attention to the side. The lantern sits undisturbed by the tendrils that just brought it back that now slink away to their owner, the yellow light glints off of something shiny too. Curiosity threatens to splice through the survival mode that is slowly dwindling to allow her heart beat to fall and breaths to occur more normally. Mal shifts to her knees now that feeling has returned to her feet and ankles, before she stands shakily. The dagger is pulled out smoothly from the satchel and directed at the figure, the slight tremor to her hand likely undermines any warning. "Try anything, and I'll hurt you." There is no response. Retrieving the lantern occurs quickly along with a glinting pocket watch that would be worth a ton at the bazaar, or help facilitate a great trade with Jay. Why was she given this? The reasoning is questioned, but this is the Isle and survival comes first, so of course the item is pocketed without a second thought. Keeping the possible threat within her line of sight is important. She did not navigate up the ramps, stairs, and walkways from this part of the warehouse; however, she can figure it out while also walking stiltedly in an effort to not turn her back on the shadow that still sits there calmly. She needs an exit. "Stay there," she warns lowly. Mal makes it to the crack in the loading door area, shimming under it so quickly, she scrapes her arms on some on the abrasive gravel on the other side. As soon as she is out in the yard, she runs. The daughter of Maleficent should be the one to inspire the running, but now she is a teen, who is shaken from a near death experience and the thing that cared enough to save her. . . . . . . "I don't care about quantity, I want quality" "Mal, you are driving a hard bargain" "How many of-" A button is pressed to allow the metallic face of the watch to flip open with ease revealing the beautiful ivory watch face inside, "-these do you have again?" Mal poses the question curiously. Green eyes flick to Carlos who is eyeing the watch like it is some kind of modern marvel. The blond said something about gear springs, semi-automated parts, and other mechanical words, but she just wants a good trade from Jay, not an explanation of the device's intricacies. "So, I want it all or nothing." That easy grin is still in place, though it tightens slightly around the edges; he knows his father would regret this slipping away, even if they are giving up a lot. "Okay, ok fine, it's a deal," he relents. A finely carved box of metal is slid over with a few treasures from their wares handpicked by Mal nestled inside. A wicked smile is given as the items exchange hands. "Can I just hold it?" Carlos requests it meekly, though there is an eagerness to his expression. "Please?"

"What are ya gonna give me for it, if I let you?" "Uhm..." Carlos being at a loss of what to say in reply is price enough; that was a cute face. The watch is handed over with a chuckle. Jay is swift and has very sticky fingers, plus he knows the blond would never try and steal from him, let alone anyone else, which is probably why he is viewed as a runt out of the other villain kids. "Sooo," The word is drawled out to slow down Mal's movements to pack up after doing business; sometimes she will linger and they can chat, "-where did you get a score like that?" "It even keeps track of the month..." Carlos mumbles in awe, messing with the knobs. "Like I'm going to reveal my source?" "There is talk you braved the condemned area," Jay quips back. He did not personally hear the boasting, but has caught enough whispers and rumors from others that indicate she somehow managed to survive it and is now saying it is her area. Reputation is hard to gain on the Isle, unless you come from a first rate villain, but even then kids can be cruel and you need to prove yourself. Mal happens to be good at both. "Wouldn't take a genius-" A nudge is given to Carlos, who is engrossed in figuring out the features of the watch, "-to figure it out." "You know how big the condemned area is," she reasons. Imagining Jay going in that place and not making it out like she did causes a bolt of something to shoot down her spine, even if she is not attached... "You know how I operate. I would not have done the reveal unless the area was already scouted and picked clean, plus it's mine, so back off." The threat seems odd directed at her trading partner, but it is for his own good. There is no further pause in collecting her things, before she strides out of the empty classroom, ignoring the way she can feel them both watching her. . . . . . . Mal is not sure why she came back... The need to prove herself after the fear that gripped her last time was the stated reasoning behind it, but there is a burning curiosity beneath the need to overcome this supposed self-imposed test. It has been a week since she last ventured to the condemned part of the Isle. The increased infamy that causes students to part for her more abruptly and a single glance to constitute a warning is still being enjoyed. Mal did survive whatever horrors that are supposed to be contained here, but only barely. Previously the whispers of this place where like old tales or vague warnings, but now it is an actual topic of hushed conversation. A part of her regrets going through with her plan, because now there is more interest in a place that was somewhat forgotten. Not that she cares about her fellow students... The shadow thing did save her, so drawing attention to its place of residence did leave her with an inkling of guilt. She has not told anyone about it, aside from reinforcing the area is her's by tagging it with her trademark graffiti. It is doubtful anyone would get close enough to see the distinctive purple, black, and green shape of Maleficent's cowl with the words 'Long Live Evil', but if they do, it serves as an additional deterrent along with the overall dreary atmosphere. Special care was taken to not tag the warehouse the shadow is in, but a rusted truck, sides of other buildings, and old signs were all fair game, though she still felt like she was being observed the whole time. Now she is back in front of the loading dock...

The lantern is slid under first, before she slips under the garage bay door with little resistance. She freezes just within the confines of the space, still lingering near the exit that decreases in usability the further she gets from it, before willing her feet to take the first few tentative steps. Overcoming this is important for her future ability to be fearless, right? Avoiding climbing anything too high seems like a good plan in case the shadow is feeling less charitable, so she sticks to the sprawling ground floor inspecting things and nooks that were glanced over the first time. Mal still can't figure out what this place was used for... There are enough empty hanging hooks and vaguely torture chamber looking devices for her imagination to supply macabre ideas. Pulleys suspend chains that feed to a few machines, making it appear more like a shop floor. There are racks and racks of boxes piled along one side, but the crates are sealed shut and would need to be pried open. A crunch of glass underfoot has her pausing in trying to puzzle out what a machine could be used for to see she stepped on some glasses. Picking them up, Mal inspects the black frames that allude to people having been here at one point...But what happened to them? Her mind goes to the shadow. The figure has yet to make an appearance, considering how they left things last time, she can't really say she expected otherwise. Mal knows what she saw...But not seeing it again is casting a little doubt on what happened. The sound of the wind causing the usual creaks and groans draws her attention to behind her, but nothing looks out of place. Maybe she should be proactive? Waiting for it to reveal itself may lead to nothing happening at all. "I know you're here somewhere..." Mal calls out. Again another stretch of silence, but this one feels more charged. "Come out now." That gets a reaction. "Damn! How did you know?" The question is asked in genuine surprise, but also admiration. Mal jumps at the familiar voice that comes from the end of the short conveyor belt that leads to the machine she is near. "Jay?!" She half exclaims the name. Realizing she was being tailed by a master class thief would explain the few wary glances over her shoulder, but that was attributed to being on edge about the shadow. He is not who she wanted to see at all tonight. "Yeah, who did you expect?" "You shouldn't be here!" The question is ignored, her tone has a seriousness that goes beyond wanting to safeguard territory. "Leave." "I'm not moving in on you, just wanted to see is all. Carlos would love this place." His grin falters ever so slightly at the way Mal is regarding him tensely, because he did think they were kind of...friends beneath the bartering. Why is she so worked up over this? He moves around the end of the conveyor belt, taking a step towards her to show his empty hands that have not pinched or taken anything. "Seriously, don't worry," he assures. "That's not why-" The thudding weight of chains crashing into the length of the conveyor belt causes it to buckle under the pressure with a metallic shriek. Rusted metal links now serve as a divider between the two. The air seems to have grown colder too, and yet no draft has rocked the old structure. Was that a warning...? "Wow," Jay comments with a low whistle. She can feel the tension that must allude to latent magic, even if it was supposed to be banned from the Isle; this is not natural. The warehouse didn't feel like this before and only one thing has changed: Jay's presence. "You seriously need to go."

Dark brown eyes glance up at the ceiling in scrutiny, trying to figure out what just happened. "This place is a death trap." His steps hasten to reach Mal, so he can retrieve the stubborn girl, who wants to remain in a place that was clearly condemned for a reason just because of a reputation boost. "Come on." Before his hand can reach her, a tendril of black lashes out like a viper from the shadow cast by the bulk of the machine; it coils ready to strike, locked in on the twitches and movements of his hand, but ultimately waits only inches away. "What the Hell?!" Mal is on guard, glancing around the space for the figure, but it would be hard to spot where they are now. "Take a step back," she requests. "You're doing this, I-?" "No, just let me see something," Mal interjects. A step away from Mal correlates to the tendril losing the prior tension that would surpass a coiled spring, though it remains at the ready between them like an affronted snake. Is it protective...? Her own magic is not threatened, even though it should be with that right in front of her. "He's not going to hurt me. He is my-" She almost said friend without thinking, but tamps down that sentiment, "-is someone I know from school and from trading," she recovers relatively quickly. Her mind works to contain this potentially dangerous situation; they are out of their element and lack home field advantage with a thing that ignores the rules of the Isle. "We won't hurt you either, if you don't hurt us..." "Who are you talking to???" Jay stage whispers. "Something else lives here." "...Something?" Mal elects not to respond. She could not explain it even if she wanted to, instead the tendril is observed as it lowers tentatively before dissolving away completely. The coldness remains, but there is no more living darkness present. Green eyes again rove the area, snagging on the catwalks and ramps that can just be made out with the lantern light to see if the shadow is around, but it's hard to tell. "Mal, explain." "I don't owe you an explanation. You followed me," she counters firmly at the expectation plain on his face. Jay made her worry and she should not be worrying. "I already told you: something else is here with us, and it obviously favors me to you, so you need to be careful." Is that a stretch? Maybe, but she does not want him traipsing through this area without her, since she is the one that managed to calm, or at least mollify, the figure that lives here. "Yeah, but what and where and why?" "A shadow, all around here, and I don't know." Though sarcasm laces the answers to his rapid fire questions, Jay is undeterred because now he gets why she was reacting that way earlier; she was looking out for him. The two may not be typical friends, but they have an understanding and will keep tabs on each other. But still...How is this possible? "A shadow?" He repeats the term slowly, brows curving up in confusion. "You must have been real bored to make up an imaginary friend." The joke feels a little forced to his own ears, but retaining that ease--that grin is needed. "It almost took your hand off; there is nothing imaginary about it." "Could be a trick of light, or, like, shadow," he brushes off the comment, though he did move away from the shadows cast by the machine as a precaution. "You trying to scare me as a prank? A shadow?" Jay repeats again in disbelief. "Don't be more idiotic than usual..."

"Make it show itself then, if it's allied to you—your minion." Mal grits her teeth at the challenge that was just issued by Jay; it does not set her on edge because he is not a real adversary or combatant, but there is some mutual respect, so she does not want to fail. "I called it off you, didn't I?" She asks the question rhetorically. "You really want to test both of us?" A step forward is taken. Physically she knows she cannot intimidate the guy, who was the only one not to immediately back off from the daughter of Maleficent and all that title entailed when they first began school. Plus, he is way taller, but her glower still holds an unsettling intensity. Jay shrugs, but does not commit one way or the other. A third party decides the lukewarm standoff. Darkness seeps up from the ground like a small, sluggish spout of oil was just struck between the pair, prompting Jay to give it a wide berth, while Mal stands her ground. An object eventually impedes the flow, before the tendrils leave. The two pause looking at each other and then the rock, before Mal plucks it from the ground and turns it over in her palm. It isn't just a rock. "It's even purple..." Jay mumbles the observation. A geode takes up the majority of her palm. While it looked like a plain, brown spherical rock initially, turning it around allowed the crystal interior to catch the light revealing shards of lavender protruding from the interior like mini stalagmites. It's pretty. The comment about the color takes a moment to register, but he is right... There was thought put into this...gift, peace offering, tribute...? Mal questions how she is referring to the figure for a second, if it is capable of a thought process like this, which may seem inane, but shows attention to detail—attention to her. "See?" She raises the rock, no longer using 'it' or 'the shadow', but giving something in return: a name. "Shadow is real."

End Note: Pretty sure the next section has a few weeks time skip (with explanation of what happens during them) bc I want to bring Evie into the fold and have the Rotten Four grow closer so...I haven’t gotten to editing them yet, but I did skim some of them.

A Mal and Shadow scene fluff turned angst, a Rotten Four scene <3, and Carlos & Evie is my guess for next chap.

#for quim who is awesome and nice!#<3 <3 <3

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foreverwhelmed · 7 years ago

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My Brother’s Guide to DC Superheroes

He made this as my Hanukkah present and I thought it was too funny not to share :)

A superhero guide from someone who is not at all qualified to make a superhero guide. Here goes nothing!

Superman:

Superman is easily the most overpowered hero in the D.C. universe. He can fly, has laser vision, x-ray vision, super strength, super speed, and probably a lot more. Sporting a blood red cape (Edna Mode would not approve), a suit with giant letter “S” on the front (which totally doesn’t stand for Superman), and red underwear fashionably worn outside his pants (has nobody from earth instructed him on how to correctly wear underwear?), Superman is a very well-dressed hero. His secret identity is a journalist named Clark Kent, who would look exactly like Superman, had it not been for his combing back his curly q and wearing glasses, which make the two personas completely indistinguishable. Superman’s only weakness is a fictional element, which he should really be able to avoid quite easily given his other powers. Although Superman may seem indestructible, he has one key weakness (other than Kryptonite), the sun. The sun is the source of all Superman’s powers, so in order to defeat him, all one must do is destroy the sun. What could go wrong? P.S. Side note, see this website here:

https://what-if.xkcd.com/49/

for what could, and could not go wrong.

Batman:

One of the most famous heroes in D.C. history, Batman is a very successful superhero despite not having any actual powers. However, what he lacks in superpowers, he makes up for in his multi-billion dollar net worth. Similarly to Superman, Batman also wears a cape (tsk tsk tsk), a suit with a bat on the front, a mask, and underwear worn outside his pants (Because if there’s one thing that makes people think, ‘Wow. That guy deserves my respect and admiration,’ it’s wearing underwear outside your pants). Along with the suit, Batman also carries around his handy dandy utility belt. This belt carries everything a hero would possibly ever need, including smoke, gas, and stun pellets, a tranquilizer gun, batarangs (not a typo, this is how they are actually spelled), various types of grenades, tracers, a rebreather (similar to an oxygen tank), glue globules, and much MUCH more (how heavy is this thing? How can he even walk, let alone fight crime with this thing on?). Although Batman’s weaknesses are not clearly stated (a.k.a. I didn’t feel like looking them up), he is just a regular human being, meaning that he is vulnerable to bullets, falling vending machines, flaming cacti, the word “Martha,” and much MUCH more. Batman’s alter-ego is super rich guy Bruce Wayne, a billionaire philanthropist. Overall, Batman is definitely one of the coolest in comic book history.

Cyborg:

Cyborg is a part-human part-robot superhero. Victor Stone was a popular high school football player with a promising future, until he died (but since we obviously both know how, I’ll spare you the details). Luckily, his father resurrected him and replaced many of his limbs with robotic parts (*COUGH* Darth Vader *COUGH*). Armed with a jetpack, arm cannon, and an upbeat catchphrase, Cyborg is a formidable crime fighting robot-person hybrid. Since we both clearly know everything there is to know about Cyborg, I will leave this section off right here, as to not restate what you know...I mean what we both already know.

Green Lantern:

Hal Jordan is a guy with willpower, and he’s in a space police thing and has a ring that can make stuff…I’m gonna be honest, I know basically nothing about Green Lantern, so I’m just gonna move on.

Wonder Woman:

Wonder Woman is a crime fighting Amazonian warrior. Sculpted from clay by Queen Hippolyta (hey wasn’t that the Amazonian from Theseus?) and given life and superhuman abilities by Aphrodite and other Greek gods (isn’t Wikipedia great?), Wonder Woman is a demigod with a list of powers rivaling that of Superman. She has super speed, strength, reflexes, intelligence, longevity, and much more, to compliment her hand-to-hand combat skills. But she has more than just her superhuman abilities. She also has an invisible jet, a lasso that makes people tell the truth, a sword and shield, and wrist deflector shield things (to use the technical term), and probably some more bizzare things I’ve never heard of. Sporting red white and blue colors on her super suit, Wonder Woman’s color scheme seems oddly American for a character based on the Amazons from Greek mythology (another illusion shattered). Wonder Woman’s alter ego is Diana Prince, who probably has a job and/or does some cool stuff. Her weaknesses include...wait a second, does she actually have any weaknesses? At least Superman has kryptonite. Oh my god, she might be more overpowered than Superman! Anyway, with her countless abilities, powers, and skills, Wonder Woman is among the most powerful superheroes in the D.C. universe.

Aquaman:

Aquaman is one of the most...interesting superheroes on this guide. With countless jokes being told at his expense, Aquaman is considered by man to be the viola section of the Justice League. His powers are pretty typical, such as his super strength and super speed, but what stands out is his ability to talk to and control aquatic creatures (you thought Squirrel Girl was scary, just wait until you face Great White Shark Man or Electric Eel Person). In addition to his powers, Aquaman has his trusty pitchfork, which he probably uses for something magicy or sea related. Aquaman’s super suit has a very...interesting color scheme, with a combination of an orange-yellow shirt and green pants that any elementary school art teacher would tell you clash with each other (that is when he chooses to wear a shirt at all). Aquaman’s real name is Arthur Curry, and as King of Atlantis, you might think he has better things to do than fight crime on the surface, but who knows? Maybe Atlantis is run by the citizens, or maybe the King is just a figurehead, and the lionfish and octopi have been ruling this entire time! Anyway, between the pitchfork, mind control, and countless jokes, Aquaman is a very unique superhero.

The Flash:

Bartholomew “Barry” Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, may or not be the fastest superhero in the entire superhero universe. Although his list of superpowers is not as long as Superman or Wonder Woman’s The Flash is not to be underestimated. The Flash’s most famous superpower is his notorious super speed, which allows him to get anywhere in a Flash (get it?). In addition, he has super agility and stamina, has a healing factor, and is really smart. Using his speed as his main tool for fighting crime, Bartholomew doesn’t really use any weapons or equipment, other than his suit which prevent him from dying when he goes for a run (at least it’s not a cape). This suit is bright red with a yellow lightning symbol on the center picturing a Flash of lightning (get it?). When he isn’t fighting crime, Barty probably spends his time doing super smart sciency things. Of all the heroes on this guide, The Flash is the only one who has had a Netflix original series created about him. With his intelligence, suit, easiness to make puns about, and super speed rivaled by only Superman and Dash from The Incredibles, Bartho is a pretty cool hero.

Robin:

Note: Due to the high number of Robins in the D.C. universe, I will be referring to the hands down best incarnation of Robin ever created, Richard Grayson from the 1966 live action Batman TV series. With that out of the way, let’s begin. Robin, the Boy Wonder, is probably the most well known sidekick in superhero history. Similarly to Batman, he lacks any superpowers. However, what Robin lacks in powers he makes up for in his extraordinary skills, such as acrobatics, hand-to-hand combat, escapology, investigation, and of course, driving (that’s true! Check this website here to see for yourself. Or don’t. Either way. I don’t really care.)

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_Grayson_(Batman_1966_TV_Series)

In addition, Robin also has his own utility belt, equipped with whatever is convenient to the plot. Robin’s suit consists of a red shirt, yellow cape (why a superhero who can’t fly wears a cape is beyond me), and green underwear worn outside his pants (*sigh*). In addition, he wears a black mask to conceal his identity, similarly to the Incredibles (but worse, obviously). Robin’s legal guardian is famous rich guy Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman (*Gasp*)! Although powerless, Robin is a formidable foe, and a trustworthy sidekick. “Holy knit-one purl-two Batman!” (A real quote from the TV show)

#superheores #superman #batman #wonder woman #aquaman #green lantern #cyborg #the flash #robin #handy dandy guide #mystuff

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rickrakontoys · 7 years ago

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Justice League Very VERY flawed, with numerous problems, but it has enough entertainment value to make it worth a watch. 6.75/10 ***SPOILER TALK*** The Good: - The cast works very well together, and for the most part are all likeable. - Despite the little screentime spent to establish them, Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg mesh naturally into this world. The decision to make Aquaman this hard-drinking dudebro type helps make him stand out from the others. Flash being made much younger here gives him an interesting contrast to the more experienced warriors of the team. Cyborg wrestles with his own existence and his ties to alien technology. I would watch movies about any of these characters! - Wonder Woman is still great here, and they try to explain why she was out of action for so long after WW1. Steve Trevor is her Bucky (what pushes her buttons... Bruce gets called an asshole for using Steve to chastise Diana) - Superman finally gets some good moments to be... Superman here, though they are few. Most of his scenes are memorable and fun, escpecially with the Flash. His whole engagement with the League after his resurrection was great. - The added levity here helps to break up the dreary look of the film. Though some of the quippiness was off-putting, for the most part it works. - This was a marked improvement upon Batman v Superman. But oddly, it could have used a longer runtime to fill in the numerous gaps in the story and help the movie flow more. The Bad: - The plot in general is garbage. Just... awful. There is only a bare minimum of a story here to get the League together. - Steppenwolf... sucks. He is Malekith from Thor 2 bad. He looks awful. His design and dialogue generic as hell. His motivation is mere cartoon villainy. It is at least somewhat satisfying to see the entire League beat the shit out of him. Superman and Wonder Woman pummel him good at the end. But he leaves no impression at all. Why did he have to be fully CGI??? What is with the DCEU and big, grey, CGI monster men as the final boss battle (Doomsday, Ares, whatever the fuck that thing in Suicide Squad was)??? - The beginning of the movie is incoherent, disjointed, and hard to follow. Much of the movie consists of just... scenes of stuff happening without a solid throughline or flow. The opening of the movie is a scene with Batman that immediatley devolves into Synder's incoherent numbing action. Wonder Woman gets a nice action scene fighting terrorists, but it is completely detached from the rest of the movie and serves no purpose. - They just sorta show Atlantis without much setup, expecting us to just know what is happening and who Mera is... She is just... there. No establishing scene or shot. Feels like a lot is missing. - Themyscira is shown again. Still bad green screening like in Wonder Woman. Now with more metal bikini armor... there is a scene of Steppenwolf attacking the Amazons for the Mother Box they have that goes on too long. - The Mother Boxes... more power cubes/boxes acting as McGuffins??? Nothing about them was explained very well. They were just... powerful evil things Steppenwolf wants. Cyborg can interact with them. They terraform worlds into Apokalips... yawn. Didn't Zod already do the terraforming villain plot? Only... better??? - The way the League resurrects Superman was... baffling. Batman just guesses the Mother box can bring him back? He and Wonder Woman start ranting about "ethics"??? Predictably, this revival invalidates his death in BvS. Also, they show everyone mourning Superman at the start. Nothing in the movies show that he inspired any hope at all. BvS showed everyone fearing him or distrusting him. They are relying solely on the audience's familiarity with his character's real world legacy to elicit sympathy. -To revice Supes, they have to do this elaborate procedure of dropping the box into the kryptonian fluid pool with Flash zapping it as it touches the fluid, but don't explain why they have to do it like that... why do they need to drop it?! They just leave their mother box unattended after Superman revives just so Steppenwolf can just steal it immediately??? Where did Cyborg even hide the third box where he could just pop up suddenly with it in his hands in the first place? If they are so important, why did the Atlanteans and Themysira just leave their boxes out in the freakin open in big rooms instead of... deeeeep underground in a damn vault in a bigger box surrounded by death traps and fire and lava and shit??? - Steppenwolf sets up base in Russia or some old soviet country. And the movie keeps showing this random russian family for some reason throughout (reminded me of Sokovia in Age of Ultron, but here it was done very sloppily). Also, this giant apokalips dome thing is built there and no one in any other country notices??? - Danny Elfman's score is forgettable save for two instances... when he calls back to his old 89 batman theme, and when he plays a few notes from the John Williams Superman theme... these callbacks are pointless, and serve only to remind you of better movies from a bygone era. - Good god... Superman's CGI mouth. It is in the FIRST SCENE of the movie. It looks terrible. It looks expensive. It looks unnatural. A fake mustache for Henry Cavill woulda saved them time and money. - The flashback scene explaining the three mother boxes felt like the Lord of the Rings prologue. A green lantern was shown... cuz fan service. - The entire action finale was more numbing Snyder bullshit full of bright explosions, gunfire, and single color theme (red in this case). There is no style or wit here. Just CGI overload. It gets better once the team confront Steppenwolf directly. - The movie looks kinda... ugly in general. - Lois again has little to do, but i guess its ok since this is a League movie and she's a glorified cameo. - Batman was pretty useless here. He gets his ass handed to him quite often. Suppose that is the point since his power is "I'm rich". Plus he's old now and doesnt move quite as fast. I still like Affleck as Batman. - ok, i gotta stop. Sounds like I'm being harsh on the movie but that is only because the Justice League deserves AMAZING rather then just "passable". This reeks of too many hands in the pot, and the result is a mess... but at least it is a fun mess. I would watch it again, unlike BvS or Suicide Squad, which i can barely sit through 10 minutes of anymore...

#justice league #movie review

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avengersnthings · 7 years ago

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Fireworks (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Summary: IT’S STEVE’S BIRTHDAY!!!

Word Count: 1,504

Warnings: Fluff

A/N: Hello, everyone! I know this is short and it’s kind of crappy but I just had to write something about the birthday boy! So enjoy and Happy Captain America Day! Also, if you would like to be added to my tag list, just let me know!

Tag List: @mp938368 @pcdmesamidala @thatgirlsar @jumperswellies @quicksoldier @kitkatgaming @marvelfandom-stuff @itsmaytimetosaygoodbye @agentraven007 @marvelgoateecollection @thaniya82 @thats-so-rhyan @hymnofthevalkyries

MASTERLIST

Beep, Beep, Beep, Be-

Abruptly waking up, you swiftly turn on your side to shut off the incessant beeping coming from the alarm clock resting on your bedside table. Rolling onto your back, your eyes cast upon the peacefully sleeping figure next to you. Chest softly rising up and down, a small smile encompasses your face as you reach out to brush the soft blonde locks out of your favorite pair of eyes in the whole world. Today was the birthday of the love of your life and you were going to make it the best day ever.

After all, you only turn 99 once.

Trying to sit up as quietly as you can in order to not wake up the sleeping figure next to you, you climb out of the bed and begin to make your way towards the door. With once last look at Steve who laid peacefully asleep, you quietly shut the door as you made your way towards the kitchen. Deciding on making Steve his favorite breakfast, you hastily grabbed the necessary ingredients in order to give him breakfast in bed before he woke up.

Once everything was finished and on the tray, you tip-toed back to your shared bedroom to find Steve still sound asleep. With another small smile on your face, you placed the tray down on the bedside table so that you could wake Steve up.

Sitting down on the bed next to him, you once again brushed the soft blonde locks out of his eyes as you looked lovingly at him. Seeing him stir just a tad at your touch, you leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss to his plump pink lips. Pulling away slowly, you were greeted with long eyelashes fluttering open to reveal your favorite pair of eyes in the whole world. Smile growing wider, your fingers continued to weave themselves through the soft blonde locks as Steve looked up at you.

“Good morning, Handsome,” You quietly said as a smile graced Steve’s lips.

“Morning, Beautiful,” Steve replied as he sat up in bed. Reaching his hands out, Steve cupped your cheeks in his hands as he pulled your face towards his. Lips meeting in a breathless kiss, Steve savored the feeling of your soft lips against his slightly chapped ones. Pulling away ever so slightly, Steve’s smile grew even wider as he felt your fingers tug gently on the strands of his hair.

“Happy birthday, Steve,” You said with once last peck on his lips. Pulling back even further, you sat back on your heels as you reached over and grabbed the tray full of breakfast items. Placing it delicately on his lap, you sat back as you saw Steve eagerly grab the utensils on the tray. “Made you your favorite. Waffles and toast.”

“Doll,” Steve breathed out, looking up at you. “You’re the best. Have I ever told you that?”

“Only about a billion times,” You laughed as you took a bite from his toast. “Now, c’mon. It’s your birthday. I have big plans for you, mister.”

“Oh?” Steve asked, quirking up an eyebrow.

“Yes!” You laughed once more, this time gently pushing his arm. “Now finish up and get dressed. We have a big day ahead of us, birthday boy!”

Watching you spring up from the bed to go get ready, Steve smiled as he watched your retreating figure. “Man, I’m so in love with her.”

“Steve, oh, c’mon already!” You shouted gleefully as you grabbed onto your boyfriend’s hand. Trying to drag his enormous self with you, all Steve could do was laugh.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise!” You said with a smile as you continued to drag him. “Now let’s go!”

“Okay, okay,” Steve laughed as he allowed himself to be dragged by you to the car.

“Where are we?” Steve asked as you pulled into a parking lot filled with cars.

Giving him a sly smile, you got out of the car. “C’mon, you’ll see.” Once again dragging your boyfriend behind you, you stopped once you reached the front gates. “Ta-da!”

“A fair?” Steve asked in shock as you spread your arms out to display the rides and game booths before you.

“Yes!” You said happily as you took Steve’s hand in yours. “I know you haven’t been to one of these in years, considering you’re saving the world every other day, so I thought it would be fun for your birthday to take you to one where you could relax and just be Steve and not Captain America.”

“Doll,” Steve breathed out as he looked at you. “This is the best. I love it.”

A smile erupting on your face, you stood on your tip-toes to place a loving kiss onto his cheek. “Glad you liked it. But the day’s just beginning! Let’s go have some fun!”

As the night was drawing to a close, Steve could honestly say that this was the best birthday ever. Nothing compared to the feeling that Steve got as he watched you drag him all around the fair with a huge smile on your face. At every ride that you rode, you always held his hand tightly to reassure yourself that you were safe because you had Steve right beside you. At every game that you played, Steve couldn’t help but smile at you as your tongue stuck out just a bit in concentration as you tried to win him an American themed teddy bear because “Steve! It’s just like you! All American and cuddly!”

All too soon the day was turning to night on the best birthday Steve had ever had. There the two of you were, leisurely strolling down the dirt path lit up with the various colors from the rides hand in hand. In Steve’s free hand he held the American themed teddy bear that you won for him while in your free hand you held blue cotton candy. Steve didn’t know where the two of you were heading, but he didn’t care. He was just overjoyed that he was spending the day with his best girl.

“Thank you so much, (Y/N),” Steve said, breaking the comfortable silence that surrounded you. “Today has been the best birthday that I have ever had.”

“You’re welcome, Steve,” You replied as you pecked his cheek once more. “But the night’s not over just yet. We still have one last thing to do.”

“And what’s that?” Steve asked as he tried to stop the blush from creeping up onto his face. Whenever you kissed him, without fail, he would start blushing incessantly.

“This,” You breathed out as you stopped on the dirt path. The path that you were taking led to a small lake in the middle of the fair. Pulling Steve along, you guided him through the dark to a small paddle boat that was resting on the sand. “Are you up for a little boat ride and a show?”

“Show?” Steve questioned as he sat down in the boat. With a mighty push the two of you were off as you paddled your way towards the middle of the lake.

“You’ll see,” You teased as you flashed him a bright smile. After a little bit, you finally reached the center of the lake where you could see all of the stars shining brightly. Turning in your seat, you dug through the back until you found what you were looking for.

“Doll, what are you-?” Steve started but soon stopped once he saw what you turned around with. In your hands were two paper lanterns that cast a warm glow across your face.

“I know it’s probably stupid,” You started with a sheepish look on your face. “But I thought we could end the night by releasing lanterns into the sky like in the movie Tangled. I just know how much you loved that movie.”

A smile grew wide on Steve’s face as he reached out for one of the lanterns. “Doll, I would love to.”

Taking his own lantern in his hands, he counted down from three until the two of you released the lanterns. As the paper lanterns floated up towards the night sky, Steve stretched his arm behind you until they came to rest on your shoulder. The lanterns floated away, two little faint glows in the distance, until they twinkled out of sight. Just when Steve was about to say something, the night sky was lit up once more as fireworks exploded above the two of you in flashes of red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and every other color in the rainbow.

“Happy birthday, Stevie,” You said over the deafening booms of the fireworks above you. “Hope it was everything you wanted and more.”

“Doll,” Steve grinned as he tucked a lock of hair behind your ear. “You’re all that I wanted and more.” Pulling you into him, Steve’s lips found yours once more as the fireworks above you went off in a colorful explosion. And man, did that kiss put those fireworks to shame.

#avengers x reader #avengers imagine #avengers one shot #avengers oneshot #avengers drabble #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers one shot #steve rogers oneshot #captain america x reader #captain america drabble #steve rogers drabble #captain america imagine #captain america one shot #captain america oneshot

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rpchive · 7 years ago

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Sixty Eighth Encounter-- The Ties That Bind Us

no comment tbh

Silky: Um, before the ship lands, just a few little questions for you guys... What's up? Silky: I'm still a little confused about what happened with you, but what the hell happened to Collin?? Collin: Oh, right, you weren't there for that. I uh... sorta became a demigod recently, apparently? Silky jokingly pats her armor down briefly before going "Oh, guess I missed my letter to Hogwarts..." Collin: To where? Is that some place in your universe? Silky: ...Ah, it was a joke, sorry. But honestly, how in the world did /that/ happen? Collin: We were paying Barbell and company a visit, and while we were there a bunch of cultists tried to bring back an evil god named Israphel. Their leader screwed up my hand with tainted magic, then kidnapped me when we tried to confront her. After that, she tried to turn me into one of the other magical gods so she could control them through me, but I... sorta got hooked up to an entire pantheon and broke free of her instead. Silky: Nothing good ever comes of cultists anywhere, huh? Collin: Not really, although being like this sorta makes me feel like I fit in a little better around here, honestly. Silky: Well, as long as there's no negative side-effects or something I guess it can't be all bad? At least you seem to be adjusting well. Collin: Nothing bad so far, although getting used to literal gods talking to me in my head took some getting used to. Still, I could shoot lightning and open portals with just my hands, so this just feels like a natural evolution to me. Silky: Well, if memory serves me right, you couldn't be in a better relationship either. Tori seems to be pretty well acquainted with sudden changes and odd powers, sometimes all at once. As long as it's working out, I think you'll be okay. Collin: Oh man, you have no idea. For once, I'm the one having a spontaneous drastic change. Who'd of thought? Nydins: Looks like we might be landing soon. I doubt it'll take all of us to let Nine know what happened... Collin: What, we don't wanna dogpile their front door all trying to talk at once? Nydins: No, really it's more like if we actually need to stay for something then everyone should come out. As it stands, there's somebody injured on board, so if anything does happen, we should guard them too. Collin: That's... a fair point. How's the kid doing, anyway? Nydins: No idea; nobody's checked since we brought them in. Except for Rio, but she's still there. Now that I think about it, she's probably never seen anybody actually get hurt before... Collin: Oh dear... Should I go check on her? Nydins: If you want to? It's up to you; either way, we'll be landing in a bit. Collin: Alright, just give me a few. I'll try to be quick. Collin heads out for XL's room. Rio and XL are the only ones in the room besides the child who, at the moment, is occupying the metal bed XL uses for patients. The fact that their sheet hasn't been pulled over their head seems to be a good enough sign. In the light of the room, you can actually make out a little bit more about their humanoid form. They don't seem to be very large, so they're likely actually still a child; they have short, messy, black hair that, at the moment, is covering their eyes; and from beneath the hair you can just barely make out freckles all over their face.

I’ve been meaning to mention for a while now that Fawkes’ lantern is in XL’s room, but we kept leaving it out of our IC commentary for some reason!

Collin: Uh, knock knock? How's everything in here? Turning to face the door, XL 'looks' at Collin. "Looks like a common stab wound that was...somehow half healed by the time I started to help. No internal bleeding; no internal organs; I'd say he's whatever Karumet is. As for magical damage, I'm not totally sure how to read what I'm seeing. Looks below average; I'm guessing they tried to defend themself or...something." Collin: Unfortunately this stuff is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. Still, at least things don't sound dire or anything. XL: Seems like it. I guess they lucked out, but what in the world will we do with them? They're a kid; they can't just go dimension-hopping; especially not when we can't go two days without a big fight of some sort. Collin: Well, we're going back to Kujaar, right? Maybe they'll have a place for them? I'm sure they'd be glad to have another Kleivenn safe. XL: ...Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't know, under other circumstances, I'd be more than happy to be around a kid, but... Collin: Not as fun when they're hurt, yeah... Rio: Well, this is just...what we fight for, right? To make sure this doesn't happen anymore? Collin: Exactly. Try to leave things better than we found them, save the day, etcetera... It sounds kinda cliche when you say it out loud though, huh? XL: Maybe so, but you know we're literal superheroes to kids like this, right? Collin: ... Now that's weird to think about. XL: Hahaha; who knows, maybe we'll be on the cover of a comic book someday! We'll even have kids dressing up as us for Halloween; that's gonna be sooo worth it! Collin: Pff, sure, sure. I'd be interested to see how some kid pulls off doing your costume, though. XL: Nah, there's gonna be Novakids all across the sectors-- no, beyond them just begging for my brand! So many kids will go into medical or smithing fields because of me; I'll finally get all of us the reputation we really deserve! No more "stupid bandits and cowboys;" every single Novakid is gonna go above and beyond, 'cause I'm such a good role model!!

now you get to see more of XL’s character and personality outside of her being a medic/caring about Silky

Rio: Right now I think you just need to be a bit of a quieter role model... XL: ...R-right, right... Collin suppresses a smirk by covering up a fake cough with his hand. "Alright, well I'm glad to see things are going well here. We should be back at Kujaar soon, so I'm gonna get back to the console room." Rio: Alright! Good luck out there! He nods slightly before making his way out of the room and back to the others. Tori; Karumet; and Silky remain in the console room with Nydins. Demo is nowhere to be found. Collin: Where'd Demo run off to? Nydins: After everything that just happened, she kind of figured it'd be better to stay out of the way... Collin: I... guess I can't blame her. Can't be fun to have an evil dragon god lurking around inside your head. Nydins: I'm sure... Collin: So, have we landed yet? Nydins: Yeah, we just need somebody to check the door. Opening the door briefly, Tori quickly, yet gently closes it again before gesturing for Karumet to come close. Summoning quite a smaller version of one of his dolls, he places it gently into Karumet's hands and quietly says "Nobody speak..." Collin looks at the others for a moment before giving a confused gesture at Tori. As the tiny doll's hands fill with proportionately small balloons on strings, somebody opens the door of the IT from the outside. Wherever the group has landed, it is not Kujaar. Whoever the two people are outside of the IT are entirely unfamiliar. Behind them seems to be the interior of either a significantly sleeker building than those in Kujaar, or a ship much bigger than the IT. The larger of the two people is a heavy-set woman wearing a very bright blue jumper with orange trim. Orange, shin-high boots sit beneath it, and green goggles with yellow lenses hang around the collar. Tilting over to her thinner, more dragon-like companion, who is wearing a set of red and gold robes with blue jewels and beads dotting it, she mumbles "Where'd they go?"

Teylith and Thallion; though Teylith isn’t actually a villain...

????: It seems like they're hiding...do you know who's there? ???: Oh, um...let's see; one saa; a bug; two robots; two aliens; a human; a fire; and...two other things I can't really tell anything about. ????: But you can't tell where any of them are? Frowning, the woman shakes her head. "It's a miracle I even know this much. Whatever's in there doesn't want you there, that's for sure...oh, there's actually two saas! That one's hurt pretty bad though; he'd be a waste of time for you. ????: There are no wastes...merely more efforts... Collin looks at the others while mouthing out the words, "What do we do now?" Legitimately having to hold the doll to keep it from floating away with all the balloons it now has, Karumet gives an urgent, nervous look to Tori, who seems to be weighing their options still. He goes from looking like he has nothing to say to visibly needing to say too much, getting mildly frustrated trying to figure out how to convey what he needs.

since one of my abilities was to make diversions, my dolls were capable of mimicing other kleivenn abilities!

Collin points at the two mystery people now on the IT and quietly punches one hand into the other while giving him a questioning look. ????: ...Well, if you can't find them all, I suppose there's always the other option. Stepping over slightly, he lashes out, grabbing Tori by the throat. Eyes widening with horror, they flash a multitude of colors briefly before Tori snaps his hands up to the arm of the person grabbing him.

basically this sort of thing

????: ...Oh, you weren't the one hiding them? Then surely you know where the others are... alienrabitt: O...ver...my dead...body...!! Tightening their grip a bit, the dragon shakes their head. "Very poor choice in words...let's try that again. Where. Are. The others?" Tori struggles to get any sort of sound out at all, and the woman with the dragon looks progressively more uncomfortable with the situation. Throwing away any regard for his cover, Collin clears the distance between him and the dragon with a single jump forward, swinging down his arm onto the dragon's to break their grip as he comes down, and then releasing a small shockwave to knock them away. Very startled by the sudden reaction, the woman backs away as Collin gets between them and Tori. Between coughs and gasps, Tori manages to respond "There's one. Sure everyone else...is gonna be just as happy..." Rolling over, the dragon kicks themself back up off the floor, letting large, gold, butterfly-patterned wings with spindly, cyan appendages attached like a bat's wings stretch out and flap briefly, a handful of feathers floating away as they do so. "I suppose I had that coming..." Collin: That's putting it lightly. Now, you two want to explain why the hell you just barged onto our ship and started strangling my boyfriend, or am I going to have to keep swinging? He emphasizes his last word by punching his fist into his other hand again, this time releasing a burst of crackling energy on impact. ????: Boyfriend; who dates their own kleivenn?! You ignorant--...!! ???: Hey now, that wasn't the question. And to answer that question, let me ask you one: what the hell are you doin' here? You got at least two different types of kleivenn on a ship on Nine's yard like that ain't gonna attract every lunatic between here 'n Venus... Collin: We were actually on our way to pay Nine a visit. We've got important information and an injured Kleivenn on board, so we didn't exactly want to take the long way here. ???: Well, I could tell you had a hurt one at least; feel free to cut through the place. I'll get Thallion off your floor; breaking a mirror's bad luck, after all.... Collin: Right, well, where exactly is "here"? That place outside doesn't seem very familiar. ???: That's our ship. The door's quite a way from here, but I'm sure you'll figure it out if you can work a ship like this.

honestly not the first or last time we landed on/in someone else’s ship

Collin: Well alright. So the big lizard is Thallion, but who're you then? ???: Teylith. Collin: Teylith, okay. So we just... walk on through? Teylith: That's what I said, right? Just start lookin'; you'll find a way out somewhere. Collin: Suuure. I guess we can drop the disguise now? Teylith: Do what you want; I ain't gonna stop ya. Shrugging, she makes her way over to Thallion, who she grabs and lifts like a large dog. Despite their protests, she starts heading back for the door. Collin: ... Y'know, they could've just talked to us first. alienrabitt: ...Whatever. I don't know why they reacted like that...I'm just glad they're gone... Collin: So uh, what's the plan? I assumed we wanted to bring the kid here as well, but if we're going to have to make our way through some ship before that... alienrabitt: If we find the way out, we can probably make a shortcut of some sort. Collin thinks for a second before smacking himself on the forehead. "Oh God I'm an idiot." He casually points a finger at the wall and a blue portal opens up on its surface. "I'm way too out of practice..." alienrabitt: Eh, it's just been a while is all... Collin: Yeah, which I suppose is a good thing, all things considered, but... y'know. Everyone else alright? Karumet pops the small bouquet of balloons she's holding, revealing the remainder of the crew. "Looks like it.” Collin: So what was that anyway, Tori? Were those balloons doing some kind of camouflage thing? alienrabitt: Karumet has the ability to make stuff invisible when she holds her breath. It was keeping everything hidden with her natural breath. Collin: Ahh, neat.

neat? she can’t even use her powers continually for the length that doll would be able to; it’s literally better than her at the only thing she’s capable of!!

Stepping out of the IT, Tori gets only a few feet away from the door before looking around in surprise. "Wh-what the--?!" Collin steps out behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he catches up. "What? What's wrong?" The IT is positively surrounded by other kleivenn in yellow robes with red trim; all of which are wearing masks with red, hook-like curves on the cheeks, eye slits curved upwards into a pleased expression. Thallion stands front and center, smiling smugly as their tail wags slowly behind themself. "That bit of information you had; was it about us, perhaps? Unfortunately, you've found us first!"

these guys

though the masks are based off uhh

that one; but we haven’t met Koi yet

Collin: Ah. I see. Huh. Collin: I don't suppose you guys are the "talk things out" type, huh? Thallion: Unfortunately not. Neither were your kind, but we eventually learned to...cooperate. Collin: Riiiight, well then, if you really wanna do this... Collin punches one hand into the other again, this time unleashing a rumble that shakes the floor on impact. "You are welcome to try." There's waves of laughter from the crowd around the IT. Thallion: You can't be serious. The two of you versus...thousands of us? The versatility of us would make that a very large gamble; are you certain? Collin: What, you want to give us another option? You said yourself that you aren't the "talking type". Thallion: Of course. We're on your side, after all. We're all about the capabilities of others... Collin: On our- You strangled Tori! Thallion: ...They're a kleivenn, why do you care? Collin: Did you not get the part where I said I love him? Tori's the most important part of my life, why would I not care?! Thallion: What even made you get that close to a kleivenn to begin with? None of you have ever...no, you've got to be playing some sort of angle. I don't like it. Whatever you're trying to do, stop it now. Your charade is up; we know why you're here. Collin: Oh really? And why is that, do you think? Thallion: Because humans don't find us without reason. Humans don't bring us other kleivenn without reason. You walked into Kujaar, tried to get close to their god, and now you're here? This is a delivery. You've brought us keys to their door, obviously. You're acting like their friend or better for...some reason; I assure you, if you had their trust, it was sincere on their end, but you've no reason to act further. Your job is done; there is no higher praise nor greater satisfaction than this. Collin: ... Thallion, listen. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Delivery? Keys? Whose door? I don't actually care. My point is that I've been with Tori and the others here for... God, at least a year if not longer, I haven't really kept track. All I wanted to do today was get to Kujaar so we could drop off an injured Kleivenn and warn Nine about something. That's it. Thallion: And dropped them off you have!! Have you really, truly come here not knowing where you came? I'll spell it out for you: this is the human ship! The result of your ancestors; the remnants of your war; your history; your legacy! Anything and everything you've done to further your race has happened here! And it continues to happen, thanks to people like yourself. Generous, clever, adventurous souls that go out into the world and weed out the remainder of our kind to further your goals... Collin: Human... ship? Is this some sort of human warship you've taken over? I don't think you understand, I had nothing to do with this stuff. I didn't find this whole Kleivenn business, it found me. I'm not trying to weed out anyone. Thallion: No, no, we've taken nothing. I'm sure you were expecting more humans when you found us, yes, but...well, there are humans, there's just a lot less of them now. Humans age; they forget; but saas; with the right wish? We've managed to carry on the human projects. Collin: Wait, so... Oh hell, I think I'm catching on now. But if the humans are almost all gone, why continue working for them? Thallion: You really have no idea how far a saa will go with the right wish in their heart, do you? Collin: I'm... starting to get an idea. Turning to take his leave, Thallion gestures with his tail. "Find the other kleivenn and bring them in; take the human to E or S; take his...companion to B." With this, the crowd parts to let Thallion through, then advances toward the IT. Collin steps ahead of Tori and puts one arm in front of him. "Ohh no you don't. No one is taking anybody." There are bursts of laughter from those close enough to hear Collin. "He's going to stand against us?" "Is this guy serious?" "Seriously stupid, maybe!!" "Don't kill or dismember anything; our orders are to bring them back alive." "Well really he just said bring them to a wing; he never said bring them alive!!!" Collin glances back at Tori. "The hell do we do now?" alienrabitt: I...I don't know. There's too many of them; they...ugh... Stepping back slightly, Tori raises his voice before any of the kleivenn actually start to attack: "None of you are getting into Kujaar without me!!" Several of the front rows stop and bump into or bowl over each other, while others in the back jump over or fly to get a better look. "And what does that mean?" "So we can kill the others?" alienrabitt: If you hurt anybody that came here with me, you're not getting in! So leave them alone, it's me you want!!

calm down there Steven

A note of worry creeps into Collin's voice. "This is not exactly the solution I was hoping for, you know..." Lowering his voice to practically a whisper, Tori does not face Collin when he responds: "It's the only thing I can do..." Reluctantly, the more excited kleivenn make way for those that seem to be a bit more reasonable as they wedge themselves between Collin, Tori, and the IT. Slowly, the group drives the crowd away as smaller groups start to escort Tori and Collin off to separate wings of the ship. Collin: I'm not sure what you think you're going to accomplish with this, but it's not going to work... ???: Don't worry; you're human, right? You have nothing to worry about. Collin: See, that doesn't really help. What do the others have to worry about, then? ????: Thallion only specifically mentioned you and your companion; and with your companion's demands; he's really the only one left in the picture. Collin: Look, quit dodging around the answer. What are you going to do with him? ???: He's a kleivenn, and our way into Kujaar. Whatever needs to be done for his cooperation will be, I'm assuming. Collin: Great, just as I thought, then... And what about me? Where are we going? ?????: "E or S..." Seems like it's our choice. Your...kleivenn wanted you alive and well, so I'm thinking S. Collin: Ah, good, I love places that don't kill me. It's a shame they're kind of a rarity, though... The group finally stops at a door in the S wing. One knocks briefly before a slat in the door is slid open. The tired, disgruntled voice of a woman responds: "What in the world are you doing back here at this hour? ...Oh, is this a drop off?" The sounds of multiple locks being undone can be heard as the woman opens the door again. "Let the human in." Collin rolls his shoulders and steps through the doorway. "The hospitality here is something to behold, honestly." Closing the door in the faces of all of the kleivenn guards that escorted Collin there, the woman steps back over to her desk, which she has visibly shoved as far away from the door as possible. As a matter of fact, most of the things in the room have been shoved opposite to the door; some have even been stacked in oddly accessible ways exclusively to keep their distance from the door. The woman herself seems to be in her 40s or 50s; long, brown hair, which has begun to gray, hastily pulled up into some sort of half-bun half-ponytail, spills over a white lab coat that has been pulled over some pajamas that have seen quite a few years and not enough soap. Drinking what is likely not her first nor last cup of coffee, the woman looks over some rather old glasses as she turns her chair to face you. "What brings you here? Haven't seen that logo in a while..." Collin: That's a very long story. The short version is that we were on our way to Kujaar to drop off an injured Kleivenn and tell Nine about some things we found out, and instead we ended up... here. ???: Nine wouldn't have been able to stop us. Not anymore. Collin: What makes you say that? ???: We've had so many kleivenn pass in and out of these doors, we're ready for just about anything. Even if we can't contain it, all it takes is... She trails off absentmindedly as she reflexively reaches for one of her arms briefly. "...You said 'we?' Who was with you?"

Em isn’t human; she’s a tagged kleivenn. she just doesn’t remember

Collin: A number of people. Why does that matter? ???: Guess it doesn't. I'm just trying to know why you're here. I could see it in your eyes the moment I let you in here; you didn't come here because you wanted anyone getting hurt. Despite what you're wearing... Collin: Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately. Look, I already told you why we're here. What more do you want from me? Who even are you, anyway? ???: Well, normally it's my job to get humans to cooperate with kleivenn, typically saa-based, so we can see their abilities firsthand. You, however, seem to genuinely care, which makes my job easier since I...don't have to do anything. Collin: Well yeah. Don't most people get along with their Kleivenn? ???: Not after the war. Kleivenn distanced themselves knowing full well if they got too close to any humans they would die. Or wind up here. Or both. Not every human is like that, but of course they don't know that...and I suppose the reverse is true too; we were scared of their abilities; so we killed their gods and started wiping them out or experimenting on them... Collin: So you're with the people who did all of that, then? ???: With, yes. Willing, no. Thirty years ago I made my case stating that if this kept up after the war I'd walk with my team. Woke up the next morning to find out I no longer had a team, and if I wanted to stay alive, I would change my mind, so I've spent the rest of my life changing the minds of others like it's some sick joke. Collin: Jesus, I... I'm sorry. ???: No point in mourning the past anymore. That's why I asked who you came with; I want to help you escape. Collin: ... You what? I don't even know your /name/, and you want go against all these people for my sake? ???: Well...yes. It won't fix what I did or who I hurt, but if I can do even one good thing against these people, then maybe I'm not like them after all...

weeeeeeellllll....

Collin: ... I can understand that, at least. Seriously though, who are you? ???: ...My name is...well, honestly, I haven't heard it in so long, I think I forgot... Collin: You're kidding... ???: I'm not. ...Maybe it started with an M? Or something else...? Collin: Mary? Michelle? Michelangelo? Just throwing some out there. ???: Hahaha, no, none of those...I don't know; I guess it's not very important... Collin: Of course it's important, just- Ugh, okay, let's deal with this later. I'm just calling you Em for now, alright? Em: That's fine with me. I suppose we should find your...partner first, yes? Though if we meet anyone along the way, they'll probably be expecting you to, well, not be very concerned about him or your friends... Collin: I get the feeling that was supposed to be your job here? Em: Well, I certainly didn't talk the other humans into cooperating, unfortunately. Of course using those kinds of methods almost always ended very poorly on one end or the other, which is why I began to protest; had neither tried to do anything about it then maybe I could've just...stopped feeling anything about it, but every time one of them realized what had happened I just...I couldn't take it, but they just kept bringing people... Collin holds up a hand to her. "Em. It's alright. You don't have to explain yourself right now, I'm not here to pass judgement. Let's focus on the task at hand for now. Where did they take Tori, and what are they planning?" Em: Right; they didn't seem to know what sort of kleivenn he was outright, just that he was capable of getting into Kujaar. If I had to guess, they'll be looking for a way to force him to use his powers, unless they don't actually just want into Kujaar... Collin: And if they don't want to just get into Kujaar...? Em: Then they're probably just looking to have some fun, which is...arguably more unsavory. Collin: Then either way we don't have any time to lose. Where do we go now? Em: There's a pretty specific room used for newer...acquisitions that I'm almost positive he'll be in, if not for tagging then simply for temporary containment at the least. If we can beat them there before he's moved, we might be able to get you out with minimal fuss. Collin: Then let's get going then- Wait, quick, how am I "supposed" to be acting if we run into anyone? Em: Depends. Kleivenn won't care much how you treat your kleivenn; they'll be expecting you to not care much about them being treated poorly or hurt or something; other humans would probably expect you to condone them being treated however they see fit without any questions or resistance. Em: Though honestly the humans don't appreciate broken goods; if you raise concerns about anyone dying, they won't be too surprised as long as you don't make a big deal out of it. Collin: ... Alright, I can do this. Lead the way, Em. Undoing her multitude of locks, Em escorts Collin out of the room and back through the other parts of the ship. Occasionally, they pass by other kleivenn, who simply stare from beneath their masks, occasionally leaning over to comment to each other. Collin speaks softly as the kleivenn get further away. "Are you sure we aren't sticking out too much?" Em: We aren't. It's just been a while since they've seen a human as young as you. Collin: Mostly your age, then? Em: Mostly my age are still here; mostly your age were brought in. Collin: Ah. How nice... Reaching the room, there seems to be several rows of what appear to be things similar to bathtubs; a bit sleeker in design with no visible legs. Next to the tubs are some sort of terminals, though what they're for remains unknown. Thallion is at the back of the room, looking over something on a rather large computer screen with some other kleivenn. Collin puts on a neutral expression before speaking out. "Looks like you're busy in here." Turning to look at you, Thallion flashes a bit of a smile. "Not at all; just the usual amount of work. Your kleivenn is quite the curious case..." Collin: So I've gathered. He's always been sort of an odd one. Thallion: I'm sure. Still, if we can find a workaround, we can find a way in, and then all of this will have been worth it. We'll have more kleivenn then we'll even know what to do with during the time our remaining humans will have with us; but I'm sure over time you'll find a field you're comfortable in. Collin: I'll manage something, I'm sure. Do you have a plan for all the kleivenn you intend on catching? I can't think of why you'd need so many, honestly Thallion: The same thing I've done with every other kleivenn that's come through these doors; try to understand why what we're capable of is possible. Collin: What, "space magic" isn't good enough of an answer for you? Thallion: It was for us; you? Not so much. He raises an eyebrow slightly. "What do you mean?" Thallion: Humanity's inability to understand our abilities is the exclusive reason we do what we do. Collin: Ah, of course. Have you made any progress figuring out what Tori's deal is, then? Where'd you put him anyways? Thallion: He's in one of the tubs; and we have yet to reach a comprehensive understanding. If we can't get answers through field work, he'll be cycled out. Collin: Cycled out? Thallion: Yes, to a more...active field of work that will either produce results or provide a significantly more informative experience in regards to their capabilities. Collin: Uh-huh... So what's your plan for now? You mentioned "field work" a second ago. What do you mean by that, exactly? Thallion: This is the exact curious nature that is the reason we have this job. You'll experience such fieldwork firsthand should you continue these questions. ???: Leave the kid alone. Look, you're here to pick up your partner, right? He's at E-57; pick him up and move on to your initiative, 34-B. Both of you are wasting time talking here; get results or get lost. Collin: Alright, alright, sheesh. Collin makes his way to the mentioned tub, glancing at the numbers as he goes.

you should cross being a spy off your list of potential other jobs

Row E; terminal 57 displays the designation "34-A" and seems to monitor various bodily functions. Half-submerged in an odd, blue solution, Tori lies unconscious and alone among the remainder of the empty tubs. Stepping over to the terminal, Em empties the tub of its solution and patiently waits for Tori to regain consciousness, occasionally giving a nervous glance to Thallion and his company. Collin grips the rim of the tub tightly for a few seconds as he looks in. He then knocks on the rim several times with his armored hand.

"C'mon, rise and shine. Nap time's over." As Tori begins to wake up, Em quickly helps him out of the tub, glancing his arms over as she pulls him up. Frowning at something briefly, she quietly comments: "We need to get moving. Any more wasted time won't end well for either of you." Collin: Alright, fine. Good grief, everyone here is so pushy. After you, I suppose. Escorting both of you into the hall, Em glances the hall over before stepping between the two of you. "Less flavor; it shows as more than cracking. Also, he's been tagged. I suspect what we have is only half of his whole; we need to find his other half before you leave." Collin immediately drops his character. "Woah woah, flavor? Tagged? Half? What are you talking about?!" Em: You're getting a bit...sassy, I guess. And you asked a little too many questions. I think he's shrugging it off, but...hopefully it won't be an issue. To answer your other questions, there's a small, black rectangle on the inside of his left arm; it's suppressing whatever powers he would have on his own and likely keeping him from...well, being /him/. And for the third point, his heart is missing, or whatever the equivalent of it is. It's clear your companion isn't just a saa...

it was my right arm actually. guess you still can’t tell left from right, huh

Collin: I'm... not surprised, honestly. So we need to get rid of the tag and get the heart back. Do you know how to do either of those? Em: The tag is embedded; unless we can destabilize his physical form, there's only one way to get it out, and I'd rather not do that, especially in the open. As for his heart, it's in some other wing of the ship; if we don't find it before the solution works its way out of his system, he'll destabilize naturally, which, this far apart from his...actual self, would end...poorly. Collin: Do you have a better lead than "some other wing"? It doesn't exactly sound like we have a whole lot of time here... Em: A or Z. Two very different ends of the ship; only one will have the right answer; and alone, we don't have the time to check them both. We have to be confident in our choice, or he'll get hurt badly. Collin: Wonderful, a game of luck. I'm really good at those. Em: There's also the chance Thallion could have it on his person, which would make the entire effort a waste of time. It's a three-way gamble and I'm not sure which option is the right choice... Collin: Oh good God. Any other options we're overlooking, while we're at it? Em: Not that I'm aware. Either Thallion has it, or it's so far away we only have the chance to check one location... Collin: ... Y'know what, considering they were literally just studying Tori in there.. Collin turns back to the door as the black shard in his prosthetic begins to glow, and then delivers a single kick with it that blows the door off its hinges and causes it to skid halfway across the room. Both dragons turning to look at the array of equipment now damaged by the flying door, Thallion levels his gaze at you. "Decided not to play kindly?" Collin: Acting has never really been my strong suit, and "kindness" went out the window when you yanked out my boyfriend's heart and started experimenting on him. I'll give you one chance: Give me back Tori's heart, or I'll take it back by force. Thallion: He isn't even a saa; he had no heart to take! The only object we found on his person even remotely similar to that sort of functionality was an amulet that refused to respond to another kleivenn; we've been trying to force it to change ever since, but your cooperation would have made that much easier. Unfortunately, it seems one of the last of our humans was incapable of doing her job, as expected, so we had it moved away from you as a precaution. Collin: Are you saying you don't have it, then? A sword of purple energy shimmers into existence by Collin's side, hovering in the air and pointed straight up. Thallion: It's on the ship; not with me personally, but still around. The sword rotates to point straight at Thallion. "Where." Thallion: A-wing. The engine room, of course. We wanted to waste no time in making our entry. Collin: Perfect. I'll be on my way then. Collin turns to leave, but the sword remains in its place. He seems to remember something and looks back at Thallion over his shoulder. "Oh right, if I find out you're lying, this sword will find you and slice you apart, draining you of your energy as it works. Just throwing that out there..."

Thallion quietly watches Collin leave, anxiously flicking his tail as the dragon beside him edges away. Collin leaves the room and returns to Em and Tori. "It's in the A-wing. Which way, Em?" Escorting the pair out of the current hall, Em leads them to the A-wing with no resistance. There are significantly less kleivenn along the way as well. Collin: Seems a little quiet, doesn't it? Em: I don't know where everyone went. Maybe someone's in court. Collin: Court...? Em: It's...the field work Thallion mentioned; more of a gauntlet of sorts really. Fighting to the death for fun or science, whichever happens first. Collin: Sounds like a lovely place. Shame we don't have time to visit. Reaching the engine room, the trio discovers Demo and...what's left of what you can only assume were formerly kleivenn. The room itself has been torn apart; most of the equipment has been shattered, crushed, or smashed in, leaving little to no light left in the room itself. Prying something out of one of the frontmost terminals, Demo turns to look at the three of you, markings similar to those on the masks on her face. "You're still alive...?" Collin: Yeah, but... what the hell happened to you? Demo: ...I found Tori first.

you severely overestimate how much Demo actually cared about me

still, the implications of this are that the kleivenn here are still serving under Xen’s banner despite playing a hand in destroying him

I’m guessing it was because they couldn’t control him themselves, so until they could find out how, they took him out of the picture?

this is interesting...

Collin: Jesus... Are you alright? Demo: I'm fine. They won't be, but I'm fine. Collin: Right... A-anyway, we were told Tori's, uh, "heart" was here. Have you found an amulet here yet, by any chance? Demo holds up what they pried out of the console; an amulet with a narrow, rectangular stone set in the center. The stone itself is roughly an inch tall, and slightly less than half an inch wide. At the moment, it seems to be shifting between a sort of seafoam green color and a rather nasty shade of yellow. Collin: Ah, perfect! Mind if I snag that from you? Demo: Go ahead. She carefully tosses the amulet across the room to Collin. Collin snags it out of the air and quickly turns back to face Tori. He runs a thumb over the stone in the amulet as he tries to figure out how to alter it in its new form. The stone is cool to the touch, but currently does not shift colors in Collin's hands. Collin: Shit, I can't get the color to change. Did they lock it in this state somehow? Em: It might be that his tag is disrupting its ability to sync properly... Collin: Crap, I forgot about the tag thing. What do we do about that now? As Em begins to mull it over, Demo makes her way across the room and looks Tori over briefly. Two very different looks pass across her face briefly before she removes the arm from the elbow down in one swift movement. Reeling back in shock and pain, Tori clasps the lighted silhouette of the missing half of his arm, abruptly entirely aware of the situation.

so you took the left off, huh Lewis?

Collin reels back from the situation and almost faints on the spot, but catches himself at the last second while clutching the amulet to his chest. Demo very visibly struggles to respond for a moment before returning to the state you found her in, calmly stating "Problem solved." Collin struggles to respond for several seconds, his chest heaving as he struggles to remain calm. He levels an icy glare at Demo that could freeze an ocean, visibly struggling to string any words together in his head. Putting their back up against the wall, Tori breathes heavily as he tries to process the situation. Shakily, he turns his attention to Demo. "Wh...what the hell is going on? Why did you...?? Where is my...??" Closing his eyes for a moment, he looks over to you next. "What happened...?" Collin: The... The kleivenn here stole your heart and put this... chip in your arm that was keeping you sealed up. Demo removed the chip, so all that's left is this. Collin holds up the amulet, rubbing the stone again to try and get it to shift colors. However, upon lifting the amulet, it has visibly shifted to Collin's shade of blue before he tries to change it again. It remains the proper color even after his new attempt. Collin: Oh, well at least that worked. I guess this just goes where the heart used to? Collin approaches Tori and tentatively pushes the pendant against his chest. His chest remains as solid as a normal person's would be, and he looks at you a bit curiously. Collin: Y'know, I guess that should've been obvious. Collin lifts the pendant over Tori's head and gently lowers it around his neck. Though the amulet returns, Tori's arm does not repair itself. Sighing, Tori carefully tucks the amulet back under his shirt. "Demo, why the hell did you think that would be okay?" Averting her eyes briefly, Demo struggles to give a proper answer again, stammering out a mixed response: "I...I did what I had to. But I didn't want to--. I didn't know it wouldn't come back; but nobody else was going to help you in time; something had to be done, but..." Collin: ... So it's not coming back. What now? Demo: M-maybe it will come back later? alienrabitt: Look, don't worry about it; we should probably get back to the IT and get the hell out of here. We can figure this out somewhere safer... Collin: I think I'm gonna be sick... Em: I'm sorry; normally I'd let you wait this out a bit, but with this room torn apart, I'm sure someone will come to investigate... Collin: It's... It's fine. Do you have a way off this ship? Em: Personally, no, or I would've used it a long time ago. Collin, still struggling to hold himself together, looks at the other two for a response. alienrabitt: I...I can probably get us back to the IT at least. Hopefully everyone else is okay. Taking a deep breath, Tori focuses his power, warping the space around them until the four of them are back in the room where the IT had landed. The ship itself seems completely unharmed, and has not moved since Collin and Tori left. Collin takes a couple of steps forward after they enter the IT, and then yells toward the hallway. "Hey, are you guys okay in here?" Silky glances out of XL's room briefly before the others sort of pile out behind her. Rio is one of the first to reach the console room. Rio: Oh thank the stars, you're okay! There were so many things out there, I was worried you-- Slowly, Rio notices Tori's arm. "... Would get hurt..." Collin: You can thank Demo for that. Firefly is stunned for a moment before looking outraged; however Silky is the first to lunge out at Demo. Already crying, Nydins throws herself between the pair, trying to beg Silky not to hurt her while begging for an explanation at the same time. Genuinely scared, Demo starts to back away, the markings on her face receding as she looks equally as upset as the others. Demo: I...I'm so sorry, I didn't...I really didn't want to do that, it just...happened; I was trying to figure out what to do and I just...moved... alienrabitt: Look, it's...it doesn't matter. Silky: Doesn't matter?! Half your damn arm's missing because of her!! alienrabitt: So?? I'm made of magic; it probably just needs time to reform or something. It's not like she tried to kill me, alright? She saw a solution and just...took the window without thinking. Firefly: Seems like a lot more than just 'not thinking' about her actions to me... Collin: And what the hell is with those markings, anyway? Is all of this because of Xentrilis or whatever the hell his name is? Demo: ...Yes and no. I wouldn't have done that myself; it was more like an intrusive thought that he sort of just...did. Collin: Good, so I can add "spontaneous dismemberment" to my list of active concerns, then. Demo stands in an uncomfortable silence as Firefly and Silky immediately begin to lash out verbally, arguing between Nydins and Tori that Demo deserves to be thrown out; locked up; or punished equally. Nydins still continues to attempt to plead with them between crying, and Tori continues to stand by his belief that his personal injury isn't really a problem and that the entire situation is being blown out of proportion. Annoyed by the fuss, Karumet attempts to get between the two arguing groups, reminding them that this ship is still parked outside of Kujaar and that there's still an injured child on the ship that both need more attention. Several metallic thuds echo from the hallway, rapidly increasing in volume until Fawkes strides out into the console room. Simultaneously pitching his voice down and spiking his volume, Fawkes bellows out into the console room. "ENOUGH." The fighting stops as Fawkes draws the group's attention, Nydins still quietly sobbing despite the silence from the others. Fawkes' voice returns to its normal pitch, but the volume remains notably above its normal level. Fawkes: Nydins, go take a moment and pull yourself together. Someone else, get this ship moving before someone bashes our door down. Karumet, go with Tori and figure out if this is as minor of an issue as he thinks. The rest of you, pull yourselves together. We are not a mob. Understood? Nodding understandingly, Nydins takes her leave as Rio and Silky go to the console. Escorting Tori away, Karumet shakes her head briefly as she passes between Firefly and Demo, who continue to stare each other down for a moment before Firefly leaves to close herself in the bathroom.

I’ve never seen Fawkes angry before!

Fawkes turns his attention to Demo, his volume now back to normal as well. Fawkes: Demo. I can't pretend to understand what's going on inside you right now. I can't gauge how hard dealing with Xentrilis is for you, or what the extent of his influence is over you. What I do know is this: I overheard your conversation with Nydins. I know what you aspire to do with yourself, and in a way I can sympathize. After all, I was originally programmed to be a killing machine. I would like to see you overcome your programming too. Let this be a lesson to you, then. You cannot let this happen again. Xentrilis is actively trying to sabotage your goal. Tori will most likely be able to regenerate from his damage, but if you allow him to do something like that with someone else... I can make no promises. Demo: I didn't let him do anything, I just...ugh, it's just going to sound like an excuse if I try to defend myself. ...I understand. He's not hard to fight normally, but when I saw what they were doing to Tori, I just... Fawkes: If you understand, then my job here is finished. Find me later if you still wish to talk about it. I will be in my room for a while if you, or anyone else, needs me. With that, Fawkes turns back and calmly walks out of the console room.

don’t make me feel bad for her...

#[S3]

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