#if i were Clever i would have had this thought when I was reading empire of ivory and pulled quotes from that too but i Didn't

[baronetcoins]

some thoughts on the subject of William Laurence

Wikipedia, List of last stands//Wikipedia & Isaac Asimov, Three Laws of Robotics//Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles//Welcome To Night Vale, A Story About You//Isaac Asimov, Three Laws of Robotics//Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles//Welcome to Night Vale, A Story About You

[mangocustard16]

Twinkling Destiny✨💞

| synopsis: In the bustling city of Seoul, you and Jeonghan, childhood friends separated by time and distance, reunite at a grand charity event. With past adventures and unspoken feelings in the backdrop, your fathers propose a marriage, sparking a tale of rediscovered connection, hidden emotions, and the promise of a shared future.

| pairing: childhood sweetheart!jeonghan x reader

| genre: fluff

| warnings: none

| w.c: 1k

| a/n: arrange marriage au, pure fluff, Jeonghan might like Y/n more than she thought he did.

Once upon a time, in the bustling city of Seoul, amidst the towering skyscrapers and gleaming corporate offices, there was a story that had been unfolding for years, one that began long before the cityscape had transformed.

The protagonists of this tale were not from the pages of a fairy tale but from the world of business and ambition.

You, a reserved and elegant individual, and Jeonghan, the playful and charismatic son of the owner of the renowned Yoondae Group, grew up together as friends. Your fathers had been inseparable since their high school days, building the Yoondae Group from scratch into a multi-million dollar empire. The bonds they forged were unbreakable, and they hoped to solidify them further.

[May 5th, 2002]

It was a sunny afternoon, and you and Jeonghan, both around the age of six, were in the garden of your modest family home. You sat under the shade of a grand old oak tree, engrossed in a book. Jeonghan, on the other hand, was bursting with energy, running around and chasing after colorful butterflies.

Jeonghan exclaimed, "Come on, Y/n, put that book down! There's a whole world of adventure waiting for us out here!"

You looked up, intrigued. "Adventure? What kind of adventure, Jeonghan?"

"Well, I found this map in an old book my dad had. It shows the way to a hidden treasure right here in our garden!"

"Treasure in our garden? Are you sure, Jeonghan?" you said. You were not so sure about his plans.

"Absolutely! But I can't do it alone. I need your help to solve the riddles and find the treasure. It's going to be so much fun!"

"I'm not so sure, Jeonghan. I have this book to finish."

Jeonghan pouted, "Aw, come on! We can read books anytime, but this adventure won't wait. Plus, I need your clever thinking to help solve the riddles!"

You smiled, giving in to his infectious enthusiasm. "Okay, okay, you win. Let's go on this adventure of yours!"

Jeonghan grinned. "That's the spirit! You'll see, it's going to be amazing."

And with that, you closed your book, put it aside, and joined Jeonghan in the hunt for the imaginary treasure, embarking on an adventure that would become one of your most cherished childhood memories.

In school, you were the diligent student, often at the top of your class, while Jeonghan, despite his vivacious personality, had an intelligence and charisma that endeared him to teachers and classmates alike. He had an innate talent for turning even the most mundane lessons into fun adventures.

Together, you both became inseparable, finding a perfect balance between your quiet and contemplative nature and Jeonghan's exuberance and spontaneity. Whether it was building a treehouse, staging make-believe treasure hunts, or having heart-to-heart talks in the garden, you shared in each other's joys and supported one another during difficult moments.

As the years passed, you, along with Jeonghan, continued to grow and evolve. Jeonghan's father took the Yoondae Group to new heights, and your family's business partnership strengthened. However, you never lost touch with the values of humility and integrity that your parents instilled in you.

When the time came for Jeonghan to study abroad in the United States, it was a bittersweet farewell. Over the years, you lost touch, and it seemed as though your paths had diverged. You became a successful business partner with your father, admired for your poise and intelligence, while Jeonghan flourished in the international business world, known for his playfulness and charm.

It had been a long time since you had seen each other when fate brought you back together at a grand charity event organized by Jeonghan's father. The room was filled with the crème de la crème of society, dressed in their finest, as they generously contributed to noble causes. In the midst of this opulence, your eyes met across the room, and it was as if time had stood still.

There he was.

Yoon Jeonghan

It was like the wind was knocked out of you.

If only you knew he felt the same. Jeonghan couldn't believe his eyes as he watched you from across the room at the charity event. The years apart had done nothing but enhance your beauty, and the sight of you left him utterly captivated. He felt a rush of emotions flood over him – nostalgia from his childhood hit him like bricks. Seeing you standing there, radiant and graceful, he couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of connection and the overwhelming desire to bridge the gap that time had created. Jeonghan was drawn to you, not just by your outer beauty but by the memories and emotions that your presence stirred within him.

As the evening progressed, you and Jeonghan found yourselves near a balcony, a quiet respite from the grandeur of the event.

Jeonghan, with his characteristic playful smile, broke the ice. "You've grown even more beautiful, if that's possible."

You blushed, a hint of a smile playing on your lips. "Jeonghan, you flatter me. You've changed a lot, too. The U.S. has been good to you."

He nodded, his eyes filled with nostalgia. "It's been a wild ride, but coming back to Korea makes me realize how much I've missed it."

With a sip of wine, he swirled the glass thoughtfully. The moment was ripe for the question that had been lingering in the air.

"Have you, um... found someone special in the States?" You inquired, your voice almost a whisper.

Jeonghan looked directly into your eyes and said, "No, I haven't. Actually, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to marry someone I already know and trust."

Your heart skipped a beat as you blushed, the gravity of his words settling in.

Later in the evening, both your fathers proposed the idea of marriage between you and Jeonghan. They spoke about how you had grown up together and how your two families' businesses had become intertwined over the years.

"We believe this is a wonderful opportunity for our families," your father declared.

You and Jeonghan exchanged a glance, both of you saying in unison, "We'll think about it."

The night was nearly over when you both found yourselves on the same balcony. Jeonghan was holding a glass of wine, and you felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"I know it's a bit sudden," he began, "but it's not an entirely bad idea, is it?"

You nervously replied, "No, it's not. In fact, I think... it could work."

Jeonghan smiled warmly, relief in his eyes. "How about we take it one step at a time? Let's date first and see where it goes."

You couldn't help but smile, your heart pounding with newfound hope. "I'd like that."

With a clink of your glasses, you sealed the beginning of a new chapter in your lives, a story of rekindled connections, hidden feelings, and the promise of a future together. The journey of love and companionship had begun with a simple decision to give it a chance, and it was destined to be a beautiful tale of two people finding each other in the midst of life's complexities.

φ reblogs are always appreciated

[robo-dino-puppy]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

thank you for the tag @bluntblade! (i'm embarrassed this took me so long. also i've never been good at ranking things so uh don't consider this list in order of most favorite or anything)

Donna Noble (Doctor Who)

Character I think about if I'm having a bad day <3 This scene between the windows in Partners in Crime never fails to cheer me up. Also: "You're not mating with me, sunshine!" Theeeeee best platonic relationship with the Doctor IMO.

Varl (Horizon)

Aloy did not appreciate this good dude nearly enough. I want Varl to be my BFF. T_T But HFW happened and... I won't say too much about that or we'd be here all day. He's alive in my head and that's all that matters.

Cimorene (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)

Cimorene! She's no-nonsense and clever. She wasn't a fan of being treated like a princess so she went and "got captured by" a dragon so people would stop bothering her, and helps her cook and organize her library. I mean, goals.

Loki (MCU)

I wasn't into the MCU when it started getting big, and in fact I didn't see any of the movies until I read someone on Tumblr (c. 2012) going on about (paraphrased) how awful it was that people liked Loki because he was the absolute worst and if you liked him you were a gross immoral person and you should feel bad. So I went and watched this Avengers movie everyone was talking about. And guess what haters? He is terrible and I love him.

Parker (Leverage)

Although I am not brave enough to throw myself off buildings, sometimes I amuse myself by thinking "what would Parker do?" and since a canonical option involves stabbing someone who's bothering her with a fork and jumping out a window, the thought cheers me up even if I can't do that.

Aziraphale (Good Omens)

He just wants people (aside from Crowley) to leave him alone in his bookshop. He never fits in with his "side" but tries to do what they want anyway, because that's the good thing to do, and he wants to be good. I can relate so hard, buddy.

Milo Thatch (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Ok so... I totally had a crush on Michael J. Fox and I was already interested in linguistics back when this movie came out, and then here's a main character voiced by him who was a linguist! Milo had to be my favorite :D

Elena Fisher (Uncharted)

I will fully admit that some of my initial love of Elena came from her AI covering my panic-flailing self early on in the first Uncharted game (I'm THE WORST at games with guns, even on easy, it's actually embarrassing) - but she impressed me right away when she was not overly impressed by Nate. And her snark game is on point.

Zeb (Star Wars Rebels)

I feel like Zeb needs more love. Comic relief character who actually has an unbelievably tragic backstory! And his story has so much untapped potential! We never really get to explore what happened with Lasan, and then then dump Kallus in there with his defection to the Rebellion and his whole *handwaves* history with the Lasats and eventual apparent (b)romance with Zeb - and the show had so little to say about it! Huge angsty storytelling miss right there. (Dave why.)

Brian Finch (Limitless [2015])

This dude! Lovable but he would be SO exasperating to deal with IRL. His arts-and-craftiness just resonated with me. He was always making stuff out of toothpicks and yarn and papier mâché and clay and and and- I'm still mad this show only got one season.

zero-pressure tags: @mari-mary, @ayaitch, @hannahmationstudios, @inomakani, @fogsblue, @nerd-artist, @singingkestrel, @prototypelq, @tjerra14, @artekai or just consider yourself tagged if you want to do it!

[marvelstars]

“For a long moment, they stood together in silence. Vader thought about his secret... about Thrawn's loyalty... about the Emperor's continued need for him. Perhaps the entire Empire's need for him... "Anakin Skywalker is dead," he said.

Thrawn lowered his head. "I know."

Vader nodded slowly. *I know.* Not *So I have heard.* Not *So I was informed.* But *I know.* "We will not speak of him again," he said. "*You* will not speak of him again."

"I understand, my lord," Thrawn said. "But I will always honor his legacy.” ― Timothy Zahn, Thrawn: Alliances

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," he said.

Thrawn lowered his head. "I know."

I have been thinking about this moment in the novel since Thrawn is going to appear in the new Ahsoka series and I just love this new dynamic Tymothy Zahn wrote with Vader and Thrawn in the new canon.

I always liked Thrawn since I read his first appareance in the novels, I believe he´s the best character created in legends, followed by Mara Jade, because he singlehandely managed to give dignity to imperial admirals, he represented the competent/brilliant side of the Empire that had the rebels running from them all over the galaxy, who thought by themselves and weren´t blindly loyal to the Emperor, he didn´t need to have force powers to be a fearsome opponent but his relationship with Vader on legends was distant, proffesional and very competitive so there wans´t much to talk about it from there, besides Thrawn use of the Nogri, a new species profoundly loyal to Vader because he helped their planet.

But the new canon added this delicate circunstance, Thrawn KNEW Anakin before he became Vader, they were allies for a short time but he still managed to get a sense of who Anakin was as a person, enough to miss him when he came back to the Empire and swore loyalty to the Emperor in exchange of support for his people.

Thrawn is bassically a Sherlock Holmes/Moriarty verision of an imperial admiral, he´s clever but also cold without being cruel unnecesarily, so there´s something so touching in the fact that he actually misses who Anakin used to be, to the point of going out of his way to try to get Vader to react to his old name, there´s nothing in there for him besides sympathy, it probably would be better for him to get Vader out of the way to develop his plans for the Empire, he in fact addmited to Vader he had three different plans to kill him, yet he felt the need to mention Anakin to Vader in repeated occasions, so when Vader officially told him to stop, he "lowers his head" as if mourning that´s too much emotion for someone like him who wasn´t close to Anakin yet knew him as respected his habilities, so this drives home how much was lost when Anakin fell to the darkside, not just for the Jedi/the Republic/his family/Galaxy but also for the Empire as well.

He just isn´t the person he used to be, even a virtual stranger without the force like Thrawn noticed it and yet he tried to get a reaction out of Vader if only because he thought Anakin´s legacy deserved that much.

This new take on their relationship is so much closer and honest, I just hope filoni takes some clues from there because it´s an interesting new take for them.

[defira85]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @elvenmother thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently 109

What's your total AO3 word count? Okay WITH THE CAVEAT that I am incapable of writing short fic or ficlets and can only write long fic and have been on AO3 since 2011.... it's 2433956. Yes that is 2.5 million words

What fandoms do you write for? Mostly computer game adjacent - Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Baldur's Gate 3, Cinders, Critical Role, Avengers (comics verse, not movies), Once Upon a Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Stardew Valley, Touchstarved

Top 5 fics by kudos? Recovery Begins (Finn/Poe), A Safe Port in a Storm (Cullen/Dorian), The Courtship of Dorian Pavus (Cullen/Dorian), The Atonement of Cullen Rutherford (Cullen/Dorian), An Empire's Ransom (Ona'la||Jedi Knight/Thexan)

5. Do you respond to comments? I had a bleak period from about 2019-2022 where I was in a black hole of depression and creativity where I wrote nothing and felt a deep shame every time I got a comment on AO3, so there are people I have never responded to, but otherwise I'm adamant about replying to EVERYONE

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmm. It could be Grief, a fic about Arcann observing the bounty hunter performing funeral rites for her dead husband. It might also be A Piercing Little Star, which I wrote for the DA Big Bang in 2013 about Leliana and Warden Bethany. And Ten Years Gone, about a very minor NPC couple from DA2, has a bleak ending

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'll be honest, it's Keep Telling Me To Breathe, my Durgetash fic. Purely self indulgent ending there.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not in a long time, but it used to happen more frequently on Deviant Art and on anonymous kink memes. People were more free about being assholes on LJ because they could do it anonymously. A few on AO3 but again, it's been awhile.

9. Do you write smut? Do I write anything BUT smut lmfao. I mean, yes I do, but I love writing smut, so...

10. Craziest crossover? I'm not much of a crossover gal, the closest I've got at the moment would be some multi-Hawke adventures that I wrote back in my DA2 days where one of my Hawkes was running around in universe with a friend's Hawke

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Touch wood but no, not to the best of my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! I've had multiple of my Dragon Age fics translated into Russian

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? My co-conspirator @sithrightsactivist will confirm yes, and I'm basically a co-writer with @angelicfangirl on her Calli/Arcann (Swtor) fic

14. All time favourite ship? I don't know if I have one? Hnngh. I guess Ona'la/Thexan because he's essentially my OC at this point in time. I can't read other Thexan fics because I'm like, no, that's wrong, he's supposed to be married to Ona'la. And Elissa/Justice makes me feel a lot of very big emotions because I made her to be a garbage person, an outlet for a lot of my own ugly feelings and self worth issues, and yet someone actually fell in love with her and found her worth cherishing as she was and that stunned me. And Durge/Gortash, I know what I like

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Sigh. It's probably my Stardew Valley fic. Or, no matter how many times I try, my Raina Temple/Shara Jenn||Watcher Two fic (SWTOR).

16. What are your writing strengths? I write GREAT smut. And I do phenomenal worldbuilding

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I don't know when to shut up. I can't write short fic to save my life. I don't actually know how people write such tight, careful fics in such a small amount of words

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I did it more when I was younger and thought I was being very clever but I know enough now that I know better than to try and butcher other languages like that. I know it reads as clumsy at best to native speakers so I try to avoid it. Unless it's fictional, and then I go ham.

19. First fandom you wrote in? First? Very first? I probably wrote stories about being April O'Neill with the TMNT. I wrote about being batgirl when I was like 8. Otherwise I think it was the Wayfarer Redemption Cycle by Sara Douglass or The Belgariad by David Eddings as a teen

20. Favourite fic you've written? HOW CAN I JUST CHOOSE ONE???? Okay well I'm the most proud of Keep Telling Me To Breathe (BG3) and An Empire's Ransom (SWTOR) changed the trajectory of my life for the better. Also? I'm the only person who's written Justice romance fic, and yes, I do mean Awakenings Justice and not "inside Anders' pretty body" DA2 Justice, so I'll own that

[booksandria]

Pandora by Anne Rice - Thoughts

SPOILER ALERT!

I just finished Pandora last night! What a book, my friends!

This new duology, The New Tales of the Vampires, really started on a strong note. In Pandora, we read the narration the titular character writes to David Talbot, our known scholar and former Talamasca member from the Vampire Chronicles, about her own life story, how she lived as a human and how she became a vampire.

Quite a short book compared to the others, we are present to spirited, bright and clever Pandora, daughter of a Roman Senator and avid Ovid fan. If we only had a brief glimpse at her in her chapter in Queen Of The Damned, here she shines in full colors and makes me fall head over heels for her.

For the dramatic tale of a woman seeking refuge in Antioch after her entire family has been murdered, and trying for the first time in her life to fend for herself and make a home in this foreign land, this book is so fucking funny.

Maybe it was intentional, maybe I just have a broken sense of humor, but we had this woman jumping the walls to Marius house while everyone was begging her not to, we had this woman ask Marius if his dick had grown when he was transformed, we had the iconic:

"No, no Father. - I said - I shall never forget him. I think I forgot him the next day"

What an icon, really.

I specially loved this book because it brought so much of history with it. Such a well researched story of the Ancient Rome and the old roman ways, but also of the christianization of the Rome Empire and every shenanigan that was involved in those processes. What a beautiful and clever thing how important it was for Pandora as a character to be born in such times, how deeply it affected the way she saw life and her unlife, how it affected her relationship with the Parents and the old gods. Very neat!

Talking about old gods, another very important thing to note is the cult of Isis. Also a key aspect of Pandora, her relationship with religion: even as a roman who's expected to put reason and logic over anything else, she's still open to faith and "mystical" beliefs. In this sense, the cult represents the very thing that was such trouble in her relationship with Marius, the very thing that made them so incompatible. But more than that, in this cult Pandora builds a community with other women, finds a safe heaven she can escape from her loveless arranged marriages to, and also finds the strenght and hope to keep going after enduring her darkest moment. No wonder she immediatly wants to build Akasha temples and a cult as she had asked, and no wonder too that she can't even be at the same building as the Parents after figuring out they were not who she hoped they would be.

And I won't even get started on the womanhood themes in this book, oh my god. Honestly, I could write a whole post about it (and I maybe will eventually). But yeah, this woman who falls right between being the epitome of womanhood of ancient rome and being the farthest things from it, and then becomes a vampire and is completely above any gender roles and gender expectations, but still falls into its trap here and there, oh my god. Yeah, I most likely will talk more about this in some other post.

Anyway, Pandora the character is simply wonderful and Pandora the book is, too. Such a great, amusing, touching tale. Very happy this was my first book of the year. Love you Pandora, marry me please 🥺

[bronanlynch]

once again it's "what the fuck did I do this week" time

listening (podcast): there was a new episode of Media Club Plus this week. lots of good smart conversations, including Jack saying some incredibly insightful things about the music that I would never have noticed on my own

somehow forgot to mention the all-timer of a Palisade episode from last week, which was somehow completely blown out of the water by the even more all-timer of a Palisade episode that dropped this week. jesus christ. how do they keep doing it like this. the most recent ep is very special to me personally though, on account of how [MAJOR PALISADE EP 29 SPOILERS] my favorite character is back <3 and also everything about Dahlia was perfect to me. I genuinely think it's very good that most of the antagonists this season lean more into the evil of empire as something mundane & bureaucratic in a way that makes it more terrifying. however. I also love to see an antagonist who is evil in the more melodramatic, fucked up & twisted anime villain monologue kind of way

listening (music): the only music I listened to this week was so many anime openings & endings. there are many things that can be said about Persona 5 The Animation and also Persona 5 more generally but the music does slap. I realize this is a basic opinion but Rivers in the Desert is the boss battle music of all time tbh

reading: as usual, same two books as last week. Rule of Wolves briefly gets a lot more fun when other Six of Crows characters show up, reminding me that I would much rather be reading about Kaz than any of these other people. also, I'm once again irritated by the complete lack of worldbuilding around queerness. there are implications that Fjerda doesn't approve of lesbians, which makes sense since they're obsessed with maintaining rigid binary gender roles. but never at any point do we learn shit about like, queer culture anywhere, or what the situation is like in other countries

I'm getting near the end of Water Outlaws, which still fucking rules. the chapters I read this week had a bunch of fun stuff with strategy & siege defenses. and also as usual some sick fight scenes

watching: still keeping up with Bakeoff. I was legitimately surprised that Dan stayed on after his bread was barely edible but I am thrilled for Tasha getting star baker because I love her and everything she makes looks so good. also in general bread week is always one of my favorite because I often find the dessert concepts too sweet for my personal taste but I fucking love bread

forgot to mention that we watched the last episode of the Ahsoka show last week. this is because it was fairly forgettable and I was- well, disappointed is the wrong word because I didn't have any expectations but anyway. the fight choreography was so clunky and had a bunch of weird pauses, and if you're not going to give me good writing you better at least give me cool visuals, so that was unfortunate

watched another three episodes of Hunter x Hunter to keep up with Media Club Plus, and I'm realizing that I was not remembering incorrectly when I thought that I hadn't actually seen this bit because I have no fucking memory of any of this except the scene of Killua ripping a guy's heart out, which I distinctly remember being shown out of context (I started watching HxH with some friends who were already partway through the first arc, and then went back to watch the first few episodes later but I guess never got to where I started)(something pretty significant happened in the first episode I ever saw so I'll know when I get there). anyway. epic highs and lows of this show, Killua rips a guy's heart out of his chest, Gon makes some extremely clever observations, Kurapika is the most character ever, but also there's the transmisogyny

watched a little more Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I love it when the most important part of a space battle is alternating scenes between each faction talking about what they think the other faction's plan is. this is Television to me. also I'm just now realizing that the columns on the bridges of the Imperial ships are actual literal stone columns, which seems wildly impractical but also extra as hell

most of what I watched this week was, as previously mentioned, the Persona 5 anime, because we wanted to watch something that we didn't have to pay much attention to. it's not, like, a good anime (the pacing is wild, they don't do a great job compressing the story of the game into the limited runtime, the art does not look good, they refuse to pass up an opportunity for jiggling tits or an ass close-up, the ending is thematically incoherent because they refuse to commit to any specifics of what "improving society" actually means materially even more than the game does). however. that's not the point. the point is that Persona 5 contains some of my favorite characters of all time, and also we were watching the dub (I'd already seen the sub) specifically to hear Robbie Daymond as Goro Akechi in all his flirty glory and oh boy did he deliver. also the music fucks

because we watched all of P5A we watched significantly less Zeta Gundam. I still love Four very much (rip), and I am amused by the new villain squad of Scirocco, Mouar, and Jerid, even if I find Jerid incredibly uninteresting. like, I genuinely think the show would be better if he had died instead of Lila and we got to have her as the main rival instead. but also I generally wish there were more evil women who stuck around for longer instead of dying almost immediately (or getting completely dropped from the story? not sure what happened to Rosamia tbh but it would be cool if she came back)

playing: I'm now on the final case of Ace Attorney 5. love that it's Athena's turn to be on trial for murder, a very important rite of passage. I am intrigued by whatever Blackquill's deal is but more importantly I want to see Aura again. also I miss Apollo :(

also ran another session of my ongoing Blades in the Dark campaign. they stole a cursed object for a demon, a woman got partially turned into a bird, and one of the player characters got really into celebrity RPF. normal day in Duskwall

making: we started building Miorine so that Suletta can have her wife to keep her company, and were almost immediately thwarted by how annoying the face decals are. so instead here's Suletta watching over her mostly-unassembled wife

drinking: Stormalong's Light of the Sun fucks so hard. it's yuzu & jasmine and both of the flavors come through really well

writing: finished (?) the yuri//vain fic I've been working on but haven't posted it yet for normal reasons of I've stared at it for too long so now I'm convinced it's bad. it's fine, I'll get over that and post it eventually. however I did a lot of writing on other unrelated fics. for example, I continue to be having a normal one about Integrity Friendsatthetable:

also started another Great Ace Attorney fic because I am not immune to the concept of post-canon Kazuma & Maria roommates

[miraruinada]

A woman steps into Granja's private study. Her steps are quiet, imperceptible. She moves like a ghost that haunted the world, the one she left behind, the one where her created magical machines advanced technology to a post-industrial level at a faster pace than it would had it been through normal scientific means, yet also wrought the empire's dominance to its height and squashed most hope to counter it. The ghost of the era she had created, more materially impactful than the woman sitting with his back to her reading through the daily.

"I told you I hate others coming into my study without my permission," Granja says. He puts the paper down and picks up a cigarette from the ash tray which, in the process of being absorbed by his reading, Granja had neglected and left to die out.

"How did you know I was here?" she asks, forgoing any attempt at stealth and simply threw herself on the couch beside Granja, grabbing an empty glass and pouring herself some whiskey, laying on her side as she watched Granja's hand twirl the cigarette in his fingertips.

"You opened and closed the door. That makes noise." Granja answers, then starts digging through his pockets for a lighter.

"So much for staying hidden. I woulda failed in assassinating you right now," she says with a breezy laugh escaping her lips. Despite being near the same age as Granja, her face and mannerisms exuded vibrancy and youth.

"Why did you do it?" is the only question Granja has. "I heard from Cholu exactly what happened in that town. Conjuring my youth and releasing him in that period. To what end?"

"I wanted to see your brilliance again. The Jorjais that wrote with passion bordering on madness. The Granja with a fire in his pen, almost killing himself again and again over the future of idealism." The woman swirls the drink in her cup, the natural genius who'd uncovered the secrets of magic and then rested on her laurels had a fondness bordering on obsessive admiration over the clever woman who was no natural genius, who poured his heart and soul into his craft until it drove him to the highest stages of subjective destitution.

"Chalchiuhnene," Granja uses her true name, not her title Xochitl Cuicatl, Flower Song, as he lights his cigarette, "The past stays past for a reason. I was an idiot who let my passion drive me to insanity. Still, I have not lost my flame. I was grieving for so long over what I should do, but returning to the capital I found purpose. 'Anything at all could happen to them.' That's when I discovered I love my students. I've already confessed this. You didn't have to do any of that."

"I still miss it. When you'd burn yourself like a falling star. You were so different from the sages and the mystics, happy to pretend that their knowledge hadn't penetrated the unknown because it was impossible, affixed and twinkling without worth like that pox upon the sky. I wrote a raving review of your first book, you know. It almost cost me my title as tlamatini. I said you were to bring the mind into the modern age as I had in bringing the body." She had paired them irreversibly in her mind, the two pioneers of the modern world. Within good reason - she is the most revered and studied of many fields in the sciences.

"Then why didn't you come back to me when I returned?" he asks. The question lingers in the air. He already knew the answer. By that point in time, he'd been marked a madwoman, his philosophy considered a danger to the empire. She'd have lost everything. He knew, the circumstance made it impossible, but an ache remained. He did not wait for an answer she would not give, simply continuing, "I had done what I needed. We are not the last as I had thought in my youth. Our legacies will carry on. They will finish the work left by us. That's the unfolding of history."

"Really, I just wanted to feel your hands around my neck again," she confesses. She drinks the entire glass of whiskey in one go and thinks. "Your students are impressive. Grasping the situation at hand with so little to grasp. They're not stupid."

"Of course not, they're my students," he answers. Then taps out the cigarette in the ash tray. "Lock the door, Nene. I'll indulge your desire."

[cybersunnie]

sunnie baby !! have u any thoughts inside that beautiful noggin of yours on academic rival corio ?

Coriolanus thought too highly of himself.

You were clever, but he believed he was even more so. That was how his mind worked.

But he would be a fool to ignore the constant praises you received from professors and fellow peers. With your wit and eloquence, you managed to climb your way to the top of the class, though you have yet to surpass him. But you were getting close. 

Dangerously close.

He couldn't deny that you were a threat. A threat to the Plinth Prize he so desperately wanted, needed, and deserved. And here you were, trying to take away that from him. 

It's almost cute—how hard you were trying.

Did Dean Highbottom put you to this? The dean had always despised him. Coriolanus wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. But why would you agree to do it? From as far as he knew, he hadn't wronged you in the past. You wouldn't have any motive.

Unless you just enjoyed being insufferable.

Whenever he answered a question in class, you would raise your hand and add to it as if his response wasn't adequate. When a professor complimented you, he swore you would look at him just to see how he would react. (Coriolanus never gave you the satisfaction, though). If you two were in the same room, friendly discussions turned into debates. The first time it happened was in Communications. After that, Satyria Click often placed you and him on opposing sides to “see what happens.”

But you were still polite to him even with this rivalry between you two. Nauseatingly polite. 

Your smiles and honeyed words made his ego swell, but Coriolanus knew what they truly were. They were sneers masked as smiles. Taunts that were worded to sound like praise.

How did he know? Because he was doing the same to you.

In the eyes of an outsider, you two were civil—classmates who respected each other despite the ever-growing tension between them. But it was all to save face, to seem like the bigger person.

Deep down, Coriolanus liked playing this little game with you. Cat and mouse. Near captures and repeated escapes. You were so easy to read. So predictable. He liked making you think you could outsmart him. He found pleasure in making you think you were winning. And he would let you bask in that feeling of victory so that it would hurt more when he defeats you. How could he not play with you?

As the rivalry ensued, he would watch you from afar. Some may call it obsessive, but he called it studying. He studied your mannerisms and learned the subject you excelled in the most so that he could take that away from you, too. 

You were all-encompassing. Everything Coriolanus did shifted back to you. What would you do? And how could he do it better?

There was one thing he didn't know—one thing he was unaware of. If Coriolanus’ delusions hadn’t blinded him, he would have realized that you just wanted to do well in your academics. He would have realized that you weren't trying to compete with him, and that your smiles and compliments were genuine. No ulterior motive.

But it didn't matter. He was having too much fun.

And Coriolanus would like to play with you, his "rival," just a little longer.

tldr: in my head, academic rival!coryo is a paranoid and delusional mess that thinks you are out to get him, but in actuality, you are just trying to do good in school—completely unaware of said "rivalry". author's note: not proofread. this is my roman empire. i love writing delusional coryo. anyways, i hope you liked this kaia mwah! 💋

[epubdlcom]

Introducing the second collection of our Family Fairytales, a wonderful eBook that will transport you to magical worlds filled with adventures and life lessons for the whole family to enjoy. This collection features ten enchanting tales, including classics such as "Cinderella" and "The Emperor's New Clothes," as well as lesser-known treasures like "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Each story is beautifully illustrated and written in language that is accessible for children of all ages. As you journey through these fairytales, you will meet courageous heroes and heroines, cunning villains, and magical creatures who will capture your imagination and inspire your spirit. You'll learn important lessons about kindness, honesty, perseverance, and the true meaning of love. Whether you read these stories aloud with your family, or enjoy them on your own, you'll be transported to a world of wonder and magic. These timeless tales are perfect for bedtime, rainy days, or any time you want to escape into a world of imagination. So curl up with your loved ones and get lost in the pages of Family Fairytales Collection 2. You'll create cherished memories that will last a lifetime, and inspire a love of reading that will be passed down for generations to come. Excerpt Many, many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that he spent all his money in order to obtain them; his only ambition was to be always well dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him; the only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; and as one would say of a king "He is in his cabinet," so one could say of him, "The emperor is in his dressing-room." The great city where he resided was very gay; every day many strangers from all parts of the globe arrived. One day two swindlers came to this city; they made people believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth to be imagined. Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid. "That must be wonderful cloth," thought the emperor. "If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were unfit for their places, and I could distinguish the clever from the stupid. I must have this cloth woven for me without delay." And he gave a large sum of money to the swindlers, in advance, that they should set to work without any loss of time. They set up two looms, and pretended to be very hard at work, but they did nothing whatever on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth; all they got they did away with, and worked at the empty looms till late at night. "I should very much like to know how they are getting on with the cloth," thought the emperor. But he felt rather uneasy when he remembered that he who was not fit for his office could not see it. Personally, he was of opinion that he had nothing to fear, yet he thought it advisable to send somebody else first to see how matters stood. Everybody in the town knew what a remarkable quality the stuff possessed, and all were anxious to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were. "I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers," thought the emperor. "He can judge best how the stuff looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody understands his office better than he." The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms. "Heaven preserve us!" he thought, and opened his eyes wide, "I cannot see anything at all," but he did not say so. Both swindlers requested him to come near, and asked him if he did not admire the exquisite pattern and the beautiful colours, pointing to the empty looms.

The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. "Oh dear," he thought, "can I be so stupid? I should never have thought so, and nobody must know it! Is it possible that I am not fit for my office? No, no, I cannot say that I was unable to see the cloth." "Now, have you got nothing to say?" said one of the swindlers, while he pretended to be busily weaving. "Oh, it is very pretty, exceedingly beautiful," replied the old minister looking through his glasses. "What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colours! I shall tell the emperor that I like the cloth very much." "We are pleased to hear that," said the two weavers, and described to him the colours and explained the curious pattern. The old minister listened attentively, that he might relate to the emperor what they said; and so he did. Now the swindlers asked for more money, silk and gold-cloth, which they required for weaving. They kept everything for themselves, and not a thread came near the loom, but they continued, as hitherto, to work at the empty looms. Soon afterwards the emperor sent another honest courtier to the weavers to see how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the old minister, he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen. "Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?" asked the two swindlers, showing and explaining the magnificent pattern, which, however, did not exist. "I am not stupid," said the man. "It is therefore my good appointment for which I am not fit. It is very strange, but I must not let any one know it;" and he praised the cloth, which he did not see, and expressed his joy at the beautiful colours and the fine pattern. "It is very excellent," he said to the emperor. Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of courtiers, including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers, who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread. "Is it not magnificent?" said the two old statesmen who had been there before. "Your Majesty must admire the colours and the pattern." And then they pointed to the empty looms, for they imagined the others could see the cloth. "What is this?" thought the emperor, "I do not see anything at all. That is terrible! Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? That would indeed be the most dreadful thing that could happen to me." "Really," he said, turning to the weavers, "your cloth has our most gracious approval;" and nodding contentedly he looked at the empty loom, for he did not like to say that he saw nothing. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked, and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the emperor, "It is very beautiful." And all advised him to wear the new magnificent clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. "It is magnificent, beautiful, excellent," one heard them say; everybody seemed to be delighted, and the emperor appointed the two swindlers "Imperial Court weavers." The whole night previous to the day on which the procession was to take place, the swindlers pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. People should see that they were busy to finish the emperor's new suit. They pretended to take the cloth from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with needles without thread, and said at last: "The emperor's new suit is ready now." The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall; the swindlers held their arms up as if they held something in their hands and said: "These are the trousers!" "This is the coat!" and "Here is the cloak!" and so on. "They are all as light as a cobweb, and one must feel as if one had nothing at all upon the body; but that is just the beauty of them." "Indeed!" said all the courtiers; but they could not see anything, for there was nothing to be seen.

"Does it please your Majesty now to graciously undress," said the swindlers, "that we may assist your Majesty in putting on the new suit before the large looking-glass?" The emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit upon him, one piece after another; and the emperor looked at himself in the glass from every side. "How well they look! How well they fit!" said all. "What a beautiful pattern! What fine colours! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!" The master of the ceremonies announced that the bearers of the canopy, which was to be carried in the procession, were ready. "I am ready," said the emperor. "Does not my suit fit me marvellously?" Then he turned once more to the looking-glass, that people should think he admired his garments. The chamberlains, who were to carry the train, stretched their hands to the ground as if they lifted up a train, and pretended to hold something in their hands; they did not like people to know that they could not see anything. The emperor marched in the procession under the beautiful canopy, and all who saw him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: "Indeed, the emperor's new suit is incomparable! What a long train he has! How well it fits him!" Nobody wished to let others know he saw nothing, for then he would have been unfit for his office or too stupid. Never emperor's clothes were more admired. "But he has nothing on at all," said a little child at last. "Good heavens! listen to the voice of an innocent child," said the father, and one whispered to the other what the child had said. "But he has nothing on at all," cried at last the whole people. That made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought to himself, "Now I must bear up to the end." And the chamberlains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Heyy, how ya doing? I wanted to make a platonic request with Miles and a black female reader who have been best friends since preschool, and usually they both don't argue but lately the reader has been going through some things and tries to go to Miles for advice or comfort but he's always so busy with being Spiderman. One day Miles gets upset and confused when the reader makes a negative comment towards him which leads to an argument and the reader asking him, "where were you when I needed you the most?!". What would they both do to make up after this?

This was definitely a new challenge to write as I'm not exactly accustomed to writing conflict. I had a lot of fun! (Or as much fun as you can have writing angst lol)

Out of habit, you pick up your phone and check the long line of texts left unanswered. Then three dots appear, and your stomach jumps.

“Wanna hang out at your place? I’ll bring pizza,” the text read. All you can hear is the thumping of your own heart, and you gnaw on your bottom lip while your fingers hover over the little keyboard.

yes | ok | sorry

“ok,”  you reply, opting for the reply that was easiest to reach.

Hardly ten minutes pass before you hear an elaborate rhythm being tapped out on your front door, and some part of you feels irritated that it only took ten minutes. Shaking the thought away before it can ruin your night, you get up to let Miles in.

“Hey!” you grin at your friend with tired eyes.

Miles throws back a “‘sup?”, as he preoccupies himself with hauling the two boxes of pizza he'd bought into the living room and setting them both on the table. 

He still has the damn suit on. Lazily hidden beneath a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, like he couldn’t be bothered to put the thing away for even a moment.

“You didn’t have to rush over here,” you comment in spite of yourself, taking a seat on the couch.

“So you wasn’t about to blow my phone up if I didn’t rush over here?” Miles teased.

Something ugly threatens to climb up your throat and leave your mouth, so you swallow to keep it down. It takes nearly all of your energy to keep it from clawing its way back up from your stomach. 

Too tired to come up with a clever quip, “Fair enough,” is all you can say, your expression unreadable.

Concern begins to color Miles’ features and the smile melts away, but he says nothing.

You ever-so-smoothly change the subject, “So, what’s new? You look tired.” 

He’s fucking Spider-Man, of course he’s tired.

“Not much,” Miles answers through a bite of pizza. “Same old shit: Green Goblin, robbery, shoot-out, repeat.”

“Must get annoying.”

“Yeah…�� he trails off, without a single bit or pun.

“And you?”

“And me? What about my boring ass?” you attempted to joke. Judging by Miles’ raised eyebrow, it didn’t quite land. 

“I mean, how are those college apps going?”

You had gotten off the phone earlier from a screaming match with your mom because Spelman was too far away, and Princeton was too expensive, and applications were due in a matter of months.

To put it nicely.

“Good.”

“...just good?” 

Oh, now  he wanted to ask questions.

“Yup,” you replied snappily. 

That something clawed its way out of your stomach and lodged itself in your chest, making your breaths short and quick. Your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes.

 “It's going fine.”

Miles decides to press further, “You alright? You seem really off right now. If you wanna tell me anything–”

“What, so you can dip out the window while I’m talking, then leave my texts on read?” you scoffed. 

You’d let it escape you, and there was nothing you could do now to go back and wipe the hurt expression off of your friend’s face. So you let it sit there, right between the two of you on the couch while the uneaten pizza went cold.

“I can’t always answer you while I’m getting hurled off the fucking Empire State Building,” Miles retorted. 

“But you could swing your black ass over here in ten minutes for some pizza and vibes, right?”

“I’m trying to hang out with you when I can, Y/N!”

 You had both risen to stand in front of the couch.

“You only talk to me to HANG OUT, Miles, that’s the fucking problem!” you finally exploded. Hot tears stung your eyes.

“What even is the fucking problem?!?”

“Where were you when I needed you the most?!?”

Miles fell silent as your words hung in the air. He flopped back down onto the couch with a thud, no fight left in him. 

You didn’t know whether to keep standing or to sit, unable to look to Miles for an answer as a tear escaped and rolled down your cheek before you could catch it. You sniffled to stop the snot from dripping down your nose and embarrassing you further.

“Look, sit down,” Miles sighed. He said it like ‘siddown’, so you knew he was serious this time. He wrapped a long arm around your shoulder, and you let him pull you closer until there was no space left between the two of you. 

You sat in silence like that for a couple minutes. Miles’ thumb rubbed little circles into your arm, just like when you lost your first volleyball game back at Visions Academy. The captain had yelled at you before stalking out of the gymnasium, with the rest of the team full of lanky girls followed closely behind. You could only think about how they all towered over you, and were prettier than you thought you would ever be. Miles saw your lone figure sitting on the bench and immediately left his front-row seat in the bleachers. You heard his sneakers squeak across the floor as he bounded over to you to wrap you in a warm hug. 

“I’m sorry,” present-day Miles breaks the silence. You open your mouth to apologize as well, but sobs pour out of you instead, wracking your entire body. He waits until the sobs become labored breaths before he continues. 

“I…don’t really know how I’m supposed to do this.”

“‘This’?” you ask, after a final sniff.

“Being there. While being…” Miles gestures towards himself.

You want to give him an answer, a game plan. But for the first time in your life, you draw a blank. So you give him the next best thing:

“Answer me when I text once in a while,” You smile weakly and smack your friend’s arm.

Miles returns the smile and shakes his head.

“I’ll try.”

[jekyll2life]

Jester Comments on MH: Boo York! Boo York!

Some of you may know and some of you may not, but I’m actually pretty new to Monster High (having only started getting into it around July of this year). So I’m not familiar with all the material of G1 Monster High yet, including the movies. Prior to today, I had only seen Ghouls Rule, Scaris City of Frights, and Friday Night Frights. 

Well today, one of my IRL friends, who’s a bit more of a Monster High veteran, decided to sit me down and watch Boo York! Boo York! for the very first time today. Here are some of my initial thoughts/first impressions (click the read more!):

The fashion in this movie SLAYS! Everyone looks great. I think if I had to boil it down to my favorite looks though, Cleo’s outfit (the one she wears for most of the movie and that got a doll) and Luna Mothews’ gala outfit take the cake. 

All of the songs in this movie are bops. Top 3 hits go to Empire, Steal the Show, and Fright Lights, Big City

Before seeing this movie, I first heard Empire as a sound on TikTok and assumed it was a regular pop song by an artist I’ve never heard of. So when I heard the full version for the first time in this movie, I kind of lost my shit. XD

It kind of surprised me how much of a minor role the other ghouls played in this movie. Like, I feel like if Operetta, Draculaura, and Abbey were removed from this movie nothing would change. I’m not complaining, it’s more just an observation that stood out to me. In the other movies I’ve seen so far, I feel like even if the main plot centered an a few core characters, the other characters still played plot relevant roles. 

I can definitely understand why some people take issue with Deuce’s characterization in this movie (the brunch scene gave my second hand embarrassment), but personally it didn’t bother me that much. But maybe that’s just because Deuce being a dumbass is one of my favorite things about his character. 

While on that note, I really like how Cleo was characterized in this movie. She still keeps her pride, yet still holds herself up to the standard of a leader, willing to put aside her wants if she believes it’s what’s best for the people around her. I enjoy watching Cleo struggle between her family’s expectations and wanting forge her own path, and I wish that aspect of her character would have been explored more outside of just her relationship with Deuce. Either way though, I enjoy when she’s written as being more than just a diva. 

In terms of the new characters, I really liked Luna Mothews! She has a really cute design and just has a very charming personality. Mouscedes was pretty cute too. I didn’t really care for Elle Eedee (though I do have to admit her name is pretty clever), but since she’s a DJ, I wish she got to meet Holt :(

It is a crime that Pharaoh never got a doll. They gave him that fine character design and for WHAT!? Not even a 2 pack with Catty!? That would’ve been so cute! 😭 Pharaoh never getting a doll is going to bother me forever now. 

On that note, I also think that it was a crime that Holt Hyde was not in this movie. He’s a DJ and loves music too. If Operetta can be in this movie and barely do much, than so should Holt dang it. 

The boys all thinking that Ghoulia trying to stop a literal meteor from hitting the Earth was just a videogame is, while dumb, also very funny. 

Mr. Rotter in this movie reminds me of one of my old high school teachers who hosted secret Smash Bros tournaments in his classroom during lunch hour lol

Also who was gonna tell me that there was an Ever After High reference in the post-credit scene!? I’m guessing that since the crossover movie got cancelled, this would probably never get explained. But it’s still pretty cool. 

Anyway, 10/10 movie, would definitely watch again. Boo York has definitely rocketed its way to 2nd place on my favorite MH movie list. 

[owlpartytime]

Days of Thranto Past Appreciation Post Day 8

Rather than writing new this Thrantovember, I am featuring the works of others that I love. Most of these are probably well known already, but it's always someone's first time seeing a fic! Rules were: 1. Story must be completed, and 2. Thranto must be the primary focus of the story. I'm featuring 3 a day (because I couldn't cut the list down) at random - I'd love to hear your thoughts on the selections (and please give the authors some love, too!)

Unexpected Lullaby by ffdemon

Ar’alani runs her finger on the side of the questis a moment, weigh the impact of this decision. Even f it goes against all logic, she can’t find a reason not to do it. She moves back to the chair and offer him the pad.

“I have assembled on this questis all I could gather about Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Most are from his military and academy files. There are a few I manage to request from the Mitth family itself. And all the report he has made since joining the Empire.” She explains. “You understand that pretty much everything there is on this are way beyond what you should have access too.”

Vanto nods slowly, eyes while in surprise. “But why?”

“Thrawn always has a knack to find trouble he might not be able to get out by himself. I want to believe this time is one of these cases. If someone could recount his steps and try to discover when in the universe he might be, it’s you Lieutenant Commander.” Ar’alani explains as she takes her glass back and finish it.

A lovely, sad little story about Eli missing Thrawn and Ar'alani taking pity on him.

--

Admiral Brawn by chaos_monkey

A burly pantoran with what looked like red contact lenses, dressed in an improbably tight outfit of vaguely militaristic cut, lounging seductively against an obviously fake control panel and caressing the rather impressively large bulge in the front of his ‘uniform’ trousers. 

Eli hesitated. Normally those Imperial Officers Gone Wild type feeds didn’t hold much interest for him— they always got everything wrong, with the result that Eli inevitably wound up just rolling his eyes a lot instead of getting off— but… there was really only one Imperial Officer that pantoran could be intended to resemble. 

Knowing he would probably regret it, but too curious to care, Eli opened the feed anyway and immediately snorted a laugh at the titles that popped up. 

A fantastically clever and hilarious fic that I have never stopped thinking about and delight on inflicting on others at every opportunity. Worth it for the titles and dialogue alone.

--

Remembered by a Friend by @wantonwhale

He couldn’t believe it. After nearly a year of sleepless nights spent in quiet, tear-filled rage and grief, a year of searching, of following the faintest leads, the dimmest of traces… here he was. Found on a beach planet: not too far from Lysatra, in fact. Just outside the edge Unknown Space… exactly where he’d told the patrol ship to look.

His tumbling thoughts fell away when Thrawn looked at him.

Eli took a hesitant step forward. The Chiss looked much the same as the last time Eli had seen him, but with the addition of a faint, blue scar along one side of his face, following the line of his jaw. He seemed tired, and he certainly looked thinner: more wiry. But that was not what was most troubling. What was most troubling was the way the Chiss was looking at Eli…

With nothing but a mild—even polite—curiosity…

Not happiness….

Not even recognition…

… and certainly not love.

“Mitth’raw’nuruodo?” Thrass asked, turning away from Eli to face his younger brother. “Do you recognize this human?”

Thrawn held Eli’s gaze for a few moments, then shook his head.

Another longfic that I adore. Sad, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and hopeful in turns, it's well crafted and compelling and you feel for the characters as they go through the struggles of Thrawn's lost memory. One of the best, and one I re-read often.

[no-droids]

Ch 17 was so, so, so good (thank you!!) 🥺 i am still processing. ((Edit: this turned into an essay so i Am Very Sorry in advance, there is a tldr at the end though))

First of all. We get to see Din going through it the same way sweet girl was a couple chapters ago and I love it! She’s been so clear from the start that she doesn’t want to run away from him and now Din’s getting to the point where he doesn’t want to chase her anymore because he just wants her to be physically there with him again. The second night of comms while she’s camped out at the orphanage?? “I thought this was going to be alright, but I hate it.” ??????????? i am a Puddle of Emotions no one look at me 😭

And then the way he’s so unsure about whether she hasnt begun to reconsider wanting to keep up with his bounty-hunter life now that she’s finally gotten a break if being forced to outrun a mandalorian can be really even be called a break for the first time in a year?? And he can SEE all the places she’s stopped to talk to people on this planet (his comment about the number of times the blond guy turned around to talk to her in the line? 🥺.) Din knows she’s enjoying these small encounters with people, getting to interact with a new planet and learn new things as she’s making her way through each place, and since they’re only talking at night he gets to think about it literally all day long as he follows her trail and tries to figure out what her plan is. This is truly an exercise in Din thinking nonstop about sweet girl (which ofc he does already, but like, thinking critically about what she thinks/wants/does/needs and why) and I feel like that’s causing him to slowly start to second guess himself in terms of where he would put himself on sweet girl’s list of priorities. And I wonder how much of this he’s actually considering for the first time? because it’s always him who leaves and comes back when he gets jobs — this is the first time that sweet girl has left him instead of the other way around. Sweet girl has had tons of time to think about these things, whereas Din hasn’t really had to... because it’s not the one who leaves who feels the absence most, it’s the one who’s left behind (even if just temporarily).

I can just picture Din’s increasing doubts as the chase keeps going, whether he’s worth putting up with his lifestyle and whether sweet girl wouldn’t rather have a life like the people he sees in the footprints around hers? because he knows her, knows she likes soft beds and meeting people and fresh fruit and beautiful scenery, which are all things that living on the razor crest can’t always provide except for the last one bc Din Djarin IS beautiful scenery let’s be clear and just. the ANGST. I cannot. ( a n d meanwhile sweet girl is having a breakdown thinking he wants to STOP looking and LEAVE her? As if)

So when she shuts down his tentative doubts about it on the second night she’s at the orphanage and Din starts asking questions about favorite animals and flowers and things?? 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I lost it. Din is mirroring the love and care he receives from sweet girl (and learning to tap into those emotions as he does) and I am just in awe of both his character development from ch 1 to here and your ability to show that gradual shift in your writing.

Tl;dr thank you very much for this latest chapter! I will continue to be a soft emotional little puddle for the foreseeable future, or at least until I can figure out to scrape myself off the floor and function like a human being who has not just read rough day ch 17 and promptly dissolved as a direct result🌻

okay

okay first of all ma’am/sir/friend, please do not put tl;dr’s on a fucking MASTERFUL DISSECTION LIKE THAT like I genuinely hope people read every word of what you have written because you’re so spot on about everything that I was almost taken aback JEJFJJDJFJF

I would like to say, and I need to do this in list form because you have presented so many beautiful points that I’d like to address them one by one,

1.) Din Djarin is used to being alone. Full stop. Like even with sweet girl helping out with the baby and agreeing to stay on the ship while he goes and grabs quarry, he’s gone for weeks sometimes. He is used to being by himself, to fending for himself, protecting himself, patching himself up, EVERYTHING by himself. He is the most independent self-sufficient driven bounty hunter Karga has on the payroll and he’s reliable, which is why Karga would give him four pucks at a time. Giving anyone else four pucks would mean that if they happened to die during their hunts, then more than one puck would be lost and that’s money down the drain. Din doesn’t die, he always comes back with all four bodies and he’s fucking quick about it. Him telling sweet girl “I thought this was gonna be alright” is apt, because he’s been able to exist without her and do good work while he knows she’s safe on the Crest. In fact, the only time he EVER didn’t do good work is when a) she was attacked on the Crest on Corellia, or b) when he desperately wanted to get back to her as quick as possible and he pushed himself too hard and put himself in danger (aka frozen on Hoth scene). And actually c) when he stole Grogu back from the empire and had Karga and the guild on his ass about it. Those were the only times Din had trouble doing his job. The only times he stopped looking and gave up. “I thought this was going to be alright, but I hate it” means that YES ABSOLUTELY DIN DJARIN DOES NOT LIKE STAYING PUT WHILE SHE LEAVES, even though he’s okay with going out and doing his job when she stays. Even though he’s still hunting, it’s like the roles have been reversed. She’s understanding his side, and he’s understanding her side. It’s been 4 days and he hates it, so imagine weeks or months of that. Not being able to move or chase after her either, just hanging out on the crest with Grogu and waiting to see if she’ll be able to make it back. Which

2.) makes it hurt just a lil more in that wonderful delicious angsty way when he actually asks if she wants this life. On Naboo, he didn’t know where she went or where the kid was—he didn’t know if they were in danger, if she was safe. He said he’d rip the galaxy apart to find her if she ever disappeared like that again. But... she’d be safe on Sanctuary II. This is different, and just like you said, he’s had multiple days where all he did was try to think like her. Get in her head, predict her. Understand her more than he’s ever attempted to do before, in a NECESSARY capacity, like he would a bounty he’s hunting. Din Djarin is used to being alone. He’s used to being silent and that’s how connections are severed before they can even be established. His only practice at empathy was through his job, a job that he is very very good at, but it was never enough to get him to stop looking. He would never be able to empathize enough to ask if the bounty wanted him to stop looking for them. Even with the baby, he turned him in at first and then let the guilt eat him alive before going back to save him. So, if you couple that with his true connection to sweet girl, the natural empathy he has for her and the kid (him immediately following her after he accidentally snapped at her on the Crest and apologizing) and Din is now TRULY beginning to understand her on a level he’s never experienced with another person

3.) BUT!!! Even though he “needed to ask” (meaning he understood enough to know that asking the question was necessary) he started out the entire conversation by admitting he doesn’t think he could do it. Before ever telling her what specifically he doesn’t think he could do, he already knows this about himself and says it flat out. I don’t think I could. Even if you asked me to, even if you said you’d be happier if I did, even if you told me right now that it’s what you wanted, I don’t think I could ever stop looking. And a lot of the turmoil he experiences is because of that. I make you sleep on the floor. I teach you to fight when you just want to look at waterfalls. I do all these things that you’d never willingly do yourself, and I’m a bad person BECAUSE I still want you to always be here with me in spite of all that.

4.) Meanwhile sweet girl just has no fucking clue all this is happening and it seems to come out of nowhere, all she knows is that he’s been in the city when he should’ve caught up to her days ago. She’s out experiencing things and meeting new people and yet she always comes back to Din and the baby and how much they should be here with her. She tries to come up with clever ways to outthink him but she also offers to give her coordinates to him practically every single night. Her wanting to be with him so bad but trying to hold out (“ask me again tomorrow”) while Din is also wanting to be with her so bad and also trying to hold out (“find her again tomorrow”) 🥺

So yeah basically in conclusion I love them together and they’re so different but they make each other somehow both stronger and softer in so many ways and yeah u mighta heard of DD/LG u kinky fucks but lemme present to u DD/SG

[marvelstars]

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," he said.

Thrawn lowered his head. "I know."

I have been thinking about this moment in the novel since Thrawn is going to appear in the new Ahsoka series and I just love this new dynamic Tymothy Zahn wrote with Vader and Thrawn in the new canon.

I always liked Thrawn since I read his first appareance in the novels, I believe he´s the best character created in legends, followed by Mara Jade, because he singlehandely managed to give dignity to imperial admirals, he represented the competent/brilliant side of the Empire that had the rebels running from them all over the galaxy, who thought by themselves and weren´t blindly loyal to the Emperor, he didn´t need to have force powers to be a fearsome opponent but his relationship with Vader on legends was distant, proffesional and very competitive so there wans´t much to talk about it from there, besides Thrawn use of the Nogri, a new species profoundly loyal to Vader because he helped their planet.

But the new canon added this delicate circunstance, Thrawn KNEW Anakin before he became Vader, they were allies for a short time but he still managed to get a sense of who Anakin was as a person, enough to miss him when he came back to the Empire and swore loyalty to the Emperor in exchange of support for his people.

Thrawn is bassically a Sherlock Holmes/Moriarty verision of an imperial admiral, he´s clever but also cold without being cruel unnecesarily, so there´s something so touching in the fact that he actually misses who Anakin used to be, to the point of going out of his way to try to get Vader to react to his old name, there´s nothing in there for him besides sympathy, it probably would be better for him to get Vader out of the way to develop his plans for the Empire, he in fact addmited to Vader he had three different plans to kill him, yet he felt the need to mention Anakin to Vader in repeated occasions, so when Vader officially told him to stop, he "lowers his head" as if mourning that´s too much emotion for someone like him who wasn´t close to Anakin yet knew him as respected his habilities, so this drives home how much was lost when Anakin fell to the darkside, not just for the Jedi/the Republic/his family/Galaxy but also for the Empire as well.

He just isn´t the person he used to be, even a virtual stranger without the force like Thrawn noticed it and yet he tried to get a reaction out of Vader if only because he thought Anakin´s legacy deserved that much.

This new take on their relationship is so much closer and honest, I just hope filoni takes some clues from there because it´s an interesting new take for them.

“For a long moment, they stood together in silence. Vader thought about his secret... about Thrawn's loyalty... about the Emperor's continued need for him. Perhaps the entire Empire's need for him... "Anakin Skywalker is dead," he said.

Thrawn lowered his head. "I know."

Vader nodded slowly. *I know.* Not *So I have heard.* Not *So I was informed.* But *I know.* "We will not speak of him again," he said. "*You* will not speak of him again."

"I understand, my lord," Thrawn said. "But I will always honor his legacy.” ― Timothy Zahn, Thrawn: Alliances

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 36

Sorry about the delay. But now its here and its ready for consumption.

Also, Shout to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for me and making sure I actually got this out.

Check her writing out on AO3 as ShamelesslyRomantic,

(Master post)

(Read the fic in a more condensed on Ao3)

_____________________________________________________________

“Finished,” the artist akuma stated as he addressed his master.

Masquerade got up from her throne to look at the room. The classroom had been transformed into a rather spacious throne room. The artist had erased and redrawn walls to ensure the room was much larger. This new space also had several large windows adorned with elegant black and white curtains hanging from the top. Reflekta servants decked out in masquerade themed armor stood at attention on each step leading to her throne. Beautiful artwork of her decorated the walls, including an imposing portrait of her behind her throne that made it look as if she was looking down at everyone looking up at it. To her that came off as self-interested yet tasteful. The masked akuma even loved the addition of a red carpet that led up to her throne.

“This is quite satisfactory, Evillustrator. Just be sure to reinforce the walls of the room then head to the roof and locate Simularé. I want this place to be a fortress,” Masquerade ordered

“Understood,” the akuma nodded, his expression unreadable from the white face mask. He quickly headed to the door out of the room and Stone heart was guarding the door with his large frame and had to let the artist out.

“Gamer! Robostus! Status report!”

“We have made it so we could hack into every screen in Paris that is connected to the internet, as per your request,” the Gamer responded in monotone.

Masquerade smiled at that.

“Excellent. Do we have the cameras ready?”

The Reflekta copies near the robot akuma were being outfitted with recording gear.

“Affirmative, we will be ready to go live at your request.”

The masked akuma smiled at that news, she turned her attention to Princess Fragrance and the original Reflekta, who had just finished turning the last of the captured individuals into obedient copies of her.

“Has everyone in the school been rounded up and handled?”

“Dark Cupid and Reverser are doing a final sweep of any runaway stragglers. Stormy weather is going around flooding and freezing any empty hallways to flush out any that are hiding. There are Reflekta copies guarding the blocked off exits should anyone try and escape. But over 96% of the student body has been accounted for and 99% of all Faculty.” Princess Fragrance answered.

‘The missing ones are likely Marinette and Adrien. Those two never did make anything easy for me, did they? But it didn’t matter, their luck would run out soon enough. Once Ladybug and Chat noir were handled, then I could focus on making them pay,’ Masquerade grinned to herself.

She could picture how it would be, finding them and seeing their desperate faces as they realized that no hero would be able to save them. The first thing she would do was show them both her little empire. They thought she was bad when she had the school wrapped around her finger, they will be mortified when they see Paris. She would have all their friends and family captured, their best friends leading the cruel treatment of the rest. This would have them in tears and begging for mercy.

She did once consider letting Adrien be her boyfriend, with some perfume to sway him. He would have been a perfect boytoy to taunt Marinette with, but Masquerade realized how far above him she was now. She didn’t need him anymore, and truthfully, he was just as bad as Marinette, if not worse. Marinette had the audacity to dislike her and challenge her, but Adrien, he was so condescending, acting like she should be better than her actions. She could swear she saw pity in his eyes, and that was so much worse.

Though she wasn’t completely heartless, if they begged to be her personal servants and apologized for standing against her, then maybe she would let them have some mercy. Having Marinette clean up after her and make those admittedly delicious baked goods would be nice and having Adrien wait on her hand and foot like a personal butler would be quite fun. Maybe they would think if they did a good enough job their families would suffer less.

She did want to daydream about that idea more but she knew that she needed to focus on the present.

“Alright, Let’s start moving to stage 2. Gamer! I want a comprehensive list of every akuma victim outside of the school. Robostus! Make sure the cameras and broadcast are ready when I tell you. I want everything to go off without a hitch.”

“Affirmative!” Gamer and Robostus responded in equal robotic unison.

“Reflekta! Princess Fragrance! After all of the copies pick up the stragglers, I want you scanning the area for Ladybug and Chat noir. Bubbler and Lady Wifi… wait. I think I remember something.”

She paused to check her charm, she noticed the question mark charm and touched it, allowing her to focus and see what akuma it was.

“Cancel that order, remain on standby unless we get approached.”

“Yes… so this is what that voice meant by merging. How very interesting. I think I will let that new akuma keep its directive. Ladybug and Chat noir will have no chance of beating...”

An akuma merged with Lady Wifi, Bubbler and Oblivio. Combined to make something new. Something that she knew even the heroes would have trouble fighting.

“Deadzone.” Masquerade said with a devilish grin.

______________________________________________________________________________

Ladybug and Chat Noir made their way down the hall. They easily dealt with a few Reflekta clones without much effort and continued moving.

They were expecting to see more akuma lurking about, but strangely, the halls they were walking down were all either empty or only covered by Reflekta duplicates.

“Masquerade likely has her stronger forces consolidating after bringing in as many people to her as they could. Those that didn’t hit the mark likely got turned into the copies we bumped into.” Ladybug answered.

“That does explain why they were singing, like when Princess Fragrance made servants,” the cat hero added.

“This might be our only time to catch a break before confronting her.”

“So, since we have time, do you mind if I ask if you're free to go on Patrol tonight?” the cat hero casually inquired.

Ladybug stopped.

“Tonight? That is quite sudden. Plus, we still don’t know how this will play out.” Ladybug gestured to the school.

“Well I am going to assume we stop the akuma and save the day like always.” Chat noir commented. “Call it a safe bet, but we usually win.”

“Always the positive outlook, Chaton. I’m glad you have so much faith in us despite our numbers disadvantage.”

“You said it yourself, most of the servants are pushovers or just puppets. The only real threat is Lila. And we have faced worse."

“True, but not anything this sinister,” Ladybug tacked on.

“Didn’t we fight Hawkmoth a couple of months back?” Chat noir asked with a twinge of confusion. Was Ladybug implying what he thought she was?

Ladybug held her tongue.

“You’re kidding right? You think Lila is eviler than Hawkmoth!” Chat Noir exclaimed in shock.

“No no no! Not eviler … just a bit cleverer than him,” Ladybug confessed.

Chat noir looked at his partner skeptically, but then considered her words.

“She is manipulative. Considering even without being akumatized she has done some rather twisted stuff. But thinking she is evil is a bit much. Especially when there is someone responsible for forcing emotionally vulnerable people to do his bidding,” Chat noir pointed out.

“Isn’t that what she is doing right now?”

“Yes, but she was akumatized. If we started blaming people for their actions as akuma we would have to throw innocent people in jail.”

“Right�� but you read that article on the Ladyblog right? She could be more than just a victim of Hawkmoth, she could be an ally.”

The Cat hero thought about it more but was still not entirely convinced.

“I guess underestimating her would be dumb, but maybe she isn’t completely evil. I mean Chloé ended up showing a bit of humanity and did some good, maybe Lila is capable of it too.”

The crimson clad heroine smiled a bit.

“That’s what I like about you, Chat, you always focus on the good in others.”

The black clad hero gave a Cheshire grin.

“When it comes to the team, you’re the brains, and I’m the sidekick who brings the smiles and the heartfelt speeches.”

“You aren’t my sidekick, Chat Noir, we are partners. And you could be the brains too, if you would use yours outside of pun making.” Ladybug playfully bonked his noggin.

The cat chuckled at the playful teasing.

“Fair enough, but I can’t help it if I FELINE making a quip.”

Ladybug could feel herself groan at the lame joke.

“I take it back… you are the sidekick,” Ladybug deadpanned, her tone of mock annoyance causing the cat to chuckle.

“Alright I’ll…” He stopped speaking as he noticed something was amiss.

Chat Noir’s left ear twitched. He heard approaching footsteps.

“We better get moving, this abandoned hallway isn’t going to be so abandoned in a minute.”

“More Reflekta clones?”

Chat Noir extended the staff to the ground, his face showing a sudden sternness.

“No… Winter is coming.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Viperion peered through the door of the locker room.

“Clear.”

The snake and dragon heroes entered with their akuma prisoner.

“Pick a locker and let’s toss her in,” Ryuuko commented as she held the squirming akuma.

The two paused their movement when they heard a rustling in the lockers.

“Do you hear that?” Viperion questioned.

“How could I not?” Ryuuko replied.

Just as the two stared at the rustling lockers. The two shaking lockers doors flew off their hinges.

And stepped out an akuma that neither hero recognized.

“I don’t remember seeing that akuma before,” Ryuuko stated.

“Neither do I, but it seems vaguely familiar,”  Viperion responded.

As the Akuma was gathering its bearings, the heroes tried to gauge its powers. It had broad shoulders that had spherical, dark purple balls around them, which were connected to tight black sleeves with 3 white circular stripes at the end that ended at his wrists. Its left hand had a fingerless black glove which showed its skin akin to a purple silhouette. The other hand was what appeared to be a black laser canon with a phone attached to it. On its back was a large red, purple and black pipe which seemed to act as a holster to a blue bubble wand.  Its face was obscured by a large white theater mask much like all the other akuma. But there was the impression that it had distinct features. Its chest had a rounded purple bubble on the top half of its body akin to round armor and it had a logo that appeared to be a WiFi signal within an eye in a cage. The lower half appeared more akin to a skintight jumpsuit that was black with white stripes at the feet.

The akuma turned its attention to the two heroes.

“So umm… what are you doing in the locker room?”

“Merge complete, Deadzone is active. Mission objective, Capture Ladybug and Chat Noir,” The akuma answered in a robotic tone less as a response to the question and more as a statement, their voice sounded like the mix of two people.

“Well, Deadzone, we can’t let you do that!”  Ryuuko exclaimed as she glared at the akuma.

The akuma pointed its blaster at her.

“Your opinion on that really doesn’t have an impact on us.”

Deadzone’s left hand touched the phone on their blaster, and a purple bubble with a pause insignia shot out. Ryuuko and Viperion both jumped back as the bubble had direct contact with their akuma prisoner, causing her to be motionless as the bubble turned green and floated to the roof of the room.

“Okay, so don’t touch the bubbles,” Viperion noted.

“Positive side, we don’t need to worry about that one akuma,” Ryuuko commented.

Viperion and Ryuuko knew this akuma would be trouble if it got to Ladybug and Chat noir. They were going to need to find a way to stop it.

______________________________________________________________________

Fu had been observing the spoiled Mayor’s daughter after her confrontation with the Reflekta replicas. Using it as a means to help him find Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was aware that this girl had a knack for getting into trouble and making akuma target her, so it would not be too far off to assume she would be useful in locating his chosen. He would have called her, but communication was down, so he would need to adapt. But now he had a rather interesting quandary.

“Should I lend her the miraculous or not?” Fu spoke quietly as he pondered.

It was a tougher question he had initially thought. If he was asked if she was worthy of being a miraculous user, the answer would undoubtedly be negative. She was clearly a spoiled brat who saw herself above others. But after the events when the bee miraculous temporarily fell into her hands, he had started observing her. He did this with all of the chosen ones that Marinette had picked. Not because he didn’t trust his student, but more out of curiosity of why Marinette picked these individuals.

With the one she picked for the fox miraculous, Fu could see that the girl valued justice, but was cunning and saw the importance of distinguishing truth from illusion, an ideal pick for the fox miraculous. As for the Turtle miraculous wielder, Wayzz spoke highly of Nino, which really made him curious about the young lad. That boy showed a willingness to protect those close to him even if it meant getting hurt, and the calm to be ready to wait and roll with things. The miraculous of protection required someone that can keep a cool head and be ready to defend at the drop of a hat.

The other temporary heroes matched pretty well with the traits of the Kwami and were all good people deep down. Fu had no doubts that Marinette had the instincts of a guardian. The only one that brought doubt was Chloé. After the incident where she found the miraculous and got akumatized, Chloé was trusted with the bee miraculous 3 times. And her record had been mixed but overall she was decent when she fell in line and worked with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Marinette mentioned that she didn’t want to trust Chloé with the miraculous after the last time. But has admitted to Fu that if needed she was a decent Bee heroine.

But if he was wrong and she decided to use this chance to stay being a miraculous wielder, he would have to deal with her as a rogue. Though, considering the circumstances, that would honestly not be the worst situation, as her identity was public and Ladybug and Chat Noir would deal with her like before.

“Wayzz, what do you think?”

His kwami companion popped out of his shirt pocket.

“This is quite a dilemma, Master. The situation is dire, but putting the miraculous in the wrong hands would also make things worse. Perhaps Pollen would be able to give better insight.”

“Very true, my friend.” Fu patted the kwami.

Fu cautiously went into the cleaning cart and pulled out the Bee Miraculous. The bee kwami popped out.

“Good morning, Master,” Pollen greeted the guardian with respect.

“Good afternoon, Pollen. We have a situation and I would like to know your opinion.”

“Very well, I am happy to serve,” The bee kwami replied.

“What do you think of Chloé Bourgeois? The one that used your miraculous recently.”

The kwami put her little hand to her face as she compiled her thoughts.

“She is complicated, Master. She didn’t talk to me much but I kind of got to feel a lot about who she was as a person. She is brash, she is confident, yet she is insecure. She is blunt, stubborn, and set in her ways. But I can tell that she is at a crossroads in her life. There is some small part of her that wants to be good and do good for others outside of herself, but her upbringing has made such a mindset seem like weakness, and she is scared of letting herself be vulnerable. Ladybug has been a good influence on her, but she is still immature in several aspects. She has the potential to be a good queen. If she could break through that self-imposed selfish mentality, she could be something extraordinary,” Pollen explained, finally.

“I see, well that is quite informative. Thank you,” Fu responded, nodding thoughtfully.

He put the Bee Miraculous back in a tiny box, causing her to go dormant.

“So, she is at a crossroad.”  Fu repeated as he stroked his chin

He turned his attention back to Chloé, who had continued walking towards another dead end. When he caught the eye of approaching Reflekta clones. And with that, Fu figured out a way to know.

“I think I just found a way to know the correct answer.”

______________________________________________________________________

“I swear this place is a maze.” Mayura grumbled to herself as she walked the halls.

She noticed her fan shake, notifying her of someone calling. It was Hawkmoth

“Yes?”

“Mayura what are you doing?! You were supposed to find the target and get out!” Hawkmoth exclaimed angrily. “And why did you transform? You knowutilizing the Peacock Miraculous is dangerous.”

Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was somewhat touched by the concern in his voice. Unfortunately, she did not have time to dwell on that so she was going to ignore it, as she had a task at hand

“Some unforeseen circumstances have caused some rather unfortunate delays. I am going to locate the sentimonster and gather information regarding the target. Afterwards, I will assist in getting Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.” Mayura responded.

As she was speaking, an akuma with black wings flew into view along with an akuma riding a paper airplane.

“Seems the akuma servants have located me.”

She notices the akuma began preparing to attack her. They were practically mindless puppets that saw anyone who wasn’t their master as an enemy. This was quite an oversight, but it fit with the motif of the akuma villain. She felt the emotions of that girl, she knew exactly the type of insecurities Lila held. Thankfully for her, it meant they could easily be exploited.

“Get out of there this instant it is too dangerous. You are in no shape to…”

The akumas aimed at the unidentified villainess and fired off paper airplanes and arrows.

“We will discuss this later.” Mayura hung up before turning her attention to the two servants of Masquerade.

Mayura dashed through the hall, expertly avoiding projectiles and blocking with her fan those she couldn’t dodge. She jumped onto Reverser’s glider, grabbed the akuma and threw him at the flying Dark Cupid, leaving the two dazed and tangled together.

“I’m weakened, not helpless,” Mayura commented as she dusted herself off and hopped off the floating paper airplane.

She noticed that the two akuma that attacked her were slow in getting up.

‘Seems the akuma created by Masquerade aren’t just mindless, they are also rather slow in reacting. Ladybug and Chat Noir can exploit that. I suppose with the number of servants she made, this was to be expected. I should locate Simularé and get some details on our akuma’s little plan. I should step in and seize control if she gets too distracted like the last one. Gabriel has always been far too cautious when it comes to his plans, it’s time we were more active.’ Mayura mentally concluded.

She closed her eyes and focused on locating the sentimonster.

“She is on the roof. Odd placement for her most powerful ally, but I suppose there must be some sort of logical reason for what she is planning,” Mayura rationalized.

The peacock themed villainess noticed that the akuma that attacked her were starting to move again, and she decided to pick up her pace a bit.

______________________________________________________________________________

“This is super ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” she exclaimed with anger. “Not a single exit in this place! Why is every exit coated in icky slime?”

She checked her phone.

“And still no signal.”

She ended up chucking her phone out of frustration.

“I wish Ladybug would just get here and beat the akuma, or better yet, come here and give me the bee miraculous so I can help kick butt,” she grumbled as she went to go see where she threw her phone. She'd remembered she actually liked the case she just bought for it and losing that would be a waste.

“H-help me please!” The wails of a person in danger caught Chloé’s attention.

“That sounds like a non-me issue,” the blonde told herself. As she continued walking to her phone.

“If only there was someone here to save me!” the voice called out again.

Chloé stopped moving for a moment.

“Well I am not a hero without the Bee, so I guess he better hope Ladybug and Chat Noir are nearby, or maybe those other two costumed nobodies that I saw earlier,” she said, clearly trying to convince herself not to do anything.

“Please! Ladybug! Chat Noir…. “

"The heroes will handle it." Chloé reasoned with herself as she picked up her phone. Now getting ready to go somewhere else and likely away from the screaming.

“ And a…Queen Bee.”

Chloé’s eyes went wide. Did someone call out for… Queen Bee?!

Chloé started dashing down the halls to the sound of the voice.

“Did someone call for a hero!” Chloé called out, looking confident.

She arrived to see an old man in an ugly Hawaiian shirt being cornered by 3 Reflekta copies. The akuma copies turn to Chloé.

“Surrender,” they sing-songed as they began to approach.

Chloé ran right at them, and proceeded to push them into each other, and let the impractical heels make it hard for them to get back up.

She rushed to the old man.

“Don’t worry, old man with good taste in heroes and nothing else. I, Queen Bee, am here to save you,” Chloé blustered.

“Thank you.” Fu said with a forced smile. She clearly only came when he mentioned her name. But she did show up. In hindsight, maybe his test was not as conclusive as he thought. But then again, he actually planned those out more.

Chloé looked around.

“Alright old man, normally I would have just left you to get saved by Ladybug, but you have good taste in heroes, so I am going to help you out. We need to move before those creepy akumas get back up. So follow me, I know a place you can hide out.” Her tone tried to come off as abrasive, but it did show an inkling of care.

Chloé began moving away from the cluster of Reflektas. The old man shrugged and followed behind. He supposed that this would be another good test for her. Maybe he will get a more definitive answer by keeping an eye on her. And if worse comes to worse, he had a feeling she would make a good distraction should he need to escape a band of akuma.

______________________________________________________________________

“Did you just make a...”

Ladybug was able to pick up on the sound of harsh wind heading their way and decided her scolding of lame references could wait for later. She grabbed her partner's arm and pulled him into the nearby science lab.

She quickly closed the door just as a cold front blasted right past them. The window on the door was covered in ice.

“Stormy Weather?”

“Stormy Weather.”

The two both look at each other with a bit of worry. The storm akuma was one of their more powerful foes, and with complete control of the weather in such a tight space, things were going to get tough.

“Any ideas?”

Ladybug weighed her options. Would now be the time to use her lucky charm? or should she save it for when they are in front of Masquerade? It was starting to get harder to make that call.

“We can’t have her roaming the halls, we will need to incapacitate her. So I say have your ice power up ready, and be ready to swap power ups at the drop of a hat. Stormy Weather may be tough, but we still have tricks up our sleeve.”

Chat Noir nodded.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir both popped their Ice blue power ups and shift into their Ice forms. The two watched as the other’s suit gained ice skates, ice crystal and snowflake accents, becoming Ladyice and Icecat.

(AN: Yes, according to the Wiki, that’s what they are calling them. Personally, I would have called them Ladyfrost and Cold noir/ Cool Cat but that’s just me. This isn’t relevant to the story, I just wanted you all to know that.)

“You know, Ladybug, you really give off the ice skater vibe. Would you say you have experience ice skating outside of this form?” Chat Noir asked.

Ladybug felt her mind flash to her date with Adrien and her cheeks turned red.

“I- I may have some experience. And how about you, Kitty?” she deflected.

“Well, now that you mention it, I…”

They heard a loud bang on the door, cracking the ice that covered the window to reveal the white theater mask that Stormy Weather had covering her face.

“I’m gonna give it to her, she really knows how to break the Ice,” Chat Noir joked.

“Chaton, cool it with all of the ice puns,” she stated.

“Wait, was that a pun? My Lady I... OH SHI…”

A large ice stalactite burst through the door interrupting their banter and almost skewering them.

Chat Noir was about to say something when Ladybug cut in.

“Chat Noir, you are my partner and I respect you greatly. But so help me, if you say we should put this conversation on ‘Freeze’, I will not save you if you get impaled.” Ladybug stated.

Chat Noir paused.

“You know me so well,” he said with a smile.

The two watched as Stormy Weather entered the room through the stalactite hole.

______________________________________________________________________

“Hey Viperion?”

“Yea Ryuuko?”

“We both agree that we need to stop that crazy akuma right?”

“That is correct.”

“Then why are you carrying me away from it!?” Ryuuko exclaimed.

Viperion had picked up the dragon heroine fireman style in order to pull her away from the pursuing akuma.

“Do you want the reasons in alphabetical order?” the snake hero sassed.

“We can take it,” Ryuuko asserted. “We can’t retreat! There is no honor in it!”

“Well considering neither of our weapons can touch them, the concept of honor has flown out the window. Not to mention, I seriously doubt that we can take them on without a plan, and don’t say ‘try to hit them harder’ is a plan. It isn’t.”

Viperion had a smug look as he noticed Ryuuko look away.

“You’re right, but I'm mad about it,” the dragon heroine huffed.

“I can live with that.”

Viperion took a sharp left and noticed a dozen Reflekta duplicates.

“Juleka?”

“Come with us,” the clones sang.

“I’m going to assume they aren’t her,” Ryuuko said as she got off Viperion’s shoulders.

She punched his arm.

“Ow.”

“Your shoulder was bumpy.”

Ryuuko drew her weapon and dashed past the group of Reflekta clones. After a second, she holstered her weapon and all of the clones dropped to the floor groaning.

“Wow.” Viperion was impressed. He had to admit that it was super cool.

“Don’t worry, I used the flat end of the sword. They will be fine, and hopefully they will slow down the akuma.”

The two continued running, but glanced back as Deadzone arrived. He looked at the clones getting up and blasted each one into a green bubble in which they remained motionless and floated to the ceiling of the hall.

“It can’t distinguish between friend or foe,” Viperion commented.

“What?”

Viperion turned to his comrade.

“I think I just got an idea.”

__________________________________________________________________________

“This way,” the bossy blond teen motioned.

Fu pushed his janitor cart as they moved in the hallway.

“Do you really need to move that hideous thing with us?” Chloé questioned with clear aggravation.

“It's very important,” Fu responded.

“Ugh, whatever. Just move faster, then.”

Fu nodded and picked up the pace.

The mayor’s daughter led them down the hall and they had managed to avoid attracting attention.

“Okay, we are here.”

Fu looked at the door and realized that it was the nurse’s office.

“Hopefully the nurse didn’t get herself captured while I was gone.”

Chloé went to open the door and noticed it was locked.

“What the…”

“Let me try.” Fu interjected.

“Fine, just hurry up.”

He pulls out a jingling set of keys. Chloé shrugged as she turned around to keep watch.

Fu let his kwami companion out to open the door. Wayzz quickly undid the lock and opened the door before sliding back out of view.

“All done,” Fu said.

Chloé turned around as Fu opened the door.

The two quickly ran inside and locked the door behind them.

“Nurse Arugula!” Chloé called out. “I have a guest for you!”

“Arugala?”

“It was something with an A.” Chloé commented.

The two waited a few seconds, but there was no response.

They moved deeper into the office.

“Are you here?” Chloé questioned.

They flicked on the light switch to see the nurse in the cot.

“Oh, that’s great, I leave to go get help and be a hero and she goes off napping!” Chloé fumed.

Fu moved to the nurse and noticed she had a bruise on her neck, indicating that she was clearly forced into this state. He jabbed a pressure point and the nurse jolted awake.

“HUAGH!”

She nearly fell out of the cot.

“Glad you can join us from your nap,” Chloé hissed.

“Chloé? Did you call for help?” The nurse inquired as she gathered her bearings.

“No, the school is a total dead zone, and I couldn’t find a way out because they are all blocked by slime. Side note, I found this old guy.”

The nurse turned to the old man.

“Hello. I’m Angela.” She politely introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you. I am… Fung,” Fu lied. He couldn’t be too careful.

“Nice to meet you Fung, despite the circumstances,” she tried to make light of the situation.

“Every meeting can have a positive circumstance if one is looking for it.”

The calm in the air died when Angela realized that someone was missing.

“Oh no! The women you left in my care! She knocked me out and stormed out of here.” Angela exclaimed.

“Welp, she is probably captured,” Chloé shrugged.

“We have to find her, she has some sort of strange illness. Leaving her out there might be dangerous, akuma or not.”

Angela prepared to move to the door but was stopped by Chloé.

“Oh no you don’t! I brought this old man here for safety. You stay here with him.”

“But my patient!”

The woman was clearly shaking, but she was determined, she wanted to help her patient even if it meant going into danger. But much to Fu’s surprise, Chloé stepped up.

“I will bring your patient back. Mostly because being stuck in here seems much worse than dealing with a bunch of dumb akuma.”

Angela hugged Chloé.

“Thank you.”

Chloé tried to look annoyed, but a ghost of a smile appeared on the mayor’s daughter’s face. She accepted the hug for a moment.

Fu took notice. He had made his decision.

“Alright, enough touching! You deal with sick people all day. I don’t want germs,” Chloé stated as she tried to give off her usual air.

“That is very brave of you, young one.” Fu spoke.

“Pff, this is nothing. It’s what heroes do.”

As Chloé began making her way out of the nurse’s office, Fu quietly slipped the tiny miracle box into her bag.

‘I hope this was worth the risk.’

_____________________________________________________________

(END OF CHAPTER)

Well things are really heating up.

Will Ladyice and Icenoir be able to deal with stormy weather? Will Deadzone be the dead end for Ryuuko and Viperion? What is Masquerade's villainous plan? Will I update faster than every 40 or so days?

Let me know your thoughts and if you did enjoy the story.

REBLOG it and comment. Likes are nice but they don't really help content creators like they should.