#its taken me SO long to finally draw her but this bug eyes bitch is so fun to draw <3 laudna ilyyyyyy

[mintbees]

Dermatologists hate her! two time corpse still looking fresh with this weird trick

[i-write-boop-spoops]

A (not so) quiet day in the countryside - Leon x reader

A requested one-shot where Leon decides to bug the reader with, well, a bug. Chaos ensues.

Enjoy!

It’s very rare that Leon returns to Postwick.

So you’re unbelievably flattered that he invited you to come along.

It marks an important milestone in your relationship, meeting the rest of his family beyond Hop, visiting the town he grew up in, staying in his childhood home. It makes you feel like you’re more than just someone he’s dating, like you’re an important, irreplaceable part of his life.

Your trip is nearly over, just a few days left before you return to Wyndon. You both intend to spend the most of it relishing in the quaint, quiet countryside, far away from all that hustle and bustle you’re so familiar with.

Postwick is so different from the city, it’s so peaceful, so calm, it moves at a dawdling pace, like a merry but lazy stream. Some would argue it’s boring, but you wholeheartedly disagree. You have space to breathe here, to relax, and every inhale is full of effervescence and life that the urban streets just can’t offer.

It gives you a glimpse into a more substantial life, it would be the perfect place to raise a family with him.

The warm sunlight dances upon your eyelids as you rest on the lush, verdant grass, its blades tickle the exposed areas of skin that your t-shirt and shorts don’t cover. The taste of sour-sweet lemonade sticks to your lips, the breeze is cooling and bright as it strolls through the air. Wooloo bleat cheerfully in the distance, you can hear some local children giggling as they play a few fields over. It’s mid-afternoon, not long after lunch, you spent the morning helping out in the garden, and now you’re content to loaf there with him until dinnertime.

 “Love,” you hear him say, you crack one eye open and languidly glance at him. His smile is inviting and full of his boyish charm, but there’s mischief in those gorgeous golden eyes. His hands are held in such a way that implies he has something hidden between them, you wonder if t’s a flower or stone. “I have something to show you”

You nod and hum a “Yeah?” as you bring yourself to sit up, torso twisting towards him. He comes to kneel beside you, and he gently opens his hands as if he were opening a ring box. A small ball of shuddering yellow fluff is revealed to you, you lean closer to examine it further.

Four cerulean blue eyes look at you inquisitively.

That’s two too many eyes.

“Lee!” You shriek, your body jerking away from him. “You know I hate bug types!”

 He laughs and shakes his head, leaning in closer with the little Joltik, his finger tenderly stroking its back. “How can you hate this little chap? He’s so adorable!”

“Nope, nope, nope” you repeat as you squirm and shimmy away. He comes nearer, the pokemon still presented to you, an impish grin spread across his face.

“Ah, c’mon love,” he teases with a chuckle. “Don’t you wanna pet his fuzzy little head?”

He shoves the bug into your face, you make brief eye contact with it before shrieking like a Misdreavus. You spring to your feet so fast it feels like you were struck by lightning. He’s laughing madly as he lunges at you, you break into a sprint, shooting across the garden. He begins to chase you, Joltik held securely in one hand, while the other is reached out to grab at you.

His fingers brush against your t-shirt hem, you leap away and spin to run in another direction, he narrowly misses you.  Your footsteps press shapes into the grass as you skip across it, your heart is racing, your skin lacquered in sweat.

“C’mere you minx!” he yells, pouncing at you again, you hop back, and find yourself caged between him, the house, and a fence. Your chest rises and falls rapidly and you close your eyes, ready to accept your fate.

“Leon!!!” His mum calls from the kitchen window. “Play nice!”

Leon pauses and turns to her, huffing like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Mum!” he exclaims, almost like a whine, slightly flustered by the scolding.

“Seriously? Haven’t you grown out of showing bugs to people you fancy?! You’ve been doing that since you were six!”

Now that he’s distracted, your eyes dart around looking for an escape. You probably can’t slip past him, he is far too quick for that. You curse under your breath, wondering if he’ll still make you touch that horrifying bug once he’s done talking with his mum.

Something bright purple catches your gaze, a rubber hose coiled up on the ground like a sleeping ekans. You used it earlier to water some of the plants. A brilliant idea comes to mind, you glance at Leon, who is still grumbling at his mother. It’s actually kind of adorable, witnessing the unbeatable champion taken down a peg by the only person who can, his mum.

You slowly, silently sink into a crouch, praying to Arceus you wouldn’t draw his attention. You take hold of the hose’s nozzle and stand back up. Leon finally notices that you’re doing something as he turns to face you.

“Stay back! I’m armed!” you exclaim amidst heavy breaths, brandishing the hose’s nozzle like a pistol, pointing right at his chest, with your other hand primed to turn the tap on. “Ah, love, there’s no need for that…” he says softly as he steps forward, Joltik still in hand. You’re unsure whether to trust him, he still might try spook you again. “I’m serious!” you insist frantically, aim a little shaky.

“Okay, okay. I’ll put him down” he concedes, somewhat gently, slinking down to one knee. He opens his palm and the yellow fluff-ball jumps from his hands. The little thing scuttles away through the grass and leaps over the fence into the neighbouring wheat field.

Leon looks at you with a charming smile as he gets up, perhaps hoping to use your love for him to his advantage.

You deny him that, he deserves no mercy for the hell he put you through.

With a quick twist, you turn the tap, the hose starts to pulse as it fills with water. He recognizes what you’re up to but it’s too late. He raises his hands to protest, a futile action, he soon comes to realise.

Now it’s your turn to laugh like maniac.

His arms flail as they try shield his face from the high-pressure spray, his red shirt darkens in shade as it is soaked. He yelps from the cold, the volume of his hair lessening under the onslaught of water. A rainbow shimmers in the droplets as they rain down on him, you continue even after he’s drenched.

It appears you were too bold with your strategy, he seems to have become accustomed to the spray. He moves, swifter than you can account for, and snatches the nozzle from your grasp with his superior strength. You instinctively close your eyes and cover your face, bracing yourself for the rush of ice-cold water.

The tap squeaks as it is turned off, the hose falls unceremoniously to the ground. You open your eyes, befuddled, and lower your guard. You meet his giddy golden gaze, and he starts to splutter with laughter.

“Well that went a bit overboard” he says with a chuckle, bringing you close to him. He’s so warm, despite being absolutely soaked, your arms wrap around his waist as he embraces you. You giggle and agree, smiling up at him as your hand gingerly brushes some of the hair away from his face. He kisses you sweetly, it’s in your second nature to reciprocate.

As you pull away, he smiles and laughs. “I guess I deserved that for being such a rascal”

“That you do” you muse, pecking his lips. He kisses your forehead, you subsequently lay your head against his chest as you hug. You’re both quiet for a bit, it is only when you part from his hold that he opens his mouth to speak.

“Hey, it’s that Joltik again!”

You shriek and jump into his arms, he catches you easily as you cling to his neck. You can hear a laugh rumble in his chest, you look back and find nothing even resembling the small yellow thing. “Gotcha!” he exclaims proudly with a grin.

“Lee!” you squeal as you scold him, bumping your fist against his left pectoral. “That’s not funny!”

“Ah, sorry love, your reactions are just so cute. I couldn’t help myself”

Your heart abruptly melts, how can you be mad at him when he’s so sweet and genuine?

“Oh come here you son of a bitch!” you say as you lean in to kiss him. He grins at you, his lips feel so soft as they meet yours.

You’re immediately interrupted by his mum as she pops her head out the kitchen window, her face etched in a scowl.

“Did you just call me a bitch?!”

[official-alan-dabiri]

First and foremost, we have some exciting new changes that everyone can get behind. Absolutely nobody has a problem with the new experience globe mechanics. New experience globes are only at full value for six seconds, and after that are worth 25% exp. And then they last for thirty-nine seconds. Nobody finds this objectionable in any way. This change was not on the PTR due to public outcry from Reddit when it was leaked early, but it’s here live with all of its zero problems fixed.

Another change about which we have received zero complaints is a new tag system behind the scenes. People looking for just the right hero for the situation can easily find it by searching for such keywords as “CC” “Silence” “Sustain” and “Double soak” and find extremely useful and not absolute garbage results. Don’t worry about checking it ahead of time, just get right into draft mode and use it to find the perfect pick!

In addition to those minor and unobjectionable changes, we have removed Volskaya Foundry from the ranked queue, and added everyone’s favorite quickmatch map, Warhead Junction. We have also done this simultaneously with an Overwatch-themed event.

Hero changes below the cut, because this patch is another doozy, with fiiiiiive herooooo rewoooooorks, Four buffed assassins, three nerfed offlaners, two nerfed tanks and we also nerfed the looost viiiikiiiings!

Anduin is the first of our reworks and with him taking a more prominent role in Shadowlands we want to be able to welcome WoW players with open arms. He, uh, doesn’t have a new skin or anything, we just want people to play this game. The central goal of the buff is to improve his healing output in line with other heroes without removing the largest strength in Leap of Faith. As such, we’re just touching literally every part of his kit and talent try and praying that it goes the way we want.

People keep mistaking Johanna for the best tank in the game. This is factually untrue, since Muradin exists. As such, we are just gutting the absolute pants off of Johanna’s talent tree and making it weird and clunky.

For too long has Raynor been the scourge of draft play. Too good to skip, but not scary enough to ban. Perfect macro contributions, with respectable hero damage. Enough self-sustain to take weight off your healer, and self-peel for when tanks are bad. The perfect killing machine. As such, we’ve nerfed his damage into the ground. Start playing Greymane, bitches.

Stitches has proven to be a mediocre bruiser in the eyes of the community. After all these years, I think I know why. We accidentally categorized him as a tank. As such, he needs some serious changes to make him fit that label. This whole time we’ve been balancing him as a bruiser and nobody said anything? This is as much your fault as it is mine.

The average damage output of a ranged assassin has been steadily climbing for a while now. As a result, for a hero to actually be a glass cannon, they need some serious firepower. Valla now has the gunpowder to match her glass. And she’s the glassiest cannon there is. Don’t get me wrong, she still evaporates like a drop of water in California when an enemy hero looks at her. But when she has a solid tank and three healers behind her, the world is your oyster.

Oh my god they didn’t break down the heroes by category. Jesus Christ what the fuck Blizzard? You just decided that this is the line? This is the day you stop caring? Well, congratulations, you’ve made reading your patch notes mildly more inconvenient. I’m still doing this. Ya bunch of jack-offs.

Mei has been grossly overperforming, and we have no idea how that happened. We certainly didn’t buff her over and over again for an entire year. Anyway, we’re just going to roll some stuff back. Definitely probably fine.

It turns out - and bear with me here because this might be hard to follow - Hogger, D.va, and Sonya were all overtuned? For six months? So we’re just gonna tippy tappy them down the smallest little bit. And then slap them around a little for good measure. D.va’s mech form is no longer indomitable, Hogger can no longer solo any merc camp in the game in 12 seconds, and Sonya is now... Basically fine still, honestly. We kinda gave her just a slap on the wrist in comparison. But honestly after gutting Hogger like that, I just didn’t have the heart. One of the benefits from being a little later, alphabetically.

After riding the TLV train up through the ranks, I think it’s about time to recognize that I’m not actually good at them. They’re just overtuned. So it’s time to come back to earth, Icarus. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly-small HP nerf, though. The real nerf is buffing Longboat Raid. People are going to have to pick it to test it and it’s gonna murder their winrate.

Someone told me that Lucio is a problem and needed to be addressed this patch, but my cat came into the home office being adorable so I didn’t hear exactly what they said. So we had to kinda wing it. Hopefully these minor adjustments to his talent tree will solve whatever they were talking about!

Even we know Uther is a problem. Being first pickable and filling three different unique roles was what we wanted to do with Varian not Uther. So we’re going to try and make him incrementally worse at tanking until he just goes away. First up: Shaving off some of that personal armor.

AFK splitpush trash Azmodan is dead. Long live teamfight artillery mage Azmodan. Really glad I made the last HotS Content post about Nova instead of Azmodan because boy howdy do these changes invalidate the entire playstyle that post would have discussed.

W build Falstad has obviously become a problem. Not only was he riddled with bugs after the rework - don’t worry, we learned from our mistakes and made sure there were no bugs with our new reworks - but also he had the ability to point and click on an enemy hero and force them to run all the way to the next lane over in order to stop taking buckets of free damage. It turns out that ability was more powerful than anticipated, and required adjustment.

Q build Falstad has obviously become a problem. Not only was it completely overshadowed by a build that did more damage in every situation with less skill requirement, but we overestimated the value of macro power on a build that demands PvP for stacking. As such, we’ve doubled the amount of power each stack gives him! That’ll do.

AA build Falstad... Stay the course, buddy. Doin’ fine.

Junkrat has been underperforming, which is surprising for a hero with his level of power. As such, we’re going to make a few small buffs to hopefully draw attention, and then we can roll things back once the pickrate reflects his actual power. Hopefully then WE CAN FINALLY MAKE THE MANDATORY CHANGE I PUT IN EVERY MEMO. TYRE. WITH A Y. THAT’S HOW THEY SPELL IT IN AUSTRALIA. KAEO I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU- wait, did Kaeo leave? Who the fuck is still here? Kinnabrew? Adam? Jason? JASON! JASON!?

Tassadar has also fallen off a lot without us having done anything at all whatsoever to nerf him. Entirely undeserved treatment. I’m disappointed in all of you. As such, we’re going to tweak his numbers up just a little tippy tap so that you all remember who killed the Overmind. It wasn’t James Raynor or Sarah Kerrigan. It was Tassadar... Tassadar Bassadar. That’s his last name. Don’t look it up, just trust me.

In the bug fix department, we’ve had a nice sit-down with the Mountain Giants on Alterac and told them that if they have time to lean, they have time to clean. Reaching the end of their lane and expecting the core to come to them is putting undue stress on an already overtaxed position. The core is a very stressful job, and if the mountain giants could just do their part to walk into the core pit when they arrive, that’s a huge load off their shoulders. Drek’thar and Vanndar really needed this expectation taken off them right now, and I’m hopeful it will lead to a better work environment.

[ghostspideys-moved]

All For The Best

Chapter Five

A/N: So, tumblr is being a little bit of a bitch, but I finally managed to get this chapter posted.

Word Count: 2.7k

Pairings: Steve Harrington x OC, Nancy Wheeler x Jonathan Byers x OC

Summary: Getting trapped in a Russian elevator is about as fun as it sounds, and River doesn't quite know what to make of it.

With so much happening in the short time River had been back in Hawkins, she hadn’t really taken much time to worry about her basic needs. A habit she fell into more often than she’d like to admit. She felt it was safe to assume the rest of her friends had done much better than her. 

Naturally, she offered to get everyone food while they talked out their plan, if they even had one. She figured it might be a good opportunity for her to think and have a moment to herself. Deciding it would be quicker, she headed over to Burger King, knowing it was pretty close to Scoops Ahoy, and brought back enough food for everyone. 

The four of them sat in the break room, eating and putting together whatever intel Dustin had after his own personal stakeout earlier today. Supposedly, he’d spotted a keycard, which would be a good way to get in. Except trying to take something like that was a suicide mission.

“That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun,” Dustin explained as he paced. “Whatever’s in this room, whatever’s in those boxes, they really don’t want anybody finding it.”

River sighed. “So, we’re back to square one basically.”

“But there’s gotta be a way in,” Robin insisted.

“Well, you know, I could just take him out.” For a brief moment, River thought Steve was joking. The serious look on his face said otherwise.

“Take who out?” Robin asked. She was glad she was not the only one concerned with his plan.

“The Russian guard.”

River scoffed and shook her head. “Yeah, if you wanna get yourself killed.”

“What? It’s not that hard. I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard,” Steve insisted. “It’s easy.”

“Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?” 

“Yes, Dustin, I did. That’s why I would be sneaking.”

“Well please, tell me this, and be honest. Have you ever actually won a fight?”

River easily recalled how terrible of a beating Steve took after his fight with Billy, not that she’d been much help herself. But after that, there was no way he could take an armed Russian guard all by himself.

“Okay, that was one time.”

“Twice. Jonathan, year prior.”

“Listen, that doesn’t count.”

“Why wouldn’t it? Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you.”

“Sorry, Steve, but Dustin has a point,” River agreed. “You got the shit beat out of you too many times.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have a winning streak, and adding a gun into the mix is probably just going to get you killed.”

“Wait. why can’t you do it?” Dustin asked.

River’s eyes widened. “Wait, why me?”

“You’ve got powers and shit. Can’t you use them to take the keycard?”

Steve shook his head. He was not having that idea. “Okay, woah. Not happening.” 

“Why?”

“Because, Dustin. It’s just a bad idea.”

“It’s better than your plan.”

“What? So, risking River’s life instead of mine is better?”

“No, but she could do it without anyone knowing.”

“That’s way too risky, and I’m not letting her get hurt-”

It was very hard for River to get a word in edgewise, but before she could really question that last part, Robin was taking off, grabbing whatever was in the tip jar.

“Hey, Robin. What are you doing?” Steve was up the moment he noticed her leaving.

“I need cash,” Robin said, as if it was obvious.

“Well, half of that’s mine. Where are you going?”

“To find us a way into that room. A safe way.”

River sighed in relief. It was a good thing someone in this group had the brains. Robin left them to look over the shop in the meantime. Hopefully she’d come back with a much better plan.

Steve sighed and tried to keep up with the workload by himself in the meantime. River and Dustin kept him company, especially once things slowed down enough for him to get bored. 

“Where do you think Robin went?” he asked. 

River shrugged, leaning against the back counter. “Where she said she was going. To find us a way in,” she said. “Better than either of us getting ourselves killed.”

She couldn’t help thinking back to what he’d said earlier before cutting himself off. From what she could tell, he was thinking about it just as much as her. He even seemed a bit antsy, busying himself to distract himself.

“Did you mean what you said?” she asked. 

Steve didn’t look up from the spot of the counter he was cleaning meticulously for no reason at all. “Which part?”

“The part about not wanting me to get hurt.” River knew he was just trying to avoid it, and she couldn’t really tell why. But clearly it was bugging him just as much, and she felt it needed to be addressed. 

“Well, yeah. Of course I did.” Steve finally set down the rag and turned to her. “You’re my friend, and after you almost died trying to save me last year? The last thing I want is for you to needlessly injure yourself more than you have already, if not worse.”

He sounded so sincere, as he always did. It was hard to ignore the fact that her heart skipped a beat at his words, but she tried not to think about it. For as good as that was doing her so far, she felt it was probably for the best.

“Well, someone had to keep you from becoming Demodog food,” she joked, lightly nudging him. 

Steve laughed. Somehow, River never quite noticed just how nice his laugh was. Even if he never ended up reciprocating her feelings, making him laugh felt like a worthy mission on its own. Especially while they waited for Robin’s return. The rest of their time was spent messing around as much as possible without making a mess or getting Steve in trouble. Somewhere along the line, Dustin joined in. She noticed the way he would give them weird looks every now and then, though she waved it off. As long as she wasn’t being obvious.

Robin didn’t take nearly as long as River had anticipated. What they hadn’t expected was for her to bring a friend along. Dustin, of course, had some complaints. 

“The whole town is going to know by the end of the week,” he mumbled. 

River was just glad to have another familiar face to keep her company in this chaos. If they were going to bring anyone into the loop, Annie Hardwick was probably the best person for it. They’d messed around in class together enough times to be considered friends, she supposed. 

“Well, she helped me get this, so she can help all she wants.” Robin waved a roll of paper in his face before she laid it out on the table. A map. “This is Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints.”

Dustin looked genuinely impressed. “Not bad.” Maybe he would change his mind about Annie yet.

Robin grinned and pointed out a spot on the map. “This is us. Scoops.” She pointed to where the storage unit should be. “And this is where we want to go.”

“I mean, I don’t really see a way in,” Steve pointed out.

River couldn’t make out any visible entrances either, unfortunately. “Yeah, it looks like the only way in is past the guard,” she agreed. “There’s no way in.”

“There’s not, if you’re talking exclusively about doors.” Robin peeled away the map and revealed one that looked similar, though it looked like it was marking the vents.

“Air ducts,” River and Dustin said simultaneously. They were so lucky Robin was actually thinking all of this through more than them. 

“Exactly. Turns out this secret room needs air just like any old room.” Robin continued, grabbing a marker. “And these air ducts,” she said, drawing a path to Scoops Ahoy, “lead all the way here.”

She circled the store, and they turned to vent high up on the wall. Steve was quick to grab a ladder, and River handed him a screwdriver as he climbed up. Even as he was taking it apart, she had a feeling it might be too small to crawl through, even for Dustin.

Steve moved the flashlight around the entrance and shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t know, man. I don’t know if you can fit in here,” he said. “It’s, like, super tight.”

Just as she feared. 

“I’ll fit,” Dustin insisted. “Trust me. No collar bones, remember?”

River raised an eyebrow.

Robin seemed just as confused. “Uh, excuse me?” 

“Oh, he’s, uh, got some disease.” Steve climbed down and let Dustin take a shot at squeezing in the air duct. “Chry...Chrydo, um…something. He’s missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo.”

“You mean Gumby.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Gumbo.”

River wasn’t really sure where this act of his was coming from, but she knew better. In the short time they’d spent studying together, he’d proven pretty quickly that he was by no means an idiot.

“Steve, just shut up and push me!”

“Okay!”

Steve sighed and climbed back up the ladder where half of Dustin’s body stuck out.

“So, these are your friends?” Annie asked.

River shrugged. “Yeah, unfortunately.” Though, she wouldn’t change any of this for the world. 

In the background, Steve was trying his best to push Dustin in as much as possible, to no avail. 

“Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass.”

“What?”

“Touch my butt! I don’t care!”

Annie laughed at the two of them. “Quite the bunch,” she teased.

“Yeah, sorry you had to meet them this way,” River snorted.

So far, it looked like Steve and Dustin weren’t having any success, which meant they’d have to come up with a plan B. She might have offered to try it herself, seeing as she was the smallest one, unfortunately, except she was claustrophobic and would rather she didn’t have to try. Thankfully, Robin seemed to have another plan. 

Convincing Erica to help was going about as well as River would have expected. Which was to say, not very well at all. She could already tell Steve was annoyed, and she couldn’t blame him. Erica sent back practically everything he brought her.

Robin was trying her best to talk Erica into helping them, which wasn’t going any better. Because, yeah, Erica wasn’t wrong. Their plan was pretty half-baked. 

Dustin’s attempt didn’t go over much better.

“Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism.”

An odd statement, River realized, from someone who had been mooching off the free sample system this whole time. She couldn’t help thinking about it as Erica went on.

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but this is the opposite of capitalism,” River pointed out, gesturing at all the ice cream laid out on the table for her.

“Look, it seems to me that my ability to fit in that little vent is very, very valuable to you all,” Erica said. “So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many.”

River sighed and shared a defeated look with the rest of her friends. “And I’m talking free ice cream. For life.”

It seemed like a miracle that they even managed to get Erica in on this. Robin had a walkie-talkie out to talk to Erica while they kept watch. 

They were so much closer to getting into that secret room, and the idea made her both nervous and excited all at once. There were so many ways all of this could go terribly wrong.

Steve seemed to sense her nerves and turned to her while Robin and Erica went back and forth.

“You okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

River offered a smile and nodded. “Just fine.”

“You know, you don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

Sure, this was probably going to be really dangerous, but she couldn’t imagine leaving them on their own. She’d feel terrible, and to say she wasn’t curious herself would be a lie.

“No, I want to,” she assured him. “You guys might need my help, anyways.”

It would probably be pretty beneficial to have a non-evil Russian with them, she figured. Steve hesitated for a moment before nodding. She’d been worried he might think it was far too dangerous and risky for her given his reaction the last time she tried to save him. 

River turned the moment Erica walked through the doors, the five of them sharing a shocked look. She laughed and shared a high five with Annie. 

They didn’t waste any time in rushing down to meet Erica. As she’d confirmed, the room was full of the boxes they’d seen the night before. Steve quickly cut one open as they gathered around to take a look. He revealed a metal container of sorts, which he opened with some slight apprehension. 

“Maybe you guys should stand back.”

Normally, she might argue, but there was no telling what was in that container. Dustin, however, was less willing to obey orders this time around.

“No.”

“Just step back, okay?”

“No.”

“Step back, seriously.”

“No! If you die, I die.”

Steve gave up trying to stop him and pulled out something...strange looking. River wasn’t even totally sure what she was looking at, but it was green and looked like it was some sort of liquid. Whatever it was, it didn’t look good.

“What is that?” Robin asked.

River shook her head, and before any of them could come up with a guess, the room jerked unexpectedly.

“Was that just me, or did the room move?” Dustin asked, looking around.

“No, it definitely moved” River agreed.

Erica glanced between them. “Booby traps.”

Robin quickly grabbed the weird goo, River and Annie rushing around to help her take what they needed. Dustin was struggling to open the door, and Steve wasn’t having any more success. 

“Just open the door!” the girls exclaimed as they finished packing up.

None of the buttons were doing anything, and suddenly the room moved again. River scrambled to hold onto something as they suddenly plummeted with the rest of the room. The room was a goddamn elevator.

There was so much screaming around her, and River was definitely contributing to the chaos herself. The elevator was dropping alarmingly fast, and no amount of button mashing was doing them any good. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped, and River lost her footing. She fell back, landing on her hands. Steve fell close to her, a box landing on him. She groaned and shook off her pain before she went to move the box off of him with Dustin’s help.

“Is everyone okay?” Robin asked, rubbing her head where she hit it.

Steve got up, clearly agitated. “Yeah, I’m great now that I know that Russians can’t design elevators!” he exclaimed.

“Gee, thanks. I’m right here,” River huffed.

Steve pushed past her and Dustin before pressing all of the buttons frantically.

“I think we’ve clearly established that those buttons don’t work,” Robin said.

“They’re buttons, they have to do something!”

“Yeah, if we had a keycard.”

“A What?”

“It’s an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don’t have a keycard, it won’t operate, meaning-”

“We’re stuck in here.”

River sighed and slid down against the wall. “Great. Who knows how long we’ll be in here.”

“Just so you nerds are aware, I’m supposed to be spending the night at Tina’s,” Erica said. “And Tina always covers for me. But if I’m not home for Uncle Jack’s part tomorrow, and my mom finds out you guys are responsible, she’s gonna hunt you down one by one and slit your throat.”

River rolled her eyes and rested her head in her hands. That wasn’t happening any time soon.

Steve seemed just as fed up as the rest of them were. “I don’t care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack’s party! You’re mom’s not gonna be able to find us if we’re dead in a Russian elevator.”

He let that sink in. 

Dustin pointed up to the roof of the elevator. “Hey. What if we climbed out?”

//

Taglist: @charmedtenderness @nxncywheeler​ @musicalytrashpanda​

[goddessofthundathighs]

I’ll Take Yo Man

A little college Hennessy and Erik foolishness concocted by @hearteyes-for-killmonger & myself. Based on the following prompt:

Friday. The day Hennessy had been looking forward to the whole week. Erik would be home from his most recent deployment the next day and she needed to prepare for his return. She went and got her hair done, opting for a silk press to her usually springy curls. She followed that up with a well deserved pedicure and a full-set of stiletto dick grabbers, both in his favorite color on her: sunflower yellow. She was now perusing the shelves of MAC, looking to restock her dwindling supply of Snob and Saint Germain lippies and her prep + prime lip primer. The freshly cleaned diamonds in the Cuban link necklace Erik gifted her twinkled under the light of the store, attracting the attention of the young woman working. She was about 5’9, 150 pounds wet with what looked to be a 24-inch body wave weave with a lifting frontal and lipstick that clashed with her undertones. Cute, but not Hennessy. She looked Henny up and down with familiarity before her eyes finally landed on the letter E tattoo that rested on her collarbone.

“Oh, you must be the new freak of the week?”

“Excuse me?” Hennessy asked with a raised eyebrow. Erik was popular, so it was no surprise that the whole state of Massachusetts knew that he was officially off the market.

“I know that Cuban, he gave me one like it when we were fucking around. Erik?”

“Who are you?” The name tag on her chest read Brittani, but it should’ve said Bold Bitch, seeing as how she was questioning Henny like she was Erik’s mother.

“I’m Brittani. Erik and I fucked around on the regular up until about a year ago.”

Hennessy smiled as Brittani spoke, remembering the day that he stumbled on her doorstep.

"And you still on him? Baby, move on." This caused Brittani to give her the most menacing look.

“Funny, you’re bigger than his usual type.”

Oh, you one of them bitches. Salty as the everlasting fuck that a thicc bitch took the nigga you wanted.

“Any particular reason why you’re divulging this information? I’m just tryna buy some lipstick not hear your dating history.”

Brittani smirked, snatching the items from Hennessy’s hands and ringing them up aggressively.

"History tends to repeat itself. I could take your man. Easily! Look at me and look at you.”

Hennessy laughed loudly then, completely disregarding the Great Value Cyn Santana. Having been officially dating the soon-to-be King of Wakanda for a year now, she was used to slimmer, Instagram-esque women feeling loose at the lips when it came to her boyfriend. At face value, Erik was the total package. He was incredibly smart, handsome, and his sex could convert even the most devout nun. But the real Erik, the fragile lost boy who had discovered his father’s lifeless body when he was only a young boy, that was a completely different story. The real Erik was moody, mean, and when he was in Killmonger-mode, a vengeful shell of a man that cared about nobody else’s feelings but his own. It had taken some time, but Hennessy had skillfully and meticulously broken down some of the rougher areas of his psyche and had learned things about him that no one else would dream of knowing. In him, she'd found a kindred spirit. A twin flame. They had bonded over their love for marijuana and their need to escape the realities of their tragic childhoods. She'd seen him at his weakest, his ugliest, and his most tragic. They'd butt heads and found homeostasis more times in a month than most couples even saw each other. She knew no one else could handle the man she called hers and she’d be lying if she said the idea of someone trying was not comical.

“I'll tell you what. You can have him, but I guarantee after 24 hours you’ll give him back.”

“Shiiid. I know what that dick is like and I swore that if I ever got it again, I’d never let him go.”

Hennessy laughed harder as the young woman slid the bag of purchased items across the counter.

“I’ll give you 24 hours. Any longer and you're stuck with him.”

“Deal.”

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

“You really out here tryna pimp a nigga, huh?” Erik asked from his place between Hennessy's legs. After having successfully broken her back on every surface of their shared apartment since he stepped foot in the door the previous day, Erik was now lazily resting on Hennessy’s belly while she massaged through his dreads. He had missed the way her plush body melted into his, much like the memory foam mattress they were currently lounging on. He loved the way their bodies fit together, like Bast had created her just for him. She was his personal Sour Patch kid, sweet and sour depending on her mood, but always soft.

“It’s only pimping if we're getting paid. Lil’ Mama said she could take you from me, so I told her she could have you. You and I both know you’ll be back.”

“You damn right. You’re my favorite brown liquor and plus, I can’t leave my Creole lady for too long. What you gonna do while I’m gone?”

Um, party? She thought to herself.

“Relax,” she said instead. Though there were experiments that needed to be done, she was going to use the day for some much needed self-care. Her hair had long since sweated out from its silky state, so she planned to wash and twist it, exfoliate and shave, and binge watch all the shows she’d missed during the week.

“You relaxed while I was gone, ma,” he pouted as he snuggled closer to her.

“No, I worked while you were gone. You know I have to keep busy so I don’t miss ya fat head ass so much.”

“You love my fat head though, boffum,” he teased as he ran his fingertips up her thighs.

“You’re disgusting,” she sneered.

“Filthy,” he called back, dipping his fingers between her thighs, drawing a soft mewl from her.

“Again?” she pouted.

“I missed my baby,” he growled before his tongue met her folds.

Here we go again.

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

Erik watched Brittani's back, unimpressed by her lack of food and general unpreparedness. Hadn't she heard that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach? She sat a bowl in front of him and stuck a spoon in it like she was done.

“Bruh. What the fuck is this? I asked for shrimp and grits, not oatmeal,” Killmonger fussed from his seat at Brittani’s counter. He had been in one of his moods ever since he came over, mentally noting to curse his girlfriend out for subjecting him to such torture, and now she was trying to kill him. Immediately he began to remember why he cut Brittani off in the first place. She was cute, but that was all she had going for herself. She couldn’t cook, she wouldn’t clean, and she was always in his business and trying to go through his phone. If she wasn’t trying to force herself onto his dick then she was whining about wanting him to take her shopping and show her off, though she wasn’t much of a trophy. She couldn't even keep her wig under control. He could see the screen door material sitting on top of her forehead. Henny always put makeup on hers. He could see her in the mirror now, doing that goofy ass dance she did whenever she got a new wig, patting and parting to make sure it looked good. He looked down at his watch. 16 more hours to go. This was finna be a long day.

“That is shrimp and grits, babe. I followed the recipe and everything.” Hennessy didn’t need a recipe.

“My name is Erik,” he reminded her as he tried to lift the spoon from the bowl. “Call me babe again and I’ll slit ya throat,” he threatened, mostly serious. “Why the grits so thick? Did you devein the shrimp? Is this a shell?!” His appetite quickly diminished when he spotted a creature the size of his thumb crawl across the stovetop.

“SHIT…. I’m going to the gym,” he snarled dusting himself, suddenly paranoid.

You love me especially gentle every time // You keep me on my feet happily excited // By your cologne, your hands, your smile, your intelligence // You woo me, you court me, you tease me, you please me // You school me, give me some things to think about // Ignite me, you invite me, you co-write me, you love me, you like me // You incite me to chorus, ooh

Back at their apartment, Henny was soaking in a vanilla lavender bath while her curls deep conditioned under her large pink bonnet. Jill Scott serenaded her while the warm water soothed her aching muscles, an indication of the previous night’s activities. Her music was interrupted by her ringtone.

“Miss me already, Daddy?” she teased, putting the phone on speaker so she could finish her bath.

“This bitch got bugs bigger than me crawling around her shit. Them bitches benching 350. I’m not sleeping there tonight for them niggas to jump me in my sleep.. and I’ma beat ya ass when I get home,” he fussed, still dusting himself occasionally as he drove.

“Aww, baby it can’t be that bad,” Hennessy tried.

“She needed a recipe for shrimp and grits. Who the fuck needs a recipe for shrimp and grits?! It’s in the fuckin’ title! Damn shrimp still had shells on ‘em, the grits was hard as a fuckin’ brick… it was just a mess. Then Craig the Cockroach or whatever the fuck it was came crawling across the stove like he was lookin’ for a plate too. I had to go.”

Hennessy was a giggling mess as Erik explained his morning ordeal.

“Didn’t y’all use to fuck around? You ain’t know she had roaches?”

“I used to fuck that bitch in her driveway cuz she lived with her mama. I had no idea what the inside of that place looked like.”

“You was a dirty dick ass nigga, huh? Just sticking it in anything warm.”

“First of all, fuck you. Second of all, I’m aware of the error of my past judgement, but this is NOT the time to be making jokes. I’m distraught and you laughing. If I die in there, it’s your fault.”

“I mean, according to ya military paperwork I’m ya wife, so I’ll get a nice check.”

“Wooooooow, it really be ya own people. Just for that I’m going in ya ass with no lube tomorrow.”

“Wait, I take it back. I’m sorry. If you wanna come back sooner, handle her. Make it so she knows you're mine or help her move on. One or the other.”

“BET.” With that, the line went dead and Hennessy already knew which option he chose. She had basically given Killmonger permission to hurt this young lady’s feelings, and boy did he intend to do just that.

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

Hennessy was mid happy baby pose when her phone rang again, this time with an unfamiliar number. She cleared her throat and pulled out the French, just in case it was a bill collector or one of Erik’s more shady acquaintances.

“Bonjour, Aurélie.” She was met with the sound of soft sniffles, followed by her boyfriend’s voice roaring in the background.

“The fuck you crying for? You knew what that shit looked like when you woke up this morning. Didn’t even try to run a brush through it. That ain’t what Beyoncé meant when she said she woke up like this.”

“Please come get this nigga,” Brittani said between sniffles. She had had it. Ever since Erik had returned from the gym he had been tearing into her. Hennessy knew it would happen and she almost felt bad for releasing the beast. Almost.

"I would’ve kissed you good morning just to be nice but I went through your bathroom cabinets and you ain't got no mouthwash. Your toothbrush look like it was originally owned by George Washington and your breath smells like halitosis personified. And don’t get me started on Craig the Cockroach. That nigga probably twerked his ass all over your lips and your tongue the way you were snoring. Why you sleep with your mouth open when you got roaches?”

“That’s actually a valid question. That can’t be healthy,” Henny finally spoke up.

“That nigga Craig pay rent or is he like Bruhman from the fif flo? This his house, huh? You just his pet human.”

“Nigga!” Hennessy exclaimed through the phone. She had been successful at keeping her laughs at bay, but was done when he called her the roach’s pet human.

“I can’t do this anymore, you can have him back.”

“It’s only been 9 hours, sis. I thought you said you’d never let that dick go.”

"So now you don't wanna be with me because I'm telling yo triflin’ ass the truth? And who said she was getting dick?! Nah, you ain’t about to put no voodoo curses on me for sticking my dick in the Men In Black bug. I try to bust a nut and my shit just fall off. Hell nah.”

“Just get ya shit and go, nigga. Shamu can have you.” Time seemed to stop once those words left her lips. Even Craig the Cockroach disappeared. It was one thing to disrespect him, but his woman? All bets were off when it came to her and Brittani was about to learn this the hard way. With deadly stealth Erik zipped from across the room to right in front of her face. He wiggled the phone from Brittani’s grasp and ended the call before putting his face as close to hers as his nostrils would allow.

"You fix them crusty lips to call my woman Shamu one more time.. and I'll throw you in the ocean with Bruhman chained to your ankle like a weight." Brittani remained silent, only nodding her head fervently when he was done.

"Nah, you know what? That's not good enough. Call my girl back. Yeah, call her."

“Yeeesss?” Hennessy sang from the other end of the phone.

"The bit-, I mean Brittani got something to say to you. Go 'head."

Brittani hesitated, Erik's eyes giving her the option to cooperate or face consequences. He'd taken pictures of her dirty stove capturing a roach on the move and was threatening to post it on a MAC forum along with a short video of her asleep with a roach on her forehead. She decided it would be best for her to cooperate and cut her losses.

"Hi, Hennessy. I'm sorry for what I said to you and you were right, I couldn't handle him. I guess..," she wavered briefly, "I guess you're a better woman than me all-around. I could never. I see that now."

Erik cleared his throat quietly.

"Oh, a-and you're very beautiful, very statuesque and curvaceous. I wish I looked like you--"

“You don’t have to lie, now, sweetheart. You don’t wish you looked like me, you’re only saying that because you’re afraid of what he’ll do to you if I give the word. However, let this be a lesson to you. Just because you think you’re better than someone, that may not always be the case. Even if this little experiment had been his own choice, he’d still come back to me because he knows that no woman will ever treat him the way that I do. I’m one in a million and he’d be stupid to let me go.”

"So I can come home now?"

“Of course you can, Daddy. I got homemade crab cakes and lobster man n cheese waiting for you as well as two freshly pearled blunts of some new shit. I even felt generous and made a bananas foster cheesecake.” Erik’s mouth watered when she mentioned the dessert he fell in love with when they visited her parents the previous summer.

"A nigga need a bath, a nap, and a backrub. I ain't get no sleep. I had one eye open all night."

“You can have whatever you like, baby. My schedule is clear for the next week.”

“Shiiiit, I’m on my way.. And be naked when I get there.”

Horny ass nigga.

"Take notes," he said to Brittani as he hung up. “And tell my nigga Craig he can have them clothes. I ain’t tryna bring none of y’all kids home.”

TAGS: @panthergoddessbast @amethyst1993 @vikkidc @blackpantherismyish @youreadthatright @mareethequeen @princessstevens @bartierbakarimobisson @madamslayyy @nickidub718 @chaneajoyyy @blowmymbackout @muse-of-mbaku @killmongersgurl @thehomierobbstark @forbeautyandlife @wakanda-inspired @thadelightfulone @purple-apricots @trevantesbrat

[mouseymatchmaker]

May I please get a written ship for Attack on Titan, Durarara (older characters pls), and FFXV ? I can be described as introverted and withdrawn because of events in life despite being outgoing and lively in the past. I randomly doze off and daydream a lot when I’m alone, with friends, and family. Because of my introverted personality I am often mistaken for cold a lot because of my “resting bitch face.” Once people get to know me I am just emotionally shy and empathetic.

Even though I can respond and identify to the feeling of others, I have a hard time expressing my own and try not to express it often. When I’m with friends I am very upbeat, joyful, and hardworking by supporting my friends and family and putting their needs before my own and keeping them happy. I’m pretty much independent and a hard worker that spends too much caring for everyone but myself. My friends describe me as a good listener and easy to talk with because I Am open-minded and easygoing.

I like to watch anime, read manga, play video games (final fantasy and kingdom hearts: my favorite series. also metal gear, solid, resident evil etc.), watch DC comic films and shows XD Besides that, my ultimate favorite hobbies include drawing fan arts of Kpop groups & anime, while listening to music (second ultimate favorite hobby). I also like to swim and drive around because of my love for adventures and imagination (also relaxation). I have a strong passion of disliking bugs (especially cockroaches). I especially love to eat sweets , in particular boba and macaroons. I have big brown eyes, long wavy brown hair, baby face (don’t look my age. I Am mistaken for looking 13-17), slender body. I am half-Chinese, el salvadoran, and French descendent. Sexuality: heterosexual Age: 23.“

AOT:

So I first thought of Marco because he is such an open and charismatic guy that he will help you open up regarding past events. He won’t try to make you the person you were before, all Marco will do is treat you with the utmost care knowing that the past has had its influence. Marco is also very much aware that you’re introverted and he’s happy to accommodate that, he doesn’t think you look cold or anything. He just takes you as you are. If you have a hard time expressing your feelings, he has the patience of a saint and will never push you to explain in a way that makes you uncomfortable. He accepts you at your pace. 

All of your hobbies are generally something he can get behind. Anime and manga seem right up his street, as well as video games. I see the two of you teaming up against Jean and you both wreck him in those games. Poor boy didn’t see it coming. Marco also seems down for exploring, the two of you will take random road trips to the weirdest places and you’d run a random adventure instagram, you’d have all the local sweets and delicacies on there too

Durarara:

I felt Shinra was best for you in the sense that he’s the type who gets his partners. We’ve seen very much in the anime/manga that he just understood Celty without seeing her face and I think that’ll be the same with you. You don’t need to say anything to him, though Shinra would appreciate it, he just understands what you mean and what you need. This is especially good if you’re introverted and don’t want to bother him. I definitely see him as a manga fan, given he’s an underground doctor he’s probably too busy to catch up on anime and probably gets interrupted a lot. So you’re more likely to be able to sit together when it’s raining to read manga than you are for anime, or at least if you watch anime you’ll get through it really slowly.

Don’t tell him you like kpop or show him the dances. He will mimic them badly and pull a muscle. For both your sake, don’t do it. He would love to go swimming mostly to see you in a swim suit. Beach vacations will be a thing when you couple that with wanting to go on adventures. He will research the most obscure things and you’ll go off as much as his job will allow you to. Cute little dates will also be to family run cafes that have the most amazing boba since he knows you love it so much. 

FFXV:

Your hobbies just screamed Prompto. Music? On all the time during chores, bath time, on in the morning to help you wake up. Video games? Omg he loves them! Both fighting with you and against you on them. Much like with Marco, you’ll team up against the rest of the chocobros. Going on adventures? He is down for that to find the most photogenic locations. Prompto’s not keen on camping so I see you both going in a caravan to the most far flung locations to get the perfect shot. Unfortunately, he hates bugs as much as you so have Gladio on speed dial because the multi-legged menace cannot be handled by you both. 

He can sometimes get worried when you have the resting bitch face, Prompto is concerned that you’re upset with him or just not happy in general. Of course, this changes the longer you’re together and he accepts he’s not always in the wrong. Prompto loves that you’re very compassionate and love to help others; in return, he tries very hard to make sure that you’re also taken care of

[cryysiswritesthings]

A Summer of Lifetimes | Week 1: Festival/Tanabata

Fandom: Inuyasha Rating: PG Warning: N/A Prompt: Festival/Tanabata 

Festival/Tanabata | Heat Wave | Fireworks | First Kiss | Star Gazing | Hugs from Behind | Free Week - Destiny | Free Week - Reunion

Find it on: Tumblr | AO3

Collections: Sparks Fly in July Tumblr Tags: #kogkag #inuyasha #a summer of lifetimes #sparks fly in july #kogkag event 2020 #prompt: festival/tanabata #prompt: festival

The bright sun illuminated the colors of tents and stalls, the smells of cooked meat and fried dough wafting in the air. The laughter and calls of the Parisian people were backed by chords of music from anyone with an instrument. Merchants shouted their wares to passerby, and entertainers donned costumes of every shape and size. Paris's Festival of Fools was in full swing.

Wrinkling his nose, Kouga tried to blink the sweat from his eyes. Right now, the only perk of being Captain of the Guard was not having to stand on his feet playing crowd control. No, instead he got to sit on the back of his horse playing bodyguard to a corrupt Minister. That the men were giving him sympathetic looks when they had the more grueling work only made things worse.

But he tried not to let it distract him. He may dislike the bastard he'd been assigned to, but no one would ever say he wasn't dedicated to the job. 20 years of fighting in crusades and wars proved that well enough.

There had been peasant shows throughout the day on the makeshift stage, and an announcement of a performance by one of Paris's best dancers at the day’s end. Considering the crowd and what he’d seen so far, he wasn't exactly optimistic.

A flash of pink and bright green gleamed in the corner of his eye, and he automatically turned his head to follow the distracting colors. When he got a good look at who was wearing them, his eyes almost bugged out of his head.

Long black hair curled and framed a heart shaped face, bright cinnamon eyes standing out against olive-toned skin. The green fabric clung enticingly over her slim frame, its pink accents drawing the eye to every voluptuous curve.

It was the street dancer from yesterday.

His hands tightened on the reigns, body pulled like a magnet towards the woman hiding among the crowd. But his horse had other ideas, shaking his head against the tugging direction of his master.

Kouga blinked, coming back to himself. What the hell was that? He'd never reacted to a woman that way. It didn't matter how beautiful and enchanting she was. He was on duty.

But it didn't stop him from following her every move with his eyes.

A line of entertainers moved in front of her, blocking his vision. He scowled automatically, but an errant cough pulled him to attention.

Naraku was staring right at him. And if looks could kill, he'd already be dead.

Clearing his throat, he bowed his head to his superior. The Minister's glacial expression shifted from him, and Kouga risked a glance back to where he'd seen her.

Damn. She was gone.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to concentrate. While he didn't expect any kind of attack at a peasant festival, it didn't mean he could let himself be distracted. 

Now if only he could get the image of her out of his head.

~

It was getting late in the day, and the festival was finally coming to an end.

He was unendingly glad--much more of this, and he’d have probably gone insane. Not the festival itself, as for all his non participation it had actually looked like fun. No, he was tired of sitting on his horse in the damnable, unforgiving sun.

And he hadn’t seen his street dancer again since, dammit.

He kept his disappointment internal. It was probably for the best. Whatever it was about her, there was no doubt she’d been a distraction. The Minister hadn’t looked at him since first noticing his straying attention, so who knew what that bastard thought of the situation.

The cleared stage brought with it a chorus of relieved sighs. The soldiers were feeling it too. There was just the single dance left, being held in the Minister’s honor. It’s completion would signal the end of the festival. After that, they could all go home.

He could already picture it. First thing he was doing when they got back to the Palace was taking a long, hot bath. Clean up, wipe off all the sweat. Body odor encased in metal did not make a good combination.

Who Kouga assumed to be showrunner took the stage, hands sweeping in dramatic gestures. A new kind of music started up, something subtle enough to warm a man’s blood. Drums pounded, great gongs of sound. His heart jumped in his throat, restricting his air. Something crashed, the firing of a cannons in the distance--

Son of a bitch!

There was a flash of brilliant light, and in a colorful burst of smoke the showrunner vanished and his dancer appeared.

Just like that, the rest of the world fell away.

The hallucination that had begun to form drifted from his mind the longer he watched her. Battle cries and explosions faded from his ears, his heart slowing to a normal rhythm.

Sheer pink ribbon flickered through the air, forming circles around her as she spun. Her dance was liquid motion, drawing the eye with every dip and twirl. She was a vision, perfection personified. He couldn’t turn away from her even if he tried.

Kouga exhaled and sucked in a shuddering breath. That had never happened to him before.

Not the sudden onslaught of nightmares coming to life around him. No, that had happened to him over the years often enough. It was the shock of being drawn back to reality. Of not waking screaming from night terrors and scaring the shit out of the other soldiers. Of not being forcefully restrained when the illusions didn’t let him see friend from foe. Of not coming to at the end of a battle, surrounded by bodies from both sides and covered in blood.

She had no idea what she’d just done for him. What she’d saved not just him, but the innocent bystanders around him from. How the hell had she done it? What about her had pulled him back?

He needed to talk to her, but he couldn’t look for her after the festival. He’d have to wait until tonight or tomorrow. He wanted her name, if she’d be willing to tell it to him. He wanted to know everything he could about her. Maybe work up the courage to ask her to have dinner.

The exclamations going up around him when she bowed to the Minister told him it was the end of her performance. Cheers, applause, whistles, everything the crowd could manage. Gold pieces flew through the air to the stage, landing at her bare feet. His horse shook its head, nervous at the small objects flying so close to his ears. Kouga patted his neck, whispering reassurances in his ear.

When he looked up, workers had taken her place on stage to collect the thrown coins. She had disappeared. 

Naraku glanced significantly towards his Captain, forcing Kouga to straighten in his saddle and clear his expression. The last thing he needed was the Minister to start looking at him in any kind of suspicious manner. The threat of what he’d done to the last Captain of the Guard was enough to have him sleeping with one eye open.

Shouted orders pushed the soldiers into action, driving them toward the Minister and his carriage. As the peasants started clearing the area, Kouga spotted the assumed showrunner speaking to someone off to the side. Before he had the chance to change his mind, Kouga motioned one of the guards to direct him over.

The black haired male looked mildly surprised at the approaching guard, but answered the unusual summons. Kouga took the chance to clear his throat, fighting back a sudden bout of nerves.

“How can I help you, Captain?” The other male didn’t seem disturbed at having been called over. If anything, he looked deceptively passive. But now wasn’t the time for Kouga to worry about that. He only had a few minutes at most to spare.

“The dancer,” he started slowly, glancing back towards the stage. “Does she... “ Dammit, how the hell was he supposed to ask these questions of a complete stranger?

The showrunner only barely suppressed a frown. “She does not give private dances if that is your inquiry, sir. She is not a whore.”

“I would never imply such a thing about her character!” Kouga snarled, hands tightening on the reigns. “I only wondered if she spent time somewhere nearby. I… I wanted to introduce myself.”

Surprised, his eyes lost their hard edge. “Might I ask why, Captain? Beautiful as she may be, men of your… caliber,” he seemed to choose his words carefully, “hardly give attention to our people unless they want something.” Dark blue eyes slid to the Minister, but quickly returned.

Kouga followed his gaze, but chose not to comment. “I mean her no harm. As I said, I only wish to introduce myself to her. To talk, if she’s willing too.”

The showrunner looked thoughtful. After a long moment, he spoke. “I will inform her of your desire for an introduction. If she is willing, then in three days time you’ll find her selling wares at the alley next to the bakers. If not,” and here his dark eyes went hard, “then I suggest you give up. We are very protective of our friends, you see. Especially one such as her.”

Taking the warning for what it was, Kouga bowed his head in acknowledgment. “You have my thanks. Forgive my abrupt departure, but I have duties to attend. Excuse me.”

Miroku watched the Captain trot over to the Parisian Minister, dark eyes following him until the entourage left the courtyard. He and the others had heard of a Captain being called back from the wars in order to serve at the Palace of Justice. If he had been anything like that one, Miroku would have denied all knowledge of knowing the girl. But this one seemed genuine enough.

Off to the side, a heart shaped face also watched the retreating soldiers. She’d been hard pressed to hear the men’s conversation over the crowd, but what she caught intrigued her. There was no way for her not to notice the Captain’s reaction to her as she’d danced, but to request a meeting? It wasn’t unheard of, but still unusual.

Knowing Miroku, he’d have given the man some excuse to give her time to escape the city. It wouldn’t be the first time someone of rank had taken an interest in one of their people. Those few days of notice gave them time to gather their belongings and vanish into the night. If she was smart, she would do the same.

Still though… she couldn’t forget the look in his eye when he’d seen her on stage. He’d looked… captivated. Like he’d never seen someone like her before. Like… like she’d given him hope when he’d long forgotten it.

No one had ever looked at her that way before.

Decided, Kagome returned to her tent to dress back into her street clothes. The Palace of Justice was easy enough to find, crawling with soldiers or otherwise. 

It would be dangerous, and she’d get in trouble in more ways than one if she got caught. But she wanted to meet him. She wanted to understand.

To see if maybe… she could recreate that look in his eyes.

[ivedonestranger]

Chapters: 24/?

Fandom: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jinx/Raven (DCU) Characters: Raven (DCU), Cyborg (Character), Robin (DCU), Beast Boy, Batman, Green Lantern, Diana (Wonder Woman), Superman (DCU), Blue Beetle (DCU), Jinx (DCU), Koriand'r (DCU), Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), See-More, Dorcas "Godiva" Leigh (DCU), Jason Woodrue, Bulletman, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Zatanna Zatara, Komand'r (DCU), Stephen Strange, Karen Beecher, Kyd Wykkyd, Gizmo (DCU) Additional Tags: Multiple Crossovers, World Domination, Epic, Dark, Canon Temporary Character Death, Minor Character Death Series: Part 1 of The Midnight Saga Summary:

Though there were some in the know when it came to multiple realities, very few understood how expansive it was. Not only were their realities that changed fundamental parts of the known quantities, but there were also realities out there that were entirely different. Worse, there was something between those realities, and it wanted to get in.

All it needed was someone to open the door. She was his way in.

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

It was time.

The feeling flooded through Raven like a dawning truth, and it caused her eyes to pop open. She felt the thrum of excitement, the primordial terror of failure, and the fact everything was about to change permanently.

Raven and Jinx's naked bodies were intertwined among the blankets and pillows in her room of the Fortress and the pinkette mode in protest when Raven pushed her off. The woman walked over to the windows and throwing them open to allow the light to flood in. The rain from last night left everything glistening in the morning light as the sun came up.

It was time.

"Wake up, Jinx," Raven ordered as she pulled on her dark dress and fastened the control gem around her throat.

"Just five more minutes, Mistress," Jinx muttered rolling on her stomach and burying her head in the pillows. The Midnight Empress scooped up the leather belt and gave a good swat across the sleepy girl's exposed posterior which caused her to yelp and fall out of bed.

Fastening the belt around her waist, Raven leaned down to the surprised and sleepy girl.

"It's time."

The knowledge that the world was on a knife's edge was not lost on Robin when Batman signaled for the pullback of his team from Boulder. They all knew the alignment of the realities would give their lost friend a clear shot at opening the portal to Sovereign's prison.

The Quinn jet that had picked them up screeched through the sky towards the rendezvous, only miles away from Boulder, Colorado at the foot of Apache Peak. They did not want to sit on top of the portal point in fear of the rupture, destroying their chance to stop the evil creature. Robin leaned forward with hands together while Cyborg and Gizmo were going over some of their gadgets.

"You get the briefing, Robin?" Clint asked in the jumpsuit beside him. Robin nodded without looking at the bow and arrow wielding Avenger.

"We're air support on the southern flank. We're to keep Midnight's troops busy so Superman and Shazam can close in on Sovereign."

"And the Midnight Empress."

"Yes."

"You gonna be okay, kid?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Had they ever had a choice. Weren't he and his friends just curled up in Titan's tower only over a year ago eating pizza and watching movies? Now, he was part of an army that was trying their best to murder a woman that he once cared so much about.

'Not murder. Stop.'

This was war, and this was something that needed to be done to preserve the rest of reality.

"T minus 13 hours before optimal alignment," Iron Man's voice came through the speakers. His suit of armor flying in formation beside them. "Then, the party begins."

The Armies of Midnight rose like a dark cloud from the Fortress. The heroes and metas that allied with her taking the lead of Millinium's minions. The giant cyber bug himself was not far, towering over her thin frame like an ever-present watchdog with the power to level streets. Raven strode out among the troops, humans who had joined her cause, Metas who saw the truth of Sovereign and the cybernetic bugs that followed Sovereign's oldest ally.

Even clans of the Kaz-Kal, space insectoids from another galaxy had joined her cause, probably sensing the impending doom if they continued to resist. Blackfire and Jinx stood in the front of their legions, their heavy black outfit mirroring her own in their own unique cut. Jinx was showing some skin while Blackfire's resembled more battle armor of Tamaran.

"Lead, Archon," Millennium's voice thrummed in low pressure. "We shall follow you."

Wrapping herself in the golden light of her power, Raven rocketed into the sky, and the swarms followed. The first fight of the final battle about to begin.

The wind whipped and cut at her, but Raven pushed through, her mind focused on the goal, to land in the center of the point and ripped a hole in the fabric of space. The thoughts of Robin's laugh, Starfire's ill aligned words, and Cyborg's battle cry flitted across her mind, but she shunted it aside. There was a greater good to be fighting for, a greater good that required sacrifice.

'Can you do it?'

Sovereign's voice came through to her mind as clear as a bell. The alignment was almost perfect, and his presence could be felt.

"Can I do what?"

'Can you kill them if you face them?'

"I'll do what I have to do, my Sovereign," she answered, pushing her friend's faces out of her mind. "Whatever it takes."

Conveniently, the mathematics pointed to the entrance of the portal being in a field at the foot of Shoshoni Peak, and it had allowed them to dig in and hide among the sparse wood and rock faces. SHIELD and ARGUS agents with all sorts of weaponry, metas that Robin had never seen, and weapons of all sorts had been set up. Robin strode out of the Quinn Jet, his armor activating and the mask extending and wrapping his face. His titanium gap still billowed, but he resembled more a soldier than the hero of Jump Suit. The suit's optics kicked in overlaying the scene with augmented reality.

Cyborg strode up beside him and pointed to a cluster of trees.

"That's gonna be the best place to intercept any of the air attacks. We're gonna need to keep as many as we can off of Iron Man as possible."

Traveling a few more clicks, His new Titans found their spots and quickly hunched down to hide. Gizmo dropped a few scatter probes that masked their signature from any sensors. Starfire huddled in close to him. She had donned the full Tamaranian armor and face mask. Koriand' r had insisted as this was a fight for the existence of her own people too. Her eyes flitted to his mask a few times as they silently waited. Bumblee had shrunk down to a smaller size and up in the tree.

It was now time to wait.

The waiting was the hard part. The holo chronometer counted off the seconds, and the sun slowly rose into the sky, bathing them in its light. It had begun to get hot to the point that his suit's environmental systems kicked in to try and regulate. Birds were singing, and animals flitted to and fro as if nothing unusual was happening.

A few deer had taken up to eat in the center of the large field oblivious that they stood in the center of an intergalactic portal point.

"This waiting is killing me," Gizmo growled, his binocular lenses zoomed out giving him a strange insect-like look.

"Trust me; we're going to want to wait as long as we can. Once it starts, it's going to be all in." Cyborg responded. "There's no booyah in what we're about to do."

"Robin?"

Dick Grayson turned to his friend Starfire, who had come up close and lowered her voice. "I understand how difficult this is for you, but if you face Raven and find that you cannot do it. I will kill her for you. I am willing to take that burden."

"Star..." Robin started as a wave of emotion, choked him. She had spoken all their fear. Each had pretended not to hear her words, but he knew that they had.

"I'll make it quick. A snap of the neck and she won't feel a thing. It's the least I can do for someone who has meant so much to us."

"I'm not giving up on her," Robin said firmly.

"Dude," Cyborg said as quietly. "She's gone. If we don't kill her first, she'll take us out. You saw her eyes. Our Raven is gone. It's the Midnight Empress we're about to face."

Starfire returned to her spot to keep a lookout, and for the next hour, the image of Raven's lifeless body and the sound of her neck snapping played over and over in his mind's eye. It couldn't come to that. It couldn't.

"Heads up!" the speaker in Boy wonder's ear kicked in. "We've got incoming and a lot of it."

Robin looked up at Bumblebee as she zipped down and returned to size, her entire body covered with yellow and black armor, weapons at the ready.

"What is it?"

"They're sending in the grunts. Clouds of cyber minions and Kaz-Kal. They're going to try to overwhelm and hold so they can bring the bitch in."

"Alpha-2 this is central," Batman's voice came over, grim and somber. "It's a go. We see Midnight Empress in the center of the cloud. Pull those flankers away and give us our opening."

"Understood," Robin responded standing and turning to his team. "Let's do this."

Charging out, all of them shot into the sky. The jet pack lifted Robin off the ground while Cyborg's jet boots, had him going alongside Gizmo. Almost immediately the sky became alive with multi-colored energy bolts emanating from hiding spots cutting into the swarm and dropping them in droves. It seemed though that for every one killed, three appeared in its place. Bombs and bolts cut through them, and The New Teen Titans all banked north drawing a good swarm of them away. Below Robin could make out the descending mass being met by the colorful metas of the Avengers.

"Damn, all hell just broke loose!" Falcon called as he shot overhead, machine guns blasting away.

'No, hell is coming.'

In the center, Raven watched from her floating perch in the sky. The swarms had begun to descend, and as she had expected, Iris had set up, and they were mowing through her troops efficiently. She had expected as much. With their positions shown, the sorceress turned to Jinx and Blackfire and gave them a nod. With glee, the descended leading their armies with them.

The Midnight Empress watched closely as the battle raged, watching for her opening to cut through and to land. She could feel the urgency, the draw of the alignment growing closer. Raven could taste the anticipation coming off of her imprisoned comrade.

"Now!"

Without hesitation, she shot down towards the spot, and her guard followed. They twisted and turned as they descended, and she could feel the enemy focusing their firepower on her. Heroes flew by in blurs as the Kaz-Kal, allies, and cyber minions put themselves between them and her. She alighted on the ground and fell to her knees. She drew held her arms out, and the world became silent.

What was next was sheer pain as the power exploded out of her and into a forming vortex. An energy beam sliced through her shoulder spurting blood, but she could not care. Sovereign had come.

Forcing her eyes open, Raven saw the black portal that warped reality as if being pulled inside and from the distant stars. A form appeared and stepping out, floating in the air was a young man with brown hair, simple features but brilliant glowing gold eyes. He glided forward with a grin of pure ecstasy on his face.

"I. Am. Free!" he said with a laugh that seemed to reverberate through her.

"Sovereign!" Raven choked out a warning as she saw Superman come blasting from the woods, every ounce of energy thrown into the Kryptonian's influence. She knew that the blow he was about to deliver could shattered meteors, but when it connected with Jason's face, he barely flinched. Superman halted in front of him with a mixture of surprise and realization of how powerful the entity was.

"Hello," Jason said, a look of glee on his face. He backhanded Superman which sent him soaring away and impacting the side of a mountain. Shazam, in his red outfit, tried to hit also but found himself caught by the arm and hurled into the ground below, leaving a crater on impact.

Raven floated up to him, and he turned his eyes on her. His smile softened, and the girl's heart thrilled with excitement. It was horribly stupid of her, but she was glad he was handsome. Her Jason wasn't striking or adonis, but his eyes seemed ancient but kind. He ran his hand down her cheek.

"You've saved me. Thank you."

"Anything."

"Now, hold them off while I begin my process of bringing peace."

He floated upwards with arms outstretched and instantly, she felt a strange tug on her body and mind as if the world itself was beginning to shift and phase.

"SOVEREIGN!"

Raven turned to see Superman, bloodied and bruised charging in again with Wonder Woman right on his heels. Jason gritted his teeth and turned to face the attacker but caught the glint from the corner of his eye just like she did.

Batman stood there with Coulson with a strange bazooka, and the realization hit.

"No!" Sovereign's scream of anger reverberated through her.

Instinctively she flew up to him to shield him, but he dropped and grabbed hold of her. Instantly, she felt white-hot as if his hand was somehow cooking her body completely. She screamed in pain as he held her fast with no way to escape. The feeling broke abruptly when a bolt of red and blue energy struck him and dropped him to the ground. Raven could feel the power being ripped from him. Iris had done it. They had found a weapon to hurt him.

Dropping as fast, she caught the entity who had fallen unconscious, and as Superman darted towards her to grab her, she threw open a portal, fell through and snapped in shut cutting of the shout of rage from the Kryptonian. The next thing she knew, she hit the marble floor of the Fortress hard, the sorceress head slamming with a sickening crunch and though being ripped from her.

[dragonwithapenoffire]

My Heart or My People: Chapter 5

(This chapter suggests minor themes of rape, please be careful if you are effected by this)

“Hey, luce. Lucy. Are you feeling ok?” Natsu said shaking me gently awake. I must of fallen straight to sleep after the events of the dress fitting.

“Hey, what time is it?”

“Lucy its 12 o’clock, why are you sleeping so early?”

“Oh. Ok.” I responded rather absentmindedly, finding my eyes beginning to shut again.

“Lucy! Are you feeling ok? I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little stressed is all.” Pulling myself up into a sitting position so I don’t drift off again I continue “Natsu, you should see the dress. It’s hideous. The complete lace and tulle mess my father has always imagined for me. Exactly what he wants. Just like everything else.”

“Ugh, gross. Want me to sneak in and burn it before they make ya wear it again?”

“I’m afraid even that won’t even stop this wedding from happening.” I sigh, I taste a hint of metal, like the taste of blood, and wonder when I bit my lip. “And on top of that, I’ve put on weight since the last fitting so the dress doesn’t fit right, so I’m going to look like a fat plum on my wedding day as well”

“Well, more like a pear, with those hips and that small waist of yours Luce” Natsu teases and I playfully shove him so he falls onto his back on the bed.

“Oh I have large hips do I Natsu Dragneel.” I draw out his name and he smirks as I crawl up and straddle him.

“Haha, yes, they’re quite voluptuous” he responds dragging his hand up my thigh.

“Oh what a big word, I didn’t know you knew such a word”

“Turns out that royal tutor of yours you’ve had teaching me has been doing well” he says, as his hand reaches my ass and squeezes it gently.

“I’m glad you have actually been attending the lessons” I say bending my lips down to hover over his, but before our lips can meet I feel something curling in my stomach and up my throat. I find myself leaping off him and rushing to my bathroom. Natsu rushes in behind me at the sound of my retching, immediately pulling my hair back to stop me from puking on it, and rubbing my back reassuringly. Every time I think it’s stopped, I find my head back in the toilet bowl. Trust me to ruin a moment like that, he probably thinks this is so gross.

When it finally subsides, I turn around to see the concerned look marking his face, but he doesn’t give me time to comment as he immediately lifts me up into his arms and carries me to my bed, before disappearing out of the room. A few minutes later, he returns with Aquarius in tow, the same concerned face now marks hers as well.

“Thank you for getting me Natsu, you may leave now” he starts to protest but she continues, “that was an order. Leave.” And he does.

She walks over to me and perches on the side of my bed, bringing her hand up to my forehead, then my cheeks, then my forehead again. “Yep, no temperature. You’re not ill, either you’re being a dramatic bitch, or you’re in big, big trouble. I knew something was up from this morning”

My eyebrows bunch together in confusion. Her concern looks more like fury now, and for the first time, I am truly scared of Aquarius. “How could you be so stupid! Do you not know how important this wedding is for our country! No, you’ve decided to be selfish and have a bit of fun before you are married and look where it’s lead you! You stupid, stupid girl!”

I feel the colour drain from my face and tears well in my eyes. She has never talked so sternly or reprimanded me so harshly before. I am so, so confused. I just wanted to be loved and to be in love, what could be so wrong with that. I know I have duties but I will still go through with them. She can’t really be mad at me for stressing out about the wedding? Isn’t every bride stressed about their wedding day? Even those who have a choice who their husband is.

“Aquarius, please I am so confused, I am just a little stressed, theres no need to be so angry.”

“Oh, you’re far more than just stressed girl. You barely know the meaning of the word.”

“What do you mean? Just because i am a princess does not mean I have never been stressed before, I know what it’s like!”

Aquarius just shakes her head, fury still obvious on her face. “Come with me right now, and don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself” she grabs me by the wrist and pulls me out of the door. Natsu is on the other side, he’d obviously been eavesdropping. I look to Aquarius, she has now put on a face that seems calm, but I can see her bubbling below the surface.

“Where are you taking Lucy?”

“None of your business boy, go back to your work.” She says in a dismissive tone, pulling me down the corridor.

“If you’re taking her somewhere, I want to go too. I don’t want to leave her side when she’s ill.”

“No! Under no uncertain circumstances will you follow us, do you understand me. If you follow us, you will die.” I thought her threat was a little harsh, but her tone spooked him enough that with apologetic eyes at me, he turned around and walked off.

“That was a little uncalled for. You can trust him, he’s not a bad person just because he isn’t rich and royal.”

She ignores me, and in silence she leads me down the corridor in no clear direction.

Too many minutes later, she shoves me through a door and shuts it behind her.

“Oh hello Princess, it has been a while since I have seen you” a woman with long pink hair tied in a bun bows. I recognise her, I think her name is Polyusca. The castle healer. I look to Aquarius in shock, surely I am not that ill that I require a healer, but could this be what Aquarius meant that I have ruined the wedding? Could I be so ill that it cannot go through? I shouldn’t feel slight joy at that fact. I instantly feel regretful for ever thinking that and the nausea starts nibbling at me again.

“Get this girl a bucket or a bowl right now.” Aquarius demands and a blue haired apprentices gets it to me just in time as I fill it.

“What is about to be talked about in this room, must not leave this room, and if I find out it has, I know who’s head to demand in a basket do you understand me.” All the healers nod, pale faced. I didn’t know Aquarius held this much respect in the castle, sure she is the head of the servants and looks after them all, but I’ve never taken her threats seriously. There’s no way my father can trust her that much that she can hold that much power in his castle. “Our Princess is feeling a bit under the weather, as you can see, but I fear it is something far more serious than just a stomach bug. I request a urine test to confirm her symptoms, but with everything that has been going on recently, I would be very surprised if it is not what I think it is.” My head is swimming with Aquarius’s every word, trying to piece together what she is proposing is wrong with me. ‘Serious, everything that has been going on.’ I audibly gasp, and one of the healers looks at me quizzically. Could I be poisoned? Am I going to- before i can finish the thought I am guided into an adjacent room. I do as they say and after they have everything they need, I am left to stew alone.

I am sat on a low bed near a window that overlooks a small pond. As I watch, a little green frog bounces towards the water’s edge before disappearing underneath a lotus flower into the murky water below, narrowly missing being caught in the talons of a hungry bird. The bird caws in anguish at it’s lost lunch, and returns to circling in the sky. I see myself in that little frog and hope I am just as lucky.

Polyusca and Aquarius come through the door. Aquarius’s lips are in a tight line and a shadow is cast on her face when she stops near me. The energy is low, and the suspension is grinding on me.

The healers face is a mask. She has been trained to deliver news from joyful to life-altering with no emotion, so I cannot glean any hint from her as of the nature of the results.

We stay in silence for many moments more before Polyusca finally speaks up. “Princess Lucy. I have done all the tests required to find out the cause of your current condition, and have come to the medical conclusion that you are in fact with child. How this came about before you are to be wed is distressing to think about and I can only offer my condolences to you for how you must of suffered at the hands of the man who did this to you against your will. If you will tell me the names of any men who have touched you in a lustful manner, I will be sure to report them to the king so you can get the justice you deserve.” My mouth is on the floor and all words are stripped from me. Her words rattle through my skull and a headache starts to form as soon as I start to think about it. “I understand this will be painful for you to recount, so I will leave you alone with your Lady Aquarius to process everything before I return.” With that, she gives a short bow and is out of the room. I am about to ask Aquarius to explain everything to me but before I can say anything, she cuts me off.

“Don’t look so shocked girl, you brought this upon yourself. Fraternising with a man you are not married to only leads to this. What else are they supposed to think. You are their Princess, you are not supposed to make any mistakes.” Her words hit me. Hard. Ripping me from my tumbling thoughts. As if loving Natsu could ever be a mistake.

“Well that is unrealistic. Everyone makes mistakes.” I bite back, but there is no force behind the words. I feel myself breaking apart underneath. It’s like Polyusca just threw a plate at me. ‘With child’. I’m pregnant. I am pregnant with mine and Natsu’s child, but they think he raped me. Fate has a way of giving you exactly what you want in the most cruel way possible. I don’t want justice, I want to celebrate but everyone else wants him killed. Is that why Aquarius didn’t let him come with us? Was she protecting him in her roundabout way? I look to Aquarius then and there is nothing but grief on her face. Grief because she knows what the King is going to do when he finds out. No matter if he’s my father. He does not take well to being disrespected. And lying with the man I love is the most disrespectful thing I have ever done

[noctemusfic]

☵ Pride | rated : G

A Supernatural (CW show) AU Fan Fiction by Silvi Henna (Noctemus). Can also be read on: @AO3

Characters/Pairing: Ruby, Sam Winchester, Sam/Ruby Notes:

Part 2 of Moments Like These series.

// Betaed by Kezzie_du. Thank you.

Summary: Another scene ficlett to MLT.

☵ Pride - 1/1

If Dean could, so could Sam.

☳ ☼ ☳

Things had been going well, which on its own should have put Sam on edge. Because when had that ever happened to a Winchester? Still, Sam found himself in a pretty good mood which he could admit was a rare happening. But things were going well.

So yeah, he's been threatened by angels, got a little bit disillusioned in the man upstairs and all his crowd which he guessed was a good excuse as any to be down and low but Dean was beginning to open up to him and, for the first time in a long time, he felt like he had his brother back again.

He wasn't a fool to believe that Dean was telling him everything. If anything, he seemed to have more secrets than ever but Sam still felt like Dean was slowly coming back to him and that made a smile grow on his face.

He probably looked like a fool with the grin seemingly stuck on his face if Dean's expression was anything to go by but Sam thought, fuck that.

He wasn't going to let that get him down. Things had calmed down once again that it finally felt like they could take a breather or two, so naturally – in Sam's mind – Dean was wanting to once again go out and score, though Dean had been a little less tacky about that. Dean had said he wanted to get back into the swing of things as he seemed to have the notion he was out of practice.

Sam doubted anyone as prolific Dean was could ever go stale, regardless of where he'd been.

Sam was all for it, giving him thumbs up and all – another point where Dean had looked at him funny – but of course Sam wasn't going to bitch if it meant that it bought Dean some time to put his mind somewhere else but the fucked up life they led, and the little fact that for all intents and purposes Dean wasn't going to be able to get rid of Ruby.

There was nothing like a good lay to put the mind in a pleasant buzz for a while which was why Sam was currently finding himself outside of Ruby's motel, her having made the wise decision to house herself somewhere else.

If Dean could, so could Sam.

Wiping the grin off his face – it wouldn't do to put her off the mood right off the bat – Sam willed the door unlocked, and wasn't that a neat little trick, and stepped in.

All his plans, however, came crashing down at what he found in the room. Or more precisely, what he didn't find. Where the hell was Ruby?

Looking around the room Sam could see her bag as always shoved against the wall, her clothes thrown about in disarray making his fingers itch in a desire to neat things up. She was one messy demon.

But no Ruby.

There was a half-eaten burrito on the dresser and as Sam picked it up, he saw the stale grease and knew it'd been there a while.

The feeling growing in his stomach, no no. He was most definitely not worried.

Before he could call out a familiar sound reached him from his left. Familiar, yes – he remembers Dean doing the exact same noises when he had the bad case of the runs – but it was odd to hear that in the room that Ruby was supposed to occupy.

He did have the right room, right? Turning around taking in the items he breathed a sigh of relief when indeed those did belong to Ruby.

Hearing the garbled up sound again, curiosity took a firm hold of him and he turned towards the bathroom.

Opening the door open he peered inside. His eyes widened when bent over the toilet was Ruby, her back arching as she hurled into the bowl.

Nasty, ugly sounds that made Sam shudder in sympathy.

Toeing the door open further he called out, "Ruby."

Ruby whimpered and hunched in on herself. "Go away."

"What on earth happened?" Sam asked ignoring her plea as he stepped into the bathroom.

"Go away; I don't want you to see me like this." The words were garbled up as she was taken over by convulsion and she dry-retched into the toilet again. Sam understood her well enough though.

Looking around he saw a pair of wet jeans lying across the tub. Turning around he was surprised to meet with onyx eyes that in spite of its inhumanness was still able to transmit pure misery.

"I gather you're not feeling well," Sam stated as he watches her grab a bottle of water and take some gulps. He grimaced. The taste can't be good.

Having followed his line of sight to her pants drawing attention to the fact she was in her panties she said, "I had an accident."

"Accident how?" Sam asked. Ruby grimaced before she was forced over the bowl once again, the body rejecting the water.

"Oh, OH. I didn't even know you could still do that," he said as he flinched at a particularly violent attack.

Ruby slumped down on the cold tile, her pale skin looking almost grey in the bathroom light.

Settling her arm against the rim of the toilet she flushed with the other one and settled her head against it blinking blearily at Sam, her onyx eyes going back to the familiar brown.

"The body is still alive, Sam. Where do you think all that I eat end up?"

Sam shuddered, "I didn't need to get that mental image."

"We don't usually stay in one body long enough for that to be an issue or we let the host deal with it but I'm driving solo here. I think I ate something bad."

"The burrito out there?"

Ruby shrugged.

"You're a demon Ruby," Sam said as he folded himself against the edge of the tub shoving the wet jeans further away.

"Jeez, thanks for that intel. I never would have guessed."

Sam rolled his eyes. "What I meant is, aren't you suppose to be immune? Or at least have a bigger tolerance to some stomach bug? Or even better, heal?"

"I don't know. I've tried." Ruby whined as she rubbed her stomach. Suddenly she went up on her knees again and bent over the bowl her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge. Sam could hear her groan, "Oh fuck, I'm gonna die."

Sighing, Sam leaned forwards and gathered her hair to keep it from harm's way, his nose crinkling at the smell wafting up from the toilet. His hand rubbed gently at her back and held her as she slumped back her head burrowing into his chest.

Reaching over to the edge of the tub Sam managed to grab the small washcloth and one-handed open the crane and wet it. Turning it off he wrung the thing out the best he could. Showing it to Ruby he waited for her to take it. She just blinked, lying slumped against him. Sighing he took a better hold of it and passed it over her face.

She whimpered, "Have mercy, just kill me."

Shaking his head he gathered her and stood up. She moaned at the sudden shift and clung to his shirt. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

Walking out of the bathroom he moved her over to the bed ripping off the covers, the clothes that had been on it finding a new home on the floor. Ruby groaned again as she was put onto the mattress.

Turning to the bathroom again he grabbed the wastebasket and settled it next to the bed. Settling on the edge of the bed he watched as Ruby curled on her side. Not exactly how he'd envisioned the evening.

He gently rubbed her as she trembled. She was wrecked with nausea and in spite of a few false alarms, she didn't throw up again. Sam had her drink a few sips of water every once in a while, not the mouthful she'd been taking, and it seemed to work as slowly she upgraded from feeling death warmed over to simply dying.

After a not so false alarm, Sam found himself with a lapful of Ruby as she snared the shirt in her hands pleading. "Please, let me in. I promise I'll be good. Just until this is over."

She looked pitiful, utterly miserable and maybe it made him a bastard but he found this whole situation rather amusing. A sick demon, who'd have thought?

Sam shook his head his hand rubbing circles on her back, "One, there is no way in hell I'll let you piggyback on me, and two, even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to do it."

Pushing her so that he could reach the neckline of his shirt he tugged it down.

"Remember this?" The swirling tattoo could clearly be seen.

"Aww," she whined as she settled her head against his chest.

"I guess you'll just have to stick it out."

"You could try to not sound so smug."

Sam shrugged, his lips curling up. "What can I say, welcome to getting a taste of what being human is."

"I remember being human, I didn't say I wanted to be one." Ruby pouted as she let Sam push her to lie down again. Sam shook his head. Letting his knuckles grace her cheek before brushing her hair back he said quietly. "Maybe. Still, there are no words I can say that'll describe how much I hate being possessed."

Ruby closed her eyes. She had forgotten. How very stupid of her.

"I'm sorry," she found herself saying.

"What for?"

"I don't know. For everything I guess. For what happened. For this." Curling in on herself, Ruby sighed as she looked up at Sam. At his indication, she scooted over to make more room for him.

"I guess you had some specific ideas for coming over. This kind of puts a damper on those now, doesn't it?"

Sam shrugged, "For now. This isn't bound to last forever. But I gotta tell you, finding you with food poisoning, now that's something I'd-"

"Hush you."

Sam grinned. Toeing off his shoes, he stood up and shrugged off his jacket, letting it drop on the floor. Standing up he stepped over Ruby to plump next to her not feeling remorseful at all at her groan.

Unbuckling his belt he pulled it loose and let it join with the rest of the items on the floor. Folding his arms behind his head, crossing his ankles he looked over at her as she carefully moved to face him. "That'll teach you to eat healthier, now won't it?"

"Oh, for crying out loud," she exclaimed, annoyed, as she thumped him. Sam laughed, his hands going down to hover over where she hit him and rolled out of her reach before setting back in his original position.

"I'm just saying," he said.

Ruby shook her head before settling down letting the quiet even breathing next to her lull her to a fretful rest, her body fighting against the bacteria that had decided to make her body their battleground.

There were just some things she needed to let nature run its course, it seemed. Not that she hadn't tried to deal with it her own way but apparently there were just some things her demonic nature was not able to tackle.

Sometimes she thought the universe was conspiring against them. Like devils and angels weren't enough. Because really, did Sam really have to be there to see this? She had her pride after all.

The end.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters portrayed herein. This is for fan enjoyment only and no profit gained nor sought.

[tamisdava-blog]

Finally post! SVTFOE/Pokemon sun and moon anime

 Yea guys, finally the new year started, and finally i watched SVTFOE! And... I dont liked it. 1 season of SVTFOE was neutral for me, 2 season got better and interesting but, 3 season? its the worse season in my opininon. Many cartoons got destroied because there were more seasons than 2, because in next seasons nothing interesting happens. which after is pushing people away, yes there are people who are still watching: Adventure time, Supernatural, Rick and Morty and many others. We can see what good thing did Alex Hirsh when he stopped on 2 season and didn’t continued Gravity Falls.

Like come on guys, we waited for battle of mewni because there still was something interesting and something that was left from plot. We all thought that Toffee will come back and he with Eclipsa will be villains together. But when Toffee appeared he dissappeared Rapidly, again. Ok, in the 3 season we see that Eclipsa is back, if there is no good villain left like Toffee thats means that Eclipsa needs to take that place? Yes? No, said the plot. So we have no good villain. And actually Eclipsa is doing here nothing! She even doesn’t tells us about how everything happend with her and with her monster lover, ok you may say to me: “Woman you asking too much fo the start of new season”. No its not the beginning! Its already a half season passed. Ok, i was kinda suprised about the last episode where we see THAT HEINOUS IS ECLIPSAS DAUGHTER! Actually that episode gave me hope that maybe not everything is gone, maybe there is left spark of mystery and the twisted plot. 

But what i dont liked and from where its started? The first episode. When i started watching new season i already dont liked the dam FIRST EPISODE! First Star was saying goodbye to mark too long, AND NEXT SHE JUST WAS SAVING THE HOODIE OF MARCO FROM GETTING WASHED?! YES, ITS WHAT WE ALL WANTED FROM THE START OF THE NEW SEASON! LETS SAY TRUE, NO BODY WAS INTERESTED IN HOW STAR WAS SAVING THE SCENT OF MARCO’S HOODIE! And lets say what we got from the most of non-interesting episodes? So all the episodes were like six month? Marco is gone on earth, he is back on earth, Star is dating with Tom, Marco loves star, Marco and Jackie broke, GOD DAM IT, ITS TOO FAST! And Jackie finally got my 100% love from that season, you asking why? Nu, because she understood that Marco loves Star, yes she loved Marco but she knew if you love someone you got to let him go. And if some haters will say something bad about Jackie like: “she doesn’t even deserved Marco! Marco belonged to Star anyway! Its was already decided from the start that Marco will love Star!”, and if you say something other i’ll punch you in the face, seriously, I’LL DO IT! AND WHY THE HECK THEY TURNED MARCO INTO SO SOFTY! If you aren’t blind and you’ll compare Marco from this season to Marcos from the past seasons you’ll SEE HOW SOFTY HE BECAME! And you’ll see Star as she is doing favour to Marco and forces him to sit on knees and then she compels him to be HIS FRIEND. And that moment was given like Star is better than Marco, AND WE CAN SEE IT IN THE ALL GOD DAM EPISODES OF NEW SEASON! And we can see it in one episode about princess Marco. remind me when he last time was dressed like a princess and why? Yes it was in 1 season, and he dressed like this because he needed it for camouflage. But in this episode he decides to stay as a girl or tell them that he is a boy. But why? Because directors of Disney decided that in SVTFOE aren’t very active feminine gender roles in the plot. Fuck you Disney, just fuck you! Because of it Rick and Morty got non-interesting and destroied too! This completly changed the cartoon. I dont know anymore if i’ll watch SVTFOE and do posts about it. BECAUSE I AM DONE DISNEY! SVTFOE ISN’T A GOD DAM FILM ABOUT PRINCESS! DISNEY THANKS TO YOU, YOU DESTROIED THE ONLY ACTIVE MALE CHARACTER IN MY EYES! Lets say so Marco was the only active male character IN A DAM CARTOON, ok there was Toffee now he is dead, And ludo uh... 

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Ok because i didn’t write posts for long time here will two posts together! Ok this part will be about Pokemon sun and moon. I watched the new series of it and... GOD DAM IT I LIKED IT SO MUCH! I’ll try to write what happend short but you know its wont happen :)

So after Lusamine was taken by UB Gladion and Lilie want to search for alternative way to open ultra hole. Nebby of course evolved... But i didn’t expect it to be so small. Other kidos heared that from james other day. Gladion and Lilie are going to the altar of sunne. There they see some useless, wait, not useless dangerous puzzles that they dont need to do. And after they are fighting Jangmo-os, Hakamo-os and one big totem Komm-o. So there is a great battle but that battle would’ve ended faster IF GLADION WOULD CHANGED SILVALLY’S TYPE INTO FAIRY TYPE EARLIER! COME ON GLADION! YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU ARE SMART AND YOU ONLY NEED LOGiC BUG YOU HAD TO BE REMINDED OF TYPE ADVANTAGES BY LILIE?! Ok, so after ceiling is falling down, and pikachus electro ball saves them from a dam rock. Gladion is like: “Its a family’s business”. Yea of course Gladion you and Lilie alone without Nebby’s, Tapu family’s and others help can open and beat all Lusamine’s pokes. After everyone is going to altar there is a Tapu family waiting for them. Then Tapu’s family tells to our heroes that they need Solgaleo to open an ultra hole, then Tapu family sees Nebby They are starting to play with him.(Nebby is male because he’ll evolve into Solgaleo.) oh tapu family also told to our friends that when Nebby was “born” they needed to take care of Nebby and after give him to Ash because Solgaleo and Lunala told them to do so?! But whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?! Why the heck Solgaleo and Lunala needed to give their child to the stranger child that they dont even know? Ok, guys we all know who watched pokemon anime that Ash is like a magnemite FTU i mean magnet for legendary pokemon. Gladion was like:

Gladion: I WANT MY MOTHER DAM BACK NOT TO WATCH HOW YOU ARE PLAYING WITH NEBBY!

Tapu koko: *Deadly glare that means something like it* If you want to have your momy back then you’ll have to wait bitch!

And team Rocket finally got in head that Nebby is Nebby. Kukui is like: Gotta blast and help my future wife! And finally Nebby evolved into Solgaleo. And thanks to god that Nebby still likes sugar stars after evolving. Tapu gives ash a special Z-move for Solgaleo, but the problem is that the Z-crystal doesn’y fit into Z-ring. then Tapu-Koko takes the Z-ring and Tapu’s family have done something to Z-ring i am sure dont want to know what. so  after the Z-crystal fits in, they opened ultraa hole and went in. Profesors went to the altar and they saw no one. So our friends are there and they decided to split up because they have pokemons that will protect them *face palm*. So they saw Lusamine she is like beign possesed by a UB and she hates everyone and she tells them to not come closer or she is going to use her mega crystals, noononono, not mega stones, i calling mega crystals that crystals that are in UB’s home. I think i messed up my grammar, but i doesn’t matter. So Lusa flies away and leaves a wall from a mega crystals, so nobody would follow her. After our heroes try to break it but nah. Nothing helps. Finally Nebby decides to help them and he breaks the wall. Then Lusa gets angery and sents some pokemon out. Lilie stays and tries to fight with Clefairy but Lilie uses emotional and memorial pressure on Clefairy. So Clefairy stops to attack Lilie, and they finally using emotional *sob* pressure *sob* on Lusa, I almost cried :(

So the UB leaves Lusa’s Body like this: “fuck this shit i am out”.

Yea, some people are saying that Lilie got too over developed, and i understand why, but i hope that other characters like Kiawe, Lana and others will be developed too. 

Then we see Profesors wedding which was a great episode too in my opinin. Then a pretty funny episode with a Komala and  Jigglypuff. Some people will said that it was just an non-interesting episode for children. But its reminded me of the pokemon original series, when  Jigglypuff appears and makes everyone fall asleep and after draws their faces.

So thanks to everyone who reads me, sorry that i wasn’t posting for so long, because of it i wrote two post together. TOGETHER! actually i was working for it 5 hours.

Sorry for my english and i wish for ya lucky 2018! Now i’ll drink fuse tea and read dostoevski’s idiot.

[banddndau]

The whistle-in forest was vast. The purple haze coming down gently as a warning of the impending sunset. It was a good payoff taking a mission to help some villagers be rid of some terrorising bandits. While they had no rare items to offer the bit of gold as well as a couple potions to boost stats the Beatles took gratefully. Walking back to the nearest town should have a reward in itself however. Walking miles on foot and had till sundown to make it before the nightime dangers would show their faces in their domain. "Ya know I was really hopin that at some point a coupla' thieves or pissy merchants would scamper our way and we could show 'em what we're made of and take their horses so we wouldnt hav'ta use all our bloody energy just walkin!" John complained Paul's way. "Oh you know very well that village didn't have much to offer and if we tried to take even one horse we would be steppin the line and I don't want to get into trouble for taking more than what we were given, not after_!" Paul remarked not even looking behind at John, who was dragging his feet obnoxiously crunching the dead leaves that blanketed the forest floor. "Well mr. goody good!" John stopped. "From the looks of it we're not gonna make it out of 'ere by sundown!" Hearing that news George and Ringo groaned in frustration. Ringo pinched the bridge of his nose not in the mood for an argument to begin. "Look before we start blamin each other for the naturewalk we can't stop now unless we wanta' be stuck here even longer." said Ringo. "Rings' right." Paul agreed. "No point in waitin for anything so even if we dont want to we gotta walk." "Geo you've been awful quiet halfway through us comin here. What's eatin' ya?" Paul asked the Cleric walking beside him. His serious resting face looking more intense. "I ju-" A strong autumn wind suddenly blew their way, blowing back their capes and coats, whilst being pelted by a barrage of orange and red leaves. "You were sayin?" The fighter chuckled smoothing his hair down looking at his friends long hair blown into every direction. George huffed moving the hair out of his eyes and throwing the hood of his coat over. "I was gonna say I just don't like the feel of this place. I'm feelin bad energies 'round..." "I suppose I understand where you're comin at." replied Paul looking around. "Don't have those magic senses a yours but it does feel the trees are gettin bigger the further we go...cheer up Georgie!" Paul gave a brotherly pat on the back and wrapped his arm around the youngers shoulder. "Nothing in here we can't handle!" As the next hour drew to a close so did the evening sun. Slipping away beneath the horizon leaving a dark night, a violet hue washing over the leafy canopies. The worst the party had come into contact with was a harmless bat flying by the only real threat being some spiders the size of a palm coming their way. Not willing to take chances they smited them all with ease. "Not sure I'm likin where we're headed fellas..." Ringo said with nervousness. "I wasn't going to say more on it but George was right I'm not feelin right here..." The sorcerer floating a globe of light a few feet past his palm to get a better idea of where they were and the potential routes. They were far from where they should have been walking down. A simple mistake they could have made not being able to see clearly without the sun to peak through the leaves and give them guidance. Where they were the trees seemed to be taller and older, moss hanging from the branches like the hair of old hags, their trunks twisted and hanging as though they were looking down and mocking the party of four below. It was only when a wave of fog streamed through the the two magic users shuddered with wide eyes. "Strange brew..." Ringo muttered. "Lads I don't wanna alarm you to much but we-" "Witch territory...Rings..." George interupted pointing up above asking Ringo to move the light where he gestured at. A large cocoon the size of a human hung from the tall braches above, then four more, then eight more, then a whole plethora could be seen. John fidgeted with his glasses. "These aren't..." John didn't have to say what they actually were because the mere thought of it alone was nervewraking enough. These were no cocoons...they were giant spider victims wrapped in their silk. Unable to move or scream if they were yet to die. The team moved closer together all back to back facing each direction fearing the worst of a surprise attack each readying their attack. "We need to try and get out of here, if we do it slowly then we shouldn't be seen." Paul instructed trying to fix the situation. Small spiders were fine but whatever could make that display was not an opponent Paul was mentally prepared to face. Paul looked over to the two magic users in the group. "Where's the witch...?" "Witches don't show their faces unless ya make it to their den." George answered still locked in readying attack. "My best guess is what's makin these is what this witch is kin with." "A spider witch?" John interjected. "Well then we can just find and squash the bitch!" "I wouldn't." said Ringo. "Even the lesser of a witches 'ave magic stronger than Geo and I combined. Fellas like you an' Paul frankly would stand an even lesser chance." John gulped. "Do they now..." A shuffle could be heard in the branches. All eyes shot towards the sound. A sword, daggers, a mage hand, and a fireball pointing it's way. Paul raked his mind for a way to get the group out safely, this was all his idea anyway but he wasn't planning on this! Hinting at the rest to follow his lead with gentle steps in hopes of not drawing attention by what would be regularly an aggresive stomp of the dry leaves on the forest floor. Another gust of wind soared their way even stronger than the last this time the four having the keep grounded preventing the possibility of being knocked back. It's was then the beast showed it's face. It was too late now, as a giant spider dropped itself down to the ground leaving a string of thick silk behind. This was no spider any of the Beatles has seen before. It was twice the size of a horse. It had horns on its head and its jowels, as well as one large eye in the center of its face being surrounded by the other seven slightly smaller eyes and they were all pointed at the four. "FUCKING SHIT!" John screamed. Without hesitation Ringo hurled a fireball at the Spider queen. The abominable arachnid shrieking as the spell scorched it. Enraged it then barreled head on to the group forcing them to split. John and Ringo on one side Paul and George on the other. "Ya see what I said! I knew something was off! I bloody knew it!" George exclaimed whilst using mage hand to fight. "wELL I-" Paul began to defend his descision making before one of the insects massive legs darted towards him the fighter then using his sword to deflect trying to shake it off. "This is it Paul! Next time I feel some fucking junk is about wherever we are! I'm leaving!" George continued to chastise Paul while casting mage hand to also fend off the Spider queen. "I dont care if you disagree either! You should have just heard me! I'm tired of not being heard! I'm not a child you know!" Those words struck Paul. He didn't mean to have the Cleric feel that way. Was he really brushing him off that much? Many thoughts threatening to throw the fighter off focus but there was no time to talk things out like well respected traveling heroes. They had a bigass bug that was controlled by a hidden witch who is going to kill them if they don't find a way to beat it sooner than it beats them. The battle continued on with the two magic users casting some of their best spells in hopes of weakening the monster. Paul taking wide swings with his sword. John who had disappeared into the trees was attempting to try and locate a weak spot on the beast so he could then try to execute a sneak attack and end the battle quicker. Watching the fight below whilst scouting out a good spot here above to jump from was interupted from John's mind when he bumped into something soft. "What the hell?" Adjusting his glasses he gasped seeing he had bumped into one of the "things" wrapped by the Spider queen. It was definitely human sized. Feeling panic begin to fester he moved past quickly only the continue to see this hanging graveyard of dozens of bodies around the tree tops. The gravity of this situation hit the rogue like a stone in a puddle. Not only if they lose could they die. But a gate even more terrible is the idea of him or worse his friends being taken hostage alive or barely hanging on. Held immobile upside down to slowly perish and become this monsters meal. Tired of trying to mentally calculate the weaknesses of a creature he had never even faced before John readied his daggers and jumped onto the Spider queens thorax and sinking in the blades through her exoskeleton. Seeing the move finally add more heavy damage to it what John didn't anticipate was It's powerful shriek following it bucking him off of her much like a raging bull, the rogue flying off hitting a tree. The two daggers still stabbed deep with dark olive green blood oozing from the wounds. "John!" the other three yelled in unison. "You better not be yellin at me cause youre worried! It better be a thank you for guttin that thing!" John yelled back sitting up recovering and pulling another dagger from his coat. The three smiled in relief at Johns constant humor even in his attempts to hide his fear. This didn't help much however with the continued arguments between Paul and George. Ringo stuck in the middle of the bullshit (again). Reminding them to fully focus on the goal of not dying. The spider queen was looking more worse for wear but the same could be said for the four lads. Both foes growing weary but in no means ready to back down. The spider queen fully opened the large middle eye it bearing resemblance to a human eye. The iris pink and the pupil widening as it reeled in the four to its ultimate ability. The purple haze that had long entwined with the woods in the afternoon seemed to grow and envelope them in Paul, John, and Ringos eyes. It was relaxing much like a high actually. The intoxicated three then felt their minds go fuzzy and their bodies wobble beneath them. Paul swore he heard someone shouting at them but he then drifted away into a dark dreamless sleep the last his image in his mind was that pale pink eye.

[a-non-sequitur]

Rogue One: Catalyst: Thoughts

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -

Finally finished reading Rogue One: Catalyst by James Luceno, or as it's also known by:

Lyra Erso: Badass;

Lyra Erso: They Could Have Easily Created Parallels Between You and Chirrut+Baze in the Film Instead of Ignoring Your Existence;

Lyra/Galen OTP Fever: How to Write a Strong, Balanced Couple While Still Giving Them Relationship Hurdles;

"I'm Thirsty for You and Your D, Galen," Screams Krennic Into the Rain

with foreword by Galen Erso, "Who Is This? And What Does He Mean By My D?"

and annotated by Lyra Erso, *The dickbag is talking about the Death Star, honey.

Tarkin/Krennic: Hux/Kylo Ren Got Nothing On This Hate Couple

and finally: Jyn Erso Is A Normal Human Child: how this makes her future character arc 1000x more painful

NB: Have only seen the RO film and have now read this book. This is going to be long and about 90% quotes related to characterization.

General Impression:

Writing was okay. Not great, but not bad. (This is especially apparent since I've just started reading the RO novelization, and the difference in quality is pretty startling.) Nice quick read.

Lyra is fantastic.

Galen is pretty interesting.

Jyn is adorable and normal, and it breaks my heart.

Krennic is... wow, I just want to laugh because he's so absurd but also a Terrible Human Being.

Tarkin is fascinating (see waaaay below for details).

Lyra Erso

No one holds this bitch down.

"She had no recourse. She wasn’t built to hold things in; to be complacent or compliant."

"Some of Orson’s remarks had made her wonder whether she and Galen were under surveillance, or even whether her personal comlink might be bugged. But she didn’t care either way. Orson may have drawn the line in the sand, but she would be the one to step over it."

Lyra loves exercising and exploring. She wants to go everywhere in the galaxy!

"She needed wind and rain, cyclones, quakes, and the threat of avalanches. Unpredictability. Natural forces at work."

She sees the galaxy with very, very clear eyes.

“Who knows to what ends Dooku might have put this crystal.”// “I can guess,” Lyra said carefully, “since Dooku loosed a droid army on the galaxy.”

"This is the Emperor’s dream,” [said Galen.] // Lyra wrinkled her nose. “Can’t we just call him Palpatine—in private, I mean?

Lyra is probably mildly Force-sensitive.

She was against coming to Vallt, where she and Galen would later be imprisoned, from the start. 

"Her reverence for the Force had evolved from an enduring love of nature."

"... even if she wasn’t able to use the Force, she could at least feel it."

"But being pregnant with Jyn—especially while in captivity—had made her aware of the Force in a way she imagined the Jedi experienced: a profound connection with life that went beyond mere understanding."

"...she was secretly glad that [Galen] was no longer attempting to synthesize or create facsimiles of kyber crystals. One might as well try to clone the Force itself, or turn to magic in an effort to simulate the power."

"She would often sky-cab to the Jedi Temple grounds and exercise there, basking in the energy of that elegant site, surrounded by a nexus of the Force."

"The Jedi killed by the thousands, their Temple the scene of a battle, scant survivors scattered to the stars, the Force dispersed…She was as heartbroken as if she had lost a family member, and had cried for hours."

[Saw] pulled his datapad from his pant pocket and showed them the image of a green, black, and blue planet with a wide ring. “It’s called Lah’mu.” / Papa looked at the image and said, “It looks unspoiled.”

this is significant because Lyra talks a whole bunch about “untouched” nature and its strong connection to the Force throughout the book.

Galen Erso

has a very interesting brain

"he felt as if he already held the entire galaxy in his thoughts."

"He had a greater fear of attention than he did failure, refusing even to celebrate his birthday much less receive gifts or acclamation. With romance he was hopeless, pretending disinterest when in fact he was confused by his changing body and how it sometimes took him out of his mind, out of his deep thinking."

"...inability to find refuge even in his thoughts; to find what one of his mentors had called the still point in the turning world."

"He was suddenly lost without his research; torn between uncompromising tenderness for Lyra and Jyn and a sense of burden in being able to provide a flawless future for them."

"In his daily life he would sometimes go out of his way to introduce imperfection—in his drawings, his routines, his attempts at housecleaning—as a means of keeping himself from becoming overly occupied with results."

"It wasn’t that he didn’t wish to see the world as others did; he was unable to. He saw more deeply into things, and was attuned to nature’s own musings and inner dialogues."

"At times it seemed as if, in attempting to unlock the secrets of the kyber, he was trying to decode something about himself."

is very plain-spoken and direct.

"Most would have remembered him as the one who was always speaking out of turn."

"Galen merely shrugged. “Normalcy has taken leave of the galaxy.” / [A scientist named] Herbane’s jaw dropped a bit and he looked at Lyra. “Is your husband always so confrontational?” / “He speaks his mind,” Lyra said."

"But he was a terrible liar; he had no practice in the art. Never wanting to be involved in games, he had always spoken his mind. Where he was forever attempting to simplify his thinking, lying introduced complications."

“You could have at least made him work to get the current data,” [said Lyra, after escaping with Galen from Coruscant.] / “He’s welcome to whatever he finds. I could have sabotaged everything, but I don’t want to give the Empire a reason to hunt us down. We’re simply dropping out—although covertly. Besides, what I left will keep them occupied for a while.” / “Revenge was never your style.” / Galen considered it. “Orson may have worked me, but he didn’t force me.” 

Galen has such a rigid sense of principles that even though Krennic had blatantly lied to Galen and was weaponizing his research - the! very! last! thing! Galen! wanted! - Galen didn’t sabotage or delete anything because technically Krennic didn’t force him at blasterpoint.

And this, plus the quote about the inability to lie, makes me see RO!Galen in a whole different light? Because Galen ends up changing fundamental parts of his character because of the trauma Krennic puts him through (aka losing his family). And Jyn ends up irrevocably changed from who she was as a child because of Krennic. And it makes me wonder - what would have happened to Lyra if she had not died? How would she have been changed?

so basically the only reason Galen isn't known throughout the galaxy as a genius of the highest caliber is because he can't write scientific papers.

 when Krennic shows Galen the ruins of a facility on another planet, Galen (rightly) assumes that the scientific team there fucked up duplicating his kyber research, causing the experiment to explode.  Galen says, "I was very precise in my notes."  But when Krennic had interviewed the team a couple of chapters earlier, they said that the data and methods they'd be given "aren't specific enough in many instances" and that provided equations were "in a shorthand difficult to decipher."

Galen sent out his research findings to his colleagues in his own special shorthand without thinking of defining anything

And it's mentioned throughout the book that the way he writes is very rambly and with tangents and he'll write in different directions on a page and cram every bit of space with words

what makes this even funnier is that it's Lyra who he trusts to transcribe his notes. Which means that she transcribes all this down, doesn't get most of what it means but assumes any of Galen's scientific peers must understand it, and sends it on as is. And Galen trusts Lyra, so when she doesn't ask for further clarification on the notes, that must mean they're okay for sending!

like, i imagine galen could never figure out why he never got published, and Lyra's just like, "Honey, they'll realize they're missing out on something great soon." and on another planet, scientific journal editors and peer review boards internally scream when looking at the gibberish this supposedly hotshot scientist is sending them AGAIN and they throw everything into the trash compactor AGAIN because what the fuck they had told him to clarify, not write more nonsense

you don’t understand. this is h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.

headcanon:

one way that Galen slows down work on the Death Star is that he takes his terrible research writing habits and exaggerates it to the max.  You know how Leonardo da Vinci used to write backwards, right-to-left?  Galen starts pulling off that shit ASAP but adds vertical/diagonal/loop-de-loop writing, too.

Krennic had to actually hire codebreakers to be part of the "Transcribe Galen Erso's Notes" team just because Galen's notes became so illegible.

Galen used to take the time to simplify and re-simplify and re-simplify whatever crazy, complicated idea was in his head when he talked to Lyra until she could understand.  On Eadu, when scientists and engineers ask for clarification, he'll restate whatever concept in equally if not moreso confusing terms, using long weirdass metaphors. Or he'll just completely ignore them, saying, "Leave me be! I'm at a breakthrough!" And woe be those who interrupt Galen when he's breakthrough-ing.

Dr. Erso is such a nice - if quiet - man, think his coworkers. But every time he writes some indecipherable equation on his lab's boards, they have the intense, passionate urge to wring his neck.

Lyra/Galen, my OTP (with Lyra/Galen/Bodhi being my OTThreesome that will never be, apparently):

They're hot for each other:

"[Lyra] recalled the first time she’d set eyes on [Galen] on Espinar, thinking: If this guy was any more magnetic, pieces of metal would fly across the room and start sticking to him…"

"that what [Lyra] interpreted as hostility was actually a ploy that allowed [Galen] to maintain a safe distance from her while he sorted out what she wanted from him and solved the calculus of their relationship."

"what Galen had found in [Lyra]: his opposite."

"The expedition lasted six local months, and by the end of it they were lovers. She had made the first move, but he had gotten the hang of things very quickly."

aka: Galen was a virgin or with little experience, and the two ended up fucking like bunnies.

They have an incredibly healthy relationship where they respect each other's abilities?!

"With her maternal instincts running strong, she had to resist an urge to intercede [on Galen's behalf]. After all, she wasn’t Galen’s parent; she was his partner."

Lyra to Krennic, who is trying to shame Lyra for making Galen's work "harder for him": “He’s his own person, in any case, and whatever stress I introduce isn’t going to cripple his concentration or interfere with his work.”

"She restrained an impulse to touch Galen or send him any kind of reassuring message. The job was his choice and she was determined to stay out of it."

“I’m hardly sacrificing myself, Galen. Being here was as much my choice as yours.” She looked from Galen to Krennic and back again. “Anything else either of you want to say about my life?”

But are also incredibly devoted to each other and hold the other's opinions in the highest esteem?!

Galen to Lyra, regarding providing his research to the Separatists, who'll probably weaponize it: "Should I simply accept their terms? I will do it—for your sake, for the sake of our unborn daughter. You need only say the word."

Galen, while experiencing moral conflict over his research on Coruscant: "Would Lyra understand? Or would she accuse him of being so driven by a need to measure up to the challenge that he had not only abandoned caution and scientific discernment, but also dragged her and Jyn down with him? What would his legacy be then? Lyra might not see it as a noble lie so much as a grand betrayal."

When Jyn, Galen, and Lyra are doing research on a different planet that ends up being targeted by Separatists, they end up trying to run away from their over-run town but end up being cornered by Separatist droids. Galen is constantly putting himself in between the droids and Lyra/Jyn.

[Galen] turned to face [Lyra]. “I had myself convinced that I was doing it for you and Jyn and to safeguard future generations. Instead I failed as a husband, a father, and a scientist.” He snorted in a sad way, then said: “I can’t do anything about being a failed scientist, but I can correct the rest—if it’s not too late.” / She smiled in encouragement. “Don’t be an idiot. I didn’t fall in love with your research, Galen. I fell in love with you.” / He took her into his embrace and held her tightly, saying into her ear: “I love you and Jyn. You’re all that matter to me.” He’s back, she thought, resting her head against his chest.

Kyber Crystals

How kybers are found:

“In most cases, kybers are brought to the surface by seismic activity—movements along slippage fault lines, and typically only when an oceanic plate is sliding against a continental plate. But even then the movement has to be horizontal. The crystals rise, gathering impurities or other minerals along the way. That’s why it has always been said of kybers that they are more often grown than mined."

Characteristics:

Close and extended contact with kybers is detrimental to sleep.

"Even on the nights when sheer exhaustion overwhelmed his racing thoughts, the crystals infiltrated his dreams. The Jedi were believed to have been able to establish a kind of rapport with the kybers through the Force. Was it possible that the crystals could affect non-Force-users as well?"

“The internal structure is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s almost a bridge between organic and inorganic, as close to alive as a stone can be—which I suspect is why the Jedi were able to interact with kybers through the Force."

"It warmed as he curled his hand around it, but he knew from previous research that the crystal would show no change in temperature; and he knew also that it would not warm a sheath or a towel or any inanimate object. It responded only to life, even plant life. Which made the Jedi’s use of it to power their lightsabers all the more ironic and mysterious."

"kyber’s mix of transparency and opacity—characteristics the ancient Jedi had referred to as “the water of the kyber.”"

"By rights lightsabers shouldn’t have been able to cut through meter-thick durasteel and yet they could, which lent credence to the notion of their being augmented by the Force itself."

"One Jedi commentator had called the kyber a somnolent stone that needed to be woken up to perform its purpose. But that same commentator had cautioned that the crystal was also easily insulted and a Jedi needed to take care."

Galen: "Now that he’d found a way to alter the internal structure of the crystals, the kybers seemed in turn to have found a way to alter his."

Kyber Necklace

Krennic had showed Lyra & Galen some kyber crystals as a way to tempt Galen to continue his kyber research. Lyra is the one who realizes that they came from Jedi lightsabers. Later on in the novel, Galen reveals that he keeps one of those crystals in his pocket. There's never any mention of Lyra's necklace throughout the book, so I'm pretty sure that Galen gives Lyra the kyber crystal post-escape

WHOSE LIGHTSABER DID IT COME FROM

c'mon, someone write about how that Jedi hangs around Lyra and Jyn as a Force Ghost. please please please.

Orson Krennic

started as an engineer.  Helped design/build a bunch of buildings, including on Coruscant

actually thinks, "Vader’s eccentric fashion sense notwithstanding"

[Krennic] turned back to Galen. “I wasn’t born brilliant or especially talented, but I’m capable and I’m driven, and that’s brought me to where I am."

Gotta give him credit: he really is a great manipulator. Tricked Has Obitt - the smuggler who would later smuggle the Ersos off Coruscant - and Tarkin into starting an all-out war between the Empire and an independent star system.

Krennic/Galen

One-Sided As Fuckkkkkk

I tried so hard to figure out how to describe their relationship.

Krennic is a Nice Guy (TM).

Krennics's that Guy who hangs around you a lot and you're kind of ???? about it but don't really say anything for or against said hovering, so he makes this epic love story between the two of you?  And gets weirdly jealous around your friends?

Krennic is kinda like the Star Wars version of Severus Snape, with Galen serving as Lily, Lyra as James, and Jyn as Harry. Except the "friendship" is pretty one-sided all the time, Krennic doesn't have any redemption attempts for his shitty-ass decisions, and Lyra was never a bully. Jyn as Harry seems pretty damn accurate, tho.

“except it seems I no longer have to fight your battles,” [said Krennic.] Galen wiped the drink from his face and nursed his fist. “You never did.”

“It can’t have escaped your attention that you have a powerful ally in Orson Krennic,” [said Tarkin.] / Galen raised his eyes from the carpet. “We were acquaintances in the Futures Program. Years ago.”

Quotes showing Krennic's Thirst for Galen:

[After rescuing the Ersos from Vallt:] Once inside, Krennic whirled Galen into an embrace. “How wonderful to see you after all this time!”

“We have to put some meat back on those bones of yours,” he said as he crossed the cabin to Galen, “but I think I could get used to the beard.”

"... and on a couple of occasions [Krennic] had been Galen’s protector in fights or brawls."  

[Lyra said,] “You realize that he’s never going to stop looking for you, Galen. You’re in his blood, crystal research or no. He’s never going to let go of you entirely.”

[When Krennic suspects the Ersos are escaping, but Krennic's stuck in traffic.] The anger and despair he had felt in the airspeeder returned and settled on him like a great weight. “Galen,” he said, as if orphaned. Then: “Galen!” shouting it to the busy sky.

Yes, Krennic just shouted Galen's name into the sky.

Krennic haaaaaaates Lyra omg (the feelings becomes increasingly mutual)

Krennic thinking about Lyra/Galen's courtship: "Still, he hadn’t expected the love affair to last more than a couple of months, and was shocked when they wed."

Thinking about the courtship again: "[Krennic was] being entertained by [Galen’s] bright-eyed confession that he had fallen in love. Galen, who would scarcely raise his eyes when a pretty woman entered a room, in love? It had to be a joke. The thought of Galen’s genius being undermined by some grasping creature drove him to distraction."

drove him to distraction

those words were actually written and published

Krennic said, "The Emperor has made reparations and reconstruction a priority, and one way he hopes to achieve this is by being able to provide sustainable energy to worlds that have suffered on both sides of the conflict.” He gestured with his chin to Galen. “Even your own Grange [Galen's home planet].” / Lyra’s brows quirked in a sign of doubt. “This is the same Palpatine who couldn’t get anything done as supreme chancellor?” / Krennic stared at her. “He defeated the Separatists.” / “With a lot of help.”

[When Krennic tries to make Lyra resent Galen for "holding her back":] [Lyra] regarded [Krennic] frankly. “I haven’t put my life on hold, Orson. My career, maybe, but certainly not my life.”

[Krennic said to Galen,] “You know what I find interesting—or maybe ironic is the word. It’s that each of us wants what’s best for you. In a way, we’re competing to make you happy, as old-fashioned as that sounds. And each of us has a different idea about what you should be doing. Especially now that you two have a child, Lyra wants you to be settled on a course that will mean the most for the family—fulfilled in a somewhat conventional way—and I maintain that you’re meant for bigger things, and will continue to do whatever I can to bring opportunities to your attention.” / Galen smiled thinly. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate it.”

[Krennic, regarding Lyra:] "That left only one person who still needed to be broken."

[Krennic said to Galen,] “Don’t you see what Lyra’s really trying to do? She’s using these alleged concerns to persuade you to abandon your research. Her goal is to keep you to herself—to stand in the way of your legacy.”

[Lyra, when thinking about Krennic's machinations:] "Was Galen to become the prize in a contest between them? Well, hadn’t he always been that?"

Krennic also hates Jyn

probably because she reminds him how Galen didn't Choose Him (the Snape parallels are strongggg)

he forgets her name 2/3 of the book and calls her "it" in his head

"Orson tracked [toddler Jyn], his upper lip curled in what seemed disapproval. “She’s feisty.”

“Yes, how is the child?” Krennic asked, all but sneering. “Into everything, I’ll bet.”

"The fact was that work on the superlaser was stalled, and Galen’s insights were needed more than ever. After all [Krennic] had done for Galen! Fame would have come to him. Grandeur. Legacy. Without his science, Galen was a nonentity. And Lyra… Flushed with anger, he peeled his gloves off as he walked and threw them violently to the polished floor. He would leave no stone unturned in the search for them.

Two things:

one: he's walking down a hallway in this scene. he literally throws his gloves to the ground and keeps walking down a hallway. our fave drama queen.

two: i honestly cannot decide whether that last line was a massive piece of dramatic irony purposefully written by the author. It's just... so good?! And hilarious?!  Looks like Krennic forgot to give that order on Lah'mu to his troopers.

Tarkin/Krennic: A Never-ending Dick Measuring Contest

"The two officers [Krennic and Tarkin] had begun to circle each other as they spoke. “Our main weapon will have more firepower than ten vessels that size,” Krennic said. / Tarkin looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Should it ever reach completion.”"

Ok, so I'm not going to get into all the scenes/lines that the two had between them (mostly because I didn't highlight them on my Kindle), but:

the greatest reveal of this book (other than Lyra's awesomeness)

is that the reason the Ersos escaped to Lah'mu in the first place

is because Tarkin facilitated their flight

ok, it's not confirmed, but it's heavily implied

remember that unexpected war I mentioned earlier that Krennic tricked Tarkin into fighting? So Tarkin saves Has - originally Krennic's agent, who betrayed the Empire after being Shown The Light by Lyra - in order to question him, and realizes that Krennic had played both of them. and so Tarkin is PISSED (and relunctantly impressed). And Tarkin knows Has is anti-Krennic. So Tarkin goes, "Hey, I'll let you live if you play as MY spy in Krennic's employees," and Has thinks quickly and goes, "Oh, sure, but let me send out this message to Coruscant to make my return seem natural," and  sends a message to the Ersos that BASICALLY says, "Yo, you want me to grab your family and ditch?" Like, five minutes prior, Has had confessed to Krennic that Lyra Erso had Made Him See The Light. Tarkin ABSOLUTELY knew what Has was planning to do.

and that's how Tarkin's dick grew a centimeter the next time he and Krennic compared

Jyn Erso

born on the first day of Vallt's spring.

is technically a Vallti citizen

nicknamed "Stardust" by Galen because her eyes changed colors and "became flecked."

“Stardust,” Galen said. “That’s what’s in her eyes.”

YOU MONSTER:

"Having hurried over to have a look [at the kyber crystals], Jyn said: “I want one!”

“Maybe someday,” Lyra said.

Jyn is an incredibly normal child, and it friggin HURTS to think about what she’s forced to become

3 year-old Jyn used to travel around in the Coruscant research facility on the Star Wars equivalent of a hoverboard. Her parents forced her to wear a helmet. a;lsdkjfasdf socute

She's a pretty independent child, able to entertain herself for hours

She'd run around around with a toy sword in a scabbard and her stuffed animals.

"Instantly adopted by everyone, Jyn—indefatigable as ever—reveled in being the center of attention, entertaining everyone with her antics, watching closely, learning.

There's this kids' holodrama called The Octave Stairway, which Jyn is obsessed with

one: i had to shoo the Discworld reactions away.

two: the story is about this kid Brin who wants to go home, but to go home, he has to go down these eight floors of challenges in a castle. And at the very bottom he'll get the item that will help him fly up through all of those floors and out of the castle and back home

two-a: so in the book, Galen directly compares himself to Brin (he thinks Jyn drew Brin to look like him), and this scene is basically where he breaks down and realizes how he's pushed his family away and he cries and asks Jyn for forgiveness and Jyn is sweet and says, “It’s okay, Papa. Can we follow Brin home now?”

two-b: but you know how in my Second Viewing post I mentioned how falling/climbing (or, more accurately: going down/going up) seemed to happen waaaaay too often with Jyn for it to not be some sort of theme?  

two-c: WELL THIS STUPID HOLODRAMA JUST ADDS TO MY CONSPIRACY THEORY.  and possibly gives me a better idea as to what the dichotomy symbolizes.  

Saw Gerrera

"[Saw] wasn’t shouting, but he might as well have been, such was the force of his personality."

[Saw talking to Has during the unexpected war] “Cheery thought. Throw dirt in your enemy’s face, get crushed underfoot.” / Saw stopped what he was doing and walked over to him. “Look at it this way, Has. If we can persuade enough people to start throwing dirt…” / Realizing that he was supposed to finish the thought, Has considered it, then said: “Eventually we bury them.”

Random Bits and Pieces that Didn't Fit Above

“You [clonetroopers] are never less than predictable,” [said the smuggler Has.] / “Yeah, we’re made that way,” the other clone said.

“Is there some equation that can put an end to all this, Dr. Erso?” one of the shaken insectoids asked. Galen set himself down on the floor to join him. 

 “If sentient beings were moved by the same laws that govern nature, there might be. But as we’ve come to embody entropy, I don’t hold out much hope.”

A second Lokori countered: “Surely the Jedi have unlocked the secrets of reversing chaos and will be able to outwit nature at its own game.”

“The Force derives from nature,” Galen said somberly. “Against such chaos, even the Jedi are capable of accomplishing only so much.”

oh my god the Death Star project is codenamed "Project Celestial Power" POWAAAAAAH

names of Cantinas: Malicious Moondog on Suba, Contented Krayt on Tatooine,

The Hiitian [a member of the independent solar system that wars with the Empire] agreed. “Occupation? Captain Obitt, you’ve obviously visited worlds that have chosen that route. How is life there?” 

Has smiled in solidarity. “I’d rather fight.” Again he glanced at Saw and his fellow smugglers. 

“That’s why all of us are here.” The humanoid flexed his feathered back. “What we fail to protect, Captain, we will leave in ruins.”

There's a celebration called All-Species Week on Coruscant

GIMME THE HISTORY OF SPECIESISM IN THE GALAXY

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -