#lance makes some weird leaps of logic

[ithseem]

Court of Darkness and Twisted Wonderland Crossover Headcanons: Part 1

Part 2 || Part 3

Yuu and MC are from the same world and they become fast friends if they don't already know each other. MC would want to help Yuu get back to their world

Pretty much all of them would be mindblown that a whole gang of princes and their Valets visited here

Cater wants to take a selfie with all of them. And they're all like: ??? What is this contraption in your hand? Is this the "smartphone" you've been talking about, MC?

Toa and Riddle meeting? TWO uptight mfs who are strict af about rules?? Ace is either shitting himself or thinking "this blue-haired man needs therapy for sure"

Deuce thinks he's cool. He's kinda tough as a teacher, but helpful nonetheless

Toa and Riddle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQt8GCfLVag

Trey never would have guessed Toa liked sweets. He'd be happy to make some for him

Lance would hang out with the Savanaclaw squad. He'd especially like to talk to Jack

Ruggie would be a little weirded out that Lance and Leona are so similar

Lance 🤝Leona: Two princes conscripted into roles they really don't like

Malleus and Guy would hate each other. No, I will not elaborate further

Fenn's up to his antics. Leona: Oh, fuck, there's a second version of Rook... (Hang in there, Lion boi)

Speaking of Rook, he and Fenn would get along. They'd be the menace duo

Rook would also take a fascination with Guy. Man'z already stalks Leona a lot, so this isn't a leap in logic

Roy's hella popular with the NRC students. Also, you cannot tell me that Vil wouldn't be jealous of him

Lilia can't help but giggle at Lynt's antics. Also, his tendency to randomly fall asleep? Lilia finds it kinda cute

Lynt would especially love cuddling Jack's tail. When he gets upset, Lynt pulls this 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺. And Jack would go weak in the knees

Grim and Robin being the chaotic feline friend duo 💀💀. And Robin would help Yuu and MC keep the lil' Grim-lin in line

[sp4c3-0ddity]

25, “I want an answer, goddammit.” For plance??? :)

so uh…remember that old Disney Channel show “Phil of the Future”?? this was definitely very much inspired by its concept (though tbh i only watched a tiny bit of it and don’t remember very much) so this is not nearly as angsty as that prompt implies. and no knowledge of the show required to know what’s going on here!! but anyway, ~3000 words, and i hope you like at least some of them!!

(25) “I want an answer, dammit.”

“What do you think this thing is anyway?” Lance pokesthe corner - or the cut-off corner - of the small pyramid-looking…gadget. Thesurface is smooth under his hand aside from narrow grooves on each side, andsomething almost glows inside the metal.

If Lance doesn’t know anybetter, he’d think it popped right out of one of those crazy science fictionmovies Hunk likes poking holes in.

“A toy, probably,”Hunk surmises. He holds his hand out, but Lance cradles the thing protectivelyagainst his chest. “Really? You don’t even want me to get a better look atit?”

Lance shakes his head, holdingthe object tighter, never mind that the sharp edge digs into his arm. “Mymystery to solve.”

Hunk raises an eyebrow beforerolling his eyes and returning his attention to the calculus textbook lyingopen on the table before him. “Where did you even get that?”

Heat rushes to Lance’s face,his eyes widening as he tries to think up a believable lie that won’t embarrasshim as much as Pidge left it behind inthe robotics classroom.

(That fact isn’t especially humiliating so much as the suggestionthat Lance might’ve still been at school after the robotics club met. He has areputation to maintain, and part of that is cooland uncaring student and a “cool and uncaring student” wouldn’tbe caught dead at school after classes.)

“Uh…Pidge left it in thecafeteria after lunch and I haven’t seen her again yet since,” Lance says.He flashes Hunk a smile and prays he won’t question him.

No one answers his prayer.

“Really?” Hunk frownsat the pyramid-looking thing in Lance’s arms. “That seems like an oddthing for her to carry around.”

“Well, Pidge is a little…”

“Weird?” Hunksuggests.

Lance gasps, jaw dropping as hestares at him. “Hunk, don’t be mean!”

He absently taps his pencil againsthis notebook. “I’m just saying what you were thinking,” he pointsout. “And, hey, she’s still great! I don’t blame you for having a littlecrush on her, even though I never figured her as your type, so—”

Lance’s brain struggles tocatch up with the words spilling out of Hunk’s mouth so that he blurts,“Wait, what?” His heart skips a beat, the gadget nearly tumbling fromhis grip until he scrambles to retrieve it, and he retorts, “I do not have a crush on Pidge!”

Hunk’s eyes narrow.“Right,” he says in a tone dripping sarcasm, “and I failed thecooking unit from home—”

“It’s just that sheflat-out rejected me when I invited her to eat lunch with us!” Lancewhines. He drops his forehead onto his own open textbook, the memory of herfrown and downcast eyes before she mumbled something about needing to study foran exam still stinging days later. “It’s like one day she’s complaining tome about what a waste of time P.E. is, and the next she’s avoiding me!”

Which was fine! Jenny Shaybonoffered him her pudding cup that lunch period, so really, Pidge was the real loser!

“But there is something odd about Pidge,”Lance muses. He sets the pyramid thing on his book - who cares about RRAM orthe trapezoid rule or whatever anyway? - and stares at it, hard. He’s never seen anything like it - though he never claims tobe an expert in technology or art - and besides, some things about Pidge justdon’t add up.

She and her brother justenrolled in the middle of the school year a few months ago. Pidge says strangethings and contradicts their physics and computer science teachers a lot - Lance can’t help being on hisguard in that class after Mr. Haxus’ last death glare - and complains aboutschool being a complete waste of time for her though for all intents andpurposes she’s a huge nerd.

(It’s why he asked her ratherthan Hunk to help him in calculus…or so he insists.)

“Just because she cansometimes resist your charms doesn’tmean she’s odd,” Hunk says, rolling his eyes.

“You’re the one who saidshe’s weird first!” Lance argues.

“Sure,” Hunk agreeswith a shrug. “I’ve never seen anyone else dip turkey bacon in peanutbutter, for one.”

Lance barely hears him, toobusy staring into some distant recess of the library. “You ever notice howcagey she gets when I ask her about her hobbies or where she’s from? You thinkshe likes video games?” He frowns, tapping his chin and considering how hecan get through to Pidge, entice from her one of those fond smiles that makessomething warm bloom in his chest…or even a boast.

“Yeah, but maybe she justdoesn’t want to talk about personal stuff,” Hunk says. “I mean, herfamily’s from Canada, right? I’d be embarrassed to be from Canada too.”

“But where from Canada?” Lance wonders with a wide, sweepinggesture. “When she said Canada,I tried to joke that she must like the cold, and she looked at me all confused! And she quotes, I kid you not,Canada is cold?”

“Maybe she’s from areality where climate change already did a number on Canada,” Hunk jokes,his lips curving in a smirk.

“How are you not curious,man?” Lance demands. He leans over the table to prod his shoulder andadds, “You’re the same guy who snuck a peek at Jenny Shaybon’s diary whenI wasn’t sure if she liked me!”

Hunk shudders. “Neveragain,” he says. “I found some sordid details in there I wish I couldforget.”

“Like—”

“Never. Again.”

Lance laughs, more amused thanoffended, before emphasizing, “Look, it’s almost like Pidge isn’t who shesays she is.” His eyes widen, heart jumping into his throat because damn does that make some kind of sensethe longer he thinks about it. With his heart racing in excitement, he grins,continuing, “It’s like she’s an undercover cop who can’t get her storystraight or a—what if she’s in Witness Protection and hasn’t learned her coverstory yet?”

Hunk stares at him, obviouslyincredulous. “You got all that just from that pyramid thing and the factthat she knew how to derive the fundamental theorem of calculus before Dr.Montgomery taught it to us?”

Lance points at him, hardlydeterred when Hunk shoves his hand away from his face, and says, “Nowyou’re getting it! And if she’s in danger—oh, God, what if she’s in danger?” Horror grips him, a vividimage of a crazed contract assassin crashing through the school’s main entrancescreaming for blood playing through his head.

“Yeah, I don’tthink—”

“She’ll need someone towatch her back.” Lance’s gaze drops to the pyramid, an idea taking rootwhile a sly smile pushes at his lips. “And I know just how to get her toagree.”

***

Lance isn’t above blackmail asany one of his siblings can attest.

(But not Hunk; he’s spotlessand the one time Lance tried to hold a failed batch of empanadas over his head,he shrugged and said, Even I screw up inthe kitchen sometimes.)

Now he gets to attempt histechnique on a new victim.

Pidge is on edge the second sheenters their first class over ten minutes late. Her hands wring the hem of herover-sized sweatshirt, her gaze fixed straight ahead on the chalkboard whiletheir physics teacher lectures - and Lance knowsshe’s off when she doesn’t raise her hand even once to question her.

“So…” Lance prodscarefully at the end of the period when they’re supposed to get a head start ontheir homework. He glances sideways at her, watches her cap and uncap her penwith a soft click over and over again. “When do I use kinetic frictioninstead of static?”

“When you…what?”Pidge’s head snaps around, wide eyes fixing on him. “Can you repeatthat?”

“Uh…what’s thedifference between elastic and inelastic collisions?” Lance wonders,thinking of a new question just because he can.

“Both momentum and kineticenergy are conserved in an elastic collision,” Pidge explains. “Onlymomentum is conserved for inelastic.”

Lance jots down a random formula- F = ma - and nods along, just tomake it look like that’s what he’s really interested in. “Thanks,” hetells her, flashing her a smile he hopes will set her at ease.

It does not. Instead sheprogresses even more slowly through her homework than he does, barely startingthe first problem by the time the bell rings.

She tries to race ahead ofeveryone else, ducking past students that tower over her and heading in thedirection that Lance knows must bethe robotics classroom, so he follows, his heavier than usual bag bouncingagainst his back, never mind that his next class is in the opposite direction.

(It’s Spanish, the one classhe’s acing since he’s almost fluent.)

This part of the school isrelatively quiet even during the day, with more specialized elective classesheld here. But Pidge still pauses outside the robotics class, gaze darting upand down the hall furtively - but missing Lance in his hiding spot just aroundthe corner - before she easily picks thelock and darts inside.

His jaw drops. Pidge knows howto pick locks? Then why hadn’t she tried that before he was forced to ask ajanitor to open his locker when he forgot the combination?

Well, no use in thinking aboutthe past when Lance has a Pidge to confront.

He slips through the crack inthe slowly closing door on silent feet in time to see her peeking under a deskand mumbling, “Where are you,Rover? I could’ve sworn I turned you off…”

“It has a name?”Lance blurts before he can stop himself.

Pidge’s head strikes the deskwith a harsh thunk when she jumps.

He winces and reaches acrossthe desk to touch her shoulder. “Sorry! Are you okay?”

She mutters something too lowfor him to hear before straightening, her eyes wide and face red and whole bodystiff and looking very much like she wants to bolt. “Lance? What’re youdoing here?”

Of course she completelyignores his question.

“Uh…I have roboticslater, obviously,” Lance lies with a grin that feels strained. “Justhad a bit of last-minute homework to finish first about like…Turing and daVinci and—”

“Oh, just stop whileyou’re ahead,” Pidge cuts him off, rolling her eyes, though the corner ofher mouth ticking up slightly validates his rambling. “I know you’re notin robotics.”

“And class is not insession here right now.” Lance rests his hands on the desk between themand leans towards her. “What’re youdoing here?”

Pidge’s eyes drift away,wandering around the classroom. “I lost something here yesterday,”she says. “I came by to look for it.”

“Lost what?” Lancewonders despite knowing exactly - well, kindof exactly - what. He shrugs off his backpack and drops it onto the desk,waiting for the right moment to unveil his discovery.

“Somethingimportant.” Pidge runs her fingers through her untidy hair and groans.“Matt was right; I never should’ve brought it to school, but I thought itwould be helpful for—”

Lance unzips his bag and pullsout the pyramid-shaped thing.

Pidge’s jaw drops, her handsshooting out. "You found Rover!” She makes to grab it, but Lanceholds it just out of her reach. She glares at him and practically growls,“Lance, that’s mine.”

“What is it?” Lancewonders, running a fingertip along a sharp edge. “And why were you talkingabout it as if it can move on its own?”

“It’s a…virtual realityprototype,” Pidge says. Her hands curl into fists at her sides, likelymaking some effort to be patient rather than just launching herself over thedesk to wrestle her possession away from him.

(Which…Lance isn’t entirelysure he’d be opposed to.)

“Is it?” Lance raisesan eyebrow; cool as virtual reality would be, something in her words ringsuntrue. “Can I try it out? I swear I won’t tell anyone about it if you’retrying to keep it a secret.”

“No, you can’t.”Pidge crosses her arms. “It’s veryunrefined; the images aren’t…detailed enough yet, and there are all thesebugs in the code I’m trying to fix and—”

“So who did you see getmurdered?” Lance asks. Might as well cut to the chase if she still insistson lying, right?

Pidge stares at him. “Whodid I…what? No one!”

“Wrong answer,Pidge,” Lance accuses, prodding her in the shoulder, “if that’s evenyour real name!”

Her jaw flaps, eyes wide andstunned till she admits, “It’s not.”

Lance grins and pumps his fist,a flush of triumph filling him. "Aha, I knew it!”

“Pidge is just a dumbnickname my brother gave me,” she says, shrugging. “My real name isKatie.”

Really? Such a cute, femininename belongs to the girl in the baggy sweatshirt and untidy hair? But that’snot important, not when his alarm spikes and he waves his hand in her face andsays, “Hey, why are you telling me this?” He glances over hisshoulder at the door, half-expecting someone - maybe the robotics class teacheris a spy? - to be standing there andeavesdropping. “What if someone that wants to kill you finds out?”

Pidge slams her hands onto thedesk, a deep frown on her face, and demands, “Lance, what the quiznak areyou going on about? No one’s ever tried to kill me, and I never intentionally hid my real name!”

Lance flails his arms,agitated. “Aren’t you in Witness—wait, what the hell is a ‘quiznak’?”

Pidge’s eyes widen as sherecoils from him and mutters, “Quiznak, it’s a…curse word from a book Iread.” She smiles, but Lance knows a fake one when he sees it.

He crosses his arms and smirks,knowing he’s caught her. “Nice try, Katie,”he says. “Who are you and where are you from really?” He pats the pyramid thing - Rover - on its flatcornered top and adds, “I want an answer, and you’re not getting this backuntil you explain.”

Her eyes narrow while shescowls, mistrust obvious in every twitch of her face.

And maybe blackmail was aterrible idea to get Pidge to talk - to confide in him - because that distrust hurts.

But Lance stands his ground andholds her gaze. “You know Canada’s cold, right?” he says in a low voice,not quite willing to disrupt the tense cloud hanging over them.

“I do know,” Pidgegrumbles. “Where I’m from, Canada doesn’t even technically exist anymore,and political and climate histories have never been my strong suits.Technological history, on the other hand—”

“Where you’re from?”Lance prompts. His heart pounds, excitement gripping him, for he senses Pidgeis on the verge of giving him answers.

“Well, more like when I’m from,” she admits with asigh. She props her elbows on the table, leaning slightly towards him with hergaze on Rover. “My family was on vacation when the machine broke down, sowe got stranded here.”

Lance, even more confused thanhe was before Pidge started talking, rests his hands on his hips and raises aneyebrow. “Can’t you just take your car to a shop if it broke down? Hey, Ibet Hunk would be willing—”

“Not a car,” Pidgeinterrupts, eyes darting up to his before flitting away again. “A…timemachine.”

At first, Lance doubts he heardher right, but then he laughs and nudge her in the shoulder. “Good one,Pidge,” he says. “You really had me going for a second.”

Pidge frowns. “I’m notjoking, Lance.”

“Really? Timemachine?” Lance smirks. “You have a pretty good imagination; thatshould be what your virtual reality game is about!”

Her frown turns into anirritated scowl. “I tell you the truth like you asked, and this is how you react?”

“Don’t worry,” Lancesays, raising his hands and trying (but failing) to dampen his grin. “Ipromise I won’t tell anyone; your secret is safe with—”

Pidge taps one of Rover’scorners, and wires running through its sides embedded in the metal burst withcolor, flashing red before fading into blue. Lance’s jaw drops, heart jumpinginto his throat, as the thing - is it a robot?And way more advanced and cooler thananything the robotics club can hope to build in this century - rises, hoveringin place with a green indicator light blinking at him before turning towardsher.

Pidge smiles and greets it,“Good morning, Rover. Did the mean, scary boy kidnap you?”

Lance doesn’t recover fastenough to get more than mildly annoyed that she called him “mean” and“scary”, not when a damn robot beeping like R2D2 hovers in front ofhim.

(He wonders if its“language” is as filthy as R2D2’s.)

“Believe me now?”Pidge wonders with a glare.

Lance’s jaw snaps shut with aclick as he recovers from his shock. He nods frantically and reassures her,“Yes, you’re from the future but we’ll say you’re from Canada!”

Pidge’s expression relaxes asRover hovers over her shoulder. “Good,” she says, and she rounds thedesk and approaches him.

His heart races and heat rushesto his face when she grabs him by the front of his jacket and tugs him down toher level, so close to her face hecan see every distinct shade of brown in her eyes. “And I don’t care howcute you are,” she hisses. “If you breathe one word of this to anyone- even Hunk - I’ll show you what we do to blabbermouths in my time.”

Lance’s mouth dries, a flutterlow in his abdomen, as he swallows, just a little afraid of this tiny girl withthe flashy robot and a death grip on his jacket, and manages to promise,“I won’t tell anyone.”

Pidge grins, though there’s amenacing edge to it. “Good.” She lets go and lightly smacks hischeek. “Guess there’s no harm in us being friends now.”

Lance straightens and exhales,forcing the tension from his body. He smiles - at least he likes the outcome,and he won’t learn what exactlyPidge’s threat entails if he can help it - and agrees, “Yeah, I’dlike—” His eyes widen so much he worries they’ll pop out of his skull.“Wait, did you just call me cute?”

Pidge’s reddening face is allthe answer he needs to know that hisfuture will be…interesting.

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 40)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV 2, 21 , 22, Vivi POV 2, 24, 25  Lewis POV 3,  Mystery POV , Vivi POV 3, 29, Lewis POV 4, 31, ViVi POV 4 , 33, 34, Lewis POV 5, Mystery POV 2, Lewis POV 6, Vivi POV 5, Lewis POV 7

Part 41: here

. 

VIVI POV

It is weird visiting the Pepper’s Diner without Lewis. Vivi has never been the friend with the car so Lewis or Arthur had always picked her up whenever she visited, meaning she’s never been here without at least one of them present.

Now, Vivi stands in the empty car park, trying not to look at the spot on which Arthur had been shot and Lewis had almost bled out. The memories of trying to frantically to help them both while knowing she would only have time to save one come unbidden, crowding at the forefront of her mind. She swallows, trying to shake the image and focus on locating Arthur’s van instead. Even as she scans the empty lot, her thoughts turn away from the task and back to that night.

Lewis had told her to help Arthur. Those had been his last words to her.

Vivi had already been in the process of helping Arthur so it was logical for her to continue.

Arthur was the less injured of the two, so had a better chance of survival.

Arthur was the rational choice.

If her dad hadn’t arrived when he did, then Lewis might have died, blood slowly spreading across the concrete, staining it red. If Mystery hadn’t done whatever weird supernatural thing he’d done to slow their blood loss...she doesn't want to think about it. 

/The rain has washed away any remaining scent. We will have to do a visual search./

Vivi blinks and there is no blood, no Arthur, no Lewis. There is only the silent structure of Pepper Paradiso, windows dark and lifeless. She rubs her hands together to rid them of the sudden chill creeping through her limbs, before folding then under Lewis’s borrowed jacked and hugging her chest.

“Ye…” She takes a shaky breath, “Yeah. I figured. The van can’t have been parked too far away though. It would have been pretty hard to walk around all these rocks and cactus in the pitch black even with a lightning storm overhead.”

/ A reasonable assumption. / Mystery is eyeing with something akin to worry, head tilted to one side.

She ignores him, walking past to scan for any sign of the van. Unlike that night, the sky is clear with a half-moon just peeking above the horizon, casting a faint grey light over the flat landscape. A gentle breeze tugs gently at her hair. The body snatcher wouldn’t have come from the westward side of the diner because she’d been looking out that way at the time, talking on the phone with her dad. Surely, she would have noticed its approach between all the lightning strikes.

“You head that way…maybe thirty feet or so. We’re going to search in a grid around the diner,” She points out to the main road adjacent to the diner, tracing it in the air with a finger to what she thinks is thirty feet, “We’ll work our way out from the road, moving in opposite directions away from the diner. Let me know when you find it.”

Mystery nods a confirmation but doesn’t move off immediately, opting to instead watch her with increasing concern. Vivi deliberately turns away from him, moving out from the building and off the concrete, picking her way across the uneven landscape, pulling out her phone for additional light.  Eventually, she hears the click of Mystery’s claws as he begins his search, jumping from rock to rock and disappearing amongst the low desert shrubs. Vivi lets her shoulders slump, all the stress and activity of the past few days finally catching up to her, weighing on her.  She shakes herself and pulls the jacket tight. With her phone’s dim flashlight barely providing enough light to see her own feet, it’s hard to avoid tripping over rocks and dips in the ground. It may look flat, but the desert is full of indents and holes. On the bright side, the rough terrain meant the van was probably closer to the road because there was no way anyone could drive very far across this. 

If the van is even out here at all. 

Doubt curls in her gut. 

What if she’d wrong about this too?

Across the darkened landscape the moon finally makes it fully over the horizon line. A new chill descends as the last of the day’s heat evaporates into the night. Vivi persists, continuing until the diner has faded into an outline. Nothing jumps out at her as being strange. It’s just empty in all directions.

/I have found it./

When Mystery finally calls an end to the search Vivi’s eyes are hurting with the strain of squinting.

“Where?”

Mystery’s telepathic projections don’t have a huge range so he must be nearby. She turns, twisting around to scan the darkness. A flash of white fur catches the moonlight. Mystery nimbly leaps over an outcropping of cactus in her direction, pausing to motion with a paw back the way he’d come.

/This way./

They make their way slowly back in the direction of the highway before turning to walk parallel to the road. A car flashes by, momentarily blinding her and she stops to blink away the bright splotches which briefly overtake her vision. The walk feels doubly long with how tied she’s becoming. 

Finally, Mystery turns back into the desert, following a sloping incline downward into a ditch where she spots a familiar orange rectangle. No wonder no one had found the van yet. Unless you were searching specifically for it, it would be almost impossible to see from either the diner or the highway.

Vivi exhales a long, hard breath of pure relief, hurrying to overtake Mystery.

Slowly, she circles the van, stretching up to shine her phone-light through the front window and into the shadowed interior. The seats of the van appear normal. There is an empty fast food bag and it looks like someone has tipped the glove compartment onto the ground. She peers further in, noting that their camping gear is no longer in neat piles but messy and scattered about. Nothing stands out as human-body shaped. She steps away.

“No dead bodies,” She tells Mystery, watching him finish his own circuit of the van, sniffing, eyes narrow.

/I smell blood. Quite a bit of it. The stench of that abomination is also strong./

“You can smell the body snatcher? Wouldn’t it just smell like Arthur?” Vivi questions even as she begins trying all the van’s doors in the hope that one is unlocked.

/These creatures are unnatural and they always leave behind aberrations. I suppose ‘smell’ is the wrong word. It would be more akin to recognising energy residue. Most spiritual energy does not originate from the physical plane. Thus, it always leaves behind some sort of stain./

Vivi rubs her forehead. She has questions. Of course, she has questions. Anytime Mystery says anything related to the supernatural she is left with only questions. Vivi files the information away for future contemplation, distracted when the van’s back doors open unexpectedly.

Both her and Mystery pause and glance at each other. 

Cautiously, she pulls it fully open and peers in. The first thing she notes is Arthur’s keyring, sitting discarded atop a mess of upturned boxes and camping gear. It looks like it had been tossed aside without thought or care. Arthur always took good care of the van’s keys, carrying them on him at all times, so it immediately strikes her as odd. But then, it isn’t only Arthur that they're dealing with.

“Weird,” She mutters, reaching to pick them up.

/Do not touch that./

She freezes, hand hovering. Mystery leaps up into the van, knocking over an open container of cooking utensils which rattle out onto the rocks, clanking off the hard surface. He sniffs the keys, huffing with disgust.

/It is covered in blood. It has a similar scent to that car. Also, I fear I smell Lance’s blood here as well…/ Mystery flicks the keys with his nose so they clatter to the ground at her feet, turning to clamber around the van, snuffling as he goes.

“Lance’s blood…” Vivi repeats, stomach sinking. There’s a lot of dirt -which probably isn’t dirt- covering the pocket knife Arthur has attached to his keys. Blood.

/Hmmm…this does not appear promising./ Mystery pops out of the van again, holding a piece of cloth in his teeth. He jumps free and drops the fabric onto the ground next to the keyring. She bends to pick it up, pinching a corner so she can lift it without touching anything. It’s one of Arthur’s shirts, apricot in colour, and splattered with darkened brown stains. More blood. She thinks she recognises the shirt as the one he had been wearing at the motel.  

/Whoever this second individual is, their smell is all over the van./

Vivi frowns, clenching her fist. “Do you think they’re dead?”

/Most likely./

“…Shit…”

She tosses the shirt back into the van, bending to pick up the keyring, carefully detaching the keys before throwing the pocketknife after the shirt. She slams the doors, breathing heavily, hands resting on the metal. She rides out a sudden wave of nausea threatening her merger lunch. So there had been a third person involved. Probably, this person was someone Arthur knew. Arthur had most likely been an unwilling accessory to the murder of someone he knew. That's not counting being forced to attack his uncle. Poor Arthur. She can’t even imagine what it must have been like. If only she’d got to him faster. If only she’d gone out to help him after Arthur’s fight with Lewis back at the motel. If she’d been with him that morning then she could have stopped him from running off to check his uncle all alone. Instead,  she’d decided to stay and console Lewis first. The wrong decision. She’d failed them both.

/Arthur would not have been able to stop this violence. These parasitic creatures are masters of all forms of manipulation./

“I’m not…I wouldn’t blame Arthur. Never,” She hisses.  Herself on the other hand….

/Neither is it your fault./ Mystery continues as if reading her mind /You could not have known. I should have been the one to act. I suspected foul play long before it was confirmed./

“You’re the family pet. I’m his best friend. I should have done something sooner.” Her voice sounds uncharacteristically hash even to her own ears. She ignores how Mystery grimaces.

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter now. I need to get rid of this evidence or Arthur’s going to get caught up in whatever ongoing investigation spawns when the police realise that whoever owned that other car is missing.” She still doesn’t know who this person is, and she doesn’t particularly care. Arthur would care probably. She didn’t.  Whether they were an employee of Kingsman Mechanics, a friend of Lance’s, some Tempo resident, it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was keeping Arthur as safe as possible with what little ability she had and if that meant destroying evidence then so be it.

She takes a breath, energised now she’s sure of her next move.

“We can’t leave the van here. Luckily, no one’s found it yet but we can’t count on that to continue.” As she speaks, she walks back around to the front seat, key in hand. Mystery follows. “There’s a ton of evidence here. Blood splatters, hair fibres, fingerprints. That’s not including Arthur’s pocketknife as a possible murder weapon.”

/You plan to hide the van./

“No. Not good enough. I don’t want this to come back and bite us later.”

She’s done making bad choices. Vivi starts up the engine and the van jerks rattling like it needs some proper maintenance. Arthur would have never let it get into such a state. She ignores the pang of guilt, driving recklessly over the rocks, dirt and sand and back onto the road. For what she has planned, the van wouldn’t need to be in any sort of drivable condition for much longer

“We’ll burn it,” She elaborates once they are back on the highway.  “That way, even if it is found, no one will be able to tie it to any missing person case resulting from that thing controlling Arthur. In theory anyway...”

She knows a place that is secluded enough that she would probably be able to get away with setting the van on fire and not draw a ton of attention. A place where she could leave it and not have it immediately discovered. Somewhere that wasn’t so far away meaning it would be possible for her to walk back to the diner with Mystery after she was done.

“Can you cast an illusion big enough to hide the flames?” She is sure she’s acting overly paranoid now but better safe than sorry. Though secluded, the area she’s thinking of is still in view of the road.

/I will have to transform to expand my illusion's range./

“Right.” Vivi glances at Mystery who’s taken his usual position beside her in the front. The concern is still creasing his expression and she quickly refocuses on the road. The last time she had seen Mystery’s kitsune form had been that night. Not a pleasant memory. The sight of Mystery looming over Lewis, all teeth and raw natural fury, glowing bright against an almost black backdrop, had been a constant in the recent spate of nightmares which had spawned from the event. Not that she had slept enough to have many nightmares.

The rest of the trip is silent and, in-between bouts of nervous energy, Vivi can almost pretend she is back with Arthur and Lewis, checking out some new local ghost sighting, laughing and joking. It is a short-lived reprieve as she is quickly turning into the small clearing, sandwiched between rock formations and overlooking a three-meter drop into a small ravine. Supposedly, the area was haunted by some disgruntled cattle rustler, run afoul of the law, chased into the ravine during ye-oldie times.  She feels silly thinking back on how serious she’d taken that investigation. 

“Was any of this stuff anywhere near real?” She asks, driving the van as close the edge as possible.

/ I believe most occurrences of the supernatural, as humans understand it, are merely echoes of past interference./  Mystery scans the cliffs, /If there was any otherworldly influence here, it has long faded./

“I guess that makes sense.” She mutters, distracted as she eyes the vegetation around her. It is sparse, so she doesn’t think it’ll be much of a fire hazard.

“You’ll be able to stop this from spreading and starting any other fires, right?”

Mystery hums to himself and begins to glow. Particles of light cling to his coat like dust motes, fading into the air around him. Unlike that night, the transformation is smooth, air shimmering and flowing over his physical form like water as he expanded to take up more space. Five tails fan out, splitting away from each other, opening like the petals of a flower before swaying languidly from side to side in an almost hypnotic pattern. 

/In this form I can stifle the flames if they become too much or contain the fire within a barrier./

Her breath catches and she nods stiffly, barely hearing him, too focused on how Mystery’s eyes flash bright red when he speaks. Bright, brilliant, red. Her hesitation is spotted and Mystery lowers head and tails, making himself smaller.

/I frighten you?/

Maybe it’s the lack of life-threatening conditions but Mystery's presence is not as dominating as it had been that night. There is less force behind his voice. Less raw anger. Even his tails seam to sag like they are taking on too much weight.

/I am sorr…/

“Save it…” She interrupts what was sure to be another in a long line of empty apologies, “Just… stand a bit over there, okay.”

Mystery seems to deflate further, wilting like a dying plant wanting for rain. The anxiety in her chest loosens ever so slightly.

With only the slightest hint of further hesitation, she begins riffling through the van's camping gear, pulling out a small jerrycan of fuel and dumping it out over the vehicle's interior. Next, she’s digging around for the fire starters and any spare lighter fluid to increase flammability. Out comes the blue zippo lighter with cool snowflake patterning.  She holds it indecisively, flipping it open. The small flame dances, bright in the night-time. Funnily, this will be the first time she uses this lighter. First and last.

This was it. Goodbye van. The van that had been a feature of her friendship with Arthur and Lewis for almost as long as she’d known them.

"Sorry Arthur.”  Another apology for the collection.  

She throws the lighter through the van’s open back doors. The fuel catches and flames spring up, spreading quickly. Soon, long tongues of fire are licking at the windows. A series of small cracks appear in the glass, spiderwebbing out. The heat is intense and she backs away so as not to accidentally burn herself. Sounds of snapping and popping echo in the ravine, the noise trapped by the rocks and cliffs.  Vivi watches the interior of the van blacken, metal reddening and warping. Dark smoke twists upward and disappears into the night.

.

Note: An update in honour of the new MSA: Future :) Enjoy!

Part 41: here

[magicalgirlfumiko]

Jitsuko placed her hand on Makoto’s shoulder. She had followed her comrade up the stairs. Something seemed off about Makoto right now. Jitsuko was going to find out why. The magical girl glanced out the window. There stood Sophia. Jitsuko’s heart began to race. Her mouth went dry. At first she questioned if Sophia and the idol she had met during the big show were one in the same. That gothi outfit 

“Of course. She that idol avoided talking to me…All the weird behaviors….However; she wouldn’t know Makoto from boo. RIght?” Jitsuko thought. “I’m going to have to take her down….But I can’t let Makoto watch….”

Then as Makoto turned around, Jitsuko began to summon energy into her hands. She gave the mage a downtrodden look. It was a silent apology for what she was going to do next. Jitsuko gave Makoto a swift uppercut, causing the teen to fly back unconscious.

Jitsuko slumped her shoulders. “I’m sorry….So terribly sorry.” She then closed her eyes and sighed. She began to summon her scythe.

The room around her faded into a very dark blue light, Jitsuko’s transformation had begun. Her black cape and purple heart clasp replaced her blue button down shirt. 

She moved quickly towards Makoto’s window and slid it open. The magical girl then leapt from the roof of Makoto’s home to a few meters away from where the doll was standing. Jistuko gave Sophia a blank expression.

“Heh…You can kill abusive mages for all I care. They are trash.However, if there’s one thing I can’t stand is an even bigger bag of waste wandering my area of the city. I hate to act like a garbage man, but if I have to take out the trash. So be it.”

That voice she knew it... the doll turned, a ring of dark energy gathering beneath her feet and she summoned her power. Her heavy lance whirled as if it was lighter than air before the head was brought down with a thump that sent cracks spreading through the ground like frightened spiders.

A heeled shoe was placed on the head as the shaft was held like a microphone before her. While Sophia normally made demands freely, When it came to battling magical girls, she seldom spoke before battle, there was seldom need to. When she appeared everyone knew what it meant and they either fought or fled. Her now impassive face surveyed Jitsuko’s poker face coldly before her foot was lifted and the lance swung up to rest against her shoulder and without a work she turned her back on the girl and started walking slowly away. Then she stopped.

"Stay away from my beloved Hana... or as I promised... I will kill you..." Sophia said.

She started walking again without looking back.

“Kill me? If you are trying to make me laugh, then I sorely don’t get your sense of humor.” Jitsuko said.“…It’s my duty to protect my friends.” She said under her breath.

She scanned the surroundings. This was a residential area, so no matter what they did someone or something would notice their fight. It was going to be best to make it look like a gas explosion.

Without warning, Jitsuko attacked, hurling black smog balls from her hands. Sophie was in her direct line of sight and couldn’t see the attack spells coming her way. Sophie was not as effective with speedy foes; it was the one thing Jitsuko remembered in previous battles. She had her distraction set. Now it was time to set up an attack.

Jitsuko began to alter the water energy around her and began to charge at full speed while Sophia was coughing from the vile smelling smog Jitsuko had hurled at her. Now she was in striking range. With an strong thrust forward, her scythe nailed Sophia right in the face and sent the heavier doll flying backward…

Sophia flew backwards , just after a somersault landed on her feet, pieces of asphalt skittering across the road as she quickly assessed the situation. Any fight would cause a lot of destruction and they were still right outside Hana’s house so they did the only logical thing, she leaped out of the way of Jitsuko's next attack, her lance glowing as it pulled her along and then vaulted over a garden fence, leading the other away.As Jitsuko followed though she would be met with an impassive face and a lance already in motion to strike. It was her style to lead her opponents into a trap, disable them with a powerful strike, then finish them off,

.“She expects me to follow her lead. No. She’s a master of close range fighting. More like a tank than a magical girl. Smoke her out. I know that she’ll start to strategize for the smog; however, she doesn’t know what other things I’ve been training to do. Let’s try baiting her out with some of Hana’s candies that I stole a while back.”

Jitsuko reached behind her back and pulled out what looked like pieces of candy. Using the kinetic forces she still had, she hurled them towards Sophia’s location. As they reached the ground they exploded, causing thicker gas to drift over the residential area.Instead of following Sophia directly over the fence, Jitsuko leapt on to the roof of the house that Sophia was most likely trying to ambush from. Once again, she pulled out two more pieces of Hana’s ‘candies.’ These were a heavier kind. Hotaru tossed them from the roof, hoping that they might bait Sophia out. As they crashed into the ground, they made a heavy thud…

Sophia knew it was a trap, it had to be, there was a heavy thud as the blow aimed for the pursuer that never came hit the wall of the house, and into this breach in the wall the doll disappeared. The mist would obscure everything, even for her foe so she had to be somewhere where she could see where the doll would emerge, Sophia doubted Jitsuko was stupid enough to charge into the mist after her.

It came behind Jitsuko, the splintering of timbers and shattering of tiles as hammer and girl came crashing up through the roof, by luck it was the same roof Jitsuko had taken shelter on and with her in sight she aimed and spun before petting go, her weapon spinning through the air like a shot put.

As the lance tore its way through the roof, splinters cut into Jitsuko’s skin. Realizing that her gig was up, Jitsuko aimed for the roof of the next house over. This part of the city was built relatively close together and had very little yard space between.

Jitsuko’s landing was rough. Jitsuko teared up a little as she landed on her bleeding leg. Having precious little time, she tore a piece of her cape off and made a crude bandage. She forced herself forward. A part of her was glad that being a magical girl meant that she could push herself harder than a human could.

Jitsuko leapt to the next roof top. This house had a covered porch, so she kneeled on top of it for now. Hotaru then closed her eyes and started to channel energy into her staff weapon. A green shade then appeared in her hand. She wasn’t sure if this shard tool was going to be enough to stop the doll; however, she had enough of a distance between herself and the doll to make use of her actual powers.

Jitsuko was ready for Sophia. If the doll came charging, she was going to be slashed in half by a wave of fire and steel.

Sophia was allowing Jitsuko to get ready to engage, but Sophia had a few tricks up her sleeve too. She did not rush after the magical girl, but instead summoned dark crystals around her, each pointed like a sword and aimed for Jitsuko. Up until not the only sound from her had been the damage her lance had been doing, but as she struck the back of each crystal it sounded like thunder, sending the deadly shards towards Jitsuko before she took off, again not towards Jitsuko but away from Hana, leaping down from the rooftop and into another person's yard where she was hidden from view and dashed too, not even bothering to vault the wall this home but crashing directly through it, lance first. Jitsuko’s likening her to a tank was accurate, indeed.

".... Something's not right....Looks like I am going to have waste a spell to play it safe..."

"Blaze....on" Jitsuko muttered.

With that the rooftop she sat upon turned into a bright light of flame. This was soon followed by a series of explosions caused by the shards Sophia had summoned. With the added energy, suddenly Jitsuko was being overwhelmed with extra power. She then slammed her fist into the roof.

"....What is this?"

She then felt a rumble. This wasn't from Sophia. The fire she had started was starting to cause the house she was to burn as well. Fearing she might have put someone in danger, she quickly glanced down and saw that there was no car. As luck would have it, the person that owned this home was away at his office.

Jitsuko once again bolted from the home onto other roofs. If one were to see her from the ground, it'd look like there was a figure flying through the night. She made sure she was enough of a distance away before scouting the scene again.

"Hmph. I'll have to dig up more about the Doll. Now that I have a name, I can maybe figure a thing or two about her. She doesn't know that Makoto has magical powers. She’ll be safe there. I'll have to fix this leg injury when I get home..."

[icravestrawberryflavoureddeath]

Something my brother told me really hit hard with this

So my brother and I are 5 yeas apart. He’s older than me and while he does treat me like a kid (I’m 18) he still gives me my respected space

Now with my best boi lance just having his birthday, I’ve been seeing all these updated versions of the ages of the paladins.

Keith is two years older than hunk and lance canonly now with his space adventures with his mommy. But that would still put a five year age gap between him and shiro

Now for all of u Fuckers making shiro being gay about your weird ship between Keith and shiro

1) grow up. Shiros sexuality is important on its own and should not be a reason to claim ur ship to be canon

And 2) its still a really awkward age gap when considering.

Shiro is Keith’s legal gardian. And I can easily pull a lot of shit from my real life with the age gap being similar to the canon. I can’t remember if it’s 5 or 7 years difference but neither should be a

“Oh itS OKay CUz I lOVe my YAoi BoYs”

Cuz that’s weird.

Keith and shiro both see each of these as family, only separated by the lack of blood which they make up for.

Shiro was legally a TEACHER when he met Keith who was LIKE LITERALLY 13 OR SOMESHIT

now I don’t know about you or what weird way the garrison works for legal age of hiring, but I would assume being 18 is the minimum. So even at the legit minimum of Keith at 13 and shiro at 18, that would leave Keith in grade 8 or 9 give or take. Now imagine that. Shipping two people that one would be in middle school and the other graduated. And working. As a teacher. To that child. As THER LEGAL GAURDIAN.

That’s some fucked up shit.

Now to the main point I was trying to make.

My brother and his log term girlfriend just broke up and when my mum was pressing him about this girl he made two very clear points as to why that was wrong (with that girl)

1) it was his best friends little sister (which can easily be applied to this situation)

And 2) SHE WAS MY AGE

My brother, I smart, MILITARY MAN refused to even consider someone of legal age because they were the same age as me

Any logical leap would conclude why that is an important thing to consider.

Why would shiro, a gay man with feelings for his long term boyfriend (even if the things that went down did happen) even look at this man that he cared for. That he protected and showed the greatness he could become think

“Ah yes. I’m gonna fuck this man”

No. That’s not right.

So, as I leave this here, imma high light the main points to make sure u understand

1) Keith is too young to be with shiro

2) shiro is Keith’s legal gaurdian and brother

3) STOP MAKING SHIROS SEXULAITY ABOUT UR WEIRD FETISH SHIP

[etihw]

hey if you feel like it, i wanna hear about the headcanons you mentioned for the pokemon protags

-READIES FINGERS-

Oh man you don’t know what you’ve unleashed, I have so many headcanons for the pokemon protags so I’ll shorten them for now. I’m gonna have to put this under a readmore!!! (I’ll also put them in game order or it’ll be a mess)

P.S I am sorry not sorry this is so long, it would actually be longer but it’s super duper late right now- if you (or anyone really) want more for some reason just hit me up!

RGBY

Red - Can talk! But has trouble doing it. Everyone in Pallet Town knows everyone else so that he’s more comfy with the few words he DOES say. Rival Green is supportive enough when they’re travelling that he’ll talk for both him and Red which Red appreciates since Green is ace at reading Red’s body language after all this time. Red’s pokemon are because he secretly finds them cool but he’ll wait for the pokemon to approach him rather than going after them himself. Never caught a legendary. Tugs his hat as a nervous tick, or pulls his hair over his face if his hat is misplaced. Most likely to do something death defying accidentally.

Beta!Blue - “I one up anything you say I technically stopped existing before I ever existed” is her excuse for whenever someone tries to pull something on her. Has a morbid sense of humour despite their cheery disposition. Wears a simple practical outfit that people can easily overlook and forget. Likes to spook people and really loves Lavender Town. Might be a ghost, who knows, Green and Red don’t comment on it. Laughs at her own jokes in her head. Doesn’t battle. Most likely to trick someone into believing something that isn’t true.

GSC

Gold/Hibiki - Has a skateboard and almost pretty much always scuffed up. Has a lot of bruises (whether from the skateboarding or from fighting its unknown), acts pretty aggressive at times to hide his nervousness or panic. Rocket used underhanded techniques to take down people and they had to resort to that back against Rocket, they still feel guilt about that and worry someone will find out. Protective of his pokemon because he’s seen what bad people have done to theirs. Pointy teeth!! People are weirded out by his teeth to be honest but his mum says he gets it from his father and he doesn’t know his father SO. Most likely to initiate contact.

Kris - The more open and happier of the two! She trusts her pokemon to be strong enough to help her through her adventure. Headstrong but sometimes a bit too stubborn. Her obliviousness of some subjects clashes with her stubbornness at time which ends up with her arguing with some people over what she believes in. Wears practical clothes and doesn’t care so much about the style they are as long as she can move about easily in them. Fidgets a lot because she has too much energy to sit still. Talks a lot if you let her. Most likely to be disappointed in you.

RSE

Brendan: A nervous kid, living in the shadow of his dad’s expectations. Looks surprisingly plain outside of his outfit and hat, though later on in the adventure he eventually dyes his hair white on top and grows it out somewhat (May thinks it looks silly but is glad he’s expressing his own self more). Expected to become a professor like his father but genuinely has a passion for looking after pokemon eggs. Doesn’t tell his father this. Has a secret base in a hidden away area where you have to surf above Petalburg city that he’s worked on himself over a long period of time. Ends up being a pokemon breeder. Most likely to tell you off for pokemon neglect.

May: Emphasises with Brendan on living in their parent’s shadow. Unlike Brendan who wants to do something else, May’s goal has always been to be better than her father and prove she can handle herself. Honestly confused behind the motives of Archie and Maxie because she likes everything how it is. Tries her best, sometimes doesn’t succeed. Even when she fails she gets back up again to try over and over and over again (even to the point of desperation with team magma and aqua). Ends up giving the champion mantle back to Steven because she doesn’t want the responsibility, thinking she can’t handle it, Steven says as long as he’s champion she can still have the spot. Spends most her time travelling Hoenn or finally reconciling with her father. Most likely to get migranes.

Other: Brendan is the assistant and May is the protag (mostly because that’s how i played it originally and it’s stuck).

FRLG

Fire: Definitely can talk. His default talking mode is sarcasm however so people tend to avoid asking him to answer something. Avoids snarking at Green because Green snarks right back and then they end up arguing. More serious about his battling, liking being able to plan and use tactics in order to take down an enemy pokemon with unusual methods. Probably punched Giovanni in the face without a second thought. Only wore light clothes ontop of Mt.Silver because despite planning battles he’s bad at planning for himself but has too much pride to ask for a coat. He gets laughed at by Green and Leaf. Draws on Green’s face when he sleeps. Most likely to need saving from himself.

Leaf: Catches pokemon for being cute, fights for the prize money, pretty vain. She uses her skill and charisma to weasel her way out and into stuff, which normally leads to her getting what she wants. Pouts a lot when her childhood friends Fire and Green say no. She believes in earning money now means financial stability later on. As part of a joke, when she learnt Fire was hanging around Mt.Silver she thought it’d be funny to hang around a volcano instead as the second champion to see who’d find her. It wasn’t funny after a week (not it wasn’t Green! Stop laughing!). Most likely to get free stuff.

DPPt

Dawn: Likes to believe herself the most intelligent among her friends, and for the most part she is. Knows a lot, and when someone brings up something she doesn’t know she normally checks the nearest book to learn as much possible about it in order to debate it with the person (even if the said person doesn’t want to anymore). Finds Cyrus’ whole idea really ignorant and silly, if people had no will it wouldn’t be a perfect world anymore because she believes a person cannot experience happiness without first knowing what sadness is to truly appreciate it. Studied the distortion world once, got upset she couldn’t find enough on it in order to prove it either way. Debates a lot with Cynthia. Would probably wear a black dress to a wedding if she didn’t think it was inappropriate. Most likely to get motion sick.

Lucas: If Dawn is the Diamond and Pearl playthrough, Lucas would be the Platinum one. The more instinctual of the two he ends up making weird logical leaps at time that end up for the best and frustrate other people. he knows a bit too much about the distortion world, he feels. Goes into bouts of quietness sometimes and becomes withdrawn into himself unless someone drags him out of it (normally Barry). Normally won’t go out of his way to help someone because he feels it’s not his place to do stuff for other people (why should he? he’s a stranger to them as they are to him), will however do pretty much anything for people close to him. Really dislikes Jupiter for what they did to Barry. Sometimes talks about dark stuff without realizing he’s trailed off the initial conversation with a person. Has Giratina in their party. Most likely to laugh at Barry’s jokes. Owes Barry P20,050.

HGSS

Ethan: Arceus could look at this boy himself and see no sin. A sweet child, Ethan had self confidence issues which slowly decrease over the path of his adventure. Loves the culture of his region and often ends up trailing off his adventure in order to immerse himself in a location. Gets flustered near authority figures because he basically fanboys over them. Almost faints when Lance asks him to help or when they casually chat to Ethan. Ethan however sees the good in everyone to a point that is pretty naive, he even tries to talk to team rocket members such as Ariana before trying to fight them because he believes they can do good. Normally doesn’t work, he ends up getting pretty sad about it later. Proton weirdly enough likes the kid enough. Most likely to befriend a legendary pokemon. 

Lyra: Incredibly self assured in herself and her pokemon, she believes as long as there is a will there is a way in the world. Her confidence in herself and the people around normally get them motivated to do stuff. Though she is exceptionally good at battling if you put an egg in her hands she is pretty much useless about how to care about it, she was given an egg once and instead pawned it off on Silver. Took 15 tries to beat Fire in a battle on top of Mt.Silver. Instead of infiltrating team rocket, she instead knocked on it’s front door and attacked them that way. Most likely to choke on a boiled sweet laughing.

BW

Touko: More likely to fight her way out of a situation than talk. Out of all of her friends she was the one to go charging into tall grass and getting everyone in trouble. She seemed like a natural leader, everyone following a foot behind her- even her twin brother Touya. Despite her confidence, N surely and utterly shattered the original confidence over the course of the game and morphed it into another more grim confidence and determination to prove that he was wrong. Becomes the champion of Unova just to run off after N when he flew away. Most likely to jump off a cliff and land at the bottom with the least injuries. Had Reshiram. A hero of Truth.

Touya: The quieter of the two, they prefer their sister leading more as it let’s them step back and think more in order to plan ahead. They’re less battle crazy than Touko, instead liking to bond with their pokemon as friends by talking instead of bonding via battle. Ends up doing the gym battles, but is less serious about them than other people- instead liking to record his adventures in his journal. Spends a lot of his time in White Forest looking after the younger pokemon post-game. Dislikes N and on a lower level Touko for running after N without telling anyone. An unchosen hero of ideals. Most likely to accept the other person is right.

BW2

Rosa: Extremely peppy. Rosa went on her adventure in order to explore the world and experience what it has to offer. Though she thinks her choices through properly she has somewhat of a blind spot when it comes to thinking about the consequences of her actions- because of this people often look out for her. When she came across the pokestar studios she was completely smitten, derailing her plans pretty much to see what the place could offer- accidentally becomes a famous actress because of her odd ways of acting her part in the movies. Cuts her hair shorter (but not too short) after the game. Most likely to make a villain change their ways without realizing.

Nate: A happy child, when he was younger he tagged along with Hugh a lot in order to convince the other boy to be his friend (it worked… eventually). When he latches onto an idea he keeps at it as long as possible especially if the idea is making a new friend. When someone who he knows get hurt or insulted he takes it as an almost personal offense to himself. Has a bad reaction to milk. Hair is hard to tame and it gathers static very easily, really needs a haircut. Got in detentions a lot when at school. Almost constantly late to events unless someone else is with him. Most likely to end up in a different place than he was walking to.

XY

Serena: A mature person for her age. Serena’s ideal future goal is to become an assistant or researcher. Though she seems pretty sweet in her mannerisms, it’s actually her trying to be as polite as possible because she’s not used to the culture of the region so decided to err on the side of caution. Eventually when you get her to open up, her language is a lot more colourful than expected (she will, however tend to avoid more vulgar language). The more comfortable she is around someone the less likely she is to restrain her inner voice. Was really upset when Lysandre betrayed the region as she knew what he meant to other people. Cried when she beat him. Most likely to fake a smile.

Calem: A nice, calm but quiet person, Calem is a person with a passion for Kalos’ myths and legends- having heard them a lot from his father’s fairy tales as a kid. He will put himself in front of his pokemon if he believes that irreversible damage would be done to them (which has happened on more than one occasion, leaving him with quite a few scars across his body). Dabbled in changing his hairstyle a few times but felt uncomfortable without his natural hair colour so changed it back eventually. Ends up with his hair in a ponytail at the nape of his neck post-game. Allowed to ride on Xerneas’ back when travelling. Ends up close friends with AZ. May fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. Most likely to end up at the bottom of a pokemon pile.

ORAS

May: A somewhat neutral person, she normally waits for someone else to do something and to get the first impression of a person before reacting herself. Despite her father being a Gym Leader she didn’t feel the need to overcome him, rather she did the Hoenn league challenge as a way to find herself and what she wanted in life. She will go out of her way to help someone but if there’s something in it for her she will definitely do that quicker than other tasks. Finds Steven amusing because of his hobby and ending up in weird places. Has the biggest wailord plushie in her secret base (which is right infront of the safari centre) that she likes to jump on and sleep ontop of. Do not wake her up early in the morning. Feels somewhat guilty for what happened to Brendan post-game because up until then it had been her doing everything and like Brendan she also thought she’d be the one stopping the meteor too. Doesn’t like looking at Brendan’s ‘scar markings’ and feels somewhat upset that he has them when she got off scott free with Kyogre and Groudon. Most likely to roll down a shopping isle in heeleys.

Brendan: Didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life, honestly loved helping his father with his work but didn’t feel it was quite him. He eventually decided to travel when May did and found a major passion in the contest competitions. Ends up wearing outfits like his contest one more often than his original outfit, ties feathers to his hair as habit no matter what outfit he’s in. Post-game May was distracted and held up so it was up to Brendan to confront Rayquazza in order for them to stop the meteor in time. Completely disbelieved it when Rayquazza accepted him. Because there wasn’t anything to protect him while he was up there with Rayquazza and Deoxys he has weird markings across his body that’re mostly faded or covered up from when he was exposed to Rayquazza’s mega evolution. Still thinks May is the ‘protagonist’ of their story and still wonders why Rayquazza let him ride on their back even a while after the event. Has Rayquazza on their team but doesn’t use him, and though they didn’t catch Deoxys the pokemon still hangs around them sometimes. Most likely to laugh when nervous.

Other: May is the protag again and Brendan the assistant, though the roles somewhat swap for postgame plot. The orbs of the respective legendaries protects the person trying to order the legendary with it! Otherwise the legendary could kill them before they ordered them to do anything.

SuMo

Sun: In it to win it. An avid battler, he’ll battle anyone who so much as hints they want a fight, doesn’t feel very guilty if they squash someone utterly and completely. Once lost to a preschooler when he was getting overconfident in himself which brought him down to earth. Sun likes to win fights in style and because of his somewhat vain nature he uses a lot of his money in order to buy himself clothes. Quite dramatic, his friends are somewhat exasperated in his dramatisation of every small thing but can’t help but smile when it lightens the mood in the room. Most likely to cry at Mufasa’s death.

Moon: A LOT calmer than Sun, if he’s the one who comments on everything she’s the one that sighs at the person doing it. Normally wears the same plain colour schemes and doesn’t care as much about clothes. The one out of all of her generation’s protagonists to understand the true weight that has been put on their shoulders, and thus takes the whole situation as seriously as possible. Highly dislikes Lusamine and even with Guzma trying to become a better person she’ll believe it when she sees it. Somewhat distrustworthy of Nanu but believes he doesn’t lie. Becomes the league champion partly for monetary gain. Most likely to walk away from a stupid situation.

USUM

Luna: Fallen when she was a baby, her mother never told her she was pretty much adopted so doesn’t know she’s a Fallen. She’s excitable! But sometimes shy  when people compliment her. Will help people out if they really need help but probably won’t travel across one side of the region to the other. Pretty clueless about the whole dimension-travelling “mumbo jumbo”. Becomes close friends with the ultra recon squad (especially Zossie) because she feels they’re honestly good people who need help. Most likely protag to trip over a rock. Doesn’t wear any sort of glasses or contacts. Likes clicking her heels together when excited. Most likely to come up with a catchphrase.

Sol: Fallen when he was about 5-6! He vaguely recalls his life before he was adopted by his mother but doesn’t talk about it much because he doesn’t understand very well. He doesn’t go out of his way to help people because he’s pretty recluse (even though he’s living in Alola) and clams up in conversations when talking about personal stuff. Completely dotes on his mother as thanks for raising him despite the trouble he thinks he probably caused. Doesn’t really like the ultra recon squad being able to freely move between worlds because he always thought he was stuck where he is. Wears contacts because he has bad eyesight, has a pair of glasses in his backpack incase. Most likely to backtrack.

Other: Luna and Sol’s Fallen status is what kicks their universe into attracting Necrozma and the Ultra Recon Squad to their universe rather than the original.

[ganymedesclock]

A phenomenon I’ve noticed a few times in various fandoms I’ve been in is that often, if a character is hurt by something, there’s often an urge to find someone to blame about it. Even if the other person did contribute to the issue, it’s very often not because they’re malicious and hateful the way that people seem to act like they are.

With regards to Voltron, I see this a lot around Lance and Keith and their respective issues.

With the revelation Lance struggles with insecurity, suddenly the team, and Shiro fell under suspicion. Clearly, we can ignore the acknowledgement, support, trust we see in canon, because if Lance is insecure it must be his team’s fault because he’s not getting enough love.

That’s not it? Well- Commander Iverson, he’s a nasty guy, he yelled at Lance. Now, Iverson is the more common target I’ve seen because we know relatively little of him, a lot of his deal is something that has to be inferred, and he’s an authority figure that disagrees with and in some ways obstructs the heroes. It makes him a very easy target.

And arguably there’s a kernel of truth to Iverson. We actually do see Iverson pushing Lance’s buttons in regards to his insecurity. But acting like he is singlehandedly a pitchfork-wielding demon out to ruin poor baby Lance’s life... really does not feel like the same issue. They’re people who rub the wrong way. Iverson contributed to Lance’s insecurity because his abrasive drill sergeant tactics do not mesh well with a sensitive person who tends to overthink criticism sometimes, go figure.

I’ve seen people depict it as Iverson maliciously taunting Lance with the idea that he’d ever let Lance be a pilot, which... even completely misses the point of why Iverson is mean in the first place. Iverson, again, is a drill sergeant, he drives people with this kind of “You can be better than this, dammit!”

With Keith- the fact is that Keith is alone, and people have taken the idea that his dad clearly must have disappeared, willfully and maliciously, on purpose to hurt him- or callously because he didn’t care about Keith any more.

Once again Keith’s dad is an easy target. There is very little we know about him, he’s not currently in a place to stand up for himself, what’s up with him has to be inferred more than gathered.

And yet... doesn’t it seem a trifle odd that someone who at bare minimum started a family with an alien would later abandon their child with no warning? Doesn’t it seem weird that while the holograms are unreliable narrators, hologram Shiro frames the whole issue as a sense of duty and responsibility, focus and guidance- very much how real Shiro tends to respond to people he doesn’t like?

Consider how Shiro carefully protected Lubos and took him back to his people unharmed but as soon as they got there, shoved him to the ground and talked about him like he was the scum of the earth. That kind of scathing accusation of selfishness is something Shiro would not direct at Keith in that situation or that manner, but it’s something that would come out of Shiro when provoked, and we know that because it has.

So we have to believe that, probably not in that situation or that manner, what the hologram of Keith’s dad was suggesting is something that Keith had seen out of him- without the creepy, manipulative filter of the hologram.

This establishes that Dad Kogane wanted Keith safe, and wanted to explain things to him. He wanted to reunite Keith with Mom Kogane. That he was the type to reassure, console, and try to protect.

The implication he’s tied to the shack- a very humble, secluded location- would suggest both that he was hiding from something, and he had very limited resources to do so. That’s not the behavior of someone who has no enemies or nothing to fear.

You don’t even have to be convinced that Dad Kogane is a sweet gentle person, but just- where do people get off immediately deciding the only answer is selfishness when we know absolutely nothing about this guy’s situation except that he seems to have been in hiding? People usually don’t vanish without warning or explanation, and if most of the stuff in the shack is his, that means Keith’s dad also disappeared seemingly without packing anything, which also doesn’t suggest it was voluntary. 

(Which, y’know, setting up parallels between Shiro and Keith’s Dad, Shiro’s also left before and Keith’s scared of it happening again, but Shiro was literally kidnapped by hostile forces. The writers made sure we had Shiro in mind, right before we saw Keith’s Dad for the first time.)

And yeah- much like Iverson reasonably did contribute to Lance’s insecurity, and at bare minimum did it no favors, Keith’s Dad very likely kicked off Keith’s sense of isolation and abandonment fears, but it is an unsupported leap of logic to suggest he did so deliberately and maliciously. Not every interpersonal conflict is caused because one person is a demon that wants to see the other suffer. 

[thisgirlhastales]

"Don't Have To Read My Mind" WAS SO AMAZING I'M YELLING INCOHERENTLY RIGHT NOW. Lance's denseness felt so REAL like holy crud. I COMPLETELY agree that Lance has some brains on him, so making Keith withdrawn (and REALISTICALLY withdrawn, may I add, you did great there too) at moments was PERFECT. I am smiling so much right now my face actually HURTS. Probably not as much as Lance's though seeing as HE IS NOW DATING KEITH. God I love this story and all of its one shots you are so awesome dude :D

:D Thank you so much! :D Freaking hell, way to ease my anxiety about all the things! *hugs* 

I love Lance being oblivious — I feel like he has a blind-spot for things that are too close to him, but is weirdly observant about everything else; so he picks up on Keith’s weirdness (because of course) but he never takes the logical leap at connecting it to himself. And as for Keith — boy would just straight up hide and deny everything, which made it tougher for Lance to see where Keith was coming from. 

I really tried to write all of this headcanon into Don’t Have to Read My Mind and I was stressing like hell over it — thank you for reassuring me that I didn’t totally fail at getting this across. And yes, Lance is now the happiest of Paladins :D

*more hugs* You are the awesome one, honey! All the thanks! :D

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 23)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV.2, 21 , 22

Part 24: here

VIVI POV

“Something’s not right,” Vivi mumbles, examining the mess she’s made. Strewn across the ugly motel carpet is a mix of clothing items and assorted techy stuff. Important techy stuff. The stuff Arthur lunged around wherever he went. She’d never seen a person more attached to their computer, and yet he’d left it behind.

Don’t even get her started on the more concerning discoveries. Anxiety medication? A Psych referral? To her knowledge, Arthur hadn’t needed either since high school. Obviously, she can’t count on her compressive Arthur-related understanding anymore. Not with her recent track record. Arthur’s not really a talky-feely person, but that’s never mattered because he’s always been bad at hiding things from her. Until now.  Something’s changed, and she hadn’t noticed. Or hadn’t noticed its severity at any rate. 

Frustrated, she dumps what remains of Arthur’s bag out. There is nothing else of note. It’s not like she's expecting a convenient list of ‘reason why Arthur’s acting weird’ but something tangible would have been nice. Damn it.

Behind her, Lewis steps in closer, and she shoots a glance over her shoulder. His eyes are shaded by his hair puff, so she can’t make out his expression, but he’s slumped. Lost in his own head. Probably, overthinking things and blaming himself. Lewis takes everything personally, so this whole situation is undoubtedly hitting him hard.

Unfortunately, Vivi’s at a loss on how to comfort him. She’s never seen Lewis and Arthur fight or yell. They’re both pretty passive guys, preferring to talk through any disagreement. Not that they’ve had many of those or anything even remotely like …whatever that had been. She’d never seen either argue like that, all pain and raw emotion. Arthur panicking and defensive. Lewis pushing when he should be waiting, visibly hurting.  

She had had a choice, stay and talk to Lewis or go outside with Arthur. She’d chosen Lewis because Arthur wanted to be alone and he had obviously needed space to collect himself. Had it been the wrong move? Should she have insisted on following Arthur? She doesn’t know. Vivi doesn’t know how to convince Lewis that none of this is his fault or what to do without the van. She doesn’t know where Arthur went or why.

When had not knowing something ever stopped her from ploughing ahead! Nothing ever got done through sitting around thinking about ‘what ifs.’ She wants answers? Well, to get answers, she needs Arthur. To find Arthur they need transport and some method of locating him. With a new goal, she pulls out her phone, trying to check their location. None of her maps work, and she scowls, cursing the poor internet connection.

Vivi stands abruptly, startling Lewis. Technology isn’t the only source of information. She marches straight out the still open door, ignoring the taller man for the moment, intent on pulling aside the first stranger she sees. It just so happens that a man in a faded, 'route 66' shirt is packing up a car two steps from her room.

“Hey you,” She yells, powerwalking up, “Where are you heading?"

“Ah,” The man stalls, staring at her like she’s grown an additional head. Vivi realises she’s still in her pyjamas. Powder blue, long-sleeved, dotted in fluffy clouds, it’s not normal person clothing.  Coupled with her crazy bed hair, she’s probably giving off some strong crazy-person vibes.

“Sorry. Madam. I’m afraid I can’t help right now....” The dude slams the back door and practically leaps into the front seat in his effort to escape her.

“It was just a question!” She calls after him, irritated.

Okay. So maybe accosting the first person she saw wasn’t the best idea. Vivi frowns, trying to approach the problem more logically. There are no other people the immediate vicinity, and her focus jumps between the road and gas station sporadically. She takes a deep breath, re-centring herself. All this pent-up energy needs to go somewhere productive, or she’ll just spin in circles. Maybe, she should start by changing her clothes and wrangling Lewis. He’s missed her faux pas, but she’s sure he would have found it funny on a good day. A frustrated breath.

Lewis is standing exactly where she left him, lost in thought, Arthur’s referral loose in his hand.

“Lewis! Get dressed,” She orders loudly, re-entering, beelining to her bag. Lewis blinks, losing his deep contemplative frown, focusing back on her.

“We’re finding a way out of this town, van or no van, even if we have to walk. Are you with me?”  She needs him to focus on their current mission and not on Arthur, or the possibility that Arthur really does fear him for legitimate reasons. Nothing scares her more than that.  

“Right.” Lewis answers slowly, seeming to shake off part of his funk, “You’re right…You have a plan?” He sounds so pathetically hopeful. Energetically, she spins and points a finger right at his nose. No more angsting until they know what’s really going on.

“Get dressed. Get packed. Get gone.”  

A small smile flickers briefly across his face, “Detailed. I like it.”

“Well, we also need to find a person who knows a way out of this place, and maybe some way of actually locating Arthur. Wasn’t as catchy to say though,” She elaborates.

The smile fades into something more neutral and contemplative, “How about we start with the reception desk.”  

That was…logical.

“Right. Let’s do that,” Vivi agrees, then mutters, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It would have saved that poor guy a bit of a fight.

Now there is a bit of forwarding momentum, Lewis seems lighter. While she changes into a blue shirt and matching skirt, Lewis tries calling Arthur again, is unsuccessful, then pulls on his own set of clothes. Neither of them looks particularly well put together, but it’s better than nothing. Lewis even forgoes his usual routine, giving him a rugged, frazzled appearance.

Never before have the two of them ever left anywhere in under half an hour. Lewis has an overly long prep ritual and she leaves everything to the last second, so they always take longer than is probably reasonable.

Today they’re ready in ten minutes.

“Mystery,” She calls over her dog who’s been patiently watching Lewis and her rush around, “Who’s a good boy,” she whispers, scratching under his ear. Petting Mystery never fails to calm her nerves.

“I think that’s everything,” Lewis comments holding an arm out towards the door. Their bags are now stacked neatly in the corner, and the poorly decorated room is back to being sparse and empty.  

“To the reception?”

“Mission: Find Arthur is a go,” She agrees, grabbing Lewis’s hand, tucking it under her arm. Lewis, being a lot taller, must lean in a bit, especially when she’s walking slightly ahead, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Mystery trots along behind them without prompting. They cross the car pack and enter the small reception area.

Vivi doesn’t bother waiting for the lady to acknowledge their presence, pulling Lewis right up to the counter, and slamming down a hand, It makes a loud snapping sound. The woman jumps.  

“You know how we can get out of this town without a car?” Vivi goes right for the question she wants to be answered. There is no way she was wasting time with pleasantries. Not right now.

The woman glances between them, raising a brow, “Room 11? That was fast.”

“We’ve been staying in room 11. Is there a problem?” Lewis answers with a bit more restraint, leaving a deliberate question hanging in the air.

“Saw your buddy drive off. Thought it was odd. He left you a note,” A gesture towards a folded piece of paper, sitting isolated near the edge of the desk. Vivi stanches it up, ignoring the continuing exchange. She spins, freeing her arm from Lewis so she can unfold it.

“Arthur was here?” Lewis asks, eyes tracking Vivi’s quick movements before refocusing briefly on the reception-woman, “What did he look like? Was he okay?”

“Bit twitchy. Wasn’t really paying attention.”

The note is a collection of short sentences in Arthur’s messy cursive. Short on content. Short on detail. Short on anything useful.

“Had to leave.

Uncle Lance is in hospital.

I promise I’ll explain later.

Sorry.”

Her mind buzzes with its implications, throwing fuel on the worry-fire slowly growing in her stomach. Lance was in the hospital? How? Why would Arthur leave without mentioning it? She’s known Lance since she was five! Sure, the old man was standoffish, but she still cares about the guy. Did Arthur think she didn’t? Vivi tries to picture Arthur, getting bad news about his Uncle, and panicking. AND, instead of coming to them, his friends, for help, he had driven off alone. Surely, the distance between them wasn’t so great that Arthur felt he couldn’t come to them for support even when things were a bit rocky.  It lent a little credence to her ‘something bad is stopping Arthur from telling them the truth’ theory.  

She turns to say something to Lewis but hesitates. It’s not often that Vivi finds herself at a loss for words, but damn it if this whole situation isn’t dumping her right out of her comfort zone. Lewis, who is now leaning over her shoulder tracing the note with his eyes, looks like he’s swallowed a lemon.

Vivi hands the note over- Lewis takes the piece of paper gingerly-refocusing on the receptionist. At least now they know where Arthur is going. There is only one hospital anywhere near Kingsman Mechanics.

“Is there a way to get out of this town for people without a vehicle,” She repeats her earlier question more calmly. She’ll find Arthur and give him emotional support whether he wants it or not, dammit.

“Only the Interstate Bus Line. It stops here around 6am every day. This isn't a great place to get stranded in let me tell you.” The women’s attention is now shifting away and back to a magazine, losing interest.  Vivi glances back to Lewis, but he’s still staring at the note. Aggressively, a bit more than strictly necessary, she pulls him away from the desk into a cramped corner.

“Lewis,” Vivi pokes him in the side to get his attention, murmuring softly, “We’ll worry about it later.”

Before he can object or respond, she continues, whispering, “How much money do we have saved for this trip again?”

Lewis frowns, tucking the note away in his top breast pocket, perplexed, “$2000?”

Good. Not a huge amount but, including Vivi's personal saving, she has $2300. Hopefully, I’ll get someone interested. The town didn’t seem particularly affluent, so she likes the odds. She nods once, twisting back to the desk.

“Hey. Lady.”

She waits for the women’s begrudging attention.

“I’ll give $2300 to the next person to get us to Tempo, Milton or somewhere nearby. It’s eight hours from here.”

“Not really any taxi’s around,” Is the increasingly bored response.

“Did I say taxi?” Vivi interrupts, “I’m asking if you know anyone who’ll drive us to Tempo for $2300.”

A flash of renewed attention ignites before fading, the woman-maybe they should have asked her name- sighs.  “Just my luck that I’m stuck in this shit hole for the next week. I’d take you up on that offer. Hold on,” Irritated, unnamed-lady pulls out a mobile, “I know someone who needs the cash.”

While the lady dials out and talks briefly to a man on the other end, Vivi looks back at Lewis not quite sure how he’ll take her blowing their entire savings on this endeavour. She needn't have worried because he’s giving her that proud, gooey-warm smile that never fails to make her blush. Blood rushes to her face, and she turns away. Stay on task. Lewis is in a slightly better mood, check that off, now she needs to reach Arthur.

“So, my cousins’ got a small pick-up you can probably buy for around $2500,” The woman turns, having finished a half-muttered conversation, “It’ll get you where you want, he guarantees it. You interested?”

The price is a little high, but before she can start trying to haggle Lewis steps forward.

“That sounds fine, ah, Ms???”

Right. Lewis had savings as well. She shoots him a grateful smile.    

“The name’s Claire. You can finalise stuff with Jamie when he gets here,” Claire waves them away, glancing over at Lewis now.

“How long until your cousin gets here, Claire?” He asks deliberately.

“Since you’re obviously in a rush? I can probably have him here in half an hour.”

So, all going well, they’d be about two-three hours behind Arthur. Vivi could go out and make her offer to more people, but she doesn’t like the uncertainty when this one seems decent enough. This is probably their surest course.

“Sounds good,” She agrees, nodding.

Claire sighs, making a dismissive motion, “Suppose I should wish you luck in finding your twitchy friend. You want to check out now or after you see the pick-up?”

They check out, Claire tells them to leave whenever because there isn't anyone booked in till tomorrow. They relocate outside to sit together on the small step next to their motel door, waiting. Waiting. Time ticks by, made unbearably slow by the consent checking of her watch. Gradually, the word around them brightens, the morning progressing. Vivi leans into Lewis, bouncing her leg to rig herself of excess energy. She would be up and pacing back and forth, but Lewis has an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Mystery positions himself on her opposite side, shoving his face into her lap for pats.  If the circumstances were different, she’d probably enjoy sitting like this.

Another attempt at calling Arthur goes through to voice mail. Internally, she reaffirms her mission. Find Arthur. Find out what’s going on. Help in any way she could. That’s what friends did.

Note: Vivi’s got her work cut out for her. Also, seriously enjoyed writing her POV because she’s so different from Lewis and Arthur. This part’s slightly longer than usual to make up for the wait time.

Part 24: here