#like he only said it twice but both of them were legendary

[castiel-holmeshasthephonebox]

He's literally the only man who gets to say 'meri aurat'

[greenwitchfromthewoods]

devotion. l General Marcus Acacius

Summary:  he returned to Rome in glory, he returned to you

Warnings:  smut, angst, unprotected sex (don't do it!), fingering, mention of pregnancy, a few nasty words

A/N: that was a quick shot. i hope you'll be gentle with me. your feedback is very important to me and I thank you for all the reblogs, comments and likes. 🖤 sorry for all the mistakes

You saw perfectly how his brown eyes widened when he saw you in the crowd of guests in the Emperor's palace. The golden wreath on his curly dark hair, the sun-kissed body dressed in white and gold - he looked like one of the Gods you could worship in a temple. 

And wasn't he one of them? One of those legendary heroes? The one who brought glory to the Roman Empire. One of your Emperor's favorites.

Wasn't he the man you had loved for so long?

When he crossed the threshold of your home late in the evening, you could finally fall into each other's arms. In that moment, he was your Marcus, the man you loved more than life, to whom you had promised loyalty, to whom you had promised eternal devotion and faithfulness.

His warm, plush lips crushed against yours in a kiss full of longing and love that you had to keep so far from each other. Strong arms wrapped around you like vines, but you clung to him with your whole body, yearning for his closeness so much.

"Almost four years..." he sighed as he rested his forehead against yours "I counted every day, my love. And every day was unimaginable torture."

Your hand stroked his bearded cheek "I knew you would return. The Gods promised to give you back to me, and here you are. Safe and sound." Your fingers tenderly stroked the scar on his cheek, slipping into his hair interwoven with silver threads "I can't believe you're finally here."

Marcus' hands tightened around your waist "Tell me you're not just a beautiful dream..."

"I'm here, my love." You whispered, tenderly touching his lips "All yours." He pressed his lips to yours as if he had to make sure that you weren't a dream, laughing, you pulled away from him slightly "Marcus, we need to talk, so much has happened..."

"We have the whole next day, our whole lives for this. Please... Let's not talk tonight. I want to love you, adore you, caress your body." He sounded like a man possessed, hungry for your body "I need to remind myself of every curve of your body. I want to taste you and immerse myself in your sweetness. I beg you, my beloved..."

You couldn't refuse him, you didn't want to. The dream of the warmth and closeness of his body had haunted you almost since he left for that cursed war. You couldn't wait any longer.

The heavy door of your chamber closed, and after a moment you were both taking off your robes. Hands craving a familiar touch, lips searching for each other. Hot lips wandered around your neck when you felt the cool sheet under your fingers. Marcus raised himself on his shoulders, his dark as night eyes roaming your body.

"Give me a moment..." he said as you tried to pull him closer to you. "You're more beautiful than I remember you."

You laughed quietly, a little embarrassed by his confession. "I'm definitely older."

"As am I. But to me you'll always be equal to the goddesses."

"Don't say that, Marcus. Don't incur the wrath of the Gods, they can be jealous."

A mocking smile appeared on his face. "I'm not afraid! The earth could open up beneath me and swallow me alive, but I won't stop repeating it. You are a goddess, my love. I dedicate my life to serving you. Only you."

"Then do it. Use your body and all your strength to do it."

You didn't have to repeat it twice. Your lips connected again in a strong and deep kiss. His tongue invaded between your lips, extracting from you those sweet moans that returned to him during sleepless nights. 

His hard cock rested on your thigh, and you felt excitement and fear, it had been so long since you felt him inside but  you wanted him so much.

Marcus' lips slid down to your sternum, then your breast. He kissed it and bit it lightly, despite the time he still remembered everything that made your body tremble. When the nipple disappeared in his mouth you felt your walls tighten slightly, giving you a signal that you couldn't wait any longer. But it was Marcus who dominated you, doing whatever he wanted with your body.

When his long fingers moved over your slippery folds you moaned shamelessly.

"So thirsty..." he whispered, his lips brushing your belly "Let me prepare you first, love. Let me..." two fingers slid inside you with incredible ease, all the way to his knuckles "I've got you."

Your body arched like a string, the stretch felt so good. Marcus pulled his fingers out and after a moment he pushed them back in, watching your reaction with great pleasure.

"If you could see it." he kissed the inside of your thigh tenderly "So hungry, so greedy."

"Harder..." you moaned, grabbing his wrist and trying to take control, but he wouldn't let you.

He grabbed yours with his other hand, quickly brushed it with his lips, and then his fingers started moving faster and harder. You heard that lewd sound that showed how wet you were and how your body reacted to his caresses.

"Give me everything. Cum on my fingers, love." Marcus panted, feeling his hard cock throb at the sight of your body. "Don't torture yourself like that, love. Cum."

And you did. Your thighs clenched as a shiver of pleasure ran through your body, and a sweet moan escaped your throat. You squeezed your eyes shut, feeling your head buzzing, but suddenly Marcus took control again. 

His strong arms spread your thighs, and his hard cock slid inside you without warning. You lost your breath. Your eyes rolled back under your eyelids, and when his strong body pinned you to the bed, you knew there was no escape.

"Fuck..." he moaned loudly, dazed by the feeling. "You're so tight, so warm..."

"Marcus... I feel like you're going to tear me apart..." you moaned, taking his face in your hands and kissing him. "Gods!"

"Don't summon them, love." he mumbled quietly, brushing your lips "They'll be jealous of us."

His hand grabbed your leg under the knee and he lifted it slightly, thrusting into you even deeper. You didn't know how on earth it was possible, but his cock seemed to dig into you even more with each thrust. 

His body, his strength intoxicated you. Your beloved transformed under your fingers into a barbarian who came to your bed just to fuck you and use your body as he wished.

You felt another orgasm building inside you and you wanted to tell him that, but in an instant Marcus lifted himself up. Without leaving you he pulled you with him and sat on his heels, you fell onto his thighs, impaling yourself on him even more.

Your arms wrapped around his neck tighter, fingers entangled in his hair as he lifted your body and used it as he wanted to, to get what he came for.

"I'm so close, so close." he breathed into your ear. "I want to feel you again, give it to me. Give it to me!"

As if on command, your body gave in. Your walls trembled and squeezed around his manhood, you clung to him tighter as he now pressed you hard and violently against his cock. But Marcus was close too and soon you felt his body tense up and he poured into you, filling you up with his warm seed.

You were both panting, your bodies still sweaty and hot. His heartbeat mixed with yours and no matter how many breaths you took, it still wasn't enough.

"You're definitely not a dream." he murmured, kissing your shoulder gently.

"How can you be so sure?" you giggled, looking fondly at his blissful face.

"The Gods would have to be incredibly cruel if they let me experience immortality with you and then ordered me to return to mortal life." his fingers tenderly stroked your back "You have to be real." 

You kissed him tenderly feeling indescribable love for this man. At the same time, however, a small flame of anxiety rose in your heart thinking about the upcoming day.

He was torn from his sleep by the quiet sound of the door closing, and then your footsteps on the stone floor. He lazily rubbed his eyelids and opened them, noticing you pouring yourself a glass of water.

"Why did you get dressed?" His voice was hoarse, and it gave you shivers "I didn't say I was done with you."

You smiled, walking over to the bed and sitting on its edge "You were done with me at least three times last night, General." you noticed, leaning down and kissing his soft lips "You should rest your loins."

"I'll rest after death. Right now, I just want to keep my cock between your thighs, where it belongs." he replied "I've been thinking about it for almost four years and I have no intention of giving you up now."

Marcus noticed the smile disappearing from your face, and your gaze wandered to the window open to the garden. He knew that look. Something was worrying you and occupying your mind.

He sat down on the bed, his hand tenderly stroking your arm. "What's wrong, my dear? Something's on your mind."

"Marcus... So much has happened since you left." You said quietly. "I don't even know where to start... It all scares me so much."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Tell me, because I can see how much you're struggling."

He saw you nervously squeezing your fingers, and your eyes avoiding his gaze. Finally, you stood up and took a few steps. Marcus watched you carefully as he put on his robe, a strange fear growing in his heart. 

What if this was all just a dream? What if you tell him to wake up now?

You were already opening your mouth to say something when a commotion in the hallway and quick footsteps tore your attention away. The door opened wide and a small boy rushed into the room.

"Mommy!" he called, running up to you and wrapping his small arms around your legs. 

Right behind him, a woman in a servant's robe ran in, apologizing from the entrance. "My lady, he wanted to see you so much. I told him you had a guest, but he..."

"Nothing happened, Tullia." You replied, smiling faintly, clearly embarrassed. "Please, take him to the garden." You ran your fingers through the boy's dark, curly hair. "I'll see you in a moment, okay, little bug?"

The boy smiled and grabbed the servant's hand, gave Marcus a quick glance with his brown eyes, and left the room, leaving you in complete silence.

You could clearly feel the tension that had grown between you. You wrapped your arms around yourself, as if you wanted to hide, and looked up at Marcus. Surprise was written on his face. His dark eyebrows furrowed, and his jaw clenched. He stared at the door, and only your voice made him look at you.

"I didn't know how to tell you this..." you whispered "I've been planning this in my head for almost four years, and now I'm standing in front of you and I'm speechless."

"You're a mother." His voice was low, you nodded "All this time I thought you were waiting for me, and you..."

"Marcus, let me explain, please." You wanted to approach him, but he just raised his hand, and you froze.

He swallowed, and his dark eyes were fixed on you like daggers ready to attack "Before I left we promised each other... You promised me that you would wait for me. That you would be faithful to me."

"And I was." You groaned.

"Don't lie to me!" he roared, and you stepped back, scared "For four years I lived only thanks to the thought that you were waiting for me, that you loved me despite everything. And now? You promised me!"

"Let me explain, Marcus." Your eyes stung from the tears that were seeping into your eyelids. "You don't understand..."

He was like a beast locked in a cage. His eyes darkened and his hands clenched into fists. It was the first time he looked at you with such contempt and disappointment, and your heart was breaking with every passing second.

"I thought you were devoted to me. That you committed to waiting for me, if I knew you were just a whore..."

These words were the last straw that broke the camel's back. You suddenly straightened up and raised your head, looking at Marcus defiantly.

"Don't talk to me about commitment, devotion and loyalty when that's what I've been doing for four years." you said sharply, you saw that he opened his mouth, but this time you didn't let him get a word in. "I was pregnant when you left Rome with the army. For many months I hid it from my surroundings, but I still heard the whispers and gossip. I carried him under my heart, gave birth to him and I raised him alone, despite everything. Despite the lack of guarantee that you'll come back. So you have no right to talk to me about commitment and loyalty, or judge me without knowing everything! Julius is your son. You can either accept it or leave." 

Marcus looked as if you had stabbed him at that moment. There was silence and only the laughter coming from the garden tore you out of this freeze. The General approached the door leading to the garden. Between the bushes and flowers he saw the silhouettes of a few boys playing, including the one who called you mother.

"I didn't know..." he said quietly, his eyes following the boy carefully.

"How were you supposed to know?"

"Call him."

"Marcus, please..." you whispered, a cold shiver running down your spine.

He looked at you, but you couldn't read anything on his face. "Call him, please. Or I will." He could see, however, that you were unable to utter a word. "Julius! Come here, boy."

The sounds of fun faded away and after a moment you heard the shuffling of sandals as the boy approached you, dragging a wooden sword behind him. He stopped in front of Marcus, but his frightened gaze went straight to you, afraid that he had done something wrong.

Marcus looked at him carefully, towering over the boy. Finally, he spoke.

"Do you know who I am?"

Julius's eyes went to the man's face. He nodded.

"A general. Mom told me." he said quietly. "A soldier. Like my dad."

You saw Marcus give you a quick look, but he couldn't resist asking another question. "Where's your father, boy?"

"At war. Far away." He looked down and shuffled his shoes. "Mom says he's brave."

"And are you brave?"

You covered your mouth with your hand to hold back a sob as Julius shook his head.

"I'm not. Sometimes I'm scared, so then I go to mom."

Marcus crouched down in front of the boy so that their faces were at the same height. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight of the resemblance between them.

"Where did you get that sword?" Marcus continued.

Julius visibly perked up. "Mom gave it to me. To make me brave."

"Will you show it to me?"

The boy handed him his wooden sword and Marcus looked at it. "It's a very good sword." Julius' face lit up with a smile.

He accepted the sword back from the General and you had the impression that he stood more straight and proud. Marcus looked at him for a moment longer, then ruffled his hair asking him to go back to playing.

"I didn't know what to tell him when he started asking about his father." You started quietly as Marcus watched the boy who had already run after his friends. "I didn't know if you'd ever come back... I wanted to believe it, but he needed answers. That's all I could give him."

"He is..."

"Perfect." You finished for him. "He's smart, empathetic, sensitive and not at all as cowardly as he says. He's afraid of storms, so he comes to me at night."

Marcus turned around looking at you with tenderness. You noticed tears in his eyes and after a moment they ran down your cheeks.

"I wanted him to be safe." You sobbed. "I thought that when you came back and saw him... Every day I saw you in his eyes."

Warm hands grabbed your face as Marcus put his forehead to yours. You placed your hands on his, trying to calm your breathing.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered "I beg you, forgive me for doubting you. I didn't expect this. The thought that you could marry someone else, give him children..."

"How could I do that? I gave my heart to you, Marcus. For eternity."

Warm lips brushed yours.

"You gave me a son. You're so brave. Too good for me... I don’t deserve you and him." he whispered "I'm sorry I doubted you, my love."

"Please, don't talk about it anymore. Just get to know him, and you'll surely love him too."

"But will he love me?" doubt sounded in his voice "Julius doesn't know his father."

You tenderly stroked his face, wanting to erase all worries from him.

"Julius knows his father is brave, strong, and that he loved me more than anything in his life. He will welcome you with open arms, Marcus. Just give yourself a chance. Give us all a chance." 

He nodded and snuggled up to you with all his might. When he returned to Rome in glory, his greatest dream was to see you again. And you gave him so much more. You gave him more than the Emperor could.

You gave him life.

☆☆☆

Thank you for your time.

[shitapril]

with spa, we're officially halfway through the season !

we went into the season expecting a repeat of 2023, only to have seven different race winners in the first half of the season alone.

carlos sainz jumped back from his appendicitis to become the only driver to break max verstappen's 10 race win streak not once, but twice. charles leclerc has finally broken his curse and has won at the legendary monaco circuit, but most importantly, at home. george russell brought mercedes' first win since 2022. lewis hamilton extended his record of wins at home with his ninth victory at silverstone, and is now only the second driver with more than one win. lando norris and oscar piastri are both race winners now.

but the drama started well before the season, and off the track at that, with lewis hamilton announcing his departure from mercedes to ferrari for the 2025 season. call it a domino effect, because ever since, we have found out we will not have my fav blonde-hunk duo in haas next season, my french civil war roleplayers next season, but we will have an 18-year old on the grid (i'm so old wtf) and we're just halfway through the season (jury is still out on carlos sainz though he said he's sticking to the original timetable of the driver market).

that being said, I can't even begin to explain the headlines, rumours and stories that this season has brought, i would've thought they were random machine-generated headlines if i had not seen them happen in real time.

i cannot wait for the latter half of the season to unfold, to see what the future of this sport looks like by the end of the year. in the meantime, take care of yourselves, rejuvenate for the second half of the silliest of seasons and i'll see you soon ! <3

[storyofmychoices]

Couples Skate

[Bryce Lahela x Olivia Hadley Masterlist] 

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Olivia Hadley (F!OC) Book: Open Heart Word Count: ~600 Rating/Warnings: general, pointless fluff A/N: Thanks for the request @thosehallowedhalls 💖

Synopsis: Olivia takes Bryce ice skating.

"I thought you said you knew what you were doing?" His tone hovered between a question and a statement, his amusement evident.

"I said as a child I enjoyed ice skating." She brushed the loose strands of red hair away from her rosy cheeks, taking care to release those stuck to her Chapstick-coated lips. "It's been a while." She readjusted her hat, standing tall as she regained her composure. She stepped away from the railing at the side of the rink, letting the sharp blades of her skates glide across the ice as she once more attempted to skate. She breathed easier as she slid successfully across the glassy surface. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was coming back to her. She had her balance and moved with growing ease. As she circled the rink, she came to an almost too abrupt stop before him. 

"See—" Her infectious smile spread wide across her features. "I told you I could do it! Just like riding a bike." 

"If you say so," he extended his arm, drawing her closer. "You looked beautiful, by the way." 

"Thank you," Olivia tipped her head in pride. "Now, your turn." 

"Oh—" His hand rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm okay here."

"Come on," she laced her fingers with his. "I'll be there the whole time." 

His brow arched, teasingly he replied. "Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"Hey!" Her hands pressed against his chest as she playfully pushed him away, causing them both to wobble on the slippery ice. "Ahh!" She regained her footing just in time to steady him. "See. I've got you."

"And I appreciate that, but I'm fine here," Bryce offered, reaching for the side of the rink.

"You're telling me that super surfer and cardiac surgeon extraordinaire Bryce Lahela is afraid of ice skating?" She teased, her gaze sweeping over the space. "If the children can do it, so can you."

"And as lovely as the children are, that's more your element," Bryce noted, hoping to distract her. 

"You're not getting off that easily. One lap!" She decided, offering her hand again. Her smile faltered slightly, "Besides, I thought you wanted to come?"

"I came for the legendary hot chocolate you promised," he replied with a smirk.

"Well, there's only one way to secure yourself a cup of that delicious hot chocolate. The one with the extra whipped cream and cinnamon on top—" She guided him forward gently. "One lap, and if you still want to leave, we can."

"Okay," he agreed hesitantly, letting go of the railing. "Lead the way."

Slowly, the pair rounded the ice—once, twice, thrice—their confidence and laughter growing with each pass. 

As they completed lap after lap, Bryce's initial apprehension melted away. It wasn't surfing by any means, but it wasn't as bad as he expected. With Olivia by his side, he'd happily skate through the night, even if the children surrounding them were faster and had more than a few tricks to show off. 

"Enjoying yourself?" She bumped him gently.

"With you?" He squeezed her hand softly. "How could I not?"

She pressed a lingering kiss on his cheek. "Wanna get that hot chocolate now?" 

"It can wait," he replied to his own astonishment. "I think I'm getting the hang of this." 

"Easy now," Olivia warned. "Don't get too cocky. I'd hate to see you embarrass yourself in front of the adorable children."

"You know I'd even make falling look good." He wagged his brow.

"Why don't I doubt that," she teased, "but let's see if we can both stay upright."

"I think that can be arranged.... for now!" With a wink and a devilish grin, he guided them forward, the pair gliding across the ice, hand in hand, an unforgettable couples skate.

If you made it this far thanks. This is just some pointless fluff of these two enjoying a date early in their relationship.

@choicesficwriterscreations

[peacocksandquetzals]

The Quetzal: The Sacred Bird of Mesoamerica (and also a Symbol of Freedom)

The quetzal is a bird native to southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. One particular subspecies of quetzal is known as the resplendent quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno). It is larger than other subspecies of quetzals and is only found in the highly-elevated rainforests of Central America, known as cloud forests or montane rainforests. Moss covers the trunks of many of the trees in the cloud forests. There are many fruit-bearing trees that produce wild avocados, a staple of the quetzal’s diet.

Quetzals have iridescent bluish-green feathers on most of their body and red breast feathers. The shiny, green feathers help quetzals blend in with the leaves of trees in the rainforest. The species exhibits a striking example of sexual dimorphism, which is a difference between the appearance of males and females in a species. Female quetzals have grey breast feathers and short tail feathers. Their colours are less vibrant. They also do not have a crest, or a crown of feathers, on their heads like males do. Finally, male quetzals have bright, yellow beaks while females have black ones. Quetzals are most famous for the long, streamer-like tail feathers of the male quetzals. These can grow to be a metre long, more than twice the length of the bird’s body.

These beautiful tail feathers have long captured the artistic imagination of the cultures of Mesoamerica, who collected them to make headdresses for their rulers. Quetzals were revered as sacred. They appeared in the art and mythology of the Mayans and Aztecs. They became an important cultural symbol for all the people of Mesoamerica, both past and present.

To Mesoamerican cultures, the quetzal is associated with gods and rulers. Its feathers are valued more than gold. But the most important thing the quetzal represents is freedom and the continuity of Mesoamerican cultures. The bird dies in captivity. The Mayans and Aztecs knew this and never attempted to domesticate the bird, believing that it would rather attempt to kill itself than live confined. Modern zoologists have attempted to keep quetzals in captivity to breed them. Though it may be able to survive for a while and even reproduce, the quetzal shows poor mental and physical health in captivity. They are a shell of what they once were when they are confined. To the K’iche’ Maya of Guatemala, the quetzal is a symbol of their identity and their struggles to be free from their Spanish colonial oppressors. One of the most famous historical figures of the K’iche’ was Tecun Uman, their last ruler. He died in battle against the Spaniards in 1524. His spirit guide was a quetzal. The story of Tecun Uman firmly establishes the quetzal as a beloved cultural symbol for the K’iche’ and a symbol of freedom.

Tecun Uman fought bravely against the Spaniards, who were led by the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado. The town where the battle took place is now known as Quetzaltenango in Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado was aided by Hernan Cortes, the conquistador who defeated the Aztec empire. It is difficult for historians to separate the legendary and historical elements of this story. Though Tecun Uman and the conquistadors were real people, the lore surrounding Tecun Uman’s quetzal seems more legendary. The faithful quetzal is said to have accompanied Tecun Uman in battle and flown alongside him when he charged against the Spaniards. Pedro de Alvarado killed Tecun Uman with a spear through his chest. When the K’iche’ ruler lay dying, the quetzal was so filled with grief that it landed on Tecun Uman’s chest, staining its feathers red with blood. This Mayan story is also used to explain how the quetzal got its red breast feathers. The quetzal was a spirit guide, so its life force was connected to Tecun Uman and died shortly after he died. Tecun Uman is now considered Guatemala’s national hero. He is honoured every year on February 20th. In the town of Quetzaltenango, there is a statue of Tecun Uman. He is also featured on stamps, coins and bank notes. 

The Maya people in Central America today still consider the quetzal to be one of their most important symbols. The unit of currency in Guatemala is called a quetzal, alluding to how quetzal feathers were traded as currency by the Aztecs and ancient Mayans. The flag of Guatemala has a quetzal on it. Though the Aztec empire was doomed when Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1519, the Maya were more difficult to conquer. One Maya kingdom, Itza, and its capital city of Nojpetén, did not fall until 1697. Even under Spanish rule, the various Maya peoples of the region fought to preserve their culture and traditions. Just like the quetzal, they could not be subjugated for long and they had to be free. The quetzal is not just a beautiful bird to them, it’s a symbol of their freedom. 

[trans-duckling]

For Them to Have Your Eyes: Discussion

There was a time, around the fifth month of pregnancy, when they broke apart. It was not for a stupid reason, but in fact for the only one in which they could never agree. Kakashi always thought that he would choose Gai over everybody else. Then he realized there was a new life growing inside of him that would occupy the front of his mind for as many years as he had left.

“What did you say?” he asked, not believing what he had just heard.

They were at home that afternoon, office hours reduced to only the morning due to Sakura’s orders. Even though both him and the baby seemed to be doing fine, she advised reducing any activity that could cause stress or disrupt his routine too much. Being Hokage, that was pretty much half of his work, so Tsunade had been called back to help him keeping up with his duties without threatening the pregnancy. She had not been especially happy about it, but the Sanin had always had a soft spot for him. Even if sometimes it looked like she enjoyed torturing the Hatake.

Up until that moment, Kakashi had been sitting on the sofa, one book opened in front of him and feet up the coffee table. In the kitchen, Gai was preparing dinner for that night and lunch for the next day, since he would be leaving for a day long mission in the morning. He had not been very glad about being away from the village, but the fastest man in Konoha was needed for this and even in his wheelchair he still kept that title, Lee closer to steal it every day.

“Sorry, maybe the extractor was too high for you to hear me, dear rival” it wasn’t, Kakashi just couldn’t believe what he had said. “I was talking about how glorious it will be once our kid is old enough to start training to use The Gates. Lee and I have been developing some new routines and…”

“Gai” he cut him, dead serious and not trying to hide the anger in his expression. “Our child is not learning to open The Gates.”

“Uh?” the other man said, moving closer to the door with confusion in his features. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m not letting you teach them the technique.”

Gai was intelligent enough to not respond straight ahead with the first thing that came up in his mind, possibly some commentary about how it was a youthful and legendary jutsu.

“Rival” he called instead, turning away just a moment to lower the intensity of the fire. “I’m aware of your thoughts on The Gates, but this is my father’s legacy, my legacy, so I think I should have a say in…”

“You don’t!” Kakashi cut him again, not holding his voice back. The book had fallen from his belly to the ground as he stood up. “This is not something up to discussion, Gai. You won’t teach our child that technique.”

There was a threat hidden in between those words.

A promise.

Kakashi loved him. He loved him so much that sometimes it hurt. But he loved their kid more.

“Kakashi, try to relax, you know what Sakura said about the stress, so…”

“Don’t talk about my stress as if you and your stupid idea are not the cause of it!” he complained, feeling the fury running through his body.

“Well, then maybe we should leave this conversation for later, once the baby is old enough to decide?”

“Are you even listening to me, Gai?!” there was movement in his belly, the discussion obviously not annoying only him. “We’re not going to have this conversation again because there is nothing to talk about. You can teach this child as much taijutsu as you want, but never The Gates.”

“Kakashi…”

“NO!” he screamed, loud and aggressively enough to make his pack come inside from the garden, fur bristly and teeth out. “I love you, Gai, but I’m not going to let you be near my child if you intend to teach them a suicidal technique.”

“They’ll also be my child, Kakashi!”

“AND I WON���T LET YOU KILL THEM!”

The ninken might have been surprised at the origin of their summoner’s distress, but they were loyal enough to not even think twice before turning their threats towards Gai. Now, growls filled the living room and a furry physical barrier separated the two shinobi.

“I think it’ll be better if you leave now, Gai” Pakkun advised.

The Hatake had positioned one hand over his belly on instinct, as if that simple gesture could protect them from the future their other father wanted to set them on. There was hurt in Gai’s eyes, but also worry, probably for how the whole thing could end up affecting the baby.

“I’ll leave” he said, barely audible. “Just… Can we talk? When I’m back?”

He wished to say yes, because there was no way he wanted to leave things as they were, but something held him back. What was Gai going to do if they talked? Try and convince him that it was ok to teach their child a technique that cost him his leg, his life? There was no argument there. That would never happen.

“Take care in the mission” he muttered, turning around and sitting back on the sofa.

Even if he was not looking at him anymore, he knew the expression on the other man’s face was not a satisfied one by far. Still, Gai didn’t say anything else as he moved back into the kitchen to turn off the fire and quickly pass through their room to take his mission bag, before getting to the entrance.

“Dinner and lunch are almost done, just set them at middle fire for ten more minutes” he said as he opened the door. “Don’t work too much tomorrow, please.”

For a moment, Kakashi wasn’t capable of saying anything, not sure of what would come out if he opened his mouth. That was all Gai needed to leave the house, taking with him not only his presence, but also a part of the Hatake.

He started his breathing exercises as soon as the ‘click’ of the door was heard, knowing he needed to ride down that wave of anxiety as soon as possible. However, his brain was not focused on relaxing. What would Gai do for that night? Did he have a place to stay? Surely, he could go to Kurenai’s or Genma’s, but… He had kicked him out, hadn’t him? And what if something happened to him in the mission? Kakashi knew that was a permanent risk in their lives, but this time the last thing they would’ve done together would be screaming at each other. What if he died, and years later their child asked him what happened that afternoon? What would he say?

“Pup” Pakkun called, jumping onto the sofa and reaching up to lick his face. “Breathe. Come on, I know you can.”

He focused his sight enough to look for Uhei, who just with that gesture understood what he needed, getting on the sofa as well and laying down with his head on Kakashi’s lap. His body was warm against the Hatake’s skin, and by petting it he was able to count his breaths as he moved the hand in a soothing gesture. It took him almost seven minutes, but he was finally able to recover a normal breathing rhythm.

“Good” Pakkun praised, brushing his head against Kakashi’s side. “You’re safe, boss, we’re here for you.”

“I know” he managed to get out. “Thank you. I just… Gai…”

“It’s ok” Uhei intervened, licking the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks. “You don’t have to tell us if you can’t, boss.”

He nodded, although he would end up telling them later that night, anyways. He knew what would happen, because his ninken were loyal and shared his point of view in relation to The Gates. There was a chance that, unless ordered the opposite, they would stay close to him for the next few days, not allowing Gai to get near enough to talk. Even if still stressed, he could find comfort in that.

Next morning, Kakashi ditched work. She sent Akino with a message to his office saying he was not feeling well and would be at Kurenai’s house and also accompanied by his dogs, so there was no need to fuss about it. Of course, he knew at least Yamato would insist on staying close.

When calling at the door of his friend’s house in the Sarutobi district, he was faced with a knowingly look and a sigh. So, that was where Gai had stayed the night.

“I suspected you would come” she said, opening the door fully for him to enter. “Come on in, Mirai is sleeping, so it’s the perfect time.”

“We’ll stay guard in the garden, boss” Pakkun indicated.

He nodded, knowing the answer would’ve been completely different if Mirai was awake, the dogs uncapable of doing something else than wagging their tails around her. They were high on the babysitter list thanks to that, among other things.

“Coffee?” Kurenai asked as they entered the living room.

“I already had my cup today” the Hatake responded, half-absent.

“Tea, then?”

“Do you have oolong?”

“Sure, although I must admit it’s strange for you to want to drink tea.”

“Well, you know pregnancy makes you crave strange things.”

His friend offered a soft smile, nodding before disappearing into the kitchen. While he waited, Kakashi took a look around the room. There were baby clothes and items all over the place, which he assumed was quite normal when you had a one year old and were raising her alone. He was, however, uncapable of finding any physical trace of the past presence of Gai there.

He was still angry and frustrated at his partner, but he couldn’t avoid missing him, either. And so, the Hatake removed the tip of his mask to sniff around, catching up the disappearing essence of the other man. The sensation brought some comfort to him, anxiety calming going down just a notch.

“So” Kurenai said once she was back with the tea, “are you going to tell me why I had to have Gai sleeping on my sofa yesterday?”

“He didn’t say?”

The kunoichi shook her head as she served the tea in two green cups and then offered him one.

“No, the only thing I got out of him was that you two had argued and he needed a place to stay before his mission today.”

Thinking, Kakashi took a sip of his drink.

“He said he wanted to teach our child to open The Gates.”

“Ah.”

One second of silence, and then the Hatake was unable to contain his thoughts anymore.

“I just… Why would he say that?” he started. “I understand the technique is important to him, but the consequences… How can he want that for our child?”

Kurenai didn’t respond immediately, clearly looking for the correct words.

“You know Gai” she said. “Legacy is very important to him, but… I must agree with you on this, Kakashi. The Gates are a forbidden technique, one that should only be taught under certain circumstances, and the pain it brings to the person using it… It’s understandable you got angry at the suggestion.”

“So, I’m not crazy? Or disrespecting Gai’s opinion on this?”

“No, you’re just a worried father who wants to protect his child from any kind of suffering” his friend assured, one of her hands coming to rest on his knee. “As for Gai’s opinion… He is a father as well, but he should think a bit more about his child welfare than his own legacy.”

The Hatake took another sip of his tea, playing with his fingers around the cup.

“I… Accused him of wanting to kill our kid.”

He felt Kurenai’s eyes opening wide even when he was not looking at her.

“Ok, that’s… Maybe a bit too much, Kakashi.”

“I know” he sighed. “I was… Am, angry.”

“Understandable, but some accusations are too big to be done.”

He nodded.

“When is Gai coming back from his mission?”

“Tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning, depending on his travelling time.”

Admittedly, the Hatake didn’t know if he was looking forward or not to that moment. What would Gai do once he was back? Go to their house as if nothing happened? Maintain his distance? They had an appointment the next day with Sakura, so…

“Hey” Kurenai called, squeezing his knee. “You’ll talk about it and reach an agreement, I’m sure. In the meantime, why don’t you spend the day here? You can feed and change Mirai for practice.”

A small chuckle left Kakashi’s lips.

“You would ask a tired, pregnant guy to babysit your kid? That sounds cruel.”

“Yeah, well, it would be crueler to leave you believing the worst part is the pregnancy.”

The Hatake rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure, having a crazy sleeping schedule and be all the time supervising a tiny human was tiring, but being a member of ANBU included that and some other things. He had no doubt he could handle it. The pregnancy, however… Never again.

Still, he didn’t refuse the invitation, knowing it would be better to be accompanied by someone else than his ninken. Also, the dogs would be happy to know they would get to play with Mirai, after all.

Gai came back that night. Even though Kakashi didn’t see him, he felt his presence near at some point close to midnight, his partner no doubt wanting to know he was safe after their first day apart in a long time. He stayed close until the moment the Hatake decided to go to bed, the other man’s chakra signature disappearing then. Kakashi wasn’t sure if feeling disappointed or glad that they got to postpone their conversation, but he was too tired to think about it once his head hit the pillow.

By next morning, there was a mission report on his desk as well as two tupperware with a nutritional lunch and dinner inside, but still not Gai in sight. The gesture could have been interpreted in many ways, but Kakashi went for frustration. Somehow his partner was trying to keep him and their child healthy at the same time as he fantasied about teaching that same child a suicidal technique. If it wouldn’t be because Gai was uncapable of something like that, he would say the other man was being condescending.

His ninken had accompanied him to the office, deciding to act as his personal guard for as long as he allowed it. Needless to say that morning was slow and barely productive for Kakashi, who spent more time checking for his partner’s chakra signature than signing papers. At some point, Pakkun even asked if he wanted for him to bring Gai so they could talk.

The Hatake refused.

He was not trying to make a point, just… It didn’t feel right. He wanted his best friend close and far at the same time. If they could just forget about the whole thing and go back to what things were like before… But that was impossible, wasn’t it? And that conversation had to take place at some point, didn’t matter how uncomfortable it was.

For a moment during the afternoon, Kakashi really thought Gai would finally make a physical appearance. Work was over and it was time for his appointment with Sakura, something his partner hadn’t missed ever before. That time, however, he only felt his chakra near the hospital, and once inside there were too many people uncapable to maintain their chakra control to perceive well Gai’s. Inside his belly, their child moved around as if frustrated about the situation as well.

“Good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei” his student greeted with a big smile. “It’s just you today? That’s weird.”

“Yeah, Gai is unavailable” he dismissed.

His reaction might have been too fast, the Haruno sending him a weird look. Thankfully, she didn’t press the matter and instead indicated him to lay down on the medical bed so they could start the exam.

“I’m going to start first with a physical examination and then we’ll move on to the echography, ok?” Sakura explained as she put a pair of gloves on. “How are you feeling?”

“A little bit more tired, I guess.”

Moving up his black t-shirt was easy enough, since the month prior wearing the jounin vest had stopped being an option. Now, Kakashi had to wear loose clothing to dissimulate the pregnancy and be more comfortable. It was horrible.

He remained very still while Sakura moved her hands over his belly, green ninjutsu covering them. That kind of examination was almost imperceptible if not for the warm feeling of chakra next to his skin. Normally, Gai would be holding his hand to reduce any uncomfortable sensation.

“Uh… How is your workload, sensei?” his student asked. “You’re not exceeding yourself?”

“No, and I’m following all your other advices as well” he assured. “Why? Is there something wrong?”

The Haruno shook her head, but there was some clear doubt in her eyes.

“No, sensei, not really, but… I was able to feel some symptoms on the baby usually derived from the bearer’s stress” she explained. “If the work is not the problem, then maybe… The pregnancy itself? You know Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san and me have been developing different plans to appease any uncomfortable sensation you may have, Kakashi-sensei.”

“I appreciate it, Sakura, but it’s none of that” he said, even though it was possible the next month his answer would be another. “I’ve been stressing for a couple of days over a personal matter that I intend to resolve soon.”

The kunoichi squinted at him, evidently wanting to know what all the secrecy was about, but he drew a line in sharing relationship problems with his students. He would never hear the end of it otherwise.

“Well, you better do, sensei” she said after a bit. “Stress is not good for you or the baby, ok?”

“Hai, hai…”

It was not as if he found pleasure in the situation, either.

Kakashi observed as Sakura unhanged the cables necessary to do the echography. There were three of those machines in the hospital; one there, another in the emergency room and the last one in the obstetrician’s floor. All of them very expensive and very heavy, but definitely worth it. The development was quite new; only about a year old, and it meant that they got to see and learn about any problem the baby could have in advance. Back at home, Gai and him had the first two pictures —basically a black, white and grey blur— hanging from the fridge’s door. The other man had gotten incredibly happy at the discovery that they could take the photos as a memory, and a small part of Kakashi felt bad for him missing it this time.

“Ok, sensei, here we go” his student said. “Remember, the gel is quite cold.”

He nodded, but still the sensation was uncomfortable and only got worse as the transducer pressed against his belly. The feeling, however, drowned away as soon as he was capable of hearing a strong heartbeat.

“Is that…?” he mumbled.

“Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, your child has quite a strong heart already” the Haruno nodded with a smile. “Let’s check the rest.”

With his head turned towards the small monitor, Kakashi was able to follow his student’s indications as she passed the transductor from one point to another, the movement of it fully ignored in order to commit to memory each and one of Sakura’s words.

“Well, everything seems to be in order” the kunoichi said after about fifteen minutes. “Organs are developing correctly and no anomalies could be seen, so it’s as good as we could ask for. I will take a couple of pictures now, ok?”

He nodded, remaining still even if the difference otherwise would be small. Just a moment later, the machine repeated the same noise he had heard for the first time a few months ago, indicating the pictures were processing. In the meantime, Sakura offered him a towel for cleaning and he was able to sit back up and readjust his clothes.

“Ok, sensei, I know Gai-sensei loves to read all those books about pregnancy, but I have to tell you this anyways” the Haruno continued speaking as the photos printed. “Now that you’re in your fifth month of pregnancy, it’s possible you’ll experience stomach ardor, constipation and changes in your heart rate, among other things. If any of those become even slightly annoying, come to the hospital to see how we can help, understood?”

Kakashi gave another nod, not really looking forward to any of that.

“What about the baby? Anything I… We should pay attention to?”

“Well, they’re going to grow faster, and also start moving more” she pointed out. “Oh! And considering the development I saw in the echography, it’s possible they’re able to hear you already, so I would recommend playing some music, or simply talking to them whenever you feel them moving.”

Did that mean the baby had heard Gai and him arguing the day before? Great, they were traumatizing them even before being born. Or maybe the Hatake was just being a tiny bit overdramatic due to the hormones. Who knew?

“Thank you, Sakura” he said, smiling softly under the mask. “And when should we have the next appointment?”

“I’m going to write you down for five weeks from now, I’ll send the exact date and time to your office later” she indicated. “But, if you need anything…”

“I’ll come straight here, Sakura, I promise” he pouted, hiding the pang of frustration at being treated like a child.

“Good.”

Kami, nobody could have doubts about she becoming the next director of Konoha’s health system. She was terrifying when she wanted, just like her predecessor.

“And solve your stress problem as soon as possible, sensei” she continued, adding with a smile after: “If you need any advice…”

“Oh, look!” the Hatake interrupted, pointing to the ultrasound, “the photos are done already, great! And just in time because I really need to leave.”

His student rolled her eyes but handled him the pictures, knowing there was no way she was going to get more information out of him. It was good to see that his students still respected him a bit.

“See you in five weeks!” he said as he walked out of Sakura’s office, one hand up to say goodbye.

“Bye, sensei!”

Truth was, they would probably see each other in two days, assuming Gai and him had fixed their problems and the usual teams dinner was held at their house. In the past, the same activity would have developed in any of Konoha’s restaurants, but as soon as his pregnancy started to be more noticeable Kakashi had started to avoid being out in the public as much as possible. Which, mind you, was not easy when one was Hokage.

Pakkun and the rest of the pack were waiting for him outside of the hospital, not liking being inside due to all the strange and artificial smells one could find. The Hatake was not a fan either, but he was wearing a mask to help with it. And he didn’t have other option, anyways.

“How did it go?” Uhei asked as they walked slowly, tail wagging. “Is the new pup ok?”

“Yeah, very healthy” he nodded. “Strong heartbeat and apparently developing ears, so you can start speaking to them so they learn to recognize your voices.”

“Really?!” Biscuit exclaimed with a small jump. “That’s great! We’ll take turns telling them stories.”

Oh great, now he was going to have eight dogs fighting for a place next to him and talking non-stop. How was it possible to love and hate them so much at the same time? Probably hormones, that was his default answer nowadays.

At home, Kakashi moved around for a bit while searching for something to do. He didn’t want to sit again so soon, knowing once he did it there was a possibility of him staying on the sofa until the next morning. But dinner was done thanks to Gai, and his dogs had their rations also prepared in the freezer. Just as he was starting to contemplate the idea of going for a walk in the forest behind the house, he felt a chakra signature coming close to the door. A moment later, a soft knock broke the silence.

“We’ll tell him to leave” Urushi said, already walking to the door.

“Yeah, we can chase him all the way out of the village, boss” Guruko added.

The Hatake sighed.

“No need, guys” he indicated, dismissing them with a hand. “I… We need to talk at some point.”

“Are you sure, boss?” Pakkun carefully asked. “The other day… Well, I don’t remember seeing you that angry in quite some time, and for a good reason.”

The ninken was right, of course, but the fact that he didn’t want to leave the things as they were still remained.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” he said, even if he was not able to convince anyone. “You can stay close if you want, but don’t attack unless I order it, ok?”

He would never do so, of course; the idea of hurting Gai like that on purpose making his stomach revolve. Still, all the dogs nodded with a serious look.

When he opened the door, Gai was standing at the other side with a doubtful expression that lighted up just slightly upon seeing him.

“Hi, Kakashi” he said, the lack of the word ‘rival’ in the greeting causing the Hatake some unease. “I, uh… I’m sorry for coming without sending a message before. I just… I wanted to know how you were.”

“I’m fine” he said, even if it was partially a lie.

The Hatake’s body occupied the whole door, acting as a barrier to prevent Gai from entering. Sure, the house was technically also his, but Kakashi was not ready to let him in again without being sure something had changed since the other night. As seconds passed, he started to think that would not happen.

“I wanted to apologize” Gai said, voice low, after a bit. “About what I said. I, um, talked to some of our friends and… Do you think we can talk inside?”

He doubted for a moment, but guessed the other man had made an effort in apologizing, and that was at least a start.

“Yeah” Kakashi said, moving away. “Come on in.”

The pack followed Gai with attentive eyes, and it was impossible to not notice how they strategically positioned themselves in between the two men, each one in a sofa with the dogs in the middle.

“Well, I’m… I am sorry for what I said the other day, Kakashi” he declared after a minute of silence. “As I’ve said, I talked to some friends and came to the realization that it was not fair. In first place, because it should be a decision made by our child, not me, and also… I know what it is to lose somebody you care about to The Gates, and the pain they bring to their bearer.”

Not sure if Gai wanted his participation or not, the Hatake just nodded at the words, so far in accordance with them. He wondered who the other man had talked to, apart from Kurenai. Genma, maybe? Or even Yamato…

“I understand that the risks of the technique are high, and ultimately fatal, but I also think about it as my legacy. I passed The Gates onto Lee, and the idea of teaching them to our child as well filled me… No, it still fills me with happiness, Kakashi, I don’t think that will ever change.”

His heart missed a beat at that and Urushi’s low growl made echo against the walls for a few seconds.

“However, as I said before, it’s not my decision to make and considering its consequences and the fact that this is our child, I would want to promise you that I won’t teach them to open The Gates.”

A chill ran down Kakashi’s spine.

“Why do I feel like there is a ‘but’ hidden in there?”

“Because you shouldn’t be making that decision from our kid, either” Gai stated, looking straight at him with a serious expression.

“I’m just trying to protect them!”

Not like you, were the unspoken words that hanged in the air.

“I… I know, Kakashi” his partner conceded with a sigh. “But, consider this: our child will grow up in a world of heroes, listening to our stories and making questions once they grow up. What will we do, when they ask about my fight with Madara? Lie to them? Will you make a decree, just as Sandaime-sama did with Naruto’s origins, to avoid them from knowing the truth?”

“No, of course not, I would never…”

“Then, they’ll learn about the technique one day, either you want it or not” Gai continued. “I’m not asking for your permission to teach them to open The Gates, Kakashi. I just want to be sure that, if one day they ask questions, I’ll be able to respond them with the truth and, should they take the decision to learn how to do it, you’ll be fine with me teaching them a safe way to use the technique.”

The Hatake closed his fists, trying to compose himself. He knew he couldn’t leave the hormones dictate his feelings for that conversation, so he made his best effort to take a breath and think. Objectively speaking, Gai was right. Their child would undoubtedly learn about The Gates one day and, if they were just a tiny bit like their papa, they would want to follow his steps. If that happened, Gai was the best shinobi there could be to teach them to do so safely. The technique was forbidden for a good reason; too many people had lost their lives by opening The Gates without enough training, body consumed by the effort and pain becoming a constant in their bodies, assuming they survived the experience.

So, it was evident that Gai’s analysis was correct and adequate.

And, still… He sighed. With some luck, that day would never come. Their child would learn other jutsus and techniques, realizing they didn’t need The Gates to become a great shinobi. Maybe they wouldn’t even be a ninja. Or they would try to open them and fail. A lot of things could happen.

“Ok” he muttered after a while. “You’re right.”

“Really?” the other man babbled, clearly not expecting that answer. “I… Kakashi, if you’re not truly convinced…”

“I’m not. Or rather I am, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it” the Hatake explained. “You’re right in wanting to tell them the truth once they’re old enough, and be there in case they want to learn the technique. It’s the most intelligent option.”

He knew his voice still sounded stiff and slightly frustrated, if not angry. Tired, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. There was nothing else he could do about the whole thing; they had finally talked and solved the fight, so everything should be fine. Eventually.

“Do you want to know how the revision with Sakura went?” he said, looking to change the topic. “I have a couple of new photos you may like to see.”

Gai’s face illuminated in a second, an energetic nod making his head move like crazy. Almost vibrating, he pointed to the space in the sofa next to Kakashi.

“Can I…?”

His permission was enough for the ninken to move slightly away, even if they still remained in the living room. The air was not that heavy anymore, but it was evident there was still some tension in between him and Gai.

Thankfully, as they talked Kakashi was able to feel more and more relaxed. He repeated to the other man everything Sakura had told him that afternoon, pointing out each detail in the echography photos just to have Gai kissing them and running to put them on the fridge next to the others.

“And now you also have an excuse to talk to them more often” he said as the taijutsu master came back. “Sakura said they are probably capable of hearing our voices, so if you talk to them, they’ll be able to know you’re their papa once they’re born.”

There were tears shining in Gai’s eyes, an expression quite common when referring to their child.

“Can I tell them our story?” he asked in an incredible low voice as one hand covered the Hatake’s belly. “I want them to know how much I love you, and how much they’ll be loved once they’re here with us.”

Kakashi chuckled, fairly sure that ‘their story’ was not exactly rated for any child, but he guessed they were several years away from the baby understanding anything of what they said.

“Go ahead, just ignore me if I fall asleep.”

Moving into a more comfortable position on the sofa —his back resting against Gai’s chest and butt settled in between his legs—, he relaxed almost completely as the other man’s arms surrounded his lower body. They were not entirely back to the happy point they were at a few days ago, but Kakashi didn’t think they would ever be. And that was ok, because The Gates would always exist and they had to learn and live with them, whatever their believes were. As long as they were both looking out for their child’s health and happiness, he could tolerate it.

A few years later, however, he would realize that neither Gai’s or his opinion mattered, as their child managed to open the First Gate by themselves at fourteen years old.

[inafieldofdaisies]

5 Songs Ship Playlist | Tagged by @clicheantagonist ty <3 | Tagging @cassietrn @neverthesameneveranother @vampireninjabunnies-blog @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @jacobsneed @nightbloodbix @shegetsburned @poisonedtruth @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @g0dspeeed @madparadoxum @thesingularityseries @aceghosts @euryalex @redreart @purplehairsecretlair @jinfromyarikawa @adelaidedrubman @strafethesesinners and anyone that would like to do the tag too <3

I'm pretty sure I did this tag for John and Sabrina a while back, but since then I definitely have added new songs in the WIP playlist, so I thought I would do a part 2 for them together with Calahan and Mary May (bcs I so felt inspired today to finally make them a ship banner, then I had to do one for Sabrina and John too, because "we're feeling ignored here" ... always happens anytime I do something as edit for Calahan) &lt;3 I'm as always including lyrics too.

Each step I left behind Each road you know is mine Walking on a line ten stories high Say you'll still be by my side If I could take your hand, oh if you could understand That I can barely breathe, the air is thin I fear the fall and where we'll land We fight every night for something When the sun sets, we're both the same Half in the shadows Half burned in flames

We can't look back for nothin' Take what you need, say your goodbyes I gave you everything This darkness is the light

Your hand is watching mine like an LA hawk My hand is well aware that it’s being stalked Won’t see it smile while I’m chewing on the flame ‘Cause I’ve never been one to ruin the game He’s a keeper, he’s a believer He’s on the ground on his knees in a theater And he put us in a car, I don’t know where we are But he fell in love with the fever “I could never leave her, I could never keep her” That’s what he says to the neighborhood preacher

I watch us burn and fall The heat is ten feet tall The potential is bench-pressing us into the wall And the flicker flames weave in through my teeth If the hot gum were to slip out, where would we be?

If I tell you what I’m thinking Promise you won’t tell yourself If you tell me what you’re thinking I swear I won’t tell myself

She lies within Buried deep Taking over

But I can’t give in So I find a way to control her

Ruby as a metaphor, said by Renee: “[Ruby is] the fears, dark shadow side that [we] don’t like to face.”

I’ve been lost since long ago Is there redemption for a soul That can’t be saved I know you’re the way back home But every time I think I’m close I’m worlds away Pull me to your heaven

(Totally fitting for whenever they team up to make John's day worse :D)

Rite of passage, classic havoc Match in the gas tank, ooh, that's wretched Unstoppable, legendary animal Digital justice, now you're gonna know usHail to the king and queen of the ruckus I've always liked to play with fire

There's something about you It's not that I doubt you Angels circle around you 'Cause you shouldn't be on your own I know that you need it, I think you should leave with me 'Cause you got me believing that you shouldn't be all alone You can use all of me Take a hit, baby, breathe I can do all you need Take a hit, baby, breathe And use me

I pop off, cause mayhem Like a Molotov, I burn it down Just to top it off, ha I'm causing damage, knocking them down

We're not the only ones who fall apart You're the only one I'm thinking of And it's time we pick the pieces up I don't wanna be alone again Do you wanna be alone again?

[twinchampionsofkalos]

21. run for the memory thing?

Calem, Serena, and Shauna stood silently beneath the Ultimate Weapon. The only sound in the room was the humming of machinery. In front of them stood the Legendary Pokemon of life and death, Xerneas and Yveltal, who they had just freed from their prison. The two Pokemon regarded the three teens calmly and then bowed in thanks.

Suddenly, the sound of loud footsteps broke the quiet. The Legendaries sprang into alert mode and the three teens immediately spun around to see who was approaching. It was Lysandre. At least, it looked like Lysandre. He had the same unmistakable red hair and impeccable black suit but he was wearing a strange contraption and he had none of the composure and dignity that one typically thinks of when they thought of Lysandre de Lys.

“What have you done!” Team Flare’s leader shouted, aghast.

“Wh-what's going on with that outfit!” Shauna asked, placing her hand protectively over her bag where Squishy resided. “Is that really you, Lysandre?”

“Give it up, Lysandre!” Serena shouted. “We’ve freed Xerneas and Yveltal, you can’t use the Ultimate Weapon anymore!”

Lysandre laughed madly, startling the three teens. “Give it up? I can’t just give it up! I’ve come too far for this to be the end!”

“Lysandre, please.” Calem pleaded, placing his hand over his heart. “It’s over. Just turn yourself in.”

“The Professor told us you’re a good man.” Shauna said. “He said you wanted to help people. If you stop now maybe we can find a way to make the perfect world you want without killing everyone. Together.”

Lysandre chuckled quietly, barely audible to the three teens. “Augustine told you… ah, in the end you really are all just children, aren’t you.” He began tapping away at buttons on his gauntlet and spoke louder and more clearly. “The original purpose of this device was to bring a Pokémon back to life. But the ancient king transformed it into this ultimate weapon… When the Legendary Pokémon awakened, they took back much of their energy -- their power -- that had been sent to the ultimate weapon. There's not much power left... But there IS enough to use it once…” He pressed one final button and raised his arms to the sky. The machines in the room whirred too life. The entire chamber began shaking. “I shall grant us all eternal life! You may defeat me here but I assure you I’ll be back to try again and again and again as long as it takes! As for you, you shall suffer endlessly as you wait for the construction of a beautiful world that will never be! Come, Augustine’s pupils, let us live forever!” He burst out into maniacal laughter. The man had lost it.

We’ve gotta get out of here!” Serena shouted.

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Calem responded.

The three teens made a dash for the exit. Before they could make it there, Lysandre tossed out a Pokeball, releasing his Gyarados. The massive Pokemon separated them, leaving Shauna a clear path forward to the door but blocking Calem and Serena's path.

"Ah ah ah!" Lysandre chastised. "No running!"

"Cal! Rena!" Shauna shouted.

"Shauna! Run!" Calem called back.

"Don't worry about us! We'll be fine!" Serena added.

Xerneas and Yveltal both launched attacks at the Gyarados. Against all odds, the Gyarados withstood said attacks. Lysandre tapped the ring on his left middle finger and held it up in the air. The Gyarados began to Mega Evolve, becoming encased in hard light. Shauna looked back and forth between the door and the Mega Evolving Pokemon blocking her friends' way.

"Run, Shauna!" Calem shouted. "We'll be right behind you!"

Shauna took one last look between the Gyarados and the door before heeding her friends' advice and running. As she fled through the base, none of the Team Flare Grunts or Admins paid her any mind. It seemed as though they were, understandably, more concerned about the laser going off than they were about the escaping intruder.

Eventually, Shauna reached the exit and ran into Trevor, Tierno, and Dexio and Sina the Defenders of Kalos at the exit. Last she'd seen them, they'd been headed to Route 10 to rescue all the Pokemon Team Flare was siphoning energy into the Ultimate Weapon from.

"We felt rumbling and came to help!" Sina Defender Red declared

"Shauna! What's happening?" Trevor asked, distressed.

"Lysandre activated the Ultimate Weapon!" Shauna shouted.

"That's not good." Dexio Defender Blue said, stating the obvious. "We need to get out of here!"

"Where are Cal and Rena!" Tierno asked.

"They said they'd be right behind me!" Shauna shouted.

"But... they're not!" Tierno pointed out.

"They'll come!" Shauna insisted. "We just need to wait!"

"If we wait, we'll die!" Defender Blue pointed out.

"But-" Shauna began but was cut off.

"Your friends would want you to escape!" Defender Red said.

"She's right." Trevor said. "Cal and Rena would be pretty upset if you died waiting for them."

Tierno didn't say anything. He just looked down sadly. Tears began to well up in Shauna's eyes.

"But we can't- I can't-" She choked out.

A tremor shook the building.

"Time to go!" Defender Red said.

The Defenders of Kalos grabbed the kids and led them out of the bunker. They all piled into a still running car and gunned the engine. As they drove away the Ultimate Weapon fired, shaking the ground. Squishy was seemingly knocked out of Shauna's bag and out of the car by the tremor, causing the girl to cry out, but instead of falling to the ground the little Pokemon instead merely floated in the air.

Arcs of Green light came from all around, coalescing around Squishy. The light expanded into a massive pillar, blinding anyone watching. When the light level evened out, Squishy was gone and had been replaced with Zygarde 100% form. The Guardian of the Ecosystem flew off towards the massive laser.

[dulcewrites]

I love how Targ stans are like Visenya, Alysanne, Rhaenyra, Dany are so great but then they turn around and say Naerys, Rhaella and other Targ queens who weren't dragonriders suck. And I saw a comment on YouTube that it's funny how Targ princesses position lowered (well, it was never very high but after death of dragons it went to basically 0) after death of dragons and they lost significance in eyes of many when they weren't dragonriders. Well it's not hard to understand that those girls are only impressed when Targ princesses threaten to burn everything to assert dominance as if it was a sing of being powerful 😂 and when they lack dragons they are worth less than spitting on the ground even though they had to put up with their toxic and violent brothers-husbands. If to them Targ princesses value depends on whether they have a dragon or not, do we really need to wonder if they are feminist? Because they are clearly not, what's more they think Targ princesses cannot possibly be powerful without giant lizard spitting fire so it just reminds me of words from Tony Stark to Peter Parker If you're nothing without this suit then you shouldn't have it and the same could be applied to all those girlbosess Targ princesses that certain people love and refuse to see they are not perfect. What are all of them without dragons? Okay, Visenya knew how to fight, Alysanne was very intelligent, but Rhaenyra and Dany just spoiled child and arrogant child and they both don't know how game of thrones is played. Just look at basically legendary player, Olenna Tyrell and how many times did she threaten someone directly? Only twice, with High Sparrow and Littlefinger and with High Sparrow it was because he imprisoned Loras and Margaery and Littlefinger because she predicted he would go to Cersei and say she poisoned Joffrey and at the end of conversation it was Littlefinger who needed to rethink his strategy because if he spoke a word about Olenna murdering Joffrey, she would also play at this game and she will say Littlefinger was also involved in this so that's why she said our fates are joined, together we murdered the king, meaning if Littlefinger will expose her and her house, she would do the same to him. But Olenna talk with Tywin, it's so great because 1) Tywin couldn't harm her or her house after they helped Lannisters defeat Stannis 2) they were both head of their houses and there is so much between the lines, so much unspoken things and that's the beauty of game of thrones. It's all about plotting, look at Varys and Littlefinger and then look at Rhaenyra and Dany. Come on, does anyone take this crazy stans seriously? When I was watching how Hightowers interact with others it's all about being subtle, it's getting what they want but not in brutal way like Targs are known for, because it doesn't matter whether you have a dragon or not, but when you are stupid, others will manipulate you and play smart and use you for their own benefit and that's why I don't respect Targs as family because almost all of them act like entitled to everything all the time and their arrogance causes them to be shortsighted and they think just because they wear crown, have dragons that it means they are the most powerful people in the world, but that's wrong, because they are not.

I do think a large appeal of the Targaryens is their dragons which like… fine whatever. Dragons are cool. I think the mythos behind their family is cool. But I think a lot of people maybe project certain ideas of the Targaryens to frankly make them seem more competent or more politically savvy.

Much of the power they wield is in their dragons (for a time) and by telling themselves, and by proxy, others that they should be seen as gods because of said dragons. Once the rider is stripped of that dragon or any some cases does not have one yet, they are isolated or seen as less targaryen. Regardless of how much blood they may have. I think the whole targ family, Jaehaerys with the doctrine in particular, do themselves a disfavor by focusing so much on dragons.

It’s funny you mention this sort of dynamic with the women and their dragons bc Rhaenyra and fmo reader have an interesting (imo) conversation about the privileges and disadvantages of being a dragon rider. How ephemeral power can be when you are a woman in the realm. Rhaenyra was never taught how to access power outside of her name and dragon. A great example would be how weird it was (to me) to have a woman that just ripped a baby out of her hop on a dragon to ~scare~ people. I get it was supposed to be a callback to ep 2 but like ???. It’s just funny bc Rhaenyra doesn’t know how to extend any power bc her father was too incompetent to show her (or even do it himself). In Daemon’s words “dreams didn’t make up kings, dragons did”. Which is just ironic. Rhaenyra and dany, frankly through the men in the lives, really never stood a chance. I think that’s why it is funny when people love these women but can’t even point out the clear system in the Targaryen family that in the end negative affects these women. I personally enjoy book dany, I can’t really speak on her show counterpart much. And I’m still eh about how I feel about both book and show Rhaenyra.

The whole soft power versus hard power, in this context. Because people who use hard power tactics (in this case having literal dragons) would maybe look down on those who use soft power (coercion or economic withdrawal). Fear can only take you so far especially against people who already don’t fuck with you. In general I think there are pros and cons to both ways of political strategy. Certain characters can get away on one versus other based on: gender, resources, race, age, etc

[endlesscrimson89]

FFXIV Write2023, Prompt 11: Once bitten, twice shy.

Among his friends, and those so seen him fight, Senri’s... 'dislike' for magic was almost legendary. A very few, however, understood the reason behind it. 

Actually... only one person got it right. 

Predictably: Raha. 

Though the Warrior knew and used few spells on occasion, before the 'trip' to the First, his friends used to joke that Senri had some sort of a grudge against the casters. They had no idea how close they were. 

When asked, he would shrug magic as boring or too slow - in a way proving his point, on the battlefield going after the casters before they had a chance to finish a spell. 

Alisaie and Y’shtola who had the occasion - at their wish - to spar against Senri, regretted that experience swiftly, because he was literally a nightmare for a caster to face. 

Mostly because he never fought fair. They couldn’t ever start the spell before he was at their throat - and that when he was pulling his punches. 

Thancred - thanks to dexterity and speed he learned as the rogue - could keep up against Senri the longest, but even he swore it wasn’t a pleasant experience. 

The Warrior was ruthless, vicious beast when provoked - and in no small part it was a result of his upbringing. They didn’t know much about his childhood, as Senri tended to change the subject or clam up when asked about it, but for those rare few who knew, it showed the most when he fought. 

It was pretty simple when one thought about it: a Tia of his usual height and looks among Tias he grew up with was not a rival... not really. He was a target to be put down by any means - and to survive he had to learn to be worse. And he did - to perfection mastering any and every dirty trick in the book, which in the end made him a real pain to face off against. 

...but there was also something else, none of the Scions would even think about their friend.

First clue - after their adventure across the Rift - was how whenever someone would rise the topic of Senri’s aversion to magic near Raha, the former Exarch would grin and say that he thought it 'adorable' - baffling them all. He wouldn’t elaborate, however. 

Second and most telling was watching the Warrior spar against his lover - and lose. 

Raha swiftly - and for a good reason - earned the tiltle of All-Rounder, with use of summoned aetherial weapons, switching between the fighting styles with baffling speed. Impressive as it was by itself - when one added to that the sheer scope of his experience after more than a lifetime upon a dying star and among the Sin-Eaters... 

...well, as enemy he would be terrifying - and it showed. 

After he got used to his new-old body, watching the two men fight was a spectacle - and in the end a reason they finally understood Senri’s hatred for magic and casters. 

During sparring, no matter what Senri would try, his lover would counter with a speed and skill that was something to watch. And most often: with magic. 

And Scions, having occasion to witness it, learned something new about their Champion after years their knew him and seen him fight.

...Senri was extremely sore loser. 

With Raha there was no pulling punches or holding back - and yet the Warrior kept losing, and to their astonishment... those matches ended with their friend literally throwing a hissing fit. The full deal: swearing, pouting, and literal - swear to Twelve - hissing. Very much like a cat dumped into a bath. 

It was hilarious to watch! 

After one such a... spectacle, when Senri stormed off with a huff, Alisaie - giggling - approached Raha, who funnily enough stared after his infuriated lover with an enamored grin. Tempted to guess, she would say that he likely enjoyed the idea of smoothing his lover’s 'fussing' later... considering both in normal circumstances acted very much like  cats in heat!

"I'll never understand why he won’t use magic," she said. "He would probably lose less if he did."

"Perhaps," Raha replied with distraction, unsummoning his staff and resting his hands folded in fists against his hips. Then he snickered and winked at her. "But my beast is spoiled. And like they say... once bitten, twice shy."

"...huh?" She hummed with confusion, looking between him and the closed door leading from the backyard behind the Rising Stones to the building. Door Senri slammed shut behind him in his tantrum. 

"He hates magic..." Raha chuckled, then headed toward the door, smiling at her over his shoulder. "...because when he first tried it, he wasn’t good at it." 

Baffled by the idea of her best friend being so... childish, Alisaie blinked rapidly, then gasped, stretching her finger toward the redhead’s back. 

"Wait... that's why you're giving him hell?" She asked incredulously, when Raha opened the door and held them for her, smirking as she neared with a frown. 

"I think it’s adorable," he grinned, looking inside the building, then strange sparks filled his crimson eyes when he looked at her again and his grin turned somewhat... devious. "And think of it, Alisaie... Considering how good he is without magic, can you imagine if he got over that... aversion?"

She tried, then stopped... shuddering. And watching her expression Raha nodded as his grin grew.

"Well... hope you know what you're doing," she sighed, shaking her head and she stepped inside and headed toward her bedroom. 

"I do," she thought she heard, but it was so soft, she couldn’t be sure. "One day, someday... I want my beast to be free of all of his shackles."

But when she looked back, he smiled and closed the door, saluting as he passed her, heading toward his bedroom and - undoubtedly still infuriated lover. 

[kimseokjin2024]

Reminiscences Memories: [April 6, 2021]

Creative director of a BTS concert tour says Jin's "Epiphany" performance felt like "meeting a god"

A book by a creative director of a BTS concert tour Kevin Kim was published recently. He shared some inner stories and personal impressions in it. One of them was about one of the most legendary BTS stages - "Epiphany" by Jin.

Kim says the process of creating a stage for a ballad song was the most difficult. However, they came up with so many ideas that it would be enough for a whole concert.

The set for Epiphany frequently changes; one of the most iconic is the piano with flowers, the box with rain outside of it, the futuristic piano (that the idol ordered himself). Jin is known as the member whose songs and performances are outstanding - not trivial K-pop stages.

The director says that the roar from the audience was super loud. The whole impression the performance was making on him felt "so holy," as if he was meeting a god. The stage presence of Seokjin is really unmatched.

As it was revealed before, Seokjin was the one who came up and gave the base for the LY series - that is also why his intro is the climax of the whole concert, and only he could convey such a difficult emotional message since he is the actor of the BTS team.

Kim Seokjin is the only idol to receive a standing ovation from the Japanese audience not even once, but twice. Jin said he felt so emotional from the overwhelming feeling.

The biggest impression that the "Epiphany" performance makes on people is the vocals of Seokjin. He is the member with the most emotional and strong voice, being acclaimed by the biggest critics for the vocal techniques performed in "Epiphany."

Kim also mentions it:

"As Jin had sung Epiphany countless times since the LY tour, his vocals were perfect; his facial expressions were so natural while taking a break in the middle, walking up the stairs, and standing at the top of the stairs."

It's worth mentioning the phenomenon Seokjin became in Saudi Arabia after the "Epiphany" stage in Riyadh. The audience was so impressed by the power of his voice; people were saying it felt like experiencing something out of this world. "Epiphany" immediately got to the #1 on SA iTunes while the concert was still going. On Twitter, Jin and Epiphany were trending for days, SA media was writing articles about the god of vocals. Ever since then, "Jin's voice" trends in SA after every live performance or a new release.

You can listen to the MR removed "Epiphany" from Riaydh to understand the impression made on the public.

Another shocking fact is that Seokjin was performing "Epiphany" back to back with "The Truth Untold" without having more than 1-minute break! Both songs are solely vocal, requiring great skills, and Seokjin performed both more than 65 times absolutely perfectly, demonstrating astonishing stability and vocal techniques.

Seokjin always gives the most iconic performances!

Source: Allkpop

[porphyriosao3]

A bell jingled as he entered the tiny shop. Marcus looked across the grimy counter at the shabby old man, noting the ragged beard and spectacles. He glanced up into the most jaded, cynical eyes he'd ever seen on a human. "Might I help you," the elderly man muttered in hardly a questioning tone, eyeing him up and down over his half-moon spectacles as though he were quite a bit rougher than Marcus thought he was. Glancing around at the surprisingly well-ordered shop with various coins displayed in protective packaging, he thought - not for the first time - that perhaps this errand might be ill-advised. Still, he supposed, needs must.

"Erm, yes, hullo," he replied, giving what he hoped was a friendly smile along with a bob of the head. "I have some coins, you see, and I'd like to..." The old man had already turned away with a heavy sigh. He turned back and set a velvet-lined tray on the counter, its patina showing both love and wear. With another heavy exhalation, he motioned to the crimson velvet inside.

"Place them inside the box," came the grumbled instruction. Bracing himself, Marcus reached into his left trouser pocket and produced the coins he had brought. "I will warn you now, though, we only accept..." The old man trailed off, pale blue eyes staring at the coins on the tray. The scrubby red velvet made them look more real, somehow, though the two silver pieces were they were the same black they had been in his bakery and the gold was, well, gold. The bored blue eyes were suddenly very piercing indeed. "And where did you find these?" came the sharp question.

"I, er..." Marcus mumbled, "I... found them?" He hadn't, of course; they had been handed to him by one of the many 'special' customers who came to his bakery. The old man's already sour face produced a scowl almost legendary in its grimness.

"Found?" came the disbelieving reply. "You just 'found' two silver denarii of bloody Hadrian, and an Antonine aureus? And carry them about in your pocket?" One of the old man's hands was below the counter and Marcus was queasily aware that it might be holding anything from a panic button to a weapon. "Quite lucky, then, are we?"

"No, no, not particularly," Marcus babbled, "it's just, you see, they belonged to my, er, grandfather, and..."

"Nonsense." The old man's glare had, if anything, intensified. "I'd know if a museum had been robbed, but there are also laws about metal detecting in place, young man, not that you look the type." Marcus looked down at himself, shabby flour-dusted coat over his working t-shirt and jam speckled jeans. He thought he looked precisely like what he was, a baker, but... "I'll give you five minutes to take these coins and leave, and we will pretend this never happened." Blue eyes glared. "Better than you should get, or likely would elsewhere, but I want no part of ill-gotten coins. I am a reputable dealer."

"I... look," Marcus said desperately, "I'm not a thief, I'm a baker." He gestured at his clothes and for the first time, something other than scorn appeared on the scowling face before him. One brow quirked as the old man looked at him. "And, well, the bakery does well enough, you see, but the landlord raised the rent on the block twice now, and... I really need the money." He sighed. "These coins are from a family collection," he hedged, carefully not mentioning whose - or what's - family precisely, "and I would very much like to pay my rent. More, I'm afraid, than keep the family collection together."

"Hm, well," the old man hedged, casting another piercing glance at Marcus before pulling a loupe from somewhere and screwing it into one eye. "These are in remarkable condition, for all that they arrived in your," he paused to shudder, "pocket." The old man pronounced the word as though holding it with tongs. "Without provenance, they would be assumed to be false, of course, so I can only pay you by the metal weight of the coins themselves." A strange rustling sound came from atop the shelves behind the old man, causing him to startle and look around. "Oh dear," he muttered, "I shall have to put traps down I fear. As I was saying..." he said, turning back to Marcus, "the value would... would..." A thin greyish-green tentacle came from the shadows above the bookcase, picking each coin up carefully with its suction tips and then setting them back down again in the tray.

"Sorry about that," Marcus sighed ruefully. "He... er, it... thinks you're not being fair. They're very attached to my bakery, you see." The old man nodded faintly. "I assure you these are real."

"I... I..." the old man looked from Marcus to the shadows (the tentacle having withdrawn) and back again. "I'm, er, sure we can work something out." Marcus made an apologetic face.

"It really is important, I'm afraid. The rent is due tomorrow. On the positive side, though, we really do make lovely cinnamon rolls; I'll bring you some." The proprietor nodded faintly. A scratching sound came from the bookcase. "Oh hush," Marcus said, "you can't have all of them!" He shrugged at the old man as if to say, what can you do?

You run a Bakery, just a normal bakery, the only problem is that your customers at midnight to 6AM are mythical creatures who pay with gemstones and ancient gold and silver coins

[greensparty]

Album Reviews: MC5 / Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

What a week for album reviews. I got to review a long-awaited studio album and a re-release of an album 42 years old:

MC5 Heavy Lifting

Detroit's MC5 (Motor City 5) were among the architects of punk rock. I don't say that lightly. In the history of punk music, people point to NYC or the London scene as the birthplace of punk, but Detroit in the late 60s is where both MC5 and The Stooges were laying the building blocks of what became punk rock in the years that followed. MC5’s song “Kick out the Jams” was a burst of rebellious energy in 1969. I listened to the cover version by Bad Brains and Henry Rollins on the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack many a time growing up. I have their 1969 live album Kick Out the Jams on vinyl in my collection and its rebellious burst of garage punk is a political statement that's stood the test of time. As much as they amassed a cult following, they only released two studio albums (loads of live and compilations though), 1970's Back in the USA and 1971's High Time. Since their initial break-up in 1972, they have reunited multiple times over the years. Around 2018 they actually did a big tour as the MC50 featuring some guests like Soundgarden's Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron, Don Was and more. This year is a bittersweet year for the MC5 because in February we lost founding guitarist Wayne Kramer and founding drummer Dennis Thompson in May, but just in time for the MC5's long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week they are releasing their new studio album Heavy Lifting, their first in 53 years, on Earmusic this week. Kramer recorded this prior to his death along with new band members bassist Vicki Randle, singer Brad Brooks, guitarist Stevie Salas (a legend, google his discography if you don't believe me), and drummer Winston Watson. They even worked with producer Bob Ezrin and special guest stars like Slash, Living Colour's Vernon Reid, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, and more. Dennis Thompson did play on some songs as well.

album cover

It does need to be celebrated that Wayne Kramer left us one last MC5 album before he passed away and that the very week they are getting into the Rock Hall, they are reminding everyone that they the group is a powerful force. But the thing with this album is something I talk about quite often, which is when a band takes such a long time to release a follow up that expectations are sky high. I certainly didn't even think there would ever be another MC5 album after waiting 53 years since the last studio album. One would hope it would be among the ranks of Back in the USA. On its own, there some decent rockers here but you need to ignore the fact that it's been this long since the last album. The other thing about this album is that what made the MC5's previous albums legendary was their raw garage rock sound. They were a group with big ideas and minimal resources to express them, which made it interesting (similar to The Raincoats), but this album is more like arena rock or alt-rock, which is not bad, I mean all musicians can evolve I suppose, but you just wanted that raw garage proto-punk sound. Having said this, there are some gems in here, most notably the ones with guests like "Can't Be Found" featuring Vernon Reid and Dennis Thompson and also their cover of "Twenty-Five Miles". But let's give credit to Kramer and Thompson for giving this band one last victory lap!

For info on Heavy Lifting

3 out of 5 stars

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Long After Dark Deluxe Edition

This week I got to review Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers twice! The two-night only documentary Heartbreakers Beach Party is screening Oct. 17 and 20 and I got to review this long-lost 1983 special filmed during the 1982-83 era of the Long After Dark album, originally released in November 1982. That was the band's fifth album and followed the one-two punch of Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises. Celebrating the, well 42nd anniversary of the Long After Dark album, UMe is releasing a special Deluxe Edition this week that I got to review! I first discovered The Heartbreakers around 1985 when their album Southern Accents, which was actually the band’s 6th album (the follow up to Long After Dark). I was a kid just discovering music and one of the music videos that blew me away at that time was “Don’t Come Around Here No More”, a psychedelic rock homage to Alice In Wonderland with Petty as the Mad Hatter. I liked their tunes and picked up the album on cassette tape. Throughout the 90s (my high school and college years), Petty was always on in the background. Whatever I was into at the time (alternative, punk, metal, etc) Petty was always an old standby. After singer / leader Tom Petty died in 2017, there's been some releases including the 2022 album Live at the Fillmore, 1997. I was psyched that the Tom Petty website actually quoted my review on their website for that album!

album cover

I had heard the Long After Dark album a few times over the years, but my initial impression of it was that it was a somewhat lesser album for The Heartbreakers. Damn the Torpedoes is often considered to be their best and it was years before Petty's terrific solo albums like Full Moon Fever and Wild Flowers. So my initial thinking going into this review was, why this album and not others? It was a transitional time for the band in that it was the debut of bassist Howie Epstein (1955-2003) who replaced Ron Blair (who does appear on "Between Two Worlds"). Looking back it feels like a crossroads album between the 70s classic rock sound they had perfected and the early 80s start of 80s synth pop and MTV, which you can hear on "You Got Lucky" the big hit off the album.

the 2-CD / 1-blu-ray edition

Disc 1 is the original album remastered and I have to say it is way better than I remember it being. Disc 2 is outtakes, alt versions and live versions. Some buried treasures in here include "Never Be You" (later a hit for Roseanne Cash), "Ways to be Wicked" (later covered by Lone Justice), and their cover of The Troggs' "Wild Thing". Disc 3 (in the version I got to review) is the blu-ray audio, which is impressive. There are also liner notes from Rolling Stone veteran David Fricke (also a host on Tom Petty Radio). This package truly elevated the album as a whole. It's always cool to re-discover an album and like it better upon the reissue and that's the case here!

For info on Long After Dark

Original Album: 3 out of 5 stars

Deluxe Edition: 4 out of 5 stars

[dankusner]

Jolie dazzles Venice festival with biopic on opera legend

Angelina Jolie arrives for the premiere of the film “Maria” on Aug. 29 at the Venice film festival.

For Angelina Jolie, portraying the famed opera singer Maria Callas meant more to her than she can put into words.

“I felt such a privilege to feel like I got to know this woman and got to be inside her skin a moment. I really care for her deeply,” Jolie said a few hours before the film’s world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

“I think I’ll carry that like a friend.”

Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín called on Jolie to take on the role as the legendary soprano in “Maria,” which was recently acquired by Netflix for distribution.

The film focuses on the final week of her life in 1977 in Paris.

She is deeply isolated, with only her butler (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housemaid (Alba Rohrwacher) looking after her — concerned about her health, the drugs and the devastating effects of her diminished voice.

Larraín continues to explore the lives of very famous women with tragic narratives attached to them.

In 2016, he came to the festival with his Jackie Kennedy portrait, “Jackie,” starring Natalie Portman as the first lady in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination.

In 2021, he returned with Kristen Stewart playing Princess Diana as she considered divorce over the Christmas holiday in “Spencer.”

Both films earned their lead actors Oscar nominations.

“Maria” is the conclusion to this trilogy of historical women, though Callas may be a bit less known to younger generations who weren’t around for the headlines and scandals.

Born Maria Kalogeropoulos to Greek parents in New York, the singer made her professional debut in Athens as a 17-year-old.

During her brief life she became one of the greatest opera singers of all time with her unparalleled voice and stage presence.

But the accolades also came with the intense scrutiny of her life in the public eye, whether it was her exacting demands and “diva” behavior, her weight or her romantic life.

Callas famously had a relationship with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis who left her for Jackie Kennedy.

She died in Paris at age 53 after a heart attack.

“When I put her big glasses on and her Greek hair, and I sat in my little robe as an older lady, I felt a (Maria) that felt like the private (Maria) that the world didn’t know,” Jolie said.

“And I connected to her first and kind of loved her.”

Jolie trained for nearly seven months to prepare for the role.

The singing in the film is a blend of actor and the real thing.

“My first days, (Larraín) was very good to me in that we started in a more intimate first with very few crew members,” Jolie said.

“And we ended at La Scala with everyone. So I had a little time to get my nerve. But this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I was terrified.” Larraín said it was “the only way to do it.”

“Opera requires a very particular style of singing — in the pitch, the color, the breathing, the posture,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s a tiny bit of Angie and mostly Maria and then sometimes it’s more, but it’s always there. We needed to do that because it’s the only way that she could properly prepare the character, play it right and then create the right illusion.”

Jolie has twice been nominated for acting Oscars.

She won for her supporting role in “Girl, Interrupted,” and was last nominated for her leading role in Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling.”

Netflix has not announced specific release plans for “Maria,” but Jolie’s performance already has awards buzz.

In a news conference at Venice, Jolie was asked if there were surprising ways she related to Callas.

“There’s a lot I won’t say in this room that you probably know, or assume,” Jolie said.

But, she feels they do both share a softness and a vulnerability. It’s been three years since Angelina Jolie appeared in a movie, though she’s been making a retreat from stardom for a lot longer than that, pulling back pieces of herself from the public sphere as well as from the persona she projects onscreen.

Gone are the days of the blood-vial-wearing wild child or the bombshell whose chemistry with co-star Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith made their coupling up feel inevitable.

As a celebrity, she has stripped sex from her image entirely, emphasizing instead her identity as a filmmaker, a human-rights activist, and a mother of six.

As an actor, she has voiced a tiger in the Kung Fu Panda franchise as often as she’s actually appeared onscreen over the past decade, and in the live-action films she has taken on, her roles have increasingly been defined by her character’s aloof beauty and elegant suffering.

I can’t begrudge Jolie her desire to armor up and put more layers between herself and a public that’s been ingesting the intimate details of her life since she was scarcely old enough to legally drink.

But I also can’t deny that I’ve found this Madonna-martyr phase of her career less than compelling.

At her best, Jolie is thrilling, a talent capable of bursting into the frame and making you believe she’s about to devour the world whole.

In her more recent roles, even when running headlong through a raging forest fire, she feels only half there.

[talldarkandroguesome]

2nd of Last Seed, Middas

The Queen continues her generosity. Today a messenger brought by a letter with a small parcel, both stamped with the royal seal.

The letter was just a lovely outpouring of thanks and appreciation and for as little as I have thought of my role in all of this to be, to feel as though the queen does see my contribution as so important is truly humbling.

I have always tried to make a contribution to the greater good. I have always thought of myself as a tool for positive change in society around me. That said, I do not usually expect any thanks for what I have done. It is a job. A duty. Simply to have completed my assigned duty is the expectation. To have done an artistic job or done it more efficiently, that is the pride that i can gain from it. But words of congratulations on my efficiency or method are typically the only positive reaction I expect to find. If any.

To have seen just how much this meant to Khamira, to have her compare me to a legendary hero of her ancestors, that is almost overwhelming. I do not feel of myself that I am a hero. I am not. I am an enhanced mortal with the ability to provide a service that other mortals cannot always manage. I cannot die and so I can go into those more dangerous situations and come out of them again, even if it does cost me a life or two.

The death is painful. It feels awful. I fear that feeling every time I have to go through it. But then I am me again and I am whole and alive. I am naked, reborn of Nirn as I was that day that Mannimarco drove his wretched dagger through my heart, but I am alive. And the only down sides of the process on me are that my hair is short, I have none of my belongings, and I get that much more Daedric influence upon me.

I do not feel so different. I still feel like me. Yet Avon has said that the Daedric influence he has found upon me is not insignificant and that he fears what another five or ten deaths might mean for me.

After seeing the death that falls around me, the way others have given their lives to protect me, me who cannot die, I wonder what the cost of my condition has on those around me. The true cost. People giving their lives in hopes to save me when even were I to die, I would be alive again in as long as it takes to brew a cup of tea. If they died, what would the cost of that life be?

What was the true price of Lolethys and of Hald's lives? Lolethys at least may have helped to protect Tharn from death. But Hald? I do not know that he died for anything at all.

No, I should not dishonor their deaths like that. Hald saved me so that I could be in the fight to distract and ground a dragon that otherwise may have attacked Tharn and Khamira as they worked to close the Moon Gate and set the moons back in their path in the sky.

I must think of it that way. I have no other choice.

I am lucky that Nettle has the same skills as I and was able to survive. His recovery has been slow because there was such severe damage, in particular to his ribs. The House is calling us back to report our progress in person. Or so Nettle tells me.

I have been keeping a close eye on him, for he does not listen to the healers' advice and twice now has pulled something that has caused him to have to go back. As soon as he is healed up enough for travel, we will go back, if for no other reason that to see that he is obedient in getting back into good form.

Oh, speaking of, we have a sort of home here in Rimmen. That was the contents of the parcel. A deed and key to a small building within the palace grounds.

The letter read as follows:

"Five-Clawed Warrior,

In recognition of your service to Anequina and our rightful Queen Khamira, Moon-Bishop Sebizah hereby grants you stewardship over the Hall of the Lunar Champion. Our ancestors dedicated this temple to the legendary hero, Khunzar-ri. Alas, the raking claws of time have reduced it to a shell of its former glory. Even so, some relics remain intact. In ancient times, four enchanted tablets allowed adventurers to walk in the footsteps of Khunzar-ri. Three are lost to history, but one remains. Place this tablet on the Jonelight Altar and take the first step to restoring this hall to its former glory. Moons bless you, Sebizah"

From her letters, Khamira says she and the Speaker had used it when they would come through Rimmen and did not wish to be seen, shielded by the moon-bishop. It has sparse furnishings, but is quite spacious. Khamira says that as I have played the role of Khunzar-ri to her as Anequina, she could think of no better person to entrust the space to. She hopes that when I have time I can do her the favor of trying to recover the last missing tablets, but that she understands that I have other duties as well.

It is a far more generous gift than I deserve, but I am touched and glad for it. To be the hero of such a Queen and to be compared to such a legend, I must repay this kindness somehow. I do not know yet how. But perhaps, just perhaps, this service I have done will allow me some influence in the future that could be useful in my service to my Prince.

Only time will tell.

[jadenoryuu]

Sprog, my dearest mutual, did you really say that you hope I don't mind being tagged for such a beautiful masterpiece between my original childhood Blorbo (Ash) and my post-degree Blorbo (Danny)???

*proceeds to go feral about this idea*

(Sorry I'm late, I had to acquire my laptop, because the Tumblr app wasn't collaborating... ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ)

(TW in the tags, but if you want to skip them, they are highlighted in orange.)

Clockwork-Dialga (they/them) is an absolute Broski and would definitely send Danny in Ash's way, because they were saved by Ash at least twice (one in the Jewel of Life movie and one in the Team Galaxy scheme) and their child Celebi would still be a puppet under that TR hunter without Ash (Voice of the Forest movie).

So yeah, Ash may be Arceus' Little Chosen, but the Legendaries who met him love him because of what he does and says.

(Nebby, from the Sun&Moon anime, is another prime example of Ash being trusted with the life of a whole baby-Legendary. Therefore, CW!Dialga chose the right Chosen One with a prime shining curriculum.)

Hisuian Zorua Danny has my heart in his pawed grip, it would be so awesome! Above all, since he's a special artificial shiny like you suggested (which I approve wholeheartedly).

Since you mentioned Type: Null, the Fentons trying to annihilate Ghost Types (and the Master-Ghost-Type-Ball), I'm gonna take a leap further and connect the dots!

What if, in their quest to create the perfect weapon, the Fentons create a machine to synthesize the "Ultimate Anti-Ghost-Type-Juice"?

It would have both the characteristic of being Super-effective against ghost, but at the same time be Immune to their counter-attacks?

(Are you seeing where I'm going with this? (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) )

At the moment, the only pokémon with the Ghost-Normal Type combo is the Hisuian Zorua line, so let's just say that maybe Danny slips into a vat of the Juice left around carelessly and drowns in it, being thus reborn as a pokémon... or maybe Dash and his cronies steal said vat and dump it on Danny for a cruel prank, but being the Juice extremely toxic it kills him (but no one notices because they are laughing their ass off and then leave him alone without a second glance).

Was that too graphic? 🤔

(Well, this is the Phandom, but I'll add the appropriate TWs in the tags, to be sure.)

ANYWAY! Danny dies, rebirths as half-Ghost Type half-Normal Type and becomes what Type: Null's "complete"/unrestrained form Silvally was supposed to be against the totality of Ghost Types (i.e. Silvally should be a psychopomp of Arceus to use as a weapon against the Ultra Beasts).

Obviously, there's no entity (at the moment) in the pokémon lore who could be seen as a ghost slayer, so Danny would also be even more the one of a kind!

Now, back to the rest of the cast:

Ghost Type Expert Jazz feels so right here! It reminds me of the bookish ghost-specialist Elite Four of Unova, Shauntal... Maybe she could be her assistant/pupil here!

OMG, Sprog, I never considered Sam a candidate for becoming a Pokémon Ranger (because I always saw her more like an active fighter), but the job prescription is SO her! (Plus, the use of a Styler would make her a irl gamer, so that's an added bonus.)

Tucker being all rigid on training like it could be an application of hacking/computing and being taught to relax appeals to me so much, above all if misbehaving pokémons are how he gets to bond with Ash. (We stan Angela as a Nurse Joy, btw.)

Danny being confused as the pokémon equivalent of a changeling, before being discovered as half-dead, is a source of so much delicious angst, you cannot believe!

And I can totally see how he would flee in a blind panic after the "reveal", even if the Phan-Trio had planned at least something if things went south (thus rendering them almost useless).

Maybe to max the chaos and panic, somewhen Danny ends literally running into a pokémon with Teleport that sends them both into a whole different region because they've been startled.

(If CW!Dialga asks Palkia to redirect him into the same region Ash is currently in, no one has to know, right?)

That would also amp the chances of Team Rocket being in the same vicinity, so while Ash is bonding with Phantom, they could hear the rumors and start chasing him as well.

I also can vision how touch-starved Danny's gonna get during his runaway period, between staying hidden and meeting territorial wild pokémon.

(Is this an excuse to have the three of them -Ash, Pikachu and Danny- cuddled while asleep? Who knows! xP)

As for Danny becoming a Mythical? Maybe not immediately, like, to do so he has to pass some trials, among them the one where he has to challenge Giratina or something.

(Plus an age requirement. Manaphys get the automatic Mythical as soon as they hatch, but their species has already been recognized and -due to The Temple of the Sea movie- they are Prince(/ss) of the Sea.)

(Besides, technically Legendaries and Mythicals are titles assigned by humans to state the uniqueness of a pokémon and if they are told about in actual legends.

So I don't think Darkrai would get mad at Danny, since their areas of "interests" wouldn't crossover anywhere.)

(If anything, Darkrai is the Pokémon world version mix of Nocturne and Fright Knight. Danny is more likely to become the avatar of both Xerneas and Yveltal, since he has become the Balance between Life and Death.)

As for the relationship between Danny and Pikachu, I can see them as a little-big-brothers. They both have this little-shit-energy in them sometimes that reeks of little brothers, so, depending on the moods they switch roles between them (not that they notice).

And for translating, they would totally do like you said, but with the addendum that either they ask Tucker to complete the Translating App on his PDA that he had been working on since Danny had been "turned" or for every phrase Danny that translates for Pikachu, Pikachu must learn how to sign/write it (so that in the future he will say things on his own). (You see what I mean for little shit/brother behavior, don't you? (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) )

So, in conclusion, thank you so much for the tag and sorry again for keeping you waiting for so long!

ฅ⁠^⁠•ﻌ•⁠^⁠ฅ

I think if Danny existed in the same universe as Ash Ketchum, he'd be a fan.

This got really long so I'm just gonna

I'm a believer in "Ash is God[1]'s favorite idiot (positive...?) and so is eternally 10" and also anti the level reset propaganda. I think tales of the kid who went head-to-head with several legendaries[2] and won would probably get around. Maybe they wouldn't know his name, but a general description would make the rounds. A black-haired, dark-eyed kid who is always, always accompanied by a Pikachu. Often seen with some kind of red hat.

I think Danny "God's favorite idiot (Time God[3] edition)" would start looking for this elusive child who seems to be under a similar predicament to him (Hisuian Zorua[4]!Danny anyone? C'mon, this is the Pokédex entry "A once-departed soul, returned to life in Hisui. Derives power from resentment, which rises as energy atop its head and takes on the forms of foes. In this way, Zorua vents lingering malice[5]". He would be the specialest one, though. Because he'd be a green shiny instead of blue. Maybe that would be because he's half dead, not completely so? Or maybe because he'd be artificial, kinda like Type: Null[6]? (I know it isn't the first artificial Pokémon, but he's the first I thought of because of the design being like it's a Frankenstein of other Pokémon). Imagine though. Hisuian Zorua is extinct, right? Because it's from before Sinnoh was called Sinnoh[7]. So he's already a rare Pokémon, but he's not even shiny. He's truly a one of a kind.), though Ash, contrary to popular belief, isn't a Pokémon. Just un-aging.

Here, Danny's parents would be science-y people -maybe even some lower importance Pokémon professors- who don't believe in psychics even though the Pokémon world has people that can do telekinesis, and don't believe that Ghost types were once human, as most of them are said to be, anyway. They therefore believe that all Ghost types are malicious because they prey on people's grief and loss. They'd be the people to find out that Dark types are supereffective against Ghost types[8]. They'd have mostly Dark types with some Normal types as well.

Jazz would be a scholar probably, researching the myths and history around all the legendaries, but especially around Ghost types. She'd become an expert in behaviors from Pokémon like Litwick[9].

Sam would be on the front line, protecting the Ghost types from them. Hiding, harboring, etc all that she can think of. For her own Pokémon that she catches or at least takes care of (maybe she'd be more of an N type of trainer) she'd go more for the aesthetic or for rescued Pokémon (like Ash does quite often) more than their type or their abilities, but I also think she'd vibe with Fighting types a lot. I can see her wanting to be a Pokémon Ranger[10].

Tucker would be your classic inventor wannabe Electric type gym leader, but he'd be one of those hardcore competitive trainers. He'd be excellent at type advantages and IVs grinding, but I also think he'd struggle like Ash did with Charizard and some others. He would sometimes over level them and they'd stop listening to him, get an attitude when they evolve. Stuff like that. He's gotta learn that there's more to Pokémon battles than statistics and the theoretical. I think Ash is gonna end up being the one to teach him this. Also imagining his mom as a Nurse Joy.

However, when the Fentons find a... shiny? Zorua? In their house, posing as their son? They freak out a bit. They know it's not their son because the eyes are the wrong color, even if it speaks with Danny's voice and makes expressions with Danny's face. But they're in Unova. They recognize the Pokémon once it transforms.

Zoruas are known to play tricks on parents. They're Dark types with a mischievous side. They just gotta look for its mama and hope that it has taken Danny by mistake. They decide to take care of it in the meantime, even consider keeping it in case it doesn't have a mama and was using Danny's disappearance to keep itself safe.

Danny doesn't know what to do. At first he thinks about coming clean, but he knows. He knows that whatever invention of theirs blew up in his face didn't just turn him into a Zorua. People don't just turn into any kind of Pokémon. So he doesn't say anything, and plays along. He practices his illusions to try and get his looks as close as he can to before the accident, but it doesn't work for his eyes. No matter what he does, they're green, just like his fur markings when he's tranformed.

But then... Then they realize that it's not an Unovan Zorua.

This Zorus is a Ghost type.

A Ghost type taking Danny's form.

Their baby is dead. It killed him and this… this monster had the audacity to try and, what, replace him?

They start calling him Phantom.

Danny has to run.

It's easier to fake being a kid on a Pokémon journey than a rare version of a rare version of an extinct Pokémon. The only problem is that he's lacking the documents for it. Sam helps out with funding and supplies for the journey, enough to get to Professor Juniper and get a Pokédex, and with that a trainer license. At least until she and Tucker can join him.

They convince their parents to let them go on a journey, somehow. Sam's parents aren't thrilled by their daughter wanting to take part in the fights, they'd much prefer it if she joined Pokémon Contests, but perhaps her grannie Ida used to be a Gym leader of some kind and manages to turn them in Sam's favor. Meanwhile, Tucker's parents knew he wanted to become a Gym leader, so they were prepared and aware he'd one day go and leave the nest, but they'd always assumed Danny would be the one accompanying him, not Sam. They aren't surprised, however, that the kids want to get out after what -supposedly- happened to their friend.

The first few months are absolutely miserable all around. Danny is all alone, he has no Pokémon to defend himself, and he's still figuring out how his own powers work. What's his move set? His ability? And Sam and Tucker aren't fairing much better. They're like Misty and Ash at the very start, or even Iris and Ash. They're making good progress in terms of getting to Danny quickly, but they're not doing good on the Pokémon training part of their Pokémon journey.

Professor Juniper sends the Starters in the mail in the first Gen V game, while in the second Belle is the one to give them to you. I still think Prof. Juniper just. Shipped the Pokéballs over, and I imagine Sam wouldn't be too happy about it. I think she'd choose Tepig (as I said, I think Fighting types and her would vibe), and Tucker for Snivy (his first struggle. Snivys are snarky and a little self centered. if it doesn't want to listen to Tucker, it won't. Tucker gotta earn its respect). They leave Oshawott with Jazz, who promises to help them derail her parents whenver possible and uses Oshawott to sabotage them.

They end up in a kind of "Ash and Team Rocket"-like situation, where Team Phantom gets chased through Unova -and then Alola or whichever other region they decide to escape to- while the Fentons try to catch the Pokémon they're convinced killed their son.

Danny-as-Phantom would get a reputation because of his looks and the general mayhem his parents cause with their chase. Some people would get very curious about this Pokémon, especially Team Rocket. so maybe that's how meeting Ash happens.

Phantom gets separated from Sam and Tucker, maybe they got captured, or are busy distracting the Fentons. Ash ends up trying to console a scared little Zorua, one he's never seen anything like before, before Team Rocket shows up. He puts the little Zorua down behind him and goes:

"When are you going to give up?! I won't let you have Pikachu!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, twerp. We're not here for Pikachu this time. We're here for that little Zorua behind you."

"Oh. Well, we're not letting you get it, either!"

Cue Pokémon battle.

At this point I imagine Team Phantom got to Alola, so we can also have a Tucker+Sophocles meeting. I'm still not over that kid's name btw.

Ash would be starry-eyed at Tucker. Boy liked tech. Maybe Tuck gets himself a particularly stubborn Pichu during their travels and causes Ash to get flashbacks.

He'd be Phantom's rights n1 protector. Starts batting away all the pokeballs people try to throw at him, like physically getting in the way.

Ooh what if the Thermos is a Ghost type specific MasterBall? It has a 100% catch rate but only with Ghost types. It didn't used to work, but then Danny charged it with one of his moves and -since Ghost moves are supereffective on Ghost types- it charged it perfectly. Danny uses it to catch rowdy Ghost types, of whom he's slowly becoming the King without realizing. Arceus started this whole thing that he couldn't stand Danny, but Dialga really liked the guy so he let him meet Ash to see how it would go and damn. Ash likes him. I mean, it's hard for Ash to hate truly hate someone, so it's not that surprising, but now Arceus finds Itself incapable of taking Danny away from Dialga. Sure! It can keep the kid! Whatever! They all want to be like It nowadays >:( copycats.

Danny is close to becoming a mystical pokémon due to all he does and the myths he's causing during his journey, but Arceus isn't convinced it's a good idea for him to have that status. First of all, because Darkrai might riot, second of all because it hasn't been that long and Danny is still, at the very least partially, a human child.

Shut up, It's not being hypocritical >:( it's fine when It does it.

But also Danny can now communicate with all pokémon with ease. He's not a Ditto, so he still can't fully comprehend some specific pokémon languages, like Electric types communicating via electric currents, but he gets around.

He doesn't like playing translator, though, and Pikachu learns that pretty quickly when pi starts to try and pester him to convince him to tell pi's trainer all about their journey from the beginning from pi's perspective. Danny makes it to the bike stealing before he uses an illusion to vanish.

Pikachu just has a lot of feelings about it all, ok? Pi loves Ash so much and pi wants him to know! Wants to talk about Ash-Greninja, about the Kalos Crisis, about Latias, about Delia, about N, about all the pokémon they left behind, about the pokeballs, about evolution.

Pi also wants more ketchup, but it's low on pi's list of priorities.

Danny isn't up for playing mediator, however. Though he might mention the ketchup stuff. Just to piss pi off.

@jadenoryuu hope you don't mind the tag, I thought you might have ideas or just like this one lol no pressure.

Husuian Zorua can learn some Ice type moves, I'm imagining Lillie's Alola Vulpix learning with him.