#like honestly I have been thinking very hard about how I would destroy phantom planet if I could write a season 4

[nagirambles]

asdaskjlk okay thank you for the permission here is a cliff notes version

Jude Heartfilia was part of the efforts that discovered and politically dismantled the dark guild and managed to get them properly punished, then distributed the children. (Because they're nobles and that's their duty)

All that is included in the work Jude threw himself in and neglected Lucy to do. Because of this, Lucy already held a secret sort of unhappy sentiment towards those children. Jude cared more about them than his own child, was what she used to think. So, she was also very apprehensive of meeting them.

Those children, however, have a conflicted respect for the Heartfilia name, because they were the biggest contributors to helping them be free from the labs.

The kids are born and raised in the facility, 'made' and 'designed' to be soldiers. All of them specialize in different things, not necessarily fighting. Though I said 'they're made to imitate Zeref's demons' I meant more in the 'they're artificially created living beings' rather than parallels between them and actual demons ok

I haven't actually fully confirmed who the 8 are yet. For now it's Levy Mcgarden, Hibiki Laytis, Jura Neekis, Risley Law, and Millianna.

Since they are artificially-created people, they would have difficulty understanding how humans are supposed to live. I think it would be really cool to see the different relationship Levy and Hibiki have with love, giving love, and receiving love.

They are codenamed after planets, and their current names are given by the people that volunteered to adopt them from the aforementioned efforts to assimilate them in society.

There are only eight of them in official records because Millianna got lost in transit I'm sorry. She has to get to TOH somehow.

The 'powers' they have are honestly hard to figure out for me and is the main reason they're not a story yet. Jura, for example, has the ability of absolute authority-- he was made the oldest, to lead this team of monsters, and he has the authority to make every freeze and listen to his orders. (Of course, this power is an extreme version of his charisma in nirvana arc.)

Levy, specifically, was made meek-and-protectable-looking because she was designed to die first. She's the one that goes into enemy territory, straight through to set off all the traps, when we don't have time to dismantle or walk around them. She would be perhaps a doll, a cyborg or an android, living barely human and sustained by magic-- she was made as a decoy unit to be destroyed so they can put her back together to do it again.

I thought that up while thinking of her role in Phantom Lord honestly. She was the first one to get hurt, essentially being the plot device that sets the act in motion. All of their powers are meant to parallel something (or expand/jade-ify) things they've already done before in canon.

It's hard to find powers that don't necessarily overlap with magic.

The whole concept of this story is these children, who have been used and thrown into battle as weapons their whole life-- finding a place (a guild) where they slowly learn that their lives have value beyond utility, a place to be loved and protected, and not be expected to do life-risking missions for food. It just seems like a good direction to take a story where the thesis statement is family, home, safety, and belonging.

Lucy is, of course, meant to be the insert character, delving into this foreign world from a place of ignorance. She slowly grows past her biases, and we learn more about them as the story goes on.

Hi rambles I was wondering what WIPS are you working on ? If you don’t wanna answer this no worries !

Oh damn this question. I have quite a few ideas stuffed in my drafts that I couldn't churn out if my life depended on it but here's a quick once-over of the vague stuff in my drafts that are too bits and pieces to become a coherent piece on ao3

#Regarding Chef Lucy - where Lucy aspires to be a chef, rather than a writer. She's a little unhinged when it comes to rare recipes, bushfire cooking, and figuring out how dragon slayers eating elements work. It's based on an old anon ask I answered that continued to a chain.

Thanks for Tuning In! - a radio-format fic where Levy runs Fairy Tail's official B-cube account (that's an Eden's Zero thing, but we're still in FT don't get it wrong) and guild shenanigans ensue in snippets, chaotic live-streamer style.

If an Insert story was written like a Manhwa - someone (implied to be a sage-old jaded warrior from another fantasy dimension) gets transmigrated into Cana Alberona shortly after her mother died, and they have a body-sharing situation as Cana makes her way to Fairy Tail. Thus far we have met very pre-canon Jura and have been adopted by a local trading group that love her fortune-telling luck.

Luck be in the Air Tonight (One Piece x Fairy Tail) - set post-tartaros. Instead of staying in Crocus as a journalist, Lucy sets out to an alternate dimension to seek out Aquarius’ key. She follows the Strawhats on this journey as their Chronicler.

Through Hardships to the Stars - a dark guild that dabbled in human experimentation created eight pseudo-etherios 'human weapons' meant to imitate the demons of Zeref's book but never succeeded. After that guild was destroyed, those children were spread out between guilds around Fiore to 'rehabilitate' them into human society. Lucy joins Fairy Tail, only to learn belatedly that Levy Mcgarden is one of those children. The public sees them as monsters unsafe to wander the world without a leash. This story was mainly made because I wanted to give less-used characters a chance to shine. (None of the eight children are dragon slayers.)

So there we go! That's them all. If anyone's interested I can continue rambling about them ig

[acourtofsnakes]

Cabur - Rogue, Chapter 6| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f)

Summary: A few weeks have passed and after landing on a small planet to collect a bounty, you and Mando decide to take a little trip to the market to stock up on some things. Nothing will come up here.. right?

Warnings: Angsty angsty annnnngst, (Sorry, I don’t mean to be so horrible to dear reader), Swearing (mild), brief mentions of death, touching on the same things as chapter 4 but not as heavy but I’ll still add the trigger warnings ♥︎ These chapters will get lighter, I promise,

Not beta read, I wanted to get this one out because I love it so apologies for any mistakes, I’ll be going in to edit a little later

Trigger warnings: Anxiety, horrible thoughts/insults, triggering comments maybe, thoughts of not being able to cope. 

Words: About 6210

AN: Okay, okay, so, I was listening to my Rogue playlist on Spotify (link coming soon) and a certain song came on that just fuelled this chapter. SO, I highly recommend listening to Leave A Light On by Tom Walker if you want the vibes for this chapter. Just… honestly, please do it (I may have had tears)

As always, credit to whoever owns the gif. I usually find them on Google or Pinterest, so message me if it’s yours ♥︎

Rogue Taglist:  @snipskixandbeskar   @weirdowithnobeardo @the-bottom-of-the-abyss

Rogue Masterlist | Introduction| 1: Solus| 2: Arir | 3: Tor | 4: Gaa'tayl | 5: Kyr’am | 6: Cabur |

Mando’a translation: Cabur - Protector or Guardian

A few weeks had passed since that night you saved the Mandalorian’s life, since he threw away the bounty puck to keep you safe. 

You’d stayed that night grounded, and then when Mando was able to get up in the morning, he flew you off of that dump of a planet. 

He didn’t ask anymore but how you had managed to save him. Whether he knew you were lying or not, he hadn’t pushed it, choosing instead to respect you. Kind of like how you respected him and his Creed. 

You’d fallen into a sort of routine around the Razor Crest, without either of you realising it. Mando would fly the ship, and you could be found seeing to Grogu and Duru, or tidying things up. Sometimes you would clean the weapons in the cabinet, making sure they stayed in pristine condition. 

Now and then, Mando would head out to get a bounty and when he got back, he would let you help patch him up. You never saw his bare skin, respected that. You would look away or close your eyes, pointing out the best things to use or how to administer them. The man was good at first aid, but his answer to everything was to shove the cauteriser on it. So, when you had been passing through some shops one day, you had stocked up on medical supplies, even found a shop selling the same herbs and plants that your mother had taught you about. 

You’d even been on a few of the hunts with him. 

Of course, you had argued first. When you’d asked him about it one day on the way out of Nevarro, Mando had simply said no. 

Which had immediately riled you. You were not a girl who liked that word. You despised that word. 

Which is how you’d spent the whole night and next two days bickering, over the question of your safety. When he lost that front, (“Seriously, Mando? I’m a fugitive. And after all, I’ve got a big, strong Mandalorian to protect me”) the Mandalorian had moved on to your lack of thinking before throwing yourself into the firefight.

He lost that one too. 

(“Says the man who stole back a child surrounded by Stormtroopers.”

“You’re not coming. End of.”

“Did you want me to bring your pulse rifle over?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“You’re right. Pulse rifle and an extra blaster.”

“I hate you, you know that?”

“Sure you do, Lori. I’ll see you at the ramp.”)

That nickname had slipped out by accident, and he’d regarded you, for a long time. He’d gone still, and you almost swore you heard a hitch of breath through his helmet and then he just nodded and murmured softly, “See you down there.”

There had been a lot of little moments like that but they were so fleeting that you were almost convinced you’d imagined it. You were imagining a lot of things lately. 

Sometimes, when you were walking through forests or towns, you thought you spotted something lingering at the edges of your vision. 

A tall figure, cloaked in a hood that was embroidered in either silver or gold, depending on the light. 

You’d even asked Mando about it a few times, but he hadn’t seen anything so you simply put it down to a trick of the light or sleeplessness, nightmares still plaguing you now and then. 

Regardless of the nightmares and your vision playing tricks on you, you were doing… okay. You were warm, safe, had a comfy place to sleep. You had things to keep you busy, things that weren’t hunting for food or a good spot to hunker down in for the night. 

Duru was happy too, having become fast friends with Grogu and the two of them ran rings around you and the Mandalorian. Well, mainly Mando, which you found hilarious because he was such an exasperated dad with them both. 

It was a rare reprieve from your life, letting you slow down and… live. Rather than survive. 

~~

“I do not talk in my sleep.” 

“Yes, you do!! Sometimes, I think you’re awake but you’re just having a fully-fledged conversation with your blanket.” 

“Oh, shut up. I know I don’t talk in my sleep, tin can. You were probably just having dreams about me again.” You examined the fruit in front of you, then handed over a few credits to the kind vendor, slipping the fruit in your bag. 

The sound of fabric hitting the floor sounded from behind you, and you turned to see that the Mandalorian had dropped the bag you’d made him carry. “I do NOT have dreams about you!” He stooped to pick up the bag, then rose to see you standing with your hands on your hips, eyebrow raised and that damn smirk on your lips. 

“Mmhm, is that why you always have to pull something over your lap when I wake you up?”

He stared at you, and you had the very correct feeling that he was looking at you in mild shock, too caught out to come up with his usual cocky response. “I -you.. That’s completely..”

You burst out laughing, rolling your eyes at him and then dropping him a wink, “Come get me when you’ve thought of a response, Lori.” You turned and carried on walking through the market. 

The two of you had stopped off on a nearby trading planet, to gather supplies. Mando had recently secured a bounty with your help and it had paid well, giving you enough extra credits to stock up and treat yourselves. Grogu was already half-way through a packet of blue macarons, which would no doubt come back to bite you both later when he was pelting through the ship whilst you tried to catch him. And it would be your fault because you had taken one look at those big ears and eyes, determined not to break but when the little womp rat had cooed at you… Of course, he had gotten his own way. 

It felt good, to wander a market and not be scrounging for things under the cover of a hooded cloak. You still had one on, you couldn’t bear to part with this item, the most beautiful piece of clothing you had ever had. You just didn’t have the hood up disguising you. 

A gift, from Mando. 

The first time you went out with him after the puck was destroyed, Mandalorian had insisted you wear yours. However, it had been covered in his blood from his injury, and you couldn’t get it out, no matter how hard you had tried. It hadn’t bothered you that much, though you were.. not sad as such, but it felt a little strange because it had been one of your few possessions for so long. But, maybe it was a symbol. That things had changed, and that was in the past. 

A couple of days later, you had just walked into the cockpit when you noticed there was a package on your seat. When you picked it up, it was squishy, bound in a sort of thick papery material and tied with a length of string. 

You’d glanced at the Mandalorian, who was watching you, the picture of calm but his hands had been fiddling with something on his belt, a shockingly nervous gesture you weren’t used to. 

That simple, uncertain gesture had risen your pulse and you unwrapped the package, trying not to show how your hands were shaking at the first gift you’d received since being a child. 

A gift from the Mandalorian. 

Pulling away the paper had revealed a mass of fabric, a blue so deep it was almost the same colour as the night sky. You’d lifted it out and it had unfolded and revealed itself to be a new cloak. The material was soft, thick enough to keep out a biting chill. You’d made a noise of awe and surprise, but had immediately fallen in love with it, pulling it on. It fell to about the middle of your calves and secured at the base of your neck with a small silver clasp. 

The inside was lined with a thin layer of heat-reflective material, and when you’d run a hand over it, Mando had finally broken his silence, “I noticed you were always cold, even if you had layers on so I.. wanted to make sure you weren’t cold anymore..” 

You swore you could almost feel the heat creeping up his neck, and that softened you. He was nervous about giving you this cloak, like he didn’t know how you would take it. 

You had smiled at him, a soft smile that made your eyes glitter like the surrounding stars and placed a hand on his knee lightly, “Thank you, Lori. I adore it, I truly do.” Then you’d spent the next minutes admiring it, putting the hood up and realising it shielded your face in shadow. 

So, naturally, you had moved around the cockpit and upper level like a phantom, pretending to be a shadow in the night. 

You’d even earned yourself a laugh from the great wall of beskar that was fast becoming your friend.  It was only a soft chuckle, just picked up by the vocoder, but all the same, it had lit something within you. 

It still echoed in your ears now. 

A few moments later, the Mandalorian was back at your side, Grogu in his little bag and Duru walking next to him. “The point still stands. I thought I might finally get some silence at night, but you talk just as much.” His raspy voice had a softened edge, one of teasing and you might even have heard the hints of a smile playing at his lips. 

You turned to look at him over your shoulder, “You love it when I talk. I have to talk to you, otherwise I’d be worried you had turned to stone. You’re so quiet sometimes.” You stopped at a stall, admiring the fabrics here – not to buy, just to look at the different things in a place you had never seen before. 

The Mandalorian made a soft noise, “No, sweetheart, that’s just called quiet time. You might want to try it sometime.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but something behind Mando caught your eye. Rising up on tiptoe, you peered over his shoulder… but there was nothing there. Weird. You could have sworn you saw someone wearing a hood just… watching you. 

You shrugged, assuming you had imagined it like before and then looked back to the man before you, “I can be quiet. I just choose to fill your hours with my wonderful voice.” You flashed him a grin, eyes dancing. 

A voice cut across before Mando could talk to you, “You.” It was a snarl, tinged with recognition that wasn’t exactly the most positive. It was bitter, aggressive and almost… pained. 

Mando turned quickly, his hand flying toward the blaster on his hip, instinct overriding him. His movement allowed you to see who had just interrupted the conversation. 

A lady stood there, with curly magenta hair twisted up into a braid. She had tattoos along her neck, and her eyes were a shocking green. She was breathing quickly, staring at you with such disdain that it made your neck prickle. 

How did you know this woman? You’d never been to this planet before.

You blinked, holding up your hands as a surrender gesture, “Uh… I’m sorry but I don’t know you. I think you must have me confused with someone else…”

The lady shook her head fiercely, making the whisps of her hair that had escaped bounce wildly. “No. I do not have you confused. I would know you anywhere.” Her eyes were wild with fury, pinning you to the ground with just a stare. 

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t know who you are. Maybe you could tell me your name?” You extended a hand, trying to diffuse this situation and help the woman understand that you aren’t who she thinks. 

She flinched back from your reach, even though she was still a good few feet away. “How dare you. You don’t even know who I am?” She made a noise of disgust, looking you up and down in such a way that you were surprised the skin didn’t flay from your bones, “Typical. I don’t know why I’m surprised. She was probably just another tool to you, wasn’t she? Another person to use and discard like trash.”

You blinked, your hands dropping to your sides. Your skin began to tighten, your blood turning a little frosty. You looked to the side, seeing a few people start to stop and watch this altercation happen. 

The Mandalorian seemed to pick up on this at the same time as you. He turned more toward the lady, his hand still within reach of his blaster, “Why don’t we take this somewhere more private?”

The woman barely even looked at him, “Don’t get involved in this, Mandalorian. You’re just as bad as she is. At least to do what you do, you have to have respect and creed. You have morals, no matter how murky they are.” She jabbed a finger at you, “Unlike this savage monster.”

Your breathing immediately shallowed, getting a little unsteady as she spat out that word, that hateful word that followed you around and hounded at your feet. “I’m sorry? For whatever I’ve done, I’m sorry if it’s hurt you. I didn’t mean it, truly-”

She laughed, a cold and cruel laugh, but her eyes were slowly turning glassy with tears. She took a few steps closer, “You don’t even remember her name, do you? Shall I remind you? Help you distinguish her from your kill list?” 

You didn’t fail to notice the way the Mandalorian’s stance shifted. His body tightened and he stood closer, shielding you slightly with one of those ridiculously broad shoulders. He was going on the defensive, feeling the situation start to spiral. 

The woman barely spared him another glance, “3 years ago, you showed up on Trask. You stumbled around the market for a few days, bleeding from a wound in your leg and you passed out.”

Realisation was beginning to filter through you. It sparked in your mind and you remembered a dark street and rain, your leg heavy and cumbersome beneath you. It had burned like fire and when you went down, you couldn’t get back up again. 

The woman was still talking, “Someone picked you up, took you to their home. My sister. She was there for work, and saw you lying in the street, like some kind of dumped animal. She nursed you back to health, gave you somewhere to stay.” She could see it as it began back to you, “You took her aid, her comfort and then, there was a warning put out in the village. There had been a high-risk fugitive spotted in the village. Anyone with information was to come forward immediately.”

Your hands curled into fists, your chest shuddering as guilt and darkness began to swirl within you, “Stop.” 

She chose not to hear your quiet plea, “I was supposed to meet her. But she sent me a comms message. She would meet me, but she would have someone else with her. Someone who she couldn’t tell me over a comms message. Someone in trouble. People said this girl was dangerous, to be handed over with no hesitation but she didn’t see that. No, she said this girl was terrified, that she just wanted to live.” She tilted her head, walking closer again, “But the next day, this special little girl was gone. And then the Imperials came.” Her voice shook, her expression unreadable. 

You shook your head mutely, not wanting to hear this, memories flooding your brain. 

“Someone had tipped them off that my sister was harbouring a fugitive. They tore through her home, destroyed it and dragged her in for questioning. They demanded she tell them, beat her when she denied it. She never gave it up.” 

The woman was right in front of the Mandalorian now, who extended his arm out, ‘That’s close enough.” 

Nausea roiled your stomach, and you weren’t sure if you were going to pass out or throw up. There were too many eyes on you, too many people watching as this woman revealed you bit by bit. 

The woman lowered her voice, deadly soft and it shook, but carried in the silent square, “My sister was murdered because of you. Because of what you are.” 

Mando froze, his head tilting back to look at you slightly. You still hadn’t told him. 

She wasn’t done. “They told me a few weeks ago that you’d been captured by a Mandalorian. I wept with relief that day, because I knew the Mandalorian wouldn’t fail. You’d be taken to whoever wanted you, and you would finally repent for every single sin you’ve ever committed. Your life is littered with them. My sister, my beloved sister is dead because of you. A killer. A beast. Your hands are stained red, girl, and they will always be stained red. I admit, I’m disappointed that you slithered into his head with your poison too but you will kill him too and then… You deserve everything that will ever come to you. And more.” The woman was breathing almost as quickly as you, her eyes glinting in sick delight at the pain she was causing you. 

My sister is dead because of you. 

A beast.

Her words mingled with that seductively dark voice in your mind and you gasped for a breath, knives feeling like they were digging into your lungs. Your eyes darted around, noted the strangers looking at you with horror and that shared disgust. A father pushed his daughter behind his legs as he caught your stare, hissing at you. 

A flinch ran down your body and without a second thought, you turned tail and bolted. The sunlight was too bright, obscuring your vision harshly and making you stumble every now and then. 

You were distantly aware of a male’s shout, then a harsh thumb and the Mandalorian’s voice snarling, “Stay down.” He stopped to check your pursuer was down and then he was running after you. “Hey, wait.”

You ignored him, boots pounding into the dust as you ran through the market, needing to get out of this place, get away from her and the memories. Where the hell was the ship? It was right here a minute ago. I haven’t gone the wrong way. This is the way we came. 

You could still hear Mando behind you, knew he was hot on your heels. “Drop it, Mando.” You led him around people and stalls, knowing if wanted to be in front of you, he would be. He was letting you flee, stopping anyone coming after you. 

Dodging around a crate of fruit, you almost sobbed. There it was, the Crest, gleaming in the sunlight. You slowed down as you reached it, stopping a little way away to let the ramp come down, let you inside to sanctuary. 

Nothing happened. 

Bastard. 

You took a breath, trying to get past the tightness in your lungs, “Let me in.”

“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.” His voice was firm, arrogant, in a way like he knew best and you’d listen to him. 

~“A killer. A beast. Your hands are stained red.”~

Your hands curled into fists at your sides, staring at the Crest, at where the ramp was tucked in tight. Your heart was pounding, not from the run, but from the realisation that no matter where you went, there would always be someone you had touched with that curse. “No. I’m not telling you anything. I don’t owe you anything.”

He laughed behind you, but it was a cool laugh, nothing humorous in it, “I’m not saying you owe me anything, princess. But some woman just cornered you in the street and spat abuse at you. I thought I would be prying you off of her, not chasing after you.” 

A wolf. No. A beast.

You spun round, eyebrow raised, “Because I’m some wild animal that would rather fight than talk my way out of a situation?” 

If he had no helmet, you would have seen him blink, “No, I’m not saying that. But, well. You have to admit it, don’t you?”

Something was beginning to prickle up the back of your neck, his words threatening to cut a little close, “Admit what?” Venom laced your tone and you tensed, as if bracing for a punch.

The Mandalorian walked closer, oozing confidence like he somehow knew you better than you knew yourself, “You don’t really think, do you? You never calculate the risks of a fight. You just jump straight in with no regard for your own safety. I mean, when I came for you on Sorgan, anyone smart would have seen a Mandalorian and run.” He wasn’t saying it in an arrogant way, he was saying it as fact. And he was right. A Mandalorian appeared on the street and you turned around and crossed to the other side. You didn’t engage him a fight and flirt with him. 

A cold laugh rocked though you and you tilted your head, “Anyone smart? So you’re calling me stupid now? Is that it? Beast or stupid?” You took a few steps closer to him, ignoring the villagers milling around that had started to look, having heard the fight in the centre of the market. “Don’t you dare tell me I don’t calculate risks. You think I’ve had time to calculate risks in my life? I don’t have time to sit with my little notepad in my ship and jot down the pro’s and con’s of engaging in battle. I didn’t have the luxury of being trained like you.”

Bitter astonishment filled the Mandalorian’s voice, his own body going rigid, “The luxury of training?! You think I chose to become a Mandalorian? That I woke up one morning and skipped along to Mandalorian school?” His voice rose, the rough rasp turning to stone with every word.

You observed him with a steely gaze, something in you needing to push him away, to protect yourself before he got too close. So, you aimed for what you knew would work, his Creed. Your eyebrows rose, looking him up and down as you leaned your weight on one leg, “You’re telling me you weren’t born with that thing already stuck on your head?” Spiteful sarcasm dripped from your voice and you pointed up at his helmet. 

The Mandalorian let out a snarl that no doubt usually sent normal people running. He stalked toward you with predatory grace, a hunter toward his prey.  “Don’t you dare.” Like he read in your eyes where you were going with this. 

Ugly triumph filtered though you as you stood your ground, not afraid of him, “It’s all the same with you Mandalorians, isn’t it. You have all your training, don your shiny armour and suddenly you’re better than anyone. That helmet goes on, you don’t have to face the consequences of what you’ve done. No one knows who you are, so you don’t need to take the blame.” These words were spiteful, beyond cruel and you hated yourself more and more for each one, but he was starting to get into the cracks, starting to see you. You couldn’t see him die. 

Mando was right in front of you now, towering above you with all his broad-shouldered posture, frustration roiling off of him in waves. “You think I don’t feel remorse for what I’ve done?” His voice was so low, barely leashed. 

You nearly purred, tasting the promise of a fight, even if it did twist a knife into your heart. “I’ve never seen it.” You tilted your head back to look up at him, letting every ounce of spoilt, cruel brattiness melt into your expression. 

A soft growl rumbled through the helmet, so muted you barely heard it in the noises of the market behind him. 

Yes. Yes.

And then he relaxed, his shoulders eased and his hands uncurled. 

What? No – Disappointment, maybe even shock registered on your expression. You’d been sure, so sure that aiming for his beloved Creed would get him to fight you. Why hadn’t it worked?

Mando shook his head, the sunlight bouncing off of the shiny metal, “No. I’m not doing this with you. You can’t push me away, no matter how hard you try. You don’t mean anything that you just said, I can see it in your eyes.” He pressed a button on his vambrace, and the ramp opened behind you. 

He saw you. 

That dark beast was starting to awaken, its ears pricking up. You needed to get out of here, away from him, away from this, now. You just shook your head, turning around and walking up the ramp, watching Duru as she ran ahead of you. 

Footsteps sounded from behind you as the Mandalorian followed you. He took Grogu from his little pouch, popping him on a cargo crate and Duru immediately jumped up next to him. “Don’t walk away from me. I’m trying to help you, but you keep shutting me out. Why did that woman say those things about you?” His gloved hand enveloped your wrist, his grip not tight or authoritative, but it began to break something in you. 

“Let me go, Mando. I mean it.” You let ice creep into your tone, trying to disguise the cracking inside you, the darkness that was beginning to stir and whisper. 

And the damn tin can saw it all. Your back was to him, but he still fucking knew, “Please… You know I would never judge you for it, for whatever you did to make her say that.”

Excuse me?

Anger flared through you now, igniting into a blaze and you snarled, “Whatever I did?!” You didn’t give him time to respond, not before you swung around, using his grip on your wrist for leverage. You had spent enough time around him now to become familiar with the plates of his armour, so you knew you aimed correctly when your fist connected with the side of his ribs between the front and back plates. 

He grunted, jolting a little but he still didn’t let go. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant-” His voice had softened and, in your rage and hurt, you mistook the pleading tone for a condescending one. 

Before he could finish, you punched him again, harder, “Don’t. Don’t try to start spewing excuses at me. I knew perfectly well what you meant. You thought that she had been hurt by me. That I killed her sister with my own hands. Probably slit her throat and bathed in her blood.”

“No, no, I didn’t. If you would just listen to me and stop shouting, please-“

Your foot connected with his shin, making him stumble backwards. You followed after him, “You didn’t even stop to think that maybe, for once, I didn’t actually do anything. But no. Like always, you looked at me and saw the worst. You assumed that I was a monster.” You chopped down at his inner elbow this time, causing him to let go of you in reflex. 

Mando tilted his head, his voice coming out sharper this time, “I assumed?” He laughed, the bastard laughed, “What else am I supposed to do, sweetheart? You’ve been on this ship for nearly a month now and I still don’t know anything about you. So yes, I was wrong for assuming, but can you blame me?”

Your eyes flashed and you were on him again, “So it’s my fault that you thought I was a monster? You’d met me for all of two seconds on Sorgan and started whispering in my ear like honey, that death followed me wherever I went. There was a bounty over my head and that’s all you saw.” 

Mando went still, his shoulders tightened, and his voice came out lower, “You’re still bringing that up? I told you that you weren’t my bounty anymore.”

Before you could answer him, that velvety voice inside your head started to whisper in your ear, “Oh no, oh my sweet darling. He sees you. The real you.  He knows you’re a monster.” 

You shook your head sharply, lifted your eyes back to the Mandalorian’s stupid face. Helmet. Visor. Whatever. “I’m not your bounty but you believed that woman. So say it.”

His confusion was palpable, “Say what?”

You took a step forward and your chest butted up against his, “Say it! Say that I’m a monster. A murderer. I kill everything I come near.” You laughed, coldly, the words coming out with your voice but in your head, they were being repeated in that cruel, silken whisper. “You regret it, don’t you? Throwing away my puck. You wish you’d kept it, then you could get rid of me, be free of what I’ve done, why I’m being hunted.” Those steel bands were still wrapped round you, crushing you, swallowing you whole again. 

Something broke in him, his composure as the anger rose again and he leaned down to you, “Stop.” The command was a growl and he lifted a finger, pointing at you, “You’re a fucking hypocrite.” 

Yes. Yes, fight back, fight me. Tell me what I know I am. 

You raised your eyebrows, smirking at his finger and then back up at him but your expression was bitter, “Am I? Why’s that, Mando?” You tilted your head and practically purred, “Tell me.” 

The tension in the room was tight, the air almost crackling around you with this outburst of emotion, the threads of your entwined lives pulling taut. 

The light bounced off of the plates on his shoulders, betraying his slightly ragged breathing, “You just screamed at me for assuming the worst about you, yet you did just that to me. How can I want to be free of you, when I don’t even know who you are.” He lifted his hands to your shoulders, to try and calm you down, to push you away maybe. 

The smirk began to slip from your face, “Does it matter who I am?”

His grip tightened, “Of course it does. Because you’re not a bad person. Let me help you, please. Just tell me something. Anything.” His voice turned pleading, and he lifted a hand from your shoulder, like he was going to cup your cheek. 

You’re not a bad person.

Fire blazed within you again, protective and destructive. This was too close. He was getting too close. You had to stop it, now. You had to get away. 

You reached up, grabbing his wrist and using the element of surprise to slam him against the wall behind him, pinning his wrist there and then your blade was at his neck, dull light glinting off of it, “Back off. You can’t help me. I’m not some broken doll to add to your ragtag collection.” Your own breathing was ragged, coming in sharp pants as the room started to spin. 

The Mandalorian flinched, like you’d hit a nerve and his free hand moved. Bingo. 

Yes, you thought, almost begged, Punch me. Fight me, please. 

But he didn’t. He just curled his fingers around your wrist and pushed you away, dislodging your knife and knocking you back a few steps. Like you were weak.

You couldn’t do this, he was starting to slip through the cracks that were forming in you. He was looking at you, seeing you. He always had, from the moment you were nothing but hunter and prey, he knew exactly how to get through your intricately woven net of silver-tongued quips and cocky arrogance. 

No. 

Your voice cracked, echoes of the dark beast’s laughter in your ears “No! Stop pushing me away, stop taking it. Fight me!!” You surged for him again, your hands curling into fists, slamming against the beskar plates again and again. 

You didn’t care that it hurt, that it made pain explode across your knuckles. 

You liked it, you liked the pain. Deserved that and so much more. 

And the Mandalorian… just stood there. He shook his head, just slightly, “No.” He stood there as you hammered your fists against his chest, even when you started to kick him. Just watched as your eyes became glassier, your punches harder but less accurate. 

Why wasn’t he fighting you? 

Your hazy mind began to overwork, searching for something, anything to provoke him, “Why? You don’t want to fight a girl? Too proud are you?” You slammed your knee into his, pulled at the armour plates, honed your pain and fury into him but he just absorbed it. “You’re as weak as I am, you’re running too. You’re the hypocrite, Mandalorian, not me.” Your words were stilted, made no sense as you spat out words as cruel as you could, just needing to provoke him. 

Nothing did. Nothing. There was no noise in the cargo hold but the sounds of the people outside, beeping, the dull thud of your fists, your spiteful words and your own ragged breathing. 

And the whispering in your head that had turned into a full-on symphony of bitter taunts and sniping truths. It rose with memories, flashes of your dead parents, the battered bodies of those that had tried to help you, people who had been caught in the cross-hairs of your life. Innocent people that had turned into nothing more than collateral damage. 

Blood had started to smear on the beskar, your knuckles splitting open with the repeated impact. You could hear Duru meowing, Grogu gurgling in worry but you didn’t care. 

The beast and its army rose, tasting the scent of blood and bringing you visions of the future, of the Mandalorian, dead on the ground. The blood from your fists turned into his own, painting the ground red. Duru, fur soaked in scarlet and Grogu, his tiny little body broken on the floor in a pool. 

And above them, you stood, soaked in the blood of these three. Relishing in the pain and torture that you had caused. You could taste their blood. 

The room began to spin further, the whispering detonated into a roar and it unleashed a heavy roiling cloud within you. It choked you, squeezed fists around your lungs, clouded your eyes and snuck into your head. It whispered to you, such cruel taunts, sucking out the deepest, most vile thoughts you had about yourself and spat them back out, combined with these visions of the future. It leeched the energy out of you and with a choked sob, your knees gave way. 

Duru let out a yowl of concern, springing off of the cargo box. 

I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be confident, or strong. I can’t be brave and cocky, I can’t keep throwing myself into every fight, I can’t run anymore. I can’t do this. I can’t-

And then a pair arms caught you. 

Mando caught you. He didn’t haul you up against him. He didn’t try and pull you up. 

No, he sunk to the floor with you, supporting your weight in his own body, leaning against the wall and letting you collapse against him. 

You froze, your body stiffened as he did. This… people didn’t touch you like this. They didn’t put their arms around you unless they were trying to drag you somewhere. 

You hadn’t been hugged since you were a child, and yet here you were. The Mandalorian was holding you, but loosely. 

Waiting, for your consent. For you to be okay with this. 

And as his gloved hand brushed your back, such a tender warmth broke through you, caressed your pain and you couldn’t resist. You sunk into him, the last saps of energy leaving you as tears flooded your cheeks. The armour was hard, digging into you a little bit, but the feeling of just being held was more than enough. 

He wrapped his arms around you, coaxing you against his chest. His legs were either side of you, one stretched out on the floor and the other resting up to support your back. Distantly, you were aware of four clawed feet padding over your lap, Duru settling into the space between you and Mando’s arm. 

The armour disguised the frantic beating of his heart, your tears and shaking of your body held the trembling of his own hands, but he didn’t mention it. Didn’t mention the fact that this was the first time he had held someone like this that wasn’t the kid… since he was a child himself. He was just as starved of touch as you, even more so because he had no skin-to-skin contact either. He could feel your warmth through the fabric of his clothes that weren’t covered, could feel the weight of you leaning into him. 

He didn’t speak, just held you in the dimness of the cargo hold, keeping you together as you fell apart, kept the promise of death away, just as you had done for him. 

Previous chapter| Next chapter

[safyresky]

For the send me a fandom thing..... Danny Phantom? (I am prepared to sit and read this all day I know you've got a quite a bit about this one hehe)

MELLO YOU HAVE UNLEASHED A HUGE CAN OF GHOST WORMS HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHEUHEU THANK YOU

How I entered/learned about the said game/show/movie/etc of that fandom

I started watching Danny Phantom around 12 as well!! I saw it advertised all over YTV, and it gave Saturday mornings on what use to be called the Vortex?? Which was like a segment, for lack of a better word, in which all the Saturday morning cartoons gave. Anyway, I always watched the Vortex so I managed to catch the premiere and I LOVED it

Anyway I ended up finding the fanfiction archive for it and the Danny Phantom ff archive is constantly BOUNCING or as kids say nowadays, lit?? And there were SO MANY GOOD WRITERS!!! So I mostly partook in that, and read some of the message boards on YTV’s website too. Then the show ended and I was dissatisfied with the mess that was Phantom Planet (as is the whole Fandom) and ironically enough, I can’t remember how (probably via dA. I even had a shitty insert yourself half-ghost OC man I was in DEEP and have not yet emmerged) I stumbled upon the HUGE phandom presence on ye old tumblr trash site and ended up joining BECAUSE of the Phandom and I have not left since they’re just so great and the parts of the Phandom I follow are such a good community and the ANGST and the FANART and the Discourse and the trash ships (DannyxPink Pants anyone?) and the “it’s not gay if he’s dead” and fucking WES WESTON that trash cryptid child like

The Phandom is SUCH A GOOD

Fave character

Wes isn’t even a canon character but he’s a fave! Honestly though, Danny was always my favourite character what a dork. What a wonderful, half-dead, angst filled pun freak DORK. Honestly re-watching Danny Phantom I’m like “well now I know where the love of puns came from”. They could’ve done SO MUCH with this troubled kid??? I loved it loved loved loved it and love him like what a GOOD

To be honest there’s soo many characters I like. Like Valerie is gr8, she’s also SUCH A GOOD and Jack Fenton is just hilarious, Maddie Fenton is so badass?????? WHAT A GOOD And Tucker, man just TF for Too Fine inDEED

Here’s a fun one, I use to HATE Dani Phantom because everyone at school watched Danny Phantom and when that episode aired everyone called me clone for at least a year it was VERY ANNOYING but now I’m just like whATEVER IDGAF SURE WHY NOT THE POWERS JUST HAVEN’T KICKED IN YET I GUESS (tbh hopefully they do soon). She’s a really gr8 character too!

I could go on but honestly I’m really, really lazy

Least fave character

Paulina sorta bothered me, probably b/c of the stereotype/trope of popular mean girl that was thrown at her. Sam could be cringey at times too. I cannot STAND Poindexter like hecker fuck he was sO ANNOYING and Walker is a punk ass bitch and I would fight him if I could (yeah yeah it’s against the rules I don’t give a fuck, I’ll punch him right in his square ghost face)

Lancer was also occasionally super unfair though “Teacher of the Year” definitely gave me a soft spot for him

OTP(s)

Danny and Sam, which is commonly known as Amethyst Ocean I believe b/c eye colours?? I think they have another ship name too that’s a lot less poetic ish but I can’t remember that discourse

And also Vengeful Babes which is Valerie and Dani okay like the moment I found that pairing EXISTED I was g o n e I really like the dynamic they could have???? I’d watch them beat of Vlad every day for the rest of my life and then go home together to eat shit and watch shitty movies. I just love them SO MUCH

Pairing that everyone likes but I don’t get

Okay I don’t know if everyone likes these two pairings?? I think their followings are SMALL but it’s Danny FentonxDanny Phantom which I just can’t get behind I am not a fan of the self ship it’s…idk it definitely is a squick that’s for sure (I think it’s ship name is Pitch Pearl, I can’t remember)

SAME WITH VLAD AND DANNY LIKE WHY??? WHY! I can’t stand that ship I really can’t it also squicks me I just don’t like it it makes me all cringey. Like I’m all for the mentor and student angle, if Vlad wasn’t such a vengeful fruit loop, but the ship ship like no please keep that 70 feet away from me, thanks.

Also I can’t recall if I’m using the term “squick” properly, but it sounds like icky and those ships make me feel icky soooooo

Fave thing about the fandom

EVERYTHING??

They’re so collaborative, it’s wonderful! The whole entire Fandom basically created Wes’ backstory and such together! The theories! The angst! The fanfiction! How we all come together to complain about the creator when he comes around like HEY WHADDUP HERE’S HOW EVERYHTING IS STOP BEING CREATIVE!!

THERE’S SOO MUCH MORE AND I KNOW I’M FORGETTING HALF OF IT BUT MAN THE PHANDOM IS SO WONDERFUL I LOVE THEM

The most despised thing

When Butch Hartman emerges on the internet-sphere with a double edged sword consisting of new content on one edge and killing all our fun on the other edge

Like honestly I don’t think there’s ever been a fandom that dislikes the show creator as much as the Phandom does. It’s beautiful how everyone comes together to bash him when he ruins our fave theories and general fun. It’s very heart warming.

If there is something I would change from said game/show/movie/etc., what would it be.

I would retcon a good chunk of season 3 okay and fix it up like the episode where the Fentons become rich and are totally ooc??? Yeah I’d absolutely retcon that and I’ve seen some REALLY GOOD POSTS lost DEEP in my TAG about how they would retcon it (tey being various phans)

And I would erase Phantom Planet completely. How, you ask? WELL.

I WOULD INCEPTION THE FUCK OUT OF PHANTOM PLANET. LIKE DANNY WAKES UP IN PAHNTOM PLANET OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND JUST TEARS IT APART LIKE “VLAD WOULD NEVER DO THAT” OR “TUCKER, MAYOR? REALLY?” OR “DISASTEROID? I MEAN, I LOVE PUNS BUT THAT’S GOING OVERKILL” because how fun would it be to see Danny tear apart his own finale? Very fun, that’s how

And how inception can I go?? HOw many times can Danny wake up before he wakes up, a helmet explodes off his head, and fucking Nocturn appears like “haaaay” 

AND THAT’S HOW I’D START SEASON 4 PALS.

[katyaton]

Danny Phantom Fic Rec

Alrighty, so someone requested that I compile a list of some of my favorite Danny Phantom fics! Now for those who frequent the fandom a lot, you’ll find that most of these are fandom classics, so you may not see anything new here, but regardless I thought I’d put some of my favorite into a list. 

Phantom of Truth by HaiJu

*** I know I’ve already rec’d this before, but I can’t go without mentioning once more. This fic is groundbreaking, honestly. I can’t recommend it enough. The interaction between Danny and Maddie is one of the most twisted yet heartbreaking things you will ever read, and the science that is worked into the story is so masterful in how it plays upon countless subtle details in canon. This and its sequel are masterpieces. (Warning for extreme violence)

Roughing It by Haiju

***Danny and Maddie are lost in the woods together, and as much as Maddie despises Phantom, she has to bury her pride and team up with him when they find themselves in a perilous situation. Revelation fic!!! 

Lab Rat by AnneriaWings

*** This fic is the definition of angst, both emotionally and physically. It has to be one of the most difficult fics to get through that i’ve ever read, but if you’re a big fan of angst, I definitely recommend it, as well as the sequel. (Warning for extreme violence)

Star Shots and Nova Shots by Cordria

***Both of these are collections of one-shots that sometimes span a few chapters. All of them are amazing and explore so many aspects of the DP universe that the creators never really capitalized on. The rest of Cordria’s fics are amazing too. I highly recommend this author! 

I’m Still Here by Cordria

***Danny gets trapped in the ever impenetrable Fenton thermos, only to be released decades later. But the world has changed so much, and Danny is still just a 15 year old kid. How on Earth can he adapt to this brave new world? Super good read, albeit heartbreaking. Definitely check this out! 

Masks by Cordria

***We can all agree that Lancer was an underrated character, right? This fic explores his perceptiveness that we see in the show, leading him to question why one of his students, Daniel Fenton, is acting so oddly. Lancer begins to investigate it himself when Danny refuses to talk, leading him to some … interesting revelations. Such a good fic! Danny needs more supportive adults in his life for sure. Be sure to check out the sequel as well! 

Checkmate by pearl84

*** We all know there was a lot left unsaid between Danny and Vlad in the series. They have such a complicated relationship, and honestly it’s not hard to see that although they are bitter enemies in canon, had things gone just a bit differently, they very well could have had a mentor/student relationship. In this case, though, Vlad goes about it all wrong, kidnapping Danny and forcing his hand with a loved one’s life at stake. This fic delves into so much psychological angst as a result. The characters, especially the subtle nuances of Vlad’s personality, are so well explored here. Definitely one of the best DP fics out there. Be sure to check out it’s sequel as well! (Warning for extreme psychological angst/trauma)

Dawning of a Sun by pearl84

***This fic also explores a Danny/Vlad father/son relationship, but this time it’s an AU in which Vlad managed to become the ghost king, defeating Pariah Dark. In this story, he finds Danny, who, after carelessness on his parents part, turns half ghost in the portal when he’s just a baby. When Vlad finds him, rather than destroy him as some would like, he decides to take him in as his own … without ever telling Danny he’s not his father.

Chained by Lightning Streak

***Valerie and Danny certainly have one of the more interesting relationships of the show, in my opinion. Valerie’s bitter hatred for all things ghost, and more specifically, all things Danny Phantom, contrast so sharply with how she treats Danny Fenton. In this fic, Danny has been captured by the Guys in White, and when Valerie discovers him captive and defenseless, it draws her preconceived notions about Phantom into question, altering her world view as her foundations of her long held grudges begin to weaken. I’m personally a huge fan of any Valerie/Danny fic simply because they’re relationship is so complex and fascinating, and this fic explores it in spades. 

In the Stitching by Colette Amelia

***I think we can all agree that the crap ending Phantom Planet left us with was extremely unsatisfying on so many levels, but particularly when it came to his parents reactions to his powers. While the Fenton family is on an outing, little clues about their son start to fall into place, and soon enough, Jack and Maddie discover the truth. Cognitive dissonance arises when they realize how awful they’d been to their own child. This fic is a lot lighter on the angst. A fantastic revelation fic that we all needed, in my opinion!

Alright, so that’s all I have for now, but keep in mind this is by no means an exhaustive list! There are so many good DP fics out there they I haven’t included, as well as a multitude of DP crossovers that I haven’t even touched on, so, please, don’t limit yourself to just these! 

[mst3kproject]

Warning from Space

Has a good movie ever had a title that ended in 'From Space'?  Killers from Space, Phantom from Space, Invaders from Space... I'm having a hard time thinking of one.  If such a movie exists, Warning from Space certainly isn't it.  It was made by Daiei, the same company that would give us the Gamera franchise, and is easily as bizarre as anything Gamera himself would later have to offer.  Unfortunately, it's also as boring and confusing as anything in Invasion of the Neptune Men, which is sad, because it's got some of the most ridiculous-looking aliens I've ever seen.

A bunch of cosplayers who left their Staryu costumes until the last minute... sorry, excuse me, I mean a group of starfish-like aliens have decided that the Earthlings Must Be Stopped.  They try to make contact with us, but they're so hilarious nobody can stop la... I mean, so terrifying nobody will stick around to hear their message. This calls for desperate measures, so alien Number Two assumes human form in order to meet with Professor Komura, a well-known astronomer and the person the aliens have chosen as their liason. Unfortunately, the human form she chooses happens to be that of a famous dancer!  Hijinks ensue, with a great deal of dawdling around before we finally get to the damned point – and then a great deal more dawdling after.

Man, you should see those aliens.  They're the only reason to watch the movie, and the only thing in it that'll make you smile rather than yawn or roll your eyes.  The aliens are people in giant cloth starfish suits stretched over wooden frames, with a big light-up eye in the middle.  When they want to walk, which is not often, they rock from one completely stiff leg to another.  They have no appendages that might manipulate machinery.  They don't even have any depth perception!  The humans who see them pop out of the waters of Tokyo Bay immediately scream and flee, which I can only chalk up to the fact that it was 1956 and they couldn't yet reach for a Pokeball.

When we do eventually get around to why these ludicrous things decided to pay us a visit, it turns out to be because Planet R, a rogue world from another galaxy, is about to crash into the Earth.  This will unfortunately make life impossible on the aliens' home of Paira, too, so they want us to use our entire stockpile of nuclear weapons to change R's orbit so it'll pass through the solar system without causing any harm.  In a Godzilla movie this would all be a ruse, leaving the Earth defenseless so the Pairans can take over, but sadly this isn't a Godzilla movie, so instead the second half of the movie turns on whether the scientists can convince the World Congress to get their thumbs out of their asses.  Why didn't Number Two just go to the WC in the first place?

Why didn't the aliens just do this other thing? is the main question that comes out of watching Warning from Space. Nothing they do makes any sense.  The first forty-five minutes of the movie is spent making the audience fear an impending invasion or at least a The Day the Earth Stood Still sort of scenario where the aliens think they've got to destroy us for the good of everybody else.  Then we get the 'twist', and just like in This Island Earth, it makes everything we've seen up until now seem ridiculous.  If the Pairans wanted to contact scientists, why did they spend so much time bubbling ominously up out of lakes to scare random drunks and fishermen?  If nukes are what they need, why go to Japan of all places?

If Number Two is supposed to talk to Professor Komura about the impending disaster, why does she pretend to have amnesia instead of just doing so?  This might make some sense if she were a spy, trying to blend into human society without having to know everything about it... but if she's here to deliver a message, it seems like she's just wasting time while the clock ticks down to doomsday.  If she took human form in order to avoid scaring people, why does she go out of her way to scare them by doing things like walking through walls right in front of them?  It seems like she wanted them to conclude for themselves that she was an alien, because they wouldn't believe her if she told them.  Why couldn't she just prove it by demonstrating her powers in a less frightening way?

And the biggest question, why did the aliens bother with us at all? They're so far advanced beyond us that they've had a satellite watching Earth for four thousand years!  Number Two explains that they've eschewed war, so they have no nuclear missiles of their own, yet after all of Earth's attempts fail they manage to build one pretty darn quick.  Supposedly they need Dr. Matsuda's formula for the super-explosive, but Number Two recognized that formula when she saw it in his notes earlier.  The Pairans clearly know it, even if they've never used it, so why do they have to get it from us? Seems to me they could have saved the day without ever having to say two words to us.

The movie seems like it's probably trying to say something about war or tampering in God's domain or something, but I have no idea what it is.  One would expect that Japan, out of all the countries in the world, would fly the No Nukes flag high and proud, but Warning from Space honestly seems to be trying to tell us that massive stockpiles of superweapons are necessary in case of emergencies!  The people of Paira supposedly have no weapons, nor even the know-how to make them, so they have to go to their barbaric next door neighbours for help fending off an unexpected threat.  All the nukes on Earth were not enough to put off the approach of Planet R, so we needed Dr. Matsuda's super-explosive.  If we were a peaceful and enlightened race like the Pairans, both planets would have been screwed.  If this is an anti-nuke movie, it actually manages to be even worse at it than Superman IV: the Quest for Peace, and that is frankly mind-boggling.

Rather than our violence, the human propensity that comes nearest to being our downfall in Warning from Space is our greed.  At the moment when his formula is needed, Dr. Matsuda isn't around to provide it because he's been kidnapped by mobsters who want to sell the super-explosive to the highest bidder!  He refuses to tell them, and ends up being abandoned in a ruined building tied to a chair, where the movie tells us he is stranded for a month. How did he survive?  Maybe what we're supposed to glean from all this is that superweapons are a good thing as long as they're in the right hands.  But whose hands are those?  Who owns the nukes is not delved into in this movie, and it seems the World Congress has the power to commandeer them from all the nuclear-armed countries on Earth.  There's no mention of anybody refusing to comply with the WC's decision... although I guess the impending end of mankind would be a pretty compelling argument.

My biggest complaint about Warning From Space, however, is the amount of time it simply wastes.  It's almost ninety minutes long and very little of that actually seems to have anything happening in it.  We see astronomers peering through telescopes, trying to figure out what mysterious object is orbiting the Earth, but they never seem to learn anything helpful.  We see Pairans scaring the bejeezus out of people, but nothing comes of that either.  We meet the dancer whose body Number Two copied, but she serves no plot purpose whatsoever.  Number Two arrives on Earth and then hangs around doing nothing for several days before finally delivering her message.  As Planet R approaches, everybody sits in fallout shelters complaining about the heat and more nothing happens until finally the Pairan Cavalry arrives and the movie's over.

This is doubly disappointing because the first few minutes, which introduce us to the ridiculous five-pointed aliens, make it look like this is going to be a really goofy and fun alien invasion movie.  Then, however, we meet the human characters and slowly realize that this is actually supposed to be serious science fiction about serious people trying to prevent a serious problem. That could be a perfectly good movie but it doesn't seem to jibe with the silliness of the aliens and their jump-out-and-say-boo approach to saying hello.  When the movie tries for suspense, it just wastes more of our time, and it never bothers to try for action.  Not only is it worse at being anti-nuke than Superman IV, it's worse at being an asteroid impact movie than Armageddon, which goes past mind-boggling and becomes fucking tragic.

The end of the movie is really kind of depressing, too.  As Planet R approached, the Earth heated up to the point where birds and dogs were dropping dead in the street and all the humans had to retreat underground.  Once R is destroyed, everybody comes out again, and this is presented as a happy ending.  How is that happy?  Earth is a scorched world where only burrowing animals appear to have survived! And the Pairans?  They just go home, having gotten what they needed from us.  They only cared about us in the first place because the debris from the destroyed Earth would have hit their planet in turn. Now that's not going to happen, they just leave us to starve.  Aliens are dicks.

[keyofjetwolf]

Jet Wolf Summarizes Act 26

As it turns out, the manga and I aren’t going to be great friends. Rather than spend the energy on a liveblog that’s increasingly negative, I’m reading each manga act (mostly) silently, and then writing up summaries at the end. I’ll be very candid, which means there’s likely criticism and snark a’plenty about the manga, either wholesale or in details. If that isn’t a thing you feel like reading, please skip this post!

Things included in this summary:

The final battle against Wiseman/Death Phanton/Nemesis/Ryan. Why Ryan? Why not Ryan. Presumably his parents didn’t name him Death Phantom. Now his name is Ryan.

The conclusion to all the Crystal Tokyo shit.

The arc epilogue, which is where all the character-intensive stuff should happen but in case you forgot, this is a summary of THE MANGA.

Things not included in this summary:

My multiple literal screams.

At least not in audio form.

I’ll still scream in text though, don’t worry.

Usagi aims her love rod at an entire fucking planet which is now I guess close enough to be within visual range of Earth. I have so many questions about this, but it occurs to me that it would only make this arc longer if they were to be answered, so I keep my mouth closed. There’s a burst of light. Usagi disappears. Planet Ryan disappears. Aw, she’ll have to fight the big bad on her own, but this will be test of her mettle that will prove she’s

JUST KIDDING CAN’T FORGET THE REAL STAR

Mamoru joins Usagi by, near as I can tell, thinking about it real hard. Nobody else joins Usagi. Nobody else even tries. I can tell that, somewhere, some part of me wants to cry. The tears don’t come.

Neo-Queen Serenity’s clock finally runs out of snooze times, and she decides she’d better get up. She wanders her dead and deserted palace, noting her potentially dead but certainly unwell Senshi. She considers going to them, checking on them, showing any concern about them whatsoever, but then chuckles to herself. Don’t be ridiculous, this is the manga! Only one thing matters. CAN YOU FOLKS AT HOME GUESS WHAT IT IS??

I know, right? It’s so good to see Mamoru getting the kind of attention he’s due. He’s been so neglected and forgotten. :(

King Douchedymion wakes up, Holodouchedymion disappears, and he and NQS emerge from the palace. Then we get some Family Values propaganda bullshit.

NO OKAY

NO FUCK YOU

YOU DON’T GET TO SPEND YOUR WHOLE DAMN ARC TALKING ABOUT HOW CHIBI-USA IS LONELY AND ISOLATED AND HASN’T KNOW A SHRED OF AFFECTION FROM HER MOTHER FOR NINE HUNDRED FUCKING YEARS AND THEN DRAW THIS LIKE IT RESOLVES ANY OF THAT

WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS INTENDED TO DO BECAUSE NEITHER CHIBS NOR NQS NOR ANYONE ELSE SAYS A SINGLE WORD ABOUT THE NEGLECT AND ABUSE CHIBS HAS BEEN SUFFERING LEAVING THE ONLY CONCLUSION THAT IT’S JUST NOT A CONSIDERATION TO ANYONE ANY MORE AND WE’RE GOOD

WE ARE NOT FUCKING GOOD AT ALL

And this gets even worse as things go on. I’m obviously having to rely on my translation here, which I grant is questionably accurate at best, but it’s what’s in front of me right now, so.

NQS goes on to tell Chibs that what got her to wake up was Chibs’ transformation into a Senshi. The conversation continues with Chibs expressing all this sadness and remorse for all the people she feels her actions indirectly killed and all the people she couldn’t protect. NQS says “It’s not your fault, now let’s not talk about it any more.” NOTE THAT SHE SAYS THIS WITH PLUTO’S DEAD AND SPRAWLED BODY LIKE FIVE FEET AWAY BUT EVERYONE IS FINE WITH THAT. From here, it starts to really get to me though, because the entire exchange turns to Chibi-Usa’s power. “You have powers of your own now,” NQS says excited. “We can use our powers to protect the planet together.” When Chibs tearfully confesses she didn’t think her mother needed her, NQS starts strong with “You’re my only daughter. You’re precious to me.” but then:

And it doesn’t stop there. NQS turns to the Senshi (MY GOD YOU MEAN THEY’RE THERE???) and tells them that when she ascended, she “lost almost all of [her] powers to fight as a soldier”. And some other shit I think may be translated wrong but doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme. The important part is that she tells Chibs she has to use Pluto’s powers (WHICH I GUESS SHE CAN JUST DO NOW) to find Sailor Moon and Tux, and use her power to help them take Ryan down for good.

(A THING SHE HERSELF WAS UNWILLING TO DO HERSELF BY THE WAY I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT SHE’S SENDING HER EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO KILL A DUDE SHE REFUSED TO TAKE CARE OF)

ALSO FOR SOME REASON THE INNERS CAN’T ALSO GO FIGHT WHY THE FUCK DO THEY KEEP LISTENING TO EVERYONE TELLING THEM WHERE THEY CAN AND CAN’T GO

I’m going to skip ahead a bit to complete my thought about NQS here, but later in the chapter she powers up the Inners with the laughable “You’ll be able to fight alongside Sailor Moon with ease” like yeah, I’ll believe that when I fucking see it. She also powers up Sailor Moon from across time and space, and gives her a new brooch and toy from Bandai, AND OKAY WE’RE COMING TO MY POINT NOW.

Which is, EVERY GODDAMN THING ABOUT NQS AS SHE RELATES TO ANYONE NOT ENDYMION IS ABOUT POWER. And this CREEPS ME THE FUCK OUT. Her entire exchange with Chibi-Usa isn’t about Chibi-Usa, it’s about how now Chibi-Usa can fight. The fact that she didn’t wake up until Chibs could transform upsets the shit out of me. There’s no part of their interaction that, in a sincere way (and no I don’t count the easily tossed out “You’re my daughter, you’re precious” platitude as none of her interactions with Chibs over their 900 year relationship demonstrate these feelings in a way recognizable to Chibs), show NQS has any interest in Chibi-Usa whatsoever UNTIL SHE HAS POWER. She LITERALLY does not wake up and hug her daughter for what last issue suggested was the first fucking time until Chibi-Usa is a Senshi.

CREEPED. THE FUCK. OUT.

God, anyway, then Usagi and Mamoru spend five pages or something telling each other that they’re the bestest and Mamoru is just as important and powerful as Usagi.

Because again, what does female empowering mean if not “reassure the male romantic lead he’s on equal footing with the titular female lead character”.

Somewhere in the 30th century, the Senshi are filling out their resumes.

Chibs shows up, and she and Usagi destroy Planet Ryan, which is sure to send debris hurtling to Earth and upsetting the delicate climate balance that hahaha no of course not, everything’s fine.

NQS then powers up the Senshi, a move she couldn’t have done a few minutes earlier and then sending them off with Chibs to have anything at all to do with the final battle, because why, honestly. Why. Just why.

Everyone returns to Earth, and Usagi angsts a bit about not getting to meet her future self, which she can’t do because all of space and time will unravel and it’ll be very bad. Neo-Queen Serenity is angsting about it herself. It’s all so sad, so very sad, so much sadder than poor dead Pluto still lying there going through various stages of rigor mortis on her first outing in about five thousand years.

THANKS FOR SHOWING ANY LINGERING REMORSE ABOUT THE DEATH OF YOUR ONLY FRIEND LITERALLY TEN MINUTES AGO

But honestly, who has time for any of that when Usagi is sad? SHE WANTED TO MEET HERSELF YOU GUYS AND IT’S HEARTBREAKING THAT SHE CAN’T IT’S TRAGIC THE MOST TRAGIC THING TO HAPPEN ALL DAY, manga!Usagi is thinking to herself as she steps over Pluto’s body still-warm body.

BUT FUCKING WAIT

BECAUSE NEO-QUEEN FUCKING SERENITY AFTER TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY COULDN’T POSSIBLY MEET RUNS THE FUCK UP AND STARTS CHATTING TO USAGI ANYWAY

I SCREAMED I SCREAMED SO GODDAMN LOUD WHAT IS THIS UTTER FUCKING BULLSHIT

JUST THIS CONVERSATION COULD ALTER HISTORY

YOU JUST LOST LITERALLY YOUR ENTIRE CITY’S POPULATION IN A WAR AGAINST FUCKS WHO WANTED TO ALTER HISTORY

SAILOR PLUTO FUCKING DIED SO YOU COULD STOP EVERYTHING UNRAVELING

AND NEO-QUEEN SERENITY SAYS FUCK ALL OF THAT BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO SAY HELLO TO HER GODDAMN FOURTEEN YEAR-OLD SELF

A DECISION USAGI NOT ONLY SUPPORTS BUT IS DELIGHTED BY

I AM A BALLOON FILLED WITH PURE RAGE AND I JUST FUCKING POPPED

THIS IS THE MOST SELFISH SHIT I HAVE EVER SEEN

“Wow, Chibs, your mum’s a bitch,” Minako says. Chibi-Usa just emphatically nods.

R A G E

Ugh, fuck, let’s get this over with. Chibs is packing up and leaving, and Usagi is all “YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT MY FEELINGS”, as though anyone else is allowed to have feelings to ever be considered. She goes to the park to travel home. Only Mamoru is there. I can’t even pretend to be anything but resigned at this point. But don’t worry, because the Senshi have a whole long panel!

Rei is comforting that fan club president she knew for a couple of hours! Makoto receives a hug from the guy who talks about Mamoru 98% of the time! Minako greets Motoki who looks terrified! Ami is just there because like I said back at the beginning of this arc, she has absolutely no other character at all to connect her to!

God, aren’t you bored with all this attention on the Senshi? TAKEUCHI SURE IS BUT DON’T WORRY HERE COMES MORE MAMORU AND USAGI. They talk about how their future is already planned out, and are somehow romantic and wistful about it. And then surprise! Chibi-Usa is back!

Neo-Queen Serenity will finally, after 900 years, get to see her daughter grow! God, how terrifying. HEY FOURTEEN-YEAR OLD ME PLEASE RAISE HER LIKE YOUR DAUGHTER I SPENT LIKE HALF AN HOUR WITH HER AND IT WAS TERRIBLE KTHX ♥

THE FUCKING END