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yusei-clownington · 4 years ago

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SO I FINALLY FINISHED 5D’S! And what better way to celebrate than to go through my favorite characters as…briefly as I can

Slight spoilers I suppose?

Let’s work it up from 10 to 1

10- Jack

Was gonna go with lucchiano but who am I kidding Jack’s great. He’s a drama queen with an even more dramatic wardrobe. Never afraid to express himself and just bluntly blurt out what he thought.

His obsession with Cup ramen is on another level but what can I say? Love is love, Jack x cup ramen for life *wipes tears*

But seriously speaking he’s great. His very first line was enough proof of that. He just… apologized for being late then declared “I AM KING” like the…king he is.

My favorite Rival character still remains Manjoume… and… Yeah I still prefer Kaiba over Jack but damn was he a good rival.

Like he has to be the only Rival so far with an actual past with the Main character, no? That was pretty interesting because usually, the protagonist meets the rival somewhere during the first season and we go off from there. But here we had to go through their backstory to know what their relationship was fully like. Nice touch.

9- Aki

Hands down my favorite female protagonist so far. I adore Anzu and feel neutral enough about Asuka but Aki? NAH MAN AKI’S AMAZING. I think 5D’s just does the best job with its female characters. Like it actually gives them big enough roles. I loved how Aki got her own episodes…be it the D-wheel ones or just… fillers.

Her crush on Yusei was justified, at least it seems so to me, and honestly never got obnoxious. Sure she had a moment here and there but it was honestly never a bad thing. Hell faith shipping in general isn’t exactly a bad Idea.

Speaking of shipping, is anyone going to talk about her little frienshipmaybemore moments with Crow? No? Ok…

But anyway, overall, SHE’S AMAZING AND I LOVE HER. There was more to her than some boring pining love interest and it shows with each episode. So when people say she has a great personality, they’re actually talking about her personality. AKI RULES

8- Mikage

Would’ve been way WAY higher on the list if the thing with Jack was thrown out the widow.

That being said I think she’s the more mature of the Jack-crazy trio. Like sure she was just as into him as the other two, but in some scenes she was a lot more tolerable.

But that honestly might just be my bias towards this amazing woman speaking.

She’s devoted to her work, gentle, caring, gorgeous and just all around a wonderful character to see.

I loved most of her scenes in the series, and the fact that there was more to her than just the jack part. She actually had an important part to play in many episodes and honestly proved herself to be a very fun character. I just wish they gave a her little more screentime than what she got.

A lot of lost potential there- I mean come on.

7- Rua /Lua

He reminds me of Judai WAY too much. LIKE WAAAAY too much not to be on this list. The guy’s adorable. And I love how they made him the emotional one. Like they could’ve gone with the “the boy is always rowdy and tOUGH” stereotype, but they didn’t. Sure, ruka (who I don’t like as much) was much more gentle, but it was much easier to see Rua cry than it was to see her do so. It’s just fun is all.

I also adore his deck and that little theme that played whenever he dueled… Plus his relationship with Jack and Yusei…GOLD GOLD.

6- Ushio

I made a whole post about Him, You think he wouldn’t be in my Top 10? Well think again. Great development would see through again.

5- Sherry Leblanc

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SHERRY.

What you just witnessed in the line above is my internal reaction to literally any scene this beautiful badass woman happens to be in.

She’s just amazing. She has this really… tough energy IDK HOW TO DESCRIBE IT BUT SHE’S A REALLY INTIMIDATING WOMAN. But not in a bad way, oh nonononono in a REALLY REALLY GOOD WAY OKAY.

Her character arcs and episodes somehow felt…really separate from the whole team 5D’s shenanigans even though they were basically connected…

Like she had her own motivation that didn’t particularly rely on bonds, but was still willing to accept and even form a bond with the whole team.

Revenge is kinda hot ngl.

Okay no it’s not. But seeing a vengeful character that WASN’T played off as evil or particularly wrong amidst a bunch of friendship is magic ones was pretty refreshing.

The moment she took her helmet off when dueling yusei I was HOOKED and so was Aki but shhhhhh.

But damn I love what they did with her at the end, Rushed as it may have been. It took her joining with Z-one briefly and dueling Aki and Crow ( a very underrated duo btw) to realize that maybe thinking of the past and only the past was not a very good idea.

Anyway love her. And her duels are always a delight to watch.

4- Placido

Before he showed up, sherry was supposed to be 4th but here we are. Placido Placido Placido. I want to make it clear that…I really couldn’t care less about Aporia as a whole. But Placido and Lucchiano were pretty fun characters.

Now I finally get to talk about my beloved.

This dude was…the biggest mood. EVER.

He would hang up in that third one’s face like it was nothing and constantly ignore his boring ass. Oh. You have a plan? Ok. I don’t care. It’s boring. I’m placido and I’ll do what I want. Kiss my D-wheel ass.

He has a lot of hilariously sassy lines, which include and I quote:

“I don’t know what god wants you to do.”

“But I won’t accept it!”

The guy just does not care and I’m living for it.

Not to mention his bee analogies which- Why have I not seen anyone point out????? BEE ANALOGIES COME ONNNNNNNN

aNYWAY PLACIDO’S GREAT

3- Kiryuu

Edgy dude with pretty hair. Also gay. Also the crash town arc. Need I say more?

I will anyway.

Honestly dark signer Kiryuu was pretty fun to me with all the crazy laughter and stuff…

Then past/ flashbacks Kiryuu was just as interesting but in a completely different way. Sure he didn’t get as many episodes or screentime as the rest, but what I saw of him was more than enough for me to care about the Character. Like unlike the old satellite gang (Rally and the other two whose names I can’t even remember) I actually gave a shit about this guy when bad stuff happened to him.

Not to mention his growth. Like…He went through reverse/ negative development, then uphill by the end of the signers’ ark with all the…dying in your hands gayly stuff, then downhill again by the beginning of the crosstown arc….aaaaand back up and higher than ever by the end of it. Basically the fact that his development wasn’t always constant just added some spice.

Plus his dynamic with his ex-teammates…team….satisfaction (Try saying that with a straight face) was always pretty entertaining, especially his with Yusei.

Speaking of which...

2- Yusei

With all my talk about him…and…my profile picture…and URL, it may come as a surprise that he’s not number 1 here, but honestly it’s so close you could call it a tie.

As for why I love him….Have you- Have you seen my blog????? Do I even..need to say anything????

1- Crow

Now there’s a lot I have to say about Crow honestly hE’S JUST THAT COOL, but I’m saving it to talk about later still. All I’ll say for now is this:

Flashy guy with an amazing sense of style, an earring and an incredible amount of cockiness and charisma. What’s not to like?

#AH MAN THIS WAS A RIDE #BUT IT'S TIME TO START ZEXAL NOW #...First impressions soon I GUESS?#Still putting off the crow thing because I KNOW I'll literally NEED to write about him I just do #Jack atlas #Izayoi Aki #Mikage sagiri #Rua #sherry leblanc #Placido 5D's #Placido #kyosuke kiryu #Yusei fudo #Crow hogan #Ygo #Yugioh 5D's #haven't been That active anywhere for a few days because of personal stuff but HERE I AM

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miaclemeverett · 4 years ago

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Was c!Wilbur worse than c!Dream? c!Wilbur, Conflict, & Manipulation

I made a thread responding to this tweet about how people have begun to paint Wilbur’s early actions in terms of his actions during Pogtopia.

The original tweet:

/rp /dsmp can we talk abt how wilbur was literally the absolute worst and we all just let it slide because “ghostbur cute ah hah ” like. holy shit he is arguably worse than dream in terms of manipulation and deserves that prison just as much and yall just forgot abt it

My response:

I think people need to realize that in the Dream SMP canon, Tommy and Tubbo pretty much view Wilbur as 2-3 different people. And I don't mean Ghostbur and Alivebur. Tommy and Tubbo still truly admire and miss the "old Wilbur" - he was their friend and hero.

The "Old Wilbur" led the boys against Dream and his words ("SUCK IT GREEN BOY") are literally their driving motivation in the disc war finale. The "Old Wilbur" acted tough and said "Revolution or death" but when they all died in the control room & when Tommy decided to duel Dream, Wilbur was SCARED for them and immediately wanted to end the revolution so that they'd be safe.

The "Old Wilbur" was a leader who just wanted to lead a peaceful nation using words rather than violence, who only made Tommy his right-hand man when Tommy learned that he shouldn't continue a cycle of griefing and violence against Dream (i.e., Dream griefed Tommy's house but Tommy shouldn't grief Dream's). I think Niki and Fundy feel the same way in that they miss the man Wilbur USED to be.

I would argue, quite controversially, that people overestimate the extent to which Wilbur manipulated Tommy. Wilbur did not want to go to war against Dream. Dream is the one who declared war, and Wilbur was the one who wanted to end the war the minute that they died in the control room and their safety was under threat. Before Pogtopia, Wilbur and Tommy were pretty much brothers.

But when Wilbur lost the election, that's when he started to lose everything and distrust everyone around him. I absolutely see Wilbur's "are we the bad guys" speech as Wilbur manipulating Tommy to get him onto his side, because at that point Wilbur felt that the only person he could rely on was Tommy. Everyone else (in his mind) was either -

1) Secretly betraying him/had betrayed him (Tubbo, Quackity, Niki, Fundy) or 2) Using him (Dream, Techno).

I do think near the end, though, that Wilbur let go of Tommy & stopped caring about getting him on his side. He had decided on going out alone to do what "needed" to be done.

In summary: I hate when people use the drug van & the war as evidence of Wilbur manipulating Tommy. The drug van is literally a meme and they both were having fun with it. Tommy was literally fighting wars BEFORE WILBUR WAS ON THE SERVER. And Wilbur did not want a war.

So it makes sense why some characters - Tommy & Tubbo for the most part - view Wilbur as a heroic sort of figure, because they miss the Wilbur he "used" to be. They don't want to remember what Wilbur became as power corrupted him, from the election to Nov 16. But pretty much all the other characters hate Wilbur lmao they don't even remember his history! He's a villain! They call him crazy and bad! Tommy is scared to bring Wilbur back because he might get the “other Wilbur” who “turned” bad!

They responded with a great point about Wilbur shaping the perception of Dream as a villain:

i think tho that wilbur had a real hand in shaping the way dream was perceived, like, forever. wilbur painted dream as a villain from l’manburg’s birth and dream just. embraced it lol. wilbur def started to change around the election arc tho.

i think he got paranoid that his position of power would be questioned and instead of staying calm he rushed to strengthen his claim to rule by holding an election. he immediately went wrong tho because the moment he rigged it, his claim that l’manburg was a “people’s nation” seemed disingenuous and effectively delegitimized the foundation l’manburg was built on, which was freedom. i think that’s when the “old wilbur” began to kinda. crack.

And my response:

People really miss the mark on L'Manburg's founding. They often see that as Wilbur manipulating Tommy from the start & casting Dream as a villain unjustifiably, when in reality it's more complicated. People act like Wilbur & Tommy wanting to claim a few 100 blocks as their own was reason for Dream to declare war (against a country that didn't even wear armor or use weapons in its walls) and Wilbur himself had quite mixed feelings about Dream (he literally said after they won independence that he could get used to living alongside Dream as an independent country & that he hated Eret more than Dream lol).

It's only when Wilbur saw that he had no power that he started emphasizing the country's anti-Dream rhetoric to try and win votes.

I feel like people forget that *Tommy* villainized Dream from the beginning, before Wilbur was even on the server, while Wilbur had much more mixed emotions & motivations towards Dream.

#dream smp #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken #meta

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adoraang · 5 years ago

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She-Ra Week Day 5 by @fauxghosts

Prompt: PRINCESS PROM / healing

Summary: When Glimmer and Bow bet Adora she can't ask Catra to prom before the end of the spring musical, she gets frustrated with her feelings.So what do you do when you've got a bunch of pent up frustration?You duke it out in the Denny's parking lot with your crush in a lightsaber duel.

Read it on AO3

“You’re not gonna do it.”

“I am not gonna do it,” Adora said dramatically as they stepped off the stage after finishing Act Two.

Their school, after constant begging, had finally decided to do a production of Les Miserables. After doing things like Seussical (they don’t talk about that) and High School Musical (nothing wrong with it, just mundane), the theatre department wanted something more serious. Something that would challenge them.

So they forced their director, Double Trouble, to fight with the school about doing Les Mis. Despite some of the… suggestive stuff from the show, the school probably didn’t want to fight some theatre kids, and let them have their show.

The audition process is always the scariest. Being a soprano, she only had one role really available to her: Cosette. Glimmer and Bow peer pressured her into auditioning for a lead instead of going straight to ensamble, and she still wasn’t going to do it, but then Catra asked her to do it, and she couldn’t say no.

Adora ended up cast as Cosette, and she had practically cried of happiness when the cast list came out. Glimmer had gotten Fantine, being a very low mezzo. But then Catra’s name was listed for Eponine, and she just about proposed right there.

They were far from love interests. In fact, they were love rivals. Sea Hawk was the one playing Marius, and the two girls spent the entire show in love with him, which wasn’t the funnest. Neither of them even liked boys, so for Catra’s character to die because she was delivering a letter to Marius… It was a trip.

Even if they weren’t true love interests, and only shared one song with each other that wasn’t the Act One finale, Catra and Adora still spent the most time in rehearsal together. Ironic, because the one song was called A Heart Full Of Love, and it’s Adora’s hardest song, in her opinion.

She gushed about Catra to Bow and Glimmer everyday in the car home from rehearsal. “Guys, I think my heart is full of love. Would it be weird to ask Double Trouble to switch Marius and Eponine? I’d rather spend the whole show simping about Catra then Sea Hawk-”

“Adora!” Glimmer cut off. “You’ve been halfway in love with Catra since Seussical, and I think that’s saying something. You should tell her. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“She rejects me, never talks to me again, drops out of the show, and I can’t spend the rest of senior year with her or college, since we’re both going to University of San Diego together to major in theatre, and she’ll never want to be in another role with me!”

“You’re freaking out again,” Bow childed, not turning away from the street as he drove. “You know Catra isn’t like that. And I don’t think she’ll reject you in the first place.” “I am so tired of hearing Adora talk about Catra when Catra probably likes her back,” Glimmer growled. “I’m going to do something about it.”

She reached into her pocket, and Adora almost hopped over the console. She thought they were going to call Catra and tell her something, and it was enough to make her take off her seatbelt, despite Bow’s car safety. “Glimmer, wait-”

Instead, she pulled out her wallet. “I will give you fifty dollars if you ask Catra to Princess Prom as a romantic date. I’ll double the offer if you do it before closing night.”

“An extra twenty if she says yes!” Bow chimed in.

Glimmer and Bow don’t struggle with money, so a hundred wasn’t a lot for them, but Adora’s eyes grew wide as she thought about it. Of course, it involved asking Catra out, but she’d figure that out later. “You have a deal.”

“Now please put your seatbelt back on!” Bow screeched, his voice cracking.

Which brought them to now, as they got into position for curtain call. She’d be bowing with Sea Hawk after Catra had hers with Kyle (who played Enjorlas, and it’s still shrouded in mystery how he got the role). Glimmer was one of the first to bow, but she still caught the wink as she walked away.

“That thing is huge,” Catra mumbled when she got in line backstage, waiting for their cue.

Adora looked down at her costume. The huge wedding dress wasn’t her favorite costume from the show, but it couldn’t be more appropriate for the moment (or inappropriate, take the pick). Catra couldn’t look more beautiful in her sleeveless white shirt and brown skirt that hit the floor. Despite the fact that the belt on her waist was big on her and she had dirt slathered all over her, she’s never looked better. Plus the red cap… That stupid thing was going to be the death of her.

“It’s always been like this,” Adora replied, falling into her place next to Sea Hawk, who busied himself with Kyle. Her heart thumped with the question. She doubted Catra had feelings for her, but she could always ask as a friend. Not like Glimmer and Bow needed to know anyways…

Bow had been a life saver in tech. He always knew when to turn off people’s mics, including that one time he turned off Catra’s when she started shit talking principal Hordak backstage when he came to watch rehearsal. Luckily, he turned them off now as Adora made her attempts to approach the subject.

“Princess Prom.” That’s not a question, it’s a statement! “Uh, I mean…”

“Catra, you and Kyle are next,” Scorpia, their stage manager, said.

Catra nodded, then turned back to her. “So, this is it, huh.. Our last curtain call as seniors, being cast as the leads for the first time, our last show in general until San Diego.”

“Don’t remind me.” She already cried in her car as she drove herself and Catra to school, emotional about ending her last show already. Closing nights are always a mess, but it just hits differently as seniors, and when you’re playing love rivals with the girl you’re pretty in love with.

“I’ll see you on the flip side,” she whispered before she ran out on stage, the bright lights shining down on her.

Even though Adora could only see Catra’s back, they were both sad about this being their last show. They had identical tears pricking their eyes, and when she rushed off stage with Kyle, she braced herself for the emotions to come.

She took Sea Hawk’s hand, and they ran to center stage when Scorpia gave them their cue. She couldn’t stop the tears from coming, even as she bunched her dress in her hands to give the curtsey bow. Sea Hawk did the Jeremy Jordan bow, where he clasps his hands in front of him and takes his bow.

Their last show…

The cast got into a line going horizontal, pointing to their lovely orchestra for their part of the bow. They started to make their way backstage again, and Adora took Catra’s hand. For emotional support, you know? She wasn’t going to see the blinding lights or the tech week shenanigans or the mic taped to her forehead in high school again! Obviously she’s going to be very dramatic about it.

As the cast made their way to the green room, everyone was in the same mood: sad. Catra had opted for letting go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders as they silently sniffled. She was going to miss this…

“Closing night isn’t over, people!” Sea Hawk shouted, pumping a fist into the air. “Let’s go say goodbye to Double Trouble, and head over to Denny's!”

Ah, yes. The theatre kid ritual. Every show, they have to go to Denny'safter closing. It’s the law, and she looked forward to it every time. It always created the best memories, like when the obnoxious senior from last year, Octavia, got arrested for stealing a shopping cart.

Denny's always made her night.

“He’s not wrong,” Catra said to her. “Am I driving with you?”

“Duh.” Wasn’t that a given? Or was it too forward to assume. Or maybe-

“That’s what I thought.”

But when they stepped into the green room, all thoughts of Catra disappeared (for one second exactly) as Double Trouble walked in, whopping loudly. They gave their speech about this being one of the funnest shows to do, but Adora was too busy wiping her wet cheeks to really listen.

“Go out there, kids, and rule the goddamn theatre world!” Double Trouble finished, dismissing them for the night.

“To Denny's!” Glimmer exclaimed, giving everyone the pick-me-up they needed.

“To Denny's,” Catra repeated to her, quieter. To Denny'sit was. They walked to the parking lot, heading to her car, but Glimmer caught her wrist as she was opening her door.

“You only have a couple hours left. Use them wisely.” Satisfied with her words of wisdom, Glimmer got into the passenger side of Bow’s car parked next to them.

“I’m really going to kill them,” Adora whispered to herself as she put the key into the ignition. Her little yellow beetle may not be anything for any other high school kid, but it was perfect for her.

“Why?” Catra asked, having apparently heard her. Rats.

“Because.” And it was left at that before Adora opened her mouth again. “Princess Prom. That’s a thing that’s going on. It’s going on very soon. Like, in a month soon.”

“Yes, what about it?” Catra seemed so dismissive of it. She looked out the window, listening to Somebody’s Watching Me on the radio. Was she even going to go? What if she asked and Catra had no plans of going, and Adora’s unknowingly forcing her into it?

“Nothing.”

“Oh…” Catra traced the window with her nail. Now why was she all deflated? This girl is way too confusing for her brain. “I want to go, but I don’t want to be alone.”

Adora is going to kill someone. Seriously, all it would take is driving the car into Denny's. “Really? You’re going?”

“Not as of right now, but I kind of want to. Like I wouldn’t wear a dress or heels. But… I would want to wear a suit and maybe get my nails a color that isn’t black. But I don’t know who I’d go with.”

She momentarily turned away from the road to look at Catra. Bow would be screaming at her right now, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. She was basically given an invitation to ask, but what if Catra didn’t want her to ask? What if she’s just talking about it? What if she wants Adora to set her up with someone else?

Catra opened her mouth to say something, but she got distracted by something gleaming in the backseat. “There’s no way I didn’t notice these earlier!”

She reached into the back, leaning across the console. Her white sweater rode up on her waist, and Adora exploded into a blush at the sight of some skin. Seriously, what is wrong with her? And because she doesn’t get cold, she wore a cropped red cami and regular black jeans. Her outfit did nothing to hide the blush.

Catra came back up, holding the hilt of two lightsabers. They were both big Star Wars nerds, and she spent thirty dollars (each) on these sabers. But the money from the bet would pay it back, if she actually did it. Catra dove into the backseat again, bringing the two sticks of plastic that she fastened back onto the hilt.

She pressed a button, and the blue light from Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber lit up the car. Catra stared at the saber, and Adora couldn’t help but notice how her skin managed to light up perfectly in the blue light. “Try the red.”

Catra turned off the blue saber, and grabbed a hold of Darth Vader’s lightsaber. The red added a dangerous feeling to the atmosphere. Blue was fun and playful. Red was full of passion, and the silence that followed afterward proved her point.

Finally, Catra cleared her throat, moving the saber around a bit. “Oh, I like this one.”

“But I like that one,” Adora protested as she pulled into a parking space at Denny’s. She could see everyone had already arrived. Not like she was driving slower than usual just to get a couple more seconds of conversation. No doubt they would see the red light and question what they were doing.

She pointed the end of the saber at Adora. “Well then, I guess it’s going to have to be a duel to the fate.”

Adora rolled her eyes at the reference, but grabbed the blue saber from the console, igniting it with the push of a button. “Okay, Eponine ‘I Died Delivering A Letter To My Love Interest That Was Actually About Another Girl’ Thénardier.”

“That’s the show’s fault, not mine.”

“Unimportant.”

Catra opened the car door, bouncing to Adora's side within seconds. She hastily took off her seatbelt, practically sprinting out of the driver's seat, spinning the hilt in her hand. “I’m pretty sure you’ve never fought with one of these.”

Adora scoffed. “I own them.”

“Yeah, just like I’m gonna own you!” Catra charged forward, raising her saber above her head before bringing it down on Adora. She barely had time to respond, lifting her own saber to block it as she sunk down to her knee.

“Hey, I just ordered our table! It’ll be ready in a couple minutes,” Scorpia said as she came out the door in time to see Adora stand and knock Catra away from her. “What are you guys doing?”

Catra held Adora in a parry as she turned around to yell, “Fighting, duh!”

“Yeah, we see that!” Bow shouted as Adora brought her sword back to her chest, making Catra stumble as they slowly moved away from her car. “Why are you guys mad?”

“Not real fighting!” Adora answered, moving in closer to Catra as their sabers met in the middle time and time again. “I’m defending my honor and rights!” “Yeah, her rights to dance with me instead of fighting in a parking lot!” Catra responded.

Adora faltered at that. Before she could begin overthinking what that meant in the middle of a lightsaber duel in the Denny's parking lot with the entire cast of Les Mis watching, Catra caught her saber and twisted her arm, causing Adora to completely let go of her saber.

“It’s over, Adora. I have the high ground,” Catra boasted.

“Not yet!” She dropped down low, catching the saber by the hilt before it hit the ground. She brought her blade back up, the two of them getting caught in another round of aimlessly swinging and blocking.

“You guys are ridiculous!” Glimmer shouted, her head in her hands.

“You don’t appreciate the true art of Star Wars like we do!” Adora yelled back.

Truthfully, this isn’t how she expected her last post closing night dinner at Denny’s to go.

When she was talking about it to Catra on their way to school, they imagined a tearful night. Majority of the cast and crew were seniors, and everyone loved them. Glimmer had basically adopted a little sophomore, Frosta, who played Gavroche (no one even noticed the genderbend!). They all thought they were going to be sad, and cry in the back of Scorpia’s pick up truck as they sang One Day More as a cast, one last time.

Instead, Adora was sword fighting Catra in the parking lot as all of their friends watched.

A great conclusion to her senior year musical, honestly.

Adora stood in front of Catra for a moment as they caught their breath. In an instant, they started twirling their sabers in their hands. The light from the blue and red was a whirlwind, and Catra laughed as they recreated that one scene from their favorite Star Wars movie: Revenge of the Sith.

Catra’s laugh was intoxicating. It made Adora let out her own giggle. They went back to fighting after a second, but Catra’s face illuminated by the red light in the nighttime made her stomach go up in butterflies.

“You were supposed to join me, not leave me in darkness!” Catra recited, smiling the whole time.

Adora swiped the saber at her feet, and Catra hopped over it. “Well, I love you!”

She froze, and Catra even faltered. But because she froze, Catra pushed her onto her back, pointing the red saber at her. “I know!”

For a moment, she forgot it was a reference to another one of the movies. But Adora let her saber fall out of her hand, looking up at Catra. The red light was stunning. Everyone else around them had fallen silent to watch the exchange. She then realized no one else knew what the reference was from.

“Guys, it’s from one of the movies!” Adora called out from her place on the ground. “Empire Strikes Back, it’s pretty good. You guys should watch it!”

Catra panted, looking down at her. “What?”

She was equally as confused. “What? What happened?”

“Oh, forget it.” Catra turned off the saber, holding her hand out instead. “Want to rule a galaxy together instead?”

“How about we start by taking over Broadway,” Adora grinned, helping herself up with Catra’s assistance. She turned off the blue saber, but they continued to stare at each other. Catra continued to hold her hand, but neither made any attempt to move away.

“Did we just hash everything out in a Denny’s parking lot?” Catra asked.

“I think we did..”

“Adora!” Glimmer shouted, interrupting their staring contest. “So like, I have a hundred with me. Bow has a twenty, but…”

The bet. A hundred and twenty dollars if she successfully asked her crush out to Princess Prom and didn’t get rejected. But they just beat each other up with plastic toys from the Disney store. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe they were, but then one of them would fall to the dark side and tragically die. Who knows?

“Oh, that thing where Glimmer and Bow were going to give you money if you asked me to Princess Prom?” Catra raised an eyebrow, laughing at Adora’s horrified face. “Bow told Scorpia, and she accidentally let it slip.”

Adora groaned. She wanted to go fall in a hole and die in a ditch. Maybe she should’ve been shot on stage instead of Catra. “Yeah, about that-”

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me,” Catra said, tightening her hold on her hand. “I didn’t think I wanted to go, but then I heard that and I realized… maybe I did. The dances and stuff always felt really corporate to me, and it wasn’t my thing. But I went home everyday wondering why you hadn’t asked me yet, and then I realized-”

“Oh my god I am so sorry,” Adora interrupted. She was horrified. Catra knew the entire time. She’s been tripping over herself for the two months of rehearsal and three weeks of the actual production, but never stopped to think what if she already knew. She’s absolutely mortified. “You got dragged into this mess of a joke between me and Glimmer then Bow came in and I just thought, I don’t know. I don’t think or I think too much. Oh my god, I can not believe this is happening!”

Catra chuckled when she spoke without a pause. “Breathe. I’m not mad. Or upset or anything like that. I like you too, Adora.”

Her cheeks flamed. “You did?”

She nodded. “You’re not exactly subtle, per say…”

Adora didn’t feel like crying out of embarrassment anymore. She put her free hand in her pocket, ghosting her fingers over Catra’s knuckles with the other. “You actually like me?”

Another nod, accompanied with a gorgeous laugh. “Yes. Yes, I like you and all your high notes. You think I liked seeing you kiss Sea Hawk every rehearsal and show?” They both laughed. Neither of them like it, apparently, because Adora didn’t. “You and your private story where you rewatch Clone Wars with me and we both cry, and I get to see the video and laugh at how oblivious you were to notice that I liked you. You and your bootleg pirating, despite the fact that Newsies is your favorite and it’s literally proshot. So yeah, Adora. I do like you. You and your overthinking.”

Adora was over the moon, and she wanted to stay here in the parking lot all night and talk. But first, she had something to conclude. “So, Princess Prom. That’s a thing we should go to together.”

“We should.”

They did.

#she ra #catra #adora #catradora #sheraweek #my fic #my writing

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bearsinpotatosacks · 4 years ago

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Cream and Two Sugars- A McChapel fic

Sickbay was quiet, something he would never say aloud due to the infamous rule of "Never say it's quiet because it soon won't be". They'd done all the physicals, the check-ups and the shots, in fact, he was quite surprised at how quickly they could get work done with a day away from emergencies and a crew that would cooperate.

Leonard was trying to get some work done, trying being the opulent word. Christine had just come back from the labs, where she'd been working on some project just to keep up her skills from the long lost days of her scientific career.

Her hair was up today, he could see the lack of tension in her neck. She was behind him now and whistling a tune to herself as she wrote up her findings.

He tried to look back at his PADD to read the report but the words muddled together into the same scribbled nonsense. She stood up behind him and grabbed his mug, her perfume swirled around his head. He gulped.

"Len," She was the only one allowed to call him that. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, but without all that cream and sugar shit you put in yours,"

"I have my tastes and you have yours,"

He scoffed, "Taste's one thing, masking that taste is another,"

The mugs clicked in her hand as she placed them under the duel-stream coffee maker inset into the wall. She started to hum just as she replied, "Just because you have to consume everything as bitter as your soul, doesn't mean I do,"

With that he shot up, discarding the stylus onto his desk as he rushed across the room to her side. He heard her breath catch in her throat as his warming cologne, her floral perfume and the steaming coffee scents all mixed.

Christine had held his interest for a few months now and he had a sneaking suspicion that she did too. He knew there was a possibility she didn't, that her heart still belonged somewhat to Spock. But now the first officer was wholeheartedly in love with the Captain he thought he might have a chance.

"I think we both know my soul ain't as bitter as my coffee," He made sure his words stroked the exposed skin of her neck.

"I don't know, there's little evidence to say otherwise,"

He feigned shock, "Little evidence, have you ever seen me being kind to a child, or one o'those ensigns barely out of the Academy. I think you'll find that I am a very considerate and gentle person-"

She started to prepare her coffee when he turned her around to look deeply in her blue eyes. They gulped in unison and smiled. Both of them knew they were being silly, all these comments and the severe lack of personal space between them.

"Well, you could've had me fooled,"

She leant in and closed her arms around his chest, taking his scent in with deep breaths. He returned her embrace but held back slightly, wanting to nuzzle and kiss her neck, rub circles into her back and hold her tight enough to never let her go.

"Come on Leonard, show me this gentle side of yourself you're so proud of," She said.

She pulled her head back and saw him pull away when she leant in to kiss him. That fiery thrill in her stomach dissipating immediately. Had she been wrong? Maybe she'd missed the signs or let her infatuation mask reality?

"Leonard, did I read this wrong?"

He stood a few steps away when she reached for him. His own fire turned sour, almost purple as guilt became the fuel.

"No, I-"

"No? Then why are you pushing me away? We both want this, what's stopping us?"

He didn't reply. All she got was a look of despair, a sad longing in his eyes. She'd waited for Roger to show her she was truly worthy of devotion but he couldn't. His research was his devotion, never her. Spock had caught her eye and her will but he too had a reason, although a much more valid and understandable reason, not to return her feelings. She couldn't be rejected again, not after she'd been given a whiff of Leonard's splendorous love.

"Is it Starfleet? Because I don't care about them, I've always told you that. They may have trained me as a nurse but they can't control who I share my affections with," She still got no reply. "Perhaps because you're my boss? Well we both know that you've never treated me as your subordinate, everyone is in this sickbay is equally as needed and equally as busy, that's what you always say,"

He shook his head and clenched his hands. His body tensed, he was holding himself back.

"Then what? I know the looks we've shared mean something, the jokes and he touches. So if you're not going to do something about it then I deserve to get a reason why!"

And with that, he exploded, "Because I'm ten years your senior! I've had time to live and screw up and train and have kids and be married and get divorced and chase the possibilities and you're just getting to the good part,"

"You're getting to the part where you might start experimenting with people differently, you know what you like but you want to know how you like it. You're right in the sweet spot of having all the opportunities to get promoted and train to get whatever role you choose. None of that should include settling with a crotchety old coot who doesn't know if he's gonna stay in Starfleet or go home or go somewhere else entirely."

He stepped into her body again and took a moment to caress her face. She shuddered under his hand, letting herself relax and close his eyes, listen to the sounds of his voice.

"I can't offer you stability, I can't offer you a willingness to go off gallivanting to who knows where. I've felt trapped in a relationship before and I don't want you to realise when you're my age that you wasted your time on a crush that got too deep when you could've been out realising who you are,"

She held onto his hand and moved it from her face. They looked away from themselves, distracting themselves withdrawing abstract shapes on the backs of their palms. A rushing blush flooded her cheeks, and his too when she checked.

Why couldn't he accept that she wanted him? Was he that lacking in self-confidence or had someone taught him wrongly over years of disagreements?

"How do you know what I'll want in ten years? And why do you get to say what I should do in my thirties," She knocked his forehead with hers and lowered her volume so only he could hear it. "I've done my experimenting, I've had my major bad relationship and my heartbreaking unrequited love. Can't we have this?"

Their hands broke apart as she ran her hands over his chest. He was lean, not too muscular and not too thin. His scrubs were smooth over her hands as she lifted their heads and prepared their lips to kiss.

"Why can't we have this? Who told us we couldn't?"

"No one,"

Their eyes locked and everything internally stopped, dropping to the floor as her head floated just within her grasp for her to pull herself back together so she could truly enjoy this.

"Then why don't we give it a try, Len," They chuckled lowly at the nickname. "Why don't we try?"

She closed the gap and everything snapped back into place again. Her thoughts flew out of her head. His hands drew across her waist, running through the few loose hairs falling out of her bun and holding her still with a single grip.

They broke but dove back in. She'd never had something like this before. It wasn't passionate, she didn't have the urge to rip their clothes off and truly discover each other right there in the empty sickbay. Instead, it was home. It was warm blankets and old holofilms, family recipes and days spent in bed as snow fell outside.

He hummed as she pulled away to lay her head on his shoulder and lazily stroke the creases in his undershirt. They stood breathless for a moment before she whispered.

"How about we have a proper date?"

"Sounds like a good idea, how about twenty hundred hours in the mess hall on deck eight?"

"Deck eight? But no one goes there,"

He gave her that charming smile and her stomach swooped. "Exactly, no one goes there,"

They met in the middle again and fell into a routine. Her tongue flashed against his bottom lip just as he broke off and twisted his head to plunge in again. His hands grabbed a hunk of her dress in one hand as they bent slightly and bumped into the counter.

"Ehem, doctor,"

They turned with a gasp to see the Captain and the First Officer at the door to sickbay. Jim had that goofy smile on his face and Spock simply raised an eyebrow.

"I was going to say were you listening to Uhura's announcements, but you clearly were occupied," He made a signal for Bones to follow him. "We have a possible concussion on the bridge, come along,"

Leonard gave a wave to Christine and rubbed his face a few times in a failed attempt to hide the raging red flush on his face. She merely laughed and sipped her coffee as he left sickbay.

"Captain, did you get McCoy? Chekov says he's feeling drowsy," Uhura's voice said through Jim's communicator.

"Yes, we have him now, on our way up, Lieutenant,"

"Where was he Captain, I was beginning to think my transmissions weren't going through,"

"Oh not to worry, Lieutenant, Doctor McCoy was just having a meeting with his nurse," He said with a grin just as he collapsed to the floor after tripping over Leonard's outstretched foot.

"Oh sorry Captain, did I trip you up?" He said, changing his tone from joking to serious when he added. "And how about we start acting professionally, you know, how we're meant to?"

Spock gave one of his ghosts of a smile and stated simply, "That seems like far too great of a task for you Doctor, considering how you were just acting with Nurse Chapel,"

Leonard made a mental note to add more security on his office door just as he stepped onto the bridge and caught as woozy Chekov in his arms.

So, I wrote this in one night after having a day of major McChapel feels. Also, Christine is born in 2237 in TOS? I always thought she was closer to Bones' age but I guess not. I hope you enjoyed this, tell me if you did!

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gffa · 5 years ago

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I was asked by @grasswatcher for fics that explore STAR WARS’ Jedi culture and this is one of those subjects that’s dearest to my heart, because I constantly crave more exploration of what it must be like to be a Level 100 Space Psychic in touch with an ancient, unfathomable energy field that creates feedback loops in your head and connects you to all living things and can overwhelm you so easily if you don’t have your shit together, just as much as I want to know about Jedi traditions and Jedi artwork and Jedi philosophy and Jedi stories and Jedi language and all of it. There have been some pretty stellar ones out there, sometimes deep dives, sometimes just weaving bits into the background and I love them all and want a thousand more immediately! STAR WARS FIC RECS - JEDI CULTURE: ✦ The Mathematics of Repair by panharmonium, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.6k For raw teachers and rough-edged students building in the rubble: tiny steps are enough, provided they carry you in the right direction. Immediately post TPM, in short snippets. ✦ In All The World by Ammar, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 76.6k wip The story of how Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi tamed each other, from Naboo to Anakin’s early days at the Temple. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & ahsoka & palpatine & cody & cast, ~30k wip or: “Obi-Wan’s Life Gets Worse (Though It’s Not As Bad As It Could’ve Been)” ✦ Cataclasm by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & waxer & cast, 51.9k wip For reasons unknown to all but himself, Obi-Wan Kenobi has left the Jedi Order in the midst of the Clone Wars, taking with him a single clone. Anakin Skywalker has been unofficially tasked by the Order to find Obi-Wan and bring him home. Unfortunately for Anakin, it seems his former master is always ten steps ahead of him. ✦ Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove, obi-wan & anakin & mace & palpatine & cast, 51.3k Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith. ✦ We Will Abide by naberiie, plo & shaak, 10.3k Light. Dark. Balance. Beneath the Jedi Temple, far below the chaos of Coruscant’s Galactic City, ancient halls and corridors sleep in silent darkness. Padawans Shaak Ti and Plo Koon are determined to explore them. ✦ The Living Force; Parables for Padawans by glorious_clio, obi-wan & cast, 6.1k Since infancy, younglings are taught the Jedi Code, “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.” Obi-Wan Kenobi learns these tenets backwards and forwards again. But even as a child, he is interested in nuance. And so his teachers tell him parables. ✦ Lineage by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & xanatos & cast, 35.9k AU!Jedi Apprentice. Book I: In which master and apprentice meet for the first time, enjoy a disastrous adventure courtesy of Xanatos DuCrion, and reap the fruits of patience and fortitude. A fanciful retelling of the original. ✦ Lineage II by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 40.9k A year or so has elapsed since the last time we saw our heroes. BOOK 2: In which master and apprentice investigate an evil brainwashing plot, attend a boisterous wedding, and battle the enemy within. ✦ Lineage III by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & dooku & xanatos & bant & cast, 49.4k AU!Jedi Apprentice. Book III: Master and apprentice face an important rite of passage, grapple with a traitorous plot within the Temple’s walls, and discover the limits of obedience and intuition. Appearances by Bant Eerin, Xanatos DuCrion, Yan Dooku, and others. ✦ Lineage IV by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & siri & adi gallia, 39.3k Master and apprentice endure a stint with the Agri-Corps, and find that trouble has a way of coming home to haunt them. Featuring a pile of bantha poodoo, a tentacled carnivorous plant, a desperate escaped convict, and a highly provocative young woman. ✦ Lineage V by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & tahl (& some qui-gon/tahl) & dooku & cast, 50.7k An evil scientist wreaks havoc when she captures Jedi Knight Tahl Uvain for purposes of obscure research; Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan rush to the rescue, only to be embroiled in further trouble; and Master Dooku joins in the hunt with characteristic aplomb. ✦ Lineage VI by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 66.2k Master and apprentice undertake a risky undercover mission to expose conspiracy in a far-flung sector; a comedy of manners abruptly transforms into a nightmare when their cover is blown; and a desperate escape gambit strikes deep at the foundations of trust. ✦ Lineage VII by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & siri & adi gallia & some obi-wan/siri, 74.5k Sent to the aid of their fellow Jedi on a disastrous mission to New Apsolon, master and apprentice contend with brainwashing, genocide, conspiracy, and the perilous realm of the heart. ✦ What Is My Heritage? by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda, 7.7k Qui-Gon, age 13, tries to find a place to belong. ✦ Coming Home by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda & dooku, 18.1k A story telling how Qui-Gon comes to be Dooku’s apprentice. ✦ Snakefic by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & yoda & cast, 6k It was only the matter of time before the egg hatched. ✦ Shadows of the Future by stormqueen873, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 129.3k ObiWan lost the duel on Mustafar, but instead of dying, he finds himself on a ship leaving Tatooine, with his old Master and a familiar young boy. As events begin to unfold, can he stop the future he knows from occuring? ✦ The Ice-Breaking Game by sharkcar, padme & ahsoka & rex & cast, 7.1k After contracting the Blue Shadow virus, Ahsoka Tano is quarantined in Theed, along with Senator Amidala and Captain Rex. They are three very different people, but they all share a restlessness that leaves them unable to endure their confinement. To pass the time, Padme suggests they play a question game, each telling stories about personal experiences. As all three share a humorous discussion, they learn about compassion and the importance of knowing perspectives different from their own. ✦ When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place by IllyanaA, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ocs & cast, 94.9k wip After killing three of the Jedi Order’s best and brightest, Palpatine’s fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he’s lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he’s ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance. ✦ A Long, Long Time Ago by ruth baulding, dooku & qui-gon + qui-gon & obi-wan + obi-wan & anakin + anakin & ahsoka, 5.8k A wisdom tale handed passed down through the generations poses troublesome questions for a line of masters and Padawans, from Dooku to Ahsoka Tano. ✦ Adi Gallia, Master of the Order by Perspicacia, adi & obi-wan & anakin & mace & cin & ahsoka & riyo & rex & cast, 7.2k Ashes in her heart, she had left the younglings and the elders and the wounded for her duty to the galaxy, choosing to stop the Sith instead of protecting her people. ✦ The Apprenticeship by Nny11, ahsoka & yoda & anakin & cast, 31.4k wip The doors only open when a Master opens them for their Padawan, a subtle reminder to them that a student needs a teacher’s guidance and that teachers must let them go. The force thinks it’s rather funny when it alters history by forcing Master Yoda to take on a very young Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan. ✦ Goreblood the Terrible by BloodyMary, jedi & cast, 1.7k It has occured to me that so far we lack any sort of folklore/storytelling tradition for the Jedi. So I set out to remedy this. Behold, for Goreblood the Terrible was the result. ✦ “The Padawan Chooses The Master” by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.6k prompt: AU - The Jedi say “The Padawan Chooses The Master” Qui Gon lives, Obi Wan is very preoccupied, and Anakin is put into the creche as an Initiate to learn what he can until Qui Gon wakes up from his coma and gets yelled at by the Council. In the meantime, Anakin meets other Jedi Masters and when the Council asks him who he wants to be his teacher, his answer isn’t Qui Gon. Instead it’s *insert your fav Jedi here* ✦ Brothers (working title) by Charity_Angel, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & padme & shmi & yoda & cast, 22.7k wip In which Qui-Gon has a very near miss on Naboo, Obi-Wan is very stubborn, and they end up breaking a lot of rules accidentally as a result. All because of that kid they picked up on Tatooine. ✦ Under a purple sun… by Perspicacia, obi-wan & ahsoka, ~1k Ahsoka hadn’t been happy when Skyguy had left her with Master Kenobi for this mission, but it was still good to spend time with her Grand Master. ✦ Hondo Kenobi by StarWarsSyl, obi-wan & hondo & cast, 2.6k It’s not every day the pirate Hondo calls Obi-Wan in to give him a baby. ✦ Duet by Silver Sky 1138, oc & cin, 2.3k Asha Scarsi, the Jedi Padawan who feels the Force through music, isn’t half as good at lightsaber combat as she is at singing and mindtricks. So she’s a little nervous when Battlemaster Cin Drallig calls her to the training room after class. ✦ The Only Home We Know by ReneeoftheStars, katooni & petro & ganodi & byph & gungi & zaft & cast, character death, child death, 2.4k The Jedi Temple is under attack. Determined to fight for their home, younglings Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, and Gungi make their way to aid the Jedi Masters in defense of the Temple. But the situation is far graver than they expected. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by GirlwithCurls98, anakin & ahsoka, 1k Even though they’re fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi’s sacred ceremonies. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently. ✦ All That I Have Seen by Felilla, ocs & ahsoka & anakin & obi-wan & yoda & cast, time travel, 35.3k wip She died in the Temple, staring into the face of a man that she once looked up to, a man that she once thought to be a great Jedi. She awoke in the Temple, years before that event took place. Years before everything went wrong. And she decided to make it right. ✦ Knightrise by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & ahsoka & satine & rex & cast, 19.4k wip “Strong enough to fight the Sith Lord, you are not.” “And you are?” ✦ Markings by wabbajack, plo & ahsoka & bultar & cast, 1.6k In which it is revealed that Master Plo Koon has always had a difficult time putting his foot down when faced with his Little ‘Soka. ✦ Night Shift at the Temple by ReneeoftheStars, oc jedi & cast, 1.8k A Jedi Temple Guard sees all, speaks to few, and has attachments to no one. One must be prepared for any threats that may arise, especially at night, while most of the Temple sleeps. ✦ Jedi of Light by Sannah, obi-wan/anakin/padme & mace & yoda & plo & even & jocasta & cast, 9.4k wip Out of irritation with the war and with permission from the Council, several talk show hosts create a show that airs weekly about the Jedi. They name the show *Jedi of Light,* and go around following Jedi and asking them questions. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & palpatine & bail & cast, 29.2k wip By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ The First Trial by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon, 2k Accompanied by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, young Obi-Wan Kenobi undergoes his first trial and rite as a Padawan Learner on the frozen planet of Ilum. ✦ Arrival by CJinn, obi-wan & yoda & cast, 2.6k Little Obi-Wan was only a few days old when he was brought to the Jedi Temple. His arrival caused some confusion among the Jedi. ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 18.4k wip After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k “I believe that if what’s happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them.” ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he’ll make some friends along the way. ✦ Master by CJinn, obi-wan & anakin, 27.5k Obi-Wan Kenobi had always wanted to become a Jedi Knight. What he didn’t expect was to become a Master merely days after his own Master died. Adapting to his new role as the mentor and Master of the quite unusual Padawan Anakin Skywalker became a bumpy road. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan’s recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Starrunner by rinzukodas, obi-wan & jedi & oc, 80.2k wip In what would have been the year 17 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is found slumped over his desk, dead to rights and emitting a foul odor. The coroners declare the body victim to a heart attack and the smell a result of a lack of a timely embalming—a bit of bowels humor, the head coroner says with a nervous laugh when interviewed by the Galactic Enquirer. ✦ The Spire by skatzaa, obi-wan & ocs, 2.4k The galaxy was on the brink of war, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been assigned a new room. ✦ Room Arrangements by skatzaa, obi-wan & anakin, 2.2k Anakin has some concerns about room arrangements at the Temple. Obi-Wan does his best to reassure him. ✦ Swimming Lessons by devilinthedetails, obi-wan & anakin, 2.1k Obi-Wan decides Anakin must learn how to swim. ✦ The Uses of a Sandwich by Laura Kaye (laurakaye), obi-wan & qui-gon & oc & cast, 17.6k A few months after being taken as a Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces a challenge: meeting his Master’s first apprentice. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

#jedi #jedi order #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #qui gon jinn #fic recs #star wars fic recs

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kaxen · 4 years ago

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4, 11, and 17 for the asks?

4 Historical figure everyone should collectively stop talking about.

There so many directions to go with this... I could probably pick a different dude every time this is asked.

Robert E. Lee because *gestures vaguely in the direction of the South and all its stupid mental baggage* It’s like they thought they peaked in high school but they also lost the high school championship football game and then spent their middle age trying to rewrite history.

11 Favourite quote from an autobiography

Hmmm what is my favorite bit of Lejeune...

On the short end, I like "Audacity alone can succeed" (though the original French was more blunt with “l'audace réussit")

On the longer end, I have feelings about Lejeune spending a whole page complaining about how stupid he thinks duels are only to go :-) Time to kick his ass.

“What a bother!” I said to myself. “I, who detest the stupid prejudice which makes it impossible to avoid a duel, am now dragged into one myself. The fear of appearing a coward really is a piece of culpable pusillanimity, and it is a proof rather of want of courage than of the reverse not to dare to express one's aversion to risking one's life in a single combat when there are plenty of other opportunities of proving one's valour in presence of a thousand dangers. Might not a duel deprive my country of two of its best defenders ? Does a duel make a skilful rogue and bully respectable? Or is an honest fellow who falls beneath the sword of a swashbuckler contemptible? Such were the questions I put to myself, and it struck me that it really would be a good thing to look upon the two parties to a duel as mentally afflicted, one because he was fool enough to insult the other, and the other because the insult has inflicted on him a mental injury. This state of things once admitted, the seconds, who are able to judge of the cause of quarrel calmly and dispassionately, should be bound in honour, and by certain rules to be agreed upon, to effect a reconciliation in every case. Society and civilisation would doubtless gain greatly by the abolition of the barbarous custom of rushing to a duel to atone for one offence by committing a yet greater one, resulting often in the death of the innocent party. I was still musing on this weakness of humanity when at the hour appointed M. Stoffel reappeared.

In spite of myself I was really as much under the tyranny of the point of honour as any one, and I gaily accompanied M. Stoffel to the place where I expected to find my brother with his regiment.

17 Opinion on military history

IT’S COMPLICATED. It’s not like I dislike military history. I guess I have more problems with it being presented with bad priorities. Like super jingoistic war content is like ........hhhnnnggghhhh

Also I hate it when people just pretend war logistics doesn’t exist. Good gravy do I have feelings about how people are taking all this shit they need everywhere.

#mersereau

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years ago

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“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 32

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 32 - God-Shattering Star

“Oh, cry me a river, Rex!” Weevil glanced to the battle below; many of the Club members had already died. Joey, Mai, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Atem, and Duke were the only fighters who hadn’t sustained any serious injuries against the massive Earthbound army. Even Phuckdis and William were riddled with gashes, yet refused to retreat with Dr. Balls. “So your allies still cling to life like a drowning man onto a rock. Cute. Not that it will do any of you any good!”

“Rex…” Mako crawled on the floor; luckily for him, Espa retreated from the battle before he got hurt at all. “Don’t listen to him! You’re… hah… You’re the only one who can… save us…”

“Mako, don’t…” It was just then that after recalling the fight with Nortius, Rex had an idea. “Wait a second, Amber.”

“Papa, what is it?”

“I want to try something out. Why don’t we try fusing, just like Mako did with Jinzo?”

“But we don’t even have Polymerization! Those who do either are incapacitated or otherwise occupied! And you can’t even fly… If you fell to your death just like Kaiba, and all because of a stupid and ill-timed experiment, I…”

“Argh, we’ll both die anyway if we do nothing!” Rex pumped his fists in the air. “Show a little bit more Raptor spirit, why don’t you?”

“Papa… Okay. I trust you.” So Amber spoke as she half-shifted, and Rex began a long freefall.

“You really are a blooming idiot, aren’t you?” Weevil would have laughed longer, but stopped when he saw Rex glow pink. “So you think you can- Huh?”

“What’s… What’s happening to my boy?” Ptera wondered as Spinos tended to her wounds.

“Don’t tell me…” Phuckdis began. “Rex is…”

Before Rex could fall very far, Amber had completely fused with him, and he grew angel’s wings that soon turned into Rabidragon’s wings. Even if only by a little bit, the gloomy weather began to dissipate, replaced by an enormous pink glow at the top of KaibaCorp Tower.

“What is the meaning of this?” The shining presence of Rex - with his bow, fluffy white shirt, golden pants, and Rabidragon’s ears and tail - intimidated Weevil. “Just who do you think you are, that you can challenge me? Well, no matter! I’ll kill you right here, as I intended to do from the beginning! Take this!”

“...” Rex didn’t say anything as he simply held his bow at his side, and grabbed the chain whip before it could hurt him.

“It’s… Impossible! Aaaah!” Weevil reeled backwards when Rex threw him. “How can a weak rabbit like you stand up to me? ”

“It’s because…” Phuckdis made his presence known. “Rex is the true God-Shattering Star.”

William bowed in reverence with his brother and the remaining members of the Club. “He is the light that will save us all.”

Espa could still see Weevil and Rex, even from his hospital room. “Is that you, Rex Raptor?”

Joey looked up at Rex’s true form with a hint of jealousy. “That’s more powerful than anything I could cook up with the Claw of Hermos. I suppose that runt isn’t as weak as I thought him to be.”

Rex finally opened his now-crimson eyes and began to speak in a distorted voice. “Weevil… No, Earthbound God Sanpedro. I will kill you, right here and now, and free my beloved Weevil Underwood from your clutches.”

“So now you want me to die? That’s rich! What a fool. Come on, boy, come try me!”

“Hey, let me help too!” When Joey rushed up to Rex, he could feel an invisible barrier push him backwards.

“Joey, this is my fight alone. Why don’t you just take out the small fry and let a pro handle this?”

“Hahaha!” Despite the fact that there were still several hundred Earthbound soldiers left, Joey couldn’t help but laugh. “Even when he’s some almighty angel… god... thing, he’s still definitely that silly Rex Raptor. Well, my dude, consider my morale boosted! You heard the man, guys!”

“H-How dare you address the God-Shattering Star that way?” Phuckdis was clearly offended.

“Aww, come on, lighten up! Or you can just, I don’t know, sit there and relax while us duelists take care of the bad guys.”

“Or I can just, you know, show you just how strong us shapeshifters are!” Upon hearing Joey’s words, Phuckdis felt his strength anew, as did his brother. “I cannot fly, but that doesn’t mean I cannot fight!”

“Headstrong and reckless like your ‘God-Shattering Star.’” Duke chuckled. “Well, then, you better do a good job proving how strong you are!”

“You’re a poet and didn’t even know it!” Tristan quipped.

“You see, Weevil?” Rex stared at the nearly-soulless shell of his boyfriend. “You picked the wrong side to fight for. You have no friends there.”

“‘Friends,’ huh…” Weevil stared absentmindedly at the fighting below, especially at Joey and Atem. The chain whip rattled in his hands as he shook in anger. “Must be sooooo nice to have them! It must feel soooooo nice to be able to get palsy-walsy with people who didn’t give a shit about you just four years ago!”

“Weeves?!”

“You… YOU FUCKERS WILL ALL PAY!” Weevil dove as fast as he could, with all the anger he could muster ready to fuel his strike upon Atem.

“You coward! Get back here!” Rex couldn’t dive anywhere near that quickly, but tried to keep up as fast as his unborn baby would allow him, holding onto her for dear life.

“Eh?” Joey noticed Weevil coming for him before anyone else did, and braced himself with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword. “Atem, look out!”

“Amulet Dragon, protect us!”

Weevil had originally planned to strike everyone in one blow with the chain whip. But being the deceptive little shit he was, he decided on a different mode of attack - bypassing all of the monsters and encasing his two most hated enemies in spider webs instead. “Ha! Syke!”

“Ggh!” Already, Joey was up to his neck in spider webs - yet for some strange reason, his sword arm remained free, as did the sword itself. The webs would not give way, no matter how hard or often he slashed at them.

“W-Weevil…” Atem could hardly talk, as the spider webs gripped his throat tightly. “I… I thought we were friends!”

“Me? Friends with you?! What a joke! Do you honestly expect me to believe a word of bullshit coming out of your mouth after the suffering you’ve caused me? Do you honestly think that after all you’ve done, I’d consider you a friend?” Weevil cackled as Atem writhed in pain. “If anything, you’re lower than the dirt underneath my feet!”

All the commotion awakened Heka. “F-Father… No! Dear gods, what’s happening to my father?”

“Boy! How does it feel to know that your father is no longer the King of Games?”

“Leave… him alone!” Heka flung a flimsy arm, releasing a ball of light that Weevil easily blocked.

“Hmm… Nah, I think I’ll pass on that. In fact, I’d rather kill him before your very eyes!” Weevil approached Atem, with the intent to decapitate him with the chain whip. That was, until Rex blocked him in the nick of time, drawing Weevil’s attention away from his two captives. “Humph. It’s you again.”

“Damn right!” Rex’s smile faded when not long after he blocked the attack, his bow began to crumble. “Uh… Uh-oh…”

“Hah! Some ‘God-Shattering Star’ you turned out to be! Looks to me like you’re the one who’s shattered!”

“Crud… I kind of need a weapon!” Rex picked up a sword from one of his fallen allies, but it was so weak that Weevil shattered it with his bare hands, grabbing Rex by the throat right after. “Ngh!”

“Before I kill you right here and now, tell me something, Rex. Why did you defend these guys?”

“B-Because… They’re… my… cough… cough…”

“They accepted you so easily, just because you play by the rules… Why is friendship such an easy thing for you, yet I could never make one friend? Why do Joey and Atem and literally everyone else in this fucking city love you and think I’M the worst duelist there ever was?”

“Don’t… Don’t I count, Weeves?” More than the iron grip of Weevil’s right hands, Weevil’s words hurt Rex. “And your own daughter? Have… cough… Have you already forgotten what we’ve all been through? We’re… willing to… forgive you… Just… Ugh!”

“Not another word out of you! The Earthbound Gods are the only friends I need now! Not you weaklings!” Ignoring the twinge of pain in his heart, Weevil lightly ran the chain whip over Rex’s left arm, barely enough to draw blood. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Weevil was so far gone into his own madness that Joey was certain he wouldn’t be able to hear him now. “Psst… Rex.”

“J-Joey?” Rex turned his head around, just enough to see Joey.

“You said… cough… that you needed a weapon, right?” Joey held up his sword arm. “Ya’ think this will be good enough?”

“That’s…!” Flashbacks of his Orichalcos duel flooded Rex’s mind. That’s the sword that sent my soul to the Great Leviathan! But if there’s no other choice, then…

“It’s now or never! Think fast!” Joey threw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword at Rex, hoping to the gods he’d catch it and put it to good use.

“If that sword can’t cut the spider webs, then what makes you think that Rex will somehow magically put it to good use?”

Rex felt the sword land in his right hand, and had a clever idea. “By doing… this. ”

“G-Gaaaaah!” Weevil howled in pain when Rex did the unthinkable - completely cutting off his right arms and thereby freeing Atem and Joey from their bonds. He stared at Rex wide-eyes. “You would dare hurt me? Aren’t you scared of losing the love of your life?”

“Yes, I am.” Rex pointed the sword at Weevil’s face. “But the thing I’m even more scared of? Seeing Weevil Underwood beat himself up and become a destructive monster where a man once was.”

“Ugh, you were always so talkative!” Weevil flew higher and dove at Rex like a peregrine falcon. Rex took to the air as well and parried this attack with the sword, but not without some recoil. “Just one of the many things I hate about you!”

“Hah!” Rex repelled Weevil with the sword, enough to put a slight dent in the chain whip. “Your psychological tricks aren’t going to work on me now, Weevil!”

“But maybe a variety of attacks can!” Weevil shot spider webs from his left hands that stuck to Rex’s butt-length hair and part of his shirt.

“Tch…” Rex didn’t like the sensation of sticky things in his hair, but grinned and bore it for now. “Am I supposed to be scared by the fact that you’re still part-spider?”

Weevil smirked as he barraged Rex with the chain whip. “Oh, I still see the fear in your eyes, Rex Raptor. A fear that you will lose the father of that child you’re carrying.”

Weevil’s words reminded Rex of his more painful contractions that got ever closer - yet being the bold man and duelist he was, he paid them little heed.

“I’ll give you credit for one thing,” Weevil spoke while he beat his wings faster, deadlocked in battle, trying to crush Rex with the chain whip. “You’re quite the warrior. And you’ve changed since your Orichalcos duel with Joey. It appears that you’re not going to let something like mere words rile you up.”

“But I can tell my words are riling you up…” Rex whispered closed to Weevil’s ear, catching him off-guard, before stabbing him in the shoulder with the sword.

“Ngh…” Finally in pain, Weevil could feel his strength dwindling.

“Weeves…” Rex stared at his boyfriend - and stabbed him in the left thigh - in sorrow. “You can’t honestly mean that you want this… any of this! Don’t you remember seeing your daughter for the first time on the ultrasound? A-And how I told you all those years ago that I want nobody but you? How fast our hearts were beating when we confessed our love?”

“You… dino brain! Ack!” Weevil could no longer repel Rex’s attack and fell a few feet downwards. “I thought I told you that you can’t sweet talk your way into killing an Earthbound God!”

“You called me ‘dino brain’ again…” Tears of joy pooled in Rex’s eyes. “I know you still love me… Once the Rex Raptor has his sights on you, you can’t get rid of him.”

“Actually, I can ,” spoke a voice that was clearly not Weevil’s.

“Is… Is that you, Watda?” Weevil’s real voice finally came out.

“It appears to me that you’re going to be useless now, Uru… So it looks like I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

“No… No!” Weevil thrashed about in the air, confusing Rex. “Leave Rex and Amber alone!”

“Weeves, what’s going on?” Rex couldn’t hear Watda’s voice.

“Goodbye, you damned useless rabbit…”

Weevil couldn’t control the ball of dark energy coming out from his right hands. “Wait… Watda, stop!”

“Ah!” He wasn’t fully confident that he could block this evidently stronger attack, but Rex enveloped himself in his dragon’s wings.

And Rex wouldn’t have to block the attack. For before Watda’s attack could hit him, Weevil managed to separate from Watda, taking the full brunt of the attack last minute.

“W-Weeves!” The strength in Rex’s eyes now gone, he watched in horror as his boyfriend froze in the air before beginning a rapid descent into Domino City’s concrete. “Oh my gods… No… You’re going to come back, just like you did last time… right?”

“Even an Earthbound God and the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon can’t survive a 1000-meter fall. You saw it yourself when Cusillu, Aslla Piscu, and Kaiba all died.”

“Shut… up…”

“Now what are you going to do, since your beloved Weevil Underwood lies dead?” Watda laughed as his shadows grew fiercer. “You’re nothing without him, you weak-ass monster. Nothing!”

“That’s… That’s not… Oh!” Before Rex could aim his sword at Watda, he suddenly felt amniotic fluid trickle down his legs. He shook so badly that he lost grip of the sword as it plummeted after Weevil.

“You’re in labour, hmm? Looks to me like you have two choices: one, continue to fight me and risk losing your baby; or two, going back to ground level to give birth. But with that second option, there might be a sliiiiight chance I’ll destroy the world. Either way, you lose! Hahahahaha!”

No, he won’t, spoke Amber’s voice.

“Ngh… Amber, you’re still there?”

I’ve been with you the whole time, Papa. You’ve got to finish this fast!

“But how do you expect me to do that? Especially since… your Daddy is…”

There is one way. Now that Daddy has been separated from Watda… Papa, I’ll give you all of my strength. Use it to finally banish this mongrel to hell, where he belongs! Amber de-fused from Rex. In fully shifted form, she engulfed Watda, leaving only the Earthbound God’s chest exposed. In the process, lights sprung from the ground as the bow regenerated in Rex’s hands.

“Ggh! Let go of me, you wench!” Watda struggled to no avail.

Before Rex could process what was going on, he coruscated like the northern lights, and he stretched out his new angel’s wings. His hair grew past his legs, and brown locks encircled his arms.

“Oh my…” With the Earthbound army now vanquished, Phuckdis could truly behold his people’s chief god.

“That’s my boy!” Ptera cheered. “Give that bastard what for!”

“Hehe!” Rex gave his mom a thumbs up. “One kick-ass arrow, coming right up!”

“What are you doing?” Watda could feel his time at an end.

“Watda!” Rex continued to growl as he pulled his bowstring back, and his body and weapon grew ever brighter. “Go back to the shadows! Hyaaaaaaaah!”

“It’s…” Watda could say little more as the glowing arrow impaled a giant hole in his chest. “It’s done… I’m… done… Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh!”

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Rex’s descent back to Earth started slowly, but upon reaching six feet above ground, he reverted forms and fell into Spinos’ arms.

“God-Shattering Star!” Phuckdis and the remaining Club members ran up to Rex.

“Is… Is that what I’m called? Heh, sounds pretty cool…” Rex would have rested if he didn’t wonder about Amber. “Wait a second, where’s Amber? Where is my daughter?”

“Rex!” Mokuba pointed to an approaching Joey, who carried a heavily mutilated Amber in his arms.

“Amber!” Rex got up from his prone position to hold Amber, whom Joey had gently lowered to the ground. “No! I… I thought we got him! I thought we defeated Watda together!”

“W-We did… But at a cost… What did you think I meant when I said ‘I’ll give you all of my strength?’”

“Amber…?” Rex couldn’t even hold Amber’s right hand anymore, as it began to fade into nothingness. “What’s happening? Please… This isn’t happening!”

“My… My granddaughter…” Ptera cried as Spinos and Tricera consoled her. Not a single eye was dry as Rex’s friends and allies watched the scene unfold. Even Espa and a newly-healed Mako could see what was going on.

“But… But we only got to duel once!” Joey got down and cried with Rex. “And you haven’t even dueled Espa yet! I thought you were going to win back his Serpent Night Dragon!”

“Joey… My friend…” Amber reached out her left hand to Joey. “I… I just wished I had… acknowledged you as such… earlier…”

“Amber! No, please don’t die!” Pretty much every body part Rex tried to grab at faded away, except for Amber’s head, shoulders, and left hand.

“Die? No, I’m just about to be born…” Amber placed what was left of her left hand on Rex’s baby bump. “I can’t wait to see you again and forge our bonds anew.”

“Amber…?” Rex cried as Amber chuckled one last time before her future self was no more. “AMBER! NO! Oh… my gods… Sniff…”

“My love!” Heka, who had just fully healed, ran to Rex. He had only seen future Amber for a brief spell before she died. “Oh, no… My heart…”

“Heka, I’m so sorry…” Rex hugged his daughter’s boyfriend. “Not only for your mother’s death, but also for Amber’s…”

“Forget about me! You just lost your daughter!” Heka cried into Rex’s shoulder as Atem consoled him too.

“Amber… I… Aaaaargh!” Rex suddenly doubled over as the remainder of his amniotic fluid gushed out all at once.

“His water has already broken… Rex is going into labour!” Mokuba announced. “Someone call an ambulance!”

“It’s for real this time, guys!” Joey got up and dialed the campus emergency number. After that, he knelt down again, trying to calm Rex down in any way he could. “Rex, hang in there. We’re going to get you help!”

#yugioh #ygo #mpreg #shrimpshipping #fanfiction #this chapter made me cryyyyyy T_T

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animebw · 5 years ago

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Binge-Watching: Akagi, Episodes 1-4

In which I don’t know shit about mahjong, strong direction makes the difference, and Akagi is goddamn insane.

Time to Duel

Confession time: I don’t know shit about mahjong. I don’t know any of the rules, I don’t know what any of the tiles mean, I don’t know what betting strategies are common or risky or whatever. I just never learned the game before. And you’d think that would be a massive roadblock for getting into a show that’s pretty much nothing but characters playing mahjong and trying to out-strategize each other. Thankfully, it seems like Akagi has taken the Sangatsu no Lion route of assuming no familiarity on the audience’s part with the central sport, relying instead on sharp direction and high-impact stakes to sell the emotions behind the matches in addition to the moves themselves. And because this is Studio Madhouse at the helm, it all works together really well. You’d think these insanely angular character designs would be completely off-putting, but the production team grounds the show’s aesthetic in tactile grit and thick, pencil-heavy shadows. It’s stylized while still feeling gritty and immediate, and the characters’ expressions go a long way in communicating how intense these matches get. And the direction is excellent, selling the power of each important move with sharp editing and heavy, bassy sound design. Despite knowing nothing about mahjong, I found myself easily sucked in to the push and pull o battle thanks to how well the aesthetics communicate what’s going on. That bodes well for this show’s ability to keep my interest moving forward.

Rules of the Game

But it’s not just the direction that works in Akagi’s favor: this show is actually really smart in how it approaches mahjong in its narrative. This is a show where the use of a near-constant narrator explaining the character’s actions is actually a good thing. Without his blow-by-blow dissection of what moves everyone makes and why, as well as what those moves mean for the overall timbre of the match, I’d be completely lost. There’s a technicality to the narrator’s presence that you don’t often see in newer anime. In today’s seasonal atmosphere where shows have to hook your eyeballs and never let go, a modern adaptation of Akagi would probably finish the entire opening match in the first episode just to get it out of the way and make room for more Plot. But older anime tend to be more comfortable taking their time with this stuff; even Pandora Hearts, which was old in spirit, refused rush through all the intricate steps the narrative followed as it got going. So the opening match of Akagi is allowed to stretch out over three whole episodes, giving the narrator space to break down every last move and piece and victory and defeat. It even projects the player’s current hands onto the bottom of the screen as if it’s an official tournament we’re watching on the TV. As a result, even though I came into this show with no knowledge of mahjong, I was able to follow Akagi’s logic as he explained how he read his opponent’s moves. Hell, I’ve even started to pick up on some of the details myself: calling ricchi locks your hand in place, the four of bamboo is dangerous to play, pieces you discard can be used by your opponent to complete their hand, and so on. I doubt I’ll fully grasp the rules by the time it’s all over, but I’m definitely learning more than I ever did before thanks to these extensive breakdowns. And that’s pretty cool.

Over the Edge

Of course, the actual game of mahjong isn’t the real draw of a show like Akagi. The true battle is the psychological battle the players undergo, the extremes they push themselves to. I can see a lot of Kakegurui’s Yumeko in Akagi; they both raise the stakes to ludicrous extremes because they’re not in this for the win. They’re in this for the thrill of playing itself, and the game isn’t nearly as exciting when there aren’t life-and-death stakes on the line. And good lord, Akagi is a fucking beast. Using the psychological pressure of police to cheat under the yakuza’s noses, pushing them to keep playing and raising the bet until one of them falls apart, playing a game of chicken out to its logical conclusion and barreling straight off a cliff... this is one thirteen-year-old you don’t want to pick a fight with. But his insanity isn’t just madness for its own sake; he wields this manic thrill rush as a strategy in and of itself. As he explains to his unexpected allies in episode 4, it’s his insanity that makes his opponents fear him. It’s his willingness to go all out, even at the risk of his life, that rattles his opponents enough for them to slip up and lose the game. If his opponents are setting the conditions, then he just has to break those conditions by breaking the assumptions of self-preservation that underline them. The only reason he’s able to win is because he refuses to hit the brakes, even if that means taking a car for a dive off the cliffside. But he’s not stupid about it either; when he goes to confront the punks of the guy he chickened off the cliff with, he only loads his gun with two bullets, neither of which he attempts a killshot with. If he’s gonna throw himself over the edge, it’s not gonna be for cheap spats like this one. He’s only gonna risk his neck for the battles that are actually worth that thrill. And considering he’s about to face down an opponent who seems just as unflappable as him, there’s no telling how high these stakes are gonna raise before someone cries uncle. Consider me excited as hell to see how far these monsters push themselves.

Odds and Ends

-Oh damn, Post-WW2 Japan isn’t a setting you see a lot in anime. This should be cool.

-”I know, because I’m treading that line myself.” Damn, I like their relationship already.

-”Now you’re a real corrupt cop.” Look at this little shit.

-”You might be able to scare normal people shitless, but it won’t work on me.” Ah shit, an opponent just as insane and calculating as he is. A challenge!

-”I need enough injuries so I can claim I acted in self-defense.” JESUS CHRIST AKAGI

And with that, we’re on our way! This is gonna be a wild ride, I can tell. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #akagi #legendary gambler akagi #touhai densetsu akagi

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emdop · 5 years ago

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The Fuckening: Modern YA Fantasy Misunderstands Feminism and Effective Plot Structure

Alright, mother fuckers, buckle up. Like most book lovers, I read many books and I’m always searching for the next one that will make me develop a hyper-fixation. Nothing beats the rush of finding media so good that time loses all meaning and you’d sell your soul for the next hit of content. The amazingness directly results from being rare. So in between the moments of stuffing your face full of your favorite characters, the other books are read. The ones that could have been good but aren’t successful. The ones with the lying, beautiful covers used to lure readers into forking over crumpled cash while hugging the hopefully precious gem. Then, all the words are read and the covers are closed, and there’s only the silence of disappointment and mediocrity.

Anyway, I read a book. Shocking, I know. It had so much promise and as I delved into the first fifty pages; I thought I found a winner. Then it started to sink in a massive Titanic kind of way. This book was Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (this essay/rant will have spoilers and will discuss the ending). I’m prefacing this rant with a disclaimer, not because I’m trying to side-step backlash, but because I feel it’s worth mentioning. This is all my opinion and if you loved this book with all your heart, that’s awesome! I understand why someone would spend time reading, writing, and engaging with it. It’s possible to recognize the weaknesses of a piece of media and still like it; I just happen to not like it because of those weaknesses. Returning to my point, the pitfalls, mistakes, and blandness of this book are rampant throughout Young Adult literature, particularly in Fantasy. As a writer myself, I’m not immune to committing the same sins, but I think it’s valuable to examine why and how these unfortunate tropes keep appearing. I have several points I want to explore in this essay, but the main two are the pretend feminist values and poor writing craft.

Part One: YA Book Feminism and Bland Female Characters

Wicked Saints is marketed as a book about a girl who can communicate with gods and draw power from them. Her magic is rare in a world full of blood magic users and as the war between her country, Kalayazin, and the opposing force, Tranavia, clashes on her front porch, readers are led to believe that she’s an integral part of how this war will end. I was here for this. I was so ready to scream about this book to anyone who will listen. Now, I’m screaming about it for a different reason.

Nadya, our human incarnation of the god’s Walkie-Talkie, is not like other girls. She’s special and powerful and exceptional. At first, I bought this lie, much like I did with every other book like this one. I thought, finally, here’s a badass heroine who will take charge of her life and wield her powers to create a lasting peace or at least kill everyone. When the readers meet Nadya, she’s living in a monastery to hide from Tranavians since her magic is so rare and powerful, they’re sure to seek her destruction. Then, they find her, or rather Tranavia’s prince, Serefin, (a boy-general, because adults don’t exist in YA) does. Serefin tries to kill Nadya, but she escapes with help of Forgettable Best Friend.

Lately, I’m reading a trend of books that build a “strong” female narrator by giving her some sass, adding a rare but useless magic, and having her not die. Then they slap words like empowering, feminist, or well-crafted into the marketing campaign and call it good representation. This isn’t quite what happened with Wicked Saints, but I had the impression that Nadya would be more than what she actually was in the book. The hardback cover has the words “Let them fear her,” engraved into it for gods’ sake. I thought she was going to at least do something.

Okay, there was one time she did something. While on the run from Serefin and the other Tranavians, Nadya and Forgettable Best Friend find a group of misfits being attacked. Nadya, in the confusion of who’s an enemy and who’s an ally, asks the gods for help. One responds by vanishing all light for like ten minutes or something. This scene is one reason I bought the lie that Nadya was going to be a Bad Ass Mother Fucker, but this is the only time I remember her using any kind of significant power. In fact, once the plot gets going, Nadya is cut off from her powers almost entirely. I’ll get to that later. Back to the group of misfits, which includes a broody, yet totally handsome Tranavian, Malachiasz, and bam, we’ve found the love interest. Malachiasz is a Vulture which I understood as a privatized military group that’s ruthless, skilled, and detached from the world (no family or friends). So, Nadya hates him on site, but Malachiasz has defected and has like emotion now. They argue a bunch and exchange heated glances.

Now that we’ve introduced our male characters (Serefin, Malachiasz, and some other dude in the misfit group), our plot gets going. There’s nothing wrong with introducing characters to start a plot, that’s how story-telling works. What I’m finding frustrating in this book and many others like it, is that the male characters make most of the decisions. They show the most autonomy and participate in the drama/action. Serefin is leading an army, making command decisions, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol (I don’t have time to get into the drinking to drown your feelings is Not Good argument, but know that this book doesn’t call out his addict behavior). Malachiasz and his band of friends are planning to assassinate the king. The female characters have run away, observed, and turned out the lights. Where is the girl who’s inspiring fear in the gods themselves? Where is the girl who’s fighting for justice and her future? Granted we’re only a hundred pages in at this point, so I’ll excuse it for now.

In the meantime, the king calls Serefin back to the palace for Rawalyk, an event where noble women compete against each other to win the prince’s hand in marriage. Nadya and crew travel to Tranavia and disguise themselves as people participating in the event. I forgot to mention that the Tranavians only use blood magic and hate the gods, and in an effort to keep them out, the king put a barrier around the country, which keeps Nadya from using her powers. Convenient. And so very disappointing. As per their plan, Nadya has to get close enough to the king to kill him, so she uses Rawalyk to gain access. Nadya offends one of the other suitors and the suitor challenges her to an Agni Kai—sorry, different story, a duel, rather. Nadya has to pretend to use blood magic, so she can hide her true identity. Near the point of winning the duel, Nadya realizes it’s to the death, but she doesn’t want to kill the girl, so she tells her she’ll spare her. Then, Malachiasz uses his magic to end the girl’s life. Again, there are male characters forcing the plot forward while the female character’s agency is stripped.

We’re now over two hundred pages in and Nadya hasn’t done shit except for worry about her crush and follow other people. Our narrator is a “powerful” girl, but the most interesting characters are boys and only male characters move the plot forward. I guess, who needs a personality or autonomy when you can have a love interest? To make matters worse, in the middle of all this crap, she’s thinking about her male best friend who died, but is coming back in book two, and not even Forgettable Best Friend who is actively trying to help them. Nadia thinks to herself “Kostya. You’re doing this for Kostya, she reminded herself,” (Duncan 256). Kostya was in this book for like five pages, who the fuck is this bitch? Why does anyone care? Why can’t she be going on this quest for herself, for her country, for her supposedly beloved gods?

YA Fantasies keep prioritizing and valuing the actions of male characters over female ones. There are exceptions, but they only prove the rule. I’ve seen this repeatedly in books like City of Bones, Caraval, Shadow & Bone, Harry Potter, and now Wicked Saints. Some of those books are my favorite books, but if I never critique them, I’ll never want better or search for books that do more. I want to see more YA fantasies treat female characters like their male ones. I want female characters who participate in the narrative, make mistakes, experience success, and, I don’t know, have some ambition and goals. They should use their talents and be integral to the plot, because Wicked Saints’ plot still could have happened without Nadya.

Part Two: Character Development and Effective Plot Structure

Let’s get into this dumpster fire of an ending. While staying at the palace and pretending to be a suitor to the prince, Nadya uncovers parts of Malachiasz’s past and finds out he’s the leader of the Vultures who’s disappeared for reasons unknown. Nayda gets captured and tortured and learns that her gods may not be who she thinks they are, and she has her own power that she can always use. And does she use it? Not really. She questions everything, but not Malachiasz. Him, she makes out with. Nadya’s group and Serefin’s converge and they trust each other because they both want the same thing: the king dead. Serefin knows his father is trying to kill him and uses the help of the misfits, including, plot twist, his cousin, Malachiasz.

Serefin doesn’t understand why his father wants to marry him off and plotting to kill him at the same time, and eventually, Malachiasz talks about his past. He became the leader of the Vultures and was researching the gods when he figured out, in theory, how to become one. He gave this information to the king and you can imagine how a narcissistic king will feel about that. Malachiasz regrets his actions and runs away. Part of the process of becoming a god involves ingesting the blood of powerful magic users, hence the Rawalyk event and Nadya’s torture; they were collecting blood from the suitors. The king also has to sacrifice the prince to complete his goals. Together, they come up with a plan to corner the king while he’s attempting to perform the ceremony to become a god and kill him.

It all goes spectacularly wrong. Serefin gets captured and killed by his father, but he doesn’t die? I don’t know; there were a lot of moths involved and I was very confused. Malachiasz and Nadya go after the king and there’s a mediocre fight scene. Nadya kills the king but not after like three pages of her debating why Malachiasz is just chilling on the throne and watching this all happen. Malachiasz betrays the group, taking the power for himself. Nadya has the nerve to be surprised and heartbroken. He turns into a bird-like thing and flies out the window into the darkness.

The only time Nadya uses her own magic to do something it turns out to be in service to a male character’s goals. I’m tired and I hope you are too. Anyway, this section’s purpose is to look at effective plot structure. Wicked Saints meanders for three hundred pages trying to tie together a book about war, marriage competition, and religion. When the plot points all converge for the last eighty pages, we ultimately learn nothing more than we did at page 200. If this is a book about villains than why are minimally bad things happening? Why did no one die except for the throw away character at the book’s beginning? Why aren’t there more consequences for the character’s actions? My questions are answered by pointing at the poor plot structure and terrible character development. This book is run by boring characters whose actions don’t amount to anything, and that’s when they actually do something. Characters should evolve or devolve depending on the narrative. They should enact the plot, not have the plot happen to them. The few times we get characters changing, it’s followed by the most basic plot twists. Looking at Malachiasz in particular, we meet him while he’s plotting to kill the king with his new acquaintances, then he meets Nadya. She calls him a monster a million times, and he doesn’t deny it. They plot to kill the king again. By the end, we find out he’s only in this for himself and surprise, he’s not a good guy! Did not see that coming.

Continuing my rant on Malachiasz, Wicked Saints has one of the poorest representations of anxiety that I have seen in a long time. (Note: right after this I read Truly Devious and boy, the whip lash I had from that transition. From one the worst to one of the absolute best). Before I rip into this terrible character development, let me discuss two things: one, I don’t know if the author suffers from anxiety. It’s possible that Duncan experiences it very differently than me, and this may be good rep for someone else (I have my doubts about this since I can shred it like wet tissue paper, but I’m willing to mention this possibility). Two, considering Malachiasz’s turn to The Dark Side, it may have been purposeful bad representation. Essentially, he never had anxiety, just needed Nadya to trust him. Okay, with that out of the way, let me scream this: ANXIETY IS NOT CUTE. IT’S NOT A FUN, QUIRKY CHARACTER TRAIT. PLEASE FOR LOVE OF MEDUSA, STOP USING MENTAL ILLNESS AS A CRUTCH FOR YOUR INABILITY TO WRITE COMPLEX CHARACTERS.

The only thing we know about his anxiety is that he bites his nails. Sigh. I’m sorry it’s just that the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Wicked Saints came in an OwlCrate box and in the letter from the author to the reader she describes Malachiasz as “a boy whose earnest anxiety hides monstrous secrets.” Except anxiety doesn’t hide what you’re feeling, in fact it often puts your deepest fears on display for other people to see and usually at the worst moment. Anxiety has a million symptoms, many of which can be observed from the outside and thus easily incorporated from the point of view of a non-anxious character. Here’s a list: panic attacks, hyperventilating, shaking, hypervigilance, irritability, restlessness, sweating, tense muscles, difficulty sleeping, and fatigue. Sometimes Malachiasz displays fatigue and irritability, but it’s when the other characters are in the same headspace, so it doesn’t count, because it can easily be chocked up to circumstance, not mental illness.

If we ignore the author’s implication that his anxiety is earnest and assume that he faked it to gain Nadya’s trust, we get to a problem. The book never explores how he lied or parses through where he’s genuine, so, I have to assume that he was supposed to have anxiety. He’s called a monster so many times I got irritated. Aside the fact that it’s offensive to make the only mentally ill character a “monster,” it’s downright annoying to read a million times. Malachiaz is an attempt at a morally gray character. He makes decisions that only benefit himself, but sometimes he saves lives or kisses a girl, so some parts of him are still good. I’m okay with that, what I’m not okay with is piss poor characterization. People with anxiety can be bad! But if you make your villain anxious, it should be for a better reason than he needed a personality.

After I finished this book, I looked through some Good Reads reviews and many of the users pointed out something I hadn’t noticed. To use the blood magic, characters had to cut themselves, and reviewers found they didn’t like how this glorified self-harm. Many suggested that a trigger warning for self-harm should be placed at the beginning or the magic system should have been handled with more sensitivity. As someone who does not have personal experience with self-harm, I won’t elaborate and instead let other people make of it what they will.

There were two parts of the book’s description that sold me on it: one, the girl talks to gods, and two, a star-crossed romance. We already know how disappointed I was about that first plot point, now let’s talk about the other disappointment of the day. A fantastic rule going around on the internet goes “if they have to kiss for you to know they’re in love, it’s not good romance.”

I will say something that may offend many people, but hopefully you’ll stick with me. Young Adult Fantasy books have bad romances. They’re underdeveloped, poorly crafted, and overused. Romance is my favorite genre, and I love seeing it in other types of books, but many times YA fantasies have the worst romances. Despite being constantly undervalued, romance sells and adding it to books usually helps pique people’s interest. But you don’t just “add” it to your book, because romance is hard to write. Hold on, I need that in capital letters. ROMANCE IS HARD TO WRITE. Good romance comes from nuance, established trust, chemistry, and gradual character developments. If a writer doesn’t do those things, you get insta-love, which isn’t satisfying or believable.

Wicked Saints tries to do an enemies-to-lovers trope. Nadya and Malachiasz don’t spend enough time together to develop a proper friendship much less a romance. They have legitimate reasons to hate each other and neither of them seem to change enough for it to be justified that their feelings have evolved. Nadya loses contact with the gods, but that should serve as a crisis of her own faith, not an automatic belief in something else. Her willingness to ignore Malachiasz’s obvious red flags is beyond frustrating and I can’t believe the book wanted me to be surprised that he betrayed the group at the end. Anyway, it’s time to make some conclusions, otherwise this essay/rant will never end.

Part Three: How Did We Get Here?

Wicked Saints is not the first to do these exact mistakes, and it’s here because of its predecessors. What other books do we know that have a Russian culture theme, a useless female narrator, and a love interest who’s bad? That’s right. I’m about to bring up the internet’s infamous Grisha trilogy. Throughout my entire reading experience, I was struck by the similarities of these books to the point where I was sure I was reading a fanfiction AU of Shadow and Bone. These books are so similar it had me wondering about plagiarism (I’m mostly kidding about that). The Grisha trilogy and Wicked Saints use the same tired tropes and rely on the readers need to self-insert to make up for the narrator’s lack of personality.

How do we get books that shout about feminism but don’t incorporate it? Books are written by humans and humans live in a flawed world. Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum and so many of the things we create are flawed. Sometimes, what we meant to write isn’t what is written. An author may have every intention of creating strong, complex female characters, but through the difficulty of writing, poor planning, and a host of other reasons, the result is a bland, useless character. Many times, these characters are touted for having magnificent powers, but they never seem to use them or if they do its only in small ways. This happens, in part, because if the character is all-powerful then there’d be no plot, so to create tension the author takes the power away, scales it back, or adds an obstacle in the way of using said power. This is all well and great, but it often leaves readers feeling like the book duped them into believing this character is special. People don’t like to feel as though they’ve been lied to. In my opinion, “Gotcha” plots and character developments result from bad writing. With Wicked Saints there weren’t “Gotcha” moments so much as there were “please stop being a dumb bitch” moments. Nadya wanted to fall in love Malachiasz and the whole time I kept asking myself why. He’s a saltine with pretty eyes and fucked up nails. Then there’s Serefin who instead of dealing with his problems, he gets drunk. His big plot point is that he doesn’t die and turns into a swarm of moths for a while which would have been cool if they explained it in any kind of manner.

Stopping the proceeding rant, I should make conclusions and end this before it gets more out of hand. YA fantasies aren’t progressing the way they should, and you could point to several books that do incredible things, but they’re in the minority. YA authors need to make their narrators complex and fully formed instead of literal sawdust. We need authors to create better female and non-binary characters who have the same agency as their male counterparts. They should stop including romance in the first book. Let the characters grow and breathe for a hot second. Gradual bonds made through several books are always more satisfying and well-crafted than a rushed romance in book one. Also, people in the publishing industry, please, please, please use sensitivity readers. Or maybe search for books written by Own Voice authors. I know for a fact there are incredible writers creating amazing works out there. I’ve interacted with them. Someone publish their books before my head explodes.

Tag list: @weathershade @queenoffloweryhell @raywritesblog @saistudies @vesaeris-writes

#writeblr #books #book review #wicked saints #rant #long post #essay #ya fiction #ya fantasy #mentions self harm #problems in ya #writing is hard #i'm tired #lit essay #ranting about literature

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xsoulxsilencex · 5 years ago

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Could people please stop shitting on YGO SEVENS

We have only seen a little trailer and got a bit of character descriptions. But that already makes a lot of ygo fans mad and they call Sevens trash, horrible, a disgrace to ygo in general - which is really stupid to me.

About the designs: Yeah, the characters look differently. I was surprised too at first but then I read that Studio Gallop isn’t working for YGO anymore and Studio Bridge is doing the job now. That probably explains why the characters don’t have the typical “ygo look” anymore. Even the cards changed their design. Sure, I will miss it and take my time to get used to it but I won’t make a fuss about it.

About the story: Can’t say much about that yet except that we know Yuga wants to change the dueling world to make it more fun with everyone and he wants to do that with his rush duels. That’s basically him saying “screw the rules, I’ll make my own” but hey, that could still turn out interesting.

About the SEVENS characters: So far, I like them all. Sure, Yuga’s haircolors remind of too many anime characters (*looks at IV*) but his personality seems fun. He also loves to invent stuff and so I can’t wait to see all of his creations. Luke gives me slight Shark-vibes which is not bad since I love Shark. Gakuto made me first think of Reiji being all serious and stuff but the trailer showing him having dorky moments made me like him. And then there’s Romin our main girl and it’s said she’s not interested in duels but I’m sure that will change later. But even with her not being a duelist, she’s a guitarist in a band which is really cool. Her personality seems like the one of a kuudere -even more than Aoi- but I think this is not bad.

Misc: Tbh, I don’t get why people think it’s that bad to have characters around 11-12 years. I was so sure anyway that after serious Vrains with its older characters, the next ygo series would probably be more light-hearted and with younger characters. (after all anime with kid characters are popular in Japan) People say that makes it not appealing for older fans but I don’t get why? Do you only watch anime about characters that are around your age? If that was the case, many people shouldn’t be able to watch Pokémon, Digimon, Yo-Kai Watch, The Promised Neverland etc. anymore. Having children as protagonists doesn’t mean the series has to be childish. Look at Digimon and tell me, all the series were childish with no serious moments and depth at all despite having characters mostly even younger than 11 years old.

The ygo anime series are aimed for kids no matter if the protagonist is 18 like Yusei or only 13 like Yuma so why are some people surprised we’re going for actual kids again? Some saying an 11yo protagonist isn’t appealing for older fans makes me wonder if they never thought of that younger fans also want characters they can relate too? Honestly, when I started watching DM I was probably around 11 or 12 years old and so, younger than Yugi and friends. Didn’t stop me enjoying DM. When I watched Zexal, I was already in my 20′s and so, way older than Yuma but didn’t stop me either enjoying Zexal.

The hatred for SEVENS really reminds me of the hatred people had back when Zexal was announced and a lot from the fandom called it immediately bad because younger characters, all colorful and apparenlty too comedic compared to mature edgy 5D’s. And I think most of us know how Zexal turned out later even with its more comedic start?

The hatred because of the changed art style is way too similar to the pkmn fandom acting shitty when SuMo anime was announced and almost everyone called Ash looking like shit compared to his “cool” looks in XYZ. (and well, there were also people bitching about SuMo being way too slice of life and comedic too) But imo, SuMo turned out to be one of the best pkmn series that could be fun but also still tackle serious topics.

One thing I don’t get either is people saying that SEVENS is responsible for Vrains ending sooner? Do we have any proof for that? So far, I just think some people hate SEVENS so much (and liked Vrains better) so they need another reason to shit on it. Personally, I think Vrains was doomed anyway because Studio Gallop having problems in general which already showed in Arc-V. And before someone thinks I dislike Vrains: Nah, I actually liked season 1 and have a couple of characters dear to me but man, the series took a nose-dive after the first half of season 2 imo. (but lemme tell you, I’m still sad we’re not getting a Vrains manga)

Long story short: it’s fine being sceptical about SEVENS, nobody has against that. But I do find it unfair to call a show trash that hasn’t even started yet. At least wait for the first episodes until you say “yeah, it’s not my cup of tea” and leave it. Don’t destroy the fun for other people who are interested in this series.

#yugioh #yugioh sevens #ygo sevens #honestly some people in the fandom are embarassing #sorry for the rant but had to be said #or you know what: i'm not sorry #yuga and co. didn't do anything wrong - yet #so how about being chill and not taking it out on the kids #imagine hating on anime kids who just want to play a children's card game #sevens hasn't started yet but i declare yuga my son #same to gakuto and luke #romin is my cool rock daughter

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forcefuried-a · 5 years ago

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some notes on harry potter verse—

anakin is a member of the skywalker family, a powerful pureblood family that stretches back generations. however, his mother, shmi, is a squib, and the other members of his family are dicks so she has had to suffer from that all her life.

anakin does not have a biological father, as he was created by the dark wizard sheev palpatine, who was the current president of MACUSA and was going to use his position to rule wizarding america as an absolute dictator. shmi went to him in desperation when he said he would experiment on her to see if he could give her magic. instead he used her for all sorts of other weirdass experiments, including one where he impregnated her using magic alone. so technically in that way palpatine was his dad, but biologically he is not; if anakin took a DNA test it would just show his mom’s 50% DNA and the other half is a big unidentified ???????

he was also like, an opposite harry potter, there was a prophecy about him being the one who would lead palpatine to dominion over the united states. after learning this, sheev killed shmi so he could have baby anakin all to himself and raise him solely in dark magic to ensure that the prophecy would come true……joke’s on him, though, because the prophecy conveniently forgot to mention that anakin would eventually be his downfall.

ani didn’t go to ilvermorny. palpatine put him in a school for the dark arts, so basically like, an edgy hogwarts. don’t tell me those schools don’t exist, because they totally do. this school--the american chapter of the bogan institute, named for bogan, its founder and the first dark wizard and also the name of the dark side of the force in star wars canon--was literally evil hogwarts all the way down to the sorting system. there were four castes, one each based on the different paths to corruption that people might face in their lives:

massassi, or those guided by emotions--those who study dark magic because they want to fulfill an emotional need, such as unleashing their anger on the world. name is taken from the star wars sith language word for the warrior caste; accordingly, HP verse massassi are known to be the most violent.

zuguruk, or those guided by knowledge--those who study dark magic because of the truths it reveals. name is taken from the sith language word for the engineer caste; accordingly, HP verse zuguruk are known to be the most inventive and knowledgeable about the arcane arts.

kissai, or those guided by purpose--those who study dark magic as a means to a greater end. name is taken from the sith language word for the priest caste; accordingly, HP verse kissai are known to be the most idealistic.

siqsa, or those guided by power--those who study dark magic for its own sake and just like the rush of power that it gives them. name is sith for the word “demon”; accordingly, HP verse siqsai are often the most frightening and inhuman in their search for power.

anakin was stalled between massassi and kissai before finally choosing kissai, purpose. his purpose was as it was in star wars canon: to stop those he loved from dying.

anakin is the school’s most powerful student, a prodigy who excelled his peers not only in his raw magical skill but also in the anger and hatred he possessed--nobody could have imagined that later he would have turned good. though most students graduate at age 17, he managed to attain all the basics in half that time, graduating his basic classes midway through his third year there and moving on to the equivalent of university studies.

shit happens, i don’t know exactly what, but he is still young when he helps palpatine stage a hostile takeover and turn MACUSA into a dictatorship. he does not have his canon vader mask and suit (because let’s face it that feels so out of place in the HP world), but he does have a black mask and suit of some sort that hides his identity and gives him a different voice. he fights like an adult many times his age, especially with wandless and nonverbal magic. and since he’s also quite tall underneath the suit and mask, nobody has any idea that palpatine’s enforcer, a man who goes only by the name of “vader,” is actually just a 16-year-old boy.

when he is 20 years old he meets padmé amidala, a young witch of the same age whose father was a senator in MACUSA and who was a double agent working for the resistance against palpatine. through working with her as both anakin and vader he falls in love with her, feeling love for the first time in his life ever since he felt it for the mother he never got to know. she is revealed to be a double agent, and anakin is tasked with killing her, but instead, he lets her go--saving both her and their unborn children. he takes off his mask and confesses his love, and she is shocked that the man she loved was the man she had hated all along. she replies that she can never love him after everything he’s done, but she acknowledges that he must still have some good in him if he let her go--and she becomes determined to bring out his goodness.

palpatine finds out about this and he is INFURIATED. but anakin had chosen his path--he couldn’t put this into words, but love is a more powerful motivator than anger and hate. it is at this point that he turns away from palpatine’s so-called “american empire” for his lover and his children. he resolves that even if he can never have her back, and even if she never lets him see their kids, he won’t let them be hunted by palpatine for the rest of their lives. palpatine meets his end when he captures a pregnant padmé and has her brought in front of anakin to be publicly executed--he demands that anakin kill her in order to remove the weakness in his heart. however, the emperor miscalculated. instead of firing the killing curse at her, anakin pointed his wand upward and tried to avada kedavra palpatine instead. he ducks the curse, but is killed in the resulting duel.

anakin’s actions earn back her love, but the two of them are only reunited briefly before padmé dies in childbirth. the last thing she does is touch his cheek and whisper, “i knew…i knew there was still good in you…” before closing her eyes.

right now he is?? not doing great like………he was raised all his life to be evil, only recently came out of that, lost the love of his life……not to mention he was a single dad at 22 and he has no idea what to do with kids because he never had a childhood. he does somewhat better in any timeline where padmé lives, but overall he is just hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh about everything because he was basically a child soldier, people, everything weighs on him and everything hurts. i guess the good news here is that some people are sympathetic to him once they’ve realized that he’s basically been groomed all his life to be an agent of evil and he was literally a minor when he did a lot of the nasty shit that palpatine had him do--so he doesn’t lack for support.

after completing his rehabilitation he becomes an auror working for MACUSA. he also has a muggle robotics hobby on the side, he’s always been an inventor even while he was in school. he’s really fascinated with cybernetics and wants to make a wizarding equivalent.

and some vital stats—

wand: yew and dragon heartstring, 10.5”, flexible

animagus form: wolf—i picked this one for him because wolves are often associated with evil, yet they are also canines, which means that they can also be associated with good qualities such as loyalty, bravery and strength.

patronus: formerly a wolf, but changed to a swan after he fell in love with padmé.

hogwarts house (granted to him honorifically): gryffindor. most people expected slytherin due to his past, but when he was sorted it wasn’t even a contest, the hat yelled gryffindor even before it touched his head.

ilvermorny house (granted to him honorifically): wampus—the house of warriors.

#headcanon. || HARRY POTTER AU #worldbuilding. || HARRY POTTER AU #the chosen shadow. || HARRY POTTER AU

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timetrickster · 6 years ago

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Living W/ Immortality S 2 E1: Stuck At The Begining

(Episode 1: Stuck At The Beginning)

EXT. ANCIENT TEMPLE - NIGHT - 2019

LUCIAN begins to narrate the previous season while being annoyed by the audience's presence.

LUCIAN/ NARRATOR (V.O)

Well shit, why are you all back? I thought this was a one-time thing? Ugh. First, the Author writes a script for a screenwriting college class. Now he’s making this a full on show. Well previously on Living With Dumbassery. The now twin immortal dumbasses are now separated from each other. Now their time powers have sent them back to the first episode of the first season. And destroyed part of my face in the process, am I mad? Furiously. Will I destroy them? I will absolutely do that, now that those twin punk bitches escaped!

LUCIAN had briefly been enraged and throws stuff of the altar. Along with the roar of anger. He turns around and still sees ATHENA & TAVEN still bound and tied up and hanging on the wall. He takes several steps forward

LUCIAN

At least I still have you two.

ACHERON suddenly appears in the temple as his cloud of smoke appears near the altar.

LUCIAN

Hello brother.

ACHERON

You haven’t changed much Luci… ever since what you did.

LUCIAN

Dad was a controlling prick. You should’ve known that you, Terra, and Kairos. Now, look where they are. They’re dead.

ACHERON

Because of you, little brother. It’s because of you! That they’re dead. You started the wars. You were supposed to be the light and the guardian of peace. You… were supposed to be better, now here you are. Trying to throw another tantrum so you can get Dad’s attention.

LUCIAN’S face had already held anger. This conversation just kept fueling that fire. He starts laughing with evil behind it.

LUCIAN

YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT? You think I love being reminded of killing my own brother and sister?! Seeing the people I loved imprison me?! Seeing them drop dead because they literally used their life force and gave up their eternal life just to imprison me in time. And you. Eldest brother. You. Ran. Away. You. Coward.

ACHERON

You did this. Not me. You broke all our hearts. Terra, Kairos, and Dad. But for me, me especially. I loved you, little brother. But you slaughtered humans, and magical creatures, you’re own people too. I will stop you, right or wrong I have finished this.

ACHERON has tears running down his eyes. He reaches his right hand in the air, then a scythe appears out of thin air. The blade of the scythe was black and the handle was a dark metal.

LUCIAN

The Death Weapon. The ever-changing weapon of yours.

LUCIAN snaps his finger and a broad sword with crossguards. It glares with light.

ACHERON

Haven’t seen The Aurora in a millennium. You ready to fight little brother?

LUCIAN holds one finger up then snaps his finger. He holds up his finger again and the song “The Good, The Bad, And The Dirty” by Panic! At The Disco begins to play.

ACHERON

Really?

LUCIAN

Can’t have a fight without a good song.

The 1st Verse ends and the beat drops, both signature weapons clash at the start of Chorus. LUCIAN charges with his sword in hand and ACHERON follows as well. ACHERON pushes back first then with amazing speed, LUCIAN gets several cuts during ACHERON’S fast attacks with a scythe. LUCIAN manages to block some attacks with his blade. ACHERON slams the scythe into the ground summoning shadowy souls to attack LUCIAN.

He pulls the scythe out and makes a dash for ATHENA & TAVEN. He flips the scythe in the air and it comes back as a dagger. He cuts them down from their ropes and they are set free.

ACHERON

I’ll find you again.

He waved his hand and they both disappear in a cloud of smoke. He turns around to see LUCIAN having just beat the shadow souls. LUCIAN takes notice of what ACHERON did.

LUCIAN

You shouldn’t have done that big brother.

The dagger in ACHERON’S hands revert back into a scythe and the fight begins again at the start of 2nd Chorus. LUCIAN strikes with the Aurora but ACHERON blocks it and pushes the sword to the left and dodges to the right. LUCIAN turns to strike again and manages to cut ACHERON on his left side. Both tired from their duel they both take a quick breath. The Bridge plays

ACHERON

You give up?

LUCIAN

Never.

The beat drops and Chorus 3 begins LUCIAN rushes with the Aurora then ACHERON turns his scythe into a shield blocking his attacks once again. The attack held on the shield brings him down kneeling. ACHERON rises up and pushes LUCIAN away with the shield.

He throws the shield like a disk, then snaps his finger. The shield becomes a war hammer all of a sudden and hits LUCIAN in the chest. ACHERON makes a motion and the war hammer returns to his hand.

ACHERON

Until next time little brother.

Song ends. He disappears in a cloud of smoke. LUCIAN gets up quickly. His rage never dissipated as he roared in fury as his brother had won this fight. ACHERON teleported to a random location holding his wound from LUCIAN. He teleports away once more.

CUT TO:

NEXT DAY. MORNING

It was the weekend, ATHENA had found herself in her bed, remembering what happened. She tries to call TAVEN on her phone immediately but no answer. She rushes out her home to TAVEN’S home and knocks quickly.

TAVEN’S MOM

Hi Athena, are you okay?

ATHENA

Yeah auntie, I just needed to talk to Taven.

TAVEN’S MOM

Oh, come in.

ATHENA

Thank you.

She comes in the house and rushes to TAVEN’S room. She finds him in bed as well and closes the door behind her.

ATHENA

Taven. Wake up. Taven!

TAVEN wakes up and sees ATHENA

TAVEN

Athena? ATHENA?! What happened?

ATHENA

Acheron rescued us and sent us home.

TAVEN

We need to find Finn and Erin.

ATHENA

We don’t know what happened to them. Their time powers began to develop and they were sucked into that portal. We don’t know where they are.

ACHERON appears in TAVEN’S room still wounded from last night. He falls to the ground. ATHENA rushes to his side and holds her hand on his wound. She closes her eyes and the wound starts to heal up.

ACHERON

Thanks for that.

He groans in pain as he’s on the floor.

ACHERON (cont’d)

I’m gonna just stay here on the floor for a while. You guys are cool with that right? Ok… uh… what happened? How did he find you?

ATHENA

Lucian jumped us last night. He captured me and Taven but Finn & Erin got there last.

ACHERON

Did the charms not work?

TAVEN

They did. I have no idea how he found us.

ACHERON

Shit. Where’s Finn and Erin?

ATHENA

When they won his dance battle and he tried to kill them off. But then…

TAVEN

Their eyes started to glow. They blasted him with blue and red energy. Then a portal opened up and took them away.

ACHERON

Shit… their time powers?

They both nod to his question.

ACHERON

Kairos’ powers were always unpredictable which made him dangerous. And an asshole, he liked to prank people a lot. We have to find them… they’re stuck in time and I know when.

TAVEN

How do we do that?

ACHERON

Glad you asked. I have a plan and it involves you.

TAVEN

Me?

ACHERON

Yes, you. You are my descendant with my powers. You can turn into a ghost, right? The Spirit World is an uncanny world, you’ll need to find The Time Fields.

TAVEN

That sounds complicated enough.

ACHERON

I’m wounded by Lucian’s sword which has lasting effects on people like us. You are the only one who can travel to the spirit world. Other than me, you have to find Finn and Erin and get them back here.

CUT TO

EXT. FINN’S NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE PAST

Picking up from the season finale. FINN & ERIN see past FINN about to rescue the dog for the girl.

FINN

Son of a bitch. We time traveled! We time traveled!

FINN is at a loss knowing that his time powers worked and but realizes he’s stuck in the past with ERIN

FINN (cont’d)

But stuck at the beginning! Fuck! What do we do?!

ERIN

Shush! We both know the rules of time travel.

FINN

We just need to summon those time powers again. Come on let’s try.

FINN & ERIN grab their dominant hands. Sparks begin to fly out of thin air. The portal begins to form.

FINN & ERIN

Yes!

The portal opens then closes immediately and blasts them to the ground. Rolling around in pain.

FINN

We’re never doing that ever again.

ERIN

Agreed.

They get back up and crack a few bones and wipe away any dirt.

ERIN

What do we do now? We can’t open up that time portal thing.

FINN

Acheron. We met with him at several points the next day. We just need to find a moment with him that draws him away from us. This should be easy.

CUT TO

NEXT DAY. FINN’S NEIGHBORHOOD

Its morning past FINN is conversing with past ERIN after the event that happened. Present FINN & ERIN are on the roof of their home.

ERIN

The next time we’re stuck in the past. I’m breaking into a house and locking you out.

FINN

Ok… I’m sorry I didn’t expect it to be a cold night.

ERIN

I’m still gonna kill you.

FINN points out ACHERON appearing in his puff of smoke.

FINN

There let’s go.

Both dashing off the roof and running toward ACHERON.

FINN & ERIN

Acheron!

They repeatedly say as they yell it loudly. ACHERON turns around to see both FINN & ERIN.

ACHERON

Can I help you, boys?

FINN is taking a deep breath.

ERIN

I apologize for my alternate personality, he’s not physically adept. But my name is Erin Nitty and this is Finn Evers and we are the current immortal.

ACHERON

You’re the current immortal of time. What are you two doing here? I thought…

FINN regains his breath and steps in the conversation.

FINN

We’re from… (breaths) the future. We got stuck in the past when we Lucian attempted to kill us.

ACHERON

Lucian?! He escaped?!

ERIN

Yes and now he’s loose and free and we need to get back to the present to help the Athena and Taven.

ACHERON

I have no capabilities of time powers… but Taven is capable of getting you through the Spirit World. There is a place called the Time Fields, a garden of portals leading to different eras in time.

CUT TO

PRESENT DAY. ABANDONED AIR HANGAR

The scene shows both past & present ACHERON explaining the Time Fields. PRESENT ACHERON is with TAVEN & ATHENA in an abandoned hangar.

ACHERON

It’s is extremely dangerous. There is the Tick Tocks. Guardians of the fields. Wielders of the right hand and second hand. They’ll kill you. I have enough strength to send you to the city of Eidolon.

TAVEN

Will Lucian find me there?

ACHERON

Lucian may have achieved omniscience. But there are some dimensions hidden and some are blocked from his vision altogether. The Spirit World is one place blocked and the place I’m sending Athena to Eden.

He turns to ATHENA.

ACHERON (cont’d)

Eden’s a safe place. Just surrounded by a bunch of deserts. You’ll see a floating island surrounded by the Gates Of The Compass. You’ll also need a seal from me to get passed the Heavenly Hosts.

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

You three are not going anywhere.

His voice was shaky and yet angry. LUCIAN appears before them. His face is still broken and cracked. He holds The Aurora in hand dragging the broad sword on the ground.

LUCIAN

Hello, (deep breath) brother.

ACHERON

Taven goes now.

TAVEN attempts to jump into the portal but LUCIAN snaps his fingers. Freezing him in place as well as ATHENA.

ACHERON

Let them go now.

LUCIAN

No! We still haven’t finished our duel brother.

ACHERON

What has happened to you, Luci? You were the immortal of light.

LUCIAN

And now.

The shadowy monster inside LUCIAN crawls out of his face.

LUCIAN (cont’d)

I’m the immortal of darkness.

The shadowy monster mirrors his movements as the hold up their respective broadswords. ACHERON pulls out The Death Weapon in its scythe form. He snaps his fingers and TAVEN & ATHENA unfreeze.

ACHERON

Taven go now!

TAVEN nods and turns into his spirit form. His hair turns from black to pale white as well as his eyes and skin. His body becomes transparent and sees through. He jumps into the portal for the Spirit World. TAVEN walks into the portal and is instantly thrown around and falling through a tunnel of blue.

He falls on the ground as soon as he exits the portal. TAVEN appears in what seems to be a field of green. Outside of a city floating in front of stars. With his spirit powers, he floats and levitates his way into the city. He wanders in as the gates were open.

He sees other ghosts human and animal alike. Some had appeared differently than normal. Some were normal and tangible ghosts. Meanwhile, some were made of fire and wind. Other elements including, some were creepy and disfigured and monstrous.

He then sees a statue of ACHERON with a new statue being built next to it. He sees his name and rushes toward the statue.

TAVEN

No friggin way. That’s a statue of me.

A random ghost overhears him.

RANDOM GHOST

That’s not you. That’s Lord Taven. The latest incarnation of The Immortal of Death.

TAVEN suddenly transforms back to human.

TAVEN

Hi. I’m your Lord Taven. Uhhh… do you have a name?

RANDOM GHOST

Lord Taven!

The other ghosts around hear him. The random ghost bows as an apology.

RANDOM GHOST

Lord Taven forgive me!

TAVEN

Hey, ease up there guy. It’s alright. I’m looking for a way to the Time Fields. My friends are stuck in the past and I need to rescue them.

RANDOM GHOST

The Time Fields? It’s a long journey there but I am certain there is one spirit he that could take you. He’s known as the Traveler and he can take anyone anywhere but at a price. I can take you to him.

TAVEN

Please, anything to rescue my friends.

RANDOM GHOST

Follow me.

CUT TO

ABANDONED AIR HANGAR

Just as TAVEN entered the portal, ATHENA helps ACHERON with LUCIAN. A bunch of plants rise from the ground and grab both LUCIAN and his shadow monster. ACHERON snaps his finger and opens a portal.

ACHERON

Go now! Go to Eden! Find the Vault! Get weapons! It doesn’t matter which one. Get the three that can destroy him! GO NOW ATHENA!

ATHENA nods and jumps in the portal. LUCIAN and his shadow monster break free, then he roars like an animal.

LUCIAN

We’re not done here, brother.

ACHERON

I’m sorry.

ACHERON slams the scythe into the ground cause a quick shake then immediately vanishes.

LUCIAN

NO!

He screams then starts laughing like a maniac.

LUCIAN (cont’d)

You want a war Acheron? You got a war. It’ll be the war that you will all die in.

CUT TO

THE GARDEN OF EDEN DIMENSION

ATHENA is walking in the desert sand and sees a floating green island. Teeming with life and animals and other natural elements.

ATHENA

Why did I agree to this?

ATHENA shows up at the north gate, suddenly a being of large stature appears before her. With wings stretch behind his back. His skin was glimmering with a galaxy of stars and endless space. He wore the armor of steel and carried a sword.

ANGEL

Who are you, human?

His sword was drawn and was pointed toward ATHENA.

ATHENA

I’m Athena Flora. I’m the Immortal of Life.

The angel is shocked by her presence and bows. The giant angel kneels before him.

ANGEL

I apologize milady. I was not aware I was in the process of one of the immortal.

ATHENA

It’s fine. Uh… what’s your name?

URIEL

Uriel, milady.

ATHENA

Uriel, I was sent by Acheron to find a weapon buried within Eden.

URIEL

What for milady?

ATHENA

Lucian.

URIEL

He’s returned?! We must hurry then.

He sheathed his sword and shrinks to human size. Giving his hand out to her. She grabs his hand and his wings stretch.

URIEL

You should hold on tight to me milady. My flying tends to be scary.

ATHENA does so wrapping around URIEL like giving a hug. His wings stretch and they instantly take off. Flying over the guarding gate and landing in The Garden Of Eden. She lets go and sees it’s infinite beauty.

ATHENA

This place is beautiful.

URIEL

It quite is milady. Allow me to lead you into the Vault.

ATHENA

Yes, please.

She shows some firm interest in the angel boy.

URIEL

What was that milady?

ATHENA

Nothing

(Whispers)

God, you’re cute.

They walk into the garden.

CUT TO

FINN’S NEIGHBORHOOD - THE PAST

With their accomplishments and now waiting. FINN & ERIN are simply waiting around for their rescue. They’re hanging on their home’s roof.

FINN

What the fuck do we do?

ERIN

No. Fuckin. Clue.

FINN

I hate sitting around and doing nothing.

ERIN gets up immediately.

ERIN

Let’s do something then!

FINN

What are we going to do?

ERIN

Everything we ever wanted! All the things we wished we could’ve done.

FINN makes a realization.

FINN

Oh my god, you’re right! What should we do first?!

ERIN

Let’s go hiking! With the waterfall! Manana Ridge Trails! We always wanted to do a trail with a waterfall!

FINN

Airsoft! Drake’s always inviting us!

ERIN

Hell yeah!

FINN

Laser tag! Oh! ARCADE?!

ERIN

Let’s do everything!

FINN

Hold on, let’s start this montage off with some music. I swear there hasn’t been music playing since we got here.

FINN flips through his phone and looks for a song to play.

ERIN

Got a song?

FINN

Not yet… it’s kinda difficult to find a song. You know we don’t listen to a lot of modern musicians.

ERIN

True.

FINN

Got it.

ERIN

Perfect!

FINN smiles

FINN

I know right?

FINN presses his phone, the song plays “Under Pressure” by Queen ft. David Bowie plays. The start of a montage of fun begins, as they are hiking up Manana Ridge Trail. They’re racing each other to reach the top. Making it to the waterfall, they drop their backpacks and jumping in for a swim.

FINN

We can’t swim, fuck! How the fuck did we not remember this?!

CUT TO

AIRSOFT FIELD

FINN & ERIN are running through the shooting grounds of the airsoft field. FINN wears a blue mask and ERIN a red mask. They’re the last two on their team and hiding behind cover.

ERIN

What do we do?

FINN

Should we use our powers?

ERIN holds in his evil laugh.

ERIN

Yes!

FINN

Ready?

They’re both ready to be badasses, it’s not cheating if you have immortal superpowers. ERIN throws a grenade randomly and manages to take out three of the death squad after them. FINN gets out of cover and sees three people ready. With a snap of his fingers, time slows down for a bit and he dodges a the pellets fired at him. FINN realizing his powers are activated through happiness made him smile.

FINN

Oh yeah.

FINN raises his airsoft gun with glee.

CUT TO

ARCADE

FINN & ERIN are playing “Dance Dance Revolution” they dance to the beat of the song and in synchronization of each other.

CUT TO

ICE CREAM SHOP

They’re both ordering ice cream and coming out of the shop with two huge tubs of ice cream and walking like badasses.

CUT TO

FISHING BOAT

They’re both fishing out in the ocean and run into a mermaid.

FINN

Sorry.

The montage shows more clips to their fun activities. They’re eating ice cream from the huge tubs. ERIN wrestles a fish that puts up a fight while in the ocean. FINN & ERIN drawing a crowd of people as they watch the two dance to the song. The montage ends with a high five from all their activities and the ending of the song.

FADE TO BLACK

CUT TO

SPIRIT WORLD

TAVEN follows his newfound ghost friend. They traveled far away from the city of Eidolon and to what seems to be an ocean.

TAVEN

Where are we?

GHOST

The home of The Traveler.

Suddenly mist twirls like a ball and reveals what seems to be a broken down mansion.

TAVEN

I may be the reincarnated immortal of death but I still have a fear of horror movies and haunted houses.

GHOST

Oh really?

TAVEN

Please don’t tell anyone.

GHOST

You got it, my lord.

TAVEN

I never caught your name.

ABE

I think my name is Abe.

It turns out ABE was actually Abraham Lincoln. TAVEN is shocked for a moment.

TAVEN

Uh. You’re the ghost of Abraham Lincoln?!

ABE vanishes within the blink of an eye. TAVEN smiles.

TAVEN

What a nice guy.

TAVEN walks toward the ocean and a wooden bridge is suddenly built beneath his feet. He simply walks to the mansion.

TAVEN

Ok… just gotta… what the fuck do I even do?

The Mansion appears before him all of a sudden. He walks the front porch and opened the door then walks in. The door creaks loudly.

TAVEN

Shut up!

DOOR GHOST

Sorry man. Jeez.

A cloaked giant man appeared before him. THE TRAVELER appears before TAVEN.

THE TRAVELER

Lord Taven, Immoral of Death. How can I serve you today?

TAVEN

I need a way to the Time Fields.

THE TRAVELER

Of course my lord.

TAVEN

Wait. That was it?

THE TRAVELER

Yes.

TAVEN

Huh. Thought I was gonna have to offer something.

THE TRAVELER

That’s for humans that come to me for some reason. You’re the immortal of death.

TAVEN

Thank you.

THE TRAVELER

Follow me, my lord.

THE TRAVELER snaps his fingers and they instantly teleport to a boat.

TAVEN

What’s with all the snapping fingers? For literally powerful creatures.

THE TRAVELER

I have no clue. We just followed God and he just liked snapping. Anyways, the ferryman Kharon will take you there instantly due to the urgency of your mission.

TAVEN walks into the boat and meets KHARON he wore a cloak and was normal for a change. Different from the rest of the ghost.

KHARON

Hello my lord.

TAVEN

Hi. How does this all work?

KHARON

Simple really. I just hit the floor of the boat three times and we’ll be there quickly. So best hold on to something.

KHARON has an oar in hand and taps the ground three times.

TAVEN

Wait? What?

The boat begins to immediately jump in the portal created in the ocean. TAVEN screams his lungs off. THE TRAVELER laughs.

THE TRAVELER

Gets me every time.

CUT TO

EDEN

ATHENA & URIEL are at the entrance of The Vault. It opens as URIEL snaps his fingers.

ATHENA

Seriously, what is the deal with snapping fingers for celestial beings?

URIEL I’ve no clue. It was just a thing we started doing.

ATHENA

We?

URIEL

God aka Dad.

They walked through much strange weaponry. With multiple pedestals, to her left a sword with the label of Excalibur and next to it a staff of sorts labeled Merlin’s Staff. Across from it was a golden staff and a headband labeled Ryu Jingu Bang & The Monkey King’s Headband. The next pedestals showed a sphere called The Eyes Of Horus and on the other side, a skull puzzle box and a lightning bolt labeled Pandora’s Box & Zeus’ Lightning Bolt.

ATHENA

I these what I think they are?!

URIEL

Powerful weapons from the pantheons of history. As well as different universes.

ATHENA

Oh my god! Is that the Yata no Kagami?! Amaterasu’s mirror?!

She rushes toward the pedestal holding it along with a sword.

ATHENA (cont’d)

And Susano’s blade the Kusanagi no Tsunagi?!

She runs from pedestal to pedestal.

ATHENA (cont’d)

Mjolnir & Gungnir! Maui’s Fish Hook! And Neptune’s Trident?! What the fuck?!

She turns to find a smiling URIEL.

URIEL

I find it interesting, that the immortal of life knows so much about history.

ATHENA

History is one of my favorite subjects in school. And mythology is part of said history and I love all things mythological!

She sees two pedestals holding weapons she’s never seen before. On her left, there was an omega symbol, different colored rings, and a golden helmet.

ATHENA

Strange… never seen these before. Anti Life Equation? Power Rings. Helmet of Fate.

She turns around to see the other pedestal with the other strange weapons. A golden gauntlet with six different colored stones. A necklace of what appears to be an eye. And an ax with a wooden handle.

ATHENA (cont’d)

I’ve never seen these either. The Infinity Gauntlet? The Eye Of Agamotto? Stormbreaker? Huh… they both sound familiar.

URIEL

They’re from different universes but I think you’re gonna need these.

He points at three pedestals.

URIEL

The Spear Of Destiny, An Angel’s Halo, and The Flaming Sword.

ATHENA

Oh my lord.

She walks near them.

ATHENA

This is gonna be interesting.

CUT TO

THE PAST

FINN & ERIN are still eating the huge tub of ice cream they bought from the ice cream shop. With giant spoons in hand at the top of an apartment building.

FINN

This was literally the best day ever!

ERIN

I know right?!

FINN

Did feel bad about the mermaid though. Never expected a mermaid in Hawaii.

ERIN

Yeah… she was kinda cute too.

FINN

Wow. The first I see you interested in someone.

ERIN

I’m picky… sorry, dude.

FINN

Hey, that’s not right.

ERIN

Yeah, I know. I’m just ya know hopeless?

FINN

Seriously dude? You are a tough ass dude with a soft heart. I’m pretty sure there’s a girl out there for you Hulk.

ERIN

Okay, chill Batman. You know you have a lot of issues with us living forever.

FINN

True, but I’m learning. Baby steps. Did we complete our montage list?

ERIN checks their list.

ERIN

Uh yeah. So far we've done it all. Just haven’t done superheroes for the day.

Across the street, suddenly a bunch of robbers across the street of the robbers.

ERIN

Huh. I’ll be damned. Shall we?

FINN

We shall. But…

ERIN

What?

FINN points to the tub of ice cream.

ERIN (cont’d)

Really?

FINN

Come on man. It’s my favorite flavor. Rocky Cookie Creme Road.

ERIN Come on Ice Cream Man.

ERIN jumps off the top of the apartment building. Does a superhero landing.

ERIN

You know they’re right, that does hell on your knees. Fuck. Finn?

He looked around for FINN. He suddenly drops down with the tub full of ice cream.

ERIN

Goddammit. Throw it away!

FINN leaves on the sidewalk and walks across the street. The robbers are breaking in at a small jewelry store. There are a bunch of robbers holding people at gunpoint. ERIN walks in with FINN following.

ROBBER 1

Put your hands up! No funny business! Are you eating ice cream?

ERIN turns to see FINN still with the tub of Rocky Cookie Creme Road. Holding a giant spoon.

ERIN

Goddammit, Finn!

FINN

Sorry.

ROBBER 1

Whatever! You two just stay down and don’t say a word. And handover your wallets, phones and that tub of ice cream.

FINN sets down the tub of ice cream and the giant spoon, then wipes his mouth with his sleeve. He then cracks his neck.

FINN

Ready?

ERIN

Yeah.

ERIN grabs the gun being pointed at him by ROBBER 1. ROBBER 1 shoots ERIN in the shoulder then grabs the gun.

ROBBER 1

What the?

ERIN crushes the gun like a piece of paper as he squeezed his fist. FINN runs toward ROBBER 2 & 3 and they shoot him repeatedly.

ROBBER 2

What are you two?

FINN

Just two immortal superheroes.

ERIN punches ROBBER 1 knocking him out. FINN grabs ROBBER 2’S gun and takes out the magazine as he throws both the unloaded gun in one direction and the magazine another. They miraculously hit ROBBERS 3 & 4. FINN & ERIN both look at ROBBER 2 and he just lies down in fear of the two immortal teenagers.

ERIN

That was easy.

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

Too easy. You immortal dumbasses.

FINN & ERIN are dragged out and thrown out of the jewelry store window and into the street. This was the past LUCIAN as his face was not destroyed.

LUCIAN

Hello boys. Nice to see you two again.

FINN

Fuck you!

LUCIAN laughs maniacally. He vanishes.

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

You two… (he laughs creepily) owe me a new face.

FINN pulls out the katana from the dance battle.

ERIN

How the fuck did you keep that? I thought you threw it away?

FINN

This jacket has hidden compartments. You really think I would throw a nice katana away?

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

Shall I play some music?

FINN

Yes. Play Can’t Hold Me Down by GRiZ

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

Fuck. As much as I want to play the song and the lack of music in this episode and it ends in a few pages. It’s pissing me off. The Author was super focused on getting you and asshole in your head here back to the present. The bastard had to write that my omniscience has limits. Don’t worry… I’ll get you all dual faced dumbasses, Ghost Boy, and Plant Lady and my big brother to top it all off.

FINN

We’ll stop you.

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

Will you now? Well… what will you do without each other?

ERIN

What do you mean?

LUCIAN snaps his fingers. A portal opens up and ERIN gets pulled in. LUCIAN snaps his fingers one more time before leaving completely. Monsters began to be summoned. FINN now alone wields his katana and is now frightened. He stands in the middle of an ever-growing circle.

CUT TO

ERIN’S LOCATION

ERIN is in an unknown location. Surrounded by space blue and red. Knocked out he is on the ground on what seems to be a temple. Two cloaked figures in the blue and red stand before him.

CHRONAL MONK 1

He is here.

CHRONAL MONK 2

But his other half isn’t.

A man in what seems to be stranger robes and armor appears before the two.

CHRONO MONK 1

Paradox!

They kneel before him.

PARADOX

Half of our kings have arrived.

CUT TO

EDEN

ATHENA intrigued by the vault finds three weapons pertaining to original immortals

ATHENA

Time’s Chrono Scythe

A scythe mechanized to look like a clock.

ATHENA (cont’d)

Death’s Revenant Blade.

A transparent blade hybridized with different swords. A katana’s handle. The crossguards of a broadsword and a slightly curved blade that look lightning bolt. ATHENA comes across two gauntlets.

ATHENA (cont’d)

Life’s Flora Gauntlets…

She touches the gauntlets and feels her power surge through her hand. She looks on in amazement then smiles.

CUT TO

SPIRIT WORLD - TIME FIELDS

KHARON’S boat makes it to the TIME FIELDS, a couple acres of land stand before it. TAVEN leaves the boat and bids KHARON a goodbye. He walks on the patch of land and sees the Time Fields in the distance. A gate guards it with two Tick Tocks at the gate. The fields are patches of enormous portals opened from the ground.

TAVEN

Oh, fuck me.

TAVEN transforms into his spirit form and slowly floats to the goat.

CUT TO

ANCIENT TEMPLE - PRESENT DAY

LUCIAN sits within the temple.

LUCIAN/NARRATOR (V.O)

Here we are the last scene of the episode. First, the Author neglects the music, and me by writing that my omniscience has limits. And he focuses this episode on the three immortals. Goody Two Shoes is currently fighting monsters in the past. I sent The Asshole In His Head, God knows where. Acheron… sent the Ghost Boy to the Spirit World and Plant Lady to Eden… I’m going to kill them all. Not just this world, them first. They’ll all pay.

LUCIAN roars in anger and with the Aurora and his Shadow monster. They strike the air and open a portal.

LUCIAN

The Spirit World.

SHADOW

The Garden Of Eden.

Their voices sneer in amusement. LUCIAN looks to the audience.

LUCIAN

Author. You. Don’t. Have. Power. Over. Me.

LUCIAN looks to SHADOW and nods. They both jump in different portals. LUCIAN lands in the Spirit World. SHADOW in Eden’s desert outskirts.

LUCIAN & SHADOW

This is going to be interesting.

CUT TO BLACK

(END OF EPISODE 1)

TAGS @cometworks, @cookiecuttercritter, @coloursintheblur

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1800areyouslapping · 7 years ago

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ShimadaPal x Shimadasis Yakuza AU

Gal pals here!

I have a bunch of ideas for you. But I guess I’ll start with Shimada!Pal because I kinda have a thing for our ahem gal pals.

Yakuza Route:

Sis!Shimada, a princess in the Yakuza world and treated as such. Loved by her brothers and father, her hand is the most sought after in all of Japan. So it’s not unusual during clan meetings that the clan’s leaders would bring their heirs with their attempts at wooing her.

Most of the heirs who try to woo her are rough and tough men, but I’m sure they’d try to tone it down to not frighten her. She knows them but she’s not interested in them, the modest smile she wears is false and she feels her energy and enthusiasm drop whenever she smiles and talks with them. Clan meetings are very much a chore for her.

Around the age of 15, the meetings changed; a beautiful girl around her age represented her clan. ‘Poor girl’, her handmaiden told her. Her parents have passed (and maybe brother?), and with no other relatives, she had to take her father’s place as the head of the clan so it won’t fall into the wrong hands.

CeCe’s note: I think it would also be interesting if not all of the suitors that come around “tone it down.” Maybe a few of the boys or men from the other yakuza clans just don’t have it in their personality to tone it down. Or they think, well, the cordial stuff isn’t working so maybe she wants an aggressive man. This could lead to a nice scene where yakuza!friend has to kind of come to defend sis!Shimada’s honor and that just leaves sis!Shimada like, damn. Could be an interesting way for yakuza!friend to impress her.

It would be rough for her having to prove herself in a man’s world. But, she didn’t seem bothered. The girl is even referred to as the ‘warm-blooded yakuza’, considered an insulting title by yakuza, but she takes the title in stride. Yes, she is warm and has a sunny disposition, but should you cross her, she will cut you down with ease. But Sojiro knows that while she is young, she is resourceful and smart, and stronger than she appears, and allows her to reign her clan much to the lack of understanding of the other clans.

CeCe’s note: Like she’s “warm-blooded” but can be brought to a scalding boil really fast if you’re not careful, I like that! I personally go back and forth between the yakuza not wanting women in power or it just being a matter of who is born first, firstborns just have that right, regardless of gender. If firstborn dies or for whatever extreme reason aren’t seen as fit to rule it moves on to the next, but not a big deal if it’s a woman? If that makes any sense. But if yakuza!friend comes off as “soft” then I can see how ruling as a woman would be a problem for her.

For the first time in many years, the princess is interested in the clan meeting– or rather, the girl’s that attending it. She tells herself it’s because she’s dressed differently; in a short kimono that shows off her legs and hints of tattoo (she wonders how far they go and what the rest look like. But that is simple curiosity, right?) And unlike the men around her who dress in drab colored suits, she wears a bright short colorful kimono and shows off her femininity without shame.

CeCe’s note: I’d like it here is sis!Shimada is just trying to come to terms with the fact that she’s gay. She’s never quite understood why she’s never been interested in any of the male suitors, especially the ones that came off as genuine to her, cute some even handsome but she was still never interested. All the sudden yakuza!friend shows up and she like @_@

“Please papa. Don’t let them hurt her.” Sis!Shimada tells her dad. Some of the men around her try to intimidate the girl, but she easily handles them with a grace that the princess admires. The hostility towards her increases when the princess becomes friends with the girl. The men say that the girl is distracting the princess’ from her priorities (like talking to their sons.)

At one point, the heirs show off to the princess. I’m unsure how Yakuza do it, but I was thinking they’d show off with archery or something (I got inspired by Brave lol) Oh and some of the hot guys take their shirt off maybe, but it’s not like the princess cares because she’s too busy watching her new….friend. Like, admiring how the wind plays with her hair, how the sunshine makes her look prettier. You know, straight things. AND, at one point the girl turns to look at the princess and gives this smirk, which makes her heart skip a beat, before the girl hit the bull’s eye. Nice.

CeCe’s note: I think it would be amazing to have all the different suitors like fight eachother in the dojo, show off their archery skills, they probably would buy sis!Shimada all these nice things too. Duals in the dojo are not supposed to be to the death even though sometimes the men take it a little too far, resulting in either in wounds or near deaths. This could also be some drama maybe one of those near death duels involves the yakuza!friend. She makes it out alive and it’s not like the other guy didn’t come out worse for wear but it was close. This could lead to a nice tender, private moment between yakuza!friend and sis!Shimada. Some *ah-hem* personal care.

Since that day the girl and the Shimada princess grow closer, the girl’s even invited to their manor for dinner or sleep-overs. The princess can visit the girl, but she cannot stay the night and unsurprisingly she’s guarded.

Things get heated one night during a sleep over, and the princess finally gets to see how far those tattoos go. ;)

CeCe’s note: It’d like it if sis!shimada get to see these tattoos in a very steamy scene where they go to the onsen together and they both get to see each other in all their glory, and both have to try and not gawk at each other. One thing leads to another as they’re inching closer and closer ‘til one’s in the other’s lap.

I was thinking at one point, someone takes a photo of Sis!Shimada and the ‘friend’ kissing, and sends the picture to Sojiro. He’d be furious and calls the friend in… I was thinking it’s an angry suitor who gets the friend in trouble. Like, ‘she’s corrupted your daughter!’

And I’m leaving the ending up to you. I have a feeling it won’t be a happy one :(

Gal Pals here: I feel a bit bad cause I didn’t think of these in my submission to you. Here’s a small extension I managed to think up for the Yakuza AU. Sleepover edition. So, for the sleepovers, the sis is always guarded and our pal sleeps in her own room. Cause she’s yakuza, just in case she tries anything. But she does!

GP: When the sis and pal are secretly dating. I was thinking the pal sneaks past guards to spend some quality alone time with sis. Whenever they have sex it’s rushed and hushed and desperate, those moments sparse and cherished. At the end though, the pal always makes sure the sis is okay. Giving her kisses on her face, her hands. The sis whines for her to stay and is sad she always has to go.

GP: I was thinking maybe it’s one of the brothers who catch the pal sneaking and about to enter the sis’ room that she gets in trouble. I imagine Sojiro would feel slapped in the face because he allows this girl to rule her own clan, and here she is sleeping with his daughter. I don’t think even a finger would suffice.

CeCe’s note: Idk, my friend I go back and forth between Sojiro in this AU in particular not really giving a shit or really giving a shit. Hanzo will get married and produce an heir, here sis!Shimada having a baby isn’t totally paramount. Not that she can’t have one with yakuza!friend anyway. He’d make it known that he knows what the fuck is up, chastise for going behind his back, because not much is getting past him. I’d like it if the person who “caught” them gets to Sojiro and Sojiro is offended at them because he already knows. Do they really, truly think he doesn’t fucking know? Stop wasting his time, and stop creeping on his daughter. How’d they get that picture? What were they doing there in the first place? Depending on whether or not it was one of his sons who came to him with it or some random suitor the punishment would vary.

But if Papa Sojiro is really feeling betrayed by yukuza!friend sleeping with his daughter behind his back then well, either she needs to get the fuck outa doge or go down the clean sweep of her clan. Idk if people get what I mean when I say that so, basically think *pretty lady ovw announcer voice* “Team Kill” but of an entire clan.

Also, this is inspiration for what the friend wears. Not everything, but I really like this shorter kimono look (do you happen to know what this type of kimono is called? The short kimonos I could find on google are unfortunately cheap Halloweeney costumes. Ew)

CeCe’s note: I like the short kimono idea! That’s super cute, I did some research and I don’t think there is a technical term for it, not that I could find at least, I think “short kimono” is the best thing to call it. I also found some more examples that I thought weren’t too costumey and are pretty one of them is just something I stumbled upon and felt like sharing cause I thought it was stunning lol

CeCe’s images:

Gal pals anon’s image down below:

#sis!Shimada #gal pals anon #yakuza!friend #musings #angst #submission

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