#need to get activity back up before apping for a man ////:

[hiiddens]

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖          hellooo now that i’m free to do as i please and not restricted by work, here is my attempt at a STARTER CALL !! i’ve been way slower this weekend than i should’ve been ( blame is on me for forgetting friday & sunday are holidays... ) but now that everything is done i can finally do things ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ if you’re interested in a starter please hit that heart & i’ll get started on it either tonight or tomorrow !!

[lostintransist]

Hell's Spawn | It Means Fuck Off

I wasn't planning on posting this yet but I need some feel good chemicals going in my brain before I give my professor the award for being the single most unhelpful teacher I have ever had in my entire life. Mans is actively making my life harder and not easier.

CW: Mommy issues, lots of negative self talk, general staring at women's bodies even though they just want to be left alone.

Trading shifts, what a simple way to alter the course of one’s life. Something akin to missing a train or a flight delay causing you to miss a connection, some exterior force course correcting you to where you need to be.

Leaning on one elbow on the stainless steel counter studying your text book you can feel your brain melting in your skull. Being a fourth-year medical student had taught you that while one could get a fever hot enough to “cook” the brain in the skull it wouldn’t occur from studying for too long. The voice of your mother itched in the back of your mind, telling you to give up and move on, you’ll never be more than a whore.

That had always been her favorite insult to hurl at you. Puberty hit you like a truck from a number of your favorite animes, transporting you into a woman-like body over the course of one summer. You still had the stretch marks.

Your mother hated it and hated you. She would never say that though. The high-powered pick-me lawyer could never let it be known that the only love she had in her soul had to be provided by the attention of a man. Psych 101 had been an enlightening class. You had nearly decided to go for a psychiatric residency before the chemistry classes debased that idea in your head.

When residency was over and you were settled somewhere you had decided to find a therapist to help you unpack all the shit that your mother had endowed you with. Her snide comments, wool-encased bricks lobbed at you from her high tower where she held both the power and the autonomy to keep you a prisoner, pelted you even now despite the years and distance between you.

The only escape you had found had been concurrent and AP classes in high school and a scholarship to finish your bachelor’s degree in one year directly out of high school and across the country. You worked your ass off for a few years to be old enough to never need her money again and passed the MCAT on the first try. The local medical school had accepted you at twenty-six, an old maid in that first class filled with nineteen and twenty-year-olds. That is how you had landed at a late-night cafe as a barista. You took as little student loans as possible and that meant working late and rising early for classes.

Coming full circle, you had traded shifts with the owner. Lucky bitch had five of the hottest boyfriends who were also boyfriends you had everseen and the bitch was ace. All that luck wasted on someone who didn’t ride their boyfriends until they whimpered night after night after night. God, you needed to get laid.

She had told you when you agreed to switch though that a group would be coming in to use the private room around midnight. She had warned you not to be alarmed but they would all be covered head to toe and would pay with cash. What she had failed to mention is that all four men who would appear at midnight, like wraiths wrapped in darkness, is that they were fucking jacked. They were ripped. To be frank you weren’t sure how any of them put shirts on or how the fabric didn’t rip like they were Bruce Banner turning green. Every one of them wore a surgical mask.

They all stepped to the counter, menacing vibes a miasma that eddied around them. Several patrons were scattered about the space, in quiet conversation or the clacking of keyboard keys, offering the illusion of safety. Aiming a well-trained smile any customer-facing worker would recognize at the men you greeted them.

“Hi welcome in, what can I get started for you?”

The tallest, broadest one, scanned the menu before glancing down. The demons in your mind began howling when instead of landing on your face his gaze landed firmly on the shadows of your cleavage peaking above the edge of your shirt. You had forgotten you had agreed to this shift until it was too late to change into the high-necked band tees you normally wore. The soundtrack of self-hate had always been easier to ignore if you could avoid drawing attention to your body.

“Four large black coffees, sugar and cream on the side.”

No please, no thank you. Fine, whatever wouldn’t be the last person tonight even that wouldn’t treat you with the same respect a wandering cat would receive.

“And you want all of those hot?” You tap away at the screen as you wait for his answer.

“Yes.” His voice should be much lower than it is, but it is still pleasant on the ear. The curl of his tongue around the words tells you English was not learned at his mother’s breast.

“Okay, your price is pulling up, this system slows down after midnight.” You roll your eyes at it, “If you give me a moment I can get that ready for you and let you into the room you have reserved.” You catch sight of the one with blue eyes that burn trailing those selfsame irises down one collarbone, to the bunching of skin, and then trailing back up to the other side.

The sniping words, whore, bitch, no good wench, nothing more than pussy, tits, and a mouth, fly through your mind, debris in the storm picking up speed. Grown and a world away her words still cut at you like glass.

Four hot coffees are settled on the counter as you count out change and return it to a leather-gloved hand. Did he have to buy specialty gloves to ensure that they fit?

The third man shifted his head toward you from behind his sunglasses before turning back to observe the room. A smudge of black hair peeked from below his hat.

Carrying the key along with several packets of sugar in your apron pocket and the carafe of creamer you can feel the fourth man’s eyes digging into your spine directly above your bra strap. No skin had been visible on him since the moment they entered the shop. That level of dedication impressed something in you.

You would have stayed impressed except the man couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Unlocking the door you stepped aside and let the men trail in, careful to keep your back to the wall by the premise of holding the door open with your foot. Once everyone found a seat you set the creamer on the table and turned to leave.

The completely covered one caught your wrist, fiddling with the ties of your bracelet. A friend had given it to you last Christmas when your mother had tried to reach out to ‘mend fences’. Turns out she was getting married again and her fiance wanted to meet the prodigal daughter.

The dainty silver beads pressed into your flesh as he dragged a thumb over them.

“What’s all this about? From a lover?”

The accent on his words tickles your senses. Then the understanding of his question settles home.

Customer service mode leaves your face and body, the bitch your mother always claimed you to be coming out.

“It reads fuck off,” you wrench your hand from his grip and slam the door shut behind you. When you settle back in the kitchen you fire off a text to your boss.

<Heads up, ended up snapping at one of your special customers.

Next, you fire off a message to Quinn, seeing if he could come in a half hour early so you didn’t have to close alone if the layered lechers stayed until closing.

Quinn confirmed he could be in early.

The parade from the conference room occurred as Quinn was arriving, leaving him to hold the door open for them as they passed. Closing duties went faster with Quinn collecting all the dishes for cleaning and you were home and in bed, books prepped for class in the morning on the table.

You woke a few hours later to a reply from your boss.

>Whatever you did they probably deserved it. You know I will back you 100%. But John says they seemed to like you better for snapping.

If you didn’t have to rush to avoid being late for your eleven am class you would have rolled your eyes. They liked being snapped at, that you were mean to them? Yeah, right.

Hell Masterlist | Masterlist

@demothers-empty-blog @beloveds-embrace (boo I hope you like your surprise.)

[thelancer27]

Part 1/2 {Union NHPRO team “Five man Band” lands on site.}

WARNING! SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED!

Alright team, this is it. Scans are giving us nothing but more Horus. Possible Balor, and multiple Manticores likely on site. Stay. Together. Pick off the Manticores first. Understood? Ravens and the rest are here to clear us a path to the primary target. We need to be fast, but careful. Whatever this freak has in store, we need to be ready, and together.

- Command received. Primary target: Manticore class frames.

Sir yes sir!

{Five man band moves out, the base is close, a massive entrance is visible. Before the two manticores appear, having been cloaked and waiting. The entrance screeches open, a Gorgon clambers out, hissing as the enemies begin their attack} Christ the Buddah- that thing's huge. Sevak! You and Lemon take the gorgon down! Prism I need you to drop the Manticores before they reach us. They cannot get into range of anyone! Ash, me and you stick together, once Prism takes down the Manticores we finish them from range. DO. NOT. ENGAGE IN MELEE. Kill from range, and do the same with the Gorgon Ash. Thats for Sevak and Lemon. {Whitehorse loads his Everest "Thumper's" grenade launcher, and chuckles}

Haven't dropped like this since '92. Lets dance! {Sevak and Lemon seem to almost effortlessly rip into the Gorgon, as it's monstrous frame is knocked around by Sevak, only for Lemon to close any gaps and rip chunks out with every attack.} {ENEMY COMMS INTERCEPTED} [Cortex: What the FUCK!? This Enkidu's ripping me to shreds! Fucking- Get the beast out here! Windvale!] [Windvale: DO NOT RUSH ME!! I'll get it out soon. But you know how that... thing, is. Stay alive a bit longer, be grateful your dealing with the misfits and not the Ravens. Remember our objective. Keep them busy, so the Horizon Needle can charge.] [Decimal: We know, hell I designed that thi- FUCK! Windvale the AP is seriously pinning us down! I know the Hydra is waiting for it's chance. But are you sure that thing isn't ready to go?] [Windvale: Just give me some more time. Remember this thing's a rabid dog. I'm getting the nanites set now. Once it gets set loose, nothing gets left. Remember to keep distance.] {ENEMY COMMS LOST} Good lord! To think I had thought these things tough! Reloading! Yeah Sev, I guess we all did. Lemon how you doing? I... I am fine. Enemy forces mean nothing. Are nothing. Keep. Going.

{WARNING! PILOT BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE RISING. CONSIDER STIMULANT ADMINISTRATION}

Lemon. You want me to do it? It's your call.

N-No. Not yet. I am me, and I do not need it.

Understood. Prism! Anything else waiting for us?

-Negative. But something is lurking. Be aware.

Alright, that doesn't sound goo-

{A loud screeching noise. A HYDRA Class frame unveils itself, as multiple rocks reveal themselves as Tempest and Assassin drones. Whitehorse is knocked down, and the Hydra unleashes a swarm to keep him down.}

WARNING! SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED!

{ENEMY COMMS INTERCEPTED} [Windvale: Alright, the freak's en route. If you two haven't Castigated, do it or get out of the blast zone. The rest of you? Just keep this up. The Horizon Needle is at 31%. We. Can. Do this. Don't let Cortex die for nothing. Remember what Union took from you.] {ENEMY COMMS LOST}

WARNING! SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED

-Something is coming.

Ominous, but okay.... The Manticores and Hydra are just... backing off, and I don't think there's much of the Gorgon left to run. What now?

Now? We keep moving. Sevak, Lemon, status?

{Gunshot, likely from a Cannibal shotgun}

The Gorgon is slain! I dare say we are modern day Heracleses.

Gorgon down. I am good. Enkidu Status acceptable, Reactor heat near danger, but acceptable.

Good, now we just need to-

{The recording struggles to capture the noise that comes next, as something begins to form itself amidst the team. A Balor, bigger then any other seen in the pattern group.}

What the fuck is that thing!?

Balor! Balor! Balor! Break contact! Keep your distance, we've trained for this people! Fuck whats it doing?!

-It is not done forming. Reading claims... Balor pattern group. Size three.

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 19/20

Blinded By Rage

Welcome back for a final time this year to Fantasy High where we’re covering both parts of the finale in one go! 

Last we left off here, the Bad Kids had gotten control of the Hangman post dragon fight on election night and were flying back to a much changed Elmville, sky turned an angry red in the process of becoming the divine domain of rage. 

When we return, they’re running out of clouds to ride on and need to pick a place to land. Fabian is concerned about just plopping a chunk of his house randomly in town but time is of the essence so they land at school on the Bloodrush field. It’s 10:20 PM, so they have less than two hours until the polls close at midnight. All the non-Bad Kid students get the hell out of Dodge because they’re useless in a crisis as always and all the brave and competent students (read: The Seven) have graduated. 

Brennan rules that, despite how crazy it was, the K2 Divine Intervention was technically buttoned up and allows Kristen to choose a special effect. She wants K2 back to help with spellcasting which Brennan grants (and will live to regret). 

Elmville is NOT doing well. It’s like 107 degrees and they can hear sirens and gunshots. There’s some real The Purge energy. Mazey has the duffel bag of votes but says she’s not allowed to count them until midnight so they all take a short rest to get their stuff back. They send Jawbone and Ragh to make sure Lydia is OK. They also strategize and throw on a bunch of buffs. Gorgug drinks his crazy strength potion he got as a present from Riz that takes him to a 25 Str. Adaine casts Rary’s Telepathic Bond so everyone can communicate telepathically plus Fly on Fabian, Gorgug, and herself. Kristen handcuffs the duffel bag of votes to Mazey for safekeeping. Perhaps, most crucially, Kristen has K2 cast Ice Feat which has ascended from a mistake to a bit to a homebrew spell with the following effects:

Every creature targeted by this spell takes a level of exhaustion and 1d12 cold damage.

The targets are cured of all disease and poison.

All creatures targeted by this spell make constitution saving throws with advantage and their hit point maximum and current hit points increase by 2d10.

The targets gain immunity to fire damage and the stunned condition.

Remember that last one for later. 

Anyway, there’s a lot more that they do but I’ll mention stuff if they come up in a big way. For now, let’s bust into the gym where Porter plus Jace and the Rat Grinders are trying and failing to do the ritual because they never got the proper name (highlighted by Buddy who in his same blind earnestness from before he was rage star’d thinks Bakarath is the true name and they’re just not believing hard enough).

Porter is furious that he was tricked into using the wrong name and grows to an enormous size, doing the foot stomp stun thing from earlier in the season but Ice Feast gives immunity to the stun condition so with a successful “Loser says what?” from Gorgug, it’s time to roll for initiative! 

To set the scene, the gym (and all of Elmville really) is breaking apart. Team Porter has invoked all this energy but can’t do anything with it so it’s kind of like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. The floor of the gym is cracking and there’s bubbling lava underneath–lava that is actually the carcass of Ankarna and the rage domain is spilling into the material plane. 

I also want to mention that even though several people have abilities/spells active that allow them to see Invisibility, no one can see Kipperlilly. We learn later it’s because she’d never been truly invisible, she’s just that good at hiding. 

As always, I’m gonna just hit highlights for the fight but ooh man, there are some highlights:

Riz on his first turn does a super clutch casting of Slow which gums up the works for the Rat Grinders for a big chunk of the fight. 

Just as they planned earlier (both in game and as we learned during the AP, out of game) Oisin is the top priority to deal with. A tag team of Fig and Gorgug gets him off the board in the first round before he can even cast a single spell. 

Ivy attacks the Hangman on her turn and Fabian returns the favor by brutally one-shotting her his next turn. Like, *extremely* brutally. He has low key had it out for her since she was mean about Mazey way back at the top of the season. But even Mazey (who is joining the fight because they can’t actually kill her, logistically speaking since she needs to count the votes) is like hmm, don’t know if I *love* that. (For the record, Ivy is killed first but Oisin is attacked first. That’s why I have them in this order). 

After Ruben hits everyone with a 9th level spell (highest level a spell can be for anyone not familiar) Fig gives up on the dude. Once the 9th level spells get broken out, the time for talking is over. In disguise as Wanda, she rips a very confused Ruben a new one for not being receptive to any of her attempts to coax him onto a redemption arc. She eventually blasts him into hell which sounds brutal until you remember that it’s functionally just her office. 

Because the Rat Grinders are clustered together in a very non-strategic way, Adaine is able to hit them all with Synaptic Static which not only does damage but also forces a bunch of their spellcasters to lose Concentration on spells. Everyone but Buddy I believe. 

Kipperlilly gets Riz with 8 points of damage but he gets her with 21 damage on his Attack of Opportunity as she escapes which is almost triple. That’s crazy! 

And I wanna pause here to make a quick point. The Rat Grinders are kind of bad at this. Like, they have all these high level abilities–and we know Brennan can be brutal in how he runs NPCs cause we’ve seen them in Neverafter and ACOC. But the Rat Grinders are just seriously dropping like flies. And that’s due to a combination of three things. One, the Intrepid Heroes and by extension the Bad Kids are just really good at this. They’ve had a lot of practice and they’ve had time to strategize. They read the rules. They’re making clutch decisions. Of course they’re good at what they’re doing. Secondly, they got some great rolls. For instance, initiative worked out that they had the opportunity to merc Oisin before he could start slinging 9th level wizard spells. And finally, as we learned in the AP, the Rat Grinders had level 20 abilities but they were still very squishy because they didn’t level up properly. 

Anyway, back to the fight.

Jace splits himself into 4 copies and finally gets Ankarana’s name with a Detect Thoughts on Fig. That’s not the only road block for the Bad Kids. They’re doing really well considering but also taking some Ls. Fabian drops (as does Fig later) and Adaine gets caught with Flesh to Stone.

Riz tries to find Kipperlilly and, when he can’t, he goes under the gym floorboards, shoots at Porter, and introduces the last big element to this combat: with his last 5 feet of movement, he jumps into the lava to hide. Because, as Emily mouthed to him a few minutes earlier, because of Ice Feast, they’re all immune to Fire Damage. Brennan forgot to account for that. The lava is only a hazard for his NPCs. The Bad Kids are all immune. Kipperlilly is so baffled that she goes, “What the fuck?” and gives away her position. 

From this point on, utilizing the combo of Fly and fire immunity to stay out of range of enemies–either in the sky or below the gym floorboards in/near the lava–becomes a major part of their strategy. For instance, Kristen goes under there to do some Mass Healing without being a target.

Porter in this fight is very fearsome. He has Legendary Actions and he can attack so hard that you get hit just from the air moving so fast before his weapon even hits you. Later on in the two-parter, he stops on Gorgug’s skull and gives him two death saves. It’s a whole world of hurt. 

But, the Bad Kids also are no-selling him at every single turn. He insults them but they just say he was a shitty teacher. He tries to activate their rage crystals but, guess what? They all avoided taking a rage token all season so it has no effect. He even tries to give them a speech about how the school sucks and they should be on his side but they’re like, my brother in Ankarna, YOU’RE a big part of why the school has been sucking. Adaine and Fig have great back to back lines. Fig accuses him of having no principles, just pride. And Adaine says the school didn’t MAKE them waste their summer on the Night Yorb quest. That was their mistake and they fixed it. He seems a bit surprised and confused that they won’t engage with his philosophy but that’s really on him if he thought THIS would tempt the Bad Kids at all. They’re great at getting mad all on their own. All he’s offering is the destruction of their homes. 

Riz on his next turn sets himself up in a purposefully clumsy hiding spot where he will be easily visible to anyone looking for him but they will have to get in melee range to hit him and he readies an action to catch a spell. 

On Fig’s turn, she gets away from Porter to get in position but that earns her a nasty attack of opportunity from him that's so powerful it starts carbonizing her blood (which is what happened to Yolanda you'll remember so now we know for sure who killed her). But once she gets away from him, she is safe in the lava (which is also Ankarana’s body). She tells Ankarna that she needs to choose her own path and then does a huge Fireball (which is the actual killing blow on Ruben btw). The Fireball also breaks Buddy’s concentration on the spell he’s been holding all fight which was a Banishment on the ballot box. They now have a way to get the votes delivered! 

This is where part 1 ends but we’re rolling this all together for the recap so let’s keep going! 

(I also have to note that for part two, everyone but Brennan is dressed in emo gear. Do with that info what you will.)

Fabian pulls out Bakur’s gem and throws him out like a Pokemon. He doesn’t break out right away but Brennan takes the opportunity to intro a new mechanic where portals open and on a high enough roll, the Bad Kids can call allies to help. 

Fabian ALSO has the idea to push Jace (well, one of the 4 Jaces) into the lava which, surprise surprise, the fighter/dancer is stronger than the waifish sorcerer. And that’s 18d10 damage so yeah. This fight largely becomes the throwing people into lava challenge. And can you blame them? That’s so much damage!

We get a little bit of elucidation about how the rage crystals work. Porter is a kind of hive queen and he can exert influence over the people with crystals in their chest. We see him do it to Jace and we see crystals leave the chests of Oisin, Ivy, and Ruben (well not his chest cause he’s in hell but from where he was standing). The crystals are parasitic and jump ship to try and find new hosts. 

Mazey gets rage star’d. Bad! K2 Banishes Buddy. Good! (Extra good bc K2 is Invisible and can’t be Counterspelled) 

Porter chugs some devil’s honey and calls to Ankarna that he’s trying to rez her so he can worship her which we know is a lie cause his real goal is to usurp her. Fig and Kristen treat her like a friend who’s getting back with her shitty ex and are like girl he’s lying to you! 

In one of my fave moments of the ep, Kipperlilly falls for the trap Riz laid in part one, going to attack him where he’s awkwardly positioned and not realizing that he was actually forcing her to jump over a pit of lava. The moment she does, he hits her with a Hold Person which stops her in her tracks and causes her to fall straight into the lava. Riz gets in the last word in this one-sided rivalry, “Very good on paper, but no practical application.”

She sinks into the lava and, as she does, we see she doesn’t have a visible rage crystal (only a symbol) because, unlike the others, she is a full willing participant. (Note: She DOES have a crystal to be clear, Brennan mentions that later, it’s just put in a different way).

Mary Ann fully jumps into the lava to attack Fig, tanking the damage and downing a very injured Fig in one hit. 

Adaine gets a very clutch move next, whisking all her injured friends to safer parts of the battlefield and drawing a legendary action from Porter even though she’s one of the least tanky members of the group. But with her Mirror Images, she gets off scott free! Adaine, Battle Wizard! 

Since Mazey is under rage control, Porter tries to make her disband the school but a Clippy style pop up of Arthur Aguefort shows up to say that mind controlling the class president to make them do stuff doesn’t count, you have to win fair and square. The things that this man plans for vs what he overlooks is baffling. 

Not only that but with Kipperlilly dead (and no cleric to heal her since Buddy is banished) their plan is kind of screwed. Even if they can rig the vote, their candidate is dead. 

When Jace and Porter are squabbling about plan logistics, Porter says, “Figure it out Stardiamond or I’ll kill you again,” which confirms that Jace got roped into the plan that way. Maybe Porter knew he needed someone with spells?

Gorgug gets a Nat 20 to pop up (from Porter downing him and giving him 2 death saves as I mentioned earlier) and then destroy another Jace clone, again with lava. 

Gonna pause again to say that I am really skimming over a lot here. Battle episodes are just not conducive to straight up recaps when they’re this long and involved. I’m gonna steal a trick of Adaine and quickly reposition everyone so you know the state of the battlefield where I’m jumping back in with the plot-forward part of the fight. Bakur has busted out of his gem but isn’t sure which side to join at first. The Bad Kids eventually are able to roll high enough to get some allies on the field–Ragh/Lydia/Sandra Lynn/Jawbone/Gorthalax plus  Squeem and Balthazar (but don’t worry too much about them. The most notable things there are Lydia does a sick wheelchair jump assistant by Ragh to get an attack in and Squeem heals everyone with cortados). Mary Ann goes down to lava. Fabian is able to break Mazey out of her rage with The Power Of Getting Your Kisses In and they make it official vis a vis boyfriend/girlfriend titles. 

Fig and Kristen try to tag team to tell Ankarna that Porter is lying to her but they don’t make the Dispel Magic roll to get rid of the Devil’s Honey. You know who does though? With a crit? As she farts and days Blimey?

Yeah, I told you Brennan was going to live to regret letting her live. Zac takes over again and Brennan just says, “No,” and leaves for a bit while everyone else howls with laughter. 

Brennan is so over it that he rules that, after this fight, K2 will be granted true life (Pinnochio style) and then banished to real life actual England. (Which seems dangerous considering Unsleeping City takes place irl but dig your own grave man). 

ANYWAY, All Of That aside, the Dispel Magic does work and Bakur is able to see the lies despite the Devil’s Honey. He joins the fight on the BK’s side. 

Also the bird cop shows up to shoot the last Jace. Don’t worry about it. 

OK, so going into the endgame of this fight, All the Rat Grinders are dead except for Buddy who is Banished. Bakur is there, and fighting with our heroes. Some of their allies have arrived. Mazey and Fabian and both down. All but one Jace (the one who got shot) is fully off the board.  And they still have to convince Ankarna that Porter is a big liar. 

OK, pieces repositioned, let’s finish this fight up. 

Having just been brought up by Sandra Lynn (like I said, I skimmed a LOT), it’s Adaine’s turn and she decides to do something uncharacteristic for a wizard. She takes a leap of faith. She uses her earworm present from Fabian to cast Detect Thoughts on all of her friends in range (Kristen and Fig) plus Bakur and Porter. 

According to the wording of the card (which I assume has been partially homebrewed for the setting bc it’s a bit different than the one in the official book), using the earworm to cast Detect Thoughts sends the information gleaned to the nearest extraplanar creature. Which in this case is Ankarna.   

The Devil’s Honey is dispelled now so it’s just up to if Porter makes his save or not (Adaine tells her friends to fail on purpose). He makes it, but Gorgug throws one of his inventions–a flashbang grenade–at him with another great line. He goes out of his rage and says, “Hey. Don’t be blinded by rage.” FLASH! The grenade goes off and he’s distracted enough to fail the save. His thoughts get broadcasted right to Ankarna. 

Adaine says, "Is this justice? Is this a new dawn?"

In this moment, Brennan lets everyone roll as a cleric of Ankarna for Divine Intervention. I cannot BELIEVE he lets K2 roll but, thankfully, she doesn’t actually get it. It’s Fabian, unconscious and appropriately in a kind of liminal state that’s able to do it (Note: Mazey is supposed to be down at this point so I don’t know how this next thing happens–whether it’s just a continuity blip or in his head or whatever but I’m just reporting what happened at the table, OK?). In his unconscious state, Mazey is really emotional about Fabian going down. She says that he's a really great and caring person even outside all of the things that make him traditionally cool and she wishes they could have lost their V Cards together. Ankarna, goddess of justice, will NOT let such an injustice stand. That’s enough to make her emerge from the lava, fully formed (and Fig, who has the keys to her domain, of course lets her in). She pops up and immediately slices Porter in half with a huge ass god sword. Sayonara Porter! Maybe you can be a boat in hell with Goldenhoard. 

Things start to calm, but it’s still all weird and liminal as Ankarna’s domain is being reestablished. Everyone is separated and Brennan asks them all for a moment of something unfair that they regret accepting. What follows is a bit similar to the American Dream sequence in Unsleeping City where Ankarna offers each of them a chance for vengeance/justice but is turned down. 

Gorgug thinks of Porter unfairly writing him off. Kristen thinks of her bio family. Adaine sees her parents pitting her against her sister who she could have been loving this whole time. Riz sees how hard it was to connect with people but also how he pushed Fig and Kristen this year and sees a bit of Kipperlilly in himself. Fig sees all of her internal conflict from the past year from not being able to make a pact with herself to not being able to act for help. Fabian sees the burden of living up to his father's legacy. Ankarna heals everyone of their wounds but then sadly sends them to a Twilight Forest (presumably Cass’s domain) when they politely say that they appreciate the offer but don’t need vengeance.  

Fabian does have a moment come from this however as Gorthalax and Bakur tag team to bring Bill in for a little heart to heart with Fabian where he says that he’d love his son even if he wasn’t a Maximum Legend and he’d give up his legacy for one more day to spend with Fabian. 

(Also, Lydia and Bakur are cool now. They talked it out off screen.)

With all of that, everyone is now together and Cass is holding Ankarna who is badly injured. Ankarna kind of has the attitude that Cass had at the end of last season where it was like, it doesn’t seem like anyone really needs me and all I’ve done is cause trouble so maybe I shouldn’t be here. The Bad Kids reassure her that she’s more than just her usefulness and that contrary to her declaration that she has no followers, she has at least six in the six of them. Ankarna cries happy tears.

Cass and Ankarna are about to leave to have a well deserved reunion but Kristen holds them up to ask about where the hell Kalina is. Ankarna gets all agitated because she’s NEVER trusted that cat and she’s damn near about to go on a crusade to find her as soon as Kristen brings up her suspicions. Before they leave, they have some business to attend to. 

They raise Rat Grinders (sans Kipperlilly since she was a willing participant) and Ankarna takes her name off of Lucy and Yolanda’s bodies so they can be raised. Then, Cass takes a selfie with Kristen and Ankarna and drafts a social media post to send to Craig to post because Kristen may be great in a foxhole, but she’s not the most organized person in Spyre. 

With this all wrapped up, Aguefort (and Ayda!) finally show up but the Bad Kids absolutely refuse to let him take credit for their victory. Mazey counts the votes. Adaine gets Aguefort to remove the bit in the bylaws about drugs being illegal (he calls it “narc shit). 

Riz pulls Kristen aside to make sure she actually wants to be president and that she’s not just doing it for his sake and she says yeah, (though she later says she wants him to be VP with her which he is very down for). 

Bobby Dawn tries to leave town (without even taking his grandkid!) but Fabian is chasing his ass down for all of his bullshit against his friends. 

Lucy is brought back and confirms that her friends killed her but also says that Ruben was one of her best friends before this started, implying that he was fully personality changed by the rage stars (unlike Kipperlilly who was maybe made more extreme but was rageful from the start). We see this in action when Ruben is brought back, basically tabula rasa. He has no memories of his emo persona and is really stressed to have lost his puka shell necklace. Ivy and Oisin seem like they have more memories and are ashamed of what they did but there’s not an explanation given of why the difference in effect. 

Mary Ann is basically the same and has a very abrupt conversation with Gorgug where she asks him if he has a girlfriend, much to everyone’s delight. Gorgug is so baffled and frustrated but finally lands on, “She’s so hot,” to everyone's further delight. 

Time for epilogues y’all! 

Kristen decides to be a cleric for not just Cass but Ankarna too. She even talks to Tracker (who is on a break from both Nara and Nara's money) about maybe poaching Galacaea from Sol’s pantheon. She also drops Gertie for the possibility of getting into a situationship with Tracker, earning herself a nemesis. 

Riz decides to try and chill out a little and switch from coffee to tea. He still thinks change can be scary but he recognizes that without change, he never would have met his friends. 

Aelwyn delivers a letter from the Court of Stars to Adaine which they open over ice cream sundaes at Basrar’s. Apparently, some wizard is starting shit in Sylvere–their mother. They’re both ready to plan a road trip to go kill that bitch, but before their sister murder quest (a normal thing for sisters to do) Aelwyn says that she hopes she and Adaine can eat ice cream and do magic together forever, and that if the price to have Adaine was suffering their shitty parents, it was a worthy trade. Adaine happily agrees. 

Fabian gets the Tornado to put his house back and rolls for his first time with Mazey. The dice are not on his side but luckily Mazey likes him for his personality, lol. His mom and Gilear show up and announce that they’re expecting…a dog…to guard the new baby. Also Telemaine is moving in. Fabian is distraught, even moreso when he gets a ping on Nemesis Alert. The unborn baby has already declared themselves his nemesis. At least Cathilda is also back! 

Like Riz, Gorgug also takes some time to relax since he's no longer taking 4 classes at once. He hangs with his parents and gets some presents for Fig since she was such a big help to him this year. He also makes things official with Mary Ann. Aguefort asks if he's considered being a teacher after he graduates and Ayda boasts that she always knew he was special. Aguefort also stops just short of saying he might be the bad guy next year and disappears into a flock of birds when questioned. Maddening as always. 

Fig gets some time with Sandra Lynn who is very supportive of her (which is saying a lot considering Fig has Porter’s literal balls on a chain, do not even ask). She decides school isn’t for her and drops out which she is a little concerned Ayda might judge her for since she’s so studious but Ayda says that learning isn’t confined to a classroom and starts a spell to link Leviathan to her domain in hell. Ageufort is also OK with her dropping out personally, but he does warn her that attack robots WILL be tracking her down for dropping out. Insane, but she’s not too worried about that. She just wants some alone time with Ayda. 

And finally, two bits of unfinished business. Unseen to the Bad Kids, Buddy pops out of his Banishment, still a true believer in Bakarath. He believes SO HARD that a baby god comes into existence. Then, out of the shadows KALINA appears and says, "Buddy, we gotta get the fuck out of here. They are coming for us. Your grandfather is not gonna fucking believe this."

And that’s it! End of season. Class dismissed! 

Plot Post Mortem 

OK y’all there was a LOT going on this season and not everything was neatly wrapped up but I’m gonna take a little bit of time to try and put together what we do know. 

We know that Porter was the ultimate puppetmaster of his plot and everyone else was an underling of his to some degree. Jace had a visible rage star in him so it seems that he was forcibly drafted rather than being a fully willing participant. 

The Rat Grinders formed a party (at that time called the High Five Heroes) Freshman Year. They went to the Mountains of Chaos for Spring Break. Near the end of Sophomore Year, all of her friends killed her. 

The Rat Grinders are on record as just grinding rats which seems to be a half lie because we know from talking to rats that they WERE doing that for a time but eventually Porter recruited them and started farming XP for them.

And we know that Kipperlilly was a willing participant of the plan but the other Rat Grinders were forced. 

So my best guess for the series of events here are as follows. In Freshman Year or so, Porter forced Jace into having a crystal so he can have a minion with spells (again, Porter does explicitly say he killed Jace). He spends the year scouting for a good candidate for his plan and finds an already naturally aggro Kipperlilly. 

He starts showing an interest in her and lets her in on his plan. She’s super down because she’s already bitter about the perceived injustice of the system. He feeds her unhealthy thought processes. This is why she starts having more rage outburst in Sophomore Year.

Now it’s never made clear when the other Rat Grinders join the plan and how that goes down. The popular theory is that they all died in the Mountains of Chaos but that doesn’t quite make sense. The only way that works is if everyone died except for Lucy. Why would she leave Lucy alive though? Because she was the closest to her? Was it just happenstance? Another possibility is that once they got there, Kipperlilly was the only one willing to get rage star’d and everyone else got cold feet. So, once they got home, she started putting the pressure on everyone else and eventually started killing them one by one to forcibly recruit them, ending with the dogpile on Lucy. This is all speculation of course, I’m just trying to square the info we know to be true with the bits of lore we have. Kipperlilly expected Lucy to come back like the others and they didn’t. With her dead, they needed a new cleric for the plan which is why Buddy Dawn was drafted. 

Kipperlilly DID have a rage star–it just wasn’t put into her by force. She chose to take it on. It’s not entirely clear how much it affected her–or anyone’s–actions or personality. Emo Ruben still spoke fondly of Lucy and seemed sad about her death. Kipperlilly was more unhinged in Junior Year but it’s not like she was super hinged before. 

It’s also not clear how much autonomy you have when you’re rage star’d. It seems to me that the rage star doesn’t really mind control you so much as play up the rageful thoughts you already have–for instance Adaine when she almost gets rage star’d saying that if she was consumed by rage she’d destroy Falinel and Sylvaire looking for her mom. It CAN mind control you if Porter uses an action to control you but most of the time you’re just an angry version of yourself (though Ruben’s complete personality swap raises questions). 

Anyway, that’s the best I can figure. No need to keep spinning wheels now that the season is done. 

Honor Roll

Adaine Abernant for Some Unorthodox Wizardry 

I am biased towards Adaine but I think she deserves her props this episode. 

A Wizard putting themselves in a position where they have to tank damage is so risky, but she cares about her friends enough to Scatter them to safety and hope her Mirror Images do their job.

A Wizard getting in melee range with a Pally/Barb seems like a recipe for disaster but Adaine was able to parry Porter with her sword. 

And having faith isn’t really in a Wizard’s wheelhouse but she has enough faith in her friends to try a big swing in reaching out to Ankarna. 

(Big Honorable Mentions to Riz trapping KP and Gorgug using his grenade on Porter in the climax). 

Detention 

Kipperlilly for Being a Bad Rogue

I’m not even giving her this spot for being a bad guy. I’m giving her this spot for being a ROGUE and not HIDING when the plan hinged on her SURVIVING TO THE END. Girl, what were you doing in melee range??? You have a crossbow, bitch, use it! Frankly she shouldn’t have even been on the battlefield, but I know for story reasons she had to be. But if she had to be there she could have played it waaaaaay smarter. 

Random Thoughts

Oisin was rage star’d but I have to assume his grandma wasn’t, right? I mean she was buddies with Kalvaxus so she probably just is OK with pillaging and evil. From her POV was it just like oh thank Helio my nerdy-ass grandson finally got cool. 

The way that gods work in this world always kind of trips me up. Because gods have been established to not be autonomous individuals in the way that people are. Saying, “Choose your own path” is nice, but it doesn’t really make sense when your personality is literally decided by your followers. They’re more mirrors than they are people. Same thing with morality. If it’s not Ankarna’s fault that she was made into a rageful conqueror, it’s also not Helio’s fault that he’s a fratty college boy (allegedly, I still think that’s more what Kristen felt than what was textually there). Unless we’re saying that each god has a “true self” and anything that pulls them from that is anomalous, then it’s hard to have conversations about gods while viewing them as people with direct agency. 

What was up with the vision Adaine kept having? Was that a trick to get them to have that party? Because they probably wouldn’t have done that without her visions. Who did that? Was it a Dream spell like Fig was doing to Ruben?

I didn’t mention it but it was very funny for Adaine to pull a Brer Rabbit: Ohhhh noooo. Please don’t throw me in the laaavaaaaaa. 

Who was watching Fig/Wanda “die” in the window, Brennan????? You never told us!!!! 

I thought it was sweet when Kristen was like I do wish I had a sister and Adaine was like, I’m your sister :)

I’ll prob make a longer post on this later but I really do not understand why the Ankarna plot is what was picked for this season when it’s so similar to the Cass plot from last season: Goddess of a concept that can be good but people find scary/are skeptical about is changed by the actions of their followers into something monstrous that is being manipulated by bad actors in the current day who the Bad Kids win over to their side and one of them becomes the prophet/champion of. It even has the beat of the goddess, post-rezzing, being like, “Idk if you really need me.” They’re even married! I don’t have a problem with Ankarna the character but she does feel a bit like a rehash of Cass’s storybeats, just in orange instead of purple. 

I still have some thoughts but they’ll get answered over the next week as I go through the remaining asks in my ask box and I’ve been working on this for hours so I’m gonna cut this short. As a whole, I thought this season was so much fun! Plot-wise it was probably the muddiest of all the Spyre seasons and I would def have changed stuff but it didn’t hinder my week-to-week enjoyment and it’s always a good time hanging out with the Bad Kids. (Also you all know that the #1 thing I’m here for is Abernant Sisters content and I was extremely catered to in this regard, lol). 

Thanks for following these recaps this season! I really appreciate everyone hopping into the tags or asks to talk and theorize and stuff. 

If you wanna engage with more of my writing, you can check out my podcast: Absolutely No Adventures or my visual novels on itch.io. It would mean a lot!

[theultrablog]

Pulp Storytime #67: The Doom of the Lost Library! by Peter Schweighofer.

The city was lost… But lost is different than abandoned…

Cowgirl novelist Querida Wilcox and sniper shutterbug Javid Kulfiwere relaxing in beautiful Ruratonga. It was too relaxed, in fact…Querida’s publicist Dolores kept pointing out their “work” for Ziegler Security Services was going to put them behind schedule. Luckily, a new client arrived on the supply boat! Yale orientalist professor Carter Dudley needed help traveling to an abandoned island. According to legend, it was settled by an Indian fleet long ago, but was destroyed in the squabble between Kali and Ganesha worshipers. Miss Wilcox took the gig and flew the group to the island. It wasn’t until they landed that she discovered sneak-thief Lord Simon, napping on the seaplane’s supplies.  More importantly...It turned out the rumors were true! The overgrown jungle concealed an ancient city, with two temples visible from the air. Shortly after they landed in the central lagoon, horrifying ape-men ambushed the party! But apes were no match for the blue-collar brawler and the Afghan militiaman.

Unluckily, the Ganesha temple’s guardians were mightier. Lord Simon accidentally activated and distracted the stone guardians, with Carter Dudley chasing after. The writer and the photog braved the inspiring temple, carved out of a giant cave with care. Trapped with care, too. Cunning and experience help them avoid a seesaw hallway and crumbling stairs. A disregard for tradition and curses allowed them to loot several historical artifacts. Querida explained that they weren’t stealing… They were furnishing proof that this place even existed. Smart. The greatest treasure was a 3-foot-long piece of embroidered ivory. “Ganesha’s Tusk”, explained Javid. Dolores sighed.

Carter Dudley appeared when they reached the temple’s library… Just in time to steal a sacred book and cause a cave-in! The group easily guessed his destination: the Kali temple! Unfortunately the Yalie had a massive lead, and they didn’t have a way to catch up… Until Querida decided to lasso and ride an elephant! They arrived at the Central Lagoon just in time to see Carter Dudley steal their seaplane… And putter it slowly the other half of the lagoon. The group would’ve swam for it… Except the water was filled with sharks! Sharks that were willing to eat aggressive, evil ape men, turns out. The group was forced to leave the elephants behind, and trudged through more of the ruined city. Lord Simon helped them sneak into the crumbled side of the Kali temple… But Carter’s third eye had opened, and they were discovered before they could get a shot off! Querida Wilcox was an expert at fighting outnumbered. As the apes climbed at her, she stomped the fastest in the eye, sending him onto his fellows. The crack of broken spines reverberated through the temple, which seemed to glow in satisfaction. Javid shuffled backward, using his pistol deftly. Kali may have created these monsters, but she didn’t prepare them for Nagant.  Too bad fighting the British didn’t prepare Javid for mystic attack! Professor Dudley snickered as he emerged from a secret passage, his eyes purple. He called upon the goddess to paralyze the man, and the Afghan felt his arms and legs lock in place! Luckily, Dolores and Simon had been carrying around the massive Tusk. Simon tried to make the stiff Javid carry it… Which cured the paralysis magic completely! But this sent the tusk tumbling to the floor, where the apemen were able to grab it. Freed of malicious intent, they carried it back into the jungle out of sheer curiosity, with Lord Simon chasing after them and yelling. “Hey! We stole that first!”

The sorcerous New Havenite whirled on his opponents.  This was academically dishonest, a complete violation of their escort contract, and heresy! His blood magic would’ve made a mind-slave of Querida… But her brain was rescued when publicist Dolores demanded she snap out of it and stick to the schedule! Despite a small amount of boxing training, Carter Dudley was ill-prepared for the blue-collar brawler and ex militia sniper. His wounds turned into purple vortexes of energy. The Temple rumbled. In a moment of desperation, Querida lassoed his stolen tome… And threw the book at him, literally! Kali took her toll from the academic, his blood snaking through the air and splattering all over her statue. His bones rattled to the ground… And the group fled for their lives! Although Querida rolled her ankle, everyone escaped before the temple collapsed even more.  Now all they needed to do was steal back a mystic artifact from a group of monkeys. And hopefully no one saw them leave with Carter...

Pictured: Gorgeous Ruratonga.

[skylarmoon71]

Balthazar (Supernatural) - Oneshot

Long Post: 4k+ Words.

When Sam and Dean told you the guy was a dick, you should have believed them. 

“Oh dear, quite the pickle you’ve gotten yourself into boys.” 

They were currently being braced against the wall by a demon and you were just staggering to your feet with the demon blade in hand to help.

It didn’t get that far, Balthazar was behind the demon in seconds and pretty soon all you could see was the light of its sockets as he killed the evil bastard. The boys were released in seconds and you were straightening, taking a breath of relief. 

One less problem to worry about at the moment. 

“What would you apes do without me?” 

His accented voice was dripping with sarcasm and he finally turned in your direction. His blue eyes twinkled. 

“Well hello, I don’t think we have the pleasure of formally meeting. I’m-” 

“I know who you are.”

You walked right past him, checking on them. 

“We’re fine. That black eyed bastard got lucky.” 

You grinned at Dean’s little angry face. 

“Well, now that you’re all alright, I suppose I should take my leave.” 

“Wait.” 

Sam’s words made Balthazar freeze. 

“Why are you here and why did you help us?” 

“Yeah, Usually you’re a heartless dick.” Dean interjected. 

Your gaze moved to Balthazar. You had only just met the angel, but from what they told you, he was a self-centered, unreliable, narcissist with a shitty attitude. Not to mention that snark. 

“Ever the detective boys.” 

“Quit screwing with us Balthazar! Tell us what you want.” Dean’s upset for good reason. If he showed up, there’s definitely something iffy going on. 

“If you must know, my brother pleaded that I watch out for you. Ride in demon activity and what not. No need to thank me, just, don’t bother me for the foreseeable future.” 

You frown. 

“You really are a dick.” 

He just smirked. 

“You have no idea.” 

More reason to hate angels. 

You thought for sure he would up and leave again, but you blinked and he was behind you. Flinching, you turned with the blade. Sam and Dean looked just as startled. 

“Well, it seems I’m not the only one here with a little secret. You boys have been holding out on me.” 

The way he was watching you made you uneasy and Dean moved in front of you protectively. 

“Back off.” 

Sam had shifted closer to do the same. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t break your little toy. You aren’t human are you dear?” 

You swallowed. 

“But you’re not a demon, or angel or pagan for that matter. So what are you?” 

He was going down the list and both brothers exchanged a look before turning back to Balthazar. When Sam drew his angel blade, he seemed to get the message. 

“I know when I’m not wanted. Until next time.” 

The little wink he sent you wasn’t very assuring. The distinct sound of his wings made you all relax. 

“Asshole.” Dean grumbled. 

You just smiled.

“Thanks guys.” 

It's almost instinct for them to jump in, and although you aren’t blood, you appreciate the care. 

“Don’t get soft on us.” Dean spoke as he moved to start packing. 

After that last encounter you hoped it would be a while before you saw Balthazar again. For the time being you were all trying to work cases as you figured out the situation with Eve. Splitting up was necessary.

Dean and Sam were tackling a case in Ohio while you worked through some research. For the most part it was quiet. You were set up in a hotel with books at your desk and a shotgun under your pillow. Castiel has been a bit scarce, so when you hear the familiar flapping of wings, you immediately assume it’s him. 

“Hey Cas, Dean and Sam are in Ohio, what do you need?” 

You turned, but the man standing before you wasn’t Castiel. You lifted your gun and he smiled. 

“How cute, surely you know that has no effect on me.” 

You fired two shots and he grunted in discomfort. 

“It still makes me feel better.” 

He just frowned at the prominent holes in his vest.

“That was quite juvenile, this is designer.” 

Sliding to the bag on your bed, you grabbed the angel blade and this time he raised his hands. 

“Alright, alright put your toys away. I only want to talk.” 

“About what?” 

“Well, you for one.” 

You were liking this less and less. 

“I have a jar of oil in my bag, the nice kind that makes you and your family nice and crispy. Do you really want to stick around for that? 

He grimaced. 

“No need to get vulgar. I’m actually trying to do you a favor. Surely you’d like to know where you come from.” 

That made you hesitate. Your hand wavered for a second. 

“Ah, that seems to have caught your interest.” 

You hated the fact that he probably had useful information, but knowing the douchebag, it definitely wasn’t free. 

“What do you want in exchange?” 

That little smile works its way on his face. 

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” 

This guy really is detestable. 

“At the moment, there really isn’t anything I want from you. Particularly. I’m really quite curious to see how this all plays out.” He steps closer, walking around in an almost taunting manner. 

“See while those angels are throwing their little tantrum war they’ve been taking the Winchesters for granted. As well as their little friend. Your energy is so normal it’s easy to see why it was overlooked, but you’re far from human. I just can’t seem to figure out what you are or why you’re in this universe.” 

“T-This universe?” 

He chuckles. 

“I didn’t realize you were so uneducated about your situation. You poor thing, you’re not from this universe not at all. I should know. Interdimensional realities is my specialty. That’s why I know you’re not native to our little earth.” 

You gulp. He could be lying, messing with you, but as of right now, you can’t take the chance of just brushing off his words. The first time you were stabbed and healed in a matter of minutes, well you knew it was real. It was when you met Sam and Dean. At the time, ghosts, monsters, that all felt like a bad nightmare. 

But in the end, you needed answers and they had them. So you joined the crew. For a while you were hopeful, but the more questions you asked the less answers you found.

It was just the little things. Like the bite from a werewolf that didn’t turn you, or the encounter with a vampire that didn’t result in you vamping out or needing a potion like Dean had. 

The last straw must have been when Crowley had sent that demon to possess you. It was before you’d even gotten the tattoo. Dean and Sam were right there when it tried to slide its way into your mouth. Your body had frozen as expected but the second it tried to enter, that line of smoke burst into flames right before their eyes. Crowley backed off at the time thankfully, but you still had no leads. 

“I’ll be in touch, try not to get killed.” 

And then he was gone. 

He dropped a bomb like that and just poofed away. 

“Asshole.” 

It was unavoidable.

You couldn’t control what he did and you still had no idea what you were, so the right thing was to work. To stop Eve, to help with Castiel’s war. Every turn felt like a new punch to the face, but at this point, it was just your life. You couldn’t do anything about that. Not at the moment. 

What you could control was how many lives you could save. 

“Get out of here!” 

The woman nodded frantically dashing out of the room. The shifter seemed to appear out of thin air and you were thrown across the room before you had a chance to dice him with your knife.

Dean staggered into the room just as you were stumbling to your feet. He fired a few shots, but it had no effect. In an instant he was shoved to the ground. You were still trying to center your focus when you heard Dean’s struggles from the floor. 

“S-Sam!!” 

His call made you turn your head, just as Sam grabbed the machete and came barreling through the door. He swung and you winced when the head of the monster rolled across. Dean let out a heavy breath when the rest of its body followed, hitting the ground with a thud. 

Sam stood upright, relieved, and you dropped to your knees, vision still a bit blurred. 

“(Y/N)!!” 

Sam rushed to your side and you shook your head. 

“I’m okay, it’s just a concussion I think.” 

He helped you into a seated position and Dean lifted his gun, sliding it into his back pocket. 

“Slimy son-of a-bitch.” 

Dean’s grumble drew your attention, because you took notice of the piece of flesh no doubt from your shifter on the top of his jacket. At the moment, all you could do was laugh.

Despite how crappy your lives tended to be, you were grateful to have a family. You never truly had one. Growing up in foster care tended to do that. Yet, now thinking back, if you truly were from some other universe, you suppose being an orphan made sense. 

The break from the actual case gave you a chance for a breather. You were on your way to Bobby’s after the hunt of Wendigo. Tough gig, and you didn’t come back unscathed.

You thought for sure your freaky healing would kick in, but this was a bit deeper than the last and you’d been running on whiskey and coffee prior to the trip so your exhausted state might have had a lot to do with it. 

You were in no position to drive, so you parked up at a sketchy motel with the intention of taking a nap and starting fresh in the morning. You’d made it inside, dropped your bag, closed your door, but the amount of blood you lost was getting to you. The shaky visuals of your bed proved that maybe the bandages you used weren’t enough. You should have tried to stitch up the wound before you got on the road.

“What an unfortunate situation.” 

You were so checked out that you barely heard when Balthazar showed up. He was standing at your bed. At least you thought he was. You recognized his voice, but his figure was shaky at best. You meant to fire a retort, but your knees buckled and you dropped. You prepared for your body to meet the harsh cold of the floor, but a pair of arms caught you. 

Balthazar picked you up easily. If you hadn’t been so weak, maybe you would have found it in yourself to fight him. He placed you gently on the bed, and if you didn’t know any better, you would have thought he actually cared about what happened to you. You shifted, maybe to say something, but pain racked through your body and you whimpered. 

“Shh, relax, you’re alright.” 

He brushed back the hair out of your face softly, and when he placed his hand over the wound, you were surprised at the white glow that shone. The look on his face showed that he was a bit startled himself. Whatever he did worked, because slowly, you couldn’t feel a thing. 

The light faded and Balthazar pulled his hand back, just as you started to sit up against the pillows. Your hand moved to the bottom of your shirt, and you lifted it to inspect the area, just to be sure. Your clothes were still dirty with blood, but there was no injury, not even a spec. You turned back to him in surprise. 

“You..healed me?” 

“Don’t sound so surprised, I am an angel after all.” 

“Did you just remember that?” 

“Cute. I’ll keep that in mind the next time you’re bleeding out on the floor.” 

He stepped back, and you probably had a dictionary’s worth of reasons why the guy was not some selfless guardian, but at the moment, you were grateful. He could have just as easily left you there. He’d never intervened before as far as Sam and Dean told you. Maybe he was growing a conscience. 

“Balthazar, thank you.” 

There was a pause on his part, and this time when he smiled, it felt genuine. 

“You’re welcome.” 

In a blink he was gone to do who knows what. 

You knew it wouldn’t be the last time you saw him. 

As expected, he popped up at Bobby’s one night when you were running through books to learn as much as you could about the mother of monsters. It wasn’t going that great, hence the empty bottle of bourbon.

Dean and Sam were asleep and Bobby was in another state running a lead. You should have been resting too, but sleep was hard to achieve when there was a thing out there that could just crap out monsters left and right. 

“Burning the midnight oil.” 

That voice that was usually accompanied by some smart retort felt normal now. You emptied the last of your glass, looking back at him in disinterest. 

“What brings you to my neck of the woods, got tired of running around sniffing coke.” 

“I’m wounded, you would think me a common drug user.” 

He was definitely doing the good stuff, that was for sure.  

“It’s good to see all your internals on the inside. Taking a break from the claws and danger?” 

“For the time being. Yes. We can’t all fly around as we please Balthazar.” 

“Quite sad actually.” 

You just moved your focus to the empty bottle. 

“I’m too sober to deal with you right now.” 

“Sober? You emptied the bottle.” 

“As I said, sober.” 

He grinned, casually walking over to study what you were working on. 

“How is the never ending battle against evil. You hunters sure are dedicated.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” 

“Merely an observation.” 

“Mhmmm.” 

While he was here scrutinizing your work ethic, you couldn’t seem to stop your thoughts from wandering to that night. When he showed up and quite literally saved you yet asked for nothing. With Balthazar there is always a catch, or at least some kind of consequence. 

You just needed to know what it was. 

“That night, why did you help me?” 

You didn’t have to explain, from his face, you could tell he knew exactly what you were talking about.

“Call me sentimental.” 

You just gave a blank look. 

“I suppose it is quite farfetched.” 

“You think.” 

He snapped his fingers, now  holding a glass of possibly expensive alcohol. He took a sip, and after a few seconds he finally placed it down, turning to you. There was something almost honest about his expression. 

“There is something about you that’s pure, untainted. It could be due to the fact that you aren’t from this universe, possibly this galaxy, but it’s..it’s hard to stay away from. I’m surprised that your friends and the demons haven’t tried to snag you for themselves. Whatever you are, you hold power, it’s just untapped. Maybe I’m just trying to get in your good graces to exploit it for myself.” 

That was probably the most honest he’d been since you met him. For some strange reason you actually smiled. 

“You really are an asshole.” 

He found himself smiling too. 

“Well dear, I have been called far worse.” 

You believed that. 

At that point it felt like at least things were manageable. 

That was before all of that went to shit too. 

Not only was Crowley alive, but Castiel had been conspiring with him the whole time. You wanted it all to be a lie, but he looked you all in the eyes and it was real. Castiel was a horrible liar. 

Now after killing the bitch from hell, you had to possibly kill one of your closest friends. You needed some time to yourself. That’s how you started out at some bar and dragged yourself back to a random hotel. When you heard the fluttering of wings, you wanted it to be Cas, coming to tell you that he changed his mind, that he wasn’t going to actually do this. 

But it wasn’t.

You took one look at Balthazar and suddenly you wanted another drink.

“That happy to see me?” 

You just emptied your pockets carelessly, stumbling to the bed. When you almost tumbled, he was at your side and your poor attempt to pull back your hand resulted in you both hitting the bed. You fell right on top of him. 

“How fun.” 

His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he laid under you. 

“This is all very exciting, but your golden retrievers won’t stop ringing. It’s annoying. Please return their calls, they seem to be under the impression that you might be intoxicated at some shady establishment.” 

The very definition of your state. 

You wanted to say something, but as you looked down at him, that usual smugness was missing. You knew he was aware of Castiel’s situation. He’d joined your team, but it still felt a bit hopeless. Maybe that’s why you were even contemplating this as you stared down at his beautifully blue eyes.

“Still with me?” 

You licked your lips and when you cupped his cheeks and leaned in, you actually sighed at how nice his lips felt. Balthazar’s brows were furrowed, hands unsure of where to go. They finally landed on your shoulders as he gently pushed you back. You were nibbling on your lower lip and he swallowed. 

“While I’m all for questionable decisions, I believe I have enough targets on my back at the moment. I would prefer it if the Winchesters weren’t added to that list.” 

“It’s okay.” 

Your hands reached for his jacket, pulling it open. 

“Oh, dear.” 

Your fingers flattened on his chest as you leaned back in. This time he moaned when your tongue slid right through as you deepened the kiss. For a moment he was resisting, but the second you were now fully straddling his body, he seemed to give up. His hand slipped into your hair and you hummed appreciatively. He felt so solid, and he smelled amazing. You’d never been this close to him before. 

Not sober at least. 

His hand drifted, and when he cupped your breast, you moaned and he pulled away. That didn’t seem to deter you, because you started leaving kisses along his neck. He was battling with himself, because it was clear that you weren’t in the right frame of mind, but it all felt so good. 

He cursed when he realized he actually had to be the better man. Pulling his hand away, he meant to straighten to advise you against what definitely was a bad decision. But the door to your room rattled and in walked Sam and Dean. 

“Boys, what poor timing.” 

Dean looked pissed. 

“We told you to find her, not bang her!!” 

“Well, I know what this looks like but I am the victim in this situation.” 

“Really?” Sam asked. 

“Yes, definitely.” 

Balthazar seemed ready to further prove his case, but you reached over, grabbing the lapels of his jacket as you pulled him back in for a kiss. 

“(Y/N)!!” 

You were completely oblivious to their presence as you continued to kiss him. Balthazar finally pulled back, zapping himself across the room. When you looked up, you finally noticed the brothers. 

“Sam..Dean?” 

Your face was scrunched up in confusion, clearly drunk. 

“Yes, you remember us, practically your brothers. Did you forget how to pick up a phone!” Dean still sounded agitated. 

“I didn’t..talk..where’s Balthazar?” 

You were pouting. 

“It appears she’s taken a liking to me, how adorable.” Dean glared in Balthazar’s direction. 

“What, you should be thanking me.” 

“Just leave.” 

He didn’t need much more instruction. He sent you one last look before he was gone. Dean sighed heavily, because he realized the hangover you would experience would not be pleasant. So they stayed with you that night until you fell asleep before they made the trip back to Bobby’s. 

You were cranky the whole time, complaining about the music being too loud, the sky being too blue, the sun being too bright. By the time you were finally there, Bobby looked relieved. 

“I thought you idjits got jumped.” Bobby spoke. 

“We were just on a rescue mission. Someone here stopped at a bar and tried to drink the whole thing.”  

“Shut up Dean, like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.” 

“Usually I don’t try to get it on with angels.” 

“Excuse me?” Bobby sounded surprised and you just groaned. 

“It was just a lapse in judgment, let it go.” 

“Really, it felt like more than that.” Balthazar’s sudden appearance didn’t help. He was smirking.

“I’m hurt, I thought we had something special.” His teasing tone made you want to shoot something. 

“Shut up Balthazar.” You grumbled. 

He laughed, strolling over to you. With a tap on your forehead, the headache was gone. You blinked. 

“Thanks.” 

“My pleasure, since we’re all in high spirits and might be dead this time next week I think it’s time I cash in on that favor.” Balthazar’s claim made you all confused. 

“What favor?” Sam questioned. 

He turned to you, and when that smirk made its way on his face, you realized what he was talking about. When he started to approach you swallowed. 

“B-Balthazar what the hell are you-” 

He kissed you and you all but froze. You should have pushed him away, after all you were sober now. It’s not like your mind was clouded by alcohol. Yet, something about it felt too good. His hands circled your waist and yours moved to wrap around his neck as you deepened the kiss. 

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!” Dean was fuming. 

Balthazar pulled away in a slow teasing fashion, licking his lips in a manner that made you want to push him against a wall and never stop. You gulped and his eyes twinkled. 

“The end of the world might not be so bad after all.” 

He was gone with a wink and you could only gape.

With the end near, you weren’t surprised that the conversation was left for a later time. The mission at the moment was to stop Castiel. Dean was done trying to reason with him.

So the only solution was to somehow get the drop on him. Dean was going through his plan of action when you felt it, a feeling of dread in your stomach. Your knees gave out and they all looked across at the shock on your face. 

“(Y/N)?” 

“He’s…he’s dying..” 

You sounded devastated. 

“Who’s dying?” 

Dean didn’t get a response.

There was an eruption of thunder and just like that, you were gone. Your feet landed on a tiled floor, and Castiel clearly didn’t expect to see you. He had his blade in Balthazar’s chest and you just reacted, reaching over you shoved Castiel back harshly, his body hitting the wall with a force that cracked the space. Balthazar’s legs gave out and you grabbed him just in time to get you both out of there. 

The next time you landed, you were in Bobby’s angel proofed room. The blade that was once wedged into Balthazar’s back dropped to the floor and you balanced his weight, guiding him over to the bed. He was coughing up blood, yet still wearing that cocky smile. 

“Poetic..I’m sure..” 

His words were slurred. You could see the grace seeping out of his wound and you clenched your eyes, forcing back whatever tears threatened to fall as you pressed both hands to his injury. Your eyes glowed and he just stared, eyes fixated on the wound that was slowly mending itself.

If he’d asked you to explain, you wouldn’t be able to. It’s clear he wasn’t aware you were even capable of this. When that golden light left your eyes, the wound was gone, so was all the blood. He was fine, unnaturally so. 

It took a few moments before either of you even moved. When he finally did, he straightened, clearly at a loss for words. You weren’t any better. The tears you’d been trying so hard to keep at bay were now falling without restraint. You sobbed, unsure of why you were now wailing. For a while now you convinced yourself that you hated the guy. 

But just a few moments ago you were sure he was dead. He wore a sadden smile, reaching over and stroking your cheek. You were still a mess, but when he leaned in and captured your lips in a kiss, there was a part of you that seemed to forget just how shitty the whole situation was.

For a split second, it all just felt unimportant. You melted against him, holding on as if one move would cause him to disappear. 

For a full minute, it was nothing but the hurried parting and joining of your lips against each other. After the desperate touches, you both pulled back, a vulnerability present. You knew what he had to do, he did too. 

“You...have to disappear. Castiel won’t stop until you’re dead.” 

He figured as much. 

“So I have to run.” 

You nod. 

“You can’t come back.” 

You said those words with a heavy heart, because you’d just figured out your feelings, and now you have to watch him walk out of your life, possibly forever. 

“Are you going to fight him?” 

“I..I have to try..” 

Regardless of your new abilities, Castiel was still stronger. The only reason you probably bested him was because of the element of surprise. After he succeeded, who knows how powerful he would be. You had to prepare for the worse. 

“Reality is quite cruel, isn’t it.” 

You smile. 

“Very.” 

He returned it, and you stood, taking his hand as you guided him out of the room. He looked surprised that he was able to bypass the ward, but given what he’d seen you do, at this point he should have just expected it. Standing right out the door, you released his hand. 

“I guess this is goodbye. Try not to get stabbed again. I’m not sure how much more juice I have left.” 

He actually laughed and your expression softened. 

“I suppose this time around I’m indebted to you.” 

“Just don’t die.” You say firmly. 

Balthazar nods. 

There really wasn’t anything else that could be said.

“Say goodbye to the boys for me, I will miss our conversations.” 

You shook your head with a grin. 

“You’re still an asshole Balthazar.” 

With a smirk, he left a kiss on your cheek. 

“Always.”

[queenpiranhadon]

A/N: Hey guys - me and Nyota (the lovely @labaguetteisdabest) decided we would post chapters of SCH weekly on here so you guys can read it! Each chapter alternates between the two MCs’ perspectives, but this one is from our character Apex's perspective. You can find the masterlist here

Warning(s) : Mentions of self-burning (not on purpose), enemies to lovers, fantasy + royal universe, both MCs are cisgender females, and gay. Homophobes stay away!!

Pairing(s): Kaeda x Apex (Kaepex)

“Miss Ape- Adrienne!”

“What is it?” I say, glancing in the mirror before me. Just my luck that I have some dumb appearance to make before I finally get to go home.

I adjust the dark red hair that covers the right side of my disfigured face. My fingers trace the edge of the scar that stretches across, and I shudder. Even after having it for nine years now, it never got more normal.

Perfect, I think. You could barely see my right eye.

My chambermaid, Eudora, waves a hand in front of my face.

“You realize that you need to practice your Reya more, yes?” she questions.

“Yes, I know,” I grumble. “And I need to practice my thermodynamic vision.”

“Stop taking your Reya for granted,” Eudora chides. “Your own brother rejected his and look how he’s turned out.”

A man who has nothing to worry about.

My voice lowers to a mumble. “And I’m starting to wonder if he made the right choice.”

Reyas are only granted to lucky children, each from a different patron god, which depended on your kingdom. Fujimura, my kingdom, has the patron goddess Vohona, the goddess of fire. Which I find mildly ironic, as Fujimura means “wisteria village.” 

At this rate, I feel like I would’ve been better off rejecting my Reya. But after my brother – Daxton's – rejection, my parents (Queen Fiamma and King Adish Pyracent) were desperate. And my little brother, Covyn, was only one year old at the time- and according to my parents, another 5-year wait was far too long.

“Adrienne. The faster you get through this, the faster you get home. Your family back in Dodomi eagerly awaits you, I’m sure,” Eudora reminds me. I hate that she’s right.

I make the mistake of looking back at her. Her dark curls spill across her shoulders, and warm brown eyes stand out on her pale face. The bright red flower she keeps tucked behind her right ear falls a little bit, and I want to reach out and fix it. But she would find that weird because she’s not like me.

Eudora pushes her thin, round glasses back a bit and notices me staring at her.... I feel my cheeks warm, and to get out of the awkwardness, I abruptly stand up.

“I should, uh, probably head out to the training grounds for a few more minutes,” I blurt out and dash out of the room. 

I walk outside into the bright sunshine, and even though I'm wearing a black turtleneck, I feel comfortable at this temperature. 

The orientation of each element’s training area changes daily, so I scan my surroundings, activating my thermodynamic vision. The reds, greens, and blues that replace all other colors are comforting. My eyes are immediately drawn to the deep blues of the ice training area, and lo and behold, there she is.

Kaeda Cynet.

Her and her stupidly shimmering dark hair and her dumb ice-pale skin and sharp eyes.

I can’t stop looking.

Kaeda is the crown princess of Khaenpanii, Fujimura’s rival kingdom. My rival in our quest to become the Syla of our generation.

Power. Strength. Royalty.

The title of Syla bestows a great honor upon you and your kingdom. 

And Kaeda’s stupid kingdom keeps stealing the chance away from any other!

Generation after generation, almost every single Syla has come from Khaenpanii. It’s absolutely outrageous. I can remember maybe twice when Fujimura held the title.

I snap myself out of my rant when I finally spot the small flames of the candles I’m well accustomed to training with. Jogging over to them, I switch back to regular vision, taking a moment to adjust to the onslaught of color.

The candles.

The small flame atop them.

It's disappointing, really, that they’re all I’ve been able to train with for ten years now.

A swish of my finger strengthens a flame. Then another. Then the third.

Feed me. Let the flames engulf you. Feed me. Feed me. FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME-

I take a deep breath, and slowly, the starved calls cease.

A triumphant smirk spreads across my face, and I turn my gaze to Kaeda, hoping to see less success over with her. Alas, she turns the cup of water before her into fragile ice.

My thermodynamic vision tells me that the ice is 32º Fahrenheit, which isn’t nearly as good as a typical day. Unfortunately for her, today is exceptionally warm.

I clear my mind and focus on the heated air surrounding me. Fast-moving molecules, as expected. The flames before me have the same result.

I tell myself I need more practice, but truly, I’m ready. 

Wandering past Kaeda, I flick my index finger, heating the breeze blowing past her ice block. A frown decorates her typically joyful face when she notices it dripping, and she whips her head around. She sees that I’m the culprit and her frown becomes a sour look.

My face remains devoid of emotion. Her grey-blue eyes stare deep into my bright teal ones, and we maintain eye contact for a second too long. I feel my cheeks heat, and hers take on a slightly red tint.

Kaeda looks away from me and says, “What was that for?!”

I simply reply with, “Revenge.”

And I walk away.

When she’s out of my sight, reaching under my red hair, I touch my scar again. Revenge for giving me this thing.

I had been eight years old, practicing my fire control skills. Growing flames was easy but calming them was a different story.

I stared at the flame before me, struggling to keep my mind over the one of the fire. 

Feed me. Feed me. FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME-

This time, I had succumbed to the calls.

The blaze towered before me, and I realized too late that I had set the candle far too close to me. Sparks spewing from the inferno flew onto my face, and to try to protect at least part of my face, I had turned to the left.

By then, the flames had been as tall as me, and the right side of my face exploded in pain. I cried out and focused as much as I could, but to no avail. I couldn’t muster enough focus. It hurt too much.

Why isn’t anyone helping me?

I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for the pain to go away. 

“Make it stop!” I wanted to shriek. It hurt too much for me to even utter a single word.

“Adrienne!” Kaeda’s voice filled the air. I heard the sound of the flames crackling to a stop. “Take your hand off your face.”

I gingerly lifted it, like she instructed.

Kaeda gasped, and I kept my eyes shut. If I opened them, it would hurt so much.

“Please, open your eyes. Can you see?” she asked. 

“It’ll hurt too much. I don’t want to.” My voice was shaky, and I wasn’t about to start crying in front of Kaeda, with her perfect hair and face and perfect everything.

“Please!” she pleaded. I had reluctantly obeyed, and the shock of pain was less startling than I had expected.

When I looked at the crown princess of Khaenpanii, she almost had... tears in her eyes?

Was she worried about me? Her rival?

I watched as she painted a pained smile on her face, telling me thanks without saying a single word. She lifted her right hand and her fingertips turned paler than before, which was saying something. Kaeda flicked her hand towards the burned side of my face, tiny snowflakes flying out.

I grimaced when they hit my face, and Kaeda began spewing apologies when she saw she had made me hurt more.

My voice was even shakier than before when I said, “I don’t care. P-please just go get someone.”

She had nodded and run off.

I can barely remember what happened next.

I remember the vague sensation of hitting the solid concrete floor, and then darkness.

Waking up and feeling... different.

Feeling... changed.

Feeling... angry.

If Kaeda had been smarter, she would have run to get an adult almost immediately. But no. She just had to go and try to fix this problem herself. She may have only been seven, and slightly more advanced at her Reya than me (of course she was; just a Khaenpanii thing, I suppose), but she should have had enough logic to go and find an adult.

I hate when anyone sees me at my worst, too, and I was definitely at my worst then. Kaeda saw a private part of me that I try as hard as I can to keep to myself, and that alone warranted my loathing towards her.

When I surface from my deep thoughts, I find myself in my room. The pale red walls have been my home for the past 10 years, and I can’t imagine leaving them tomorrow.

All children with Reyas should go to a special school, should they not? We all have abilities that are far too dangerous to be taught at a regular school, after all. The kingdom of Minsare has the patron god Elektras. Anyone who has a Reya and comes from there reigns over lightning and wind. These kids are awfully powerful, and they cannot be trusted around regular schools. Fujimura children also aren’t allowed to go to normal school after the Reya ceremony, as we can summon an inferno in the blink of an eye.

Watarumi is the island where the previously mentioned school is located. It’s not located near the schools back on Dodomi, the mainland, and only people that have been verified and have Reyas can travel there. 

For ten years, since I’ve been six, I’ve lived on Watarumi, training every day. I rarely got to visit my family as studies are more important, meaning my little brother, Covyn, has barely seen me. Dax was always hidden away in his room, so I never saw him anyway. But Covyn gets his Reya soon, and I want to be there. Thankfully, I finally leave this isolated island tomorrow, just in time!

Knock knock! 

I glance at the door. What do they want?! I think.

“Princess Adrienne?” Eudora’s soft voice strings into my room. My face immediately reddens, recalling what had happened earlier. “You should start packing for tomorrow now! Remember to take all your stuff. Oh, and, just so you know, your appearance has been cancelled because of weather concerns.”

“Oh- er- yes!” I reply awkwardly. I look out the window and find that she’s right. Huge dark clouds are coming this way, ready for a long, thunderous storm.

Packing. Right.

At least I don’t have to socialize more, I think with a hint of disgust at the mere thought that I would have been forced to do the appearance if not for the weather.

I need to stop rambling and start packing.

[lovethesagefan]

NEVER SAY NEVER!!!

I try real hard not to use the word "never" because once you say it, you will end up doing that thing to which you said you wouldn't do. Well, I fell victim again to it.

Five years ago, I walked down the steps of NCHS, turned in my keys, and swore I would never teach again...unless it was on some college campus.

I had left, probably the only job I ever love, due to uncomfortable attacks by El Diablo and an ailing mother. I will also admit I was burning out. i was out of gas. Removing my AP classes killed my motor.

Five years later found me motherless and living in the land of retirement. Of course retiring early had it perks, it also had its warts. You see, retiring early meant I didn't get my full pension. My expenses were still there. When my mother was alive, she made sure I received a supplement for leaving teaching to care for her. That ended in 2020.

So faced with more money going out than coming in, I looked for a teaching job that would allow me to stay home, not deal with the Horde, and keep my pension. I thought about some of the tutor programs online or teaching English to rich Chinese students. But I love teaching Social Studies! I did apply to the IRS, the last of my employer before I landed that first teaching job in Macon. But nothing was happening and I was hanging on by a thread. Life happens people. You can either sit back and let it swallow you up or you can get up, put on your serious clothes and fight back, even if it meant going back on a "never" situation.

I was once a sub, so I know the drill. Kids act up for subs, unless they have a teacher who put the fear of God in them. Like me! I knew I could sub and keep my pension. Now I also looked at the pay differential if I just walked back into the classroom. I still not quite sure which is giving me the most bang for the buck. Nevertheless, I decided I would do long term subbing on my terms. It would be middle school. I know what people say about middle students. Heck! I probably said most of it out loud myself. I chose not to go back to high school. Man! I love high schoolers. You can have real talk with them about their futures. The activities are there and you see your students through the years. And when they graduate and after the ceremony they come up to you and say "Mr. Norah, thank you for being such a great teacher!" It makes all the nonsense you have to put up with worth it. I am serious. I ran into a former student last week and was overjoyed when she saw me. I was told the student had been so excited to see me.

Middle school was where I really began teaching. I had a great crew in Griffin. Those days I will cherish til the day I die. The students were wonderful. The administration allowed us to try just about anything to raise student achievement. There was where I got most of my "daring". Kids never quite knew what to expect in Mr. Norah class.

So I hatched a scheme. I knew some people who I thought would look out for me. I would be a long term sub. With my certification, I would get much more money than an ordinary sub and keep my pension. I was all set until the county decided place someone in my slot. I could have gone elsewhere, but for personal reason, I owe a great debt that I had to pay. To keep me, I agreed to LT as a DES teacher, same room, same subject. You see, there were a greater issue.

My coming on board was not to just collaborate with the person in my slot. I was to be an anchor for 7th grade. The school had a lot of new teachers. They needed someone who could mold them. There is where I come in. There were 2 new social studies teachers. I mean spanking new. It took me almost 3 years to get a job, these guys are being hired right off the graduation stage. The grade level also needed that force to guide them.

Now believe me, it is not ME who thinks this. I am nothing of the sort. Despite my pleadings, people, students, administrators believe that I am some phenomenal educator along the line of Horace Mann and Mr. Chips. I am no such thing.

I will admit, I love teaching. I got that from my mother. She was always teaching us something whether we knew it or not. When I became a teacher, she would save stuff out of the newspaper whether it was for my grade or not. She saw that I loved teaching more than anything despite the problem I faced. It was in my blood. I was short a year from reaching the magic number of 30. That's when you get the full bag of coins. But now is it that important to get it? It is something that did nag at me over the years. Yes I was retired, but I didn't have 30 years. See other people even in other fields, retiring at 30 years. Plus when I retired, I was 55. I thought people retired in their 60s, got Social Security, and played golf. So what does one do?

Well I tell you. They go back to the one thing they know they can do or at least think they can do. And that is what I did. I returned to teaching via subbing. Now in my position as a DES teacher, I have a subset of students I am charged with being sure their needs are being met through modifications or making sure the child's needs are being served. I have no lesson plans, unless I am teaching, which I am still trying determine my relationship with my co-teacher. It's her room, her rules, and her students with the exception of my charges. As a veteran who always had a collaborative teacher in my class, I know I wouldn't single out the DES students. I would help everyone who ask, but I have to always make sure the DES children are being served.

Today was the first day of school. Kale decided that he wanted, nay, he needed to go out at 4 am, thus breaking my sleep. I get back to sleep but get up late. I slept through two alarms that I set. My fail safe, my sister, couldn't reach me which signaled I was dead to the world. She woke my cousin to wake me up. I got up and was out the door in time. I made it school on time forgetting that every child on God's green earth would be trying to get to school. No close parking for me.. But I made and I was energized like an atomic battery. My new teammates welcomed with open arms. The APs treaded lightly cause they know the wrong word would send Mr. Norah home.

The plan almost immediately went off the rails. The first block went of ok. Then because they needed a teacher in a class, I was the go to person. You see I was the anchor. So I took the job. I was in charge of a classroom of students for the first time in 5 years. I was afraid i had lost my touch, but there was still a little sparkle in hands. I was the entertainer. I told some of my stupid jokes. Students traditionally do not like the first day of school because they may not be with their friends. So I have to work to try to get them to see it will be ok. They can still have fun. Middle schoolers are so different. I played classical music. I talked about the composer and what the music was about. I told them I expected them to graduate. In a way, I told them I cared about them. Now many of them won't here that message, but the seed has been planted.

I am back home. I am told I will have to hold the fort down once again. I am a veteran warrior. I have the scars to prove it. I taught Crack babies of the 90s. I missed the Covid Kids but like a hurricane whose destruction comes in waves upon the shore, so is the problems with Covid. You know are so sweet. I will say what I think as if I am some great educator or philosopher and they are amazed. I am just me. But I digress. In one class, I had to transform back into the teacher because a student was chewing gum. I hate students chewing gum. It's the Faye Dunaway's Joan Crawford hating wired hangers type of hate. It is because kids don't chew, they end up popping it or putting it under desks and table or the floor. So anyway, I told him to spit it out. A few minutes later, he had another piece. Now my 7th grade students knew I was one of the best gum finders in the world. I would catch the best of them. So on the first day, I had to call him out. I called him to the desk and just asked had he lost his mind? I just told him to spit the gum out and he had another piece. I told him if I even have to look at them with a suspicious eye, I will call his parents and no one like getting a parent phone call on the first day! You have to establish the ground rules. Now remember this wasn't my class. LOL! I was just covering it for the day. But these are kids on my team so I would be in contact with them on a daily basis.

On a whole the day was good. My sister said that school was my "happy place." I can't deny that. I think it was something I always knew. Students were my children. They feed me with their successes. Hearing about a student getting married, a new job, or just how happy they are in turn pump me up. I am serious. I can't explain it. These students I count as my own and they know it. Many will hit me up for advice. They may remember sitting in my classroom after school and picking my brain about some issue they are facing. I have children of my own, so I am not a father. But being a teacher, I guess, will have to be close enough.

Thus ends day one of a new journey. I do not know what will come of it. I do not know if I will survive it. Have I lost my touch? Will I jell with this team team whom I do not know? In this new role, can I still be effective? I do know I have made some fast friends who waves at me in the hallway and their face lights up when they come to class. I told myself not to enjoy this. I had the best time in 7th grade Griffin. Nothing can replace that. However, this is different, so don't compare...just enjoy!

[imnothinginparticular]

#finishedbooks Brecht: The Man and his Work by Martin Esslin. I had got this a long time ago at the free bookstore in Baltimore and it had sat in my to-read stack in boxes here in Tokyo while I was trying to get my visa back. I really do miss that free bookstore that was always open/closed due to the lack of funding, but it was perfect: like get messed up Friday night, drinking natty boh, finish the night with old bay wings... wake up fucked up have some more natty bohs with breakfast and drag myself to the free bookstore and hit the classics section which Americans don't care for and find books with sole translations from a half century ago...perfect. My profile pic was shot on one of these days by @patrickjoust ...I was extremely hungover. With that this is about the famous playwright written in 1959 a few years after his death. The benefit of these immediate biographies is that you really get a sense for who they were at the time without the benefit of time smoothing over their flaws before romanticism sets in. So ya Brecht turns out was a stubborn asshole, but what great who shifts culture forward wasn't. The problem with this book is not that no one should read this if they haven't read the far superior, "Brecht on Brecht" is that because of the time at the start of the cold war...the author harps waaaaaay to much on his communist ties to the point now it just seems absurdly irrelevant accounting for over a third of the book. In fact Esslin sums up why it doesn't matter saying, "with a theatre at his disposal in East Berlin, an Austrian passport in his pocket, and the copyrights in the hands of a west german publisher...Brecht had full autonomy..." and ya duh he was smart and kept his options open instead of choosing a side. You can't lose if you don't play. Even the infamous house of un-American activities proceeding just felt like Brecht as zoologist being cross examined by apes. Intellectually he was beyond right and left which was always disappointing for me when I see smarter my American friends of mine wasting so much energy on left and right weekly issues. And on the topic of the US now and Brecht disposition he has a great quote, "To live in a country without a sense of humor is unbearable; but it is even more unbearable to live in a country where you need a sense of humor." With that I will close in simply saying Brecht was deeply concerned with the predicament of the individual and the irony of the human condition. He strove to be a writer for the common people but with his theme of irony, the simpler he got the more complex his work became.

[badbirchenergy]

Gaining a second wind as she paces around the lobby patiently, May begins to soak in the invigorating reality that she's somewhere new—somewhere that had previously not existed outside of weathered brochures, scrunched and bent in the back of display holders at any given bus stop. The woman doesn't have enough appendages to tally the places she's gone, the lengths she's traveled, and even still...?

This feeling never arrives dull, despite how worldly she's become.

Gold, per usual, doesn't take any longer than needed, and soon rejoins her near the entrance. As far as she's aware, they're still the only two Champions of those invited to have arrived, though anticipating the others who plan to show brings forth a suspenseful sense of excitement. For now, they were their respective regions' sole representation here in Kitakami—a realization that stresses May to behave in a manner more subdued than typical.

"Aight, let's get to movin'! I can bet places 'round here don't stay open too late." Her feet are already leading her towards the automated doors, breezing through them to once again greet the center of the humble village as its cloaked by dusk.

Hoothoot congregate along various homes' rooftops, their bright eyes peering through the lingering twilight while Volbeat and Illumise glitter beyond the village's borders. A lot of the activity she met upon arrival has settled, with many undoubtedly preparing for the upcoming festivities by prepping their traditional garb and favoring an early night's rest.

May's gaze trails from ribbons of smoke and steam that hang in the air, rising from the few establishments still serving customers this late into the evening. Her stomach rumbles with the intensity of a Rhyhorn stampede, but first things first.

Stretching her arms back and rolling her shoulders, a tempered gasp is exhaled while three of her four capsules are unfastened. Her relaxed state snaps in habit as the Hoennite slugs each into the sky with powerful precision. Crackling light dazzles overhead, raining down beams of energy through which her traveling companions emerge.

"C'mon and say hey to Gold, y'all."

Peaches shoots the man a startling glare before reclining on her side. Despite being three times the size of an average adult human, her intimidating disposition isn't meaningfully belligerent—quite frankly, it is her resting expression, her most neutral of any she's bothered to brandish. The ape-like behemoth rolls to her other side, facing away from the others as she releases a guttural murmur. Disinterested for the time being, she brings an arm as thick as a tree trunk up to scratch an itch in her lower back.

"Peaches, don't be like that... show some damn class." The Slaking chuckles softly from her gut—of all people to give her that advice? The Pokemon is highly amused by the sheer irony.

Salem stays wearily behind his trainer—not without the offer of food will he bother socializing beyond what is necessary. His snout flutters madly at the scents wafting from the stalls lining the block, red eyes flashing between Gold and the eateries and back to Gold again.

Balthazar, on the other hand, takes May's direction literally; scampering across the way, the dual-type tugs at Gold's clothing, before circling him with an excitability only the nighttime can conjure. "Dude, chill," his trainer exclaims, rubbing at the nape of her neck and visibly irritated, though admittedly amused.

"Sorry 'bout this bunch—they don't have the home-trainin' of my others," though, as much is understandable when taking into consideration their upbringings. Nerves fade quickly, her head whipping about as she ponders over their dining options. "As much as I'd kill for some Flapplebee's, I have heard a lot about the local grub from people 'round the center... hope it lives up to th' hype!"

Gold smiles and nods in agreement.

"Truthfully though what surprised me most was them wanting to open up. Many in their position happily don't." He looks around at the all-too modern community center. It was a little bit of an eyesore, in his opinion, but it did the job incredibly well. Not to mention it was not as if the villagers could be expected to house guests in their own homes, now could they?

"I did too, funnily enough. I have four I keep out of my primary team for league season and general coverage, in case anyone requires a break or needs to recover from an injury." He waves to his own belt, brow furrowed. "I don't believe you have met them all yet, with the exception of Otohime. I thought, like you, they deserved a break themselves."

Gold watches as May gets a few glances (including one at the back of her head by the Clefable) and can't help but chuckle. She's loud and energetic, but that's very much her charm. She's alive and wants the world to know it. That, Gold thinks, is incredibly admirable. The sort of young woman who was forced to escape her duties in the aftermath of everything she went through most certainly was not the one standing before him today.

And really, isn't that all they can ask for? Gold may not have had the same view on it as some of his peers did, but objectively he could understand that children should not have been forced to deal with what they did. At least Lance was there to support him for some of it - May, from what he understood, did not even get the aid of Hoenn's then-Champion.

What she says, though, earns a sympathetic nod.

"I can imagine so." He agrees - its odd for him too, but unlike May he hasn't had to rely on those Pokemon to survive for over a decade. Infact he can't imagine she's been parted for anything other than checkups for a very long time. "But I am certain they would both want you to enjoy yourself, no?"

Its an obvious thing to say, but the fact she's so focussed on food is a good sign that she isn't stressing too terribly much.

"Of course, that sounds great. Let me drop my bag off and secure my room, and we can go."

A brief exchange later with the woman at the desk and Gold's pushed the doors to the sleeping area open and slipped off to unload.

[charmixpower]

The boys, from best to worst decision making skills:

Timmy: Has good decision making skills, actually uses them, and convinces other people to make a good decision. Bless your heart and soul Timmy, your the only thing keeping all these idiots alive

Brandon: Brandon had the highest emotional intelligence of all the guys, he's just smart, and knows how to learn from situations. This boy probably could make the best decisions in the group. He doesn't though. Something about watching the people below him do things that are absolutely bad shit insane brings him delight in a way he can't explain. Will stop them from making truly bad decisions, but will always enable harmless stupidity. No exceptions. He actively choses to be in the number two spot and Timmy is exhausted

Helia: Can make good decisions, actively chooses not to. Are you tired of being nice? Don't you just wanna go ape shit? Helia is and does. Has enough braincells to stop a lot of the idiocy going around him, but much like Brandon often thinks it's too funny to do much of anything about it. Unlike Brandon however he tends to partake in it himself

Nabu: This idiot, this idiot. People think he's smart, because he is, he's very book smart. This accidentally confuses everyone around him into think he has good decision making skills. He does not Nabu, baby, sweet heart, love of Aisha's life. What the fuck man. Genuinely. What the fuck were you thinking in s3?? Unlike when Sky did it, I honestly believe that Nabu was completely oblivious to how fucking weird he was being. Like he just didn't know until someone told him. He's a little stupid, a lot stupid. I blame this on his upbringing. He was so sheltered he wouldn't know a good decision if it punched him in the face, simply because he's never had to use those skills on a large scale before. Someone please help him. Also enables the idiocy of the two below him

Sky/Riven: Neither of these two should be left in charge of anything and it shows. Why the fuck the show thought it was a good idea to put Sky in charge of the specialists I will never understand. Neither of these fuckers have made a good decision in their entire lives and need to be stopped. At least one, usually two, major conflicts each season could be avoided if either of these idiots had two brain cells to rub together. This gets infinitely worse when they're together, feeding off of eachother's bullshit, and making eachother worse merely by proximity. The only reason Sky ended up as squad leader is bc his parents paid for it. Most of the conflict in s1 could of been avoided if someone just smacked both of them. The reason they're ranked the same is because Riven (ignoring how how post s3 his character arc is reset every fucking season) starts learning how to make good decisions at the end of s1, and Sky does the same at the end of s2, and they kinda go back and forth with who's making the current worst decision. Like Riven had to be manipulated into a relationship by Darcy, with mind control on top, to competely and utterly fuck up in s1. Sky did that shit on his own. Idk what to tell you, they're both dumb as fuck

[mypromptlair]

TCF Prompt 10

AU. No KRS, Main OG Cale

Harris Village, a small place located near a dangerous, forbidden location. A place Cale Henituse despised with his very being. Because, like his mother, he knew the truth. Those people were not as innocent as they portrayed. They were not as kind as Choi Han believed, playing him like a fiddle. After all, they were after people like Choi Han, beings who cross time and space: transmigrators, and people like himself who regress. A organization known as Hunters. A villainous group even more older, annoying and more powerful than the White Star. While it was a help they took that bastard down, they also slew Choi Han and himself immediately after(causing even more chaos).

With things really not ending up well afterwards, the damned GoD sent him back to when he was 18, waking up in agony and finding the Molan's gone. What a pain.

But this time, he doesn't seem to be alone. This time he has his hyungs and noona with him(were they this...protective before?). Gains some very talkative ancient powers, saves some adorable bratty kids he would die for, and unknowingly creates a family along the way.

And after giving up so damn much the first time around, and seemingly having to do it again, when all was said and done he was going to go off and just slack. Rest somewhere away from everyone with the kids…maybe even have a garden? Or perhaps a farm...

It's just his luck that his mothers family decides to come out of the woodworks this time around. They look torn between wanting to throttle him and smother him in hugs. Weirdos.

Wait, Noona, why are you laughing? What do you mean I fit right in!? - Cale

----------

The Village did cause the carriage accident, though only Cale was able to figure it out due to his mothers journal(amongst other evidence, which was too late to bring to his father. As the man didn't see him anymore).

Eric, Gilbert and Amiru all have a huge part to play and are way more active, and more powerful/strong in their own right.

Cale ends up going to the capital instead of Basen. It becomes a shitshow, thanks to Choi Han intervening with him, but at least they stop most of the bombs.

Hans is also more involved. Slowly becoming more and more loyal and protective of his young master.

Protective!bamf Thames family(they are not very impressed with how Deruth has treated Jour's son either). They also know Cale regressed and are horrified. Which is why they came out of hiding.

Protective!dragons(Eruhaben, etc.) and allies.

Cale's plate is very thin, caused by his regression. He's a bit annoyed, the coughing up blood thing is getting old.

Cale's trash act is found out to be just that. Everyone's upset he would hurt himself in such a way. Especially Basen and Lily.

It's also found out that some of the staff and relatives tormented and lied about Cale without even Ron knowing. Beacrox is furious to find out they also tainted Cale's food(some of which HE had made himself). No wonder Cale stopped calling him Hyung and had those "tantrums"…

The Molans have a lot of regrets towards Cale, but they make up for it.

White star is eventually dealt with, in such a surprising ease that Cale may or may not be a bit slightly annoyed at the fact.

Choi Han and his gang eventually become allies, but it will be a while yet.

Choi Han also finds out about the Hunters and is devastated to learn the truth of Harris Village. He also gets some much needed therapy for being alone for so long(along with the culture shock, etc.), thank you Eruhaben.

Cale gives him some cookies, as that damn fatherly dragon dragged him off for a similar reason as well. Then Ron gives them lemonade...urk.

Alberu also joins the older siblings train, though he feels like he's the only "sane" one(he says being a dark elf while wielding Taerang, a gift from the sun god, after dealing with Adin and his tower).

Cale, Cage and Bud are drinking buddies and get into shenanigans.

Cale gives his AP's grey hairs(if they could have them), Super Rock just wants to trap him in a rock and protect him there. He regrets constantly saying "are you trying to sacrifice yourself". It gave his wielder ideas...

The greatest enemy is the Hunters who are slowly taken care of.

[edutainer2022]

Frankly, I want to send you every single emoji from that ask game for Scott, but I'm trying to practice self-restraint. How about a couple of ൠ for him?

@amistrio Thank you! Yeah, I'm kinda contemplating the merit of answering the meme unprompted or sending myself an anonymous ask or five))

Random (TAG) Scott headcanons:

- this one I really enjoyed getting traction in vaster fanon - Scott is a mathlete and a decent engineer. Not Brains or the Mechanic level, but Dad Jeff level at the very least. He was elated to be in on Dad's plans and designs of TV-21 as a teen, was definitely in on the early designs of Thunderbirds and takes active part in upgrades and diagnostics (that's pretty much canon). He can reassemble his bird in his sleep;

- Scott reads. For leisure. Actual books. The "boring" classics of the "mandatory reading list" and beyond (that's probably something I glimpsed in TOS and hold really dear). And he's well versed in poetry. It's a Mom thing for him - they read a lot together, he later read all the stories to his brothers. His AP English essays were stellar, but "Liberal arts" was never an option, not for a Jeff Tracy's son, who worshiped Dad's life path and accomplishments. So it was math, physics and avionics.

- Scott has an MBA. That Tracy Industries money gotta make themselves somehow to fund increasingly expensive IR endeavors.

- after the TV-21 fiasco (financial too), Scott offered to enlist into GDF before he turned 18 - that way he thought he could pay for college and help repay the investors, so that his college fund would go to John and Virgil and their dreams wouldn't be derailed. Dad put a halt to that (and doubled down business efforts to make sure his kids were never financially insecure again).

- This one is a bit (a lot!) darker - in a typical "golden child trauma" fashion Scott ties his self-worth firmly to merits of performance and achievement. In a situation when his father sacrificed himself to save all of humanity, Scott considers himself obliged to give nothing less to compensate humanity (and his family) for that loss - that breeds martyrdom that comes across as recklessness or workaholism on a good day and a death wish on less good days (also, pretty much canon, in so many words). He genuinely doesn't get how his family or the world would need him for just him, if he's "obviously less" than his father was (being repeatedly mistaken for his younger father's image doesn't help).

- After really hard rescues, or sometimes when the burden gets too much, Scott would dash away in One across the world to Mom's grave. Alone. John and Virgil have figured it out and know not to try and coax him back before he's ready, but keep an eye on him.

- Learning about Dad's signal from Oort Cloud nearly drove Scott insane with guilt, whereas his brothers were elated. Which piled even more guilt, because he didn't want to trump their hope. He thinks he failed by "giving up" on the search all those years ago and "moving on".

- Scott has a track record of notoriously disastrous failed relationships, which actually troubles him a lot more than he lets on. It's usually a subject of brothers' ribbing (Gordon's, mostly), but it's actually a fair bit traumatic. Through a couple of break-ups Virgil and John had to stage interventions (up to and including flying in from their colleges). On at least one occasion it was Dad. Whoever falls for a dashing flyboy/hero/billionaire with killer dimples and witty one liners, usually, don't sign up for a deeply feeling, traumatized, crazed with anxiety family man, whose brothers and life's work are his whole world. At a certain point Scott got convinced he's damaged goods and happiness/family is not in the cards. He's, of course, wrong.

- Scott was to Dad what Virgil is to him and what their Mom was to Jeff - a grounding force, a confidante and someone with unwavering faith and inspiration.

- Dropping out of Airforce early on in the career to join IR cost him most or all of his GDF friendships and it stung deeply. It stung that many openly considered him a renegade, who chose "Daddy's private 911 gig and getting kittens off trees over the real service". Regardless of Bereznik POW headcanon (the hurt, PTSD and comfort potential there is, of course, unparalleled!), I think Scott had to face A LOT of cold shoulders, after Jeff's disappearance. Whereas Colonel Tracy was revered, Tracy "dropout" Jr. was openly stared down by multiple star generals and getting IR up and running again was an uphill struggle.

- Kyrano and Lee leaving IR after Jeff hit him hard. He's lowkey sure it's because he can't measure up to Dad (and father figures don't want him). In reality it was, of course, guilt and grief of the Old Guard.

-Some time, many-many years down the line Scott is gonna run for the World President office and win.

I can go on for a loooong while (Scott is among my deeply personally favorite characters not for nothing). Maybe I'll come up with a Part 2. I'm having lots of fun (making myself sad, mostly).

[cagcd]

     Family had always been a bitter word in his mouth,   from an alcoholic and absent father,   a dysfunctional home life,    the stress of a hardworking mother,   now severed ties with his brother and a sister he hardly hears from.   Family dinners that didn't include a fight were unknown to him,   only the scent of alcohol coupled with cigarettes,   the muffled sound of his mother weeping from the other room,   the tension in the silence that falls after that storm.   He had once swore not to fall into his father's footsteps,   to be a kinder man and to never lose his way,   but he was blindsided,   too dazzled by fame and fortune to remember what truly mattered,   his mother had cut him off for long,   refused to take every paycheck he sent,   although it was an attempt of aid that came from a genuine origin,   she had recognised that fatal pride and wanted nothing to do with it.   A sign he refused to take into account,   only to lead himself down the path of addiction   &.   two divorces.   The last was a slap back to reality,   a valuable treasure he hadn't realised he had until it was lost,   his first marriage was without sentiment,   superficial at best,   but the second,   the second broke him                 he had truly loved Sonya,   their little cassie was his entire world.   Perhaps they were dysfunctional in their own way   ...   never meeting eye to eye when both him and Sonya were caught up in their own worlds.   Yet,   in one form or another,   it was a family in every sense of the word,   one he wanted,   &.   knew he would do the impossible to retrieve it,   at least earn Cassie's respect and make up for those lost first years of her life.

  And what a remarkable woman had she grown out to be,   strong and confident like her mother,   and the traits she took for him were only the best.   [   yes,   she had a sharp tongue of her own,   but he hardly sees that as an issue.   ]   However,   despite a faith so strong and a pride without measure,   there is a deep and ever present worry,   like a heavy stone at the pit of his stomach.   To accompany one's child into the battlefield was not an activity his lack of familial experience would make him ignorant enough to realize it was out of the ordinary.   Nevertheless,   this concern wasn't born from absence of normalcy,   but a protectiveness every father had towards his child.   She's all grown now,   but in his mind's eye she's still that little girl that would run up to his arms,   round cheeks stained with tears after a hard fall or to tell him about a bad day,   and he would allow her to cling onto him all day if she must,   despite his mother's many warnings of it spoiling her.   Worry as he might,   she never ceases to impress,   always the one to help him get back up,   the same way as he was there for her,   he can't think of a better definition of family than this.   She had reached him in an instant,   extended hand stained with crimson as a testament for strength and a selflessness she was most unique for.

      ❛❛   Well,   we are cleaning up after the monkeys.   It's like planet of the apes in real time,   but the leader is somehow,   hairrer.   ❜❜        Johnny jokes in return,   looking over at Cassie for any potential injury before he could examine himself,   good,   that blood wasn't hers.   Not a thought he'd find pleasant,   but enough to sooth the tension from watching her fight so far away from him.        ❛❛   Garish               you forget who your dad is ?   C'mon,   there's no such thing as   '  too much  '   for a Cage.   If no one goes blind when you walk into the room,   what even is the point ?   ❜❜        but perhaps they should tell Sonya those were fake stones for good measure,   she was never fond of how expensive his gifts for either of them were.   A future issue he need not concern himself with at the moment as interruption comes in the form of a handful of black dragons would soon cut in,   a desperate attack considering the pushback the forces had brought on them,   it was only a matter of time until backup arrives.        ❛❛   Speaking of which,   what do you want for dinner ?   ❜❜        he'd ask,   unphased but focused,   effectively kicking a goon in the chin.        ❛❛   I'm thinking Chinese.   ❜❜

growing up with badasses for parents leaves one with little choice but to accept the normality of seeing them in battle. mom taught her that the women of their family smile back at death, taught her to be ready for anything always. dad taught her to be larger than life, larger than her fears, and that he'd always be there to catch her when she couldn't be. because of their influence, she is able to swallow back the reflexive panic of accompanying her father to take down a black dragon regiment and focus only on the battle at hand.

(it doesn't quite drown out the clawing, scraping feeling at the back of her mind: the tug of worry that, if permitted to, might unravel and spill forth all the old worry that one day, dad might encounter a fight he can't beat. damn good thing she's here to ensure that never happens.)

when dad hits the ground, cassie's near enough to catch sight of it out of the corner of her eye. something cold wraps around her heart, grips her lungs. she shakes it off. there's no time to panic.

though not yet as fluent with the green energy as he is, not as fluid when she pours it into her kicks and punches, it serves her well enough to knock away her current opponent so that she can rush to dad's aid. there's nothing quite so fierce as a daughter protecting her pops, and the goon who got a lucky hit in on him learns that the hard way.

when she was young, she knew without ever needing to ask that there was nothing her parents wouldn't do to keep her safe. she is proud to be cassie cage and proud to be able to defend them in return now.

her hand is bloody as she extends it to pull dad to his feet.

❝you good? trip on a banana peel or somethin'?❞ joked with a flash of a grin. it's instinct to stick close now, gun at the ready to cover them both, as she checks for herself that he's fine. ❝i'll be taking that drone in pink. maybe rhinestone-studded? or is that too garish? i'll send you some links when we're home.❞

because they will be getting out of this. she's gonna make sure of it.

[much-obliged-timothy]

Whumptober #16

Midnighter & Apollo - #16 - Mind Control

*

“What aren’t you telling us?” Batman snarled, getting in Apollo’s face.

Apollo just glared back at him. “Back up. You know I can shoot lasers from my eyes, right?” 

Nightwing grabbed Batman and yanked him back. “Apollo, please, we’re not your enemies.”

“Then let me leave,” Apollo said tightly. “You’re wasting my time.”

“You’re hiding the identity of a killer,” Batman said. “A killer terrorizing my city. You’re not leaving until you tell us who it is.”

“I told you; I don’t know who it is. They killed someone in my city, and I tracked them to Gotham,” Apollo said. “If you stop thinking your stupid gritty tough-guy act will actually work on me, I can get back to tracking them to find out who it is.”

“I don’t believe you,” Batman said.

“I don’t care!” Apollo snapped, standing up. “You can’t hold me here. You’re not strong enough. I’m leaving, and you either let me walk out or I do it by force.”

“Apollo!” Nightwing said. “We can work together.”

“I am not working with him. Or you, Dick. You’ll just report back to him,” Apollo said, roughly shoving past Batman. 

Nightwing caught his arm, which would’ve been a death sentence for anyone else. Apollo barely restrained himself as it was.

“Apollo, please, you can trust me. I’ll take over the case for Batman. I’ve worked with Midnighter before. Ask him!” Nightwing insisted.

And then his grip tightened as his words stopped. Apollo felt cold.

“Oh,” Nightwing whispered. “Oh, no.”

“What?” Batman demanded.

“Why?” Nightwing asked, sounding torn. “Why would he…?”

“Wha-” Batman also stiffened. “It’s Midnighter, isn’t it?”

“It’s not his fault!” Apollo snapped, hating the desperation laying under his anger. 

“He’s always killed,” Batman said coldly.

“Your own kid has killed before, but you give him a pass! Why doesn’t Midnighter get a pass after everything they did to him? He doesn’t kill innocents. This isn’t his fault!” Apollo said. 

“What’s going on, Apollo? Midnighter would never…Christ, there are four dead, innocent civilians,” Nightwing said. “What the hell is going on?”

“The computer in his head,” Apollo said, shaking his head helplessly. “Someone got control of it. Someone is controlling him. None of this is his fault. Someone else is making him do it all. I tried to stop him in Opal City, and it’s like M wasn’t even in there anymore.” 

“We have to help him,” Nightwing said immediately, and Apollo felt weak with relief. “Batman, he’s a victim too. I know Midnighter. He would never do this. We need to save him.”

Apollo tensed up, ready to defend Midnighter if Batman tried to argue he should be captured. But Batman just gave a slow nod.

“I’m trusting you,” he said to Nightwing. 

“We should go. He knows us. He trusts us. If…If any part of him can be reached, we have the best chance at reaching it. He’ll get aggressive to you,” Apollo said. 

Batman didn’t seem to like the idea of being left out of the action, but Nightwing went over and spoke quietly with him. After Nightwing stepped away, Batman turned and headed for his computer.

“I’ll monitor for activity,” he said. 

As they walked side-by-side, Apollo knew he needed to be honest with Nightwing. “Listen, it’s…really bad.”

He could still remember finding Midnighter in Opal city, pulling his mask off during their struggle. M’s eyes had been glazed over, totally void of any recognition for the man he loved. He’d just continued to attack, unconcerned for any damage he did to Apollo and clearly trying to kill him. 

“We’ll find a way to save him,” Nightwing said fiercely.

Apollo appreciated the loyalty and determination. He was glad Midnighter had a friend like Nightwing.

But Apollo just wasn’t sure anymore.

He’d been trying since he discovered the awful truth. He’d even nearly killed Midnighter in one encounter in an attempt to damage him enough to make his computer restart. Nothing had worked so far, and nothing so much as hinted that Midnighter was still in there. It was like his body was on deadly autopilot. Apollo was desperate to save him, but he didn’t even know who could be behind this since no one knew where Bendix was anymore. 

He was positive this was someone using the technology in Midnighter’s head to control him. There was no way this was some kind of malfunction with the technology. It was far too precise. 

And what if there was no way to fix it? If they couldn’t find out who was controlling him or how to stop him, Midnighter would continue on this violent spree. They had to stop him fast. He was too deadly to contain or to leave free. 

And he wouldn’t want this.

What was the point of freeing Midnighter from this control if he could never forgive himself for the atrocities he’d committed while he was under it? 

Apollo clenched his fists as he walked with Nightwing. He would do whatever it took to save Midnighter. He’d do anything to free him, and even if it broke his heart and tore his very life to shreds, he would do anything to protect Midnighter from ever learning of what he’d done.

If he couldn’t free him by easing the control, he’d free him the only other way he knew how to.

Tears stung his eyes even as a grim resolve settled in his chest. He and Nightwing went out into the night to find Midnighter and end this, one way or another.

[ssgoosecookie]

Ghost enough

AO3 | FF.net

Of his two friends, Danny would have thought Tucker would suck him into a Fenton thermos first. After all, his aim was notoriously bad and the humour was right up his alley. Unfortunately, it wasn’t funny, and so it was Sam who had pointed the thermos at him.

A few weeks after the Lunch Lady, shortly after Skulker, before they really got into the swing of ghost fighting, and before Danny even discovered his ghost ray, Tuck suggested they go out on a patrol.

“We need more practice. Skulker almost wasted us,” Tucker said. “We need to grind out a few more levels before he comes back.”

“I’m in! Sam, ‘grind out levels’ means to get some experience by fighting low level monsters,” Danny said.

Sam rolled her eyes elaborately. “Whatever. I’m coming to make sure you two idiots don’t get killed.”

Which was unfair. Despite going out a number of times, they’d barely been in danger since the Skulker thing. Despite Amity Park being the “most haunted city in America”, they mostly found ghost animals. They still terrorized people, seeming unable to help themselves (the ghost mice that had backed some bakers almost into their oven being simultaneously the worst and most laughable example of this), and so Danny and his friends needed to go around and vacuum them up. But not scary. Barely dangerous.

It was almost routine. Danny’s ghost sense would trigger, sending him off in a direction until they heard screams. Then Danny would rescue whatever human was screaming, usually by punching the ghost, and then hit and kick and ram into the ghost at speed while trying to avoid having the same done to him. When the ghost was weakened, he’d throw them into the thermos’s beam, wielded by Sam or Tucker. Ding ding ding, experience!

Danny liked feeling like a vigilante super hero, like Spider Man or the Flash before he joined Justice League. Fighting was a thrill, more like a video game than Tucker knew. He could get hurt, but his ghost form was amazingly tough and so he rarely had bruises that lasted to the next day. Mistakes were easily forgiven and he always won in the end. Patrols were fun.

What they didn’t know when they set out that night was that the week of Halloween was always busy with spooks, and his first year was no exception. They normally found one ghost attack per night. That night there was another one every time they turned the corner.

The moon was nearly full, the only light on an abandoned street in a commercial district barring ghostly glow. Danny was in his fifth or sixth wrestling match. This one was with a ghost ape who looked so much like Samson it could be her sister. Though considering they were three blocks away from Amity Park Zoo, she was more likely a dead aunt, or grandmother, or mother…

Danny shifted his weight and flung the ghost off his body, trying to shake away the thought of this being a dead ape. She was a ghost and that was all that mattered. Plus, she was fast and terrifyingly strong, which he was reminded of when she bounced back up and tried to strangle him.

He was starting to feel his fatigue as a heaviness in his limbs, a lethargy before his powers activated, none of which was helped by the hands that closed around his windpipe. He couldn’t hold them back, scrabbling for purchase.

This was feeling less like a video game every moment. He didn’t have extra lives.

“Put him down!” Tucker yelled, and lobbed a rock at the gorilla’s back.

It wasn’t much, but the ghost wasn’t smart either. She turned to snarl at Tucker, whipping Danny around in front. Her fingers loosened just slightly. Danny worked his fingers between her hands and his throat.

“Uh… nice monkey…” Tuck said, backing away.

“Don’t harass the animals, Tucker!” Sam said. “Now, Danny!”

“All right, King Kong,” Danny said, flexing hard and ripping the gorilla’s hands from his neck. “You’ve climbed your tower. Now it’s time to come down.”

Danny grabbed the gorilla’s wrists, spun, and flung the gorilla towards Sam. Grinning, she uncapped the thermos, hit the button and activated the beam. Danny saw it coming in slow motion, engulfing the ape, and continuing on towards him.

From the moment Danny first used a thermos against the Lunch Lady, he knew that, at some point, someone would point it at him. He comforted himself thinking he was too solid, too human, to be reduced to energy swirling in the thermos.

He’d felt the suction before, of course. Sam and Tuck had been his thermos wielders almost since day one and the beam often skirted him. But he’d always been able to resist it. He was only half ghost, after all.

What a load.

The beam lit him up and what had been mild suction turned into an inevitable slide. Danny screamed—he couldn’t help it—and tried to fling himself away. Out of the light. Anything. But it held him tight like a tractor beam, and he felt the newly familiar but weird sensation of his form stretching. Spaghettifying. Thinning. Disappearing.

“Danny!”

A single look at Sam’s horrified face and then… nothing.

The thermos compressed him down to a thimble of size and tossed him, his non-body, to mix with the other ghosts inside the thermos. His body was gone but he could feel them, the other ghosts, sliding through him, giving him quick impressions of gorilla, squid, wolf, blob thing, all quiescent and resting. Only Danny was awake and frantic.

Danny was not too ashamed to admit that he freaked out. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t feel anything. He wanted to struggle but his muscles were gone. He screamed inside his mind.

He was only half ghost. He had a heartbeat and he needed to breathe and eat and… had the thermos killed him? Was he fully dead now? Was his human body somewhere out there, slumped over and he was only the ghost left behind?

Unable to help himself, Danny rocketed from one end of the the thermos to the other, searching for an exit, finding only the confines of the thermos. There were no gaps. No flaws. The thermos was his parents best invention to date. Built to contain ghosts.

And he was a ghost.

“Oh god, where did his body go? I thought he couldn’t…”

“Obviously he can! Oh man..”

“Tuck, what do we do?”

“Let him out!”

“All the other ghosts are in there!”

He could hear. Sam and Tucker were out there, somewhere. Danny strained his… not ears, not anymore. He had no ears, or eyes, or anything resembling humanity…

It was hard to hear them, to concentrate on what they were saying. They sounded worried. Frantic. Danny churned with anxiety, wanting to slam up against the edges of the thermos, but he was nothing. Energy swirling around a lunch container.

“We can catch them again. Let him out!”

Clanking, like rings on plastic-metal, and then nothing. Emptiness descended on him again, maddening in its absoluteness.

Oh god, let me out, I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be a ghost.

Light! He inflated like a balloon, swelling and gaining mass. He slammed into something (but he could feel) followed by four other thumps. Everything was too bright. Too loud. Too close. His body remembered gravity and he collapsed in a heap.

But he was solid.

On all fours, Danny clutched his fists against the ground. He had ribs and breathing and his hands inside his gloves and the ground, the blessed ground, and air against his face. It was the best thing he’d ever felt.

The thermos powered up again. Purely on instinct, Danny flung himself off the ground and was across the room before he was fully aware of what was going on. He stopped halfway through the wall. Sam sucked up the other dazed ghosts and capped the thermos.

Tucker approached Danny like he was a wild animal, holding his hands out and speaking kindly. “Hey man, you okay?”

Danny pulled himself out of the wall and forced himself to laugh. “Yeah, I’m fine. That was… that was weird.”

Tuck accepted the deflection and relaxed. “Yeah! Man, I did not know that would happen.”

“Me either,” Danny said. Understatement of the year.

“I’m so sorry, Danny,” Sam said, shoving the thermos in her bag. “I didn’t think that…”

“It’s okay! No harm done.” Danny said, waving his hands.

Danny didn’t feel okay, but he wasn’t shaking either. He didn’t feel faint. His heart wasn’t skipping, his bowels stayed firmly in place, and overall he didn’t feel like he was freaking out. But he very much was, inside.

Did his ghost form not have enough of a nervous system to freak out? He could get angry, sad, happy, and a variety of other emotions, but he couldn’t recall his ghost form ever having a physical response to an emotion. His heart didn’t clench. He didn’t burst into tears. His skin didn’t crawl, his throat didn’t close up. He was okay and somehow that was not okay.

Danny desperately wanted to be human again. He wanted to feel. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t dead.

He wanted to freak out alone.

“It’s getting late,” Danny said, stretching as if he was tired. “That’s enough patrolling for one night.”

Sam checked her watch. “Might even make it for curfew.”

“Sweet.”

They split, Tuck and Sam heading off on their scooters. Danny waited until they left, checked for people, and then went human.

It took three seconds for it to crash down over him. Danny sank to the curb and put his face in his hands.

He was human. He was. He was solid (usually) and visible (mostly) and not dead (sometimes). He was breathing. His heart beat. He was human.

He could breathe. In, out. Jazz always said to breathe. Maybe not that fast, or that unevenly, or with hiccups at the end, but he was breathing.

“Danny?”

His head jerked up. Sam stood at the end of the street, pushing her scooter, helmet still on. Danny hastily wiped his face—when had he started leaking?—and jumped to his feet.

“I’m fine. Just… resting, I was tired, I’ll go home now. Night Sam!”

“Danny.”

Sam said his name quietly, without judgement, and it stopped his babbling dead. Danny clenched his hands.

Sam set her kickstand and pulled off her helmet while walking closer. He averted his eyes and stared at the asphalt instead of her concerned face.

“You’re not okay, are you?”

Danny hesitated, then mutely shook his head. Sam sat down on the curb and patted the spot he’d been. Danny sank into it.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I should have been more careful.”

“Am I dead?”

Her head whipped around. “No! Of course not.”

“I fit in a thermos, Sam. My body was gone.” Danny gathered up the denim of his jeans in his hands. “What if I died and I’m just a ghost good at pretending to be human, and my body is fried somewhere inside the ghost portal…”

“Danny. Shut up.”

He shut, but the worries kept churning away inside him. Like churning through the Fenton thermos, back and forth, with no way out.

Sam took his hands to jerk him out of his thoughts. “I know you’re not just a ghost. Every ghost we’ve ever met has had a one track mind. Even Skulker was smart but not complicated. He’s a hunter, the end. They’re not capable of the same level of human thought.”

“What if haunting us is just their day job or whatever and they actually have a rich home life?” Danny muttered.

“If they’re out in the world, they’re obsessed. You’re not like that. You’re the same as you were before. You’re still Danny.”

Danny pulled his hands away from hers. “I could still be a ghost.”

“Maybe,” Sam said. “We might never knew exactly what happened with the Portal. But who cares? You’re still passing classes, and chilling with me and Tuck, and playing your stupid video games, and making lame puns, and more importantly, you’re using your ghost powers to save the people of Amity Park from dangerous ghosts. If you are a ghost, you’re a good ghost.”

Danny rubbed his face and the drying tear stains there, not even caring about the jibe to his jokes. “I guess.”

“I know.”

“It’s still weird.”

“Oh yeah. Fortunately for you, Tuck and I thrive on weird.”

Sam gave him a hug around the shoulders. She smelled like fruity shampoo and a little sweat from running around for patrol. Danny rested his head against hers, grateful he could feel and smell and see her.

After a few more seconds, she let him go and dug in her bag, producing the thermos. “I forgot to give you this.”

Danny took it from her with mixed feelings. “Is that why you came back?”

She shook her head. “I saw the light from your transformation. Tuck did too. He was gonna miss curfew so I said I’d see what was going on.”

“I’ll call him later,” Danny murmured.

His one hand nearly fit all the way around the outside of the thermos. It was so small.

Sam put her hand on his again. Danny appreciated the comfort, that she’d come back for him. Maybe it didn’t matter how ghostly he was. She accepted him anyway. She and Tuck both.

In a low voice, Sam said, “I promise I’ll never point it anywhere near you again.”

Danny shook his head. “If there’s a dangerous ghost and you have to risk it, you do what you have to do. Now I know it can happen, I’ll avoid it too.”

“Sounds like it was pretty terrible.”

“It didn’t hurt or anything, but it was… disorienting. Small.” Danny ran his hands over the surface of the thermos, feeling the solidity of it. Not sure how to explain how nothing he’d been. “I was mostly freaking out because…”

“You didn’t know if you were dead?”

“Yeah.” Danny looked at the palm of his hand. “In some ways I feel exactly the same. In others…” he made his hand disappear. That tingly energy lived under his skin, like the Portal had continued sparking inside of him.

“You took something that could have been really traumatic and turned it into something positive,” Sam said. “I admire that. That’s why Tuck and I are trying to help you do this. Maybe you didn’t pick it, maybe we don’t know all the consequences yet, but we’ll figure it out. Together.”

“Yeah,” Danny said. He sighed, blowing the hair out of his face. “You’re right. Thanks, Sam.”

“Any time.” Sam quirked an eyebrow. “And now, maybe you have more appreciation for the plight of factory farmed animals.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Sure, Sam.”

“Shoved into a tiny cage for their entire short lives, force fed antibiotics, living in their own waste, and killed brutally just to support this world’s overconsumption habit. It’s disgusting.”

While she was talking, Sam stood and offered Danny a hand. He took it.

Sam gave him a ride home on her scooter, talking all the while about the evils of commercial animal farming. Danny held onto her waist and sank into the familiar rising and falling of her voice, letting it soothe the last of his anxiety.

So maybe he was using patrols to distract himself from the question of whether he actually was a ghost. He’d told himself he had super powers, because if he said ghost powers, well that would mean he was a ghost. No different than that mindless gorilla, or the ectopuses, or the Lunch Lady with her mood swings of doom. Somehow, that turned their patrols from an action-adventure video game to some kind of survival horror. Sam and Tucker would never see coming that the real ghost was him all along.

But Sam and Tuck didn’t care if he was a ghost, and if they didn’t, why should he? She was right about one thing: he still felt like himself. He wasn’t obsessed like Lunch Lady or Skulker. The only major thing that had changed since his accident was being banned from handling glassware at school. He’d made the decision to fight ghosts a full month afterwards.

He was still himself, even as a ghost. His human form was mostly human, and his ghost form was mostly ghost, but he was always Danny. Maybe that was enough.

(It wasn’t always.)