#oh also he/they(maybe it but it may or may not be a holdover from being treated as a lab experiment) Zetta

[nightmarearian]

Code: Auto

Having been without autonomy their entire life, Zetta, under the name Code: Auto, has been consumed by desperation to even just die on their own terms. They don't seem to care much for it's own well-being, with nothing to lose. Their Reuniclus-like body is incredibly acidic, irregularly corrupted by Rift Matter, and melting their old human body into bloody cytoplasm and bone-mesh.

The pure desperation has caused Zetta to opening a Dimensional Rift in themself, corrupting each of their odd cells. The Dimensional Rift that transformed Zetta seems to have been an irregular one, not affecting them as it usually would another. Whether this is because of their state as a human and Pokemon, or due to the fact they are a creator of Rift Matter themselves is unknown. Evidenced by it's eventual Ghost-Typing, they seemed to have gained their wish to die on their own terms, no matter how painful.

Rift Zetta :)

(Here's them on their own)

> "Auto" is meant to refer to "Self" and "Autonomy", referencing that Zetta used a Dimensional Rift on themself, and the whole thing with their lack of autonomy.

> Currently (it's still up in the air), the battle, wherever it would be*, would start Zetta off as psychic/poison (1st phase), and then after the third shield, they turn into a psychic/ghost** type(2nd phase), meaning that. You know. He died. :)

*> I know I drew a cave, but that's also up in the air. Surprisingly there's no field that's really geared towards psychic that isn't psychic terrain and one that fits the vibe. I'm leaning towards something in Xen( Xen lab?) but definitely something contained, walled in. Minimal exits/escapes and all that.

**> While the exact battle/moveset stuff is deeeffffinitely not set in stone, they absolutely have Focus Blast. oh oh oh a toxic (spikes?) and then a hex from phase 1 to 2 would be good. yeah. hm. Baneful Bunker or toxic or toxic spikes??? or poison point/ability along the lines of that? ughhhhh

> So in the first phase Zetta is, obviously, melting. His arms have melted into a Reuniclus-like cytoplasm, and the idea is that his bones have broken as the cytoplasm-like limbs start to duplicate, sort of like how the nucleus and shit duplicate and then the cell splits for mitosis. If that makes sense.

> The bones, as they're breaking and duplicating into more arms, are melting into those cell-organs Reuniclus has, essentially.

> The rest of his body is essentially pretty amorphous/genuinely melting into nothing, though when they die their state as a ghost lends itself to something a bit more stable, as their memory/perception of themselves would. yk. give them that. or smth.

> Their stats basically boil down to glass-canon, since Zetta doesn't really have any intent to really defend themself. They just want to, at least, die on their own terms; they don't really expect to make it out alive. They do have some defense, but the idea is that they hit hard and fast, before you can really hit back. 2nd Phase gets some more defense though.

> I doooo want him to be like. Helped. LIke Garbodor or smth. Like Erick or some other scientist type (Nastasia works too, actually. Definitely works) gets the notes from the Interceptor and he gets... uhm.

So. He does still end up dead. He is ghost, but a much more corporeal and consistent ghost, sort like how Gengar is. Depending on his mood he can appear on a sliding scale like normal Zetta or Rift Zetta. The middle point would him having Reuniclus arms and an arm or two floating behind him, but not completely melted/cytoplasm. They spend sometime in the/a lab (and has maaaaany panic attacks about it. being born and then immediately tested-abused on does that) healing/getting stabilized. Tbh i see him hanging around Geara if he's with Xen(? Maybe. Dunno if he's for or against Xen in this) cause Goldenleaf + Semi-Ghost specialty. and a bit of valorshipping :) And he gets ghost/psychic powers. definitely. absolutely. as a treat. he deserves it.

Yeah. That.

> Tbh the main vibe about this and the desperation is that one saying about a cornered animal willing to gnaw off their own leg to escape. Pure desperation. As my original notes say "willing to damn itself to live/die on it's/his terms."

> I drew phase 2 before phase 1, so. hm. if anything's a bit incongruent cause of that, yeah. I also got really tired by the end, so I sorta half-assed the last parts of phase 1

> uhhhhhh yeah that's all the lore i remember for now. There's absolutely going to be more I remember later that I'll probably add on later. oh well.

> Oh also the Luxray is my main lead in my playthrough rn, so he gets to show up :)

[vodika-vibes]

Heyyy,

Firstly, I hope you are having an amazing day and if not I hope it get better :)

Secondly,may I request a commander Cody romance in an undersea AU.Like Cody is pining for reader and well you finish it to your hearts desire

Thank you so muchhh

One More Moment

Summary: As one of the Marshal Commanders of the Atlantean Army, Cody holds a great deal of power, both politically and otherwise. As one of the potential heirs to the throne, eyes are on him at all times. He should know better than to pine over one of the mermaids who live outside of Atlantis. If it came out, he would lose his career, at best. But he can’t seem to help himself.

Pairing: Commander Cody x Reader

Word Count: 2594

Prompt: Undersea AU

Warnings: Krell is a monster, but nothing is shown on screen

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Alright, so this has been sitting for a couple of days now, but I kept restarting it because my ideas were not super. But I think I'm happy with this one. The title is a holdover from the original story idea.

“Back again, are we Commander?” A small smile lifts Cody’s lips as he hears the familiar voice of the mermaid that he’s lucky enough to call a friend. “It’s been a few days,” She notes, her head tilted to the side as she rests her arms on the rocks around the small pool. 

The pool is also a tunnel that connects Tethnia, the merfolk village, to Atlantis, though it’s rarely used anymore, with things the way that they are.

“It has,” He agrees as he settles on the ground. Cody pulls off his boots and rolls up his pant legs, before dipping his feet into the cold water, “I’ve been stuck in ceremonies for the last couple of days.” He confesses.

“Oh?”

Cody hesitates, and then ducks his head, “It’s the 150th Anniversary of the day that Atlantis was…liberated.” There’s something ruefully bitter about how he says the word liberated, as though he’s muttering a curse.

She favors him with a close mouthed smile, and lightly pets his knee, “It is not your fault, Cody. The kings of old made their choices. There were wrongs on both sides of the conflict.”

Cody flashes a weak grin, “Maybe so, but it’s your people who suffered the worst of the consequences.”

She shrugs and hefts herself out of the water, so that she’s sitting next to him, “Things aren’t so bad these days. The patrols have lessened since I was a girl, at least.”

Cody flashes a small smile, “Yeah, well. That was something that I pushed for. I tried to completely end it, but the King’s argument was that we’re responsible for your safety.” He shakes his head, “But, no matter. How have you been?”

She flicks her tail, and Cody allows his gaze to drift to the eel-like tail. Honestly, there is so much diversity amongst the merfolk, it’s a shame that they’re not allowed in Atlantis. 

“I’ve been well,” She says, and Cody pulls his gaze from her tail back to her face. “I helped my parents at their farm for a bit, the fence broke at their pasture and the Sea Cows got loose, so I spent a good couple of days trying to herd them back home while my father repaired the fence.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

She laughs, her head falling back, “Oh, it was. They move quickly when they want to. I had to recruit my brothers to help. We ended up having to swim all the way to the trench.”

“The Trench? That’s a several day swim away!”

“To people with legs, maybe. We have pretty powerful tails.” She grins at him, “Made for swimming great distances.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, why don’t you?”

She laughs again, “Other than that, things have been pretty calm. No massive shake ups. The bandits from the gorge have been keeping their distance, though Lerri thinks that they’re planning something.”

“Isn’t he a conspiracy theorist?”

She shrugs, “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day,” She leans forward slightly, to get a better look at Cody’s face, “How have you been? You look stressed.”

He sighs and rubs the back of his neck, “Is it that obvious?”

“It is to me.”

“Pressure is ramping up for those of us who are King Elect.” Cody admits with a sigh, “There’s always people watching. Waiting for one of us to slip up so they can remove us from the running.”

“That sounds awful. Why haven’t you recused yourself?” She asks.

“It’s not allowed. Fox got himself removed after he punched someone in the face though. He was very smug about it too.”

“So, you just need to punch someone then.” She teases.

“I’m not going to sink to Fox’s level.” Cody replies dryly, “Honestly, I’m hoping Boba gets the throne. He has the personality for ruling.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Repeatedly. He just looks pained when I mention it now. I don’t think he wants to rule either. As I understand it, he wants to take up bounty hunting.”

She makes a face, “Bounty Hunting usually means that someone with a lot of weapons is lurking in Merfolk villages, waiting for someone to make a mistake.”

“Boba’s not like that.”

“If you say so, he’s your brother.” She tilts her head back, “Hey, wanna go swimming?”

Cody pauses. He wants to. He wants to more than anything, but-

“I’m afraid I can’t. I need to get back.”

“Aww, come on Cody! Just for a little bit?”

He stares at her for a moment, and then huffs and looks away, “Maybe next time. I really do need to get back to work.”

She pouts at him, and he laughs. Cody reaches out and catches her lower lip between two gentle fingers, “Careful, mesh’la. If you pout too much a fish will come along and steal your lower lip.”

She grins at him, and the pout fades immediately. “Sounds like a nice trick to get dinner.”

Cody releases her and pulls his feet out of the water, “Try it, let me know how it goes.” He stands and offers her his hands, “Ready to get back into the water?”

“If I must.” She says with a dramatic sigh, as she takes his hands and he lifts her off the stone and back into the pool. She’s heavy, with her long tail, but not so heavy that he can’t lift her, “I’ll see you later?”

“Definitely.” Cody replies. He remains kneeling next to the pool until she’s well out of sight, and then he sighs.

He loves her. From the top of her head to the tip of her tail. He’d happily spend the rest of his life with her, listening to her talk.

But it’s not possible.

He’s not the one who’d suffer the worst of the consequences if people found out that she was coming into Atlantis. 

Cody stands slowly and makes himself more presentable for life in Atlantis. He misses her already. Stars, he really hopes he doesn’t get elected as King. If he is, he’ll never see her again.

Once he’s presentable he heads back towards Atlantis city proper. Maybe the rest of the day will be easier on him. He won’t hold his breath though. It never is, after all.

“Have you heard?” You look up from where you’re helping your neighbor with her children. Your neighbor looks worried and is clutching her newborn against her chest.

“What happened? Is it the bandits that Lerri keeps screaming about?”

She shakes her head, “Worse.”

“Worse than bandits?”

She nods, and she tightens her grip around her infant, “Krell has returned.”

Ice runs down your spine, “He’s back?”

Pong Krell is a monster of an Atlantean. Cruel and vicious, even to the men who serve under him, but viewed by the majority of the population as someone to be respected and revered. 

And the merfolk of Tethnia are his favorite targets. Specifically the frailer fish based merfolk. It’s rather telling, really, that he doesn’t bother the eel, octopus, or whale based merfolk.

All of whom are stronger…and in the cases of the whale and eel based merfolk, more violent.

Your gaze drops to the little merboy playing in the other room, “Stay inside.” You say, “Do you need anything from the market?”

“No. We have enough for now. But, will you go to the smith and tell my husband that Krell has returned?”

“I’ll be happy to.” You lightly ruffle the hair of the toddler in the other room, before you head to the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Thank you.” Your friend says, relief nearly making her cry.

You try to offer her a reassuring smile, though it probably looks more like a grimace, and then you leave her home. 

Your hope is that you’ll reach the smith and spread word to the other merfolk before Krell arrives. Though, your hope is in vain.

As you swim into the market, you see Krell standing in the town square. He has an ugly look on his face and there’s a merman at his feet. You pause as Lerri, a merfolk with octopus tentacles, grabs your arm.

He looks incensed, and you don’t blame him. The other carnivorous merfolk are hovering around the edge of the growing crowd, fury and loathing lancing through all of them.

“He’s threatened to kill his hostage if any of us get too close.” Lerri hisses.

You bristle, “He can’t get away with this. What does he even want?”

“He’s demanding a mermaid.” Lerri says, rage in his voice, “It’s only through sheer luck that there weren’t any in the market when he arrived.”

Krell’s gaze drifts across the crowd, “So. None of you are going to acquiesce.” He looks down at the merman at his feet, “How little your people care for you.”

You take a deep breath as Krell lifts his trident, over the merman.

The merfolk move, almost in unison. The frailer merfolk flee to the back, while the stronger merfolk rush to stop him.

The next few minutes are a blur, but in the end the merman manages to escape and flee home, but you’ve been captured.

Krell glares at you and you glare right back at him. “Well now, it seems like I have proof that the merfolk are plotting against the Atlanteans. You’re coming with me, girl.”

He drags you from the Merfolk village, and for a moment you think that he’s going to kill you when there aren’t any witnesses. But he surprises you. Instead he drags you to Atlantis.

You’re dropped in a cart, even the strongest Atlantean couldn’t carry you for long periods of time, and dragged up to the palace. Then you’re thrown in front of the King and his potential heirs.

At first, you don’t notice them, you’re too busy righting yourself on the floor, though eventually you see them. King Jango, Prince Boba, Commanders Cody, Bly, and Neyo.

“What’s this?” Jango asks, his eyes lingering on you, and then over to Krell.

Krell takes a step and you lash out with your tail, knocking him to the ground. He scrambles back to his feet, and you bare your razor sharp teeth, causing him to flinch back.

“As you can see, my king, the Merfolk have taken action against us-”

“You lying piece of—!”

“Peace.” King Jango interrupts you with a raised hand, “I promise I will hear you out.” You scowl at him but quell after a quick glance at Cody, who looks even more stressed than the last time you saw him.

“Thank you, my king.” Krell simpers, and your lips curl in disgust, “I traveled to Tethnia, to check to see how the people have done in my absence, and I was attacked by them. For no reason.”

The King stares at him, in blatant disbelief, “Krell, why did you not return to the palace after your deployment ended?”

Krell sputters, “I…As I said…the people of Tethnia are dear to me-”

“Enough.” Jango holds up an impatient hand, and Krell falls silent, “And you, young lady, what have you to say?”

“Krell’s a monster.” You bite out, “Everyone in Tethnia knows that he targets the frailer merfolk. We attacked you because you were threatening to kill someone.”

“That is categorically untrue-”

“We celebrated when you were deployed. Everyone knows how awful you are to the people you view as lesser.” You hiss at him, “The world would be a better place if you died.”

Krell rounds on you, and for a moment you worry that he’ll actually attack you in front of the king, but then you blink and realize that Cody is standing between you and Krell.

“Continue your story,” Cody says to you, without taking his eyes off of Krell.

“The mermaids of Tethnia are terrified of him. He’s been known to rip the fins off of Mermaids who aren’t able to avoid him.” You continue, turning your gaze to Jango, “It’s because of him, that the merfolk of Tethnia don’t trust Atlanteans.”

You don’t know the King. Are largely unaware of his policies or personality. And you know that you’re a tough woman, able to give as good as you’re given.

But the look that crosses King Jango’s face at the mention of Krell mutilating mermaids, is dark and dangerous enough that even you coil away from him. 

“Have you proof?” The King asks, his voice as frigid as water from the arctic. 

“Go to Tethnia, you can see for yourself.” You reply.

“Oh, I intend to.” The King stands from his throne and glances at the guards, “Throw Krell into a cell. If what our guest says is true, Krell is going to have to defend himself in the pit.”

“Your Majesty!” Krell sputters, “An eel,” He says derisively, “Cannot fight in the pit!”

“Perhaps not.” He admits, “but you’d be fighting me, not her.”

You watch, with interest, as Krell goes gray. You’ve never actually seen that before. The guards drag Krell away, but you don’t see that, as Cody is suddenly kneeling in front of you.

“You just can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can you?” He sounds exasperated, but there’s a fond smile on his face.

“I don’t go looking for it!” You defend sheepishly.

Cody chuckles and unhooks his cape from his neck before wrapping it around you, “We have a talisman coming. One enchanted to give you legs. Just until we can get you home.”

You make a face, “Legs feel so awkward though.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Cody teases, “It’s only for a little while.” A servant runs up with a conch shell pendant, which he gently drapes around your neck.

The familiar magic washes over you and you huff when your tail shrinks into Atlantean legs. You absently tuck the cape around yourself, to ward off the chill, and with Cody’s help, get to your feet.

Without your tail you’re shorter than Cody, a fact that makes you pout. “There you go,” He murmurs, “Are you okay?”

“I’m not hurt.” You reassure, “You’re going to get in trouble though.” You whisper to him, very aware of the nearly identical dark eyes that are watching the pair of you.

“Yeah, I don’t care.” Cody replies, “Why didn’t you tell me about Krell?”

You shrug, “...was ashamed…” You admit quietly.

Cody sighs heavily, and leans in to bump his forehead against yours, “Stubborn.”

“It’s my nature.” You say with a sheepish smile. 

His hands come up to cup your face, and there’s a look on his face that you’ve never seen before.

Oh. He loves me. The realization hits you like a bag of rocks. You suppose you can get used to having legs, if it means getting to spend more time with Cody.

After all, you love him too.

King Jango clears his throat, and Cody sheepishly pulls away. The older man looks between the pair of you, and something speculative crosses his face, “Cody, spend some time with your lady.” He finally says.

Cody sputters, “She…it’s not…”

“Neyo, Bly, Boba. We’re going to Tethnia.” Jango says, ignoring Cody’s sputters. 

And then they were gone, and you were left alone with Cody.

You grin at him, “So…you love me.” It’s not a question.

Cody glances at you, “Is that a problem?”

“Not for me.” You reply with a small grin.

Something like relief crosses his face, and he bumps his forehead against yours again, “Well, since you’re here. Want to see the gardens?”

“I’d love to.”

[vickyvicarious]

(spoilers)

For some reason, Jon saying how "resistless" Dracula is, how Dracula says oh so politely I'll take no refusal, reminds me of Mina.

Mina will send a telegraph to Van helsing about him coming to breakfast in more of a demand than a request, but so politely. Seward not wanting to share his records and making up excuses on why, and Mina not having any of it (politely).

Jonathan notes how "charming" Dracula is, how he talks to him in "his smooth way", how "resistless" he is. Seward also talks about letting Mina visit his violent patient because he "couldn't resist her" due to her being so appealing when asking.

Both Dracula and Mina use charming assertion to get what they want.

Hm... You raise an interesting point.

I do think there's an important subtext that shouldn't get lost here... namely the threat lying just beneath the surface for Dracula at all times. His charm is not only resistless for its own sake, but because Jonathan knows that if he challenges it, that might peel away the thin skin of polite friendly smooth talk and reveal the true danger beneath. We can't forget that any more than Jonathan. (And of course, Mina has no such threat - if anything, it's still more the fear of the threat cause by Dracula that's a possible option if people refuse her, when there could be said to be any threat.)

That said, Dracula's charm can be genuinely powerful in its own right. He is good at talking around or past things he doesn't want to mention (without having to outright shut them down; he did pretend not to hear at times but also was able to steer the conversation away), or just speaking with confidence that he will get his way and that everyone else agrees with him and will naturally fall in line. He's good at framing things in a way where arguing back makes you look like the one in the wrong ('obviously you won't want to go anywhere that's locked anyway', etc.). That "is it not so?" which he repeatedly uses sounds like a question but it isn't, really, it's phrased in a way to make you agree. It always comes after him stating things as facts to ensure you do agree. And by doing so, to make you become complicit with and approving of what he's doing. He has a kind of mastery of language that includes these sorts of tricks, but also he's just a genuinely good conversant. He talks well and interestingly, his conversation is engaging and can be entertaining. Maybe to compensate for the many ways he is instinctively (or otherwise) creepy, or maybe just as a holdover from his living days, Dracula is good at wielding his words and charisma. I think you can see in his treatment of Jonathan how much he's missed having a good conversant to play off of, and while he obviously does mix in lots of tormenting and being scary, he also plays the role of Charming Host well when he genuinely wants.

It's all the more interesting since this entire aspect of his character vanishes in London as he recedes to the edges of the narrative, becoming a largely offscreen menace. His speech against Mina showcases much of his power over words, but she is able to pick out the key information to use against him. And his blustering to the boys in the house later that day is hardly up to his usual standards in my opinion; it may sound kind of tough but is pretty much immediately proven to be flimsy with him fleeing right away. There's certainly no attempt at charm in it.

...but I digress. Back to the point, with Mina. I think she is very good at manipulating people when she wants. The telegram to van Helsing I don't think is the best example, because both the medium being used (paid by word so short and to the point) and the circumstances (a reply to his letter asking if he could come see her) make her message less demanding, even if politely so. It's more just letting him know she is available and giving the go-ahead. But she does get Seward to show her his audio diary as well as let her visit Renfield, and she is able to establish a very quick bond with him and the rest of the suitor squad, as well as van Helsing. I mean, everyone packbonds quickly but Mina especially is good at charming people right away. She also does this later on, convincing van Helsing to let her come along to chase Dracula, convincing everyone but Jonathan to promise to kill her if she turns fully, etc. Just because I say she's good at 'manipulating' doesn't mean I think she is being Machiavellian about it; she's not conniving or evil or merely using people for her own ends. But she is good at ensuring she gets her own way when she feels strongly enough about it, because she knows the right arguments/emotional appeals to make.

I think there are two pretty distinct differences between Mina and Dracula in this regard. First: honesty. Mina genuinely believes in what she's doing, and in fact the idea that she would deceive Jonathan to manipulate him into bringing her along is a particular fear of hers about turning further. All of her 'resistless charm' comes from a place of genuine feeling and care. It's most often motivated by consideration for others, and in fact she tends not to speak up if its only for her own sake. Dracula, on the other hand, is fundamentally dishonest, especially when he is at his most charming. He plays the role of a friend or at least someone friendly, but he doesn't genuinely care for anyone else over himself and at his variant of 'resistless charm' is entirely about what he wants you to do or not do. (Not to mention, at the end of the day he views people as prey.) Mina is motivated by outcomes she wants to achieve to aid others. As a result, Dracula's charm is inherently more something he has to intentionally put on while Mina's may be more instinctive or at least more connected to genuine feeling.

The second big difference is connection. (This overlaps a little with both the idea of honesty and also motivation, but I chose this term to be more distinct from the above point.) While both of them may be very charming, and you may give in to both of their words, the type of words they use are different. They both sometimes use a kind of logical framework to make a request sound like the answer yes is only sensible, even, but the type of framing logic is based on different premises. Without getting too much into all the specific examples, the types of charming words Dracula uses to ensure his way tend to rely on duties or social structure (your master/employer said you'd obey me, you are a good guest). Mina on the other hand justifies herself through people (I know you through Lucy and you'll know me from this journal soon, you have to stop me lest I harm you all). Mina's method of appeal tends to remind people of the connections of trust, respect, and love between her and themselves/others. It kind of harkens back to the importance of 'recommendations' and letters of introduction and such, but not so formally. Even when she doesn't specifically ask for the sake of some other person, like when she wanted to see Renfield, her reference to Seward's diary is a reminder of the intimate exchange of trust and comfort accompanying her listening to it. Again, I don't think she is thinking all this out to figure out the best way to make people listen to her, but she really cares strongly about people, and as that is her motivation it also naturally informs how she talks and appeals. Compare this again to Dracula, who doesn't trust, respect, or love anyone else really, and his words based on more external structures make sense. His charm is a power-play while Mina's is reaching out to others.

(I have thought about vampire!Mina weaponizing her charm before though, and I think that would bear more in common to Dracula's style of doing so for sure. At the very least in the more malignantly intentional/dishonest way. But as it is their styles of charisma are different at the core despite both being charmingly irresistable at times.)

[spongebobafettywap]

Alright, my friend, I've got answers RE: Fresh Prince.

I honestly don't know how intentional it is, I have to assume very, but it's the same trend that you see with most Black civil rights activists who screwed around tryna change things from the "inside". You either die or live long enough blah blah. Ultimately, in order to move up in the food chain, you have to be absorbed into the same situation you were just protesting against. The show is a little bit vague on what kind of law he practices, but since there's so much money in it, it's clear that these are the wealthy elites that are funding his lifestyle.

Ultimately, so many social movements die because those that are impacted die and those that can rise above stop being allies, and it's the same thing with Uncle Phil. I think the show tries to balance it by showing that he cares far more about the happiness and security of his family than he does anything or anyone else (including Will, for a time), and that he's more than willing to sacrifice others (again, including Will) to make sure they're secure. That is, in a nutshell, the activist to right winger pipeline. Unfortunately, we're supposed to think that's a good thing (It is NOT).

They also try to balance it by having him run as a Democrat when he runs for judgeship, but he's clearly a conservative Democrat, and also he technically loses the election.

Idk if that's actually an answer, just that the show wants us to know he's a sellout who "grew up" and "screw it, I got mine"-d everyone else. Other Black people (like Will) struggle to succeed not because of racism, but because they just didn't apply themselves enough, and it's clear that he looks down on them for it. He was able to rise up from his roots, he was able to "talented tenth" his way to wealth, and everyone else simply isn't trying hard enough.

Now Aunt Viv being fine with him being conservative, they did a terrible job with that.

Oh yeah I'm aware of activists going right winger is a thing, I mean even being a left wing person seems to somehow eventually get a huge chunk of people sympathising with right wing nationalists from the East for no real reason and you can easily find these people on twitter. They literally support frigging Christofascists in the East as long as they say "America Bad" which is insane to me. That's an extreme example of course but basically I've very much aware these people exist. (as I've wound many up for having this garbage morality LOL)

Honestly I'm not sure how much the show wants us to think what Phil does is a good thing, given how often Will calls him out for this and its Phil's liberal policies that are the celebrated ones. I mean I guess Phil went from Activist to Republican to Democrat maybe the Republican part was a holdover from the earlier story where Phil's story wasn't as fully developed and they envisioned the Banks as behaving more posh. I dunno to me I just found it confusing because I can't think of many Black Civil Rights activists going conservative in that time period at least though I'm sure examples exist of course, to me it just seems more likely they'd lose their edge and become liberal democrats.

Honestly with Will it seems like what you said in the ask is mostly contradicted by the show, I think there's a few times where Phil is willing to sacrifice or send Will away but more often Phil does show that he wants to help out the younger generation/other black people like that scene where he tells Will he worked hard to open doors for him (the younger black generation) and it doesn't make him any less of a man to walk through them.

Aunt Viv is a whole mess given the background situation on her lol but I think that may be answered in another post, I have my own headcanons for her. But I agree I just can't see her being Conservative either let alone being okay with Phil being one. But stuff like this makes me think the perception of those political parties was slightly different back then.

[burnwater13]

Grogu sitting in his Republic floating pram. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 9, The Marshal . Calendar from DataWorks.

Note: this is part of a multipart series that began of January 27, 2024. Check here for the prior chapters:

Grogu waddled over to his dad and tapped his vambrace. The Mandalorian and Jon had been in the midst of an intense discussion that Grogu hadn’t paid any attention to because Roy had just kept bringing him food to eat while the two men talked. But Grogu was actually full now and he really needed to use a privy. 

“What do want buddy?” 

Din seemed both annoyed and distracted.

“Privy.”

“Oh. Sorry. That’s right. Where can I find a privy for Grogu?” 

The Mandalorian had turned back to Jon and waited. 

“I can bring him to ones down by the farmer’s market. You can think about what we were discussing.” 

Jon offered, but Grogu could feel his dad frowning.

“Wherever he goes, I go.”

“True.” Grogu piped up. 

The only time he wasn’t with his dad was when he was with his mom or his various grandparents. Since they could all use the Force and some of them were also Mandalorians, he was always well protected. 

“That’s fine with me. You can both come with me. We could all use a walk.”

Grogu nodded at that. But he’d eaten so much he couldn’t imagine walking very far or very fast. The food had been great and he didn’t want to regret eating so much of it. 

“Maybe on the way back you could show me your N-1?” Jon commented.

“Sure. It’s a nice ship. The folks on Naboo really knew what they were doing when they built her.”

“Her? We do that too. I have a friend who has a small catamaran. He call’s her ‘Wanda’. Does your N-1 have a name?”

Grogu wondered what his dad would say. He’d never heard his dad call the ship anything but ’N-1’, but maybe it had another name he’d just never heard it.

“I call her ‘Mira’.”

Grogu began to laugh. Of course his dad called the ship Mira. When his mom was a spy that was the name she used. Mira Ost. 

“Good name. Grogu, do you need a ride? Would it be all right if I carried him. He seems kind of… uncomfortable.”

Jon’s offer was something Grogu accepted immediately, jumping into the big man’s arms while his dad pondered what to say. Normally Din Djarin didn’t let people just carry or otherwise touch Grogu, but Jon knew where the privies were and that mattered more to Grogu just then than considerations for his safety. He was very uncomfortable. 

“I guess he decided you can be trusted.” 

The Mandalorian observed. 

“I’m glad. He’s really amazing. Not just because he could eat six of Roy’s burritos. I’ve never seen anyone quite like him.”

“Most people haven’t and I’d like to keep it that way. The New Republic may be in charge now, but that hasn’t always helped keep him safe.”

“Really. What’s the problem? I thought that it was all sorted out after the second Death Star was destroyed.”

“Death Star? The people here really call it that? We called is the DS-2, Second Sun. Sure, Vader and the Emperor were gone, but you don’t have all those people collaborating in the suppression of a galaxy without holdovers. The New Republic was pretty focused on a strategy known as ‘forgive and forget’. I don’t think it worked the way they thought it would.”

Grogu had to agree with that. Forgive and forget had some major drawbacks, like all the Moffs who wanted to go on being warlords. They didn’t think they needed forgiveness and forgetting about them allowed them to try it all over again. It was a huge mistake. 

“Really, forgive and forget? That doesn’t sound like something Leia Organa would have been keen to do.”

Grogu and his dad both laughed. 

“Oh, she wasn’t keen to do that at all, but then she was from Alderaan. No way to forgive or forget. But there were plenty of people who weren’t directly impacted and they just wanted to get back to their spotchka.”

“And the Mandalorians just let that happen?”

“Of course not. But Mandalore was glassified and the population decimated. The new Mand’alor’s been doing his best, but even Seb can’t fix things that fast. Are these the privies?”

Grogu looked around and sure enough they were at a long low building with some symbology next to the entryway that suggested that humans were granted access.

“Yes. These are the restrooms or privies. Use the big one at the end of the aisle. It’s set up for people who need more space. I’ll wait for you out here.”

Grogu hopped from Jon to his dad. After all, where ever Din Djarin went, he went. Mostly. 

[sepublic]

            I have a slight dilemma in the whole “A good portion of the Escapees want to kill Lloyd for the Sins of the Father” type of deal, because like. Admittedly, these powerful, (generally) competent, grown-ass adults repeatedly pouring everything in to kill a child is fairly ridiculous. Esp since it doesn’t feel like they pour that same energy into other things that should also abide by their reasoning (more on that later).

         It’s basically the Plot saying Screw this kid (who is a main protagonist) in particular, because things are from his perspective and need to suck. Like the reasoning behind “The Boss VS when you unlock him as a playable character,” though to be fair I DO want to tackle that sort of thing in my stories. Basically it’s a holdover from Lloyd being the central protagonist back then, because this DID all originate as a deeply elaborate Ninjago prequel keep in mind.

        But back to the point: To be fair, I could weigh into that madness of the Escapees even more, the irrational, emotional immaturity and how they’re driven by a mindless rage and they KNOW it’s stupid but they just don’t care at this point, and Lloyd has some appeal of his own as an easy punching bag. Well, a punching bag who SHOULD be easy, but there are people with their own stakes, pragmatic and/or unconditional, in him.

         And some of the Escapees DO have other motives (like Tamericus wanting to make the Philosopher’s Stone, Barracudox wanting to change the status quo of this family who has watched over but also meddled for generations, Lynkos liking the challenge of an impossible feat and finding Lloyd’s insistent survival enticing)… Plus, it’s admittedly hilarious seeing these dudes dedicate so much time to this nephew by virtue of proxy, because at some point Lloyd teases that they may as well go after someone’s pet goldfish by this logic (not that there is any, he of course concedes for the Escapees).

         Though I should clarify that it’s not like they’re spending ALL their time trying to kill him, nor is he the one they spend the most on. It’s the other adults who were actually responsible, but from Lloyd’s perspective, it feels like the Escapees’ entire lives revolve around him because that’s the only time he really ever gets to see or hear from them. He sadly does not have any connections to his relatives to build upon a more sonder worldview of these losers. And honestly, Lloyd probably isn’t even exaggerating that much…

         Is it all silly in the end? Definitely. But this particular series of mine does like to embrace the absurdity and inherent humor of a lot of things, while also going straight into the sheer horror of them at times (did I mention Fullmetal Alchemist was a formative influence upon me). Maybe it really is a matter of changing the Escapees’ motives/plans so as to necessitate them trying to kill Lloyd, but while they intend not to let it be personal though it comes across that way, Lloyd goes F it, it’s personal to ME by this point so why not? Why not make it so and irritate them as much as possible as a bit of payback?

        So you still get the hilarity of these fully-grown adults trying to murder a child, but also some of them are TRYING to retain the decency of not letting it get to their head, because to be fair yeah I’d also respond angrily. He’s fully entitled to his emotions. I AM being unreasonable. And OH MY GOD DID THAT LITTLE SHIT SAY THAT

[kdramafeminist]

Performative Badassery & Women in Kdramas

When I said I wrote an essay, I meant essay. This is a long one! Grab a snack and venture below the read more. I’ll see you at the end!

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You know the feeling. The drama begins. Our female main lead walks onto screen. She’s a successful businesswoman, a hotshot detective, clever lawyer, smartass retail worker, etc, etc. She stares down a random man to prove she’s the powerful one here. Or kicks some ass. Or rattles off a bunch of demands to her workers. Or talks fast to show off her intelligence.

Then she meets the male lead. There’re fireworks. Slowly we find our female lead has a softer side. Good to know. 3-dimensional and complex characters are important. It’s nice to see women on-screen who are both capable and emotional. Kick ass and feminine. 

But slowly... something starts to go wrong. She seems to be crying more than showing literally any other kind of emotion. And is it just me or is she getting saved and manhandled and flustered quite a lot for a woman who we were told was so well put together? Sure, the circumstances are extreme. But they’re extreme for the male lead too and he seems to be managing just fine for some reason. Also, if both of them are ordinary people with no on-screen fighting experience, how come he’s so great at throwing fists out of nowhere and she’s busy keeping hidden or needing rescuing? Exactly how many times can one person just faint like that without anyone checking to see if she has a medical condition?

By the drama’s end our lead has gone through trials and tribulations. She’s fallen in love too, I’m happy for her. But... now that the story’s ending and she’s getting in one last chance to show us she’s a “badass”, why am I left feeling hollow? She’s showing us how tough she is but... we ALL spent this whole drama watching her have absolutely no agency or such a little amount that she might as well have been trying to put out a fire with a water-pistol. It’s almost like her previous badassery (in whatever form it may have been - I don’t mean badass only in terms of being able to throw a good punch) was just a façade. A way to hook in female viewers like me who want to see something more than a wilting wallflower or one-trick Cinderella. But the tiniest knock and the cardboard house collapses.

And no matter how many times we get throwaway lines about her being “the smartest/toughest/scariest/most capable one here” it doesn’t ring true compared to the actual character we’re watching.

Rom-coms, melos and sagueks especially (but many more genres besides), have a real problem when it comes to performative badassery in their female characters. The writers give us a female lead they claim is hyper competent, but the reality is totally different. Any plot that features romance, almost always features this. Honestly the way the start of the relationship in dramas actively MURDERS the female character’s agency could be its own essay so I won’t go deep, just know the two are 100% linked.

The “Faux Action Girl” Problem 

A Faux Action Girl happens when a writer wants the popularity that comes with having a cool action girl character, or they want the praise that comes with writing a lead that breaks gender norms, or they want to be lauded for writing a FL whose more capable & progressive than the female kdrama lead we’d imagine, but they don’t end up actually giving us her. Instead we get the fake or faux version. The reasons are usually a combination of:

Relying on outdated tropes. Wrist grabs, damsels in distress, a girl fainting so she misses some vital plot related moment to increase runtime etc...

Sexist worldviews. As a by-product of being Korean which is still a heavily sexist country because of the holdover of Confucianism mixed in with the Christianity westerners brought over that leads many writers to (often without even realising) inserting moments that inadvertently reduce their female leads because they think that’s what correct or natural for the female character based on their opinion of women in general. Even if it doesn’t actually fit the type of character they’ve set out to create.

Executive meddling. Producers who think their demographic wouldn’t be able to handle a real badass but also know their female viewers want more complexity and agency in their FLs these days and so give us the paper-version instead of the 3D model.

This character’s more “badass” traits are nearly always just an Informed Ability (the writers tell us via other characters what she can do but never actually show us on-screen these same things) or we only ever see her utilise them once/twice at the beginning and maybe if we’re lucky once at the end, but never again. 

It really hurts.

The “Badass Decay/Chickification” Problem

Sometimes she really is a legitimate action girl though. She’ll be a cop whose good at her job or an ordinary citizen whose well-versed in taekwondo. She has actual moments on-screen to prove herself. 

Well. She has moments in episodes 1 and 2. Then she almost always goes through Badass Decay/Chickification. Which means that writers (& producers) believe that if we don’t see her having a softer side, she’ll become unrealistic or unlikeable. 

They fix her. So she becomes more vulnerable. As the only girl on the team (usually), she becomes the one who ends up injured more often or needs rescuing most. Her life begins to revolve entirely around her romance and nothing else. (Meanwhile the male leads gets to have the romance and keep his side-quest - have you noticed that? If the FL is really lucky she gets to keep one side-quest too, maybe a dream job or solving some family mystery. Never more though.. only men get to be complicated here). Once she was competent... now it feels like she legitimately had a personality transplant. 

Is this even the same person we began with?

The “Worf Effect” Problem 

Worf Effect is when the danger/power level of a villain is shown to the audience by making him successfully attack/hurt/ruin the plans of someone that the audience knows is skilled. This isn’t a bad thing alone and writers use it all the time. We need to acknowledge the villain as a proper threat and this is a useful way to do it!

But in kdramas it’s something used almost always against the lead female character. The one we’ve seen is intelligent, or strong-willed or quick-witted. 

And because it’s always her, this character begins to look weak. If this writing trope is abused, her reputation as the "biggest, toughest" etc. begins to look like it never existed and we’re back to her having an informed ability. 

That this is something that happens to the female characters not only more often but almost exclusively is a sign of sexism. Plain and simple.

Competent, Real Badass Female Characters Aren’t Scary

 If you’re going to sell me a capable woman, give me her. 

Not someone who has one very unique, specialised skill but otherwise can do nothing else except for that one time when her one skill is useful. 

Or has built up her own empire, implying a certain level of smarts, business ability or networking skills, but then once she’s removed from it she becomes so utterly useless it begs the question how she built that empire in the first place. 

Or has a rep as the detective whose taken down the toughest guys off-screen, but whatever skills she used to do that seem to disappear the moment anything really challenging happens on-screen. 

I’m not saying she needs to win all the time. Of course she doesn’t, how boring is that? All I’m asking is that when she loses, it’s in keeping with the character I’m supposedly watching. A woman that can kick ass can still be outwitted. A clever woman can be physically beaten. A street-smart girl can be foiled by rules and regulations. A leader-type can be beat by someone whose more unconventional.

It’s not difficult to write someone like this. I know the writers can do it because every male lead is written this way. I’ve never once, whilst watching a badass male lead lose, get beaten and cry, thought “oh no, his badassery was fake all along!”

Because when he loses it makes sense. It’s in character. There’s a solid plot reason behind why it happens.

Meanwhile my ladies who are meant to be able to kick ass and take names somehow just got kidnapped out of nowhere?

Make it make sense!

Consistent Characterisation is Good Writing

I get wanting moments where one is injured and the other fusses over them. I love those moments! All I ask is more imagination taken to get us to that point. Make it in-character. If my taekwondo black belt is kidnapped, I want to see her really fight. I want the kidnapping to be shown as genuinely tough on the people trying to nab her. Imagine how much more satisfying it would be to see her fight off all these bad guys, yet still end up losing? How much more heart-breaking?

We’d be so much more invested in the mind games or politics the villain is playing if the female lead we’ve been told is good at that stuff is playing the game just as hard. When she loses it’ll hurt more.

Writers need to stop being afraid that her remaining capable in some way diminishes the masculinity, attractiveness, prowess or “hero” status of the male lead. Trust me. It doesn’t. Ever. 

It’s not a case of either/or. We don’t think less of the male lead because his partner is as capable as him in whatever way that may be. Instead, we think more of them both. Once a romance begins, the heightened worry both characters have for each other should only make both of them stronger in whatever area they’re skill lies in. Not just make the man a sudden defence wall and the woman a worrying mess. 

I’m sure everyone who reads this can immediately think of at least one drama with a FL who is a Performative Badass. I know I had about ten in mind as I wrote this. 

There are exceptions. Cases where the badass gets to stay a badass. Usually these cases happen in genres without romance because like I said above, those problems are linked. But I can think of a few romcoms/sageuks/melos where it happens too. 

But those are the minority.

Women in kdramas. Give them agency. Make their characterisation genuine, not just a bit-part for the sake of a cool trailer. Not just one moment someone can edit into a “badass multifemale” video edit - only for us to watch the drama from the clip and discover we’ve been sold a lie. 

How satisfied would we be?

Writers! Give us a story we enjoyed because of the excellent characterisation. A new female character we can add to our lists of faves. Women who proved themselves as consistently badass as their first scenes claimed. Women in kdramas who, no matter what problem they faced, don’t become echoes or paper-thin versions of who we were promised.

Actual, complex, layered, enjoyable, KICK-ASS AND BADASS female leads.

Wouldn’t that be a miracle.

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PS. This is an open notice that it’s OKAY to reblog with added commentary/thoughts/rambles of your own. I would *love*��to see it if you have anything to add.

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(Disclaimer: This essay was written with a specific female character type in mind. I am not saying every FL needs to be a badass or hyper competent. Soft, shy, physically weak female characters exist and can be just as realistic and complex. There’s a few I can think of who I adore. Instead my essay is very specifically about characters who are *meant* to be badass from the start but then... don’t end up being. So, yeah, before anyone claims I’m some angry feminist who needs every FL to be some tough martial artist or something. Absolutely not! Diversity is amazing and interesting. All I ask is that when I am told I’ll be getting a badass in a drama I get her. Not have my heart broken by the fake wilting flower I find in her place. Ok. End disclaimer. ^^)

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Also I’m tagging a bunch of you because you reblogged my post saying you wanted this so here! TY for making it to the end ^^

@kdramaxoxo​ @islandsofchaos @storytellergirl @vernalagnia-blog @lostindramas @salaamdreamer​ @planb-is-in-effect​ 

[iturbide]

HOWDY BE PREPARED FOR THE SEVERAL ASKS COMING YOUR WAY Okay so as a precursor the basic premise is Byleth (who is male here bc male Byleth needs more love) jumps ship upon realizing that by protecting Edelgard, he somehow got drafted into a war he wanted 0 part in, any attachment to his students be damned (1/9)

(dropping the rest under a Read More because it’s a lot but it’s great and also major kudos for giving M!Byleth the love he deserves because I, too, and exceedingly fond of him and sad that I almost never see content of him)

Okay so first off: I don’t blame you for not playing CF.  It’s not worth it.  I regret playing CF, personally.  I’m sure there are people out there who enjoy CF, but I am not one of them.  But having played CF, I can tell you that Edelgard doesn’t actually take Byleth back to Enbarr after the incident at the Holy Tomb, everybody heads to a small imperial outpost to prepare for the next battle.  Unlike the other routes, you don’t get two extra weeks to prepare for the final battle -- you get one window of exploration to talk to all of your allies at this small holdover base, and then it���s straight into combat. 

So the fact that Byleth sneaks out in the dead of night?  That actually works perfectly with the set-up in the game, because it’s just a little outpost: all Byleth really has to do is get out through the gates and disappear.  Doing so with a gaggle of students would be difficult, and hopefully he didn’t recruit many (if any?) students from other routes to leave behind, because there’s pretty much no way Edelgard would turn on her main housemates, but the others...yeah, there’s less of a guarantee there.

I’m fascinated by the idea of an outcome where Edelgard doesn’t manage to take the monastery.  This perfect storm of circumstances -- Edelgard allying with Byleth and getting overconfident in their chances only to lose him, Rhea not having him as either a distraction or a target on the battlefield...sure, the damage to the monastery and surrounding areas would be significant, not to mention the losses on both sides, but having the Knights truly hold Garreg Mach has some fascinating implications, even if Rhea does end up retiring temporarily from her public role or hibernating for a period afterward and leaving things in Seteth’s charge. 

Speaking of, actually, If Rhea is still awake, would Seteth still be consulting with her on handling of the situation with the Empire, or would all decisions relating to the war be in his hands?  And if she has entered a hibernative state the way Byleth did in the game, how would Seteth be approaching things without Rhea’s direction?  He’s generally a pretty reasonable man, but I can’t imagine he’d take well to the threat that Edelgard poses to them; at the same time, though, the risks involved in meeting the Empire directly might well outweigh the benefits if Edelgard’s numbers outmatch the Knights.  Would he choose instead to fortify the monastery to weather further attacks, or would he attempt diplomacy with their northern and eastern neighbors?

I love the rhyme by the way that made me smile All of that seems very in-character for both Byleth and Edelgard, especially considering how Edelgard parceled out information to try and get Byleth on her side during the academy phase: she tried to only share enough to win her professor’s favor, but never enough to really confide in him as an equal.  It’s reasonable that she’d think she didn’t share enough, but perhaps a bit more would make them realize that she’s right and this is the only way -- meanwhile Byleth, who lived most of his life on the move with Jeralt’s mercenaries, would be an old hand at evasion, survival, and combat all.  Love the idea of him using hair dye to better disguise himself, too, especially since I’d imagine Edelgard has put out a bounty on information related to her teacher in a concerted effort to reclaim him.

...also I’ll be honest I completely forgot that “hook up” can have romantic connotations I totally meant join forces with someone else (but also you are my hero for providing gen content there’s not enough of it out there and I Need More Always).  I...also may have forgotten that the Abyss exists haha someday I’ll play that DLC maybe when I go back to another Golden Deer run.  But it makes sense that Byleth would lay low and avoid getting too involved with anyone, considering the risks involved.

But oh oh I can answer the VW question it’s partly because the general structure follows AM in regards to Faerghus’ fate more closely than it does anything else, but I think the big thing is really Rhea’s capture.  CF is the only route where Rhea’s not captured, and she goes with Dimitri directly to Faerghus where he’s crowned king.  The protection of their worst enemy prevents Cornelia from acting as she would have otherwise, which is why he ends up getting crowned and Cornelia bides her time in Arianrhod.  In every other route, with Rhea in their clutches the Twisted get much bolder and start acting to speed up the conquest of Fodlan, which includes Cornelia murdering Dimitri’s uncle before he can be crowned, framing the prince for the crime, and intending to execute him.  So with Rhea still free, the Twisted have a bit of a dilemma on their hands.  On the one hand, leaving Dimitri to inherit power in Faerghus means that the Empire has two forces to deal with (the Knights based out of Garreg Mach and the Kingdom forces to the north in Faerghus); however, if they do take Dimitri out of the running and gut the taking out the existing power structure in Faerghus, they run the risk of overextending their forces trying to keep the Kingdom under control while the Knights of Seiros remain united with the Immaculate One in the wings.  It’s a tough call, honestly, and either one has really interesting implications.

Claude remains a brilliant strategist and I deeply appreciate that.  Having control of Myrrdin as a safety measure is a very smart move, even if they are maintaining their neutrality; if Edelgard ever does get around to advancing on them, they might even have the option of approaching the Knights of Seiros with the promise of an alliance in request for aid, effectively turning every corner of Fodlan against the Empire.  It might well be that Hubert realizes that targeting the Alliance would prove dangerous to Adrestia, and chooses to plan his strategies on other fronts.

(Not gonna lie, though, I hope Claude does get to reconnect with Byleth at some point, even if Byleth doesn’t end up joining him in any official capacity.  Put at least some minds at ease.)

I am absolutely fascinated by this whole concept okay and I’m deeply curious how it would all proceed after the five year mark.  Would the stalemate hold?  Would things start to shift?  Would it be because of Byleth, or would it be the bigger forces like Adrestia, the Kingdom, the Knights, or even the Twisted finally making their move?  How does it all end up does Edelgard make any progress or is she pushed back and does she suffer consequences for this I am at the edge of my seat dying to know

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 264: You Either Die a Hero...

Previously on BnHA: The kids of 1-A sat around waiting for something exciting to happen, and then it did happen, and they were all “!!” Over on the front lines, the heroes charged the Ol’ Villain Hotel with poor Kaminari crying the entire time, but we’ll excuse him since he is only in the second grade. Tokoyami gave him some gentle encouragement by reminding him of how hard he can slappa da bass, while Midnight told him to think of his one true love in order to find his inner courage, so he immediately thought of Jirou and everyone was like WHOA DID THEY REALLY JUST, and yeah, they kind of did? Anyway so Cementoss ripped the building open and Kaminari got all Thor on us and started battling this other electric guy, and then we cut to Hawks and Twice, who were having a friendly conversation similar to the friendly conversation Hawks had with Best Jeanist on the very same day that Jeanist abruptly went missing and was never heard from again! Hey, wait a second. You guys don’t suppose...??

Today on BnHA: Re-Destro gathers in the basement with all his followers and they’re all like “Re-Destro!!” and he’s all “what??” and they’re all “the heroes are attacking!!” and he’s all “:) :) :) the fuck??!” Outside, the heroes continue to wreak havoc, and between Edgeshot, Midnight, Honenuki and Toadette, I’m pretty sure they have actually killed some of these guys. But that’s silly though because heroes would never actually kill someone. Speaking of heroes not killing someone, back in the hotel, Hawks is all “(Ò‸Ó)” and Twice is all “(இ‸இ)” and then Hawks is all “I’m gonna arrest you but I’ll help you get through this and get back on your feet again afterwards because you’re a good person” and Twice is all “WHAT THE FUCK NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN” and does the whole Sad Man Parade thing. And Hawks is all “I don’t want to fight you!” and Twice is all “TOO BAD” and meanwhile Dabi is running up the stairs all “time to start some shit” and then the chapter ends. So while I’m relieved on behalf of Hawks’s soul, I can’t help but be a little concerned on behalf of his, uh, life. Shit.

okay, so! I finally have time to read this damn thing. but before I start, a couple of holdover thoughts from the prior chapter!

firstly, I want to go on the record now and say that I’ve decided once again that Hawks, in spite of all appearances, is not a murderer. you hear that Hawks. I’m putting my neck on the line for you. gonna look like a real stooge if you go and murder Twice before going on to fight Dabi to the death while we cut to Noumu!Jeanist taunting Bakugou

but in all seriousness, I just can’t reconcile it with what we know of Hawks’s character. his behavior during the fight against Hood almost got him exposed because he couldn’t bear to let anyone get hurt or to let Endeavor get killed. I know the HPSC got their claws in him at a young age, but in spite of that I don’t think he’s harboring a dark side. to me he always just comes off as tired and struggling to do the right thing even though he never asked to be put into this kind of position. he’s smart enough to understand the whole “needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” thing, but he’s also young enough to still hold to a certain idealism, and juuust cocky enough to have faith in his own cleverness and convince himself that he can somehow achieve this mission without sacrificing anyone else’s life

so in short, I don’t buy the dark!Hawks theories. I just can’t. but I guess we’re about to see! and my guess is that Horikoshi will probably have Dabi interrupt before Hawks can reveal his hand either way, because Horikoshi is just like that. what a troll

(ETA: I forgot that sometimes Horikoshi also likes to troll by giving you exactly what you want but in the most painful way possible. shit.)

now, moving on, the other thing I wanted to quickly address is Viz’s translation of this very important line from last week! so as a reminder, here is readheroaca’s version

and here is Caleb’s

I’m actually really glad I’ve been reading the fan translations first, because it made me more aware of the potential nuances in this scene. so is KamiJirou actually being confirmed here, or not?? and I spent 20 whole minutes digging into this more the other day because I have no life, so here are my findings!

first, here is the actual Japanese panel

and while I don’t speak Japanese, I can read hiragana well enough that I was able to plug it into a couple of translators to basically figure out what was being said. so here’s the full dialogue:

どこかの誰かじゃ

難しいなら --

今一番大事なものを

心に据えな

so the part in bold there is the line in question -- 大事なもの (daijina mono). “daiji” means “precious” or “important”, but the thing is, “mono” for whatever reason is written in hiragana and not kanji. and the word mono (which can be singular or plural btw) can hilariously mean either of the following depending on the kanji used:

lmao. so basically the bottom line is that from what I can see here, Horikoshi purposely didn’t specify! now I could be completely wrong; maybe this is a common enough expression that Caleb felt comfortable deciding that he meant “person.” or maybe he just guessed based on the context. or maybe he just said “fuck it, you only live once” and just went there because why the heck not

anyway, so that was fun, and for me it reinforced the fact that I really do prefer to have at least two different translations to compare in order to get the most complete picture of what exactly is going on here in this stupid manga that I obsess over week after week! so now let’s finally get to reading this thing

oh my

I have so many thoughts whirling around in my head right now, such as “oh my god look at all these secret entrances/exits the villains apparently had” and “wow the heroes are so thorough” and such, but ngl, right now the biggest one is “why are they all entering so slowly??” seriously though. let’s just gradually meander on in single-file. no rush. meanwhile 800m northwest and 1 km east, Cementoss is literally tearing the building in half and the other heroes are charging full speed all “ARGGHHHHH.” and over in Jakku, Miruko kicked a door open so hard it killed a guy. but we’ve all got our own styles I guess??

at least this one guy 800m north of the hideout is doing some doorbusting. sheesh. be more exciting please

oh hey it’s this place

behold. the great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf. well there’s an eye-opener and no mistake

LMAO THESE GUYS DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING YET OMG

oh my god. first of all wtf is that shirt. and second of all oh my fucking god, let me just shut up and read this is amazing

SDKLFJLSJK

LMAO

oh man. Re-Destro is one of the few characters whom I really want to see die. come on Horikoshi. don’t be a fucking coward. he’s had it coming ever since he killed that little mouse. and let’s not forget Giran. JUSTICE FOR GIRAN

oh we’re actually cutting back to this fight!

I wasn’t sure if we would! shounen authors have this habit of showing the start of a really cool battle only to then cut away to a bunch of other stuff and leave us hanging for a dozen chapters, so yeah. of course, that may still happen. I’m just lucky that I’m invested in virtually every single thing that’s going on right now, so it’s a win-win for me no matter where we cut to next

(ETA: lmao there really wasn’t much more to this fight to speak of. but what do you want to bet Horikoshi will try to pull this shit with Dabi and Hawks next week though.)

holy shit

this looks like when I attempt to build a gingerbread house. that’s uncanny

lmao Kami

YOU’RE DOING GREAT BUDDY. KEEP IT UP CHAMP

(ETA: Kaminari’s ridiculous smiling face is the balm we all need in these troubled times. tempted to ask him if he wouldn��t mind heading up to that telenovela happening over in Twice’s room and telling them all to lighten the fuck up.)

Lefty is all “does he have an absorption quirk?” because apparently he’s one of the two people that never watched the U.A. Sports Festival? how does anyone in this day and age manage to come across one of the 1-A kids and not know what their quirks are. and you’re a fucking general or whatever too, aren’t you? god you suck

so now he’s all “I BET YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HANDLE... A FEW MILLION VOLTS” jesus christ. I bet you he can! but still, that’s awfully murdery of you. and to think, he’s on your side!! Kaminari are you really sure you want these guys as your friends

YOOOOOOO FUCKING KAKASHI ALL UP IN HERE DOING HIS HUMAN YONDU ARROW THING WHAAAAT

straight up prepared to be massively disappointed in Viz when they inevitably translate the “Ninpo” part instead of leaving it alone and letting everyone bask in these sentimental Naruto vibes. and also ngl I prefer for Edge’s lines to be as close to the original as possible so I can better imagine them in my head. stupid sexy Edgeshot

holy shit “I’ve pierced a small hole in each of your lungs” !!? WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, YOU SADISTIC WARRIOR OF THE NIGHT. YOU HEARD HIM BOYS. I’M SORRY, BUT HE’S ALL OUT OF FUCKS TODAY

OH HEY Y’ALL, MIDNIGHT HEARD YOU WERE KICKING ASS AND DECIDED TO JOIN IN, HOPE THAT’S ALL RIGHT

and if it’s not all right, well. tough

can you imagine. you’re just a simple villain, chilling out in your Hilton Garden Inn HQ and minding your own business when all of a sudden the walls come to life and some fucking shinobu busts a small hole in your lungs, and then you just fall asleep. sometimes life comes at you hard

now Kamui Woods is doing his whole Lacquered Chain Prison thing, but we’ve already seen that one so I’m not gonna bother showing it! tough break Kamui!!

OH MY GOD IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS

HALF OF THESE PEOPLE ARE ALREADY UNCONSCIOUS WITH HOLES IN THEIR LUNGS, SO SURE, HONENUKI, LET’S GO AHEAD AND FUCKING DROWN THEM TOO LMAO

LOOOOOOL OH CHRIST

CLASS 1-B WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!!!

LMAO AND NOW SHE’S STANDING WITH HER ARMS UP OVER HER HEAD ALL SMILING LIKE ERI AT THE FUCKING CONCERT. A COLD GOD IN AN UNCARING UNIVERSE. WHAT THE FUCK

oh shit everybody shut up we’re cutting back to Hawks!!

but you pulled it off because you’re so damn smart. so now let’s stand around and explain your plan to everyone. what the fuck, Hawks

(ETA: and the thing is, now I’m thinking that by “incredibly difficult” he doesn’t mean that it was the cipher part that was difficult lol. that part was child’s play. any simpleton could do that. no, the difficult part was betraying his new friend. anyway so how’s everyone doing? what a fun chapter!!)

hey everyone I still have unwavering faith that this man is not a killer just FYI

what does that say about me I wonder. let’s just completely ignore everything being presented on screen here. also what the heck happened to all this furniture? did he upend the entire room with his crazy feather attack, or is that damage from Cementoss’s shenanigans?

HAHA!! FUCK YEAH

I KNEW YOU WEREN’T A KILLER YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!!

fuck yeah. of course, I realize that by betraying Twice so harshly like this, Hawks has still found himself on lots of people’s shitlists. but I would just like to put out a friendly reminder that Twice, despite being the nicest and most loyal guy you will ever meet, is still a terrorist who was going to kill a lot of people because he’s friends with a guy who wants to destroy the entire world. so basically there’s just no clean way out of this and it’s all very tragic

but anyway if it’s any consolation, I fully expect Dabi to turn up in the very next panel and be all “BLARGH! IT’S ME!” before we commence with the single sexiest battle in this manga to date

lmao Horikoshi. “but before we get to the sexy battle let me just twist that knife up in there real good!” jesus

friendly reminder that despite all appearances, Hawks is still objectively the good guy in this scenario. anyways for real, how are we all doing this afternoon. how many death threats has my bird son gotten today. I’m afraid to check. poor Twice is so trusting and I really hate to see him cry like this, poor baby. but I’m sure it’s also tearing Hawks up inside as well but we’re just not seeing it

and here we have Hawks, about to unleash his Mangekyou Sharingan

“are you sure you don’t think this sinister maniac looming in the shadows with the deranged look in his eyes is a ruthless killer, makeste?? are you really sure?” Horikoshi asks while pouring every last inch of malice he can into a single chilling panel

and yes, you bastard. I am sure. fuck you, how long are you going to make me sit here looking like a complete ass. look, we get it!! either way, Hawks is clearly a compelling actor! but the question is, which one is really the false face? is it the smiling, easygoing Hawks who always seems to have a faint hint of sadness in his eyes? or is it this menacing figure stripped of all mercy? is it really so crazy to go ahead and say that it’s the latter? huh?? [pokes Horikoshi in the chest] huh?????

anyway so Twice seems to slowly be progressing his way from despair to anger, which is probably not good. heh. fuck

maybe I was wrong about Dabi showing up and saving Twice, maybe his arrival will actually save Hawks instead lmao

anyway Hawks is still being all cold and creepy, and he’s all “you have my thanks.” and Twice is still crying, so maybe he’s still more sad than angry. well this is starting to drag out now though so if a certain spicy flame boi wants to make his grand entrance now, he’s welcome to do so anytime

oh shit Hawks is throwing me a bone!!! yessssss

YOU SEE!! THE SAD LOOK. HE DOESN’T WANT TO DO THIS. HE’S A GOOD BOY. oh my god I just realized how tense I was. hahaha what is this chapter

FINALLY OMG

NOOOOO I THOUGHT IT WAS DABI SNEAKING UP BEHIND HIM. OH MY GOD I CAN’T. WAS THIS HORROR MOVIE SERIAL KILLER ANGLE REALLY NECESSARY THEN, HORIKOSHI. WHAT THE FUCK

TWICE SHUT UP YOU ARE DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE!!!

fuck!!! this is why I was so sure he was going to die! because he won’t go quietly; he’s not the type to ever betray his friends. to him the League are basically the only family he’s ever known, so of course he’s not going to just be all “okay sure I’ll go to prison and let you reform me”

so then what, Hawks?? you didn’t fucking think this through you stupid kind-hearted punk!

sob!!!!

is that one of Hawks’s feathers slicing open the mask. sing it with me guys. to the tune of Jingle Bells: fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuck

OH MY GOD NOOOOO

I WEIRDLY WANT TO COVER MY EYES LOL OH GOD. I DON’T WANT THIS BUT I CAN’T LOOK AWAY HELPPPPP

FUCK ME, IT’S REALLY HAPPENING. HE COULDN’T BRING HIMSELF TO KILL HIM AND NOW HE’S SCREWED HIMSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE OVER, FUCK

FOR FUCK’S SAKE HAWKS YOU COULD HAVE JUST KNOCKED HIM OUT THEN!! YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND FUCKING TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF. DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN DEIKA CITY, HAWKS. DO WE REALLY WANT A REPEAT OF THAT. SURE, WE’VE GOT CLASS 1-B OUT IN THE BACKYARD MORE THAN READY AND WILLING TO KILL ANY NUMBER OF BITCHES BECAUSE THAT’S HOW THEY DO, BUT STILL

oh shit!?!

lol excuse me are you really just going to end it there? fucking seriously. Dabi running up the stairs with the crazy eyes while Hawks regretfully thinks of himself and his side as “hero scum”?? fff

and that last part! holy shit! again, I don’t buy into any of the dark!Hawks theories, and that includes the theory that Hawks will turn on the heroes and end up siding with the villains (because, again, it has nothing to do with him liking the villains, or secretly resenting the HPSC; it’s strictly on account of the whole “the villains want to destroy the entire world” thing. like. unless you think Hawks is cool with all of that of course). so I have to admit this was very startling for me to read

but I do think this is probably just some of the inevitable self-loathing finally spilling over after being forced to play this role and do all these things for the sake of the greater good, rather than him hinting at a desire to turn against the so-called “hero scum.” but still, that’s probably as dark as we’re gonna get from him, and ngl, it’s some heavy stuff

goddammit. feel like we need to cut to some wholesome class 1-A antics or something after all of that. as always, angst is a double-edged sword that I always anticipate and love but am also destroyed by sigh

[iainwrites]

A Samhain Brouhaha

Harry Dresden, trick-or-treating with Maggie, Karrin and Mouse.  And a tie to the earliest stories I posted on here.

“Charity, you can trust me.”

“Harry, I know you’re trying to be a good man and do right, but you’re also Harry Dresden and that name doesn’t inspire a lot of trust, especially for what you’re asking for.”

“What I’m... All I’m asking for is that I can take her out for one night.  That’s all.”

“I’ve heard that request before, and we both know what came of it.”

“It was an accident!  How was I to know...”

“Yes, Harry.  How were you to know?  Something like this means you need to know, and to be prepared for whatever might happen.”

“... Mouse will be with us.  Do you trust Mouse?”

“I trust Mouse with her life.  But Mouse is just one dog and...

“Murphy will be there, too.”

“... I suppose I can trust Mouse and Karrin to keep an eye on her.  And you too.”

“Great!  Thanks, Charity.  You won’t regret this.”

       My name is Harry... Well, you know the rest.  Wizard and Warden of the White Council, Knight of Winter, Warden of Demonreach, yadda yadda yadda.  It feels like I have more titles than the Cubs at this point, and they all mean something different to someone.  After a while, it just gets tiring repeating them all, and they seem to lose their importance.

      A few years ago, none of this would have meant much for my personal life.  I lived alone, with nothing else in my life but my work and a few people kept at arm’s length that I could call my friends.  It’s funny how the years can change things.  As the world turned, my life kept getting more and more... complete, I guess.  Filled, maybe.  I found out that there are people who look up to me, then that I had a brother, got a dog, found out I had a daughter, then a sort-of-girlfriend-I-think.  Oh, and I died once, became possibly irreversibly connected to one of the greatest powers in the magical community, might possibly be losing my morality, and am currently the master of a jail that makes Area 51 look like an amusement park.  But those things aren’t as important as the family side.

      All of my history, those titles and that backstory doesn’t mean much tonight.  Everything else is pushed to the side, and tonight I’m wearing only one of those mantles.  Maybe the most valued one.  Tonight, I am Harry Dresden: Dad.  And with that mantle comes a responsibility like no other I have shouldered before.

      “Alright, Maggie.  We’ll go whenever you want to.  Charity made sure I know the list of houses that we can go to, and Mouse-bacca will make sure that anyone who's acting too spooky won’t bother us, okay?”

      “Okay...”

      “What?  You don’t believe in the Great Mouse-bacca?  I mean, he might not look like much, but he’s got it where it counts, right?”

      The walking carpet that is my dog actually manages something that sounds closer to a Chewbacca warble than his usual chuffing sound.  Matched with the belt slung around his middle and a little bit of brown dye, it’s hard to mistake him for anything other than a Wookie.  The rest of us are dressed in a way that makes it impossible to see us as anything but nerds.

      Maggie, with the help of a mother who has spent more years making costumes than anyone else I can begin to think of, is dressed up in a Rey costume, complete with a little lightsaber.  Karrin and I nearly came to blows over what we were going to wear.  I’m... well, ME, so of course I’d be the dashing and roguish Han Solo, right?  And my partner is a giant, furry thing.  It practically writes itself!  Karrin argued that I’m the dork and should be Luke Skywalker, while she’s the cool guy with the gun.  She may have also mentioned something about being able to kick my ass.  And so here she stands in her black vest and over-sized pistol at her side and looking (damn me for saying this) appropriately Han Solo-y.

      I wasn’t content with being Luke, and am not nearly old enough to be rocking the Sir Alec Guinness look, so I settled on something a little more my style.  Thanks to a mop of hair as a result of living out on a deserted island for way too long, a scar across an eye thanks to a past encounter and a penchant for flirting with the dark side of magic, I gussy myself up as an over-sized Anakin, pre-lava bath.  With a little help from Andy, we managed to make up a casing for my blasting rod that looks like the hilt of a lightsaber.  A little focus and the blade lights up with a nice shade of blue, thanks to a little help from Winter.  We couldn’t figure out how to get it to sound right, so I end up making the sounds myself.  All in all, we look like a nice, nerdy family out for some trick-or-treating.  And that’s how it all began: a nice, nerdy sort-of family trick-or-treating together.

      I was worried when we started out that all of the costumes, noise and excitement might be too much for Maggie.  I mean, there’s a lot that usually goes on during Halloween night.  For the normal people, at least.  There’s the noises, the lights, the people running around costumes that go from home-made to movie quality.  And while she starts off close to Mouse, Murphy and me at any particular time, she eventually starts to look the way she should: a little girl out on Halloween, hitting up houses for a sugar fix.  She might not be running around Hell and Creation like some of the other munchkins out there, but there is a smile on her face, and a little bounce in her step.

      Mouse, Murphy and I take turns going up to doors with her, each of us to varying degrees of success.  Mouse always seemed to be a lock for more candy, because whenever she comes back the bag feels a lot heavier.  When she goes up with Murphy, Karrin comes back with a smile on her face, with just a hint of conflict hidden underneath.  A part of me wants to ask; the intelligent part knows to stay quiet.  The detective part of me has suspicions.  When she was married to Rich, there was tension around them having kids and her staying home to take care of them.  Going up to a door with a kid for Halloween and being told that your “daughter” is cute is probably playing around in head each time.

      When I take her up, I get to experience my own brand of head and heartache.  I keep hearing them ooh and ahh over her costume, and how sweet or cute or cool she looks, then there’s the looks up to me.  And I hear them say again how sweet she looks.  And it tears a piece out of my heart each time.  Susan and I should be taking her out for this.  Susan should be here with our daughter.  Our daughter should never have had to go through everything she’s gone through.  She should be living a normal life, spooked of the costumes at Halloween because she has an overactive imagination, not because of what she’s lived through.  And I smile, try not to loom so much, thank them and squeeze my little girl’s hand when we walk back to the street.  I steel myself for the next time that I’ll hear those words, and try to make the most out of this first father/daughter Halloween.

      On my side of the magical divide, Halloween has this recent habit of being more exciting each year.  The wearing down the divide between the living and the dead, necromantic rituals, changing of mantles, and the killing of immortals seem like they’re only the tip of the iceberg these days, and there’s always the little whisper in my ear that there’s going to be more.  Somehow, I manage to trick myself for a fair portion of the night that this one will be different.  That the creepy crawlies from the other side will take the night off and give me a chance to have a well-deserved break.

      Yeah, right.  The author of my life isn’t ever going to be that nice to me.

      The first indication is the sudden jerk of Mouse’s leash.  He’s usually happy to trot along at his own pace, with the leash there to show everyone he’s a well-behaved dog.  It’s not uncommon for him to stop and smell the proverbial roses; but for him to stop because there’s something he wants to stop, that’s enough to get my attention.  The only thing that stands out around us is a small pack of costumed clowns hanging a little ways back.  They all have the shabby zombie costume that seems to keep its firm grip from year to year, combined with some cheap masks.  The clothes portion of the costumes are pretty good, comparatively; they look distressed, like there was some actual damage to them.  I know those kinds of rips and tears intimately.  They even got the blood patterns around the tears right.

      The night gets cold when I realize that some of the rips and the stains look fresh.  And have that quality that costumes either exaggerate or downplay.  I look from the costumes to the people (no, things) wearing them.  They move in sync, coordinated.  My brain goes back to my throw-away description of them and revises is: a little ways back behind us is a small Pack of costumed wolves.

      The Pack.  A holdover from an old fight some Hunters and I should have finished and buried.  They’re a roaming group of monsters who hunt together, and have been the death of innocents and those that have tried to stop them.  The legendary Hunter John Winchester worked with the fledgling Black Cats to kick their asses up around their mouths decades back.  After a misunderstanding, Karrin and I teamed up with his sons, Sam and Dean, to ring the bell on Round 2.  We didn’t finish them off, but I thought we left them with a nose that was so bloody that they’d never want to try hunting together again.  Apparently, the lesson wasn’t definitive enough for them, because here they stand, lesser in number but still a threat to everyone walking this street.

      Karrin must have realized that we’ve been left behind, because she calls back to us.  “You okay, Harry?”

      Mouse clues in that I’m clued in and goes from alert growl to “stay way the hell away” growl.  “Yeah,” I reply.  “Mouse just has to use the little doggy’s tree.  We’ll catch up with you in a little bit.”

      “You sure?  We can wait.”

      My gut starts to get wrenched around.  I want my daughter to be safe, and safe is away from these things.  But if she’s sent away, that means I can’t be there to protect her.

      But Murphy will be there, and short of Michael, she’s the one person I know I can trust to keep my daughter safe.  “We’ll be there in a bit.  I’m going to take Mouse away from the street so nobody has to get caught up in it.  Have you been feeding him table scraps again, Maggie?  Because you’ll have to clean up you’ve been sneaking taco’s to Mouse.”

      My daughter gives off a little giggle and Mouse lets off the subsonic growl long enough to give a happy little chuff.  I pat his head, wave to Karrin and Maggie and start to lead him to an alley, digging out one of the plastic bags we’ve been using for Maggie’s haul.  I see Karrin look from me to Mouse, to the Pack and unlatch her blaster.  Just like I put a case around my blasting rod, she has a plastic shell around her service pistol.  It might not be much, but it’ll sure as hell slow down anything that I let get past me.

      The Pack seem to size up Karrin and Maggie as they leave.  Their gaze stays on them for a very uncomfortable time, before slowing coming back to me.  The message is loud and clear: “We saw them, we’ll remember them and we’ll find them.”  Yeah?  I have my own message.

      “Okay, assholes.  You were dumb enough to sign up for Round 3, so let’s find a nice quiet corner so I can beat on you like I’m Rocky.”

      As they follow me, one makes its way out of the main body, to stand in front of them like a spokesperson.  I can tell even underneath the costume what it is, and a fire starts to burn through my veins.  Human sized, but not human like. Extra-long arms that end in claws.  An unhealthy color that some could pass off as make-up but I recognize as naturally disgusting.  And behind the mask, eyes that are weighing and measuring you up for its plate.  A ghoul.  A ghoul who has seen my daughter.  Ever since the Red Court was dealt with, the whole race of ghouls have been moved up to the top of my “Things That World Will Never Miss” list.  This one just reserved extra special placement.

      I take my hand off of Mouse’s lead as he and I turn in sync to stare at the Pack.  The lead ghoul stops only a few feet away from me.  The alley is barely wide enough for Mouse and I to stand side-by-side, but that also means that they’re limited by how many can come forward at a time.  It’s not my favorite ring to fight in, but there’s been worse.  “Okay.  Say your piece, then let’s get started.”

      “You assume too much, wizard,” the ghoul says to me.  I’m not sure if it’s actually speaking English or if I still understand Ancient Sumerian as a parting gift from Lash.  Whatever the case, it sounds like a snake slithering over broken bottles.  “What stops the hunters at the mouth of the alley from going back out to the street?  You?  The dog?”  Damn it.  “No.  You will hear what we have to say, you and the beast will die, then we will go out and continue our hunt.”

      “Alright, Smiley.  Let’s hear it, then.”

      “You are known, Wizard.  You are remembered.  The Pack knows your scent.  You went to ground, but have decided to appear again.”  There’s a murmur behind the ghoul that could politely described as “agreement”, if agreement was made up of growls and rumbles.  “You may have bested us in the past, but that is when you hunted with others.  The Winchesters.  They are known to us.  They are remembered.  They will be found.”

      For a ghoul, this guy is practically Shakespeare.  This is the most I’ve ever heard from one before and it all comes across as understandable.  “Alright.  So what’s your point here?  Are you just going to keep talking until I go into a coma so you don’t have to strain yourself?”  I keep my attention off of it and on the ones in the back in case they decide to amscray back onto the street like they were threatening to do.  “Because there’s actually stuff that I want to do tonight.  If that means I have to walk through all of you to get there, and this sounds weird coming from me, let’s stop talking and get it done.”

      “No, Wizard.  You do not decide the Hunt.  The Pack hunts its prey, and when it is cornered, their lives are ours.  You, a human, have no say in what happens.  Should we decide to kill you, you will die.  Should we decide to eat your beast, it will be eaten.  If we decide to hunt your mate and your whelp, they are ours for as long as we wish and for what we wish.”

      “You don’t want to do this,” I mutter, while Mouse begins to growl behind me.  The only mercy I can think of is that Karrin is away from us, and that Maggie will be safe with her.  I might even be able to take a few of them with me.  I might be able to protect my daughter from what’s to come.

      The ghoul doesn't break eye contact with me, but I’m willing to be to bet that it knows what’s going on and what’s going to happen.  The cocky bastard doesn’t even seem to care.  “Oh, I think I do, wizard.  I think I will.”  The Pack behind him shifts, the sounds of claws scraping ground, of bones snapping and reforming into monstrous forms.  I get a death grip on the lightsaber case and start to will my power into it.

      Why?  Why does this always have to happen?  I try to take my daughter out for something nice, like a trip to the zoo or out for Halloween, only for things to go sideways on us.  This life, this job, this responsibility... I’m okay with it.  But I want to be a father once in a while.  I want to try and give Maggie a normal life whenever possible, but something seems so damn set in ruining that for us.  There is always something that shows up and ruins things and keeps me from connecting with my own daughter.  Susan should be here.  Our lives shouldn’t be so... wrong.  She should be allowed to grow up with a mother and a father and never have to worry about all of these things.  All of this is happening and I’m just about ready to...

      Something around us changes.  I’m not even aware of it until I hear something shift in Mouse’s voice.  It still carries a sound of warning, but there’s something else.  Anticipation?  Excitement?  A certain reckless happiness that his human sometimes shows?  He’s ready for a fight, but there’s something that’s allowing him to relax, even in the smallest ways.  He’s not worried about the fight.  From what I hear, he might even be looking forward to it.  I do a quick scope around me to see what could flip the switch in him.  Turns out it’s a lot closer than I’d ever expect.

      It’s my blasting-saber.  A firey shade of orange is starting to appear in the core nearest the hilt.

      Its old color.  Something from years ago that has since been covered in Winter ice.

      MY old color.  A color of will, and excitement, and barely controlled power, all of it coming from me.  Not a mantle.  Not a mostly immortal Faerie Queen.  

                                                      Me.

      I bring my eyes back up to the ghoul, and I smile.  It’s not a nice smile, but it’s one with a promise.  “Let me rephrase that.  You’re NOT going to do this.”

      The remnants of the Pack shift, the faces under their costume masks shifting.  Most of them change their posture and flex their hands, getting ready for the fight they’ve been working themselves up for all night.  What they don’t understand is that the moment they looked at my daughter, they didn’t have a chance in Hades.

      “Here’s why you’re not going to do that.  In fact, here’s why after tonight, you’re never going to see each other every again.”  A few give off growling laughs.  “I am Harry Dresden.  I am a wizard and Warden of the White Council.”  “Warden” makes a few of them twitch.  “I am chosen by Mab, Queen of Winter, Air and Darkness to be her Knight.  I wear the mantle of Winter, and I wear it very damn well.”  Mouse has stopped growling by now, as though he doesn’t want to take any attention off of me.  “I am Warden of Demonreach, jailer to nastier bastards than you’ll all ever be.  Combined.”  The blue of my blasting-saber exists only on the outside of the blade; fire is making up the core and it’s becoming a brighter shade of red with my every word.  “I am Bane of the Red Court.  The one who has outplayed and overcome Death.  My ride is one of the greatest predators to ever roam this earth, and I brought it back from millennia of rest. I am Ally to Hunters and Slayers.  I know and will invoke the names Winchester and Summers.  I have been tempted by and refused a coin of the Blackened Denarius.  I have led the Wild Hunt.”  THAT gets their attention like I know it would.

      The air around us suddenly gets warmer.  Almost spring-like, like the nights you sit outside near a fire.  There might be a chill in the air, but there’s also the promise of warmth and comfort.  The snow starts to melt and the grass can be seen again, and there might even be the faint sign of flowers starting to bloom.

      Life and warmth after a snow that never seemed like it would leave.

      The various creatures in front of me start to look around, probably trying to figure out what all this means.  The quicker ones figure it out and look at me, the hostility they had been showing before beginning to melt away, revealing something almost like fear.  But right now?  Fear is not enough.  Fear can be conquered or forgotten.  They need to feel something much more permanent.

      “I am Harry Dresden.  This is MY city.  And this is MY night.  I claim it by birth and by my strength.”  The tension that’s been building in this little alleyway just... pops around me.  If there’s a pressure, I don’t feel it anymore.

      “You have threatened my daughter, and I will protect her.  Ask the Red Court what that promise means.”  I let those words hang in the air, full of meaning and threats.  “This is my city, and I will protect it.  Ask anyone how far I’ve gone to keep it safe, and what happens to the people that threaten it.”  I let my blasting-saber dip until it nearly touches the pavement, which starts to send up wisps of smoke.  “The people who live here are my people, and I.  Will.  Protect.  Them.  Ask the Heirs of Kemmler and the Black Court what that oath means.”

      I don’t make any of this a challenge, or a brag, or something to piss them off.  These are all things that simply are.  They’re all true, like that the sun rises or that water is wet.  You can argue and try to ignore it all you want, but these things are, have been and always will be.  I am who I am, and I do what I do, no matter the mantle I wear, or what tries to change me.

      “So here’s what you’re going to do.  Tonight, I curse the name ‘Pack.’”  There’s another subtle pop in the air as those words gain meaning and permanence.  Words have power, and I invest a portion of my own self into those words.  “All those who live under it do so under pain of... Well, death is too nice.  Non-existence.  Erasure from history.  I will call in every favor, from the crater of Sunnydale to the Isle of Manhattan and every road of that cuts across this country.  You will cease to exist.  You will never be spoken of and you will never be remembered.  And you will all die bloody.”  I draw my gaze from one face to another, never letting off until they look away first.  They wouldn’t need to Soul Gaze me to know what is on my mind; it’s pretty damn apparent to any of them with half a clue.  “You will never run together again.  You will not do it under the name Pack, or any other name.  Because if I hear so much as a rumor that a group of creatures attacked an innocent person, you’re done.  You will be found, then you will be gone.  This right here is your only warning.  Any questions?”

      “And you,” I say to the ghoul.  I start walking forward, the cape billowing behind me, my blasting-saber burning a line in the ground.  I get right up to its face, and lean down towards its ear.  “I really, really hate fucking ghouls,” I whisper.  “And I know how hard your kind is to kill.  I have experience with that.  But you want to know something?”  

      I whip the blasting-saber down and take its hand off at the wrist.  We both look down at it in surprise.  I was expecting some burning, maybe a little cut, but not full blown lightsaber action.  I doubt it was expecting anything at all.  We both bring our eyes back up and I stare it down one more time.  “I have one more title for you: I was the Fire of Camp Kaboom. There was a message that was sent back with a survivor.  I told it ‘Never Again.’”  And I bring the blade flashing up in an arc and sear through its head with barely any resistance.  The head drops with a stunned look on its face as the body falls back into the hastily made space its friends make.

      “Never again.  Never again in my presence, in my city or to my people.”  I bring my gaze to each of them once again, but this time, nobody is too excited to look me in the eye.  “Do I need to repeat that to any of you?”  None of them reply. I snake out the blasting-saber again and take a chunk out of a rawhead and take out what looks to be a rugaru at the waist. That’s the sign they needed to break away and run, but not before I take a couple of slashes at their retreating asses.  I manage to down some; Mouse manages to run down another before it makes it to the mouth of the alley.  The ones I see escape split up.  When I step back onto the street, they’re long gone.

      Mouse and I take some time getting rid of the bodies, thanks to some creative uses of Ways and a few convenient garbage cans. The ghoul got some extra-special treatment, just like I promised.  I only realized how much time had actually passed when we finally caught up to Murphy and Maggie.  They’re less than a block away from the Carpenter’s home, with Karrin carrying an impressive haul of sugar filled goodness.  Even with all the best intentions, I still missed my first night of trick-or-treating with my daughter.  I try not to let my disappointment show as I lope up to them and ruffle Maggie’s hair.

      “Ha... Dad?  Are you okay?”

      “Yeah, I’m okay.  Just had to help Mouse clean up a mess.”

      “Your lightsaber is red.  Um... Isn’t red the color bad guys use in Star Wars?”

      “A lot of them do.  But remember the end of Return of the Jedi?”

      “We never finished it.  The Emperor... I don’t like what he says to Luke.”

      “He’s a pretty scary guy, and his threats are pretty serious.  But when he threatens Luke, Vader decides that his son is more important than his master.  He decides to fight against the Dark Side.”

      “So... Vader... becomes a good guy?”

      “It’s... complicated.  He did bad things, but family helped him so he could try to be good again.  He decided what to do, and that he didn’t want to follow the Emperor’s orders anymore.”

      “So, you’re like Darth Vader.”

      “... Yeah.  And the people I care about are helping me come back to the Light Side of the Force.  There’s going to be... bad things in my past, and there are going to be people who tell me what I have to be, but I decide whether that’s who I am.”

      “That’s... you’re kind of a cool guy.”

“Cooler than Han Solo?”

      “Well Mouse is cooler than Chewbacca, and he’s your partner.  So I guess that means you’re cooler than Han.”

I admit, it kills some of the cool vibes, but I squeeze Karrin on the shoulder and as she looks up at me, I stick out my tongue like I’m a kid.  I get an elbow in my hip in return, but it’s worth it.   I’ve never gone out trick-or-treating before tonight, so my expectations were pretty low.  But this was actually pretty fun.  And my daughter thinks I’m a cool dad.  Yeah.  That’s never going to go to my head.

      “Hey, Dad?”

      “Yeah, kiddo?”

      “Do you want to stay after we get back and watch Return of the Jedi?  If you’re there, I think I can make it past the Emperor this time.”

      “I’d love to, Maggie.”

      Murphy gives my hand a tug, and gives a nod of her head to let me know she wants to whisper something to me.  

      “I don’t know everything that happened, but you were pretty amazing tonight, Dresden.  And it’s your birthday.  There’s a Slave Leia costume I think we should break in later.”

      I love Halloween.

      “But you’re wearing it.”

      … Happy birthday to me.

[thanksjro]

Polyhex Wars, Book 1 Part 1: This Is Why We Take Roll, People

Boy oh boy, back with the solo writing! Before we begin, let’s take a look at what exactly we’ll be working with here.

Polyhex is a polity that’s been established in the Transformers franchise for ages, and it’s got a lot of history behind it. Perhaps if we have an understanding of the place, we’ll have a better insight to what’s going to happen in the story. Because god knows Roberts loves him some lore.

Here are some things that you can find within the city limits of Polyhex:

Darkmount

An unnamed Decepticon stronghold

The/A smelting pool

The Dead End

Decepticon fuel stores

Ratbat's offices

An Autobase

The original space bridge

The Polyhex Toll Plaza

So, a strong chance of Decepticon/Autobot action here. Ratbat might show up, which would be interesting. He was leader of the Decepticons for a little bit in the Marvel comics, and he did a pretty darn good job. Also, robotic homelessness. Outstanding.

On to the story!

Our tale opens with a problem- there’s a Decepticon with a sword and flaming eyes looming over an Autobot. A Decepticon whose face strips off, leaving only a skull. Then his robo-flesh flies off, leaving him just a skeleton. Then the robo-flesh goes and crushes the Autobot and melts his body down. Our Autobot feels his very fucking soul evaporate.

Oh hey, Prowl.

It would seem that Prowl is a favorite of Roberts, right alongside Nightbeat and Chromedome in terms of just how often he’s shown up in his writing. Hopefully things turn out better for him in this story than they did in Eugenesis.

Not that it would take much, mind you.

Turns out that nightmare we just witnessed was just that- a nightmare. Prowl wakes up on the floor, having passed out thanks to Involuntary Systems Shutdown. Guess he’s just been working himself too hard.

Roberts, you get those pores off of that robot, mister. Don’t you dare think I forgot about what you did to Soundwave and his pores.

This is actually potentially a holdover from the fanfic scene at the time. Fandom wasn’t quite as cohesive as it is nowadays, which meant that the concepts of things like fans, EM fields, and alternative terminology for robotic body parts weren’t universally accepted, so you got things like robots being able to sweat, and having much more organic terms for things. Roberts seemed to flip-flop between using mechanical and human-y language. We get terms like “optical shutters” sitting right next to someone getting the fear sweats. It’s a neat look at how things used to be.

Prowl is trying to suss out just what the hell that dream could possibly mean- I guess he subscribes to the school of prophetic dreaming- when Optimus Prime walks in and wants a status report. He’s rather rude about it too, snapping at Prowl when he doesn’t get exactly to what he’s after; that is to say, the situation on Cybertron itself. Prowl, a little weirded out by Optimus’ sudden assholery, calls up Blaster. However, when he turns back to his leader, Optimus has collapsed against a table. Whatever the Prime’s funk was seems to have dissipated, and he’s much more pleasant suddenly. Blaster, not so much.

Things aren’t going great on Cybertron. The Decepticons are nearly done building nuclear-powered rocket thrusters. They’ll be completed within the week.

Man, Eugenesis really just ruins a person’s expectations, doesn’t it?

Jokes aside, it seems like there’s something ominous going on in Autobot City, and it’s making folks act like jackasses.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Bumblebee’s being reckless and racing around, as Hound and Beachcomber follow towards a cargo transport. Bumblebee slips inside, then immediately falls back out, having been shot in the chest. Out come Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Ramjet, a welcoming party if there ever was one. No word on where the hell Starscream is in all this. The three shoot Beachcomber and Hound, who pass out.

Back with Optimus, the Prime’s addressing a group of Autobots, who are about to embark on a mission to protect the Celestial, a vessel in charge of monitoring Decepticon activity on Cybertron. Red Alert’s involved. He’s the only one named in the group. Optimus sends them out, and then it’s just him and Prowl. Prowl asks if he’s feeling alright, and Optimus admits to having been experiencing random blackouts and vivid nightmares. Prowl is all “OMG saaaaame” and they decide to go see Ratchet.

As they’re making their way to the medical bay, Kup catches up to them with the bad news.

You mean you didn’t CHECK before you came down here?

They all run for the medical bay to find Ratchet in the throws of a seizure. Unconscious or dead, huh? Way to go, Kup.

First Aid is there, but Optimus takes matters into his own hands.

Protip: don’t do this. Slapping a seizing person isn’t going to fix anything.

Ratchet wakes up, shaken, from his own hellish vision.

Back with Hound, who’s just woken up in a prison cell, there’s a problem: Blaster is also here, in the cell opposite his own. And he had been for over two months. Getaway and Bluestreak are there too, but that’s not as important. What is important is that someone’s been impersonating Blaster and feeding the Autobot forces false intel.

Back at Nightmare Central, our three dreamboats are comparing notes. They’re all having different visions, and entering them in different fashions. Prowl has his Decepticon skeleton flesh-vore dream that starts with a white-out, Optimus sees a golden disk spinning in a black hole, and blacks out before it starts, and Ratchet is faced with an irreparable patient and is haunted by guilt, preceded by a sudden loss of feeling and breakdown. Prowl labels Ratchet’s entry into the dreamscape as Involuntary Systems Shutdown, but First Aid disagrees.

Prowl, don’t argue with the doctor. He knows more about your body than you do.

…Okay, maybe argue with the doctor a little. Looks like he’s got a touch of the reefer madness.

No, Limbo’s a thing that was established in the comics. You can only get there if you’re a victim of mass-displacement time-travel shenanigans. You see, if someone time travels, there needs to be something of equal mass that’s removed from where they’re jumping to, otherwise rifts in space-time happen. When the mass-equivalent is removed, it can’t just flat-out disappear, so it gets taken to Limbo to wait it out until the time traveler heads back to their original time. Back in ’86, when Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge were being time-menaces, Ratchet, Prowl, and Optimus got shunted off into Limbo. They were there for a while.

Why the hell does First Aid know this, though? Because he went to Limbo in ’87, when Death’s Head was jumping around.

It could very well be, Optimus theorizes, that when the Time Travel Trio got sucked back into the rift, there was a sort of cross-contamination that happened, since the rift and Limbo were both connected.

Back at Darkmount, the captured Autobots are discussing their current predicament, and how it may lead to more in the near future. Blaster’s really hoping that Optimus figures out what’s going on soon, before things get really bad.

They need to get out of these cells, obviously, but how? The only way to break the electro bars is with an ionic disrupter, and nobody here has one.

Just kidding. Bumblebee’s got one hard-wired into his body. Problem is, it’s pretty weak, and just isn’t going to cut it. There’s a moment of defeat, then some old geezer enters the conversation. He’s got something that’ll amplify the disrupter enough to get them out of there. The only catch is it’s wired deep enough into his body that using it will kill him.

This presents quite the quandary to our Autobots, as their moral code forbids killing under any circumstances. Hound’s still very much on board with said code, but everyone else seems to be thinking of the greater good. The old Autobot himself even admits that he wouldn’t survive an escape attempt, and really just wants to be done with it all.

This is a very different take than the ones we’ve been seeing so far- even in the softer takes, the Autobots have, at the very least, accepted that death was a part of war, even if they didn’t like it. A big part of it is that it’s Hound, whose personality at the time was one of a soft-hearted, benevolent human-wannabe.

Roberts is going to put him through hell in this, isn’t he?

Back over at Autobot City, those fifteen Autobots Optimus briefed earlier just left for the Celestial.

I’m sure it’ll be fine!

While this is happening, Prowl remembers that thing he was trying to tell Optimus about earlier- namely, the cargo run Bumblebee, Hound, and Beachcomber were on. They aren’t back yet. What’s up with that?

Optimus decides to call Blaster to see what’s up with that, but gets a little suspicious when Blaster suggests they send more folks down to the cargo transport. After a bit of delegating with Prowl, Optimus sets a sort of verbal trap, asking how Witterquick is settling in on the ship. There’s never been an Autobot by that name, but not-Blaster takes the bait as Red Alert and pals show up. With that, he hangs up.

Because Optimus now knows that not-Blaster is not Blaster, he thinks it’s about time they pay Cybertron a visit and save the day. Before they can do that though, their collective vision explodes with a white flash, and they all pass out.

Meanwhile, Hound’s gotten over his disapproval of killing a man, as he and his cellmates plunder his dead body and plug components into Bumblebee’s head to make the most powerful hat ever conceived. With a little effort and concentration, Bumblebee manages to disrupt the bars so they can get out of there. Everyone is very proud of Bumblebee for this. They release the rest of the Autobot prisoners and Hound is appointed impromptu leader of the whole shebang, all while he’s got that old dead robot slung over his shoulder. He intends to give him a proper burial. He’s going to be carrying this guy for the rest of the story.

Good luck with that, Hound.

An Autobot named Courier seems to know the layout of Darkmount pretty well, so they let him take point and take them to the armory. They don’t ask why he knows where the armory is, just let him lead them there. It’s almost too easy. I don’t trust Courier.

Yeah, this guy’s evil.

They burst into the throne room to find an ambush, and then quickly discover that their weapons are fakes. Goddammit, did nobody check the roster to make sure all their guys were actually their guys? At this point it’s all on y’all for not making sure everyone was on the up and up.

[stressedspidergirlsfandomblog]

Pt17

(Conversations around consent, sexual activity, and descriptions of torture and attempted suicide. I will put a little - before a paragraph with torture/assault and another - when its over. May or may not also include implied consensual activity. We'll see where this goes.)

Curtis wakes up to soft little regular whimper-moans from behind him. Unsure if his lover is dreaming of torture, or if it's a happy kind of dream, he shifts back a bit, pressing into Takashi to check. Smiling a little in relief it's definitely not torture. Sighing a little, he's awake now. And hungry. They didn't eat dinner last night. They'd gone to bed. Worth the missed meal in Curtis' opinion. However, he's ravenous.

Digging through the cupboards he finds oatmeal, spices, and dried fruit. Surprised to find so many seasonings in the cabinets of a man who rarely cooks, Curtis wonders if it's a holdover from living with Adam. Especially considering Takashi doesn't even buy himself proper self grooming products. Probably just habit to keep the spices around.

The fridge has a few flavors of almond milk. Some non dairy creamers, and not much else in it. Overall the food choices are somewhat depressing. There's more in the freezer, thankfully. Frozen meat, vegetables, and fruit. Shaking his head a little, he sighs.

But another look through the pantry shows plenty of rice, beans, potatoes...cereal. He's feeding himself.

Finding a flat pan, he starts some of the last of the bacon. Whisks some eggs in a bowl. And adds vanilla almond milk to the oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, and fruit. It can sit until Takashi wakes up.

Curtis likes the simple ritual of preparing food. He doesn't mind doing this. Although once they live together he figures if he cooks, Takashi can do the shopping. He usually already does the cleaning up.

Some time later he hears a weird noise somewhere between "blech" and "ugh" accompanied by soft but vehement cursing.

"You okay?" Curtis calls when the swearing doesn't stop but he hears water running. "Did your dream not have a happy ending?" He asks, heading into the bedroom.

"If you can call it that," Shiro snaps back, voice cracking.

Takashi is naked from the waist down and he throws the washcloth into the sink as Curtis comes in. His face is red and his eyes are full of tears.

"What's wrong? You okay?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?" He gently thumbs a tear off Takashi's cheek.

"I don't know. My body never did this. I was, I was finally feeling like I was in my own skin and then this happens!"

"What, as a teen you didn't get wet dreams? God you were lucky." Stroking back Takashi's hair he gently kisses his cheek.

"I didn't even know this was possible," he protests.

"It is," Curtis assures him. "It happens. Not super common, I don't think. But yeah. It's normal."

"Not for me," Shiro protests. "Maybe the clone?"

"You had his memories and he thought he was you, right? Do you remember that happening?"

"No."

"This makes sense to me, love, I'm sorry. It's been years, right? And you have been so stressed, and so anxious, and so sick... You got a little last night... And your body wants more. Is that so awful? Years and years without any.... What'd you dream about anyway?"

Shiro turns red again, scar livid across his face. "You." He swallows. "Us."

"Oh yeah? You wanna tell me what we did that rocked your world so hard it made you come in your sleep?"

Ducking his head down, the tips of his ears are red, too. His silvery hair just makes the blush look even brighter.

"Is it embarrassing?" Curtis asks gently. "Or are you just shy about this stuff?"

"I never really talked about it with anyone. My family was.... Traditional. It was really hard to get used to the idea I liked guys at all. Adam... Had to be patient for a long time. I came out because of him. I admitted to myself... Who I was. I get to be with you because of that," he says softly. "But ... I'm not as... Blase about it as you."

"Am I allowed to ask you about it? Or tease you if it's just us? Will you be okay talking about stuff? 'Cause I'm... I'm not comfortable sleeping with you until we hash out do's and dont's." He meets Takashi's eyes. "I can wait. It's no rush. Nothing like that."

"We can talk about it," Shiro mumbles, leaning into Curtis. "I was dreaming about...us. You were um, your mouth...I think that time we talked about it has been in the back of my head this whole time."

Curtis smiles and kisses his temple. "The real thing will be a lot better," he promises. "Put some pants on, breakfast is almost ready." He slips away to make sure nothing's burning and to heat the oatmeal mix.

Shiro comes out in different sweats, still embarrassed. Still he's done worse in front of Curtis. Such as thrown up on himself in his sleep back on the Atlas. One of the first nights Curtis started checking on him. He hadn't even really woken up, either. Curtis had had to help him clean up. Change the sheets. He'd brought tea to help with his stomach. And never said a word to anyone about it. Not once.

They eat relatively quietly, seated at the counter with their knees touching.

"What time is it anyway?" Curtis mumbles, mostly to himself. Glancing at his watch he blinks. "We woke up early."

"Hm?"

"Its 0600. I usually get up closer to 0700. Guess I have time to lie around." He smiles a little.

"What'd'ya want me to pick up at the store?" Shiro mumbles. Already trying to decide on what kind of grooming products he needs. He knows most of Curtis' favorite snacks already. The man has a sweet tooth.

"Something not frozen or dried...how long am I staying?"

Turning red he shrugs. "We haven't really had a chance to talk and I don't want to do that before work if that's okay."

"Fine by me," Curtis agrees.

Done with his food he hops up, taking the now empty dishes and heading to the sink. He cleans up automatically, glad to have something to do. For all it's a hair harder with just one hand. He has to set the dish down to swab it out. Then he loads them into the dishwasher.

Curtis contentedly watches him move around the kitchen. They've only been together a few months as a couple now. But this feels right. He loves this man. Scars and all. And he knows Takashi feels the same way. After all he's been through, it's nice to let himself again. It's nice to be loved. It's nice to know the person he's letting himself be with is worthy of it. After his partner had died, Curtis had had a string of one offs and bad decisions. And he'd treated them and himself like trash.

One of the absolute best things about Takashi is that he makes Curtis feel so loved. So wanted. So incredibly safe and special and like he matters more than anything else in the world. Takashi has this special way of focusing on him that makes him feel like he's the only other person in the world.

"If I go in early I can leave early," Curtis says, and Takashi nods a little. "Gives us more time tonight?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." He smiles a little.

It seems a little forced but they've been through a lot. "Hey how's your back feeling?"

Blinking in surprise, he stretches a little, his hand on the small of his back. "Good."

"Lemme feel," Curtis smiles. When Takashi comes around the counter and leans over to present as much of his back as possible to his partner.

"Hey look, still not purple," Curtis teases, running his fingertips up and down Takashi's back. He laughs when Takashi arches under his touch, just like a cat. "I love you so much," he says affectionately.

"I love you, too. Please don't stop," he adds.

"Well. I will have to eventually. I can't be late." But all the same he scratches up and down his partner's back. He enjoys the way Takashi shifts under his hand. Deciding that both hands might be best in this situation he shifts on the stool to make it easier to give scratches.

Eventually it's time to go. They kiss goodbye and head out together, but part ways outside the building.

Shiro sends Keith a message.

Stuck going to the store. You need anything?

0645

Probably should grab some basics. Meet you at the store?

0647

Sounds good. No plants.

0648

Mom says you should bring 'your mate' a gift. Yes plants. Apparently. Or the skulls of your enemies. But that seems excessive.

0650

That would not match his decor, no.

0650

See you in 10.

0651

Keith finds Shiro in the personal grooming section of the store.

He looks up when he notices the Red Paladin. "Curtis also has a problem with my taste in body wash."

"I see."

"Problem is I have no idea what to pick," Shiro shrugs.

Keith peers over in the basket. It looks like Shiro has managed to pick up fruit, vegetables, and some kind of meat in the time it took him to wait for a train to pass. "Sorry I'm late, by the way."

"Stuck at the tracks?"

"Yeah. Slowest train I've ever seen. Couldn't have been going much over 80."

"Disappointing."

"Seems like you're mostly done."

"Still need snacks. And candy of some kind. Curtis is an addict."

"Where's your protein crap you always used to get?"

"I always hated it. And medical says I'm healthy now... So. I didn't buy any."

Keith looks over at Shiro and notices some things that disturb him. For one, every time he reaches out to maybe pick a bottle, there's some kind of tremor in his hand. Two, he's sweating and the store is chilly. Three, he's a little flushed. Four, his eyes seem glassy. Getting in closer, he lightly squeezes Shiro's shoulder and hides his expression. Shirt is damp. He's been distressed for a while.

"What about pine? You always had some weird thing for forest scented crap."

"No, that was Adam. I was the one who liked spearmint and wintergreen."

"So why did you always smell like-.... ? Ah."

Shiro turns red. "I know Curtis likes cinnamon. But I don't see that here."

"There's stuff that's kinda minty," Keith points out. "You can buy whatever you want." Personally he thinks having to change your scent to please your partner is ridiculous. Probably why he's not much for dating. "See this one?" He cracks the lid to sniff and then hands it over, watching Shiro's hand like a hawk.

The shaking is still there. He's still beading sweat around his hairline and his hair is starting to stick to his face.

"That's kind of the problem," Shiro mutters, sniffing the bottle. It smells nice. Shampoo. Okay. So now just body wash. Maybe something for dry skin? He's been itchy lately and Curtis is probably right. He's probably drying his skin out. He can take care of himself a little better for Curtis. "Is there matching body wash?" He asks, trying to read labels without giving away the entire aisle is swimming. He's so stressed out. Which is how he ended up just grabbing a random bottle and bailing the first time around.

Keith looks at him and back at the shelf quizzically before picking it up from right in front of Shiro and handing it to him. "Says ultra cleansing. Isn't that code for: will dry your skin out?"

"Oh. Maybe I should pick something else."

Unsure of what to make of this, he shrugs. "You could just get the same brand you used to, and pick a different scent."

Shiro shifts uncomfortably. "I can't remember what it was," he admits. "I'm missing a lot here and there," he tugs absently on his bangs. Remembering how his skull had been cracked open.

"It's this stuff in the red bottles. It's got some stupid names, though." He tries to keep his expression neutral. He knew Shiro had issues remembering everything that happened while he was enslaved as a gladiator. He had no idea Shiro had also lost any time before then.

"Whatever's there is fine."

"Maybe Lance would be more helpful," Keith suggests. Then they both look at each other and laugh. "Okay so definitely not. But hey there's only four options, so."

They test out each bottle, Shiro hates the first. Keith the second. The third and fourth take a while to decide between. Shiro just picks up the matching shampoo and dumps it in.

"Do you think I need more clothes?" He asks hesitantly.

Keith kind of stares. "Judging by your apartment? Probably." Watching Shiro looking over at something on the other end of the men's care aisle, he realizes he doesn't want to help shop for the next thing. "What kind of candy? I'll grab that while you finish up here."

Realizing Keith figured it out, he turns red. "Uh. He'll eat pretty much anything that isn't black licorice. But he's kinda partial to anything sour and then chocolate with almonds or peanuts."

"Got it."

"Thanks." Shiro wanders down to the other end of the men's aisle. There's an overwhelming amount of things and he's realizing he's not sure if Curtis has preferences. And his personal comm is off at work. And Shiro isn't going to call him about condom brands on a Garrison line. They're all recorded. While he's not sure if it will be days, weeks, or months until they need any supplies he'd rather have them on hand.

Thinking about what he's used before, he doesn't see any familiar packaging and the aisle blurs in and out of his vision for a minute. There, he grabs a few things. He's not into anything all that interesting, and looking at some of the grocery-store approved toys makes him feel uncomfortable. A few things look like something the Galra would have found a way to weaponize and use and while he's sure before all this he would have been game... Now he isn't. He realizes he doesn't even really want Curtis on top of him, either. Or at least, not inside him.

-

He can still feel the blood running down the inside of his thighs. Sometimes just dripping steadily down without touching his body at all. They'd ripped him open in a new way. Trying to find some other way to torture and scare him. He has no idea how they guessed that, or if it was half accidental. They hadn't realized that human joints really weren't that flexible when they broke his elbow. Just testing his limits.

Shuddering he's terrified of the scarring ripping open again. Of just anything tearing into him.

Trying to imagine if he could go down on Curtis his throat tightens and he swallows hard against a gag. What if it feels like the feeding tube they'd forced down his throat? He'd been refusing to eat after. Had tried to hide the bleeding. When it stopped he'd been so depressed he'd given up hope and reopened the wound. Tore skin. Hadn't cared. He'd wanted to bleed to death. They'd stapled the wound shut, drugged him with a paralytic that did nothing about the fact he couldn't sleep, shoved a tube down his throat, and chained him spread eagle so he couldn't move so much as an inch and inflict more damage.

-

Keith finally can't spend more time in candy and goes back to find Shiro. He's worried. He recognizes the stricken look he sees and gently takes Shiro's hand and pulls him away. "You can't get pregnant anyway, you don't need those."

Blinking and coming to, "school really failed you, didn't it?" He asks absently.

"You're cleared of any and all diseases and so's he. Nothing he can give you or vice versa."

"Maybe he doesn't like to swallow," Shiro says conversationally, still shaky. He knows Keith hates when he talks bluntly about this kind of stuff. So it'll stop the conversation in its tracks.

Keith makes a face. "Let's go find you a shirt that isn't black or grey?" He suggests.

"I look good in those colors."

"Yeah Shiro everyone does. What colors does Curtis like?"

Everything, Shiro wants to say. Curtis is full of life and color in spite of everything. "Purple. Galaxy purple like in those hubble telescope photos..." He says softly, thinking of the prints he's seen in Curtis' apartment. "Dark blue..." His bedroom.

"Great. There you go."

"Black and grey used to bring out my eyes..." Shiro teases, fluttering his eyelashes and trying to recover from earlier.

"And match your hair." Keith just shrugs and smiles blandly.

They wander over to the clothing section and browse. Shiro ends up with a simple deep purple henley, a dark navy vneck sweater, and Keith convinces him to try a maroon vneck tee and deep green henley, too. "Add some color old man."

They drop the groceries off, Shiro throws the meat and some seasoning into the crock pot. He can't bake to save his life but he can dump things in a pot and walk away. While he's busy Keith discovers Shiro's battered running shoes. After lecturing the other man about his knees and feet taking unnecessary damage he forces Shiro back out to get new shoes.

Then he drags him to get some nicer towels, a second set of sheets, and some actual jeans, and some nice button ups so Shiro can dress up a little without going full uniform. Shiro only has 2 pairs of black pants and Keith feels odd realizing what they're doing. Maybe he he should have let Curtis do this. But Shiro started on his own. Keith just helped him finish. And made sure he had more than just the absolute bare minimum cheapest crap he could pick in two seconds.

When they get back Keith helps him load all the fabric into the wash so it'll be ready before Curtis gets back. He has a feeling the other man will appreciate all the changes. Looking at the clock he's surprised its only a little after 1400 hours.

He notices Shiro never really stops shaking, and he seems uncomfortable the whole time. Not unwilling just not himself, either. "Do you remember forcing me to pick out clothes?" He asks suddenly.

"Yeah you were a real shithead."

"Thanks for not returning the favor."

"Wouldn't know how to be that obnoxious even if I tried," Shiro smiles.

"So magnanimous."

Shiro shakes his head a little. He flops tiredly onto the couch unsure what to make of all of it.

Keith lets Shiro sleep, fear mounting in his chest cavity. He switches the laundry into the dryer. He's not sure what to do to help Shiro. But at least the man has food. Nice sheets, soft towels. New, clean clothes. The food smells good, and Keith finds himself puttering around looking for things to do, because he's afraid to leave Shiro alone.

Eventually he settles on the couch, putting a hand on Shiro's chest to feel his heartbeat. It seems steady. Normal. Healthy. But the tremors, the sweating, the indecision... It's all so concerning.

Eventually the dryer dings softly. Keith gets up and finds himself remaking the bed, folding clothes and more or less pacing around again. Somewhat amused he's the one taking care of Shiro for a change, he settles back down on the couch when the housekeeping is done, watching him sleep.

He dozes off eventually, and wakes up to the door sliding open.

Curtis smiles as Keith hastily exits, and sniffs the air appreciatively.

Kneeling down by the couch he presses a gentle kiss on Takashi's forehead. "Hey handsome," he smiles gently. "Wake up, love."

Takashi blinks awake, and smiles when he sees Curtis. Curtis gently strokes his cheek and kisses him.

"You hungry?" He asks gently. "Food smells good, what is it?"

"Brisket, and I have veggie salad in the fridge. Just needs dressing."

"Sounds good to me, you ready?"

"Yeah. Keith ran me ragged."

"I can see that. Once we eat do you just wanna go back to bed?"

"No, we should talk."

"Okay," Curtis agrees. Kissing his forehead again he stands up. Watches Takashi shift an arm under himself and sit up, and ease his body off the couch. He seems like he's moving easier. Less stiff.

Takashi quietly gets out plates and silverware, still half asleep. Pulling the salad out he has 2 choices for dressing and lets Curtis pick. Dumping food onto his plate, he settles at the counter and waits for Curtis to do the same.

When he's done serving himself, he unbuttons his uniform, and settles the jacket across the back of his chair. "Thanks for dinner."

"Of course," Takashi smiles back. They bump knees as they eat. He's happy to eat quietly, the hustle and bustle of running errands and dealing with people has him drained. The nap helps but just sitting there with his leg against Curtis' makes him feel better. That and not being required to talk around the food.

Half wondering if they should have talked first, in case he made himself sick, he breathes out a sigh through his nose.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean to wear myself out so badly, though. Sorry."

Curtis nudges his leg, "it's fine."

When he finishes he rinses off his dishes and loads them.

"You cooked, I would have cleaned up."

"You do most of the hard work in our relationship, I think," Shiro smiles. "I can handle some dishes."

Curtis frowns a bit, but decides that can be part of their conversation later. He's absolutely not going to let that slide. Their needs just look different. He smiles when Takashi pulls out a sack of candy. And then laughs when he realizes how full it is. "Trying to fatten me up?"

"I just... There'll always be some here for you."

Holding out his hand he takes Takashi's gently as he comes around the counter and tugs him in close, between his legs. Tipping his face up they kiss for a few moments. Soft and gentle. They pull away and smile. Takashi is a little pink and Curtis smiles. Seems like everything works fine now.

[razieltwelve]

Exam (Final Rose)

“Is this really necessary?” Ruby grumbled.

Vanille smiled sunnily. “Yes, Ruby, it is. As the future of the hunting community, it is imperative that we ensure you students are in the best of health. As the foremost medical practitioner on Remnant, it is up to me to give each of you a brief medical examination.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you sure this isn’t just an excuse to dress Professor Cuddles up as a doctor?”

Professor Cuddles gave an adorable squeak from a nearby table and reached up to adjust the miniature stethoscope he had. He was also wearing a tiny doctor’s outfit. Vanille shook her head. “Of course not. Seeing Professor Cuddle dressed up like a doctor is simply a happy coincidence.”

“I guess…”

“If you’re not comfortable with my doing the examination,” Vanille said. “I do have several assistants who are all ridiculously qualified too.”

“No,” Ruby said at last. “I don’t mind you doing it.” At least she knew Vanille. “But can you tell me the real reason we’re having these examinations?”

“Basically, puberty is a really important time for people with large Auras. Not only do a host of Aura-related changes occur but they are also coupled with physical changes. Most of the time, everything goes well. However, there are times when things can get a bit dicey. It’s my job to catch anything like that before it becomes a problem. Taking regular notes about your abilities is also important since it allows us to track your improvement.”

“That does make sense,” Ruby conceded. “So how am I doing?”

Vanille rubbed her chin. “Well, you’ve probably noticed that you’ve been going through a lot of changes lately.” Ruby blinked, and Vanille gestured at her chest. “You know, like that.”

“Ah.” Ruby blushed furiously. She had definitely started to fill out over the past several months, adding more womanly curves as she shot up several inches in height. “I’m taller too.”

“Yep. Now, this sort of thing isn’t too unusual. For whatever reason, it’s not uncommon for people with certain Semblances to not develop physically at the same rate as their peers. But once a certain threshold is met, they go through a period of accelerated development. You seem to be one of them.”

“But why does that happen?” Ruby sighed. “Yang never went through anything like this.”

“We still don’t understand why only some Semblances do this, but in most cases it’s because the Semblances has to do a whole lot of extra work first. In your case, your Semblance had to make massive changes to your neurological and perceptual systems, so all of your body’s energy and growth went into that.”

“Really?”

“Ruby, you can currently move fast enough to dodge bullets, but you can somehow stay aware of and respond to your surroundings without making any mistakes. Do you have any idea how crazy that is?”

“Well, my Semblance wouldn’t be much good if I could move super faster but my reflexes were normal.”

“Exactly. So instead of you growing taller and doing all that other stuff, your Semblance was busy working on changing your brain and everything else. Now that it’s got a lot of the hard work out of the way, you’re starting to shoot up like a weed. I expect the same sort of thing will happen to Diana. Once Ragnarok has the transformation all streamlined and smoothed out, she won’t be such a ragamuffin. She’ll look even more like Fang than she already does.”

“Does that mean Weiss will get taller too?”

Vanille laughed. “Nope. I’ve studied the genetics of several families with inheritable Semblances. There doesn’t tend to be too much deviation from the mean with regards to physical abilities. Weiss might get a tad taller, but she’s never going to be as tall as Yang or Blake, or you for that matter.”

Ruby nodded slowly and then gave Vanille a solemn look. “Don’t ever tell her that.”

“I won’t. If she’s lucky she might, maybe, match her sister, Winter, in height, but I’m not sure she’ll get there.” Vanille continued to poke and prod Ruby while taking readings. To Ruby amazement, Professor Cuddles appeared to be taking notes of some kind on a scroll, hopping over the device to enter details. “Now, is there anything you want to tell me about? You have been going through a lot of changes, and there’s only so much my equipment can tell me. It’s your body. You can tell me if you’ve noticed anything strange going on.”

“Hmm…” Ruby pursed her lips. “Sometimes… sometimes it’s like the world is moving in slow motion. Most of the time, it’s just for a moment or two, but sometimes, it goes for a bit longer.”

“And it goes back to normal when you focus?” Ruby nodded, and Vanille smiled. “Then don’t worry. What you’re getting are perceptual side effects from your Semblance. Basically, since you need to be able to perceive everything in slow motion when you have your Semblance on, it’s sometimes going to happen even with your Semblance off. It should ease off as you get used to your Semblance’s evolution. If it’s still happening in a couple of months, let me know.”

“I will.” Ruby grinned. “So… what’s the weirdest thing you ever found in an examination?”

Vanille rubbed her chin. “Obviously, I can’t name any names, but I did have one Faunus a while back who actually grew a tail during puberty.”

“They grew a tail?”

“Yeah. Now some Faunus have tails and some don’t, but it’s pretty rare for someone to grow a tail during puberty. In all my years of practicing, I’ve seen only seen it happen twice. Normally, a Faunus will have their tail from birth.” Vanille chuckled. “They were convinced they’d damaged their spine on a mission or something. We had to get a lot of their clothes fixed up, but they got used to it pretty quickly.” She got Ruby to sit down. “Can you open your mouth, please?”

Ruby opened her mouth.

“Now, if you’re wondering why we do this, it’s mostly a holdover from the checkups we give Faunus since some form of dental development is not unusual during puberty. You’re not a Faunus, so I doubt we’ll find anything.” Vanille paused. “Although…”

“What is it?” Ruby managed to say.

“You really shouldn’t skip out on brushing your teeth before bed if you’re going to eat cookies, Ruby.” Vanille lifted another one of her instruments. “You’ve got a cavity on one of your upper left molars.”

“A cavity?” Ruby was aghast. “Does that mean I have to get a filling.”

Vanille cackled ominously, and Professor Cuddles crept forward with a drill. “Prepare yourself!” Ruby wailed, and Vanille rolled her eyes. “Ruby, when was the last time you went to a dentist?”

“I… I try not to go,” Ruby said. “They make me nervous.”

“Well, dental care has advanced since you were a kid. We don’t give people fillings anymore. We’ve developed ways to regenerate teeth in the same way we can use technology to regenerate other tissue. All I have to do is clear out the cavity and then apply a solution of nanites that reconstruct the damaged part of your teeth.”

“Oh.”

“But it may require a giant needle.”

“Ah!”

“I’m kidding.” Vanille lifted up what looked a lot like a syringe. “I’m not actually going to jab you with this. It’s actually used to apply the nanites. Now, hold still while I clean out the cavity.” She paused. “And just make sure you brush your teeth more. Even if we can use technology to fix cavities, it’s better not to have to do it in the first place.”

“Yes, Professor Dia.”

“Good.” She gestured at Professor Cuddles. “Press the blue button with a tooth symbol on it.”

X     X     X

Blake tried not to fidget as Professor Dia examined her. Instead, she kept her focus on Professor Cuddles as the hamster dutifully tapped away at a scroll as Professor Dia talked.

“Is he really taking notes for you?” Blake asked.

“As a matter of fact, he is. I mean I have something recording notes for me, but this is a sort of training exercise for him. He’s very clever. He just can’t use a scroll as easily as you or I can.” Vanille sat Blake down on a chair. “Now, we’ll continue going with the rest of the exam, but here comes the awkward part.”

“Oh.” Blake squirmed. “That part.”

“Yeah. That part.” Professor Dia sat down opposite Blake and patted her leg. “Relax. I’m a Faunus too. I get it. I’m not going to make fun of you or anything, and Professor Cuddles is a hamster.”

“Right…” Blake took a deep breath to steady herself. “So… um…”

“How are the pills going?” Vanille asked. “Are they working? Any side effects?”

Blake blushed furiously. Since her Semblance had begun to evolve, she’d been having… issues. Now that she could perceive what her clones did, she’d been experienced multiplied emotions, thoughts, and desires. It was overwhelming at times, especially when she went through one of her… sensitive periods. “They’re working. I… uh… thank you for them by the way.”

“It’s fine. If anything, it was an interesting exercise since I had to come up with something strong enough to work which would kill you.” Vanille studied Blake’s expression, taking note of every little tic. “So… any unusual urges?”

Blake sighed. “A lot of them.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I was sparring with Yang, and I got her tangled up with Gambol Shroud. There was a part of me that wanted to just… I don’t…”

“Leave her tied up and ravish her senseless before biting her to make sure she knew who she belonged to?”

Blake covered her face with her hands. “Do you have to say it like that?”

Vanille gave Blake a sympathetic smile. “Blake, I have a binding rod. You know what that is, right?” Blake nodded. “You have no idea how many times I thought about doing that exact same thing to my wife when we were attending Beacon. Having the thought isn’t wrong. It’s just a thought. The important thing is that you didn’t actually do that.”

“I suppose.” Blake took another deep breath. “It’s not just Yang either.”

“I would be surprised if it was.” Vanille grinned impishly. “Did you know that I once came up with an important theory for topology because I was fantasising about how my whole team could enjoy ourselves together with each other all at the same time?”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope. Of course, I didn’t tell anyone that was where the inspiration came from.” Vanille tapped her cheek one one finger. “So… Weiss?”

Blake nodded morosely. “She’s just… so delicate, you know. I saw her stretching, and I kind of just wanted to… to pin her down and just have her over and over just to see how much she take, you know, to see if she was really as delicate as she looked or if she could really take it.”

“Hmm… not an uncommon fantasy,” Vanille said. “When a Faunus is going through a sensitive period, they do tend to over-emphasise things like dominance in their fantasies. Given the physical differences between Yang and Weiss, it’s not surprising your fantasies about them would be different too. What about Ruby?”

“Please, don’t tell Yang,” Blake said. 

“Of course, I won’t. I’m a doctor. I’m bound by doctor-patient privilege.” She pointed at Professor Cuddles. “And so is he.”

“He’s a doctor?”

“Technically, he’s a medical assistant. Even I can’t get a hamster recognised as a doctor. Yet.” Professor Cuddles cackled evilly.

“We’re reading together,” Blake said quietly. “And then we re-enact some of the scenes.”

“Naughty, naughty.” Professor Dia chuckled and then patted Blake’s leg again. “Relax, Blake. Relax. Fantasising about this stuff is normal, okay. From what we’ve begun to understand about your Semblance, now that you can see through the eyes of your clones, you’re starting to feel things more intensely too. Now, based on my research of similar Semblances, you should start getting that under control through practice, meditation, and experience. But for the time being, you’ll just have to deal with it as best you can.”

“Similar Semblances?”

“Most Semblances with a mental component have related effects.” Vanille paused thoughtfully. “I once treated someone who could read the minds of others. And, no, I’m not talking about Jihl Nabaat. When their Semblance started ramping up in puberty, they would go through brief periods when they were convinced they were someone else. Why? They would get the thoughts of others confused with their own thoughts.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It was, but we were able to manage it, and it worked out okay.” Vanille smiled. “You might want to ask Pyrrha about some of the meditative practices she uses. Her Semblance is extraordinarily powerful, and it’s taken her some time to get used to it. I think she could help you a lot when it comes to the mental aspect.”

“I think I will ask her. Thank you.”

“Now,” Vanille said. “Just to be clear, have you engaged in sexual activity recently?”

“Do I really have to answer that?” Blake asked. “Would it even matter?”

“Depending on who you’re engaging in sexual activity with, yes, it could.” Vanille’s expression turned serious. “Not all of the stuff you hear about Aura resonance is make believe. If you’re very close to someone emotionally and physically, then Aura resonance is easier to achieve. For a married couple with a good relationship, it’s basically automatic.”

“How far are we talking about… when it comes to sexual activity?”

Vanille stared at Blake for a long moment. “Hmm… in your case, it’s probably not quite far enough to count yet.”

“What?” Blake blurted.

“I have extremely keen Aura senses. Sure, I can’t throw Aura around the way Professor Yun can, but my senses are really, really sharp. If I get familiar with someone, I can sense even minute fluctuations in their Aura. Once you start getting emotionally involved with someone, there are little changes. Since you’re the sort of person who wouldn’t get physically involved without emotional involvement, I think it’s safe to say you haven’t gone that far… at least, not recently.”

Blake blushed. “Do people realise you can tell stuff like that by looking at them?”

“Yeah, but it’s just polite not to mention it.” Vanille shrugged. “It’s like Faunus can usually tell who is sleeping with who, but none of us mention it, right?”

Blake thought back to her time in the White Fang. She’d known exactly who was sleeping with whom, but everybody had just pretended to ignore it. “I guess so.” She looked around. “So does everyone go through an examination?”

“Almost everyone. Some people have examinations on a more regular basis, and they get to skip this.” Vanille got back up and continued to study Blake. “My number one minion, for example, gets a checkup once a month, so she can skip this.”

“Isn’t Diana in perfect health?”

“Better than perfect health, but due to the massive physiological changes Ragnarok can create, I like to keep an eye on her, at least, until she’s out of puberty and her Semblance has mostly stabilised.” Vanille laughed. “It’s pretty boring, really. Every examination has the same report: subject in perfect health if short and scrawny. No extra tentacles detected yet.”

“Extra tentacles?”

“Diana can totally make tentacles if she feels like it. She used to use them in combat sometimes, but it freaked people out.” Vanille shrugged. “Apparently, they’re freakier than the ability to spit explosive acid.”

Tentacles? Blake shuddered. Yeah, she was not going to fight someone with tentacles if she could avoid it. “So… how am I look, professor?”

“Physically, you’re in exceptionally good shape. Your physical parameters are in the top 5% of your year, which is incredibly impressive considering you’re attending Beacon. You could actually be higher, but we’d need to do a more demanding exam to max out your scores. Emotionally, you’re a bit touchy about certain things, but that’s okay. It makes sense given how things are going for you.” Vanille looked Blake in the eye. “Which is why I want you to come talk to either me or one of the other qualified people if you need to get something off your chest. This a tough time for you, Blake. There’s no shame in asking for help. That’s what being in a team is about, and Beacon, Blake, is one big team when you get right down to it.” She smiled. “Now, open your mouth. Let’s see if you’ve got any cavities.”

“Did Ruby?” Blake asked.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

X     X     X

“Well, you’re not dying,” Vanille said dryly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m not dying, professor. I assume I am in excellent health.”

“Well above the average.” Vanille grinned impishly. “But you could stand to improve your physical conditioning a bit.”

Weiss’s eye twitched. “Professor…”

“In all seriousness though, I want to congratulate you.” Vanille smiled. “Your improvement from last semester to this semester has been excellent, well above what could be expected from simple physical maturation.”

Weiss smiled. “I have been working very hard, professor, and I have my team to thank for much of my improvement.” She grinned. “Yang might be crazy, but she is excellent at physical conditioning. I have also approached the other professors about physical regimens, and they have been very helpful.”

“Good.” Vanille smirked. “So… have you beaten her yet?”

Weiss made a disgusted sound. “That obnoxious girl is far too good at hand-to-hand combat for her own good.” The obnoxious girl in question was Rin Tohsaka, a fellow student, and the last scion of a family that had once competed with the Schnees in the business world before being crushed. “Of course, she’s yet to beat me with a weapon, so I suppose we’re even.”

“Do you use Dust in your fights?” Vanille asked.

“Of course. We are both experts in Dust usage. It would be absurd to neglect it in our sparring matches although we do conduct bouts without it regularly since there is no telling when you might run out of Dust in the field.”

“Good. Dust is great, but you might have to fight without it.” Vanille had to admit that from a physical standpoint, Weiss was one of her easiest patients to deal with. Weiss was petite, sure, but her Semblance didn’t have any weird effects on her body, nor was she going through any dramatic bodily changes. She was still growing, of course, but it was normal growth. “How are things on the family front?”

Weiss growled. “Less than wonderful. My father is still wondering why I’m not at the top of all my classes. I’m beginning to wonder about his sanity. True, his expectation for me to top my Dust classes is reasonable, and I am indeed topping those. But topping single combat? Is he insane? Even if I could beat someone like Ruby in single combat - and that’s a big if - there is no way I’m getting past people like Pyrrha or Averia.”

“Some might consider that a defeatist attitude.”

“It is a practical attitude,” Weiss countered. “Look. I want to be the best, and I will absolutely train my hardest, but I am not delusional. My Semblance and abilities are perfect for a glass cannon/support type. I doubt there are many people at Beacon who can match me in that area. But single combat is different, and although I am confident in my ability to dispatch almost any opponent, the very top students are not just any other opponents.”

“That’s a mature attitude to have,” Vanille said. “And it’s one that some students take years to develop. I’m proud of you for seeing it so early.” She grinned. “Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t try to win.”

“I always do,” Weiss said. An almost vicious smile crossed her lips. “You should have seen the look on Averia’s face when I almost punched her in the face.” She paused. “Unfortunately, she dodged at the last second and then kicked me through a wall, but you know, I almost got her.”

“Very few people can say they have gotten that close.” Vanille smirked. “And never forget that sparring matches are different from the real world. If you ever have to fight someone who you know is stronger and better than you, then you have to cheat.”

“Cheat?”

“Look at me, Weiss. There’s no way I could ever beat my wife in anything even remotely resembling a fair fight. That’s why the last time we had a more no-holds barred match, I brought in flight-capable artillery. Sure, it was cheating, but in a fight to the death, cheating doesn’t really mean anything. You’ve got Glyphs. Think of what you could do with more long-lasting Glyphs and time to prepare.”

Weiss bared her teeth. “You have the best ideas, professor.”

“Yes, because I’m a genius.” Vanille glanced down at her notes. “Now, I know it’s not much, but you are slightly bigger this semester.”

“Bigger?”

Vanille pointed at Weiss’s chest. “Like I said, not much, but still, you’re a little bigger than the last time.”

“Well,” Weiss said. “Any improvement is welcome.” She turned her head as Professor Cuddles hopped onto his scroll again, tapping out a sequence of keys. “By the way, is Blake sick? I saw her taking some pills the other day, and I want to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Well… just ask her.” Vanille raised one hand. “It’s nothing bad. It’s just private. If you want to know, then ask her.”

“Right.” She chuckled. “Oh, and I’ll be keeping an eye on Ruby. She said something about you fixing her cavity.”

“I did.”

“Well, I’ll make sure she doesn’t need any fixed in the future.”

X     X     X

“So… am I awesome?” Yang asked.

Vanille laughed. “For the most part, yes.” 

The blonde smirked. “I thought so.” Her expression sobered. “Is there anything I need to worry about, doc?”

“Not really. Your physical progress is excellent. In fact, you’re actually exceeding our initial projections. If I had to guess, it’s because you’re finally getting pushed to your very limits.”

Yang nodded. “It’s not easy to be at your best if you don’t have people to push you. There are all kinds of challenges at Beacon, lots of people I’m not sure I can beat, and that just means I have to train more and do better.” She drove her fist into her palm. “There’s nothing I like more than a real challenge.”

“Good attitude.” Vanille pursed her lips. “Which brings me to the only thing that worries me. You’ve been getting a bit reckless in your fights recently. I’ve seen the footage. You’re taking more damage than you should.”

“With my Semblance, I can take it,” Yang replied.

“Most of the time, yes, but I’m worried about what happens if you run into a situation where you can’t simply take the hit.” Vanille paused what she was doing and nodded. Professor Cuddles hopped into Yang’s lap, and the blonde ran one hand through his soft, soft fur. “I think it might be a psychological side effect of your Semblance’s development.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Your Semblance feeds off taking damage, so there will likely be some drive to take damage. The important thing is that you stay aware of it, so you can keep it from getting out of hand.”

“Does that sort of thing happen a lot?”

“More than you’d think. I know someone whose Semblance allows them to use their own blood as a weapon. No matter what happens, they always end up bleeding all over the place during a fight, even if they don’t have to. Semblances want to be used, and many of them have psychological aspects that help hone them. However, that’s only really pronounced during evolutionary phases. As your Semblance stabilises, it should be easier to manage.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Yang stood up as Vanille continued taking readings and measurements. “How are the others?”

“While I can’t say anything specific, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Good.” Yang’s lips twitched. “It’s crazy. I’ve only known them for a bit over a year, but it’s like I’ve known Blake and Weiss my whole life. It’s crazy. When we first got introduced, I didn’t think we’d all fit together so well, and I was kind of worried about Ruby being leader.” She paused. “Not that I doubted her, I was kind of worried about how Blake and Weiss would handle Ruby being the leader. It wasn’t always easy, but we got through it, and now we feel like… like a real team.”

“I know the feeling,” Vanille replied. “And it’s a good feeling to have. Your team becomes like a second family. They become people you could trust with your life.”

“Yeah.” Yang smiled. “We’ve saved each other’s lives a couple of times already, actually.”

“It’s one thing for someone to say they’d lay down their life for you. It’s quite another to realise that it’s true.” Vanille chuckled. “You should have seen Team LFSC when they were in your position. We were all taking bets on how long it would take for Caius to quit, Snow to leave, and for Lightning and Fang to kill each other.”

“Seriously? But they’re like… super close now.”

“That’s the thing. If we pick the team right, then that’s how they should feel.”

“Heh.” Yang nodded. “I think you guys did a great job with my team. There’s just one thing…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we could get a balcony put in?”

“No.”

[kahuna-burger]

Continuing stargate/mcu fusion

Second (longer) part of my Stargate fusion.

Things ceased to be fine just after they were shown into Stark's office, before Bruce had even finished his introduction. One moment Bucky was trying to blend into the expensive wood paneling, the next his sidearm was aimed directly at their host’s head.

“Buck?” Steve drew his own weapon and tried to get between Bruce and Stark while also keeping the door in his peripheral.

“He's a Goa'uld.”

Stark didn't seem phased by either the accusation or the weapon pointed at him. “As the internet kiddies are saying these days,” he made finger guns at Bucky, “No, you.” He cocked his head in puzzlement and one hand turned to point at Bruce. “And maybe you? What's up there?”

Before the scientist could do more than blush at the reminder of his unique situation, Steve stepped in. “That’s not the issue here. Who are you, and how did you avoid the screenings after they got you back from the Trust?”

“I'm Tony Stark - you came to me, remember? And I accepted the MRI that was offered.” Before he could respond to the dodge, Stark continued, “If you’re asking why they didn't detect my roommate, we worked out how to avoid scans and hide her naquada signature years ago.”

That also explained why Rumlow hadn't felt anything when the former host accompanied the extraction team, but the implication that a major industry leader had been a Goa’uld for years wasn't making him feel any better. “There's no ‘we’ for your kind, and even if you’re claiming to be a Tok’ra, I wanna talk to the snake, so again,” Steve raised his gun in a more obvious threat, “Who are you?”

“I'm afraid Thal's more of a silent partner, so the only me here to talk to is me, Tony Stark. Try a new question.”

He was distracted from his frustration by Bucky's hand on his arm. He had a look of intense concentration which usually meant he was trying to get information from his snake. The Goa'uld assassin which called itself Winter Soldier had been suppressed but not removed by their Wakandan allies, and had a wide range of helpfulness depending on its mood. Finally, Bucky nodded curtly at Stark. “Show us your mark.”

The man obviously knew what he meant, because he stood immediately and began removing his shirt. “Without dinner first? How forward; we haven't even been formally introduced.”

“These are Sergeant James Barnes and Captain Steve Rogers,” Bruce put in helpfully. “Though I imagine you recognize them.”

Stark nodded absently. “Sleeping Beauty and the Lost Knight, stars of all my childhood fairy tales.” He gave Steve a narrow look. “I assume all the good qualities my dad couldn't stop talking about will become more apparent when I'm not under suspicion of being a false god.” He slipped the shirt off his shoulders, and Bruce took a half step forward to gaze at the iridescent mark on his chest that seemed to be a smiling theater mask.

“Thal… Thalia, the muse of comedy?” The scientist blinked a moment and Bucky lowered his weapon in seeming satisfaction. “I would have guessed Urania.”

“She's most known for comedy, but has strong interests in the sciences, too. Turns out she also loves programming.”

Steve admired Bruce's encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly every topic they might run into, but briefly wished Clint were here so he wouldn't be the only lost one. “Okay, so instead of being a metaphor, muses are snakes that partner like the Tok'ra? I really think we need to talk to it directly.”

Bucky shook his head. “The Muses aren't like the Goa'uld, or the Tok'ra, for that matter. They never take over their hosts, not even to speak. They communicate with the host mostly through feelings and images, and give inspiration for creation, which they then enjoy experiencing…” He broke off with a thunderous scowl and the odd eye movements which usually meant an internal argument with his own parasite then snapped angrily, “You absolutely are not!”

Steve wondered if the snake was really being annoying enough to throw Bucky out of his professionalism, but decided that is was probably more of a signal that he believed Stark to be harmless, and went with it. “What's it doing now, Buck?”

His best friend turned to him with a long-suffering look that wouldn't have been out of place on their middle school teacher's face. “Winter wants to be known as the Muse of Combat.”

Stark fumbled the last of his shirt buttons in his helpless laughter, and Bruce even smiled. “Well, with the way you describe his behaviour in the field,” the quiet scientist began.

“It’s not a Muse, it's a damn backseat driver!”

Finished redressing, Stark approached Bucky, raising his hand slightly. “May I?”

Though he had relaxed out of combat mode, Steve still watched with concern as his friend made Parasite Face again then nodded. Stark touched Bucky's face gently, moving well into his personal space, and in spite of his usual aversion to touch, he returned the gesture and tilted his head down slightly so they were almost sharing breaths. Stark's eyes were shimmering in the first true sign of possession he had shown, and Bucky's were closed tightly.

After a few minutes while Bruce stared in fascination and Steve started to feel distinctly uncomfortable, both men stepped apart simultaneously, taking deep breaths as if they had forgotten the need for oxygen until separating. “Thank you, Sergeant.”

“Um, sure.” Seeing Steve's concerned look, Bucky gave a reassuring smile. “The snakes were talking, uh, directly. Like how they can recognize each other, even in new hosts? I guess when they are close enough it can get pretty detailed.”

“That's amazing,” Bruce breathed. “That pheromone based communication could be considered an actual conversation? You'll need to write up a full brief on it later.”

"Actually, it's not- well, actually we should probably get back on the original track rather than a further digression.” Stark settled back behind his desk and took a deep breath. “I cannot be a part of Stargate Command, or consult on any projects to combat the Goa'uld.”

Steve straightened and felt his anger rising. He should have known it was too good to be true. “So your snake plays by different rules but is still loyal to the System Lords? You realize that they are at war with us? That’s treason.”

“Cool your tits of patriotism, Rogers.” The man was infuriatingly calm. “Muses are neutral in the wars between the System Lords, with the Tok'ra or Asgard, rebellions against Goa'uld, and even the intra-planetary wars of humans. Thalia is a contemporary of Apophis and Anubis and spawned with that principle in place from a Muse even older; you are not going to be the one to sway her.”

Bruce had been doing his usual conflict avoidance, but spoke up suddenly. “You became her host when you were a hostage in Afghanistan. That's why you divested your weapons division into its own company back then.”

“I agreed to do it when we bonded.” He shrugged slightly. “The weapons contracts were holdovers from Howard's time, and a feeling of responsibility to the troops, but I had been focusing my efforts more in other areas even before Thalia came along. The new company is doing fine, though we had to do some fancy footwork on contracts for me to take all the patents I held personally with me.”

Steve was about to respond when Bucky touched his arm gently. “Don't go there, Captain.” His face was pinched like it had been continually before he and ‘Winter’ came to a rough truce. “From the history I'm getting, the Tok'ra and possibly some of our other allies would take serious offense if we tried to strongarm a Muse. And he didn't say he couldn't consult with the Program at all.”

“Oh!” A huge smile spread across Bruce's face. “I'd love to have you take a look at the dialing computer! I think some of your work on learning programs could really translate well to the decision trees we're working with.”

“Now that does sound interesting. Why don't we talk NDAs and security concerns, and we can work out a rough consulting schedule. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot.” He turned back to the two soldiers who were starting to ease back out of conversation range. “Don't think you're keeping that gorgeous piece of tech hidden under your jacket, Sergeant! I took my shirt off, fair's fair.”

Bucky let out a deep sigh and started unbuttoning his jacket while Steve tried to keep a straight face if not a supportive one. “God damn geek catnip…”

[dilldaydreamer-blog]

PVT: Family Natters

(Discord RP Between PI and Jude @redstringsandpidgeons ) PI>JH Ah. Jude. Do you have a moment?

JH: YES SIR over JH: HOW MAY I HELP YOU ? over

PI: Oh! It wasn't anything dire. PI: It was actually I suppose a more personal conversation?

JH: OH JH: WHATS UP THEN ? over

PI: I was mostly thinking about the past while. PI: And uh PI: I've already started to lose my nerve and train of thought. PI: I guess I wanted to be open with you because there is a bit of guilty feelings on a matter and it doesn't feel right to not mention it?

JH:  ?

PI: I'm an alien. PI: Er...by that I mean I'm carapacian. PI: I'm sorry. I generally try to make it not a very known thing and give everyone the impression I'm also human born and raised on Earth.  Partially for work and security reasons. PI: But the truth is I was born on Prospit. PI: Er...cloned on Prospit I guess would be a better term. PI: I only moved to Earth later on in my life.

JH: I THINK I HAD THIS DISCUSSION ALREADY WITH SOMEBODY ELSE JH: AND TECHNICALLY I'M THE ALIEN HERE over JH: I SEE JH: WHY WOULD YOU FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT ? over JH: YOU HAD YOUR REASONS TO HIDE YOUR ORIGINS AND I RESPECT THAT over JH: YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS WATCHING OR HEARING YOUR CONVERSATIONS JH: IF KEEPING A FACADE LIKE THAT HELPS YOU BE COMFORTABLE SO BE IT JH: NEVER LET BIG BROTHER KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE UP TO over JH: THAT SAID JH: THAT MEANS I'M THE ONLY HUMAN AT THE PRECINCT THEN ? over

PI: There's still Egbert.

JH: OH GOOD over

PI: I suppose I feel guilty because for a time it felt like we were building a comradry over our combined human...uh...humaning. PI: And I didn't want to forge any bonds on the backs of deception PI: If it is any consolation, I have spent more time on Earth than I have on Prospit at this point.

JH: OUR RELATIONSHIP WASN'T ONLY BASED ON SUCH A CONNECTION JH: I WOULD BE DIMINISHING IT'S EXTENT BY ONLY RESUMING IT TO THAT MINIMAL DETAIL over JH: BUT SINCE WE ARE HERE ALREADY JH: WHY WOULD YOU DENY YOUR BIRTHPLACE ? over JH: WELL JH: CLONEPLACE over

PI: Well. PI: I could say that it was primarily for work purposes. PI: The prospitian race is very unpopular here on Derse for a multitude of reasons. PI: Working for the law is difficult as is. Working while looking like that which some have spent generations in brutal warfare....extra difficult. PI: But I cannot deny that I. PI: Well. PI: It's a complicated situation.

JH: MAKES SENSE over JH: YOU DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO over JH: BUT CAN I ASK YOU THEN JH: IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE WAR ? over JH: UNLESS THAT'S TOO PERSONAL over

PI: I did not. PI: I was actually in the first batch of clones that was made after the war's end. PI: Sort of the uh...first generation in the new peaceful time.

JH: I SEE over

PI: But, yes. I wanted you to know because. PI: Well I guess the best way to describe it is I do feel somewhat paternally inclined towards you. PI: Which admittedly may be a byproduct of who and what I am. PI: Which I guess is a fancy way of "it feels uncomfortable to feel like I was lying to you on something like that."

JH: I WAS UNSURE IF YOUR PATERNAL JOKES WERE JUST THAT JH: OR IT WAS FOR REAL over JH:  I SEE JH: WELL I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IM NOT MAD THAT I WAS LIED TO JH: IN THIS CASE YOU HAD VERY GOOD REASONS JH: I RESPECT YOU TRYING TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE over

PI: They are a bit of both. PI: I mean I initially started with just it to be friendly jest. PI: But ah...you're very easy to get attached to! Very likable. PI: It's...probably also a bit of a holdover from older coding. PI: Something which would hasten the bonds of familial love since often many new clones would arrive  as full adults and need older models to guide them PI: But without the years of raising them from infancy...hard wired shortcuts were added. PI: Which doesn't mean the feelings are disengenuine!  Just expedited!

JH: I WAS ABOUT TO ASK THAT JH: I DO NOT DOUBT THEY ARE REAL IF YOU ARE SURE ABOUT IT over JH: BUT I STILL WANT TO KNOW IF YOU EVER REALIZE IT'S JUST  A PRODUCT OF YOUR CODING ONE DAY JH: I ALREADY HAVE A VERY BAD EXPERIENCE WITH AN ABSENT AND NOT VERY CARING DAD over JH: DO NOT WISH TO REPEAT SUCH EXPERIENCE over

PI: I had actually wanted to ask about your comfort on such things. PI: Because I realize it may be...horrifyingly awkward? PI: And the last thing I want to do is put you in a spot where you feel presured or uncomfortable because of how I've been acting. PI: Which I guess is also my way of saying if I have been overbearing or uncomfortable...please let me know and I can take effort to curb things on my end.

JH: THE REASON WHY I HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING BAD ABOUT IT JH: IT'S BECAUSE I ACTUALLY FIND YOUR COMPANY AND SUCH TYPE OF APPROACH VERY COMFORTING over JH:  I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE AWKWARD TO JUST COME OUT OF NOWHERE JH: AND ACTUALLY ADMIT I APPRECIATE YOU AS A FATHERLY FIGURE OF THE SORTS ? over JH: I DONT WANT YOU TO FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO ADOPT ME OR ANYTHING over JH: NOT LIKE LITERAL ADOPTION JH: BUT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TRYNG TO SAY ? JH: RIGHT ? over

PI: I understand. PI: I do genuinely enjoy your company. PI: And since I keep saying "I guess this is my way of saying..." PI: I guess this is my way of saying I would like to sort of semi-officially continue on this relationship path with you. PI: No actual pressure, no rush to sign papers or anything, just...see how it goes? PI: There's not much experience on the "Will you be my son" front of hallmark cards I realize. PI: Maybe I should have made one of those little notes wtith the Y / N to circle....

JH: IT WOULD BE HILARIOUS IF YOU JUST HAD SENT ME THIS over [Enlosed Image: dylm.jpg]

JH: BUT WITH ANOTHER TITLE over JH: TO WHICH I HAVE TO REPLY THAT YES I AM COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT JH: AND I HOPE I DO NOT DRIVE YOU AWAY OR DISAPPOINT YOU over

PI: I will save that image for actual adoption paper time should it come to that. :) PI: Also ah, well I would say my reaction would be something of "Huzzah!" or "Yee!" but it feels somewhat innappropriate. PI: So I'll just say I am comfortable with it too and that I too hope I do not drive you away or disappoint you! PI: Son. :D

JH: DOES THIS MEAN I WILL BE A VICTIM OF DAD JOKES ? over

PI: I think we're all the victim for those. PI: Maybe. I'm still new to this whole thing.  May be a bit shaky.

JH: I'M SURE MR ELLIOT WILL BE GLAD TO ASSIST YOU IN THIS DAD BUSINESS OF JOKES over

PI:  By assist you mean 'make me suffer because he's far more punny than I ever could be' you are correct. PI: But ah! Thank you! I will do my best to not disappoint. PI: Oh...actual business now. PI: I'm going to be taking time in the next few days to try to gather up some of the surveilance footage in some of the hidden cameras I had placed. Also to see if any were damaged in all the situation.  Would you like to come along for some of that? PI: Though that will be a little bit after some of the immediate clean-up is taken care of.

JH: MR ELLIOT IS THE MASTER OF PUNS THAT'S TRUE over JH: HM ? JH: OF COURSE SIR JH: JUST LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU NEED ME AND I WILL BE THERE over

PI: Can do! PI: I should get back to work myself now. PI: Thank you for all the help with the reports and organizing things at the precinct. PI: It has made things work a lot more efficiently.

JH: NO PROBLEM SIR JH: I HONESTLY DIDN'T WANT TO GO ON PATROL TODAY ANYWAY JH: PEOPLE ARE STILL VERY STRESSED AND SOMETIMES I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY OTHER THAN JUST "I'M SORRY" over

PI: That is a very relatable feeling. PI: Sometimes it is best to just take time to focus on tasks that allow you to feel helpful but without extra stress due to social interactions. PI: Keep taking care of yourself, get plenty of rest where you can.

JH: YES OF COURSE JH: YOU TOO MR PEMBROOKE over

[gamearamamegathons]

Dragon Quest V: Baby Dungeons

Circe here! I've only just started Dragon Quest V, but I've been thinking, given the sheer size of my last post on Dragon Warrior IV, maybe I should be writing shorter, more frequent posts rather than letting a huge amount of plot build up before posting, especially now that the games...actually...have plot. Besides, there's a lot to talk about right off the bat. First thing I should cover is that the SNES version of Dragon Quest V has never been localized to English. Dragon Quests IV through VI eventually got DS remakes that were released in the US, but I'm sticking with the original version of every game, so that means either rolling with a Japanese version or finding a fan translation. I know I talked a big game about playing untranslated games earlier, but these games have gotten a lot more text-heavy in the interrim, so that would probably slow things down a lot. I'm still not ruling out the possibility for future games, but for now, I think this works fine. This does mean that there may be localization choices that aren't consistent with any official localization, so this may be quite interesting, we'll see.

As for the game itself, as you might expect from an early SNES RPG, it's a weird mix of graphical and mechanical improvements paired with weird holdovers from the NES era. I was really hoping that the DOOR/TALK/SEARCH menu items would finally go away, but no, it's still here, and it looks even weirder next to the considerably better SNES graphics. However, with the extra buttons, they've added another button that appears to be a context-sensitive shortcut, so I may be leaning on that a lot instead. Menu navigation on the whole is pretty similar, although our characters have a bigger inventory, and equipment purchasing is even further improved by showing how each item in the shop will change each character's stats. I can't say it's not improved, but we're not really at the point of 'hey, this is a modern RPG now' quite yet. And that's...very weird, actually, because Final Fantasy IV was released the year before this game, and despite also having some weird NES holdovers, the UI is better in almost every way (except purchasing equipment, actually, I have to give DQ5 credit there). In fact, I don't know if Final Fantasy has *ever* had anything like Dragon Quest's clunky menu-driven interaction system, so it's very weird that it's lasted, in some form, for five games. But it's not like I haven't acclimated to it by now, so it's not a big deal.

So what is Dragon Quest V about? Well, it opens with our hero's birth. We see our papa...named Papas...and our mother, whose name I forget, celebrating the baby's birth and fretting over a name. As you might guess, they just happen to settle on a name I picked (Papas initially complains that it sounds 'too feminine', which is weirdly on the nose) and then the mother dies. So, uh...well that's kind of a downer to open on. In any case, our gender is fixed in this game (male, as you might guess) but I can't complain too much, since this one is probably going to be even plot-heavier than in the past. I think our character even talks. But it's a good thing, then, that SEN is a gender-ambiguous name. And no, I'm never going to stop using allcaps.

So, skip ahead to when SEN is a young adult...haha, just kidding, you're six. Apparently, Papas is a bit of a wanderer, but we're on a boat just about to make port in his hometown of Santa Rosa. Here on the ship we're going to get acquainted with one of the big changes in Dragon Quest V. At least here in the early game, you're pretty hemmed in, and the game expects you to talk to NPCs in the area in order to advance the plot. A far cry from the wide-open world of Dragon Warrior, but it's little surprise, since each game up to this point has taken little steps in this direction. And our character is, after all, six. Once we reach the dock, Papas immediately busies himself talking to some guy, so of course we wander off and immediately get into an encounter with some slimes. After a couple turns of feeble swings at the monsters, Papas steps in to protect us, taking out the slimes easily with blows upwards of 70 damage. So okay, he's pretty tough. He heals us, and we walk the short distance from the dock to Santa Rosa. This is a scripted sequence where Papas leads the way, but there are still random encounters like normal (okay, they're probably scripted, but it gives the appearance of random encounters). Papas handles the monsters with ease, and we head into town.

Here Papas bumps into the wife of his friend who runs an inn in the nearby town of Alcapa. Apparently, he has fallen ill, and his wife came here to get medicine. And we meet her daughter Bianca, who quickly gets bored of listening to the adults talk, and goes upstairs with us to pass the time. Being two years older, she's able to read, a little, so she takes out a book to read to us. It doesn't take her long to give up, though, complaining that the words are too difficult. It's not long before Bianca's mother comes to pick her up, and then it's just us and Papas again.

Papas seems to be a bit of an inattentive father, to be honest. He's busy with grown-up stuff, and we're left to our own devices. You can wander around town and talk to people, and find out that a man who went to find the medicine has gone into the nearby cave and hasn't come out, or you can, like me, just find the cave and decide this is an excellent idea without finding out why you should go there. There's a guard keeping six year old children from wandering out of town, but the cave is unguarded -- well, no, that's not true, there is a guard by the cave entrance, but he merely warns you that going into the cave is a bad idea and it's not his fault if you get lost. I know we're an RPG hero, but I want you to consider for a moment that by all reasonable standards, this adult human just stands there and watches as a literal six year old wanders to his likely death. Oh well. It would've been inconvenient if he'd stopped us. Don't let the fact that we're six years old give you the idea that we won't be fighting slimes, bats, and moles, or buying weapons and armor at the local shops. It's much funnier to instead picture our hero beating monsters to death with a stick using his tiny baby arms.

At the bottom of the dungeon we find the man trapped under the rock, and give him a hand. So, uh, probably good that someone came down here eventually. That done, Bianca and her mother are ready to return to Alcapa. Papas doesn't like the idea of them traveling on their own, though, so the four of us set out together. Once the medicine is delivered, Papas seems anxious to leave, but it seems that Papas's friends wants him to stay awhile and he, relucantly, agreed. I get the impression that Papas is concerned with...something. Something that's keeping him from his family and friends. But it's too early to say what it is, really. I'll admit, it reminds me of my time playing Taloon in Dragon Warrior IV, getting up in the morning and leaving his family every day to go stab monsters, except this time I'm the child instead. Did Taloon's kid understand why he left for so long, or why they eventually uprooted their lives to move to the much bigger and busier city of Endor? There's no telling, I suppose.

Alcapa is pretty similar to Santa Rosa, although it has a nicer shop and no dangerous open cave for children to wander into. Here, we spend more time with Bianca, and if we chat around a bit, we find a couple more kids tormenting a cat, presumably for no other reason than that they're assholes with nothing better to do. We try to intervene, and they tell us they'll let the cat go if we go fight ghosts in the haunted castle to the north. Okay. This seems a little artificial, especially since, if we're strong enough to do that, we're strong enough to deal with these little shits, but the quest is clear, so that's what we gotta do. We can only leave town at night when the guard is asleep, but that's no big deal, since the shops and everything are still open.

Bianca starts out at level 1 with pretty pitiful equipment, so the first thing I do is grind -- mostly for gold, but I get some decent levels in the process. This game introduces an interesting new feature -- weapons that can hit multiple enemies. I get a boomerang for myself, which can hit every enemy, and a thorn whip for Bianca, which can hit a single enemy group. The downside is that they do less damage to each consecutive enemy, but it's still a huge benefit, reducing large enemy groups to nothing in one or two strikes.

With that done, we head north to Lenoire Castle. I think one purpose of this dungeon is to show off a lot of the new event scripting stuff, kinda like Taloon's chapter in Dragon Warrior IV. This place is pretty damn haunted, with object moving around, doors opening on their own, and, uh, also there's ghosts everywhere trying to kill us. That's, I guess, the biggest hint probably. But it's also clear that they wanted to show off what this new engine can do. Along the way, we meet the ghosts of the former king and queen of the castle, who are apparently being hassled by bad ghosts. Eventually we meet the boss of the bad ghosts, called...Boss Ghost...and he's pretty tough. Bianca drops in this fight, which kinda sucks, but I get through it. Oh, and offensive spells and attacks are finally animated, which is a touch that has been sorely missing until now (our characters don't appear on-screen, so naturally, anything that targets them is not animated). With that done, the good ghosts are at peace, and we get...oh no. A Gold Orb. I mean, okay, we don't know what it's for yet, but I'm wary of generic macguffins at this point.

We hang onto the orb and head back to Alcapa. The shitty kids let us have the cat, and it joins our party...uh, apparently it's a baby panther, which raises a lot of questions about why it's tame and in town. But whatever. Bianca names it Borongo. I think we can rename it if we want, but I decide not to. Papas leads us back home, and we leave Bianca behind, but Borongo sticks with us. Back in Santa Rosa, there doesn't seem to be much going on at first. A lot of townsfolk are complaining about random little objects going missing, which sounds significant. Eventually, if we poke around, we see what appears to be a ghost. The ghost is surprised we can see her, and she says she's been messing with people in order to try and get their attention. Apparently she's really an elf, visiting the human world through some kind of, spirit projection I guess? She leads us to the basement of our home where nobody else is around, and says that the world of elves needs help, and we need to go there right away. Um...so everything I know about fantasy tells me that when an elf tells a very small child to go to their world with them, it's a pretty bad idea. But this isn't really that sort of story, and we don't really have a choice, so off we go.

In the world of elves, we're told that a magical flute has been stolen, and we need to get it back, because they need it to change the seasons, so the human world will fall into eternal winter without it. That sounds pretty bad. The elves have a lot of confidence that a six year old child and his cat can fix this problem, but to be fair, we've got a surprisingly good track record up to this point.

Well, that's all for now. I guess I was right to start writing a new post now, because this turned out to be pretty long anyway. I guess these posts might end up getting a lot more frequent to keep up with the plot, so stay tuned!