#old Hero vandal story

[satoshy12]

Jack Fenton Savage

I got to think of Jack Durability, and I read the idea of Alien Jack.

But what are your thoughts on:" Jack Fenton Savage is the son of Vandal Savage.

Jack Durability is from the Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon DNA of Vandal Savage. So chimp-like power athlete Jazz and Danny just never noticed it. Jack is strong as a gorilla.

And as Vandal learns about his "hero" grandson, Vandal:" He is still young; let him play Hero. I did the same a few times in the past."

[bnhaobservation]

Changing society in BNHA

So… I came up with an odd thought about which might be the change in society we're expected to witness in BNHA, what was that Midoriya's fight with Tomura was supposed to show to society so that it would change.

There’s a scene that stick particularly in my mind in BNHA, the one of little Tenko wandering through the streets, mentally begging for someone to help him while people pretend not to see him. Finally an old lady notices him but then decides he looks creepy and tells him the police or a Hero or somebody else will help him as she’ll do better go to her job. Little Tenko keeps on walking then, and people keep on seeing and ignoring him until one person reaches out his hand to him. Sadly for Tenko said person is AFO who helps Tenko solely to turn him into Shigaraki Tomura, symbol of fear.

In my country, if an adult sees a small child of 5 wandering alone, he should feel responsible for the kid and help him. You aren’t allowed to ignore it. The result is I’ve always interpreted that scene as Horikoshi blaming society for not helping a child. If one of those people who saw Tenko, instead than ignoring him, had saved Tenko before AFO, then Tenko would have never turned into Shigaraki Tomura.

There are other instances in which Villains seem to be born by how society, instead than caring for them/helping them out, turned their back on them, which caused them to end up on perceiving society as their enemy and therefore choosing a Villain life.

As a result I was expecting at the end of the story the BNHA society would be changed into one who was more willing to help those in need and not just pass the job to the Heroes.

Even Tomura’s speech talk about how people has just got used to be protected due to the Heroes coddling them…

...the fact that, right from chap 1 as Heroes were fighting people would just stop and stare as if it were a show, and the whole All Might being a pillar so that the weight would rest on him made me think the theme was that society had to turn into a more helpful one instead than just a passive one that watches Heroes saving people.

But then I’ve been wondering if the theme hadn’t somehow shifted along the way… or maybe I just had misunderstood it.

You see… after the first war the story shows us the struggle of Heroes. Some of them, facing all that destruction, think they should change work. Midnight and other Heroes are dead, while other Heroes like Endeavor and the Class A students are hurt. The public attacks Heroes for failing to protect them. Even at Enji’s press conference they aren’t really angry with him for what he did to his family but for allowing Machia’s rampage, for failing to stop the destruction Villains caused. In short for failing as a Hero.

All Might’s statue starts to get vandalized and Uraraka wonders who’ll help Heroes when they need to be protected, before giving a speech in which she assures the public only Heroes will be coated in filth, that they won’t be asked to do the same, but asks them to just help a Hero (Midoriya) rest so he will be able to keep on fighting for the people.

Later, much later, when Midoriya is fighting Tomura, people will still try to help him, to help the Hero fight Tomura by giving Eraser Head shirts and other necessities.

So it can be that THIS IS the change watching Midoriya fight was meant to bring in the society, making it aware they should help their Heroes instead than just watching them.

In a way that’s also what Spinner blames himself for failing to do, he believes he didn’t step in and saved Tomura, his Hero, sooner.

It’s not really a new idea in the story.

When Bakugō was kidnapped Tomura himself, talking with him, asked him why the press was criticizing Heroes who were, after all, humans whose only crime was doing too little, too late. Society expected them to be perfect but humans can screw up here and there, can they?

In truth though, especially after the Stain’s arc, Tomura’s speech doesn’t feel like a “we should support Heroes more” kind of speech, but a Heroes really aren’t doing enough, with Shūichi summarizing how Stain taught them that when Heroes started protecting people for a paycheck they stopped being Heroes… which might seem him scolding them for doing it for their self interest… but if we turn it around it can also mean that since they’re PAID to save people, if they don’t they FAIL at their work and this allows society to complain and ask for a refund.

To go back to the scene of the lady not helping Tenko this would be that the story isn’t scolding the lady for not helping Tenko… but for not helping the Heroes to find Tenko so that they could help him.

While the result is similar (either way Tenko gets help) the final message is different. People aren’t asked anymore to help other people but… let’s call it the system in place. They’re asked to take responsibility in helping the Heroes, to cooperate with them so as to make the Hero society work better.

Midoriya’s fight with Tomura was meant to show people Heroes need them to win and save them, society has no interest in saving Tomura, they needed to see Midoriya win with their help so that they would change and become more supportive of Heroes.

Then Heroes… assuming they’re good Heroes… could have it easier saving people so that more of them could be saved. In short the idea BNHA might be trying to propose is, if common people also were to turn into a bit of a Hero (as they would support Heroes and be Heroes for their Heroes), the Heroes then could prevent more easily things from getting worse which is what Midoriya and Tsukauchi talk about.

Now… I don’t know if this is the theme Horikoshi went for and if this was his intention from the start (honestly to be Tomura’s speech felt like him scolding the Heroes, not society for deciding not to support them) but the real problem I see with this theme, is that it might work in Japan, but not so much in the west.

Japan has a good relation with its police (I’ll take supporting Heroes can be the equivalent of supporting police in the real world), they don’t fear it, they find it reassuring, they’re regarded with great respect and admiration. They aren’t at the level of the Heroes of BNHA but it’s quite a difference with how many countries in the west instead fear police, blame it for its violence and abuse of authority and don’t see it as really reassuring or supportive of people or worthy of respect.

Japanese people don’t discuss when the police arrest someone, if they do it should be because that someone was guilty (and once you’re arrested you’ll generally are judged guilty in Japan) while in the west we fear more the people might have caught the wrong guy for various reasons.

So while in Japan a theme that remembers people of the importance of being supportive with the people in charge of the protection of citizens might work… in the west it might be taken differently. Many western countries are more critical of the government and of the police than in Japan, which is also why many fanfic writers like to paint the Hero Commission as the bad guy in their stories, while Horikoshi, despite saying it did some wrong things, didn’t really handle it as an evil organization.

Society remains unaware of its wrongdoing, the president is murdered off in a quick scene and, after a brief period in which Mera was in charge, Hawks is placed as the new president and, since Hawks is meant to be seen as a good guy, likely this is our narrative clue that the Hero Commission will take a turn for the better, with him even trying to free Lady Nagant and her remaining in jail just because she decided to stay.

It kind of reminds me of how in the past in Japan when a clan rebelled and then lost, the family head would commit seppuku and they would switch to a new family head and the clan would be pardoned… so I guess from a Japanese standpoint this can work just fine while here, if we’ve an organization doing something dirty we worry to make sure we remove EVERYONE who was involved in it, not just the boss… but okay, I guess we’ll see how Horikoshi expects society to change in future chapters so I guess I should just be patient and, for now, this is just food for thoughts as I might be completely off track.

[bettsfic]

one of the things that really stuck with me about The Bikeriders is that it's all about performative toxic masculinity, but there's no womanizer character. not a single guy who picks up women for the fun of it. there's also no casual, unquestioned infidelity, which is a staple of dudebro narratives. like obviously the badass leader guy is going to have a woman on the side, and both his wife and myriad girlfriends will just be set pieces for him with no characterization whatsoever.

on my first watch i just assumed Johnny has a wife at home and a girlfriend in the club, but then i realized the woman hanging all over him during the picnics is his wife (Betty), as evidenced by this pic from VANDALS, the photobook of the shooting of the film.

sorry for the poor quality. this is a picture of a picture.

the implication here is that Betty is supportive of the club (if not Johnny himself, as we see near the end), at least more so than Kathy, who only dresses in bikerider attire for [spoilers redacted].

it's possible in the present timeline of the film that both of their daughters have grown up and moved out. we see Johnny watching The Wild One on television, a film released in 1953, and two girls run behind him, maybe around 10 years old. the timeline of the story begins in 1963, and the last we see of Johnny's home life is 1971. by all means, their daughters might be in their 20s. in some ways, The Bikeriders is a story of middle-aged boredom.

in multiple instances, we see physical affection between married couples. Benny and Kathy, Johnny and Betty, and Brucie and Gail are all depicted at least once snuggled up beside each other. in many films, if a man is both married and faithful, we see him be at the very least physically neglectful, never touching his wife in a loving way. conversely, we never see men receiving real affection, either, unless it's been earned through the intense action of the film. and even then, it's often something he takes, not something he's given.

i was also surprised by Benny and Kathy's relationship, which i assumed would go south asap, given the intensity of it. and although there's plenty of tension between them, none of it is of the "i fell out of love with you, i regret marrying you" variety of angst. they fall in love and stay in love. and they have problems, but losing interest in each other is not one of them.

i find it very funny that Benny remains covered in dirt even when it makes no sense to be.

to me these are all markers of a story that's about toxic masculinity rather than operating from within toxic masculinity. when we're in a toxically masculine story, we're meant to buy into the fantasy of that masculinity. the protagonist is an ideal, a man who fucks around with any woman he looks at and wins fights and becomes a hero. in The Bikeriders, though, we see from the outside that Johnny is trying to craft that impossible fantasy for himself. he's performing the man he wishes he could be and it's making him miserable. and he tries to put that burden on Benny, who refuses it. Benny is his fantasy. conversely, Johnny is Benny's. they have the other on a pedestal of a male ideal that's impossible to achieve.

in this era of American history, we see increasingly intense narratives of heroism. by the 70s, the sons of WWII veterans had grown up. many men of that time looked up to their fathers as war heroes, fighting on the right side of one of the worst wars in the history of humanity, and winning. but those men were then given the Vietnam War, which arguably had no right side, no front, and no land lost or gained. most importantly, it had no clear beginning or ending*. no closure, no resolution. even outside of war, in industry the task of making something became narrower as merchant trades veered toward assembly line production rather than craftsmanship. Benny refuses to step up in part because he belongs to a generation of men who see no real fruits of their labor. conversely, Johnny is witnessing the slow degradation of honor that comes as a result of losing the concepts of resolution and completion.

*the Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War, but by then Nixon had pulled out all US troops.

i keep reading these shallow reviews of The Bikeriders, and they're positive but they don't seem to really get it. like The Holdovers, i think so much of the nuance and meaning comes from the historical context of the action of the film, which can't really be elaborated on (you can only do so much in two hours), and so it's depicted in these broad strokes of cultural knowledge, much of which is either that the Vietnam War is simply a thing that happened, or information that is flat-out wrong. i mean, there were like 18 possible sides to this war and you can't read a single fact about it without having to analyze or consider the side it's writing from. even wikipedia is full of subtle rhetoric that indicates sympathy toward one side over the other.

people ask me a lot, "why are you researching the Vietnam War?" and the answer is that it's everywhere. its failure is woven into the fabric of American identity. it changed the very definition of masculinity, and being as we are in a patriarchal hegemony, that new definition has in turn affected everybody else. whenever i talk to any American around my age about the Vietnam War, they've got a story about it. either their father/grandfather was there or he wasn't. if he was there, that's a story. if he wasn't, that's a story too.

many of us in our 30s and 40s and 50s are gaining the expertise and audience to begin telling these stories, in an attempt to answer the question of what even happened back then, and why were our parents so cruel, and why is everyone so miserable now? and we find ourselves on impossible pedestals handed down to us from a generation defined by failure and loss.

[litcityblues]

I'll Never Forgive Netflix For This

They canceled Kaos after one season.

Now, to be fair, we had been evaluating the number of streaming services we paid for and were planning on canceling Netflix already, so I can't honestly tell you, dear reader, that our decision to cancel Netflix was solely based on the fact that they canceled Kaos after one season, but it sure as shit didn't convince me to stay.

I get that people have feelings about Joss Whedon these days, but not since Fox canceled Firefly have I been this outraged at a decision to cancel a show. I don't know- as it seems like streaming services cancel shows left and right these days, but man when Hollywood is struggling and the firehouse of streaming content is delivering way more quantity than quality, I don't get how you dump a show this damn good!

It doesn't help that I am a mythology nerd. I devoured old Penguin classics on 'Heroes and Legends of Greek Mythology', and I read The Illiad and The Odyssey (multiple versions, but the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey is gorgeous-- her translation of The Illiad is on my shelf now) at an absurdly young age. This shit is my jam. I love this. If you are making a movie or a television show about mythology, I'm going to judge the fuck out of it.

(Parenthetical Time: Disney's Hercules is an abomination and I loathe it. Hades was never the bad guy. Troy with Brad Pitt was god-awful, but Troy: Fall of A City on Netflix was an incredibly good adaptation of The Illiad. I know everyone just loves Hercules The Legendary Journeys and Kevin Sorbo these days, but that show also did a really great job with the mythology of it all. Also, shout out to Madeline Miller for The Song of Achilles and Circe, both incredible, amazing books.)

All of that being said: Kaos was the best modern adaptation of Greek mythology that I have ever seen and unforgivably, they ended this show on one hell of a cliffhanger.

The story opens with Zeus (Jeff Goldblum in a bit of serendipitously perfect casting) ruling over a modern Greek world, where mortals are expected to pay frequent homage to him. An Olympia Day monument is vandalized in Krete and he becomes convinced that people are not paying him sufficient respect. He notices a small wrinkle and suspects that's aging (something that shouldn't happen to an immortal) and worries that it represents a line from a prophecy he was given by the Fates.

Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) visits, hoping for more divine responsibilities, and when Zeus rebuffs him and Hera (Janet McTeer) sneers at him, he leaves, but not before stealing Zeus' watch. Zeus goes so far as to summon Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) to seek assurance that his prophecy will not come to pass.

Meanwhile, the mortal Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau) meets Cassandra (Billie Piper) who tells her that today is the day she will leave her husband Orpheus (Killian Scott) because she has fallen out of love with him. She goes to visit her mother, a Tacita Priestess of Hera's (Michelle Greenidge) who reminds her of her prophecy. It's the same as Zeus', which shouldn't be possible, but on her way home, she's hit by a semi and killed. A heartbroken Orpheus tries to commit suicide to follow her to the underworld, but Dionysus tells him there's a way for the two of them to be reunited again.

And from there, this show takes off! We find out about Ari and King Minos, and what happened to her brother Glaucus. The Trojans are here too-- refugees from the fall of their city. Riddy thinks she can pass through The Frame in the underworld, only to find that she can't, because Orpheus stole her coin and she's got to work 200 years before she can pass through and be Renewed. She meets Caeneus who, as it turns out, has the same prophecy as her and Zeus, and little by little, we find out that Prometheus has waited patiently for a chance to take down Zeus and he's not the only one then just when we're setting up for one hell of a cliff hanger with Zeus bleeding, the Meander fountain, the source of the Gods' immortality stops flowing and Hera leaves for an unknown destination, telling one of her children to 'gather the troops' and Ari strikes a deal with the Trojans against the Gods themselves.

And then, Netflix canceled the show.

I cannot tell you how awesome this show turned out to be. Joe McGann shows up as a one-eyed bartender named Polyphemus-- the name of his bar? The Cave. Suzy Eddie Izzard shows up as one of the Fates, Lachesis. Debi Mazar is an excellent Medusa. David Thewlis is Hardes, Cliff Curtis is Poseidon this cast is awesome! From Jeff Goldblum on down it's all just so goddamn amazing. The storylines, adapted from the original myths are updated so intelligently for a modern setting. But it's really the bickering, back-biting, scheming Deities themselves that this show absolutely nails. Hera is mean. Zeus is a tyrant. It's just all so perfect!

Overall: This show deserves at least one more season to finish the story and the internet was rightfully outraged that it was cancelled. As am I. My Grade: **** out of ****

[simp2537]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔉𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔄𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔢

A/n : We get to meet a new friend of Alice!reader’s. 😁😁😁

Word Count : 722

Trigger Warnings: Gore, Blood, Horror, Cursing, Child Abuse, Human experiments, Child abandonment, Angst, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Insomnia, etc

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

A/n: TW for this chapter being creepy men near the beginning.

The soft yellow lights of Y/n’s room glowed as she sat at her desk, her literature book laid out in front of her. She tiredly flipped through the pages of Romeo and Juliet, it brought a small smile to her face. Although Romeo was incredibly reckless and impulsive his love for Juliet brought a smile to her lips. Juliet a more calm and dutiful daughter who rebelled against her family out a love. A true tragedy of a love story.

Small pebbles hit at her window quickly. Standing from her desk she opened her window, a rock hitting her forehead. She froze for a moment as the figure bellow cursed softly.

“Shit! You good kid?” Y/n rubbed her face and looked down at the scared man. His black hair, turquoise eyes and purple scars all over his body.

“Yes. Why are you here Dabi.” He smiled widely as he opened his duffle bag, it was filled to the brim with spray paint. Y/n’s eyes glittered softly as she stared down at all the colors. 

“Let me change!” Y/n slammed her window and rummaged around her drawls. Putting out black sweats and tank top she threw them on. Aizawa was out on some hero work and begrudgingly left her home alone under the promise she wouldn’t leave the house. 

Y/n smirked as she closed her book and opened her window back up. Aizawa would be disappointed if he knew all the things she did when he wasn’t home but what he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.

Climbing down from her window she stood next to Dabi, his frame towering hers. She smiled brightly up at him as her placed his long jacket around her.

“It’s cold out crazy, now let’s go before I regret coming to get you.” The fourteen year old smiles as she skipped in front of him. She hummed softly, the flowers growing as she walked down the path. The pair their way down an alley, some drunk men staring at Y/n. 

Dabi sped up placing his hand firmly on her shoulder, he didn’t like the look the men were giving her. He’d seen that look on boys before, and he would not allow what they wanted when he was there to protect her. 

She pouted up at him as he forced her to walk next to him. She simply let Dabi pull her close. Once out of the alley she struggled away from him with a curious look. The pair made their way to an abandoned building and Dabi threw blue paint at Y/n. 

Immediately Y/n began spraying the the wall, Dabi stood close as he did the same. Her perfect and strange flowers next to his threatening words. His eyes bore down at her, watching her innocent smile as she vandalized the wall. She hummed softly, bobbing her head up and down. 

“Hey Dabi?”

“What crazy?”

She cocked her head to the side as she knelt down. She picked a glowing turquoise flower with a white center. Rolling his eyes he knelt down to her as she place the flower in his hair.

“I’m hungry. Do you have an food?” Dabi chuckled as he ruffled her hair. He reached into his bag pulling out a container of ramen, with pork and vegetables. Y/n’s eyes lit up as she took the container and chopsticks from Dabi. 

Y/n slide down the wall, munching on her steaming food as Dabi continued to spray paint the wall. He watched her slurp up the noodles, eat the bok Chou with a bright smile and drinking the streaming spicy broth. 

Hunger was something Y/n was full of. When ever he went to see her she was hungry. It wasn’t that she wasn’t being fed, Dabi knew the the pro hero who was her guardian feed her incredibly well. After a while he began to bring food for his crazy kid.

He reached into his bag as she slipped the broth, his threw a small strawberry cake at her. She caught it with a giddy smile as she finished her ramen. She began to devour the sweet treat as Dabi smiled softly.

Together the pair sat in relative silence, all except for the much g on cake and the paint spraying on the wall.

[stories-me]

Potential Character for Mrs. Kelsey and Tumblr 8/6/2024:

Nimona, Seemingly Teenage Shapeshifter:

What she’s from: Nimona.

Personality:

Nimona is a rebellious and thrill-seeking individual who wants to overthrow the institution and initially only decided to work for Ballister because she was bored. She desires to kill her enemies and tries to do so when given the opportunity, and is only stopped by Ballister who tries to serve as her moral compass.

Despite her sadistic traits and liking to prank and scare people, Nimona hates being called a monster, as it reminds her how she was once attacked by villagers for her shapeshifting abilities, and betrayed by her friend Gloreth after the latter was manipulated by her parents to see Nimona as a monster.

Nimona would grow to become best friends with Ballister, but after he finds out that she was the creature in Gloreth’s stories and their friendship got broken by Ballister pulling out a weapon, Nimona would go on a rampage, burning down part of the kingdom’s city and putting civilians in danger.

However, after being humiliated and mocked by the civilians when she was knocked out by several of the city’s security drones, Nimona tries to kill herself by using the sword of Gloreth’s statue before being calmed down by Ballister, which caused her to start hugging him. When she saw that the Director was going to use her cannons to destroy half of the city, Nimona stopped her by turning into a giant bird and going to the cannons before they were fired. The relationship with her and Ballister stayed solid even after her presumed death, and she was extremely happy when he found out she was alive.

Background:

Nimona was a shapeshifting girl who 1000 years before the movie’s events, tried to find somewhere she could fit in, and one day met a girl named Gloreth. The two would become friends and they would often play with each other. However, when Gloreth’s village saw Nimona shapeshifting, they became horrified and attacked her, and when Nimona tried to talk to Gloreth, she was manipulated by her parents to see Nimona as a monster, and told her to leave her village. Saddened by this, Nimona would start to accept her treatment as a villain and decided to cause havoc and chaos everywhere around her.

She is first seen in the movie vandalizing one of the Institute’s posters, and after seeing a report about Ballister Boldheart, who had been accused of being the killer of Queen Valerin, she decided to go to his lair and talk to him. There, Nimona asks him to become his sidekick and commit crimes with him, unaware that Ballister wasn’t interested in villainy and that he wanted to prove his innocence in the death of Queen Valerin.

After a series of incidents in the movie (Spoiler alert).

The next few months, people would start to see Nimona and Ballister as heroes and make a memorial for Nimona who was presumed dead, with even a remorseful Todd honoring her memory. However, when Ballister goes to his old lair, he finds Nimona alive and is extremely happy.

How she is like me:

When we do bad things, we both feel pretty upset about it. Also, deep down, we’re both good people. I usually try to avoid doing bad things by mostly just keeping certain thoughts of what I’d LIKE to do inside my head. I usually try to recompense by apologizing and being as nice as possible. Nimona began her recompense for her time as a would-be villain by killing the Director.

Kelsey Notes:

Sometimes when you’ve made a bad decision your mind can trick you into thinking that you’re better off digging the hole deeper

For some people emotions can be very strong, especially when we feel that we’ve hurt the ones we love who help us

It was difficult for Nimona to problem solve her way out of a situation when others misjudged her. 

Unfortunately, how people judge us can be out of our control, what we do have control over is our reactions to certain situations.

It is more difficult to stop ourselves in the moment and control how we handle a situation, especially when we don’t exactly know how to solve the problem

When we remain calm people want to be around us, when we get agitated quickly other people can feel those emotions making it less likely for them to want to be around us or help us

Overall, you may not know exactly how a problem is going to get solved but you can always trust that your support system will be there to help you through it and generally receive the best outcome possible

[chronicas]

I've been following you for so long but I know nothing about your OCs (how? Idk.) so how about a basic rundown or something? Who's on the roster.

Ooooh man we've got a menagerie of guys over here in the Noxsylvaniaverse. Sorry I went overboard.

WELCOME TO THE NEW REQUIRED READING (joking)

ARRAY OF CICADAS Akira Akamatsu -> Devan Ranim -> Karma Gjalleon

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi Core themes: Comradery, grief, and redemption

Array of Cicadas is about a girl struggling with grief and the adventure that helps her come to terms with it. Akira is the protagonist (but not the main character) of AoC. Growing up in the magical realm of Genesis, Akira was raised as a Fire Mage, hiding from her family and everyone she knew that in reality she's an extremely rare Elemental Mage. She hid her power solely because she REALLY didn't like the son of the dragons (Ryuji, he's on this list in spirit) who would've become her teachers had she revealed herself. She moved from her magical homeworld to live on Earth and go to college after her sister's death. Family drama gets her thrown into Hveske where she meets her soon-to-be best friend, Devan! Devan is best described as Positive Change Personified. As the true main character of the story, there are very few people who's lives aren't improved by having this little guy in it. He meets Akira in the middle of his own personal quest to help his friends take down the Izebellian Empire, that's currently threatening to take over his home realm Hveske. Devan might still be just a kid, but he's always coming up with bright ideas that've gotten him and his friends out of dozens of scraps. Karma Gjalleon is the main antagonist of AoC. An unknown threat looms far greater and more powerful than that of the Izebellian Empire, that is the Regicidal Regent, Karma Gjalleon! She was once ruling regent of Hveske a few thousand years ago, but decided to broaden her horizons and now plans to conquer the entire universe! Her desire is to eradicate all tyranny by becoming the ultimate tyrant, once she has successfully done this, she wishes to be taken down herself by a righteous hero.

Array of Cicadas: Cryptadia Serendipity Grace Vulcan -> Salem Graves -> Qwynn Vandale

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery Core themes: Identity, love (DIFFERENT from romance), stress/pressure

Array of Cicadas: Cryptadia is the second installment of AoC, taking place at the same time as the first. Akira disappears from the small Coloradian town of Adderdeen, kicking off a series of events that binds three of the town's most extraordinary people together to solve an interdimensional mystery. Serendipity is a teenage vampire who's adoptive family sent her to Adderdeen to study under the renowned Master Alchemist James Emperor. Serendipity lives with a poorly understood condition that makes it difficult for her to use her own magic, therefore she had to give up the family trade of witchcraft to learn about a more external magic like Alchemy. She struggles best she can to keep up with her magical studies as well as her high school studies as a foreign exchange student at Adderdeen High School. After she's found out as a vampire by her classmate Qwynn, she gets roped into a whole new world of mystery. She just hope her grades don't suffer too much as a result. Salem is a local celebrity in Adderdeen as host of a popular local radio show he titled The Nightwatch, a show cracking down on local supernatural sightings. He also balances his job as a mortician on top of it as well as raising his teenage sister single-handedly.. all while not letting it slip he's West Virginia's Very Own Mothman! After an encounter with an old moth-like spirit and a chaotic interdimensional entity at 13, Salem has to deal with being a towering moth monster when he's not in his glamored human form. He also takes on the daunting task of keeping the supernatural hotspot of Adderdeen a simple tourist town without letting the truth of the supernatural slip up. Qwynn is a simple teenage girl with simple aspirations. She wants to keep up her honor student status, get a good scholarship, get into a good, local, college, and also help her parents with their Monster Hunting Gig. Daughter of a human mother and a werewolf father, Qwynn is the only of her three siblings to not inherit lycanthropy from her father, much to her annoyance. Without claws or fangs to take down some of Adderdeens more unnatural inhabitants, Qwynn has to improvise with quick and flashy magic and even faster blades. All for the good of a town that will ideally never know the service her family provides. She makes it a point to investigate any strange happenings in Adderdeen, so it doesn't take long for her to figure out her new classmate is secretly a vampire or that the mortician who works with her mom is Mothman.

Array of Cicadas: [REDACTED] Penumbra -> Aranea Weltgeist -> Izebel Lucifer Walpurgis

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi Core themes: Knowledge, war, hope

Not much I can say about this installment as it would spoil the mysteries I'm setting up for AoC and AoC:C. But I CAN say this third and final installment of this story sets up the final confrontation and brings all our previously introduced characters together. Penumbra is a force by which many things have come to an end. Two thousand years ago she was merely a scientist who aspired to know more about the world around her. Her drive to learn more was inevitably her downfall. Her lover and enemy, Kirke, would later go on to use her findings to create a curse meant to Destroy the Universe. Aranea is a teenage visionary Created by her Father Out of Love using Alchemy. Her father, Issac Weltgeist, was found and murdered by the Izebellian Empire for his reasearch as a Master Alchemist. As a homunculus herself, Aranea was kidnapped in case she hid any secrets of her fathers research. Quickly dismissed by Kirke as useless to the empire's research on homunculi, Aranea was told to watch after the child Empress Izebel, who was only a few years younger than Aranea herself. Aranea spent the next two years searching for a way to escape the empire. Her plans where put into motion early when she found they had acquired the legendary sword Excalibur. Stealing the sword, Aranea made her escape. Izebel is a bit more of a figurehead as Empress of the Izebellian Empire. She was created by the sorceress Kirke to be the vessel for her curse. While she is a living source of destruction, Izebel is treated with respect by her underlings. However, the only person to truly show her kindness, was Aranea. Izebel quickly took to viewing Aranea as an older sister, and demanded she be treated with the respect an Empress' sister deserved. She did her best to give Aranea everything she wanted to make her happy, but refused to let her leave. When Aranea finally escaped, she left Izebel confused, heartbroken, and enraged.

Mother of the Apocalypse Alexios -> Asterius Polaris -> Armageddon

Genre: Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Tragedy Core themes: Family, lies, perseverance

MotA has nothing to do with AoC, and is instead it's own independent world. It's a story about a prophecy told by the Goddess of Fate to her oracles. That entails the end of the world at the hands of the Mother of the Apocalypse, only able to be stopped by the Savior of the Rim. How this prophecy ends, is up to Fate. Alexios is the son of Kepus, the Goddess of Life and Death, and himself, the Savior of the Rim. He much despises his own title. All he did to earn it was stop a Colossus that was bent on the destruction of a Spire. Now he's wrapped up in probably the dozenth prophecy in a life that's lasted over a millennia. Problem with this prophecy is that it wants him to kill someone to save the world, and he put such violence behind him centuries ago. With his newly adopted child to take care of, Alexios can't think much on how he'll save the world while sparring it's vessel of destruction. Asterius is the son of Taphion, the God of the Crypt, and Septentria, the Northern Star. However he spent the first 13 years of his live believing himself a demigod who had a human mother he never hat the opportunity to meet. Once his true identity was revealed to him, as well as his role in the prophecy as the Beast of the Crypt, a monster born to stand as the guardian of the Mother of the Apocalypse, he ran. He landed in the care of a hero, who he would later discover was the very man destined to kill him, the Savior of the Rim. After Alexios became determined to find a way to break the "curse" on Asterius (a clever lie the kid fabricated so he didn't have to reveal to his would-be murderer who he really was), the man came to see Asterius as his own child. As much as Asterius loves his new father, he can never bring himself to tell him the truth. Armageddon is the titular Mother of the Apocalypse. Daughter of Ignarus, the God of Destruction, she is destined to raze civilization to the ground. Unfortunately for Ignarus, she would rather die than have any part in the Apocalypse he curated for her. When the Savior of the Rim does finally come for her, she and Alexios' mutual interest in stopping the Apocalypse though means different than Fate has offered draws them closer together. Armageddon comes to believe that maybe their love will prove stronger than Fate herself.

LIZ and the Biohazards Logan Griffiths -> Samantha Griffiths -> Miriam Riveria

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi Core themes: Rebellion, survival, girlhood

Oh man I would love to tell y'all ALLLL about this comic, but as I am literally working on the script rn, you'll have to wait and see for most of it. But MAINLY, it's a story about a teenage science experiment who grew up in a lab and decides to break free and experience all the world has to offer. (Previously titled Unchained Phenomena) Logan Griffiths is labeled by most of the people who know him as a crazy conspiracy theorist, but Logan knows what he's seen and what he's heard. His son was sent to war almost 18 years ago and never came back. The last letter he received from his son detailed the horrors he had seen on the front lines, saying he fought beside people who "weren't people anymore". Ever since Logan has worked to crack down on the government's experiments on humans, and expose what decades of propaganda and coverups have worked so hard to hide. One disaster strikes the government base he's spent a decade studying, and his answers are delivered right to him with one phone call from some friends. He just didn't expect them to come in the form of a young girl. S-072, or Sam, as she prefers to call herself now, was created in a government lab after the Bio War ended in an attempt to bolster Texas' defenses as it stands on the brink of independence. S-072 was designed for espionage, with the original intent being to create a human who could alter their physiology to mimic anyone. However, while she can indeed alter her physiology, the raw-looking flesh and bone she is able to warp and change isn't going to pass as anyone alive. After the initial failure, they found that S-072 was better suited for just slaughtering things. She could withstand bullet wounds after training, she could warp herself into her own weapons, and was overall the perfect killing machine. Too bad someone started putting ideas in her head. Miriam is a survivor of war. She wasn't a soldier, but she was a sister, and a daughter. Her hometown was hit with a biological weapon and she lost her family and was left sick, disabled, disfigured, and traumatized. She did her best to survive, but unable to work, living on fixed income wasn't cutting it. When the government offered her an experimental cure for her illness, she took it without reading the fine print. Subjected to many experiments, but never a real cure, Miriam plotted a way out.

THE MIXED BAG OF RANDOM GUYS! "Charlie" -> Caelum Ketch - Jinlong

Dream Journal: The Central Mind

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi Core themes: The unknown, death, grief

This story is from a dream I had that I've reworked to make a story that I'd love to make into a short comic someday. The basic idea of the dream (maybe nightmare) was there was a family that lived on an island who were studying an interdimensional entity. Shortly after they moved to this island, their daughter died. Something, someone else.. came back. "Charlie" is the name of the person who is distinctly NOT Charlotte to anyone who looks close enough. A fragmented piece of a much larger entity with the mind and memories of the late Charlotte, Charlie is just trying to solve the mystery of why her family keeps acting so strange around her.

Cache of Sybaris

Genre: Sci-fi Core themes: Idk man it's just fun Space Pirates babeyyyyyy

The Sybaris Galaxy celebrates the many rich cultures that exist within it, art and culture is a top priority of the Galactic Union! So when the entirety of the latest Trivlexian exhibit on the planet Nik is stolen by Captain Wretch and her band of pirates, it becomes a Galaxy wide chase to steal it back! Especially to other pirate crews who might never have the chance to catch a better score. Ketch is one of such pirates who's crew is after Captain Wretch and her recently stolen goods. While most are after the art that was in the exhibit, the crew of the Red Death is much more interested in the Trivlexian technological artifacts. Namely because Ketch, the crew's finest mechanic, is Trivlex himself. Ketch knows well enough that anyone who isn't rich enough to be able to conveniently ignore is knows all Trivlexian artifacts are stolen, but he has no noble ambitions for his people's artifacts. He just wants to make better weapons and improve his crew's ships. Regardless of how many bounties it gets on his head in the process.

Shifting Stars and Moving Mountains

Genre: Fantasy Core themes: Grief, change, culture

SS+MM is a story that takes place in the same universe as Array of Cicadas, but remains mostly disconnected from the main story. It follows the dragons of Genesis, their politics, culture, and how they influence the rest of the realm. Jinlong is a young dragon, just a few decades over 500, who grew up during the Great Dragon Hunts. Jinlong lost both of his parents in the hunts, he survived the only way he could in such a time of hostility towards dragons, he lived as a human. A human family took him in and treated him as their own. Jinlong spent so long as a human he slowly lost touch of what it meant to be a dragon. After his youngest human sister died at the EXTREMELY impressive age of 200, Jinlong was taken in by Sage Ragnormr, an ancient dragon who advised him to rest. And rest he did, for 2000 years, Jinlong slept, regaining the strength he expended from holding his body in human form for so long. He awakes in the modern era, things have changed drastically, and this little dragon needs to learn what it really means to be a dragon again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND I have 400+ other ocs that I won't cover on this post, but if anyone is ever curious about my silly little guys, there's nothing in the WORLD that brings me more joy than getting to talk about them with other people :)

[inevestigator]

@cuerrvox sent libera me - write a small drabble about why your muse is awake at 2 am.

the room is coloured an eerie blue, light spilling off wisps while outside the fade continues to be night. ( is it only night time because they think it should be? this is the realm of dreams, after all. )

beside her a cigarette burns its way to ash and a coffee sits, steadily losing its steam. much like neve gallus, private eye, who spends her two am waking hours pouring over her latest case. usually.

she always has work to do. the denizens of dock town always need help and right now? the world might even need saving. ( not by her, no, she's not a fancy hero who has stories written about them; she's a second page, one line name drop for anyone who might be paying attention. overlooked. and that's how she likes it. prefers it, actually. )

but tonight is different. returning from the heart of a broken minrathous, with only the items she could carry from her apartment to be saved from further damage.

between the dragon attack, the raiders, the looters, the thieves, the blight and the evanuris themselves - well, there's not much left of the shitty little hole in the wall she called home. there's even less left of her old case files.

she'd scrounged what she could, not for nostalgia's sake, but because there might still be something important in there. ( it's always important, these things always connect. )

including the very thing that plagued her waking and dreaming thoughts tonight. the one cold case she could never put to bed: herself. her past. her losses at the hands of classic minrathous cruelty.

she stares at a small charcoal drawing of a man laughing in a dingy kitchen. a father of two, a man who works hard to provide for him family and still manages to come home in a good enough mood to share a story with his daughters. the artist, a woman who persevered through hardship, who tended and mended to more than just her small family.

neve touches the drawing gently, careful not to smudge it. the stab of loss and longing worming so deep into her chest that it stings.

there's a thousand i miss yous or i'm sorrys that don't help, that she's thought a thousand times before.

she was supposed to be their saviour. a human laetan child born to tevinter soporati? well that was like gold dust in a world where mages ruled. she was a promise unfulfilled. though not for lack of trying.

she'd gone to classes, she'd learned the lessons, the magic, how to pull from the fade, how to create ice in her hands. she'd bought her family a level of respect they would not otherwise have had. and with it, a chance for more. more food, more clothes, more books. more.

and where someone has more, someone always covets it. at least, that's what the law said when they came to investigate the dead bodies. thieves. vandals. probably slaves or liberati. unlikely ever to find the ones who done it. sorry miss.

a pathetic apology and a pathetic attempt at finding the murderers. but more of an attempt than she'd have got if she wasn't a mage. the world was fucked. minrathous was a symptom of a larger problem. but everyone has to start somewhere.

so it started like this, almost two decades ago. three unsolved murders in a dingy kitchen in dock town. an uncaring, unmoving law enforcement. and a young mage learning that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

except, she hadn't. the murders were still unsolved. her greatest failure as a detective. simply, the murderer was likely already dead. there had been enough turmoil in minrathous that the odds were in her favour here, most opportunistic criminals didn't survive long enough for it to matter.

oh, but it mattered to her. there was just nothing she could do about it. nothing but sit awake at two am, piecing together saved scraps of evidence and hoping that she might find a new leaf to turn over, a new lead to chase.

the cigarette burns itself out. the coffee quietly goes cold.

she doesn't find answers.

[catherineparrish]

Foo Fighters @ Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand 20/01/2024

Photo by Danny Clinch.

Cussing and cigarettes, Jack Black, and 35,000 people’s love for rock and roll—Foo Fighters return to Auckland, New Zealand after six long years.

Riding the success of their 10th studio album, Foo Fighters were forced to delay their late 2022 tour to Australia and New Zealand when drummer Taylor Hawkins suddenly passed earlier in the year. There was some speculation that the band might retire after 25 years, but after a year of grieving (particularly for frontman Dave Grohl, whose mother also died in 2022) Foo Fighters announced that step-in drummer Josh Freese (The Vandals, Devo) would permanently be joining the band.

In what was their first show of 2024, Foo Fighters return exclusively to New Zealand and delight fans with one of their most dynamic performances to date. Although the set was evenly paced, sprinkled with new songs from last year’s studio album Here We Are (2023) and old classics to get everyone out of their seats, an almost 3 hour set was bound to have more than just a couple of highlights.

“Who came out and saw us when we played at that old speedway? That show was so loud it caused a seismic event,” said Grohl, referring to the volcanic-like tremor caused by the stamping feet of thousands of fans at Western Springs in 2011. “When I think about New Zealand, I think about an audience that can trigger an earthquake.”

It wasn’t the only time Grohl expressed his fondness for New Zealand, noting that he always has a great time whenever the band tours. Whilst Grohl shared stories with the crowd, the band teased snippets of songs from multiple artists (Metallica, The Ramones, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails) throughout the set, and even surprised everyone with a special appearance from actor and singer Jack Black for a cover of AC/DC’s Big Balls.

But in amongst the party, there were sombre moments too, like an acoustic stripped back version of My Hero and a tribute for Hawkins that the band perform every night. “This was the first song we wrote together and his favourite,” Grohl told the crowd before performing Aurora. A few times the lights were dimmed and the stadium lit up like stars as the audience held their torches to the sky, providing the perfect atmosphere for the warm summer’s evening soundtrack.

When the crowd weren't swinging their arms in unison over their heads, they were screaming and thrashing their heads at the peak of all the fan favourites, from The Pretender, to Monkey Wrench, to Best of You and their faithful encore Everlong. It's hard not to admire such a resilient act as this band who can seemingly overcome any obstacle thrown their way. Welcome back, legends.

Review by Catherine Parrish.

[kisilinramblings]

A question I would love the writers explore with Adrien's character for S6-S7 - in the context Adrien never finds out the true about his father being Hawkmoth during those seasons - is can someone's death really amends for all their wrongs?

It is a common trope in stories in which a villain does one good action to help the heroes before dying as a way to "redeem" themselves. But often times, since it occurs toward the end of the story, it is not much explored narratively how it affects the heroes' judgment of the person. And here, the villain did make a Wish - which isn't viewed as a good thing by the heroes - but he used the power for something else, dying as part of the balance.

Like, the parisians believe Gabriel died as an hero and they raise a statue to honor his contribution and sacrifice. Even Adrien thinks that his father died doing everything in his power to stop Monarch (which is half true as Gabriel dying did stop Monarch in a way). For them all, it is a sacrifice and that would make Gabriel an hero, right? But does being "heroic" one time truly correct / erase the mistakes and wrongs Gabriel did?

IRL, we see statues being vandalized, beheaded and toppled to the ground and even thrown in the nearest river because people who are aware of the atrocities committed by said "hero" cannot let that figure continue to have a statue in their honor and take action despite the autorities and rest of population's judgment.

Gabriel - as a civil - isn't all white or black. Some of his old employees could remember how terrified they were of the persona. Other would praise his accomplishments as a fashion designer. Some people of his past as Gabi could come back and offer an entire different perspective of who the man was. After all, Gabriel isn't there anymore to stop them.

With Adrien, we can suppose he will be conflicted about the image his father left in their mind and the memories he has of his father, especially the last one (AKA sending Adrien against his will to London and imprison him in a white isolated cell, ignoring his plea to let him out and instead send a robot to give him an Alliance). Will Adrien learn more about his father's past?

Something Adrien said every once in a while during the first five seasons is that he didn't know his father, unsure of who he was nor how he could understand him. His father was a mystery to him, even at the end. His father's actions at the end were non-sensical to him.

What if Adrien - who is usually forgiving - has a really hard time forgiving his father and doesn't understand himself why? Can he truly just focus on the good moments he had with his father and ignore the bad? Will Adrien start to speak ill of the dead? Will he confuse and be judged for not thinking like the rest of the Parisians if he ever do so? Will his father's ghost (in a narrative sense of speaking) haunt him because they never got a real understanding / resolution?

As Chat Noir, will he or would he want at one point use Cataclysm on his father's statue, tired of bottling up his emotions?

Like, yes, of course, Maribug is in the wrong to hide the truth to Adrien about his father, but her mistake also allow the possibility to explore several actual-rooted topics through Adrien that wouldn't have been as complex otherwise.

Ladybug "stopped" Monarch because he needed to be stopped. He was terrorizing the city and exploited the Kwamis' power. But now that Adrien has been freed, he can judge for himself who Gabriel the father, the designer, the civil was.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Ooooh, just had a thought. While the party were off finding the Hall of Heroes to go find the sword Ghulkari and Starhammer wanted Elowyn to have (that she neither wanted nor needed, but the others convinced her to at least go check it out), the Brotherhood were free to wreak a bit of havoc on the dwarves back in Toreguarde. Egrim was still the Abouna at that time, and he's a dwarf, and that was probably pretty common knowledge too. What's the betting that the Church of Galana and its gardens were a bit of a target for a spot of vandalism?

Given that this whole debacle is probably what started to accelerate Selene's slow descent into breakdown territory (and the fact that Schreiber likely was all for getting rid of the dwarves if it would help his mates out), I'm not sure how much time the Grand Magus would have to spare for her old friend and his plight, nor what she could hope to do about it officially.

Time for another story for The Wizard's Tale methinks...

[kylaschuyler]

Those Who Lived That Kept Them Alive

WORDS: 1203

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51354691

Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Post-War, Post-Canon, Grieving Ackermans, General grieving tho heavy implications of ships, They/Them Pronouns for Hange Zoë, I spelled Yeager as Jeager, Fluff and Angst

Language: English

BASED ON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gnypiKNaJE

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE ERRORS SINCE ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.

Joining the Survey Corps is like digging your grave, yet many tried to achieve glory. Losing a limb in the name of humanity is honorable; to die is a legacy. No one is safe; no one can control who lives, who dies, and who will tell their stories. 

Admit it or not, Eren temporarily stops the impending war between Marley and Paradis, but that doesn't mean that his actions are justifiable. Genocide is wrong; civilians and children are mostly the victims, barely the rich and the powerful. Commander Erwin Smith's story is a myth covered in gold, and Floch's legacy as a mighty hero echoes throughout the island despite being the coward he is. The remaining soldiers get to live a long life; it is a blessing to see another day, but not when grieving, not when the beloved dear bid their goodbye for the last time.

Mikasa lived another 50 years, married Jean, had a family with him, and was contented with the love she was giving and receiving. Mikasa loved Jean for who he was, yet at the same time, she is a hypocrite if she says that she never saw Eren in Jean at least once and never wished to have a family and grow old with Eren instead. 

Levi, on the other hand, lived with Onyankopon and was visited by his comrades, who were once teenagers that he looked after. 

Other than blood and surname, Levi and Mikasa have another in common, and that is losing the person they love the most on the same day for the exact cause that is hated, depending on which perspective. Hange and Eren both sacrificed their lives to save people. The people of Paradis hate Hange because they lead the Alliance, aiming to stop the rumbling; meanwhile, Eren is hated by those who survived. 

Mikasa visits Levi alone when she has time; she knows the only person who can understand her is him, who is also in the same situation. The older Ackerman was on the vast garden porch, calmly sitting in his wheelchair. "Someone fucked with Jaeger's grave again?" Levi asked concernedly, yet his voice remained monotonous, as usual. He saw burns in her fingers, most likely from the bleach she used to clean the vandals in Eren's grave. "How many times do I have to tell you to use gloves?" without another spoken word, Mikasa knelt and cried on his knees like a child. "Hange remains to live up to her dirty reputation even after death." it somehow made her chuckle, "How can you forgive those who did it?" she asked while sobbing, "I never, I cursed 50 generations of their descendants to suffer." Levi seriously answered. It took years before Mikasa understood Levi's humor; it is dry and unhinged. "I am trying a new product that can remove inks and paint easily. I'll give you a bottle later." cleaning is his love language, one of the ways to let someone know they care, "Jaegerist cult trashed Hange's grave for the third time this month." he continued, At first, Levi thought that twice a month was enough to visit Hange's empty grave, not until he saw how people tried to erase their existence by destroying their remaining physical memory after the incident it became a routine for him to visit every week. "I am actually planning to build a fence full of barbed wire and broken glass to prevent people from disturbing their peace. You can do that with Jaeger, but it's unnecessary since one word from you, the government will send guards to look after it." 

"For what? To keep the royalists from thinking that Historia and Eren had a secret relationship, that he was the father of her daughter? I am tired of it. I am tired of people calling me 'EREN'S SISTER' just to keep their delusion alive." Mikasa sobbed."We're building a fence then."

"Can we work on a rose garden around it too?" She suggested last.

Levi accepted that Jaegerist managed to burn everything Hange owned; the mere fact made his blood boil, but what could he do? It happened already. 

"How did you know?" On his birthday, Levi received tons of gifts from friends. All of it is the things he loved, the little pleasures that made him feel alive. It is also the first birthday after the war, his first birthday without Hange, the only person who knows about it. "Don't you like it?"  Gabi asked. "He liked it so much that he stopped functioning." Connie joked, easing the child's worry. "Captain, do you remember when... when those assholes tried to burn the whole Survey Corps headquarter?" Jean carefully constructed his words so that his question wouldn't make Levi uncomfortable. "I do."  Armin took it as a signal to tell him what they did. "Months ago, we managed to save a few things by collecting what we could and by bribing some of the arsonists."  Connie and Jean, along with Onyakopon, carried boxes in front of Levi, "Huh?"  Confusion consumed him, "Open one." 

Inside the box, Hange's clothes and uniforms are neatly folded, "I thought..."  Levi opened another box, and it contained piles of their old research. "Everything that we gave to you today, captain, is from the commander's last to-buy list. They were supposed to give it to you after you came back from looking after Zeke."  Jean handed him a paper with Hange's handwriting on it.

Way back, they agreed that if one of them died, no one was allowed to cry. Levi could feel his tears from the side of his eyes, and he did his best to keep it from falling. 

"Thank you for watching over us," he mumbled. It won't bring them back to life, but it is enough to give him hope to live another day.

Archived research of Survey Corps that was led by Hange Zoe and their team was published; from the day he received it up to his last breath, he tried to make sense of their thousands of pages of writings. Hange really does write like they are running out of time.

He grieved, but he never cried, dedicated to keeping his promises to them. Levi proved to the world that he was the strongest man alive, with or without his physical strength. 

Levi was buried beside Hange. Finally, they fulfill their wishes to live together in peace.

Mikasa, on the other hand, helped Kaya to run Sasha's family orphanage. She raised funds and spoke out about the importance of peace, and diplomacy. She told the untold story of Eren's humanity, that he was left with no choice, and just like everyone, he feels regrets and remorse. Mikasa also reminded them Eren is no God.

In the children's eyes, she sees Eren, she sees herself, and their friends; glad that they are able to live in a world without walls. 

She might have chosen not to take part in what the others are doing, but Mikasa is proud of her work as much as she is proud of them. 

The time came; on the bed of roses, she was laid beside Eren. 

They lived, dedicated their hearts, and they successfully kept them alive. 

[duckprintspress]

Aetherpunk

By a member of the Duck Prints Press staff who has chosen to be anonymous.

Note: Punk genres are diverse and always changing. Duck Prints Press is not trying to give a complete explanation of aetherpunk here but rather a bit of inspiration. Take what you want from it to create your own aetherpunk worlds!

On January 5th, Duck Prints Press will be launching recruitment for our next anthology: Aether Beyond the Binary, a collection of stories featuring main characters outside the gender binary living in modern or near-future aetherpunk Earth! This begs the question: what IS Aetherpunk? Well, read on and learn all about it…

Prologue: From the Aether

Scenes from the Aether #1: Bloomington, Indiana, 2013:

Lin steps into the café down the street from their apartment. The lights of the shop glow a pleasant green, reminiscent of the owner’s own magical aura. Soon, when Del opens the shop for customers, they’ll turn a more standard blue, but for now Del’s shop is cozy and quiet. Lin smiles, looking forward to seeing their friend. 

A shower of blue sparks flies from the kitchen’s open door, and Del scrambles out, cursing. When he sees Lin, he breaks into a wry smile. 

“Breakfast on the house?” he offers, his shorthand for pleading. 

“That’s the third time this week,” Lin chides, barely holding back their smile. They roll up their sleeves to go tinker with Del’s new, “improved” baking oven. “Why not use your old one?”

“The aether this model uses is supposed to be more efficient!” Del exclaims. Then, with a sad smile: “Plus no one trusts my powers. They still think the color’s associated with… you know.”

“Yeah.” Lin knows. They think of Del’s infamous brother, the deadly alchemist. “I’ll help you, but this is the last time.”

“Mhm,” Del says, nudging Lin’s shoulder, and adds telepathically, You say that every time.

You could try not being so smug about it, Lin half scolds, half laughs. 

“Why wouldn’t I be smug? My handsome, brilliant friend, the undisputed genius of the IU School of Aetheric Engineering, is fixing my pipes for free.”

Lin blushes but maintains their chiding tone as they say, their warm face hidden behind the stove where the power supply has once again leaked from its pipes, “Not for free. For breakfast.” 

Part One: What’s in a Punk (genre)? 

There’s been an explosion of punk genres since Bruce Bethke’s 1983 story Cyberpunk launched the genre. Though Bethke’s story may have given a name to this phenomenon, in his Etymology of “Cyberpunk” Bethke credits William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) for really defining the core tenets of the genre (Bethke, 2000). He also marvels at how the cyberpunk character trope (“a young, technologically facile, ethically vacuous, computer-adept vandal or criminal”) has stayed remarkably stable over the years since his story was published. In 2022, when I’m writing this, it’s still very similar. The cyberpunks in the cyberpunk genre are the sorts of lone heroes who often arise in the isolating environments fostered by advanced computer technologies.

Why am I rambling on about cyberpunk? Because, dear readers, cyberpunk is the progenitor of all genrepunks. As the most widely explored and utilized punk setting, it has provided the blueprint on which other punk genres are built. In essence, every punk after cyberpunk is a reaction to cyberpunk, either embracing or pushing back against its ethos. After cyberpunk came steampunk: a retro, adventurous answer to cyberpunk’s gritty and dystopian futurism. Then came others: dieselpunk, sandalpunk, biopunk—even the very meta “mythpunk” to which Neil Gaiman’s work is often attributed. These days, even non-punk fantasy is often punk-adjacent. 

So what makes punk stories… punk? For a story to be classified in a punk genre, it typically requires two key elements: a distinctive type of technology (whether social technology like myths and lore or physical technology like steam engines, diesel-powered airships, or nanobots) and a point of view about that technology. 

The technological distinctions can seem fairly obvious: atompunk features tech powered by nuclear energy; nanopunk, tiny robot technology; biopunk, genetic engineering and biotech; dieselpunk, diesel-powered machines. But focusing on only the tech aspects can make people miss the point of having multiple different punk subgenres. 

Take this paraphrased version of a forum conversation, circa 2015: 

[User 1]: Hey, I’ve been hearing more and more about this genre called ‘aetherpunk,’ but I can’t figure out what it is. How is it different from just steampunk but with magic? 

[User 2]: Sorry to tell you, friend, but it’s basically just “steampunk with magic.”

[User 1]: Ah. So, completely useless, then.

This view is common but misses the point. The tech alone does not make punk punk. The second necessary element is the cultural context of the technology: how does it affect the people who use it every day? How dissociated do those people feel from their environment? From their government? From the inevitable march of society, driven at least partially by technological advances using the genre-specific tech? Punk genres live and breathe for their exploration of the intersection between technology and culture. 

Genreunk is a response to the world we live in. Cultural evolution happens when technologies—lore, steam engines, printing presses, atomic bombs—intersect with cultural habits and traditions and shake them loose. We don’t live in the only, or the best, possible world. When we write punk, in some ways, we’re rewriting cultural evolution. We’re asking for a new way of thinking about the past and how that carries forward into the future. How we would be different. How we would be the same.

Punk isn’t just a genre. It’s a tool for understanding humanity. 

Part Two: Clear Air, a History of Aether

In the beginning, gods breathed their essence into the emptiness of space, and aether entered the universe as the material through which the stars and planets moved. Humans in ancient Greece, attuned to this invisible presence, named it “clear air” and declared it the fifth element, along with earth, water, air, and fire. Other cultures gave this energy different names or didn’t name it at all but nonetheless knew it was there. Over a thousand years later, medieval Europeans called it “quintessence” and hypothesized that this element, rare on Earth, could be distilled in order to cure mortal ailments. Aether was a substance that could make rocks burn and lights glow. It became a key ingredient in classic alchemical experiments in the West.

Aether has always been the bringer of light, the unchanging medium through which energy travels in waves from its source to the lenses of our eyes, to the leaves of hungry plants, to everywhere on the planet and throughout the universe. Indeed, it was so recently believed in and well-known that late 19th-century spiritualists took photos of ectoplasm and declared that ghosts could send messages through the aether. 

Then, a mere hundred-odd years ago, we lost faith. 

The idea of aether seems preposterous now, when we know about electron fields and the theory of relativity which states that nothing in the universe is stable or unchanging (and we certainly don’t need a special medium that exists to move light around)—but is it really so much harder to believe in aether than in electron fields? Or in dark matter?

Why shouldn’t we be swimming through aether like a fish swims through water?

Part Three: What is Aether/Punk?

Aetherpunk, the genre, explores what the world would be like if, rather than finding out aether was simply a confused explanation for how energy moves through space, we discovered that it was a real element, something we could both detect and harness. The nature of the aether isn’t what makes aetherpunk what it is. Rather, it’s the exploration of the development of society from the turning point when we discover that the aether is real—how that changes the world, the people, the past, and the future. 

Aether, the invisible force, can be everything and nothing. It can be magic, or it can be material. In some disciplines, like alchemy, it’s both. Aether is made of faith. It’s ephemeral, often immaterial, and only visible once the viewer knows what they’re looking for. It can cause disaster or provide beautiful, clean energy for wondrous technologies. It can be a source of progress or of fear. But in the end, it’s still a thing that must be discovered and cultivated. It can’t be forced into existence.

Aetherpunk as a genre is more naturistic than earlier punk genres like steampunk or cyberpunk. Natural materials find their way into clothing and buildings and weapons and tools, and the shapes of these man-made elements are designed in ways that enhance their ability to harness aetheric power. There might be constructs of stone or finely-honed metal held together by aetheric energy, beautiful steel weapons that cut through stone using atom-thick edges of pure aether, skyships and buildings of gold, or of clear stone, or of glass and crystal. And the technology bathes its surroundings in a luminous glow of aetheric light. 

Like solarpunk and lunarpunk, aetherpunk is a hopeful punk genre. When aether is discovered and harnessed, it brings about flourishing communities and can help to heal the world. Of course there are dark sides—the dangers of a volatile power source that not everyone can control, the frustrations of the people who are unable to use that power for themselves—and anyone is welcome to write a dark aetherpunk story. But aetherpunk doesn’t come with the same inherent baggage as steampunk or cyberpunk. Likewise, people can write utopian steampunk and cyberpunk, but that’s the opposite of the “standard” core of the genre. Aetherpunk wants to explore humanity in a universe where we don’t struggle simply to light our homes. Where the power that runs everything suffuses the universe, and therefore everyone can reap the benefits. A world where our source of power doesn’t send millions of people to an early grave. What sorts of stories would emerge in this sort of world?

Part Four: Steampunk but with Aether?

Now that we’ve described what aetherpunk is, let’s return to that dreadful forum post, and ask for ourselves: what makes aetherpunk more than just “steampunk but with aether”? 

In short, everything.

First is the nature of the energy that powers the technology. Steampunk is a retrofuturistic genre that centers on the era when steam, fueled by wood and coal, was the main power source, around the turn of the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. It harkens back to the aesthetics of the era, with wood and steel and glass materials, wooden ships that ply the air, clockworks and rivets and tangible, heavy things that work through sheer force. Steam is a thing with weight. It will melt your flesh from your bones, and it’s born not of faith, nor internal strength, nor the careful distillation of spirits down to their quintessence, but instead through fire. Another resource needs to burn to make it. Entire lives are spent feeding coal into the voracious maws of steam engines. 

Aetherpunk, as we’ve described, is born of magic, and thus the technology to use it focuses on cultivation and focusing energy rather than on producing something by force. Even the most cursory look at the nature of the energy source shows us how every aspect of society linked with producing that energy is different between steampunk stories and aetherpunk stories.

There’s also a very important cultural distinction between aetheric stories and steam-powered stories. In steampunk, the adventures of sky pirates and nobility are built on the efforts of a vast lower class who are systematically shut out from steam’s benefits. It may not matter to the story at hand, but the underlying class tension is always there. Like cyberpunk, steampunk takes inequality as a given, and places singular heroes into that world.

Aetherpunk is more utopian and egalitarian. There’s no assumption built in that in order for a person to use their magical flying ship, someone else must suffer to create the energy needed to fuel it. This distinction makes all the difference in how aetherpunk and steampunk stories are told. 

In either case, the power source can be wonderful or terrible, can fuel dystopian nightmares or hopeful solutions to the troubles that ail the world. But the fundamental nature of these technologies affects the way characters think and speak about the world they inhabit. Is it a place of smog or of shimmering lights? Is it a place where magic competes with technology, or is it a place where magic is the technology? The answers to these questions are different in every punk genre, and those differences should have a profound impact on the story’s narrative.

Where will your aetherpunk story take you?

Epilogue: From the Aether

Scenes from the Aether #2: San Francisco, 2043

Shining, multicolored bridges bend but do not break in the powerful earthquake that, in previous eras, would have shaken buildings from their foundations and dropped bridges into the bay. Drivers and pedestrians cling to whatever safety they can as the structures sag and sway and finally, after all is done, snap back to form as though the past minute was only a bad dream. 

Trill breathes a ragged sigh before stepping back onto zir motorcycle and kicking the starter. A blue glow and a warm hum are the only signs that the bike is powering up before Trill finishes crossing the bridge, a little jumpy from the unexpected shaking but no worse for wear. Ze has a long way still to go before ze arrive at Heloise’s house. Ze can’t wait to see zir friend, who is finally home after her long trip to Lima where she was training magicians to harness their power. 

Trill rides north into the mountains while the sun sets to zir west, out above the ocean, and the world glows orange and pink. By the time ze powers down zir bike, the sky is silky black and filled with stars. Trill climbs toward Heloise’s small house, which is built into the slope; the soft blue glow of natural aether in the rocks lights the way. Ze knocks on Heloise’s wooden door;  Heloise answers with a hug around Trill’s waist, her face pressed into Trill’s chest. Trill laughs, something in zir heart finally relaxing.

It’s been a long eight months. 

She pulls Trill inside, into this warm place she’s made in the lonely hills above the bay, and even though ze doesn’t deserve it, Trill revels in her welcome. It feels like coming home.

Examples of Aetherpunk

As aetherpunk is a young genre, examples are sparse, and there are many opinions on what “counts” and what doesn’t. For example, some people consider Lord of the Rings to be aetherpunk, due to the way it brings magic and technology together (especially in Mordor and in Sarumon’s plot line) and the way the magic interacts with society. The below list should not be considered exhaustive, just as this post shouldn’t be treated as The Last Word on the nature of aetherpunk.

Books:

The Aether Chronicles by Abi Barden

Aether Frontier by Scott McCoskey

Chasing the Lantern by Jonathon Burgess

Strange Skies by Loud Silence

Games:

Eberron

Final Fantasy

Genshin Impact

League of Legends

Magic the Gathering (specifically the Kaladesh Plane)

Xenoblade Chronicles

About Duck Prints Press

Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

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Sources

r/aetherpunk on reddit

“Different Punk: A to Z of Punk Genres,” April 30 2019, by Isaac

“The Etymology of ‘Cyberpunk’ ” by Bruce Bethke

“Please Define ‘Aetherpunk,’ ” November 15 2015, by Union Jacknnife and Nostil.

“Something is Broken in Our Science Fiction,” January 15 2019, by Lee Konstantinou

[nisaconite]

read on ao3

You hate the runestones scattered across the hills of Jorvik.

There’s no big story behind it, or so you say when anyone asks. They’re just eyesores and roadblocks, and - this part is for the Soul Riders’ ears only - the faint purple glow they emit whenever you approach is getting old. The hum that only you can hear when you draw even remotely near drives you crazy. You don’t want to have to take the long away around places just to avoid the magical anomaly.

Whatever, whatever, whatever.

The truth is that each rune etched into those rocks is a reminder of the responsibility that you are destined to carry, of the responsibility that, so far, you are failing to carry. The glow signals, you have power, but you can’t bring yourself to believe it. Anne and Lisa and Justin, they’re all still missing, and you are even at fault for the latter’s plight. Heroes don’t seal the innocent’s fate, not like that. You are no hero. You carry no power. Lightning refuses to spark at your fingertips.

You vandalize what you must to get your way. The last time you came across a Dark Core goon, you bodily tackled her because you had no other weapon to use. And so far, you have only given the villains what they want for a lack of guile.

Back when everything was normal - or rather, back when there was an absence of anything abnormal in your life - you never had to feel this way. You have friends and wits and everything else any teenager could possibly need to survive their junior year. But here, surrounded by people armed with magic, you feel completely useless. They say you are the most powerful of them all, but time and time again, Alex has cut short a lesson in frustration for how little you seem to grasp the concept of magic.

You wonder, not for the first time, if it’s possible to mistake someone ordinary for a powerful being. Surely it is; could they have looked at the ease with which you handle horses with and thought, she must be a Wild Whisperer? Could you have ended up with a Soul Steed by chance, leaving them to assume, that must have been her horse in another life? That feels better, the idea that you are just coincidentally talented, that if you went back to being normal again, you would be great.

But the druids refuse to let you go. You are the one, they assure you. We know how this works. Trust us, your magic potential is strong.

You grin and you bear it. Hey, at least getting to be around all this magic is cool, right? Sure, at times it can make you feel inferior and inadequate and insecure, but you know some people would kill to have a life like this. 

(Not you, though. You were happy, going to school and having your biggest problems be petty drama and gossip. You even liked your old horse.)

You save people now, or try to, or tag along as others do. You feel more like a sidekick or NPC than you do the main character of your own life, but there’s no denying that you’ve helped do some good. You rescued Linda.

And one day you’ll make up for everything and save everybody else, too. You tell yourself this very firmly, with no room for debate. You will save them all. The runestones say so. The druids say so. Alex looks at you with exasperation, sometimes, but she says so, too.

Time passes. you let yourself believe that they’re maybe right? You save Lisa. It takes work. That's okay. Your horse, now much more beloved than your old one in your normal life, has a broken leg. That is much less okay. Anger and panic and fear spur you on, and your first jagged bolt of lightning escapes your hand. You will be happy about it later, but not now. A trap laid out in front of you, and you couldn’t stop your horse, who would follow you anywhere, in time. Lisa fixes the break with her magic, but she can’t stop you from thinking about what could have been. What almost was.

You can hear your horse in your head now, which must be something special. You make a portal. You get Justin out of mind control, out of Dark Core, out of house arrest. His mental state is worse than ever. You can’t do much about that. (You saved him, but not fully, and it’s your fault he needed saving in the first place.)

They send you to save Anne alone. You have always followed everyone else, always been the sidekick to their heroism, so this surprises you. Gut-churning, dreading surprise, not the pleasant kind. But you breathe in, out, and tell yourself that you can do this. You have done everything so far. An intruder in this magical world you may be, but you have managed to disguise yourself perfectly.

Magic and talking horses and saving people. You can do this.

What you realize, but try not to acknowledge, is that you have only done everything else so far because you were not alone. An impostor is harder to spot when there are others to blend in with. Now, everything is up to you.

Pandoria does not go well. You’re too late, Anne says. You run, selfishly, cowardly, pitifully. Your horse says that you’re no good to anyone dead, that you made the right choice, but heroes don’t think that way. You run, and are too late to close the portal, just like Anne says. Fripp does it at the expense of the keystone and his consciousness.

Great. Another one down for the count. Another one to rescue. You think, a little hysterically, that you should keep a couple of body count lists. One for each person rescued, one for each person felled. See whether you’re doing more harm or good. Linda, Lisa, Justin rescued. Justin and Fripp felled. Does Anne count? It’s all catching up to you. One more collateral and you’ll be more a villain than a hero.

Concorde, the Soul Riders decide together. Concorde, Anne's horse, is next. Him and his rider and then Fripp. So many people. If this is the life of a hero, do you really want it? Do you want to be useful and powerful and have every runestone glow as you pass if these are the consequences? If this is what it means? You don’t know.

You thought you did, but every way out feels selfish now.

So you keep at it. You get a vision, and for a moment when you make a mistake it seems like maybe Ydris will be collateral this time around. But you see stars, and you heal him with Lisa. You rescue Concorde. She’s not really Anne's Soul Steed, because the Concorde she knew is dead and this one was meant for another cycle, another generation. Is this a loss or a rescue?

You and the rest of the Soul Riders split up again, you to Dino Valley to fetch the keystone that will create the portal to Anne. This is a simple task, one you somehow convince yourself you can’t mess up. Sabine is there, though. She pokes at sore spots and open wounds, taunting, reminding, spitting nothing but the truth.

You are nothing without your horse. You are nothing without the Soul Riders. You are nothing alone. You are nothing. You think you’re great, think you’re powerful? Here's what you are. Nothing at all.

You get it. But she demands you hand over the keystone, and you may be powerless, may be a tag-along, may be an NPC, but that’s what sidekicks do, isn’t it? They support the heroes unconditionally until the end. They never give them up. They shouldn’t even be in this story, but they are, so they’re going to play their minuscule role well.

Magic rips into your shoulder, courtesy of Sabine, for your trouble, and you run. This time, your horse doesn’t need to validate you for it, because it isn’t cowardly now. Sabine will have to pry your ticket to Anne from your cold, dead hands (although you escaping, alive, and with the keystone, is much more preferable).

The Soul Riders show up just in time to save your ass, when you’re trapped and starting to feel like your only option is to actually square off against Sabine. You are beyond grateful that it doesn’t come to that, even though it just solidifies the whole ‘sidekick’ thing. You think you can be at peace with that. At least you have friends. At least you know where you stand.

You all venture into Pandoria to save Anne together against some of the druids’ wishes, which surprises you. Relieved, chest-lightening surprise, not the awful kind. Maybe you are all just stronger together. Maybe instead of relying on them this entire time, you’ve been helping in your own way, and they have been relying on you, too. Maybe instead of being the sidekick-friend, you’re just… a friend.

You find Anne. She is angry and scarred and hurt, but you can’t do much about that. All you can do is bring her back to where she can try and patch things back together again, and she doesn’t have to do it alone. The repose you feel when you finally tumble back into the Guardian’s Dale is immense. Anne is back. You don’t know whether or not you’re needed anymore, whether or not you want to stay anymore, but there will be a choice from now on.

(If they could function with four members while you took Anne's place, they can function with four again if you decide to leave now that she’s back. No one will convince you otherwise.)

But then Alex is gone - collateral, your brain screams, why does it never end? - and you sprint back into the portal to support her, rescue her, save her, be her sidekick and her friend and whatever else she could possibly need. It doesn’t even matter now; did it ever?

Elizabeth dies. Collateral. You hope that makes more sense in context, with your list, than it does without. You hope you don’t sound uncaring. Linda, Lisa, Justin, Anne, Concorde rescued. Justin, Fripp, Anne, Concorde, Elizabeth felled. Five for five. You are as much a hero as you are a villain, but now, at least, you are the sidekick. You stay by Alex's side, and you painstakingly make your way out of chaos space together.

There's a memorial. You stand in the ruins of Doyle's Abbey, choked up and eyes fixed on the horizon. People talk and music plays and arrangements are made, but you hear almost none of it. You are gone before the candles are lit for Elizabeth. Is that rude? You don’t think she would have minded.

You leave your horse behind. Your destination is only minutes away, a triangular runestone tucked just around the corner and over a hill. The biggest one you’ve ever seen, and also the first one you’d ever seen. Where it had started, where the mistake had been made, where normal had been abandoned for… for this.

It buzzes and flares, even though you’ve stopped a few feet away to stare up at it. You can’t read the runes inscribed on it, and it gives you just about as many answers as you’d been expecting, which is to say, none. You sigh, and are just considering going back to the gathering when someone speaks, startling you.

“Alex said you hated the runestones.”

It's Anne. You tense, not because her presence is unwelcome, but because you don’t know how to reply. The two of you have only exchanged clipped sentences here and there, introductions and instructions and awkward condolences.

“I do. Did.”

“Something changed?” Anne settles, cross-legged, in the grass. Her face is hard to read. She pats the ground next to her in an invitation. 

You take it. “I guess.”

She doesn’t press, which you appreciate. You don’t offer up any more information, either, and you both sit in silence and watch the runestone. Maybe in different circumstances, this would be uncomfortable, but there’s too much going on in both your minds for you to read into weird silences.

“So,” Anne says finally, “which one of us is the fifth wheel?”

Are you fighting for the other Soul Riders’ attention now? You don’t think that’s something you want to do, so you laugh a little, and make a decision you probably haven’t given enough thought to yet. “No fifth wheel. I'm leaving.”

“What?” She sounds genuinely surprised, not pleased or anything of the sort. “Why? Just because I'm back? The others will still want you around-“

“Oh, I'll be around,” you say. “I'm not leaving leaving. I'll help when you need me to, and you guys can always come by Moorland to say hi, but Soul Riding? Not for me.”

Anne seems to relax just slightly. You’re not sure why. Maybe she doesn’t want you to be a new addition to the group of friends she’s just coming back to (you’re not hurt by the possibility), or maybe she’s just glad that it isn’t because of her that you’ll be leaving. Whatever the case, you think you’ve made the right decision. You don’t have to just be the sidekick. You can have your own life, and still keep your friends, still be around for them when they need you.

“Why?” Anne asks.

You fish around for a moment, trying to recall what she could be pushing for, when you remember where the conversation left off. “I'm… pretty bad at magic,” you answer eventually. “But I know how to use all four Circles. So, when you and Lisa were gone, there was a reason for me to stick around. Leaving to have the normal life I want would have been selfish. But now…”

“Everything you can do, someone else can do,” Anne finishes, realization tinting her words. It stings a little to hear out loud from someone else, but you nod. She shakes her head. “But what if something happens to one of us again? Or we need strength in numbers? It isn’t all about magic, you know.”

“Well, if you need manpower, I'll be here,” you say with a shrug. It seems simple enough to you. “If someone gets hurt, I'll be here. Hell, if one of you just needs a break, I'll be here! I just don’t want to always have to… be. Here. If you know what I mean.”

Anne arches her brows at your stumbling, but understanding seems to flicker over the shadows in her expression. “So it's not because of me.”

“No-” you think for a second, cut yourself off. “Yes? I'm able to go through with it because you’re back, yeah, but I don't want to do it because you’re back.”

Anne blows out a long breath. “And it isn’t because you think the others, or I, won’t want you around.”

“Definitely not.” Some part of you whispers, yes, that they would be better off without you, that you’ve done more harm than good as a Soul Rider, but you don’t actually think that they believe that.

“Okay,” she says. “Then I guess we’re good.”

“Good,” you repeat. You stand up after a moment’s silence, brushing dirt off your pants, and offer her a hand up. “I'm going to go back. Are you coming?”

Anne stares straight ahead at the runestone, refusing to look at you. You think you can see a sheen to her eyes (one green and one pink) that suggests she’s holding back tears all of a sudden. “I think I just need a few minutes.”

You hover for a split second, unsure of whether to actually leave her. Eventually you decide she needs her time, because Lisa had always recalled that Anne hated seeming weak in front of strangers (and you are a stranger), and she will not have a much-needed, cathartic cry if you stay. So you turn, and you leave.

Doyle's Abbey is emptying now. Alex is gone, Linda looks to be sleeping, Lisa is still playing, and the few stragglers are scattered around, alone or in pairs. Your feet carry you to the crumbling window at the back of the Abbey, and your fingers find an unlit candle to fiddle with.

Lightning sparks to life at your fingertips with some effort, and you light the candle, for Elizabeth and the rest of the felled. For Anne and the rest of the rescued. For sidekicks and heroes and villains and everyone else just struggling to make the right choices. You light the candle, and you watch the tiny flame flicker in the near-dark, and you wonder what all this power is for.

At least you did good things with it.

[myimaginedcorner]

HAPPY NEW YEAR: R/MC

WARNING: Potential spoilers for one of R's Good Endings.

It’s celebration day in Capital.

Once in a year, our moon predicts the coming of new cycles, its surface painted gold by our star. Once in a year, the night becomes day, refusing to give back the light it steals from its bright sibling. Once in a year, all turns around, Nature preparing for a new beginning. Once in a year, all humans go outside to watch the world go back in time. It was, it is, and it will be, as long as creatures remain curious.

The streets are lit, candles dancing inside colourful bags of cloth. Hanged over our heads, they serve as decoration for festivities. Runes have been drawn over the walls, their twinkling shining seeping through the noisy crowd. Some mages walk around, constantly mending cracks made by vandalic children, preventing spells from ruining the night. Scents fill each alley, their own, unique aroma contributing to its canvas. One is a forest: its walls grow paintings of green leaves and trunks, wild flowers opening as windows to a private building. Odours of fruits and rivers fill the thickened air, warmth running between bodies, urging to undress. Another one is a cold mountain: white rests next to closed shutters, dancing snowflakes falling from the painted walls. Snow snakes lurk between people’s shadows, majestic eyes observing from the dark. It smells of an upcoming blizzard – it urges one to run back home.

I haven’t been to many of these parties. Growing in Hyppo, I’ve known my own share of events, yet none was as impressive as Capital’s Regression. Living in it, I’ve had many adventures falling on these times of year, not always present to enjoy the sweetened wine or sour candies. There always was something that bothered me, or something that was missing.

Not now, however. On this night, a smile played on my lips, my heart finally fully ready for the celebration.

I walk across the paths, cloak covering my well-known face. With every turn, I feel as if I’m entering a new domain, a new existence, a new small corner of the world where normally it would take days to travel. There is a river, running down one street. Another climbs the peaks of the Big Spikes. Some wonder on the depths that laid unseen beneath the ocean, and others travel to known pits inside Gold Breach. Imagination runs as wild as magic only let it be: tonight, Capital is all Therania, if not beyond it.

My steps bring me to a big plaza, the central part of our city. On it, a podium has been already built, waiting the monarch to give speech before the nights starts ending. It’s a tradition, to hear the leader of our kingdom say how our year will be: with Seers predicting Time’s expected flow, a promise issued on this night held hopes for a bright future in the subject’s heads, giving them reasons to believe no wrong will happen later.

Truth is, this year will be a little different. Our world become a little different… and, as odd as it can feel, it all has happened due to me.

“You’ll be ready when you get up there.”

A sweet, familiar voice sounds close to me, approaching from behind. With a bright smile lit up by their sole presence, I turn around to see R’s gorgeous face, their sight placed on me since the moment that I’ve got here. Their armour looks all shiny and impressive, new patterns now embedded into engraved tales. Gold strokes, depicting Hero’s story, run through their chest towards their arms and fingers, legs covered up with scriptures wishing peace and wealth. This is not armour that is meant for battle. That armour, old yet so familiar to my view, has been put back into a warehouse by our shared adventure.

How long it’s been since I’ve last seen them in it? Little over a few months. And yet, in times of final peace, that feels like a brief second.

“As long as my warrior stands next to me,” I answer, extending my gloved hand. They answer, carefully taking it, our fingers interlaced, exposed to the crowd’s chatter. I know they’ll talk, yet I don’t care – there’s nothing else I need but to be next to them.

They smile. “I’ll always be there. I promise.”

I nod, knowing they tell the truth. This night… this night is big for us. For the first time in years, no monarch will be giving speech. No Seers will stand there, nodding to the words being spoken. It won’t be them – it’ll be me. Left as a ray of light, made into hope that wavered during tensions. We’ve won, and that’s because of me.

Now, Hero’s ready to become a new, restarted kingdom.

I place my head upon R’s shoulder, letting out a sigh. Tonight… yes, it’s tonight. One last memorial of what has happened this year. All tears that have been shed, all worries and all risks. All screams of war. All sieges. All the fear of future.

“Next year… let’s celebrate it somewhere else…” I mumble, and I hear them laugh.

“Promised,” they nod back, their hand clenched slightly on my own.

Turning towards them, issuing a quiet pry, I get a silent answer before kissing. It’s a brief kiss, one that caresses our lips with heat from our touch, unable to prolong it further even if we wanted. To crowded, and too many watching. However, it’s enough for now. A seal to our promise.

“Where do you want to go…?” their whisper reaches me and only me. I shrug my shoulders, smiling.

“Somewhere where we can share more.”

Their hand caresses my warm cheek.

“We’ll still have time today.”

“I know,” with a small sigh, I press my skin against their naked palm.

“Don’t be grumpy, you’ll get wrinkles,” they giggle, watching my small tantrum.

“I’m not…” I mumble, not believed. “I just don’t want to go. I want to stay next to you.”

“I’ll be there when you finish.”

I look at them, our eyes locked in a gaze only we share.

“Promise…?”

“Promise. Tonight, and all the nights to come.”

I smile. Tonight, it’s their last shift. With war finally gone, many are taking leaves or leaving for retirement. Not many Knights are needed, and heroes have even more chance to ask to be released. R has done plenty for their country. Its time to take a break… to dedicate themselves to serve in other meanings. Tonight, it’s our most special night.

A new beginning.

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #15: Blood Brothers - part 1

Read Date: September 21, 2022 Cover Date: October 2012 ● Writer: Kevin Eastman ◦ Tom Waltz ● Art: Andy Kuhn ● Colorist: Ronda Pattison ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

Synopsis: The issue begins with a flashback to fourteen months prior to the current events in the ongoing series. At StockGen Specimen 6 (a snapping turtle) is being injected with mutagen derived from the contaminated version present in Old Hob's blood. Chet Allen and Lindsey Baker are conducting the experiment. By one month in to the experiment the turtle had more than doubled in size, and he was primed to begin psychological conditioning. By five months in it is strong enough to take on a whole squadron of men. Its physical development has been progressing much faster than its mental development, making controlling it difficult. Two weeks before current series events, it escaped from StockGen. The previous night, Michelangelo was getting pizza from Woody Dirkins. The two talk for a few minutes before Mikey leaves and they agree to meet at the same time the next night. After Mikey leaves, Woody is attacked by the escaped StockGen specimen, trained to hunt down the Turtles. Currently, the Turtles are investigating the scene of an attack. Witnesses report a "big, green lizard" and "deadly force authorized". Leonardo says they need to hurry up and found another underground hideout before they get blamed for the attacks.

The Turtles make their way to check out a potential hideout found by Donatello and April, and Raphael reminds him they're on a tight schedule because he has to make it to Casey's first ice hockey game on time. On the way the Turtles talk about Splinter's "Destroy Shredder Manifesto", wherein he said while the Shredder lives they will never have peace. Michelangelo says he went by the pizza shop earlier but Woody wasn't there, meaning the Turtles would have to eat Splinter's salty vegetables and rice for dinner.

Back at the Turtle's current hideout (April's parents' old antique shop), Splinter is cooking salty vegetables and rice. He asks Casey to turn the television on so he can watch his stories. But when Casey turns the TV on, the news is reporting the series of attacks going on in the city (including the one on Woody at Rupert's Pizzeria), deemed to be the work of a vandal called "Slash" by the local media. Just then April comes in, telling Casey and Splinter to come look at her van. April's van had been attacked by Slash. April deduces Slash to be the escaped specimen from StockGen.

While the Turtles are on their way to check out the new hideout they stop to interrupt a mugging, and they are twice referred to as "Slash monsters", emphasizing the need for them to find a safer hideout to avoid a case of mistaken identity. As they flee scene after disposing of the thugs, Slash arrives at the scene, hot on their trail. He catches a glimpse of them and tears of part of one of the thugs' shirts, fashioning himself a black bandana like the other Turtles'. The Turtles arrive at the potential hideout, an abandoned church with a nuclear fallout shelter underneath. The Turtles are checking out the dark bunker with flashlights and decide the place is perfect when Slash arrives. Once inside he attacks. He eventually knocks out Donatello and Raphael and is about to take out Leonardo.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_Brothers,_part_1)

Fan Art: LEONARDO goodbye, my brothers… greyscale by DeadPea