#seeing how ants work he probably was one of those ants that scout or look for food to bring back to the queen

[dykedvonte]

Sozo always mentions his family whether it be genuinely questioning where they are or how they are gone and every time it reminds me that he is an ant, an extremely social and colony based species.

How lonely it must feel, even with his mind and body overtaken by the cordyceps, to be the only one to be left behind or forgotten about.

[shotofire]

A Life Saver

•LEVI ACKERMAN x READER

•Overview: Levi saves you, someone he barely knew, from certain death

•Warnings: mentions of death, gore description, cursing, near death experience, bit of angst, very brief mention of sex

•Season: season one range with a few altercations

-

At first, you didn’t want to become a scout. The thought of putting your life on the line wasn’t appealing, and it really just scared the hell out of you. Serving in the military police was a path you chose to go down. It was what you wanted for awhile then things started to not feel right.

The scouts were putting other lives before their own and you began to admire their bravery. Even when things looked like there was no light on the other side they pushed through. They proved that even mass death can result in a small victory that gave the people hope, something to help the nation push forward.

After serving in the military police for many years you decided it was time to step down. You wanted to become a scout, you wanted to help make a change. Your comrades thought you were absolutely insane, and they begged you to not make the choice. You refused, and soon you joined the scouts.

Mission after mission you survived and killed titans. You lost friends way too often, and the hurt and loneliness that came with the job would make anyone break. You’d been broken from the inside out in ways you’d never imagined. At the end of the day, you knew it was for the greater good.

The hope for a change only became greater when a boy showed up with the abilities of a titan. You knew to have such strength on your side was promising, and you saw light at the end of the extremely dark tunnel.

You’d served many long heart wrenching years by the time hope like that had shown up, and it only pushed you to keep going. You longed to live in a world without titans. All you wanted was to run free in field and see new things.

Today was a normal day, but that’s how any bad day starts. You’d woke up early to watch the sunrise with your close, and pretty much last friend, Molly. She was the best person you’d ever met and had been by your side for years. You had never admired anyone more than her.

“You know that titan kid is only fifteen, isn’t that insane?” She says before taking a sip of the coffee you had made her.

Your eyebrows raise at her words, “Wait really?”

The women laughs a bit at your shocked reaction then nods her head. She sets her coffee on the blanket you two are sitting on then leans back onto her hands, staring up at the sky that swirls with colors of orange and pink.

“To have this kind of hope is the best feeling i’ve had in years,” she says, “this is going to unlock so many closed doors we don’t know about. I think that finally we’re going to get some answers about how the hell the world turned into this mess.”

The smile on her face was full of such joy. She truly was excited for the future, you’d never seen someone actually look forward to what is lying ahead. A few days ago everyone thought titans would rein for hundreds of more years. Then all of the sudden that perspective has changed and no one knows what is going to come next.

“Yeah, I hope the future is bright,” you whispered.

You lay down to stare up at the sky, and Molly follows your movements. The two of you lay there in silence, thinking of a peaceful world where so much fear and death does not exist. You turn your head to look at your bestfriend to find her eyes are already on you.

“Our futures are bright, (y/n),” she says with a smile, “We’re going to live in cute little houses by the ocean!”

You can’t help but smile and roll your eyes at her. She always brought up this big body of water she’d read about in an illegal book when she was a teenager. The women could go on an on about it, as if she’d seen it before herself.

“If the ocean is even real,” you say with a smirk.

She scoffs at you before rolling her eyes harder than you just had, “Of course it’s real!”

You two spend the next hour talking about what you’d do or who you’d be doing if life were different. Molly wished for a family, to fall in love. She’d talked about it many times before but she refused to bring children into a world like this. You felt similar, expect children weren’t really on your radar. You longed to fall in love and grow old with someone.

But everyday brought death and destruction. You didn’t want to fall madly in love and then watch your whole world crumble as a titan took them away from you. The pain you had from your friends screaming your name as monsters had them in their grip was already too much to bare.

Heavy footsteps came in your direction at high speed, and soon you could hear heavy breathing along with it. You and Molly sat up quickly and saw one of your comrades running at you with pure fear in their eyes.

“Wall rose has been compromised!” They scream, voice laced with panic.

Molly’s eyes widen right as yours do. The feeling of uncertainty course through your veins almost instantly. You’ll never get used to the way your stomach drops when you hear things like that. Who could ever get used to that? Knowing you’re about to watch more people die would make anyone feel this way.

Before you know it you’re running to get your uniform on and strap on your gear. No one saw this coming. Then again, how the hell would they see this coming? You scramble to find you gear and you panic as it’s no where to be found.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” You yell as the panic begins to set in.

Hands grab each of your shoulders to hold you still, and that’s when you see Molly’s worried eyes. She looks at you with concern. The last mission had both of you on edge more than ever before. Both of you lost someone dear, someone who was close to you as you were to each other. Knowing that today you could lose Molly was making your mind and body think like a mad man.

“You gear is with my stuff, remember? You didn’t want to lose it so you asked me to hold onto it,” she reminds you.

The sweet women pulls you into a tight hug, and you can feel her body trembling. The two of you had no time for this, people were probably already being slaughtered. Right as you begin to think this a scream rips through the air, one that makes you two grip one another tighter.

“We’re going to fight and we’re going to survive,” she says sternly, “do you hear me? Don’t you dare die on me (y/n).”

You nod into her chest as tears begin to form in your eyes. So much could change in an instant and you wished time could freeze so you could hug your bestfriend forever. But reality was sinking in and you knew you had titans to kill and lives to save.

The hug was short lived, and soon you were faced with the destruction held within wall rose. Titans stomped around mindlessly, some with those creepy smiles that you absolutely hated.

Your blades cut through nape after nape and your head was starting to spin. Somewhere along the way you lost Molly, which had never happened before. You hated not having her around. The constant fear of not knowing what position she could possibly be in made you sick to your stomach.

You flew through the air at a high speed, trying to get leverage on the abnormal that was chasing after you. It’s mouth hung open as it’s disgusting blood drenched touched dripped into the buildings below. You’d never faced an abnormal and didn’t expect it to dodge your attack minutes ago.

Sure you were extremely skilled but it’s hard to work your way around a fast moving titan. It’s arms flew in the air behind it, the beast was an odd sight. You’d never witnessed a titan act so strangely before.

You’d been observing the monster too closely, but only for a few seconds. But as any soldier knows, a few moments can cost you your entire life. You turned your attention back infront of you but you didn’t have time to react before you slammed into a chimney. Out of all things that could’ve contributed to your death it just had to be a damn chimney.

The impact made your vision blur and you couldn’t even really feel the pain. The sun beamed down on you as your body layed limp on the rooftop. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and you wished you could fly up there with the birds and be free.

The abnormals hand picked you off the home as if you were nothing, only a small ant compared to it. It’s eyes were completely lifeless as it stared at you with hunger.

“Don’t you dare die on me (y/n)!”

Molly’s words rang through your mind but you couldn’t move. The injury to your head made you feel as if you were in a dream. There was no sense of reality right now, you couldn’t even comprehend that you were about to reach your end.

In a way you knew, reality wasn’t too far off. But you couldn’t find the energy to fight back. It had all been drained from you as the battle continued, and the final blow left you motionless.

You closed your eyes hoping somehow that’d stop you from feeling the coming pain. Every part of you didn’t want to die. Molly’s dreams about living by the ocean had become yours as well even if you wouldn’t admit it. The thought of leaving her with no body brought tears to your eyes.

That’s when you tried to move with the little energy left in your body, but it was no use. The tears began to stream down your face and the fear began to set in. Fear like this had never been within you, it was a brand new feeling. You guess certain death does that to you.

“No!” You say as loud as you can, “Someone please help me!”

Knowing this is what so many of the people you loved had to experience broke your heart. It was already bad enough to know they were gone and you couldn’t have saved them. But this was so much worse, they died with such fear. Fear that almost paralyzed you.

The sound of blades ripping through skin filled your ears. The titans grip on you loosened, then let go completely. You felt yourself falling, but you kept your eyes closed. Fear had already made its way to every inch of your body and you couldn’t move even more than before.

Right before you slammed to the ground below strong arms caught you. A grunt slipped past the unknown persons lips at the impact of your body. They carried you into a near by tavern that was deserted of people, then set you on one of the tables.

“Hey,” the deep voice said, “c’mon now I know you aren’t dead, don’t go out like this.”

Your eyes fluttered open to see the dangerously handsome man in your face. He was awfully close, you could feel his breath on your nose. His eyes were wide with concern.

“Captain Levi?” You asked followed by a gut wrenching cough. Blood splattered onto your lips and you groaned.

He couldn’t have been the one who saved you, right? You’d only talked to Levi a handful of times, and all were him giving you orders. You’d never had a desire to talk to him even if you found him incredibly attractive.

You’d admired the man for years as well. He has lost as many people as you, maybe more. He had already been on the scouts for many years before you joined. The man had watched the passion you held as you killed titans at alarming speed. He knew exactly who you were and what you had to offer, that’s why he saved you.

He smiled softly at you, not even enough for you to notice. For a second he thought you wouldn’t wake up and he’d be carrying a lifeless body back to medical. You cough a bit more before sitting up. A gasp slips past your lips and pain shoots through your body.

“Holy shit that fucking hurts,” you curse.

You see the fresh blood on your hands and wonder if it’s yours. The pounding in your head only increases as you move. The room felt like it was spinning and you may vomit any second.

“Do I need to take you to medical?” He asks with concern in his voice.

Your vision looks at the raven haired man and your memory starts to come back. One second you were flying through the air and then stupidly slammed into a chimney. And that damned titan was about to feast on you, what a bitch. Then you realized Levi was the one who stopped you from your near death.

“Why did you save me?” You ask without answering him first.

He sighs at your question. He had only moved that fast to save someone a handful of times. It just felt right to save you. He was there, you were there, he couldn’t just let you die. It wasn’t too far out of reach, he had already been headed in your direction.

“Because you’re strong and the scouts need you,” he answers, “now tell me if I need to take you to medical.”

His features were stern and it made your stomach flip a bit. If there weren’t titans outside and pain wasn’t consuming your body you may have thrown out a stupid flirtatious remark due to your bubbly personality. But this wasn’t the time and place no matter how good the captain looked right now.

“I just need a minute,” you said softly as you pushed your weight off the table.

You hissed in pain before stretching your body. The bones in your body crack loudly and you let out a low grunt at the feeling. The pounding in your head began to simmer and you took deep breaths.

“Thank you captain Levi,” you said, “my friend would’ve personally brought me back to just kill me herself.”

He chuckled a bit at your remark and you couldn’t even recall captain Levi smiling let alone chuckling. This whole situation was weird and unrealistic to you. Maybe you were already dead and this was your afterlife. A hot guy saves you and later you two will go to bone town, sounds pretty fun.

“I literally ran into a chimney,” you grumbled.

Levi’s eyes squinted at your words in confusion, “You what?”

“I didn’t get caught by a titan while trying to kill it heroically. I wasn’t paying attention for like three seconds and slammed into a damn chimney, not too sure the scouts really need me,” you say.

He shakes his head at your words and was becoming annoyed by your self doubt.

“I know, I saw,” he says and your cheek almost immediately turn red, “and I still saved you cause I thought you were worth it.”

You couldn’t get words out after what he said. You only stared at him in shock. He saw you make a foul out of yourself but yet still risked his life to save you. Levi truly was an interesting man.

“Well then, thank you again,” you say, “maybe I should thank you in a different way.” You wiggle your eyebrows then let out a laugh into your palm as his face falls at your words.

“Holy shit i’m kidding, please don’t make me do laps for that. Jokes make me feel better,” you still were holding back laughter at the face Levi made. You never thought you’d make the captain flustered like that.

“Uh,” his cheeks redden, “We need to get back out there. It’s starting to get worse, are you sure you’re okay (y/n).”

You take a deep breath before nodding your head. The two of you immediately begin to speed walk towards the open door of the tavern.

“I’m going to need you to follow me. The titans are huddled in the west and help is needed there,” he orders you and you respond with a yes captain, which always makes you cringe.

“Oh and by the way,” he says with a smirk, “that other way of thanking me is always welcome.”

This time he leaves you flustered. He heads west and you stand there for a few seconds before you remember you’re supposed to be following him. His remark might have you slamming into another chimney.

After fighting for hours many people had been successfully moved to wall sina. Some titans still mindlessly walked around within the walls of rose, but atleast many people were saved. There was still a great heartfelt loss that day.

When you got back to base your heart was pounding in your ears. All you could think about was Molly and if she was okay. You hadn’t seen her since you two got separated during the hell bent events. Your eyes scanned frantically through the base, searching for her everywhere.

Your mind went to the worst place possible and you begin to panic. She had to be okay, she was all you had. You needed her more than anyone else. If she’s gone you might as well let a titan eat you during your next mission. Molly kept you alive, and kept you fighting.

“(y/n)?” You hear a familiar deep voice ask.

You spin on your heals and are met with the same deep brown eyes that saved you earlier today. Levi looked upset, face a bit fallen. That’s when your heart sank to your stomach. Did he know where Molly was? Or if she had even made it back?

“Follow me,” he says without any other detail.

He starts walking and you immediately follow as your heart races. At this point you wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it. Your eyes scan to a sign that says medical as Levi opens the door below it.

You’re led to a the back of the room and you gasp at the sight. On the bed layed Molly with bandages covering many parts of her body. Your eyes fill with tears at the safe shes in, this was too much.

“She’s going to be okay, and the nurse told me she should be up soon,” he says.

You nod your head at his words before reaching to hold Molly’s hand, it was cold as ice.

“Can you please get her a blanket,” you state, it wasn’t even a question. It was more like you weren’t letting go of her hand, more like you couldn’t.

Levi nods and fetches her a couple blankets. He covers her for you and you thank him. The tears still run down your face, but you had already stopped wiping them away. It was no use because they just kept coming harder and harder as you looked at your bestfriend.

“Thank you Levi, I would’ve gone crazy looking for her back there,” you smile through the hurt.

He only hums in response to your words, letting silence fill the air. His hand comes to rest on your shoulder and his fingers move slightly to give you some comfort. It truly was a nice feeling to have someone with you right now, you might think too hard if he wasn’t here.

“I’ll give you some space-“ “no,” You cut him off, “please don’t go.”

Levi sees the hurt in your eyes. He could tell you needed someone right now even if he wasn’t much of a comforting person.

“okay,” he whispers.

He then pulls up a chair next to yours and sits with you for the next few hours in silence. It was somewhat nice, for both of you. Molly begins to stir in her sleep and your perk up. Her eyes flutter open and the first thing she sees is you and she smiles.

“We’ll look at that,” she smiles, “you’re just obsessed with me aren’t you (y/n).”

You laugh through happy tears forming in your eyes. She takes a deep breath and tries to stretch her body but the pain to still too much. She feels your grip on her hand and she squeezes at yours.

“You didn’t think i’d go out that easily did you,” she asks with a smirk on her chapped lips.

“Not for a second,” you said back almost immediately.

She lets out a small laugh at your words. For a second she did think she was going to die as a titan smacked her body mid-air, but that’s all she can remember. It was that, and then she wakes up in medical confused as hell. But seeing you made her know she definitely was okay. Her eyes scan to the figure next to you to see captain Levi. You’d told her before that you’d totally jump his bones if he let you.

“Did you screw the captain while I was out?” she asks playfully.

You and Levi’s breath hitch at her words and she can’t help but let out a laugh. It hurt her chest to laugh that hard but it also in a way made her feel better.

“Really Molly? You were just half dead a few minutes ago and that’s what you wanted to say?” You couldn’t help but laugh along with her. You’d rather her make you and the captain flustered than her be dead.

Levi couldn’t help but smile widely, but he put his head down to hide it. That day you and Levi developed a liking for each other, and both of you couldn’t remember the last time you felt this way.

The lives you each led was going to make it hard, but feelings are strong.

After an hour or so of talking to Molly she fell back asleep for some well needed rest. Levi walked with you down the hall back to your room, making small talk that was hard to even keep going.

“Thank you again Levi,” you look at him with sparkling eyes, “I’m pretty sure anyone else besides Molly would’ve let me be titan desert.”

“Of course, I would never let you be titan desert,” he mumbles the last part. He’d never heard someone refer to themselves as titan desert before, it almost made him laugh.

You stop at your door and look at his with an adoring gaze. He truly was nice looking, and incredibly brave. You wanted to be just like him, you wanted to be even stronger than him one day.

Before you could think you were leaning in to kiss his cheek. His eyes widen and his face heats up. The action rendered him speechess and he watched as your reached for the handle and opened the door before slipping in your room without another word.

He stayed in the hallway for a few seconds staring at where you just stood.

“Shit,” he whispered.

That only sparked his feelings for you further, and he knew this was the beginning of something he’d been avoiding his whole life.

Love.

[funnybuggy]

@bluemoonbeam15 you’ve written so many amazing fanfics recently, I hope I’m not bombarding you at all! I decided to write you one as a gift! So, I watched finding Nemo for the first time since I was a kid, and was inspired to write this oneshot by the opening scene. Thankfully, it ends better than it did for poor Marlin!

————

“Wow! Will you look at that sky!”

Hopper grudgingly stood up, going to look out at the horizon cresting the top of the hill. The clouds were awash in hues of pink, gold, orange, with streaks of pale lavender.

“It is nice,” Hopper admitted. Flik elbowed him.

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there were a way to save it?” He asked. Hopper scoffed.

“Yeah, right. How would you do that?”

“Well, if you could keep the image, somehow.”

“You could draw it.” Hopper suggested.

“No, like a way to save the image as it is! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“Uh… I think you’re miles ahead of me. Sounds impossible.”

Flik sighed. “Well, at least the scouts are having a good time.”

“I think they’re only down there cause they ran out of money to bet.” Francis said, smirking.

It was a nice evening. The circus bugs were seated at a stone on the hill, playing some kind of card game, at which molt seemed to be losing spectacularly. The blueberry scouts were at the base of the anthill. They seemed to be doing some sort of team building exercise, or one of those call-and-response games. Hopper didn’t quite understand it, but it was nice to see the kids having fun. That was new to him, kids enjoying themselves and playing games, rather than beating each other up and stealing.

“Hopper, I think the harvest is going really well. Yesterday we went over our quota!” Flik said, smiling.

“It’s probably because of your inventions.” Hopper said. Flik flushed.

“Well, I don’t know, everyone’s been working really hard-“

“Kid, are you serious? It’s because of your harvester- and that crazy train thing.” Francis said from his seat. Slim nodded in agreement.

“They couldn’t do it without you, dear.” Gypsy said.

It was true. That spring, flik had figured out a way to erase the troubles of transporting grain and berries for good. After lengthy planning and prototypes, flik had finally built a contraption. It ran along tracks made of twigs on the ground, and the carriages were made of the strongest leaves that could be found. All you had to do was put your cargo into one of the open carriages, and send it down the line, all the way back to the ant colony.

Atta had called it his masterpiece.

“I’m right, aren’t I, kid? You’re a great inventor. I know you’re gonna do something even greater next.”

Flik nodded bashfully. He turned away to look at the anthill. “Maybe next, we could invent a train that takes us away from ant island. We could have easier access to the city. What do you think of that, hopper?”

No reply.

“Hopper?”

Flik began to turn back towards Hopper, and froze.

Hopper stood as still as a statue. In front of him, on the hill, between the two of them and the scouts, was an enormous goldfinch.

Flik could see the shock and terror on Hoppers face from where he stood, but he didn’t shake, didn’t tremble at all. He clearly was well versed in how to deal with a bird.

“Don’t. Move. A. Muscle.” Flik whispered through gritted teeth.

But the look on Hopper’s face…

“Nobody move.” Francis said urgently. Beside him, Slim utilized his camouflage, freezing in place.

Hopper's eyes flicked towards the girl scouts, then back at the bird.

“No. No. Hopper. Don’t.” Molt hoarsely whispered. The bird watched them impassively. Molt was holding his leaf-cards above his head like a shield.

“Hopper. They’ll be fine. Don’t move.” Said Flik.

Hopper's eyes darted back once more to the Girl Scouts, the bird, and the Girl Scouts once more. His posture relaxed slightly.

“Hopper-“ Flik mouthed, but it was too late. Quicker than lightning, hoppers' wings sprung to life. True to his name, Hopper sprung upwards, letting his wings carry him on the updraft.

“No!” Flik cried out. Ignoring the prize in front of it, the bird took off after Hopper, albeit slower than Hopper's buzzing wings.

“What is he doing?!” Francis shouted.

“He’s- he’s- he’s leading it away!” Flik said in horror. Hopper flew overhead in dizzying circles, sometimes perilously close to the bird's razor sharp beak. Francis and Slim took advantage of the distraction, flying down to the bottom of the hill, bringing the girls inside the anthill.

Molt, meanwhile, was panicking.

“Oh, we gotta do something, flik! He can’t fly forever! That things gonna catch him for sure!” Molt said in terror, clutching at his antenna.

“What could we do?” Flik said to himself. His thoughts were racing frantically. If he didn’t act soon, Hopper might-

“Ooh! I know, what about that launching thing that threw you at the tree that one time?” Molt said.

“That’s it!” Flik said. “Let’s do it! Gypsy, can you still do that thing with your wings?”

She nodded, looking up worriedly. “I can, but whatever we’re doing, we ought to do it quick, dear. I’m worried hopper will get tired out!”

——

Flik returned to the spot a few minutes later, hauling what used to be a harvester, now dubbed the launcher over his shoulders. Overhead, hopper had been driven into the hollow of the tree, where the bird was pecking furiously.

“Ooh, come on, come on! We gotta hurry!” Molt said, driven to tears. His arms were full of pebbles. Hurriedly, Flik set the device on the ground, beginning to set it up.

“Wait a minute!” He said in horror. “It’ll never reach it from here!”

Gypsy and Molt looked at each other. Then, each of them grabbed either side of the device. With molts gesturing, flik jumped onto molts back, wrapping his arms around his neck. Then, the trio took flight. As they drew closer and closer to the bird, Flik gulped in nervousness… maybe they should try something else, who knew how this would go?

Then he caught sight of molts teary face, and felt guilty. Think of how Hopper must feel!

“Okay, guys. Molt, you load the machine, I’ll pull the lever. Are you ready?”

“Just hurry!” Molt said.

“Okay… one, two… three!”

Soon enough, a flurry of pebbles hit the bird. It whirled around to face them, but reeled back when Gypsy turned and flared her wings. Quickly, molt set Flik and the machine on the tree branch, while Gypsy flashed her wings at the bird over and over again. In the meantime, Flik loaded more pebbles into the machine, and fired at the bird again. Finally, sensing there was no sense in staying, the bird turned tail and flew off. Molt, Flik, and Gypsy cheered.

“Great job, guys!” Flik shouted. He turned towards the hollow of the tree, where Hopper began to emerge holding his arm. He brightened up when he saw them.

“Is it gone?” He asked. Flik nodded. “We drove it away. Hopper, you should have seen-“

“Hopper, you- you- you idiot!” Molt yelled, catching the group off guard. Hopper started.

“Molt, I was-“

“No!” Molt grabbed Hopper by the shoulders and shook him. Hopper stared at him in amazement.

“Hop, you could have died!” Molt cried out. There were tears in his eyes. Hopper fumbled for words for a moment.

“Yeah, but I didn’t. It’s fine. The girls are safe, right?” He asked. He turned away from Molt towards Gypsy and Flik, who each stared at him simultaneously.

“Uh… Yes. They are, darling.” Gypsy said, finally. “But I think Molt has a point.”

“Yeah, Hopper. That was dangerous.” Flik said. “I mean, thank you. Thank you so much. But… We were scared.”

Hopper clenched his fists a little. “It’s fine. The kids are safe, that’s what matters.”

“But what if the bird had gotten you?” Molt demanded. “Why do you have to be like that? What do you think I would do if something happened to you?”

Hopper looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know.” He mumbled. “Let’s just stop talking about it.”

“No! What is wrong with you?” Molt shouted. “I can’t believe you sometimes!”

Gypsy watched Hopper warily. “Hopper?” She asked suddenly. “What happened to your arm?”

Hopper glanced downward. “Oh.” He said. “It’s not important. Let’s go, I want to talk to Dot.”

“Hold on.” Molt said. He reached out. “Hoppy, you’re bleeding!”

Hopper grabbed his upper left arm. “It’s just a scratch.” He said.

“It isn’t, hop! Did that bird get you?” Molt gently took Hopper's arm. He hissed.

“It got me with its beak, that’s all. I flew a little too close. Let’s just go put some webbing on it.” Hopper watched molt for a minute. His eyes softened. “You’re okay, right, molt?” He eyed Gypsy and Flik. “You’re all fine?”

“Wha- yes! Of course I’m ok!” Molt said in astoundment. “I can’t believe this. How were you able to do that? To get so close?”

Hopper was quiet. “I just did. Come on, let’s go.” His wings alight, he took off towards the anthill.

Molts jaw dropped in disbelief. Finally he shook his head, and followed after him.

Giving each other looks, Gypsy and Flik did the same.

———-

And there you go! Hope you enjoyed!

[babybatscreationsv2]

A King on a Leash ch13

Marvel | Starker

Tony Stark is a powerful man with a beautiful husband and a loyal crime family, but it looks like he didn’t keep his husband on a short enough leash. After turning Peter lose on a Cuban gang leader, Peter’s life is  in danger. The real trouble is that Tony now realizes that Peter is the  only thing in this world that he cares about and he never meant for that  to happen.

Sequel to A Doll on a String

Rating: Explicit

Full Fic

A Doll on a String

Warnings under the cut*

warnings: violence, blood

Happy pulled the car up to the curb. Peter could see Harry through the window, waiting inside the cafe. There was a camera on the table beside him and across from him were MJ and Amy. He checked his coat to make sure his gun was hidden. He ran his fingers over the engraving and his heart gave a little flutter. How could he still be so damn in love?

"Thanks, Hap." Peter smiled at the man, his fingers curling around the door handle.

"No problem, kid. I'll be out here if you have a problem."

"I'm sure you will." He rolled his eyes. "I'm to assume there's someone already inside scouting the place."

"Oh yeah. Those two clowns aren't exactly on a date as much as they're trying to look it."

Peter looked again through the window and shorted. Sitting at a table by the window was a couple in their early thirties sharing a coffee cake. Only, they were dressed in black from head to toe and their coats were long enough to conceal a weapon in every flavor. They were so obviously mafia soldiers that the table across from them had shifted as far to the opposite sides of their chairs as they could and kept looking at them sideways. They were probably waiting for a shoot out. Peter hoped Chili wasn't feeling brave today. There was no way every crime lord in New York didn't know where Peter Parker was at exactly this moment.

"You sure I should go in?"

Happy turned around to look at him. "Now, you're being cautious?"

Peter chewed his lip. "I worry about Tony."

"How about you worry about having the correct number of holes in your head," he huffed, then he took a breath. "Sorry, I just wish you didn't insist on going out right now. It'll never be safe for you. Not with things how they are."

"I can't take being cooped up. Besides, I'm doing good work with Harry. We can't talk business with MJ here, but I need him to trust me."

"Try to not think of your friends like that, Pete. Harry is good to you. You be good to him to and not just for Tony's sake."

"What would you do for Pepper?"

Happy snorted. "If she told me to shoot a friend I'd shoot a friend, but do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because Pepper wouldn't say a thing like that for fun. She would have a real reason."

"You're sounding pretty judgmental for a glorified babysitter," Peter snapped. He ripped open the door and climbed out. It slammed shut behind him and a few passersby looked up before walking a bit quicker. He crossed the sidewalk but he didn't make it to the door before an unfriendly sneer caught his eye.

Adrian Toomes stood puffing a cigarette, leaning against the brick of the cafe. Peter rolled his eyes. Great, another old man waiting to tell him why he's an idiot.

"You know it's rude to smoke in a doorway like that. Some people have asthma."

Toomes laughed. "Some people have no respect for family."

"Really? You wanna do this now?"

He shrugged. "I'm not here to do anything, Parker-"

"It's Parker-Stark now."

"Of course I know that you little harlot. How many powerful beds did you try out before you found one that would keep you?"

Peter's fists clenched. "You better watch your mouth-"

"Or what? Your daddy gonna gut me? I'm sure Fisk would like that." Peter heard a car door behind him. Toomes's eyes flicked up, probably looking at Happy, but Peter didn't turn his head.

"There's no Boss of Bosses anymore. Fisk doesn't get to tell anyone what to do."

Toomes smirked. "I bet you think he likes you because you remind him of Vanessa, but here's the thing, kid. Fisk woulda put her down like a dog if she ever did what you did. And you're just another bitch." He flicked his cigarette to the ground.

"If it's your goal to annoy me to death it's not working. You're just another ant on the sidewalk."

"Cute." He glanced into the cafe. "I see what you're up to with little Osborn."

"And what exactly is that?"

"You're playing him. Setting him up to owe your man, but it's not gonna work."

Peter smirked. "How much of Octavius's old territory did Harry take back from you? You must be really feeling the hurt if you came all this way to chat me up."

Toomes narrowed his eyes. He stepped into Peter's face. Happy was at his back in a flash.

"I think you'd better take a step back, Mr. Toomes," he warned.

Toomes's eyes flicked between their faces. "Couple of dogs aren't you? The guard dog and the house bitch."

"Sticks and stones, Toomes, but words are all you have because we both know you don't have the balls to lay a hand on me."

He stepped forward and Happy got between them, looking down his nose at the man like he was a rat. Peter laughed. "See you around, Mr. Toomes. I have a lunch date." He gave a little wave and stepped inside the building. He walked to the table where the obvious non-couple sat.

"Back Happy up and find somewhere else to stake out."

They both nodded. "Yes, sir," they mumbled. Peter watched them go, making sure Toomes backed off of Happy and no one came to his aid. The fact that he didn't have anyone else with him seemed odd. Tony and Wilson always had men with them. Did Toomes not have anyone he trusted to watch his back? Peter wished he could exploit that enough to stick a knife in it.

He caught his friends all stared at him from across the cafe. Peter plastered a pleasant smile on his face and strode over to them like nothing was wrong. He sat down next to Harry.

"Who was that?" Amy asked. Her hair was dyed pastel pink now and it brought out the permanent blotchy red of her cheeks. It was cute, though, like she was always blushing.

Peter waved his hand like it was nothing. "I've seen them around the city before and I thought I saw their car being towed."

"Really?" She turned and looked out the window. MJ put a hand on her shoulder and Amy shot her a questioning look as she turned back to the table.

"We've got big news!" MJ said, tactfully changing the subject.

Amy smiled practically bouncing in her seat. "Okay, it's not really news and it's not exactly big, but it is super cute!"

Peter laughed. "What is it?"

"Amy's cat has found the perfect sun spot in the new apartment," MJ said. Peter knew the look of 'I'm pretending to be excited for her sake'.

Amy giggled. "He's so cute! Every morning he lays down on the rug and stretches his little legs and curls up in the sun spot and he's so cute!" she babbled. MJ smiled at her, totally smitten.

"That sounds so cute," Peter agreed.

"When is Muffin getting a brother?" Harry said.

"We did talk about visiting the shelter some time this week." MJ shrugged. "Our apartment said we could have two so we thought why not?"

"We're getting a kitten!" Amy squealed.

"How about a grumpy old street cat who has seen some things," MJ suggested.

"Either way sounds nice," Peter said. He looked past them out the window. Happy caught his eye and gave him an OK with his hand before getting back into the car. He saw the man from before leaning against a mailbox, pretending to check his phone. He didn't know where the woman went. Probably across the street. He wondered what it was Toomes had wanted. Had he planned to scare him away from Harry? A couple of threats that he might tattle to Fisk were hardly concerning, but it wasn't like Toomes had a lot of cards to play. If he hurt Peter it would kind of make him a hypocrite and Peter wasn't technically breaking any rules by forming an alliance with Harry. The Bosses were supposed to be brothers so convincing Tony and Harry to help each other should be encouraged. Toomes was just pissed that he couldn't take advantage of Harry's lack of experience so long as he had Tony to call.

The girls left early to get back to couple stuff. Peter hugged them both goodbye and shook his head as they hurried off. MJ had her arm around Amy's shoulders while the pink-haired girl babbled excitedly. Then they were gone and it was just him and Harry.

"I gotta thank you for hooking me up with Brock," he said.

Peter shrugged. "That was all Tony. He always knows what to do."

"Yeah well, he's pretty solid. Who was he?"

"He was one of Tony's own soldiers. Don't know what gig he was running, but Tony was confident he would be able to help you out. He says the best Consigliere is an experienced enforcer with a little bit of morality. Like Happy."

Harry cringed. "Enforcer?"

"You'll get there." Peter patted his shoulder. "The first time someone points a gun at you, you'll be glad your men are experienced. I would strongly recommend you get your first kill under your belt sooner rather than later."

"You sound like Tony."

"He is a wise boss."

"You really admire him. It's sweet."

Peter shrugged. "For a couple of bloodthirsty killers, I guess."

"Does there have to be so much killing?"

"Eddie will help you out. Help you see the good in the ugly."

"You mean the money."

"That money is gonna change hands one way or another. Might as well put it in your own hands." Peter phone buzzed against the table top. He glanced down to see Tony's face along with "Daddy" on the screen.

"Sorry, Har." He picked up the phone.

"No problem."

He answered the call and put the phone to his ear. Tony spoke before he could say anything. He was breathing heavy.

"It's time, angel. I sent Happy the location."

"Nat found him?"

"Don't be late, angel, or I'll start without you," he purred. Peter felt that down in his groin. Time to do what they did best.

"I'll talk to you later, Harry," he told his friend. He stood and stuffed his phone in his pocket.

"Business?" he asked. "You need some help?"

"Yes and no," Peter smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but you're not ready for this one."

"Some other time, then."

"Call me." Peter slapped his shoulder as he passed, then he was out the door. Happy climbed into the driver's seat as he came outside. Peter got into the back. The man and woman joined them in the car with the man up front.

"You ready for this, kid?" Happy asked, cruising at ten over the speed limit.

"More than ready." He pulled his gun from his coat and held it in his lap.

"Put one in him for me. I haven't gotten any sleep in weeks," Happy grumbled. It hadn't occurred to him how much this had affected the rest of the family and he felt a little guilty.

"Sorry to put you through this."

"Not your fault, kid. Well, no it is, but Tony should do a better job of intimidating people if he's going to let you loose like that."

"I'm not a wild animal."

"You act like one. I heard about the other night, you know. You get off on this shit, the both of you. But I don't. I'm just doing what I'm good at, making a living. I'm not judging. I'm just asking you to think of the family before you go dancing on graves that didn't need to be there."

"Ya know, if I had just stolen the diamonds, they would have come after me anyway."

Happy shrugged. "Maybe the whole gig was doomed from the start. Or maybe nobody would have put as much work into finding you if it were just some stones they were mad about."

"Nah. They would have come after me."

Happy didn't say anything to that. Peter knew that he didn't approve. He never did. As much as Happy tried to be the voice of reason, he was in just as deep as they were. He didn't have to like killing, but he did have to jump when Tony told him to. Daddy says 'shoot', everyone fires. No questions asked.

They pulled into the back of a store boasting 'rare oriental rugs'. There were way too many cars in the rear parking lot for it to not be a front. Either cops in this neighborhood were dirty or they were blind. The man and woman went in first. Then Happy got out and scouted the lot. Peter sighed to himself while he waited. Then Happy finally came to open to his door.

They walked up to the building. Happy opened the door. The smell of fresh death wafted out. Peter went inside and nearly ran back out. There were bodies everywhere, blood on every surface, and through a door on the other side of the room Peter could hear more screaming. There had been a massacre.

[flimflamfranky]

Day 12 - Broken Down

Franky contemplates his own death as his body breaks down.

(yeah, this one gets kinda dark and im not sure how to tag it, so uh proceed with caution).

~

Franky could feel himself breaking down. The last remains of his cola slugged through his system, in slow, torturous drips, and he could feel his insides shutter and fail as they ran out of fuel. Not a big deal for his cybernetics parts - but for his squishy, all-tall-human bits that needed those parts to stay alive?  

He was dying. Slowly. Completely aware of each moment bringing him closer and closer to a total shut, forced to contemplate his own morality until his body kicked the bucket.

It was terrifying.

And the worst part? He could do nothing but experience it.

His legs had given out first, sending him crashing down to the forest floor. He had then tried crawling, pulling himself over bushes and tree roots with his arms until those gave out too. And now, he was stuck here, half-paralyzed, unable to move an inch as his body drained of cola.

He wasn’t even stuck on his back, where he could at least look up at the sky and watch the clouds pass by. No, he had fallen face first into the dirt. All he could watch were the ants and beetles that passed, showing off their ability to move as they crawled over his fingers.

He knew he had sunk low when he started feeling jealous of bugs. He was really starting to hate them.

He had back up systems installed, of course. When he ran out, he wasn’t out out. Cola would still be running through his body, and if he didn’t refuel immediately, it would get recycled and reused as much as possible.

Problem was, he had been running on fumes way before this, when he first got separated from the others and blasted into this damned forest. Had been for a while, as they got chased over hell and high water by those ant worshiping freaks. Or maybe they had been ants? Really big, really weird ants? He couldn’t remember.

But whatever they had been, there were a lot of them. They had been everywhere, and he had no time to refuel, forced to flee and fight on empty. He didn’t want to know how much that drained him.

He never tested his back-up systems before - never had to. Wasn’t exactly something he wanted to test. He wasn’t sure how long they would last, even without the extra stress.

With his body already shutting down, he was worried he wouldn’t last much longer.

He really hoped the others would find him soon. He couldn’t have gone that far, right? And his crew was smart, clever, when they wanted to be. They’d find him. He just hoped it was before his cola ran out, not after. He didn’t want them discovering just his body and not him. That’d suck.

At least this time, he wasn’t in pain. The sea train had nearly killed him too, and that had hurt, hurt like no other. Hurt so much that he still felt it sometimes, a heavy ache in nerves he no longer had. But not now, though.

He couldn’t feel anything right now.

It was probably for the best. Even if he could feel the leaves and ants tickling his skin, he wouldn’t be able to scratch it. That’d drive him crazy. And no pain was a big bonus. He could handle feeling disconnected but trapped from his own body. He really could.

Man, he hoped the others found him soon.

He had so many plans for the day, when they first landed on the island, before they were overwhelmed by those ant jerks. He was gonna show Usopp and Luffy and Chopper his latest invention, and help Nami scout for her new map, and go with Robin to collect some flowers, and try that new spice rub Sanji came up with, and show Brook that song he’d been working on, and have that swimming competition with Jinbe.

He- He needed to see Sunny to the end of her journey. He needed to see everyone accomplish their dreams. He needed to make Luffy the King of the Pirates. He couldn’t just leave this far in. He couldn’t.

Panic and desperation and fears began to well up again, stronger as he thought of the friends he didn’t want to miss, but his body didn’t respond. His breathing didn’t pick up, his arms didn’t shake, his eyes didn’t even tear up. He just kept still, staring forward and watching the leaves rustle in the breeze.

Oh, and there went his vision. Perfect. Just what he needed. Complete darkness to make things better.

This sucked.

He couldn’t even think of a harsher way to put it, he hated it so much. He’d work hard to be able to cry! Installing tear ducts, rerouting nerves, working past his issues to cry freely and openly. And now, when he needed it the most, he couldn’t fucking do it.

He really hoped the others would find him already. He didn’t want to die - not like this. He thought he go during a fight, giving his all with a don! Or maybe of old age, after he passed his skills to someone bright and young and full of potential. Hell, even by accident, an explosion by one of his own inventions or something, would be better than this!

Dying face down in the dirt, in some random forest, on some random island, just because he ran out of fuel? It was pathetic. It was terrifying.

He didn’t want to die alone.

“Franky!”

He really really didn’t want to die alone.

“Franky!!”

What was that? He thought he heard something over the rustle of the wind. It was getting hard to focus. His heart was pounding. It felt like he was floating.

“FRANKY!!!”

Luffy.

Franky wanted to cry and jump up and scream I’m here, I’m here, come find me. He couldn’t but it didn’t matter. He knew they’d find him anyway.

And find him they did.

“Look, over there!”

“Is that-?”

“Franky!!”

The relief Franky felt was nearly overwhelming. Was overwhelming, because his hearing started to fade. He was fading too, his consciousness dragging down into nothingness.

But that was okay. His friends had found him. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Everything was going to be okay.

[adarlingwrites]

Absolution

Summary:

noun: formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment

The Capital Wasteland lauded the Lone Wanderer as a hero, a Messiah, a savior who's willing to give her life for the Good Fight. Beyond the legends, the propaganda, and the mythification that surrounded her legacy, there is only one person who knew her bare soul. She gave him his absolution, and now he will fight for hers.

XIII

December 28, 2277.

“Wait. Enclave? What the hell is an enclave?” Butch asks, brows furrowing.

“In this context, they’re the other group of power-armored assholes running the other radio station with patriotic music, and fancies themselves as the United States of America, though I think they really are what remained of the USA. They’re also the bitches responsible for my dad’s death, so there’s that,” Percy tells him.

“Holy shit,” DeLoria murmurs, throwing back another shot. “Hey hey wait, how do you know that? I didn’t pay much attention to history class but I don’t remember Mr. Brotch mentioning anything about the American government going all psycho with power armor.”

Percy pauses, brow wrinkling. “Dad mentioned something when I was younger, about how some of the history books we study as kids didn’t paint the entire picture, and when we were reunited in the wasteland, at some point when one of his scientists switched to the Enclave radio during dinner, he asked her to turn it off. Said it was run by fascists that came from a failed pre-war government.”

“But how does your old man know about that when the vault was sealed- oh. Oh right. The Overseer lied to us.” Butch finally gets it. “Damn.”

“Yeah, and look at where that got us. I always suspected that things weren’t always what it seemed. Plus, the truth slips out of Old Lady Palmer’s mouth whenever she mentions dad “arriving” in the vault. My doubts were confirmed when I looked through Almodovar’s terminal, before I opened the door. There were scouting reports. Pictures of giant ants.”

The bartender serves Percy another shot and she gulps it down before resuming her story. The number of cigarettes in DeLoria’s box is dwindling, and so did mine.

“Then when I got to Megaton, some of the locals knew about the brainwashing stuff, and all the pieces of the puzzle fell in place. Finding out that dad was parroting the Overseer’s propaganda hurt. The worst part is? I haven’t forgiven him before he died.”

“I um… I’m sorry, Perce.”

My friend shrugs at DeLoria. “It is what it is. I miss him already. He’d know what to do. I wish I didn’t argue with him before those assholes...”

A sniff resounded in the mostly empty bar. Soft cries escaped Percy’s lips, tears streaming down her red face. I wanted to offer an arm, a hand, anything , but DeLoria already wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Right. Great. That’s probably for the better. Sticking my non-existent nose in her business is becoming a dangerous habit.

Last night was probably a mistake.

“Okay, I think you had enough alcohol for the night,” the barkeep announces, and takes the scotch away. “The two of you, make sure she sleeps it off.”

“Hey Butch, you said you were gonna start a new gang, right? May I suggest ‘Our Dads Got Fucking Killed by Fascists’ for the name? We three could be the first members,” Percy slurred in between sobs. How she can find humor in the situation is beyond me.

“Yeah, she’s wasted alright,” Butch mumbles. “Hey, um, I don’t exactly have caps on me yet. Is Perce gonna pay the tab?”

I scoffed, fishing around Percy’s pack to pay off our bill. After tossing a few caps to the old lady, I helped Percy to her feet, and so did DeLoria. It was a struggle. I am a few inches shy of seven feet, DeLoria’s around six, and Percy is just a little taller than five. DeLoria looks at me with a weary smile. The two of us did the best we can to ensure this small girl doesn’t land face-first into the ship’s metal flooring. Us both being inebriated and Dogmeat bumping into us every three seconds did not help. I heard a patron that frequents the bar snicker at the sight of us, a girl about Percy’s age with the shittiest pigtails I’ve ever seen. On a human, anyway.

“Y’know what? Just carry her,” said Butch, rubbing the back of his neck. “This isn’t working. I need to get some shuteye for my first day as a barber tomorrow too. See you two around.”

“Goodnight, Butch,” Percy slurs, half of her ass leaning on a nearby table for support.

I nodded at the greaser and he left the premises, the confidence in his gait replaced with drunk swaying and awkwardness. Gathering our gear, I carried Percy’s pack and weapons on my back, then I swept her off her feet in a bridal carry.

She’s gotten lighter.

“Hey, big guy,” slurs Percy, hiccuping. “You do know that I am -hic- perfectly capable of walking, right?”

“The last time you said that, you almost fell off the boat.” I started heading towards the exit.

My friend sighs, shaking her head in resignation. “I might as well enjoy riding you then.”

I froze in my spot. The girl with the shitty hair snorted her drink and outright laughed at us. I couldn’t bring my eyes to look at Percy but I know that she’s even redder now, and she felt a few degrees warmer in my arms.

She stammers, slightly flailing. “I mean, I might as well enjoy you- the ride! I might as well enjoy the ride! Dammit!”

“Sleep it off, Percy.”

“Hey, lovebirds,” the bartender barked at us. “Get the fuck out of my bar and go hump each other someplace else. I’m closing shop.”

We left in a hurry.

Percy was breathing softly, seemingly asleep when we arrived in the Weatherly Hotel, the only clean place to sleep on the boat, where we were greeted by the owner and a Mr. Handy. Beside her, the boy we rescued and brought from Grayditch stands up and runs to us.

“Hey! You two came to visit! Whoa, what happened to her? Is she hurt?” the boy exclaims.

“She’s fine, just tired. We need a room.”

“Hi, Bryan,” Percy slurs. She wasn’t asleep after all. “Shouldn’t you be asleep already?”

The owner smiles. “She’s right, Bryan. Off to bed.”

“Aw. Aunt Vera, I wanna hang out with Percy and Charon more.”

“You can do that tomorrow when Percy is feeling better,” Vera replies, and she nods to us. She had the room unlocked and I stepped in, placing Percy on the bed, and I dumped our gear on the floor. I locked the door behind us afterwards.

While I made sure nothing was out of place, Percy was sloshing water in her mouth, which she spat in a bucket. Staying clean even when she cannot take a full bath are some of her habits and rituals that I got used to. They’re probably good ones. She’s not resistant to disease like I am.

I turned to check on Percy. She had stripped down to her underwear, glasses haphazardly tossed to the bed.

The alcohol in my system is impairing my judgment. I should be turning around and should not be watching Percy tend to herself, but I just watched her. Life in the wasteland claimed some of her softness, and she had a few scars here and there, but she’s still attractive. Her legs are toned from all the walking we do, and her shoulders slightly are wider than her hips. When she turns around though, her behind is… something else.

Wait.

I’m looking at her bare ass.

I need to turn around. I need to turn around, but my body isn’t letting me. I can feel myself tenting at the crotch of my pants. This isn’t good.

When she turned to me, naked, swaying, and smiling, I thought I was in another dream, but I felt her warm breath and I know I’m awake. Things are happening too fast. My eyes dared to meet hers, then it trails below, to her small erect nipples, wet and shiny from her half-bath, and the dark patch of fuzz between her legs.

Damn it. I wanted to claim her. Act on the fantasies I have about her on nights that my body was too warm for my own liking. Put those nipples in my mouth. Bury my face between her legs. Pin her against the bed and make sure the entire boat hears her cry out my name.

“Big guy. Come to bed with me?”

But I hear the slur in her speech, and it took all of my willpower to shake my head.

“No. Percy. You’re drunk,” I say to her firmly.

“And?”

“I don’t want you to do things you’ll regret later, and I do not want to take advantage of your vulnerability.”

“Wait, who said anything about- I just want to sleep next to you again, Charon.”

“Naked?”

Mouth open and brows furrowed, she looks at herself, and curses. “I am- oh no, I am so sorry, holy shit,” Percy apologizes. “Fuck. Fuck! Stupid ass drunk idiot! I’m never drinking again,” she says to herself.

“Keep your voice down. I’ll go look for something you can wear.”

“Dammit, Charon I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to harass you like this, oh my God-”

“I do not feel harassed, but I appreciate the apology. Now, refrain from making any more noise,” I tell her, and I reach into her pack. A flimsy red nightgown was the last thing I expected.

“Percy, is this fine? This will not protect you from the cold much.”

She looks at me, then at the thing, and snatches it from my hand. “Yes! Um, thank you Charon. I found it when we were looting and-”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Percy. Get dressed.”

She nods, turning around and dressing herself, then she clears her throat. “All clear. Your turn.”

I cleaned up and changed into something more suitable for sleeping, Percy’s back in sight, her arms wrapped around herself, shivering. When I finished changing, I got in bed.

We lay on the bed next to each other, but she seems so far away.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Charon. I don’t want you to think that I’m like some of your former employers who, uh, used you for your body.”

“I don’t think of you that way.”

“That’s a relief. You’re important to me.”

I look at her, and she’s facing me now, eyes soft and filled with a feeling I cannot describe. “Thank you. You are important to me too.”

Burying her face in my chest, she wraps an arm around my waist. I pulled the covers over us, and I held her.

“Night. Love you.”

February 7, 2278.

Two days after DeLoria’s first visit, he came over again. He brought with him a few of Percy’s belongings from Megaton, including Dogmeat’s teddy bear. The mistress entrusted a copy of the house key to the greaser, much to my dismay, but the dog has been restless without Mr. Bubbles and having it back gave me some relief.

It smells more like dog slobber now than it did Percy, but Dogmeat is still comforted by it. He misses her. I miss her too.

Dr. Li said she is getting better, but she’s still cautious. The doctor told me to not have too much hope; she had seen patients seemingly recover only for them to crash after a few days. It scares me. I wouldn’t know what to do with my life if Percy dies.

Dammit, I don’t want to think about that. She is going to live. Percy is a tough gal.

At this point, only Dr. Li, the greaser, and I are allowed in Percy’s room. She caught one of the scribes she entrusted attempting to extract blood from my partner without her authorization. I know something’s up, but the doctor isn’t budging. What is she hiding from the Brotherhood about my partner?

One of these days, I might need to confront her.

Smoking isn’t allowed in Percy’s room, so DeLoria and I just chewed bubblegum in silence while I maintained our equipment. I sorted out Percy’s change of clothes, came across that flimsy red sleepwear, and tucked it under her other belongings, what’s left of my skin burning hot. I’m doing my best not to let my mind wander to that night. Butch is fiddling with his Pip-Boy, identical to the one my partner owns, and I sigh in relief in knowing that he didn’t see me touch that thing. He already has several wrong ideas.

While I was hastily putting it away, a slip of paper fell.

It turned out to be a photograph. She found a camera when we stormed Paradise Falls, to save some kids. I remember the look on her face when Little Lamplight’s brat of a mayor told them that slavers took their friends.  We ended up opening the slave pens and trashing the place. Percy and I told them to find Hannibal Hamlin in the Washington Monument. Meeting Hamlin was one of my nicer memories from the past few months.

I’d do anything to see the determined gleam in her eye again.

I look at the photograph. It’s of me and the dog. Why would Percy keep something like this?

In the photo, I am asleep, taking a nap on the couch, and the dog was laying on my chest, looking at my partner behind the camera. I flipped it over, and there was some writing on it. Months of being taught by Percy paid off. She taught an old dog new tricks: I learned how to read.

“1-13-2278. Charon and Dogmeat.” This was two days after we got rid of my contract.  “The two loves of my life, after scotch,” she wrote under that. There’s a hollow heart drawn next to it.

I snort at the caption, knowing Percy’s sense of humor. Calling me Mr. Dreamboat, joking that I am her boyfriend… hell, she managed to freak out a few of the bigots in Tenpenny Tower with it once.

Now that I’ve thought about it… the playful nicknames, the touching, the concern, her putting me above herself, the trust she puts in me, the “love you” she mumbled while piss-wasted when I slept next to her in Rivet City; how did I miss all the signs?

Was I too taken in by the belief that smoothskins cannot harbor these feelings for ghouls? What did that damn kiss in the rotunda mean?

Does she even know the consequences of that kiss? If blondie wakes up and tattles to the Brotherhood about the Lone Wanderer kissing her ghoul bodyguard before running inside the chamber, it will ruin her. They might treat her even worse than before. My fears of people hurting her because of being associated with me gets worse as the days pass. There are so many things I want to ask her, so many things I want to talk about, but she’s still lying there, unconscious, under life support.

This can’t be the way things end.

Does she love me the way I love her?

I just want to know my place in her life.

[not-a-space-alien]

Into the Unknown, Part 5:  A Desperate Meeting

Prologue | Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Series masterpost

On AO3

Despite almost the entirety of Hell and a decent chunk of Heaven scrambling about like a hive-mind of ants to locate Satan or any of the other troublemakers, they turned up mostly empty-handed.  It seemed Satan had decided he would quite like to stay hidden for now.  Not his usual modus operandi, but he wasn’t so stupid he couldn’t see when he was clearly outnumbered and outgunned, and he was powerful enough to accomplish a disappearing act when he wanted to.

They did spot Hastur, briefly, in the stratosphere above the Atlantic Ocean, but he was gone by the time the scout managed to come back with reinforcements to confront him.  They speculated he had likely joined up with Satan, who had always been his primary loyalty, besides Ligur.

They also caught sight of Gabriel with Kabata, of all people, lurking outside of Heaven’s gate, of all places. ��That pair made themselves difficult to find, too.  But with Maltha’s report about what exactly Uriel had done to Gabriel, and Crowley’s report of Kabata’s seemingly ambivalent attitude about everything nowadays, they didn’t seem to be the likely source of any further trouble.  Still...one had to wonder what they were up to.

In the wake of these efforts, Metatron called for a meeting.  Calling for a meeting was really all that was left of Metatron’s power, but everyone was unusually eager to confer, given the circumstances.  The Metatron left it to Noah’s discretion exactly who should come, but they made it quite clear they intended to have a discussion about what course of actions they should take.

Crowley and Aziraphale were invited, of course.  They were still preoccupied with their rings, truth be told. They activated the charm every twelve hours like clockwork, blushing and giggling to each other upon feelings its effects, hugging in close to each other.

Victoria rolled her eyes whenever they did this.  Nevertheless, she refrained from commenting and escorted them up to Heaven with the utmost professionalism.

They arrived in Heaven without giving much thought to what security measures would await them.  No one had guarded the pearly gate in years, except to keep dead humans from wandering out, which they already seemed disinclined to do.  And there hadn’t been anything in Heaven harmful to demons in a while, not since they drained the holy water fountains.  Demons didn’t generally prefer to hang out there, but it wasn’t unusual to find some up here, especially when they had some business with the Victoria or Raphael.

Aziraphale and Crowley found Maltha waiting for them at the entrance, smoking a cigarette.  She ground it out as they approached.  “Good to see you again.”

Their escort appeared behind them, breaching the cloudy entrance to Heaven. “No trouble,” Victoria said.  “It was smooth sailing getting up here.”

Maltha nodded.  “Metatron is in the Judgement Hall.”

The statement didn’t alarm any of them.  The Judgement Hall hadn’t been used for its intended purpose since Michael’s fall.  They mostly used it for hosting large meetings when the occasion arose, simply because it had a lot of space and seating intended for such thing.

“Noah should be arriving shortly,” said Maltha as they set off.  “I don’t know who else is coming. I told Uriel she should probably come, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be joining us.”

“Why the hell not?” said Victoria, stormily.  “We need all hands on deck.”

Maltha shrugged.  “Probably because Mykas is coming.”

Victoria crossed her arms.  “Fine, I guess, but we have bigger things to worry about.”

“I’m sure she’s already worrying about them.”

“I’m not sure she is.  She needs to get with the program.”

“Then you can tell her that if and when she shows up.”

Victoria scowled.  She was extremely cranky because of this whole situation.  She hadn’t slept, and she was one of the angels who had let herself get used to sleeping occasionally.  “Let’s just get this over with.”

They entered the antechamber for the Judgement Hall.  The Metatron’s voice could be heard cursing loudly from within, and there was the sound of papers spilling and ripping.

Maltha rushed forwards and threw the doors open.  Metatron was the only one in the room; they had a large stack of papers on their section of the bench and were ripping sheets up in an incredibly frustrated way.

“Metatron!” said Maltha.

Metatron paused mid-rip to look at Maltha.  “Oh.  Hello. Thank you for coming.”

Maltha came in and took a seat in front of the dais.  Metatron seemed to lose steam and started shuffling the bits of torn paper into a neat pile.

“What’s that you’ve got?” said Crowley, sitting next to Maltha.

“It’s Gabriel’s paperwork,” said Metatron.  “Since he was spotted lurking outside Heaven with Kabata, I thought he might crash the meeting.  So I brought out the paperwork, because he always took care of that sort of thing.”

“Oh,” said Crowley.

“Then why did you, ah…rip it up?” said Aziraphale.

“Because I remembered that I hate him,” said Metatron.

Victoria positioned herself behind the bench where she could keep an eye on everyone.  The door creaked open and Raphael tiptoed in, trying to avoid drawing everyone’s attention but failing.

“Come in, come in,” said Metatron.  

Raphael moved to shut the door behind him, but another attendant was coming in behind him.

“Oh, Azrael,” said Metatron.  “I…ah…didn’t expect you to show up.”

His biker boots clomped on the red carpet as Death strode in.  He removed his helmet, revealing a grinning skull.  THIS IS VERY MUCH MY BUSINESS.

“Right…” said Maltha.

“What’s your take on what’s happening?” said Crowley.

Death held up a hand.  LET US WAIT UNTIL WE ARE ALL HERE, SO I DO NOT HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF OVER AND OVER.

An arrival on Hellhorse could be heard outside, the beat of hooves and jangle of bridles.  Crowley tensed as he remembered Satan had last been seen fleeing on Hellhorse, but when the door pushed open it only revealed Noah.  He had none of the usual escort that jostled about him in Hell, and he had foregone the usual crown and cape and come dressed in simple riding clothes. The way he carried himself spoke of his intention to manage the situation with all the kingly wisdom and fortitude the years of training and love from his upbringing had graced him with, to take action and get down to business.

“I came as soon as I could,” said Noah, removing his gloves.

“Thank you for coming,” said Metatron.

Noah scooted past Aziraphale to sit at the bench, facing Metatron. “Angelo is bringing Mykas.  They should be here shortly.”  

Angelo was indeed there shortly, Mykas trotting in behind him and honing in on a seat at the bench in front of the dais.  He was dressed in his battle armor, with his enormous sword swinging at his belt, and he propped his feet up on the bench irreverently.  Angelo slapped his dirty boot as he scooted past him to get a chair.

“Are we all here?” said Maltha.

Metatron looked at the faces who had gathered:  Aziraphale, Crowley, Victoria, Maltha, Raphael, Azrael, Noah, Mykas, and Angelo.  A motley crew, for sure, and one that would never have been able to meet in the old order. But if anyone could come up with a plan, it was this group.

“Is Uriel coming?” said Metatron.

Mykas’s nostrils flared.  “She better not.  I’d hardly trust someone like her with the fate of the new order.”

“Uriel could make important contributions,” said Maltha.  “She’s really been developing her critical thinking skills.”

“Mmm-hmm,” said Mykas.  “Sure.”

“Regardless,” said Metatron.  “We can start without her.”

Maltha nodded in assent.

“This meeting is hereby in session.”  Metatron flung the papers off their section of the desk with an angry gesture.  “And our official proclamation is that we do not like this one bit.”

“Have you had a run-in with Gabriel?” said Angelo.

“Yes,” said Metatron.  “He’s back, and I don’t know how, and I don’t like it one bit.”

“I assume you got our message?” said Noah.

“Yes,” said Metatron.  “But as long as Gabriel is alive, regardless of what Uriel’s done to him, he poses a threat.”

“I don’t know,” said Noah.  “Maybe we can win him over now that he’s been knocked down a peg.”

“Killing him would be easier,” said Mykas.

“We can figure out how to deal with Gabriel after the immediate crisis is resolved,” said Maltha.

“Maltha’s right,” said Victoria.  “Gabriel will have to be dealt with, but Satan is the much bigger threat right now.”

“All right,” said Crowley, counting on his fingers.  “Who all do we know has come back from the dead?  Gabriel, Hastur, Kris, Satan, Agares, and Kabata. Is that it?”

Death sat stormily with his arms crossed.  Everyone looked at him out of the corner of their eye, but he didn’t comment.

“That’s all we know about right now,” said Raphael.  “I think.”

“I’ve already been asked this several times and no, I’m not responsible for it,” said Noah.  “And neither is Adam.  I’ve talked with him extensively about whether or not he still has supernatural powers, and he’s adamant he doesn’t.  And even if either of us were going to bring anyone back to life, that lot would have been pretty low on the list.”

“I think I speak for everyone,” said Mykas, “on Earth, and up in Heaven and down in Hell, that everyone, when pushed, is going to side with us and with the way things are now, rather than wanting to go back to the old order.”

“He’s right,” said Angelo.  “Even those who didn’t want to admit they liked the new way of things up until now will drop the charade when faced with the possibility of going back to the way things were.”

“Then we are in agreement,” said Metatron.  “This can’t be allowed to stand.  We need them out of the way again.  We need to figure out what’s happened so that we can reverse it.”

Crowley noticed the manic way the Metatron’s hands worked at a scrap of paper on the desk.  They were more scared than they were letting on.

Aziraphale drummed his fingers on the table.  “We could simply reverse it by killing them again.”

Noah and Metatron looked at each other uncomfortably.

“Maybe,” said Victoria.  “But there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t just come back again unless we take care of whatever caused this in the first place.”

Raphael leaned back and crossed his arms.  “So let’s brainstorm as to all the possible ways this could happen.”

They all took on looks of exaggerated thoughtfulness.  They were, in reality, waiting for Death to inevitably give his input, without any of them having to directly ask him.

Maltha was the first to speak:  “It sounds like one of the foundation angels has misbehaved.”

All heads turned towards Death, whose toothy visage did not shift even a millimeter.

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE EITHER, said Death, AND WHOEVER DID THIS HAS GRAVELY OVERSTEPPED THEIR BOUNDARIES AND BYPASSED MY AUTHORITY.  IT IS AN INSULT COMING FROM AN ANTICHRIST, BUT FROM ANOTHER ANGEL IT IS UNFORGIVABLE. I WILL HAVE WORDS FOR THE CULPRIT WHENEVER WE DISCOVER THEM.   THEY HAVE DONE SERIOUS DAMAGE.

“Damage?” said Noah.

Death looked as upset as it was possible to with no facial muscles.  WHEN AN ANTICHRIST BRINGS SOMEONE BACK TO LIFE—WELL, THAT IS NOT PREFERABLE, BUT IT AT LEAST LEAVES THE FABRIC OF REALITY IN TACT.

“What?” said Crowley, nearly falling out of his chair.

THE FOUNDATION ANGELS ARE ALL IN A FUSS, said Death.  THEY CAN ALL FEEL IT.  WHOEVER DID THIS HAS NOT DONE IT CAREFULLY, AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE HAVE STARTED TO FRAY.  WE MAY BE ABLE TO FIX IT, BUT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

“What do you mean?” said Mykas, brow furrowed.

“It’s like this,” said Metatron.  “The foundation angels are given special access to the mechanisms that make the basic laws of the universe work, with the intention of having them keep everything running smoothly.  It has never happened before, but there is theoretically nothing stopping a foundation angel from seizing the mechanism of the universe and using them for things they weren’t intended for.  Even Satan never dared to touch them for anything like that; he knew the fabric of the universe might begin to unravel if the foundation angels abused their authority like that.”

THE FOUNDATION ANGELS ARE GENERALLY UNINCLINED TO DO SO, said Death. THERE IS LITTLE WE DESIRE IN THE SAME WAY LESSER ANGELS DO.

Metatron coughed on the phrase “lesser angels.”

WE ARE A RELIC FROM A TIME WHEN ANGELS ACTUALLY DID THEIR JOBS.

Aziraphale, Victoria, Raphael, Metatron, and Angelo all turned red and found various items in the room suddenly very interesting to look at.

MAYBE YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THAT YOUR BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE ORDER MAY HAVE CONSEQUENCES.  IF THE FOUNDATION ANGELS DID NOT CARRY OUT THEIR DUTIES, THE UNIVERSE WOULD COLLAPSE. ONE COULD ARGUE IT HARDLY SEEMS FAIR THE FOUNDATION ANGELS ARE BOUND TO SERVE FOREVER, WHILE EVERYONE ELSE GALLIVANTS ABOUT WITH FREE WILL.

“Well what do you want us to do about it?” said Victoria crankily.  “It’s not our fault.”

Death’s faceless visage of a skull very slowly turned towards her.  She shifted in her seat in an unsettled way.

I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, said Death, voice flat. I AM MERELY POINTING OUT HOW FORTUNATE IT IS THAT THE FOUNDATION ANGELS GENERALLY DESIRE NOTHING ELSE OTHER THAN TO SEE THE NATURAL ORDER OF PHYSICS RUN LIKE A WELL-OILED MACHINE, TO TAKE PLEASURE IN THE COMPLEX MACHINATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE.

“I think what Death is saying,” said Noah politely, “is that it’s a little remarkable something like this hasn’t happened already.  It’s a testament to the discipline the foundation angels have.”

If it were possible, Death looked a little bit pleased.

“And I think, therefore,” said Noah, “that whoever did this might be even more dangerous than Satan.  It could be catastrophic if the foundation angels started using their powers however they wanted.”

CONVENIENT THAT YOU SUPPORT ENFORCING THE NATURAL ORDER WHEN IT BENEFITS YOU, said Death.  EVEN IF IT INVOLVES FORCING OTHER ANGELS TO FALL IN LINE.  ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU REJECTED WHEN YOU ABANDONED THE INEFFABLE PLAN?

“Azrael!” Victoria snapped.  “I don’t know what you want us to do.  We’re trying our best to make the world safer for everyone, but we’re not omnipotent like God was.  We didn’t set it up like this.”

“Death, aren’t you mad at whoever did this?” said Aziraphale snippily. “Why are you defending them?”

“Please, please,” said Noah, waving them both down.  “Everyone, it’s all right.  We didn’t come here to fight.  We came to plan.  I’m sure we can simply talk to whoever did this and find out what’s going on.  We’ll think of something that will make everyone happy.  Now.”  He tented his fingers.  “Which of the foundation angels would have the power to do something like this?  Azrael?  Please help us out.”

Death’s leather jacket crinkled as he crossed his arms.  THEORETICALLY, ALL OF THE FOUNDATION ANGELS HAVE ACCESS TO THE MECHANICS TO DO THIS, BUT THEY WERE NEVER INTENDED TO BE USED LIKE THIS, AND FEW ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO USE THEM.  THE LIST IS SHORT.  LUCIFER, BUT FOR OBVIOUS REASONS I DOUBT IT WAS HIM.  MOTHER EARTH.  TIME.  SPACE.  THE OCEAN.  MAYBE THE MAN IN THE MOON, IF HE WAS FEELING PARTICULARLY CHEEKY.

Maltha sat back, tapping the table.  “Okay, so out of all those capable, who would have the motivation to try and set things back to the old order?”

Her question hung unanswered in the air.

“All right, let’s look at it this way,” said Crowley, scooting forward to try and take the center of attention.  “Let’s think about those who came back.”  He counted on his fingers.  “Hastur, Agares, Satan, Kabata, Gabriel, Kris.  What do all these people have in common?”

“Hmm,” hummed Metatron.  “Nothing, as far as is immediately obvious.”

“No, that’s not true,” said Aziraphale.  “They all died fairly recently.  In the events leading up to and during the second rebellion.  I think Satan’s death is the oldest one on the list, and that started everything.”

“What about God?” said Mykas.

The thought oppressively blanked the room.

The doors to the hall boomed open.  All heads whipped towards it in panic, as though they might have been caught doing something not allowed.

Uriel slid into the room, pushing the door shut behind her.  Everyone exhaled a breath of relief.  Except for Mykas, who merely crossed his arms sourly.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Uriel.  “I wasn’t sure if I should come.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Mykas grumbled.

Uriel stood with her hands clasped together in front of her.

“Come in and sit down,” said Maltha.  “The meeting is already well under way.”

“I came up because I had an idea,” said Uriel, striding into the room.

“Get lost,” Mykas said.

Uriel stopped in her tracks.

“Sit down,” said Maltha.  “Hurry up.”

Uriel jostled past everyone on the dais to sit next to Maltha.  Mykas glowered at her, arms crossed.

“We don’t have time for this, Mykas,” said Maltha.  “Uriel, tell us what you were going to say.”

“Here’s my question,” said Uriel.  “Have any humans come back to life?  Or was it only angels and demons?”

NO HUMANS, said Death.  I COUNTED MULTIPLE TIMES TO ENSURE THAT.

Uriel nodded.  “And was there…anyone else?”

“We were just entertaining that possibility,” said Metatron.  “The thing is, we cannot know if God was resurrected or not because we do not know that He was dead.  I was the last one to see Him, and I merely came upon an empty throne.  I do not know where He has gone.”

I DO, said Death.

All eyes turned to him.  He grinned.  He could make no other expression.

“Did you…reap God?” said Metatron.

YES, said Death.

The room was filled with gasps.

“But how is that possible?” said Aziraphale.  “He made you.  He was more powerful than any of us.”

DEATH IS NOT A MATTER OF POWER, said Death.  I DO NOT OVERPOWER ANYONE TO REAP THEM.  I MERELY GUIDE THEM TO WHATEVER AWAITS THEM.

“And where did you…guide Him?” said Maltha.

Death tapped his fingers.  I ADMIT IT WAS MY TRICKIEST CASE.  I GUIDED HIM TO THE SAME PATH ANGELS AND DEMONS TAKE WHEN THEY DISAPPEAR FROM THIS WORLD.

Metatron shook in their chair.

“So it’s possible He’s back too?” said Crowley.  “Why hasn’t He shown up, then?”

“Mysterious ways,” muttered Uriel.  She raised her head.  “Why does He do anything?  He told us not to question it, but that was just because there wasn’t a reason, was there?”

Metatron grimaced.

Uriel stood.  “There just wasn’t a reason for any of it. I don’t know why He did what He did, but He abused us all and made us believe that’s what love is supposed to be like.  I don’t know why He brought beings like us into existence, just to throw them around like garbage.  I wouldn’t be surprised if He hadn’t shown up yet because He was just toying with us, seeing what we were up to without Him.”

The hair on the back of Uriel’s neck stood up as she felt something she hadn’t in a long time.

Everyone else seemed to hear it too, based on the looks on their faces.

Uriel whirled around.

“Is that…?” said Metatron.

The ground under them began to rumble.

“No,” said Metatron.

“The demons,” said Raphael.  “They’ll burn up.”

Maltha’s eyes widened.  Crowley stood frozen to the spot, disbelief overwhelming him.

Death’s grin remained as indifferent as ever.

“He’s coming?” said Mykas.

“It can’t be,” said Metatron, but the door to the hall drew open with the sound of a great wind.

“They’ll burn up,” Raphael repeated.  “Somebody.”

Uriel pivoted back to look at Maltha, who met her eyes and Uriel saw for the first time: Maltha was truly at a loss for what to do, and had no way to avert the disaster that was about to unfold.

“Get behind me,” Uriel said, voice suddenly hard with resolve.

The doors of the Judgement Hall flew open amidst the howling of a raging storm, golden, angry light pulsing into the hall and swirling around them, pouring Heavenly aura into the room.

Crowley and Maltha, quickly identifying their most likely source of survival, dived behind Uriel.  Noah reflexively followed, dragging Mykas with him.

Uriel pivoted and extended her arms, and her aura surged outwards and wrapped around the demons in a protective bubble so thick it shimmered translucent in the air.  The incoming wave of burning holy energy glanced off the newly materialised shield with a sound like a hammer coming down on metal, whinging off with a shower of sparks and an ear-splitting bong.

Everyone flinched back, except for Uriel herself, whose arms trembled with the effort of staying extended.

“Wh-what?” Uriel gasped.  Tendrils of that fiery aura snaked forwards to curl around her.

Uriel squeezed her eyes shut and kept her arms out.  “Don’t.”

“Favourite daughter?  More like favourite plaything.”  Metatron stepped forwards with an accusatory finger pointed outwards, face burning with anger nobody had seen in years.

The pressure withdrew from Uriel, and the shifting golden light coalesced in front of Metatron with a rumbling growl that shook the room.

“Uriel is right,” Metatron thundered.  “You’ve never treated any of us like children.  We’re not your children, we’re your toys.  Or your food.  I don’t know, but definitely not your children!”

The light pulsed furiously.  Metatron didn’t back down.

“And you keep us all in line by not letting us think—”

A vine lashed out from the holy aura and solidified into an iron-like rod, smashing into Metatron and flinging them out of the Judgement Hall like a golf ball being teed off.

Uriel’s eyes were wide open now, open and fixed on the floor in front of her, on Crowley’s feet within the bubble she was struggling to keep up.  Aziraphale saw that her wavering concentration was the only thing keeping those with infernal blood in the room from burning up and bolted for her, whispering, “Don’t look at Him. Just focus.”

Uriel nodded, sweating.

The Divine voice boomed again, rumbling with anger.

Aziraphale let out a panicked gasp as he felt an enormous aural hand close around him, pinning his arms and wings to his body and hefting him off the ground.

“Aziraphale!” cried Crowley’s muffled voice, accompanied by a chorus of similar exclamations from the group gathered.

Aziraphale squirmed, trying to avoid looking directly at that blinding light as it surged around him.

“It deserved ruining,” Aziraphale spat.

The light pulsed contemplatively.

Aziraphale let out another pained breath as he felt a probe ram into his head, tearing out the answer to the question just asked.  

“No!” said Aziraphale.  “No, no…”

Another appendage reached out, heading straight for Crowley.  It wrapped like a snake around the bubble protecting him.

“Mercy,” said Aziraphale.

Uriel gasped as the section of the protective bubble around Crowley withdrew, and the tentacle seized him, constricting.

Crowley did not even have time to scream.  He was a blur of motion as he was flung upwards, then disappeared.

“Wh—” said Aziraphale.  “What—What did you do to him?  Where did he go?”

“You coward!” Mykas snarled.  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”

“Don’t!” Angelo yelled.  “You’ll get yourself killed!”

But Mykas was already in the process of dashing forwards, savagely but far too slow to save Crowley.

He burst into flames the second he crossed Uriel’s protective barrier, going down among unearthly howling.  His red eyes burned with hatred from between the sizzling skin on his face, his mouth crunched in a bloody snarl, hell-bent on murder as he dragged his rapidly disintegrating form forwards.

Panting, straining, Uriel hauled her aura back over Mykas, and the flames went out.

Aziraphale struggled again to free himself.  “What did you do?  Where did Crowley go?”

God ignored him, his squirming not even enough to merit His attention.  The tendrils came around Uriel again, brushing her gently, and she stumbled slightly to keep her footing.

Uriel took in huge, ragged breaths.  

“Maltha?” said Noah, sounding again like a scared little boy.  “What should I do?”

Maltha’s eyes flew around the scene, absolutely at a loss.

“I...” said Uriel, sweat dripping down her face.

“Uriel,” said Malta, and the two of them locked eyes, but neither could form words.

“But--Why?” said Uriel.

A huge hand wrapped around Uriel, yanking her away with a pained yelp, and the bubble went down.

Maltha exploded into a cacophony of hisses as she was enveloped in Divine aura, like a hellish kettle whistling, keening a warbled cry as she collapsed to the ground, burning.  Noah stayed on his feet for a second longer, but his skin started to smoke, his knees locked up, and he fell to the ground seizing.

Death watched impassively, readying his scythe.

The doors to the Judgement Hall banging open was barely audible over the screaming, but everyone heard it all right, accompanied by the tack tack tack of hoofed feet on a hard floor.

“I told you I’d get you, you bastard!”

Kabata sprinted across the red carpet, streaking into the Judgement Hall like a vengeful comet, wings flared.  In his right hand he held a short-sword, a weapon with occult sigils carved along its length.

Kabata began to scream in an infernal language at the top of his lungs, running his hand along the length of the blade tracing the designs with each word. They began to glow under his hand.

God’s ethereal essence swirled to face him.  A torrent of supernatural energy burst into Kabata’s weapon, being channeled by the sigils, and the blade started to vibrate.

God reached out a fist to smite him.

Kabata leapt into the air to meet Him, pumping his wings, taking the sword in both hands and throwing all his weight into the force of the jump.

The blade sparked as it swam through the thick air, pulsing with dark energy, and sunk square into the solid part of the aura extending to meet him.   An other-worldly ripping sound tore through the air, and the ground shook with a cry of pain that everyone in the room—no, everyone in Heaven—felt down to their bones.

Kabata’s skin started to smoke.  He pumped his wings until the short sword had forced itself into the center of that swirling mass, the blade throwing off sparks as though put up against a grinding wheel, and used the force of his weight combined with the downward motion of his wings to tear the weapon down along the entire length of the manifested presence.

Uriel and Aziraphale both screamed in pain as the hands holding them squeezed and spasmed, then both broke free as the grip slackened. Aziraphale shouted something to those on the ground, but the roaring was so loud it rendered it inaudible.

The Divine aura spiked and pulsed and retracted wildly, as though in death throes.

Kabata forced the blade in so deep he was elbow-deep in yellow light.  All the skin had peeled back from his forearms, and his flesh dissolved with a sizzling bubble of red tissue.

The outraged howling began to peter out into pained moans.  Kabata pulled the blade out with what was left of his hands and jammed it back in, motions growing weaker, muttering a string of pained curses.

The golden light exploded outwards and funneled up towards the ceiling, snaking out of the building through the cracks between the bricks in the Judgement Hall, leaving a golden puddle of ooze on the red carpet and covering Kabata. The sound finally faded, leaving them all in silence with ears ringing.

“Ha,” said Kabata, wobbling.  “Ha.  Fucker.  I said I’d…Fu…”  His knees gave out from under him and he collapsed face-down onto the floor, the short sword rolling out of his hand.

As soon as Aziraphale was free, he fluttered about the rafters looking for Crowley but found nothing.  “Did anyone see where Crowley went?”

Angelo swooped onto Mykas immediately, clutching him.  “Raphael!”

Raphael sprinted at the injured in the room, zeroing in on Mykas first, who lay completely still on the ground.  “He’s still alive, but just barely.  We might be able to save him if we hurry.”

“Maltha’s not moving,” said Victoria, pushing Uriel out of the way and kneeling.  “Fuck. Maltha?  Maltha!”

Aziraphale continued to flitter around the ceiling.  “What happened to Crowley?  Did anyone see?”

“Where’s Metatron?” said Raphael, scanning the room rapidly. “Victoria, go find Metatron.”  By his ankle, Noah began to moan and his limbs roved about aimlessly.  “Uriel, Angelo, Aziraphale, go to the infirmary and tell them to get all available healers in here right now.”  He leaned over Kabata, who was immobile and bleeding out.  “Now.”

Victoria, Uriel, and Angelo took off.  Aziraphale swooped down.  “What about Crowley?”

Raphael, one hand each in Maltha’s and Mykas’s wounds, barked, “I’m a little busy right now.  Go find him.”

Aziraphale wrung his hands and returned his attention towards the ceiling where Crowley had vanished.  He covered every square inch of the roof, then checked the outside of the building for good measure, but there was no sign of Crowley at all.

Stomach sinking, despair growing, he remained kneeling on the roof, palms down on the tiles, as he saw a small battalion of healers rushing in beneath him.  He stood, trying to contain his tears.

A lone figure walked out of the Judgement Hall against the flurry of activity.

Aziraphale swooped down upon Death like a predatory bird.  “Did you reap Crowley?  Bring him back,” Aziraphale demanded, because the past few decades of defying the natural order of things had made him forget to even pretend to care about it.

Death’s visor slid down, replacing his skeletal visage with a reflection of Aziraphale’s own tight, panicked expression.  I HAVEN’T TOUCHED HIM.  NOW IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME, I HAVE A RATHER UNCONVENTIONAL JOB I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO.  AGAIN.

His starry wings spread wide and he lifted off into the sky, following where the swirl of light that indicated God’s wounded presence where it had disappeared, scythe at the ready.

Aziraphale watched him go, staring up into the sky in despair.  He wrung his hands, feeling his fingers brush against the golden ring there.  Through blurred vision, he could see the sigil remain unlit.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #168

“i’ve wished for this, i’ve bitched at that, i’ve left behind this little fact: you cannot kill what you did not create.”

Which internet browser do you use? Chrome. Have you ever lived on a university campus? Nope. When was the last time you saw a photo of your ex? *The* ex, when I was going through old photos on my Mom's FB looking for something. Do you play any games on your phone? DragonVale and Pokemon GO. Have you ever shaved your face? Only above my lip every now and then to avoid that dreaded lady-stache. :') What color is your front door? White. What was the last vaccination you got? Couldn't tell ya. When was the last time you were at a party? A year ago. Did you ever get called horrible names like whore, skank, or bitch? The only two I can think of are bitch and martyr. Who’s your favorite rapper? And your favorite song by this favorite rapper? Eminem, "Love The Way You Lie" or "Space Bound." How about your favorite band? And your favorite song by this band? Gah you know the story, I'll just do Ozzy for this one. Hard to say. "See You On The Other Side" probably wins, but "Mama I'm Comin' Home" is on its heels. Has anyone ever made a promise to you that they’d change? Who? Juan, probably. What’s your television addiction? I don't watch TV of my own volition, but I'd be happy to watch The Good Doctor. Have you ever had any painful dental work done? If so, what? Nothing worse than just getting braces tightened. Is there anyone you’d like to apologize to? Dad again to his face about how wicked I was to him and am so thankful he forgave me. I just haven't because I want that in the past and I'd probably break down anyway. What was the last song you listened to that made you cry? Idk. Could you go a month without talking to your best friend? That's my gf, no, I'd lose my mind. Can you make yourself sneeze? No. Is there something that you haven’t told anyone that you actually would like to tell someone? Meh... I think it's better I don't. How has your style changed since you were in high school? Not really. What was the last new drink you discovered that was delicious? Dunno. What’s the most Lisa Frank-worthy article of clothing you own? Nothing, really. What color is the rim around your full-length mirror? Black. What is your favorite way your hair has ever looked? How it is now. What are five things you are good at? Interacting with animals, being there for people, writing I'd like to think, being a great beast mastery hunter in WoW like 1v1 me bro, and uhhhh panicking over the most minute things. What are five things you are bad at? COMMUNICATING, initiating conversation, arguing w/o crying, understanding finances/economics, and math. Do you enjoy drawing at all? I do, but I rarely do it because I'm way too critical and get annoyed. And fixing mistakes cleanly can be hard. I want a drawing tablet one day hopefully in the near future, because I feel like I'd be more motivated to do it.  Quickly fix errors. What was the last thing you were frustrated with yourself about? Oh boy, idk. This is so common. Do you have unusual sleeping/waking hours? No. In your personal opinion, which hair color is the most beautiful? Probably blonde with some darker highlights I guess, if we're talking about natural colors. Actually, for girls, maybe red. How about eyes? Sapphire. Last sporting event you watched? Dance recital. Have you ever had a teacher that also taught your parents? No. Are you skilled when it comes to working in the kitchen? HA no. Do you listen to music while driving? It has to be quiet or I can't concentrate. What’s your favorite style of jeans? (Skinny, boot cut, flare, etc) Skinny. Are you deathly allergic to anything? No. Who was the last person you had sex with? Or are you a virgin? Jason. Are you Italian? No. Would you ever go vegan? There's no way I could survive. Where’s the nearest GameStop near you? Like... 10-15 minutes? Have you had an argument with anyone recently and if so, do you still have issues with that person? Sara, but only because I said something stupid. No, I have zero issues with her. Who was the last person that asked to hang out with you and what’s the story of how you met that person? Colleen, girl scouts. Is there something you generally always ask for help with? Cleaning the animals' cages. Don't have anything to put them in so I hold them while Mom cleans it. Unfair to her, I know, but I can't do both and Mom doesn't seem to mind, plus she wouldn't hold any of them. Do you own a pocketknife, or any other kind of multi-tool? No. What was the last thing you took a video of? Teddy being a goof. Have you ever been somewhere where you didn’t fluently speak the local language? No. What is your least favorite kind of weather? Hot and humid like fuck off. Describe the 'look’ you did the last time you wore makeup. Uhhh mildly winged liner, black eyeshadow, black lips. If you got pregnant the 1st time you had sex, how old would the kid be now? I don't remember when it was 'cuz I've said before I didn't really. Realize it was sex until literally this year when I looked back on it. But anyway, six-ish. Have you ever polished and waxed your car? N/A As a kid, did you have any friends with parents who yelled a lot? Don't think so. What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? ODing. Have you ever lived in a small community where everyone knew each other? No. What are some of your least favorite foods? BEANS, mushrooms, asparagus, brussel sprouts, cherries, nuts, etc. etc. etc. I'm picky as hell. Do you give your pets gifts and treats for their birthday/adoption day? Only Teddy 'cuz I actually know his rip. Has anyone ever set you up on a blind date? If so, how did it go? No. Do you believe your ex cares about you? The only ex I feel /sincerely/ does is Girt. What is the strangest type of candy you have eaten? Idk. What would be your most ideal profession? Meerkat biologist. What kind of rides do you enjoy the most at amusement parks? Kinds that don't make me fear vomiting. What is a topic you definitely don’t want to talk about with anyone? Weight. Where do you carry the things you need with you when leaving the house? Pocketbook. What’s the last thing you made with your hands? Uhhhh a drawing? Have you ever been physically or mentally abused? How did it affect you? No. Do you consider yourself a vengeful person? If so, why’d you think that is? Not in the least. Do you own any accessories with your name or initial on them? I have a "B" necklace somewhere from someone, but. Never wear it. Are you nervous/anxious, for any reason at all? Nah. For once. What was the last compliment you received from the opposite sex? Dad said I looked great when I got in the car to go to the theater. Have you ever been to an orchard? No. :c What are your plans for Halloween? I've no clue. :/ Do you plan on carving a pumpkin this year? Yeah. What’s your favorite Halloween movie? Hocus Pocus. What’s your favorite kind of apple? Red. Do you like to roast marshmallows? Yeah. If you have a job, who’s your closest friend at work? N/A When was the last time you stayed in a hotel? Where was it? Shit, not since a dance competition at the beach years ago. Have you ever gotten your nails done? Like twice because I was invited. Who was the last family member of yours that died? Idk. Who was your favorite president? Not educated enough on this. The last type of sandwich you made or ate: I believe ham, cheese, and mustard. The last time the weather was just the way you like it: Been a long time. The last time you apologized and the last time you received one: I dunno. I say "sorry" like obsessively, but a serious apology, idk. To me, either Mom or Sara. Do you have a smartphone or a dumb phone, or no phone? Smartphone. Do you own any tapestries, and if so, what’s on it/them? No. Have you ever made a collage for your bedroom wall? No. What types of churches do you find really boring? All of them. On what day is your local grocery store the busiest? I would guess the weekend? What day do you usually go grocery shopping? I don't, Mom does. She doesn't have a regular day. What devotional do you read, if any? None. What is your favorite color for cars? Burnt orange. Have you ever tried writing with the opposite hand? How good/bad was it? Yeah, not good. Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? Milk/brown. Have you ever had a controlling boyfriend/girlfriend? No. Have you ever written a love letter to someone as a joke? That's fucking evil. No. How many true heart breaks have you had in your lifetime? One. Do you have any gay family members? Mom's cousin or something. Who was the last person to sleep over at your house? Sara. Would you ever get a boob job? I DON'T NEED ONE LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO MOST WITH LOSING WEIGHT IS NOT HAVING TRISHA PAYTAS TITS. Did your last relationship end because of you or the other person? Me. Have you ever tried to break up anyone because YOU liked the guy/girl? No. What would you think if you found out your ex was gay? My very first "boyfriend" I think actually is. I'd be stunned if Juan, Girt, and especially Jason came out, although Jason would make me fucking cackle. Boy could I say some shit about that. Would you ever take someone back if you found out they cheated on you? Nah son. Have you ever lied to your boyfriend/girlfriend? I've never told a serious lie, but I'm sure I've told like minuscule ones ("I'm fine," etc.) every now and again. Would you be upset if you caught your boyfriend looking at porn? Yup. Minority opinion, but. When was the last time you were on a city bus? Never. Do you have a garden? Does it have flowers, vegetables, or both? No. Have you ever burned an ant with a magnifying glass? No. Have you ever had an ant farm? Maybe? I had a lot of those little animal kit things as a kid, like frogs and butterflies. Have you ever had crabs, turtles, or lobsters? Hermit crabs. Briefly turtles. Has anyone ever told you you’re too young for something? No, I think? Maybe. What about for someone? No. How many times have you changed a diaper in your life? Literally once when it wasn't even dirty???? Why did I do that??????????? Has a younger person ever confided in you as an adult? Yeah. Have you ever felt responsible for someone’s death? No. Who knows your biggest secret and why did you tell them? No one. What’s your best memory with your ex? Aaron: group skating rink date. Juan: I'm not sure, probably making him play a Just Dance game with me lmao. Jason: That's like impossible to say with how long we were together. But a time that will always stand out for me is when we were playfighting, I came storming into the kitchen, big time slipped in the middle of "yelling," and he caught me and we laughed for like a full minute. Tyler: Nothing, really. Girt: He was reading a memento in Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, and I'll say the writing is very unique, and he got to one sentence he read in THE most incredulous voice, and I spat my drink e v e r y w h e r e. I deadass laughed/cried for like ten minutes and still had outbursts afterwards. It was one of those "you had to be there" things. The last time you felt insulted/offended: Dunno. The last time you held a baby: Over a month ago when I had to hold Keegan for whatever reason. The last form you filled out: Something for my new doctor. The last video game you played: So here's a super weird fact about me; as a kid, I loved hunting games, all the while even then hating hunting for sport irl. Not a clue clue why. I recently got more "back" into gaming and I'm working on beating Dangerous Hunts again. What is your favorite type of cat? Persians. What religion were you raised in? Are you still that religion, if you had one? Roman Catholicism, and no. What religion/spiritual path intrigues you the most, if any? Wiccan and Buddhism. What heritage does your last name imply? Scottish. Recently, what artists/bands have you been listening to a lot? Powerwolf, Mother Mother. Do you know any HTML coding? No. Has anyone ever called you rich? HA as if. What makes you feel beautiful? lol How many bathrooms are in your house? One. Last time you were on a plane and where did you go? March, Illinois. Hopping on one again tomorrow!! Are you considered a very sensitive person? Probably by those who know me well. I know I am. Have you ever told someone you never wanted to speak to them again? Dad, yeah. What is the worst name anyone has ever called you? Being called a martyr still hurts, and that was like two years ago. When was the last time you cried out loud in front of someone? Mom around a week ago or something. Have you ever been questioned by the police? No. Have you ever had to be put on medicine for a mental disorder? Yeah. What do you normally drink when eating at a restaurant? Mtn. Dew if Pepsi products, otherwise Coke. Have you ever been in a car accident? One. Are you currently in a happy relationship? YEAH!!!! Do you normally have nightmares or good dreams? Neither. Just weird. What if a friend asked you to go with her to get an abortion? OH WOW I AM *NOT* THE PERSON TO ASK. I really don't know. I've made my opinion on the subject pretty clear, and if the abortion wasn't for your own mental and/or physical health and rather you just not wanting to face the consequences of your actions, idk if I could go. Have you ever had a deep conversation with someone who was high on anything? No. Are you experiencing problems within a current friendship? No. Ever made yourself throw up? No, I fear vomiting too much to ever. Who of the opposite sex has seen you at your worst? Jason. When at a fast food place, do you usually order a small, medium, or large drink? Medium. Do you dip your pretzels in anything? No. When was the last time you started a new medication? Recently for knee pain. What is your favorite type of nut? None. Where did you eat the best pizza you’ve ever eaten in your life? Literally Domino's lmao. Do you know what year your parents married? No. Do you know anyone who was adopted? Yeah. Do you prefer loose leaf tea or teabags? You know my opinion on tea. What is your favorite place to get Chinese food? I dunno the name of the place Mom goes. Do you part your hair to the side? It's parted far to the left. Is winter your least favorite season? No, it's my second-favorite! Do you know someone who’s a stripper? No. Are you sitting in a spinning chair? No, I'm in bed. When’s the next time you’ll go to a haunted house? I've never been to a "real" one but would LOVE to. How old is too old to trick-or-treat? I really don't care. Honestly believe there's no magic age where it's no longer okay. I still would if not for societal expectations. Have you ever caught a firefly? Yes. Do you own any camouflage? No. What's the next really important thing you have to do? Get to my flight on time. Are you looking forward to anything? T O M O R R O W  A P P R O A C H E S How late is too late for coffee for you? I don't drink coffee. Have you ever written or considered writing a play? No. How about a novel? If so, could you give us the synopsis of the plot? Yeah, as a kid. It was about a family of meerkats of different "breeds" (dragon, fire, ice, etc.) plagued by their king's brother as well as the prince finding love. That's all I remember of it. Who is considered the "black sheep" of your family? Why? Lol me. I'm just pretty different from like everyone with "problematic" traits. What's a color you hate? Puke green. What's an odor you hate? Old garbage. What's a sound you hate? Babies screaming omfg. What's something you'd never ever dare to ask another person? Hmmm. Probably if they've ever been raped or molested. What's something you've always wanted to ask someone but haven't dared? OKAY. So I coulda sworn one of my best high school friends was pregnant in middle school, before I talked to her at all. Then I believe I saw her with her baby once when we were in the gym for something. When we became friends, she never spoke of having a child and most certainly didn't look a bit like she'd had a baby. I never wanted to ask because you know the stigma of teen pregnancy. What is a song you cannot stand? Any country song where the singer has that godawful southern-as-hell twang. What's the worst/best thing you've done without your parents knowing? *shrugs* If you wear earrings, what does your favorite pair look like? Idk, I haven't looked at my earrings in a long time. Have you ever won any money from a scratch card? Like a dollar or so on the rare occasion my parents bought one. How about a slot machine? No. Do you like playing bingo? Sure. What's been the best thing you've found at a flea market? I love this little dragon figure I have. Oh, and my shipwreck lamp! Do you ever glance at people's butts? I'm a sucker for ass tbh okay. Like I'm not a dick that's gonna stare, but I'm guilty of glances, sure. What's something that catches your eye about other people? Their style. What's a random funny scene from a movie that has stuck with you? The first thing that came to my mind is from the Scooby movie where the girl introduces herself as Mary Jane and Shaggy goes, "That's, like, my favorite name" lmao. Oh, the things you miss as a kid. Are you one of those people who will not use a public washroom? I avoid it as much as possible. Have your parents ever disapproved of the person you're dating? No. What kind of things do you collect? Right now, just meerkat and Silent Hill stuff. YouTuber merch will happen when I can afford to buy it myself ha ha. Do you have a thing for body hair? No opinion. Not too into heavy back or chest hair, but still, don't really care. Is there anyone into you that you have no interest in? No clue if Girt still likes me, but if so, I don't reciprocate the feeling romantically. What's the longest you've slept for? Like 11 hours, maybe? Do your parents have a bad relationship with anyone? Not especially other than between each other. Were you raised by someone other than your parents? No. Do you prefer the color pink or blue? Pink. What's the last chore you did? Vacuumed. Have you ever had pet mice? Rats. What is your godmother's name? I don't think I have one. What's the last party you went to? A year ago at Summer's. Have you ever been to a jungle? No. What is your favorite jungle animal? Tigers! When did you first find yourself attracted to someone? I dunno. Elementary school. If you met a genie, what would you wish for? Financial stability, world peace, cure for Alzheimer's/dementia. Have you ever ran away from home? For like two hours or less. Is your father injured? No. He has a bad back, but. Would you be willing to die protecting your country? Like in the military or something? No. Have you ever dated someone from a different country? For less than a day. Are you part Native American? Not that I know of. What are your pets' names? Teddy, Bentley, Roman, Venus, Kaiju, and Mitsu. Do you like to go hunting? NONONONONONO. I'd have a hard time doing it even for survival. Have you ever worked two jobs? No. Who is the oldest sibling in your family? Katie. What are some of your happy thoughts? Being with Sara, imagining a positive future, remembering all I've endured and conquered, etc. etc. What's your favorite pattern for clothes? Plaid, I suppose? Do you ever wear fur? No. Who is the worst boss you've ever had? Why? N/A What are the names of the all the dogs you've ever owned? Trigger, Angel, Teddy, Dale, Delilah, Harley, Cali, and Bentley, I think. Where did you meet your current or last significant other? YouTube. When did you last ride a bike? Years ago. What did you last ask your parents permission for? Uhhh. I dunno. Oh, actually, I was thinking of spending a day with Dad, and I wanted to know if it would bother Mom. She said no, but I don't believe her. I didn't do it, though. Why were you in a waiting room the last time? Psychiatrist appointment yesterday. What's your lawyer's name? I don't have one. Do you own a lot of scarves? Do I even own any??? Would you ever get a face tattoo? No. What kind of car did you take your drivers test in? Haven't taken it. How much was the rent/mortgage at the cheapest place you’ve ever lived? I wouldn't know, I don't pay it. Who in life have you felt the strongest need to protect? Holy shit, Sara. What is the cruelest thing a person has ever said to you? Who even knows. What crime from history fascinates you most? No clue. Who do you think was the worst criminal in history? Maybe Saddam Hussein. Who has the weakest set of values in your family? Idk. What is the most disturbing sound you know of? Bones cracking. What's the shortest amount of time between orgasms you've ever experienced? N/A Which laws would you most like to change? Off the top of my head, we. Need. More. Gun. Fucking. Control. I'm not for a ban of firearms, but jfc, it's too easy to purchase a goddamn killing machine. What the oldest you'd like to live? 80, maybe? After that I can just imagine poor health that would really suck. Which sibling is or was favored most by your parents? I actually think it's me, tbh. Mom and I have an incredibly strong bond and have serious history, and Dad's and mine is very deep and definitely as a kid was the storybook father/daughter relationship, and now that we're reunited, I think we both cherish each other more. What's the biggest surprise you've ever had in bed? Waking up in the middle of the night to Jason groping my boobs. Who is the person you most wanted to have an affair with but didn't? I've never wanted that. Who have you most feared in your life? Dad. What would make you go insane the fastest? Losing Sara for the same reason as Jason. What was the quickest friendship you ever made? I'm not sure. What is your strongest reason for your opinion on abortion? I guess you have the right to be selfish if you're put at risk. You come first. What would you most like to hear from your father? He's proud of how far I've come. What one natural thing would you most like to see? Maybe a volcano erupt from a safe distance. What has been the single most important influence on your life? The breakup. What is the most worthy cause on earth? Seeing all life as equal and actually acting on that. Caring for one another. What would you most easily be driven to kill for? Sara's safety.

[17cafe]

Sidereal

↠ Asked: ❝MY LIL STEAM BUN CAN YOU DO A SCENARIO ABOUT BEING SOULMATES WITH JOSHUA I LOVE YOU(…)❞ u can keep screaming bc it’s finally posted LOL ALso i love you so much hope u enjoy!!

↠ Members: Joshua x reader

↠ Genre: fluff, soulmate au

↠ Word count: 3000+

You were a star in the night sky. You were situated far from the world, but you saw it all. Everything. People that you liked to watch, and people that liked to watch you. You also heard it all. You heard things as small as ants screaming when they were stepped on. And like all other stars, you heard voices.

You heard the voices of people that wished on you. Usually, they would wish on the brightest star. The brighter the star, the longer it hasn’t been wished on; it needs to be noticed, so it is made brighter. Yes it’s fun watching the world, but every star needs to do their part. 

You had been a dull star for quite some time but tonight, the man in the moon made you brighter because of that. You hadn’t been wished on in the longest time. When a star was wished on, that person would be sent down to the location of the person that made the wish, and wouldn’t be let back up until they completed the wish. Normally there was no time limit, as long as you worked hard.

You had a favourite person. He motivated you to work hard and keep nice whenever you were cast down to Earth. His name was Joshua. He had a favourite star; the one that stood right beside the moon. But he couldn’t see it tonight. 

You never expected that he would wish on you instead.

Joshua liked going on walks at night when nobody else was around. He would look up at the stars sometimes. He smiled wider when the sky was otherwise clear and he could see more of them. Your friends would tease you when they saw him too. 

Sometimes he would look up as he walked, sometimes he would make a point to lay on a blanket on this one rooftop he went on so much. He could spend more time looking up at the sky that way. Of course, he had no idea that stars were people too, so he stared for as long as possible. He gazed solely at you one night.

“Is this how stars explode?” you asked yourself. Your friend heard and giggled.

You found yourself growing excited. The man in the moon had made you brighter. Someone would wish on you. You just hoped Joshua would before anyone else had the chance to. 

You were watching him again tonight. He took a walk to a cafe near where you saw he lived. Why he lived with so many other boys his age confused you, but you decided not to question it.

He went inside and sat at a table in the corner, looking out one window while leaning his back against the other. He was scouting the sky for the brightest star he could find, which just so happened to be you. 

When people wish on a star, they hear their voice loud and clear even if their wish is said in the person’s head. This was the first time you would hear his voice. 

He wished for all his friends to be happy. He said that lately it was a stressful time for everyone.

Suddenly, he sees the brightest star disappear from the sky and finds his lips forming into a pout. The next thing you know, you are standing on the road of the same cafe Joshua is in. Going inside, you look over at him. Your knees shake a little as you walk. 

He doesn’t notice you though. He’s too distracted with the stars still up there, shining bright. You order a small drink and sit a couple tables away from him. The cashier must have been one to wish on stars too. People that don’t believe in wishing on stars can’t see one when it’s human.

Two more people come in the door, one much taller than most people, and the other being average height but with longer hair. You’re taken aback by how tired they look. Both of them are dragging their feet and have obvious dark circles under their eyes. They manage to smile when they see Joshua though, and sit at the same table he is at. These must be his friends.

They start talking about things and all these other people and you listen in. They talk fast and you wish you could ask them to slow down, but soon enough, you have twelve other names memorized. They talked as though they were familiar with all of them, so you assumed that those were all of his friends.

You finished your drink before they finished their conversation, but you still stayed a while. You attempted folding the napkin on the table into a swan to pass the time. You were waiting for them to leave first.

Once they left, you followed far enough behind that it wouldn’t be noticeable, but close enough so you didn’t lose track of them. You recognized the path as heading towards the building that they all lived in. You knew it was right to just let them be. 

As a star you never slept and as a human you could but it wasn’t needed, so you got to work with granting his wish; you began wandering around, doing what you could do to find out what would make his friends happy.

After taking a day to wander around and know more about the boys, only listening in while hidden in case of one seeing you, you learned a small bit more. Still not enough to fulfill the wish, but some is better than none.

During your second night on earth, you wanted to see something. What Joshua saw from his point of view on the rooftop. How all the other stars looked from such a distance.

You made your way to the company building, finding access to get inside easily; locked doors weren’t locked to a star. You could get into any locked thing. But if that privilege is abused, you lose it. So you never abused it.

Once you were in the staircase, you heard music coming from below. You had planned to go up, but the music drew you closer. You wanted to see what it was for, or who it was for. 

Once down the stairs, you caught sight of their practice room. The door was merely cracked open, but the sound still poured out. You watched through the small space available, wanting to hide again, just in case.

You saw a single member dancing as if struggling to remember a routine showed to him. Or a routine he taught himself. Maybe he was the choreographer. But you still couldn’t match a name to the face.

You were watching through the crack in the door when you heard the sound from the single speaker crack before growing fuzzy, then going out completely. It was only the one speaker that was playing music, and the boy was obviously upset that it cut out and he couldn’t continue. 

You sigh and take a chance by sticking your head and hand in the room and waving. He was practically facing your way, but he took no notice of your actions. He sighs too and shakes his head, running a hand through his hair that is coated with sweat, and comes towards the door. He calls for a “Mingyu,” which you remember to be the tall one from the cafe. 

He pulls the door open and walks right through you and down the hallway before turning and heading up the stairs. Now you’re sure he couldn’t see you.

You go in the practice room, closing the door behind you just in case someone came in and could see you. You stare at the speaker for a moment and tilt your head. You think of the simplest possible way to fix something; you hit it once on its side. The sudden blare of the song continuing startles you, but you nod, proud afterwards.

“My job here is done.”

You turn and head out of the practice room, your past plan of laying on top of the building somehow slipping out of your mind as you go outside to walk along the road again. After walking for a few minutes, hanging your head low and lowering your guard along with it, you nearly slam into somebody. At the last second, you notice their body in front of yours and move to the side. Not like you needed to, they would have probably walked right through you anyway.

You look up as you notice the feeling of their arm brushing against you. 

They mumble a small “sorry” and look back at you. You look at them too. At him. It was Joshua.

You had a good reason to stop and stare; this was the boy you watched from trillions of kilometers away, and now he was right in front of you. But he was staring at you too, and making his way closer to you.

“Can I help you?” you ask shyly, not looking away from him.

“I can’t help but feel like I know you,” he responds. With your heart racing and face heating up, you start growing confused. You had imagined this moment of meeting him over and over. Now that it was happening, you were blank. You found yourself merely nodding before scurrying off.

The morning after meeting him, you were still thinking about him. He was always on your mind anyway, but the encounter just made it more so. 

You headed out early to take a bit of time for yourself before getting back to work with granting the wish. You were walking along, looking through the markets along the roads nearby and at the variety of items they have for sale. 

“I knew I would see you again.”

You nearly drop the wooden figurine you were holding when you heard his voice behind you. Taking a moment to first hold your composure, you turn around and meet his eyes with yours, smiling slightly. He returns the smile and comes up beside you, taking hold of the figurine that was now sitting on the tabletop. 

“How much is this?” he asks.

“Joshua, you don’t need to get it for me-” he cuts you off.

“Please, I want to,” he replies and places it back down, taking out his wallet. “How do you know my name?”

“You told me last night.” You felt bad for lying to him, but this way made more sense. He nodded. He must have forgotten what happened if he took your word for it. 

He thanked the person who worked at the makeshift market you were at once they handed him back the wrapped figurine. It was also put in a bag, then he handed it over to you. You were hesitant to take it, but you did.

“Are you sure we never met before last night?” he asks, picking up where he left off from yesterday. You only respond with nodding, once again. His lips form into a pout as he starts to think, still feeling as though he knows you.

You do know me, you talk to me all the time, you think to yourself. But the chances of telling him who you truly were are close to none; he may believe you were crazy, and you did not want that.

You spent a while walking around with him. You knew he was an open, friendly person, and being able to experience it first-hand was unimaginable to you. But, you inspected the other markets with him, stopping to purchase things from only a couple, including one that sold delectable snacks. 

You ended up spending hours together. After the markets, you two took a small trek to a nearby park with smooth, cement paths that led to a pond. The trees surrounding were very few, but pretty nonetheless. You two sat on a bench together, watching the water flow about.

Joshua asked where you were from. You were able to speak both English and Korean with him as well as other languages pretty well; you had learned a lot from listening from the sky. You claimed that you had been to many places in your life, which wasn’t completely a lie. Really, you stay in one spot and listen to the world. But that counts.

In the time that you spend on Earth with the single intention of granting his wish, you and him happen to become closer. You become friends. It is only ever you two that spend time together though; you claim to be shy, but the truth is that you know at least one of his friends cannot see you. It would be odd if Joshua were to introduce you to them but they saw nobody; you wanted to avoid that situation.

Because it was only ever you two, you grew accustomed to each other. He missed you when he was not with you. It did not take him long to realize that. And it did not take him long to realize it may mean you are someone he connects with well. 

You two had known each other for nearly four months now. You had grown accustomed to him, but also to delaying. You were delaying completing his wish because you were too caught up in him; you didn’t want to leave.

The man in the moon had a talk with you one night. He said he noticed how you were acting. He reminded you that he watches the stars that get cast down to Earth. He warned you that if you did not get back to work, there would be major consequences, ones of which he didn’t even bother to name.

What surprised you was the time limit that you were given. The man in the moon said that you only had another week to complete the wish because you were slacking off so much, and you were close to being finished any way. You asked what he meant; the twelve of Joshua’s friends all seemed happy lately, or as happy as they could be with their stressful careers.

The man in the moon said you had to make Joshua happy as well. You thought he already was. Whenever you two were together, he was laughing and smiling, genuinely. He compared others to things made of beauty, like flowers and sunshine, and the stars. He compared you to them as well.

But all you knew was how he was when you were right beside him. You did not know how he was without you.

The next time you met Joshua after the talk the moon had with you, you went to the same pond as before. The one you went to on the first day of meeting him. Sat on the same bench as always. Out of the blue, you decided to ask him.

“Joshua? What would make you happy?” He turns to you with a questioning look.

“What do you mean? I am happy.” 

“I can tell you aren’t. I- I have a way of knowing these things,” you say after a brief pause. The pause that follows your words is even longer. Maybe he needed time to think about what would make him happy. Maybe he only now realized that he wasn’t.

“To hold your hand,” you hear him admit. His voice was as quiet as the breeze that pushed it away, but you could still hear him. It was such a small request. 

You take your hand off of your lap which it was resting, folded with your own other hand. Then, you reach over and fold it with his instead. He didn’t expect you would actually do that; his whole body jerked in surprise when he felt your hand on his. He watched as you intertwined your fingers with his. His usual loud self was now suddenly so shy.

But you knew this wasn’t making him happy. Sure he was flattered and a little flustered, and happy in the moment. But it was only for a moment. 

“What would make you happy?” you ask him again. He takes time to think. Or rather, rebuild his confidence in his voice, which still spoke as quiet as ever.

“If you allowed me to kiss you.”

No, you thought to yourself. Has he blossomed feelings for me? I have- I can’t stay. No.

You knew it was a bad idea. You wanted to but, you knew that if you did kiss him, you would have to leave. You would have lead him on. You would have to leave, you had no choice. But ultimately, it was your job to make him happy no matter what you had to do.

Without any other thoughts, you did it. You leaned over to him and kissed him. Your eyes were closed, but you knew that his opened wider momentarily before closing as well. He kissed you back immediately. It was so soft and warm. 

You were not going to lie to yourself; you had thought about this moment millions of times over. You just wished that you wouldn’t have to leave after. But a star could not wish on a star.

You were the first to pull away from the kiss. Maybe the kiss was broken, but the eye contact stayed secure. You were both smiling at each other with flushed faces, his eyes looking particularly droopy and lovesick. You see his mouth move and hear his next words, but they are delayed. They didn’t match up.

“I think I love you.”

And suddenly, he doesn’t feel your hands on his any more. You don’t feel them either. He looks down and your gaze follows his. Your hands were turning transparent. 

He looks back up at your face, and that is becoming clear too.

“I have to go Joshua, I’m sorry.” He looks at you in utter confusion. His words become very rushed.

“What? What do you mean you have to go? What’s happening?” He reaches out in attempt to hold you, any part of you. But your entirety is disappearing.

You stand up, off of the bench. He reaches out for you once more, but his hands only pass right through you. Within only a few more seconds, you are no longer visible, but he still hears your voice.

“We’ll see each other again Joshua, just keep wishing on the stars.”

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat #1336

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat #1336 Brought to you by ANN Highlighting the November 3363 Limited Tonnage This time the Gaming Authorities decided to have an event where the more senior Commanders would be allowed to bring heavier formations. At a base  allowance of 175 tons for all, the legal tonnage increased by 135 tons for each succesive top. Not bad news for me, at least I would not be seriously outmassed. Probably not outnumbered either. As I were to fight on K3 the best formation would be two strong six-Mech lines divided by a lone Red Ant to reduce trample damage. For those wanting to bring more Mechs, adding a couple in a mop-up line behind the second battleline, or having it sandvwiched between two traffic police was of course an option. But getting a formation made to order was not possible. My chief tech (Bruno) was pointing at the invitation and yelling at me: "Are you daft man? None of the regulars will have licences less than 40 above yours, and some might have nearly ten dozen more. Bringing the crew there will be pure murder!" He did have a point, and a really good one at that. But as I had seen in the Rainbow event we just had, quite a few Commanders are somewhat confused when it comes to restrictive rules. Whether they dont care, dont understand, somehow believe the rules dont apply to them or just dont remember what time the scramble is starting is immaterieal. Point is, if there are opponents out of formation, beating them is much easier than if they are in formation. After some back and forth, Bruno brought all the Techs with him on an unscheduled holliday, and the formation I had that closest resembled the 1255 legal tons was my 1200 formation. Upon our arrival at the mountains, the number of strong contenders were high, and we were directed to a viewing space out on the plains. For some reason, the Gaming authorities do not list the current tonnage of the Commanders during limited tonnage events, so one are attacking blind. -Unless of course you take a closer look at them before you strike, then you can find out what tonnage they have. After some scouting, it became clear that almost all of the contestants still had their main formations present. That could of course change, but for the moment my two six-Mech lines were superior to their six-seven one-two Mech lines. So we managed to cut a path to the slopes, and then it was just to wait and see how many of the others would get into correct formation. As fate would have it, only three others shed the excess Mechs before the light flashed, so we ended in the second tier when the prizes were awarded. The full list of the Nephilax winners was: Div 1 420+ (23 Commanders): Claude Poirier, Nemesis (1s) 2: Roy Cheah 3: Fabio Favaro 4: Gary Muenzel 5: Jeff Page 6: Bernard Johnson 7: Jeff Haas 8: Ben Rail 9: Shawn Wretham 10: Were Wolf Div 2 -419 (13 Commanders): Stroker Spot, Death Dealers (1h,43m) Div 3 -319 (16 Commanders): Chong Chin, Heroes (7m,53m) Div 4 -231 (10 Commanders): Darren Jackson, M&L Team Banzai (1d,38m) Div 5 -181 (25 Commanders): Jelloshots Suckeddown, T.B. BlackWatch (1m,59s) Div 6 -126 (17 Commanders): Brian Patenaude, Black Star Bandits (4h,16m) Div 7 -95 (15 Commanders): Siegfried Gust, Black Star Bandits (1h,52m) Div 8 -64 (15 Commanders): Fredi Fransiscus, **R.V.** (48m,35s) Div 9 -44 (15 Commanders): NameOfProfile, Mad Scientist 1 (1d,1h) Div 10 -31 (20 Commanders): Captain Beefheart, Ronins 2 (6m,42s) Div 11 -18 (13 Commanders): WizWom, MurderMechs (1d,5h) 3+9(1S)+11(1S)+9(G,3S)+6+11(3S)+8(G)+9(2S)+7+12(4S)+2(G,1S)=Three Golds, fifteen Silvers and sixty-nine Bronzes were awarded to Commanders who clearly had overweight formations. Total Contestants: 182 Total medals claimed: 156 (of 165 possible) Compared to the Collector event we had previously, the number of Commanders shrunk by nine. But the imbalance between the tops were much smaller this time, so we "only" had to return nine Bronzes from a trio of tops for resmelting after the award ceremony. The last half-hour saw four Golds changing hands at least once, one of them decided just one second before the light flashed. Four Golds were held for more than two hours, three of them for more than a day. Hmmm... was this due to strong winners, or rather a lack of fighting spirit? As always, hard to tell, but we can make a guess after looking at the number of medals held for more than 30 minutes in this event: .............Silvers......Bronzes Div 1 ....0 of 4.........6 of 10 Div 2 ....4 of 4.........6 of 8 Div 3 ....2 of 4.........3 of 10 Div 4 ....0 of 4.........4 of 5 Div 5 ....2 of 4.......10 of 10 Div 6 ....3 of 4.........9 of 10 Div 7 ....3 of 4.........5 of 10 Div 8 ....2 of 4.........7 of 10 Div 9 ....4 of 4.........8 of 10 Div 10 ..3 of 4.......10 of 10 Div 11 ..4 of 4.........8 of 8 The sole top without any medal attacks this time was K11, although K10 had just the Gold strike. On the other side of the scale was Mount Olympus, K3 and K4 where most of the medals found fresh holders. Black Star Bandits was the only clan to claim a double gold this time. They stood on top of K6 and K7. None of the unaligned Commanders managed to claim a Gold, and the sole repeat winner was Claude Poirier of Nemesis on Mount Olympus who won his third Gold in a row. Upcoming event: King of the Mountain Finally we get a pure unlimited event again. There are no restrictions whatsoever here. If you can get the Mech into the formation it is legal. All weapons work as normal as well, no hidden bonuses for any of them. Event ends October 2 between 1700 and 1730 New York Time

[ivyschoice]

Child of the Island

the day you’ve dreaded has come! Hide your kids and lock your doors - I have produced something for Choices Creates again! no really it’s been way too long, but moving on:

Story: endless summer

Rating: T

Plot: based on the theory that MC is half/ part Watcher: What if MC had grown up on the Island with the Wacthers? What would happen when the other Catalysts come to La Huerta?

I couldn’t hold back so this is way too long (sorry not sorry)

thanks to @catsrtheboss for hosting and to @hollyashton for bringing us #ChoicesCreates weekly for 21 times now like wow!

-

I’m on my way back to the village when Varyyn comes running towards me.

“Hurry up! You gotta hear this!” He grabs my wrist and pulls me with him so that I almost drop the fruits I’ve been collecting all afternoon.

“Woah, Varyyn, slow down! What’s going on?” “You’ll see!” He answers and accelerates. The trees seem to fly past us. Normally I’d assume we or the village were in danger if Varyyn was in such a hurry, but he sounded more excited than scared, like something good had happened.

We cross the first bridges and I notice that no one is to be seen. Where is everyone? My question is answered as we reach the center of Elyy’stel. There is a big gathering going on. Aunt Ximaedra is standing in the middle and is making an announcement. I’m out of breath, but I try to be quiet, so I can hear what she says.

“Scouts have seen them in and around the Hydra’s lair. They could be working for him, but we don’t know that, yet.” Is she talking about-? “It is important that we bring them here, no matter which actions have to be taken. Seraxa will lead a mission to keep a closer eye on them. We have decided that the following warriors will accompany her to watch them.”

Whispers go through the crowd. It’s the Vaalta carriers. I see it in the faces of the people around me. They’re here and we will get them to stop Raan’losti. My heart starts beating faster. I’ve dreamed of being one of those who get to meet them since I’ve been a child. I have to be part of this mission.

Everyone holds their breath as Ximaedra lists a few names. Varyyn is among them. I’m not. That’s not fair. Before I can stop myself I hear myself saying: “I want to go, too.” Dozens of faces turn towards me. As they stare me down I realize that I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. It’s not my place. Ximaedra’s eyes scan the crowd and find me.

“Moryin, I can-“ She’s cut off abruptly.

“You won’t go. That’s a final decision.” It’s my father. If he weren’t the Queen’s brother he would never get away with interrupting her.

I make my way to the center, till I stand right before him. “Why, father? You know I can do this!”

“No, you cannot. You don’t understand what’s at stake here!” He looks down at me and I see the anger in his eyes. But is there more? Worry? He seems more emotional than usual, not that guarded.

“I know you lost mother, but you won’t lose me, okay? I’ve got this. I’m as skilled as Varyyn!” He swallows. Suddenly it’s so quiet you could hear a butterfly’s wings. Mentioning mother is risky. Father never talks about her. I just know that she died shortly after I was born and that he still misses her a lot. And he’s overprotective of me because I’m the only thing he has left of her.

“Don’t. Argue. With. Me.”, he presses out and this time I’m smart enough to keep my mouth shut. Ximaedra puts a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Let’s come back to important matters…” She’s trying to smooth out the situation and I’m grateful for that, but not even the Elyyshar can make being scolded like a child in front of the entire village less embarrassing. I back away and start running as soon as I’m out of sight.

“What is he thinking? I’m not a baby! And it’s just scouting! I wouldn’t even come in direct contact with them!” I let my frustration out loudly and let my fist crash against a tree. Which hurts me more than the plant, but I can’t help it.

“What has that poor tree done to you?” I jump. Varyyn has snuck up on me.

“Nothing.” I mutter.

Varyyn sighs. “Too bad that your father won’t let you come see them… I actually didn’t want to have to do this, but it seems like we have no other choice but to go by ourselves…” I stare at my cousin with wide eyes. Did Varyyn just suggest going rogue? The ‘Prince’? The mother’s boy himself? I don’t know whether to laugh or to gasp.

“Varyyn, you never ever go behind Ximaedra’s back…” He cracks a smile that makes him look surprisingly rebellious.  “There’s a first time for everything, you know…” I role my eyes, but have to grin, too. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a mask. A green and blue chameleon. My mask. I reach for it and as he puts on his own I follow suit.

We make our way through the forest, setting our feet on paths we learned to see when we were young. I’m ecstatic and nervous at the same time. What if we get caught? Father is gonna be so mad, if he ever finds out… But we’ll see the twelve!

Varyyn nudges my side and when I look up I can see the top of Hydra’s lair between the tree tops. With a deep breath I keep following Varyyn. I’ve never been closer to the strange building – probably because of father, I now realize – and I really want to get a closer look.

It’s even bigger from close up. We have stopped and look up taking the whole thing in. I clench my fists and take a step forward, but Varyyn holds me back from crossing the tree line. He shakes his head. I want to answer, but he puts his finger over his lips to signal me to be quiet. This is the point where it get serious.

We carefully make our way through the underwood and up to a tall tree. Varyyn starts to climb with strong and graceful movements and after a moment I do the same. I’ve climbed trees a thousand times, but this time I can barely concentrate on grabbing the right branches.

When I reach the top, Varyyn is waiting for me with a smug grin. Show-off. He has taken off his mask for better sight and I push mine up, too. Sometimes I feel like all I ever do is imitate my cousin.

We have a perfect look on the area in front of Hydra’s building. But will we actually get to see them from here? I prepare myself for a long time of waiting, when the door flies open and a group of people storms outside. Humans. I’ve never seen so many of them at once.

I lean forward to get a better look. They all look so… different. Not only from us, but also from each other. So many skin and hair colors and the clothes they’re wearing are so colorful. I’m in awe. They’re beautiful. And they’ll stop Raan’losti. One of them especially catches my eye – the way they walk and move and how their hair shines in the sun. I really want to-

“They’re fighting”, Varyyn says. Now I see it, too. They seem to be shouting at each other and two of them are chest to chest ready to punch each other until one of the others steps in between them. This seems to be not the first time it happens.

“Monsters”, growls Varyyn and as I turn to him, I’m surprised by his hard expression. “They come here to a place they’re strangers to and the first thing they do is getting violent with each other…”

“But it’s normal to have disagreements”, I answer, because I feel like he is misjudging them. “We have fights in the village all the time.”

“Yeah, but with words and words only. What kind of person do you have to be to physically harm your own people?” His fists are clenched and his face is full of disgust. “Let’s go back”, he adds and it’s more a command than anything else. The normal Varyyn is back. The one that does as his mother says and believes that only we are good people.

Doesn’t he get that they are in an extreme situation? And they stopped the fight, so they can’t be that bad…

I take a last look down at them walking around, talking to each other and get the feeling that they’re more important than we know. They seem so small from up here and I want to be closer. Want to meet them. Be the one that brings them to the village. My calling. I feel it like a pain in my chest that tries to pull me down there. My whole body is tingling.

“Moryin! Your skin!” At the sound of my cousin’s voice I look down at myself and almost lose balance on the branch. My skin is blurry like it’s in motion. What is happening? Varryn’s eyes meet mine and I see the confusion and panic I feel in his face.

“Let’s get out of here!” He orders, suddenly the leader he’s born to be. He begins to climb down. I’m still staring at my hands. The blurring continues and brown spots start to appear on my fingertips.

“Come on!” Varyyn shouts when he notices I’m not following him. I snap out of it and make my way down.

When I’m on the ground I can’t even remember the climb down. I’m shaken. Why do I suddenly feel so strange in my own body?

“Hey”, Varyyn says, “breathe slowly and concentrate on me, ok?” I do as he says and focus on his face. A face I’ve known own my entire life. With blue skin and green hair – like it’s supposed to be. Slowly my skin stops feeling like there are hundreds of fire ants walking over it.

“See, you’re fine”, Varyyn says nonchalantly, but I can also hear the relief in his voice. I nod and smile at him. “Well, we better get back before anyone notices we snuck off”, he decides and guides me away with an arm around my shoulder.

I look back at the high building and shiver. Varyyn had not seen my hands, before I went back to normal. But I had – and they had looked… human. What is going on with me?

[furederiko]

"I won't let you... suffer the pain alone!" Kyuranger's 28th episode, conveys the tale of broken bond, and lost friendship...

- Let's get this right off the bat: POOR Balance!!! T_T... He wasn't around when Naga first succumbed into the darkness, so imagine his utter shock upon witnessing how his partner-in-crime (we'll get to this later) has become an evil, ruthless, brutal, and plain messed up person. Dark-Naga is completely different from his regular self, and this is the first time we get to see Balance gets deeply depressed. Even more so than that stolen-Birthday story... - Sure, the episode starts in a carefree and casual way. We see Balance utilizing the #43 Camelopardalis Kyu Globe to become a 'mechanical giraffe' and scout the area, while Dark-Naga is having fun with his newly found emotions through a practice fight with the Indavers (again, the actor is definitely having a blast). I also personally enjoy seeing Akyanba and Kukulga get along with one another, mirroring the bond between Ikagen and Madako nicely. But everything turns sour just 4 minutes in, and the cheerful mood has completely dissolves into a somber and melancholic tome. - Balance clearly arrives on scene with a belief that he could easily persuade Naga to the good side. That's how they've always been, right? But nope. If this is another show, the whole 'turning into evil' trope would be done and over with in just two episodes. This is Kyuranger we're talking about, and that's NOT how the show works. After declaring that the BN Thieves has now been disbanded, Dark-Naga doesn't pull any punches on his (former?) friends. He shoots Balance on the spot, intentionally injures his left thigh, and then tortures him with sheer glee. Balance refuses to react, resulting in an abusive scene that... well, rather disturbing to watch. I wonder how TV Asahi even allows this on a morning show? - It's a neatly choreograph, but devastatingly desperate fight scene. Once again, Dark-Naga is soooo close on killing the other Kyurangers with his 'Dark Galaxy' attack. This time around, a mysterious woman steps in to save the day. And it's a... female Naga! Hold on, I mean, a Naga-esque female individual from the Ophiucus system. She introduces herself as Echidna (obviously portrayed by Taiki Yamazaki, voiced by Ayumi Tsunematsu), and reveals more details about the same-faced inhabitants of her system. Trivia: In Greek mythology (nope, not the ant-eater one, nor... Sonic the Hedghehog's rival) Echidna is a half-woman half-snake 'She-Viper'. She's the mother of many mythical monsters such as Orthrus (that gave birth to Sphinx and Nemean Lion), Cerberus, Hydra, and possibly Chimaera. There's a 'mother angle' in her story. So can we assume this is just pure coincidence? Or is she actually Naga's mother? Hmmm... - Echidna's appearance is... well, a bit awkward to watch. Not because of the female voice coming out of Naga's lips, but mainly because it looks a bit out of sync. This is a common occurence in Tokusatsu, but I wonder why they don't just alter his actual voice with a sound editor? Also, design-wise, I think the production team made a minor miscalculation. IMO, they should've enclothed a 'female Naga' with a high-neck dress that fully covers the neck area. At least, give him a choker or something. The actor is what many generally calls 'pretty boy', so he CAN look and showcase Echidna's feminity just right. Yet it's also clear his adam's apple is still immediately noticeable in this dress style, and that would likely attract questions from audience. Especially observant nitpickers like yours truly LOL. With that said, her inclusion is still a much appreciated decision. It gives a good excuse to keep Naga's actor among the non-suit ones, without the need to hire a new artist. And similar to Dark-Naga's messed-up sassy gestures (that is always a delight to see), he's able to make us believe that Echidna's an entirely different character. - Echidna's exposition, leads to a deeper backstory for both Balance and Naga. And that's good. We FINALLY get to see how Balance met Naga for the first time! True to his trickster reputation, not only Balance ran into Naga when he was stealing a treasure from his planet, he also made use of Naga's pure desire for emotions to get away. On a whim! Yep, turns out things didn't actually start out in 'real' good terms for them. Back then, Balance was merely using Naga, turning him into a partner for his own selfish benefit. Not unlike Akyanba, huh? Nevertheless, it's a fated meeting that managed to change him for the better. Balance now actually cares for him and others in general! That's why Dark-Naga's berserking frenzy isn't just hurting Balance physically, but also scars him emotionally (if not all of us in general, of course). Balance is going to do anything to bring his BFF back, even if it forces him to engage in an intense heartbreaking duel with him. We've seen it teased in the preview, right? - I was initially pretty disappointed when Akyanba revealed that the key to bring Dark-Naga back to his senses, is to hurt him so badly. I admit, it IS a common thing for a Tokusatsu antagonist to foolishly state their Achilles heel. Even Kyuranger have done it before with a lesser MotW. I guess, I kind of expected more from this cunning villainess. Turns out, more is certainly what I'm getting. Televi's scans have already spoiled about this 'solution' before, along with the Gold-Silver fight, and Echidna's arrival. But what a pleasant surprise when those report (probably... intentionally?) left out the powerful twists that come as part of the actual package. - Contrary to popular assumption, Echidna isn't here to help Naga. She is sent to... eliminate him. Apparently, obtaining emotions is considered a massive threat in the law of Ophiucus system. OUCH!!! Echidna also blames Balance for 'swaying' him out of his planet. This is what I meant earlier by 'turning him as partner-in-crime'. Second, the Gold-Silver fight? Intense, but heartbreaking. I expected a Mexican Standoff-esque battle, but nope... Libra Gold doesn't want his BFF to suffer alone. So when he launches that rain of arrows using the #35 Sagittarius Kyu Globe, he's taking the fall WITH HIM. Aaaaawwww, the chills!!! But the episode saves the biggest twist of all. Hurting Naga badly to save him? LIES. That was nothing but lies. It's all Akyanba's trick to pit the Kyurangers against each other. She's merely toying with her enemy, trying to make them hurt one another. So disappointment is gone, because Akyanba IS a dangerous antagonist INDEED. - Worse thing is... according to her, Dark-Naga is beyond help. There's NO way he can be cleansed from darkness once he gains back his emotions. That means...? Aaaaaw!!!! T_T. I can already hear those devastated outcries reverberating throughout the Naga fanbase. Not to mention, Naga have always wanted emotions to make Balance happy! Putting the burden and guild on the Golden robot even more. If I didn't know any better, it seems the only ways to save Naga now are: defeat Akyanba to remove her curse/spells that unlocked Naga's emotions, and seal back the emotions he's been longing to have all these time. Those are NOT easy feats! Things aren't looking good in the present time. Fun fact: Can't believe it took me this long to realize one thing. Naga Ray's name is clearly a pun for either the Japanese word 'Nagare' which means 'to flow/washed away', explaining why he's easily persuaded; and also 'Nagareboshi' which means 'Shooting Star'. And we know how a meteor is called a shooting star, right? When it FALLS down on Earth. Suffice to say, Naga's fall to darkness has been written on his name. This character was already doomed from the get-go. And that rain of arrows is another really good metaphor to this too... - What's happening in the past doesn't fare better! 'Time Travel' team exits the time hole (healing Commander's Xiao's back in the process), and goes directly to witness Tsurugi's final fight against Don Armage. And it plays out exactly like Tsurugi's story, confirming several things: One, Tsurugi has been telling an honest truth all these time. As in, he's not dreaming or seeing illusions or alternate reality like some fans have theorized. Two, Kuervo sacrifices himself to protect Tsurugi from Don Armage's blow. So yeah, I think he's genuinely really dead, as we can only see Orion (who now has a face, more on this later) carrying Tsurugi to safety afterwards. Three, Don Armage is defeated... for REAL. Phoenix Soldier strikes him down (here's hoping we get to see that cool flaming winged attack again soon), blowing up his planet along the way. So HOW is Don Armage still alive till the present time? That side of truth is still shrouded in mystery. As if that's not enough, all of a sudden the ORION is under mysterious heavy attacks! Forcing Raptor to quickly warp off towards Earth. With Don Armage gone, WHO is attacking them then? - Before you dismiss that this time travel side is removed or unrelated, do remember one thing. Kyuranger had always run several plots in parallel, but they generally still share the same theme (examples: Stinger's route of vengeance crosses path with Champ, and the brotherhood parallel between Scorpio and Kotarou). Considering the current theme is about heroes/good person turning to the dark side, could it be foreshadowing the true identity of the new Don Armage? If we observe how Naga is Balance's best friend, we can see there's a parallel running in the past: Orion or Kuervo are Tsurugi's closest comrades too! Who do you want to bet as the real Don Armage, then? - Anyway, we're back in the present time. Akyanba walks away with a severely wounded Dark-Naga, leaving the fight to the giant Indavers. Since Ursa Minor SkyBlue has to tend for Balance, Leo Red uses Gemini Kyu Globe to duplicate Lupus Blue and Chamaelleon Green, so they can form a three-colored RGB Kyuren-Oh. What a NEAT trick! Even SkyBlue is surprised to see that this is possible. I don't think we actually need a mecha battle, but at least it's unpredictable. - Despite Echidna's firm statement that the only option to the Ophiucus Metal situation is to eliminate Naga, obviously 'Save Naga' team isn't going to give up just like that. Balance personally refuses to obey, and will do anything to rescue Naga. Even if he has to face Echidna for that. But that's when something unexpected comes up. Well, duh? This IS Kyuranger, so obviously it's one thing after another. Our present team senses an odd surge of time-paradox, and notices a distress beacon from the ORION. Has the spaceship really returned? - This is where the two time-crossed storylines come together in a shivering and shocking way. Because what Lucky and friends see, is NOT the ORION they've known all these time. It's a broken and aged ruins of the spaceship! Dang it, the goosebumps. Don't forget, there's a price for trying to break the rule of nature. A small alteration in the past will affect the flow of time and reality in its future... and this must be one! Does this mean, the real one is destroyed in the past?! Oh good heave, I hope not! But the scene that slowly shifted back in time... only confirms that concern. ORION has indeed crashed down on Earth, and its passengers are on the ground, wounded and unconscious. And standing in front of them, is none other than... Sir Orion!!! Fun fact: Orion is played by actor Kai Shishido, who is the son of legendary actor Joe Shishido. He's not new to Tokusatsu, having played DASH Captain Shigeru Hijikata in the 2005's "Ultraman Max". Looks like Shishido was added to the cast later on, because I don't think he was the actor we saw in Eris's story. That one was younger, smaller in figure, and has much lighter skin! Something that obviously a nitpicker like me would've noticed... LOL. It's a tad disappointing, because having felt familiar with his face, I've been really curious about that mysterious 'temporary' actor. Guess I won't be getting my answer anytime soon. But at the same time, I'm not complaining about Shishido. He DOES has a powerful presence worthy of an important character. Beside, if my theory of Orion being Lucky's biological father pans out, his surname would make for a perfect pun! The kanji means another, but 'Shishi' is 'Lion' in Japanese, right?

Overall: Oh wow, one surprise after another huh? Thank goodness we got a lighter episode last week, otherwise I don't think my heart is ready for such intensity to come every week. This episode left me with a bitter taste, which was both sad but good. Realizing that Naga can't actually be saved, felt like swallowing a bitter pill that refuses to go down the throat. It made me feel... hopeless. But such uneasiness could only land if audience deeply cares about him and Balance as characters, which is a really good thing. So call me hypocrite, but I'm glad the Dark-Naga arc isn't resolved too quickly. Otherwise I'd be quite disappointed. Thumbs up to the writers this time for a strong focus episode for Balance. Much needed praises also goes to the sound department, because once again, GREAT use of fitting BGM to amplify the scenes. The melancholic ones during Naga and Balance's heartbreaking moments worked gorgeously by adding shade and tint of sadness. I might have some minor nitpicks about this episode that affects my score, but overall, a truly excellent episode... Next week: Orion, oh ORION... PS: We're back to "Kyutama Dancing" as the ending theme, but this time Tsurugi has been added to the equation. Also, alongside teaser for the first Bluray Box set, the official trailer for V-Cinema "Episode of Stinger" has been aired. It's available online if you're curious about it.

Episode 28 Score: 8,3 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: September 5th, 2017 - Version 2.13. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[ships-and-saints]

“jealousy isn’t cute on you.” for elorcan please!!! :)

Hi anon, I’m sorry this is so late!! I had so many exams, but i’m done now and have some free time to work on prompts!! I just wrote this out, so I’m sorry if it has a few mistakes. I hope you like it, thanks so much for submitting the prompt~ I love elorcan heh :)

also, there are a couple of ACOTAR-related prompts in my inbox, I will write those after I finish reading ACOWAR!!

Feel free to submit this or your own prompt!

Word Count: 2191[ read on fanfiction ] [ read on ao3 ]

Jealousy Isn’t Cute On You

“Come, wife,” Lorcan said, in the most neutraltone he could muster. He struggled to keep the bite from his voice, the seepingirritation. The ruckus surrounding them gradually died down as wisps of Lorcan’sdark magic subconsciously permeated the air.

Elide paused and then casually flicked her impassive gazeover him. Trying not to grit his teeth, he stared down at her as she clutched atankard probably filled with beer that tasted like piss.

It had been weeks since Maeve whisked Aelin Galathynius awayin an iron coffin. Weeks since… the Stone Marshes. And Elide had been like ice,this whole time. At first, he thought she might thaw out after a few days, butdays turned into a week, and one week turned into several.

Elide had barely acknowledged or reacted to his presence, exceptwhen they were out scouting for information on the whereabouts of Aelin, whereshe had no trouble playing the part of a happily married wife.

Lorcan was nearing the end of his patience, and he didn’thave much to begin with.

Lorcan and Elide had been wandering from tavern to tavern inthis relatively large plains town, and after they reached the third tavern, Lorcanhad gone to use the bathroom. And to try and clear his head.

His head pounded and beat with every stroke of irritationthat crossed his mind. The faucet squeaked, and Lorcan splashed cold water onhis face. He quickly checked his reflection in the mirror and tried to lookunthreatening, before facing the tavern crowd. Perhaps pleasant, even…

He settled for a look of cold neutrality.

As he stepped through the bathroom doorway, he immediatelyregistered that Elide had moved from where she’d been sitting originally. Hiskeen eyes scanned the room and deftly picked her out of the crowd by herraven-dark hair, neatly done up in a bun. For a moment, Lorcan entertained thenotion of dragging Elide out and burning the whole, wretched place to theground.

Instead, he stalked over to where she was perched.

She was sitting at a nearly-rotting wooden table with abunch of worthless soldiers who took every chance they could to try and leerdown her shirt. Elide just laughed demurely, exchanging witty banter andlightly smacking at their wandering hands.

“Come,” Lorcan repeated, “I need to speakwith you.” His carefully restrained irritation had seeped into his clippedtone, and Elide’s back straightened. The rowdy soldiers around the table hushed,as well.

One of the soldiers dared to speak. A young, human man, ofaverage height and average build. He gripped his sword for courage. “Heypretty girl, is this guy giving you trouble?”

Lorcan ignored him like an ant, staring at Elide as hewaited for her response.

The dark-haired woman just sat there smugly. She held up onehand to the soldier across the table who spoke, but she kept her eyes on Lorcan.

“I’m fine,”she emphasized, her gaze unwavering as she delivered her next blow. “And,I’m still your fiancée, the marriageisn’t for another couple weeks.” Elide’s eyes flashed dangerously, andLorcan’s temper nearly snapped its leash then.

He forced himself to take a steadying breath. And thenanother one. There was no point, no point in getting angry here. Not when theconfrontation was drawing so much attention; the whole tavern floor had quieted,anticipating a fight. The old bartender was innocently drying glasses,pretending not to eavesdrop.

Lorcan was reaching the end of his rope, and Elide was stillsitting there, staring him down.

“Hey man, you heard the lady. She said she’s fine, soback off.” The same, irritating soldier who had spoken out before spoke upagain.

Lorcan’s gaze finally flickered to the soldier, who at leasthad the good sense to look a little nervous while the most powerful demi-Faemale stared him down. Harsh lines promising cruelty were etched onto hisimmortal face as he stepped forward and leaned towards the soldier, who couldn’thelp but lean away. The rest of the soldiers at the table shuffled andmuttered, slightly uneasy.

Lorcan lowered his voice to a deadly, lethal quiet. “Ifyou want to keep your vocal cords, don’t ever speak to me again. Otherwise I’llrip ‘em out and feed them back to you.”

In his deathless, onyx eyes, he held the promise there forthe soldier to see, to feel the weight of the truth.

Elide, it seemed, had had enough. She abruptly stood up.“On second thought, I’d better talk to my future husband about conduct inpublic, hmm?” She put her handson her hips and glared at him. “Let’s go. Now.”

Without waiting for his affirmative, Elide grabbed his hand.Lorcan cringed inwardly at the contact but allowed her to lead the way throughthe tavern, storming between the tables and dodging drunks.

Finally, they got outside. Elide looked around and pulledhim behind a corner, making sure no one was near enough to hear them.

“What in Hellas’s realm has gotten into you?” She hissed, jabbing a fingerat his chest.

He refrained from rolling his eyes. Instead, Lorcan crossedhis arms. “There was no information that was worth getting out of thoseworthless fools.”

Elide narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s what you think.They were Rifthold soldiers. I was going to ask about Morath again, ask ifthey’ve heard anything suspicious regarding my uncle or Duke Perrington. Perhapslet slip information about the horrifying things that have been sighted aroundOakwald Forest, these days. Since they have to protect Adarlan from all sortsof threats you know.” She widened her eyes at him in mock horror.

“Anyway, I don’t have time to be getting into it herewith you, behind this stupid tavern.” She turned her back on him to walkaway. “I’m going to find my damn Queen, and you can do whatever youwant.”

Lorcan just stood there for a few moments as he watchedElide walk away, her long skirt swaying behind her as her hips swung.

He silently followed behind her as she stalked down theriver a little ways before entering yet another tavern. Across the road, Lorcanwatched her disappear through the entrance, and he debated what to do.

As spurned as he felt, Lorcan knew he couldn’t leave heralone. Clever as she was, she’d be defenseless against multiple aggressors,like those preying soldiers from before. Plus, Rowan and Gavriel would kill him if they found out he left theLady of Perranth alone.

So he made up his mind to go inside and just observe. He’djust keep watch. That was all she needed anyway, a bodyguard. She had said asmuch before they’d met the carnival troupe. He didn’t know why he expected somuch from her, anyway.

Lorcan ducked his head and entered the dimly lit tavern; thisone a tad nicer than the last one they had been in. And it was emptier, too.His eyebrows raised as he spotted her at the bar, swirling a glass with herhand. He didn’t understand her intentions, so he hesitantly went to sit at atable wedged in a dark corner.

He said he’d observe, after all.

But some time passed, and all Elide did was keep orderingdrinks at the bar. A couple fruity drinks at first, from what Lorcan couldtell. Then a glass of wine. Then a shot.

And another shot.

And another.

And finally, Lorcan got up to approach her.

“Jealousy isn’t cute on you,” Elide slurred,tracing a finger along the wooden countertop. She looked up at Lorcan through heavy-liddedeyes, tipping over slightly on the stool. Lorcan nearly snarled an answer ather, but he sensed the bartender was watching them. He looked up to see thebartender’s eyes narrowing at him suspiciously.

“This is my fiancée,” Lorcan explained loudly, ina long-suffering tone. At least his voice sounded natural. The bartender shiftedhis gaze to Elide, who tipped her head in an approximation of a nod. He relaxedand shrugged, like he understood. Ahh,relationship problems.

Lorcan returned his gaze to Elide, slumped over on her rightarm. She pursed her lips at him in annoyance, her eyes half-shut. He tried notto think about how beautiful she was, when she wasn’t being a frigid ice queen.

“Jealous? Who’s jealous?” He asked in a low voice.

“You. You were jealous I was flirting with thosesoldiers. I saw the look on your face.”

“They weren’t worth your time,” Lorcan growledlowly. A little knowing smile danced on Elide’s rosebud lips.

“I’m flattered… you were jealous,” she said,stumbling over her words a bit.

She’s drunk,Lorcan thought to himself. She won’t evenremember what she’s saying… I’ll just bring her back to the inn.

“Elide, you’re drunk,” he calmly stated. Eventhough she was seated on a high stool at the bar, he towered over her at6'4". But it didn’t matter, since she didn’t even bat an eye at himanymore; he didn’t intimidate her. Sure, he could kill her, but that wouldn’tbe any worse than what he had done to her queen.To Queen Aelin Galathynius of Terrasen, who was still alive and now grown.

It was the reason why Elide had started slamming drinks backat the bar, downing shots like candy.

Because gods-damned Lorcan kept hanging around her like apuppy, waiting for her to forgive him. And Elide wasn’t ready, she wouldn’t doit until Lorcan… No, not Lorcan, she wasn’t thinking of Lorcan, she meant Aelin…Until Aelin came back, she wouldn’t forgive Lorcan.

Elide sat up and opened her mouth to tell him that, but theroom started spinning and she screwed her eyes shut.

All of a sudden, she was scooped up into someone’s arms. Tan,muscular arms. Lorcan’s.

“This is your fault,” she slurred. I’m drunk because of you, she added inher head. Lorcan just shook his head in bewildered amusement.

“Come on,” he murmured, “Let’s get you intobed.” She squinted at him and… Was that… was that a glimmer of kindness she saw in his eyes? She mustbe drunker than she thought. Her head rolled to the side, so heavy…

In what felt like no time at all, Lorcan had her tucked intothe bed at the inn they were staying at. He brought her a glass of water.

“Drink,” Lorcan instructed, holding the glass outto her. Groaning, Elide sat up and reached towards it. She tentatively sipped.

“Thanks,” She said gratefully. Elide trained hergaze on the white scar she saw peeking from the collar of Lorcan’s shirt.

He looked reproachful, like he was about to say something,so Elide opened her mouth to cut him off. “Don’t. If you think me getting drunkgives you the right to give me a rutting lecture, just don’t. Just leave.”She bid her voice not to waver, bid her heart to hold strong. It was exhaustingholding this much anger and resentment in her heart, but she couldn’t seem tolet it go.

Lorcan’s onyx eyes were unfathomable, his hands clenched athis sides. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about what I did, about getting yourqueen captured. I’ll keep saying it, if you need me to. Just don’t- don’t lookat me that way anymore.”

Elide closed her eyes and sighed. She was still drunk, hermind was still hazy, so she held out her hand to him and he grasped it. Lorcan slowlysat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m so tired… So tired of being angry, Lorcan… I wishyou hadn’t done what you did,” Elide mumbled tiredly, her head rolling tothe side. “I wish I knew how to get her back…”

Lorcan’s gravelly voice was surprisingly gentle. “Iknow… I’m sorry. I’ll keep saying it if you need me to, and I’ll do anything tomake it up to you.”

Elide perked up slightly at that. “Anything?”

He hesitated. “Well… within reason, of course. I wantto make it up to you. I meant to protect you before, but I fucked it up, and Iknow that.”

Elide’s dark eyes opened and found his, searching his eyesfor the answer before she asked her question. “Why did you want to protectme?”

“I promised I would.” His tone was evasive, andElide’s eyes fluttered shut again, as if she were too exhausted to hold hereyelids open.

“Okay,” she said simply. “We’ll figure it out…This all out… Right?”

Lorcan tried to let down his guard, recognizing that Elidewas giving him a chance, a chance to make it up to her… So he squeezed her handand nodded, before remembering that Elide had closed her eyes again. He lickedhis lips to wet them. “Yes. We’ll figure it out… together.”

“Together,” Elide murmured, right before sheslipped into the dark folds of sleep.

[ask-the-phan-site]

Phan Cam: Island of Tech

>Griffin Rock, Maine, United States. We were on a ferry headed there to help find out how we can change Skull back from Overflow, one of the new Ben 10 aliens. We gathered a list of the best to help us. Apart from the Phantom Thieves, we also had Bruce Sato, Miles Morales, Dr. Curt Connors, Ryan Choi aka The Atom, and Conor Jackson in Team Science and John Constantine, Zatanna, Robin Sena, and Faragonda the Headmistress of Alfea College for Fairies in Team Sorcery. Also with us is Mirta, her friend, Lucy, and, at the advice of Mitsuru Kirijo, Fuuka Yamagishi. We also have our two new members, whose code names are now Slice and Dice. Dr. Strange said he would meet us later.

Wow! So this is Griffin Rock. I’ve heard so much about it, but to see it in real life? I’m totally speechless.

The greatest of the world’s wonders are often the most hidden.

I think I understand. Griffin Rock isn’t often seen by the public to protect its technology. Only a handful of tourists come here everyday.

Either way or what he just said. I’m just so hyped to know I’m working with the Pha-

>I quickly cover Conor’s mouth.

SHUSH! I don’t think anyone on here can hear us.

Conor: (surprised) Oops. Sorry. We have to keep it quiet. Right, Chim-Chim?

(mimes zipping his mouth shut)

It’s okay, Conor. You still get kudos for the robot monkey.

Conor: (happy) Thanks, Miles.

Looks like you blokes are getting along.

Yeah, it’s like having two Miles.

(laughs a bit) That’s a good one. Like we just got more distance.

(also laughing) That’s true!

But it is good to know those young men have found kindred spirits in each other.

Conor: I know, right?

Miles: (whisper) Just hope Pete doesn’t get jealous.

Glad to see all of you getting along.

Constantine: Not all of us.

Bruce: I wonder where Dr. Choi is.

Ren: He and Dr. Connors are with Ryuji in the van. The others are just spread out or want to get a better view of the island.

Zatanna: You should probably let them know we’re almost there.

>I nod. And I leave them for now. I go to the van where inside, Dr. Connors was examining Ryuji and Dr. Choi was sitting nervously. Constantine used his magic to extend the inside of the van so we can all fit in.

Well, what’s the verdict, Doc?

It’s too soon to say. I’m so sorry this had to happen to you. This is no different when I became that... Well, when I went to a dark place.

Ryuji: It’s not your fault, Doc. Jin did this to me and you just fell for the words of a sadistic asshole.

Dr. Connors: (sighs) I guess you’re right.

Ren: I’m glad to hear it.

Ryuji: Oh, hey, Ren. Are we almost there?

Ren: Yes. I’m going to let everyone know so we can meet.

Dr. Connors: You best do that. And while you’re at it, you may wish to check on Dr. Choi. He keeps staring anxiously at the sea.

>After I sent the message, I go over to Dr. Choi.

Ren: Is something the matter, Choi Hakasei? Are you sea sick?

Hakasei = Professor, doctor, scientist

It’s... It’s nothing.

Ren: Are you sure?

>Dr. Choi was still look out at the sea, worried.

Oh, I see. You think he’s going to come out of there, huh?

Dr. Choi: ... Maybe a little... Okay, a lot. I just don’t want him to come and make things hard for me. It especially got worse when Nanako Dojima broke up with his son.

Ren: Don’t worry. His queen is doing everything in her power to keep her king from bothering us.

Dr. Choi: ... I hope you’re right. I know I decided to become a hero again, but I still can’t help but feel like he’s going to show up to bother me... Is this how Dexter feels when Dee Dee comes into his lab?

Ren: Just relax. We’ll be fine.

And if he does show up, he’ll have to answer to me.

Dr. Choi: (smiling a bit) I guess you could. Thank you.

Anytime.

>Then, the others arrived.

Captain Shaw’s voice: Attention! Now arriving to port. Please gather in your vehicles if you came in one or take your seats. I repeat...

Well, this is it. Is everyone ready?

(putting his ID Mask on) If it means my mom will have her son back, we are.

This will also be a good opportunity to study technology to one of its fullest.

Miles: Not to mention I get to meet Doc Greene. Everyone at Horizon says he’s a legend. Max even told me I could invite him to speak at this summer seminar at the school.

Zatanna: And I’ve always wanted to meet the Rescue Team... Especially Dani Burns.

Just try not to forget why we’re here.

To find a way to turn Ryuji back to normal...

Well, as normal as he can be.

Ryuji: (not happy with that remark) Hey!

>The ferry arrives at the docks. We drive off into town.

I know this is an island of technology, but it reminds me of... Small town nostalgia.

I must capture this in my art when I have the chance.

Yes. It does have that effect.

>Suddenly, something flew passed us.

>Then, the man with the helicopter backpack crashed into some nearby bushes. He came out a little beaten.

Helicopter local: I’m okay!

But then that happens and your remember where you are.

>The man gets back up and tries to restart his machine. But as he does, the propeller springs off and flies right into a pizza restaurant. The people, including the chef run out as the place explodes. Flames come out.

Whoa! That was big!

I know I needed a new pizza cutter. But this is ridiculous!

Don’t worry, I already called the Rescue Team. They should be here soon.

>Suddenly, Miles looked like he sensed something.

Miles: I don’t think they alone are gonna help.

Your Spider Sense on alert?

Miles: It’s off the charts.

Dr. Connors: Off the charts? ... Never mind, I don’t want to know.

Conor: Me neither.

Same here.

But you’ve gotta admit, things are about to get interesting around here.

>Dr. Connors, Coner, Chim-Chim, and the Deucey Twins leave the van quickly.

Dr. Choi: If you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do... At least let me help.

Zatanna: Me, too.

Mirta: And me.

Robin: I want to do my part, too.

Miles: Okay. I could use the help.

I love it when a team comes together.

Mirta: Magic Winx! Charmix!

>Mirta goes into her Fairy Form.

Mirta, Fairy of Illusions! I bet your science can’t do a transformation sequence like that.

Dr. Choi: ... We’ll see.

Mirta: Okay, that is a little impressive.

Atom: Ant-Man’s got nothing on me.

Miles: Speaking of costume changes, do you think you guys can give me some privacy? I’m a little shy and the only person I’ve ever changed in front of is Peter.

Constantine: I can help with that.

>He snaps his fingers and in a poof, Miles was now in his Spider Kid costume.

Thanks.

Mirta: Okay, that’s a transformation sequence.

Spider Kid: I know, right? Now I need a way out of this van without being seen.

Atom: Ever shrunk down to a subatomic level?

Spider Kid: (worried) I’m not going to like this, aren’t I?

Ryuji: Wait... I wanna help, too.

Ren: Are you sure?

Ryuji: (taking off the ID Mask) Just in case we fail to change me back, might as well make it useful.

Atom: Then we’re set. Everyone, hold on.

>Ryuji, Zatanna, Mirta, Robin, Spider Kid, and Ryuji take the Atom’s hands and they shrink. We quickly look out the window to see the Rescue Team arrived.

Alright, everyone, back away! This places is for baking pizza, not people.

I have scanned the building. It looks like the propeller from Mr. Harrison’s heli-pack has hit a gas tank. There is another one next to it. If the fire is not extinguished soon, the other gas tank will explode and destroy this side of the block.

Chief Burns: Then there’s not a moment to lose. Kade?

I’m on it, Dad. Heatwave, let’s hose it down!

It’s a gas fire. I think extinguishers would be better.

Kade: Same deference.

Chief Burns: Graham, try barricading the area. Don’t want any civilians getting too close.

I’m way ahead of you, Dad. Boulder, how does this design look?

This should work just fine. Dani, Blades, try to scout the size of the area.

>Up in the air.

Looks like a good distance. You’re clear to build.

It looks like a stretch, but I’d say it’s some of Graham’s best designs.

>Back on the ground.

Graham: Thanks.

>They built the barricade quickly as Kade Burns and Heatwave try to put out the fire.

Kade: Man, this is hard! What kind of propane are you using, Mr. Marcello?

Mr. Marcello: It’s a new invention of mine. A propane that burns fire that goes out on its own. So I won’t have to worry about it accidentally blowing out... In retrospect, that may not have been a good idea.

Kade: (amused) You think?

Chief Burns: No choice. We have to take the tank out.

Heatwave: How are we going to do that? The flames come back faster than we can put them out.

>Suddenly, the flames blocking the entrance opens... They saw Robin inside.

Robin: Will this help?

>After getting over the shock of seeing a real witch in Griffin Rock, Robin guided Kade inside. They get to the gas tank. The Atom, Spider Kid, and Ryuji unshrink.

Kade: (even more surprised) What is this!? Invasion of the Superheroes?

Spider Kid: You wish.

>Spider Kid shoots his webbing on the unexploded tank.

Spider Kid: Grab hold.

Atom: I’ll shrink the tank a bit to make it easier.

Kade: Couldn’t you just shrink it really small?

Atom: If I did that and it explodes, it could cause a chain reaction that can cause every atom to explode as well and could destroy all life as we know it.

Kade: (shocked) Never mind, shrink it however you like.

Ryuji: And if any flames come at us, I’ll blow ‘em away.

Robin: And I’ll push it aside.

Kade: Good. (on the com-link) Dad, we’re coming out. Tell Heatwave to be ready.

Chief Burns’s voice: I will? Heatwave?

Heatwave: I hear you loud and clear.

>With all their strength, Kade, Atom, Spider Kid, and Ryuji all pull the gas tank out of the restaurant. Suddenly, as they got out, the tank begins vibrating.

Heatwave: What’s happening?

Mr. Marcello: The gas tank! It’s been exposed to the heat so much, it’s going to explode anyway.

Chief Burns: We have to get it out of here!

Zatanna: (appearing with Mirta) Mirta, think you can find someplace where it can explode without hurting anyone?

Mirta: I’ll see.

>Mirta flies up into the sky until she was right next to Blades and Dani. They searched until Dani spotted a place.

Dani: Found it! The rock shoreline behind the airport.

Mirta: I’ll mark a path to make it easier.

>Mirta creates an illusion of an arrow showing where they must go.

Boulder: I could carry it or throw it, but I don’t want to take a chance that I might drop it or it misses.

Chief Burns: We’ll have to drive it out.

Chase: I am ready and able. But I think we might need a little more help. Training Center, this is Chase. We are going to need more wheels here.

Voice on com-link: Alright. Me and Blurr are on the way.

>Carefully, Boulder loaded the tank in a wagon and strapped it in.

Boulder: I don’t know, Chief. Judging by the weight, even with Heatwave, Chase, Quickshadow, and Blurr, we’re going to need two more vehicles to move it.

Makoto: (coming up in the van) I can help as well.

Chief Burns: I appreciate the offer, young ma’am, but I don’t think we should allow civilians to help in dangerous operations like this.

Would it help if I gave you one more car to help?

Jared: (coming out of the van with Jesse) That’s our cue!

Jesse: Zatanna?

Zatanna: Gnirb Deraj dna Essej rieht rac os yeht nac pleh.

>The cars are hitched up to the wagon, the gas tank still shaking. Then, two new cars show up... And transform.

Did someone call for extra wheels?

That’s right! Don’t worry, we’ve got-

>Blurr suddenly stopped... at the sight of Ryuji. He could feel Blurr’s gaze as well and look up at him... They suddenly sensed something between them.

Qucikshadow: I also think it would be best to have some of these new heroes ride with us.

Heatwave: That’s probably a good idea.

Atom: I’ll handle the spy car... Try not to get to too jealous, fire truck. (begins smirking)

>Heatwave just glared.

Heatwave: Anyway, Blurr, you and the magic girl-

Blurr: I choose the Cascan.

Heatwave: What?

Ryuji: (surprised) Me!?

Blurr: Because... We might need his water power, you know?

Ryuji: That’s... That’s right. You never know when you need H2O.

Heatwave: Not a good idea for a gas fire... But I’ll allow it.

Zatanna: And don’t worry about magic girl. Ekat em pu ot eht eno I tnaw ot teem eht tsom.

>In a flash, Zatanna was gone... And reappears in the passenger seat of Blades next to Dani.

Zatanna: Shall we?

Dani: (smiling a bit) I’m gamed if you are.

>And we were off. We drive quickly and carefully through town until we make it to the airstrip. Then, Boulder and Heatwave carefully take the gas tank out of the wagon and take it to the rocky shore. They carefully put it on the ground as the began to shake even more violently.

Heatwave: It’s getting ready to blow! TAKE COVER!

>Heatwave and Boulder run as fast as they can from the tank. We all take cover behind the Rescue Bots. And then...

BOOM!

>The tank exploded. Luckily, the flames hardly made it to the trees in the forest. After some minuets, the flames finally burned out.

Kade: (looking disappointed) Well, looks like we’ll have to make do without pizza for awhile. But at least we did a good job.

Mirta: (flying down and resuming civilian form) We all did.

Chief Burns: Which begs the question. What brings a bunch of superheroes, fairies, aliens, and witches to Griffin Rock?

Kind of a funny story, actually.

Ryuji: We’re here because of me.

>Suddenly, something flew in. It was a young man on a hover board.

I just had to see this for myself. What is it you want from here, Overflow?

Ryuji: Yeah, about that... I’m not who you think I am.

Cody: What do you mean?

Constantine: Brace yourself, lads and ladies, but Red here isn’t an alien... He’s a young Japanese man trapped in an alien’s body.

Entire Rescue Team: WHAT!?

Ryuji: ... Yo.

Headmistress Faragonda: I think we should explain this more someplace else.

Chief Burns: That’s probably a good idea.

Heatwave: Rescue Bots, roll out!

Blurr: You can ride in me again if you like.

Ryuji: I would like that. Thanks.

Blurr: (winking) No problem.

>The laboratory of Dr. Ezra Greene. On the way there, we told the Rescue Team everything about what happened with Ryuji. (We left out the fact that we’re the Phantom Thieves and that Miles is Spider Kid. He said he would meet us later after he changes.)

Intriguing. I never thought such a thing could happen.

Ryuji: (nervous) Isn’t that a little too close.

>Doc Greene was examining Ryuji real close.

Doc Greene: Forgive me. I still find it hard to believe that you’re actually a human. Up until now, I thought only Ben Tennyson was capable of this.

I know. It is rather unusual.

Cody: It’s just a shame Frankie and CeCe aren’t here to see this. They’re with Mrs. Neederlander and they won’t be back until later.

Professor Baranova: They’re already on their way home now. They’ll be here soon.

Doc Greene: We’re also glad to have two fellow scientists with us as well.

Dr. Connors: I am glad to meet you, too.

Dr. Choi: Likewise.

Doc Greene: I’m sure with the help of four scientists, we might help this young man with his problem.

Lucy: Don’t forget, this transformation was done with magic as well. Be grateful you have experts on that as well.

Mirta: You didn’t have to say it like that.

Lucy: Just pointing out the obvious.

Conor: (disappointed) And what do you mean four? Believe it or not, I count as well. And so does Miles as soon as he gets here.

Doc Greene: Forgive me. I guess I should have noticed because of the robot monkey.

>Chim-Chim crosses his arms and nods.

Headmistress Faragonda: Either way, with all of us here, we might be able to change Ryuji Sakamoto back to his human self... Before that self is gone for good.

Ryuji: (whispering sadly) Along with Harry.

Constantine: Stiff upper lip, lad. We’ll get through this.

Diego: (whispering to himself) I hope no one forgets the Phantom Thieves are here as well.

Makoto: So, you think you can help us?

Doc Greene: We’ll do so to the best of our abilities.

??????: That’s good to hear.

>We turn to see Miles coming in with two girls who we can only assume are the Greene girls.

Haru: Miles kun, you made it.

Diego: What took you so long?

Miles: I got lost. It’s a good thing I ran into Frankie and CeCe here.

Frankie: We were on our way home when we met.

CeCe: (gurgles)

Frankie: And it’s not just him. We ran into someone else on the way here. But he asked that he surprise us with his arrival.

Professor Baranova: Someone else?

>Suddenly, the sound of a phone rang... It’s was Dr. Choi’s. He answers it.

Dr. Choi: Hello?

???????: Guess who?

Not you. Anyone but you.

Ahoy there, Professor!

>We were all shocked by this new face.

Dr. Choi: What are you doing here!? I thought Mera was keeping you busy.

And miss a chance to go on such an adventure? No, sir! It wasn’t easy to convince my dear queen though.

Yusuke: But how did you even find us?

Aquaman: ... I’ll keep that one to myself, thank you.

>We just stood silent. In defeat, we help Aquaman catch up on what’s going on.

Aquaman: Outrageous! Turning an innocent high schooler into an alien and depriving him of a future. Shame on the culprit. Shame on him.

Can you shame someone who’s been dead for nine years?

Makoto: At any rate, we have our team. Now we can find a way to change Ryuji back.

Dr. Connors: Not all of us are here... Where’s Stephen?

Ren: He’ll be meeting with us soon. Right now, we’ve had a long day. I think we should begin our finding in the morning.

Chief Burns: Probably a good idea. We should give you some dinner to thank you for helping us.

Kade: Just don’t order us any pizza... Tonight, anyway.

Ryuji: I actually heard 'bout the New England Clam Chowder, if you have any.

Doc Greene: What a coincidence, that’s what we’re having for tonight. Do you like it?

Ryuji: I don’t think I have much a choice. In this form, I can’t even enjoy those sweet and juicy beef bowls or even Ren’s famous curry.

Ren: That reminds me. To thank you for helping us with Ryuji, I should make something for you as well.

Chief Burns: You don’t really have to do that. You are our guests.

Still, you have to let us thank you somehow.

Chief Burns: Well, I guess that would be okay.

Miles: Actually if you don’t mind, Doc Greene, Max Modell wanted me to ask you to be a guest speaker at Horizon High. We want to get our newest students antiquated.

Doc Greene: Well, my scheduled is pretty worked up... But I’ll see what I can do.

Miles: Thank you.

>With that, we leave. Then, I get something on my phone. It’s from Admin.

Ren: You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up.

>They leave and I check my phone.

Hey, Amamiya kun, I heard you and the other P Thieves are in Griffin Rock. Well, I was looking through the Phan Site and this is what I found.

Do you think you can do this? It would really help the sender.

I guess we can do it while we’re here. Any chance, we’ll take it.

That’s great! We’re counting on you guys. And tell Sakamoto kun that I hope he gets well soon.

We’ll do.

>I end the text and leave to join for dinner... And tell the others about the request.

>And so, our adventures with the Transformers begins.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND February 15, 2019  - HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, ISN’T IT ROMANTIC

Well, it looks like I’ve already gotten myself into a bind trying to write two movie columns a week, and unfortunately, this one can only be written as my time allows. It’s President’s Day weekend, incorporating Valentine’s Day on Thursday, with three new wide releases hitting theatres either on Weds or Thursday hoping to grab some early biz before the long weekend.

Also, a reminder that if you want to read my box office analysis and predictions, you can find those over at The Beat later today. (My box office preview column will post around 9:30AM on Weds.)

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U (Universal)

Written and directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day,Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) Cast: Jessica Rothe, Rudy Modine, Israel Broussard, Rachel Matthews, Suraj Sharma, Phi Vu, Charles Aitken MPAA Rating: PG-13

The movie with the best bet of succeeding this weekend is the sequel to Universal and Blumhouse Pictures’ 2017 hit Happy Death Day with director Christopher Landon, Jessica Rothe and the rest of the cast returning… and returning… and returning. The horror version of Bill Murray’s Groundhog’s Day featured a mostly-unknown cast of young actors, including Jessica Rothe, who is destined to be a superstar, and all of them return for this sequel, which ups the ante on the original’s high-concept premise. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to see the movie before opening – I plan on going Wednesday afternoon – but I really enjoyed the first movie, and I expect the sequel to be more of the same i.e. obvious but funny and not necessarily as gory as a slasher movie like this might normally be.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL (20thCentury Fox)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City, Predators, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Desperado and many more) Written by James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, Robert Rodriguez Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keann Johnson, Lana Condor, Eiza Gonzalez MPAA Rating:  PG-13

Next up is an adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s popular Manga series which premiered way back in 1990 and has been a passion project for Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron to make for almost as long.  It’s definitely interesting to see Cameron work with a young upstart (by comparison) like Rodriguez, who has built quite a solid industry out of his Austin-based Troublemaker Studios, but I’m not sure if American moviegoers are nearly as gung-ho about the collaboration. The cast is generally solid with The Maze Runner star Rosa Salazar getting the title role, joined by Oscar-caliber actors like Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali, as well as newcomer Keann Johnson. Blink and you might miss the heavily CG-ed Ed Skrein, Lana Condor, Eiza Gonzalez and Jackie Earle Haley – I think he plays the Dogmaster. Reviews have generally been mixed but I really didn’t like it much at all (see my review below) and I’m not sure if moviegoers will feel too differently, as this is going to be a divisive movie. I’m not even sure if and how fans of the Manga will enjoy seeing it brought to life, but that’s really going to be seen for sure after its extended opening weekend that runs from Thursday through Monday.

My Review of Alita

Another Piece I Wrote About Alita

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (New Line/WB)

Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson (The Final Girls, A VeryHarold and Kumar 3D Christmas) Written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, Katie Silberman Cast: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Jennifer Saunders, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin, Jennifer Saunders MPAA Rating: PG-13

Last but not least, especially with this week’s Valentine’s Hallmark Holiday on Thursday, is this unconventional romantic comedy that acts almost as a satire of the medium without going into Date Movie territory. It’s another chance for the very funny Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine, both from the Pitch Perfect movies, to break out on their own after mainly playing supporting roles in other comedies. Devine at least has a fanbase from his Comedy Central show Workaholics, and he’s had more featured roles in movies like Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, but this movie has more of an opportunity to reach young lovers and the date night crowd than the other two movies. I probably won’t review this, but I generally liked it quite a bit. I thought it was quite clever and funny in a snarky way that the kids seem to like and really its only straight competition is last week’s What Men Want.

LIMITED RELEASES

Not a ton of limited releases this weekend thankfully, but one of the big ones is the New York and L.A. release of Stephen Merchant’s FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY (MGM), a comedic biopic about WWE Superstar Paige, as played by Florence Pugh (Lady MacBeth) and also starring Jack Lowden, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn and Dwayne Johnson, who also produced the film along with WWE Films.  It follows the story of how Paige and her brother Zak (Lowden) have dreams of becoming WWE superstars, coming from a family of wrestlers, and Paige’s struggles to fit in at the NXT training camp with Vaughn playing her tough coach. Johnson produced the film along with WWE Films, and he makes a couple brief apperances as himself. It’s a fun movie that I really enjoyed. You can read my full review below, and then look for my interview with Paige over at VitalThrills.com.

https://weekendwarriorblog.tumblr.com/post/182726024603/fighting-with-my-family-eds-very-important

Another pleasant surprise for the weekend is RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR (Sony Pictures Classics), Slovenian filmmaker Milorad Krstic’s amazing animated feature centered around the title character, Ruben Brandt, a psychotherapist who has been having nightmares involving 13 famous paintings, so he puts together a band of art thieves (actual pieces of art who are also criminals) to steal some of the greatest artworks in the world. He quickly earns a reputation as “The Collector,” and a group of insurance companies hire private detective Mike Kowalski to get the art back.  I didn’t really know what to expect when I saw this movie a few weeks back, and the premise and characters are so bizarre, that it took me some time to adjust to the pace, but there’s some really cool stuff on display here including a number of action setpieces right out of Mission: Impossible or The Fast and the Furious, but all animated with a unique style that reminded me about what I loved about Terry Gilliam’s animation on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. If you’re a fan of animation and/or looking for something different this weekend, this is what I recommend.

Opening in New York Friday at the Quad Cinema and on VOD is Tim Sutton’s DONNYBROOK  (IFC Films), based on the novel by Frank Bill, in which Jamie Bell plays Jarhead Earl, who wants to keep his family together, so he robs a gun shop and goes on the road with his son to enter a legendary bare-knuckle brawl called Donnybrook, in which the winner gets $100,000. On his trail is drugdealer Chainsaw Angus, played by Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Angus’ sister (Margaret Qualley).  (FYI, Sutton will be at select screenings at the Quad.)

Opening on Weds at New York’s Film Forum and at several L.A. theaters on Friday is BIRDS OF PASSAGE  (The Orchard), Colombia’s Oscar entry directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent). It’s an amazing story set in the rural Colombian drug trade over the course of several decades. The winner of three Colombian Fenix Film Awards, Birds of Passageopened the Directors’ Fortnight at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and has played a number of major festivals since then. It’s a really strong film that showcases the indigenous Wayuu tribe based in the rural area of Colombia who get involved with the drug trade as a way to survive financially. It focuses primarily on the growing feud between two families and the plight of a young man named Rapayet to get out of the drug trade once he’s pulled into it in order to afford the dowry for his beautiful bride.  It’s another great-looking film but one that feels a little more contemporary than Guerra’s previous film even though it takes place between the ‘60s and ‘80s and could actually be viewed as a companion film to Tom Cruise’s American Madein the sense that it shows the very beginnings of the drug journey to the States.

Opening Friday at Lincoln Center is Hong Sang-soo’s Hotel by the River  (Cinema Guild), which played at the New York Film Festival last year. It involves two intersecting tales, one about an old poet who calls his estranged sons to be by his side as he reaches the end, and the other about a young woman with a broken heart.

Ryan Reynolds narrates the IMAX documentary Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear, which opens solely in IMAX screens on Friday. It’s a movie about the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada where resides the rare all-white spirit bear, and the indigenous First Nations tribe.

Dog lovers who didn’t get enough canine cuteness with A Dog’s Way Home can also catch the dog movie Patrick (Screen Media), written and directed by Mandy Fletcher (Absolutely Fabulous), which will open in select cities and VOD Friday. It revolves around a young woman named Sarah Francis (Beattie Edmonson) whose life is a mess even before her grandmother (played by her real-life mother Jennifer Saunders, who is also in Isn’t It Romantic) bequeathes her spoiled pug Patrick to her. It also stars Ed Skrein (also in Alita), Gemma Jones and Emily Atack.

STREAMING

The only new movie streaming on Netflix this Friday is the New Zealand comedy The Breaker Upperers, written and directed by Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek, who also star as BFFs Jen and Mel who get paid for ending romances, although their own relationship is put to the test when one of gets a conscience about what they’re doing.

As far as series, Netflix is debuting the new series The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic series by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba, this Friday. Meanwhile, on DC Universe’s streaming platform, the new Doom Patrol will premiere, and that’s a pretty crazy bit of counter-programming.

Not exactly “streaming” but Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s doc United Skates will premiere on HBO on Monday the 18th. I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival last year where it won the Audience Award for documentary, and it’s won many other festival audience awards. It looks at the vanishing world of roller rinks and the “adult nights” that brought many of the African-American communities together in cities in North Carolina and California, but one that’s quickly fading away.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Valentine’s Day at the Metrograph is always a fun time, and this year is no exception with screenings of Casablanca (1942), Ernst Lubisch’s Heaven Can Wait  (1943), Werner Fassbinder’s Querelle (1982), David Cronenberg’s Crash  (1996), Claire Denis’ Trouble All Day  (2001) and even Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning Moonlight. (These are all playing on Valentine’s Day and a couple screenings before/after.) Produced by David O. Selznick ends this weekend with screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and George Cukor’sWhat Price Hollywood?  (1932). This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is the Chinese crime film Black Coal Thin Ice  (2014) on Thursday night and Trouble All Day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. This weekend’s  Playtime: Family Matineesis the beloved 2017 family film Paddington 2, directed by Paul King.

THE NEW BEVERLY  (L.A.):

Not to be outdone by that young upstart Metrograph, Tarantino’s rep theater will screen the late great Burt Reynolds’ Deliverance (1972) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997), also starring Reynolds, on Weds. and Thursday, then continuing their Reynolds tribute with double features of White Lightning (1973) and 1974’s The Longest Yard (one of my personal favorites). Saturday night’s midnight screening is D.A. Pannebaker’s classic concert film Monterey Pop  from 1968, featuring performances by The Who, Jimi Hendrix and more, while the weekend’s Kiddee Matinee on Saturday and Sunday is Ralph Nelson’s 1971 film Flight of the Doves. Sunday and Monday night are double features of Laurel and Hardy’s Flying Deuces (1939) and Mel Brooks’ The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), starring the wonderful Marty Feldman. There’s also a screening on Sunday afternoon of Carl Franklin’s 1995 film Devil with a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Opening on Friday is the exclusive premiere of Milestone Films’ 4k rerelease of Mikhail Kalatozov’s 1964 documentary I Am Cuba, presented by Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, which features amazing footage of Havana in the late ‘50s.  This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. offering is a new 4k restoration of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel  (1956)

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Other than Valentine’s Day screenings of Hal Ashby’s 1971 dark comedy Harold and Maude (another personal favorite of mine) and Ivan Nagy’s Skinner  (1993) starring Ted Raimi, the Egyptian is mainly focusing on making sure Oscar voters have a chance to see some of this year’s Best Picture nominees like Roma and Bohemian Rhapsody.

AERO  (LA):

The Aero is also showing the 1942 classic Casablanca on Valentine’s Day, but mostly, the entire weekend is dedicated to screening Jean Luc Godard’s most recent effort, The Image Book.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Goldblum Variations, celebrating the great Jeff Goldblum, continues this weekend with screenings of Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Fly, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Thank God It’s Friday, Into the Night and more.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: The Feds  presents a 35mm print of Sandra Bullock’s Miss Congeniality  from 2000, this weekend’s Weekend Classics: Early Godard  is Vivre Sa Vie from 1962, which is playing Friday through Monday at 11AM.  Late Night Favorites has two movies running over the weekend, David Lynch’s Blue Velvetand Dario Argento’s Suspiria.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight movie is Blood Diner from 1987!

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

On Friday, the Film Society will show Sergey Bondarchuk’s four-part War and Peace  (1969), presented by Mosfilm Cinema Concern, an epic that runs for seven ours over the four parts, each which will run two or three times over the weekend.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Starting Thursday, the Brooklyn Arts Museum will begin Programmer’s Note: On Love, a series that will include romantic films such as Love & Basketball on Thursday, Pedro Almodovar’s Bad Education on Friday, and much more all running over the course of the next week.

MOMA (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Sir Sidney PoitierscreensTo Sir with Love  (1967) on Weds, Lillies of the Field (1963) on Thursday, and Stanley Kramer’s Guessing Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967) on Friday.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The Derek Jarman-Humphrey Jennings retrospective continues with Sebastiane (1976) on Friday, preceded by the short The Silent Village, plus two more films on Saturday and Sunday nights. MOMI is also screening Roman Holiday (1953) on Saturday as part of the Edith Head series.

That’s it for this week, but next week is a bit lighter with DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Fighting with My Family expands natiowide. Don’t forget to check out my weekly box office column at The Beat, which you can read right here.

[throwingideasatthewall]

Clone Wars    Episode 10

        Lair of Grievous

An interesting     episode title

 For sure

 [Quote]

  Most powerful is he who controls      his own power

I really    Like       This      Quote

Being a fan of ... accountability

Notably

“Vice      Gunroy

   Escapes,”

Ahhhhh

   I mean?

 The        Episode      Before       Was      (Marginally)         Better        ....         

   To         It’s    Pre      de   cessor

 Why     do       I         Get        The         Feeling             This          Is        Gonna           Be           A         Long        Run..?

    Any       way

    That’s         Going

    Only       that         one         Guy

    No...       -Body         Else

   Uhm

  Kit        Fisto

  What?!

  Okay

 Guess

   His      design        Looks           Neat

    And          No         Ahsoka!       (The         Bad       Parts.)

“Gun-”

 “And     Return    Him       Just-”

Ena     bling!      Where       he’ll      be     put        in      a     cell       with   other     inmates   that   don’t    deserve     that

And       a     distraction      from   reckoning       with       the     consequences       of     his     actions

(And    the     hope     of     getting      out)

“ I know we’re in the middle of     nowhere,”

 I like this   guy

He sounds cool

Has a personality

(An over involved        one?”

But generally good

This might help my     nerves     after     last     episode

Very     chill

Nice

- Oh spoke     too     soon

So has your old Padawan       Dolved

???

Seriously, does everyone keep track of everyone else’s       Padawan

Obi-Wan, it made sense because he’s an   over involved       dick

But, seriously

Shouldn’t that     be   left    To   Yoda as the grand high   Jedi?

He is the guy that okay’s these requests, right?

It’ll   be   great   to   see   Nadar   again

Dude,     he’s   busy

“ i’ll   transmit      the   coordinates      for      the     ren      dez      vous     point,”

Hey     they   got   Ahsoka right!

Maybe     this     episode     won’t   be     a     headache

(Also they just casually    help him      stalk    his apprentice?

 Like,     that   should     be     his   choice

Like yeah  two heads are better than one but that doesn’t mean he agrees   to be a two- headed dragon

Dick   move

And-       It’s    Gone        (to be fair,       it’s only       slightly         too     much         Tone         Than      Ne    cess     ary

“Yet,”

  No

“Good hunting”

  NO!

Well....         It’s       Over,

Okay....

Nice     backgrounds,

This is a really neat   land

Oh, now     they’re     landing

Oh,     cool

Fog     -gy

Neat

Po   -or     Be     -epy              Ro      -bot

 He   can’t     see     any       -thing

“you’ll     be    fine      R6,”

You   have   legs

Not   pleas   ed

Hav   ing         A               Good      Time

“Nadar,”

*Bows*

Dear   frick   who   invited   him   here?

Like,     Dude

Even     if     the     Gen   shares     the   same   inspiration     as   you,       you   still   have     to     obey         by    the   rules     of       tox

 Aka   you   don’t     get     to   be    a   dick   just   because     it’s      a     differ     ent      gen

You   get   kicked       to     the   accoun   -t- ability     curve,         just      as   well

Walk                Ing        into            Some’s      bus    -i      ness      un   warrant   ed    And   un    -ask-      ed     For     Is      Tox

  And     then,           to    follow       it      up,      with       hey          you        did        well       on the           test          we make         you        take!”

    To     prove        we     can’t     assume    authority        over      you

 [Jedi   master     ship         I     believe]

  I’m surprised dude doesn’t say      ‘yeah       your     stupid   club         sucks,”

 “ i’m     sorry        the      war    pre      -vented     me       from   seeing     your      train    ing   through     to    the   end”]

wait   dude’s        Mentor     bitched    out     and      he      still      had       to      take         the         test?!

Murder      is       now      on      the      table!*

   Note; this is a joke

    I   never   advocate   death   over   account   ability

But, geez       Dude got     screwed      over

   You     were      missed    master

 How    old       is     he?

 I’m   going    with   adult-

Knight     Ok      he    has   enthusiasm   

We’re   all   good!

Then    let’s    have     a     look

Allow       me     to     show        the     way

Trans   lation;      Stop    ass    um      ing    

au     tho  rity

Good     for      him

Pretty    pow.

Also   yeah   just   casually   found

“Charming,”

That’s      a   back   -handed   compliment

Like   calling   something   “quaint”

 Dude     if     you’re   going   to      be    on          this             Quest,        Be      Nice,

 Look   after    the   ships

Oh     those     poor      guys

What       happens     to them?

  [Also     ships?]

Okay

 So,     Sith     mon     astery

No      Guards

It’s a Sith   mon    as     tery     surrounded   by     fog

Clearly       they      were      going       for      stealth

[And     it       Is    pretty      re       mote]

The   ent       rance     looks   sealed

 Yeah      It’s    Old

Possibly     -came in the      back    entrance

 And hoped       no one     wou ld    suspect

[We   specialize     in   ma   king   entrances]

Should     n’t     Dude          (Jedi)     Know       That

  Their,       Jedi

   Also        yeah       the      place     clearly      built       for    stealth

    Let’s       bomb       open        the       front       door

     Not        like        they         could       sneak        out            a          back          way

     This           will        make         less         noise

      Thank            you      common          sense

       But,              It           will            still             allow           them                 a              lot              of             time               To              Es              cape

          Like;    

This why staking out is     important

Patience     the both        of you

 THE      NERVE!

  Dude       he got here         First!

   You        wanna         help?

  Be     back up!

 “ A second look     usually      pays       off,”

   On hand,     yes- scouting      ahead       is      good

  On the    other-

   DICK           way        of        put      ting       it

   You      want        to        explore?

    Do          it      your        self

  You      just     assu      med       author        ity       over        a  wh-          ole      group          of      people

      Stopping             them              from             doing              their              thing

[I’m     fully       expec        -ting        him         to       snap          at         five

Like he’s being   pretty   enab-     ling

But   Dude’s       being         a      prick

  [pla  -ying by the        rule of      “But,”         Inst         ead         Of       “Or,”           Or        “And,”

   During          their      re    latively       func   -tional   mission

[dude     never     said      he    couldn’t      blow      up        the        mon     astery

  Just    stated         the fact         and        went        about          his           biz

A nice     factor

 “What’s       this,”

    A      stone

   Bull         -shit

 Whelp

   Smug        Ass

    You        smell         that?

 Arro   gance?

[let him     get    caught     in     a      trap]

“ smells        like     droids,”

 Metal      Does      -

 It’s     too dark to see      anything

   There’s       white       bulbs

Also     [Forgot to     mention],      Chek       Ov’s         Gun?

[For     the    Gun]

 Whelp

  They          Have        Lights

 [Also,            Dark       side      shadowing]

   Whelp

    Hey         at least        there’s not as much point

     Whelp

[I sense     there’s something     here]

 Yeah?!

 Was          that       not          the whole point?

 Whelp,

 A rusted     out      old      factory

   Whelp

    Poss-          Ibly

    Watch-           Ing

    “Ssh,”

      You         sure        about         that?

    Whelp

  “Well     that was   some thing,”

   Jedi,         you gonna            do anything      about that?

    Whelp

    Dude          Taking         point

     Aga       -in

   Whelp

 Ordering      someone else’s     troops

  [I seriously hope        that       comes to bite him         in the ass]

     Roger          Roger

     Crud         it’s the moon                             clones!

No,      just droids up the stairs

Neat

They     don’t see     that?

 Whelp

 Vice   Roy

What’s    going          on

  They     robots;      they’re        already     designed      to protect     you

Also;        BAIT!

The Jedi        are here

 Trap!

Also they’re     walking         side-by-side      Nice

 That’s     totally        someone      else     I       call        it

 “ I know       they’re             near,”

    Voice    recording?

    Whelp

    They’re          right       behind         you

    What,       where        do   something?

 Def       -initely       a   diff      -erent   per   -son

Whelp

Taking    longer     than     expect     (ing)

“ Have      you ever killed a Jedi?”

 These    guys have time for    this

When   fighting to fully trained adult       Jedi

BS

Those basic      clankers

There the  basic mooks   that gets mowed down   in the hundreds

Bs

Good   Commentary

Bad     timing

Oh   now   it speeds   up

Good for   them

They   were   loo   -king   pretty   lame

 Whelp

Stop   playing    with     them!

Republic     Dogs

Restraint

Shut    the     fuck      up

  It took hours

 Because

“restr       aint,”

Against    

Mach      inery

 “ i’m   sorry     master,”

Don’t   apologize

  He’s     being       a     prick

  Like      even       by      my     stan-      dards

  [ignor-         ing        the       war]

     He      turned        a fun       exercise       again        st        machinery     boring

       By           micro         managing          every           one

    -carried         Away

     This          -dick

      Those that have power       should restrain themselves          from using it

     Against         machines?

       Dude....

      I stick pretty closely to one          moral code

       And there was nothing even remotely     reprehensible

       About           That           Deal

      Yeah,        if they were sentient

       But, they act just like normal   robots               Running on         prot      ocol           Alone

    Giv         ing        no       hint          to       sen     tience

    Your complaint        literally         comes          down

    To        chopping them into          one           or more pieces

        That’s            extremely              overcontrolling          and              overbearing

        Not to mention to       reprimand        someone....

       Dick            Move 

      That’s          the         point

    Least        it        had       dark       ened      lighting

 “Lieuten        ant,”

Called    it

  Also     way      to      go     dip shits

  You left a com that can be traced back to your exact location

   Whelp

  Okay...

  The tracking          beacon

   Yeah

They knew   we were coming

 And   didn’t send a trap

Instead sene a thing     that can be traced back to the location

Should’ve known   Gunnery wasn’t here

 No,   you should’ve exercised caution

Well at least he isn’t blaming-

Screaming

Yes   he   would’ve

That    was     the     first     tip    off

Also;     clones?

 I apologize     for the deception

 Bull shit

I apologize for my     colleagues

 -What?

  Dude

Seriously

 How easy are you trying to make it for them to find   you?

Count      Dooku  

Why      Dude?

Oh   Wait   enablers   

Guess   this is their     tea     sess

 Okay    hit us     with        that       snark   

    ....

   Light     Roast

   He   honestly     seems       so       sad

   What

    This          has        got          to            be          a        trap

    No shit

   “Catch         Some          One,”

   No   not the vibe I got

  Also     there’s      the     clone

 Wondered     where      he     went

  “To      Catch,”

  Whelp

  Wow

  What?!

   Well

  Looks      like     someone      likes    creepy      statues  

   (I know       there’s       likely       some       deep        lore)

   Shrine

   Dude this whole place looks like a   monastery/castle?

   You’re just        figuring out        This might be some     ancient     something     or another

 It’s on a foggy     planet,         Huge,       Em-bedding      And   desolute

It basically screams     basic cult

 “Warrior,”

 I was going with   barbarian, but   that   works

Whelp

Weird  

 Juices

Nope        Metal

 Grievous      Cult

This is the lair of   General Grievous

 Are you sure it’s not    a cult?

 Like   I don’t know

But    I wouldn’t keep     Reminders     of how I was        brutally dismembered       Around

  IDK

Maybe I’m just not that    extra

Whelp     Dear     Frick

Back     to    the   thing

Also   yeah   don’t     leave

Get    Rein    force    ments

(I know I roast   Plo   about this all the time)

But    A few more Jedi      Might be useful      Against       a guy      With   multiple   hands

(Or at least     tell them       Your       Lo      cation,         What         a       quick    summary)

  So   they know what they’re getting into   if you disappear under   “mysterious   circumstances,”

Oh, plane

Oh,   Grievous

Looks   like     he’s doing   good for   himself

Seems       happy

Never    mind

Guess where  ignoring that   thing

With     The     Comms

Stale      mate

He   honestly   looks    sad

You   have   lost   your   focus

I mean   so far   he hasn’t   won shit

I’m honestly     surprised   he got it this far

Especially considering you’re the   negative overinvolvement side

Sidious       demands   more     dramatic   results

“ can’t   believe   I came   back    to   working   here,”

More   dead   Jedi

Did    he    kill     a   bitch?

(I would say   good for him          but    death<   Acco untability-)

You   expect   victory     over     Jedi

   Is battle        Droids

   It does    require      a brain

   And     a willingness     to escalate

   Oof

 Seriously,     Just       leave

  Whelp

  These        must be   trophies

  Jedi      he’s   murdered

  Isn’t the str- the Ed-    braid!        Thing       only     for   Padawan’s      Like,        you      don’t      seem        to       have       one

   So yeah       Grievous     probably killed a lot of children

     There    are        so      many

  Maybe      don’t      send     children       to fight       your battles

 Why      Would Dooku        want to set a        trap for his best general

    Minion disposing       Tea?

     Also, why are you      playing         into it?

   Like,         fair enough,           don’t turn down free      Intel

  But,      you could set a trap         and          be doing other things

   Like hunting down     Vice Roy   it doesn’t     make     sense

 “Are       we     the     bait      or      is   grie      -vous     the   -bait,”

Good   question

Definitely grievous though

 He was clearly      offered up      as a   distraction     From   Vice Roy

We    must    consider     who the trap          is for

  Grievous

  You’re      supposed    to     take     him      out

 Your   droid     is   track       ing      an     in       coming      ship

  Here      we     go

Match       es       the   descrip     tion

 Keep     out      of    sight

Whoa   whoa    hold     up

Why    are    they    calling     and     answering      to     you

These     are   Raden’s   troopers

Dude    has   literally   hijacked     his    whole      life

Dude       just     kick     him

 Like   fourth    time    but   ,seriously;

Capturing        him     could      turn      the     tide     of the   war

They’re      literally   handing     him      to you      on a       silver       platter

Dude - needs a break

If      he doesn’t know we’re    here

Instantly down to     do    Dooku’s     Dirty     Work

 “We     need        a      plan,”

  That’s     what      he     just   said

Whelp

That’s   neat

Cool

Mood   lighting   works

Guards

Does he even know what   happened?

Or   did      Sidious/Dooku     set up      this   elaborate      trap     while       he      was      out

   And       he’s      just    coming     home      like;

   Why        is       the     place       so     heckin    trashed

 Whelp

 Dick

 Dude      didn’t sign up for this

  Welcome      home     general

  Half willing to give it to you

 Whelp

*Oh*

Cough        ing

 Don’t     let     him       cut     the     line

Whelp  

  Heck

 He’s       Trying

 “ Don’t make me destroy you,”

 If they try to foreshadow that ear     lier

   No            Bad

   Ter         rible

 Whelp

 Seriously    did they just    reattach his    legs??

 Also,           They really did not bring anything else to capture him   with

 Besides   cables

To      Grab

 And nothing to tie him up   with

How did they    think     this was going to   go?

Argh

Just got     slap   stick        ed

Haha

“Pack     him      up”           ?

  Whelp

  Dude       they      are     just   knocked     out

 Whelp  

 Neat

Walking   a little   funny

Whelp

The clones get in the way

No   you        didn’t         bring   anything      to   restrain    him   with

“Taken     him,”

   Dude he just said       “taken”

   Not like he said    “killed”

   The most objectionable thing he said    in that     was     blaming   the clones   for his failure

  And   clearly    that     isn’t   your   issue

Narrowing  of the eyes was a    good   reaction

(Pretty sure the darkness is     Him putting unwonton pressure   and guilt tripping      (Gas        lighting)

 He’s just too much of a   coward     to say anything     because he can be held     accountable            At the      fifth      thing

 Let’s     tend      to     the   wounded

 Good      job   reflect     ing   mate

Whelp

Docter   where are you?

 Don’t    be upset with me     master

Geez

Dude does need a   break

Even     his     own     lair      is   toxic

Conversation

Rrgh

Look

Aww

Spare       parts

 Off

Body   guards

Remotely   deactivated      for       a    re-charge

Oh   so they weren’t killed

Gosh   dude came back to      A bunch of droids   laying   dead on the ground        Like;

“These.. aren’t. mine,”

Dude      is    having      a    tough     day

 Argh

 Not   good

Good

Lock down the   Perimeter

Good for   him

Whelp

Looks,     Better

Whelp

Watching

Yeah, those guys are dead from   grievous

He wacked  them with metal claws

Those     guys   don’t   have   a   single piercing mark on them

Nor     dented   helmet

Not ready to take on grievous

No one is

Dude has   robotic      arms

It’s time   we   retreated

Make sure to bring something to       restrain him   next time

Whelp

Grievous isn’t doing anything

Good     for him

“ You are    not going anywhere,”

Well, he tried

He WAS   just given          An ultimatum   from his boss

Gotta       stop    caring     about     those      things

“ Guess    we’ll have to fight       after all,”

 Or       blow open the                                door

Or   sizzle     it     open     with   your   light   sticks

 Lots     of   options

Bring      scout

Aight

Whelp     those guys are dead

Also   how did they even find   them?

Okay, that one makes sense because he was parked literally 5 feet from the base

  Fair   Game

Get out of there R6

Good for him

Whelp

That one   guy...

Whelp...

Yet

Good     for     him

 Of

R6

You told him to   leave

Dick

You surprise attack him

Call hypocrite, fair fight

Aaw, he’s   nice

Fair

Whelp

 Shit

Straight to the point

Doom       Man      -sion

Here        we     come

Whelp

Dude with the force       can’t lift one guy

Well 

General

Dude one trap   and you’re ready to call it quits

Lame

We’ve seen the lower levels of your home

No you haven’t

You were on ground level

And you only just saw anything below that   now

“ we’re not impressed,”

Dude speak for   yourself

Also,    fun

 Good     way       to        heal

   “Good, Good, Jedi,”

   This should be entertaining

        - way to heal-

   “You shall provide    sport for me,”

Like;           That

  Whelp

   Good        time            to       entertain          our        guests

        He’s             a           good            host

      Whelp

      Dude          has            a         dinosaur

       And       bots

     Dude         level       spiked          for           a          moment

    Hmm

    Nice

    Oof

    That       sounds     painful

   Armor       Patches

  “Contrary to your belief     I have other things to do,”

       Good              for            him

 He rans    a med channel

 “ go see to it my   repair,”

   Implaments            (?)

*Impale     Ments

   There may be   some discomfort

  But I’m pretty sure   he was already uncomfortable

   Argh

No sedatives

Off

Weak       link

Whelp

Surprised     his  pistol    did anything

Like seriously   even the swords would take   a few   whacks

There we go stabbing it with a sword

Your   knight   instinct

Whelp

And that clown just became the damsel

Whelp

Whelp

Fail

Guess     he’s   dead

 Or   broke     something

Splat noises   are kind of   humorous

So it could just be a   broken   nose

Great

Whelp

Instinct

Grievous is going to pay for this

Dude he made a humorous   “Splat” sound

“Splat”  is not       a     death   sound

   It      is      a     broken ��   nose   sound

“Destroy      him,”

I understand your pain

No, this is the time to take the kid away from the   bad situation

(Or actually give him the        don’t kill things talk)

   That’s the better option

   (Since he is still an adult and         can make his decision)

“ but you forget your teachings   Nadar,”

Not like that

  That is how you get       hit in the face

But in this war   strength prevails

 He literally   does have a point

  You two survived because of     “superior genetics”

You’ve literally been   hustling him since day one

And revenge is fine   in terms of accountability

 If someone stabs you,      You’re allowed to stab    him back

   Abusers?        Get their        abuse        back

Specifically in Murder

 The dead      isn’t alive     to take revenge

 And while he is right       that accountability is better

  That murder doesn’t   equal murder

   Because of         the belief          That all (human)         Sentient life          Inherently makes       the world better        By the possibility of them        contributing good

    Which is why         I advocate        accountability

     The way         dude is handling it          is shitty

      Firstly; all those present to the body are considered   enablers, if   they      enable     murder

And   everyone     who     sees      the     body       has       to        be          on       high      alert

  And   accountability      on     sight

 Because        if       you     five rules           A       Murder         -er...

  Point being dude should.     shut the fuck up and     help him find this dude

   The rules have changed

  Yes, yes they have

“ perhaps you are the one that has changed,”

  Shut up toxic

     Dick

    Enabling selfish dick

 “ come now,”

   He realized he fucked up

 “ We   need to move    now,”

  There’s         no     saving      that

  Whelp

  Skipped       past       that

   Looks      better

   “Gor,”

    He      named          it

    Oh

   Where       are      they

 Yeah wait what happened with the   doors?

 “Gor...”

 Aww       He     sounds     so    sad

Argh

Oof

That     pissed him off

Incoming     message from Count   Dooku

 Oh,       Good

 The Jedi have infiltrated your Lair

  Damn

 He   really   didn’t     tell     the     man   about   anything

Your   recent   defeats      at    their   hands

  Wow,         Dude can Literally not get a   break

   You just called him    five minutes     ago

 Fuck you

  He looks so       Tired

     And          Done

“Reassess      your    effectiveness,”

  Oh     that’s bound to piss him        off

 That you actively did   that

I’m expecting a face   Heel turn

 “You”

 There      we      go

  “ you   deactivated       my     Guards,”

    Oh....

[I assumed he just    forgot]

“ You let the Jedi      in,”

  No actually   they found a magic brick

  Unless Count Dooku  just so happen       to press    the button           at        the       same       time

Which      if so      nice

  Makes       dude’s overconfidence   even sweeter

“ so you would testing me,”

  Dick

 And he’s starting to look     It

  Oops

He’s pissed now

 Like I know this is     culminating in a fight scene

  But I would just love     if  just walked downstairs.        And was like     yes      I will go with you

 Out     of     Spite

“ i’ll play your little game,”

  In your condition you need your   rest

  I will rest when the Jedi     are dead

 Oh so that’s how they capture   him

 Maybe after he kills the   young one

Sentry

Those robots do     nothing

Whelp

Control      Room

 He’s         Done

Oh,        what do we have    here?

Oh,    this is what he does?

Master      the Jedi are about to enter the control room

  Snarky      little     shit

“Nadar,     get   inside,”

 Yeah,         No

Ahh

Nadar

Cutting       out      the    abuser

  Whelp

Absolutely       can       kick        ass

Surprised       no     one      who   understands   accountability

“Greetings     young      Jedi,”

 Greetings Boomer

“How       Ex       citing,”

   Neat

And   Meta

 Defeat       us       all

You’re one person   but I accept the understanding

  Get him     Master

Oh    he gets to see his apprentice die on the   big screen

Wait, where is the other   Jedi

Where-

Oh no

Self-awareness

 Oww

 But that wouldn’t kill a     determined

Whelp he accepted death

“No,”

Yep, he’d rather die than live in the world   you made

Enabler

(Technically;    Both of you)

 Welp I will kill you all

Do you hear me Jedi

Do you hear me

Fair   game

Enablers       kill   enablers

  No     one   wins

“ R6      is that you?”

How?!

Meet me at the   south landing   platform

I’m coming for you next   Fisto

Whelp, i’ll be   gone by the time you get here

Dick

Whelp

R6, I’m at the platform

Going     somewhere

How?!

But   also OK

Whelp

Hmm

Fan Technique should actually help in the   fog

Whelp

Pawn In Dooku’s game

That power will only   consume you

Like you

Flaunting it

Right now

Unless his battery   gives out...

Whelp

Ok

 Cheating

How   quickly   power      can   switch     hands

  Whelp  Enabled

 Expect      ed

Accom     plishment

 So   there’s   room   improvement

 Oof

“His heart was in the right place,”

  Not      accountability

“ to answer power         with power                 It’s not the Jedi   way,”

      HAHAHaHa

    What’s the title of this     again?

  Star         WARS      The        Clone           WARS

It takes   two to tango

  Feckin hypocrites

  In this WAR

 HAHAha

“ A danger there Is,”

I feel bad    for the   voice actor   that had to say that   with a   straight face

Nailed it   perfectly well

“Oof losing who we are,”

Oh, that scene

 Chills.

  Oh

                I REALLY liked this episode

It was funny   self-aware   and even   had some good moments with the villains

 Also

   They killed a           motherfucking dragon

      *Named              Gore

      * excuse          language