#she was put on her first titans team by the government or whatever

[roseworth]

thinks about the secret version of roy & rose that lives in my head then DIES.

[temunitu]

John Bishop, 2012 Irma, Rise Karai, 1987 Donatello

ooh, a bunch!

John Bishop (i assume you mean 2003?)

First impression: woag. cool government guy :] tryna slice my boi D:

Impression now: oh my god holy shit. he’s the coolest guy ever and the most intimidating (sorry shredder)

Favorite moment: uhhh the train one. y��know. or like the battle over splinter. just. wow. love that guy. y’know what i don’t HAVE a favorite moment all of his moments are good

Idea for a story: hhhhhhngf i would like to know more about his past so. i’d probably do that. OR i would do the concept of the canceled FF episode where he teams up with turtle titan. if done right, their dynamic would be hilarious

Unpopular opinion: i have mixed feelings on his redemption. on the one hand, it feels natural for him to become President, but on the other hand, i don’t really like it how one of the coolest villains got redeemed??? he seems so set in his ways and i get that it’s possible he’d have a change of heart, but it would have to be BIG and i don’t really feel like it was in FF, y’know?

Favorite relationship: he’s kinda a lone wolf so there’s not many options…? the gay little look he and stockman give each other in fast forward was GREAT though

Favorite headcanon: body horror body horror body horror boDY HORROR. i mean it’s canon but it’s so good

-

2012 Irma

First impression: oh cool! another iteration of irma!! :] (please don’t be a love interest, please don’t be a love interest…)

Impression now: fine, i guess? good that she’s not a love interest. the utrom council take was new, which was kinda a cool concept.

Favorite moment: probably the reveal for kraang subprime. i love his VA and the panic of Irma’s head swiveling was funny.

Idea for a story: human irma moves to town. shenanigans ensue

Unpopular opinion: i liked evil irma more than “rook” or whatever the utrom council’s codename/rank was.

Favorite relationship: there’s not really many options... it was nice for april to have a normal friend for once i guess

Favorite headcanon: what. what headcanons? does anyone have any???

-

Rise Karai

First impression: whoa!! could it be???????? my queen my darling the light of my life?????? IT IS :D

Impression now:

Favorite moment: ALL OF THEM SHUT UP but especially when mikey gives her the drawing 🥹

Idea for a story: i need to be honest. i had an idea for a story BEFORE we knew about karai in rise - i made a version of her that was heavily based off 2003 karai. except she was part of a prophesy and said to wield the armor. this was back when season one hadn’t even completely aired. ANYWAY now i would do just about anything to get the canceled episodes we were PROMISED BY NICKELODEON of the boys bonding with gam-gam karai

Unpopular opinion: my only complaint is that we didn’t see more of her. i know that’s not unpopular but it’s all i’ve got

Favorite relationship: hm…

Favorite headcanon: i think she should slay at air hockey idc if she was trapped for years she’s just that good

-

1987 Donatello

First impression: haha NERD

Impression now: oh wait he’s. Unhinged

Favorite moment: in the ninja sword of nowhere, they’re in battle with shredder and donnie tries to bat a watermelon at shredder with his bo. he just ends up covered in watermelon bits fjsjfhs why did he think that would woRK (maybe not my fav moment but it’s the first that comes to mind that sticks out)

Idea for a story: heard a tidbit from the show where donatello has a monologue about how they’re “outcasts from society” so i’d either do an angsty thing like that OR put that kid in the theatre he was killing it with the drama

Unpopular opinion: 87 in general gets a lot of complaints cuz people don’t wanna sit through 10 seasons (which tbf i’m still tryna get through) but like. it’s SO entertaining. i am a little disappointed that turtles forever took the route of making fun of 87 :/ donatello is no less smart just cuz his world’s logic is cheesier than other iterations

Favorite relationship: donnie and raph in 87 are like. so fun together

Favorite headcanon: i’m not well versed in the 87 side of the tmnt fandom but i think donatello is a theatre kid and no one can tel lie otherwise. put him in a lil costume and send him out on stage ok he has a LOT of pent-up drama and sass

[sasa-gay-yo]

Levi Gives You A Promise Ring

Request / Summary:  Levi worried about reader before a scouting mission (maybe they were hurt in the last one or something), and to make him feel better about it he gives reader a promise ring?

Timeline: Pre-Season 1 

Warnings: some swearin’ and suggested NSFW 

Art Credits: AoT 

He had called you into his office to try and convince you to stay back for today’s expedition. Walking to that dark, stuffy office, you were thinking about the numerous arguments you could give him that would make your place on the expedition team solid. You were a squadron leader. You were one of the best fighters that the Scouts had currently. Levi couldn’t hold you back just because you two had a relationship. How was he supposed to assign you to his elite squad next week when he can’t even let you go on a simple expedition?

However, you knew why he was worried about letting you go today. Last expedition you were injured by an abnormal. A new recruit was shellshocked by seeing his first titan and was easily grabbed off of his horse and body thrown towards the titan’s mouth like a snack. You swung through, shoving the boy out of the way, and your ODM line was caught by the titan. If you were to survive, you’d have to cut one of the wires and fall about forty feet to the ground. Levi watched helplessly as your body fell, but not before you sliced into the titan’s ankles.

Miche was the first one to reach you and pull the abnormal’s dead, limp body off of you. Levi came next, frowning at the fact that you were laughing at your bad fortune. The new recruit was also looking at you like you were crazy, and Levi made them run laps for that after their return. Levi, not able to show care in public, watched helplessly as Miche took you on his horse and cared for you until they returned from the expedition. Miche had done Levi’s job. In the HQ’s makeshift hospital, he watched as Hange wrapped feet after feet of bandages around your middle. Broken ribs and a sprained ankle and wrist. Still, he couldn’t come near you while Hange and Erwin were laughing at your jokes. He just had to sit back and watch the others care for you. At that moment, he decided that you wouldn’t be joining them for next months expedition, but he hadn’t told you of his decision yet. He couldn’t live like that. Always having to watch your risk your life for any member of the Scout’s while he sat on the sidelines.

You, now with a healed ankle and wrist and only a few bruises left on your abdomen, were about to get him to change his mind.

You knocked on his door and a grunt from inside signaled he knew it was you. You opened the door and slid in, closing it behind you. By the way he was sitting in the chair, you knew he was Captain Levi to you right now. Not the man who likes his shoulders massaged after hard training ODM with the new recruits.

“Squad Leader (Y/L/N), thank you for coming on such short notice.” You wanted to roll your eyes at his formality, but you knew that it would give him a reason to actually bar you from the expedition.

“Captain,” you let out, short and sweet so he knew how you were feeling about this meeting. He didn’t smile or smirk at you like he usually did with your sass, he just stared straight ahead thinking. Over and over in his head, he was replaying the image of you falling from the titan hands, your body bounding off the ground on impact. If only you listened to him when he said that it wasn’t your job to save the recruits, then you two wouldn’t be in this position. You crossed your arms, waiting for him to respond.

“I don’t think it to be wise for you to go on this expedition with your injuries still fresh.” He was bullshitting you. If your injuries were still fresh, why did he have you in his bed the day prior? He didn’t care about your injuries when his fingers left bruises on your hips. His secret marks of passion.

“With all due respect, Captain, my injuries have healed, and I’ve been cleared by Hange. I think medical knowledge outweighs your concern. Are you going to not let Petra go on this expedition too when she was injured recently?” He drew his eyebrows in with annoyance, one hand going to rub his temple. Why couldn’t you just listen to him, so he didn’t have to worry about you?

“(Y/F/N) can you just sit out this one, please? Everyone would understand why. There’s no reason to-“

“I thought you said you would never give me preferential treatment, Captain.” Little did he know, his actions when you were injured stung your heart. Even if he felt the need to hide your relationship, that doesn’t mean he can’t care for you as a worried Captain. He just stood there, watching Miche carry you on his horse, no protest or quick jabs of insults. Even when it was only Hange and Erwin, the two people who were already suspicious of you two, he barely looked or responded to your yelps of pain. He would only visit you once a week for five minutes, weary of the others who lay in the cots around you. It hurt you that you were visited by that new recruit whom you hadn’t know existed till you saved him more than your boyfriend, who you’ve known for five years. And now, after all of that, he’s showing whatever kind of concern this is by barring you from the mission?

“Are you upset with me for caring about you?” He had completely transitioned from Captain back into your Levi, but you wouldn’t let him have this moment. Your arms were crossed, jaw clench, and your eyes were boring holes into him. These were all the telltale signs that you were angry, having studied them in secret for years.

“You have no consistency, Captain.” He sighed this time, knowing now exactly what you were talking about. Did you really believe he felt no remorse? That he wasn’t fighting inside himself to go and grab you from Miche’s arms? To put the bandages on you himself since Hange was causing you even more pain with her incompetence?

“You know I cannot express my care for you under the watch of the others. Not only is it for privacy, but your safety could be at risk.” This time you rolled your eyes, loud and clear. He doubted so many of your abilities.

“My ability to defend myself shouldn’t be a problem, Captain, and your ability to just show a little care for me as a fellow soldier shouldn’t either. You can patch up Petra’s wounds, but as soon as I’m hurt, your hands don’t work anymore, it seems.” He slammed his fist against the table at the mentioned of Petra’s name. Why is it always Petra? Oh, yes, besides the fact that she told you that she had feelings for the Captain, why was it her?

“Do you think I don’t feel pain when you’re injured?! Is that it? You don’t think I care about you?!” Now, all formality was off. You were yelling. Hopefully, someone didn’t walk by and ruin Levi’s want for privacy. It was a possibility to, seeing that the expedition is supposed to depart soon.

“If you care you have a funny way of showing it, Levi! Not doing anything when I get injured, not visiting me, not tending to my wounds, only to order me to not go on the expedition?! You know my squad needs me, so you’re being selfish now, but how come you can only be selfish behind this door, huh?” You pointed to the wood behind you, the one you were about to walk out of and slam in his face. It infuriated you that he thought he could assert his control over you like this. If he showed you one ounce of concern while you were hurt or in the medical barracks, maybe, just maybe, you would let him. You would stay behind, sleeping in his fresh sheets, and rest a bit longer. But now, it seemed he was only concerned about you because he was in pain.

He stood up slowly from his desk, eyes still on his fist which connected with the wood.

“How dare you think I don’t care about you. Do you know how much I wanted to go to you? How I wanted to rip those bandaged out of Hange’s hands and do it myself? How I wanted to kill that new recruit for not only causing you harm, but for visiting you and talking about you during training?  I’m suffering inside because I can only hold you at night. I can’t sleep when you’re not with me! Do you know how many days of unrest I got while you stayed in the barracks? I want to tell everyone. I want to get up on that damn table in the lunch hall and announce to your little fucking fan club that you’re mine, goddamn it! But I can’t. You know why? I care about you too much to let the Royal Government put a target on your back because of me! To let everyone know that you’re Captain Levi’s would let those who want to kill me know the same. There’s so many in the Underground who I know would jump at the chance to hurt me, and I’m not ready to let you live through my past mistakes. I’m not ready to let you get hurt in front of me while the only thing I can do is stand and watch!” He was breathing heavy at this point, and you had your hand on your heart. It was beating fast at this sudden burst of emotion. You weren’t used to this Levi. Only in your shared bed would he show a glimpse of what the demons he was truly fighting inside, but now he yelled it loud enough that it Erwin was in his office, he would have heard all of Levi’s soliloquy. The last line. That last line wasn’t about his past or the Underground. That last line was about the expeditions. About watching you fall to the ground before his eyes, the titan falling on top of you.

His breathing hadn’t stabilized, and you couldn’t see his face to know how he was feeling. You couldn’t get a glimpse into what he was thinking.

“Levi,” you said, your voice soft. Had you known all of this previously, this problem wouldn’t have occurred. If only he told you about how you felt, and only if you told him your frustrations with his displays of emotion. Your problems were always about communication. Levi didn’t know how to communicate love to anyone.

“Do you know how many times that scene replays in my mind? You falling? Your body smacking into the ground, rolling as the titan falls on top of you? Over and over. Erwin knows about our relationship because he heard me yell for you when it happened. I shouted my name for you.” Your eyes widened, remembering hearing that. Hearing the name that he gave you behind closed doors be announced over the battlefield. The name that signified his private love for you. The name he never used around anyone, for it being too revealing of his emotion. You thought it was your mind playing tricks on you then. There was no way that the man who turned a cold shoulder to you had shouted that out of the battlefield.

“Erwin knows.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a confirmation to you. Confirming that Levi had told someone on his own accord, even if it was because of a mess up. Someone knew about your relationship, and it lightened some metaphorical load on your shoulders. Erwin knew. The Commander knew and he had a whole month to tell you two that it was against the rules for officers to have certain relationships with each other on the pretense of nepotism. That meant he didn’t care, or rather, he approved.

“I wanted to give you something, at a different time and in a different setting, but I don’t think I can let you leave today without it.” That made you lighten up even more. He was letting you go on the expedition.

“What is it?” He opened the top draw of his desk and dug into it, walking over to you with something in his palm. When he opened his palm, there lie a small circle of green jade. Your heart sped up again, not knowing what this was for.

“Levi…?” You asked breathlessly. You two had only been dating for a few months, so it couldn’t have been that, but you’ve almost never gotten a gift like this from him. It was always tea or some chocolates he brought back from meetings in Mitras. One day, he brought back clothes for you, and you had to tell everyone you bought it in Trost, fighting back to the urge to brag about Levi’s care for you. However, this ring, whatever it was meant for, this wasn’t just something you could lie about or hide in your dresser drawer.

“I read about this in a book. The main character wanted to give something to the person he loved, just so they knew how deep it was. Its a promise. A promise to love you. To care for you. As long as I’m alive. No matter how cold I seem to be on the outside, I care for you. I care so much it hurts. And… and if you’re ever in a situation when you’re doubting me, like the one we are in now, then you have this,” he held it up for you to look at, before grabbing you hand and slipping it on. The jade felt cold against your finger, but you were surprised at the sung fit. Your eyes teared up.

“Levi, it beautiful,” was all you could breathe out. You were on cloud nine, receiving this gift of devotion, but also having him say it out loud. The shouts of the past fifteen minutes had faded in your memory with one touch of this jade. He linked his fingers in yours, holding your hand up so he could see and feel the jade on your finger. He marveled at it too, something inside of his tightening at the thought of a ring on your finger. A ring he had given you.

“I promise to be by your side forever, (Y/F/N).” You looked up at him this time, wiping the tears from the corner of your eyes. Never had anyone in their lives devoted themselves to you like Levi just had. Instead of responding verbally, you pulled his face in, kissing him in the middle of his office. His grip tightened on your hand as you did this, allowing you to feel the passion run throughout your whole body.

A knock at the door had broke you two apart, but your hands were still connected. Erwin’s head popped in slowly, knowing that he might walk into to something very different. He’d seen you stalk off to Levi’s office in a huff, ordering some cadet to hitch your horse for you. Yet, he saw that your hands were connected, and when Levi didn’t push you away from him, hands still together for Erwin to see, your smile radiated enough for Erwin to feel his effects. Good. He needed his two best fighters to be happy again.

“Hurry up, you two. We’re leaving and it’s going to be obvious who’s missing soon.” You were the first to let go, knowing that you’d probably have to feign some innocence for the others. The fan club Levi had mentioned liked to know your every move so they could cater to it. You decided that walking down with Erwin was probably the best bet at secrecy and so you bid Levi a smile goodbye before walking out into the hallway with the Commander.

“I didn’t know he told you, Erwin.” The blonde man huffed once in laughter, looking down at your hand. He recognized that ring, Levi quickly confining with the man about relationship advice. Erwin wouldn’t tell you, it wasn’t his place, but Levi was as eager to finally have someone to talk about your relationship with.

“It was due to a mistake, but yes, he told me. He threatened me as well. A very bold move for a subordinate.” You knew he was only joking, and you lifted your hand up to cover your laugh, imagining Erwin punishing Levi of all people for that.

“I’m sorry on his behalf, Commander.” You reached the door out into the field, everyone getting lined up in their formation to leave. Somehow, Levi was already there, sitting on top of his horse with that same neutral expression. When he saw you and Erwin walk out, it didn’t change at all, but this time it left no sting like it had previous.

“No worries, Squad Leader (Y/L/N). I’m glad the ring fits, he was worried about that.” The wicked smirk that broke across your face was confirmation to Levi that Erwin had told you something about their secret conversations about you. He glared at the blonde as he climbed up on the horse next to him.

“I moved Squad Leader (Y/L/N)’s camp closer up in the middle so you won’t have to worry, Captain.” Erwin purposely said that out loud, the others around them trying to pretend they didn’t hear their Commander’s words. Levi’s glared intensified and he gripped the reigns. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you mount your horse, only thirty feet away from him.

“Why would I care, Commander? Good for them. Now when they mess up, they can have us to back up their asses,” Levi growled out, trying to make it sound as harsh as possible. That made the others around stop listening, hearing a normal response from their Captain.

“I’m glad it fit, Captain,” Erwin said lowly, starting his horse to walk up to the front of the formation to give a rousing speech. Levi’s expression softened a bit, but he looked forward, testing out angles that made sure you were always in his periphery.

“I am too, Commander.”

Masterlist

[the-bed-gremlins-reading-list]

Code Name: Oracle

This project is in the very early stages of development – everything here is highly variable as I keep working out the details. That said, please send in any questions you like about this project or Phoenix Knight! I’m saving anything to do with PK bugs and fixes until a later date since I’m going to take a break from writing it, but I’m still happy to answer questions about the RO’s and setting.

Summary: Life in Delphi City is pretty much like life anywhere – there’s problems, lots of them, but there’s good points too – maybe a bit fewer. But whatever your feelings are about it - it is home. It is also the city with the highest concentration of super villainy on the planet.

The Guardians are the local superhero team, made up of ‘Paths’ – the people with powers – that are on the side of what is good and right, and approved by the government. Their job is to take care of the villains with powers – and sometimes the ones just smart enough to build doomsday weapons. That kind of thing.

The stuff that’s way above your paygrade.

You might be one of the city’s most skilled detectives but you’re still just a detective. Your bad guys don’t have powers (usually). And messing with one that does ends in a world of pain – kidnapped and experimented on by a previously unknown mad scientist type you’re eventually rescued by a hydrokinetic path.

When your powers are discovered, you’re a chance for the Guardians to snatch up an in-house investigator - a part of the crime fighting process they’d previously been forced to rely on the police and other agencies for. And with people beginning to develop into Paths at previously unheard of rates for some unknown reason, Delphi City needs its Guardians to find the answer.

But now they have you. Formerly one of the best detectives in the city but now... after everything that’s happened, you don’t know what you are, but they have decided what they want you to be:

Their very own Oracle.

Features

An +18 rating, again, more for my own peace of mind than what I believe the content will actually be, but I ask that it’s respected.

Warnings: imprisonment, experimentation, police, injuries, genre-typical violence, more to be added.

Planned Features Include:

Customizable Skill Approach - What kind of detective were you known to be. Are you the sort of detective that is good with getting people to tell you what you need to know? Are you the sort that can chase down and catch and answer even if it has you sprinting across rooftops? Are you the sort that notices the details and can put them together? And is that still your style?

Customizable pronouns (with an option in the player menu to reset them as desired)

Decide why you joined the police in the first place. Also decide how you feel about your maverick big brother.

Four romance routes currently planned: Siren, Warren, Cal, and Victoria

Characters

The Detective – Gender Selectable - MC – A legacy cop, whose grandfather and father were both respected life-long officers, your family has a reputation in the DCPD - one that your older brother managed to thoroughly trash, or redeem, depending on who you ask while you were still on the beat. Your position is hard won but no one can deny your skills as an investigator, family name or no. But when your kidnapping results in the development of powers, making you a ‘Path’ you’re put into the Guardians, not as a costumed hero, but as an investigative specialist.

The Villain: “Siren” – Gender Selectable – RO - Without any evidence to prove that the mysterious Siren was a supervillain and not just a very clever criminal the detective and their partner were originally assigned to attempt to apprehend them – or, otherwise, gather enough evidence to make the Siren the Guardian’s problem and not the DCPD’s.  Now you’re a Guardian and in the six months since that stakeout  and it’s very much your job to catch them – but why are they being so damn helpful?

The Leader: Warren Hughes, “Commander Truth” – NB – RO – The Guardian’s telepathic leader, Warren is a strict person with high expectations for everyone around them, but perhaps the highest set for themself. You know Commander Truth best by their black-and-white-lightning bolt costume from the situations where the police have had to work with the Guardians. You definitely didn’t expect your brother’s best friend – and a vague shadow in your life since Adrian went to high school and first met Warren - to be the one under the mask.

The Rookie: Callum Lindsey, “Titan” – M – RO – The newest member of the Guardians, apart from you, Cal has only been in Delphi City for eight months. The blue-and-gold clad ferrokinetic path who can twist buildings out of shape with his abilities is not who you were expecting to be the team’s grinning cinnamon roll, but Cal is definitely the warmest welcome you get to the team.

The Protector: Victoria Aragorn, “Starlight” – F – RO – One of the longest serving Guardians, she joined the official superhero line-up at the same time that Commander Truth did. Though her abilities as a Path give her control over fire – and to a lesser degree light and warmth – she is most famous for her skilled usage of traditional martial weapons and unarmed combat forms. Before Victoria put in the red and black suit of Delphi City’s ‘Starlight’ she worked for the government doing the sort of things only a Path could. (A/N: Victoria’s code name might change later on, but right now I’m amused by the idea of Siren giving her hell over it via “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” so it’s what I’ve got for now.)

The Partner: Theresa ‘Tessa’ Graves – F – Tessa and you have been partners for two years now, and friends for longer than that. She was there on the stakeout the night when everything changed. Her injuries might have forced her to retire from police work but after everything you’ve been through together she’s definitely not retiring from being your best friend. No matter what your opinion on the matter actually is.

The Brother: Adrian – M – Your elder brother is the only family you have left these days, not that that feels all that new. He’s also the one responsible for ruining the family’s sterling reputation when his work uncovered a massive amount of corruption in the police related to bribes and deals made with the city’s supervillain community and he didn’t do the brass the courtesy of backing down quietly about it – instead handing the entirety of his evidence over to the Guardians to pursue and, what was safe to, over to reporters the same day that he handed in his resignation. He claims he’s much happier these days, working as a PI and writing what he reassures you is going to be ‘the worst novel of all time’.

The Doctor: Elis Mercy - M - The doctor in charge of looking after the Guardians, and because of your position and the circumstances around your kidnapping he’s also been your doctor since your rescue. In addition to being one of the only doctors in the city that specializes in caring for Empathic people, his own Path allows him to heal injuries. But just those of the trauma variety - broken bones, bruises, cuts and lacerations, not infections and not poisons. (A/N: The doc’s name is a stand-in, I’m not happy with it. So I’m going to keep fishing around for one that fits him.)

[cvsmcs]

statistics:

name: donna troy age: twenty-six faceclaim: hande erçel alias: troia powers/skills: divine empowerment, superhuman abilities, longevity, healing, flight, empathy. amazon level combat skills, invulnerability. alliance: the titans, justice league threat level (out of ten):  10 history file: xxx notable changes from 2012 to the timeline they were pulled from: ok we all know how whack dc is with continuity and donna has suffered so much with that so i’m pulling from whatever stuff people are comfortable with and more recent stuff, and hcs and all that. last memory before ending up in nyc, 2012: she was probably just going about her day working and hoping that she wouldn’t have to fight that day.

How are you feeling? Physically and mentally.

“ i’m feeling, confused? physically, i’m pretty sure i’m great, but mentally is just a bit hazy? not sure what’s happening or why i’m here. ”

Where are you living? The same place you lived in 2012, or displaced to a random apartment? Explain to the best of your ability.

“ well i got here and i had no place to go, so i ended up in a little hotel that i have been staying in for a while, hopefully i can find a more permanent place if i’ll be around here for longer. ”

What do YOU think we should do about the situation at hand? Try to go back home? The original mission of stopping Thanos? Rewrite the entire story?

“ i have no idea, we should... thanos is the bad guy, right? then yeah we need to stop him. if we go back home before we do what we are suppose to do here it isn’t much of good to anyone. wouldn’t say rewrite the entire story but there’s always that little something that tempts you to rewrite. ”

What will you DO about the situation at hand?

“ keep it on the low, try to navigate this place the best of my abilities, maybe just maybe consider undo something in my life. but mostly just will keep it to myself and do what i do best. ”

Is there anything that you think needs to be done?

“ i’d say a lot needs to be done, fix the problems at hand being the first things i can think off. ”

If need be, would you be willing to team up with the government and SHEILD to recoup and help the situation at hand?

“ perhaps, i wouldn’t say i’m jumping at the opportunity to team up with any government but if it has to be done, sure, and what is a shield ? ”

What are your worries?

“ i think my worries are to big to put it in to words, i mean this is a unique situation and i don’t know the consequences this might lead to so i’m wary of everything. ”

What do you think are the pros about this situation?

“ i think getting to save people before harm really comes to them is the best pro here. ”

Anything else?

“ i don’t know, i guess do you know any recommendations of a good place to rent ? ”

[addicted-to-dc]

I’m Supposed To Be Fighting You (Jason Todd/Red X X Reader)- Part 7

Welp, here it is as promised! Sorry for the lack of tags, but I think I’m just not gonna do that anymore. I still can’t find my list... whoops. Anyway, enjoy and please leave some feedback!!!

Warnings: Angst as usual, mentions of torture and death, violence, etc. 

Word Count: 1747

Robin had the team searching all over the city for you, searching for any indication of your whereabouts. Luckily Cyborg was able to put together a tracking device of sorts, built mainly to detect the energy disturbance you create while teleporting. Landing on a roof, Cyborg quickly walked over to where you had been. He sighed, shaking his head towards the team.

“This is two hours old, (Y/N) could be anywhere by know,” he said, pocketing the tracker. “If we want to find her, I need to increase the distance this tracker can cover.”

Robin scowled, walking over to the edge of the building. Where would you go? That’s one thing that he hated about having a new team member, the lack of information he knew about you. You kept your secrets well, and his reluctance to push any further has come to bite him in the ass. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down enough to think. As soon as he smelled it, he knew how they could find you.

“Cyborg, can you track Xenothium?” Robin asked, turning back towards the group. “It has a less subtle energy disturbance than (Y/N)’s.”

“Why do you want to track Red X?” Raven asked. “This is about (Y/N), not-”

“I’ve got a hit,” Cyborg interrupted, a shocked expression appearing on his face. “It’s here, but that means-”

“(Y/N) is with him,” Robin revealed, staring at the group. “How could I be so blind?”

“We could be jumping to conclusions,” Beast Boy said, looking around the group. “He could have kidnapped her, saw it as an opportunity to capture a member of the team.”

“Friend (Y/N) would never do such a thing,” Starfire stated, flying over to Robin. “Robin, what should we do?”

“We’ll find out where they are, and whether she is allied with him or not, we’re going to get answers.”

-------------------------------

At first it was odd to stay with Jason, but the more you experienced with him the more you understood why you preferred it here. Here you did not have to map out your actions, your words, hell, your own thoughts in order to belong. It felt freeing to be able to drop the filter, but there still was the fear of the loose ends you had. How Gizmo found your classified file was a mystery to you, but if a bratty HIVE agent is able to identify you, there was no doubt that your past will indeed come to kill you soon. You got sloppy, and now that will cost your life and the lives of others as well. Now you not only had the Titans most likely looking for you, you were going to have the government back on your trail as well.

“I need to disappear,” you blurted, making Jason freeze.

He placed his tools down, “Is this about the Titans or something else?”

“Everything, concerning every single person that I have ever interacted with,” you said, cursing your stupidity. “The group I was apart of so many years ago will be looking for me now that they know I’m alive, I’ll be gutted like a fish if I don’t disappear soon, or worse.”

You shivered at the thought of working for them again, but that was pushing your luck. No, they would take you back to the very room you were supposed to die and subject you to every torture method they knew. If that didn’t satiate their blood lust, then they would do whatever they wanted to you for good measure. They may be a branch of the government, but they abide no laws or morals, especially when it comes to a traitor in their ranks.

“Then we’ll disappear,” he said, “and leave this city behind. There’s nothing holding us back from leaving right now, but there is one thing that I want to know before we do this.”

“What?” you asked, unsure what he was going to ask.

“Are you ready to leave the hero life behind?” he questioned you, grasping your hands. “You’ve worked so hard to build this, are you ready to come to the dark side for your survival? Are you willing to kill again to prove to them that you are not just a child soldier that can be used and discarded like trash?”

“Where is this coming from, Jason?” you asked, his words seeming too personal.

He sighed, “You aren’t the only one with a bad past, (Y/N)... I was once the Bat’s sidekick, I was a Robin, and I got killed because of it.”

“What…?”

You had no words, watching as Jason struggled with his words.

“I was killed by the Joker, (Y/N), and I was brought back by-”

“Ra’s al-Ghul,” you finished for him, tightening your grip on his hands. “You’re not the only one.”

You thought back on the night you were killed, your body feeling so numb and cold as they fired the last bullet. The only warmth you had was the cooling blood underneath you, but not even that could provide any relief. Your body was screaming, telling you to teleport out of there and find help. You were too focused on your wounds to notice someone had started dragging you into a body bag, the world fading to black as you finally felt peace. It felt like an eternity when it disappeared from your grasp. You remembered nothing but screams, the color green, and burning when you came back, your flesh repairing itself at an inhuman rate. You did not know how long you were in that pool of glowing green, but you knew that there was someone else in there with you. Now you know that someone was Jason.

“You were there, too, weren’t you?” you asked him. “That night when we both came back?”

He nodded, “When I saw your face next to the Titans’, (Y/N), I couldn’t stop myself from finding you. I’m sorry that I kept this from you, but I had to be sure-”

You placed a finger on his lips, “I understand, Jason, and the answer is yes.”

“You mean it?” he whispered, his eyes staring into yours.

You nodded, “It’s time for me to stop running from who I am, and with you, I feel like nothing can touch us.”

“I have a gift for you,” he said, removing his hands from yours. “It’s been ready for you for awhile.”

You watched as he grabbed a box a few feet away from you, returning to give it to you. Opening it, you grabbed the black helmet and examined it, the white skull on it contrasting greatly against the black. Placing it next to you, you dug deeper into the box and pulled out a uniform. The black and grey Kevlar and armor was better than military grade, that’s for sure.

He turned around, “Go ahead, try it on.”

Placing the box down, you quickly changed into the uniform, looking in the box one more time to grab the gloves, boots and other gear to grab what you missed. You cleared your throat, indicating he could turn around. He turned around, smiling at the sight of you.

“I knew it would fit,” he said, fixing a few spots of the armor before grasping the helmet. “This helmet is equipped with everything we need, and it will hide your identity.”

“I’m guessing you made yourself some upgrades as well,” you guessed, gesturing to the box that was next to yours. “Matching uniforms?”

“Hell no,” he replied, beginning to tear off his Red X uniform right in front of you.

You quickly turned around, your face burning as he chuckled at your response. It was a few minutes before he tapped your shoulder, allowing you to finally see what he looked like. He was wearing a similar uniform to you, but his helmet was entirely red, a black ‘x’ etched into the helmet’s exterior. He was wearing a black leather jacket, also holding one in his hand.

“You can’t complete the outfit without some leather,” he chuckled, tossing it to you. “It has a bunch of goodies and extra body armor included.”

You slipped it on, “You really thought of everything, didn’t you?”

He paused for a moment, “Yup.”

You grabbed your helmet and slid it on, watching as the many applications opened around you. As you looked around, you confirmed that the helmet tracked your eye movements. You were too focused on exploring the helmet’s capabilities to notice Jason snaking his hands around your waist, securing your utility belt to your pants. The clicks of him securing the holsters to your thighs kicked you out of your thoughts, watching as he secured the last buckle. You would have blushed, but all you could feel was excitement as he stood back up. He picked up two of the four guns from the table, holding them out for you to take.

“Are they lethal?” you asked, taking one of them.

“They can be either,” he replied, watching as you analyzed the gun. “They use Xenothium as power, you only need to adjust its concentration to make it lethal.”

You took the other, placing them both in their respective holsters before securing them, “How long do the cores last?”

“Depending on how many encounters we have? Probably a year before they run out of juice,” he replied, placing his own guns in their holsters. “You ready to go?”

“Always,” you replied, placing your hand in his.

Just as he was about to teleport, the wall behind you exploded, making the two of you take cover behind his work bench. Jason pressed a button on his helmet, quickly pressing one on yours as well. As soon as the display on your screen changed, you knew it was thermal vision. Your reflexes took control, making you grab your guns and provide cover fire for Jason, running to a pillar before rolling behind it. Jason teleported onto the second floor, his location appearing on your screen as you surveyed the area. Soon enough Robin was swinging his bo staff at you, the metal clinging off of the guards on your forearms.

“Above you,” you heard Jason, kicking Robin away in time to catch the staff Jason had thrown at you.

Flipping away, you avoided a few blasts from Starfire and Cyborg as you finally teleported to Jason’s side, preparing for the battle you dreaded ever since you joined the team.

[jvlicns]

julian amante , twenty - three , cis male , THE TOWER .

amusing , candid , resourceful , petty , cataclysmic , arrogant.

first of all HELLO !! im z. 25 / she+her / pst. im thrilled to be here and honestly a little shocked ?? my app was a rushed MESS but im so happy the admins understood my nonsense !! 

this is going to be a lil long so pls bear w me. im going to break it down into sections and eventually make an entire bio , but this will do in the mean time !

connections are here , & my discord is zvvf#1885 ! 

* tw for mention of drugs & alcohol

. . .

TAROT ━

the tower represents chaos , destruction , & upheaval. this change is usually sudden & unexpected -- & not always good. the tower itself is a symbol of ambition , but in this card we see it built on faulty premises & false beliefs , all of which are no longer useful.

the ruin of the tower is inevitable -- necessary for growth & groundbreaking renewal. it’s time to break out of the old ways.

AESTHETICS ━

cracked asphalt , bloody knuckles , tangerine sunsets. the smell of freshly cut grass . still , slow mornings. a neat row of fire ants , climbing up your bedroom wall. broken stained glass , an overgrown field. tears of laughter , the only you’ll ever shed. 

money in a yellow envelope , guilt in your eyes , pressed flowers , a string quartet , corruption , loss of morals , student debt , a yellow light , darkness , hellfire.

THOUGHTS ━

" you’ve got your orders & that’s enough. you don’t know who’s telling you to throw your classmates off the scent , but you’re getting paid to do it. maybe your moral compass would stop you if you didn’t struggle so much in the financial department , but hey. you’re doing what you have to do to survive. if only you didn’t have to go against your better judgment for it. "

GENERAL ━

assigned to REYNOLDS house 

fourth year -- senior .

currently working at the corner store as a cashier .

scholarship student -- 2.3 average gpa .

athlete , st. cade’s lacrosse team .

BACKGROUND ━

grew up in a small town in arizona , in one of those unfinished suburbs that ran out of funding halfway through a government project to “ upgrade ” that was met with widespread disapproval. it’s all empty pools & dirt lawns , a patchwork neighborhood of old houses mixed in with the new. 

former golden boy who peaked in high school : star athlete , prom king , voted best smile. eternally toeing the line between CHAMPION  & DIRTBAG.

well - liked , but known for being something of a hell - raiser. out every night , hungover every morning. it was less obvious back then -- he could easily brush it off as simple youthful rebellion , rather than a real personality defect.

his first taste of alcohol was in seventh grade. a summer night , with the sun retiring for the day but leaving her kiss on the still - warm pavement. his world -- previously filled with sunday school , tense family dinners , & 24 hour marathons of professional passive aggression , was forever changed. finally , the boredom slipped away. & not just that ! this was actually FUN. 

but for someone with zero impulse control . . . a door opened , & he never managed to close it.

from a young age , his parents were always involved in the church. they attended every sunday , no excuses. 

this lapsed as the years passed & the amante family found it more & more unpleasant to be in the same room together , but his parent’s beliefs never wavered. religion was used as a weapon in their home -- to shame & guilt. they claimed love , preached tolerance. what they practiced , however , was the opposite. as he grew older , julian managed to weasel his way out of most of their theological outings. he gained some freedom , in addition to the ire of his family. their disappointment in him grew from a tiny acorn to a mighty oak.

his parents had their own issues , long before julian came along. a marriage between two irreconcilable people. the love they should have shared mutated into something twisted , something that they could give only to their son. it was enough for them to feed him , clothe him , & put a roof over his head. anything else was simply asking too much. 

despite coming from a low - income family , things have never been particularly DIFFICULT for him. sure , they struggled. he’s lost count of the times the power got shut off , or the water. but julian was the type of kid who could charm teachers into bumping his grade up to a 71% , despite the dozens of half - finished assignments & failed tests. he didn’t really have to try -- they just wanted to help him. ( pity , perhaps ? he turns a blind eye )

he coasted through school. one of those natural athletes that coaches & admin treat like celebrities , focusing all their attention on a teenager they have high hopes for. higher hopes than he had for himself , in fact. 

julian never had dreams , not a plan for his future. all that stubborn arrogance fooled them : he’s spent the better part of the past seven years stalling. cutting corners & taking shortcuts , desperately avoiding reality.

he never expected to even leave his hometown , let along attend a prestigious college on a full ride lacrosse scholarship. somehow , he played enough games & passed enough classes to qualify for an opportunity that would pluck him from his sad , tragic storyline & deposit him on a shiny path to success. a fresh start. 

he didn’t want to go. fought endlessly about it with his parents , his friends , himself. his place wasn’t at some hoity - toity school , surrounded by do - gooders & the conscientious. julian may have a knack for delusion , for spinning a story that suits him in whatever moment is passing. but he’s smart enough knows what his future holds : drinking himself to an early death in the very house he was born in. you can’t fight fate -- but you can surely postpone it.

in the end , it’s the boredom that convinces him. he’s said & done just about everything he can here , exhausted all the options he cares to consider. made plenty of enemies , as well as friends. built & burnt bridges. 

the expectation of his teachers , his parents , were choking him. it’s foolish to think that this might be the way out – he’ll never change. but why not have some fun , while he’s still here ?

st.cade’s was a treasure trove for julian , filled with endless opportunities to amuse himself. despite his placement in reynold’s house & the mandatory church shit ( a part of his scholarship’s stipulations ) , it hasn’t been bad. another social scene for him to invade , conquests to be had , fights to provoke. the first few years were amazing : an intoxicated blur of his own little slice of this world. 

he lives in the moment , greedily gathering every experience he can. nodding off in class , smoking behind the greenhouse , collecting all the free alcohol he manages to sniff out.

he’s learned this : a loud laugh & bravado can get you far. but now , his actions have finally caught up with him. the school is threatening to terminate his scholarship , to pack up his bags & send him on the first train home. & while he has no idea what to do , he knows he can’t go back. god , no. 

even without what’s keeping him – the enticing mystery of helena’s disappearance , his friends , his freedom. he just can’t stand to go in reverse ; it would mean facing the consequences of every mistake he’s ever made ( & there are quite a few ! ) 

he’s a shark – he has to keep moving. 

that first letter came soon after the school - wide assembly. small , neat type. direct. there was no mincing words , the sender made it perfectly clear : this is his only option. if he wants to maintain this lifestyle , this is the way. so he burns the letters , following their instructions. almost relieved to be given direction. it’s a respite in the current disarray – something he used to enjoy , but now just feels exhausting. he’s the band , humming away as the titanic sinks. not my business , he thinks. but he’ll drown all the same.

PERSONALITY ━

he’s an asshole but a F U N asshole -- that makes it palatable , right ?? 

not a dumbass , but the lack of impulse control + arrogance could have fooled me ! his intelligence is only hinted at , invisible unless you’re looking : reciting keats from memory , listing off all 79 of jupiter’s moons. remnants of past & fleeting obsessions.

 has to actively undermine his own common sense -- for the laughs , of course !

selfish ; his needs & wants come before anyone else’s. a childish habit , yes , but one he’s been unable to break. ( not that he’s tried )

vacillates between aloof & dramatic. you can count on him to stir some shit up -- he adores chaos & just can’t keep his mouth shut. petty , to a fault.

he’s hot - shit & he knows it ; well aware of his pretty face & statuesque build. julian’s never been afraid of using it to his advantage , or even just reminding anyone around him of just how cute he is. ( listen up 5′s , a 10 is speaking ! )

 has a strong aversion to authority. “ don’t tell me what to do ! ” . . . * quietly takes your advice when you’re not looking * . . .

the good parts of him are buried deep. his loyalty , his gentleness. a warm heart that can easily empathize , but chooses not to. julians pursuit of superficial gratification blinds him , warping his reflection like a funhouse mirror.

aggressive & unrelenting. this could be channeled into something of a work ethic , if he cared enough. instead , he uses it to get what he wants. whatever that might be.

curious as a cat with nine lives , he won’t hesitate to ask the question everyone’s thinking. that bluntness is almost appealing , as long as it’s not directed at you. this makes him somewhat of a good listener , even if he’s only paying attention to satisfy his own nosiness. 

he’ll literally fight for the ones he loves. there aren’t many of them , but the sentiment stands. years of sports have taught him the value of teamwork , & he has yet to shake it. once you endear yourself to him , there’s no going back.

despite everything , julian manages to be a charismatic little firebrand. he’ll guarantee a good time , he just won’t help clean up the mess.

FUN FACTS ━

can fit his entire fist in his mouth

has The Loudest Sneeze Of All Time

once bit into an apple n saw a WORM inside so now he hates apples w a passion

right handed , but taught himself to be ambidextrous during the summer between fifth & sixth grade

promptly forgot he was ambidextrous & never uses his left hand

has surprisingly neat handwriting

can fall asleep ANYWHERE

likes country music ( will never admit it , tho )

his mother used to read him poetry , so he’s lowkey Very Into It

can’t carry a tune for shit , & his impressions are a w f u l. his british accent is just a cheap dick van dyke imitation , & his australian accent is what the british one SHOULD be

[jinjeriffic]

Finally got around to watching Titans Season 2 so here’s a dump of my thoughts/nitpicks.

SPOILER WARNING FOR TITANS SEASON 2

First off, THANK FUCK they got rid of the Hooker Starfire outfit. Jfc she looks like the princess we deserve now <3

Eh, I’m generally not a fan of the practice of ending a season on a cliffhanger then defeating the big bad in the first ep of the next season. ESPECIALLY if you don’t even know if you’re gonna GET another season.

Trigon’s defeat felt kinda anticlimactic? I mean Raven is the only one who got to actually have a go at him. This is an ensemble cast, dammit!

What is with the bystanders in this series? So a girl crashes through the boardroom window and they just... sit there? No screaming, diving for cover, calling security or checking if she’s still alive? Just sitting at the desk with a mildly startled look on their faces? Whatever.

One thing that really bugs me is that the heroes almost never put on their actual costumes. Yeah, it’s hard to emote in a mask, but other superhero shows manage it! Hell, even if we go with No Secret Identities (the show seems super inconsistent on this??) you’d think that when the heroes go out to face down ARMED AND DANGEROUS SUPERVILLAINS they would at least put on some bodyarmor ffs. The Titans set out to chase down Doctor Light in jeans and T-shirts and Hawk gets a fried leg for his trouble. How are they this stupid?

The Donna/Garth relationship is just... eeeehmmmmm. I mean we see that Garth is flirting with her and Donna is just suuuuper uncomfortable in his presence. Hell, she asks to be transferred back to Themyscira just to get away from him. At first I thought “Okay, it’s the classic dilemma of a woman being stuck with a coworker who keeps hitting on her, but she can’t tell him to FUCK OFF because she doesn’t want to be seen as the overdramatic, difficult to work with hysterical woman. Gotcha.” I thought they were gonna make a good point about “nice guys”. But nope. She sleeps with him, then fucks off into the sunset. Then they confess their feelings for each other but they can’t be together because Destiny Says So. Then he dies. Fucking what? This is just encouraging guys to keep hitting on women when they are visibly uncomfortable because it’s tru lurve, yo~! Bite me.

Garfield is a precious baby and Kori is a badass queen. I swear they are the only characters with a modicum of sense and compassion on this show.

So Rose gets thrown across the room and everyone immediately goes “oops she dead”, sending Raven into a panic. Dawn is the only one to think to actually check for a pulse. You’re superheroes, you should be better at triage and crisis management!

I’ll admit, Dick’s hallucination of Bruce is a fucking RIOT. Best jokes on the show go to Batman, who’d have thunk? But is it just me, or is Bruce’s accent all over the place?

Why does everyone blame Jason for trying to screw with their heads? Okay, the crucifixes could have been a tasteless prank by him, but the orange soda?? There is no reasonable way for JASON to know about a Titans in-joke from five years ago. The only people who knew about that were the OG Titans! And no one thought of this??

Conner is definitely the stand-out episode of the season. I fucking love Doctor Eve <3

I gotta wonder though - why on earth would they send out a team of goons to capture a Kryptonian hybrid that they KNOW is bullet proof and give them neither proper instructions on how to handle the situation OR kryptonite weapons just in case it goes pear-shaped? It feels like Saturday morning cartoon villainy.

Am I meant to believe that Bruce Control Freak Wayne wouldn’t immediately know when his adopted kid gets kidnapped? The other arrested? Or when the superhero HQ he built gets invaded by hostiles? I get that they didn’t want this to be the Batman and Titans show, but come ON.

Also, what is the timeline here? Does Dick get arrested, tried, and sent to prison within just a few days? You’d think this would take longer ESPECIALLY since Dick Grayson is the adopted son of a billionaire and you’d expect a MAJOR media circus to surround the whole affair.

Speaking of cartoon villainy - so Cadmus brainwashes Garfield and sets him loose in public, then they sic Conner on him in an attempt to sell the idea of supersoldiers to various governments. That is some Grade A stupid. This is a world where heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman etc. are running around. If you cause a major ruckus with rampaging metahumans IN PUBLIC, it’s a surefire way to lure in every cape within a 500 mile radius to foil your evil scheme! They could have just staged a demonstration within a secure compound and they could have gotten away with it! Also it seems like Conner is the first successful clone, so shouldn’t they hold off on selling their only working prototype until they have all the kinks worked out and the production line is reliable? Lex Luthor is supposed to be the smartest guy on the planet, why would he sign off on this??

Donna gets electrocuted and all Dick can think of is to cradle her body like a pieta. Someone should have started CPR immediately! Get Rachel to run over there and try to heal her! Even if they were gonna kill her off in the end, have the heroes do SOMETHING to try and help! Did noone receive basic first aid training in this universe??

What the hell are they going to do about the legal side of things? Conner is wanted for beating up cops. So is Kori. Ditto for Rose plus grand theft auto. Garfield (under mindcontrol) mauled a bunch of people. Dick was sentenced to prison for 7 years, aided in the escape of other felons, then escaped himself. That shit isn’t just gonna go away! Plus they are in the public eye as superheroes, someone is bound to recognize them.

I think one of the main pacing problems is that there are just SO MANY characters in the ensemble cast that there just isn’t enough runtime to properly flesh them out. It would be better if they didn’t try adding so many major characters to the series at once and instead space them out a bit. I mean in this series we find out the OG Titans were Robin I, Wondergirl, Hawk, Dove and Aqualad with Jericho as a late addition. Then the new Titans lineup added Robin II, Raven, Starfire, Garfield, Rose, Conner and Krypto, That is a LOT of people to juggle and it feels too thinly spread tbh.

For all my nitpicks I actually really like the series, but I feel like it could do BETTER. Hence the enthusiastic nitpicking :P

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #79: When Titans Fall: How Arthur Watts will cause the downfall of General Ironwood and Atlas Academy.

darleenas-art asked “ What are your predictions on how big of a role Watts will do this Volume? “

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Squiggles Answers:

Disclaimer: I was actually writing this musing this morning with plans to post it BEFORE the new episode dropped. But unfortunately. I didn’t finish it in time so some of the points I made mention of in this post were written premature to watching V7 CH2 and I’m not in the mood to go back and edit over some of the details. Nevertheless some of my theories presented in this post still apply even with what was learnt this episode. 

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@darleenas-art​  Top of the morning to ya, Dar-Dar. That’s a pretty good question so I hope you don’t mind if I turn my response into another small RWBY Musing post. As far as I can comprehend, given what I’ve picked up thus far from the first episode of the new season, my key theory is that Watts’ involvement for the events of V7 is going cause just as much trouble for Ironwood as he did back during the events of the Vytal Festival and the Fall of Beacon. 

As a matter of fact, I believe that this time it’s going to be much worse. Last time Watts ruined the repute of Atlas in the presence of the other kingdoms and the rest of Remnant. Now I think the next stage of events is ruining Ironwood’s reputation in the eyes of Atlas.  

My theory is that Watts’ schemes is going to spark a catastrophic chain reaction that will end Ironwood’s career entirely this season as well as his credibility within his own home kingdom. I believe that by the end of V7, Ironwood will be forced to step down leading to someone else with more malicious intentions replacing him on the governing Council for Atlas and it will all be due to Watts. Here’s what this squiggle meister is thinking:  

Pre-V7 CH2 Theories 

According to some clues presented in the first chapter of V7, there currently seems to be some sort of Election for Councilman going on in Atlas. 

While I’m unsure of the full details of the Election, it seems that right now there are two primary candidates in the running for a chain on the Council---newcomer Robyn Hill, representative of Mantle and Jacques Schnee of the SDC.

Despite the fact that this all sounds like a simple election to elect someone a new chair on the Atlesian Council, I feel like there is going to be more to it than that. I can’t help but shaking their feeling that this election is going to result in an impeachment of General Ironwood with the new elective taking his place on the Council. Right now in the series, Ironwood is the man with the most power and authority within Atlas Kingdom.

Unlike everyone else on the Council, James holds two seats which I’m assuming is due in part to his double role as Head of Atlesian Military in addition to headmaster of its local huntsmen academy in charge of moulding Atlas’ next generation of protectors. Not to mention that it was also stated by Pietro Polendina in the first episode that the Atlesian Council are currently so scared by everything that’s happened to their kingdom since the Fall of Beacon that they’re willing to put their full trust in Ironwood’s leadership.

“…How does the Council feel about all this, or Winter Schnee? Do you know anything about her?” “Well the Council’s so scared, they’ll agree to whatever he wants…”

It was also briefly mentioned by the Soul Doctor that some of the representatives from Mantle haven’t been too keen with the way Ironwood has been leading things. So right now, things aren’t looking too peachy for the General in terms of his presence to the People of the Surface World. I’m not sure how things are looking up in Atlas for James but it’s been clear from the get-go that Mantle isn’t happy with him.

Hence the election. It looks like Robyn and Jacques are running against Ironwood in hopes of one of them eventually joining the Council to introduce change. However, while Robyn is looking out for her people down in Mantle, the only reason Jacques probably wants in on becoming Councilman is for the sake of lifting Ironwood’s dust embargo. In typical, Jacques Schnee fashion, he is only in it for his own selfish greed.

And it is for this reason why I believe Watts is going to use that to his advantage. 

I think Watts is going to do everything in his power to ensure that Jacques Schnee ends up winning the elections and gaining a chair on the ruling Council of Atlas.

Watts is going to end up tipping the elections in Jacques’ favour by discrediting the name of the remaining candidates against him---meaning Robyn Hill. This is where Tyrian’s role comes into play. In the V7 Opening, Tyrian was shown fighting against Robyn who is backed up by Qrow Branwen. I think it’s going to be revealed at some point in the story that Robyn Hill is some kind of local Robin Hood of Mantle---she steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Similar to her fairy-tale counterpart, Robyn has probably been leading a secret group of Merry Men in targeting the Schnee Dust Company.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Robyn is fully aware of the SDC and all of their nefarious deeds under Jacques’ leadership; especially in respect to the abuse of Faunus employed under them.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if part of Robyn’s story involved her utilizing whatever resources and power she had in Mantle to put a stop to the SDC. This is probably why Robyn decided to run for Councilman in the first place. After learning that Jacques was planning to plant himself on the Council, there was no way Robyn was going to allow that snake a chance to run Atlas into the mud like he’s done his own company.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Robyn joined the elections not just to challenge Jacques Schnee but to ultimately become a voice for her people. There is no doubt that Robyn is the Voice of Mantle and she would do everything she can to help her people especially during the current tough times since the embargo.

But while Robyn’s intentions may be noble, I have a feeling that in the end,

Robyn is going to outed and labelled as a ‘criminal’ in the public eye which will ruin her chances in the elections.

After all, even if she might still win her seat in Mantle (as her people might still wish to back her up), I doubt anyone up in the prestigious Cloud City of Atlas will wish to have a ‘vicious thief’ sitting as part of their ruling Council, right?

So yeah, Robyn is going to lose the election to Jacques Schnee and you can bet your bottom dollar that Watts will have a hand in that victory, with Tyrian’s aid. As a matter of fact, not only do I think that Watts is going to ensure that Jacques is appointed to the Atlesian Council but he’ll probably tip the scale so far in Jacques’ favour that he’ll even usurp Ironwood

I have a feeling that V7 will end with Jacques Schnee taking Ironwood’s place on the Council while Ironwood himself will be given the big metal boot.

I believe Watts’ ultimate goal is to cause Ironwood’s downfall---humiliate him so badly in the public eye that at the end of it all, it will be the Atlesians---the very people that James swore he would protect--- demanding that Ironwood step down as leader. Watts is going to turn Atlas against Ironwood.

Right now, the Council and the People of Atlas all have fate in Ironwood. Ironwood is no different than the Greek God his kingdom is named after. This is basically James right now---carrying the full weight of responsibility for his kingdom and its citizens resting solely on his broad mighty shoulders that are slowly starting to quake from his own Baobab. 

In the eyes of Atlas or at least the people who believing in James, he can do no wrong. You heard Cordovin last season? When Ruby and Weiss so much as implied the slightest probability of Ironwood showing weakness in the form of his fear and paranoia, they were immediately shut down:

“…The General is no coward! Atlas is STRONG!”

To Cordovin, Atlas’ strength is reflective of Ironwood. So long as the General remains resilient, his people will continue to look to him to be the personification of that strength and security. So long as Ironwood remains strong, Atlas remains strong and his people will have his trust.

…This is why it’s going to reflect so poorly when Watts eventually hatches his ultimate scheme that will rally the People of Atlas against Ironwood. Turn their faith in him into distrust. Divide them. Sounds familiar to you?

This makes me realize who Watts’ fairy-tale counterpart is supposed to be. In the beginning I pegged Watts to be the RWBY equivalent of Dr. Frankenstein. But the more I thought about it, I eventually came to realization that Watts might be a mix of two classic villains from the Pinocchio series: The Coachman and J. Worthington Foulfellow or ‘Honest John’. 

 He possesses the charisma of Honest John, my theory is that Watts is going to make a ‘complete jackass’ out of Ironwood and he’ll probably use the Ace Ops as his guinea pigs for that cause since he was seen eyeballing them during the V7 Opening. 

Apart from the General and its military, the huntsmen are another symbol of strength and integrity within Atlas. 

I feel like in the end, not only will Watts’ scheme  destroy the reputation of Ironwood but also the huntsman. According to the Atlas Academy promotional artwork that was shared yesterday, it was stated that graduates from Atlas Academy eventually go on to joined the kingdoms’ esteemed military forces given them an opportunity to move into the Special Operatives Division. According to the ad, the Special Operatives are promoted as the most elite group of huntsmen and huntresses in all of Remnant.

I’m assuming this is where the Ace Ops also fall in. They are the crème de la crème of the huntsmen hailing from Atlas. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the Ace Ops are the Team STQR equivalent of General Ironwood’s forces. The Ace Ops probably know of the Relics and the Maidens. But perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. [Squiggly Note: As I said, I made this point prior to watching the episode and as it actually turns out, I was correct in both the Ace Ops being Ironwood’s personal team as well as already knowing about the Relic and Maidens] 

All in all, this is what I think is going to happen with Watts for V7:

Watts’ interference, accompanied by Tyrian’s meddling, is going to result in Robyn Hill being labelled as a criminal to the public of Atlas, resulting in her losing her chance at Councilman to Jacques Schnee.

Jacques Schnee will join the Council of Atlas but he still won’t have enough political prowess to overstep Ironwood since James’ still has the fate of the Council.

This is where the second part of Watts’ scheme will come into play. Similar to the events of the Vytal Festival, Watts will release an upgraded version of the Black Queen virus which will take over all of Atlas and Mantle. Long story short, basically the idea I have is that Watts will orchestrate another attack on the kingdom which will result in defacing the reputation of both General Ironwood and the huntsmen using the Ace Ops. Like I have a feeling that the Ace Ops will end up being framed for an attack on the Kingdom. It wouldn’t  surprise me if the Ace Ops are specialized branch of the Atlesian Special Ops who serve Ironwood personally. And if the Ace Ops are framed as traitors to their kingdom then so will Ironwood.

Ironwood will be labelled as a traitor to his own kingdom and thus, Ironwood will be revoked of all of his titles and be sent to prison along with the members of the Ace Ops. Can you imagine how very tongue-in-cheek it will be if we started V7 with our heroes being detained by the Ace Ops only for the season to end with the very same Ace Ops going to prison with Ironwood joining them? Think about that and let it sink in, if you will.

Not only will Ironwood lose his seat on the Council but he will also lose his title as General of the Atlesian Military.

I also have this theory where Ironwood will be forced to step down even as Headmaster of Atlas Academy with the academy programme itself being shut down on decree of Jacques Schnee. I believe that should Jacques Schnee become Councilman, at some point, he will vouch for the removal of huntsmen programme so Atlas Academy could potentially be shut down by the end of V7 as well.

I know this part of the hunch sounds especially farfetched but hear me out on why I believe that’s a probability especially with Jacques running for Councilman.

Do you remember what Whitley said to Weiss back in V4?

“…What can a single huntsman do that an army cannot. That’s why we have one…even if it is run by a fool…”

At first I saw this quote as a throwaway line from Whit, but now I believe this line might have relevance this season. Since Whitley is being portrayed as a mini-version of his father, you can assume that his own views on the huntsman and the military are the same as Jacques. Therefore, Jacques probably sees the huntsmen as obsolete. Useless when compared to the fighting force of the Atlesian Military and possible even a waste of money since I’m assuming part of Atlas’ economy is going into funding the Academy.

And given the fact that Ironwood closed off Atlas’ borders, this means the kingdom hasn’t been making any profits from trading. I’m no accountant or economist or anything but I’d imagine that Atlas owes a big chunk of its financial success to the dust trade, right?  Not like I’m trying to imply that the kingdom is bankrupt or anything. However with the state of how Atlas and Mantle are (especially Mantle), you have to ask the question: With the dust embargo set into play, how is Atlas making money and more importantly where is the money that the kingdom currently has being invested into?

I guess where I’m going with this point is that I can easily picture Jacques Schnee, in parliament, presenting a good argument against the investment of the huntsmen academy and he’d probably make sense from a business standpoint. After all, Jacques is a businessman. He knows all about dem profits and making the best decisions that will reap the greater financial success (in spite of it the means and long term consequences of such schemes). So I can easily see Jacques trying to make the debate that Atlas having both a military and the huntsmen a huge redundancy in cost.

Why bother to waste the kingdom’s resources on funding both when you can best invest in the superior of the two---and if what Whitley implied in V4 is indeed true, you can bet your ass that Jacques might push for eliminating Atlas Academy as a whole while promoting the military.

And another rationale as to why I believe Jacques may push for the military is because of Winter. After all, right now, one of Jacques’ own in in the military. Not only that but Winter is also the proclaimed best operative under Ironwood and his right hand.

So imagine this for a second. Watts ruins Ironwood’s credibility by the end of V7. The People of Atlas turn their backs on Ironwood. The rest of the Atlas Council turn their backs on Ironwood and vote for his immediate dismissal with Jacques Schnee replacing him and gaining the influence James once had within the Council. Under Jacques’ proposal, Atlas Academy is shut down and replaced entirely by the Military.

And with Ironwood also losing his role as head of the Military, who do you think is going to the next best candidate to the take his place? Who do you think Jacques Schnee will put in a good work for take Ironwood’s place?

I think you know we that person will be. If my memory serves correctly, James and Jacques were also found arguing about Winter back in V4 with Jacques commenting that ‘James stole Winter from him’.

So…imagine how Winter will feel when she becomes Head of the Military, not by her own hard work and integrity. Not with Ironwood’s blessing but because daddy dearest put in a good word for her with his newfound friends in the Council since Ironwood was made into a bobolee.

Imagine Jacques turning this into more propaganda for the SDC with Whitley officially taking over from him as President of the SDC, Jacques becoming Councilman and Winter as the new Head of the Military. That will be three Schnees in positions of power. I know Winter isn’t nefarious like her father nor was she groomed to be like her little brother. However, this is how I think things are going to go down by the end of V7.

Mind you, this hunch isn’t to imply that Jacques is secretly in cahoots with Watts. On the contrary, much like Yang and Pyrhha during the events of the Vytal Festival, Jacques will be nothing but a pawn to Salem and her forces and what would be expected is that he’ll too much a selfish fool to even realize that he’s been used by the villains.  

  And it’ll be all be courtesy of Arthur Watts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So in conclusion:

These are my theories and predictions on Watts’ for V7. Then again....I did make these theories prior to watching V7 CH2 and I’ll also admit that some of these hunches might’ve changed a bit after watching the second episode. 

I still believe that Watts’ plan is to cause Ironwood’s downfall, only this time it will be on a much global scale. I think it’ll be best if I save that for its own musing since, as always, I’m still grasping stuff from the second episode. 

For now, I hope you still like this musing Dar-Dar and for the most part, I hope it answered your question well enough. Take care, fam.

More Squiggle’s RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[itsshortfurball20]

Percy Jackson, The Avenger

Summary: Percy has an encounter with Nick Fury. A year later, he’s being called on to help protect the world… again. He’s not alone in this Avengers Initiative. A genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist; a super soldier; a green scientist; a Norse god; and two secret agents. What could go wrong? 

1 2 

This chapter has 2, 389 words

3 – American Idols and Pirates

“So not only did you think it was a good idea to idea to promise to fight for a secret organization, even though they had just threatened to keep you locked up if you didn’t agree to their terms, but you hid it from me? For a year?”

“Well when you put it like that…”

Percy had told the entire story to his mom and Annabeth, with his mom interrupting and asking questions. After finishing, Sally gave him a hug and told him that she understood that saving the world came first before leaving to intercept Paul who had walked back in, leading him into the kitchen. That left a very nervous Percy and an angered Annabeth in the living room.

It was only after Percy’s mom had left did Annabeth start chewing him out. He hated being yelled at by his girlfriend, but her anger was justified. Percy tried to hold his ground under Annabeth’s piercing glare, but eventually, he folded.

“’When I put it like that’,” she repeated, not fully believing her boyfriend. “How were you putting it then? Were you putting it as the thing you didn’t want to tell Annabeth about because it’s not like she wouldn’t help.”

“It wasn’t like that—” Percy tried to tell her, but Annabeth was nowhere near done.

“Percy, something like this isn’t something you should keep to yourself.”

“I know that, but—”

“But what?” Annabeth had her arms crossed. “What reason did you have that you couldn’t tell me about this.”

The son of Poseidon looked down at the ground, scuffing his shoe against the floor. “You were happy.”

Annabeth paused, mouth mid-open. She closed it, before asking, “What?”

Percy looked up at her. “You were happy. Simple as that. Back at college, in New Rome, you’re happy. You love it there, and it’s because you don’t worry about fighting anymore. And after everything we’ve been through—the Titan war, Gaea, Tartarus—you deserve a little peace and happiness.” Percy grabbed her hands, gently holding them. “And before you even ask, you’re not coming.”

Annabeth let out a noise of protest. “Percy, you can’t decide that for me.”

“Wise girl, please.” Percy pulled out his baby seal eyes. “This isn’t a request. I don’t know what I’m up against here, but I would feel better knowing that you’re here with my mom and Paul. Help watch over Estelle.”

“Percy, you can’t expect me to sit here while you're out there doing gods knows what.” She pulled her hands from Percy’s and crossed her arms. “I’m coming.”

“No,” Percy said with a tone of finality. He could see Annabeth wasn’t going to let this go any time soon and would eventually worm her way into coming if this continued on. “Another reason I didn’t tell you about SHIELD was because I knew you’d want to get involved in some way. I don’t know a lot about these people, but I know they’re just not the type to let anyone walk away. Just look at me, I owe them a favor and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that this isn’t going to end here.”

The dark-haired demigod watched the gears turn in his girlfriend’s brain, analyzing the situation before them. She huffed, pushing her curly blonde hair behind her ear. “You know, sometimes I’m surprised you managed to graduate from kindergarten.”

“I have an associate degree in marine biology if you want to see.”

Annabeth didn’t smile, just wrapped Percy in a big hug. “I don’t like this,” she whispered.

“I didn’t expect you too.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually going.”

Percy’s arms tightened, drawing her in closer. “I don’t have a choice.”

“This has to be one of your worst ideas. And there’s a lot to pick from,” she teased.

The son of Poseidon smiled, starting with a small grin before chuckling. “Yeah, I guess I deserve that.” He watched as Annabeth’s eyes drifted towards the packet on the table.

“I wonder what can make a government agency so scared that they feel the need to contact you.” Annabeth mused. She looked back up at Percy, like he might know the answer.

“Whatever it is, it’s nothing good.”

\~*~/

The next morning, Percy felt the dread in his stomach build. He had packed the night before, thinking he’d need to leave right away, but to his surprise found, after flicking through the packet, that the meeting time was 10 the next morning.

Percy had a duffel bag packed with all the essentials; clothes, armor, toiletries, and duct tape. He didn’t have to check to know that Riptide was in his pocket. His hand slipped into his pocket and started to fiddle with the pen, the familiar gesture calming him down some. He glanced over at Annabeth while his mom went over the list one last time.

“You have extra clothes?”

“Yes.”

“Drachmas to IM us?”

“In my wallet.”

“Deodorant?”

“Mom,” Percy stopped her from continuing. “I’m good. It’ll only be a couple days. Hopefully.” Sally didn’t look impressed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, promise.” Percy gave his mom a hug, who embraced it.

“Please be careful,” she asked him. Sally let go of him, getting one good last look at his face before letting Paul say goodbye.

“Hey, Paul, take care,” Percy told him, giving him a hug. Paul gave him a pat on the back, before letting go.

“I should be saying that to you. Come back,” Paul said before leaving him and Annabeth to say their goodbyes.

The air was tense, the two still reeling from their little argument. “I want regular updates,” Annabeth ordered. “And don’t do anything stupid. I prefer my boyfriend to be alive.”

Percy nodded. “Got it,” He paused for a second, wondering if he could kiss her goodbye. Taking a step, he gave her a quick kiss, pulling away before Annabeth could fully realize what was happening. “Love you,” he told her. “And I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Annabeth said. “Come back soon.”

Percy looked at his family, minus Estelle who was still sleeping this early in the morning. With a final wave, he picked up his duffel bag and head for the door.

As soon as the door closed behind him, his shoulders slumped. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. There had been too much tossing and turning and worries plaguing his mind to get any sleep. A couple of seconds passed before Percy took a deep breath and pushed himself off the wall. He headed towards the elevator, where he would take a taxi over to Montauk.

Then he would swim to the strange coordinates that led to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

\~*~/

Percy’s waterproof watch showed that the time was 10:06 by the time he arrived at the coordinates. His head poked above the water, having already seen the hulking ship from under the water. It was just as impressive above.

Huge propellers, four of them, sat in the water unmoving. Percy thought it was a little strange how, above water, there was almost nothing until he noticed a plane land. He realized that it was a runway as he saw other planes up there.

The demigod also noticed people running around. Figuring that this was his destination, he propelled himself forward with the water currents. The water carried him clear to the ship. At the edge, Percy willed the water to lift him up and plop him on the deck.

Not many people took notice of the twenty-year-old as he looked around. The only person who looked at him was a red-headed woman, who didn’t seem all that surprised to see the man appear from the water. Or if she did, she hid it well.

The woman strolled over to where Percy was watching the crew run around, preparing the ship for takeoff. Standing behind him, she spooked the demigod when she spoke. “You’re late.”

Percy spun around, one hand going for his pocket before realizing that there was no threat. The woman raised her eyebrow. Percy felt as he was on display as the woman briefly scanned him. Remembering what the woman had said, the demigod gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t want to come.”

The woman said nothing, instead turning around and walking away. “Follow me,” she called behind. Percy picked up his duffel bag and headed after her. “I’m going to introduce you to the rest of the team.”

They walked toward a plane that had just landed. The ramp was lowering. Two men walked out, the first one Percy recognized as the same agent who had shown up at his house, Agent Coulson. The second man looked familiar, but Percy couldn’t place it. He looked like he the perfect American Idol—neat blond hair, button-down shirt, and a leather jacket.

“Ah, Percy,” Agent Coulson greeted. “This is Agent Romanoff,” he gestured to the red-headed woman. “And this is Captain Steve Rogers.”

“Hi,” Percy gave a small wave to the newly introduced people. The Captain gave a wave back, looking from him to Coulson confusedly. Agent Romanoff ignored Percy’s wave.

“They need you on the bridge. They’re starting the face-trace.” She told Coulson.

“See you there.”

Coulson walked off, leaving the three by themselves. Agent Romanoff wandered off, leaving Captain Rogers and Percy to follow behind (again).

“It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice.” The agent spoke to Steve. “I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”

“Trading cards?” Captain Rogers asked.

“Captain America?” Percy asked at the same time.

The two looked at one another. Captain Rogers held up his hand. “Please, just Steve.” He turned back to Agent Romanoff. “And what trading cards?”

“They’re vintage, he’s very proud.”

Percy saw a man spinning around in circles, trying not to bump into the workers crowding the area. Steve noticed him too, calling out, “Dr. Banner.” The man turned, noticing them. Looking grateful, he walked over to their small-but-growing group. Steve and Dr. Banner shook hands.

“Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you’d be coming.” Dr. Banner glanced Steve over. His eyes then shifted over to Percy. “And you must be the demigod.”

“Uh, yeah,” Percy said. “Name’s Percy.” He held out his hand for the older man to shake. The demigod was slowly realizing that he should’ve read the packet a little more before coming because he knew little about the people who surrounded him were, but they clearly knew about him.

“Word is you can find the cube,” Steve said, helping break the awkward silence that had been beginning to fall.

Banner looked nervous. “Is that the only word on me?”

“Only word I care about.”

“Hang on, what cube?”

Three sets of eyes turned to him. “Did you read the packet?” Steve asked him.

“I skimmed it,” Percy admitted. “Reading isn’t my strong suit.”

“We can talk about it later.” Agent Romanoff stepped forward. “Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It’s gonna get a little hard to breathe.”

The ship started to creak and beep as various parts started moving, preparing the ship to get ready. Steve looked around, something akin to amazement on his face. “Is this a submarine?”

“Really?” Banner asked. “They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?”

Percy, Steve, and Banner stepped closer to the edge to see the four propellers started to spin, sending the water flying. The three of them seemed to realize at the same time that this wasn’t a submarine, but a plane.

Banner smiled, although it was pained. “Oh, no. This is much worse.”

“Much worse indeed,” Percy agreed, thinking of his uncle who wouldn’t hesitate to blast them out of the sky.

The plane rose higher into the sky. People started heading indoors, leaving the top deck clear. The four of them followed suit, following Agent Romanoff as she lead them through a series of hallways that eventually led to a door that opened as soon as they got close.

Percy fought to keep his mouth from dropping to the floor in shock. They stood in a large room, filled with agents manning computers as they lifted the plane higher into the sky. Percy watched out the windows as the sea grew farther and farther and the clouds closer. His stomach twisted slightly, and he turned away.

“Let’s vanish.”

Percy turned towards the familiar voice. He found Fury standing above the rest of the agents, two consoles on either side of him, displaying a bunch of information that Percy wouldn’t understand half of. The man turned around and walked towards them. “Gentlemen,” he addressed.

“Pirate-man,” Percy said back. Fury glanced at him before being handed ten dollars by Steve. He pocketed the money then held out his hand for Dr. Banner to shake. Percy could see Banner hesitate before accepting the other man’s hand.

“Doctor, thank you for coming.”

“Thanks for asking so nicely.” Banner replied. “So, uh… how long am I staying?”

“Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you’re in the wind.”

“Where are you with that?” The two wandered off, leaving Percy by himself.

\~*~/

Several hours had passed since they had taken off. An agent had shown him to his room, where he dropped off his duffel and made a quick IM to Annabeth, updating her on the situation. After a while, Percy ventured back to what seemed to be the main area. He had read a little more of the packet and could understand more of what was going on.

Steve and Coulson stood to the side, talking back and forth. Percy let them be. He sat at the table, just spinning the chair around in circles. Around them, people were trying to run a face-match on the evil-guy, Loki.

One of the computers started beeping, signaling a match. Everyone ran towards the computer. Percy caught a look over everyone’s shoulders. A picture of a tall man with slicked-back black hair was shown.

“We got a hit.” The agent called out. “Sixty-seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy-nine percent.”

“Location?” Coulson asked.

“Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding.”

Fury nodded, before turning to Steve and Percy. “Captain, Mr. Jackson, you're up.”

4

[plasticparker]

even in the dark I see your lights somehow

WHAT UP BITCHES this is some really pointless angst. will my plot (term used very loosely for this drabble) be deemed incorrect when a4 comes out? ya forsure. do i care? no. 

AU in which the reader survives Thanos ~snap~ and Peter doesnt (aka 2 years later, Peter comes back, angsty reunions)

word count: 3.7k 

Two years ago, Thanos snapped his fingers and ended the world. 

Or, technically, killed half of it. 

10 months ago, the remaining Avengers dragged themselves back together at the arrival of Tony Stark and Captain Marvel. 

6 months ago the world found a new normal. With half the world gone, most businesses, government offices, and schools closed. The few that were left were sparsely populated, but functioning. Everything was consolidated. The orphanages were stocked full of homeless children in the beginning, but luckily, parents who lost their own children by Thanos’ hand had taken to them, and families grew by double every day. People stepped up because they had no choice, and it had worked. Things weren’t the same, and they never would be. But you were alive, you were going to college in the fall, you had a place to stay. 

It was bad for a long time. No one really knew what had happened at first, even after Steve Rogers face was broadcast on every TV and he explained that half the world-half the universe-was dead. 

When Tony Stark made it back to Earth, though he was only here for a few days at most before joining the rest of his team in search of Thanos, he came right to May’s door. He found you and May in the wreckage of her apartment building and had Happy set you up in a small house outside of the city. Close to Avengers headquarters. To keep an eye on you, he’d said. To alleviate some of his guilt, you knew. 

You tucked the phone between your shoulder and ear, shouldering the door open and carefully setting the box down on the table. It was labeled Stark Industries, as were most of the packages you found on you and May’s doorstep were these days. 

“Pretty sure Tony sent us something else,” you said into the phone, inspecting the box. 

You could practically hear May rolling her eyes. 

“Seriously? What is it this time?”

“Not sure. Let you know when I find out.”

“Hopefully it's a new microwave,” She said. You laughed; the microwave had ended up on fire a few nights before in one of May’s attempts to make mug cookies. She had an oven, and you’d been wondering aloud why she wouldn't just make real cookies when you heard the sparks and the microwave started to smoke. 

All of Tony’s gifts, sent through Happy, inevitably, were thinly veiled excuses to try and make up for what happened on Titan. Tony Stark blamed himself for the whole thing, but mostly Peter’s death/disintegration/whatever people were calling it those days. You still don’t know exactly what went down on that planet, but you know enough. You know enough to know it wasn’t Tony’s fault. And though you didn’t share the sentiment, you know it made him feel just a little bit better to take care of Peter’s aunt and his…you. 

Hence, the tech and appliances and other things that are supposed to make your lives easier. But really, the only thing that would make your lives easier would be Peter, and that wasn’t something Tony could buy. 

“Cross your fingers,” you said. You pulled a knife out of the block on the counter and popped the box open. Prying it open, your gaze landed on a swatch of red and blue fabric. Your hand stilled and the knife clattered onto the table. 

“I’ll call you back, May. Am I cooking tonight?” You said, hoping your voice came out even. 

May laughed on the other end, luckily not picking up on your tone. 

“Funny. I’ll get takeout on my way.” She hung up, and you let out a shaky breath.

You stepped back from the box so you couldn’t see the contents. 

Peter’s suit. Not the Iron Spider Tony had created for him: that suit died with him. But the first real suit he had. When he moved away from bright blue sweatpants and a hoodie to the smooth patterned material that solidified his status as a hero. The suit he’d been wearing when you found him, bloody and near death on your balcony. 

“No-no-hospital,” the boy pleaded. His words were slurred through the mask, and though you tried to pull it over his face, he refused to let go. 

“Whoever you are, I swear, I won't tell. If you bleed out on this fire escape, I’ll figure it out anyways. Now let go,” you said, not an inch of room for him to argue. The boy let out a sigh and leaned back against the brick, peeling the mask off.  

Peter Parker. 

You took a breath. Went back to the table. Carefully pulled the material out of the box. 

Beneath it was a note. 

It belongs to the people who loved him the most. - T

You closed your eyes and brought the fabric up to your nose, inhaling. It smelled a little bit like smoke, a little bit like sweat, a lot like Peter. So much like Peter you nearly doubled over at the pang of longing that shot through you. The scent brought on an array of memories, all painful and all full of Peter. 

You were starting to understand that you would never get over Peter Parker. You’d never get closure, you’d never get to say goodbye. The same could be said for every single person that had disintegrated, for every single person you’d lost when Thanos snapped his fingers, but something about Peter kept the wound of losing him open and raw. It was like having a cold; you could breathe well enough, but you felt it with every inhale. 

-

We’ve got him. 

That was all the text said when it woke you at midnight. It was the one you’d been waiting for since Tony made it back to earth and promised that Peter would, they all would, too. You didn’t believe him then, and you still didn’t, not as you ran out to your car, not as you drove the short distance to headquarters, not even as you sprinted up the stairs leading to the top floor of the building. 

You’d only been three times since Thanos, after Tony came back and reached out to May and you. But then, it was only to get some things of Peter’s Tony had that May wouldn’t come to get, as she hadn’t spoken a word to Tony since the minute he told her what happened. 

“We have an elevator, you know,” Tony said as you pushed through the doors and into the room. You knew then that it had worked; avengers who’d been missing for two years, sitting around the room. All exhausted, some in varying states of injury, being tended to. But no Peter. 

“Too slow. Where is he?” 

As if on cue, a door across the room swung open and Peter stepped out, digging his hands into the pockets of a black hoodie that was a few sizes too big. You were struck with how young he looked; somehow, you’d forgotten that while time had passed for you, it hadn’t for him, or any of them. They’d ceased to exist, and when Thanos had been sacrificed, it was like a trading of souls, Thanos and all the lives he’d taken for the ones lost on earth. At least, that was how Tony had explained it. The SparkNotes version. 

Your breath caught. He met your gaze, and for a moment, just a moment, he didn’t recognize you. You had gotten older, after all. Changed your hair. Lost everyone you’d ever loved. Little things like that. 

And even though you’d spent two years imaging this moment, dreaming of it, practically tasting it, now that he was here, in front of you, it was wrong. You were wrong. 

You backed up, scrabbling for the door handle behind you. You just had to get out. 

“I-I have to go,” you said, before turning and slipping out and into the hall. Then you were running, heading for the staircase you’d come up. The door slammed behind you and Peter called your name. Something snapped around your wrist, tugging you back. Two years ago, it might have made you laugh. Now, the minute Peter caught you by the shoulders you yanked the web off your wrist and jerked away, stumbling. You caught your balance on the wall, meeting Peter’s gaze. 

The hurt on his face was impossible to miss. Shame coiled in your stomach, hot and sharp. 

“What’s going on? Are you alright? Your hair-“

“I’ll explain later. We should get home, Peter. May’s waiting,” you interrupted. You’d called her frantically on the drive, telling her to come home the second her night shift ended. If you were lucky, she’d be waiting, and you could put off this conversation for a little while longer. Even better, May could give him the bad news: he’d missed two years, and he wouldn’t get them back. 

The words caught his attention and pulled it away from the very subject you wanted to avoid. 

“May? God, she’s going to kill me. I didn’t even tell her I was leaving. I don’t even know how long I was gone.” 

“You didn’t tell anyone,” you said darkly, turning and walking away to avoid seeing your words hit him. 

“I didn’t have a choice. I had to go after Thanos-“ he caught up to you as you reached the bottom of the staircase and pushed out the doors into the darkness.  

“You didn’t have to do anything.” 

He touched your arm and you looked at him instinctively, before you could stop yourself. God, he looked young. 

“What are saying? Of course, I did.” 

Nights spent curled in May’s arms, tears staining your cheeks, flickered behind your eyes. You wondered if they’d have happened if Peter hadn’t climbed out the window of that bus, all that time ago. 

You kept walking. Peter jogged to catch up. When you got to the car, Peter almost walked right past it. It wasn’t the one you’d had back then. So many things were different; maybe too many. 

“When did you get a new car?”

“It’s from Happy. Shittiest model we could convince them to give us,” you said. He tried to ask questions all the way back to the city. But each time you told him later, or I don’t know, or could you please be quiet my head hurts, which all really meant, please stop talking or ill cry. And he saw through it, because he was Peter, but he didn’t push it, also because he was Peter. He’d been through a lot in the last day. No one had had the time to sit down and explain all this to him. To any of the returned Avengers. The world was too busy scrambling around the reappearance of 3.5 billion people. 

And when you got back to the apartment, you were able to slip off as he and May reunited. You went out under the guise of running errands and stayed out well past dark, well past the time May texted to tell you goodnight, your cue to come back. By the time you reached the apartment, both their doors were shut, and you dropped onto the couch, drifting off to the sounds of the city out the window. 

-

The nightmare ripped you from sleep and you jerked to a sitting position, gasping for air. The apartment was dark around you, thick and heavy with the night. A glance at your phone told you it was nearly 4 AM.

Your gaze strayed to Peter’s closed door. You’d overtaken the room a long time ago when you’d unofficially moved in, but had quickly cleared your things away while May and Peter reunited before escaping the apartment. 

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you pulled the blanket off your legs and climbed to your feet. You made your way to Peter’s door, stopping in front of it. You took a breath before turning the knob. You stepped into the moonlit room-Peter’s window was wide open-and your gaze landed on the sleeping boy in the bed. His eyes snapped open when you pushed the door shut. He sat up and you stopped, like a deer in headlights.

He looked the same as the day you’d lost him. He’d just turned 18 when Thanos came to Earth; he hadn’t even gotten to graduate. Not that you technically had, either. School didn’t come back into session in New York City until 5 months ago, when you’d gone back to a school with a quarter of the people and walked the halls of a ghost town for three months. There had been no ceremony; there were too few names and too few parents. You’d been given a diploma.

The few colleges that remained open had open enrollment so you’d signed up for classes beginning in November.

You just turned 20. The few months you had on Peter turned into years. Years. Two of them. Spent mourning with May; mourning your family, most of your friends, and of course, Peter. Always Peter. 

It was almost worse, the disappearing. With your family, dying in the initial attack on the city, there was nothing to hope for. But the people that disappeared left ashes behind, and with them, hope that no one could manage to sweep off the streets. 

Somehow, he was still your Peter. Hair mussed up and a bit too long, lips pulled into an ever-present line, heart pulsing on his sleeve. The one you saw in your dreams, the one that hadn’t been broken or lost. It didn’t seem possible that he was standing there, whole. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just wanted-I was checking.” Checking to see if you’re still there. He scanned your face, still a little drowsy with sleep.

“You’re older.” He said, something incredibly sad bleeding into his voice.

Your brows pulled together, heart twinging.

“Two years will do that,” you said. The reality was, it took time for the surviving Avengers to scrabble some semblance of a team together. It took time to figure out how to bring everyone back and maintain the timeline and kill Thanos all at once. 

You wished you could say it had been minutes or hours or days. You wished you could say it had been quick and painless.

But it hadn’t been. Peter’s disappearance had ripped you to pieces. Your family’s deaths had ripped you to pieces. You’d mourned them and missed them and moved on, and your family would never be coming back, but Peter was here, and you didn’t know what to do with that or how to feel about it. You wanted to close the distance between you and climb into bed and wrap him in your arms and hold him to make up for two years of hurting.

But you didn’t know if you still had the right to. Though no time had passed for Peter, time had passed for you. You were different. Would Peter want the You you were now?

“I’m not the same. It was bad for a while. I had to be a bad person. I might still be a bad person,” you said.

Peter shook his head.

“That’s not true.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you.”

“Peter.”

“You found a bleeding vigilante on your balcony, stitched me up, and didn’t ask any questions. You saved my life. A good person wouldn’t do that. Nothing that happened in the last two years changes that.”

“You don’t understand.” 

“Then make me understand.”

You let out a breath, pinching the bridge of your nose. Pressure was building behind your skull, pounding its fists and making your headache. You couldn’t explain the time he’d missed.  

You reached back for the doorknob, a beat away from turning to leave when Peter said, “Wait.” It came out a little frantic, a little panicked. You clenched your teeth.

“This was a bad idea. I’m sorry.” You said.

“Wait,” he said again. You blinked and he was off the bed, another blink and he was in front of you.

“Did I do something? Because I’m sorry if-“

“What?”

“I said, I’m sorry if-”

“You didn’t do anything. This-none of this is your fault.” 

Peter looked miserable, shaking his head.

“Just talk to me. Please,” he said quietly.

Your lips parted. A flood was swelling behind your teeth, and you knew you should just let it out, tell him why you’d been pushing him away, why you were the way you were now.

“Do you remember when I used to sneak up the fire escape? And sneak out before May woke up?” You asked softly. Peter’s lips pulled thin, something sad in his eyes.

He didn’t deserve all this. He didn’t deserve the wall you’d put up against him. For him, the time had passed in a blink. But there were so many skeletons in your closet, pushing their fingers through the cracks. Peter had been through enough. And maybe you were too broken now.

“Of course. You had to hide under the bed one time,” he said. You resisted the urge to smile. Memory lane was not the road you should be taking.

“She always knew. But she let me keep doing it because she knew we weren’t doing anything. She didn’t know that I was usually tending your wounds.” 

“We were spooning at most.” 

You laughed, and it unlocked something in your chest. 

“I used to spend hours watching videos and looking at pictures. It was all I had left of anyone. It was all I had left of you,” you said. 

“I didn’t even know May was alive. I came-I came to your apartment because I was alone and hungry and I knew May had that disposable camera with the pictures from Prom and I just-“ you slammed to a stop, shutting your mouth. 

“You were gone a long time. Everyone-everyone was gone. My parents were dead. I was on my own for months. The things I did to survive-“

You clamped your mouth shut. Peter frowned, waiting for you to finish.

“I’m not the person I was. The person you knew. The person you lo-“ you stopped before the word loved slipped out. You hadn’t used it in a long time.  

“I know who you are. Okay? I’ve always known,” Peter said. You bit your lip. You wanted to argue with him, to tell him about the people you’d let starve so you could eat, the things you stole from people who surely died after. But you didn’t want him to look at you the way he would inevitably look at you. You wanted more time.

He was standing there, exactly the same as the day you lost him. But you’d watched your bridges burn and then you burned what was left, because you had to, because that was what became of the world.

It wasn’t fair to him. It wasn’t fair to you. None of this was fair to anyone.

“You look different. So does May. There’s this gap of time that I can’t see or fill or fix,“ his brows furrow, confusion dotting his features.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for everything that happened and everything you had to do because I was gone.”

Your heart broke in half.

“You wouldn’t be you if you hadn’t gone,” you said, softening. 

You stepped closer, reaching up to cup his face with a hand. He leaned into your touch with a sad, boyish smile that made your chest ache.

You let your hand drop to the place where the fabric of his shirt fell down over his collarbone, fingers brushing against his skin. He stilled beneath your touch.

You let out the breath you’d been holding since the day Thanos snapped his finger.

Peter placed his hand on top of yours, gripping your fingers with fierce intensity. It was like he could feel the last two years on your skin. He could feel the nights you’d woken screaming his name, May running to console you, holding your shaking body still, telling you over and over that Peter isn’t here, she’s so sorry, Peter isn’t here.

“I don’t care about anything you did. I don’t care about any of it. You’re here, you’re alive, and that's all that matters. May said-she told me what it was like. How many people died. So, whatever you had to do to stay alive, I don’t care. It’s better than the alternative,” he said. 

You closed your eyes. 

“I think maybe we were the lucky ones.” 

Opened them. 

“We got to escape all that. For a while.” 

“Nice little vacation.” 

He snorted. The familiar pieces fell back into place, just a few of them. He bent his head down to your shoulder, breath warming your skin through the fabric of your shirt. His nose skimmed up your throat, along your jaw, stopping at your ear. 

He whispered, “Stay.” 

You said yes, even though you probably shouldn’t have, even though it was probably stupid, even though there were so many things to deal with and talk about. But right then, you just wanted to go back. Back to a world where every bridge was still intact and every stone was rightly turned. Just for a little while. 

And so you both curled beneath the covers, tucked together under a swath of darkness, limbs tangled together. Just like it was. Just like it could be, again.

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 111 Thoughts

If this chapter doesn’t have forty pages of chibi Eren wandering through the woods asking where his nii-san is, what even is the point.

(The point is Drama.

Intrigue.

Fluid.)

Thanks, I hate it?

So yikes, we have a proper ballgame going and everything is awful leading into the ninth inning. It’s going to be extra innings with Paradis’ chief closer out of commission, up against their rival team. Truly one for the record books, people.

First thing is actually first, where the manga, in a fit of hysterics, gives me something I wanted: Numbers.

Over a hundred people have joined Eren’s side, deserting their posts. The suspicion is that they’ve done this out of the belief that the people with the power to rain down armageddon are maybe the safest shadows to hide under, and hey, with all the waffling their government has done about solving the problem of the whole world wanting them dead, why not?

For the larger groups, everything makes a simple amount of sense.

Eren has power, so people gather behind him.

Eren has power, so Paradis will yield to it for the sake of survival.

It’s a bit of a horrifying story, and one that I always take some joy in seeing. There comes a point where individuals have so much power where the only thing stopping them from changing the world however they see fit is their own boundaries.

Whatever Eren’s boundaries are, they’ve changed. He’s willing to kill children for the sake of his mission.

He is the most powerful card Paradis has, and without him, they have nothing.

Leaving them stuck doing whatever he wants them to.

It’s a similar tactic to the one he uses to drag the Survey Corps into his massacre; they need Eren, so they have no choice but to come support him in the choices he’s made as an individual. Everything else falls away in the face of the power Eren wields.

Yeah, the head of their government has been assassinated by his cult. Along with several other lives.

So?

Does that fundamentally change anything?

Does Paradis somehow need the Founding Titan less now that their command is facing disarray?

For a story so often pointing out that if you don’t fight, you can’t win, it’s pretty damn... something that the main character has all but removed the ability of a party he’s allied with to fight. They can’t resist him, and he knows it, and he’s exploiting it at his convenience.

Putting Zeke’s location on the negotiating table is cute, and a nice stall tactic in theory, but for all that Pixis says it’s not submission, Paradis is powerless.

If they don’t conduct rumbling experiments, they have no protection against the world.

They can’t conduct rumbling experiments unless they let the Yeager Bros come into contact.

If the Yeager Bros come into contact, they can do whatever the hell they want.

Which they have already been doing, so picture all of this, only more.

Pixis’ decision is really the only one he can make if he doesn’t want their people at each other’s throats. They can’t publicize how their one and only hope is willing to dismantle their government. They can’t publicize that they can’t trust their military to be acting in the interests that the government puts forth.

There’s a delicate balance here, with the balance being a complete lie because security has already toppled off and discovered that there’s no net below.

Their only prayer is someone swooping in and placing a trampoline down below before the crushing fall is completed, and there’s no guarantee of even that much happening.

If Zeke and Eren don’t want to help, no one can actually force them.

Zeke is one of two living humans in the world who can power the Founding Titan.

Eren currently has the Founding Titan.

They can’t kill Eren outside of a controlled environment, or else the Founding Titan will go who knows where. With Eren’s pile of abilities he’s nommed, fighting to subdue him will be next to impossible. With the added limitation of doing everything they can to avoid killing him?

Armin brings it up as a point of faith; if Eren has the Founding Titan, it shouldn’t matter what Zeke wants out of it.

Eren now has a cult who doesn’t blink twice at assassinating key government officials. Even if it doesn’t matter what Zeke wants, what Eren wants, or is at least willing to put up with, is heavily alarming.

“No, no, we’re not submitting. We’re negotiating.

What do you mean the only thing we have is something we’d have to hand over anyway to get what we want.”

Like.

Hell, man, talk the good game all you want to keep morale up, but you people and your entire society now rise and fall at the whim of a man who has put no effort into making himself look trustworthy.

So, you know.

Ganbatte.

Other special numbers include thirty soldiers + Levi standing in between Eren and Zeke once Eren finds Zeke, Hange, and three unnamed soldiers who are either about to be very dead, very traitor, or the coolest NPC badasses ever.

Meanwhile, Eren still has a hundred.

Just trailing around after him.

With bombs.

Considering Eren could kill most all of those people (except Levi and Hange) without help, I repeat the theme of this post that Paradis is so beyond screwed it has actually become laughable.

Another fun thing of note that only I care about is that even if Eren can’t get to Zeke, he might be able to get to Historia, and Nile appears to be in charge of her security.

The reason only I care about this is because Nile is in charge of her security, and Nile has been fed the story of Historia and NPC Farmer Guy being totes in love 5evr.

(NPC Farmer Guy has no name and no face. I declare him Red Shirt-san, and also reallllllly fucking dead. Especially if my crack theory of the carriage from last chapter rushing off to Historia was correct, meaning that Pieck, theoretically having tracked the carriages, is going to pay the Queen a visit.

Bye Nate.

(his name’s Nate your canon is invalid))

Briefly defending my descent into self-interest, Historia getting zero panels and barely any hearsay about her is driving me nuts for all sorts of reasons.

Two people (count them, two), in the entire world, are capable of drawing out the power of the Founding Titan. One of them is an untrustworthy dick. The other is Historia.

Historia, when last seen under extreme emotional duress, was of the opinion of, “fuck humanity titans did nothing wrong.”

As we can plainly see from her expression at the end of 107, there is nothing but blue skies and happiness going through her boundless considerations of humanity now, and she is most assuredly, definitely on their side as all of her friends ditch her in the middle of the woods and never visit or mention any concern for her except that one guy who has taken up murdering children, and he possibly did that in active defiance of concern for what problems it might cause her.

What could possibly go wrong.

There are about three people who hold the fate of Eldia in their hands, and we know what none of them are thinking. They also all have a much more casual relationship with murder than most of the rest of the cast.

What I’m trying to say is that Paradis your politics are boring because your livelihood hinges on three catastrophically emotionally damaged people, and all of the story’s energy is going towards keeping those people away from thought bubbles or general illumination.

If Historia, Eren, and Zeke decide that you guys die............ you die.

You possibly should have invested more in strategies that weren’t so entirely dependent on renegade children following orders.

Okay okay, enough pointing and laughing at the futility of government in shounen. Mikasa! How you liking your entire page of dialogue! Does it feel good? Does it make up for the gaping hole Eren being a nutcase is causing?

Of course it does!

I don’t know how I feel about Kiyomi, but I am glad that her relationship with Mikasa is so obvious in its self-interest. Mikasa isn’t being yanked around; she knows this person caring about her blood hasn’t translated to caring about her people.

Whatever Mikasa’s genes, Paradis is her home, and she considers herself as Eldian as anyone on it.

What’s interesting in that conversation is that Hizuru is still doing what it can to avoid being an ally of Paradis. They’re letting this one clan mess around, but unless results can be produced, the whole scheme is dead to them.

...

You know. Paradis had better start hoping that there’s still some massive secret to the Titans, because with the current knowledge available, they are just... so incredibly screwed on so many different levels.

I’m inclined to think that Kiyomi wanting Mikasa safe is one of the few shreds of honesty she has left. I’m an optimist. A child connected to the days of honor long gone... hey, it’s a romantic concept, even conniving foxes can have one last hurrah in them.

But also, Mikasa just doesn’t deserve people piling more lies on her.

A promise to protect someone calls to her heart. I’m sure Mikasa has thought those words to herself many times; whatever happens to Paradis, her priority has always been her family. Not a blood family, like Kiyomi holds on to, but one bound to her with ties of steel.

Only now her family is at odds.

Mikasa might care more about her family than anything else, but in practice, she’s a compassionate, responsible young woman. She can’t turn her back on the world just because her family has. She’s going to bleed herself dry trying to do the best for both of them.

That’s not a happy thought, because even if Mikasa, with all her strength and ability, fights for anyone in this conflict with all her heart, the concept of winning is a far off dream. Her supernatural gifts don’t make the world turn. Her gifts simply mean she might survive when everything around her explodes.

Yuck.

And also hey, Connie, I love you man, but you turn those angry eyes away from Mikasa pronto.

Then we’ve got the many trials of Nicolo.

Featuring Gabi and Falco.

...

I don’t wanna. I can skip this part.

Uggghgghghhgh.

Hell, this is a lot faster than I thought this disaster would come out, and it’s a lot grimmer than I really want and in general just ow.

Nicolo is a prisoner of war. He is allowed to cook. He finds light in cooking for people like Sasha. He’s Marleyan, and Eldians are devils, but being around them, his heart softens to them, and his role becomes something more complicated.

As a soldier, fighting the demons of Paradis is just what you do.

As a person, fighting people like Sasha, Jean, and Connie...

With a heavy heart, he can hand off laced wine to their superiors. He can continue to operate as a soldier fighting against Paradis. But the very thought of Connie and Jean being caught up in that sends him into a panic, and he falls back on racist rhetoric to cover it up.

Rhetoric his heart isn’t even in anymore, because more than killing, Nicolo finds himself in cooking. In bringing people happiness.

And Gabi killed the person who shows him that. The person who gave him solace from the hell of war.

It doesn’t matter that she’s a child, or a Warrior Candidate, or anything but the person who killed Sasha.

She cares about Falco’s life. That comes to stand as another condemnation of her. She knows what it is to care about someone? She’s valued enough that this boy is willing to jump in front of a blow meant for her?

Did she think the person she killed wasn’t?

It’s destructive and awful, and Gabi finally has a defense for herself that isn’t just brainwashed rage at the island. That girl? The one she shot? That’s the girl who shot someone she knew. Guards who watched over Warrior Candidates training, in charge of penning up Eldians, but they were still people Gabi saw a home in.

She can’t justify the loss of Sasha, but she can justify shooting back, especially at someone who just clubbed Falco in the head.

But she’s still just a brainwashed child.

Sasha’s father watches two people, profoundly touched by his daughter, ripping each other apart because they’re in pain. Sasha changes Nicolo for the better. Sasha and her path in life is what’s breaking this child.

A child is calling his daughter a devil. She’s been brought into this conflict and all she sees is the enemy, and the good there must be in fighting that enemy.

Gabi doesn’t even try to fight back when Sasha’s father holds up the knife.

She’s bleeding and in tears, and for one of the only times, she isn’t reacting with violence. She’s just a stunned little kid, wondering if the people who’ve fed and housed her on this island of evil are about to kill her. Like she killed the daughter they loved so much.

Of course the man who raised Sasha doesn’t lay a finger on her.

Of course the man who has to physically hold down his child to try to force her to stop eating so she won’t die of starvation later understands how hard the world is.

Horrific things have happened.

He isn’t going to bring one more into this world.

And Gabi... from the very start, she’s been the most passionate about becoming a Warrior. She’s going to follow in her cousin’s footsteps. She’ll commit war crimes, she’ll take on a death sentence, she’ll do whatever it takes. She’s a Warrior.

She’s a kid.

She doesn’t want these kind people to hate her.

Kaya reacts the same way Gabi has to everything so far. She charges in with the only weapon she can find, trying to kill the problem because the emotional strain of what’s actually going on is too big for her young heart to take.

Kaya, who really has been kind. Who’s the reason they’re here. Who’s been trying to get her and Falco home.

Kaya’s in tears, and Falco’s unconscious and bleeding.

All because of what Gabi’s done.

Nicolo sees the same thing.

That’s why he comes clean.

The world is such a cruel place.

They’ve got to spare the beauty where they find it.

I’m not going to touch that plot bomb, because the manga can do it for me in future chapters. Zeke having a bunch of government officials drink his spinal fluid is honestly on par with every other thing he’s done, so. One more point to the Paradis Screwed column.

So last word goes to Mikasa.

I mentioned in the chapter where Louise and Mikasa talked that Louise had seen Mikasa’s strength impact her life, but completely missed the kindness behind that strength. Mikasa is terrifying as a soldier. She’s cold and relentless.

As a person, she will ask the child who killed her friends to see her wounds, and hold her close to keep another child from hurting her.

Mikasa is kind.

Gabi has met so many good people on this island, and all of them are in tears.

It’s funny and sad that Mikasa and Armin take her into the back room to calm down. For all their lives practically, they’ve been looking after a reckless wild child who gets into fights they have to finish for him.

Gabi is as driven and passionate and full of anguish as Eren as a child, and now she’s with two of the people who know that.

Armin and Mikasa might not know how to help Eren, but they can help this little girl.

And Mikasa can keep another little girl from knowing what it’s like to knife someone in the back because they killed someone you love.

Welcome to Emotions.

Where everything is absolutely awful except maybe the people feeling them.

[takadasaiko]

Always Been You (Endgame fix-it Fic)

FFN II AO3

Summary: When Thanos follows the team through time, he inadvertently splinters off countless alternate timelines.

Part One

It had all happened so fast. From the moment that Thanos had attacked the compound it had been one chaotic moment tripping over another that led them stumbling into the newest fight of their life. Tony had known that they could be opening themselves up for something like this. If he had known exactly what this was going to be when he had taken the leap, he couldn't be sure he would have gone with it. He had faced Thanos and lost. Horribly. While the others had killed him it hadn't been in a place like this. They had told him the story: a quiet place with an injured Titan. Their actions had managed to bring him back. If the kid hadn't come back too, Tony was sure he would have regretted it.

Peter Parker had come bounding through one of Strange's portals to join the fight already in full swing. He swung around with the gauntlet, playing a dangerous game of keepaway. They needed to end this before he got himself killed. Again.

Tony thought he'd been close, though as he lay mostly buried beneath the rubble that he had gone crashing through it was tough to pull those fractured memories together long enough to be sure. The stones… he'd been going for the stones. He was pretty sure that he'd gotten them too, and he'd been ready to unleash on Thanos what he'd done to them all five years before: death. Destruction. The end. It had to be what Strange had meant. He remembered thinking that right before he'd been slammed so hard that the glove had been ripped from his hand. He had rolled and barely scrambled to his feet when Thanos had hauled him up and thrown him clear across and into the debris of the destroyed compound.

Right. That's what had happened. Well it wasn't the first concussion he had gotten fighting someone trying to kill them all.

Tony groaned, instantly regretting it the moment he tried to shift his weight. Pain broke through and he had trouble pulling a breath in. He squeezed his eyes shut, bare fingers scraping at the rubble beneath them. If Friday was still functioning at all she would shoot him up with enough painkillers to at least get him focused on getting out of the immediate danger. He had lost his helmet somewhere along the way, so if she was still connected he couldn't hear her. As he lay there, desperately trying to string together coherent thoughts through the pain, he had a rare flash of nostalgia. He missed JARVIS. If this was going to be the end, he wouldn't have minded that old, familiar voice in his ear. At least then he wouldn't die alone.

Light flooded in and Tony squinted hard. The battle had left the entire stretch of land drenched in haze and dust, but in that moment it was like he was staring into the sun. Finally his dark eyes focused enough to see a woman hovering above him, the light emanating from her, and she tossed aside a massive piece of the rubble. "He's here!"

Danvers. That's right. She'd come crashing into the battle at some point.

"You need to be saved a lot, don't you?" she asked as her feet touched the ground next to him, the glow fading enough for him to spot the signs of damage on her right arm. It looked like burns, but not nearly as extensive as Bruce had suffered. Surely she hadn't….

"Thanos?" Tony managed, his voice weaker than he would have preferred and he heard the sound of someone making their way down towards them. He tensed, but Danvers knelt next to him.

"Dead," she assured him.

A soft sound escaped him. "Better stay that way this time."

"There's no coming back from that." She was exploring something, and Tony tried to crane his head to get a better look at what she was looking at.

"How bad?" came another voice and Wanda Maximoff skidded down the debris in a cloud of red.

"Straight through."

Tony's lips twitched down. "What is?"

"A steel pipe," Wanda answered softly, her gaze sweeping over him. "How's your suit? Can you -?"

"Yeah," Tony managed, teeth clenched. Somehow knowing the source of the pain made it worse. "Just get me off the damn thing."

The two women shared a look before Danvers nodded. Wanda took a step back and Tony shut his eyes and waited, feeling the tentacles of magic wrap around him, easing him upwards and pulling him from the pipe that was lodged just below his ribs. Ironic. It was opposite the wound Thanos had dealt him five years before with his own weapon.

A scream clawed its way out of his throat as Wanda pulled him up and balanced him on his feet. His bare hand went instantly to the wound to put pressure on it and he had to force himself to activate what was left of the glove on his left, temporarily sealing up the wound so that he wouldn't bleed out. As soon as he had, Wanda released him slowly, easing him to the ground. "What happened?" he managed.

"We lost," Wanda answered, her voice soft.

Tony blinked hard, his gaze flickering over to Danvers. "You said Thanos is dead."

"He is. So is everyone else."

"Did he…?"

"He didn't have to." Wanda took a surprising seat so that she was eye-level with where Tony was just barely propping himself up. It took him a moment to realize that joining him probably wasn't her goal. She was exhausted. Five years of… whatever - wherever - they had been and she came back into this. A war that, even though their enemy was dead, she was counting as a loss. "His army overpowered ours. Even with everyone back. As far as I can tell, only a few Avengers made it out."

"Who?"

She cringed. "Us and Thor."

Tony pushed himself to his knees. "Pepper? Rhodey?"

"I'm sorry."

"Peter?"

She shook her head.

"No," he managed, finally to his feet on his own power. He stumbled forward but caught himself. "No. They can't be… No."

"Cap, Banner…. They're all gone. Tony, stop."

He pitched forward, leaning against a pile of rubble. "My daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

"A family friend was watching her while we…. I have to get to her. I have to make sure Morgan is okay."

"Hey." It was Danvers this time, and the blonde caught his gaze. "You're not going to do her any good if you're dead."

"Where is she?" Wanda asked.

"Pepper and I have a place…. Between here and the City." He didn't like the look they both wore. "What?"

"Reports have already come in that the creatures were making their way to New York City."

"I need to go. I need to…"

Wanda was on her feet again and reached forward, but he managed to steady himself before she had to. "Not alone."

Tony looked over at her. He wasn't the only one who had lost. The girl's brother had given his life and Thanos had murdered Vision. Before all of that one of his own weapons had killed her parents. She was alone too.

She reached forward, her fingers just shy of his arm. "Let's go find your daughter.."

Thanos' creatures had made it out beyond their battle. Making their way to New York City… that's what Danvers had said. Where she'd gotten the intel, he had no idea, but it was true, and they'd destroyed everything in their path.

Wanda had come with him. It wasn't like she had anything left at the compound and she didn't have a lot of interest in sticking around for the government officials to show up. Neither did Tony, if he were honest. Someone would try to get him to do something and the only time he could afford was a moment with Pepper, knelt down on the fractured ground, kissing her bloodied hand and whispering broken apologies. He'd wanted to protect her. He'd needed to protect her. He'd failed. And not just her. Rhodey, Cap, Bruce…. Peter. All he had was that dangerous hope that he'd walk through the door and his little girl would rush into his arms. That was the only thing keeping him on his feet as Wanda and he made their way to the cabin in the woods that the Starks had called home for five years now.

Tony stood staring. He couldn't breathe, but it had nothing to do with the barely held together wound and everything to do with the fact that there was nothing left of his home. A crater pitted the ground where the house had once stood, the decimation stretching out to swallow up Morgan's tent and her toys, the trees, and the peace that they'd clung to so hard to since she'd been born. It had stolen everything. Thanos had stolen everything.

"Tony?" Wanda asked softly as he stumbled forward, falling to his knees at the edge of it all. "Maybe they -"

He shook his head. False hope was worse.

The Scarlet Witch knelt down with him, her fingers against his arm. They paused there and carefully, hesitantly, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "You need a doctor."

"No."

"Tony -"

"It doesn't matter," he managed. He would just be another casualty. One of many. He hadn't been able to save them, so why should he bother taking up a bed at an ER that was likely overflowing? He was done. The will to fight driven out of him.

"Dr Strange - the man that brought us all to the battle - he said all of you traveled through time to get the stones. Maybe we could -"

"That's not how it works," Tony breathed, shifting so that he was sitting. "Time travel won't change our present. It would just open up a new…." He stopped, blinking hard. "A new timeline." He could almost hear her question hanging in the air between them, but his mind was spinning too fast to string the words together into anything that someone other than he could understand.

After a long moment he loosed a breath. "What are you thinking?" Wanda finally asked.

"Timelines." He stood, one knee threatening to give, but he forced it into submission. "When you mess with time, it messes back. We were careful. Mostly careful. Kinda careful. We didn't break anything. Thanos didn't care. He took a damn sledgehammer to it."

"Okay…?"

He turned, one hand sweeping out as he spoke. "He could have fractured the timeline when he followed us through which would have opened up… I don't even know how many parallel universes."

"Can we get there?"

There was something careful about her tone and Tony looked at her. She looked as broken as he felt. "Maybe."

Her eyes brightened, and he didn't have it in him to tell her the odds. They had to make it back to the compound and down to the lower levels. If they could salvage any of the technology, if any of the suits had survived, if the Pym Particles he and Steve had brought back from the past hadn't been completely destroyed... Those were a lot of ifs, but in that moment he didn't have anything else to hold onto. He had to try.

They found Thor at what was left of the compound. If he had been helping with the clean up or not, they couldn't seem to get that much out of him. Talk of alternate realities and potential paths to get them there seemed to perk his interest enough to be willing to lend some strength into getting down into the destroyed compound to see what they had available.

"How are you feeling?"

Tony glanced back from where he had taken up residence on a slab of fallen ceiling. "I may be onto something. See this piece here? I should be able to use it to channel the power to a single pad. One at a time, but a little-"

"That's not what I asked," she pressed, her voice quiet.

"Fine. I'm fine," he said dismissively. He fit the piece in place and the machine gave an encouraging buzz.

A loud crashing sound pulled both of their attention over and Thor came stumbling through the debris, several of the suits they'd created to travel draped over one arm. They were filthy, but looked to be mostly intact.

"Did you find three?" Wanda asked.

"I did. How close are you, Stark?"

"Getting there." He squeezed his eyes closed and massaged at the bridge of his nose. They had the suits, Wanda had found the Pym Particles earlier, and for the first time since he'd started tinkering with it hours ago Tony felt hopeful about getting at least a single pad up and running to send them through individually. This could work, which left him forced to look at what couldn't. He cringed at that thought and forced his tired eyes open. "Wanda… listen. Cap and I lost Loki the first time that we went after the Space Stone -"

"You lostmy brother?" Thor demanded. "Why wouldn't you say something sooner?"

"Been a little busy, Point Break," Tony grumbled, waving him off. He turned his full focus back to Wanda. "It opens up a place where I can send him that he might not break the timeline any further by looking for him."

"It does sound like you have already done that," the god of thunder groused.

"Could you not? I'm doing you a favour here."

"It's a point where he can find his brother but won't have to deal with his other self. There's nothing like that for me… not if I want to find Vision."

"Yeah," Tony admitted softly.

"It's okay. As long as I can save him in one reality, that's all I'm really looking for."

She wanted to save him, not be with him. He could get that. Something was better than nothing.

"I mean… that's what you're doing, right? Saving them?"

Tony tried for a smile, but for all of his usual quips and sarcastic retorts, his voice failed him then. Save them? He didn't think he could save anyone right now. He'd be lucky if he could get to his feet without help. Closing the wound had slowed things down, but without medical attention he could feel his body rebelling against him. He wouldn't make it long enough for infection to get him. No, he knew he couldn't save them. He just needed to see them one more time. If he was lucky he might even get a chance to beg for their forgiveness.

Wanda reached out, her touch startling him out of his thoughts. "None of us really made it out," she said softly. "All we can do is try to find something from it now."

"I'm sorry."

"This wasn't your fault. I wouldn't be here if all of you hadn't -"

"Your parents." He watched her eyes widen. "I'm sorry."

"So much has happened since then. Including a chance to find out that you're not the man I thought you were back then."

He nodded, accepting that. He stood slowly, unsteadily, and looked at the makeshift pad. "Okay. That should do it. Last chance if anybody wants to stay."

"There is nothing here for any of us," Thor echoed the earlier sentiment.

"Right."

A few minutes later they were changed and ready. Thor went first, gone in a flash through the Quantum Realm to try his hand at a new timeline that Tony and Steve had accidentally ripped open in their attempt to get ahold of the Space and Mind Stones. Tony leaned against the makeshift control panel and glanced over to Wanda who was adjusting her gloves. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She stepped up onto the platform, her blue gaze sweeping him up and down. "I hope you get to say goodbye to them."

He tried for a smile. "Me too. Good luck."

Then she was gone, leaving Tony alone in the rubble. After a long moment he set the timer and moved into position. A wave of pain hit and he pressed a hand below his ribs and widened his stance, desperate to stay on his feet. He wouldn't get another chance at this. It was now or never, and he didn't think he was ready to go without seeing them one last time.

TBC

Notes: It's been a long while since I wrote for MCU. I threatened to jump back in last year when Infinity War came out and we lost Loki, but it didn't take hold and refuse to leave. I cope with character death by finding a way to turn it around and bring them back, and I spent the first week and a half or so after watching Endgame trying to do that for Tony. He was my first fav out of MCU and had stayed at the top of my list. After going through a Tony rewatch of MCU movies, I found one.

Apologies if Captain Marvel is a bit off... I haven't had a chance to see her movie yet, though I loved what I saw of her in Endgame. I just didn't think it would make a lot of sense for her to have died at Thanos' hand.

[tessatechaitea]

New Titans #114

This is it! The last regular issue of this comic that I own!

I guess the changing of the guard leaving Arsenal in charge was the last straw for me. Or maybe the last straw was that Pantha's tail hole on her shorts never ripped so that I could see her butthole. One of those two reasons is definitely why I stopped buying this comic though. This issue is called "24 Hours" which makes me think of Gaiman's The Sandman which makes me think, "Why the fuck am I rereading this shit when I could be rereading that shit?!" Oh wait! I actually know the reason for this! It's because these Titans comic books were stored in a big old regular sized moving box that I wanted to get out of the way! Also I've reread The Sandman and I've never reread this. And since I'll be fifty in a little over two years, I should probably get all of the stupid time-wasting bullshit ideas out of my head now. Any writing projects I can't finish by the time I'm fifty, I'm abandoning. At that time, I'll just make up new ones that will only entertain me and a few other people. So if I've ever said anything in passing about something I was going to do, like finishing the Goggles Futures End story or my Fantastickal Fuck-Fighting Books, you'd better get your vote in now! The issue begins at midnight with Changeling getting his ass beat by a dark silhouette who claims Changeling promised to "end her living days." I don't know who that might be or why this is happening. With Zero Hour beginning right around this time, my comic books might become complete nonsense. I just have to hope the comic books involved in that non-crisis-labeled crisis will have "Zero Hour Tie-in" labels on the front. I probably don't understand what's going on in this one because Marv Wolfman is being artsy. And fuck if I know anything about art! I read comic books for a reason, people! At 1:10 AM, Starfire flies around wondering if Earth is really her home. Yes, it takes six panels for her to ask that question. But she's also being artsy in a poetic way! She uses phrases like "scarlet sea" and "delicious nectar" and "golden skies." It's almost as if somebody scoffed at Marv Wolfman when he mentioned he wrote comic books earlier in the week and he thought, "I'll show them!" Then he was all, "Hey! That issue by that new kid Gaiman was kind of artsy! It had those clocks that showed what time it is and the whole thing took place in only 24 hours and it was all filmed in real time although with all the cuts from one character to another, why did it even fucking matter? Oh wait, it's only 1994! I don't know who Jack Bauer is yet!" At 3:36 AM, Pantha breaks into somebody's apartment. Supposedly it's the person who changed her from a person into a cat or from a cat into a person. But it isn't so Pantha gets to scream in existential angst which is the only cathartic release available to those of us who know nothing has any meaning and all of our clothes need to be tailored so the tail can stick out of them. At 4:10 AM, Dick Grayson proves he's a master of disguise by first being unrecognizable and then being unrecognizable in a different way.

A true master of disguise! He's already showing hints of his ability to be Agent 37 of Spyral.

Notice how the panels are all wonky in the previous scan? I'm sure Marv Wolfman put a note in the script to the artist: "We're being artsy this issue! Art it up!" At 5:20 AM, we finally learn what happened to Deathwing. I don't mean we get an explanation of what Mirage did to him and why he doesn't have testicles anymore. We just see that he's making an appearance so that the audience can go, "Oh, that fuckbunny isn't dead? Great." The silhouette from earlier has dragged Changeling into Deathwing's bachelor pad. She's still just a dark profile but she mentions that Changeling is probably strong enough to accept her seed so it must be Raven. I guess being a demon from a dimension of empaths means you don't learn about the birds and the bugs. Unless this answers a question I'm sure I asked much earlier! Changeling can turn into a female version of any species! And Raven squirts semen because, well, she's Trigon's daughter. At 6:05 AM, Arsenal goes jogging with Bill Clinton. Clinton messes up Sergeant Steel's plans to manipulate the Titans into working for the government by telling Roy that he wants the Titans to be completely independent but he hopes that they'll work with the government. This plot point feels like Marv worked himself into a story arc that he didn't want to pursue any more. It's not like the DC Universe needed another team working on behalf of the U.S. government. At 6:15 AM, Garfield Logan finally gets laid.

Okay, maybe he doesn't get laid. But he definitely comes in his pants.

Do you think Marv Wolfman was in the shower when he thought, "Comic books have 24 pages. There are 24 hours in a day. Hey! I should steal an idea from Neal Gaiman!" At 7:43 AM, Nightwing crashes through a skylight. Just like Batman taught him! I can hear Bruce now: "Good job, Dick! Now they'll have to call Wayne Skylight and Window Repair! Another payday for the Batman!" At 9:00 AM (Eastern Time, Planet Earth, Sol System), Jarras Minion of some planet in the Alpha Centauri system watches his entire race disintegrate before his eyes. Probably a symptom of Zero Hour! At 10:05 AM, Nightwing declares, "I'm not a doctor! I just feel like a doctor!" It's his philosophical explanation for why he doesn't use lethal force. It totally makes sense because Nightwing still punches the shit out of people just like how doctor's love to give shots and cut people open. At 11:20 AM, Changeling begs to remain a virgin. He escapes but he has some missing time so he might also be pregnant. I guess I'll never know unless he starts showing in 24 hours! Or I'm curious enough to go buy some back issues. Ha ha! That was a joke! I have no curiosity. Page 12 is noon, of course! Nightwing has lunch with a detective because Dick Grayson had the fear of Alfred beaten into him about sitting down promptly at noon for the midday meal. Twenty-four hours for Dick Grayson went like this: 9 PM - 4 AM: Risk life with grown ass adult man in bat costume. 4 AM - 8 AM: Sleep. 8 AM - 9 AM: Waffles. 9 AM - 12 PM: Training. 12 PM - 1 PM: Cucumber sandwiches. 1 PM - 5 PM: Study time. 5 PM - 6 PM: Tea. 6 PM - 9 PM: Try to evade Bruce and Alfred as Dick finds a quiet spot to masturbate. At 1:30 PM, Roy has coffee with Steel. The government's final offer to the Titans: the government gives the Titans the Terraist's satellite, an Earthbound base, and money to pay off any lawsuits against the Titans and in return, the Titans promise to consider missions for the United States. What a terrible deal for the government! The Titans can just turn down every mission and the United States gets nothing for their investment. There must be a loophole. Steel reminds Roy, "You gotta decide fast!" As if it wasn't the easiest deal in the world to say yes to! At 2:25 PM (Eastern Time, Planet Earth, Sol System), Jarras roleplays Kal-el's early days. As his world is destroyed (along with some visiting Darkstars), Jarras escapes in a pod called the Omegadrone. It's both an escape pod and a weapon! I don't remember the character Minion at all. Probably because this was the last Titans comic I read for decades. At 3:55 PM, Wolfman reveals that Red Star has taken a job as a mall security cop. And I guess a babysitter as well since Baby Wildebeest is hanging out with him. At 4:10 PM, Roy Harper signs the contract with the government even though he knows it's going to blow up in his face. Fucking leftist comic book writers, portraying the United States government as underhanded, manipulative bastards who don't give a shit who they hurt to get what they want! At 5:20 PM, a bunch of Darkstars are killed by the rainbow spiral that destroyed Jarras's planet. The populace of the planet had been bred to be passive. So I guess the moral of this story is that hippie beatnik pacifists are only asking for trouble. Fucking right wing comic book writers! Well, at least Jarras has learned the lesson that peace is for dead people. The Omegadrone will teach him how to get revenge. At 6:03 PM, Roy thinks he's going to get Wally West to join his government Titans team but he's really going to get Impulse. I know that because I looked at the future roster of this team: Arsenal, Damage, Impulse, Mirage, and Terra. No wonder I stopped reading it! At 7:32 PM, Nightwing takes a shower. Naked! I know that's how most people take showers and I probably didn't need to emphasize it but he also jerks off so maybe I should have started with that.

DC canon: Dick Grayson jerks off thinking about puns.

And after he finishes.

At 8:54 PM, Dick Grayson turns in his resignation to Roy Harper. He's officially off the Titans! Good riddance, ya dumb jerk! If that even is you. Try looking more like Dick Grayson next issue, Dick Grayson! At 9:20 PM, Red Star, Pantha, and Baby quit the Titans as well. Then they go on a romantic road trip which DC apparently didn't publish. There's an advert in this issue for a Green Arrow story arc called "Cross Roads" that the copy compares to Knightfall and which nobody fucking remembers (probably!) but DC never published a Red Star/Pantha team-up?! No, they were right. Just as I was typing that, I was thinking, "Fuck, I would never have purchased that shit." At 10:10 PM, Changeling agrees to stick with the Titans. But he's full of Raven's disgusting seed, so he'll probably just turn on them immediately. At 11:05 PM, Dick and Kory break-up. But not in person! Dick waits for her to arrive to a dinner where he can dump her but Kory knows better and just flies into outer space. I don't remember what happens with her but it's probably super boring. I'm sure she goes home, fights with Blackfire, fights some Gordanians or whatever dumb race always enslaved the Tamaraneans, and then remembers why she moved to Earth in the first place. At midnight, Phantasm arrives to lead Harper and Logan into Damage #6. And then into Titans Zero Hour! Oh. So I guess I do have one more issue of this story arc to read: New Titans #0. I also have a Titans Elseworld Annual in the stack. Plus a Team Titans Elseworld Annual and one more Team Titans issue. And finally, before I can totally move on, Deathstork #0! New Titans #114 Rating: C. The one hour per page gimmick really helps Marv Wolfman clean up a bunch of loose ends to get the Titans ready for a big group change in Zero Hour. Plus he was able to shove in the Minion origin story (which was really just Superman's origin). And I usually give the art a pass even when it's not very good (and I often ignore it when it's great!) but holy Lobo's bulging crotch, it was fucking terrible this issue. It was so bad that I'm not even going to remember who the artist was so that I don't have to feel embarrassed for them.

[insanescriptist]

Rereading the Fairy Tail manga for research purposes, so having reached a little past chapter 100, here’s impressions:

-Natsu’s not a complete idiot

-He’s just a mostly thoughtless one who doesn’t see destruction as a bad thing or as something to avoid. Hence why he doesn’t try to limit it

-He’s actually bad at intentionally trying to destroy things. Accidentally however...

-Dragon Slayer Magic is technically using an Enchantment to temporarily transform parts of a person’s body to be like a dragon’s. Which makes sense considering an Enchanter made it.

-Considering that magic can change a person’s body in various ways, accidentally making it possible to turn into a dragon should have been expected.

-Actually considering that due to Lacrima, Cobra and Laxus don’t have inner dragons doing the anti-body thing to prevent that specific side-effect, chances are they will turn into dragons eventually if they keep using it.

-Same for Sting and Rogue, since their dragons are dead.

-A lot of Natsu’s attacks are actually magnified by the enchantment; Natsu’s sheer destructive power makes a lot more sense that way. Natsu however has no sense of scale so he does things like 500x times more powerful than he needs to

-Happy is a lot smarter than he appears; he’s just an obnoxious little shit-stirrer

-Lucy stayed with Mira while trying to find an apartment to rent; also it’s Mira that hands out a copy of Lucy’s apartment key to her team.

-So they’re not breaking in. Mostly.

-Gray so killed a person without blinking; he froze a guy’s head solid during the whole ‘Lullaby Incident.’

-It’s Gray’s speed with his magic that makes him dangerous

-Gray has his issues but he’s a lot more prideful than a person would expect; intelligent fighters are great okay?

-Lyon however I have issues with. Lots of. How did you get followers? Especially ones that were part of a mage guild? Did you put out an ad in Socerer’s Weekly? How did you pay for all the supplies you’d need for a group of people for three years? How did you even move Deliora?

-Also Gray’s from the ‘northern continent’ so um... plot-hole space? Unless there’s like a second ‘northern continent’ so the ‘western counties’ remark by Ur makes sense

-need to go look at that book Levy has on one of the splash pages; is a world map

-Actually there’s a lot more death, but it’s mook death so we don’t care. See how the army was ‘defeated’ by Eisenwald or whatever it was called. This is further combined with the mooks that died at the Tower of Heaven; not just in the slave revolt flashback but when the tower is destroyed and they’re crushed, followed by the unstable magic of Etherion doing whatever to the crystals

-Lucy knows she weaker than them physically; she at least makes up for it by having a wider background knowledge of magic. Too bad none of this ever gets followed up on in other ways.

-Lucy is uncomfortable taking jobs without the rest of the team; no wonder you’re a broke bitch. Taking jobs with just Natsu means your income is breadcrumbs.

-Lucy’s also had to have renegotiated her contracts with her keys several times; otherwise she’d have only access to all her spirits on Wednesday as that’s the only ‘day’ Aquarius originally let Lucy call her on.

-When Lucy got Loke? She went and accidentally renegotiated Celestial Spirit Magic contracts in general. Because for Loke’s story to logically work out, a mage could only have one Celestial Spirit out at a time. With Loke jamming Karen out, she couldn’t summon another.

-So Lucy made it possible for summoners to have two out at one time; clearly the time for Spirit Double Battles is near

-Also Karen probably had another magic of some sort. Celestial Spirit Mages by themselves are considered weak because there’s so many conditions built into using the magic; when to use the spirit mostly but also all the agreements between the contractors. Hence Lucy must have renegotiated all her contracts at least once, as Lucy uses her keys more indiscriminately as the series progresses. It’s a versatile magic, but limited to having the item, having the contract, being the day of able to use the spirit’s time/energy etc

-Lucy might want to look into learning some other magic to be more well-rounded; as intelligent as she is, runes would be easy enough. So would re-quip. You’ve lost your keys how many times now?

-Laxus what are you wearing when first introduced? Please tell me that it was laundry day and you were wearing a gag gift from Bixlow, even if Bixlow hasn’t been introduced yet. Because awful. Let Natsu burn it, please.

-Also Laxus, considering the size of the communication lacrima in the guild, how large is the one you’re carrying? Also how do they work because the one Urtear has with her later is like the size of a basketball. Not exactly portable.

-Cana is awesome and has great leadership skills; she lead the defense of the guild against Phantom while Erza was out cold and Mira was being useless

-The Guildhall clearly has several sub-levels. Mavis’ body is well hidden and probably the reason why the basement hasn’t flooded despite being next to the lake. Makarov, I love you but it’s probably Prech/Hades who reinforced the shit out of the sub-layers.

-Loke probably overdid it during the attack by Phantom Lord and probably shaved off a few months of his ability to stay in Earthland while defending the guild. No wonder he was looking so terrible after

-Juvia once dated Bora of Titan’s Nose; you know the guy in the first chapter that Natsu beat up? You’re better off without him.

-Juvia dear, a crush is not love and you’re being somewhat obsessive; that it only gets worse and is eventually reciprocated is less than ideal; maybe it’s those last few chapters of Naruto but I keep seeing Sakura/Sasuke parallels in the ‘chase the man down for a pity fuck, get it, get a child, have ongoing depressive episode’?

-I probably wouldn’t mind this so much if Juvia had more of a personality than ‘love struck, obsessive fan.’ Like what are your ideals, what do you like that’s not about Gray?

-Lucy’s tragic backstory is probably less lonely when you consider she probably could hang out in the local ‘large’ village; she’d be slumming it but she at least would have had friendly acquaintances

-The staff do love her and she them; Lucy just doesn’t have her father’s love

-Jude is a piece of work that deserves to be told off; also, marrying Lucy to nobility for land to expand business so your eventual grandson will inherit?

-Fuck you; Lucy should have slapped a bitch. As it is, refusing to do so probably put a nail in the coffin of your business Jude.

-There’s a difference between ‘army’ and ‘rune knight’ and the latter are solely answerable to the ‘Magic Council.’ Also the ‘Magic Council’ seems to be a continent spanning organization separate from the national government, meant to monitor and organize mage guilds.

-It being corrupt as it is later is not really a surprise as there’s really not a lot to hold them accountable; Jellal and Ultear infiltrated the council and it’s implied that Jellal through work for the Council was named Wizard Saint.

-There’s probably more than just those two who have infiltrated the ‘Magic Council’ organization. Those two are just notable for having reached such a high level, as they both had voting power.

-Erza’s actually a holder-type mage, who can also use caster-type magic

-Specifically re-quip is a caster-type magic but she uses both the inherent and charged abilities of her armor and weapons to further her strength and abilities physically and magically. She’s also got some telekinesis so she can also further use this to ‘wield’ more weapons

-Erza’s oblivious to a lot of social things, which is not surprising as she’s not actually the social type.

-She’s missed so many people having a crush on her: Simon, Lucy, Gray, Bisca... yeah, Erza turns people into useless lesbians. Gray somehow manages to avoid this, possibly through the power of stripping. More probably through friendship and being in a Rivalry with Natsu

-Rivals is a relationship status okay; someone where between committed and it’s complicated

-Erza’s ability to kill a bitch gets nerfed for plot purposes; namely Jellal

-Jellal, you being evil I like. You have personality. You’re an asshole but somehow charming with your teenage boy sense of humor and extra-ness. Your fashion sense however needs work.

-Jellal was clearly in charge of getting supplies and such for his minions/slaves. And yet he can’t import a fashion sense? Clearly skipped movie night too much

-Wally so did make movie nights happen; they can probably quote movies verbatim

-Jellal focused a lot on Natsu. Not for his magic but because he wanted to fight Natsu. No evil plotting here

-Simon, you are so pathetic, this is why you’re a plot point later, so you can actually be useful after death

-Also Erza, ‘Eternal Wizard Saint’? Aren’t you just going a little far in your imaginary funeral. Makarov’s speech was in character but, a little more realism

-Oh and there’s more mook death in the Tower of Heaven arc; I think I mentioned it before? Them getting crushed by a collapsing tower and then vaporized by unstable magic? No wonder Erza and Jellal were spit back out; plenty of people died.

-Erza probably ripped open her second origin/magic container here, trying to absorb and direct the unstable Etherion magical build-up

-The way the story is framed makes you think the dragons are out and in hiding somewhere, instead of being spirits inside their slayers or something

-It’s probably a flashback?

-Oh and Lucy can make fireworks too; clearly gate keys are not just for summoning spirits

[yamchaz]

Are you Anti NaruHina bcus it changed Naruto or because you dislike he is happy with Hinata?

I am not Anti or Pro any anime pairing in the Naruto FanBase to be perfectly clear and honest with you. I clarify myself as a neutral shipper, meaning I tend to stay in the middle, I don’t care about canon, fanon, headcanons, I just don’t care. I am sick to death of the bickering in the fandom because none of this was what Naruto was even about. The series was my childhood and I watched Boruto because of the nostalgia to see Team 7 that I grew up with. I will always be loyal to Naruto as a series and to Naruto as a character. The series might have ended atrociously but it doesn’t change the fact that the series means more to majority of us from what it taught us as a whole than what it ended as.I’m not Anti NH or Pro NH to clarify that first of all. I simply stated in my post that I liked the bromance between Sasuke and Naruto. Then I was jumped on because that is all they will ever have and Hinata was more significant. Okay? Who the hell said it needed to be more than that? And when did I ever put in that post anything about Hinata? You all made me sick making it about something that it wasn’t. I tagged it as Anti for the legitimate fact I predicted you all jumping on my case which still happened! A bromance is a bromance. Turk and JD from Scrubs are prime examples of bromance, Turk is married with a child and still validates his best friend. Turk even laid on the ground once so that JD didn’t have to lay there alone. I’m not angry at you persay either, I have over five NaruHina shippers in my inbox that I’ve ignored for the last seven weeks and I’m not sure if they are all the same person but my patience finally ran thin, so I’m directing this to all the other messages too. Just to make THIS clear too while I’m at it:I’m not Anti SS or Pro SS because I legitimately don’t care for them as a pairing, I don’t mind them as individuals and on top of that I have seen so much worse than these two. Yet everyone is starting world war III over them being together. Have you even seen Goku and ChiChi from Dragonball Z? That is an absolute atrocity. No one talks about ChiChi forcing Goku to marry her and Goku being the idiot that he is thinks marriage is a buffet so he ignorantly agrees. Have you seen V and Eve from V for Vendetta? V literally kidnapped, tortured, starved, beat and proceeded to shave Eve bald just to enforce her to understand what he went through. It is even subtly implied that V is a homosexual female that was experimented on then burned alive because the time era wasn’t too fair to the gay culture, the government legally ruled them as deformities. Yet people hail their relationship because she came to understand V as a human, not as a monster. Harley Quinn and the Joker top Sasuke and Sakura because they are literally absolutely terrible together. Do I even have to go into them? Hell people even support Sarutobi and Gintoki together romantically from Gintama. Sarutobi literally tries to rape Gintoki every chance she gets, but it is comic relief so people never put this in serious light. Point is that there are people who will always see both sides of everything and will fight tooth and nail to defend pairings much worse than Sasuke and Sakura. So it’s not the end of the world. The point is that if you like something then you just enjoy what you like. Don’t push your beliefs onto others, and don’t let them push theirs onto you. My parents are die hard Teen Titan fanatics and my dad worships Starfire and Robin together, he rewatched the movie where they kissed probably more than a billion times. My mother on the other hand despises Robin and Starfire together, she has never understood the appeal. However she supports Beast Boy and Raven together. Wild, right? She can like two people who are total opposites but not like a pair that show obvious attraction to one another? Ridiculous! However guess what? That’s her preference and that’s her opinion. She’s entitled to like whatever she likes and so is my father. They disagree on many things but as adults they come to understand both sides while still not bashing one another’s opinions or pushing their beliefs onto one another. Why can’t this fandom be the same way? Enjoy Naruto for what it is for any reason you so choose. If you like the pairings then appreciate the pairings. If you enjoy the battles then reminisce about the battles. If you just want to see Team 7 in action after all these years then hit up my inbox to fanboy with me over it. If the wedding was your favorite part then replay that episode as many times as your heart desires. My blog is a safe place for you to like whatever it is you enjoy. I’m not going to bash your beliefs, I’m not going to argue with you about them. For all I care the series could end tomorrow but I have fifteen years worth of memories that I don’t regret, despite the terrible ending, it doesn’t change the incredible beginning.