#shes come so far and got a free bird out of it. Good for her :'D

[andernell]

post-EW Palennia. Living the edgelords dream as a Reaper WoL these days. I'm sorry Ley Lines, I still love you bby TTwTT

[yns-world]

lion & lioness

title: lion & lioness

pairing: erik killmonger x fem!reader

summary: erik takes the heart-shaped herb and sees his lost lover.

word count: 1k

warnings: reader death

a/n: i’m now taking requests for killmonger so feel free to send in your requests <3

As the new king of Wakanda, it is ritual for Erik to drink the essence of the heart-shaped herb and to speak with his ancestors. But as the searing power of the herb ran through his veins, he felt himself arriving at a place other than his childhood home. 

When he opened his eyes, Erik found himself at the edge of a lake, in a forest that he recognizes. The creatures of the night sang their songs-- crickets and insects chirped, the nocturnal birds trilled, and the wind lapped at the lake water. The night was full of life under the illuminating light of the full moon. 

Erik craned his head back to take in the sight of the moon. A soft breeze blew past Erik, and a scent caressed his nose-- a familiar scent. 

A moment later, Y/N materialized a few feet in front of him, wearing a sheer gown made of white silk. 

“My King.” Y/N beckoned, with a proud smile on her face. Erik’s eyes filled with a mix of love and heartbreak. He broke the distance and pounced on her, wrapping his arms around her in a bone-crushing embrace. 

His tears were seeping through her translucent gown, and Y/N ached at the sight of his pain. 

Y/N pulled back just enough to see his face. When she cupped his cheeks with her hands, he noticed that they were not cold, but they held the same warmth that they always did when she was still with him. This fact only made him cry more. 

“You’ve come so far, N’Jadaka. You’ve done it.” 

It was true, their whole lives were spent fighting for this one moment-- the moment where Erik was crowned king of Wakanda; where he was revered as the true Black Panther. 

But before he was the Black Panther, they were Lion & Lioness. Hearts and souls bound as one.  

“I need you by my side.” Desperation laced Erik’s voice, his eyes pleading with her.

“As long as the moon is out, I am with you.” She momentarily took her eyes off him to gaze up at the moon, and the moon reflected in her wide eyes. 

Erik’s expression shifted from one of despair to one of bitterness.

This was injustice-- his whole life was an act of injustice-- and Erik swore to avenge each and every action done to him, starting with burning the sacred garden of the heart-shaped herb.

Y/N knew that face, she knew exactly what it meant when Erik’s eyebrows furrowed and his usual scowl deepened.

“If you burn those flowers, you cut off our connection.” 

Immediately, Erik felt a moment of pain that he would feel if he did burn those flowers-- it was scorching pain, like someone took a rod of fire and ran it through his chest before dragging it down his torso and cutting him in half. But that was only the start of the pain, what came next was indescribably worse.

After the initial wave of hell, he was left hollow. He was an empty shell of a man.

He did not remember happiness. He could not recall love. 

He couldn’t even remember the original reason for why he became king in the first place. 

In that single, simulated moment, Erik was no longer himself. He was merely a ghost. 

The feeling washed over him as quickly as it came and he was brought back to the present-- his arms around Y/N as she stared into his eyes, experiencing every emotion with him. 

Erik was silent, but he knew better than to burn those flowers. He wouldn’t dare cut off a connection like theirs.

“Secondly, your heir…” Y/N’s words trailed off and she brought a hand to her stomach. Erik’s eyes followed her hand and was stunned. He gently kneeled in front of her, and placed his hand over her stomach. He pressed a kiss on the baby bump.

He then got back up, asking how many months she had left.

“Soon.” Y/N smiled a bit wider when she saw Erik’s impatient expression. 

Before he could get another word in, Y/N gave Erik a chaste kiss on his cheek.

“Good luck, N’Jadaka. Your story is only beginning.”

---

Erik’s body shot up, his chest heaving as he attempted to regulate his breathing. 

---

Months would pass since that night and there was a significant shift in Erik’s ruling. What was once a war-hungry dog, has now turned into a protector of his nation. 

But recently, something has been eating away at Erik. A gnawing feeling was twisting and churning every moment he was alone. He was restless at night and was suffering from insomnia. 

It was another night in a string of sleepless-nights, but this time he was called to the window. Erik looked up at the indigo sky, a full moon gazed back at him.

Tonight was one year since Y/N’s passing. 

Erik closed his eyes and bowed his head towards the moon. 

“Rest easy, my Queen.”

When he opened his eyes, he witnessed a shooting star race across the sky-- it flew across the moon and seemed to be inching closer and closer towards the castle.

Erik’s body acted before his brain could catch up and he bolted down to the castle entrance.

Outside the entrance sat a baby wrapped in white silk. Erik picked up the swaddled baby and recognized the texture of the cloth immediately-- it was the same cloth Y/N wore when he last saw her. 

Holding up the baby in the moonlight, Erik was able to see the striking resemblance to Y/N.

As he was admiring the baby, a name was whispered in his ear.

Leona. 

And that was what the heir to the Wakandan throne was called. 

Leona Stevens; Lion at heart; born of royal blood. 

The next day, the royal courts would rejoice at this news. The elders were not appalled by the appearance of this heir, they were rather fascinated that they have lived long enough to see this phenomenon happen in front of their very eyes. 

Kings come and go, but nothing could ever dispute Erik’s bloodright of being king since he has been gifted by the gods with an heir. 

Leona’s birth would be celebrated for the next week. She would be revered as the Snow Leopard, for her rare birth and the even rarer occurrence of having an heir blessed by Bast herself.

“Leona!” Wakanda chanted. “Daughter of King N’Jadaka and Queen Y/N; Princess Leona, the Snow Leopard!”

a/n: if you enjoyed reading, please consider reblogging and tipping, that supports me and my account more than likes :)

DON’T BE A GHOST READER!!!!! let me know your thoughts, opinions, ideas, etc in the comments!!! i love talking with y’all <3

i’m open to requests! free feel to request, just make sure to read my pinned post for request rules <3

[dovesdreaming]

A deal with a pirate

Summary: You and Harry fake date so that he can come to Auradon and you can show everyone you’re still a villain kid. Though maybe this deal got blurred when Harry became so charming.

A/N- sorry about not posting for a while works been giving me way too many extra hours and then my childhood 1D heart was broken. Will try to post more again!

Requested

Masterlist

-

Auradon had always been a place of glittering sunlight, lush gardens, and chirping birds, a world far removed from the shadows of the Isle of the Lost. The moment you stepped foot here, you felt the weight of its purity pressing down on you. But no matter how radiant the kingdom of Auradon was, there was always room for a little mischief, and as the daughter of Yzma, you knew how to find it. You had been here for a few months now, blending in among the children of royalty and reformed villains. But despite the perfect smiles and lessons on "goodness" you'd learned one important lesson: everyone had a price. That was the reason you found yourself in a small, forgotten courtyard behind the palace, waiting for someone who had no business being in Auradon.

Harry Hook. The infamous son of Captain Hook, complete with his devilish grin, coal-lined eyes, and ever-present hook hanging at his side, strolled toward you like he owned the place. His swagger never ceased to amaze you. He was, after all, a pirate and pirates rarely walked anywhere. They strutted. "Didn't think you'd be the type to call for help, love" he drawled, voice thick with his Isle accent as he approached. The teasing smirk playing on his lips was all too familiar. You crossed your arms, unfazed. "I'm not asking for help, Hook. It's business”.

Harry tilted his head, his ocean-blue eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Business, eh? And what's a prim and proper Auradon girl like you need from the likes of me?" You huffed, rolling your eyes. "I need a favor. A small one. You pretend to date me, just for a little while”.

That caught his attention. His brows shot up, and he leaned in slightly. "Aye? Now, why would you need a pirate boyfriend? Tryin' to stir up a little trouble, are ye?" You resisted the urge to snap back. Harry loved to push buttons, and you couldn’t afford to lose your cool, not yet. "I need people to think I’m not falling in line with the 'Auradon way' too much. They're starting to suspect I’m actually trying to be good”. "And you’re not?" Harry quirked an eyebrow, clearly amused. You smirked. "Let's just say my mother would roll over in her grave if she knew I was doing anything without an ulterior motive”. Harry let out a low chuckle. "Yzma's daughter. Of course. But what’s in it for me? I don’t fake date for free, love”.

You'd expected this. "You help me, and I’ll help you get to Auradon permanently. You’ve always wanted off that miserable Isle, right?" His eyes sparkled with interest, though he tried to hide it with another smirk. "Auradon, eh? And how are you plannin' to pull that off? They barely let me in for school events, and even then, it's like I'm smuggling treasure just to set foot here”. You shifted your weight, the familiar scheming instincts kicking in. "I’ve been working with some of the royals, doing a bit of undercover work. If you’re my 'boyfriend,' I can convince them you’re reformed. You know, good influence and all that. It’s only temporary, but if it works, you’ll have a shot at staying in Auradon for good”. Harry was quiet for a moment, studying you. His gaze was sharp, calculating. It was one thing to make a deal with a pirate, but it was another to trust one. He had to see the benefits for himself and he clearly did.

He flashed you a grin, all teeth and mischief. "Alright, darling. You’ve got yourself a deal. But I’ll warn ye… I don’t do anything halfway. If we’re gonna convince the royals, we’ll have to make it look real. Very real”. You swallowed, sensing the challenge in his tone but refusing to back down. "I can handle it. Can you?" Harry’s smirk widened. "Oh, I think you’ll find I’m more than capable”.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of whispered conversations, stolen glances, and staged rendezvous that started to feel a little too convincing. It was all part of the act, you told yourself. The long walks around the palace grounds, the way Harry would casually sling his arm around your shoulders in front of everyone, or how he'd wink at you across the dining hall when the Auradon kids were watching, it was all just a game. Except, sometimes, it didn’t feel like a game. One afternoon, while sitting on a bench in the palace gardens, away from prying eyes, you turned to Harry, trying to keep your tone casual. "You’re really laying it on thick, you know that?"

Harry leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head, looking as relaxed as ever. "That's the point, love. We're supposed to be convincing, aren't we?" You shot him a look. "Yeah, but I didn’t expect you to be so…" He leaned forward, smirking. "Charming?" You glared at him, though the heat rising in your cheeks betrayed you. "Annoying”. He laughed, and the sound was warm, almost infectious. "Aye, well, if I’m annoying, you’re the one who’s letting me. Seems to me like you’re enjoying this more than you care to admit”. You opened your mouth to argue, but something about the way his eyes sparkled with mischief, and something deeper, made the words die in your throat. Instead, you looked away, your heart pounding. "Don’t get too cocky, Hook. It’s still just a deal”.

Harry was quiet for a moment, the teasing edge in his voice softening. "Aye… a deal. But maybe it doesn't have to stay that way”. You froze, slowly turning back to him. His expression was serious now, the playful mask gone. For the first time, you saw vulnerability in his eyes something real beneath the pirate swagger. Your heart skipped a beat. This was Harry Hook, the son of one of the most dangerous villains in history. And yet, sitting here in the gardens of Auradon, he wasn’t the hardened pirate or the ruthless flirt. He was just a boy who wanted something more.

Before you could respond, Harry stood, stretching his arms above his head, the grin returning to his face like a shield. "Well, darling, we’ve got a party to attend tonight, and if we’re gonna keep up appearances, I suggest we make quite the entrance”. He held out his hand to you, and after a brief hesitation, you took it. Maybe this deal was becoming more complicated than you’d intended. But then again, deals with pirates usually did.

[valhallaas]

That’s My Girl

pairing: bradley rooster bradshaw x sunshine!reader

word count: 3.1k

warnings: SMUT (18+, minors dni) vaginal fingering, p in v, cream pie (wrap it up, pals) jake stirring the pot like the shithead he is

summary: when everyone but rooster sees it, there’s always a texan willing to step up to the plate. 

a/n: not me cackling while writing this like some crazed woman. ya’ll can blame @glen-powells​​ for this. the text messages can prove it. 

Part 2

Part 3

It surprises you every time you come back to the Hard Deck how it hasn’t changed. At least the atmosphere. Civilians and aviators alike. Penny grins at you when you walk in. Elbowing your way through the crowd, you take a seat at the bar, leaning far enough over to let her kiss you on the cheek. Her and your mom had been best friends. Penny’s known you since you were in diapers, helped your mom through the divorce, and helped you when she passed away. You always did your best to come visit her when you could. You’re on leave for the next two months and you aren’t wasting it anywhere else but here.

“Long time no see.” Penny says as she grabs you a drink.

You only grin. “You’ll be seeing so much of me, you’ll be sick of me.”

“Is free labor included in that?”

“Always.” A two toned whistle catches your attention. Turning to look behind you, you sigh at the sight. Holy shit. They’re all here. Your eyes narrow at the blonde, his grin widening when he catches you staring. “Maybe not tonight, Pen.”

Penny shakes her head. “I didn’t think so. Go on, then.”

Throwing her a grateful smile, you’re up and heading towards the pool table. It’s a reunion, no doubt. You’d been overseas the last few months. Seeing everyone here is a blessing. You can’t help the splitting grin on your face when Bob wraps you up right in his arms. How the two of you hit it off, you’ll never know, but you aren’t complaining.

“Look who it is, folks. Our Sunny girl. Did ya’ll see it get brighter in here when she walked in?”

Your eyes roll so far into the back of your head you’re surprised they don’t get stuck. Turning, you come face to face with the blonde who’d called for your attention.

“Hangman,”

He pulls the toothpick out of his mouth and winks. “Sunshine.”

“What’s got y’all here?”

“You.” Phoenix answers, standing from where she knocked two solids in at the pool table.

You turn to look back at the bar. Penny’s already looking at you with a smirk. What a little sneak. You should’ve known she let you go too easily. Shaking your head you step forward and snag the pool stick from Hangman. He smirks, but doesn’t say anything. You quirk an eyebrow. Lieutenant Jake Seresin keeping his mouth shut? It’s a goddamn miracle. His eyes never leave you as the game finishes. Phoenix grumbles at her loss, you were three shots behind when you started. It’s not your fault that you’re good, that you’re very good. Handing the stick off to Bob, your eyes scan the bar. It’s been almost thirty minutes since you got here. It’s a Saturday night and the bar is busy.

No Hawaiian shirt in sight. No porn mustache spotted anywhere. Your shoulders deflate. If everyone else is here, why isn’t he?

“Who you looking for, Sunshine?”

You glance sideways. “Wouldn’t like to know.”

Jake only grins. “Your bird boy ain’t here yet. Had a meeting with Maverick, I believe.”

Fucking Christ. Are you really that hopeless when it comes to him? So exposed that even Bagman can tell that your head over heels for Rooster? It’s not like it’s your fault. If you had it your way, you’d be happy with your own company. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think you do. Because as much as you pine for him, Bradshaw is a dumbass.”

“What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t noticed, Sunny. You’re still that kid from down the road. You need to do something to make him see you.”

The thought has crossed your mind. You’ve known Bradley so long that he probably didn’t think of you that way. Your teeth bite into your cheek, hands fiddling with the hem of your dress. You don’t miss the way Hangman’s eyes take you in. His gaze lingering on your bare thighs. You huff out a small laugh, pulling his attention back to your face.

You and Jake have a weird relationship. He annoys you to no end but you trust him with your life. Pretty sure you’re the only one in the bar that does. Jake’s been protective of you since you met at Top Gun. A relationship without the relationship, you suppose.

“Can always stir the pot,”

You blink. “What?”

“Make him jealous, Sunny.” A snort escapes you and you slap a hand over your mouth. Jake’s smile is wide, his head falling back with a deep chuckle. “Oh, Sunny girl.”

“I have no one to make him jealous. Even if I did, that’s a stupid idea. What am I, in eighth grade?”

“Honey, look at who you’re talking to.”

Green eyes devour you when you look up at him. He is right. No one gets under Rooster’s skin more than Hangman. You bite your lip, unsure. You shouldn’t. You really, really shouldn’t. But there’s a fire in Hangman’s eyes, like he’s got a point to prove. Playing with the hem of your dress, you scrape the toe of your shoe against the floor. Fuck it, really, what do you have to lose?

“What are we going to do, exactly?”

Jake raises his hand, cupping the side of your face. His thumb lightly drags over your bottom lip before pulling it down. He pulls it away and looks down at the faintly smeared mauve color now on the pad. He lifts it up to his mouth and rubs it in.

“What are you doing?”

His lips tilt into a knowing smirk. “Teasin’.”

He’s going to get you in trouble. Lifting a hand to your own mouth, it’s smacked lightly. Sharp eyes glare at him.

“Go pick out a song. Let’s dance.”

“Dance?”

“Yeah, Sunshine, dance. Now go, and pick out a good one.”

You roll your eyes but do as you're told. Eyes follow you the whole way to the jukebox. You lean over, just a bit, the bottom of your dress rising up to tease. Was that why you wore it? Maybe. You wouldn’t tell. Flipping through the songs, you pause a few pages back, a knowing smile taking over your face. Putting the money in, you twirl back to face Jake. When the song starts playing he laughs.

“Honey, you are playing dirty.”

“You started it.”

“Well, you do have your boots on.” He says toeing your Ariats.

“Come on, Texas. Show me how to boogie.”

“You are asking for trouble.”

An eyebrow raises. “Pot, meet kettle.”

Jake doesn’t say anything else. His hand grabs for yours, his arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you tightly to him. You can’t help but gasp when his thigh slots between yours. Tightening your grip on his shoulder, he twirls you both out and makes room to have a dance floor. The other patrons cheer while watching. A few cat calls thrown your way. A carefree laugh makes its way from you. It’s been a long time since you’ve felt this way. It’s silly, really. To think that teasing a grown ass man made you feel this way.

“Just a heads up, Sunny girl, Bradshaw’s been watching since you went to pick out the song.” Your heart drops. What now? You go to turn your head, to try to find him, anything, really, but are stopped short. Jake slides his hand into your hair keeping you still. “Stop. You’re going to ruin it. I can see his fucking vein bulging from here.”

This is a good thing, right? This is what you wanted? His attention? Jake knows what he’s doing. He’s never led you astray before. Hopefully he won't start now. Jake lets you go, hanging you out with one hand before twirling you around. You’re facing away from him now, and you come face to face with Rooster. You inhale sharply, the smell of him overwhelming you.

“What’s going on here?” He asks, no preamble.

“We’re dancing, I know you have eyes, Bradshaw.”

Bradley looks from Hangman down at you. Head to toe his eyes blaze over you. A fire touching your skin. Licking at the top of your exposed breasts and down your thighs. You can see his lips twitch. The man knows you. His hand reaches out, pinches the fabric of the dress, rolling it between his fingers. It’s his favorite color, and by the look in his eyes you know he knows you wore it just for him.

“Hey Sunshine.”

“Hi Rooster.”

“Couldn’t wait for me, huh?”

You frown. Opening your mouth to talk, you’re promptly cut off. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Rooster shrugs. You follow after him to the table where all your friends are. Most of them try their hardest to look as if they aren’t watching this scene play out like a movie. You jump up to sit on the table, grabbing your drink and taking a sip. You hand Hangman his beer, his glare still on the man beside you. Neither of them say anything for a long time. They just stare, having a silent conversation that you don’t know how to decipher.

“Didn’t know you had a thing for Bagman, Sunshine.” Rooster finally says.

You snort, ignoring Jake’s smirk. “He wishes.”

“That why your lipstick is on his mouth?”

“Who’s mouth should it be on? Wouldn’t want it to go to waste.” Jesus Christ, he’s trying to get you into fucking trouble. Widened eyes look at Jake, his face more stoic than you’ve ever seen it.

“What does that mean?”

Hangman huffs, taking a pull from his beer. “All I’m saying Bradshaw, is that you’ve got a hell of a woman hanging off every word you say. Waiting on you to finally do something. So, you better fuck her before I do.”

Did he know you could hear him? You’re sitting like two feet away. Neither of the men back were backing down and it’s making your anxiety spike. They’ve always been at each other's throats. You’re not sure when their little feud became about you.

“Did she say that?”

“Say what?”

“Did Sunshine say that she wanted you to fuck her?”

There was no hiding the smugness in Bradley’s tone. Hook, line, and sinker. A muscle twitches in Jake’s jaw from how hard he’s clenching his teeth. Suddenly, he glances over at you and you know you must look like a deer caught in headlights. He sighs but it doesn’t sound like one of defeat. More like he’s losing his patience.

He steps towards you, thumb trailing over your bottom lip. “If it doesn't work out with him, Sunny. You know where to find me.”

Hangman turns without looking at either of you again and makes for the jukebox. Your lips quirk up when you recognize the song.

***

The sound of the door closing is your only warning. Hazel eyes meet yours in the mirror as you roll your neck. Your body relaxes when you feel him press up against your back. He’s so warm it sends chills running down your spine. The bathroom isn’t all that big. Bradley stands behind you, invading your space and swallowing it whole. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. It’s easy to see that Hangman’s words have gotten under your skin. Your heart thunders in your chest at what’s going to happen next. A small prayer is sent off that Penny never finds out.

“You look good, flower.”

You smile at the nickname. “Thanks. It’s always fun when you can dress up in civvy clothes.”

He huffs. “The dress is really something,”

You grin at him through the mirror and you see Adam’s apple bob, hazel eyes fixated on your lips. You swallow, your throat thick. Tearing your gaze from his, you smooth your hands down the soft material, fingers playing with the hem of it. You took a chance with it, and you’re grateful it’s working out in your favor.

The tension is thick and heady. It clings to your skin, his callouses catch on your skin, gluing themselves to you. The music from the jukebox beats against the bathroom door, it’s the only thing accompanied by your heavy breathing. Your eyes shut when his hand pulls your hair to rest over one shoulder. A light yank of your hair has them snapping open. You meet his eyes in the mirror. One eyebrow quirks up at you. With a shaky breath you nod. Bradley leans in, lips lightly brushing against the expanse of your neck. His gaze rests on the soft spot right next to where it connects to your shoulder. You tilt your neck not only to give him more access, but permission too. Your lips tilt at the groan he lets out before his lips are on you.

Slowly his hands pull your sleeves down your arms. Goosebumps rise on your exposed skin. It makes you feel a little vulnerable. But then Bradley pushes himself even closer. He’s got his Hawaiian shirt on, jeans, and his boots. You can feel him breathing, his chest warming your back. It’s when he pushes his hips against you—you can feel him. All of him. A whimper escapes you and you see him grin in the mirror.

A hand trails down your side while the other moves to your chest. Your head falls back when a nipple is taken between his calloused fingers. You’ve only dreamt of what his hands would feel like. Your imagination didn’t do him justice. The heat coming from him is intoxicating. You’ve been so caught up in him that you haven’t realized a hand has been slipping down, down down. Fingers toiling with your dress, pushing the skirt up slowly. A hum rumbles from him when his fingers finally find your core, slipping between your folds. You’re completely soaked. You’ve been this way since he appeared right in front of you. Your breath locks in your throat when he slips a digit in.

“Christ,” he mutters, voice thick like honey. “No panties, flower?”

You whine, you can’t help it. You push your hips back into him, arching your back. His voice, the accusation in his tone. You knew what you were doing when you left your house. Maybe he’d come home with you, fucking you good and proper in your bed. Not pressed up against the sink of the Hard Deck. Bradley pulls his finger out only to push it back in with another. He does this, warming up your body, until you’re moaning, your own hand wrapped around his wrist and guiding him. You can’t stop your hips from grounding down on his hand. Desire has taken over. Bradley has left your nipple, hand now wrapped around your throat, holding you hostage to watch yourself in the mirror. He grunts when you clench around his fingers. You’re close, so close.

“Bradley,” you whine, fingers digging into his arm.

“I know, flower. You want it real bad, don’t you? Let me feel it. Let me feel you gush all over my hand sweet girl. Would you like that?”

You’re going to come off his words alone. A moan falling from your lips as the pressure tightens. It’s only moments later when the band snaps, hot liquid flooding throughout your body. Your head falls back against his chest, another moan filling the small space.

“That’s it, that’s my girl.”

You can feel him moving behind you. The distinct clinking of his belt being undone. Your whole body grows hotter in anticipation. Searing heat hits you, a hand stroking himself while the other is spreading you open. Heat pulses between your legs. There’s no doubt that he’ll split you wide open. After what you just pulled with Jake, you’d be surprised if he was forgiving at all. It’s a little fucked up, but it warms your belly all the same. Lifting your head, you gasp when his eyes meet yours. Bradley’s pupils are blown, lust and primal desire have taken over. His lips pink and full, he bends down and kisses right between your shoulder blades. Traveling up your spine, over your shoulder, he digs his teeth in where it meets your neck. You don’t miss his smirk when you moan.

He slides a hand across your ass, slapping you just hard enough to leave a red handprint behind as he thrust deep, bottoming out. A hand clamps down around your mouth, muffling the scream trying to break free. He’s big, so fucking big. He’s filling you up like never before. It hurts, a pain that you will never get enough of. Your knuckles turn white with each rough, lazy thrust. Bradley slides a hand along your spine, up the back of your neck and into your hair, your breath catches as he pulls your head up and you’re meeting his gaze in the mirror. He’s watching you come undone around him. Each stroke pulling more and more pleasure. Your cheeks are flushed, pupils blown with lust, and lips parted as each of your clipped breaths turn into whimpers.

“Flower,” he grits, hand tightening in your hair, “you feel so fucking good.”

You stare back at him, feet spreading wider to let as much of him in as you can. His teeth dig into your skin again, this time leaving bruises behind. It makes you whine. Little secrets that litter your skin. He thrusts harder, rougher until your hand is pressed against the mirror just to keep you balanced. He’s fully claiming you. Cock punching into the deepest part of you. Neither of you are too worried about the sounds escaping you now.

“Bradley, I–” you're cut off by a whimper when he reaches that spongy spot deep inside you. Over and over again, you feel it approaching, your orgasm is going to come crashing down and you’re ready to bask in it. Your face lifts up, like a sunflower searching for the sun.

“Flower? Are you going to come for me again? Are you going to let me feel you come around my cock?”

“Yes! Yes, I–Rooster, fuck,”

You come on his cock like a tidal wave, and when you collapse against the counter, your body trembles, heaving desperately for air. Bradley groans, pulling you up until you’re flush against him. His lips meet yours in a messy kiss, bucking his hips harder until he’s chasing his high right over the ledge with you.

“Good girl,” he praises, wiping the sweat off the back of your neck. “Good fuckin’ girl. That’s my good girl.”

The jukebox is still blaring when you exit the bathroom. Slowly you make your way back to where your friends are. Ignoring all of their knowing stares you reach for your drink and down it. When Bradley finally makes his appearance beside you, a possessive arm thrown over your shoulders and a quick kiss to the crown of your head. Hangman’s watching the both of you, a knowing look in his eye.

“So, Bradshaw, how was she?”

[bones4thecats]

(This is my first Time requesting On tumblr so Sorry if I say something wrong.) can I request a Record Of Ragnarok Leonidas x reader..? Where The reader is The Younger Sister Of Apollo and Acts exactly like him. (Hope this is good, I usually say a lot but I don’t want to overwhelm anybody so I try to keep it a little.)

➸ The Sister of Apollo; Leonidas × S/O

Characters: Leonidas A/N: Artemis' design goes to diyuxii on instagram! No clue on Reader's dress and crown though! Comment if you do know! And don't worry, you're doing fine on requesting! And this was an amazing request, loved the idea and had a lot of fun writing it! And don't feel overwhelmed, I'm not exactly the judgy type. Mistakes are mistakes. Hope you like this though <3 ➥ Summary: When the younger sister of Apollo takes a walk on Earth and comes across a Spartan army, will a seed of love begin to grow between mortal and immortal?

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Leonidas ══════════════════════════════╝

🚬 The one day you got free from your duties, you decided to go down to Earth. It always fascinated you, how these mortals lived without any worry of their safety despite being weak to everything surrounding them in some way

🚬 As you walked around the gorgeous forest, you felt the warmth of the sun that your brother, Apollo, ruled over. You had been spoiled rotten by the God for years, and it only got doubled with your older sister, Artemis

🚬 She may be busy with her own duties most of the time, but whenever she was free, she'd come by and mess around with you and her younger brother. Artemis was an amazing sister and Apollo was an amazing brother, but even you needed some space

🚬 Smiling as you heard a bird sing above you, your hand reached out. The small White-Wagtail chirped as you let it rub its feathery-head on your cheek lovingly. This was a normal thing that happened everywhere you went, as you were a Goddess of Nature

🚬 The people of Greece whom worshiped you had given you a specific name, that being Γυναίκα του Αιθέριου, or Mulier aetherei, which both translate to Woman of the Ethereal

🚬 So to sum it up, you were hailed for your beauty and connection to nature. Unique, I know.

🚬 It was when you let the bird fly off that you heard the yells of men from a couple miles away. Your eyebrows furrowed in concern before you shape-shifted into a Pallid Swift and flew off at the fastest speed your wings could take you

🚬 You reached the edge of the woods, finding a battle. You knew whom was fighting by how they looked; it was the Greek Spartans and the Persians Warriors. Eyes began to trail from the battle, and you caught the eyes of their leader, Xerxes

🚬 He gasped and yelled for his men to back away, but you already landed between the forces. Underneath your now-clawed foot, a Persian soldier squirmed in agony. He could feel your claws digging into his ribs and stomach, and anyone who has felt your rage would agree that your anger was something that was far from painless

"King Xerxes. Unless you wish to lose both your entire army and your life, then go home." You warned, malice in your tone as you sadistically dug your claws deeper into the male's chest.

🚬 His screams of pain caused the King to looked at him and back up at you in fear. King Xerxes then looked at his men and yelled for them to retreat, but not before yelling he would get his vengeance on Leonidas soon

🚬 You released the Persian man from your grip and told him to run before turning around to looked at your Greek people. They looked at you in shock. Your stories always told of beauty unmatched, but that was an understatement in their eyes

🚬 The long, translucent sleeves of your top lightly moved in the wind with your long dress bottom. Leonidas looked at you from a distance and felt his heart racing. You were a Goddess, you must have had much more important things to handle then saving their asses in battle!

🚬 The King of Spartans walked up to you, laying his weapon and shield securely nearby as he looked into your eyes. They sparkled golden as you smiled, asking if he and his men were okay from the battle and if they needed to find a good spot to camp for the night before returning home

"It would be of no problem, King Leonidas. I assure you of that." You said.

"You are sure of this?" He asked to confirm.

"But of course! Why would I lie to such an accomplished man such as yourself?"

🚬 Leonidas nodded and grabbed his stuff, yelling for his men to follow your form back to a secure location for the next couple days. They all nodded and followed you into the forest to where you were with the White-Wagtail just a couple hours prior

🚬 Landing back onto the soft grass, you told the men some things that they could use to make their nests to rest in. They thanked you and did as you directed. And as they made the perfect huts to sleep in that night, Leonidas watched as you pet a nearby wild horse. It happily accepted your pets and apple that you picked from a tree while traveling with the Spartans

🚬 The way you were so gentle, yet dangerous made Leonidas yearn. Yearn to understand you, to get to know you. But for now, he had to take some baby Spartan steps. After all, the last human to double-cross you faced the wrath of your brother and sister. And that was something Leonidas would rather not face while his people needed him

══✿══╡

🚬 When you finally decided to go back home, you were surprised to see both Apollo and Artemis standing outside. Their arms were crossed as they looked around impatiently, it was obvious they had been waiting for a while

"Where have you been, young lady?" Artemis asked.

"Just out." You said, feigning an innocent tone.

"Just out? Oh please, I've used that excuse so many times with mom that it's powerless against me." Apollo voiced.

🚬 You groaned and rolled your eyes. You knew that a mere vague-reason wasn't going to pass this time. And that just annoyed you. If they knew you were with a human, they'd have a cow!

"I- I came across some humans and spoke to them. I also helped them find somewhere to stay for the next few days while preparing for another battle. That cannot be a crime!" You said.

"Divine intervention?! Do you know how angry Zeus could get from that happening without his notification?" Artemis questioned, her voice slightly raising as you looked away in shame.

🚬 You had forgotten just how angry your lead God could get if he wasn't notified about some things. But, he was your father, so he wouldn't get that mad with you... right?

🚬 Artemis sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose before running her hand through her hair. She looked at you with her normal, stoic expression and just said she was going to get some shut-eye in her room

🚬 Apollo looked back at you and reached for your head. He pulled out a leaf that laid there. But, on that leaf was a strand of hair, black-turning-grey, to be specific

"Just don't let him hurt you, okay, little sister?"

"Okay, big brother." You said.

[optimist-pine]

Chicken

Summary: In which Daryl greatly regrets ever offering to help you.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 614

Era: The Prison

A/n: There's no dignified way to wrangle a chicken. (Source: just trust me.)

Capturing the ever-wilding fowl had been your bright idea, and you're sticking to the opinion that it's a good one - no matter what your companion's thoughts on the matter are. The crops are great, the pigs are fine, and the horses are beautiful. But the chickens have been your project from the start, and you take pride in your contribution.

At least, that's what you remind yourself as you stand here in the middle of the woods, out of breath and almost out of patience.

You take a step and startle the three birds in Daryl's direction for the umpteenth time. "If you-" You start to say.

He interrupts, "If these damn birds dun' start cooperatin' I'm eatin' chicken for dinner." He lunges for a black hen, wrapping his hands around her middle, but one of her wings isn't covered completely and it slips free, thwacking him square in the face. He recoils and drops her instinctively, cursing when she gets away again.

It's your turn to try and snatch a bird but you're finding it hard to stop laughing and your attempt is halfhearted. Daryl jumps on the opportunity, managing to hang onto the orange hen this time. Her wings are flapping like crazy and she's squawking as if he's trying to wring her neck; his arms holding her out as far from his body as possible. He's shouting at you to grab the crate to put her in, but a snort squeezes out and then another, and you're engulfed in laughter so intense you've got to hold your stomach and fight your screaming lungs for air.

You put your palm against a tree trunk for support, attempting to rein in the ridiculous sounds that your body is producing all while a chicken and a full-grown man have a mutual freakout a few steps away.

Somehow you manage to push the crate near enough to him that he can safely trap the hen. "It ain't that funny." He grumbles, giving you a squinty scowl.

"I know, I know, it shouldn't be-" You gasp around lungfuls of air.

"It ain't." He repeats.

"-but it is!" You choke. "You- you both looked ridiculous, I'm sorry!" Tears are leaking out of the corners of your eyes. The image of Daryl and the bird in full panic mode won't move out of your mind.

He huffs, the equivalent of an eye roll. "C'mon, girl. Let's get the rest'a yer stupid birds."

When you've made it back to the prison and introduced the new chickens to the rest of the flock Daryl points at the gorgeous white rooster you'd finally managed to wrangle. "Tha' one's gonna make a great meal."

You slap his arm lightly. "You better keep your grubby paws off'a my chickens! Sides, ya can't eat 'im til we get some chicks outta 'im."

Hershel joins the two of you with a gentle smile. "How'd the chicken catching go?"

"Piece'a cake." You grin.

That same orange hen is staring Daryl right in the eye. "That's not how I would'a described it..." He says, and you swear he shudders ever so slightly.

Unfortunately (for him) you spend a lot of time around the coop, and it's not long before a strange friendship reluctantly blossoms between the man and that bird. She constantly follows him and he actively tries to avoid her. It never fails to make you smile, and soon enough he's bringing her treats and giving her pats and it's rare not to see her tailing his heels.

And fortunately (for him) the day comes when he does in fact get to eat that rooster. He's adamant that it's the best chicken he's ever tasted.

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

I wanna preface this by saying Joy went too far in certain aspects of her S2 arc, but the Joy vs Nina situation would have never escalated that much in canon had Nina not been the Chosen One.

Like hear me out: the entire reason Joy was kidnapped in the first place was because she was supposed to be the Chosen One. And honestly, we’re never told for how long she was being told this. It might have been dropped on her only once she was back at home, or they might have told her way before then and she just didn’t give it too much thought before it suddenly became real. We have no real idea. But either way, her isolation from all of the friends she held dear, and the essential imprisonment in her own home was all due to being this supposed Paragon.

And she obviously doesn’t want to be the Chosen One. She says it multiple times in S1, to the point of tears and screaming. Joy is glad when it turns out not to be her, but it’s obvious that she basically went through that entire ordeal, missed a whole year of crucial social development in her actual home (bc lbr she probably spent more time at Anubis growing up than she did her actual house), all for nothing.

And to make matters worse, the actual Chosen One was walking around free as a bird, making friends with all Joy’s friends, and managing to capture Fabian’s affections. So here’s this girl that Joy doesn’t know at all, who has cemented herself in the daily lives and hearts of Anubis House residents, and she happens to hold the role that Joy had been forced to play to her detriment.

That’s what stings most, I think, though Joy says it’s about Fabian. Most of her actual hurt and actual retaliation comes from feeling excluded by Sibuna. “I’ve seen things, remember? Things we don’t talk about because you and your little Scooby gang shut me out.” She is most angry because her isolation never stopped.

Of course, it doesn’t help that she was in love with Fabian, and now the actual Chosen One (who in Joy’s mind has practically gotten everything handed to her) is with him.

I firmly believe that if Nina was just a normal girl and there wasn’t a mystery going on, but she still was dating Fabian, Joy would not have gone so far. It’s not right that she went that far in the first place, of course, but she was justifiably angry at the injustice of her situation. She should have turned that anger on the adults who got it wrong in the first place, but it’s way easier to punch on your level than to punch up at grown adults with power over you. It’s a real shame that Nina got caught in the crossfire of Joy’s war with the world, because they really could have been such good friends.

I made an edit of her that I think gets my point across better than this, that’s too large to post on tumblr so here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5_a8GhO0Xg/?igsh=MWlncmRsdWJxdHd6NA==

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[feroshgirlsims]

Chapter 6 - Prologue for a New After-Life

Excerpt from "The After-life for Gods and Monsters," location of book unknown.

[flashback]

It should be said that the space between universes was not a bar. You couldn't just stumble in whenever you wanted and pour yourself a drink.

Even if you were the most silver-tongued of creatures.

Even if you were fast as the fae.

"Akira Kibo, the after-life is not a free-for-all," Substance huffs, folding her arms. 

"Yeah, and if you ain't want visitors, you shoulda been faster closing the door." 

It was a technicality. But then again, technicalities were the lifeblood of the fae. 

Substance rolls her eyes, “Your father was like you. Fast enough to slip in here and take something that was ours. I hear the birds are still eating his liver."

"Sounds about right,” Akira smirks, “He was kind of an asshole.” 

And there, the creature standing before the Divine Creators demonstrated that he knew the foundational rule of the universe: 

Fuck around and find out.

“Akira Kibo, last one left,” Time observes in her honeyed voice. "Ancient upon ancient. Cursed with the speed that made you at once a harbinger and a relic. You must be lonely."

“I don’t gotta be,” Akira replies. “The Reaper's scythe is not a requirement for a new life.”

It was a law so arcane that the Divine Creators almost forgot they made it.

"You’ve done your reading," Substance allows, "And what would you offer in exchange for this new life? Would you get back what your father stole?”

"In exchange, I will make sure that what my father took ends up where it belongs."

As far as deals went, it left a lot to be desired. The fae can't lie, which wasn't the same as saying they don't lie, so that single statement presented loopholes upon loopholes.

But it was as close to satisfaction as the Creators were going to get. 

"It's tricky, starting a new life without death," Time purses her lips. "All this experience will be muscle memory, a life you feel but can't remember. You and your sister will be in between."

Akira shrugs. "We got over losing godhood. Pretty fuckin' sure we'll survive this." 

"So confident!" Time quirks a brow, "Alright. Have your new life, Akira. But first, a question. Who would you be in a whole new world? What would you do with a new set of circumstances?"

"I wouldn't be the last."

“I would keep them safe.”

It should be said that the Divine Creators were not usually chatty. Usually, they did not tell you shit. But sometimes, when you made a thing, you had a soft spot, and so, just before Akira reaches the doors, Time calls out:

“They will be unruly, Akira. And loathe to listen. They will make you break your rules and forget your vows. They will test your boundaries and leave you wanting. Death will come for you. And woe be unto the creatures standing in the way of the Hunt for your heart.”

With those parting words, the Creators watch as Akira walks out the doors and falls into his next life.

"The screaming is always so loud. We should change things up," Time muses. "What about a nice bayou instead of a warehouse? We could drown everyone in a lake instead of dropping them onto concrete."

“It won’t work,” Substance grumbles.

“Of course it will. I already have the perfect piece of property picked out.”

"Not your swamp. This plan. I don't like it."

Time is unphased. She sinks to her knees behind her wife, placing a steadying hand on her hip. "You worry too much."

“And you don't worry enough,” Substance tilts her head back. She bites down on a moan, fighting against the distraction. “You promised me an eternity of torment, and now we’ll have to free him because if the son exists, so too must the father.”

“You are too tense,” Time plants the softest kiss at the base of her wife's spine, “Remember when we killed all the gods and replaced them? This is like that. It's a good plan."

"But my birds are—"

Another kiss. "The birds won’t go hungry for too long. Akira will remember his task.”

“The living don’t remember shit.” Substance snaps, but her voice is breathless. "And anyway, he's too fast. Cursed with it."

“Then Death, my love, will just have to catch him.”

PREV | NEXT

(I was going to have them pour each other wine, but then this pose by @fallstaticexit came for my throat, and it is PERFECTION)

[dragons-bones]

FFXIV Write Entry #29: Only the Good Die Young

Prompt: thanatopsis (free write) || Master Post || On AO3 (coming in October)

A/N: Sooooo you remember how I was mildly bummed at the end of last year's FFXIV Write because the prompt could not at all fit the idea I had wanted to cap the challenge off with?

This is that idea.

---

The King of Ruin was dead and it should have been a momentous, joyous day.

Instead, as news of Theodoric’s death at the hands of the Resistance spread through Ala Mhigo and its citizens began to raggedly cheer, the clouds had parted above the city, and Garlean airships had begun raining down blue fire. And while the city shook and cheering turned to screams, someone opened the Ghimlyt Gate, and the ranks of the XIVth Legion entered the city.

No matter what the Ala Mhigans did, their city would fall. Five years of the Mad King’s rule had drained Ala Mhigo of her vitality; the Resistance had broken the Corpse Brigade, but they had neither the numbers nor the experience to stand against the Black Wolf. There would be no throwing back the Garlean advance.

But every warrior and mage still capable of fighting could ensure as many people escaped as possible.

And so, Tyr Greywolfe raced through the family manor, doing a final check of each room to ensure no one was left behind.

The last of the servants, including little Synnove’s nanny and the housekeeper, had slipped away a few days ago as the tension preceding the king’s overthrow began to reach its crescendo, fleeing the city should the Resistance fail. But there was always the chance one might have returned to fetch a forgotten belonging, or that someone was trying to seek shelter as ceruleum fell from the sky and destroyed walls and homes and history. Today, at least, every room was empty.

Maybe one day they wouldn’t be.

Tyr flew down the hallways, through the entrance hall, and out of the front doors so fast that his sheathed blades slapped bruises into his thighs even with being safely strapped down. His mother’s gardens were trampled and ruined, but he doubted her ghost would mind; their widower neighbor, Walcher Steelwolfe (cadet branch of a completely unrelated House Wolfe that had long since died out), had brought his chocobo carriage, and he was soothing both frightened birds as Havardr and Father got the women and children into the back. The roar of cannons echoed overhead and the clash of swords came from the east; the Wolf’s Den was one of the neighborhoods closest to the Ghimlyt Gate, and the XIVth was trying to push further in.

“House is clear!” Tyr called out.

His goodsister was carefully moving into the back of the carriage to allow the rest of the family onboard; he saw her clutching a satchel that he knew was full of important documentation, and hoped that Isolde’s foresight wouldn’t be needed in the coming days and sennights. Faramund was lifted up after her, but Father paused briefly to pull his only grandson into a crushing hug. The boy clutched back desperately; he was just old enough to have an inkling that today might be the last time he received such a hug.

Tyr darted across the yard to join his family, heart in his throat. Faramund was now up on the edge of the carriage, but his nephew leaned over and Tyr obligingly pulled him into his own hug.

“Love you, Uncle,” Faramund choked out, voice muffled by his face in Tyr’s leathers and another cannon shot exploding just blocks away.

“Love you, too, Far,” Tyr said, pulling back and ruffling his hair, turning to the others as Faramund followed after his mother.

Eydis was right there, head at his chin, and gods, how quickly she had grown. Nearly eighteen and his spitting image: dark brown skin, deep red hair, hawk’s nose and thin lips. But her eyes were the same green as his mother’s rather than Greywolfe gold and right now, they were filling with tears. Even more than her cousin, Eydis knew.

His daughter, his only child, crashed into him, and Tyr could do nothing except hold her as tight as he could as she sobbed into his neck.

“I love you, Papa,” she said. “Please, please…”

“I love you, Eydis,” he said, hoarse with emotion. “You are the best thing I ever helped put into this world. I will always be proud of you.”

Another sob heaved through her and Tyr pressed a kiss to her temple. After long moments, they drew apart; Eydis’s eyes were red-rimmed and still streaming, but a steely determination had descended upon her.

Tyr wiped the tears off her cheeks and held her face in his hands. And then he helped her up into the carriage.

Little Synnove had already been carefully placed into the carriage bed by her father, but she stared up at him with the same huge green eyes his daughter had. Her favorite plush wolf—sewn for her by his mother—was clutched tightly under her arm, but she reached for him with the other. Tyr gathered her close, gentle as always with her even as he made his hug as fierce as possible. With her nanny gone, Synnove had slept the last few nights with himself and Angharad, tucked safely between them and even joined by Eydis as initial clashes between the Corpse Brigade and the Resistance had echoed through the streets. But his niece had always been one of the bright spots of his life and she had always been frightfully smart; her solemnity now would be unusual on any other five-year old.

“Love you very much, Synnove-cub,” he whispered to her. “Be good for your ma and da and aunt.”

“Love you, Unca Tyr,” she lisped, then drew away to be scooped up into Eydis’s arms.

Angharad was next to him now, and Tyr took a moment to drink in the sight of his wife.

Strong shoulders and straight spine and light steps, trained in Gyr Abanian dance, Angharad was grace personified. Her chestnut hair had a few stray greys hiding at the temples and her dark eyes, normally laughing and bright, regarded him now with resigned grief.

His wife reached for him and Tyr took her hands in his, raising them to his lips to kiss the knuckles of the right, then the left, and then Angharad lunged forward.

Their kiss was messy, and desperate, and tasted faintly of the salt that Angharad had cried earlier but refused to let fall now. Twenty years of passion and love and joys and sorrows and mistakes and triumphs; Tyr tried to put it all into the kiss, arms tight around her waist even as her hands stroked through his hair. When they drew apart at last, they rested their foreheads together and stared into one another’s eyes.

“I will love you long after the stars grow cold,” Tyr said to the love of his life.

“And I will love you even when the memory of stars is gone from creation,” Angharad said thickly, finishing the familiar refrain.

Tyr put his hands on her waist and lifted her up into the carriage bed, as easy as when he had lifted her onto the stage for their first dance at their wedding. Angharad cupped his face in her hands, staring at him with the same solemnity has Synnove had as she memorized him. Then she dropped her hands, and stepped backwards to sit at the back and gather up the girls to her.

Walcher had hopped up into the driver’s seat and just in time—dropships roared overhead, and through the estate gate, Tyr saw a group of Resistance fighters pelt full tilt down the street towards the eastern barricades. Walcher slapped the reins, and the kwehing chocobos dutifully began to draw the carriage across the lawn and through the open gates. Tyr, Havardr, and Father followed after, Havardr just a few steps ahead.

Tyr felt eyes on him, and canted his head to the side. Ivar Greywolfe looked at him, golden eyes worn but determined. He flicked his gaze towards his younger son.

Tyr nodded.

As the carriage cleared the gate, Walcher guiding the chocobos to head west, Havardr began to turn east. That was when Tyr and Father grabbed him by either arm, and hauled him towards the carriage.

“No!” Havardr shouted, loud even over the battle raging down the street and throughout the rest of the city, bucking and struggling against their holds. “No, no, don’t you dare make me leave you behind, don’t you dare—”

Tyr managed to wrestled his brother’s arms behind him even as Father let go to grab either side of Havardr’s head. “Someone has to protect the rest of the family!” he yelled, pitching his voice over the explosion of yet another ceruleum cannon. “That’s your job now, Havardr! You have to keep them safe, for me and for Tyr!”

Havardr sobbed as Father pressed a kiss to his forehead. Tyr let him go, and then he and Father were engulfing his brother into a fierce three-way hug. Havardr clutched at them, hands scrabbling for purchase on their leathers, gasping out, “I love you I love you I’m sorry I love you—”

“Love you, too, brother mine,” Tyr said. And then he and Father picked Havardr up and threw him into the carriage.

“Walcher, GO!” Father roared, turning to bolt down the street to shore up the defensive line at the end of the street. Tyr ran after him, drawing his swords as he did.

One of the mages had brought down one of the buildings to create a barricade, but Garlean reapers had joined the fray and their cannons were making quick, awful work of the stone. Bladedancers clashed with conscripts, swords clanking loudly against shields, knuckledancers wove through the melee to disable enemy combatants, a firedancer was standing atop the rubble to aim her destructive magicks at the backlines of the advancing enemy. Tyr and his father crashed into the Garleans, swords sweeping through their foes and blood flowing. They hadn’t been with the Resistance when they stormed the palace, their job to put down any Corpse Brigade curs should they begin attacking civilians in the city, and thus they were fresh, their stamina still high.

The heavy whirr of machina echoed down the street, and another reaper fired its cannon. The blast partially hit both the downed building and the street, and for a moment, Ala Mhigans and Garleans alike were unbalanced as the force of the blast shook the block. Tyr reached out to stabilize his father, eyes forward, and saw one of the backline officers raise their gunblade—

Tyr Greywolfe never felt the bullet.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 64: A Punk Philosophy

''Yesterday's rules are simply loose today! The best goal is to break them! If I don't keep running, there's no other meaning! It's a punk philosophy!''

– Sonic Drive by Sonic X

xXxXxXx

Touka yawned, noting the light coming through the slant window and figuring that she had probably slept in. Considering how they came late back home last night after their mission, it wasn't a surprise, but she did take note of Shadow missing. Well, he was always an early bird.

Touka got up, got changed into her usual outfit and went down to the kitchen, being met by Kisaki, who was scrolling down some news and messages on a holographic screen she generated with her AR Visor. Touka remembered how Kisaki had a free day today, allowing her a breather from all the work at the hospital. It also meant that breakfast was ready and still warm.

''Thanks! Sorry for… uh, 10:45 AM?'' Touka glanced at the clock as she grabbed a sandwich. ''I guess I really overslept.'' She then scanned the room. ''Where's Shadow?''

''I think he's outside. He has been up before me, and I woke up around 8 AM,'' Kisaki replied. Touka rose a brow.

''Did he even have breakfast?'' she asked. Kisaki shrugged.

''I did ask him, but he ignored me. He was too focused on that motorcycle he got,'' Kisaki said, giving Touka a questioning look. ''Where did you even get that?''

''Shadow found it during our mission, and considering just how shady the place we found it was, I sincerely doubt anyone is going to look for it,'' Touka replied, starting to stack up sandwiches on a plate. ''I'll see whether I'll manage to distract him from the motorcycle long enough to get him to eat something.''

''Don't be too hard on him. I remember how, when you got your hoverboard, spent days just working on it without a care for anything else,'' Kisaki said, giving Touka a sly smirk. Touka grimaced, feeling called out, and decided not to respond to this.

Instead, she walked outside, finding Shadow on the driveway, working on the motorcycle, with tools, rags and two small cans of red and black paint lying next to it. The motorcycle itself was cleaned up and any minor scratches and chipped paint were fixed meticulously, making it look brand new, with Shadow currently wiping off any specks of dust that remained. Touka whistled in awe.

''Woah, you did a great job with the motorcycle,'' she said. Shadow smirked, beaming with pride.

''Thanks. It is in a good condition, but whoever had it previously didn't care too much about any surface damage,'' he replied. ''Fortunately, it is now in better hands.''

''Right, however, I think you'll be able to even better care of your motorcycle if you eat something,'' Touka said, shoving the plate right under his nose. ''Also, did you even get any sleep last night?''

''I'm well rested, so you don't have to worry about that,'' Shadow responded in a dry tone, taking a sandwich from the plate. Technically, it was the truth, but he had figured that telling Touka that he may have slept only for a few hours and got up around 5 AM to start working on the motorcycle might unnecessarily upset her and he wasn't in mood to hear another of her lectures. Fortunately, Touka decided not to press the issue.

''You know, the motorcycle does look somewhat familiar to me…'' she trailed off, only to be hit by a realization. ''It's the Dark Rider, isn't it?''

Shadow nodded. Admittedly, while he and Touka weren't exactly good with recalling all the lore information and specific details in regards to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, they were far from ignorant. Touka tilted her head as she observed the motorcycle, humming in thought.

''I wonder how the Dark Rider ended up in that warehouse,'' she said, turning to Shadow, who shrugged.

''I don't know, and frankly, I don't care,'' Shadow replied. Touka crossed her arms on her back, leaning over with a smile on her lips.

''I bet you want to show it off to everyone, especially Sonic,'' she said.

''I don't believe that's necessary,'' Shadow said in a matter-of-fact tone, trying to keep a composure that showed how he was above showing off, but given how he kept smiling contently, it was clear to Touka that he did want to brag a little about his newly acquired vehicle.

''You could bring it today to the Taylor Workshop for the meeting,'' Touka told him, with Shadow giving her a questioning look.

''What meeting?'' he asked.

''I had been planning to ask everyone to meet up so we can tell them about the warehouse and how someone had been either stealing Eggman technology, or the Doctor had been supplying them with his Badniks,'' Touka explained, with Shadow's expression turning serious.

''That is something that would need to be investigated,'' he agreed.

xXx

''You see, I'm completely fine,'' Sonic said, stretching his arms and legs to show Lucas that here were no more injuries nor that he felt any pain. The teenager was observing him carefully, still a bit sceptic, noting how getting fully healed after only a day and a half was a bit too soon, and he wanted to keep Sonic in bed for a little longer. However, that became a losing battle as Sonic would constantly trying to show him that he was fine, with Lucas catching him in an attempt to sneak out of the house and go for a run. Eventually, the teenager relented, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake. Sonic, on the other hand, was excited to finally get out of the house, wanting to go for a run, only to be stopped when Lucas got a message from Touka about Team Neos meeting up to discuss something important.

''I suppose you could go for a quick run and then meet up with everyone at the workshop,'' Lucas told him. Sonic gave him a two-finger salute, grinning cheekily as he dashed out of the house, kicking up a gust of wind and leaving the door open. Lucas sighed, closing the door, and smiled, feeling a bit relieved. ''Honestly, being stuck at home really doesn't suit Sonic.''

xXx

Sonic felt exhilarated as he ran all over Neos City, finally getting out all that excess energy, allowing him to calm down a little, and rushed towards the Taylor Workshop, where all of his friends were waiting. They looked quite relieved to see him, asking him how he felt and whether he was fully healed.

''Yeah, yeah, I'm fine… I just got back from a run,'' Sonic told them in an assuring tone. ''So, what are we here for?''

''Touka was the one who called us for this meeting… which is a bit of a surprise,'' Lily said, turning towards the person in question.

''I had figured that this would be important information for everyone to know, which is why I asked whether we could meet up,'' Touka explained. Sonic looked around, noting how there was someone missing.

''Where's Shadow?'' he asked.

''He's still out in the city, but said that he'd be back for the meeting,'' Touka replied. Sonic smiled cheekily.

''Heh, so he's late to the meeting?'' Sonic muttered under his breath, already plotting to tease the dark hedgehog about being late to something. The group's attention then turned to the sound of an engine coming from outside, with Sonic being the first one out to see what was going on. What he witnessed made him drop his jaw.

Shadow was sitting on a red and black motorcycle, the engine still growling as he gave Sonic a smug, self-satisfied look. Not only as Sonic stunned by Shadow's newly acquired vehicle, but so was the rest of the team as they walked outside to see what the noise was. Before Shadow could even dismount the motorcycle, Sonic ran up to him, awestruck.

''Woah, where did you get that? May I take it for a ride?'' Sonic gave Shadow an eager grin.

''I have found it during a mission, and no,'' Shadow responded with a smile, only for his expression to turn into a frown when he added the second part. Sonic narrowed his eyes, a bit irked at the denied opportunity, but then smirked as he turned the charm up.

''Could you at least drive me around? I'd like to see your skills as a biker,'' Sonic said, still giving him a half-lidded smile as he traced with his finger lightly over the handle. He was quite amused that, despite the stern gaze, he knew that there was a battle going on in Shadow's head over whether to accept the proposal or not. ''I'd like to see how fast you can go with this.''

''It's way slower than your top speed,'' Shadow said, trying to get himself out of this conversation. Unfortunately for him, his initial attempt at showing-off in front of Sonic was quickly turned against him. One side of him wanted to maintain his aloofness, but the other side wanted to take Sonic along for the ride, certain that he would enjoy it just as much as Shadow did. Nevertheless, he wanted to keep Sonic on his toes. ''You can easily run beside me.''

''I know, but this is different,'' Sonic said, giving Shadow his best puppy-dog eyes. Shadow just stared back at him silently, only to sigh.

''Fine, you can come along,'' Shadow relented, well aware that he would've agreed regardless. Meanwhile, Sonic fist-pumped in excitement.

''Yes!''

Both then turned back to their teammates, some of which gave him curious glances; the most prominent being Amy's scrutinizing gaze. However, before anyone could say anything, Touka quickly distracted them. ''This was what I wanted to talk about. Basically, Team Dark went on a mission last night to a warehouse in Souto, and what we found, besides the Dark Rider, were Badniks.''

''Really? So, the warehouse was owned by Eggman?'' Makoto asked.

''No, it wasn't. The robots looked more like they were scrapped together from Badnik parts. It certainly didn't look like anything Eggman would own,'' Touka replied. ''I had figured that, if you guys would be interested in investigating it, I could show you where the warehouse is.''

''You said that the robots were scrapped together from Badniks parts,'' Tails rose his voice. ''Is it possible that there were also remains of the Buddy Bots?''

''Honestly, I don't really know…'' Touka trailed off, with Shadow, who walked up to them, taking over.

''I have seen some robots that looked similar to the Buddy Bots,'' he said.

''I see…'' Tails said, exchanging knowing glances with Warren. ''It sounds like the same situation the Chaotix have encountered.''

''What do you mean?'' Knuckles asked.

''To keep it short, the Chaotix were on an investigation of their own and someone had taken the scrapped parts of the Buddy Bots and Badniks, made some repairs and sold them off as weapons,'' Warren explained. ''We wanted to tell you that before, but we forgot due to the whole Neo Metal Sonic fiasco.''

''So, someone had been stealing Eggman's robots?'' Silver asked, giving the two a curious look.

''I wouldn't say they had been stealing his robots, just taking the ones we destroyed,'' Warren added. ''It is a little worrying to know that there are more of them, hidden somewhere.''

''I suppose we could tell the Chaotix about this so they can investigate who keeps hoarding Eggman tech,'' Lily said, her and Knuckles exchanging glances. Since they didn't have anything to do, they had figured that they should be the one to deliver the message.

''To be honest, I'm not surprised that they would use both Eggman and Tamago Corp. technology for their weapons,'' Warren continued, drawing everyone's attention, Lucas' in particular. ''They are both high in quality, at least in comparison to other robotics companies, while also being easy to mass produce.''

''Really?'' Lucas tilted his head. ''How similar are they?''

''Similar enough to be combined like this, even by someone who doesn't understand robotics,'' Tails explained.

''Admittedly, that shouldn't really be possible. Robotics companies typically make sure that certain parts they produce are unique to their brand so they wouldn't be so easily copied and reproduced by their competitors. It is common sense to keep your product unique enough so your clients keep buying it,'' Warren added.

''That's… interesting,'' Lucas muttered, surprised just as much as everyone else about this revelation. ''How is it possible that Dr. Eggman is able to produce robots similar to those from Tamago Corp.?''

''Maybe he somehow gained access to their technology when he took over the Buddy Bots?'' Minami suggested.

''Eh, I dunno. Would Eggy really try to steal other people's technology just to make his own robots?'' Sonic asked, folding his arms behind his head.

''Honestly, I can't see that happening. Eggman is too arrogant to just rely on someone else's technology when he has his own,'' Tails pointed out.

''Still, he did use the Buddy Bots against us back when he first attacked us,'' Makoto pointed out. ''He clearly isn't above stealing or controlling robots created by other people.''

''True, but that happened only one time,'' Silver noted. The group fell silent for a moment, contemplating what this meant, with Lucas staring ahead, lost in his thoughts. He took note of his friends staring at him, well aware that they were hoping that he would have an answer in regards to what is going on. Truth to be told, he did have an theory about what might have happened, but that theory sounded rather insane.

''Well, there is another possibility…'' Lucas started, with everyone giving him curious looks. ''What if the Tamago Corporation is connected to the Eggman Empire?''

As expected, the collective reaction was that of disbelief, with Lily voicing their opinion, ''Wait, why would you think they're connected? Sure, both make robots, and they appear to be similar, but last I checked, the Tamago Corporation existed before Eggman.''

''I know, but I was wondering, how much do we really know about the Tamago Corporation?'' Lucas asked.

''We know that the Tamago Corporation was founded by Dr. Telos Tamago, the current CEO, about five years ago,'' Warren said. ''I have read plenty of articles about the corporation, and people were shocked how fast it rose to prominence, becoming the most successful robotics company in Starpoint Area almost overnight.''

''Okay, and what do we know about Dr. Tamago?'' Lucas asked, stunning the group. Warren scratched his head, trying to remember whether he had any information on the CEO.

''I… don't really know,'' he said. Tails immediately opened the holographic screen, searching for information.

''Huh, there are several articles about him from the past five years, but there isn't anything before that,'' Tails said, with Amy glancing over his shoulder.

''I know that there are people who like to keep their information private, but even in this day and age, you'd think there would be something,'' she commented.

''You mean, it's almost like he never existed until the establishment of the Tamago Corporation?'' Silver, who joined the two to take a look at the monitor, asked. Both Tails and Amy shrugged.

''We don't really have any evidence about these two being connected, and even if they are, what would the Tamago Corporation even gain from working with the Eggman Empire…'' Touka started, only to get interrupted by Shadow.

''They'd have access to the Doctor's technology, and we know from personal experience just how resilent and advanced his robots are,'' Shadow pointed out.

''Wait, does this mean that Tamago Corporation is a sell-out then?'' Sonic asked.

''Either that, or Eggman is the sell-out here,'' Lily said, causing Sonic to snort at that thought.

''There is one more thing to consider,'' Lucas added. ''I've been actually trying to figure out where Dr. Eggman's base might be, and one of the conclusions I had was that it had to be somewhere in Neos City. So, what if the Tamago Corporation is his base?''

''But, how would that be possible? Do you want to say that Eggman is actually the owner of Tamago Corporation?'' Knuckles asked. ''Didn't you just say that this Tamago guy owns the company?''

''Yeah, that's what confuses me,'' Lucas admitted, furrowing a brow as he folded his arms across his chest. ''Dr. Eggman isn't the type to even work with anyone on equal footing, so the only thing I could think off is that Dr. Tamago is somehow subservient to him.'' He then glanced at his friends. ''But, it would make sense for Dr. Eggman to have a cover in the form of a company not associated with the Eggman Empire. Not to mention, the fact that this company is specifically called 'Egg Corporation'.''

''…and Eggman is apparently the only person in the universe whose naming scheme has an 'Egg' in his creations,'' Lily said in a dry tone, her and the rest of the group catching on the irony of this conclusion.

''So, what should we do about this?'' Makoto asked.

''I was actually planning to pay a visit to the Tamago Corporation, just to check it out,'' Lucas said. ''If you guys don't mind, I'd like to go there alone.''

''If your theory is correct, and Tamago Corporation really belongs to Eggman, you should have some back-up,'' Sonic said, but Lucas shook his head.

''The reason I'm asking for this is because there is still a chance that I was completely wrong. I could easily come up for a valid reason for visiting it on my own, but I'm not sure how I should explain a whole group of people being there,'' he explained. ''If I need help, I'll call you.'' He then glanced at Sonic, giving him an assuring smile. ''Besides, you told me that I should try taking more risks.''

''Heh…'' Sonic smiled back in response. Lucas then gave everyone a confident look.

''I'll be fine, I promise,'' he said, with the rest of the team agreeing.

''Okay, but if you do run into Eggman, tell him that someone has been stealing his robots and record his reaction,'' Minami said, grinning slyly. ''I'm sure he'll be furious when he learns that.''

xXx

'''Operation: Remaster' is moving into its final testing stages. With this, I will finally be able to break what I affectionately call 'The Sonic Cycle'. To wit: Dr. Eggman stages a bold plan to reshape the world, Sonic arrives, oftentimes with his menagerie of friends, to ruin everything, until finally the day is 'saved'. The general populace rebuilds and returns to their regular lives. No evolution. No vision. No future,'' Dr. Starline said, speaking in front of a holographic monitor as a video of Sonic defeating Dr. Eggman appeared on it. He then leaned back into his swivel chair, placing a hand on his chest as he continued proudly. ''Thankfully, I'm here. Step one of 'Operation: Remaster' will be to remove Dr. Eggman from play. He is a revolutionary, a visionary, and grooms a fine mustache. But he gets tunnel-vision when it comes to Sonic. I have studied under the master, seen his few short-comings, and perfected his technique. He'll thank me in the end, I'm sure of it.'' Starline then smirked, continuing the speech he knew by heart. ''Step two: replace the so-called 'heroes' who stand in the way of progress. The general populace relies on them far too much, although I'd add that this is mainly because of the deal Dr. Eggman made with Sonic and his friends. Nevertheless, it is fair easier to replace the existing heroes with new ones rather than change society. By controlling the 'hero-versus-villain' dynamic, I will be able to shape the world and its people with the very theatrics they've become accustomed to. It has been an arduous journey to complete all my plan, but now, at long last… They're ready!''

Starline pressed a button on the computer, showing a video of a green blur speeding through what appeared to be a training course within an AR Field featuring Badniks and other weapons, continuing his narration, ''Sonic is undeniably the hero of the world, or perhaps more accurately, the main character of this narrative, and while Dr. Eggman has a dangerous weapon in Metal Sonic, I don't believe that the robot will suffice. Sonic is more than just raw power, he's about style – attitude; something that Metal Sonic lacks. I need that indomitable spirit, that rougish charm. However, since it is a liability as much as it's a boon…''

Suddenly, the green blur smashed into one of the Badniks, uncurling as she lorded over her destroyed opponent.

''You thought you could touch me? Pathetic!''

She was an anthropomorphic tenrec, possessing mostly bright green fur with a patch of black fur on her face and eyelids and angular blue-green eyes. She had a peach muzzle with a medium-long black nose, upturned sideburns on each side of her head, peach-skinned arms, and several spiky quills that she kept in a ponytail by a black hairband with six silver studs on top of her head, leaving her quills turned forward. She also had a tiny nub tail split in two, shark teeth, and tall, vertical, flat ears on top of her head. For attire, she wore two silver earrings on each of her ears, a black shirt with torn-off sleeves, white gloves that possess visible lining with black cuffs that possess six silver studs, a silver ring on each of her index and ring fingers, and yellow, baggy pants with black stripes down the sides that were held up by a black belt with a round, silver belt buckle. Her shoes had yellow flares with double spikes that gave them a ripped appearance resembling lighting bolts while the back of the shoes was white. Two white straps could be found on the yellow section of the shoes, which also had black toes, black soles with two metal plates embedded, and silver studs on the edges.

''…Surge will replace him, and I will keep the bravado on a leash.''

Surge the Tenrec didn't even notice that another Badnik creeped up on her, turning around just in time to several water tendrils envelop the Badnik.

''As previously noted, there are 'design flaws' inherent to Sonic. Surge needs a support unit to make up for her short-comings. An analytical balance to the brashness; someone to look before she leaps.''

Surge grinned, blasting through the Badnik and destroying it. ''Cheap shot for a cheap bot!'' She then landed on her feet, turning to the person who had helped her out. ''Nice assist, kid! Don't let it go to your head!''

''Y-Yes, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am.''

The one responding meekly to Surge was an anthropomorphic fennec fox about the height of a child. He possessed mostly blue fur with a patch of white fur on the front of his torso that is shaped like a water drop, and a medium-long white muzzle with pointy cheek tuffs and a small black nose. He also had fuchsia eyes, teal eyelids, long bangs of fur on his head, and long triangular ears on his head with teal tips that hang down the sides of his head. Lastly, he had a long, thick tail with a teal tip. For attire, he wore the Hydro Pack, a bag that allowed him to carry the water supply for his water tendrils, white gloves that possess visible lining with black cuffs that are studded with gray studs, and yellow boots with black toes and soles, and six gray studs along the tongues of said boots.

''Thus Kitsunami was modeled after Sonic's most beneficial ally: Tails.''

Kitsunami ''Kit'' the Fennec followed Surge, but Starline then turned the video off, his mug appearing once again on the monitor as he pressed his hands together. ''Lastly, I took one more variable into account – the fact that I'm essentially repeating my past actions. Now, this might be a little troubling, as I'm seemingly acting the same way as Dr. Eggman with his own plans. But, fortunately, I have already planned ahead for every possible scenario.'' Starline then held up a manga sporting Sonic and Surge clashing on the cover. ''As depicted here, we were all characters originally created for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, which had its ups and downs – and it certainly improved when my character was brought into the spotlight, but that is not here nor there. The point is that I'm well aware of my fate in this story, specifically being crushed by debris after fighting Dr. Eggman with his own mecha and exhausting the Tricore, but I will take advantage of that knowledge to introduce step three to 'Operation: Remaster'.'' Starline suddenly slammed his hands on the table. ''I will not let myself perish in such humiliating circumstances!'' Starline then held up the coloured manga, tapping on it with the back of his hand. ''In fact, the writer should be ashamed for killing me off so soon. I could've contributed far more to the narrative than this, but it appears that at least my legacy has continued in the form of Surge and Kit.'' He furrowed a brow. ''Even if I don't approve of their idea of turning into heroes as of The Phantom Rider Arc, I will admit it does make sense, as they were supposed to replace Sonic and Tails as heroes and simply following their original programming.'' Starline then waved with his hand in a dismissive manner. ''Nevertheless, I will make sure that none of this malarkey happens. It won't be easy, as I will be dealing with not just Sonic and Tails, but also the extended cast of characters, but human and Irregular ARNav. But, I have faith in my plan…''

Starline suddenly heard a sudden knocking on the door, and sighed in irritation, well aware who was interrupting him. He stopped the recording and haphazardly shoved the manga into a drawer, with the door behind him opening.

''Yo, Doc, what is up with the schedule?! Why do we have more training and tests on it?!'' Surge barged in, loudly complaining. Starline sighed, pinching the bridge of his beak.

''Have you forgotten that you left Kit behind during your last exercise?'' he responded.

''I'm sorry, I had to recharge my pack,'' Kit replied meekly.

''Kit arrived here eventually. The more important one made it in record time!'' Surge protested, pointing at herself. Starline huffed, placing his hands on his hips, with Surge getting frustrated by his attitude. ''Test? Passed! Me? Awesome! Com'n, Doc, let's get on with the main mission already!''

''You've proven yourself efficient in a controlled environment. The next step is to test your skills in the field-'' Starline panicked when Surge suddenly grabbed him by his shirt, her hand charged with electricity.

''I'm really tired of you talking down to me! We go now and we go hard!'' Surge demanded furiously.

''Go to sleep.'' Starline suddenly pointed his gloved hand at Surge, her eyes glazing over as hypnotic waves hit her, overwhelming her senses and knocking her out. Kit caught her, completely shocked by what he saw.

''Wh-What did you do to her?!'' he cried out, but Starline pointed his Hypno Glove at him, causing Kit's eyes to glaze over.

''You saw nothing,'' Starline stated, watching Kit as he fell over. He then gulped, his mouth dry and his heart beating rapidly as he adjusted his collar. I suppose I can only use hypnosis on them for so long. They are indeed more susceptible to it, but at the same time, they can build up tolerance to it. I will have to work with them a little longer to make sure they won't betray me.

Surge and Kit slowly came back to their senses, both feeling dizzy and holding their heads, with Surge groaning. ''Ugh, what happened?''

Starline gave the two a look of sincere concern, masking his true feelings. ''You pushed your enhancements too far and had a brief blackout. Fortunately, it is nothing that will affect you long term.'' He then smirked. ''Now, then, shall we discuss the field test?''

Surge and Kit exchanged glances, still a bit out of it, but then nodded, with Starline getting between them and placing his arms around their shoulders and pulling them closer.

''Excellent! I also have the perfect target for both of you!''

xXx

''Huh, this is the target?'' Surge rose an eyebrow, her and Kit walking between the warehouses in Souto. Both of them were also equipped with an AR Visor for communication with Starline, Surge wearing a pair of yellow shades on the top of her head, while Kit wore blue goggles with a yellow outline on top of his head.

''According to the map we were given, it should be close,'' Kit informed her. Surge grinned, sparks of electricity flying between her hands as she punched her knuckles.

''Finally, some real action! I've been dying to scrap with someone other than those stupid robots,'' she said.

''B-But, didn't Dr. Starline say that this is a stealth mission? We need to pass it to move on to the main mission,'' Kit pointed out. Surge whipped his head towards him, furrowing a brow.

''Hey, do you see Starline anywhere here, Drippy?'' Kit shook his head. ''Exactly! He's waiting back in the base, while we're doing our thing. Since I'm now in command, I say that we'll do this mission my way. You're my support unit, so support me!''

''I-I'm sorry, Ma'am,'' Kit apologized, lowering his head. He then gave her a determined look, clenching his fists. ''I will support you with all I have.''

''Now, that's the attitude I want to see,'' Surge said, smirking in satisfaction. ''Now, com'n, and don't slow me down. I want to finish this mission in record time.''

Surge then quickly rushed towards the next building, with Kit dutifully following her. They soon reached their target destination when they saw a few Irregulars holding boxes and moving them to a hovercraft. According to Starline, who had meticulously kept track of all of Dr. Eggman's robots, someone was taking the scrapped remains from the battlefield and storing them in warehouses all across Neos City. Showing quite a lot of disdain for the culprit, Starline instructed them to enter one of the warehouses and destroy the Badniks within it so they couldn't be used by anyone else, then escape the warehouse without getting caught.

Surge was quite excited about this, and ready to make her move, but Kit suddenly pulled her back with his water tendrils. She gave the fennec an annoyed look, but he then pointed at another group sneaking between the buildings; an echidna, a bat, a crocodile, a chameleon, a bee, and a teenage human girl.

''Ugh, don't tell me that they're here to for the same reason,'' Surge grumbled, gritting her teeth.

''Starline didn't tell us anything about anyone else knowing about this warehouse,'' Kit said, feeling concerned. Surge at first didn't like that they would have competition, as she wanted to destroy whatever was in the warehouse by herself, but then smirked confidently.

''You know what, Drippy? Maybe, this isn't so bad. This makes things more difficult, but will show that platypus that we can handle any situation,'' Surge said. Kit nodded in agreement. Surge then turned her attention back to the warehouse. ''Let the show begin!''

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[massivedrickhead]

I got 2 comments requesting a follow-up from my last prompt, and so I thought I'd take a break from the worried/concerned prompts and write something a bit lighter and cheesier.

For those asking to read about Beca and Chloe's date, here you go!

Part 1

Read on AO3

-

It took almost a month for Chloe to be settled enough to finally take Beca up on her offer for a date.

Chloe had called Chicago the day after she and Beca had confessed their feelings to break up with him, and he spent the next few weeks blowing up her phone.

He veered from being furious with her, accusing her of cheating and demanding he tell her who she was sleeping with, to being pleading and apologetic. He promised he would do better, told her he loved her, and then called her a bitch and a slut a minute later.

Eventually, sick of seeing Chloe frowning at her phone, Beca took it off her and blocked him.

“Get him off your socials too,” Beca said, handing the phone back. 

“Thank you,” Chloe replied, exhaling for what felt like the first time in days. “I don’t know why I couldn’t just do that.”

“Because sometimes you’re too nice for your own good, and I bet you were worried about hurting his feelings,” Beca said. 

Chloe laughed and nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “You’re right.”

A week later, Beca was sitting on the sofa, tapping away at her laptop, when Chloe came to join her.

“Have you got plans for Saturday?” Chloe asked, trying to sound casual.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Beca said, not looking up from her laptop and quickly navigating to her calendar to check. “Yeah, free as a bird, why?”

“Um, do you maybe want to go for dinner? With me? Like, as a date?” 

Beca turned her head so fast to look at Chloe that she almost pulled a muscle in her neck.

“Are you serious?” Beca asked. 

“Yeah,” Chloe said, still sounding far more nervous than she needed to. “I’m ready.”

“Hell yes I will come for dinner with you,” Beca said. 

Chloe’s face broke into the biggest smile Beca could ever remember seeing on her. “Awesome!” She said. “I’ll make a reservation.”

“Where are we going?” Beca asked, her own smile mirroring Chloe’s. 

“You’ll see,” Chloe replied. 

It seemed to take a lifetime for Saturday to arrive, but finally, it did, and Chloe spent hours getting ready.

When the time came to leave for the restaurant, Chloe realised that Beca was nowhere to be found in their apartment.

She was already nervous, but a new knot of anxiety quickly formed and settled in her stomach.

“Bec?” She asked, one hand fiddling with the back of an earring as she walked around the empty apartment. 

She picked up her clutch and was just about to pull out her phone when there was a knock at the door.

She quickly crossed the room, her heels click-clacking on the floor as she went, and she looked through the peephole.

Beca was standing outside, a bunch of flowers held in her hands.

Chloe scoffed and pulled the door open.

“Hi,” Beca said, grinning. 

“What are you doing, you weirdo?” Chloe asked, laughing.

“Picking you up for our date,” Beca said. “Here,” she handed over the flowers, “these are for you.”

Chloe’s smile grew as she realised Beca had chosen all her favourites. “You’re setting the bar super high for our first date,” she said, taking them inside. She didn’t have a vase to hand so grabbed a jug and filled it with water. 

“I figured I’d have a better chance of you putting out later if I brought you flowers,” Beca said, smirking and dodging the whack that was aimed at her. “Kidding,” she said, laughing as she caught Chloe’s hand in hers. “I’m kidding.”

“You aren’t wrong thought,” Chloe said with a wink.

“Are you ready to go?” Beca asked, her eyes travelling up and down Chloe’s body. She was trying to be subtle, but she knew that was a lost cause. She was practically drooling. “You look incredible, by the way.”

“So do you,” Chloe replied. “I’m ready, just let me grab my purse.”

Chloe turned to grab it from the counter, and when she turned back around she saw Beca’s eyes shoot back up, a blush creeping slowly across her cheeks. 

Beca cleared her throat and held out her hand for Chloe to take. “I still don’t know where we’re going.”

“All will be revealed,” Chloe said, taking hold of Beca’s hand. “And don’t think I didn’t catch you staring at my ass.”

“I’m only human,” Beca mumbled in response. “I’ve spent the last however many years deliberately not looking at your ass. I’ve got a lot of checking-you-out time to make up for.”

Chloe giggled. “Likewise,” she said.

Chloe’s choice of restaurant was close to their apartment, so they forged a cab and walked hand-in-hand for a few blocks.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Beca couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course,” she said. “I should have guessed.”

It was a small Italian place, and it was one of Beca’s favourites. They ate there on their very first night as roommates in the city, and it remained a place they went to celebrate all their special occasions and achievements. 

“This is okay right?” Chloe asked. 

“More than okay, I love this place,” Beca said, as they crossed the street. “Plus, it’s special to us. It’s how we started our life in the city, and now it’s how we start this next chapter. It’s perfect.”

Dinner passed by in a blur of easy conversation, heavy flirting, and a lot of wine. 

Neither wanted to let the other pay, so they split the check and asked for the last of their tiramisu to go.

They were more than a little tipsy when they left hours later and they made the short walk back to the apartment.

“Isn’t this the part where you invite me in for coffee?” Chloe asked, leaning against the door as Beca searched for her keys.

Beca grinned. “Would you like to come in for a coffee?” She asked.

Chloe pretended to think it over.

“I don’t know,” she said. “What will my roommate say if I don’t get home until late?”

“I think your roommate will be cool with it,” Beca said, succeeding in locating her keys and opening the door.

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Chloe said.

Beca held the door open for Chloe to enter, and a second after she had closed it behind her Chloe was pushing her against it, her mouth immediately on hers.

“Okay?” Chloe asked when they broke apart for air.

“More than okay,” Beca said, wasting no time in pulling Chloe back towards her. “I’ve been waiting my whole life to do that.”

“We aren’t moving too fast?”

“Not for me,” Beca said. “If you’re okay with this, so am I.”

“I am definitely okay with this.”

[kedreeva]

I work in a whole foods supply store, and one of our customers is a lovely old lady who lives out on a rural property, way beyond the city limits.

A pair of peacocks have nested and made babies at the edge of her land (two clutches so far this year), and she has taken it upon herself to feed them, so she comes to us to buy food - seeds, chopped nuts and dried fruits.

I know she means well, but she says the babies now come to her door to 'beg' for food, which means they're habituating, so I feel like she's doing them more harm than good.

If you knew of someone doing this, would you leave them to it, or try to dissuade them? Also, is the food I described above actually okay for peacocks?

She says the peahen is a bright, beautiful, unblemished white, which I thought was quite rare? She is going to bring me photos on her next visit...

Unless you're in India, they're not habituating because they're not wild animals, they're feral domestics. If they're hanging around and being fed, congrats, she's got free range peafowl. It's free birds!

As for the mix, I would cut out the nuts. Fruits are fine but they don't really like citrus and they shouldn't have avocado. Fresh fruits are better than dried, dried concentrates the sugars and doesn't provide any hydration. If she'll listen to you, tell her you have a friend that breeds peafowl and that they suggested better treats would be live mealworms or superworms, dubia roaches, farm-raised hornworms, or mouse pinkies. They also like fish (at least feeder fish, but possibly also larger fish they can pick apart) and meats. They can be given veggies, but they don't rip things apart the way chickens do their beaks are not as able to tear into hard things, so veggies should be chopped small. They will happily rip up greens or melons that are cut open though. Banana too! They love banana and berries.

Black oil sunflower seed and safflower are good seeds, limit corn intake. No beans allowed except refried ones. Planting clover in her yard will be a good source of nutrient-rich greens (and good for bees!).

But honestly, a good high-protein dry chow with some water added fresh to it will provide a lot of benefit, just as much attention, and probably be cheaper since you can get 50lb for like $20. I use Belstra 28% turkey starter crumble from a local feed mill. It may not look as interesting but my birds get a LOT of varied treats and chow mash is one they'll eat every day without any hesitation, and leave nothing behind. The only other treats that is true for are bugs and farmer's helper golden egg nugget treats. Even peanuts they have turned their noses up at a couple of times.

As for the white color, it's not that rare. A lot of people don't like to keep them because they get dirty easily and because colored birds often HATE them. Hens often won't mate with them if they can see other males, and males often attack or attempt to chase off white hens. In the wild, a white animal draws attention and opens the flock to predation.

[quietblueriver]

not sure if you're still taking one word prompts... but if you are, then how about "warmth" or "pale" for Imodna?

(P.S. I love your writing style!)

Thank you so, so much!!! And thank you for the prompt. Here’s a short thing for “pale.” 💜 Heads up for some angst.

-

As always, she hears Laudna before she sees her, her thoughts providing a harmony to the song she’s humming happily in the kitchen.

Where’s the sugar? Should set the table. I wonder if Imogen was able to find blueberries…

“I’m home!” She sits her haul from the market on the little wooden bench by the door and bends to unlace her boots. “And I brought blueberries!”

It’s been years at this point, but the delight in Laudna’s thoughts when she hears Imogen come home never fails to make her stomach drop pleasantly with love and, even now, a little bit of disbelief.

Oh, excellent. I’ve missed her. I’ve missed you.

“Welcome home, darling.” A long black and maroon skirt sweeps into her vision as she looks up from her boots, and she follows it up and up, over a flowing black top with sheer sleeves and a green striped dish towel that has been flung a little haphazardly over a delicate shoulder until she reaches her favorite perfectly crooked smile and wide black eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

She’s still got one boot on but she can’t wait, so she stands up and leans into a kiss that Laudna receives with a happy sigh. She’s a little off-balance, and it’s the wobble that breaks their kiss, Laudna laughing at her fondly as she helps her keep herself upright.

“Steady, love.” Imogen kisses her again, because she can’t help it, and Laudna pulls back with a teasing tsk. “Finish with your boots and I’ll have a treat waiting for you in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Laudna swats at her with the towel, too far away to actually catch her, and walks toward the doorway to their little kitchen, Imogen staring after her until she catches herself and sits down again, tugging impatiently at her laces until she’s free.

She hangs her cloak on the rack, the pegs of which are various intricately carved birds in flight. Imogen’s partial to the hawk, Laudna to the raven. It’s a C-POP Industries original that Chetney swore was too imperfect for the market but that Imogen was almost entirely sure was just a gift for Laudna, as it appeared on their doorstep less than a day after she’d exclaimed over it in his store.

She picks up the bag of groceries and makes her way to the kitchen, dropping them on the table before coming to stand behind Laudna at the stove, where she’s laid out a rack of cookies to cool. Wrapping her arms around Laudna and relaxing into the cool press of her body, she says, “Those look good.” She catches chocolate and something else, cinnamon maybe. “Smell good, too.”

Laudna’s hands come to rest on hers and she leans back, Imogen supporting her weight easily. “Mmm. A bit pale, I’m afraid. Should’ve left them a few minutes more but I burned them last time, you remember, and I didn’t want to do that again.”

Imogen blinks. Does she remember? Of course. Of course she does. “I remember them bein’ delicious,” she says. “Think I ate half a dozen before they were even all cool. I’m sure these’ll be just as good.”

“Mmm.” You don’t have the most…discerning palate, dear.

The thought comes with an affectionate squeeze to her forearms, and Imogen laughs. “Hey, now. My palate is plenty discernin’.”

The pat to the back of her hand is absolutely patronizing, and Laudna’s tone matches as she says, “Of course it is. I’m sorry.”

Imogen presses up to kiss her cheek and squeezes her hips before stepping back and around to grab at a cookie. It’s still warm, and the chocolate is almost liquid on her tongue, and it’s so good, darlin’. Honestly. She swallows and offers, before taking another bite and another cookie from the tray, “Even better than last time.”

Laudna’s looking at her fondly, and it’s then that Imogen notices something’s not quite right. There’s a flicker in the corner of the kitchen, a shadow over Laudna’s shoulder, and her hackles are raised, the cookie tossed carelessly back onto the tray, as she says, voice low, “Laud, come stand behind me.”

Laudna stays where she is, eyes crinkling at the edges and the corners of her lips tilting downwards, smile still fond but a little bit sad now, too. Imogen’s stomach clenches, and lightning flickers at her fingertips. Shadows begin to bleed from beneath their table, their chairs, the doorway.

“Laudna. C’mon, baby.” Her tone is anxious now, voice unsteady, and she tries to take a step forward but she can’t. She can’t, and suddenly her heart is thundering, her palms sweating where they’re now frozen before her, ready and entirely unable to cast. “Please. Please.”

There’s ichor dripping from her eyes, slow and steady, and her mouth pulls up at one corner as she says, affectionate but resigned, “You know I can’t, darling.”

“No.” The shadows have swallowed the entry to the living room, slither closer and faster. “No.” She’s crying now, can feel the tears making hot trails down her cheeks.

A voice from above, familiar and cold and terrifying. “Is she your favorite?”

“No. Please. Not again. Please. Please. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, just...”

“Close your eyes, Imogen.” Laudna’s voice is gentle, the same one she uses when Imogen wakes from a nightmare—soothing and soft and loving and Imogen doesn’t close her eyes, can’t close her eyes, can only scream as Laudna’s body is lifted into the air by an invisible force, her chest ripped open by a sword she can’t see but doesn’t need to. She hears Laudna’s cry, haunting, and then laughter, Otohan’s laughter, and all she sees is white.

When she wakes, her cheeks are wet, and her chest is heaving, and she’s cold, so cold. She keeps her eyes closed for as long as she can, unwilling to be back in the world where Laudna isn’t, but it can’t last. She turns and blinks into the dark of the room where she’s sleeping, sees Laudna’s profile, Pate tucked carefully into a nest made of Imogen’s bandana near her far shoulder.

Her fingers reach for the place where she knows the sword went through, hover and retreat, fist into the blanket instead.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” There’s no response. Of course there isn’t. There’s no one there to hear her. She doesn’t mean it any less.

“I’ll fix it, Laudna. I promise. I’ll fix it.” She forces herself to close her eyes again, and when she drifts back into fitful sleep, she swears she can still taste the chocolate.

[ghost-proofbaby]

I would love a Getting to Know Eddie with your coffee shop blues Eddie. (I’ll let Abi ask for Maroon). 😘

(oh i don’t think i could tell abi much more about maroon eddie than i already have. the space under my desk when im writing maroon literally has her name on it <3)

alright. so. COFFEE SHOP BLUES EDDIE. first and foremost, that eddie is from my purely self indulgent barista!au for those of you who don’t know. for legal reasons, it’s totally not based on true experiences or a very real company. totally not. for legal reasons. but, the entire premise is this eddie entirely untouched from the upside down — non-canon compliance so we can be happy for once baby ! — and just playing around with who he is without all that. he gets the job as a barista, he’s a damn pessimist, and- well, i liked to play around with what would happen if he was the grumpiest barista to ever exist and got reality checked by a sunshine-incarnate barista. and, spoiler alert, the boy would probably melt. he does melt.

my inspiration is drawn entirely from uh… well… can i have a lawyer if i admit this? nah im just kidding he’s based on my own experiences! and contrary to what plenty of people have said to me (if i had a nickel every time said they imagine me as reader i’d be far richer than i am which makes me so 😭), eddie is the character based around me. i think he’d react very similarly to how i do most of the time at work. being grumpy, being so easily inconvenienced by every small thing, always huffing and puffing and wanting to be better. and i think reader is what i’d like to be. at the end of the day, it’s just a nice way to romanticize life, i guess. <3

my favorite headcanon that i’ve never shared in the story is that everyone actually finds that he’s very good at his job. it’s emphasized he isn’t necessarily friends with the other baristas, and there’s a whole lot of him internally comparing himself to the people he thinks do the job better (*cough* reader *cough*), but that whole “i can do better. i have to do better” mentality has led him to being quite good at the job actually. he puts himself down, says he isn’t that good, etc. but he is. customers like that feline grumpiness (the girls that come in regularly for frappucinos in the afternoon are always secretly hoping he’s there, definitely living their ‘i can fix him’ fantasy despite reader already having set sail on that boat), his coworkers admire him albeit they get a lil scared of him due to resting bitch face, and all that. he makes a mean fucking cappuccino. his drinks always just taste better. he’s just good. he’ll never admit it, but damn is he good at his job.

on a casual day, this man is living in comfy clothes. big band tees, plaid pajama pants or sweats. the only time he puts on jeans these days is when he works. which, i mean, listen — he works often. he lives his days by what shift he has, not by days of the week. weekends are nonexistent to him. he’s earned some damn comfort when he’s just at home, ya know? (also, most of his clothes that aren’t graphic tees or comfy pants just stink of coffee these days. ugh.)

his favorite food is probably the cake pops at work. he’s a sweet tooth fiend with them. someone accidentally breaks one when opening the packages? oh no !! he’ll take that off their hands. all of his free food mark outs? 50% cake pops. he’s on food? he’s definitely accidentally bagging and slipping one or two off to the side for himself. sometimes coworkers will try to convince him when he’s on the food position to slip them a free cake pop as well, and every time, he’s flipping them the bird and a quick “steal on your own time, bud”. (unless it’s reader. unless it’s sunshine. then, he’s caving, handing over the birthday cake pop he just marked out for himself without second thought. even if he rolls his eyes as he does it — he’d give her the world if she just asked).

his family situation is pretty close to canon — wayne. and obviously he has hellfire, he has corroded coffin, but all of those are just… small things. he’s finally graduated in this universe, so hellfire doesn’t meet as often. corroded coffin’s members are still in their senior year, so sometimes studying for a calculus test is overriding band practice for them. which i mean, was a bummer and led to him needing a distraction like a part time job (also — money) but it’s all good now, cause he gets to bug Sunshine on his days off when he’s bored. they’ve definitely exchanged numbers, and they’re definitely sending each other an obligatory dumb meme a day. sorry, i don’t make the rules.

he likes pop music. don’t ever ask him about it, he denies it, but Sunshine got him into all those radio hits. he’ll find himself humming along to the radio at work constantly too. and, the one time he and Sunshine worked a very rare, LITERALLY only happened once close together, they definitely were belting out britney spears’ “hit me baby one more time”, dancing around the closed stores and eddie using the mop as a mic while Sunshine tried to stock up all the cups. the shift on duty was unamused, to say the least.

he’s pretty pessimistic in all avenues, but there’s something deep inside of him that’s just a bit hopeless romantic. especially after meeting Sunshine. he listens to her prattle about her romance books all day, and he hates the fact that he finds himself smiling at some of those different scenarios she’s gushing about. but it’s cute, okay? besides, it’s only giving him more ideas about how to wow his favorite barista. sex, on the other hand, he’s still pretty bland on. he’s had one or two one night stands, names he’s forgotten at the Hideout after shows, and he’s not really got the energy to be some sex-crazed fuckboy. listening to his coworkers’ hookup stories and relationship problems work pretty well to remind him he could be doing far worse (but if anyone were to ask him what he thought of Sunshine in that context? oh. oh the poor boy. the scary dog facade fades, and his ears have never been pinker as he’s stuttering about having to grab something from the back that he just stocked. he’s just grateful she never seems to have her own escapades to talk about — he probably wouldn’t survive the world-ending jealousy that would cloud his vision.)

pessimistic. so so pessimistic.

a couple months ago, he would have said his room. alone. or practicing with cc, on his guitar. or behind his dm screens, watching as his little sheep panicked over the latest twist he’s revealed for his current campaign.

but now? maybe he’s just gone soft, but the first place he thinks of is a rainy afternoon in the back of his van, his head in Sunshine’s lap as they listen to the slight drizzle bounce off the roof. he swears if he closes his eyes, he can still feel her fingers against his scalp.

---

JO. JO. I DON'T HAVE THE ORIGINAL POST FOR THIS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT PARAGRAPH IS ANSWERING WHAT PROMPTS. but honestly, even now that i'm free of the siren, i wanna post this. i love prattling on about our little grumpy barista. i luv him.

[oneatlatime]

Zuko Alone

I'm hoping for some Appa this episode. It's been too long since he's gotten any good sight gags.

Zuko is cosplaying Clint Eastwood. He's also back to being stupid pale this episode.

You know it's a good thing that Zuko's not in the Fire Nation anymore because he really would have sucked at being Fire Nation. Robbing pregnant women is probably kindergarden level stuff for them.

How is Zuko in such bad shape? Last time we saw him he had a cave full of spoils robbed from rich people. Did he not bother to pack at least some of that stuff? Actually, not thinking far enough ahead to pack would be pretty in character.

Oof that would rub me the wrong way. Not enough money for a meal, but sure, let's use totally edible eggs as ammo.

Where'd the egg go?

Who is the scarred up hat wearing vampire and what happened to the real Zuko? Imposter Zuko just elected to not be provoked into a fight. Real Zuko would already be setting things on fire.

Just a bunch of thugs. Yep. It's consistently awesome how many of the facets of war this show can cover.

Imposter Zuko and Song's horse bird just got kidnapped. Did not see that coming.

Zuko kind of has arm bandages like Sokka has this episode. Also love the character detail that the boy has scraped knees.

Is the kid's dad the same guy as the man at the store? Or maybe this is a one haircut town?

So the guy who was near to fainting off his horse bird this morning is now turning down freely offered food? Could Zuko please shelve his pride for five minutes? Kudos to the mom for accurately reading his distaste for charity and turning it into a request for aid though. Although covering for the boy's egg trick is worth at least a meal.

Tangent!

I don't get Zuko. How can he still have so much pride when he's wearing rags and starving himself to feed Song's horse bird? I'm quite shameless when it comes to accepting help and I've never, ever been able to understand the whole 'too proud to accept charity' mindset. I'm always up for some charity. I have enough manners to offer to do the dishes after, but if you're offering free food I'm eating it. And I've never been in a situation as desperate as Zuko's. So I don't get this.

ok tangent over.

Peak rich kid behaviour. I hope those nails aren't expensive otherwise Zuko doing work for food might end up with this family out of pocket.

Is the wood grain on this ladder an actual photograph of wood grain?

Zuko has more patience this episode than he had for all of season 1 combined. He's also never gone this long without yelling. Either proximity to young children activates Zuko's otherwise mostly slumbering decency, or to fit him into a Fistful of Dollars homage the writers had to make him out of character.

If I had been in this situation when I was a kid, if I had been a) this visibly bored, and b) this nosy around guests, I would have been given a hammer and a bag of nails in three seconds flat. Also, nice to see a Sokka face from Zuko.

I get that 'a man without a past' is a staple of the cowboy genre, but the boy's father bringing up the privacy of the past twice in like two minutes makes me think he's done stuff he doesn't want to talk about. Seems both the parents have read Zuko right though.

Finally! Some pretty! I have been suffering! This may be the first really good pretty all season!

Bad news for the Appa decor on my blog. He may have been supplanted in my affections.

Two things: first, Zuko is a carbon copy of his mom. Second, That is way too much forehead.

Having Zuko's mom introduce herself by talking about the lengths mothers will go to for their children is not giving me foreshadowing anxiety at all.

Azula's been a bitch since birth. Noted.

Sir, your eyebrows. Also, yeah, I wouldn't want to play with her either.

Yikes this is making my teeth itch and my skin crawl. Calling it now, she's rotten to the core.

Zuko and Azula's dad has some weak ass genes. BOTH of his children are carbon copies of their mom.

Also, I was not expecting Zuko's very stupid ponytail to be a pre-scar thing. It is much better with a full head of hair.

If I had spent my childhood hanging out with an untouchable princess who set things on my head on fire for fun whenever I involuntarily displayed emotion, I'd be gloomy and apathetic in self defense too.

Sokka in this episode in spirit, if not in person.

Seriously that's the same face three times over!

Um, no? If Iroh doesn't make it back from the front, doesn't his son become next in line to be Firelord?

Can you hear all the unspoken "father thinks that" and "father says that" in front of every one of Azula's opinions in this whole scene? I stand by my assertion that she's awful anyways, but she's also obviously drunk much too much of her dad's koolaid, if you know what I mean.

This kid is going to get into so much trouble one of these days. Provoking the soldiers, nagging the mysterious stranger with the mysterious past, and now taking his weapons? Kid's sweet but he really needs to learn when to stop pushing his luck.

Stabbing dead, dried wood sounds like a great way to utterly annihilate the edge on those. Hope Zuko packed a whetstone.

Where is this patience coming from? I don't understand and it's BUGGING me.

Hold on. Technical problems.

My very basic DVD player sometimes has difficulty with these disks. Whatever happened between the above two screenshots, I've missed it. So picking back up from the one on the right...

Either these soldiers are impressively cowardly (which, yeah) or Zuko's really been working on his death glare, because they've got him outnumbered and out-armoured and they still back off.

OH it's parallels! Zuko's cousin and the boy's older brother. Got it. Kind of a false parallel though. Grandson of the Firelord does not equal earth kingdom conscript.

Give the demonstrably impulsive and nosy child a knife. That'll work out just fine I'm sure. Pretty sad the kid glommed on to Zuko so quickly, but it's also yet another realistic representation of the consequences of war. This show's good.

*shudders* theatre kids.

She's tiny! Do you know how darkly humourous it is to watch a two foot tall baby spout her father's murderous nonsense? Once again, in this whole scene, not a word out of Azula's mouth is actually Azula's.

"What is wrong with that child?" Apart from budding homicidal and psychopathic tendencies? Her dad. Her dad is what's wrong with that child.

Their dad has no subtlety at all. And also no brain? You think a day after the firelord finds out one of his family died is the right time to very boorishly make a play for the crown with you daughter as a prop? Could you possibly come up with a better demonstration of why this guy shouldn't be in charge?

How did this asshole land such a nice wife?

Yep. Siding with the old firelord on this one.

Does flashback Zuko sleep in his day clothes? Because that's not ok.

I like that their mom sees straight through Azula's lying here. She knows her daughter.

In a move that should surprise no one, everything Zuko touches turns to shit, as usual.

It's the Mexico filter!

Absolute truth from Zuko in that monologue. He's got them pegged. Too bad it fell on deaf ears. It's Zuko's curse, that whenever he approaches being remotely reasonable, he happens to be surrounded by people who will react in such a way that Zuko learns to equate being reasonable with failure.

An earthbender. The bare feet should have clued me in.

Last season Zuko and Iroh laid waste to like ten of these guys. And Iroh didn't even have pants. So what gives? Is he that starved?

Ursa pulling a Mufasa.

Don't answer don't answer don't answer

And he does.

Zuko is so very good at completely misinterpreting the point.

So we can add thief to the list of things that make Azula awful. Also that delivery of "who's going to make me? Mom?" is chilling. Zuko's lost his only defender inside this atrocious family and she knows it, he knows it, hell the turtleducks probably know it.

His dying wish? You guys buying that?

Ozai. That's his name. I'd forgotten that.

So... something something dead firelord something something missing mom something something maybe Azula wasn't actually lying this time?

Final Thoughts

The title wasn't kidding. Let's rename the show 'Avatar: the Guy who's Really Bad at Capturing Him' while we're at it.

There is now no way whatsoever that Zuko is not going to be redeemed. No writing team would invest that much energy and a whole episode into a character we're not ultimately supposed to root for. So somehow he's going to end up joining the Gaang. Don't know how he'll pull that one off. He's done some pretty not great stuff. And it's not like the Gaang watched this episode and unlocked his tragic backstory.

Speaking of, what prompted these reflections? I could understand if Zuko started to contemplate his cousin and the events surrounding his loss in the war after he learned about the family's older brother, but he was having flashbacks before he even got to town. Usually when there are backstory bits, there's a good reason to show them at that time, like how the Storm prompts Aang to think about the last storm he was in, or seeing a boat from his father's fleet prompts Sokka to remember what his dad told him. So what caused Zuko's memories to give him situationally appropriate flashbacks?

Pretty funny that he found the Nice Earth Kingdom Family that Azula predicted for him. And they are really nice! Either Zuko is an open book or the parents' social intelligence is off the charts because they're giving him exactly what he needs to feel at ease after barely a single conversation.

Speaking of Azula, I'm not surprised to find that she's always had deeply awful tendencies, even as a child of (I'm guessing) less than ten. But it cannot be ignored that, from the moment her father took a liking to her (as a tool to boost his own greatness, if not as a person), she didn't stand a chance. You can tell by the number of times that the stuff coming out of her mouth is a thinly veiled repetition of her father's unfiltered opinions, that she's been spending lots of time listening to him, probably while he puts down her mom and brother and talks about how she's the special one. You know what I'm getting at. Azula never stood a chance once her father got involved, and her mom lost the ability to influence her once her father started giving Azula praise for objectively wrong behaviour. That being said, Azula is awful even when she doesn't need to be awful for her father's approval, like when she's with her friends, so it's not all her father's doing. She's not a good person but she also had plenty of help to become that.

I guess Zuko and his mom are Fire Nation anomalies? And maybe Iroh has become that since his son died and he lost the war?

How on earth did Zuko survive as long as he did in the palace without his mom to protect him? What a no-win situation to be in. The only person in a whole nation with empathy.

This episode does makes Season 1 Zuko make more sense. He's been larping his dad as a defense mechanism for surviving the Fire Nation/probably a very futile effort to earn his approval. Although Zuko doesn't seem to care much for his dad if the tone he takes with him by the turtleduck pond is any indication.

Being banished was the best thing that ever happened to Zuko. The more distance between him and his remaining non-uncle family, the better. Between prioritizing his crew over capturing the avatar in the Storm, releasing the Avatar in the Blue Spirit, and now defending a random earth kingdom child this episode, it's hilarious how much Zuko HASN'T learned the lesson that Ozai banished him for not knowing. Don't get me wrong; that's a good thing. This episode plainly shows that behaviour that pleases Ozai is behaviour that should be unlearned as quickly as possible.

Zuko completely missing the point of his mom's last instruction is delightfully on the nose. But it also makes sense, which I may talk more about later.

How did Zuko hold on to his temper (and his volume) for a whole episode?

How did a show named after the main character get away with an episode that doesn't feature him at all? As a concept, this is such a strange episode. The writers were like "how can we kick start the woobification of Zuko? I know! A Spaghetti Western!" and it worked. Who comes up with that?

I now want at least as much, if not more, of Sokka and Katara's childhood via flashbacks. And more Gyatso please. If they can devote a whole episode to the childhood of a guy who isn't even a team member yet, they can show me some Sokka childhood shenanigans as a palette cleanser.

I really don't know what conclusion to draw about this episode. The writers have given me a massive backstory/trauma dump and I'm honestly like:

[dailydegurechaff]

I wanted to know how do you interpret Tanya's gender. After reading chapter 58 of the manga i got the impression that she is definitely trans coded, but maybe thats just me

Very good question.

To be honest, when I think too hard about Tanya’s gender (and sexuality, for that matter) it gives me brain worms. Fun brain worms, but brain worms nonetheless. I can’t explain it. Everything she’s got going on is complicated as shit there’s way too much to think about.

Like, she was a man, but now she's a girl. But at some points she says she still sees herself as a man internally so is this MtFtM? How does that work. And if she accepts she's a woman now, is that just MtF or do we add more letters. More importantly: Was Being X being Transphobic or being the Greatest Trans Ally of All Time with the free divinely issued sex change.

Ok ok, jokes aside. Confession: I actually do not keep up with the manga, so I had to go find the chapter and read it first. Having read it now though, I see what you mean.

The conversation she has with the Salaryman/herself in that chapter really does read as essentially saying “I’ve accepted who I am now.” It’s a far cry from a much earlier part of the manga I remember where she has a breakdown about being a man/people seeing her as a girl.

A friend of mine was actually showing me stuff from more recent chapters of the manga (don’t know which chapter tragically, but I know it’s not currently translated to English) and from what I gathered of it, Being X was showing Tanya a dream of being back in her past life and in response she basically demanded to go back to being Tanya immediately. It is definitely not just you, I 100% see the trans-coding you’re talking about.

As for my personal interpretation of her gender, I touched very briefly on it once before, but I honestly think she wouldn’t want to label herself as anything. At first, this is out of hesitance and not wanting to acknowledge that anything might be ““wrong”” or ““different”” about her. Later on it turns into character growth, more along the lines of, “I don’t need the label to define me, I just am what I am/like what I like. I don’t care about it any more than that.” Yes this is 100% projection on my part. No, I won’t apologize for it lmao.

Of course, that's entirely my own headcanon. I definitely am not saying it’s the only way to interpret her, it’s just my personal thoughts. Especially since my opinion is subject to change on a dime depending on what I’m reading/working on myself. The Tanya gender is, in fact, transient, shifting like water.

Like. A transfem Tanya fic that focuses on her adapting to life in her new world and coming to discover she doesn’t actually hate her new body? I’d totally read that. I’ve seen a few fics that include that as a part of the narrative and those scenes of acceptance were among my favorite parts.

I get the feeling this is the route that the manga is going as well. It’s a bit of a shame that we don't have those aforementioned scenes in the light novel (or at least, I don't remember them), but I don’t think that Carlo Zen really intended that to be the focus/narrative in the first place. And honestly, I also think that’s a good thing because it allows for so much more room for interpretation and headcanon around Tanya’s character.

Anyway, the other direction is also compelling to me. A transmasc Tanya fic where, after feeling uncomfortable and hating how feminine he looks for years and years, he finally goes ‘Fuck this, I’m gonna go back to being a man’? I would read the fuck out of that too.

Could also be paired with him finally choosing to defect, where they think about it like, ‘Well there’s nothing to hold me back now, right? I don’t have to maintain appearances anymore. Also, since I’m defecting this would be a great way to hide myself. They’d all be looking for the wrong person. Two birds with one stone, how efficient.’ …Now we’re getting to fic ideas I won’t ever get to so it’s time to move on I think.

Semi-related to the Trans Tanya Concept, this actually brings me to a bit of a lore/headcanon/idea/question I want to present to the public for opinions. In Norden, during the inciting battle of the war, Tanya uses magic to “dope up” so she could enhance her strength and reaction time and kill pain. I took this to mean she used a formula to synthesize the narcotics/adrenaline hormone/whatever else directly into herself, right?

Can you see where I’m going with this? As long as you know which hormones to make, how they’re made up, and what quantities you need… Well, don’t you think magic HRT is completely possible? Of course, as I'm not sure it makes sense for Salaryman to have known the detailed specifics about it from the modern world, it would require a lot of in-universe research/science advancement for someone to actually do that, but theoretically...

The magic system in this universe has so much potential to be explored, I’m fascinated by what you can theoretically do with it. Although, this is long and off-topic already I think this should be the end, lol.

I think I talked too much? I’m sorry, you were probably not expecting such an answer. I told you, Tanya gives me brain worms (mental illness).

I guess the TL;DR is this: that kid definitely ain’t cishet.