#since her power overwhelms it that it will destroyed to pieces

[lunart-06]

I wonder what the main casts wishes were?

Herm herm! If you had seen one where I answered how they'll be as witches I think you could figured some out on what their wishes are since it's seem obvious, but if they were to wished it..

Let's start with Kyoko, her wish- in a dire and repressed desperation boiling her blood, to imediatelly take the chance that was just given in front of her, blinded her to not think through the price for it- was; "I wish.... to find the truth.. of what I've been looking for" and to say she regret it is an understatement, which explain her distant and her habits in containing her emotions later afterward.

Nagito's has already mentioned, prone to his sickness, his wish is "I wish to live longer.. it'll be a waste to die this soon yet.." and again, regretted it sooner after a few days of becoming a magical boy, because of his wish, he gets to live while watching others die on his stead. Believing he is the cause, thus explained how he doesn't really stick or attached to people for long.

Chiaki's a little hard to think of at one point but I figured out what she would wanted. Since it must be pretty lonely to play games all by yourself, and from the looks of it, she'd do what she could for her friends. Her wish involved, perhaps her bonds with this once in-a-life-time friendship she held dear;

"I wish..... that nothing bad would happened to my friends... I think.."

"You think..?"

"Yes."

But again, karmic destiny needs to be considered in order to see how well her wish will grant. Incubator had been curiously asking if she was sure to make a wish for someone else other than herself. But she didn't regret it (yet), her friends means a lot to her, other than video games.

Next is Hajime! Also already mentioned what his wish is from my first ask of this au, his wish being; "I wish.. I can be someone greater that brings a difference for the future" which is a big wish and his karmic destiny was not big if a potential to grant said wish YET. Thus manifested Izuru in being part of him (as the "someone" he wants to be) who is an entirely different person from him and to make difference for the future? Just slap him with foretelling like powers to "make a difference" himself. Explains why he (and Izuru) was unfazed most of the times, though Hajime has more reaction to the prediction before it even happened.

Lastly is Makoto, his wish- much like Chiaki's a bit- was; "I wish to protect every single people.. from the ones in the past and later in future, that you have and will tricked, from their inevitable fate! With my own hands, I won't let things go the way you wanted, Incubator!"

His karmic destiny were to somehow managed to grant him that much, he isn't technically a god in every timelines of multiple universes/multiverses (that is still Madoka even in this au), but perhaps an almost god like eintity of the timelines in HIS universe. He managed to reset the world at the moment he was born, since well, he doesn't exsist anymore beyond that point.

[hypnotic-kink]

For those asking how I am after the hurricane.... I can't answer all the DMs....

A week into Hurricane Helene clean up and I am fucking exhausted, every muscle in my body aches. My nose has come accustomed to the stench of fishy flood water. I've lost 12 lbs. without trying. My pretty manicured nails are long gone, my hair is in a perpetual ponytail since I don't have a lousy hairdryer. I have a black and blue mark on my cheek from stuff falling off a closet shelf onto me. Bleach and dirt stains all over my tshirt. I'm a wreck and so is everyone else here. We don't care ... all we care about is getting everything wet out of our homes and the drywall ripped out so our homes can dry out so the mold doesn't set in and destroy what's left. Then it can be rebuilt again. Fucking again, 13 months from when hurricane Adalia hit (we all just got done rebuilding from that one). My neighborhood IS A TRUE DISASTER ZONE, everywhere you look down the street is mountains of waterlogged furniture. I see neighbors and we just hug each other and cry together. A picture of a mother and her baby was in my yard, I don't even know them and it's blurred with water, the happy memory fading fast, I don't know why I just started crying for them, knowing they lost everything too. I pray they are safe. Pieces of my fence were ripped out and have floated away, hell I'm grateful a stranger returned my mailbox! Everyone on my block has to find a place to live, none of our homes are inhabitable unless they were on stilts. I found a place to rent, but for how long who knows... The goal is get the house fixed ASAP of course. No small feat when half of the state is hiring contractors etc.

The upside: I found out today the company I work for paid a months' rent and will get the 1st month power and water bill. I again, started to cry, when they told me. Tears seem to be a normal occurrence lately for me, and I thought I was one tough cookie. Ha. Mother Nature is kicking my proverbial ass. It's hard to go thru this once, let alone twice in a years time span.

95% of the house is empty so getting closer to the end of the hard physical labor, hence the weight loss. The city, state and federal aid this time has been fantastic.... they set up comfort stations with showers, washer and dryers (which I spent 3 hrs doing 2 truckloads of clothes, sheets, towels, curtains etc.) and they give us a free meal once a day. They gave us a case of emergency drinking water, and a box of pretty gross MRE'S (yes I tried it ..... the PB & J with crackers isn't bad) but it's survival food if needed. I am grateful I have friends that work for electricians and plumbers, so they got my hot water and my power working already. HUGE blessing. I've got industrial fans and dehumidifiers running so drying out the house is going well. Now I'm disinfecting anything I'm keeping as household items that will go to the rental place. Thankfully the rental is furnished. An entire home of furniture .... gone. Yes, I'm grateful I'm physically out of harm' way but to see the entire contents of your home (furniture, electronics, mementos etc.) at the curb as garbage is overwhelming esp. since I didn't have content insurance. But it kills me when I find things that have meaning and memories. I had my sons time capsule from the year he was born in the closet, and it's ruined. ugh. Stuff like that is irreplaceable. I should've remembered it was there but, in the panic, to get out you forget. I do have flood insurance though so the house will be fixed. I will be back in the house hopefully in 4 months with a little luck. I still have a house which is more than many that were hit in Tallahassee, some even lost their lives, so I am grateful. Continued prayers for Florida please 🙏🏻 thank you to everyone that has messaged me sending their love, thoughts and prayers and support. xox

[gavisuntiedboot]

Level 8000 (Gavi x Reader)

28 day writing prompt challenge - prompts are here

Day 6: Meeting for the first time

"Alright I'm going to get onto an online server. No one try to reach me for the next several hours."

Your roommates laughed at the warning as you slipped your headset on. You adjusted the ears, bringing the mic over your mouth, and settled back into the couch. Your hoodie and sweats swamped your form, providing maximum comfort for your gaming session. Were you a fantastic gamer? No. But had you fixated on two or three games for long enough to get good at specifically those games? Yes, yes you did. One of those games was FIFA. You had played all the events throughout the World Cup, in between the early morning matches, and late at night when your 7pm Redbull kept you up until the early hours.

This binge playing over your winter break, as well as the game events, lead to you having a crazy stacked team. You had a super high Neymar as your front man, meaning that as long as you got the ball in the last 1/3 of the field, you were almost guaranteed to score. When all your real life friends had grown tired of you winning 7-0, you turned to PS online. People on the internet were ruthless. You played against stacked teams, losing your first dozen matches. But as you practiced and upgraded your players (as well as googling some good team formations), you started to win. Your win-loss ratio improved immensely with the addition of one piece of equipment: headphones with a mic. You started to join the voice chat, and the sound of a woman sent these poor gamer boys into a frenzy, allowing you to score two goals before they could recover.

Now it was your escape. You loved the power of overwhelming men just by saying "good luck", and the profanities that followed when you won. Tonight was no different. You had already beaten four different whiny men, and had tied a game with another girl on the voice chat, who practically squealed with delight when she heard the sound of your voice. Now it was time for match number 6 of the night, and you were sufficiently warmed up, ready to destroy.

[Opponent] - 6avira30

You smiled, thinking to yourself 'Awe, a Gavi fanboy. I wonder if he has him in midfield." The audio connected, and you heard a couple different male voices yell at each other in Spanish.

"Hello?" You said softly into the mic. Couldn't have them think you were anything other than a soft uwu girl using her boyfriend's account. The voices stopped suddenly, with a long pause before the reply: "Are you a girl?" You laughed at the question. It was not the first time you had gotten it, but the utter confusion in the boy's voice caught you off guard. "Yeah, I am. Hurry up and lock in your team so we can start the match." "Ay, be patient. My great strategic mind needs time to work."

You groaned into the mic. These "strategists" often were the most annoying people to play with, and often the one calling you a cheater or a bot or saying that your "man" was playing while you were on the mic. You locked in the same team you always used, and waited for the great mastermind to lock in his squad. The match began a minute later, and you were not surprised to see it was mostly Barca players, old and new.

"Wow a Xavi-Iniesta midfield. It's been a minute since I've seen that." You said, trying to get the ball across the center line.

"They're the best duo in the world. Everyone should have them in the middle." The boy replied, harshly attacking all your midfielders. It had been a while since you encountered someone who played this aggressively, but it was interesting enough to get you to sit up straight.

"Really? Given your tag, I thought you would have Pedri and Gavi in the middle."

The boy got quiet at this, the statement clearly catching him off guard. It was the lapse in focus that you needed, getting the ball to your super-charged Neymar, and slamming a goal in from outside the box.

"What the actual fuck was that?" A yell came in from the other side. You laughed freely now. This was a fun match. You were being challenged in the middle of the field, really having your defense tested. The boy kept you entertained online, asking all the typical questions about how you got so good. The match ended 3-1 to you, and you were about to say goodbye when a notification popped up on your screen.

[6avira30] - Rematch Requested

"You want to play against me again? One loss wasn't enough?"

"I'm not going to lose again. I just have to recalibrate the squad."

You continued playing against the same opponent for 7 or 8 matches in a row, the conversation moving from the game to your lives.

"So you've never been to a football match in person? How is that possible? You live in Barcelona!"

"I'm a university student who is struggling to pay my rent. I don't have the time or money to buy tickets. Well, at least the tickets that I want."

"Well, what tickets do you want?"

"I want the ones that are right up on the field, so at the end of the game I can ask Lewy for his shirt at the end?"

"Lewandowski? Not one of the younger players?"

"Nah, everyone is always yelling for Gavi's shirt. And while it would be nice to see Gavi or Pedri shirtless, I feel like if I was ever lucky enough to get one of their shirts, my life would be in danger. So I would rather get a shift from DILF Lewy."

A loud laugh came in through your headphones. The boy yelled at his friend in the room, "She just called Robert a DILF."

At the end of the match (a 2-1 win for you), it was time to log off. You informed your online partner, bidding him a good night.

"Wait wait, before you get off, could you send your number in the chat? It's fine if not but I'd really like to talk to you again."

"My number? Why not just my Instagram?"

"I... Can't really follow you on Instagram. It's kind of complicated."

You sent him your number and logged off, going to bed with a stupid smile on your face. A boy had asked for your number. Could he be a weirdo in his mom's basement? Absolutely. But you could find that out later.

You woke up to a text that read: Hope you slept well - Lindo from PS Live. The stupid smile stuck to your face all day. For the next two weeks, you texted this boy almost every waking moment. You could not get enough of him, despite the fact that you couldn't get him to tell you his name.

[PS Live Boy]: Want to have coffee with me tomorrow?

The text set the butterflies in your stomach free, the fluttering feeling spreading to every cell in your body. You has said yes embarrassingly fast. He texted you the location: a pretty upscale coffee shop in the shopping district. Like 17 euro black coffee upscale. You now jumped up and down like a giddy school girl - PS Live boy had money.

You walked into the place, the hostess looking over your skirt and sweater with a sickly sweet smile, asking who you were supposed to be there with. PS Live boy had left the table under your name as to maintain his shroud of mystery. You sat at the table, reapplying your lip gloss and checking your hair in the camera of your phone.

[PS Live boy]: you can't freak out when you see me

[PS Live boy]: Because then I would have to leave and block your number

[PS Live boy]: and file a restraining order. and i dont want to do that

You let out a nervous breath, smiling at your screen. Usually when men said not to freak out, it was because they were ugly. The hostess that didn’t like you walked over to the table again, closely followed by someone in a hoodie, hood pulled up to cover their face. She pulled out a chair, and your PS Live boy sat in front of you. He thanked the hostess, before turning back you you and pulling his hood off.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Gavi looked at you with a cheeky smile playing on his lips. You were overwhelmed. Pablo mf Gavi had met you on PS live and liked you, asked for you number, and was now here on a date with you.

“Three weeks of being mysterious was worth the look on your face.”

“As Spain’s youngest player on the national team, how are you so shit at FIFA?”

“Okay okay okay, let’s go back to you being surprised and not talk about me getting my ass kicked 8 times in a row. Pedri still makes fun of me?”

“Dang Pedri was there? I should’ve asked for his number instead.”

“You have me leveled up to like 8000 in FIFA. I know you want to be here with me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: this was supposed to be done last night but I fell asleep lol. I love the idea of Gavi being kinda cheeky and self confident. Most talented young boys are (because society inflates their egos). Anyways, see y’all later tonight w day 7!!

[milkb0nny]

Your Very Own Summer

Dean Winchester x gn!reader

Comfortember Day 4: Warmth

Summary: You visited your emotional abusive parents in hopes to build a bond with them. Dean had warned you that it wouldn't turn out to be a nice family reunion. He was right. Devastated you entered the car, frozen by the same people who had shown you nothing but coldness during your childhood.

Note: I'm surprisingly keeping up very well with Comfortember. I thought I would suffer from a writing block. Well, let's see how the next days will be. 🤍 I hope you enjoy. :)

Warnings: emotional abusive parents, ghosting, gaslighting, difficult family dynamics, destructive thoughts

word count: 1.075

Once again, you found yourself leaving your childhood home. It was a place where you felt utterly powerless, perpetually terrified of the looming confrontation with your parents. The black Impala waited outside, the engine slightly humming with restrained power and played tracks from Dean’s favorite bands.

Dean had initially opposed your idea to visit your parents, since you had been on strained terms since you moved in with Sam and Dean. However, the truth ran deeper than that. You had endured a difficult and tumultuous relationship with your parents throughout your entire life. Childhood memories were tinged with a sense of fear and humiliation. As a child, inviting friends over had been a source of terror rather than joy. They belittled your struggles, dismissed your pleas for attention, and had a talent for turning you into the culprit for every action they were dissatisfied with. Whether it had been only bad grades in school or accidentally shattering a plate, - they had screamed at you, grounded you and isolated you from anything that brought you happiness.

The house of your childhood remained burned in your memory, but not with fondness, only coldness. It was a place where the atmosphere was perennially icy, devoid of any genuine love or warmth. Instead, it held a collection of memories marked by the freezing emotional storms your parents had mercilessly inflicted upon you. Even now, a shiver crept down your spine each time you returned, trying to better your bond with your parents.

Honestly, you didn’t know why you still clung onto your hope, you didn’t even know if it was hope or a desperate attempt to be a normal person with loving parents.

Regardless of the reasons, the message you had received from your father a week ago had caught you by surprise. It was an invitation to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary, a request so direct and unexpected that you had accepted without giving it a second thought.

Now, you stood before the door of your childhood home, the memories of a cold, soulless place weighing heavily on your heart. Just some moments before you exited your mother had accused you of destroying the family, of not bringing her grandchildren, of not letting her be a part of your life. Their twentieth anniversary would’ve been horrible because of your reluctant behavior.

After all the years you had desperately tried to confront them with their emotional abuse, only hitting against a stone wall they formed against you. They never listened and they never would.

You’re only a menace to them.

You’re only an issue.

You’re worthless.

Thoughts which pained you began to crawl up on you, biting your sensitive feelings, ripping you into pieces which couldn’t get reassembled. Each visit to this place unleashed a torrent of self-loathing within you. For some reason you despised your incompetence to simply please them, though deep down you knew very well it wasn’t your fault.

Walking toward your boyfriend's waiting car, you felt a profound sense of self-reproach, an overwhelming sense of foolishness. You felt so stupid because Dean had told you the encounter with your parents won’t turn out as you imagined. Despite your better judgment, you knew Dean would never be so heartless as to berate you. But your anxiety had cast a deep, imprisoning shadow over your inner self.

The journey back home was accompanied by a heavy silence, and it was clear that you were still grappling with the emotional aftermath of your visit to your parents. Dean, ever observant, couldn't help but notice the tears that still lingered in your eyes, glistening with unshed emotions. He didn’t want to make you speak up as he had seen how that place had the power to unravel your self-esteem before. He quickly decided his warm hands might comfort you and give you some secureness.

Gently, he reached out and rested his hand on your thigh - the touch reassuring and warm.

"Baby," he began softly, his voice sounding comforting. "I know it was tough in there but remember, you're not alone in this. I don’t support your parent’s actions."

You turned your head to meet Dean's gaze, his green eyes filled with a depth of understanding and empathy. Where as your childhood had been cold, icy and an ever lasting winter, Dean made your adulthood a friendly summer, warming you up every time you freeze.

“I don't know why I keep hoping for something different each time I go back there. It's like I can't help but wish for their love and approval, even though I know it's never going to happen. I’m so stupid,” you said, “so stupid for thinking I belong there.”

Your boyfriend pulled into the driveway of a parking lot, slowly stopping the car. His strong arms quickly wrapped you in his loving embrace. He took you close, fumbling with your hair.

“That’s right. You don’t belong there. Instead you belong to me and Sam,” he reassured you, whispering those comforting words. “See, you're strong and you're worth so much more than their shit judgment. I love you."

A single tear slid down your cheek. Dean, who noticed you sniffles, reached out to wipe it away with his thumb. His touch was tender and a further physical reminder that you weren't alone in this emotional battle.

“Let’s get home and we’ll take a hot bath, okay?”

You nodded, slowly letting go of Dean and curling yourself up in the passenger seat. As you continued down the road, Dean reached over and turned the volume slowly up. Melodic tunes filled the car, wrapping you both in their warmth and distracting you from the emotional bargain.

Suddenly, Dean's voice joined in, singing along with the lyrics in a soothing baritone. He glanced at you with a playful grin, inviting you to join in. You couldn’t resist but chuckle at his sweet yet goofy behavior. After the song ended, Dean turned the volume down and low hum of the engine filled the car again. He reached for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours.

His voice soothed you, "We're a team, and we'll face whatever comes together."

With Dean by your side, you knew that, no matter what challenges lay ahead, you had a steadfast source of strength and support.

Dean was your very own summer.

You loved his warmth.

You loved him.

[dragonshoardofworks]

Danuary24_ Free Day (+ Voyage?)

I'm a bit late because I wanted to clean the sketches digitally, but @crossoverdanuary you can blame @cleanlenins and their birthday present for this idea! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

In this crossover, when the Portal Incident happened, Danny got Isekai-ed into the One Piece World early in the East Blue saga (still haven't decided exactly when).

It's also (back in Amity) a No One Knows AU, so when the Portal started working "out of nowhere", Danny seemingly disappeared in the same period (no one could actually pinpoint when, though, due to neglect).

Was Danny friends with Tucker and Sam? Did they even exist in this Amity at all? No clue, but the only thing I know for certain is that Danny was a lonely boi...

Until the Strawhats happened, that is.

Like canon, Danny needed a while to start learning how to use his powers, which were such a trial and error thing that he ended getting a slightly different "moveset", so to speak:

Basic common powers + Ghost Form_ ✓

Ice powers_ ✓ (after Drum/Alabasta)

Overshadowing_ X (technically he still could, but has no idea it's a viable option)

Weakness to the Seastone_ ✓ (it has the same properties as the Ectoranium)

Telekinesis_ ✓

Ghostly Wail_ ✓ (post Water 7, if you know what I mean) However, it leaves him so drained that in addition to going back to human form, he's also unable to move for a while (pre-time skip)

Devil Fruit Sense_ ✓ (works like Ghost Sense)

Duplication_ X

(NEW) Spiritual Extraction:

If an object has enough personality/presence, Danny can extract/create a spiritual projection (or even a ghost if the physical object is destroyed) of it. The "blob ghosts" thus created are capable of interacting (minor powers included) with the material world depending on how much of his ectoplasm he feeds them. The Going Merry is the first example of it (AKA the first pic), followed shortly after the Gomu Gomu no Mi and the Hito Hito no Mi (Luffy and Chopper's Devil Fruits). (Oddly enough, the Hana Hana no Mi and the Hono Hono no Mi, Nico Robin's and Ace's fruits respectively, can't be projected, but they dismiss it as Danny's weird biology.) Few other objects that can be affected include the Wado Ichimonji, the Sandai Kitetsu and Luffy's Hat. (Still deciding what else to add.)

More details under the cut (Lenn it will definitely be spoiler-y for you, since you're still at Water 7, so read at your own risk! (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠) )

As you probably have already guessed if you're following the Japanese scans, the reason Luffy's fruit can be projected is because it's a Zoan.

The reason for this is that the manga said that Zoan have their own personality (which could overwhelm the user if their will isn't strong enough) and so I interpreted that this implies also a spirit/soul within!

(Thus, in the second pic, the mini swirly sun over the sleeping Danny, Merry and Sunny is Nika, who's bewildered by the mere concept of staying still and resting. You should move and have fun!!)

Other spoilery plot things include:

Usopp never deflected at Water 7 (there was still angst about the physical death of the Merry, but having her literal spirit hanging out with and scolding you if you were spiraling helped immensely);

Franky's personality (since he's one of his creators) rubbed off Sunny, so he's prone to join him in his dances and screaming "SUUUUUPEEEERRR!";

Danny gives off passive harmless ectoplasm radiations (moreover when he's in ghost form) that the Merry feed on when she's a full ghost and so doesn't need any active recharge;

because of his high metabolism, Danny has to eat either a lot (not Luffy-levels) or food choke-packed of nutrients. They also notice that the rawer the meat, the less Danny needs to eat (since it has higher content of non-degraded ectoplasm);

As I was writing the previous point, a thought occurred to me: could this also be a Ghost Hunger AU where Danny also feeds on emotions? 🤔 Let's keep it on maybe, because with Luffy around it would be like a nuclear reactor to feed on. No, I changed mind again, it's a YES, because there's no Ambient Ectoplasm in the One Piece world (contrary to what I headcanon Amity Park), so the only way for Danny to survive at all would be to stay on Luffy's side almost constantly.

And this leads me to the timeskip separation: because of the battle with Kizaru and the Pacifistas, and consequent use of 1-2 Wails, Danny has to retreat to his Core (first time ever happened), causing panic and forcing Luffy to stash it in the ribbon of his hat due to the heat of the battle (and so be separated along with him).

Danny stays unconscious two whole arcs, until Luffy is about to die of poison on Level 5 of Impel Down. He still hasn't enough energy to manifest outside his Core, but he gives his Captain as much as he could to keep him alive until the Okamas find and save them; he continues to do so even during the Hormone Treatment, having received a boost from Bon Kure and the others' emotional cheering.

After a short rest (he fainted) made during the escape, Danny wakes up again at Luffy's Conqueror Haki shout and given how much death and despair there's in the air, he's able to manifest again and speed up the rescue.

Who lives and who dies? No clue, but given my bleeding heart, Ace Lives, but not without grave injuries for the three of them (maybe so much that Danny ends again into his Core).

I just realized that this could end with Danny adopted officially into the ASL (Luffy had already started the process)... Our boy Danny is so Adoptable™ LMAO

Sabo regains his memories at the news of the close call and hijacks any mode of transportation to reach the trio. Two years timeskip happen with quartet bonding and training, then into the New World We Go!

Nothing else comes to mind at the moment, but I guess that I already said enough, don't I? (≧∇≦)

[zponds]

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire - My Edition - Titanus Tiamat

Now despite knowing full well why Godzilla killed Tiamat…

Thanks to this video by Goji Center…

I feel that Tiamat had some missed opportunity for her first appearance on the big screen. So in my edition of The New Empire, I decided to give Tiamat some character development. Hey, even titans need character development at times.

Now Tiamat’s first appearance in my edition of The New Empire is in the Amhuluk VS Tiamat scene I explained in an earlier post. However, Tiamat doesn’t fully leave the arctic. Instead, she only leaves the ice lair far away enough to where Amhuluk thinks she fully left.

Later, when a supercharged Godzilla arrives and fights the now-more powerful Amhuluk, Tiamat watches the whole battle from a nearby hidden spot. Upon seeing Godzilla using his supercharged atomic breath to absolutely destroy Amhuluk, Tiamat comes to the realization that if she wants to live, she’d better not get on Godzilla’s bad side again, especially since she just whitenessed Godzilla’s power.

Later, after Evolved Godzilla leaves the ice lair, Tiamat enters the lair to heal her wounds from her battle with Amhuluk.

Tiamat’s next appearance is in Egypt, and at that point she’s fully healed and out of nowhere, she sprays her acidic phosphorus ink point blank in the face of a Skull Crawler before it possibly kills Mothra. Tiamat quickly dispatches the blinded Skull Crawler by using the combined strength of her jaws and four paddle-like appendages to rip off the Skull Crawler’s head. After the attacking Skull Crawlers are terminated, Godzilla looks at Tiamat with surprise and uncertainty, but Mothra tells the G-Man that Tiamat saved her life and wants to help in order to prove her newfound respect and loyalty to the alpha titan of the surface world.

Tiamat joins Godzilla, Kong and Mothra in heading to the Hollow Earth to fight Skar King, his army, Shimo and Camazotz. Tiamat joins Mothra in fighting Camazotz, the Red Stripes and Skull Crawlers while Kong fights Skar and Godzilla fights Shimo. When the gravity is reverted to normal, Tiamat falls through the portal that leads to Rio with Godzilla, Mothra, Kong, Skar, Shimo, Camazotz and Skull Crawlers.

In Rio, Tiamat emerges from the frozen ocean with Godzilla and Mothra, though Tiamat uses her acidic phosphorus ink to melt her way through the ice. As the two alpha titans take on Skar, Shimo and Camatoztz, Tiamat helps Mothra in terminating the Skull Crawlers and she even helps in fighting Skar and Camazotz at times, especially when Godzilla is overwhelmed by Skar & Shimo and when Kong is overwhelmed by Camazotz. After Suko destroys the crystal using Kong’s axe, Tiamat is flown back from the corpse of the last Skull Crawler by the shockwave of the crystal’s destruction. As Kong, Godzilla, Mothra, Tiamat and Shimo begin to physically beat down Skar King, Tiamat’s turn is where she coils her body around Skar’s body, locking his arms to his sides as her razor fins cut into his body from all sides. On top of that, Tiamat sprays her acidic phosphorus ink point blank into Skar’s face, blinding him before Mothra jabs her stinger full force and speed into Skar’s left eye. Tiamat then unwraps her body from Skar’s body so fast that she flings the red ape into the air and smacks him at Shimo who delivers another home run with her tail at Kong. After Skar is destroyed by Shimo’s frost breath and Kong’s smashing the red ape into pieces, Tiamat watches as Godzilla uses his evolved atomic breath to dispatch and destroy the ice age above.

After everything settles down and is resolved, Tiamat doesn’t return to the North Pole. Instead, she finds a new underwater cave system to settle and rest. And on top of that, due to her role in helping Godzilla and saving both Earth and Hollow Earth from Skar King’s reign of tyranny, Monarch reclassifies Titanus Tiamat from destroyer status to protector status.

And that’s Tiamat’s involvements in my edition of The New Empire. And yes, I’ll go over the battles of Egypt, Hollow Earth and Rio in future posts, so stay tuned.

P.S.: credit for the Tiamat image above goes to artstation artist; Giorgio Lovino.

[thryth-gaming]

Apex vs Alpha and the Parental Units

I believe I've mentioned this game before on this blog, I know I've mentioned the RPG based on it, but just in case. Here's a summary.

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a co-op/solo card game where you pit 3-5 superheroes against a particular villain deck.

Each character has their own themed deck with a different gimmick, as do major locations in the world setting. And decks are very well designed such that their deck very well represents their themes and narratives. Within the last 5 years a new edition of the game has streamlined mechanics, adjusted some decks that were a little clutzy in the past, and introduced some new characters.

In this case I decided I wanted to try out one of the new villains from the Rook City Renegades expansion: Apex.

Apex is a werewolf lord, a self-styled king, and he seeks to create a world where werewolves dominate the world and are free to hunt whoever they choose.

His deck focuses around getting werewolf followers into play who have high hit point totals. Typically follower cards have around 3 to 8 HP with some occasionally having as high as 14 or 15. It is rare to see follower HP totals higher than that. With an intergalactic battleship in one deck having around 25.

There are 6 sub-villains in Apex's deck, one of them has 13 HP (she's a vampire) the other 5 range between 21 and 25 HP. And they suffer less damage from enemies that have less hit points than they do. Most of his cards summon werewolves from his deck, empower his werewolves, or give him or other werewolves attacks.

As villains go, Apex's HP is on the low side, only Baron Blade shows at less max Health at 40, and that's deceptive since when you get Blade to 0 the first time, his card flips and he gains 30 more HP. But Apex also has a lot of healing cards in his deck and if he can keep his health above the heroes, is harder to damage.

That said, HP in this game is more narrative than physical health. With Spite, it represents the difficulty of tracking him down and stopping his serial killing rather than a full out battle. With Baron Blade, his first 40 HP represent destroying his doomsday machine and the next 30 represents him in his power armor. So on and so forth.

And he puts out a lot of damage.

When I first scanned his cards, I was a bit intimidated to be honest, but then again, I have an understanding how to build a team to cover each other's weaknesses. Apex has a chance of overwhelming a player with his aggressive styles, and there are a few twists in his deck, but his basic mode is easily handled by a player familiar with the game. Unless luck is really against them.

Now, let's get on to the team.

First up is Tabitha Taft, aka Alpha.

She is a new hero introduced into this edition and is a, obviously, a werewolf. Her deck focuses around putting her six "Aspects" into play to access pieces of her lycanthropic nature without going full wolf and hurting people she doesn't want to hurt.

As you can see, each of her Aspects gives her abilities or bonuses that let her do things without spending one of her normal card plays or power uses, but comes at a risk. When she has 3 or more aspects in play, she will attack whoever on the board has the least HP once for each Aspect.

This can get dangerous especially when there are effects boosting the damage of heroes. Also, she gets affected by Apex's cards that boost the damage of werewolves because she has the tag Werewolf. So, usually when I've played her, I tried to keep the number of aspects in play low, only taking a risk when I was confident of being able to engineer villains having the lowest HP on the board.

But in this case... I had a plan... and it worked gloriously.

I've previously played both her base version and her "Reporter Alpha" version, which was when I was playing her more for scrying and deck control than for damage. In this case, I wanted to focus on her basic version since I think the Reporter version comes from early in her career when her lycanthropy was first starting to show itself.

As a note, the flip side of each hero shows their defeated side. A defeated hero doesn't get their full turn but instead gets a choice out of three options that they can do to help the team.

The above are Tabitha's flip sides for her base and reporter version and part of why I'm showing you this is because the flip side of her base version shows Apex. See, turns out most werewolves are cursed and sterile... Tabitha is the first werewolf to ever be born.

In fact there is a quote on one of Apex's cards that has Nightmist (we'll see her later) talking to Alpha about this:

"They act as though they are far greater than humanity when truly, they exist as a corruption. You, however, are something different."

So, Tabitha, as a natural born werewolf, is key to Apex's plans for world domination. I'm not sure, but I think it's also implied that Apex may be her father (see "A Horrible Truth" as the title of the defeat side of her base form) somehow. Apex has alliances with vampires and other mages so he may have engineered her birth somehow.

So, this is a personal fight for Alpha. A fight for her independence and escaping the oppression of a pack of hyper-violent predators who would rather give-in to their curse than transcend it. This is not her first rodeo, she took the name "Alpha" as her hero name because she fought to become the Alpha of her old pack and then said she was done with the nonsense and walked away from it. Basically exposing the whole artificial hyper-violence that the alpha concept was by just not caring save wanting to be done with it.

However, Apex and his group are far stronger than her prior pack.

And now the Parental Units

You may be wondering why I called this "Alpha and the Parental Units" because the rest of her team are:

Nightmist, premier sorceress who transcended her own curse to become a creature of magic.

Legacy, basically the good dad of the superhero community.

Mister Fixer, old gruff martial artist and sifu who's been around the supernatural block a few times.

Expatriette, the tactical team leader of Dark Watch, take Nick Fury and the Punisher, mix them up as a Magneto's daughter.

And let's get to those characters.

This is the last character that's going to be shown two versions of themselves.

This is Nightmist, at one time she was a private investigator, the grand-daughter of Joe Diamond (the character in the Arkham Horror board games). While her father apparently tried to keep her away from such things, the back of her cards implies she was Joe's sidekick for a while. Also a line on one of the Relics in her Estate's deck (an environment not being played here) says he gave her his collected journal of monsters for her to continue the fight.

In any case, she at some point was investigating a cult or infiltrating a cult, I'm unsure of which, and came across an arcane tome that blasted her with a terrible curse. In essence, she became infused with the essence of the Mists of R'lyeh, yeah Cthulhu stuff. She started to learn sorcery to deal with her curse and was initially a cursed human woman able to resolve into mist form (that's her base form on the left).

Later on, she was exposed to a drug invented by an evil scientist (Baron Blade) to remove superpowers from people and it at least suppressed her curse, leaving her a basic human again. She began to find that she was no longer happy as a human being, it didn't feel like her true self anymore. And then a threat came and the magic she was capable of without the curse wasn't enough, so she retreated into a demiplane to meditate for what was to her centuries though little more than a week passed in the outside world. When she returned, she was no longer a cursed human but a creature of arcane and eldritch nature.

As regards Nightmist, I already noted there's a quote of her telling Alpha that she's different from other werewolves. Initially she advised Alpha to get the curse lifted, though follows it up by asking why she holds to it. So eventually it feels like Nightmist realized Alpha is a bit like her, someone who is more naturally not human.

And also, Alpha's curse being her nature rather than a corruption of her nature the way normal lycanthropy is in this setting.

Nightmist has acted as the mentor to a former villain trying to become a hero (the Villain Matriarch who later becomes the Hero Harpy) and find control over her chaotic magic and the artifact bound to her and manipulated her into her villainous behavior as a teen.

Now, Nightmist is a deck that is fueled by discard cards. All of her spells and many of her powers require Nightmist to discard cards in order to accomplish things or control her magic. So there are a few cards that give her the opportunity to draw more cards to make sure her hand is filled. Normally, Nightmist will empty and reshuffle her deck fairly quickly. In a long game, it can happen multiple times. Nightmist's base version has an innate power that involves drawing cards to help deal with this.

Mentor Nightmist does not have card draw innately.

This heavily effects her ability to keep her hand filled and thus limits the options she has on her turn or to react to incoming issues.

However, what Mentor Nightmist does give me is the ability to safely unleash Alpha. Because when Nightmist uses her innate power she chooses a hero and until the start of Nightmist's next turn, any time that hero does damage, Nightmist decides whether to give it +1 or -3. I've used this for Nightmist's own spells as she has some spells that hit her or her allies for damage. But in this case, it neatly covers Alpha's 1 melee damage on each Aspect attack... heck it even covers that if there's effects boosting Alpha's damage twice.

What this means is that while Alpha is attacking who I want her to attack, we can make that attack stronger. When Alpha attacks someone else, we can reduce the damage to 0 in most cases. I tend to view this as Nightmist teaching control techniques to the other heroes or using them herself. As someone familiar with dangerous powers and how to make sure they are safely controlled.

So, far and away from my normal worry about having too many Aspects. Now I can just get all the Aspects I want.

Legacy is a very famous and beloved American superhero. He has the classic blonde-hair, square jaw Midwestern charm going on that calls back to comics in the Golden and Silver Age. A blend of Captain America and Superman. He has a very interesting power origin.

See, way back in the Revolutionary War, one of his ancestors worked with Paul Revere and developed an uncanny sense for when danger was coming. According to the in-game lore, this person was the man who lit the lanterns that set Paul Revere on his ride. Ever since then, the first child of each new generation would gain a new power... and the power of their predecessors. So each new Legacy was stronger than the last in some ways. (or at least had more versatility).

According to the lore podcasts by the creators this is the list of powers:

Joseph Parsons - Revolutionary War - Danger Sense

Paul Parsons - War of 1812 - Very Athletic. Not superhumanly so, but very Peak Humanity Athletic

Paul Parsons II - No war, Lucky Paul - Superhuman fast. Not Tachyon level but still faster than any human CAN run.

Paul Parsons III - Mexican American War - Superhuman strength, like 'Lift and throw carriages/cars'

Paul Parsons IV - Civil War - Single Attack Negation (can take a cannonball to the chest, but it has to cooldown)

Paul Parsons V - Spanish-American War (Also was the first Parsons to move to Chicago) - Vitality. VERY high-grade general stamina. Walks off sickness, ages slower, heals faster.

Paul Parsons VI - Legacy I - World War I - Flight

Paul Parsons VII - Legacy II - World War II and Korean War - Super Eyesight

Paul Parsons VIII - Legacy III/Heritage - No War until OblivAeon - Bulletproof skin. Unlike PP4, he can tank a lot of weaker attacks with no cooldown

Pauline Felicia Parsons - Beacon/Legacy IV - LASER EYES

This game has insanely deep lore... it's all unnecessary to playing and loving the game, but man... the depths the devs went to in detailing not only the in-game universe but also a fictitious publication history for the comics is amazing. Legacy is very much a call-back to the uber-patriotic, sometimes outright propagandist age of comics. Unlike characters like Omni-Man or Homelander, however, Paul is more in the line of Superman and Captain America as I said in that he represents a more hopeful ideal of what we wish America could be rather than what it is in truth.

It is refreshing to see a "Superman-clone" that isn't a deconstructed asshole. (though there is an evil Legacy from an alternate timeline that exists in the old edition as a villain and given the next expansion deals with the multiverse, I'm expecting we'll see him again) Though the issue of an idealistic USA existing on Indigneous land is troublesome. I need to ask around and see if there's some lore on this. The devs are usually self-aware on these issues so I wonder if this is a blind spot or if I'm just missing something here.

Anyway, enough of me addressing the cognitive dissonance here, and back to the game.

So, Legacy's deck does have some impressive damage cards in it, but it also has a lot of support abilities. His innate power increases the damage of his allies and he has a card that essentially doubles that effect. He also has ways to heal allies, give card draw, give card plays, and also he has quite a few ways to tank damage. Which was my original plan for him here. However, while I got some of his tanking cards in hand (and even played one) the support cards were almost always the best play at hand in this game.

Okay, so here's where we get back into the insane amount of in-universe Lore. In the fictitious publication history, he came out of the 60s and 70s and a mixture of Blaxploitation and Kung-fu stuff (and apparently vampires too) and started as a side character that began to get increasingly popular and they even talk about how he started to get more detailed in mid-70s around "the time comics started to get better". As the Blaxpoitation craze started to end he just... stopped being popular and people forgot him.

Move forward a few decades in the 90s (still fictitious publication history) when they introduce a villainous martial artist known as The Operative, they introduce an auto-mechanic called "Slim" as her original mentor. And this "Slim" is the original "Black Fist". And now he comes out of retirement as "Mister Fixer" using his tools as weapons. Now that he's in the hands of writers ready to do some interesting stories beyond "I know Kung-fu" and start to get into his position as a mentor who has seen a lot of tragedy through his life and knows about hubris. (and apparently he's blind... I just learned that.)

Yeah, the completely optional lore of this fun co-op/solo card game includes lots of commentary on the highs and lows of comic book history.

See the podcast episode here:

Anyway, Fixer's deck is mostly about pairing a Tool and a Style to modify his attacks. These do things like change the targets he gets or add an extra effect when he does damage, etc. He has a lot of ways to switch out his cards, attack multiple times, switch styles between attacks, and so on. I found it very easy to add cards into his hand (this game does NOT have a maximum hand size. I have had games where my deck and discard had 0 cards in them on some characters) so he always has a lot of options of what to do in a game.

In this game, I was trying to handle multiple high-HP followers, so after finding the Jack Handle I stuck to that and only switched styles once... though I was considering switching to a third style near the end.

Also, I was today year's old when I realized "Mister Fixer" acronym's to MF... as in obvious Samuel L Jackson quote. Yup, Fits.

Expatriette is one of my gals (the other two main ones being Fanatic and Harpy). So, take The Punisher, Deadshot, and Nick Fury, roll them up into a bundle shaped like a Canadian woman whose mother is basically "what if Magneto was actually evil and not just very rightfully angry".

That's Expatriette.

She starts out as a hired killer and apparently was contracted by villains to kill Mister Fixer. However, she seems to quickly switch over to the good guy side and is even one of Mister Fixer's teammates on Dark Watch alongside Nightmist, her boyfriend Setback (a golden retriever man with weird luck), and Nightmist's apprentice, The Harpy.

(To be honest I haven't listened to a lot of the lore podcasts. I love the bits I learn from fandom pages, but also, the game is just fun, you know? And the podcast competes with Kikoskia, Storyteller Squad, Monster's Playbook, Knights of the Night, AltHaven, The Writer's Room, Insym, and Critical Role.)

Her deck in the original edition was kinda meh. It gave you guns, lots of guns, but it was a bit slow to get everything into play and get her going. And in general she was a one-trick pony. She had some control options and the ability to remove Ongoing effects, but mostly she shot things.

The new version of her is so... so much more versatile and also builds much smoother. Giving her innate power the ability to do damage and play an item was amazing. And the Ammo is far more fluid to use (you used to have to attach it to specific guns each of which could have a single ammo attached, except shotgun, which could have two).

I do miss Pride and Prejudice being separate cards though... they were designed to make a single picture when you set them next to each other (which unfortunately order them as "Prejudice" and "Pride", which was irksome). But putting them as a single card just works better.

However, the biggest change that Expat got was that she got a lot of team support cards. She now has a lot of options to give other players actions outside of their turn and it is amazing. She's always been described as a tactical genius but her deck in the original edition never reflected that, only show casing her shooting skills.

The above guns, ammo, and other cards are ones that got played in this game. If the game hadn't ended when it did, I would have played a card another such card called "Comprehensive Plan"

Dark Watch doesn't have a leader per se. They sort of just go with things. Eldritch stuff they turn to Nightmist, martial arts and weird supernatural stuff they turn to Mister Fixer, everything else and general battle plans they turn to Expat. Harpy and Setback are the least leadery of the five.

So, this is the environment deck I went with. Megalopolis which is the typical shining idealistic "what we wish reality was" city like Metropolis from DC comics. Now, it may have made more sense to choose Rook City given that every character I put on the team is a Rook City resident except for Legacy. Heck, Nightmist, Mister Fixer, and Expatriette are three members of the signature Rook City supergroup: Dark Watch. But I liked the idea of werewolves fighting it out on the streets of the shining city rather than the grim one where supernatural nonsense usually happens. Also, this makes Legacy's presence more probable.

What I figure is that Alpha was in town for some reporter thing as Apex tracked her down. They came through Rook City which picked up the attention of Dark Watch, though Harpy and Setback were unavailable for some reason. Then when the first attack happened, Legacy was on hand and the brawl started.

Environments in this game are on nobody's side. Some are more friendly to villains, some are more friendly to heroes, most are rather neutral and mess with everybody. Megalopolis features a lot of citizens in peril, making it mostly a headache for the players. That said, there are a couple of cards that help heroes out and as this is the shiny "we wish it were so" city, this includes "Police Back-up" (the corrupt cops are all in Rook City, don't you know?). There's also a lawyer friend. But mostly, the city makes it hard for players to use their powers or gives them a count down to worry about.

The environment is the last deck to play in any round which is why it is the last deck I talked about. (and also, you now know how long this game lasted)

So, let's get on to the actual game.

Round One - (werewolf) FIGHT!

Apex

Apex started out with three werewolves in play:

Timber - attacks multiple of the highest HP

Rowan - attacks the lowest HP

Flint - attacks the highest HP

He didn't need to heal and there was no werewolf with more HP than him, so he didn't flip. He moves to play phase and plays The Pack Hungers. This gives all werewolves more damage and causes them to suffer toxic damage.

They're HUNGRY!

At the start of his next round it would heal him and check to see if any werewolves were low on health and destroy those. I guess the implication is they eat their own if that person is weak.

Then all the werewolves attack, dealing damage across the board. Apex hits the highest HP hero and then all werewolves. Timber, Rowan, and Flint do their attacks after him. Then Pack Hungers hits all werewolves including Apex.

Nightmist

Nightmist is at 18 HP out of 28... she got hit pretty hard.

She plays Call Forth to summon the Amulet of the Elder Gods which she immediately uses to redirect the infernal damage from Call Forth away from her to strike Rowan because enemies that target the lowest HP targets are scary and can wear down vulnerable heroes fast.

She then uses her Magical Mentor power to boost Alpha and Draws Master of Magic... which is the other main set-up card I look for when playing Nightmist.

Alpha

Alpha is at 26 of 32 HP.

She plays Fatal Feast which discovers Insatiable Hunger. I didn't note it down, but I think the target was Rowan (again, villains that stalk low HP heroes are scary)

Alpha then uses her Prowl power to discover another aspect and gets Lupine Senses. Neither Insatiable Hunger nor Lupine Senses were may first choice in this case, but in retrospect they probably should have been. They worked out pretty well.

She draws Hamstring, which is what I call a "Shut Down" card because you can use it to shut down the Villain partially for a round.

At her end phase she only has 2 Aspects, so no attacks happen.

Mister Fixer

Mister Fixer is at 27 HP out of 29

He plays Zen Maintenance to collect Hoist Chain and Harmony.

Note on the difference between "Collect", "Discover", "Salvage", and "Summon".

Collect means you can name a particular card of the named type and put it in your hand.

Discover means you reveal cards off the top of the deck until you find the number the card asks for and then you put them into play.

Salvage means look through the trash and grab a card of the desired type to put in your hand.

Summon means you name a particular card of the named type and put it directly into play.

Mister Fixer has some Discover, but he has a lot more Collect and Salvage, giving him more control. He has options in his hand rather than depending on the random chance of Discover.

I was thinking I might need the Hoist Chain's ability to reduce the damage output of villains hit by it. I then used the card play granted by Zen to play The Manifold Path and that brought out the Jack Handle (perfect for this situation and I immediately realized that) and Alternating Tiger Claw, also excellent for this situation given it made his damage irreducible which got around Apex's protection.

Then I used his Strike power which he used to attack Apex, Timber, Rowan, and Flint. Usually he'd only get one attack, but Jack Handle let him hit up to five targets and there were only four.

Then he draws Dual Crowbars.

Expatriette

Expat is at 23 of 28 HP. She got hit pretty hard as well.

She plays Arsenal Access which discovers her Modified SMG and some Liquid Nitrogen Ammo. She then draws another Arsenal Access and plays her Double-Barreled Shotgun off that card.

She shotguns Rowan and decides not to use ammo right now. Again, stalker enemies are scary.

Then she draws hollow point

Legacy

Legacy is at 22 out of 32 HP. He got hit as hard as Nightmist.

Legacy plays Bolster Allies which gives everybody a card draw including himself.

Legacy draws the Ol' One Two

Nightmist draws Essence Transfer

Alpha draws Silver Bindings

Mister Fixer draws Overdrive

Expatriette draws Backup Plan

He then gives Nightmist a card play. Nightmist chooses to play Starshield Invocation. The discarded card shows a "4" on the Infernal number. Her Amulet of the Elder Gods upgrades that to 5. And now all damage to heroes is reduced by 5 until Nightmist's turn.

Legacy then uses his Galvanize power to boost Hero damage.

He draws Dauntless Durability, one of his tanker powers.

Megalopolis

Plays "Persistent Paparazzi" meaning heroes will now take 1 fixed damage whenever they use a power. "Fixed" means it can neither be increased or reduced, though it is still blocked by immunity to damage.

Round Two

Apex

Not much damage was dealt to Apex, so he heals completely. He gets 5 healing from himself and 5 from The Pack Hungers, though he can't go over his Maximum of 50. There are no werewolves at 3 or less HP so no one gets destroyed. But The Pack Hungers destroys itself.

As a note "Destroyed" only means "not in the scene/available for use anymore" it could mean knocked unconscious, trapped, or forced to flee for living creatures or disarmed, stolen, or otherwise unavailable for items. Fanatic (not in this game) has multiple cards of her signature sword representing her ability to recover it quickly if it is lost, not that she has actual multiple copies of Absolution.

Apex plays his top card and gets "On the Blood Trail" which brings Gumbo into play. Gumbo immediately attacks the lowest HP Hero target because of the card but this is reduced to 0 by Nightmist's Starshield.

Now, the werewolves throw themselves ineffectually at Nightmist's Starshield. In frustation, Apex damages all his pack (I mean he does this every round, I'm just imagining it's because of frustration with being blocked by Nightmist here). Then Gumbo snaps back at Apex because Apex has the most hit points here.

Nightmist

Still at 18.

Starshield tries to deal damage to Nightmist at the start of the round, but she discards a card to redirect the damage to Rowan causing Rowan to be defeated and go to Apex's trash.

No more stalking for you.

She plays Master of Magic. She uses Magical Mentor to Boost Alpha again (she does this every round) and takes 1 psychic damage from Persistent Paparazzi asking her questions.

The paparazzi makes me think this is not one fight but an ongoing situation across the city over several days. I'm also aware that Alpha's day job is that she's a reporter.

She draws Scouring Mists and then Master of Magic allows her to draw up to a hand of 4 getting her Essence Transfer and a second copy of Master of Magic.

Alpha

Still at 26.

Insatiable Hunger can't destroy any target so she discovers an Ongoing and finds Rip and Tear.

Lupine Senses reveals "On the Blood Hunt" for Apex and she decides to trash it instead of draw cards.

That ends her Start Phase and she then plays Hamstring targeting Apex. This prevents Apex from doing any damage until Alpha's next round. It's also some significant damage since she's boosted by both Nightmist and Legacy as well as the bonus damage she gets on Apex for being his Nemesis.

She decides to use her Prowl power instead Rip and Tear in order to discover a new Aspect and gets Powerful Frame so attacks coming in on her deal -1 damage unless irreducible or fixed. Under normal circumstances, I'd probably stop at two Aspects, but hey, Nightmist is teaching Tabitha how to better control herself... and Nightmist admits that Tabitha already has a lot of control.

She takes 1 damage from paparazzi. Oh the stress you must feel during shop talk with other reporters, Tabitha, trying to keep your secret.

She draws Furious Slash.

Now End Phase happens and she has 3 Aspects. Timber has the lowest HP on the board so she goes to town on him attacking him once for each Aspect in play.

Mister Fixer

Still at 27.

He plays Harmony. He has both a Style and a Tool so he now deals +1 damage with his attacks.

He uses strike with Jack Handle and Alternating Tiger Claw style to attack all four werewolves with irreducible damage.

I opted not to collect another tool.

He now draws a second copy of Harmony

Expatriette

Still at 23

Plays Lock and Load.

First she summons Pride and Prejudice... just for the flavor of having her signature handguns in play.

There are now 3 guns in play so the next step of Lock and Load discovers three Ammo: Thermite Rounds, Shock Rounds, and Hollow Point Rounds.

Finally, she chooses Legacy for the last step of the card and he plays the top of his deck: A True Hero. Legacy Draws Bulletproof Skin and Thokk. Everybody else heals 1, neatly canceling the Paparazzi damage.

She decides to fire her SMG with Hollow Point rounds to hit all the werewolves. This defeats Timber as Timber was weakened severally by Alpha and Mister Fixer. So he goes to Apex's trash.

She takes 1 point of Paparazzi psychic damage, neatly canceling the healing from Legacy.

Draws Assault Rifle.

Legacy

Still at 22.

Simple round, he plays the Ol'One Two and hits Flint for 2 damage. Then he uses the extra card play to play Bulletproof Skin so that he is now also reducing incoming damage. (remember HP is narratively covering lots of things... he always had Bulletproof Skin, but now it becomes narratively relevant)

He Galvanizes and draws Inspiring Presence

Megalopolis

In the start phase all the Heroes choose to discard a card to get rid of the Paparazzi. When a card demands that I discard cards to remove it, I always imagine the discarded cards are the method the characters used to solve the problem

So, I imagine that Legacy reassured people that he was involved in the situation, the man doesn't have a huge ego, but he has that perfect amount of lovable confidence. Nightmist probably started talking magic and perhaps some reporters got a little lost in the terms and also the fact that they were speaking to someone who had mist for hair. Expat just ducked the whole scene and vanished into one of her caches until the reporters lost her. Mister Fixer parkoured well past their ability to follow. And Alpha dealt with the stress of being around her colleagues by locking herself up for the night.

"Arg, I can't stand Lisa and Tom one more minute, I've got to go chain myself up."

"I know, right, Tabitha? Sometimes I feel like I'm just going to go beasty you know?"

"...." staaaaare "I'm going now. Khalil."

And now Megalopolis played "Bank Heist in Progress"

Round Three

Apex

Apex Heals 4 because there's only four werewolves in play: himself, Alpha, Gumbo, and Flint. This isn't enough to heal all his wounds but he also still has the most HP of all the werewolves. So he doesn't switch.

He plays Making of an Alpha to force Alpha and Fixer to fight as they are the two highest HP heroes. Mentor Nightmist had boosted Alpha so reduces the damage she deals by 3 causing Fixer to only take 1 damage. I should have used Fixer's reaction here to use his Jack Handle to hit all the villains, but I forgot about it.

Making of an Alpha then plays the top card of Apex's deck and puts into Play "Hunting Party". This brings back Rowan and pulls out Blood Magic's Boon. This is actually good in some ways since now all the werewolves are dealing Infernal damage so when Rowan stalks and attacks Nightmist, Nightmist can use her Amulet to redirect it.

Apex deals 0 damage because Alpha still has Hamstring in play (it was conceivable something could have destroyed it before it got to his time to do damage).

Such a great Apex predator unable to do any damage at all for two whole rounds. Not even able to snap at his bulli- I mean oppres- I mean loyal pack mates.

Flint hits Mister Fixer. Gumbo hits Expat and Apex, Rowan attacks Nightmist and here I decide to stop focusing on minions and redirect that damage to Apex.

As a note, I DID end up using Fixer's Tiger Claw Reaction here and attacked all the villains with the Jack Handle. Since you can only use each Reaction once in a turn and he only had one Reaction in play, it became a non-issue gameplay.

Just would have been funnier to use it at Making of an Alpha.

Nightmist

Still at 18

Plays Essence Transfer, chooses to use Master of Magic's option to discard from hand if the top-card discard isn't something she likes. Drains Apex and uses that to heal Legacy.

Magical Mentor to Alpha as last round.

Master of Magic lets her draw up to four cards and she gets Scouring Mists, Droplet of Lethe, Essence Transfer, and Mistform. The last is not useful right now because it only protects against non-Infernal damage and the Blood Magic's Boon makes all the werewolves deal infernal. In the past edition it was just general damage immunity and far more powerful, allowing Nightmist to effectively tank at the cost of having no actions except drawing cards. The new version is much more limited.

But to be honest, Mistform in the old edition was mostly boring unless you were playing solo and controlling every hero. Even then... it's not great. Having it for one round is fine for me.

Alpha

Still at 23.

Insatiable Hunger discovers Badger the Bloodied which immediately allows her to defeat Flint. (yeah, I decided not to focus minions, but I'm going to take advantage of vulnerable ones) And now she has a reaction for when she takes damage.

Lupine Senses reveals Chel and I decide putting a new werewolf in play isn't the worst thing this deck can do to me, so I put her back on top and draw 2 cards but didn't note down what the draws were.

Now... that's Alpha's Start Phase.

At this point I choose to skip her Play and Power Phases to jump straight to Draw Phase in order to deal with the Bank Heist.

I'm thinking that was some terrified bank robbers.

"What the fuck?! A werewolf? This is Megalopolis, aren't all the weird and crazy heroes in Rook City?"

She Draws Lycanthropic Frenzy

Now, her turn's not over.

End Phase comes AFTER Draw Phase and she has Three Aspects in play.

Flint is the lowest HP on the board so Alpha goes to town on him and he's defeated and sent to Apex's trash.

What was it you said again Flint? "We'll fight, you'll die?" well... I can see how that worked for you.

Mister Fixer

Mister Fixer is now at 22 out of 29.

In Start Phase he opts to use Harmony to play a style and replaces Alternating Tiger Claw with Driving Mantis.

He loses the irreducible damage, but that's not much impact with Galvanize going on and Inspiring Presence on the horizon, and thus means he draws cards whenever he uses a power. The Reaction change now means he uses a power instead of just hitting a target. Which sounds like the same, but now he's dealing damage AND drawing cards. So it's a boost.

I considered changing tools but since I know we have another werewolf coming up due to Alpha's Lupine Senses, I figure it's more important to keep the AoE damage going with Jack Handle.

Interestingly... it looks like I accidentally skipped Fixer's Play Phase here... or I just forgot to note it down. Whoops.

Anyway, he Strikes and hits the three present werewolves and then draws Manifold Path and Riveting Crane style... which has an even more appealing reaction on it.

So, I have ALL these cards, plenty of discard fuel. And with Galvanize, Harmony, AND Inspiring Presence, that would be 4 damage instead one. And with the Jack Handle that would be hitting pretty much every enemy.

Yup... that's good stuff.

So at this point I'm already thinking of going Full Throttle which I drew at some point on the next round and just tearing the villains apart.

His Draw Phase produces another extra Harmony. Yeah, Riveting is looking pretty good.

Expatriette

Expat is at 20 out of 28 HP.

She plays Backup Plan

First she discovers Liquid Nitrogen Rounds

Then she lets Alpha hit Apex. In retrospect having Fixer do this would have been more efficient as his Jack Handle would make it AoE, but the flavor of directing Alpha at Apex. The juicy juicy flavor of it.

Then she lets Legacy heal 2.

Then she chooses to Salvage her Hollow Points back into her hand.

On to Power Phase and some quick math says that both Double-Barreled Shotgun with Thermite and Hollow Point and Pride and Prejudice with Thermite and Hollow Point will do the same damage (if Inspiring Presence was up, Pride and Prejudice would do more damage since the Galvanize and Inspiring boosts would each happen twice for 4 extra damage instead of 2 on the shotgun's one hit.)

So, again, I opt for the flavor of Expat using her signature weapons and just unleash both guns on Apex.

She then draws Comprehensive Plan.

Legacy

Legacy is at 24 out of 32 HP.

He has a simple round. He plays Inspiring Presence, everybody heals except him and then he Galvanizes. All his allies are now dealing +2 damage.

I have to say most of Legacy's tank build ended up in my hand for this game. Of the cards below, only Heroic Interception never appeared.

However, between Nightmist's turn one Starshield and Alpha's turn two Hamstring, I was already handling damage fairly well. Apex wasn't hitting me with cards to destroy my set up (destroy Items or Ongoings) and Megalopolis was being annoying but wasn't throwing anything I couldn't handle at me.

I also had some decent damage in hand.

But seriously, it was just way more effective to boost Legacy's allies than to do the actual damage.

Narratively speaking, he would still have been in the fight, getting his punches and going toe to toe with werewolves, but the main effect of this would be to open the path for his allies to effectively shut things down and keep the morale of the heroes and public up.

Speaking of Megalopolis

Megalopolis

Plays Hostage Situation.

Now, at the end phase, we're given a chance to discard cards to solve the situation without having to divert actions to hitting him. But you know what? This is a 6 HP target. Rowan is still in the field and she's going to attack the lowest HP target, and Chel is going to play now too and she'll do damage too.

You know what? Yeah, I'm good, you can be werewolf bait, hostage taker.

Round Four

Apex is at 30 HP. He heals 4 because there's just him, Alpha, Rowan, and Gumbo in play. Then Blood Magic's Boon causes him to suffer 3.

He plays Chel. Leaving Chel on top was the right play. A nasty One-Shot or Ongoing could have made things come out different. As it is, he only gets a new minion.

Apex finally gets to do damage! ^_^

He hits Legacy and has his damage reduced by Bulletproof. Then he attacks all the werewolves. His damaged is reduced against Alpha, but also increased as he's her nemesis.

Rowan hits Hostage Situation, Gumbo hits Legacy for 3 and Apex for 2, Chel hits every non-villain including the Hostage Situation. Since Sequencing matters this is the order I did Chel's hits:

Chel hits Hostage Situation for 2.

Chel Hits Fixer for 2,

Fixer's reaction hits Chel for 5

Fixer's reaction hits Rowan for 5.

Fixer's reaction hits Apex for 5

Fixer's reaction hits Hostage Situation for 5. Hostage Situation is defeated. Ending it with a Hero instead of Werewolf villains means I think Fixer saved the hostage and hostage taker from the werewolves.

Chel hits Nightmist for 2.

Nightmist redirects the infernal damage to hit Apex for 1

Chel hits Alpha for 1 (Powerful Frame)

Alpha's reaction hits Chel for 5.

Chel hits Expatriette for 2.

Chel hits Legacy for 1 (Bulletproof Skin)

Nightmist

Nightmist is at 19 out of 28 HP.

She plays Essence Transfer and hits Apex for 6 she then heals Alpha for 5.

She boosts Alpha and draws Coalescing Spirit (Which has a picture of her aiding Alpha, so wish I could have played that for the flavor).

Oh well.

In any case, this was where I realized Alpha could finish it as Apex was at 17 health and she had a LOT of damage available via Galvanize, Inspiring Presence, and Magical Mentor.

Alpha

Alpha is at 25 out of 32 (my notes say 28, I think I misread my ticker, some of the wheels are put together wrong and I may have seen an upside down 5 as an 8)

Going to her Start Phase before skipping to the end.

Insatiable Hungry can't destroy any target and I want to Discover anyway. And it Discovers Hamstring that's where "Bwuahahahaha" got scribbled in my notes.

Anyway. That's 6 damage to Apex. I would say he can't do damage until Alpha's Start Phase, but it IS Alpha's Start Phase so Hamstring gets destroyed as soon as her other Start Phase events finish.

Not that it matters. It just made me laugh because it was just such a thumbing the nose at him.

From here, Lupine Senses reveals "Making of an Alpha" and I replace it to draw two cards: Rip and Tear (already in play) and Fatal Feast.

I look over my options and reason that Lycanthropic Frenzy has her attack all targets and has a quote from Apex praising her for giving in to her nature. So I'm avoiding that one. I had a couple of other options, but ultimately I go for Fatal Feast again.

Fatal Feast discovers Eye for the Hunt... and now she's doing +4 damage each attack (Magical Mentor, Galvanize, Inspiring, and Eye for the Hunt). Now, this would be dangerous if the game were taking longer because her Aspects could now do enough damage to get around Magical Mentor taking 3 off, but... it doesn't matter.

That takes Apex to 6.

Then we come to Power Phase and I use Rip and Tear.

Apex doesn't even survive the first of Rip and Tear's two hits.

Wrap-Up

Apex is aggressive and has some potential for being tricky, but is a fairly simple and straight-forward Villain. Handling his pack is important and having the ability to prevent or reduce incoming damage is essential.

Mentor Nightmist works exceptionally well with Alpha. Even though I only ever had to reduce her damage once, the simple confidence I could handle it if I didn't control her targeting well enough gave me the confidence to lean hard into her being a full-on werewolf. Even though I only got 4 out of 6 aspects into play.

And it was such a flavor win for Alpha to land the final blow.

I had some math errors and missed plays but nothing that impacted the final result. At one point Rowan just vanishes from my notes in the end of Round three, no indication she was defeated. So I had to extrapolate what happened.

[formerlycookierunauprompts]

hi! Good to see you again! I know school has started for you again and I know school sucks, I know I’m still in it. So when I’m done with school I like to read fanfic! So I write part one of this fanfic for you to read. It focuses on Arcane egg cookie so I hope you enjoy.

————————————————————————————————-

Faster, she needs to get there faster!

Arcane e- “Egg tart cookie” bounds and leaps over the monsters in her path, leaving not but smoke in their wake not long after. Her custom made faberge bombs are quite effective, and any who do survive get quickly skewered with her fork staff. They got a signal from over the radio that there was big trouble at the Silver tree, she’s so relieved she made those radios. 

Oh why, WHY did she have to be so far away!? They had business elsewhere yes, but it’s always WHEN she has other business that some dumb dangerous stuff happens! Anyways they're getting closer. She can hear it, the sounds of battle…. And it sounds like it’s against some kind of construct too, Egg tart cookie can hear the separate pieces grinding together; rather unnaturally she would hazard to. Since from here it sounds like it’s getting destroyed to high ho heavens.

They almost got it. Just a little more momentum and-

*CRASH*

The party below looks now at the marionette with shock and surprise, because within but merely a moment for now it lays twitching on the ground with a fork running through its neck. Egg tart lands in front of the group, their shoes skidding across the dirt and grass slightly. Everyone within the group looks slightly dumbfounded, they seemed unaware of their friend's strength.

“H-how did you do th-“ Wizard cookie starts with wide eyes full of amazement 

“Is everyone ok!?” She interrupts, oh the area just reeks of familiar magic. She can feel themselves losing their cool slightly.

“Yes, we’ll be fine but we have to leave -“ Pure vanilla starts while assisting White lily but is quickly interrupted by… by a familiar voice…

“Leave?” No… no no no no no, it can’t be. It can't! Egg tart now stands like a statue, but her hands shake slightly.

“Now why would you leave? Weren’t we just having such FUN!” Shadow milk cookie’s bombastic voice rings throughout the area… Egg tart can only stare with a slight scared look within their eyes.

“Especially since your friend appeared! They're quite impressive aren’t they!” He laughs as he speaks, he then walks towards the group. “I mean look. My dear puppet already took some damage, but you mysterious stranger. Destroyed it in one fell swoop!”

His towering form is immediately apparent, it’s intimidating. The cookies below feel like rabbits before a great predator. All a prey animal can do is run, and so the rest seem to formulate a plan to do just that. But, all Egg tart can do is stare… she can’t possibly describe how she feels right now. All she knows is she feels so so overwhelmed, and so they just stares.

Shadow milk cookie stops a bit aways from the group's perspective, for him it’s merely a few measly steps. “Now now what’s the matter, you mysterious cookie? Losing your nerve now of all times. That isn’t too fun now is it-“ Shadow cookie abruptly pauses as he catches Egg tart cookie’s eye… 

Pure vanilla begins to tug oh Egg tart’s sleeve and whispers panicked “Egg tart cookie we have to go-“

“Egg tart cookie?… EGG TART COOKIE!” Shadow milk suddenly yells silencing everyone in brief shock and terror “did they make you change your name after you got back all those years ago? Did they really not only strip you of your power but your identity!” He’s smiling widely but he’s positively pissed 

Suddenly to the horror of everyone Shadow milk cookie takes a step forward and picks up the paralyzed “Egg tart” cookie. “Her NAME is Arcane egg cookie, and she is one of US!”  

All Arcane egg cookie can do was as the same as before stare, but now with a lot more panic. She didn’t want them to find out like this, not at all! She was gonna tell them after this whole damn fiasco was over, but now she’s in the palm of Shadow milk cookie. Who may be foe or not, at least to them. 

She wills herself to look to the group below and… see’s them leaving. They seem to be led away by Silverbell cookie, Mercurial knight cookie, and some other silver knights. Arcane egg can only look on in distress before Shadow milk cookie begins to speak.

“Now that we don’t have those pests watching, why don’t we catch up my dear Sunny!” … oh how did things go wrong so quickly…

Oooo!!! I very much did enjoy! I can't wait to see part two!

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Iron Man: Part Ten

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader (implicitly)

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

It takes another five hours to fly home. Putting the suit on is very easy but taking it off is the real challenge. Tony is high on his pedestal as Jarvis tries to remove the suit with Tony squirming trying to help. You're floating above ground so that you're at Tony's eye level, and you try to help Jarvis remove the suit.

"Tony, you have to stop moving."

"Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt," Jarvis speaks.

"Be gentle. This is my first time. I designed this to come off so get it off."

"Tony, you have to stop moving," you groan and yank one of the arm pieces off.

"Ow!"

You're about to put the armpiece on the table down below when Pepper walks into the room. Her gasp is what makes you freeze as if you're a kid caught with your hand in the cookie jar.

"What is going on here? You can fly, Y/N?"

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing," Tony sighs.

You gently lower yourself to the ground and set the armpiece on the table.

"Yes, I can fly. I'm not exactly human. I'll answer any question you have and explain everything to you. I promise. I just need to help Tony get this suit off."

"Are those bullet holes?" she gasps quietly.

"Yes."

After helping Tony get most of the suit off, you and Pepper sat down together and you explained everything about you to her. She's not that shocked considering the world had seen Captain America and Carol, but she's still floored by the news. She's never really believed in aliens so to hear you're from another planet with magical powers is overwhelming. You leave her to process your words and find Tony in his lab working on the torso of his suit since it has bullet holes in it.

"How did she take it?" Tony asks.

"Better than I had hoped. I'm gonna leave her alone for a bit to process my words. Rhodey's next," you chuckle dryly. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Not a scratch, really."

"I'm envious of that, you know. You're very powerful."

"Not as powerful as you might think. There are a lot of people who are far more powerful than I am, but thanks." The door to the lab opens and Pepper walks in slowly. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Better than I thought I would be."

"Hey, are you busy? Do you mind if I send you on an errand?" Tony asks. "I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip." Tony grabs a flash drive and shows it to her. "This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive in which you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"What do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asks after a pause. 

"They've been dealing under the table and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again," she sighs.

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening, no benefit, and nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so? Well, then, I quit," she frowns and tosses the flash drive onto the table.

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. Now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"He's not alone in this, Pepper. He has me. I told you what I am and exactly what I can do. I've been protecting Tony for nearly twenty years."

"I shouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason," Tony sighs. "I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. I know in my heart that it's right." 

Pepper sees the truth in his eyes and grabs the flash drive hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you." You and Pepper leave Tony's house and head over to his office. You wouldn't be surprised if the police were waiting for her at the front door because she looks like she is gonna get caught at any second. "Pepper, you need to calm down. You look suspicious."

"Sorry," she mutters.

Tony's office is on the second floor so it takes less than a minute to get there. You stay by the door while she rushes over to the computer and sits in front of it.

"I'm still trying to process your words from earlier. Remind me again what you are?"

You close the door and join her side at the computer.

"A shapeshifting Avatar. I can also make portals to anywhere in the universe."

"And you said some man did this to you?"

"Yeah. After my parents died, he kidnapped and experimented on me. It took years to escape from him and I've been on the run ever since."

"Do you think he's still alive?"

"For his sake, I hope not."

Pepper inserts the flash drive into the computer and logs into Tony's files. The files Tony wants aren't in the Executive Files so Pepper finds the ghost drive that they are on. Almost immediately the files began downloading onto the flash drive. While that's happening, Pepper clicks on one of the videos that popped up. On the screen in front of you is you and Tony tied up with soldiers carrying big guns around you.

This is when you were kidnapped. You remember there was a camera but didn't know they were recording. Since they did, why is this video on the Stark Industries database? Who is benefiting from this?

"You've got to be kidding me," you mutter. The soldiers speak Urdu. "Can you find something to translate it?"

"Yeah."

She puts an English filter over the video so you can understand what is being said.

"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark and Y/N. As you can see, Obadiah Stane, your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark and Y/N has just gone up."

"Oh, my God," Pepper gasps.

"I'm gonna kill him," you growl. 

Obadiah Stane is the reason you and Tony went through torture and trauma. He sent his friend's only son and a family friend to their deaths so that the business would be passed on to him. What a fucking sleazeball.

"So," you and Pepper gasp at the voice coming from the front of the room. Obadiah stands there with a smile on his face, "what are we gonna do about this?"

Rage fills your eyes but Pepper puts her hand over yours to remind you not to do anything rash. You can kill him where he stands but you need to be smart about this. Obadiah walks to the minibar on the side to pour himself a drink. The files are still downloading and you can't take the flash drive out before it's finished.

You're scared of what Obadiah will do if he sees you copying the files.

"Tony always gets the good stuff, doesn't he?" he chuckles and grabs the best alcohol bottle.

With his back turned to you, Pepper takes the opportunity to cover the flash drive with a newspaper. Obadiah turns and starts walking toward you two, and Pepper quickly put the screen saver on so he won't see what's happening. He looks at the computer and takes a drink, not having suspicions about what's going on.

"I was so happy when he and you, Y/n, came home. It was like we got you two back from the dead." It's taking everything in you not to beat the shit out of him now. "Now I realize Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. It breaks my heart."

"Does it?" you ask with bitterness in your voice. "I think he's doing just fine under the circumstances."

"He's a complicated person. He's been through a lot. I think he'll be alright," Pepper backs you up.

"We both will," you glare.

"You are a very rare woman, Pepper. So are you, Y/N. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is," Obadiah chuckles.

Pepper guesses that the files are downloaded since the screen saver is on. She sneakily grabs the newspaper and the flash drive at the same time so Obadiah doesn't see it. You two get up and walk to the door.

"We better go," you say sweetly.

"Is that today's paper?" Both you and Pepper freeze by the front door as Obadiah stalks toward you two. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Pepper smiles and hands it over while keeping the flash drive hidden.

"I like to complete the puzzles."

"Take care." You and Pepper leave the office and she looks like she is going to break with how tense she is. "It's okay, Pepper. I wouldn't have let him hurt you."

You two walk down the stairs and see Phil Coulson sitting on one of the couches waiting for either you or Pepper.

"Ms. Potts? Y/N? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"

"Nope, right now. Come with me," she smiles tightly.

"Right now?" he asks and gets up.

"Phil, don't question it, just go. Go."

You look behind you to see Obadiah on the second-floor landing staring at you with a glare. His look is murderous but yours is worse. You get your phone out and call Tony to warn him but he isn't answering his phone. Three times his phone goes to voicemail after four rings.

"Is he not answering?"

"No. It's not like him. He's sending me to voicemail. I'll check it out." You start to hover in the air since flying there is going to save a lot of time. "Pepper, call Rhodey and tell him to meet me there. Stay here with Phil and get Obadiah. You can handle him. He's just a man."

"I will," she nods.

You take off into the sky and fly over to Tony's house which looks normal on the outside. However, when you walk in, it's a whole different story. No one is on the first floor but you feel like someone was here. Tension is thick in the air but you push through it to find Tony.

"Tony? It's me!" You race downstairs to the lab. "Tony?" You step through the broken window and see Tony lying on the floor face down. "Tony!"

"Y/N!" Tony gasps. 

He points to the table above him where Pepper's gift is. Obadiah must have come here and stolen the arc reactor from his chest because the one he created is no longer in him. You grab the glass container and smash it to pieces to get to the arc reactor inside. It's an old one but it will keep Tony alive enough to defeat Obadiah. You hear someone come down the stairs just as you put the old arc reactor into his chest. Tony gasps loudly at the charge the reactor is giving him but it's not going to be enough to do what he wants it to do.

"Are you okay?" you ask.

"Where's Pepper?" he groans as you and Rhodey help him to his feet.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not gonna be enough."

"I know." You turn to Rhodey. "Help me. He needs his suit."

You and Rhodey bring Tony over to the platform where Jarvis knows to put the suit on Tony. As that's happening, Rhodey turns to you with questioning eyes.

"So, you can fly?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I'm not human. I come from a planet called Xenia that's located on the other side of the universe."

"Oh. So, you're an alien?"

"Yeah."

"Cool," he nods. The machines work quickly to put the suit on Tony and Rhodey decides to focus on that. "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen. You know, apart from Y/N flying."

"I'll answer any questions you have later. Right now, we need to get to Obadiah."

Tony blasts his ruined blue car out of the way so he can use the hole he created the first time he tested the suit.

"What do you need me to do?" Rhodey asks.

"Keep the skies clear."

"Stay safe," you add.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[mxstball]

What's a piece of worldbuilding for your blog(s) that you've scrapped?

Hey, did you know that Lacey and Lauren originally came from another world that was taken through via a Magic!Anon? They were transported to Zinnia's world through the Latias Army!Anon, where 100,000+ Latias suddenly swarmed Sky Pillar and eventually (with the exception of Lacey and Lauren) were moved to another island that Zinnia visits on occasion.

The interesting bit was that there were times that Zinnia would actually use that plot point (and the eventual Braxien horde that followed) in RPs, whether to find somewhere safe to hide someone, or to overwhelm and raid an area like she did Flare HQ.

It's since been changed. There's no longer a Latias horde, and Heidi and Lauren got there via an Ultra Wormhole instead.

--

Another one is something that specifically 4 people is going to recall I think. I had a HC that Rayquaza had a deathly fear of Joltik because he was taken advantage of thanks to them. Originally, that person was Aster -- the previous Lorekeeper. She apparently joined the beginnings of team Plasma and used Joltik to absorb his power and abuse him until he submitted (but she died instead). I even had a whole plot event back in 2017 where Zinnia and Rayquaza were to find a dungeon underneath Sky Pillar that housed long-dead and experimented-on Pokémon that Aster had... I don't exactly remember what the aim was for because it's been 6 years, but I definitely recall it was super fucked up.

Then, much later, I scrapped that and said that his fear was from the 6th Lorekeeper that would use Joltik as a way to weaken and eventually kill him.

All of this is scrapped for... I hope obvious reasons.

--

While I'm at it, have an interesting half-scrapped AU.

Back when Heidi first regained her memories from encountering Friede, I originally thought of an AU where Heidi instead was evil instead of the good goirl she is today. Basically, this AU featured her back in Gaia always having a big aversion to humans and being closer to Lati, her brother, instead of Lauren. Then, when Heidi came to the world, she actually hated Zinnia and Rayquaza and secluded herself in Kalos instead and be like, Zygarde's on-and-off again girlfriend. The thing is that when Heidi eventually regained her memories and learned that Friede was going to destroy the world, she would join Friede's squad and always chase to basically become mommy's best little girl.

This was scrapped in part because the original person that rp'd Friede and Ruined Kingdom is no longer on Tumblr, but it was also because I didn't exactly like the direction it was taking... and the fact that I don't like doing story AUs (especially when mainverse story is so dense). That said, that doesn't mean that I completely poof'd the idea.

Heidi's closeness to Zygarde, and the eventual three-way relationship between Heidi, Rayquaza, and her was inspired from this. Linking Rayquaza and Zygarde this way through Heidi really helped me flesh out Zygarde's arc and think about how she fit in Elysium.

This idea is also how the idea of Lacey, Heidi's Shadow Forme, came to be. Keep in mind that I actually never played XD or Coliseum (no, I don't want to play it, so no, I won't play it) so the concept of Shadow Pokémon and Shadow Energy took some research and time to think about (obv, this was also before Go had Shadow Pokémon iirc but the eventual introduction of them in Go helped too). Now, Lacey is more neutral towards humans and just wants to find a way to either separate herself from Heidi or take over permanently.

[aarcanegrimm]

1. Corvus

Masterlist

‘You will never be rid of me daughter.���

That was the last thing she heard as she passed through the stinging branches of trees and her eyes began to shut. That was the last thing she heard before she slammed straight into the ground.

Warnings: Death, blood, gore and falling

They lost. The Titan’s had lost, the Justice League had lost.

The towering demon cackled, his voice like thunder in the ash filled air. They failed; Trigon won.

Raven could feel everything, with every death and scream and cry of the people around her, she could feel it. She was overwhelmed by death, destruction, fear, and hate.

“You see daughter.” The king of Hell said. “You only live to be my salvation. You live to do my bidding.”

“No.” She gasped out, denial strong yet wavering. She caught sight of Batman’s head rolling down the rubble. Superman’s torso thrown across the way, Wonder Woman was hanging by her lasso around her throat. The Martian Manhunter and Green Lanterns were burnt alive, and by Azar her friends, her team.

Nightwing and Starfire’s bodies peeked from beneath rubble, Red Robin and Red Hood were being dragged away by Raven’s brothers…. Azar. Blue Beetle, Beastboy… torn to pieces and Cyborg, crushed under Trigon’s foot.

“I didn’t want this!” Raven cried. “I don’t want this!”

“You can’t always get what you want Raven.” Her brother’s voice called. “Sometimes you have to suffer too.”

“You already took Azarath, you’ve taken thousands of worlds… why do you need more. Why do you need me?”

“Because you are more than a half-breed Raven.” Her other brother replied. “The most powerful sorceress in the realms.”

She shook her head, hood falling from her head showing the demonic eyes that had taken the place of her lilac ones.

“You will be mine forever Raven, you are more my daughter than ’s.” Trigon roared with laughter.

“You’re wrong.” She whispered.

A laugh fell from her trembling lips, a laugh that became monstrous, loud, booming and raw. She was crying as she laughed- there was just too much.

“Raven…” Her brothers echoed. A crashing forming around them. “What are you doing sister.”

“What good is a portal if it’s dead too.”

“NO!” The Demon King roared. Raven’s power only grew, feeding on those emotions she kept hidden for so long. A large red hand grasped her, tightening around her as the buildings around them crumbled and turned to ash. Her brothers screamed. “What have you done?”

“Lost.” She said finally.

She expected to turn to ash too, to die in her fathers hand… but instead he screamed, he wailed out in pain. She was burning him and yet she could feel nothing at all. Raven could feel the energy shift as she siphoned away Trigon’s power… ah, instead of destroying herself she began drawing him in. This hadn’t been the plan, she wanted to die why was her power failing her now of all times.

Let her die!

She wants to die!

Die!

DIE!

And then she was falling, down and down. The world of red and black began to fade and the bright yellow of the sun filled her vision, the brilliant blue sky peaceful and the chirping birds a wonder. Maybe she had died, maybe she finally won something. Raven had no plans to slow her fall, she couldn’t, she was exhausted. A sharp pain between her eyes startled her conscious for a moment.

'You will never be rid of me daughter.'

That was the last thing she heard as she passed through the stinging branches of trees and her eyes began to shut. That was the last thing she heard before she slammed straight into the ground.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Lilac eyes creeped open, wincing at the brightness of the light above her. She was sinking, down and down until her head landed onto a soft pillow. Raven could hear voices bouncing around the stone walls, bouncing around her head. It took a few moments, but her vision cleared, and her hearing soon followed.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake young lady.” She groaned, eyes focusing on the older man settled beside her. “My name is Owen; I’ve been treating you since we found you in the forest.”

Raven tried to speak, the cotton feeling in her mouth was painful. Water, she needed water. The man seemed to notice her moving mouth, trying to speak. Instead, Owen continued.

“Drink first, no need to speak, you had quite the fall. After I patched up the worst of it your body took care of the rest. Your back was broken, both shoulders dislocated, right ankle sprained, and multiple ribs fractured. Along with those you had multiple burns across your legs and arms.”

Raven coughed, the water almost stinging her throat.

“You’ve been out for a week just… floating above the bed, healing. I noticed something strange about that gem in your forehead… I wasn’t able to touch it however so I’m sorry if I’ve caused any irritation.”

A knock on the door had the doctor offering a terse grin.

“Owen I’m here to check on the girl.” A cheerful voice called through a thick wooden door that opened with a loud creak.

“She’s awake.”

A spike of glee and relief hit Raven like a tidal wave. Moving her head slightly she saw a tall blond man with purple eyes look down at her worriedly.

“Hello miss. My name is Julius Novachrono, the Wizard King.” Her brows furrowed. The what? “You fell from the sky and created a large impact crater. I know Owen patched you up and you’ve healed yourself but please take the time you need.”

Raven coughed again, trying to speak, to say anything.

“Whe- Where…”

“You don’t need to say anything young lady.” Doctor Owen said, rushing back towards her. But she needed to know.

“Where… am I?” She breathed out. “Wha-what plan-e-et is this?”

“Planet? Girl this is Midgard? Why?”

“My-my home… gone.” A tear fell, not one she wanted too but she couldn’t help it, it was hurting so much. A bang came across the room, a metal tray slamming into the nearest wall. The Doctor and Wizard King stepped closer.

“Your home is gone?” She nodded; Julius frowned. “How?”

“Julius she hasn’t healed yet.”

“I was-n’t strong e-en-ough.”

That the most heartbreaking thing either man had ever heard.

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Amphillogia (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- The Foul Mouthed Goddess by the people of Olympius

Mother by Dyssebeia & Koros

Wicked Red by Kydoimos

Location- Little Sparta, New Olympus

Personality- She never walks away from an argument or fight. She's hot tempered, sharp tongued, opposing, & generally confrontational towards others. She absolutely hates crying and feeling overwhelmed. She's casually dating.

She has the standard abilities of a goddess except shapeshifting. As the goddess of arguments, disputes, & altercations her other powers/abilities include limited pyrokinesis, argument inducement, partial fire/heat immunity, and being able to temporarily curse a being to only use profane language.

Amphillogia is the mother to two children- a daughter Dyssebeia (goddess of ungodliness & impiety) and a son Koros (god of surfeit & disdain). She used to be married to their father Kydoimos (god of uproar & battlefield confusion). They've been divorced for nearly a century.

She lives by herself in a loft apartment in the Little Sparta neighborhood of New Olympus. Her loft has classic industrial features like metal framed windows, brick ceilings, & concrete walls. The dining room flows into the kitchen and there's also leather furniture, glass & metal furniture pieces, as well as neon light fixtures. Various framed pop art and grafitti artwork hangs from the walls- including a pop art portrait of herself done by Thalia (muse of comedy).

Notable physical features include her long vibrant dark copper red hair & her height of 5''2. She's the shortest goddess in the pantheon! It's the reason why she loves wearing stiletto heels. The taller, the better!

She's currently mourning the loss of her animal companion, a she-dragon named Furiosa. The fifth oldest dragon in all the realms and a magnificent beast covered in dark copper & red scales, she suddenly passed of a burst belly while flying over the Athenian countryside. Blood leaked from below, falling onto an empty meadow, the hot acidic dragon blood destroying the plants. In her final moments Furiosa protected her rider from the worst of the fall- with Amphillogia only sustaining a concussion, a broken arm, and a shattered leg.

She had a funeral service for her beloved companion with a few guests in attendance- like her best friend Hysminai (goddess of fighting & combat). Darksmoke, the dragon belonging to Draco (god of dragons) lit Furiosa's funeral pyre ablaze. Amphillogia keeps her dragon's ashes in an obsidian urn. She doesn't know what to feel about her identity as a dragon rider. She doesn't even want to think about the possibility of getting another dragon as a pet. Amphillogia still feels insulted that her kids didn't think it was important enough to attend the funeral. She still feels connected to Furiosa.

Amphillogia is fluent in Latin and is able to say curse words in all the other languages spoken in Olympius.

With wearing makeup, she's fond of heavy smoky eyes (through use of eyeshadow), mascara, & black liquid eyeliner.

A go-to drink for her is a crantini. She also likes beer, red wine, rum & cokes, mulled spice cherry punch, bloody marys, pomegranate juice, manhattans, and habanero martinis. Her usual from The Roasted Bean is an olympian sized dark roast coffee with just a bit of sugar.

It's taken a long time for Amphillogia to feel indifferent towards her ex-husband. Her marriage with Kydoimos has always been volatile- with neither of them walking away from a fight. Slaps, kicks, & punches were unfortunately thrown from both sides. When their baby son almost got in the crosshairs of a fight, they both came to a sobering realization that they had to separate. Amphillogia hasn't spoken or seen Kydoimos since the divorce.

She keeps in shape through jogging, mixed martial arts, and boxing.

A typical brekafast for her is a breakfast burrito (with extra peppers), sweet potato home fries, & a large iced tea from The Hearthside Diner. She also likes the Golly Grains chocolate crunch cereal.

Some of her favorite curse words include f*ck, bitch, motherf*cker, wanker, co*ksucker, and c*nt.

Amphillogia knows she hasn't always been the best or most gentle mother, but she genuinely cares for her kids. She downloaded every single song her son's punk rock band Dissonance Machine has released and has even seen them perform at a concert in Sparta. Her & Dyssebeia have never been close- with her gravitating towards Kydoimos. Amphillogia still makes the effort to visit her daugher every once in a while, even if their pleasantries aren't 100% geniune.

She had a falling out with a former close friend Amechania (goddess of helplessness & want) after finding out that her and Kydoimos were dating. The war path against her has been temporarily suspended since Furiosa's death. It doesn't matter to Amphillogia that they're no longer together.

A guilty pleasure for her is the spicy chicken sandwhich (with extra spicy mayo) and large cajun fries from Olympic Chef.

Amphillogia has been staying over at Hysminai's place since the death of her dragon. Her best friend doesn't view her grieving for an animal companion as "dramatic" or "immature." Some days they'll stay in bed together eating Hysminai's hot pot broth while watching a Blood Sacrifice marathon on TV. She's also fond of her best friend's grandchildren Anaideia (goddess of ruthlessness, shamelessness, & unforgiveness) and Olethrus (Olly) (god of havoc) when they come over for visits.

Her favorite frozen treat is coffee chocolate chip ice cream.

In the pantheon she's also good friends with Anchiale (Titaness of fire), Poena (goddess of punishment), Styx (Titaness of hatred), Gaia (goddess of the earth), Atë (goddess of mischief, ruin, blind folly, delusion, & downfall of heroes), and Lycana (Titaness of lycanthropy).

Amphillogia was the official mentor towards Adikia (goddess of injustice & wrongdoing).

Her favorite dessert is cherry pie, especially when Poena makes it.

She's seriously considering becoming a fitness model.

Amphillogia's primary source of income comes from being a "ring girl" for boxing matches. She lets the crowd know which round is coming up by holding up numbered cards. Amphillogia wears scantily clad form fitting leather outfits. She's also a writer for Powerpulse magazine, the fitness magazine owned by Hermes.

She even attends the anger management classes that Gaia hosts on her journey towards self improvement.

She loves listening to rock & rap music.

Her, Hysminai, Palaestra (goddess of wrestling), Enyo (goddess of war, destruction, bloodlust, & devastation), and Dimósia (goddess of debate) all participated in a mud wrestling event for charity in Troy.

Amphillogia is currently dating a cyclops named Barlas. They first connected on a dating app. She was touched when he showed up to her dragon's funeral.

Her all time favorite meal is spicy kung pao chicken with pork fried rice.

In her free time Amphillogia enjoys working out, axe throwing, basketball, sword dueling, playing pool, football (soccer), poker, going to the gun range, clubbing, archery, bungee jumping, going to the cinema, wrestling, mountain climbing, and volleyball.

"Arguing is a game two can play at. But it is a strange game in that neither opponent ever wins."

[mephestopheles]

Still trying to prep for my upcoming game that is now about a month away.

I think I have settled on the antagonist reasons for what they're doing, and how they're using the players to achieve some of their goals. This pulls in information from two backstories, the others are little smaller and more localized but have things that come into play.

The two that had connections to different planes were easier to leverage for antagonists that were still kicking and using the events of the first arc as fodder for their machinations.

If you're interested there is more behind the cut :)

The fey are involved, specifically the new queen of the seelie court has eyes on a bigger prize than being an archfey. Not content with being near godlike, she wants to be a god and she's shared this plan with several in her coterie. So far unbeknownst to the players she's managed to get a foothold by forcing the natural cycle of the court and destroying the original Crone.

That, coupled with a powershift on the material plane she was tied to gave her enough power to overwhelm the current queen titania and force her into her next form. So she is now the rightful queen of the fey and has sent the new potential maiden off on a quest claim four sceptres from the elemental planes

These when combined on the celestial plane will set off a mass creation event to recreate/create a planet on the material plane, however if the power is syphoned correctly, one can bypass the planet and seize the power to become a god without needing a set of followers

The connecting character is the little halfling that has potential to become the new maiden and has already been a help by disturbing a wedding without causing the fey court to lose face specifically. This fetch quest also keeps her busy enough to not go searching for the crone to see what she thinks of things

The other character was kidnapped by a cult of a dragon who was trying to come through from the shadowrealm via the loose veils around Tel'Eryon but is now trapped between both planes

He is partially stuck in a host body on a planet being used as a refuge for the former inhabitants of the lost Tel'Eryon while the elven fleet figures out what happened and how to help

The dragon and his cult members are currently working through the refugees and adding members to their new religion to build strength and his hold on this planet to make it the stronger of the two connections

Then he will need someone to sever the connection on the shadowrealm side so he can push the rest of the way over by syphoning the last experiment they had before the plan fizzled two years ago

The aarakocra has some ties to both the fey court with his squire, and has some connection to an ancient red dragon that used to live in the mountains near the aarakocra home, and he is currently carrying a piece of her soul around (player really liked dragonheart who am I to say no)

I'm not sure how this will enter into the story over all, but it does give me a way of world building that dragons are somehow only partially attuned to the material plane and need mortals in some way to maintain that connection

I have an autognome that if I remember correctly, his creator found a warforged heart amongst some detritus and was able to fix it up and install it into the autognome and that is how he's currently powered. His creator was murdered and he's less than a year old so his feels a little more personal.

We do have an artificer gnome joining the group soon so it should be interesting how they play off each other, especially since the artificer is a spy so that might give some depth.

The third gnome of the group is a half gnome half tiefling, and she's had some run-ins with vampirates which I can use in some places and if I combine them with the space clowns and the plague from arc one that might give the astral sea stuff some meat

Finally, to round out the party is the Giff who was adopted by a gnome family (possibly halfling but I'm almost positive they're gnomes, because mama bignoodle is an artificer). Currently he's been kidnapped by a mindflayer wizard, that may or may not be evil.

Context wise, and i wish I could remember the tag I used and if I even wrote any of this out before. When Tel'Eryon blew up it left a power vacuum. The gods have been dying for 1200 ish years, and with the final collapse of the pantheon holding it together, the planet went kaboom. The separate elements went back to their native planes, and it requires a mortal to collect them on behalf of the deities in question to bring them back.

However, no one remembers the gods of Tel'Eryon. They don't have names, they don't have clerics or followers or believers. The people of Tel'Eryon have a vague spirituality, and spoke of gods plural but could not name a single deity. And they never transferred that belief onto other major pantheons, so there is a weird block where the belief and the power from those followers are held back somehow.

The other major pantheons are in a fit because they cannot access those sibling deities, nor their reborn counterparts (as they've not been reborn) but didn't receive any new followers either so the power is just sitting there in a dust cloud in the middle of the astral sea.

Something has tagged several contenders who have the potential to become gods. These are the current players and a balancing force of characters I have that represent other aspects of the gods. The players have figured out they have godstones embedded in them and that has given them certain abilities, but they're not sure of the next steps.

So currently, they have a mission in the form of a Gaes to find the four sceptres in the elemental planes, and they need to find their friend who was kidnapped. And they have a secondary quest to find a hag that might have information about something else. That's what I need to plan, but I need to drop clues to the other stuff happening.

I also need to set up some challenges above and beyond the current scope to test them for godhood.

I do have an idea for setting them up in a battle royale style fight in the middle of this, as a kind of challenge from the lesser gods who feel these upstarts are moving in on their territory.

[xprojectrpg]

Yesterday in X-Project - January 20

2015: Reality Coming Down: Professor X and Emma plan on a strategy to protect the school from the impending danger; Emma, Molly, Tandy and Tyrone defend against their robotic evil selves in the foyer; Gabriel, Miles, Sarah and Johnny defend the stairs against their zombie selves; Sue, Topaz, Hope, and Meggan defend the rear of the school against their evil doppelgangers; Emma’s team are forced to retreat; Sue and Gabriel’s team merge to help relieve some of the pressure on Emma’s team; The teams finish off their evil doppelgangers and try to make sense of what is happening; The New Mutants and Emma are all together when the Dark Phoenix finally reaches the mansion, who buries the teen under the falling debris of the mansion.

The Dark Phoenix: The previously injured regroup in the med lab prepare to set out into the destroyed mansion and help people; North forces Laurie to keep moving despite her unwillingness; the team from India returns to find the mansion in ruins and set out to help; the first group from the med lab find the Dark Phoenix, and are forced into a holding pattern; the second med lab group sets out to rescue people out of the rubble; people regroup in an attempt to find a strategy and stop Dark Phoenix; Dark Phoenix lashes out telekinetically, only to be shut down by Cecilia, Amanda, and Billy, who provide cover; Wanda and Strange grab Doug and North, using them to channel energy and try to hold reality together; the first team moves in to try and take out Dark Phoenix’s shield, but the telekinetic backlash takes several of them out; another team goes hunting for survivors, and Callisto is killed; Dark Phoenix continues her hunt, injuring Jubilee and killing Miles; Paige, trying to defend Tandy, Ty, and Molly, about to die, is visited by Brunhilde, and tries to convince her to save the kids; Clarice, Sooraya, Pixie, and Artie try to help Topaz, Johnny, and Hope back to the Blackbird, only to be attacked by a group of alters; a group tries release Jean from her powers suppressor, intent on using it on Dark Phoenix; a group of semi-invulnerables try to go against Dark Phoenix, but to no avail; Charles takes all the safeties off Cerebro to prepare for his own last stand; Emma and Haller work together on a psychic defense; the force field goes down, and Billy is killed; the psionic defense meets Dark Phoenix, who lashes out and kills Sarah V and Lorna, and Charles goes down; a group gets the power suppressor on Dark Phoenix, but it fails; the psionic defense finally fails; Jean confronts the Dark Phoenix and is overwhelmed; Wanda’s attempts to keep reality together fail, and the power overload kills her and Strange; Jean rallies against Dark Phoenix, finally destroying her; the survivors find themselves facing the end of the world and Xorn, who tells them he will piece together a new world for them to live in; they later wake up on the mansion grounds in the new universe.PHASE 2

2016: Amanda leaves a wreath of English Ivy, Scarlet Poppies, Pink Sweet Peas, and Potato Vine Flowers at the M-Day memorial. Cecilia posts to the journals expressing her disbelief that it’s already been a year since M-Day and inviting anyone who wants to join her and her dog watching movies and eating junk food on the couch.

2017: Maya decides art museums and dance are the best way to cope with Inauguration Day. With Extreme Prejudice: Daredevil and Spider-Man investigate the apartment of one of the victims and are surprised by a detective, who surprisingly turns out to be an ally; Miles discovers a ninja star at the scene.

2018: Tandy makes a journal entry about potentially graduating early, and how her work on the local food bank is coming along.

2019:

2020: Topaz wonders how it can still be January. Kyle approaches Garrison about rejoining the X-Men; after sounding out Garrison, Kyle emails Scott asking to rejoin the team.

2021:

2022:

2023:

[tosin-talks]

Tosin Talks about looking back and moving forward

This past year simultaneously flew by and lasted too long. I have an immense amount of gratitude concerning every emotion and event that I experienced in 2023. I’m glad to have experienced a wide array of feelings and states of mind such as disappointment, loneliness, contentment, bliss, ennui, confusion, confidence, appreciation, and many more. I am thankful to all the reminders that I am human, for better or for worse.

One of the greatest lessons I learned over these last 12 months in addition to the last 24 years of my life is how resilient my mind and heart are. My mind can undergo pain—trivial or tumultuous—but it can and will heal. My heart can be poked at or violently pulled in various directions but it can never be destroyed and the love I have for the world and its inhabitants will remain. I admire the perseverance and efforts of these organs. Despite all the horrors that they have witnessed, both still work their hardest everyday to keep me alive and well. I’m grateful to your hearts and minds as well for trying even when living seems like an overwhelming chore. 

The importance of community was greatly emphasized this past year. The idea of showing up for others and being grateful to those who show up for you presented itself to me in various ways. As a counselor-in-training, I’ve learned just how impactful it is to sit with someone as they process emotions. Sometimes bearing witness to what one may be going through is enough. Many around the world, notably those in nations such as Palestine, Congo, and Sudan, are experiencing inhumane treatment and suffering—it is so crucial for those in positions of privilege to speak up for the voices that aren’t being heard. I believe that we hold the responsibility of caring for and helping each other in ways that are in our individual power. Society is experiencing a loneliness epidemic (this might be an after effect of the ongoing COVID pandemic), we need to collaborate with one another to combat this issue. Individualism will not save us so community is important now more than ever.  

I believe that the most important lesson I was taught this past year was to exhibit unwavering authenticity. Being genuine to myself, to my beliefs and morals, and to the world became my top priority. There came a period during the year when I realized that I was feeling so down and despondent because I was struggling with being myself. I decided to step away from everyone else and discover who I am in this moment of time and love her so much that I refuse to hide her. The woman that I have become and the impact that she has made has been the most rewarding piece of 2023. I’m hoping that as I meet new parts of myself and evolve in my many identities that I don't lose who I am at my core.

Time is real but it isn’t real…obviously, since I’m sharing this halfway through January and haven’t written a blogpost since July 2023. It’s no biggie though, the writing is done on its own time. The concept of a new year is a social construct so don’t feel pressured to transform during this first month. Give yourself grace as you continue life at your own pace. 

I’m wishing you all a year of joy, abundance, love, and success!

Background music by jeongsin

[adainesfroggieboggy]

another fic masterlist! here's all my unsleeping city fics!

Weak & Unaware - Sofia hit the water with a resounding SMACK, the impact pushing air out of her lungs. She fought for consciousness, forcing her eyes open and swimming with all her might, but she felt the current pulling her away, and maybe it was her time. She knew she didn’t have enough fight left to make it back to her friends, and her body forced an inhale, water rushing into her lungs, darkness rushing over her.

ANOTHER THING HE SAID - Rowan was cutting vegetables at the kitchen island when Sofia slammed the door open, her red-bottomed heels click, click, clicking angrily against the hardwood as the brunette stormed into the apartment. A Gucci purse slammed into the wall, and Rowan, sure her neighbors could hear Sofia's groan of frustration, set down the knife without a word, moving to the sink to wash her hands.

Sunday Mornings - (Pete/Sofia) Pete always had the apartment to himself on Saturday nights. Kingston made it immensely clear that since Pete had a job and paid rent, the apartment was just as much his, and he could have guests over any time, and Pete didn't usually have company, but Sofia had asked why she'd never spent the night at his apartment, and he invited her over.

Feels Like Skydiving - (Sofia&Pete, can be read as Sofia/Pete) (TW implied/referenced self-harm) Pete has come a long way in his recovery, and he calls Sofia because he realizes just how far he’s come.

Fury of Sorrow - (Esther/Ricky, Esther&Sofia) Tony manipulated the wizards at the Occult Society. Esther knows that. It doesn’t change how much it hurts, and it sinks from her chest and into her stomach. Her mother had been betrayed and turned to rage. She was overcome by pure, unadulterated sorrow, overwhelming and powerful. Everything she’d done over the past three years came crashing down; all of Alejandro’s work tumbled to the ground and lay at her feet, destroyed.

Lives Long Gone - (Sofia/Rowan) “Because I’ve dallied with theater stars and common folk and priests and all the things in between. I have never fallen in love with the woman who climbed to the top of the empire state building and made herself the chosen woman. I’ve never lived in the city with both a Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma at the same time. I’d never seen a man sacrifice himself and become the universe to save New York. When I’m with you, my dear, the eight hundred years of things I’ve done are all useless, because, in a few months, I experienced things no version of me had ever imagined.”

Free Haircut - (Sofia/Pete) When Pete first moved to New York, he lived in an LGBTQ+ shelter. He found out that a hairdresser on Staten Island gave heavily discounted haircuts to the residents of his shelter, and he decided to go. They told him to ask for Sofia.

Dreams, Dreaming, and Him - (Pete/Rowan) Rowan travels into Nod every morning to have breakfast with Pete. Or: Rowan and Pete cling to routine and try not to lose each other in the chaos.

Awake, The Waking, and Him - (Pete/Rowan) (companion piece/part 2 to Dreams, Dreaming, and Him) Rowan and Pete are late-night texts and sneaking out in the mornings. They want more, but the past holds them apart.

Another Night In - (Sofia/Pete) This was their routine, she changed into her pajamas and he made two cups of tea, usually peppermint because she liked it, and they laid on the couch until one of them decided it was time for bed. Or: Sofia wears glasses at night and Pete thinks she's adorable.