#technically @ some nova boys too bUT

[trippinsorrows]

10 things + r. reigns

authors note: so, a lot of this stems from convos with the lovely @fearlesschimera where one tree hill was brought up. and i loved me some nathan and haley. plus, i'm loving everything about this otc era and needed to write something about it now vs having to wait with my other stories cause we ain't there yet lmao

might be a part two. idk if this even makes sense tbh

words: 3.1k

warnings: none, really? some language? kayfabe story.

There are exactly two sides to Roman Reigns.

The good side and the bad side. 

And Nova Reigns has experienced them both with an unfortunate increase in the latter versus the former. 

She can pinpoint exactly when it started, too. 

When things started to get difficult again.

2020. COVID. While the world was an absolute mess, chaos and death occurring globally every day, her husband of over ten years wasn’t much better. He’d decided to stay home, not wanting to risk bringing home anything that could put her pregnancy with their first daughter, Arabella, Bella as they affectionately called her, at risk. 

It was also so he could figure out just what the hell he was doing with his career. Roman was frustrated. Tired of going along with what was always told of him instead of doing it his way. And it’s why when he returned back to work that summer, he came back a completely changed man. Bigger, stronger, meaner.

This was a different Roman Reigns. The likes of which the WWE had never seen.

And it’s been a ride ever since.

Up and downs along the way. 

A lot of ups up until WrestleMania 40 where after 1,316 days as the undisputed universal champion and unable to let go of a betrayal from so many years ago, Roman lost. He lost his title and something so much deeper that night.

His sense of self.

Nova did the best she could in the months he’d been off to keep his spirits lifted, to support him, often encouraging Bella to ask her dad to do stuff with her even when Nova technically could. Asked him to care for their two year old daughter, Camillia, Cami, as she worked from home, something she’s done for almost the entirety of her post college career. 

But most importantly, Nova worked to help Roman repair the relationship with their oldest son, Roman Jr., RJ, as they’ve called him since the day he was born.

To say the relationship is awful would be an exaggeration. No, it’s just…..fragile.

A fragility that Nova has tried so hard over the past couple of years to strengthen to no avail. A large part of the issue being the fact that her twenty year old son is just as stubborn as his father. Twins, she often calls them. Similar heights, build, personalities, etc. 

Great when they want to be. A pain in the ass when they don’t need to be.

A painful situation all around though, especially when she thinks back to how this all started, to how someone like Nova ended up with someone like Roman.

And it’s a simple answer, really.

He was an idiot.

Well, when it came to English, that was.

Once upon a time ago, Roman wasn’t the massive WWE superstar that he is now. He was just Roman Reigns. The typical, popular jock of their high school. A football player with the stereotypical ego to match. And she was just Nova, the geeky underclassmen who always had a secret crush on the boy she never thought in a million years would look her way.

And truth be told, if not for the fact his coach threatened to bench him if he didn’t raise his English grade, he probably never would have. Hell, she’s certain the only reason he knew she existed was because she was the best and smartest kid in class, so of course their teacher would recommend her for a tutor. 

The answer was initially no. Not necessarily because she was opposed, but more because her crush on him was too big to not get distracted. Even though his jerkish tendencies should have done just that. 

But Roman has always been charismatic and persistent, and before she knew it, she’d agreed. And that agreement changed everything because it showed her for the first time the nice side of Roman, the side that secretly loved music and was surprisingly good at math. The side that struggled with feeling like he’d never be good enough or live up to his family’s athletic reputation both in football and wrestling.

It made her realize and see that Roman was just as human as everyone else. 

It made her fall in love with him.

And that was rocky, too. Navigating his constant struggle of wanting to admit his feelings for her while also being embarrassed about her and wanting to hide their relationship. It created a fair set of conflict, and Nova shed her fair share of tears.

Especially as she sat on the floor of her bathroom, plush, purple rug cushioning her bottom but not the blow that was the two lines on the pregnancy test in her hands. But, seven months later, with her mom on one side and Roman on the other, she shed a different set of tears. Different kinds of tears.

Happiness.

Happiness at welcoming her first child into the world, Roman Reigns Jr. 

RJ

Being teen parents, especially at the tender ages of 16 and 18 was most definitely nothing like it was depicted on the reality shows. It was rough, especially as Roman started college, opting to stay local to help her raise their child as she finished her senior year. They fought, they argued, they disagreed, but at the end of the day, they still loved.

And it was that love that carried them through the rocky years of Roman trying to figure out just what he wanted to do with his life as Nova worked a job and raised their son while pursuing her degree in software engineering. She also stayed local to benefit from the help of her family while chasing her dream. It was rough, it was hard, but they did it.

Even with having to be on food stamps and financial assistance at times to take care of their child, Nova struggling to enter the male dominated workforce of tech and Roman not always having consistent income, they did it. 

And they were happy.

They still are. Just….not like it used to be. 

Nova still loves her husband with all of her heart and soul. They’ve been through too much together for her to ever really leave him, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t cross her mind from time to time. Especially over the past four years, watching him almost revert back to that bully from high school as he manipulated and mentally abused his family, his cousins, his lifetime best friends so much so that the Bloodline he worked so hard to create crumbled right before him.

And it’s only deteriorated since he lost the title to Cody Rhodes. Solo had turned on Roman, brutally kicked Jimmy out of the Bloodline and invited in non-family. Week after week, taking shot after shot at her husband, his cousin, his flesh and blood. 

Going so far as to take the sacred ula fala and declare himself the tribal chief. An honor that was bestowed upon Roman by the elders of his family. It finally reached a point where Roman had enough, making his grand return at SummerSlam and preventing his once enforcer from taking the very title Roman still believes is rightfully is. 

He’s made intermittent returns since then, each one proving just why Roman Reigns is being considered one of the greatest of all time, even while still in the middle of his career. His aura is unmatched. The sales don’t lie. The numbers don’t lie. 

The OTC is WWE. 

But, Roman has been a bit on edge since he was unexpectedly jumped by his other cousin, Jacob, Solo’s latest dangerous addition to the Bloodline.

Nova especially knows he was even more pissed because she’d taken the girls to his show that night, at his request.

He hates looking ‘weak’ in front of him, despite the fact that both were too consumed in kids' devices to pay attention. But, she was. And if anything, it was hard for her to see him be attacked like that, all alone. 

No one in his corner.

Jey’s moved to Raw.

Jimmy is still trying to figure out if he even wants to come back.

Solo has lost his damn mind. 

Sami…..no comment.

And Paul is still recovering from his brutal assault by the new Bloodline. 

The island of relevancy has a population of one. And while that one is formidable as all outdoors, he’s still just a man.

Granted, as much as it pains her to see Roman go at this alone, it’s hard for her to feel all the way bad for him. He did this. His actions drove his family away. 

Well, not all of them.

“Game!” Bella’s soft voice pulls Nova from reflecting on memory lane as she redirects her attention to where her son sits on the sofa in Roman’s locker room, Cami on his lap, grabbing his phone.

RJ chuckles, unlocking the iPhone and asking, “what you wanna play?”

Cami gasps and claps her hands. “Cookie!”

“Cookie Kingdom?” RJ asks, clicking around on his phone and handing it to her. “There ya go, lil’ bit.”

Nova’s smile is warm as she reflects on what feels like so long ago. “I remember when you were that little.”

RJ looks up at her, and it never ceases to amaze her how much he looks like his father. Complexion a little deeper, melanin he inherited from her, but outside of that, Roman could never deny paternity. 

He sucks his teeth. “Mama, don’t start that.”

“What?” Nova pouts, leaning back into the sofa, Bella tuned out of the conversation as she watches Bluey on her tablet. It’s always a bit funny to her how uninterested these kids just are when it comes to seeing Roman at work.

At least, not until he’s actually in their line of vision.

“You’ll always be my baby.” Because he will. Twenty and over 6ft tall or not, he’s her baby boy. “And speaking of baby, what’s going on with you and that girl you been dating?”

RJ rolls his eyes and adjusts Cami on his lap. He’s so good with his little sisters. “Nothing.”

Nova smirks knowingly, picking up on the faint hit of redness on his cheeks. “Sure don’t seem like nothing.”

“Mama, she’s just a friend.”

“So ya’ll aren’t sexually active?”

RJ turns up his nose, clearly disgusted. “Ma, how you just gon’ ask me that?”

“Because I’m your mama and not ready to be a grandma, and your daddy would kill you if you were to get a girl pregnant halfway through college.”

It’s not missed upon Nova how the mention of Roman seems to completely dampen his mood. RJ rolls his eyes. “Like he cares at all.”

His comment hurts her. Deeply. “RJ….”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to upset you.”

She ignores that apology, wanting to focus on the initial comment that has her stomach knotting for all the wrong reasons. “Your dad loves you, Junior. You have to know that.”

There’s a slight delay in his answer, and that alone is enough to make Nova know she needs to talk to Roman again tonight about actually talking with his son. A below the surface level conversation. A heart to heart.

“I know that, mama. I do. It’s just….” RJ blows out a breath and shakes his head. “You know how he is.”

She does. Very well. “You can say it. He’s an ass sometimes.” She’s so grateful for the headphones on Bella’s ears and the deep infatuation Cami has with her brother’s phone.

“You said it. Not me.” Mother and son share a laugh, RJ admitting, “I know he means well.”

“He does,” she agrees. “But, that doesn’t mean he can’t do better. I’ll talk to him again.”

RJ immediately looks like he feels bad, which only makes Nova’s chest ache more. “You don’t have to—”

She lifts her finger to silence him. “You’re my son. He’s my husband. I love you both, and it kills me to see ya’ll like this. I’m gonna do what I can.” And that’s a vow. The three of them have been through too much shit over the years for her to just allow the relationship between the two most important men to fall apart. She won’t let that happen. 

She can’t.

And speaking of, the door to Roman’s locker room opens, her husband walking in looking every bit as strong, powerful, and determined as he looked when he interfered yet again with Solo’s match and especially as he closed the door of that cage and challenged Jacob. 

Nova shifts in her seat, the memory bringing up other kinds of feelings which are entirely inappropriate given the presence of her children.

Cami is the first girl to notice him, lifting up her little arms and reaching for him, nearly dropping RJ’s phone in the process if not for his quick reflexes.

He most definitely got that from Roman as well, because Nova has not an athletic bone in her body.

Roman walks over and takes her from RJ, kissing her cheek, gaze almost reluctantly falling on RJ. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Nova starts to scold Roman for such a cold introduction to their son they haven’t seen since he left for his sophomore year of college over a month ago. “Mom asked me to.”

She’s good at reading between the lines, picking up on the fact that he’s essentially saying he’s only here because of Nova.

Not Roman.

Roman notices this, she’s sure. He’s a perceptive bastard. But, he says nothing. “How’s school?”

“Fine.” 

“RJ.” And her son can be a petty bastard. Like father, like son. She directs her statement to Roman, “I was thinking we could go to his game tomorrow—”

RJ, however, is quick to dismiss this. “You don’t have to.”

Nova’s gaze on Roman allows her to see the hurt that flashes in his eyes at the rejection. But as has been the case lately, he pushes it aside, replacing it with indifference. “You heard what he said. He doesn’t want us there, so we wo—”

“That’s not what I said.” RJ leans back against the chair and shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head, clearly frustrated. “You always do this. Always hear what you want to hear.” He scoffs, head turned, muttering, “I see why everybody left you.”

Nova gasps. “RJ!” She sees it, the hurt that’s just tripled and is about to be expressed in anger, leading to another big blowout between the two of them. Thankfully, this is the moment Bella finally becomes aware of Roman’s presence.

“Daddy!” She pulls off her headphones, climbs off the sofa and runs over to him, hugging his legs. 

Roman doesn’t hesitate to pick her up, both daughters in his arms as Nova leans over, running her hand through her fresh silk press. This. This is what she wanted to avoid. These are the kinds of situations that leave her in tears as she vents to her therapist about her ever growing stress levels, how torn she feels in what to do in moments like this. 

Roman is her husband, but RJ is her son. Neither is fully right, but neither is fully wrong either. How does one handle that?

Thankfully, it’s not long after that Roman is being called to prepare to get back out in the ring. This means a probably needed separation from the two titans in her life. Nova holds Cami this time, while Bella hangs onto RJ as they’re escorted ringside. 

It takes a bit of persuasion to get RJ to agree to come with her. She can see he’s ready to just leave.

But, reminding him of how big a help he is with the girls seems to win him over because while he’s certainly not in the best of places with his dad, RJ is a mama’s boy through and through. He loves him some Nova and would do anything to help her. 

Even if it means helping her with the two siblings that came as a complete shock to him.

It still makes Nova laugh a little as she recalls the horrified and almost disgusted expression on his face as she and Roman broke the pregnancy news to him.

“I didn’t even know ya’ll still did that.” And if his statement wasn’t bad enough, he just had to add insult to injury as the blunt almost 16 year-old he was at the time. “Ain’t ya’ll kinda old to still be freaking?”

No. 

Never that.

“Daddy!” This time it’s Cami who’s calling out to Roman, recognizing his new music before he even emerges from the back looking as badass as he always does. Nova is temporarily in a state of awe, overhearing Bella asking RJ to hold her so she can see better. 

Roman has come so far, done so well for himself, even with things with his family being a hot ass mess, there’s still no denying he is it. That he has it. It’s undeniable. She almost feels bad for Cody.

He’ll always be stuck in Roman’s shadow. 

The thought makes her suddenly curious about what could be one of the reasons behind the strife between her firstborn and husband. Nova tucks this in the back of her mind, planning to discuss it further in therapy.

As Roman moves into the ring, Nova stands on the sidelines, holding her baby girl on her hip, smiling back and forth between the two. She watches Roman move around the ring on their commercial break

And when his gaze falls on the set of them, her heart swells as he mouths ‘I love you’ before seamlessly transitioning back into that hardened, determined expression.

And this is why there’s two sides to Roman Reigns. The good side being the one that she sees in that brief, vulnerable exchange. The one that used to kiss her pregnant stomach as he confided in her his fears about not being a good dad, about feeling not ready, about worrying about failing in life. 

Failing her. 

Failing himself.

Failing their child.

The man who worked so hard and gave everything his all to prove he was someone, becoming that someone, yet somehow losing something in the process.

Nova knows it’s still in there though, knows that he is still the boy he fell in love with many moons ago. She knows that as frustrated as he makes her, as cold he can be, as disconnected he can seem, that love is still there and just as strong. 

And she’ll fight for it. 

For him. 

For their son.

For their family. 

She has to.

[areyougonnabe]

guide to the terra nova scientists

"who are these dead british guys that this blogger i followed for a completely different fandom 2-10 years ago is always screeching about" ok i'll tell you

EDWARD "BILL" WILSON - director of the scientific staff of the terra nova expedition. captain scott's boy bestie. "the best man i've ever known" — pretty much everyone who ever met him. exerts BLINDINGLY POWERFUL charisma field. essentially Polar Jesus

GEORGE "SUNNY JIM" SIMPSON - meteorologist. tall. only cares about weather. really very boring but that's his charm point. from manchester, a self-made man thanks to scholarships, probably the most leftist/socialist guy in the hut but doesn't make it a whole thing.

T. GRIFFITH "GRIFF" TAYLOR - senior geologist. british-born australian. far too skinny bc he hates eating, also proudly straightedge. the most drastic case of unmedicated ADHD exhibited in a historical figure you will ever see. compulsive graphomaniac, satire writer, mapmaker, Your_Racist_Friend-They_Might_Be_Giants.mp3

FRANK "DEB" DEBENHAM - junior geologist. very australian. very beautiful. injury-prone. polite and hard-working, friend to all, tends to recede into the background of official accounts. aka Jessamine aka Jasmine aka Jessie (he definitely hates this). later the beloved founder of the Scott Polar Research Institute!

CHARLES "SILAS" WRIGHT - physicist and glaciologist. canadian, tall, flat ass. much to his chagrin everyone calls him American/The Yank. always swearing colorfully, always hungry, frequent complainer. chronically unsentimental/practical, a bit hot-headed but analytical. brave & strong outdoorsman.

EDWARD "MARIE" NELSON - biologist. from a wealthy family, failed to take his degree from cambridge. immaculate dresser, somewhat lazy. highly reactionary, argumentative, misogynist, the best in the hut at chess, has a fiancee (somehow), essentially an internet troll at heart.

those guys are all in the hut at cape evans together. CHERRY and ATKINSON who you probably know were also technically part of the science team but they lived in the tenements (bunk area) so feel separate to me... and DAY and GRAN lived on the scientists' side as well.

elsewhere we have:

RAYMOND "RAY" PRIESTLEY - geologist of the northern party (the guys stuck in an ice cave). antarctic veteran and local sweetheart. no longer the ingenue he was on the nimrod expedition. now he is balding <3 has hordes of pretty sisters for his friends to marry (silas and griff did this)

DENIS "OOZE" LILLIE - biologist of the ship's party. expert in whales and deep-sea creatures. very eccentric, dreamy, probably transgender. believes he was a roman in a past life. draws caricatures of everyone and some are really mean.

THIS CONCLUDES my impromptu lecture. please continue to enjoy my posts with this helpful background knowledge. and do feel free to send me asks about these guys if you want to know more......

[harrowedsoup]

You know I’ll never get around to writing my own Nova Au fic for a ton of reasons but have some of my thoughts:

Gideon wears a full skull mask, I imagine it more like a helmet with just the bottom jaw missing, that’s also decorated with grease paint. She managed to also get the same sunglasses as canon which she’s popped out the lenses of to use in her mask, which before she’d had to modify to cover her eyes as much as possible.

Her need to fit in is what makes her cover her hair and eyes- neither red hair or gold eyes are exactly common and she has a really intense desire to fit in. This is also what makes her very silent. I know must people might disagree with me but I think that’s how Gideon’s shyness and awkwardness would manifest. She’s not completely silent as she’d still need to lead services but she tries to keep herself from talking if she can it. 

However, her Gideon-ness TM comes out whenever she speaks with Harrow, which tends to piss her off a little bit. She’s nowhere near as good at seeming uninterested/calm as Our Harrow and gets upset at herself when she ends up devolving into ‘your mom!’ insults.

I do think she’d keep up her silent act at Canaan. Unlike Our Gideon, Harrow Nova is so dedicated that Gideon wouldn’t be afraid of whatever she got up too so there is no reason to order her silent when Gideon can just order her to play nice (which she of course did immediately) BUT that doesn’t mean that Gideon trusts herself with strangers when she’s a awkward and shy mess. Her ‘vow of silence’ is temporary measure to make sure she doesn’t embarrass herself or the Ninth.

She’s a bit more successful at the whole ‘ Fear The Ninth, Don’t Pity Us’ thing that Our Harrow wanted to happen if only because Gideon is much taller, stronger physically and just hovers around very scary. I also imagine her necromancy is more raw power and less technical skill so she’s throwing around her weight like it’s nothing.

Harrow Nova, through, gets a bit less respect than Our Gideon because she’s like five feet tall. She also doesn’t play nice so she’s doesn’t get that part where Gideon spars with the others: if Nova pulls out her weapons against someone she’s fighting to win and she’s not backing down unless ordered or she’s physically unable too. Fighting isn’t a source of joy to her like Our Gideon, it’s the only thing that she has and it’s what kept her alive.

So while I think everyone thought Our Gideon was Harrow Boy Toy that she’d decided to take with her only to be shocked that she’s actually incredibly good, Harrow Nova is at first assumed to be a weak cavalier that the Ninth is known for (like Gideon was too) then that she’s something closer to a regular bodyguard just because of how on edge she is and how much she lacks normal cavalier etiquette.

Mostly she’s on edge because she trusts no one ever but Gideon wants to make friends but is also shy about it so she’s making Harrow be nice on her behalf.

That said if Gideon ever does make Harrow fight anyone it’s a damn blood bath. Nova doesn’t do etiquette of any kind when fighting. She’s going to use everything she has- she HAS to because she doesn’t have the build of Our Gideon. She’s going to cheat and cheat dirty. She’s going to bite off ears, head butt people and stab men in the dick.

[angelflms]

here's some of the moments during my rewatch of deadpool & wolverine that were gold for my dad (an x-men/blade/ryan reynolds fan)'s first viewing:

- bye bye dance (dk if he knew that wasn't ryan dancing)

- the happy hogan chauffeur joke

- dopinder's airpods "joke?" "story?"

- yukio like.. pursed her lips up at one point? and my dad thought it was funny so he mimicked her

- he also just loved the wade/yukio moments

- the different code words for cocaine al and wade used (also the delivery of ryan saying "motherfucker" got him for some reason)

- the pegging/hookers joke

- seeing the different wolverines

- THE THOR JOKE (every mention got him)

- "get my country's name out your fucking mouth"

- "haha! not the will smith reference."

- me: *didn't even clock the reference my first time watching the movie*

- the captain america/johnny storm misdirect

- johnny falls

- every hit is followed by my dad being like "ohh. oh. oh. OHHHHH!! damn."

- "i'm marvel jesus. mj if you nasty."

- my dude started CACKLING at that

- idk if my dad remembers all of the xmen series because he didn't recognize toad that much. he did recognize sabertooth tho.

- sees antman skeleton lair

- "yooooo that's dope though!!"

- every drunken logan scene was a blast for him

- his disgusted reaction to nicepool's hair

- his equally disgusted reaction to mary puppins (he liked her tho)

- his even more disgusted reaction wade making out basically with mary puppins (+ immediately sung lady in red tho)

- the honda odyssey scene (idk if he understood the implications. mind y'all he was half asleep)

- "coexist?" he said

- that was his only reaction

- "is that carmen electra" - my dad seeing elektra for the first time (he did see the movie years ago)

- i think he missed the daredevil joke because he was busy laughing at another one

- "ohhhh blade!!!!"

- "you need to watch blade" "I'M WORKING ON IT DAD!!"

- laughed at the "i don't like you." "you never did." joke (blade: trinity is his favorite blade movie for those who don't know or ya know, couldn't tell)

- "ohhhh gambit!"

- "is that...IS THAT REALLY CHANNING TATUM???" (all of the flashbacks of us arguing about channing being gambit coming to the forefront of his mind)

- still isn't sold on it. thinks he's too buff. love the buttery nuts line he said tho

- sees laura

- me giving him a refresher on who that is

- dad: "ohhhh, she's older now!!!"

- laura and wade saying "let's fucking go"

- my dad "hey, did they just copy what logan said earlier?"

- campfire scene

- "you got the wrong guy."

- "you were always the wrong guy"

- dad laughs "yeah dad, you suck."

- dad enjoying wesley snipes as blade

- "there's only one blade"

- "deadpool looks at the camera (referencing blade's reboot coming soon-ish)"

- me and dad "technically he's right."

- dad: "well they're still working on the movie"

- me: "yeah but they went through five directors already"

- dad: "you right. you right."

- blade: *gets stabbed once*

- dad: "ohhhh"

- me: "it was one stab... he's fine."

- me: *forgot why laura had her backpack on* "she could just take the backpack off"

- dad: "she just like you" (after getting home from class i tend to leave it on)

- me: "heyyy"

- dad: "sings the dora "backpack" theme song

- cassandra making a sling ring portal and giving the boys a five second chance to go back to their world

- dad: "you know what would be fuc-messed up? if she closed the portal and they just died."

- "ngl i thought that's what they were gonna do."

- cassandra nova touching people

- me: "imagine having some chick's dirty long fingers inside your head and nose"

- my dad "THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!"

- laughed at kidpool's wolverine's dick line

- confused at the beheaded zombie wade wilson

- *lightskinned stare fourth wall break* "the proposal"

- "what the fuck was that? bitch, is that what you think i do?"

- dad: LAUGHS (i think he just likes when ryan cusses. he laughed every time he did. but also my dad just really loves ryan reynolds. they have the same humor. tbh the delivery was really good though)

- laughs at nicepools death (i don't blame him)

- logan: *puts on mask*

- dad: "oh he's going old school"

- paradox explaining matter and anti-matter going through someone's body

- my dad, the science fanatic "yup. you gonna explode."

- me: "i know scene just got you excited because they speaking your language."

- "it did."

- madonna's like a prayer plays

- my dad, a madonna fanatic, immediately starts singing

- "he's risen baby girl."

- dad: laughs

- me: sings along to iris

- "put your greasy tits away you preening slut"

- dad: laughs HARDER

- mary puppins comes back

- dad: "ofc"

- mid credits tribute to fox

- "is this the last one?"

- "no it's a tribute to fox. remember disney bought it. wade explained it in the movie."

- "RIIIIIIGHTTT!"

- *sees little dafne*

- "she was so little!"

---

before y'all say anything. no he didn't seen the end credit scene but he did enjoy the whole movie though!!!

this is all the reactions i can remember. i remember him also cackling reall hard at a joke but i don't remember what it was at all to save my life (i think it was when wade said "the gays understood" when they were talking about the multiverse. he also clocked the scoutmaster kevin joke and went like "ohhhhhh damn."

[rararazaquato]

SRMT SECRET SANTA‼️‼️

hello, @dreadfullyclue , it's me, your secret santa! due to me being an absolute fool, the fic i wrote for you can't be posted to ao3 yet (i'll have it up by christmas eve at the latest). so, in the meantime, i'm posting it here! hope you (and anyone else who comes across it) enjoy!!! and thanks to @sweetcircuits for running this event!!!

Title: Nova's Mistletoe Mishap

Rate: G for General

Summary: Nova is too proud to ask Sparx out over the holidays. So, she tries to set up an elaborate scheme instead. However, she just can't seem to catch a break. Spova, Nova-centric, 5.2k words.

Nova was in a bit of a pickle.

Admittedly, she was no stranger to pickles. Her life’s purpose was defending her planet from the forces of evil, she’s been in a few pickles in her time.

But those were all tangible, physical problems. Being trapped, or fighting a horde of monsters, those had easy solutions. Usually, it was smashing her way out of those situations. When it wasn’t a job for brute force, that just meant one of her other teammates could deal with it. Otto's saws and Antauri’s claws were better for precision work. If it was a technical problem, Gibson could handle it. And if a long range attack was best for the job, she could always rely on a Spear-o from Chiro or a Magnatingler Blast from–

Ugh.

This was Nova's problem. An emotional one. She could handle those easy-peasy if they were other people’s. How many times had she been Chiro's shoulder to cry on, or Antauri's confidant? How many times did she mediate when Otto said something insensitive and Gibson got angry over it?

But having her own emotional problems? Needing to confront that red menace that stole her heart? Pfft, get real.

And yet.

It was approaching the holiday season, and Nova's very soul was aching to do something about her situation. But she needed to be sly about it, for the sake of her own pride.

Her brainstorming session was occupying her mental faculties during movie night. Otto had selected a “holiday classic”, some sort of hokey romance film about a young woman being whisked away from her big city job by a charming country boy who showed her the true meaning of life. Or something. She wasn’t really paying attention.

“Otto, I didn't really take you for the romantic type,” Chiro said. He was tinkering with some sort of little gadget, clearly not enjoying the film.

“Nah, this makes total sense,” Sparx (ugh) said. “He’s always been a sucker for this sort of thing.” His muzzle scrunched up when he snickered.

He’s so cute, Nova thought to herself, regrettably.

“Everyone, shhh, the best part is happening!” Otto was on the edge of his seat – literally. He was watching the screen so intently that he had leaned forward until he was no longer actually sitting.

“But, Chris, what are we doing here?” the beautiful blonde woman on the screen asked. “Why have you taken me to a beautiful cabin vacation in the woods?”

“Wait, is this the setup for a horror movie?” Chiro suddenly perked up in interest. “It sounds like the setup for a horror m–”

Otto shushed him, but Nova was inclined to agree. If she was alone in a cabin in the woods with some random guy, she’d assume something was about to go horribly wrong and she’d need to beat him up. Evidently, however, the movie didn’t seem to grasp this idea.

“I wanted to show you the beauty of nature in the wintertime, Noelle,” the red-haired man responded (why did it have to be a redhead and a blonde? Nova would have assumed the universe was taunting her at this point, but the universe had directly told her and the team that it liked her, so this must’ve been a really unfortunate coincidence).

“It is beautiful…” the woman sighed, looking out at the snow-covered trees from a cozy windowsill.

“So are you,” the man responded, before glancing up at the ceiling. “And look at what we have here.”

“Mistletoe?” the woman said, blushing profusely.

“I don't know if I would want to risk having a Viscum album in my living quarters, personally,” Gibson scoffed as the movie couple kissed beneath the mistletoe. “It's toxic. I don't want a poisonous plant just hanging about.”

“It's not usually fatal, Gibson,” Antauri said. “Besides, you’d need to eat it in order to be poisoned. If it just hangs as a decoration, it cannot harm you.”

“Not fatal to humans, sure, but we’re a good bit smaller than humans! It could have increased effects!" Gibson retorted. “And besides, I don't trust some of you to not eat it.” He shot a pointed look at Otto with that one. The green monkey did not notice, as he was too absorbed in the movie. Nova would usually defend Otto from that sort of targeted comment, but she did recently witness him eating a chili pepper with toothpaste on top in an attempt to create “homemade peppermint”, so maybe Gibson had a point there.

Suddenly, an alarm blared.

“We’re receiving a distress call!” Antauri rose from his seat and changed the screen to a radar view (earning a sad “my movie…” from Otto). “There's a small horde of Formless in the industrial district.”

“Ugh, are you serious?” Chiro rolled his eyes. “And I was just getting settled. Okay, Hyperforce Go, or whatever.”

The next day, Nova barely even remembered the fight. Clobbered some Formless, had to clean the goo out of her fur, just a standard battle all things considered. The team was on patrol, scouring the planets immediately surrounding Shuggazoom in their solar system. Sparx was on the main controls, Otto and Gibson were monitoring the Super Robot’s status, and Nova… well, she was still trying to think of how she could quell the stirring of her heartstrings.

“Well, this patrol has been boring so far,” Sparx said, leaning back in his seat in a way that infuriated Nova with how much it charmed her.

Another alarm.

“Oh, I stand corrected,” Sparx said. “Hey, Antauri! We got a distress signal again!”

“Already on top of it,” the silver monkey responded, descending from his tube and checking the Super Robot’s GPS. “It's coming from planet Haustoria-25.”

“Hey, isn’t that the planet that’s just one big mistletoe farm?” Otto asked. “Like, the one that supplies mistletoe to the entire solar system?”

“You can farm mistletoe?” Nova didn’t want to admit it, but that did sound like a surefire way to manufacture a convenience where she would have to do something about her feelings for Sparx.

“It says so on this brochure I got,” Otto said.

“Hm, so it does,” Antauri said. “All right, team, we’re going in for a landing. Chiro?”

“Already on it,” their boy leader said over the comms.

As the Super Robot touched down, Nova was a bit nervous at first – the ground was completely blanketed in a white layer of snow. However, taking a look at the stats panel, it said the external temperature was a completely tolerable 22 degrees.

After checking that the Super Robot was, in fact, displaying the temperature in Celsius and not Fahrenheit, Nova was the first one to bolt from the door and onto the planet outside. She immediately clambered into a tree, searching for those little white berries from the movie.

“Powdered sugar…?” Gibson said, sticking a “snow”-covered finger in his mouth.

“Hey, who was it who said that he didn’t trust the rest of us to not eat random stuff last night?” Sparx teased from inside the robot.

There it is! Nova spotted a sprig of mistletoe wrapped around a nearby branch, luckily managing to stifle a laugh at Sparx’s joke. She plucked it from the tree and tucked it behind her ear.

Actually, was there a technical term for what the robot monkeys had instead of ears? Antennae? Audio sensors? Nova wasn’t sure, and frankly, she didn’t care. She got what she came here for.

Or… Nova glanced around at her surroundings. Mistletoe hung from various branches, and if Sparx would just come outside…

“Wait.”

“Hm?” The rest of the team turned to look at Antauri.

“I’m getting a message on my comms,” he said. He turned away from the rest of the team in a manner that reminded Nova of Chiro trying to make a subtle phone call to Jinmay. “Hello? Yes, this is Antauri. Of the Super Robot Monkey Team, yes.”

“Who is it?” Chiro asked. He, Otto, and Sparx peeked out from inside, none of them having stepped foot outside.

“Oh, you have it covered?” Antauri said, ignoring Chiro’s question. “Excellent. Oh? Ah, greetings– yes, I will tell him I say hi. Say, do you want to come over for dinner? We have a lot of… Ah, busy. Understandable. Well, I wish you all happy holidays, and we hope to see you again soon.” He then turned back around to face the team.

“Don’t worry, everyone, the threat has been neutralized,” Antauri said. “Some sort of sucrose monster attacked the farmer population here, but the Frog Team stopped it.”

“The Frog Team?” Gibson said, powdered sugar dusting his mouth.

“Suupa says hello, by the way,” Antauri said with a smirk. “But yes, they arrived before us.”

“Well, back inside for me!” Sparx said, pivoting on his heel and walking away.

“You were never even outside!” Gibson complained, following Sparx and the others back inside.

Nova, meanwhile, sat in shock.

I was so close…

“Nova? Are you coming?” Antauri asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said, not really able to disguise her disappointment. She jumped down from the tree branch before hovering back inside on her jetpack so as to not get more powdered sugar between her toes.

“I like your new accessory,” Antauri said.

“Thanks.”

“It’s very…” Antauri paused. He then looked outside, then back at Nova, then outside again.

“I get the feeling I may have accidentally thwarted some sort of ulterior motive of yours.”

“Gee, ya think?”

“Well, I won’t pry into your plans, Nova,” he said. Then, he slid up next to her.

“It’s Sparx, right?” he whispered.

“I’m going to my room,” Nova groaned.

“What? Just because I’m the stoic one, that means I can’t be curious?” Antauri said, a glimmer in his eye. “Let me have a little fun once in a while.”

Nova’s shoulders slumped. Antauri blinked.

“Nova, truly, you have my blessing as second in command,” he said, his expression going from playful to firm in an instant. “Personally, I don’t think you need my blessing, but just in case you wanted it.”

“I appreciate it, ‘Tauri,” Nova said with a soft smile. “Sorry, I’m just in a funk right now.”

“If you need to talk to someone, I’m always willing to lend an ear.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course, Nova.”

The next day, the team was back on Shuggazoom. Sparx, Otto, and Antauri were off running some sort of errand, leaving Gibson, Chiro, and Nova in the Super Robot.

It’s the perfect plan, Nova thought. I put the mistletoe up at the entrance to Sparx’s tube, and then when he comes down, I kiss him. It’s completely and utterly foolpr–

“N-Nova?”

“Gwuh!” Nova jumped as Chiro’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even realized that he had come down his own tube. “Chiro! What’s up?”

“Well, I wanted some advice…” the boy said, nervously rubbing his arm.

“Okay, shoot.” Nova could take a break from her masterful plan for a moment…

“Well, since you’re a girl, and also a robot, I figured you might know what robot girls like as presents?” Chiro said. “I want to get Jinmay something really special, but I don’t have any ideas.”

“Well, Jinmay and I are pretty different, y’know?”

“Sure, but it’s not like I know any other girl robots,” Chiro said before pausing. “Or, uh, all that many girls to begin with?”

“Y’know, contrary to popular belief, girls aren’t all too different from boys,” Nova said. “You don’t have to think of getting a gift for Jinmay as getting a gift for a girl, so much as you have to think of it as getting a gift for. Y’know. Jinmay.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Does Jinmay have any hobbies?”

“Uh, she likes robotics?” Chiro said. “I-I’m not just saying that because she’s a robot, or anything, but y’know, I’ve seen her make stuff out of scrap metal? Oh, she likes cute things, too! She collects these little…” He pressed his fingers to his temples. “Gah, I can’t remember what they’re called! They’re these stuffed animals that she has a bajillion of! I’d know ‘em if I saw ‘em!”

“Do you…” Nova tapped her finger to her chin. “Do you want me to take you to a toy store and help you find one?”

“Yes, please!” Chiro nearly cried. “I don’t want to go in there by myself… I can’t be in the stuffed animal section alone…”

“Y’see, I usually go there alone, so none of you think I’m going soft or anything,” Nova said with a grin. “But I guess I can take you, sure.”

“Thank you…” Chiro sighed and Nova rolled her eyes.

Teenage boys and their weird hangups, she thought. I mean, who’d get insecure over buying a stuffed toy?

You would, her thoughts responded.

Shut up, me.

The two of them returned from the store… hours later. Turns out, being the heroes that save the entire galaxy on the regular means that people give them discounts, if not just free items. Chiro had finally remembered that the toys were called “Bebkins”, and he proudly walked back into the Super Robot with two huge gift bags full of the things that he received for the price of one. Nova, meanwhile, had purchased a stuffed animal for herself – a little cardinal bird with button eyes.

I need some retail therapy after the emotionally intense days I’ve had, lately, she thought. Let’s just… ignore the fact that I bought a toy version of… a red thing… that flies…

Stupid Sparx. His dumb, beautiful, ship-piloting face was seeping its way into everything!

“Again, thank you for your help with this, Nova,” Chiro said once they re-entered the Super Robot. “I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it!” Nova said. Then, her face dropped. “Seriously, don’t mention it. I’m not trying to get anyone on my case about losing my edge.”

“Yeah, yeah, my lips are sealed,” Chiro said, miming a zipping motion over his mouth. “But I don’t think you’re losing anything. As leader of the Hyperforce, it is my personal opinion that you’re doing great!” He gave her a thumbs up and a wide grin.

“Thanks, Chiro,” she said.

“Besides, if I was gonna say anyone was losing their edge, I’d say it was Sparx,” Chiro said before blanching. “D-don’t tell him I said that!”

“Didn’t plan on it,” Nova said, hoping her leader didn’t catch the bead of sweat that snuck its way out from under her helmet and down the side of her face. “Can I ask why?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m just imagining things, but I keep catching him making weird blushy faces at y…” Chiro’s teeth clenched in a grimace. “...yo-yos.”

“...Yo-yos?”

“He’s been getting really into yo-yo tricks lately!” Chiro stammered. “And it’s affecting his performance in battle! Too busy thinking about, uh, walking the dog, and…” His eyes nervously darted around, pointedly not making eye contact with Nova. “And other yo-yo tricks, that I definitely know the names of.”

“...okay, yo-yo tricks.” Nova could admit she had some dense tendencies, but she wasn’t a fool. Chiro was trying to dance around saying you, and she knew it.

It’s not like she didn’t know Sparx held some sort of attraction to her. She was the only girl on the team and he was an infuriatingly flirtatious monkey at heart. It was bound to happen whether she liked it or not (and the jury’s still out on whether or not she liked it). She just… really wished Chiro hadn’t brought it up. Because that meant she had to think.

Why won’t that stupid, beautiful monkey ask me?! Do I have to do everything myself around here?!

“Well! I’m going to go! Uh. Wrap these presents!” Chiro hoisted the bags into the air before stiffly walking back to his tube. “And try to learn more about yo-yos!”

“Can’t be convincing about it if I only know the name of one trick…” he grumbled at a volume that Nova could only assume he thought was “quiet”. Alas, between the cybernetics giving her enhanced hearing and Chiro’s general difficulty with the concept of an inside voice, she heard him loud and clear.

As he left, Nova was finally able to get back to her plan. Sparx hadn’t come back from his errand yet (well, neither had Otto or Antauri, but those two weren’t exactly on the forefront of her mind), so Nova just had to get the plant in position. She took it out from its place behind her ear, leaned up to the string she had attached to the top of Sparx’s door earlier that day, aaaaaand…

“Nova!”

“Eep!” She whipped around to see a very peeved-looking blue face staring right back at her.

“Give me that,” Gibson snarled, snatching the mistletoe out of her hand.

“Hey! That’s mine! Give it back!”

“Oh, no, I don’t think so!” Gibson said. “At best, this is an unintentional hazard. At worst, this is an assassination attempt!”

“Gibson, why on Shuggazoom do you think I’d assassinate someone on the team?”

“I said at worst! I never said it’s what I actually believed!” Gibson said, his eyes suddenly widening and his hands flailing. “Just… taking precautions!”

“Give it back.”

“Only if you give me a reason why I should,” he responded. “If not, I’m taking this back to my lab to vaporize it.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because… because…!” Nova could feel her face heating up. That… can’t be good. Almost on instinct, she brought out her weapons, golden fists gleaming in the fluorescent lighting of the Super Robot’s main room.

Antauri knowing is fine. That’s whatever. But Gibson? He can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life! If he found out about my plan, my reputation would be toast!

“Are you threatening me?” Gibson’s face fell. He moved back a pace and furrowed his brow.

“I’m not… threatening you!” Nova said, threateningly. Still, she regained enough composure to retract her weapons and just resort to making grabby hands at Gibson. “I’m just… really frustrated, because… because!”

“Because what?” Gibson said, jetpacking a little bit higher into the air to keep the mistletoe out of Nova’s reach.

“Because…!”

“Hey, guys, I’m back early!” Otto said, descending down his tube. “Antauri and Sparx’ll be back in a mo…”

Gibson and Nova stared at him.

“...ment. In a moment.” Otto blinked before grinning like a madman. “Gibson, you big dummy!”

“Wh-huh?”

“You’re supposed to put the mistletoe above both of you, not just the girl you’re trying to kiss!”

“What?!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave you two to it!” Otto said. “Not what I expected, though. Gibson, I didn’t think you liked Nova like that.”

“I… I…” the blue monkey stammered as he lowered himself back to the floor. Nova wanted to applaud Otto for that one, honestly. For the first time ever, someone had discovered an easy way to get Gibson to stop talking!

“See y’all!” With that, Otto went back up his tube, presumably to his living quarters.

Gibson and Nova just stared at each other.

“That was. Not. My intention.”

“Figured as much.”

“I’m going to assume that you were intending to use this…” Gibson started, holding the mistletoe out in his hand. “..for its more culturally pertinent purpose.”

“Yep,” Nova said.

“I see.” Gibson let Nova take the plant back. “My apologies, Nova. I got too wrapped up in the poisonous aspects, to the point where I forgot about… you know. Everything else.”

“It makes sense, really,” Nova said, tucking the mistletoe back behind her ear. “You’re the type of guy who thinks more about science than romance, I get it.”

“For your information, I can be quite romantic when I want to be,” Gibson insisted.

“Mhm, yeah, sure.”

“Really, I can!”

“Keep telling yourself that, bub,” Nova said.

“I’m just… more innovative about it!” Gibson said. “Mistletoe is just so… pedestrian! My romantic gestures are far more personalized. For example, one time, I constructed a-”

“Can you leave now?” Nova groaned. “I’m trying to hang this somewhere?”

“Please tell me you’re hanging it above Sparx’s tube.”

“Shut up!” Nova nearly screamed.

“Wait, really?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Oh, I genuinely had no idea,” Gibson said. “Thank goodness, really. Do you know how often Sparx just… shows up in my laboratory to talk about how obsessed he is with you? It’s very annoying, and he never practices appropriate lab safety!”

“Ugh…” Nova sighed. “Why won’t he just tell me that? Why do I have to make the first move!”

“Frankly, I think he’s a bit of a coward,” Gibson said. “He puts on such a braggadocious demeanor, you’d think he could put some bite behind his bark and just ask you himself.”

“Exactly!” Nova said. “If he’s so confident, he should just do it!”

“Eh? Who are we talking about?”

“Sparx!” Nova yelped. He and Antauri had also returned, and fairly silently at that.

“You were talking about me?” Sparx gasped, fluttering his… well, the cybernetics made it so his eyelashes weren’t exactly visible, but his eyelids blinked in such a way that Nova was certain that he’d be doing just that if he were a normal monkey instead of a robot one.

“No!” Nova said, hoping Gibson wouldn’t out her on her lie. Thankfully, Gibson just shook his head no.

“Well, it’s not like I know what the context would’ve been, anyway,” Sparx shrugged. “Okay, I gotta go talk to Otto about something. See y’all on the flipside!” He gave a quick salute before leaving.

“Speaking of Otto, he contacted me on the communicator to tell me you two were…” Antauri gesticulated wildly (at least, by his standards; he was not a particularly wild gesticulator).

“It was a misunderstanding, Antauri,” Gibson scoffed.

“That… makes more sense than what he told me.”

After a deeply embarrassing explanation to Antauri, Nova wasn’t exactly keen on continuing her mistletoe quest that night. Sparx and Otto had gone up to bed early after dinner, so she couldn’t count on the red monkey to be out and about and trigger her trap. But that was okay; it gave her time to reflect while she slept. Or, at least, while she tried to sleep.

What was she going to do? Nova watched her alarm clock strike midnight. The holidays had officially started. Nova rolled over, knowing that in 24 hours, the biggest winter celebration of Shuggazoom would end. After that, her time would be up. She’d have to wait an entire year for this opportunity to come again.

You could just tell him, y’know, said her logic.

And he could just tell me, y’know! her emotions responded. Why’s he gotta be so cagey about it!

Vrrrr! said the mechanical drilling coming from Otto’s room down the hall.

“Great,” she grumbled. Nova dragged herself out of her sleeping pod and shuffled her way down the hall before knocking on the big green door.

“Otto, can you cut that out!” she yelled. Usually, when she asked Otto to be quieter at night, it would take her busting his door open to get him to even respond (which he never minded – fixing the holes in his door was always an easy task that kept his hands busy). This time, however, the response from her teammate was strangely immediate.

“Nova! Hi!” Otto said, rushing to close the door behind him.

“Otto, can you please tone down the noise? I can’t sleep with all of your engineering thingamabobs going off.”

“Well…” Otto trailed off and fidgeted with the tip of his tail. “Y’see, it’s kind of a big project, and we – I mean, I’ve been procrastinating on it a whole lot?”

“A project?”

“For the holidays, y’know?”

“Can I see it?” Nova asked, glancing pointedly at a new metal installation in the door from last time she visited Otto.

“No!” he squeaked, spreading his arms to block the potential destructive path of Nova. “I mean, not now! You’ll see it tomorrow! Trust me, you’ll love it!”

Part of Nova was really curious, wanting to shove Otto out of the way and check it out for herself. However, after her brief spat with Gibson, she figured that she had already had enough of antagonizing her team members for today.

“Fine, keep your secrets,” she said with a smile. “Just, do you have any quieter tools?”

“We got some!” Otto said, returning a toothy grin. “I mean, I got some!”

“Okay, thanks,” she said, before waving goodbye. Otto did as well, and Nova noticed he didn’t return to his room. She was too tired to really interrogate that behavior, though. However, as her own door closed…

“Phew! False alarm!”

Wonder who he’s talking to? Nova thought. It didn’t matter, though. Otto’s power tool noises were noticeably quieter, a soft white noise permeating her thoughts.

Tomorrow. That’s when I’ll set it all up. Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was suddenly today.

Nova was nervous, more nervous than she had been in a very long time. She clutched a stuffed animal in one hand and the sprig of mistletoe in the other. It was starting to wilt.

“Oh, who am I kidding…” she said out loud. “This was never going to work. Even if I did get him under the mistletoe, would I even do anything? Clearly, he wouldn’t take the initiative, and I’m not sure if I would, either…”

She sighed and rolled onto her stomach, face pressed into a pillow. She prepared to scream.

knock knock.

… what.

knock knock knock.

“Ugh! Coming!” Nova called. She wiped the drool off her muzzle and cracked her back before making her way to the d–

“Happy holidays, Nova!”

“Sparx?!”

There he was, in the flesh and metal. Same cocky grin, same cute little fangs, same everything. Nova thought she was going to vomit.

“What… what are you doing here?”

“Gee, what’s with the sour face?” Sparx asked. “Whatever happened to ‘Joy to the World’, eh?”

“I don’t mean to be sour, y’know, I just–”

“Nova, I got you a gift.” His jaw was visibly clenched. Maybe Nova’s eyes deceived her, but she could’ve sworn his face was somehow redder than usual.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Sparx!” Her plan was never coming to fruition, huh? Nova accepted her defeat as she looked around behind Sparx. The only thing she could see was Otto, peeking out from behind a corner.

What’s he doing there?

“Where’s the gift? I don’t see it.”

“Uh, that’s the funny part!” Sparx said, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s, uh, y’know, I, yeah, uh…”

Otto chose this moment to make eye contact with Nova.

“Look up,” he mouthed silently to her. Nova, not particularly adept at reading lips, cocked her head in confusion. Otto just rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger upwards.

So, Nova followed the visual cue, and–

“Oh!”

What on Shuggazoom is that.

Thin sheets of steel molded into leaf shapes and haphazardly splotched with green paint. Little polygonal shapes made of metal that looked like white and red berries.

This… this is…!

“Mistletoe,” Sparx confirmed.

“I made it!” Otto chimed in.

“Ack! Otto, what are you doing here!” Sparx said, whipping around.

“Making sure you don’t bung it up,” he said. “Plus, I added a special feature when you weren’t looking!” With only his head visible from behind the corner, Nova was surprised when he revealed a remote in his hand with a big red button. With a push, the inner mechanics of the artificial mistletoe began to whirr, unfolding the “berries” into little screens.

“NOW, KISS!” was the text scrolling past on the screens.

“Sparx, I…”

“I know, it isn’t the real stuff, but visiting the mistletoe farm gave me the idea,” Sparx admitted. “I asked Otto if he could come up with some sort of fake mistletoe? And I guess he added some extra features last night while I wasn’t looking.”

“So that’s why Otto wouldn’t let me into his room…” Nova mumbled. This was… a lot.

“I mean, to clarify, we don’t have to do this!” Sparx stammered. “Traditions can be dumb and boring and all that! We could start our own tradition!”

I…

“Like, we could spar under the mistletoe instead!” Sparx continued, still clearly stalling for a response. “You’d kick my butt every time, sure, but hey, I kinda deserve it, in a way!”

I can’t…

“We could also just do nothing! Under the mistletoe! We could just treat it as any other holiday decoration! Just hang it under every door frame, why not?”

I can’t take it anymore!

“Or we c–” With her eyes squeezed shut, Nova went in for the muzzle to muzzle clash.

Nova wasn’t really sure if wild, unintelligent monkeys kissed. It seemed to be a mostly human convention. But kissing under the mistletoe is also a human convention. So, as she pulled her teammate in, she didn’t really feel like it mattered.

Sparx nearly fell over from the force, but Nova didn’t care. She caught him before either of them toppled to the ground.

When she finally pulled away, Nova opened her eyes to see Sparx’s face was definitely redder than usual.

“Wow, I, uh…” She could practically see the hearts in his eyes. “Wow.”

“You should’ve done this sooner!” Nova chided.

“I thought you’d want to make the first real move!” Sparx said.

“No, I wanted you to!” Nova said.

“Then why didn’t you say so?!”

“Why would I ever say that?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Then why did you expect it!”

“Can we kiss again?”

“Yes, you idiot!”

The two lovebirds just sort of… kept kissing and arguing and kissing and arguing and kissing and arguing…

“G’mornin’, Otto,” Chiro said, with Gibson and Antauri flanking him. Each of them held a large variety of gift bags. “What’re you standing here for?” Otto just gestured towards the couple with the tip of his tail.

“And then, he accused me of trying to assassinate someone!” Nova said.

“That’s crazy!” Sparx agreed, before the two of them embraced in a kiss once more.

“Huh. They were arguing earlier,” Otto said, keeping his voice low so as to not disturb the “happy” couple.

“What, you think two hotheads like them wouldn’t flirt by yelling at each other?” Chiro said.

“Well, if it works for them,” Antauri said with a shrug.

“I don’t need to see this,” Gibson sighed. “Come down to the Super Robot’s main compartment when they’re done with their… peculiar little ritual.”

“But you’ve seen my Magnatingler Blast do work in battle!”

“And all I’m saying is, a Lady Tomahawk does more work!” Back to kissing.

“Ooh, they’re fighting again!” Otto said. “Gibson! Can you get me one of those poppy-corn wreaths while you’re down there? One of the ones with butter? I wanna eat it while I watch this!”

“No, Otto, I will not!”

And so, Nova got her holiday wish in the end. The real mistletoe withered away a few days later, but the love between her and Sparx? That may never disappear.

Happy Holidays, Monkey Team! And may all of your holidays in the future be just as joyous and loving!

[monsieuroverlord]

Somnus sighting in X-Men Unlimited Comic 121 thru 124!

spoilers below

We got a bit more info on where some of the displaced mutants ended up! Basically, a bunch of them were taken in by Camp Gozhoo (the current home of James and John Proudstar, where their grandma relocated after separating from their grandfather). Native American reservations technically have their own sovereignty, so it makes sense they'd offer protection to mutants.

(For context: Reservations are only required to follow tribal and federal law on their own land -- assuming there's no congressional/federal order. I'm not super familiar with the nuances so I'd highly recommend researching if you're interested. But from what I know, it makes sense that they'd at least have a bit of time to act as a safe haven if the governing bodies of the reservation desired)

Somnus didn't really contribute much plotwise (other than getting into trouble)

But honestly the tagteam fighting between the Proudstar brothers was deeply satsifying. I mean look at this:

Smashing a beer bottle on your bro to throw at an Orchis agent. That's badass! That's some pro-wrestling shit right there, lmao.

The fight sequences overall were really well done and fun to look at.

(Also, I love Grandma Lozen. She's a badass and needs her own ongoing with the Proudstar boys)

Also Dani Moonstar shines as the badass leader she is! Very cool to see her in action as a leader of an underground network of mutants.

In 123, she recruits Thunderbird (as Warpath is out of commission with a busted leg) and Shatterstar shows up to bring them to X-Corps, a hidden base in the Pacific Ocean. Its also revealed that mutants all over the globe are being mysteriously kidnapped -- too strange to be Orchis acting alone.

In 124, Dani shows Thunderbird around the base, where Jamie Madrox is manning everything, Layla Miller is purring her detective skills to work, Wiz-Kid and Trinary are on monitor duty and networking. It's then revealed that the kidnapped mutants (along with Somnus were taken to Nova Roma -- which is now home to a legion of undead Orchis agents under the leadership of Selene.

Somnus didn't really get to do anything except bunch out an undead guy.

[sergeifyodorov]

Sidney Crosby for the character ask

actually i do have a very specific first impression of sidney which is that i was . can’t have been ten, probably closer to seven or eight and i was living w my dad and hockey was on and it was pens vs a team that was not the leafs, and i knew he was a leafsfan so i was like “why are you watching hockey if it’s not your team” and he was like “sometimes i like to watch it for sid the kid” and i was like. a kid? and he pointed out what must have been a truly baby sidney and i remember clearly thinking I Hope He’ll Be A Leaf Some Day… truly my delusions have always been there.

IMPRESSION NOW

well GOAT obviously

beyond that he is such a good leader and obviously just a huge awkward dorky sweetheart -- there are no stories of bad encounters with him, like, ever. i think my general vision of him is just someone who is so stubborn and willful and good, who has pushed all of himself into doing hockey and doing hockey well and has negotiated some kind of reward from the universe for it. definitely has The Tism. if i were a hockey boy i too wouldve jerked off to posters of young sidney.

also is aging incredibly as both a player and as a guy… i don’t think either sidney or the audience are ready for silver fox sidney crosby. but the time is approaching far more rapidly than either of us would care to admit

i do however believe that the instant he retires he will vanish into the distant nova scotian woods, or perhaps the sea, and we will never hear anything about him again.

FAV MOMENT

much like ovi, sidney is Old and thereby has an abundance of Moments. Here are some:

sidovi duelling hat tricks night (it was both of their moments, come on)

That one anecdote about him walking with reporters coatless somewhere in the negative tens, followed by them going through the tim hortons in the rink and people stopping and realizing who it is the moment that he goes into the elevator

2010 olympic golden goal

this isn’t technically a Sidney Moment but the steve dangle tweet about “has sidney crosby passed the torch followed by sidney crosby ripping out his opponent’s heart and eating it has been happening for the past six years” (the tweet itself is also about four or five years old)

The entirety of his Fucked Up Teeth era where he had to wear the fishbowl and fought a bunch of people . I think we don’t remember enough that Sid used to be an absolute bloody menace -- I’m pretty sure he’s either the only rookie or one of the only rookies with 100 pts and 100 PIM in a season.

he did the michigan before it was cool btw

IDEA FOR STORY

well let’s go back to the disappearing into the woods thing. have you guys heard of sable island perchance

well u see. there is an island off the coast of nova scotia

it’s got an electoral district and everything. Or it’s part of one. Which is weird because only a couple of researchers live there periodically.

anyway. king under the mountain type au where post-concussions sid decides instead to leave hockey, go back to nova scotia and become a lighthouse keeper/researcher. living on sable island, skating once a year on the thin-ass ocean ice when it freezes. disappears when the sport of hockey needs him most etc

in fact in this au he leaves in 2012, and because there’s no hope of his returning the penguins are. Substantially worse in the following year, not only breaking hard from the playoffs but also doing a leedle light tanking to get themselves a similarly touted prospect… 2013 first overall pick nathan mackinnon.

natemac who is and has always been a sidney fanboy numero uno AND a sicko who wants 2 win above all else. natemac who gets himself immediately into a war of wills with geno because geno wants sid to live a good life, a long and peaceful life away from where he has been and natemac who knows that there is something else going on. that sid gave up, but he is not lost.

so nate and geno play out nate’s rookie year; nate breaks in the offseason for sable island in search of sidney. cue geno coming along.

nategenosidney roadtrip 2 return to hockey nightmare psychosexual experience for everyone involved (geno has to contend with his feelings for sidney, a dear friend and colleague who he wants to both protect and win alongside, as well as his frustration towards nate, this doughy-faced and overemotional young firecracker… a lot like a certain sid, back in the day.) (sid has to deal with his feelings for geno, a respected teammate who he wanted to become captain after him but so clearly would rather not have that spot in his life replaced, and his new affection for this nate guy, someone who is so earnest and so competitive and so insane in exactly the same way as him that he’s not sure if it’s deliriously endearing or driving him nuts)(nate has to deal with his huge awfully enrapturing celebrity crush on someone he has always wanted to play with but who is apparently unavailable and has to deal with this sort of weird captainrookie mutual bullying homoeroticism he’s developed with geno)

i think this just ends up in a threesome tbh but who am i to say

UNPOPULAR OPINION

honestly… i do not find him that particularly attractive… i think it is maybe something to do with yalls competency kink (can’t blame u). the lips and the ass are great though he’s just almost too pretty for me. 

also i am a sidstache truther

FAV RELATIONSHIP

genuine tie between nate, geno, and ovi

FAV HEADCANON

go read jes ticklefighthockey’s entire archive right now and then go read her entire ao3. THAT is true sidscholarship i do not feel as if i am anywhere near capable of that level of it

[libra-cant-just-dance]

My “Official” Review of the Enter the Danceverses maps

Disclaimer: all of this is purely my opinion as someone who just recently got into the fandom, can’t dance, and has only played three games. In no way so I think any of the following is “right”, it’s all just personal opinion. Also I love all the maps so even the ones I like less I still love. Also this was originally written for an audience of my friends who know nothing about this game.

Can’t Stop The Feeling

A cute, simple intro to the danceverses and the story mode playlist. The whole thing of starting out live action and having our main character be pulled into the world of Just Dance is fun, makes you feel like you’re along on the journey. Is it a little bit terrifying to watch this strange blue man reach through a TV screen and kidnap this girl? Kind of, but you get used to it. He’s wonderful. You get this nice little montage of Wanderlust showing Sara around the verses and meeting cameo coaches from older maps. Also great that you can play as Sara or Wanderlust. Always a bonus for playing as Wanderlust.

Honestly i don’t find myself coming back to this map that often, but that’s probably because I prefer the alternate version. The choreo is very simple and I just don’t find it as fun. But the simple choreo makes it easy and a perfect way to start out the playlist and “introduce” the player to the world of Just Dance. You’re having fun doing this silly little dance, then suddenly all your new friends get kidnapped and we have a plot hook. It works great. Bonus points for Wanderlust doing that one move I really like from the alternate version at one point.

I will say, as much as I love being able to play as him in this map, I feel like that’s part of the reason I can’t get too attached to Sara. I don’t usually get super into main protagonists already, and since this isnt’ a solo song for her, I’m never forced to play as her (except in If You Wanna Party, but that one has all the characters in it so even when I’m playing as her I’m barely paying attention to her). When I do actually watch her dance, her style is really cute and I think she’s adorable and fun. But I just can’t get into her as much when Wanderlust is RIGHT there.

Can’t Stop The Feeling- Danceverses Prince Version

The best. I come back to this one all the time, I’m actively trying to learn to do it properly. Technically this isn’t part of the Enter the Danceverses playlist, it’s a separate map. But I don’t care, I love this map, I love Wanderlust, I wanna talk about it. That’s my boy. This map is great. I guess the only downside is it’s not as cinematic as some other newer maps? The background stays mostly the same the whole time. And it’s hard. But that just makes it more of a challenge. It IS the alternate version for a reason, of course it’s gonna be hard.

Starting out with a shot of The Traveler and Si’ha Nova to make it clear that they’re Wanderlust’s parents, perfect. Gorgeous. Wanderlust is just. So silly. Even though it’s hard, the choreo is SO fun to do. Bonus points for that little pose he does that I love, especially the time when he does it and then he does a little nod I LOVE that. This whole map just has the energy of dancing alone in your room having a good time and even though I’m dying by the end of it it makes me so happy. I hear this song in the car and think about this map and replay it several times and it’s a wonder I haven’t crashed yet. I love this map. I want to say more about it, but it really just comes down to “Look at him. He’s so silly. This is great. I love it.”

Witch

Great introduction to our antagonist. Obviously, this map slays. The Night Swan slays. No questions here. She has such a good aesthetic going on, and even though I hate her, I can’t deny it. She does in fact slay. That costume! That background! The way it changes throughout the song where it’s just her throne room in the beginning and by the end it’s full of Swan Soldiers being sent out through a billion portals! The shot with the eye in the beginning makes me feel like I’m about to watch an early 2000s punk rock music video, but it’s still cool.

My favorite shot of course is her sitting in the throne with Jack standing next to her. That shot just. Oh my god. It’s perfect. Him standing there like a knight next to his horrible mother who doesn’t deserve him. Someone save this boy. I wish he was more in the map even just in the background, but I don’t know what he would do. They’re not gonna just pay Mickael to stand there in sweating in the background in full costume for no reason. Actually there really isn’t a reason for Jack to be in the rest of the map, I just like to see him.

Getting back to the actual map, I honestly don’t like this one that much? Like it’s good, it’s just not for me. She does a lot of spooky wavey arms movements which are cool, but it’s just not my style. I don’t find it that fun, but that’s not a criticism of the map. It does, again, slay.

Physical

Love this one. Fun and funky map, good song, good vibes. It’s also got some funky camerawork! Man I’m so in love with how much better Just Dance maps have gotten over the years, it’s not always just a static camera pointed head-on at a dancer. Quick shoutout to Wanderlust’s face when he runs through the portal at the end, but I need to stop just talking about Wanderlust for every song. He’s only there for two seconds. I love the implication that Brezziana is an aerobic dance class instructor who just sets up a boombox in public places and lures people into flash mobs. She’s so great.

The dance is SO fun, but it’s an actual workout. I have to rest for like fifteen minutes after doing just this one song. While Can’t Stop The Feeling Danceverses Prince Version is “Wow this makes me so tired but it’s FUN!”, Physical is “Wow this is fun but it makes me SO TIRED!”. I wish I could do this map over and over again but I physically can’t (pun not intended but welcome anyway). I love the choreo, I love the energy. Even while I feel like I’m dying, Brezziana’s making everyone have so much fun it makes me determined to make it to the end. If she was a real exercise class instructor, would I actually take her class? Probably not, I’m really lazy. But I’d definitely consider it, and that’s saying something. God I love this map and it frustrates me that I can’t do it that often (at least if I want to play multiple songs in a row).

Rather Be

This one’s SO cool. Mihaly is awesome, the map is gorgeous, the vibe is excellent. I LOVE the choreo, the only problem is it’s hard. It’s so cool to watch and I wish I could follow along, but it’s just so hard. This has got to be one of my favorite choreos in the game, I just love Mihaly’s style and the way they go all these funky moves so quickly! My only other complaint is did they really have to decide that their zen magic dance temple is run by a giant anthropomorphic panda named Master Panda? It’s just… yeah. I guess in their defense the panda is kind of the mascot of Just Dance so if there was gonna be a master of Just Dance’s version of the force it would make sense for it to be a panda? Oh well, it’s definitely not the most poor taste decision the game has made in it’s history. Some older maps are… something. On the bright side, Mihaly is basically canonically nonbinary!! They’re SO cool. Or maybe I just like the red and blue color scheme. And the funky glasses. So basically, I love this map, I just don’t play it that often because I just can’t keep up with it.

Locked Out Of Heaven

Okay this one is going to pain me to review. I love Jack Rose with my entire heart. And that initially made me too biased about this map, but I think I can give it an honest review now. Still, we’re gonna start with the good things. First of all, Jack Rose. Duh. Look at him. The red suit, the gold, the earrings, literally everything about this character design is a personal attack on me. I love him. And he’s angsty?? This is a perfect boy! Literally the quote on his character avatar is “With a mother like mine, who needs enemies?”. That’s SO dramatic.

The map also tells his backstory SO well. It’s gotta be hard to tell a whole story like this in a JUST DANCE MAP. Right from the start you get baby Jack Rose practicing and then his mom in the doorway in a spooky silhouette being all disappointed in him, and then the transition where suddenly he’s an adult now and just the look on his FACE tells you everything. You can see how the pressure from his mother made him lose all the childhood happiness and he’s just so serious about everything now. Of COURSE he takes this so seriously, all his mother cares about is perfection so if he’s going to have this one thing that he’s good at (performing) he has to be PERFECT at it! He won’t get his mother’s love otherwise! And at the end of the map, even after he’s given this amazing performance to his thousands of adoring fans, she STILL isn’t impressed by him! He works so hard all the time just to please her and nothing will ever be good enough for her! Who knew you could get that much emotion from Just Dance!! Just watching it you see how good he’s gotten at performing but you wonder “at what cost?”!

And the use of the song! I LOVE when Just Dance can take a song and completely recontextualize it for a map. At first glance, okay, yeah. Locked Out Of Heaven is a good typical popstar heartthrob kinda song for him to perform. But when you think about it for way longer than anyone needs to be thinking about a Just Dance map like I have, it’s brilliant. Sure, the song is actually about some guy feeling “locked out” of the “heaven” that is having sex with some girl. But for JACK? It’s about being deprived of the simple happiness that comes from a mother’s love! He tries SO HARD! He’s won the affection of SO many people through his art, but he still can’t get the one thing he wants! His MOTHER to LOVE HIM! (This is why I hate Night Swan with a burning passion. I know everyone loves her cuz she has a great aesthetic and she slays and all that but she EMOTIONALLY ABUSED my BOY and I will never forgive her)

Okay so now that we know how brilliant this map is, you may ask yourself why I say it’s hard to review. And that’s because despite all of that, the choreography is BAD. Sure, I can do it. And some of the moves are good. But the majority of the dance is just silly. And yeah, Just Dance choreos are always a little silly. It’s a stupid party game. But they aren’t all THIS silly. And for all of the maps to give silly choreo, this is NOT the one. Jack is supposed to be COOL. He’s SERIOUS about his performances. There’s no way you can tell me that man would do some of those moves. Even if he would, I can’t be emotional about the story while dancing like an idiot. Some of the choreo also isn’t very doable, either. The spin is one of the less stupid moves, but they do it way too many times. And the microphone? Look, it looks great. He’s so cool with his big microphone on a stick. But the person playing the game isn’t gonna have a big microphone on a stick, and even if they did they aren’t gonna be able to magically make it appear and disappear out of thin air like he does. You just have to mime it while you’re dancing, and no matter how well you do it you’re just gonna feel like an idiot.

Sure, I’m overanalyzing this map. It just makes me mad that this could be one of my favorites for the existence of Jack Rose alone if it wasn’t for the ridiculously corny choreography. So bottom line, Jack Rose needs a hug. I will be revisiting this. This map is good, it could have been perfect. But they nerfed it. For nothing.

Majesty

This is a really cool one! The first map where you’re picking from two different teams of characters instead of just from different characters! Overall, I really like it. It does however suffer from both “too much story, not enough dance” and “too much dance, not enough story” at the same time. But not too badly? And considering this is the first time they’ve done a “story mode” kind of thing like this where they had to make a map that was a major plot point (the climax of a story, actually) with a whole bunch of characters, I think they did a really good job. It’s fun getting to play the different characters dancing in their own different styles, and they really did manage to tell a whole story through the map.

It’s just a little difficult to follow along with them, partly because you keep switching characters/styles and partly because you’re trying to pay attention to what’s going on in the scene. At the same time, it’s kind of tricky to get the whole story while you’re dancing because you’re trying to pay attention to getting the moves right. There’s a scene you can see go on in the background where Jack is arguing with Night Swan, and that’s when he turns on her and she sends the possessed Wanderlust to attack him. I didn’t even see that until like the third time I watched it, and I think that’s a pretty important scene. If you don’t see that, it doesn’t really make sense that you start out with Jack on Night Swan’s side and end with him saving Wanderlust and teaming up with The Just Dancers (yes, that’s what they’re called).

The ending is cute, I like that they all hype up Sara to be the one to defeat Night Swan. (Side note apparently Night Swan and Sara are played by the same dancer, and I don’t know how to feel about that) I believe she’s supposed to have a character arc about becoming more confident in herself and her dancing, and we don’t really see that much in the story, but that part kind of shows it. Her style is really cute, and I think the whole dance battle thing is just really funny. Night Swan really got danced at so hard that she had to surrender. Also the song is great! It fits the map really well and they did a great job of timing beats in the story with beats in the song. Also also a very nice touch to make this one and Night Swan’s solo map use songs by the same artist, it really makes the story feel tied up.

Now it’s time to rant about Jack Rose again. HIS FACE when Night Swan turns his whole audience into swan soldiers!! He looks horrified, it’s actually heartbreaking I will never get over it. His mom straight-up betrayed him! He loves his fans so much, that winds up being his breaking point to finally stand up to her and then switch sides to defeat her. I’m just so happy he finally realized he has so many people who love him so he doesn’t NEED his mom’s approval! And then him grabbing Wanderlust’s hand to save him and turn him back into a guy?? He made real friends! People who’ll actually love him even if he’s flawed! I just really love Jack Rose. I think his character arc is fantastic. And he’s red I love red.

If You Wanna Party

I feel like most of what I can say about this map is that it’s cute. I don’t mean that in a bad way though! They just took down the Night Swan, they deserve a little bit of a party. Now this song is CHEESY. Just Dance literally made the most cliche stereotypical “lets party everyone!” pop song they possibly could, complete with Jack Rose doing a rap that boils down to “yo yo we’re so cool” and the incomparable lyrics “move your hips from side to side, peanut butter jelly time, mashed potato feeling fine, dip baby dip”. But honestly? I kind of love it. It’s FUN, it doesn’t need to be anything else. Dare I call it camp? Perhaps.

Now my biggest complaint with this map is that you can only play as Sara. What the hell. All of them are there! And they all have solos just like a dance with multiple playable coaches! WHY can you not pick which one you wanna play?? The others are just standing there taunting me! You can’t put Wanderlust on my screen and tell me I CAN’T play as him! Seriously, this map should let you play as whichever one you want. I’d even trade out playing as Wanderlust in Can’t Stop The Feeling if it meant we could have five playable coaches for this map (only because he does already have his own solo song). This map is a bunch of friends having fun dancing together, that’s what Just Dance is ABOUT! Why can’t a player gather up their friends and dance as The Just Dancers together? That’s the whole point of the game!

Aside from that complaining, again, it’s a really cute map. It’s cheesy, but in a good way. I love to see Jack Rose getting ot have FUN for once. It’s also so cool how they all still retain their own dance styles while making a cohesive choreo all together! They’re all doing their own thing but it blends together. I know nothing about dancing or choreography but I’m just gonna assume that’s a challenge. All in all, great map. Great ending to the story. Sara waving goodbye to everyone as she returns to the real world. Jack looking super confused about it. It’s great. Good friends, good adventure, good dance.

[murkystarlight]

DREAMZZZ SEASON2 (PART2) SPOILERS

Well. You know what that means...

*sigh*

Episode 11

The gold armory looks nice. But, Dreamzzz really has a habit of starting episodes randomly. For a split second I thought it was like.. episode12. Not 11. I thought I skipped something-

Inspector being worried-

Old men bantering. Always fun to watch.

For once, Royce said something right. How did you not notice Mateo wasn't the real Mateo!! Still confused of how it works

Oh cool. The Never Witch has her own special edition of barbie's dream house

Dressing for the occasion? Heck yeah! Whooo (the colors look a bit brighter or... some like that in this season. Is it just me?)

Also, Madeo. Your mom is weird. Stay safe. I mean.. seriously. Why does she love dates so much

Honestly- the crow with the house.. was kind of disappointing. The crow looks so... dull. The lego set makes it look SO cool

NOO!! Burrzerker!!!

Astrid and Logan are so frickin cute

Oh... so they aren't trapped forever. Only while they're dreaming...(why is he repeating so much?)

Crosshatch technique?? What's that- I want to know

Cooper is being creative people!! (Wich is a good thing. Yes. Improvement! But... already? I mean.. it's technically the middle of the second season. But if they keep releasing it half and half... it feels like they're two different seasons. Which brings my brain to believe, "how is Cooper getting his character arc during the very beginning and he barely shows up afterwards??" So... yeah. That's kind of a problem for me..)

Cooper's favorite animal is geese! Ah- he's getting more creative!! Look at him! LOOK AT HIMMMM (I'm very normal. Don't worry)

"Our dreams need to be wild and free so we feel inspired and creative during the day"

Exactly. Such wise words. Sad I don't dream

Nova and Sneak is back!! (And they seem to be getting more spotlight and story?? Omg- yes)

The incursion(Bernie) is adorable. Absolutely ADORABLE!!

The repeating stuff is getting annoying already-

Ah- Cooper bonding with the bot- baby voice- aughhh

Sneak:"You saying we can't handle watching a harmless little robot?"

"Pretty much"

"Yeah...[stammers]" (sneak is also very cute. We need to appreciate this very normal looking cat)

Logan has a lot of middle names-(but his real one is Nico apperantly? Nico?? For real??)

Astrid looks like she's going to be apart of the story(big time) too

Space(generic 1980s airbrush album cover) theme!!

"Your girlfriend is so cool"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Wait. Do you think she'd wanna be?"

(Look at these cuties-)

Fireworks!

"Ready?"

"If I'm going out, I'm going with a bang."

Fireworks!!

Team move! Whooo look at them go!

Nova: "I wonder what kind of robot he is"

Sneak: "the cute kind?"

You are absolutely right.

"Are we winning?"

"Nope-"

So... Cooper can make fireworks. But no technology. He can make a moving sculpture. But no tech related stuff. ....

"The Never Witch really messed me up when she took my memories"

"I still don't feel ready to tackle tech stuff"

She did indeed. And it made a wonderful, beautiful sight(I'm sorry Coops. But it has a lot of potential and I love this concept. You go boy!)(and if he said that, there's a opportunity that he can do tech stuff now. But he just hasn't tried it yet)

Awww dancing with a cute creature and a cute robot-

Oh- multiplication. Neat

Did... did that clay geese eat a three headed eel??

Nova and Sneak having a breakdown. They're having a lot of fun aren't they

They're faces when they get hit by the Never Witch- lol. It's cute

And Mateo- your sister is right there and you only care about Cooper? Seriously. Sometimes, they make questionable dialogue choices(but- its sweet. Very nice)

Too bad we don't know what qualities the Witch took from them to make the clones...

Okay- lots of hands out of the cauldron. Creepy kinda-(the rhymes are still so amazing-)

Whoa- those neon signs have a lot of energy

Sick- look at them. The matching colors make them look like a real team

"I got Madteo and Doomblob"

"Cool name, broseph. I'm on Dizzy"

"For Doppel Izzie?" (Oh... okay. That's why they have 'd's)

"Guess that means I'm taking Dooper"

"Bogan has met his match" (I thought it was Dogan this whole time???)

"What? Sounds better than Dogan"

"[Sighs] I got Zoey"

And Astrid doesn't get one because... she ain't one of the original dream chasers we know. We need to keep a line between it^^

I am loving the attitude on Dooper

"Need to be saved? Pathetic"

The Bunchu's and the hammer- the hammers! The hammer is so pretty! I want that- so bad

And Dizzy.

Bogan is big for some reason. Okay-

And Madteo! Good to see you again.(also, those pencil ninja stars are cool. Kind of creepy looking tho)

The guardian looks so- squishy. I like it

Also the smashing two together- lol okay

So.. the Never Witch causes chaos, waits till the Guardian wakes up. Then stabs them in the heart to dome the realm. Okay... okay, cool.

Mrs.C: "That is one mangy-looking gato"

Um.. nope. Nothing wrong with him

Seriously, mrs.C is really cool. She's the best adult here

That guardian has a wonderful face. Darn cute adorable face

Oh no... they menace- they menacing bad..

(Still cute though-)

Um... yeah. More repeating sentences. Even I'm going to memorise them at this point...

And there you have it. Nova and Sneak are officially dream chasers now!

"Ew- enough mushy stuff"

Ooohh Mr. Oz's landing!?? Yessss sso curious

Okay

So... it escalated a bit. And the story went by way too fast for my taste. But a lot of new things and facts... it's a pretty nice start I think

Episode 12

"Let's turn up the heat"

"Oh, this'll be a sweet feast"

It rhymes too! (Also, that 'dressing for the occasion' thing? Really paid off. She looks hot. Like... what?!??)

"Ah yes.. let's have dessert before dinner tonight"

Yup. Here we have a single mother with a bunch of strange pets, and her five children

Cooper can drive(pilot?) again! Yay~ and I seriously love how he refers to all vehicles with pet names. Like 'sweetheart' or 'baby'

"I wonder what's in his fridge"

Hm. Now I'm curious too

Oh- it's on autopilot. Well- Cooper still gets to be the one behind the wheels in case something goes wrong. That's something!

So this is dream space. And it's nice to know that the fact Mr. Oz wanted to be an astronaut when he was younger is still a thing and not just a one time mention thing that gets scraped

Izz- take Astrid everywhere!

And here we are! Mr. Oswald's landin-Whoa- that looks amazing... I wish that came out as a set too- but. I guess nows not a good time for that.

Anyways, what is that asteroid centipede thing! Uggghhhhh I don't like it already...(not a fan of bugs. At all)

That dreamling is going to get kicked off soon.

"Welcome, to castle Nocturnia!"

Poor Albert-

Oh look. The night hunter is being a caring dad for Zoey again

Booby traps?? Okay- but why centipede looking thingies? Albert!

"We need to get hold of the kids!"

Mr. Oz....

Augh- the night hunters eyes when they're closed- so beautiful

Astropedes? So... they are centipedes. Aw just great-

"Uh- no. I'm not okay with anything that has more than four legs. [Yelps]" I agree with Zoey. Very strongly.

Old men fighting again. It's hilarious really. (They're both worried for the kids... aw-)And mayhem

Ah- nope. Cooper is driving it

Really fun looking at this like a game

Logan, did you forget the seatbelt again?

Sorry mr. Oz- your ship blew up

Ooh! Space car!

More booby traps? Of course-

Where does this music keep coming from?!

Mr. Oz and the Night Hunter bantering is so fun. Also- why does Mr. Oz have a monocle over his glasses?..

Oh- both sides are going pretty hard on the fight. They know their mistakes and everything... good. Very good

And talk about Lunia again! We might get more clues about her

Z-blob rocket!

I'm surprised they didn't notice that earlier. The light were turning red! C'mon, no one thought that was weird?

"And then there were three"

Well- nice to know they're still kids at heart?

Oh yay. Cooper

"You look uh.. dirty"

"Thanks. You don't look so hot yourself"

...I think Astrid is doing stuff. Like- she does kind of give off a vibe she's only here to add drama and a love interest. But she still has a lot of stuff going on. But she is doing a lot of stuff- she just said hot. As in- that kind of hot? ...really? Am I just stupid or did she really use that word that way?

Ooh! Red button

Albert has... a lot of things. Um.. and is good with animals I guess.

Night Hunter talking about Hannah? Ooh yeah

"It's not gonna hold"

"It's gonna hold"

"Its not gonna hold!"

"Its gonna hold!!"

"What do we do if it doesn't!!?"

Love these two

"I think I'm going to wake up"

"Don't do it Astrid"

"I'm going to wake up-!"

"Stay cool, Astrid"

These two are fun too-

The implications they're giving out on Astrid-

Looking for your best friend as soon as his son comes into a... trash dump. Yup. Always good to have a friend with you

"Don't push that red button!"

And- the red button was bad. They're gonna get crushed-

"Oh, wonderful"

"What can we do? The walls arw coming in! How can be so calm with this much pressure!?" (I know! Right? He is so-)

"Eh- you haven't met my family"

...someone. TAKE HIM TO THERAPY!

Oh my goddd this poor boy- Cooper- we really need more info about your family too-

Oh dang- king Albert sounds bad...

That. Is a lot of sand. GO Cooper! You can do this!(the effects are pretty awesome though-)

Sorry mr. Oz-... again.

Ahhhhhh! Yes! YESSSSS Cooperrr (he looks so dang cute with that smile- and also, matching puffy jacket with Mateo) it's c-rex! Looks sick. Nice details with the rusty parts. And it's also tech related stuff! He did it!!

Look at all that lighting- and the flames!

Mateo did it! Yayy

King Albert is... dead.

Cooper's laugh. That is everything

Doppel-usses. Yeah. That's a great word.

So... yeah. Like I said. Cooper has gotten his arc. It's finished. Good for him though!

Episode 13

Ooohh disguise?? Nice...

The wharnal looks prettier than how I remember it!!

Also, Mateo is doing a.. really nice job pretending to be Madteo. Like... savage-

"Man! That never Witch don't tell us nothin'!"

They're already fed up with her- lol

Confusion of the giant house inside the small house

Bottle library... cool

Z-blob really becomes.. anything. Don't you z-blob

She made a Doppelganger of herself??! Wha- okay. More like. I repeat- we got a whole lot of stuff ahead of us! (And she's crying too-)

Liquefy? Oh.. so they're just the liquid with the memories sculpted into her puppets... or.. something like that.

"My rugged good looks?"

Oh I love those dopples

Her memory is being hidden! We need to know

Reform the dream world spell. Spiral key, eye of confusion. Ruby replication. Crown of- omg. So much information

"Don't tell me the answers on the next page"

"It's on the next page"

Astrid just- can't stand the fact that she isn't noticed. ...oh.. noticed. Showing her worth.. she's that kind of character... I get it now. Hopefully

They're using the space car now- hopefully that doesn't blow up too

Bantering. I love it.

So apparently the dopples just decided to use the names they were given

The dreamlings in the candy realm have blue pudding heads? Ooh-

Mateo I is great at mirroring- except... uh- not the best athlete. He didn't manage the flip(which was awesome by the way)

These Doppelgangers are going to get mad at the Never Witch.. soon enough like- they have a lot of stuff they got problems with the Never Witch-

And- now they're howling and cawing

Cooper is- jealous? Or.. something I don't know. It's not exactly jealousy but Uh- I don't know.. something. Logan and Cooper ate competing

Uhm- what? Hm. Okay... it's like a spider human

Ooh now we get to see the candy chameleon!

Speaking german? Ooh. I mean- okay

They're all giving a shot at different teams. It's nice to see that

And a new barbie dream house for the Never Witch

The barrier works in... wonderous ways..

Yeaah. I need to sleep now. Way too tired- I'll finish the rest eventually

[ucof-official]

How's things been lately over there? Any interesting weather? Mayhaps an eventful shift?

Hey Axyer, thanks for the question! We’re great!

In terms of eventful shifts, oh boy do we have some... if I were to list all in the past two weeks even, this post would be waaay too long. For those who aren’t aware, we (The UCOF), are a public safety and service group, and there’s fifty-odd of us and over 2.6 billion people on the Oxraan planet, so we have our hands very full! Just yesterday, in fact, we were called to the continent Regali-Oxraa to help clear out an illegal dig site in dead land (land put aside to not be touched by any civilization, kind of like national parks) and oh boy, was it cold. The poor guard’s department was out there for hours, and over six came back to base early because of hypothermia. Delta(my boss) included, even with all his fur!

Thanks again for the question! - Nova Dysuvia, technical and laboratory department

[alphashley14]

One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

Chapter Seven

Everything and More

“Arthur is correct. The time has come.”

Okay. So. This was weird. Even to Arthur’s standards. Which were already pretty fucking high, but had been raised slightly higher still as of this morning. 

Before them stood a small, cute, well-groomed talking dog. In an in-between dimension. Not that weird. Arthur had met talking animals. And been to other in-between dimensions. But to his knowledge, this dog was Scooby’s girlfriend. Who could not talk. And was in a coma. 

To the right of her stood a… vaguely familiar little man. Arthur was sure he’d seen that face before, he just couldn’t remember from where. But he knew it had something to do with his past experience with the paranormal.

And to the left of the dog stood the one who was quite possibly the strangest of the three. At least to Arthur. Truth be told, it hadn’t immediately clicked where he’d seen that face before. Then he’d just so happened to glance over at Mr. E, and he immediately realized two things. One: that Ricky had turned as white as a sheet, and was looking at the boy like he’d seen a ghost; and two: Mr. E’s shirt was the same yellow and white striped pattern as the teen’s. Then it clicked: Arthur had seen that face several times just this morning, looking through Ricky’s photo album. They were looking at a 17-year-old Ricky Owens. The same age he was when The Freak of Crystal Cove had forced him and the rest of the Original Mystery Incorporated to disappear.

So… yep. This was another new one. Just when Arthur was starting to think he at least mostly had this whole ‘paranormal expert’ thing figured out. What a fool he’d been to forget rule number one of being an expert in the paranormal: never assume you’re an expert in the paranormal. The paranormal will see that as a challenge, and it will find a way to surprise you. Often in a way less-than-pleasant. 

As Nova, the man in red, and Ricky’s younger self came closer, Arthur, Shaggy, and Ricky stood up, wary of the strange newcomers.

“Please tell me that you two also see Brad and Judy’s dog talking, a little man, and a younger me.” Ricky said shakily, in the voice of a man completely prepared to accept his own insanity. 

“Nope. Not just you.” And truth be told, Arthur was relieved it wasn’t just him seeing this, too. 

“Like, technically Nova isn’t their dog anymore. And according to Scoob, like, that’s not her.” Shaggy said with a nervous laugh. “But like, yeah… even so… this is freaky.”

“Shaggy is correct.” Not-Nova said. “I am not Nova. As I told Scooby Doo, I am of the Annunaki, a race of interdimensional beings who visit the planet Earth every thousand years at a time called Nibiru. The Annunaki have no physical form, and must inhabit the bodies of animals in order to remain in this world. And that is why I have borrowed Nova’s body - so that I may aid you in your quest to break the curse on Crystal Cove.”

Ricky and Shaggy gave her a blank stare that reflected the sheer bewilderment going on in their heads. Arthur on the other hand-

“The Annunaki," He echoed. “That word sounds familiar.” 

“To you, Arthur Kingsman, it would be. The Annunaki have a long history of helping humans. Whenever my kind visits Earth, we often leave part-animal descendants behind. So long as the tiniest trace of our genes remain, our descendants will retain a higher level of intelligence and the ability to talk. Each of you are intimately familiar with at least one of them. As rare as our descendants are, even rarer are our closest relatives, who in addition to sentience, often also retain some of our abnormalities and powers.” 

“That’s right," Arthur said. “Mystery told us about that.” 

“Like, you guys know about this, too?” Shaggy exclaimed. 

“It’s like we keep telling you: us Mystery Skulls are no strangers to the supernatural. And Nibiru is a pretty big deal. We’ve never met an Annunaki, but we’ve met quite a few beings old enough to remember the last time they were here. Some friends of ours possess a very special set of books with a whole chapter on Nibiru. Not to mention Nibiru is a big deal to the magical creatures of this world, and to the Neitherworld. From what I know of your people though, when you take hold of an animal’s body, you can usually tell visually. There are mutations and distortions. Sometimes you even make yourselves look part human. So… you haven’t taken complete possession of that dog, have you?” Arthur asked Not-Nova. 

“Correct. Her body is frail, her soul barely clinging to it. But if it can be saved, I have no intention of taking her life from her. And even if I wanted to, the time of Nibiru is not upon us just yet, which limits my powers in your world.”

“But not enough to stop you from switching our bodies.” Arthur said, slightly accusatory.

“Correct.” 

“So like, that dream we had was no coincidence. You did switch our bodies!” Shaggy cried. 

“But why?” Ricky asked, trying to avoid looking at his younger self. 

“A number of reasons.” The man in red said. 

“The main reason you three were chosen rather than a different trifecta is because yours is the only one that remains intact.” Nova told them.

“What does that even mean?” Ricky asked. 

“Heyo, I can answer that!” Ricky’s younger self said. Hearing that voice again after so many years made Ricky jump. It was disturbing, really. It was deeply, deeply disturbing. 

“So it’s like this: looking at each Mystery Incorporated, there are… I guess ‘roles’ that are filled in every group, and you can usually tell who is who just by looking at them and knowing a few things about them. When she says ‘trifecta’, she’s talking about three people existing within the same role in the three Mystery Inc. groups that presently exist. You- or I guess us three are in one. Brad, Fred, and Lewis are in another… you get the idea,” the Young Ricky explained. “But technically speaking, you- or rather, I guess us three are the only trifecta left that exists perfectly between all three groups. Arthur’s the only one who will understand why when I say this, but the other three members of the Mystery Skulls have…  abnormalities that make them not fit the pattern perfectly when compared to other groups.”

“Abnormalities? Like, I don’t see anything wrong with Lewis, Vivi, or Mystery.” Shaggy shrugged. 

“Uh… remember when I said we have secrets that the others will tell you when you wake up?” Arthur asked nervously. “He’s talking about that.”

“The second reason was to forge an alliance between the new Mystery Incorporated and the Mystery Skulls.” Not-Nova said, diverting the conversation before Mr. E or Shaggy could ask any more questions. “The Mystery Skulls began their story in Crystal Cove, but were led away for many years in order to protect them from the evil entity beneath the town. They have always been fated to return, more qualified to oppose this curse than any group that has come before them. The entity knew this, and has tried several times to destroy them before they could. But it failed. However, the Mystery Skulls returned later in the mystery than anticipated, and the alliance was failing to form timely. With the time of Nibiru fast approaching, drastic action had to be taken.”

“Drastic? You think?” Ricky exclaimed. 

“But like, if you were just trying to get us to work together,” Shaggy asked, pointing between himself and Arthur, “then like, why did you bring Mr. E into it? Like, no offense, man. But like, why not just switch the two of us?” 

“I can answer that, too!” Young-Ricky piped up, sounding positively ecstatic about it. “Over here! Follow me!” 

The three of them followed him as he walked over to one of the walls and drew the curtain back to reveal another room - an absolutely massive room absolutely filled with people. 

“Like, Zoinks! Mayor Jones… Ed Machine… Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves… The Darrow Family… Like, there’s so many of them!”

“Yeah. And they’re just… standing around like mannequins. Weird.” Arthur nervously clutched his metal arm.

“But why are they here?” Ricky asked.

“Only parts of them.” Ricky’s counterpart explained. “What you see before you are the best parts of all of us who have been trapped in-between worlds because of our corruption by the curse of Crystal Cove. The treasure, the entity. One way or another, all of us here have been messed up by it. We’re here as echoes of what we were, a sad reminder of what we could have become, and a beacon of hope for what we could be. I would know. I, myself, am one of them. Or at least I was, until recently.”

“I suppose that explains why you look like… well… that.” Ricky said sadly, referring to how young his better half looked.

“Hey, man! Don’t be so disheartened about it. I mean, I’m you. You think that I of all people don’t know what you’ve been through? Or what you’re thinking?” The other-him asked. “I don’t think you realize just how bright our future could be.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“That,” younger-Ricky said, “Is the reason we drew you into the fold. I mean- Look at me. And look at the others. I’m walking around and talking to you, and the others stand still. Why do you think that is?” 

Ricky looked around and thought for a moment. “You’re… see-through?” 

“Ding-dong Daddy-o!” His younger self exclaimed with excitement. “I ‘woke up’ that day you stood up to Professor Pericles for the first time, and I’ve only been getting less solid ever since.” 

“It’s because of me?” Ricky realized, horrified. “I’m hurting you? Am I doing something wrong?” 

“No! No. You’re not doing a single thing wrong! You’re perfect. ” The boy insisted, gently gripping Ricky’s arms. “This isn’t hurting me. Just the opposite! I want to disappear! Don’t you get it? I’m vanishing because I’m being set free . You’re finding me again! I’m on the verge of not being the best version of Ricky Owens anymore.”

The image of his best self flickered, and for just a moment, Ricky found himself staring at a mirror image of his present appearance instead of a memory. Then the form stabilized and there his younger self stood once again.

 “And it’s all thanks to you! You did what I could never do: you told Professor Pericles he was wrong! You stood up to him! Even back then, I’m sure you remember. Pericles had to be the smart one - the right one. He hated being wrong, and I never had the guts to correct him. But you did! You tried to do what was right, and you aspired to be the man Cassidy thinks we can be! We didn’t do anything wrong back then and what happened to us wasn’t our fault - we were just a kid! And you’re finally coming to terms with that and are moving on . I know you don’t see it yet - just how incredible that is. And I know what you think about yourself. But I think that’s amazing, and I’m so proud of you!” His other half exclaimed, breathless. “I just hope that one day, you can realize the same.”

Ricky’s eyes burned and his throat started to close. But he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and refrained from crying. Again. 

“Twenty years…” Ricky croaked. “Twenty years, all I’ve wanted was to be you again. Innocent. Loved. In love. With my friends. Solving mysteries. Happy. And all I thought was how disappointed in me you’d be if you could see your future self as I am now: flawed. Selfish. Spiteful. Broken piece-of-shit.”

From behind him, Arthur barked a laugh. “Broken? We’re all broken, dude. Whether you’re stuck in here or not. If there’s one thing my friends have taught me, it’s just a matter of finding people whose broken pieces fit with yours.”

“You weren’t here to experience the things I did, Arthur.” Ricky said. “What if… what if I can’t do it? What if the curse gets me again? Or my own greed and other shit ruins this? What if I go back to being that way? And you’re stuck here like this forever?”

“I have it in good faith that you won’t.” His younger self said. 

“It’s more difficult to manipulate someone who’s aware they’re being manipulated than someone who doesn’t. That’s true whether you’re talking about a person or a curse.” Arthur shrugged. 

“Yep. That’s right! But because I know it’ll bring you comfort, I’ll tell you this too: look around at the others. Who do you see here? Or uh… who don’t you see here?”

Ricky took a deep breath and observed. Everyone tainted by the curse is supposed to be here. Brad and Judy were here. And other members of the Mystery Inc. gangs that came before them. And others who had been involved with the curse, involved with them . Like the former Mayor… and Ed… But absent was-

“The kids.” Ricky finally said. “Mystery Incorporated. The Mystery Skulls… and Cassidy. They aren’t here.” 

“Again: Ding-dong Daddy-o!” His younger self exclaimed, pointing a pair of finger guns at him. “Cassidy always had the strongest spirit of our whole gang. She was just too stubborn and too good for the curse to mess her up. As for the others, the bond between Shaggy and his friends is too powerful to be broken apart by any curse. Every time it tries to do to them as it did to us, they always figure it out and find their way back to each other. Similarly goes for the Mystery Skulls. The Mystery Skulls, especially . They have an understanding of the supernatural - even a bond with it - that’s rare among humankind. You want to make sure you never fall prey to this curse again? Stick with them.”

“Indeed.” Nova said, entering the doorway behind them. “This was the other reason we swapped all three of you: to put you, Ricky Owens, back where you belong. And to give you a chance to save yourself. Our time is beginning to grow short. So I must tell you the final reason we swapped you the way we did.” 

Nova led them back into the sitting room and they sat down on the black furniture to listen to her. 

“Ricky Owens,” she said, “As you know, back in your own body, you were in great danger - trapped in a situation from which you could not escape.” 

Ricky nodded, ashamed. 

“But although you lacked the abilities and allies to save yourself from those you once called friends, I knew there was another who did.” And with that, the cocker spaniel turned her head to stare directly at Arthur. It took a couple of seconds for it to click. 

“Me? ” Arthur cried. 

“Yes. You.” Said the man in red. 

“There’s no version of Ricky Owens that could ever hope to best Professor Pericles. Not yet , anyway. And definitely not alone.” Ricky’s better part looked down at Ricky with an expression of sadness and understanding. “Let’s face it: he’s known us since we were small - for almost as long as we can remember. There was even a time when he was our only friend. Our entire world. We told him everything, and he watched us grow up. Heck, Dad was hardly around after Mom died, so he practically raised us . He was so much older and smarter than we were… he watched over us, nurtured us, taught us. Most of the tricks, craftiness, and cunning we have, we learned from him. He knows us inside and out and knows exactly what to say to either lure us in, or completely destroy us. There’s not much we could come up with that could take him by surprise, we can’t outsmart him technologically, and we have like only one ally on the inside who we could both trust to not be bribed by Pericles and who has the skills to be of any help. But just her isn’t enough.”

“Arthur Kingsmen however, does possess those things.” Not-Nova explained. “Like you, Ricky Owens, he possesses cunning, intelligence, and patience. But with no history between him and Professor Pericles, the bird’s manipulations and predictions will be completely ineffective. To Pericles, he will be completely unpredictable - a wolf in sheep’s clothing. His intellect in many categories rivals that of his enemy, and he has a powerful set of friends to aid him. You two may not have had the opportunity to observe him and the other Mystery Skulls in action just yet, but I can assure you that Arthur is extremely intelligent, driven, and strong-willed. With quite the stubborn streak when it comes to those closest to him, might I add.” She said fondly. “Not to mention that he has an incredibly high tolerance for pain. Taking all of this and more into account, there may not be a soul in the entire world with as much chance of not only escaping, but also leaving his enemies in ruin on the way out.” Nova explained. 

The whole time the Annunaki spoke, singing Arthur’s praises, Arthur’s blush had become increasingly obvious. By the time she was done he was as red as a tomato. Arthur stammered for a moment, thinking it rude to tell the literal deity that she was mistaken and he wasn’t all that, before he finally stuttered out, “You r-really think so, huh?”

“I won’t doubt Arthur’s abilities.” Mr. E said. “The Mystery Skulls’ reputation speaks for itself. But there’s no way I’m allowing this. You’re saying- what? That we just throw him to the lions to deal with my shit? No way!” He protested, rising to his feet. 

“Like, yeah! That’s totally dangerous and like, it’s not fair to put that much pressure on Arthur!” Shaggy agreed with him. 

“Uh, guys?” 

“The kids already have a plan to get Arthur out. It’s risky, but doable. And we don’t have much other choice. It’s certainly better than what you’re suggesting!” 

“Like, yeah! And like you said, the Mystery Skulls are strong. At the very least we know what Vivi’s capable of. Like, Pericles won’t know what hit him!”

“I want to do it!”

Arthur had to raise his voice to get their attention, so Shaggy and Ricky were honestly startled by the sound of his voice. 

“Sorry for yelling.” Arthur said sheepishly. “I uh… I don’t think I’m quite as good as you seem to think I am, Ma’am. But you do make some good points. And something tells me you’re only going to switch us back when you decide it’s best to, anyway. So… yeah. I want to try.”

There was another pause, broken by Ricky’s rebuttal. 

“No. No way.” He said firmly. “Arthur, if you’re caught, you could be killed . Then I don’t know if you’ll be dead or I’ll be dead, but I don’t want either of us to be dead! And even if you aren’t found out, if you’re caught as me- or even if you so much as make him mad again, he could lock you up. He’ll torture you and he’ll enjoy it.” 

“Lewis will have my back. Trust me. I can’t explain how, but he will. When my friends reveal their secrets, you’ll understand. And if he hits me with the button again… I’ll be fine. I think it was only so bad the first time because I wasn’t expecting it and had never experienced it before. But looking back… I’ve been in far worse pain. Really . It’s not so bad.” Arthur realized what he’d just said and quickly backpedaled before he hurt Ricky’s feelings. “Wait- n-not that I’m saying you’re weak or anything! I’m not denying how painful it is or trying to undermine what you went through in any way, but… let’s just say pain and I are old friends. It’s like I told you guys, I’ve been in chronic pain for years since the accident. And the pain I felt the day I lost my arm was a lot worse than the pain from the cobra venom. So this is like… just- I can take it. I want to take it. I feel useless all the time , but if I can do this, then I want to. I need to do this, Ricky. I- I want to save you.” He said, with firm resolution.

“No.” Ricky said, glaring down at Arthur from where he stood. But Arthur wouldn’t be talked down. He stood, too. Looking Ricky stubbornly in the eye.

“Three days.” He said firmly. 

Ricky cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“Give me three days. I already have a few ideas. Tell me everything you know, give me information I can work with. And if I’m not back with you all in three days time - heck, starting now - then you guys can come in, guns blazing to get me out yourselves.”

Ricky pressed his lips together, then looked at Shaggy. 

“Like hey, don’t look at me, man. It’s your body and he’s stuck in it. So um. It’s really between you two. But like, if the inter-dimensional being thinks Arthur can do it, and Arthur wants to do it, then like… I really don’t have a valid argument for that. Sorry.” 

Ricky sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Fine. I can’t come up with a good reason not to give you the opportunity. But I need to be sure you know what you’re getting into, Arthur. It’s going to take everything and more to beat Professor Pericles at his own game. Please , Arthur, be careful! And what do you expect us to tell your friends?”

“L-like, yeah.” Shaggy gulped. “I like, don’t know if you noticed. But Lewis has uh… quite the temper. And Vivi can be like… terrifying.” 

“Tell them I wanted to be brave, like Galaham.” 

Ricky cocked an eyebrow. “Uh. What?” 

“Galahad is my pet hamster’s name.” Arthur shrugged. “But we mostly call him Galaham. He’s really cute. He was born with a condition that left his lower half paralyzed, so one of my earliest prosthetic projects was making him a tiny set of wheels so he can zoom around. My friends will know there’s no reason you’d know that unless you actually talked to me.”

“Okay, like first of all, that’s adorable.” Shaggy said. “Second of all, like, what if your friends don’t allow it?” 

“Maybe they won’t. But I like to think they have faith in me, so I’m willing to bet they will.”

That was when there came a truly frightening sound: an echoing roar from some other distant part of the sitting room. 

“Oh, great. It got out.” Younger-Ricky gulped. 

“Like, hoh boy. What got out?” Shaggy asked shakily. 

“A threat that isn’t to be dealt with today.” Not-Nova said. And the three residents of the sitting room walked past Arthur, Shaggy, and Ricky to the doorway from whence they had come. 

Arthur looked after them, confused. “A threat?”

“A creature born of shame who has threatened this place for a long time, now.” The Annunaki said. “We have isolated this far corner of the Sitting Room so that you three may use this plane to converse and collaborate until the time comes when you don’t need it to do so.” 

“Time is short, trifecta.” The man in red said. 

“We’ll buy you as much time as we possibly can to collaborate. You need to tell Arthur absolutely anything and everything he could possibly use.” Ricky’s better half told him.”

“But what about you?” Ricky asked. 

“Help me by helping yourself. Live, never give up, put in the effort to amend your mistakes, and set us both free.” 

“For now, we have given you all the tools you need to succeed.” The Annunaki said. “From here, it’s up to you.”

And just like that, they were gone. And the three of them were alone once again. 

There was a moment of pause as the conversation sank in for the three of them, before Arthur turned to Ricky. “Alright, Mr. E. Let’s talk.” 

“I don’t even know where to begin.” Ricky said. 

“I already have a few ideas about how I can go about this. I’ll talk you through them, and you tell me whether or not they’ll work and what else I need to know as we go. But first: The other you mentioned that you have an ally on the inside. That’s something we can use. Who is it?” 

Ricky thought back for a moment. It had only been mentioned, so it took a second for Ricky to remember what Arthur was talking about. “I’m not sure.” Ricky said. “Any of my employees could- wait . Yes. I see! I know exactly who he was talking about.” 

“Well, who is it? Who’s your friend?” 

“She’s not exactly my friend. And when I was working with Pericles willingly I didn’t completely trust her because she’s betrayed us at least twice now. But we are still working together and if you can prove to her that you’re not me and that I’ve swapped sides, she could be the only person in all of Destroido who you can trust. Because when it counts, blackmail and monetary gain hasn’t exactly worked all that well in controlling her up until now. And I know for a fact she doesn’t like the Original Mystery Incorporated. But she’s close with Velma, which makes her an ally of the new Mystery Inc. Shaggy, I’m sure you may have worked out who I’m talking about by now.”

“Like, wait! You mean-”

“Yep. Her . Arthur, when you wake up, the first thing you need to do is arrange a meeting with a girl named Marcie Fleach. She’s also known as Hot Dog Water. ”

Their conversation from there seemed to last hours. But when Arthur groggily opened his eyes back in Mr. E’s body, back in Mr. E’s rooms, he found that hardly an hour had passed. That was good. He needed every second he could get. 

This time, when Arthur left Mr. E's rooms, he did so with Mr. E’s keytar around his neck and a sense of purpose . He supposed he shouldn’t feel so invigorated , given his situation. But he had a job to do, and people who were counting on him . And dammit, he wasn’t going to let them down!

Arthur approached Mr. E’s island of monitors with a bit of caution, mindful to look up for a certain parrot this time. But Pericles, Brad, and Judy were nowhere to be found. Perfect . 

The system was locked this time when Arthur tried to get in, but that was fine. After all, Mr. E himself had given Arthur detailed instructions of exactly how to get in and how to use it. Arthur had a lot to do, but he needed to be smart about it, he needed to do them in a certain order, and he needed to have patience. So he first pulled up the tabs about Cassidy, letting a reel of photos fade in and out in front of him. Then quickly, and in the tiniest window possible so prying eyes might not notice him do it, Arthur sent an email to Marcie Fleach, asking to meet with her in a certain hallway in a few hours’ time. As soon as the message was sent, Arthur closed the window and erased the history showing he’d opened it. Pericles would be able to uncover it if he tried, obviously. But a quick surface look at Mr. E’s history wouldn’t show it. Then Arthur sat back in Mr. E’s chair, keytar in hand, and began to play a slower version of a familiar song in a key Ricky had told him he favored - as solemn as a funeral march. And quietly, he began to sing. 

From the expression on his face and the tempo and key in which he played, an unknowing outsider would think he was mourning. But a mind reader would tell you that the man in the chair wasn’t dirging for Cassidy Williams. No - he was looking more at his own reflection than the images of Angel Dynamite. And his song was meant for another. 

“What if I could bring you back to life?

What if I could be your guiding light?

I would be your pathway

I won't let your spirit die…” 

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

When Shaggy and Ricky came to, they found themselves lying on the ground where they’d fallen, with Mystery Incorporated and the Mystery Skulls gathered around them. 

“Hey guys! They’re waking up!” 

“See, Velma? We told ya.” 

“Are you okay, Shaggy?”

“And… Arthur?” 

Arthur’s body sat up. “Like, nope. Still Shaggy.” 

Shaggy’s body rolled over onto his back. “Sorry to disappoint you all, but this is still Mr. E.” Ricky reminded himself not to be hurt by the physical deflation that the entire circle of people experienced when they realized he was still there. 

“So then? What happened?” Lewis asked. 

“Well like, there’s good news and bad news…” 

The explanation that ensued took several minutes and went rather well, all things considered… Then they got to the part about Arthur’s plan. 

Lewis Pepper’s thundering boom echoed off of the hills and shook the trees, sending mutated birds scattering from their perches. 

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

This was yet another chapter I absolutely LOVED writing!!! :D My favorite part is Ricky's interactions with his younger self.

Chapters 1 through 10 of One of Us are currently posted on Archive of Our Own.

[instantartific]

Oh no… is Challenger all messed up bc of what happened to the actual Challenger?

It's less "Challenger is messed up due to what happened to the actual shuttle" and more "Everyone was going to be nicknamed after those shuttles anyways so it became a bit of dark irony for the second and third in line to have a similar backstory as the second and third shuttles in that fleet."

That being said, Columbia also has "scars" from a similar event that Challenger went through! It's just that his are less severe.

They both have scarring for a few reasons off the top of my head:

Due to Atlantis / NJ wanting to make these boys as lifelike as possible, parts of their body (roughly the waist up) has... a sort of flesh-substitute so to speak. They have a hard rigid skeleton internally and in some places externally to maintain their form (think their lights on their cheeks and while I forgot it in their design doodles, their neck and spine) but their outsides are soft and imitate the feel of skin.

Fun fact: they're like this because they're based off of the androids in Signalis! They also have scarring instead of shreds in their soft material because you can heal your soft material in Signalis and figured they'd have a similar concept.

The boys' power source is literally based on stars! They're technically small, incredibly compact, stars. Mere flecks of dust in comparison to the power of an actual star but they run on the same concept nonetheless. Aka, are technically nuclear powered.

Because they're nuclear powered, if their cores undergo too much stress / are not cooled properly, they can undergo a core meltdown. Aka, they explode like in canon, except it has a visual effect more akin to Nova's explosion at the end of his battle. When this happens the soft tissue they have can get torn open in a need to expel that extra energy. Their explosions are essentially like a scaled down version of Nova's overall: they get hurt more than anyone else does.

A meltdown can occur from extreme use of their abilities and pushing themselves to that point without cooling down, their cooling systems failing long enough for the heat to keep building, or actual damage to their cores. A complete meltdown can be avoided once damage has been done, however.

No civilians have gotten hurt from this as it's been contained before they fully blew all but one time. This was also out of the public eye.

So in short: the models that both Challenger and Columbia have have been through near meltdowns and have scarring due to that. Neither model got fully destroyed, thankfully, because Enterprise was able to avoid both complete meltdowns.

Those two are arguably the strongest and have come the closest to complete meltdowns as well directly because they're so strong.

[erinhime83]

I know, I’ve been slacking on these.  Technically, I’ve had these three down for a couple of months now,  but thanks to focusing on WfS, I neglected to finish them up and post them.  >.<  I’m doing three here so I can be caught up and not have one random one constantly floating around.

So this group rounds out the ‘main’ characters of the story, plus I suppose the main villain?  Well, whose supposed to be the main villain, anyway.  

So Connor is Connor, nothing too special about him.  I know when I originally created him, he really didn’t have much of a role beyond being Gabe’s other BFF.  But then I realized the group would be a trio, since of course Nova would befriend him as well.  I just feel bad because he’s not as featured in the first book, but I suppose I have the other two books to fix that.  ;P  But I like Connor, especially with his pseudo goth/punk look he has going on. 

I was originally going to have him wearing a black shirt with a colored hoodie, but I like this much better.  The boy tends to prefer blacks and greys, after all, because it matches his powers.  At least, that’s what he does now. 

I did change his uniform a bit, making it a shirt instead of a hoodie so he could sort of match Matrix?  Its not exact, but I could see the two of them collaboration to make matching uniforms when they were first starting out.  I like it a lot better, in any case.

Blake is another one of those characters that I thought was going to have a bigger role in the story, but ended up not as much thanks to the fact that he’s the leader of a different team.  Still, I like him.  His power is sort of weird for me to write into a fight, but his main purpose is the a strategist, not a fighter, if that makes sense.  He’s one of only two intelligent Bullheaded in the city, the other one being his father.

I had a bit of fun coming up with his civilian wear, figuring he’d be wearing loose collared shirts, or at least ones that could stretch.  I like his hoodie.  It’s the first time I used a diagonal stripe like that, and I’ve been using the idea one, like, everything else ever since, lol.

His normal uniform doesn’t change, since I had tweeked it at one point previously and still love it.  

Issy over there...well, I had expected to feature her real self at some point in Cataclysm, but never got around to it, which is a shame.  I like what I came up for her outfit.  It’s cute!  Hopefully, I’ll find a place for Nova to interact with Isabella, not Frostbite, because of...well, spoiler reasons.  ^^; 

I was playing around with the idea of giving her lavender hair, which I initially liked.  But going back to it to color the lines, I realized I liked the darker hair better.  And I don’t really have plans for powers to change people’s hair colors like that.  I mean, it would make sense and all, but...eh.  

I did tweek her uniform a bit, giving her more detail on her jacket and taking away the skirt thing, and...I love it.  She looks so badass!

So, these are pretty much all I have done at the moment, and hopefully I’ll do a couple more soon.  Sure, I have a couple of months still, but...I still have a lot of secondary/villain characters to get through.  >.<

[rkmason]

 ▰▰▰▰▰▰ MNET GLOBAL AUDITIONS, SEASON 5 ˟  EP. 4 PERFORMANCE ▰▰▰▰▰▰

the paint feels thicker this week, the air is thinner, and he smiles through it all the way he knows best. because the time to be upset about everything isn’t when they’re waiting to go on stage; it isn’t when they’re practicing for the next duo stage, and it isn’t now whenever he looks over at seunghun as people come on, greet each other, and prepare in whatever way they know best. for minho, he prefers socializing, despite how strained it feels once results come out. he knows last week didn’t feel easy, but he’s gonna make it seem that way right? he’s gotta stay himself and the truth is, instead of letting the win go to his head, he thinks of all the ways it could affect his new partner, nakyung as his former partner, and the others, especially those who think it’s unfair that an ex-idol is participating. while he’s shrouded in red because of the past two weeks, he thinks of the other labels he wears just by being here, just by existing in this space, on this competition.

he thinks about the ceos that have had him in their company already and why haven’t they gotten him kicked out yet. but he likes to think better of them. he likes to think that hyunbin probably sees now that minho didn’t quite fit in at nova and that baek jiyoung understands that he couldn’t give up the name of his girlfriend— or maybe this is his punishment for it. to be more publicly scrutinized than he was. to build him up higher so he can fall. his sister kept insisting it was a valid option. she didn’t think he should’ve signed up and it reminds him of sunmi’s reaction too, asking him why he signed up but the truth is he didn’t think he had to answer. he didn’t think he would need to, because the reason why is simple: he still wants to be on stage.

that’s selfish, it’s true. because he was on stage, because he was in a group, but, in the end, he couldn’t give up everything to stay there. is he so wrong for wanting to do it more on terms he likes? is he so wrong when he knows others before him who have done the same? left a company because of one term, one rule? because there were lines he drew and he couldn’t cross it. is that wrong of him? maybe it is, but he’d be damned if anyone tried saying he isn’t trying to learn and be better every day.

    ●●●●●●      LAST WEEK, ON THE THIRD EPISODE OF MGA S5 — 7월 11일      ●●●●●●

part of him feels greedy this week— greedy because it had originally been guilt, selfishness, whatever else he called it, whatever else it was and changed from— because he got to perform, he had fun, and he genuinely thinks it was one of the best performances he’s given in a while [because freedom while performing is something that’s underrated and overlooked but he had it; they had it], yet he wants another stage, another chance. he wants to perform again. he wants to be on stage again, he wants to see nakyung perform again too whether it’s with or without him the next time. he wants to keep going and he forgets about everything else whenever they’re waiting.

it’s relieving, to be able to let go of all of it, the past, the future, everything but right now.

but he doesn’t expect it again. he doesn’t expect to be called up again, at least not for this. he feared the opposite, being called up to be eliminated, but top 3 again? it’s too good to be true and he’s right back to it, right back to that dumb joke about his palms being sweaty and while he wants to laugh, his mind’s gone blank, and thank the heavens he’s conscientious enough of himself not to reach out and take nakyung’s hand because she’s got to be feeling nervous too right?

thinking of the performances that led all of them up there, the six of them waiting for the verdict, he can’t stop focusing on how different each one was. different moods, different vibes, just so different, and he’s back to wondering how the judges can even decide, can determine one is better than the other. he’s not envious of it, that’s for sure.

this itself feels like a type of punishment. he feels damned if they win, damned if they don’t. if they do, he doesn’t want to even think about the comments, about the contempt waiting nakyung more than him— ever since the duo concept was announced, he keeps thinking, it’s fine if it’s him. it’s fine if the negative commentary falls on him, but when it falls on his partner, he feels like it’s his fault and he doesn’t know if that feeling will fully go away. he hopes it does, wishes it could, but he thinks a connection to him right now is gonna end in pain in the long run.

[that, too, is one of the reasons he believed mijoo should’ve just broken up with him before. how long— no, that’s another rabbit hole. what’s with him and chasing those? alice isn’t even his favorite story or disney movie]

if they don’t win... he’s scared what the greed will turn into. envy, jealousy, those emotions he tried to never feel in childhood. he thought they would ruin him without understanding that being afraid of them was nearly just as bad. if they don’t win... would nakyung blame herself? because some people act like he’s a golden boy, like he’s an automatic winner, and it feels like a curse the more he reads or hears it.

when he hears their names, he gets that surreal feeling again, doubt nestles into the depths of his mind and he has half a mind to ask tiger jk to say that again— which is another fact he’s astounded by, it’s tiger jk telling him this and he feels smaller than he did in his first trc audition years ago. he wonders if the ceo remembers, if he recalls the cocky kid that came in and started rapping to his own song, but minho would believe it more if tiger jk forgot because he’s a dime a dozen back then. now, he likes to think he isn’t. now, he likes to think his name carries more weight, maybe too much, he ponders as he looks to nakyung, unable to help himself when he hugs her tightly. he’s more amazed by her small frame again and he has to laugh at how right tiger jk’s words were— they used their differences to their advantage and he’ll probably think of her as a cat from now on, just not in the she’s a furry sense, that’s too much for him. wouldn’t be fair to her either, although he doesn’t judge if s— that’s all besides the point.

for now, he lets himself be happy, grinning widely and giving himself this moment. everyone else’s reactions can wait— he’ll be greedy a little longer, let himself have this a little longer. a high title is a blessing and a curse; for now, all he feels is the bliss that comes with the blessing.

he’s still on cloud nine when he tries looking for his new partner, recalling the performance he gave with his previous partner vividly once he spots him. that’s right, spicy pork. now that he thinks about it again, he’s hungry just like he was earlier when they introduced themselves. it was cute, clever, but the hunger pain was a little too real and he’s hoping seunghun won’t say no when he invites him out to eat.

“is it too weird if i say i wanna get some spicy pork?”

the night goes by well and they end up going to karaoke somehow— he says somehow but the truth is minho loves going to noraebang to get to know someone. there’s just something different about getting to know someone’s taste through their karaoke song choices instead of talking about favorite songs and artists. for people aspiring to also be artists, it says a lot about the style you like, that you either think you can pull off amazingly or think you can only pull off in a karaoke room.

minho’s only problem is stopping because he has no shame trying any song. ask him to and he’ll sing songs like ain’t no mountain high enough, reflection, and that one song where there’s no line but tequila. that one’s just amazing. he’s surprised no one’s done it for the mgas yet. come on, it’s just magic waiting to happen. that’s another problem for him too, he’s almost enough of a wreck to do it for fun. good thing he’s taking this a lot more seriously than even his friends expected him, than they expected him to the first time around too.

what he learns quickly is that seunghun’s fun to be around, serious when it comes to music, incredibly creative, and minho’s more than happy that he feels comfortable with him as quickly as he did with nakyung. speaking of magic, it’s just magic when you can click with someone despite only knowing each other for a short time.

he doesn’t remember who exactly entered the song first [but he does remember laughing because it’d gone through multiple times by the time they left the place, that he’s definitely a bit guilty of; what can he say? it’s a great song] but he does remember the moment the next day that they decide to use it for their performance and how things melded together perfectly.

there’s a few things to smooth out, of course, and minho wants to write his own rap for it, wants to get a sense of the vibe they’re going for, for the message he’s going for, but one thing’s for sure: he’s gonna love the performance this week too. maybe this is what he’s the most greedy for, exploring music and getting to work with talented people each week, learning their similarities and differences, feeling that passion for music again and again. no, more than that, it’s about sharing that passion and he’s glad, even if they’d joked about ballads. minho could joke that he dodged a bullet with that one but, hey, to be honest he’s sure he and seunghun could make it work if they chose a different song. he has a feeling there isn’t a song he wouldn’t mind working with the other on.

over the week, the more they practice, the more they coordinate, the less minho feels pressured by the memory of his last time being partnered with another male. sure, he felt it last week with nakyung, worrying that he’ll end up being bad for her standing in the competition, but this week there’s definitely a different notion to it, a more familiar sense of it whenever seunghun calls him hyung. it’s not as if there isn’t a few people who call him hyung on a regular basis. hell, dabin does it all the time but there’s something about lately that makes him more wistful and he misses his own younger brother more in the end, wondering where he is by now in his travel plans. he could check the group chat with his family specifically for chris to share his pictures and updates but then he thinks of what chris said when he heard about the mgas, when it got around to him while he was in thailand.

heh, it’s alright hyung. i knew you’d chose the stage over me

he knows it was a joke. between them, it’s mostly jokes but it doesn’t change that he could’ve been doing that. this time, the greed hits him harder. yeah, greed is a better word for it this time around. selfish sounds too kind, too gentle. he’s greedy. the word is catchier too, right? must be why ariana grande made a song with the namesake.

they’ve come up with their introduction for the show and minho’s having the time of his life trying to figure out what to do exactly. just the perfect touch by bringing—

“oh, hold on a second, i gotta take this.”

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀  I KNOW WHEN THAT HOTLINE BLING 📱

“hey chris, what’s up? are you okay?”

“can’t i call you without anything being wrong?”

he can hear his brother’s voice and the eventual laughter only faintly, furrowing his brows as he strains to hear. “how come you sound so far away?”

“i am far away.”

“gee, thanks genius.”

“you did struggle with world geography.”

“no, i didn’t!”

his brother’s chuckling sounds closer now and minho feels better knowing that chris doesn’t seem down, that it must’ve just been in his mind right? “hey, come on. you’re good right? didn’t get yourself arrested or something?

“is that how lowly you think of me?”

“nah, i lost the bet since you’ve made it this far without trouble.”

“fuck you, man.”

“language.”

“alright, cap.”

minho’s laughing again but he keeps asking himself why chris isn’t answer the question. “you good?”

“what are you, a parrot?”

“yeah, call me iago, jackass. answer the question.”

“i think i’m feeling homesick.”

“yeah?”

“yeah.” just when minho’s about to speak, chris cuts him off. “so i’m coming to seoul next. i need ya to tell me soon if i’m hanging out mostly with dabin and seik hyung or if i gotta wait for you to finish filming. maybe i’ll hold off a couple days.”

he’s quiet at first, torn between grinning and feeling like he’s about to cry. what’s wrong with him that he feels this way so often lately?

“you there? they don’t do the live audience thing anymore, right? sucks. i wanted to see you trip on stage.”

“no one in their right mind would let you into the studios.”

“yeah, yeah. i don’t need’ta hear more of your bullshit that you’re the better looking one. i bet i land and get scouted before you’re done with that show.”

“okay, tell me what happens when you land.”

“you got it,” there’s scuffling sounds in the background and chris says a quick i gotta go but it’s what he says last that gets minho the most. it was rushed but at least his baby brother still said it, still wants to come to seoul to see him. he’s coming to see minho because he’s homesick, but he also told him: “hey hyung, one more thing. go get ‘em.”

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING

when he comes back, he’s in a noticeably more cheerful mood, grinning as they finalize things. that one last finishing touch, truly a chef’s kiss.

   ●●●●●●      ONE STEP CLOSER, JUST BEFORE THE RECORDING — 7월 18일      ●●●●●●

he’s had a few worries this week— most that were probably exaggerated in his mind because, similar to nakyung, seunghun doesn’t mind minho’s past. in fact, seunghun didn’t know much about convex and his taste is more of the older generation of idols, something minho resonates with more than seunghun would probably know. now that he thinks about it, it was his own lack of knowledge about idols and groups and the big 5 that made him decide he wasn’t ready after his first try on the mgas. slowly, he changed his mind and he’s asking himself again if he’s ready this time. it’s weird but, again, he doesn’t know. because, in the end, this time, it’s not about him being ready or not, it’s about him getting the opportunity in the first place and for a guy trying to get his third chance at a company? he knows he’s lucky enough to be considered and for being allowed into the competition, shock value or ratings impact aside.

it takes a lot of pressure off of him, knowing that seunghun isn’t bothered by what follows minho on this show. the comments, the way airtime is given— that reminds him that he was glad about what vernon said even if there’s a chance the guy might not feel the same after not winning the top performance of the week because of him and nakyung. it takes a lot of pressure off of him knowing that he has a friend to do covers with, regardless of the results, because whether they were in seunghun’s studio or his own place, they got along so well and meshed together when it came to music that minho didn’t think it should end anytime soon. it’s almost a shame they only get a week, with any of their partners.

they’re not too far from the studio when minho stops seunghun, “hey, i got you something” and he’s proud of himself for having found it, for getting over the vaguely toxic masculine line of thinking that flowers might be too girly but hey he’s gotten a theme going here now and maybe it’s good luck for him to give his next partner a gift that’s not quite the same but similar, something that’ll remind them both of their performance tonight. besides, a flower for a pretty flower right? he could snort but it’s not like he said the joke out loud, might come off too random if he did. “you know, because i know i don’t have to pull petals off to know too.” it’s an inside joke until later and he can see the weird look dabin is giving him since he hasn’t left yet but he waves it off, shaking his head after saying he and seik will come back for him later when recording is finished. he’s laughing when his friend leaves and he looks to seunghun with a bright grin. now to head inside—

there’s a few things he expects once he’s inside, like saying hi to sakura and giving her his best wishes, even looking for nakyung to do the same, but what he does not expect is for daniel, the guy from the band that’s on the show— empty enigma right? man, does the name sound familiar before now... anyway— to bow to him. before he can stop it, minho’s bowing back while going “noooo” and laughing as he explains that it’s not necessary but daniel seems friendly if not overly polite. he didn’t expect anyone to bow to him in such a manner and he feels bashful for once, more so than when nak asked for his autograph on her convex cd the first time they practiced together. the interaction is surprising to say the least but minho thinks it seems like him, on brand is what they call it right? he’s almost too open with himself, and minho can’t help smiling at the thought that it reminds him of himself a bit. wouldn’t it be funny if daniel walked away from the finale with an offer from sphere?

things settle down and minho’s nodding, chuckling as he pats seunghun’s shoulder at the mention of backing out of their intro. “ ‘course not, man,” and he’s gotta question if seunghun understands just how shameless minho can be sometimes. it might be better if he doesn’t though, especially better if seunghun never goes through minho’s old instagram posts. ah, this is exactly why ahyoung called him out on a bunch of things when they first met.

      ●●●●●●      NEXT ON STAGE, MINHO AND SEUNGHUN,  EP. 4 — 7월 18일      ●●●●●●

hearing his name called this time with seunghun’s sends electricity through his veins and he’s excited. he’s practically bouncing on his feet by the time they make it up there and he knows he has to cool it, despite how very un-cool and more cute their introduction is. but hey, get a guy who can do both right? what’s better than two guys who can do both? they’re pretty flower boys— he says in unison with seunghun after they finish bowing, flower pose with their hands under their chins and all and he thinks it’s cute that seunghun is more embarrassed by all of this than he is. it’s exactly why seunghun suits the daisy.

but first up, the rose.

“hey, i’m the fiery red rose of the group, burning with my passion for you.” part of him tries to ignore how they sound like the set-up for a fanfiction or cute manga plotline but another part of him wants to embrace it, like the nova boys would. that much, he does miss. some of his relationships with them, even if one had burned since then. not missing his timing, minho kisses the rose and throws it to nakyung, though he can’t tell if she was able to catch it without struggling. he hopes not. seunghun’s intro is as sweet and gentle as he comes off as and he’s glad for the change in their song later, proud of how charismatic seunghun will be once they start and he thinks maybe they should’ve switched intros jokingly.

his heart is practically thrashing [yeah, yeah, he knows not literally but damn does it feel like it] when the music starts but he feels how it matches the rhythm once he looks to seunghun, because he has faith in how well they’ve prepared, how well they mesh together, and how the song sounds, how they took two songs and made it theirs, perfect for two pretty flower boys, ayyy.

he thinks he’s calmed down a little but seeing a few familiar faces do the point dance from gashina— junhee, hyunggu, kyungsoo, sihyeon, heejin, yeji, all names he’s been learning and looking out for since the competition narrowed down, all just as talented and impressive— he feels hype all over again and well . . .  에라 모르겠다, just go with it, right?

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 가시나 GASHINA   &&. 에라 모르겠다 FXXK IT ♫ MASH-UP IS SELF-PRODUCED BY MINHO &&. SEUNGHUN, RAP WRITTEN BY MINHO NOTE: THE GESTURES & EXPRESSIONS IN VIDEO ARE SIMILAR IF NOT WRITTEN !

seunghun sings the beginning of another popular hit song, but the mood is similar, a message about love, about deciding eh, whatever [에라 모르겠다] and he grins once the realization settles in. his rap verges a little from the message of the song, in that it’s not just about love, but about them, about performing, about how they can’t be ignored and will keep flying high. honestly, it’s for all of them because he thinks it’s a message that’s overlooked with the disappointment of the show, this isn’t the end. it can be a new beginning whether or not you make it to the next round and he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t believe in that, if he didn’t believe that one end isn’t another beginning or he’d be back home, or traveling with chris.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 좋아 이젠 너를 잊을 수 있게 FINE, I’LL FORGET YOU

꽃같이 살래 나답게 I’M GONNA LIVE LIKE A FLOWER, I’LL BE MYSELF ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

it’s a message he’s been saying for years, before moving to seoul, before learning how to properly dance at all, before trying to rap seriously for the first time. be yourself. it’s why he loves the song more than people expect— because everyone remembers the point dance, that she sings of someone leaving her behind when she’s so pretty but it’s also about finding strength on your own, a lesson he thinks everyone needs at least once. a lesson he’s grateful he’s learning now, to stand on his own feet, to continue standing on a stage people think he hasn’t earned or whatever it is. whatever people say, he wants to grow, to stand tall and proud like a pretty flower, as much as it was said for comedic relief, despite being said for that purpose, that it’s funny and cute.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ EVERY DAY WE PLAY THE GAME WITH TWO OF US, NO CHANCE OF LOSING 행진 충만한 느낌과 [MUSIC]* MUSIC FEELING LIKE WE’RE ON A WINNING STREAK 허를 찌르는 우리들의 불규칙*   OUR UNPREDICTABILITY CATCHES YOU OFF-GUARD 지금 처럼에 [KEEP IT GOIN’ GOIN’ OUR WAY] LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW, KEEP IT GOIN’ GOIN’ OUR WAY WHO SAID WE CAN’T WHO SAID WE WON’T I SAY WE CAN YEAH WE CAN 더 이상 앞이 막혀있지 안게 THERE’S NOTHING BLOCKING (US) 열려라 참깨 문을 열어 OPEN IT, OPEN SESAME OPEN THE DOOR

밝은 미래 향해 날아 FLY TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ *HANGUL WAS CHANGED FOR THIS PERFORMANCE FROM THE VIDEO

the cute charm of seunghun comes back when he sings the same line minho made sound more like a rap, both of them putting their own spin on it, and he’s looking over with a smile when seunghun makes another flower with his hands but most of all he thinks of what this is building up into, the climax of the song, seunghun’s high note and how they converge the song together, with each other and his next line hits harder than it should.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 오랜만에 느껴보는 이런 떨림 HAVEN’T FELT THIS NERVOUS IN A WHILE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

there’s a sense of relief that washes him over him when seunghun delivers the high note perfectly and while he didn’t have doubts in seunghun’s talent, he hoped the nerves wouldn’t hit, that seunghun would be able to show off that power vocal he’s been cheering about in every practice and he’s glad the judges can see what he could: the potential. all he can think of towards the end is this: 에라 모르겠다  GIRL I WANNA GET DOWN  

PROFILE / SKILLS / AUDITION / EPISODE 1 / EPISODE 2 / EPISODE 3 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ EP. 4: PERFORMANCE / INTERVIEW

[desultory-novice]

(I fixed the shadow from the original cause it bugged me.) 

So, long story short, @boffa​ it’s tied to the backstory/lore of my Gijinka Marxolor comic. Sometimes I draw angsty stuff with them as adorable orbs instead of my gijinka versions cause it’s easier.

(Second half of Chapter 1 is in the coloring phase, btw!)

As for -actual context- of what's going on in that specific pic... It’s time to share my full "Clockwork Marx" theory!

--

(Some people might call me foolish for trying to piece together a complete story from all the game's non-canon modes, but I've never let that stop me before!)

Pretend for a minute EVERY game in Super Star Ultra is canon!

-Kirby defeats Marx who collides into Galactic Nova which explodes.

-Later, Meta Knight uses the fountains to summon Galactic Nova once more. Interestingly, the first time the Nova was summoned, it appeared from a (dimensional?) rift! But when Meta Knight summons it, Galactic Nova REFORMS from the parts destroyed in the collision. What we can take from this is that, with sufficient energy, the clockwork star is basically indestructible/immortal.

-Later still, Marx, half-dead and drifting through space, absorbs the entirety of the scattered star's massive energy to become Marx Soul.

Here’s where headcanon begins...

Let's say Marx took in some shrapnel or otherwise had some parts of Nova embedded in his body upon colliding with the star & being caught in the center of a massive explosion. The parts of this indestructible, perpetual motion machine (?) are enough to keep him sustained in a state of un-death. (Maybe for a whole 12 years (!!!) if you want to pretend Super Star (1996) and Super Star Ultra (2008) happen in real time! Boy, would that be depressing!)

Anyway, Marx having absorbed something that powerful, is now "technically" immortal as well. The Nova's perpetually spinning gears keep his body going, no matter what happens to him. (Like, say, being lost out in the void of space.)

Galactic Nova's “consciousness,” rather, its programming, is now residing dormant in Marx's body. Albeit, it saddles him with a bevy of (mostly unfortunate) side effects. You see, he's just a tiny jester, far too small to properly wield the full power of a machine the size of a planet. (Attempting the same thing, though without the support of magic, did REALLY bad things to President Haltmann's brain.)

There's another problem. Because the Nova knows "Marx" isn't the star's correct form. It's just the form it's currently stuck in by way of Marx having its most important parts. Eventually, the Nova will seek to reform itself properly so it can continue its job...

What's going to happen to the alive-but-in-a-state-of-semi-permanent-un-death Marx once the star succeeds in regaining its full power and the rest of its pieces from the jester? Well...

...THAT is the “ticking clock” Magolor refers to and what he’s so worried about here. Every day might be the day his clockwork jester stops moving for good, and without the limitless power of the Master Crown at his command, he doesn't know how to stop it.

[lavendertales]

Ok so it's TECHNICALLY still Tuesday for me and I have three minutes to squeeze this in...

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN! I hope it was fantastic!

If it isn't too much trouble, I would love to request my baby Dave York with a bit of a praise kink! A few "good boy"-s tossed around for good measure would be lovely, but not required.

I think he would just be so beautiful when he lets down his guard and submits to his partner!

made it just in time, my dear haha. Thank you so much! 🥰🥰 

say it again - Dave York x gn!reader**

WARNINGS: praise kink, some choking, power play. 18+ ONLY!!!

gif: @a7estrellas 

His touch is familiar. Rough and confident, but familiar and inviting as always. You succumb to his wishes, however wild and filthy, and each time you are rewarded. It thrills you beyond words.

But tonight, it feels different.

Dave moves and feels the same, but your interests lie elsewhere. His calloused hands keep your legs spread as he’s deciding on the manner of pleasurable torment he’ll apply to you, and the words come out before you can filter them properly.

“You’re such a good boy.”

Dave lifts his head from in between your legs, brows furrowed and lips pressed together like he does when he’s deep in thought. Your breaths get ragged as he’s processing your words and when he does, he huffs, biting his inner cheeks.

“Run that by me again,” he says in his dark voice.

“I said – you’re a very good boy. You know all the right ways to make me happy, to make me feel good…”

He leans forward even more and his fingers wrap around your throat, gently yet powerfully, as he compels you with a single look to repeat yourself.

“Say it again,” he commands.

You open your mouth to say something just as Dave squeezes the sides of your neck just a little more, applying the right amount of pressure to get you feeling more hot and bothered.

“Again,” he mutters.

“Good boy.”

Dave smirks. He doesn’t need appraisal or encouragement. He knows what he’s doing. He’s been in the know for years, but something about you acclaiming his performance makes him tingly and oh so needy to overpower you in ways you hadn’t even seen yet.

“What else?” he strives, one hand reaching to play with your most sensitive area.

“You’re – doing so good when we’re alone. The sounds you make, the faces, the way you twitch inside of me – “

“That’s enough.”

You gulp and Dave feels the motion in the palm of his hand. He watches you intently, his hand increasing his motions and he listens to your whimpers like they’re audible art.

“I’m gonna show you exactly how that makes me feel, and you’re gonna take it exactly how I give it. Clear, honey?”

“Yes.”

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