#they just want to destroy the earth again

[koji-haru]

I'll be with you

[For @inubaki! Happy birthday!! I hope your day was amazing! ❤️]

This fucking sucks. Adam groaned loudly as he slumped in his seat, face looking tiredly up at the red ceiling. Red. Before he didn’t care much for the colour, but now, with red painted everywhere he went as if he wore red tinted sunglasses all the time, he had come to hate the colour with a passion. Charlie went around the group, letting them choose which journal they wanted. The princess had talked everyone’s ear off with her lengthy speech about gratitude and taking things for granted, except Vaggie because of course she always supported any of Charlie’s exercises no matter good or bad of an idea it was. 

Unfortunately for Adam, he was the second last person in the group circle, with Alastor just after him. When Charlie finally got to him, he only had two options: one had ‘Live. Love. Laugh’ written on it in cursive with rainbows in the background, and the other was a plain beige journal with ‘My Life’ written on it. Adam quickly chose the beige journal, better the boring one instead of sparkly rainbows. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Alastor’s smile twitch a little when Charlie handed him the remaining journal. 

“Oh, thank you dear,” Alastor said as he slipped the journal into the shadows, most likely never to be seen again. 

“No problem at all!,” Charlie beamed.

Honestly, Adam wasn't sure how she managed to stay so bright and cheerful in such a miserable shithole of a place that was Hell, but props to her, he supposed, but that didn’t mean he was going down the same delusion. Adam looked down at the journal in his hand. Three things he was grateful for everyday, huh? 

It has been almost two months since Adam died in the failed Extermination, revived as a sinner, and was now a resident at the very same hotel he tried to destroy trying to redeem himself back to Heaven. Well, ‘trying’ would be an exaggeration, more like forced to stay at the Hotel by Sera and Lucifer. Sera just wanted him back as an angel in Heaven to stop the others from wondering where the first man disappeared to; really, she just wanted to keep the ‘mess’ he made under the rug. And Lucifer, well, he just wanted to keep his precious princess happy. If Adam could be redeemed back to Heaven, then maybe Charlie could even get Heaven’s support for her hotel since Sir Pentious’ redemption apparently only made them decide to at least leave the hotel and its residents alone. No news about the possibility of future exterminations yet though. 

In reality, Adam wasn’t even sure if he wanted to get redeemed. Don’t get him wrong, he hated being in Hell, the place was absolutely vile and disgusting in ways he never thought was even possible. But he was kind of glad to have some of the weight be lifted off his shoulders. He would have preferred to have all of the weight be lifted off him when he thought he finally, truly died at the battlefield, but it seemed that God had other plans for him. He already lived long lives in both Earth and Heaven, as a human and as an angel, but now he also had to live a life in Hell as a sinner. It was wearing him out. He just wanted to be relieved of any duties; he just wanted to finally be done with everything. Being in Hell, he was constantly reminded of his failure in the garden of Eden, how he also bit the apple despite knowing he shouldn’t just so he could selfishly remain with Eve. Sinners themselves were proof of the filth he knowingly allowed into the world, and as much as he hated killing his own descendants, the Exterminations were truly the only way he could clean up his mess. Or at least that was what he believed; when news of Sir Pentious being redeemed reached the hotel, Adam thought he was going to die a third time. This entire time he spilled the blood of his children, thinking that that was the only way for him to make up for his mistakes as well as, in a twisted way, saving them from an eternal life in Hell, it was all for naught. Redemption was possible. Some of those souls didn’t need to be erased…

Adam flipped the journal open. He had so many regrets in his eternally long life that all good things seem to simply fade into the background. Well, almost all the good things. He still wasn’t sure how it came to be, but somehow, he managed to earn Michael’s love that even led to a promise of eternal devotion. Yes, the archangel Michael, Lucifer’s very own brother. It was certainly an odd twist of fate, but his union with the archangel was something Adam would never ever regret no matter how many lives he would end up living. Michael was the only reason Adam was even sort of trying this redemption thing, otherwise he would simply tell Sera to fuck off and leave him to suffer in Hell. Despite the strong urge of giving up, Adam wanted to at least see Michael one more time. He knew he didn’t deserve it, especially with their stark differences in, well, everything important, but he couldn’t help it. He was just a human needing to be with the love of his life.

Yeah, he was grateful for Michael’s love even though he didn’t deserve it. He could write that in the journal. He would write that everyday.

Just as the group was about to get up from their seats and off to whatever they wanted to do for the day, a loud and purposeful knock on the hotel door sounded throughout the lobby. Charlie perked up from where she stood, somehow managing to look even happier as she excitedly made her way to the door. Everyone was currently present at the lobby for her activity, even her father, that knock could only mean one thing…

Charlie pulled the door open, beaming brightly as she greeted her new guest, “Welcome to the Happy Ho..tel…” 

The words quickly died in her throat as her jaw simply dropped at the sight before her. What was such a being doing in Hell, especially at her hotel?! In front of Charlie was the most divine angel she had ever seen, with such celestial presence exuding off of him as if the very Heavens had gone down to visit Hell.

The angel gave Charlie a small smile as he stepped closer towards the now open door. “Hello young lady, sorry but I’m looking for Adam, the first man. I heard he was staying here?”

“Oh, uh, y-yes,” stammered Charlie, still stunned at the presence before her, as she took a step to the side, letting the angel into the hotel. “Just this way.”

“Thank you,” the angel thanked with a quick nod of his head before entering the hotel with quick, determined strides. He stopped by the lobby, looking around briefly until his eyes landed on a group of people gathered in a circle, and then zoning in on a specific sinner, looking different and yet all too familiar. The large black horns, blackened gold wings, floppy brown ears, and the long fluffy brown tail, swinging back and forth in impatience, did nothing to obscure the fact who the supposed sinner was. 

Before Lucifer could even react to the sudden guest’s presence, the angel already made his way towards the group, angelic presence heavy and almost burning, stopping just beside Adam and looking extremely displeased.

“Adam.” 

“Wuh?” Adam turned and swore he nearly died a third time as shock ran through his heart at the sight of the person in front of him. There, he sat dumbly on the carpeted floor, looking up at the new guest, both happy and confused. “Michael? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same.” Michael stood over Adam, arms crossed and a rare scowl painted over his normally gentle face. “I didn’t think your annual ‘day trip’ with your exorcists included you dying, becoming a sinner, and staying in a redemptive hotel for almost two months.”

“Um…,” was all that Adam could say, still completely baffled at his husband’s presence here. At the hotel. In Hell. How did he find out in the first place anyway? Adam could do nothing but look down, unable to meet Michael’s eyes anymore as guilt resurfaced only to drag him back down. He had already accepted it long ago that the archangel was too good for him, but now, after having everything vile and revolting about him exposed, he felt he didn’t even deserve to be in his presence. 

“...I’m sorry…,” he said, quiet and apologetic, his torn heart visible for Michael to see.

“Aaawkward!!,” yelled Angel out from across them, followed by a pained yelp and a hiss when Vaggie smacked the back of his head to quickly shut him up. 

Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the air settle in his lungs for a moment before releasing them back out. A much softer look replaced his stern gaze once he opened his eyes again as he leaned down and offered a hand to Adam. “We’ll get through this, okay? Together this time.”

His angel really did come for him. Starting from the garden, throughout his hardships on Earth, his afterlife in Heaven, and even when he had fallen to Hell, Michael remained Adam’s guardian angel, steadfast in his devotion and, for some reason Adam couldn’t fathom, desired to forever remain by his side. It was a bit much really, for someone like him, especially now that he was nothing but a lowly sinner. So instead, Adam kept his eyes glued to the red carpet he was sat on, opting to pick himself up instead as he always had and always should. Just as he was about to push himself off the floor, Michael crouched down instead, going down to his level, and cupped his face with the softest hand Adam had ever felt. Michael’s blue eyes looked straight into him, not piercing but gently knocking, asking with all the tenderness of the world. 

“Come on, let’s get you back up, okay?”

Adam felt his heart creak at those words, and yet he couldn’t help the relief that washed over him as a small smile crept on his lips. It seemed that his angel was adamant about staying by his side; Michael was just weird like that, he supposed, to be so attached to him. In the end, Adam ended up timidly accepting the hand offered to him, whether he deserved it or not. 

“Um, sooo…,” Lucifer coughed into his fist, looking awkwardly around the lobby. “...long time no see, huh? Michael…”

“Wait,” Charlie cut in as she finally stepped into the lobby after letting the scene earlier pass by first. “Michael, as in THE archangel Michael? Angel of justice and warrior of God Michael?”

Now that he was a bit calmer, Michael finally let the awkward and strange situation he forced himself into fully sink in. And, oh, how out of place was he. “That’s me,” he replied. 

“Ooh, a bigshot from Heaven. I wonder how big you really are~” Angel pondered aloud for everyone to hear, earning him another smack to the head from Vaggie. “Ow! I was just asking!”

“Or, I don’t know, he could just be my brother?” Lucifer rolled his eyes. 

The sparkle in Charlie’s eyes brightened up even more, rivalling even that of Heaven’s image in the sky. “Oh my gosh!!,” she squealed as she bounced on her heels. “I can’t believe this! Uhh, oh gosh we were not prepared for your visit, uhm.” 

Within a span of a few seconds Charlie went from eagerly shaking Michael’s hand to fussing and worrying about the state of the hotel.

“The hotel’s fine my dear. Spotless even!” Alastor said, the smile on his face as wide as ever, though the look in his eyes told otherwise. The presence of another angelic being from Heaven was certainly unwelcome to him. That, and he wasn’t going to accept any critiques on the hotel he had worked so hard to upkeep, especially not from some spoilt angel! “There’s no need to worry so much.”

For once Lucifer found himself agreeing with Alastor, even nodding slightly along with him. 

“I think so too, duckling,” tried to tell her, trying to ease her unnecessary worries away. Really, what was the fuss? Just because his brother was here. “Besides,” he turned his attention back to Michael, his gaze a little more serious. “He’s an unannounced guest.”

“Oh, I’m planning to stay in Hell, at the hotel, if you would have me,” Michael announced to a shocked still crowd. Even Adam, who was standing by his side, had his mouth agape, eyes wide in shock and face pale at what Michael had just casually revealed. 

“WHAT?!,” exclaimed everyone in the room except for Michael, who easily stood there so sure of his decision. 

“I wish to have Adam back in Heaven, and so I’m staying to ensure that,” he explained, turning his gaze back to Adam, a small smile on his face, though Adam could immediately tell that even though there was still love in it, the tenderness plastered on that smile hid a blazing holy flame. “We’ll have to carefully plan your progress, right Adam?,” he asked, smile brightening up even more, Adam could almost feel the blaze from where he stood. 

“R-right…,” Adam reluctantly agreed, afraid of the talk they would definitely be having later. Michael hadn’t been mad at him for years; the archangel held a lot of restraint when it came to most things, and it often took a lot for him to even become irritated. But for him to be upset and mad? That was when Adam knew he truly fucked up. Michael was going to untangle him, and he wasn’t sure if he could ever be ready for that; more than a millennia’s worth of tangled fibres of his being was not going to be easy to unravel and sort out, nor would the effort be worth it, if he had a choice in the matter. 

“You can’t just–,” Lucifer tried to interject but was soon cut off by Charlie’s excited squeal.

“Of course you can stay!”

“Charlie, sweetie–”

“Then you have my thanks,” Michael said with a small bow. “I’ll make sure to put in a good word about your hotel to Heaven.”

“Wait–”

Charlie gasped, exhilaration flowing in her veins. Support from someone like Michael might just be what she needed for her hotel to be taken more seriously by Heaven. Just the thought of her hotel being official in Heaven’s eyes and her dream finally becoming true sent an electric joy through every fibre of her being, leaking out into the world outside her in the form of bright happy sparkles. 

“That would mean so much to me..!,” she sniffled, tears now pricking her eyes like  sparkling jewels from sheer joy.

And just like that, it was decided that Michael could stay at the Hazbin Hotel.

[rippleclan]

RippleClan: Moon 75

Yellowpaw, Sandpaw, and Stormpaw are apprenticed to Asterblaze, Spikecrash, and Clammask.

[Image ID: Yellowpaw, Sandpaw, and Stormpaw are apprentices. Sandpaw says, "Do you think Thunderpaw is impressed?" Under Yellowpaw, it says LEVEL UP! YELLOWKIT → YELLOWPAW, NOISY → COLD. Under Sandpaw, it says LEVEL UP! SANDKIT → SANDPAW, SELF-CONSCIOUS → LOYAL. Under Stormpaw, it says LEVEL UP! STORMKIT → STORMPAW, KNOW-IT-ALL → CHARISMATIC.]

(Yellowpaw: 6, female, caretaker apprentice, cold, quick to make peace)

(Sandpaw: 6, male, mediator apprentice, loyal, interested in Clan history)

(Stormpaw: 6, female, caretaker apprentice, charismatic, loves to eat)

Honeybuzz helps the three star-blessed apprentices.

[Image ID: Honeybuzz, Weevilpaw, Wolfpaw, and Anchovypaw watch Estherfern talk with a Dark Forest spirit. Under Honeybuzz, it says + NEW SKILL: GOOD TEACHER.]

---

Honeybuzz cupped his paw around one of the many plucked mushrooms that formed the unholy circle. He sniffed at the herbal mixture that sealed the pickings together. A few strands of black and red fur clung to the wet earth that lined the edges of the muddy den. The constant rain of the last four days made the ground slick and sent water dripping from the root-lined ceiling. Anchovypaw, Wolfpaw, and Weevilpaw stood outside the den, heads close together as they peered inside. The rain glued their pelts to their skin.

“And you’ve known about this for how long, Anchovypaw?” Honeybuzz asked. He absently batted at his wooden necklace, the freshly plucked cicada wing glistening with raindrops. He pointedly sat outside of the circle, mud sinking into his thin fur.

“Only a few days,” Anchovypaw admitted. “I didn’t want to say anything until I could come back here, but there’s even more ichor here than there was when I first found the den.”

“You should have told us sooner,” Weevilpaw huffed with a glare so sharp that, had she had her sister’s ability, Anchovypaw would have frozen stiff.

“I wasn’t going to scare anyone if I didn’t have to!” Anchovypaw huffed. A sharp flick of his tail sent a stream of water flying over Weevilpaw and Wolfpaw’s backs. “It could have just been where the beast that killed Weedfoot went to die. I only waited a few days! It took me that long to get away from Halibutdusk!”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Honeybuzz promised. He squeezed around the apprentices, squinting as the rain splashed his eyes.

“Now we know someone else has been here,” Wolfpaw pointed out. 

“What is it, Honeybuzz?” Weevilpaw asked. She moved further into the den, eyes locked on the circle.

“You remember my lessons on channeling StarClan?” Honeybuzz said, shivering. “It exhausts power StarClan wasn’t planning to use, but the immediate and physical communication can justify an absence of subtle signs and assistance.”

“But we don’t use mushrooms,” Weevilpaw said. She poked at a mushroom, making it roll out of its spot. “We form a circle of cats, not plants.”

“But do you remember when you met Terracottafoot?” Honeybuzz sighed. “I asked them to tell you about last Harvest Moon, and some of their knowledge of the Dark Forest. Newtstream, their mentor, taught them about channeling Dark Forest spirits using a circle of mushrooms.”

“Someone’s summoning Spirits of Shadow,” Wolfpaw gulped.

“Who would be that mouse-brained?” Anchovypaw growled. His claws left gouges in the mud. “We all remember the Shardling. Who would want to bring something like that back?” Anchovypaw looked like he was going to be sick. Wolfpaw rubbed against Anchovypaw’s side. “You were right, Weevilpaw. I should have destroyed this den as soon as I found it.”

“Then they would have made another one,” Honeybuzz pointed out. “No, we need to find a trusted warrior to watch this den. They can wait until the culprit visits again. Waspdawn or Puddlewhisper would do well. I trust them.” Weevilpaw’s soaked fur prickled. Her eyes widened, locked on something Honeybuzz couldn’t see. Her mouth dropped slightly, breath catching. 

“Out, out!” Weevilpaw hissed, lunging past Wolfpaw. She scrambled into a thick bush, still bursting with summer life. Wolfpaw and Anchovypaw were instantly at her side, following her into the shadows. Honeybuzz stumbled in after them, sharp branches poking his ribs.

“Who did you see?” Anchovypaw whispered just as the shrubbery on the other side of the dark den shifted. Bicolored eyes glimmered through the mid-morning haze.

“Estherfern?” Honeybuzz gasped as the older cleric stepped into full view. Estherfern carried a ball of fur in her jaws, the same red and black colors Honeybuzz found in the strange den. Her fur on her cheeks drooped like heavy leaves. She strolled into the shadows, ignorant to her spies.

“The Shardling almost killed her kits,” Anchovypaw growled, his rage making the leaves shake. “Why would she deal with the Dark Forest?”

“Keep listening,” Wolfpaw whispered. “We might find out.” Estherfern placed the furballs in the center of the circle. Her cool gaze settled on Weevilpaw’s disturbed mushroom. Honeybuzz grit his teeth. Estherfern carefully nudged the mushroom back into its original position. She sat in the den’s entrance, back to Honeybuzz and the apprentices.

Estherfern declared, “I call upon the spirit of Hawthornstealer, banished from StarClan for murder in the name of his kits. Despite your sins, your assistance is required. Return to the Clans, if only for a moment. Speak to us.”

“Do you see that?” Anchovypaw whispered, pressing into Weevilpaw. “Do you see that?” Honeybuzz squinted. The circle was still. Suddenly, Weevilpaw gasped. She bit into her paw to muffle her shock. Honeybuzz braced his heart for whatever the star-blessed apprentices saw.

It began as a shift in the mud, like water in a pot at the first stages of boiling. The ground around the fur offering darkened. Black sludge bubbled out of the mud and lapped up the fur balls like medicine. The sound of its formation reminded Honeybuzz of paws trapped in thick gunk, pulling out of the mess with a sucking slurp. It leaked from under the mushrooms and collected in the circle’s center. The ichor pulled itself upward like drops of water falling from the ceiling, perverting the pull of the earth. A subtle red glow illuminated the den.

“It’s finally working,” Estherfern gasped as the ichor took shape. It lifted itself high like a cat arching their back. It clung to the ground at four points that slowly took on the details of paws. A claw-like tail sprouted from its back. The ichor bubbled and bulged into a muzzle. Two glowing red eyes erupted from the spirit’s face. StarClan help them all.

“So you are Estherfern,” the spirit said. Its voice was as sticky as the mud from which it was born, dissolving into the sound of the tumbling rain.

“Hawthornstealer?” Estherfern asked. The spirit blinked slowly, its eyelids like a mudslide. 

“Why do you call?” the spirit groaned.

“Oilstripe and Lavendertwist told me your story,” Estherfern explained. She inched closer, back still stuck in the rain. “You killed an elder to ensure more food for your kits in a famine. You would have done anything for them. StarClan doesn’t seem to have the power I need. I’m hoping you can help.”

“Explain.”

“My kits are sick, and RippleClan can do nothing to help them. One of my daughters is going deaf, the other is half-blind. And now my only son has issues of the head, issues the mediators are simply bandaging, not fixing.” Was she talking about Brightpaw? Spikecrash had asked Honeybuzz and Troutpool about any relaxing herbs the young tom could take before the Gathering, something to ease the panic that overtook him when too many cats surrounded him. It was manageable. There was no need to resort to such extremes.

“You are searching for a cure.”

“I can’t let them struggle like this. How can I fix them?” The spirit stared at Estherfern silently, the rainfall burning into the background of Honeybuzz’s mind. The only sign of un-life in the spirit rested in its long, slow blinking. Even Estherfern, collected as she was, twitched under the spirit’s unending, blank stare.

“I…,” Anchovypaw whispered, “I don’t think that’s the ghost of Hawthornstealer.”

“Why not?” Wolfpaw whimpered.

“It’s too empty,” Anchovypaw groaned, struggling to find the right word. “Weedfoot’s stories said Dark Forest ghosts looked like themselves. Even the Shardling looked a little like Autumnstar, isn’t that what Downstar told us? This thing doesn’t look like anyone. It looks like a shadow."

“We may have the power,” the spirit finally coughed through its thick ichor. “We need help.”

“That’s what I expected,” Estherfern sighed. “What sort of ritual do I need to perform? Is there another spirit I should talk to?”

“Your children were destined to develop these afflictions,” the spirit gurgled. “Their destinies must be replaced. Replaced with another’s.”

“Elaborate.” 

“The eyes of the clear sighted.” The spirit’s red eyes shone like a flickering fire. “The ears of the cautious listener.” Its pointed ears flicked, their first movement since the spirit’s arrival. “The tongue of the charmed.” Its black teeth peered out from muddy lips. “Three sacrifices. Three kits.” Estherfern stilled. Honeybuzz’s heart sank. Despite her standoffishness, despite her argumentativeness, Estherfern was part of the Clan, her kits were part of the Clan. How could she throw that away to fix what didn’t, what couldn’t be fixed?

“We’ll stop her before she begins,” Anchovypaw growled, inching a paw out of hiding. StarClan asked for Estherfern. Why would they send for her if she could be swayed like this?

“Offer the dead—”

“No.” All four hidden cats perked their ears high. Estherfern stood, tail rippling slowly as she stared the spirit down. The spirit, to Honeybuzz’s continued shock, flinched.

“No?” the spirit spat.

“What do you take me for?” Estherfern scoffed. “You think I’m so blindly devoted to a cure that you can turn me into a murderer? A sadist for the sake of my children?”

“You want them cured,” the spirit growled. Its paw lingered at the edge of the circle. “This is how you cure them.”

“And what happens when I do?” Estherfern asked, tilting one ear in a shocking taunt. “I know how your land works, the rules of your afterlife. They will go to StarClan some day and learn what I did for them, if they do not find out in life. They will despise me for what I have done.”

“But they will be cured.”

“Furthermore, I know the creatures that inhabit your Dark Forest.” Estherfern walked around the circle like a hunter. The spirit never turned its head, face stuck in a sneer. “It is the home of murderers and scoundrels. I would surely arrive there after my own death were I to kill three innocents for you. You would condemn me to eternity without my children.”

“You’ve already been damned, Estherfern. You brought forth the Skin N’ Bones that slew your deputy. You are the cause of your Clan’s suffering. Do you believe StarClan will forgive you for that?” A Skin N’ Bones. Of course. Nothing else would have injured Downstar like that. Nothing else would have devoured Weedfoot alive. Estherfern stopped. The calculated and callous look that always hung in her eyes cracked. Honeybuzz could almost see Estherfern’s soul drop. “Why give up now? You’re too far gone. Your children are not. Why summon us if you were not willing to do whatever it took to fix your kits?”

“I will not have them hate me!” Estherfern rounded on the spirit, lips curled tight. “I will not have them curse my name!” She shook her head low. “I will find a different cure for them. I will find another way. I send you back, spirit, back to your dark wanderings, where StarClan’s light does not reach.” Estherfern reached for one of the mushrooms. Her paw breached the circle.

“No!” The spirit dug its fangs into Estherfern’s paw. Ichor dripped into her fresh wound. She pulled back, ripping more of her skin in the process. 

“I respect what you did for your kits, Hawthornstealer,” Estherfern hissed, licking her paw. “I realize now, however, that where you could put aside your kits’ emotions for their futures, I cannot.”

“We,” the spirit growled, voice dissolving, “are not Hawthornstealer.” 

The spirit’s legs melted like snow. Its form dissolved and splashed about in a massive sticky pool. One by one, the mushrooms rolled into the ichor and vanished under the writhing mass as though falling into a great black hole. The ichor bubbled and squirmed as though in a death rattle. It leaked from the confines of the circle and coated the den floor. Estherfern backed up, back paws slipping on the soaked grass.

Weevilpaw raced out of the bush before Honeybuzz could react. She threw her full weight into Estherfern’s side. The two clerics tumbled into the shrubs. In that moment, the ichor exploded. It sprayed the walls of the dirt den and shot into the rain in an endless cascade. More ichor escaped the den than could have possibly made up the spirit in the circle. As it flew into the forest, large clumps tumbled to the side like wayward drops from a massive wave. The glops tumbled and sloshed against the wet ground before launching through the trees and out of sight. More and more of these glops scrambled away until finally, finally, the spray slowed. A long black trail led out of the den, which was now nothing but ichor and goop. 

Honeybuzz, Anchovypaw, and Wolfpaw crept out of hiding as Weevilpaw got off Estherfern. Mud coated half of her brown pelt. The ichor stunk like rotting flesh and mushrooms.

“How long have you been there?” Estherfern asked, slow to her paws.

“Wolfpaw, you might have to freeze me,” Anchovypaw growled, claws out. “I’m a whisker’s length from killing her.”

“Anchovypaw, no!” Weevilpaw stood in front of Estherfern, paws skidding. “She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She was trying to help her kits. We can’t blame her for that!”

“But the Dark Forest…” Wolfpaw gulped. With the puff in her fur dissolved in the rain, she seemed half her size.

“It is full of dead cats, not unlike StarClan,” Estherfern huffed. She stepped around Weevilpaw and faced down the furious crowd. “All I wanted was a way to cure my kits, something you’ve shown you cannot do.”

“Estherfern, you weren’t talking to a dead warrior,” Honeybuzz groaned, almost stepping on the ichor trail. “That was a Herald. Their entire purpose is to trick the living into allowing Spirits of Shadow into the territories.” His gaze lingered on the forest. He could almost hear the half-formed monsters slurping across the grass, taking their true, cursed forms.

“You heard her!” Weevilpaw huffed. “She wasn’t going to listen to the spirit. She was going to destroy the circle.”

“She didn’t commit murder,” Anchovypaw scoffed. “You did well, Estherfern. You did the bare minimum.”

“Is it your fault?” Wolfpaw muttered, voice almost lost in the rain. “Did you get Weedfoot killed?” Estherfern stared into the ichor-soaked den. 

“I didn’t know,” she said softly. 

“She didn’t know, Anchovypaw,” Weevilpaw snapped. “She’s a good cat!”

“She didn’t care about killing anyone, she cared about what her kits would think,” Anchovypaw growled. “How can we trust a cleric who doesn’t care if you live or die?”

“I trust her,” Weevilpaw huffed, pressing into Estherfern. “Even though she’s strange.”

“Weevilpaw,” Honeybuzz sighed, jumping over the ichor, “take Anchovypaw and Wolfpaw and go back to camp. Just go to the medicine den and wait for us.” 

“What are we going to do with her?” Anchovypaw asked.

“Leave that to me,” Honeybuzz said, shaking his head. “Now go. Stick together, and hurry. We’ll follow you soon.” The apprentices hesitated, all glancing at one another. Weevilpaw was the first to break; she joined Wolfpaw and nudged her onward. The sisters ran toward the coast. Anchovypaw followed, his burning eyes digging into Estherfern as he vanished into the foggy trees.

“It seems I underestimated the vigor of the Dark Forest’s supernatural entities,” Estherfern hummed, cleaning the mud off her injured paw.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” Honeybuzz hissed softly.

“Of course I do,” Estherfern snapped, curling her lips. “You love to tell the story of the Rippling Ashes. They ventured into the Dark Forest, they had Newtstream’s advice. What made my own approach so wicked?”

“Because it’s dangerous!” Honeybuzz groaned. “Because channeling Dark Forest souls, even when they want to help, clears a path for Spirits of Shadow, and they don’t care about any of us. They’re born to hunt. This isn’t worth it.”

“If your kits were sick, wouldn’t you do what you could for them?” Estherfern growled with a large thrash of her tail. “You can’t fix them. I thought the Dark Forest could.”

“They don’t need to be fixed!” Honeybuzz yowled, throwing his whole height up to glare down at Estherfern (who, unlike Rapidleaf, would not cower). “They aren’t dying, Estherfern! They can adapt! I’m sorry I can’t cure Thunderkit or stop Brightpaw’s anxiety, but they’ll be fine!” As Honeybuzz yowled, the first crack appeared in the sky, striking through the gray clouds. Thunder echoed far overhead. Estherfern stared at the growing storm.

“What’s out there now, do you think?” Estherfern sighed.

“Dog-cats, forsaken prey, honeybites…” Honeybuzz muttered, spine itching. “There may even be monsters we rarely see, ones we don’t have names for. We don’t want to know everything that’s out there now.”

“This is something we can fix,” Estherfern huffed. She marched around Honeybuzz and stood on the roof of the wicked den. Jaw tight as her bit paw moved, Estherfern dug at the soaked grass. Her pelt was more mud than fur. Chunks of earth tumbled into the den. The sopping ground folded in on itself like a wave. Estherfern rolled away as the roof of the den fell and covered the sticky, stinking ichor. Grass stuck to Estherfern’s underside. Honeybuzz hurried to her, helping her away from the crumbled remains of her sins.

“We can,” Honeybuzz gulped. “We can fix this.”

(Honeybuzz: 23, male, cleric, daring, skilled toolsmith, good teacher)

(Anchovypaw: 10, male, warrior apprentice, playful, curious about StarClan)

(Weevilpaw: 10, female, cleric apprentice, adventurous, curious about StarClan)

(Wolfpaw: 10, female, codekeeper apprentice, thoughtful, curious about StarClan, confident with words)

(Estherfern: 109, female, cleric, bloodthirsty, great mediator, prophecy seeker)

Sandpaw and Spikecrash arrange time for Estherfern to see the kits she worked so hard to “fix”.

[Image ID: Estherfern faces Thunderpaw, Wolverinepaw, and Brightpaw.]

---

Estherfern didn’t belong at such a lively celebration. The sumptuous food, the well-rehearsed performances… Harvest Moon was as grand as RippleClan claimed it to be. Every Clan gathered as the sunrise poked through the trees, preparing their stews and games and performances. But it was a holiday to drive off Spirits of Shadow. What good would it do to have their herald nestled in the safety of the firelight?

“Spirits of Shadow hate charms,” Troutpool explained as she tucked a cat’s wood-carved face into the boughs of a low-hanging pine. “AshClan spends a lot of time carving these trinkets, and all that care under StarClan’s protections makes them especially useful in warding off danger.” All the clerics roamed the edge’s of the great clearing with baskets of charms and other concoctions to protect the five Clans. Estherfern carried RippleClan’s heavy basket as Honeybuzz, Troutpool, and Weevilpaw prepared the defenses to Troutpool’s instruction.

“How many do we have to place?” Weevilpaw asked, shoving a charm as far into a bush as she could reach.

“We’re covering this entire corner,” Troutpool explained. “We don’t want to leave any openings for spirits.” Estherfern nearly broke the charm in her jaws with how tightly she grit her teeth. She quickly passed it to Honeybuzz.

“Estherfern!” Two figures slipped through the massive crowd. Spikecrash and Sandpaw walked side by side, mentor and apprentice in sync. Sandpaw’s gaze wandered throughout the clearing, taking in the sights of all five Clans for the first time.

“You want to speak to me?” Estherfern asked. While her tone made her question sound casual, the brown priestess hid her surprise deep. She didn’t talk to many cats outside of the medicine den. Why would two of the Clan’s mediators want her? Did they know the real reason why Honeybuzz reported a surge of spirits in the Clan? The reason it was too dangerous to leave camp alone? Why all five Clans, not just RippleClan, now had a newfound fear for their lives? Had Honeybuzz not lied for her, Estherfern would have told the truth and accepted the consequences, yet why he kept it secret, Estherfern didn’t know She glanced at Honeybuzz, but the young gold and white cleric focused on his charms.

“I’m hoping we can borrow you,” Spikecrash explained. “Troutpool, do you still need Estherfern’s help?”

“We’re just placing our wards at the moment,” Troutpool explained, reaching into Estherfern’s basket. “We could finish without her if you really need her.” Estherfern carefully slipped the basket off her neck.

“Thank you, Troutpool,” Spikecrash sighed. She flicked her tail for Estherfern to follow. It seemed no one cared if Estherfern actually wanted to speak with Spikecrash, but who was she to refuse? She trailed after Spikecrash and Sandpaw, heading over to the ovens. Clammask and Stormpaw worked with Drumtooth and Thunderpaw, laughing over an unheard joke as they tended the fire under a massive pot of stew.

“I hope this isn’t too much of an invasion of privacy,” Spikecrash began, her scarred flank lifted high in a long stretch. “Honeybuzz and Weevilpaw spoke with me a few days ago and said you were having some difficulties with your kits.” Estherfern narrowed her eyes.

“If we’re going to discuss my kits,” she sighed, “maybe you could tell me why no one told me about Brightpaw’s meetings with you?”

“So you do know about that,” Spikecrash sighed. “Brightpaw is an apprentice now, Estherfern. We aren’t pressured to tell you anything he didn’t want you to know.” 

“If he’s sick, I want to help him,” Estherfern huffed.

“Why do you think he didn’t want you to know?” Sandpaw scoffed. “Look how you acted with Wolverinepaw and Thunderpaw.” Oh if only he knew just what Estherfern had done for them. What the Dark Forest wanted her to do.

“I’ve only ever tried to help them overcome their own limitations,” Estherfern said, her sharp stare ricocheting off Sandpaw and muting his confident words.

“That’s why we wanted to show you a few things,” Spikecrash explained. She waved a paw toward the oven where Thunderpaw and the other RippleClan cats gathered.

“The only goal of tonight is to have a better stew than WheatClan,” Drumtooth explained, shooting a friendly sneer at WheatClan’s oven and their large pot. He licked the surface of the stew and smacked his jaws. “It’s good, but it’s missing something.” Thunderpaw copied her mentor. Her face squirmed, thinking hard. She then made a strange motion with her paws; balancing on her back legs, she brought her paws close to her mouth and wiggled them as they moved away.

“I know this one,” Stormpaw chirped, completely focused on Thunderpaw. “If the wiggles are the sea… seaweed! That’s seaweed!”

“Yes!” Thunderpaw squealed. The two young apprentices cheered and giggled at their success, bunting one another

“AshClan borrowed our basket of seaweed,” Clammask explained, nudging Thunderpaw. “Grab some for us.”

“Grab seaweed,” Thunderpaw laughed. She quickly swiped the air like she was dragging a mouse out of hiding, then made the ‘seaweed’ motion again. Stormpaw mimicked the dragging motion as Thunderpaw hurried to AshClan’s oven.

“Why is Stormpaw learning Clan-sign?” Estherfern asked her mediator companions.

“Because Thunderpaw’s teaching her,” Sandpaw chirped. “Whenever Thunderpaw gets back from her sign lessons with Mummichogleap, she practices with us apprentices. Most of us are learning a few words so Thunderpaw isn’t left out.”

“And you want to learn?” 

“Thunderpaw makes it fun!”

“You can’t expect the whole Clan to learn this second language.”

“No one does.” Spikecrash touched her tail to Estherfern’s shoulder.. “But there are cats who want to make the effort. They can translate for those who don’t know. It puts pressure off Thunderpaw. She can miss what someone said, but she’ll have friends and family who can let her know.” Thunderpaw trotted back to the oven with a few long strips of seaweed. Clammask tore the seaweed into stew-sized chunks, showing the apprentices how to curl their paws just right. Thunderpaw seemed… happy.

“Now if you’ll follow us over here…” Sandpaw purred, strolling around the Leader’s Stone. Estherfern followed, tail a bit higher than before.

Brightpaw, Ravenpaw, and Vervainpaw sat with a gaggle of apprentices from the other Clans. They lounged about, chatting and laughing. Brightpaw nodded along to an apprentice’s story, his flank stretched out like frog legs. Ravenpaw relaxed on top of him, oohing and awing over the tale.

“I don’t know what your birth place thought of disorders of the mind,” Spikecrash whispered, brushing against Estherfern once more, “but like most disabilities, you can learn to live with them. There was a great gathering of warriors and codekeepers here at the new moon, do you remember? Brightpaw managed to befriend these apprentices during the visit. They invited their friends and littermates to chat today, and Brightpaw is happy to spend time with them. His mind is likely lying to him right now, but he knows ways to manage that. He could overcome his anxiety naturally some day, but that’s a minor part of who he is.”

“I know that,” Estherfern huffed. “He loves to play with Rabbitjoy’s paint supplies. He’s sensitive, and loves his sisters with all his heart. I’ve only ever wanted to help those traits shine.”

“That’s not how Brightpaw sees it,” Sandpaw scoffed under his breath. The comment hollowed out Estherfern’s chest. Before she could respond, two brown blurs shot past the Leader’s Stone with a horde of apprentices and young warriors at their tails. Wolverinepaw and Yarrowpaw led the crowd to an open spot within the festivities. They studied their followers like leader and deputy, the sunrise framing their profiles.

“We’ve got until after sunhigh to prepare!” Wolverinepaw cheered. 

“Are we going to let some dusty old bones beat us?” Yarrowpaw cried.

“No!” the young crowd yowled joyfully, already shoving and jumping over each other.

“Let’s show them what the new generation can do!” Wolverinepaw called. Her followers cheered, yowling to the high branches. They scattered throughout the clearing and split into sparring groups. They steadied their stances and wiggled their flanks. With sheathed paws, the youth of the Clans launched into training, trading blows and careful bites. Slushpaw lingered near the edge of the training grounds, cheering the others on.

“Slushpaw!” Sandpaw yowled to the older mediator apprentice. “What are they doing?”

“Well,” Slushpaw laughed, trotting up to Sandpaw, Spikecrash, and Estherfern, “Yarrowpaw and Wolverinepaw were arguing with Darkkick and another old warrior about what was a better trait in a fight; youth or experience. Suddenly all these other cats started joining in, and now the senior warriors are going to have a big mock-battle with the apprentices, plus some warriors who haven’t attended a Harvest Moon before.”

“And Wolverinepaw’s participating in this?” Estherfern huffed. She searched for her daughter in the crowd. She found Wolverinepaw rolling about with Yarrowpaw in the middle of the mess. Yarrowpaw shoved Wolverinepaw’s head into the dirt. Wolverinepaw snapped her jaw around Yarrowpaw’s leg and pulled her onto her shoulder. Yarrowpaw laughed as Wolverinepaw took her place on top of the older apprentice.

"She's as capable as any apprentice her age," Spikecrash assured Estherfern.

"She seemed so insecure during her ceremony…" Estherfern muttered.

"Wolverinepaw?" Spikecrash chuckled. "I don't think so. From what I've heard, she thinks she's strong enough to take on an actual wolverine."

"She didn't choose a role in time, though," Estherfern pointed out.

"Because she wanted to do everything!" Slushpaw laughed. "I talked with her right up to her ceremony. She had a new role in mind every day!" Oh. Had Wolverinepaw's sight not come up at all? Surely her decaying vision would make it hard for her to fight. Yet she kept up with Yarrowpaw, tumbling across the clearing with abandon. Had Estherfern's kits always been so sure of themselves? Surely they wanted cures. How else could they survive in a world that showed no mercy to the weak? In the cat-minded human's den, if you couldn't match up to the others, you wouldn't eat. Three of Estherfern's brilliant kits would have died in that awful place. Except…they weren't there anymore, were they?

"Can I guess what's been going on?" Spikecrash asked. "You've been so focused on a cure in their future, you've ignored how they are in the present. When's the last time you talked to them about something, anything but their health? Have you talked to Foampaw or Boughpaw at all?" Estherfern glanced from one kit to another. Their faces glowed with holiday glee. Did they ever glow around Estherfern anymore? When was the last time she shared a meal with them?

"Spikecrash," Estherfern muttered, her pride burning her words, "I need you to teach me something."

A short time later, Estherfern approached Thunderpaw and the RippleClan stew. The bounties of the ocean danced in the broth, specially prepared for that oh so exciting celebration. Thunderpaw stared eagerly into the stew while Stormpaw and their mentors talked with other caretakers. She spotted her mother and her eyes grew big and calm, mimicking Estherfern's eternally serene expression. Estherfern's heart did not carry that serenity as she approached her bold daughter.

"Do you need…" Estherfern said hesitantly. She awkwardly sat on her hind legs. She held out one paw, pads down, and angled the other on top of it, claws out. Thunderpaw's eyes sparkled at the sign.

"Help," she whispered as Estherfern quickly returned to a natural position. Thunderpaw made the sign with ease, quickly hopping from her hind legs and back. She ogled Estherfern, her thoughts not caught up to reality.

"I want to spend time with you," Estherfern explained. It felt like someone carved her pelt off, leaving her exposed. "I want to share your stew with you and your littermates." Thunderpaw blinked slowly. It took her so long to reply, Estherfern was about to repeat herself, just in case her pounding heart muffled her words.

"Do you want to learn the sign for littermates while the stew finishes cooking?" Thunderpaw gulped. The tip of her tail twitched wildly as her earlier joy bloomed across her face once more.

"If it means time with you," Estherfern sighed.

(Estherfern: 109, female, cleric, bloodthirsty, great mediator, prophecy seeker)

(Troutpool: 36, female, cleric, insecure, ghost sense)

(Weevilpaw: 10, female, cleric apprentice, adventurous, curious about StarClan)

(Honeybuzz: 23, male, cleric, daring, skilled toolsmith, good teacher)

(Spikecrash: 50, female, mediator, wise, good speaker, lore keeper)

(Sandpaw: 6, male, mediator apprentice, loyal, interested in Clan history)

(Drumtooth: 23, trans male, caretaker, loyal, great hunter, clever)

(Thunderpaw: 7, female, caretaker apprentice,

(Stormpaw: 6, female, caretaker apprentice, charismatic, loves to eat)

(Clammask: 69, female, caretaker, righteous, lore master, good teacher)

(Brightpaw: 7, male, warrior apprentice, lonesome, lover of art)

(Wolverinepaw: 7, female, warrior apprentice, compassionate, always asking questions)

(Yarrowpaw: 10, female, warrior apprentice, thoughtful, stares at fire)

(Slushpaw: 11, female, mediator apprentice, wise, quick witted, bats at string)

[srslyblvck]

── arm's length,, elijah mikaelson

pairing: elijah mikaelson x fem!reader

synopsis: elijah had always kept you at arm's length. today you finally confronted him.

genre: angst, hurt-comfort

warnings: none

word count: 1.1k

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ THE NIGHT AIR WAS brittle, heavy with the quiet hum of the woods surrounding the Mikaelson estate. You stood on the balcony, your arms wrapped tightly around yourself, trying to ward off the chill creeping into your bones. He was late again. You weren’t sure why you even expected otherwise. Elijah Mikaelson was nothing if not elusive, slipping through the cracks of your life like water through cupped hands.

The sound of footsteps behind you shattered the silence, and you turned to find him standing there. His silhouette was bathed in moonlight, his immaculate suit dark against the pale glow. His face was as unreadable as ever, though his eyes betrayed him, shadowed with guilt and sorrow.

“You’re late,” you said quietly, not bothering to hide the edge in your voice.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“You never do.” You turned back to the night sky, unwilling to face him. “But you always find a reason, don’t you? A reason to leave. A reason to stay away.”

His silence stretched between you like an unspoken truth. Finally, he stepped closer, his voice low and measured. “You know why I keep my distance.”

You let out a hollow laugh, shaking your head. “Oh, I know. You’ve made that very clear. Because I’m human. Because I’m fragile. Because I’ll die, and you won’t.”

“Don���t trivialize this.” His voice was sharp now, a flash of that famous Mikaelson temper breaking through his usual restraint. “Do you think it’s easy for me? Watching you live this fleeting, brilliant life, knowing that I—” He stopped himself, his fists clenching at his sides. “Knowing that I’ll outlive it?”

“Then why not let me love you while I’m here?” you asked, your voice trembling. “Why punish us both for something we can’t change?”

His jaw tightened, and he turned away, his gaze fixed on some distant point in the horizon. “You don’t understand what you’re asking of me.”

“Don’t I?” You stepped toward him, anger simmering beneath your sorrow. “Do you think I don’t understand what it means to love you? To love someone who’s seen the rise and fall of civilizations? Who’s walked this earth for centuries while I have maybe a handful of decades left?”

“Elijah,” you continued, your voice breaking, “you think you’re protecting me by keeping me at arm’s length, but all you’re doing is breaking my heart in slow motion.”

He flinched at your words, his composure cracking for just a moment. “If I give in,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, “if I let myself love you the way you deserve, it will destroy me when I lose you.”

“And what about me?” you shot back, tears welling in your eyes. “What about the destruction you’re leaving me with now? Every time you pull away, every time you disappear, it’s like losing you piece by piece.”

His face softened, but the pain in his eyes deepened. “You think this is easy for me? To deny myself the only thing I’ve wanted in centuries? To stand here, knowing that if I give in, I’ll condemn myself to a grief that never ends?”

You took a step closer, your voice trembling but firm. “You’re already grieving me, Elijah. You’re mourning me before I’m even gone. And it’s not fair. To either of us.”

The silence that followed was deafening, his eyes locked on yours as if searching for an answer he couldn’t bear to find. When he spoke again, his voice was raw, stripped of its usual careful control. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever cared for. Every single one. Do you know what it’s like to live for a thousand years, burdened by the memory of every love you’ve buried? To carry that weight, century after century?”

Your breath hitched, and you reached out, your hand brushing his. “I don’t know that kind of pain,” you admitted. “But I know that I’d rather have a few years of loving you than a lifetime of wondering what it would’ve been like.”

He shook his head, a soft, bitter laugh escaping his lips. “You say that now. But someday, I’ll be standing over your grave, and you’ll be gone. And I’ll still be here.”

Tears spilled down your cheeks, but you held his gaze. “Then I’ll love you from my grave. I’ll love you so fiercely that even death won’t take it from you.”

Elijah’s composure shattered. He took a step closer, his hands trembling at his sides. “Do you think this is easy for me?” he asked, his voice raw. “Do you think I don’t ache every moment I’m away from you? That I don’t dream of a life where I can give you the happiness you deserve?”

“Then why won’t you let yourself have it?” you cried, the tears spilling over now. “Why won’t you let me have you?”

“Because I will lose you!” he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his grief. “And I cannot endure that pain again. I have buried too many loves, seen too many faces fade from memory. If I love you, truly love you, it will destroy me when you are gone.”

“And what about me?” you demanded, stepping closer. “You think I don’t know the risks? You think I haven’t thought about the day I’ll be gone and you’ll still be here? But I’m here now, Elijah. I’m alive. And you’re wasting it.”

He turned away, his shoulders trembling as he struggled to regain control. “You deserve a life unburdened by the chaos I bring. A life with someone who can grow old with you.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me,” you said, your voice steady despite the tears streaming down your face. “You don’t get to take away my choice just because you’re scared.”

You moved closer, desperate to reach him, to make him understand. “You can’t stop time, Elijah. You can’t stop the pain. But you can choose to let yourself be happy. Even if it’s just for a little while.”

He looked at you then, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Happiness is a cruel illusion for someone like me.”

“Then let me be your illusion,” you whispered, stepping close enough to feel the heat of him. “Let me be yours, if only for as long as I can.”

For a moment, you thought he might leave again, retreat into the shadows where he felt safest. But then he reached out, his hand cupping your cheek, his touch so gentle it almost broke you. “You are asking me to risk everything,” he murmured, his voice heavy with anguish.

“And I’m giving you everything in return,” you replied.

His lips met yours then, desperate and searching, as though trying to carve this moment into eternity. When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against yours, his breath mingling with yours in the still night air. “If I lose you,” he said, his voice trembling, “I may never recover.”

“Then don’t lose me,” you whispered. “Not yet.”

And for the first time, Elijah Mikaelson let himself hope.

[primeofprimes115]

Fresh Start - Supergirl x Male Reader

Note: Fluff/Wholesome 🥰

Coming from an Earth where it had been put into an almost, hell-like experience due to the many conflicts and battles that had took place within what was a beauty of life, now nothing but rubble and chaos incarnate, cities in dust and fires that seemed to never snuff out.

There was once a civil war that broke out between good alike, turning into a huge war over a disagreement in the way encounters should be dealt with, how criminals should be facing justice instead of being executed without parole, without proper justification.

Casualties were amount the millions-to-billions in this eternal conflict, a war that had lasted for a long time, many good and bad men and women died in this war alone, many innocents killed and caught within the crossfire.

Cities laid in rubble and dust throughout the entire Earth, some still stood but they weren't the same as they were before.

Y/N dreamed for a fresh start of some sort, his childhood ruined due to this eternal conflict which led to his growing abilities to shape matter into reality, shape weapons of any kind, able to weave matter as much as he wanted.

The war between former allies had raged on for years to come, even still when he was growing up, it still continued... At least up until the day of his sacrifice that is.

Having lost many of his family as he grew up due to the ongoing war, Y/N opted to stay behind and manually detonate a superweapon that was developed by the enemy, a weapon that would've wiped the rest of humanity out if it were to be deployed, a weapon of mass destruction that could potentially crack the Earth in half if used again in that case.

No one could believe that Lord Superwoman would ever go to that extreme to end the war that quick after many years, even with her powers dimming down due to the long exposure to Gold Kryptonite that her enemies had been using against her and those who were infused with Kryptonian blood cells to further make her army of followers powerful, she would risk wiping out the rest of humanity if it meant to win the war, it was always about wiping out the weak where the strong will thrive. If only her brother were to see what she was doing those days after he was killed, murdered.

Most of her followers, both are and without Kryptonian powers, had deemed it madness and decided to flee, before it caught the wind of the Resistance, leading to Y/N's noble sacrifice.

It all would've went quietly but Lord Superwoman was eager to prevent him from destroying her weapon of mass-destruction, all the blast doors had been sealed shut, keeping her inside with him alone until the detonation count goes to zero.

It was a tough and rough fight, Y/N sustaining many major injuries but he kept going, pushing himself past his limit, wanting to avenge all the people Lord Superwoman had killed in her efforts.

It was a far stretch, but Y/N managed to put up more of a fight, just until the detonation went off, taking her out with him, ending the war...

But that wasn't the last of Y/N... Unbeknownst to the Resistance, the detonation started a chain reaction which combined with many other unfinished projects regarding space travel and dimensional gateways created through machinations, it triggered a portal to be open, Lord Superwoman was closer to the explosion than Y/N was, which the dimensional gateway that opened had pulled Y/N in quick enough for him to escape through as he laid there, bleeding out with a smirk on his face, body sustaining many wounds.

The dimensional portal surprisingly saved him, taking him through an entire loop through space-time itself, before he eventually passed out from his wounds as his body travelled through the rift...

Eventually...

He arrived to an Earth quite similar to his, but not plunged in war and with some massive differences.

The rift had appeared on many radars across the States, one specific radar within the Hall of Justice itself. The rift had opened and spat out many debre and Y/N's dying body onto the Earth, within a city called National City, the city that a certain blonde, wavy haired female Kryptonian who wears a red cape and symbol much like a certain Man of Steel who was still alive in this reality, protected as the city's sole protector going by the name; Supergirl.

It was her who arrived to the scene first, investigating what she had picked up with her super hearing, eventually having flown over to the destination where she first heard the big boom, which had caused minor disruption throughout National City.

"It's like a... Battle happened here" Supergirl noted loudly with her cape fluttering behind her softly, scouting out the place as she stayed afloat from the ground, eying up metal-like-debre that was spreaded across the destination nearby the city itself.

She wasn't expecting to find anyone within the debre, she only investigated due to the loud disruption she heard while she was out doing her normal things, gaining a call from her cousin since she was the closest to the disturbance, saying he'll be there with some Leaguers to assist if necessary.

The noise was a job for Supergirl to investigate after all, it could be dangerous, and eventually... She found something, or someone in that regard.

Her super hearing picked up a faint heartbeat, faint as in the person was dying, deeming her to quickly rush over to find an unconscious and dying male, with many injuries left upon him like he had fighting in hell in her eyes.

Supergirl wasted no time carefully picking up the male and immediately called her cousin whilst carrying the male, detailing she found someone who was in critical condition and was bringing him to a nearby hospital...

But Clark stopped her and told her to bring the male back to the Hall of Justice for treatment instead. As odd as it may sounded, Kara decided not to question her cousin. Clark did mention it was a dimensional rift that had been detected on the radar, whoever this young male was, they needed to know if he was friend or foe, a hospital would be a bad idea to hold a stranger who popped out from a rift after all.

Soon enough, she brought the male back and it wasn't long enough until he awoke, with most of his wounds healed due to some magic being used on him to heal most of the damage done to his body.

His eyes shot open seeing some unfamiliar faces and shot right up in a panic, thinking he was being experimented on until a shadowy figure stepped in and it calmed down the young male almost immediately, with his eyes widening further.

"Impossible" he muttered, looking up and down a man wearing a cape and cowl colored in black. "Bruce?" he looked like he seen a ghost, causing the Caped-Crusader to frown judgmentally at the name the young man called him by.

"Wait... Did he just call you by your identity, Bats?" Hal Jordan looked toward the World's Greatest Detective.

"That's impossible, you should be..." he then looked at Hal Jordan. "You also should be..." his eyes turn to some more familiar faces, some he hadn't seen since he was a kid, some he seen that survived and died during the war on his Earth. "Am I in... Heaven? Or is this some cruel experiment?" he questioned to himself, ignoring everyone else in the room.

"I don't see why this would be a 'cruel experiment', whoever you are" an optimistic voice spoke to the young male, one face he once looked up to when he was a kid, and heartbroken the day that this one man had been murdered. "And... I don't know what type of heaven this would be, you're in the living world".

"Superman?" the young male said with a shocked expression before it disappeared. "I-I-I don't understand, you were killed. Murdered by Lillian Luthor, before Superwoman-"

"Wait, wait, wait... Murdered?" The Flash, Barry Allen, questioned. "He's standing right here, like right now".

"He's from another dimension" Batman quickly interjected after a quick observation of the young man's body language.

"And how do you know that?" Hal questioned.

"Isn't it obvious, Hal?" Barry zipped to Hal's left. "He's Batman".

"I also had the same feeling" Superman stated.

The young man observed his surroundings, his eyes spotting the magician, Zatanna and a few others like Blue Beetle aka Ted Kord before he began to feel something off within himself.

"Wait... Why can't I sense my energy?" the young man said to himself, grabbing everyone's attention. "Did any of you take my powers?!" he said with a tone that demanded an answer.

"You have abilities?" Ted Kord asked with an intriguing tone. "Nothing appeared on the scanners after Supergirl brought you in".

Y/N painfully laid down on the bed he was laying down upon since waking up from it, a small grunt escaping his throat as he looked confused but terrified of the reality that he was now thinking.

"You're saying... My powers are gone?" he said with a disheartened tone, realizing his healing factor wasn't working either, which already answers his question...

"The scanners we have installed would've detected if you had any or not" Batman approached the young man. "I... We... Want some answers... Who are-".

"I think we should let the kid rest for now, Bru-Batman" Superman subjected, placing a strong hand on the Caped-Crusader's shoulder. "Questions can come later, don't you think? He's not a threat from what I can see" the Man of Steel remained optimistic as ever in a situation like this. 

"It's fine... Bruce can ask me" the young man tried sitting up but failed as he seethed in wrenching pain. "Argh! Dammit!".

"Woah, easy there, kiddo. I wasn't exactly done healing your wounds before you rudely awoke without warning" Zatanna's hands were open to him, easing to calm him further with her soft voice.

"Like I said, you should probably rest, son" Superman suggested. "The questions can come later, uh-".

"It's Y/N... Y/N Bridger" the young man gave out his name to everyone.

"Y/N. Yes, like I mentioned, the questions can come later. Zatanna can continue to heal your injuries" Superman continued, as the name suggested he had heard something similar before.

"Hey, do I know you from somewhere? You remind me of Giovanni Zatara, the Magician. The name sounds very canny" the young male asked the superhero magician.

Zatanna smiled in response. "Giovanni is my father, I'm Zatanna, but you can call me Zee" she answered with a soft-spoken voice. "I'd advise you lay down for now, don't try sitting up, let the rest of my magic do its work to heal you" she told him.

"Oh he was a good man, fought to the end he did" he mumbled which alarmed Zee and the others around him. "I gotta ask, who saved me again? As much as I would love to chat with some legends here, I'd like to know who it was who saved me, again. I swear is it just me or did I hear that man in the blue spandex with an... Odd looking beetle say that Superwoman saved me, right? We uh... Well" he changed the subject. "Or was it... Supergirl if I heard that correctly?"

Before his question would be answered, a blonde haired woman, donning the same symbol as Superman, even the same colors on her suit, had walked in with her cape billowing behind her as she strutted on in.

"Speaking of the devil" Superman smiled towards his cousin.

"Heard my name being called, what's the catch?" Supergirl asked before the Flash scooted out of the way, standing in her view to see the young man she saved from the brink of death, awake. "Oh, he's awake" she gasped before a little smile crept at the corner of her mouth. "I was wondering why I was hearing a new voice".

Y/N couldn't even keep his eyes off her as soon as she was in view, out of everyone else in the room, she stood out the most in his eyes. "Uh... Hi" he slightly waved at the Girl of Steel. He eyed her up and down, taking note of her choice of fashion when it came to her suit, sky blue top with a thump hole in each sleeve and her custom-made S shield on her top, a red cape much like her cousins, only yellow outlined with her custom-made S shield, red high boots, red skirt with the golden V-shaped belt was something he never even thought someone would wear for a costume, but her overall beauty is what attracted him to her.

"Hi" she waved back sheepishly with a smile on her face.

"Y/N here was just asking who had brought him here, and now that you're here? I think he knows who did" Superman answered Supergirl's question earlier.

"Oh, right" Supergirl then answered, before looking at the boy. "That was me" She lightly chuckled. She had to admit that the boy did look handsome, especially with the little scar on his face. She swore she wouldn't catch feelings from just looking at some young man, as she learnt her lesson last time when it did happen. "It's good to meet you, Y/N".

But she couldn't help herself... Much.

"It's good to meet you too! But I just wanted to say... Thank you, there's a lot for me to explain but... Yeah... Thank you, Supergirl" he sent his gratitude toward the Girl of Steel, resulting with a little faint of pink flush across her cheeks. "I... I don't know how I ended up here, but... I think I remember what happened that's now brought me here as much is my head is still foggy. I can explain as much as I can in a short time, if any of you don't mind?".

"I suppose some information wouldn't hurt"...

This however wouldn't be the last time he'd ever see the Girl of Steel, or any of the Justice League for that matter. Upon recovering slowly at the Hall of Justice, answering questions that needed to be answered and gaining trust from other Leaguers, he spent most quality time recovering while Supergirl would regularly visit him every so often.

Y/N wasn't expecting it at all for her to visit him if she could, it was a welcomed surprise to have some company and someone to chat to about anything, even sharing her name with him almost immediately showed how much she already trusted him.

While Batman found it a little alarming for her to be trusting someone that quick without much known about him, Superman however found it rather pleasing to see Kara be this interested in him, he was happy to see how much she wanted to give him company, thinking he needed some since he was alone mostly during his recovery stage, it was a nice gesture, something he would've done if no one else stepped in.

It was quite obvious that Supergirl had a liking to him, her cousin knew, her friends knew, even her adoptive parents knew something about their daughter having some feelings for a young man once again.

No more than two weeks later that Y/N had recovered mostly, but he was saddened by the fact his powers were gone, he hoped they'd come back to him one day but he doubted it after some comforting words. 

The League offered to help Y/N get accustomed to his newer surroundings after he was cleared and was trusted to leave, which was when Supergirl thought of an idea on helping him with his newer surroundings, which was a nice gesture for her to even think of.

Superman approved of the idea, even brought up the idea of Y/N having his own apartment paid for him where he could stay for now until he can figure out what he wants to do in his newer life, as Y/N admitted he didn't want to go back to his Earth, he wanted to stay here, try to live a normal and quiet life.

He often thought of a fresh start, but this? It felt rewarding in a way, it felt so much closer to the Earth he knew as a child, not the war-torn Earth he knew after his own Superman died, then all hell broke loose after that.

Kara opted to help him settle into National City, using her secret identity - - Kara Danvers - - as a way to help him navigate through the public without drawing much attention to himself when he hangs out with Supergirl, this city's own sole protector.

What was clear enough was that Kara wasn't too great at trying to keep her little feelings for him, hidden around others, there was times she'd talk about him freely around her friend; Barbara Gordon, formally Batgirl, now Oracle. Babs had a feeling Kara would fall head over heels for yet another boy, she only hoped that this boy wouldn't use her like the last one did.

Her cousin had already known, he could see it clear as day.

Another week turned into a month... And Y/N had his idea of being settled into his newer surroundings, he was happy to have some company help him, navigate him through most things he never got to see as a child, meet new people and get in on some action when necessary, though he was risking his life in doing so.

Kara did scold him once for it but couldn't stay angry at him for that much longer, he was a hero himself, with or without his powers, she felt bad but Y/N made it clear she didn't need to feel bad about scolding him. He was just doing what heroes do, help people and one another...

"I gotta say..." the boy's words hanged in the air as the wind intensified slightly, feeling himself in the air. "The view from here is beautiful" his arm tightened around Kara's waist as they together, soared through the sky thanks to Supergirl's efforts.

The Maid of Might softly laughs at his choice of words. He had seen the view from where she flew plenty of times already, the first time she ever shown him this view was, in his words, "breathtaking", and still he finds it just that.

"We can go higher like last time, above the clouds. Up, Up and Away" she offered.

"Y'know what? Go for it!" he said with optimism, sounding like a good offer in his mind.

The girl smiled while looking up, putting her fist up in front of her as she began to soar upwards, higher above the city than they were before, Y/N wrapped his other arm around her waist as they went up.

A playful giggle escaped from Kara as her cape flowed behind her more, along with her skirt and golden locks.

It didn't take long until Y/N found himself high above the clouds, now looking at his surroundings before his eyes fell onto Kara's, taking in the angelic view he could see right in front of him and around him.

The sky was dancing with colors, dancing with pink, orange and blue altogether as the two were high above the clouds, alone together, with no one to see or interrupt them at all. The only sound being heard was the breeze of the wind and Kara's cape fluttering within it.

Kara smiled as she looked into his eyes, trying to look for something, thinking she saw something in his eyes before she ultimately decided to take him on a flight yet again.

"Y'know? I always imagined I'd get a fresh start one day, after the war on my Earth was over... But this?" he pauses for a moment to take in the view in front of him, making sure to look into Kara's eyes more deeply. "This I wasn't expecting to be my fresh start... Starting with meeting and getting to know... You".

Kara's eyes gleamed with joy as she smiled quite happily, she really wanted to tell him how much she liked him but didn't know how to, so she just kept her cool for now until what he had to say was over.

"I mean... You saved me from the brink of death like... Almost two months ago, I don't know how many times I've said thank you but... I suppose saying thank you again wouldn't hurt, would it?" he asked.

"I suppose, but honestly, you didn't need to say it more than once. I know how grateful you are" she nodded, keeping her smile up. "I'm glad we met, I'm glad to hang out with you too... Yeah" Kara burst into a big smile with her cheeks flushing a little pink that bloomed.

"Me too, Supes..." he said, lowering his voice to that of a little, calm whisper. "Me too" he repeated, while unknown to his own mind, he had slightly drawn his face a little closer to hers whilst looking into her sky blue pearls within her eyes.

The Maid of Might soon took notice of his unbeknownst action of his face drawing a little closer to hers, her eyes widened a little slightly before setting back to a calmer expression, drawing her face closer to his.

There was a point where the both stopped for a moment as Kara's hand softly caressed the young man's cheek, right where his little "cute" scar was, she always thought scars looked a little cool but when it came to Y/N? She found it cute that he had a few, though one of his scars is one he hates to be reminded of, a reminder of loss, she best avoids touching it as she doesn't  want to bring horrible memories back up to him.

"What's stopping you?" Y/N then broke the silence with a soft whisper, knowing well that she wanted this more than he did, he had a feeling all along that Kara's motives around him were an act of liking him more than a friend, at least the one time she slipped and made it obvious that she was crushing on him last week when she cuddled into him, using her cape as a backup blanket for the both of them.

Kara treated him with so much kindness and protected him for almost two months now, it was no wonder as to why he was so attracted to her also, unlike her? He was good at keeping it unknown...

Until now that is.

"Nothing..." She cooed with a smile creeping across the corners of her lips. "Just admiring the view" she continued before blinking slowly.

Eventually, not even a minute goes by, she gave in and gently pressed her lips on his, feeling the need for his lips on hers, soon closing her eyes as she feels Y/N give into her soft lips on his, pushing deeply into hers gently also.

She had a feeling he's done this before, but it didn't matter to her right now, she only wanted to feel this feeling with him.

Her left hand rested on his shoulder while her other still caressed his cheek, still feeling his arms wrapped around her as they stayed afloat high above the clouds, the wind blowing any pieces of fabric like her skirt and cape, fluttering behind her.

Her golden locks flowed like a golden cape along with her skirt and cape, as if the wind knew it was the right moment to make her look angelic.

A minute passes by and with a soft smack of lips separating, Kara rests her forehead on Y/N's, wearing a golden smile.

"I suppose my fresh start is gonna be more rewarding than I thought. Who would've thought, huh?" Y/N noted playfully, making Supergirl lightly giggle at his choice of words.

"Who would've?" she played along before the two laughed softly at each other. "Care to go again?" she asked to kiss again with a little smirk on her face, wanting to feel his lips once more with his permission.

"I think you already know the answer to that"...

______________________________________________________________

Fin...

Word Count: 3971

Tag List: @jacenradio7 @jadenyukiyusakufujikiyutoduelist @6rookie-writer0110 @beestriker015 @rodimusprime2017 @ma1egamer @multi-fandom-enjoyer

[yanderes-galore]

Fandom: Invader Zim

Character: Tak and Gaz Membrane (aged up)

Pairing: Romantic-Rivalry

Type of Fic: Concept

(Optional) Other info I should know: Gender-neutral human reader

Okay! I'm utilizing the college AU I set up in the Gaz concept for this. Tak returns to Earth for revenge on Zim... only to meet you and Gaz again.

Sorry it isn't that good... I ran out of ideas :(

Yandere! Tak vs Gaz Concept

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Jealousy, Stalking, Overprotective behavior, Kidnapping, Isolation, Dubious relationship.

You vaguely remember Tak from when you were young.

You had been friends with Gaz and Dib in school and were aware of the issues involving Zim.

However, like Gaz, you knew Zim wasn't a big issue.

If any Irken was, it was Tak.

Yet even then she was always more focused on getting revenge against Zim.

You never thought you'd see Tak again.

Years have passed since then... You even helped Dib and Gaz save the Earth from a Florpus Hole.

Now you're all in college, occasionally still having to tolerate Zim's stupid little plans.

Dib went into studying astrology and engineering for his major.

Gaz went into coding and video game development.

Meanwhile you're doing your own major with Gaz as your roommate.

You barely even thought of Tak, too focused on school and keeping Zim in check.

That is until you heard of news from Dib.

Turns out, somehow, Tak managed to find her way back to Earth to finish what she started.

Considering how Zim was still on Earth, it's expected you'd be dragged into Tak's return.

After all, the last thing you need is two Irkens fighting and causing chaos in the process while you study.

Tak is no longer here to destroy Earth... for the most part.

She mostly wants revenge on Zim, especially since he sent The Tallest into a Florpus Hole.

However, while Tak tracks down Zim...

She meets you, Dib, and Gaz again.

Ironically I feel Tak and Gaz have similar characters to one another.

Tak's disguise is even a goth girl, still just as advanced as it was years ago.

She probably sneaks into your college to spy on you since she recalls you and your friends dealing with Zim constantly.

Although, it appears she soon finds a new target to hunt the longer she's on Earth.

Gaz, as your roommate, is no doubt going to notice if Tak sniffs around somewhere she isn't supposed to.

Gaz has cared about you since elementary, she's getting quite tired of having to deal with supernatural threats hunting you or Dib down.

She's probably quite tired of Irkens as a whole by this point.

She already has to deal with Dib being obsessed with exposing Zim... even in college.

Now she soon realizes she has to deal with the opposite.

An Irken is obsessed with her roommate...

Honestly, it's pissing Gaz off.

Tak originally stalks you with the intention of getting info out of you.

You're with those Membrane humans, you should know about her target...

Yet Gaz keeps stepping in, eyes narrowed in a glare each time she sees Tak or MiMi.

Gaz already doesn't mess around when it comes to you.

You are either her crush... or just outright dating while in college.

Tak's just going to ruin everything in Gaz's eyes.

Especially if Gaz only recently got you to be hers.

Gaz, like any Membrane, has planned meticulously to make you hers.

She's lucky to be your roommate and your girlfriend.

She finally has you as hers... She's even gotten rid of people for you.

Yet now... Now Tak has decided she needs you?

These two are definitely fighting.

Tak's obsession may start as just needing info... but she realizes you're an... interesting human.

She has to blend in with the humans anyways...

Might as well make friends.

This often leads to Gaz and Tak confronting one another.

Tak still has little knowledge on human relationships.

She probably doesn't quite understand what's between you and Gaz.

Girlfriend...? Is it a special rank between humans?

Irkens don't really know how to show human love.

Or just... love.

To Tak, she just feels like she wants to claim/conquer you, since Irkens are used to that.

Is that what Gaz means when she says you're partners?

Has she... conquered you?

...

For some reason that makes Tak feel ill and a bit envious.

How strange.

So... Overall I feel the dynamic would be this...

Gaz is your overprotective girlfriend who is quite tired of aliens ruining her personal relationships...

While Tak wants to take you from Gaz in an attempt to under her strange fixation over you.

Tensions are high... you can sense it.

Gaz is rarely able to focus on her work for school.

She's also around you more often, usually on edge as she grumbles about Tak.

Tak is often either using MiMi to stalk you or sneaking into your classes to see you.

She feels oddly warm around you even if she sees most humans disgusting...

Maybe she's sick.

I can see Gaz spraying Tak with water or scaring off MiMi to keep the Irken away.

It's all an annoyance to Gaz.

Meanwhile, Tak simply sees it as a new goal while she tracks Zim.

Gaz is genuinely trying to protect you while Tak sees this as a game.

Gaz probably tries to keep you in your dorm to discourage Tak.

Yet if Tak tried to take you... Gaz is no doubt immediately tracking where you went with help from Dib.

I can sort of see things coming to a head where Gaz can't take it anymore and decides to try lethal force.

Not the first time she's done it... people are scared of her for a reason on campus....

Tak might try also since Irken have decent combat skills and weaponry.

Can I see them killing one another?

Yes.

Gaz may have more of an advantage due to Dib though.

Maybe Zim too, since Zim no doubt wants Tak gone.

Tak's smart though... she's going to wait things out and strike when no one's aware.

Eventually Tak will have you to toy with...

Irkens naturally have a need to conquer.

Tak's going to try and take you... Even if she has to kill your precious humans...

Gaz feels a similar way... She refuses to let Tak ruin everything.

One way or another, someone's ending up dead...

Leaving you to end up trapped one way or another, as this rivalry would also reveal Gaz's crimes to you.

[mllemaenad]

Eh. Nah.

You don't go around shouting about the secret plan. Not if you want it to remain secret. Solas specifically called for volunteers to "Disrupt the citadel's defences. Give us an opening to get that relic." That is exactly what they did. He wasn't sending people out on a peaceful patrol where he secretly knew they'd be ambushed. The fact that the citadel was considered impregnable came up in the dialogue. He definitely played his cards close to his chest in regards to the details of the mission, but I don't think anyone was confused about the amount of danger they were in.

Mm. That's speculation. We don't see the end of the battle. We know that the spirit of Disruption, whom Rook "played" in the memory, was killed, along with several others. That makes sense: the point of the attack was to keep all the defenders' attention focused on that bridge, to protect the lives and the mission of Team B, who were inside the citadel stealing the relic. He couldn't call it off the moment it started to go "wrong" because the whole point was to look committed. They needed to keep up the ruse until Team B was safely out. They may have called a retreat after. I don't know – they also may not. But it's noteworthy that extracting the spirits on the bridge would have meant the deaths of the ones in the citadel.

Sure. But I'm still not as morally outraged as they want me to be. The problem of a rebellion is that you typically don't have all the stuff: the castles, the really good weapons, money for mercenaries, etc. So do you want the moral high ground of never using an underhand tactic? Great. Then you can hold another Very Noble pitched battle next week on which everyone is fully briefed and where they all die.

Honestly, the fact that Felassan is out of the loop on this one is the most interesting part of it! Far more than the rest of it. But, frankly, he was on board when they were throwing bodies at an unbreakable wall "honestly", so I'm ... not really inclined to back him up on this one, you know? I like Felassan. I'm still mad at Solas for murdering him. But here? Nah. Wrong call.

So. This isn't really about Solas as a person. Bioware has a history. If a rebellion does more than write a strongly worded letter, they start wringing their hands over it.

I don't want to over romanticise rebellion. It's messy and bloody and it shouldn't be anyone's Plan A. But there are several points in Thedas's history where I've looked it all up and down and thought ... yeah, I can see why this is a "To the barricades!" moment.

Uldred, Anders, Fiona and her mages, Briala and her eluvians. They all get the same "Oooooh. But does this make them just as bad?" treatment and ... well. Nah.

So when we're doing it again, with an ancient slave rebellion ... I tend to look askance at it, you know? Because it's about framing.

For example. In The Lord of the Rings, from about the middle of The Two Towers onward, Aragorn starts running around Middle-earth effectively shouting "Hi! I'm Isildur's heir and I've got the Ring and I'm gonna conquer Mordor! What are you gonna do about it, arsehole?"

And this culminates in the battle at the Black Gate. In a private meeting between Gandalf, Aragorn, Prince Imrahil, and Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir, they decide to lead an absurdly small force up the the impregnable gates of Mordor, still shouting "Hi! I'm Isildur's heir and I've got the Ring and I'm gonna conquer Mordor! What are you gonna do about it, arsehole?"

This is a diversionary tactic, intended to draw all of Sauron's forces to the gate, and keep eyes off Frodo and Sam, who are inside Mordor, attempting to destroy the source of Sauron's power, the Ring itself.

And it works! When you switch back to Sam's point of view, he starts to notice that Mordor is emptying out. There are far fewer orcs to contend with everywhere than he expected! Even when they run into them and are forced to march with them for a while, they are hurrying and distracted and completely fail to notice that two very small orcs are actually hobbits!

Sure, it all gets a bit messy at the end – but the Ring is destroyed and evil is defeated.

And no one is consulting the random footsoldiers of Gondor, or the Rohirrim, or anyone else, on whether they think this is a good idea.

This ... is basically the same plan, right? Yes, differences in the details, because it's a different story. But it's the same basic deal. And no one gives Aragorn any shit for this (or Gandalf, for that matter, even when he unilaterally rejects Sauron's terms for peace) because the story frames the defeat of Sauron as so important that this desperate gamble is worth it. Framing is important.

And now, as I'm playing a character who apparently has to fight these same arseholes again because hey, look, they're going to end the world ... Eh.

I'm really not feeling all that judgemental about Solas understanding the concept of strategy. Go Team B! Steal that relic!

Okay ... yes, and that is brutal. But this is hardly an unheard of battle tactic. Would it have been better if they had successfully taken the citadel, but with tremendous loss of life? It's only bad because this was a diversionary tactic and the action really succeeded? What's the argument here?

I'm not going to be pro-war, but how scandalised do you want me to be? Solas is bad ... because he knows what strategy is?

[transingthoseformers]

In my idea for a shattered glass version of RiD15 Alchemist Prime would be in the place of Megatronus/ the Fallen. But unlike the Falken he would be the overarching villain of the series and this version of the high council, who would be a version of the Protectobots here, would be his minions while he stays in the shadows.

Honestly that's a better plot than what the show did concerning Megatronus prime

[ruubesz-draws]

Quality time with the eldest (Earth) and the youngest (Minus One)! Whatever could go wrong??

Yet again, another cat moment for Minus One. He likes Legendary the most out of all the brothers

Goodbye, Minus One... you will be missed :'(

(Pro tip! Be careful with your belongings at the beach. You never know what might happen to it)

[indelicateink]

.

[blushinggoku]

Been watching some dbs related videos and I'm sosoo glad I gave up on that anime because oh my god the story gets worse with every arc. Wtf are they even doing anymore

[cappurrccino]

ok, but why can't I become soul besties with a loser of a space parasite and then become like a weird superhero or whatever

[tenok]

.

[yoharrysaidshe]

.

[manapeer]

I'll call my dad

The justice league was in disaray. They had failed to stop the summoning, and already the demon was stepping out of the portal. The last standing heros didn't have the manpower to stop a whole thrall army and the magic users certainly hadn't the power to deal with the demon himself. They needed a plan, or a miracle, or the earth was doomed.

Suddenly, Constantine braced himself, and strode right to the beast.

"Don't step further, or I'll have to call my dad."

The heros were baffled. The demon too.

"Your... dad ?"

"That's right," he was sweating bullets but he continued "I'm John Constantine and Phantom is my dad. He cares a lot about Earth. He will not take kindly your little invading stunt."

"Who is Phantom ?" wispered Flash to Zatana.

"I don't know."

The league didn't know if he was bluffing or not. Zatana had recently heard rumors about Constantine's father, but it was all vague, shrouded in secrecy.

The surprised past, the demon laught.

"Alright," he mocked, "Let see what your 'dad' think of that."

Constantine took a deep breath and reluctantly put out a piece of paper form his inner pocket. As he put it in fire with a spell, the cave they were in was breifly plunged in freezing cold and supernatural darkness. A thunderous ice crack resoned, that they could feel in their chest as much as they heard. The shadows sleethed into the form of a titanesque being, and suddenly big, bright, lazarus green eyes opened. And they didn't look happy.

"John."

He gulped.

"Hi dad."

"It's a school night."

"I know," the magician cringed, "I swear I have a good reason."

Now the being looked downright pissed.

"Damn, I would hope so ! Do you have any idea what time it is ?"

"He wants to destroy the Earth !" defended Constantine almost petulantly, waving at the confused demon.

The green eyes looked at the demonic being, then the leaguers in various states of injuries, then the demon again. The demon didn't seem like he wanted to be here anymore. He was proved right when he received a monstruous fist in the face.

The entity grabbed him by an ankle, threw him back to hell, then slammed the portal shut as if it was a door. Constantine visibly relaxed.

"Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it," grumbled the being. "Anything else you need ?"

"No. And I'm really sorry, I know it's late."

"Just don't make it an habit. See you on sunday."

And just like that, he was gone. Wally had to sit down.

"What the fuck."

---

Hi everyone ! I was reminded of that post a while ago where Danny inherited of Connie's soul and decided it counts as adoption (can't find it now) and this is what came to my brain.

[mayspicer]

Girl help I really need to do the test tasks for a new job or else my life is gonna get very bad real soon, but all I want to do is draw ttrpg characters.

[honourablejester]

One thing I’ve never understood about D&D druids is how they’re so often imagined as stationary. They’re found ‘guarding sacred sites or watching over regions of unspoiled nature’. And, I know. This is mainly because of the imagery and popular imagination around sites like Stonehenge. But.

If I had the druid spell list? I would take Create Bonfire, and I would take Goodberry, and I would take Create or Destroy Water, and I would pack up a sleeping bag, and I would just start walking. Where? Everywhere! What’s down that road? What’s over that hill? What’s up this river? What’s past this forest? What’s over those dunes? Let’s go see! I can’t starve. I can’t parch. I can’t freeze. I can go forever. So I’m gonna.

Honestly, the druid should be the picture of the wandering vagabond. They have everything they need. You can just walk and keep walking, wherever the wanderlust takes you. You wanna go across an ocean? You can make drinking water. Ships should pay to carry you. You wanna go across a desert? A baby druid with one level and 2 measly spell slots under their belt can still make food and a gallon of water a day for 10 people. Druids should be the explorers, the navigators, the pathfinders. They can travel endlessly, without hurting that which they pass through, the very picture of ‘leave nothing but your footprints’. They can walk the earth, stopping here or there along the way to help where they need to help, and fight what they need to fight, and then they can move on again.

Yes, some druids get tired and settle down. Circles are formed, and that’s how baby druids get their starts, finding a circle. And some areas do need a permanent circle to defend or watch over them. But I do think there should be more of a picture, more of an image, more of an option, for the druid as the wanderer, the rover, the vagabond. A pocket full of berries and a wave of a hand for some rain. Just head out and follow your feet. What could stop you?

(Particularly the Stars druid, my beloved. Could there be a better picture of a navigator? That’s where a Stars druid belongs, at the prow of a ship, or guiding their people across trackless dunes, or carrying news across vast ice fields under an endless polar night to keep tiny isolated hamlets connected. Follow the stars, follow your feet. Yes, accomplish things in the process, but the journey itself is also enough. Just walk. Go. The stars will guide you).

Sorry. In real life, so often, I just really want to see what’s down that road, or over that hill. And, like. As a druid you could just go. You have all you need from a standing start. Well. You’ll have to get clothes and good boots and shit, but you can totally feed and water yourself for completely free and regardless of natural resources out there.

More druid wanderers, is my point here. Yes, still some druids guarding henges and forests, but more druids just walking about, poking their noses into things. There is no better spell list to indulge your wanderlust and curiosity. And that’s without getting into wildshape and the eventual ability to explore under the oceans and into the air. There’s a whole world full of nature. You don’t have to tie yourself to one little bit, unless you want to.