#time warp trio fandom where you at

[norel-ravenclaw]

The Haunted Mansion

Ikepri AU - Part 1

Fandom: Ikemen Prince (otome game)

Featured characters: All 13 plus allusions to unknown new trio

Genre: Paranormal Tragic Romance

Rating: 14+

Word count: Part 1 - 3400

Description: Ikepri Haunted Mansion AU - The regional princes have had an awful time getting servants to stay at their grand manor. A young woman takes the job and quickly discovers why no one else applied. Despite the strange occurrences, she finds home and even love among them. But tragedy seeks to cut short the possibility of a happy ending. Be warned, this is a story for those who like a twisted sort of satisfaction.

WARNINGS: | lots of violent death, killing, and suicide (nothing too explicitly gory) | mxw | polyamory | yandere | toxic relationships | angst | dark goth vibes | seriously, only read this in a good headspace |

..............................................................

An axe swung, and an axe dropped.

A staircase, and a duel he never wanted to be fought.

A lantern dropped onto wood that had rotted.

A poisoned bottle, long forgotten.

A window, and a grave for two.

A chandelier, and a dagger for two.

A noose taken down before being used again.

...

This is the woeful tale of the haunted mansion.

..............................................................

Once upon a time, there was a grand, old castle.

This place was built ages ago on the outskirts of a small town, at the edge of the hills where nothing else could be built.

Here, at the edge of town, the once small cemetery grew larger over the centuries, eventually encroaching on the property of this magnificent estate. And so, one knows they are nearing the place when they start seeing tombstones. Once you enter Crypt Avenue, you've just about arrived.

Ancient legends tell of the great Lords of this château. A warmonger, a cold prince, a powerful soothsayer, and a terrifying genius. Each met with mysterious and violent ends.

With the passing of the last of the Von Obsidian heirs, the estate went up for sale. It was purchased by the wealthiest young lord of the region, one Mssr. Rhodolite. Its management was eventually passed to his second son, one Chavalier Michel.

He was a tactical genius and a warrior. And he claimed the entire region for himself, uniting it under his rule. He became a prince, and the grounds were soaked with blood.

167 of the deaths were particularly brutal, so the rumours went. Assassins and politicians that never left the grounds of the palace, men and women alike. The size of the cemetery grew.

But the years had warped all of the rumours such that no one knew for certain what had transpired.

Either way, the place left a haunting feeling in all who entered it. As it did with a lovely young woman named Emma.

The woman came to apply as a maid, responding to an ad in the paper. She was the only one to reply.

When she arrived at the imposing, elegant estate, she was greeted by a strict yet equally elegant man with a pair of glasses and a snake skin coat.

"Welcome. You have come to serve the young lords of this estate? The Princes de Rhodolite are the half-blood sons of my former employer." With a bittersweet smile he said, "You could say my soul is bound to this place because of them."

He invited her into the entry hall, where she gazed in awe upon treasures of centuries past. A grand chandelier, austere paintings of extraordinary lifelike quality, chalices, and suits of armour.

The butler left to make tea, and in the silence, distant gusts of wind sounded like voices hushedly whispering in a labyrinth of halls.

Then through the silence broke a steady sound - the tap of a cane.

However, the man that emerged from around the corner had his hands full with the tea set.

Miss Emma's first impression of him was much like the feeling of meeting a friendly dog wagging its tail. He was blonde and handsome, his nearly goofy grin tempered by the sharpness in his azure eyes.

"Ah! So you've really come to join us here? I'm so happy! You're so lovely, mademoiselle! My name is Rio, and I will take care of everything you need!"

She blushed and chuckled at his eagerness. "I am excited to be here in such a beautiful place," she said with a smile.

Beaming, he guided her to a room like an indoor garden. The most beautiful of flowers bloomed all around. Little wolfsbane and and hemlock and creeping vines. They chatted over tea and the blond gentleman seemed more enamoured with every word she said.

Partway through their cups, a brunette peeked in the doorway. His smile made his golden eyes narrow charmingly.

"So someone finally applied for the job, hm? I hope you can keep all of the beasts in line around here. It won't be easy."

She marveled a little at his grace as he swept into the room, leaning his arms on a vacant chair. "Beasts, monsieur?"

"I'm Leon. My brothers and I have a bit of a reputation, let's say." He offered a smirk that did indeed invoke the image of a grinning lion.

"So I've heard. Well, I hope that my work will be able to allow you all the time to be happy," she replied shyly.

His eyes widened, and he broke out into hearty laughter. "Ya know, I have little doubt of that, miss." Ruffling her hair, he laughed again before leaving the room in just as much a whirlwind as he'd come in on.

Rio chuckled fondly. "Master Leon is a good guy. I think you'll like him."

She smiled. "I do too."

When her cup was empty, the attendant - Mr. Noir - appeared and walked her to her room. They passed countless paintings, all from different eras. All with such lifelike faces, despite the many artists and styles.

As they turned a corner, a pair of red eyes suddenly appeared in her path, drawing a scream.

"Whoops, sorry there."

Beside the burgundy-eyed man was another blond, in full disapproving pout. "Jin! Don't go scaring people like that!"

Jin smirked. "What, did I startle you too, Evie?"

The shorter blond sniffed and looked back to her. "And who is this, Sariel? Don't tell me you of all people found a paramour?"

Emma squeaked a little, flushing red. Jin and Mr. Noir's smiles turned beastly.

"Oho, you sly devil. You finally stole someone's heart rather than their soul, did you?"

The butler chuckled, answering simply, "This is Miss Emma. She will be working here from tomorrow."

"Ah, a new maid, hm? Well, if you ever get lost, or get in trouble with ghosts, or just lonely, feel free to come find me. I'll make you forget all your troubles by morning~"

"Oh hush, you deviant! Now then, you." The imperious blond stepped squarely in front of her. "I am Yves Kloss. And I expect the best quality of service. No slacking off, you understand me?"

"Y-yes, sir. I'll do my best."

And with that he nodded and marched away, his amused older brother following behind leaving a wink to the new girl.

Her mind, however was still caught up on what Jin had mentioned. About ghosts?

Mr. Noir continued on, and the air seemed to chill after leaving the boisterous men behind. The candle light seemed dimmer, the windows fewer. Her mind wandered to old stories.

Nervous by the silence and oppressive atmosphere, she asked, "Did the old lord Obsidian really kill his own family in the dining hall?"

"It has always been a lively place," was the man's enigmatic answer.

She shivered, confused and concerned by his evasive answer. "It feels like there is so much tragedy around here."

"Just so. It is said that 987 poor souls are bound to the place. Many were the victims of the first five owners - the warlord from the far east, the cold prince, the mysterious soothsayer, and the trampling beast."

Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls.

"However, the rest of the spirits on the property actually belong to townspeople from the cemetery just beyond. Ancient spells and curses drew their wandering, earth-bound spirits across the burying fields to this castle to wander and moan."

The dark haired man stopped, his violet eyes glinting. "Rumour has it that every night for centuries, a ball is held by the captive spirits in the many ballrooms and dining halls."

She stared at him, her heart pounding, thudding nearly painfully in her chest. "Haha, my what imaginative rumours."

The devilish attendant chuckled darkly. "They are most intriguing, no? Good evening, miss. Rest well."

He walked away, leaving her alone, facing the door to her room. When a voice came from her other side, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Aww, did that mean old snake scare you with his ghost stories? Come here, I'll comfort you."

Her heart racing, she looked to see a man with pale grey hair leaned casually against the wall a few doors down. He smirked, slinking closer and holding out a hand.

"I'm Nokto. You look like you need some air."

"That might be nice," she confessed, tentatively taking his hand.

He smiled a fox's grin, his ruby eyes glinting in satisfaction. Pulling her close, he hooked her arm in his.

He led her down the hall and around a few turns until they reached a broader pass through with tall windows.

"It will be so nice having a woman around. You'll take good care of us, won't you?"

Despite his airs, Miss Emma looked to him and immediately saw a man masking loneliness. And so she smiled.

"Of course I will."

Surprised by her earnest reply, his smile turned somewhat softer. Through only for a moment.

He suddenly froze in place, his entire demeanor turning to ice in an instant. "Licht..."

Following his gaze, she looked to see a man silhouetted in the window up ahead. He too had silvery grey hair; a sort of exhausted tension was etched in his posture.

Nokto dropped her hand and moved as though to block her view. "Don't you dare do anything to him, you hear me? Don't talk to him, don't ask him questions, don't try to get to know him. You'll only send him deeper into hell. If you do anything to hurt him, I'll make your life hell."

Shocked and unnerved by his sudden change and threat, she nodded and bolted to run away from him.

However, the labyrinthine halls betrayed her, and within moments, she was lost. Rounding a corner trying to go back the way she'd come, she collided with someone.

"Oh dearie me, what have we here? A fair maiden throwing herself into my bosom, hm?"

Startled, she looked up to see the gleaming golden eyes of yet another noble man. Though she could tell that his mischief was of a different sort than of the man she'd just fled.

"Never fear, missy. I'll protect you from everything that stalks these halls - brutal beasts, vengeful spirits, lurking assassins. You just let Clavis take care of you, pet~"

With every word, his grin became more like the Cheshire cat's. Offering a forced laugh, she tried to back away.

Another man's voice interrupted her plans to escape.

"You there. Maid."

She caught a glimpse of the troublemaker's expression twist before looking back. A handsome man with an imposing aura glared at her from behind a desk in an elegant office. He stood, moving swiftly to the doorway with a hand on the sword at his hip.

"You will not humour their mischief," the blond ordered menacingly. "If you dare get in my way or keep us from our duties, I will not hesitate to remove your traitorous self from this estate."

Her heart pounded in her chest. "I-I wouldn't dream of-"

A flash of silver was her only warning of the sword coming to rest at her throat. "See that you don't. Our responsibility to this region far outweighs the importance of a careless simpleton's life."

Dizzy with fear and confusion, the woman's patience finally snapped. "Now see here! I can understand that you don't want a silly girl running around flirting and causing problems. But you have to right to assume who I am or to threaten my life! I came here to serve you, and that is what I am going to do. Good night!"

With this bold declaration, she turned on her heel and marching down the hall. She did not see the stunned expression on the face of the man called the Brutal Beast, but she did hear the raucous laughter of his younger brother.

As she hurried away, the sound became distorted and echoey the further away she got.

Heart racing, hopelessly lost, confused and discouraged, she stopped in the middle of yet another hall. The portrait of a trio of haughty looking women seemed to mock her, Clavis' distant laughter nearly seeming to come from it.

A quiet voice finally cut through the shadows encircling her heart.

"Hey, you alright?"

She turned around to see a tall man with red hair and sympathetic green eyes.

"Was Chev being an ass?"

Unsure of how to reply, she remained silent, and he chuckled sardonically. "That's a yes. I guess all of them were, huh?"

He slowly approached her, as though she were a frightened wild rabbit. Smiling, he placing a large hand on the top of her head.

"It's okay, I'll protect you. Come on, I'll help ya calm down, okay?"

Tired and ready to surrender, she simply nodded, following him to his room. The long journey and emotions caught up with her fully, and she ignored all protocol to sit on the edge of his bizarrely diagonal bed. He plopped down beside her and heaving a sigh.

"Say, I'm Luke."

"I'm Emma."

"Come 'ere. You can lean on my shoulder if ya like." She did instantly, and he chuckled. "You're gonna be fine. You'll see. I get the feeling you belong here."

...

The first birdsong of the dawn cut through the silence enough to rouse her. Miss Emma stirred slightly, nearly succumbing to sleep again as she awoke in the most comfortable and safe coziness she'd ever felt.

But the sight of a shock of red hair and sensation of strong arms around her finished the job.

With a gasp, she tried to sneak out of his embrace, but the movement woke him.

"Mm? Oh, hi. You okay?" he asked groggily.

Still trying to get her bearings, she blinked. Concerned, he propped himself on an elbow.

"Don't worry, I would never hurt you."

His gentle reassurance sent her heart racing. "What? Oh, I didn't mean... Didn't think that... No, I-I'm sorry. I just didn't mean to fall asleep."

He smiled, the pale rays of dawn painting the moment like a sepia watercolour. "You're not scared of me? Good. 'Cus it was really nice to hold you. Like a soft teddy bear."

And now, the last of sleep fled her. "R-right. Well. I should get going. I can't be late for Mssr. Noir."

Jumping up, she rushed to the door, suddenly pausing. "Thanks for taking care of me last night."

"No problem," he smiled.

And she rushed to find her room. Miraculously, she did. When she opened the door to see her new quarters, the first rays of dawn lit it such that the place did not seem so dark and imposing. Ah yes, this could the be start of something wonderful, she was at last convinced.

She donned her maid uniform and reported to Mr. Noir. The drills of her training began at once.

As she served the lords their breakfast (with the exception of Prince Chevalier, who rarely deigned to rise before ten am) the devil-like gaze of her master kept her back rigid, every move of her hands scrutinized.

Seeing her tension, Leon threw her a subtle wink, which gave her the boost needed to endure the first day of grueling training.

She followed Mr. Noir around through his duties. Waxing the floors, washing the linens and silks, cleaning the endless windows, dusting and dusting and dusting and dusting.

When it was time for supper to be prepared, she stood politely to the side while Mr. Noir approached two of the cooks.

What she was not prepared for was for him to pull a whip from under his coat, cracking it just shy of their backs. Their scream of shock was accompanied by hers.

She clapped her hands over her mouth, watching in horrified fascination as her master faced them down.

"Supper preparation was to have begun fifteen minutes ago," said the smiling devil.

"Ah! Y-yes, Monsieur! We're terribly sorry!"

"We lost track of the hour. It won't happen again!"

They swallowed hard as he caressed the long leather line. "See that it doesn't. Or I'll have you cleaning crypts rather than dishes."

Terrified, the men bowed several times as they hurried towards the kitchens.

Mr. Noir glanced back towards Miss Emma, his violet eyes glinting with dangerous mirth. He slowly approached her, still toying with the whip in his hands. She froze, holding his gaze nervously as he brought the handle to tilt up her chin.

"You needn't look so frightened," he teased. "Simply remember that I favour obedience, hm?"

She nodded a little frantically, and he chuckled. "Good girl~"

And so she dutifully fulfilled her responsibilities until the clock's hands teased towards twelve.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, she plodded through the halls towards her quarters. But, through the haze of her tired mind, a strange sound reached her consciousness.

The faintest echoes of voices and music drew her from her thoughts.

Stopping in her tracks, she listened, and determined that yes, she most definitely heard a party happening. Not recalling any news of this, she moved towards the sound in curiosity.

Traversing the winding halls, at last, the grand doors of one of the small ballrooms came into view. By then, she could hear the melody of a familiar old song and smell the feast the many partygoers were enjoying.

Just as she reached for the doorknob, the tap of a cane made her look over her shoulder.

When a voice came from her other side, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Now what is a little rabbit doing wandering my mansion so late?"

Into the hall stepped a handsome young man with one blood red eye and an eyepatch over the other.

His smile was alluring, too intense, yet intriguing.

Seeing her alarm, he grinned. "Aww, did that mean old snake scare you with his ghost stories? You look frightened out of your mind."

Remembering her manners, she hastily curtsied to him. "So you are the owner of the manor? You must be the eldest son then. It is a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur."

His expression shifted into something unreadable as he stepped closer. Almost too close.

"Welcome, little bunny. I'm ever so pleased you made it. Come, let me show you around your new home."

She nodded and started behind him, entirely forgetting the party she had come to investigate due to the absolute silence.

The steady tap of his cane resounded through the halls as he guided a short tour of the wing. At last they reached a balcony at the end of the hall.

He led her to the railing to lean against it. Smiling all the while, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I look forward to getting to know you better. As a token of goodwill from your new master, allow me to share with you my secret."

She held her breath in surprise as he removed his eyepatch. A beautiful blue added to his eclectic look. "Now that you know my secret, you can never leave~ Welcome home, my dear."

The sight of his gleaming blue eye began to swirl in her vision with the blood red. Gripping the railing in alarm, Emma suddenly felt her knees give out, just registering him catching her.

He smiled down at her as she passed out in his arms.

His step was lively as he carried her to her back to her room, laying her on the bed. He kissed her brow. "You belong to me now, little rabbit."

Smiling broadly, he left the room, locking it behind him.

The trampling beast was satisfied at long last.

To be continued.

[sm1l3b0t]

4 and 10!

hi!

4. do you have any characters you wish interacted more?

this is a difficult one because theres so many relationships i wish we saw more of. orv is so long but its so chock full of interesting characters and dynamics i can easily list like 10 of these. gun to my head though id have to say kim dokja, lee gilyoung and shin yoosoung! every time theyre together they're a unique combination of adorable and heartbreaking. i am dragging his deadbeat dad ass back from whatever suicide hes currently busy attempting and making him have a nice family dinner with the two of them!!

i also think kim dokja and lee jihye have a fucking FASCINATING relationship though....i think out of all of the kids she's the one attempts to mimic his self sacrificial tendencies the most, (all though shin yoosoung and lee gilyoung also try and imitate him if im remembering right.......the cycle of self sacrifice is STRONG in that family) and i think her 'lmao youre so lame old man who even cares about you PLEEEEEAAASSSEE PLEASE DONT GO' dynamic with him is so funny. and also somewhat tragic. so yeah i think my final answer is kim dokja + the youngest trio from kimcom. although i do also spend a lot of time wishing we saw more of yoo jonghyuk and yoo mia.......

10. any popular thing in the fandom you cant stand?

aside from the way so many joongdok fans will erase han sooyoungs importance to the narrative and her relationship with them to facilitate their yaoi (which ive complained about so many times i dont think i need to repeat it here).....ok, this could just be a different interpretation kind of thing but i dislike when people use kim dokjas objectively very warped perception of himself, where he's like 'oh yeah im so evil for caring for these children' to do a complete 180 and be like 'oh hes the best guy ever with no moral complexity'. he did some fucked up stuff!! i dont think hes evil at all. i also think that orv loses a lot of its teeth when you refuse to consider the moral complexity of him only saving a handful of people on that train, or any of the other many instances where he sacrificed random nameless side characters he didnt care about to achieve his goals. were his goals good? yes. but theres still a complexity there that was one of main things that hooked me on orv that i dont see discussed much.

also fellow white fans stop calling kim dokja a rat its racist and its weird. ive been seeing people in the fandom ask white fans to cut that shit out literally since i joined in 2021 and its still ongoing. weird as shit! cut it out!

thanks for the ask <3<3<3

[sindirimba]

🖤💜

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

really hard to say because i think all of them get pretty warped from the canon versions. i guess i'd say it's worse for the main trio because we have so much more characterization for them than, say, j&n. andy's a complicated character who does love her little group but is also incredibly cynical and jaded with the world ("the world can burn for all i care"), and in fandom she becomes flat sarcastic vodka aunt or sometimes people try to do the Most Soft Person In The World, and i find both weird. i've gone on at lengths about nile and booker so for the moment i'll mostly save the space, but obviously they're both drastically mischaracterized constantly. which is worse because i love them and so this is an obvious personal affront to me, the main character of this post.

💜: Which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think? well OBVIOUSLY it's nile!! but i'll be serious about it here, actually, and talk about how absurd racism and misogyny are that nile is so relatively rarely the object of affection and attraction (outside of the BoN sphere, and people can whine and complain about us all they want but it's true, so) even in fics shipping her with other people. nile will get tongue-tied and shy over how hot andy is, talk about how joe is the most handsome man in the world, even think about hot nicky is and wow what a nice ass he has. but i've seen kiki layne with my own two eyes and it makes zero fucking sense for all this shit not to at least be equal.

just to be annoying though i'll add that every time i see stories where people act like booker's not an attractive man i roll my eyes so hard. especially when he's being compared to j&n. you don't have to like the dude but it's so silly. this whole cast is attractive, shut up. but i'll also say, it's especially egregious if it's nile thinking he's not that attractive, but they're still being paired up in a fic?? why does nile have to get stuck with someone she's not hot for? why are you doing this.

thank you <3

(ask game)

[starspatter]

Heroes and Thieves, Ch. 22

Title: Heroes and Thieves Fandom/Universe: BTAS, pre/post-RotJ flashback

Summary: A story about second chances, healing, and having hope.

Rating: PG-13, for references to character death, child psychological torture and trauma.

Genre: Romance/Family/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 3,904 Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Also on ff.net and AO3.

Feeling like a hero but I can't fly No, you'll never crash if you don't try Took it to the edge, now I know why Never gonna live if you're too scared to die

-Goo Goo Dolls, “So Alive”

————————–

After.

“I don’t like it.”

Tim leaned over to Dick and whispered in a light lilt:

“‘It’ doesn’t like being called an ‘it’.”

Standing before them in the center of the loft was a burly youth with jet-black hair and wary blue eyes; strong, square-set jaw tilted defiantly towards the two – plus another muscular man in a red cape towering over the entire trio.  Dick and Tim shifted sight anxiously back and forth between the confronting opposites – or rather parallels, as the stranger bore a striking semblance to his elder, almost a miniature model (especially as both had their limbs crossed in identical positions).  Superman stared suspiciously down at his mirror image, studying him hard as steel.

“You say you found him wandering the streets?”

He prompted, addressing Tim rather than the one before him.

“You make it sound like he’s some stray dog.”  The subject narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.  “There was a crash at an intersection; some clueless guy walked right into the direct middle of traffic, and I watched with my own eyes as a car ran straight into him.  He was fine afterwards, but the vehicle was totaled.  Not exactly something you see in Gotham everyday.  So I checked to make sure the driver was okay, before getting this crazy kid the hell out of there before the police and media showed up and started swarming.”

“You made a good call. I’ll- contact the League, and we’ll take… ‘it’ from here.”

“Hold it,” the ticked-off teen spoke up at last.  “Don’t I get a say in any of this?  Who gave you the right to just go deciding things on your own?  You’re not the boss of me.”

The Man of Steel made an expression like a wild animal had just suddenly started spouting fluent English phrases.

“You claim to be my clone, that we share the same DNA.  That Cadmus created you – in order to take my place in the event of my demise… or to take me down, if necessary.  That makes you my responsibility.”

The boy huffed, unimpressed.

“I don’t care about any of that.  I just got sick of them trying to control me all the time. So I busted out. But, if you’re going to stand in my way,” he boldly balled his knuckles, “Then I will fight you.”

Superman glared coolly at the raised fist.  So much anger – and danger – all in one unstable adolescent.  …Frankly he recognized that look, as his gaze traveled subtly to Tim out of the corner of his periphery, before flicking back.

“That makes you a loose cannon, if not an outright threat.  You really expect me to believe that you’re not here on some covert mission?  That Cadmus hasn’t already filled your brain with an assassination objective, fully trained you on how to kill?  This isn’t the first time they’ve employed this tactic.”

“Yeah yeah, I know all about Supergirl’s clone.  My supposed ‘big sister’.”  Resembling a rude child, he repeatedly mimed finger-quotes in the air.  (It was a wonder where he picked that gesture up from.)  “The failure. They said she was ‘defective’.  That they learned from their mistakes, and made me to be ‘better’.  ‘Perfect’.”

Superman mused if that was the reason he remained so… “juvenile” compared to Kara’s copy, who had been artificially aged to maturity, as well as peak physical strength.  Perhaps, they thought that by keeping this one more mentally regressed, he’d be easier to rein in – “mold” to whatever warped purpose they had in mind.

“She was a soldier.  A slave.  Raised to obey and follow orders.  There’s no proof you’re not carrying out the same directive right now.”

Despite his doubt, deep down Clark wanted to believe in the boy’s words.  That their plan had indeed backfired, and all the hormonal rage and rebellion had culminated in preventing a pure, innocent soul from being corrupted, having luckily managed to escape before the indoctrination process could be completed.

Tim interjected at that juncture-

“Look, supposing he is telling the truth – what do you plan to do with him?”

Superman debated, honestly still somewhat unsure of his own intentions.  His… “feelings” towards this “thing” in front of him.  His foster cousin hadn’t considered her doppelganger a “real person” for even a second – which may have been her only way of coping with the concept that another version of her could ever exist to serve – be “evil”.  He had been inclined to concur back then, but now that he was faced with his own reflection, it was ironically a different story.  Additionally, he had witnessed firsthand a potential future where a dark side of his soul reigned supreme, what a superpowered person of his caliber was capable of if sent on the wrong path…

“We can take him to the Watchtower.  He’ll be safe there.”

Tim snorted.

“Why?  So you can keep him under constant lock and observation all the time?  How is that any better than him being with Cadmus?” He scoffed on the other’s behalf. “Are you really going to deny him freedom as soon as he’s found it?”

There was a sensitive edge to Tim’s tone, and Dick picked up on it too as he cast an awkward sidelong glance towards his brother.  He was clearly taking this personally, projecting his own past experience of being forced into secluded privacy (sadly sometimes even padded rooms and restraints) for nearly a year following his… “ordeal”.  Being regarded – and thus subconsciously treated – almost as an “object” himself.

“What do you propose then?”

Tim shrugged.

“Why not just let him stay here?”

Each and every other person in the room stunned at the suggestion, including the one in question.  Dick reached out and put a firm paw on his sibling’s shoulder.

“Tim, can I have a word with you for a moment?”

Superman insistently joined the timeout as the guardian duo drew Tim into a hushed huddle, hovering over him simultaneously in lecturing stances.

“Are you out of your friggin’ mind?”

Dick tested in utter disbelief, to which Tim merely rolled his eyes and retorted:

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“We don’t know anything about this dude, and you want to just let him move in with us?  We have no idea what he’s capable of. He could murder us in our sleep – hell, at any time – with his bare hands.”

“And no one thought that about me after Arkham.”

“Tim…”

“You guys gave me a second chance.”

“You’re human.”  Dick glimpsed apologetically towards the third party. “No offense.”

“None taken.”

Dick shook his head, returning attention to Tim.  “What makes you think he can even be trusted?”

Tim simply shrugged again.

“Dunno.”  He gleamed mischievously.  “Would you believe me if I told you a little ‘voice’ in my head says it’s okay?”

His senior sighed in exasperation at the mildly mocking smirk on his lips.

“Tim, now is not the time to be making jokes.”

Tim kept playing along though, putting his palms together in a pretend-pleading pose, puppy pupils shining as he begged.

“Oh please, can we keep him?”

Dick veered desperately to his partner, beseeching for assistance. “C’mon, Clark, back me up here.”

The other older male was oddly mute though, deliberating pensively before declaring at last:

“…I’ll allow it.”

Dick’s jaw dropped to the floor, floored by the unanticipated approval.

“You’re not serious?”

“Tim’s right, keeping him cooped up in space isn’t a sufficient solution. It might be better to have him experience Earth instead.  Be around regular people, learn about our society through actual interaction.”  His vision squarely met Tim’s.  “…Let him lead a ‘normal’ life.”

Dick wasn’t convinced though.

“What if he is our enemy?  He could turn out to be some kind of monster.”

Just then, the topic of their discussion elevated his volume:

“You guys do realize I can still hear you, right?”

The three revolved around as he pointed irately at his ears.

“I’ve got superhearing too, remember?”

He folded his arms in further frustration.

“If you don’t want me here, fine.  Then I’ll leave.  But I’m not going back to being constantly told what to do and where I can and can’t go.”

Superman stepped forward, solemn and severe.

“You can stay, on one condition.  You are not to activate your abilities, under any circumstances.  Not until you’ve proven yourself completely trustworthy, that you can integrate successfully with this planet and abide by its rules.”

The lad looked even more aggravated by the notion, bristling in irritation and insolence.

“What’s the point of having powers if I can’t even use them for anything?”

“It’s to teach you self-discipline.  Listen to me: The people of this world are incredibly fragile, and if you’re not careful, you could easily end up hurting someone, even if you don’t mean to.  And trust me, I will be keeping an ear out for anything suspect.  If I hear one whiff of you causing harm to anyone, I will bring the entire Justice League down on you so fast you won’t know what hit you.  We will hunt you down, no matter where you go.”

His replica gnashed his teeth.  The G-Gnomes and scientists had instructed him on how to combat the League, made him go through each member’s file and drills multiple times until he memorized their weaknesses by heart.  Still, the prospect of taking them all on at once wasn’t an idea he really relished the thought of, if he could avoid it.  Grudgingly, he acquiesced.

“Fine.  I accept your terms.”

“Goody,” Tim piped up as he sauntered forth to pat his new “playmate” on the back.  “Welcome to the ‘Rejects Club’, pal.  Hope you enjoy your stay.  We’ve got a cripple, a crazy clown killer,” he indicated offhandedly towards a dumbfounded Dick and himself, “previously a crackhead junkie, and now a clone.  We should call ourselves the ‘Three Caba-zeros’.”

The boy blinked blankly at him.

“…Man, maybe we need to work on your sense of humor.”  Tim deflated in disappointment.  “First things first though,” he scrutinized the bland white jumpsuit the other was wearing, tasteless and tattered so that a flap fell over his nigh-bare exposed chest (coincidentally concealing a scarlet symbol that matched his double). “We should get you some clothes. Mine probably won’t fit you, so you’ll have to borrow my bro’s for now.  Is that okay?”

Dick lifted his hands in defeat as Tim twisted towards him – too late – to request for permission.

“I guess.  Whatever, go knock yourselves out.”  Under his breath, he muttered: “This is insane.”

“Thank you.”

Tim responded dully, and Dick couldn’t tell which statement it was in answer to.

As Tim led their guest away, the other visitor exhaled, appearing extremely exhausted.  Dick couldn’t help but think that were he in civilian disguise right now, Clark Kent the Daily Planet reporter would be removing his glasses to rub his tired lids.  He approached gingerly, trying to imagine what must be going through the man’s mind at the moment.

“You all right?”

“…I just came face to face with my genetic duplicate who was secretly born without my knowledge or consent.  It’s bad enough the government exploited my kid cousin, now I’m the source of introducing a possible new peril to this planet.”

Dick clapped Clark on his broad back.

“We don’t know that he’s a risk yet.”

A wistful mist slipped onto the man’s visage as he reminisced.

“His eyes…  They remind me of Kara’s.  Proud. Arrogant.  Stubborn.”  He beamed faintly in mixed fondness at the memory.  Dick looked on with sympathy.

“…You miss her, don’t you.”

Clark respired.

“I worry about her.  I respect her decision to stay in the future, and I’m glad she found happiness there, a place where she belongs and can spread her own wings.  …Still, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me that she ended up with a descendant of Brainiac, of all beings in the universe.  I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

Dick quietly contemplated the other’s sour countenance.

“You’re sure you’re not transferring some of that resentfulness onto the kid?”

Clark flinched, but made no effort to refute.  Brainiac, Darkseid, Luthor – all had their periods of portraying themselves as harmless and peaceable – before stabbing him in the back yet again. As much as he strove to give the benefit of the doubt to strangers and established comrades, when it came to personal grudges against archvillains he wasn’t about to allow himself to fall victim to another ruse – even if he wasn’t quite certain where on the spectrum the current concern lay.

“That’s why I’m entrusting this task to you.  I’m counting on you to watch over him.  If anything happens, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it.”

“…You’re asking an awful lot of someone who can’t even see completely right anymore, let alone throw a proper punch or kick,” Dick mumbled in partial jest.

It was Clark’s turn to bolster the other’s backside.

“I have faith in you.  You see the good in others, and that’s what matters.  If anyone can keep him on the right track, you can.”

Dick’s own one worn eye swiveled aside.

“I’m not so sure about that anymore.”

He murmured in a morose manner, as Clark thumped supportively a second time.

“If there’s one thing we can’t lose, it’s hope.  If we do, then we’ve really, truly lost.  It means that they beat us.  That they won.”

Dick looked up at the smiling superhero – a man he himself looked up to once, idolized as much as another brave icon…

“I’ll ask Bruce to send over some Kryptonite anyway, just in case,” Clark continued, treading carefully with his words; figuring that if the kid did indeed have Kryptonian blood in him, logically he should be susceptible to its effects too. “I’m sure he’s got tons of the stuff stashed somewhere.”

Dick cleared his throat.

“Have you… heard from him at all recently?”

“No,” Clark confessed.  “I was hoping you had.”

“We don’t… talk anymore.  Not really.”

“I see.”

There was an uncomfortable beat, before Dick carried on with another curious inquiry.

“What about… Diana?  How’s she doing?  I… know she and Bruce were… close.”

Though they had never officially met, he had wondered, idly, how she felt on the whole affair with Barbara – Batgirl. As far as he knew, Bruce – Batman – had never actively pursued a relationship with Wonder Woman, despite obvious mutual infatuation and daytime persona’s playboy tendencies.

“Diana’s doing fine.  She’s strong.”  Clark softened in appreciation and understanding.  “…So are the two of you.”

He reinforced the other’s shoulder once more, before releasing and beginning to head for the exit.

“Both of you, look after each other.  Families are tough to keep together, I know.  But, that’s why you need to treasure the time you have. Before you know it, you can lose someone entirely from your life, and then that’s it.  Don’t ever take those precious moments you shared for granted.  And…”  He hesitated on the handle, acknowledging his own hypocrisy.  “Look out for the kid for me too, will you?”

Dick nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep a close ‘eye’ on him.”

Clark’s facial features twitched marginally at the poor attempt at a pun.

“Thanks.  Oh, and you don’t need to worry about tracking devices either by the way.  I checked, the kid’s clean.”

“How’d you-” Dick cut himself off, slapping his forehead with a grin.  “Oh, right.  Duh.  X-ray vision.”

Superman winked at him, before opening the door and speeding off into the sky, towards the hill where Wayne Manor overlooked the city.  Dick watched him go, vanishing into a speck, before slowly shutting the egress behind him.  Hobbling upstairs after the previous pair, he made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed a beer, flopping down on the sofa as he endeavored hard not to think about the fact there was a half-naked superhuman clone currently raiding through his wardrobe.  Scanning absently around at the several “Flying Graysons” posters lining the walls surrounding him, he pondered just when had his own place – personal space – suddenly become so crowded again.  Somehow, it seemed his “private bachelor pad” had been converted to a “wayward home for lost boys” without him noticing.

…But then, he thought as he popped the top and took a swig, Bruce had done pretty much the exact same thing, hadn’t he.

…

“So… You two were ‘superheroes’ once too.”

“Yup.”

“And… You don’t have any special powers.”

“Nope.”

“How’d you guys do it?”

Tim shrugged.

“A lot of training, a lot of skill, a lot of sleepless nights – and some luck.  …Although that ran out eventually, as you can see.”

The other teenager nervously massaged the back of his neck.

“I guess humans really are fragile.”

“Inside and out.”

Tim impassively agreed.

“So, uh…  Do you really hear like, ‘voices’ and stuff?”

The query ventured cautiously.

“Voices, hallucinations, homicidal urges – the works.”

His company’s irises widened in alarm.

“…I was kidding.  About that last part anyway.”  (…For the most part.)

“Oh.”

Tim shook his head.  It seemed “sarcasm” was something else he’d have to teach this kid.

“Still want to crash with us?”

The “alien” looked uneasily down at his toes.

“I dunno…  It doesn’t seem as if your brother really cares for me all that much…”

“Don’t sweat it.  He’ll come around.”

“Why’d you stick up for me anyway?  We hardly even know each other.”

Tim shrugged his shoulders again.

“I know what it’s like to be labeled a ‘freak’.  To be tossed aside and treated like you don’t – shouldn’t – exist.”

The other boy’s knuckles clenched.

“I bet ‘that guy’ just wanted me out of the way so he doesn’t have to deal with me.  So he can hog all the glory to himself.”

“Maybe.  …Although in his own way, he’s probably trying to protect you too.”

Tim seemed to be talking – rationalizing – more to himself than his newly acquired acquaintance at this point, leaving the latter confused. Snapping up from his stupor, he quickly pushed the conversation aside.

“Anyway, more importantly, go pick something out to change into.  Anything will do for now, I can take you shopping for stuff in your size later.”

His companion complied, digging deep through the closet’s contents, which mostly consisted of cool leather jackets and jeans.  (…No more ugly sweater vests, Tim noted nonchalantly.)  At length he pulled out a black T-shirt from the far back, rotating it around to reveal a plastisol ruby logo echoing his own emblem. …Seems Dick hadn’t thrown out everything from his adulating adolescence after all.

“This.  …I’ll take this.”

“…A bit on the nose with the irony, isn’t it?”

There was no reply as the plunderer stripped then and there, showing zero signs of modesty as he stretched the prize snugly over his (admittedly impressive) abs.  Tim felt his face growing hot for some reason as he averted and coughed.

“Well, what do you know, it fits.  …Now don’t forget to put on some pants.”

He hastily tossed a pair of trousers towards the half-dressed hunk, smacking him on the snout as forecasted.  The target detached the denim wrapping and dutifully donned it as well.

“You’re gonna need a name too.  Unless you actually want us to keep calling you ‘it’.”  A pause, as he wondered whether whoever brought the puppet to life actually bothered to give their creation a designation.  “…What did Cadmus call you?”

A shrug.

“They mostly just referred to me as ‘Experiment 13’ or ‘Project Kr’ or simply ‘the weapon’.”  (Again with the finger-quotes.)  “Although, after I broke out of the pod, I found a ‘top-secret’ document that stated my actual ‘codename’ was ‘Kon-El’.  …Before I tore it and the place apart anyway.”

Been there, done that, Tim thought to himself as he rolled the title on the tip of his tongue.

“Kon-El, Kon…  Sounds foreign, it would definitely stand out way too much.”  (As if he didn’t already.)  “…How about ‘Conner’ instead?”

The boy tilted his head as he mulled over the moniker for a minute, before nodding in approval.

“As for a last name…”  An almost wicked spark flashed.  “So long as we’re being daring and tempting fate, what do you think about ‘Kent’? That’s Superman’s citizen surname.”

Conner debated for an interval again, then signaled another affirmation.

“‘Conner Kent’ it is then.”

Tim thus dubbed his new bud.  Sobriquet settled, he held out his hand and introduced:

“My name’s ‘Tim’ by the way.  …Although the voice in my head likes to call me ‘JJ’.”

He added with a casual hint of a grin, taking a mordant stab at his “witty sarcasm” again.  (Besides, a semi-sadistic streak in him still enjoyed watching others squirm whenever he willingly brought up his apparent lack of “sanity”.)  Conner seemed sincere though as he looked Tim dead in the eye – undeterred – and mimicked the motion, greeting with a mighty grip.  Seems he was at least aware of what a “handshake” entailed at least.

“…You know, when I was inside the tube – before they put me in a pod – I used to hear a ‘voice’ too.”

“You mean those ‘G-Gnome’ things you mentioned?”

Conner shook his head.

“No, it was weird.  Different. Definitely human.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t one of the scientists?”

“It was more like a… girl’s voice.”  He frowned, struggling to sort out a jumbled fog of hazy memories from the first few weeks of being “formed”.  “She kept… crying out and asking for someone to be her ‘friend’.  For someone to come ‘save’ her.  …She sounded really scared.”

Tim stared at him, unsure what to say.

“Maybe we’re both actually crazy.”

“Heh.  Maybe.”

It was Conner’s turn to look brooding though as he ruminated. Tentatively, Tim tried to distract by taking their new tenant on a tour, grasping him by the hand again.

“Come on.  Let me show you around.”

After Conner had familiarized himself with most of the facility’s amenities, his host deemed it time to get back to unfinished business.

“We still need to create an ‘official’ public identity for you. Don’t worry, it’ll be easy.”  Tim snapped his tips.  “I can make it so Cadmus won’t be able to trace your location status at all.  …I’ll need some better equipment than just my laptop though.”

He pressed his palm to a secret security panel (having overridden access yet again without his brother’s knowledge), and a section of the partition slid open to reveal a hidden doorway.  Entering into the restricted alcove, Tim took a seat at the desk where a giant triple-monitor display was assembled, inertly collecting a thin layer of dust.  Conner tiptoed in after, and wordlessly analyzed the enormous circus scroll behind them (the likes of which he had encountered – counted – an extraordinary quantity of various other advertising prints stationed all around the building) as Tim booted up the system.  Conner turned at the sound of ferocious keyboard typing as Tim brought up a cascade of windows on separate computer screens all at once, digits switching nimbly between numerous tabs and increasing digital lines of text like lightning, as the stupefied spectator marveled at his capacity to keep track of them all.

“What… is all this?”

A slightly smug smirk tugged at the verge of Tim’s mouth.

“This, my friend, is how we do – did things in Gotham.  Now then…”  He flexed his fingers dramatically.  “Watch me work some magic.”

————————–

I am no man of steel I have no heart of stone Don't tell me how it feels I'll find it on my own

[satelliteduster]

“it was the craziest thing! i was cutting the pizza…

and then all of a sudden, there’s like, a knife in your book! don’t even ask me how it happened!

yknow, i am so late for.. something. see ya!”

[prettywarriors]

Ok ill bite whats the worst mg series

alright, whats the worst magical girl series in your opinion?

Thanks you two for letting me do some yelling. The obvious guess would likely be one of the recent edgelord shows right? Magical Girl Site or something similar? But nay I say, for while MGS and Day Break Illusion and such and what not generally tell you what to expect right away. Don't like super violence and suffering? Watch something else is the clear message from the get go. One of the bait and switch series then like Madoka or maybe Yuki Yuna? For what faults they may or may not have, at least these series do something and are interesting, even if you're not huge on what goes down in the series. A parody then? They range from affectionate to banned in New Zealand but regardless of quality and their feelings for MGs, it's a parody. It's a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously (plus they're usually short so you can just forget about them forever).

So what makes a series terrible then, I am sure you are asking. IMO? Setting expectations for an interesting and enjoyable series, and then dashing them to hell.

Come with me below the cut, as I talk about Key Princess Story: Kagihime Eternal Alice Rondo!

Spoilers abound so if you care about those for a 15 year old series, click away.

Background: Kagihime was a 4 volume manga that ran from 2004-2006 that was picked up for a 13 episode anime adaptation near the end of its run. The manga is created by a pair (Kaishaku) who you may know for making Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto. Kannazuki no Miko, and Steel Angel Kurumi, and the anime had a script written by the same writer (Mamiko Ikeda) for Tenshi Ni Narumon who also did some script writing for Princess Tutu and Seven of Seven. The anime also had 6 character music videos which are fairly simple but a nice addition to the series for the main girls. Discotek has been publishing the anime in the states in recent years, and the manga was brought over by *squints at book spine* Dr Master Publications.

The Premise: Girls transform and enter weird outside of reality spaces to fight each other with giant keys to take each other’s stories to create a third Alice In Wonderland story.

Well, an off-brand Alice story written by Alternate L. Takion, rather than Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson, that while the series uses all the aesthetic hallmarks of the tradition Alice, the little we see of the in universe Alice story is clearly different. Which is fine, at the end of the day, it’s still about someone who loves the Alice stories and wishes there was more, and even makes his own fanfiction version. His? Oh yeah, while the girls do all the fighting, the main character is Aruto, a teen boy who loves Alice, and for reasons we don’t know till late game, can enter the liminal spaces that the ‘Alice Users’ fight in. He chases a girl who looks like the Alice he sees in his story, who is named Arisu, and gets roped into this fanfic battle royale. He is also the older brother of the very needy Kirihara, who also ends up being and Alice User. As does Kirihara’s bff Kisa. To round out the group of enemies-turned-friends-who-will-work-together-to-collect-the-Eternal-Alice-without-having-to-fight-eachother group is a young genius researcher Kirika who wants to know more about Aruto’s connection that allows him to enter the spaces where the girls fight.

Then there’s all the other girls, some of whom still have real importance to the story and some who have a few panels or 2 scenes total. But with a whole bunch of girls to design, the creators reached out to a whole lot of other people to have them create designs! Eventually the battle gets down to the last few girls, there’s a confrontation with the guy running the whole thing, and while the anime and manga vary quite a bit the whole time, in both version Aruto ends up with Kirihara. Oh and Arisu was created by Aruto’s super imagination powers.  

The Promise: Here on is subjective, particularly with what I personally saw as potential from this series. because I need you to understand how much I want to like this series. 

~Alice in Wonderland themed: I know some people aren’t alice fans and that’s fine you do you but as a big alice fan this is great. We have a few alice episodes and themed characters amongst series like CCS and MGRP, and even Alice themes in other series like Tweeny Witches and Alice 19th. But damn it I am down for Alice series.

~Giant Keyyyyyyyys: Yeah yeah Kingdom Hearts but these keys are much more staff like for a lot of the characters which ads and air of elegance rather than the KH ones that for me at least feel well designed for big ol props rather than actual weapons. We also get...

~Weapon variety: It counts as a key if it’s a thorn whip that can be shaped like a key right? How about a giant pocket knife? Crossbows can also be keys. Hush. And we have this variety because

~Guest Artists: For magical girl series where we have a variety of outfits designed by different people, we have Kagihime, Uta~Kata, and uhh I guess Magia Record? But that’s a mobile game with a hella number of characters and with how mobile game works I wouldn’t count it just because it’s less the intent of the series to have variety and more the nature of having lots of girls. (Precure doesn’t count because unless I missed a memo each season’s set is still by one designer). If a series isn’t about a team and therefore doesn’t need cohesion, bringing in other artists is a great way for variety and new looks. 

~The long term goal: Fighting with other people who love the same piece of media you do in hopes of creating new material that will be viewed as official? That’s just fandom nowadays. But it’s a legitimate interesting concept, and opens up so many doors for a message for the series, be it ‘what you create is no less valuable than the canon work’ or ‘it’s hard to let go when something you love doesn’t have more to it but you can still love it for what it is’ or ‘bond with the people who like the thing you like ya idiot instead of fighting about it’. The concept is interesting and there are so many narrative ways you can take this.

~Gays: Between the anime and manga, we have at least 5 wlw. Is it a magical girl series without some gays? (side note- the manga had a short thing where the MC wears a girl’s uniform and is pretty comfortable in it and while there is no way this was the intent, between that and the emphasis on the stories that live in girls and how the fight zones have no men, I’m just saying, Trans girl Aruto.)

~Greater Fairy Tale Premise: We meet a Little Match Girl based MG who is obsessed with Andersen rather than the Alice books, and touch on a Sleeping Beauty character in the manga. The manga at least implies that classic stories and fairy tale authors uh. Live on in a liminal space as immortals with world warping powers within that world and there could be opportunities for other girls in the real world to fight for Little Mermaid 2: Electric Boogaloo.

The Good: Everything has positive points, no matter how bad it is.

~Character Designs: Some of those looks slap. As do most of their weapons. 

~Backgrounds: I have a strong opinion on backgrounds in anime that can be easily boiled down to old watercolor backgrounds good, modern filtered photos as background bad, and as a 2006 series, this might not be Memole nice but they’re quite attractive. 

~Splash Pages: Easily my favorite thing after the designs, each chapter’s title page for the manga just has a character standing in a setting. Which is not everyone’s thing I’m sure but it’s a nice simplistic way to let the characters breathe imo. Even if at least some of the settings were deffo traced. But that’s how backgrounds work to some extent? If I ever get to the Met again, I am tracking down this exact photo, but here is a likely candidate for an example.

~Different Versions: I do not understand the need to make an adaptation that tries to be a 1:1. Kagihime had the same ideas and characters and did some of the same beats but very much had a different finale story and a lot of changes in the middle (like the Alice cops in the manga). Again, not something everyone probably wants I’m sure, but I very appreciate this, especially since the Anime kept good pace with the number of Manga chapters (reading the manga again while watching the anime at 3.8x speed just now was very interesting to see the different interpretations of events in a different medium.)

The ‘Fine’: Yeah.

~Anime Visuals: Look 2006 was still early enough into digipaint that I will give it a total pass on these. The colors are too bright but in a very bland way, the lineart is nothing interesting, and the faces are. Iffy. But it’s not total garbage to look at (probably helped by backgrounds and character designs...) it just came out in an era where not enough people knew how to stylize things to account for the weakness of the tools of the time. (It was 4 years earlier but I feel Kagihime is the polar opposite of Chobits with its painfully bland color palette while still being just. Flat. Sorry for the drive by Chii.) 

~Music?: There sure were songs. Obviously, they are nothing to me.

The Bad: CW for.... somehow all the big things to an extent. 

~Fanservice: Look, I am fine with fanservice, especially for a series that’s, ya know, not targeted at kids, big Mai Hime fan here even if I would recommend skipping the panty thief episode. And honestly the series generally isn’t fanservicey, at least by the modern standards of having the camera choosing under the skirt rather than an over the shoulder shot like I’ve seen plenty in other shows. Even the sexier outfits like the rose whip dominatrix aren’t bad BUT. When the girls fight. One takes her phallic key and drives it into another girls chest between the boobs while the loser cries in pain and then her book comes out and when the victor rips out pages, the loser’s clothes also rip. It is very SuperS Amazon Trio assault metaphor-y. There’s also a bit of fanservice with the sister becauseeeee....

~Incest: If you read the premise up there, first wow good job because I’m sure not re-reading that, you might have noticed I said MC ends up with his sister. As someone who is a big mythology fan and watches plenty of anime, I have a decent tolerance for your obligatory ‘oh we’re siblings but actually cousins so our feelings are okay’ or whatever the fuck Citrus has going on I don’t know that series and I don’t vibe BUT. I have limits and boy did this series go beyond that because multiple episodes are dedicated to the sister being in love with the brother? And the brother returns her feelings but knows that they are wrong so he put everything he likes in his sister into his version of Alice who, of course, physically manifests as Arisu who he creates accidentally with his uh. Magic imagination powers. But again in both versions MC still ends up with his sister. Hey, at least the manga eventually said the boy was adopted when the sister was like, 3, so if nothing else no blood relations? The anime did not ad this. -_-

~Under Utilized Characters: Arisu’s gradual revelation that she has no childhood memories because she isn’t a real person is so interesting and they don’t do nothing with it but also? That’s the kind of thing I personally would love to dig into and Kagihime, while touching on this world shattering revelation, easily loops back to So Anyway She Should Fight For The Man and to hell with developing a life or personality outside of what has been written for her. The rest of the main 5 were 2 note characters which. Could be worse? The most interesting character ends up being the child genius who accidentally murdered her childhood bestie (and/or lover? depending on version) and her coming to terms with that (the friend is alive but the version changes how and why she thinks she’s dead). Then the villain has the motivation of ‘i lost my creativity and now have become an immortal living outside of normal space and am getting girls to fight each other because that’s like a story so I’m still relevant right?’. But shoutout to the anime for then taking death of the author literally. The numerous other girls are canon fodder outside of like. The manga version of the dead gf and the little match girl.

~Battle Royale: This is not a thing I have an issue with generally. Again, but Mai Hime fan, I need to read MGRP 11, BUT by not developing the non-main girls there is no emotional connection which makes them just canon fodder and that’s boring as sin for a royale system. The initial main character fights revolve so much around the MC guy being there that they fall flat, and the 2 or 3 final battles in both versions still feel without any stakes. Also for a royale thing most of the characters don’t actually die, which cool! Neat! Except when they do? Some nobodies and a somebody are murdered (at least in the manga) and the tone never feels like it’s supposed to be upping the stakes, it’s just. Some people are dead now. And do you want to guess which of the main characters died?

~Gays: Oh boy the best friend of the brother-complex sister is in love with her and (in the manga) dies. She does apparently get better for the last chapter but the death itself is only felt by the rest of the cast for a page or two before we go back to feeling sad big brother wants to kiss his mentally generated sister clone rather than his actual sister u_u. Bury your gays is nothing new, but I wonder if it was also intended to be justified because Guess Who Is Creepy and a bit Perverted? Oh look the lesbian keeps the used swimsuit of her beloved and manipulates events to get an indirect kiss and when she sees the sister trying to strange Arisu for a moment she decides to do it for the sister? It’s not good. You want bad gay rep in a magical girl series, well here ya go. We also had a nobody in the first(second?) episode whose story pages reveal her having a kiss with a girl, and then we also have the prodigy again and- in the manga- her. Uh. childhood lover who she thought she killed but the girl has been wiping her mind over and over so prodigy remembers ‘killing’ the friend and not the she’s alive so she can keep? fucking with her? Toxic!

~Sexual Content: But wait you say, you already covered fanservice! Ah but that is sexual content for titilation. This is sexual content for dramatic backstory! The red riding hood character was sexually assaulted, another character was manipulated into sex first as a teen and then more often to ‘get into the publishing industry’, and the same writer forces some aggressive kisses on the MC. None of it is gratuitous which is nice, but also, was it necessary? Not making a new point for this but read riding hood’s dog was also murdered so unnecessary animal death gets tossed on in there. 

~Male Lead: You can have a male, non magical character as the main character surrounded by magical girls. This is not how to do it. If I can make a vicious and hopefully not understood reference, Aruto is basically Tate from the Mai Hime Manga. If you understood that, I am so sorry. If you didn’t, congrats! Don’t read the manga. Or do and send me asks about the iconic final page of the first volume (18+). Anyway, this dude is boring, everything revolves around him, BUT I’ll be generous and say at least this isn’t a harem series? It looks like it out of context but it’s just a triangle with a fun attached scientist and token lesbian.

~Premise: They didn’t make good use of it. The initial goals of ‘take other girls pages from their soul books because if we get enough we unlock a third alice book’ is good! And then we add the twist that that was never going to happen and either if we get all the pages we can grant a wish, or these fights are just happening for the amusement of and asshole. Either way, yeah okay I guess. But at no point do we ever achieve this forbidden wish granting book and the asshole just. Lives. Nothing happens to him. His peers don’t even dunk on him. The only real changes from the beginning and the end of the series are: the siblings are now chill with dating, and the scientist lady won’t turn into a child in magical spaces. Oh. Yeah.

~Why did we make this adult a child sometimes?: I think we know why. Stop trying to get those types of folks to watch your already meh series. I also could have sworn at points in the past looking up images for this series I’ve seen extra art for Yuuri the Thumbelina-y Alice User that seemed like it would fit alongside anything by POP. You know, the Moetan guy. If you don’t know, god I wish that were me. 

Wrap Up: I have definitely forgotten some points and am well within my rights to ad to this whenever I remember more points but uh. Yeah.  

Listen you want an alice themed battle royale with nice outfits? Rozen maiden is right there. Battle Royale magical girl series that’s good with fanservice? Mai Hime. Series with different outfits while being based on a classic story? Pretear.

Hope anyone who read all of this at least got what I was saying, even if they don’t agree with it. And thanks for reading because whoops. 

[noitsbecky127]

rebecca watches tos: metamorphosis

who’s this random lady on the shuttle with the trio

oh ok a commissioner

I do feel like she should have been inoculated against anything that was a risk, but ig even in the 23rd century bad decisions are still made

she and jim are gonna have a romance aren’t they

the fuck is that

another unknown object that blocks their path no matter which way they turn? didn’t they do this in the corbomite maneuver

“sit back and enjoy the ride” this ride isn’t looking very enjoyable jim

oh it’s the galileo again! hopefully more successful than the last time it was taken out lmao

ok at least the planet you crash-landed on without the ability to contact the enterprise is habitable

“a collection of gases” well, it IS a cloud, tbf

someone is on this planet, and from the episode description ik it’s the dude who made the warp drive, but how is he here after 150 years

spock just shook a random dude’s hand, fandom told me vulcans didn’t do that

so do they not recognize him as the dude who invented the warp drive? I feel like they ought to

ah yep they’re saying he looks familiar, guess they’ve seen his pics in textbooks or the 23rd-century equivalent

fuck they gotta get off-world soon or hedford’s gonna fuckin die

oh the evil cloud returns

so this companion can heal and de-age people? sounds like something that would come at a cost, stuff like this always does in star trek

“zefram cochrane died 150 years ago” *dramatic music and close-ups on everyone’s faces*

so can the companion fix hedford?

“you’re here to keep me company” well shit

is breaking down sobbing also a symptom of the disease or is it just because she’s a Hysterical Woman™️

so if he leaves he’ll start aging again, but he won’t revert to age 87? seems like a good deal

spock why would you touch the sentient cloud

see spock, this is what happens when you touch sentient clouds

this probably won’t go well considering spock just pissed off the sentient cloud

zefram did you fall in love with a cloud

“a most fascinating thing happened” is this really what you got from that spock

are you seriously going to try and short out the sentient superpowered cloud

the biggest problem with this is that the episode’s only half over so it won’t work

ffs zefram do you really want this thing alive after it’s held you prisoner 150 years

oh you REALLY pissed off the sentient cloud now

jim please don’t blame yourself for this, there’s no way this could’ve been your fault

how are you going to rewire the translator to talk to a cloud

whatever it’s spock he’ll figure it out

meanwhile on the enterprise, the search for the shuttle is certainly going

please do not follow them, you do not want to be where they are

zefram why did you fall in love with a cloud

“the man needs others of his species” so let him LEAVE

spock ily but this really isn’t the time to be scientific

“the idea of male and female are universal concepts” I call bullshit

“I do not totally understand the emotion” now I REALLY call bullshit, spock, you eye-bang jim every episode

alright ig zefram isn’t into banging aliens

“we’ll look them over, one by one” that is INCREDIBLY impractical

also I love (read: hate) that the moment the companion was feminine in nature suddenly she was unquestionably in love with him

not liking how her takeaway from that convo was “if I were human we could be in love”

oh someone made a miraculous recovery

oh what the fuck

so the companion is just sharing a body with hedford now?

alright well at least they can leave now

and hedford-companion is still trying to get zefram to love her

oh ig he’s down for it now

oh ffs she’s just gotta stay here? that’s so stupid

so they’re just gonna live alone together on this planet forever. fuck that

“I owe everything to her” do you though. she did keep you here for 150 years.

this sure was an episode. hated the ending though.

[mythicalcanary-literature]

FanFiction - Crossing the Stars

Hetalia (c) Hidekaz Himaruya

FTL: Faster Than Light (c) Subset Games

[CHAPTER LIST]

Author’s Note: This FanFiction is a crossover between the sci-fi strategy game ‘FTL: Faster Than Light’ by Subset Games and the manga/anime called ‘Hetalia’ by Hidekaz Himaruya. The story will follow closely to the events of the rougue-like gameplay in FTL and the human characters will be replaced with the human versions of the national personifications in ‘Hetalia’. This is a fun personal project and it requires no knowledge of either fandom to enjoy this story. I’d encourage checking the original sources out though! Use of screenshots in this FanFiction are to supplement the storytelling to help plot the course of our heroes’ journey in the universe. Whatever the outcome of the gameplay I base this story on (as each playthrough is very unique) will be translated into the plot of this story. i.e. If the spaceship gets damaged, it gets damaged in the story. If a character dies in the game, they’re dead in this fiction. (Please note that I find this kind of storytelling entertaining to play/write and I plan to do more in the future if time allows!)

Chapter 1

The Federation was struggling with the advancing Rebel fleet. One lone ship carried some vital information that could turn the tides of the war and the Federation allied Star Ship APH was going to be their champion.

At the helm was Captain Alfred Jones, a spry young American whom fit the Golden Boy persona to a tee. Sure, he wore square-rimmed glasses but he was still awesome. Don’t let his cute blue-eyed, blond haired, ripped body mislead you! He had the courage to lead his crew to the very end. He was the youngest of his crew and had a Hero Complex but his heart helped him to make some decent moral choices.  His friends might disagree and say that his Hero Complex leads to some very immoral choices, but how could he be wrong? He’s great!

Stationed at weapons was his best friend from the academy called Arthur Kirkland. He was an officer from England and was keen to aid in an international project. Arthur was rather lean in build with messy blond hair that matched his sassy personality. His piercing emerald eyes held a wisdom beyond his years. He was tasked with weaponry because of his strategic skills and fearless judgement. Unfortunately his friends and colleagues often made fun of him for his bushy eyebrows, apparent inability to cook, and his obsession with the occult.

Last but not least was the Frenchman Francis Bonnefoy, a flamboyant friend of Arthur’s and on-and-off enemy of his. Much like Alfred, don’t let his looks fool you! Francis’ long, golden hair, sea blue eyes and wispy blond beard could charm many but he was a calculated thinker. He graduated with flying colours in engineering, which is why he was manning the FTL (Faster Than Light) Drive in the engine room.

The blond trio were in their twenties, young and wise together. If they could avoid their normal bickering maybe they would survive this after all!

“This is the awesome Captain Jones speakin’! Get your butts over to the Bridge, we need to figure out where we’re goin’,” the voice on the PA system called in a chirpy American accent.

“We’re already here, dipshit,” Arthur countered as he and Francis joined him on deck. “We’ve best be quick about this, the Rebel fleet is gaining speed.” He pulled up the Beacon Map on screen and surveyed their options. “Unfortunately we have no data on the properties of each beacon towards the exit into the next sector, but hopefully we can acquire that as we go along. The faster we get to the exit the better, our mission is too important to mess around.”

Alfred was sipping some coffee. “Psh, who’s messin’? I won’t lead you dudes astray! Hero’s promise!”

Francis sighed. “Let’s avoid battles if we can, ze stress gives me wrinkles.”

“We’re in a civilian sector! How bad could it be?”

Arthur glared at him. “You’ve best be joking. This area will be littered with Rebel scouts. We need to get a move on.”

Alfred dumped his coffee cup in the rubbish bin and winked. “Fine. Back to your stations! Off to our first stop! Warp us there, Francis!”

“Aye, sir,” Francis responded as they all returned to their posts.

The S.S. APH warped to the next beacon. If they were expecting a calming tour of space they were greatly mistaken. Alfred’s voice carried over the announcement system. “Hey, y’all! We have a hostile Rebel Scout attacking a small refuelling outpost here. That’s totes uncool so we’re gonna kick their asses! Kirkland, fire up the weapons! Try out our Burst Laser II on their weapons!”

“Aye, Captain! Locked on and charging.”

The small ship was quick with a laser drone circling the S.S. APH. An alert blared. “Shields took a hit!” Alfred informed them quickly. “Just an ion blast, it’ll be back online soon, stay at your posts!”

Francis’ voice joined him on the announcement channel. “The drone knocked out our door controls!”

“That’s alright, I destroyed their weapons room,” Arthur chipped in confidently.

“Good work, Artie!” Alfred cheered. “Lock on the drones now.”

“Roger that!”

The ship shook and Alfred’s voice called out in concern. “Yo, Francis? Are you okay? The shields are back online but it says the engines got hit.”

“I’m fine, mon ami! Minor damage to ze FTL Drive, I’m working on a fix. I’m not hurt.”

Arthur switched focus from the enemy drones to the helm. He cursed as he saw that the interior scan of the enemy vessel had repaired their weapons in the time his lasers charged. Luckily, his final few attacks took out the scout and they could safely proceed. He sighed with relief. “Danger has passed, let’s pull in the loot.”

Alfred congratulated them over the announcement system. “Well done, dudes! Artie, join me in the door room. We’re not moving on until that system is running again.”

“On my way!”

Francis kept an eye on the FTL charge as his friends repaired the door functions.

Arthur hummed as he replaced some fried wires and Alfred ran the diagnostics. Oddly enough, they didn’t chat the entire time. It was nice working together. “Alright, let’s get back to our posts. Who knows how many of these automated ships are lurking?”

“Just don’t lead us into a black hole or something.”

“Hahahaha! Noted.”

Back on the Bridge, Alfred pulled up his upgrades panel. They had enough scrap to give them a new edge. He grinned as he added an extra unit of power to their reactor and instructed the Frenchman to monitor the upgrade. He also treated himself to a more slick piloting upgrade. Having auto pilot help him to dodge attacks with a fifty percent advantage was too amazing to pass up! “I’m gonna jump to the next beacon. Hold on to your asses!”

The crew warped into the aftermath of a battle. The battlefield was littered with debris from Federation ships and Rebels alike. Their allies had been sadly outnumbered but it was clear they fought valiantly and Captain Jones respected that. He began performing a more detailed scan of the wreckage when his sensors picked up an enemy ship. He gasped and switched on the comms. “To battle stations! We have a Rebel Disrupter in our vicinity!”

The orange spaceship faced the S.S. APH head-on and momentarily knocked out the shields, just in time for the orbiting drone to shoot their door systems.

“Why do they always target our doors?” Francis complained over the communications system. “It’s hardly a vital system.”

“I think it was potluck,” Arthur answered as his return fire knocked out the enemy weapons. “Got the weapons room! I’m going to knock out that drone and then alternate. I wouldn’t put it past them to begin repairs.”

“As you are, Kirkland!” Alfred chimed in as he kept an eye on the enemy movements from the helm. They made quick work of this battle and reaped the rewards. “Good job. You know the drill, Artie. Gotta get those door systems online again. Meet me there.”

“Aye, sir!”

The next beacon jump was nothing special. Beautiful, but nothing interesting. Francis stared out of his nearby airlock windows to view the dancing binary star before they warped to the next point.

“I’m gonna do a triangular-shaped loop here, dudes. I detect a merchant nearby and I wanna see what they have,” Captain Jones announced to his crew.

“Don’t let us get caught by the Rebels, Alfred!” Arthur’s voice warned him.

“They’re not close enough yet. We’ll be fine. We can’t risk running low on supplies and if we can get this hull fixed that would be great.”

“Good point. Carry on.”

The next jump led them to a destroyed space station. Alfred had reservations about this as life signs could be detected onboard. He bit his lip and weighed up the options of investigating. On the one hand, if he could recruit a new member that would be useful! Although he was well aware that doing these kind of investigations could risk damage to his current crew’s lives. After a moment of hesitation he decided not to risk his friends. They collected miscellaneous debris to repurpose for their own mission and jumped them to the next beacon.

The crew assembled on the Bridge to witness the hails of a Rock Scout. The Rockmen were a powerful race but these aliens seemed to be relatively friendly. “Hey, this is Captain Alfred F. Jones of the Federation Star Ship APH. How can we be of service today, my dudes?”

Arthur stared at his friend unhappily. “You could use proper English, idiot. Did you learn nothing from etiquette lessons when dealing with foreign entities?”

“There was nothin’ wrong with my lingo, Artie! Don’t make me pull rank.”

“Insufferable git.”

The Rockman Captain simply stared at these weird humans before gaining their attention. “We could really use some help.”

Alfred saluted. “How can we help?”

“Our FTL navigation system is shot. Can you help us to a nearby station for them to patch us up?”

“Sure thing, rock friend! I’m receiving your fuel down payment right now and I’ll key in the co-ordinates you sent.”

“Thank you. We will be one step behind you, following your jump signatures.”

Francis beamed at his Captain as their communications shut off with their neutral acquaintance. “That was very kind of you, Alfred!”

The American beamed. “If we can help anyone in distress on the way we damn well will! We’re still gonna do our planned route unless we’re forced to change direction, but those Rebel scumbags ain’t gonna take all of us down.”

Francis patted him on the back and returned to his post. Arthur shook his head. “I wish you’d let me deal with the foreign comms once in a while, Alfred, but you did well. I’m heading back to weapons. Try to get our hull fixed at the shop.”

The next jump led them to an outpost that certainly had merchants selling some wares! Arthur and Francis volunteered to be the away party as Alfred kept an eye on the advancing enemy fleet from the Bridge. Their tailing Rockmen friends also spent a bit of time gathering resources for the journey ahead.

Aware of the encroaching danger and their limited supply of scrap to trade for goods, the European representatives agreed that they should spend all of it on an Advanced FTL Navigation Augmentation that would allow them to leap to any previously visited beacon in one hop no matter the distance and the rest of the scrap was allocated to hull repairs. They promptly beamed back on deck and installed their new augment and checked with the Rockmen to make sure that they were ready to follow.

The S.S. APH jumped back the way they came and immediately leapt to the subsequent beacon. It was a tough decision because they had to completely ignore a distress call. The Rebel fleet was advancing far too quickly, they had to put as much distance between them as possible. Alfred felt terrible but his crew and the Rockmen following them depended on forward thinking. There was no helping those in distress right now.

“Rebel transport ship detected!” Captain Jones announced on the communications system. “It doesn’t seem to wanna fight but we can’t take risks. Plus we need the scrap, we’re kinda poor right now.”

“Engaging weapons, Captain!” Arthur replied, powering up the Burst Laser II to lock onto their weapons room. He was going to target the drones next as those little bastards were a pain to deal with.

“CANCEL THAT INTERACTION, KIRKLAND! ATTACK THEIR ENGINES, THEY’RE GONNA JUMP AND WARN THE FLEET!”

“Fuck, really?! Alright, locking both the lasers and missiles onto their FTL Drive!”

It was a tense moment as their weapons warmed up and as they celebrated decimating the enemy FTL Drive, a missile hit their own engines.

“ENGINES, DAMAGE REPORT!” Captain Jones cried.

“Ze bastards damaged ze FTL Drive. I’m working on a fix but my head…”

“Focus, Bonnefoy. You can heal after we destroy these idiots!” Arthur chipped in urgently. He switched the lasers to focus on the Rebel weapons room whilst keeping their Artemis missile locked on the enemy engines.

An explosion rocked the Bridge and Alfred coughed through the smoke. “Dammit, they’re breaking my controls. Kirkland, finish this now.” He gritted his teeth as he repaired the system damage. His wrist was pretty sore but nothing too dire.

“Aye, Captain!”

Fortunately, the battle was over with soon after and repairs could be finished to both the engines and the piloting systems. Jones and Bonnefoy met up in the medbay to heal their injuries before moving on. It was becoming clear how dangerous this mission was.

Back on the Bridge, Alfred instructed his crew that to get to the quest marker they needed to enter a nebula. Nebula zones were always risky as they knocked out sensors but they could also be beneficial in slowing down the enemy fleet. “We’re heading to the nebula. Be prepared for anything! Warp ahead, Bonnefoy!”

This felt like a mistake. Nebulas can be rather peaceful but today was not their day! A plasma storm was active so not only were their sensors dead but their reactor was crippled to half-capacity. The crew was in a mild panic trying to figure out what systems were down as a Rebel automated scout swooped in to cause them hell.

“GUYS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. SEVERAL PROBLEMS,” Alfred yelled through the communications system.

“No shit!” Arthur shot back as he examined the diagnostics from his post. “Our oxygen isn’t powered, we’ll suffocate!”

“Heat up the weapons, Artie, we have company! I’ll divert power from the medbay to the oxygen room!”

“SHIELDS ARE DOWN AND THEY HAVE A DRONE!” Francis cried from the engine room. “We’re sitting ducks!”

“Divert ALL power from engines to the shields NOW!”

“Aye!”

“I’m locked on their weapons, Captain!” Arthur informed them. “The shield is holding off the drone, thank God.”

“Fire on that and then the drone. Destroy it as quickly as possible.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

Thankfully the battle was over swiftly. Shaken and worried, Alfred gave the order to drop the shields and restore power to the FTL Drive. They would drop off their Rockmen friends at the next beacon and make their way to the exit.

“Approaching the quest marker,” Captain Jones announced keeping the ship steady, ready for a break. “I’ll inform our little convoy back there.”

“Can one ship in addition to ours really be considered a convoy?” Francis responded contemplatively.

He didn’t receive an answer as the Rockmen’s ship zoomed away without warning and Alfred flipped the Red Alert siren. “AGH! IT’S A TRAP! How could they? We trusted them!” He turned on the power to all systems after they were clear of the plasma storm and glared at the Rebel Disrupter ship. How dare they! HOW. DARE. THEY.

Ignoring the possible melodrama his best friend was stewing in, Arthur had already locked their weapons on the Rebel weapons and drones with their Burst Laser II and the Artemis missile. DIRECT HIT! That’s getting business taken care of. He disabled the Artemis and focused the laser onto enemy shields. He needed no consultation on this strategy, they would not be made fools of! With the shields down and the enemies focused on repairing the damage he dealt to the drones, he fired once again at the weapons room. The Rebel scum would not get a say in this!

VICTORY! The crew celebrated briefly as they collected the remains of their enemy vessel.

“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Alfred urged, turning them towards the next beacon. “I don’t want to try my luck with another one of these guys.”

“We can make it to ze Exit Beacon in two jumps, Captain!” Francis informed him over the comms. “With ze Rebels gaining ground we shouldn’t take anymore detours.”

“Agreed, buddy! Full speed ahead!”

The Rebels were determined to control this star system! The subsequent beacon greeted them with another Rebel Rigger patrol. It stood between them and the exit. This could not be tolerated.

“I’m way ahead of you, Captain!” Arthur called over the communications. “I’ve locked on their weapons and drone rooms. I’ll target their FTL Drive afterwards, we can’t let them get away to inform the Rebel fleet of our location.”

“Show no mercy, Kirkland!”

“Aye, sir!”

Direct hits!

“The enemy is powering up it’s FTL Drive!” Alfred informed them urgently. “This could be bad!”

The landed hits on the enemy vessel weren’t enough to destroy the hull and the Rebels were an inch from jumping out of reach. Fortune dealt them an unexpected hand, though.

Alfred opened up the screen to receive a hail from the Rebel Rigger Captain. “Captain Jones speaking. Stop right there!”

The enemy Captain scowled but offered a metaphorical white flag. “The day is yours! Show us your honour by allowing us to leave with our lives.”

This was a very fragile situation. The enemy hull was weak but their FTL Drive was primed to jump any second. There would be no time to stop them unless they agreed to a truce. Alfred growled in frustration but knew there was no choice. “Kirkland, cease fire! We’re entering a truce.”

“What? Um, okay?” came Arthur’s puzzled response. There was probably a good reason to cease fire so he complied. He would demand answers later.

Captain Jones accepted the supplies from the Rebel Rigger and the enemy did not warp away. Phew, that was a close one. The advancing enemy fleet would not gain speed on them.

Tense, Alfred called a meeting on the Bridge. He turned to his crewmates gravely. “We’re getting real lucky with these battles, our damage has been minimal. With Rebels so close to our Exit Beacon we need to be ready for a possible interception between us and the warp point. Don’t let your guard down and we’ll decide which sector to head to next once the coast is clear.”

Arthur nodded and returned to the weapons room without any answers, but he didn’t need them. It was clear they were in trouble and Alfred made a solid judgement call. He would be ready to defend.

Francis remained by Alfred’s side as they made the final jump to the Exit Beacon.

There was an asteroid field not far from their destination. They decided to risk navigating it for some materials that would help them in the next sector. Luck truly was not on their side as asteroids violently knocked down their shields and damaged their hull!

“Fire in ze portside airlocks, Captain!” Francis cried.

“I’ll open the airlocks to extinguish it. Everyone meet me in shields! We’ll repair and move on!”

Once that crisis was averted, the crew met up to decide where to go next.

Would they jump to the Engi Controlled area, or the Zoltan Controlled area? Both were civilian sectors but carried their own unique risks.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT SECTOR...

Chapter 1 - END

[CHAPTER LIST]

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

[Cover Art] This image was drawn in HB pencil and painted in watercolour paints on the 8th August 2021. It was digitally enhanced in GIMP Image Editor on the 9th August 2021. Paper type = 130 gsm 

This chapter was written on the 8th August 2021.

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

Please do not repost, modify, resell or claim this work as your own.

(Reblogging is fine, though!)

[Mythical Canary Info]

[localbardofmind]

Hi. I run this blog, and I'm a dersite destructive mind player. I do analysis shiz, and am the creator of a (currently wip) dual dreaming extended zodiac. as well as several groups of ocs who I have plans for I swear- rules, capabilities, etc listed below

analysis will not be the only thing here! I'm going to try and make this a general homestuck blog, which mean I'll try to post art and possibly progress on Pyrrhic or my other stories (if/when that happens)

and heres the requests in the inbox! I'll try my best to keep this updated

tags

nexus|fanven

battlefield|reblogs

mental melodies|my music

players|my ocs

curtaincall|trollcall

alcemized|my art

mental scroll|my writing

god tiered|analysis (general tag)

chesspiece royale|favoured

dreambubbled chatter

reqs I do

analysis: mostly by request, can do some fandom ones but it might take a bit to compile a list

-salt the bard: get me to rant a little on a classpecting topic. might make you feel a little bad about a bit of your classpect. limit: none<3

-general analysis: I talk a bit about a classpect. just general things like how the class and aspect interact, and what this means. not much. limit: 6

-quadrant analysis: I talk you through which classpect comes to mind for each quadrant of a classpect you give and a small bit of how that might work out. limit: 2

-quadrant analysis 2 electric boogaloo: you give me a set pair/trio of classpects and a quadrant and I tell you how I think that might play out. limit: 3

-session analysis: you give me 2-12 players and I tell you how they might work together to either miserably fail (and what might make them do so) or succeed (and what might help with that). limit: 2

-land creation: give me a classpect and/or a land name and I'll come up with a basic land idea. ie appearance, consorts, denizen, quest, possible god tier. limit: 3

-powers: I come up with some basic powers and abilities for a given classpect and what they do. limit: 3

-weapons: you give me a classpect, I give you a weapon. limit: 10

rules:

-one request at a time

-dont spam

-check ins if you fear your ask was eaten are a ok, however I really dont like people asking me a ton about one thing within a short time

-im surprised I have to say this, but if I say I'll consider a request type, don't send requests for it until I say with certainty that I'll do them

-please be polite and preferably word things like a question and not just a demand. pleases and thank yous arent required but are very much appreciated

-keep sessions 12 players or under please

-i dont do fanclasses or mixed classes, only what's shown in canon

-muse and lord analysis is a special case, as by my views they are a person who's actual class was heavily warped to the point where they place a great deal more in power than they probably should

-don't ask me to move a request further up my to do list in the hopes of getting it done quicker. I'll delete your ask and put off the request til the end of that request types to do list

-please be clear and specific in your requests, or rehash what your original request was if I ask for clarification (for instance, hey this is the maid of mind weapons, could I get melee weapons instead of just an ask saying melee weapons and not who is sending the request)

-if using land or powers ideas from me, credit is highly appreciated! (especially with land ideas)

-I have full ability to delete requests, especially if they violate the rules, and I will tell you if I have deleted it

will add more as I see fit, if you knowingly violate rules multiple times I will hit the block button with no remorse

requestable other fandoms:

-cookie run

-hollow knight

-inscryption

-no straight roads

-pokemon (main games, show, manga)

-psychonauts

-wings of fire

-undertale/deltarune

-omori

feel free to ask about fandoms you dont see, I might have missed something.

there are a few fandoms, such as mcyt (c not cc) that I might do that arent requestable.

[artcupcakes]

The Tracksuits haven't been released yet, meaning the Houston description isn't inherently "canon."

(Unless you use a DLC Unlocker. In which case you can use them. This is a judgement free zone.)

Yeah that's a valid point.

I guess I'm just too use to the StarWarsfandom where canon can be, let's say uh, murky at the least.

Many people(Including me) operate under the "As long as it doesn't direct say no, than there's a possibly for canon. Soft warping of canon via interpretation/reinterpretation and word lawyering/saying it's a metaphor is encouraged by canon itself" mindset.

So mentioning "Hey It can canon but it might not be because of *insert blank*" becomes really respective over time especially if your talking about canon that's no longer being developed like Legends.

Honestly there's a lot of fun meta analysis you could do about SW's relationship with "Canon". And there has been in the past but those analyses tend to "pick a side"(As if it's impossible to enjoy both Disney and Legends canon) or get waaaaay too focused on fandom and become very accusatory towards certain groups they don't like as well as focus on the outliers and portray them as the whole group.

Such a shame really.

But I'm also someone who finds the Au culture that developed around Undertale fascinating as fuck, so maybe I'm just weird.

This got really side tracked. (I'll keep the side rambling in anyways. Rip to the people who follow me for actual content)

But yeah I knew that the Tracksuits weren't canon.

Not because I have anything fancy like that DLC Unlocker, but because I was browsing the wiki for things for the Dog Tag Trio to wear in that pic I drew of them.

[auxiliarydetective]

Writer's Month - Day 10: sunshine | aged up/deaged

Another fandom? Yes. Another OC? Yes. Do I regret this? Yes. Will I apologize. No. It's too late for that. Time for some cringe, because this is based off an anime. Namely One Piece. What you need to know for this story is that my OC (Inari) has an ability that's based off a master-servant relationship. Basically, Inari always has a master. She has to obey their every command and, in return, gets powers related to their personality or own powers and abilities. Her allegiance/her master changes whenever someone defeats her old master or she is saved from death by someone, leading that person to become her new master.

Okay, have fun. Don't die from the cringe.

Inari stretched and let the sun shine down on her face. It was a lovely day in the New World, even if it had been somewhat chaotic. First the volcanic ashes raining down and now this stranger that Luffy had decided to pick up… Hopefully he was at least nice. A sudden crash coming from the kitchen ripped Inari out of her thoughts. “I’ll go check it out”, she called to Franky, who was standing at the helm. She jumped up and sprinted across the ship, to the kitchen, almost bumping into Zoro and Sanji in the doorway. The door and wall segment of Sick Bay had been blasted apart and Luffy was laying on the floor in the rubble, getting up. The stranger had woken up. He stood where the door once had been with his gigantic mechanical arm, standing at double an average person’s height, looking menacing as ever. “Nami-san, go outside”, Sanji told Nami. Nami nodded, visibly happy to get out of there. “Take care of it, please”, she said, then hurried out. “Straw Hat Luffy”, the stranger said menacingly, walking slowly towards Luffy. “Why are you a pirate?” Luffy grinned. “To become the Pirate King”, he said with pride. The stranger’s mechanical arm made an intimidating wind-up sound as he clenched its large fist. “Pirate King… Pirate King?!” Suddenly, he hurled his fist down on Luffy, who was narrowly able to escape. Zoro and Sanji, being the number two and three fighters of the crew, charged at the stranger in defence of their captain. Inari rushed after them, seeing it as her duty, even if her allegiance currently did not lay with any of them. Angrily, the stranger ripped the dinner table out of its place and hurled it away while Luffy was still standing on it, almost sending him flying into the stove. “Get out, everyone!”, Inari called to the rest of the crew. “We’ll handle this!” Just then, Sanji landed the first hit, as evidenced by a loud bang. But the stranger managed to block his attack and throw him away since Sanji’s foot had gotten stuck in one of the parts of his mechanical arm. Luckily, Sanji landed safely and skillfully on his feet. Then, Zoro stormed at the man, drawing his sword. A sharp, metallic clang cut through the air as it clashed against the large metal arm. The stranger blocked the attack, prompting Zoro to jump out of the way of his punch. Now it was Luffy’s time to attack. He managed to get only two punches in before being knocked away by a kick in the stomach. Inari watched closely from cover behind the overturned dinner table, unsure of what to do. “He’s strong”, she gasped. Never since their encounter with Kuma two years ago had she seen someone who had been able to hold their own against all three members of the “Monster Trio” of Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. “Be careful, Inari-san”, Sanji warned her. Quickly, he jumped into an attack from behind. But this backfired horribly on him as he was thrown right back, crashing into the ladder that led up to the balcony. Zoro attempted the same right after, but was also blocked. Then, he charged right at the stranger, only to be grabbed and slammed into the ground, leaving him winded. Inari gasped for air. Zoro usually took many more hits before showing even the slightest sign of damage. Luffy tried taking revenge, but was blocked off. Angrily, Inari threw a jet of water at the stranger’s chest to throw him off balance. This did practically nothing. It was like fighting a fire with a water pistol. But at least it distracted him and gave Zoro the time he needed to get on his feet. “Damn you, Z!”, Luffy yelled before charging into action once again. “Z…”, Inari whispered. The name branded itself into her skull. Steadily, the four of them kept attacking this Z. If this was going to be an endurance battle, so be it! He could not hold up against all of them forever. Suddenly, something large bumped into the ship. Z grinned. “They’re here.” A cold shower ran down Inari’s spine. More attackers? If they were on his level, the other six crew members would not be able to hold even one of them off for long. Inari drew her war fans and charged into close combat like her peers.

Even if her attacks were not leaving a scratch, the least she could do was try. Finally, they got a minute to breathe as they were able to knock Z back together. “Things are getting bad out there as well”, Sanji remarked. Really, there was shouting coming from outside. It did not sound like much, but Inari knew to trust his extensively trained senses. “Let’s end this now, everyone!”, Luffy decided. They charged at Z with new energy, doing the best they could in this small space while also trying not to destroy more things. Suddenly, Inari found herself face to face with Z, his giant mechanical fist slamming down towards her. Just before it could crack open her skull, she felt herself being grabbed by the waist and pulled out of danger. She felt the flurry under her skin of her allegiance changing. It may sound hard to believe, but she could feel her powers switching, the symbol on her left arm being warped into a different shape and her hair and eyes changing color. “Are you okay, Inari-san?”, Sanji asked worriedly, setting her down on her feet. “Yeah, I’m fine”, Inari said quickly. She knew that, every time her allegiance changed, it meant she had just narrowly been saved from death. Even though this had happened countless times already, it still gave her shivers every time it happened. She took a deep breath and the fear was out of her system. Behind them, Zoro tumbled across the floor, catching himself after another attack. He cursed and charged forward again. “Go outside and help the others”, Sanji said to Inari. “He’s not an enemy for you.” Inari could already feel her body getting ready to move to the door by itself. That had been an order. She nodded, smiled and sprinted for the door, dodging the splinters that were shooting from the dinner table splintering apart.

When she stepped on deck, she was greeted by a frightening sight. They were surrounded by large warships. On the grass stood a man in a weird ninja-like costume, doing a weird dance. Squiggling and tightening in his rhythm were vines that were squeezing the air out of Usopp, Franky and Brook, even if the latter did not possess lungs in the first place. There was also a woman with blue hair in a cape, presenting purple flames in her hand. But what confused her more was what was further away from her: Robin had shrunk, seeing as her sweater was now too big for her, and looked significantly younger. But Nami had turned into a kid and was completely sunken in her coat. And Chopper… Chopper was tiny. He looked like a tiny plush figure one might win at a price counter, with large eyes, a large head and a small body. “Inari!”, Chopper screamed, his voice even more high-pitched than usual. “You have to defeat her from afar! Don’t come down here!” Inari furrowed her brows and nodded. She took on a combative position, slashing her fans at the strange caped woman. Blades of air rushed at her opponent. Her first strike hit, as did the second and third, drawing the woman closer to the middle of the mast. The strange man continued his dance, aggressively chanting “Mosa! Mosa!” At his commands, vines wound themselves towards Inari, but they fell victim to her bladed fan. However, this made her lose her focus on the woman, who shot a ball of her purple fire at her. Inari was able to catch the ball in a gust of wind and divert it. Suddenly, a loud noise erupted behind her. She whirled around, just in time to be simultaneously hit by a ball of purple fire and hurled away by the shock wave of an explosion that tore apart the entire floor the kitchen was one. She shot backwards through the air and crashed into the mast, losing consciousness. When she landed on the floor beneath, between Sanji and Zoro, who had also been knocked away by the explosion, she had shrunk significantly in size. The jumpsuit that had once been short now almost fit her entire body. Her tattoo covered not only her wrist but almost the entirety of her forearm. During the bombing that followed, Inari did not move an inch. She woke up only hours later in her bed, with a throbbing pain in her head and the body of a six-year-old. Her room looked gigantic now. When she stepped out onto the deck, she collapsed to her knees. Everything was damaged or even fully destroyed. Their beautiful ship… “Oh, Sunny…”, Inari whispered. “What are we going to do now?”

[thebookkeeperslibrary]

Lost Time: Ch. 6

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumours of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

A/N: Look who's back ;) I promise, I'm not dead, and I still very much want to keep the small TWT community going. Hopefully, my updates will be more consistent going forward.

P.S.: Thinking about starting a tag list for story updates. Let me know if you're interested/want to be added.

Read on AO3

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"In reviewing the tragic incident that occurred at Horae Manor last week, the Great Council has decided to revise the current requirements for acceptance. From this point forward, for the safety of 'lesser magic' users, Horae Manor will only be open to current Warp and Aether wizards and their potential successors. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of those affected by last week's events, and we hope this change will prevent such things going forward." - Excerpt of Great Council Decree 57 from the year 1908

"You can't be serious. He doesn't know anything!" Tessa exclaims, then suddenly remembers that I'm now standing right next to her. "No offense."

I bite my tongue. No point in arguing in front of Rowena and Cassius, they'd just punish us in some other way. Though forcing us to work together when we were clearly not on good terms seems cruel enough. I force myself to shrug like her little outburst doesn't sting at all.

She'd said that with no hesitation. So what if I didn't do my required reading? What good would knowing the history of magic do for me in a battle?

I briefly picture myself fighting a game show host who keeps shouting trivia questions at me. He demands to know who the first Warp Wizard was, and if I get the question wrong, his powers grow stronger. Three wrong answers and he can turn me into a mouse with the snap of his fingers or smite me with a single bolt of lighting.

I snap out of my daydream, hoping I haven't missed anything. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that could never happen. Knowledge wasn't one of the nine magics. Right?

Maybe one chapter wouldn't hurt…

"Tessa," Ro sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, "this is a partnership. Warp and Aether wizards rely on each other. Your magic cannot exist without the other half. Your independence is admirable, but from now on you two need to be working together every step of the way."

"I know that, but shouldn't you at least teach him some basic magic first? How to put up a shield or shoot some energy balls?" Tessa frowns and stares at the floor. "This is serious stuff. He could get hurt, or worse."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." I cross my arms. Ready now more than ever to start this fight. Why is she acting as if she cares about me getting hurt? She certainly didn't seem to mind last summer in Paris or Cealus. The concerned expression on her face is almost enough to make me believe her, but after last year, I know better than that. What game is she playing here?

"We have spent the last year trying to come up with exercises for the two of you to learn how to cooperate. I had hoped that once we revealed the time decay, you would understand the brevity of the situation. Clearly not." Cas crosses his arms, giving me the impression of a disappointed father.

I remember from our conversation last summer that Cassius is married. Did he have kids too? And had he really spent the last year focusing on Tessa and me instead of his own family? We can't be that special. I wonder if his wife ever came to visit here at Horae. Where did Cas live anyway when he wasn't here? I doubt he'd answer any of my questions about his personal life, especially since he wouldn't answer any of my questions about magic.

"Okay, so maybe our teamwork needs a little improvement," I relent. "But how are we supposed to work on that if you make us fight each other?"

"You're not fighting each other." Rowena flicks her wrist towards us.

I blink. Without warning, Tessa and I are standing on the far side of the gym facing down our mentors. This gym really is bigger than I thought. Or at least, Rowena made it seem that way.

"You're fighting us."

My heart plummets into my stomach. This has to be some weird test. They won't make us fight them. They're professional wizards who had years of magic experience. They are literally the greatest time and space magic-users alive. We would never be able to beat them. I have no training and Tessa only has a year under her belt. She did pretty well against Rowena alone, but with Cassius fighting her too? This would be a disaster for us.

"You guys are really on it with the jokes tonight. But seriously, what's the plan?" Apparently, Tessa is just as stunned as I am, which does nothing for my hopes. We really would be getting crushed. So much for having a good start for the summer.

"We are serious. Don't worry, we'll take it easy on you." Warm purple light glows around Rowena.

"You don't necessarily have to beat us, just knock us out of the arena. As long as we see a decent showing of teamwork from the both of you, we'll consider that a win for you." Cassius' body begins to glow that signature time magic green. "And we won't end this until you do."

Is it my imagination or is the room shifting in size and shape? And why does everything feel like it's moving a lot slower now? Ro and Cas couldn't be using their magic like that already, they weren't even doing anything except standing there. Just how powerful were they?

How powerful could Tessa and I become?

The thought gives me a burst of excitement. This battle could actually be a great way to learn what I will be able to do someday. Maybe there's some way I can trick Cas into showing off all his moves and tricks.

"We're starting now? You're not even going to give us time to strategize?" Tessa holds her arms out in exasperation.

"You will have very few fights in your life where you will have time to strategize. Besides, you know nothing about each other's strengths and weaknesses or fighting styles. And you've only seen Ro fight, not me." Cas cracks his knuckles, the green mist slowly curling farther and farther up his arms.

Okay, so we're doing this.

I try to remember how I felt every time I used my magic before. My hands would always tingle and my chest would feel warm, but the only time I'd ever been able to do anything was in high-stress situations. Like if my life was in danger or the life of someone I care about. But Cas and Ro had already said they'd be going easy on us, so there's no real danger here.

I feel nothing. No tingle. No warmth.

Great, maybe my magic is broken. Which means I have to rely on Tessa during this. Even better. I inwardly roll my eyes. Is that why they were doing this? To build my trust in her by forcing me to lean on her during a fight?

"We can win this if we play it smart. But you need to listen to what I say." Tessa snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Why do you get to be in charge?" I cross my arms. Even if that is Cas and Ro's plan, that doesn't mean I have to follow it. I can prove to them that I know what I'm doing.

"Because I'm the only here with any experience."

"So? You don't know what I've been up to this past year. Maybe I've been practicing my magic non-stop."

"Have you?"

"Well-"

My world turns green as Cas blasts us with magic. "Not off to a good start, you two."

I cringe. I can hear the disappointment in his voice from here. I guess it won't hurt to at least try to cooperate with Tessa. As long as she doesn't betray me again. If Cas and Ro think we're so important that they're spending all their free time thinking about us, the least we can do is try to live up to their expectations.

"Fine. What's your plan?"

"I need you to distract them."

"Distract them how?"

Tessa runs a hand over her face. "I don't know! Just think of something, and fast."

Before I can even blink, she throws up a shield in front of us, blocking another attack from our mentors. I can't help but cough as the smoke clears around us.

"Magic combat lesson number one: move."

Tessa winces and waves the smoke away. "Cas is right. Standing still like this is a death sentence. We have to run or hide."

"There's nowhere to hide."

"So run."

Just like that, she bounces away, using the last remaining smoke as cover.

Okay, distract two super powerful wizards. I can do that.

How do I do that?

My mind races as my feet start to carry me away. I have to get them to focus on me so Tessa can do… what exactly is Tessa planning on doing? I try to find her, before realizing that that's probably not going to help her.

The room shakes, and suddenly I'm running into a wall I'm pretty sure wasn't there two seconds ago.

A stinging pain flares up above my eye. My hand reaches up and pulls away with blood smeared across my palm. Okay, apparently 'go easy on us' doesn't mean we won't get hurt. Noted.

"You need to pay attention. Especially when your opponent can manipulate the battlefield," Rowena calls out.

Well, at least I had their attention. Hopefully, Tessa can go do her thing now. I want this fight to be over with as soon as possible. Cas was right. I'm nowhere near ready for this. Magic only came to me on accident or when someone was in serious danger. Even if I could, there was no way I could focus enough right now to summon any amount of power.

I laughed. "I meant to do that."

Both Ro and Cas raised their brows at me. "Really?"

"Totally. We definitely have a plan, and we are definitely going through with it." Another nervous chuckle escaped my throat. If I can keep them talking to me, Tessa should be able to go through with her plan. I tried not to frown or show any irritation. Of course, it really would help if I knew her plan.

Our mentors' hands begin to glow. I gulp down a bubble of air. This isn't good, but I can't let them see me panic.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tessa scaling the wall towards the seats where Cas and I had been earlier. Wait, is her plan to escape and leave me here while I get attacked? My fists clench. I shouldn't be surprised. This was exactly the kind of behavior she had shown last summer. A list of crude insults runs through my mind. I shake them away. No time to think about that. I have to focus on what's happening right in front of me.

A familiar warmth built up in my chest. Was it magic? One way to find out.

I lift my hands and close my eyes. Just push it out. That's all I have to do. I take a deep breath, feeling the warmth swirl deeper within me. My fingertips tingle in anticipation.

Without warning, the room shakes again, and my body flings to the side. I just barely manage to stay on my feet, but the warmth in me is suddenly replaced with nausea.

My arms wrap around my stomach. I bend over and try not to vomit. Damn space magic.

I look up to see Ro and Cas looking confused, and I understand why. They're no longer near me where they were. Instead, they're a hundred feet away from me on the other side of the arena. Had it always been this big?

I try to find Tessa, but I can't see her anywhere. So she really did leave. Great.

Ro's eyes scan the edges of the arena and land on something in the far corner. Try as I might, I can't see what she sees.

Pointing at the corner, her fingers curl into a fist, and she pulls her arm into her side.

The corner flies in closer, but there's nothing there.

Rowena frowns. "What?"

I see a flash of movement off to my side, but don't dare look at it. Maybe Tessa didn't abandon me after all. But looking at her wouldn't help her. It would only reveal her location to our opponents.

Now, Ro and Cas are both frantically looking around the room, trying to locate Tessa. But they're not having any luck.

Our roles had reversed since the start of the fight. Tessa was now serving as the perfect distraction. Both Cas and Ro were completely focused on her, which gave me the opportunity to strike. And how could I not?

All I have to do is summon one burst of magic and push Cas and Ro out of the arena. No problem. Not at all.

I tried to bring back the warmth that I felt earlier. Surprisingly, it did. The heat and tingling flare back to life, making me shudder. An uncontrollable grin splits open my face. Maybe I am good at this magic thing after all.

The heat increases and my whole body feels electrified. Had it always felt this intense and painful? Whatever, me and my magic were ready to go.

My hands are already glowing by the time I pull them up. I can't contain my excitement. I'm doing it! I'm really using magic! Focusing everything I have on my hands, I point at Ro and Cas who are both conveniently placed near the edge of the arena. They must be so focused on Tessa, they don't even realize where they're standing.

I smirk. This is too perfect. I could feel my magic ready to burst. With one final breath, I let my magic loose just as a wall of purple appears in front of me.

And my world goes white.

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

My hearing returns first. A sharp ringing echoes in my head. As it slowly fades away, the sound of voices filters through.

"Do you know how difficult it's going to be to repair this gym?" The first voice is stern, angry.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know he would do that. I- I didn't want this to happen." The second voice sounds panicky and raspy. Had they been crying? "Why would you think that fight was a good idea? He could be dead!"

"He's not dead." A third voice, one very close to me, says. They didn't sound angry or panicked, just calm.

What's happening? I struggle to regain consciousness, my body fighting me the whole way. The last of the ringing in my ears disappears and all I can see is blurry lights. I hear a pained groan. Was that me?

"See? Not dead. A little battered, but that's to be expected." Something next to me stirs and moves away. "You didn't do anything wrong. We can repair the gym easily enough." A pause, and I think I hear someone huff. "Your shield didn't do this, Tessa. I think he depleted his magic when he blasted off there at the end."

Oh, right. The battle. My memory came back to me in a rush of bright images. Did Tessa and I cause some sort of explosion? That must be Cas talking now. Did he just say something about depleting my magic?

A bolt of alarm zips through me, pushing me back into consciousness. I shoot straight up, gasping for air.

Instantly, Ro, Cas, and Tessa gather around me, but I can't get my breathing under control enough to hear them. Deplete my magic? Like, all my magic? I couldn't feel any trace of the warmth from earlier. Did I just waste everything in one stupid fight? No, no, no! I never even got to do anything cool like stop time or warp without The Book. How could this have happened?

"Easy, Joe. Just breathe. You were knocked out for a few minutes, but everything is fine now." Cas's face fills my view and he puts my hand on his chest. "Breathe with me. In and out. In and out."

I match his breathing as best I can, and eventually the world comes back into focus. I manage to say a few words, "Is my magic gone forever?"

Cas's head jerks back in shock. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you said I depleted my magic." My chest constricts and my breathing picks up again.

He laughs with a shake of his head. "No, your magic is not gone. In fact, I would say your magic is a lot stronger than I expected it to be at this stage. But that stunt you pulled did expend all of your energy. You'll need to rest for a day, but you'll be fine. I promise."

"Stunt?" I took a moment to look at all three of them. Rowena was frowning, but not at me. Her focus was on Tessa, whose eyes were red and locked onto me. "What exactly did I do?"

"You nearly turned yourself into a bomb!" Tessa threw her arms in the air. "I told you to distract them, not attack them!"

"I did?" For the first time, I take in the scene around me. The gym is completely destroyed. Black scorch marks cover the floor all around us and smoke still hovers in the air. Part of the seating had collapsed. Even the ceiling had cracks branching out from where I had been standing before I blacked out. "Oh. Uh, sorry?" What were you supposed to say when you nearly blew up a building?

Cas suppresses a smile. "It's really not that bad. This place has survived a lot worse, trust me. But no more magical attacks like that, until we've got you trained. Okay?"

I mutely nod, not sure what else to do. To be honest, I don't think I could summon any magic now even if I wanted to. I've never felt so exhausted in my entire life. Everything in me ached, and it took a lot of effort just to sit upright.

"Did I really do this all by myself?" The damage in the gym is intense. And what about that flash of purple I saw right before I tried to shoot at Cas and Ro? My magic did feel a little uncontrolled at the end, but surely I'm not capable of this kind of destruction.

"No, but Tessa's force field blocked your magic from going out." Rowena crossed her arms, still clearly upset with Tessa. "It bounced off the shield and shot straight back into itself."

"But I didn't know he was going to do that! I didn't mean to hurt him." Tessa turns to me with wide eyes. "Please, believe me, Joe. Even if we're not exactly friends, I would never try to hurt you like that."

I want to snap back and tell her I don't believe her, but something in her eyes makes me stop. She looks on the verge of tears and has clearly cried at some point already. Why did she care if I got hurt? She'd made it clear that she didn't care about anyone but herself.

Instead of saying anything, I simply turn away and glare at the ground.

"I-" Tessa starts, but is quickly interrupted.

"Enough." Cas puts himself between everyone. Stopping any fights before they can start. "We all have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and we can all use a good night's rest."

"What's happening for us tomorrow?" I ask. He had mentioned he and Ro had a council meeting tomorrow, but what were Tessa and I going to be doing? Were we going to sit in with them?

"We'll talk about that at breakfast," Ro said in a tone that implied if she told us now, we wouldn't sleep at all tonight. Great, so something not fun was happening tomorrow.

With help from Cas, I got to my feet, and after an awkward good night to everyone, I stumbled to my room. I was asleep before my head even hit my pillow.

[incorrect-pokespe-quotes]

Clearing Out the Askbox

I never thought about this before but I can absolutely vibe with this-- powerful kickass Suicune ladies for the goddamn WIN

Rest under the cut!

YES YES YES!!!! He has the colors, he has the vibe, he has the mysterious parentage... Kusaka make it happen

They do make the perfect middle children: They’re in a transition period between arcs, are seriously underappreciated, and forgotten by just about everyone! /s

Tbh I don’t think the setting up RSE in GSC would be possible bc the volumes for GSC were already out by the time the end of RSE came out and iirc it got cut somewhat short? I could be misremembering but I wanna say there was some weird publication mishap that made him have to do what he did with Celebi and the snappy ending... could be wrong tho. Also I wish he just didn’t kill them in the first place? Having them be seriously injured has the same / close enough emotional impact without a weird Celebi copout. Also I don’t trust Kusaka to write grief well in the span of like.... 4 chapters, maybe less. As for the aircar swap thing: thank you!! It wouldn’t really work in canon, but I think it’s a fun little what-if

Depends on the arc, but in general I think the tone of the game’s music fits relatively well with everything. Sorry that’s a lame answer :(

Red is a paragon whose simple and heroic nature make him the ideal first protagonist.  Green is the ideal foil, and though he tends to warp based on the plot and characters around him, every arc he’s in is improved by his appearance.  Blue is a very complex and fascinating example of how trauma can change people, but her potential was squashed by FRLG.  Yellow is the perfect example of Kusaka’s creativity and everything that makes spe great.  Gold is the first and only absolute bastard of a protag and really balances out the rest of his seniors.  SIlver probably has the best depiction of trauma in the series and has a subtle arc that stretches for 10 years of material, which works in his favor and makes him one of the most cohesive of the seniors.  Crystal was introduced at a terrible time (though imo that’s not Kusaka’s fault) and has suffered from botched inclusion in arcs ever since, which blows bc she’s awesome.  Ruby is a mess both in-universe and in terms of writing, but god this poor child cannot catch a break.  Sapphire... honey I’m so sorry.  Emerald got the best glow-up between original and remakes of any character thus far and is possibly the most outlandish character Kusaka has (and I love him for it) Diamond is kinda boring as a solo protagonist but really shines within the trio.  Pearl is seriously underappreciated for the arc he went through during DP, but unfortunately as soon as that arc finished he sorta lost relevance... impearltance if you will.  Platinum has a relatively common character arc for her archetype but gosh if she ain’t the cutest lil rich bitch you’ve ever seen.  Black is the shonen hero done in the best way possible.  White barely got anything in BW and then B2W2 have her so much, which is the exact opposite of every other character in the series.  Lack is an asshole who learns nothing but managed to still have the biggest turnaround of fandom opinion in spe probably ever.  I can’t remember much about Whitley other than “she’s baby” so let’s go with that.  X is way less “soft boy” than people claim he is, though tbh the snappy brooding dexholder is something we’ve been needing for a while.  Y is the most leader oriented dexholder we’ve been in a while and quite possibly the first one to be based on the player character, but despite that she still gets a taste of FDS in the finale.  Sun and Moon are wasted potential personified and I will forever be bitter about how two of spe’s most interesting characters got fucked over so badly by the plot.  I can’t describe Sou or Schilly because we’re only 1 volume and it’s impossible to predict where their arcs are headed. 

I was gonna say “what the hell are you talking about” but then you explained it in specord and it actually makes perfect sense. He reminds me of that one Gen Z “nothing matters” meme

[writing-frenzy]

Alternate Perceptions- AHiT Idea

So, after accidently smashing head first into A Hat in Time Fandom and all their good shit, I got ideas some that refuse to be written, and one of them I thought I note out. (heavily inspired by doodledrawsthings, seriously, there stuff is so good.)

So, welcome to Alternate Perceptions! We can have multiple POVs here, so lets have fun with this.

First up, we have Prince Luke, who is taking a break from Law School for the summer to spend time with his fiance, Vanessa. Everything is just fine swell, normal carefree days, when the Prince and Princess starts to hear about rumors about a look-a-like. Sure, he’s heard some things while at the University, one person even said he looked so weird with a smile on his face ?? but Luke didn’t really question or think long on it... at least until someone, a noble in fact, asks if the Prince has a brother?

-

Luke blinked in surprise at the question, Vanessa even paused as she considered the man.

“I do not believe so...” Luke answered slowly, even as carefully took in the now sweating noble. Vanessa, do you really need to stare so hard?

“Ah, I see; sorry, just met an older chap and some girls, his daughter and her friend I believe, and he looked incredibly like your father.” the man excused, even as Luke tried his best not to twitch.

His father, the former and now retired King of another kingdom close to Subcon, while now known for his loyalty and incredible love for his wife... was formerly a rather... free young man in his youth.

‘Hopefully not another claiming they are the rightful heir to the thrown, there is a reason Uncle is in charge.’ Luke smiled, even as he felt Vanessa hold his hand in hers. It was a well known trouble that occasionally popped up here and there, people claiming to have raised a Royal’s bastard or claiming to be such even after the tests failed.

(At least his father had been careful, if not smart in his youth.)

“I’ll probably have to send a letter to Uncle later about this, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the warning of someone coming.”

-

The thing is, no one ever pops up. Oh, apparently this potential headache did go to his Uncle’s Kingdom, but never went to the castle at all. In fact, from what he heard, the man and two girls ended up saving a square full of people from some sort of explosion in a plaza, accepting thanks and food from the happy citizens, but actually refusing to go a step closer to the castle.

(There is much to say from the citizens, those who managed to take a peek of the man who managed to keep a heavy cloak on even in all the chaos, only for it to get knocked off in accident by a rescued child.

With those features, glowing golden eyes and a heavy scowl, one would almost think they were looking at the Former King in his youth.)

That was... suspicious. If the Prince wasn’t assured that the perpetrator of the explosion was caught, he might have thought the man was involved somehow. but as it goes, more and more stories come out, about this unusual trio going around, helping out here and there, even unearthing corrupted nobles and becoming one of the most talked about subjects since the Subcon Duchess’s scandals.  

And yet, it seems besides occasionally seen entering in Subcon Forest, this trio hasn’t actually stepped foot in Subcon itself.

Not until one unusual event.

-

Prince Luke gasped, for a good minute thankful for the harsh taskmaster his sword instructor was, insisting that the rest of the body needed to be just as trained as his hands and feet. Otherwise, carrying his beloved to safety might have been just that bit harder, what with all the finery her station required her to wear, though it was still a relief when he could finally set her down. But watching how the manor warped and twisted around them, the floor seeming to turn into actual lava, even ice in some places, the young royal couldn’t help but feel his stomach drop, even as him and the remaining nobles in the room clung to their last piece of safety in the ballroom that, that monster just transformed.

For a good minute, Luke just felt himself breathe, trying to calm down and think of a solution, only to be shocked when two children, just little girls at that, ran past him. He made to reach out to them, to maybe stop them, just about to call out to them, when he heard-

“My Prince, what are you thinking? We just barely escaped with our lives!” Vanessa exclaimed, holding on tight to the arm at his side.

“But those girls-”

“The kiddos will be fine; might want to worry about yourself more foool.” was cut in, the voice harsh and grim, but ever so familar in a way?. Turning as one, the nobles and Royals took in a heavily cloaked figure, golden lights the only thing one could see in the darkness of their hood.

“Snatcher! Do you think you can reach that lever over there? We’ll need that if we want to beat this guy and seal the rift!” one of the girls called out, the bow wearing one in fact.

“On it.” and with that, the other was moving, up and away from them (almost like they were running away it seemed).

-

With the trio coming in, they stop the being, and even return the place back to normal, much to everyone’s gratefulness.

But in all the confusion and chaos, the one called Snatcher and once Dad by the hat wearing girl, gets his cloak blown off, revealing their face to all.

Its.. it’s like looking in a twisted mirror in a way, because he sees in him the features of his father easily, it’s the same Luke had inherited, but where Luke has his mother’s smile and soft brown eyes to soften his features, you can see none of that in this Snatcher’s harden, tired face and glowing amber golden eyes.

The Eyes only Royal’s in Luke’s family can inherit. Eyes that show the Magic in their line, making them able to inherit the throne...

Things just got that much more complicated.

(Meanwhile, a Queen to be looks at this impostor, seeing this similar being to her perfect prince and inwardly seethes... and yet... Shows her sides she has never seen of her dear sweet Prince... It is a conflict of emotions she feels; does she want this man gone and buried, for twisting her beloved Prince’s image... or would he be a nice addition to the dungeons, for her to appreciate when her longing grows?) 

-

Meanwhile, the Other POV we can have!

So, normal day for Snatcher and the kids, just chilling in the pillow pile, getting ready for another exploration on the planet... when some idiot a world over plays around with time pieces, accidentally piercing through to them, the only other time that so many time pieces were gathered in their world and planet. This unfortunately drags the three over there, meeting the idiot and their plan to get revenge on the kingdoms around them any means necessary. 

So, their is some good news, bad news, and just oh good moon why.

Good news! It will not ruin their time line, their past has long since set, and they have no worries about messing with things here too much.

Bad news! If they happen to get too involve here in this world (i.e. forming magical bonds, eating magical food, using to much or many magical items that were created in this world) they risk never being able to go back home!

Oh good Moon Why News: it is a near perfect replica of Subcon Past, with Crazy Vanessa and a whipped Prince Luke running around, still ‘happy’ as it were. And they have to fix all these rifts in this world, along with stopping the head idiot in order to fix everything and go back to their own, meaning they will have to explore everywhere around them, Subcon and it’s terrible memories included.

Alternatly, this could also be called~

Snatcher’s no good, terrible, horrible, truly abhorring, detestable time in an Alternate Universe of Subcon and the Kingdoms around it.

The Snatch is not a happy camper, especially since he is now stuck in a meat suit. Luckily, he can use minor, low, low powered version of his powers. (now, I don’t know if he got transformed before or during all this, because both would be juicy, so I won’t say.) otherwise, Snatcher would be very tempted to listen to that dark little voice inside that says screw everything and one. 

He is not smiling, there are no smiles to be found, and everyone who meets him doesn’t mistake him for the prince. (because I find the thought funny on just how different a person can look with a whole different outlook and expression on their face.) Ironically, he gets the cloak because he doesn’t want to be mistaken for the prince or be accused of being a body snatcher or something, only for it not to even be needed for that in the end, though he doesn’t know this for a good, long while. (To not be mistaken as a illegitimate child or possible lost royal heir on the other hand... yeah.)

(The girls are doing their best to help how they can, providing distractions and just being themselves, getting a now rare smile out of the glowing eyed man before them.

It... it really helps)

Also, at one point, I want both Bow and Hat to just go yeet with Snatcher or vice versa, something all three trouble makers agreed to do if needed. Also, Snatcher Carrying one girl over his shoulder while the other under his arm as they run from something is a need as well.

(And maybe, in a moment of panic, of triggers and shaking, where Snatcher finds he can’t move, the two girls get protective, using a cheat or natural strength, they end up carrying their purple dad somewhere he can stress and panic in piece.)

Just, we can see the perceptions of everyone around us, with all these outside points of view, and we can really explore all the fun and tears to be had... welp, it’s at least fun to think about.

(also, interaction between Prince and Snatcher, with Snatcher having no worries of affecting the timeline... are fun to think on as well...)

[monkey-network]

An Unfortunate Critique of Spiderverse - Part 1 (of 3)

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse was a fun award-winning 2018 animated film with a basically unanimously positive fandom, regarded generally as both a masterpiece Spider-Man film and a remarkable animated film overall. And while I do not disagree with that, it definitely earned its spoils, it pains me a bit to bring up the reason(s) why I can’t call it the masterpiece that many claim. I like this film, but I don’t love it as much as others and I wanted to express why. And I will see to be critical, not cynical. Fair enough? Spoilers ahead for this... 2018 film that you should’ve seen already.

Part 1 ~ The Spiderverse Squad

Now believe me when I say that I enjoyed this trio. Spider-Ham wasn’t as funny as I figured, but he still stood out like Peni and Spider-Noir in a respectable way. I especially loved the fandom’s reaction to them with fanart and jokes galore. But on a look back, it dawned on me that while their presence was welcome, our writers blew the load too soon and wasted these characters. Roll with me, will ya?

If you come to know me, you’ll figure that characters are the element I find the most crucial of your story; you mentally can’t just throw in random heroes into the story unless they’re significant to the protag, story, or world as a whole. It’ll feel weird, like you have no coordination. And yeah, the B team adds to Spider-verse’s worldbuilding mechanic that is the multiple universes; it thematically makes sense that more than one Spidermun can exist. And additionally kicks ass, no objections here. The problem I argue comes when while they add to the world building, it honestly added little to our boy Miles’ story, and it’s that disconnect that makes the characters feel more unnecessary than before. This doesn’t help when things could’ve worked far better if it only involved Gwen and Beter. To explain this better, I wanna bring up a couple films that are similar to Spider-verse yet knew how to use their secondary characters, the first one being...

Kung Fu Panda, baby!

The furious five sans Tigress is about the same as Spider-verse’s B-Team where Po really doesn’t rely on them to both unleash his inner strength and face the final boss in the end. They’re his muse for enjoying martial arts. Po interacts with them a little more than Miles does with the others, but we still have that disconnect between the upcoming novice and the experienced. That disconnect however is counter-balanced by their significance in the story, not only in certifying the stakes that come with Tai Lung, but being the necessary crew to another important character: Tigress.

Tigress is not only a character that Po looks up to, she’s a character with something to prove herself. She puts down Po because she’s envious of the special treatment he’s involuntarily receiving and mirrors the villain Tai Lung before his descent to villainy. The movie would’ve probably been fine if the Furious Five didn’t exist and it was just Shifu and Po training together, but having the five, and Tigress especially, in the story adds a great triangle of interaction between Po and Shifu, Shifu and Tigress, and Tigress and Po. Which makes it all the more poignant when she runs away to face Tai Lung herself, stern in proving herself to both Shifu and Po. We know that she wouldn’t win against him, but that loss is added two-fold when the other four were there to support her. The others aren’t as cynical towards Po, but it’s understandable that they sided with Tigress, thinking their experience together will help them succeed. It makes sense that the four willingly fight with Tigress, and it’s reasonably daunting when Tai Lung is able to tower all of them by himself. Compare this to Spiderverse where we kinda don’t get see our heroes and villains, excluding Miles, stack up that well until the 3rd act; it’s hard to wonder if who’s evenly matched and who can overpower whom. It doesn’t help that Peter, Gwen, and Miles are all isolated from the other three during the final fight in the warp terminal. 

It’s in the end where Po proves himself the Dragon Warrior, he not only earned that respect from the five but feels more complete knowing he and his idols look up to each other in a way. We really don’t get that interpersonal synergy with Miles and the B team beyond the moment of them together post Aaron’s death and their initial meeting, the best we get is that Miles knows he isn’t the only Spider-man but even that doesn’t feel as personal as his relationships with Gwen and Peter. Plus while Gwen and Peter are important characters, we don’t see much of a personal connection between the five Spidermun, it mostly comes off as an obligation that they’re together. Now I won’t lie, this is a pretty unfair comparison. The B-team came together on the fly, and it’s not like Miles, Gwen, and Peter knew who they were in the first place. But remember when I said a couple of films in the beginning? This leads to an ironic situation, coming from one of my other favorite movies about being special...

Been a while since I talked ‘bout this beauty

I think it’s safe to say Spiderverse and The Lego Movie have a kindred story beat where our hero meet some tagalongs that have their own thing but nonetheless contribute as supporting characters. But unlike Spiderverse, the Lego Movie showed something I never figured about characters until I saw it once again last year. The other characters have their stake in the plot, but they are also relative features of our main character Emmett. Unikitty resembles his boundless optimism, Benny his excitability, Batman his emotional conviction, and so on. It’s a stretch, but it is possible to note supporting/secondary characters as facets of who our main character is, what they lack or what’s the most prominent idea of them. In Steven Universe, the crystal gems are separate elements of who Steven is at his best or wants to be. Beastars has Legosi, Louis, and Haru have differing aspects of growing up that blend well when united. It’s essentially the braincells meme, the parts make up the whole. Gwen and Peter fill those parts exponentially for Miles, with Peter’s experience and Gwen’s finesse in her skill, to show him the work that goes in being a hero. Same goes for Aaron and Jefferson on a more personal level, being the ones to give Miles the necessary conviction to become the hero. All I gotta ask is: Can ya say the same for Peni, Noir, or Porker?

Again, not that they’re bad characters, but they mostly felt detached from the story in multiple angles

Now at this point you’ll probably say, “Monkey, we get it, where are you going with this?” Well, I can’t help but feel the B-team, while alright on their own, unfortunately feel like cameos that overstayed their welcome. Beyond the initial meetup, the interactions we get with them are second to none, there is no significant dynamic between the B-team and the two spidermun that are more significant to the story. I feel a little less charitable for media wasting potential and it doesn’t help that writing them out until the final fight is very easy. “Peni and Sp//dr were responsible for repairing the flash drive?” Well, I can say a few hints in the movie can point to Aunt May, Peter, and/or Gwen doing it instead. It’s hard to come back to this film compared to the others I’ve exampled when the back of my mind is going “Why are ya’ll here?” I say it would’ve been surprisingly cathartic if the B-team came near the end where they helped out and met up with the trio before bouncing back to their dimensions. As such, we could put more time in for Miles and Gwen together at Aunt May’s house the same way Peter and Miles got earlier before the plot generally runs the same, we have less voices but we build on those character dynamics for more than that bus ride they share. Add to that character theme of Miles, Gwen, and Peter B. being the different generations of Spider-man or something. Overall, I love them, and they feel wasted in this film.

I just can’t see Spiderverse where the focus of these three subsides the interest for the other three

I wanted to discuss this particularly because as much I can say that much detail in the film fundamentally works, which I will discuss later in this analysis, it stands to say that not every ambition in this undoubtedly ambitious movie was added well. It’s honestly how i feel with randomness humor, it’s fun at first but you gotta do more than enough to make it timeless while keeping the surprise of it intact. Or else you just wish they just replaced that joke with something more constructed. Said before, they don’t or weren’t able to utilize these characters beyond their cameo level moments, and it is not a good thing that they’re potentially saved for the sequel because I hate the idea of depending on a sequel to fix the 1st movie’s issues. I gotta wait to 2022 for a potentially better management of characters and that bothers me. I appreciate what I got, but I unfortunately can’t say that appreciation equates to a free pass of what’s detrimental to my love for this film. Now, I tagged this as part one for a reason, because this is only a symptom, a fun size piece to a bigger story problem I have.

Next time. Otherwise, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy your day.

[pastthevaulteddoors]

Because every fandom needs a Harry Potter AU headcanon. Here’s my The Untamed thoughts under the cut.

When Wei WuXian pesters Lan WangJi at the Cold Spring and they are pulled into the cave, the guqin attacks Wei WuXain as it should. After tying themselves together with Lan WangJi’s ribbon, Lan Yi changes the chords and uses another song that flips the boys into the future where she made a pact with a wizard to hide the Stygian Iron.

And they land right in the middle of Gryffindor’s quidditch practice in the 1970s.

Dumbledore agrees to assist them in their search, and perhaps hopes to reap the reward against Voldermort’s building army, and sets them up as students.

Lan WangJi takes to transfiguration and spends a lot of time in the library trying to find any mention of the Iron. Wei WuXain is a social hit and is great in Charms (and charming people!). He uses his outgoing personality to ask both students and teachers if they know of the Stygian Iron.

( Would be fun to have the other students warped into the future as well. That would be deliciously chaotic. Can’t you imagine Jiang Cheng,  Jin Zixuan, James, and Sirius beating each other up then later playing the best quidditch match Gryffindor has seen in 50 years. Or Snape and Jin Guangyao becoming friends and a rather vicious force to fear in the hallways. Wen Ning and Peter like playing exploding snaps together.)

They often sneak out at night to search forbidden territory where they discover inferi roaming the woods with increasing numbers. At the same time, they run into a werewolf and have to be saved by a pissed off deer, rat, and dog.

Sirius and James already HATE Lan WangJi and Wei WuXain because they’re smart, bold, and far too pretty to be allowed. Remus has already gotten on friendly terms with Lan WangJi (or as friendly as one can get with him) because he spends a lot of time in the library, too. Lily has found fondness in Wei WuXain because he’s brought Snape into his group of friends, providing protection and kindness (Snape was probably bullied into the group with only the best intentions from Wei WuXain).

But once the Mauraders see that they’re using their sneak-out-at-night time not to break rules but to figure out the source of the improving inferi and stop it, they start to change their minds.

It probably also helps that Wei WuXain urges Lily to give James a chance. Remus’ gaydar points at Lan WangJi and says how Wei WuXain is crushing on him, and in turn, Lan WangJi tells Remus to let himself get caught by Sirius or he’s going to strangle his annoying ass (in so many words) for pestering him about his time with Remus.

After New Years, Remus and Sirius are the new hot couple and seen snogging in every closet and abandoned corridor. Wei WuXain starts bullying Lan WangJi again since more people are focused on studies that messing around, and to his delighted surprise, Lan WangJi doesn’t push back as much as he did before.

Somewhere during their time, Wei WuXain finds an old flute during their searches. He takes great pleasure in using it to make dead rats and snakes sneak along the corridors to pester students and teachers.

When spring comes, the marauders and the cultivators are all on the hunt for the Iron, while watching more and more inferi wandering the Forbidden Forest.

Turns out, Voldermort’s people found a secret crypt below the Forest so old it’s been lost to time. They don’t know where this resentful energy is coming from, but the crypt allows them to resurrect bodies as inferi there. All they have to do is dig deeper than the school’s magic barrier reaches to get to the crypt.

They’d been cultivating and creating inferi for months now, building up Voldermort’s army.

Despite Wei WuXain and Lan WangJi’s lack of fear of confronting this, Dumbledore forbids it, claiming it will break the protective barrier and cause Voldermort’s wrath the fall upon the school.

Well, of COURSE they end up confronting the inferi because it’s who they are. Reason not the want, the boys are all teamed up against Voldermort’s people and inferi until Wei WuXain realizes that his flute can manipulate the inferi. On top of that, they discover that the flute is in fact the Stygian Iron.

Lan Yi forces them to depart when the inferi are defeated and events play out as they should. They return to the past and fall out of the cave, having lived nearly a year together at Hogwarts turns out to have been only a day back in their time.

Later, instead of dying in the end like in the show, Wei WuXain is hidden away by Lan WangJi back at Cloud Recesses. When he has him in the Cold Spring to recover, they’re forced into the cave once more. Only, because Wei WuXain wasn’t holding the ribbon, he’s forced back to the future by the guqin.

He’s gone for 13 years.

Lan WangJi believes he’s dead.

Nope, Wei WuXain’s been helping the Order of the Phoenix to eradicate Voldermort.

James and Lily still die, but Sirius and Remus raise Harry. Wei WuXain spends most of those 13 years searching for a way back to Lan WangJi and his family until Dumbledore offers him a job as a DADA teacher.

That’s the year the white ghost appears in the Forbidden Forest. Going to fight it before term starts, who could it be but none other than the love of his life, Lan WangJi.

And then more Voldermort fighting, and the everyday becomes everyday and the golden trio like their professor’s husband and...

That’s as far as my headcanon got.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED!