#unluckiest lucky ship

[alex31624]

Duck Comic Reading Club Week 17: Paperinik New Adventures: The Darkest Night

Behold, the return of Francesco Guerrini to PKNA. The second I saw the art, I thought this is the guy from Earthquake. I was right.

From the get go, we know this issue is going to look beautiful.

Now this is a Christmas tale. Merry Christmas, I guess. Weird fact of the day, in Venezuela they celebrated Christmas on October 1 by presidential order. Why? Beats me.

Anyway, shout out to this guy who saw aliens in his front door and his first reaction was to axed them. A true hero.

Throughout the story, we see that clock and I like the idea, but it doesn't add much. There's no deadline, like, at midnight the ship will come and everyone will be dead. That's a shame because, it would have add a lot of tension.

This town is on full Evronian invasion mode, but someone sends a "help us" message.

Hey, just like Ducks on the Road.

In the meantime, the army found out about the invasion, but…

The general has been removed from duty.

To be fair, he did take a bunch of soldiers to do a military attack on foreign territory.

The problem here is General Wisecube is a PK defender, while Coronel Westcock is a PK attacker. With him in charge, PK's future could be in a lot of troubles.

Talking about PK, where's our hero? He's on a top mission.

Christmas shopping. Sadly for him, but lucky for the people in the town, Uno found the message asking for help. Donald immediately enters in hero mode and jumps into the action.

I really like how the conversation is drawn, with only their heads all over the page.

Meanwhile, Morrighan and Camera 9 arrived at the town. How? I didn't mention that before, but Channel 00 was having a party, and Angus fooled Morrighan in follow one of his "fake" clues. They got just in time for the invasion. Talking about good timing.

By the way, this page is just beautiful.

PK arrived at the town, and saves this young lady that introduces herself as Marjory. But you and I know she's '91 Gosalyn, after leaving St. Cannard. She was the one who sent the message.

The way Guerrini show the destruction caused by the PK does what he does best, beats the hell out of Evronians. But of course, '91 Gosalyn joins the battle.is amazing. I love his art, I could spend all day staring at it.

Shout out to Camera 9 who never forgot his duty. He and Lyla are the only upright ones on Channel 00.

PK does what he does best, beats the hell out of Evronians.

But of course, '91 Gosalyn joins the battle.

But this time, it was too much. PK is doomed.

JA! Who could ever believe that? Donald must be the unluckiest duck ever, but when the mask is on, luck lady always smiles at him.

In the first reading, I thought, this Evronians can't beat anyone. But now, they're obviously over powered by the army. If they didn't retreat, it would have been a massacre.

You could said, why the army let them go? I think a full attack on that troope would result in a stronger answer. Sadly, we have been seen much of that in the world lately.

The Coronel later claim that this was nothing but a drill, and everybody buys it. The thing about civilians in super hero comics, they're dumb. All of them.

'91 Gosalyn and her family thank PK for his help. Is good to see him being treated as a hero for a change.

He even got a kiss. Way to go hero.

h

Finally, we found out the General has some loyal soldiers who are willing to help PK. There're some extra pages, turned out, the army got Camera 9's tape and changed it.

The world will remain ignorant about its invaders. For now.

We're back on track guys. Two weeks with good stories.

We just need Urk far away.

[jarondont]

The Blood On Your Hands

CW: gore, blood, death

[i wrote this at 2 am so i apologize for any mistakes]

“Captain?”

Odysseus snapped out of his thoughts as footsteps approached him — footsteps he knew well.

Turning around, he greeted the two men with a smile. “Eurylochus. Polites.”

His best friend and second-in-command joined him at the ship’s rail, the wind caressing each of their faces and seawater landing in specks on their chitons. 

Since they had left Troy weeks ago, Odysseus had been at the ship’s bow most of the time, looking out over the 600 miles of open sea to Ithaca. Most of the time, he wore a distant expression touched with longing.

All throughout the war, he had spoke of home. Now, he was finally going back.

But something was bothering him.

“What’s on your mind?” prompted Polites.

The captain sighed. “Just … thinking of home.” He turned back to face the sea, resting his elbows on the rail. “Of everyone we left back in Ithaca. Everyone I left. Penelope and Telemachus. My mother and father.” He glanced at Eurylochus. “Ctimene.”

At the mention of his wife’s name, Eurylochus’s lips curled up in a warm grin. “Ctimene.”

Polites laughed. “First the captain, now you? What is it with you two and your wives?”

That brought a chuckle from the other men.

They stood like that for a few moments, not wanting to shatter the peace. It wasn’t something they got a lot of, anyway.

Finally, Odysseus spoke. “Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if we hadn’t gone to war? If we had stayed home?”

Eurylochus shrugged. “Our lives would have been much easier.”

“We could have been with our families. Made new memories. Ten years, all gone to waste.” Odysseus shook his head, his eyes moistening. “I missed the first ten years of my son’s life. I was never there for him.”

Polites put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s not something you could have prevented. Time passes for all. Some are just less lucky than others.”

“Then we must be the unluckiest men alive.”

Eurylochus scoffed. “Tell me about it.” He looked behind him at the rest of the crew. “600 men. I’m surprised they’ll make it home in one piece, considering what the war did to our armies.”

“But what if they don’t?” Odysseus whispered. “Between here and Ithaca, it’s not going to be an easy journey. We don’t know what lurks within these waters. What if I can’t lead us all home alive? What if” — he choked on his words, tears threatening to fall.

Polites took Laertides’s hands in his own. “My friend. With you as our leader, we’re sure to make it back home. We trust you.”

Eurylochus put a hand on his shoulder. “Actually, Polites is right, Captain. If I had to choose any Ithacan to trust with my life, I’d choose you.” He smiled. “As long as we’re in your hands, brother, we’re in good hands.”

Odysseus smiled ruefully. “Thank you.”

Eurylochus clapped his shoulder. “Now, let’s get home. Full speed ahead.”

•••

Odysseus stared at the body, which lay unmoving in the sand before him.

Friend. Brother. Trust.

The pool of dark blood slowly grew larger, soaking the sand and staining it red.

We trust you.

Odysseus collapsed to the ground, dropping his sword with a thump. Faces flashed through his mind — faces of people he’d lost. People he’d let down.

600 men. We’ll make it home.

The crew. Polites. Eurylochus — but he had it coming, Odysseus thought. He brought this upon himself.

I’d choose you.

He looked away from his brother-in-law’s mutilated body, running his hand through his hair furiously. His fingers brushed over something silky. He removed it from his head and examined it.

Captain…

Hundreds of voices filled his ears. Screams of dying men, of people who had endured ten years of war to get back to their families, only to lose their lives during the journey back. Whispers of a dear friend, only to be muted out by a loud smash. Shouts of an otherwise trustworthy brother as he raged one final time. The voices got louder and louder, making Odysseus squeeze his eyes shut and press his hands to his ears — until they suddenly went silent.

And then the soft giggle of an infant.

The blood on your hands is something you can’t lose. All you can choose is whose.

Odysseus buried his face in his hands and gave in to the sobs.

What have I done?

[chiibinomonodamon]

My Choice Ships of 2022 (pt 3)

Shikimori x Izumi

OKAY. IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS IS THE CUTEST SHIT EVER, GO HOME NOW.

OMG....THEY ARE SOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUTE. THEY ARE NOT BORING; UR BORING. HOW CAN YOU CALL THEM BORING. I'LL BEAT YOU UP.

Izumi is the world’s unluckiest teenage boy whom the universe just seems to want to eradicate. But he IS lucky in that he has the world’s best girlfriend ready to kick ass at a moment’s notice to save her man.

HELLO? WE’RE STILL WAITING FOR THAT MOBILE GAME ‘PROTECT THE BOYFRIEND’ TO COME OUT?? I WANT TO PLAY THIS SO HARD

Role-reversal is precious; let's not lie to ourselves. It's appealing because it's different from the norm. And yet, they don't have to COMPLETELY switch roles 24/7. Shikimori though 'cool and dependable' is still very much a girl

and Izumi though soft and timid

is still very much a boy and the show's not afraid to go there.

I absolutely love that even though Shikimori is the cool one, she is still shorter than her girlish boyfriend. That’s freaking awesome heh

But I think I was really won over when Izumi carried his injured girlfriend up A HUGE FLIGHT OF SHRINE STEPS ON HIS BACK IN THE DARK.

 People insult this kid, saying he's "not a man" SHUT THE FUCK UP; I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU SHITS DO THAT FOR YOUR GIRL. I BET YOU CAN'T. .....I wonder if mine will do that for me...tehehehe

Bottom line is, Izumi doesn’t HAVE to DO stereotypically manly things to get Shikimori to love him. She loves him because he’s sweet and considerate and he makes her happy.

ISN’T THAT ENOUGH??

Take it from another girl who’s experiencing romance like it’s the first time...

YES, IT FUCKING IS.

[medea10]

My Review of Shikimori Isn’t Just a Cutie

How did I get into this anime? I added this just for the hell of it in the middle of its run on TV. That’s it! On with the synopsis!

Yuu Izumi is a second-year high school student. He is one of the unluckiest people to walk the earth. Just about anything can trip him up like rocks, bird droppings, truck exhaust fumes, and other random things. But there’s one thing in his life that makes all the unlucky things that happen even out and that’s his girlfriend, Shikimori. No first name given, she’s just Shikimori. She’s cute, bubbly, popular, all of the girls love her and all the boys are jealous that she’s taken…

And all I can see is that pink hair! Call it a prejudice, but due to certain animes I have a massive distrust of girl anime characters with pink hair. What’s this girl’s deal?

Like a light switch, Shikimori’s demeanor can change. One minute, she’s the sweetest thing ever and the next, I have a twinge of fear and can’t help but think Izumi is going to be dead next to her. Whenever this happens, Izumi’s heart skips a beat. He sees this as her cool side peeking out and makes him love her even more. Whatever bro! Let’s just see how you are 12 episodes later and if you still have your head attached.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND DUB: Crunchyroll is the one streaming, pimping, and dubbing this bitch. I ended up watching most of the anime dubbed. The dub is okay. I really can’t criticize the main cast and haven’t really heard them up to this point. The minor characters on the other hand I’m well familiar with.

Legit query here! Is Inuzuka a screaming maniac? I ask because BOTH voice actors did Bakugo and…you know! It’s not essential to the plot, but Crunchyroll added a few commentary episodes to the roster. If you’re interested in hearing the commentary from the Japanese cast, might check that out. They all seemed to have a blast recording this anime. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Izumi is played by Shuuichirou Umeda

*Shikimori is played by Saori Oonishi (known for Hisako on Food Wars, Muramasa on Eromanga Sensei, Doppel on Monster Musume, and Non on Keijo!!!!!!!!)

ENGLISH CAST: *Izumi is played by Bryson Baugus (known for Falco on Attack on Titan, Takumi on Food Wars, Natsuo on Domestic Girlfriend, Darling on Monster Musume, and Minato on Tsurune)

*Shikimori is played by Macy Ann Johnson (known for Emile on Spy x Family and Chie on Higurashi Gou)

SHIPPING: I think the question that’s on most of our minds is this, how did this relationship between Shikimori and Izumi start? Izumi has got to be one of the unluckiest characters in anime history. I feel like Touma from the Index series and Seita from Tenchi Muyo GXP got him beat, but damn this guy is cursed! Give these boys some credit, these unlucky characters can get quite lucky when it comes to women (some of the time). It’s been a while since I’ve seen it in a non-harem setting. Good on Izumi as he only has one girl. When it comes to Izumi and Shikimori, they both really do like each other. When they first hooked up, they were both aware of each other’s existence. It’s just that a matchmaking game at the culture festival during their first year in high school kinda fueled things for a relationship. That’s how we got Izumi x Shikimori.

Izumi loves his girlfriend’s cute moments and her ‘cooler’ moments. Ah yes, those moments! Shikimori has cool moments like when she’s shielding Izumi from some kind of misfortune. But there are these other moments where jealousy arises. She gets jealous!

And the person she gets jealous over is Izumi’s guy-friend Inuzuka. Really?! Her jealousy is towards this butt-for-brains?

She’s not even jealous when someone like Kamiya comes along. Kamiya knew Izumi before going out with Shikimori, she’s pretty, and has a lot of pent-up feelings for Izumi. Instead, Shikimori was understanding and Kamiya puts her feelings on hold. Who does this?! But I did feel a little bit sorry for Kamiya due to her being friend-zoned. I’ve been in that position before and it never gets easier to deal with.

ENDING: So, we’ve covered the culture festival, the sports festival, one of the main character’s birthdays, and an anniversary. That’s most things an anime would do for a finale and we’re not even close to the Christmas holiday. Actually, we’re ending the season with Izumi and Shikimori planning on going to an amusement park for a date. Shikimori is especially excited for this as she was taken in by a cute commercial featuring a bunch of couples. We then proceed to the best episode this series has to offer. This episode consisted of flashbacks of Izumi and Shikimori prior to both meeting each other.

In his early days, Izumi felt so cursed by his bad luck that he sacrificed going on a field trip he was looking forward to due to his fear of bringing bad luck to his friends. With Shikimori’s past we saw that she really didn’t have a personality of her own as she would always follow what her brother or mother would do. It wasn’t until the end of her middle school days that she changed things up and did things her own way. At the high school entrance exam and the result day, Izumi and Shikimori met. Shikimori helped Izumi and Izumi thought she was so cool and cute. Now that wasn’t the start of their relationship as it came later that school year at the culture festival! This was more of the spark that started the fire.

Moving on to the big date, Izumi’s bad luck didn’t seem to ruin much of the day as one would anticipate. Despite having to wait 90 minutes for a popular ride, Izumi and Shikimori enjoyed each other’s company throughout the wait. And even though their reservations at the restaurant went bust, they were upgraded to a fancy, upstairs table with a four-course meal. And even though Shikimori’s chances of kissing Izumi were dashed during the Sleeping Beauty ride, she got something unexpected on the gondola that night.

I know it was just a kiss on the cheek, but it was cute.

You know what? Most of this anime did bore me a bit. I don’t know, I got tired of seeing Izumi get struck with bad luck throughout the majority of the series. It dragged on and you’re just saying to yourself, “no one is that unlucky”. I mean, this guy’s bad luck is inching closer to Touma from the Index/Railgun series and Seina from Tenchi Muyo GXP. But then you get these moments in the anime that kinda bring you back. Episodes 11 & 12 were definitely the best ones, but I also like the side stuff with Kamiya. I just think there are many other romcoms out there you could be watching instead of this one. But that’s just me. If you want to check out an unlucky dip and his super-woman, pink-haired girlfriend, be my guest.

Crunchyroll has all of the episodes subbed and dubbed, plus several episodes with commentary from the Japanese cast.

[whiskeysmulti]

Lucky Charm (A KHR Fanfic)

Fandom: KHR Word Count: 1,035 Prompt: Lucky Charm Ship: 1827 Characters: Hibari Kyouya/Sawada Tsunayoshi Event Host: @flufftober

Tsuna never thought he had a lucky charm until he gained three of them, the ring from Lancia, the lucky charm from Kyoko and Haru, and his own Cloud Guardian. Though all three were physical, one was even more precious to him than the others.

The ring had saved his life in the battle with Byakuran, the lucky charm brought him a victory he didn't think would be possible without the girls and their support, and then that left Hibari. Tsuna had never considered his friends to be a possession like a lucky charm, but there was something about Hibari that made him feel much safer when the Cloud did finally arrive at the battlefield.

Strong, stoic and more than capable of taking on an entire army himself, Hibari always brought a sense of safety and serenity to the chaos of Tsuna's life. As long as he was around, they had nothing to fear as Tsuna had witnessed firsthand the determination and will to live within his own Cloud. Not even an army could stop him when he was in the right mood and none of the other Vongola dared to stand in the way of him and a target when he was angry enough. Hard headed, strong willed and not afraid of death itself, Hibari was the Vongola's wild card in combat and in many cases, their saving grace and last hope when things looked the darkest.

The ever stoic, ever aloof drifting Cloud was not someone to be messed with, not someone to waste time and not someone you wanted to get in the way of when he was in a fight. None dared to interrupt his nap time or damage the school lest they wanted to face an infuriated skylark. Wild and untamable it took the strength of an allied boss to train him and he rarely faced defeat, when he did it only fueled his drive to train more and get stronger before facing the enemy again. Able to take on an army single handedly, and known for being the strongest guardian in the family for a reason, Hibari was the last of Tsuna's guardians you'd ever want to piss off.

The ever drifting Cloud whom nothing could bind was not just a precious bond to Tsuna, but also an asset to the family altogether. The strongest for a reason, the solitary Cloud was often the one called at the last minute when things looked the most grim, a beacon of hope in their darkest hour. Not once in his life had Hibari ever thought he would be someone's ray of hope, but right now that was exactly what he was.

Tsuna's life had been nothing but chaotic and there were many times he was forced by Reborn to become the hero he never wanted to be. The unluckiest of the unlucky, a loser from the start, Tsuna often wondered if he'd ever find peace in his life.

No good Tsuna, the guy that no one wanted, the loser who was always picked last for everything and who couldn't even get decent grades had nothing going for him in his life and no luck whatsoever.

Hibari Kyouya, the Namimori delinquent head prefect and the strongest fighter in the school had wanted nothing to do with the mafia and didn't care for fraternizing with those weaker than him, until he met Tsuna. Immediately deeming him a coward and a herbivore had never thought of him as anything more than another weakling he had to protect until things got really bad and he witnessed the tenth Vongola boss in action.

Many times Tsuna had protected him and many other times Hibari had backed Tsuna up and saved them in their darkest hour, this was one of those times. "Hibari-san, thanks." Tsuna smiled, as his Cloud had once again stepped in when things looked the worst and Tsuna thought he was going to die, it was Hibari that took the lead and protected him and Tsuna never felt safer if he was being perfectly honest. "How can I repay you?" He honestly would have done anything to make it up to Hibari for the countless time he stepped in for the family, a living lucky charm to them all, often taking a victory when things were at their worst.

But if anyone were to ask Tsuna at school, he'd tell them Hibari was scary and untamable. And if anyone were to ask Hibari, he'd tell them he didn't have time to waste on associating with herbivores like Sawada Tsunayoshi. Both boys were closer than either of them realized, but neither of them would ever admit it. Too proud and too scared to claim they were actually friends, Hibari went about his days as the terrifying Namimori head prefect, and Tsuna as the loser of the entire school. But when no one else was looking there were those long glances, there were those moments Tsuna should have been in trouble but Hibari let it slide, there were those moments when Tsuna could have died but made it out unscathed because some much stronger and much braver took the hit for him. There were those moments when Tsuna should have gotten his ass beaten by the enemy, but the mere mention of Hibari's name sent them running in the other direction like a complete and total coward.

Whether it was good luck, strength, or something more between the two, Tsuna knew deep down even as scary as his Cloud was, Hibari was a beacon of hope, a good luck charm for him, and someone he secretly admired from afar. It wasn't quite love, but he knew he felt something a little more than admiration when Hibari was around. A friend, a guardian, the strongest in the family, and a living, breathing good luck charm, Hibari embodied something the family needed desperately and not even a genius like Gokudera could really put it into words. Though deep in his heart, Tsuna knew it had a name. Hibari was his hope, but he'd wait to tell him that one day when they were older and he was finally ready to talk about his feelings for his own Cloud.

[thepurplewombat]

Okay, so. Beefleaf

When you first meet Shi Qingxuan, they're accompanied by Ming Yi, often referred to as his/her best friend. Every time they say it, Ming Yi is like 'who's that' and you're like AWWW, It's Grumpy and Sunshine! So cute!

And then!

AND THEN (spoilers for Volme...3? of TGCF? Look, if you're read the Blackwater arc, you'd know, so if you haven't, just vote beefleaf and trust me on this one) under the cut

it turns out that when he was born SQX was cursed by a Reverend of Empty Words, who is a kind of monster that like, follows people around and tells them all the bad shit that's gonna happen, which then comes true! So SXQ's brother Shi Wudu, and their family, pretended SQX was a girl and there was a whole complicated thing, but after several years the Reverend found them again.

And it was driving SQX insane. He was too afraid to go out, it was awful.

So then Shi Wudu decides that what he needs to do is to a: ascend to godhood, and b: switch SXQ's fate with someone else.

Which he then proceeded to do. He Xuan went from lucky - beloved by his family, wonderful fiancee, gifted etc - to the unluckiest man in the world.

His fiancee was kidnapped and killed herself to avoid being forced to become some asshole's concubine, his sister was murdered, he was jailed, his mother died while he was in jail, and then he got out of jail and built a business but people kept commandeering his ships and cheating him, so he kept being broke, and then his dad died and nobody wanted to help bury him, and He Xuan was like 'okay you know what, fuck everyone and everything' and went on an axe-murder rampage and killed the clan that had killed his sister and ruined his life. And then he fell into the ocean and died.

And became a ghost, and eventually a Calamity (long story, but they're also called Ghost Kings, they are Very Bad News) and then he found out about the fate switching. He took that about as well as you'd expect. So what he did was kidnapped Ming Yi, impersonated him, and moved into Heaven as the Earth Master, where he was promptly befriended by...drum roll please...Shi Qingxuan!

They're friends for several years - I'm vague on the timeline but like, maybe 20 years., maybe 100?

And then shit starts happening, and He Xuan (Also known as Black Water Sinking Ships, all the calamities have really cool names) starts on his revenge plan.

And SQX thinks that the Reverend has found her again (look, SQX's gender is complicated, so I'm just going with how they were presenting as far as I can remember when the events in question happened) and runs to Xie Lian, the main character, for help. With Ming Yi in tow.

there's a lot of drama that culminates in Shi Wudu's heavenly calamity (basically levelling up, but for gods) and eventually All is Revealed! And SXQ is heartbroken because she didn't even know about the fate-switching, and it's all super tragic.

I definitely think that this one should win

Iconic Homoerotic Betrayal: Round 1

Round 1 Directory

Context for TWEWY below. Beefleaf fans, drop your summary in the reblogs.

You play as Neku Sakuraba in this video game, who is in the Reapers' Game, fighting for survival and partnering up and with amnesia. Turns out you're dead! He doesn't remember how he died. His first partner gets taken from him so he ends up partnered with Joshua for week two. He's an asshole and rude but also has hidden depth to him, and really connects with Neku (who remembers everything EXCEPT how he died, now).

At the end of week 2! Joshua dies for you! Takes a blow to save Neku's life!

And then at the end of the game he shows up a-okay and says HEY IM THE ONE WHO KILLED YOU, I PUT YOU IN THE GAME, YOU HAVE TO SHOOT AND KILL ME OR IM GOING TO DESTROY THIS CITY YOU'VE COME TO LOVE, AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS TOO, KILL ME OR I WILL RUIN EVERYTHING

(AND NEKU DOESN'T SHOOT, AND NEKU DOESN'T KILL HIM, AND JOSH CHANGES HIS MIND BECAUSE NEKU CARED ABOUT HIM ENOUGH TO SAVE *HIM* TOO)

Josh is also very flamboyant and teases neku gayly. I love them your honor

Extended summary for Josh/Neku. Excellent read:

Okay, buckle in, because we are going on a ride. Player One: Neku Sakuraba. Dead kid extraordinaire. He woke up in the Reaper's Game, a game hosted in Shibuya's Underground, or UG (essentially the afterlife, it's a plane of existence on top of the Realground, or RG, which is the plane of the living), where freshly-dead souls partner up and compete for a second chance at life, with no absolutely no memories of who or where he was, much less how he died. Still, together with his first partner, he managed to win the Reaper's Game... but was denied a second chance.

The Conductor, who runs the Game, told them that the Composer, essentially the god of the Underground, had decided only one of them could return to life, and that was his partner, so Neku re-entered the Game for a second week in a row. Enter Player Two: Yoshiya Kiryu, but Mother and Father call him Joshua and, well, he supposes Neku can call him Joshua, too, seeing as he's his dear, dear partner. Joshua is annoying, grating, the manifestation of all of Neku's worst traits, the thing he could be if he refuses to grow, and he's constantly giggling and flirting with Neku. He's definitely hiding something, and eventually admits that he's still alive, playing the Game of his own accord. His ultimate goal is to become the Composer, as whoever defeats the current one takes their place and Joshua's status as a living Player makes him significantly more powerful. Plus there's the issue of the current Game Master, who seems to have taken an interest in Neku and causes headaches whenever he's around.

Partway through the week, Neku receives a flash of memory, the memory of his death. He was shot, and Joshua was behind the trigger. This information leaves Neku in a difficult position, as he can't win the Reaper's Game without a partner, and in fact, if his partner is erased, so is he. And he needs to win because his partner the previous week was taken as his entry fee, he's playing for her and he doesn't know what will happen to her if he loses. So he has to get along with his murderer for the rest of the week. Joshua, meanwhile, gleefully dances around the subject, never quite confirming or denying whether he killed Neku, even when confronted.

On the final day, they have to defeat the Game Master in order to win, and just before the fight, Neku receives the same flash of memory as before... but this time, it continues. Joshua pulled the trigger, but Neku didn't die. He didn't shoot Neku; just behind him lurked the Game Master, holding up a gun of his own. Joshua never killed him, Neku realized. He had spent all week distrusting his partner, when all along, he had been trying to protect him. And after they defeat the Game Master in the present, he releases one last attack, one that would certainly erase both of them. But Joshua pushes Neku out of danger, taking on the full force of the attack himself, leaving Neku alone with the guilt, of his distrust having pushed Joshua to figuratively take the bullet for him.

And once again, Neku is forced to play the Game again, but this time, he teams up with his new partner to use the clues Joshua left them with to find the Composer themself and bring an end to all this. And they do! As the city falls into chaos around them, denizens of both the UG and RG falling victim to mind control that must be the Composer's doing, Neku and his partner fight until the last day, until the only thing standing between them and the Composer Himself is the Conductor. And just as the fight is about to begin, Neku hears that familiar giggle. Joshua is alive. He calls the Conductor by name. But Neku barely has time to process this, because the Conductor fuses with Joshua for one final battle. And in the rubble of that, as the Conductor teeters at the edge of erasure, he asks Joshua what will become of the city. It turns out, one month prior, the Conductor made a deal with the Composer, who thought Shibuya had become stagnant and needed to be destroyed before its negative influence spread elsewhere. The Conductor had a month to prove that the city wasn't worthless, to turn the people into something more suitable - thus the mind control. To make it fair, the Composer decided that He was going to play with a hand-picked proxy in His place. But the Conductor failed. As he dissolves, erased, Neku finally gets to ask Joshua what's going on. "Hee hee... It was me, Neku," Joshua says. "I'm Shibuya's Composer." And Neku was his proxy. Finally, he returns Neku's memory of his death in full - the Game Master raised his gun, but he wasn't aiming at Neku, he was aiming at Joshua. And every bullet he fired was frozen mid-air, until he was turned to turn tail and flee. Then Joshua turned his gun on Neku once more, and shot him.

And now, Joshua, the Composer of Shibuya, decides to give Neku one last chance. They'll have a duel, and whoever wins gets to decide the fate of Shibuya. Neku doesn't get the chance to agree or disagree; Joshua gives him a gun, and the countdown begins. 10... 9.... Joshua raises his gun, smirking. Like he doesn't care. Like their time as partners meant nothing. 8... 7... Neku cries. He just stares at the ground, gun in his hand, and cries. 6... The sorrow turns to rage, and Neku raises the gun, aiming at Joshua with shaking hands. His eyes squeezed shut. 5... 4... He can't do it. 3... 2... Despite everything Joshua has done, despite killing Neku, lying to him, manipulating him and forcing him to play his sick Game, faking his own death, forcing Neku into this situation, planning to erase the entire city... Neku can't shoot him. Joshua is his partner. And Neku trusts him. 1. He lowers the gun. BANG. A single gunshot rings out, and Neku falls to the floor. The last thing he sees as his eyes close is Joshua's smiling face.

If you got here, know that I was very tempted to put joshneku in a threeway duel with komahina and akeshu but decided to split things up a bit.

[incorrect-azur-lane]

Prince of Wales, [to Prinz Eugen]: When I said I wanted you to make noise during sex, I didn’t mean mocking ones.

[kitweewoos]

getting (un)lucky

Summary:

With an unpredictable heat cycle, Will Halstead has always considered himself the unluckiest person in the world. He cannot plan around it, and goes into heat unexpectedly at work. And maybe, just maybe, luck is on his side because there's Connor Rhodes willing to help him through it.

Ship: Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Words: 11,414

Chapter: 1/1

​Additional Tags:

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

Omega Verse

Mating Cycles/In Heat

Smut

Scenting

Alpha Connor Rhodes

Omega Will Halstead

Anal Sex

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot

Porn with Feelings

Knotting

[read it on ao3]

[phoenixyfriend]

Sugar, Spice, and a Heart to Entice

AKA: Jango Fett speedruns a romance with someone who should be his enemy. (It's okay. We know he makes bad choices.)

Note: Ahsoka uses the pseudonym "Ashla" in this fic. Warnings: slavery, references to drug use, crude sex jokes, undressing of an unconscious person (for medical reasons)

----

The girl that they shove into the chains next to him is... worrying.

(Well, probably a girl--he'll adjust later if it turns out he's wrong.)

She's not that much younger than him, he thinks. It's hard to tell, with the way her skin is taut over muscle and bone, too little water and too little sleep, and probably not enough food for whatever labor she's been doing. He's also, admittedly, not great at gauging ages in the first place, and certainly not for Togruta. Still, he thinks it's safe to say that they're close in age, and that she's probably younger than him.

She's lucky, by some measure. The spice ship is terrible, but it's probably better than the fate tog girls are usually subject to in this industry. They're hazardous conditions, and violent ones, but Jango's yet to see a slave here stripped of their clothing for anything other than a whipping.

He thinks it's probably a matter of money. That kind of violation lowers the profit margins, he imagines. Spice is more lucrative than anything, and pain is a better motivator than... well.

So she's lucky, by that measure, and that measure alone.

They clap her in bindings before he even sees her, even though she's unconscious, and bring her sometime in the night cycle. Jango doesn't have a lot of pity left in him, but some goes out to her. He won't say she's too young for this, because nobody is ever old enough for slavery, nor do slavers have any compunctions about selling babes in arms, but Jango would wager she's already led a hard life.

She's fairly covered, but what little is visible shows enough old battle wounds that he can't imagine she's stayed off of battlefields. He knows how to read a Togruta's markings for stress history, too, and hers tell a story. Her facial marks are thin and delicate, and he'd say they're certainly more complex than the average; the striation on her lekku and montrals is thin and jagged, like marble. It's pretty enough, but it's also a sign of the fact that her life has likely been anything but easy. Some of it might be genetics, and he hopes it is, but with the scars he can see... he doubts it's much.

"Keep that one alive," the overseer orders, eyes on Jango and hand gesturing at the tog girl.

He leaves.

Jango isn't sure what they're hoping to get out of putting her with him. The room is built for four, yes, but they usually don't try to have anyone share with Jango. Maybe they ran out of room, or just assumed Jango was the most likely to know field medicine, or just figured there wouldn't be any trouble until she woke.

As he gets closer, his confusion grows. The tog's got burns all over, ugly ones that aren't going to heal cleanly without bacta. They're going to get infected, as likely as not. He hasn't got much besides water in here, but the overseer's left behind a box of what looks like bandages. If he's lucky, there's burn cream in there.

(He's not lucky.)

He works slowly, careful of every movement. He builds up a story in his head as he does, based on the wounds he finds and what he starts to notice of the clothing. He can't see all the details, not in what little light he has, but there's plenty to notice.

He hadn't realized, with how dim it is, but most of what she's got on as an outer layer is hardened leather, real leather, not synth. There are attachment points for armor at the shoulders and hips, and he thinks he sees signs of wear for vambraces and greaves. She's no Mando'verde, not with how he can see that the fabric at her torso and upper legs is intended to stay light and flexible and uncovered, but the crafting of the leather layers is familiar. He thinks she might have contacts among Mando armorers.

She might even wear beskar, if she's impressed the right person.

The wounds are recent, and unfamiliar, and he thinks she was probably fought into chains, rather than bought in them. She's a captive, not a purchase, or maybe... maybe they just found an unconscious woman, and decided that she was worth keeping.

He thinks she lost a fight, or won but with great injuries, and just... stumbled off and collapsed. He gets the feeling no one on board the ship could have fought this woman, except for himself. It's not based on much, not until he can see her move, but he's got good instincts for that sort of thing.

Jango keeps his assessment of her torso quick and clinical, not even bothering to mentally apologize for stripping her bare. This is medical, and he's not a doctor, not even a field medic, but he's professional nonetheless. Even though there's nothing in the box but bandages, not even the burn cream he'd hoped for, he'd still rather know if there's a broken rib to worry about. He doesn't want to wait for her to wake up and then find out she's got a punctured lung, even if he can't do anything about it. He finds bruising, but... he thinks that if anything is broken, it's hairline at most.

Lucky, he thinks again, in the unluckiest situations.

She doesn't wake that cycle. It's all he can do to get some water in her, dripped into her mouth in a trickle, but it's something.

----

When the Togruta girl wakes up, it's sudden. Jango is wiping down her lekku with a wet cloth in hopes of staving off a fever, kneeling next to the bunk. She opens her eyes, stiffens with a sharp breath, and then twists off the bed. Before he's fully processed this, her legs are up and around his neck, and then he's being wrenched to the side and onto the filthy ground, cheek grinding down into the grit. He feels a bony knee press into his spine, and the growl of a predator.

"Where am I?" the tog girl demands.

"Spice ship," he says, and oh but this place has ruined him for fights; he's having trouble breathing from whatever she's done to him, and she doesn't even have the use of her hands. "Deep space. You're in the slave cells. Don't mess with the collar, it'll explode if you try to remove it."

"Spice refinery?" she repeats, sounding completely baffled. He gives her a second to process, but she blindsides him. "Someone got me in their hands and they went for spice slavery?"

"As opposed to..." he really hopes she gets off soon.

She doesn't answer him immediately, and he can't get a look at her face. He gets his arms out to the sides, plants them to the floor, and shoves back. She doesn't fall off, but she does slide to the side to sit on the floor.

The expression she's got is best described as 'shell-shocked,' he thinks.

"You don't know me," she says, faint and confused. He shakes his head; he's pretty sure he'd have recognized her if he'd known her at all, given the time he's spent cleaning her wounds and trying to keep her alive. She laughs, breathless and a tad hysterical. "You don't--fuck. You don't know me. That's... great. Okay. Okay, I can work with that. Don't know how they missed it, but okay."

"Bounty on your head?" he guesses.

She smiles, thin and unpleasant. "Something like that."

"Thought as much. You're built like a fighter." He intends it as a compliment, but he doesn't think she takes it as one.

"I've never had a choice otherwise," she says, and when she next looks around, it's to find a place to sit. She pushes herself up to the thin mattress of the cot behind her, and Jango mirrors her on the cot across the room. It's not his bed, technically, but it's not like there's anyone to complain. She frowns at him; it's not a rude look, he thinks, but an attempt to put something unfamiliar in place. "What legion were you with?"

He blinks at her. He's been part of an army, but never one that big. "Legion?"

"Were you with special forces?" she tries again. "Or--wait, did you even get off Kamino before--"

"I'm not whoever you think I am," he tells her. "None of that means anything to me. I know what a legion is, but I've never had reason to be part of one."

"But you're..." she trails off, brow furrowed. "I guess just a similar face, then."

"To who?"

"The clones?" she hazards, as if that clears anything at all up. "I have no idea where we are; maybe the war holos never made it out far enough for you to know what they looked like..."

"Which war?" he asks, because he feels like he'd probably have heard of a war that used clones, especially one that had enough holos spread around for this woman to expect him to know what the clones in question look like.

"The... the clone war," she says hesitantly. "With the Separatists?"

None of that means anything to him.

It must show in his face, because her brow furrows, and her eyes go wide in a way he doesn't like. He can't tell if her skin's losing color or anything, but he's pretty sure the curl at the tip of one lek is a sign of anxiety. He's not sure how to help, but part of him already decided he liked this woman, just on the suspicion that she was friendly to Mandalorians.

(It's been a solid year and a half since Jango has had anything approaching a friend. He may be, subconsciously, a little desperate.)

"What's your name?" she asks, voice pitching in discomfort, and tight as a garotte.

"Jango Fett."

She closes her eyes, clenches her jaw, and... he can't see, can't know if she's trembling, but he thinks she is. She lets her head fall back against the wall, and breathes in sharply. It's a shaky breath, and he doesn't like that much, either.

"Fuck," she repeats. "No wonder--fuck."

He gives her a few seconds, but she doesn't elaborate. He asks another question instead. "Do I get to know your name?"

Her eyes crack open, and then she sits up straight and looks him over. Her lips purse, and she comes to some decision, though he's at a loss for what. "Call me Ashla. She/her, if you'd rather stick to Basic."

Fake name. Alright. She mentioned a bounty, so it's probably about that.

"Well met, Ashla."

She laughs, empty and painful. She swears in a mix of Huttese and Mando'a, and a few languages he doesn't even recognize. The Core accent on her Mando'a is strong, but he thinks whoever taught her might have been from Concord Dawn.

"How old are you, if you don't--"

"I'm twenty-one," she says. He was right; she's only two years younger than him. "At least... fuck, okay. What's the date?"

He tells her, and she screws up her brow and mouths something to herself. He's not entirely sure what.

"How long ago was..." she trails off.

"Was what?"

She presses a hand over her eyes. "I don't know what year it is."

Ah. Well, he can help with that much. He tells her that, too.

Ashla drops her hand. She visibly mulls it over, eyes on the underside of the bunk above her. He has no idea what she's thinking.

"Why aren't there other people in this room?"

"Weak ones couldn't sleep because I'm 'too intimidating,' and the rest kept trying to throw their weight around." He shrugs at the look she points his way. "I'm not dumb enough to start a fight with a bomb around my neck, but I'm not letting someone knock me around so they can earn a reputation."

She purses her lips, but lets it lie. "You let me take you down, then?"

"You had the advantage of surprise," he says, and doesn't bother to list every other advantage. She's better fed than he is, has spent less time in spice-suffused air, was unconscious and resting while he was awake to keep an eye on her fever. He's got the feeling she already knows.

When she speaks again, it's low and in fluent Mando'a, heavily accented though it may be.

"You'd get out of here eventually," she tells him, eyes half shut. "But you'll get out faster with my help, Mand'alor."

His stomach twists.

----

"They are either very stupid, or very cheap," Ashla mutters a day later, when he's supposedly helping her change some bandages. It gives him the excuse of leaning in close.

"Probably the former," he says.

She grins, and then stiffens and hisses out a low breath as he pours some of the stolen whiskey over one of the burns. It's not a real disinfectant, but it's the best they've got at the moment. Jango still isn't sure how she managed to get it from the overseers without them noticing, but he's quickly gotten the gist that she's a fair shot sneakier than he is.

"What did they do?" he asks, and she huffs out a laugh.

"I need you to promise you won't try to kill me," she says, and he stills.

She seems to be waiting on his response. Great. "That's not an auspicious start, Ashla."

"Eh, I've survived more than my fair share of people trying to kill me. No offense, bro, but I could take you," she says.

She's probably right in their current circumstances. "Let's hear it."

"I left the Jedi Order when I was seventeen."

The whiskey bottle slips from his fingers.

An invisible hand catches it, and it settles quietly on the floor of their cell. No guards will come running. It's a damning sight, for him.

A Jedi.

A Jedi who--who left.

Jedi committed Galidraan, but she left three years before that, but she was--was--

She has her back to him, trusting.

Or just arrogant.

She phrased it that way on purpose, phrased it so he'd know she left before he--before--

"I was framed by my friend for a terrorist attack," she says, and he can't find his voice to tell her to stop talking. "And sentenced to death by a non-Jedi military tribunal for it. By the time they figured out I wasn't guilty, I'd already been kicked out."

He forces his hands to his knees, grips at the bones that are too close to the skin, and orders himself to breathe.

Ashla turns on the spot, blinks at him. "I'm telling you this because it's how we're going to get out."

"Your people killed mine."

"I wasn't a Jedi when Galidraan happened," she says. There's more she wants to say, he's sure, but she keeps the words locked behind her teeth. That might be a good thing.

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"Only for long enough to get out of here," she tells him. She shrugs, easy as anything. She's done this before, maybe. "Trust me, I have plenty of reasons to hate you, too, but I'm a little more concerned about getting this ship taken into custody, and having all the slaves freed."

"And you can just... make that happen."

"I told you, they're either stupid or skint," she says, with that same disarming grin. "I had lightsabers on me, and they kept them on the ship. They haven't drugged me since I woke up. They put me in normal cuffs, Jango."

He hates the way his name sounds on her tongue.

He hates the fact that he sees her plan already.

"You don't even need me," he points out, resisting the urge to try to kill her here and now. He doesn't have his armor. He doesn't have weapons. He's good, but she's got the Force and thighs that can crush a bantha skull.

"I'm not exactly... legit," she admits with a grimace. "Once you're back in Mandalorian space, you at least have an identity. People that will give you a place to stay. A chain code."

"And you don't."

She smiles, brittle. "Give me a week to scope out what I need and get us out of here, and maybe I'll explain."

A week. Fine.

And once they're out of here, and he has a blaster and a meal and a good night's sleep, he'll handle her.

----

He hates the fact that he likes her, still. People had already noticed, even just one day in. The first time someone notices he's giving Ashla the cold shoulder in the workroom, they joke at him about her not putting out. He's known her one day, and they think--

He stops the thought in its tracks.

Jango doesn't start fights here, but he is tempted.

"Oh, he wouldn't dare," Ashla simpers, sweet as spun sugar. "I bite."

She smiles, every pearly white tooth on display. The fangs near glint in the light. She eyes the speaker, squeezes the tool in her hand. Her tendons strain, but the metal bends with a creak.

The overseer shouts for them to get back to work.

Jango steps closer to her, lets his elbows brush against hers, and glares off anyone that tries to get too close.

"I don't need protection," she mutters to him from the corner of her mouth.

"I keep my word," he replies, hating himself for it.

He said he'd have her back. He may hate what she is, but... she left the Order. She's not a Jedi anymore. If he thinks it enough, he can believe it.

----

There's always a camaraderie in shared suffering. Jango is aware of this, and he feels his fondness for Ashla grow against his better judgment. They're both slaves on a spice ship, and he can't change that. It makes him tolerate her more than he sensibly should.

She acts like a Mando soldier, sometimes. She's not at all like Haat Mando'ade, but she knows some of the jokes that Mandalorians grow up with. She walks like a woman used to beskar'gam. She knows a drinking song or two.

(They don't waste the whiskey. It's for injuries, not intoxication.)

"I had brothers, once," she tells him, late at night. "A lot of them. They had a Mandalorian parent, sort of, but he'd never seen fit to really... let them have the culture. I lost them all, mostly to slave chips, and a few to just normal deaths, but... I learned what I could about Mandalore, after, for their sake. In their memory."

It's not a terrible reason, he thinks.

"Irony for you to end up in chains, then," he mumbles, and she barks out a sharp laugh.

"Tradition, more like," she says, and explains before he can ask for her to keep talking. "My... teacher was born a slave, and I... have a suspicion he ended up back in chains after we lost contact. His teacher was enslaved at least twice that I know of."

"Shitty tradition," he says, because there's nothing else he can think of.

"Could be worse," she tells him. This time, she doesn't elaborate.

----

He likes her more than he should.

----

He likes her so, so, so much more than he should.

----

She steals datachips when nobody's looking, using the Force instead of her fingers. She wraps dismissal around her like a cloak to access computer terminals without anyone but Jango noticing. She slips spice into the drinks held by guards and overseers.

She moves through the ship like smoke, in the dim lights of the false night.

Someone notices. Someone always notices, in Jango's experience, but they have no idea who's doing it. They lock down the cells for the sleep cycle, turn down the temperature, leave all the slaves shivering in their beds.

He pulls Ashla into his cot without hesitation, fits their bodies together to conserve heat, and ignores the rest. They're both soldiers; there's no shame in survival for those like them. The lekku at her back drapes over his neck like a scarf, and he almost wants to laugh.

He's pathetic. His men would be so damn disappointed in him, sharing bunk with a Jedi.

"You're thinking too loud," she mumbles, shifting somehow closer. The chill clings, creeping in through the thin clothes and thinner blanket, but he feels like it's bearable with Ashla here.

----

When they enact the plan, it's so much quieter than Jango would have run it. Ashla holds his hands in the early morning, before anyone is awake, and smiles. When she closes her eyes, sinking into a light meditation, the collar around her neck just... comes apart. Nuts and bolts and curves of metal float about her like a wretched parody of the mobile hanging above an infant's crib, and then land quietly on the nearest cot. When she opens her eyes, hazy and distant, she looks at his throat, and frees him with a thought.

It's a heady thing, freedom.

"Come along, Fett," she goads, almost crooning the words, backing out of the cell with his hands in hers. Nobody is awake yet, or at least they shouldn't be. Her words curl in the air like something cloyingly too-sweet, and he's sure it's her way of trying to piss him off. It's only working a little. "We've work to do."

Said work involves slipping past guards with a Jedi's timing, commanding them to sleep with a whisper and a poke to the forehead, and drugging the ones that she claims are resistant to Jedi tricks. The work is, as such, mostly hers to do. They hide the bodies, but the alarm goes off by the time they get to the weapons locker.

That's fine, because the weapons locker is where they were headed.

"Oh, hell yes," she hisses through a grit-tooth grin, and a matched pair of lightsabers float to her. Jango turns off the energy field by the time they reach her, and she hooks them onto her belt. Beskar plating follows, exactly the pieces that Jango had guessed from wear and tear. It's real beskar, too, not even an alloy, and Jango doesn't ask the questions on the tip of his tongue. She straps it on in practiced movements, without hesitation and almost without thought.

"See anything better than what you got off the guards?" she asks him. "Or did they all take the best blasters for themselves?"

"The latter," he says.

(His eyes trace over the armor she wears, and while she does wear it well... he's jealous.)

(He misses his armor.)

(Envy is unbecoming of anyone, but he thinks he can be afforded a little leeway.)

There are people in the hall by the time they exit, a dozen blasters at the ready.

The people in the hall are... not a problem.

Ashla had called it the Sword and Shield maneuver, when walking him through her experiences working in a Mando/Jetii team. He'd laughed, because the saber was the shield. She'd smiled at him, and he'd cursed himself for it.

If he'd had his armor, they'd have been able to move forward as a pair of unstoppable monsters. As it stands, they're... still doing that, really, just a tad slower.

"You're a Jedi!" one of them shouts. "You're supposed to be diplomats! You're not supposed to kill!"

Jango could laugh at that horrible, horrible lie.

"I am no Jedi," Ashla says, and the words cut through the air like something she's said a million times, and will say a million more.

Jango could do a lot with that line, tucked away in his memories for later.

There's a moment, though, where they're stuck at one end of a hallway, and the door to the bridge is just on the other side, and Ashla grins at him, a challenge in every inch of her body, and asks, "You wanna see something cool?"

He can't help it.

"You planning to show off, Jedi?" He can say the word without flinching, and it's... absurd. It's absurd. What in all the hells is she doing to him?

(He's been told that war makes for strange bedfellows, but he's long known that trauma does the same.)

He takes cover when she moves, and oh, does she move.

Ashla's a whirlwind, dangerous as anything and beautiful in her careful, precise violence. She knocks people out, more often than not, but there's more then one dead body left in her wake. It appeals to something in him. She flips and twists and throws people with the Force. She slices and kicks, and smacks people across the face with the blasters she lifts of their comrades. She headbutts at least two people, and then jumps to bounce off the ceiling and back down so she can land feet first on an enemy.

He hopes he'll get his common sense back when he's had time to put himself together, because the sight of those sabers doesn't make him flinch. After all he's been through, after all his nightmares, it really should. The sound alone should have him shivery and shooting.

Maybe there's just too much spice in the air.

A head drops to the floor in a different direction from the body it had previously been attached to. Jango's throat goes dry in response.

When Ashla stands at the end of the hall, a saber in each hand and the floor behind her littered in both bodies breathing and bodies bereft of life, she looks back at him over her shoulder. She deactivates her swords, and smirks. She's smug, and she makes smug look very, very good.

"So," she says. "Verdict?"

Fuck.

----

The bridge is easy enough to handle. They land the ship on a Republic planet, one with relevant authorities and at least some reputation for actually handling things with a degree of kindness and transparency. Ashla does the talking, letting Jango lurk behind her. She lies.

"Half-truths," she later tells him, in a low voice. The smile she wears is amused and self-assured, just a twist at the corner, and the slightest of pouts. He can't see it, when she leans in to murmur in his ear. "I certainly used to be a Jedi. They don't need to know this wasn't an officially-sanctioned infiltration."

Her breath hits lightly against his ear, and he wants--he wants--

"Have a comm code for any old friends?" Ashla asks, stepping away. Her face twists unpleasantly. Frustration, he's sure. "I've got credits, but no contacts."

He eyes the little pack she's got around her waist. "Stole that from the slavers?"

"We'll consider it payment for services rendered," she tells him, with an impish grin Jango wants to kiss off of her face, because apparently he's kriffing suicidal and wants to bed a Jedi. "I'll give you most of it, if you want. Call it the two years of backpay they owed you."

He snorts before he can stop himself. "Just one year, sorry."

"Oh, it's hazard pay," she insists, blinking innocently. "Dangerous conditions having been what they were, of course."

She presses a comm--probably also stolen--and a few credits into his hand, then loops her arm through his. She sets off at a lazy walk, ignoring the people who stare at them with distaste and disgust. "We'll find a hotel. We'll shower, with real water, and fancy soaps, and a little sonic just for the clothes. I'll run out and get you a basic outfit, and then we can go shopping, and once that's done, and you've had a chance to comm a companion, we can reunite you with your buddies, and you can go hunting for your armor, and I'll split and--"

"Stay."

She tilts her head at him, though she doesn't stop walking, and he feels his face burn. He hopes it's not visible. She hums lowly. He can't learn anything from it. "You hate Jedi, though, and I might not really be one anymore, but I'm still more Jedi than not."

"You wear beskar and speak Mando'a," he says. "You helped the Mand'alor. You're halfway to being one of mine already."

"One of yours, huh?" she mutters, eyes somewhere distant. He doesn't know what it is that she's seeing, but he's gotten used to it. "Alright, let's have this conversation again after you've had some sleep and clothes and a good meal, yeah?"

He can take that compromise.

----

"What do you mean, you're from the future?!"

[pentecostwaite]

The Death and Resurrection of Pentecost Waite

The Afterlife of an Unrepentant Sinner, a somewhat fictional Account.

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

It is night, and Pentecost Waite waits. It’s something he’s grown accustomed to in the 300-odd years since his death. 

Living men have no idea how haunted they are, how myriad the phantoms that swirl about them. This surprised Pentecost when he became a phantom himself. Looking back, it would have been most useful if Reverend Fiske had but once mentioned this from his creaking pulpit, instead of droning ever on about witches. In near three centuries, Pentecost has not encountered a single witch, but he has seen ghosts galore. The truth is, the dead are everywhere.

When he considers it, he cannot help but think bitterly of his own death as the farcical end of a life barely begun. Twenty-five years of unspeakable longing. A single passionate but deeply unwise encounter in the Wenham Common Wood. And in the end, his handsome dalliance, Flee-Fornication Waldron, belatedly lived up to his name and, guilt-ridden, whispered of their sin to another. How swiftly a whisper travels in a community of the godly! Three days later, as his sister answered the door to the dark visages of the Deacon and Constable, Pentecost slipped out the back ell and began to run. 

He didn’t stop until he reached York, on the northern frontier of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There, he wagered, his sins could not follow. But in the greatest irony of all, just as he tasted freedom from the stifling press of his former community, a chance to live out his days undisturbed, if not entirely fulfilled, Death came for him--as it so often does when man is least prepared.

The tavern where Pentecost had planned to spend his first night in York was full to bursting at an hour past sundown, as was his bladder on account of the plentiful cheap ale. He’d packed his clay pipe with borrowed tobacco, drew a rushlight from the fire and headed outside to heed nature’s insistence. In the gloaming, as Pentecost lit his pipe, the traitorous ale weakened his knees and he lost his footing. He hadn’t noticed the embankment there, and fell backwards down the slope, striking his head on a large stone. Blinding pain, and then nothing.

After death, lucky souls are immediately ascendant, or so Pentecost assumes. The unlucky linger on the earth. And the unluckiest, by force or circumstance become trapped, attached to some meaningless object: a kid-skin glove, an oak aumbry, a cocked beaver hat, or in Pentecost’s case, the stem of his clay smoking pipe. The best he can discern, he must have bitten it into pieces when his head struck the rock, and his soul rushed in. He is tethered to this clay piece like a ship to an anchor. He is not alone. More tethered souls dot the landscape around him, just out of reach. A garden of ghosts.

In death, the monotony is pervasive. Through the decades, Pentecost has watched the tavern become a home, watched children grow and die. Clothing and speech change, but people remain the same. He expected to go on like this, a silent shipwrecked observer, as the pipe stem crumbled to dust. 

That is, until HE came.

People tour the former tavern now in eager groups. They cluster in the back on the spot where the drunken taverners once pissed and speak loftily of The History Of The Place. Sometimes, one of the group hangs back when the rest have moved on. They gaze at the building, peruse the ground, pocket a sherd of broken pottery. And that is how Pentecost came to be found.

How the young man spotted the artifact in the shadow of the embankment, Pentecost will never know. In a moment, the pipe stem was plucked from the ground by nimble, curious fingers, and Pentecost with it. Gently pushed into a darkened pocket, he was free.

How to describe the whirlwind journey to the young man’s home later that day? Impossibly fast, a hurricane of color and speed in one of the horseless carriages Pentecost had observed for years with curiosity and trepidation. The young man’s rooms were small, simple, bright with windows. He emptied his pockets on a table by his bedstead, and examined the pipe stem again. Pentecost stood awkwardly in the corner, a guest without an invitation.

The young man, brown of hair and eye, was disarmingly handsome in a boyish way, polite and soft-spoken as he greeted his neighbors earlier on the doorstep. And he smelled divine. Something stirred within Pentecost.

That night, when the young man retired to bed, and with nothing preventing him, Pentecost slid beneath the covers. He lay awake all night, intoxicated by their proximity, memorizing every crease and curve of the young man’s face, the sound of his breath, the slow beat of his heart. That such exquisite intimacy unavailable in life could be so easily come by in death was both an amazement and a grief in turns.

In the morning, the young man arose and left the house. By night he returned. And so Pentecost slipped into a new and wondrous routine: nights spent pressed close beside the young man, and days spent exploring his rooms. 

The young man was an avid reader, Pentecost quickly discovered, and half-opened books lay on nearly every surface. Through experimentation Pentecost learned to turn the pages, and once he did, he read everything in sight. At last, he felt like he could face eternity. 

It is night, and Pentecost Waite waits. 

The young man is late this evening. When he arrives home, he looks weary from work. He has a quiet supper. He washes the dishes and spends a long while looking out the kitchen window towards the rising moon. When he makes his way to the bedroom, Pentecost follows.

The young man empties his pockets on the bedside table, as he does every night. Tonight he picks up the pipe stem there and turns it over and over between his fingers. Time seems to slow.

“I know you’re here,” he says at last. He raises his head to look around the room. 

Pentecost freezes.

“You’re the one who’s been reading all my books, aren’t you? I see the shape of your head on the pillow every morning.”

The young man holds up the pipe stem, eyes still searching the room. 

“You came in on this, and now you’re here with me.” It’s more of a statement than a question.

Silence hangs thick as a curtain. After a moment, the young man opens a drawer in the bedside table and slides the pipe stem in gently, reverently, as if it were Pentecost’s immortal soul itself.

“So you don’t get lost ever again,” the young man murmurs. 

Pentecost realizes he is quivering.

Slowly, slowly, the young man raises his arms, pulls his shirt off over his head. He’s beautiful in the half-light, achingly so. They face each other in the deep stillness that follows. Then the young man holds out his hand.

“Come to bed,” he says, and smiles.

Pentecost doesn’t wait, not one single minute more.

(Apocrypha)

[fordarkisthesuede]

The Tolls of Justice: the Tarot, Name Meanings, and More!

Gentlepeople…

BEHOLD!

All the tarot-aligned hints! All the future foretellings! All the silly references! :) Everything you might have overlooked is here for you easy-to-read pleasure!

Naturally, there be spoilers a-plenty ahead for Batman the TellTale Series: The Tolls of Justice, so if you haven't read it (or maybe you're thinking about reading it, or this is your first time hearing about it), I'd advise waiting until you're done with each chapter to read through the sections. You can either click the link and be redirected to Ao3, or look through my tumblr tag #ttoj!

*One forwarding note: the tarot references build slowly in this story, and I only use the traditional Major & Minor Arcana. You'll see a lot of jokes and name-type references before we get to the tarot. I also simplified the numerics, but they're often displayed as roman numerals on cards, hint hint.

Prologue

gang member "Four Ears" - a very very off-the-collar reference to the line "Listen up, four-ears!" from J-Men Forever; in context, it was an off-shoot of the insult "four-eyes" but for music taste, also implying the person's taste was "square".

gang member "Muddy Nye" - his name can be boiled down to "muddy river". It works as an allusion to the messy, unclear case ahead of Bruce and the Batfam, but also as a hint to Clayface, who acted as Muddy in his first sighting of the story.

"Sunset" - a reference to everyone's favorite vampire series to pick on, the Twilight series; back when it was at the height of it's popularity, some drug dealers sold heroin marketed towards the crowd based off it's terrible and unfortunately iconic(?) line from Edward Cullen, "You're my own personal brand of heroin"…hence why the drug of choice BM is shipping here is heroin. Essentially, this plot setup is one big joke.

"FIGS" - a reference to POP! vinyls, hence the capitalized name and spiky word balloon on the packages.

"Gray Ghost [memorabilia]" - one of my (and everyone else's) favorite BtAS episodes, which proves definitively that Bruce Wayne | Batman is not only a Huge Nerd™, but also a massive collector of normal fandom things. (Do you think he troughs through blogs and fanwikis…? What am I saying, of course he does. He edits them.)

gang members "Jack Whendleham and Kirby Noltz" - nod to Jack Kirby, comic artist extraordinaire!

Ch.1: A Different Ceiling

[chapter title] - John does not wake up in Arkham at the start of the story, hence waking up to a different ceiling. He also hits different limitations on what he can do, so it's also a different kind of "ceiling". (Like the term "the glass ceiling", the invisible barrier a demographic hits in a hierarchy.)

St. Dymphna New Life Home - named after Saint Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness. There's no "'s" at the end because I saw other clinics named after Saints didn't use the possessive form when referencing them.

The Lucky Hotel - an oxymoron, really; the unluckiest place to get stuck at with it's seedy history, but also the place where John "gets lucky"…in a couple of different ways!

Stitched Up Alterations - a heavy nod to the wonderful batjokesy line from S2, "We're two threads in the same stitch". It's pretty deeply ingrained in fanon (and technically canon, if you go with The Dark Knight) that Joker makes his own clothes, hence Batman rarely finding him through his tailor. Since John's thrifty and clearly made his original Joker outfit(s), I piggybacked off it as a legit skill to give him. I mean, come on, the guy is always so stylish! And you're really going to look at me and say he didn't alter his thrifted shirts and vests to fit his sleek frame? Puh-leeease.

13th Street - 13 is a traditionally unlucky number in western culture; hence the "Lucky Hotel" there having a bloody history, along with a failed, closed casino nearby.

Corazón gang - okay, I admit…I'm still a weeb at heart. It's a One Piece reference. Corazon was one of the few post-timeskip new characters I really liked; his name is Spanish for "heart", and he sported a heart motif. Like the gang in this story, he also died before the start of the main storyline.

Ch. 2: Face Values

[chapter title] - A reference to the phrase "not taking things at face value", which is very evident in this story. Also doubles as a rather loose reference to the upcoming Tarot cards.

Sebastian Overfield - The name Sebastian means "from Sebaste", as is derived from the Greek word sebastos ("venerable", someone who has a lot of respect). Overfield of course is "over" and "field", implying the family is on a high hill overlooking/overseeing/maintaining a certain field. As Seb is a reverend, this name is well-fit for him.

orange rose [gift from John] - means "passion" in the language of flowers, and can allude to fascination; this can be taken platonically or romantically…but it's definitely romantic when it's coming from John.

blue iris [gift from John] - means "faith and hope" in the language of flowers, and sometimes are associated with royalty; an allusion to Batman/Bruce's overall symbolism in the eyes of Gotham…and John.

Chandis [ship, circa Prologue] - A reference to Chandi | Chandika, the Hindu deity; the short version of their story is that they are a demon slayer, known to be angry and passionate, wield multiple weapons, and ride a lion. And who was on the ship? Hmm…

Ch. 3: Ink Trails

[chapter title] - A reference to the Alterations' claim slip John finds, which ends up leading back to the Court of Owls. It doubles as a reference to the mask tattoo/clue on Ian 'Nito'.

Faith Ackart - "Ackart" is a variant of "ackhart", derived from "ekkehard", which we can say roughly means "brave/hardy". The name "faith" and "hardy" together is another very subtle clue for the audience towards the villains' motives. (Well, I say that, but it was really more of a joke-clue for me to giggle at. And it makes a good reporter name!)

Lou Monger - the guy's a fish monger…with the last name Monger. It's-a joke! ;D

Ian 'Nito' Coggs - first mentioned without his real last name, but "Ian Coggs, Nito", is a pun on the word "incognito"…which is what Clayface is here.

FriendBook/Chirp/bloggr/uBox - takes on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube respectively. (This started back in my 'Season 3' story, At the Brink of Midnight, though I've since learned that bloggr was a real thing. :T) The 'uBox' is meant to be a play on 'jumping box'/'the box' as other terms for TV, like 'the tube'.

"whole tomato of pins" - the supposed history of tomato-shaped pincushions is that tomatoes placed on mantels repelled evil spirits and guaranteed prosperity, but I really wanted to just allude to the common pin-cushion shape. (My mom once had a whole little basket of strawberry shaped pin-cushions. I remember "borrowing" them a lot as a kid to play with. And then "losing" them.)

"sock and buskin masks" - these are a reference to the "comedic sock" and "tragic buskin (i.e. boot)" of the Greek comedy-tragedy theatre masks. I figured something like them would be a good logo for the "false faces", as BM is obsessed with masks. It also doubles as a natural callback to the "your relationship with x has changed" feature of TT games.

Ch. 4: Suite of Cups

[chapter title] - the first chapter to be a reference to the Tarot, in specific the Minor Arcana of Cups; rather than specifying the card at play outright, this title is a pun on the aforementioned arcana "suite", as the main location of events this chapter are in a casino's hotel suite. One can interpret many Cups cards at play here, but...

○ Specifically, in the Casino's suite/crime scene, there are 8 visible seats, but 7 cups on the table. The 7 of Cups refers to choices, fantasy, and illusion, an indicates there are multiple opportunities or many paths you can take, but they should be chosen carefully; when reversed, it can mean confusion, diversion, and temptation, and indicate a lack of choice or failure to choose.

○ The upright version is definitely in play, with the overall root of TellTale games being choices, and some "the player" makes this chapter will move your relationships with Tiffany and John in different ways, which can strengthen your relationships with them. If "the player" has chosen to be a more violent Batman, the way the Talon - and later, the Court - treats Batman is different.

○ The Reversed reading can be interpreted for the Court's complete disregard for the mere notion of choice.

Bauta - a Venetian carnival mask, meant to represent 'anonymous decisions' via it's original design of protecting identities. It's quite common in carnivals.

Melpomene-Thalia - the Venetian masks for comedy and tragedy, a la 'sock and buskin', the masks used as a general symbol for theatre. You can practically taste the irony, given who's shown wearing it...

Volto - a Venetian mask, meant to represent 'anonymity, quiet exit' for it's blank face. It's also known as the "Citizen Mask" because of it's worn by the common folk (in comparison to the more elaborate masks).

The Lot [casino] - named for "drawing lots", like drawing straws or matches to pick a person to do a task (usually with the shortest straw having to do the task, but it varies). This is both a pun on the fact that it's a casino - where you try your luck at gambling - and corresponds with the theme of foretelling the future that's woven throughout much of the story.

The Wednesday Nighters gang - this doesn't mean anything in particular. I'm a big fan of Midsomer Murders, and there's an episode ("Death in a Chocolate Box") where it references a few dirty cops who frequently took the Friday night shift at a station for episode-plot-reasons, who called themselves The Friday Nighters. It's an off-shoot reference to it, hence the corrupt cops on the gang in this story. :)

[John's voicemail] - Another BtAS episode I love is "the terrible secret of Bruce Wayne". In particular, I loved Joker's voicemail when Dr. Strange calls in ("Boy, do YOU have the wrong number!") and I wanted to do something like that. But, y'know, way less murdery.

"F85H4ND" - l33t-written "Fate's Hand", for…well, the hand of fate, supposedly guiding you through life/events. Another correspondent to the foretelling the future theme.

Michael Hodgson - not all of the names I pick for characters mean anything. Sometimes their names are just loose references to things I like. This is a silly mish-mashup of the original hosts of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Michael [Nelson] and [Joel] Hodgeson. (Joel was the first host + show creator, and Mike was the second host who closed out the original series run.)

"40F5WRD5" [Batcomputer archive] - l33t for the 4 of Swords, a card in the Minor Arcana for rest and restoration; since the archives and file names are randomly generated when not prompted otherwise with manual input, an otherworldly force seems to be saying 'get some damn sleep Bruce'.

[John's ringtone] - I know, TT always has everyone's phone on silent. I don't care. Bruce's ringtone for John is "Mack the Knife", a song about a violent mobster, played on a carnival organ. Chosen because 1) John probably loves that song, 2) I thought it was funny that it has the line "the shark bites - with his teeth, dear - when he shows them pearly whites" and how well that goes with John's A+ dental care... 3) TeamFourStar made jokes in their BtTTS S2 playthrough about having "a special ringtone whenever John calls [them]"…why would I not carry that through? They did get me to where we are now, you know. ;)

Ryde - the in-game stand-in for Lyft, the not-a-taxi service.

Ch. 5: The Wheel Still Spins on the Upturned Chariot

[chapter title] - a reference to 2 tarot cards in the Major Arcana. 1) "The Wheel"/"The Wheel of Fortune", which is a sign for continuous cycles, inevitable fate, and usually indicates good fortune and pre-destiny when the card is presented upright. When reversed, it can signify bad luck and an unfavorable fate. 2) "The Chariot", symbolizing a path forward to success, confidence, and overcoming obstacles; when reversed, it's stands for recklessness and lack of direction/control. 3) As the Chariot is upside down, John's original plans have been upended and everything goes out of his control in a chaotic situation. He’s essentially "not at the driver’s seat" for a little while. "The player" decides which direction to take the wheel in - either letting him lash out violently and send him on more solitary and dangerous path, or satisfy his need for stability by embracing his new relationships. The Chariot is always upturned here, but whether the wheel spins forward or backward is up to "the player's" decisions.

511 N. Blade Street - this one's a bit messy. 511 = V I I, or VII in roman numerals, which =7. The tarot cards are traditionally numbered in roman numerals. North, for pointing upright, and "blade" is synonymous with "sword". So it’s the "7 of Swords", in the upright position – referring to deception and trickery, which is of course what's going on in regards to who Ian 'Nito' Coggs really is…

Apt 1005 - even muddier, but this is referring to the 10 of Swords, which is for betrayal and backstabbing, hinting at the true motives of "Ian" | Clayface. 10-0-5, so 10 and the l33t for "OS" = 10-o-S.

900 Wanda Way - Both a pun on the phrase “wander away” and the 9 of Wands in the Minor Arcana, which alludes to pushing forward to achieve victory. A good allusion for a clinic, me-thought.

400 Wanda Way - The 4 of Wands in the Minor Arcana stands for community, another good allusion for a clinic.

Karen McCarthy - named after the most stereotypically uptight narcissistic asshole the masses have agreed to call 'Karen', and both McCarthyism and another famous lady with the surname McCarthy. Because I wanted you to know the second you see her name that she is *horrible*. (Funny, though, there's 2 senators named McCarthy that are pieces of shit and one infamous quasi-celeb who's the face of the anti-vax scene. Is it just a cursed family name?)

Ch. 6: The Tips of Our Swords

[chapter title] - Refers to the 4 of Swords card in the Minor Arcana, as the "swords" are alluding to the four active members in the Batfam - Bruce, John, Tiffany, and Iman - who work together on the case[s]; you can infer this title to a presentation not unlike the Musketeers joining swords to affirm themselves as a team, as they all gather together. The reversed reading of the card is for restlessness/stress in Bruce's case, and the clear signal of the universe to tell him to relax, and the reading when presented right-side up is for the break it gives to "the player", with the homey atmosphere of the Batfam spending time together. Either reading is completely valid here.

○ BUT, as Alfred is a non-active member of the Batfam, we could also say that 5 of Swords is also at play, right-side-up for the fighting and resentment with Alfred, and John's hinted budding conflict with him; and 5 reversed for Bruce's attempts at making up with Tiffany. If one illustrated the gathering of our four heroes joining swords like the musketeers over a breakfast table, then Alfred would be sitting drinking tea, standing as a symbol of the Ace of Cups, signifying new emotions or stirrings of feelings.

○ If we stretch the metaphor eeeven further, the title can also be a loose reference to the Sword of Damocles; threats always hang above the heads of powerful people, and in this case the looming threat of Black Mask and the mysterious assassin, ever-present in Batman's world…

Dr. Brandi September - literally "Sword" and "Seventh Month", alluding to the 7 of Swords, hinting to deception and manipulation at play.

"I was tired of the soup du jour" - a shameless Devo reference; a tiring of the routine/everyday. "I'm tired of the soup du jour - I want to end this prophylactic tour - ain't nobody around me - understands my potato - I'm only a spud boy - lookin' for a real tomato" - DEVO, "Mr DNA/Smart Patrol".

Motel 11, Augury Road - "augury" is another word for crows; as a gathering of crows can be a method of fortune-telling, this a reference to a gathering of 11 crows, which when seen is supposed to be indicative of disguising or revealing secrets.

Ch. 7: Drawing the Strings

[chapter title] - meant to allude to John aligning the strings connecting the people and crimes together, like an old-fashioned way of mapping clues; can be interpreted as these crime-strings on the proverbial board being drawn closer together, marking the center of the "web" as the Court of Owls

Frieda Baast - Frieda, an allusion to the Norse goddess Freya, who rode on a chariot driven by cats, and Baast, the Egyptian goddess who had the form of a cat. It makes it really obvious who was staying at the Motel 11, huh?

room 14 [Selina Kyle's motel room] - a reference to the 14th tarot card, "Temperance", which when upright is meant for choosing the middle path between choices. This is meant to reference Selina herself, currently at a secret, personal crossroads and being in "the middle"; John can influence her hidden choice by either making her think about what her potential job's employers are really aligning themselves with, or taunting her into how she can't leave her old life behind. (Whether John is violent or not doesn't completely impact her choice, but it does impact how they interact later if Selina winds up in the hands of our villains.)

Oracle, Spoiler, Batgirl, Spectrum - Batman's had a lot of non-Robin sidekicks in comics, including Batgirl (originally Barbara Gordon), Oracle (Barbara Gordon, post-Batgirl-forced-retirement and computer hacker extraordinaire), and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown, who "spoiled" crimes). As a fan of Ao3/tumblr's @fractualized 's own Telltale Bat-verse fics (the "Release John Doe" series), I added in the reference to "Spectrum", which Tiffany became in lieu of "Robin". A wink from one fan-writer to another! ;)

"I'm steppin' out, my dear - to breathe an atmosphere […] - that simply reeks […] with class" - John's singing a classic Fred Astaire hit, "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails".

Eric, Jerome, Jeremiah, Jack [John's "Normal name" ideas] - As this story allows "the player" to pick a name for John to use in place of his own, you can pick between some classic and modern references to Joker's alternate personas over the years. Eric White Border (edit: goddang it that's what i get for looking at White Knight while writing this up and never double-checking), Joker's regular persona in the New 52 Batman comic line; Jerome or Jeremiah of the Gotham TV series, both of which are different aspects of Joker's personality through media, with a more modern gritty version in Jerome (think Heath Ledger's Joker) and a more modern take on Joker's sociopathy in Jeremiah; and last but not least Jack Napier, the first official name of Joker circa Tim Burton's Batman (1989), and the one most popularly used (BtAS and other comics throughout the years since use this name). "The player"'s choice doesn't impact the story or the way John acts, but it does give a surprise feature later. ;)

Matt Chaney - Aka, "Clayface", Matt has both new and old elements in his name alone. Matt, for Matt Hagen, the most well-known/used of the Clayface personas, and Chaney, for classic film actor Lon Chaney, AKA the man of a thousand faces. This Clayface is an aspiring actor who is psychologically dependent on Moddy to keep him handsome after a terrible car accident left his face marred. He uses his excellent makeup skills and acting to infiltrate the False Face Society, and double-plays them and the Court of Owls.

Root / MuSec - stand-ins for Vine and TikTok, respectively. "MuSec" is both a play on the word "musac" (the word for 'elevator music' and generic produced music you hear in fake stores and the like) and the mish-mash of the words "music" and "second", referencing the short length of the videos. "Root" was used in a prior story (At the Brink of Midnight), and acts as another "natural network" type name akin to Vine; though I do recognize "Vine" might have come along as part of the phrase "I heard it through the grape-vine". I have a feeling some Aussie fans might find the fake-Vine name funny...or just awkward.

Ch. 8: It Had to Be You

[chapter title] - A reference to the classic crooner song, "It Had to Be You"; specifically, the one that flows through the first scene is a cover done by Frank Sinatra, meant to align with other Bat-media's use of Sinatra where Joker and Batman are concerned. The Arkham games got his famous "Under My Skin", and another crooner's "Only You". Batjokes fans/content creators have also used "Strangers in the Night" for their relationship. I wanted to present one that would feel at-home in the TellTale universe regardless of what route you end up with, and what's more perfect than a song about finally discovering the love of your life? The song fits them to a tee, in my humble opinion…

Estella Art Gallery - Selina's art gallery, mentioned previously to have been the site of a Talon attack. "Estella" translates to "star", for the tarot card "The Star". When presented upright, it means hope and rebirth; this card can be presented after a disaster, such as an event like "The Tower". Normally, it can be interpreted as a card to show a phase where you have trust and faith in yourself and the universe. Selina was turning over a new leaf and enjoying her new life until the Owls found out who she was.

Mrs. Bollard - "bald-headed person"…this poor woman got her wig snatched as John stole Bruce from her on the dance floor. xD

"I knew today's horoscope was bullshit" - a nod to earlier, where Roman mentioned his horoscope when visiting Bruce; "a friend will help you out of a tight bind." Not that it was mentioned like that... still! I wonder what today's was? "You will be fortunate in your business endeavors"? Ha ha ha! But really, the horoscope is another nod to the theme of foretelling the future, as it's a popular method to try and see how your day, month, season, or year will be. Not that I know what sign Roman is… *thinking face*

[Achievement Unlocked: Batman Who Laughs] - John showing up in the Batman cowl was not only funny, but a direct nod to the Batman Who Laughs. The TT games had Batman comic titles often used as Achievements, so I figured I'd put in some…

[Achievement Unlocked: Batwoman Rises] - Iman helping the team out in the spare Batman suit is naturally a nod to Batwoman, and something I wanted to do for a while. ;D

Brighella - a Venetian mask taken from a play now used to depict a cunning and mischievous servant. Originally the mask was used to depict a greedy villain character.

The Two Gilded Cups - A restaurant in-story that references "The Two of Cups" tarot card, a card representing unity, partnership, and two becoming one. When upright, it's a card that can reference lovers or a new relationship; when reversed, it can represent broken communication, imbalance, or tension. As such, the couple who were seen at the restaurant - Sonja Townsend and her husband - are established lovers who work together for the Court of Owls, but those who were really there are Jackie Lant and Matt Chaney, who are in an imbalanced relationship. "Gilded" implies that "The Cups" are covered unnecessarily with gold - this is both in reference to Jackie and Matt's disguise of the Townsends and the truth about their relationship. Matt's lies are covering for his narcissism and selfishness, and ultimately is the only thing holding him and Jackie's relationship together.

Moddy - A fictional body modification clay-mud-putty that's a product of Janus Industries, this makeup is the favorite of Matt Chaney and the reason we can call him "Clayface". Like the traditional Clayface, Matt is in dire need to have his fix of the makeup, despite what it does to him - as John notes, it leaves a weird burn-like sensation, and since Matt has deep scar tissue he covers every minute of every day, it's made the skin damage worse.

"You’re really committed to drowning in that river" - A riff on the old joke "denial ("de Nile") isn't just a river in Egypt".

"Your words are honey in my ears, but my brain always turns it into bitter wax" - In Futurama, Fry has a silly line of “Sweet words! Sweet words that turn into bitter wax in my ears!”. It always had the potential to be a great metaphor if the words were twisted around! :) Plus, I mean, come on, this is a totally On Brand™ thing for John to say!

Ch. 9: Strength in Numbers

[chapter title] - Referencing the Strength card, for bravery, compassion, and inner strength; the title also doubles as a play on “different kinds of strengths”. Strength is the will the expose your truths. Strength is finding compassion to help others. Strength is staying true to your convictions in the face of opposition. We see all different kinds of strength on display here.

○ It can also a reference to the different partnerships going on, with Jackie joining the team (unofficially), Bruce and Tiffany going off to tackle the other half of our case, and John and Iman’s team-up. :)

"[John] could barely hear it over the tinny electronic whistling tune emitting from his own phone, telling him the person on the other end was a mystery" - this is referencing an old tumblr joke! Yes, John has the “It is a mystery” tone on his phone for unknown calls…complete with the little (:o) ghost icon.

CUP5K1NG [license plate] - Referring to the King of Cups card, a card portraying emotional balance and compassion. As it's not written as "K1NGCUP5", it implies it's a reversed card, signifying there's manipulation and instability at work. Even though Matt doesn't own the car this license plate belongs to, it's definitely tied to him since it's his getaway ride, and thus hints at what's to be revealed in his and Jackie's hotel room.

Aylin Street - the name "Alyin" translates into “moon halo; one that belongs to the moon”, thereby being a reference to the Moon card, representing mysteries and illusions. An investigation is afoot!

“Looks like I’ve got the red light, kiddo.” - In stage acts, the red light is to indicate to the performer their time on stage is up. Generally, it’s reserved for comedians who either overrun their time or are losing the audience. John's joking that he's been given the red light to exit stage left (but not persued by bear).

"What’s the ‘G’ for?” - Iman's 'Gotham Construction' jumpsuit has a G different from John's - it's shaped more like a gear. This is another Mystery Science Theater reference, in particular the logo for Gizmonic Institute, the company/labs that "employed" original host Joel and the mad scientist Dr. Forrester (and his assistant, TV's Frank), who started the experiments of forcing a guy and his robot friends to watch reeeally bad movies. The result was 12 (soon to be 13!) seasons of some guys making hilarious and very memorable jokes at said bad movies' expense. Does this reference mean that Bruce is just as huge a dork as I am, or does it mean that MST3K is real in this universe?! You make the call! ;D

○ …if you read 'What's the 'G' for?' in Invader Zim's voice, that's also valid. Especially if you followed it with “I dON’t know!” in GIR's. (There is no cringing here! We openly embrace our childhood silliness!)

MasterOfClayFace / #IdW3arThat [Matt Chaney's social media login] - naturally Matt is so far up on his high horse that he considers himself a master of clay work…and of course his nickname is ClayFace! His password is a joke in and out of canon, being a riff on Lemon Demon song: “A mask of my own face – I’d wear that” ~ Lemon Demon, “Mask of My Own Face” [Nature Tapes].

3055 [Jackie Lant's InstaPic followers] - According to research, the average Instagram following is about 1000, so Jackie is above average popularity. Anything above 10k is usually(?) celeb status. The number 3055 is meant to be broken up and turned partially into l33t, to make 3-O-S-S, or 3 of Sword[s]. The 3 of Swords card in the tarot signifies heartbreak and grief, stemming from betrayal, loneliness, and rejection. Jackie experienced all three of these heart-piercing swords during her return to Gotham, with Matt basically forcing her into isolation, betraying her trust, and rejecting her input and values in favor of his own; but she didn't really know it until the truth was exposed.

8055 [Matt Chaney's InstaPic followers] - similarly, Matt's follower count is meant to be 8-O-S-S, or the 8 of Swords card. It signifies self-victimization and imprisonment. In particular, the card shows a person restrained and trapped, but their helplessness is a show…they could choose to get out, if they got over themselves. Matt is incredibly selfish, so it comes as no surprise that he will play the victim card.

#OnlyInGotham - Another tumblr reference! I love the @hashtagonlyingotham blog! ( ^3^)

The Herold Rite's Theatre - A play on the word "Hierophant": Herold, like “herald (ruler/champion)” and Rites, like “sacred rites”. In the tarot, the Hierophant card represents following tradition and values, which for the Owls is their very core. This is basically a big ol' hint that Iman and John are heading into Owl territory, but also foreshadows the religious undercut of The Court and Reverend Sebastian Overfield's role.

"a familiar red-pyramid-and-floating-eyeball" [graffiti] - A reference to my icon! ;D You think I can't self-promo?

trading cards [found in theatre storage] - In the Theatre, John finds "old promotional trading cards for an old sci-fi film with big-brained aliens". This is a shameless and loving reference to Tim Burton's 1996 film Mars Attacks!, of which my AO3/tumblr icon and username is lifted - the movie was based on a series of Topps trading cards from the 1960's, and had it's own set of cards with movie scenes and behind-the-scenes pictures (and summaries of events) printed for the movie! They also used them as promotional tools, and if you get very lucky purchasing a copy of the old single-issue comic books from the 1995 Mars Attacks run from Image Comics, you can get a promo card.

https://bit.gt.gd/S3272019F?=RO - Originally "gd" stood for a derivative of Google Drive, but I can’t look at it and not see “get good”. The "S3272019F?" is meant to stand for "Started: March 27, 2019 Finished: ?". I can't believe I started uploading the story in March of 2019! Man, 2020 really messed with my sense of time…

Ch. 10: Tantara Bounces Off of Moonlit Walls

[chapter title] - "Tantara" is defined as "the blare of a trumpet or horn", as seen in the Judgement card, which stands for self-reflection as well as reckoning, and can indicate rebirth. There's of course another reference to the Moon card, for intuitions and the unconscious being. Then what are the "[Moonlit] Walls"? Well, they're the part of the only Major Arcana tarot card to represent a building - they are the walls of the Tower, symbolizing destruction and disaster. When all the cards' meanings are put all together, this alludes to a time of discovery among absolute disaster.

○ Expanded, the whole title is a reference to both forms of Judgement occurring – self-reflection and change are happening with Bruce and John as their mysteries and anxieties are finally put to rest: John is undergoing his final "rebirth", seeing his reality clearly in Arkham’s padded cell; Bruce seems to finally come to terms with working with Tiffany, as his fear of not being able to protect her comes through with her showing she's able take care of herself and prove she's a true asset to the team; and the Court of Owls finally comes to light, with Matt Chaney, the Talon Adam, and the Talon Sonja Townsend finally showing their real motivations.

○ We can also interpret the title as a reckoning coming for the Owls, who have long been obscuring the truth of their deeds and whose true motives have been murky. They've built their own tower of disaster with bricks of delusion, and judgement's horn is blaring a warning through their hallways…

"X-Sharp Manufacturing" - a reference to the 10 of Swords (hence the "sharp"), the tarot card for betrayal, backstabbing, and defeat. For Bruce, there is disaster here beyond his control that ends in a [temporary] defeat. For Roman Sionis, owner of the small factory as part of Janus Inc., he's unwittingly walked into his own betrayal.

"Merlin's Flower Arrangements" - Merlin, a famous wizard, is a reference to The Magician card, who defines “as above, so below”… And as John is taken to a secondary location, so is Bruce. :)

"La Luna Painting" - La Luna, aka The Moon; remember, shadows can play tricks on your eye, so something’s afoot here… Aka "HEY GUYS THIS TOTALLY ISN’T SUSPICIOUS OR ANYTHING NO SIR"

Yelsnia Theater - Yelsnia is…actually a name. But searching for it shows my true hint, as it's "Ainsley" backwards. "Ainsley" derives from Scottish words meaning “alone, solitary” or “hermitage”. This is a reference to the Hermit card – in this case, it's blatantly upside down, referring to loneliness, isolation, and a general disconnection with mankind. AKA, the path Matt is on.

"the looming pillar tower" [Arkham] - A blatant representation of The Tower. It stands for impending disaster and "an upheaval of a foundation of reality". Of course, this can be taken in two ways. 1) That John has overcome/avoided the disaster of another mental breakdown. 2) That John’s foundation of his delusions - that he’ll wake up in or get sent back to Arkham for his sickness - was wrong in a realistic sense, as he’s made serious progress in managing his emotional issues, and right in an unrealistic one, where the only way he could be sent back was through an outside force, i.e. the Owls.

10210475 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 10-21-4-7-5, or J-U-D-G-E

13051420 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 13-5-14-20, or M-E-N-T

○ When put together, the inmate numbers read "Judgement", the tarot card is shown here for John's choices and character arc on display throughout this chapter. When the card is reversed, it implies a lack of self-awareness, which we can also attribute to "the player's" choices for John if they make Bad Decisions. If you simply take the word "judgement" at face-value (without involving the tarot) it also works wonderfully, applying to John's entire situation as being a trial/judgement set by a higher force.

"The prince returned to the tower" dialogue [the prophetic cell mate] - Whether the person speaking is physical or not, John notes he can hear the scratching of pencil on paper within the cell, implying a person is writing their words down like a story… “The prince,” (John Doe, alias Joker, traditionally the ‘Clown Prince’ of Gotham) “having returned to the tower” (Arkham Asylum, the foundations of John's issues) “to reclaim his crown,” (assurance in himself and his reality; the completion of John's "self" with his final choices and becoming Vigilante!Joker for good) “trails after the fiend” (confronts the Talon Adam, alias Owl-man) “who's flying on wings of retribution” (core beliefs, perceived sense of justice). “The fiend’s wings are big, but the bones are brittle” (the Owl-man is imposing and persistent, but his physical "wings" are his weakness).

○ If you couple the Court of Owl's belief that G*d has written down the destinies of everyone in the world [as they are each born] with the knowledge that someone was writing down a short version of John's events at Arkham…hmmm.....

Room 11 [Iman's cell room] - The 11th card in the Major Arcana is "Justice". This can reference either 1) The just-desserts coming for Talon Adam/"The Owlman", or 2) The outcome of the player’s choice to take Iman with them or not.

11 minutes + 16 seconds [remaining time on bomb timer] - 11:16. 11/16, aka my birthday! :) I only wish I had finished Chapter 10 in time for the chapter's publishing year (2020), lol~

"Our Faith brings Perseverance, and Our Perseverance guides Justice, for Mercy to God." - The Court of Owls' beliefs circle around 3 principles bringing people closer to G*d: Faith, Perseverance, and Justice. Their belief hardens their persistence in their actions (as they are written and not guided by "Evil"), and their goals are ultimately to deliver justice where the human system failed and "Evil" prevailed in "escaping", hence the guiding of one principle to another. "Mercy to God" is what is granted by righting the injustices of the world; as G*d wrote your future down exactly, Evil can corrupt it, and once corrupted this does G*d a harmful injustice. The Court considers themselves close to G*d by "mercifully" stopping further corruption via eliminating "Evil" in all it's worldly forms…

Speaking of the 3 principles, our main Owls are meant to be "embodiments" of these in the story.

○ Talon Sonja Townsend represents Faith, driving home her belief in G*d's absolute destiny. She is corrupted by her own selfish goal of eliminating her son-in-law, but is also so by-the-book she does not think to look at the obvious double-standards of the Court, and doesn't think her underlying actions are guided by "Evil".

○ Talon Adam represents Perseverance, having fought Joker to unconsciousness, and was willing to blow up Arkham with himself still inside just to eliminate it; he is the most brainwashed, but the least corrupt in motivations, only striving to get what he feels is "justice". On the flip side of Adam is Talon Evan, who despite serious injury still appeared in Court and jumped at the chance to kill Joker and Batman, despite the Court's general appreciation of Batman; he is corrupt in personal selfishness, as he possesses no "real" faith in the Court's belief system and doesn't like others getting credit by stealing his targets.

§ ...it's also worth mentioning that the names for Adam and Evan are meant to be derivative of "Adam and Eve". In this way, it can also be seen as a parallel to The Lovers card, which one can attribute to Bruce and John. While Bruce + John are oddly harmonious and undeniably have a strong bond regardless of story paths, Adam + Evan are discontent rivals, with Adam "stealing" Evan's target and good graces with the Court, and Evan very pointedly beating up and kidnapping Batman (who Adam admires) to set up Batman's eventual Judgement.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield is the main representation of Justice, though he embodies all 3 principles. The Court’s belief is that their pursuit of justice – stopping Evil/chaos via deaths of criminals – overrides their own traditional sins. Because they are being helpful to G*d, granting Them mercy by righting the injustices of Evil and putting G*d’s Word back on the right path, they are in G*d’s favor. Therefore, as the leader of the Court and the one who organized everything by handing down "God's word", he is the carrier of Justice; without him, the Court would be nowhere and G*d would be shedding more tears over their ruined work…at least, in his mind. Naturally, he is the exact opposite of what justice should be. He is biased and unwavering in strict faith, as much a carrier of chaos as he doesn't want to be…

○ Of course, this is all also up to interpretation. One can interpret Adam as "justice", Evan as "perseverance", and Sebastian as the stand-in for "God", as he is the Court's ruler and is the sole person to hand down "the word of God".

"[…]if two people you normally count on for one reason or another" - Alfred made a subtle dig at John being Bruce's boy-toy. Ouch, Al'…

"[…]given it's your pet project, and all" - Even though Selina is talking about Arkham, she's making a dig at former-Arkham-resident John being Bruce's "pet", who in her eyes was Bruce's main reason for getting Arkham revitalized. :\ Man, everybody's picking on their relationship…

petrichor - The smell proceeding rain. Because it's not a climactic fight scene in Gotham city without rain.

Ch. 11: The Tolls of Justice

[chapter title] - Naturally referring to the Justice card of the tarot, this title is the same as the story title. Funnily enough, this is the 11th chapter, and the 11th card in the tarot deck. (I guarantee you I did not plan this bit… Funny how these things play out, ain't it?) The Justice card naturally stands for cause and effect, clarity, or truth; ultimately, it's a representation of karmic retribution, and what the Owls are in dire need of facing. The title overall is referring to both the [para]phrase "do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee" (in the original context: a grievance over death for all out of love for community/mankind, not just one person) and the "toll" - as in cost or damage - of enacting justice. What Bruce has put himself through to become and keep being Batman, the enactor of vengeance for all those wronged in the city of Gotham, and what ultimately the Court of Owls has sacrificed - either wittingly or unwittingly - in the name of justice. It also extends to John, who for the sake of "justice" is routinely stuck in Arkham, in one way or another, and has never had a conceivably just or fair life at all - thus paying the unwilling toll opposing Bruce and the Owls. We can also extend it to Tiffany, who is making good on her work with Bruce to "pay her toll" for her own crime, with her toll being seen in a positive light as Robin, compared to what life sentence she might have been paying otherwise.

[the sword in the pulpit] - a symbolic reference to The Justice card, as the Justice card in the major arcana often depicts a sword, either alone or in someone's hand. This can also be interpreted as a reference to the Ace of Swords in the minor arcana, which is normally pointing upwards, referring to victory, truth, or ideas; when flipped, as it would be when looking at the initial depiction of the sword as a "cross", it stands for lies and confusion. The sword in the story itself is a symbol of justice, and uses snakes as the stand-in for the forces of Evil, which are destroyed by the owl making up the handle and supposedly wielding the blade.

"the skull peeking out of the knight’s helmet" [card in the box on Reverend's desk] - A very clear reference to the Death card, famous in the tarot deck. It signifies change, inevitable cycles, and new beginnings/directions. Depending on the reading, it can be interpreted as an actual death, but more often than not it’s merely showing of a life change. As this is the Reverend’s deck, it seems the last card he drew was Death… The viewer can interpret this as a reading from the Reverend into the Arkham plot, where Death is representing John’s own changes, the end of Talon Adam’s latest “cycle”, or the actual deaths that had occurred (no matter how many there are in the end). The viewer can also read this as the Reverend trying to find his own fate, the fate of Roman Sionis for his trial, or Batman’s fate. All of them are quite valid, but I feel the most accurate interpretation is that the Rev' was trying to read the future of the Court of Owls.

○ …as mentioned above, the Death card is the most overt reference to the Tarot. This way, if someone didn't piece together the weird chapter titles, the specified numbers and number-letter strings, and/or the odd names of people and places, they'd be able to double-back and see them as clues. They are put there purely as a storytelling clue for the audience. As you can tell, the tarot references increased with each chapter…almost like someone is trying to get your attention…

[the framed painting] - a reference to The High Priestess, aka card II of the tarot. This card is indicative of intuition and looking within, and can signal to mysteries at hand or a higher power at work. The pillars on the card are (hilariously enough) marked with a B and J, and are in black and white, respectively. They stand for Boaz (Strength) and Jachin (Establishment), and are meant to represent the duality of nature, good/evil, masculine/femine, etc. Naturally, both pillars are equal. In this depiction, it is both relating to “the player’s” own duality, with the ability to be flexible as Bruce and John and have both good and bad decisions play through the story, and as a strong hint to a higher power being present.

8-9-6-3 [candle puzzle] - It takes a bit to work out by sorting through the alphabetic values to each number, but it doesn’t make a complete word. On ye olde phone keypad, 1 is always null in value, so it’s always unlit in the candle sequence, and since there are 4 other numbers present we know it doesn’t count as part of the string. (If there were only 3, you could guess a year from your notes.) My idea for the “game” specs of this part would be that the key-code would be somewhat randomized, either using a specific year (if Tiffany and/or Iman are not present, this is *always* the case, as you have to utilize your background notes and the candles by yourself), a few translated letter combinations just for fun, or an occasional number-card type combo, as presented here. (In some lucky scenarios, “the player” doesn’t have to solve the candle puzzle, since Tiffany can figure out the year by herself and just call you over when she opens the door. You still have the option of looking around, though!) In this case, the values are another tarot-themed hint, using the card number first: 8-w-n-d, for the 8 of Wands, which alludes to quick actions. AKA “Get ready for quick-time events!!!”

"looking more like the king on the throne than a judge" - Meant to allude to The Emperor card, the ultimate royal symbol in the major arcana and always depicted with a king. Traditionally this symbolizes power, authority, control, etc., but when reversed it alludes to overbearingness, arrogance, and chaos. For the Owls, they would likely see themselves as the upright depictions, even when presented upside down before the person doing their reading… And here is no better example, with the Reverend Overfield taking place as the ultimate authority over the Court.

"like [Sonja] had a say in commanding the room" - Alluding to The Empress, in conjunction with Rev’s position, this card alludes to femininity, motherhood, nurturing, creativity, and/or abundance. When reversed, it stands for neglect, creative blocks, overbearing, and/or uncaring. Sonja is a good example of an overbearing mother, trying to make decisions for her child because she thinks she knows best - thus fits the reversed reading well.

[Courtroom layout] - How curious is it that I haven't referenced The Devil when we have so many opportunities? That's because I strove to show this card rather than reference it overtly. The Devil card depicts El Diablo in the upper middle, lording over the card, with two souls chained to him at the bottom. The classic depiction shows a female demon-like human on one side and a male demon-like human on the other. As such, Rev. Sebastian sits on the high bench as the judge, overlooking the courtroom, and Sonja and Evan sit beneath him, one embedded on each side of the lower bench, sitting before him rather than beside him. Naturally, The Devil card represents temptation, manipulation, and materialism (though not necessarily of physical things). There is nothing more suited to The Devil card than the Reverend Sebastian Overfield and the Talons.

Circe | Cindy Peterson - Circe was the original Black Mask's downfall, or at least serious decent into who would be Black Mask. In her origin, she was a model who seduced Roman and ended up being blamed for his poor business choices, as he completely revolved Janus Inc.'s new direction around her image, somewhat at her insistence. Roman seemed to love her, but grew vengeful when she dumped him. She was named Circe, after the witch who lured men to their doom. In this story, she plays a much less active role but ultimately still serves as Roman's downfall, though in a very different way. : she does seem to care about Roman, going so far as to hide him on her yacht, not rat him out for his overt gang activities, and even leave Gotham with him for good to run from Batman despite not being in a relationship with him for long. But Bruce is able to spin this to his advantage, openly lying that she was working for him undercover and twisting Roman's affection for her into paranoid doubt, which he eventually lashed out with and ended up being caught because of. Circe never got a ~proper~ name in the original canon, so I dubbed her Cindy. The name "Cindy" can be boiled down to “person from Kynthos” and since Circe is Greek… Well, it fits well enough!

"[…]waltzing into the danger-zone without his wingman" - It’s Top Gun's “You can be my wingman anytime”, but with ALL the homoerotic implications!

"the Degnah Club" - The Degnah Club can be inferred to be one of Roman Sionis’ clubs, or just one his False-Face Society visited on occasion, but the event that happened there is implied to have taken place before the start of the story. “Degnah” when written backwards is “hanged”, referencing the Hanged Man card. When upright, this card means sacrifice and selfless acts. When reversed, as very much implied here, it’s an unnecessary sacrifice. This is both a play on what Roman’s implying – which is likely a very violent event – being an “unnecessary sacrifice” as part of Matt Chaney’s greater scheme for the Court of Owls, and as an allusion to Matt’s fate, where his morals/good choices/old law-abiding life were thrown away for an inevitably failed pursuit.

"[Tiffany | Robin's] personal count of 13" - The 13th card in the tarot is Death, bringer of change and ender of cycles. It’s also a traditionally unlucky number. This number is the “body-count” of Tiffany’s run through the Court so far. Does it reference the end of the Court's latest cycle, or something else…?

Accompanying the Tarot, as mentioned earlier I also tied in other fortune-telling methods, with the counting of crows and reference to the zodiacal horoscope. I also threw in allusions to luck, with The Lucky Hotel and The Lot (in both name and the fact that it's a casino). This is all tied entirely around the concept of fate and being able to change it with the choices you have made or currently make as "the player". Luck itself has nothing to do with your choices and the fates you guide Bruce and John to, and it's not something "the player" can control - it's an illusion, with things seemingly lucky for our heroes having already been written in on purpose to lead to the next event. It's essentially a long, drawn-out joke.

Talons/Reverend's Owl Masks - I wanted the Talons to be set apart from the rest of the Court and have special owl faces. The Court's owl masks are as follows:

○ Talon Adam - Great Horned Owl; chosen for the owl's large size and hunting ability, as well as the protruding "horn" feathers mimicking Batman's cowl. This is the most common owl used in media. The "horns" are meant to clue the reader into the culprit early on. Adam's a Batman-fan, so he mimicked Bats' style.

○ Talon Sonja - Snowy Owl; chosen for the owl's fairly elegant feather pattern and Sonja's ~colder~ personality. Sonja had a masquerade one to show her "humane" side to prospective Owls, but always wears a full-faced mask for the rest of the Court.

○ Talon Evan - Barn Owl; chosen for it's ghost-like face and screeching call, and it's hunting skills. They sometimes are seen as bad omens. While Adam was a mysterious stalker, Evan is overtly dangerous upon appearance, in no due part to his temper.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield - Eastern Screech Owl; this owl is smaller than the other, but has similar "horn" feathers to the Great Horned, and a gray face. The "horns" are meant to be another a mirror to Batman, but can be considered another allusion to The Devil. It isn't the largest or flashiest owl of the bunch, but Sebastian has the most power of all the Court members.

[The "Justice" bell-toll] - traditionally, a church bell tolls to signify someone passing into death. In the Court/Church of Mercy's case, they use a bell rung at midnight to signify a complete "trial" and a carry-out of their own brand of "justice"…which also culminates in death. The "trial" shown in this chapter is a rarity, as the offenders are actually present to get a talking-to before their sentencing - generally, the Church will hold a mock-trial to decide the fates of the perpetrators…after some previous counseling with Talons and select older members. (Think of the Trial like a ceremonial conference for the majority of the time.)

Chapter 12: Ten Cheers to the World!

[title] - The act of cheering, aka toasting, is to raise a cup and drink towards someone or something in celebration or tribute. Here, it's referring to the tarot's Ten (X) of Cups, which is pretty much the best card you could pull in a reading - when upright, as it is here, it means celebration, fulfillment, and happiness! The World card is the final card in the Major Arcana, encapsulating completion, accomplishment, and harmony, all from inner and outer sources. It might seem redundant at first, but the Cups suite in the Minor Arcana is all in regards to emotions, relationships, and love; in comparison, the Major Arcana represents a journey from innocence and ignorance to wisdom and completion. So you have an emotional celebration with fulfilling relationships, and the story's path marked as complete in both a literal and figurative sense.

"An accident at Ace Chemicals" [Iman & John's convo] - Referencing the majority of Joker origins, wherein pre-Joker fell into the vat of chemicals at Ace Chemicals and survived, leading to a psychotic breakdown due to his changed appearance and/or the circumstances around to what led him to Ace Chemicals in the first place.

"the string of deaths in the Velestra mafia" [Iman & John's convo] - a ref to the former mafia/main antagonists in Batman: Mask of the Phantom that kept getting killed off one by one by the Phantom. Whether The Phantom exists in this world…we'll have to wait and see, I guess!

"an unrecoverable ‘data loss’ at the Agency" [Iman & John's convo] - not a reference to canon, but my own theory on a potential background for John being a former Agent…(see further below)

"Et tu, Peeps?" - a riff on "Et tu, Brute?", Julius Ceasar's last words as he was betrayed and stabbed to death.

"Maybe I was someone in the wrong place at the wrong time" / "someone at the right place at the wrong time" [John monologue] - Another reference to the most popular background choice, the Ace Chemical origin story, and it’s variations. Though probably lacking Batsy’s involvement, considering the timeframe…

"Maybe I was some experiment gone wrong" [John monologue] - A reference to a different author's Season 3 replacement fanfic, where John ended up being a genetically modified human/test tube baby. Unfortunately the work got deleted from Ao3??? And my bookmark is gone, so I can't name the fic… But I still remember you, Unknown Author!!! It was a fun story and I've never forgotten that twist!!!! \( >o< )/

"Maybe I was even an Agent, like you" [John monologue] - My own little theory as to why the Agency was so keen on getting him for the Suicide Squad – and why he was considered a dangerous part of the gang despite not doing too much of interest in Season 1 (even if you consider the theory that he was helping Lady Arkham get her chemicals/drugs) – was that he was part of the Agency somehow. Either an agent who screwed up on the job, a rogue agent that escaped death via Agency trap…or maybe a guy who knew too much! But it's a fun, fresh idea to bring to Joker's multi-choice past, right? (( ;w;)) <(please say yes)

hippocampus - The region(s) of the brain that primarily deals with memory.

[the photo] - I wanted to leave it up to the reader/"player" to decide what kind of pre-Arkham past the TellTale!Joker has… So whether you think the picture Iman has is a "real" photo of him or not is entirely up to you.

"[…]'you're the moon to my sun'" [John, 'paraphrasing' Bruce] - In Tarot terms, this is a reference to the Sun card, representing joy, success, and masculinity, as well as another reference to the Moon card. One can also interpret the Sun card as "success in overcoming your obstacles or fears". As the Moon card can represent inner fears and femininity, it's a fitting opposite for interpreting this romantic line. While Bruce doesn't exactly embody the "positivity" and "joy" that this card represents, he brings that feeling into John's life, and Bruce is more traditionally masculine in contrast to John. This is also an overt use of the phrase "[they're] the moon to their sun" - a romantic notion that one person, though the opposite to the other, is completely complementary, like a One True Love. TeamFourStar's playthrough of TellTale Batman: The Enemy Within had not one, but TWO mentions of the "moon to [their] sun" line, the second of which was referring to John and Bruce. This one's for you, fellas!!! ( ^3^)

○ Funnily enough, The Moon is a very broadly interpreted card. Sometimes it's not a good card to have because deception, manipulation, illusion, and mystery/confusion are all potentially at work in your life. Sometimes it's an excellent card, because it tells you examine your feelings to resolve a problem, or tells you that you aren't seeing the whole picture. The reversed of the card is often attributed to avoidance of one's problems and further confusion, but also clarity, truth, and the full view of what's going on. If John is the embodiment of The Moon in the upright position, then I say Bruce is that of the Reversed Moon…

"[…] two lovers against the world" - Another classic romantic phrase that can be turned into a Tarot reference. The original phrase is meaning two romantic partners are pitted against "the world"/external forces that threaten to tear them apart, but they are committed to each other regardless. You can't really pit cards against each other in a reading, but you can read Past-Present-Future. In which case, in story terms, The Fool is always the Past, The Lovers is the Present here, and The World is the Future. As mentioned earlier, The World represents harmony and completion - if reversed, it would mean incompletion and chaos. The Lovers card is representing a strong union being forged between two people, very often romantic in terms of the Tarot. The meaning is usually attributed to decisions in a relationship being made (whether to start a new one, or to deepen the one you have), but it can also represent people outright, as well as an indication that a new partnership/relationship is on the way. When reversed, Lovers represents disharmony, imbalance, or a loss of relationship. In our story, of course, our two lovers are representing the upright reading of the card in the Present, showing as a strong couple. As it's "against", it implies that The World is something that will be a challenge, so it's likely Reversed. Which is a pretty good representation of Gotham in general, isn't it? lol~

○ The Lovers can also be seen symbolically in chapters 8 and 9, when Bruce and John are laying opposite each other and linking pinkies/holding hands at the hotel. :)

○ John uses the romantic line regardless of whether he's a vigilante or not! If you didn't get the Best Ending, aka our Sleepover Ending, Bruce would wind up back in the parlor with John as usual, and once the rest of the fam are gone (if they were there at all), he uses it to describe themselves. In the villain route, Bruce and John converse in the Batmobile on the way back to Arkham, and John uses the line there, too. ;3c

○ Naturally, you don't really get this complete scene if "your" Bruce is with Selina in the vigilante route.

Ending Type - …it's not a tarot reference or anything specific. I just wanted to let you know that you can ONLY get the Sleepover Ending if you have Tiffany and John in Bruce's party on good terms with each other AND with Bruce.

○ You can drive Tiffy away from Bruce by saying she shouldn't be with them at the Court Battle, but also by generally not believing in her/being mean and giving a neutral reaction to her staying during Battle; she won't go back to the cave with Bruce, so you don't get a chance to speak to her directly afterwards as either character. (John can still have his conversation with her via text, and they can still end on the same terms.)

○ If you don't have vigilante!John, there's no one else to help lift the things, so Tiffy's idea is never brought up.

○ John is always simping desperate for Bruce's attention, so even if you don't treat him as well in a platonic relationship, he'll still be there for this Ending type. ;_;

○ If you have a Romanced!Selina in your party, Selina will join you in both Court Battle and the Ending as seen in this story. It'll either cause her to take Iman's place (if she is not present) or to have extra spot suddenly appear above the rest of the group. Like Tiffy, she overheats and needs more space too cool off.

§ You can also talk to her as John, and sort of makeup/say your part of the team now. (But John will still be somewhat jealous of the attention she gets.)

§ John doesn't get the emotional hug with Bruce if Selina is around - especially since she doesn't temporarily leave with Tiffany and Iman - but the conversation is almost the same.

§ Naturally you can talk to her as Bruce, too. I don't think on her options too much, but they'll likely talk about change and what it means to have this "job" and internalizing too much of their emotions/themselves.

§ If you and Selina are only friends, Selina can join you in the Court Battle, but will text you instead of sticking around.

1:06 A.M & [Clock time on Belltower in Chapter 11] - Bruce's sense of time is off, which is why he's surprised it's after 1AM and not closer to 2AM. (Can't blame him, he was unconscious for a while and a whole bunch of stuff happened.) I figured if Bruce broke out of his kidnapping ropes at 10PM sharp, and drove all the way to the GCPD, that's about 20-30 minutes in his supercharged car, if not a little less, plus with 5 minutes to escape proper. If we think GCPD is sort of a halfway point to Old Gotham/The Coventry district, it's another 15 minutes to there. So he'd arrive at the Church of Mercy before 11PM, and wait John for around another 10-15 minutes, including with all the investigating inside. The "trial" scene probably took another 10 minutes until Batman crashed it, and fight scenes seem long because of all the action going on, but by the time Bruce and co' leave, it's not 12AM yet. The bell-tower in the Church of Mercy is actually off by about 20 minutes… And what do you know, card XX (20) of the tarot's Major Arcana is Judgement, alluding to karma at work! It can also be attributed to a life change. ;D

"11:43:20PM" - this wasn't deliberately meant to allude to anything. It took the batfam about 2 minutes from the last toll to leave the church. Bells' tolling speed is varying between clocks and towers, but you can estimate about 30-45 seconds for a full twelve. If it rang at 11:40 exactly, then…ugh, this is sounding like math homework.

Epilogue:

[Still a WIP, so will be updated after it's uploaded! Shouldn't have much, though! Saay, isn't there a Major Arcana card missing? (9v9) I wonder what that iiiiis~]

So that was [just about] all of them! I had a lot of fun weaving them throughout the story this time, especially with the story's themes! AtBoM didn't have as nearly as many, so they weren't really worth mentioning before.

I hope this was helpful to those of you who were interested in diving beneath the surface of BtTTS: TToJ~!

[forever-alone-su-au]

Chapter 1 The Wait (The Wake)

I, Steven Quartz Cutie Pie Demayo Universe, found myself alone in a strange, featureless room. There were no doors or windows or any indication of where I should go next. I wanted to know where I should go, so I could do what I came here to do. Face the music for my mother’s war crimes. Determined, I declared to the world, “I know my mom did something bad. Whatever Homeworld has in store for me... I'm ready!” There was a slight echoing in the room, but other than the sound of my voice, nothing.

“I said, I’m ready! It’s me, Rose Quartz!” The floors and walls were bright and uniform, and distantly reminded me of fluorescent lighting. All of the corners were perfectly rounded, and I didn’t think there was anyway out. Unnerved, I started to look around, and explore the room. Perhaps there was something to push or somewhere to place my hand, so a door would open up?

“Hello? Anybody?” I called out, despite knowing that no one was likely to answer me. “Lars? You there?” I didn’t even know what happened to Lars since we were separated. Was he taken to the zoo, after all? Or somewhere even worse?

Personally, I couldn’t think of anything worse than this, however. Trapped in a room with nothing to do, and nobody else to talk to? Was this it then? “Is this the punishment?” But it couldn’t be! “Come on! I know it's going to be worse than this!” Rose Quartz, mom, had shattered Pink Diamond. Wouldn’t the consequences be greater than this!?

I had no other choice at the time, there wasn’t any other way to save everybody from my own past mistakes, but now that I had the time to think… I didn’t want to pay for my mother’s crimes. But how was I ever going to get back home? Back to dad and the Gems? Back to Connie? “So whatever you're going to do…” Or was this how I tempted fate? In the entire place, there was only one wall with a bit of color on it. It was pink, and I slumped against it for the comfort of having my face squished against something. “Would you just do it already?” I couldn’t help but sound defeated.

Despite facing the other way, immediately, I knew what that ridiculous sound meant, and almost couldn’t believe my ears. It couldn’t be as easy as a door magically opening, could it? Of course, the door didn’t just magically appear by itself, but opened at the appearance of a blue Homeworld Gem, one I’d never met the type of before. She looked kind of like Pinocchio, but with a crescent hood, sort of like a crescent moon really, and surrounded by a multitude of screens suspended mid-air, which followed wherever she went. Also, she was sweating quite profusely; the Gem seemingly preoccupied with the digital panel floating directly in front of her. I don’t think she even noticed I was there, she was so nervous, practically muttering to herself the whole time. “This is ridiculous!” Well, that was fine. I almost didn’t notice her either, if she hadn’t just come in through the new door in the wall. The door that closed just before I could escape through it, too.

“4,000 years of loyal service to the court, and this is what I get? Oh, I'm the unluckiest Zircon in the galaxy!” 

Thoroughly disappointed at this turn of events, I turn towards the apparent Zircon, who gasps as she realizes I was there all along.

“Wait, are you…” Zircon starts, looking back to where she’d just come through, as if she came through the wrong door, and was checking to see if she was where she was supposed to be. “Rose Quartz?”

Reluctantly I answered her, because it was true in a way. “Yeah…” I might’ve been a hybrid, and I wasn’t actually my mom, but I was still a Rose Quartz… More importantly, I ‘was’ the infamous Rose Quartz, leader of the Gem Rebellion, or at least, I did possess her Gem. Even if I didn’t have her memories. “...Really.” Zircon drawled, sounding more than a little doubtful. Well, I was Rose’s son, but I didn’t think Homeworld Gems even knew what a son even was, so I didn’t even try.

“It’s a long story,” I told her. It felt like I’ve had to try and explain myself every time I met a new Homeworld Gem. Usually this was the part where I gear up to tell the new Homeworld Gem my backstory, but it didn’t seem like she wanted to hear it either.

“Don’t. Ugh! I’ve read the case files. Let’s just use this time to prepare your case.”

“Case?” I repeated, turning it into a question in the hopes that she’d answer me, however. She ignored this, and started ranting instead. It was familiar in a fashion, she was getting to be almost as neurotic as Pearl tended to be. “Ugh! What’s the point? This case is a sham! We’ve all heard rumors of Pink Diamond’s demise, but I can’t believe these case files—” Zircon frantically scrolls though the front most screens. “Shattered by one of her own Quartz soldiers- Ugh! In front of her own entourage!? If it weren’t for all of these official documents meticulously filed and carefully collected reports from multiple eyewitnesses, I’d say someone must be tumbling my rocks with these absurd claims.”

Unsure of how to respond to her rant, I kept my mouth shut. Y’know just in case. It could all turn out that mom wasn’t a war criminal, after all. And that I could just go home… Now if only that were true, or if I even knew what was going on.

“You know,” Zircon pointed at me, looking me in the eyes. “You’re lucky you have a character eyewitness willing to take the stand for you, ‘Rose Quartz.’”

“Eyewitness? Take the stand? What does that mean- What’s going to happen!?” What did all of this have to do with my looming punishment?

“What did you think was going to happen, ‘Rose Quartz!’” Why does she keep doing that? I could practically hear the quotes around Rose Quartz. Does she actually believe that I’m not my mom? “As soon as that door opens, you’re going on trial!” Mouthing the word, hoping to make the concept of going to trial make any sort of sense, but before I could even begin to process it, I’m rocked to the core by the next words out of her mouth.

“And then there’s the claim that the Gem calling herself Rose Quartz, leader of the rebellion, isn’t even Rose Quartz.” My eyes turned as large as saucers, and my mouth fell open. “Or even a Rose Quartz for that matter.

“What!?” That couldn’t be right! I am Rose Quartz! ...Right? Maybe it was a clerical error? I know I have a Rose Quartz Gem since I’ve seen what other Rose Quartz Gems are supposed to look like. Or, at least, I’ve seen them before, briefly, in Pink Diamond’s old bubble room on the Zoo ship.

“I know I don’t look like a,” and here, Steven lifted up his shirt to reveal what was most assuredly a “Rose Quartz—” “Even ignoring your ridiculous disguise-” Zircon folded over to get a closer look at my Gem, peering at it with squinted eyes. “Yes, just as reported and corroborated by two Rubies assigned to the Jasper retrieval mission- Your Gem is more of a pinkish red than the reddish pink of a true Rose Quartz.” Or am I wrong? Did the bubbles I saw Rose Quartz Gems through only make them look similar to my own?

A flash of bright light stuns my sight for a brief moment, “Wha—” and then when my sight clears, I realize Zircon, using her monocle, had just taken a picture of my Gem without asking my permission. Rude.

Making a little whooshing motion, I guess she filed it away into her monocle.

Ah. “Wait! I’ve told Navy my Gem looks like this, because my body isn’t made out of hard light, so—” Zircon turns towards me to speak, giving me her full attention, instead of continue fiddling with one of her screens.

“Yes,” Zircon elucidates, articulating clearly, without a slight lisp for the first time since I met her. “Who hasn’t heard of what happens to a Gem when she doesn’t get enough solar power?” Zircon asks me rhetorically. “The dimming of a Gem isn’t unheard of, but it doesn’t change a Gem’s hue. Now dim lighting is a whole nother situation.” Turning away, Zircon briefly glances back to her files on the screens suspended mid-air, skimming the text in front of her before turning her attention back to me. Pointer finger pointed upwards, Zircon affected a familiar and nostalgic lecturing tone. “Lighting and other environmental factors can affect the cast of a Gem, and can make her temporarily look a different color, but take her out of such an environment, and the problem is solved.”

“For example, blue lighting can make a yellow Gem look green, but it’s purely superficial.” Still facing the screen in front of her, finger posed in front of the screen, she glances back to look me in the face. “Yet a yellow Gem is still a yellow Gem, no matter what it looks like, in certain lighting. And a reddish pink Gem shouldn’t look pinkish red.” Spreading her arms out, Zircon indicated the wider room, the room which reminded me of fluorescent lighting with it’s walls emitting bright white light. “Especially in the light of this waiting room where there’s no red light to give your Gem a reddish cast.”

Just as Zircon looked about to speak up, to ask me what kind of Quartz I really was perhaps, I accidentally spoke over her. “Well, if I’m not a Rose Quartz than what am I!?” Too impatient to glean the answer from her, and acting rude, I could feel myself adopt a blush.

Expressing just how ridiculous she thought I was being, Zircon gave my face a hard search, expecting me to be ‘tumbling her rocks’ maybe. “Are you being serious right now?” My face must have been communicating how Serious Steven I was being, because she looked to finally be taking me seriously. Which could only be good, because by this point, I was completely lost. “Of course you are.” Plus she sighed after looking at me again. “Just… don’t expect me to know either! I’m a Zircon, not a Kindergartener. It’s my job to defend your case in Court, not find out whatever cut and facet you could possibly be.” “Just-” Here, Zircon closed her eyes, looking weathered, and rubbed her tired eyes. “Tell me what you’re going to say in Court, so I can help you make your case.”

Going over what I planned to say in court seemed perfectly reasonable, so I started to tell my new friend what exactly it was that I planned to say… “I’m-” Looking to my right, I suddenly felt embarrassed, but I was going to be determined, I reminded myself, comfortingly. “I’m guilty! Everything you guys said I did, I did. And I did it by myself. And I'm sorry. I'll accept any punishment you want to give me.”

“Whoa! Stop, stop!” Frantically, Zircon made a crossed out gesture with her arms. “Don’t say that! That’s the worst possible thing you could say in Court.” Zircon thought to herself that it also sounded absolutely ridiculous! “But I am guilty! So what if my mom- So what if I’m not a Rose Quartz!? I’m still guilty!” Opening her mouth, it looked like Zircon wanted to refute what I’d just said, but suddenly decided against it. Did she change her mind? Squinting her eyes at me, Zircon leaned into my personal space a little bit, which made me feel extra nervous, and lean backwards a tad. After a moment, she asked me, “Than how?” In the sanctity of her own mind, Zircon was starting to have her own suspicions about this strange, erratic Gem.

Not expecting the question, I could only let out a confused, “Huh?” Real smooth Steven. At least, this was just a practice run and not the actual trial.

“You can’t expect to say all of that, and not be questioned on how you did it. This is a trial, after all.” Zircon didn’t repeat what she’d said earlier about how much of a sham this trial really was, however.

“Um… Okay. It was in front of Pink Diamond’s palanquin. I was probably like, "Stop!" and she was all like, "No!", so we fought, I think. And she probably did some cool moves. I probably did some cool moves too, some jump kicks and stuff.”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Zircon made an abortive motion with her hands. “What are you saying!? "Like" this, "probably" that! Oh, what are you thinking going "I think"!?” The more heated Zircon became, the more her hands waved about. It looked like Zircon was at risk of having a stroke. …Or a caffeine overdose.

But Zircon couldn’t help herself, she found the Gem in front of her beyond frustrating.

“Some jump kicks and stuff!?” Exasperated, Zircon lifted her head back, and raised her hands imploringly. “Please work with me here.” She could only hope for the ground to open up and just take her now.

“What do you think this is? An imperial trial or some back alley reenactment!?” Zircon placed her hands on my shoulders, and squeezed, just a little bit. “Please choose your words more carefully, both our Gems are on the line here!” Okay. Her words made me feel a little guilty, but I could tell it wasn’t on purpose. She really thought she might be shattered if she didn’t do well. “Look I... I just don't know how it actually happened, okay!?” …At least, her hands didn’t hurt, and instead felt sort of comforting to the touch.

“You don’t know!?” Zircon gripped the front of my shirt again, lifting me up more easily to her eye level this time. “Don’t tumble my rocks! Did you do this or not?” Seeing the look on the other’s face, Zircon lowered the other back down, but didn’t let go of the shirt. “Why are you so insistent on pleading guilty if you don’t actually know how it went down?” Did she want to die? “I’m not her, okay? But I’ve got her Gem, and she doesn’t exist anymore, so. In the end, I’m the one who’s got to pay for this!” It was so frustrating, having to explain myself like this. It often made me want to tear up. I looked away, so I didn’t have to look Zircon in the eyes, so she didn’t have to see my face. “She made me for this, to fix the problems she didn’t want to deal with.” “Oh,” Zircon’s breath left her, her mouth forming a little o. That, that was a lot to unpack right there. “Yeah, ‘oh,’” I mutter, ignoring the way my throat hurt, instead focusing on the floor. I wish I could see dad.

At first, Zircon had thought the weird little Gem in front of her was some sort of patsy. Her words had a certain polished quality to it, as if since her emergence, she’d been coached on what to say for just this sort of situation. It’d just made sense to Zircon. Some sort of neo-rebellion seeking legitimacy through a scapegoat Rose Quartz, ill-disguised to make her look guilty, and to cover up the fact that the Gem wasn’t a Rose Quartz. Stir up Homeworld and the rest of the Empire with rumors of the trial and summary execution of Rose Quartz, leader of the rebellion. Immortalizing her in stone, a martyr. The perfect conclusion to such suspicious circumstances. After all, Zircon had read the reports on how exactly the rebellion ended. How could there have been any survivors? But this? The more time Zircon spent talking to this Gem, the more—

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?” I felt too emotionally drained for anymore of this back and forth, but it always seemed like there was something more. “It just doesn’t make sense! That’s not how it works.” Zircon waved her arms around, trying to emphasize what she meant. “Only Diamonds can make—” Zircon was interrupted by the ridiculous sound of a door opening, causing the both of them to look towards the now looming, open door way. “...more Gems.” Zircon belatedly finishes, the two of us sharing a look. It was finally time to face the music. I, Steven Quartz Cutie Pie Demayo Universe, was going to trial… as daunting as that sounded.

[bemyhero-academia]

Hiya I just thought of this prompt and am surprised I didn't think of it earlier but could you do headcannons for 1-A (or just some favs if you dont wanna do the full class) playing monopoly together,,, I can just imagine the chaos lmfao

I just picked out a couple of my favourites, I hope that's okay nonnie!! I hope you see this ~gem

Bakugo

He just has to win

He'll throw a fit if he doesn't win.

But he's the unluckiest person on the planet when it comes to monopoly

Someone's in prison? It's Bakugo. Someone's just landed on the one space with a hotel put on it? That's Bakugo.

He never does win, if anything he's usually the first to go bankrupt.

Will yell at people when he lands on their properties

His favourite property set are the orange ones

Would actually fight someone for the t-rex token

"Fuck you! Shitty face!!"

Midoriya

Sits there quietly, slowly gaining money as the turns add up

No one realises how well he's doing until the very end where there's only 2 people left playing

It's always him and Todoroki

His favourite property set is the yellow one.

The top hat is his lucky token, he has never won if he's used something else.

Todoroki

This boy is a monopoly genius

Nearly always wins

He actually has so much dominance over the board it's scary

Bye bye nice Todoroki

No one lets him play anymore because he just wins all the time and it's not fun when he's playing.

Favourite property set is the green set.

The cat token is his

Iida

Real stickler for the rules, as expected.

He pretends to not mind when he's getting absolutely destroyed by everyone, but you can see it's bothering him.

The game wouldn't run smoothly if he wasn't there though because he keeps everyone in order and make sure everyone plays properly.

Always draws shitty chance cards

He likes to collect all the railway stations

He's favourite piece is the car.

Kaminari

This boy is so bad at monopoly it's comical.

Doesn't even understand the rules to be honest he's just playing it for fun

He thinks the brown properties are the best because they're cheaper

Pays for everything in 1s

Favourite set is the brown one

His favourite piece is the battle ship

Mina

She's quite good, she's one of the really annoying players who owns over half of the things on the board so you're always giving her money

She honestly doesn't mind if she wins or loses, it's all in good fun

She loves winding up Bakugo about how bad he is

She doesn't really have a strategy, just buy whatever you can tbh.

Her favourite set is the yellow one

Her favourite piece is the battleship so she always fights Kaminari for it.

Kirishima

Like Mina, Kiri isn't bothered about whether he wins or loses.

He loves playing with everyone!

He's not amazing at it though, sometimes he'll do really well and sometimes he'll do really badly, it's a bit hit and miss I guess they never miss huh?

He collects the get out of jail free cards and tries to sell them to Bakugo when he's stuck in jail.

Iida doesn't let him though

Favourite propety set is the red set (obviously)

Doesn't know why, but he really likes the wheelbarrow token

Uraraka

She's a little monopoly demon tbh

Always making deals with people

They somehow don't notice that she's getting a much better deal out of it than they are

Owns at least 3 sets

This is not just fun and games alright?

Smiles smugly when people have to pay her

This game changes people guys

Her favourite token is the dog

She doesn't have a favourite set she just owns them all.

[7-wonders]

I have an Spideychrist concept: Still after months of dating and having a cute relationship. Michael stills brings the apocalypse to earth. Peter lose everything he ever love, he hate his boyfriend for that. He was one of the luckiest (or for him one of the unluckiest) people who get to be saved be the Cooperative and he goes to the Outpost 3 and then he gets the visit of Michael, but the boy has a lot of thinga to say him.

Spideychrist I love it! That’s what I’m tagging this ship as for the rest of time.

////////////////////

He thought that it would be enough. If Peter were able to show Michael the good parts of humanity, the parts that he gets to see while saving New York (and the world), he assumed that the Antichrist would change his plans. Indeed, it seemed for a time that Michael was actually putting a halt to the end of the world. His talks of the apocalypse had ceased, and it appeared that he was actually starting to enjoy the times that Peter would swing the two of them high above the city, or to an impromptu Avengers meeting, or even to a hangout with MJ and Ned. He thought that it would be enough.

And it was, until Peter was dragged away by two large men in black suits and thrown into a black SUV, kicking and screaming the entire time. The complete annihilation of the world that Peter Parker knew had occurred less than an hour after he was thrown into an underground prison cell. Everything that he cared for, that he loved, was gone.

Mr. Stark.

Pepper Potts.

Aunt May. 

Morgan.

Bruce Banner.

Happy.

Ned.

MJ.

Even such things like his comics, Star Wars, afternoons spent shooting the breeze in Queens. It was all just gone, vanished from his life like dust slipping through his fingers. Even worse, the man responsible, the man that Peter fucking loved, was also gone from his life.

Since the fall of the bombs eighteen months ago, Peter’s been told time and time again how lucky he is. After all, “the Cooperative had handpicked” him to be an elite in this new society. He was shepherded into some rich apocalyptic bunker called Outpost 3, rationed to three gelatin cubes a day, and forced to wear gaudy Victorian clothes in various shades of purple. He’s miserable, and has spent many nights crying in bed, wishing he had died with his friends and family. 

The fates surely must be toying with him now, some sick joke played on him by higher powers, when the alarms go off to alert the residents of an intruder on the premises. Maybe it’s his long-dormant “spidey-sense,” or maybe he’s still a lovesick sap, but he can sense that it’s Michael. He’d know the feeling of that presence anywhere: that dark, lingering sensation that manages to seep into every crevice of your being until all that you can feel is him. 

Anger tints Peter’s vision red as Michael stalks around the library of Outpost 3, terrifying everyone else into submission. Peter’s not a man of violence, choosing to web his adversaries and allow the proper authorities to deal with them, but he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of Michael right now. It’s thick, heavy anger, and he’s sure that Michael can sense it, the tapping of his fingers against the opposite wrist as they’re clasped tightly behind his back a sign that he’s trying desperately to maintain the intimidating facade he’s adopted. Peter can hardly even stand to look at him right now, this man that he gave everything to. 

Gallant (that bleach-blond creep) volunteers to go first, Michael allowing it and commencing with the so-called “interviews” that will determine who gets to go to the illustrious Sanctuary. Peter won’t let him have the upper hand this time, won’t allow himself to be anxiously waiting until Michael’s had his laughs about his nervousness and finally decides to grace him with his presence. So, he waits, sneaking out of his room after curfew and waiting until Gallant saunters out of the office that Michael has taken over. He waits just long enough to make sure no one will see him before barging in. 

“I can’t say I’m surprised that you snuck in here,” Michael comments with a smirk, barely glancing up from whatever he’s writing about to greet him. “I’ve missed you, Peter. I would have had you with me from the very beginning, but the situation was too unstable for the time being. No matter, you’re here now, and-”

“Shut up!” Peter snaps, Michael’s pen skidding to a halt at the sudden interruption. “Just–you don’t get to waltz in here and act like everything’s fine. You…you ruined my life.”

“Did I now?” Michael scoffs, shaking his head in disdain. “I didn’t ruin anything, I purified the world.”

“You killed billions of people! And for what? Because your father, who you’ve never met, supposedly told you?”

“You would do well to remember who you’re speaking about.” 

“Were we not enough? I-I brought you into my life, let you meet my friends, and the Avengers, just for you to go and blow it all up? I thought you loved me, Michael.” Peter’s voice cracks; the one weakness that all of the spider powers in the world couldn’t heal. It seems to work in his favor this time, as Michael’s eyes flash with sadness and he stands from his desk. 

“No, my love, do not ever doubt my feelings for you. It was merely my divine purpose to cleanse this world. Nothing could have stopped these plans.”

Peter clenches his hands into tight fists at his sides, seething at Michael’s nonchalance towards everything that he’s done. Perhaps it’s his own fault, his ignorance and belief that he could somehow reform the Antichrist with the mere power of love. Nevertheless, Peter’s pissed, pounding his fists on the desk in anger. It’s enough of an unexpected fit of rage to have the normally-stoic Michael jumping from surprise. 

The young brunette, face hardened from the innumerable horrors he’s experienced in such a short amount of time, can’t even bare to look at his former lover’s face. He’s not a man of violence, and he won’t resort to violence now. He strides towards the door, determined to not break his promise to Mr. Stark and harm someone. Reaching the door, Peter whirls around quickly when he thinks of one last thing to say. 

“Go to hell, Michael,” he spits, the door slamming shut behind him. 

[cryptidsandcatacombs]

If I Can’t Love Her

Summary: In this tale of the Beauty and the Beast, a certain Waylon Jones laments on his thoughts on a certain beauty in his life. All of them angsty and he needs a hug someone help wait why are you crying I SAID HELP HIM

Ship: Waylon Jones/Xeena

A/N: This is a surprise gift for @xeensbin as a product of weaponized angst and the fluff Waylon fucking deserves. I hope you like it cause the mob with the torch and pitch forks outside my house with ominous glares and an aura of shadowy nightmares wouldn’t stop glaring at him reciting chants that may or may not be able to summon a hellspawn that will come and make my house smell like wet socks for all eternity until I wrote this. 

The title is based off this song enjoy the sads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6BiSTFRJlw

Xeena was out like a light. She didn’t know what happened. One minute, she’s out and about minding her own damn business and the next men are coming at her waving guns around.

“Where’s Croc,” is all she could hear. Xeena knew who these men were. Well, not in a particular manner, but in a general way. Croc was, well, popular in certain circles. Not in a good way either. It was because everyone from here to the edge of Gotham wanted a piece of Croc. Whether it was because they were ballsy and had a death wish or was getting paid and exuberant amount to do so, people came for his head.

For that Xeena stared at them shocked at first, but her resolve swept her up overcoming it. Xeena wasn’t going to let them have him. 

“Tch kiss my ass,” she said. 

Suddenly, one of the more well muscled men came out and grabbed her by the throat. Oh sweet mama this man had a grip. “I’ll ask you again you stupid broad,” he said in a tone that indicated a heaping healthy sack of sexist asshole, “Where’s the Croc?”

The man drew his knife illustrating his next point. “Or...” the knife drew closer to Xeena’s face glinting off the moonlight,”Are we going to have to call him here ourselves? I heard crocs love human blood.”

While there was many things that could be said about that assumption, there’s two more things about Waylon that these men in question should have remembered and assumed instead: Waylon’s excellent scent and his excellent hearing. With this he could smell Xeena’s fear and hear who was causing it. 

“Let’s just dump her body into the sewer and wait,” one of them said bringing a blunt object over. 

“Nighty night,” one of them said bringing it down over her head.

Hoo you shouldn’t have done that. Whose gonna build all these graves now?

Soon enough, the entire gang in question turned sharply because of two things: the sound of the sewer man hole opening and the sound of predatory growling. A single yellow eye was the first thing they saw. Slitted and absolutely livid. The sight of bared teeth and scraping claws really brought home the aura he was trying to give off: That he was pissed and ready to kill.

“You know, I regret not getting here fast enough, but you know,” Waylon said stomping towards them, “You’re right about one thing.”

These men had their guns ready, but what stopped them? Was it the fact he was 9 foot 8 and made of pure muscle? Was it the predatory sounds he was making? No. It was the overwhelming sense they were in way over their heads and now they have to pay for their hubris. 

Before they knew it, their guns were being snatched from them with one swipe. Waylon got too close. So close, in fact, that they could feel his breath on their face. He grabbed three of them by their shirts without a problem. What he said next near their face sent shivers down their spine and made them go ghostly white.

“I do love the taste of human blood. I wonder how yours is tonight..”

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

Waylon had carried Xeena’s unconscious body into his small lair in the sewer. Away from the world and into safety she went. 

Waylon gently set her down in the couch, gently running his fingers across her face. He was just relieved she was ok, but not so much that she was endangered  because of him,. 

He sat down by the couch she was laying on, leaning his back against it. He gave a deep contemplative sigh at his next words.

“You know, you gotta be the unluckiest son of a bitch to ever come into my world,” Waylon said claws clenched against his arms, eyebrows furrowed in an agitated manner. 

“Sometimes....” he grunted in frustration,”I wonder why you even stick around.”

His foot claws scraped against the floor as he continued to lament his thoughts aloud. “I guess God isn’t so forgiving. First, I turn into a horrible monster and now he gives me you only to...”

He snarled in contempt at this next thought. “Why would anyone give me you only to take you away from me.” His voice cracked. His anger melted into sorrow and transformed into tears.

“That’s how it works...doesn’t it,” he said clutching his shirt like the world’s safest security blanket. “Damn it....if I can’t love her...”

A gentle foreign hand ran across his face, wiping the tear from his eyes. Waylon turned and jerked instinctively. Positive affection wasn’t something he was used to due to the absence of it for many many years. 

Waylon had turned to see Xeena was awake and giving him a gentle look of concern. “Cause God always sends the greatest gifts to those who need it the most,” Xeena said in a gentle tone,her hands rubbing the sides of his face gently,.

Waylon went through several emotions at the sight of her and hearing this: sorrow, relief and comfort. 

Waylon melted into her hands a mess. He could die there and be the happiest man alive. Hey God, please don’t say psyche. 

“I’m just glad you’re ok,” Waylon said grabbing both her hands in his gently. “I just...I don’t want you to leave me. You could have died.”

“But I didn...ow,” Xeena said now fully registering where she got hit on the head.

Waylon checked it out in concern and ran his thumb over it gently. He puffed out his chest and huffed out. He was pissed beyond reason. 

“Sorry..I just couldn’t see you get hurt. I didn’t want you go get hurt,” Xeena explained.

“Better me than you,” Waylon said running his nose into Xeena’s hair in a territorial manner. 

Xeena gave a resolute huff at what he just said.”No, that’s not true you big lug,” she snapped. “Your life is worth just as much as mine. I care about you and I don’t want to see you hurt. I love seeing you Waylon and believe it or not, I want to protect you too.” 

Waylon paused for a moment. Sounds of insecurity and peoples’ antagonistic clamoring over his appearance drowned out in that moment. For a minute, there was peace in his head. This wasn’t what he was used to and he’s not sure if he ever will be, but in the moment, he can be. For this moment, he can try to believe that maybe someone found him to be worth it. 

With that resolution now stated, Waylon took Xeena by the hand and drew her close to him. “Just as long as you let me protect you too.”

Xeena didn’t know what made her blush more: that confession or the sound of his heart near her ear. Both? She settled for both. 

“Let’s protect each other. Ok,” Xeena argued back.

Waylon blinked then shook his head. He wasn’t going to win this fight on the measure of his self worth. He couldn’t. Not when his self worth was measured by both of them meaning the world to each other.

“I’ll do my best,” he said holding her closer. 

“Deal,” Xeena said holding him back. Well, the best she could with a tall beefy guy like him.

“Hey...” Waylon said softly,” Can you stay the night tonight? It’s late and I don’t let you going out after hours.”

Xeena looked at her phone. That late? “Are you sure? I don’t want to intru--”

Waylon interrupted her before she could even finish.”I insist,” he said glaring. It was a glare that said, you can’t make me change my mind so don’t even try.

To be honest, she wouldn’t fight. She wanted to stay the night anyhow. “Ok, fine you big lug. You twisted my arm,” Xeena teased. Waylon chuckled by only softly at this.

“Oh uh can I ask you something,” Xeena turned to ask before she sat back on the couch,”What happened to those guys anyhow?”

Waylon didn’t say anything. What could he say?

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

“Please let me go,”one of them cried in his grip. 

“Why should I,” Waylon was pissed and not up for negotiation at this point. He wanted to destroy and kill them for even daring to threaten Xeena. 

The three struggled in his grip. Waylon was set to kill when his glance darted to Xeena. He turned to check on her. 

Then..he had an epiphany. Could he really be worthy of her if he keeps doing this? Could he be considered worthy of her if he keeps acting like this? He’s no monster. He’s no monster.

“I’m..no monster,” he said dropping them to the ground. 

They looked up to be met with a glare.”You punks are lucky I have to get her out of here, but if you ever show up near this part of town or near her...,”he paused to pick Xeena up and head towards the sewers,”You won’t be so lucky.”

The three ran off as Waylon dropped into the sewers out of sight.

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

Waylon shrugged wanting to give a vague answer at best, but the fact he wasn’t covered in blood was the only answer Xeena needed. She smiled in satisfaction at this. 

Waylon crawled towards the edge of the couch to relax by her as Xeena ran her fingers across his scalp. God, he was putty in her hands.

“You did good big guy,” Xeena said wrapping her arms around his neck.

Waylon could only smile in content at those words. Maybe just maybe Xeena was right. Maybe Xeena was the one thing in his life that he could always call his and always be his. He had prayed for some form of happiness to be his. Who knew it would come in the form of the girl with him now and hopefully forever. 

[atlanticcanada]

Hundreds gather at Ford Needham to remember Halifax Explosion

Thursday morning, hundreds gathered at Fort Needham Memorial Park to remember those who lost their lives in the Halifax Explosion on Dec. 6, 1917.

The memorial in the city’s north end stands to remember the worst disaster in Canadian history and those who lost their lives because of it.

Each year, on this day, people gather and take a moment to remember.

“The luckiest victims only got to suffer the bitter stinging pleasure of iodine, the unluckiest lucky get to perish, by the bliss of morphine,” said poet George Elliott Clarke.

The Halifax Explosion happened at 9:04 in the morning 101 years ago.

Two ships collided in the harbour and sparked a massive blast that destroyed the north end of the city and claimed almost 2,000 lives. The blast was felt as far away as Charlottetown.

“As a family we always remembered,” said Marilyn Davidson Elliott. She says it's now up to her to relay what her father went through.

“He was looking out the window, as many were, and when the explosion occurred the glass blew into his face and destroyed his eyes, they couldn't be saved,” Davidson Elliott said. “He was the youngest survivor to lose both eyes to the explosion.”

He was two-and-a-half years old.

Among the crowd, you don't have to look far to find another with a connection to the explosion.

Donalda Mosher is also the daughter of a survivor.

“They lived on Barrington Street facing the harbor and the glass blew in,” Mosher said. “He didn't lose his eye, he lost the sight, but he could never see out of that eye.”

The loss was hard to comprehend at a time when Halifax was still a young city.

In addition to the dead, 9,000 were injured and 25,000 were left homeless.

Mayor Mike Savage took time to remember someone who didn't survive that day, but whose actions saved many others.

“Vincent Coleman stayed behind, knowing what was going to happen, is etched here in Morse code, he sent out this message: ‘Hold up the train, ammunition ship, fire in the harbour. Making for Pier 6, and will explode. I guess this will be my last message. Goodbye boys.’”

It’s a message people here say should never be forgotten to ensure that future generations remember to stop and take a moment, at 9:04 on Dec. 6.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/2E5W10I