#welp circle of shipping life I guess

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Yakko: This is my boyfriend Max

Max: *waves*

Yakko: And this is my boyfriends boyfriend Bradley

Bradley: Do you ever shut up?

Yakko:*smug grin* Nope but thanks for asking gives me more of reason to talk and push your buttons Upperthrust the 3rd,

Max: *trying not to lose it with laughter at the absolute look of murder on Bradley's face towards Yakko*

[bump1nthen1ght]

Deep Blue Sea (Shark Merman x Reader) Chapter 1

Pairing: Gender Neutral! Reader/Shark Merman

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Soulmate AU

Warning: None

Word Count: 2682 words

Summary: You have a chat with your soulmate

Prologue

“So, you want some?”

He  takes your stunned silence as no, checking that the crab is fully dead before pulling off a leg and biting the meat inside. His teeth catch the light of the setting sun, glinting white in between chunks of crab.

“So were-”

“Soulmates? Yeah, looks like it.” He, your soulmate, cracks off another leg and begins to chew. You find yourself transfixed watching him, mind reeling with questions. He uses the sharp claws on the tips of his fingers to dig out more meat. You’re not even sure where to begin.

“What do we do know?”

He shrugs, sucking out the last of the crab leg and tossing it aside.

“Dunno, guess this mystery is solved though.” He taps his wrist and you get a closer look at his soulmate mark.

It loosely resembles a human compass, yet alien in it’s design.There’s eight large symbols, none of which you recognize, and the arrow is slightly misshapen before straightening to a point.

“I always assumed my soulmate was in the Atlantic or something, maybe even a selkie. When that thought always drove my ma up the reef.” He sighs, pressing his chin against his palm as he lays against a rock. “Wonder how she’ll take this. Maybe she’ll turn a whole new shade of blue.”

His chuckle is low, rough against your ears, but not entirely unpleasant.

You can see more of his backside as he scoots closer into the tidepool. The first thing you notice is just how big he is, his tail stretching from his hips to the open ocean. The second thing you notice are the defined muscles which stretch and flex along his back.

Okay, what the fuck.

There’s a pressure building in your temples and you think you're beginning to overload. Your fucking soulmates eyes wander, looking nonchalant as can be beforeperking up when he sees another crab. His body slithering away from you to snatch it up snaps you out of shutdown mode.

“Uh, I guess….what’s your name?” He doesn’t take his eyes off his soon to be snack, only humming to acknowledge he even heard you. “I think that’s a good place to start, don’t you?” That at least gets you a chuckle, followed by a tiny crack!

“Cruz, you can call me Cruz.” You make eye contact as he takes a long, languid bite of crab. Your furrow your eyebrows, face unimpressed. He lights up with a mischievous grin.

“Is that your real name?”

“Nope,” Cruz says, popping the p and breaking open a claw, “But I don’t think you could pronounce my name so…..”

The tension in your jaw tights as he turns away from you once more,humming to himself and letting out a soft “Oh!” as the other leg reveals quite a bit of meat. You rub your brow and sigh.

“My names _____”

“Neat.”

In high school, your mom got the yearbook epithet “biggest social butterfly.” Your dad, however, was barely presentable on picture day and a social circle consisting of the three fellow chess-club members. You were a lot like your dad in many ways.

The conversation, to say the least, seemed to float on the water like a dead fish, and you had no idea how to resuscitate it. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t natural, it wasn’t that missing piece yoru guidance counselor said it would and dammit, it’s kind of pissing you off. You’re pissed off that it’s pissing you off, because when has making first impressions ever been easy for you? Did you think this was going to be different, because what, a stupid mark on your wrist? That has no basis in logic, not even a little bit.

You refuse to dignify any emotions similar to disappointment which begin to well inside you, because it’s ridiculous. You worked hard to get to California, you’ve worked hard your whole damn life, what's stopping you from working now?

“Welp, seems I scared away all the other crabs.” Cruz huffs and places his hands on his...hips? “Been nice chatting _____, but I got dinner to catch.” Cruz looks back at you as he slinks into the water, sending a salute and a wink.

The words bubble up in your chest before you can catch them as he begins to swim away.

“Wait, but, um, I-” Your commands fall clumsily out of your mouth and barely leaves a ripple on the water. Cruz doesn’t turn around.

You feel the heat sizzling up your neck and face as you look at his back. Flashes of him, the arrow, your mom, that stupid guidance counselor paint the inside of your eyelids.

No.

“Will you wait a second!”

The scream barely echoes in the small tidepool, but it’s enough to catch Cruz’s attention. He whips back to you, eyes slightly wide. You realize just how hard you’re breathing.

“I-, just, can you meet me here? Tomorrow?” Cruz's expression stays still, only the slightest bit of confusion crossing his eyes as he raises his brow. “I want to get to know you better.”

“Oh, um, okay.”

….

….

“What time….. do you want to meet up?” Cruz looks far less mischievous and much more sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with a clawed hand and looking up at you from under his eyelids.

“How about 5PM?”

Cruz narrows his eyes.

“I don’t know what that means.”

Ah, right, merman.

“About three hours before sunset. I mean, do you know how long an hour-”

“Yes, I know how long an hour is. I’m not a pup.” Cruz rolls his eyes

Well, the sass returns.

The two of you stay in that position for a little too long. You begin to rub your arms as the cold of the sea breeze and your social anxiety slowly come back to you.

“See you tomorrow, I guess.” With a hesitant nod, his black-blue eyes looking pensive, he submerges. Your breath comes back to you in a wave as your soulmate swims into the open ocean.

The walk back to civilization is a blur, the pounding voice in your head drawing out all other noise yet barely making sense itself.

You’re not sure what you expected of the first meeting with your soulmate, but it certainly wasn’t that.

---------

The next day, Cruz is waiting for you at the tidepool by 4:55 PM, shucking an oyster with one of his claws. He looks up as your feet splash into the tidepool. You wave.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

It’s an understatement to say the silence is uncomfortable. You take a beach towel out of your bag and begin to lay it on a large rock. The task helps keep your mind distracted, but you feel Cruz’s eyes burn into your back.

“So, I guess, what are you exactly?” You say, sitting yourself down.

“Merman’s best word I’ve heard you humans use, so that.” Cruz has shifted his focus  back on his oyster, which he then downs with one swallow.

“I see, I see. Are all mer-folk as big as you?” That catches Cruz’s attention. A self-satisfied smirk grows on his face as he puffs out his chest.

“Not at all. I’m a Great White and we’re one of the…” Cruz extends his arms art in front of him, flexing his fingers and his biceps in a decidedly braggadocious manner, “bigger species out there.” He finishes his statement with a playful wink. A tiny smile crawls on your face.

Interesting. Male Great Whites are typically around 12 feet, but Cruz is only about 9 feet. I wonder why that is?

“I can see that.” Cruz shifts, ego now lifted, and lays his weight on his right elbow, facing you. “You mentioned a mother, do you have a clan?” Cruz nods.

“Yup. It’s my ma, my dad, my two older sisters, and me. Plus two other families. My ma’s parents were from this reef.”

It’s difficult for you to fight the instinct to whip out your notebook and jot all this down.Your inner scientist screams to pry into the complex social hierarchy and behaviour patterns of this new species. But the more sane part of you knows that would probably be pushing some boundaries.

“Wow, so you’re a true Californian, huh?” Cruz squints his eyes at you. “Uh, that’s where we are. The territory Santa Cruz lies in.”

He gives a low hum, reaching for another oyster  nearby. This movement is far more natural than his earlier show, but you still get a full glimpse of his cut shoulder muscle and tight abdominals. It stirs something in you.

Would he have the swimmer’s V? Okay, stop, focus.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He pries open the oyster, staring at the soft meta inside. “A member of the clan, born and bred.” Cruz brushed the pad of his finger on the shell, his voice holding a quiet bitterness, tinted somber.

Should you comfort him? He’s within touching distance, but the thought of grabbing his hand feels too intimate, soulmate-ship be damned.

Before you can make a move, Cruz throws his head back and gulps down the oyster. He shakes his head and lets out a small “Ah~”, then pushes his short hair back against his skull. Whatever emotion that was there before, it’s gone.

“Where are you from?”

“East Coast, bordering the Atlantic. So you weren’t too far off.”

“Well, I’m not just a pretty face.” Cruz winks at you, but his eye catches a scuttling crab nearby. He gets low in the water, moving slowly to catch it by surprise. You don’t hum the Jaws theme, despite how much you want to.

“No siblings, just me and my parents.” Cruz doesn’t look away, even as he kills the crab.

“Lucky. How big's your clan?” The familiar crack of the shell follows.

“We don’t really,” crack “...have those. Humans can-” crack “We typically live near each other-” crack “but don’t get that-” crack “....close.”

Cruz hums contently, but you can clearly see it’s from the crab and not your one sided conversation. He sucks juice off his fingers. Seems you’ve lost him once again.

I didn’t expect this to be so difficult.

“Have you ever had cooked crab?” Cruz perks immediately, slowly turning back towards you.

Got ‘im.

----------

You return with two warm lobster rolls, a bag of crab legs, and some shrimp scampi. Cruz’s black-blue eyes just peak out of the water, suspicious.

“So these two are lobster, actually, but this,” You shake the crab-bag, “is all crab. I thought I ‘d get you a couple things to sample.”

Cruz’s nose (Is it a nose? There’s a ridge but you’re not sure if the slits count as nostrils. Questions for later.) just breaches the water as you set the crab-bag down and settle on your rock. You grab a couple of legs for yourself before nudging it  closer to him. “Have at it, it’s pretty self-explanatory.” You say midst a large bit of your lobster roll. The whole meal was not cheap, so you decided to indulge in this treat as much as you can. You’ve had a stressful couple of days.

Cruz slowly approaches the plastic, snatching it up quickly before looking inside it. His eyes widen and there's a small smile on his lips as he pulls a long leg out. His smile only grows bigger.

“Oh, also!” You clap, pointing towards the bag and jolting Cruz out of his food-induced joy. “There’s sauce, garlic butter, shit like that in those little plastic containers at the bottom. You dip the crab meat in them.” You take another large bit of lobster roll and hear Cruz break into a crab leg. Cruz gets his mouth ready to take a big bite before pausing. His eyes flit between the lef and the garlic butter, before he slowly pulls the lid off and dips the meat in. Cruz then takes the tiniest bite possible.

His eyes, black as they are, light up. He quickly takes another, larger bite. It’s quite adorable, like a baby trying ice cream for the first time. Cruz devours the leg quickly before snapping into another sauce.

“You like it?” Cruz nods, cheeks stuffed with crab meat as you giggle.

“What kind of craf is fiss?”

“Dungeness. That’s commonly eaten by humans. They’ve got some of the highest meat value and they're all over  the West Coast.” Cruz nods, though you’re not sure he understands parts of your sentence. “They’re also pretty sustainable to fish, although ocean acidity is kinda fucking with their babies. It’s also been fucking with Red King Crabs, which sucks because their only found in like, four places and are so beautiful and also sustainable and-” Cruz has stopped eating and is staring at you. After a big, long breath in you realize how fast you were talking. You feel the what of your blush on the base of your neck. “Sorry, I’ll let you eat. I just...really like crustaceans. A Lot of aquatic animals, but crabs especially are… I’m doing it again. Sorry.” You take a large bite so you won’t have to talk for a couple of seconds, avoiding eye contact with Cruz. You’re sure your chest and arms are bright red; It’s an embarrassing symptom of when you get too excited.

Cruz just keeps staring at you. Frankly it’s the longest he's looked at you and not a nearby snack. You chew the slowest you possibly can, the brioche bun becoming mush in your mouth, to fill the silence.

You don’t see it, but a small smile widens on his face. He picks at his empty crab shell.

“I think those facts are crab-tastic.”

You immediately choke on a bit of lobster roll, pounding your chest as you sputter between mouthfuls. When your eyes stop watering, you see Cruz has moved closer to you, hand outstretched and a couple inches from resting on your calf. He jerks it back when you look down at him.

“Wow, thanks, but puns aren’t really part of my vocrabulary.” You obnoxiously wink, scrunching up the left side of your face. Cruz laughs. Not a chuckle, but a full, belly laugh.

“Well I find them quite crab-tivating.” A larger laugh bursts from your chest as he mimics your wink and shoots you another big smile.

The sharp teeth are beginning to grow on you, adding to Cruz’s boyish charm. You feel the hot blush in your chest crawl up your neck once more.

Oh fuck.

Cruz reaches for another crab leg but hits the bottom of the bag, a playful pout now on his chin.

“Here, try this next.” You hand him the second lobster roll. “Probably don’t want to get this one wet, it’ll be soggy.” With no hesitation Cruz digs in, perking up once more and going to town. His teeth serate through the bread like butter. Within 4 bites, the entire roll is gone.

“Dang, I’ll make sure to bring some more food next time.”Cruz pauses, mid-lick of the butter on his claws and looks up at you.

“Next time? You want to meet up again?” You raise your eyebrow.

“Well yeah, don’t you?”

Cruz stays quiet, no sassy comment or a sarcastic look. Just staring, mildly shocked.

Your embarrassment bubbles back, screaming you’ve misread this whole situation and the last few minutes. “I mean, we are soulmates. Shouldn’t we meet up again?”

Cruz's eyes narrow as a barrage of thoughts seem to flit across his head. His smile recedes back into a straight line, that little spark leaving his eye.

“Yeah, I guess we have too.” He crinkles up the plastic bag, shoving it against your calves. “See you tomorrow.”

A pit rolls in your stomach as he quickly moves to leave.

Did I say something wrong?

“Uh, I’m actually busy tomorrow. Can we do Thursday-er, 3 days from now?” Cruz nods, not turning around to face you before slipping back into the water and swimming away.

The pit doesn’t leave your stomach, an empty sauce container rolling across the rocky shore.

What just happened?

[klbwriting]

Pirate’s Heart - Prologue

Fandom: Six of Crows

Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader

Summary:  The Galacia Islands are magical and surrounded by a protective reef. The humans and mermaids who lived among the islands were at war for decades before an uneasy treaty was made. A foolish mermaid turned pirate and an angry heir also turned pirate join forces to take down the military leader who threatens their way of life and their families.

Notes: welp, here’s another Kaz story with pirates and mermaids and I cannot wait to keep writing it

Taglist: @sixofshadowandbone @awomanwhoisupsidedown​

Once upon a time there was a reef that circled a group of 12 large islands called the Galacia islands due to their cool waters.  Before humans arrived the islands were home to many magical animals and plentiful resources, ruled over by loving Sea Witches and frequented by mermaids.  They spent most of their lives swimming in the deep but if the spirit took them they could ask permission from the witches to explore the land, maybe even live there for a time.  It was a happy time, full of laughter and life, prosperous for all life.  All the islands had different types of mermaids that lived around them, their tails telling a story of where they were from.  Rarely, a mermaid was born with a multicolored tail and these were considered lucky to the others in their villages and were kept guarded with hopes that they would bless their village with safe travels and a good harvest or trade.  

It the soft heat of the summer, while most of the mermaids were deep in their waters to keep cool, a loud boom rang out and part of the reef that protected the islands was destroyed.  In sailed three ships full of humans, some looking for treasure, some for a new life, and some for opportunity, and everything was changed.  

At first the mermaids just hid, allowing the humans some space, seeing what these new creatures would do with this land.  They brought in more humans, they killed the animals for fun and food, and they built ports and cities.  They also began hunting the rare colored mermaids, desiring the scales from their tales for jewelry or charms.  This angered the sea witches who rose up, revealing themselves and combining their powers to seal the reef again, destroying many of the ports and towns in the process.  They also destroyed themselves to keep the reef intact forever and left their mermaid brethren to pick up the pieces.  The humans were furious at suddenly being trapped within the reef and blamed the mermaids, sparking war between the two.  

For decades the war raged, the mermaids of the deep taking down any and all ships that  dared to venture into their waters, the humans hunting any sea witches that were born to prevent the mermaids from being able to walk on land with them.  After nearly 100 years the two sides were at a stand still and an uneasy truce was coming to pass.  However, an up and coming captain in the navy was determined to wipe out all mermaid life in revenge for the sinking of a boat his wife and child were on.  His name was Pekka Rollins and he was determined to find a way to catch a mermaid and make them reveal where their leaders were from.  

*******

Y/N was unhappy with her lot in life.  She lived on the border of the largest island, called Argoes, and she was born with a multicolored tail.  Her tail was even more rare, the colors were not common and completely out of typical order.  Normally a tail would be many shades of red or green or blue.  Y/N's tail started yellow, moved onto blue, then red, white, and finally green.  She was more heavily guarded than any of the rare tails before her.  When she got an opportunity to escape it was the first thing she did.  She broke above water for the first time right near the boat where Pekka happened to be, scouting the area.  He saw her tail and realized that this was something special.  She was guarded, she would hear things from those guards about their leaders, possibly find a sea witch for him to use for her powers.

"Hello there," he said, smiling sweetly at her.   Y/N noticed he was young and handsome and the first human she had really interacted with.  

"Hello," she said back.  

And that was the beginning of a months long romance for her.  She was entranced with his tales of the human world and what amazing things they created.  He would bring her trinkets, they would lay on the beach and sing songs to each other.  He even made up a song about her tail that made her smile.  It was perfect and soon she was hopelessly in love with him.  Once he knew had her he planted a seed.

"I wish you were human, we could get married and I could truly show you the human world," he would say every time they met.  In truth Y/N was already tracking down a sea witch, hoping to bribe them into giving her legs.  One day when Pekka mentioned her turning human she smiled bright.

"I found a sea witch...they said if I gave them my heart and its power I could be human like you," she said.  "But, I heard a rumor that you can't be in love without a heart, would you still want me if I couldn't love you?"

"What fool told you that?  Love comes from the soul," he said.  "Give them your heart, they will bring you to the surface right?  You wouldn't swim all the way up would you?"  She nodded.

"Yes, they bring you to the shore because your legs are weak at first," she said.  Pekka smiled.  She thought he was happy that they could finally be together, she had no idea what he was really so happy about.  They made arrangements to meet the next evening in secret after she had her legs.

Y/N swam into the seaweed grove where the sea witch had made their home and summoned them.  The sea witch was beautiful, with hair a fine gold and eyes black as the night sky, neither man nor woman, just magic.  They were also tricky, now in hiding and rarely did anything unless given something of high value and the heart of a rare tail mermaid was something to be coveted.  Their hearts were full of magic and would give the sea witch even more power.  This sea witch was called Horus and once the agreement was made, sealed with an exchange of scales from the mermaid, they reached out and gripped the skin on Y/N's chest.  She felt a pain that seemed eternal as the sea witch pulled her heart seemingly through her chest, leaving a jagged scare where it had once been.  She felt empty now, her emotions dulled, her love for Pekka disappearing almost instantly.  This should have been a sign that the love was not true, the sea witch knew this but not Y/N.

"How do you feel about your love now?" they asked, a smirk on their face.  If the love was true the heart would return to the mermaid with a kiss from the object of their affection, if not then the heart remained with the sea witch for as long as they lived, which was a very long time.   Y/N shrugged her shoulders and the sea witch beamed.  "Don't worry my dear, when you kiss him you will feel your true love."  

"Alright," Y/N said half-heartedly.  This was perfect, a rare tail's heart and it would stay with Horus forever.  They were ecstatic and gladly helped the mermaid to the shore.  

Upon arrival Y/N's legs appeared, weak and unable to hold her up.  She was in the shallows, Horus helping her further in when Pekka arrived with a squad of navy soldiers, ready to attack and kidnap the sea witch.  Horus realized what was going on and abandoned Y/N, using her new found power and kill several of the soldiers before returning to the deep.  Pekka was livid and grabbed Y/N, dragging her deeper into the jungle in case the mermaids that were her guards actually found her.  He threw her to the ground and knelt on her naked body, holding a dagger above where her heart should have been, unaware that it was missing.  She was living on magic alone now, its power infinite.  

"Tell me where the sea witch went!" he demanded.  She groaned out, still in pain from her heart's removal and feeling weak.  He snarled at her and she was confused.  He said he loved her, why was he doing this?  

"Pekka...what...why?" she sputtered, trying to speak through her fog of disorientation.  He pushed the dagger more to her chest, drawing some blood.

   "The sea witch, how do I bring them back?" he demanded.  She finally felt herself becoming right again and figured out what was happening.  This was a betrayal.  He had used her, led her on until she did what she wanted, lured a sea witch to the shore.  Her heart's power had saved the witch and now she was going to die.  Fine, what use was there to living without a heart anyway?  Her feelings felt soft, dull, lifeless.  She guessed she might still have a soul and that made her feel something, but not the same as having a heart.  

"Just kill me already," she said, tired and ready to be rid of this pain.  He scowled at her and one of the other soldiers told him to give up, the truce was signed and this would just bring around more fighting.  

"Pekka, you need to get home, you know your brother's sick, his wife is pregnant, she is going to need help with Jordie and the new baby," one of his men said.  Pekka glared him but realized that he was outnumbered, most of the squad was already leaving.  He roared his anger at Y/N and pierced her chest, stabbing her where her heart should have been before standing and leaving her for dead.   Y/N knew she wouldn't die but she couldn't go on like this, now all she could do was sleep.  So she did.

[maxrev]

Feels prompt for Knox (or a Shepard of your choice if he's not feeling talky): “ you’re not a machine or— or some thing. you’re a person, and i’m sorry anyone ever made you feel otherwise."

Welp, guess Knox felt like talking lol. Here ya go! From this list of prompts      

BIG shout out to @nightmarestudio606 for helping me with the kiss...I haven’t written one in sooo looong lol

            ________________________________________________

What the hell was he doing? He never ran. From anything. Hadn’t since he was four fucking years old. And now, at thirty one, he held many titles: Commander Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy, etc, etc. He’d taken down husks, brutes...hell, even a reaper without a second thought. 

So, why did this particular man have him running for cover, hiding in his own damn cabin no less? Fuck this. 

And yet, he remained where he was, a few steps just inside his cabin door, looking all around but not seeing a thing. The fish tank burbled quietly beside him, fish merrily swimming around; model ships he’d carefully crafted on display in the glass case; a softly squeaking wheel from the hampster - who still wasn’t named - running in circles. All of it a part of his carefully crafted world, even if the fish and hampster had been gifts he’d never have bought on his own. Pets required time and attention he had none to give. 

His world was orderly, meticulously thought out to every minute detail, any possible contingency planned for. Except one apparently. 

Major Kaidan Alenko. Putain de merde.

If was wearing his hardsuit, his vital signs would show his heart rate was up along with his stress levels. As if mocking him, the fish continued to swim, serene and unhurried from one end of the tank and back, not a care in the world. 

“Commander, Major Alenko wishes to speak with you. Would you like me to let him in?” EDI’s voice carried over the speakers above him. 

His cabin. His only sanctuary, such as it was. As the commander, he was available at all times, yet no one ever bothered him here, preferring to stay well away. It seemed there was nowhere left to run. Cornered like a wounded animal and he damn sure felt like one, too. Ready to lash out. Cool heads prevailed, not that he’d ever been accused of having one. The memories of Horizon and Mars mocked him. 

The major was a brilliant soldier and he needed him on the Normandy. He ran a hand over his shorn head in agitation. Okay, okay. I need him on the Normandy. Admitting it turned out to be not as hard as he’d imagined. 

“Commander?”  EDI prodded. 

“Give me five minutes.”  Let the major wait outside, stew a bit in his own thoughts. 

Glancing around the cabin, Knox wondered why he was so damn nervous. Nothing was out of place, all his things meticulously maintained and where they belonged. The only mess to be found were the piles of datapads scattered over the desk. He was having a hard time keeping on top of them. The barrage of information was constant, barely able to read one before another was thrust into his hands. 

Enough. No more stalling. Leaning casually against the ledge along the fish tank, he crossed his arms and ankles. He could give the impression of being relaxed, even if he didn’t feel it. 

“Let him in, EDI.” 

The door slid open. The world narrowed to just one man and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and pushed away a sudden unknown emotion he felt as his eyes landed on Alenko standing on the other side. He waited for the major to make the first move having invaded his refuge.

Stepping inside, the major nodded at Knox, “Commander.” 

So formal. It should put Knox at ease but instead it irritated him. Irrationally so. Wanting to shake the ground beneath Alenko’s feet, he said, “Call me Knox.” 

Thick dark eyebrows rose up in response, surprised. Good. Knox felt more at ease with the knowledge.

“Okay...Knox,” Kaidan drew out the one syllable as if trying out the feel of it. “Then I ask that you call me Kaidan.” 

Knox simply continued to stare at him, not responding. The silence stretched out and his impatience began to grown. He did not like to be kept waiting. 

“Was there something you needed?” His words came out harsher than intended but if it prompted a response, so be it. 

Brown eyes, wariness in their depths, looked away, the tips of Kaidan’s ears becoming pink. Interesting. He rubbed the back of his neck, a tell Knox had seen often when he was unsure about something or embarrassed. Which was it this time? 

“I…” he took a deep breath, then turned an looked Knox right in the eyes, “I wanted to apologize for my distrust back on Mars, for questioning your loyalties. I realize now you’re the commander I’ve known since Eden Prime and I’m happy to fight by your side...sir.” 

Straightening up, Knox strode over slowly, coming to a stop before him, crowding his space. The air around them was charged with electricity. He spoke quietly, calmly, but with steel in his voice, “Only now?”

Kaidan didn’t look away this time. The intensity in his gaze made Knox’s blood heat. There was more going on here than what one could see on the surface. 

“What is it exactly you want from me?” 

Merde! What a loaded question he was asking. Deciding he needed a drink, Knox turned towards his desk where he kept a bottle of whiskey. He splashed some of the amber liquid into a glass, uncaring when it slosed over the side. Maybe the burn as it went down would put him back on solid ground. The ground he’d tried to shake beneath Kaidan’s feet had backfired. This was new territory for him. 

He tossed the whiskey back, turning to hold up his empty glass, "Drink?"   

Kaidan hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded. Knox poured another for himself, then handed the other glass over. The major sipped sparingly, eyes widening a fraction in surprise. 

Knox shrugged, "I liked the whiskey you added to the bar. Bought some for myself."

An inadvertent admission. He wandered over to watch the fish, lest Kaidan read more into it. Silence followed his words and he turned to find the major browsing the datapads. Knox bristled at the invasion of his privacy, ready to let fly with harsh words and criticism but his inner voice caught up to him and told him to stop. 

There was nothing more than intel about the war and the crucible and maybe Kaidan would be able to provide some insight, see things from a different angle...as he usually did.

Instead, Knox kept quiet and observed him, refusing to admit to himself he was actually committing to memory every nuance of the man across the room. Suddenly, Kaidan’s body tensed up, fingers coming to rest on one specific datapad. Having so many open, Knox couldn’t remember what intel was in each one and now he was curious at the reason for the strange response. 

"Find something?" 

Kaidan’s hand snapped to his side as if caught in a trap. Placing the unfinished drink on the desk, he turned to leave with an excuse at the ready, "I should go get acquainted with the crew." 

Knox moved quickly, stepping in front of him, so close he could see the variations of color in the expressive brown eyes. His own eyes traveled at leisure over Kaidan’s face; new scars blending with old ones, a few more wrinkles and gray hairs from the passage of time and the stress they were under...a tinge of pink on his cheeks. 

Their eyes locked. For the first time ever, Knox found himself lost. Unable to process the feeling, he did what came natural. He charged ahead. 

The world around them ceased to exist, narrowing down to just the two of them, Kaidan’s breath hitching for a fraction of second before relaxing into the kiss, opening eagerly as Knox slid his tongue inside. Pressing up against him, their feet  tangled and they stumbled across the room, Kaidan’s back stopping them up against the fish tank. Knox planted his palms to each side while Kaidan grasped at his clothing. 

They sank into the kiss, neither willing to be the first to let it end. But end it did, Knox pulling away first. What the fuck was he thinking, kissing a member of his crew? There wasn’t time for personal relationships, death on the horizon or not. Things like this just got messy and caused more problems than he needed right now. Either of them needed. 

He walked back to the desk, leaving Kaidan where he was. How he felt about what happened was of no concern to him. Leaning into his arms, hands pushing the datapads aside, one blinked to life. The one Kaidan had been looking at. On the screen was the Cerberus husk they’d found on Mars where Kaidan had questioned if the terrorist organization had done the same to him. 

Behind him, the door slid open and he heard footsteps as Kaidan left his cabin. 

His voice, raspy and deep with the remnants of their kiss lingering still, floated back to him, “You’re not a machine or— or some thing. You’re a person, Knox, and i’m sorry anyone ever made you feel otherwise, including me." 

[abundantchewtoys]

Homestuck^2 re: Chapter 4 “The Contest”(p119-143)

Ah, "The Contest", huh? I don't think Harry Anderson was in the bleachers watching a sporting match during his last hour at school.

It sounds innoccent, but it probably isn't. I don't suppose we'll see Callie in a drawing contest with Calliope. :P

---

Page 119

... Ah. It's the new planet. Interesting tree growths.

Is it going to be a contest racing somewhere?

Or is Dirk going to hold a contest, and who wins gets to name the planet? Kind of weak since he can just rig the contest with his powers.

I wonder if the First Guardian is already here, too. ... Then again... This session is the first outside of the Green Sun's domain! So maybe no First Guardian.

---

Page 120

That's a bigass bare mound.

---

Page 122

Ace landing, Terezi. 10/10

It's like a cracked piñata. Dirk's room appears to have been near the backend of the ship.

The trio's survived, though, and now they've gone exploring. So... I suppose Dirk has captchalogued all equipment from the storage rooms.

---

Page 123

Rosebot appears to be en guard near the entrance, but what's inside the cave?

---

Page 124

... Wow. Why is she en pointe, has she studied ballet over the course of the three years? :P That black tiara is unsettling. Well, so is the rest of the black outfit, but perhaps it's inspired by that Alternian battle armour which Candy Rose was wearing.

... Pffffff, Dirk. Are they just using the cave for shelter, or is this were the frog temple can be found?

... Are they going to enter the Lotus machine?

---

Page 125

Woooooow. Okay, Terezi's looking SMASHING. A lot like Latula, actually, with the hair. Lots of the characters are in to using their accentuting lines in their outfits these days, I've noted.

And yeah, Dirk just set up shop in this cave. (The prince is in.)

---

Page 126

Pfffff, Terezi is just bored out of her mind. I guess she had the vague idea of serving as Dirk and Rose's consciousness, but that has turned out rather differently. Of course, she has little control over Dirk. Even her being able to have him stop calling Rose Rosebot, is just him humouring her to some extent.

Also, we get an insight what ascension is like for Rose. Still quite confusing, it appears. Then again, the process isn't finished yet for her.

I liked how the combination of the command and Dirk's first comment actually belong to be read together - in that he asked Terezi to render herself more symbolically, and she did!! Yes, her hear really looks like Latula's now.

I guess the reason she didn't succumb to drinking this time, is that Terezi isn't actually the one that caused John to die, unlike with Game Over Vriska. Though she's probably still guilt-ridden, since it was the exertion of getting her to Earth C that was the final straw.

---

Page 127

Yeah, Rose still thinks Terezi's on board with everything on some level. But Dirk's plans, even though they involve her, extend way beyond.

---

Page 128

Showoff. She isn't a fully realized Mind player, but she's still quite powerful. Ah yes, let the theories commence that the new session will contain Quest Beds for Karkat, Kanaya and Terezi. :P

Heh, the powers Dirk is showing there. They're what Brain Ghost Dirk used on Aranea, and Reload Dirk on Caliborn.

---

Page 129

Heheh, another equine didn't survive bearing down on a planet. And Dirk was involved.

I'm... Not entirely sure what just happened here.

I though Rose was alluding to Plato's Cave. And she seemed to notice the ship didn't need repairing and how odd that is. So she might be at least a little aware of his powers?

Well, at least we know now that Dirk has the same access as Dave.

And is Deltritus the name he has for the cave/planet? Though it sounds kind of like the name for a denizen.

----

Page 130

Wow. Okay.

So. Dirk wants to create something wholly new. He thinks they made a mistake in creating Earth C from "leftovers".

I notice that we have kind of an alphabetical thing going on. Alternia, Beforus, Earth C, now Deltritus.

Dirk makes a good explanation about how he can still be so flawed while being completely self-aware. Still doesn't excuse all his manipulations. He keeps her on the same page as him at all times.

So the contest is about species. This means we're going to get 2 entire new species and cultures introduced, my god. I thought we had reached a threshold somewhere, somewhen. But no. Apparently not. I guess that's the next step we're going to.

The Watchmaker analogy is actually quite fitting for Dirk... and Rose's meta-analysis for her.

Dirk's notes on Deltritus are interesting. Shows he's actually not that concerned with details after all.

Blaperile has a good point - Dirk knows a session will be spawned here, but not what race "wins" in the end. Or he makes a point of not telling for the sake of his game.

I also saw some more of Dirk's accent slipping in here, suddenly. Huh.

---

Page 131

Heh, the Sburb logo is actually in Jane's colour here, not Dirk. That will become relevant later on.

I wonder if this is how universes used to propogate in previous iterations. Gods create races, several per universe, on different planets at a time, and have all of them play Sburb.

...

Eeeuw, Dirk proposes to, like, experiment on DNA. So there isn't animal life to start from here.

In the end, what they start from is still ectobiological material, nothing from scratch.

---

Page 132

... Wow. So it's the mother of all Sburb machines. The Ultimate Alchemy/Ectobiology... Thingamabob. Still, I'm reeling from the idea that they'd combine their own DNA with items. That's some Frankenstein like shit right there.

Here's to hoping all their "iterations" only exist as holograms or simulations, not real beings. That'd be cruel, otherwise. Maybe this is a moment to give some of the fan species a cameo, make them canon that way!!

---

Page 133

Ah. Rose still has his number, at least. Hey there, 1025 cameo. *wave* Of course he picked one of the unseen shenanigans from when Terezi was controlling him.

---

Page 134

Ooooh, so it's what Jade was doing to create a frog that could perform the Vast Croak, but in reverse!

Alchemical biology genetic SBaHJification

Dear god. Really, they should just add JPEG artifacts and be done with it.

So yeah, it's back to combining items. The ultimate alchemy session.

---

Page 135

Awww, she remembers this, even misses these simpler times of combining items. And yes, seems like an appropriate circle of stupidy goes on inside the machine.

But maybe the machine just reads the captcha's on the back of the card! ... Wild efficiency, in my Sburb session? It's more common than you think. :O

---

Page 136

I fear for Dirk's first attempt. Not going to be a viable form of living at all, right? Poor thingy.

---

Page 137

Ah yes. Ecto-Alchemologize. The appropriately contrived term for what's appearing.

Dirk's manning those buttons like a DJ, like the protagonist of And It Don't Stop.

---

Page 139

Cool effect.

---

Page 140

... Yes, it's definitely a bonehead they just created.

It APPEARS to have a normal face, but yeah, it's probably a mutant, not unsimilar to the beasts that were fought on the Tower of Syndetic Ascension.

---

Page 141

... Well okay, that actually looks kind of cute.

A gusher tentacle cactus. But tiny.

So it would appear Dirk's DNA just gives it life, not anything more.

---

Page 142

Welp, that little guy's freaking out.

---

Page 143

When we next see them, the place is going to be littered with sentient abominations. ... Actually, come to think of it, Roxy experimented a lot with Jaspers DNA as well, creating all those Mewtini clones. But they weren't sentient.

Unless Dirk didn't have the sentience switch on yet.

---

Next chapter appears to be from Terezi's perspective! But who's she going to talk... to...

She's not going to get Vriska's message NOW, is she? ... Of course she is.

Well, this is where we’ll leave things. We’ll pick the story back up in a few weeks!

[qqueenofhades]

I know you dont watch GoT anymore. And that Braime and Sansa are your favorites. But I know you've read the books and are obviously really interested in the story. And I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the whole Jon killing Dany thing? Is that something you can see happening in the books? And if it is do you think it'd be in the same context as the show did it?

Ahaha, welp. Just jumping right in there.

(Also, you never have to apologise for asking GOT/ASOIAF questions. I obviously have been a fan for 16 years and wrote fuckin’ TNR with its half-million-plus words, so I clearly do have Thoughts on the story/characters, especially with the bag of lukewarm cat vomit that was s8 of the show.)

I already answered this ask discussing how much I hated the Mad Queen Dany thing, both because a) it was horrifically badly handled and b) these mediocre misogynist douchegobblers have managed to outdo themselves in terms of the gross messages they’ve sent about women, after 8 seasons of that. (These are the same people who made Sansa say that she was grateful for her rapes and who claimed that Dany’s turn into madness was foreshadowed by her having a “chilly” reaction to the death of her abuser, Viserys, in s1, so…. make of that what you will.) I’m not saying that it was narratively impossible, especially since GRRM has been toying with the same thing in the books and has more than his own share of Male Author Syndrome. But at the start of 8x04, Dany is in Winterfell, perfectly sane, toasting Arya as hero of the battle. By the end of 8x06, she’s crazy, a war criminal, and dead, murdered by her boyfriend, because… well, something something plot reasons. Even if you didn’t like Dany or were rooting for her to go mad or whatever, that was wildly badly handled.

I personally think it would be pretty gross for GRRM to also go down the Mad Queen route, though at least if he does, we will have had Dany’s POV chapters beforehand and presumably something resembling a justification and a building narrative momentum toward it. But she also got stuck in Meereen for so long because by his own admission he didn’t know what to do with her there or how to get her out of the situation and moved onto Westeros, which remains, theoretically, her outstanding goal in the books. It would obviously not be outside the realm of possibility for this to happen, given GRRM’s focus on “grittiness” that the show took to max factor 5000. I would still find it reductive and trying to make a Clever Postmodern Point and etc if it happened in the books, because literally why invest us in a character this long, especially one who has tried so hard to overcome the circumstances of her past/to not be her father, and then just do exactly that? Obviously there would be elements of Shakespearean tragedy to it, and if done well it could be compelling, but I personally just have a different approach to fiction and what people want out of a story (especially one now as famous as GOT/ASOIAF and how universally betrayed everyone seems to feel by the ending). I’m not saying Dany’s ultimate ending needs to be sunshine and roses and getting what she wants, because often character arcs and resolutions become all the more powerful for being subverted and thwarted (think the “I said I wanted [x] but [y] was there instead” sort of endings). But whatever it is, it needs to be…. not that.

Also, Jon in both books and especially show has been the epitome of Mediocre White Man. I stopped watching in s4, but Kit Harington’s acting was so wooden and the writing for him was very much Standard Misunderstood Brooding Fantasy Hero that I could barely pay attention to his scenes. I find him somewhat more interesting in the books, though ADWD dragged for everyone and it was obvious GRRM was writing in circles. But everyone has noticed that especially in the show, Jon does absolutely bupkis. His ass is constantly saved by the women in his life, he makes an absolute hash of any power that he is given and doesn’t want it anyway, and his ultimate ending was…. going back to the Night’s Watch (as their idea of satisfying narrative storytelling is to literally put everyone back where they were in the very first episode, apparently). Never mind the fact that there’s no need for the Night’s Watch, but the point is, even the fact that Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son ended up being relevant for like half an episode. That has been one of the major plot points/secrets of the books (although not so much anymore) and it just…. fizzled out like a damp squib. Dany actually TRIED for multiple seasons to be a good ruler and to learn how to handle power and become a queen, so for her to have to be the one to die for Jon to once again do diddlysquat is… well, as I have said before, the misogyny leaps out. They ended up wasting so much potential and so many other things that were also foreshadowed (and far more convincingly than “wah wah she was gonna go evil!”). For this? So Jon can just go brood in the snow again? Cool.

Not to mention, I find it gross on principle that Dany’s boyfriend had to be the one to kill her, especially after rape/sexual violence/loss of agency was such a big part of her early-season storylines (and how horrifyingly and grossly that has been handled on the show overall). We’re obviously supposed to sympathize with Jon in this scenario and to feel that it is justified to “stop a tyrant” or whatever. Also, if the episode was going to be called “Queenslayer,” why the fuck wasn’t it Jaime fulfilling the valonqar prophecy, another thing they forgot about, and killing Cersei, at great personal grief/cost, to once more stop an insane monarch from burning down King’s Landing? But that, of course, would be actual character development/overall arc, and they preferred to also trash that by having Jaime “killed Aerys Targaryen literally to save half a million innocent people and lived with his reputation being destroyed ever after” Lannister unironically claim that he never cared about the lives of the innocent and only wanted Cersei. After she again tried to kill him and Tyrion like three days ago, not even to mention what they did to Brienne and with that whole arc, but I will have a ragestroke if I think about it too much. 

Basically, the ending wasn’t “bittersweet.” It was tragic, reductionist, ham-handed, hugely disappointing for everyone who put years of investment into these characters, and ended up in the amusing position of making Bran Stark the younger and more beautiful queen who comes to cast Cersei down. He became king because… reasons? Whatever? And he knows literally everything about everyone thanks to being the Three-Eyed Raven, so there’s no way that can go horribly wrong. He has basically done nothing except sit in a wheelchair and look creepy for several years now, his arc has never been remotely about being king, and Isaac Hempstead-Wright himself is apparently on record as saying he genuinely thought it was a joke script when he read it. This after both Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington broke down over learning what happened to their characters/Kit apparently realized it for the first time at the read-through and was horrified. Emilia already talked about wandering for five hours and having a crisis and calling her mom and asking to be talked off the ledge like….. fictional choices/characters completely aside, that’s a gross thing to do to your actors. I know they’re all proud of their work and they have apparently and understandably been defensive about the existence of the petition to rewrite s8, but they’ve all been pretty clear, while still being professional and supportive, that there is stuff that they’re just as much WTF about as we are.

Basically, as everyone keeps saying, the acting, cinematography, visual effects, music, etc was clearly up to as high a standard as ever, but was betrayed fundamentally and comprehensively by this god-awfully shit writing by a couple of hacks who clearly rushed the final season to get on to ruining working on Star Wars. They have also been on record about saying “you can’t do what the audience expects or it’ll get boring blah blah blah,” which is a profoundly flawed storytelling strategy if you’re paranoid and trying to outsmart your audience and do something that nobody has ever thought of because you’re an Intellectual Postmodern Commentator On Our Violent Society. If your audience can guess where a story is going, but are still surprised by major twists along the way that then make sense in hindsight, you’ve done your job. If you’re relying on grimdark and cramming in gimmicky plot twists and deus ex machinas and Shocking Moments rather than authentically developing your story, it’s going to bite you in the ass in a big way, as was just proven. 

Nobody expected a completely happy ending from GoT. But the fact that they went to such lengths, especially in s8, to build up characters/ships (Jonerys, Braime, Gendrya were all torched after major canon moments completely unexpected by fans, especially the latter two – why even include it unless to just be more Tragique, and Gendrya is the only one that has even a chance in the future since half of it didn’t end up idiotically dead) and then just wrecked all of it…. as I’ve said, good endings don’t need to be rainbows and unicorns and kittens. But if you’ve asked eight years of audience investment, there has to be something that makes it worth it and that doesn’t make everyone feel like they were duped and stupid to get involved in the first place. They have been beating the “it’s a hard world and bad things happen to the characters” drum for all they’re worth, but… it’s just bad. You can analyse and ask why the hell they did things and so forth, but it’s bad. At this rate, the show should have either ended after 8x03, or they should have taken the money HBO offered and done the proper 10 episodes and let Bryan Cogman write all of them. He was the only one who appeared to remotely give a shit about the characters, and since D&D wrote the last four episodes themselves, yeah, this disaster is on them.

Fortunately, I left the show years ago and have TNR and am used to ignoring their version of things. And I knew all along that they never really got the characters or the story. But I feel really bad for everyone who has had this thrown back in their face, and it seems like a communal disenchantment with this ending is going to enter the pop-culture consciousness on a possibly unprecedented level. So if GRRM does do the Mad Queen Dany killed by Jon in the books (though he has apparently called the show’s ending “traumatic”), I’ll probably still not like it. He has a chance to sell me it on/justify it to me narratively, which the show categorically failed to do. I don’t think I will, just because as I said, I don’t like anything about it, but yes.

Anyway. This is a long post already, and I probably have more to say still, but it’s pretty obvious I think it’s just really, really bad, and that’s about the essence of it.

[tarthbeauty]

Is this an unpopular opinion? Maybe. But I’m in a shitty enough mood right now to meta the fuck out of this possibly leaked spoiler.

I’ve seen it a few times. That Jaime lives and possibly crippled. Do I want him alive? Actually, I really do. Do I want him crippled? I mean??? I guess it would be a nice kind of circle for what he did to Bran. He couldn’t be a knight anymore. He couldn’t fight. 

Do I want him to get back together with Brienne? 

Nope.

I love the Braime ship. I love that it’s canon. But I don’t want it for the endgame. Not given the limited information we were given in that last episode. The information that Jaime doesn’t care about the citizens of KL. That all he wants is to get back to Cersei. Which. Honestly. That’s okay. Though people said it, I never believed he was going back to kill her. I thought he was going back to try to get her out. I thought he was going back to her because living separate from her in a world where she exists is doable for him. But allowing her to die? The woman who birthed his children. The woman he loved for his whole life. His twin? No. I didn’t expect him to just be like. “Welp. There goes my sister, I guess.” Fuck that, no. Him going back was in character. In my opinion. (Him seemingly completely forgetting about Brienne between Winterfell and KL and that he, you know, cares if people die, that was not in line with his arch.)

But I swear to fucking god. If D&D make my favorite ship endgame and Brienne is treated like some MOTHER FUCKING CONSOLATION PRIZE. I will freaking scream. I don’t want a Braime endgame because I think it’ll taint what they had together. I think it’ll taint the kind of woman she’s supposed to be. Yes, she loves him. Yes she cried over him. But do you think Brienne of Fucking Tarth is going to give a man the ability to make her cry over him twice??? 

There are situations where I’ll be less angry. Like a flashback scene of Jaime asking Tyrion to tell Brienne he loves her. (But we all know that didn’t happen.) And so like. No. I think Brienne matters more than being a consolation prize. I think Brienne FUCKING MATTERS. I think she deserves better (even if better just means herself) than a guy who is only with her because he can’t have someone else he clearly loves more. Because those last scenes we got with Jaime and Cersei? Yeah. He showed in every way that he loved her more than anyone. (And again, I’m okay with that. Brienne had her moment with him.) 

There are a million ways I would write this and fix canon so that a survived Jaime would be welcome back with Brienne, but it’s just... This feels so goddamn cheap. It make her cheap. It makes him seem cheap. There is no dignified way that strong, beautiful, fucking tough as nails Brienne of Tarth could take Jaime back into her arms after this. Not once she learned that he got crushed under RK next to Cersei. I just... I don’t like this. I hate this actually.

I’m not saying that I think she should shun him. Because Jaime did what he felt he had to do. But goddamn does she deserve better.

[sobdasha]

Are you hoping that Shiki turns out to be a girl too? Personally I always thought that if Akito was only going to have one child it should be a daughter to better fit her arc and make her whole story come full circle. Am I literally the only one who wants this? What do you think?

Short answer: not really, no?

Long answer, with more context, including why I don’t think that plot twist would actually contribute anything to Shiki’s narrative, continues below:

I do get the idea of wanting Akito to have a daughter, and of wanting the kids’ stories to mirror and parallel their parents. I see how that is fulfilling. But I don’t think that in Shiki’s case this is at all likely.

(I know I joke about FBA being fanservice and the characters being clones of their parents, but FBA is not just about bringing the parents’ stories full-circle. These characters actually have their own stories, with narrative needs that are different from those of their parents. Sure Akito having a daughter might be better to bring her arc full-circle, but FBA isn’t Akito’s arc.)

Shiki being a girl would fit the themes of Fruits Basket, you could argue that, but I would argue that it does not fit the themes of Fruits Basket Another.

As I see it, FB is a story about a lot of people very desperate for love, who keep changing themselves/lying to themselves to try and get and keep love, and who all need to learn that it’s okay to be themselves. (Also, love that doesn’t involve room for growing and changing isn’t love, it’s abuse. ETERNAL BONDS ARE BAD. Being able to grieve and move on is good.)In this regard, Akito’s narrative does well with the theme that she’s has been misgendered and needs to learn to be herself as a woman in addition to needing to learn to be herself without god.

As I see it, FBA is a story mostly about two people who actually don’t care about love and really don’t give a shit if they’re loved or not?? Like Shiki and Sawa do care about getting hurt, and don’t like being rejected, but…Sawa’s nothing like Tohru. Tohru is a people-pleasing extrovert who hated being alone. Sawa’s an introvert who’s like “well I’m clearly incurably annoying so I guess I’ll eat lunch outside so I won’t inflict others with my presence.” She’s not happy with this state of affairs but clearly isn’t actively looking to change it.And Shiki’s not very much like Akito. Akito’s a love-starved emotionally-stunted child screaming “HEY LOOK AT ME AND LOVE ME I’M RIGHT HEEEEERE.” Shiki’s just kind of like, “Welp. Family politics suck. People are constantly bad-mouthing my mom. I tried to help some kid on the street once and got the pants sued off me for my trouble. I think I will just keep my head down. Forever. Hm I wonder how that kid is doing anyway not that I will ever see her again.”

Sawa and Shiki don’t really need to learn a lesson about how it’s okay to be themselves. They are themselves, even though they feel those selves are bothersome to other people. What Sawa and Shiki are is really horribly apathetic. Their narrative arcs involve learning, “Hey you know what? Sure it’s gone badly before, but interacting with another human being isn’t actually the worst crime you can commit. Somewhere out there is actually someone who wants to talk to you. And maybe, just maybe, you refusing to engage other people is actually secretly hurting them.”

Shiki turning out to actually be a girl doesn’t really add anything to that character arc about engaging in society.

Also I don’t know what the motive would be? Like, Ren had Akito raised as a boy because Ren didn’t want another woman in her relationship with her husband (nooooooo that’s not what a daughter is noooooooooooo). What motive does Akito have to raise Shiki as a boy if Shiki isn’t a boy? People talk about “Oh but Ren would make Akito raise Shiki as a boy” but like??? Okay??? Why??? What point does that serve??? Sure Ren still hates Akito and would love to continue to ruin her life but??? Akira is dead and Shiki has nothing to do with Ren’s relationship with Akira??? ??????????????

Also Shiki can’t be a girl because then it wouldn’t be a het ship. I hate this but it’s true. I must have wanted to tie this in somehow because I see on my page of notes (that I mostly ended up not using) that I have saltily written up in one corner “Is this why no Ritsu or Kagura in FBA, they’re off leading their best lives as wlw???” I SURE HOPE THEY ARE.

[analytickle-lezdom-in-space]

Welp, here we are

Tumblr is doing the thing.  It’s hard to say exactly what the thing is because tumblr is poorly executing it and poorly communicating it as always, but suffice to say, unless the decision gets reversed, we’re not gonna be able to do nsfw on this site anymore.  What will this mean?  Will be there a mass exodus?  Seems to be already.  WIll the site survive or will it lose all its userbase and sink forever?  It remains to be seen.  I certainly suspect there’ll always be at least a few users clinging to it to the bitter end.  

But maybe more important, what will I do?  *Shrug* I dunno, really.  Might leave entirely eventually, although probably not right away. This site can be stressful as hell at the best of times.  Plus, fewer TERFs.  Might find another site if a viable alternative really emerges, I’ll certainly try a few of the supposed alternatives out and see if I like where it’s going.  At the very least could be a supplement for tumblr.  I think that’s probably a good way to look at it honestly because a lot of people aren’t gonna wanna leave tumblr easy but no one is saying you have to leave tumblr to try out other sites.  You can keep your options open, try some different platforms, that way you have a safety net if things get cray-cray and also it provides more impetus for tumblr to actually make positive change for once because they know we’ve found other options and need them less and they can’t push us as far anymore without us jumping ship.  

I’ll definitely stay for at least a little while, focus more on text posts and advice stuff, still including kink, but minus any actual porn.  Probably will also focus more on fandom stuff and photography.  Might make an entirely sfw sideblog eventually and if so I’ll let mutuals i trust know about it.  

I guess if I do stick around long term, it’ll be for this:  When I started on tumblr, it was mostly just because I wanted to share stuff that I thought was cool. But I also wanted to use it as an outlet for parts of myself I had a hard time being open about, my queerness, my thoughts on social issues, kink, my polyamorous relationships, romance.   And over time I began to find that my experiences were ones that a lot of people didn’t really even seem to exist?  There was a lot of misunderstandings about transgender and nonbinary people, oftentimes from other trans/nonbinary people and a lot of people consciously talking about the world in these very exact and narrow ways that didn’t fit the realities of my situation and as i began to see that a lot of other people were also being excluded by these narrow definitions I decided that even if I didn’t wanna actively wade into tumblr discourse and argue with or call out people, I did want to actually talk about my experiences, do my best to raise up and signal boost the experiences of other marginalized and ignored people without speaking on their behalf, and just create a space for people to learn and have their preconceptions challenged.  

Because, I don’t really fit into a lot of the boxes people tend to put on our experiences even in social justice circles in a lot of ways.  I am a transgender woman, assigned male at birth. I don’t experience body dysphoria.  I am a lesbian.  I am a nonbinary woman, my identity does not exist within the gender binary.  I am GNC, butch in particular, and don’t perform femininity.  I have a beard, for God’s sake.  And I didn’t even change my name at first, and I’m still probably gonna keep my birth name as a middle name because I like my new name more but my old name still represents a part of my existence and I didn’t change genders and my old pre-transition self wasn’t me pretending to be someone I wasn’t, I just hadn’t fully learned who I was yet.  Every trans person’s experience is different, but the ones commonly presented as “the default trans experience” never represented me in a lot of ways, even among other trans lesbians. 

 And it really doesn’t stop there, I have ADHD, and BPD, and might be on the autism spectrum.  On a smaller, less social justice related scale my sex life isn’t especially “normal” either.  My trans identity doesn’t mean being submissive or playing along with traditional femininity and certainly doesn’t involve any backwards ass sissy kink nonsense. I am dominant, in and out of the bedroom.  I am the full spectrum kind of dominant, but not really into pain.  I’m a gentle femdom type but not into men despite 90% of gfd content on this site being male sub focused.  I like tickling, one of the more fringe but not actually very out there or extreme kinks that the rest of kinky tumblr keeps at an arm’s length for some reason.   I can occasionally bottom/submit in bedroom situations but that doesn’t make me less of a domme.  I am polyamorous and have a wide variety of different relationships with different people but they aren’t less special or intimate because of it.  I am a deeply religious protestant christian despite how openly sexual and queer I am.  I am a sex positive feminist but I want to protect the rights of people NOT to be sexual and promote sexual safety too, not just wild celebrations of sex without any consideration of who might get hurt.  I am an nsfw blogger but I try to make my space as friendly to ace people and easy to block the nsfw parts as possible and those things share space with random dragon age memes and music and my thoughts on animal welfare issues.  In ways from the minor to the major, I’ve always felt on here like I am kinda the standard bearer on a lot of issues, the only really prominent blogger in some of these communities representing for some of these backgrounds.  And there are others that don;t get much voice that I will never be part of being an able bodied white Christian perisex, allosexual/alloromantic, non-male-attracted person.  And I want to use my platform to listen to those people as well.  My therapist gave me a good piece of advice when she taught me that I can’t argue away the narrow minded and all I can do is just stand there and go “Whether or not you want to acknowledge me, here I am.”   And that’s what tumblr is for me.  A place to be the most radical thing it’s possible for someone like me to be:  me.  A place where I can make my existence and my experiences and the things I’ve learned known and other people can listen and learn, and where I can try to do the same with other people.  And  Ithink that’s valuable.  So I may just decide to leave yet depending on how frustrating tumblr decides to make things, but I am not leaving in the immediate future.  

I am investigating other possible ways to do what I am doing though, and make sure all of y’all can still talk to me if I get deleted or leave, so: 

I have kik, discord, skype, fetlife, whatsapp, and instagram, and I might invest in a snapchat at some point, plus i have email.  If y’all wanna talk to me, ask me about the possibility of chatting on one of those platforms

I’m looking into stuff like Ello or Pillowfort or Mastodon so stay tuned for my thoughts on those 

And I will keep on here in the immediate future at the very least.  We’ll see where I go from here.  I’ll try to keep y’all in the know.  Wishing you all happy trails wherever you go!  

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Grimoire of Zero 10 - 11 | Royal Tutor 11 - 12 (FINAL) | Kado 10 | Boku no Hero Academia 25 | Tsukigakirei 10 - 11...plus summer 2017 anticipated anime.

Just gonna put this here so it gets more attention while it’s open.-> http://www.strawpoll.me/13311671

Grimoire of Zero 10

Geez, the staff pulled a Kado 0 - 1 on us here…i.e. the ending of one ep is the same as the opening of the next ep. It’s just to a lesser extent than Kado did.

Seriously, who is Him??? They still haven’t told us!

Welp, there’s my answer. It was too obvious to centre a 12 episode series around, I would’ve given a plot point like that about…3 or 4 eps, tops.

Grimoire of Zero 11

The thing about this show is that you can just turn your brain off and watch along. It’s a tad slow, but enjoyable and that’s why I’ve stuck with it.

LOL, I understand what it’s like to have “messy, wormlike handwriting”…

I don’t believe a wisp of that karate chop, Holdem. The hand was at the wrong angle.

Finally, the show gets funny again. There’s the Zero we know.

I love the sense of scale the animators have demonstrated with the spells. Just saying that before I have no more chances to.

Ooh! Oh, that man. I actually side with Holdem on this one, he deserved that punch.

“I-“ – Ooh, at that moment I got completely engrossed in the cliffhanger. Normally shows don’t cut off in the middle of a sentence, do they?

Royal Tutor 11

I can’t believe they forcibly took Gregor. Isn’t there some kind of legal offence for-oh wait. That’s called kidnapping. (partially sarcastic)

I’ve always found it interesting that the princes have to refer to the king as such, rather than “dad”. That seems to be a problem in every single piece of media you get about royalty, although these guys have a conscious sort of “I am no longer the king, but your father” (and vice versa) switch which is controlled by Viktor.

Oh, so it’s basically all the Dickensian stuff you get in Oliver Twist…(I haven’t read it, but you know how it is with classics *rolls eyes*).

Heine’s movements are believable, but there’s some suspension of belief needed for Viktor’s (because he faints a little too fast, I think).

Welp, this ain’t quite crying material, but I can tell there was a “climax” where the audience was expected to cry. Knowing this is anime-only material keeps my eyes dry, I guess. However, knowing that Heine’s resigned as Royal Tutor really made my heart drop…after all, this is the second last episode, and I’ve really had fun watching these princes and their diminuitive tutor.

Royal Tutor 12

Bruno really likes Gendo poses, doesn’t he?

Heine’s voice is great for a noob VA. It really sells the character.

I always thought “hai-neh” was a weird pronunciation, but that’s what it says in the katakana.

Seeing Heine tell others their strengths really makes me feel like I’m missing them already, in a good way. I’m not tearing up yet, but it’s real heartwarming and I know if I were in the same situation, I’d cry too.

“Goodbye” isn’t quite “excuse me”, but I guess it works context-wise.

This is one of those shows where “show, don’t tell” works well and I think the show’s nailed it for the most part.

University degrees don’t necessrily make good tutors. Any student knows that, especially in uni.

I can see why even the author cried at this now, even though I’m still not crying.

W-Who’s that? With the dark hair? Eins???

Ah, there’s my answer. It was indeed Eins. Why does he have dark hair???

Welp, there’s one finale for the spring season over. The anime staff really couldn’t have done too much about Eins, though, which sucks. Come back another time for a different show, ‘kay?

Kado 10

I’m in that weird stage where I want to like Kado, but because everyone’s jumped ship, I won’t want to like it either…what a weird thing peer pressure is. *feels like crying*

I feel like I’m in Superhero Project (one of my stories) where protag Keisuke wakes up in a white expansive room to be trained in his powers. Only this time, they gave the room fractals.

Interesting. It’s like an alien LINE convo.

Sarasouju tree…apparently, it’s this thing. Commonly known as “sal”. I’ve never heard of it, though.

“Humans are ephermeal creatures.” – You remind me of Haibara (Detective Conan).

“There’re guns everywhere in America!” – LOL, that sure ain’t the truth, as much as America has gun problems.

Let’s play another common anime game. It’s called “Spot the Main Character from their Hair Colour”.

(SPOILERS for White Parasite from now on!) zaShunina’s still teetering on “cuckoo” from his facial expressions here. It’s sad, because I wanted him to be mysterious and beautiful like La Luna forever...that’s why I killed La Luna off!

*sigh* Okay, evil mastermind pretender, put your hands back on and please just negotiate like you wanted to in the beginning. (*on the brink of tears* Hey, I realised something. I keep making comparisons to White Parasite, but people find it confusing. By making those comparisons, I seem to have almost jinxed Kado to be this way.)

*crying because Shindo* La Luna’s force of living was the goodwill that it used to create its powers. Does that mean the anisotropic run off trust in the same way? (By the way, please don’t resurrect Shindo. That would break the laws of reality as we know it – even anisotropic laws.) (end spoilers)

Welp, I guess not. B-But, my dreams just got ruined by Saraka kissing Shindo (although the Kado tag spoilered it for me anyway)…

Pffffft. Okkkkkkay, Captain Shang, hold up!

Shindo’s angry face at Saraka wearing his shirt had me dying. He really is Captain Shang.

Kado. You were so beautiful at first. I placed my faith in you. B-But you changed, and now all I can do is see you through as you become a cliché fest I could have easily created with my own hands. In fact, I did create a Kado with my own hands - White Parasite. So I am the one to blame…I will have to see this through as I have seen through White Parasite.

Boku no Hero Academia 25

Well, that certainly threw me for a loop. Between two forces of roughly even power, it’s unpredictable who’ll win, but the ability to humanise a character comes with weaknesses. I know that already, as a writer and reader of hero stories.

All Might is such a fatherly type. I don’t think I could write a character like him – both OP yet grounded at the same time.

Plus Ultra!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, the woman with red streaks is his…aunty? Sister? I’m not sure at all.

Aw, this Shouto segment was just too good. I’m worried about Iida though, because from the Stain stuff I’ve seen floating around, he will not take the defeat of his bro lightly. Also, amazarashi is coming in the next part of BnHA! I loved Speed to Masatsu, so it’s good to meet him again here.

Tsukigakirei 10

“An Encouragement of Learning” is a Fukuzawa work.

From Kawagoe to Chiba it really is about 2 hrs. Look.

Oh great. Bad CGI people strike again…

Monzenyokocho.

Did Hira have kawaii eyes just as the other people thrust trash at him?

Imokoi is a Kawagoe specialty involving…wait for it…sweet potatoes. That’s why the sweet potato mascot makes sense.

My eyes!!!!!!!! Bad CGI people stand out more in night scenes (compared to day scenes, of course).

Toki no Kane, apparently also known as the Bell of Time.

The “game” in question, that rock paper scissors, was probably a batsu (penalty) game.

I guess I should’ve guessed Kotarou would’ve gotten angry at Hira eventually. I just didn’t think it would be now.

That shot of Kotarou walking down the street looked a little awkward because it looked like he was walking on a flat surface when it’s actually slanted.

It’s not just my video, is it? Akane’s crying got sped up and that pulled me out of what was meant to be an immersive scene.

Chotto matte means “wait a bit”, but I feel like “I’ll be right there” is warping the meaning a lil’ too much.

Well, I never expected this show to portray anger. It pulled Kotarou’s anger off really well.

I never thought I’d see the day where Kotarou would rely on the potato mascot, either. I like a show that goes out of its way to be unpredictable like this. Too bad it came a little too late in the game.

Tsukigakirei is all about following the heart and not necessarily the mind, so this is a pefect way to show it.

Oh! That was another good unexpected thing, but then they’ve been teasing that since the fireworks. Too bad they kept part of Kotarou’s face hidden right after it.

This end of ep LINE convo is about a couple that can’t sleep, so one of them starts talking about their part time job…then it gets cut off.

Oh, so that’s how Sakura is related to the main events…okay.

Tsukigakirei 11

“To decide that I’m hopeless before I even begin is nothing but laziness.” - Wise words, Dazai.

Were there always two potato mascots at the top of 13.70? I think one appeared there when Kotarou first received his, actually, although I’m not bothered to look…

The people aren’t CGI now…or I’ve somehow gotten used to them…? Either way, they’ve stepped up their animation game (in exchange for ep 12 being late, according to a note on the CR page).

That’s a cute jumper, Akane.

The fact Kotarou changes his message is something I can relate with. Even one forum post can take hours to type, even though time is always never on my side.

What’s that purple thing on the onigiri plate? A pickled plum? No, those are red…

A “root for the underdog” story is a classic, so I can see why Roman’s rooting for Kotarou.

Hahaha…yeah, let’s just sat I can’t understand the science for the life of me and leave it at that. That stuff’s chemistry, I haven’t touched it since I was 14 or 15.

The stuff about circles appears to be on segments, equal angles and so on (you know how you find the angle of a triangle based on where it is in a circle? Yeah, stuff like that).

Oh yeah, I never thought this but…Kawagoe Seminar. It’s named like Sailor Moon’s Crystal Seminar, and for good reason – both are cram schools.

There’s a grade score near Kotarou’s wrist, so understandably he got an A in Japanese.

Parents aren’t like that, Kotarou. They don’t always hope for your failure, they just hope you’ll do well in life…says someone whose parents have aways supported them.

Instead of having CGI people moving, they’ve finally done 2D people. However, the tradeoff is that now the people are not moving, which is just as weird if not even weirder.

“PoPo” is such a weird name for a shop, LOL.

No wait, I take part of my comment about 2D people back. There is still CGI, it’s just less prononced now they’ve bothered to put in 2D background people as well.

That scarf goes well with his outfit…says someone who sucks at coordinating outfits.

Why not just talk with her when you’re ready, Kotarou? If The Royal Tutor taught me anything, it’s that it’s always good to talk things over if you can’t understand each other.

Aitai can mean “want to meet”(like you’re meant to do to make the fish a heart), but the ai is in hiragana (so it doesn’t mean anything) and the kanji for tai used means “red snapper”. As in, the fish.

There’s a lot of ganbaru (try your hardest) used in this ep, and Kotarou says benkyouganbaresou in this “Sorry it didn’t turn out so great” convo. The nuance is therefore lost in the translated version, “I feel like I’m ready to study again starting tomorrow”, although I can’t suggest a better alternative.

Yeah, Kotarou’s mother is right. If you have a normal sleep schedule, you’re able to work better, despite how great it may be to sleep in.

I get easily lost on public transport, so I understand the vibe Kotarou’s parents are giving off.

This ep’s ED LINE convo is two people (one’s a guy, the other I don’t know the gender of) talking about studying and, at the start of the convo, the guy’s mother being angry. At the end of the convo it turns out the guy’s notebook was blank (and that’s the punchline to the convo).

Well, I’ll confirm my lineup for summer here and now. Licensing’s already being doled out as we speak so some of the lineup’s set in stone already. In order of hype:

Definite hype:

Boku no Hero Academia 2* (carryover)

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu*

Reflection*

Nana Maru San Batsu

Kaito x Ansa (already binged Nazotokine to prepare)

Nobunaga no Shinobi ~ Ise to Kanegasaki-hen ~* (see below, carryover)

Medium - low hype:

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

Princess Principal 

Jikan no Shihaisha (seen the first chapter or so of the manga)

Isekai Shokudou* 

18if

Youkai Apato

Clione no Akari

Konbini Kareshi

Zannen Onna

Asterisks mean licensing’s been confirmed already for me as of this post - I’ve asterisked anything confirmed to be by CR this season, because that’s likely to be worldwide bar Asia. Katsugeki is the only known show out of the asterisks that isn’t a CR stream. 

Funi’s opened up its services to my region (due to the CR x Funi merger), I could probably watch 18if there, but 1) I feel like Funi doesn’t have a good enough player, and 2) I feel like it’ll show up on a service that has a better player.

You’ll notice Nobunaga no Shinobi, a carryover from the last season I previously didn’t care for, is on the list. I was looking at YouTube videos of people’s favourite OPs and I fell in love with Shirayuki (by Renka, it’s the OP for the current season) recently, so I binged the existing content in one day. However, it being a short series means it’s not eligible for simulcast commentary and I’ll have to make a separate ranking for short series once I make my year-end rankings (to include ~ Ise to Kanegasaki-hen ~, and because watching Kenka Bancho Otome has screwed my rankings over enough as it is). After all, my 2016 ranking policy was “a show I saw at least once over in 2016 and had at least one seasonal entry in 2016″, which if applied to this year would make Nobunaga no Shinobi eligible, but it would be unfair to pit it against any shows with standard 24 min eps.

[asktheguardians]

Ch.30 Big Race

Back on Excalibur hour has passes by and the others are looking for Shadow after that eating. Skyla, Holly, and Guider we’re flying around looking everywhere but Guider then see him on a pole sleeping on it. He then shouted at him to wake him up which made him fall onto Chase’s arms.

Guider: Shadow it’s almost time for your race! Look at the time! Shadow: Well…I don’t know where the race is??? Also thanks for catching me Chase. Chase: No prob *drop him on the ground* He He Guider: It’s ok I’ll take you all there. Klondike: Wait what about us? Guider: Oh you two can come we prepared like chairs for those who can’t fly and stuff. Skyla: Let’s Go! *Both Holly and Gloomy fist pump the air*

As they all hurry to the big race that Shadow accepted to join in, Alex is having trouble with the chief of the village.

Chief of Excalibur: I do feared he is coming back again….at a time like this….on this day…. Alex: Please Chief we can help I brought the Guardians. Chief of Excalibur: Yes but…He might still hold the grudge….

other place…

Crazh: Dude why are we even here for it’s just a bunch of mountains and fogs? Leo Jet: Cause today is the day we’re going up there through those fogs! Zerk: You’re crazy aren’t ya. Rumor heard if you go in that fog you be heading to a mountain to your death. Leo Jet: And I know my way through it! Just follow me alright and try to catch up!

Leo then jump off the ship and open his wings which he then leads the way to the fog while Zerk follow him by sailing the ship. Crazh still question himself what is with Leo and this fog.

Horns began to play and the crowds are going wild when the race is about to began. Shadow is rushing into the race which he is quickly signing the paper in front. The announcer began a speech to start the race while the others are sitting in the chairs to watch the race but still waiting for Shadow to show up.

Announcer: And to tell you all today is a special event and we have a very special guest! A new Knight of the Wind is here to join in the race! Once he is here we will began the race…..any minute now….

Shadow is rushing in the hall running fast as he can but he keep thinking he is getting lost in the hall to the race. The crowd are questioning and still waiting for him.

Klondike: I really hope he isn’t just running in some hall in circle. Chase: Maybe he’s just nervous? Klondike: Well I guess or he ate too much from that food….those things are just too good.

He is running more faster and panting alot in the halls as he heard the crowd voice.

Shadow: I’M HERE *panting and breathing* I just have to use the bathroom sorry!

Announcer: AND THE KNIGHT OF THE WIND HAS ARRIVED! *crowd cheering*

Shadow felt embarrassed but all he can do is just wave at the crowd and walk to the starting line by Bolt. Klondike then notice he’s not wearing his glasses but Gloomy poke his hand with his glasses in her hand.

Klondike: Gloomy why you holding his glasses he’s gonna need that? Gloomy: He got goggles that are use for this race so he told me to hang on to them. Guider: Don’t worried if anyone wears glasses we give them goggles like glasses that are used only in sports with the same glasses view. Beside I kind of lost my glasses when it falls of my face which made these now. Chase: Very Interesting…..*put his glasses on* wow his eyes are blurry and giving me little headache.

Shadow then see Bolt and gave him a pat on the shoulder saying good luck but Bolt gives him a hand shake.

Announcer: Looks like our racers are very pumped up for this race! Now that our last racer is here we can began the big race! Now Racers! Get Ready To Fly!

5….4…….3…………2…………1…

GO!!!!!!!!

The racers then run off the bridge and flap their wings and soaring fast to the line. Shadow then follow along and then jump far. As he open his wings he’s coming up to the racers fast. He then coming up to one till he notice a Soraz on the side is holding a camera shooting a shot of the racer. Back at the starting line it showed the racers on screen so people can see the race and knows who’s in first and last place. It then showed who’s in place and it showed Shadow in last place. But then slowly catching up to 6th place. Back in the race Shadow then seeing the Soraz diving into the clouds which he thinks it’s the line so he follow them which turns out there is an obstacles in the way.

Announcer: Looks like this might be his first time racing in the Sky Race? To tell you all how it goes there will be obstacles along the race and you must go through them. Letssee if the knight of the wind can go through them!

Skyla: Man I wish I can join the fun! Those obstacles look so easy and fun! Klondike: You could of ask. But these might be easy or really fun for him since he train himself to flying. Guider: Lets see those training helps him in this.

Shadow then flying through the obstacles fast as in he zipping through them like a fly. He is now in 4th places and is catching up faster. They then came to the next course which looks like a bunch of rain clouds. As he fly in he notice it isn’t rain it’s hailing. the hail hitting his wings is felt like he’s getting pinch by them.

Announcer: Looks like the Knight of the Wind is getting hailed on in that course. In this course you have to go through the hail storm which felt like your getting hit by pebbles or something?

Shadow *on screen*: HE’S NOT WRONG!

Skyla: Come on Shadow you can handle those hails!!!

The hail storm is slowing him down which he then felt as if his body heat is getting hotter and hail hitting him getting lighter like melting ice. He then continue on and going fast through the storm. As he’s catching up he then see Bolt right in front of him.

Shadow: Hey Bolt! Bolt: For a new knight you’re not that bad and i can’t believe you’re in-

Announcer: THE KNIGHT OF THE WIND WENT THROUGH THOSE HAILSTORM FAST AND NOW IN 2ND PLACE!!!

Shadow: Huh didn’t know there were people in front earlier I thoguht i might be in 3rd or 5th or something Bolt: Welp we’re in the final course lets see if you can beat it.*soaring to the course fast*

As Shadow then stop for a sec to take a look at the course his eyes wide open which showed him a huge pillar made of clouds and Bolt is flying way high up.

Announcer: OH MY GOD! We’ve have arrived the final obstacle of the race the Pillar of Bravery! You can’t go around it you must fly as high as you can and come down sonic speed to the finish line which is straight ahead! But mess it up when coming down will cause serious injuries so be careful racers!

Klondike: what's so brave about that thing? Guider: Well this test how brave and how skills the flyers can be when coming down really fast and try to turn up using that speed and go straight to the finish line. Those who tried it get their wings broke and body very injure so for example it’s like how you guys have those car crashes. Skyla: Hmmmm!!!!! I wanna join in so bad!!!! *Holly patting Skyla head* Chase: Let’s see if Shadow can do that?

Shadow then fly up meeting up with Bolt as both going first and second place back and forth which is making the crowd going wild. As they reach to the top Shadow then look down seeing the finish line. Bolt then takes the lead going down fast and so he goes in for the dive with his wings straight fold coming in faster which then meet with Bolt.

Shadow: This race is amazing! If you or me win this race I wanted to say you Soraz are amazing and you’re a great flyer mate! It’s good to race with you! Bolt: In all my life I never heard anyone said that for a long time! And it’s an honor to meet and race you Shadow! You may not be a Soraz but you got the spirit of one!

As they both look down coming in mach speed both have open their wings and created a huge sonic boom coming in very fast to the finish line.

Announcer: AND THE WINNER IS!!!!!

When he about to announce they come into the finish line with a huge wind right behind them blowing away the crowd off their seats and no one look to see who won when the cloud uncover the screen.

Announcer: Um…looks like we can’t tell who won so that’s why we have the camera here in the first place! Let’s see that in slow motion!

Everyone seeing the screen and all are quiet and the other racers come in the finish line to see who won.  When they pause the screen they then zoom in and turns out the winner is-

Announcer: l-looks like i-it’s…IT’S A TIE!!!!! For the first time it’s a tie!!!!

Bolt: Wow….you are really something Shadow *let out his hand for a shake* Shadow: *panting* yeah you too mate *shake his hand*

Announcer: What a good sportsmanship folks well we can just say this but racers! All of you did amazing out there Congratulation!

Everyone clap their hands and the racers are waving at the crowds and patting each other on the shoulder and back.

???: You Gotta Be Kidding Me a Tie!!!! Have You Gotten Slower Knight!!!

Everyone looking around and Shadow is looking fast ashe know that voice anywhere. He look up and see who it is.

Chief of Excalibur: I’ve fear he’ll be here… Alex: You!

The person walks to the announcer and then grab the microphone.

Shadow: Leo Jet! *pull his axe out*

Leo: Hello everyone….do any of you miss your old friend Leo?

(Ch.31 Revenge)