#why do none of her outfits utilize it as a color?

[parachutingkitten]

well... it's different...

and what in the actual world is going on with her mouth here???

what is this?

why does she now have wings on her face?

[melishade]

Attack on Prime The Future Anthology: Día de los Muertos

Main Story

Burying the Dead

Halloween

Previous Halloween Bonus: Dia de Los Muertos

The AOT crew gets to celebrate Día de los Muertos properly.

Optimus was forced to take a break...by everyone. Which he did find counterproductive in hindsight. He was the savior of humanity and he just helped free the Eldian people. He had to utilize that to the fullest extent possible by helping the people rebuild. But the Autobots insisted on him taking a break after Megatron decided to tell on him to Ratchet!

So now, he decided to go back to Earth. He thought maybe he could help the U.S. government out with a few things as thanks for their assistance during the Rumbling. Many of the civilians they had saved were still there, and were excited to see him again, so he was prepared to do his best to lift their spirits again, until he spotted Jack, Miko, and Rafael walking down the hall together in a heated discussion. He politely excused himself from the crowd before following after them.

"Okay, why are you having such a hang up about us celebrating Día de los Muertos in Mexico City?" Rafael asked.

"Look, as much as I would like to go down there, none of them know the language and they would be easily identified as tourists," Jack reminded, "Someone could rob them."

"Dude, they're all trained war vets," Miko reminded.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. The robber's gonna get hurt and were going to have a public incident," Jack declared, "We can have it in Los Angeles. We're somehow able to speak English with them. It'll be easier for them instead of having straight up Spanish speakers."

"Seriously, how are we able to understand them?" Miko asked.

"I don't want to think about the logistics of that," Rafael proclaimed.

"Jack, Miko, Rafael." The three of them turned to see Optimus approaching them and smiled.

"Optimus!" They all ran up to him and hugged the holoform.

"Wait, this is still allowed, right?" Miko gestured to the group hug.

Optimus chuckled in response. "It is fine."

"Wow, this is actually so weird to do," Jack confessed as they let go of Optimus, "So what are you doing on Earth?"

"The...Autobots recommended that I take a break," Optimus reluctantly admitted.

"Ha!" Miko cackled.

"Wait, this is great!" Rafael smiled, "Do you want to help us take the Survey Corps to Mexico City for Día de los Muertos?!"

"Raf!" Jack yelled.

"Of course," Optimus immediately offered.

"Wait, really?!" Miko gasped with excitement.

"I do not see why not," Optimus shrugged, "The Autobots do not require my assistance for now and I have also wanted to show the Survey Corps parts of Earth."

"You can also be another translator for us!" Rafael added.

"Jack, you're the odd one out," Miko teased.

Jack groaned in defeat, knowing he was outvoted. "Fine, we're going to Mexico, but we need to scope out the area first."

"YES!" Miko and Rafael cheered.

"I will help assist you in this endeavor," Optimus declared.

"By the way, I love this new you!" Miko grabbed Optimus' arm and pulled him forward.

"Okay, look, if we are going to do Mexico, maybe we should find a smaller city instead of Mexico City," Jack suggested.

"We could do Oaxaca instead," Rafael said as he looked up the information surrounding that particular city's Day of the Dead event, "Only 270,000 people."

"Oaxaca it is," Jack decided.

==

A few days later

“So, where are we going?” Jean asked in confusion as a groundbridge opened up in front of the Survey Corps and the Warriors.

"We are going out of the US!" Miko exclaimed with excitement.

"To where?" Armin asked.

"And what the hell are you two wearing?" Levi gestured to the outfits. Miko was wearing a dress, where the top was white and short sleeved, while the bottom was long and pink. Colorful flowers were stitched into the hem of the dress. Atop of her head, she wore a headband adorned with vibrant yellow flowers. Meanwhile, Jack was wearing a white long-sleeved button up, striped black and white pants, and red bandana tied around his neck.

"It's a surprise!" Miko winked, "Now c'mon!"

"You should see what Raf is wearing," Jack grinned as they all walked through the groundbridge. When they reached the other side, they were all stunned to find themselves on the outskirts of a city, filled with vibrant colors and...skeletons?

"What the..." Annie trailed off.

"Let's go!" Miko started running towards the town.

"Wait, Miko!" Sasha cried out as she and the 104th ran after her.

"Wait for me!" Hanji yelled as they ran after them

"What is this place?" Colt asked, "It's so colorful."

"Oaxaca, Mexico," Jack answered the rest of them, "We figured a smaller town, instead of some place like Mexico City would be a better place to start."

"Is it safe?" Pieck asked.

"Yeah, we did a sweep of the area before coming here," Jack reassured, "And Raf and Optimus have also been waiting in town too. So, come on."

"Race you there!" Gabi sprinted forward.

"Gabi!" Falco and Colt yelled as they ran after her.

"Hey, you don't understand the language! We need to stay together!" Jack bolted after them.

"It smells nice," Pieck commented as the rest of them walked into town together.

"Miko, wait!" Armin called for her as they continued to run through the town. The 104th were taken aback by all the sights and smells but they still push onward, dodging cars and people as they followed Miko. Mikasa yelped when she managed to dodge a few people that had white face paint to mirror that of a skeleton. Sasha's mouth watered at the sight of bread but slapped herself in the fact to keep herself focused. Hanji couldn't help but smile as they spotted women holding bundles of orange flowers that almost reminded them of a sunset.

Armin took in his surroundings, the cobbled pavement, the vibrant buildings and its unique decor, the decorations that hung from the rooftops, depicting skeletons and flowers. But...Armin was noticing something else. He was certain that this was a different language. A different country. But...but it almost sounded like...he could understand it?

"Hey, help me move these marigolds here!"

"Tamales! Get your pork tamales!"

"Don't mess up the sugar skulls!"

"Mama, when is the parade happening?!"

"You came out of the temple one day, Llorona, I saw you when you passed, You came out of the temple one day, Llorona, I saw you when you passed, A beautiful dress you wore, Llorona, I thought you were the Virgin A beautiful dress you wore, Llorona, I thought you were the Virgin."

"Hey! I still can't really run well with this leg!" Jean shouted, causing Armin to snap out of his spiral and look back for Jean. He saw his friend somewhat limping over the uneven street. Even with the fake foot and the sneaker covering it, the weight of the leg was still something he wasn't used to when it came to running. Armin found himself running back to Jean and grabbing his hand before pulling him forward.

"Miko, slow down!" Colt shouted for her as the Warrior Cadets managed to catch up with them.

"Raf said to meet up at the town square!" Miko hollered.

"How do we know when we get there?!" Mikasa yelled.

Miko merely pointed forward as she continued running. They all looked ahead and were taken aback at the giant skeleton statue adorned in a dress similar to Miko's. The skeleton had decorations on its face and a headband with those same orange flowers. As they ran past it, they saw some people taking pictures with the giant skeleton.

"When did skeletons become so festive?!" Jean gawked.

They all had stopped running when they had arrived at the town square. There was quite a crowd at the center of the town, talking amongst themselves while band members continued to play the music of their culture. They were confused when they saw two people wearing giant costumes of a man and a woman, dancing around to the music. They also saw a few other people in dresses and costumes, dancing around with baskets on their heads or with ballons in their hands. A church sat at the center of the town itself, and carved within its very walls were the depictions of people clasping their hands in prayer.

"There she is!" Sasha pointed to see Miko running up to two people and hugging the smaller one. When they got closer, they were all shocked to find that one of them was Optimus in his holoform. What was the Prime doing here?

"Optimus!" Armin called out, causing Optimus to turn to them.

"Where are Jack and the others?" Optimus asked them.

"Taking their sweet ass time," Hanji panted to catch their breath.

"I need to sit down. I was not ready for that much running," Jean groaned as he rubbed the flesh of his leg.

"Well Oaxaca isn't as big as Mexico City, so at least be grateful for that." They all turned their attention to the person that Miko was standing next to. They gasped as they realized it was Rafael, looking vastly different. Instead of his lab coat and sneakers, he was wearing a black suit with golden embroidery. He wore dress shoes instead of sneakers, and a black hat with golden embroidery sat atop his head. He didn't wear his glasses, and his face looked like that of a skeleton. The black sockets painted over his eyes were accentuated by orange paint to mirror flower petals.

"Raf?!" they all yelled.

"In the flesh," he grinned, tipping his hat upward.

"Wow, the suit is so nice!" Sasha marveled as she began to pat him down.

"It's finally good to see you in something other than your lab coat," Jack remarked as he arrived with the rest of them.

"Well this is something from my cousin. I'm gonna need to give it back to him later," Rafael shrugged.

"So...what is all this?" Erwin couldn't help but ask.

"And why are there so many skeletons?" Pieck asked, "I thought this was a Halloween thing."

Rafael removed his hat from his head and extended his arm outwards. "Death is a natural part of life. Skeletons will be all that remains of our earthly existence. But it is not something that we should be afraid. For even though only bones remain, it does not mean that we and our ancestors are completely gone from this world. Our ancestors and loved ones will always live on in our hearts and our memories."

Rafael placed the hat over his chest. "Buenas tardes, señores y señoras." Rafael grinned to Falco and Gabi. "Y niños pequeños." Rafael then bowed. "Bienvenidos a Oaxaca para Día de los Muertos. Or Day of the Dead."

Armin blinked in surprise. He...he understood that. He said...good afternoon...and welcome. He looked over at Hanji wanting to see if they understood, but Hanji didn't appear to. But they clapped their hands with excitement while the Warriors and Warriors Cadets stared in confusion.

"Day of the Dead?" Annie asked in confusion.

"The day that we honor our family and ancestors and those that have passed on." Rafael spun his hat in his hands before placing it on his head, "Now normally, this event goes on for about a week, each day honoring a specific group of people that have passed on. But officially, it's on November 1st and 2nd."

"There's a lot of stuff that goes into Day of the Dead and what we can do overall, but since it's not a lot of time, we're going to do a small tour, get something to eat, enjoy the parade, and just hang out at the cemetery with some altars," Jack explained.

"And I know this is still festival and this is a culture shock for everyone-!"

"There are giant skeletons everywhere!" Gabi gestured to her surroundings.

"We are going to be respectful!" Rafael placed a finger over her mouth, "We are not going to say anything offensive. And we are not going to disparage or insult the dead. Everyone clear on that?"

The others nodded in agreement or shrugged.

"Alright, let's go." Rafael beckoned them all to follow him. As they did, Rafael began to explain to them all the history of the holiday and how it developed and changed overtime. They passed by shops and people, and Rafael explained the importance of each. How the bread made during this holiday was meant to represent the cycle of life and death due to its round shape. The sugar skulls that were being made and placed on the altars. That unfortunately got a little bit of protest from them, since sugar was already considered so rare to the people from the island and people were using it as a decoration. Rafael quickly had to explain the cultural significance of these decorations and how it even predated the colonization of Mesoamerican empires for them to calm down. Additionally, Sasha kept eyeing the bread that was being made in the store like a feral animal, and Miko had to grab her and haul her over her shoulder, getting a few stares from the locals and the other tourists.

Rafael had later shown them the murals, altars, and decorations made only in those orange flowers, explaining that they were called marigolds, or cempasúchil, and the smell of these flowers were used to guide the spirits to their altars. He also commented on the fact that these flowers also came in different colors.

"So can we get a headband like that?" Hanji pointed to the item that resided on Miko's head.

Jack hummed at that before turning to Miko and Rafael. "Rock, Paper, Scissors."

The trio did the game, and both had managed to beat Jack, who had gotten scissors. Jack groaned while Miko laughed.

"Hey, that means one of you is responsible for food," Jack smirked.

"Oh what?!" Miko yelled as Jack stopped a passing vendor selling these flower headbands.

Later, Mikasa found herself touching the flowers adorned on her head as the group arrived at a local restaurant to eat. She actually did like the design and the vibrant mix of orange and red. She looked over at Armin, adorned in his own orange flower crown, and the two smiled at each other. They looked over at Optimus, and were still surprised at the fact that Optimus was wearing a marigold headband of his own.

"Una mesa para...." Rafael began counting the people that were there, "dieciseis, por favor."

"Ustedes tenien espera para cuarenta y cinco minutos," the waiter informed.

"¿Pueden llamar mi celular cuando la mesa está lista?" Rafael asked.

"Por supesto. Escribe aquí." The waiter tapped the screen and Rafael typed his phone number into the system.

"Gracias." Rafael waved before walking over to the others. "We have to wait about forty five minutes for a table."

Sasha whined in response. "The food smells so good! Why can't we eat it now?!"

"This time of year is always busy, and we're sixteen people," Rafael explained as they all sat outside and watched the people pass by.

"Well technically fifteen." Hanji pointed over to Optimus, who merely sat down on the ground.

"I hope you guys are fine with all of this walking," Jack addressed Pieck, Jean, and Levi.

"I'm just really glad we get to take a break," Pieck confessed as she stretched her arms out, using her cane as support, "Sorry I didn't say anything. I didn't want to slow the tour down, and this is really exciting."

"You should speak up next time," Jack advised, "We don't want you guys getting hurt on our watch."

"Oh..." Pieck could only emote, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Kind of wish the road wasn't so bumpy," Levi commented.

"Sorry, Levi," Rafael apologized.

"It's fine. This is still a nice experience," Levi admitted.

"Is that a smile I see?" Hanji grinned as they got in his face.

"Fuck off." Levi shoved Hanji away from him.

"So what are we going to do while we wait?" Armin asked, "Can we go look at something else?"

"I'd actually like to take a break," Jean confessed, "Never really walked this long on my leg before."

"Oh! I have my face paints with Optimus!" Miko exclaimed, "Who wants to look like a skeleton?!"

"Me!" Gabi and Falco raised their hands with excitement.

"That's not offensive for you, is it?" Jack asked Rafael.

"Miko knows how to face paint. She's not going to mess it up," Rafael waved off.

"Alright, Boss Bot, with me! I don't know where you parked!" Miko beckoned the Prime to follow her and he followed her silently.

"It's...weird..." Annie admitted, "Seeing death celebrated like this."

"I think this is a good way to cope with death," Hanji admitted, "I know Mobilit would've loved all the colors here."

"Rafael, you've mention before that this holiday has intertwined itself with Catholicism and the religious figures like God, Jesus, and Mary," Erwin began, "Are these figures real?"

"Hard to say," Rafael admitted, "Figures like Jesus and Mary have been told about throughout history and worshipped, but so have other religions and religious figures. I would like to believe they are real, but sometimes I have my doubts."

"Although, it's kind of weird that we have proof that Optimus' god and devil exist but not ours," Jack commented dryly.

"Optimus has gods?" Colt asked in surprise.

"Yep." Rafael said with a pop, "Obviously we can't talk about it here, but we can give you a run down about it later.”

Armin, Mikasa, Pieck, Erwin, Hanji, and Levi spared quick glances at each other. They all knew who Rafael and Jack were talking about, but silently agreed to keep their mouths shut. Armin then turned his attention to the people in the road, watching them pass by and talk among themselves. He swears that he can hear and understand them...but he didn't understand. Why? Why was this happening now? He wasn't able to understand Miko when she threw around phrases in the Hizuru language. He was able to understand Cybertronian like Hanji, but...why was he beginning to understand this language?

"Hey, um...what are they singing?" Armin snapped out his thoughts when Colt spoke up and pointed across the street. It was a group of men, all wearing the same fancy red suits, holding instruments and singing along as they walked along the street.

"Actually, we've been hearing a lot of music throughout the streets by people like them," Hanji commented.

"Oh, yeah, they're a mariachi band," Rafael explained, "Those guys play music all the time. And they're singing a classic: El cascabel. It's about a guy hiding his rattle snake from the government because snake charmers were banned."

"Could you sing it to us in our language?" Falco asked, pointing to himself.

"Doesn't really translate well to English," Rafael answered.

"We're back!" Miko announced as she arrived with Optimus, holding the paint kit in her hands, "Who wants to go first?!"

"ME!" Gabi and Falco raised their hands.

Rafael phone buzzed in his pocket before pulling it out and staring at the contact number. "Table's ready."

"Aw," They both groaned.

"We can do it after we eat," Jack reassured them before turning to Rafael and Miko and grinning, "Who's paying?"

"I'll pay," Rafael groaned in defeat, "Meaning Miko's in charge of ofrendas."

"Fine, whatever," Miko relented in defeat as they all walked inside.

Moments later, everyone's mouth watered at the sight of the feast before them. Wrapped corn, stew, salad, something covered in cheese, bread with meat inside, bread that looked like skulls, beans, chips, and dark drinks that smelled sweeter than coffee.

"Okay, so these are pork tamales, enchiladas, chicken pozole, pan de muertos, corn, salad, beans, tortilla chips, and hot chocolate," Rafael listed.

"This is...a lot," Pieck was at a loss for words.

"We are fifteen people!" Miko quickly snatched a tamale.

"Mine!" Sasha snatched the next one.

"Can I get some of the pozole?" Armin stretched his bowl out.

"No, this is too sweet." Levi immediately put the hot chocolate down, "Give me the beans and salad."

"This is so good!" Colt spoke with his mouth full of corn.

"I can help with serving the food," Optimus offered as he grabbed the pan de muertos and offered some to each person. Annie hesitantly grabbed one for herself and stared at Optimus, but the Prime paid her no mind as he continued to pass the bread around. Annie took a bite out of the bread, and nearly gasped at how delicious and sweet it was before she began scarfing it down.

"God, look at you go," Jean marveled as he took a bite out of his enchilada, "Nevermind! I'm gonna look like an idiot too!" Jean began eating his food at a faster pace with his fork.

Mikasa couldn't help but lick her lips after she drank some of the pozole that was poured directly into her bowl. It was a little bit spicy but savory. It reminded her of the soba she had with Kenshin and Kiyomi back in Hizuru. She then used some of the tortilla chips to scoop out the chicken and vegetables inside and hummed with delight at the taste of it.

"Erwin! It's so spicy!" Hanji quickly drank some water that was at the table.

"Weak," Levi commented.

"It is a little spicy," Erwin agreed with Hanji as he continued to eat his own food, "But it's good. Better than just plain meat."

Levi snorted at that. "Meat's considered a rare delicacy back home, and here, they've managed to do a bunch of crazy things with it."

"Um, thank you Optimus," Falco said as he took the bread from the plate before Optimus set it back on the table, "You're not going to eat anything?"

"I do not require sustenance in this form," Optimus explained.

"Remember, Megatron didn't eat in front of us," Gabi reminded him.

"Oh...oh wow how did no one notice?" Falco asked.

"Probably because everyone was scared of Buckethead to question it." Rafael reached out for the tamale.

“Honestly, I did question it but never pressed further,” Pieck admitted, “I probably should have.”

“Can we not talk about him while we’re eating?” Annie demanded.

"Life is beautiful!" Sasha started crying with a mouth full of food, gaining the attention of a few other customers in the restaurant.

"Ellos nunca comieron comida mexicana!" Rafael informed them, "Están muy felices." That got laughs out of a few of the patrons, but Armin couldn't help but stare in surprise.

"Can we eat like this all the time?" Gabi asked as she took a bite out of her bread.

"If we ate like this all the time, we'd be broke," Miko dryly commented.

"Once in a while is fine," Jack reassured, "Although, we're probably going to have to prep for Thanksgiving."

"What's that?" Sasha demanded.

"You'll find out in a few weeks," Miko warned.

"At the very least, whatever's left we can take home," Jack stated, "We're paying for it."

"I'm paying for it," Rafael corrected.

"I'll help out with the tip," Jack offered.

"It better be a good tip because this is really good food." Rafael pointed at his dish with a tortilla chip before taking a bite out of it.

"We get to take this with us?!" Sasha grinned with delight.

"Sasha, calm down," Jean warned her.

"We could definitely save this for Historia and Ymir," Armin declared, "I still feel bad that their missing out on stuff like this because they're busy with politics."

"Okay, we will be absolutely sure to include them in Thanksgiving," Jack promised.

"Let's just same them food before Sasha eats it all!" Jean accused her as she grabbed the bowl of chips. Sasha glared at Jean before setting the bowl down.

==

Later

"That was satisfying!" Hanji patted their belly as they made their way out of the restaurant and into the crowded street. Jack made sure to give a proper tip to the waiter and apologized for the ruckus everyone else might've caused. Armin was holding the leftovers for Historia and Ymir that he intended to give them personally.

"I think I ate too much," Gabi moaned.

"Are you in pain?" Optimus asked her as he kneeled down.

"No, just stuffed," Gabi answered. Gabi was surprised when Optimus offered his back to her.

"I can carry you on my back if you are tired to walk," Optimus offered her.

"...Thank you." Gabi awkwardly climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Optimus stood up with Gabi, causing everyone to gawk in surprise. Gabi's face was flushed with embarrassment, but Optimus didn't seem bothered. Miko merely took out her phone and snapped a picture before sending it to both Jack and Rafael.

"Alright, so we're a little ahead of schedule." Rafael looked down at the time on his phone, "We can sit somewhere and relax and wait for the parade to start or we can go to get some ofrendas."

"What is an ofrenda?" Mikasa tried her best to pronounce the word.

"An altar for a deceased loved one," Rafael explained, "Usually they are a lot bigger, but we can always make or buy a smaller one from around here."

"But there have been altars with pictures of the deceased," Pieck chimed in, "We don't have that."

Rafael rummaged through his jacket and pulled out small photos of Connie, Kenny, Reiner, Porco, Bertholdt, Nile, and a few members of the Survey Corps. "Did quite a bit of scrubbing through Megatron's memories to find pictures that weren't compromising. You can use them for your ofrenda."

"Reiner?" Gabi raised her head to see the photo of her cousin. Optimus walked over to Rafael, allowing Gabi to take it from him.

"Thank you." Gabi was starting to cry as she held onto the photo.

"This was the main reason that we did this." Rafael passed the photo of Connie to Sasha and Jean, "So you guys could find a healthy way to deal with your grief." Rafael passed the pictures of the Survey Corps and Nile to Hanji and Erwin, while Rafael handed him the picture of Kenny. "And to also introduce you to other aspects of Earth."

"This really is a kind gesture," Erwin praised the children.

"I mean, we're all friends now, right?" Miko shrugged as Rafael gave the pictures of Porco and Bertholdt to Pieck and Annie, "So why not?"

Armin noticed the way Rafael spared a glance both his and Mikasa's way, but he didn't say anything to them.

"Oh, what's that?!" Hanji put the pictures away before pointing towards the sound of music over the line of people in front of them.

"Guess the parade's here sooner rather than later," Jack remarked as the Survey Corps and the Warriors managed to worm through the crowd to find a good visual. As they walked down the line of people, Armin felt a tap on his shoulder and he and Mikasa turned their attention to Rafael.

"Hey..." Armin could see Rafael was nervous through all of that face paint, "I...I have one of Eren...if you two want it..."

"...No." Armin decided, "I...I'm not in a good place when it comes to Eren."

"I...I don't want to see it either," Mikasa admitted, "At least not now."

Rafael nodded his head in understanding before going over to Optimus and Gabi, the girl still whimpering over Reiner's photo. They both saw Rafael speak with Optimus before handing him the photo. Both veterans caught the swirl of emotions in Optimus' eyes before he quietly took the photo and thanked Rafael.

"Oh their costumes look so cool!" Hanji yelled, snapping Armin and Mikasa out of their thoughts. They saw that the rest of them managed to find a spot to look at the parade, and Jean beckoned them to come quickly. The remaining four followed, and peered their heads over a few other people to see the parade that was happening. Armin and Mikasa were taken aback by the sight while Rafael smiled.

The parade was filled with people in colorful costumes. Some of them looked like skeletons, others were wearing gorgeous dresses or fancy suits with face paint of skeletons. Some of the women danced in sync, raising their dresses high to show off the color. Other women carried baskets over their head and danced in step with each other. Some of the men in the parade played their instruments while others held up giant signs and balloons. Some of the people clapped in delight as the performers activated fireworks and spun around with them. They even saw giant parade floats with skeletons on them.

"This is so much better than Liberio!" Falco shouted over the noise.

"¡Que viva México!" Rafael chanted, earning cheers from the crowd and laughter from the performers.

"They're going to make their way into the town square," Jack informed, "They'll probably start dancing over there. C'mon."

"Don't tell us we're running! We just ate!" Jean whined as they followed Jack.

"Move people! My best friend's in a wheelchair and he will run over your feet if you don't move!" Hanji shouted.

"Hanji, you don't have to do that," Levi proclaimed.

"It helps us move faster." Hanji jumped onto the back of Levi's wheelchair before the Ackerman moved himself forward.

"Your weight doesn't help me!" Levi hissed at them.

"I can always sit in your lap!" Hanji teased, earning a groan from the Captain.

After some time, they had arrived at the town square as the parade continued to trickle in, followed by the crowd of people watching it. They all began to dance and sing along to the music in their native tongue.

"Anyone want to dance?!" Rafael offered.

"Oh! ME!" Hanji exclaimed with excitement, walking up to Rafael.

"We don't really know the dance!" Jean retorted.

"We'll teach you!" Rafael declared before taking Jean's hand and pulling him forward.

"Well, I'm gonna join to tease Jean!" Sasha grinned as she jumped into the fray.

"Anyone want their faces painted?" Miko showed off the paint kit with a grin.

"Me!" Gabi climbed down Optimus' back before running up to Miko.

"I want some too!" Falco raised his hand.

"Alright!" Miko opened the paint kit, "What colors do we want?"

The afternoon poured into the night as some of the Survey Corps continued dancing while the others were getting their faces painted into skeletons. Gabi and Falco couldn't help but giggle with excitement at how they looked while Miko had just finished painting Pieck's face.

"What do we think?" Miko flipped the camera on her phone to show off Pieck's appearance. The woman had requested that red be incorporated into the paint, and was genuinely delighted with how it turned out.

"I love it. Thank you," Pieck smiled.

"No problem!" Miko closed the kit, "Guys, it's getting a little late!"

"I thought you always liked partying late," Jack retorted.

"Yeah, but I thought we were doing ofrendas, and I gotta pay for it!" Miko reminded.

"Yeah, okay," Jack chuckled before approaching Rafael and the others, "C'mon! We got one more thing to do and we head home!"

"Aw! But I was just getting the hang of this!" Hanji exclaimed while still holding onto Erwin.

"I would very much like to stop," Erwin admitted.

"Coward," Hanji declared.

"Finish the song and let's go!" Jack told them.

==

Later

The Survey Corps and the Warriors continued to stare at the sight before them behind the gate of a cemetery. They watched quietly, as families lit the candles to their loved ones graves one by one, lighting a path throughout their resting place. Some put offerings of bread, sugar skulls, and even alcohol. The graves were also decorated with the marigolds that have been all over the town.

"It's beautiful," Mikasa whispered.

"Hey!" A hushed voice spoke to them. They all turned to see Jack, Miko, Optimus, and Rafael holding shoeboxes with similar decorations of the altars on the graves.

"There are a lot of things that go into making an ofrenda," Rafael explained, "But we figured this would be better for you guys considering the short notice. So we have shoebox ofrendas instead."

"One for you." Miko passed one to both Sasha and Jean, "For Connie."

"Thank you," Sasha mumbled sadly.

"We got one for each of you guys." Jack passed his out to the Warrior Cadets and the Warriors.

"We also got green ones for the Survey Corps." Rafael gave three of them to Hanji, Erwin, and Levi.

Optimus wordlessly handed two more to Armin and Mikasa.

"But...we-!"

"For your parents," Optimus insisted.

Armin and Mikasa wordlessly took the boxes from him. Right...their parents...how could they have forgotten about them? Mikasa held the makeshift altar close to her chest.

"So there are different elements that come to making an ofrenda," Rafael began as he kneeled down, "It's supposed to have things that represent the four elements. Water for life. Bread for the Earth. Candles for fire. And papel picado for wind. The shoebox ofrendas have tiny little features for that, but next time we can make a proper altar for them. At the very least, you can put the pictures for them."

Hanji quickly scrambled to put some of the pictures of their comrades on the ofrenda while Levi gently put the picture of Kenny inside his. Erwin sat down before adjusting the picture of Nile in his ofrenda.

Sasha curled up into a ball and started crying over Connie as Jean put his picture on the altar. Jean then sat down next to Sasha before hugging her tight.

The Warriors and Warrior Cadets sat with each other and mourned for their loved ones. Falco had cried in Colt's arms while Gabi was crying in Pieck's. The older woman cradled Gabi close and petted her head to ease her tears. Annie remained quiet, sitting next to the ofrenda for Bertholdt.

"How did we forget about our parents?" Mikasa was ashamed as she stared at the ofrenda in her hands. "How did we forget to ask Primus about them? My mom and dad. Your parents and grandfather. We...we didn't-!"

"Considering how charged the situation was at the time, of course we forgot about them," Armin reminded, "We were so focused on the Rumbling...and Eren."

Mikasa couldn't help but feel anger in her heart. "I wasted my time on Eren, when I could have asked for my mother. I could have told her about Hizuru and our culture...but now I'll never get that chance."

Mikasa looked down at her still bandaged hands, and looked at the spot where her tattoo used to be. Because of the extent of her injuries, and how she waited to get treatment, the ink was destroyed and the tattoo was gone. The last piece of her mother was gone, and Eren was the one who took that away from her.

"...I'll never get to tell my parents how much I love them and missed them. I'll never get the chance to thank my grandpa for his sacrifices when my mom and dad were killed," Armin quietly lamented before remembering what happened during their time in the Paths, "But..." A tearful smile fell on his lips, "They get a chance at a new life. Primus gave them a chance to start anew. Maybe one day, we'll see them again."

Mikasa gasped at that. They were all offered reincarnation. Her mother was offered reincarnation, so was her father, just like Megatron told her two years ago. He had his doubts, obviously, but...Primus gave them all that chance. They will all get to live peaceful lives of their choosing...and maybe...one day they will get to see them again.

Mikasa tearfully laughed before wiping away her tears. "I guess...that's one thing I can't be angry about."

Armin smiled in agreement before something caught his eye. He saw Optimus' holoform speaking with Jack quietly before the human patted Optimus' shoulder in comfort. Armin then saw Optimus escaping the crowd of people near the cemetery and them, holding a small altar in the holoform hands. Armin quickly got up from his seat at the wall and followed after him, forcing Mikasa to stand up and follow him in response. They wormed their way through the crowds of skulls and families. The crowds grew smaller and smaller until Armin and Mikasa found Optimus...alone...at the root of a tree decorated with those colorful papers. The Prime set the altar down before setting a tiny candle there and lighting a match. He used the match to light the candle before sitting next to the altar.

"Optimus, what are you doing here?" Armin called out for the Prime. He merely glanced their way before looking down at his hands.

"I needed some time to myself," Optimus explained as he rummaged through his jacket pocket, "To...mourn privately."

Mikasa wrapped her arms around her body, watching as Optimus placed the picture of Eren inside the altar. "This altar...is for-!

"Eren," Optimus finished Mikasa's sentence, "This altar is for Eren."

Armin looked away with both guilt and contempt at hearing Eren's name. He's been...trying so hard to not think about him. He resented him so much, for everything, but...he couldn't help but lament what he lost.

"Why?" Armin asked.

"I do not know how a human afterlife would work," Optimus explained, "I do not know if Eren's soul has been lost, or if he is being punished for his crimes. Even so...I still want to remember him in some way. And...I feel this is the only way I can right now...I cannot even bury him."

Armin felt his words get lodged into his throat while Mikasa felt ready to cry. Armin turned and glanced back at her and she looked just as conflicted as he did. Should they tell him? Should they tell him the truth about Eren's decision? Where he might be? Primus' involvement? Would it ease the pain in his spark? Or would it fill him with more rage and agony?

Mikasa shook her head at the unspoken question. No. Not now. Maybe not ever. She was certain that it was going to break his already fragile spark. Armin relented and accepted Mikasa's decision.

Mikasa then walked forward, past Armin, and sat right next to Optimus, who's gaze had fallen to the ground. She wrapped her arms around his waist, causing the Prime to glance her way.

"I told you: it wasn't your fault," Mikasa reminded.

Optimus raised his hands for a moment before hugging her back. "I am...trying to accept that." Mikasa hugged him tighter in response, trying her best to hold back her tears.

Armin saw the sight, feeling a new sense of resentment and hatred towards Eren...and then towards Primus. Eren's ego and selfishness was his downfall, but Primus has been shown to care about others. But because of Primus' own actions, or inaction, Optimus had to fight someone he considered brother, and killed someone he considered son. Now he was left alone with no true answers as to why things turned out this way, blaming himself instead.

Armin didn't say a word as he sat next to Mikasa, leaving the altar at Optimus' side. He wanted to say hurtful and vile things. That Eren didn't deserve to be honored. He deserved to be forgotten, ridiculed, and hated. But the more his thoughts spiraled, the more disgusted he felt with himself. Eren...Eren was his friend once, who used to defend him from bullies, who he chased along that tree on the hill.

Why did it hurt so much...to still love him after all this time?

Armin and Mikasa raised their heads to the sound of music playing in the street. They turned their attention to a crowd of people in front of two performers. A woman in front of a microphone and a man playing a quiet tune on a guitar.

Tú eres la tristeza de mis ojos Que lloran en silencio por tu amor Me miro en el espejo y veo en mi rostro El tiempo que he sufrido por tu adiós Obligo a que te olvide el pensamiento Pues siempre estoy pensando en el ayer Prefiero estar dormida que despierta De tanto que me duele que no estés

Como quisiera ay Que tú vivieras Que tus ojitos Jamás se hubieran cerrado nunca Y estar mirándolos Amor eterno E inolvidable Tarde o temprano estaré contigo para seguir amándonos

Mikasa glanced over at Optimus and saw tears were starting to form in his eyes. She quickly wiped them away for him before hugging him once more. She didn't know what she was singing, but it was clearly getting to Optimus. Meanwhile, Armin couldn't help but continue to stare as he heard the songs meaning on his own tongue.

I have suffered so much for your absence From that day until today I am not happy Although my conscience is clear I know I could have done more for you Dark loneliness I am living The same loneliness of your grave You are the love of which I have the saddest memory of Acapulco

How I would like oh that you lived that your little eyes They would never have closed and be looking at them eternal love And unforgettable Sooner or later I will be with you to continue loving each other

The woman continued singing her riff, doing her best to not cry herself, while the people continued to listen, entranced by her words. Armin leaned closer to Mikasa, still in shock at his understanding of this language that he's never encountered before. He had questions. Why was he able to understand it at all?

Armin glanced over at Optimus and Mikasa's mournful expression, and decided to ignore it for now. He focused his attention on the singing that echoed into the night. The flowers and the candles that were across the city. The stars in the night sky, and the colorful papers that flew overhead. Armin took off his headband and stared at the flowers that adorned it before holding it close to his chest. He couldn't stop his own tears as he leaned against Mikasa. He closed his eyes and sat in the moment of beauty and pain. He mourned the people he had lost in his life, and smiled at the memories they had given him.

He would do his best to never forget about them, so long as he continued to live.

(Okay, this took a long ass time to do. I was doing research on the topic because the last time I really went in depth on Día de los Muertos was when I was in high school back in 2012/2013 because I went to a school that was predominantly Hispanic. Also, I was working on the In Between OVA, which I wasn't expecting to do before AOP actually ended, but I have the rough draft ready I just need to make some edits to it.

That being said, I do hope I did right by this holiday and the cultural surrounding it. I was constantly flipping through videos and websites for this information to try and make it as accurate as possible. And I don't have the liberty of making a mistake because this is an actual culture that people celebrate. Not a knock off place like Hizuru is, where I was able to take some civil liberties.

So I hope I did right by some of my Spanish speaking followers and the culture overall. Because Día de los Muertos is genuinely a beautiful holiday.

Oh by the way: this is the last song that was sung titled: La Santa Cecilia - Amor Eterno (En Vivo). Listen to it while you are reading the section with Armin, Mikasa, and Optimus.)

[burnwater13]

The Mods from The Book of Boba Fett. DataWorks calendar. Scene is from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 3, The Streets of Mos Espa.

Grogu had met a lot of interesting people. People from all parts of the galaxy. People who were extra tall, extra small, had blue, green, pink, fur covered skin. Some were very young and others had been very old. They had one thing in common. They were all at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Which meant that they were Jedi. Padawans. Knights. Younglings. Masters. And that meant one thing. They all wore brown, tan, grey, off white, dull red, and faded blue robes and clothing. 

Jedi were anything but fashion forward. The first priority in ‘Jedi’ fashion was utility. Does the garment have pockets? Are they deep enough? Are there enough of them? Can you reach your lightsaber fast enough? Is your cloak large enough to hide anyone you are protecting? Is your hood deep enough to hide your face? Can you get bloodstains out of it with relative ease?

If it met all of those criteria then a Jedi might comment that it seemed a bit heavy for a desert climate or a bit thin for an ice cube planet. They never asked if it could deflect blaster bolts because that’s why they had a lightsaber. They didn’t really seem to care if it was water proof because Jedi behaved the same way, wet or dry. 

Finally, a Jedi might check to make sure that the cloak wasn’t too long and that was about it for how they viewed fashion. No one in the history of the Order, as far as Grogu could tell, had ever asked if their robes could be prettier, or more colorful, or made from cutting edge materials that would repel bloodstains and blaster bolts. Nope. That was not their way. 

The Mods he met on Tatooine said that their ‘covers’ fulfilled form, fit, and function. But Grogu didn’t buy that. It struck him, when he met them at the Daimyo’s palace, that the Mods mostly focused on form and fit and function were kind of forgotten about. Just a quick glance told him that no one was really protected from the sun, heat, or wind on Tatooine with ‘covers’ like theirs, although they were striking and unique and almost as one of a kind as the individual Mods themselves were.

He liked to the designs. No two were alike. But it was pretty clear that pocket placement, depth, and count were ignored by all of them. None of them wore cloaks. How could you hide your identity if you didn’t wear a cloak? They did have utility belts…sometimes. He didn’t understand the the function of leg covers that looked like fishing nets. That’s not how you caught the few fish you could find in the Pika oasis. 

Confused by their choices, he decided to ask the most fashion forward person he knew what they thought. The problem of course was deciding who the most fashion forward person was. It certainly wasn’t his dad, the Mandalorian. Din Djarin wore the same thing everyday. Armor. Sure his armor was shiny and his vambraces had a little bit of decoration on them, but, as his dad reminded him, that had been done by their prior owner. He’d never bothered to have them changed, updated or really modified, with the exception of adding the ‘whistling birds’ to his left vambrace and that was more like an after market attachment than an integrated part of an overarching design.  

He considered talking to Peli and then he began to laugh. She also wore the same outfit everyday, like Grogu’s dad and Grogu for that matter. Mechanics gear with pockets and loops and belts and the like. It was very practical and, if truth be told, worn and kind of dirty. Grogu supposed that Tatooine made it hard to keep clothing clean and working on speeder and starship repair everyday didn’t do her clothing any favors.

Then, it occurred to Grogu that Fennec Shand was also modified and a snappy dresser. Maybe she could answer his questions. Of course she was wearing the same clothes now as she wore before she ever came to Tatooine. He remembered her commenting to his dad that when you had a good thing you didn’t change just because fashion changed. 

Dank Farrik. 

Grogu was getting nowhere fast with his search for a person who could explain fashion to him. He would have asked Greef Karga, but he was still on Nevarro and Grogu knew his dad wasn’t going to let him take the N-1 there by himself just to ask about fashion design and trends. Nerf herders! 

Maybe if he asked Majordomo? But he didn’t know where he was.

“Din Grogu, what problem is vexing you?”

Ah, the Daimyo. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, would it? Sure, he was another Mandalorian and wore armor a lot, but he was also a Tusken and had learned a lot from his time with them. Maybe he could suggest a person for Grogu to chat with? Grogu asked his question.

“You want to know why the Mods wear such interesting clothing? Well, my young friend, I think it is likely that it represents who they wish others to see them as. When I was younger I did not wear my father’s armor. For one thing it didn’t fit me. For another, it was very much safer for people to not think I was my father. He had made an enemy or two in his time. When I did put it on, I realized that I couldn’t just be him. I needed to be myself.”

Now that made sense to Grogu. He understood wanting to be himself. After all, he didn’t just wear his coverall. Now he had a beskar shirt to wear and a chest plate that would just end up being a small disk on the Mandalorian or the Daimyo. He didn’t just wear Jedi bland any more than the Daimyo just wore his father’s armor. He understood how it was important to be yourself and still reflect where you came from and who you cared about.

Form, fit, and function ended up equaling family and Grogu knew that was the Way.

[saey707]

Loved the Lux one, thank you very much.

May I ask for another?

Gwen with an SO who makes clothes for her. (I forgot the name of the profession, the people who make clothes and such.)

Like dresses and other outfits, just really enjoys making these gifts for Gwen.

✿ Prompt: You are a tailor and love making Gwen clothes ✿

♡ champion focus: gwen ♡ tw: none! ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author’s Note: Hey again! I’m really happy that you like the last headcanons, they were fun to write ૮꒰⸝⸝>  ̫ <⸝⸝꒱ა And super cute idea, I hope you enjoy what I have to offer ( ˘͈  ᵕ  ˘͈ ♡)

Gwen always loved to play dress-up. It would simply be an understatement if someone were to say she was a simple doll. If anything, the hallowed seamstress was regal. Her clothes always looked as if they were made of the finest materials, tailored to her length and form down to the perfect inch. Still, her clothes were snug, with enough space for her to dance around and bend beyond her will!

It was easy for her to glamorize herself in new clothes and fashion looks. She seemed to always pull off any look, no matter how ridiculous and outlandish they may be. Not only that, but she was skilled enough to take old fabric and alter them into new ones with so much as a few snips, a needle, and thread. But can the muse always be the tailor?

While Gwen had beyond the average capabilities to make her own clothes, it was always you who guided her in the right direction when it came down to the design. She was your muse, an apprentice even if you will, and you were her tailor.

She always feels like she learns the most from you, always interested in seeing the next amazing outfit you design.

And every single time she is equally as astounded when you offer a copy of the original to her, perfectly copied and tailored down to the perfect stitch to fit her doll-like figure.

"Oh, it's simply beautiful, my love! It charms me that you would give me this... I don't know any way in which I can repay you for your hard work, but I certainly know I will find a way, yes I will!"

You can be sure Gwen always finds a way to repay you, baking the most delicious desserts and pastries to share with you.

"Are you sure we should be eating this many cupcakes? I'll have to adjust the measurements if we keep doing this, Gwenny..." You query playfully to the delighted soul, entranced by the gentle giggle she released. "Always, love! There is nothing wrong with eating for pleasure~ Just like there is nothing wrong with dancing about, despite everyone watching!"

Her proper voice was like ringing bells in your ears, a cheery and delightful tone that always made your heart fill with passion. To know someone like Gwen, who was always delighted with your expressions of love through clothes... It was beyond anything you could ever expect in such a critical field.

You memorized her measurements by heart, always knowing the exact about of fabric you would need to utilize, the second, smaller bust you curated shrunken down to her measurements.

Of all the clothes you make for her, she is always drawn to your dresses; Every little detail you put into them is taken into account, and Gwen can see it with how focused you become. It's as if you put all your love and attention into each and every dress you design and craft.

And in a way, your doll wishes she had that kind of an attention span... You get work done so quickly!

"Another dress for me, darling?" Shocked, she pulled it up from the box, admiring it before excitedly hugging it close to her. "And it's in your favorite color~" "Hallowed blue!" Gwen finishes, happily laughing and yanking you into her arms to offer a tight hug.

Every single time you watch her spin and dance about in your designs, you can't help but love her more and more. While her movements closely resembled a puppet being pulled around on strings, that just added to all the more reason why you couldn't help but adore her.

"May I have this dance, love~?" She asks, holding her hand out to you, delighted with the bright red hue that floods against your cheeks. "You may, my doll..." You muse. And, spinning her into your hold, you would be sure to lead well in your little dance with her.

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Getting back at writing, is, well, hard. My grammar and vocabulary and basically everything is messed up so I apologize in advance for that. It's been, almost a year ever since my last written fic. That time I was still crazy with Kimetsu no Yaiba and the KyoTan ship. I'll post it some other time ^^.

Anyways, I present to you my attempt in making a plotted work from a random thought that came over me this morning.

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Basically none. Except for some curse words.

UD 01/10/21: Cleaned and revised some parts! Tried my best, hope it was enough.

•

Of Ice and Blood

Part 1

Quick backstory and some details I left out in the main work.

It was in summer, 28th of July, when Pearl Blackbell turned 19. She left her home and moved closer to the university she’ll be going to. She rented an apartment about five blocks from the school. Albeit small, it was cozy and proper, having what she needed: a kitchen, a decent-sized bedroom, a small living area with a worn but comfy couch, and a bathroom.

When she was younger, her parents started training her in martial arts and the use self-defense weapons. They needed to make sure she knew how to protect herself against assaulters and dangerous people, she was after all, their only child and baby girl . They want their daughter to be strong, both inside and outside, by the time she sets out on her own and leaves home.

Her favorite self-defense weapon was brass knuckles, despite her parents’ protests. She enjoys punching nasty people and feel the crunch of their bones beneath her fists, especially racists, sexists, bullies, and the lot. The main reason why she got into detention multiple times.

Painting it with a ruddy color, she keeps it in her person, no matter where she goes. She has two, one is for extreme situations, while the other has only two knuckles. It stills maximizes the damage dealt but it is relatively less dangerous than the full dusters. The second one is usually a spare, though she rarely uses it.

She also occasionally carries a pair of retractable nunchucks, which she designed to be hidden within her regular baggy clothes. Her father had trained her vigorously with them and she even bested him in a match before she left for the city.

Selkoth, the city of marvels.

Distant sounds of buzzing cars reached my ears as I opened my eyes and blinked away the sleepiness, the light shining from the spaces in my curtains rather helping, together with the warmth it brought to my chilled tawny skin.

[Start of the actual work]

I fully woke up as I registered the sound of my phone alarm, shortly getting up to prepare when I realized what day it was.

Monday, the first day of my college life.

I stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower, knowing I bathed thoroughly last night to save some time today.

Time management is key.

I dried myself down, turned to my closet and started putting on the outfit I picked out the night before.

Prioritizing comfortability over appearance, I wore my favorite orange cotton shirt, my blackish-blue hoodie (that had been stained with blood some time ago, but don’t worry, I know how to clean out blood. Mama raised no fool.) over it, together with a pair of black skinny jeans. And of course, tight black sports bra and boxers, even mentioning my underwear yes?

I looked over to my mirror and it was—

Simple. And I loved it. The more simple it is the better.

'“Keep a low profile over there, sweetie. Don’t get into fights when you can help it okay??? We already taught you and prepared you to the best of our abilities. Promise to us that you’ll stay safe, and healthy. Okay? And don’t forget to call sometime.”' I sighed, remembering my mother’s words.

"Yes mama, I will.”

With a smile, I did my hair and went for a tight Dutch braid, it going down between my shoulder blades and ending a little above my waist. I ran to my kitchen to eat breakfast, satisfied with my look.

I eat fast okay

Backpack, check. White sneakers, check. Phone and keys, check. Airpods on, playlist shuffled, I bolted out of my apartment and jogged all 50 blocks to school.

Exercise is always important, and what other way to utilize time for exercising than to do it while heading to your destination, right?

I snickered.

As I made my way to the university, I saw bizarre creatures and monsters of different sizes, coexisting, and interacting with humans. Even so, I noticed other people’s disdain and bitterness towards them when I passed by. My nose is awfully sensitive to scents that sometimes the ones their body releases tells me what they feel at the moment. It’s all science, I guess. I was made extra susceptible to these, so I wear a mask everywhere and every time I go out just to partly block most of the smells.

My first day at a university open to everyone across the country gets my blood pumping with excitement. To think that I’m going to study at Ernestine State University, the Ernestine State University!

I first heard about the uni back when I was a child. News broke out about Victor Ernestine, committing suicide by driving his car off a cliff because he couldn’t accept that his daughter was one of the major leaders who made the unity of all people, of all races, possible.

Dramatic.

Months after Mr. Ernestine died, all his properties and riches were passed down to her daughter, who took over as the new founder of the university and rebuilt it to accommodate everyone, no matter the size and shape.

The strictly all-human school, renovated, reshaped, and repurposed, was now the first university to open its gates to everyone in the country of Yundomia.

I’ve always yearned to get to know other species in this world. I didn’t get the chance previously because my parents sent me to an all-human, local high school. Which sucks. I hated how everyone had a certain hatred for the other races, especially orcs. They keep talking about how they are wild beasts and savages that aren’t meant to be in society.

They treated them like animals that are void of emotions and intelligence.

Come to think of it, I mostly fought with humans who were either racist, bullies, bastards trying to hit on me, or a mix of all of them together.

I chuckled, remembering how many times I got counseled on not punching people in the face.

High school was pure torture, being a human-exclusive campus making it worse, considering how everybody smells so horrible and the principal was an egoistic dumbass I was a hair away from gutting him. My poor nose.

But now I’m done with that! I’m starting anew in this school, in this city. Perhaps make some friends along the way.

Which is kinda problematic.

I’m not the social type. I tend to keep things to myself and hardly open up to anybody. I wanna make at least one friend that isn’t human! Or just, one good friend. I didn’t have or made any friends in the past since people tend to shun me out just because I can tell how they are feeling and find it creepy.

Or they’re afraid to get punched in the face.

Entering the campus gates was like stepping into another world. I was met with the sight of humans and monsters walking together and conversing! It was nice, and I don’t get to see this much often.

I walked around and took in the landscape of the campus. It was huge! And beautifully designed to have a great number of trees and plants, while also having space more than enough to accommodate every student going to their respective classrooms.

I was minding my own business and it was all serene, until some bastards pushed past through me and knocking me to the side. I stumbled but didn’t fall. I was gonna say something, but I shut my mouth. I didn’t want to cause any trouble on the first day for goodness’ sake. So I brushed it off and went straight to the gym for the orientation.

*************************************

The orientation was, intriguing. The dean seems nice, though I couldn't smell him from where I sat. There's also a student council made up of both humans and monsters which is a good sign. The student council president was a Minotaur with a dark brown coat and horns curving front and pointing up. The vice-president was a male student who looked decent enough. The secretary was an elf. The treasurer, a dwarf. And the rest were humans. I couldn't scent any of them to tell me what they were feeling at the moment, but the Minotaur looked uncomfortable, his hands behind his back, body going stiff when they were introduced to the freshmen. There was a larger numbr of humans than monsters, which was expected. I also noticed how both were grouped, a white line in the middle of the gym separating us from them.

Maybe to avoid any misunderstandings?

We were informed that today will be for introductions to your classmates and subject teachers so there will be no lessons at all. Hooray!

I was walking to my first classroom when a damned familiar smell attacked my nose. I stopped to stand for a moment and adjusted my mask. I looked around to spot the one emitting it and of course, saw a human. He looked, well, the typical playboy cool boy who used too much body spray on himself.

Not wanting to stand there like an idiot and prolong my suffering, I speed walk to my classroom and planned to sit at the back hoping no one would notice or ask why I’m wearing a mask.

That's always what they ask first. Not my name or how I was doing.

I expected to find no one inside since it was still early, but I was startled to see a massive orc sitting at the back looking out at the window. He was wearing a dark gray knitted sweater that was hugging his hulking frame very…well. Along with what looked like thick cargo pants and black boots.

He turned to look at me when I let out a small yelp, greeting me with his piercing, blue eyes.

Beautiful.

The orc had long, braided, jet-black locks. Two of them had distinct beads that trailed down from the side of his face and down to his chest, the rest of his hair behind him braided with intricacy and tied and ended halfway down his back.

I was pushed out of my trance when a person entered and crashed into me, swearing under my breath that it was intentional, nearly making me plant face-first on the trash bins if I hadn’t changed my footing at the last moment.

“Watch it, bitch, you’re gonna ruin my make-up,” she snapped.

Wow. She dared to call me that and not apologize like I’m the one who shoved her. Just wow. Usually at this point, I would have planted her face on the floor, but I stopped myself.

Low profile! Low profile Pearl! You’re in college now! You definitely don’t want to get suspended on the first fucking day of class now do you?? Keep it together.

Straightening up, I walked towards the back and sat beside the orc. Whose gaze fell on me, curious, when I wasn’t looking.

I made myself settled in my seat before the professor came in.

There were other races in my class. A blue tiefling sat three rows in front, wearing a casual outfit. A black-haired elf who looked and dressed clever, a row away. A cute pink pixie on my far right. A satyr wearing glasses, two seats in front of me, and a female lizardfolk a seat from of the pixie.

"Are you...alright?"

I almost jumped from my seat when the orc beside me spoke. I couldn’t help but admire how deep his voice was. I tried not to appear flustered, my mask helped with that.

“Uh…yes?”

The orc regarded me for a second before continuing.

“You were pushed earlier.”

Oh. He saw that?

“Oh, yeah, I’m okay.” I smiled at him. Then I remembered he can’t see my face. But I hoped the crinkling of my eyes gave it away.

“I’m Pearl, by the way.” I reached out my hand to him, socializing not my best suit but at least I tried.

He paused for a second before taking it into his bigger one, engulfing mine and shook it slowly. I was again, surprised by how gentle he was.

“Tai'chi.”

Interesting.

“Nice to meet you, Tai'chi.”

He lets go of my hand when the professor started talking up front.

“Nice to meet you too, Pearl."

***************************************

Thoughts? I am wide open for constructive criticism :D

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Check pinned post for latest chapter updates💕

[starshine583]

Crossing a Line (19)

(so this was actually supposed to be the last chapter, but it got long so I had to stop lol enjoy!)

Part 1 / Part 18 / Part 20

Felix held his ground next to Marinette, worried and terrified at the same time. He thought telling his Father about the wish would discourage him from using it, but his Father only got angry, instead, spouting nonsense about “sacrifices” and “family”. Why was he angry? There was still a cure. There was no need to fight! Why wouldn’t he listen?

Marinette stepped forward and confronted his Father’s true intentions, which only made him angrier. Felix tried to calm the situation as it escalated, but Marinette promised to get the miraculous back, while Gabriel promised not to let that happen. It wasn’t until she pulled out his peacock miraculous that Felix realized compromise and negotiation weren’t options anymore.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!” Marinette cried, quickly pinning the miraculous to the lower front of her shirt. The familiar blue light he’d gotten used to seeing flash over his skin washed over her body, and Marinette’s casual outfit disappeared. The miraculous replaced it with a royal blue dress that faded into different colored feathers such as purple, dark blue, and indigo. Her gloves and high-heeled boots, which extended to her knees and mid-biceps respectively, were also royal blue, and the ends of each were covered in a dark blue, feather-shaped pattern that trailed up to the navy blue part of the suit, such as her collar bone, neck, and thighs. A short shawl made entirely of purple feathers wrapped around her shoulders as well, connected by a small, indigo pearl. It brought out the sparkling fuchsia that lined the front and back of the royal blue dress perfectly. If it weren’t for the circumstances, Felix might have been tempted to stop and study the fabric in all its magnificence. 

Gabriel’s expression twisted with rage. “How did you get that?”

Marinette unclasped one of her fans from a metal button on the back of her dress and held it in front of her, showing the sharpness of the curved tip. “Let’s say it was a present from your son.”

Felix grimaced at the look of disdain his Father shot him.

“You gave her your miraculous?!” He fumed.

“No, I-!” 

“Don’t talk back to me!” His Father growled. “I should have known not to trust you from the beginning!” 

Felix flinched back as Gabriel lunged forward in a fit of rage. Before they could collide, though, a feather-shaped knife sank deep into Gabriel’s shirt sleeve, pinning him to a bookshelf. Felix looked to Marinette, who was already pulling another throwing knife out of her hair. He had thought the feathers that decorated her spread out bun were simply that, a decoration.

“Felix, run!” She ordered, throwing the second knife to pin Gabriel’s other arm to the bookshelf. “Go find my miraculous!”

“I’m not leaving you!” Felix argued, taking a step back from his struggling Father. The whole reason he took her miraculous in the first place was to protect her from this exact encounter.

Marinette stepped in front of him, but glanced over her shoulder as she said, “I’ll be fine. I have Duusu. Now go!”

Felix clenched his fists. He hated the idea of leaving her alone, but he didn’t have a miraculous. Anything he tried to do now would only get in her way.

Fueled by adrenaline, Felix stumbled to the other end of the aisle and sprinted towards the Library’s entrance. He almost ran into Gorilla on his way out. Earrings, Earrings- where would Father put Marinette’s earrings if he had them? This house was enormous. They could be anywhere!

He started with the office first, checking the only hiding place he knew Father had: the safe. Felix pulled open his Mother’s painting, and.. They weren’t there. He checked behind the smaller pictures, under the books, and practically pulled everything else out. There was nothing.

“Where are you?” He grumbled to himself, lifting up another pile of books.

“So you finally show your true colors.”

Felix froze, slowly turning around to see none other than Nathalie. She stood in front of him, wearing a crap-eating grin. He should have known she would appear eventually. Nathalie was always eager to be Father’s back up.

“I always knew you weren’t worthy of Gabriel’s trust.” She said, tilting her head up with all the poise of a condescending twit. 

Felix heaved a tired sigh. “And I always knew you’d be the first one to lay down and let him treat you like a dog once I came to my senses.” 

He didn’t want to believe what Marinette said about Father wanting power instead of Mother, but the proof was right in front of him. If Father truly cared about their family and Mother’s well-being, he would let Marinette try to cure her! And if family wasn’t what Father cared about, what else was left but power?

Nathalie let out a snooty little laugh. “Of course you would think that. You don’t understand anything. Your Father is a loving man who is doing the best that he can to raise you two and heal your Mother!”

"Raise us?” Felix scoffed. “He barely talks to us! And right now, he’s the one standing in the way of healing my Mother. So tell me where the earrings are!”

Nathalie tisked and tilted her head slightly to the side, just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the black, circular earrings she was wearing. “They’re safe. Much safer than they were in your hands. Unlike you, I won’t be handing them back over to the enemy so easily.”

Felix shifted into a fighting position. “We’ll see about that.”

“Oh, you want to fight me now?” She asked, a smirk reappearing on her lips. When Felix didn’t answer, the smirk widened. “Good. I’ve been wanting to punch you in that perfect face of yours for years. Tikki, spots on!”

Felix’s eyes widened as Nathalie transformed in front of him. He hadn’t expected her to actually use the miraculous!

The red, magical light that covered her took away her professional suit and exchanged it with a red and black spotted costume. Black colored her forearms- save for the palms and fingers -and bottom half of her legs, acting as boots and gloves. A bit of black covered the sides of her waist as well.

“Well, Felix?” Nathalie taunted, taking one of the two yo-yos that hung on the utility belt around her hips. “You said you wanted the earrings. Why don’t you come take them?”

Felix grit his teeth. “Fine with me. Using Marinette’s miraculous will only make it more embarrassing for you when I get them back.”

Nathalie growled and slung her first yo-yo forward. Felix dodged and whipped around to grab the yo-yo string. Nathalie barely got a gasp of surprise out before he yanked on the string, causing her to fly forward. He hadn’t spent months as Le Paon lying around doing nothing. (Though that might have been part of it) No, he’d been fighting. Specifically against Ladybug and Chat Noir. He knew how her miraculous worked, and he knew it’s weaknesses. Most importantly, he knew that Nathalie knew none of that. 

Nathalie hit the ground with a harsh grunt, but Felix didn’t have time to revel in her struggles. She cried out in rage and twisted her body to kick him in the legs. Felix fell forward, landing on top of Nathalie. She gasped, as he’d landed on her back, and struggled to get him off.

“Didn’t go as planned, huh?” He grunted, moving to grab one of her earrings. 

Unfortunately, his attention was briefly diverted before he could. The library doors were thrown wide open when someone fell through the doorway. Upon closer inspection, Felix realized it was Hawkmoth who had gotten thrown out. Did Father transform? Where was Marinette?

Just then, Marinette jumped out of the doorway as well, still transformed and shouting for Gabriel to give up. 

Felix’s thoughts were once again redirected when Nathalie bucked her body upwards, causing him to fall back onto the floor. She lifted herself to her knees a moment later and reached for her yo-yo again. Felix twirled on the floor to start getting up as well, but kicked her hand to stall the drawing of her weapon.

Nathalie drew her hand back and hissed. “Infernal child!”

“Only for you.” Felix shot back, pushed himself to his feet. 

Nathalie was up a second later, and they got back to switching between chasing and hiding. She finally managed to unhook both of her yo-yos and started hurling them at Felix as fast as she could. Felix dodged them with the best of his ability, all the while jumping around the room for cover. She finally got one yo-yo wrapped around his left arm right when he reached the desk. Felix grappled for the desk chair in a desperate attempt to avoid being dragged back, but being a rolling chair, it only rolled back with him. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from using it to his advantage. Felix used the friction from his shoes to slow himself down right in front of Nathalie and swung the chair around with his free hand, smacking her in the side with it. Nathalie held up her forearms to block the blow, but flew to the side anyway. She slid to a stop, unfortunately still on her feet, and before Felix could detach the yo-yo from his arm, Nathalie yanked him forward once again and kicked him in the stomach.

Felix skidded across the floor, rolling to a stop at the office doorway. He sucked in ragged breaths to compensate for the air that had just been sucked out of his lungs. That was.. a decent move.

“Payback, brat.” Nathalie huffed, staggering back to regain her breath as well.

Felix lifted his head up to snap back at her when something made the words die in his throat.

“..My lady?” 

Felix turned on his side to look through the office doorway, praying that he’d misheard something. 

There Chat Noir stood, his cat ears flat against his head as he warily glanced between Marinette and Father, who had paused their battle to look at him. When did he get downstairs? Was Marinette trying to explain the situation?

“A- Chat Noir!” He called out. “Get back!”

He wanted Marinette to have help, but Adrien didn’t have the emotional stability to get involved. Father already had Ladybug’s earrings. If he found out who Chat Noir was, it would be nearly impossible to keep him from getting the ring.

Chat Noir’s eyes snapped to Felix’s, growing wide with surprise and worry. “Felix?”

Father followed Chat Noir’s gaze and raised a brow. Felix grimaced as he watched the gears turn in his Father’s mind, watched them click into place as Father realized how the hero knew where they were or why he seemed so worried about Felix.

“So.” Father began, turning back to Chat Noir. Felix couldn’t tell if he was delighted or angry. Probably a morbid twist or both. “My own son has been fighting against me.”

Crap.

“What?” Marinette and Chat Noir said in unison, though Marinette’s surprise was more directed towards the implication of Chat Noir’s identity.

“No wonder Felix decided to betray me as Le Paon. He must have been worried for your sake. It had nothing to do with this girl!”

Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows. So much emotion was swirling across his brother’s features- hurt, confusion, denial. Felix could barely stand it. 

“Wait..” He faltered, looking at Felix with a torn expression. “You’re Le Paon?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Felix begged, pushing himself to get up. He had to stop this. Adrien learning about Mother’s true condition was already a fragile subject in and of itself. Learning about Felix and Gabriel’s identities as the terrorists of Paris was bound to be too much. It would overwhelm anyone.

Before Felix could intervene, however, Father did the unthinkable. He detransformed. Right there. In front of everyone.

Felix couldn’t see his face, but Father’s tone was disturbingly pleased as he said, “Would I lie to you, Adrien?”

Chat Noir collapsed to the floor, staring up at their Father in horror. “No..”

“Adrien?” Marinette blanched. The surprise was a tad out of place considering the emotional turmoil that Adrien had to be going through, but Felix understood.

Unfortunately, so did Father. Saying Adrien’s name wasn’t merely for dramatic effect. He knew that Marinette and Adrien were friends in civilian form. That kind of reveal would knock her off her feet just long enough for him to detransform like he did.

Gabriel smiled at Chat Noir’s reaction, and Felix knew right then and there that he’d been played for a fool. This miraculous search was never about family. No father who truly cared for their family would smile at their child’s suffering.

Gabriel transformed again as Chat Noir was on his knees- on his knees! -and created an akuma. Felix jumped forward to stop it or get in the way, but Nathalie wrapped her yo-yo around his waist, planting him to the spot. Marinette was still too shocked to react quickly enough, so the akuma flitted forward, unbothered, and merged with Chat Noir’s bell.

“No!” Felix yelled. He jerked his body forward, pulling at the yo-yo string and pushing ahead with all of the strength he had. “Adrien, don’t do it! Resist him!”

His shouting finally snapped Marinette out of her trance, and she rushed to Chat’s side. 

“Chat, it’s okay!” She tried to console despite the panic leaking through her voice. “We can get through this! Just fight it!”

“Against my Father?” Chat Noir whimpered back.

“Chat Blanc.”

Felix and Marinette held their breath when the purple outline appeared on Chat Noir’s face. Marinette threw one of her fans at Gabriel, but he easily dodged it as it twirled around the room to come back to her.

“Your brother is trying to decieve you, and your partner has misled you. I am trying to revive Emily, but to do that, I need your miraculous to do that.”

Chat Noir squeezed his eyes shut and drew his knees close to his chest, trying to drown out the words. 

Marinette wrapped her arms around him. “Adrien, Minou, Kitty, please! Don’t listen to him! Come back to me.”

“Help me fight for you Mother, Adrien.” Gabriel persisted. “We can bring her back together. We can be a family again.”

“We can.. We can bring her back?”

Felix’s heart sank. “Adrien, no!”

“Don’t do it!” Marinette pleaded.

“All I need is your cooperation.” Gabriel promised.

A tear slipped down Chat Noir’s cheek, and his purple mask dropped long enough for him to look Marinette in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“No!”

“Adrien!”

Black and purple bubbles swallowed Chat Noir whole, and Marinette scrambled backwards. When the bubbles disappeared, Chat Noir was gone, and Chat Blanc was left sitting there. His suit was the same as Chat Noir’s, except it was stark white and his green eyes were replaced with a chilling, ice blue. 

Felix tensed as Adrien slowly stood up and lifted his hand towards Marinette.

“My lady..” He said, forming a ball of light at the end of his finger tips. Felix didn’t want to see what that did. “Please.. stand down and give me your miraculous. I have to save my mother.”

Marinette held up a hand as well, but it was in a calming gesture. “Adrien, I’m trying to save your mother! I have the power to heal her, but I need my miraculous back!”

Chat stalled, proving he had some of his sense left. “You can?”

Felix jerked forward again, but Nathalie kept him in the same place. “It’s true! Gabriel won’t give us Ladybug’s miraculous back because he wants to use the wish instead of letting Marinette heal her by herself!”

Gabriel glanced at Felix when he didn’t call him ‘Father’, but Felix kept his gaze on Adrien. If Gabriel thought that Felix would consider him anything close to family after this, he was more demented that Felix thought.

Chat turned his ball of light to Gabriel. “Is that true?”

“Of course not!” Gabriel spat. “They’re lying! They only want the earrings back to keep us from the wish!”

“No!” Felix protested. “The wish has a curse to it! If we use it to heal Mother, someone else will take her place and become comatose just like her! M- er -Ladybug can heal her without that consequence!”

“Everything they say is a lie!” Gabriel yelled. “They’re only trying to manipulate you!”

“Adrien, you know me!” Marinette tried again. “We’ve been partners for months, confided in each other, and risked our lives for each other. Please, I would never try to manipulate you, Minou.” 

Chat Blanc turned his ever-increasing ball of light from Felix, to Marinette, to Gabriel. His face grew more conflicted and grieved with each statement. They were all shouting at him and making it worse, but Felix couldn’t help pleading. He didn’t want Adrien to do something he would regret, and Marinette was so close to him..

Felix’s blood ran cold when Chat Blanc finally broke from the pressure.

“Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!” He screamed, jerking his hand downwards. In his loss of concentration, the ball of light shot from his fingertips, slamming right into the floor. It broke a hole straight to the basement within seconds, but the decay didn’t stop there. The rust spread to the rest of the main floor, covering every inch except the steps, the library, and the office that Felix was standing in. The ground crumbled beneath them, taking Gabriel, Marinette, and Adrien with it. 

“No!” Felix yelled, his heart stopping in his chest. His last fight with the slime monster flashed through his mind, when the debri and dust from the rooftop fell on top of him before everything went dark. How far was the main floor from the basement? Would Marinette survive the fall? Would anyone survive the fall? Would they live through the debri that came after?

Felix whirled around and swung his foot through the air, catching the yo-yo string and stomping it to the ground. Nathalie, shell-shocked from seeing Gabriel fall, fell forward again, and Felix took that lenience in grip to slip out of the yo-yo string and run for the opening. 

Dust was flying everywhere now. He could hardly take a breath without coughing, let alone see clearly enough to find survivors. That didn’t stop him from kneeling on the ground and shouting for Marinette, though. She had to be somewhere. She would call up to him, perfectly fine, and everything would be alright.

So why couldn’t he hear anything?

Felix’s throat tightened as he screamed. He screamed her name over and over again into the abyss and didn’t hear a darned thing. It was silent, save for the occasionally crumbling of the debri below, and he was terrified. Where was she- Where was she? No, no, no, no-

“MARINETTE!!”

Panicked and sick to his stomach with worry, Felix shot to his feet and turned to Nathalie, who had just started to recover from his sudden escape. She was the only one left that had a miraculous. The same miraculous that might be able to save Marinette and Adrien if Felix could get his hands on it in time. 

Nathalie barely caught a glimpse of his fist flying towards her face when he lunged at her.

~~~~~~

The room swayed in the darkness. Debri crumbled around her, yet it sounded distant, similar to an echo. Marinette drew in a breath, but immediately coughed it back out. The air was thick with dust, too thick. 

She opened her eyes, hoping to make out her surroundings amidst the tan clouds around her. A large stream of light poured down on her from the gaping hole in the floor above her. Unfortunately, it was too clouded for her to see anything past the hole.

A voice floated down from above, but it was too faint to make out. She laid there for a moment, waiting to hear it again. 

Nothing.

Marinette sat up despite her body’s aching protest and scanned the room again. A few chunks of debri were scattered around her, but she had thankfully been untouched, aside from hitting the ground, that is. She curled her fingers together, feeling the gaps and patterns of the metal walkway underneath her. Where was she? Had they fallen to a basement of some sort?

“Felix?” She called out, a mix of hopeful and concerned towards what she might hear in response. Did he get caught in the fall too? He didn’t have a miraculous to protect him like they did. What if he’d gotten seriously injured?

“Adrien!” She called next. It might not be the smartest idea, but akumatized or not, she wanted to make sure that her partner was alright. There was also the possibility that the fall broke his akumatized item.

Her calls were only met with silence. 

Beep! Beep!

Marinette looked down at her miraculous, barely catching sight of the last feather leaving the fan before she detransformed. 

Duusu fell into her lap, looking absolutely exhausted. “Sorry, Miss Marinette.. Keeping you safe from injury takes a lot of work.”

Marinette offered a smile and softly petted the top of the kwami’s head. “It’s alright, Duusu. You’ve done plenty.”

Cupping the kwami in her palms, Marinette pushed herself to her feet and looked around. The dust was finally starting clear a bit, just enough for her to make out the room she’d fallen into. A grated, metal pathway led from the piled debri behind her to a small, garden-looking area up ahead. A flickering light above revealed some sort of casing in the middle of the greenery, also untouched by the caved in floor.

Curious, Marinette wandered towards it. The sides of the case shone as bright gold under that flickering lights, and the glass on top gave a white glare, making it hard to see through at first. 

It’s strange, She thought, to put such a large and beautiful case in a basement where no one will see it.

Why go through the trouble of making it at all? Was it simply not finished? 

She cupped her free hand on the glass and peered inside. Whatever this held- if anything -had to be extremely important. The flickering light didn’t help her to identify anything. It only allowed her to gather bits and pieces at a time. Something white was inside.. An outfit? It looked like a manikin was wearing it. But then she noticed hair. Golden hair that looked exactly like Adrian’s. And the face..

Marinette almost dropped Duusu from shock. 

“Emilie!” She gasped, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. Had Mlle. Agreste been here this whole time? Who keeps someone locked up like this? 

“Well, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette whipped around, pushing herself against the case from reflex. Gabriel stood in front of her, somehow still transformed, and he had a horribly malicious grin on his lips. 

The debri must have missed him too.

“Now you truly know all of my secrets.” He mused, gesturing to the glass coffin behind her. “But I see it has cost you.”

Marinette held Duusu closer to her chest. She scanned the room behind Gabriel, but didn’t see Chat Blanc anywhere. “Where’s Adrien?”

Gabriel raised an uncaring brow. “I’m sure he’ll find his way back to the fight soon enough.”

Marinette shot him a glare. “How can you say that? He’s your son! Don’t you care about his well being at all?”

What if he’s hurt? Or worse, dead! She doesn’t have her miraculous to bring him back this time!

Gabriel scoffed. “The sooner you stop resisting, the sooner he will be healed with the miraculous. It’s ludicrous to care about injuries when they are easily reversible.”

“He still goes through the pain!” She couldn’t help yelling. “What about that?”

“He’ll forget the pain.” Gabriel snapped back. “After all, it’s only temporary.” 

Marinette grit her teeth, but when she opened her mouth to reply-

“You would think that.” A voice took the words right from her mouth. 

She looked up just in time to see someone swing in from the main floor. Although she couldn’t make out the face, Marinette recognized the voice immediately.

“Felix!” She cried, relief filling her chest. He must have avoided the fall. And he had her miraculous!

“Marinette.” He replied almost instantly, pure relief leaking through his tone as well.

Gabriel scowled at the boy as he entered their vision. A black and red costume indeed covered his body, signifying the fact that he was the new wielder of the Ladybug miraculous. 

“Where’s Nathalie?” Gabriel barked.

Felix pulled one of the two yo-yos off of his waist- why didn’t she ever think of having two yo-yos? -and smirked. “Safe. And out of your reach.”

Marinette smiled at the mocking comment, but Gabriel was less than amused. He sprang forward with a growl, causing Felix to jump back so he could keep the distance between them. Marinette remembered having to fall back to use her weapons properly. She always hated leaving Chat at the front lines, but long distance was her best vantage point when it came to yo-yos.

Felix swung both yo-yos in two perfect circles at his side as he moved backwards. As soon as he got the chance to pause in his movements, he threw the first yo-yo forward and latched it onto Gabriel’s staff, easily wrapping around it in a tight hold. Gabriel smirked at the supposed attack and yanked back on the staff to draw Felix forward, but Felix, expecting the reaction, immediately let go of the first yo-yo and threw his other yo-yo forward, quickly wrapping it around Gabriel’s arms and rendering them useless. He then dug his feet into the ground and pulled as hard as he could. 

Gabriel yelped as he flew towards him, and with the new momentum, Felix literally swung Gabriel in a circle around the room. Marinette watched with wide eyes as the man crashed into a few debri piles. If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought that Felix had been using the Ladybug Miraculous all along. His movements were planned and meticulous. Even as he threw Gabriel back onto the metal walkway right in front of her, Marinette stood still, not feeling the need to flinch. It was glaringly obvious that Felix knew what he was doing.

“Give up.” Felix ordered, pulling the yo-yo string tighter around Gabriel as he stepped closer. “This battle is over.”

Gabriel, through coughs, looked up to sneer at Felix. Marinette thought he was going to go on a rant about disloyalty or vengeance, but, strangely, his head only cocked to the side slightly. 

“Yes, I believe it is.” He replied, his voice bone-chillingly gleeful.

Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards, just behind Felix where Gabriel was looking. A white figure had appeared in the dust and debri, standing with their arm raised directly at her and Felix.

Her eyes widened. 

“FELIX, LOOK-”

It was too late. The white blast of light hit the metal grate directly to their left, causing a destructive blast that pushed all three of them back. Gabriel took Felix’s imbalance as an opportunity to escape his bounds and scramble away from them. Marinette, however, groaned from the backlash of the blast and rubbed her head. Was there supposed to be a high-pitched ringing in her ears?

Through squinting eyes, she tried to search for a way out, all while fighting back a fresh headache. With Chat Blanc on his feet and fighting again and with Duusu still resting in her hand, Felix had no chance of winning this fight, especially now that Gabriel was free.

A hand gently grabbed her shoulder, and she looked up to see Felix next to her.

“Marinette.” He whispered, looking her over for injuries.

“Felix.” Marinette sighed in relief, putting her hand on his. He’s okay.

Felix glanced over at Chat Blanc, who was quickly approaching. “I need to get you out of here.”

Marinette’s grip on his hand tightened. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes!” Gabriel cheered before Felix could reply. 

Maniacal laughter erupted from the man as he spread his arms out wide. “Well done, Adrien! Now, help your Father bring our family together again and get their miraculous!”

Marinette pulled Felix closer, preparing for the worst. If she was to truly die during this battle, at least his face would be the last thing she sees.

Chat Blanc, who had walked fully into the light at this point, stopped a few feet from Gabriel. His eyes bore into the man, blank and soulless. 

Marinette’s hand dug into Felix’s, and they exchanged glances. Something wasn’t right. Before the fall, Adrien had been showing the most conflict and emotion she’d ever seen in her life, but now he looked.. He looked empty, hollow.. gone.

Slowly, Chat Blanc raised his hand again, this time aiming his blast right at Gabriel. “I have no father.”

A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine, and Felix sucked in a breath next to her. Whoever stood in front of them now, it wasn’t Adrien.

Gabriel staggered back a step, pure terror in his voice as he stuttered, “W-What?”

Chat Blanc stepped forward, the ball of light growing in his hand.

“Don’t worry.” He remarked, his tone completely devoid of emotion. “After all, ‘Pain is only temporary’.. Right?”

The ball of light shot from his fingertips, hitting Gabriel directly in the chest. Gabriel opened his mouth to scream, but the decay swallowed him whole before his voice could even reach the air. Marinette gasped, watching Gabriel’s ashes fall to the floor. Did that really just happen? 

Chat Blanc stared at the pile of dust, not an ounce of regret on his face. Marinette noticed that there wasn’t any satisfaction in his expression either. 

He looked up, locking eyes with her, and Marinette tensed. Felix leaned forward enough to put a protective arm in front of her. Chat Blanc, noticing the shift, glanced at Felix as well. Then he started to move towards them, his steps slow and dragged out. 

“Easy, there..” Felix muttered, bringing his yo-yo forward. 

Marinette held her breath. If he could kill Gabriel- gosh, he killed him! -then he could get rid of them just as easily.

Chat Blanc stopped in front of them, his eyes still focused on Marinette. She met his gaze, not daring to look away. 

If you’re anywhere in there, Adrien, please.. 

Suddenly, Chat Blanc dropped to his knees, rattling the metal walkway. Marinette flinched, but didn’t back away. In fact, she found herself reaching forward. He looked so broken, so lost..

“Please..” He croaked, a single tear streaming down his cheek. “Save me.”

Marinette’s heart shattered at the words, and she brushed his tear away. “Of course, kitty.”

She looked to Felix, who nodded and stood up. He quickly called his lucky charm, and on queue, Marinette broke the bell around Adrien’s neck. The akuma fluttered out, and Felix slung his yo-yo forward to capture it.

“Oh, wait one second.” Marinette spoke up, grabbing his arm before he could throw the miraculous cure.

Felix gave her a questioning look, and she gestured to the pile of ash behind her. 

“I have to get something.”

With a quickness, for Chat’s sake, Marinette hopped over to Gabriel’s- er -remains and knelt down next to them. She cringed as she reached forward, pushing through the uneasiness to move the ash around. It had to be there somewhere..

“Ah- hah!” She sat up, taking the butterfly miraculous with her. Master Fu had mentioned a while back that the miraculous were indestructible, and Marinette didn’t want Gabriel to keep his powers when he was resurrected. That would be like falling into a torturous loop of fighting, especially since Chat won’t remember anything when the cure is cast.

“Okay.” She said, jumping back over to Felix with the miraculous in hand. “Do it.”

Felix nodded and threw the lucky charm into the air. Marinette closed her eyes as the Ladybugs washed over her, allowing a small smile to spread across her lips. She’d always wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of this.

“Don’t worry.” She whispered to Chat Blanc, running her hands through his snow white hair during their last moments together. “I promise you’re gonna be okay.”

We all are.

Tag List:  @im-here-for-the-content @novicevoice @mewwitch@minightrose @starlit-winter @multishipper1needshalp@unabashedbookworm @unholykrow @trubel43@kaydenth3gayden @stardustrevoutionx @legendaryneckjudgestudent @aurordraws @crazylittlemunchkin @uwuteamleader @chocolatecustarddanish @iambi-thilla-meena @corabeth11 @asianfrustration13  @chrismarium @agumon1123 @luciferge @yue-caelum @persephonebutkore @constancetruggle @make-the-stars-stay @johnlockfeelz @imfreakingmagical @tinybrie @procrastinatingrightnow @bee-wrecker @dontcallmecedge @shadowhex99 @daminette-is-life @thethirdwheelfriend @myazael @sizzling-fairy-oil @sparkle9510 @chaosace​ @the-navistar-carol​ @sannsibarr​ @grumpy-vixen-kitten​ @hauntedfreakdeputyhero​ @utcaro​ @more-or-less-human-i-guess @mlbutatbspofsalt @dawn-the-rithmatist @artcart0n @mermaidreject @tori-mmm  @fifaanayd  @novicevoice  @dreamykitty25 @mischief-not-managed-posts @amayakans  @arsaem  @athena452 @pink-and-bunny @wannajointhecrabcult @theymakeupfairies

[horrorslashergirl]

Slasher OC: The Hacker

Full Name: Xander Shawn Rivera (Although none knows his real name as his killer persona)

Nickname(s): Xan, Hackerman, The Hacker, Erron, Cyber Killer, Shawty, BlueRain, Blue

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Nationality: American

Place of Birth: New York City, USA

Current Location: New York City

Occupation: As a civilian, he works in the IT department of a company; As his killer persona he is a Dark Web Criminal, Master Hacker, CEO of Online Drug and Weapon Store

Base of operation: New York

Languages: English

Appearance:

Height: 6'3

Weight: 185 lbs

Body Type: Atheltic

Skin Color: Warm Ivory

Hair Color: Black

Hair Style: He has an undercut hairstyle, much longer on the top, with bangs covering sometimes one eye

Eye Color: Smokey grey, giving off eerily serene, sometimes studiously expressionless

Clothing: As his civilian persona, Xander prefers easy clothing that doesn't attract attention, keeping the image of a boring 30s male, he opts for dark jeans, T-shirts with symbols from video games or simple graphic T-shirts, and hoodies in colors of black, dark grey or light grey, dark blue. His shoes of choice are either vans or converse, comfortable and practical. Xander's clothing could be described as nerdy.

As his killer persona, he chooses black clothing or midnight dark blue, black converse, or black high Nikes, a bulletproof vest under his hoodie, utility belt where he has his holster with the bowie knife. He wears a neon blue Purge-like mask to hide his identity, and he upgraded the mask, installing mini-video cameras close to where his eyes are so that he can record any of his murders or information in order to blackmail.

Other features: He has a dragon tattoo on one of his pectorals, a tongue piercing and he has a cock piercing right on the tip also known as Prince Albert piercing, plus his scrotum ring piercing. He also has blue braces. He also has some faint freckless on his nose and around.

Face Claim: Desmond Harrington

Weapons: Bowie Knife, Beretta 92 Gun, Wilson Combat EDC X9

Scent: He wears Dior Men Cologne Sauvage, the fragrance is announced as radically fresh, raw and noble at the same time. Top notes are Calabrian bergamot and Pepper; middle notes are Sichuan Pepper, Lavender, Pink Pepper, Vetiver, Patchouli, Geranium and elemi; base notes are Ambroxan, Cedar and Labdanum. Other notes of his scent would be tabacoo, a sugary energy drink smell.

Favorite Food: McDonalds, Subway and Burritos

Favorite Drink: Energy drinks, especially the Monster Energy Drink ones

Power/Skills:

Great knowledge in IT and hacking

Torture methodology

Driving skills

Stealth/Evasion

Skilled usage of weaponry

Bulletproof outfit

High intelligence

Manipulation

Computer skills

Murderous expertise

Skill in hand-to-hand combat

Knifesmanship

Gunmanship

Psychopathic nature

Fearlessness

Ruthlessness

Airplane Pilot Skills

History/Bio:

The man known as the infamous Hacker was long ago someone completely different.

Xander Shawn Rivera was born into a suburban neighborhood close to New York City, along with his little sister Chloe, their parents being Neil Rivera, their father who worked as a police officer of New York City, and their mother Olivia Rivera working for a company in New York into the logistic department.

Xander had a normal childhood, until when he was 14 when his mother left him, his sister, and his father for a rich man. Neil took care of the two kids, and because his mother left them, Xander started to hold a huge grudge on her, especially that his sister, Chloe told him many times that their mother would come back, and Xander got even more hate on his mother when she wouldn't come to visit them; never present for Chloes birthdays, holidays and such.

In high school, Xander was considered the biggest nerd; awkward and unsure of himself, he was a prime target for the popular kids. He wasn't the strongest in the physical department, being fairly tall for his age and a slender guy, he focused his attention more on learning, especially in the IT, technology, and robotic department of the school.

Being more captured by the cybernetic life, he spends all his free time learning how to hack, getting deeper into the Dark Web. First, he opened an online drug store and in time he started to do trafficking with dangerous weapons too. His father being at work most of the time, he had all the privacy he needed, and none had any suspicions of what he was doing, being seen as the non-interesting guy with social awkward skills.

In the last year of high school, one night while he was working, Xander received a call from the New York Police, telling him how his father was gunned down during an investigation with a drug-dealing gang.

With his father dead and his sister completely devasted, not to mention a plan for what he will do after he finishes high school, Xander came to a blocking point, and his sister left him too, to go live with their mother and her boyfriend, the rich asshole.

Being left all alone, Xander finished high school and took the job position in the USA army in the security and IT department, since all his reviews were exceptional. After a few years of working for the USA army, learning along how to fight, use weapons, and how to fly an airplane, he decided to quit, not satisfied enough with what his line of work offered him. The superiors treated him like shit and he was viewed just as their lap dog.

After he gave up on the army, he got a job at a New York company, but behind the boring nerdy civilian, Xander developed a new persona, that he earned from all around the Dark Web; The Hacker alias Erron.

Continuing with the illegal stores on the dark internet, he also got intrigued by the more horrible parts, like killing, assassins, torture, porn gore, and the list goes on.

Xander understood that there on Dark Web, he had full control of everything, it was his Kingdom and he was the King, he could be whatever he wanted there and he had all the skills and tricks... And his killer persona turned out to be one of the most wanted international criminals in and outside the USA.

Personality:

As his civilian self, Xander is an introvert to say so, not indulging himself too much in social activities, but he still shows high confidence even as his normal persona. He prefers to keep to himself, being the boring and nerdy Xander Shawn Rivera that is pretty much invisible. It's an image he chose to keep in order not to raise any suspicions of who he really is. Despite being a Master in hacking and IT, he doesn't show it when it comes to his civilian line of work. He has a quote that goes like this: 'Never show your true potential just to be a cheap showoff. Wait for the perfect moment to strike.'

As his killer persona, like most murderers in horror movies, he shares their traits. He is sneaky, intelligent, cruel, aggressive, sadistic, destructive, and brutish by nature. He has no morality, his base of operation being on the Deep Web, where he is doing business. He scops up victims in various ways; down from online dating sites, to posing as a simple seller of a car or phone; he knows what to say to find out more about his victims. Once he tracks you down, he will know everything about you; your name, age, address and even hacking your webcam to cyberstalk you, finding the perfect moment to strike.

As the Hacker, he is very confident, playful, manipulative, and always has a plan B up his sleeves, and if plan B doesn't work, well... get ready for plan C.

The biggest trick is that you don't know anything about who the Hacker is, but he knows everything about you. He is the guy that invades your privacy and knows all your secrets, using all the information against his victims or people that dare to get in his way.

The Hacker is unpredictable, ruthless when he has to be, and extremely possessive of what he owns, because he worked hard for it, and this results in another intense trait of his personality; he is a big workaholic, sometimes forgetting to sleep and eat, especially when he has a huge deal to finish.

The Hackers street smarts and charisma is unmatched and he is one of the toughest criminals to ever walk the streets of America and surfing through the dark web. As the Hacker, he finds it much easier to talk, flirt, and get close to women. It's not necessarily that he is self-conscious, because he is not, and he has an explanation for why as his civilian self he avoids getting too close to the dating game.

'I have to be boring and awkward as to not raise suspicions, besides... why would I need a girlfriend to stick her nose into my business and fuck up everything? Pussy I can find and get anytime and anywhere I want. Thank you very much, motherfucker.'

He also shows traits of narcissism or egomania, loving to be complimented for his work and achievements, hen loves to be praised and acknowledges by those around him that he is the best, which clashes when he has to put on the good civilian mask and pretend he doesn't want to gut everyone's necks around him.

A psychopathic madman with a lust for blood and to be the best in everything he does, he can be considered a big perfectionist, but not in all domains. For example, he is a lame cook and always prefers to get take-outs or food that can be heated into the microwave. He doesn't have time to sleep, much less to spend his time at the stove.

Erron is very blunt and to the point in his conversations, and won't hesitate to tell someone how stupid they are. He lacks empathy and he doesn't work like other people; he is very logical and will use his brain/mind more so than his heart.

All in all, both Xander and Erron are one and the same person, switching personalities.

Crimes:

Stalking

Terrorism

Selling illegal weapons and drugs

Torture

Grand Theft Auto

Mutilations

Kidnapping

Snuff Filming

Blackmailing

Drug/Weapon trafficking

Quotes of The Hacker:

'I see you.'

'Lets see who pays the most.'

'I got many things that may interest you. Drugs, Guns, Maybe a young woman. Lets negociate.'

'I am everywhere.'

'Yes. I got your wife. You should have seen her face when I fucked her.'

'You will never win this game.'

'You think you can catch me? The police tried for years. Good luck, pal.'

[happi-tree]

On The Style and Effectiveness of 1-A Hero Costumes - Part 2/5

Part 2 of this post!

NAVIGATION

Part 1 2 3 4 5

INGENIUM / IIDA TENYA

It’s armor time!!! Behold a man. 

What I don’t like:

The costume seems too bulky for a Quirk and fighting style that optimize speed. And while it’s true that cars are pretty bulky but still go fast, it’s equally true that certain types of cars are designed to go faster. The current design reminds me most of a semi or a big SUV, but if the costume was more streamlined along the lines of racecars or sports cars, it would help take off the extra weight that the bulk provides, leaving Iida lighter and more streamlined - therefore, faster. 

Some examples of slimmer armor include Go Go Tomago’s from Big Hero 6 and Jim Lake Jr.’s from Trollhunters. And while I get that his body type inherently lends itself to being tank-like, lightening up on the bulk would probably be great for him.

The exhaust pipes out of his back confuse me. They bring some car energy, which is entirely welcome, but they likely hinder balance and motion, which is bad. They leave him looking a little unbalanced, and since so much of his strength and his fighting ability focuses on his lower body, having excess superficial material protruding out of the sides like that doesn’t seem to lend him any favors. And even while it looks cool, it just seems like it would be uncomfortable? Especially since a lot of runners - Iida included - like having full range of their arms to help propel them forward. The pipes might get in the way of that.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how this look both makes sense with Iida’s Quirk and personality and plays with elements of his older brother’s costume. It simultaneously puts across some knightly vibes - which is genius, considering how chivalrous and rule-following Iida typically is - and also calls to mind Transformers and cars with the emphasis on the engines and some of the more mecha elements.

The support! Armor is such an easy way to protect yourself while also getting some serious style points. His most essential areas are covered - neck, chest, arms, and legs - which is especially important considering that Iida’s legs are integral to his Quirk and his fighting style. The helmet is also a really good choice, considering this boy is essentially a human car. He looks a bit intimidating wearing it, which is good for fighting Villains, I suppose. Class dad is protected.

And a misc. note:

You know how after Iida’s special Recipro Burst move, he has to wait awhile while his engines cool back down? I think it would be really neat if he implemented some cooling technology into his Hero suit (similarly to Todoroki’s temperature-regulating gear). Theoretically, if he could find something that worked a bit like coolant for his engines, he would have a much quicker reaction time - and speed is the main facet of his Quirk, so it would probably help a lot!

Overall: Very good at providing protection while having a bomb-ass aesthetic. Not quite so good at being built for speed.

I CANNOT STOP TWINKLING / AOYAMA YUUGA 

On the other side of the armored spectrum… we have this kid!

What I don’t like:

*Edna Mode voice* NO CAPE! Why do I not like the cape? Capes can snag on stuff very easily and it would be an easy thing for Villains to target and use to unbalance Aoyama. Longer capes are especially susceptible to getting trapped under rubble, torn up, or covered in gunk from the environment (which is not the Look he seems to like). I feel like a shorter cape would get a similar message across while minimizing the potential dangers that a long cape poses. Of course, Aoyama can be trained via experience to utilize his costume effectively with the full-length cape, but when his life and the lives of others are on the line, I’d rather not take that chance.

The shades. I get that they’re iconic, but they’re taking rose colored glasses a bit too seriously. 110% will fall off his face and also messes with the princely Vibe the rest of his costume provides. I do like their Elton John energy, though.

Not a bad thing, but I just want to know how his belt works.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how the costume’s obvious “princely knight” vibe reflects so much of Aoyama’s character. 

The support here is also really good! Working the belt into the theme of his costume so seamlessly is very innovative and I love that for him. Getting the knee pads and shoulder pauldrons to match his central laser both adds to the uniqueness of the outfit and also pushes that royalty theme since they look very similar to inset gems. 

The color scheme. Purple, silver, gold, and black look very classy and regal together, and I appreciate how the royal purple ties back into the concept of European royalty, which is very in-character for this boy. His pantaloon-looking things??? Neato.

Overall: Eh, okay. Ditch the glasses and shorten the cape. Superb, you funky lil knight light.

CREATI / YAOYOROZU MOMO

Here we are! I’m finally taking a crack at one of the most highly debated hero costumes in the entire show, and like a good portion of people, I’m gonna be extremely salty about it. Yaomomo doesn’t deserve this - none of the girls deserve this. These are my thoughts:

What I don’t like:

The absolute lack of support. For any aspect of her. Nothing about this costume is protective (other than maybe the partial high collar). Her most vulnerable areas are exposed, and while it makes sense for easy Quirk usage, it does not make sense for a girl who’s fighting homicidal maniacs on the front lines. The most glaring area in need of support is obviously her chest, as nothing substantial is holding her bust in place. However, so much could be done to work with the benefits of Creation and against its weaknesses that is not being done in this costume. I’ve seen quite a few redesigns that include a sports bra with a front zip closure, which is worlds better. With the show being set in the future, having a slightly mechanized costume with the ability to retract certain pieces at the press of a button would be useful and likely doable considering Yuuei’s own Support department. Gloves would probably be a good idea to give Yaoyorozu a better grip on harder-to-handle Created objects, such as heavy metal machinery. 

The over-sexualization is, obviously, disgusting. Nothing about this costume says “Hero.” What it does say, in-universe, is that someone had the absolute gall to approve and send this outfit to a 15-year-old girl about to be thrown headfirst into training for an extremely dangerous profession. It says that giving a person in their freshman year of high school an overly sexualized outfit meant for combat training is okay (it isn’t, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain). This more closely resembles an outfit for a lingerie or swimsuit model than it does for any type of superhero, which alone should be enough to warrant some serious changes - especially, as I have stated, since the girl is only 15!

The overall aesthetic. There is no aesthetic reading for this costume other than “sexy”, which, as I explained above, is very problematic. Sure, the exposed skin makes sense for her Quirk, since she needs access to skin in order to produce items with Creation, but nothing about this outfit denotes anything about her personality. Yaoyorozu Momo is a gentle girl who has been shown to have self-esteem issues from early on in the show, and just knowing that makes me wonder if she feels uncomfortable wearing this. If she’s totally comfortable in this look, good for her! But comfort in our clothing factors so much into our mental states, which translates directly to our physical performance - it’s the same reason why having clothes that fit you and your style well make you feel more confident and more content. And especially if Yaoyorozu wasn’t quite expecting the amount of skin revealed when her costume was given to her, it could likely have added on to her self-esteem issues as seen early in the school year.

The skintight fit of what amounts to a glorified bathing suit is not conducive or acceptable whatsoever. With such a powerful Quirk, Yaoyorozu needs all the protective material she can get - which, as I said in Uraraka’s analysis, is quite simply not possible to fit under that bodycon fabric. Some padding at the very least would work wonders, and bulletproof material would serve her even better. 

Once again, heels are not good for any kind of running or fighting! At least it’s a block heel, which is marginally more stable than, say, a stiletto, but still.

The literal bookshelf on her ass. It makes no sense to put it there - it’s an inconvenient place (what if she needs to sit down?) and it looks incredibly awkward to move around with. Besides, there’s absolutely nothing stopping that book from falling at the slightest jostle. At least give her a proper holster or implement it into a toolbelt like some of the boys have. 

What’s with the belt? Can it hold emergency supplies? Or is it just there to make it seem like she’s wearing more than a deep v one-piece? I’m at a loss here.

Here’s what I like:

The color scheme. Deep red, white, and pale yellow look good on her! The color ratios are also pretty good in my opinion. Unfortunately, this is the only good thing I can say about her getup.

And to round us out, some misc. notes:

I feel like the book could be done away with entirely and replaced with something digital. This universe is set multiple centuries into the future, and I think something like a holographic data set would look slick, enable for faster search time for whatever info Yaoyorozu would need, and eliminate the bulk problem completely. At the very least, there could be a smartwatch-type gauntlet to pull up info with a larger screen to enable easy reading. Really, the lack of support for Yaoyorozu’s look is devastating because she could go so many directions in creating an outfit that works with her Quirk’s strengths and against its weaknesses.

Overall: Awful, a disgrace, and a disservice to one of the coolest, kindest characters in the class. I would kill for her to get the outfit she deserves.

INVISIBLE GIRL / HAGAKURE TOORU

Wow, look! Two travesties in a row! One more and I get a bingo!

Hagakure, I love you so much, and I am so, so sorry that the yahoos over at the Support company thought that this was a good idea.

What I don’t like:

Uh. The fact that there isn’t a costume. There is literally no in-universe rationalization for this. Surely, they have the technology. Just look at Lemillion! Togata Mirio’s Quirk is literally phasing through materials (including his own clothing) and they made him his own non-phaseable costume by weaving his own DNA into the fabric! Even if they don’t have the technology (they do), I know that Hatsume and probably the rest of the Support students would immediately jump on the chance of creating a fabric with the ability to switch between visible and invisible modes. 

Once again, the sexualization of minor Hero students continues to disturb me. Who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to send a naked teenager out into a live battlefield just because she’s less likely to be noticed that way? This line of thought surely doesn’t account for stray bullets or falling debris, nor does it account for this poor girl’s peace of mind. She should be focused on getting the job done and saving people, not worrying about how it’s too cold for her to work properly or how there’s nothing between her body and a loaded gun except for the air between them.

The gloves and shoes seem like they’re kinda. Missing the point of contributing to a stealth Hero costume? Yes, they’re good so that Hagakure can be easily recognized among her allies, but does she just have to stow them wherever when she needs to go fully invisible and hope she can find them once the mission’s over? Plus, Hagakure will always, at the very bare minimum, need something to protect the soles of her feet. Walking barefoot just for everyday civilian stuff would cause a lot of problems, but Heroes likely have a lot of broken glass, broken nails, debris, and other nasty things on the streets where they fight. Tetanus is not fun to have. 

Here’s what I like:

The gloves are a nice color, I guess?

Some misc. notes:

I gotta say, I’ve seen SO many good takes on outfit redesigns for Hagakure (same with Yaoyorozu) and the fandom collectively has some wonderful ideas on how to go about creating a costume for her. Personally, I think it would be cool if she had a full-body suit that could change between visible and invisible modes - that way, she would be easy to identify in head counts and it would likely be easier to see places where she could be injured after a fight. At the very, very least they could pull a Lemillion and have her outfit infused with something from her own DNA so it can disappear as she does while leaving her at least covered.

Overall: So, so bad. Please give this girl a suit. I’m tired. 

TLDR Part 2:

Great Costumes: 

Good: Iida

Okay: Aoyama

Questionable: 

Bad: 

The Absolute Worst: Yaoyorozu, Hagakure

[soulmate-game]

Oneshot #2

What if Marinette had never won the Wayne Enterprises competition?

Well, her and Damian’s meeting would have probably went something like this.

—*—*—*—*—*

The asian-French hero looked down at her palm, where a plain silver ring sat at the center of the long silver chain around her neck. They had done it. Seven years, lots of reversed deaths, way too many close calls, and Adrien was in a wheelchair for the next few months at least. If he ever got back on his legs at all.

That wasn’t even brushing over the painful fact that he was now an orphan by all rights, his mother finally buried and his father rotting in prison. It was the epitome of a bittersweet victory, and Marinette couldn’t stand to stay in the same city as where it had happened anymore.

It wasn’t like she had a choice, anyway. Marinette was the Guardian now, and the fallout of the last fight led to her parents figuring out her identity. That couldn’t be allowed to stick, so she had asked Plagg to erase their memory of the discovery. She knew Plagg didn’t have the best restraint with his powers, but the effects would never wear off and could never be reversed.

Sure enough, they didn’t just forget that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug. They forgot that Marinette Dupain-Cheng had ever been born.

So the Guardian, for she had held that title since her eighteenth birthday, gathered up all her belongings. She emptied her bedroom as if it had never held a child to begin with, sold everything she didn’t need and packed away what she did. She took the Miracle Box with her, of course. And Chat’s ring. He could wear it anymore anyway, and Marinette didn’t have anyone she could trust it to.

Kagami and Luka gave back their Miraculous, too. As did Chloè. They didn’t need to fight HawkMoth anymore, and they deserved normal lives now that the war was over. Marinette was not about to take from them the very thing she couldn’t have.

So she found herself in Gotham City, her hair cut into a long pixie in an attempt to change up her look. She didn’t need people recognizing her, especially since she had no intention of giving up her hero work. She set up a boutique, she already had more than enough of a clientele and solid reputation to keep her in business for at least a few years. She was twenty years old, and the world saw her as a rising star instead of the crashed meteor she felt like.

The Kwamis saw it. Every time they left the Box (and Marinette liked giving them all at least a day or two every week to stretch their legs, so to say), they would see her darkening bags under her eyes and the almost permanent slump to her shoulders. Her bed almost looked brand new even after several months in Gotham.

She closed her hand around the ring for a moment, before slipping it onto her right thumb. The now-familiar coursing energy of Destruction ran over her body like a current of electricity, promising a fatal shock at even the slightest mistake.

Good thing she was a manic perfectionist.

“Plagg, merge.”

The cat Kwami was sucked into the ring, dying it black and giving birth to the green paw on the flat top. Marinette’s already darkened and Gotham-ized Ladybug costume gaining a few spikes, a black leather jacket, her utility belt holding her yo-yo darkened into charcoal gray with green accents and a red-and-Black extendable bo staff. Instead of a domino mask, stylized black ski goggles covered her eyes, the magical glass tinting maroon in the right lighting. The tips of Marinette’s short hair dyed into a dark mossy green.

“Let’s show these Gotham villains that they can’t just toss us around,” she said to the empty air, as if promising to herself that her half-year absence from the hero scene hadn’t filled her skills at all.

(And it probably hadn’t, since she had kept up with her own training regiment during the hours she really should have been using to sleep, but she wouldn’t be Marinette if she didn’t doubt her own skills every now and then.)

With a soft whisper of “cataclysm,” she laid her hand on the metal door that had been slammed shut. It rusted and crumbled away into dust immediately. She wouldn’t let Scarecrow hold her charity gala hostage. Sure, it hadn’t been as extravagant as something thrown by the Waynes, but it was her first gala and had had a surprisingly large turnout. People had fallen in love with their new Gotham celebrity philanthropist.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t alone. Right then, the windows in the rented building shattered, allowing three very familiar masked men to drop in at the three other corners of the room. With Marinette, they made a full square of heroes surrounding the Gotham villain and his screaming hostages.

“Separate,” she whispered, her Plagg-induced accessories fading away to reveal her in just her Ladybug outfit. Her domino mask was replaced by a maroon and black-polka dotted motorcycle helmet with a rose-red visor covering the upper half of her face. She had on matching fitted cargo pants in the same pattern, and a long-sleeved black turtleneck with two large, hot rod red half-circles over both sides of her waist. Calf-High black combat boots with red soles and maroon stripes up the outer edges completed the new Ladybug look. Not including the ever-familiar yo-yo sitting on a thin red utility belt on her hips, anyway.

The three Gotham-native vigilantes observed everything, including the unfamiliar figure in red and black that seemed to be on their side, at least for now.

“Robin,” Batman spoke up. “Red Robin and I will engage Scarecrow. Get the hostages out and administer the antidote for the fear toxin. If we haven’t wrapped things up by the time you're done, come back here.”

The colorful vigilante let out a tsk at being left out of the combat, but knew he would be the fastest at evacuating the victims. They were all under fear toxin and several were having very violent reactions to it, so his no-nonsense approach would be the best match up with wrangling the civilians out of the building.

“I’ll help you,” an unfamiliar female voice crackled over their coms, making the three vigilantes stiffen. “Relax, my suit’s magic patched me in to your frequency. You can call me Ladybird. I won’t get in your way, but I’m not gonna just sit back and watch either.”

“If you slow me down, I’m hogtying you and leaving you for the Commissioner,” Robin warned, her gaze flashing over to the unfamiliar hero right as her ruby-red lips curled up into a secretive smirk.

“Fair enough.”

Batman and Rex Robin rushed into the fight then, seeing as Nightwing couldn’t distract Scarecrow forever. The blue vigilante used their sudden take over of the fight to turn his attention to Scarecrow’s rented goons, and knock guns out of hands.

Ladybird and Robin took over the rest. Working like a surprisingly well-oiled machine, they seemed to know exactly which victim to grab next to avoid getting in the other’s way. Robin noted that Ladybird seemed surprisingly well-versed in handling panicking victims that fought back, easily trapping their limbs to their bodies and carrying them out forcibly yet efficiently. She was also surprisingly quiet, whispering to the more coherent victims and doing her best to keep the evacuation as subtle as possible.

She was equally quick in administering the antidotes that Robin handed out to her, her hands clothed in black motorcycle gloves easily sliding the needles of the syringes into the right arteries without a second of hesitation.

Luckily, they hadn’t had to go back into the fight after getting all the victims rounded up and cured. Ladybird has just finished handing out shock blankets when Robin’s team filed out of the building with an unconscious Scarecrow held limply between them. A few statements and evacuated victims later, and the three met up with Ladybird in a nearby alley.

“Who are you, and why are you in Gotham?”

“Ladybird,” she said calmly, ignoring the beeping in her helmet. She had used her cure discreetly to reverse any physical damage the vigilantes and victims had taken, and hoped they wouldn’t notice until the next day. It had taken her a while to learn how to make the magical ladybugs invisible, but it was a useful skill. “I used to be Ladybug, back in Paris, but Paris doesn’t need heroes anymore. I came here for a new start, that’s it. I don’t plan to get in your way, but don’t expect me to stay out of it when bad things happen.”

“Oh, so we’re just supposed to accept a new vigilante with magic popping up and sticking their noses in our business, are we?” Robin challenged, stepping forward with hostility in every muscle of his body. Ladybird, to her credit, did not even flinch. In fact, even though she was over a foot shorter than Robin, she just straightened up to make the most of every inch of height she had. It was shockingly effective. She petit female could apparently make a very intimidating presence when she wanted to.

“I don’t plan on leaving, so you either play nice or get the nice beat into you,” she said with a falsely cheerful voice. A growl pulled itself from the back of Robin’s throat.

The rest of the BatFam watched with barely restrained tension. None of them were happy about a new, unknown vigilante in town, sure. But Robin was by far the last person they would have chosen to confront the new person.

“I’d like to see you try, shorty,” Robin purred menacingly, a sharp grin overtaking Ladybird’s mouth at the challenge.

“Gladly, little birdy,” She chimed right back. They lunged at the same moment, Ladybird’s hand gripping Robin’s bicep to try and throw him over her shoulder at the same moment that the man’s fist made contact with one of the large spots on her waist.

But before any real damage could be done, a flash of green light erupted around them, surrounding both heroes and separating them with business-like speed. They blinked at each other as they were forced to separate, wondering if Green Lantern had made a surprise visit to Gotham.

But that was not it, they realized, the green was much too dark a shade and proceeded to sink into the skin around their wrists. A mechanical voice sounded in the air.

“WARNING: GAME FOUL. ATTACKS BETWEEN SOULMATES OUTSIDE OF FRIENDLY SPAR ARE PROHIBITED.”

“What the hell—“

“INITIATING GAME START.”

Both heroes’ vision split in half, just as Marinette’s one-hour timer ran out and her transformation dissolved.

“Well. I’m Marinette, I guess. Your soulmate.”

She watched from two different perspectives as Robin’s eyes widened behind his mask and her own star-struck face contrasted starkly with her unaffected tone of voice. Apparently exhaustion saps the emotion from someone’s tone.

“Holy plot point, Batman.”

“I thought we agreed you would never say something like that again, Nightwing.”

—*—*—*—*—*

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 14

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Damienette arranged marriage: part 14

NEXT

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

Marinette wanted to chase after him, but suddenly the pain in her heart flared again. She suddenly detransformed and fell on her knees. The green glow around her heart got stronger and she was suppressing the scream of pain. 

“I am so sorry Marinette. I tried to heal you… but this is some dark magic. Oh no! I think I made it worse…” Tikki was lamenting while floating next to the girl. The last thing Marinette rememebed before passing out from the pain was a scream and a pair of green eyes staring at her. There might have been some words, but she was unable to hear them.

-----------

Damian cursed under his breath. Of course something like this would happen. Marinette passed out from the pain that the curse was causing her. Only my mother. He tired to remember anything that would help, but nothing came. He was certain it had something to do with the marriage ceremony, but what exactly he had no idea. The whole ceremony was quite hazy in his memory. He didn’t really pay that much attention to what was said, instead trying to free himself. He looked at the worried kwami floating around in panic.

“tt. Jon. Lay her down on the bed. You.” He looked at Tikki. “Why did this happen?”

“I don’t know. When we merged I tried to heal her body so she stood a chance. There was some dark magic around Marinette’s heart and I tired to purify it, but it pushed me out and this happened. Oh my Marinette.” Tikki almost started to cry.

“That is mother’s fault. She did something during wedding. This is some… curse or something.”

There were several bangs and three people barged into the room. The boy wore a black, teal, and cyan suit, appearing to be slender and muscular. His suit had a snake texture along with the same kind of underbelly like a snake and had a cyan colored mask around his eyes. His eyes were green and his hair was in same coloration as his outfit. He held a lyre in battle position. 

Next was a girl. She wore a red bodysuit with an image of a black rose with a yellow outlining involving her from her left leg to her chest with the flower holding the images that represent the three elements: lightning, air and water. She also had a black collar/turtleneck (where she had her choker), black forearm-length gloves and black legs starting at a point in the middle of her lower legs, both with yellow outlining. On the back of her head, she had four red dragon like horns with yellow tips with black outlining and, on her back, she had a holder for her sword. On her face, she wore a red mask around her eyes with yellow and black outline at the base of the sides. Her eyes were golden with a yellow scleras.

Third was Chloe.

“What is going on here?” Viperion asked with worry when he saw Marinette on the bed. Tikki hid behind Damian not to expose her chosen. 

“She is suffering from some kind of curse. I have no knowledge of what set it off.” Damian summarized. 

“I can hear her song…” Viperion said more to himself than anyone in particular. “It’s… so distorted. Almost like there was… I never before encountered anything like this.”

“Her song?” Chloe looked like she was about to faint. TMI. Waay TMI for one day.

“There is time for questions will come later. For now Mar… This girl needs our help.” Ryuko stated calmly, but there was some well-hidden fear in her voice. Not well enough for Damian.

The stutter did not escape young Wayne. Marinette never told him the identities of the two remaining full-time heroes. She did tell him she only had two friends that still supported her though and it was not that hard to connect the dots.

“I agree.” He said. “I assume you are trustworthy enough if Ladybug made you a full-time heroes. Kent, get me my case.”

Jon made a faux salut and flew to his room. In just a moment he was back with the silver case. He put it on the ground and Damian opened it. Viperion and Ryuko looked at the content and their expression shifted a bit. While the girl stayed silent, a small gasp escaped serpent hero. The only reaction Robin gave them was an absent-minded dismissive hand-wave while he pillaged through the utility belt. 

At the same time Chloe was next to Marinette’s unconscious body. She could see that even now she was in great pain. A tear fell down the blonde’s face. “I just got a friend… don’t make me alone again. I promise I will be the best friend ever…” 

“tt. I have no more anti-charms.”

“So call Raven. I am sure she can come here.” Jon suggested. “I will even carry her here to speed things up.

“She is in different plane of existence on some… pilgrimage. And my roaming does not cover hell or wherever she went.”

“Zatana then? Doctor Fate?” Superboy did not gave up and started to enumerate the Justice League members that had some knowledge of magic.

“tt. Yeah. Let’s get Santa Claus” Damian joked.

“No can do. He is too busy before christmas.” Tikki said surprising everyone. There was a loud THUD! and Chloe was now fainted on the floor. 

“Weren’t you supposed to stay hidden? And he is real?!” Damian screamed the last part.

“I am the first thing that ever came into existence, you are best friends with two aliens, a mutant and a half-devil. Do you honestly have trouble believing in Santa Claus?” Tikki asked. “Oh my… I am turning into Plagg…” She moaned.

“Yes. the best way to spend time is to wallow about your choice of words while your chosen is fucking dying from pain.” Damian cursed.

“I know a solution. In fairy tales most curses can be broken with true love’s kiss!” Tikki said happily.

“Does it look like a fairy tale to you?” Damian was losing patience

“No. But there is a reason why people believed in it. Only it doesn’t work that way really.” She paused and Damian sent her a death glare. Kagami, Luka and Jon all decided to step back to give them space. None had any idea who would come victorious. Tikki might have been all-powerful, but Damian had enough tenacity and determination to not care. “The true loves kiss can only break some curses, mostly related to love.”

“So whatever curse mother put on her during the wedding should be reversable with a… kiss?”

“Exactly!”

Damian pondered this. He wanted to do it, but he just… froze. Every part of him was telling him that this was the only way. That he had to save her. But at the same time, this little part of his brain was telling him that this was not right. That their first kiss should not be like that.

Damian slowly approached and took Marinette’s hand. He leaned over so their faces were only centimeters apart.

“I am sorry.’

——————————————————————————————————–

Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell  @sturchling @lokiifriggasonn @redscarlet95 @melicmusicmagic @interobanginyourmom @the-fusionist @razzledazzle247 @miss-mysterys-blog @darkthunder1589 @i-is-mysterious @catthhay @the-one-woman-army @zestyzealot @dahjokester @write-for-your-life2 @mermaidreject @peachedpocky @sassakitty @dahjokester @crazylittlemunchkin @novicevoice @justafanwarrior @eliza-bitch @schrodingers25

[yasmine-arslan]

( melisa pamuk, female, she/her. ) — see yasmine arslan (murray) ? that’s the broken bird of fairview . the twenty-nine year old has been a resident on wisteria lane for four years and currently works as a registered nurse (rn). yasmine confided in rose with the death of her son and grew close enough to her to help her cope with the his loss. since the news broke, any progress they’d made toward yasmine becoming a person again has sent her into regression. her returning-optimism has seemingly been replaced by a dark, cynical sense of humor cracking under the surface. maybe it’s the fact that a dark cloud in the form of one or two secrets is hanging over their head. they are described as smelling of ysl’s black opium, having a bronze-glow with enticing eyes and dark, long tresses with full lips and being able to save a life just as quickly as they can take one. // (jessy, she/her, twenty-four, cst). + disciplined, resourceful - cunning, perfervid

tw: child death, miscarriage, depression.

short version:

yasmine arslan comes from a wealthy family, primarily involving the shale or oil companies they own. she didn’t want to follow in her four older siblings’ footsteps (with yasmine being the youngest) and continue delving into the family business. she joined the military at a young age and became a medic for the u.s. marines with her family’s full-support.. it was meeting adrian that encouraged her to wrap up her contract and become honorably discharged from the marines seeing as fraternizing was forbidden. however, her devotion to helping people didn’t cease and she accepted an offer as an rn in the hometown they decided to settle into.

it came to little surprise to either of them, even after a miscarrige, when yasmine became pregnant with their little boy, josiah. those around her were shocked to see her excel at being a mother seeing as she seemingly didn’t possess a single maternal bone in her body, but motherhood changed her. she adored her son and josiah was absolutely adored to bits by both of his parents.

adrian had been in the military a lot longer than yasmine and had a lot more blood on his hands than she did. he had a harder time adjusting to the civilian lifestyle than she had and ultimately decided to cope by becoming a mercenary. he was a loving husband and father by day, but a killer, gun-for-hire by night. all of the killing began to take a toll when he sloppily allowed one of his marks to get away. he didn’t think it would come back to haunt him until it did. their four-year old son was killed in cold-blood in their arms, forever changing their lives and their marriage.

yasmine was never a warm person, by any means, but she lived for her son and her family. his death forced herself into a recluse unable to do much other than autonomously meander throughout life.

instead of separating, the family moved to wisteria lane to try and start over and discuss the idea of trying for another child. despite her cold demeanor, nursing is her passion. she seldom shows her emotions and really only allows adrian in long enough to get a glimpse of a person beyond her beautiful, bronzed, cold demeanor. she doesn’t know her husband is responsible for the death of their son because heaven forbid. when she isn’t in her nurses scrubs or work uniforms, she’s seen in designer attire. very little people know of josiah’s existence because no one is allowed in their home. those who are hardly make it far enough to see his room or any lingering pictures of him.

statistics: 

TW: Miscarriage, PTSD, Drug and Alcohol Usage, Child Death, Divorce, Infertility, Depression

Basics: 

☾ ━ Portrayal By: Melisa Pamuk ☾ ━ Full Name: Yasmine Arslan-Murray ☾ ━ Nicknames: Yas, Yaz, Yazzy, Mina, Arslan. ☾ ━ Age & Birth Date: 34 / 17 April 1993. ☾ ━ Sex & Pronouns: Female / She & Her. ☾ ━ Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual. ☾ ━ Marital Status: Married (Complicated).   ☾ ━ Current Location: Fairview, Illinois.  ☾ ━ Place of Birth: Ankara, Turkey. (Central Anatolia Region). ☾ ━ Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX, USA. ☾ ━ Ethnicity: Turkish & Italian.  ☾ ━ Race & Nationality: Middle Eastern & Caucasian / Turkish (birth) & American (naturalization). ☾ ━ Languages Spoken: Turkish, English, Italian, and Spanish.  ☾ ━ Religion: Non-practicing Muslim.  ☾ ━ Occupation: Assistant (previously) / Registered Nurse (currently) / Medical Assistant (formerly).  ☾ ━ Education: High School Diploma / Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.  ☾ ━ Affiliation: Unapplicable. 

Relationships:

☾ ━ Parents: Nina & Yousef Arslan.  ☾ ━ Siblings: Yousef Arslan (brother; 39), Zayn Arslan (brother; 40), Maha Arslan (sister; 19).  ☾ ━ Significant Other: Adrian Murray (husband; on-again, off again). Yasmine met Adrian in Corpus Christi while she was still in nursing school. (Insert their complicated history/timeline here). Eventually the duo became married, and had a son together. Later, after their son’s death, she attempted to separate herself from him after being unable to look past blaming him for Josiah’s death, but can’t seem to be without him.  ☾ ━ Children: Josiah Zayn Russel-Arslan. Adrian (an ex-military, gun-for-hire mercenary) and Yasmine lost their son brutally for reasons unbeknownst to her, though Adrian knows who is responsible and why. They’d meant to shoot her or Adrian, but their son got caught in the cross fires. He died shortly before his fifth birthday.  ☾ ━ Pets: 3 Coy fish, 2 dogs (Lilly; pitbull) & (Saguaro; german shepherd), 1 snake (Rose; mud snake). ☾ ━ Familial Ties: ☾ ━ Others Worth Mentioning: ☾ ━ Height: 5”4’. ☾ ━ Weight: 119lbs.  ☾ ━ Eye Color & Shape: Deep brown & almond shape.  ☾ ━ Hair Color & Style: Dark brown; naturally wavy with thick curls. Usually worn either curly, straight, up or tied back with two braids and loose tresses.  ☾ ━ Complexion: Golden-bronze.  ☾ ━ Distinguished Features: Two small beauty marks on the right side of her chin and cheek, prominent jawline, big, sultry eyes, a subtle accent.  ☾ ━ Style: When she wasn’t wearing her military or nursing attire, Yasmine is found wearing any series of designer jeans or other bottoms including skirts and pants. Silky camisoles, satin blouses, plain tees, oversized sweaters, and over-the-shoulder shirts dominate her closet. She also wears dresses, sundresses or bodycons and anything in between, and even dual-utilizes her blazers as dresses. Yasmine can also be found wearing her ex-husband’s tees and jackets when she isn’t wearing her own cardigans, denim or leather outwear, or workout gear. Bralettes are always fashionably seen poking out of her shirts. She mostly wears neutral or minimalistic hues such as black, white, nude, baby pink or blue, gray, and any variations of these shades. Her obscene shoes are a vast collection of chunky booties, long boots, heels, wedges, and flats, mostly black with the occasional color. She can always be found wearing a designer bag and accessories. Her ears only wear one singular set of diamond earrings, while she wears a small cross around her neck that she interchanges with a lock that consists of a photo of her son, Josiah. She still wears her wedding bands and no other rings.  ☾ ━ Physical Description: Barely standing at five and a half feet and a little over a hundred pounds, Yasmine can be described as petite. She is often underestimated as she can put anyone on their ass before they can anticipate it. Her go-to makeup look consists of a natural look unless she’s purposely going for a subtle glam look. Either way, her lipstick choices are subtle nudes, pinks, browns, and the occasional red. Mostly, she sticks to matte lips or clear glosses. Her lashes are thick and long without mascara, but she piles it on to accommodate her thick eyebrows and full lips. Now that she is no longer in the military or nursing, she can be found wearing black pants, booties or heels, and blouses. When she’s summoned to aid one of the Bianchi members or associates with medical attention, she will wear her nursing outfit if she can, but she always keeps her nursing bag handy that she mostly substitutes with her handbags.  ☾ ━ Tropes: The Healer, The Grieving Mother, The Vengeful. ☾ ━ MBTI: ENFJ (Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging). ☾ ━ Temperament: Choleric ☾ ━ Zodiac: Aries - The Ram. ☾ ━ Alignment: Chaotic neutral. ☾ ━ Element: Fire.  ☾ ━ Sin: Wrath.  ☾ ━ Hogwarts House: Slytherin.  ☾ ━ Greek Goddess: Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom.  ☾ ━ Negative Traits: Impatient, moody, short-tempered, impulsive, aggressive. ☾ ━ Positive Traits: Courageous, determined, confident, enthusiastic, optimistic, honest, passionate. ☾ ━ Personality: She hadn’t had an easy childhood and it hardened her from an early age. Although she’s a nurse, her personality doesn’t fit the bill of a healer. She’s cold to nearly anyone initially other than her patients and her son before his death, and her ex-husband pre-divorce. She has a cold, dry sense of humor that consists of sarcasm and beration of others. She is easily set off and has been known for her violent outbursts, none of which she’s ever lost because she’s underestimated. While she can come off as neurotic and moody, Yasmine can be loyal to a fault and always puts the physical wellbeing and needs of others before her own. She was born from a wealthy family and has always chosen to help others in need, despite her lack of compassion. Losing her son only made her more aggressive and passionate, closed-off and even malicious. Few get to see past the fortress she’s created around her heart.  ☾ ━ Fixations (Likes): ☾ ━ Aversions (Dislikes): ☾ ━ Vices: Red or white wine, tequila, the occasional cigarette, prescription anti-anxieties and opiates.  ☾ ━ Medical History: Two pregnancies (one unsuccessful via miscarriage, one successful), fertility issues, a broken arm, two bullets in her shoulder, chicken pox, occasional seasonal allergies.  ☾ ━ Psyche: Yasmine was diagnosed with a mild case of PTSD following her two tours overseas, but was easily cured with therapy and an antidepressant. She despised taking medications until she was diagnosed with a slight case of postpartum before giving birth to her son instead of after birthing him. Josiah was the light of Yasmine and Garrett’s lives, completely curing her of any depressive state she might’ve been in as she had always considered herself mentally strong. Since his death, she’s been unable to recover from the pit of despair and meanness that consumes her life. The only person capable of even coming close to making her feel a sliver of emotion is Garrett. She abuses prescription drugs, especially opiates, to cope with the loss. Occasionally she becomes roped into a state of mind where she seeks comfort in Garrett and sleeps with him, subconsciously trying for another child despite her aversion to exposing another child to their childhood. 

Other: 

➤ Yasmine was born in the country of Turkey into a strict household that consisted of three additional siblings (two older brothers, one younger sister), four including herself. Her parents own a shale corporation within the country and gave their children trust funds to jump start their educations and futures. For a better chance at a future, she was sent to live with an aunt and an uncle who raised her in Texas. They’d always envisioned their daughter as a doctor, but nursing was her passion. They were proud of her for graduating with honors and still continuing to work her way up the ranks in the medical field. 

➤ She spent the entirety of her career easily surpassing the people around her at every milestone and every skill while healing those around her. She witnessed death until it desensitized her and tried to heal anyone, enemies and allies alike. 

➤ Yasmine met Adrian Murray early-on in her nursing schooling career. He was infamous, more than a man but less than a God as far as other soldiers were concerned. After years of despising men and swerving them at every turn, she became infatuated with him despite the differences in their age. Garrett Russell was a Force Recon Marine, Scout Sniper, 2nd Lieutenant, and was a Silver Star recipient, with over a decade and a half of military experience under his belt. He reciprocated his feelings for her and chose to continue their relationship after he retired. Not shortly after she graduated, Yasmine became a nurse at a local hospital in Corpus and they began to see each other.

➤ After many false positives, difficulty with their fertility, and a miscarriage, Adrian and Yasmine successfully conceived a son, Josiah Zayn Murray. He was the best parts of his parents, the only good thing either of them were capable of. Adrian became a mercenary to support his family, even though Yasmine had her trust fund to keep them living a comfortable lifestyle. Regardless, he chose to funnel his energy and skills into something he was good at rather than let the trauma of his experiences as a soldier consume him. 

➤ Their family was the epitome of picture-perfect, of happiness. It was enviable to watch a beautiful family live such a quaint, charmed life, despite Yasmine’s opposition to her husband’s occupation. She tried to focus on being a good mother and a supportive wife, but often found herself resenting him every time he’d come home covered in blood, smelling of gunpowder or burnt flesh. He was an attentive father, but became lost in the bloodlust aspect of being a mercenary and it eventually came back to haunt them.

➤ Shortly after completing a job, Adrian inadvertently left a loose end behind, or so she assumed.. Said ‘loose-end’ eventually found his family and remorselessly attacked them, spraying their home with bullets, leaving both of them unscathed. Their son, however, was shot repeatedly and died immediately and gruesomely in their arms. It took her awhile to figure out he was to blame, despite having her suspicions, but she resented him beyond her ability to remain married to him. They became separated because she couldn’t see him without thinking of Josiah, the spitting image of Adrian, but she refused to officially divorce him.. 

➤ Eventually, they moved to Fairview at the recommendation of a family friend and settled into the quaint neighborhood of Wisteria Lane, hoping for a chance at a fresh start where they could hopefully work on their marriage and try for another child. 

➤ She doesn’t allow anyone to publicly see her grieve, choosing to break down on her own or amid her husband’s presence. Her coldness only amplified and she’s recently become more violent, hitting Adrian and throwing anything at him while purposely instigating so he’ll defend himself against her. 

➤ She purposely finds and puts herself in situations that could cost her her life, unafraid of death and the morbid possibility of meeting her son soon.

[elmidol]

Error: Program Not Found - Five

Summary:  You are in charge of programming the droids that work most closely with both General Hux and Kylo Ren. Unbeknownst to you, each of these two men have it in their heads that your relationship extends beyond the workplace. This causes things to escalate quickly when your two apparently secret boyfriends compare notes on their respective partner who is far too similar for their liking.

Read on AO3

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” - Japanese proverb

 Five: Morale

 TeeArr’s new arm was not a different color than the old one, however it offered that impression due to its newness. Light reflected off its surface more freely than the dulled exterior of the droid’s other limbs. You made a note to have the protocol droid properly bathed. Had the maintenance lead not been so caught up in admonishing and berating you for TeeArr’s constant critiques on his work, the man would have done his job more thoroughly and the task would have already been completed. Listening to him had been exasperating enough that you had failed to take into account that TeeArr would not have been bathed. Rolling your eyes, you let yourself remember the expression on the man’s face. He had been ticked. Riled up. Stating what TeeArr had been doing only to be corrected by the protocol droid over one of the finer details of the situation they had shared. You snorted at that.

 “I see nothing funny here,” TeeArr said. His head turned one way then the next, no doubt in an attempt to discover your source of amusement. There was nothing in the hallway for him to discover aside from the normal closed doors, mouse droids, and First Order personnel.

 You waved your hand, wagging it back and forth after bending your elbow to raise the limb partway towards your face. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you later.” TeeArr gave the droid equivalent of an exasperated sigh. He had charged while you had slept a few hours after you had retrieved him from the maintenance lead. A new shift was set to start in under an hour, and your plan was to arrive first to continue repairing the training droids. The team would be no different than the previous cycle. Kylo Ren was present again as well, you noticed upon entering the training area.

 Droids that were in later stages of repair had been placed into a separate section in the room than the ones you had yet to work on. Kylo Ren, wearing his full outfit to include hood and mask, stood beside the pile. His back was to you, but that did not stop you from realizing that he was inspecting the droids. You were unsure if it was due to impatience or if he was merely curious as to what modifications had been made. Superior materials had been brought in; that had been one area that you and the maintenance lead had not clashed.

 TeeArr was not oblivious to Kylo Ren’s attendance. He was, however, thankfully more tactful when addressing him. “Ah! Commander Ren. You will be pleased to know that my arm has been fully restored. I can now assist in repairing these droids.” Kylo Ren slowly turned around. The action felt delayed enough that you blinked to ensure you weren’t imagining movement. As your eyelids lifted, Kylo pointed his mask in your direction. You gave an awkward wave. “And it is just as well. Did you know that some of your First Order employees utilize their work datapads for unprofessional functions?”

 Kylo Ren offered his full attention to TeeArr. Your eyes started to widen, and you recognized that you were growing nervous when you felt your leg muscles tensing. This was not a time to have a repeat of the previous day.

 “Indeed, sir. Despite the limited memory on their datapads, some of the technicians and mechanics stash a sealed folder of holovids that add nothing to the furtherment of the First Order’s goals.”

 “Oh,” you said though you had not been the one TeeArr had been addressing. “Humor helps keep morale up.”

 TeeArr turned its head to look at you. “I will never understand humans. Nakedness as--”

 “Wait!” You held up your hands, waving both of them back and forth to silence TeeArr, who for once listened immediately.

 Kylo Ren took a step in your direction. You dropped your hands, began to sputter out an apology for the inappropriate conversation, and found that your tongue did not want to work. Clearing your throat, you were ready to try again when Kylo Ren paused only a foot away from you. Sometimes you forgot just how tall he was.

 “Your droid has such filthy preoccupations.” You swallowed hard. There was no anger in his tone, and his hands were not clenched. In terms of Kylo Ren body language, he was approachable. You repeated what he had said, specifically his choice of words, in your head. As when General Hux had caught you off guard, you found your face growing warm. “Is that what you discuss with it?” You did not discuss sex with droids.

 Before you could properly respond to his question, the door to the training room slid open and Kylo Ren took a step away from you. Only a single step, yet the distance felt greater. Your mind took a moment to register why this was. His fingers had curled towards his palms into loose fists. Less approachable now. He did not wish to speak so freely, or be spoken to quite openly, when there were others besides you in the room. This struck you as odd. You had never before allowed yourself time to consider that Kylo Ren might view you as anything other than a programmer. His actions, subtle as they were, could not slip your notice now.

 It rang true that familiarity could allow one to naturally lower their defenses. You did not consider yourself to be friends with Kylo Ren. On that same note, you did not fear him quite as much as others did, and you were aware that he respected your work. This easily translated into personal respect. More when you thought of the limited social contact he appeared to have.

 Looking away from Kylo Ren, you greeted the female mechanic that walked into the room. Her eyes darted from Kylo to you. You assumed that, like you, she had arrived with the intention of starting work a little early. Which meant that she had not expected anyone else to be in the room, not to mention Kylo Ren of all people. TeeArr, despite being a droid, could sometimes read a room. This rang true when he realized that the woman had not moved any closer to the droids that she had come to repair. TeeArr grabbed hold of one of the badly damaged pieces and walked over to her. She startled at that, offered her gratitude, and took the droid to begin work.

 You lowered yourself into a comfortable sitting position to do likewise. Several of the programs that you had altered for the droids were more to the copy/paste stage once you deleted lines of coding that they currently possessed. What was most time consuming with this was that you had to link your datapad to each droid individually. This was not something that TeeArr would have been able to assist you with, and so you found yourself suddenly grateful that the mechanic had arrived to keep the droid occupied. Otherwise who knows what conversation TeeArr might have ventured to have with Kylo Ren.

 Connecting the first training droid with your datapad, you were reminded that some of them had different programming than others. Their systems were bogged down with erroneous codes and unnecessary data.

 Kylo Ren picked up one of the droids from the pile on the opposite side of the room. You divided your attention between your work and what he was doing. None of the droids had been given a proper test to check if their functions had improved. It was technically not quite safe for someone to conduct such a test with the method that Kylo Ren had chosen to use. That is, turning them on and drawing the hilt of his lightsaber from off his belt. The nearest exit was too far from your position to correctly dart out of it before the training droid fired its first blast. You jumped in place. The hiss of the lightsaber igniting was practically drowned out by the way its plasma blade deflected the blast. Such speed was not natural, you thought.

 Perhaps that’s the allure of the Force, you reminded yourself.

 A second then third bolt were sent away without hitting their target as Kylo Ren flexed his wrist. The small strokes caught your eye. Training droids were programmed to learn from those they trained. The most basic of programming was no match for one of Kylo Ren’s skill. Which had you considering doing research into newer attack methods to offer a better variety. It would be much the same as how you hoped to handle the physical therapy droids should they be approved. Geared towards the individual, in this case programmed with increased speed and more feints. There were rumors that Jedi, and perhaps Sith, had once used modified droids. Yet it was also said that the Jedi and Sith had never existed. It all depended upon who you spoke with.

 You did believe that they had once existed, and Kylo Ren’s presence reaffirmed this belief. The red plasma blade arced through the air at a leisurely pace. The droid did not dodge in time. Wincing, you were already mouthing a swear before Kylo Ren looked in your direction.

 “Does it recognize that its casing is heavier?”

 Thicker, you thought in correction. Then found yourself pursing your lips when he sliced through the droid like butter with his blade. “That is not helpful.” TeeArr’s voice mingled with your own, which produced an echo effect that gave you pause. When you continued speaking three seconds later, it was only your voice that sounded. “Not to be disrespectful.”

 “Do you keep a hidden folder on your datapad?” Kylo Ren said by way of countering. Your eyes darted to the mechanic only for you to discover that she had put on headgear to help her focus on her work. You should have realized by the change in his behavior that your interactions were not being so readily observed by the other party. “That isn’t quite helpful either...not for your job.”

 “It-it-it’s for morale!”

 “Oh?”

 The heat that had enveloped your face grew in intensity. “Funny holovids. Not...not that.” TeeArr, ever helpful, decided to elaborate on the fact that the content was largely animal-based. As though disappointed by this revelation, Kylo Ren returned his focus on the pile of partially repaired droids. You narrowed your eyes and bristled while observing him lift up another. He was your superior, you reminded yourself, much to your displeasure. You did not frequently dislike working for him. And, in many ways, the droids were for more than just him. That did not change the fact that you were presently displeased with being involved in this project.

 To take a page out of the other woman’s book, you grabbed hold of headgear that had been left by one of the other workers and slid it over your ears. That drowned out the sound of whatever training Kylo Ren had decided to participate in. Training and destruction, predominately the latter. Your fingers began to fly across the keys as you input the instructions for the programming change in the droids. TeeArr walked to and from the two piles of droids. He was following the commands of the other female, and you did not take offense to the fact that she had failed to ask you permission to use your droid. It was better she use him than Kylo Ren.

 Three more of the training droids were quick to have corrections on their programming, while the fourth that you encountered had encryptions that most definitely should not have been there. Your thoughts flashed briefly to the folders that TeeArr had mentioned in regards to pornographic holovids then to your own critter shorts. Other hidden files could be program-based. Spyware. This was not something that you recalled encountering on your previous inspections of the droids, and you distinctly remembered going over each droid one by one. It was tedious work to be certain, but you were not one to allow these flaws to slip through the cracks.

 And the droid that Kylo Ren destroyed should not have behaved as poorly as it did. You drummed four fingers on your leg in thought. “Commander?” There was no response. You repeated the title, looking up to find that he was already standing in front of you. You grabbed hold of the headgear to remove it and set the item to your right. “What channels must I go through to have security feed reviewed?”

 “There is no need. You’ve passed the test.”

 What the kriff did that mean? The question would have been apparent on your face given how a low chuckle escaped the vocoder.

 “It was requested that your performance be reviewed given how poorly these droids functioned.” You wanted to scream at the top of your lungs that you had been pulled off the assignment prematurely. That would have done you no good, and would have served only to have given Kylo Ren either a laugh or a headache. “I know that you are thorough.” He squatted down in front of you, prompting you to sit straighter. “Perhaps you should be rewarded.”

 By your next inhalation, he had already pulled away from you and was standing to his full height. You glanced past him. As you had expected, the other female was wrapping up work on the droid that she had been preoccupied with. Kylo Ren’s guard was up again. Her headgear, however, had not been removed.

 “Perhaps more holovids for your morale.”

 His teasing was flirtatious, that much you were beginning to recognize.

 “Uhm… That isn’t necessary.” His stare lingered on you for another moment before Kylo Ren turned away and walked towards the exit of the room. You watched him. Wondered if this behavior was something that you should address then wondered if all the droids had been compromised for this test to take place. You should have stayed in bed longer.

 Except then I’d have had more witnesses to this ridiculous test. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed for one of the other droids to see how much of a mess you were in.

[jboh-art]

I wonder how you design the touhous' clothing/if you have a decent source of references. I'm trying to draw them in authentic Japanese/Chinese clothing, but I can barely find any useful and/or accurate sources on the internet. And since I'm Europian I only have a limited knowledge in these kinds of things, that's why I'm asking. Stay amazing, I love your art!

thank you so much!! i’m always glad to hear that ppl are enjoying what i post :)

i have a bit of a lengthy response so i’ll try to put it mostly under a cut; if it doesn’t work i’m very sorry mobile people

honestly i just redesign them based on what i think looks good...... i also try to make it somewhat similar (in general) to the original outfits that touhous are drawn with (such as drawing kaguya with an aoqun instead of the standard crossed-lapel robes that initially come to mind when thinking of hanfu, because they share a white collar, sleeves that are kinda wide but not exactly billowy, a top that only goes down to around the hips, and a very, very long skirt)

however i do sometimes make an exception depending on the character (for example, even though seiga has a vest, i generally don’t draw her with any additional top layers because i specifically draw more of a chest-high ruqun since i feel that her original design is very tang-dynasty-inspired)

i also just really like to use patterns on clothing just to make it look extra elaborate (plus you get that nice implied embroidered feel).... lately, most of the ones i use are hand-drawn by me, but sometimes if i’m super lazy i’ll overlay traditional japanese katagami, of which you can find high-quality scans at certain museum websites (make sure you check if you can use them, of course!)

as for sources... i actually don’t really use references all too often because i know the most general/basic styles of hanfu by heart, but i always like to look at hanfu blogs on tumblr for inspiration, like @/hanfugallery or @/ziseviolet. i also generally watch a LOT of old and new wuxia/xianxia/chinese period dramas and i have been since i was really young; it’s really easy to absorb the clothing detail from those. for example plenty of wuxia actually have wheelchairs that are designed to look like they’d kiiiiinda fit in the setting, so i remembered those when drawing my latest keikina thing. basically my recommendation is to start following and checking up on media that have a lot to do with costuming etc. so you’ll eventually just start to absorb detail passively! 

also: KNOW WHAT BASIC THINGS ARE CALLED. don’t be afraid to copy/paste the kanji/hanzi terms into non-western sites because, like you mentioned, there’s not tooooo many english-centered (or whatever) places to get really cool info on traditional east asian clothing. i recommend browsing shopping sites too because of the multiple pictures that sellers will take of outfits in order to properly showcase their products, so you can see how a lot of different pieces are sewn and put together from different angles

@/nannaia also did a bunch of REALLY widespread illustrations regarding how chinese and vietnamese traditional clothing evolved over time so i recommend checking those out.

... also, as you can see i kinda just only covered sino-styled clothing and that’s because i know next to nothing about traditional japanese outfits and nor do i really care to... i think plenty of other people draw that kind of touhou fanart so i usually don’t touch it LOL.

that being said depending on the role they play or their current/past societal status it should still be relatively easy to look up sources as long as you KNOW what you want to learn (such as japanese buddhist monk robes for byakuren, or styles that were popular during the asuka period for miko’s crew)

SEARCH ENGINES ARE YOUR FRIEND.

in general tho, it’s really just is the Power of Evocation. a lot of designs you can get away with by not being completely accurate, just as long as you evoke the Feel of east asian traditional clothing. a perfect example is ZUN with eirin/seiga/junko/sekibanki/yachie; you’ll find that NONE of them are wearing any actual hanfu yet their designs SCREAM sino-inspired.

however, just make sure you know what you’re flanderizing before actually flanderizing it is what i’m saying LOL. like be aware of which cultures fold their robes a certain way and when, be aware of color usage and how it can mean different things in east asian cultures as well as the general trend of utilizing different shades on certain outfit pieces, know when and where to use visible frog buttons vs. bows/ribbons, and for god’s sake don’t sexualize qipao or áo dài etc. unless you’re actually like from those cultures (me @ myself even tho i’m sino because i’m already pushing it with sexy seiga)

[thiswasinevitableid]

5 for Danbrey sfw? 3 would be fun for nsfw but idk if you do Danbrey nsfw

I decided to mush the two prompts together. I gave them saucy overtones, but they’re still SFW

5 Should I update my outfit again? I think they like my new boots but the cape didn’t get the reaction I was hoping for 

3 Okay so when they wink at me after a great comeback, is that just their charismatic arrogance or do they maybe like me back?

“I think I should ditch the cape. I mean, she didn’t mention it all Cleopatra.” Dani sits down on the greenhouse bench to adjust her bootlace. Cleopatra tilts her head, curious, but does nothing else. This is because she is sentient venus flytrap and is limited in her ability to communicate.

“I did catch her checking out the boots. I think. Maybe she was just looking for a way to knock me off my feet.” She mists Cleopatra and her sisters, continuing, “which, also, she literally made a quip about wanting to sweep me off my feet. I just cannot get a read on her.”

She stands, walking to her devils-mouth orchids and checking their water levels, “I mean, I even picked fabric for the cape that made my eyes look nice. Jake helped me make sure the colors on the cape and the boots matched up and everything. Uggggggggh, I cannot believe it’s come to this.”

“Haha!”

“Not helping, Juice.” She turns to the Myna bird (one of three) perched on a nearby branch. They’re trained to be spies and minions, but mostly they offer unsolicited commentary on her life.

“Ask her.” Squawks another

“DON’T ASK!” Shrieks the third.

“Come to a consensus or I’m not putting that intelligence serum in your water anymore.”

The birds exchange a look.

“Don’t follow our advice!” says the smallest one.

“Don’t, don’t” echo the other two.

Dani sighs, turns back to Cleopatra, “Come on, help me figure out what to wear for the next time.”

The plant slithers along behind her (she modified the flytrap genome with anaconda DNA), curls up on the counter in the bathroom as she pulls out her make-up case. 

“Okay, copper is good on the eyes right? It’ll highlight the gold. I think. Hmmmm…” she taps her chin with the end of a brush, “vampy red would definitely make her look at my mouth. Which is apparently a thing I want, because I am the worlds most cliche supervillain.”

Cleopatra rustles her tendrils sympathetically. 

“But the red clashes with everything. Maybe a deeper color, oooh, the cute cashier at the coffee shop said this one looked good on me. I tried to think of something flirty to say back and just ended up complimenting her pompadour. God, why is villain me so much smoother than civilian me? Or is she even that any more?”

A vine pats her hand.

“Thanks girl. Now, having my hair up is safe for fighting, but does it make me too severe? Like, too dominatrixy? Or does the Lady Flame like that sort of thing? Uhg WHY DO I CARE?” She thunks her head onto the mirror.

“Half-twist?” The purple-crested Myna bird pokes it head in, cocking it’s head robotically.

“.....Perfect.”

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

The Pine Guard has once again gotten the drop on the Crystal Cabal, much to Dani’s annoyance. What is the point of having a team mate who can see the future if this keeps happening to them?

She dives out of the way of a burst of flame, tossing a handful of her latest creation at her nemesis.

“Aw, flowers for me?” Lady Flame flutters her eyelashes, “they’re prettyYYYow, fireflower.”

“That’s right, I turned your own element against you.”

The hero picks up the flaming flowers and starts juggling them, “I’ve heard of hothouse flowers, but this is ridiculous.”

“She’s flame-proof, Demeter, for goodness sake, OW that hurt.” Indrid, aka Nyx, throws a punch at The Ranger, who absorbs the blow easily. 

Dani hadn’t been thinking of flame proof heroes when she made the plants; she’d been thinking what color to make them so that the Lady Flame would think they were pretty.

“If you all would kindly just surrenderPUT ME DOWN!” The Agent yelps, indignant, when Barclay, aka Hermes, hoists him over his shoulders.

“And if you’d ‘kindly’ just hold still and not bother us for ten minutes, this could all be avoided.”

The fireflowers turn to ash, Lady Flame stepping through it with a grin, “I dig the new boots, very classy. Got a whole ‘don’t fuck with me vibe’ I like a lot.”

“That’s exactly what you should have done. You should have left us alone.” Dani musters her most imperious voice as she launches vines across the ground, taking Lady Flame by surprise and trapping her in the grasp of two large, green, fireproof tendrils. 

“Hah! Surrender, all of you, or my pets will-”

“Eeeep! Hey, what the-” The Lady Flame looks behind her at the smaller vine that just pinched her butt.

“Ohmygosh, I’m so sorry-”

“C’mon now Demeter, no need to get fresh with her. That ain’t sportin.”

“That’s rich coming from the man currently straddling me.” Indrid hisses. 

“I ain’t straddlin, I’m restrainin.”

“I mean I, whoah, hey there” another vine caresses Lady Flame’s chest, a third touches her cheek, “I’m not, like, opposed to someone getting handsy, or uh, viney, I guess. But you have to buy me coffee first.”

“I’m, I don’t know why they’re doing this. I’m so sorry, they’re being so rude and they will be mulch if they touch you in a way you don’t like.” Dani takes one step forward and a vine grips her ankle, starts twining upwards. 

“Uhhhhh, why are they doing that?”

“They shouldn’t be! They respond to my thoughts and emotional state.” She tries every trick she can think off, but nothing makes the vines obey, and two more encircle her chest and stomach.

“Wait, if they respond to your feelings, then do you-GAH!” The vine around Lady Flame’s ribs visibly tightens, as the ones holding Dani drag the two women face to face. 

“I’ve always thought you were breathtaking, but the literal approach is kinda freaking me out.” 

“Me too.” Dani thrashes, and the vine tightens around her. She’s starting to get lightheaded. 

“Guys, a little-”

“-Help!” Dani finishes the Lady Flames’ sentence, and the four other figures in the room turn towards them as one.

“Oh shit.” Barclay tosses The Agent away,  drops down next to Dani, hacking at the larger vine with his utility weapon. The Agent recovers, tries to yank the main vine from it’s source only for a tendril to whip out and strike his cheek. 

“I would like it noted that this was not a likely future.” Indrid tugs at the tightest vine, slashing it with his sharp nails. The Ranger manages to rip one off of Lady Flame’s arm, only for it’s larger cousin to shoot out, sending him flying into Indrid and knocking them both to the ground. 

As their teammates continue their losing battle against her unfortunately durable creation, Dani turns to meet her enemies eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispers, “I never really wanted to hurt you. I just wanted you all not to hurt us.”

“I mean we, like, don’t hate you all or anything, but you’ve, like, been putting people in danger, and blowing things up-”

“Nyx didn’t blow up that bridge!” If they’re both about to die, there’s no point in keeping up the act. 

“Wait, what?”

“He was framed, but we thought it made people take us seriously as a threat, listen to us, so we let people believe it was true. Same with me and that power plant. I just blackmailed the CEO into admitting they’d been dumping toxins in the water supply. None of us blew the place up. Hell, you guys were the ones who destroyed that factory.”

“.....wait, they told us you did that.”

“Who told you?”

“Them? Y’know, the big bosses?” 

“We don’t have those, but we do have informants.”

“What the fuuUUUCk, ow, squishing my ribs, we’re being played.”

“That, ow, that sucks. All this time we’ve been fighting, we could have been dating, I mean, uh, working together.” 

Lady Flame laughs, a bright, beautiful sound, “I knew you were checking me out.”

“Me?! You were the one who kept making flirty comments.”

“Hey, banter’s part of the job. Also, you have a cute butt and that costume really shows off your, um,” The last word is so quiet Dani can’t make it out, but given that Lady Flame glances at her chest, she’s got a good guess as to what it was. 

The vines constrict and they both hiss in pain, the world going fuzzier at the edges as breathing gets almost impossible. 

“I, if this, if this is the end, I just wanna say it’s been a pleasure doing battle with you, Lady Flame.”

Fire colored eyes meet her own, accompanied by a weak smile, “You can call me Aubrey.”

“Dani. Nice to meet you, Aubrey.” She has just enough energy to tip her head forward, bringing their lips together. It’s barely a kiss, but as soon as they connect the vines go limp, dropping them to the floor. 

For a moment they gasp jointly for air, then Aubrey is in her lap, fingers tangling in her hair as she kisses her hard and happily. Dani sighs into the kiss, melting into the embrace, knowing full well the near-strangulation isn’t what’s causing the dizziness in her vision and the butterflies in her stomach. 

“Uh, can’t help but feel we missed somethin.” Over in the corner where they were both thrown (twice), The Ranger tries to disentangle himself from Indrid, who sits up with a knowing look.

“Oh, I see. It appears we are about to form an alliance.”

“Really?” Barclay looks back at them from where’s hes sitting, checking the cuts on The Agents face. 

“It’s a long story, but the cliff notes are: we’re pretty sure someone’s been setting us against each other on purpose. Making us each think the other caused certain disasters.”

“Which means it’s time for a team-up.” Aubrey cracks her knuckles, sending sparks flying. Then she glances shyly at Dani, who reaches out to brush stray ash from her cheeks, “Um, but before that, would you like to go out with me?”

Dani kisses her again, bumps their noses together with a smile as she murmurs, “That sounds really fucking awesome.”

[judedeluca]

Character: Setsuna Meioh / Sailor Pluto.

Why I like them: Her color scheme and role as probably the oldest of the Senshi, alongside her being the one Outer who was willing to work with the Inner Senshi without making a big deal about it, and the idea her anime counterpart might be asexual.

Why I don’t: She's so poorly utilized to the point she never got episodes that were really about her beyond being a plot device. She never even got any image songs. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Episode 111, her stepping in at the last second and revealing the location of the last Talisman 

Favorite season/movie: Sailor Moon S 

Favorite line: "Are you going to go save them?" Favorite outfit: Her original Senshi uniform 

OTP: None 

Brotp: With the Outers 

Head Canon: She's the one Senshi left who knows the reason why Earth's moon is the only moon in the Solar System to have a Sailor Crystal while the rest do not, and it's not something she wants to talk about because it was a traumatic experience to have lived through. Not even Saturn remembers. 

Unpopular opinion: They need to pick a consistent skin color for her and stay with it. Stop making her light! 

A wish: If there's ever another Sailor Moon adaption that doesn't just rehash the manga, PLEASE give her some development 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Bring back her infatuation with Endymion 

5 words to best describe them: Does not get enough development My nickname for them: None

[shinneth]

Gem Ascension Tropes (Chartreuse Diamond-specific: P - Y)

Primary General Post ✰ Full Article ✰  Primary Peri Post ✰ Primary CD Post 

Power Crystal: Like Peridot, her diamond rests on her forehead, centered within the peridot gemstone it emerged from. Both gemstones are essential to Chartreuse’s livelihood and is the source of the great power she wields.

Power Dyes Your Hair: Just slightly; the tips of her pigtails have a neon green gradient that fades into her traditional color.

Power Floats: Since she’s way smaller than her fellow Diamonds, Chartreuse can make better use of this ability to get around and doesn’t need a metal platform to do this anymore.

Power Makes Your Hair Grow: As large as her Mega Twintails are, this is definitely the case. 

Power Makes Your Voice Deep: It’s noted in the narrative that her voice is similar to Peridot’s, but lower-pitched. 

The Power of Hate: This originally stemmed from Peridot in Chapter 6 of Act III when she’s triggered by seeing (the presumed) White Diamond’s neck and has a raging desire to get back at her for how exactly she got Tricked to Death. While Peridot’s capable of summoning an energy blade similar to what White used on her, she’s not nearly strong enough to even make a scratch on White Diamond. Much to her disgust, she has to become Chartreuse in order to truly damage her foe. By adopting Peridot’s Ax-Crazy mentality, Chartreuse does quite a number on White’s neck.

Razor Wind: Already conjured by Peridot’s Heroic BSoD, shifting into Chartreuse during this only makes this a more lethal byproduct of her never-ending crying. This variant tears Homeworld’s atmosphere to shreds.

Reforged Into a Minion: She exists because Peridot had to be Left for Dead at the end of Act I, leaving her fully at White Diamond’s mercy. Granted, it took a long time for White to break her, but once she finally did, Chartreuse is the end result of this trope.

Regretful Traitor: Just as Chartreuse is starting to warm up to the idea of being a Diamond, the appearance of the Crystal Gems makes her regret the decision immediately. For a while, Chartreuse can’t bring herself to even admit to her friends that she’s Peridot, even if there wasn’t the constant threat of White Diamond hanging over them. Even though Peridot was heavily manipulated into becoming Chartreuse, it doesn’t make her any less ashamed that she submitted to White Diamond’s will at all. 

Remember That You Trust Me: Reconstructed: A week of torture and mind manipulation has caused Peridot (and Chartreuse, by extension) to realize not only the full extent of her Dark and Troubled Past, but her origins when she’s revealed by White Diamond to be an Unwitting Test Subject. When the Crystal Gems come to her rescue after she had given up hope on them ever returning, Peridot has become Chartreuse and immediately feels conflicted about what to do. At first, she feels unworthy of reuniting with her friends; Chartreuse regards her very identity as a betrayal of the highest degree. The Crystal Gems’ unfriendly reactions towards her (none knowing she’s Peridot at this time) seem to reinforce Chartreuse’s paranoia that her friends would no longer trust her enough to take her back, even if she revealed her true identity on the spot. Thus, the perceived lack of faith of the Crystal Gems compel Chartreuse to actively become their adversary… until she critically wounds Garnet on accident. While she captures her friends on White Diamond’s orders regardless, Chartreuse is now uncertain of where she truly stands – especially when by this point, Steven has figured out who she truly is and didn’t actively shun her. Combined with White’s condescending attitude that finally makes Chartreuse realize the former never gave a damn about her, she’s compelled to return to the Crystal Gems regardless of what the rest of them might think of her perceived betrayal. Once she reunites with Steven alone, Chartreuse apologizes profusely. However, Steven doesn’t hesitate to help her out; he asks Chartreuse a poignant question that solidifies her alignment from that point forward.

Chartreuse Diamond: “I’ve been more afraid of everything, lately… I’m doubting myself at every turn. I don’t really feel like me, Steven. And I gave you and everyone else so much grief because I’m so stupid and insecure and I don’t know why! Steven, I’m so sorry!”

(Steven, already embracing Chartreuse, pulls her towards him to get her attention.)

Steven: “Shh, shh. It’s gonna be alright, Peridot. Just relax for a bit, okay? I think I can help you. You trust me, right?”

Chartreuse Diamond: (smiling tearfully) “More than anyone I’ve ever known.”

Required Secondary Powers: Not powers, per se, but in order to be able to will something to happen or for something to exist, Chartreuse (and Peridot) needs to know what it is and mentally visualize it. This is Who I Am best represents this, as while Peridot is capable of teleportation, she needs to have an idea of where her destination is and visualize it. Before teleporting her group to Egypt, Steven shows coordinates and pictures to Peridot so she can accurately and precisely teleport herself and others to said destination. If she just learns the name of an obscure location without any additional information, she won’t be able to teleport there, as she has no concept of what direction to even go – let alone having a clue what her destination looks like.

Semantic Superpower

Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Downplayed when she’s introduced, as Chartreuse is going out of her way to not give her friends any hints that she’s really Peridot, and this trope one of her biggest identifiable traits. After giving up the charade, it starts to come back, although it’s still not quite as prevalent as it is when she’s Peridot.

Sexier Alter Ego: Peridot didn’t want to look like a scrawny brat anymore before she submitted to ascending, so it goes without saying she went out of her way to make sure her appearance as a Diamond would be a great departure from that.

Shadow Archetype: How Peridot perceives her Alter Ego before learning to accept her near the end of Act III.

She’s Got Legs: Didn’t have much to speak of as Peridot, which is probably why she made a point to have these when she ascended. 

Showing Off the New Body: Before the Crystal Gems return, Chartreuse is relegated to guard duty. She quickly becomes bored and decides to indulge in her appearance that she had yet to fully see until now.

Something Only They Would Say: Very narrowly averts this regarding her default Catchphrase Insult…

Chartreuse Diamond: “Is anyone else inclined to try something stupid, or can we move on? You cl– clowns are really trying my patience, because I’m considering helping you!”

Starting a New Life: Before the Crystal Gems return, Chartreuse tries to cope with her new identity and being stuck on Homeworld for good this time by interpreting her situation like this. Especially now that she’s a Diamond, Peridot realizes she really can have a life on Homeworld that’s both distinct and better than her previous life. She even tries to use her powers to see if she can make fauna grow from the ground on Homeworld by making it rain for the first time ever.

Super Mode: Chartreuse Diamond is essentially this for Peridot.

Super-Powered Alter Ego: While Peridot has power, her limitations stemming from the low-caste, low-quality Era 2 gem she emerged as greatly limits her range of abilities. Chartreuse is only limited by her imagination and her comprehension of whatever she wants to will into existence. In other words, Chartreuse is superior to Peridot in absolutely every aspect.

Swiss Army Superpower: The nature of being a power charged by will means Chartreuse (and Peridot) has almost limitless possibilities for how to utilize it. So long as she knows what she’s trying to do with her power and can picture it in her mind, Chartreuse wields the most versatile power one could ever have.

Symbol Motif Clothing: While Chartreuse’s outfit is distinct from Peridot’s in many ways, it largely shares her color scheme and is only slightly more revealing than her base form’s ensemble. However, to represent Peridot’s resignation back to her original alignment by agreeing to become Chartreuse Diamond, the new outfit has a diamond motif with nary a star to be seen – a clear contrast to Peridot’s newly-earned stars that replaced her original diamond motif (which she thankfully retains post-ascension).

Teleportation: Chartreuse can do this with her willpower, so long as she knows about and can visualize the spot she wants to teleport herself (and/or others) to.

Mass Teleportation: Does this near the end of Act III with all of the Crystal Gems in the makeshift spacecraft made by Iridescent Diamond. One moment they’re hanging around just outside of Homeworld’s orbit (before it explodes, anyway); the next, they’re back on the beach on Earth in front of the temple.

Teleportation Rescue: In an inadvertent 2-step process, Chartreuse managed to free the other Crystal Gems who were imprisoned in White Diamond’s bubbles while White Diamond herself was preoccupied with Steven, replacing them with holograms while teleporting them in a hidden corner near the ceiling. Unbeknownst to her, Lion would soon arrive at that precise spot to relocate the Crystal Gems outside the palace and back to their spaceship.

Temporarily a Villain: Her base form is the Hero Protagonist; she acts as a direct enemy of the Crystal Gems for all of one chapter (Chapter 3, Act III), then her Heel Realization towards the end of said chapter turns her back to the side of good, regardless of whether she’s Peridot or Chartreuse.

Then Let Me Be Evil: Strongly considers this in Chapter 3 of Act III after enduring hateful (albeit mostly justified) anti-Diamond slander thrown at her by the Crystal Gems, as it further convinces her they’d never take her back even if she did reveal she was Peridot all along. However, after attacking Garnet brutally to shut her up (She Knew Too Much) and damaging her far beyond what she meant to inflict, she begins Cry Laughing over her actions (as well as her own stupidity for not realizing her Mismatched Eyes were a dead giveaway for her identity) and dispatches the rest of her friends in far less violent fashion, though still maintaining an antagonistic front. What shakes her out of this is the following report to White Diamond, where Chartreuse realizes despite her ascension that she’s still regarded the same way she was as Peridot, and White’s attitude towards her mirrors Yellow’s almost perfectly. When Chartreuse realizes nothing about her really changed, she fully defies the trope.

Thought-Controlled Power: The basic definition of Chartreuse and Peridot’s ascended powers. Unlike Peridot, Chartreuse’s potential is limited only by her own imagination and comprehension.

Trapped in Villainy: Genuinely believed even when the Crystal Gems returned that there was nothing she could do without being a traitor to somebody. Being properly paranoid that her friends wouldn’t take her back now that she was a Diamond, Chartreuse genuinely felt she had no choice but to be the Crystal Gems’ enemy.

Vapor Wear: How one can define Chartreuse’s skirt – it’s almost entirely translucent, so whatever its purpose is, it certainly isn’t to cover up what’s underneath (which thankfully just the bottom half of her leotard).

Walking Spoiler: The most prevalent one of the bunch, as Chartreuse has a much bigger role in GA than her fellow spoiler characters. Being the Hero Protagonist’s Alter Ego is sort of a big deal. Even her appearance is a giant spoiler, since her design is so heavily derived from Peridot’s (and shares the same gemstone, only with a diamond merged within it).

Who’s Laughing Now?: While it’s killing Chartreuse to hurt her friends, she has an easier time doing it to Lapis than anyone else. Lapis is the only one who evades her designated pitfall trap due to being able to fly. After mocking Chartreuse and calling her a clod (which Chartreuse herself nearly used before stopping herself moments earlier), it suddenly becomes much easier for Chartreuse to give Lapis a little torture by having Lapis forcibly sucked down into her prison. Chartreuse gladly watches Lapis fall into the abyss before delivering a parting line.

Chartreuse Diamond: “Who’s the clod, now?”

You Are What You Hate: Peridot has loathed the Diamonds since her Broken Pedestal moment with Yellow Diamond. Now she’s (partially) a Diamond herself as Chartreuse, and this is one of the leading causes of Peridot’s resentment of her Alter Ego.

You’re Insane!: Her reaction to White Diamond’s proposal to perform fusion with two Diamonds – something never done before that carries a high risk of wide-scale destruction should it fail.

Your Tradition is Not Mine: After White Diamond’s self-destruction, Chartreuse is adamant that she and Pink 2.0 will not found a new Diamond Authority for Era 3. They won’t be dictators, but rather teachers and guides to help all gems forge their own path. Which is fundamentally the opposite of what the Diamond Authority did.

Youthful Freckles: Gains these on her cheeks, despite not visibly having freckles as Peridot. Word of God gave her freckles deliberately to accentuate her youth despite her overall more mature appearance compared to Peridot’s.