#marie talks ram

[thoughts-and-gayers]

hey i wrote a rick and morty one shot, post s7 e5.

spoilers. blood mention

the dust is down (and shadows burn)

#rick and morty season 7 #ram fanfic #rick and morty #ram #marie talks ram

[moonzeroo]

the art gods have decided to possess me

#my art #ive been doing a daily art thing! it is now day 6! #irl has asked me to draw rem and ram for day 6 but i havent started it lol #kuroko tetsuya #gi zhongli #tokitou muichiro #hobie brown #marinette dupain cheng #mitsuri kanroji #guys i haven't seen the new spiderverse yet but i think he's very cool #also mari and mitsuri talking about their bfs :D

[queerprayers]

Officially, in the western church, today isn't the Annunciation. This is Holy Monday, and the Annunciation is moved to avoid coinciding with Holy Week. I think if it were during the Triduum I would appreciate this, making space to hold both days separately. But it's Monday, and they can't stop me from thinking about Mary during Holy Week. March 25 is a traditional date of both Jesus's death and conception, as well as the Creation—a spring equinox of redemption. Holding space for all these things has always been appropriate. Birth and death coexist; Jesus's beginnings were the beginnings of his mortality. The angel announces the future, and whoever listens must live through all of it.

What did it mean for Mary to say yes to this? We laugh at the "Mary did you know?" lyrics, because we know she knew. But she also didn't have to know the details of God's plan to say yes to what every parent says yes to—witnessing. Acknowledging the bringing into the world of a frail being, perhaps giving your body to make this happen, praying that you will die before they do but knowing that is not promised. And every parent living under a violent state knows what it is to hope it's not your kid that's next (whether you're a Black parent teaching your child how to talk to cops, or a Palestinian parent hiding in rubble, or a Jewish parent under Roman occupation who's seen the crosses outside the city walls).

Do you think, at the foot of the cross, Mary thought of her response, "Let it be unto me according to your word"? After bearing that Word inside her, teaching him how to walk, waiting for God to change his mind, to reveal a ram caught in a thicket so her son wouldn't have to die after all, do you think she remembered her teenage self, magnifying the Lord? "The Almighty has done great things for me"—and to me. Great as in too big to look at all at once, bloodstained things. The power of the Most High is overshadowing her—the shadow of the cross—his flesh broken, and someone (including her perhaps) will take him down and wash him for burial.

What does it mean to hold space for that day when an angel tore into her life, breaking it open for God—during Holy Week? If we desire a feast, we should wait until Easter, I agree. But today I honor a lady of sorrows—I desire an acknowledgement of the violence of agreeing to live and love and create when it will be torn away. The story never ends there, but we must live through this week (and whatever weeks of our lives hold these things) saying yes, witnessing. Judas quit before the miracle happened—he couldn't witness death so he didn't witness the life (on this earth). Mary kept saying yes, even at the end.

We can never know everything we are saying yes to when we surrender to God. She knew in one sense, yes, but no one knows what it's like to lose a son until it happens. And no one but her knows what it's like to be the Mother of God. We already know what God wants us to do, but we don't know until it happens how much it hurts—and what the dawn will bring. What swords will pierce us, what promises will be kept.

When we say the Magnificat, we usually add a Gloria at the end—Mary did not have those words (the Trinity would not be formulated for another couple hundred years), but we have them. When we sing her song, we hold space for the ways we see God exist, and she saw those ways intimately. She held the Son and was surrounded by the Spirit, and now the Father holds her. As we live through Holy Week every year, every year she says yes. God's love continues unfolding. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Your assigned reading for today (should you choose to accept it) is @tomatobird-blog 's comic "Thirty Years." A blessed Holy Monday (and Annunciation) to you all.

#i'm not catholic. sorry for leaving out what i'm sure all of u catholics would add #also to clarify i am not making a statement about 'when life begins' re: conception #life is always beginning and ending. jesus's conception is a feast because of the annunciation #not as a scientific or theological statement about fetuses #christianity makes space for fluid boundaries around life and death and I entrust that knowledge to god #my posts

[whorediaries-09]

hey, could you write a one shot where Sirius, as his playboy self, had sex with y/n, dates her for a week, and his cocky demeanor thought y/n would plead for them to talk after the week, but it's like she ACTUALLY knew what she was getting herself into, so she's accepted the fact that they broke up, and Sirius is like "huh? she's not desperate? how does that work?" and then ANGST with a happy ending please i need this

womanizer

pairing- sirius black x reader warning(s)- angst, 18+ content, drinking, hints at sexual assault. a/n- man has me in a chokehold

ps- trying to write more dialogue heavy fics, so a bit different than usual.

masterlist

to think that I would be a victim, not another say it, play it, how you want it but no way I'm never gonna fall for you, never you, baby

it's not an act of public humiliation, or embarrassment for you as sirius had expected when you catch him with his tongue down some other guy's throat. instead you smirk, taking a swig of your drink, swaying your hips to the music, walking towards your group of friends. sirius wipes saliva off his lips, his fingers gripping tight around his glass of firewhiskey.

lily rolls her emerald eyes, grabbing your arm and pulling you closer to her, whispering into your ear,

'weren't you guys dating?' she enquires, her tone weaved with curiosity.

'me and the puppy dog?' you chuckle, arching your eyebrow.

'yeah?'

'oh, yeah, for a week. but he likes to lap dance on everyone's dicks and pussies doesn't he?'

she chuckles at your statement, the throaty laugh filling your ears. you smile, taking a seat on the soft plushy sofa, your ass sinking into the cushion comfortably. it's no surprise to you that sirius would have sex with you, whimper false praises of affection while ramming his cock into you, take you on dates just to leave you. you knew what he was like, bold and extravagantly handsome. he was a fucking womanizer, a player of hearts, with girls and boys falling to their knees with every swagger of his step. it was no hushed secret that the man was good in the bedroom, because he knew what he was doing, and neither was he afraid to explore the different spectrums of sex. he was charming, and if you were honest, you thought he could charm even a brick wall.

his charm you could resist, but the way he fucked? oh lord you so couldn't resist that.

you feel the sofa sinking beside you, a scent of cedar and marijuana tantalizing your nostrils.

'hi james,' you acknowledge his presence. he smiles, pouring you a drink in your glass. you arch your eyebrow,

'this shit non-alcoholic?' you question.

'drink up to find out won't you?' he offers you a shit eating grin. you smirk,

'that won't be very fun,'

'we'll see about that....i'll get padfoot to check upon you if you get a hangover,' he replies, his shoulders dancing to the beat of the music. you ruffle with his curly hair,

'nope, that puppy dog's too busy shoving his damned tongue down everyone's throat,'

he winces, before cursing. 'again?'

'yeah,'

'doesn't it bother you? i mean he was shoving your fingers into you yesterday in class and now he's out there making out with other people,'

you laugh, patting his shoulder.

'i know what he's like,'

you're not sure whether his face turns red because of your statement, for sheer embarrassment for his friend or because lily catches his eye, swaying her hips with mary's and drinking away endless shots of tequila. somehow the marauders had manipulated lily to sneak in 'muggle alcohol' within the walls of hogwarts without getting her head girl reputation and pride tarnished.

'smoke pot?' he asks, gritting his teeth as lily flaunts her lovely red hair, batting her eyelashes before wrapping them around mary's neck and dancing away to the music that fills the common room. james had finally gotten his chance with lily, after she'd said yes for a date....but the both of them weren't on exclusive terms. at least no labels of being in a relationship.

you smile, 'get ya girl. she'd doing it to get your attention potter,'

his eyes brighten under the dim lights and he scoots away to his 'lily-flower', on a mission to steal her from mary.

you continue taking sips from the drink james had poured in for you. while you usually kept away from alcoholic drinks, you needed one tonight. the party felt warm and stuffy, with your friends gone away to enjoy the presence of their lovers or hook-ups. it was too much, the sight of sirius making out with someone who wasn't you. it wasn't something you should've been bothered about, but he took up a space in your head which you just couldn't escape from.

it was a strong dose of alcohol. it got you filtering your tension through a few sips, loosening your senses and anxiety. very soon you'd found yourself hazing away from the line of reality and dreams, your eyes deciphering blonde curls before you fell asleep, you head slack on a muscular shoulder.

*****

'god why can't you fucking leaving me just alone?' you scream with wrath, a strange tiring feeling consuming your insides, the sunlight trepid on your face, as you turn to face the window of your dorm.

'because you're hungover. did you know malfoy actually try touch you yesterday night?' sirius answers, his hand shaking from anger he bottles up inside him. tears well into your eyes, soreness clinging you from within as you bite your lip, you face still hidden.

'why do you even care?' you turn around.

his eyes widen, the gray in his eyes darkening at the thought that you thought he didn't care about you.

'why, why, why? you slept with me, whispered fake promises and shit and now you're acting up, as if you fucking give a shit,'

'i do give a shit about you! even if i didn't fucking love you so much, i would've given a shit because no one deserves to be touched in a nonconsensual manner.'

your eyes widen, as you spit loathe for the words of foul lies he throws from his pretty lips. you're burning red with anger and confusion,

'shut the fuck up. you don't love me. you had your tongue down some random dude's throat last night and now you're spewing fucking bullshit about loving me,'

'i do love you.' he says, as if fighting a nightmare.

'bullshit honey, if you loved me you wouldn't have done what you chose to do last night,'

'i do fucking love you! god i was so scared of getting attached to you, of gaining feelings for you, but somewhere when we started dating, i realized i had always liked-god loved you! it was so scary, i got fucking drunk and pissed at myself. james told me that i was sitting on the bathroom floor, crying with one sock on. he told me i could mumble nothing but your name and how scary it was in my head to fall for you!'

'if you loved me you wouldn't have pulled such a cowardly move sirius. just leave me alone.' you whisper.

'no, i love you, i'm not walking away. i'm gonna prove how much a love you.' he says, with each step walking closer to you. his warm breath fans over your already heated face, as he holds your face, his thumb gliding over the back of your ear.

'please,' he whispers, almost like a beg. you feel his eyes scan your face, as you hold the collar of his t-shirt, pulling him close to your face. you brush his lips against yours,

'on your knees. now,' you demand. his mouth slacks open at your demanding tone, his knees wobbling as you lock eyes with him.

'if you want to prove you love me, you've to do what i say. on your knees,' you whisper. he grabs your thighs, slowly moving down upon his knees, still maintaining the eye contact with you. you bend down, grabbing his raven locks,

'come on puppy, do what you do the best.'

his finger twirls around the cotton of your underwear, pulling it down your thighs. you feel your knees weaken as his tongue prods at your clit, sucking upon the sensitive bud. you whimper, rotating your hips against his face, his stubble scratching against your inner thighs, his breath hot on your mound. his finger enters your pussy, stretching you open.

'f-fuck, you feel so good,' you praise, feeling the coil of orgasm building inside you. it's like a ferocious fire, the touch and twirl of his tongue haunting your pleasures.

'go on, go on, make me fucking cum,' you demand, while you rub yourself on his tongue. he moans against your pussy, the vibrations sending you into a frenzy of need that drives you crazy. your orgasm comes ripping apart, as your thighs shake and you feel release coating his face.

he stands up, smiling, his chin glistening with your juices. he grabs you by your throat, pushing you on your bed. in a swift move, he's gotten out of his pants, freeing his thick, long and hard cock.

'i'm a slave for your love,' he says, before ramming his whole cock into you, splitting you open, swallowing up your moans and whimpers with his mouth upon yours. he's consuming you, abusing your pretty little hole, ramming into you, pinning you onto your mattress. his teeth glide down upon your neck, marking pretty spots on the skin, before opening the buttons of your shirt with his teeth, freeing your breasts. his moves his hips with yours in a rhythmic manner like he's got your body memorized. it's maniacal, the way he has explored you, the way he hits your g-spot so perfectly with each thrust.

it's not long before you feel the familiar feeling of burning up, gnawing coil bubbling inside you. you feel like you're going mad,

'oh-god-fucking shit, sirius!' you scream, as he groans, his finger circling your clit with the perfect amount of friction you liked. his tongue latches on your nipple, ramming into you with full force, like a symphony of imprinting the 'bullshit' of him loving you into your head. he feels your cunt tightening around his cock,

'i-i fucking love you. you got that?' he asks, pushing into your guts, even deeper with every word that slips out of his mouth.

'y-yes-you love me! god- i'm so close,' you scream, cumming around his cock, his seed spilling into your warm cunt simultaneously. there's a beat of silence that hangs as the both of you pant, sweat clinging upon your chests. your eyes are locked, it's as if you're speaking with your eyes, before he falls on you, his lips intertwined with yours.

#harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #marauders #sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black smut #the marauders #sirius black x reader #marauders era #sirius black imagine #sirius black thoughts #sirius black x oc #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black fanart #sirius being sirius #sirius black fluff #sirius black x you

[wingedjellyfishflight]

Viper for the King

CW: threats of non-con, possible death, ambiguous ending, torture briefly mentioned

You have been captured by the enemy with no chance of rescue. There will be no hail Mary operation to extract you and you are at the mercy of the enemy. König is the Colonel, in charge and the scariest person you have ever met.

He threatens to rape you to make you talk when no other form of torture works. His eyes light up at the prospect, thinking he may have found your weakness. You grin up at him with blood-coated teeth.

"Sounds like an interesting cultural exchange. Is that a European thing to brag about being so bad at sex that it's considered torture? Hmm.. anyway, go for it. This is getting boring anyway and I'm near outta fingernails as is."

"We will make you talk," he grinds out.

"Honey, I'll bet you can't even make me scream, let alone talk," you try to wink up at him through the blood and swelling on your face.

He admires your spunk and as much as he wants the information, he will be disappointed when you break as it means no more toying with you. No more carving his initials in your skin. No more spark in your eyes. Hell, you at least look him in the eye, none of his men dare to do that anymore. He has much more respect for you than anyone else he's ever met, he is surprised to realize.

"Do ya hide your face because you're so handsome it's a hazard or because it gives the men heart attacks in fear when they see it? Seems like it could be the latter, given the weak men you have working for you."

He stops the man to his left from striking you. He knows you're right about the quality of men. "I've seen your Ghost. Why does he hide his face? Afraid to be known?"

You chuckle back, spitting out a bit of blood to keep from choking on it. "Makes the girls swoon with his blinding smile. Gotta tuck it away or else he'd be mobbed."

"Ahh... pretty boy. Sounds just your style." He smirks as he goes over the roster of men in his head, thinking to exploit this possible weakness.

You look him up and down, eyes pausing to stare at his beefy arms and thighs. "Too skinny and small for my taste. I prefer... insertion specialists." You see his chest puff up and sigh dramatically. "Too bad the best ones are always the enemy. Though it feels almost as good to crush them under my boots. They never seem to expect it."

König knows you're flattering him on purpose. It's working. He just hasn't worked out why you would. You know he won't go easy, your body can already attest to that. Your voice goes quieter. "I've heard you're called a human battering ram. Wolf among men."

He whispers back, "does that make you the viper, spilling poison into my vein?"

You grin, "No. I'm the raven. Collecting shiny things to line my nest. Can't stand not having the best things to play with, no matter the cost."

He goes quiet, his eyes narrowed as he works out the double-meanings and weighs his options. I should shoot you for having the audacity to label me just another shiny thing, he thinks. But he still considers the offer.

You watch, letting him weigh the choice. Either he ends you now or he helps you escape. Staring him in the eyes, you cant your hips up slightly and lick your lip. If he takes the offer, you're eager to see if he can live up to the hype.

He chooses, unsheathing his firearm. He chooses you. He realizes there was no choice, really. A nebulous offer versus where he is now, feared, but bored. It is a hard choice to make. As he carries your limp body, he thinks about the initials he carved in your body. You will carry his brand to the grave along with his heart, because he will always be yours. He was right, you're a viper dripping poison in his veins and he couldn't get enough.

#konig x reader #könig x reader #konig cod

[your-resident-boat-person]

what's an ocean liner???

Okay, so an ocean liner is a passenger vessel designed to carry people across the ocean. There's only one in service now, but before commercial airlines offered flights to anywhere in the world, they were the only way to get around. The RMS Titanic and the RMS Queen Mary are ocean liners, for example. Many think them to be cruise ships, but this is not the case. Think of it like this: you wouldn't just board a plane for a fun ride, and then return home. You get on a plane to go somewhere. Ocean liners are the same way. They are built to get from one end of the ocean to the other as quickly and efficiently as possible. This means that ocean liners are built quite a bit tougher than cruise ships. They can't reschedule if there is bad weather. And the Atlantic can be an unforgiving place.

Think of ocean liners like the busses of the sea. You use them for transportation, and they need to keep a tight schedule. They try to make the voyage as comfortable as possible, but comfort, entertainment, and luxury is not the reason for traveling aboard.

Cruise ships, meanwhile, are like party limousines. While you certainly may have destinations in mind, you wouldn't get inside for the sole purpose of travel. You're there for fun. And odds are, at the end of the night, you'll be getting out exactly where you started.

I'm really into ocean liners because they're a lot like people or characters. They have births, deaths, names, careers, siblings, genders, and depending on who you ask, personalities. Then president of the United States, FDR once said "every ship has a soul, but the Mauretania has one you could talk to." The Olympic was known to enjoy running down smaller vessels from time to time. She even rammed and sank a U-Boat while serving as a troop ship during World War 1.

Ocean liners carry the spirit of their nations, as well as the hopes and dreams of the people who sail aboard them. They represent the newest and latest technological innovations, and the progress of not just their respective nations, but of mankind as a whole. Cruise ships don't really have that. All they represent is a good vacation at best, and unbridled greed and pollution at worst. But that's beyond the scope of this ask.

Thank you for the question, and I'd you'd ever like to know more, or would like some good resources (I have a youtube Playlist with over 500 videos), feel free to ask!

#ocean liner #ocean liners #titanic #rms titanic #rms olympic #olympic #cruise ship #rms queen mary #rms mauretania #oceanliner

[angelthefirst1]

The Angel Gabrielle heralds the arrival of Christ but also the prior arrival of the antichrist.

What an incredible episode!

Yes, she's coming soon, and all the very detailed Beth and Daryl call-backs, of which there are too many to count, just show us that all the signs are there, as Daryl said!

I'm going to focus on what comes next in this post more than the obvious repeats of their story.

Having Father Gabrielle be the very first thing we see was symbolically huge.

So is the fact that Seth will be with Emily in France on resurrection Sunday at comic con, I'll go into that a bit later.

I'm going to break down the meaning of this introductory scene because it tells us what comes next.

We first see Gabrielle's face as he looks upward after hearing the sound of a helicopter flying overhead.

The helicopter 🚁 symbolism In this show is always a depiction of God or a celestial body from the spiritual realm.

Here it's depicting God giving the Angel Gabrielle, a message.

As Gabriel said in 509, we look at what is unseen because what is unseen is eternal. We don't actually see the helicopter, so it's a hint at its eternal nature.

To understand what they are showing us here, we need to know a little about the angel Gabrielle.

In the Bible, the angel Gabrielle is known as the messenger Angel.

Gabrielle is given a message by God to go tell Mary that she is going to have a baby and that baby would be the saviour of the world - Christ.

Gabriel is the one that brings or heralds the Good News (music box) of the coming Christ.

This very first scene of episode 105 - The ones who live - is depicting that message and Beth's arrival to come soon.

The good news music box is about to play again...

Gabriel then kills a walker, which represents the fall of mankind.

Christ's sacrifice will remove the fall and bring redemption for those who accept the cure, so this message Gabriel gets, is about defeating death, and that's symbolised by his message the double edge sword defeating this walker.

The tool used to defeat death is Christ's sacrifice, which is the word of God, or good news, and it's symbolic of a two edged sword.

The other thing that Angel Gabriel is known for is interpreting a vision for the prophet Daniel about the end times.

That vision is known as the vision of the Ram and the Goat from Daniel 8.

A Ram is a male sheep, and we definitely got some more in your face, Ram/sheep symbolism in this episode.

I've talked about the sheep and the goat judgements of the Millennial kingdom quite a lot recently.

Well, this vision plays into that same theme...

It's symbolic and important, so I highly suggest you read more about it first, and this will make more sense.

Read more on the sheep and goats info I've already covered here and here

This vision that Daniel has is interpreted by the angel Gabriel, and its meaning is about the coming 7 year antichrist Kingdom, which is followed by the Millennial kingdom of Christ.

To represent this vision, we see Gabriel hear the helicopter a second time 🚁

He is getting a second message from God, and this second message is about the coming antichrist kingdom and the millennial kingdom to follow...

It's no coincidence that as this second message gets delivered, Gabriel starts saying the Lords prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, THY KINGDOM COME, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This prayer is a prayer that asks God to come back and set up his Millennial kingdom on earth. So it's referencing the return of Christ, which by extension references the antichrist kingdom that comes first.

This vision of Daniel's that Gabriel interprets, shows what the antichrist will do when he is in power for 7 years.

As I've already talked about, the A's (non followers) are killed, while the followers of antichrist take the mark of the Beast, which will circle around to be what begins the Zombie outbreak to begin with.

The Pharmakon "cure" is the poison

The beginning is the end.

One other thing Daniel's vision portrays is that the antichrist will also commit what's called the abomination that causes desolation, this is an act that is linked to sacrificing a pig (which is considered unclean) in the temple of God, and while doing this, he declares himself to be god.

What's this got to do with the walking dead?

Well, we have already seen a depiction of this in season 4. Believe it or not, it's related to the pig called Violet.

Purple or violet is the colour of royalty, so the pig called violet that Rick sacrificed was a depiction of this vision.

We know that team Violet played a part in the beginning of the outbreak, and ultimately, playing god (violet) and making humans (the temple of God/made in his image) unclean (pig) will be the abomination that is the beginning of it all.

Carl calls the pig violet, and Rick tells him not to name them. They're food (a hint at the cannibalism aspect of the abomination)

We see Carl tell Lizzy almost the exact same thing about the walkers. Don't name them. They're not pets, and they're not people.

Violet seems unwell, and we get our first look at the first symptoms of what this mark of the beast does...

We see Rick feed the violet pigs to the walkers (cannibals), the duel symbolism of this abomination circles back on itself.

There are two kingdoms at play here, and both Christ and the antichrist are linked to the colour purple.

One is God, and the other wants to be god, so he declares himself god and creates a new species in his image.

That's why the pig in season 4 is called violet, and that's why team Violet had a hand in starting the outbreak to being with. They play god and cause human abominations that are no longer human, as Dr Jenner from the CDC says.

And that's where the A and the B, sheep and goat symbolism comes in again. 🐑 🐐

A's are labelled as such because they aren't followers of the Antichrist, don't take the violet unclean mark so they get killed.

B's are followers, so they live.

The same but opposite it true for the Millennial kingdom.

A's are labelled as such because they aren't followers of Christ. They took the unclean violet mark, so they aren't allowed into the Millennium kingdom.

B's are followers so they live.

The symbolism for both kingdoms is so similar that it's given to both the CRM and team family at the same time in this show.

The antichrist mimics Christ with a false light.

2 Corinthians 11.14

And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

While Beth and Rick have Christ symbolism, they also have antichrist symbolism.

One thing that happens to the Antichrist is that he receives a fatal wound to the head but is healed from it, and this miraculous healing will make the whole world follow him.

So you see, the two kingdoms are being mirrored at the same time in this show.

Now we suddenly have purple connected to Beth on Resurrection Sunday.

On that, I want to talk about light

John 12 Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We know Beth has been described as light before, so I want to look at the light colour spectrum.

Purple is the Royal colour, but it's also the colour associated with the return of the King.

The quickest frequency of light is purple...

12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Emily at ComicCon in France, depicted with purple and on resurrection Sunday is huge, add to that she's with Gabriel, means Beth will take part in either a real cure or a fake cure.

Which one, we will have to wait and see...

#team delusional #team defiance #bethyl #team beth lives #beth greene #beth is alive #beth is coming #beth greene lives #td #beth x daryl #end times #mark of the beast #beginning and end #angel gabriel

[darkbluekies]

I was actually going to sleep then I saw you respond to my ask, I'm actually very interested and intrigued so I wanted to respond immediately!

— Jesus fucking Christ they actually measured the entirety of the ship? That level of hm, how does one describe this, pettiness or determination? Perhaps a sense of both, I mean I'd get petty too if I lost something valuable and ended up getting an unfair compensation. I wonder what the reaction of the Germans were when they realized they actually measured it.

— oh god that's actually so fucking hilarious 😭😭 getting worked up over nothing, I mean, at least they had a design? 😭

— That's quite something, Grey Ghost? Why is QMS nickname Grey Ghost? Does it have relations due to it being not found?

— I... I have no idea what to say 😭 that's actually so ironic

— Holy shit a ship sinking in just 14 minutes is plain terrifying?? Why did it sink that fast anyways?

— Wow... That's actually really sad and quite brave of him too, I don't think I've heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff disaster and 9000 deaths in one night is crazy. Hopefully that guy is doing alright, it's possible he might get survivors guilt, I might research about the disaster and see what I can find!

— woah, the first design is quite pretty! The second one reminds me of a factory for some reason

Ahh this is what little brain juice I can squeeze out from my brain, though I actually enjoyed this and it made my night more interesting! :D I'll head off to sleep now, goodnight!

—🌊

— lol apparently? there were more petty things in that affair, such as painting a ship supposed to be given to White Star Line in Germany's colors, turnign the british officers' quarters to a cleaning supply room etc lmao

— it was a design alright ... just not a good one. The wings of the golden eagle fell of during a storm so they're at the bottom of the atlantic right now. The eagle looks even more stupid without the wings😭 (picture at the bottom)

—The ship was painted fully grey because it was used as a troop ship which made it hard to find it. The ship was extremely fast, so it was fast to catch her. These two characteristics earned her the name The Grey Ghost. (picture at the bottom)

— the ships weren't even alike???? one had an funnel and whatnot?? i'm not even sure how they thought that it would work ... and it clearly didn't.

— It was a foggy night and two ships were supposed to go past each other, but in the fog they couldn't see each others lights, so a norweigan ship called Storstad rammed the side of Empress of Ireland and cut up a gigantic hole. The ship itself was almost half the size of titanic. A lot of people died that night because they didn't have the time to get out.

— I'm not even sure it was legal to sink the WG? I know that it had been a hospital ship during WW2 (it's seen as a war crime to sink a hospital ship), but it seems like it had returned to a normal ship during the time WG was sunk. The reason (i think) why it was sunk was because a lot of nazi party members were on board with their families, supposedly relocating to another country, and was sunken by soviet submarines. WIlhelm Gustloff could only carry 1465 passangers, but had around 10 000 during its sinking. Although there were many bad people on board there were children as well. The actor was a small child, so i hope that he doesn't remember much of it, because I cannot imagine the horror he must live with otherwise.

— Unfortunately, the times were changing and the edwardian design was no longer popular :( I would have loved another Olympmic class liner :(

here's a before an after of the eagle lmao

From left to right: SS Normandie, RMS Queen Mary, RMS Aquitania

I could talk about ocean liners forever. If I got paid by the hour to talk about them I would be so fucking rich I'm telling you

#🌊anon

[artist-issues]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a great example of fandoms ruining their own movie experience. Often fandoms are right when they think a movie doesn’t deliver on their favorite franchise. But in The Last Jedi, the Star Wars fandom kind of proved that their heads are in a terrible place.

I will explain.

Movies are meant to reach in and grab your emotions. You’re supposed to get out of your own head, and the story is supposed to get under your mental defenses, so that you not only suspend disbelief, but suspend your inner film critic and enjoy an experience/learn what the movie is trying to tell you.

If a movie has terrible form and repellant content, like bad acting or a message like “cold-blooded murder is neat” then people generally don’t get to have that experience because the movie couldn’t reach in and grab your emotions.

The Last Jedi was not a bad movie. I know for a fact that it one hundred percent DID what it set out to do, in the theaters. What happened was, you Star Wars fans enjoyed the movie while you were watching it. Then you got home and got in your own heads and read what some other people thought and watched some Mark Hamill interviews and retroactively decided you actually didn’t like it.

I know you liked it because I was in the theaters with you. I saw TLJ on opening night, in a packed theater of dressed-up fans. Then I saw it three more times in theaters. I heard fans clap when Luke fought Kylo Ren and said “see you around, kid.” I heard them laugh when he threw the lightsaber over his shoulder. I heard them applaud when Snoke got cut in half. I heard no groans of disbelief during Holdo’s Hyperdrive ramming—you could’ve heard a pin drop, exactly as the filmmakers intended. I heard fans holding their breath or whispering, “please please please” when Rey said to Kylo Ren, “Please don’t go this way.” I heard, all four times, thunderous applause during the ending shot, when a kid with a broom is revealed to have the Force.

‘When the lights came on and everyone was leaving the theater, I heard NO ONE saying:

“I can’t believe they ruined Luke.”

“What was with Holdo? Hyperdrive doesn’t work like that.”

“I hate Rey, she’s a Mary-Sue.”

“What was with that casino planet scene, that was useless!”

I heard people excitedly talking about how awesome the film was. I heard them repeating the jokes to each other, or sharing their favorite parts. I heard them hoping Ben Solo would be redeemed for the next movie. The closest I ever got to anything even approaching negative was, “What was with the blue milk alien?” Which is fair. But my point is, even when the movie was over and we were leaving the theaters, the fans loved it. At the time. When the movie was all they had to base their opinion on.

I sat next to a young man who is now the loudest Internet Proclaimer of TLJ’s supposed failure, on opening night. But at the time, when the movie ended, he said, “that’s what The Force Awakens should’ve been! That was so great.”

Then he went home and watched EFAP and came back and said, “yeah I liked it at first but that’s because I was stupid and didn’t know any better. Now I know it’s terrible.”

What? No, you’re not stupid! It was a good movie. It said exactly what it wanted to say, and it had your attention and your emotions the whole time. It even set up the next film for great, new, unexpected success (regardless of how ROS squandered that opportunity.)

But this is how a lot of fans are.

They have pre-set expectations of what they want. Or they don’t have any expectations and they wait for their favorite influencer to tell them what to think. And then, even when a movie is good, they change their own minds about it later to line up with what they thought they wanted.

Not what made the most sense. Not what made the best story. Not what could be an enduring classic. Not what grabbed the emotions most effectively. Just “I want what I want.”

Guess what, at the end of Casablanca, the hero doesn’t get the girl. He loses her. But he becomes a man who takes risks and goes back to living life because of his experience, as sad as it may have been. If audiences back then could complain loudly enough on the internet and get what they want, Casablanca would have had a crappy sequel where the guy gets the girl, and the whole first movie is ruined. Or the filmmakers wouldn’t have been brave enough to do what the story needed in the first place.

TLJ is the perfect example of a good movie ruined by it’s own supposed fandom, who just want what they want, and can’t admit when a movie was good, or even that it moved them, because it’s not what they wanted, in hindsight.

#The last Jedi #I know nobody cares anymore #but I think it’s an interesting point about fandoms #they have the power to change Sonic’s design or ruin the next Star Wars movie #all because they want what they want instead of wanting what a story needs #state of the fandom #fandom #Star Wars #belief agency #Star Wars the last Jedi #Casablanca #meta #film analysis #writing

[thoughts-and-gayers]

so um. that episode was disappointing.

why are they fridging morty so damn much, huh??? he's an important fucking character dont shove him off to the side like that jegus fuck

#rick and morty #rick and morty season 7 #ram season 7 #marie talks ram

[brooklynmuseum]

The only approach to the Mut Precinct is along the avenue of rams built by Nectanebo II (362-343 BC), the last native Egyptian pharaoh. The sandstone paving is original, even if somewhat worn and broken. Pretty amazing when you consider that it is about 2,400 years old.

As he promised, Abdel Aziz has been sending us regular updates on the column restoration project. By February 21, the work on the east column was in its final stages. As you can see here, the semi-final coating, toned to match the sandstone, has been applied. The herringbone pattern of grooves is to allow the final coat to adhere. A worker, wearing the protective gear, is using a grinder to smooth the surface of the lower column drums cut by Sayyid. The lowest column drums of most columns curved out from the column base, mimicking plants. The worker is grinding the new stone to match the ancient shape.

By February 27, the east column was finished. This is the better-preserved east side of the column.

The other side of the column was in worse condition and essentially had to be rebuilt. The missing parts have been filled in so that it is now complete and stable. Originally there were thin walls between the columns (called “intercolumnar walls”), their junction with the columns marked by a projection on the lowest column drums. The restorers have mimicked this feature on the restored column. Talk about attention to detail.

In our last post on-site, the base of the west column had just been cleared of the deteriorated sandstone. By February 21, a new base had been constructed and one of the restorers was creating a new support for the column drums using baked brick and a cement mixture. We used a similar method to create new bases for the smaller columns in Temple A that we restored in 2019.

It takes time for the cement to cure properly, but by February 27 the two ancient column drums had been mounted on the new column base and the scaffold had been set up, ready to lift the remaining drums into place. Stay tuned for the final installment.

One big attraction for tourists is a dawn balloon ride over the monuments on the west bank: Deir el Bahari, the Valley of the Kings, the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu. We saw as many as 21 balloons at a time this year.

Posted by Richard Fazzini and Mary McKercher

#Brooklyn Museum #brooklyn #museum #bkmconservation #Egypt #BkMMutDig #Mut #temple #excavation #BkMEgyptianArt #archaeology #column #MutDig

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

I was Enchanted to Meet You

@maribat-secret-santa

To: @silverwhiteraven

(Ao3)

-----

"KARA!!!!"

Kara turned around at the sound of her name to see a black hair girl racing towards her.

"Mari Net-Ta. Be careful." Kara chided the younger girl who didn't slow down.

Mari rammed into Kara and hugged her. Kara ruffled the shorter girl's hair, chuckling.

Libra Ak-Var, Mari's mother, ran up to Kara.

"Kara, I am sorry. Mari really wanted to see you as soon as possible."

"It's fine. I like Mari too."

Libra turned to her unruly child and scolded her,"Don't run off like that, Mari. You might fall down. By Rao, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I am sorry, Mom." Mari said with her head bowed.

"I know. I know. You wanted to play with Kara." Libra chuckled and she greeted Kara's mother.

"Hello, Alura."

"It's nice to see you too, Libra." Alura smiled and turned to their daughters, "Okay, children. Go have fun while we talk."

"Come on, Kara." Mari bounced in excitement as she dragged Kara away.

"Slow down. We don't want another clumsy Mari incident again." Kara said.

"I am not that clumsy." Mari replied indignantly.

"You are."

"Are not."

The two bickered back and forth.

Although, Kara was three years older than the other girl, since they had met as children, the two girls were close like two peas in a pod. They knew each other's deepest secrets and confided in each other. The bond they shared was unbreakable and there were a few jokes by their parents about a union between their families in the far future. As they ran through the fields under the rays of Rao, they had thought that they could be together forever.

------

"Kara, I heard that you have a cousin now." Mari asked while she flipped through her book in Kara's room.

"Yeah, his name is Kal-El. I babysit him sometimes. He's adorable." Kara replied, looking up from her own studies for her graduation trials.

"You can't like him more than me."

Kara laughed, "Mari, you are thirteen and my best friend. Why are you jealous of a baby?"

Mari's cheeks were red as she shot back, "You said that he's adorable. You like adorable things. So I have reasons to be worried about him taking my place as your closest person."

"Don't worry. You are more adorable than he is. Besides, I can't discuss engineering with a baby like I can with you." Kara reassured her friend, unaware of Mari's cheeks turning redder at the compliment.

Mari sat up eagerly, "That's right. Take that, Kal-El."

"He's not even here. Now, can you explain this theory to me?"

Mari took a look at it and sighed, "Kara, I already told you about this many times. Which part do you have trouble with?"

As Kara went on a rant about how difficult the equation is, Mari rested her cheek on her fist, smiling fondly at her best friend/crush.

------

Mari woke up to her mother shaking her awake.

"What? Mother?" Mari yawned, and looked around her dark room. Rao hasn't risen yet.

"Mari. My precious child. I don't have much time to explain but you have to come with me right now."

Mari heard her mother's panic in her voice and immediately was awake.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Come along, Mari."

Mari did as she was told and followed her mother to a spaceship where her father was inputting in some commands into it.

"Father. What's going on?"

Her mother grabbed both of her hands and stared at Mari with teary eyes which had Mari panicking. Her mother had never cried in front of her before.

"Mari.." Libra started, "Listen carefully to me. Jor-El, Kara's uncle, believes that Krypton is going to be destroyed. So we are sending you somewhere we believe you will be safe."

"Mother." Mari whimpered, frightened and in shock.

"Don't worry, my child." Libra wiped off some of Mari's tears, "Kara is already on her way there. Along with her cousin, Kal-El. You won't be alone. You have to survive, Mari."

"Mari."

She turned towards her father, Net-Ta who hugged both his wife and child. A man of few words but his love for both of them is clear from his actions. "Mari. Remember what I have taught you." He said and Mari nodded.

Mari cried and hugged her parents one last time.

"Now, get in the ship."

"What about you?" she asked, once she was inside.

"You will be put in stasis mode for the journey and we have put in everything you need to survive." Her father replied as the hatched closed.

Mari realized that her parents never answered her question and she tried to find the latch to get out. "Mother, Father." She cried, her voice muffled by the glass. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she banged on the glass, which were strong enough to withstand the pressure of exiting the atmosphere.

"I am sorry, my daughter." Ne-Ta whispered, typing in a command that put Mari in stasis. Her cries quietened down as she fell asleep and the ship took off.

Libra hugged her husband as they watched the ship become a distant speck in the sky.

------

So we all know the story.

A baby boy is sent out from a distant planet on the verge of destruction on a rocket and crash-landed on Earth, somewhere in Kansas where he was found by a lovely couple. The baby named Kal-El is raised as Clark Kent and goes on to become Superman. Becomes a living god while walking among men as a clumsy reporter.

Cliche trope. But also the best possible outcome. Least trauma.

A second space pod is sent out which contains his cousin. Complications occurred which made her arrive on Earth later than intended. But that is in the far future.

Happens when writers want someone like their main character but Girl. More trauma since she is older and remembers her home planet so utterly devastated to know it is destroyed.

However, this story would focus on the girl that was sent out on the third ship.

Space is filled with mysteries and danger. Despite Krypton's advanced technology, they still had not figured out about wormholes and prediction of their possible appearance. The third ship had the bad luck of being sucked into one and spat back out to the same location.

Just 21 years later. But still arrived earlier than the second ship.

The ship continued on its original course and instead of landing in Kansas like Kal-El. The ship landed somewhere in rural France where a couple was returning to Paris after a vacation in Spain.

Most likely to happen in a fanfic. Also possible to happen in canon or a TV show adaptation. Suspiciously ripped off the original origin story of the main character. Might also involve a crossover character that doesn't really belong here.

If this was a sci-fi horror story, one should never approach the suspicious thing that fell from the sky. Sure, it might be a space satellite. But it could also be the pod of some slimy alien that would suck the life out of you and lay eggs in your corpse. Luckily for the couple, the being inside resembled a human teenage girl who woke up and spoke in a language that doesn't sound like anything from Earth. And they decided to take her home with them.

They taught her how to adapt to the local culture and speak French which she picked up easily but spoke with an accent regarded as quirky by others. After getting in touch with a few shady connections, the couple forged her a new identity as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Newly adopted by the Dupain-Chengs. A totally normal human orphan girl who they found wandering around and had taken in to raise as their own.

They also did their best to help her get control over her powers when they showed themselves.

It started with her carrying a large number of bags of flour which Tom, a big man, managed to barely carry and she did it without effort. She runs faster than humanly possible at times. Her scrapes heal in a matter of minutes. Mari once accidentally lasered off her eyebrow and nearly destroyed the bathroom. She also floated and was stuck to the ceiling for hours until she figured out how to get down.

It was hard for Mari Net-Ta. People on this planet were raised differently than those on Krypton and she had to adapt to the rules if she wanted to survive. She also no longer had access to the advanced Kryptonian technology which she had taken for granted, except for what her parents had packed for her in her rocket and it had frustrated her to no end that humans hadn't made them yet and lacked certain resources on the planet to make them.

With the yellow sun granting her powers due to her different genetics and learning how to control them, it added more to her stress.

Tom and Sabine were warm and patient people who tried to help as much as they could and Mari felt immense gratitude towards them for their goodwill. However, they don't know that Mari stays up at night often to look up at the sky, with an advanced telescope she had modified since the ones available were lacking, to view Krypton of the past. Light that once bounced off her home planet once upon a time, traveled through space and finally reached Earth years later. She had imprinted the picture of it to her memories and took as many pictures as she could to preserve at least an image of it before light would just reflect what's left of it. She mourned the loss of her home, her family... and her other half.

Mari had done everything she could to find Kara. Clinging onto the words of her parents that Kara had escaped the destruction that had claimed them.

She had sent out signals in Kryptonese, in hopes of an answer. As days went by with no replies, her hope diminished and Mari had to face the possibility that Kara hadn't survived the trip.

Mari locked herself in her room for a week, not eating nor sleeping to cope with that realization.

------

A year went by and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was officially ready to start her first day of school. Moving on living as one of humans among their society.

A very big day indeed.

Which was about to get bigger because;

Somewhere in a secret lair in a specific mansion, there was a man horrendously dressed in purple from head to toe who just released a purple butterfly out into the world.

------

Ladybug paced back and forth, trying to calm her nerves.

A warm hand settled on her shoulder to sooth her and blond hair entered her view. She turned to meet green eyes. Disappointment bloomed in her chest. Not blue. Never blue. She was gone. Mari had to learn and accept that. However, the hole in her heart persisted.

"Milady. What got you all wound up?" Chat Noir gave her a reassuring smile. "If it's about the so-called Justice League, we can just cata- I mean, turn them into dust if they refuse to cooperate."

"No. We aren't doing that. That would cause an international incident which we don't want." Ladybug replied firmly.

"Just one. How about that Batman guy? From what we know, the dude has no powers. I can take him."

Ladybug shook her head, "Please don't."

A year and a half ago, Earth was invaded by aliens. The Miraculous Heroes had taken care of their own city with Hawkmoth taking a temporary ceasefire for the next month. The guy at least has some morals. Not really. Gabe had been busy in the aftermath as one of his factories was destroyed during the invasion. He had no time to indulge in his supervillain hobby.

In the aftermath of the invasion, a new organization made up of heroes called the Justice League was formed. After establishing their headquarters and recruiting more heroes to their cause, they had looked into places that needed their help and Paris had fallen into their radar with the moth problem they had had for the past few years.

They received an invitation to discuss in further details what the JL can do to help. Wonder Woman came in person to give it.

So the Miraculous Heroes found themselves on the rooftop of Hotel de Grand, approaching the set meeting time. The more well-known heroes like Rena Rouge (who was trying her best at a poker face to contain her inner fangirl), Carapace, Vispera, Pegasus and Monkey King were going with Ladybug and Chat Noir as support. The rest were hiding on the nearby rooftops and on standby in case things went sideways and to satisfy Ladybug's paranoia.

When their Miraculous phones showed the meeting time, a light suddenly enveloped the group on the hotel rooftop.

Ladybug found herself and her team in space, a blue glow coming from her adopted planet underneath them. They looked around in awe of the sophisticated technology surrounding them. However, Ladybug frowned slightly as she saw hints of Kryptonian technology and engineering in the structure of JL headquarters her team had been transported to. The teleporter itself screamed of Kryptonian tech.

Her heart pounded in fury of how these Americans managed to get their hands on her people's technology.

"Welcome, heroes, to the Watchtower." Wonder Woman greeted them warmly.

The team teared their eyes away from the awesome view to face the older heroes. All of them looked at them with guarded eyes, wary of the adults.

The Justice League was slightly taken aback by how young most of the Miraculous heroes were. Their magic, not being able to completely hide the fact that they were not adults.

"Holy shit, you guys are just kids." Green Arrow blurted out.

"Which proves how brave they are to take on the task of protecting their home." Wonder Woman added, not wanting to offend the holders.

Batman frowned disapprovingly. '`Who taught you how to fight?" He interrogated them.

"Easy, spooky. They are just children." Green Lantern butted in.

"Excuse you. We are teenagers. Thank you very much, Monsieur Green Light." Chat Noir shot back.

"It's Green Lantern." Hal felt less inclined to be nice towards them.

"And for your information, Monsieur Bat," Chat Noir continued, "We learned it on the job which is pur-ri-ty impressive if I do say so myself. Right, Milady?"

Chat Noir lightly bumped Ladybug on her back. It brought Ladybug who was staring intently at Superman's chest, out of whatever she was thinking of.

"<Sorry, what?>" Ladybug replied in French.

"<LB, back me up here. Batman just got more frowny.>"

Ladybug cleared her throat.

"Apologies, I got a little distracted. I would like to negotiate on what and how much the League can interfere regarding Hawkmoth. After that we will answer any questions you want. Questions pertaining to our identities are out. Obviously. There will be some about the Miraculous that we will not answer for reasons we can't disclose."

Her accent was noticeably thicker than Chat's.

Batman let out a grunt but nodded.

Rena Rouge fake-coughed which made Ladybug sigh and add, "If any of you are willing, Rena would like a few selfies afterward."

To which the fox hero grinned in glee.

Thus began the negotiation process.

------

While Rena went around getting pictures and the other Miraculous heroes loosened up and talked with their older counterparts, Ladybug approached the Man of Steel.

"Ladybug."

"Superman. We need to talk."

Superman remembered her uncomfortable stare at the start of the meeting like she was trying to laser his chest with heat vision.

"Um...any particular reasons why?"

"You tell me, poser. Why do you wear the Symbol of El on your chest?"

Instantly, Superman was on guard. "How do you know?"

"One would think that the 'S' on your chest stands for your name but Kryptonians know it stands for the House of El."

"Who are you?" His eyes turned red as a threat.

"That's what I want to ask." Her eyes, also turning red. "And how the Justice League got their hands on the technology of my people."

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir asked worriedly.

"<Back-up plan now!>"

Batman snapped to attention, "Stop them."

The League immediately went into action as Rena Rouge blew her flute and summoned illusions that were duplicates of all of the members. It was hard to tell who were the real ones as all of the illusions spread out through the Watchtower. The Justice League chased after all of them.

Meanwhile, the real Ladybug and Superman were in a stand-off.

"They are my people too. My father gave me the knowledge and I choose to use it for the betterment of Earth."

"So what? You found this cool new place where you get superpowers and decided that Krypton wasn't worth it any more? Is that why you didn't do anything to stop it from dying?" Mari angrily yelled and threw a punch.

Kal managed to stop the punch but her words confused him. There was something that didn't add up.

As she continued her barrage of punches, she screamed, "You should have helped Jor-El convince the counsel to save us!"

Superman dodged another punch and got out, "Jor-El was my father. How do you know that name?"

Mari faltered in her attacks. "Jor-El only had one son named Kal-El and he would be a child if he was still alive."

"My name is Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. As a baby, I was sent away from my planet on a rocket for my safety."

His heartbeat was steady.

"You..." Mari started, eyes-wide. She looked out the Watchtower's windows, her eyes searching for something in the distance.

The positions of the stars were not where they were supposed to be. Using her lessons, she calculated how long it would take from what she remembered to now.

Then she lowered her head, "So it's true. Somehow I must have arrived at least 20 years into the future."

Mari cried and Kal hugged her as she sobbed into his chest.

------

"Flamebird, just in time." Superman greeted the other Kryptonian as she flew up and punched a meteor. Her suit was red and had yellow lines in the shape of flames going down her sleeves. Her cape had its edges in the shape of flames and turned from red at the shoulders to yellow at the bottom. Like her name, when she flew, it was seeing a phoenix fly. Unlike him, her chest proudly displayed the emblem for the House of Ta which looked similar to the letter 'f' with the curved part looking similar to that of a bird's head and had wings spread out for the line stroke across.   

"Sorry. Adrien was rather insistent on not letting me leave." Mari explained, blasting with her heat vision into tiny pieces.

"At least, he won't be mad at you for being late to another date."

Clark can already imagine how Lois would be mad for being late for their reservation. Again.

"What if your super annoying cousin from France paid you a surprise visit and she tagged along with you for your date after many, many successful attempts to get rid of her?"

"It's fine. I can face Lois. Like the big boy that I am."

"Alright." Mari chuckled.

Mari remained silent as she sent another meteor to crash into the trajectory of another and they both exploded into tiny pieces which will burn out in the atmosphere.

Clark noticed that she was distracted.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"He got hurt again." Mari punched another meteor, a little harder than before.

"Ah." Superman said in understanding.

Adrien's wish to continue heroism, years after both of them had given up their Miraculouses, was a subject of disagreement between the couple. He had seen the vigilantes like Batman and Green Arrow in action, fighting without having superpowers and decided to do the same.

He was rather peeved to find out that the name 'Nightwing' was taken as he wanted them to match. Instead, he decided to keep going by Chat Noir, and teamed up with Max to provide him with gadgets for his vigilantism. However, there are times Adrien gets too far in head and forgets that he didn't have a Miraculous now so Mari had stepped in at times to make sure he didn't get killed. Mari really wanted to support his dreams. She really does. But she doesn't want him to die because of it.

Like during their time as Miraculous holders, he expects her to save the day at the last minute like she did as Ladybug. She had reminded him many times that she doesn't have a reset button anymore and be able to heal his injuries after she saved him from another dangerous terrorist plot or a murder crazy cult.

Lately, he had been insisting for her to change her name back to Ladybug and calling her 'milady' on occasion. The only problem was that Mari wanted to keep her Ladybug and Flamebird identities separate. Going as far as to create a necklace that would change her hair to blond as Flamebird in case someone might make a connection between the two heroes. She didn't want to deal with the inevitable questions of why she didn't use her super powers to take down akumas and Hawkmoth faster. The Miraculous had somehow blocked her powers from working and she really didn't want that information to get out.

In short, their relationship was currently going through a tough patch.

"We have superpowers and yet our love lives are terrible." Mari said, getting rid of the last of the meteors.

"Tell me about it," Superman dusted off his hands, "Love Square." He teased her.

Mari rolled her eyes, "Look who's talking, Triangle."

She sighed as she stared at the world below them.

"You okay, Mari?"

"Just homesick." She answered as she looked in the direction of the galaxy where their home planet once was. "And I miss Kara. You have the same eyes as her. You know. Probably your grandmother's. There are times that you act the same."

Mari sighed again. Her gaze filled with longing and something else. Something more.

"Were you two...together?" He tentatively asked.

To his surprise, Mari blushed and denied it. "What? No. Not the way you think."

"I am okay with it, you know. It's fine if you like her."

"That's not. There's Adrien and-" Mari flustered.

Clark stifles his laughter at her expense.

Eventually, Mari stopped her denial and took a deep breath. She didn't look at him as she slowly admitted.

"You got me. I loved her. I still do. But you know things happen. Planet exploding and all that. I just never got to tell her."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He reached out to her shoulder and patted it.

"I can't do anything about it now. Adrien's nice and all but..." Mari trailed off.

She loves her kitty. After all they had gone through together, it was natural for them to be together. However, Kara and her. They were together for longer. Kara happened first and it was hard to not forget your first.

"But?" Superman prompted her to continue.

"I still miss her." Mari answered. "How could I not? When she was the strongest and brightest person I had ever met? She made everything so much better and I was happy to be with her. My greatest regret was never being able to tell her how I felt. If I could meet her again- "

Mari paused, noticing that something was coming towards them at high velocity. She squinted to make out what it was.

"What is that?"

Just then, a rocket flew past them, headed for Earth.

"Where did that come from?" Mari exclaimed in surprise.

"Whatever it is, we have to stop it." Superman replied seriously before giving her a wink and challenged, "Race ya."

Superman zoomed off.

"Cheater!" She yelled after him and give chase.

He re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and Flamebird did the same, lagging behind a little. The Kryptonians raced to catch up to the rocket where it had landed in Siberia.

When Superman arrived first, the rocket hatch was open and its passenger was currently fighting the soldiers deployed. The bullets seemed to have no effect on her like she had a skin of steel.

"Stop. I don't want to fight you." He said and he stilled when the stranger looked up. She looked like a human female in her late teens with long blonde hair but what drew his attention was the symbol of the House of El on her chest. Same as the one on his chest.

"[Who are you?]" The stranger asked in Kryptonese.

"[I am Kal-El. Son of Jor-El.]" Superman replied in the same language. Mari had been a strict teacher, making sure he got the grammar and pronunciation right until he was talking like a native Krypton. She had been appalled at his clumsy attempts and proceeded to teach him the language, drilling the lessons until he was dreaming of it in his sleep. More than once he found himself reciting a Kryptonian poem in his sleep.

"[No. You can't be! You are an imposter.]" The stranger angrily yelled and attacked him.

But she was stopped by Flamebird who grabbed her wrist.

"Kara." Flamebird whispered, her eyes shining.

Kara whipped her head towards the other female and hissed out, "[Let me go. Who are you?]"

Flamebird blinked in confusion before remembering her necklace. She touched it, returning her hair to its natural dark state. There was a glint of recognition in Kara's eyes.

Mari released her grip on Kara's wrist and pulled her into a hug. "[It's me, Kara. Mari. Mari Ne-Ta. Your best friend. I am so glad that you are still alive.]"

She choked back a sob and she tightly hugged the girl she thought that she was never going to see again.

Kara hesitantly lifted her arms before wrapping them around the other girl. She also cried.

"Mari. Mari. Mari." Kara repeated over and over. Her best friend's voice and embrace grounded her in the new confusing world she had found herself in with abilities she couldn't understand.

In the meanwhile, Superman talked down the Siberian government from launching another attack on Kara, explaining the situation. He waited awkwardly for the two girls to finish.

Kara Zor-El. Mari had often told him a lot of stories about his cousin and sometimes about his aunt and uncle because they were the only family of his which Mari met the most. Stories about his parents were often one-off encounters with not much to talk about. Looking at his cousin, he felt a sense of familiarity. She brought up some vague feelings of happiness which he couldn't remember properly.

Kara laughed after they parted and calmed down from their emotional reunion.

"[It's really you.]" She finally said as she looked over at Mari, "[What are you wearing?]"

After another look, "[And how are you taller than me?]" she asked with a pout.

Mari chuckled,"[Well, it's hard to explain but on my trip to this planet, my ship ran into some complications and I think yours went through something similar which is why we both landed here later than we were supposed to.]"

"[Kara, there is someone I should re-introduce you to.]" Mari pulled her towards Clark and grabbed his hand. "[This is your cousin, Kal-El. Remember the complications I mentioned earlier. Well, Jor-El is the only one of our fathers to successfully send his child to this planet properly and he grew up here. It's been 26 years.]"

Mari quietly said the last part.

"[Krypton?]"

Mari shook her head, "[It's gone. I checked. It's been gone for years now. Nothing but rocks.]"

Kara wiped her tears. "[Mother. Father.]"

Mari hugged her, "[I know. I'm sorry.]"

"Um...Hello." Clark started before switching to Kryptonese and nervously asked, "[Mari says that you are my cousin? Kara Zor-El?]"

Kara hugged him and Clark patted her back, a little bit uncomfortable by her tight hug.

"[You resemble our fathers.]" Kara finally said as she pulled away.

"[I do?]"

"[Oh, right. You were just a baby when you last saw them.]" Kara said and grimaced, "[They were not on great terms with each other.]"

"[We should get going.]" Mari piped up. "[I don't know about you but Siberian weather is a little bit too much to handle even if we are invulnerable to the cold.]"

------

There was a bit of a delay since Kara wasn't able to fly properly yet. In the end, Mari carried her all the way to the Dupain-Cheng house.

Clark had to leave because he had forgotten about the date with Lois and remembered when he took out his phone to see the many missed calls and texts from a very pissed girlfriend.

Mari gave Kara some Earth clothes to change into and then changed out of her Flamebird outfit. She also explained everything that had happened the past few years and what to expect from living on Earth with a yellow sun with a few demonstrations.

Kara sat there on Mari's bed, absorbing what she was told.

"[So that explains it.]" She said as she looked down at her fist, clenching and unclenching it. Remembering how she bent the metal weapons the humans used so easily.

Kara looked around Mari's room and her eyes landed on a painting of herself pinned to the wall, her name written in Kryptonese under it. She went for a closer look.

"[It's me.]" Kara said in awe. The painting was a dead-set replica. It was almost like looking in the mirror and the tiniest accurate details like the mole near her eye and the curve of her lips were there.

"[I thought that you were dead.]" Mari nervously explained and quietly admitted, "[And I didn't want to forget you.]"

Kara hugged her again. She felt flattered? and very happy that Mari wanted to not forget her. There was also something else. A feeling much deeper that Kara can't describe which made her feel warm and fuzzy at the thought that Mari saw her, Kara Zor-El, as someone special to remember. She didn't know what to say and hoped her hug conveyed it.

"[You were the greatest Artist of our generation. You were guaranteed a spot in the Artist Guild if you had finished your trials.]"

Mari blushed at the compliment. "[Thanks, Kara.]"

Then, she grabbed Kara's hand and dragged her towards the trap door.

"[Come on. I am going to introduce you to two very special people. They helped me a lot when I arrived.]"

Kara felt flushed somehow at the contact. She and Mari had touched each other a lot before so why did she feel weird about it now? She was smiling as Mari told her about her adopted parents on this planet.

Her life may have turned upside down but as long as she had Mari by her side, Kara found herself ready to tackle it head on.

------

It had been a tough adjustment for Kara but soon, she settled in her new home quite nicely.

Mari had graduated from lycee. She had decided to move to Jump City for college and work with the Teen Titans. Meanwhile, Kara got herself adopted by the Danvers who are old friends of the Kents and was currently trying out high school as a human teenager.

Mari and Adrien broke up instead of maintaining a long-distance relationship. After a long painful talk, Mari managed to convince Adrien from pursuing hero-ing as a career and they agreed to give each other space before trying to be friends again.

Currently, Adrien was trying for a physics major at Cambridge University where his cousin was also going.

Kara made her debut as Supergirl and was recognized as Superman's cousin who also survived their planet's destruction.

The media was crazy for a while.

When Flamebird started out and identified herself as another Kryptonian survivor, they speculated that Superman and her were dating and there were theories of them being the new Adam and Eve, choosing Earth as the planet to repopulate their species.

The two Kryptonians did an interview with Lois to clear things up where they revealed that Flamebird then was not even of legal age by Earth's standards while Superman was a full-grown man. They clarified that their relationship was that of family and more accurately, siblings. Those dating rumours died down pretty quick afterwards except on a few conspiracy theory sites.

After Supergirl came into the scene...

Well, let's just say people noticed the chemistry between Supergirl and Flamebird when Flamebird was in town. The rumours started when people pointed out that Flamebird showed up in Metropolis more often since Supergirl showed up than she ever did since her first appearance when she usually stuck to her city at the other side of the pond. Social media went wild when someone posted about overhearing that Supergirl and Flamebird were childhood best friends.

SuperFlame is a tag that would be trending every few months. More fuel to the fire was added when the Supers stayed silent about the matter. There were times where the crowds would shout 'KISS! KISS! KISS!' when the two are next to each other after saving the day. In response, Supergirl would deny having that type of relationship with Flamebird while Flamebird herself would kiss Supergirl's cheek, give them a smirk before flying away and leaving behind a red-faced Supergirl. Superman joined in at one point.

There is also a lot of hand-holding and touching. Their faces often turn as red as Flamebird's costume. Metropolis is sick of them dancing around each other but at the same time, invested in their slow burn favourite ship.

------

"Hey, Kara."

Kara looked up from her math homework and smiled. "Mari."

Mari grinned back. "Sorry for being late. The mission was longer than I had anticipated."

Kara shook her head, "It's fine. I ordered ahead for you. One Chocolate milkshake."

She pushed the drink towards Mari.

"Thank you, mon soleil." Mari replied, kissing her cheek and sat down in the opposite seat.

To be honest, Kara was initially annoyed when she found out that Mari was now technically 2 years older than her now. She was no longer the eldest of the trio when she was the first to be born. Her baby cousin was not a baby anymore but a grown man who was getting married in a month. Then, her best friend had grown up, gaining a good few inches on Kara and a fair amount of toned muscles that had Kara's heart racing at times.

Kara was looking respectfully when Mari took off her leather jacket to reveal her buffed arms and placed it on the back of her chair.

She sipped her milkshake a little too fast and got a brain freeze.

"Hey, Kara. Easy." Mari rubbed her shoulder and reprimanded her, "I know the milkshakes here are good but slow down."

"Sorry. I will be more careful."

The two girls chatted about what they had been doing since the last time they met, which was a month ago before Mari went with the Teen Titans for a mission overseas.

During a lull in their chat, Mari suddenly said, "So I heard that you went on a date with Nightwing."

Her words instead of the usual curiosity that comes with gossip were tinged with an edge of nervousness... and was that jealousy?

Kara blinked, thrown off by the unexpected question. She admits that she felt a slight attraction towards the vigilante. He was handsome with his dark hair and had a charming personality. Kara enjoyed his company. She acted on an impulse and asked him out as per Earth's custom.

To be honest, the date was a disaster. They both were awkward with each other and found it hard to find a common subject to talk about. They just didn't have the same chemistry that her cousin and his mentor did.

Kara left that day, apologizing for the failed date and Dick had reassured her that they could still be friends. It was the best outcome for the two of them.

She didn't know why her chest felt heavy when Mari asked about her date with Nightwing. Kara didn't know that Mari had liked him like that.

It made sense if she did. In the myths, Nightwing and Flamebird were lovers. Their superhero identities even match. How in Rao did she not notice before? Of course, Mari was jealous. She went on a date with her crush. She was such a terrible friend.

The ache in her chest became almost unbearable at that realization.

"I am sorry." Kara said, guilt pooling in her stomach.

It was Mari's time to blink in confusion.

"For what?"

"For not telling you." Kara's tongue felt heavy as stone in her mouth. She didn't know why.

"Kara, it's fi-"

"He's a nice person and he treated me really nice. He's a great person." Kara noticed that Mari's frown got deeper. "The date was terrible. We just didn't hit it off really well."

"Really?" Mari sounded brighter. Kara clenched her fists. She felt suffocated. Why did she feel so upset over her best friend liking someone else?

"Yeah."

Kara didn't know why she was feeling this way.

Kara flinched when she felt a cold hand touch her forehead so lost in her thoughts. When did Mari get so close to her?

"I am fine." Kara said as she turned her face away. Then, she hurriedly packed up her things and made up some excuse about needing to go somewhere. She ran out of the cafe, leaving behind a confused Mari, and ran into the nearest alleyway to fly somewhere far far away from girls with blue eyes and black hair.

------

Clark found Kara at the top of Danver's roof. He floated down towards her and sat down next to her.

"So..." Clark asked, "What happened?"

Kara buried her face further into her knees and mumbled something Clark was barely able to catch with his super hearing.

"I am sorry?"

"I said I don't know. We were talking about Nightwing and my date with him." Kara explained frantically, "I figured out that Mari has a some kind of crush on him. And I don't know. I felt terrible. I don't like the idea of them being together and I didn't want to stay, talking about it."

Clark was confused. Dick had told about how bad the date with Kara went and apologized.

"But I thought that you and Dick decided to be friends instead." He pointed out.

"I know. He's a great guy but I don't know why I am angry at him." Kara said frustrated and let out something like a whine.

Clark observed his cousin who was moping in a similar way to a certain someone when they found out that their crush went on a date with Dick. Kara didn't notice the smirk that passed his face.

"Maybe you are just jealous." Clark 'casually' commented.

Kara immediately gave him a dirty look.

"Jealous? Me?" Kara said, offended, "Why would I be jealous of Mari? She's the best. Nightwing would be lucky to have her. They would be a great couple."

Kara suddenly looked sad at that thought and quietly added, "Who wouldn't want to be with her?"

Clark disguised his laugh as a cough and focused. <strike> His bet with Lois, concerning the two girls dancing around their feelings, was on the line here. If he do this right, he might win.</strike>

"What if.." Clark hesitantly said, getting Kara's attention, "You are jealous of Dick instead of Mari."

Oh.

Oh.

The blood rushed to Kara's cheeks and burned hotly.

"What?" her voice cracked.

"What if it's Mari that you want to be with and that's why you are mad at Dick for being the one to receive her attention?" Clark said, looking carefully at Kara's reaction.

Kara put her hands on her cheeks in an attempt to cool them down. Was she really jealous like Kal said? Jealous that she couldn't be with Mari when Nightwing can?

She always viewed Mari as the one constant in her life she could count on. Even after their planet had exploded and she felt disoriented from her new surroundings, Mari was there to give her a hand. As she learned to adapt to the local culture and her new powers, Mari was there. Clark also helped but she felt a deeper connection with Mari. Maybe because they both had grown up together on Krypton that Mari understood the situation she was going through, having gone through the same thing herself but without any help like she did.

She loves every minute she gets to spend time with the other girl. Especially now that Mari was busier than ever with being on the Teen Titans and college.

Kara gets a warm and fuzzy feeling at those times, knowing that Mari had used what precious free time she had to spend it with her. Even now thinking about Mari has her heart fluttering. By Rao, Kal was right. She, Kara Zor-El, had fallen in love with her best friend.

"You're right." Kara admitted.

"I am?" Clark blinked, wondering if he heard it right.

"Yes. I am jealous of Nightwing. Because I am in love with Mari Net-Ta. The most amazing person in the universe and my best friend." Kara confessed and then groaned. "And she likes someone else."

Clark lets out the laugh he had been desperately holding in for the past fifteen minutes.

"What's so funny?" Kara demanded. "I just poured out my feelings, you know. You shouldn't be laughing."

"I am so sorry." Clark apologized and cleared his throat to prevent further laughter from erupting. "It's just... Mari hates Dick and she loves someone else."

Kara looked dumbfounded. "Sorry? She what?"

Clark explained, "So years ago before you came, the two of them used to go by different names. Mari went by Ladybug and led her own team against a supervillain who was giving them trouble in Paris. Dick was still under Bruce's wing and went by Robin."

"I already knew that. So you mean that Dick was the one to change his name to match hers instead?"

"No. Let me finish. At that time, Mari was planning to use another name after she finished her job as Ladybug. She wanted to be Nightwing."

Kara was shocked and Clark continued his story.

"However, Dick changed his name first. He wanted a new name that wasn't associated with Batman and wanted to be independent from Bruce. He asked me for help and I told him about Flamebird and Nightwing. It was meant to provide some sort of motivation and words of support for his goal but Dick took it to heart and took on the name Nightwing. Mari was rather pissed when she found out. She had everything set up but she wasn't done with the whole Hawkmoth business. She then asked Dick to change his name multiple times. Dick was rather stubborn in his decision. In the end, she decided to go with Flamebird instead."

"So Mari doesn't like Nightwing then?" Kara inquired.

"Yup."

"So who does she like?"

Clark grinned, "Well, I am not going to tell you that that easily."

Kara slapped his back. "You bastard."

"Ask her yourself then." Clark said as he jumped.

Instead of flying away, he looked back and added, "If you want a hint. Mari's type are blondes."

Then he flew back home where Lois was waiting, leaving Kara alone with her thoughts as she stroked her hair.

------

Kara was a coward.

Ever since that day at the cafe, Kara had avoided Mari and ignored all of her messages.

She made up excuses of being busy to Mari's requests to hang out. Every time Mari showed up in Metropolis, Kara would then hightail it out of the city under the pretense of having more superheroing duties to do, like saving a puppy.... all the way in Australia. Mari had caught on to what Kara had been doing and was trying to corner her into talking. At the Watchtower, after stopping another crime in Metropolis, at Kara's high school. Mari would be there and Kara would slip away like an eel upon seeing the other girl.

It was a frustrating situation for everyone watching.

Finally, Clark, a usually patient man, found himself putting his foot down and put an end to this game of avoiding-and-excuses that Kara was dead-set on playing.

Kara would have to face Mari sooner or later and she will not get out of going to his wedding. He promised that he would talk to Mari and persuade her to not interact with Kara during the event. In return, she has to explain to Mari why she had been avoiding her after the wedding was done. Mari had been hurt at her best friend avoiding her without any explanation and was tearing herself apart to fix whatever wrong she could have done to Kara. Clark showed Kara a picture of the Teen Titan's kitchen which was filled with baked goods and used baking pans as a result of Mari's stress baking.

"You see this, Kara. Mari is not in a good shape. The Titan Tower smells like a bakery and the Flashes are even complaining that they are sick of baked goods. Lois is not happy with the amount of cupcakes she had been receiving and worried she might not be able to fit in her dress next week."

Kara winced. The Danvers had also been receiving baskets of pastry goodness on their doorstep every morning for a while now. They now had so much that they had to give some away to neighbours, who love Kara's 'secret admirer'.

Clark put his hand on her shoulder and in a low voice said, "And I know you are afraid of rejection from Mari but if you don't talk to her, you might lose a friend too."

Kara sighed, knowing it was inevitable to meet Mari again and that Clark was right. "Okay, Kal. I agree to your deal. I owe Mari an explanation and I can't avoid her forever."

"Thank you. I love the two of you and I want the both of you there on my special day."

Clark smiled happily and Kara returned it with one of her own.

------

So far, like Clark had promised, Mari didn't try to bug Kara about what had happened. Kara didn't know whether to be relieved or empty. Upon seeing Kara, Mari gave her a bright grin that would put the sun to shame especially with the dress she wore which made her look stunning and sent Kara's heart fluttering. Kara forced herself to turn her head away and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mari drooped like a wilted flower which made her chest ache uncomfortably.

Just a few hours. Kara repeated it like a mantra.

The wedding went smoothly. It was a family and friends only event for those in the know about Clark being Superman and held at the Kents farm.

Vows and rings were exchanged. Clark and Lois kissed. Then, it was time for the champagne to be brought out to celebrate.

So far, as Clark had promised, Mari didn't try to bug Kara about what had happened. Which Kara didn't know whether to be relieved or empty.

The black-haired girl made sure to stay out of Kara's way. It was awkward when they kept accidentally meeting eyes with each other so Mari would look away in the opposite direction, holding up her end of the deal. But that gesture made Kara's chest sting with hurt.

She asked for this. Kara reminded herself. But it doesn't make it less painful when Mari turns away.

The day went by and soon there was a lull on the dance floor. Clark and Lois were slow-dancing in the air above the dance floor while a few couples joined them, either on the floor or in the sky. The rest of the guests formed groups, chatting among themselves about their latest missions, the last world-ending disaster or just the daily mundane things on the civilian side of the identities while resting their feet from the dance battle they did earlier.

Kara found herself at the edge of the crowd by the buffet table, sipping her (non-alcoholic) drink as she watched everyone. Her eyes were drawn to Mari who was talking to a blonde she never met before in rapid French.

"Hey, Kara. Are you having fun?" A voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Kara looked to see that it was Dick Grayson with his bow tie loose and collar open and jacket missing.

She nodded back in acknowledgement. "Dick."

Then, she continued staring at Mari. "I think so."

Dick followed her gaze. "Oh. I didn't think she would bring him as her plus-one."

Kara looked at him and asked, "You know him?"

"That's Adrien Agreste. Her ex-boyfriend." He answered, pointing at the blonde model.

"Her what?"

Dick gave her a confused look. "You didn't know? He also used to be her superhero partner, Chat Noir, before she became Flambird. He continued to be a vigilante type hero for a while after they both defeated Hawkmoth and had to give up their Miraculouses. I think he stopped before they both broke up and moved away from each other. It was around the time you arrived, I think."

Kara then knew who he was talking about. Mari would often mention her Chaton in the passing with fondness and Kara only knew that he was doing college somewhere in England.

Mari laughed at something Adrien said. It made her heart feel heavy. She recalled what Clark said about Mari’s love for blondes when Adrien ran his hand through his messy, blond locks of hair. Then, Adrien whispered something to Mari in French which Kara didn’t know what it meant but it made Mari blush a bright red.

Suddenly, Kara couldn’t take it anymore. Dick turned back to his conversation partner only to find her gone.

------

Kara sighed as she stared blankly at the lake near the Kents farm. She was sitting on one of the large rocks nearby. In the distance, she heard people celebrating as the happy couple ended the wedding reception with Earth’s traditions.

Sooner or later, she was going to have to face Mari. But Kara didn’t have the courage to face the other girl after what she had witnessed.

Adrien had made Mari laugh and she looked happy to be around him. She didn’t want to get in the way of Mari’s happiness with her own confusing feelings for her own selfishness. She stared up into the sky where the sun was setting but a few stars were out. Should she leave this planet?

Kal was starting his own family with Lois and Mari has something going on with Adrien. They were perfectly happy to start a new life on this planet. Where did that leave Kara? There are days where she feels out of touch with the people around her. Kori was the only one who remotely understood her struggle to live as a human. But Mari was the only other one to know how it feels to lose a planet. Kal had lived here too long to ever remember what it was like to feel Rao’s light on his skin and how the sky looked at night on Krypton with its three moons instead of a very lonely one.

A shadow fell across her which made her groan and curler tighter to avoid the inevitable conversation.

“Kal-El, don’t you have a bride to go kiss, instead of meddling in my love-” Kara looked up to see the last person she wanted to see “-life.”

Her traitorous heart skipped a beat.

“Kara.” Mari smiled gently although her eyes showed hurt at being ignored. “The wedding’s over so I came to find you.”

Kara stayed silent.

“We need to talk.”

Kara bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. She thought that she had time. Time to organize her thoughts and collect herself.

“Kara? Oh Rao.” Mari panicked and landed in front of her. She wiped the tears away.

“Kara. I don’t know what I did wrong. Just tell me how I can fix it.” Mari’s voice pleaded, sounding desperate.

“No.” Kara blurted out and then tried to fix her mistake at Mari’s downtrodden look. “I mean. It’s not you. It’s me. I- um….”

Kara took a deep breath and calmed herself. Mari patiently waited for her to explain.

Kara continued, her voice more steady but quieter. “I made a mistake and I thought that staying away from you was…. the best solution.” She meekly admitted

Mari let out a sigh of relief. “That’s it? Whatever this mistake is, we can fix it together. Just like old times.”

Mari gave her a grin which made Kara remember the many messes they had made as kids and giggling as they cleaned it all up.

Kara shook her head and looked away from Mari. “I can’t tell you. It will be selfish of me to drag you into my personal business.”

She felt hands grab the sides of her head and turned it back to face their owner.

Bluebell eyes stared into hers, filled with determination.

“Kara Zor-El. You are one of the most important people in the world- No, wait- in the entire universe to me. Whatever problem is making you like this, it is not a burden. I will do everything I have to help you. So don’t think that it is selfish.” Mari took Kara’s hand and held it to her own face. She leaned into it. “Don’t you ever think that it is selfish to burden me with your problems.”

“You…” Kara quietly said, “you are making it very very hard to not like you.”

Mari blinked. Her eyes wide and filled with confusion, hurt and deep sadness.

“I like you.” Kara confessed abruptly because if Mari wanted to be burdened, she could be burdened by Kara’s crush. “I could even go as far as to say I love you. I want to kiss you. I want to hold hands all the time. I want to be around you all the time. I want the whole world. No. I want the whole universe to know that you are mine. This whole time I had been avoiding you so I won’t act on them and damn Kal for forcing my hand. I have been trying to get rid of this crush but all I couldn’t stop thinking about is you. You are in my mind all the time. Even if I don’t see you, you are there. So please say something?”

For the entire speech, Mari was frozen with her mouth open, not saying a word. Then, she broke out into the biggest and goofiest grin and let out a laugh of joy. Mari hugged Kara tightly.

“Kara. Kara. Kara. Kara Zor-El.” She repeated the name like a prayer. Kara didn’t know what came over her friend.

Then, Mari kissed Kara.

It was like the stars exploded in her head. All of the worrying and sadness she had all melted at the touch of Mari’s lips.

Soon, they parted. Kara found herself smiling and Mari doing the same.

“I actually came here for another reason.” Mari grabbed something from behind her and showed it to Kara. It was Lois’s bouquet.

“Oh wow.” Kara said as she took it and breathed in the flowers’ fragrance. “Wasn’t this Lois’s?” she asked.

Mari blushed furiously as she replied, “You should know that I fought a Thanagarian to get it.”

Then, she lowered her voice, “I don’t know if you knew but according to Earth’s superstitions, they say that the one who catches the bride’s bouquet will be the next one to get married.”

“Not that we have to get married.” Mari somehow turned a brighter red than before. “I mean we can get married but not right now even if I want to do it right now. No- I mean I would like to get married to you in the future if you would let me.” She finished lamely.

Kara giggled, “So is that your way of asking me out?”

“Um..yes.” Mari sighed, “I had a plan. You just have to be so pretty that I forget what I planned to say. Can I start over?”

Kara nodded with a shy smile.

Mari cleared her throat. “Ever since we were little kids, I had the biggest crush on you. When I thought I lost you, my life was a dark place and even as I continued to move forward, I have never forgotten you. The day you came crashing back into my life was the happiest day of my life. So Kara Zor-El, would you give me the honor of being your girlfriend?”

���Yes.” Kara replied softly and leaned in to kiss her newly minted girlfriend.

------

EPILOGUE:

It was a rather snowy day in Metropolis and the Christmas spirit was high in the air. The crowds of Metropolis cheered as Flamebird and Supergirl saved the day once again.

They were making to fly away after checking on the victims of Toyman’s latest attack.

“KISS! KISS! KISS!” The crowd shouted at them.

A few of the citizens were throwing mistletoe at the two of them or trying to dangle them above the flying heroes.

Supergirl caught one and held it up between the two of them.

The two heroes exchanged smirks before Flamebird grabbed Supergirl’s waist to pull her closer, tilted her back to place her lips on Supergirl’s. The crowd was silent with shock for a second before they roared with delight and flashes went off to capture the historic moment. The couple pulled apart, giggling at the reactions.

Flamebird grabbed Supergirl’s hand and announced, “Citizens of Metropolis. Have a very happy Holiday and I will be spending mine kissing my girlfriend.”

The people screamed louder as the two Kryptonians flew away hand in hand.

#maribat #karanette #kara x marinette #ml x dc #maribat secret santa 2022

[zahri-melitor]

Okay I have opened March Solicits. Reactions as I go (and I'm feeling salty today):-

Chip I am trusting you to land this ZEA storyline. Also Zur!Tim is when? I am still hotly anticipating the possible fallout from that.

If Harley is back on Suicide Squad is she leaving Birds of Prey? Please?

(Also hot take but I think we're past the need for Harley to be on Suicide Squad. Part of me perked up at Black Alice and Clock King on SS, but eurgh. Harley)

Is there anything more eye-rollingly boring than "Bruce Wayne origin story" at this point?

Batman & Robin continues to look fine

I'm reminded I need to find time to sit down and start Ram V's 'Tec run.

"What's wrong with Nightwing" (I cover my mouth and laugh) anyway this looks very Tom Taylor levels of stakes.

I woke up to the Barbara discourse so I was already spoiled on this, but... sigh. Kelly Thompson not understanding the need for BoP to have someone in the troubleshooter/research role is hmmm a flaw. I am giving the team some leeway still though, as I DO think they're doing good Dinah content.

Outsiders: ...you know I actually have no clue what DC has done with Nocturna since the 2011 reboot apart from the fact she's apparently back. She's Kate's ex? (who isn't at this point??)

I'm again reminded that putting Poison Ivy on my longlist to read is probably a thing to do.

Red Hood: The Hill - "in their civilian lives, seeds of jealousy begin to drive a wedge between Jason and one of his oldest friends". Now don't get me wrong, actually developing Jason having his own cohort is something that is so necessary, but...it's intensely funny to me to see a book pretending Jason has a civilian life and longstanding friends. Go on.

World's Finest: look, I trust this team but you know what I don't need in my life? "the first meeting of Joker and Lex"

...oh damn, PG don't do this to me, that story concept looks halfway okay? Though it would still be funnier to hear about the team of Kara and Karen, ACTUALLY.

The Flash: you know what? I'm still enjoying Si Spurrier on this. Jai and Max sounds like an AMAZING team up actually.

Speed Force as a title is confusing me in that it's not only a mini, it's a mini that's actually keeping abreast of continuity around it for the characters involved. What is this? post-Crisis? (Keep this energy up)

I'm sorry, Wonder Woman is looking worse and worse. That cover makes me HUGELY uncomfortable. (the flag actually even more than the sword)

Sinister Sons remains looking SO BAD

I acknowledge that Amazons Attack is a bad rerun of a bad event, but also Mary Marvel is in it and I love Mary soooooooo (even though I know it makes other people mad)

The Green Arrow situation has been heavily canvassed, but my personal complaint is, in a slow meandering storyline to start with, we are at issue...10? and we finally get 4 women all at once? Why is Mia arriving with this group? Why are they all together? Why are any of them talking to Waller, particularly current Waller, let alone working for her? Why issue 10/12? (sings the 'devaluing women in Green Arrow again? Is it Tuesday?' song)

The old JSAers minis final issues - yeah that looks fine

CREEPER IN SHAZAM??? What??? The Creeper in a wacky hijinks book? This could be very fun but wow is that a tonal dissonance.

Blue Beetle *whispers* I'd actually be cool with Ted retiring from active hero work again. It's a good look on him.

Ape-ril - BANANA SCENTED COVER????? I feel this has gone underappreciated

I am, actually, excited for the Barda DCInk book. Though I wonder how much of the Furies backstory is going to get softened for it.

I still can't believe they're reprinting Dixon Nightwing AGAIN, in a 1024 page trade paperback. Why not collect Grayson? Why not finish out the Robin and BOP Dixon collections instead? WHY AS A PAPERBACK BRICK with all the downsides of both TPBs and Omnis and none of the benefits of either format?

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Creator Set's Free's (Jesus') Tribal Ancestry

1 Here is the record of the ancestry of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, a descendant of Much Loved One (David) and of Father of Many Nations (Abraham). From Father of Many Nations (Abraham) to Much Loved One (David), his ancestors were: 2 Father of Many Nations (Abraham), He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), Heel Grabber (Jacob), Give Him Praise (Judah) and his brothers, 3 He Breaks Through (Perez) and his brother First Light (Zerah), whose mother was Fruit of Palm Tree (Tamar), Circle of Tipis (Hezron), Lifted Up (Ram), 4 Noble Relative (Amminadab), Talks with Snakes (Nahshon), He Makes Peace (Salmon), 5 Moves with Strength (Boaz), whose mother was Boastful Woman (Rahab), He Works Hard (Obed), whose mother was Beautiful Friend (Ruth), Original Man (Jesse), 6 who was the father of the great chief Much Loved One (David). From Much Loved One (David) to the removal to Village of Confusion (Babylon), the ancestors of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were: Much Loved One (David), Stands in Peace (Solomon), whose mother, Daughter of Seven (Bathsheba), was the wife of Fire from Creator (Uriah), 7 Big People Maker (Rehoboam), He Is My Father (Abijah), Gathers the People (Asa), 8 He Makes Wrongs Right Again (Jehoshaphat), Creator Is Above (Jehoram), My Great Power (Uzziah), 9 Creator Has No Equal (Jotham), Held by Creator (Ahaz), He Will Be Strong (Hezekiah), 10 He Made Them Forget (Manasseh), Burden Bearer (Amon), Good Medicine (Josiah), 11 and Chosen by Creator (Jeconiah) and his brothers at the time of the removal to Village of Confusion (Babylon).

12 From the removal to Village of Confusion (Babylon) to the birth of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), his ancestors were: Chosen by Creator (Jeconiah), Ask Creator (Shealtiel), Born in Village of Confusion (Zerubbabel), 13 Father Boasts in Him (Abihud), He Builds Up (Eliakim), He Helps (Azor), 14 Stands with a Good Heart (Zadok), Stands Firm (Achim), Power of Creator (Eliud), 15 Creator Helps Him (Eleazar), Gifted by Creator (Matthan), Heel Grabber (Jacob), 16 and He Gives Sons (Joseph), who was the husband of Bitter Tears (Mary), who gave birth to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is the Chosen One.

17 And so there were fourteen generations from Father of Many Nations (Abraham) to Much Loved One (David), fourteen more generations from Much Loved One (David) until the removal to Village of Confusion (Babylon), and then fourteen more from the removal to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One.

Birth of the Chosen One

18 Here is the story of how the Chosen One was born: His mother, Bitter Tears (Mary), had been promised in marriage to He Gives Sons (Joseph). But before they came together in marriage, while still a virgin, she found out that she was carrying a baby in her womb from the Holy Spirit. 19 He Gives Sons (Joseph) was a man of honor. He did not want to bring her trouble and open shame, so he thought about secretly releasing her from the marriage promise.

20 As he wondered about these things, a messenger from the Great Spirit appeared to him in a dream and said, “He Gives Sons (Joseph), descendant of Much Loved One (David), do not be afraid to take Bitter Tears (Mary) to be your wife, because the Holy Spirit has given her this child. 21 She will give birth to a son. You will name him Creator Sets Free (Jesus), because he will set his people free from their bad hearts and broken ways.”

22 This gave full meaning to the words of Creator spoken long ago by the prophet, 23 “A young virgin will be with child and give birth to a son. They will call his name Immanuel, which in our tribal language means Creator Is with Us.”

24 When He Gives Sons (Joseph) woke up, he followed the guidance given him in the dream and took Bitter Tears (Mary) to be his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until after the child was born, and he named the child Creator Sets Free (Jesus). — Gift From Creator Tells The Good Story 1 (Matthew 1) | First Nations Version (FNV) First Nations Version Bible Copyright ©2023 InterVarsity Press. Cross References: Genesis 22:18; Genesis 25:19; Deuteronomy 22:23; Deuteronomy 24:1; Ruth 4:18; Ruth 4:20; 1 Samuel 1:20; 2 Samuel 7:12; 2 Samuel 11:27; 1 Kings 3:5; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 24:14; 1 Chronicles 2:12; 1 Chronicles 3:14; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 22:30; Jeremiah 27:20; Haggai 1:1; Matthew 16:16; Matthew 16:20; Matthew 27:17; Luke 1:31; Luke 2:7; Acts 5:19; Romans 1:2

#Jesus #genealogy #ancestry #Jesus' birth #Joseph #angel of the Lord #Mary #Matthew 1 #Gospel of Matthew #New Testament #FNV #First Nations Version Bible #InterVarsity Press

[harpers-tartarus]

@thenumberonegaylord got in my head and all I'm thinking about it 'BFI!Hope as Percy Jackson's mom au'

So the war's over and Mari is tired and needs a break from everything, so she and George (and Selenar who is incapable of leaving Mari on her own) go off on their own, traveling and exploring. They're in NY for awhile and she makes a friend with a young woman named Sally Jackson

At this point, Mari's had a child so they bond over motherhood and worries. Sally says nothing about her child's father, just that he was lost at sea and had the kindest eyes.

But tragedy strikes and Mari is driving the car with Sally after her water broke and a drunk driver rams them. She wakes up in a hospital to be told that Sally Jackson passed but her son lived. And she cradles Perseus Jackson in her bruised arms and swears to look after him.

She takes him and raises him as her own, loved as much as her own. Percy is still a menace that gets tossed out of the schools on the regular, but he's far from the only one. Mari's second born is a wily thing that inherited too much of Mari's wildness and George's pranking nature.

When 'the Thomas children' are talked about, Percy is always included.

Percy grows up knowing about magic and gods and monsters but in a manner different than he later learns. His mother is a godling as is his uncle, and occasionally Morrigan and Thanatos come to dinner; its a surreal experience when he finally understands.

#hope potter aus #itll probably never be written but a girl can dream

[littlebluespoon]

*Seeps through your vents like a wretched slime* YEYEYEYEYEYEYESSSSSSSS RAAAH 👹

MARY Mary……mary

she would probably be on the taller side of the spectrum because of König and also wear a mask like his if she was in the military, she would also absolutely become like a combo of a human battering ram and a skilled sniper :) being able to take people out without anyone knowing she’s there and König and darling couldn’t be prouder but of course as soon as she gets a pretty big injury she becomes a tiny octo.

🥺 I can see her being far smaller then König if they were both to be in their octo forms and she has little spots all over her due to having light freckles on her face in her human form so people will just hear a wet *plot plop plop plop* and see this big fuckin octopus the size of a watermelon and then a little one that was only about the size of a small apple.

😭 she’s always gonna be tiny compared to her dad but if anything have a bit more of a fear factor due to how she takes no shit unless it’s from her pretty woman wife💖.

she’s absolutely done “interrogations” before and had people begging for their lives then quickly screaming and begging her to end them, yeah she’s a bit morbid but that’s just her 🤷

(Ps… she also will be in her octo form and attach to her wife but because her and her wife are both Ace she just stays on her wife’s wrist or shoulder or tummy when she’s laying down on their bed, it’s very comforting to her to know her wife loves her in both forms and to just sit in peaceful silence as her wife reads💖)

-🐙

Octo I'm crying! This is so cute and so well done. She absolutely does all of this.

I'm picturing König with Mary as like a pre teen and she's learning to shift for the first time and he just melts when he sees how small she is. and she can't keep up with him in octo form so she sits on his head, like a little stacked ice cream.

Also im picturing a tiny octopus using a sniper rifle... she'd never bee seen. Although I'm not entirely sure it would physically be possible but who knows. It's fiction.

SHE USES THE VENTS TO SCARE PEOPLE! She drops from them like a surprise attack and smothers peoples faces. Recruits talking shit? BAM! Octopus stuck over their mouth. Enemies? BAM! Her brothers? BAM! You're it in the game of tag that she's totally winning.

#bluespoonswriting #asks for blue #octo!könig