#meanwhile humans have so much customization like...its crazy

[cto10121]

Twilight Clown Takes—Part 5

Featuring not only fan dumb but anti fan dumb, which is arguably worse, Team Jacob dumb, and just another whole set of clownery. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Anti Fan Dumb

“I own all the Twilight books and movies and have made custom T-shirts but also Twilight is garbage and it’s not hypocritical or bullying to say so!!1!!1 😡”

(Also, Twilight’s themes and even plot are anything but simple. There are so many interpretive lens you could apply, even critical lit crit ones, it’s dizzying. Like R&J, it only seems to be that way because people assume romance = dumb. Because they think romance = women, and women are inferior. It’s Sexism 101.)

This is going to sound truly crazy, but hear me out…if you don’t like something, just don’t engage with it? Ignore it???? Go be a fan of literally anything else????Out there, I know.

“I got what I wanted and I still hated it!!1!!11 😡”

Meyer Is Racist Round ♾️

…You know, I honestly can’t tell what this comment is supposed to aver. “Meyer’s portrayal is racist but also her series was ahead of its time in its portrayal of NA characters”????? Idek.

Anyway, it’s canon that Forks is neutral territory for both Cullens and the werewolves, so them looking after Charlie should be fine (I know Jacob says differently in New Moon but I have a feeling it is because of Alice’s presence—there is definitely a “we won’t be anywhere near you” component to the treaty). In Midnight Sun Edward says specifically it’s a five mile radius from the Cullens’ house.

There are so much wrong with this one sentence, it’s breathtaking. As in, I can’t breathe from choking with laughter.

1) “Despite its”—Because of, you idiot. It was Meyer’s success in tapping into ancient and nigh universal tropes and modernizing them without diluting their power.

2) Just because Twilight doesn’t have sex doesn’t mean it is chaste. There is nothing chaste about the erotic and sexual tension Meyer builds. It is literally off the charts.

3) “Forbidden love” and “steep imbalance of power” are not opposites. On the contrary, they are complementary. Literally every forbidden love romance has that aspect. Even Romeo and Juliet with its beautiful relationship of equals has Romeo’s privilege raised as male vs. Juliet’s raised as female. And yes, it does affect their tragedy.

4) “Damsel—” She is a human amid vampires and werwolves, idiot. Of course she is not going to girlboss her way out of danger. That would have been a one-way ticket to literal death. And she would have deserved it, for being too stupid to live. But Bella is not an idiot; she has more wit in her elbow than any of her antis combined.

Team Jacob Dumb

Ugh, kill this fanon with fire.

Meyer makes it clear that Bella is not attracted to all vampires the same way she is attracted to Edward. She isn’t taken in by James, she isn’t fooled by Laurent, and the vampires in Breaking Dawn are referred to in fairly basic terms. Even the way she describes the Cullens’ beauty differs—Carlisle’s and even Rosalie’s beauty (!!) she likens to Hollywood and Sports Magazine respectively. Very clichéd and emotionally empty descriptions. Most tellingly of all, she doesn’t describe other vampiric scents at all.

Meanwhile every little thing Edward does makes this girl cream. His voice, his scent, his crooked smile, his windswept bronze hair…because she’s in love with him, duh.

You may have had a point some years ago, Clown OP. Unfortunately for you, we now have Midnight Sun. There Edward does correctly guess Bella’s thoughts and feelings around 80-90% of the time. The only time when he’s consistently off is her attraction to him. He, like Bella, just sells himself short, as he relies on his mind reading too much.

Even if it were true that Jacob just naturally gets Bella better…in actual practice it’s mostly due to the fact that they are much closer in age. So their brand of humor (the running joke about ages, banter, the Simpsons allusion in Breaking Dawn) and style of communication are not that different (hence why Bella thinks he is so easy to talk to). Bella can truly be a regular 17-year-old with Jacob, and that is understandably attractive for a parentified teen.

Aside from that, though, Bella/Jacob don’t have much in common. Bella’s tomboyishness begins and ends with her truck and stretches to its limit to motorcycles. Otherwise she is a parentified class-conscious bookish Austenite and Jacob is your basic mechanic native boy who by all accounts is perfectly fine at the rez. He takes care of his father, but his situation is far from being as parentified as Bella.

Overall Edward is much closer to Bella in personality and likes than Jacob—he just has the disadvantage of being born in a different time and living a hundred years. Also, Jacob’s understanding of Bella doesn’t translate very well into respect for her—see forced kiss and manipulative second kiss.

Edward Hate Dumb

…I’ll give it to this one, this clownery almost sounds like a legit criticism. Almost.

First of all, it is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that Edward would have never given up on Bella. Even when he left her he always planned to return and see how she was doing. In Midnight Sun he confesses that had he seen New Moon!Bella in her screaming nightmares he would have woken her up and stayed with her. And in Eclipse he tells Jacob explicitly that even if Bella did choose him he would always “be waiting in the wings,” seeing if she was okay and happy and watching out if Jacob imprinted on someone else.

So no, Edward would always be there for Bella, if just in his stalkerish way. That’s the problem with Edward, or what he feels is a problem: He wants to be this noble hero, but he is a simp at heart. He and Romeo could go neck to neck just on love clownery alone.

For fuck’s sake—

1) Edward telling Bella he cannot live without her is not and never was manipulative. For such a thing to be manipulative he would have said it in order to convince Bella to stay with him. He never does; he says it only as a simple statement of fact. Actually, Edward preferred Bella living her life as human—with or without him—so long as she is happy. That was literally his original plan except for Bella’s horror of growing older.

2) Edward actually does accept—deep down, but he does—Bella’s desire to be a vampire, even if he disagreed with it. He even accepted his family’s vote to turn Bella into a vampire quite fast. That’s because deep down, despite himself…Edward actually does want Bella to be with him forever. He just thinks it’s selfish of him to pursue that especially when he believes that humanity would be so much better for Bella. How do we know this? He admits this explicitly in Eclipse when Bella says she is afraid Edward doesn’t want her to become a vampire because he doesn’t want her to stick around for a millennia.

3) “Coercion” For fuck’s sake, it was just a proposal. Bella was free to reject it or negotiate (which she did! And Edward accepted her rejection!). Y’know, what actual irl couples do.

4) Ugh, I’m sick of these clowns whining about Edward dismantling her truck. Yes, it was shitty!!! Bella was annoyed and angry!!! He apologized for it!!! He said he was wrong to stop her and would not impede her from going to La Push from then on!!!! It’s called character development!!!!

Clown OP knows Twilight is horribly written because they’ve never read it. Works for me! Into the clownery bin you go.

#twilight clown takes #twilight clownery #anti anti twilight #preserve me #team jacob dumb #edward hate dumb #🤝 romeo hate dumb tbh #bella hate dumb is still the strongest tho #for obvious reasons

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 171 Rundown

Inuyasha The Final Act: Moryomaru’s on his shit again running around absorbing random demons and… he’s after the snake demons from Yashahime? Honestly I completely forgot they were in the original series and apparently for good reason because the FUCKING DIE, like for all its faults usually Yashahime was pretty good about the connective tissue between the original and itself but I guess these guys just aren’t dead anymore by the time of the series. It is kinda dumb that Moryomaru just kinda wants them because ‘they’re snake brothers that hate each other so if I eat them I can fuse stuff to other stuff’ but his arc’s getting ready to end anyway so who cares. Meanwhile Inuyasha’s consulting Totosai about why his new Tessaiga upgrade doesn’t work the diagnosis is basically ‘sword’s fine, you’re just a lil bitch’ basically the same principle that turns Inuyasha into a full demon if the Tessaiga’s not protecting him, he can’t just absorb demonic energy as a half demon or else he’ll go crazy (did anyone ever tell Towa this? Feel like that was literally never a problem for her) but yeah Inuyasha has to run through a demonic obstacle course and learn how to see swirls of demonic energy which… he could already do with the Wind Scar but I guess this is different. Long story short, he gains the power to cut open wells of demonic energy instead of absorbing them, I think this is used like twice before the Meidou Zangetsuha comes by and eats its lunch which is really funny because they already allude to Meidou Zangetsuha being Tessaiga’s Final Form (which you’d think he could just keep absorbing new powers forever idk) so even on release Dragon Scale Tessaiga is already power crept.

Castlevania: We get an extended scene of how Lisa was captured by the church for… having glass and gears I guess, most of it is stuff we already knew though the thing that sticks out to me is she didn’t use a fake last name, like she goes by Lisa Tepes, good for her being proud of her husband and all but don’t people know Dracula’s name is Vlad Tepes? I think I heard someone mention it before so you’re not really helping your case of not being a hellspawn when you literally have Dracula’s last name, it’s a Ben Kenobi situation all over again. Either way, Dracula calls all his boys up to be like ‘yo, we gonna fuck shit up’ and he’s hired two anime misanthropes with suitably tragic backstories for why humans are awful, to do the planning because if you can’t think on a human level you’re gonna fuck shit up. Though even the resident bloodthirsty fight dude Godbrand is like ‘wait we have a plan? I thought we were just sacking villages all over and summoning as much hellspawn as we could’ which is kind of the plan at this point. I do like how Dracula’s rage is personalized by an exhausted finality instead of a howling rage, like everyone seems to be on the same page of ‘look we don’t like genocide, but this humanity thing has had a good run and needs to stop’ which is kind of worse, like there’s only so much talk no jutsu you can do with someone who’s done talking. Meanwhile Trevor, Sypha and Alucard get their initial brooding about their new journey out of the way (Also how old is Alucard? Like he looks in his twenties, but Lisa doesn’t look that much older than when she met Dracula, maybe she just aged like a fine wine or maybe vampire aging is different and you just pop out a twenty year old classy man but it feels like that did not seem to be a twenty year gap). And now Dracula has moved the castle with the big 3D object thing that’s like the only thing I remember from Symphony of the Night.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Megudad is on the rampage and is ready to Rock Lee all over Cthulu and it’s honestly just fantastic to see like after all the complex bullshit with Domains and Animation jargon last episode it’s satisfying to just watch Dadgumi punch the absolute shit out of this guy. They establish he barely has sentience at this point and is basically acting like a heat seeking missile on the largest mass of cursed energy in the area but once he’s done stabbing Cthulu with nunchaku he takes Megumi outside so idk if he does have a shard of sentience in there and just wants to see his son for a sec or if Megumi’s vaguely defined secret superpowers just make him next on Dadgumi’s heat seeking missile radar. Meanwhile Jogo shows up and Cracatoa’s the remaining three guys in like two seconds and I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be an ‘oh shit he’s strong’ moment or an ‘oh shit those guys were really worn out’ moment. Meanwhile meanwhile, the high school girls are sticking fingers down Yuji’s throat because he apparently has no gag reflex and swallows whatever you put in his mouth when he’s unconscious. Only for Jogo to come out and feed him MORE fingers, like half of them right here which they acknowledge they have to do a bunch at once so Sukuna can take over temporarily before Yuji’s body can adapt. I had a feeling JJK wasn’t going to stick to a Shikon Jewel Shard narrative style of collecting the fingers one at a time but this is still a little more than I expected since he’s basically 75% done and got more fingers in him than a Battle Royale Chinese Finger Trap. So yeah Sukuna’s awake but unfortunately for these guys he want to the Muzan Kibutsuchi school of ‘if you’re not immediately subservient and stroking my ego you’re just dead’ and the high school girls get offed for asking him to save Geto even though he asked them what they wanted, like why’s he even asking if he has no intention of doing anything for anybody. I don’t really like this style of villainy like I tend to go more for people that are reasonable to at least not murder their subordinates instantly since it always makes the villains look egotistical and insecure if they can’t handle five seconds of someone not licking their boots but I suppose it is an effective way to show how powerful they are. Meanwhile Jogo goes over the plan to make sure Sukuna stays in control of Yuji’s body and Sukuna’s just like ‘bro I did that a season and a half ago’ but he gives him the same ultimatum he gave Yuji at that point, land one hit and he’ll do them a favor. Idk if Sukuna even intends to make good on any of these I think he just likes flexing on people cause he offers these a lot.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: As a prelude to their journey to go meet with real ghosts, Frieren and Fern have a classic ‘can you shoot a ghost if it looks like someone you love’ mini-adventure, it’s pretty simple but it works for what it has to in order to solidify both of their resolve to go take care of their unfinished business. And then the girls take turns taking pot shots at a dragon and decide they could really use a tank, luckily Eisen was training a tank named Stark in the nearby village so they’re just gonna go pick him up, get the x-ray specs Frieren wants from the dragon and save the village in the meanwhile if they have time. Now Stark is kinda interesting because he’s like a combo of Zenitsu from Demon Slayer and King from One Punch Man in that he’s a weird coward and a fraud but also genuinely ridiculously strong, he just has no real combat experience and thus is terrified of actual monsters. This may also be in part due to him being the only survivor of his home village which he booked it out of when he was a kid, Eisen wanted to train that out of him which I feel like is a little harsh to beat up a kid about running from a horde of monsters, like that’s not cowardice that’s just being fucking nine. But he seems to have internalized some of that and never really gotten over seeing himself as a coward combined with his lack of experience so despite being able to chop a mountain in half like that story of the guy making a path to the hospital, he’s gonna need some help popping his Monster Cherry.

Vinland Saga: So Arnheid’s plan was a little different than I thought, she’s not sneaking in to see Gardar she’s just kinda… asking to come in and because Wolf left and can’t tell her to gfto she gets the one guy that will let her in, I like how she doesn’t even flirt to do it like she’s not a femme fatale she just shows up and looks pretty and the guy is just there for it. So yeah while they’re talking about a metaphorical storm it literally starts raining because Vinland Saga god has a sense of humor and Gardar pulls a Rick Grimes to bite the guard’s neck out and slaughters everyone when Arnheid cuts him free in a split second panic. Like honestly she was kinda against a wall here like ignoring the fact that it was a coin flip split second decision for her husband, even if she didn’t help him the guards are still gonna assume the guy with a chunk out of his neck had more to do with her than the guy that’s all tied up so she didn’t have much choice. Meanwhile back with Thorfinn and Einar, Thorfinn outlines his philosophy of dismantling the toxic masculinity of Norse culture and how defying cultural norms is better than just fucking murdering people that are mildly rude to you. Still he theorizes that if they can stop the root of endless wars they can kill two birds with one pacifist stone and end a large portion of the slave trade. Given slavery and human trafficking are STILL a thing we know this doesn’t quite work out but at least it’s not as normalized and prone to vast swaths of ‘we killed your guys that were good at killing so you belong to us now’ so uhhh… baby steps? Baby, thousand year long steps… Meanwhile the guards are searching their barn for Gardar and Arnheid which tips Thorfinn and Einar off that they’ve escaped and now they’ve got a decision to make about who to help with that.   

Was gonna add the two new shows this week but couldn't find some of them and ran out of time so I'll think more on what I want to watch this coming week and try to get some new additions for next weekend.

#ooc #Toonami #Custom Toonami Block #Inuyasha #Castlevania #Jujutsu Kaisen #Frieren #Souso no Frieren #Vinland Saga

[xxsmokeyy]

Levi x Reader (F) It’s The Tea

genre: fluff, canon divergence — coffee shop setting

summary: a misplaced table and a pair of hands that had a knack for good tea; you wonder what brought Humanity’s Strongest to your shop.

wc: 6,262

part II

“I’ll have one flat white,” a customer says as she picks money from her coin purse. You give her a smile after receiving her payment, the exact amount saving you the task of calculating change.

“Coming right up.” And you make your way to the coffee beans to make the blend she ordered. She watches in patience as you skillfully maneuver around the counter, getting everything done along the process. You incline the porcelain a little to make for the finishing art, steamed milk piercing through the coffee and creating a signature shape. In no time, you hand her the drink on top of a saucer.

She silently nods as brief thanks, and as soon as she turns her back to you, you dart your eyes on a table of one by the far right windowpane. You carefully spectate her and what direction she’s going. She’s going to the table!

The make-do suspense keeps you on your toes as you look at her intently, breath slightly hitching, waiting for her to sit on the lone chair. The woman navigates across the room, heading straight for your wishful desires. Your hands fly to your mouth in shock, witnessing the life-changing moment unravel before your eyes. No way. She really is.

The cup of coffee on her left hand, she uses her right to move the chair to take a seat. But just when she’s about to pull it back, someone calls her from another table, waving at her excitedly.

You stand upright and alert while your scrutinizing gaze follow her movements. She looks at where the voice is coming from, and almost immediately, her face brightens upon seeing who. Her right hand lets go of the wooden furniture and proceeds to where the caller sits. You look at her destination and find three people on a table of four. It doesn’t take long before she takes the free seat and starts chatting with them.

Your body slumps back with a disappointed sigh. Looks like no one’s sitting there yet again.

It’s the closest call you’ve ever had after years of this shop’s existence. Why no one chooses to sit there is beyond you. Either your customers are not alone, or they are, but only to take out their orders. Actually, even if they’re alone, they’d take the table for two instead. Do they not want to look lonely that bad? You groan in annoyance.

The table consists of a small, circular table and a single chair by the window. In your mightiest opinion, it’s the perfect place to just sit down, enjoy a cup of hot coffee, and read a book. But nobody’s ever done that through the passing years, and you can only witness the table being neglected by people.

It irks you a little. Could there have been another way to maximize the space that stemmed from unproportional construction? Maybe it really is time to remove those. Maybe it’s not really a big deal.

You’ve been contemplating too many times replacing it with a plant vase or a decorative ornament to take up the space since it’s of no use anyway. But something just tells you you shouldn’t. Besides, just thinking thinking about feels costly.

The rest of the day goes by quickly, and before you know it, you’ve opened the store again, serving customers after customers. This time, you never gave the table another glance. Surprisingly enough, you spent the whole night debating with yourself on what decoration you should fill the space with. A nice bookshelf would’ve been good, but you decided to go with a monstera plant to make use of the window right by it. Not until your day off, though, which is still on Sunday.

Having consecutively served around six customers and cleaned used tables, you sit and take a breather, resting your eyes by reading a book to let a couple minutes go by.

You slowly get sucked into the story, the marvelous art of prose bringing you into the plot’s little universe. The way the writer used the most fitting descriptive words possible astounds you, making a smile of enjoyment involuntarily creep up your lips. Somehow, you think writing is similar to making coffee, mixing different elements to create the perfect blend, the sole goal of making an exquisite taste that will leave people aching for more? Oh, and they both smell good, books and coffee. A chuckle leaves your lips.

Just when you’re deep in thought, things starting to stir up in the narration, someone speaks in front of you.

“One black tea,” a stern voice curtly orders, interrupting your peace. Harshly brought back to reality, you rise to your feet to resume to work. First tea of the day, huh?

Sure, your shop is known for its good coffee, but your tea can put up for a competition, too. It’s just that these days, coffee is more on the popular side, since tea can be made in almost any household now.

You close your book to attend to the customer, but not without leaving a bookmark on the current page. When you look at him, you almost freeze in your tracks. Well if it isn’t Humanity’s Strongest himself!

A pair of dazing stale eyes bore into your own with an unreadable expression and you compose yourself. Crap, you must have been caught giggling to yourself. You feel heat speedily cover your cheeks, turning you to a blushing mess. How shameful.

“Pardon me,” you excuse, clearing your throat before telling him the price. He wordlessly fishes for his wallet and pays. He does find you a bit weird, laughing at nothing, but pays it no more mind. He’s supposed to be on leisure, not meddling with some brat’s uncanny actions.

As you turn your back to make his beverage, you squint your eyes in loss of face. It really is the Captain Levi, and you probably looked like a creep in his eyes. Now what will become of your shop’s repute?

You shove the thought to the back of your head and start working. The ravenhead watches back as you work your hands into making a, hopefully, good blend. Your heart is beating wildly inside your chest like it’s about to jump off your rib cage, but you try to ignore it. The thought of a widely known persona such as him inside your very shop is crazy. To what do you even owe this pleasure?

Oh well, you’ll just pour your heart into making his tea, that way you might erase his ridiculous impression of you in his head. Hey! What’s so bad about giggling while reading? your subconscious tries to defend while you strain the boiled tea leaves into a clean china. The earthly smell hits your nose, making you want one, too.

You smile as you hand over the teacup. “Thank you for your service,” you add, even going as far as bowing. The moment the phrase escapes your lips, you regret it right away. Chills shoot up your spine. It sounds so awkward and unnecessary, but should you just treat the Captain like any other people knowing he’s done so much for your country?

Your cheeks flush into a faint, pink color. Thankfully, you’re slightly angled downwards, he might not see. Levi only eyes you for a second before nodding and taking the cup of tea in his hands, his calloused fingers grazing your hands fleetingly.

When you hear his footsteps fade, you rise and rub a palm against your face. You hesitantly take a glance toward the Captain, and shock takes over your whole system. To be totally honest, you never thought you’d see the day someone would sit on that table.

He looks perfectly placed on the table, like it’s reserved a long time just for him. He’s in civillian clothes, probably to not attract a lot of people. The sunlight gives his face a pretty sheen, the air from the window blowing lightly on his dark fringes. Your heart continues to skip several beats for no clear reason. Maybe that is the reason why your instincts keep telling you to not replace it.

Meanwhile, Levi sips on the freshly brewed tea, the strong flavor staining on his tongue just right. As he occupies his mind somehwere else, the taste hits better. Everything feels evenly distributed, the base smooth and pleasant, the amount of water not brimming. The temperature isn’t so bad as well.

Then and there, he guesses you source fine leaves from the innermost walls, which is a luxury at this point, not to mention your non-overpriced charge.

Not bad, he thinks.

You’re dumbstruck as you sit back in awe. You weren’t able to decipher what he’s thinking, but you know for sure he doesn’t hate it from seeing that he emptied the whole thing and left a generous tip.

You grab your tray and proceed to cleaning up the table he previously seated on, the whole decision of shopping for a plant on Sunday going down the drain.

—

It’s been a whole month since the Captain’s visit, and you think of the once in a lifetime moment often, and at times randomly. You sure as heck won’t be removing the table now that something has happened.

“Thank you,” you say as you hand the cup of coffee, serving the last one for the queue. It’s a late, cloudy afternoon, looking like it’s about to shower, and the shop is pretty dull. Well, that only means you can read more.

“Is this the shop they say sells well?” you hear someone from the ordering area. “Yeah, you go ahead,” they converse. You’re making coffee for yourself at the moment and you can’t peer to look at whose voice it is.

“What? You do it!”

“Just go! We don’t have time!”

“What the fuck? You’re the one holding the knife, aren’t you?!” a man shouts in a whisper. You can’t hear crystal clear due to being far into the counter, although you know they must be disturbing the atmosphere.

Vexed by their rowdiness, you turn around and stop making the blend. You walk to the front of the counter, “Excuse me, please lower your—”

“Give me all your money, lady. Let’s transact in peace so nobody gets hurt,” the man grabs your collar, knife pointed straight into your neck. Another man of his companion moves to the side to cover their actions. You don’t feel the sharp edge prick your skin due to intense panic.

You look around frantically, worried if there are other people harmed. To your relief, they seem to not notice anything, if you can even call that relieving. Now there must be no saving you.

“It’s alright, we won’t bring someone else into this, just do what we ask,” the other guy says, wide, haunting eyes looking straight into you. You feel cold sweat drip from your forehead.

“Now hand us what you got.”

On the other hand, Levi finishes with his errands around the capital and stumbles within your shop’s vicinity. Walking mindlessly, he checks the skies to tell the time, but sees the dark clouds instead. It seems it’s about to pour.

He’s already in front of your shop, but the threatening rain will be bigger trouble, he might get stranded if he stops by. Plus, he probably didn’t bring enough money, so he’s got no choice but head back now.

Just when he’s about to leave, his peripheral vision miraculously catches sight of your horrified expression through the window, putting him to an abrupt halt. He turns to see better, and finds two men roughing you up while trying to hide the commotion.

He clicks his tongue and spins to turn away. It’s not his business anymore, it’s for the Military Police to deal with. They might be loan sharks for all he knows, and you’d be held entirely accountable for that.

Unable to take the view of the knife pointed to your neck out of his head, he sighs defeatedly and eventually discovers himself inside the store, else it’d slowly eat at his conscience.

“Oi, what’s going on here?” he questions with a firm voice, turning heads his way.

“It’s Captain Levi from the Survey Corps!”

“What a lucky day!”

People stir up upon seeing the Captain to which he only ignores, full attention on you and the two criminals.

The robber without a weapon quickly turns around to check, shaking in fear. As he makes terrifying eye contact with the Captain, he makes haste for the door in desperate hopes of escaping, but to no avail. Levi grabs the back of the poor guy’s head and slams it against an empty table, putting him to deep sleep. Then turning to your armed assaulter, Levi closes in with big steps and takes the knife down before swinging the side of his hand, striking a nerve on the man’s neck to knock him out.

Levi perceives they’re complete amateurs and wonders why they even steal. Atleast one of them tried to run, he thinks as he looks down on the passed out crooks.

You’re not exactly sure if your heart calmed down or speeded up even more—maybe both, but you feel safe and more at ease.

Tying the last knot, he stands from his kneeled form and dusts his hands off to rid himself of the filth.

You only watch silently, mind clouded in confusion of what to do. Captain Levi came just in time and saved you and your shop of possible bankruptcy. Say, it could have been the worst timing considering you haven’t cleared your cash box for weeks now. You’re reminded of how much you owe the Captain.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be out cold for a while, just call the MP’s on them,” Levi assures before taking a glance at you and fails to understand your expression, your face looks like it’s leaking shit in his opinion.

You look at the two robbers dozing off tied together by the help of Levi and your spare rope before giving your savior another bow. “Thank you so much!” you exclaim and raise your head to meet his fierce gaze.

“And sorry for the trouble, people around here can get belligerent, especially to us business owners,” you add.

He observes you from head to toe, eyes particularly lingering on your neck, and you blush in embarrassment, feeling his hot stare.

“Is there—?”

He takes something from his pocket and offers you a handkerchief which you cluelessly accept. You later on realize what it’s for, finally feeling a sting on your neck. You wipe the bleeding area and see trails of crimson on your apron as well.

With no reason to stay any longer, Levi steers to leave, but is just in time to witness the rain pour down heavily, big droplets washing against the windows. He sighs, it’s just as he guessed.

You, on contrast, get an idea to show your gratitude, feeling a physical candle light up in your brain. “Captain Levi, please stay and let the rain pass while I brew you some coffee,” you negotiate with strong willed eyes, fixed on returning him a favor. It’s the least you could do from within your limited skills, and you’d like it if he’d accept. Actually, you won’t accept if he rejects, fully wanting to pay him back atleast a tad.

He looks back at you, slightly surprised. You seem like a more persistent person now rather than an easily flustered mess. Could he be so insensitive as to decline your generous offer after seeing your firm resolve? But more importantly, coffee? Could he be so thick-skinned as to ask for something else other than that?

When he stays quiet, you decide to go ahead and make him a drink from one of your premium coffee beans, but you’re put to a stop as he speaks.

“I’d prefer tea.”

Oh, right. He did ask for black tea a month back, didn’t he? You give him a smile and a thumbs up of approval before turning your back to make his tea.

Levi massages his temples and takes a seat, eyeing the immobilized crooks and the outside, thinking what he got himself into. It won’t be so bad to stay for a while and let the rain ease down, right?

You wait for the water to boil before dropping a bunch of mint leaves, then waiting for it to simmer. You prepare a porcelain cup and saucer and pour in the hot liquid, adding honey for a natural sweetener. You mix in a couple droplets of lemon to balance the flavor and you’re good to go.

You set the tea on his chosen table of two, giving the free seat a momentary glimpse. You wonder how it would feel like to have a proper conversation with Captain Levi, only to quickly dismiss the thought of joining him as you hear someone call you from the counter. Thankfully, people are back to minding their business and don’t bother the Captain anymore. You excuse yourself and return to work, still a couple hours away from closing time.

Levi sits back and enjoys the tea you made, soon learning it’s a fresh peppermint tea. Though it’s only the second time he’s having your brew, he doesn’t know why he already has high expectations. The choice of blend is perfect for a rainy day, and it’s exactly what he would have made when he returned back to the headquarters. You don’t really look like someone who prefers tea, but he’s impressed nevertheless.

He sips on the cup, letting the weather pass and the taste line his tongue. A variety of things occupy his mind involuntarily and before he knows it, the rain has calmed down into a shower.

He stands to leave but suddenly notices an umbrella left on his table. When did that get there? He takes a glimpse at you and finds you looking back at him with curious, alert eyes like that of a cat, immediately averting your gaze and resuming to pick up the dirtied tableware onto your tray.

Levi confirms it’s from you, and it’s another one of your acts of gratitude. He’s left with no choice and grabs it, wraps his slender fingers around the handle, and takes his leave.

Satisfied, you sigh in relief as you watch his back drift into the darkness. You look at the handkerchief in the pocket of your apron, smiling. Despite rumors of him being an unrelenting leader and a ruthless thug that stretched way back, the Captain is a kind man, isn’t he? If there really is such thing as coincidence, you’d like to consider yourself lucky for having experienced it.

—

About two more weeks pass when Levi finds himself hooked into the sweet aroma of the tea you make, the ambience of your shop’s environment, and something else he can’t put a name on. In actuality, he may or may not be using your umbrella as an excuse to go to your store right now.

He takes a glance at his hand holding the same umbrella. He briefly questions himself what he’s doing but pushes the thought aside with the use of his well thought of excuse. True enough, he can’t just go around using other people’s possession, can he?

He begins to sense the growing familiarity of your shop as he closes in. The choice of location being just at the mouth of the city, the distinct line between rural and urban is visibly emphasized.

As Levi enters through the saloon door, his eyes almost immediately find your form, leisurely reading while leaning on the counter, back turned against the entrance, your hair up in a braided bun which he finds neat. He clicks his tongue as he approaches to order.

“It’s easier to mug you that way,” he says and you jolt in surprise. Recognizing the stone cold voice, you spin to see the Captain in front of you, inside your very shop once again. This is no coincidence anymore!

“Captain Levi!” you greet with a beam, utterly delighted to see him. “Pleasant afternoon, what can I get you?” you ask and look him straight in the face. He’s in casual clothes, so you guess it’s another one of his day off’s. His sombre eyes of a unique bluish grey color take on your gaze fiercely. It’s true that the eyes convey one’s entire personality, as you feel his menace even though he doesn’t intend to display it.

“Black tea,” he says without a hitch, giving you the exact amount of money, and you proceed to your working space. Boiling of water, straining of tea leaves, pouring it into clean china; as you hand it to him, they start to resemble a routine.

He goes ahead and takes the corner table, and you couldn’t be any happier, thinking he seems to like the spot, choosing it among every other free seats. Levi takes a sip, and enjoys it with no wonder. You didn’t fail to make an exquisite blend.

A couple moments later, he’s still there. While everyone else chitchats with their company, he sits in silence with his beverage, ocassionally looking at the sky freely laid out by the window. He’s never really one to catch up with the bulletin and read daily papers, he’d prefer books for that matter.

As you wipe with a rag the empty tabletop just beside him, you see him looking at the window, cup of tea in hand. He, however, feels your stare, and wordlessly slides an umbrella on the table without batting you an eye. You recognize it as yours and take a step towards him.

“You better not have arrived home drenched that night,” he says. It’s only until he returned to the headquarters that he had realized you must have given him your only umbrella.

A chuckle leaves your mouth, aren’t you concerned. “I might have.” He clicks his tongue.

You grab it in your hands and follow his gaze, soon looking vacantly at the view as well. “You can see the skies from there, right?” you ask, earning a low hum in response.

“I wonder how far they stretch from outside on… Some say they’re boundless,” the words unconsciously slip from your mouth as you watch the clouds move. Something about relatively slow afternoons just hypnotize you to no end.

Levi shifts his gaze to your figure upon hearing a frame of your mind, finding a glimmer of ambition in the mesmerizing pools of your eyes. He can hear your train of thoughts out loud, while you wonder if you could ever get to experience the outside world. He remembers a couple friends thinking the same thing way back, and he realizes, it’s people like you that he hates to see drift away, one of those whom he feels he has to protect, though it’s not like you know each other to great extent.

He brings his cup to his lips and frankly speaks, “It’s not pretty out there.”

His words interrupt you from your daze, making you look at him. You notice he grips the teacup oddly, holding it around the mouth instead of its handle. You heave out a shallow sigh. “Figured you’d say that,” you say with a sad smile. It’s undeniable, coming from him.

You fish something from the pocket of your apron and leave it on his table, then making your way back to the counter. A seemingly little exchange of borrowed objects. He eyes his cleaned dry handkerchief and leaves a comment before you can stray farther, “It does seem endless.”

The corners of your lips upturn into a grateful smile. He really is soft. “Thank you.”

He doesn’t know exactly what you’re thanking him for.

—

Time and time passed, and he always comes every week without fail. Sometimes, when days are light, he even visits twice a week. You could say you have developed quite a relationship with the Captain, though not something that can be considered close to sentimental. The distance is still present, but you’d have small talks here and there, sometimes you’d lend him your books just so he doesn’t bore himself to death, or maybe so he’d stay a little longer.

You gradually learn to read his moods through the language of his orders. You find that he’s more of a tea lover based solely from the fact that he never once asked for coffee. Black tea is his regular, Oolong tea is when something probably turns out good or successful, since the price a little higher and you guess it’s his little way of celebrating, Chamomile tea when something is roughly off, you figure as he never speaks excessively when he orders it.

You never end up joining him, though. Of course, he always takes the table of one, there isn’t room for another.

“The usual,” Levi briefly says and hands you the exact charge. Never faltering, you smile and continue to make black tea for the man. “You still haven’t hired a helper,” he points out and you hum in agreement.

“I can manage by myself,” you inform as you stir his tea. You’ve managed years by your own, what use is there for an extra hand? Besides, it’s not like your shop gets hoarded by huge amounts of people. Coffee shops attract a moderate number, and you’re fine with that.

You slide the finished drink to Levi and he accepts, heading to his own little corner. Ever since he first came, you labeled the corner seat as his own, and you never thought of removing it again. He doesn’t seem like a very social person, like he’s a man of few words if talking is unnecessary. You always wonder how it must feel to have a conversation with such a persona; must be novel and inspiriting. Problem is, you don’t have the guts to initiate it. You don’t want to be overlooked as a fangirl of the sort. If possible, you want to converse casually.

It’s the looming distance between a coffee shop owner and a country’s renowned soldier that obstructs you from feeling on level as him.

Still, you don’t know why you’re currently grabbing a book from one of your drawers and why you’re currently making your way toward him, tray still in hand to clean afterwards as an excuse.

“Fancy a book?” you offer as you set one of your favorite titles on his table. He darts his eye on it and studies the cover for a brief moment, seeing if it’s up to his standards. It doesn’t really pique his interest, but you made an effort, and it’d be of great companion with the tea.

Levi accepts the book in his hands and starts reading, later learning about the main character’s introduction. “You have a lot of books,” he comments out of observation. This isn’t the first time you offered him one, nor is it just the second. He’s come to a conclusion that you have a liking for it.

You hum in agreement. “I like collecting them, but they’re still not enough to fill a shelf, though. I’m thinking about putting one here,” you say, already envisioning where to place it.

He almost immediately thought of the Headquarters’ library. A lot of books there just get covered in dust, unmoved. Cadets these days don’t take reading as hobby. He considers the idea of bringing some for your shop to make use of it. “I can hand you some,” he says, flipping the page.

Your eyes widen in an equal mix of delight and surprise. He’d go that far? For what? Is the Captain really like this? “Really? From where?” you try to hide the excitement in your voice, but it doesn’t escape his ears. Well isn’t that great? An upgrade for your shop and a chance to see him again. Not that he’s not showing himself enough.

“Scouts’ library,” he says, flipping another page, and you’re deep in thought. Is that allowed? Do I have to pay?

Just a couple of pages in, he seems partially engrossed. The protagonist is a traveller who encounters metaphorical life obstacles and is most likely to find self-discovery through it, that’s as much as he knows.

He notices you still haven’t left and bats you an eye. You look troubled and euphoric at the same time, he couldn’t understand entirely what you’re thinking but he has a clue. “It’s free. Some of it are old anyway,” he informs, which seems to bring your face relief. So his hunch turns out to be right, you were thinking of the burden.

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking that!” you deny right away, waving your hand dismissively, cheeks blushing. You definitely were.

He stays quiet, and you feel ashamed. Does he think you’re a cheapskate? Or thick-faced? Hey, he’s also reading, you must be a distraction. Oh god, how can you make acquaintances with him now?

You aim to leave and give him his space, afraid that you might be bugging him for too long now, but Levi suddenly speaks just in time.

“You have an allurement for things about the outside,” he asserts in heed. When you don’t answer, he continues, “It’s not all rainbows out there, you know.” His perception of you still stands as he’s continuously reminded by you of people who go through great measures to reach their dreams, and those he lost due to wanting to seek for more.

You don’t know if it’s a positive connotation or a negative but he doesn’t sound so enthusiastic. Your grip on the tray tightens. The way he puts it… is he trying to make you drop your interest?

“I do know that. I just,” you pause, contemplating what to say. You’re stuck with I just want to dream, is it so bad? or I just want to experience the forbidden, I’m sick of being stuck in this birdcage, or an impulsive one: I just want to see, would you bring me outside?

Instead, you settle with “I wouldn’t know, I’m a mere shop owner. I don’t have the chance to sit and talk with someone who’s gone beyond the walls.” Like you, sir.

He studies you as you look back at him with firm eyes. Brat, you already live a life with fair peace. The resolve in your eyes didn’t waver, not one bit. He thinks, will you be content with knowing about the outside? Levi heaves out a sigh and closes the book before leisurely taking a sip on his tea.

“Maybe if you’d put another chair, we’ve been talking for months now,” he then says, an even amount of sarcasm in his tone, enough to not come off as rude.

Dumbfounded, you gawk at the Captain for a good five seconds, eyes slightly enlarged in surprise before laughing your head off, turning a couple heads your way for a fleeting second.

“What’s funny?” he quizzes, thin brows furrowed together, and you wave him off, wiping your euphoric tears away.

“Well, I didn’t know it’d be that simple, Captain!” you giggle, eyes genuinely happy and hearty. Just put a chair in? In all seriousness, he doesn’t exactly look approachable with those half lidded dark eyes and a permanent scowl now, does he? That’s one of the primary reasons you have trouble making advances to him.

Levi looks at you, taking in the undeniably beautiful sight before clicking his tongue and averting his gaze.

He’s absolutely certain he paid no attention to the way you tucked your hair behind your ear in a timid manner, the way your silky locks sway gracefully by the wind’s cool breeze, the way your delicate fingers held to the tray tightly as you try to compose yourself, and the way your glowing eyes looked back at him with a gentle gaze once you’ve finally calmed down. Yes, he likes to think he paid no extra mind to those details.

“Tch, did you think I’d bite you or something?” he deadpans, taking another sip on his cup.

“No, absolutely not!” You absolutely did. “I’ll put another chair some other day,” you say and wave him goodbye upon seeing a customer enter, returning to your working place.

He shakes his head lightly and finishes his cup, bringing the book with him as he takes his exit. The smile in your face never disappeared throughout the day, chest booming in an unrelenting speed.

Sunday comes, and you decide to do a general cleaning. You also buy a small shelf from the nearest furniture shop and have it delivered, filling it with some of your books. You squeeze in a chair to the corner by adjusting the other tables’ distances, and you can only laugh at yourself for not thinking of this long ago. You think, why not just sit on a table of two? but figure maybe the Captain’s already grown fond to the spot.

You feel like a schoolgirl as you mindlessly prepare things to talk about and questions to ask. How much does he know? Are titans really that big? Is the ocean real? What brought him to your shop?

But after that, you never saw him again. You think maybe he’ll arrive later or the next day, but more weeks pass, and not even his shadow appeared.

The slowest weeks achingly turn to months. You’ve been awfully attentive to the morning papers since then, looking for the slightest news about him, or their operations. You think it’s completely understandable, being perfectly aware that the Captain is a busy man. You know that visiting little tea shops isn’t actually a luxury that a guy like him affords, but it tugs at your heart a teeny bit, a small part of you involuntarily longing for him. Eitherway, you just wish for his and his people’s safety.

About five months have passed since you last saw him. Levi, on the other hand, has gotten busy those said times. Expeditionary Operations came after another, and he’s buried with work once they arrive back. His squad got promoted to Special Operations Squad, and intensive training was mandatory. The amount of free time he had back then was generous, and in those five months, he had no time to slack off.

But he never forgot you, every single time he drinks tea, he starts doubting his own blend as compared to yours.

“That’s the last of it,” Levi says as he hands over piles and piles of paperwork to the Commander. Erwin only grunts his response.

The ravenhead contemplates for a few moments before finally speaking, “I’ll be out. I’ll return before dinner,” he informs and turns his back, words more of a statement than asking for permission. The higher ranking officer only stares at him as his figure leaves the room. Fair enough, he’s done with his current tasks as a Captain and it’s his first day off in a while. He leaves him be.

Levi dismisses his tan jacket and fixes his cravat as he heads to the shop he favors. He ends up forgetting the books he’s supposed to give but pushes it aside. Oh well, just another excuse for him to visit.

Minutes of walking on foot, steps a little quicker than normal, and he finally arrives, the ambience hugging at his aura. It’s been long since he last set his foot here. He pushes at the saloon door, a ton of improvisations greeting his sight. The interior is now painted a beige color, the warmth going along with the wooden accents. You’ve added the shelf you said you wanted to put, a fair number of books in it. Lastly, his preferred corner seat already has two chairs opposite to each other.

Your back is turned against the door again, leaning on the counter as you occupied yourself with a book. He notices that your hair has gotten longer in a span of months. He shortly wonders what else has changed.

“Oi, the usual,” a familiar voice says, stoic tone resonating in your ears and you immediately feel your soul light up, like it’s been ages since you last felt so giddy. A chaotic mix of worry, excitement, longing, and bliss surges all throughout your body.

When you face the stale eyed man, your tingling heart shamelessly speeds up, a smile rising on your lips.

—

You wave him farewell as he leaves, and as he cuts eye contact, heat shoots up into your cheeks like crazy, which he totally misses out on.

One step out and Levi feels the presence of a stalker just around the alley. He gives her a bored look and starts walking away, which she then reveals herself and follows suit.

“So this is you and your secret lover’s getaway, huh?” Hange teases, obviously aiming to pry for more. Now what, she’s spying on him? This insane woman.

“Don’t be ridiculous, she has good tea,” Levi answers in nonchalance, staring right ahead the road. The woman makes silly noises at his response, similar to those sounds only she can produce when learning new discoveries about titans.

“Precisely,” the redhead says in satisfaction, nodding her head with her hands stroking her chin as if she got the answer she’s waiting for.

He shoves her actions aside, couldn’t care less about whatever conclusion she came up with. But no matter how much he keeps convincing his subconscious, it’s the tea that draw me in, he just can’t bring himself to believe in it.

#dont you just love soft levi #look at him being excited #soft levi best levi #i think ill do smut again #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #levixreader #leviackermanxreader #levi imagine #levi scenario #levi fanfic #levi fanfiction #levi ackerman imagine #levi ackerman scenario #levi ackerman fanfic #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi #levi ackerman #captain levi #levi x reader fluff #coffee shop au #aot #snk #imagine #scenario #attack on titan #reader insert #fanfiction #fluff #levi heichou

[phenomenal1500]

What If We Had The Choice? | Resident Evil Village

Summary: What would have happened if Ethan had sided with Heisenberg? Unfortunately, Capcom didn't give us the chance to make a choice, so for the enthusiasts.... this would have happened if we had had been given the choice.

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

Ethan stepped foot inside the dark, dusty factory with a bad premonition. He kept his gun in front of him at all costs as he carefully pushed the first rusty door he encountered open and when he noticed the coast was clear, he also made his way through the badly lit hallway that had appeared from behind the heavy door. He was so close in having his daughter back that he couldn't back down... not now. Another nasty hallway followed and finally, when he took a turn to his right, he spotted an huge curtain hanging ahead of him in a square room. It seemed to hide the wall and table behind it and Ethan struggled with the thought off shoving it to the right to peak behind it or to just leave it be. With his curiosity taking over he pulled the curtain from the beam to which it was attached to and small photos appeared.

Some of them were old pictures of the lords, scratched through with a red marker, while others were pictures of the incidents that had happened around the village since Ethan had arrived there. The pictures reflected in Ethan's eyes and one stood out to him. "Mia?"

"Truth hurts, don't it?" Ethan turned with a quick motion, spotting the man Ethan had met earlier who now stepped out of the shadows directly behind him. The dark and round glasses covered the man's eyes as well as his fedora hat that slightly slanted over his left eye and the long tattered coat fluttered behind him as he took a puff of his Cuban cigar. Ash fell from his cigar as thick white smoke floated around the man's almost completely covered face. "Let me guess." The forth and strongest Lord continued after puffing his cigar once more. "You're thinking take me out like the others, and then you get to go and safe Rose, right?"

"I'm healing my daughter." Ethan bit back.

"Look, y-...you've got this all wrong-..." Lord Heisenberg signed with his hands up in the air to strengthen his words, but he then was cut off by an horrible loud sound coming from under them. "Dammit, I'm talking here!" The man whined, pinching his noise before storming his way towards the hatch to pull it open with ease. "Shut your fucking hole!"

Ethan had no idea what to except or where this conversation was going, certainly not with someone different than the other mutated humans he had met. Alcina Dimitrescu had already some hatred towards men like him, perhaps even all men in general, and was conspiring with Miranda so of course she wanted him dead from the beginning. Donna Beneviento seemed more reasonable and neutral about the situation, but was still crazy as fuck and was also still under Miranda's control. Same goes for Salvatore Moreau, except for the fact he wasn't just following and conspiring with Miranda. He saw Mother Miranda as his real mother and he was so desperate to prove his worth to the other house lords and Mother Miranda that he unfortunately also wasn't able to negotiate with.

However, Lord Heisenberg was someone different. He came across Ethan as more controlled than the other Lords despite being a bit of a direct man. "Sorry about that." The man apologised as he straightened his back. Ethan, still confused whether he had to have patient and listen to the man or take action while it was still possible, stood in the room watching the man in doubt while he snatched a chair from beside a cupboard to place it by the hatch.

"Take a seat." Heisenberg ordered and Ethan stayed in his place, not obeying his competitor. "Listen, Ethan. You're being played."

"What are you talking about? You think this is a game?" Ethan hissed through his teeth meanwhile the lord put out his Cuban cigar, pressing the burning side onto the small table. Ethan had expected some sort of answer from the mutant, but to his surprise Heisenberg aggressively tossed a knife towards the wall covered in pictures and pushed Ethan into the unsteady metal chair instead... the chair almost staggering over the edge of the big hole by all the force falling down onto it.

"I said sit!!" Heisenberg backed off a bit afterwards and continued his story. "Lady super-sized bitch..." The knife stabbed the wall as it made its way to the picture of Lady Dimitrescu. "Ugly-ass psycho doll...." The knife again marked the wall, now resting in the photo of Donna Beneviento and Angie Beneviento. "And that moronic freak." The knife made one last change in direction, the picture of Salvatore Moreau. "Don't you get it? It's a test, to see if you're strong enough... to be part of Miranda's family."

"I don't want to be part of Miranda's family."

"Neither did I! But here we are." Heisenberg raised his voice and Ethan took in a deep breath. "And I'm next in line, right? Kill me, move up the chain! Well, fuck that!!" The knife carved the wall as it was forced through the image of Mother Miranda, messing it up.

"I don't give a damn about your personal issues! I just want to fix my daughter!" The lord laughed in response.

"So do I! Do you have any idea how powerful that kid is? Even Miranda is scared of her..." For a second time there was a very loud engine sound hearable and the man deeply sighed in frustration. "Last time, you freak, I swear to god!"

Afterwards making his way to Ethan, Lord Heisenberg gave away his green and grey eyes by removing his glasses and held his chin up, the hat moving a bit upwards to reveal his full face. Scars were located all across his face and he smirked.

"You and me, Ethan! Together we go save Rose, and then we can use her to grind Miranda to paste." Heisenberg closed his fist with strength, acting like he was squeezing a bug to death. Ethan stood before a tough decision; Fight Lord Heisenberg and then hope he could safe his daughter from Mother Miranda all alone... or collude against Mother Miranda with the help of Heisenberg and save his daughter that way. He knew it was wrong to work together with someone who was once his enemy and was willing to use his daughter as a weapon, but it gave him more certainty to actually succeed and get his little girl back. Ethan stood up from his chair and swallowed before nodding.

"When do we start?"

~~~

Heisenberg had taken Ethan to his lab to explain what he'd been up to all along and both men now faced each other while sitting down onto different obsolete metal sofas. "Most of this was already put in working before I decided to show up here to save Rose?"

"This is my fucking lifework. Years I have been creating these soldats to deal with Miranda once and for all. It's time for her to die." The man passionately spoke up and pointed at the soldats hanging from a conveyor belt that ran through the factory. "So, Ethan Winters, what do you say?"

"The plan sounds good to me."

"Well then, lets get to work. See you on the other side... Ethan."

Ethan knew exactly what to do because Heisenberg had explained in detail what the plan was. Ethan was going to disturb the ceremony that was taking place so that the lord could launch a surprise attack on Miranda with his invented army. Although, before it could work, Ethan first had to stop by the Duke to restock his ammunition and healing juice. Fast traveling over the stone bridge towards the elevator in the altar, he returned to the Duke.

"Ah... Ethan Winters. I feel like this will be the last time we meet again... It was quite some news to hear you joined Lord Heisenberg's side." The duke folded his hands together, somewhere deep down noticeable that he was delighted to see his loyal customer and good friend back alive.

"Yeah, well, I didn't have much of a choice, did I?"

"You had a choice, but knew that this settlement would be most effective. Now, I suppose you have to act quickly so feel free to peruse." Buying ammunition and healing juice with the last money Ethan had, the friends said their last goodbyes and carried on their separated ways. This would be it. This would be the moment where Ethan would finally get his daughter Rose back. Shoving himself through the filthy black strands know as mold, he saw the blond woman in her black and gold robe shouting for Eva, her dead daughter she lost to the Spanish flu, to be reborn. The moment Ethan wanted to fire his first shot with his M1851 Wolfsbane Magnum, there was a sharp sound audible and then loud rock music followed.

"What the-....?" Ethan cursed under his breath, not knowing what the fuck was happening, but the distractive music seemed to caught Miranda off guard and the chamber of mold crumbled down around them. It looked like Miranda had lost her focus. The distraction gave Ethan a better shot and Miranda jerked her head towards him, glaring deathly at him as he pulled the trigger. The bullet didn't do much to her, but the arena was now free from the mold and it was possible for Heisenberg to step into the destroyed area, which he did. He was still secretly jamming to the loud rock music that was playing on his speakers back in the factory and Ethan wondered what the actual limit of the volume was because it was so terribly loud, even from where they were now.

"Heisenberg! I should have known you were planning an rebellion against me. Unfortunately for the both of you, the ceremony will be complete once dawn breaks and I will become her true mother!" Miranda shouted dramatically and opened her arms widely, letting her six wings stretch out before her mutation took place. Heisenberg just scoffed and threw his Cuban cigar to the ground, stepping on it.

"I'm not letting you get away." Ethan yelled, shooting a few more times at the orange eye that was visible in the upper center of her face. It probably was her weakness. In the meantime that Ethan was busy shooting at the six winged dead looking woman, Heisenberg simply just leaned on his hammer. His head was banging to the music while he watched the scene for a moment, but that was until he forced himself to participate into the battle as well. Putting his thumb and index finger close to his mouth, he whistled as noisy as possible and immediately an army of Lycans and soldats joined him. Miranda was amazed at what was happening before her eyes, but managed to kill several soldats at once with the mold spearing them. Heisenberg groaned in frustration, understanding that his life creations perhaps weren't fully prepared for these kind of attacks coming from her.

Heisenberg sighed and closed his green, grey eyes. It was time... time for him to mutate and face Miranda together with Ethan. He had to defeat her. That was what he wished for all these years after all. Heisenberg listened to the guitar solo in the background as his mind started to control and use the metal scrap from his broken soldats to continue his mutation. Ethan couldn't be distracted by the creature Heisenberg had become and so he kept his attention strictly on Miranda, ready to hit her again. Sadly, he was out of luck. His M1851 Wolfsbane Magnum ran out of ammo and while Ethan tried to block her next attack, Heisenberg seized the opportunity to knock her to the ground before she had the change to launch herself at Ethan.

Heisenberg accelerated his actions and grabbed Miranda tightly before pressing her against one of the broken stone walls. With his other metal arm he activated his saw and wounded her body, but soon found out she could regenerate herself. Her spider legs turned into wings, bigger than before, and she hurled the flames she had summoned when Heisenberg wasn't paying attention. He was blinded and was pushed back by the blow. The lord quickly realized that his mutation was quite easy for Miranda to defeat because of the length and width of his mechanistic form and he turned back to his human form. This way he could use the metal scrap for a shield and dodge all her attacks faster.

"Ethan! Bring your ass over here!" The man growled, seeing that Ethan was laying somewhere on the floor, being completely useless, and Ethan raised to his feet... stumbling a bit, but not giving up.

"I don't have any fucking bullets left!"

"Well good luck keeping her focused on you then!" His gravelly voice yelled over the rock music for only Ethan to hear and he shook his head in confusion, though, he had no time to understand it because Miranda immediately jumped right in front of him. The lord had time to create a stairs of the floating metal with activating his abilities and he ran to the top, hoping Miranda hadn't seen this shit coming or else they both were certainly doomed. Ethan, meanwhile, was fighting off the woman and it was the perfect timing for Heisenberg to put his second plan in working. Heisenberg dropped himself from the stairs, his hammer above his head and aiming at the weakness of Mother Miranda. Hitting her, her back was blown into the floor and she screamed in agony. The combo of the shots of the M1851 Wolfsbane Magnum and the terribly heavy hammer had managed to defeat her.

"My daughter.... My Eva!" She held her arms high and went numb, her body falling apart and turning into ash.

"After an eternity.... that bitch is finally gone." Heisenberg laughed enthusiastically and turned around to face Ethan only to see him crumbling down with Rose in his arms.

"I think we finished each other...."

#karl heisenberg #house heisenberg #heisenberg factory #neil newbon #resident evil village #alcina dimitrescu #resident evil 8 #re8 heisenberg #re8 village #re8 #salvatore moreau #donna beneviento #angie beneviento

[cynthiaandsamus]

Death Note/Code Geass Retrospective

(So going into the Custom Toonami Block last year between watching people lampoon the live action Death Note movie and the amazing one-shot that came out I really was ready to re-watch the original Death Note and it was one of the main reasons I started this little block. However once I finished it, the next logical step was Code Geass, it gets comparisons all the time between Lelouch and Light (usually from crazy laugh compilations on youtube in the early 2000s) and going into the Code Geass rewatch fresh from the Death Note rewatch I did kind of want to see how apt those comparisons were with a fresh perspective.

It’s not hard to see why they get compared despite being such different series, between these two I kind of see the same sort of dichotomy that Evangelion has with Gurren Lagann where they weirdly feel like they’re talking to each other. Obviously Code Geass is first and foremost a mecha anime and Lelouch’s crazy bullshit schemes are rarely as complex or manipulative as Light’s but at the same time Lelouch being on the backfoot more and having to roll with the punches makes him a much more fun character to root for.

Death Note starts off great and is a bleak series that has an ending that’s a bit more than contested I would say. Meanwhile Code Geass has a good start and an amazing end though it drags a good bit in the middle. I’d go so far as to say Code Geass’s ending is nearly perfect and despite both series essentially ending with their evil masterminds dying for their attempts to change the world, the tones couldn’t be more different.

There’s a scene early on in Death Note where Light tells Ryuk his plan and Ryuk tells Light that if he murders his way to the world being a better place, he’ll be the only sinner left alive. Light brushes this comment off because he’s a narcissistic sociopath but you get the feeling this kind of mentality is something Lelouch takes with him long before the series even begins. He’s absolutely aware that radical change to a cartoonishly unjust system will force him to do terrible things (and things usually get a little extra terrible just to kick him in the dick) and that in doing so he won’t be fit to live in the new world he plans to create. And because of this idea that Light holds the opposite ideal in that his world isn’t worth creating unless he’s alive to enjoy it, hence why he doesn’t take Ryuk’s eye deal, his and Lelouch’s mirrored endings take on exact opposite meanings, and in fact while Light fucks up in ways that should’ve been obvious to him, Lelouch’s plan goes exactly the way he wants despite everything going bonkers towards the end.

Death Note has an ending that I would argue is at least somewhat intentionally unsatisfying, it’s not a series meant to make you feel good, death is a sepctre that no mortal can really overcome and Light is ultimately isolated by his callousness for human life in pursuit of detached and increasingly foggy ideals. Meanwhile the last bit of Code Geass is commenting on despite Lelouch trying to isolate himself and pushing the entire burden of the world on himself, he has made a lot of connections with people that have survived the Pirates of the Carribean level of backstabbing we get towards the end and the world has become weirdly idyllic despite Lelouch not being alive to see it.

So back to the original question of whether it’s fair to compare Death Note and Code Geass, it’s a bit of both, they’re vastly different series in a lot of ways, Death Note prides itself on being a meticulously intricate display of intellect that eventually ends up caving in under its own weight while Code Geass is messy and silly and weird but ends up with an ending that is honestly one of the best in anime and has stuck with people long enough that it’s on everyone’s mind when Eren Jeager starts doing similar things. It’s just kind of interesting, like the Evangelion/Gurren Lagann comparison earlier, that usually the bleak version is taken more seriously but the over the top fun tends to offer a more complete package while they go back and forth with each other on ideas.

#ooc #Toonami #Custom Toonami Block #Code Geass #Mun Rewatches Code Geass #Death Note #Long Post

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #228: TRIAL and ERROR!

February, 1983

AT LAST! The trial of Yellowjacket!

Its been over a month in-universe and about a year out of universe but here we are. The Trial of Hank Pym.

Although the time getting here was mostly farting around with other stuff while Hank sat in prison. Can you believe Scott Lang is the only person we see visit him?

The Avengers found time to experiment on an immortal child who thought jumping into the sun was a good idea but not to visit Hank?

I’m not saying that Jan should have had to put herself through that and Tony is clearly feeling too guilty over the whole thing. But Cap didn’t visit? Hawkeye didn’t? Mr. Lets Bust Hank Out?

Possibly they did off-screen. The Hank arc has been kind of suffering from Shooter’s inability to balance writing and EICing. I feel that if redone, there would be more to the arc.

Anyway, the trial!

We skipped the first two days. Its the third day of the trial now.

The graphic guy went above and beyond for that Sad Composited Hank graphic.

I like the AN AVENGER’S DARKEST HOUR thing.

I also like the setup for recapping the necessary details.

Ex-Avenger attempts to heist the government would be big news so all the information is conveyed as this news report.

INCLUDING COURTROOM SKETCHES

God, that’s good.

That’s good comicing. Amazing.

Look at Thor in a courtroom sketch. Superb.

Look at that cheesy graphic for the coverage. Does anybody in Marvel even use a domino mask?? Everything about this is amazing.

People may say that Frank Miller revolutionized using media talking heads for social commentary in his comics. Maybe. Maybe so. But how many courtroom sketches did he include? Huh?

So apparently the reason why we’re on day three of the trial is that days one and two were entirely debates over whether Hank was even fit to stand trial.

I’d’ve thought they would get that out of the way ahead of time.

And Hank wants his day in court. So who was arguing he wasn’t fit to stand trial? The prosecution?

Apparently, the prosecution tried to argue that Hank’s history as a hero made his crimes more heinous, as a legal argument.

Which, uh? Um? Uh?

The defense objected that this was prejudicial but they were overruled.

The news recap ends when She-Hulk turns off the television angrily for reminding her of her legal career.

She-Hulk: “Leeches! I haven’t met Henry Pym, but he can’t be the creep they’re making him out to be! And that prosecutor -- ! I know it’s his job, but do they all have to be sanctimonious?! I hated that when I was a practicing attorney, and I don’t hate it any less since I’ve become She-Hulk!”

Reminds me that her nemesis in her original Savage She-Hulk book was an Assistant DA called Buck Bukowski who was a real sexist douche.

He mellowed out over the course of the book, mostly by learning that a death he blamed She-Hulk for was sorta his fault, but I wonder if she left LA so she wouldn’t be tempted to throw him out to sea.

She-Hulk is also still super bored (in New York??) and wanders downstairs to see if anyone is up to anything interesting.

Downstairs in the gym, she finds that the Caps are training.

The Captains America and Marvel.

Cap(tain America) is doing some combat training with Captain Monica Marvel.

This will not be at all confusing to have them on the same team.

Anyway, this training sequence is amazing so lets just have it all:

Cool stuff, Caps.

The training has to be cut short because Cap(tain America) has a prior commitment but still good stuff.

She-Hulk applauds Captain Marvel’s showing but Marvel waves it off as thanks to Cap(tain America)’s training. Which Cap(tain America) waves off as thanks to her being a quick study.

Its like a self-perpetuating modesty loop in here.

Cap excuses himself to go to his prior engagement.

Captain Marvel: “It’s easy to see why he’s called a living legend! He’s very good! And his grasp of strategy is second to none!”

She-Hulk: “Yeah, he does pretty well for a guy with no powers, but I could take him!”

What a this era of She-Hulk thing to say, She-Hulk.

Captain Marvel tells She-Hulk hey maybe not! Cap has stood up to some pretty tough customers, including Jen’s cousin the Hulk.

Which She-Hulk didn’t know!

Y’know, after Bruce (or recently implied to be Joe Fixit Actually??) started Jen’s origin story, the Hulk has not much further relevance in the Savage She-Hulk book. Jen doesn’t even give any indication that she’s keeping up with his exploits.

Not surprising, since the book was trying to be its own thing. And Jen’s life just starts to implode not very far into her solo so she doesn’t have time to also worry about Bruce.

Captain Marvel mentions that all of Cap(tain America)’s run-ins with the Hulk are recorded in the Avengers computer archives and She-Hulk concedes she should give that a look.

Hey, she finally has something to do in New York!

Captain Marvel also tells She-Hulk that she’s going to head home.

She-Hulk: “You have a place in the city?”

Captain Marvel: “Not this city... New Orleans.”

She-Hulk: “NEW ORLEANS?!?”

Captain Marvel: “Sure! It’s a snap to commute -- when you can travel at the speed of light! Take care!”

And then she nyooms off!

NYOOM!

It’s a good point! I hadn’t considered it but yeah, Monica can just commute. No need to uproot her life to become an Avenger.

I guess that’s why the decision was so easy for her to make.

She-Hulk is still at the window, wishing she could lightspeed to Malibu, when Thor and Janet arrive from court.

Janet thanks Thor for coming to court with her. Which he says no big to because “Time given to one’s friends is well spent. Would that I had given more time to poor Henry before this.”

You’re a cool guy, Thor.

The mention of Hank has Jan break down a little.

Jan: “Oh, Thor! Why has this happened to us... to all of us? We’re Avengers!”

Thor: “But still we are human -- aye, even a ‘god’ such as I! None of us are immune to wounds of the spirit. We err... we misunderstand. Janet? Is there anything more I can do?”

Jan: “No! No... I’m all right! We mustn’t dwell on the past. The future’s all that matters!”

Thor: “But...”

Jan: “I don’t want to talk about it anymore!”

Geez.

We’ve seen how affected the Avengers have been by what Hank has done and what they think he has done. We’ve seen Jan is more messed up by it than the smile she puts on lets on.

But the plaintive questioning of how this could be happening to the Avengers still hits hard.

Thor respects Jan’s wish to end the discussion to the frustration of She-Hulk who has been watching this conversation from the upstairs window.

She’s frustrated that Jan won’t just let it out, that Thor just let the subject drop.

She-Hulk: “It’s that blasted Avengers’ tradition of ‘respecting the privacy of members’ personal affairs.’ The founding members carry it too far! Can’t they see how it hurts them? And Jan -- ? Why does she hold in all that grief and heartache? Why doesn’t she cry and scream and shout and get it out of her system?!”

Jen and Jan are two very different people!

But She-Hulk, and Hulks generally, are about letting your feelings out. And Jan van Wasp has long been about playing the flighty sprite.

I’d crack joke about She-Hulk being this invested in the drama of the Avengers already but Jan is her friend. They presumably went car shopping together.

And She-Hulk has very few friends and almost zero female friends. Her one female friend died in a convoluted car accident and then She-Hulk mostly had a male supporting cast. Thank goodness she’s here on the Avengers with its two whole other women.

Meanwhile, at Stark International, Cap(tain America) has come to pay a visit.

He hasn’t been able to reach Tony in days. And Tony’s secretary told him that Tony has locked himself away in his private lab and that he doesn’t want to see anyone.

But if he didn’t want to see anyone, he should have thought twice about making it so that the security system will let in any Cap that flashes an Avengers ID.

Cap is particularly worried because of that nasty argument they had about Tony dating Jan. Tony has been pretty down since they broke up and Cap doesn’t want to see him fall apart like Hank did.

And.

Tony is. Doing. Maybe not okay.

He’s sweating a lot and unshaven and monomaniacally focused on a project.

Cap finds him holding up an enormous piece of machinery and doing SCIENCE.

This is the final evolution of Tony’s guilty conscience regarding Hank Pym.

Iron Man: “Remember how Moondragon used her mental powers to mess with our heads? Well, it’s my theory that she’s responsible for Hank’s recent troubles! I aim to prove that with this cerebral scanner! This baby should tell us whether or not Hank did the crazy things he did because of some outside mental influence! I hope I’m right!”

I mean, he raises a fair point! I don’t think its the case because what would it have benefited Moondragon to make Hank do what he did? And if its an inadvertent thing, she mind controlled a lot of people when the roster change-up was happening back in #211 so why did only Hank get affected? Plus, it doesn’t really match up with what both Hank and Jan have been saying about his behavior deteriorating before then.

But, Tony is going to Tony. And he, like many fans and writers and editors, just want a simple nonsense explanation that can make a distressing thing go away.

Cap points out that the ginormous machine can’t exactly be dragged down to the courthouse but this is just the prototype. Tony is going to have a miniaturized version ready by Monday.

Cap: “I see. Tony, how long have you been up?”

Iron Man: “I don’t know... 30... 40 hours, maybe. What difference does it make?”

Cap: “It makes plenty! You’ve had some rough sledding lately... You can’t keep on driving yourself this way!”

Iron Man: “But I have to do something for Hank. I feel that I let him down... In so many ways.”

Cap: “You can’t help him if you kill yourself in the process!”

Tony is going to Tony. I think that in some ways he might have a more overdeveloped guilt complex than Peter Parker or Matt Murdock.

For Reasons, I’ve taken a look at how things are going in the Iron Man book around this time and oof. Poor Tony.

Over in Leonia, New Jersey, Vision and Scarlet Witch are watching the trial coverage on the news and-

Okay.

1.) How do you make watching the network news so moody and dramatic, Vision? Do you ever actually relax?

2.) Do you two just wear your costumes around the house? Surely you must have other clothes? Vision? Do you have other clothes?

Some other stuff is that Wanda has been holding up Jan and Hank as the ideal marriage so this whole thing has been weirding her out. Although Vision has had a less rosy opinion of it, having been there for it with all of the marrying the split personality nonsense involved.

Although I don’t know why issue #68 is referenced. I don’t think that had anything to do with anything. Issue #60 is where the wedding happened.

Bet whoever put that caption wishes they had access to the internet.

I kind of wish we got more stuff like earlier, got to see Avengers not currently on the team and other heroes that worked with Hank Pym reacting to his disgrace exit from the team and then arrest. Wish we could have had Vision and Wanda try to visit him in jail.

Meanwhile, Long Island Sound.

A LOCATION OF EVIL

A suited man arrives and knocks on 13308 McKinley.

He is Dr. Chen Lu and he is expected.

Moonstone/Dr. Karla Sofen meets Dr. Chen Lu at the door and shows him in to the secret science basement where Egghead is running an experiment with the latest scientific equipment that can be begged, borrowed, or stolen.

I’m figuring... mostly stolen? Right? Like Egghead’s plan was to steal all the resources he needed? Because, ugh Effort?

Moonstone interrupts Egghead to let him know Dr. Chen Lu has arrived and Egghead is thrilled! He rushes from his seat to shake his hand.

And the sentiment is returned by Dr. Chen Lu who is eager to join Egghead’s project.

Y’know, Egghead is a jerk and is stealing all of his resources but his project will hugely improve medical science and he’s getting criminal scientists off the street and into some actual science jobs they can be excited about.

Dr. Chen asks how Egghead isn’t dead because he was pretty sure he was told Egghead was dead. And Egghead sure has a tale to tell!

In Defender #43, Egghead set up Cobalt Man to reach critical mass and explode to distract the Defenders so he could steal a magical star. When Cobalt Man found out, he was pretty pissed and decided to blow up Egghead.

Egghead: “We had a bit of a falling out, you might say... and he ended the situation most dramatically. Witnesses actually assumed we’d both perished. In actuality, I had been teleported by an experimental mechanism to relative safety in the New Jersey swamps... and unlike death, one can usually return from the state of New Jersey!”

Damn, Egghead! Criminal genius that you are, you’ve found the only New Jersey joke I’ve ever laughed at! Fiend!

I think its the glasses adjusting what does it.

Anyway, Egghead’s and Dr. Chen’s cool conversation gets interrupted by Tiger Shark and Shocker bursting through the ceiling fighting.

Beetle flies in after them and apologizes for the mess but says ‘really Shocker had it coming, man, fuck Shocker.’

Beetle and Moonstone jump in to separate the two.

Hey, you might be wondering how the Masters of Evil are out of jail when last time we saw them was getting arrested after attacking the Avengers like dumbasses?

Check that panel where Iron Man is lifting a really heavy thing. There’s a news broadcast about a bunch of prison escapes. Good job on the same issue setup, Stern!

Shocker complains that Tiger Shark called him a two-bit hood but Tiger Shark says in his defense that Shocker IS a two-bit hood (Not inaccurate...) who nearly screwed up the isotope heist. But Egghead says that Shocker is an important part of the operation.

Then Tiger Shark notices Dr. Chen Lu and says a slur.

C’mon, guy. Don’t be like that.

Dr. Chen Lu: “Speaking without thinking seems to be second nature to you, Tiger Shark. In the interest of our future partnership, I shall excuse the insult to my race... this time! But I warn you, do not use that word in my presence again, or you shall answer to -- THE RADIOACTIVE MAN!”

Tiger Shark hurriedly says that obviously he didn’t mean to offend. Because Dr. Chen Lu Radioactive Man fwooshed into his green skin (dammit comics whats with you and Asian people and green skin?) radioactive form and costume.

But with Radioactive Man on the team, the Masters of Evil are finally complete and ready for the next step of EGGHEAD’S BOLD PLAN.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye returns to his apartment from his day job, kind of looking a steady paycheck in the mouth. Sure the big wad of bucks is nice but its sooo boring. Thank goodness he has Avengersing to keep things exciting.

He then sings a short bit about “Best of both worlds -- !” because Hawkeye.

Hawkeye sees the news broadcast about the Hank Pym trial and even though he hasn’t been called to testify (because he wasn’t part of the team when Hank was caught with his hands in the government’s cookie jar) he figures what the heck, he’ll go to the trial anyway to show moral support.

And he does! In full costume!

In fairness, so are Thor and Captain America.

I guess Captain America and Hawkeye don’t have publicly revealed identities. But they couldn’t have thrown a suit on Thor?

Please put Thor in a suit. For reasons.

She-Hulk and Wasp are wearing nice court clothes.

Although She-Hulk seems uncomfortable in her nice court clothes.

(By the by, She-Hulk showing up at all makes Hawkeye warm up to her a little, since he figures that in her own way she cares about being an Avenger as much as he does.)

By the way, notice who wasn’t in that picture? Hawkeye leans over to whisper to Cap where is Iron Man? Annnnd Cap thinks maybe he just got wrapped up in his cerebral scanner project.

At this point in the trial (day 4), Hank has finally been called up to the stand to testify on his own behalf.

So, of course, given Hank Pym’s luck, the courtroom explodes.

What a dynamite conclusion to this arc!

The Masters of Evil (Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Tiger Shark, Shocker, and Beetle) jump into the court through the exploded ceiling, grab Hank Pym, have Shocker blow up the load bearing wall, and then run out while the Avengers are distracted holding up the entire ceiling!

An action scene fast enough that I can believe, yes, the Avengers didn’t have time to react to it before it happened.

But Thor is strong enough to hold up the ceiling, so Wasp orders Cap to get the crowd to safety and has She-Hulk and Hawkeye follow her to go after the Masters.

Cap: “Jan’s really coming into her own as group leader! Even Hawkeye’s snapping to at her orders!”

Good. I’m glad that people keep telling me that Wasp is doing a good job as Avengers leader.

Seriously. Given the way that the Avengers book handles teamwork and the idea that the Avengers even have a leader sometimes, I’m glad that the book is explicitly conveying that Wasp is doing good.

Hawkeye net-arrows Tiger Shark, She-Hulk tackles Radioactive Man, Wasp confronts Beetle, and nobody confronts Shocker because its just Shocker.

Beetle scoffs at Wasp trying to stop him but has to eat his words pretty soon. Her Wasp stings being souped up in this recent stretch of comics hasn’t stopped being a thing.

Beetle: “Ow! Maybe I was the one who spoke too soon! Even with my armor, I can feel a little of the Wasp’s bio-stings! If I can’t shake her, she might blow my micro-circuits!”

Very glad that Wasp continues to be an effective fighter in her own right and not just the distraction ‘fly around and pester people.’

She-Hulk just throws Radioactive Man out of the panel, mocking him for being green as her without any of her sweet moves.

Tiger Shark wants another go at She-Hulk after the way she stomped him in #222 but.

Oops guess I shouldn’t have mocked Shocker. Since he was ignored, he can sneak up behind She-Hulk and use HIGH INTENSITY VIBRO-SHOCKS to rattle her bones to dust.

Except, no. I should have mocked Shocker, a little.

Because even though the HIGH INTENSITY VIBRO-SHOCK rattles She-Hulk so that she chatters out “T-t-think a-a-again, y-y-you w-w-walking q-q-quilt!”, she grabs Shocker’s hands and holds him up in the air for Hawkeye to short out Shocker’s gauntlets with a couple of magno-volt arrows.

Shocker crumples, confused because one of the other Masters was supposed to be covering Hawkeye.

Radioactive Man tackles She-Hulk so She-Hulk just belts him away.

So Radioactive Man concedes, well, okay, She-Hulk is stronger than him. But brute force and being green aren’t the extent of his powers. He’s also radioactive, radioactive. 

He hits She-Hulk with a controlled burst of gamma rays, which shifts her back into Jennifer Walters.

Hey, Jen! First time you’ve appeared in this book in this form.

She’s less than pleased. In fact, she starts screaming “No! Not this!!” and begging someone to help her.

Thankfully, the Masters put her out of mind as not a problem anymore.

And the dominoes fall.

Tiger Shark smacks Wasp out of the air, freeing Beetle to blast Hawkeye. And nobody can stop Moonstone from nerve pinching Hank Pym and pulling him into a truck.

Thor and Cap run out of the courthouse, presumably having gotten everyone to safety.

Thor: “Ho, villains! You’ve not won the day yet! Not as long as a single Avenger stands!”

Thor do what Thor do and what Thor do is throw Mjolnir.

Exceppppt its at Radioactive Man and Radioactive Man can still deflect Mjolnir with energy fields. Radiation can do that. Mjolnir doesn’t exist in real life so we can’t prove that radiation can’t do that.

Radioactive Man deflects Mjolnir right at Captain America. He gets his shield up in time but it still knocks him on his ass.

The Masters all book it into the truck while the Avengers get to their feet.

Wasp orders Hawkeye to shoot out the tires to the truck. But before he can and before it can be fruitless, a getaway truck explodes out of the truck and flies off more quickly than the Avengers can chase.

And by “the Masters all book it into the truck” I mean, “except Shocker” because they ditched him.

With the Masters escaped, Wasp turns on the shocked Shocker and rips off his mask and demands he tell them where the Masters are going.

But the shocked Shocker is too shocked to answer. He seems out of it, really.

So Wasp changes the question. Who is behind this? Why did they want to kidnap Hank Pym?

Shocker: “Why? It... it was his idea! Dr. Pym’s idea... He arranged for us to free him!”

DUN DUN DUUUUU- no wait we know thats not it

whats your game shocker

Sometime later, Hank Pym wakes up in Egghead’s lab. And, of course, immediately leaps up to kick the shit out of Egghead as soon as he sees him.

Alas, Tiger Shark holds him back.

Egghead: “Don’t restrain him too tightly, Tiger Shark! He’s of no use to us injured!”

Hank Pym: “I’ll ‘use’ you, Egghead! You’re responsible for ruining my life! You manipulated me into stealing that government adamantium... and set me up, when your scheme failed! You’re mad if you think you can make me help you now!”

Egghead: “Pish-tosh!”

Good rejoinder, Egghead.

God, this also cracks me up.

Egghead says that he’s in the middle of a great experiment and that he needs the world’s greatest biochemist, Hank Pym.

Hank is still on the ‘why the hell do you think I’ll help you, I hate you so much.’

So Egghead has the tv turned on.

Anchorman, Non Burgundy: “... Authorities were stunned by the news that Dr. Pym had planned his own abduction! The Avengers refused to comment on the Shocker’s confession, but polygraph experts confirmed --”

Egghead explains that Shocker was a patsy. His gauntlets were secretly rewired with special circuits that brainwashed him into believing what Egghead wanted him to. So thoroughly that it fooled a lie detector.

Egghead: “As far as the world is concerned, Henry, you are now most assuredly a criminal. No one will believe otherwise. Not the police... not even your former friends. You have no one to turn to in this world... except us! Join the Masters of Evil, Henry! We will give you a new life!”

Hank Pym: “All right... I’ll do it!”

DUN DUN DUN!!

Wow, so I guess Egghead wasn’t just being petty. He was also systematically destroying what little was left of Hank’s life to force him to work on SCIENCE project with him.

Proving his innocence and ‘getting his dignity back’ was all Hank had left to him.

Geez, sucks to be Hank Pym!

Psst, follow @essential-avengers​? Like and reblog?

#Avengers #Egghead #Masters of Evil #Hank Pym #the Wasp #She Hulk #Hawkeye #Thor #Captain America #Captain Marvel #monica rambeau #Iron Man #not doing so well #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging #SUPERHERO LEGAL DRAMhaha just kidding it gets interrupted #lot of interesting trajectories the avengers are going on in this issue #so far so good on the Stern run

[chaoticdean]

Forever and a day.

For week 7 — prompt: thunderstorm

Bonus point for anyone who’s able to guess where the title came from! (hint: it’s a song, and it has a lot of meaning for Dean)

Host : @bend-me-shape-me, @helianthus21 & @pray4jensen ♡

(I know I’m pretty late on this! I’m gonna try and pick up the pace, maybe even write for every prompts I’ve missed before!)

READ ON AO3

It’s still dark when Castiel awakes. The sun doesn’t seem to be up yet, and a quick glance at the clock on his nightstand clearly displaying 5:36am in wide red characters confirms that yes, it is early. The former angel rises from his comfortable position to sit on the bed, proceeds to rub his eyes and ruffles his hair — these are a lost cause, no matter what he does they still stick in a hundred different directions like some kind of wild party animal. He’s about to get up from his sitting posture, taking into account the way his stomach grumbles — he really should’ve eaten something last night, but he’s still getting the hang of being human again and quite frankly, this “humans got to eat at least 3 times a day crap” is a daily struggle — when an arm makes its way across his waist and roughly pulls him back against the mattress (and as it turns out, a very warm, living body). 

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Dean says, voice still rough with sleep, brushing his lips against Cas’s throat and peppering kisses here and there, which gets the angel’s arousal to rise instantly.

“Well, I was about to go get coffee for your sorry ass, but I guess I’ll stay now that you’ve made me your prisoner” Cas responds dramatically with a wide grin, unable to repress a deep moan when Dean decides to bite the soft skin of his neck. 

“It’s not even 6am and we’ve got nowhere else to be, so keep that tight ass of yours in bed. I don’t need coffee, I need you” the hunters says, in a way that makes Cas shiver a little. 

Dean tightens his grip around Cas’s waist, his other arm quickly wrapping around his other side, hand landing on his stomach. Cas doesn’t move (although he’s not entirely sure he could, given the way Dean is literally wrapped around him), his back pressed against Dean’s chest, his head tucked below the hunter’s, letting him have the space he needs to essentially worship Cas’s skin between his neck and shoulder. He sighs in content, closing his eyes and raising his left arm to bring Dean’s face closer, entirely giving himself up to the sensation. 

The sound of the rain quietly falling down on the bunker’s roof strengthen the cozy feeling of the room that was once Dean’s but has now been theirs for more than a year. There seems to be a storm coming, Castiel can already hear the low rumble of thunder still afar. He used to be unconcerned by weather, back when he was still an Angel of the Lord. It didn’t matter if it rained, if it was below 32°F or if the sun was shining too hard. Now is a different story, and he learned to catalog everything about the weather. He likes the sound of rain, but he also really like when the sun shines on his face while riding shotgun in the Impala after coming back from a hunt. He gets cold really fast, and he learned the hard way that his beloved trench coat wouldn’t be enough to keep him warm anymore (“who the fuck comes to freaking Minnesota with nothing else but a trench coat, you idiot” Dean had said, shaking his head in disbelief but getting his partner one of his winter jacket from the trunk that Cas had kept to this day), but he doesn’t really like when it gets too warm and he’s sweating “like a goddamn trucker after a ride through the desert” courtesy of one Dean Winchester. Sweat is a whole new feeling as well, and he despises it (except when it involves “mind-blowing sex”, as Dean calls it). He likes the rumbles of thunder, but what he loves the most is watching the lightnings fall, cozied up at the back of the Impala next to Dean. 

He never thought he could have this. 12 years of buried feelings, heartbreaks, pain and misery let him think that he would never, ever experience any of this. Yet here he is, the fallen angel, inside the arms of the man he saved from Hell years ago. 

Now his husband.

Yes, for someone who never wore a last name, Castiel Winchester does have a nice ring to it, he’ll admit.

The loud sound of thunder suddenly rips through the silence of the bunker for half a second, apparently approaching Lebanon quicker and quicker, and Castiel can feel Dean arms tighten lightly around him as the storm begins to crack around them. 

Truth be told, it still feels surreal. It’s been an actual process, from literally yelling their mutual feelings at each other’s face after dealing with yet again another “I will kill myself so that you can live” situation, to trying to make this work between them. Dancing around each other and a decade of repressed thoughts and feelings was hard enough, try throwing “how about going human again after being an Angel of the Lord for several millennia” into the mix and see how it goes.

And despite all the troubles that comes with being human — do you know how infuriating it is to remember you’ve got to pee all the damn time?! Or how humans get cold so damn easily? —, despite Castiel being a pain in everyone’s ass trying to come to grip with humanity again, Dean was there alongside him everyday. He wiped every tear, took every bad dream away, woke up at the crack of dawn just so that he could make a different breakfast for Castiel to try every single day. “We need to figure out if you’re more of a regular pancakes and bacon guy, the weirdo type who only eats Lucky Charms with milk, or a plain black coffee and white bread dude. Hell, we can even go wild and have tacos and waffles for breakfast, see how it goes” Dean had said the first morning. Castiel made him come so hard that particular morning that Sam couldn’t face any of them for 2 days after that. 

And then, there was the proposal. It came in as sort of a surprise, for Castiel first but almost for Dean as well. Getting married was the epitome of human custom by definition. Cas had never really thought about it, never really had a desire for it and certainly never expected for it to happen to him. Dean being human, the idea of marriage was almost carved into his mind and it obviously came to mind several times before, but it hadn’t for a while for quite obvious reasons — the end of the world, the self-loathing that clung to his entire soul and dripped through the creaks sometimes, the fact that he didn’t think he’d find anyone willing to spend the rest of their life with a broken up loser of a hunter, anyway he was in love with his best friend who was an angel and who certainly did not share his feelings — pick your poison. 

But that specific night, after spending a certain amount of time mapping the edges of Dean’s body with a fierce determination in the backseat of Baby, when Dean snuggled closer dropping his face into the crook of Cas’s neck and asked if he would marry him with that husky voice of his that made the former angel go crazy, he didn’t hesitate. It took Cas exactly half a second to whisper “yes” into the hunter’s ear, and that settled it. 

They had a quiet ceremony that Bobby officiated, Sam and Jack were their best men, and they were only joined by their closest friends which consisted of Eileen, Charlie, Jody, Donna and the girls (surprisingly enough, Claire was thrilled) , Garth and his family. Cas wore a navy blue suit that made his baby blue eyes look even more deep, and Dean looked like he was out of an episode of the Bachelor with his black tux, black bow-tie and white shirt. They looked perfect. It took them a grand total of 5 minutes before they shared their first kiss as a married couple. There were tears, both in the assistance and on both grooms face. It was perfect. And it looked surreal to Dean. 

But good.

Right.

Everything he asked for.

They went to Hawaii for a week on a Honeymoon, but still took Sam and Jack with them (“because they deserve a goddamn break and little umbrella cocktails as much as we do, Cas, and we owe it to them. Besides, we’ll book that honeymoon suite on the other side of the resort and they won’t have to suffer through our nights” Dean had said with a cheeky grin)

Another loud thunder sound rips through the bunker, and Cas knows that Dean’s going to feel relieved that he got Baby into the garage last night instead of leaving her outside by the door like he usually do when they get home in-between hunts. 

“You do know” Cas starts but Dean interrupts him right away by sucking on his earlobe and boy oh boy does that makes Cas’s body react, “that the walk from this room to the kitchen is roughly 20 seconds, give or take?” 

“So? What’s your damn point?” Dean adds, his mouth mapping that soft spot behind Cas’s ear that tends to make the former angel whimper

“So I can be back in, say, 3 minutes with two cups of coffee and even a slice of that cold pizza you left in the fridge yesterday” Cas manages to say before Dean gets back on attacking his throat with his lips

“You know I love it when you try and talk dirty to me, Angel, but I really don’t care about any cups of coffee or even cold pizza right now. Besides, I’m almost sure Jack chomped that pizza up last night.”

Dean’s mouth lands on his cheek as Cas turns over to face him, finally locking eyes with the hunter — his hunter, he thinks.

“What happened to the ‘I can’t function properly until I’ve got my third cup of coffee’ motto that I’ve seen you go through for the past 12 years, Winchester?”  Cas teases, his left hand cupping Dean’s face. “Was it all a lie?”

The hunter closes his eyes, pushing onto the touch, the cold feeling of the silver wedding band Castiel is wearing on his ring finger attacking his senses. 

Meanwhile, Cas gazes at his husband, realizing he hasn’t shaved in at least two weeks, and his jawline gets even more glorious with that dirty blond scruff all over it. 

Dammit, get it together, Winchester.

“Besides”, Cas adds, his lips brushing lightly against the corner of Dean’s mouth “I’m no angel anymore.”

“You’ll always be my Angel, Cas” Dean responds softly, his green eyes looking even more bright as he says the words. 

“Aww, you’re such a sap.”

“Okay” Dean grumbles, looking slightly offended but sporting a wide grin on his face, “When did you become a sassy son of a bitch, and what have you done with my husband?”

“Learned from the best” Cas chuckles, nuzzling his way along Dean’s jaw toward his ear “and Chuck was technically my father, so you’re like, halfway right on that assumption” he whispered.

“Will you shut your damn mouth and give me a kiss, for heaven’s sakes.”

Cas smiles at the use of these particular words and immediately leans closer, his lips brushing Dean’s lightly before the hunter captures his mouth with a thoroughness bordering on savagery. 

For a former angel who’s known thousands of languages, has been to many different worlds and lead Armies through (literal) hellfire, Castiel can’t find any words or feeling that could do justice to what it feels like to kiss Dean. Words won’t do justice to the rollercoaster of emotions it embodies. It feels both like the universe is exploding inside his chest, but the waves are quieter with Dean’s lips on his. 

Cas finally pulls back just enough to whisper against Dean’s lips.

“Coffee.”

“Okay, Angel. Go get that coffee. Get me that slice of cold pizza you promised” Dean answers as Cas gets up.

He’s only wearing black boxer briefs that Dean is almost sure belongs to him. His hands behind his head, he quietly watches as his husband picks up Dean’s shirt to wear — a Led Zeppelin ’73 tour black shirt that he owns since God knows when — and exit the room to the bunker’s kitchen.

“I’m so damn happy” Dean thinks to himself, and despite 4 decades of thinking he’s not allowed to feel like this, he really wants to believe that everything will be fine, they’ll be okay, they have each other and the future doesn’t look so dark anymore. 

And when Castiel comes back, 3 minutes after he’s left like he advertised before, with two cups of coffee and a plate of waffles and bacon (“Babe, Jack did eat that pizza you left in the fridge yesterday, but apparently Sam made breakfast before he left for his morning run” “it’s 6am, how the hell did that animal make breakfast and left already? How are we even related?”), Dean’s convinced he won the fucking lottery.

(If you enjoy reading this, please consider reblogging/liking, and leaving kudos on AO3!) 

#spnstayathome #monday 7: thunderstorm #I'm really late on this #but I also really love it #prompts #destiel #deancas #established Dean Winchester/Castiel #domestic Dean Winchester/Castiel #sharing a bed #bisexual dean #gay castiel #so fucking married #but like actually married #human castiel #spn #supernatural #jus writes: forever and a day #ficlet #destiel fic #fluff #romantic fluff #domestic bliss #domestic fluff #jus writes

[saltpigsblog]

The Hidden Shop

"This place must be new" Julie states peering into one of the cloudy windows. Alex squinted into the building not being able to make out anything.

"I don't know seems pretty old," Reggie says as he nudged a squeaky sign.

'alchemy'

A loud squawking noise suddenly fills the air. A small owl sat near the entrance of the door. It ruffled its feathers at Luke, who was holding a stick menacingly.

"Leave the poor thing alone, Luke"

Ignoring Luke's pout Alex walks toward the disgruntled bird. At a slight glance, the owl looked normal. The feathers at the top of its head were pink and slicked back. Looking closer Alex could see tiny stars in its feathers.

"Why does that Owl's hair look better than mine?" Reggie jokes as Julie reangles the stick out of Luke's hand.

"Because it is," Luke says only to let out a squeak as Julie turns the stick on him.

"You don't get to speak until you apologies " She declares, swinging menacingly at Luke.

"To the Owl? No way I'm-" He stops as Julie raises a brow and readjusts her grip on her weapon.

With a small huff, Luke makes his way toward the Owl. Honestly, Alex sometimes wonders how Luke always ended up in weird situations.

"Look," Luke says arms crossed as stands in front of the bird, "I'm sorry I disturbed you or whatever"

The owl, however, would have non of it. Turning away from Luke and ruffling its feathers up. Alex wished he could inherit the level of pettiness in one movement.

"Oh, come on you don't have to be like that!"

Luke shouts when the owl turns away from him. He stomps his way in front of the bird and held eye contact.

"I'm sorry"

This time it seemed to work, or maybe it just got tired of Luke. With a small node of its head, the owl began to flap its wings. With one last look toward Luke, it disappeared through the entrance of the building.

"uh... guys, please tell me I'm not going crazy"

Reggie begins slowly inching away from the sign of the building. Alex was just as shocked as him.

The old building walls begin to change when the owl flew through them. The once flakey paint of the sign turned new and fresh. While the old wood of the doors straightened out.

The entire building seemed to grow bigger as the doors changed to accommodate. Even the writing on the sign seemed to have got a renovation. It know read in clean and steady handwriting.

Alchemy

"So" Luke walks toward the entrance doors and touches the handles. "We're going in right?"

And they did, despite Alex's protests, honestly, why did no one listen to him?

"Come on Alex, live a little," Luke says as he pushes the door inward.

"We're dead" Alex points out following closely behind Julie. Even with his unease, he would rather be with them than all alone.

The inside was just as pristine as the outside, with glittering marble floors, and oak tables. Most of the seats were filled and a faint whiff of cinnamon wafted through the air.

Alex had to force himself to not stare at the people scattered around the shop. People covered in amour, and strange clothes. Alex silently hoped he was losing his mind as a squid in a suit, holding a cupcake, slithered past them.

They made their way toward the cashier's desk situated at the back of the building.

"Um.. excuse me but, what is this place?"

Reggie says to a short-haired girl behind the counter. She looked normal enough, not counting the almost see-through wings on her back.

"You guys are new here, huh?"

She says stroking a small cat that lay beside her. The girl seemed unconcerned with their presence like she had been expecting them.

So not only was the place filled with magic, know they could be seen as well. Alex doesn't think he can handle any more shock in one day.

"Yeah, we're kinda new to this whole ghost thing" he finds himself saying as Luke and Reggie look at a sludgy creature passing by.

"Well," she says as she digs around under the counter "You've come to the right place,"

She comes back with two pieces of golden paper and hands them to Julie. "If you wanna work here, you have to ask Willie, he should be upstairs.

Alex peered over Julie's shoulder at the papers, it was a job application. Julie gapes at the other girl as she rings up a customer.

"How did you even know I wanted to-"

Julie doesn't finish as the girl shoos them toward some stairs. Well, they were already here why not go up a creepy set of stairs?

Not that he could call them creepy, the stairs looked just as good as everything else in this place. Honestly, it seemed like Alex was the only one questioning things.

"Alex I can feel you thinking," Julies says as they ascend the stairs, stopping now and again to move out of the way of other customers.

Alex has to grab Reggie before he runs face-first into a white-haired man, and a man dressed in bright colors. Did the other one have a lute?

"Yeah dude, you're like oozing anxiety"

"What did I say about that word"

Alex says as Luke opens the doors that lead to the second floor. Somehow this part looked weirder than the last.

"I mean how are you guys not freaking out? What don't even know what this place is-"

His train of thought is quickly derailed as he focuses on a short boy, quietly putting up bottles.

Why was he so pretty? Who was he, and how did he make Alex's heart skip a beat, and make his palms sweaty. They hadn't even talked yet, and Alex already feels like they've known each other for years.

"Guys, I think Alex died again" Reggie states as he waves a hand in front of Alex's face.

"Or maybe," Julie says with a teasing tone in her voice

"He saw a cute boy" she laughs as she follows Alex's gaze toward the boy.

Feeling his cheeks flush Alex sputters indigently as Luke wiggles his eyebrows at him.

"I wasn't-I just-he's so" Alex struggled to find the words as he mumbled.

"Pretty?" Julie says

"Handsome?" Reggie says in a singsong voice

"Hot" Luke says pinching at Alex's cheek

And honestly, that didn't help at all in Alex's crises, was he that obvious? If Luke noticed, then it must be obvious. Oh god, what if the cute boy noticed him staring. Alex doesn't think he would be able to handle that without dying a second time.

But it seemed like Luke had other plains as he dragged Alex toward the boy. Meanwhile, Reggie and Julie, the traitors, took a sudden interest in a candle.

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

Willie's day was pretty normal so far, well as far as normal goes with his profession. He opened up shop at 7, enough time to prepare for the many people who came in at 9.

But there was one thing that managed to slip his mind as he opened up for the day. Allision, one of his workers, had quit yesterday. She had reluctantly left to rule over her late father's kingdom.

Her leave was sudden and unexpected, so much so that Willie had forgotten she wouldn't be at the shop.

Usually, there would be two people for each portion of the shop to make sure everything was in order. And every week everyone would switch. And today was Willie's and Allision's turn to restock the magic part of the shop.

Only the problem arouse when Cherry and Oliver needed a few extra hands with the bakery. Willie's brain had just automatically assumed that Allision would take care of the work upstairs.

And with that in mind, he had opened as soon as he was done with the bakery.

Which meant he had to scramble to restock the various potions and magical items, thankfully no one needed them as soon as they opened.

He could ask Frank to come in a little early, but Willie knows the man's exams would be soon.

Letting out a small sigh Willie picked up the small box of potions in front of him. Willie could handle the magic shop, after all, it wasn't like he hadn't before.

Distracted by the small buzzing coming from the cards attached to his hip, Willie has to dodge to not run into Luie, a small sludge creature.

Stopping at a counter he pulls out a slim black card from the deck, and gently placed it in front of him.

"Hey, Boss so you remember how we need some help?"

Cherry's voice rings out from the card he had put down.

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

Willie refuses to acknowledge the slip up he had made, he grabs the first bottle to put on the shelf as he listens to Cherry.

"A human just came through, looking for a job for her and a friend"

She states with the ching of the register accompanying her voice. She pauses to take someone's order before she continues.

"There were also a couple of ghosts with her, I think the blonde one is exactly your type"

Willie holds back a groan as he hears Cherry laugh on the other end. For some reason, his workers loved matchmaking him. His one saving grace had been Cherry who had shooed everyone off when they tried putting him with the latest person. But it seems like not even Cherry could hold herself back.

Snatching the cards back up, thus ending the connection. Willie let out a huff as he continued putting the potions on the shelf.

Honestly, Willie can't understand why they thought he needed them to butt into his love life. He didn't want to date anyone, he had his shop and he doesn't need anything else.

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

Alex was going to faint. He had gotten Luke and Reggie to leave him alone by distracting them with the trinkets nearby. And Julie had dropped it on her own, seeing how uncomfortable Alex was.

And everything had been fine for about 10 minutes. They explored the shop, and Alex continued to sneak glances at the boy as he made his way to the back.

Eventually. Julie finally remembered why they were there in the first place.

"Guys, focus we're supposed to find Willie"

Alex doesn't know how, but as soon as Luke registered Julie's words he fell.....right where an owl soundly slept. Needless to say, the owl wasn't too pleased.

Loud squawking and shouting filled the air as the same owl from the entrance picked at Luke.

"Wow I've never seen her so mad before, what did he do?"

Alex glanced at the boy who had situated on the counter, swallowing back his embarrassment. Just act naturally he told himself, stuffing his shaking hands into his hoodie.

"He fell on her, though he did threaten her with a stick earlier,"

There short and to the point, he even managed to keep his voice steady when he said it.

"A stick? I'm surprised she didn't run him out already"

Alex feels the boy shift beside him as they watched Luke's futile attempts to get the owl away.

"Does she, uh do that often?"

Alex leans himself on the counter missing the other boy's stare as he watched Reggie cheer the bird on.

"All the time, especially when someone tries to steal...I'm Willie by the way"

It takes Alex's brain a few seconds to register the name, wondering how they didn't find out sooner. Willie was the only one who seemed to be working. Alex chalks it up to there excitement they had when they entered the shop. At least Julie didn't have to worry about Willie being a demon.

"Alex and my friend Julie is looking for you, she wants to know if she can work here"

"Well, why didn't you guys say anything sooner?"

Willie says as he hops down from the counter, letting out a loud whistle. Almost instantly the bird's focus changes from Luke, flying away from him and perching onto Willie's shoulder.

"So,"

He says once Julie helps Luke up from his place on the floor.

"I hear one of you wants to work here"

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #willie jatp #alex mercer #luke patterson #reggie peters #julie molina #Luke would defiantly lose against the owl #Owl out for blood #Alex is tired #Julie (and Flynn) just need a job #Willie is a grumpy wizard #He definitely didn't train Luna to instantly attack Caleb as soon as she sees him #Did anyone get the reference I put in the story? #the hidden shop #willex

[justaghostingon]

Cogs in a Steel Heart

Chapter 2: Building Trust

Hugo struggles to adjust and Cyrus gets the tea. Aka. Hugo’s got a lot of complaining to do, and Cyrus is having way to much fun watching him struggle at the whole ‘teammates’ thing.

Link to ao3 version: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24331849/chapters/59001811#workskin

The next time Hugo came to report to Cyrus, he and his new team had already completed the water trial. Now most people would be a bit more excited after completing an ancient trial that lay incomplete for centuries. Or maybe just twenty years? Cyrus wasn’t paying attention when Donella explained that. Point was, the way Cyrus saw it Hugo should have been happy, or at least proud.

He was not.

“It’s like pulling teeth with these people!” Hugo tugged at his own hair for emphasis. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive!”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow as the usually calm and in control Hugo proceeded to have as near to a tantrum as he’d ever gotten, ranting and waving his hands like a madman. It was almost...funny.

“The firecracker keeps interrupting me when I’m working, and posturing about catching me in my ‘evil’ scheme-” And heavens above, Hugo actually made air quotes. Cyrus hadn’t realized he even knew what those were, “-as if I’d ever be stupid enough to make something to defeat them in the middle of their camp, what kind of rookie does he think I am? All he’s really doing is getting underfoot when I am trying to help! I need this to work out too! He’s just...uugh!” He threw his hands in the air with such violence it sent him stumbling backwards into a tree.

Cyrus bit the inside of his lip as Hugo sprang back up to punch the tree and scream at it. Thugs don’t smile on the job, and never let it be said Cyrus was not a professional. But he’d never seen Hugo so completely frazzled by simple human interaction. It was karmic really, considering everything Hugo’s usual interactions with people.

Eventually Hugo’s strength gave out and he leaned his forehead against the tree, looking the picture of defeat. And really, if two kids was all it took to wipe him out, Cyrus should have recommended him for babysitting to his neighbors ages ago. Would be good for him.

Hugo let out a deep sigh as his shoulders sagged. “And then there’s Goggles,” he said as he turns himself around to face Cyrus. “He’s a whole ‘nother problem. Always trying to compare notes, talk about “how my day was,” showing off to the kid...” Hugo crosses his arms across his chest. “And he’s not even that good at it! Like half the things he makes blow up! But when I point out his errors, which could get us blown up mind you, he gets all passive-aggressive and tries to do it his way and like come on! I’m not going to die in an explosion because he’s too stubborn to take the help he obviously needs!” Hugo huffed and turned his head away.

“If they are such a hindrance, why not just take both the totems and complete the trials by yourself?” Cyrus points out. As much as he was loving this, they did have a schedule to keep, and the sooner they were done, the sooner they could both go home. He’d get to see Mona in person again, instead of the picture tucked safely against his heart and her daily letters.

Hugo shifted from foot to look, hugging his arms close. “They might not be completely useless in trials,” Hugo grumbled. Then jumped up. “Not that I don’t do most of the work! like 95 percent really, they couldn't do it without me at all.” He ran his fingers through his hair and refused to meet Cyrus’s eyes.

Oh no. Cyrus knew that look. That’s the ‘I screwed up look.’ But surely it couldn’t be too bad, the trial was complete after all.

“But they might have helped a bit at the end there, especially with the final test,” Hugo finished. “I didn’t see through the enchantment like at all, but Goggles,” Hugo sighed. “He pushed it off like it was nothing and dragged me and Firecracker out all by himself.”

Oh. That wasn’t so bad. Why had he been so upset about that? Donella had told him to infiltrate for a reason. His mind flashed back to the first mission he’d ever had with the kid.

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

“What did you do?” Hugo screamed in his face, half soaked and feral as a wild cat.

“My job,” Cyrus replied as he pushed the body out of his way in the rain soaked street.

“You ruined the job!” Hugo threw a hand down towards the body between them. “It took me months to get him to trust me!”

Cyrus crossed his arms. “He was about to kill you.” Kill didn’t quite cut it. Rip in half was more fitting, and much as Cyrus disliked the kid, the scene of the twig-like body struggling against an iron grip as the man’s expression twisted into one of sadistic delight...

“I had it handled!” Hugo snarled. “I could have stopped him in a hundred different ways!”  He shoved a finger in Cyrus’s chest. “Now we’ll never know where the supply was coming from, and it's all because of you!”

Cyrus slowly reached out and pushed the fingers down. Hugo’s expression tightened for a second under his grip. “My orders were to ensure that man was not a threat. He was a threat. Therefore, I did my job.” He let go and Hugo instantly jumped back, clutching his hand close to his heart and eyeing Cyrus with fury in his eyes.

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

“Hmmm,” Cyrus mused. Out of the corner of his eye, Hugo flinched at the sound. “Did you say thank you?” Cyrus asked.

Hugo’s head snapped up. “What?”

“When someone saves you, normally you’re supposed to say thank you,” Cyrus shrugged. “It’s polite.”

Hugo stared at him, mouth hanging open. “I-I totally forgot about that.”

“Might want to give it a shot,” Cyrus pushed off his own tree and started walking away. “See you next week!”

Behind him Hugo let out a very frustrated groan.

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

“And then he goes to the boss, whining about how trigger happy I am. Me!” Cyrus took a sharp swig from his drink, feeling the alcohol burn its way down. “After I saved his life!” He smashed the cup down on the table.

“Hey man, I get it,” Lester gives him a hearty slap on the back. “I served my time with the crazy lady and the brat.”

“He’s something else alright,” Cyrus scowled into his drink. “Like some kind of heartless machine.” He turned to look Lester in his slightly blurry face. “You know his eyes were completely blank when that guy was trying to kill him, it's like he wasn’t even there. Freaky.”

“Maybe the crazy lady made him in the back lab,” Lester jokes. “Explains why he never leaves.”

“Makes sense,” Cyrus’s grip tightened on the handle of his mug. “Robot designed to make thugs miserable.”

“Hey man.” Lester shoved him lightly with his shoulder. “You can always quit like I did.”

“Yeah,” Cyrus took another swig and sighed. “But winter is coming, and Mona and I can’t really afford me outta work right now.”

“That sucks man,” Lester took a sip of his own drink. “Hey!” he slammed the mug down so quickly Cyrus nearly fell out of his seat. “I think I know a guy who can help you!”

Cyrus shook his head as he righted himself on his stool. “You do? What’s his name?”

Lester went cross eyed as he tried to think. “No idea,” he said, and grinned. “But when I do I’ll let you know!”

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

Hugo’s team had barely crossed the border to the next kingdom by the time it came for Hugo’s next report, a fact that Cyrus hoped would mean it was mercifully short. He was wrong.

Hugo seemed in a better mood as he approached, arms loose and swinging. “I’ve got some good news for the report,” he said with a two fingered salute.

Cyrus grunted, and Hugo took that as an opportunity to launch into an elaborate story about him and Firecracker. Apparently Hairstripe, who Cyrus assumed was Goggles and not the donkey, had suggested Hugo and Firecracker go on an errand for “team bonding.” Hugo had added air quotes around the last two words, and heavens was that going to become a thing?

According to Hugo, the whole trip had been an absolute bore, in some nowhere town where the only building of consequence seemed to be the jailhouse, (A jailhouse Cyrus did not remember being there when he’d passed through) which had quickly turned into an unmitigated disaster when some noisy shopper had tried to steal their ingredient from Hugo’s hands.

“Well I wasn’t going to stand for that,” Hugo rolled his eyes. “But the shopkeeper was inhuman, I’m telling you. I couldn’t schmooze anything more than a promise not to sell it until sunset, and then only to the party with the most money by the end of the day.”

“How unfeeling,” Cyrus states dryly.

“I know right?” Hugo huffed as he placed a hand on his chest. “No one can resist my schmoozing!” Where was I? Oh yes. Then Firecracker insisted we work for the extra money.” He spat the word work like it was an insult. “Instead of just scamming some quick cash. I pointed out we couldn��t exactly get a job, and he said we could just sell firecrackers.”

Oh that’s going to make this story confusing Cyrus thought. Firecracker selling Firecrackers, it sounds like a kids rhyme Mona would read to the kids next door.

“Meanwhile our dear commentators were doing absolutely nothing with their time, even as we started getting quite a few customers. So naturally I schmoozed up to them to figure out what was going on,” Hugo flipped his hair dramatically.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. Some confidence after it failed you so miserably earlier in the day, he didn’t say.

“But the blind fools were completely unimpressed,” Hugo pouted. “And then they tried to frame me for thievery. Me!”

The sheer look of outrage on Hugo’s face made the corner of Cyrus’s mouth twitch up. So much for schmoozing.

“I escaped, naturally.” Hugo waved his hand in the air. “But Firecracker got caught when they accused him of stealing their fireworks.”

At which point Hugo derailed the story to rant about how he didn’t really want to save the kid, really! But there was no way Hairstripe would let him stay if he didn’t bring him back, so he really didn’t have a choice, blah, blah, blah.

Honestly it sounded more like Hugo was trying to justify it to himself after the first thirty minutes, but who was Cyrus to judge?

“The point is,” Hugo said as he finally stopped ranting, “I went to the jail as the sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, certain we were going to lose. Only to see the jailhouse before me explode into a gazillion pieces as Firecracker came running out the side.”

That explains why I didn’t see the jail house, Cyrus thought, and why there was a burning pile of rubble while I was walking through.

“Firecracker was pretty happy to see me,” Hugo smirked. “Apparently he didn’t think I would actually come back for him. I asked how he managed to blow up the building when the police had taken all his supplies. Turns out exploding moss grows on old brick. Who knew right?”

“Who indeed,” Cyrus said.

“And this,” Hugo raised a single finger. “Is where I succeeded in forwarding my infiltration goal. You see, I proposed a fiendishly clever plan to get revenge on those who robbed us, and get the prize, and you know what? Yong actually listened to me! He totally backed me up when I told them the exploding moss was a rare alchemic ingredient, and didn’t even lose his cool when one of them held a knife to his neck and demanded we tell them how to use it!”

Hugo threw back his head and laughed at the memory. “The look on his face when it exploded in his hands is one I will treasure for years,” he gasped as he wiped away a tear.

“And exploding a rival helps with your infiltration how?” Cyrus crossed his arms.

“I’m building trust,” Hugo waved the question away.

“Blowing people up doesn’t seem like the most trustworthy habit,” Cyrus pointed out. Especially for someone who is trying not to get himself caught by unstable alchemists willing to destroy whole buildings.

“Oh please, the kid blows up everything in his path if he can help it. I’m just speaking his language. Besides,” Hugo’s shoulders straightened. “I can’t keep up the goody-two shoes act twenty-four seven. I’d go mad. But this way, I’m causing problems for them. So they’ll see me as an asset they can exploit and keep me around.”

Assets for exploitation weren’t typically sent on feel-good-get-along missions with teammates, Cyrus didn’t say. No one cares enough to try to make their work life pleasant. He should know. He had worked for Donella for six years. This Hairstripe, or Goggles, or whatever his real name was, seemed to genuinely want Hugo to feel at home, despite his less than stellar introduction.

But there was no sense pointing that out to Hugo, he thought as he watched the boy preen under the weight of his own cleverness. Not when they had a mission to complete. The less Hugo noticed, the less it would hurt when he inevitably had to leave.

#varian and the seven kingdoms #varian and the 7 kingdoms #seven kingdoms au #varian #hugo the human #yong #cyrus

[grotesquegabby]

Slasher Disco

@clownsgobeepbeep huehue

something for Basil and Alex uwu

Alex was visiting all the kiddos he knew. Granted they were all adults with busy lives now. But he always found time to visit every single one of them.

Including their little kiddos. Gods know there were plenty to visit. It gave Alex something nice to do besides party. He’d grown close with many. Right now he was visiting a tiny clown. “Yo! Ula, howzit hangin’?” He pulled her into a gentle squeeze. “Alex! It’s good to see you again. What brings you?” She asked with a smile. Alex laughed, “Well I don’t need a reason to visit, just wanted to stop by. But since I’m here I do have a question~”

“And what might that be?” she inquired. “I’ve opened a new club, Horror...slasher themed. I want a group of people I know to try it out before I open it~. I know how much you and some of the others like this kind of stuff. Amaranthus is going but I was wondering if you and the little slasher clown would like too”

Ula glared teasingly, but grinned, “I’d love too. And I know Basil would love too as well.” “Awesome, here in case you want to know how to get through the maze.” Alex grinned handing over a little envelope. “It’s a maze?” Ula questioned while taking it. “Yeah that’s the start of it. P;us there’s actors in it too dressed as spooks and killers. If the maze is too easy I might add puzzles.” he pondered. “But if you guys don’t want to go through the whole maze or end up outside, just follow the map. But you can go through as many times as you wish.” Alex smiled, “Speaking of slashers~ where is the little guy heheheh”

Ula smiled, “oh well here he comes now. Basil, look who’s here” Basil turned and it was easy enough to see a bit of excitement in his eyes though his face remained unchanged. “Hey little slasher dude~, I just invited you and your mom to my new club. I think you’ll like it.” Basil raised a brow in question. “It’s horror themed~“

At that his eyebrows both raised and it was clear he was eager to see it. “It’s tomorrow night. I even put in a few recognizable faces into the maze which I’m sure everyone will get a kick out of. “ laughed Alex, “Well I’ll see you two tomorrow~” And suddenly Alex was gone.

~~~~Le next day~~~~~~~~~~

Ula pulled up to the address, it looked almost abandoned. Or it would have if it wasn’t for the other person standing in the doorway. “Ama!” She called. Amaranthus turned around and smiled, “Ula! You came, and Basil too~. This is so exciting I can’t wait to go in but....there doesn’t seem to be anyone here yet.” Ula looked the place up and down, “yeah...seems so.” Basil however was glancing over at what appeared to be a ticket booth. He walked over and suddenly a man popped up, “Hello there! How are you all doing today? Come to test out the maze~” He said with a chuckle. Basil glared at him a bit. Amaranthus and Ula walked over upon hearing him. “Oh yes, we got the invites form Alex.” “perfect perfect, the boss has assured me that everything is in order and that you won’t need to sign a waiver.” The man smiled. Ula raised a brow, “Waiver?” “Just a precaution well it will be for...normal customers.” THe mans smile never left. “Whats that supposed to mean...” questioned Ula. “It means for humans ma’am” The man nodded, “I apologize if I came off rather rudely there. You see it is the BOSS’s club after all. He uses them to feed so waivers for humans and all that.” “They don’t know what they are really getting into though.” replied Ama. The man just smiled and shrugged, “That’s not really my business. But I do have to put in extra care if its someone he knows. If you lovely ladies don’t want to go in....I can always tell Alex.” Basil slammed his hand down on the counter as best he could, it caught the attention of everyone. His face was now angry, he wanted to go in. Ula chuckled, “No, we’re going in.” Basil nodded and walked over to the door. The man smiled and tipped his hat, “Alrighty, hope you got your maps set, it’s quite a maze in there~” he chuckled and leaned on his palm. The doors opened with a loud creak. Basil hurried into the building. Ula and Amaranthus trailing behind him while looking around the place in amazement.

The halls they walked through creaked and moaned under their footsteps. Basil stayed ahead of them by a few feet. It was clear he was the most excited of the group. Another set of footsteps joined in with theirs. “You hear that?” asked Ula as she looked behind them. Amaranthus nodded, “Yeah, I don’t see anyone though.” She pursed her lips in confusion. “Pretty cool trick.” Basil stopped and stepped closer to his mom so he could keep her safe....just in case. Though he was sure no one would dare harm her in here. Suddenly the footsteps picked up and a large painting on the wall swung open. A character brought down a knife in Amranthus’s direction and she moved out of the way just in time. “Woah!” The white masked persons knife ended up getting stuck in the wall. “Eeee it’s GhostFace!! ” squealed Ama excitedly. Ula squealed right along with her, “They look amazing!” Basils eyes were wide clearly as happy to see the slasher as his mom and aunt. GhostFace kind of paused for a sec, it was hard to tell if they were confused or whatever else.

Ama pulled out her phone, “Can I take a picture with you?” she asked. “um......sure?” They clearly weren’t expecting this. Amaranthus held back a squee as she hurried over to the guy. She leaned over with him and took a selfie. “Ula you want in?” Ula smiled thinking about it, “Well as long as he’s alright with it.” Ula hurried over and Basil did the same to join his them. A few pics were taken, GhostFace got into it and did a peace sign. “Thank you so much.” And the gang hurried off down the hall.

“no...problem?” He went back to the task at hand trying to get his knife out of the wall.

It had been an hour, they didn’t want to follow the map. Which made sense the maze was huge and it was more fun to explore. They ran into a few zombies at some point and had to run to get away from them. At another part of the maze they had ended up in a laboratory where a crazy doctor was working on an experiment of sorts. At once point it seemed they ended up in the kitchen of the club but quickly they realized it was not so. “I wonder when we’ll find the door to the club” asked Ula. Ama shrugged, “I don’t know Alex just laughed when I asked how would we know it’s the end. He said a Big surprise would be near it.” “A big surprise?” questioned Ula. “Yeah...and he really emphasized the big part.” she explained. Basil was walking ahead of them and suddenly he came to a stop. Ula watched him and asked, “Basil is something wrong.” Soon she came to a halt. Amaranthus did the same and bit her lip, “oh....I see. That’s the BIG...surprise.” A rather large Man stood at the end of the hallway a large knife in hand, and a very familiar mask on. Suddenly Basil was gone and reappeared quickly in front of Micheal. Clearly the most excited since being in the haunted maze. He was bouncing in place. Micheal was looking down at him head tilted. Basil pointed at Micheal and looked back at his mom as if to say.

‘It’s him! It’s really him!’

Amaranthus could see Ula was trying to keep her own excitement at a normal level and she smirked, “you wanna take a picture with him~”

Ula stared at her blankly, “....yes”

~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile Alex was waiting outside the door chuckling to himself, he knew what he did when putting a Micheal Myers into the maze. The guy in the maze was a natural. And He knew Basil would adore him. He clearly was a favorite for the little slasher~.

The door opened and the group of three came in laughing having enjoyed the experience clearly. Micheal behind them still silent as ever just watching. Alex made a motion and the door closed. “So welcome to the club part of the haunted maze. How did you like that by the way?”

“It was awesome~” “I loved the slashers you put in”

He looked at Basil who gave him a very approving nod. ANd he nodded back, “Glad I could provide but if you have anything you think people would like to see or anything you’d like to add let me know after you enjoy yourselves. Feel free to order anything you like, it’s on the house~”

#Alexander Calamity #Basil the slasher clown #Alex ends up opening another club later in his years #A Slasher themed one~ #Definitely putting a ghostface and micheal myers in this x3 #Ula the tiny clown #Amaranthus #I will try to write in scares but x3 these guys are deadlights I just cant wait to put in some of the slashers huehue

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 170 Rundown

Inuyasha The Final Act: We get another one of those episodes where several plots that clearly happened in different orders are kinda happening all at once, so I’ll tackle them in the order they’re resolved rather than the order they show up in. Sesshomaru is still dicking around in the background trying to master the Meido Zangetsuha because it can already kill everything in one hit but really mastering it means a slightly bigger AOE of killing everything in one hit. Meanwhile Inuyasha’s actually kind of proactive in searching out his next upgrade like ‘you know I’m just gonna steal the arc villain’s powers anyway so might as well just hunt him down’ and luckily they find Dakki just as it’s being perfected, like minutes after, it’s crazy. Inuyasha kills the dragon demon that gave the scales for it with a classic game of demonic energy tennis and then the human that forged it pulls a Kaijinbo and decides to start wielding Dakki anyway despite the corrupting influence it has on his body. Another game of demonic energy tennis ensues and Tessaiga loses all its power but manages to crack Dakki and get it scared enough that it just starts pumping energy into its human wielder who just fucking explodes from it, so yeah Tessaiga has its second most useless upgrade now. Like I feel like since it gets Meidou Zangetsuha right after this and it’s very situational and hurts the user at first, Dragon Scale Tessaiga never really gets the chance to shine. Like it ‘absorbs demonic energy’ but that doesn’t really amount to much given Inuyasha doesn’t do anything with that energy, it’s basically a switch that turns off Naraku’s auto-healing. Energy absorption is really weird for a heroic power and Yashahime did a lot of weird shit with Towa using it too but at least with her it made her attacks stronger. Meanwhile Koga gets set up to be attacked by a baby wolf demon kid whose brother is being held ransom by Naraku’s newest incarnation once he realized ‘oh shit Kagura did all my grunt work what do I do now’, Byakuya. I don’t really get what the plan was, like this kid was never going to kill Koga and leading him back to them was kind of a whim that basically amounted to Byakuya getting to see the Goraishi in action. But Moryomaru does come around and Inuyasha gets to save Koga from having his shards taken for like the tenth time (though this time it’s because of bs conveinient Midoriko shenanigans so I guess the good luck cancels out the bad) and they do get to do a cool team attack now that Koga has an energy blast like the rest of the big boys. Also like, they gave the wolf demon kid a jewel shard? Naraku has almost the whole jewel completed at this point, we’ve seen it, so is he like… breaking off new shards? That seems like a bad idea given the only shards besides Koga’s and Moryomaru’s is the one you gave to a random kid to fuck with Sango and it’s currently Naraku’s biggest obstacle, like you’d think he’d stop giving out jewel shards and risking losing them. But yeah, turns out Dragon Scale Tessaiga is too much for Inuyasha to handle rn so he has an upgrade but he really doesn’t so now it’s time for second upgrade.  

Castlevania: So yeah we get the fabulous scene of the demons murdering Frollo which I think is the most popular scene in the series with good reason. Meanwhile Trevo gets help from Sypha doing crowd control and it’s really funny how he’s like ‘damn priest you almost made murderers out of these people’ only for the people to fucking murder the priest, like they switched fucking fast, guess a little ‘ ‘ey isn’t this guy an asshole?’ is all it takes to overcome years of Catholic guilt because all Trevor really does is say ‘they’re lying’, offer no evidence and everyone’s willing to just jump the priest over it, like he’s telling the truth but I feel like the villagers are just a bit too ready to believe him right away. The two of them manage to Seven Samurai their way into teaching the people how to fight demons just in time to have a really long scene of falling into Alucard’s daddy booboo room. Alucard and Trevor have a really cool fight because it’s like Sonic Adventure 2 you’re more likely to believe there’s one supernatural vampire/hedgehog that looks slightly different than you expected than the more unbelievable option that there’s actually two supernatural vampires/hedgehogs. But yeah they get all their flamboyant male showboating out of the way and agree to go kill Dracula because they’re all getting kinda sick of this whole demon horde genocide thing.

Jujutsu Kaisen: I don’t know who’s in charge of directing Meimei’s scenes but they always do it like it’s some kind of survival horror and it’s a special treat. Meimei defeats smallbox with the powers of birds and death which is definitely a sentence I never thought I’d say. Meanwhile Maki, Nanami, and Papa Zenin encounter that lil baby Cthulu thing who’s just digivolved into Perfect Cell Cthulu thing and he and Papa Zenin have a weird meta discussion about animation and HD while Cthulu’s just like ‘my friends are dead and I’m mad’ like I legit thought with how hyped up this tentacle guy was in the first OP and just kinda hanging around in the background of Kujaku’s hiding place he’d be some key figure but apparently he’s just some guy they pal around with, it’s like that bit in the Simpsons where the small yakuza guy does nothing and you’re waiting for him to do something cool and this is cool but it’s not exactly what I was expecting. Papa Zenin’s technique is pretty cool too like a weaponized form of windows movie maker and if you don’t make a full AMV in half a second you get stunlocked but of course since he uses his fists and not like a sword or something he doesn’t have a really good finishing blow so it takes a while to beat the shit out of someone, like that that point learn how to use a sword so you can cut someone’s head off while they’re stunlocked instead of beating them around for ten minutes. Anyway Cthulu Expansions his Domain which is just Super Mario Sunshine with angry murder fish and Papa Zenin does the move which is different from the other move that cancels domain shit and it’s really poorly explained it’s basically just ‘nuh-uh’ to the Domain shit by doing a frame perfect input cancel. And like they always seem to get the guys that don’t have Domains to fight the villains that do because I’m guessing if Papa Zenin could do Doamin stuff he’d have done it by now. Still, the guys hold up as long as they can against fish that can literally just teleport into already biting a chunk out of them and Megumi comes out of nowhere to give Maki her nunchaku back and use his Domain he learned like a couple weeks ago to at least de-power Cthulu’s domain from an insta-kill to like an 80% kill which is enough to actually fight at least but Megumi’s not doing so hot trying to drag Super Mario Sunshine into his Shikamaru Shadow World so he just plans to rip a hole in the edge of the domain for everyone to get out of because it’s one of those once a day things so if you just like move out of the way they can’t spam it. Papa Zenin’s missing an arm and Nanami’s missing an eye so yeah they’re ready to get the fuck out of dodge but Dadgumi pops out of the hole of all people, like father like son I guess just popping in to Super Mario Sunshine to fuck shit up.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: I really like how despite the episodes being two separate vignettes likely derived from manga chapters being shorter than anime episodes, the two halves usually lead into each other in some way and carry a certain theme, it’s a good touch I didn’t see in something like Spy X Family that tends to go for mostly unconnected stories or full story arcs. Frieren and Fern are cleaning up a beach in exchange for a counterfeit book supposedly written by Flamme, who we find out in the second half is Frieren’s Master from a thousand years ago and famously didn’t write shit down so a bunch of people wrote shit down to say it was her. The running gag for this half is Frieren sleeps like a college student, up all night reading and then sleeping till noon, which means she won’t be able to see the sun rise on the festival when the beach is finally clean, but Fern Mama Bear’s up and knows it’s important to Frieren to see it and gets them out the door to watch it. Frieren contemplates why Himmel was so insistent on her seeing it back when they were in town and sees it as nothing special until she sees Fern smiling at it and realizes the real sunset was the friends she made along the way. The second half is the group visiting Eisen as the last other surviving member of the Himmel Troupe and Frieren’s like ‘bro I don’t wanna feel bad when you die too so lemme know any unfinished business shit you gotta deal with’ and sweetly enough, Eisen’s unfinished business is having Frieren deal with her unfinished business and getting her to voice her regrets to Himmel’s spirit in the afterlife. This is really kind of a setup for another ‘the way to solve your own problems is to help someone else’ kind of deal but I feel like this series has earned that kind of trite thing at this point and I’d honestly kinda prefer that to a magical ‘oh, heaven’s real and death has fewer consequences because of it’ twist. But yeah, they do find Flamme claims to have talked to the dead in the spot where the Demon King’s Castle was but she also was a notorious troll and may just be fucking with Frieren to get her to work her own shit out but either way Frieren was looking for a sidequest anyway so they might as well go on a NG+ adventure to the Demon King’s Castle to go talk to ghosts or whatever.

Vinland Saga: So yeah Gardar’s here to take Arnheid and their definitely alive and with her son but Wolf ain’t having that and Einar’s kinda slowly coming to the realization that just because they’re good to them doesn’t mean the guys that literally enslave people are the good guys. Thorfinn manages to talk him down and Wolf beats the shit out of Gardar so they can drag him off for questioning. The rest of the episode is kind of an awkward ‘what now?’ conversation between a couple of parties. Arnheid tells Einar about how Gardar left for war based of an unnecessary and vague idea of keeping his family safe and protecting them and ironically all the men running off to war for what amounts to the viking equivalent of fighting for oil is what opened up her village to being ransacked and her son dying (they don’t show them murdering a one year old obviously but I checked the wiki and apparently he was killed because you get more for female slaves that don’t have kids) and her getting sold as a slave. And now worst of all she sees the kind of monstrous murderer Gardar has become and is afraid of him so she’s ready to leave him to his fate and protect her own now that, get this, she’s fucking pregnant with Ketil’s kid (I’d fucking laugh if this story were different and she carried to term and the Ketil welcomes the kid and it comes out with Einar’s bright red hair that’d be fucking hilarious). But yeah, except all of that or at least part of it was a fucking lie because after everyone goes to bed Arnheid’s gonna sneak out and see him anyway. Sverkel tells her a contrasting story about how not going to war caused him and Ketil to lose everything they were avoiding fighting for in the first place, so moral of the story is fight or don’t, world’s fucked up and everyone ends up broken in the end so you gotta pick the kind of brokenness you can live with. And that seems to finalize Arnheid’s decision as she walks into the night in a way dramatic enough to ensure me she is definitely not coming back.

#ooc #Toonami #Custom Toonami Block #Inuyasha #Castlevania #Jujutsu Kaisen #Frieren #Souso No Frieren #Vinland Saga

[porscheczar110]

Best Friends Chapter 10

Title: Challenges

Summary: Rayla and Callum are nearing the end of their journey. With their new found love for one another, they tackle some questions that will follow them wherever they go.

Read on Ao3 here.

---

When Callum woke the next morning, he almost thought the day before had been but a pleasant dream. There was no way that Rayla could love him. Actually love him in the way that he loved her. But when he looked down to find her snuggled against him, hand on his chest and softly snoring, he knew it was true. This girl, this elf, had sacrificed everything to keep him safe and fight for a chance of peace. But she still fell for him, and him for her.

It was a star-crossed match, he knew. Every playwright and romance author would say what they had was destined to fail tragically. But, the words of his father lived on, “your destiny is not yet written, Callum, you alone can choose”. And Callum knew. He knew that he would choose Rayla. Every. Single. Time.

He began pulling his fingers through her silvery white hair, entranced by its softness. With each stroke, he moved closer to the base of her horns until he was gently rubbing them. They were just as he remembered them, impossibly smooth to the touch with intricate patterns that he could make out with his thumb. Before meeting Rayla, Callum had thought horns were strange. Of course, he’d never even seen an elf before her, but his human history teachers had always said that horns were a demonizing feature that made elves the bloodthirsty monsters that they were.

Callum knew this was wrong now. Rayla’s horns were one of the things he found most attractive about her. It was something about how they were so separate, yet so part of her all at the same time.

He brought his free hand from her waist up to the base of her other horn and began rubbing there as well. A soft sigh escaped Rayla’s lips as she nuzzled closer into his chest. Finally, one of her eyes slowly cracked open, revealing the brilliant violet underneath.

“What’cha doin’ dummy?” Rayla’s accent was particularly thick in the mornings. Callum discovered long ago that, while she usually woke up before him, she was decidedly NOT a morning person.

“Oh, I’m just rubbing your horns…I hope that’s…ok?” Callum was a little nervous. They still had not discussed elven dating customs, so he could have been breaking a million rules in this moment.

“Mmmmm, its mor’ than ok. You jus’ keep doin’ that.” She pushed her head a little more deeply into his rubbing. It was obvious that she was enjoying this.

“So this feels good for you, then?” Callum smiled playfully. He was happy that he could make her feel good. Rayla wasn’t the most communicative person when it came to how she felt.

“Aye. It does. It’s something that elven mates do for each other. It’s an extremely intimate gesture. The only people that ever touch an elf's horn is yourself, your parents, and your mate. It’s seen as extremely rude to touch another’s horns, otherwise.” Rayla was more awake now. She was ready to share her culture and worries with Callum.

Callum’s face turned a bright pink as he stopped rubbing her horns.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry. I rubbed and kissed your horns before we had the conversation from last night, didn’t I? I hope I didn’t offend you.”

Rayla closed her eyes and let out a little laugh. She took one of her hands from her lap and reached to her horns. She grabbed Callum’s hand and urged him to start rubbing again. Tentatively, he did.

“It’s not like you knew, Callum. I haven’t been particularly good about telling you how this all works for us. Plus, I’ve loved you for awhile. I just didn’t realize it until yesterday. I’m really sorry about that, by the way, you seem like you’ve been sure for awhile now?”

Callum had resumed the rubbing motion on the base of Rayla’s horns while he pondered the question. Meanwhile, Rayla’s eyes had shut again as she began to hum softly. She could have stayed like this the whole day if they didn’t have a mission they needed to finish.

“I am not sure I consciously realized it until after the village. But, yeah, looking back, it has probably been since the incident with the Dragon. I was so worried you wouldn’t come back that I went after you, against my better judgement. I had never done that for anyone but Ez before.”

Rayla smiled, opening her eyes again. It was a complicated memory, for sure. She still wasn’t pleased that he had used dark magic. But at the same time, she knew she would not have done any better in the same circumstances. She would have done anything to save him.

Rayla sat up and stretched her arms. Then, she took Callum’s hands in hers, “I think we fell for each other at the exact same time. After you wouldn’t wake up from your illness, I thought that I had lost you. I couldn’t stand to think of a world without you.”

“I love you Rayla.” Callum spoke softly.

Rayla’s insides felt like they were melting from the warmth that was building in the pit of her stomach. She hoped the feeling would never go away.

“I love you too, Callum.” She paused a little before continuing, “now, we should probably get going, we still have to return Zym, after all!”

——

They walked that afternoon in mostly silence. Both trying to determine how to bring up the more delicate topics that they wanted to discuss.

It was Rayla who finally broke the silence.

“Callum, how do you think humans and elves will…react to us? I can’t imagine that it will be positive…”

“Probably not. Humans are still bitter, a thousand years later about being kicked out of Xadia. They especially won’t like the thought of one of their princes being with a Moonshadow elf.” It came out a little more matter-of-fact than Callum had intended. But he had determined as soon as he professed his love that he wouldn’t sugar coat the struggles their relationship would endure.

Rayla’s face sagged a little as she replied, “I suppose that makes sense. It won’t be much better on the Xadian side, either. Elves have rather low opinions on the human race in general. You probably noticed that even Lujanne didn’t think that it was possible for you to be anything more than ‘just a human’.” Rayla was a little angry now and her ears were starting to flush.

“It’s so dumb! Of course our people hate each other. The only interaction any of them have ever had with the other has been in the context of war. Look at us, we fell in love in TWO months. Which is crazy considering I was on my way to murder your family in cold blood. UGH, everything we have been taught about each other is just so wrong.”

Callum could tell she was getting worked up now. It didn’t happen often, but angry Rayla was definitely not someone to be trifled with. He reached out and lightly grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him. She tensed at the contact at first, but immediately relaxed into his touch. Rather than just staring at him, she drew him into a hug.

“I’m sorry Callum, it’s just a lot. I’m just...afraid that people will try and drive us apart any chance that they get,” she whimpered out.

“They will, Rayla. At every chance they get. But listen to me, we will be stronger than them, ok? When they come at us with hate, we will come at them ten times stronger with love. That’s the only way we can change the world, right? With love.”

Callum felt a slight jab in his right side and then a voice in his ear. “Callum, you are such a sappy prince.”

“But I’m your sappy prince.” Callum smiled as Rayla released him.

“That you are, dummy.” She grabbed his hand so they could continue walking. “So, we will fight for each other, no matter what?”

“Yes, no matter what. Just like we’ve done from the very beginning.” It was Callum’s turn to be brave. He gently pulled Rayla in for a drawn out kiss. She always tasted of moon berries.

—-

The rest of the day was filled with talk about potential futures and discussions centered around their families and dating customs.

Callum learned that moon shadow elves were a lot more conservative when it came to dating than humans were. Apparently, once a moon elf fell in love, it was almost impossible for them to stop loving that individual, even in the rare case of a divorce. It made sense then, why Rayla was so cautious about being in love. She would never be able to stop. That warmed Callum’s heart almost to the point of tears. He promised himself that he too, would never stop loving her.

Then, Rayla had discussed all the rituals and customs that elves went through to become “united”. She assured Callum that none of them mattered because he was a human. But he had protested, saying that he would go through each and every one of them. That warmed Rayla’s heart because he cared so much about respecting her culture.

It was Rayla’s turn to learn next. Callum told her about “normal” human customs and “royal” customs in regards to dating. When he told her about how humans arranged marriages to consolidate power, she almost lost it. How could they believe that would ever lead to happiness?! Before she could, Callum had rested his hand on her cheek and told her she didn’t have to worry. He would always be hers and hers alone.

By nightfall, both of their worries had melted off them as if they had never existed in the first place. They were laughing and giggling in each other’s arms and oh so in love. So, it made sense that they didn’t notice that they were no longer alone until Zym squawked in alarm. Callum felt a small prick in his side. When he looked down, there was a small glowing bug flying away into the night sky. Moments later, the world went dark.

Rayla, on the other hand, managed to dodge whatever creature that had knocked Callum out. She glanced at her human, lying limp on the ground before her. The warmth in her heart was instantly placed by a red-hot anger. Whoever had done this would pay.

“Show yourself!” Rayla shouted, her eyes stinging with rage.

A sky wing elf flew down and began to speak, “Rayla of the moon shadow, I am….”. Rayla didn’t let him finish. Just as soon as his feet had hit the ground, Rayla had drawn her swords, sprinted over to his landing position, and placed the swords to his neck. The sky elf shuddered.

“What did you do to my Callum? Is he dead? He better not be dead…” Her voice was seething with rage. She had just found Callum. She had just found the person that she wanted to love for the rest of her days. And now, now he could be dead.

“Oh, no no no. He’s not dead. We are not killers like you lot. He is simply asleep, just like you will be in a few moments.” The sky elf was obviously uncomfortable with the swords pressed against his throat. But, Rayla had not noticed the magical bug come back and land on her neck before it was too late. She felt a soft pinch, and before she knew it, the world went black.

#rayllum #callum x rayla #tdp #tdp rayla #rayla #tdp callum #the dragon prince #callum #rayla x callum

[spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia]

Amphibia Christmas Gift

@kaminos-hangout-corner

Snow.

 It had been 1 whole year (sort of, she was still trying to understand just how much time had passed) since she had gone to Amphibia .

 Since she had made her first real friend.

 Since she found a family.

 And…

 Anne Boonchuy, decked out in a frog themed Christmas sweater, tapping her foot nervously, was unsure if the first person she should come out to was her beloved and endearingly over protective Hop Poppy.

 But considering her… Let’s say it nicely, shit parents, it seemed like he was really the only choice.

 Sighing, she glanced out the window again.

 Snow had once been a danger, due to its once a year appearance in Amphibia. Snow forced the frogs into hibernation and near death (thank GOODNESS for interior heating!).

 Anne had protected them from it once. And while it was touch and go (the small business of Polly nearly dying), she had succeeded!

 In fact, Anne Boonchuy was very different from the girl she was when she first stumbled onto the magical other dimension.

 What once was selfish was now thoughtful.

 What once was subservient was now independent.

 What once was impulsive was… Well, actually, that sort of stayed.

 And what was once straight as a rail in her mind was so gay it made Elsa look straight!

 So why was it so hard to tell him about this?

 “…Anne, you’ve been sitting there for about 5 minutes narrating. Just tell me the problem so I can return to making angsty AMV’s of “Suspicion Island”!”

 Anne couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement, and at the frog who sat before her.

 His thin grey tufts of hair were now covered with a Santa hat (whom he was still wary of. “Breaking and entering is nothing to be proud of, unless of course you’re doing it to Monroe”), his cane was colored like a candy cane (Anne could have sworn she heard a drum snare from Marcy’s room) and his sweater was appropriately ugly, asking people to “honk if you’ve adopted a bby recently”.

 For a once so rigid and traditional frog, Hop Pop Plantar had truly given his best efforts to the transition to the human world.

 In fact, as Anne shuffled her feet and sighed, he had done more than anyone would have expected.

 After a disastrous dinner revealed that Anne’s parents were… Shit, Hop Pop had gone on a 8 hour long rant, dissing them so inappropriately that Polly hadn’t needed Anne to learn all the swear words in existence.

 If it wasn’t for Sprig ripping the chained pen off because it looked “Yummy”, Anne would have been adopted way faster.

 It was flashbacks like these that made Anne wonder how could she possibly think he wouldn’t accept her.

 After all they’ve been through, Hop Pop truly loved her.

 Which meant…

 Anne took a deep breath and stood up, deciding to face it head on.

 “I’ve got a bit of a… Hard confession to make.”

 Anne then smiled softly as Hop Pop seemed to take on a knowing look.

 “But I know that you’ll accept me for who I am, and I shouldn’t be afraid.”

 “Oh, you should! Grime has been walking around the house decking anyone who plays “Frosty The Snowman”. Says that little bastard “should have melted the moment he knew about thermomaters, even though he really shouldn’t know”.”

 Anne giggled and Hop Pop smiled warmly. “But seriously, Anne… You can tell me anything.”

 Anne beamed at this and Hop Pop remembered why he was still alive as she began to explain.

 “Well… You see, Hop Pop, ol’ buddy ol’ pal… Have you ever felt like you want to kiss someone, but society thinks it’s wrong?”

 “Why, all the time! I keep telling them that Cacti are softer than they seem but no one listens!”, Hop Pop said, removing a cactus and kissing it.

 “Oh wait, never mind. My tongue wants to die now.”

 Anne shook her head, laughing. “No, dummy! I mean… Say there’s 2 someone’s you like…”

 Anne’s mouth suddenly got very dry. She wasn’t sure she could do this.

 Even if Hop Pop was open… Who was to say that Sasha “GOD THAT SCAR MAKES HER HOTTER” Prince and Marcy “HOW CAN SOMEONE SO SARCASTIC BE SO MOE” Drosselmeyer would be interested in something so… Bizarre?

 Anne was starting to panic again. She wasn’t some badass warrior or hilarious kawaii girl (well, she was, but she doesn’t listen to me).

 She was just Anne “I can make  a decent omlette” Boonchouy.

 Sure, she helped destroy an ancient monster and she helped make peace between frogs and toads, but anyone could have done that!

 Why would Sasha and Marcy want… Her?

 Nerves at their limits, Anne decided to go for a distraction.

 “HEY HOP POP!”, she suddenly called out, mad look in her eyes. “WANNA FIND OUT HOW MANY JELLYFISH I CAN JUGGLE?”

 As she began to juggle and yelp from the pain, Hop Pop tried to stop her with logic. “ANNE! Only Polly can do that!”

 Meanwhile…

 “I don’t understand this stupid human holiday! First we watch some ridiculous children’s cartoons, then we take a tree and force it to get dressed, and now you’re telling me that you need to make some sort of “like, earth shattering” confession? I thought this “Christmas” was fun!”

 Formerly Captain now Dad Grime was very confused by the day he had been through. He’d had to endure many odd customs, and outside of drinking dangerous amounts of Egg Nog (what was IN that stuff?!), he had not seen any reason to be jolly or merry.

 Why, he hadn’t had a chance to be senselessly violent in hours!

 And now his beloved daughter Sasha had some sort of confession to make.

 “Great. Now I get to know where all my strawberry lip gloss has been going.”, he grumbled as Sasha stood next to a screen.

 Clearing her throat, the former soldier seemed less confident than usual.

 Giant anime sweat bead, feet shuffling cards, shaking more than the jell-o he DEFINITELY didn’t steal for himself…

 She was hiding something.

 He could feel it.

 That, and she had said “I’ve been hiding something” just 38 seconds ago, so…

 SCORE!

 “Get on with it, Sasha!”, Grime ordered, impatient. “I’ve got other things to do, like go back and complain about having to do all these things!”

 Sasha laughed nervously and picked up a remote. “Well, Grimesy, in order to properly explain my confession, I have arranged a powerpoint presentation…”

 Even on Amphibia, people knew that powerpoint was sad.

 Grime moaned and leaned into his hand, depressed. This was going to be worse than the time he almost died.

 “Just finish with it, before the alcohol receads and I get enough sense to leave the room.”

 Sasha gulped again, very nervous of her frog father’s reaction. While he too adopted her from terrible parents, he was less affectionate, more of a fun dad who took you to bear baiting matches and taught you how to survive torture.

 You know, fun things all children should know!

 The emotional stuff? He was less qualified.

 Why, once she told him she was feeling sad and he said to just beat it senseless until it stopped working.

 And when she had homework she couldn’t figure out, he actually spared with the words.

 And when she was having a period…

 Well, the less said about the “boxing match with god” the better.

 So, this was going to be a piece of fucking cake, right?

 Sasha continued to hyperventilate as Grime read the title, which was accompanied with an audio book version read by Samuel L. Jackson.

 “Shit, I CAN Haz Girlfriends?: The Day I Never Stopped Worrying And Learned That Women Are Hotter Than Men!”

 Sasha face palmed. “I REALLY need to get a better editor.”

 “Come on, Darling! That title is marvelous and so much better than “AAAAAAAAAAAAA HOW DO I EXPLAIN THAT ME AM GAY?!”, Sprig, with spectacles, turned around and commented.

 Meanwhile…

 “So I’m gay for Sasha and Anne and I want to date both of them. Is that weird?”, Marcy asked, while playing a snare drum for Anne’s unintentional candy cane pun.

 “Oh, it’s totally normal! Give them a whirl, girl!”, Valerina said, not phased for a moment.

 “Great! Can we T-Pose now and headbang to “Megalovania”?”, Marcy asked, setting up her boom box.

 “That’s why I adopted you!”

 Marcy and Valerina then started to aggressively T-Pose and headbang.

 “I hope this conversation is easy for Anne and Sasha, who clearly have the hots for me!”, Marcy said as she danced.

    “Anne, I can’t believe that of all things, you were hurt by tripping on a box of wiener dogs!”

 Hop Pop was applying another Hello Kitty band aid as Anne sighed morosely.

 “I’m sorry, Hop Pop! I just… I… I’m very nervous!”

 Hop Pop sighed affectionately and patted his girl’s back. “Anne, my darling… I’d NEVER judge you. And even if I did, I would be in the wrong for that.”

 Hop Pop smiled as he made a promise with his eyes. “Whatever you have to say is who you are. If your friends or your family can’t accept that, then, well, they’re pretty darn lousy at their jobs, I reckon!”

 Anne shed a tear while smiling, her real father as ever making her feel valid. Real.

 Once she was so afraid of expressing her true self.

 Now, she felt like she could sing it out loud.

 Not that she would; Musical theatre was a pale imitation of vaudeville, according to Hop Pop.

 Taking a deep breath, Anne confessed her secret.

 “Hop Pop… I tried to understand this for a while, and for a while I wasn’t sure if it was true, but…”

 “I know that you have the crushy crush on Sasha at least, that’s for sure.”, Hop Pop commented, scratching his chin.

 Anne’s eyes were now very buggy. “HOW IN TARNATION DO YOU KNOW THAT?”

 Hop Pop was too busy thinking something else. “I’ve never said tarnation, where���d you pick that up?”

 “Doesn’t matter! How do you know that I like Sasha?”, Anne asked in disbelief. What had given her away?

 “Anne, you’d need to be blind not to know! Also, you once forced me to marry you and your Sasha cardboard cutout in a lavish ceremony.”

 Anne blushed wildly. “I do crazy things when I drink too much cocoa…”

 Hop Pop chuckled warmly and observed Anne with sparkling eyes. “Well? I assume there’s a part 2…”

 Anne laughed as well and admitted that “Marcy’s pretty fine too!”

 Anne then got shy again. “I know that it’s customary to only like one person, but I really li…Lo…”

 Anne swallowed her spit and resolved herself.

 “I REALLY love both of them.”

 Anne sighed again. “I know it’s weird, but it’s who I am.”

 She looked up, scared again. “Do you… Do you see me any different?”

 There are moments in life where one has to prove to one’s kids just how much he/she loves them.

 In that moment, Hop Pop aced so hard no one would ever get close.

 “Do you know what I see, Anne?”, he asked, and as she shook her head, he sat next to her.

 “What I see is a beautiful, smart, strong, brave, independent young woman with a kind heart and a lovely soul.”

 He continued. “I see an amazing friend and an incredible daughter.”

 He nearly choked up for a moment. “I see someone who has grown so much, but hasn’t lost that innate goodness that was there from day 1.”

 He then embraced her. “You know what I see?”

 He whispered. “I see someone I am PROUD to call my daughter.”

 He retracted from the hug to wipe away her tears. “And if these two girls make you happy, then, well, I see no problem in you getting together with them.”

 Anne, who was feeling all the feels, gripped her Hop Poppy and said “Oh THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

 “Of course, Anne. Of course.”

 Anne hiccupped for a moment and softly smiled. “I… I… Thank you for letting me be me.”

 She kissed his forehead and as she ran off, she called out “Love you, Dad!”

 Hop Pop shook his head softly as she left. “Kids…”

     Meanwhile meanwhile (revenge of the meanwhile)…

 “And that’s is why I want to kiss two girls under the mistletoe today, so you better understand, motherfucker, before I stick my hand up your ass and make it talk like a puppet to give me validity!”

 As the powerpoint finally skidded to a halt, Sasha wished that she could erase all the bar graphs and pie charts on how “lit” lesbian OT3’s were.

 In fact, Sasha had cringed really hard for the entire presentation, and as she finally opened her eyes and laid them on a very quiet Grime, who had uncharacteristically said nothing the entire time.

 Sasha was getting REALLY nervous now. What was going to happen?

 Would Grime get angry? Would he fire her from being his daughter?

 Would…

 Would he hate her?

 Sasha already knew that Grime wasn’t exactly the softest and most understanding person in the world.

 So what would he be like with this?

 Tentatively, her fingers shaking, Sasha asked a cautious question.

 “Well… What do you think, Grimesy?”

 Grime scratched his chin in thought, before turning to Sasha with an odd expression.

 “Let me see if I understand: You love that Anne girl, and that Marcy girl?”

 Sasha nodded, depressed.

 Grime chose his words carefully. “All right… If I may ask…”

 He tilted his head. “Why are you asking me if it’s ok?”

 Sasha blinked, surprised. “I… Uh… Huh?”

 Grime cleared his throat, hoping to make himself clear to Sasha. “I may not understand human customs, but I don’t think that loving someone is wrong, at least, under certain conditions.”

 He attempted a soft smile as he grabbed hold of her hand. “The way I see it, if it’s not illegal, it’s ok. And, well… I may seem like a real grouch, but when it comes to you, all I need is a smile, soldier, and I’m in approval.”

 Sasha never liked showing such strong emotions, least of all next to Grime, but she couldn’t help but squeeze him once he finished.

 “Ok, ok…”, he said, but his enjoyment of the hug was obvious.

 Patting her back, he saluted her. “Report me of your success once the conquest is over!”

 She saluted back, grinning. “Aye-Aye, Dad!”

 None noticed that that was the first time Sasha had called him dad, but Grime would later feel his heart grow 3 sizes once he realized what she had said.

        Later that evening, Anne, Sasha and Marcy found themselves underneath the mistletoe, all a little confused and VERY flustered.

 “So… We all had the same idea and crushes?”, Sasha asked, very embarrassed. Pink was not a color frequently seen on her cheeks, but today it was dominant.

 “I guess so.”, Anne said, feeling very shy. Was all her worrying really for nothing?

 “Cool cool cool cool. When do I get to be gay?”, Marcy asked, wearing a rainbow hoodie over a shirt that said “Go to the YMCA? I AM THE YMCA!” and shoes that played “Girls Like Girls” by Hayley Kiyoko.

 Anne, Sasha and Marcy all looked at each other, and realized that sometimes, all the worrying really IS for nothing.

 Here they all were, very much in love with each other and willing to take the next step.

 So…

 Why not just do it?

 For Anne Boonchuy, Christmas had once been most magical when she opened her presents under the tree.

 But this year, it was when she kissed her two girlfriends at the same time.

     Finishing the story, SpongeGuy looked at his words and hoped they were enough.

 As ever, the lesson he tried to impart had a harder time reaching him.

 The words stood on the screen, daunting.

 Teasing.

 Were they enough for such an angel?

 Were they enough for such a blessing?

 Stepping into the room, SpongeGuy could see his sister/brother/BroSis Kamino sleep peacefully in a bed. An adorable beanie sat on the cute short hair cut and her eyes, despite being closed, sparkled with wonder, that made him want to be so excited.

 Hands shook as he clutched the manuscript and wondered again: Was it good enough?

 She had given him so much in so little time.

 Had he deserved any of it?

 Could he ever justify his existence?

 Floating in from another room was a frequent visitor.

 Cold hands sent a shiver down SpongeGuy’s spine and he didn’t need to turn to know it was the reaper.

 “You seem awfully ready to go. I haven’t sensed such resignation in a while from you.”

 SpongeGuy tried to say something but the words stuck in his throat.

 “…You haven’t even come close to succeeding in your mission. Are you ready to call it quits? It’s not like you ever deserved to succeed.”

 But SpongeGuy shakes his head. “Maybe I don’t deserve it…”

 He put down the manuscript next to Kamino’s head.

 “But they do. Every single one of them needs a hero.”

 SpongeGuy turns defiantly. “If it means fighting for years without a smile, then I will do so.”

 “…What makes you so sure that you’ll ever be happy?”

 SpongeGuy turns and sees a miracle in front of him.

 “…Just a hunch.”

[mojoflower]

Teen Wolf mpreg fic recs (99% Sterek, 1% Steter)

I know that you love me, even when I lose my head by LunaCanisLupus 22 E, 136k, Complete.  “We’re not mates, Cora,” he insists. “I mean look at him-“  //  “Ouch,” the kid says, no longer pushing that shit eating grin.  //  “He’s- he’s,” Derek tries, at a loss of how to explain why this can’t be possible. Why it shouldn’t be possible.  //  Or the one where Derek gets attacked by hunters, ends up with amnesia and forgets Stiles is his mate.

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Stiles, Alpha Derek, but Stiles is a BAMF, BAMF Stiles, presumably Actual Derek is also a bamf, but College Derek is pretty useless, Heh heh

Wow, this story just grabbed me and didn't let me go and now it's the end of a full day and I have no excuse for abandoning everything except that I was really involved and enjoying the plot.  //  Stiles is such a fucking badass, I love this, he's super-smart and strategizes and handles everything that comes up like a pro and it's totally easy to see why they have such a large and powerful pack. 'College Derek', meanwhile, is a complete sexist asshole (with the whole Alpha/omega thing) who says some super hurtful things in the first half out of sheer ignorance mostly -- although occasionally it's spite. Stiles handles it as well as he can, trying to hide that it hurts and striking back because he has backbone for god's sake... but his bondmark is slowly fading and that's terrifying and tragic.  //  Meanwhile, the Silva pack is due to arrive with some manifest bad intentions, and Peter is lurking around stirring up trouble, and it's a really fucking bad time for Derek to not remember who he is, because it makes their pack vulnerable.  //  Great story.

The Lighthouse Keeper by tugela54 E, 75k, Complete.  On a rural island just off Alaska’s northern Inside Passage, stands a centuries old lighthouse - the perfect sanctuary for its keeper to hide when the moon is full, to burn and rage through its cycle with the townsfolk being none the wiser.  //  But then a new resident comes to Beacon Harbour – a bright-eyed young student chasing an elusive whale species – and all of a sudden those thick stone walls seem paper thin…

Bottom Stiles, Like Whoa,  

 Whoa, that was an intense climax, I'm kinda breathless. Great story. Stiles is earnest and funny (and sooo hot for the giant, hairy, handsome man -- when author says size difference they are not messing around and it's mentioned frequently) and Derek is monosyllabic and awkward. They figure it out eventually, and there is hot sex (did I say size difference and hirsuteness?). Laura's a great werewolf-sister (Derek is the only werewolf) and her son Seth is a cutie. The cast of characters (Chris, Jordon, Finstock, Angus, Gladys and the two First People Miriam and Jonah) are interesting and fleshed-out. Love the plot, and the take on Derek's werewolf (not Teen Wolf style), love the First People lore and rituals, love the setting waaay up in Alaska on this tiny island.  //  (Don't let Major Character Death tag scare you, you're gonna be just fine.)

Hey Lover, I Got a Sugarcane by pibroch (littleblackdog) Steter, E, 17k, Complete.  [References to Mpreg rather than straight-up #mpreg]  “Put Peter on the phone,” Stiles says, too sharp to be polite.  //  “What?” Derek sounds completely thrown. “Stiles, I don’t think— Okay, you’re obviously not understanding what’s happening here. Peter isn’t talking. He’s basically just growling at this point, and he’s rounding on anyone that gets too close. He actually bit me when I tried to take back my pillow. I nearly lost a thumb.”  //  “Derek.” The reality of this shitshow of a situation is finally kicking in, undeniably, and Stiles needs to hear Peter’s voice. “Just trust the omega, okay? Tell him it’s me, and give him the damn phone.”  //  ---"Wrangling Rut-Drunk Alpha Boyfriends 101" by Stiles Stilinski, omega and responsible adult person.

I've loved other things I've read by this author

Delicious. And also funny.

I've Got A Sure Thing by skoosiepants  T, 11k, Complete.  Stiles's water breaks ten miles outside of Beacon Hills.

Fox Stiles, Werefox Stiles, Daddy Stiles

Precious: I love the style, it tumbles and tumbles over itself. Stiles is himself. Derek keeps hanging around, and he loves little Princess Leia. Cora keeps laughing at them. Stiles might be a little confused.

******

He calls Derek and says, “I think your entire family is here, dude,” and Derek roars, “What?” and, “Don't call me dude, “ and, “Fuck, I'll be right over.”

Derek shows up in his EMT uniform and with his partner Boyd, stoic and amused, and the wild look in Derek's eyes is probably as close to a panic as Stiles will ever see him in.

Derek says, “Oh my god, Laura,” and grabs for Prin just as Prin launches herself out of Laura's arms toward him. He swings her up in a practiced movement and settles her on his hip and Laura grins so wide her fangs are showing.

“The pack wanted to meet her, even Mom's here,” she says, gesturing toward a big black wolf that looks almost exactly like Derek in wolf form – the wolf lifts her head and sneezes at them, then goes back to nosing through Stiles's DVD collection.

“Mom,” Derek says, and holds Prin up so she hides his face. Prin tugs at his hair and knees him in the eye and giggles when he shoves her up so her tummy is balanced on the top of his head, it's so cute Stiles can hardly stand it, his life is insane.

“Okay,” Stiles says, clapping his hands together, “I'll make tea.”

I don't think that means what you think it means by ThroughTheTulips  M, 21k, 7 works, Complete.  Ever notice how aliens have mostly similar customs to humans in Stargate? There never seem to be words or concepts that just don't translate. For the most part that makes sense given how they were spread deliberately across the universe, but there should be more weird stuff.  //  So I made some. This is very fluffy and ridiculous. Enjoy.

I simply can't with this. What an unanticipated, hysterical delight.

 I Know Where Babies Come From, Derek by DiscontentedWinter  E, 52k, Complete (series is 132k of deliciousness)  [Implied Mpreg, rather than actual #mpreg].  Stiles finds a baby on the porch.  //  It looks exactly like him.  //  Well, this is awkward.

Favorite, read again, still a favorite

Funny and unique and gripping (and there's one part that's simply fucking heartbreaking, god every.time. I bawl like a baby). I love this so much. It's totally one of my return-again-and-again-comfort-fics (even though there's very little that's slow-paced and domestic about it).

 monday i can fall apart but by friday i'm in love by tryslora  M, 6k, Complete.  It's just past five in the morning and Stiles is barely awake, wearing only sleep pants that hang low below his pregnant belly, and he can't get the damned brand new jar of decaf coffee open. But he has a neighbor, and he's too tired to think that waking someone else up at this hour might not be the best (or politest) of ideas.

Alpha Derek, Omega Stiles, Caretaking,  

lol.  short and funny and sweet and Alpha!Derek is a caretaker (and pregnant omega!Stiles is a sass-spewing dork)

 finger on the trigger and all fired up by tryslora  E, 6k, Complete  [Implied Potential Mpreg rather than #mpreg].  Derek goes undercover to expose a drug trafficking ring running inside of a porn studio. What he finds is Stiles.

Hot and funny.

 I'm Not Immune by moodwriter  E, 24k, Complete.  “Did they inject anything into you? You can hold me back. You can stop me. I can’t stop you.” Stiles is in full blown panic mode now.  //  The one where Stiles and Derek get kidnapped, and sex needs to happen for reasons.

Great story, grows as it's written. Follows a lot of emotional development, tangled in the godawfulfucking situation they're trapped in.

Fire, Fury, and Flame by IAmAVeronica  E, 125k, Complete.  Stiles Stilinski was never going to be the omega who got knocked up right after high school, and then he's accidentally artificially inseminated with a stranger's sperm.  //  Awesome.  //  And the father of Stiles's baby just so happens to be Derek Hale. Half-feral, quite possibly a murderer, and pursued by a gleefully sadistic band of hunters who are only too eager to use Stiles and his baby to hit Derek right where it hurts.  //  Joy.

Omega Stiles, Alpha Derek, Mpreg, Kidnapping, Stalking, cultural ramifications of a/b/o

So, Stiles, the omega-rights activist who never wants anything to do with an Alpha and wants to avoid any of that biological imperative bullshit, winds up pregnant a la Jane the Virgin. BUT. Derek is unwilling to commit, or even to have Stiles tell anyone who the baby-Daddy is. This could be because a complete psychopath has him in her targets.

Kate is one fuck-scary villain, just, crazy as a bag of cats and vicious with it, and the filth that comes out of her mouth is truly chilling.

Stiles gets kidnapped pretty early on, which is frightening enough, and then she's back for another try. At that point, he's kidnapped again, this time by Derek, who whisks him across the country to the Preserve, a werewolf compound in Maine. Here, Stiles is the only human, pregnant and vulnerable and trying to make a temporary life until the baby is born. But will it only be temporary?

There's love, sociopolitical musings, lots of angst, lots of danger. The baby is born about 3/4 of the way through the story, and then Kate comes around to terrorize everyone again. Even though Derek and Stiles are living in a house that's reinforced with bars and a panic room, she still manages to nearly burn Stiles and the baby…

 Rescue Me (& Take Me In Your Arms) by tumtatumtum  E, 34k, Complete (series is 37k so far).  Just when Stiles is starting to reach panic-attack levels of stress, a leather jacket and firm thigh are pressed right up next to him, and an arm is casually thrown over his shoulder. Stiles looks up to thank this kind person who is saving his life, and suddenly forgets what air is.  //  Because HOT. DAMN. Call the police and the fire-man, this guy is smoking.  //  Or the AU where Derek helps save Stiles from an ex, and a steamy BDSM relationship ensues- with feelings all over the place.

Fake/Pretend Relationship, Sub Stiles, Dom Derek

Whoooaa, Nellie. Strap in for a ride, folks. Hot and also hilarious, which is a difficult combo to achieve. Loads of D/s sexy times. Stiles is precious. Derek is possessive and a wee bit insecure. They're awful fun to watch together.  ***The one where Stiles is Alpha Mate which magically means he starts leaking slick outta his ass, even tho he's human.

*******

[Kept trying to find this fic using key words bar and boyfriend and ex-boyfriend... which finally got me there. It's SO worth a re-read or ten.] I also tagged it with fake/pretend relationships, since it's fake for about the first 5 minutes, until Derek puts his hand on the back of Stiles' neck and Stiles moans and MELTS and lo, romantic and sexual interest is born.)

 It's a mad, mad world by ElisAttack  E, 74k, Complete [No #mpreg]  "They call him the Feral Wolf." The man laughs hysterically as Stiles backs away from him, fear coursing through his veins. "Feral Hale. Do you know why? Huh?" The man creeps closer, testing the restraint of his chains, white talcum falling from his skin, swirling in the air like the dust devils plaguing the wasteland. "Because he's fucking mad."  //  Or the one where Stiles is a prisoner looking to return home, but to do so, he may have to rely on a questionable drifter.

Really enjoyed this. Very interesting take on alpha/omega, haven't seen it before. And yay for apocalyptic mad max-type world. Scary as fuck.

a little advice for aspiring fires by The Byger (Byacolate)  E, 42k, Complete.  Regardless of his sadly lacking social circle, Stiles was going to have to get some physical contact or he was going to explode. Seriously. It’d be messy and Derek would probably become even more emotionally constipated having to clean up little bits of Stiles from his pristine walls and furniture.

Touch-Starved, Skin Hunger, Omega Stiles, Sassy Stiles, stiles talks CONSTANTLY, Mpreg, Kidfic

But We're Still Sleeping Like We're Lovers by CharWright5  E, 110k, Complete  [No #mpreg].  There are several things Stiles Stilinski knows to be facts: he's a werecoyote like his parents; his twin sister Malia could use a filter more than him; he's an Omega and terrified of his upcoming heat; and Derek Hale-McCall will never see him as anything more than his kid brother's best friend. Doesn't stop Stiles from asking the Alpha to help him during his heat. Or from developing some serious feelings that go beyond the bedroom. Basically, he's totally screwed, in more ways than one.

Fox Stiles, Creature Stiles, he's not a fox, but when I'm cruising that tag, I'll like to read this story

Idiot boys. Hot sex. More idiot boys. Angst. Fluff.

Jurisdiction by elisera  M, 7k, Complete (series complete at 20k).  John is a pretty level-headed guy. He wasn’t always, back during his own Sturm und Drang period, but he married a firecracker of a woman and got a kid with an affinity for trouble like he got payed for ending up in it, so someone had to level out or they would’ve ended up living in a treehouse or Lapland doing god knows what. Anyway, getting a hold of his temper is one of John’s better life achievements. It makes him a good sheriff and it kept him from blowing his lid too badly those last two years when Stiles started acting out in a way that John had never seen before.  //  But the temper is still there.  //  He’s reminded of it when he comes home on a random Saturday in March after spilling his milkshake all over his uniform shirt only to notice he didn’t have a spare in the station and finds Stiles bend over the kitchen sink with hunched shoulders.

Papa Stilinski is a total badass and mmm mmmm mmmm, so is Derek. Stiles has got some awesome muscle looking out for his best interests.

Into Something New by marguerite_26  E, 9k, Complete.  [Implied Mpreg rather than #mpreg].  Something is happening to Stiles. He’s losing time. Something is messing with his head, with his body. Maybe if he felt better he’d think to be worried.

 Nowhere Man by 1lostone  E, 76k, Complete.  [Mpreg (off screen)]  When Stiles leaves Beacon Hills, he does it without a backwards glance. For two years he is happy on the other side of the country- until someone targets not only him, but his daughter.  //  Unfortunately, the asshole bodyguard his dad hired to make sure he gets back home is none other than Derek Hale. And that's really not very good for either of them.

1lostone is, as always, the goddess of the lengthy, painful, disturbing, angsty, violent, sexy story. God, I love it.

The Second Coming (of Werewolf Jesus) by lupinus, uraneia  E, 40k, Complete.  Stiles was enjoying his senior year until his crazy English teacher decided he made the best candidate to gestate Derek's kid. Now Stiles is a seventeen-year-old pregnant dude and he and Derek have to figure their shit out, because in nine months they are going to be tied together for the rest of their lives.

Sweet: very fluffy and domestic.

Pride and Place by DarkAthena (seraphim_grace)  E, 63k, Complete.  (Part of series A/B/O bodice rippers) [Mpreg, Discussion of mpreg, no men were pregnant in the making of this fic].  Derek Hale, Earl of Osterbrook, has inherited, following the death of Lord Montfort, a run down house in Yorkshire he neither needs nor wants, convinced his staff are robbing him, and with the mystery of a missing ward, he manages to get himself talked into a ridiculous bet, that he cannot pass as a steward until Midwinter, nearly two months away. So can he maintain the charade? Find the missing child? and manage to turn the shambles of a house around, or will he give up and let Peter take the thousand pounds he bet.  //  now with explicit epilogue - the rest of the story is teen rated though, so if you don't like the idea of explicit sex in your bodice rippers - just don't read that bit.

Great story.

The Well of Living Waters by kalpurna  E, 30k, Complete.  King Derek takes a consort.

 Within His Power by NoBezel  E, 69k, Complete.  [Discussion of mpreg]  Derek is a wolfish cyborg, brother of the Governor of California, heir to the Hale fortune. Stiles is a un-sequenced human in a world of designer DNA. When Derek is forced to choose a mate, no one expects him to choose Stiles. To be fair, Derek doesn't expect him to say no.

Pretty fucking phenomenal. Lots of world-building and political intrigue. If you're in it for the tropes, you'll be disappointed, but otherwise it's intense and dense and lovely.

The Threat of Human Sacrifice by vampireisthenewblack  E, 45k, Complete.  The sheriff bought a crib and made Derek help him put it together. Stiles thought of Hemingway and the shortest, most heartbreaking story ever told, and dismantled it on his own while Derek was out.  //  [The one where Stiles getting knocked up is the least of his worries.]

So excellent and intense.

The Honey and the Sting by the_ragnarok  M, 19k, Complete (series still wip)  Derek didn't remember what happened when he went into heat. He could only assume the worst. The truth may be stranger than that.

Beautiful.

Tiny Houses by ohmyjetsabel  E, 77k, Complete.  "So this is what Stiles does. He lies in Scott’s bed and waits for Melissa to say she’s found someone to get it out of him, to cure him of the wrongness and the bad, and he dreams.  //  God, he dreams.  //  He dreams of fire and swollen bellies and that scene in Alien, of giving birth to jackals through his urethra, the whole horrific nine yards. His head is a terrible place to be, he can’t imagine his stomach is much better, why anyone would want to put a thing inside of it."

Fuck.

 Shifts by gryvon  E, 15k, Complete.  Stiles has what he's always secretly wanted - he's in a relationship with Derek and he's one of Derek's betas - but all that gets turned upside down when Gerard kidnaps him and his unexpected baby.

Who doesn't want Stiles having emotionally confusing sex with Derek, getting knocked up unbeknownst to either of them, and then kidnapped for the future baby? I mean, really. It's classic.

A Mating Moon by unpossible  E, 37k, Complete.  (Series 55k so far.) [this is not mpreg, just to be clear]  “Hey, Scott, so, I uh, there’s this amazingly hot guy and I’m uh, gonna spend the weekend with him but, you know, just to be careful, I’m sending you his picture, so if by some terrible chance my bloated corpse shows up sometime Monday, just, y’know pass this along to the authorities.” He pauses. “Uh. Kidding?” and then hangs up with a rush of air.  //  “That is the worst voicemail in the history of voicemails,” Derek says.

fucking fantastic

 (Once in a) Blue Moon by clarkoholic, skywardsmiles  E, 60k, Complete.  (Series 63k so far.)  Stiles and Derek are getting along, but they’re not a family, and they’re sure as hell not mates. Christ, they’re basically just two stupid guys who happened to get pregnant because of a full moon and sheer dumb luck.

Oh, the angst, the pining, the guilt, the blame, the anger. Total pain-fest while we watch Stiles nearly die from the burden of the pregnancy. Lovely sweet ending, of course.

Tried and Tested Series by dancinbutterfly  E, 53k, 12 works, Complete.  In which Derek has a sex emergency with unplanned results, Stiles could be the baby daddy on one of those horrible MTV pregnancy shows, Sheriff Stilinski takes in strays and life in Beacon Hills never has a dull moment, not even when things are calm.

Really wonderful series. Stopped at Part 11, so am waiting for updates. A good investment of time, even incomplete. ;D  //  [Huh, evidently I missed an update somewhere along the line!]

In the Solstice of our Hearts by ravingrevolution  E, 73k, Complete.  "You're not putting that up your butt," Scott told him flatly and Stiles couldn't stop the pissed off whine he made, but his friend continued. "Stiles, you can't put that up your butt, you know that. Your butt won't be ready for anything to go in it until-"  //  "Okay, okay!" he said, flailing his hands to stop his friend's lecture. "Message received, no butt stuff until I'm pounced on by some freaking animal in the forest and ravished to within an inch of my life. Got it. Thanks, Scotty, I mean heaven forbid I actually try to take control of my life and give myself a fighting chance or anything."  //  "Not all alphas are animals," Scott said quietly.  //  Maybe he was right, but Stiles wasn't holding his breath.

Omega Stiles, Berserk Stiles, omega beast, everyone's a virgin, Hurt/Comfort, care taking

The one where there's a Mate Run in the woods, and Derek with his pack manage to frighten Stiles up a tree from whence he falls and is impaled on a branch (ouch!) and then they spend a week in a cave while Stiles heals. Meanwhile, Kate and her cronies are sneaking into the month-long Mate Run with the intent to a)finally kill Derek and b) sneakily bond with some omegas. So Stiles goes berserk, which is the omega form of a hulking violence monster, to protect Derek. (Story could have stopped there, but carries on for another 1/3.)

#mpreg #mpreg fic rec #mpreg stiles #mpreg sterek #mpreg fic recs #mojo's fic recs #christyimnot #christyimnotred

[elejah-wonderland]

The Sun And The Moon Curse/8

Fanfiction

Part 8

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

ft. other tvd characters - Klaus Mikaelson, Esther, Katherine 

set after tvd 3x14/15

TVD AU story

Summary: At the Mikaelson Ball, Elijah asks Elena to tell him what his mother wanted form her. After Elena discloses what it was to the Original vampire, and the ritual fails, she is prompted to leave with him, leaving Mystic Falls behind, embarking on a new adventure.

a/n: Thanks so much for reading this story, as it was the first tvd fanfiction I ever wrote. xoxo

Warning: Fluff, witch ritual, vampire blood

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @captainshurley @cassienoble2000 @goddessofthunder112 @hides2000 @elejahforever @idkhaylijah

If you wish to be removed from the tag list, please let me know 

______

Katherine arrived in Bucharest and once again stood there empty handed. Yizel could see that there was a very unusual magic surrounding Lia's villa and when she tried to come close to it, she suddenly felt weak and very nauseous. 

"Dark magic -ahh"- she felt a sharp pain kick in her stomach as if she was stabbed.

Katherine took the opportunity and now grabbed the dagger from the witch and decided to cut her losses and leave the witch behind. Something very odd was happening and she opted to lay low for a little while.

*****

In Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania

The next day

Elena woke up and moved, rubbing her eyes, finding that Elijah was gone. But, there on the pillow was a rose. Elena smiled taking the rose, and now sat up. 

 As she got ready, she walked to the kitchen to make some coffee. 

“Good morning”- the witch knocked at the door of the kitchen -”I apologize for letting myself in, but I have a message from Elijah.”

“He went to run some errands, I guess.”- Elena said and now offered the woman a cup of coffee. 

“No, thank you. I thought that maybe you would like to accompany me into town?”

Elena accepted the invitation. Lia needed to get some particular herbal essences for the ritual. Grabbing her bag, the doppelganger and the witch left the apartment.

They entered a shop that sold many different varieties of organic cosmetics. It was a beautiful rustic looking shop. Elena went up to the stand where perfume bottles were on display. The shop-keeper brought all that was on Lia's list, then looked at Elena and suggested a fragrance that would suit her. She spoke to her in Romanian and Elena apologized for not understanding. Lia translated.

"Jasmine and Lilac with a hint of orange blossom. It's an antic fragrance. She thinks that one would suit you best."

Elena smelled it, and she liked it, and bought it. They got out and Lia then suggested they have a cup of coffee and a a bit of breakfast. They got into a cafe across the road from the shop.

"Are you all right?"- Lia asked Elena, who appeared to be absent-minded as they got into the place.

"Yes-just- I-hm-so much has happened-it's crazy to think about  normal things like the dress and perfume-and - none of my friends are here and - I should have told them that I kind of got engaged. I know it sounds crazy "

"Why? Because he is a vampire? And something like that is not to be?"-Lia asked.

"No, it's not because he is a vampire. I don't even see him like that.  I am sort of supernatural, aren't I? And now I am going to be immortal! It's just that I have not imagined it like that- I wanted my mom and dad to be there when I get married "-Elena said, adding -”And the harsh reality is that it will happen in a place so far away from home!"

"This is home - crazy as it sounds. I feel at home here. I mean-you are family, aren't you? Technically."

"Thank you for considering me to be your family. You and Elijah were meant to be-the Sun conjuncts with the Moon - it is foreseen to have a stable and long lasting relationship, with great romance, but it has the effect of unification of purpose, emotions and will, instills loyalty, trust and faithfulness. Your Sun sign is the other person's Moon sign and the other person's Sun sign is your Moon sign. It works reciprocally. It said that each of you would have a profound effect upon the other. And I have seen it. The way you speak to one another, the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. You may have felt that you are soul mates and that is because of your Sun and Moon aspects within you. It is said that together you can endure almost any hardship. Nature doesn't bestow that upon just anyone. You were chosen."- Lia said.

Hearing what Lia had said made Elena feel elated, inspirited, but also somewhat anxious, especially for the part about hardship, as she knew that things that they would be facing would not be a walk in the park, to put it mildly. She was very much aware of it all, but now she wanted to linger in the dream of the night before, accepting his proposal wholeheartedly.

"My friends would not understand how I feel- and probably say that it is a very bad idea." - Elena said.

"It's called being in love"-Lia said-"if you forget for a moment about the scrolls, you fell for the man he is, his human counterpart." - the witch said.

"Yes, I did."-Elena said dreamily, thinking of all that drew her to Elijah. But she also flashed back to their first ever meeting.

 “When I first met him- ah- that was - ahm - crazy."

Elena told Lia of all that had happened between them.

As Elena finished telling the witch shortly about her and Elijah’s short history, Lia had this to say -

"The need to save them and you was the cosmic inclination to find the kindred soul. You may look the same in your appearance, but I have told you that your souls are different."

"What I don't understand is, well, if he wasn't turned and stayed human- well, we would never have met?!"

"Now that is something we will have to leave with Mother nature, but I believe that you and him would have met."

"How? There would have been -or Elijah would be a doppelganger too?"

"Maybe. As I said Nature has it worked out."-Lia said-"shall we go and look at some dresses? Let's just be women indulging in some girly time out?!"

Elena agreed smiling a little. Even if it was for a few hours, she needed the escape. As Lia said, she wanted to think of it as a ceremony and not as a ritual that would align their forces to  fight a very dangerous enemy.

********

Elsewhere

Klaus pondered his next move. No matter how many times Elijah and he didn't see eye to eye, and there have been plenty of occasions, he knew that Elijah would still be on his side. But now with all that he found out it seemed that  this time it was not so. It was very clear to him that Elijah used stalling tactics to go against him once again, same as he had done in Mystic Falls.

"Family"- he sifted angrily- "what a joke!"

The Hybrid  then turned to one of his compelled followers and told him to pass on the message to Julius.

"Let the games begin!"- Klaus said- "let's see who will be the King of the world"

********

Meanwhile, in Romania, Transylvania

Elijah returned to the apartment sometime before Elena and Lia. He took out the rings he had made in the Viking custom. 

Ever since he became aware of what he customs of the viking society were and where his place as a man was, he thought of doing everything slightly different. He thought of his father and mother and their union of marriage, which their parents had arranged, love being insignificant. He had always wanted to do the opposite. He wanted it to mean so much more than just serving a purpose. He remembered once listening his father talking about negotiating a marriage at the Thing, which was a vikings Council meeting. There was talk of brautkauf or brideprice. It was a very elaborate economic exchange between the families. Now his thoughts diverted to the present and he felt that, although, it was nothing like the old days, Elena was forced into the union, for a particular purpose, and his heart wished that this dark cloud were not hanging over them, that they were just two people who fell in love and wanted to be together.

Back in Bucharest he had told her that he had loved once before, but it was not the whole truth. He had loved been in love with a woman warrior, Thorunn. And thought she had pledge herself to him, she went to marry another man.

Flashback

A thousand years ago

“Ah, Thorunn chose Bjorn”- Kol said as he now crossed the path with his brother, who saw Elijah earlier gazing at the blonde shield-maiden. 

“Leave me alone. I am not in the mood for your clever remarks.”- Elijah said walking by his brother.

“I wasn’t going to make you feel bad. I thought you cared for someone else - this new girl  that came with the witch. Tatia?”

“No. I mean - yes, I care, but - that is all. I think that she has feeling for Niklaus.”- Elijah replied.

“Yes, I saw him - all flirtatious with her. I think that they have even spent a night together.”- Kol now said.

Elijah now shook with his head and continued to the horses pen. 

“Come on, one day you will find the one!”- Kol shouted behind his brother.

The one. Elijah now thought. Yes, Elena was the one. His heart knew that before he was ever aware of that. He now smiled a little, thinking of how all came about. It had in actual fact always meant to be as he now thought about what the scrolls entailed. Like Elena had said, he had always know that that someone was out there waiting for him. He had always known. His heart had never been completely taken, like it was since he had met her. Not for Thorunn, his first love, nor for Aya. 

He now put the rings in its antique ring box. Hearing Elena and Lia come up the steps, he put the box with the rings in his suit pocket.

Not long after Lia and Elena walked into the apartment. Both women now put down a big load of shopping bags on the floor. 

The witch and the doppelganger greeted him. Elena’s eyes shone lovingly at him, and he responded in the same manner. Her spirit was exactly like the sun that managed to lift up all the darkness. 

"I overdid it"- she then said looking at the bags- "I don't know what happened- I just forgot, I guess, that it is just a ritual."

“I see.”- Elijah said with a small wag of his eyebrows.

“I will see you in a little while.”- Lia then said and excused herself, leaving them, stepping out of the apartment.

"You had a nice day out, I gather."- Elijah then said nearing her- " and you changed your hair -I like it!" 

The Original brushed his fingers through the doppelganger’s hair.

"I did.Yes"- Elena smiled, adding- " I wanted to- I want it to be special."

"And not just another ritual, where you are forced to something that no one asked you whether you wanted it or not"

"Elijah-what is it?"

"I just wish -it all was different for you- us. That is all. I wanted to protect you from it all. It's a natural impulse of mine. I know that you are so courageous and strong-willed."

"And that I will be fine."-her eyes assured him -" I will always have you-and we are together in this!"

"So we are."- Elijah now he took the box out of his jacket pocket presenting it to her.

"What is this?"- Elena said looking at him curiously.

Elijah now opened the beautiful box, showing the wedding bands.

"Oh -they are beautiful!"- Elena said taken in for a moment.

”How did you - when did you- get them?”

“I left here before dawn. I remembered an antique jewellery shop in Budapest - I went to get them.”- Elijah replied. 

Elena looked at the Original with a surprising look, even though all she had already learnt about him so far shouldn’t have done. 

“I hope this is not too much - this is a big step-” - Elijah said gulping a bit-”and I would absolutely understand if you - ”

“Elijah - no - I mean - yes - I thought about everything. Like I told you - my whole life changed the moment I have found out I was the doppelganger, and - “

Elena paused for a moment, placing her palm on the Original’s cheek, continuing- “I am sure of this. I am sure about how I feel.”

“You are?”- Elijah muttered, his heart exhibiting a tender flutter, his heightened feelings now making his whole being tremble. 

He stood there with his heart and his soul bare in front of her, looking at her with adoring eyes. 

Elena nodded a little, her eyes smiling dreamily at Elijah -

“I've never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Elena now put her hand out to Elijah, and he now took the rings out of its box.

And before he put the ring on her finger, he said -

"I understand how people felt when they were about to go to war and leave their loved one behind, and when they wanted to vow to one another that they would be theirs forever-and this is maybe the least romantic place-  but I would like to pledge here and now my undying love for you"

He then took the ring and placed it on her finger saying-

 "With this ring I bind myself to you Always and Forever."

She then did the same saying- "Always and forever"

Slowly pulling her to him, Elijah lips brushed over Elena’s. Soft and gentle, gripping them more firmly The wave of deep felt love streamed all over them, spilling out from their hearts.

Whether it was in the most beautifully decorated church, a darkest forest or just a tiny room, it was the same for them at that very moment. All that mattered was that this was their private moment they would always remember. 

Lia’s knock at the door of the bedroom, now brought them back from their happy cloud to the harsh reality. 

“Just a moment”- Elijah said as his eyes still danced happily, gazing at his beloved, holding her close.

They knew that it was  time to go to the location where the ritual of the conjunction was to be performed. 

“It’s ok. I am ready.”- Elena said -”and - if you don’t mind I would like to go and have a shower.”

“Of course.”- Elijah said, placing a small peck on the lips.

“Love you”- Elena said as she now opened at the door, turning to the Original.

Having showered, and changed, they left for the small hamlet outside the city, close to the  forest where the ritual was to take place. 

There they were met by an old women and her granddaughter. It was clear that they were witches that knew Lia very well. They came up to Elena, and Lia nodded at the doppelganger that it was perfectly safe for her to go with them. 

“Where are they taking her?”- Elijah inquired not happy that he was held back by the blonde witch.

“To prepare her. You don’t have to worry. They will not harm her.”- Lia reassured the Original.

Elijah nodded a little, and waited. Not long. Elena returned dressed in an elegant white dress, wearing a flower crown on her head.

Elijah at Elena mesmerized, putting his hand out to her. As she came to him, he now uttered as if compelled-

“You are so beautiful”

“Thank you”- Elena slipped taking his hand. 

“Ready?”- the Original now said and the doppelganger nodded.

 The witch led them to the point in the woods where a perfect circular clearing existed. It was known in the old days as the circle of the Immortals. The magical circle was already prepared. As it was a marital rite of some kind, the circle was adorned with flowers among sacred plans and scented candles.

"Please stand here"- Lia said to them showing where to go, then looked up in the sky to see how long it was for the Sun and the Moon to line up.

"Open your palms"

They did as the witch asked.

Elijah could hear Elena's heart racing wildly but she assured him with her look that she was fine. 

Lia now cut into the palms murmuring words they didn't understand smearing them with the mixture of herbs she had bought earlier that day and now told them to joint their palms together.

 Soon both of them could feel a strange tingling in their palms as the witch continued chanting and then looked up at the skies once again, and when she saw the sun and the moon were in complete alignment, she bound their hands with a ribbon laced with all different sacred flowers.

As the chanting finished Elena felt a tad bit faint. Her whole being shook and she felt her heart stop and start again. She beamed her eyes at Elijah, hearing his heartbeats now. They were as apprehensive as hers. 

Nothing seemed to be different and yet all was different. Something was pulling them towards one another, like a force unknown, They now moved closer. 

With the unusual tingling streaming all over them, they held onto one another firmly. A mystical surge ran through them.The body, the mind and the soul became one. Enveloped in the magical haze, they looked at one another with love. As her lips touched his, the conjunction was sealed.

Heart beats fast Colours and promises How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone All of my doubt Suddenly goes away somehow One step closer I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more Time stands still Beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything take away What's standing in front of me Every breath Every hour has come to this One step closer          

a/n: one of the best Elejah vids, in my opinion, and just had to add it.                 

#Elijah Mikaelson #Elena Gilbert #fanfic #fanfiction #alternative universe #Klaus Mikaelson

[esuteryc]

Short-lived

In the building of a call center, hundreds of thousands of phone calls flooded the switchboard operators’ offices at an abnormal rate requesting for emergency dispatches. The first responders were naturally sent to the scenes. A lot of events were unfolding in various places. Somewhere in the suburbs firefighters had to put out the flames engulfing a house, at a different neighborhood medical officers were wheeling out body bags on the stretchers into their ambulances, and meanwhile a unit of police officers was dispatched to investigate a reported disturbance occurring in the nearby areas. While the media outlets broadcast the news on a daily basis, I seldom paid attention to it until I was involved in the unexpected catastrophe. I was in Chinatown when it began. My coworkers and I work in the Waste Management and we happened to end our shifts an hour before twelve. They wanted to go to "Golden Wok" for lunch today but I wanted to go home. Nevertheless, I was forced to tag along with them. The food we ordered would unfortunately be my last meal. Upon digestion I find myself in the restroom and the ten minutes I spent inside the stall was all it took. By the time I rejoined my coworkers, the world has already changed and tipped against humanity’s favor.

Chinatown, an attraction site for tourists to come experience exquisite foreign food, ironically has become a different type of attraction site and its new clients were eager to order. The new clients were rowdy, crazy, impatient, and hungry and they were already working up an appetite. When I stepped out of the restroom, the customers, including the staffs and my coworkers, were being devoured from head to toe by them. Infighting ignited between the chiefs and the uninvited customers behind the kitchen, the waitresses were being mobbed, and my coworkers were served on the table. Blood splattered on the floor, the counters, and the walls. Broken dishes and chairs were scattered everywhere as they ate. The exit was blocked by the ongoing feast. They were all goners and there was nothing I could do. The only way out was through that glass window. Without a choice, I ran through the glass shattering it with my momentum. I grunted as I got up and I rubbed the broken pieces off of me. The streets were mixed with the sounds of sirens, screams, gunshots, car alarms, and car honks. I need to get out of here. My goal right now was to get to the parking garage and into my car, which was four blocks away from where I am. While the chaos occurred, I swiftly and stealthily vaulted through the street vendors obstructing me. I also ignored the cries and the pleas of help on my way and I felt sorry but I wasn't sincerely apologetic.

At the vicinity of the parking garage, somebody thought the elevators were still convenient. Ding! When the door was opened the unlucky fool waiting for it was instantly grabbed and dragged into a slaughter. My car was at the fourth level, stairs it is. Huffing and puffing, I got in my Volkswagen, cracked open the window, covered it with my sun shades, and locked my doors. I turned on the radio to tune into 93.9, carefully adjusting the volume as to not capture attention.

"Please stay tune for the following urgent news special bulletin. We will return to our regular schedules programs following this report. Meanwhile, civil unrest is being reported throughout multiple local districts. If you are in an area with a lot of activities, please remain indoors. You are advice to lock up all windows and doors. Evacuation sites will be posted soon. There are numerous reports that riots and outbreaks has started. The cause of them is currently unknown."

It seems like the disaster was being reported nationwide and the news wasn't providing any explanation. I turned off my engine. An evacuation site sounds like an ideal place to go but I wasn't sure about the decision. If this outbreak remains uncontained, there is a hundred percent possibility that any established refuge would fall apart. It will only become more difficult to runaway if I was caught in the midst of that setting. Can I drive back home? Home is miles away and going there now is out of the option given the unknown dangers lurking. For awhile I despaired but when I thought about it again, I was thankful I didn’t act rashly as I would come to regret it later. I'll need to take my chance which is why I decided to wait for this crisis to settle down until the streets were cleared.

My activities following the days I stayed in my car were limited. I was a prepared person. In case of an emergency, I always kept a case of water bottles in my car. I also had a small portion of junk food, fruits, and canned foods which I relied on during this time. I knew this would not be enough so I had to ration and I didn’t venture too far out of my car when I had to take care of "business." As I have predicted, multiple evacuation sites were announced and the news stations were urging everyone to go there. However, within the hours and days, officials were forced to declare that the sites were no longer safe. My food supplies were gone when the news stopped broadcasting and I was near famished. I decided to head out after weeks of lying low. The only thing I had on me was my duffel bag.

I proceeded to the streets in hopes of finding a grocery store. At the intersections littered with abandon vehicles, I was able to find a loaded Mossberg 590 and some ammo near a police car. I felt a little bit safer so I continued onwards undisturbed. Everything went accordingly until I discovered a market. I tried to enter but the glass door was locked. There was nobody inside when I peered through the windows. Should I risk breaking in? What if the alarms work? I've been lucky so far but if I wasn’t careful that luck can go down the drain. I have to take some risks, I concluded. I’ll be dead either way especially if I don’t scavenge for food.

The alarms didn’t ring when I smashed the glass door by the stock of the shotgun to gain entry. Good. My thoughts were racing. I rushed in to fill my bag with as much food as I can but light enough so that I won’t be overburden. Take only what is necessary, I reminded myself. This could have been a successful raid but when I checked my back, I saw two of them upon the door followed by seven others behind. They must have heard me and wondered in despite my silent efforts. Shooting them would only attract more and I would be trapping myself in the store. There was an exit sign that I noticed. I had no choice but to escape using that door without knowing what was outside of it. I have to stay calm. Count down to three.

Three, I have to survive no matter what.

Two, get out of here as soon as possible.

One, I pushed open the door.  

The alarm echoed throughout the city taking me by surprise. This is a bad! I thought it were disarmed but I was mistaken. I’ll just have to head to the direction that my feet were taking me. I glanced to the left and my eyes widened. The alley way was beginning to be blocked and at the right there were at least five of them. I raised my gun, here we go. My uncle taught me how to shoot a rifle when I was a kid but I didn’t take it serious at the time. I’ll have to stick with the basics of what I remembered. My eyes locked onto the closest target and I aimed for the stomach.

Boom! The blow grazes my target’s shoulder and he makes a twirl motion. He was still on his feet. I felt the sting on my shoulder from the result of the recoil. I need to get closer. I got in close range for a clearer shot. Four foot from my enemy, I aimed for the neck.

Boom! The recoil of my shot allowed me to hit his face. My first victim went down. Two of them were staggering so I skipped them considering their threat level was zero. Regardless of that I ran into another pair anyways. I took aim.

Boom! Double kill. I managed to do this because they were lined up. I made it to the end of this alley way but my situation didn’t improved. They have formed a horde and have occupied both sides of the streets. There was no way I could evade any of them. My breathing is getting heavier and my heart is pounding harder. I was tired and out of stamina. This will be the end for me, I closed my eyes.

“No!” I shouted at myself. Don't give up, I thought. I am a fighter, there has to be another way. I looked around for an opportunity and I found my answer. There it is! It was an alleyway. I ran for it while I reloaded the shotguns. The moans and groans grew louder behind me as they gathered. There was no turning back anymore. I pumped the forearm of this shotgun and took a few deep breaths. This is a dark alley. Exposed in darkness, I couldn’t even count how many there was ahead but I know my fourth victim is coming to me. I raised my gun and took aim.

Boom! My fourth kill went flying. I pump the forearm and aim at the next shadowy figure.

Boom! Headshot! I took a deep breath, pumped the forearm, and aimed again.

Boom! I grazed my target’s face almost missing my blast. Slow and steady now, I mumbled under my breath, pumped the forearm, and aimed.

Boom! I was getting good at this but it wasn’t over yet. Another one is approaching me so I kicked her and pumped the forearm.

Boom! She’s dead. This is what it comes down to now. I kick, I shoot, and therefore I live. I need to start treating this like a new daily routine. If I can do that then I might be able to make it out alive. I pumped the forearm and took aim.

Boom! I hit the shoulder blade but he wasn't going down. Still standing and inching closer to me, an idea hatched in my mind. I grabbed the shotgun by the barrel and with every ounce of my strength I whack his head against the stock. He drops before me but he continued to move. I pump the forearm and shot him while he was on the ground.

Boom! How is he still alive? I repeat and boom! Finally, he’s dead. I was feeling invincible. Nothing can stop me! I smiled for the first time ever since this epidemic commenced. My kill count is increasing. This one advancing to me is getting closer and she looks cocky as she gets ready to bite my face off. As soon as I pump up my shotgun, I'll send her dead along with the rest. I was so fired up and I was feeling a tremendous amount of confidence. Perhaps I can really survive in this new world. Deep breaths, take aim.

Click!

@esuteryc‘s first short story and post!

#short story #zombie #writing #first person view #first person #creative writing #survival