#i may end up adding more and/or making those more detailed and recognizeable

[vaguely-concerned]

Stray Gods Character Design Thoughts

In order we're going Pan, Apollo, Persephone, Eros, Aphrodite and a little bit of Venus! Disclaimer that I have no professional experience in character design at all, so these are only my vibes-based ramblings and observations purely for fun and because my brain simply won't shut up about this game haha. Also I will freely admit Pan probably gets the most attention in this because of who I am as a person and where my heart truly lies at the end of the day lol

PAN

Ok, first of all I have so many questions and they all delight me. This guy is the god of the wild places ("Where else would I be, but among the trees and the wild things?"), he lives in a magical garden on top of an office building... and he’s walking around everywhere in an expensive three piece tailored suit (when Freddie accuses him of being a sleaze in a cheap suit he protests mildly that his suit is anything but cheap haha). The cut of it is really carefully thought out and planned, but the bold colours under the grey coat and (studied I am sure) careless details like the tie also make it fun and playful. Which is pleasingly coherent with the general theme of his character in the writing too and I adore it.  

This is not the point, I know, but I’m wondering how he makes that work just like. Practically now. Has Athena fixed up Olympus with in-house laundry service? And other sentences I did not expect to type out today lol. Ah well he’s wily I’m sure he has his ways. 

I can't heap enough praise on it, this design is SUCH an interesting and elegant marriage of the immediately recognizable satyr features and thus animal symbolism with all its added pagan weight in a post-Christianity setting, and the sort of ‘man of wealth and taste’ imagery of the devil at the crossroads they clearly want to evoke, especially in his first scene. And partially through his mannerism there’s also an added element of like… eccentric but surprisingly competent college professor — just look at the way he carries himself whenever he isn’t putting on the charm or when he’s being guarded and self-contained. That little hands resting on his back pose exudes ‘nerd’ so deeply to me haha. (Incredibly fuckable nerd, to be sure, but still!)

you don't fool me buddy I know what you are. I know all the trouble you went to to get a book.

His body language shifts very quickly between wild playful expressiveness and a sort of nonchalant urbane detachment that borders on coldness sometimes, and it fascinates me. Especially since that more refined unavailable side seems to be something he’s deliberately cultivated, to some extent. When Grace calls him out on how boring it sounds to just let yourself go numb and distant to survive, he doesn’t deny that at all, only saying that at least it’s been quite effective. 

Putting the rest under a cut to save people's dashes! I may, as they say, have gotten a tiny bit carried away.

Physically he’s not very imposing — he’s only a little taller than Grace, and the shortest of all of the love interests, which I find somehow very charming and also plays into him being more of a guile-based character. “Seeing as I am neither big nor truly bad, it behooves me to be wary of those who are both” indeed!

I’m fairly sure he’s the character wearing the most layers. Even his hands are mostly covered by gloves. He partially covers up his eyes with the tinted glasses — interesting, as one of the features that most give his real nature away with their sidewise pupils, and the lenses are tinted purple as the complimentary colour to yellow, so it downplays just how bright they are. All together it’s very much a ‘well, he’s certainly got to be in there somewhere’ sort of vibe at times. (Since he also seems to care about his clothes quite a bit — he complains about scuffing his pants during the climb in the Medusa mission if you go the lockpick route — I have drawn the conclusion that getting him out of all of that must take quite a bit of time, no matter how much practice he’s probably put in over the years of meeting 'delicious people' lol) 

It’s a design that manages to give, at the same time: animal-featured ancient god, deal with the devil, teacher, overtones of con man if you’re inclined to be Freddie-levels of uncharitable lol, eccentric rich weird uncle… there’s a lot going on here and somehow it all works haha. He isn’t wearing any jewelry at all unless you count the glasses, which now that I’m looking at the rest of the character designs in this game is actually fairly rare among them!

His eyes really are incredibly bright when uh naked as it were, though. I like the implication that he is aware of this and actually goes out of his way to downplay it, even when he’d normally be wearing glamour anywhere it would strictly matter for it to show. Between that, the meaningful zoom in on him at the Underworld when Apollo says that all the Idols can be themselves there even if they don’t look human, Pan claiming he’s been distrusted and side-eyed by the others basically since the beginning and seeming kind of frustrated and hurt about it, in his deflecting way, and the implication of a hierarchy among the Idols at least under Athena’s leadership in this stained glass painting (notably all the visibly non-human Idols/hangers on are at the bottom, and Hecate, Asterion and especially Medusa are the characters most affected and confined by the oppressive status quo Athena upholds)...

this one! sing it with me now EVERYBODY LEAVES THIS PLACE ALIVEEE ok we can move on

you know, some possible Subtext and Implications going on here, I’d say. (It is only potential subtext and implication, though, so, you know, take my extrapolations here with a grain of salt!) He certainly doesn’t do himself many favors with the persona he’s built up in regards to being trusted and included either, but his status as a little bit of an outsider does seem to precede that so I feel like it’s more of a response than the main cause. Along the same lines he gets much more testy about the Green route of ‘I Can Teach You’ than he does about you just not choosing him in the Red one, he takes that pretty gracefully. So it is the being deliberately kept on the outside and openly distrusted and dismissed that gets to him. (To be clear I don't think openly distrusting a strange guy showing up in your living room like that is at all unreasonable either haha I just think the nuances of his response are enlightening as to where he's really coming from)

this one isn't even to illustrate anything it's just because I love him so much and think he's pretty I'll be real with you all

Anyway I just keep thinking about how incredibly tender it would be if sometimes, when they’re in private, Grace takes his glasses off to see his eyes better and he lets her. That shakes something deep in my soul apparently. That fucks me up but like in a good way.

APOLLO

- Apollo’s style of dress leaves his navel helpfully exposed for the copious amounts of depressed gazing he habitually subjects it to. (I say this not entirely without affection.) 

a crumpled tissue of a man

In keeping with his incredibly emo mode, there’s very little colour involved and he doesn’t take much care to present anything with care (look at the state of that shirt and tell me if Apollo has picked up an iron in the last forty years), BUT interestingly he’s not entirely open and unadorned, he does wear that network of jewelry across his chest and neck. Which I think is to show that the old Apollo is not entirely gone (“There he is, god of the sun”), even if he has been a sack stuffed with sad for a long time now. I wonder how many of these things are leftover preferences from being only Lucas — presumably the tattoos at least are from before he fished Apollo up from the sea? If I’m reading the vibes right on that, the blue of the tattoos and the gold of the sun… thingy he wears with the jewelry are the main splashes of colour in his design aside from his hair, and they’re both ‘leftovers’ from both his previous lives, surfer bro and solar deity recently fallen on hard times. Physically he would be tall and imposing, parodically built, except that he carries himself with all the confidence and panache of a damp depressed dishrag. 

Also I can’t believe this guy is walking around everywhere in sandals. Apollo makes sad flip-flop sounds wherever he goes, including when he steps up during ‘The Trial’. That’s so amazingly pathetic (affectionate). 

We can see from the photo with him and Calliope that he wasn’t always quite this much of a mess. Once, he did his shirt up a whole maybe four buttons and wore something that wasn’t beige!

Intellectually I acknowledge that it's a design meant to provide fanservice, even though I personally could not consider this guy in a sexual or romantic light if you gave me a thousand years to build up to it. (I've said it before but if he's anything to me, he is the incredibly fail father figure continually letting me down in tiny ways I never had.) Godspeed to the Apollo-enjoyers out there, though, Summerfall gave him those abs and that poor little meow meow energy just for you and it's your right to enjoy that

- Pan and Apollo also bring out some really interesting contrasts both as characters and designs when you hold them up against each other:  

Once you scratch the surface a tiny bit Pan clearly has just as much self-loathing as Apollo (“If Athena had taken me up on my offer, the Idols would have been better off” uh. Okay buddy we’re gonna have to process that one together later what do you say), but where Apollo is completely helplessly open in his misery at all times, you need to unbutton Pan at least three layers until you get a honest or straightforward emotion out of him and I think that’s amazingly carried through into their visual designs. It's Good Visual Storytelling Brent   

PERSEPHONE

- I’m fairly sure the colour of Persephone’s suit is supposed to evoke pomegranate seeds. See and judge for yourself I suppose: 

She also has details on her coat that depict foliage and growing plants, but colour-wise they and the rest of the detailing is in the blue-green that symbolizes the Underworld and so death. Her jewelry is gold, which — and I’m about to do some reaching here, I’ll be big enough to own — could play in with Hades being the god of riches as well as of the dead/the underworld. Probably it’s because it works well with the colour scheme, but I’m going to pretend that it’s because even if she didn’t get the throne she did get that motherfucker’s hoard when she killed him <3 Love that for her. Her jewelry is more rose gold than Apollo’s yellow gold, too. Watch me go for even more of a reach: between the necklace and the watch, those round discs of gold remind me of the coins put on the eyes of the dead but like you know repurposed since she doesn't need them to pay the Ferryman. I never promised I'd be reasonable in this did I.  

The short hair works real well for the butch vibe and looks amazing no notes, but I think it’s also a deliberate way to differentiate herself from her younger self — when speaking of Demeter’s death, she says that moment was also the final death of that young her, ‘that girl with the long hair who loved her gardens’. Clearly the Idols do a lot of reinventing themselves over the ages in more and less conscious ways.

She has a tattoo of what looks to be foliage and a skull across her left chest and arm. I really like that idea of her having the testament to both sides of her — goddess of spring, queen of the underworld — directly on her skin, under two layers of clothes that each represent those aspects. The one on her arm looks like stalks of grain tied together to resemble the bones of the hand/forearm, maybe? which is metal as fuck, needless to say. 

She is TALL and scary and the staging always plays that up, Grace tends to look up at her like O.O. I love how sharp she is too. 

Also she is incredibly hot but you don’t need me to tell you that you all have eyes I assume. 

EROS, APHRODITE and VENUS:

- I love literally everything about Eros’ design except his hair. Not even the concept of the haircut and colours or anything, just the way it’s rendered. It looks like one strange flat cap I can’t quite make understandable in three dimensional space as hair in my head lol. Other than that it’s a banging design though, the delicate see-through material over the leather BDSM harness is genius. Choosing this form of sensuality and attractiveness for him to embody -- one that is so deeply queercoded -- also works super well. The warmth and vulnerability of his body language on top of it is *chef's kiss*. just. please define his hair a bit more and it's perfect haha.

- I'm not sure I have that much to say about Aphrodite’s design except that of course she is beauty she is grace etc., it takes a lot of thought to make such a simple design shine and by god did they do it she’s so stunning. Also interesting how her dark blues and greens with cool/silvery details contrast with Venus’ warm reds and pinks and… brass? Idk I don’t really understand jewelry haha. All warmth and soft romanticism, anyway, it looks nice. (Side note but I love Venus’ rose tattoo.) Eros and Venus have much more matching colour schemes and they both bring those islands of warmth standing around Aphrodite in her shimmering ocean coolness. (Which of course is something she has to deliberately put on before going into public these days, and is unselfconsciously glamorous in the way of an old timey Hollywood starlet, as the blue route of 'The Ritual' lampshades)

:') *whisper* everybody...

Venus is wearing pearls, which is pleasing considering her connection to Aphrodite (and the backgrounds of the 'Lost in a Moment' variant of 'The Ritual')! and both of her and Aphrodite's outfits go for a shoulderless look to great effect.

ETA: When the camera is close on Aphrodite you can actually see that she has dark circles under her eyes, only partially covered by the makeup :'( I didn't notice that before I played through 'The Ritual' on a bigger screen today

All in all I just want to acknowledge what a fantastic job the character designers at Summerfall Studios have done! There are some really fresh new takes on these mythological figures here, and it makes so much sense within the world the game presents without resorting to well-worn and tired iconography, I really do admire it greatly.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Ive been thinking about how a more humanoid hippo face would look like going by your rules to create non-primate humanoids. Could you help me?

It's been long enough since I made that tutorial, I think I ought to make a new version of it. In the meantime, I've got some ideas about a humanoid hippo, though I also had trouble bringing it all the way over to a "human" look. Some animals are a lot harder to humanize without sacrificing their most recognizable traits.

(image description: four digital drawing pages showing my creative process to make a humanoid hippo. The first image shows drawings of a hippo skull in different angles and positions, as well as a full sketch of a hippo skeleton and a normal hippo from the outside. The second image shows a hippo skull in front view next to a human skull in front view, with a human face in profile below that also has a skull overlay. The third image shows a normal hippo skull, a modified humanoid hippo skull, and a simplified full body hippo anthro. The final image shows the anthro hippo face in profile with a skull overlay, as well as a colored hippo anthro yawning and another one swimming. further details below. end description)

So I think when I made the "how to draw non-primate humanoids" tutorial before, I may not have gone into enough detail about the process with reshaping the skull. It's more than just shortening the snout and giving them a round cranium. It's important to study the original skull from multiple angles and identify the most recognizable features. In the third image here, I have made note that hippo skulls have a prominent eye socket high up on the head, multiple sets of large teeth at the front of the mouth, and that really big bony anchor for their huge jaw muscles. So if you want to humanize it without losing those features, you have to think about how to reorganize them. I built the new skull from the basic shapes up. Circles, then blocky forms, then more detail. The teeth are smaller but still in the same arrangement. The jaw still has a large bony anchor. I rotated the eye sockets to face forward but kept them very prominent. After that, it's just a matter of applying the more human-like round braincase so they've got space for that highly complex calorie-burning people brain. It also provides a better location to anchor the neck, so the head can be held upright.

This hippo humanoid leans far more hippo than human, admittedly. I think adding hair and clothing would help a bit lol but one of the most human-like features out there is our uniquely shaped noses. It's kinda hard to make non-primates with the human nose shape without losing some element of the original animal you're using. That's why I have made changes to my own orc designs recently, to step away from the human nose shape and back to the pig-like snout. that's a matter of personal preference.

Oh, and also, another note I put on the third image was "sometimes it helps to try drawing the fleshed out form first". It can be really tricky to draw a fully cohesive anatomy from the bones up, so if you do some quick tests of the final figure first, it can help you visualize how the bones will look underneath, and then you can just redesign the flesh and the bones alongside each other.

the TLDR here is this: study the most recognizable features of the human form and the animal form you want to humanize. Decide which features of each you absolutely want to keep for your new design and then work out how to organize it all into a cohesive form. Make sure to do a lot of loose sketches in different angles and poses, so you can get a feel for how this new form works. Hope that's helpful!

[winterpower98]

I had a good day (my godmother made zhajiang noodles!) and I'm finally done planning the outline for "Calabash" and "Macaque" (for the Double Training AU)

Macaque has to make a decision, and of course being the monkey that he is he's going to be dramatic about it. His main grievance with the twins being friends with Mei (and MK by association) is that it's actively putting his sons closer to danger. He has spent centuries trying to stay invisible/ having no name in demon circles and mainly relying on PIF's connections if he needed anything done. The whole "MK" situation has thrown a wrench into those plans. Cause while he tries to stay a no name, being Wukong's ex friend makes him recognizable, it's just no one questioned him til now assuming he was plotting revenge on the down low or something. But now, him not doing anything is actually drawing attention onto himself.

So he did the thing in canon and staged the whole defeating a big demon thing and becomes MK's mentor. (he just doesn't put a draining seal onto him) Than he let's the rumour mill do it's thing while he basically scout out what MK is actually like. It was mainly a "if my sons are going to hang around him, he better know how to keep them alive" thing, but MK is genuinely likable so at that point Macaque just accepted that his days of laying low is over. (at least your kids have friends now, it's ok Mac XD)

Before the training arc concludes though, I wanna say "Calabash happens near the end of MK's training with Macaque.

So the calabash was confiscated back in "Duplicatnation", Macaque is going to return it around now. The twins haven't been showing it but I expect the two to feel on edge? (only now typing it out that I realize I don't know how to describe it oop-) Basically, they on some level feel that Macaque knew they used the calabash (he doesn't) and took it because he doesn't trust the twins with it. While Macaque saw it as taking away their VR pod because he can't really ground them considering they would probably 1. drive him mad while cooped up and 2. Mac's guilty conscience wouldn't allow that with how much he already restricts how much they go out.

After training with MK, Macaque basically decided he should probably be less controlling in his sons' lives, so he returns the calabash and they have a talk over it.

And to show that he's serious about being a bit more "laissez faire", he let's the twins invite his friends over (which he never did before!) and even trusted them to be fine alone and left to run some errands. (so technically this was Mac's fault really)

They invited both Mei and MK over, Mei arrived first and MK was caught up with work for now. So the twins, totally caught up with having someone at their house and a bit lost on how to host may have left Mei alone in their room for a tad too long. Long enough for her to fumble her way into the calabash somehow (eh I'll figure out the details one day) and not knowing the exit commands, she's a bit stuck. The twins find out after panicking a bit before realizing what happened. MK shows up and questions where Mei was, the twins tell him and table the conversation of "why do you have such a thing" and go straight to "how do we get her out,"

Jin and Yin basically looked at each other, "Dad is going to kill us", and then proceeds to send MK into the calabash with Yin. So funny thing with the calabash that I added like a while ago but didn't mention. Since it's a glorified gaming system, the twins made the inside magic proof to avoid having to do maintenance so often (especially with Red playing with them sometimes), the side effect is that glamour is also useless inside, which never posed a problem. Until now that is :D

So MK stumbles into the calabash takes a look at Yin and questions if he bumped his head. He would have probably asked if not for being interrupted by the return of Porty!Clone.

I basically made it so, due to MK's initial clones being so unstable, he had to physically poof them. He never got to Porty so the clone just stuck around in the calabash. YIn and Jin didn't realize cause the gourd was confiscated and MK didn't know because he never saw the clone around so he thought it was dealt with. Mk was however getting slowing drained due to unconsciously maintaining a clone.

So basically, Mei is having major flashbacks and MK is super on edge. They bonk the clone, Yin teaches the exit command. (Which he had to clarify that Jin came up with it! Mei dignified that with a snort, I'd like to think MK would have appreciated the wizard to oz reference but he was too tired)

When they exit the calabash, they are greeted by Jin without glamour (for solidarity!) and MK has a mostly one-sided vent at them. To be fair, the kid has been dealing with a lot of demon attacks, training and work on top of having his energy drained unknowingly due to an issue that the twins technically created. The twins just kinda accepted that they might have blew it, but tries explaining themselves anyways. Mei being the voice of reason on that day just cut their hangout short and was like. "You two, keeping secrets and also almost putting me in danger? Not cool, but also I can see you didn't mean at least half of that so let's just sleep on it. MK? Just sleep in general. I get why you're snippy right now and that's totes valid but you are not 100% right now my dude."

So they basically made a group chat and smoothed things over, MK sent a fruit basket as an "Sorry I immediately assumed you might have endangered my friend on purpose because you're a demon and I was tired" gift, the twins liked it a lot, mostly because Mei is still their friend and MK seems to be open to hanging out more too.

This also happened at some point.

MK: So......is your dad a demon too?

Jin: Oh, we're adopted

(note how that didn't answer the question-)

This all happens towards the end of MK's training with Mac, in which Macaque after deciding he's seen enough challenges MK to a fight as a test. (He hasn't really been training MK that much tbh, but actual tips is better than vague words of wisdom so MK did pick up a few things, also some basic footwork cause Macaque is adamant that he has to be quick on his feet)

Before the fight got anywhere though, Wukong shows up due a mix of noticing MK's new "not taught by Monkey King" footwork and noticing MK's recent fatigue paired with some rumours along the grapevine. The king showing up is basically Macaque's cue to leave, except the fact that Wukong doesn't let him.

Wukong: What are you doing with my successor? Also while we're at it, how are you alive?! You've been alive??

Macaque: Ah yes, my king, how nice of you to visit. I was just interrogating your cub, after all I expect him to be responsible for the safety of my sons. You must know by now if he’s anything like you, he’s a magnet for trouble, and believe me from what I've seen? He's a lot like you.

Wukong: Your SONS??!!

MK: His cub?

Macaque: Well I said what I said, oh and MK?

MK: ......Yeah?

Macaque: If you ever need to apologise to my sons again, lay off the peaches, they like persimmons.

And he proceeds to put on his human glamour, not explain anything and dips like the dramatic theatre kid he is.

MK(probably 10 minutes later): Macaque is MR. LIU??????

Wukong is not fairing any better and MK is interogating the twins in the groupchat.

If you're wonder where Mac stands now, he is neutral unless his boys are threatened. (So more or less on MK's side tbh)

-💙

(Drawing was sent with another ask)

Mac needed to re-appear in the demon world and he decided that if he had to do that, he will do it in his style Which is as dramatic as possible

Good for him

Macaque really took one step forward and two behind, uh? My guy your sons are disasters, why did you leave them alone with Wukong's successor how does that not spell trouble for you (And I think "on edge" is the best way to describe what the twins were feeling)

And getting out by clicking your heels is a wonderful idea, don't smack talk your brother Yin.

Also, I can just imagine Jin's big brother instincts starting to tingle when MK starts to vent

But Wukong is having so many emotions during his encounter with Macaque! He didn't question him calling MK his son, but Macaque having sons!??! And being alive!?!?! My guy is not going to sleep tonight

[fermented-writers-block]

PART 1 of 6 of the Owl Deity Hooty Theory

[NEXT PART]

[OWL DEITY HOOTY THEORY MASTERPOST] (in development)

(TLDR at bottom of post)

Over several long months of research and analysis since March of 2020, I have been following an utterly fascinating thread of potential misdirection and subtle details throughout The Owl House, and today, I would like to start weaving together of what I believe could become one of the biggest and most cleverly disguised twists in the entire show.

To begin, let’s take a look at the B plot of Understanding Willow:

On first glance, it’s an ultimately inconsequential sidestory with the sole purpose of justifying an excuse to keep Luz and Amity in Willow’s mind, as well as providing some well-needed room to breathe and release tension after the veryemotionally charged confrontation with Inner Willow. After half an episode of Eda and King outdoing the other in ridiculous ways to win Gus’ vote and Gus running off in frustration at the end of the episode from Hooty’s inane rambling, it’s easy to laugh off Gus’ pick and assume that nothing/of value was said when he closed the door for the interview.

However, if one pays close attention to that very scene, Hooty actually canstill be heard (if faintly) underneath Eda and King’s grumbling, interestingly talking about how “It all started with a hunt. Blood red skies. That’s right, I was created-.”

Now, while it may seem silly to focus on dialogue from Hooty of all characters, this A) tells us that there was an event in the past involving blood red skies and a hunt of some kind, B) that Hooty had been created close to said event, and C) implies that what he knows but can’t tell as a story worth a damn is EXTREMELY important to be included and be hidden in such a manner.

For comparison, the only other instance of dialogue being tucked away in the background in the entire show is in Wing It Like Witches:

During the lecture at the beginning of the episode, the history teacher openswith lore on Belos appointing a head witch to each coven over 50 years ago, immediately cluing in the audience to try and decipher the rest of the lecture as it moves to the background. Adding to this is how the musical sting when Luz shows off her movie obscures what he says even further, making it even more of a intriguing puzzle that the creators clearly intended for viewers to pick up on and attempt to solve.

In contrast, the hidden dialogue of Hooty’s interview is much shorter and not as hard to decipher as the teacher’s history lesson, but at the same time, there are few to no indicators whatsoever in that scene to clue in the audience to even check for something like that. It comes at the end of an episode where most viewers would have been paradoxically tired out and driven abuzz by the revelations of Amity and Willow’s relationship, doesn’t attempt to draw much attention to itself, and frames itself as a comedic subversion of audience expectations with neither the “greatest witch who ever lived” or the self-proclaimed king of demons being picked by Gus.

Instead, he picks someone that the show portrays constantly as an oblivious and gullible idiot after being described as a “state of the art defense system” at the very beginning of the series. Someone who, despite it being played for laughs, is scarily capable of casually subduing Lilith offscreen one episode and then beating her and an entire squad of Emperor’s Coven members without even the slightest change in personality or temperament.

Someone who, due to being the Owl House itself, could be considered the titular character of the entire show, yet is taken for granted by those who inhabit him and barely gets any respect from even the cutely patronized King - including when Hooty could be interpreted as having potentially been full on DEAD for a time given the use of extremely cartoony X eyes and a lack of vital signs in The Intruder.

And someone who Eda at best tolerates and at worst abandons in personal interactions and only occasionally acknowledges him when he’s actually doing his job. Yet at the same time is so implicitly trusted beyondprotecting her home to the point where - when up against the closest person Eda has to an equal outside of likely Belos - the only actually recognizable spells Eda used in combat were 1) stereotypical energy blasts, 2) a single shield spell in Covention, and 3) a noticeably large reliance on imitations of Hooty above any other spells she could have decided to use instead.

In short, the show repeatedly tells us he is just an idiotic gag character through and through, but at the same time demonstrates he has immense power through both onscreen and offscreen demonstrations, implicitly tells us his importance ahead of time through Eda’s imitations in actually serious situations, and treats his interview and origin story as - if not even more- important to keep secret than a long lore dump about how Belos’ reign works.

After all, there being only two instances of hidden background dialogue in the entire season is already intriguing on its own, but for one to get plenty of clues to draw in people’s attention and for the other to be treated as just another gag about a “mere comic relief character” - aka a good way to draw away attention and lower one’s guard - heavily suggests a far deeper significance buried under layers of misdirection, comedy, and conditioned audience expectations.

I mean, when Eda bragged about being “a bad girl living in a secret fortress,” Hooty followed with a remark about how “I’m the secret.” While that line may sound like Hooty simply being confused as part of a one-off on the surface, it’s an odd dialogue choice for the writers to pick when you think about all the other reminders of his nature as the house itself throughout the season. With the precedent these moments set, it would have been much more appropriate for him to latch onto the “fortress” side of “secret fortress” AND it would have been just as equally funny of a joke about his awareness skills, but instead, Hooty broke away from the established trend to say something that would make people suspicious were it to come from anyone else.

In a way, this reminds me much of the many subtle bits of foreshadowing strewn across the show, like Luz unknowingly describing Amity in Witches Before Wizards and Eda burning a hole through Luz’s coven type quiz that coincidentally selected the same track she had taken at Hexside as “a punky potionist.” At the time of airing, these initially seemed like one-off jokes, but eventually came back in full force several episodes later with Amity’s hidden sensitive feelings and love for the Azura books becoming clear in Lost in Language, and the reveal of Eda’s school track in Something Ventured, Someone Framed with her school misdemeanor pictures.

That said, compared to these individual bits of minor foreshadowing, the jokes about Hooty in Understanding Willow appear to simply be the most obvious pieces in a giant puzzle, implicitly and outright telling attentive viewers that there’s a major mystery to be uncovered here.

In fact, I feel bold enough to say that we could be looking at a twist on a similar scale to that of the Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz and Stanford Pines twists in Steven Universe and Gravity Falls respectively, what with this particular puzzle piece coming from how Gus wanted to make THE greatest interview of all time, and how he was looking for someone who was “interesting, accomplished, AND noteworthy:”

Note the emphasis on the ‘and’ here, as Gus had made a big deal that “people aren’t meantto be all those things” at the beginning of the episode, so as a result, stripping away all the comedic framing of his subplot leaves the intriguing implication that whoever - and, perhaps, what- Hooty is, they really are the most interesting, accomplished, AND noteworthy person out of everyone.

I could go further and talk about why I suspect the mystery surrounding King’s origins, whether true or not, is partially meant to misdirect us from paying attention to Hooty, or how the TOH crew’s could be disguising legitimate clues to his nature among made up and highly meme-able joke answers in order to proliferate said concepts throughout the fandom - thus letting us do all the dirty work of getting ourselves used to the ideas and used to dismissing them at the same time - but to bring things to a close for now, I’d like to leave you all with a question that I’ll start answering next time:

What does it mean when both the most powerful and notorious witch on the Boiling Isles and the possible actual king of demons/the Titan itself/something don’t match up to a house? And what do you think it is that makes him so special to warrant such misdirection?

TLDR: Between Eda’s golem spells, the show stressing his nature as the titular house, his implicit strength, and the odd dialogue and structure of Understanding Willow‘s subplot in relation to him, I believe I have good reason to suspect the show has been giving us many hints towards Hooty being much, much more important than it would like us to currently believe or even joke about. Particularly, through clever uses of comedy to establish and enforce a strong audience bias against looking closely at him or unironically taking him seriously, and to potentially plant the seeds for something I will start exploring in Part 2.

[kusagrasskusa]

Michael Myers X Murderer! Reader - Headcannons - "Death Card"

Also, thank you (Wattpad Person) for requesting this :) I know your the last request I got, so I prolly should have done someone else's request first, but your's was just easiest to find. (Also, I have it bad for Michael so )

Have fun reading this! I'm writing this on my laptop instead of computer so sorry if the formatting turns out worse than usual :/

Also...someone made fun of me for putting, "eight," and, "11," in the same sentence. I guess not many people know this, but anything under ten is supposed to be written out unless their fractions or decimals.

By the way, these basically aren't headcannons lol. It's just me wanting to write out a story but not being good enough to so I just write it down in simpler terms.

Enjoy~

Not only is Y/N just another famous murder who casually takes the lives of people, but she's amazing at hiding

..........until-

Y/N was an abusive home after her parents died when she was a toddler. Her aunt and uncle neglected her but karma came back at them when their car fell off a bridge, causing the pair to drown. The downside for the young Y/N was that she was put into a foster institution. And we all know by now that foster care are full of fights, drugs, weed, alcohol, and shitty employees.

As a young girl entering such a bad place, she was always a target. You know that sense of fear, worthlessness, and loneliness fucked with her head to where she felt lashing out felt great.

She would be unable to stop herself as she plunged a sharp object in and out of this prick that held her down for so long. But once she heard voices from other kids, she ran.

The story made headlines as the next big attack from yet another child. That's right, next. There was someone who inspired her to do what she did.

Of course, she always had that memory in the back of her head. That boy's violent actions filled her with immeasurable awe when she saw the news. However, she always had something more important to think about.

With so much dissatisfaction with her past, she could only fill herself up with adding things on to her in the present, and more in the future.

Y/N would steal Poker cards from people and always use the Ace of Spades to mark her kills by sliding the card into a wound. After all, betting games were the highlight of her day in the foster institution. She was always so good at it that it became her pride.

All these headlines and stories about how evil she is became such a big deal in her head. Such an overwhelming feeling of adrenaline every time she heard the name people would call her.

"The Death Card," is another name for Ace of Spades in most English countries. It was the perfect fit for Y/N.

(Ya'll, I feel like a fucking genius for coming up with that lol)

She was so good at hiding, truly. Kill someone in Kentucky, then move to Missouri. Killing someone there and move to Georgia, and so on.

Only in her hometown was she caught.

Michael was the one who started it all for her, as their same age and hometown made her feel connected to him, and finally where he got caught would be the same place she did.

14 years of hiding and killing led her to meeting him

Michael spent these 14 years sitting in complete silence. No talking, no humming, no singing, nothing. It's like he was always in his own world of thought, too busy in his imagination to interact with the real world.

Of course, there was times when he did pay attention to what's around him.

The news was the only thing he'd really pay close attention to. After all, what if something happens to Haddonfield while's he's stuck in there, and that causes plenty of people he once knew to move away?

But per usual, there was nothing about it

But there was something that caught his attention even by a little

"After 14 years, the notorious Death Card or Card of Death has finally been caught," says the Haddonfield Police Department. "While we're unsure of her motives thus far, we have been able to learn of who she is. Y/N L/N made the headlines once in 1980 at the age of eight as one of America's biggest crime cases with children as the culprit, having brutally stabbed a 15 year old boy. This happened just two years after the Michael Myers case, when a six year old boy stabbed his older sister in 1978. All else the HPD are saying is that her frantic behavior may lead her to a mental institution rather than letting her make legal decisions in court."

Michael paid attention to all the details of the report. For this report to be made about Haddonfield, chances are they'll be meeting each other soon.

The Death Card was a violent killer Michael heard of plenty of times however he never paid close attention to.

(Holy shit these are just headcannons so why am I writing long paragraphs)

He had to say, hearing about her violent stabbings were the highlight of his week. Even if he never felt strong about hearing other people having fun with their lives like she was, he couldn't help but almost feel pushed to do what she is. Living freely and ending those who cross his path...

Saying he was jealous or inspired would be a stretch though

He would spend his days painting paper mache masks while thinking of doing what she was for sure but he hated how she would show off by using those cards as if she didn't have a goal in mind, which was annoying to him. If you have nothing to live for, then kill yourself was his mindset.

Michael watched as Y/N stepped into court. He know hundreds- no thousands- of people watched as this woman of pure evil stepped into the courtroom. Her H/C hair flowed as she walked passed everyone, glaring at them with her cold E/C eyes.

A look of slight intrigue replaced his normal dull expression as he watched the girl stand up before the judge, smiling sassily at the cameras as to tell them to fuck off. Michael can recognize that look of intrusion on her face as she was practically interrogated. Clearly, she hated it there.

He watched contently as all the mystery surrounding the Card of Death was revealed to everyone in this world. Days went by of this court case before finally, she pled insanity. After all, she was known to have some underlying mental conditions as she remained so calm when talking about the varies of ways she would kill.

It's easy to see that many felt bad for the girl. Such trauma growing up led to the creation of this unfortunate human. But Michael? He didn't feel bad at all.

He never was sad or truly sympathetic however...he did feel pity. Somewhere in his soulless eyes held pity for this sad, sad girl he was soon to meet. Not exactly sympathy, but simply pity. And with that came respect.

The day that Y/N stepped foot into those doors was the day the two would meet for the very first times. Over 63 counts of first degree murder in 14 years led to the meeting of these two serial killers. At the time, they were both only 20.

Tables were scattered across the room with people talking or simply sitting alone by themselves on them. There was TV in a few different places around the room and board games in a couple of shelves. In the back of the large room was windows that showed the outside that felt so out of reach forever.

As the metal doors slammed behind her, she felt eyes on her immediately. Y/N slowly scanned the room as she gulped back the intense fear gathering in her stomach. Her lips parted open as she began to breath heavily and press her back on those metal doors.

She was so trapped and scared when she first entered that foster institution. She couldn't help but think of karma when her aunt would hurt her so badly for those five years before she died. But 63 murders are so much worse, so what could karma do to her to balance her evil deeds with punishment?

Laughter and giggled filled her ears as she shut her eyes tightly and covered her face with her arms. Her vision was going blurry; she was having a panic attack. Tears fell from her eyes as she whimpered quietly to herself.

She may be the Card of Death however she never had to be in a large group of people in so long.

Her body jerked as she was suddenly pulled away from those metal doors. She cried out when she saw a large man, around 6'7 (204cm), pull her away.

In just a few seconds, she was pulled to a metal table and forced to sit as the large man stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

Her body tensed unimaginably as they remained still for a few seconds, quiet aside from the occasional sobs of Y/N.

Then suddenly, the pressure on her shoulders disappeared. She heard nothing until the sound of creaking from the seat in front of her interrupted.

Y/N felt eyes on her. They were so intense over her.

A minute passed before her own eyes fluttered open, meeting the man's eyes in front of her.

A shiver ran down her spine when she came face to face with stone cold blue eyes that seemed to hold nothing within them. No light, no soul, and no sympathy. Not only that, but a orange mask made of paper mache covered the rest of his face as well.

The man tilted his head before lifting his hand onto the table, sliding something over to her. Y/N looked down at what he gave her.

"Don't speak. Write."

Michael had given her a paper with these words. His handwriting was hard to read considering he nearly never wrote anything so it took a moment before Y/N got the message. When she did, she looked back up at the man and nodded just a little so it was barely recognizable.

Obviously this conversation was to be secretive so she knew to barely show signs of interactions. The camera couldn't pick up on such a small nod to what evidence is there of them even interacting?

Michael slid the paper back to him and brought a pencil to the paper after erasing the original text. When he slid it back to her, it read, "Don't let anyone know what we say Y/N. They watch everything." When Y/N looked back up at him, she saw him dart his eyes from something behind her to something on the wall between them. She turned her head slightly to the side, noticing a camera on the wall. So she understood.

Michael had dropped on the pencil on the table, meaning it was her turn to reply. She erased the previous text before writing down, "Who are you? How do you know me?" When she slid it back, Michael took the pencil in his hand again.

"Michael Myers. I was a well known case two years before you. We heard a lot about you on TV."

"As in the boy who killed his sister at the age of six?"

"Yes. You know me?"

Y/N's eyes widened slightly as she frantically wrote down a reply. Without even noticing, the knot in her stomach had completely disappeared without a trace.

"I remember seeing your case. I thought about everyday."

Michael didn't reply immediately after reading. Instead, he waited a few minutes and stared down at the table. A look of confusion remained on Y/N's features as she impatiently waited. Then suddenly, Michael erased what was on the paper and simply drew a masked person looking somewhat like himself with a knife in his hand. He drew dead stick figures around it with blood splattering everywhere.

Michael knew that this picture would cover up all the eraser marks and writings that were still slightly visible. So when the guard that walked up behind Y/N without her knowing popped up, he didn't see any text.

Of course, this did lead to the paper being taken away. Then minutes after that, both of the pair was taken away.

If there's one thing as scary as analyzing The Shape and caring for him, it's that person who cares and analyzes him finding him interacting with someone else for the first time.

Whenever Y/N got sat down in her cell, she knew what was about to happen. She was sat down in her bed as a man she'd never seen before sat down in the chair that came with her little desk in her cell with a guard next to him.

Have you ever spoken to Michael? Are you related to him? How do you know him? How does he know you? Have you ever met his family? Why did he interact to you? Why was he drawing things for you? Does he like you? Does he hate you? Did he write to you? Did you hear him talk?

So many questions were asked by this Dr Loomis in such short amount of time. "No, no, I don't, no, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, no, no," and mostly these were your responses. No matter how many times Loomis asked, you dully replied.

You simply said he sat you down and you began to draw together, both filling in a piece of the drawing together.

And eventually, you got out.

Another day went by of "talking" to Michael.

And another.

And another.

The talks were nice and casual. What goes on in the asylum? What goes on in the outside? Who should I avoid? What's the reputation of the HPD?

Do you want to escape?

But it was only a matter of time before finally the two were friends.

Y/N was kinda just in her cell one night in bed. Then she just gasped and widened her eyes. Wait, are we friends? We're friends, right!

Michael already knew of their friendship like two weeks before she did. It felt so...wrong for him. He had always been alone and silent. How could someone like her even be so likeable to him? He didn't really understand it but he knew he hated it.

One day, the two were writing to each other per usual. Michael unintentionally added a pun in one of his comments, causing Y/N to giggle. Michael cocked his head to the side in confusion, strangely feeling heat rise his face and his heart speed up. It was air conditioned so he suspected he may have gotten sick.

Whenever the two had to go back to their cells, that feeling suddenly disappeared. Then it hit him. Oh fuck-

Hell, only a week later did Y/N feel herself experiencing the same symptoms. Michael notices that Y/N would shake and fidget a lot when they interacted, making him wonder of she was cold. As a friend, it was only right for him to sit next to her and hold her close to keep her warm, right? Y/N's face went red and damn that was embarrassing. But of course, that didn't mean Y/N wouldn't hug him back.

Eventually the two were basically cuddling. The two hugging each other warmly as Y/N rested her head on his chest, struggling to stay awake as they got more comfortable by the second.

But of course, Dr Loomis caught eye of that.

The doctor had been looking deep into al the interactions these two evil beings have had. They act so casual, so normal with each other, surely more than just drawing is happening between them, right?

The doctor had pulled them into his office separately to interrogate them. While Y/N bluntly answered his questions to make him just shut up as quickly as possible, she couldn't help but think to herself. She knows that she and Michael are mentally ill, but he should definitely be fixed by now. He's smart and creative and can casually talk to people, so it's like the only thing keeping him here is that the doctors are so ill-equipped that they can't make the necessary breakthrough to save him.

Of course, just a month later, another incident happened like this. Y/N was having a bad migraine so Michael got her to just sit down and wait for him during lunch. He brought over two trays of food for them and was sure to trade with Y/N so she can eat the things she likes and he could have the things she dislikes.

Another time, a bipolar guy ran into Michael and shoved him as if it was his fault. Michael shoved him back instinctively, causing a fight to disperse between the two. As security guards took notice, Y/N was quick to push Michael away softly and ball a fist to punch the fuck out of that guy- like a, "YO WHATCHU SAY ABOUT MY MAN?" type shit. Y/N did this to seem like she was hitting back and that Michael hadn't done anything wrong.

And when each other's birthday's rolled around, they had their own celebration. Y/N was given her own paper mache mask as a gift and a small cupcake from the cafe. Michael was given stolen art supplies that were taken from other guests and also a cupcake.

Y/N slowly stopped having panic attacks, but she definitely had her moments. Of course, Michael sat with her through it.

Dr Loomis recorded all this shit so he can gather data on Michael. Then the question hit him: How would Michael react if Y/N was gone for a few days? Does he truly care about her or is he just using her?

If you think Michael hated Loomis before, wait til he pieced together the disappearance of girlfriend and the extensive eyesight on him from security guards. For the hell he raised about it, he had to get sterilized and put into a cell without being able to get out for a few days.

Y/N remained bored in her cell for days. So what better could she do than annoy the guard watching her? She would just talk nonstop for what felt like hours and hours. The dude watching her was just getting more pissed off by the second.

"Would you shut up? Crazy bitch," he hissed, hitting the cell door. Y/N giggled cockily, shaking her head. Even if she deserved to be yelled at for continuing to talk, the Card of Death refused to back down. But when the guard went inside her cell and locked the door behind him, she got a bit worried.

Y/N got off her bed and threatened him cockily, to which he responded with physical force.

Of course, Smith's Groove is ill-equipped so even with proof of being hit and tazed, Y/N couldn't do anything to get the guard fired. But Michael?

A full month without seeing each other was like a slow suicide. But when they finally got to see each other again, the two was sure to write so much about their time alone as if they were teenage friends discussing their fun weekends. However, things turned dark whenever Y/N brought up the guard.

Michael didn't show any emotions at all, no matter what happens. But Y/N learned to guess how he's feeling depending on how long he takes to respond. Slowed blinking as if he was in thought, and slower reading as got analyze her writing closer were typically bad signs.

About a year had passed since they met at this time. A year to plan to escape. By now, the two were both 21 and fully prepared to leave once and for all.

Whenever that security guard had walked passed Michael's cell one night, Michael had knocked on the door to signal him. Michael slipped a paper through the doorslot, as he was given paper since he doesn't talk, saying he found a dead mouse in his cell. The guard just huffed and let himself inside. Michael pointed to where the mouse supposedly was; and that was a mistake for the guard.

Right as that guard went to look, Michael got behind and covered his mouth before stabbing him in the neck with a paint brush that's but carved into a small blade. Within moments, the guard dropped dead onto the floor.

Taking the keys from the guard, Michael was able to let out nearly every single prisoner to this hell out of their cells. Including Y/N.

The world sister was the only thing left of the pair as it was engraved into the door of Michael's cell. And just like that, the two were gone.

How they got there so fast doesn't matter but eventually Y/N and Michael found an abandoned house to station at until the search around the area disappeared and they could move around quicker.

"I can't fucking believe it," Y/N cheered as she felt tears run down her face from happiness. She swayed across the room, taking in the smell of dust and air. Even something dirty felt so new to her that couldn't help but love it at the moment.

Michael would watch her as he sat down in an old wooden chair, cocking his head. His body was in complete shock as the realization of all that's happened in the past years came crashing down on him. This was the real world? This is what dust smells like? This is what shattered glass and broken wood looks like? This is what trees look like up close? This is what things look like without glass tinting the color?

This is what it feels like to celebrate with someone you love? Michael reminded himself that the girl in front of him changed his life so much. His urge to harm all around him was always so strong, but the thought of her being hurt felt a bad taste in his mouth.

He stood up from the chair, walking towards the ecstatic girl as she cried happily to herself and picked up random things to remind herself of what they feel like and all she takes for granted. She turned her head to him, smiling, "Michael, look, I found a-"

Y/N gasped as Michael gripped his mask and slowly moved it. Y/N watched in awe as for the first time, she saw her only friend in this world's real face. That pale skin and soulless eyes that she grew familiar with became so new to her again.

"Michael..." she whispered, stepping closer to him. Her face heated up as she felt the weight his eyes staring down at her. She lightly bit her lip, a shiver going down her spine.

He took a few steps closer as well, making the two remain inches away from each other. Now at this point, Y/N is questioning if Michael is gonna kill her or is gonna kiss her as he awkwardly put his hand to her cheek, brushing her hair away. She leaned her head into his hand, keeping eye contact with him the whole time.

In just a matter of moments, the two came together in a soft kiss. The moment was quiet as the two did their best to remain calm and together as this moment that was little way's overdue continued.

When the two pulled away, Y/N was quick to wrap her arms around him. Now she wasn't going to cry about it, but damn was that contact she needed so badly. The Death Card and The Shape were basically Yin and Yang with how one is emotional and the other in emotionless but their need for pain and each other is what kept it healthy.

Just imagine how much suffering families went through since the two got out.

[guide-to-the-groove]

Aerodynamic:The Power of the Synth

This is perhaps one of my favorite songs of all time, from an album that I grew up with. As the title may have revealed, it's a Daft Punk song from their album Discovery. Those who are familiar with Daft Punk, which should be pretty much everyone at this point, know that the duo is known for their heavy synth-laden tracks and vocoded lyrics. However, "Aerodynamic" drops the vocoder in favor of a straight up instrumental performance, pulling in beats and synths alongside a front-and-center guitar solo. If you have not heard "Aerodynamic", I encourage you to check it out:

The song, split up into three distinct parts, opens with an almost ominous clanging of bells, and to the uninitiated listener, this could betray the song about to play. After four clangs we are introduced to the "main theme" of the track, the oscillating synths and the steady beat in the background lay a foundation for the rest of the song. And then, the second act of the song begins and you hear it: the guitar solo. Sounding as if its been passed through a filter, it breaks up the same-y beat before the main sample returns to the backdrop, with some added, more aggressive beats tossed in for good measure, to signal the start of the third and final act, and create the sound of unabashed shredding. Being composed of mostly the synthesizer, I suppose it could be shredding-without-shredding, so to speak. The song, for how great it sounds, is incredibly short lived, clocking in at just over three minutes, and soon after the climax of the third section we hear the main sample that was introduced in the beginning, comfortably playing by its lonesome before ending with a single bell toll and fade out.

Interestingly, the main sample of the song, heard in the beginning following the bell tolling, actually finds its origins in the song IL Macquillage Lady by the group Sister Sledge. Specifically from 0:16 to 0:25, but check it out for yourself here:

I could also talk about the future funk vibes of this song in particular, but we get enough of that influence in Daft Punk already.

Unfortunately, my knowledge of synthesizer technology and digital audio production is quite limited, so I feel I cannot fully explain what makes "Aerodynamic" so great. However, even without this, one can experience and "feel" the song in their own way, and it can mean something different to everyone, despite the absence of vocals to latch on to.

However, the pacing of the entire album is wonderful, and where "Aerodynamic" falls into place (the second song, following hit "One More Time") creates a cohesive flow that gives the album, and the songs going forward, their identity. The tracks are simple in their construction and performance, but don't let this fool you; they were meticilously constructed, with great attention paid to even the smallest details to ultimately create something that is fun and easy to listen to. For all the sampling that is peppered throughout Discovery, a surprising amount of the music was played on live instruments, with De Homem-Christo estimating, "as much as fifty percent of it started out as recordings of live instruments..." Their own musical prowess served to broaden the available sounds to use in the album, and Aerodynamic is a wonderful example of the blending of synthesizer and instrumental.

Anyone could pop on "Aerodynamic", in addition to any other song on Discovery, and find themselves tapping a foot, nodding a head, or just simply, as the kids say, "vibing". Daft Punk, despite their break-up earlier this year (and I'm not gonna lie, I shed a tear or two or multiple at that video) were pioneers of electronic music, each and every one of their albums distinct in sound and identity, and Discovery is no different. In fact, in an often faceless genre, the Daft Punk duo, and their iconic helmets, are perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable artists in history. You can still hear and see the influence of Daft Punk today (Kanye, anybody?), and that is by no means a bad thing. Godspeed, fellas, wherever you may be heading.

Thanks for reading.

-G

Sources:

https://reverbmachine.com/blog/daft-punk-discovery-synth-sounds/

https://www.soundgym.co/blog/item?id=daft-punk-discovery

https://classicalbumsundays.com/album-of-the-month-daft-punk-discovery/

https://www.reddit.com/r/DaftPunk/comments/1zb2s4/discovering_aerodynamic_an_analysis/

[rrrawrf-writes]

retirement

this is for @gingerly-writing. it was supposed to be for her birthday. then i didn’t write anything for six months. but now here we are.

---

“If you’d wanted me to attend your party, you could have just sent an invitation.”

Suijade looked up, a bit startled, and then stood abruptly, his chair scooting back, as Gloria Delgado smiled at him. For a woman in her eighties, she looked elegant - and recognizable as none other than Morning Glory. She didn’t have to wear a suit. A long, slim white silk dress with the unmistakable prints of cherry blossoms and the creeping, flowering vine that gave her her alias, wrapped around a body that should have belonged to a younger woman.

A much younger woman. Gloria may have had laugh lines and crow’s feet, but she looked like she hadn’t aged past her forties. 

Suijade instinctively reached out to his ropes, but stopped himself, as Gloria simply smiled at him. He hadn’t seen her in person in years. Very few people had. Her brown skin was a beautiful contrast against her straight, snow-white hair, cut in a bob that curved slightly around her face. Suijade stood in front of superhero royalty, and all that Gloria was missing was the crown.

“Please, don’t let me make you stand,” she said warmly, pulling out a chair across from him and taking a seat. She smiled and gestured towards his chair, as if this were her party. “Sit.”

Suijade sat.

Her brown eyes regarded him with a hidden laugh; her voice was warm and honey smooth as she spoke. “This is a wonderful event. And I quite appreciate the cause - a charity ball for the conservation of local wildlife. Tell me,” she drew one of the still-full winegasses from Suijade’s side of the table to hers, and took a sip; he resisted the urge to tell her that it was for his fiance. “Did you arrange this for the irony, or was that a happy coincidence?”

Suijade finally found his voice. “It’s rather brave of you to come here alone, Mrs. Delgado.”

She smiled at him over the rim of her glass. “As I said,” she pointed out, “you wanted me to come.”

“I would have preferred different circumstances,” Suijade admitted. He doubted he would see them, but he looked out over the crowd for any sign of the people he’d sent to fetch Gloria in the first place. His table was one of several on a balcony overlooking the celebration; it was otherwise empty, as the people in the hall below them chatted, danced, and ate their fill. 

“Then you should have come yourself, Lariat,” Gloria chided. “I’m sure the end result would have been very different.”

If Gloria had been sixty years younger, Suijade suspected she would have rolled her eyes. The sarcasm still carried without the gesture, and he took a bit larger of a drink than he really should have. 

“I believe that the end result will turn in my favor, now that you’re here,” Suijade said. “I appreciate how much easier you’ve made this for me.”

Gloria let out a soft chuckle, and propped her chin in her hand. “Oh, no, darling, it’s rather the other way around. You see, you’re trapped.”

Suijade arched his eyebrows. “Pardon?”

Gloria’s smile grew a touch wider. “You’re trapped,” she repeated, and gestured around them with her glass of wine. “By societal convention.”

“Please explain.”

Gloria gave him a warm look, took another sip, then set down her glass and straightened. “Everyone,” she said, “knows who I am. And those here who don’t recognize me yet, will soon. It’s rather expected for heroes - even retired ones - to kick up a fuss at these events. Though,” she added, “I really would prefer not to. I haven’t been invited to much of anything for years, and this is quite enjoyable.”

“I would prefer not to have a fuss at my party, either,” Sujiade said dryly. “Mrs. Delgado, you seem to have quite the monologue prepared.”

“Please be patient with me, my dear,” Gloria said. “As I said, I haven’t been out and about in years.”

Suijade couldn’t help a smile, and he tipped his glass towards her. “Well, then, please continue. I would hate to curtail your enjoyment.”

Giving him a maternal smile, Gloria reached across the table and warmly patted his hand. “Thank you, darling. I have no need to hide my identity, or my powers. You, however, cannot make a scene without revealing yours.”

That was true. Suijade observed her over the rim of his glass, straight-faced. “I have been known for my subtlety, Mrs. Delgado.”

“I am aware.” Gloria glanced around the room. “But it is a touch more difficult to hide ropes at such an event as this, isn’t it? Let’s see - you have the curtains, of course,” she waved her hands towards the fabric pulled back from the high arching windows. Suijade had, indeed, added ropes to hold them back, as much aesthetic decoration as a potential weapon; more ropes hung behind them. “If I were here to cause a fuss,” Gloria continued, “I would also suspect the vents in the room, and the high ceilings. I’ve had to use those hiding places for my own purposes, before.”

“You’re very observant.”

“I’m very old,” Gloria corrected with a smile, “and I’ve seen every trick in the book, Lariat. Even yours.”

Suijade gestured to the one server waiting on the balcony with them, though she was far enough away not to hear anything. He and Gloria waited for the server to refill their glasses, and Gloria thanked her warmly before the waitress stepped away again.

“Mrs. Delgado,” Suijade said, after a moment. He resettled himself in his chair. “I do not rely solely on my powers. I have always considered that a weakness.”

“And so you would like to tell me that my focus on your powers is a similar weakness,” Gloria guessed with a smile. Suijade nodded, once. “This is true, and very wise of you, Lariat. Though you should be cautious of your use of the word always,” she added, a twinkle in her eyes. “I remember when you thought that your only strength.”

“Would it be inaccurate of me to suppose that you are focusing on your own strengths at this moment?” Suijade said. This evening was taking an odd turn, but he found the conversation refreshing - and, admittedly, somewhat flattering. There were not many these days who had the opportunity to speak so frankly with the woman who had been the first to show superpowers - and become the first superhero. 

“It would not,” Gloria confirmed. “But, it would also be accurate to say that you, Lariat, are outgunned.”

He frowned.

Gloria straightened with a smile. “You have done me the wonderful favor of ensuring that I have more than enough ammunition, Lariat.”

Her eyes drifted towards the vase of flowers in the center of the table. Suijade shifted slightly. It was only a single vase of flowers -

A single vase of flowers on every table in the large hall. Several clustering end tables. Displays along the wall showing realistic dioramas of the local environments they were trying to save. Small indoor, decorative trees and plants that were real, because if Suijade was going to sponsor an event, he wasn’t going to use plastic for anything.

He had arranged his own trap.

“I presume you had all of these roses dethorned, of course,” Gloria mused, reaching a hand out to the vase. Her fingers curled around a soft green rose, and the smooth stem sprouted slender, sharp thorns as she pulled the flower away from its fellows. “That’s really a shame. You can’t properly appreciate something without experiencing all aspects of its creation.”

“They came that way,” Suijade said numbly. He hadn’t really paid much attention to the flower decorations. He had people for that. He suppressed the urge to look around for his security, to check again just in case Gloria had brought someone with her, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Mrs. Delgado, my associates - ?”

“Ah.” Gloria set the rose aside. “They’ll have been arrested, by now. I was vague on the details when I called the police. I tried to avoid hurting them as best as I could.”

Of course she had. “I appreciate that. They were only doing their jobs.”

Gloria smiled. Her gaze drifted over the celebration below them, following the attendees in their suits and gowns. It was hardly a news-worthy event, simply some of the local rich folks around the state that Suijade and his fiance had convinced to back the charity.

“Lariat, if you’re going to send others out to do what no one else can do better than you, you really should retire.”

He startled, looking up at her. “I’m sorry?”

She set down her glass, a slight smirk touching her green-coated lips. “Oh, you could join my book club.” Gloria’s expression brightened at the thought. 

Suijade stared. “Your… book club.”

“Yes. We just met last week, and we’re starting a new book. This is the perfect time.” She straightened. “I think you would enjoy it. We’re reading one of Robin Kimmerer’s books this month. Braiding Sweetgrass.”

Had she gone senile? She was eighty years old, at least, and Morning Glory had taken a lot of hits during her career.

Judging by the slight smile on her face, Gloria could guess at what Suijade was thinking. “Well, at least consider the idea,” she said, and finished off her glass of wine. “Who was it, Lariat?”

Suijade blinked, and shifted again. “Who was who?”

Gloria looked at him. “I know that there is no reason for you to hold me ransom, Lariat. I have no riches, and I’m not that valuable a public figure any more.”

“You shouldn’t sell yourself so short, Mrs. Delgado.” Suijade flagged the server down again, asking her to refill Gloria’s glass as he regained his feet in this odd conversation. “We would all be poorer without your presence.”

She gave him a fond smile as the server left them again. “Except you. How much richer would you be?”

Suijade smiled back at her. “Quite a bit, Morning Glory.” And considering the money Suijade already had, that was certainly saying something. He could retire their server’s father, the poor man. Suijade knew he worried about her university tuition.

“Mmm. And who will be to blame for your sudden increase in charitable donations?” Gloria asked with a smile. Suijade sat back in his chair, but before he could think of a non-answer to give her, he spotted his fiance over Gloria’s shoulder.

Jesse, of course, had the worst timing, as always.

He stood up with a smile regardless, and he didn’t even have to fake it - seeing Jesse enjoying himself was a pleasant contrast to the work Suijade had to deal with. Jesse had his hearing aids in, but Suijade still signed a greeting to him.

“Oh, Jesse, hello again,” Gloria said brightly, getting to her feet a beat after Suijade. He shot her a startled look, and bit his tongue. “I’m sorry for disappearing on you earlier, I found an old friend I wanted to say hello to.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Delgado,” Jesse said brightly, his voice just a touch too loud, the words just a touch too close together. Suijade still hadn’t heard anything he loved more. He pressed his lips together when Jesse offered a hug to Gloria first, but he really couldn’t blame either of them - Suijade had always been the one with more reservations about displays of affection.

Jesse at least broke away to come over and kiss Suijade, very briefly, on the corner of his jaw. “I didn’t realize the two of you knew each other,” Jesse said brightly. He reached down to steal Suijade’s glass, and Suijade let him. 

“Well, it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen each other,” Gloria said warmly. 

“I’m more surprised the two of you know each other,” Suijade remarked, though at this point, he really shouldn’t be. Jesse somehow always knew the oddest people, but tonight, Jesse shook his head.

“We only met tonight,” he said. “I wish we had known each other before, I absolutely would have invited you.” Jesse gave Gloria a bright smile. 

Of course he would have. 

They all took a seat again, Jesse sitting as close to Suijade as he could manage it. The server appeared without being asked, bringing another glass and refilling the others before she ghosted away again. Suijade had hoped this would be the last event she’d have to play caterer at, and then she could simply focus on her studies, but with Morning Glory here as a guest, rather than a captive, Suijade supposed he’d have to find some other source of a bonus for her father.

Well. He could still find a way, he was sure. He was Lariat, after all, even if Gloria was right.

Sorry for not being down there with you, Suijade signed briefly to Jesse, under the edge of the table. He didn’t know if Gloria knew sign language, but he wouldn’t be surprised. Work came up.

That’s all right, Jesse signed back, before taking one of Suijade’s hands and leaning against him. “Are you enjoying the party, Mrs Delgado?”

“It’s lovely,” Gloria assured him. “I especially adore the decorations. You’ve both truly outdone yourself tonight.”

“Have you seen the gardens?” Jesse asked eagerly. “The people who own this place have been working on them for decades.”

“No, not yet,” Gloria said, though she perked up just as eagerly as Jesse. “But I would like to.”

“Jesse,” Suijade started, but Gloria had already swept to her feet; Jesse bounced up, too, like an eager puppy. Suijade started to stand.

“Let me show you,” Jesse said excitedly, before Suijade could make any attempt at heading off this adventure. Turning, Jesse gestured for Suijade to stay seated, adding, “No, Suijade, it’s fine. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

Gloria slipped her arm through Jesse’s, and smiled past him to Suijade. “You should really consider my invitation,” she told him warmly. “Jesse, hold on juuuust a moment.”

She hovered her hand over the flowers in the vase, deliberating a moment between colors before she pulled another of the pale green roses. Suijade shoved down the urge to leap across the table as Gloria fussily slipped it through Jesse’s lapel, cooing over how well it matched his shirt.

Jesse, of course, was delighted, and he half-turned to show Suijade with a grin. Suijade did not miss the single thorn on the stem.

“Who was that friend of yours you wanted me to meet, Suijade?” Gloria asked, the lines around her eyes crinkling with a warm smile.

Suijade’s grip wrinkled the tablecloth. Jesse looked to him, and Suijade forced himself to relax, pushing a tense smile onto his face. Looking good, he signed quickly to Jesse. His fiance beamed.

Suijade knew that Gloria wouldn’t hurt Jesse. Of all the capes he’d ever dealt with, Morning Glory was the one he trusted most not to make good on a threat against a civilian. But it wasn’t about whether she’d hurt Jesse or not - it was about whether Suijade was willing to take that chance, miniscule though it may be, with the man he loved.

He wasn’t.

“Ah. Percy Banks,” he said, glancing past them to the people below. “He is very keen to make your acquaintance.” And all of Banks’ money in the world wasn’t enough to make endangering Jesse worth it. Suijade did not want to make the mistake of trusting Morning Glory’s public reputation. She was not one of the more predictable superheroes.

“Thank you.” Gloria beamed at Jesse. “Shall we?”

Suijade watched the two of them go, then sighed. He drained his glass, then wearily waved over the server to refill it, again. She looked at him, then just set the bottle on the table. Suijade let out a soft laugh.

“Thank you, Maria,” he murmured, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was sure no one would notice if he dipped his hands into the charity till for her tuition. If she kept him supplied like this, he would. 

With a sigh, he sat back in his chair. Retirement. He’d thought about it for some time, and he knew it would make Jesse happy. And Suijade carried out his own plans less and less these days. Maybe Gloria was right - it could have ended very differently if he’d gone after her himself, instead of trusting to his employees.

It could have ended with him hurt, or worse, and Jesse left alone, waiting for him to come home. Suijade closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he pulled out his phone, and looked up Robin Kimmerer.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 38

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"How long are you going to follow me, you mute bitch?" With her teleportation and illusions there wasn't much I could do about it. We both knew if it came down to it I'd win, though. I'd shown that earlier. But she could escape anytime she wanted so I couldn't chase after her and end it. I could activate my semblance and smash her around with my strength or speed and win by standing still.

But only by standing still.

I walked past a billboard proclaiming Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Cinder Fall, Hazel Rainart, and the Scorpion as wanted. My friends lived. I'd go spy on them later, when Neapolitan wasn't watching. Just to check up on them. Then I'd head my separate way.

She rapidly poked one finger through a loop in the other hand. "Fuck," I interpreted. She pointed at me. "Myself."

She clapped her hands giddily in her approval and her eyes switched colors.

"I need money," I muttered. "And a new scroll. I don't suppose you have any ideas."

She reached out into an illusion and retrieved a red brimmed hat.

"Ones that don't involve Ruby. I really seriously don't know where she is."

She looked like she didn't believe me, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well tough shit. Unless you want to go another round." She rubbed her chest where I hit her. "I'd be all for that."

She just frowned.

"Fair enough," I said. "Why do you even want to find Ruby?"

She drew a line over her throat and fondled the red and black hat.

"You want revenge for Roman Torchwick."

She nodded.

"Ruby didn't kill your boss." I dropped the harsh news on her.

She cocked her head sideways at me as we walked together through Mistral. It was… it was actually nice to have someone to talk to. Talk at, even. Otherwise I'd be alone with my thoughts and that just wouldn't be good for me. I was still wishy-washy on ending my own life.

I deserved it too. I wanted to die for what I'd done to my friends. I was the culprit, the thief in the night who robbed them of the opportunity of ever being 'together, together.'

At least they were together in death, now.

"A Grimm got him," she frowned up at me at that. "You can't even get revenge." I laughed. "You poor bitch. Not that I'm any better." Who was I supposed to kill in my hunt for vengeance now? Me. And believe me I was thinking of ways of getting to that son of a bitch. Unfortunately he was running out of friends.

An alien goddess had control over my mind. I was little more than a puppet under the right circumstances. I suppose if I had been like a puppet, all uncoordinated, Ren and Nora might have had a chance at subduing me. Instead I'd acted more or less fluid. That was a little scarier. Or a lot.

She smashed one fist into the other.

"If you were going to kill me you would have done it back at the bar. Don't act. You can't pull it off. Not while I'm awake and I assure you I'll be on my guard while sleeping. You won't get it done then either, not with my aura level."

She gave me an adorable pout. Her pink lips pressed together and out. Her pink and brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

"I know how you feel. I need revenge against Cinder. You know her? Cinder Fall?"

Her grin stretched.

"Don't tell me you want to kill her too? Did she get your boss killed? Set him up?"

She nodded.

"That's as good as killing him, I suppose. I think we may be able to help each other. Ruby really didn't kill him. Ruby doesn't have it in her to kill somebody. She always goes out of her way to avoid it."

She frowned and pointed at me.

"She's not like me. I'm a murderous asshole."

She shook her head indicating I'd guessed wrong and pointed at me again.

"What about me?"

She rotated one finger next to her head.

"I am crazy. Don't even get me started. If nothing else I'm suicidally insane. And that doesn't even get to these bugs in my eyes."

She pantomimed doing a line of hyper. Pinching one side of her nose and breathing in.

"I'm not on anything. I'm just fucked up."

She touched the tips of opposite forefingers together.

"What's that mean? It's not the same thing."

We walked in two-sided silence for a few minutes down a rainy street.

"You know where somebody with a loose moral compass can make some money around here relatively fast?"

She pointed a thumb over her shoulder back at Malachite's bar.

"Yeah, I sorta burned that bridge. And it can't involve Don Corneo. I had him tortured. Killed a bunch of his men, too."

Her smile widened looking up at me.

"Oh is that how you get your jollies?"

She just grinned up at me.

"Well I suppose we could just do official huntsman work. That's always lucrative."

She pointed a finger between us.

"Yeah I thought you were following me. That makes it an us. Keep up. Plus I just might be your best shot at murdering Fall. I almost fuckin' had her. And I might know where she's headed next."

She looked at me in surprise.

"Yep. Her and Black, too. Fought them relatively recently."

She put a hand to her mouth and silently laughed at me.

"Yeah they lived. Go ahead and giggle. Next time I'll get one of them. At least one of them. Well, Cinder has the powers of the spring maiden now. It might be even harder than before."

She gave me a confused look. Hell, who was she going to tell? She was… easy to talk to besides. I wasn't sure if it was the muteness but it might be.

"It's a whole thing. Ancient powers passed along person to person. Myths and legends. It's fucking bullshit is what it is. Girls only club. So maybe you could get in on that action."

She silently snorted, full of doubt. A little air escaping her nose.

"It's true. You can be the one to fight her and find out the hard way or you can take my word for it. She's even more dangerous now. And she was already a heaping pile of it before. I surprised her yesterday and I'm only getting stronger from what I've seen but she just added a big helping of power to herself."

She pointed at herself then smashed one fist into her open palm to indicate violence.

"Could you beat her?"

She nodded. Letting me know I'd guessed right.

"Maybe. Maybe before but probably not now. You'd be in serious trouble. I'd be in serious trouble." I let that sink in, I was able to beat this ice-cream girl and if I was not able to beat Cinder that only meant she wouldn't be able to either.  

She made a complicated series of gestures.

"I didn't get that. But it doesn't matter, does it?"

She just frowned at me and I strode forward. She was practically jogging to keep up and I had no intention of slowing down.

The relic jingled by my side as I walked.

"You know maybe it can involve Don Corneo. You up for stealing from a mob boss? It might involve torture and death. I could use someone with your talents."

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Some broken limbs and I learned the news (Neapolitan had clapped at that). Don Corneo was holed up in his mansion with a whole lot of guards and probably a whole lot of money. Evidently he hadn't taken being tortured very well.

Go figure.

Neapolitan or just Neo was working beside me and honestly it felt good to have somebody watching my back, even if they were criminal scum. Which, I mean, beggars couldn't be choosers from their glass houses.

I needed a pseudonym. I could hardly keep calling myself Jaune Arc even though my weapon and face would be recognizable. I needed a haircut and makeover and a new name. I had to hide from my friends as much as it bit at me.

I was lucky they hadn't reported me to the police. The wounds on Nora and Ren's bodies would be unmistakable as coming from my weapon.

More importantly I needed the money to do all that. I was a long ways away from hopping on a horse and riding out to Merlot's laboratory, as much as I may want to. Instead I needed to stay in the city for a while.

That meant laying low and coming up with a heist. I needed money. Enough that I didn't have to worry about it for a long time.

I was struggling to come up with a new name for myself. That was always the hardest part. Names. I thought that as I broke one of Don Corneo's lackeys' fingers.

Neo and I had him tied down in a hotel room on the lower levels. It was dirt cheap and nobody would ask any questions. Especially if we left no body behind.

He screamed into a gag and it came out muffled. Nickel was the name we managed to get out of him.

"Shshsh." I told him. "You're going to tell me the security details on Don Corneo's mansion or I'm going to break every last bone in your body. If you scream I'll hurt you even more than that. Are we clear? Everything goes well and you get to walk on out of here. You might have to find a new boss but that doesn't really matter compared to your life, does it?"

He seemed to realize I was actually waiting for a response and gave a slow shake of his head. I nodded at Neo and she pulled out the gag.

"Now, what's the security look like?"

"He's going to kill you for this, he's going to-"

Neo gave a lecherous grin and stabbed him through the foot. Who was this guy fooling? He didn't even have aura. There was no way the Don cared about him a Lien. Not that we cared considering we were planning to rob him blind. She covered his mouth with the other hand, not that we really needed to down here per se, and looked him in the eye.

Her gaze flickered out like a hungry lizard's tongue to meet his eyes and devour all of the pain therein.

"Boy you don't even have aura. I can fix that for you. Unlock your aura and make it all go away." He was older than me, probably by a few years. Might be twenty-one, twenty-two. I watched him consider it. Aura was a game changer. A kid like him had to know what it meant, what it could mean. It'd mean a pay raise if nothing else. It meant increased survivability. It meant the power to fight back against those dastardly huntsmen.

"I can make the pain go away too. It'll heal you right up, even your broken fingers." They were tied behind his back. Nice and easy within snapping distance. "What's it going to be, my man."

"Fuck you, I ain't your man."

I broke another one of his fingers. Neo stuffed the gag back in his mouth while he screamed.

"We're not making much headway with this one. Might have to kill him and grab a fresh one. Start over." I said it clinically to Neo. Her eyes went wide at the thought of the violence. I even thought maybe the tips of her breasts were protruding more than before from the excitement. She gave a silent laugh and I hoped it was just my imagination. For my part I didn't have a carnage boner.

A murder erection I distinctly did not have. I wasn't a sadist. Just a pragmatist.

I had to admit there was a bit of an endorphin rush at the thought of snapping this guy's neck, though. With Neo's semblance we'd just walked up and grabbed him from the mansion and we'd walked away, under the cover of an illusion.

Suddenly I had some symptoms come at me and I blinked hard at the tactile sensation of bugs in my eyes until they stopped. Nerves firing which shouldn't have been.

"I'm thinking maybe we just hammer the place. Go all in and kill everyone in our way," I said. "Your thoughts, Neapolitan?"

She stamped a foot.

"Beg your pardon, I meant Neo." I hadn't but she seemed content to insist on it now that I'd figured it out. I took it as a good sign.

"M-m-m. M-m-m." Came from under the gag.

"Sorry, do you have friends in there? Some buddies perhaps?"

Neo pulled the gag out of his mouth. Nickel spat on the floor, very much not in our directions. He didn't want another broken finger was what that told me.

"You'll never make it like that. The Don has a safe room. A panic vault. You'll never get in and get what you want that way."

"And you've telling us this now because…"

"I want a cut. He's got millions stashed away. A-and I want my aura unlocked... And I walk free."

So that's how it is. Money talks, money talks. Apparently louder than broken bones could.

"Tell me about this panic room."

"It's got Titania walls and big electric locks."

"What kind?"

"The fuck should I know? It's like you see in bank vaults though. His office is in there. Or at least it is now they moved it from the second floor. He's been paranoid. There's been talk."

"Talk about how somebody got to him." I nodded. I put my face in his. "Somebody did. I'm going to do it again."

"It was you. It was you at the Honey Bee Inn." His brown eyes went wide.

"Maybe. Tell me about the mansion."

"It's built with choke points in mind. And places we're supposed to go to to lay down fire if there's an assault. It's all built around this central courtyard, too. It has mines in the walls, explosives at every corridor. They can be remotely activated by the Don. The whole place is booby-trapped. It’s supposed to be huntsman proof.”

“Nothing is actually huntsman proof."

He shrugged but the fact he was panting hard ruined the illusion of calm. "Couldn't say."

"Talk to me about the patrols you were on.”

“They’re fairly strict about it. Somebody will have noticed I’m gone, even. Every hour on the hour and through the center courtyard. Around the building, too.”

“How many?”

“A hundred of us at a given time, maybe."

A hundred could be a problem. Especially if they had proper choke points and the right hardware. Hard light weapons or magnetically accelerated rifles were huntsman level. There were also electric weapons which I was sure could find Neo, invisible or not. I'd seen Neptune use one. An explosion could also take me down. Limit was good but I wasn't invincible.

"Aura?"

"Some of us have it, some of us don't. The Don hasn't been in a position to be picky about his men. Not with his empire crumbling under pressure to the Malachites."

I leaned back and folded my arms. I exchanged looks with Neo. She flickered in and out of the visible spectrum and warbled a hand.

"Might be too many to just walk in to. Plus the explosives. They gonna be a problem for you?"

She waved her hand again.

"Samesies," I grunted.

I had him walk me through the layout of the place in enough detail that I was able to draw a map of the first and second floor. The panic office was on the bottom floor. A big, heavy thing like that couldn't be above ground.

Neo gave me a pleading look and I nodded. She walked behind Nickel and she bent down like she was going to untie him. Giving him one last shred of hope before she snapped up and slit his throat. I watched her take extreme pleasure in doing it.

She shuddered with the living corpse as his lifeblood drained soundlessly onto the floor. She looked ecstatic in the company of death. A low narrow smile on her lips.

It was clear to me. I just needed to give her lots of targets. It seemed like it had been a long time since she was able to indulge in such things. Heists. Murder. All of it. Money must trickle. The blood must flow.

Most importantly I needed to keep her focused on Cinder rather than Ruby. I think the message was starting to sink in but she could relapse. Besides, I wanted Cinder to die and another body wouldn't hurt.

I just needed to make sure she didn't run out of her little pleasures and it seemed to me like I'd have a loyal ally. Underneath it all it seemed like she was just lonely and scared. Especially without her boss. I think there was a part of her that liked taking orders.

And weren't we all like all that? I was like that without Ruby for one. I wasn't sure she would approve of this but she probably didn't approve of me murdering our friends either so there was that.

Neo didn't seem so bad. A bit of a sadist but hey, me too. There was a part of me that took sick pleasure in bringing ruin to my enemies. There was a sideways joy in delivering a boot to their faces.  

And my friends… if I ever saw them again they'd have to understand. I did what I had to to find out about Merlot… this… my father. I had so many memories. Like visiting Shion. We're they all fake? I had to learn more about myself.  If I had to shake hands with a few demons to make it happen then big fucking whoop.

Neo looked at the blood on her stiletto and wiped it off on the Nickel's clothes.

I could work with this. I could live with this. I just needed to throw away my pride.

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-WG

[nuttdepikabnha]

Why Hanta Sero should be in Ones Justice

Anime spoilers??? And cussing. Please exuse any typos I may have missed. You have been warned

If you follow me you would know that I fucking love hanta sero

He's wonderful and if you don't think so, that's perfectly fine

What I'll be talking about is why he should be in the game and how weird it is that he isn't, and different combat moves and in game moments that the creators could add with his dlc.

Note, I do not have the game myself, but I've seen enough videos to know how it works for the most part. If there's anything I'm missing please fill me in

Let's get started I'm ready to rant

First off, they have characters that we see at most two or three times that for some reason are in this game.

Take example, the meatball man that was in the way of Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari during the licencing exam.

We only see him for two scenes and he's not important at all.

Sure we can argue that sero isn't important to the plot either, but neither is Mina, jirou, tokoyami, mineta, twice, Mr. Compress, ect, but they ended up in the game because they are beloved by the fans and we see them enough to know exactly who they are.

It also baffles me how characters like rappa and that one villan during the kota arc got into the game as well.

They were one time villains that we don't actually know anything about and are just there to stand in the way and not add any plot

Now people might get mad at me,

"But! What if they appear and become important later and we just haven't seen it in the anime???"

Well the game follows the anime.

The story mode follows specifically where the anime is at.

You're also thinking,

"If you don't think one time villains shouldn't be in the game, what about overhaul???"

Overhaul was more of a threat and appears longer than the other mentioned villains.

The characters we follow at the point have to actively look for him.

His actions effect the rest of the story because of eri.

The same reasons go for stain.

He fits into the roster because he is definitely more memorable and leaves a great impact as well.

One more rediculous fucking example of an unnecessary character added to the roster is gang fucking orca.

I could name way more pros that deserve to be in the game but nope. We get a pro hero we honestly don't care for compared to others.

We care more about pros like present mic and midnight, who have appeared many times and left a larger impact on the series.

In conclusion to this section,

It's rediculous that the game has characters most people don't care about and the game doesn't need, so it's confusing why they don't add sero, a character who appears way more often, got 18 on popularity polls TWICE IN A ROW, and adds a little more to the series. Even if it's a one liner or two.

NEXT SECTION WHERE I GEEK OUT ABOUT POTENTIAL MOVES HE CAN HAVE!! LETS GOOO

I'm not sure how to start this section so I'ma just be straight forward:

If you don't know how to make his moves..

Just👏inspire👏from👏Tsuyu👏asui👏👏👏

Let me explain,

The two actually have very similar quirks. They can use their quick to trap others, they both move around in the air at ease, and can throw people or objects.

They can be the same type of fighter

WHEN HE ENTERS A BATTLE-

He walks up, does a little stretch while saying something confident:

"This'll be a walk in the park!!" Something like that

Once the stretch is over he closes his helmet and goes into a fighting stance

MOVES HE CAN DO:

There should be a combo attack where he shoots his tape to the ceiling and pulls himself forward, kicking the opponent then landing, having his tape unstick to the ceiling and go back into his elbows.

This attack could be used as long distance, if you are a good distance from the enemy, and short distance

Normal single button short distance attacks could be him normally punching. His quirk wouldn't be too well for close combat so he can punch and kick as his heart desires

Long distance can be him wrapping the opponent in tape and swinging them to throw them into a wall.

Just like tsu does, like he did with rocks, and just like he tries to do to todoroki during the sports festival

His plus ultra move could go like this:

He straps the opponent in tape then swings them around really freaking fast to the point they are in the air,

He slams them into the ground by grabbing the tape and pulling it down. The person breaks the ground in slow-mo as the hit thing rises up.

I'm not entirely sure if you can dodge your character normally by rolling or something, but sero's dodge move would just be swinging out of the way.

If you swing out of the way and press an attack button, he can kick the opponent from behind then land on his feet

OK SO YOU KNOW THE CUTSCENES WHEN YOU ADD SIDEKICKS AND DO PLUS ULTRA THEY WORK TOGETHER????

OK that for sero would be with Midoriya and Uraraka

But... Mina and Kaminari???"

YES I would love that BUT this would make more sence because they have worked together before for the hero license exam.

The cutscene with Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari HEAVILY recreates the scene during the license exam where they worked together, (with the game changing it up so they can all attack)

The same thing can happen for sero, uraraka, and deku because of how they worked together at the exam.

(I had to rewatch the scene for these specific details. It gave me serotonin ( ꈍᴗꈍ)

Ok so I'm gonna do this rp style to make it easy..

"You sure this plan is going to work?"

Sero walks in sight and looks past the camera before uraraka comes into view and nods

"Let's do this" she says with confidence

"Alright fine"

The two run out of view as deku comes into the screen and runs towards the opponent, keeping them destracted by running around them and landing a couple hits, showing the hit count on the side.

Sero comes into view and shouts at deku to carry him

They jump away upwards and the opponent's sight follows them and sees boulders taped together above their head.

Deku jumps on top of the gathered boulders and crushes the opponent and the ground, once again in slow-motion and the hit number going up quickly. Uraraka cheers in the background as this happens.

Basically this but the boulders are taped together and are trying to crush the opponent, not capture them

Ok I'm going to answer my own questions about this:

Why is sero being carried?

Yes it reflects what happens in canon but it can also be helpful with careful thinking.

If sero was standing around while deku would kick the boulders, the opponent would have an opportunity to attack sero. But in order for their plan to work, the opponent would have to be standing right under the boulders.

If he were being carried, the opponent would be more focused on them and stay put.

He also adds to the weight of making the boulders go down and crush the opponent.

CONCLUSION???

Hanta Sero is a very minor character, mainly for background and comic releif, but he might as well end up on the roster of the my hero game.

His abilities would work well in the fighting game and a lot of people like him enough for him to be recognizable.

The game will let characters who have less than two scenes into the game, so they should have a beloved character that has way more moments and is more well known through the series

There are different ways the creators can have fun messing with his quirk and teaching fans new things about him.

The new dub update came with new voicelines, and those can definitely help us learn about his character and just have fun listening to conversations he might have with fellow students.

Omg thank you so much if you read this all the way. I really hope they add him.

THE PETITION :00

https://www.change.org/p/byking-add-hanta-sero-as-dlc-to-my-hero-one-s-justice-2?original_footer_petition_id=21912577&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=4&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAEc0TgEAAAAAXq2XfIIo54wyOWIwZTdiYw%3D%3D

Ok I'll stfu now lol

[beevean]

3 years of Sonic Forces, the biggest love-hate relationship of the series

[note: this is the translation of @latin-dr-robotnik​’s article]

Today is an almost special day, today it’s the anniversary of a rather peculiar game in this series.

On this day 3 years ago, the (to this day) newest game of Sonic Team was released: Sonic Forces. After waiting a year and a half since its announcement (and four years since Sonic Lost World’s release), it was finally time to see what the last chapter of the main series had in store for us, and the results were… okay.

There were so many warning signs in the months before the release: a marketing campaign that was noticeably absent until the very last month, opting to focus more on Mania (let’s not forget that we still get videos about Mania even after the game’s release, not so much about Forces), which added to the uncertainty caused by the footage already available at the time, which ended up being confirmed a few days before the release, when some people managed to get the game early and streamed a good chunk of the game. While one of the leakers was just a bad player, the quality of the game itself was put into question…

A harsh reality

I’m not going to soften up my words here: for being the latest Sonic game, in a post-Generations and post-Boom era, Sonic Forces fell short of everything it tried to do (if it tried). Anything positive comes from the roots of something negative, and in the context of this anniversary, after 3 years without knowing a thing about the next game, it only emphasizes the frustration and the disappointment it caused.

Sonic Forces promised a world devastated by Eggman, an epic battle to save the world and win against a powerful enemy. However, of so many promises, not even the first one, the most basic one, was kept: it was an empty takeover, explained poorly (because they didn’t even show it, they told it through text) and developed even worse. All the potential of such an exciting world was thrown away as soon as the game didn’t even try to explain some of its most important questions (like why Green Hill was in the process of desertification); to this day we still don’t know what the fuck does the Phantom Ruby do, in Mania it has some powers, in Forces it has different powers, and it’s not clear where does it come from or if it’s more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds. It is disappointing to not be able to discover all this untapped potential, and it is so disappointing that one of the oldest works on my blog was an attempt to rewrite the beginning of the game, give it more context and a better footing to start the adventure.

This old leak dates back to 2016, when the game was barely announced, and surprisingly it ended up being real, very very real. Even the title “Sonic Wars” is true, and if you don’t believe me you can open the game’s folder and read the names that appear. Source.

The confusion and disappointment don’t end here. If you have read the mess of opinions and emotions that is my analysis of the game [translator’s note: the link is in Spanish], you may have noticed that one of the biggest questions never answered was, what’s up with the order of the levels and why is it so confusing? Between 2016 and 2017, there were some leaks and statements going around places like Sonic Stadium that confirmed that the game went through numerous changes, not just in the plot, but in the levels as well. Right now I can’t find these old posts (I’m surprised that the fandom didn’t archive them), but it was said that the original idea for Forces, then still called Sonic Wars, was to shine the spotlight even more on the Avatar, or Buddy as it was called; the decision was unanimously rejected by SEGA of America and Europe, forcing SEGA of Japan to order that the game was modified. In fact, I remember that the leak that mentioned this meeting between the SEGA branches was rather bad, with a very tense atmosphere and lots of disagreements.

This is the closest thing to a confirmation of the scrapped plot that I could find. At least it’s proof that I’m not crazy and that Forces was indeed more focused on the Avatar. Source.

The mess that is the order of the levels, the questionable presence of characters like Classic Sonic, and some of the details of one of the leaked scrapped scripts such as that apparently they considered to reintroduce Mephiles – all of this shapes the network of a mediocre game, created under the premise of “from the creators of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations” but taking all the wrong parts of those two games, using an engine that has been proven to be less efficient than Unleashed’s and Generations (and I’m not talking about the Hedgehog Engine, which is the graphical engine – I’m talking about the game and physics engine of Lost World), and with short levels and… polarizing bosses, to say the least.

The result is a game that shows a lot of potential, but in practice it doesn’t live up to it at all, be it for its own limitations (being rushed like hell) or for a noticeable lack of attention to details; it didn’t succeed in creating a cohesive and coherent world, with levels that could be worthy of what has been learned in these years. This is the reality of Sonic Forces.

And yet...

Despite everything I’ve just said, despite all the unacceptable errors that Forces made, and despite all the terribly wasted potential… we still talk about this game.

There are many reasons. On one hand, Forces and Mania have been the latest Sonic games for 3 years now, which is tragic in on itself (Team Sonic Racing disappeared from the face of the Earth); on the other, we still talk about Forces because there is something that still attracts us to it.

It’s not the same attraction we feel for Sonic ‘06, though. Forces is not a complete, almost-franchise-killing disaster like ‘06 was, it’s not a giant meme that spread from the fandom to popular circles and internet figures such as the Game Grumps. People have been trying to fix Forces’ mistakes, but not on the same scale as projects that tries to completely recreate ‘06 with a radically different engine, or fix each and every bug in the original version. Forces is nowhere near as infamous, and so the discussion goes in different directions.

Episode Shadow is still one of the most entertaining parts of the game, and one of the most important as well, as Shadow himself hadn’t been a playable character since… well, Sonic ‘06.

On one hand, there is a cult surrounding Infinite, one that I personally don’t agree with, and I don’t know if it’s bigger than Mephiles’ 15 years ago, but I do know that it exists and it’s still present. One of the ways Sonic Team tried to “go back to its roots” was to introduce a character like Infinite in a plot that was supposed to be “more serious”. Final results notwithstanding, Infinite managed to win the heart of a sizeable portion of the fandom, which still wishes for his return and development.

On the other hand, there is the Avatar, our personal OC with an impressive customization system, which allows us complete freedom, to the point that we could recreate characters introduced in Sonic IDW like Whisper the Wolf. What at first looked like a questionable idea, nothing more than a source of memes, ended up becoming the smartest idea Forces had, with a gameplay style that, in my opinion, retains a little of the old Adventure spirit, and even had some of the most fun levels in the game. While Classic Sonic ruined one third of the game, and Sonic was somewhat mediocre compared to his past feats, the Avatar’s gameplay style manages to keep its quality throughout the game, despite the fact that the plot keeps revolving around their presence instead of focusing on the other aspects of saving the world, which is... well, a little unfortunate.

Even I, who I’m not really into Sonic OCs, had a lot of fun recreating some of the characters.

And finally we get to the best part of the entire game: the music.

Even after three years my opinions haven’t changed much. Forces’ music isn’t perfect, it has its low moments (I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t like Light of Hope) and some disasters (F*ded H*lls lol), but overall it has good intentions and it has some pretty good highlights.

The use of synths, as overdone and criticized as it is, was an honest attempt to follow a trend present in older games, like Sonic Unleashed, where this instrument symbolized Eggman’s influence. An interesting touch that, while wasn’t completely successful, is appreciated.

I still say that Fighting Onward is one of the best themes of the entire game, and Spaceport as the level benefits from having it.

Then there’s the best part of the entire soundtrack: the return of vocal themes, such as the main theme, the villain theme, and some of the level themes. I cannot explain with enough words how much fans were waiting for this, and it was brilliantly handled by the advertising campaign: a preview of the instrumental version of Fist Bump, a short peek of the Avatar themes, and finally the reveal of some of the major themes. It’s not surprising that it became one of the most appreciated parts by the fans. From the iconic intro of Fading World to the subtle nod to Green Hill in Set In Motion, every theme has something that makes it stand out from the rest of the game.

But even so, the rest of the music in the game has redeemable points as well. Forces in general distances itself from the music styles previously used in the series, especially from the variety of incredible sounds of Unleashed or even Lost World; but from time to time it still recognizably Sonic, like in the half-Megaman, half-Runners Network Terminal, in the extremely epic and underrated Last Judgement, or in the always-mentioned Ghost Town (not the only “good” Classic theme in my opinion, but the first one that comes to mind). Even the remixed Zavok theme sound better in Forces than in its original version.

A love-hate relationship

At the end of the day, the only thing left I could say is that Forces is still one of the most polarizing games in the series. 3 years aren’t enough to heal some of the wounds left by the 4-year hiatus, plus the disappointment of the time, but at the same time these 3 years kept alive the memory of its best moment, the discussions about the music and the uncountable groups of fans reunited to share OCs like the fandom has always done.

In this anniversary, I thought it would be interesting to revisit a bit the peculiar relationship I have with this game, as we wait for a new hype cycle for the next game. And maybe, just maybe, that will be the moment Forces will fade from our collective memory, at least for a decade, until new fans will look back to the good and bad this game has done. And I hope that, in the future, the situation of the franchise will also be different from what it has been these last years, in a good way of course.

This is all we have left of Forces today, a game that did not manage to capitalize on its opportunities, and a game that shames the legacy of the Unleashed-Colors-Generations era; but also a game that had some genuine, interesting ideas, and a different musical direction, one that (with some exceptions) was what the fans wanted. It’s a polarizing game, it’s a love-hate relationship.

[curestardust]

if you want: story, setting and character designs by the same people who worked on Danganronpa / (for those who played the franchise: you know what to expect) / for those who didn’t: crazy shit and an emotional rollercoaster galore / definitely not for everyone but don’t knock it til you try it

This anime’s creator is someone who goes by the humble name of Kodaka Kazutaka. Yes, the dude behind the Danganronpa franchise. Alongside Komatsuzaki Rui, who designed the characters for the same franchise, I knew “Akudama Drive” was gonna be... a wild ride.

This may sound like an exaggeration but playing the Danganronpa games lowkey changed my fucking life. I’ve never seen anything like it before nor to this day. And despite having been writing reviews for years now, aka watching things with a mindset where I can categorize what I like and what I don’t, if you asked me why I consider Danganronpa so incredible you’d only get a blank faced stare. Because I can’t explain it. 

Anyway, I’m talking so much about a seemingly unrelated media because to people who’ve played the games, they’ll know what kind of atmosphere and story beats they’ll see in this anime. And as you’ve probably gathered from what I’ve written above, the second I realised who was behind “Akudama Drive” I became a bit biased, yes, but I also adjusted my mindset. Because if this was gonna be anything like Danganronpa, I knew I couldn’t view it the same way I watch the majority of anime. And that was the right decision.

Komatsuzaki Rui ‘s character designs are probably the most recognizable aspect to those who know his work. Oddly, his designs are both plain and memorable. There’s always something about each character that catches your attention, small details, like a pair of glasses or streaks in a character’s hair. Their designs also perfectly fit with their personalities. The set pieces stood out as well and I loved the way they sometimes transitioned between locations by the set pieces falling in piece by piece or using an “ad” similiar to Monokuma Theater.

For what mindset you needs to enjoy the writing of Kodaka Kazutaka: sit back and watch the story unfold. Yes, that’s it. As to how that’s different from any other media, I’d say the emotional connection. In the similiar way to the designs, the characters personalities feel a bit 1-dimensional in the beginning, having one strong core personality straight that seemingly defines them. But through the story, you get attached to them and what’s happening without noticing. I don’t know how he does that, to be honest. Even if I felt like I couldn’t care less about a character, their death still manages to stir up some emotion inside me.

Death is another thing. Very rarely do I see anime where death could happen at any moment, to anyone, and you’re accutely aware of this. In Danganronpa, death and betrayal was an obvious part of the plot, but even then you sometimes managed to forget and almost hope that no one else will die again even though the rational part of you knows that it will.

As to how any of this can be applied to “Akudama Drive”, here’s a short rundown of the story: we are in a cyberpunk apocalyptic future version of Kansai where “criminals” are called akudama (this word literally means “bad person” but the in-universe meaning of it gets more and more muddled). Multiple S-Rank Akudama with different skillsets get a mission for a pretty sum of money: rescue another S-Rank akudama who’s about to be executed. Somehow, our main character gets mixed up in this whole mess despite her being just an “ordinary person”. Things happen, and our main cast is basically forced into working as a team to complete a goal.

I’m being very vague here but that’s because of what I said above; sit back and watch the story unfold. So I want to spoil as few things as possible. Just let this fictional world and story consume you for 12 episodes, leaving you with a probably very weird feeling in the end.

But I gotta say, while *vaguely gestures* all this is completely my style, not everyone will feel the same way. I could see people hating this anime for the same reasons I liked it. Honestly, I’d tell you to do the usual 3 episode rule but the anime’s true colours don’t show until halfway through so idk.

“Akudama Drive” isn’t perfect. The dialogue was definitely on the weaker side and there’s barely any character progression until near the end. The story can feel unfulfilling as well if it’s not your style. 

To leave you on this final note and something that I can’t believe I missed throughout my whole viewing of this anime: no one has a name. The akudama go by their “professions” so them being referred to as “Doctor” or “Courier” made me ignore it but I only realized about 30 minutes ago that not only them, NO ONE has a name in this anime. And I can’t fucking believe I haven’t noticed that sooner. Thumbs up, Kodaka-sensei, you genius maniac. Make more shit to break my heart, please and thank you (oh and get the dude who made the Danganronpa OSTs on your next anime).

[9/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | There was actual money spent on this

[allzelemonz]

The Commanding General: Commander Cody X NSG Reader

NSG= No Specified Gender

Part 1/?

The sun was setting and your troops were in danger. Commander Bright was injured and the moral of the other clones was dwindling. The plan was to meet General Kenobi’s troops at a halfway point, but at this rate it wasn’t going to happen. Looking upon your troops you saw their fallen faces and broken blasters that were hopeless to repair. The weight of your lightsaber on your belt became heavier as you  realized just how few weapons you had left.

“General?” 

You turned away from the troops and nodded at your Commander to continue. He was broken. Arm in a sling and no helmet left to wear. He was lucky to be alive after a blast impact like the one he had.

“The only way to General Kenobi’s unit is blocked, but scouts may have found another passage.”

“There are no other passages?” You looked at him with a furrowed brow. “Explain.”

“We believe it’s a secret passage, sir.” He pointed to the West. “Just over there, possible man-made by the native tribes.”

You nodded as he spoke, a plan slowly forming in your head. “Do we know where exactly it leads?”

“Scouts are on it now, General.”

“Keep me informed, Commander.”

“Yes, sir.” The clone attempted a salute only to flinch at the pain in his torso.

“Careful, Bright.” You rested a hand on his arm. “I’m not losing you today.”

“In all fairness, sir, I don’t think I’ll make it.”

“Quiet, Commander. You’re staying with me” You patted his arm. “That’s an order.”

“Yes, sir.” He chuckled lightly.

You made your way to the other clones. Some of them asleep, some cleaning weapons, and some tending to their wounded brothers. It was a sad sight to see a few honorable soldiers slumped against a rock, never to fight again. You straightened your posture and kept walking through, hands behind your back in a professional manner. At the edge of camp was a lookout post. Two new clones added to your unit. There used to be a lot more, they were the only ones left. Their demeanor was dark and you could sense the hurt feelings they hid under their helmets. The whole camp shared those feelings. But, every clone around you knew that they’d make the clankers pay for killing their brothers.

Over the horizon you could see the faint outlines of Separatist ships. The day you never had that feeling of dread was the day you’d be happy. After making your rounds and assuring what clones you could you returned to the other edge of camp. As you arrived you found Bright talking with two other clones. They had scout markings on their armor, Lean and Brake. You approached the trio of clones only to be greeted with grim news.

“The droid army already found the entrance to our shortcut.” Brake reported.

“It’s always bad news from you.” Bright looked to see you approach.

“How much of the droids are around that entrance as opposed to the main canyon?”

“Not as many, by far.” Brake looked to Lean.

“Probably a hundred.” Lean added.

“That is a fighting chance.” You looked to Bright. “Better than a thousand.”

“Still a slim chance, General.”

“It’s a chance we’ll have to take.” You sighed. “Alert the men, we move at sunrise.”

The clones moved quickly. Broken blasters were made into blunt weapons and broken clones were situated to be protected. You watched the sun peak from the misty horizon and readied your men. Together you marched to the passageway. Lean leading the way through with Brake at the back to ensure no one was lost. Your Commander stayed at the back with the wounded, their last line of defense. You saw the light of day at the end of the passage and pulled Lean back. At a run you exited the cave and came face to face with a camp of droids.

Igniting your lightsaber you began to take them out. Behind you the clone came out. Blasters started to fire and a battle had begun once again. You ran into the heart of the camp and took out any droids that came near, the clone defended their wounded and held the line at the cave. Things were looking up, no casualties on your side, no unexpected reinforcements to the enemy, and no advanced weapons in sight. The battle was nearly won.

The camp was defeated. Your clones trickled out of the cave and formed back up to continue on. Everyone accounted for and as able as they’d been when you first left.

“Let’s get distance between us and the other droids.” You commanded. 

The long march to meet up with Kenobi began. The sun beat down on your troops. But you pressed on. With the sanctuary of another clone camp in sight you smiled and picked up the pace, the clones behind you just as eager. But then your heart sank.

A large blast caused screams within your ranks. Behind you a Separatist tank approached from a canyon. You ran to protect you men as those with blasters began to fire.

“Lean, Brake, get help!” Bright ordered the scouts.

You ran into the fight, saber in hand. You cut the tank's blaster and jumped up to attack the pilots. Behind the tank were hundreds of droids. That’s when it sunk in. They let you go. They knew about the passageway. They wanted you to lead them to Kenobi. It was all a trap.

“Retreat!” You jumped down from the tank and ran back to your men. “There’s too many, retreat!” You blocked blasts as the clones made for the camp. You followed behind.

In the camp Commander Cody ordered the wounded to be treated. General Kenobi waited for you as you came within the bounds.

“Quite the party you’ve brought us.” He looked out to the amassing droids.

“I thought we’d found a way around them, but they knew.” You met the other Jedi’s eyes. “Sorry, Master Kenobi.”

“It’s quite alright.” He looked to Cody. “Nothing we can’t handle together.”

“Clankers won’t know what him ‘em” Cody reported next to Kenobi with blaster in hand.

“Thank you, Commander.” You took a deep breath. “A majority of my are battle ready and at your disposal.”

“I’ll get the men in shape, Generals.” Cody stepped off and began to direct the men.

“Quite the clone.” You noted to the General.

“Very much.” Kenobi gave you a knowing look that you didn’t catch. “Let’s join the men.”

Kenobi led you to where Cody had disappeared to. You watched the yellow clad Commander bark orders and ensure men were supplied. It didn’t take him long to report completion status to Kenobi. Without another word the troops set out. Kenobi and yourself at the front, lightsaber at the ready.

The droids barely stood a chance. Standard battle casualties and injuries. That is until you saw a distracted Cody about to be shot, point blank in the head. You sprang in front of the droid, deflecting the blast back into it. The Commander turned around and realized what you’d done.

“Thank you, General.” He seemed awed. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“Of course I did.” You smirked at the clone. “My own Commander was injured.” You blocked another blast. “Can’t let another go out of commission.”

Cody watched as you deflected blasts and talked to him. It took him a moment to bring his focus back to the battle at hand. You ran off to take out a destroyer and he watched you go. The emotionless gaze of his helmet following you for a moment before he focused back on the advancing droids.

The droids were defeated. All except a few strays that had been at the back. You took your time and deflected their blasts as they got closer. With a few swings of your blade the droids dropped to pieces. You disengaged the lightsaber and clipped it back to your belt. The injured clones were collected and brought back into the camp. 

Kenobi brought you to a map. Cody and Bright sat studying it. You sat across from the clones with Kenobi at your side. The four of you began to discuss the best course of action. Bright suggested an attack on the next droid camp you knew about, but Cody insisted that the wounded need to be evacuated. But, that required getting to a drop point.

“It would be a long trek for that many wounded clones.” Kenobi stroked his beard in thought.

“Not if we took the Grand Pass.” You pointed to the canyon that the droids had come from.

“We could run into clankers.” Cody noted.

“It’s that or sit here waiting for more droids anyway.” You traced your finger along the canyon. “It’s far shorter than going around.”

“(She’s/He’s/They’re) right.” Kenobi stood up. “We’ll leave as soon as we can arrange the wounded in the morning. ‘

“Agreed.” You nodded. The rest of you stood up.

“I’ll see you all in the morning, don’t forget watch, Cody.” Kenobi stretched his arms above his head and left the area.

“Goodnight, General.” Bright walked past you and over to the sleeping area.

“I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow, Commander?” You nodded to Cody.

“Oh, uh, yes, sir.” He stumbled.

“Goodnight then, Cody.” 

You walked out into the open of the camp, looking around for a nice spot to rest. You settled on an area away from most of the others. You lounged against a rocky wall and closed your eyes, trying to sleep. It was harder than it usually was. You found your empty mind filling up with images of Commander Cody. The image of him in battle and commanding his troops. You opened your eyes. To the dark night. You tried again, to sleep. But, nothing worked.

You stood up and took a walk around camp. At the very edge sat a clone, helmet off. Watching the distance for any sign of danger. It took a second glance for you to realize that the clone was Cody. In the dark the only recognizable feature being the raised crop of buzzed hair and the outline of his shoulder antenna. You made your way over to him and sat beside him. He made a mood to put his helmet on, as was protocol.

“No need.” You said softly. He returned his hand to his knee, where it had rested previously.

“Everything all right, General?” He glanced over at you.

For the first time he was looking at you with his own eyes. No visor in the way. His glance lingered and stayed. Your gaze off into the distance gave him the opportunity to look at your face. He studied its details and slowly looked you up and down.

‘Perfectly fine.” You answered. You gaze moving to meet his as he moved quickly to look up.

“Ah, good.”

“Your feeling betrays your reflex, Commander.”

Cody’s face flushed slightly. He cleared his throat and fiddled his fingers around nervously.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, General.”

“I’m a Jedi, Cody.” You let your hand rest on his to stop him from moving it so much. His gaze was now focused on the fact that the only thing between your hand and his thigh was his own hand.

“I-I know, I’m sorry.” His voice wavered. “I didn’t- I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine, Commander.” You rested your other hand on his arm. 

As you were about to speak again an echo from the darkness caught your attention. You looked out into the distance and Cody followed your gaze. You stood up and squinted, trying to see father out. A small outline of what you could distinguish as a commando droid. You looked back to Cody and he nodded.

He left and came back with a handful of clones. Two stayed back to keep the perimeter while you and Cody took the others out to investigate. Each clone held a light stick that allowed them to see a few feet in front of them. Once you were out to the point you’d seen the droid you ignited your lightsaber. The calming hum was the only sound around you aside from the footsteps of the troopers behind you.

“General.”

You turned around to see one of the troopers pointing to a small ridge. You nodded for him to approach. Not even ten steps towards the rock and three commando droids sprung up. They fired blasters and you jumped in front of your clones to deflect. Cody took a shot and brought one down. The other clones fired at the droids, but one managed to jump on the trooper that had walked ahead. You lunged to help him and sliced the droid in half.

“Thanks, General.” The trooper looked up at you. You offered him a hand up and he took it.

“They know we’re still here.” You looked around. “We need to get out of here as soon as the sun is up.”

“Yes, sir.” Cody nodded.

The commander’s gaze was on you. The light of your lightsaber illuminating your figure. You signaled everyone to return. You walked back to camp with the clones. You and Cody stopped at the edge while the others went on to sleep.

“You should rest, Cody.”

“So should you, sir.”

“You can’t stay here all night.” You sat next to him. ‘At least take your helmet off and act like you’re resting.”

Cody hesitated, but lifted his hand to his helmet. You looked over at the clone as his features were revealed. Cody set his helmet down.

“It doesn’t have to be this awkward, Cody.”

“You’re a Jedi.”

“Yes.”

“I’m a clone, I shouldn’t be feeling this way.” Cody kept his gaze out into the distance.

“No one can tell you how you should and shouldn’t feel except yourself.” Leaned back and supported yourself with your hand. “If you feel a certain way, act on it. As long as that feeling doesn’t cause you to lose focus.” You glanced over to the clone.

Cody’s posture was slumped. He was staring at the rocks below him in thought. His hand slowly left his helmet where it had rested. You sat back, watching him think until you saw him turn back to you. 

The gleam in his eyes revealed his thoughts. The burning feeling you could sense in him was infectious. You sat up to be closer to him. Your faces not a foot apart. Cody slowly moved closer to you. His forehead rested against yours as you looked into each other's eyes. His hand moved up to cup your cheek and he closed the space. His lips met yours. You rested a hand on his knee as he moved his hand from your cheek to the side of your neck. 

Moments later you parted. Cody’s feeling was light. A feeling you’d sense from any clone during the celebration after a victorious battle. But, this feeling covered you as well. You rested your hand on Cody’s cheek and moved his face so you could meet his eyes. You simply smiled at him and he returned it. You kissed him again. His hand now finding your midsection and resting there. You parted once more and moved his hands from you. You leaned in and kissed his cheek before standing.

“A long day tomorrow, Commander.” You smiled. “Rest.”

He nodded. You walked back to your resting spot and sat, leaning against the rock. This time as you closed your eyes you felt a warm buzz with every image of Cody. This time it helped you sleep.

[sarahjtrash]

Best Christmas Ever

Jurdan, 1K words, Rated T

Summary: Cardan tries to show Jude that he’s been learning about human traditions. 

A/N: I wanted to sneak in one holiday fic for Jurdan but also make it a little funny. Enjoy and happy holidays!

-o-0-o-

Jude had had enough. 

The council drove her insane after the war, and if everyone made it out of the room alive for the past few months, that was purely a consequence of Jude’s self restraint. Everyone wanted word with the Queen or had words about the Queen, and while she would listen to there complaints til nights end, the idea of curling into Cardan became a greater idea. 

Disregarding some etiquette, she’d excused herself early from the room without a word tonight. She really could not be yelled at by the Court of Termites any longer, and as the regent of the land, she stood and exited without further notice.

After ruling together for a few months, her and Cardan agreed that some days required only one of them to attend these menial tasks. It created a system for them both to take time off. Jude usually took her time to train, but Cardan recently wanted to know more about humans and took every opportunity to do so. Over dinner tonight, Jude expected a full on report and questioning about her species. It wasn’t something that she wanted to handle, but she found Cardan’s efforts to be endearing nonetheless.

She nodded at the guards stationed outside their door and pushed it open, faintly registering the scent of greenery. It caused her stomach to churn in a dramatic fashion. When she looked up; however, she was dumfounded. 

In the middle of their suite, decorated with candles, ribbons, glass, wood, and a million other trinkets stood a 10 foot tall pine tree. It looked destroyed and chaotic. Standing in front of it, back turned, was her husband. Cardan quickly spun to look at her, surprise painted across his face. 

“You weren’t supposed to return for another hour and a half,” he said.

Jude replied, barely hearing herself. “I got off early.”

Cardan nodded, before finishing wrapping the scarf in his hands around the tree as if it were cold. 

“I added something to the room,” he said, nonchalantly.

There were already pine needles on the floor, and a rather significant trail from the entryway to the tree’s current location. Even if they had maids to clean them up, it built onto the frustration she developed over the day. 

“I can see the tree, Cardan,” she said.

The two stared at each other for perhaps a bit too long. It reminded Jude of when they first were interested in one another. Neither of them quite knew how to react, hoping that what they said would not irritate the other too drastically. 

Cardan looked at his handiwork, pride filling his voice. “Do you like it?”

Jude did not, in fact, like it. The tree was a mess and was barely recognizable as a tree. It seemed that Cardan had raided both their closets in an attempt to dress it in the most ostentatious thing he could find. It was absolute chaos, and it was a conundrum as to why he would even pretend that it was a good idea. 

“Why is there a tree in our bedroom?” Jude finally asked. 

Cardan looked affronted. “It’s December 24th.”

If that was supposed to be of importance to Jude, she had no idea. “And tomorrow will be the 25th?”

His face lit up. “Exactly!”

Jude grimaced at him and gestured for him to continue. His face seemed to fall a little. 

“Tomorrow is Christmas, is it not?” He asked, worry painting his tone.

She felt like she could laugh. Looking around the room more, she noticed the way he’d enchanted little lights to float around their room and encouraged garland-like plants to drape from the walls. Above their bed, she noticed, with some chagrin, hung mistletoe. When she looked back at her husband, she noticed that he was wearing some awful faerie rendition of a Christmas sweater. 

“Tomorrow is Christmas,” she indulged.

“Then I put up this tree in commemoration,” He turned back from the tree to look at her. She clearly had been smiling too much. “You find this amusing.”

She noticed cookies and what was most likely eggnog by the fire. She most certainly did find this all amusing, but no in the way her husband hoped. 

“I do,” she said. “You’ve clearly done a lot here, and it looks great—"He puffed at that—“but one detail escaped you.”

Cardan looked around at his handiwork. “Was it the Santa costume? I found that to be slightly ridiculous and couldn’t force myself.”

“Cardan. I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

He whipped back towards her. “I thought all humans did.”

“I appreciate your efforts, but it is a holiday for Christians, which is a human religion.”

“And you are not one of those?”

She grabbed his hands, trying to convince him with her eyes that she didn’t mean to offend. The grin still couldn’t leave her face. “For all intents and purposes, I grew up in Elfhame. There are a lot of bits of human culture that I do not understand. You could have decorated this room to celebrate Hanukkah, and I would have no idea.”

He seemed to deflate at her words and chose not to ask what Hanukkah was. “So no Christmas?”

She squeezed his hand. “Yeah. No Christmas. This holiday is as foreign to you as it is to me.”

He glanced longingly at the little assortment of cookies. “I thought that it would be nice to show you that I’d been reading about human culture.”

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “I appreciate the thought.”

He still looked off and seemed downtrodden that his efforts were wasted. It felt like she kicked a puppy. 

“I may not celebrate Christmas,” she began, “but I would love to learn about it.”

He seemed to light up at that. “Truly?”

She nodded and walked them over to the couch where she nibbled on cookies and listened to her husband passionately tell her tales of chimneys, reindeer, pagan traditions, and elves. Throughout the whole speech, she never once mentioned that there was some religious component to the whole spiel because Jude honestly didn’t care. She loved that he wanted to show her he cared about her. Somewhere throughout his speech, she snuggled close to him and felt the love in her chest erase any frustration from earlier. In the warmth of his arms and the fire, Jude felt too things very intensely. The first was that maybe eggnog was not that bad. The second was that even if she didn’t celebrate Christmas, this was surely the best one ever.

-o-0-o-

Thanks for reading!

Masterlist

[halothenthehorns]

DOBBY’S REWARD

DOBBY'S REWARD

They had a very late dinner then. All just needing to take a break from what was hands down the worst chapter yet. After a nice relaxing meal, Harry even offered they could quit for the night, since nothing this awful could happen the rest of the year. They disagreed though, stating that they may as well finish, there couldn't really be any surprises left, right?

Before he began, Sirius noted the length of the book and told them, "I think this is the last chapter."

"I bloody well hope so," James groaned, massaging his stomach and still not looking one hundred percent. He had eaten a very light dinner, something Lily had noted and was genuinely concerned about, "because I honestly can't take much more from this one."

Harry gave them all sympathetic looks, but really couldn't think of anything to say as Sirius read.

Harry only briefly glanced around the room before someone started screaming. It was Mrs. Weasley, yelling her daughter's name.

They all nodded, none of them really too surprised Ginny's parents were up at the school, and more than pleased they were some of the firsts to find out she was alive.

Both she and Arthur were corralled around their daughter in a second,

There were finally smiles back in the room, all of them genuinely happy in that one small moment that this family was still whole.

and Harry sidestepped them to let them have their moment and instead walked over to Dumbledore who was next to the fireplace.

'Well I was right' Sirius mentally sighed, 'one more bad thing and Dumbledore's back.' He hated that the 'bad' thing was that poor Ginny had supposedly died though, so he didn't bring it up.

He laid the hat and sword down on McGonagall's desk, who was still clutching her chest in shock at their arrival. Fawkes flew past Harry and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder, but before Harry got a chance to speak, Mrs. Weasley had pulled him and Ron into a bone crushing hug, praising her thanks, and then asking how they'd pulled it off.

"You're not going to like it," Harry offered weakly, thinking that if these people's reactions were anything close to his family's he'd be lucky if someone in that room didn't faint as well.

Harry went into as much detail as possible explaining what all had been going on this year,

"Everything?" James couldn't help but ask.

Harry nodded, not having left anything out of the story that time. He'd been too worried Ginny was going to be blamed, so he added as much ridiculous detail as he could manage, while leaving her out of this as long as possible. Not remotely concerned for his own place at the school at that point so long as she wasn't punished.

telling of all he'd learned, and it all culminating to his trip to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Putting it like that doesn't sound nearly as dramatic as reading it all through," Remus chuckled weakly.

"Sorry I couldn't just summarize it," Harry admitted.

"Nah, the fun, good parts almost make up for the horrible, you could've died parts," Sirius chuckled.

Surprisingly, the others did agree. It was horrible, heart wrenching, and many other synonyms that they had to hear about their little Harry having to go through all of this, but they were also getting something in return. A true record of their boy's life, things he might not even have told them if they had survived. What twelve-year-old would tell them about the singing valentine? It was the little things like this that made the story worthwhile.

McGonagall was the first to speak, first pointing out that they had broken nearly every school rule in the process of all this,

"Oh it wasn't quite every one," Lily murmured, "I could actually go back and count, but I might go bald in the process if I tried."

but then asking how Harry had survived his stay in the Chamber? Harry kept talking then, describing in detail his battle with the basilisk, but having so far left out Ginny's part in the story. He was to worried that she might be blamed in all of this, and how could he prove otherwise when the diary no longer worked?

All five of them were now tense and upset again, knowing they really couldn't stand it if she was blamed for this mess...

Sirius read with fervour, hoping desperately some miracle would help the girl.

He turned his attention to Dumbledore pleadingly, and Dumbledore almost smiled as he commented he found it astounding that Voldemort had managed to take hold of Ginny when his last rumour had been the Dark Lord was somewhere in Albania.

That sentence created a whole stirring of emotions in the room, the least of which was relief that Ginny wasn't going to be blamed.

"So, did Dumbledore know what was going on this whole time?" Lily asked hesitantly. His crimes against Harry had been bad enough last year, but if he had stood by with even having an

inkling that something bad was going on with Ginny...

"Did he say Voldemort really was alive?" James demanded, hating that he couldn't go one bloody chapter without wanting to snatch up his son and go into hiding for the rest of his life.

"How did Dumbledore know it was Voldemort enchanting Ginny?" Remus grumbled, not exactly sorry, but stunned all the same.

The three of them had asked their questions almost exactly at the same time, so it took a moment to sort out and decide if any of them even had an answer to any of the above.

They didn't.

After a few circular arguments where nothing was remotely resolved, Sirius kept reading, knowing that Dumbledore really hadn't explained much last year, but hoping he might this time.

Arthur was shocked, stuttering out how this could have happened to his daughter?

"Poor guy," James said in sympathy. Ginny wasn't even his daughter and he'd felt wretched at the idea, he could only guess at how Arthur was really feeling right then.

Harry was quick to explain all the diary had told him about her possession, and Dumbledore seemed almost intrigued by the book, explaining that Riddle had been one the brightest students Hogwarts had ever known.

"And yet, I still hate him," Sirius told no one in particular.

He went on to explain that after he'd left Hogwarts he'd disappeared from the public eye, and gone through so many horrific transformations to gain himself power, that by the time he'd come back as Voldemort, no one could connect the two.

"Barely recognizable?" Remus demanded. "I've never seen him, but I've heard he doesn't look the least bit human."

"Some people say he isn't," Lily agreed, "though now I guess we know that isn't true."

Mr. Weasley was still stuck on how his daughter was involved in all of this, asking her how she hadn't realized how dangerous this had been? He'd always told his children never to trust something where you couldn't see where it kept its brain.

"That's pretty sound advice," James nodded, happy someone had said this with Harry around. Hopefully nothing like this would come again.

He asked his daughter why she hadn't shown it to him, or her mother, since it was clearly a dark object.

Lily grimaced, all for the fact that her parents were educating Ginny on this, but now didn't seem the time to reprimand. Yes her parents were scared, but couldn't they have held off telling her this... then she remembered all the times she spun on her own son in fear of what she had just discovered he'd done, and recognized she had scolded first. Guess it was just a parent thing that you snap in fear, even if it is at the child themselves.

Ginny was still half crying that she hadn't known better, she'd found it in one of her textbooks, and thought someone had left it around for her.

"She found it in one of her books?" Sirius demanded, looking flabbergasted. "Was that thing being sold at Flourish and Blotts or something?"

"Not possible," James shot down, "I can't imagine this thing in a shop like that."

"Well surely Ginny isn't lying," Remus frowned, "so what else could it be?"

They were rather annoyed they truly did seem at a dead end this time, and all the more upset it didn't seem possible they could easily prevent this thing from falling into someone else's hands.

Dumbledore cut her off with a gentle command that she should go up to the hospital wing. She would not be punished in any way for this.

Though they had all been praying for this, they still couldn't help but release a breath of relief at this confirmation.

He even told that Madam Pomfrey would be up already, because she was busy awakening the other petrified students. Ron was overjoyed to hear Hermione was waking up, and Dumbledore agreed that there was no permanent damage done. Arthur and Molly escorted their daughter out, still looking deeply disturbed by the whole thing.

"As I'm sure they will be for some time," James agreed sadly. He had only just found out his son really should have died in that Chamber as well, and he still didn't look any kind of okay about it.

Then Dumbledore turned his attention on McGonagall and told her to go and wake all of the houses, a feast was in order. She agreed, stating that she would leave the headmaster to deal with the boys as she left.

"Deal with us?" Harry asked curiously. "We aren't really going to be punished are we? There's not actually a school rule saying we can't go into the Chamber is there?"

"Well no," Sirius said, unable to suppress a grin at the outraged look on Harry's face, "but you did admit to several other rule breakings. Going into the forest comes to mind."

Then Harry turned sheepish and uncertain, now hoping he really wouldn't get into trouble himself now that it was clear Ginny was in the clear.

Harry and Ron exchanged very concerned looks as their head of house left and they were now stuck with Dumbledore, who began by reminding them that he had threatened to expel them if they got up to any more rule breakings this year.

Lily then said something very unladylike, not looking the least bit abashed as she continued, "-he's not really going to expel you is he? You did save her life! All those things you admitted to doing wouldn't warrant expulsion!"

Harry couldn't help but grin at his mother, glad to see she would have been just as outraged as anyone else if Dumbledore did kick them out.

Sirius didn't feel like waiting around for an answer, but blasted on to see if their old Headmaster really would do something like that.

Harry didn't have time to feel the weight of that before Dumbledore kept talking about how this showed even the best man was left to eat his words.

They released yet another breathe of relief, happy Dumbledore was indeed 'eating his words.' Harry and Ron getting punished on top of everything else that had happened tonight would have

been a bit too much injustice.

He decided that they would both get Special Awards from the school for their act, and gave them two hundred points each for Gryffindor.

They all beamed with pride at that. Unlike last year, they felt these two boys fully deserved that praise for the remarkable job of everything they'd done this year.

"Well, ah-" Remus began before breaking out into laughter.

"That should put a twist in Voldemort's knickers," James cackled, "my son taking away his stupid trophy, and proving Hagrid's innocence."

"So, would this mean Hagrid could go back to school and learn more magic?" Lily asked eagerly.

Harry suddenly cocked his head to the side in puzzlement as he responded slowly, "err, well yes, it should. I know for a fact Dumbledore says he doesn't have a record anymore, but for some

reason Hagrid never actually goes 'back to school'. He still lives there as gamekeeper though." He finished this with a sense that he had left something out, though he had no idea what? Did Hagrid hold another title at school perhaps?

"I wonder why?" Sirius asked in puzzlement. "Did he at least get his wand fixed?"

Harry just shrugged, saying, "Can't tell you that. Doubt I ever asked him anyways, even if I could remember. It seems a bit personal."

"Fair enough," they all agreed, deciding to move past this for now.

Then Dumbledore turned to the last person in the room, Lockhart, who had been standing in the corner being quieter than he probably ever had in his life. Harry had forgotten he was even there as Dumbledore asked why he had been so silent this whole time.

"I still haven't," Remus couldn't help but snicker all over again, "and I'm going to enjoy this one for a long time. Though I do wonder what kind of idiot they're going to get next year, you've somehow got a worse track record than us!"

Harry gave him a puzzled look, he had been wondering that himself, but still had no honest way to answer that.

Lockhart just gave a vacant smile as answer, and Ron added in the part that there had been a mishap in the Chamber involving the Professor. Lockhart cut them off by demanding was that really his job?

"No," all five of them muttered at once, bitter hatred for his lies still lingering tenfold, especially what he had tried to do to Harry.

Then he asked if he was as bad at the job as he thought.

Remus smacked Sirius for that, then Sirius let out a surprised yelp of pain and demanded, "What was that for? I thought you'd appreciate that one?"

"Don't joke like that Sirius," Remus scoffed.

With a wicked grin, Sirius flipped the book so Remus could see for himself, which made Remus smile like he'd just gotten his Christmas and Birthday all at once. "I still don't believe it! This is wonderful!"

The others were too busy laughing at the whole exchange to get in a real comment.

Ron explained that he'd been hit with a memory charm he'd been trying to use on them, and Dumbledore made the comment that Lockhart had been hit with his own sword.

"Say what?" Lily demanded, laughter dried up at once. "Is that saying Dumbledore knew what he had done?"

"Maybe he couldn't prove it?" James murmured, "I mean, no one else in the entire wizarding community seemed to have noticed anything either."

Lily sighed as she backed down, and also admitted she couldn't start blaming Dumbledore for every little thing that ever went wrong around that school. He was a powerful wizard, but even he

couldn't fix everything.

Lockhart didn't seem to get it, asking about a sword dumbly.

"Truest words yet," Remus muttered, still rather enjoying this.

Then he gestured that Harry had a sword. Dumbledore turned to Ron and asked him to take Lockhart up to the hospital wing as well.

Harry looked genuinely puzzled by Lockhart's predicament. He seemed to be in the same boat as Harry had been when he'd awoken, but he had advanced some by then. He understood jokes and metaphors like Dumbledore had just made so had something else happened to him other than a memory charm being placed on him? He struggled to remember, but the moment his head began

pounding all over again he let it go. He had gone so long without that concussive pain returning, he didn't want to break now when they were so close to being done.

Ron agreed, and then it was just Harry and Dumbledore. The Headmaster began the conversation by saying he thanked Harry for his actions, as only the truest of loyalties could have called his pet down to Harry in the Chamber.

Harry nodded to himself, that had been something else he was wondering. How had Fawkes known to come to him? He had meant to ask, but in all the hubbub down there, he'd never found his chance. He supposed it was just the magical quality of the bird that, when showing its master loyalty, a phoenix knew to come?

Then he asked how Harry felt about meeting Tom Riddle.

"That's putting it mildly," James hissed, frowning anew at what he knew would give him nightmares tonight of that green hewed cavern.

Harry couldn't keep it in any longer, blurting out that Riddle had pointed out some of their similarities, how he could see they were alike.

"That hasn't been bothering you now, has it?" Lily demanded at once, feeling repulsed her son could think something of himself as to be compared to Voldemort.

"At first," Harry admitted, "but then I saw the way you guys reacted, and how you brushed all that stuff off, so I didn't really think on it after that."

All four of them beamed with pride, happy beyond words Harry really was relying on them in this way.

Dumbledore seemed interested, asking what Harry thought of it. Harry burst out a little too loudly that he didn't think that at all.

"Which means you were really afraid you were," James groaned.

"Yes," Harry admitted, "but not now," he finished with a reminder, making his dad smile once more.

He tried to say that he was in Gryffindor, but he stuttered off as he reminded himself that the hat had wanted him to be in Slytherin,

"Please," Sirius scoffed, "while I'm not saying you should have been in there, even if you had been you'd have been expelled the next day. Don't tell me Snape wouldn't have found some way

to kick you out because you got snarky with him in class."

James and Remus nodded in agreement, while Lily just rolled her eyes at all of them.

how he could also speak Parseltongue. Dumbledore decided to explain that his was a rare gift, that Voldemort had possessed through his own bloodline.

All five of them were frowning all over again, as Remus asked, "so? Why would Voldemort being able to do something mean anything to Harry?"

Harry could feel a bead of sweat beginning to trickle down the back of his neck. Before he realized it, he was almost panting with the effort to keep a sudden memory from emerging, blasting his skull into fire and- "Harry," James finally broke into his concentration, "relax son."

Harry nodded miserably as he opened his mouth, but- "I'm sorry," Remus blurted out before Harry could, mischievous and giving him a smirk, "I should have known better by now then to direct a question like that at you."

"What are you apologizing for, you can't help it," Harry blustered, rubbing at his temple all over again.

"Exactly," Sirius grinned, "you can't help but try to draw up the memories and answer. So stop trying to apologize for it."

He nodded in understanding, but began slowly and hesitantly, "I think, I'm fixing to find something out. Something Dumbledore tells me, you guys aren't going to like it."

They exchanged heavy looks at that, very worried at Harry's reaction, but already assuring him that they didn't care one jot what Dumbledore could ever say, they all still loved him.

Sirius went back to his reading, deciding he hated this chapter damn near as much as the last one because of the way it was making Harry feel.

He postulated that the night Harry had received his scar, Voldemort may have somehow inadvertently given Harry some of those powers.

Sirius' voice was already spiking in confusion and fear at the implications this implied, but he didn't have to guess that Harry must question Dumbledore about this, so he kept going loudly in hopes for a better explanation.

Harry spluttered in shock that some of Voldemort was in him, and Dumbledore agreed it looked that way.

"That's all we get?" Lily whimpered when it seemed Sirius had frozen up, meaning there wasn't anything else. "I really don't like the sound of that. What does that even mean? How could he-"

she broke off when she realized she had scooped up Harry's hand again, and was wringing it instead of her own. She smiled sheepishly at him, but he didn't pull away.

They all sat there for a long time, alternately soothing Harry that what they said was still true, they didn't care one teensy little bit...but they still really didn't like what this was implying.

The fact that they had no idea, not even an inkling to guess at what this could mean for Harry, scared them more than anything. Harry seemed fine now though, so deciding the boy had been

worried enough for one day, they firmly pushed this topic aside for later.

Harry then said this meant he should have been put in Slytherin,

"Still no," Sirius said at once, "the houses have absolutely nothing to do with that kind of stuff."

Harry finally gave a real smile then, unable to put into words how much he appreciated them still backing him up after all of this.

but Dumbledore corrected him by saying that Harry may have many of the traits Slytherin valued, like his determination, and a blind eye when it came to rules,

"Something that all five of us tend to have," Lily reminded Harry, beaming down at him

Harry chuckled at her then, having noted quite a few times where his mum wasn't really as against his nosing around as he would have expected from a mother. She clearly had just as much of a

curious streak as anyone else in the room.

but the sorting hat still put him in with the Gryffindors. Harry butted in that was only because he'd asked for this.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," James scoffed.

"Personally, I have a theory," Remus told them all. "We all have the basis for the other three houses, but it's our bravery that we asked for a house that may tip the scales to set us into

Gryffindor."

"I asked to go into Slytherin though," Lily objected, noting the stunned look, and shrugging without remorse. "What, after we had talked on the train, we decided we wanted to be in that house."

"Well I'm still partially right," Remus shrugged, "you asked to go into a house specifically, you just didn't get the house you asked for."

"I didn't ask for a house," Harry corrected, "I just said the house I didn't want."

"Which is the same basic principle," Sirius backed up Remus' theory, "you still asked, you just asked for what you didn't want."

They all nodded, rather curious, but determined they really couldn't ever know. No one really knew how the sorting hat worked.

Then Dumbledore told Harry there really wasn't a mistake, if he looked closer at the sword. Harry looked at the hilt, and etched into it were the words Godric Gryffindor.

"No way," James breathed, his eyes going wide as saucers, and a sudden burst of pride for his son making his chest nearly swell right out of him as he realized his very own boy had produced this legendary object.

"Not the fabled sword of myth," Sirius murmured.

"What are you guys talking about?" Harry asked curiously when it seemed they were all going to sit in stunned silence.

Lily explained eagerly, "The four founders of Hogwarts all created objects of great power. They were said to go to those in their house at a time of need, but no one's been able to summon them since they got lost back in the medieval times after the Founders passed."

"Gryffindor had a sword," Remus continued elaborating, "they say it was Goblin-made, indestructible, and had been enchanted to go to those of great potential. There are rumours that this was King Arthur's sword."

"Why would a wizard need a sword?" Harry probed curiously.

James was nearly bouncing in his seat as he explained, "back when Magic was a common thing among Muggles, Muggles had the right to challenge Wizards like anyone else. It was considered

immoral for Warlocks to use magic on Muggles even then, unfair to be honest, so it was just as common for our kind to be practiced in sword skills, as well as magic."

"Also how Wizard's duels came into existence," Sirius added on happily.

Harry looked so intrigued on the matter, he knew he could have sat there for hours questioning all of this further. What did the other founders have, what kind of magical properties, but he

recognized that it was getting very late, and his family dearly wanted to go to bed soon, so he held his tongue and thanked them for the History lesson.

Dumbledore explained that only a real Gryffindor could have convinced the hat to give up this sword.

"Sweet," Sirius whispered, all the more jealous of his pup. He would have been downright envious, if the set of circumstances Harry had gotten it didn't involve him nearly dying.

Then Dumbledore finally changed the subject by saying Harry should head down to the feast, and Dumbledore would be joining him soon, but he had to send a letter first. It was high time this school got its gamekeeper back.

"Thank Merlin," they all agreed fervently.

Then he also added to himself he'd have to put out another ad for a new DADA teacher, and how fast they seemed to go through those.

None of them could even muster up a smile, all too afraid of this run of inept teachers Harry seemed to get stuck with. Sirius was already creating a new list of insults he could implore on the next sucker of this job.

Harry turned to leave when the door burst open by Lucius Malfoy.

"Argh," Sirius snarled, "just when things were supposed to be getting good!"

"He can't do anything but complain," James huffed, "he's just bitter he couldn't keep Dumbledore out of school."

Hiding behind his legs was Dobby.

"Dobby!" They all repeated in shock.

"Malfoy owned Dobby!" Sirius repeated like he'd just been clubbed over the head.

"I've been wondering about him," Remus nodded, "and I kind of want to smack that little elf all over again." Harry was frowning at him, so he explained, "one of the very first things you asked him was if this had anything to do with Voldemort, how much more involved could he be with a bit of Voldemort's soul hanging around the school! That's not even getting started on how the bloody hell that elf even knew that was what was going on this year!"

He hadn't really run out of steam, but Harry was still giving both he and Sirius beseeching looks.

Somehow, Harry was still dearly defending this odd little elf, and their verbally berating him was making him uncomfortable. Sirius had been about to join in, in fact his older vow that he still wished this stupid elf harm still stood ten times over now that he knew who exactly his masters were, but they would rather cut off their right hand then make Harry upset like this, so they both bit back their tongues on the matter, for now.

Malfoy was livid as he glared at Dumbledore snarling that he was back despite the governor's having suspended him.

"They suspended him from his position," Lily spat, "there's no law saying he can't come back up to the school any time for a visit."

James suddenly frowned, not having realized that as he asked, "so, ah, are you saying Dumbledore isn't back as headmaster?"

Lily shrugged, saying, "I've no idea honestly. It hasn't said one way or another yet, and everyone their respects him enough they'd do what he said without the title. I'm just saying, Malfoy shouldn't be so upset...yet."

Dumbledore was as calm as ever as he explained that once Arthur Weasley's daughter had been reportedly killed, the other eleven members had flocked to his door begging him to come back.

"There you go then," Lily shrugged, "he's back. Are you all happy now?

"Yes," the four boys said at once. Remus added on, "how did Malfoy know though? Ginny was taken at sundown, and it's still the dead of night."

James pointed out, "He probably heard from some source he has in the ministry that Dumbledore was back, and he went up to the school in a temper."

Dumbledore found it odd that most of them had been under the impression that if Dumbledore hadn't been taken away in the first place, they all would have found their families under harm.

"Ha," Sirius muttered under his breath, though he was altogether sad that he had been right this time. The idea of Malfoy sinking so low as to threaten people just to get what he wanted was more

than depressing to squash Sirius' little victory.

Malfoy didn't deign that with a response, demanding to know if who'd done this had been caught. Dumbledore agreed that they had.

"We?" Lily demanded under her breath, "Harry and Ron did everything."

James heard that, and gave her a pointed look as he mouthed, "Fawkes," at her.

Lily rolled her eyes, thinking that Dumbledore's bird hardly counted as Dumbledore himself helping them. Then again, if Dumbledore never had Fawkes, then Harry might not have survived

that, so she was just a bit grateful this time.

When Dumbledore didn't supply the answer, Malfoy prompted it out of him, and Dumbledore explained it had been Voldemort himself through the use of his old diary, while watching Malfoy with interest.

"Trying to see how he'd react to his old master's name I guess?" Remus murmured to himself.

Harry wasn't watching any of that, but instead eyeing Dobby.

Sirius opened, then closed his mouth, biting back a comment about 'who on earth watches the house-elves?' There was just no sense in picking on Harry for something like that. It was slightly interesting why Malfoy brought Dobby at all, as it was uncommon to bring your elf out of the house at all.

Dobby was behaving more strangely than normal, as he went in a cycle of gesturing at his master, to the black book, then hitting himself over the head for it.

And then Sirius' mouth really did flop open in horror. Glancing up, he saw the others were as well.

"It, he-" Lily began unable to form that thought, it was just too awful to imagine.

"It was Malfoy," Harry howled in outrage, "he gave that diary to Ginny! That day at Flourish and Blotts when he gave Ginny back her Transfiguration book, he slipped it in there! I knew it, I knew something foul had just happened, but I couldn't remember." He ran out of steam, but was still simmering below shouting levels as he glared vehemently at the book, mostly hating on himself right now. Last year he hadn't remembered that Quirrell was the one doing all of this, this year it was his fault his family had been sitting in the dark when he had remembered such crucial information like this...

"Hey," Lily said pointedly, tapping Harry on the temple gently until he turned her eyes back on her, "we just talked about this love. You cannot go blaming yourself every time you forget these

things. What Malfoy did is the worst, the most awful thing I can ever imagine-" she paused for a moment, and turned away so Harry wouldn't see the downright murderous look on her face. Harry

was stunned silent himself when he realized the last time he'd seen all of them look like this was because of the way the Dursley's treated him, but then Lily kept going, "but we're going to handle it. I promise, we'll never let this type of thing happen to Ginny, or anyone else, now that we know

how to fix it."

Harry nodded, feeling the tension roll right out of him once again. He seemed to have a hard time staying angry in this room.

Sirius went on again, hoping dearly Dumbledore would pick up on this, and send Malfoy to Azkaban for the rest of his no good life.

Malfoy was unimpressed as Dumbledore admitted it had been a good plan, and that if Harry hadn't solved it poor Ginny might well have been locked away for her deeds.

They all continued to mutter more foul things in that moment then many of them had said in their life. For someone to put this type of thing on a child, it was the worst thing any person could even think of doing! The act itself was seriously putting a strain on their 'wait until this is over' to go and kill Malfoy now, because he wasn't even a child. He was a full grown man right now, probably taking orders from Voldemort about doing other unspeakable things to people.

The only thing really stopping them was Harry, who despite how peeved he looked right along with them, was also giving the door covert looks, like if one single person made for it he'd spring

up and tell them all over again to wait it out. None of them still understood why, but they trusted him enough to believe him.

Dumbledore also went on to speculate that this could be even worse off for her father, and his Muggle Protection Act. Imagine if his own daughter had been caught doing these things do Muggle-borns.

The book really did slip from Sirius' grasp then, a look of the utmost outrage crossing his features as he said quietly, "Is he implying, that Malfoy went and pulled this stunt, just to get rid of that?!"

He looked so deranged in that moment, Harry had a very disquieting feeling that at one point, Sirius really did scare him. That was ridiculous though...right?

"Of all the-" Sirius made to keep going, but James cut him off gently by saying, "we know Sirius. He's a horrible waste of a human being, but we still can't do anything about it, not yet anyways," he finished prominently. Sirius was still scowling and grumbling as he picked the book back up and made to continue, only Remus and Lily having noticed Harry watching him curiously.

It was good luck indeed that Riddle's memory no longer existed, or something far worse could have come of it.

"I'm sure he was just imagining them all bloody year," Sirius couldn't help but growl, but this time he managed to restrain himself so that he could keep going.

Malfoy chose his words very carefully as he agreed with Dumbledore in a tone that implied otherwise. Dobby was still doing his rotation, and Harry suddenly understood with a nod. His task done, the elf slunked into the nearest corner and began twisting his ear as hard as he could in more self-punishment.

"That poor thing," Lily moaned, "I want to be able to do something for him."

Sirius opened, then closed his mouth swiftly. Now that he knew this thing belonged to the Malfoys, something very odd was happening to him, he pitied it. While Dobby had done a lot of

awful things to Harry this year, he had also gone out of his way, against his Master's views of the world even, to try and help Harry in his own twisted little way. Sirius had always thought House-elves were just the slaves of families, and the creatures would always just be the same horrible type that the family that owned them was. Yet here was Dobby, a creature owned by the worst type of Wizard, who had tried to save Harry's life? It had officially skewed his whole opinion on the matter, but he also noted he had been silent too long in thinking about this.

Since he didn't fully know where he stood on the matter anymore, he ignored the others' inquires and read loudly.

Harry spoke up then, asking if Malfoy would like to know how Ginny had got a hold of such a thing? Malfoy shot back he had no interest in this, but Harry now said that he knew Malfoy had given it to her that day they met in the bookstore. He'd slipped it into her cauldron. Malfoy's hand twitched, his eyes flashing as he told Harry to prove it. Dumbledore stepped in by pointing out no one could.

Then they all groaned in hate. "So does this mean Malfoy's not even going to be punished for this?" James demanded of nothing.

"I thought I hated the Government before this," Sirius grumbled, "and my opinion of it just keeps going down."

This time, no one could think of anything to say to the contrary. For someone to get away with attempted mass murder like this was repugnant to the extreme, not to mention the other injustices done this year against Hagrid.

The ministry was clearly just as skewed then as it was now, except then they couldn't blame Voldemort for the way they were acting. The people in power clearly didn't need to be there.

Dumbledore did add on though that it would be prudent for this type of thing not to happen again, or Arthur for one would lead the charge to make sure Malfoy was brought to justice.

"Anymore," Lily muttered, "how about we try punishing him for this crime now!"

"I have the utmost faith you sure will," Remus tried to pacify her, which didn't really work that well since technically, Malfoy hadn't really committed the crime yet.

"What I want to know is how he got that," James growled. "I still don't understand how this thing even works, how did he make it?"

Harry opened, then closed his mouth, he seemed to be having some odd feelings about those questions, but by now he knew better then to answer. It was something very important though,

something about how Malfoy wasn't the one who'd made this... it was gone and he had nothing as always.

Malfoy glowered at them all, and Harry once again saw his right hand twitch with a longing look.

"Try it," Sirius snapped, "just try and curse Dumbledore, and I will die of happy laughter when he curses you into oblivion."

James gave his best friend a haughty look for his choice of words, but Sirius didn't seem to notice.

He decided against it, and turned on the spot telling his elf to leave, then kicking him out the door, literally.

All five of them genuinely winced in sympathy that time, wishing that Dobby would get some kind of reward for his efforts, bad as some of the results were.

Harry felt horrid just standing there watching, when his eyes flickered around the room, and he got an idea.

"Oh this should be fun," James said weakly as he saw the bright eyed look across Harry's face.

"What did you think of?" Lily asked eagerly.

Harry however, pursed his lips and still wasn't able to hid his grin as he said, "No, I want you guys to see this one play out."

"Aw come on," Sirius whined, "we've been doing that all year, please!"

Harry hesitated, before finally admitting the idea he had. Causing everyone in the room to burst into righteous laughter. Praying that it would work, Sirius read eagerly.

Harry asked Dumbledore if he could have that diary back, and Dumbledore saw no harm in it. Harry quickly snatched it up, tore off his shoe and one soiled sock off his foot before replacing his shoe and stuffing the diary into said sock, and racing after Malfoy, calling out to him. When he stopped, Harry thrust the diary into his hand. He pulled the diary out and tossed the sock to the side.

All five of them were leaning forward, more than eager to hear if this worked, and a little uneasy it hadn't outright said what Harry had been hoping would happen...

Malfoy gave Harry the cruellest of looks as he told Harry he'd wind up like his parents someday soon.

Sirius cut himself off with a look of pure disgust at what he had just read, but ignored the comment for now. The lovely vision of all the curses he could send at Malfoy soothing him

enough to keep reading and find out what was going to happen to Dobby.

Calling them meddlesome and foolish.

"Meddlesome?" Lily repeated curiously, "I don't really see how it's a bad thing to be concerned with other people."

"I doubt that's the way he meant it love," James grinned, "and I don't care." Nothing a Death Eater could say about him could really sting too much, considering how little he of thought of their kind anyways.

He turned to leave again, calling for his elf to follow, but Dobby didn't respond. He was frozen up in shock, holding Harry's discarded sock.

"Yes!" They all cried happily.

Lily gave Sirius a look of genuine surprise as she asked, "I'm surprised Sirius, I thought you'd be outraged by Harry's trick."

"Oh please," he snorted, "I can't blame Harry for what he did. Dobby clearly isn't anything like my old elf, and the little guy deserved to be away from those Malfoy's. I wouldn't wish that on any elf."

Harry was beaming, looking genuinely happy Sirius had come around to this way of thinking, while the others gave him approving looks, happy to see he could put that kind of thing behind him.

Dobby was clearly in shock as he spoke of how his master had given him a sock, and Dobby was free.

Remus couldn't help but furrow his brow in worry, thinking that technically Malfoy hadn't given Dobby that sock. He had cast it off to the side, and Dobby had caught it. If it was so easy, why on earth hadn't Dobby ever just waltzed down to the laundry room and grabbed hold of any of the Malfoys' clothes and said 'hey, they tossed these down here and now Dobby's free?' *He had

always thought that you had to give the elf clothes with the express intent of freeing the elf, so did this count? Were they celebrating too early? Then again, he had heard of the idea that wizards magically do something to clothes so that elf's can't just pick up any random bit of clothing and state 'I'm free.'** Dobby had already just disobeyed a direct order from Malfoy, and hadn't come to him. He dearly wanted to pry into this subject further, but admitted now wasn't the time or place and he and Lily could sit around and have a real discussion about it later.

Malfoy got over his shock quickly and lunged at Harry.

"He did what?" The three without the book screeched in outrage.

"As if I didn't want him dead before," Sirius growled, "now he's actually moving to attack you?!"

Harry however, was suddenly grinning like a fool as he said, "this is it! Dobby protects me, I'm sure of it. This is why I forgave him for all that stuff he did!" As sure as he was though, he still begged Sirius to keep going so that he could know he was right, and get the details of this.

As outraged as they still were, they were all just as curious to hear about this.

Yelling that Harry had lost him his servant! Dobby stepped in between, shouting that Harry Potter was not to be harmed. Then there was a loud bang, and Malfoy got thrown back.

"Ha!" They all cheered, finding this small repentance for what he truly deserved.

He tumbled down the stairs and landed on the floor below.

"Hope it hurt," James grumbled.

He got to his feet with murder clear in his face, but Dobby still had his hand raised, telling him to leave now, Harry Potter was not to be harmed.

Lily was almost doing a little happy dance in place, giggling like a toddler herself at the mental image of a 'high and mighty' wizard being taken down by the little elf he had been abusing! Oh that was sweet justice if she ever heard it.

Outmatched, Malfoy turned to leave with one more incendiary look at the pair of them.

"Tail between his legs," Remus said in a sing song voice, indulging in that mental image happily.

"This almost makes up for the fact he didn't go to Azkaban for that stunt," James cackled, "because this is just priceless."

Dobby then turned to Harry, thanking him for all he'd done. Harry said it wasn't a problem, and asked Dobby for only one promise in return. To never try and save his life again.

"A fair trade honestly," Sirius grinned, then they all caught sight of Harry frowning curiously. Why though, what could cause Harry to vaguely remember something about this promise? None

of them had any more idea than Harry himself, so they didn't ask him about it when he didn't volunteer the question.

Then Harry asked what Dobby had meant back during the summer, when Dobby had insisted this didn't have anything to do with You-Know-Who.

"I was wondering that to," Remus nodded, "and it was really bothering me."

"Glad I asked then," Harry chuckled.

Dobby said that he had been trying at a clue, by phrasing it this way before the Dark Lord could really be named.

"That..." James began before trailing off in disbelief.

"-is the most inept clue ever," Sirius finished, looking torn between laughing or getting angry. He decided on laughter, not wanting to be mad at the elf just then since he was still so giddy for his actions just now.

Remus and Lily were both shaking their heads indulgently, wondering how on earth anyone was supposed to understand that, but letting it go realizing it hardly mattered now.

Dobby gave one last goodbye to Harry, before he vanished with a crack.

"Good luck," James said happily, rather curious about Dobby and what happened to him. He very much hoped Harry would find out.

The feast that night was one of the randomest and best Harry ever had in his life. For one thing, everyone was in their pj's.

"Now there's some originality," Remus chuckled happily.

Plus Hermione came running in shouting with glee that they had figured it all out, and then Justin had come running over, shaking Harry's hand and endlessly apologizing for thinking Harry had done it.

"Good of him to admit it," Lily nodded with approval.

Then Hagrid had arrived, while the best part of all came up when Dumbledore announced that exams were to be cancelled. Only Hermione's whispered no could even vaguely be heard through the cheering.

"She would be upset," James grinned.

"What about OWL's and NEWT's?" Lily frowned. "You can't just cancel those, you need honest grades."

"They still had to take those," Harry shrugged, "but, you know, they were delayed and I think given a bit of slack because of this year."

"Must be nice," Sirius laughed.

Also Dumbledore stated the early retirement of Lockhart,

"I'm sure the whole of Hogwarts was just heartbroken," Remus snickered.

and Harry noticed the majority of teachers clapping along with that statement.

All five of them burst into renewed laughter at this, unable to blame those teachers one bit.

Ron was the only one in the whole hall who said this was a bit of a sad thing, as he and Lockhart had really been starting to get along.

Sirius agreed, saying, "yeah, it might really have been fun to shove him in a classroom and see how he did teaching with no sense, oh wait he was already doing that."

School ended on a high note, with the extra free period that their cancelled DADA classes added, then Ron pointed out they'd had more than enough use of that class this year.

"Hope you get someone even semi decent next year," James sighed miserably, wishing this stupid taboo would leave the post already.

Lucius Malfoy had also been fired from his position as a school governor.

"Best news ever!" Sirius cried happily.

"I'll agree with you on that one," the others all nodded.

Instead of flaunting himself around the school now, Draco was more commonly seen sulking in the corners.

"And I hope he stays that way, annoying little twat," James muttered, his good mood not even slightly dampened.

Ginny on the other hand was in good spirits again.

"Just glad there's no lasting effects on her," Lily agreed happily.

Before they knew it, their trunks were packed, and they were all loaded up into the Hogwart's Express, all the Weasley's (except for Percy), Harry and Ron getting a compartment where they played Exploding Snap. They almost made it to the station,

The longer Sirius read, the more upset he was getting again. He had been thoroughly enjoying the end of Harry's year, but now he was going back to those dreaded Dursley's again, and none of

them had any reason to think they'd be any happier seeing Harry this time around. Couldn't Harry just move in with Ron already!? Knowing this wasn't going to happen, he just decided to get it

over with.

when Harry asked one final question of Ginny, what had she caught Percy doing?

"Sweet," James grinned, "so we do at least get to find this out!"

Ginny gave a giggle of remembrance as she spoiled her brother's secret, that he had a girlfriend. Fred dropped some books on George's head in shock.

Remus released a snort of mirth that went unheard in the following laughing fit.

"Oh don't," Lily frowned at all of the boys who were laughing like idiots, "it's not that funny."

"No, it's not," Sirius agreed, wiping a tear away, "but as it's Percy the pompous jerk, it's hilarious."

Lily rolled her eyes at these boys, and snapped at Sirius that he needed to get over this and keep going. Sirius didn't look very eager, he had more than appreciated this little distraction from Harry having to go back, but read on anyways.

They all yelped their shock, and Ginny explained it was the Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater.

"Aw," Remus grinned, "so I was right. He did know her personally, which is why he was particularly upset by her petrification."

"That really is adorable," James agreed without any malice, clearly this girl could put up with Percy's attitude which made her a pretty tolerable girl even without knowing her personally.

Ginny had walked in on them making out in an empty class, then she asked if her brothers were going to tease him for it?

"If they're any kind of good brother's they most certainly will," James disagreed full heartedly.

"Makes me almost happy you don't have siblings," Lily snorted at him.

"I resent that," Sirius pouted, "since James basically adopted me at some point."

"I'll back that up," James agreed.

Remus and Lily exchanged amused looks, but didn't argue the point.

Fred exclaimed he wouldn't dare, his tone implying the exact opposite. George agreed it had never even crossed his mind, while not even trying to hide his glee.

"There's the proper reaction," Sirius told Lily as if he was educating on a very important matter, to which Lily ignored him further.

The train did pull into the station then, and Harry pulled his two friends aside for one last conversation, writing some numbers down on a bit of paper and giving one to each of them, telling them it was his home number.

"Now there's a good idea," Remus brightened at once.

While they all looked rather happy at Harry's trying to keep in contact with his friends over the summer, it made a whole new kind of sadness come on all over again. They were all dreading

having to hear any more horrid things about what those putrid Muggles were going to do to Harry, and a phone call just wasn't going to cut it if they started trying to imprison Harry all over again. Then they consoled themselves that, at least if they did, Ron would show up and rescue him all over again. He'd just need to use something other than a flying car this time.

Harry had walked Mr. Weasley on how to use a phone over the summer, and Harry was going to need someone other than Dudley to talk to over his vacation.

They still smiled sadly at this, glad Harry was still trying his hardest to keep in contact with his friends.

Hermione asked if Harry's aunt and uncle would be proud of what Harry had done this year?

Sirius released a bark like laughter that held no real amusement that time.

Harry scoffed in disbelief, stating that of all the times he could have been killed this year and gotten away with it? No, they would be furious to learn otherwise.

"And he's not even kidding," Remus huffed in disgust.

Then the three of them left their platform, reentering the Muggle world.

"That's it," Sirius huffed, tossing the book away, not at all pleased it had ended with him going back to those muggles, but admitting it could have been worse.

They all stretched as they made to get up, but then Harry suddenly asked, "what did Riddle mean by werewolf cubs?"

"Oh that," Sirius gave an actual chuckle, albite still too dark to be his normal tone, though this could be put to his hatred of werewolf ignorance. "Just a bigot joke I suppose. It's not possible for that to be a real thing. Werewolves aren't born, they're created. A werewolf has to bite another person for the contagion to occur."

"Besides," Remus butted in, trying his very hardest to keep the self-hatred out of his voice, "my kind don't breed, so the term itself is kind of null and void."

"I hate it when you say it like that," James told him with a straight face. "'My kind'. You're not a 'kind' Remus, you are a person."

Remus rolled his eyes good naturedly, but didn't correct him. He phrased it that way to generalize, he had long since given up the argument that he was no longer 'technically' one hundred percent human. James, Sirius, and Peter always gave him hell if he said anything to the contrary.

"What about Nick?" Lily asked Harry curiously. "Ever find out who fixed him?"

"The Grey Lady," Harry answered. "I heard Flitwick explaining that to another student. Yeah, apparently she went in there and did something to the potion, making it able for Nick to drink it. Some ghostly secret. Why it worked on a potion, and wouldn't work on food or anything I've no idea."

"The same reason we know nothing about the other weird things about ghosts," Sirius shrugged, "they don't like sharing."

James nodded, glad his son seemed able to find out all of these small little details that would have driven him crazy if he hadn't had a way to find out, and then he asked curiously, knowing by now his son had a habit of storing up questions, "anything else you want to know before we get to bed?"

"Yes," he answered quickly, catching Sirius' eye, "did something happen between you and the ministry?" He was recalling that odd moment when Hagrid was arrested, and his father's and Remus' comments.

Sirius rolled his eyes in disgust as he explained, "about a month ago, some Auror's came over to my place and tried to arrest me, on the grounds that some Muggles had been attacked in my area. That was it, they went by my name being in the area of Muggles and decided I was guilty enough they could just arrest me for it. Bloody wankers," he trailed off muttering a few more words he'd spoken at the time.

"I showed up while this was happening," Remus butted in, at least cutting off his cursing, "and managed to be his alibi, as if he even needed one. Guess I'm just lucky they accepted it at all, and didn't arrest me just for being there."

James was frowning at both of them, Sirius for the injustice done to him, and Remus for his snide comment which could have been all too real. This injustice against both of his friends was one of the main reasons he was training to be an Auror, he was sick of the prejudices and injustice committed by people in power, and was hoping he could help make some kind of difference.

"And what about those messages on the wall?" Lily asked curiously. "Did they ever come down?"

"Nope," Harry responded for sure this time, "as far as I'm aware they never could find a way to get them down."

"That's awful," Lily groaned, "for that kind of reminder to be stuck there forever."

"Why wouldn't they go away?" Harry asked.

"It depends on what was even used to put it up there," Sirius said, "some things are cursed so that they just can't be removed, some types of blood for instance."

Remus asked this time, "so who explained about Ron's broken wand blowing up then?"

"Oh yeah," Harry said in remembrance now. "It was Dumbledore, he asked me and Ron for more details later on what happened to Lockhart. Then he explained something about how that much

magic, being used through a broken wand, made the core explode or something. The improper use of the wand over such an extended period of time, we were lucky it hadn't happened sooner."

"Well, I still don't regret who it did happen to," James chuckled.

They all mulled around for a bit longer, just talking and enjoying each other's company. It was only as Harry nearly cracked his jaw on the next yawn that they all decided it was high time they go to bed. As Remus began climbing the stairs, he made some vague comment to Sirius about how next year, Harry just had to have a nice, peaceful year. This year might have ended on a semi happy note, but they still felt like the books were watching them, laughing at their delusion that Harry might get one year of peace.

[darnedchild]

Let’s Talk About Funko Pop Molly Hooper #3

“But wait, DC, what happened to Molly #2?” you probably aren’t asking yourself.  She’s coming, but she’s a S4 Set!Lock Molly and I thought I’d continue off of my last Funko Pop Mod post with my second Lab Coat Molly (or Molly 3.0 as I call her in the privacy of my own home where there is absolutely no one listening).

Quick reminder of the two tips I shared last time:

Tip #1 - Soak the figure in hot water for awhile to let the plastic and glue soften.  If you are luckily, the Pop will come apart easily.   If you aren’t (as I haven’t been in most cases), you may have to result to several soaks, brute force, and/or a sharp blade.  Hot water will also help you reshape some (but not all) delicate bits if they’ve gone a bit wonky.

Tip #2 - Compare your Pops before you begin to remove anything.  Some heads/limbs can be virtually interchangeable, some require a lot of finessing to properly fit together.  Measure twice, cut once.

On to Molly 3.0.

For my second go round with a Lab Coat Molly Hooper, I wanted to switch things up a bit.  I decided to give her glasses since she is wearing them in her ID badge photo, even though she never wears them on screen.

This time I started with the Cosima Niehaus Pop from the Orphan Black line and Felicity Smoak from Arrow. 

Unfortunately, they’re older pops and a bit harder to find now, which can be cost prohibitive. 

Let me take this moment to mention that this is why I don’t sell my mods.  Materials alone can range anywhere from $30 to $120 for each Molly, and that’s not counting my labor costs.  No one wants to pay $150 for a single Pop made by a non-professional, and I can’t afford to charge less than that.  Which is why I’m making these how-to-posts so you can make your own.

In this instance, I wanted to keep Felicity’s body for another Molly Project, so I had to be very careful with removing her head.  This is also where I discovered that Funko heads and neck posts are not universally sized.  Roughly put, Felicity’s neck hole is larger than Cosima’s neck post.  I had to get creative with some super glue to make it work.  I did not have access to sculpting putty at this point; I would highly recommend investing in some if you’re going to mod Pops.

Once I managed to get the head and body together and stable, I had to do a full body repaint.

You may end up with pretty obvious brush strokes.  See Molly’s hair above.  It’s my curse.  Probably because I don’t actually know what I’m doing here and I’m just making it up as I go along.

Tip #3 - If my paint is too thick or drying too fast, I’ll mix a tiny bit of slow-dri fluid retarder or blending medium into it.  Tiny amount.  Tiny.  You can always add more if you need to.  Honestly, I’m pretty sure I’m using it wrong, but the slow-dri gives me more time to smooth out ripples and brush strokes and it’s not that expensive at the craft store.

The one place I absolutely hate seeing brush strokes is on the face.  If I can’t get the paint smooth, I go in with one of those cheap eye shadow sponge wand things that no one uses anymore and lightly bounce the sponge across the “skin”.  For some reason, I’m happier with a little speckle texture on the face than with brush strokes.

After the paint is dry, I always finish with a varnish.  Above shows the difference between just the matte acrylic paint and a partial coat of matte varnish.  (Her hair looks like a lighter brown in that picture because of the lighting, it’s really the same “Nutmeg Brown” as all the other pictures.)

A few fun details on this Molly:  I painted Cosima’s book to resemble a clipboard full of paperwork.  I used an ultra fine point Sharpie to add “writing” to the paperwork and to Molly’s ID tag.  I painted shoelaces onto the shoes.  Cosima’s shoes are booties, but I wanted Molly in something more in character; so I painted the upper edge of the booties a shade off from her khaki paints to make it look like a rolled cuff.  The most iconic and recognizable piece of Molly’s wardrobe (other than a lab coat or the black party dress) is the cherry jumper, so I added some red dots to her white shirt.  Molly’s ID photo is much too small a scale for my shaky hands to manage in detail; so I simply used some blue, brown, and beige blobs (with a little Sharpie) to give the vague idea of her ID.

Assuming no one tells me to stop writing about my mods, I’ll be back to talk about Set!Lock Molly as well as Matt the Radar Technician, Mary Watson, and the rest of the Sherlock gang that I’m hoping to tackle in the future.

Feel free to poke me if you’ve got any questions.  

Sorry for the length of this post.  If you follow me, you already know I ramble.

Toodles.

[bittermarrow]

Imagine Slashers With an Angel S/O: (part 2) Michael Myers

Sorry that it took me forever to finish this! This is also more of a tiny fic than Jason’s was since it got so lengthy and has a more in-depth meeting scene. (I’ll be doing Bubba’s next!)

Warnings: Nsfw at the end, but nothing graphic.

Words: 3900+ (This is embarrassingly long T-T )

Michael

Michael knows what angels are, the family he spent six years with was religious enough for him to know. Did he really care about all that stuff? No. The point is he knows or at least he assumes that's what you are when he finds you, well, in all reality you found him. It was very hard to find someone who doesn't want to be found, and you made a conscious effort to avoid any and all human contact. You didn’t like humans very much, or talking to them so you kept a low profile.

You lived in a small house you rented from the old man that had originally found you when you fell, he was nice enough- and religious enough to offer you a place to live. He and his daughter were trying to move, and apparently, no one wanted the house, so if anything he was more grateful of you taking it off his hands than you were receiving it. With the promise of protection of his family and all that God stuff, it was a bit shady for you but you were desperate.

You’re stuck living on Earth now, your wings saw no real use indoors, and since you never left you never flew. Your misuse of them is leading you down a path of some pretty bad wing cramping, so you'd have to get a good couple of flights in soon. It's not like anyone was roaming out and about anymore, Haddonfield had gotten itself quite the gruesome reputation after all.

You had heard about all the murders that went on around this time of year, you may be an outsider, but you did own a TV.

There was a barely recognizable, blurry photo of the killer’s masked face plastered all over the news station you kept on literally all day. The background noise makes you feel less alone, you may purposely isolate yourself, but that doesn't mean you don't get lonely.

It was the quiet life that most people would die for, but it really isn't all that it appears to be. You can see the appeal, but sometimes you really wished you had friends.

And then you found him, Michael Myers, The Boogeyman of Haddonfield, The infamous escapee of Smith’s Grove, being chased by cops and jumping your fence.

Why in the hell you had shouted, “Hey!” and beckoned him into your home was beyond you. It really was pitiful how lonely you must be to let in a mentally deranged psycho killer into your home.

After a long stare, he inevitably entered, seeking shelter from the police rather than the heavy downpour, and was now dripping all over the hardwood floors of your kitchen. You looked up at the towering man, only slightly beginning to regret letting him in. Why had you let him in? Maybe it was some sick form of sympathy, or maybe you just finally lost the rest of your fucking marbles, because no mentally stable person with any sort of intelligence or common sense should ever attempt to house a sociopathic serial killer.

But you did.

And there was no going back now.

The stove light caught and reflected against the cold metal in his hand, and as he stared you swallowed the dread and turned on your heel, disappearing into the hallway. The feathered drapes of white and black that dragged behind you as you padded across the creaking floors did not go unnoticed by the motionless stranger’s watchful eyes.

When you returned he had moved further into the kitchen observing his surroundings, you passed him and set a folded up blanket, a towel, and a pillow on one of the cushions of your couch. When you turned around he was inches away from you, you didn’t even hear him move. You held his soulless stare for a minute, and then walked around him and back into the hall to retire for the night. He watched you leave, with a loose grip around the handle of the stained steel blade. Maybe God really wouldn’t let him die after all…

.   .   .

When you woke the next morning, you crept out of the hallway and as you went to prepare your morning coffee you threw a sideways glance over to the couch. It was empty, no sign of the monster that you’d sheltered last night. But the bunched up blanket half-hanging off the cushion, and the slightly damp towel hanging over the back of the sofa told you he had no doubt been there all night. As you poured your coffee you noticed an empty slot in your rarely used knife block, puzzled, you looked around for it and saw an unfamiliar knife stained with dried blood laying on your counter.

It was not in bad enough shape to be considered useless, so the only other explanation for him leaving it was that he would be coming back for it. And for a moment -just a fleeting breath of a second, you felt the heavy gloom that had kept your mood dark for years, lifted at the thought of someone else's company. For once you didn’t mind rotting here than hot tubbing with Hades down below after you'd been banished, like you were certain you would have, had you not escaped in time.

You decided to keep the back door unlocked, just in case he did come back.

.   .   .

You turned out to be right when night fell and you heard the loud screech of tires skidding across asphalt, the screaming of sirens and flashing blue and red lights shining through your windows, illuminating the darkness of the room as you sat in front of the television. Your feathers stood up on end at the sound of your back door creaking open and slamming shut, and then light footsteps across your kitchen floors.

From the couch you watched Michael return the borrowed blade into its rightful spot in your knife block, swiping the familiar knife off of the marble countertop, which had been cleaned of gore. He stopped in the entryway of the living room his head tilting to the side as he caught your eyes.

You searched his eyes, but you found nothing but cold blankness in them, was he really human? Creating space for him to sit down if he chose to, your eyes transfixed themselves back onto the TV, and your fingers pulled the blanket around your shoulders a bit tighter.

You had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to be stared at, it'd been so long...

To your surprise, you felt the couch cushion shift with someone else's weight and a quick glance to your left confirmed that he had sunk down beside you— on the opposite end of the sofa, of course, keeping some space between you. You could feel his eyes on you, specifically on your wings when they shifted with a soft rustle against the back of the couch, and while you couldn’t blame him for his interest, it was still uncomfortable.

You decide to bravely turn your head and meet his eyes straight on, and you notice his dark, shaded eyes widen a fraction. But as soon as the change appeared it was gone just as quickly, his blank stare boring into your soul through the eye-holes of that dirty white-faced mask.

Seeing his face obscured by the rubber skin only strengthened the urge to look away, this guy really had the fear factor working for him. What's scarier than a psychotic murderer? One you don't know the face of. It sounds like such an unfulfilling death… not even being able to remember the face of your killer in whatever afterlife existed.

“Your name is Michael, right?” You rasp blatantly, your voice scratchy from misuse as it leaves your throat. You don’t expect him to reply, and he doesn’t. But his head tilts, much like an owl’s would, and you knew his name and bits and pieces from the news but wanted to see how he’d react— if at all to you asking. “Thought so.”

Michael continues to glare at you as if there was a specific detail about you that he didn't like.

“Do you talk? or are you just going to stare menacingly until I leave?” You manage to croak, intending to sound humorous but it came out more bitter than you'd meant.

He didn't acknowledge your attempt at a joke in the slightest, his eyes burning holes into the side of your head.

“Ah, you must be quite the strong silent type, the ladies must love you.” You let out a short chuckle, too tired to really care if you were annoying him, which you most likely were.

You turned your attention back to the flashing colors on the TV, the headlines of the news reporting several murders that no doubt had been committed by the man you so casually had let into your home. You were testing your luck with this, it was like letting in a stray cat, you never know if it’s rabid or if it's too wild to be a house pet. Best case scenario, it's going to have a few fleas and can be fixed with some TLC. Whatever the worst case scenario was you didn’t want to think about it.

You think of mentioning your own name, although you doubt he truly cares, you decide to tell him anyways.

“I’m, Y/N, by the way.” While you're unsure if he's tuning you out or not you continue, trying to shake your nerves.

“You can stay here if you want.” You can feel Michael’s eyes, but don’t bother to look back, instead, you answer whatever questions he may or may not have been silently asking. “Don’t bother to ask why. I don’t really know either.”

And that's true, you don't know why you're offering for him to stay, especially considering he that he still had a knife in hand and could easily bury it into your skull if he so chose to, at any moment your life could be cut short. And based on his size and whatever motivation he has to slaughter people, he would be able to overpower you easily.

A sickening shiver of pleasure envelopes your body at the thought, and you feel extremely weirded out by your body’s reaction to it. What the hell is wrong with you? You hide your inner conflict and clear your throat, speaking a lot less uneasily this time around.

“I don’t care what you do, but if you decide to stay I leave leftovers in the fridge and the bathroom’s down the hall, the first door on your right.”

You feel silly adding in all those details. like you knew he’d stay. Your cheeks inevitably go a bit pink at how lame you must sound. Why should you care if he starves or can’t find the bathroom? You convince yourself that it’s that sick kind of pity from the night prior, and decide to go with that, it makes the most sense to you. You sigh and get up from the couch letting the blanket slip back onto the couch and walking to fetch another pillow from your linen closet.

When you re-emerge from the hallway Michael is laying down with the blanket draped over himself, the small thing not nearly big enough to cover his feet and you are shocked to find it… oddly… —nevermind. You hold out the pillow to him and he slowly grabs it, not bothering to linger you briskly turn on your heel to leave when a hand catches your left wing. It’s enough to make you jump and let out a short shriek, you try to push out of his grasp, but it’s a futile attempt. He's much stronger than you are. Panic starts to set in as you consider your options, knowing escape isn't one of them. You look down at him, not sure if you're scared or just uncomfortable with being touched to the point of beginning to tremble.

“Let go- that hurts.”

He does, and you return to your room. You don’t know why he stopped you, but you’re not about to ask, you absentmindedly feel around the spot where his cold hand had been. Did he just want to touch you?- No, that was stupid, you were being stupid. You slip under the covers and shut out the world for another night of meaningless dreams.

So they are real. Michael had first thought you were one of those adults who were ‘never too old’ to dress up for Halloween, and when you had irritatingly not taken your ‘costume’ off after the holiday had passed he had begun to question if it really was fake. A childish thought, but when you flinched he had no doubt in his mind that those wings were attached to your back.

He stares at the plain white ceiling and lays flat on the couch, he thinks about your actions from the last night and just now. He's never had someone willingly let him into their house before, better yet invite him in. Surely with all the TV you seem to watch you know who he is, then… why? Your behavior towards him is shockingly indifferent. Like he isn't a cold-blooded murder machine with little to no sentiment or empathy, it's almost insulting.

He doesn't have to try to be intimidating, his sheer height alone is already effective enough without the extra nightmare fuel. He feeds on making people suffer, seeing their blood stain his hands and watching their faces turn blue with death. Why weren't you afraid of him? You should be, and you were for a moment when he'd reached for you.

But still, you had let him stay.

You are interesting to him, an angelic kind of figure, yet somehow darker. Your lack of fear of him must have something to do with your inhuman-ness, and while he doesn't really understand your apparent interest in him, he cannot say he hates it.

For now, you are simply a convenience to him, a place to crash and a roof over his head that isn't full of doctors and other mentally disturbed patients with petrified nurses is too good of to pass up. You're offering a good deal that he's not opposed to, at least that's how he sees it. He'll keep you alive until his urges force him to kill you, which could very well be soon if you get annoying.

.   .   .

It’s been months and Michael hasn’t grabbed you like that again, and you don’t bring it up, doing so would probably only earn you silence. You’ve grown used to having him around at night, and sometimes during the day, he decides to pop up. You can only assume what he does when he’s gone, and although the idea of letting him murder innocent people isn’t something that sits well on your conscience you’ve learned to live with it. Learned to live with him.

He’s grown on you somehow, it’s strange how easily you coexist together now. 90% of the time he is distant and seemingly uninterested in anything you say. But you spend an awful lot of time together, sometimes you can get him to play board games with you. He is unfairly good at them too, and you have the presence of mind to tell he likes playing them, he was always more relaxed. You have taken an initiative to talk to him. Even when you know he won’t talk back you still enjoy your conversations, no matter how one-sided they may be.

You don't know it, but he thoroughly enjoys listening to you speak, he has taken a liking to your voice. It's calming, and it's different, he was in constant silence for years at Smith’s Grove the only noises being moans of pain, meaningless chatter among staff and… Loomis. He listens a lot more than you give him credit for, and although he is often unresponsive overall, he likes that you continue to talk to him.

He doesn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he really has grown attached to you. He couldn't think of harming you now, even as unpredictable as his urges are, and when he does get them he goes out. It's better for him to separate himself from you when he’s overwhelmed by the voices in his head, telling him to hurt, to kill, to make others suffer. You're safer with him gone when he's like that, and he realizes this.

But it becomes harder to leave your side as a year goes by, he stays for days at a time now, sometimes your mere presence is enough to keep his murderous impulses at bay. Michael hasn't had someone that cared for him in his life in a very long time, and while he insists that he doesn't need to be loved he’s already making exceptions for you.

Only you can touch him, only you can soothe him, only you get to see the weaker side of Michael that is still hurting. He even let you teach him how to sign so he could communicate with you without having to talk, which you knew he didn't like doing.

He doesn’t realize how dependent you are on him, he's more thoughtful than he gives himself credit for. He notices everything, so he knows when you are upset or angry or simply having a bad day. Whether or not he is in the right place in his mind to attempt to comfort you is unpredictable, but he is trying.

He isn't the best at showing you that he cares but you know he does, he just struggles with expressing himself after all he's been through. But a particular quality about angels is they can sense discontentment in people who they are close enough to, so inevitably you begin to learn how to notice when he needs to be comforted. Michael won't initiate cuddling or let you hold him for long, but it helps him feel safe. He feels protected when he's in your arms and that can frustrate him, too many overwhelming emotions at once can lead to him pushing you away.

Don't worry, he'll always come back to you. He just needs time.

.   .   .

You can hardly call your relationship platonic anymore, you don't think you've been ‘just friends’ since the first time you felt his chapped lips crushing against yours one night. Not the mask’s lips, his lips. You can't recall what had originally encouraged him to kiss you or why his mask was off, but you were glad it happened.

In the beginning, he only let you press small kisses to the rubber lips if his mask, and for after awhile you were convinced he just he hadn't liked it and refrained from kissing him anymore. Suffice is to say, he noticed and became confused when you stopped doing it, he never told you to stop.

Michael began initiating affection more after that, but the mask stayed on for a while even after being together so long.

One of Mikey’s very favorite things about you were your wings, he has a bit of an odd fascination with them. He touches them quite a lot. You could be in his lap or his head in yours, or simply walking by and you’d feel him reach out to give them a good pet. You can't say you minded even if you did find it odd, you embraced any and all affection that Michael had to offer. This is because there were only a few times where he's loose enough to touch you without you asking him to.

He's moved from the couch into your bed to sleep since your first few encounters, and you'd found he slept much easier when he was close to you. Something about being around you comforted him and kept the night terrors at bay, there were often times where he would hallucinate or wake up from nightmares.

The first time it happened he jolted awake and reached out to grab you as if in fear that you were gone. You were half-asleep and he was shaking, so you rolled over onto your stomach so you could snake an arm around his shoulder and draped a wing over his front to keep him still.

“It’s just a bad dream, Mikey, go back to sleep.” Michael relaxed slightly under your touch, both of his arms had locked themselves tightly around you in his scramble to find you. Sensing he was still tense and not liking how tightly he was squeezing you, you mumbled something to him.

“You're safe… “

And that's when he realized how much he needed you, and that thought alone scared him more than his nightmare had.

.   .   .

From then on your wings have changed from a fascination to a comfort. when you do cuddle it's best to keep at least one of your feathered limbs wrapped around him. He feels secure when he's being held by you, and the more security he finds in you the longer he will allow you to hold him.

He keeps knives stashed everywhere in your house in case of emergencies, behind pictures, inside vases, between the couch cushions… hell, you'd poured yourself a bowl of cereal once and a knife fell out of the box into your mini wheats. No one fucked with your cereal. You had definitely scolded him for that, you didn't mind so much that he kept blades around the house, but in your cereal box? That's too far.

Heaven forbid someone walks into your house uninvited or with the intention to harm you, the thought of someone hurting you is enough to deny him into a boiling murderous rage. The few times your home has been invaded you've had the worst of gorey messes to clean, how the fuck did he get blood on the ceiling?

It’s not just the mess he made of your house that bothered you the most, it was the mess he would make of himself mentally afterward. When Michael thinks you have been put in danger he brings clinginess to a whole new level, he will follow you around the house for days. He even sits outside the bathroom door!

The truth is, he’s afraid to leave you alone, and it's that paranoia, that fear of losing you that makes him cling. You won't change his mind so don't bother trying to get alone time, the only thing you can do is wait it out until he can trust himself again.

NSFW

Intimacy with Michael is something that doesn't take long to develop, you've gotta realize that this man spent most of his life in a Sanitarium, so he has a lot of pent up sexual frustration.

But since sex is something Michael knows only so much about you are going to have to be his teacher. You will also have to remind him constantly to be patient in the beginning. He's eager and while that's good and all… have you seen how big he is? Like, he's definitely proportional down south so if you don't remind him to go slow he'll end up hurting you.

It doesn't take him long to learn though, he'll rarely need to be reminded of where to touch you. He’s pretty intuitive and prefers to learn things on his own, so just let him explore if you have the patience. One sensitive place he found on his own was your wings. The absolutely obscene noise you made when he had first reached down to get a good handful of feathers told him all he needed to know. Just make sure you don’t try to drag things out for too long, if there’s anything at all that Michael lacks the patience for, it’s intimacy.