#the temporary ability to fly away is enough for him

[the-crooked-library]

just saw the new Superman and yknow what I keep thinking about?.. when he’s fighting Luthor’s diversion in Metropolis, Clark is making every effort to isolate it to a relatively open space (the park). damages are at a minimum. but that takes time, it’s not efficient enough, so then the corporate-funded Justice Gang shows up - and oops, suddenly buildings are being swept off their foundations, civilians in direct line of fire, the city core is getting ripped apart. he’s scrambling to save children, squirrels, people caught in the red zone while the others are more interested in punching the big monster. the story makes it absolutely clear that corporations don’t care about life or harm reduction, and in a world in which superheroes are already normalized, this kindness is what sets Superman apart

[givemeallyourpenny]

Working in monster kid daycare sucks.

They all have different dietary requirements but they need to be eating the same thing otherwise they start stealing each other’s food which is annoying at best and dangerous at worst. So you have to make five different meals but make sure they’re all similar enough that nobody get jealous.

And don’t get me started on all the different milks. We have a pair of werewolf twins so you’d think they’d have the same milk but one of them is lactose intolerant so nope!

The Allraune kid needs constant sunlight but the Vampire kid gets sunburns too easily, and it’s not like we can keep them separate because that’s cruel and also when the Vampire is awake all he wants to do is play with her (idk why, maybe it’s because she doesn’t have blood or maybe it’s just because they’re both quiet kids?). So we had to special order a curtain for the windows that lets in enough light for one but blocks enough for the other.

Speaking of the Vampire all he wants to do is sleep all day (both his parents work day jobs. Idk why and it would be rude to ask but come on). But we can’t let him sleep because the parents and licenser get mad if everybody isn’t participating or something. I feel bad because I’m not a morning person so I feel like I understand where he’s coming from but you get it.

And then there’s activities. We had a mermaid drop in one week and it was a nightmare lugging that tank of water around with us (apparently the ability to shift their tail into legs doesn’t develop till well into their teens). Luckily that was just temporary but imagine being the parents trying to find a daycare with the equipment for that…

Circle time is fun and all but we gotta remind the harpy kid not to practice his hypnotic voice here. It’s also not very developed at this age but it still gets distracting.

Then outside time… where do I start.

The vampire kid needs very strong sunscreen, so strong that the smell can be overpowering to the werewolf twins, but i think it also keeps mosquitoes away because there’s a lot less of them when he’s here. Which is good because bug spray sometimes gives the mothman kid a rash.

Between the Moth trying to fly away and the Lamia kid trying to dig under the fence I don’t get a lot of time to relax outside. Idk if that’s a lamia thing or a this kid thing though.

I’m almost glad when it starts getting too cold to let them out.

The worst part of it all though is when the Dullahan kid stars hiding her head everywhere. Just when you think you find all the possible hiding places she somehow finds another… the look her dad gave me the time I had to ask him to help us find her still gives me nightmares…

All this being said i love these kids and wouldn’t exchange this job for the world

[ninjagirlstar5]

AVA Chosenweek - Day 1: Stargazing/Cloudgazing

Ignore the fact that this is literally minutes away from midnight on the 28th where I'm from, I was a lot more busy than I thought I'd be-

I'll just clean things up in the morning but enjoy this little piece of writing I did for day 1!

Edit: Did the clean up, and here's an AO3 link!

When Chosen had first stepped into Minecraft, it wasn’t anything he had expected.

Well, seeing the red rocky terrain with lava almost as common as the Sea of Data’s waters and dangerous mobs in nearly every corner wasn’t the best first impression for a game he had never touched before, let alone heard of. But once Mango had led him to another Nether Portal, the scenery had quickly become something remotely familiar: a lush forest of grass and trees as far as the eyes can see and a river flowing nearby. It was just a little bit different from what he’s seen in the OuterNet.

Different as in, Minecraft is literally a world made of blocks. Blocks that he can break down and pick up, suddenly having an inventory where he can pick and choose what he needs with just a glance in his mind’s eye. And with just a wave of the block in hand, he can place down those blocks and build whatever he wants, even a platform he can hop on to reach a ledge he can’t get to. Not that he needed to, having the ability to fly and all, but Chosen had seen Mango do it a few times as he and his child helped scope out the area.

An area where Chosen can make his new “house.”

Well, the “house” they’ve started making was less of that, and more of a hole dug into a cliffside and blocked off with (temporary) cobblestone for the front, and a wooden door. He's not sure why Purple was so insistent that they use this spot in all honesty.

Maybe it was because Chosen had been chilling on the cliff and he had taken it as a sign that he liked it.

Maybe it was because it was the exact same spot where Mango and Chosen had stopped to rest during his first day exploring Minecraft.

Or maybe it was because the view was as nice as the OuterNet’s Data Bay and decided that it'd be good for Chosen to see it every time he woke up.

Chosen wasn't sure and he didn't really ask. He simply thought about it for only a minute before deciding it was “good enough” as a base. But when he had said that he'd need a house made of stone to avoid accidentally burning anything down, Purple immediately jumped at the chance to suggest that they build Chosen's new house into the cliff. Despite his surprise, Mango had backed his child up on their idea so long as Chosen approved and, well, he couldn’t really bring himself to say “no.”

And that was that.

Chosen was lying in a bed in his new “house,” staring at the ceiling they had dug out into a decently sized square and torches to light up the room to prevent monsters from spawning in. They had made decent progress between the three of them, with Mango helping Chosen with crafting and building the balcony while Purple measured out how much space he would need living in this base. But they had just finished the balcony’s staircase around the cliffside when Mango and Purple had to leave due to how late it had gotten. They needed to attend to their lives back in the OuterNet, Mango juggling his jobs and Purple with her classes, in order to pretend they had some kind of normal routine that didn’t involve hiding a(n ex-)terrorist from the world. And now, here he was, all alone in this tiny Minecraft bed that was surprisingly soft…

And Chosen was unable to sleep.

Figures.

Chosen sighs, dragging his hand down his face. It’s not as if he didn’t like the idea of living in Minecraft. It was probably the best option considering his circumstances, even if it wasn’t a perfect solution.

It just didn’t fully sit right with him.

Not when it felt like they were, in a way, running away from a fight.

Running away from their problems.

Running away from their own crimes.

Chosen furrows their brow, feeling a familiar urge rise in their code. It was an itch of wanting to do something when they didn’t have to do anything. When they had to lay their head down and close their eyes to sleep.

But they haven’t been able to do that in a long time, forced to jump from place to place just to avoid getting arrested by RocketCorp. And just when they were finally letting their guard down at Mango’s house…

Chosen swallows.

They don’t want to think about this.

Not right now.

So Chosen pushes the covers off of them and gets out of bed. They didn’t plan to do anything that took up too much energy, not tonight. They weren’t in the mood to go fight a random mob in the forest. No, they just wanted something small and quiet to do. Chosen passes by the crafting station as they walk, their mind blank on what they could even make without wasting resources. They didn’t want to get scolded by Mango if they did that so Chosen left it alone for now. Instead, they step outside for some fresh air.

The balcony wasn’t completely finished and was made out of wooden planks as a placeholder until they create more “aesthetically pleasing stone blocks,” Purple’s words, not theirs. Honestly, Chosen doesn’t really care too much about decoration as long as they had a roof over their head. Although some railings would be nice since they didn’t want anyone to fall over the ledge. They wouldn’t be able to recover unlike them, who can fly. But Chosen didn’t bother to make some even though they had the wood to do it. They just sat down on the edge and stared at the view.

The stony shore biome where his base was placed overlooked an ocean where it meets the mouth of a nearby river which flows through a meadow and goes on as far as the eye can see. The sun has long since set, with the moon taking its place with a soft, white glow. In its own blocky way. The chill of the night made Chosen shudder but they didn’t move from their spot. They simply let it envelop him as they take slow, deep breaths. They can hear mobs in the distance hopping around on land or splashing in the water but they weren’t approaching and that was more than enough for them. As long as the mobs don’t bother them, then they won’t go out of their way to attack them. At least for tonight.

Tonight, they simply stared at the sky.

Honestly, there wasn’t anything that interesting in Minecraft’s sky. The clouds weren’t as malleable or easily formed shapes like the OuterNet, restricted by the game's design of blocks for nearly everything. It’s not as if an occasional shape can’t naturally form like any other cloud in the OuterNet. It simply wasn’t as recognizable for Chosen in the world of Minecraft. Perhaps it was even less interesting than the times he would gaze at the sky on the roof of the home he actually wished to return to.

But the sky was no less beautiful than before, the stars glimmering down at him alongside the moon. In fact, Chosen still found it amazing even after the initial wave of awe had passed by after his first day in Minecraft.

And just staring at the sky of Minecraft reminded Chosen of one important fact that even the OuterNet couldn’t free him from:

There were no PCs of all the Creators in this world.

No IP address written across the sky, too tiny for most sticks to see from down below but still hovering above them all.

No distracting lines that criss-cross each other to represent a PC as he tries to pay more attention to the clouds and stars.

No reminders of what he had escaped all those years ago.

Just a giant, vast atmosphere that greeted him the same way it did when he first stepped into Minecraft’s main world.

It was wonderful. Like an invisible stone in his gut dissipating without another word.

Here, Chosen didn’t have to see a single PC as he stared at the sky.

Here, Chosen can just stare at the sky simply because he can and bask in its beauty.

As the wind blows through his hair, Chosen lets out a soft sigh. It wasn’t much, but stargazing at least gave him the feeling of doing something, despite how little he has to do. Despite how much this new “house” did not feel like a “home.”

But it was nice.

Nicer than anything the sky of the OuterNet could provide him with.

And Chosen, upon feeling a wave of calmness approaching, embraces it.

Just for tonight.

[lucksea]

ok i will write out some things ... i may come back to this and edit later but it's getting very late and i spent like an hour and a half writing this AND i dont want to forget about it in my drafts so ill post it once im done. god bless

SECTION ONE: PHYSIOLOGY

i mostly ascribe to the idea that ultras are quite adapted to the fact that they are made of light. it's usually easier to have physical bodies, and certainly they must be born into the world as such, but their true essence is shapeless. they can turn themselves into light, or humans, so it stands to reason they could probably turn into anything else, too, and just don't want to. they were born in a shape, and that's the shape they see as Themselves. the light is them, but not in the same way- they seem too materially involved. it's a temporary form, for utility, when their physical bodies aren't good enough. it should be noted that their ability to change size seems to be distinctly scientific, and not something that they can do naturally- the beta capsule technology implies this, but i feel like it's also implied in cosmos, when the human task force gets shrunk down, and thus when Cosmos appears, he is human-sized, which i assume is due to him having inadvertently been struck by the shrinking effect as well. (i guess one could say that he made himself smaller on purpose to fit in the building, but then he leaves the building, so i'm unconvinced. i say it's science. i'm aware that this contradicts something i've written involving zero making a human form, but i'm willing to go against my beliefs if it makes for a good story.)

all this to say, their biological makeup is thus very complicated, and i honestly have a few different ideas that i waffle between. if i want them to have internals, then i give them bones and things, muscles and organs. some of their organs work, and some of them are just leftover shapes in their guts. mouths and stomachs and genitals are included there (unless i want to write something that uses them). i figure the detailed specifics vary from bloodline to bloodline, or even from individual to individual. they evolved via intense magical radiation, after all, so there's bound to be a lot of weird nonsense going on with their internals if you were to actually take a look. they also canonically have organs we don't have, i'm pretty sure? i think it was stated somewhere that the reason they can fly is due to anti-gravity organs in their legs and feet, which is why the soles of their feet glow when they fly away. which is pretty cool. it would make more sense if those organs were somewhere in their core, though, considering an ultra can fly in any position and usually do so horizontally, not just standing upright in the air, which i don't think would work as well if it was just in their legs and feet. maybe they also have them in their arms or something. is that also how they fire beams? is it the same organ? can they fire beams from their feet? is that how Leo does his flaming kick thing? more research must be done on this.

as for their faces and things, i do think that in the reality of the world, they have stiff, unmoving mask faces, like the real suits do. i just think that's more interesting. i like how it's animated in Ultraman Rising especially, and think of it often. you can see his pupils quite clearly, and the way he moves carries a lot of expression, but his actual face is a solid plate. i love that! i love that the eyes just turn off, rather than close! it's so fascinating, and i definitely think that's true in my world, too. however, i am a cartoonist, and i like drawing silly faces, so i draw them with expressive ones anyways. i justify it by saying that ultras, speaking to each other, can just sort of tell the way each other is feeling, from their voices and the telepathic auras they carry. and so when ultras are speaking together, they may have a sort of mental image of the expression the other person might be making. but if i were to actually commit to this, and draw an ultra speaking to any other creature, i would give them a flat, inexpressive face. (this is partially why i draw tregear with no mouth, because i usually draw him interacting with ember. i also just draw him like that because i think it looks better. i dont know why. drawing him with a mouth feels wrong. i think it might be because for some reason i naturally draw his face similar to depth charge's, and i dont draw depth charge with a mouth? but now i'm getting off topic.)

also, i have the unique experience of being plural, and being friends with many other systems, so i've had some fascinating conversations with ultras that have given me plenty of other ideas. Zero in particular described their bodies as empty shells, keeping the light inside. their skin is sort of strange in that it's hard in some places, and malleable in others. it gets softer the more you move and stretch it, so an ultra's fingers would become more flexible than, say, the middle of their shin. but if they were to practice, they could theoretically bend their body in any sort of way (hence, why blazar can twist his spine like a screw). this is why they bleed light; they have no real internals. the light is their true form, and their bodies are like shells to keep them all together. this would also be an explanation for why they prefer physical forms- perhaps in their light-shape, they're more vulnerable, at risk of dissipating or something like that, so they only take it on occasionally. (that was not a question i asked him.) this idea makes injuries more complicated, but i would assume that simple pain is one reason why they're adverse to getting hurt, and also that it must still be hard to do things if your shell's been ripped open and you're leaking out everywhere, even if there were no bones inside to break.

(there is a very old poster showing ultraman's internals that implies he's some kind of massive cyborg with metal bones, and most interestingly, that his outer layer of skin is followed by an interior layer of skin, almost like he were wearing a suit. as far as i know, this is no longer canon, except in one the spinoff universes where they are literally people in suits. but it's still interesting. the bones made of spacium in particular. that would make seven's mangled leg an even more serious injury...)

on the topic overfeeling brought up of some people thinking the ultras can remove their armor, i just do not think that's true. it's part of their body. it's fused to their skin like a partial exoskeleton. you'd be ripping part of their bones off. don't do that.

as far as timers go, i think it's gone back and forth on whether they're natural or surgically added, and it might even depend on the planet, which is fascinating. i think i naturally lean toward them being more tied to their biology than a simple danger timer, and reacting to other things like emotions or outside stimuli, so i guess my usual answer is that they're born with their timers. it's just such a weird thing to have that i think the surgical aspect also makes plenty of sense. like, why would you need a lightbulb on your chest to tell you you're about to die? would you not just be able to feel yourself getting tired and hurting? can ultras, like, suppress those feelings somehow, leading to them needing an exterior reminder...? it's pretty clear that they do feel pain and get tired. i don't know! it's a very television-air-time trait, so i haven't quite decided the ways i want to rationalize it, i guess. like, even in showtime, allegro's timer is biological (although he's a clone and perhaps shouldn't count) while marize and lyle's were attached, which is why theirs are the same shade of blue. i do like that each ultra timer has their own distinct shape and sound effect if it's a surgical thing, though, because that means each soldier gets their own custom made timer, and i think that's cute. RESULTS INCONCLUSIVE!

now, i dont want to talk much about my opinions on their beams and the various materials theyre made out of, because i'm not a scientist and also because i dont think anyone ever bothers to think of it at all beyond what sounds cool. i have no idea how they can turn any number of made up materials into plasma and shoot it from various places in their hands and arms (and possibly feet). i'm not going to stand here and try to come up with a reason for it. zoffy can turn it into fighting lightning. SO CAN TREGEAR! they can shoot lightning at people like palpatine! that is not something i can speculate on. ultras can just do that. whatever manner of stuff they pull from the air and condense inside their bodies in order to weaponize is simply none of my business.

SECTION TWO: CULTURE + SPIRITUAL IDEAS + IT'S MIDNIGHT SO I START RAMBLING MORE

i must preface this with the fact that i am a white man and i have the capacity to say things that are stupid. i try not to, but it might happen anyways.

we dont know a lot about the way the Land of Light works, to say nothing of any of the other planets. i think it's stated somewhere that they do, in fact, have their own commerce and currency and jobs (i think maybe in 80? i havent watched that one yet...), and that there are A LOT of them, and only about a million or so in the defense force. so we're really quite disconnected with how things work on their home planet, which gives us a lot of liberties to think about how it might work.

in the tags of my earlier post i mentioned that i have some thoughts about how ultras might interact with life and death, especially after Hikari earns his marks for inventing a way to reverse death, which is how Ultraman is able to revive Hayata, and Zoffy the both of them, and probably how every other ultra is able to revive every other human. and i just want to make sure we all take a moment and think about how... baffling that is. if it were just something ultras could DO, that they had the innate ability to bring people back to life, that would be one thing. i would go "okay, sure, they're something like angels," and write something about how fascinating it would be that they choose to honor the dead anyways, when they are inherently deathless things. but no. this was a scientific achievement made by an individual, who went on to be so outraged and disgusted by its misuse that he left his planet entirely (and then watched a different planet die, which is pretty ironic in a sort of horrible way). i think that makes the ultras' concepts of death make so much more sense. namely that it's a concern to them at all. of course it is, because it's natural, and their ability to reverse it is unnatural. if someone were to die, the first response would be grief. only after that might you go "ah, but wait, i can fix it!" and although it never really happens, it is at least implied to be a little unreliable, or something like that. it seems like not everyone can always come back. maybe it doesn't work every time, or multiple times in a row on the same person. we dont know! but the fact that it exists at all, as a work of genius and not a natural ability, is really noteworthy to me. hikari INVENTED IMMORTALITY! isn't that fucking crazy? not to give zoffy grief for his own achievements, but he got star marks because he was a child soldier, and hikari got star marks because he made death obsolete. and i dont have any idea what melos got marks for at all. those just seem like such wildly different accomplishments. like yes zoffy fought in an incredibly important history-changing war when he was canonically, distinctly underage, and went on to become a very important figure because of it. but hikari figured out how to bring people back from the dead. that just feels so different. my god. anyways

i like the idea of them being made of light and returning to it. i've made passing jokes about them seeing King and Noa as kind of like gods, and swearing on them, as well as swearing on the Spark because that's what gives them life. there is a graveyard, in Blue Shadow, with holograms of dead soldiers, so we know they definitely do honor the dead. id really like to know more about it. ultras dissolve into light when they die. from my understanding a gravestone is, traditionally, for marking the location of a body (as well as other things, like naming the dead and their deeds, etc). what's the significance of their placement, here, if ultras have no body to bury? did those soldiers die where that forest later stood, and so that's where they're honored? what do they do for ultras that die off-world? is there a specific spot for them? is that forest the specific spot? i want to know...!

i also find it interesting that we dont know much about the dead at all. nobody ever talks about it. to me, it's almost like there's some kind of taboo about that, which could be interesting to explore. ive said before how fascinating it is that ultras are simultaneously creatures of genuine purity and astounding violence. there are plenty of things to be said about that, both in and out of universe (because like any work of art, it carries the politics of its time and creation), which i think might be better placed in a different post. but nevertheless, their ideas of justice and righteousness are fascinating, and id like to know more of what they think of death. the idea that it's something that shouldn't be spoken of fascinates me, because it fits the implication that darkness and questionable ideas are also not discussed on their home planet.

honestly it's kind of disturbing when i think about it too long, cultish almost, that they are dedicated so deeply to the idea of light and holiness. which itself is only more fascinating because it's permanently played straight. to put a spin on that is to destroy what ultraman means- he is a hero of light. if he isn't a hero, then he isn't ultraman. he can struggle, he can be reluctant, but he will in the end always be pure of heart, because he has to be. it's part of the narrative. it's a universal requirement. (which, i think, is why i find the villains so interesting, even moreso than usual; here, arguably, at least in this way, they're right. light cannot exist without darkness. so a planet of light, devoid of darkness, is a suspicious thing indeed.)

there's probably a lot more to discuss but now it's midnight and i was supposed to be asleep 2 and a half hours ago so i'm going to post this and answer any other questions people have separately. goodnight

[reds-skull]

Revenant Side Stories

Story III: Gaz

[Konchar] [Graves] [AO3]

I worked on both this and that Ghost painting I posted earlier in the time I was away from this blog, and I apparently had enough motivation to finish both today haha

If you remember the conversation Gaz and Soap had on the helo in chapter 14 of Not Alive, Nor Dead (the one where they were talking about the worst time they've used their powers), then the events in this story might be familiar...

I enjoyed writing this so much, I absolutely love Gaz (and more specifically rev AU's version of him <3)

Alright enough yapping time for pain

Kyle should be used to the feeling of free-falling. To the air rushing past his ears, to the sting in his eyes as the ground approaches him rapidly. The pull that catches him not a moment too soon, invisible ribbons wrapping him in their safe embrace.

It was perhaps a little naive of him to think gravity will never betray him again.

The whistling wind is what wakes him first, that familiar tune Gaz made his own in the past year. Familiar, but out of place - wasn’t he just running after the HVT…?

Kyle opens his eyes.

The sky warps around him, skyscrapers higher than the heavens towering over him like giants, silhouettes in the night. His body twists uncontrollably, and his view shifts to the ground, people nothing but ants, growing larger and larger-

The sinking feeling in his gut screams one thing, and one thing only.

You’re going to die again.

Several hours earlier

“Sergeant Garrick!” someone calls from behind him. Gaz turns, expecting to have to search for the source in the pre-mission rush of soldiers. He instead instantly zeroed in on a frankly giant man. To his credit, he wasn’t expecting a soldier clad in all black tactical gear, and a stark white skull mask.

Well, only one guy in the SAS that fits this description, “Lieutenant Ghost, sir.” Gaz’s head tilts up to look at the eyes behind the mask.

He’s heard a lot about the legendary revenant, and while most are probably the works of the rumor mill working overtime, just the presence of Ghost emanates a sort of unrivalled power that raises the hairs at Kyle’s nape.

It’s unlikely any of them will see the Lieutenant in action today; he’s here to fill in for Captain Price in overwatch, but he can’t help but have a sort of morbid curiosity, a craving to know if the revenant lives up to the myth.

Ghost motions with his head for him to follow, and begins walking towards the tents that have been set up as their temporary base of operations, “Captain told me you can fly.” he begins.

Gaz smiles nervously, “uh, not exactly. I got gravity manipulation.” they enter the tent, the flurry of activity as disorienting as it is outside, with squad leaders confirming last-minute details about the mission. “Can use it on others as well, but I have to be in direct skin contact.”

“Won’t need it in this op either way,” Ghost rumbles, a somewhat bitter note in his words. A few men do a double take at the two of them, and Gaz suppresses an eye roll.

Being a revenant turned out… different than he thought it would be. Sure, he knew they had superpowers and the ability to converse with extradimensional beings, but he wasn’t ready for the staring.

He knows he’s not human anymore, that he lost a fundamental part of himself the moment he left that helo crash alive, but he doesn’t need to be reminded at any turn.

Perhaps Ghost is onto something with the mask. At least he can roll his eyes all he wants.

Ghost addresses the soldiers in the tent, everyone snapping into attention, “Sergeant Garrick will lead the infil team. Target is at the suite of the Amandi Hotel, possibly guarded and armed.” the Lieutenant scrutinizes them, “I’ll be on overwatch on the comms tower north of the hotel. Helo circles the sky in case we need to extract from the roof.”

He crosses his arms, the perfect image of authority, “any questions?”

“No, sir!” the soldiers in the tent echo.

“Good. Garrick’s team is up in 5.” Ghost’s attention turns to him, “you’ll treat the Sergeant like any other soldier - his powers are irrelevant here.”

Gaz’s eyes widen as the rest of his squad gives Ghost the affirmative. The Lieutenant leaves the tent, ordering the others, and he shakes away from his stupor. A surprisingly warm feeling spreads through his chest.

No time to wonder about Ghost’s intentions, they have a man to catch.

It takes only ten minutes for the mission to go completely off rails.

Ghost wasn’t lying when he said his powers are irrelevant here. With the narrow hallways of the hotel, and lack of loose, heavy objects around ready to be thrown, Gaz is as good as any of his human squad mates.

He grits his teeth, popping out of cover to shoot yet another henchman down. The HVT must be bloody loaded to afford this much manpower.

“Be advised Bravo 6-1, enemy reinforcements approaching your position. I don’t have a clear shot on them.” Ghost’s low voice sounds from his comms.

Gaz returns to cover when a bullet grazes his cheek, and he answers between a hiss of pain, “copy, attempting to advance to the suite now.”

“Stevenson, Ellis, take the left hallway, the rest with me!” Kyle orders the corporals. He’s betting on the fact the henchmen will be too preoccupied with their assault to notice the two soldiers flanking them.

Gaz and his team goes on the offensive, unnerved by the bullets ricocheting around them. A few fast heartbeats later, the hostiles go down with gasps of surprise. He allows himself a moment of celebration, before pushing onwards.

This is another thing he had to learn in his new second life. Turns out, the brass promotes revenants faster than other soldiers, and soon after his Reaping he was promoted to Sergeant. He will probably never forget the nasty looks he got from his old mates after that, people he thought were his friends. Sometimes Kyle wanted to scream that he didn’t ask for this, he didn’t ask to be the only one left alive.

Usually following that thought is a reminder that he very much did. He asked to live. 

Gaz knew what he was wishing for.

Stevenson and Ellis join them, and he makes sure to order most of the squad to watch their six, Ghost’s warning still fresh in his mind.

“Lieutenant, got sights on the HVT?” Gaz radios in.

The comms crackle before he gets an answer, “negative, he went to the back two minutes ago, likely holing up in the bathroom.” he can hear the faint sound of wind through his mic, “stay sharp, this might be a trap.”

“Understood, sir.” 

Gaz holds a fist up to signal the squad to stop, and attempts to listen for any movements inside the suite. Price’s mind reading abilities would’ve been nice to have around right about now…

He lets out a shaky breath. Going in blind never gets less nerve wracking, “Smith, Farage, keep watch on the hallways, Ellis, Stevenson and Wright, prepare for breach in three…”

The soldiers move to their positions, and the moment his count reaches zero, Gaz kicks the door down and begins clearing the room. Every dark corner becomes a potential hiding spot for hostiles, every flickering shadow catches his attention.

The main area of the suite is an open floor plan room, floor-to-ceiling windows making up the whole front part. The city lights twinkle through the clear glass, unaware of the danger that dwells above them.

“Main room clear, moving to the bathroom.” Gaz relays to Ghost and the rest. He lowers his rifle and reaches for the handle. The door creaks ominously when he shoves it open, revealing a dark and completely empty space. He clears it in a few seconds, all the while his confusion grows.

“Ghost” he clicks his comms on, “the HVT isn’t here.”

The Lieutenant is silent for a brief moment, “He didn’t leave the suite, Garrick. Keep searching the other rooms.” Gaz opens his mouth to give the affirmative, when he hears Wright and Stevenson give the clear for the two bedrooms. A twisting feeling in his gut grows.

“Sir, I think we’re missing something-”

Loud bangs echo from the main bedroom, Gaz instantly exiting the bathroom to watch Stevenson go down, “fuck!”

Hostiles stream out of the room in an endless swarm, the rest of his squad taking cover around the suite. “Garrick! What the fuck is going on there?!”

“Stevenson missed a bloody secret room, sir!” Gaz grunts, shooting two men down. From the corner of his eye, he sees Wright push forward, so he joins him.

A shattering sound alerts him to Ghost’s shots, “do you have eyes on the target?!” the Lieutenant’s voice echoes through comms. Another shot rings out, and a body drops to his right.

“Negative!” he answers. Smith and Farage are fighting further out, enemies forcing them back to the hallway, Stevenson motionless on the ground. Wright snarls beside him, his left arm bleeding from a graze. Ellis…

“Sergeant! Behind you!” Ghost shouts. Gaz whips around, to watch the HVT drag himself to the broken windows.

Himself, and the unconscious body of Ellis. Gaz charges forward before the HVT locks eyes with him, a manic sort of fury burning within them.

The bastard smiles at him, blood staining his bright white teeth. He heaves Ellis, dragging him right to the edge.

“You take one more step, and I drop your friend.” the target drawls. 

Kyle stops, raising his arms in surrender, mind rapidly trying to pinpoint the location of each hostile and soldier left in the room. If he could be sure his squad will be able to apprehend the HVT by themselves, he could be free to follow Ellis, and catch him before they both hit the ground.

“Alright.” Gaz swallows thickly, keeping his voice as calm as he can, “we’ll give you what you want, just let him go.”

The target’s smile widens, “tell your soldiers to drop their weapons” he shakes Ellis, Gaz’s heart jumping to his throat. He nods, slowly lowering a hand to his radio.

“All stations, hold fire, we’ve got a hostage.”

The commotion behind him stops abruptly, his soldiers murmuring in confusion but listening to him all the same. Gaz scans the HVT for weapons - a pistol at his right hip, a knife strapped to the other. As long as he doesn’t use those on Ellis, he still has a chance to save him.

“You’re playing a dangerous game here.” Ghost warns, “I don’t have a clear shot, don’t doom the entire squad to save one man.”

His jaw tightens in response. He’s not going to allow any more of them to die today.

“Good” the target’s voice drips with satisfaction, “at least one of you soldier boys has more than half a brain. Now… I have other matters to attend to, so if you will leave the premises peacefully, that would be helpful.”

“Not without him.” Gaz motions to Ellis.

The HVT tsks, “do I look stupid? I know you’ll shoot my men down the moment I let him go.” his head tilts mockingly, “no, he’s coming with me.”

“Garrick…” Ghost growls. “Ellis’ chances are low. Get the HVT secure and get out.” This is taking too long.

“I prefer to have… insurance.” the target continues.

Gaz’s lips pull back in disgust, “for a cornered man, you’re asking for a lot, mate.”

“Am I cornered, though?”

The telltale click of a trigger shoots adrenaline down Kyle’s limbs, and he moves out of the bullet’s way a second before it reaches him. He grunts as he grasps at the attacker’s rifle over his shoulder, twisting it around his torso to disarm the man.

Lieutenant Ghost’s voice booms through comms, “Bravo, get your guns up! More hostiles are entering your floor!!!”

Gaz barely avoids a fist coming from his left, ducking and dodging a knee to his guts. Gunshots echo behind him, grunts and growls and screams of pain almost deafening.

Two hostiles manage to get a hold of him, and over their massive shoulders Kyle watches in horror as the target pulls Ellis up over the window’s edge, and lets go.

“Corporal Ellis is falling, I repeat, the Corporal is falling!” Ghost yells. Gaz’s heart hammers away at his chest, his breaths becoming shorter and heavier.

Through the cacophony of combat, anger and agony, one voice stands out from the rest.

The HVT’s mirthful laugh, high and grating as he watches Ellis fall down, down, down-

Gaz screams, grabbing the arms around him, and reverting gravity on all three of them. He lowers his head, avoiding the ceiling. His attackers, however, are taken by surprise, and hit their head against the concrete with a sickening thunk.

The laughter ceases, but he pays it no mind. If Gaz jumps off now, he could strengthen the effect of gravity on himself, and fall faster, reach Ellis before the ground does-

A sniper shot splices the air beside him, the bullet hitting the floor, Ghost’s voice loud when he calls out, “Gaz-!”, Kyle turning around to find the stock of a rifle approaching his face, his foot slips, and-

His vision goes dark.

He’s going to die. The wind beats at his body, howling and shrieking and stealing the air from his lungs. He’s going to die. The city lights smear and create blinding trails at his periphery.

He’s going to die.

Kyle locks onto a dark shape, several feet below him, and the fog of panic clears for long enough for him to remember why he’s falling.

Ellis. He fell before him. He’s going to die.

But Gaz won’t. His powers rush forth, otherworldly ribbons wrapping around his fingertips at his command. Instead of hanging from the sky, he orders them down.

They’re about 100 feet from the harsh asphalt roads when he starts descending at an inhuman speed, eyes watering and muscles trembling from the lack of oxygen, but it doesn’t matter, not until he touches Ellis, not until he pulls him back from certain death.

50 feet. 40. 30. 20. 10-

Kyle barely manages to brush a finger on Ellis’ tacvest before he pulls back, his face mere inches from the ground. His eyes are closed, his mouth gaping as he takes in air for the first time in minutes.

He heard the crunch. He knows his ribbons didn’t wrap around Ellis. Yet, there’s a little naive voice in his mind, holding onto hope that the Corporal has been saved.

The screams of the ground team tell him otherwise.

Kyle releases his powers, his body dropping. Voices echo around him, words unintelligible through the rushing blood in his ears.

Ellis is dead. He doesn’t want to open his eyes. You failed again, he screams at himself in the recesses of his mind.

Kyle chokes on a sob, only then registering the tears flowing down his cheeks. He curls further into himself. Selfishly, he doesn’t want the others to see his pathetic crying. Not only did he fail, he’s also weak.

Someone touches his shoulder, and he freezes. His eyes are glued to the dark grey of the road below him, its rough texture digging into his trembling palms. The voices stray closer, words still incomprehensible but concern clear, and yet he refuses to lift his head.

He doesn’t want to see Ellis. He knows what gravity does to a person, how it tugs at their limbs until they break, how bones stab at soft flesh, how muscles are ripped apart like a rag doll’s stitches. He knows, saw five different bodies, all twisted beyond recognition, by the very power he controls. The memory makes bile rise to his mouth, acrid taste spreading on his tongue. The sight of mangled soldiers, the smell of burning fuel, the whistle of an RPG.

If only he was strong enough to truly control it.

The hands tug at him more forcibly now, attempting to roll him over, but Kyle resists. His mouth tries to form words, but only whines and muted sobs stream from his clenched teeth.

‘Leave me alone’, he wants to whisper. ‘I already know I failed’.

A deeper voice rumbles above him, and the hands stop and leave. Kyle hears the rustling of fabric before the voice begins calling his name.

“-arrick. Sergeant. We need to know if you’re broken.”

He shakes his head, shoulders shuddering along his sobs.

“You’re not injured? Good.” the voice answers calmly, as if they’re not sitting beside a dead body, blood pooling, bones sticking out of place-

“Stay with me, soldier. Focus on me.” the voice orders, and Kyle knows, somewhere in his fractured mind, that he needs to listen.

He risks lifting his gaze a little towards the voice, a knee clad in dark pants coming into view, “you’re safe, Gaz. Take all the time you need to collect yourself. The others won’t bother you now.”

He nods minutely, wanting to show his gratitude to the voice, but refusing to lift his head any higher.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Kyle tries to keep his focus on the person in front of him, but his brain continues to pull at his thoughts, get them to drift to Ellis, his cooling body dead not 3 feet from them-

“You know why blind people don’t like going skydiving?”

Kyle blinks down at his hands. What…?

“‘Cause it scares the shit outta their dogs.”

…That’s the dumbest joke he’s ever heard. What’s dumber, that it’s actually making him huff in amusement.

“That deserves at least a little laugh.” the voice sulks, the deadpan quality of it making their words funnier to Kyle.

He clears his throat before saying, “all that deserves is a groan of disappointment, Lieutenant.”

His head lifts to look at Ghost’s dark eyes behind his skull mask, “you wound my poor feeble heart, Garrick.”

A wobbly smile spreads on his lips, before he slowly looks away from the Lieutenant at the scene around them.

They must’ve already moved the body, leaving dark red blood seeping into the cracks in the road as the only sign anything went wrong. Some combat medics have stayed behind, but from the look on their face Kyle can tell they’re too afraid of Ghost to get any closer.

He casts a questioning look at the Lieutenant, who sighs, “they shouldn’t toss you around while you’re in shock.”

Kyle frowns, “they didn’t ‘toss me around’, but… thanks.”

Ghost simply hums.

It takes him a few more seconds to gather the courage to ask, “the mission… did it fail?”

Did I make us fail?

Ghost regards him with narrowed eyes, “HVT has been secured and is in transport awaiting questioning.”

He lets out a small sigh of relief, nodding.

The Lieutenant stares at him, “you did everything you could, Gaz.” he opens his mouth to disagree, but Ghost lifts a hand, “no. Ellis was dead the moment he was captured. If I was in your position, I wouldn’t have risked the mission, the team, myself to try and save him against the odds.”

Kyle sputters, “but- I didn’t save him.”

“But you tried.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s dead!”

Ghost’s tone lowers dangerously, “it may not matter to Ellis, but to the rest of your squad? His teammates? They know you tried, and they will remember in the future that Sergeant Garrick will endanger his own life for his subordinates.”

Kyle’s eyes widen, Ghost’s voice gaining a somber tone, “you haven’t had a lot of experience in leading.” he half-states, half-asks, so Kyle shakes his head.

“The trust your men have in you is fragile, and invaluable. Today, you’ve gained something many others can’t. You have respect, the kind that is hard-earned in battle.” His eyes look away, lost in memories Kyle will probably never be privy to, “that’s why it matters.”

He thinks back to the way everyone approaches Ghost, fear and awe in their eyes, “are you talking from experience?”

Ghost’s eyes refocus on him, “my soldiers respect me because I’m powerful. They respect me out of terror, not trust.”

“Respect is respect, no?”

“None of them would risk their lives to save mine, if it came to it.” Ghost rises to his feet, “respect born of fear is weak compared to respect born from admiration.”

A gloved hand, adorned with skeletal markings, is offered to him. Kyle takes it, allowing Ghost to pull him up to his own shaky legs.

Gaz takes a good look at the grotesque mask, at the appearance that signals danger and unmatched strength. 

And at the hand in his, grip powerful enough that he doesn’t have any doubt it will catch him if he falls.

“I trust you, Lieutenant.”

Ghost freezes, before he begins walking towards the parked vehicles, “your mistake, Sergeant.”

Gaz follows, believing wholeheartedly in his words.

“I’m planning on building a task force.” Price begins the moment Gaz settles into the office chair in front of him, “a revenant-only task force.”

“And you’re inviting me?” he exclaims in disbelief.

“Don’t sound so surprised, Kyle, we both know your powers are extremely rare.”

Still, to be chosen by the Captain Price out of everyone…

“You’re giving me too much credit, son.” Price’s moustache twitches up with a hidden smirk, “I’ll take it as a yes?”

Gaz nods resolutely, “yes, sir!”

“That’s what I want to hear. Any questions?”

The words “no, sir” are ready on his tongue, but he retracts them to instead ask, “are there any other members yet?”

Price scans him for a moment, before he pulls out a folder, “you remember Ghost, I presume?”

He can see how Price clocks in the excitement in his mind, “of course.”

A warm smile crinkles Price’s blue eyes. He rises, offering Gaz a hand to shake. Gaz takes it.

“Welcome to Taskforce 141, Kyle.”

[discoknack]

Ghost Kafka Attacks!

Mainly @sonicasura's idea, but I think maybe we have different philosophies? For one thing, I'm evil...

This got away from me again. Anyway, my thinking goes like this:

I modified certain details from Sonicasura's post. The main concept is the same: at 26 years old, Kafka throws his life away to protect his co-workers. Almost at the end of the day, they had been cleaning up a large plant-type Kaiju, whose pheromones attract a medium-sized insect-type Kaiju looking for food. The way the situation is described in the post makes me think: both of these are in the manga that I've only read bits and pieces of. So if that is the case, this is the same, but if not, I will explain. The invading Kaiju is like a wasp that eats nectar as well as insects and meat, and can fly. It can also spray its victims with sticky silk, like a spitter spider, but unlike a spitter spider, its sight might be much more acute.

The Kaiju is on top of them in no time at all, with the poor Sweepers shouting at one another to get down and hide. High probability of an imminent blood bath! Kafka, opportunistic as ever, covers himself in nectar from the plant Kaiju to turn himself into bait. He sprints out and away as fast as he can through the empty streets, aiming to lead it away from his crew and distract it long enough for the rest of the Monster Sweepers to hide or flee. In this regard, he is successful.

But the attacking Kaiju ensnares him in its silk.

He has plenty of time in that cocoon to contemplate his last moments while under the influence of the Kaiju venom. We can agree on some themes. It might be anger at himself for breaking his promise and getting himself killed, hoping everyone else got away in the end, fighting to go on or at least praying to be remembered, and desperately desperately begging Mina to forgive him for his failure. What frustrates me is I want something more. Something evil. But y'know, Kafka's flavor of wrath wouldn't be triggered in this situation for Reasons. Without having read the full manga, I guess I'm going with the so-simple-it's-stupid option: fight or flight. And I changed the mechanism for Kafka becoming the type of ghost he is, sorta. Anyway,

Kafka, having been killed through suffocation within a maddeningly painful venomous silk cocoon, is in a high state of stress that does not immediately abate, even after he killed his killer and sucked up its soul.

I don't know how he does that yet, so I'll skip it.

As he has no immediate purpose and has not yet regained the ability of abstract thought or other forms of higher thinking, Kafka wanders around, confused and in emotional pain, hugging himself. His previous agony was so intense, that I'm not sure what's going on in his mind in the immediate aftermath. Does he even know he's dead? On some level he likely does, but perhaps he is also having a temporary lapse in sanity, or suffering from delirium. In any case, he is instinctually looking for help of some kind, but doesn't know how to get it.

I like to think that once his spirit had emerged from the still-closed cocoon, he mostly resembled himself, right down to the white Monster Sweeper uniform on his apparition. Only also with piercing green irises, a dark aura over his form, and an odd, often fleeting, sickly sweet scent. There's a certain pained expression he made that seemed off-putting, but I can't describe it. Still dunno how he ate that thing.

But after consuming the Kaiju soul, his form became like a shadow puppet, still human in shape but the details are harder to make out. Now his eyes and mouth are a starkly-glowing green. His teeth are still currently flat, except occasionally fangy when he's really pissed off and about to eat someone. He transforms further the more kaiju he consumes, so he'll eventually get a full set of permanent sharpness, among other changes, such as: the shape of his body becoming serpentine except for his arms and face; his hair becoming more like fur in texture and running all down his spine so that the end of his tail blends fluff with smoke; the rest of his body developing hair that's very fine, dense and no more than one or two millimeters long, something like an agreeable velvet or one of my favorite sweaters; clawed fingers like talons, although I'd prefer his hands retain a more human shape, but human fingernails are quite fragile. But that's all later. For now, he looks like a human shadow.

The lingering sun, as it descends to dusk, has him feeling some kind of way when he's caught in its light. It doesn't hurt per se, but it's overwhelming for an already-overwhelmed man, and highlights the sensation of feeling physically insubstantial. Lower levels of ambient light help him feel a little more real. So he sticks to darker areas like alleys.

The Defense Force arrived at some point, only to find the wasp Kaiju already dealt with, and a cocoon that was the perfect size to house a human victim. Though, as is the case in the original post, they couldn't breach the cocoon's walls. And it, as well as the body inside, remained fresh even months later. I should explain that the freshness is a common idea in the stories I've read about Onryō, and not necessarily something the wasp Kaiju did.

At some point he has wandered across districts, slowly calming down. The occasional screams of other spirits who flee from him or turn away tend to startle him again. His reactions slowly change from wild fright in his delirium that has him running and crying from no threat at all, to seeking out a shrieking soul to check if they're alright, to quickly realizing that they want nothing to do with him but he's not really sure why.

He's cooled down enough now that he can think a little. When he finally encounters a living person, the notion of his death finally sinks in. It's not so dramatic. He doesn't cry out, though his despair returns a little more. He just asks the stranger, "can you help me?" And while they turn, curious, they don't notice him, and become slightly perturbed when his hand phases through their shoulder. And so after contemplating his hand, Kafka wanders some more, wearing his glowing frown and not sure what to do at this point.

Cliché, I know, that he soon encounters a living shit-stain of a human being in an alley somewhere. Maybe some entitled wad that grins and keeps pressing if a vulnerable woman tries to tell him 'no'. The point is that Kafka would be hard-pressed to not kill and eat this guy. And Kafka is already in a bad mood.

So, you know...

Kafka has the villain wrapped in his silk, which was spewed from his fingers and mouth. The woman is long gone by now, having ran off as soon as the villain was distracted. Kafka is so full of white-hot rage that he slams the man into the wall a few times. And when he yells at him nothing legible comes out, only a roar of garbled language that cracks the concrete and has the bastard's ears bleed.

On some level Kafka knows something isn't right, and that he's doing something wrong. But at the forefront of his mind is wrath, retribution in favor of the woman this man harassed. Kafka gets ready to suck out this man's soul so that no one, alive or dead, has to suffer him again.

But Kafka is kicked in the head from the side and stumbles, dropping the sack. As an angry spirit, his inner chaos flares and he is like an animal, mostly in the way that humans are animals. He gets bigger in his posture, ready for a fight, and as a ghost, he gets some inches taller with this motion also.

Hikari Shinomiya has her hands on her hips and a bright face. "Hey there! You still in there, buddy?"

Kafka is confused by the juxtaposition of the surprise kick and the woman's friendly tone, and he backs away to look at her, lowering his hands. He unconsciously drips evil silk from his fingers, but it tapers off as he assesses the situation - even as impaired as he is. The nice woman in front of him must also be a spirit: her aura is of light. She doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward him. The kick hurt, but also, it didn't? Kafka takes some moments to understand that she is solely addressing him. "Uh...?"

Meanwhile, Hikari carefully approaches him, somewhat like she intends to capture a scared animal. Slow, but poised to act if he makes any sudden moves. "I heard... a newbie was in town... so... Am I not too late?"

At the change of the script, Kafka's rage had dissipated. Essentially, he is still hurt and confused, and Hikari distracted him from his task. He doesn't want to hurt her, but also can't think of a way to disengage from her, and running away also isn't an option because he still wants to kill-a-little-bit this guy, so he freezes.

Hikari is able to take one of his hands in hers, the silk having dissipated. "There. See? Bet you other people were scared or ignored you, huh?" And she winked. "I'm Shinomiya Hikari." Then she blinks, registering something.

Kafka is able to speak again. As Hikari gets into his personal space and reaches for his face to scrutinize him, he leans away, physically and idiomatically shrinking, and says, "H-Hibino Kafka! That's- don't wear it out! There's been a big misunderstanding. I am very sorry!" He scratches his head with a free hand, chuckling nervously, " I just wanted to teach this guy a lesson and, got carried away... I dunno what's going on at all."

Hikari is distracted by whatever she noticed, not responding to his words. "Oh no..." and Kafka sweats. She holds his chin, squishing his cheeks, and wonders aloud, "just who did you eat already?"

Ok so I figured Hikari's been a ghost for a few years, and she knows or has at least heard that if you eat a soul, it can taint you in a way that locks you into a vampire-like existence, requiring you to sate a horror hunger with more souls. Hikari doesn't care about the piece of trash he wrapped up, but it would be best to prevent Kafka from eating him anyway so as to keep everyone safe in the long run and allow Kafka a friendlier coexistence with other spirits. Unbeknownst to her at first, Kafka has eaten a soul already, thus sort of dooming that neighborly relationship. But since it's not a person, it doesn't carry the same moral weight that would erode his sanity if it was.

I imagine that among vengeful ghosts who take up vigilantism and suck up human villains, there's a bit of a he-who-fights-monsters situation and they end up becoming corrupted one by one, devouring each other before being put down somehow. (I would totally watch/read something with that concept. Any recs?)

Also, I added more powers and quirks to Kafka than the original post. I already mentioned a couple of them here already and in Kikoru's Spirit Guy (in part 2, but here is also part 1 for those who want to read it). He has a sweet smell, which can be either pleasant like spring or candy, OR very oppressive, floral, and saccharine. Getting bigger and smaller is a subset of elasticity. Hikari can probably do it too. Kafka can also spray webs: clean ones like Spider-Man or a real spider's structural webs; or sticky ones laced with a psychoactive compound, the concentration of which depends on Kafka's choice and wrath. Unlike the killer cocoon, these sticky webs have a milder physical effect on their victims in the sense that they don't leave any marks. But they can still cause pain and additionally induce paranoia, hallucinations, agitation and/or catatonia. So, that guy he wrapped up is absolutely fucked already.

I have a suspicion that rather than including arson proper in his arsenal, pyrokinesis is more for lighting and putting out candles and lamps to control the light level. Thus to that end, he can also burn out light bulbs with a flash (though might not be able to turn them back on). I don't know when or if he'll use it.

Umm, that's about all I got for this point in the story. I have one more drabble thing.

[true-blue-sonic]

if we're talking about things in the Sonic Central that were kind of worrying/annoying: did i hallucinate, or did shadow use a move that looks suspiciously similar to Silver's PK in that Shadow Generations trailer? Like he glowed green, the debris around him glowed green, and then it went flying into Metal Overlord?

Because idk, I think I'll be pretty irked if it turns out that's what it is. Both because it might be trying to hint at Dadow being canon (which I'm super not a fan of for various long reasons) and more pettily because I'm a little bothered by the way Silver's move pool has by now seemingly shrunk to just shields and moving things with his mind, despite him once having had more abilities (teleportation, his Rivals ESP, stunning enemies in 06) whereas a character like Shadow continues to be granted new shiny powers game after game - now possibly including Silver's (I assume the Doom powers at least are going to be a temporary thing but y'know. still)

No, I think you're right. I would argue it's almost the exact same shade as Silver's PK, even.

But then again, it seems like this ability uses the same colour as well? It seems like a time-stop of sorts? Interesting🤔

But no worries about Dadow: Takashi Iizuka has gone on record very bluntly stating Shadow is not Silver's father. Besides, at least in '06 it's impossible: Shadow is too busy being trapped forever to be able to start a family in any way, haha. As for Silver... I guess we simply don't see him enough to really give his abilities a chance to shine? In Generations he could do the teleporting and create Psychic Knives (and Meteor Smash, my beloved!), but in Forces I'd say that none of the characters really got a chance to let their abilities show. At most they're just kinda punching away at Infinite's clones in the final battle in a way that makes sense for each character (e.g. Amy with her hammer, Espio with ninja posing); it's just that for Silver his lack of other abilities is far more noticeable because he is the one fighting Infinite. And since after that his appearances have stuck to mobile games, TSR, Sonic Channel stories that I guess most Western fans don't know about, and the IDW comics that have nerfed him completely, there's not been any time to show off what he can do in a better way.

I think this discussion is much larger than just Silver, though. Shadow's simply getting a ton of attention currently, arguably at the expense of/overtly so compared to other characters (afaik there was no Year of Knuckles to tie in with the second Sonic movie, for example). It makes sense because Shadow is among the most popular characters in the franchise ever, who even was more popular than Sonic for a while in the 2000s iirc, but it also means that other characters just don't get the same spotlight and can't show off what they can do as much as he can. So I don't think Sega is deliberately trying to give Shadow all the cool new powers while Silver and the others are losing theirs: I figure it can be attributed to the fact Shadow is mainlining in a game right now, so it makes sense he'll get new abilities to engage players, whereas the rest of the cast is just not so important and thus there are no opportunities for them to show off their own powers. Overall, I think Silver still has all those abilities (such as his ESP), there just hasn't been any room to show them. Perhaps someday in the future again!

[ncc-101017]

Personal Log

Star Date: 75010.2

I return to duty after three months of intensive integration and recovery on Trill at the Symbyosis Commitee Campus.

Well, one month tense negotiation and interrogation followed by two months of intensive recovery.

Sonan's death was--still is unthinkable. However it was no question that in that moment I would accept Baz, the symbiont. To turn him away would be to turn away Sonan and seven other souls. To not accept would be against everything I worked for as a qualified Host. To protect them in times of crisis is an honor, even if temporarily. Re-association would not be tolerated long term. I knew this.

I did not know that Baz was not onboard with 'temporary'. The first feeling I remember was relief. Not quite mine, not quite not-mine. Then an overwhelming rush of resolution. I knew then that Penn Te'are was gone. That my name was Penn Baz. My husband and former host Sonan Baz was dead.

And this was not going to go over well.

To their credit, The Symbiosis Commission was only doing their job. They were persistent that I should relinquish Baz. It was not too late by medical standards. And, truth be told, I might have agreed, if it wasn't for the insistence of Baz bubbling within me that this was what was wanted. After a month of tense negotiations, the committee was forced to agree. A representative of Starfleet was called to perform a mind meld with the symbiont. It expressed that this experience was highly prized for this individual symbiont, irrelevant of the hosts. While I'm not sure yet if I myself completely agree, I accept this honor and adventure. Even if it complicates my grief...

After some integrations and orientation, I was deemed fit to return to duty. I was not to return to The Valentine and reassigned to The Hardaway with orders pending. 820 personnell, heavy weaponry and regenerative hull, I'm pretty sure we aren't about do be doing milk runs. Suits me fine. You don't become Starfleet for the mundane.

The crew is definitely an interesting mix.

The only one I've been able to meet personally thus far is my 'Number One'. Commander Orlal Oronat had been kind enough to provide me with a detailed report regarding my senior staff. She seems most adept at maintaining morale onboard. She has also populated my calendar with crew events and organizations. Goodness. For a ship with no family support, it seems that we do not lose the ability to care for our crew.

Captain Kovek. Helmsman. I'll say I'm shocked. The Vulcan who performed our mind meld doesn't captain his own vessel; He is flying mine? Not a coincidence clearly, but I'll leave it. His service record is nigh legendary. Replimat talk is that he outstripped a Vesta in a Galaxy class. Let them "observe" me, I look forward to seeing his performance.

Let's see, Chief Engineer. LT. Commander D'yan Jrooi. He's just completed a fellowship the Daystrom institute hosted by Temporal Affairs. I'll admit to being curiously disturbed. Something about Daystrom and time evokes the sound of the Prime Directive shattering. I'll keep an open mind, I imagine that a Sikaran is more interested in automation than auto distruct.

Lt. Commander Niri. Oh..a Tamarian. A freshly minted Chief Science Officer. Exolinguistics specialty. It seems she's working on a Standard Tamarian for Terrans as a part of her continuing studies. Per her status update the project is "Mother-in-Law, her visit extended". I guess that means "a nightmare".

Dr. Fuya has recently taken over the position of Chief Medical officer. He's by all accounts an exceptionally well loved man. Glowing recommendations from the Kais overseeing the orphanages on Bajor and commendations from Starfleet medical for courage under fire. There's some mention here of ruffled feathers due to the current organization overhaul in Sickbay. It seems the doctors impeccable bedside manner may be reserved for the patients.

Let's see, and to round it all out my Tactical Officer, Commander Sivalaa Maata has recently returned to ship duty after completing an intensive security training detail with former KDF and Ex-Borg Personnel. Her file also shows various leaves and assignments to all corners of known space. Though I'm seeing a conspicuous absence of Orion or her larger colonies in that list.

All told, it appears we are well suited to handle whatever Starfleet wants to throw us into. We've got one more night in space dock before receiving our orders and it seems that everything is running smoothly. I'll spend some time unpacking before I make my rounds and get familiarized with the faces.

Sonan, I'm not so sure that we should be doing this. I really hope this isn't a giant mistake. Of course, if it is a giant mistake, at least it's a historic one. Who doesn't like making history?

Right....big smiles everyone in there. Here we go.

[agnessmadness]

Full Name : Gerard Valkyrie Race : Quincy Ethnicity : Japanese/Greek Age : 1000+ Height : 222cm/7'3 Weight : 150kg Birthday : January 7th Epithet : M the Miracle

BACKSTORY (TEMPORARY AND NOT CANON)

born into a village with a miracle, born with strength that are abnormal, he was called a miracle within the village. he have held himself very highly and knowing his wort thanks to the village praising him and raising him. he was a really good person with good heart, an open heart even. he helped the village multiple times, helping others and shooing away the danger and animals that dare to came through and try to hurt the people within the village. always the greatest person within the village

until everything falls apart and suddenly everybody starts disliking him, and that dislike turns into hate. as then he knew a rumor was spreading like wildfire with him giving himself to the devil and the bad to become stronger so people can look up to him and seems like a good guy- the people that disappears within the village were all his fault and he was using them as sacrifice to becomes stronger than ever, bigger than ever, faster than possible. he have tried to tell the truth but no one believed him until he was kick out of the village with people throwing foods and tomatoes at him to shoo him away like he was hose wild animals that he once shoo away.

this was before he met Yhwach who saved him and given him a place to stay and a place to feel safe within.

PERSONALITIES

a bubbly yet dangerous man to be around. friendly with his own kinds and usually really nice, but also really cruel to those he dislike. have a weird sense of justice and a weird logic of what he finds as good. finds human to be weak and should be protected at all cost. confident and finds himself flawless.

STATISTIC

Strength: 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜

Stamina: 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜

Durability: 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜

Intelligence: 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜

Magic: 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜 𝓜

ABILITIES

he Miracle (奇跡 (ザ・ミラクル), Za Mirakuru; Japanese for "Miracle"): Gerard's innate ability that he has always possessed, rather than being a true Schrift granted by Yhwach's blood. Gerard describes it as the power to manifest "miracles" upon himself by giving form to the thoughts, feelings, and desires of himself and those around him. He also suggests that the more improbable a specific event is, the more likely The Miracle can make said event actually occur.

Probability Manipulation: By Gerard's own accounts, conventional miracles are the result of impossible or near-impossible events happening when they are needed most.

Damage Empowerment: By focusing on people's "fear" of being unable to destroy him, Gerard can covert any damage wrought upon him, lethal included, into increases of his size and strength.

Hope Infusing: Using The Miracle, Gerard can manifest the "hopes" of his allies into his Spirit Weapon, Hoffnung.

Wings: If he needs to fly, Gerard can sprout a large pair of gold-colored wings, which also forms an aura of energy around Hoffnung.

VOLLSTANDIG

Aschetonig (神の権能 (アシュトニグ), Ashutonigu; Japanese for "Authority of God"'; Viz"Ashtonig"): Gerard activates his Quincy: Vollständig by forming a Quincy Zeichen in the air with his blood. In this form, Gerard gains a Norse Reishi helmet, a star extending over the edges of his shield, and thick patterns covering his arms and legs as the star on the hilt of Hoffnung turns white. Upon being granted power by Yhwach's Auswählen, Gerard's Quincy: Vollständig granted him a Heiligenschein in the shape of the Quincy Zeichen and a pair of red, feathery Reishi wings.

Energy Blasts: Gerard can fire energy blasts from the tip of Hoffnung that are powerful enough to level entire city blocks.

Second Form: After Gerard's body is destroyed by Byakuya Kuchiki's Ikka Senjinka, Gerard recreates his entire body, but unlike his initial form, he now has a face resembling a knight's helmet and two spikes on his shoulders. He seems to be devoid of clothing, and has golden energy patterns on his shoulders and waist

[avataroftheswarm]

Getting settled here was... turning out to be more trouble than they'd expected. While they hadn't been really acknowledging it before, it was beginning to sink in that they had been kidnapped away from their home by something that was apparently bigger than even them and that they were trapped on a planet far removed from their own. They could only hear the comforting presence of the rest of their swarm, the constant background music of the Hive was entirely absent. The lack raised all sorts of questions Zazie did not wish to think about, but had to be considered.

If they died here, if they lost enough of their swarm, would they cease to exist like a mere human? They could not return to the Hive if they couldn't even hear them, could they?

And those questions that were causing a creeping dread were not even the most pressing.

Zazie had no idea how money actually worked, let alone how this money worked. Keys were not double dollars and they had only paid enough attention to the human's currency exchange to dismiss it as unimportant. So when they were hungry, they did not bother attempting to use money to get what they wanted, simply slipping up to a cart in the market and plucking several juicy looking fruits from the display.

Which led to their current predicament; namely being chased through the market with the shouts of "Thief, stop them!" ringing behind them. Really, all they had to do was get out of sight and then fly off with the food as their swarm, but the getting out of sight part was turning out to be a great deal more complicated than they were anticipating. There were people everywhere and nowhere to slip away without giving themself away right in the market. Probably a bad idea when they had no more Worms as backup and nowhere else to go if people panicked and tried to kill them.

They suddenly had a greater appreciation of Vash's ability to evade people. This was harder than it looked.

Okay, plan B then. There was a rather bulky man meandering around, hopefully either their childish appearance gave him pause and earned them sympathy, or Zazie could just use him as a temporary shield from their pursuers. Arms full of fruit, they skid behind the shiny, decorated man and hide behind his legs. Not unnoticed, but hopefully it will buy them enough time to spot an opening to slip away.

@sanchezsong

[thuganomxcs]

She walked onto the street, ignoring the frantic horn honks and obscenities yelled at her.

The truck in front of her (carrying large logs from trees, freshly chopped) stopped a centimeter away from her. But before the female driver could get another word out, Maiz already curled a hand into a fist. She punched the hood of the vehicle once, twice, three times until it dented--until the airbag POPPED out and suffocated the woman trying to honk for help.

This wasn't her main goal as far as destruction went. (Even though the exposed, dented and ruined hood, revealing the smoking engine underneath did please her). Her next steps were.

With little to no effort, she raised the underside of the truck with her bare hands, and got it overhead, which understandably caused panic amongst the other people inside of their cars. What was supposed to be temporary traffic turned into an absolute nightmare as the end of the truck--wooden logs and all--slid out of their restraints and even struck and crushed the hood, windshields and roofs of other, smaller vehicles. She stopped some feet away from the demi-human's Food Truck and then with a grunt--

--tossed it in his direction, in one last ditch attempt to arouse his anger. If the destruction of his beloved workplace failed, then that was it. She'd had to kill him for his insolence and insubordination. Because he was too dumb to understand his place was beneath her. Because he refused to submit to her authority with all the "chances" she gave him.

NO WARNING WAS GIVEN AT ALL.

Either he stepped away and wasn't inside his truck and would find it some measured destroyed--or he was inside it already and would find himself disoriented by this sudden and silent declaration of war, for she found herself without the ability to care enough to sense for his ki-- er, life force. Whatever he called it. She waited on the sidewalk, arms crossed over her chest. Her tail furiously swiped at the air side to side.

Clearly something was wrong on her end and she didn't want to talk about it. Vulnerability was not an option, so she decided on outright murder. Even if said murder attempt was also a thinly veiled flirtation from her.

━━   ❝   𝐏𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔!?!  ❞ His spirit beast broke the rule of remaining stationary to shriek in horror at the flying vehicle, there really wasn’t much else Yusuke could have done to save his own truck. “Shit..get everyone else out of here.” The food vendor gave the command as it quickly hops off his truck and transformed into a rather giant phoenix and picks the people  from the ground with both feet and flew out of the way. Because of Yusuke’s own heightened sense of perception, he was able to see someone still in the truck as it flew toward him. 

“Ante.” The words were spoken, cuffs that held his rei and youki back for the better of five years had swiftly unleashed once the enchantment had been broken. Giving Yusuke the speed he needed to save the driver. Once the truck slowly rotates mid-air Yusuke uses what incredible speed he had gained to disappear from the area only to hop towards the truck, opening the door, prying the unconscious driver from the vehicle and bursts out of the other door in just a matter of seconds. The truck then crashes into his own food truck, the collision causing an explosion which sent even more people into a frenzy. 

Holding the driver in his arm, whilst endowing her with some of his own reiki with the spirit-wave to resuscitate her. Once she woke up Yusuke ordered her to ‘get lost’. Which she had done the moment her feet touched the ground. “Geez..ya know this is probably my fault fer thinkin’ that you would have probably calmed down just like I did. But if you’re gonna be pulling shit like this…then I’ll just have t’ take you out Zira (the mother of Caesar. Planet of the apes reference cause…primate).” At this point it was simply strictly business, just a spirit detective doing his job. At this point he was more disappointed in himself for being..dumb.

[ask-elland-n-will]

Will does not think that the situation can get any worse than the haze of the pickle massacre he has just gone through. Dealing with the other half of the vegetable… It is not going to be as complicated, right? At least one of the spells he cast in the moment of utter panic and distress can finish the job, right? If not — stomping his wobbly feet has proven to be helpful, too. Will looks at Sebastian, hopeful, the prefect clinging to the sleeve of the other boy’s cloak without realizing it as he maneuvers himself so that they are standing back to back.

The little serpent probably looked like a mad creature to his friend, losing his mind over a vegetable and burning a hole in the carpet. Will still feels rather unsteady on his feet, sniffling and breathing unevenly. For now having somebody to hold on to provides at least some level of comfort, even if Sebastian’s grunt is the only way for Will to assess the other’s well-being.

Whatever little shred of hope was ignited in Will at the sight of his temporary victory, the demonic shriek washed it away in a blood-curling tsunami of horror. The wizard feels the warmth of Sebastian’s back vanish as both of them attempt and fail to stay up, Will falling backward near kneeling Sebastian. The prefect's sniffling turns back to sobs as the room submerges into the depths of chaos once again. Will had to close his eyes trying to focus on stopping his uncontrollable shudders, trying to get his breathing under control. Trying to muster enough strenght not to be useless.

But his eyes fly back open in horror as he feels something stirring inside of his mouth, rolling to the tip of his tongue making him gag and spit it out with a choked sob. To his horror, Will realizes that it must be the leftover of the pickle juice after he somehow almost swallowed it a few minutes ago. He can barely see the splotch on the floor with how the lights have been flickering, the glow of Sebastian's wand barely dispersing the darkness. Through the tears that he didn't realize are streaming down his cheeks again, he makes out a movement on his pant leg and shoes… Will is not sure if it is the pickle's shrieks or his own that follow. He also isn’t at all sure if he tried to get the nasty pieces off with his hand or flicked them away with his wand.

As if in a haze, through his blurry vision Will watches Sebastian get up and cast a spell the incantation of which does not even register in the little snake’s mind. And then there is fire. So much fire that it is all that William sees. For a moment he thinks, detached, that it might be a better way to go out than succumbing to the demonic madness.

But the fire does not seem to hurt him. He tries to sit up, failing a few times at first before he can fully embrace the fire raging all around them, weird bubbling sounds coming out of his mouth as Will realizes that he is laughing. It is not a pleasant laugh: rather maniacal, with ugly sobs still interrupting it whenever the wizard needs to take a breath. Unstable. Disturbing. Out of place.

It is also the first time William sees the demon, too, having previously been looking in an opposite direction. But Sebastian is calm and collected, and he is smiling, and it’s all Will needs, holding onto Sebastian’s pant leg with one hand, the other covering his own eyes. Laughing. And crying. And laughing.

William does not know how much time has passed. When he comes to, the room is quiet. The fire is gone. There is no sign of their aggressor, nor are there any leftovers of it, be it slime or ashes. How long has he been sitting here? Will is only faintly aware that Sebastian is standing nearby. The prefect looks down, his gaze falling upon multiple holes burned in the carpet in front of him. The wizard feels numb and exhausted, as if being overwhelmed for so long has robbed him of the ability to emote for a while.

"Seb…" he starts saying but his throat feels too raw to speak, his voice sounding like that of a stranger: too fragile, too bleak, too quiet. He tries to swallow, staring into the rug unmovingly as his hand falls away from holding onto his friend.

"I think I am going to have to give myself a detention," he whispers in the silence of the dorm room, dejected. He is the one who burned the rug. "Reparo?" he says, uncertainly, holding onto his wand weakly. He feels the flow of magic but nothing happens to the piece of ruined fabric. Ah, that's right. "Can't fix the rug... I think I burned the rug... Seb?"

You could hear a muffled moan from a dark corner of the room. It was a choking and pain-filled sound. The pickle crawled out from under the wardrobe, looking all torn and broken. Its remaining green skin glistened under the dim light of your wands. The slimy half was watching you.

And suddenly, without warning, another nerve-wrecking shriek escaped the demonic vegetable, echoing through the room. It was a shriek filled with despair, as if the burden of losing its other half was too heavy to bear.

The pickle was relentless and now thirsting for vengeance. It seemed to possess an otherworldly determination to get to you now.

Once again, the lights began to flicker erratically, and the bed curtains flapped eerily in a sudden draught. Just for a brief moment, you could see a large creature above the green menace amongst the dark and its large, dark arm was reaching for you. 

You could hear strange noises from all around you, followed by a demonic growl and scratching. The scorched and severed bits and pieces of the pickle began to twitch, as if they were coming back to life. A low growling sound emanated from the surviving pickle half, sending shivers down your spines.

The remaining chunks of its green flesh slowly started creeping towards you, leaving behind trails of slimy juice. Even the tiny pieces of green pulp that sploshed on William's pants and shoes were slowly starting to crawl up his leg.

“Yes, destroyed…I see that,” Sebastian murmured, shaken but awed by the brutal resplendency of the aftermath. His heart was still pounding in his ears as he moved the wandlight around him and took in the carnage. It was as impressive as it was traumatising.

He irritably spat out a bit of slime and grunted in response to @ask-elland-n-will’s inquiry into his well-being. Sebastian was alive, though he doubted he would ever be close to right after such an experience. Of course, it was debatable whether Sebastian was ever all right, but it was neither the time nor the place. Sebastian edged closer to Will, tightening their small protective circle as he kept his eyes and ears trained for any sudden movements or suspicious sloshing, but there was no rest for the weary. 

Without warning, another savage screech pierced the air. Magic roared around them in waves, each one stronger than the next, whipping the air into a violent vortex around them. Sebastian braced his feet and instinctively threw an arm up to protect himself, but the force of the tempest shook the room and threw him off balance. 

Sebastian stumbled to a knee and through the shaky wandlight, a dark, nebulous mass coalesced into a demonic form above the pickle. Ever more agitated, his mind raced with horror, anger, and disbelief. The sickening sound of wet scraping had his eyes darting wildly around at the resurrected bits slithering closer, then to Will–covered in eviscerated pickle that began to slowly reanimate. Dread swelled within him, and he questioned for the first time whether they would survive. 

At that moment, something in Sebastian snapped. Perhaps it was simply self-preservation, but the meticulously bricked walls around a festering well of pain and rage–untapped since that day in the catacombs–fractured. 

In the space between heartbeats, it cracked wide open. 

Darkness surged unbidden through his magic. Sebastian surrendered to it as it burned across his veins and overwhelmed any lingering sense of panic or uncertainty. He found his balance and stood, growling as he turned toward the demon. A dark sneer twisted his lips as he raised his wand and gave it a calculated flourish.

“Protego Diabolica.”

A ring of illuminated black fire scorched a circle around the two wizards. Shrill shrieks echoed on the swirling wind and the animated bits crawling over them fell to the floor. Flames erupted into a shield, the shadows dancing across Sebastian’s face as he watched the demon through the fire, smiling coldly as he listened to the pickled minions within the circle crackle and dissolve into ash.

[justafewsmallsteps]

Hero Inuyasha falls in love with villain kagome au

Modern/superhero au

Oh boy. This was fun and so challenging, mostly because I can’t imagine Kagome being a villain in any world! It’s short and vague, but I enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

When she fired another shot at him, it barely missed his shoulder but the energy burned through his clothes. He hissed as the magic seared his skin.

That was a first.

For a second even she seemed startled, but when he glared at her she quickly turned around and attempted to flee. While she wasn’t really a fighter, she had enough tricks up her sleeve to keep him away.

“Not today!” Inuyasha growled, chasing after her. There was enough distance that she might get away, but he was faster and stronger.

It’d been six months of trying to follow her trail, and he felt himself getting so close. She must have felt it too, because her last attacks were getting sloppy; desperate.

In their earlier encounters, she’d never tried to do more than pin him down so she could escape. As he began closing in she was forced to resort to other methods, breaking out powers she hadn’t before. He knew she could erect temporary barriers and could fire arrows made of energy. Then there was her getaway. Given enough time, she could open a portal in the ground and somehow disappear. It was how she slipped away every single time. Even his high-powered nose couldn’t detect her once she went through it.

Tonight was going to be different. After months of learning how she operated, he was good at reading her and adapting. He was going to catch her and figure out who the hell she was and put an end to her thievery.

“Stay away!” she yelled, jumping down a building and into an alley.

“Like hell I will!” He leapt right after her. He wasn’t going to give her enough time to escape this time!

She landed and quickly threw up a barrier to try and trap him in the corner of the alley. Inuyasha predicted the move, and managed to bounce off the ground before the barrier fully closed in. He could hear her heart racing.

“That’s not going to work on me this time.”

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Her face lit up as she magically formed her bow and arrow. It glowed bright, aimed at him.

He scoffed, continuing to feel the sting of where her arrow had nicked him. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Sorry,” she seemed to whisper before letting her arrow fly. Then another. And another.

Before he could react, Inuyasha found himself pinned to the barrier, three energy arrows tacking him down by his clothes. She’d done it a few times before.

Goddamit. She was going to get away again.

But for some reason, he could smell tears.

She rushed to his side and sniffled. “Does it hurt?”

He looked over and saw that her glistening eyes were focused on the burn on his shoulder. Inuyasha flinched as her finger swept over the spot. The affected area was increasing. Shit. He hoped it would wear off the way her other powers did.

“Sorry,” she apologized again, and it came across sincerely.

This was so weird. He hated her. She was a thief! She’d managed to evade him for months, and now she was so close and he was just stuck. And she was crying over him? What was happening?

Some part of his mind alerted him that he’s being pinned to her barrier. Her temporary barrier, and if he waited just a little longer he just might catch her if she was foolish enough to stick around and be this close. Surely, she must have known that.

But if she was being careless, he should take advantage.

“What are you doing?” He asked in an effort to stall her.

“I couldn’t go without checking. I—I’ve never hit you before.”

And she was right. He knew that. In fact, it drove him crazy. She clearly had the ability to do serious damage, yet this entire time she’d only ever played cat and mouse, constantly fleeing from his grasp.

“Why do you care about what happens to me?”

She seemed taken aback. “B-because,” she sputtered. “You’re a good person…” Her gray-blue eyes gazed at him from behind her mask with something like admiration.

Inuyasha was so confused.

“I can heal it,” she whispered conspiratorially. “It should wear off, but it’ll take at least twenty-four hours before then. I could heal it now, if you want.”

Even the scrape burned, and it was getting worse by the minute. God, she really could just obliterate him if she wanted.

“Do what you want.” He wanted to ask her why. Why did she care about him? Why would she want to heal him? Why not kill him? Why steal? Why any of it.

Instead he watched in dumbstruck awe as she removed the mask on her face and he saw her for the first time.

Oh. She was pretty. Not just pretty; strikingly beautiful.

“This is going to be awkward, but it’s the only way I know to heal damage from my powers.”

“Wh—!” His face exploded into a blush as she put her lips over the burn. His whole body went aflame. Oh my god, what the fuck was happening? This was seriously intimate. Absolutely inappropriate ideas flashed in his mind and he felt his embarrassment burn the tips of his ears.

But the burn on his shoulder gently cooled, and he was left with an effervescent feeling thrumming in his veins.

“I’ve got to go,” she said in a quiet rush as she pulled away.

He caught that her cheeks were pink.

Her hands motioned to create the portal. After a few seconds, a hole appeared in the ground. She jumped up—

And just at that moment, the barrier flickered away.

“Wait!” Inuyasha leapt up, heart pounding, and grabbed her wrist. Her eyes went wide.

But he can’t stop it. The portal doesn’t just open; it sucks them both in with a flash of blinding blue light.

[sbi-au-ideas]

Tommy can speak to animals.

Normally, someone with this power would become a vet, or work in a pet shelter- but Tommy saw potential in his power- and after months of grinding and saving, he finally burrowed away enough money to do what he’s always wanted to.

He makes a coffee shop- for people and animals.

Now, Tommy knows that stray cats and raccoons don’t seem like wealthy company, but if he communicates with them appropriately, he can turn his 4-legged friends into petty thieves.

Because one thing that all of nature can agree on, is that shiny = good.

So while people are coming into his shop for coffee, idle talks, and a little free entertainment from his company; the crows are bringing him jewelry and stray coins, the raccoons are retrieving broken technology from the garbage, and the stray cats and dogs are bringing in customers.

Tommy, in return for the animals hard work, gets them “gifts.” As much of a gift that you can give creatures that don’t care for money or things that are particularly more tasty than the last thing they ate.

So, the crows are fed to the brim with seeds and dishes overflowing with bread crumbs, and while they eat they rest on his shoulder and nip at his ears while he works. He talks to them while customers are low, and they show off what amazing customers they are by chirping and crowing right back. No one else can understand them, but Tommy does, and he cackles loudly along with the murder of crows resting on his countertop.

When the raccoons wander into his shop, grumpy and untrusting as always, he directs them to a dish of fresh water to clean off in and listens to their chitter chatters, nodding solemnly as they review their memories with him. They’ll leave his shop cleaner and more well-fed than when they entered, and return the next day with gifts from the garbage to acquire another dip in fresh water and a warm biscuit.

The stray cats and dogs are interesting characters with varying needs. They might just be looking for a temporary shelter, or maybe they want saucer of water and ground beef. Sometimes their requests are more time consuming than others, like the dogs that wander up to his counter and whine for a bath to get rid of any flees and ticks. There was even a cat who demanded he stop his work and scratch behind her ears immediately. When he tried to resist, she gave him some pretty aggressive scratches. Well, some customers are nicer than others.

He feels good about his work. He especially feels good when he looks at the statistics of animals on the streets, which have gone down dramatically from his cafe keeping them clean and fed, raising the number of strays that get adopted or taken in by shelters.

Everything is going well!

Until a murder of crows fly up to his door at the end of a long shift, carrying one of the most powerful objects in the world:

The Power Orb.

The Power Orb is a powerful ability enhancer- once they figure out how to utilize it, anyway- that the Heroes and Villains have been fighting over for months, desperate to gain an upper hand over the other in their ongoing war of morals and superpowers.

And Tommy has it in his hands. The ones that are covered in flour, age-old coffee burns, and faint red claw marks.

…

It’s smaller than he was expecting it to be… and was there always this giant crack in the side?

Phil clutches the Power Orb in his arms as he runs through the chaos. Neither side knows he has it yet, so the fighting continues, abilities clashing in magic, fire, water, lightning, and illusions. His side is bleeding thickly, and his right wing burns as his healing ability fights to keep up with the damage he’s sustained.

There’s a crack in the Orb. No one knows what or who caused it, but the fighting only crescendoed when the Orbs power leaked into the air, uncontrolled. Even now, as Phil hugs the blue, translucent ball to his chest, he can feel his legs shake as it hums throughout his person.

He whistles sharply when he makes it far enough away from the fighting, some dingy alleyway on Southside. Quickly, his crows descend around him, cawing and crowing in a cacophony of sound.

He hands them the damaged Power Orb, rattling off orders about finding a safe place to keep it, and his voice cracks painfully as his entire body shakes with adrenaline.

The murder flies off just as quickly as they arrived, and Phil collapses to the ground, his hand reaching up to cover his mouth as bile crawls up his throat. He hits the emergency button on his wrist, before rolling over to rest his back on the dirty alley wall, gasping in air greedily.

Fuck. He can only hope those damn birds even know the definition of a “safe place.”

[symphonicsoul]

From here { x } || @buddymuses || Clear

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ It's rare that he's allowed outside the castle so this is a special occasion. A cause for celebration even! That would be if he wasn't so busy. He's been given more sectors to cover than the others simply due to his ability to fly and his sheer speed. The little brat wants everything within the space of Wonderland - neigh -the universe and he's willing to use them to get it.

This would be the perfect chance to run.

This would be the perfect chance to slip into the darkness unnoticed and never return. Use the excuse that if he did not find what His Excellency had sent them all out to find then he was not supposed to return anyhow but he knew all too well that if he did not return then that damnable plant witch and probably that clown of a shark would be sent out to find him and drag him back kicking and screaming.

Maybe not the fish.

He had been kept in the dark about the nature of his relationship to the one they were all supposed to be swearing fidelity to. However it was poor form for one King to be swearing fidelity to another. Somehow though, there's a twisting in the pit of his stomach that tells him His Excellency already knows that.

So there will be no running today.

There's really no point to it anyway with the messy state of Black Wind's memory. He's cross with him. No... cross isn't quite the right word. Staring him down with Orthrus drawn while that oceanic gaze fills to the brim with murderous intent isn't exactly what he would call cross. It's not quite a strong enough word.

Regardless, it made running pointless.

He couldn't use this opportunity of temporary freedom to race to his Other's side and announce to him that he was finally free enough to get away so that they could finally face the beast together. He couldn't race to find him no matter how much he wanted to. It would only land him with Orthrus drawn and a bullet being placed firmly between his eyes with little to no hesitation. Too bad Lord Bahamut has no pull over that twin barreled beast as he does the Magun...

He'd love to know what exactly it was that he did though....or what Black Wind seems to think that he did anyway....

Aura would be so upset if she could see the mess that they've landed themselves in.

Speaking of messes.

There seems to a group of beasts... oceanic if the smell assaulting his nose is any indication that are surrounding a boy. The poor thing is curled up on the ground and seemingly bracing for impact. So he's just going to have to ...deal with it.

His right hand raises out to his side as the sound of metal clicking fills the air and the blade removes itself from it's home - rising to float to it's master's command. He takes the hilt into his grasp and allows himself to fall - to plummet down from the sky right on top of a crab like monster four times his size only to drive his blade deep through the beast's shell.

The cresation rocks backwards as it lets out a low whine before it collapses to the ground with a shaking thud. A blur of white has the swordsman working through the rest of the assailants with expert speed thus ending the threat to the boy's life.

It's then that he takes a moment to look at him.

Blue from head to toe and such odd clothing. Though he supposes everything in Wonderland is a tad bit odd from the little he's been allowed to see of it. There is something about this child that is off compared to anyone else he's met in this strange land of what once was and he can't tell if it's his eyes or the overwhelming aura that feels crushing enough that the Misterican half wonders if he could fly in this kind of pressure.

Slowly he approaches but the child steps back and thanks him. Thanks him but requests that he keep his distance and the swordsman stops in his tracks then and there. The request is honored as soon as it's said, causing the swordsman to freeze where he stands only moving to swing his right arm and replace his blade upon his belt and then his own hands to raise out to each side as if to show he means no harm.

Jade Moons pier deep into the mirroring reflections looking back at him and that's when he sees it. He can see what this boy is. How odd... how strange that this piece reacts so differently from the others. He couldn't use this opportunity to run but perhaps he could call the rain to His Excellency's plans in another way after all...

"I mean you no harm, young one. Are you alright? I saw you were in danger and only wished to assist. I will not approach any closer than you allow. I did not come for any form of reward child, but instead a warning. I know of the beast chasing you. I can tell you more if you wish to listen."

[cyber-neptune]

Megasound family AU summary/main post

(!!Bad English and weird pacing + Long post!!)

AU summary : This AU started as a joke and then I got too attached to it.

Megatron and Soundwave get a child or more. It’s honestly just a basic family AU thing, except it’s Megasound and with my random headcanons and takes.

Before going into more details,

Nieke is the shipchild // Megatron is her carrier // Soundwave is her sire

The “How” Nieke came to existence : There are two ways she came into existence, choose whichever you want/feel more comfortable with

The obvious mechpreg where I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain it, everyone in this fandom has found something related to it, accidental or not.

The other one is her being found inside a pod (like a bad Wattpad fanfiction). In this version, sparklings are protoform are basically blank slate; they have no colors or solid armor pieces. They obtain them from the bots they identify/ mark as carrier and sire.

Now onto the info parts on the characters because it’s an AU :

Nieke : First Megasound shipchild (as of now). She’s a flight frame with the alt mode of a Valkyrie Aircraft (x).

Her eyes are weak to bright lights and colors, which is why she wears a visor (photophobia). Already mentioned it somewhere else but she’s got two data-cables on her back. Yes she’s climbed walls and ceilings more than once, yes Megatron panicked when he found her the first time.

Personality wise, she’s like a calmer version of her carrier.

The scars on her face are due to dark energon cracking her face plates while she was absorbing her carrier’s CNA/coding. She has other scars on some parts of her body.

Abilities :

Can produce a high frequency shriek while in a state of distress. While it causes a disturbance and is high enough to cause (slight) damages to surrounding bots’s audios, it can be deadly for Insecticons.

There have been some incidents reported of Insecticon(s) being at the wrong place while she was using this ability and getting their head exploded.

The side effects of using it are the scars on her face opening and bleeding, along with temporary loss of vision and feeling of dizziness.

Her other ability is to cloak her signal from human radars. This only works if she’s flying in a straight line or not moving at all.

Weapons : Data-cables, a sniper riffle and a blade in each of her forearms.

Megatron : Nieke’s carrier, be it by adopting her or birthing her. Having Nieke made him re-evaluate everything he’s done so far. Raising a sparkling was terrifying to him, the fear of hurting someone who saw him as something other than pure evil.

He blames himself for Nieke’s health issues. She was a premature spark. He thought she’d die by his fault. It took time for him to understand that she was alive and well.

After the war, he’s become more of a housewife/househusband. He’s unable to get a job due to being an ex-warlord. So he stays at home most of the time. Mostly taking care of the garden or painting/writing. It’s a calm life. He, of course, had to do some jail time for literally everything.

He has few physical changes, most of the sharp angles of his body have began getting rounder without him sharpening them. A scar on the right side of his lip and some more feminine traits he began adding to himself through the years.

Soundwave : Nieke’s sire and Megatron’s conjunx/sparkmate. It was quite a shock to him learning he was going to sire a sparkling. He still mourn the loss of his cassettes/minicons.

He made toys for Nieke, notably a rabbit plushy named Morris (reference to that x). Sewing and crocheting stuff has become a small hobby away from monitors. That and teaching Nieke sign language.

After the war, he was recruited to work in a security department on Cybertron due to his hacking skills.

A small memorial was made in honor of his deceased cassettes/minicons in their new home. Using his voice again was…painful in some way. His throat hurt and felt soar after years of not speaking. He still uses voice recordings most of the time to communicate with others.

Random infos/facts :

Megatron gets slightly irritated when people assume he’s Nieke’s sire.

Laserbeak is present in this AU, they simply went out to live their own lives and comes back to visit every now and then.

Nieke’s name is based on the Greek goddess Nike. I thought it would be a fitting name considering the fact Megatron and Soundwave were both gladiators.

Might make a follow up post to add or change things.