#this lance is so funny to use and its so ridiculously strong

[w98pops]

aletus courier au again

[still-breathing-au-p3r]

A figure surges into existence behind Aragaki, black and bronze and earthen red.

Castor’s mount had been unmoving iron, but this Persona sits astride a horse that tosses its head and slashes at the air with its gleaming hooves.

A round shield is strapped to one of its arms, and that same hand brandishes a long, glinting spear. The other hand grips the reins; tucked under that arm is a fearsome helmet fashioned to resemble a horse’s skull, polished to mirror brightness and crowned with a tall red crest.

There’s a hole in the center of the figure’s armored chest, and within it floats an elegantly carved lance, glittering like garnet.

The most striking change of all is the face: Castor’s hollow skeletal stare replaced by the face of a living man with noble features and a neatly trimmed beard, his expression at once both stern and serene.

Aragaki’s Persona shifts in its saddle and swings the point of its spear at the charging Shadow.

The concussive boom of Heat Wave rattles the bricks under Minato and the teeth in his gums, and then the Shadow simply is not there anymore. All that remains is a fine layer of gritty black soot fanning out across the courtyard.

Oh, right. Aragaki can just– do that.

It’s been so long since they’d last fought together that Minato had almost forgotten how ridiculously strong he is.

“Holy shit, Senpai.” The words come out slurred, mushy, and awestruck.

Aragaki sinks down to his knees and laughs between ragged breaths, tired but loud and genuine. It turns into a short burst of dry coughing that he has to bury into his sleeve, but doesn’t seem like he’s in pain again– just winded and thoroughly exhausted.

“Never heard you swear before,” he says, shifting his weight around to sit instead of kneel, his evoker scraping against the concrete before he returns it to its holster. He digs through one of his pockets and tosses something small and shining towards Minato. “Here, I think you need this more than– well don’t lose it, dumbass. I only brought one of those.” The exasperation in Aragaki’s tone is undercut by mirth.

Minato manages to get his hand on the bead after only a few seconds of fumbling for it– five if he’s charitable, seven if he’s honest. He crushes it under the heel of his hand and its cool, balmy magic washes over him, rinsing away his dizziness and the pain of his broken arm.

Once he’s back on his feet, Minato summons Hariti to return the favor. Aragaki’s whole body goes slack with relief as the spell settles over him. Minato doesn’t duck down to try and lift Aragaki from the ground this time, just offers his hand. Aragaki takes it without complaint and pulls himself upright.

“Aragaki-senpai, that was incredible!” Fuuka enthuses. Minato can practically see her bouncing in place and clapping.

“You did it,” he follows up.

Minato catches the hint of a smile on Aragaki’s face before he covers it with his hand under the pretense of wiping away sweat from his upper lip. 

“Yeah well, I felt kinda sorry for you, watchin’ you eat dirt like that. I couldn’t let that– whatever-the-hell thing just get away with it. So…yeah. I guess I did.”

He’s reminded of Yukari again– the first time she had used Theurgy, swooping in and saving his life when he was knocked down. Minato can’t prevent a soft smile of his own from creeping along his mouth.

Part of it is that the realization of just how many similarities there are between Yukari and Aragaki, of all people, is a very funny one, and part of it is that–

That it’s really nice to feel so cared for.

“How do you feel?” Minato asks.

“Like I got hit by a damn train.” Aragaki rolls his neck until it makes a truly abominable cracking sound. “...Better than I have in a while,” he amends softly. “Probably still got a ways to go, it’s not like I’m cured or anything. But… I think it’ll be easier now. Hopefully.”

Minato nods. Finally summoning his Persona again wouldn’t just magically erase all of the terrible things that led Aragaki to this point. It’s still going to take some time, but– as far as first steps go, this is a pretty great one.

“Anything else we oughta watch out for, Yamagishi?”

“No, I don’t think so. All Shadow activity in the tower is currently normal, so it doesn’t look like you attracted any more attention. And there’s less than thirty seconds until the Dark Hour ends.”

Just as Fuuka finishes speaking, the light changes from brackish green to the normal silver-blue of midnight. A cricket begins to chirp nearby. A breeze that had been trapped in the Dark Hour’s stillness picks up again, sending a few brown leaves skittering along the ground. Aragaki shivers and tugs the edges of his coat together against it.

They both take a minute to assure Fuuka that she doesn’t need to wait up for them and should go ahead and get some rest.

“C’mon, we’d better get movin’,” Aragaki says once Fuuka’s line goes dormant, glancing over at the school doors. “Last thing we need is security to spot us.” He starts off in the direction of the dorms; Minato follows.

“So. Hector…?” Minato nudges.

“Of Troy.” Aragaki rolls his eyes, but Minato isn’t fooled. He can spot the begrudging fondness in the gesture as clearly as anything, although he is a little surprised not to be called nosy again. “You wanna know more, you’re better off doing your own research. Don’t have the energy for tellin’ bedtime stories right now.”

Minato definitely can’t blame him for that. He’ll have to remember to look it up tomorrow, or perhaps ask Fuuka. …Hopefully he’ll remember to.

They continue on in silence for a while, until a splotch of light and color in the corner of Minato’s eye captures his attention. He breaks away and angles towards the source, digging around in his pocket.

“What the hell are you doin’?” Aragaki grumbles as Minato slots the first of his coins into the vending machine.

“I’m thirsty– that’s why I was up. I never got to grab something to drink, though. I got distracted,” he adds gravely. Aragaki replies only with an incredulous grunt. “Do you want anything, Senpai?”

“Y’know what, sure,” Aragaki sighs, sounding defeated. “Whatever’s fine. Pick something for me.”

Minato nods and slides another coin into the machine. A moment later he’s depositing a can into Aragaki’s palm. Aragaki snorts at the label.

“Mad Bull. Hilarious.”

Minato nods with sage dignity. “I know,” he says. Aragaki tries to cover up his laugh with a cough, but he still can’t fool Minato. 

He holds out his can for a toast. Aragaki stares at it flatly for a long moment, but he does return the gesture, clinking the edge of his can against Minato’s before they open them.

[moonguilt]

Voltron MMORPG AU: Chapter 2

alright here’s the next segment of overly elaborate headcanons. we’re finally getting some real klance lads

side note for people who dont RP: double parentheses ((like this)) indicate that the real person, i.e. lance or keith, is the one speaking. proper grammar is used for when they are making their original characters speak.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

finally, f i n a l l y, they are all playing voltron together

coran and pidge are still caught up in raiding and player-versus-player, but coran makes time on the side occasionally to act as dungeon master for the others, when they want to go on a particularly epic quest

meanwhile pidge adamantly proclaims they are all dorks, and when she attends their roleplaying sessions in-game, she insists that she is “only here to keep the high level elite creatures in this zone from killing you all while you're singing campfire songs like a bunch of camp rock dweebs”

when she eventually starts joining in on the roleplay here and there, under the guise of doing it “ironically,” no one comments on it

matt kind of gradually integrates himself alongside shiro. he shares absolutely none of pidge's qualms with the concept of RP, and in fact played a lot of dungeons & dragons as a teenager, so he manages to acclimate fairly easily

allura and keith both have a hard time getting into the idea of roleplaying. it strikes them as silly and they have trouble letting go of their dignity a little. lance whinges about them both having “major party pooper sticks up your butts come ONNN” but all the while, he is gently steering them in the right direction and subtly teaching them how to loosen up a little and immerse themselves in the fantasy world he has grown to love

sometimes they decide to hang out in heavily populated in-game cities together, where they can people-watch and build casual camaraderie among their characters. and perhaps interact with the occasional random player brave enough to approach their group's table in the tavern

“its not really OUR table” shiro points out one day when they walk into the tavern to find their usual seats occupied by other players

“YES IT IS” -keith and lance, in unison, approximately 29 seconds before their first RP bar fight

they decide eventually to create their own adventurer's guild so that they can easily connect with each other when they are online

shiro wants to name the guild “the paladins of voltron,” but pretty much everyone protests on the grounds of “shiro, you're the ONLY paladin in this guild”

the only exception is hunk, of course, who assures shiro that it is a very cool name, but perhaps they could just edit it slightly? maybe change “paladins” to something more class-neutral? like, “lions” perhaps?

yeah. yeah, “the lions of voltron” seems to work with everyone. whether that's because it's a good name, or because hunk is the one suggesting it, no one could tell you

as they all grow more comfortable with RP, their characters start developing bonds with each other

allura and matt, the guild's healers, hit it off swimmingly. they enjoy making their characters dramatic and exasperated with everything the others do. matt jokingly gives his character an enormous, embarrassing crush on allura's character just for the laughs

keith and pidge's characters both have dark, edgy pasts. pidge made hers extra dark because she wanted be funny, but keith seems to really enjoy the way their characters can bond over their shared trauma. she suspects there is an underlying reason for that and decides to never reveal that she intended for it to be a joke

the most interesting of all is, of course, the relationship between keith and lance's characters

everyone expects them to be rivals, to bicker constantly, etc

partially as a prank and partially because they think it would be fun to RP, they decide behind-the-scenes to make their characters the best of friends

“Oh, Keith, you are so strong and heroic!”

“I would be weak if not for the strength you gave me, my one true friend in this cold, dark world...”

“I am so glad I have a great warrior like you by my side...”

“You are my rock.”

“... even if you have a weird name.”

“((for the last time get off my case about the name, lance))”

“((literally never gonna happen. die mad))”

it starts to affect their relationship in the real world too, slowly, at first in the form of jokingly mimicking their characters' dynamic:

“oh, mighty keith, i require the salt on the other end of the table. would you please bless me with your aid”

“but of course, noble lance, i hereby entrust you with my sacred salt and place it in your skillful hands”

“illustrious keith?”

“yes, immaculate lance?”

“thats gay”

“fuck you”

R O M A N T I C  T E N S I O N in the R E A L  W O R L D

nobody fucking addresses it but everybody knows it's there. way worse than it ever was before somehow, which is saying something honestly. and it only gets worse as the days and weeks pass

“if I may say, good sir keith, you look particularly dashing today in this black ensemble of yours”

“why thank you dearest friend lance, i chose this specially to please you”

“then you may certainly consider yourself successful in this endeavour”

are they complimenting each other as a joke??? why do their eyes go half-lidded and their lips quirk lopsidedly when they shower each other in praise?? nobody knows

thats a lie. everybody fucking knows

no i never learned how to format tumblr posts. you will have to deal with my absolute trash aesthetic sorry

tune in next (and final) time for the most elaborate ridiculous speech i have ever written

[saraa-lancee]

So what issues would you like them to tackle that hasn’t already been done on the show before?

(I just want to say this is my first ask ever and I've been here since... God maybe 2013? So thank you!!)

I would LOVE to see a new dimension to sexuality. I'm also casually of the team that's "Sara herself should say Bisexual" because Bisexual has only been said once on screen and Nate said it casually.. We have a scene where Sara says tells Nurse Lindsay that Lesbian isn't a bad word yet the show kinda doesn't act that way about Bi. Bi erasure is an issue that would be interesting-- since Sara is with Ava, it would be neat to have some line of "i didn't pick a team" or just along the lines of Still Bi With A Woman.

(They also missed an opertunity with Charlie to use neutral pronouns of some kind)--> a discussion further on gender identity would be cool too. There are casual set ups for this with Charlie, like in the Shakespeare episode, but nothing is ever really taken completely seriously or honestly even explicitly. I would really enjoy a nonbinary or intersex narrative in this particular context because I feel like the team of legends (as the people the characters are) would fit really nicely with that. But it would be cool to have a trans character that Gideon helps? Because the arrowverse trans character (in Supergirl-- Nia) is already transitioned. It would be cool to have a transitioning characer in a really casual way even (a particular scenario would be New Character leaving sickbey while someone else walks in. Other person asked if New is feeling OK and New just says like "oh yeah, just my hormones.). But yeah anything with gender identity.

I always hunger for more disability stories, but based on how they Wrote Sara's blindness... yikes. I remember watching a panel or something on YouTube about how Caity was hoping that Sara was at least going to have a cane or be shown to struggle with some stuff, but the writers ignored all of that. So its kind of touchy based on that but I think it would be really neat to have someone with a prosthetic (or even just an amputation, someone born without a limb, etc.)-- it would be a beautiful narrative about 'Gideon can literally grow you a new arm' and that character firmly saying no, this is me, having this difference doesn't make me less, you aren't "fixing" me because I'm not broken, I like myself, etc, whatever.

I know that for me personally one of the best things about the show is that Sara and Ava don't have to come out, and everyone just treats them like normal, but I think some kind of homophobia narrative would be good, not to a big extent but just to the extent like in S1 when Kendra and Ray move in 1950s and that dynamic only with the girls. Like, for the show to acknowledge homophobia in such a direct way, as they did with interracial relationships. This beyond the obvious homophobia of the Nazis. (I personally can't think of an aspect where its implied, but sometimes I can miss or misinterpret implicated stuff like that).

I would love to see a return to POC cultures and narratives (narratives outside of racism) S1 with Kendra and Carter and the Egyptian culture aspect, Amaya and Zambesi aspect. We see a tad bit of this with Zari and the bollywood scene, and Japan post WW2, but they are more side aspects now. It would be neat to go to India or other places in southeast Asia (culturally), or Central/South America. Overall, I would just like to see more of that cultural aspect because human culture is something that interests me a lot and I feel like can be easily casually thrown in with time travel--- traditional clothes, buildings, and ideals (an example of the ideals is the discussion in feudal Japan about the cultures views on death).

I feel like there was a lot of potential with Hank and Sara to continue that discussion about women in power. Yes, we have discussed this before. We do it a lot in second season with the JSA and even Jonah Hex but I think Hank had a lot of potential to add a dimension to that discussion. (honestly see next paragraph for more). That whole episode with the Minotaur i would have loved if they'd been a bit more explicit with that-- yes, obviously a woman can be in charge (in Hanks mind) but he has the right to walk in there and take over because her experience doesn't matter and also we will do whatever he wants. Sara spends almost the whole time just rolling her eyes and bitting her tongue besides a light quip in the beginning asking if a girls ever punched him. in the past Sara has literally exerted dominance over men so I was just kind of disappointed with that dynamic. I love the character of Sara as an "unconventional woman" or a "strange friend" and I've noticed comments like that pretty much stopped after the 3rd season. I know some people hated those comments but I think they can be good. I enjoyed them and would like to see them again because it's literally just Sara being unapologetically herself, a strong woman, doing whatever she does, no matter how weird or unconventional it is. (Which is an integral part of Saras character to me)

BUT its also not necessarily "new" issues. Issues don't go away in real life-- we had multiple issues about Race in America with Jax, from different points in history (Slavery and the 1950s). Jax even mentions how he still experiences Rascism today. The issues don't go away and just because they are mentioned once doesn't mean they can't (and shouldn't) be examined from other points in history. IE just because the show has talked about it before doesn't mean we can't talk about it again from a different angle and/or perspective.

I see a lot of potential with Astra with the racism thing (people are nicer to me in literal Hell) but it also would have been interesting with Mona, to show a different type of racism would have been INCREDIBLE.

I also can think of maybe a scene or two that would have just been a nice touch with Zari (either one, but I have a soft spot for Zari 1.0, and I think with her life as an illegal Muslim would have been an enriching perspective) as a Muslim. They are very good to her character in the way that she obviously abstains from Liquor and Pork, and observes Ramadan. But one thing that would have been interesting is for Zari to experience early 2000s (or honesty still right now) xenophobia. Especially Z1 since being a Muslim is Illegal in 2045 there was a lot of emotional potential there. (Although I feel like I can understand why the writers didn't want to touch that because of current conflicts).

Since we're going to outer space (that was actually confirmed right? Or was it just hinted and I misread??), I think issues will have to be character driven rather than time period driven. But therin we have a lot of potential-- a race of aliens without distinct genders (wait, so your worth can be dictated based off of your genitals?? Plus sexuality stuff there), aliens confused about race (I don't understand some of your skins are different colors... and your people treat each other differently based on this?). We could introduce a matriarchal society, which the crew with Captain Lance feel particularly unphased by. Perhaps we have a completely pacifist society or aliens made of inorganic materials (debates about what constitutes as alive, what lives are meaningful, etc.) You get the idea(I adore star trek so you can imagine my glee thinking about some of those scenarios).

I think for me, the hard shift to comedy was at the expense of some of my favorite aspects of the show and also things that set it apart. This Found Family is so rewarding because they are all so so different but those differences enrich each other. They become better people and feel at home without having to change who they fundamentally are. And they are whoever they want to be. I feel like now the show has simply had an incredibly jarring tone shift thats trying too hard to be a comedy. (This one is just an opinion but a joke among all the serious is always just a lot more funny to me. I find myself laughing more at one liners and random stuff in the early seasons. Now it feels like 'ok, what's the next ridiculous thing.')

I think... humanity is pretty dark. But humanity also rises above. This is why I adore the episode from post WW2 Japan and to me it personally really stands out from other episodes in s4/s5. The idea of creating and destroying, pain and sadness locked inside, terror and hatred for the beings you share the planet with. That pain creates monsters. Sometimes by accident. (Sara's pain turned her into the version of herself she called a monster.). And also about embracing your passions (Mick hiding his writing). In that episode, we still have jokes about Godzilla. Garima appears and its hilarious. But it's also an incredibly powerful narrative about pain and fear and shame and gives a perspective that the western audience wouldnt... necessarily think about (the actual consequences and what the bomb actually literally did.).

That darkness makes the light so much more meaningful. If everything becomes light... than why are we still fighting?

Sorry if this is jumbled, I'm on mobile so.

Also, sorry if this is a rant or whatever. I am very passionate about this topic and oh boy if I was on a computer and had the time I'd probably repondd with a link to a doc.

[captaincanarygotmelike]

Fic: Voices Carry ch. 5

So I recently hit 1000 followers on here, which is incredible and insane because I haven’t even had this account for a full year. To celebrate and to thank all of you, I’m uploading the next chapter of Voices Carry a few days early. Yay!

Read on AO3

Read on Fanfiction.net

Leonard woke up propped against the window of a cop car. Sara was in the driver’s seat. She glanced back at him through the rearview mirror, her eyes meeting his for a brief second before they returned to the road.

“Morning sunshine,” she said, “I was starting to wonder if I’d actually killed you.”

“Not quite,” Leonard replied, grimacing as he moved his injured leg, “I take it you’re bringing me to the precinct.”

“Haven’t decided yet,” Sara said, tipping her head to the side, “I was going to, but then you mentioned — no, threatened — my daughter, and I can’t just let that go.”

“Look,” Leonard said, trying and failing to sit up, “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I just need you to—”

“You have until the intersection at 1st and Main to explain yourself,” Sara interrupted, “If I like what you’re saying, I’ll turn left and bring you to the hospital. If I don’t, I’ll keep going straight to the precinct. Deal?”

“Deal,” Leonard said instantly, “but just one thing; don’t take me to the hospital. Take me back to my apartment.”

“Are you kidding? You could have a bullet in your leg!”

“I don’t do hospitals.”

“Fine,” Sara rolled her eyes, “Start talking.”

“Tommy Merlyn.”

“What about him?”

“You know his dad?”

“Malcolm Merlyn? Yeah, I guess I do, a little bit.”

“He is going to blow up Central City.”

“I’m being serious,” Sara rolled her eyes.

“So am I.”

“Okay fine. Let’s pretend you’re telling the truth,” Sara said.

“There’s no need to pretend Lance,” Snart said, “I’m already telling the truth.”

“You’re wasting time.”

“Malcolm Merlyn is part of a group of people called the Legion of Doom. Their goal is to take over the world.”

“And you know this because?”

“I was part of it,” Leonard replied, and he saw Sara raise her eyebrows, “until I found out Merlyn’s plan for Central City.”

“Which is?”

“To level the city with an earthquake machine of his own invention.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sara rolled her eyes, upset at herself for thinking that the criminal would take her bargain seriously.

“Why do you think I stopped working with him? I like high-stakes work, but not that high-stakes. You apparently know the man,” Leonard shrugged, “Does this really seem beyond him?”

Sara opened her mouth to disagree, but found herself closing it just as quickly. He might actually have point.

She didn’t see Malcolm Merlyn often, usually just at Thanksgiving, and an occasional family dinner here and there. He was an eccentric man, very intense and had a flair for the dramatic, especially when arguing for his opinions. Avery was even a bit scared of him, or so she said every time Sara brought him up. She couldn’t not admit that Leonard could be right.

He had noticed her hesitation.

“See,” he said.

“Then explain why you go after a crime ring?” Sara persisted, “They hardly scream world domination. They could barely even hold themselves together.”

“Exactly,” Leonard replied, “You don’t see Merlyn walking around Central City much, do you? He doesn’t need a fully functioning group of people working for him here, at least, not yet. He just needs eyes, he needs people to do his dirty work.”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t want to ruin his ten thousand dollar tuxes,” Sara snorted, finding herself slipping into the story Snart was telling.

“You’d think there’s no better front then a low budget crime ring. They’re motivated enough to do what he tells them to, but disorganized enough that they can’t actually do anything more than that, but—”

“But that’s his downfall,” Sara finished, catching Leonard’s drift, “They’re too disorganized. As soon as you take out the boss, they completely fall apart. They’ll turn against each other trying to figure out who’ll take his place and they won’t be able to build themselves back up again.”

“Now you’re getting it.”

“So that’s why you killed that crime ring leader a few weeks ago.”

“I may not be strong enough to stop Merlyn right now, but I can at least buy us all some more time.”

“Funny, I kinda would have thought world domination would be Captain Cold’s type of thing.”

“I never did what I do for the power,” Leonard said, turning to stare stonily out the window, “I do it for the money. I want my sister to have a good life.”

“Why don’t you get a job, like the rest of the world?”

“Most places aren’t too keen on hiring criminals, Lance,” he said, looking away from the window to meet her eyes, “As I cop I’m sure you’re aware of that.”

“Why do I feel like that’s your excuse for not even trying.”

They pulled up to the intersection at First and Main. The seconds ticked by as they waited for it to turn green. Leonard could see the lights of the precinct down the street.

Finally, the traffic light changed.

Sara turned left.

Leonard let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

“I take it you’re not turning me in.”

“I know I should be,” Sara admitted, “but for some reason I feel like it would be a worse mistake if I did.”

They arrived at their apartment building a few minutes later. Sara walked around the side of the car and opened the door to help Leonard out. He winced as he put his weight on his bad leg.

“Why again am I not taking you to the hospital?”

“I don’t do hospitals,” Leonard answered.

“You could have a bullet in your leg!”

“I’ve had worse.”

“At least let me look at it,” Sara said, helping him into the lobby.

“If it helps you sleep at night.”

Sara rolled her eyes as she watched Leonard try to climb the stairs.

After what seemed like eons, they reached the third floor.

“I should change out of these clothes,” Leonard said, as he withdrew his hand from the leg of his jeans to see his palm and fingers wet with blood.

Sara nodded as they turned into their respective apartments.

“Lisa,” Sara called once she entered her home, “I’m back. Was Avery good?”

“She always is,” Lisa replied, closing her magazine and standing up from the couch, “She’s asleep now.”

Sara nodded.

“Did you get Captain Cold?” Lisa asked stiffly.

“In a sense,” she replied, unsure whether she should tell Lisa that she knew her brother’s secret, “Sorry about asking you to do this on such short notice. If you ever need a favor—”

“You’ll be the first one I call,” Lisa finished, heading towards the door. She crossed the hallway and returned to her own apartment.

“Lenny,” she called out.

“In here,” Leonard replied. She followed the voice into her brother’s bedroom where Leonard was replacing his heavy parka for a hooded sweatshirt. Her eyes instantly travel to the already blood-stained leg of his grey sweatpants.

“Oh my god,” Lisa exclaimed, “Lenny, what happened?”

“Got shot,” he said nonchalantly as he placed the cold gun in its sealed case behind a framed painting, “It’s just a graze. Sara said she’d take care of it.”

“Sara?” she repeated, “Since when did Sara take care of anything? Wait, does she know? Len, too many people already know, don’t you think—”

“I’ve got it under control,” Leonard narrowed his eyebrows angrily at his sister, “Don’t wait up.”

She didn’t look any more convinced, but she also didn’t say anything, so Leonard brushed past her and back out towards Sara’s apartment, trying to ignore the throbbing sensation in his leg. He knocked on the door across the hall and it was almost immediately opened by Sara.

“Hey,” she said, stepping back to let him into the apartment. He had adopted a slightly more lumbering stance to compensate for his bad leg. It didn’t go unnoticed by Sara, who gave him a strange look as he passed through the doorway.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said what a nice place you’ve got here,” Leonard drawled, stepping through the doorway.

“Be quiet,” Sara glared at him, “Avery’s sleeping and if she wakes up you’re dead.”

“That makes it sound like I want her awake,” Leonard said. That did nothing to reassure Sara.

“Let’s just get this over with so you can get out of here.”

“You sound really sorry about shooting me,” Leonard raised his voice slightly, causing Sara to glare at him again and glance back towards Avery’s bedroom.

“I still don’t understand why I can’t just take you to the hospital,” Sara commented, pulling a first aid kit out of a cabinet.

“The thing about bullet wounds,” Leonard said as he sat on a barstool at the counter, “Is that people want to know why you got them. They ask questions, and I’m not a fan of questions.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t surprise me,” Sara replied, “But you should know my medical training is fairly minimal.”

“You offered to do this. Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be a cop?” Leonard watched warily as Sara soaked a grey washcloth in the sink.

“I’m a homicide detective. The people I work with don’t really need medical attention anymore.”

Sara gestured for him to prop his leg up on the adjacent barstool.

“This might sting,” Sara warned. She pulled up the cuff of his sweatpants. Leonard hissed through his teeth as the damp washcloth touched his skin, “I told you. Stop moving or it’s gonna be worse.”

They both heard a shuffling noise from down the hallway.

“Shit,” Sara swore under her breath. She grabbed Leonard’s hand and placed it on the washcloth, “I have to go check on Avery. Keep holding this down.”

Sara moved towards the hallway but before she’d left the dining room, she was cut off by Avery.

“Mommy, you’re home!”

“Yeah, I am,” Sara smiled, “Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I can’t sleep when you’re not here.”

Sara tried to block her view of the kitchen, but gave up when she saw Avery glance around her, right into the room she wasn’t supposed to see.

“Mommy?” Avery whispered, tugging on Sara’s sleeve.

“Yes, what is it Avie?” Sara knelt down, glancing back at Leonard briefly.

“Why is Lenny bleeding all over the kitchen?”

“Oh, well,” Sara cringed, “At work tonight, I sort of hit Leonard…with a bullet.”

Avery’s eyes widened, “You shot Lenny?”

“It was an accident,” Sara said quickly, “and he’s going to be okay, so don’t worry!”

“Okay,” Avery replied quietly, looking worriedly at the floor. Sara watched Avery’s mouth slowly spread into a smile.

“What?” she asked.

“ ‘Member the time that boy Ryan was throwing crayons at me?”

“Mm-hm,” Sara nodded.

“And you told me it’s ‘cause he likes me?”

“Yes.”

“So ‘cause you shot Leonard, does that mean you really like him?”

Sara could practically hear a smirk spread across Leonard’s face. She closed her eyes.

“No,” she quickly shook her head, “I don’t think so, Avie. I do think you’re supposed to be asleep right now. Go back to bed.”

“Can I say goodnight to Lenny first?” Avery whispered, leaning closer to her mother.

“Sure,” Sara sighed, standing up and letting Avery step around her into the kitchen.

“Hi,” Avery said bashfully.

“Hey kid,” Leonard said, wincing as he twisted in his chair to better face her. Avery’s eyes instantly went to the red-stained washcloth pressed to his leg.

“My mommy shot you.”

“That she did.”

“Did it hurt?” Avery’s face was filled with genuine concern.

“Not too bad,” Leonard replied, “I’ve had worse.”

“You’ve been shot before?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Not exactly,” Leonard backtracked, regretting saying anything.

“Okay, Avery,” Sara said, taking her daughter’s hand and starting to lead her out of the kitchen, “You have to go back to bed.”

“Good night Lenny,” Avery waved with her free hand.

“G’night Avery.”

When Sara returned from putting her daughter back in bed, she saw Leonard still pressing the now blood-soaked washcloth to his leg.

“Has it stopped bleeding?” she asked.

“No idea.”

Sara lifted the cloth.

“I’m pretty sure it stopped.” She looked closer at the wound. “You got lucky. The bullet just grazed you. It didn’t even stick.”

“How’s that lucky?” Leonard rolled his eyes, “You still shot me.”

“You’re lucky because I don��t have to pry any bullets out which believe me is painful as hell.”

Sara extracted a medical needle and thread from the first aid kit.

“You really know how to do this?” Leonard asked, watching the needle warily.

“I know enough,” Sara shrugged, “Besides, who else is going to do it if you won’t go to the hospital?”

Leonard didn’t reply, just watched the needle approach his skin.

“You ready?” Sara asked, meeting his eyes, a worried look passing over her face as she saw his apprehension, “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Just get it over with,” Leonard said, attempting to hide his nervousness.

Sara began to stitch up the bullet wound. He flinched every time the sharp needle passed through his skin, but otherwise, he sat as still as possible.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, he spoke.

“While you’re jabbing a needle into my skin, why don’t you tell me your story. I think by now I’ve earned it.”

“Oh really, and what makes you think that?”

“I told you mine, not to mention the whole shooting me thing. Quid pro quo, Lance.”

“I don’t even know where I would start,” she shook her head, trying to hide that, for the second time in one night, she found herself ready to trust Captain Col — Leonard.

“Start with the kid,” he shrugged.

“What about her?”

“Well, for one thing, where’s the father?”

“Out of the picture.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We dated while I was studying to become a cop,” Sara said, not looking away from her needle and thread, “It was going pretty well until we went to this party and we both got so drunk that we couldn’t remember anything the next morning. I found out maybe a week later that I was pregnant, and I, being naive, thought he’d be okay with it. I was wrong.”

“Did he even try to stay?” Leonard asked.

“He was gone before the sentence was fully out.”

“Jackass,” he muttered, “My mom was in the same boat, but she convinced my dad to stay. She paid for that later.”

They remained in a somber silence for several moments before Sara spoke.

“That’s my consolation. I have no idea what kind of father he would have been. He might have been really good, but he also might have been shitty, especially if he didn’t want to be here.”

“It’s better to have one good parent than a good one and a bad one,” Leonard agreed. Sara nodded, “So how’s it been raising her by yourself?”

“I haven’t been,” she replied, “Not really. My parents were a huge help. I lived with my mom up until I moved here and my dad offered to move from Star City to help out. I said no, because I didn’t want to be the reason they give up their own lives, but he still found ways to lend a hand even a city away.”

“Why’d you move?”

“Because I could. I have the money, and now that Avery’s in preschool, I don’t need my mom to watch her all day. Plus, I don’t want to be dependent on anyone anymore, not if I don’t have to be. My mom was actually pretty cool with the whole thing.”

“And the rest of your family? I know I overheard a particularly unpleasant conversation between you and your dad.”

Leonard saw Sara roll her eyes.

“My father is sometimes incapable of seeing me as an adult, at least, not since I told him I was pregnant. He figured out on his own that I’d been drunk at the time, and it didn’t help that he’d never met my boyfriend, who by then was already so far out of the picture it was like he’d never been there in the first place. To him, every decision I make is rushed or selfish or reckless. He hates that I kept working to become a cop, even after I had Avery, and he hates that I am a cop because he thinks it’s selfish and irresponsible and that somehow it makes me a worse mother.”

“And your sister?”

“Laurel? What about her?”Sara asked, glancing up briefly before looking back down at her stitches.

“C’mon you could have cut the tension between the two of you with a knife.”

“My sister,” Sara said, “is still mad at me because over ten years ago her fiancé cheated on her.”

“Tommy cheated on her?”

“No, not him. He’s so out of her league he’d have to be out of his mind to cheat on her,” Sara shook her head, “You heard of Oliver Queen?” Leonard nodded, “That’s the one.”

“I still don’t understand why she’s mad at you for that.”

“He cheated on her with me.”

“Oh,” Leonard replied with raised eyebrows, “Okay, I can definitely see why that would cause some problems.”

“Yeah.”

“Is he Avery’s…” he trailed off, not wanting to finish the question.

“No,” Sara shook her head, “Laurel had the same question. Well, she had the same question after she thought I was lying about being pregnant.”

“What?”

“Sometimes Laurel still sees me as the immature nineteen year old who thought it would be a good idea to sleep with her sister’s boyfriend. She still thinks she’s better than me in every possible way, which was fine when we were younger because most of the time she was right, but now it isn’t. I’ve worked too hard to still be her train wreck little sister who always tries to steal the show.”

“What do you mean?” Leonard asked, his eyes following the needle in Sara’s hand.

“As it turns out, the world doesn’t always happen at times when it’s convenient to Laurel Lance,” Sara rolled her eyes, “The day I told my family I was pregnant with Avery was at a family dinner that my sister was having to announce her engagement to Tommy, which I didn’t know at the time because she hadn’t told us she was engaged yet. I had no idea! My water broke at her wedding reception, which she claimed happened because I was jealous of all the attention she was getting on her special day.”

“She thought you induced your own labor just to make her jealous?” Leonard asked skeptically.

“She admitted she overreacted later, but it didn’t make it hurt any less,” Sara said, cutting the thread with a thin pair of metal scissors, “I just love her so much, and when you love someone, you find a way to love their flaws.” She was quiet for a moment or too, “Speaking of flaws, you’re all done.”

She wrapped a gauzy bandage around his leg several times before rolling down the leg of his sweatpants.

“Those stitches will dissolve on their own in two or three weeks. Try to keep off that leg in the meantime,” she said.

“I suppose I should say thank you,” Leonard replied, “But I just remembered that the only reason you did this is because you shot me.”

Sara raised her eyebrows.

“Thank you,” he amended.

“You’re welcome,” she smirked.

“I should go,” Leonard said, already walking backwards towards the door, “I told my sister to not wait up, which means she’ll be sitting on couch with her arms crossed and waiting to yell at me.”

He was right.

“I told you not to wait up,” Leonard said once he was back in his own apartment.

“We’re not ignoring this!” Lisa said angrily, letting her arms fall to her sides as she stood from the couch, “We’re not ignoring that you told Sara!”

“It’s not a big deal,” Leonard said, refusing to meet his sister’s eyes as he brushed past her.

“It is a big deal, Lenny!” Lisa exclaimed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back around so he faced her, “Too many people know who you are! First it was Barry Allen, who was actively working against you for the first three months you knew him. Now it’s Sara, who is not only a cop, but the leader of the force trying to bring you down.”

“I have it under control,” he growled, wrenching his arm out of Lisa’s grip.

He stalked into his room knowing full well that he definitely didn’t have anything under control.

He couldn’t control earlier when he’d flinched, not at the pain of hydrogen peroxide against an open wound, but at the electric shock that had passed through his entire body when Sara had touched him.

He couldn’t control how right the felt about telling her about Captain Cold.

He couldn’t control how right he felt about Sara.

God, he was screwed.

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks again for 1k!

[brightisthedawn]

Thoughts on Voltron Season Two...

Had it's strong points, but overall, it was a lot weaker than the first season.

The first and most obvious problem was with pacing. It felt like it started out pretty scattered. Which, okay, yes! The Paladins are scattered! But the first four or five episodes feel pretty weak. The show starts to find its footing again around episode six.

And I think a major factor in this is the comparative lack of the Paladins interacting with each other. A lot of the investment in Voltron (for me, anyway) comes from seeing the Paladins interacting -- specifically, when they're either reinforcing each other, or when they have conflict where both sides are clearly sympathetic. The early episodes in particular don't have much Paladin bonding (which is fair enough when they aren't even together in the first two episodes), and we don't get as much of it later in the season as we did in the first season.

Which leads me to another point: Voltron works best when it takes all the characters seriously. A lot of people have mentioned how Lance and Hunk got Flanderized  into more comedic characters this season. That was probably done so they could focus on Keith and Shiro's arcs, but it actually weakens those arcs. Again, Voltron is better when it's taking itself seriously. If it doesn't take itself seriously, or dismisses some characters, that undermines the whole show and makes the serious moments seem weaker.

Most of the 'comic relief' moments come when most of the characters are together, and what harms the show the most is that they're so over-the-top. It would have worked better if those traits had been downplayed and Hunk and Lance had been written more seriously in the moments they had, and been given more chance to contribute. That would have strengthened the show by demonstrating that Voltron is actually a team of people who are genuinely trying their best, and who have each other's backs.

This doesn't mean there can't be humour! The mall episode was light-hearted and funny. The moment near the end of the twelfth episode, when everyone's thinking of Zarkon and Hunk's thinking of food -- that was funny. And it's the kind of thing I could see Hunk saying! Or it would have been funny, and not cringeworthy, if there hadn't been so much ham-fisted food-based comic relief earlier in the season.

It also didn't help that the comedic incompetence was extended to the villains. Early in the season, we have one Galra commander who's cartoonishly evil, but presented without gravity, and two who are...how to put it...dumb. Ridiculous. That right there cut a lot of the tension out of the show for me, because if we can't respect the villains, our heroes' struggle against them has no meaning.

(If I had to allow one comedic villain, it would be the mall cop. He fit with the tone of the episode. The short guy on the hoverdisc actively undermined the tension of the episode he was in. The guy who was building the cube superweapon could have used a bit more buildup.)

Another major problem was that the show didn't work as hard to connect us to the Paladins' allies this time around. Season one spent a significant amount of time making us care about the Arusians and the Balmerans, and gave the Paladins personal stakes with each group. By contrast, we don't get as much bonding with the mermaids, the tardigrades, or the metal-shapers. (The first two only appear in one episode each, so that's understandable, but it still lowers the stakes. The metalworkers show up again later on, though, and I really felt like more should have been done to show the Paladins connecting with them.) The Blades of Malmora...

Honestly, I felt there was quite a lot of tension between the Blades and the Paladins. Which is fair enough, and that kind of we're-working-together-because-we-have-to relationship can be well done. But it felt...odd. I wasn't sure if the tension was meant to be there or not.

An speaking of tension...

The inter-team tension, specifically the distance between Keith and Allura after Keith is revealed to have Galra blood, is exactly the kind of thing that makes team introspection necessary.

Because. If we have a lot of focus on the team, their amicable-and-otherwise relationships with each other, and a high amount of character focus, then the change in Allura's behaviour is sharpened by contrast. If we're focused in on who Keith and Allura are as people, if we're shown how they care about each other an the rest of the team -- even if the answer is 'they don't really pay much attention to each other' -- then we have a personal frame of reference for how this affects both of them.

But that comparative lack of introspection and character bonding means that the change in dynamic between them falls relatively flat. If character-based revelations are going to have impact, then the characters need to be built up first. There aren't as many personal team moments in this season, and there's a lot less delving into how Allura (among others) feels and why, so instead of more subtle characterisation, Allura gets hit with the 'irrational anger and prejudice' stick -- which, again, weakens the show by making her more dislikeable.

(Note -- I understand completely why Allura is so angry at the Galra; she has reason to be! But it's the kind of thing that needs to be discussed on-screen, not just inferred.)

Plot-wise, I also felt the pacing was a little clunky. There were some parts that were obviously intentional build-up, like the writers had laid out the points they needed to hit to reach the finale and were knocking them out without much grace. Some other parts felt repetitive or abrupt, or like the necessary legwork leading up to them had been rushed. The team took sudden unexplained jumps in skill.

...and it all ties back to character development, doesn't it? Because more character development would have helped those plot points rattle along a lot more smoothly. Plus, if the personal stakes were higher, the writers wouldn't have had to push the external stakes up to compensate (which I feel they did. The finale was great, but it felt too epic for the build-up it had.)

Anyway. Not as terrible as some people are saying, and the second half really is better than the first, but it's not as good as the first season.

[brittish-marvel-universe-blog]

CAPTAIN BRITAIN #1.2 Origins... Brian looks around, he doesn’t know if he is dead or dreaming or what to think? Roma tells Brian that her father has been waiting for him for a very long time, this confuses the young man even more, she tells him that the reason he is here is to fulfil his destiny, she tells him he has died but if he does everything that is needed of him that he will once again be mortal, kind of! A very confused Brian follows Roma into what seems like nothingness until the clouds slowly fade away, then all of a sudden Brian finds himself in a Tudor style castle, as if he just travelled 1000 years before his time. They walk into a room to find an old man standing in front of a round table the old man introduces himself as Merlin, he tells Brian he has been watching him all his life and that it is his destiny to walk down this path and that he will change the World and become a legend. Brian asks Merlin where he is, Merlin tells him that this is his afterlife and he is going yo help him not only realise his potential but to guide him to fulfil his destiny. Brian is still confused asks if he is even alive, Merlin tells Brian that he is dead but he can be mortal again if he does everything they say and complete a series of tests. The test entailed working with Roma over the next 6 months training his body and mind, she begins by working on his senses by helping him to enhance all 5 of his senses, (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) whilst giving him a 6th sense, a kind of ability where your awareness is more acute, its more of a feeling like knowing if you are in danger before it happens. Over the next 6 months Roma works on Brian's strength his muscle mass triples within the next 6 months, he soon finds himself super strong, doing things he cant really wrap his head round, his speed increases ridiculously he learns to move quicker, he can run 0 to 60 in a second, faster than any vehicle in the World, she helps him with his stamina, durability and flexibility. Brian becomes overwhelmed by all of these new found abilities he possess, so whilst he is not training with Roma, Merlin helps him to channel his minds and thoughts to control his feelings. Merlin tells him that he is impressed with how powerful he has become a lot more powerful than Merlin was when he was at 21years old. Merlin also explains that it is not them giving him the abilities and that they are just teaching him how to use them, he is an Extraordinary human being and he inherited this gene he is from a long line of humans with abilities from his father. Merlin and Roma teach Brian that he can do anything if he puts his mind to it, he just has to believe it, mind over matter. After 6 months of intense training Brian has passed everything the Sorcerer and his daughter have put in his path, Brian asks when he can go home, Roma tells him once he has done 1 more thing for her then he can go home she wants him to help kill her father, Merlin, Brian is shocked and then then thinks this is a test and refuses, but Roma is 100 percent serious and tells him that if he does not do this he will not be going home he will be going into the afterlife, after much persuasion Brian reluctantly agrees to do it. Merlin is not easily killed, he is 1000s of years old, nobody really knows how old he is but he is also one of the most powerful thing to ever walk the on Earth, but Roma is a very powerful Witch herself, Roma cooks up a potion a very strong potion that will help put him to sleep once asleep they will decapitate him to make sure he can never be resurrected as this is not the first time somebody has tried to kill the legendary Wizard. Brian puts the potion in Merlins wine as Brian, Roma and Merlin sit down for a meal and then they wait, they have a toast to Brian completing his training and they drink, as Roma waits for her father to collapse, she begins to feel funny and dizzy and collapses herself, it turns out Brian told Merlin everything and the pair played the Witch at her own game. Roma is locked away in a sorcerers prison and Merlin grants that Brian can go home on the agreement that when Merlin needs him he will have to answer the call, Brian agrees with the proposal. Merlin gives him a necklace with a red jewel attached to it he calls it the Amulet of Right, it will help to contain his powers in the mortal world, Merlin places the jewel around Brian’s neck. Brian wakes up at the bottom of the mountain after the Bike crash that killed him 6 months ago, at the exact point in time that he crashed, except now he is still bigger, he has no marks on him from the injuries he had sustained and his abilities intact, with the Amulet of Right safely around his neck, he quickly gets up and runs home before anybody finds him. 10 minutes later Detective Dai Thomas is on the scene investigating the Robbery and murders of the Darkmoor Research facility attack and looks around the crash site where Brian Braddock's bike is smashed to bits, but there is not a body in sight. When 2 Agents turn up from STRIKE, Commander Lance Hunter and Agent Alison Double, Detective Thomas is relieved from the investigation, he is told that this is a Government matter and he is no longer needed, so Thomas heads back to Scotland yard angry and frustrated holding a piece of paper found on the floor of the facility but all it says on the paper is operation Mastermind, he clearly has intentions of continuing the investigation himself...