#I do not want to believe he just blindly believed the supposed prophecy right away

[lavenderpop]

*smacks Draxum* this bad boy can fit so much angst and despair

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Devil in Red and White

Pairing: Im Jaebum x female reader

World: King Of Demons

Genre: fluff / demon au / christmas-ish au (I know it’s January, don’t come for me)

Warnings: none, aside from if you’re not familiar with this world, then nicknames won’t make much sense.

A/N: I had this idea immediately when I started thinking about what to write for Jaebum’s birthday. Then I cursed it out for not coming to me earlier in December so it would make more sense to use it. But hey, Sheol and Earth never really line up with the same time and date, now do they XD (I also need to write this now before the next story for Princess and Jaebum in this world and since I plan to do that before Christmas 2021, please just humour me a little longer!)

Word count: 1321

King of Demons series: Havoc // King of Demons // Unfathomable // Sacrifice // King of Demons: The Return // In The Night // Identity // Prophecy // Someone // The Devil Contained // The Monsters Witch

Jaebum was more than ready to see you again.

It had been far too long, so he thought, since you had returned to Sheol, and this time apart especially had been harder to endure, knowing you were with child.

His child.

Still, to anyone who wasn’t close to the Devil himself, they would merely think of him as curiously awaiting the elevator from the Gatekeeper’s lair. The smirk on Mark’s face beside him, however, gifted Jaebum with the knowledge that his closest friend was amused by him.

“Now is not the time to taunt me, Mark.”

“I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing,” the demon mentioned too airily and Jaebum eyed his friend carefully. “You might combust into flames if I were to try.”

“Am I that noticeable?”

“Only to me,” Mark answered with a wicked grin that gave Jaebum little assurance. “No doubt the servants of this area merely think you’re awaiting a new supply of mint chocolate chip ice-cream.”

“Perhaps Y/N will bring some,” he murmured, clasping his hands together, only to let them go a moment later. Jaebum sighed heavily, looking at Mark once more. “Do you think she’ll be much different?”

“Physically, or…?”

“I suppose there could be mental changes,” Jaebum replied, pacing the area until one of his workers looked his way. Silencing the attention with a glare, the Devil frowned. “I’ve read some on the topic.”

“Of how to become a father?” Mark openly questioned, and Jaebum’s eyes widen immediately. Mark and Jinyoung were the only two to truly not fear him in these parts, and for once, it irked Jaebum. He wished Mark’s easiness would damper down.

Then again, he was an experienced demon. Mark had spent far longer up on Earth than he had.

And Jaebum needed the advice. “You’ve seen pregnancy up there, have you not?”

“Can’t say I took it on as an interest. Perhaps you should have done more research before ending in such a predicament?”

“We all know my brother is hardly one to study,” Jinyoung stated upon arrival, and Jaebum glowered at the Prince of Sheol. It was not effective. “Come, brother. I’ve outgrown your glares, have I not?”

“Why is she taking so long?!” Jaebum exclaimed impatiently, throwing his hands up into the air. Flames sparked at the ends of his fingers, and he groaned.

He was evidently too worked up.

Just then, he heard the cranking of the brakes to the elevator down below, his hands reaching for his hair before smoothing down his silk shirt. Ignoring the sniggers from those awaiting your arrival too, Jaebum’s gaze grew earnest.

Just what was he to expect?

When the ancient elevator reached its destination, and the doors opened, all the nerves he felt evaporated when he saw your face. Your eyes connected with his and he rushed forward to your side, pulling you into a much-awaited embrace.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured into your ear, now uncaring of how much affection he showered you in within the company of others. Whenever you were present in his world, Jaebum could hardly care for normalities and ranks.

You turned him into a vulnerable man, every time.

However, when he pulled away to inspect you properly, Jaebum was immediately concerned. You had bags under your eyes from lack of sleep, and your skin looked pallid. The size of your stomach was smaller than he expected, and yet, it seemed to be sucking the life out of you.

Whilst your death would end the constant separation whenever you were obligated to return to Earth, he wasn’t quite prepared to accept your heart stopping anytime soon either.

“My love…”

“First, allow me to get my things before you fuss, Jaebum.”

He blindly allowed you to turn back for the elevator, where a large suitcase waited for retrieval.

“What’s that, Princess?” Mark enquired for the three men watching on, Jinyoung stepping forward to help you when you struggled to get it over the lip of the door.

“Supplies.”

“For?”

“You’ll see,” you announced with a bright smile, returning to Jaebum’s side and taking his hand. “Will you take me to our quarters now? I think I need a rest before I begin.”

You had only rested until the evening when suddenly you had enough energy and wished to use it for whatever you had planned. Jaebum whined, hoping you could stay in bed with him just a little longer.

However, you were far too animated to contain.

Unlatching the suitcase, you started pulling out sparkly strings of tinsel and random ornaments, dashing around the room with them. It confused Jaebum greatly. “My Queen?”

“Yes, my King?” you hummed happily, dressing up the grand fireplace with something far too festive for his liking.

“Wasn’t it Christmas time last month up there for you humans?”

You turned to give him a pointed look, and Jaebum was ashamed that the accusing expression he held softened immediately. “Yes, it was.”

“Then why are you bringing such ghastly things into our home?”

“Ghastly?!” you echoed, your efforts doubling. You placed a plaid cushion on the armchair by the fireplace. “You have no regards for my feelings at all!”

“Your feelings are ones I regard above all,” he shot back, and you rolled your eyes.

“Once again, I spent my holidays without you, without our family down here. Whilst I understand the agreement made with the Gods for my travelling back and forth, it’s different now.”

“Why?”

“Because we have traditions to start!”

“In January?”

“As parents,” you corrected, and Jaebum frowned.

“I’m going to need more information.”

“Christmas is a joyous occasion, and our daughter will grow up knowing of it,” you insisted, and Jaebum nodded.

“That I agree with, but isn’t it a December thing? It’s a new year now.”

“So you suggest that we don’t celebrate it as a family?”

“No, I-”

“I grew up believing in the magic of Christmas, of Santa,” you explained, placing a red and white hat upon Jaebum’s head in the process.

He glanced at the pompom hanging off the end with some bewilderment.

You giggled then, and that eased the tension within the room. “You’ll make a fine Santa Claus one day.”

“Me?! Can’t we make BamBam do it?”

“So you’ll accept me kissing your Gatekeeper? I haven’t ever thought about doing that before but-”

“I love you,” Jaebum intervened, kissing you to compliment his statement. Rubbing your shoulders gently, he then sighed. “But I have no intentions of letting you kiss another, nor any understanding of what you talk of.”

“I know. Christmas is a human thing,” you mentioned, and Jaebum nodded softly.

“And one that is more in alignment with those in the heavens above, don’t you think?”

“Still, can’t you come on board with me about this? I’ll explain it to you more so you understand.”

“I’m already trying to comprehend parenting, which is a novel concept for someone like me. Surely, this Christmas thing can wait. And have you forgotten, much like what Christmas celebrations were started upon, I too have a birthday worth rejoicing over.”

“When is that again?” you teased, and Jaebum went to object when you popped a candy cane into his mouth. His eyes widened once the peppermint taste hit his senses.

The sweets of the human world never failed to impress him.

You smiled knowingly. “I want to have a belated Christmas party tonight.”

“Tonight? With everyone else?”

You nodded, and Jaebum grew glum.

“Were you hoping to keep me to yourself for days on end again?” Jaebum’s lack of immediate answer drew a soft chuckle from you once more. “Who knew the Devil could be this adorable?”

You cupped his face and eyed the hat still upon his head before smiling. “Let me tell you the story about Mummy kissing Santa Claus first. I think then you might be more willing to dress as the jolly man himself next Christmas.”

_________________

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[thejudgingtrash]

Last but not least: PJO hot takes part IV!

Alright my dudes. I think we’re still in this game for one final round. Anyway here’s wonderwall. And Part 1//Part 2//Part 3!

Percy had actually knowledge about the Greek myths. He didn’t waddle in blindly. Where did y’all even get that?

The new possible Irish myth saga will be PJO 3.0 aka Magnus Chase 2.0 aka The Kane Chronicles 1.2.

Riordan already got the names of gods of that possible saga wrong

Riordan‘s Asian characters only know bitch or bland mode, huh

Stop babying Annabeth for fucks sake. Seriously

How the fuck did Sally afford several private schools for Percy when they were poor as fuck? I guess Gabe had to have a some somewhat decent job but then again playing poker/being a gambler and stealing from your stepson ain’t a cute move

Hazel should’ve been Thanatos‘ kid. To break the classic 12 Olympian mold (yeah Hades/Pluto technically isn’t one but he’s still team major gods) and also to throw the damned Hitler/Pluto aesthetics away

Did any of the kids break their limps or get permanently disabled at some point? Or do they just... die (and mostly stay dead)? I forgot

Where can the kids at Camp Half-Blood actually sneak off to fuck? Percy is legit the only one to claim his own shit as his love bunker. The rest is just fucked I guess or has first hand traumatic pre-college experiences

”Percy cursed“. Literally why, Riordan. Let the kid say fuck. He has earned the rights to do so a long time ago

Did I mention that people lack of basic reading skills in earlier takes? Anyway. Here’s another reminder!

Tbh the gods are egotistical fucks and have killed people for the fuck of it. I don’t see Poseidon being even close to okay with Sally marrying Gabe or Paul

I still don’t understand why Frazel is a thing

Most of you don’t understand how movie production works but that’s okay. Just know that everything inside your head will never be realized and there will be drastic cuts and additions to the books (again)

The electronics not working thing doesn’t even make any goddamn sense? Hermes is the god of the Internet. Does this mean that demigods can use the web just fine but simply can’t call each other? This really came back to bite Riordan in the ass now did it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use old means of communication once you’re trying to reach more important/godly people or electronics fail in an accute situation?

Turning everyone heteroflexible creates the image that you’re simply liking a character for the fact that they are LGBTQ and not the character itself, just saying. More representation sure, but that itself isn’t a personality trait and shouldn’t be the main focus of a character unless it’s really defining in the story line (Nico‘s arc partially for example)

Tbh, HOO should’ve been aged up mentor Percabeth protecting CHB, with the rest of the gang fucking up Greece with aged Reyna + Nico perhaps. I might post an outline on that AU someday (someone should remind me about that tho)

On one hand you have in depth discussions and people diving into the matter and talking about every nook and cranny and on the other hand people are more then just fine with stereotyping and deflecting. Whut. Okay

Why are people shipping the lie that is Jasper/Jasiper

Stop romanticizing the gods

Dark!Percy is just a cheap way for you to turn Percy into an overpowered asshole and that’s that tea

Being in a relationship isn’t a personality trait, my dear shippers

Riordan‘s timeline is off because the coke rush didn’t last that long

The wasted potential of everything past PJO makes me want to cry

Percy’s fatal flaw isn’t stupid, Riordan just didn’t flesh it out properly which is why there were no real repercussions. A fatal flaw is supposed to be hindering you and not a compliment

The fact that adult people still can’t take jokes about their favorite characters is fucking insane part II

Why the fuck did the Stolls get tossed aside? Bruh. The potential? The stigma as a Hermes kid? They trying to redeem their cabins honor? Imagine one of them as a prophecy kid in HOO (and they’d switch and swap to confuse everyone)? Yes??

Every single one of you that essentially is team poc!Percy because he had a rough upbringing deserves to get slapped. Poverty, abuse, a single parent, etc. doesn’t equate to being poc?!?!? Smells racist just saying

Turning Hazel into Nico‘s sister was cheap af

Stop romanticizing and down playing the myth aspect. Tragedy is essential and will haunt demigods. Thank you, next

Also stop babying Percy

Let’s be honest none of those fuckers make it to college

Annabeth Chase is fucking WHITE part II. She’s not biracial, she’s not ”exotic“, she’s certainly not fucking black. She’s white with a little hint of a tan. That still makes her white. Do you really want to turn her into Ariana Grande 2.0? A fucking botched orange? This is your Annabeth aesthetic? Artists get it fucking right unless you state that you portray her as [spraytan headcanon] which is still fucking cheap let’s be real. Orange Annabeth isn’t part of the kulture

Regardless of the reception of the PJO movies, I’ll never forgive you people for letting Logan Lerman aka the OG white boy™ flop. Throw Tom “lipless but okay booty“ Holland and Timothée ”I missed a few meals“ Chalamet the fuck away!

Tbh a less romanticized version of the camps would’ve been more interesting. I’m still put off by CJ (and also the fact that CHB is a summer camp), but had there been more fights and actual deaths that had happened around the camps due to training, etc. you would’ve understood immediately why demigods dipped before the age of 18. The antithetical nature of sweet summer camp and people dying left and right would’ve been amplified

Did Reyna at some point in time even have the time to breath with all of the shit that went down? Her life is simply 24/7 stressful. I get that she wanted to bounce and no longer be in a tiring and demanding position but the hunters ain’t it sis

It’s okay to admit that fanon artwork or fanfics don’t deserve the webspace they are wasting. But phrase that probably in a nicer way

PJO Calypso wasn’t annoying. HOO & TOA Calypso on the other hand...

Alex Pettyfer would’ve been a better Luke Castellan but Jake Abel did an okay job

Percy isn’t an idiot. You are one for believing so

Riordan corrected the stance that Muslims don’t shower during Ramadan (literally how in the fuck did he come up with that in the first place?!) in upcoming MC books. Can he use the same energy to rewrite HOO tho??

Luke’s portrayals in SoM and TTC were straight up trash

Historically accurate PJO would’ve been everything

Monsters can detect demigods by smell. Camo wouldn’t do jack shit ffs

Jason is still bland and making jokes/pointing that out is more than okay

Omfg accept the fact that characters can have multiple facets all good and bad. Reducing them to one specific trait makes them boring and bland. Also it stereotypes

Getting mad over the fact that Clarisse has a boyfriend is still fucking insane

Not everyone needs to be a fanfic writer or an artist, a theorist or someone that analyzes everything phrase by phrase. As long as you’re in the fandom to enjoy works & discussions and remain on the saner side of the spectrum you’re good. You’re valid. Don’t forget that.

Not wanting to stay in a fandom and merely enjoying some of the fruits/benefits as in art/fics/headcanons is also super valid

PJO Reddit, Tumblr, IG and Twitter are a cesspool of chaotic mess and straight up trash but Tumblr > Reddit >>>>>> IG >>>>>> Twitter

Tbh: just try to enjoy a decent book series. It’s all not that deep

[singingisfun]

Changing Tides - Chapter 24

link to cover art by @otpapprovedbythegods

And here’s a link to an adorable pic of Dopey as a pirate by @clockadile

ff.net: From the beginning - Current Chapter

AO3:  From the beginning - Current Chapter

The Betrayal and The Sword

Despite Arthur’s insistence, there is no fanfare upon Emm’s arrival.  Emma’s eyes scan the crowd gathered around the round table; her father, Lance, Arthur and Guinevere, Jeff and Patricia, Ruby, Dopey; all of them watching her and Killian expectantly.

The Promethean Flame is burning bright in its case, the hilt and dagger of Excalibur lying on either side of it.  Killian is to her right, their shoulders almost touching and their magic glowing warm between them.  

With a steady hand, she motions to the flame and it lifts into the air until it has risen to eye-level, then she turns to Killian.  

“Together?” she asks.

A smile blossoms on his face.  “Always, darling,” he replies.

She nods to the dagger sitting in front of him while she reaches for the hilt.  He slips his left arm around her waist as he lifts the dagger and holds it up, the tip of it meeting the severed end of the hilt in the exact center of the flame.  Energy surges up her arm and the flame intensifies, the brightness of it causing her to turn her face into Killian’s neck to protect her eyes.  The energy spreads through her body, molten heat so powerful that she’s tempted to pull away.  She doesn’t, though, instead squeezing her eyes tighter and burrowing in further until she feels Killian’s fingers under her chin to lift her face.  She opens her eyes as he cups her cheek, his lips curved in a sweet and joyous smile and it hits her that if his hand is free he must no longer be holding the dagger.  His grin widens, like he’s read her thoughts and then, with a lift of his brow, he motions for her to look.  The light is still blinding but it doesn’t so much as faze her – or Killian apparently – even though everyone else in the room has been forced to avert their eyes.  The sword is whole and in her hand and it’s…  It’s magnificent.  Time seems to stand still while she stares, the blade shimmering and sparkling in the bright yellowish glow of light.  

“We did it, love,” she hears Killian whisper and her eyes are drawn back to his.  His smile tells her he’s feeling the same awe she is, then he plants a kiss on her forehead and they both turn back to the sword, his cheek pressed into her temple.  

The glow fades but the sword is still shining when the others are finally able to look.  

“Incredible,” Arthur whispers.

Her father nods his agreement, then makes his way around the table to engulf both she and Killian in his arms.  “I knew you could do it,” he says to them.  But then he turns his full attention on her, cupping her cheeks as tears well in his eyes.  “Soon, we’ll have your mother back.”

He says it with such reverence that her throat closes and all she can do is nod.  When he wraps his arms around her waist, she drops the sword to the table and they both laugh as he spins her through the room.  

“Nothing can stop us now,” he exclaims, his voice booming with joy.  

K&EK&EK&E

The celebration is unparalleled, wine flowing and everyone talking and laughing.  Killian stands right in the middle of it with Emma at his side, accepting congratulations from all their friends.  They have every reason to be joyful, do they not?  It’s a great feat that has been accomplished.  Excalibur is whole after centuries of being separated and now their victory is imminent.  

But Killian can’t shake the feeling that something is off – something they’re missing.  

Still, he can’t deny the victory of today, so he pushes the nagging worry aside and pulls Emma with him into a dance.  Her eyes are sparkling with happiness, her smile brilliant with joy and he spins them through the room with the ease they’ve always had.  Arthur and his wife join in, then Jeff and Patricia and Emma giggles when Ruby is bombarded with simultaneous invitations from both Lance and Merlin.  Lance is the lucky winner, so Merlin turns his attention to Grace who makes everyone laugh when she drops into a deep and formal curtsy before accepting his hand.

The night goes on like that, the ladies switching partners from time to time to make up for the lack of females.  Killian stands to the side to watch Emma dance with her father, then snags Patricia from Jeff while Emma dances with Merlin.  

The wizard returns her to his side, both of them a little breathless as he slaps Killian on the arm and compliments Emma on her tolerance when it comes to his two left feet.  Emma immediately denies his lack of dancing skills, telling him he did very well – for a man of his age.  

Merlin throws his head back in laughter but Killian…

Killian doesn't know what alerts him, what instinct compels him to move.  Later, he might attribute it to a glint of light in the corner of his vision, or a muted gasp that floats on the air.  But right now, in this moment, his body moves faster than his mind and he pushes Emma behind him, grabbing frantically for his sword in the same motion. His hand closes on the hilt just as a sting blossoms on his neck, but he disregards it, ripping the weapon from his scabbard and swinging blindly in the direction of the apparent danger.

A dull thud sounds next to him, then there’s a harsh clang of metal that echoes through the room as vibrations zing up his arm.  Then there’s chaos – a barrage of frenzied movement that his eyes can’t even register.   He spins, reflexively lifting his hook to stop the flash of silver that is rapidly descending upon him.  

His muscles strain, his hook frozen in front of his eyes as they finally focus, revealing the curved blade of Excalibur caught between it and his own sword mere inches from his face. King Arthur’s features appear behind the weapon, his eyes alight with madness and his face dark with determination as the two of them struggle against one another for several tense moments. The weapons teeter between them, muscles shaking from exertion, but with a rush of strength and a deliberate twist of his wrist, Killian sends the legendary weapon clattering to the floor just as a dagger comes to stop a hairsbreadth from Arthur’s throat held by none other than his most trusted knight, Lancelot.

The treacherous king raises an eyebrow when his gaze flicks to Killian’s neck and a devious smile spreads across his face, but Killian doesn't have time to ponder on that as Emma shoves past him and falls to her knees at his side.

“No!” she screams, and he follows the sound of her voice to see Merlin sprawled on the floor, his hand soaked in blood when he lifts it away from the red stain on his chest.  Emma’s hands dart out to cover the injury and Killian immediately feels the spark of magic in his stomach.

“What have you done?!” King David bellows, drawing Killian’s attention back to Arthur just in time to see Emma’s father adding his sword to the dagger Lance still holds against the man’s throat.

Arthur snickers.  “Why, I’ve betrayed you, Dave,” he replies with a touch of pride.  

David’s brow draws together, his eyes widening with understanding.  “It was you,” he breathes.  “All this time, it was you.  You’re the one the prophecy foretold.”

“I suppose so,” Arthur replies pleasantly.

David’s face slips into a mask of rage, his hand tightening on his sword as he takes a half-step closer, the tip of his blade pressing into Arthur’s neck.  “Why?!” he demands at a shout.  “Why would you do this?”

Arthur’s eyes turn cold, “Excalibur was meant to be mine! To be wielded by me!” He motions to Merlin. ”He told me it was supposed to heal MY land!  He sent me on a fool’s errand to… what?  Just hand it over to you? Let you and your daughter claim all the glory?”

“Glory?” Merlin asks in a strained voice, disdain dripping from the word. “Is that what you want?”

“I want what was promised to me!”

Merlin blinks rapidly a few times, obviously fighting against the pain to stay focused.  “And this is going to get it for you?” he asks. “You want to go down in history as the man who murdered me?”

“It's better than going down in history as the fool who spent his life fulfilling someone else’s destiny!”

“Oh, what a disappointment you are,” Merlin croaks in reply.

“I’m the disappointment?!” Arthur rages, breaking free from Lancelot and stepping away from the group gathered around Merlin.  “I’m the one who did everything that was asked of him.  And what do I get for my loyalty?  Both of my closest friends have betrayed me.  One has stolen my destiny to hand it over to his daughter and the other has stolen my wife!”

Lancelot blanches but it’s Guinevere who speaks up.  “That’s not true!  It’s not like that – ”

“Enough with your lies! I see how the two of you look at each other.  Do you think me a fool?  But it doesn’t matter anymore.  I’ll have what I deserve. Regina is going to reward me handsomely for this.”

“If you believe anything she said, you are a fool,” Merlin tells him, falling into a fit of coughing as soon as the words are spoken.

Emma’s body stiffens and she pushes harder over the wound, the usual warm tug of magic in Killian’s stomach shooting an unexpected flash of pain up his chest.  Their magic seems to be having no effect and he instinctively drops to his knees by her side, slipping his arm around her waist in the hope that his touch will help.  Her hands shine brighter and the discomfort in his chest intensifies but Arthur’s next scathing comment distracts him.

“It's no use,” the bastard chides, “a wound from Excalibur can't be healed.”

“He's right, princess,” Merlin gasps, “don’t exert yourself.  It's futile.”

“No, there has to be a way,” Emma replies with determination.

Merlin’s eyes fill with gratitude and he even manages a small smile but Killian can tell he’s only placating her, especially when he next slides his eyes to David’s. “Well, I guess now we know why I could never see how this ends.”

Killian glances to David whose brow is furrowed in sympathy.  “I’m sorry, my friend,” he whispers.  

But Emma is not one to give up, frantically shaking her head.  “No! There has to be something we can do. There has to be!”

As if to specifically contradict her words, a dense black fog suddenly appears, filtering out of the wound and through Emma’s fingers.  Its abrupt and sinister appearance causes Emma to jolt away from the fallen wizard even as Killian pulls her back.  The room goes deathly silent, everyone watching in horror as the eerie cloud splits into slithering tendrils in the air, coiling and twisting slowly toward the ceiling.  

“What is it?” Lancelot asks quietly.

“It's my magic,” Merlin replies on a choked sound. “Looks like the legend was right.”

Once the fog stops oozing from the wound, a rush of air comes from nowhere and the cloud disintegrates, breaking into millions of tiny flecks that all blink out in the same instant.

“And that’s my cue,” Arthur speaks up, his voice much closer than it should be.  

Killian whips around in alarm to find Arthur only a few feet away, his forearm closing around Guinevere’s throat.  Apparently, while everyone was distracted, the retched king had slinked his way back into the group.  

Lancelot immediately raises his weapon, but Arthur is too quick, putting Guinevere between them like a shield.  

“Ah ah, old friend. You wouldn’t want to tarnish this flawless skin, would you?” he asks, one finger brushing against his wife’s neck.

Guinevere struggles. “Let me go,” she demands.

“I can’t do that, dear wife. You’re coming with me.”  His eyes flick to Lance.  “And soon you’ll forget all about your gallant knight.”

“You’ve nowhere to go. The knights – ”

“Are more loyal to Lancelot than to me.  Yes, I know. But I’ve got a better way.” He pulls a potion bottle from his pocket and holds it up to show the group, his eyes triumphant as he scans the faces.  With one last look at Killian, he raises an ominous eyebrow and throws the potion bottle to the floor.  

Lance lunges into the purple smoke that engulfs the couple but when the mist clears his arms are empty.

There’s a tense moment of silence, no one moving an inch, but Merlin’s strained cough breaks it.  Emma shoots forward, her hands already glowing again as she covers the injury.  Merlin’s breathing is starting to hitch, his chest wheezing with each intake of air and Emma’s hands glow brighter with power.  Killian feels it yanking at his lungs, making his own breathing difficult but he keeps his arm in place around her waist.  She must be putting a great deal of effort into it because his vision blurs again and he has to balance his weight on his hook to keep from fainting dead away at the quick onslaught of dizziness that assaults him.  

Merlin says something, and David says something else but he can’t make it out past the roaring in his ears. There's something wrong, he's never gotten weak or nauseous from their magic before, but now it's sending waves of pain through him, waves that start in his stomach, travel up through his chest and collide in a spot near the pulse pounding in his neck.

Without thinking, he lifts his hand to cover the excruciating pain and draws it back to find blood covering his fingers.

“Emma…” he breathes, his voice barely even a whisper as it all starts to make sense.  The sting on his neck when he'd pushed her out of the way… the triumph on Arthur’s face… and the last glance he’d given him as he’d disappeared.

A wound from Excalibur can't be healed.  

His stomach drops and he fights the darkness descending upon him, forcing his eyes to stay open even when his vision grays.  “Love…” he tries again but he can’t get it out. With the last bit of strength he has, he grips at her waist, his fingers barely contracting on her hip just as the dark swirl of dizziness engulfs him and he collapses to the floor.

K&EK&EK&E

Emma’s ears are ringing, magic saturating every cell in her body.  She can feel Killian behind her, his hand resting lightly on her waist, his heartbeat humming alongside her own but then…  

Then, the furious beats lose their synchronization.  

She feels one instant of confusion before her father shouts his name.

“Killian!”

She knows immediately.

Even before she sees him… she knows.  

Her breath stops and the most agonizing panic she’s ever felt seizes at her lungs.  A low hiss sounds in her ears; a terrible, grating sound that intensifies until it pounds against her skull.  Her movements are sluggish when she turns, like every muscle in her body rails against what she already knows she’s going to see.    

When her eyes land on him, the scream rips through her throat, “NO!!”

The wound on his neck looks like it’s already festering, the edges of it curled and the skin raw. It’s also oozing blood, painting a crimson streak that disappears behind the collar of his black shirt.  Her hand covers it immediately and she can feel his pulse working beneath the cut, each frail beat soaking her fingers in red.  There’s also a sheen of sweat on his brow and he’s so pale that it makes his lips appear as red as the blood now coating her hand.  

Gripping at his collar with her free hand, she shakes him with all her might. “KILLIAN!”

He sucks in a harsh breath and his eyes open, the blue riddled with pain as they land on hers.  

“STAY WITH ME!” she shouts desperately, pressing harder on his neck, “YOU HAVE TO STAY WITH ME!”

“Emma…” he gasps, his eyes squinting like he's not sure if she's actually there.

“I’m here,” she reassures him, already calling on their magic again, “you're going to be fine.”

He gives a pitiful shake of his head as her palm glows, his eyes blinking several times even as he tries to raise his hand to touch her.  His fingers make it to within inches of her chin before the effort becomes too much and his hand drops to his chest.  

Quickly, she links her free hand with his, leaning down to press a kiss to the back of it and digging deep into her heart to gather as much magic as she can and push it into her palm.  The glow strengthens but the injury doesn’t respond, another drop of blood escaping and rolling down his neck.

“It was Excalibur,” Killian croaks, his voice sounding almost apologetic.

Emma’s eyes lift to his and her stomach plummets.  

No.  

No, no, NO!  

This isn’t – It can’t be…

She can’t lose him now, not after everything they’ve overcome, after everything they’ve been through…  

This can’t be it. Their story can’t end like this.  

“It's alright, love,” he grits out, “you have everything you need now.”

“No.  I need you.  I can't do this alone.”

“You won't be alone. You'll have… your parents…”

His eyes slide shut and she shakes him desperately, “No! You have to stay.  You have to stay.  Please, Killian!”

“Take that sword and defeat her, darling.  You're the only one who can.”

Her throat closes. “I can't, not without you.”

“You can,” he insists, prying his eyes open with obvious effort, “you can do anything.”

Tears cloud her vision and she shakes her head frantically to clear them.

“I love you, Emma,” he whispers, lifting his hand one last time to touch her face. The tips of his fingers make it to her chin, grazing lightly before his strength gives out and his arm falls limply to the floor, his eyes slipping shut.

“NO!”

Her hand leaves the wound on his neck, urgently holding it over his chest to check for a heartbeat. It's there but it's faint and she clings to it, her mind racing.

There must be a way. He can't leave her.  There must be something. Her eyes dart in every direction and come to land on the legendary sword that did this and her temperature spikes.  Merlin said it was selfish, he’d warned her it was greedy, and as she stares at it lying benignly on the floor a few feet away, she feels such rage that her skin heats from it.  

“Don't Emma,” Merlin gasps, and Emma feels an instant of guilt because she'd forgotten all about him lying on her other side.  

“It could save him,” she replies. “It could save you both.”

“But you don't know that.”

“Emma? What are you…” her father asks slowly.

But Emma doesn't answer as she continues her desperate train of thought.  She needs something solid… something stronger than Excalibur… something…

The stone.

Rushing forward, she nearly trips as her hand closes around the hilt of the weapon, the handle sending a shock up her arm when she lifts it and turns on her heel.

“Emma, what are you doing!?” “Emma, stop!” “You can't!”

But the sword… the sword hums as if in encouragement, vibrating in her palm.  It slides easily into the sheath of the stone and she'd swear she hears a light sigh of relief.  Once it's buried, she grips the hilt with both hands and yanks.

K&EK&EK&E

Killian fights against the inevitable, clinging to the sound of her voice.  No matter what he said, he doesn't want to leave her and he combats the approaching darkness with every ounce of will he has.  His consciousness goes in and out, one instant he can feel her presence next to him and in the next she's gone, then the next there’s a bombardment of shouts and yelling, enough so that he manages to force his eyes open. They're telling her not to do it; they're screaming at her to stop and Killian struggles to search the room for her, desperate to see what’s happening.  

His eyes land on her and, if his body had the strength, he’s sure his stomach would clench.  As it is, though, his body has no physical reaction but his brain screams in protest.  She's at the stone, the sword buried half-way into it while she pulls on the handle with all her might.  

She's trying to break it.

No, his brain screams, it's too valuable.  You’ll need it to defeat Regina.  He's not worth this.  

But then their eyes meet over the hilt of the weapon and with one last jerk that has her bellowing with rage and exertion, the blade snaps in a shower of sparks.

It feels like an instant later that their magic is flowing through him again.  It's warm and shimmery and it swamps every single blood vessel in his body.  There's a gasp and an echo of it and then he's jolting up, sucking in a clean, fresh breath of air that fills his lungs for the first time in what seems like ages.

“Killian!”

Emma crashes into him and he almost falls back over from her weight, his strength not fully returned yet but he manages to catch them just before they hit the ground.  

“It's alright, love. I'm alright.”

Her tears soak his shirt, her face burrowed in his neck and he pushes them up into a better sitting position so he can return her embrace, tangling his hand in her hair and burying his face in her throat.

“I'm alright,” he assures her again, but she’s not letting go, she just nods into his neck while their magic burns through him, the life of it warming him from the inside out until even his skin feels hot.

Emma is nearly suffocating him, but she’s shaking so badly that he doesn’t dare move for fear that she’d not be able to sit up without his support.  As to him, his strength is returning rapidly in the wake of their magic, his lungs expanding more easily with each breath.  He sees a glimpse of Merlin getting to his feet, he hears some murmured words being spoken between the wizard and the rest of the group but when he tries to turn, Emma grips tighter.  

“No, don’t let go yet,” she pleads roughly, “Just… I need another minute.”

His heart constricts and he crushes her closer, a rush of reverence pouring through him as he realizes just how broken his brush with death has left her.  He knew she loved him – it’s not that he didn’t – but the unreserved urgency of her touch in this moment is more powerful than any words that have ever been spoken between them and it’s… well, it has him closing his eyes and basking in it, has him pressing his nose into her cheek while her fingers dig urgently into his back.  

And that’s where they stay, cradled together on the floor, both of them oblivious to the conversation going on around them, both of them trying and failing to get their breathing under control.  He’s not sure how long it lasts, how many times their chests rise and fall, but he’s in no hurry to end it.

[ladylynse]

Whirlwind: Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny should’ve expected something like this when he got that phone call. (Secret Quartet crossover) 

Part 6 [FF | AO3] - for the :D Anon, who very kindly donated to my ko-fi. 

(Part 5 | Timeline post)

-|-

6:46 PM

“My name’s Phantom,” Danny said once they were inside. The fire and subsequent soaking had not been kind to any electronics in this place, so he didn’t mind talking plainly. No one was going to follow them inside without them noticing, especially not with the dragon basically guarding the entrance, and it wasn’t like any cameras were going to be functioning right now. “I’m friends with the Am Drag.” He’d avoided flying or any other obvious uses of his powers while they were out in the open. No need to parade his secret (or rather, the fact that ghosts are real) around to the public, after all; this was going to be enough of a mess for Jake to deal with without that.

The dragon hadn’t exactly been inconspicuous.

“Why the cheese are we in here instead of fighting out there?” the Ninja asked, flinging an arm behind him. “The Am Drag might be a friendly dragon, but that one isn’t!”

Danny sighed. “Look, um, there’s something you need to know about dragons. Hopefully I’m not violating some super secret code thing by telling you this, but they can take a human form. I mean, they have a human form, not just a dragon form. Which is probably the only reason they still exist and aren’t, y’know, just a myth.”

Danny couldn’t see much more than the Ninja’s eyes, but they didn’t look impressed. “Okay, so the lady I saw turn into a dragon is a dragon, and she just snapped?”

“Not…exactly.”

The Ninja rolled his eyes. “So what, exactly? Do you even know?”

“I think so.”

“That’s encouraging.”

Danny frowned at the Ninja’s sarcastic tone. “This is a big mess, okay? The magical world is supposed to be kept secret. So that dragon? Not easy to explain away!”

“Magic’s not secret,” the Ninja said incredulously. “It’s just…. It’s just magic. I mean, the people in my town don’t know there’s a sorcerer trapped beneath it, but they aren’t total shoobs. They know it’s not normal for people to regularly turn into monsters. But they just kind of…accept it, you know? Because I’m around to protect them. Or at least I’m supposed to be. But it’s not like they think it’s all some kind of new technology. People have been getting stanked in Norrisville for centuries.”

Danny blinked. He wondered if Jake knew any of that. He still wasn’t really clear on how the whole ‘American Dragon’ thing worked, and he had enough trouble keeping Amity Park safe, let alone feeling responsible for an entire country. Maybe there were different magical creatures who monitored smaller regions—individual states if not counties—who were then expected to report back to Jake when something was amiss. That would make more sense. Gramps was probably fielding all that stuff for him right now, while he was still in school….

“Hello, Earth to Phantom.” The Ninja was waving a hand in front of his face. “Is it normal for you to space out like that?”

“Shut up,” Danny scowled. “I was just thinking.”

“About how to get us out of this honkin’ mess?”

“About how it started,” Danny said, though that wasn’t strictly true; he’d been thinking about that earlier, though, so he figured it still counted. “The woman you saw. I think…. If it’s who I think it is, her name is Susan. She’s nice, normally—”

“When she’s not flaming people?”

“When she’s not corrupted. Did you see any butterflies?”

“That’s what does it?” The Ninja didn’t wait for Danny’s nod of confirmation. “Yeah. It’s, um, not the first one I’ve seen today, either. The first lady didn’t go all dragon-y. More…weird fashion sense, with this pen that could create invisible walls and trap you while she criticized you. That was her thing. She was a critic. The Critic. Chat Noir helped me defeat her. You know him? He distracted her while I got her pen.”

“I…know of him,” Danny hedged.

“He’s a good guy,” the Ninja said, confirming what Danny had suspected since his fight. “These corrupted people? They’re after him in particular. And, like, other stuff, but definitely something he has.”

“His ring. A Miraculous.”

“So you know this already?”

“I don’t think I have it all straight.” Danny bit his lip. He and Jake couldn’t do this alone, and he might’ve accidentally burned his bridge with Chat Noir. He might not be willing to help them. The Ninja, on the other hand, probably still would. At least, he hadn’t given Danny any reason to think he wouldn’t. “I know…. I know we have to beware of the butterflies.”

The Ninja nodded. “Sounds like. They’re probably connected to this Hawk Moth guy. Or girl. I dunno. I just heard the name. Susan or whoever you said she was was talking to them.”

“You saw him? Them?”

The Ninja shook his head. “No, I just heard half a phone conversation, except without phones being involved. Thing is, this guy’s MO is super familiar to me. I think they might’ve teamed up with someone I know. The Sorceress.”

Danny could not recall anything in the vague prophecies Jake had repeated to him that might allude to a sorceress. “Are you sure?”

“Well, not exactly, but from what I’ve seen? Definitely a possibility. Just because I trapped her in the Land of Shadows, doesn’t mean she didn’t find another way out. Again. And she might be trying to gather her power before attacking Norrisville.”

“She’s the one you were worried about, then.” He figured he could grill the Ninja on this whole ‘Land of Shadows’ thing later—when the Sorceress turned up, if she did, or when this mess was over, if she wasn’t involved.

The Ninja shrugged. “Yeah. Worrying about her is practically a requirement. And if she’s not involved, good, but she might be the reason this Hawk Moth person can do whatever it is with the butterflies. It’s basically stanking people.”

Danny didn’t need to know what stanking was to guess what it meant. “I think Hawk Moth is using the Brooch of Metamorphosis to change people. That’s what gives them their power. We were told we had to beware the butterflies. It’s the Butterfly Brooch.”

“The what?” The Ninja stared at him. “And what do you mean, you were told to beware the butterflies? Who told you?”

“Um. Would you believe me if I said oracles? The Am Drag has friends.”

“Wait, there’s a honkin’ prophecy?”

Danny sighed and recounted everything the oracle twins had told Jake—about him having friends to help him fight off the attacks, how they’d be facing threats they hadn’t dealt with before, and how they needed to beware of the butterflies.

The Ninja looked torn between incredulous and impressed. “That’s a lot clearer than anything I’m ever told,” he complained. “All I got was that to cleanse the soul, one must first clear the mind.”

“That’s…not straightforward?”

“No! It doesn’t tell me how to deal with the Sorceress!”

“But that’s my point. Maybe it’s not the Sorceress. Maybe it’s just this Hawk Moth. I know Jake’s dealt with magic users before. He might’ve run into her, or at least someone like her, so she wouldn’t exactly be a new threat, or a new kind of monster, or whatever.”

“Who’s Jake?”

Oh, crud.

Danny knew there were a lot of secrets Jake was tasked with keeping surrounding the magical world. He’d even kept Danny’s, once he’d learned it, from his family and friends. But if the Ninja had dealt with a sorceress and a sorcerer on what sounded like a fairly regular basis, maybe that counted as already knowing about the magical world. And maybe, if he used that as a technicality, Danny could fill in the Ninja without getting into more trouble. (He’d never asked Jake how much trouble he’d caused last time. He…hadn’t really wanted to.)

Besides, it would be a lot easier to get through this if they could use their real names, too.

And there had been that thing in the prophecies about getting help from friends.

And the Ninja had been trying to help.

“Jake’s the American Dragon,” Danny said. “Susan’s his mom. She just…shouldn’t have dragon powers. Normally. It skipped her generation.”

“Wait, what?”

“And I’m…not just a ghost.”

“You’re supposed to be a ghost?”

“I go by Phantom! How did you not figure that out? You call yourself the Ninja.”

“Yeah, because I’m actually a ninja. But Phantom could’ve just been a cool nickname. It’s not like you….” the Ninja trailed off, probably because Danny had crossed his legs and started hovering before holding up his hands and turning them invisible.

“Ghost,” he repeated, dropping back down the floor. “But also…not.” He changed back, watching the Ninja’s eyes widen even farther. “I’m Danny.” In for a penny, in for a pound. “Danny Fenton.” He stuck out his hand. It felt a little formal, but it would confirm that he was flesh and blood, which would be kinda important after insisting that he was a ghost.

The Ninja reached up to pull off his mask, and there was a flash of red and a flourish of cloth, and then a purple-haired teen grinned at Danny and gave his hand a quick shake. “Randy Cunningham. This is so bruce. I can’t believe you’re a real live ghost. I mean, I get to meet a dragon and a ghost in one day? This is the cheese. Howard is never going to believe me.”

“Don’t tell him,” Danny said quickly. This Howard obviously wasn’t here, but the fewer people who knew the details, the better. “People really aren’t supposed to know, and it’s bad if this gets out.”

“You have people like McFist after you, too?”

Danny had no idea who McFist was, either, but he nodded. “Yeah, we all do.” He hated to admit how wrong they’d gotten this, but— “This Hawk Moth person is probably after Chat Noir, and—”

“I don’t think Hawky knew Chat Noir was here,” interrupted Randy. “The critic lady was surprised to see him, and she said something about him being in a foreign country. And she wouldn’t know that, so Hawk Moth must’ve told her. Through their mind meld or however that works.”

Danny pulled a face. “Great.” To think Jake had thought Chat Noir might be working with Hawk Moth. They’d really messed this up. “I’m going to call Jake and catch him up. You…keep an eye out for Chat Noir. I don’t think we need to worry about Susan until she makes a move.”

“You still want to call the evil dragon lady Susan?”

“She’s not evil. She’s corrupted. And…I don’t know what else to call her. It’s not like she’s told us. But just…don’t use her name unless you’re talking to me or Jake and no one else can hear you.”

Randy frowned. “You said Jake’s her son, right?”

“Yeah?” Danny hoped Randy wasn’t about to ask for clarification on how dragon genetics worked, since he had absolutely no idea beyond the whole ‘skipped a generation’ thing. He couldn’t even explain his own genetics.

“He’s the shoob who’s responsible for all this.” Randy waved a hand around at the destruction. “I saw him and his mom. They looked like prime targets for the Sorceress. That’s why I saw what happened to her. I was keeping an eye out because I thought she was gonna get stanked.”

“So you know what Jake looks like in his human form.” That would make things easier. “Great.” Danny dug a couple of Fenton Phones out of his pocket and handed them to Randy. “Here, keep these on you. One’s for Jake; the other’s in case you see Chat Noir before I do. I wanna loop him in. And, um, apologize.”

“Apologize?” Randy echoed, but he was already shoving the Fenton Phones into his pocket. “For what? And why do you have spares? Did you invent these things?”

“My parents did.” He wasn’t going to go into the whole ghost hunter thing; it wasn’t important right now. “And, yeah, they’re useful, but they’re not always the most durable, so I’ve got spares. Just…a limited number, so try not to break or lose too many. I don’t exactly live around the corner.”

Thankfully, Randy didn’t press him on the whole ‘apology’ thing. Or maybe he’d already forgotten about it. “So what’s the plan? I’m still going to keep my eyes peeled for signs that this is the Sorceress, just in case, but I can’t fight that dragon by myself.”

“I don’t think you need to. Remember how I said she was testing you?” At Randy’s nod, Danny continued, “Well, now she knows you can do whatever you did to try to fight her. Which means she’ll be that much harder for you to surprise. And if you’re right about the weird mind meld thing, Hawk Moth will know, too.”

“So?”

“So that’s bad. Because Jake thinks they’re after something. Something besides Chat Noir’s Miraculous, apparently, if they weren’t expecting him. Look, Jake’s family…. They have a shop full of magical artefacts and stuff like that. So he’s probably not wrong about Hawk Moth’s motives. I mean, half the ghosts I fight want to take over this realm, so bad guys being obsessed with power isn’t exactly rare.”

“You’re a ghost and you fight other ghosts? What, do you live in the most haunted town in America or something?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Safe bet that I do, yeah.” He held out his cell phone. “New plan—”

“Wait, what was the old plan?”

“—you call Jake and tell him about Chat Noir and Hawk Moth and what you saw happen and everything else. He’ll fill you in on whatever else you need to know. I’m going to do some recon.” When Randy took his phone, Danny changed back. “The fewer people who see what we’re doing, the better.” He tapped his Fenton Phone, adding, “Shout if you get into trouble,” before turning invisible.

He wasn’t sure if Susan had the same dragon abilities as Jake, so he wasn’t sure if she’d still be able to see him, but he knew he wouldn’t be easy to spot this way.

And whether they were fighting a magic user or a Miraculous user or both, he didn’t want to make this easy on them.

XXX

6:54 PM

Jake went ahead to do a quick scout to assess the situation so he could tell the others what they were flying into.

Trouble was, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Most of the crowd was still there, grumbling and wet and talking amongst themselves or on the phone, and he could see TV crews and paramedics and other people like that, but no ninja.

And, more importantly, no dragon.

He flattened his wings to his sides and dove into an alley, pulling up at the last moment and startling a leprechaun who looked like he’d been on his way to the stock exchange. Mumbling his apologies as the leprechaun muttered curses and picked up the fallen gold pieces, Jake let fire burn away his dragon form and peeked carefully out of the alleyway.

Predictably, the view wasn’t any better down here than it had been from above. But as he walked closer to the crowd and could pick up more of the scattered conversations, he knew there had been no miraculous fix, no magic that had caused everyone to forget what they’d seen. They all knew very well what they’d seen: a ninja fighting a dragon. Thankfully, the conversation tended to be more along the lines of how such a stunt had been pulled off than the fact that it was real.

“I don’t care how you do it, Viceroy! I want a Robo-Dragon! If this Ninja is anything like our Ninja, your next WND won’t be a failure!”

Well, most of it, anyway.

Jake tried to get a good look at the speaker without making it too obvious that he was looking. He didn’t know what a WND was supposed to be, but while robot dragons and ninjas weren’t exactly magical, there might be some overlap of relevant interests. And he did not want Rotwood to make friends with someone who could provide him with new technology to capture proof of magical creatures. Especially someone with enough resources to both attend this spectacularly expensive gala and just demand that a robot dragon be built, with no doubt in his voice that it would happen.

“Hanni, honey, you promised you wouldn’t work while we were on this trip,” the woman next to the man said. There was a steel edge in her voice that even Jake could recognize, and the man blanched.

“You can have another week of vacation if it’s done by the time I get back! Just get to work!” he yelled, and then he hung up and turned to the woman that was probably his wife. Jake realized with a start that he had a robotic arm and quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. He was pretty sure the prosthetic had had a brain in it. With eyes. That was…messed up.

Even by his standards.

“You can buy a second dress,” the man offered.

“I don’t want a second dress. If I decide I do, I’ll buy it anyway. What I want is for you to do what you promised. The Ninja’s back in Norrisville; can’t we enjoy our vacation here?”

“Of course, sugar plum,” the man answered quickly. Jake wasn’t sure he believed him—and he rather doubted the woman would—but he couldn’t afford to eavesdrop much longer. He didn’t need anyone recognizing him from earlier, especially when he hadn’t even been thinking long enough to put on a different jacket. He was lucky he was dry; that might be his saving grace, since everyone else who’d been caught inside was still dripping or at least distinctly damp.

He would probably have to figure out where Norrisville was, though, and bring it up with Gramps. It sounded like another place they’d need to keep an eye on. Ninjas and robots didn’t scream magic, but it was…weird. And any place that was weird enough had magic somewhere, even if it was buried deep.

“I’ll see if there’s any word from the organizers,” the man said. “See if they’re setting up another venue or what the plan is, now that the dragon’s dealt with.”

He didn’t say it like the dragon was something that surprised him.

Okay, Jake was definitely going to have to check out this Norrisville place when this mess was over.

He waited a moment longer, hoping the man would say how the dragon had been dealt with, but he didn’t, mostly likely because his wife had been beside him the entire time and knew the answer. Jake wished he could ask, but that would mean drawing attention to himself. He moved on instead, avoiding the various TV crews and the police and grateful that he couldn’t spot Rotwood.

Trixie and Spud were on the case, but Rotwood would try to get around them. Not that there was anything he could do if the dragon was gone. Well, not anything beyond talking to a news station and insisting that, now that everyone else had seen the dragon, it was proof that he hadn’t been making anything up. Proof that the magical world did exist, that his studies weren’t theoretical, that—

Jake’s phone started to ring, and he answered immediately. “Yo, Danny, what happened to the dragon?”

“What do you mean what happened to the dragon?” It wasn’t Danny’s voice. It was the Ninja’s. Oops. “Can’t you see her? Isn’t she there? Or aren’t you here?” While Jake tried to figure out how to answer that without giving everything away, the Ninja added, “I’m Randy, by the way. Danny filled me in.”

Aw, man, why did Danny keep doing this to him?

Well, at least if Randy ran around dressed as a Ninja, he might already know about the magical world and get a pass. Hopefully Fu or Gramps would be able to come up with a good reason to let him keep whatever magical artefacts he had his hands on. They’d gotten the Dragon Council off Jake’s back about this secrecy before, at least when he could vouch for the people who had found out about it.

“Whaddaya know?”

Randy caught Jake up on his conversation with Danny and everything else he seemed to figure Jake had missed and needed to know. Jake wove through the crowd, trying not to give away much of anything in case someone happened to be listening to his side of the conversation, and tried to figure out if he could get into the building without being seen. He had his doubts. Why hadn’t Danny come to grab him instead of going off to do reconnaissance on his own? That would have been so much easier.

But Danny wasn’t terribly used to help, aside from whatever his sister and friends could give from the ground, and something like scouting would have always fallen to him—at least when he needed to fly to get the best view of things.

“Meet me outside,” Jake finally said. They might as well have the rest of this conversation face to face. He wanted Randy to be wrong, for this dragon lady to be someone other than his mother, but he had a picture of her on his phone. It would be an easy enough thing to verify. And then he’d know to warn the others. Especially Haley. He hadn’t given her too many details when he’d called her, figuring the fact that he was calling her to begin with would be enough for her to understand that this wasn’t some practice drill, but now that he knew it was their mom…. “I’ll wait on the corner across the street.” He didn’t need to give a description, not if Randy really did know who he was.

He just…. If Chat Noir really wasn’t their enemy, how were they going to figure out who was? It wasn’t like cat boy would be in the mood to tell them now. He might just attack them on sight, and Jake wouldn’t be able to blame him for that. He kinda doubted Randy would be able to act as much of a buffer, either.

He'd messed up.

You’ll have friends to help you out, Kara had said, but why couldn’t Sara have warned him that he’d make a powerful enemy if he didn’t think things through?

Well, Jake knew the answer to that, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Sometimes, it would be a lot easier if he didn’t know anything about the future.

XXX

6:48 PM

Adrien didn’t have a clear view of the dragon. Getting to where he’d needed to go had taken longer than he’d hoped—he wasn’t convinced he was that much faster in Paris only because he knew his way around; these buildings weren’t what he was used to, either—and now that he was closer….

Now that he was closer, he couldn’t even see the dragon anymore. He’d had a glimpse of a shimmering purple-pink wing a few long seconds ago, enough to tell him that it wasn’t the same dragon he’d seen earlier, and then it had gone behind a building. By the time he’d gotten onto the rooftop of said building, the dragon was gone.

He spent more precious time scanning the skies for a departing akuma, just in case the Ninja had gotten here ahead of him again and figured out where the akuma was hiding, but there was nothing.

There were, however, television crews on the ground, and no longer just the ones who’d been sent to cover the gala. He’d taken enough of a risk showing his face earlier; how many times could he potentially be caught on tape before footage of Chat Noir in New York City turned up on the internet in a spot where Alya could find it? Sure, she wouldn’t necessarily connect the fact that Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were in the NYC at the same time, not with any seriousness, but….

He couldn’t afford to risk it.

Of course, he couldn’t afford to let Hawk Moth get away with whatever he was trying to do, either.

If Alya figured it out, if her accusations of him being Chat Noir went beyond a joke she sent to Nino, then he’d…. He’d have to give up being Chat Noir. Give up Plagg, give up spending so much time with Ladybug, give up the freedom wearing the mask gave him.

But he wouldn’t deserve to be Chat Noir if he didn’t act now, all because he was too selfish to risk losing everything.

Still, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be careful. The hooded sweater he’d bought wouldn’t do much to conceal his identity, but he’d be less conspicuous wearing that—even with the hood up, even in a crowd like the one below—than he would be as Chat Noir or Adrien Agreste. He should be able to pass as a curious bystander. Hopefully.

The alley below was empty, so Adrien extended his staff and then let it slowly collapse, bringing him back to ground level as quickly and quietly as possible. He ducked behind a dumpster before whispering for Plagg to pull his claws in, and he tugged the hood as far down over his eyes as it would go before straightening up.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Plagg whispered to him as he settled next to Adrien’s neck, hiding himself in the shadow of the hood. “I can smell the magic from here.”

“It’s just Hawk Moth,” Adrien murmured back. “You saw the Critic earlier.”

“This isn’t the same. It’s not the same as that ghost kid, either. Or the Ninja. They all smell different.”

That was enough to give Adrien pause. “Hawk Moth didn’t send Phantom? Why didn’t you tell me that on the roof? Or in the mall?”

“There were more important matters to discuss.”

“Like what?”

“Like getting me my camembert.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, even though he knew Plagg wouldn’t be able to see the movement. “I gave you the last of what I had with me.” He’d eventually decided to go back and ask the concierge at the hotel where would be the best place to go to get some more, and the man had graciously offered to order some in for him and have it sent up to the suite. Sure, the Critic had attacked before Adrien had had a chance to rest, and then Phantom had attacked him, and now this dragon had turned up, but…. But even if the cheese wasn’t there when Adrien went looking for it, Plagg would at least be able to eat something.

He might not be able to get back out into the fray as quickly as he’d like the next time he transformed and used Cataclysm, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to duck out in the middle of a fight to feed Plagg.

Even if it would be the first time doing so without Ladybug around to cover for him.

If the Ninja was still around, whoever he was, maybe he’d be willing to step in again.

Adrien would certainly need help cleaning up this mess and the one ahead, whenever Hawk Moth decided to activate the Critic’s akuma.

Granted, he hadn’t seen any statues of the Critic about, not like they had with Stoneheart. Maybe the akuma hadn’t proliferated yet? Or maybe the dormant akuma had taken on a different form?

Or maybe Hawk Moth had found a better target and recalled the Critic’s akuma before it had multiplied. Adrien only hoped he could be so lucky. But if this dragon wasn’t someone who’d been akumatized by Hawk Moth…. “Plagg,” Adrien said, overriding the kwami’s complaints, “if this isn’t Hawk Moth’s doing, whose is it?”

The kindly old man in the electronics store in Chinatown had reminded him more of Master Fu than anyone else, and the teenager hadn’t exactly struck him as evil, either. He’d been helpful, if a bit preoccupied, and if Plagg hadn’t warned him to leave—

“It’s an old magic you don’t want to get mixed up in.” Plagg paused, but he must have known that wasn’t enough. “Dragons are real,” he finally said, “and I can smell their magic at work here. It’s very distinctive—a little similar to Longg’s, but sharper—and if you have any doubt, the fact that you’ve seen two dragons should put that to rest.”

Adrien didn’t know who Longg was. He didn’t ask, figuring Plagg would tell him if he could, at least if he figured it was important. Of course, Plagg’s idea of what was important could be fairly skewed, but Adrien had learned to live with that. “What about Phantom? Or the Ninja?”

“Phantom’s a ghost.” Something in Plagg’s tone made Adrien’s spine crawl, but maybe that was because he’d seen firsthand how dangerous Phantom could be. And to find out he wasn’t even alive…. How could Adrien hope to stop him, if it came to that? If he decided he wanted the Miraculous— “The Ninja’s magic is more recent, relatively speaking. This millennium, anyway; not like the dragons. He doesn’t have a Miraculous, but he’s got at least one magical artefact helping him out.”

“And at least he’s an ally,” Adrien murmured. “He only ever tried to fight the Critic, not me, even after she mentioned the Miraculous.” But he was an ally Adrien might never see again. Whatever he’d said earlier, he wasn’t really a partner, not like Ladybug. He might have just been passing by, in the right spot at the right time, and come to help because he was a hero.

He could just as easily be gone, leaving Adrien to deal with this mess by himself.

Between Hawk Moth, the ghost, the dragons, and the fact that Nathalie and the Gorilla were surely looking for him by now….

“We need to figure this out fast,” Adrien said. “I don’t know how much time we have.”

“Not enough,” Plagg murmured. Adrien might not have heard it ordinarily, soft-spoken as it was, but with Plagg right under his ear, he heard it this time.

He hoped Plagg was wrong, and not just about how much time they had, but he couldn’t afford to take any chances.

Taking a steadying breath, Adrien left the safety of the alley and went in search of the dragon.

(see more fics | next)

[ariderofcomets]

Descrying love.

PART II-

The incestous relationship between Cersei and Jaime Lannister has, in my eyes, always been problematic. Setting aside the fact that it involves incest (honestly, some could argue that's reason enough), there are so many other reasons why it could never work out between them, and the progression of the story is leading us to just that. 

First, a note on Cersei Lannister. 

I had begun to dislike Cersei from the very start of the series, but my feelings were fixated after I read A feast for crows. It didn't, of course, marr my enjoyment of her POV chapters. To me, reading some parts of her story involved equal portions of amusement and disbelief. Her internal monologue, laced with malice for almost everyone she encountered, was at times, cringeworthy. Sometimes, I had to pause, put my book aside, and dwell on just how far she went with her delusions and what that meant for her.  

Some might say that her paranoia was justified. Isn't she facing imminent death at the hands of a 'valonqar'? Doesn't she have proof to support the fact that the Tyrells were, in fact, the perpetrators in her son's death? Yes, I will not be the one to deny that. Cersei Lannister is not the first person to do everything in her literal power to thwart a fate that has been prophesized to be unfortunate, to lash out blindly with a club as if to deter her destiny. But it has caused harm to so many innocent people, and that has never bothered her, not in the least. In her fits of rage, she is sometimes callously cruel, even to those she loves (and that list is shorter than her temper). 

By Dance with Dragons, of course, I had begun to pity her, because yes, no matter how horrible a person she was, she deserved none of what the insurgent, radically insane Faith Militant doled out for her (the same Faith Militant, which, in a move that she believed was a stroke of genius, she allowed to be freed from their restrictions), but I am afraid that was all the empathy that I could muster. 

To Cersei, the only person worth protecting in Westeros is herself, and her children. She wants them to bend to her will, because only she knows what's right for them. She may have been trying to protect Tommen, with his best interests at heart, but unarguably, the two do not have the best mother-child relationship. As a matter of fact, Cersei did not have that with any of her children. In Joffrey, she encouraged the streak of blatant brutality, in fact even stating that her son's willfulness was his best quality as it would keep him out of trouble in the treacherous mire that King's Landing was. I have no doubt that she was trying to be a good mother, but I also suspect she was anything but that in Tommen's eyes. 

In her defense, one can also add that she believed that she was shielding her children from the worst effects of the waves of war that crashed around them. In some instances, however, it seemed to me that she was using the protection of her children as an excuse to assuage, or even absolve herself of blame in the face of the hair raising atrocities that she subjected some of her people to (Blue bard and Falyse). Here is what she thinks after she torments the Blue Bard into admitting to a lie that would aid in framing Margaery-

Getting the truth was wearisome work, and she dreaded what must follow. I must be strong. What I must do for Tommen and the realm. It was a pity that Maggy the Frog was dead. Piss on your prophecy, old woman. The little queen may be younger than I, but she has never been more beautiful, and soon she will be dead. 

In this statement, Cersei imputes all that she does to Tommen and the realm, and then, in the very same stream of thought, goes on to dwell over Maggy the Frog and her own motives for wanting Margaery dead. So while Cersei may tell herself all she wants that all of her actions benefit her children alone, they are, in the end, rooted in her own desire to put the stopper on the prophecy that predicts her ousting from power and death. 

Cersei is also a woman who believes that everyone takes her opinions with a pinch of salt because of her gender. Her entire life, she has seen firsthand the yawning black chasm of differentiation that exists between women and men in Westeros. Her father had always sought to sell her like a commodity to men she never wished to marry, even as her twin was allowed to tread the path to glory. This is, of course, the very picture of injustice, one that exists in the entirety of Westeros. All of our fortuitous female characters, from Sansa to Arya to Brienne to Asha have been subjected to this form of discrimination.

But how did Cersei choose to react to this inequity? By believing that she had been cursed by being born into the wrong gender, that women were weak and vapid and soft and could only wield power with the 'charms of their sex' and what was 'between their legs'. She eyes most women with distaste and contempt and distances herself from every frail thing that she has associated with femininity and looks to find 'masculine traits' within her, traits which will help her manage the realm as efficiently as her father. Womanly emotions are viewed as nugatory by her, and even when she is queen, she does not do much to alleviate the condition of women in Westeros, botherations not very different from her own. Instead of shunning the flawed paradigm of women that so many men in Westeros hold, she believes it, and begrudges her fate for having been born a woman.

Okay, so Cersei Lannister may not be my absolute favorite character, but seeing as how everything in her life is in a jumbled disarray, and how she is treading the fine line between suspicion and full blown paranoia, she deserves to be freed from any other exigency that weighs her down, including destructive or toxic relationships in her life, which is what her brother needs too, maybe more than her. Where best to start but with each other?

When one person truly loves another person, they will go out of their way to ensure that they do all they can to ease any suffering the other person may be enduring, even if they have to put aside their own sorrows for the moment or if not that, at least listen to the other person and then relay their own difficulties. Even listening to someone talk about their worries can go a long way in making them feel better. 

Now, when Jaime came back from Riverrun, miamed both physically and mentally, he practically rushed to Cersei, and didn't even wait for her to consent before proceeding to make love to her. He knew that Cersei had lost a son. Albeit a monstrous one, she was still his sister, and he should have been more understanding of the circumstances.

And Cersei? She was repulsed by his stump. Instead of bolstering his already frangible self esteem, she went on to reveal her own intentions and plans to him, hoping to rope him in, all for her own benefit, even going so far as to asking him to quit the Kingsguard (an institution she had once asked him to join for her own purposes). And when he refused? 

Was it your hand they hacked off in Harrenhal, or your manhood? 

You great golden fool. He's lied to you a thousand times, and so have I. 

Oh, an angry cripple. How terrifying. A pity Lord Tywin Lannister never had a son. I could have been the heir he wanted, but I lacked a cock. 

It is clear from their interaction that Cersei was thinking only of herself and of the problems that she would soon encounter, not sparing much thought for her brother's conflict and pain. 

While I do not doubt that Cersei and Jaime loved each other as they grew up together in Casterly Rock, I do know that this love must have begun purely as the love that brothers and sisters share, and in their case, a deeper bond of twinhood. This was warped by their thoughtless experimentations later, and as the years advanced and they continued to attach a sexual relationship to it, they twisted the sinuous connection even further. 

I do not think they were ever in love. Cersei Lannister surely wasn't. Even as a little girl, she had dreamed of marrying Rhaegar, dreamed of soaring into the gaping skies with him upon the scaly back of a majestic dragon. Her love for her brother, which had begun as platonic, was only sexual for sating her own needs. For lack of a better analogy, his role in her life could be likened to a bloodrider. 

I name you ko, and ask your oath, that you should live and die as blood of my blood, riding at my side to keep me safe from harm. 

-An oath asked of a bloodrider

They were the khal's brothers, his shadows, his fiercest friends. "Blood of my blood," Drogo called them, and so it was; they shared a single life.

In my opinion, this is pretty much how Cersei views Jaime. A man who is hers, to protect her, live and die for her and vanquish her enemies. She loved him, and he pleasured her, but she was never in love with him. She believed that he was, wholeheartedly, and that she deserved to use that to her advantage, which was what she did most of their life (Prominent instances that stand out to me- Persuading him to join the Kingsguard and asking him to miam or kill Arya on sight if he found her in Darry). When he began to demonstrate his heedlessness to her wishes, she began to regard him differently- He had changed, and he was a thorn in her side. He was supposed to assist her in whatever she did, and if he couldn't do that, she had to send him away. 

As for Jaime, he had painted an entirely inaccurate picture of the relationship in his mind. In his ideally rose tinted imaginings, he was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maiden. He believed he loved her for her uproarious flames, but he never gazed deep enough to see the crucible of untamed wildfire. She believed she loved him for his undying fierceness, but never quite took the time to see the contrariant idealism and carefully buried trauma shoved away inside. Neither of them knew or understood the other entirely, they 'loved' each other because they had projected the image of who they believed each other to be on to themselves. The curtains were flung from their eyes in the gales of the personal tribulations that they had to face (particularly for Jaime, who was forced to re-evaluate his whole life). 

After discovering that his sister hadn't been as loyal to him as he had to her, and encountering aspects of her that he didn't knew existed, he thinks-

I thought that I was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maid, but all the time she was the Stranger, hiding her true face from my gaze. 

And here is an excerpt from his conversation with Daven which highlights his disillusionment-

"How is Cersei? As beautiful as ever?"

"Radiant." Fickle. "Golden." False as a fool's gold. 

He also dreamed of finding her in bed with Moon Boy and in the very same dream, proceeded to smash her teeth in, which is a very violent form of expression of the dismay in his sub-conscious mind. 

But the one scene that sums his disenchantment up the best is when he throws this letter by Cersei into the fire-

Come at once. Help me. Save me. I need you now as I have never needed you before. I love you. I love you. I love you. Come at once."

When Cersei sends this letter to Jaime, her need is truly dire. Her sending such a letter and Jaime's reaction upon receiving it both reflect exactly what their relationship has come to. 

While Cersei knows that Jaime could not possibly be of any aid to her without his sword hand, she wants him by her side, because isn't that how it has always been? He was meant to protect her. They were meant to die together. He had to come. 

And Jaime? He chose not to go. 

He chooses not to go when the woman he is supposedly in love with needs him the most. 

She has never come to me, he thought, She has always waited, letting me come to her. She gives, but I must ask. 

Could it be attributed to his rage at being betrayed? Possibly. But how long can rage last in the face of truly eternal love, and particularly a loved one in mortal peril? Jaime chose to ignore Cersei's request because he no longer wanted to give up everything for a woman who was, in all probability, only going to require him for that purpose. He was not about to put everything on the line for a woman whose shrouded true face had slowly begun to come into the light. He was a knight of the Kingsguard, entrusted with an important task, and he meant to see it through. He didn't leave, even though he knew it could mean a terrible punishment for Cersei, or even death. 

Jaime had started to discover other priorities in his life, and Cersei had begun to see him for just who he was. Both of them had. How can two completely different people with a set of conflicting beliefs, who don't see eye to eye, and who dream of things that the other could never possibly comprehend, ever summon true love within themselves for each other? Can a woman who has viewed love as a sweet poison ever look beyond to realise what the liberation and wonderment of love truly entails? Love isn't poison. The absence of love is. Can a man who has distorted sibling love and attached a component of lust to it ever see how truly falling in love with someone is like?

I sure hope they can (though in Cersei's case, sadly, it is unlikely) and I also understand that it is implausible so long as they continue to view each other as lovers. 

Theirs isn't a tragic love story. It isn't a love story at all. 

And beautiful, wonderful, Brienne of Tarth deserves her own love story, and I really hope that she finds it with the man she has begun to love. 

Note-Excerpts from the books in italics.

[cyanwings]

i'm sorry you aren't feeling good, my bean! 33, 20, 18, 2, and 1

@jimmy-valmer

It’s okay! I mean, it sucks big time cause I feel like a truck ran over me from the body aches but I’ve handled worse. I’m a WARRIOR!!!

ON TO THE MIGHTY MEMESS~!!!

ANIME QUESTIONS MEME - Accepting!

1. best anime you’ve watched

So for the record, I’m excluding “Avatar: The Last Airbender” & (2003) “Teen Titans” shows cause people consider them animes when they’re only anime influenced so they’re out. But, this is SO hard! It’s like picking my children, it just feels impossible to do! Though, if I HAD to pick just one, it would have to be…… ( 2003) Kino’s Journey!

Why? Well, let’s ride right into the world of “Kino’s Journey” or in it’s original title “Kino no Tabi.”

“ The world is not beautiful, there fore it is.”

Let’s start with the story, which tells of the journey of a traveler named Kino and their motorcycle, Hermes, while they visit a long range of countries as they meet different people along the way. The actual fact is: there isn’t one solid story but 12 short stories that link together not by episode order but by events. And yet the fact that each one of this stories manages to give a deeper meaning than the whole plots from many animes amazes me till no end! Kino finds herself in the midst of these societies - some of which have downright appalling practices. Each episode approaches a theme of society, like censoring, violence, communication problems, right or wrong, the ability some people have to bite the hand that just feds them, and so on. And every time I watch each one, I found myself enjoying this series more than I should have.  

As Kino travels throughout the world and becomes acquainted with the people who inhabit it, it becomes clear that each of her encounters is essentially a separate journey into the labyrinth that is the human psyche to explore one of the many elements that make it up. The issues touched upon in the series ranges from the tendencies of humans to blindly believe in prophecies to the consequences of not having a self-conscious.

There is a wide range of characters as expected from an anime that tells about travels all over the world. While some of them are forgettable, some of them also stay in your mind. Although it is clear that neither Kino nor Hermes is the main focus of the series, together they play an essential role in its series. 

In terms of being a likeable character, Kino has become my favorite anime character ever! They inspire me in so many ways and I’m always glued to the screen every time their role comes into play. Although they appear apathetic at first, they’re a caring and understanding person. Kino travels through different countries to experience their customs and understand the citizens, but they never stay longer than three days, as they’re afraid of settling down, and would decrease of being a traveler. They’re also intelligent, skillful, extremely wise for someone so young and still as unpredictable as a teen could be. Though not fond of killing, they will do so if necessary without feeling remorse. Especially, towards those who attack them or the innocent. Kino has truly become one of the most unique characters I’ve ever seen.

Hermes, Kino’s talking motorcycle, acts as the perfect companion to his owner. Not only are his conversations with Kino very enjoyable to listen to due to the his humour, the series also allows for further exploration on his character. I won’t lie that I found it odd that we were suppose to just roll with the fact that he speaks but as the show grows over time, you do learn to accept it and that’s not the most unusual thing you’ll be seeing in the series either. He’s also the closest thing that Kino has to a friend and it just makes their relationship heartwarming a lot of the time. In addition, considering the theme of the series is the nature of humanity, his presence as a non-human makes their discussions even more interesting. You have no idea if he’s truly real or just in Kino’s head. But, whatever the case may be, he’s a fun character to journey with!

The dub is honestly one of the best that I’ve heard and I’m usually REALLY picky when it comes to English audio in anime. It was done at A.D.V films, which are the people responsible for other great dubs like “Princess Tutu”, and they do an AMAZING job!

Kelli Collins voicing Kino was the highlight of the entire dub! Her acting glues you into her role to her character and you’re just amazed of how well she fits the Kino. Especially, giving the young traveler a sense of maturity to such a young teen. It’s a shame she hasn’t been active since then and didn’t return for the reboot of the series. ( Even though it was a disaster so maybe it was for the best. ) Kino’s voice actress succeeds as the perfect person to voice such a outstanding character and how she brings her to life. I honestly can’t even picture anyone else to play the role but her. Hermes on the other hand is a hit or miss with viewers. Cynthia Martinez voicing Hermes comes off with a cartoonish boyish voice who I could definitely see annoying it’s viewers.  But to me? It honestly works! The way Hermes asks certain questions and their responses makes sense that they act childish or ask very out-looking questions of the situations at hand. Not not say he’s immature. He’s actually the voice of reason but, Cynthia shows great promise with the role. And you’ll see why once you go into this series head on.

Overall this series holds a special place in my heart. It doesn’t have that nasty fan service or anything too over the top like a Shōnen show but, it helped me get a better understanding on how humanity works and even thinks at times. In life, we don’t know which path to take but that’s the journey of it. You just get up and travel to find out what’s up ahead for you. To see the world for what it is with all it’s good and bad parts. Kino searches for life’s answers, life’s questions, and the interpretations connected to them. Destination is a state of mind; Drift along for the ride~!

2. worst anime you’ve watched

Oh gawd, this is just torture! Just when I think I can finally be rid of trash like this I have to go back and look in the bin again lmao

Let’s see…. I think I would have to say…. “ Master of Martial Hearts.” Why didn’t I say the famous “School Days?” I could but I wanted to do a different hate this time since this one made me beyond pissed off! “School Days” at least had the main lead get what’s coming to him cause we all know the douche bad deserved what was coming to him so I was fine with the insane out come. But this? HELL NO!

I found this series out by amazing reviewer, JesuOtaku, back when Youtube was starting to get popular and I always agreed with her reviews. I’m SO glad I saw her review first before stumbling upon this nasty series. First, we got under aged girls, and women in general, getting their clothes completely ripped apart as they fight one another cause why not? Screw plot! And it’s just an endless scenes of just wtf??!! I didn’t watch the series but I saw enough of it through her long review. AND…what pissed me off the most is the ending. Dear gawd! THE ENDING! This series only has 5 episodes but once you check out the last one? It deserves two middle fingers straight at it cause F*CK THIS SERIES!! No seriously, don’t even check it cause it’s just horrible. Just awful!! It’s just the worst anime to me and always will be!

    18. favorite villain

This is gonna sound strange but I instantly KNEW who my favorite villain was gonna be and I couldn’t be more ready! When there’s a great hero there’s also a great villain. Out of the horrible characters did I choose? Johan from (2004) “Monster.”

“ There’s nothing special about being born. Not a thing. Most of the universe is just death, nothing more. In this universe of ours, the birth of a new life on some corner of our planet is nothing but a tiny, insignificant flash. Death is a normal thing. So why live? ”

–Johan

The story focuses on Kenzo Tenma, a young Japanese doctor working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital during in Germany the 80′s. He is a very skilled highly brain surgeon. However, Tenma grows increasingly dissatisfied with the political bias of the hospital for treating it’s patients, and seizes his chance to change things after a strange massacre brings the twins Johan and Anna Liebert into his hospital.

Johan has a gunshot wound to the head and Anna keeps muttering about killing. Tenma decides to operate on Johan instead of a politician who arrived afterwards. Johan is saved, but the politician dies. After this Tenma loses his social standing, lost his promotion, basically everything, and not soon after that the twins escape. The top heads of the hospital are found dead the same night the twins escape. Tenma is then promoted to chef of surgeon.

After that the story advances to nine years later. A known criminal is found on the street, hit by a car. He comes under the care of Dr. Tenma, who observes him muttering about a “Monster.” Tenma extends his kindness to that criminal, and thus the criminal begins to open up to his doctor.

Following his trail to the construction site of a half finished building near the hospital, Tenma finds the man. The man, who has developed a sort of doctor-patient friendship with Dr. Tenma, warns him against coming closer, and pleads with him to run away. Tenma refuses, however, and the identity of the man holding the gun pointed at the criminal in the abandoned parking garage is revealed to be the boy whose life Tenma had saved nine years ago - Johan Liebert. Johan shoots the criminal, tells Tenma that he could never kill the man who had saved his life, and then walks off into the night while Tenma is still too shocked to stop him. I’m not gonna spoil anymore to the plot cause it’ll ruin the experience but WOW! What a series!

On the surface, Johan is a well-mannered, charismatic and compassionate young man. He possesses a favorable of traits and can easily overwhelm individuals with his seemingly flawless nature, as others describes him as being not of this world. This makes it easy for him to make new allies and manipulate them into doing various deeds for him. With such skill in creating this facade of perfection and pureness, Johan can hide his true motives with ease.

Johan delivers destruction and suffering to those who happen to fall prey to his schemes. Johan exhibits psychopathic tendencies. For example, most of his murders, both in childhood and adulthood, have been premeditated and calculated.

Johan often shows a complete disregard for life by pointing to his forehead, inviting Dr. Tenma to shoot him.

He also has a tendency to make his victims experience the worst possible loss and suffering rather than actually killing them himself;

Everyone NEEDS to check out “ Monster ” cause it does not disappoint! Even just check out just for it’s villain and the amazing english dub! Trust me, it’ll be one incredible wild ride!

  20. favorite costume/character design:

My girl, Mina Ashido from “My Hero Academia” / “Boku no Hero Academia”!

“The old you’s not going anywhere with that emo look on your face! If you overcome that gloomy self of yours… let me know. Or else I’ll start spreading rumors about high school debut man.”

—

Mina Ashido

    33. most underrated anime in your opinion

Since I already talked about “ Kino’s Journey” & “ Monster”, I’ll decide another great underrated anime people need to see and that’s “ Princess Tutu.”

“ May those who follow their fate be granted happiness; may those who defy it be granted glory.“ - Miss Edel

In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, out-going, and gentle Ahiru (“Duck” in the English Dub) seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town—for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu—a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince’s heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity.

Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after.”

The title may seem off putting to a lot since it sounds like some girly anime but don’t judge a book by it’s cover~! This series has so much going for it and it’s honestly just outstanding! It may be predictable at the beginning ( Had the same trouble with the first season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” ) but, it becomes something you just never expected; A complex and tragedy story.

You honestly feel for every single one of these characters once their parts are given into play. And the fact that they use real classical music that compliments the dance scenes so well done. You feel the dramatic effect once our main leads come into the spotlight. The intense just rises from the music and for the dubbing too. I said back in my “Kino’s Journey” part of the ask that this was dubbed by A.D.V. Films and it’s one of my favorites ever! It’s not just one or two actors that shine, every single person portrays their characters with flying colors. I was just amazed of how incredibly well done they did!

I could go on and on about the characters but they’re all such a surprise that I rather not spoil it. This is genuinely a heartwarming show to experience for yourself. Classical music, beautifully choreographed dances, and memorable characters make for an experience worth having in all of Princess Tutu’s world. A modern fairy tale for the ages.

[immortalpramheda]

Game of Thrones ‘Stormborn’

Another great episode! So much has happened this season already and it just keeps getting better!

Daenerys Stormborn. She came into the world on a night similar to the one they were experiencing, which was a nice touch for their first night there. But Dragonstone doesn’t feel like home to her. Even though it’s where her ancestors are from, she doesn’t want to stay. She wants to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. She wants to sit on the Iron Throne. So she gets right to business. It’s taken her years to finally get to Westeros and now that she’s here she’s not wasting any time.

Her advisors, well mainly Tyrion, advise her not to burn cities to the ground. Because then she’ll only be the Queen of ashes. She’ll have no one left to rule. And those still alive will not want to follow someone who burnt everything to ashes.

She accuses Varys of betraying everyone he’s ever served, bringing her brother into power, arranging her marriage to Khal Drogo, and plotting her murder. Which is all true. And he doesn’t deny it. But Varys says that he serves the person, not a certain house or someone with a lot of power. It’s about who the person is. And he believes that Daenerys is the right person to sit on the Iron Throne. That she can bring peace back to Westeros. And Dany tells him that if he ever betrays her, she’ll burn him alive. Do not take threats from a Targaryen lightly. No doubt she will do that if she needs to.

Melisandre turns up at Dragonstone. She thinks that Dany is a part of the ‘Prince that was promised’ prophecy. And as Missandei points out, ‘Prince’ in High Valerian is gender neutral. Meaning that the prophecy is the ‘Prince or Princess who was promised’. Melisandre believes that both Dany and Jon have a role to play in it.

This is the first that Dany has heard of Jon Snow, which is very exciting! She learns that he’s united the North, brought the Wildlings south of the Wall to protect them and has been crowned ‘King in the North’.

“He sounds like quite a man.”

Oh yes he is Dany. Tyrion vouches for him too. So Dany invites him to come to Dragonstone, and bend the knee. I’m not sure why Melisandre didn’t mention that she brought Jon back to life. Dany somewhat believes in the Lord of the Light. The Red Priests helped her in Meereen, so I’m sure if she’d mentioned that Dany would be even more eager to meet Jon.

Yara and Ellaria want to attack Kings Landing. They don’t care about killing innocents. But Dany’s plan is to lay siege to surrounding areas. And they’re not going to use Unsullied or Dothraki, because it wouldn’t look very good for Dany’s claim to have foreigners fighting for her. The Unsullied will go take Casterly Rock. I’m excited to see this! They’ve mentioned Casterly Rock so many times but we’ve never actually seen it.

“Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon. Be a dragon.”

I loved how Olenna gave some great advice to Dany. She’s a dragon, not a sheep. She should act like one and take things into her own hands. Don’t always listen to other people, sometimes you need to take charge and do what you think is right, no matter what anyone else says. Don’t be afraid to be powerful. Great piece of advice!

The Grey Worm and Missandei sex scene was beautiful, which is rare for this show. The sex scenes are usually overly sexualised and graphic, or nonconsensual, but this was a beautiful moment between two people. Grey Worm said that Missandei is his weakness. He was almost too afraid to say goodbye to her because she makes him weak. He’s Unsulied, they are not supposed to have any fears of weaknesses, but he bravely admitted that she is his. Now I’m worried that he’s going to die. Bad things always happen after good things on this show.

Jon does want to go meet Dany. But Sansa is wary. Although they do both trust Tyrion. And Dany has dragons, and dragon fire would be a very valuable weapon against the wights.

He also receives a raven with Sam’s letter telling him about Dragonglass buried under Dragonstone. Jon is adamant that he needs to go now. He argues that they need more allies, and Dany also has dragons which would be very helpful. But Sansa, and all the other lords and ladies, are not very keen for him to go. They think the King in the North should stay in the North. Even Lyanna Mormont wanted him to stay. I’m glad that they showed that Lyanna doesn’t just blindly follow Jon and agree with everything he says. The makes her a very good Lady.

Jon decides that he’s going, and he’ll leave the North in good hands. Sansa’s. That completely changes her opinion on the matter. And Littlefinger looks way to amused too.

Littlefinger angers Jon by telling him that he loves Sansa the way he loved Catelyn, so he strangles him. What right did he have to be in the crypts anyway? Sure, his army saved them against the Bolton’s, but he should just leave now. He’s not needed anymore. He needs to get away from Sansa. I’m sure Jon would keep his promise and kill him if he touches Sansa.

Everyone in Westeros has been ignoring Dany for seasons, but now that she’s actually arrived she’s a big threat, or potential ally. Cersei gathers all the Lords to Kings Landing (well, only the ones who wanted to come which weren’t very many) and tells of the big threat of the Mad Kings daughter. She convinces them that she’s crazy just like he was, and that she has an army of Dothraki who are murderers and rapists. So they all rally behind her. Well, most of them do.

Lord Tarly tells Jaime that he swore allegiance to the Tyrell’s, so he’s hesitant to break a sacred oath. Something that Jaime is all too familiar with.

We get to go into the dungeons of Kings Landing, where all the dragon skulls are. The last time we saw them was when Arya was chasing cats in S1. Qyburn has created a weapon against the dragons. A giant crossbow. Honestly, I expected something more dangerous from Qyburn. He is the person who created the Frankenstein-esque Mountain. A giant crossbow will probably wound a dragon, but I’m not sure if it will actually kill one.

Jorah’s greyscale is not looking good. The Archmaester (Professor Slughorn) says there is no cure. It’s too far gone. He only has 6 months until it starts to affect his brain. But, then Sam finds out that Jorah is the son of Jeor Mormont, former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. So Sam decides to try to help him, considering no one else is.

Jorah was writing a letter to ‘Khaleesi’. A goodbye letter probably, because he’s accepted that he’s going to die soon. Which was sad. But Sam came to the rescue! He’s been doing some research and is going to try to heal Jorah’s greyscale. Although he’s never done it before. Lets just hope it works!

It was very graphic and gross to watch. And then they transitioned to someone eating food and IS THIS SHOW TRYING TO MAKE ME THROW UP?? Last week we had that gross montage and this episode we have this? Is this GoT’s new thing?? I hope not.

Arya was reunited with a few characters this episode, the first of which Hot Pie!! Aww, it was so great to have them back together! He gives her a good feed. And bores her with the details of how to make the perfect pie, but maybe Arya should listen to him. I mean, she’s been baking a few (Frey) pies lately. He asks her about whether Brienne found her, and then he tells her that Jon defeated the Bolton’s and is now King in the North. Arya’s expression completely changed when she heard that. She had no idea. She was heading to King’s Landing to kill Cersei, but instead she decided to go the other and go home to Winterfell. I have never been so happy!! Hopefully the Stark’s will be together once again! But Jon is just about to leave Winterfell. They’ll probably just miss each other. Which is what always happens on this show.

On her journey she is reunited with Nymeria! A pack of wolves surrounded her, but Nymeria is the pack leader. Arya knows that it’s her. And Nymeria senses her too. They don’t attack. Arya asks her to come home to Winterfell with her, but the wolves all leave.

“That’s not you.”

At first I was confused and thought that meant it wasn’t Nymeria after all. But it definitely was. It looked like her. And it was huge like a direwolf, and direwolves are very rare. And after their encounter the wolves didn’t attack Arya. It must have been her. I found that very confusing. But it was actually a callback to S1, when Ned told her that she’d marry a lord and wear pretty dresses, and Arya replied, “No, that’s not me.”

Arya saying that about Nymeria was her saying that she’s not a pet or companion to Arya anymore. She’s a direwolf, her place is out in the wild with her pack. Just like Arya didn’t want to be the person that everyone expected her to be, she can’t expect Nymeria to be what she wants her to be. Nymeria is doing exactly what Arya did. She did what she wanted, not what anyone else did. That was a beautiful touching moment. But I do hope we get to see Nymeria again. Or at least if we get to see Arya dream about her like she does in the books.

Theon and Yara, along with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are sailing to Dorne to get their army to help them take King’s Landing. Yara and Ellaria are having a good time, but then suddenly they’re attacked.

Euron Greyjoy had found them, and attacked their ships. He is crazy, and I love it! He enjoys every second of killing of people. The battle was insane! There was fire everywhere, and people were dying everywhere you turned. Euron killed Nymeria and Obara Sand. Tyene goes down to protect Ellaria, and they’re not killed, but they’re taken hostage. I assume they will be Euron’s gift to Cersei.

Euron managed to capture Yara and put a knife to her throat. Theon watches on, not sure what to do, so he jumps into the water and swims away. Which just makes Euron laugh. A really unsettling laugh. He does’t kill Yara, so I assume she will also be part of the gift for Cersei.

I don’t know what else Theon could have done. If he’d tried to attack Euron, he probably would have killed Yara. And he probably would have been killed too. Theon saw the way Euron’s army were butchering and mutilating people, and he became Reek again. We’ve seen him slowly turn back into Theon, but all those years of torture he endured from Ramsay do not just disappear. They’ve stayed with him and seeing all these things happening triggered him. We saw him turn back into Reek, and so he fled. Reek would not have stood a chance against Euron. He did the best thing. If he’d done anything different it would not have ended well at all.

Overall, incredible episode! So much happened. Next episode Jon and Dany are finally going to meet which is going to be epic!

[comebeforegod]

She Finally Saw Clearly Who the Stumbling Blocks to Believers’ Entering God’s Kingdom Are

By Xiao Ya, United States

Xiao En used to be a co-worker in a church. After accepting God’s new work, she proactively spread the gospel and brought her two sisters before Almighty God. But when she preached to her two sisters-in-law, because the pastor and elders often preached about guarding against Eastern Lightning, they not only didn’t accept, but told the pastor about the fact that she’d accepted Almighty God’s work. After that, a spiritual battle began …

Debating With the Pastor and Co-workers

One day, Xiao En was reading Almighty God’s words at home when there suddenly came a loud knocking at the door. After she quickly hid the book of God’s word and then opened the door, she found the pastor and seven or eight co-workers standing outside with a furious expression on their faces. Looking at this scene, Xiao En thought, “In the past, after knowing that some sisters from the church were investigating Almighty God’s last days’ work, they started to obstruct and harass them. Could it be that they’re here to obstruct me?” At the thought of this, Xiao En felt somewhat afraid, and so she constantly prayed for God to give her faith and wisdom to deal with them. After the prayer, her heart felt a little more tranquil, and she also had the confidence to face them.

As soon as they were inside, a co-worker came forward and said to Xiao En, “We hear you’ve listened to Eastern Lightning?”

Another said, “Eastern Lightning witnesses that the Lord Jesus has returned. If it’s true, how could our pastor and elders not know? When the Lord comes He’ll definitely give them revelation first. The pastor and elders don’t accept Eastern Lightning, how could you accept it?”

After hearing these words, Xiao En said, “Not necessarily. When the Lord Jesus came to do work, He didn’t first reveal Himself to the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees who were serving God in the temple, but rather He traveled around to work and preach. Those who thirsted for the truth could recognize God’s voice. Take Peter and John for example. They recognized from the Lord Jesus’ work and preaching that He was the Messiah foretold in the prophecies, and so followed Him.”

Just as Xiao En finished speaking, Pastor Weng said, “Why are you so foolish? To believe in the Lord is to believe in the Bible. God’s words are all in the Bible. But today Eastern Lightning testifies that the Lord has returned and expressed new words. This is absolutely wrong. So we can’t believe in Eastern Lightning.”

Hearing this, Xiao En replied, “The Lord Jesus once said, ‘Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life’ (John 5:39-40). The Bible can’t represent the Lord, for it’s merely a record of God’s work in the past, it’s only a testimony to the Lord. Besides, we should know that God’s work came first, and then the Bible. It was when God had completed a work that man recorded His words and work as well as man’s experience, and compiled them to make the Bible. The work God was yet to do couldn’t be written into the Bible in advance. It’s just like when the Lord Jesus came to do work. The way of repentance He preached, the work He performed of healing the sick and casting out demons and the words He expressed were not recorded in the Old Testament. So we can’t define that all of God’s work and words are contained within the Bible.”

After listening, the pastor and co-workers looked at each other. Then the pastor argued speciously, “In any case, our belief in the Lord must be based on the Bible. The words of the Lord are all in the Bible. I’ve read the Bible thoroughly dozens of times, but what about you? You have such little spiritual life and lack the ability to distinguish. I advise you to hurry up and repent!” A co-worker nearby the pastor chimed in, “Yes! Pastor Weng is right. All of the Lord’s word is within the Bible, so believing in the Lord means believing in the Bible. This is exactly how people throughout the ages have practiced faith. It can’t be wrong!”

Xiao En retorted, “Is there any basis in the Lord’s words for what you’re saying? It is clearly stated in the Bible, ‘And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written’ (John 21:25). This confirms that the Bible only records a small part of the Lord’s words, and that many of His words and deeds are not recorded in the Bible, so to say that ‘the Lord’s words are all in the Bible’ doesn’t conform to the facts. You’re more familiar with the Bible than me, but it doesn’t prove that you know the Lord. Back then, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees knew the Bible by heart, but they didn’t recognize the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, and even condemned and resisted Him because of His not obeying the law and crucified Him, committing a terrible sin. How can this be explained? The Bible says, ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6). We’ve believed in the Lord for many years and have always hoped for His coming. Therefore, when we hear someone preaching that the Lord has returned, we should be wise virgins and carefully listen for God’s voice. But if we blindly condemn what others preach without seeking and investigating, then we may easily resist God like the Pharisees.”

Hearing this, Pastor Weng became even more angry and, pointing at Xiao En, said, “You’ve believed in Almighty God for just a few days and you’ve already dared to speak these words and condemn us. We come with kindness to save you; if you’re ungrateful, then forget it. You even dare to say that we are the Pharisees. You have let us down!” When he finished saying this, his anger left him with no wish to stay. Another brother then took out the Bible and tried to find verses to refute Xiao En, but after searching through the Bible again and again, he failed. Finally, Pastor Weng furiously said to him, “Stop searching! She is incurable. Let’s go!” And so they all went away. Seeing that they left in defeat, Xiao En thanked God from the bottom of her heart.

Seeing Through the Disguise of the Co-workers

Several days later, seven or eight co-workers paid Xiao En a visit to try to dissuade her. Co-worker Wang said, “Sister Xiao, you’ve been a believer for so long, how come you’re unable to discern properly? The pastor warns us again and again not to heed Eastern Lightning’s way, how could you not listen to him? The pastor and elders have believed in the Lord for so many years. Couldn’t it be that they understand more than we do? You ought to hurry and repent.”

Xiao En said firmly, “Almighty God’s words are all the truth. He has unfolded all the mysteries in the Bible, the mystery of God’s three stages of work, the mystery of God’s name, the inside story of the Bible, etc., which have resolved many confusions I had when I believed in the Lord. I had carried out serious examination before I started believing in Almighty God. Believing in the way comes from hearing of the way, so when we hear that someone is spreading the good news about the Lord’s coming we must seek and investigate in earnest. Do not blindly listen to the pastor, otherwise you’re likely to miss the opportunity to welcome the Lord.”

Then Co-worker Chen said, “Sister Xiao, these days we have been praying for you day and night, hoping that you hurry to repent and return to our church. If you keep on believing in Eastern Lightning, you’ll be expelled from the church and abandoned by our brothers and sisters. We don’t want that to happen. Thinking about how we’ve served the Lord together for so long and how we’ve been as close as sisters, we really can’t bear parting with you. …” As she said this, all the co-workers began to weep. Seeing them shedding tears, Xiao En felt very upset. Scenes of their working together for the Lord in the past racing through her mind, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat weak. She thought, “We used to be very close and support the brothers and sisters together. If I insist on believing in Almighty God, our many years of friendly relations will be ended, and the brothers and sisters will also abandon me and treat me as their enemy. …”

Just then, Xiao En suddenly realized that her thinking was incorrect, so she immediately prayed in her heart, “O God! I feel somewhat weak now. I’m afraid of having broken relationships with them. Please give me faith and strength to prevail over the weakness of my flesh and to stand witness.” After praying, she remembered a passage from God’s words, “You must be awake and waiting at every moment, and you must pray more before Me. You must recognize the various plots and cunning schemes of Satan, know the spirit, know people and be able to discern all kinds of people, matters and things.” God’s words awoke her in an instant and she clearly knew that the incident that befell her was one of Satan’s tricks, and was a spiritual battle. Satan knew that she cared a lot about her co-workers, and that she was unwilling to have strained relationships with them, much less see them weep for her, so it used emotions to disturb her. Its objective was to make her give up God’s work in the last days and thereby lose her opportunity to enter into the kingdom of heaven for the sake of maintaining her fleshly relationships with her co-workers. Xiao En then thought, “Since I believe in God I should listen to God and not be controlled by people. If I were to betray God in order to protect my personal feelings, then I wouldn’t be standing witness to God, and would lose the opportunity to be saved by God.” When she realized all this, faith and strength returned to her heart. Following that, however her co-workers urged her, even trying to force her to deny Almighty God, Xiao En didn’t budge an inch and was still resolute in her belief in Almighty God. In the end, the co-workers walked off in a huff.

Who Are the Stumbling Blocks on the Path to the Heavenly Kingdom

In the following days, the pastor and co-workers still came to Xiao En’s house every few days, trying to force her to abandon her faith in Almighty God. In order to avoid them, she went to her sister’s home and spread the kingdom gospel of Almighty God there. After learning that Xiao En was still preaching, the pastor and elders became even more flustered and exasperated. They announced that Xiao En had been expelled from the church in the whole county, and on top of that they sealed off the church, threatened to expel anyone who received her, and made the brothers and sisters reject and curse her. Not only that, they also coerced Xiao En’s families to cut ties with her. As a result, when Xiao En went to preach the gospel to her uncle, his family didn’t receive her. And many times, when she came across the co-workers that she knew well, they didn’t even greet her and simply turned their faces and walked away.

The brothers and sisters from Xiao En’s original church all rejected her and the pastor and elders blocked off the church, so she was unable to preach to them. This made her upset. She thought of what the Lord Jesus said when He condemned the Pharisees, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). According to these words, Xiao En thought of the pastor and elders. They were well versed in the Bible and often preached to believers, but didn’t know God and didn’t have hearts that revered God at all. When hearing about the Lord’s coming, they didn’t have the slightest interest in investigating it and even sealed up the church, preventing believers from accepting the Lord’s return, and controlling them in their own hands. Xiao En realized that their deeds were the same as that of the Pharisees and that they were obstructions and stumbling blocks to believers’ entering God’s kingdom.

Later, after learning of Xiao En’s condition, the brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God went to visit her in succession. Xiao En told them how she had experienced during that period and how she distinguished the pastor and elders. After hearing what she said, Sister Wang said, “Thank God! Sister, it’s good that you have discernment on this matter. God’s appearance and work in the last days reveal good servants, evil servants, goats and sheep. Experiencing harassment and obstruction at the hands of the pastors and elders enables us to see the facts and truth of their resistance of God while serving Him, so that at least we won’t be deceived by them or follow them in resisting God. Let’s read a few passages of Almighty God’s word, and we’ll have more discernment of the substance of the pastors and elders.

“Almighty God says, ‘Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the substance of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What’s more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not seek the truth of life. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah, and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of paying empty tribute to the name of the Messiah while opposing the substance of the Messiah by any means. These Pharisees in substance were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God is: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Are these views not preposterous and ridiculous?’

“‘Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, head demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of “robust flesh,” how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?’”

The sister fellowshiped, “God’s words have thoroughly exposed the source and substance of the Pharisees serving God for many for years yet defying Him. They were arrogant and hated the truth, so when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, they didn’t seek and study it, but stubbornly clung to the letters of the Scripture and their conceptions and imaginations. In the Lord Jesus’ work and preaching, they felt authority and power, but because the Lord Jesus didn’t match up with the Messiah in their notions and imaginations, and they feared that more believers would follow the Lord and that they would lose their positions and livelihoods, they judged the Lord Jesus’ work, tried everything to condemn Him, and in the end nailed Him to the cross. These facts are enough to prove that the Pharisees basically didn’t serve God with sincerity, but instead pursued fame and status. They, in nature and essence, were the antichrist demons that hated the truth and God. Today, religious pastors and elders are just like the Pharisees. They are believing in God and serving God nominally, but in fact they don’t obey the Lord’s teachings. In their work and preaching, they don’t exalt and bear witness to the Lord’s word, but rather preach biblical knowledge and theological theory to show off and establish themselves. This causes believers to worship them and have no place for God within their hearts. Even when seeking and investigating the true way, these believers don’t seek God’s will at all but listen to them instead, to the point of following them in resisting God’s work. It can be seen that the pastors and elders have brought believers before themselves. The pastors and elders keep saying that they long for the Lord’s return, yet when they’ve heard about the Lord’s coming, they don’t seek and study, but instead define God’s work and words based on their biblical knowledge and theory. Worse still, they employ all kinds of ways to block believers from investigating and accepting God’s new work under the guise of ‘protecting the sheep flock,’ and incite them to defy the Lord’s return with them. In fact, their objective is to cage and control believers and so protect their positions and livelihoods. That’s why they wildly resist God’s new work. Not only will they not get into the kingdom of heaven, but they even make believers their sacrificial objects to go to hell with them for resisting God. They really are living devils that devour man’s soul!”

Through God’s words and the sister’s fellowshiping, Xiao En saw very clearly the religious pastors’ and elders’ essence of opposing God. Though they are familiar with the Bible, they only preach biblical knowledge to show off, or talk about donating to the church in their preaching work. As a consequence of this, believers are unable to receive any nourishment, and after believing in the Lord for many years, they end up not having any knowledge of the Lord but instead worship and look up to the pastors and elders. Furthermore, when Almighty God appears to do His work, the pastors and elders don’t seek and investigate it. In order to protect their status and livelihood, they seal off the church under the guise of “protecting the brothers and sisters,” and think of various ways to obstruct believers from accepting God’s new work. Aren’t they dragging brothers and sisters to hell? They truly are so malicious! They are true antichrists! At that moment, Xiao En was very grateful to God for His salvation. If God hadn’t saved her she would continue following the pastor and elders, and would resist God and be unable to enter the kingdom of heaven. Thinking of this, Xiao En felt even more loathing and hatred in her heart for the pastor and elders. She bolstered her will in her heart: The more they persecute me, the more I will do my utmost to spread the gospel so that more believers will break away from the bondage and deception of the pastors and elders and return before God’s throne.

Witnessing God’s Almightiness in Experience

Later on, the pastor and elders refused to give up—they phoned Xiao En’s brothers and brother-in-law who did business in another part of the country, and deceived them by saying that Xiao En had betrayed the Lord Jesus and committed apostasy, and also asked them to hurry home to prevent her. After they returned, because of the deception of the pastor and elders, they really thought that Xiao En’s belief was incorrect. However, after Xiao En relied on God to spread God’s kingdom gospel to them and read them Almighty God’s words, they knew that she hadn’t betrayed the Lord Jesus, but instead she had welcomed the Lord’s coming and followed God’s footsteps. By then, they all saw through the tricks of the pastor and elders, and clearly saw their truth-hating, God-resisting, antichrist essence, and in the end accepted God’s work of the last days. Soon afterward, some brothers and sisters from Xiao En’s original church also began to investigate Almighty God’s last days’ work, and by reading Almighty God’s words their notions and difficulties were resolved, and so they accepted Almighty God’s work one after another. Witnessing God’s wondrous deeds, Xiao En’s heart was full of gratitude to God. She appreciated that no enemy force can stand in the way of what God wants to accomplish. Despite the fact that the pastor and elders spared no pains to disturb and block believers from coming before Almighty God, after recognizing God’s voice, some believers still returned before God’s throne one by one, for God’s sheep can hear God’s voice. Just as God’s words say, “The work of God is like mightily surging waves. No one can detain Him, and no one can halt His footsteps. Only those who listen carefully to His words, and who seek and thirst for Him, can follow His footsteps and receive His promise. Those who do not shall be subjected to overwhelming disaster and deserved punishment.”