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quickspinner · 4 years

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Killer Combo - Ch 2 Pinch Hitter

She lost. Again. Marinette kind of wanted to scream, but she just put her controller down as calmly as she could and stepped out of her pyrapod, giving herself a little mental pep talk about how she was doing better against him. Not well enough to beat him in the finals, but she’d get there.. This event was a huge con hosting multiple competitions in different leagues, so the pyrapods were all in a row and gated off from the general public. Luka, it turned out, was only a couple down from hers and she nearly ran into him as he emerged.

“Hey,” he said, flashing a grin. Marinette felt the flush beginning as her heart raced. Damn the man, why did he have to be so cute? “You’re still amazing,” Luka commented, shaking his head as he offered his hand to shake as always. “I can always count on you to give me a real fight.”

Marinette’s lips twisted as she shook his hand. “Do you compliment your male opponents this much?”

“I would if they were as good as you,” Luka replied easily, seeming unbothered by her tone. “Not many are.”

“I’m not going to date you,” Marinette blurted, and almost bit her tongue off in horror, but Luka just laughed.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Luka grinned, gesturing for her to go ahead of him down the walkway. “Do you get asked out a lot in competitions?”

Marinette huffed. “Propositioned is more like it. And that’s putting it politely.”

Luka went quiet for a moment, his face suddenly serious. “I’m sorry that’s happened to you. That’s not right.”

Marinette was silent for a moment, struck by his sincere tone. Luka looked like he was struggling with whether or not to say more, but he didn’t. “Thank you,” she said finally.

He gave her a rueful smile. “Please don’t thank me for being a decent human being, it erodes my faith in humanity.”

Marinette snorted. “Try being me for a day.”

Luka nudged her shoulder with his arm as they both moved towards the exit gate. “No thanks. I don’t think I could handle it. You must be tougher than your mech to put up with the amount of crap you get.”

Marinette’s lips twisted as she tried not to smile. He was too sweet, too genuine, and she was horrifyingly close to admitting to herself that she was moving well beyond like and into massive crush territory.

She hated that territory. The last guy had been nice too and it turned out that rejection sucked no matter how nice someone was about it.

“Not from everybody,” she shrugged, avoiding his eyes. “The nice people make the jerks easier to put up with. And the league is cracking down on the nastier trash talk, so that helps.” She was pretty sure he had something to do with that. He’d continued to complain loudly in his interviews about enforcement of the sportsmanship guidelines, and several of the magazines were starting to smell the kind of exposé that made sponsorship committees nervous. Marinette herself had gotten voicemails from media people wanting to talk to her about what it was like to be a girl in the league. Ergo he was at least partially responsible for the current crackdown—and was probably, it occurred to her suddenly, taking some flack for it. She should ask around. Not that she could really do much about it, even if people would talk to her.

On the one hand, she wondered why he cared so much. It certainly didn’t affect him the way it affected people like Marinette and Max. But then, thinking that way felt like a disservice to him. Luka just seemed like the kind of person who didn’t let unfairness and injustice slide.

That might be the crush talking though.

“Good, it’s about time they finally did something,” Luka snorted, snapping her back to reality. “Well, good luck in the two-on-two.” He held open the gate for her as they both exited the player arena.

Marinette’s face fell. “Oh. I’m not playing.”

Luka turned to look at her, eyes wide. “What? Why not, you guys have been rocketing up the ladder, why would you stop?”

“Not by choice,” Marinette shrugged. “Max is sick. Really sick. I can’t play without a partner.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’d be tempted to try honestly but those are the rules.” And without her partner, they would forfeit all the matches scheduled in this event. At the level they were at, that was bad. Very bad.

“Is he going to be okay?” Luka asked, concern furrowing his brow.

Stop being so nice! she thought at him irritably. “He’ll be fine eventually, but he’s pretty miserable right now,” she replied, trying to keep her tone light despite her frustration with the whole situation. “He actually doesn’t get sick very often but when he does it takes him down hard, and we don’t have an alternate. Our friend Adrien used to fill in but he went to school abroad and we didn’t think to find a replacement.”

“Man, that really sucks,” Luka sighed. “I mean I’m sorry he’s feeling so bad, but also for you guys to go down like that after all that work this close to the playoffs. I know how passionate you are about…” He paused, and chewed his lip for a moment. Marinette looked at him curiously as Luka’s eyes flicked to the tournament screen, and back to Marinette. “Let’s do it,” he said.

“What?” Marinette asked, eyes widening slightly.

“You need a partner, I’ll be your partner,” Luka shrugged. “I don’t know how good I’ll be, you know I don’t usually play two-on-two, but I’ll follow your lead and do my best. Even if we only win a couple, that’s better than having to forfeit them all, right?”

“Y-you’d do that for me?” Marinette stared at him blankly. “Why?”

Luka shrugged, flashing that easy smile that made her heart flutter. “It’s not a hardship, I’m hanging around anyway, and I like to play. I can pinch hit for a couple of weeks if you need it, or at least today.”

“But you have your own matches to worry about,” Marinette protested, but Luka just laughed.

“If you can handle both, then so can I,” he told her. “And if I start losing because I’m playing in both, then maybe I’m not as good as I thought I was, since you play both in every event. Come on, let me help,” he added as he saw the undecided look on her face. “I don’t want you to lose rank over something you couldn’t control.” He grinned as he saw her give in. “Where do I sign up?”

“This way,” Marinette said, grabbing his hand without thinking and pulling him through the crowd. Her face heated when she realized what she had done, but he wasn’t pulling away and had even closed his hand over hers. His hands were so big compared to hers.

They didn’t get very far before the sudden crush of the con crowd halted their progress.

“This crowd is insane,” he muttered, nearly knocking into her from behind. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” panted Marinette, too focused on her goal to freak out about him being pressed against her. “But we’ve got to get through here before they close the registration.”

She felt his hum of agreement against her back, and then felt him stiffen. “Cover your ears,” he said, and as soon as she’d done so, he bellowed over the crowd. “Hey, Ivan! I need a way through, can you help me out?”

Marinette looked up at him, and he grinned down at her. “Hang on to your spots and get ready to move, Ladybug, the cavalry's coming,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Luka, what—”

“No time, just follow my lead,” Luka said, watching something that she was too short to see. “Okay, here he comes. Let’s go.”

Suddenly there was room to breathe around them again, but Marinette didn’t have time to, because Luka practically hauled her off her feet and dragged her through the suddenly much thinner crowd.

“You’re the best, man, I owe you one,” she heard Luka call. “Can you get us to registration?”

She didn’t hear the answer but they started moving forward again.

“They don’t call him the Bull for nothing,” Luka chuckled breathlessly. “Sorry for the manhandling, I didn’t want to lose you. We’re almost there.” Marinette got a glimpse of a broad back in a black t-shirt plowing the way ahead of them. Luka followed, pulling her along beside him in the big man’s wake. He was strong under that ratty hoodie, she realized, trying to keep up and on her feet.

Then suddenly they were standing at the registration desk, and Luka let her go, making sure she was steady before he took his hands off her completely. “You okay?” he asked. “That was kind of rough, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, I’m fine,” Marinette said, “Just a little ruffled.” She reached for the hem of her tank top, which had ridden up and twisted as Luka dragged her. Luka’s eyes darted to her exposed stomach and away again quickly.

“Sorry,” he said, though she wasn’t sure for what exactly, and turned away from her to the big man, exchanging a handshake and a shoulder bump that made him stagger. “Hey, thanks Ivan, I owe you one.”

Marinette got her shirt untwisted and pulled it down, resettled her hoodie on her shoulders, and then stepped forward to add her thanks.

“Hey, no problem, Ladybug,” Ivan grinned. “I’m a big fan. Almost as big a fan as this guy.” He slapped Luka’s back, and Marinette looked at him, eyes widening slightly. Luka stared over her head at the registration lines, but she thought he was maybe blushing a little. Maybe it was just the heat from the crowd, though. Or wishful thinking on her part.

“Sorry if this is a dumb question,” Luka began, still staring at the signs over the registration table. “But alphabetically are you registered under Ladybug or Lucky Charm?”

“Lucky Charm,” Marinette said, grinning at him. “But it doesn’t matter, they’re the same line.”

The pink on his cheeks got darker. “Oh. Right.”

“You better sharpen up before game time,” Marinette teased, slapping his arm.

“Don’t worry, Ladybug, I won’t let you down,” he grinned, with a wink that made her knees weak.

It took some time, a little diplomacy, and a little bit of bluster to get Viperion added as an alternate for Team Lucky Charm and then to get them back on the roster for the day. Fortunately, their matches hadn’t been registered as forfeits yet and his individual rank was close enough to Marinette’s that the registrars couldn’t refuse. Marinette silently thanked Max for all of those boring lectures on the rules that she’d only half-listened to at the time, but which had been repeated so often that she was able to quote the appropriate rules back any time they questioned her.

“Team Lucky Charm,” the guy at the computer muttered, shaking his head. “You guys are lucky, it’s been so busy this morning we haven’t had a chance to cancel out your matches. Now that we’ve got him registered as an alternate, I’ll just swap Viperion in for Pegasus...there. And you’re good to go.”

“That was impressive,” Luka commented as they walked away from the table.

“Thanks,” Marinette said, grabbing Luka’s arm so they didn’t get separated. “We should talk strategy. We don’t have time to set up a full code.”

“Code?” Luka asked, squeezing along through the crowd with her.

“All four players are on the same channel, so most players use a code to keep their opponents off guard. But that takes time and practice and we’re not going to have that, but we can come up with a few simple things. Every little advantage we can get is a help. Your ability combo is so unusual and nobody plays like you, so that’s in our favor. Figuring out how we can complement each other, that’s going to be the hard part.”

Luka pulled his arm free and put it around her shoulders, guiding her in a different direction. “Let’s go to the food court, it’s late enough that it’ll have cleared out. We can grab something to eat and get some breathing room.”

“Good idea,” Marinette agreed, glancing at his hand on her shoulder. “We can call Max and see if he has any insight. I’m sure he’s watching the livestream no matter how crappy he feels.”

Luka was right; the food court wasn’t exactly empty but it was significantly less crowded than the rest of the con.

“Why don’t you grab a table?” Marinette suggested. “I can get us some food. My treat, since you’re helping me out.”

“No need, but I’m not going to turn you down,” he grinned down at her, and then pulled his arm back quickly as he realized it was still around her shoulders. “Ah, sorry,” he said. “I’m a little hands on, I know. I’ll be more careful, but please tell me if I make you uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable wasn’t the word she would have used. “You’re fine. I mean it’s fine,” she corrected hurriedly, and wanted to smack herself. She didn’t want to be back in this place. She wasn’t going to let it happen again. Just focus on the game, Marinette told herself firmly, adjusting her Ladybug hoodie around her shoulders. Marinette might turn into a blushing, babbling mess in front of guys she liked but Ladybug played to win.

With that in her mind, she managed to keep it together long enough for them to eat lunch and work out some simple codes for the most important combos.

“Your playing style is so unique,” Marinette fretted, munching on the remains of her fries. “Honestly, it might be best if you just kind of do what you do and let me work around you.”

Luka nodded thoughtfully as he finished his mouthful. “You’re adaptable,” he agreed. “You’re really good at improvising on the spot. I keep thinking I’ve got you and you pull something crazy out.” He grinned at her. “It’s why playing you is such a blast.” He sighed. “I just hope I don’t slow you down.”

Marinette snorted. “Like you do every time we play?”

Luka laughed. “I promise not to do it on purpose this time.”

“I promise to stay out of your way,” Marinette giggled back.

“Despite your different approaches,” Max’s thick, scratchy voice came from the phone on the table between them. “The combination of your abilities presents intriguing possibilities. Whatever happens today, we’ll study the results for the next events.” He coughed and both Luka and Marinette winced at the sound. “Do you require my assistance any further?”

“No, we’ve got it, Max,” Marinette told him. “Get some rest and drink that tea Maman sent over.”

“I’m already on my third cup,” Max replied thickly. “I wish you both best of luck, and Viperion—Luka—I am grateful for your assistance. Please look after my partner.”

“You got it, Max,” Luka said, leaning over the phone slightly. “Glad I could help out. Take it easy and feel better.”

“Goodbye.”

Marinette shut the phone off thoughtfully. “Really, this could work out,” she said, talking almost more to herself than Luka. “Our abilities balance pretty well. We’re going to lack some of Max’s high-powered precision strikes but if you can land your status effects then we’ve got more time to hammer at their weak points, and I’ve got enough armor to make up for yours.” She made a face. “That’s how you always get me, your attacks aren’t that powerful but you hit me with that stupid Slow and—” she made a frustrated noise, and Luka laughed again.

She loved his laugh.

“I can’t really say I’m sorry,” he grinned, pushing the remains of his meal away. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I did.”

“Not for a moment,” she agreed, and his grin widened, and she had to look away. Luka looked at his phone and started picking up their trash.

“We better get going,” he said, reaching for hers. “Are you done?”

“Oh, yes,” Marinette leaned back, letting him take it. “Thank you.”

They cleaned up and made their way through the crowd, and the next few minutes were a familiar whirlwind as they were sorted into their team pyrapods and matched up. Luka and Marinette put on their headsets and picked up their controllers. The match announcers began to read out the rules. Marinette paid very little attention but when she glanced at Luka had a small crinkle between his brows, apparently listening intently. That was good, she supposed. She felt him take a slow, deep breath next to her as the countdown appeared on the screen.

As they had planned, their mechs both attacked in sync as soon as the countdown was over.

“Well, well,” one of their opponent’s voices drawled in their ears. “Viperion himself, come down to join the masses in the co-op? I feel honored.”

“First time for everything,” Viperion murmured back, most of his attention on keeping the damage-dealing mech pinned down while Ladybug’s more powerful attacks slammed into the defender. The taunting and jabs continued, escalating as Viperion and Ladybug held their own. It wasn’t as easy as it was with Pegasus. Pegasus’ weakness as a player was his formulaic approach and rigid strategy; it was part of why he didn’t play one on one. Individually, he was too easy to predict, but Ladybug’s flexibility and creative thinking combined with Pegasus’ precision strikes made them a powerful team.

Viperion was less predictable than Pegasus, and more than once they found themselves in each other’s way despite their hurried planning. They recovered quickly each time, though it was costing them little by little.

It was a close fight and Ladybug was beginning to resign herself to a loss when a flash of inspiration hit her.

“Hey Viperion,” she said suddenly. “You remember our third match?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Can you do that again?

She actually heard the grin in his voice. “Just tell me when, Bug.”

When she’d wondered after that match why he didn’t use that attack more often, Max had theorized that the ability’s short duration required extremely precise timing and that most of Viperion’s other attacks weren’t fast enough to capitalize on the follow up. When he’d used it on Ladybug, the recurring damage from his Venom Strike hit just at the critical moment, and had been enough to finish her off in the short moment before the ability wore off.

The thing was, Viperion might not have a good follow up attack, but Ladybug did.

Marinette concentrated on getting their opponents set up, and then triggered her own attack as she snapped, “Now!”

Viperion triggered his stun attack right on cue. Their opponents tried to counter just as Ladybug had months ago, and it didn’t work any better for them than it did for her. The targeted mecha was frozen in place just long enough for the Bug Bomb Ladybug had triggered to soar in and take the enemy down in a series of dramatic explosions. The other mecha tried to finish them off, but slowed and crippled by the Venom Strike that had been chipping away at it since the first engagement, it couldn’t move fast enough to do the damage needed, nor avoid a repeat of that killer combo once Viperion’s stun ability had recharged.

Luka whooped and threw up his arms next to her. Marinette winced; he was loud when he wanted to be.

“That was amazing! You were amazing. Man, what a rush.”

“Easy Viperion,” Marinette murmured. “That was only the first round.”

“Right, sorry,” he said, bouncing slightly on his toes. “Right. I’m ready.”

Marinette gave him an amused side glance as their mics went dead. “What happened to that chill guy who kept kicking my ass?”

Luka snorted. “I’ve never manage to deliver anything remotely like an ass-kicking when I play you. I always just edge you out, at best. I seem to recall getting beat more than a few times over the last couple months.” He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and admitted, “And there was never anywhere near this much pressure. If I lose, I lose; but I definitely don’t want to be the reason you lose.”

“Hey,” Marinette looked up at him, catching his arm and tugging him until he was looking back at her. “No matter what happens,” she said firmly, looking into his eyes as best she could in the dim light, “You can’t possibly be the reason I lose. You’re the reason I got to play. So thank you for that. Now, I know you play your best when you’re relaxed so do whatever you need to do to get rid of the nerves because we’ve got five minutes until we’re up again.”

“Right,” Luka said, setting his controller down on the counter. “Can you give me a warning when we’ve got about a minute left?”

“Yeah,” Marinette blinked. “Sure.”

Luka’s eyes flicked sideways at her. “Don’t laugh,” he said, “I swear it helps.” He faced forward and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His fingers closed in front of him in what she recognized as a meditation pose.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. Huh. Well, whatever works for him.

Marinette bounced lightly on her toes, trying not to distract her partner, and thought over the match, trying to think of ways she could compensate for their issues. At the one minute mark, she tapped Luka’s elbow lightly, and when he came out of his meditation or breathing exercise or whatever it was, she spoke quickly. He nodded at her suggestions, and then they picked up their controllers as the countdown began.

***

“Well,” Luka sighed, holding his phone between them so that they could both see the rankings after the day’s matches. “It’s...better than a bunch of forfeits right?”

“It’s pretty good, actually,” Marinette agreed, nodding. It wasn’t the kind of jump they usually made, but they had actually climbed just a little bit, though they’d lost the match that would have given them the biggest jump. What mattered most was that they had won the matches that would have knocked them down if they lost. “We held our own. At least we still stand a chance. Hey,” she said, turning to Luka and looking up at him. “Thanks for playing with me today. I really appreciate it and it was incredibly nice of you. I hate to ask for more, but...would you be interested in being our alternate for the next event? Max might be better by then, but honestly I’m not counting on it. Whatever he got just hit him a day or so ago.”

“Sure, you can count me in for whatever you need until Max is better,” he shrugged, that easy-going smile on his face. “I’m assuming you’d rather meet up ahead of time for the next one, though?” He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her. “I don’t want Max to have a relapse, or worse, at the thought of us winging it again.”

“True,” Marinette giggled, handing him her own phone. They each programmed in their own numbers, and traded back again.

“Cool,” Luka said as he put his things in his pocket. “Pressure aside, that was really a lot of fun. Thanks for—”

“Don’t you dare,” Marinette interrupted him, raising a warning finger. “I’m the only one doing the thanking today. You did me a favor, big time, and I really appreciate it.”

“Well,” Luka looked down for a moment, and then back into her face with a smile. “I was glad to do it. I had just as much fun playing with you as against you, so. I’m looking forward to doing it again. Not that I hope Max stays sick, but…” He grinned and winked as he turned to go. “Call me if you need me.”

At least, Marinette reflected as she watched him go, Max wasn’t there to tease her about her red face this time.

#quickspins #killer combo #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #gamer au #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #ml fics

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snowdice · 5 years

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The Horror of Stereotypes (Part 3)[Dice Roll 6]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Remus/Logan/Patton with Remus/Logan focus (more pre-romantic considering the situation), Remus & Roman, Logan/Patton (established, but not at the forefront for most of it)

Characters:

Main: Remus, Logan

Appear: Roman, Patton, Deceit (but blink and you’ll miss it)

Summary: There had always been a certain stereotype about people like him for as long as anyone could remember. After the Heart War of 1963, those stereotypes had been legalized and places like this had been created to enforce the universal truth: everyone had a soulmate. One soulmate. No more and no less.

At least they were supposed to.

When Remus’s brother gets arrested because of his two soulmarks, Remus risks everything by infiltrating the facility he legally should be in as well due to his own two soulmates to save him. There he meets Logan and it turns out they have a lot in common: they both got hired this week, they both have two soulmates, and they’re both here for the same reason.

Oh. And as it turns out, they’re each other’s soulmates too.

Universe: Soulmate AU

Genre: Horror (Yeah, it’s a fun combo. The horror vibe is mostly contained to chapter 3 though. It’s all still horrifying, but that specific tone is pretty much only there.)

Notes: Torture, Torture of a main character, Dystopian, Blood, Guns, Gunshot wounds, Leg wounds, Mentions of Desecrating an Animal Corpse by a Main Character, Imprisonment, Mentions of Cannibalism, Genocide Suggested, Sexual Innuendo, Fear, A tasteless but not serious incest joke, Medical procedures.

This is part of my Roll the Dice Event which is where I do random ships, universe, and genres for the Sanders Sides fandom. For more details see this post. I posted a few days ago my results from this dice roll here.

Look I have no idea how to write horror, but I’m pretty proud of the vibe I managed to get going there for this chapter even if it isn’t the most spectacular horror piece ever. It was fun to step outside my comfort zone with it.

Part 1 Part 2

Remus was smarter about the second night. Gavin was clearly a control freak and didn’t want to leave more than one teammate in the office without him there, likely believing they’d conspire against him. Which… in this case… was true, but it was still annoying as hell. So, Remus slipped Logan his phone number during lunch with a note and at a bit past 5, Remus told everyone he was going home and hid in the bathroom again.

He got a text from an unknown number an hour latter that Gavin had left, and Logan was alone in the office. Perfect. When Remus returned to the office, Logan had shut off all the lights in the front, but there was a light coming from the door to the design room. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

“We’re alone,” Remus said. Logan nodded and grabbed a bag from under his desk.

“I brought food,” Logan said, pulling a smaller bag out and opening it. He took out a couple of sandwiches, apples, and bottles of water. “We should eat now.” He sat one of each object together in front of the chair next to him and took a bite of his own sandwich.

Remus obeyed the silent instructions and took a seat next to him, turning the chair so they were facing each other, their knees almost knocking together.

“I hope it suffices,” Logan said when Remus took a bit.

“Well I would have preferred lobster,” Remus said. Logan frowned at him. “It’s a joke, dork,” Remus said rolling his eyes.

Logan gave him a cool look. “I see.”

Well now it was awkward. Remus took another bite of his sandwich.

Logan ate neatly and quickly, taking a drink of water before he spoke. “What is your plan?” he asked.

“My plan for what?” Remus asked through a mouthful of food.

Logan gave him a droll look. “To find your brother and get him out of this place.”

“Oh, that plan,” Remus said. Logan watched him expectantly. “It’s a bit of a work in progress.”

“You don’t…” Logan said taking a breath and pinching his brow. “You don’t have a plan?!”

“I was sort of winging it.”

“Well we are not doing that.”

“Oh yeah,” Remus pouted, “then what’s your plan, Brainiac?”

Logan turned to the console and clicked a few buttons. The screen on the wall next to them lit up, and a blueprint of what looked like the entire facility appeared. “There are four levels of this building,” Logan explained. “Each requiring a different security level to get into. This floor includes offices like ours as well as the general containment pens. The two floors below us are the ‘interrogation’ rooms and housing for those in those systems, the lower level being for more high-profile cases. Below those levels is what most people working here think is just for maintenance, which, it does in fact have things like plumbing and electrical wiring as well as storage for the janitorial staff.”

“But?”

Logan pushed a few more buttons to bring up a map of the bottom floor. Remus scanned the floorplan, committing as much of it to memory as he could. “But it has a few more things down there as well. Specifically, the room where they store records for this place.”

“What kind of records?”

“The kind that, among other things, tell us the exact location of every prisoner in this place.”

“Including Roman and Patton.”

“Yes. Including Roman and Patton.” He paused and reached into the larger bag again, pulling some things out. “I managed to get a key card that should work to get us down there, and I’ll be able to unload the information onto this.” He held up the flash drive. “From there it’ll just be extracting them and getting into the getaway car I have prepared in the woods.”

“Oh,” Remus said. “That’s a good plan.”

“I am aware. Are you prepared to go?”

“Uh,” Remus blinked at him. “Now?”

“This is happening as quickly as I can possibly make it happen,” his eyes bore into Remus with the intensity of hellfire. “I will go by myself if you don’t come.”

“No, no,” Remus said putting his hands up. “I’m coming.”

Logan nodded and pressed a button before he got to his feet. “Good.” He tossed him a mask from the bag. “Wear that. I’ll flip the cameras off on the first floor for 10 minutes. No one should notice them looping at this time of day and that way, no one will know where we came from. Let’s go.”

Remus shoved the mask over his face and hopped to his feet, having to hurry after Logan as he left the office. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, walking with a purposeful stride. They got to the elevator and Logan swiped a card over the sensor in front of it.

“We take the elevator down two floors, but then we have to use a staircase to get to the bottom floor,” he said once they stepped inside.

“Okay,” Remus agreed.

He didn’t think either of them had realized exactly what that meant.

The second the elevator doors opened, they could hear screaming. Logan inhaled sharply next to him but made no other sound. Neither of them moved until the elevator doors started to close. Remus shot his arm out to stop them. Logan moved then, stepping out of the elevator and into the hallway. Remus followed behind him.

Logan took the time to take a shaky breath and then started walking, his steps far less sure than they had been upstairs. The screaming didn’t let up, the voices blended together, and shrieks and begging echoed down the corridor. Remus had wondered the day before how going up to the pens upstairs could be a reward. He understood now.

His ears caught something through the sounds of pain and misery right as they were about to turn a corner. He reached out and snagged Logan by the back of the shirt. He flinched at the sudden touch, on edge from where they were, but managed to not make any sound other than a soft gasp. Remus pressed them into a darker corner, turned Logan to face him, and put a finger over his own lips.

The footsteps Remus had heard grew closer as well as the sound of two voices. One of the voices mumbled something and the other one barked out a laugh: a high-pitched sound that made it feel like bugs were crawling up Remus’s spine. He and Logan locked eyes. The footsteps passed. Remus nodded and Logan nodded back. Then they were moving again.

They made it to a door and Logan stopped, fingers fumbling for the keycard and almost dropping it. He pressed it against the sensor, but he was shaking so hard that it didn’t take. Remus wrapped his hand around his wrist to steady it, and the door beeped softly as it unlocked. The door closed behind them, shutting out the noise, but not the knowledge of it.

“There’ll be a guard down here,” Logan breathed. Remus nodded his understanding and they proceeded with caution.

The silence of this level, broken only by the sound of their breathing and their footsteps, was all the more spine-chilling with the echo of the last level still in their ears. There were giant pipes along the side of this main hall that Remus didn’t know the use for. The hall twisted and turned. They passed a few doors, but Logan didn’t even glance at them in this maze. He knew where they were going.

Remus heard a sharp sound in the distance and narrowed his eyes. He tapped Logan on the shoulder who looked back at him. He jerked his head toward a cart filled with what looked like spare parts and, without a word, they hid behind it together. They waited. After a few long moments, a man strolled by, whistling happily and walked into one of the rooms they’d just passed. The sound of his tune slowly faded away.

They got back to their feet and continued on their way even more cautiously if that were possible. Finally, they made it to the correct door, and Logan swiped the key card once again to get in. Remus followed him inside and watched as he hurried up to the computer and stuck the flash drive in before starting to type faster than Remus had ever seen anyone type. After a few moments, he stopped typing and Remus watched as the flash drive started to flash blue. They watched it in silence for almost a whole minute before it stopped flashing and went a solid blue. Logan ripped it from the computer and typed something else before turning to him.

Remus shot him a thumbs up and poked his head out into the hallway. He didn’t hear or see anything, so he slowly crept out of the room and held the door open for Logan. The door snapped shut and they both flinched as it echoed down the long hall, but nothing happened. They both took a breath before turning to walk back the way they came.

Remus froze when he heard whistling start up, nowhere near close, but the direction it was in wasn’t good for them. It was far away, but down a very long hallway. He grabbed Logan to try to pull him out of view of where the man was sure to be in a second, but it was too late.

“Hey, who are you?!” a man’s voice yelled from the doorway at the end of the hall.

Remus met Logan’s eyes. “Run.”

They ran, and they ran fast, but they could hear the man running after them. They tore down the main hallway and Remus knew there was absolutely no way they’d be able to get out of the door without being caught and even if they did, someone on the floor above would likely notice the commotion.

His eyes lit on something and he suddenly remembered the plans of this place he’d seen. He grabbed Logan’s arm and pulled roughly. The man stumbled after him as they changed course, down what looked like a dead end, but Remus ducked under the large pipe and jumped up onto a ledge behind it, finding one of the service doors that was hidden there. Upon seeing it, Logan was immediately with him completely. Remus tore open the door and it luckily didn’t squeak. He jumped up inside it and Logan smashed himself in behind him and closed the door carefully, plunging them into absolute darkness.

If they got caught in here, it was over. There wasn’t anywhere to go, and they were smashed in against each other tightly, but that was only if their pursuer knew about and remembered these little nooks existed. They panted, their breath mingling.

“Is that a flash drive in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” Remus asked under his breath.

“Is now really the time?” Logan hissed.

“Sorry,” Remus whispered back. “It’s how I cope.” Logan just puffed out a shaky breath against Remus’s cheek.

A cheery sharp whistle cut through the air from somewhere close to their hiding place. Logan jumped, but luckily didn’t make a sound. Remus wrapped his arms around his back and pulled him tight against his chest. The footsteps moved on a bit. “He’s trying to freak us out,” Remus breathed into his ear. “Don’t fall for it.” Remus felt his face rub against his chest as he nodded sharply, and hands tightly gripped the front of his shirt.

“You know,” the man’s voice called. It was an aimless call, getting a bit louder and softer, likely as he turned in a circle to address the room as a hole. Good. He didn’t know their location. “I was actually hired as an interrogator here, but I was too good at it.” He whistled again, sharp and high. Logan flinched against him. “I kinda broke everyone but, you know, not just in the way they wanted.”

Logan was not made for all of this, Remus thought as he shook just a bit against his chest. He hadn’t known the man long, but Remus imagined he was probably made more for coffee shops and chalkboards and using fabric bookmarks instead of whatever paper like thing he could find around like Remus did. He wondered briefly what it would have been like to meet him in a library or college classroom. How could it have been different if their first touch had not been riddled with anxiety and fear? Who was Logan when he could just be Logan and not whoever he was in this place? Remus did not know. Yet, Remus couldn’t help but admire how well he was holding up, silent and composed despite his shaking.

His fingers started tapping a pattern against Remus’s arm. One-two-three-four, pause. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven, pause. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight, pause. A breathing exercise, Remus realized as he inhaled and exhaled to the beat, to keep himself calm.

“See I get mad really easy,” the man said outside the door. He was walking toward their hiding place now, and Remus hoped it was luck and not that he had an idea of where they could be. Logan’s fingers stuttered, unable to keep up the pattern. Remus began tapping his fingers against Logan’s back for him.

“I’m not too mad now. I’d probably just incapacitate you and then turn you over. You wouldn’t get interrogated by me then. Like I said, there’s a reason why I’m a security guard now. So, you’d probably be much better off. Here’s the thing. You hiding? That’s making me very angry and no one’s going to be around till morning if I don’t call ‘em. We’d have a lot of time to play.” He was very close now and Remus could feel Logan’s fingernails dig into his skin. “So, what do you say?” he asked. “Wanna come out now?” Remus felt Logan shake his head. Remus tapped him a bit more insistently on the back.

“Come on,” the voice entreated and finally, finally muffled a bit as the man turned in a different direction. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” the voice started to fade as he walked away. Remus let out a harsh breath and rubbed Logan’s arms a bit as though trying to warm him up.

They stayed there for hours, long after the man stopped speaking to them and seemingly gave up. They stayed until an hour before they had to be back in the office, pressed up against each other and barely whispering a word. It wouldn’t do to go missing though and it was best to leave when the morning and night shifts were likely switching, so they exited their hiding place a quietly as they could. Remus’s muscles were aching, and he was exhausted. He was sure the same held for Logan. Remus looked at him when they were finally in the light again. His clothing was soaked through with sweat from the stress and from being in the warm little space all night. Remus could feel that he was in a similar state.

“We need a change of clothes,” Remus breathed, still not willing to put noise into the world. Logan nodded tightly. They snuck back upstairs as carefully as they could and managed not to get caught. Logan had the foresight to bring himself a change of clothes and he had some sweats and a sweater in case the office was cold stored away in his desk that Remus was able to fit into. It wasn’t exactly his style, but it was less conspicuous than wearing the sweat soaked outfit he wore yesterday. They washed up in the bathroom sink side-by-side.

Logan met his eyes in the mirror, looking exhausted and strung out. They needed to report to the office in 10 minutes. “It’s going to be a long day.” It was the first thing either of them had said above a whisper in hours.

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AO3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

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breannacasey · 4 years

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Fic Masterpost

Since I just made it to 100 posted works on my ao3 since I created it in January 2014, I thought I’d make a masterpost on here of all of them to celebrate. Also, shameless self promo. I’ll also include some of my upcoming things, because they would make it 100 without counting the translations.

I’ll put them by fandom and in the order I started writing for each fandom. And I’ll put a ⭐ next to my personal favourites. And 🌟 for my faves of faves.

Fandoms I’ve written for in alphabetical order: 911, 911 Lone Star, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Criminal Minds, Hannibal, Harry Potter, House md, Leverage, Limitless, Lucifer, New Amsterdam, Prodigal Son, Sherlock, Supergirl, Supernatural, White Collar

Total per rating: General (21), Teen and Up (72), Mature (7)

Total per warning: No Archive Warning Applies (85), Chose Not To Use Warnings (1), Major Character Death (10), Graphic Depictions of Violence (3), Rape/Non-Con (1)

Supernatural (10 works)

Let Me Go (series, 2 works, 1 354 words, Teen) Castiel/Dean Winchester: Dean Winchester struggles with suicidal thoughts.

A Crowley Valentine (one shot, 1 899 words, Gen) Castiel/Dean Winchester: It’s Valentine’s Day and Crowley is tired of Dean and Cas not admitting that they’re in love with each other so he decides to take action.

Never Stop Fighting (multi chapter, 9 chapters, 21 274 words, Teen, Graphic Depictions of Violence) Castiel/Dean Winchester, Lucifer/Original Female Character: The brothers go investigate a weird occurrence but they end up rescuing someone who might be able to help them fight Metatron and put heaven back in business. But could she have an agenda of her own?

Demon Love (one shot, 1 117 words, Teen) Castiel/Dean Winchester: Dean uses his demon powers not exactly in the deadly way Crowley had hoped.

There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done (one shot, 1 076 words, Gen, Major Character Death) Castiel/Dean Winchester: Dean dies and goes to heaven

A Different Kind Of Family (one shot, 1 455 words, Teen) Castiel/Dean Winchester: Sam and Dean go on a hunt for what turns out to be zombies.

A Good Combo (multi chapter, 5 chapters, 11 680 words, Teen, Pizza Place AU) Castiel/Dean Winchester and more: Castiel meets Dean at a weird time in his life. He just got out of a relationship and, with the death of one of his siblings, he isn’t sure if he is ready to jump into another one just yet.

Please Stay With Me (one shot, 906 words, Gen) Castiel/Dean Winchester: Set some time after 11X04 “Baby”, Castiel is still staying in the bunker, resting and getting better, but the brothers are barely ever there and Dean won’t even stay in the same room with him.

+ one crossover

Criminal Minds (3 works)

Prentiss’ Secret (one shot, 1 209 words, Teen) Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss: Prentiss left the BAU to work in London. Now she’s coming back to help them, but she has a secret.

Outside The Comfort Of Innocence (one shot, 1 354 words, Teen) Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss : As a kid, Emily Prentiss and her family move in next door to the Hotchners. Hotch and Prentiss grow up best friends, but a dark secret brings the real world into their childhood. ⭐

Everybody Loves Halloween (one shot, 991 words, Gen) Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau/Will LaMontagne: Emily comes for Halloween and the Hotchners go trick-or-treating with the LaMontagnes.

Sherlock (8 works)

Filling The Holes (series, 6 works, 8 960 words, Gen, Teen and Mature, Major Character Death) Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty: This is a series that goes on in the spaces between what we see on the show. It takes place after Reichenbach Fall. ⭐

John Watson’s Missing Wednesday (one shot, 854 words, Teen) Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty: At the wedding, Sherlock mentioned a time when John missed an entire wednesday without even noticing, what happened that day?

The Dead Are Busy Too (one shot, 618 words, Gen) Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty: Nearly two years after the events of Reichenbach Fall, Moriarty’s network is close to being a thing of the past.

Harry Potter (20 works)

1998, or the year everything changed (series, 18 works, 77 224 words, Gen, Teen and Mature, Major Character Death) Various ships: A series taking place the months following the Battle of Hogwarts. Each story focuses on a different character, but they all interlock with one another. (aka I didn’t like the epilogue so I made my own.) ⭐

Light in the Darkest of Times (one shot, 742 words, Teen) Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley: Feeling his constant support of Harry Potter in his magazine might cause the Death Eaters to try something, Xenophilius has Luna stay in Hogwarts for the holidays, thinking she’d be safe there. But things aren’t the same in the castle since Dumbledore’s death.

The Potion Master’s Daughter (multi chapter, 14 chapters, 67 001 words, Teen, Major Character Death) Luna Lovegood/Original Female Character and more: Severus Snape had a daughter several years ago. A year behind the famous Harry Potter, she’ll navigate her years at Hogwarts, punctuated with all kinds of events, like the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort’s return. 🌟

Hannibal (1 work)

Love and Dogs (one shot, 137 words, Gen) Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter: Hannibal wakes up at Will’s place

Limitless (10 works)

Screw, Marry, No Kill (one shot, 1 317 words, Teen) Brian Finch/Ike, Brian Finch/Mike: Brian thought having a one night stand with a coworker wasn’t a big deal, but not everyone had the same opinion.

Distracting Thoughts (one shot, 1 508, Teen) Brian Finch/Ike: Brian takes too much NZT and suddenly gains the ability to hear thoughts.

Keep You Safe (one shot, 832 words, Teen) Brian Finch/Ike: Set during 1x22 Finale: Part Two!! With Brian under side effects from the NZT, Ike worries for the man’s life.

Undercover! Again! (one shot, 2 601 words, Teen) Brian Finch/Ike: Brian and Ike are sent on an undercover mission, but things don’t exactly go as planned.

Rebecca Harris’s One Sick (Valentine’s) Day (one shot, 1 137 words, Gen) Rebecca Harris/Lucy Church: Rebecca was about to head off to work, but when a surprise visitor shows up at her door, she has another idea.

The Influence A Person Can Have (multi chapter, 3 chapters, 10 340 words, Teen) Brian Finch/Eli Whitford, Brian Finch/Ike: Sometimes, you meet one person and it changes your whole life. Everything else after that would’ve been different. For Brian, it all comes back to that moment he met Eli. It seems some people are simply meant to enter your life at the right moment, to stir you in the right direction. From figuring out who he is to falling in love for the first time to getting his life together and even meeting the love of his life, Brian’s life wouldn’t have been the same. 🌟

A Little Bit of Ice and Rube Goldberg (one shot, 1 875 words, Teen) Brian Finch/Ike: When freezing rain takes over the city, everyone goes home while it’s still safe outside. Brian insists on finishing what he’s working on, forcing both he and Ike to stay alone in the office to weather the storm.

Fulfilled, Not Finished (one shot, 4 861 words, Teen, Major Character Death) Brian Finch/Ike: When the squad finds a potential witness for their case, Ike volunteers himself and Brian to go check it out. But things take a dark turn. ⭐

Curve Ball Field (one shot, 7 196 words, Teen) Brian Finch: When Brian gets kidnapped for ransom, the CJC isn’t clear on how to handle the situation, or how to reassure his family. 🌟

+ one crossover

House (2 works)

Lean On Me (one shot, 1 414 words, Teen, Major Character Death) Gregory House/James Wilson: A short evolution of House and Wilson’s relationship, from their first meeting to their last. ⭐

Don’t You Know I Care? (one shot, 1 364 words, Teen) Gregoy House/James Wilson: House ended up in a hospital bed, again, but this time the familiar face of Wilson is missing from his bedside.

Supergirl (4 works)

My Hero (one shot, 650 words, Gen) Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor: When Lena gets pushed off her balcony, Supergirl is there to rescue her once again.

When It Starts (one shot, 1 908 words, Gen) Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor: Lena loves being Kara’s friend, but she wouldn’t say no to being more than that.

Hero in Need of Saving (one shot, 2 180 words, Teen) Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor: When a gunman shows up at Catco, Kara gets hurt and ends up stuck in the elevator with Lena and some kryptonite. ⭐

If I Could Find The Way Up (multi chapters, 3 chapters, 4 959 words, Teen) Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor: Lena Luthor is depressed and she doesn’t understand what she calls an obsession for Kara Danvers. Kara who keeps cutting their time together short, maybe on purpose. Lena is struggling to deal with all that pain she feels inside and trying to figure out what she feels around Kara might mean.

Lucifer (1 work)

Grow On Me (one shot, 4 051 words, Mature, College AU) Lucifer Morningstar, Marcus Pierce: Lucifer and Marcus are college roommates. When Lucifer learns Marcus doesn’t have plans for the holidays, he convinces him to come to a cabin with him and pretend to be his boyfriend to get his siblings off his back. ⭐

Prodigal Son (7 works)

Bright Ideas (one shot, 3 560 words, Teen, Graphic Depictions of Violence) Malcolm Bright/JT Tarmel: Because Malcolm is Malcolm, he goes after a suspect on his own and gets taken. And then JT helps.

Unleashed (multi chapter, 8 chapters, 53 452 words, Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence) Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright & Martin Whitly, Gil Arroyo & Martin Whitly, Gil Arroyo/Jessica Whitly: Martin Whitly has escaped. He is finally free to get back at those who have hurt him. Everyone is anxious for him to be found and locked up again. And worried about what he might be planning to do. 🌟

On An Island (one shot, 1 704 words, Teen) Malcolm Bright: While on vacation, Malcolm finds he misses home and reflects on the past.

Shivers and Soup (one shot, 1 340 words, Gen) Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright & Ainsley Whitly, Dani Powell/Ainsley Whitly: Malcolm has a cold and is sent home

Hold You Close (one shot, 2 077 words, Teen) Dani Powell/Ainsley Whitly: Ainsley gets injured while covering the team’s latest case and Dani decides to check on her.

Only One Safe (one shot, 2 609 words, Teen) Dani Powell/Ainsley Whitly, Malcolm Bright & Ainsley Whitly: When blackouts spread across the city, Malcolm’s friends lock him up to make sure he won’t get himself into trouble. He worries about everyone else.

+ one crossover

911 Lone Star (12 works)

Stranded in Smoke (one shot, 2 339 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand: During a fire, the floor collapses under TK’s feet, his radio stops working and he finds himself completely separated from the rest of the crew.

There For You (one shot, 1 235 words, Gen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: When Carlos doesn’t show up to work and cancels their plans, TK wants to make sure he’s okay.

Not Your Choice (one shot, 3 236 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: A man holds up TK’s therapist office and Carlos is the officer sent in to deal with it.

My Only Sunshine (one shot, 2 553 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: Carlos gets hurt while pursuing a suspect and, despite Michelle’s advice, he insists he’s fine and doesn’t need to go to the hospital. He is wrong.⭐

Late Night Bruises (one shot, 2 385 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: TK gets himself into trouble, but Carlos is there to help.

Classic Happiness (one shot, 1 021 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: TK invites Carlos over to the house for their first actual date.

Don’t Leave Me (one shot, 2 384 words, Teen, Major Character Death) Owen Strand & TK Strand, Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: TK had been the one unconscious, on the edge of death before, and he knew it had to hurt for those around him, but he never fully understood what it felt like until he was the one standing over someone he cared deeply about, begging for them to wake up.

A Long Day (one shot, 4 245 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Marjan Marwani & Paul Strickland, Marjan Marwani & TK Strand: Some days, nothing truly bad happens, but without anything good either, small things pile up and drag you down.

Pain Leaves Traces (multi chapter, 3 chapters, 5 958 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand: TK is getting closer to Carlos, but there is still a part of himself he’d rather he didn’t know about.

Stay Behind, Make A Friend (one shot, 524 words, Gen) Carlos Reyes & Paul Strickland: Paul is alone at the firehouse when Carlos shows up, so they hang out.

Another Heart Robbery (one shot, 4 886 words, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand: When the building he’s robbing catches fire, Carlos thinks he’s the most unlucky man on Earth. Then comes a very handsome firefighter. 🌟

Off Balance (multi chapter, in progress, 8/10 chapters, 10 399 words and counting, Teen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Carlos Reyes & Michelle Blake: What Carlos thinks is a simple cut, turns out to be much worse. 🌟

Leverage (4 works)

The Past Job (one shot, 1 565 words, Mature, Rape/Non-Con) Damien Moreau/Eliot Spencer: Damien Moreau learns Eliot wants to leave his organisation. He decides to deal with it himself, and why not enjoy it while he’s at it. ⭐

The Protection Job (one shot, 1 785 words, Teen) Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer: Eliot falls off a roof during a job, leaving Parker and Hardison unprotected. ⭐

+ two crossovers

911 (15 works)

In My Heart (one shot, 2 410 words, Teen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: While on a call, Buck gets exposed to a toxic substance and it makes Eddie put things into perspective.

Worry, Worry, Worry (one shot, 3 238 words, Teen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: No matter how many times Buck gets told that he will be safe, when Eddie accepts to be serial killer bait, Buck worries about him. ⭐

Who’s First? (one shot, 1 322 words, Gen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Howie Han & Hen Wilson: Hen and Chimney bet on who, between Buck and Eddie, will be the one to make the first move.

A Gay Old Time at the Mini Golf (one shot, 2 004 words, Teen) Hen Wilson/Karen Wilson, Evan Buckley & Hen Wilson & Karen Wilson & Michael Grant: When Buck gets woken up by the sounds of people in his apartment, he doesn’t expect the day to turn out so fun.

When Things Are Bad, Better To Laugh It Off (one shot, 1 525 words, Teen) Howie Han & Tommy Kinard, Howie Han & Hen Wilson: The story of how Howie Han became Chimney.

His First Choice (one shot, 1 209 words, Teen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: Buck feels lonely, like everyone around him has a family, someone who cares about them more than anything, but he doesn’t. Turns out he is wrong. ⭐

Always Come By (one shot, 1 196 words, Gen) Evan Buckley & Bobby Nash: Bobby’s afternoon alone is cut short when a sad Buck shows up at his doorstep. ⭐

Beautifully Cold (one shot, 1 463 words, Gen) Bobby Nash & Grant Family, Athena Grant/Bobby Nash: The Grant-Nash family goes on a trip to Minnesota in the middle of winter.

Give Her The Comfort She Needs (multi chapter, 2 chapters, 2 912 words, Teen) Evan Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: Eddie, Buck and Christopher are having a morning like many others when Maddie shows up to take her brother to a funeral he doesn’t seem keen on attending.

Let Me Take Care Of You (one shot, 596 words, Gen) Maddie Buckley/Howie Han: Maddie is sick and Chimney takes care of her.

Loving Exasperation (one shot, 571 words, Gen) Evan Buckley & Maddie Buckley: Maddie comes home for Thanksgiving during her first semester of college. ⭐

At Least We Have Each Other (one shot, 666 words, Teen, Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings) Howie Han & Karen Wilson: Something happened to Hen during a call and Chimney is the one to deliver the news to Karen.

Wait Happy (one shot, 650 words, Gen) Maddie Buckley/Howie Han: After they learn about it themselves, Chimney and Maddie have to wait to tell the others about the pregnancy.

Gratefully Together (one shot, 632 words, Gen) May Grant & Michael Grant: Michael helps May move into her dorm room.

Barbie Boy (one shot, 618 words, Mature) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: Buck’s karaoke performance has quite the effect on Eddie

Crossovers

Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Nobody Picked The Family Business (multi chapter, 6 chapters, 14 796 words, Teen) Dawn Summers/Sam Winchester, Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, Spike/Buffy Summers, Castiel/Dean Winchester: When Sam doesn’t get a scholarship to Stanford, John lets him go to UC Sunnydale, hoping all the stuff going on there will convince him to keep hunting.⭐

White Collar, Leverage and Limitless:

The Grey Area Job (multi chapter, 4 chapters, 15 992 words, Teen) Neal Caffrey/Eliot Spencer, Sophie Devereaux/Nate Ford, Alec Hardison/Parker, Brian Finch/Ike: When he and Peter encounter a particularly complicated case, Neal calls his friend, Sophie Devereaux, for help.

White Collar and Leverage:

The Informant Job (one shot, 2 675 words, Teen) Neal Caffrey/Eliot Spencer: While searching a warehouse, Eliot finds himself in a situation he wasn’t expecting.

Prodigal Son and New Amsterdam:

Stay Right Here (one shot, 5 129 words, Teen) Malcolm Bright, Iggy Frome: After being kidnapped, Malcolm ends up at New Amsterdam to get treated for his injuries.⭐

Traductions

Du Poison (vf de Poison, Supernatural)

Je Tiens à Toi (vf de Don’t You Know I Care?, House)

Quelqu’un Sur Qui Compter (vf de Lean On Me, House)

Une Vie que Personne ne Choisit (vf de Nobody Picked The Family Business, Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Soon

Henren Week: Everything I Need (one shot, 534 words, Gen) Hen Wilson/Karen Wilson: Hen and Karen enjoy a quiet day off together. ⭐

Buddie Week: Good Things Don’t Come Easy (one shot, 1 272 words, Teen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: Eddie couldn’t fall for someone like Evan Buckley, but the heart hardly ever listens to logic. ⭐

Buddie Week: How To Handle Friendship With Smart Idiots (one shot, 836 words, Teen) Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz: Carla is tired of watching Buck and Eddie being oblivious about their feelings for each other, so she decides to get involved.

Tarlos Week: The Best Farmer’s Market Find (one shot, 810 words, Gen) Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Carlos Reyes & Owen Strand: TK wakes up to the sounds of his dad making breakfast, not alone. ⭐

Owen Strand Week: Snow Day in Austin (one shot, 1 060 words, Gen) Owen Strand & TK Strand: Owen has been feeling down and missing the New York winter, but he has an amazing son.

Evan Buckley Week: Under The Stars (one shot, 532 words, Gen) Evan Buckley & Christopher Diaz: Buck and Christopher go camping.

#my fanfic #my post #this post took me way too long to make #but those who bother clicking on it and going through get a sneak peek at my 911week fics #fyi the spn and most limitless fics are older #so i would've had to reread them to pick faves because it's far in my memory hence why they don't have stars #but i do love them

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zwiezraczek · 5 years

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6 + 1 Underground [Four x OC/reader] Chapter 6

SUMMARY: Sasha is a Polish girl, with a strange past. She has various skills, driving amongst others. So she becomes Eight. And you know that Four plus Four is Eight…

CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3 - CHAPTER 4 - CHAPTER 5 - CHAPTER 6: Eight’s Feelings

Sasha shares her thoughts and somehow finds comfort in a friend.

WORDS: 2.3k

TAGLIST (if you want to be part of it, leave a comment! ^^) : @kingniazx @imjustboredso @pandamanda99 @mustbeaweasleyginger @cooliosmosh @lillymitl @boomtownboy @jinxfirebolt18902 @cupidben

Sasha looked up at the sky, the day was intense. The late afternoon sun bathed her skin as she sat on the edge of the backrest of the bench the three of them were on. Seven was smoking his third cigarette by the time, and its smoke spread around her, perfuming her hair that she had let out of the shawl earlier. How uncomfortable she felt in that flowery dress. She regretted not changing her outfit before the coming of the guys to be totally at ease, but now it was too late and she had no intention to go up and to listen to One rambling and screaming – as she did in the car, while driving.

“Is One always such a pain in the ass when you're going on missions,” she finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence they were in for about ten minutes now.

“He's even worse than that,” Four snapped before Seven could actually answer, which made him laugh and cough at the same time. “Let's be real mate, he's absolutely a pain in the ass!”

“I can only agree,” Seven commented, after this coughing moment. “I heard about Florence, your first mini-mission,” Seven said and Four simply nodded, “and I was here after Hong Kong... Yeah, he's absolutely a pain in the ass.”

“Great to know,” Sasha sighed, throwing her head back in annoyance. “He's always so 'leave them alone, they'll be fine' too?” This question burned her lips since the moment he told her to not worry about Four, about a teammate. Her new family. And family is to be protected. Especially when this family is the only link to the living world.

“Left me behind two times, once he came to rescue me,” Four whispered, looking down on his feet on the bench. Sasha could hear sadness in his voice, and she looked at him for longer than intended. Seven threw his cigarette in the sand. “Wanker...”

“Buddy, you remember Hong Kong,” Seven asked before putting his hand on Four's shoulder and Four's puppy eyes rose to look at him. “The boat in the last deadly mission? The desert situation? The infiltration? This morning?”

“Always you,” Four snapped, and she felt hurt. So he didn't even notice that she wanted to put a bullet into One's head. And then it struck her. 'Again'. This was what Seven said to her, 'we won't leave him again'. Sasha remembered how mad she felt in that moment, how her blood boiled for somebody wanting to let one of their teammates behind, how it pissed her off. “No offense,” Four said looking at her before turning back to Seven, “but nobody seemed to care this morning. Fuck me if I'm wrong but...”

“I did,” Sasha interrupted him abruptly. She looked into his eyes with her pale blue ones, and she couldn't seize the emotion in them. Confusion? Gratefulness? Happiness?

“She told Five that if One tells another time that he leaves you behind she'd kill him,” Seven completed and Four seemed absolutely lost. He had lost contact with all of them after the explosion, and he knew that only Seven would look after him during the mission – dragging Three with him. But he never expected Eight to be on his side. But he should have. “That was a power move, girl,” he commented, presenting her his fist to bump it and she gladly did it.

“Nice to know that others care,” Four whispered, ashamed of his assumption about her. She looked back at him, her hand on his shoulder now, and she smiled.

“People do care,” Eight assured, with a comforting smile on her face. “We're not bloody murderers.”

“Three was,” Seven jokingly commented and Sasha just rolled her eyes before looking at him.

“You're ruining the comforting emotional moment now, Seven,” she complained with a chuckle before taking her hand off Four's shoulder and joining her hands.

“My friend, often told me so,” Seven said, a faint smile on his face before looking at her, eyes lighted up. “You heard the story about my friend who cried his eyes out during my funeral and made a full show so One couldn't stand it and made me leave my own funeral?”

“He what,” Sasha repeated, amused by the description of his friend but mostly for One's annoyance.

“This story never fails to make me laugh,” Four said and straightened his back.

“So basically, the guy cried when he watched the Barbie Swan Lake when we were little, no joke,” Seven began with enthusiasm. And for a second, Sasha spaced out.

Ballet. Ballerinas. She missed dancing sometimes. Whenever the subject was brought up, she could feel her whole body tense. She remembered every move she once made, every feeling she had, her mother's eyes too. Sasha tried to focus on Seven's words, but the more she wanted to forget, the more her brain tried to remember. Not too attentively, she listened to Seven's story, smiled and tried to hide the best she could her sad expression.

How she wished to be fifteen again, and to feel her mother's hand on her shoulder.

“You're alright Eight?” Four's voice brought her back to the world of the living, not letting her fully drift away.

“Yes, yes,” she quickly replied, with a little smile. “I spaced out for a moment, nothing to worry about.”

“Still the mission on your mind,” Seven asked, his hand reaching for another cigarette.

“Yeah and... Ballet,” she finally admitted. The words hurt as they came out of her throat. She couldn't believe that she brought this subject herself.

“People tend to block on that part, believe me, Four also did,” Seven said mockingly as Four just slap his back in response which made Seven laugh even more.

“Well, I used to do ballet.” Here she was, sharing her life with these people. This was the fault of the French sunset, its orange colors and the breeze caressing her cheeks.

“Like, ballet ballet,” Four asked, and Sasha rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Yeah, you know, the parkour but you do all in ballet shoes and you bleed and basically you know, nothing too heavy,” she replied with a smirk before Seven picked up on that.

“This explains a lot about you,” and she looked at him, a little bit confused, “you are disciplined and reckless, and you look angelic.” This was literally the first time somebody associated what she did with discipline first, and not being fragile. Not being someone to take care of, but someone who could take care of themselves, someone who was reckless.

“The perfect combo to become a good driver,” she laughed, not being able to hide how happy she was about Seven not judging her fragile.

“The perfect combo to become a good person,” Four added, and Sasha just looked at him, struck by what he just said. This was sweet and kind. His eyes were shining, he was probably grateful and she smiled, thankful.

~~~

Sasha spent the night talking with Five, both of them venting about One – who clearly felt better now – and his mood swings that both of them had to experience during that day. Laying one next to the other, they exchanged bed secrets just like the ladies did a long time ago. Sasha spoke about her mother even more than usual, mentioning how Seven talked about ballet today and how it brought back some memories to her.

How vivid her mother's expression was. How vivid her mother's eyes were in front of hers. How painful it was to feel this way again, as she was so far from home, far from where her heart stayed. She hid her mouth under the blankets, as Five looked at her with a tender smile. Sasha had found somebody who would listen to her, somebody she could listen to, somebody she wouldn't be ashamed to tell what she felt. Five became her friend. And she would never exchange this soul sister for anything in the world. She smiled as she looked at her, and Five giggled as she snuggled against hair. Amelia. Her name was Amelia. This was what One never wanted, but they became like sister in so little time, able to kill one for the other, protecting one another, living and dying for each other. Just like with Marta; but here, she could only rely on Amelia and that was everything she needed now.

~~~

“Eastern Europe, prostitution, kidnapping and killing,” One began to say as Sasha crossed her arms on her chest looking at him, she almost rolled her eyes.

“You're making a podcast for a lame tv channel,” Four commented, sitting on the table of their headquarters – as One wanted them to call the room in which they had everything for their work.

“Millenial, don't you interrupt the...”

“Boomer,” Sasha asked, and One gave her a death glare which made Two chuckle and Amelia just sat there, trying to not laugh too much.

“Will do as if millenials weren't trying to sabotage my plan,” One commented before looking back at the screen and clicking on it to show them the picture of a woman: Mila Babicheva.

Target number two. She was the government, the puppet master and a killer queen with gunpowder and amphetamine. Sasha had heard about her back then, when Piotr spoke about a new deal with the Russian mafia, but she never really paid attention to it and eventually Piotr seemed to let the idea go. And now, she heard about her crimes – or she truly acknowledged them, because before joining the savior crew, she had no real problem knowing that people killed people because of interest, no, but then she saw the sad truth One presented during his powerpoint presentation. She saw the girls being saved by some policemen, the ones kidnapped to work in nice neon pink houses without having the chance to see the light again, she saw the poverty the government made, she saw the pain in people's eyes. She saw whatever she refused to see because of her hate for her father. She saw what she was once part of and she was ashamed. Her mother would be ashamed.

So she joined the Ghosts. And now had to listen to One, in the desert they came back in after their mission in Paris and the information Two and Three managed to collect with the usb key. The Lady in Rouge, she seemed to like French. She owned everything from the air the people breathed to the vodka they drank – Four found that cliché, but totally accurate. Her puppets were docile, and everybody seemed do love and respect her – just like you love the person who can kill you with a snap of a finger. And there was the plan: infiltration of the said mafia. Not a big deal, not until One revealed who he wanted to be the infiltrates.

“So who you're sending for the local mafia queen,” Seven asked, furrowing his eyebrows and looking at Sasha and at One one after the other.

“National nationalist mafia queen,” One quickly corrected before changing the slides, “besides we can't do this Murat style because she has a strong fanbase...”

“Did he just used the word fanbase,” Four asked, looking at Sasha who just rose her shoulders.

“So I'm sending Two,” he continued and Two shook her golden hair in agreement.

“Nice, always dreamed about being a Slav girl,” she said with a smirk and Three winked at her.

“Trial by fire, Eight you're going in.” Sasha fluttered her eyelashes in astonishment. What had he in mind by sending her back to the mafia which was so close to her home country? She looked at Amelia, slightly confused but when she gave her a reassuring smile, she relaxed a bit.

“Nice to be back in the business,” she commented before looking closely at the picture of the woman with red hair.

“Four you're enrolled too,” One continued, throwing at Four a beanie he had next to him for no apparent reason – probably because Four stopped listening. “You'll be the fool card, the free man, blah blah,” One continued gesturing at him.

“Wanker,” Four commented under his breath.

“Three, Five and Seven – odd numbers – are staying here with me. Not to be touchy or whatever but you guys are too... Exotic.” Five arched an eyebrow, staring at him.

“Exotic,” she repeated.

“That sounds racist,” Seven added.

“Some Eastern people tend to be racist,” Sasha replied, not too proudly and Four slightly nodded in agreement. “A loud minority, skinheads we call them and usually they have close ties with the mafia.” She looked at Five with a caring look, what horrible things mafia could have done to her if she was in. “Besides, with Four we know more or less the Slav area, we'll just need to give the memo to Two.”

“Perfect,” she said, detangling her blonde hair with her fingers as Three put a hand on her shoulder.

“So, now we have a plan,” One concluded. “But, for the moment we need more information about the whole thing, how to introduce you to the mafia, to build your personas...”

“Count on me, papi,” Three said with a large smile on his lips. This guy had some ideas.

#ben hardy #four x oc #four!ben #four billy #four ben hardy #6 underground ben hardy #6 underground #six underground #ben hardy imagine #fanfiction

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timeaftertime-chriscornellfanfic · 5 years

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Chapter 8 - The Future In An Instant Seattle Washington, February 13 1988

(Andi is 18, Chris is 23)

ANDI: A couple of hours later, everyone had decided to move the party back to Andy’s place. I found the perfect spot on Andy’s couch, right in the corner where I felt the most comfortable, While Chris sat next to me sipping on his Jack Daniels. Everyone else was pretty much everywhere laughing and drinking, bringing out their guitars and what not and playing random cover tunes.

“I had no idea you lived with Andy, I’ve never seen you any time I’ve been over here with Xana,” I say taking a sip of my Jack and Coke.

“I just got back from touring with the band so you wouldn’t have… it’s actually the first time I’d been home since August,” Chris says leaning back on the couch and resting his leg across his knee.

“Oh, well… welcome home,” I smile, feeling awkward. I’m so nervous and Chris is so amazingly gorgeous that I just end up freezing up and can’t think of anything to say.

“Fuck, I can’t believe that… this is happening, I mean I remember you saying where we would meet and when but when it actually happens it’s just…wow,” Chris says flipping his curls out of his face and turning towards me more, his gorgeous blue eyes flicking over my body and then landing at mine.

“Chris?”

“I mean, it’s been so long since I saw you last. We were in my room and just hanging out and you obviously ended up, you know leaving and - ”

“Chris?”

“I just want to tell you everything - ”

“-Chris?” I interrupt, trying to get him to focus.

“Yea?” He asks, slightly worried.

“Can we just… maybe back it up a little bit and pretend that you don’t know me? Like, this is our actual first meeting… maybe?” I ask, shifting a little and pushing my curls behind my ear, feeling bad but I’m so overwhelmed that I’m doing everything that I can to not stress out and suddenly have a time slip episode with everyone around.

“Yea… yea sure, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Chris furrows his brow and looks down at himself then back to me.

“No, no it’s not that I’m uncomfortable, I mean… it’s you. What girl wouldn’t be excited that Chris Cornell is talking to her? It’s just… no one knows that I -”

“Time slip?” he takes a sip of his drink

“Yea… well you apparently know already which is seriously messing with my head a little bit but… you’re not making me uncomfortable at all,” I re-assure him as I move a little closer and a coy smile spreads across those amazing pouty lips of his.

“I actually feel quite comfortable with you… which is weird, because I’m the queen of shyness,” I giggle and he chuckles with me.

“Yea, normally I’m pretty shy myself, but with you I don’t feel that way at all,” He says with that coy smile again.

“You? Shy? I kind of don’t believe that… I mean have you seen yourself on stage?” I say and he chuckles again.

“Yea, but that’s different. Performing is a totally different experience than just being yourself in a room full of people, and I usually can’t see too far in front of the stage because of all the bright lights, so it pretty much feels like it’s just me with the guys anyways,” He explains.

“Yea, I get that… performing is kinda like that for me too, but I was never really good at getting up in front of people. When I had to audition for Seattle University to get into their music program, holy fuck, I thought I was going to throw up everywhere. But in a larger group of people I’m not as bad… it’s weird,” I say and take a sip of my drink.

“Nah it isn’t weird… it’s just how us musicians work, I guess,” He says and takes a sip of his drink. I never really thought of myself as a musician before so it almost struck me a little weird to hear that from him.

“So, you’ve seen us play before?” He asks.

“Well yes and no… I haven’t ever seen you live live, I just saw like a clip on T.V from the local station or something, they were doing a local band segment… and it was just a quick clip of you, but I picked up your EP downtown at Easy Street Records though…” I explain and take another sip.

“Really? Well… what d'ya think?” He asks a little slyly, moving just a little closer, resting his arm on the back of the couch.

“I like it. It’s got um… it’s really Sabbath sounding which I fucking love. ‘Little Joe’ is a little… um… different…” I hesitate, not quite sure how to explain it.

“It’s weird, I know,” Chris says taking the last sip of his drink and setting the empty glass on the small side table. “We were just fucking around with that song. We just wanted to break up the EP a little bit,” I take a sip. I actually like the song, it’s just that it’s so out of place on the album, but I get what he means about breaking up the album a bit.

“You um… you wanna see my room?” He asks cutely suddenly shy, looking at his Doc Marten boot, playing with the laces. I take the last sip of my drink and lean forward to set it down on the table in front of us while everyone around us continues to laugh and play.

“Sure,” I say sweetly, feeling the alcohol give me some sort of confidence that I wouldn’t otherwise have.

Man, Xana was right.

I follow behind him out of the living room and down the long hallway, his curls swaying with his movements, his boots thudding against the hardwood floor as his gorgeous 6 foot 2 frame leads the way. I glance back for a moment to see Xana giving me a wink and a smile from the chair she was sitting in with Andy. I then turn back and watch Chris as we make our way down to the end of the hallway.

Chris opens the door on the left and gestures for me to go inside first. I give him a cute smile and head inside finding on the left side of the room, his bed and a dresser, a bookshelf filled with books and a T.V and stereo combo on the opposite side. A crate of all his records on the floor beside the stereo, a chair that had a few of his clothes strewn all over, some posters of The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith and a stack of amps on the right side of the room, with his guitars - 3 to be exact - a Marten acoustic, a black Fender Strat with a white pick guard and a beautiful dark cherry burst Gibson Les Paul Standard. As you know I was immediately drawn to the guitars of course.

“Wow… Is that the 1960 model?” I ask excitedly as I walk right over to the dark cherry burst Gibson.

“Uh huh…” He says with a smile as he watches me admire it.

“I can tell just by the color… they went from that golden sun look the year before to more of a redish finish,” I explain, feeling my nerdiness for guitars coming out. I squat down as best I could in my short little mini dress, flipping my curls out of my face to get a closer look.

“I think the pickups are different too… um… can I?” I glance back at Chris who hasn’t left the door frame with the sweetest smile spread across his lips.

“Sure,” He gestures for me to go ahead. I bite my bottom lip in excitement as I situate myself on the floor - still being mindful of my dress of course - I slide off my leather jacket, setting it down beside me and carefully take his guitar off the stand and let it rest on my lap.

“Um, wait,” He says and quickly moves over to plug in the patch cord for me and flips on the amp adjusting the levels a bit. I close my eyes for a moment and then I just start to play. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was playing but I was just playing around with the E scale, improvising and just letting the sound take over. He set the gain perfectly. Just the right amount of distortion. It’s not as warm sounding as mine but it sounds amazing. After a few moments I open my eyes and see Chris sitting in front of me, still with that same sweet smile across his lips.

“Holy, what string gauge do you use?” I giggle when I stop and shake my left hand a little.

“12’s… why does it hurt?” He chuckles.

“Just a little,” I giggle and he laughs.

“Here, let me…” He says reaching out for his guitar and I pass it over to him, pushing my curls out of my eyes. He rests it across his lap, getting into the perfect position, as his curls fall down around him, he starts to play. At first it was just some random playing much like I was doing, and then it started to change.

“Oh, darling, please believe me, I’ll never do you no harm Believe me when I tell you I’ll never do you no harm… Oh, darling, if you leave me I’ll never make it alone Believe me when I beg you Don’t ever leave me alone…”

His voice immediately made everything inside my body flutter like butterflies. So bluesy and full of emotion that I had never heard before. I had never felt before.

“When you told me you didn’t need me anymore Well you know I nearly broke down and cried When you told me you didn’t need me anymore Well you know I nearly fell down and died Oh, darling, please believe me I’ll never let you down Believe me when I tell you I’ll never… do you… no harm…”

He hangs on to the last note and then stops, a for a moment. He doesn’t look at me, though I’m completely focused on him. A few seconds tick by and he flips those beautiful curls out of his face, his silver hoop earring sparkling in the soft bedroom light and flicks his eyes to me while we could hear everyone still laughing and carrying on out in the living room. He moves his Gibson off his lap and leans to set it back on the stand and just as he did so, I couldn’t resist shifting up on my knees and moving closer while he flick his eyes back to mine, cupping his clean shaven face in both my palms and placing my lips on his.

For a moment, I could tell I caught him off guard but then he slowly started to respond, placing his hands on my hips as I slowly began to suck on his full pouty bottom lip, his tongue swiping across my bottom lip and by then I needed to deepen the kiss just a little, my tongue playing with his as my heart began to race like I never thought it could. His kiss is so new and yet so familiar, like the sort of passion between 2 people that has been building up over years of knowing each other but both afraid to make the first move. I this case I was the one to make the move because I couldn’t hold back any longer. It was incredible.

Chris then shifted a little, pulling me in closer for me to straddle him as he leans back against his bed, his hands moving down my thighs and lifting up the bottom of my already short dress even higher. As nervous as I began to feel, somehow he was able to make me feel comfortable as if we had done this before. I find myself threading my fingers through his soft thick curls as his lips move hungrily with mine.

“Chris?” I breathe when I part my lips from his for a moment and he touches his forehead to mine.

“Yea,” He exhales as he closes his eyes for a moment.

“I know I said I wanted to pretend that this is our actual first meeting but, I just want to know… are we together… In your time I mean, are we together?”He lifts his forehead from mine and looks into my eyes, a gentle smile spreading across his beautiful lips as he brushes a few curls from my face.

“Yea… well we never made anything official though. You always told me that we were together in your time, but you wouldn’t really tell me too much about us. No matter how many times I tried to get you to tell me more you wouldn’t because you didn’t want to mess up any sort of timeline by telling me the future,” He explains so sweetly. In actuality, I never really believed that, I only just tried to let things happen as they did as to lead a normal life. The only time I ever felt the need to tell someone the future was if it was a life or death situation for obvious reasons.

“So um… we know each other pretty well then?” I ask closing my eyes and touching my forehead to his.

“Uh huh… You’re my best friend. I’ve been in love with you since I was 15 years old,”

“You’re in love… with me?”

He gives me that coy smile of his and I find myself pressing my lips to his once more, intensifying the kiss. It wasn’t long before he figured out the mechanics of my dress and I realize just how long he has waited for me. *****************************************************************************************

#time travel #Time After Time #soundgarden #soundgarden fanfiction #chris cornell #chris cornell fanfiction #alternate universe #spinoff #mother love bone #andrew wood #fantasy #also on wattpad #also on ao3 #my story

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nbapprentice · 6 years

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there’s so, so, SO much nonsense surrounding this game that i’m gonna do my best to separate it into digestible bits, with its own categories. even then this is... wow. it’s big.

Warning tags will be added at the start of every section, but the general gist is: incest, pedophilia mentions, fetishization of rape and abuse, fetishization of mlm, fetishization of people of color, racism, ableism, nb erasure and transphobia. aside of the warnings, this post will also touch upon Scummy Business Practices

let’s get going

Dana Rune’s and Elle’s lack of moral fiber: #incest #pedophilia#rape and abuse fetishization #homophobia

tl;dr: dana loves incest porn, elle loves guy on guy rape, and the both of them are friends with at least one pedophile

dana rune has run, is still running an incest zine (please visit my faq on what i think about “thats not really incest” and “it’s just fictional!”). The Arcana, as a dev team, clearly does not care, as shown in their e-mail responses.

dana also very much doesn’t care and has reacted to any criticism on this by dismissing people and blocking actual incest victims who tried to contact her about it claiming it was for her “mental health”

in some tweets she claims she “interprets” the characters as not siblings, but she never really cared enough to cover her ass when it all began (she happily admits she’d “cross the incest line”)

dana has commissioned artists who also ship incest, draw near-pedophilic art that’s supposed to pass as acceptable because the character involved is supposedly not a minor despite looking like a child down to wearing pigtails (the character is also wearing a racist-ass belly dancer outfit), AND even made white-washed fanart of The Arcana.

dana follows twitter user kapymui who also produces incestuous Fire Emblem art

dana has retweeted omocat long after it came out that omocat is, at the very least, consuming pedophilic content (on “omocat didn’t know what shota meant!”: yes they did)

moving on, elle has a long, long, LONG history of fetishizing mlm and the rape and abuse that comes with yaoi and had a rich, RICH “yaoi” tag before they deleted their tumblr

they curiously deleted their tumblr right after i made this reblog

shortly after that, tumblr user thalassiq remade and started attacking and insulting any blogs criticizing them - even people providing support in IMs. Since this doesn’t match Dana and Elle’s normal pity parties I’m personally willing to believe they were just a person wanting to start shit - but it’s so telling how Elle used this chance to dismiss everyone who disagrees with them by calling them “children” and did not even bother to offer a kind word to people who were harassed and even had their trauma mocked by this person. It costs 0 dollars to say “that was not me but I’m sorry about people who were hurt.”

Dana and Elle are close with Ava’s Demon creator Michelle Czajkowski aka that one person who endorses child porn of her characters, and even had her draw a promo image for the game. Michelle has been creating highly sexualized content of her minor characters for a while now.

ok so elle and dana are gross freaks, how is that related to the game?

oh it’s very very related

Dana Rune’s and Elle’s lack of moral fiber that’s Actually Inside The Game or The Game’s Blog: now with more #racism #fetishization of poc and mlm #whitewashing #fat hate #pedophilia #nb erasure #transphobia

tl;dr: the arcana is filled to the brim with racism! so much of it! haha holy shit! and that’s not even where it ends!!!

their game is rated PG-13 but includes incredibly sexual situations such as Julian making this fucking face while getting off on pain. This isn’t the only time Dana and Elle use their videogame aimed at young teens to showcase their kinks and fetishes. I have no issue with NSFW or titillating content, as long as it’s rated accordingly. This content is NOT and it’s a blatant disregard for their audience just to have a larger, more pliable demographic and have more money sent their way.

if you start your argument with “well, teenagers look at porn” 1. shut up 2. theres a HUGE difference between teenagers going after adult content aimed at adults, and adults creating content they know will be seen by kids barely starting puberty

as pointed above, dana has 0 qualms literally commissioning people who make whitewashed fanart of her own fucking game that’s supposed to be all about the inclusivity and safe spaces

thearcanagame blog has a pattern of reblogging whitewashed fanart (before you come in swinging with the good ole “ITS THE LIGHTING”: 1. no it isnt 2. the artist should’ve picked better lightning then 3. i draw and post shit online too so dont come telling me i just dont understaaaand),

fanart of their fat characters showed skinnier than they are in their sprites (although to be real for a moment - Portia is curvy at most and them behaving she’s fat rep is HILARIOUS).

going back to NSFW content: nadia and asra are overwhemlingly sexualized in the game, and were the first to have sexualized CGs and sprites introduced.

CGs: Asra’s here, here aND HERE, Nadia’s here with a NSFW warning because she’s just got her whole fucking ass out. Sprites: Asra’s thank god for whoever compiled it all in one image, Nadia’s and once again, NSFW warning lmfao!

Julian’s sprites on the other hand are noticeably tamer, including the one where he’s fucking strapped in leather. His only sexual (NSFW warning because its literally softcore tentacle porn WHICH, ONCE AGAIN, SHOULDN’T BE PUT IN A GAME AIMED AT 13YOS) CGs were also included months after Nadia and Asra received any of theirs.

Through all of the updates, people have constantly requested that Asra and Nadia’s sexualization be toned down, and time after time The Arcana just churned out fetishistic, hypersexualized content at an absurd rate, especially when compared to the one white love interest.

Oh, speaking of the one white love interest: Julian is based off of Jeff Goldblum (this is not spectulation - they p much bring it up at any given time) but like. If Jeff Goldblum was white. They base their favorite love interest off their supposed favorite man in the world but casually leave his skin tone behind. Lmao.

they also play favorites very obviously - in the prologue, Nadia and Asra have a romance paid scene each. Julian has a scene... that requires no coins. Julian was also the first LI to receive three CGs, two of them requiring no coins, while both Asra’s and Nadia’s first CGs were behind a paywall

Dana and Elle have been notoriously skittish about confirming or denying their characters’ ethnicities. After hyping for weeks on thearcanagame that they would confirm the character’s races they basically made a post that amounted to “well they’re not white lol!”

they only relented after the perfectly understandable outrage... and posted a thread about it on Elle’s twitter. Nothing on the actual thearcanagame blog. Anyway, here’s the thread. Note how there’s mention of Julian being Jeff Goldblum... but nothing about him and Portia being Jewish (or “fantasy Jewish” as it were).

The one time they did confirm their jewishness dana then backpedaled and said she shouldn’t have done that lol.

another fun tidbit of how well The Arcana handles race and how much it cares about feedback from fans: an ask was sent about an anon begging for Nadia to step on them. The blog, with the finesse of a bunch of horny dumbasses, didn’t just publish the ask, but approved of it (even though the fans of color had long, long, LONG been telling everyone not to fetishize Nadia into a “step on me kween” wet dream). People were outraged, of course, and the blog ~apologized~ and said they were still learning.... then a new chapter included a scene of Nadia stepping on the Apprentice. 🙃

not to mention elle, on their twitter, made a passive aggressive “women can be doms?” tweet, trying to twist it into a “yr oppressing women” angle (when the issue is that women of color are always constantly portrayed as aggressive and domineering)

Now for a wombo combo of racism and Elle’s fetishization of mlm:

the devs have spoken at length of how Julian’s and Asra’s relationship was quite unhealthy. In a paid scene in Asra’s route, they’re depicted as Asra being disgusted w Julian touching him+Julian following Asra to his shop when Asra refused his offer to go with him (aka julian... stalked him lmfao).

.......... this scene is promptly followed by a highly sexual scenario where Julian’s pain fetish is played up. Remember how this game is rated PG-13? Me neither. Asra’s previous disgust with Julian is also forgotten, for some reason (and by some reason i mean Elle wants to make them fuck w/o buildup or logic).

Then Asra’s route has yet another paid scene dedicated to Asrian, even though he’s supposed to not even like Julian! And be head over heels with the Apprentice! But Elle just has to make these two be entangled despite insisting their relationship was not good for either of them!

Now here’s the kicker: Julian doesn’t have any paid scenes related to his romance with Asra. Note how it’s one of the brown LIs whose route is highjacked by the white LI, but not vice versa. Hmmmmm.

Now, on the topic of Asra: thearcanagame has said repeatedly that he’s nb and uses he/him pronouns, and promised (since last year) that there would be dialogue where he speaks about his gender

as of the making of this post such dialogue still does not exist

so basically asra is the nb to dumbledore’s gay: anyone who just plays the game w/o keeping up with the official blog has no idea of what asra’s gender is supposed to be.

aka he’s not nb. he’s just a cis guy. the arcana just doesn’t want to put its money where its mouth is, i dont care if elle is nb themself. the team made a promise which has not been fulfilled yet and i suspect will not be.

instead, our introduction to canon nb characters is... these two.

By “these two” i mean neither vulgora nor valdemar are even fucking human, and stick out like sore thumbs with their monstruousness.

so our nb rep is... non-human villains. a few books later one of Nadia’s sisters with they/them pronouns shows up, but that’s too little too late on top of the fact that we should’ve known Asra was nb from the first to begin with. It’s a fucking embarrassment and an insult.

at least two villains are visibly disabled (Lucio’s missing arm and Volta’s blind eye+intentionally asymmetrical face). Julian’s eye doesn’t count because, spoilers, he’s not lacking an eye and even if he was it’d still be hidden behind a dashing eyepatch instead of grotesquely displayed as a sign of his lacking morality.

BUT WAIT! IT DOESN’T EVEN END THERE!

The Arcana Exploits The App Business Model To Price Their Full Game at $500, $1000 if the three extra routes make it out, and they never delivered their Kickstarter rewards:

tl;dr: you heard me

the original price per route was planned on being $1.99

they took that “subject to change” really seriously, it seems, because now each route, once the game is fully out, is estimated to cost around $170 each.

both those screenshots are taken from this post which explains in detail just how truly scummy all of The Arcana’s business model and decisions are: https://mysticmicrotransactions.tumblr.com/post/174308723344/dishonesty-from-the-arcana

the tl;dr is basically what’s listed in the beginning of this section, but other highlights from that post are: the use of addictive gambling mechanics such the Wheel of Fortune, and the dazzling calls to action in the new mini-game.

something that The Arcana supporters forget (or choose to ignore) is the fact that for a long, long time the game did not have the mini-game or the log-in rewards for coins. Players depended only on the gambling of the WoF or paying absurd amounts of money for the new chapters.

the devs went from playing the victims who were unable of controlling prices to (as spoken of in the link from mysticmicrotransactions) saying the making of the game (a pathetic little app game backed by a studio and a kickstarter) justifies the prices

they also gave people false hope about maybe changing the prices in the future, all while bleeding money from loyal players in “micro” transactions

the arcana literally added a $99.99 coins option on their latest update

in case it hasn’t sunk in yet: you can pay a hundred dollars upfront to the arcana, and you still will not have access to the whole game

there is no defense to this

none

“it’s free stop whining” let me explain:

“spend months on end accumulating fake currency or pay hundreds of dollars up-front to be able to play” is a scummy business model no matter how you look at it

if i can spend $60 upfront to play an AAA game there’s no excuse to demand more than that for a game with much smaller and, honestly, inferior content

the combination of there being already far and few games featuring lgbt characters and characters of color AND the little cult of personality set up by Dana and Elle makes people feel that spending money to support them is an acceptable expense.

it’s not

manipulating people into spending ridiculous amounts of money and then claiming “it’s their choice” is just scummy business, baby, and thats all the arcana does

the devs are brats who instead of admitting $500 is absurd for a game instead write petty little caricatures into their game - like, lbr: dana, elle, if i could afford diamonds in my hair i wouldn’t have even bothered with your shitstain of a game

despite bragging that ppl would get the full story w/o needing to pay, the paid scenes are pretty much required - the first few books of julian’s route have no romance without accessing any of the paid options. you dont even get so much as a kiss in without handing coins over. many, many people were baffled when julian had a teary break-up scene when from their perspective they hadn’t even started building a relationship.

wow that’s more than i ever thought it’d be

and i’ve been aware of their bullshit for near a whole year now!

i don’t have much of a note to end this on, other than: the arcana just isn’t even that good. it suffers from weak writing, pathetic character development and above all actually harmful content. do not try to argue with me on any of these points unless you’ve read all of that, because whatever you have to say i’ve likely mentioned before. if you still are that determined to yell at a me on the internet, please preface your argument with the phrase “I’m a pee pee poo poo man” so I know you’ve read everything in here. thank you!

#the arcana #the arcana game #julian devorak #count lucio #asra #HAHA HOO BOY

4K notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

March 16th-March 22nd, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 16th, 2020 to March 22nd, 2020. The chat focused on The Phoenix by Bri de Danann.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Phoenix by Bri de Danann~! (https://www.bridedanann.com/thephoenix)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 22nd, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic!

Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'm really loving Cassidy so far - her confidence is infectious! One thing I'm interested in learning more about - the worldbuilding exposition we're given during the intermission. Like, it paints the Alliance in a REALLY positive light... which makes sense, because contextually this is an Alliance-produced ad/propaganda piece. So, I'm curious to find out what the actual story of Marketplace is.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Just started reading from the beginning..."You need a blue cat in every scifi creation" is making me feel very called-out right now, heh.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Aaaand the cat-guy runs up stairs on all four feet, that's a good touch

I wish a lot of these pages were bigger, or at least had the action spread out a bit more! Like, on this page https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-13-chapter-1 the "And...associate" is a very funny beat, but there's not enough space to put the speech bubbles one-after-the-other, so they read out-of-order and you lose the rhythm of the joke

That overhead shot of the city streets, too -- it's great, cool evocative setting, neat glowy future architecture, solid anatomy and a good feeling of motion with the figure -- so I wish the whole thing had more room to breathe.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I will second that criticism about the bubble order

Also on the topic of criticism, I don't know if the author already knows this or not, but the formatting is a bit messed up on mobile and you have to scroll a lot to reach the page(edited)

BriDanann

Thanks for the layout critique! It's something I've noticed and have tried to fix in my writing and bubble placement in subsequent chapters! I am still learning but I'm glad you like the setting and action! Also, for the mobile viewing on the site I am aware that it is messed up. Squarespace is honestly trash at setting up for mobile viewing, I've tried to finagle it but it won't stack neatly... this is why I put it on tapas and Webtoon, they are set up for mobile and it makes it much easier. Sorry for that inconvenience! I am looking into getting a better site for the home of my comic

RebelVampire

Something I like about the beginning of the comic was it just kind of defied my expectations. Like from the cover I was expecting something a bit more light-hearted, maybe even philosophical. And then nope, it's a space adventure. Yet at the same time I still get some of those beautiful more whimsical shots in the art, and it's an interesting combination. As for favorite scene, definitely https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-15-chapter-1 A very light comedic moment that takes the normal graceful leap of faith and turns it into what it would actually be like in real life for most people. Gotta love that subversion. Favorite character right now is Arerio. As the newcomer to the crew, I just connect with Arerio the most right now, plus I'm invested in Arerio's sort of bodyguard defense roll for the crew. Means Arerio is gonna get them spicy action scenes. So far, I've enjoyed seeing Cassidy and Arerio interact the most. I like that Cassidy is both frank with Arerio while also pushing Arerio to do crazy things like jump off random buildings. I kind of feel too that, again, as the newcomer, their lack of established relationship makes what will develop for it have higher stakes, vs. the people Cassidy has clearly known for a long time.

What I liked about the art most is the spacescapes. Beautiful color choices and blending, such as https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-1-chp-2 And like, if you're gonna have a space adventure, having great spacescapes like this is fantastic! Insofar, I like that the comic seems to be exploring authority and trust and what people do when they no longer trust the people in charge. While I don't have a favorite moment yet, I do feel this is a very important topic these days to talk about, as more and more young people are growing up unsure if they can trust authority figures. As for the story content, I've really enjoyed the world-building. Like that Intermission part was really right up my alley, and I enjoyed how expansive the world is yet balanced to not bring up the world at every turn in the main story. It makes for a good setting for space adventures. For the comic's strengths, I'm gonna say a combo of the world-building, the creativity in the world-building, and the effort put into the spacescapes. All together, these just make the space part of the space adventures seem more interesting, which surprisingly not every story nails in that regard.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

How much control does Squarespace give you over your CSS? If you can edit that, it would be really easy to do things like make the little spaceship-graphics disappear completely in mobile view, so readers don't have to scroll past them. (A host with a Wordpress installation would give you total control over the CSS. Switching would take some effort, the benefits might or might not be worth it for you, but it's probably worth looking into it and seeing what you think.)

Back to the comic itself -- just got through chapter 1, and, aha, this is an Oppressing AIs Who Want To Be Free kind of Space Empire? Plus, this narration about a planet being "discovered" and happily "added" to the Alliance -- even though it already had native residents, and the Alliance apparently decided to rename it without their input -- is...chirpily ominous.

Chapter 2 cover: oooh, is that a plant-person I see?

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Given the comic describes itself partially as a “found family” story, how do you think events in the comic will bond the characters into a family? What obstacles will the characters go through that challenges their relationships, and what is the overall message about family?

10. Why is The Phoenix’s AI being hunted by the Alliance? Further, why are Cassidy and crew seemingly risking themselves to protect the AI from the Alliance? Which side is right in this situation?

11. Why and/or how do you think Cassidy wound up on the Alliance’s bad side? What about Arerio – why doesn’t Arerio trust the Alliance either? Overall, do you think we as the audience should trust the Alliance?

12. What aspect of the world-building so far do you think will become relevant to the events of the story – especially in regards to Cassidy’s crew’s activities? How will the addition of Arerio change how the group operates from what has been revealed so far about their activities?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Well, the Alliance is definitely evil, and Cassidy said AI Rights. Remains to be seen whether it's a general "the AI wants to have free will and not be controlled by authoritarian programming" issue, or something specific like "the AI refused to carry out a specific mission." I thought it was the ship's AI, given that it's not described as an android/robot/etc -- but now we've seen it enter the scene in a humanoid body, so I wonder if the issue is "it experienced mechanical dysphoria while ship-shaped, and the oppressive space empire wouldn't allow it to switch to a new body."

RebelVampire

From initial impressions, I get the feeling all the main cast are outcasts in some ways, at least as far as the Alliance goes. And I think that along is will what bond the characters, since regardless of events, it can always come back to "at least were outcasts together." As for obstacles though, I kind of feel like there's bound to be personality conflicts and while they might all agree the Alliance sucks, at the end I feel each choice Cassidy makes is gonna divide the crew in some way. As for overall message, though, I think it's that family can be anyone and you're not just stuck with the family or even birthplace you were given. Go to where the people who care about you is. As for why the AI is being hunted, not entire sure, but I'm sure a lot of it is just its an AI. People tend to be extremely fearful of the idea of AI or AI that isn't under control. I mean, there's a reason this is a common theme in sci-fi. So for all intents and purposes, I think a large part is just AI = danger to the Alliance. As for why Cassidy and crew are risking their lives, it's probably just they see the AI as a person, not some hardened criminal threat. As for whose side is right, probably neither in my personal opinion. XD They're two extremes that fail to consider the other point of view.

I get the feeling that Cassidy was probably a bit too free-spirited and rebellious for the Alliance's liking, so they outcasted her and snowballed the whole thing. In regards to Arerio, I feel like he witnessed something horrible and just noped outta the situation. I don't think we should trust the Alliance as an organization. Maybe individual people in it, but the whole organization is surely corrupt. I've talked a bit about the world-building I think, but I want to mention again I actually enjoy the Intermission the most. Really gave some context to the story. I kind of feel Arerio is gonna cause Cassidy to take more risks. Cause there is less of a need to be careful if you've got muscle. And while this may increase good deeds, it will inevitably put them in more dangerous as they become more infamous.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

The Intermission was hosted by an AI with some kind of official role, so it's definitely specific to AI that don't "follow the rules" in some way. Details to be revealed, I'm sure. And if one extreme is "I am definitely a person" while the other extreme is "You are definitely not a person", that's not a situation where you should try to consider each other's views and find a truth somewhere in the middle! You gotta stand up for the person, insist that they deserve the same human rights (...sapient rights?) as everyone else.

RebelVampire

I don't really view this as an argument of definitely a person vs. not a person for this story personally. I mean I'm sure that's in there. But I think this is more about "AIs are safe" vs. "AIs are dangerous"

Calliope Ψ ^,^

AIs will absolutely be deserving of rights. Their danger notwithstanding, it would be unethical to withhold inalienable rights from a sentient being simply based on their being digital instead of electrochemical.

RebelVampire

Just in case anyone thinks otherwise, I 100% think AIs are deserving of the same rights as people. However, I do think talking about safety is still important and to blanket say AIs are auto safe or auto dangerous are two extremes, neither of which is entirely correct. But obviously I'm basing this off my interpretation of the comic. It could shift to the people vs. not people debate, which would be a different matter to me.

Calliope Ψ ^,^

Humans are just as dangerous as AIs, that much is true, especially given how much we appropriate low-level proto-AIs to do our bidding. Though, I definitely understand where you're coming from ^^

RebelVampire

Yeah. Like i mean humans are the exact same, which is why we take precautions and have laws and enforcement to stop dangerous people. AIs should be treated in a similar respected but cautionary fashion. Just enforcement for AIs will obviously have to be different cause you can't exactly throw an AI in jail and hope for the same results.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

Found a little time today. So quickly running through the prompts:

1. Liked the setup of meeting someone who doesn't know the plot to act as our window into things... with the twist that Cassidy and crew are actually known by reputation at least.

2. The cloaked ship angle was a good one, I didn't think of that (I was envisioning that moment in Back to the Future II when Marty steps off the roof) and wow leap of faith by Arerio.

I think that kinda shows how the Alliance is bad news. Arerio was practically willing to die instead of be captured (though presumably he figured there was an ace up a sleeve somewhere).

3. Honestly, I like Sequoia. Cassidy's a bit reckless for my tastes, Arerio didn't really ping for whatever reason, and the others we're still learning about... and here's a character who seemingly drinks water by holding hair in a cup. I gather s/he's a type of tree. Seems to hang back and observe. Liking that. Of course, I'm weird.

4. The Cassidy/Tiko felt a little annoying at first but the interaction on the bridge later helped me to realize this is just a thing they do, and I like that they can be so casual with each other. (When it's not some life and death thing!)

5. Each character's distinctly different, though maybe that's more about the background than the art. I also liked the trip up the stairs and the fall off the tower. The visuals conveyed the scale/scope to me.

6. I'm bad with themes. I suppose the idea of coming together (when faced with a problematic Alliance)?

7. The AI thing has set up a good mystery. And maybe I'm watching too much "Picard" lately, but there's different places they can go with that that others have pointed out too... seems to have been a bit of a topic so far.

(I'm fading, I'll hit a bit more tomorrow.)

(Oh, I like the little comments at the bottom of the panels. So maybe that's a strength too.)

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to seeing in the comic right now is just this first mission so we can get a feel as to what the characters are involved in. That will really set a lot of the tone for the rest of the story, so it'll definitely be a positive step forward. Overall, though, I really enjoy the effort put into the comic so far, and it'll be nice to see where it is in a few months~!

mathtans

Just to hit the highlights of the last questions, continuing from last night... there's probably the idea that family is the people who stick by you more than the people you're related to. In fact it might be interesting to see who some of their parents are (assuming they're alive) and whether they approve versus got into similar trouble.

The AI is being hunted because it's mostly armless. Eh heh... I'm wondering if maybe it's obsolete and refused upgrades or something? But maybe Cassidy and team are able to prevent any viral takeovers, the Alliance simply isn't listening? (That got a bit random but I don't think it's been pitched already.) And "right" is probably somewhere in the middle.

Alliance, as others have said, is probably shady (not the least of which because of the art portrayal?). But I guess there's some reason they're still in charge. ("Firefly" comes to mind, not because I was ever one who watched it, but because I think they were in a similar situation? I could be way off base.)

I liked the thought (I think it was Rebel) of the crew getting riskier now that Arerio is there. Though they seem a bit free spirited anyway, so it might be more a case of not raising their guard as much as they have before.

Anyway, I'd be looking forward to a bit more of the secondary characters (like Sequoia) as the twist of their mission (isn't there always a twist?) becomes apparent. Best with it!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about The Phoenix this week! Please also give a special thank you to Bri de Danann for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked The Phoenix, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.bridedanann.com/thephoenix

Bri’s Redbubble Shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/bridanann/shop?asc=u

Bri’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/bridedanann

Bri’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BriDanann

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #the phoenix #bri de danann

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perditaalottachocolate-blog · 6 years

Text

Next Rainfall (3/4)

@miraculousfluffmonth , Day 26: Please?

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

AO3 / fanfiction

***

3. Patience

It took a week. A week in which he also realized she hadn’t given him a second clue. A week in which his curiosity twisted his stomach every time Adrien saw Marinette at school. He observed her closely looking for some hints as to who her crush might be. He registered her interactions with every boy and girl she happened to talk to in his presence. Nothing. He got exactly zero traces. Either she must have been really good at hiding her feelings, or he wasn’t lucky enough to witness her interactions with her crush.

After that week he quietly accepted his defeat and came next rainfall Chat Noir was out again, leaping over the rooftops and looking for the familiar combo of pink boots, black umbrella and dark pigtails.

‘Well, well, well,’ Marinette drawled as she saw him dropping in front of her, and carefully avoiding the puddles. ‘Isn’t that my favorite feline hero!’ she greeted and he couldn’t help sticking his chest out a bit, proud that she considered him a favorite of hers.

‘Evening, Princess,’ he shot her a two finger salute. ‘I believe you owe me two clues tonight,’ he all but purred leaning in to wiggle his brows at her.

‘Two clues? Oh, no, Chat. The deal was one clue at a time,’ she chided, shaking her head. ‘You have to be patient.’

‘Oh, I am extremely patient, believe me,’ he shot back. ‘But last time you didn’t give me a clue after I found you. That’s cheating.’

‘Moi? Cheating?’ she gasped in mock hurt. ‘Most certainly not!’

‘In that case, two clues, please?’ he stuck out two clawed fingers in a V gesture.

‘Hmmm, any suggestions for today?’ Marinette knitted her brows, as she considered her answer. ‘Last time you were very helpful.’

Chat thought about his little investigation. It would allow him to narrow down his research at school, if he knew some more substantial details. ‘Is your crush a boy or a girl?’ he asked, trying to override his embarrassment with feline bravado.

‘You just got yourself some points for not giving into stereotypes, well done,’ she winked. ‘And my crush is a boy.’

‘Yes!’ he exclaimed earning a quizzical frown from the girl. He was just happy he could eliminate some potential candidates, but on second thought, he probably shouldn’t let her know that he was working on figuring out her secret also outside of his mask. ‘I m-mean… thank you.’

‘There’s nothing to thank me for,’ she shrugged. ‘Or were you afraid my crush might be Ladybug?’

Chat snorted, but deep down he actually felt relieved. Marinette would be very tough competition if she happened to set her eyes on his spotted partner. ‘Yeah, I was afraid that might be the case.’

This came out wrong again. For the second time Marinette eyed him suspiciously, but she quickly shook it off. ‘And the second clue?’ she prompted.

There were many things he wanted to know, but once again he decided to make his investigation easier and check if his strategy of watching her as a civilian wasn’t a waste of time. But he didn’t want to alert her as to the extent of his nosiness, so instead of asking if they were in the same school or even class, he went with a more vague, ‘Do you see him often?’

The girl considered his question, while delicate blush brushed her cheeks. ‘I’d say that yes,’ she replied with a timid smile. ‘I see him practically every day.’

‘Hmmmm,’ he hummed.

‘Hmmmm?’ she parroted. ‘Are you trying to figure out who he is now?’ she asked, amused.

‘Who, me?’ He rubbed his neck. ‘Pfffft, I’m just a curious cat, is all.’

‘A curious cat indeed,’ she replied. ‘You know what they say about curiosity and cats?’

‘Are you saying that your crush is dangerous?’ He crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘Because I seriously doubt he could threaten me.’

‘And why would you want to compete with him?’ she mimicked his stance.

‘Who says anything about competing?’

‘Well, you just preemptively stated you’re better than him,’ Marinette pointed out.

‘I most certainly did not!’ Chat spluttered. ‘The saying goes that curiosity killed the cat. I can’t see any danger though. The only thing that might kill me here is a cold I might catch while looking for you in this weather. And my comment simply referred to that.’

Marinette looked as if she was holding back a laugh. ‘Maybe you should start taking an umbrella with you then?’ she asked.

‘Can’t parkour with an umbrella, Princess,’ he countered. ‘Anyway, this cat needs to run. Thank you for the clues,’ he bowed.

‘See you next rainfall,’ she giggled.

Those two clues got Adrien only so far. He could exclude the girls, but there were plenty of boys Marinette saw every day. How to make sure he wouldn’t miss the right one? After some consideration, he decided to spend more time in Marinette’s company. It didn’t took much to convince Nino to join the girls for breaks and lunch. The boy was even relieved he didn’t need to choose between his bud and his girlfriend. And that left Adrien with a perfect and inconspicuous opportunity to spy investigate observe.

Marinette interacted with plenty of boys, smiling warmingly at every person who approached her, offering advice, encouragement or praise. It was a pleasure to witness her in action, sending everyone on their way in a better mood. No wonder people were drawn to her. She had both charisma and charm, necessary in a leader, but matched with her kind heart, they made her shine like a star.

Still, she treated everyone the same. No playing favorites, no suspicious behavior. He must have been missing something.

‘Tell me something more about your crush,’ Chat asked next time he found her in the rain.

‘He’s sensitive,’ Marinette replied.

Nathaniel? Nathaniel was sensitive. He was the artistic type, and Marinette was always supportive of him. But it was known that Nath used to have a crush on her, so if she reciprocated his feelings why weren’t they a couple? No. It couldn’t have been Nathaniel.

‘Is your crush good at sports?’

‘Yes, most definitely.’

So Kim? But Kim was dating Ondine and Marinette definitely rooted for them. And before that, when the jock was interested in Chloe, their pigtailed classmate supported him. It couldn’t have been Kim.

‘He’s smart.’

Max? Max was the smartest of them all, and he shared gaming interest with Marinette. She was always friendly towards him, and even risked a detention when he had brought Markov to school for the first time. But she never actively sought his company. Max spent more time with Kim and Alix. Nah. It couldn’t have been him.

‘He’s kind.’

Nino. Nino was a very kind person. They knew each other for ages and he also used to have a crush on Marinette. But just one look at the girl as she watched Alya and Nino together dispelled his suspicions. There was so much happiness in Marinette’s eyes at the sight of that couple, without a hint of jealousy, that it left no doubts. It couldn’t have been Nino.

‘He has a talent for music.’

Maybe Ivan? But from what Adrien had heard Marinette was trying to help Ivan confess to Mylene even before Ladybug’s assistance. Nah, not Ivan then.

Luka? Marinette always enjoyed his company. He was a fan of Jagged, just like her. And as Adrien had spotted, he was definitely impressed with Marinette. She didn’t act different around him, but she was pleased with his compliments. Hmmm, maybe this was the right track.

‘How does he look?’ Chat finally gathered the courage to ask for a more substantial clue.

Marinette frowned, and he instantly felt guilty. He knew her better than to think she was after looks. Besides, she never mentioned physical appearance, only personality traits. That was more important.

‘He is handsome,’ she said reluctantly, ‘but that’s the only detail about his looks I’m willing to share. For all I know you could be stalking me outside of the suit, and apparently I’m quite obvious around him, so knowing how he looks you’d guess right away.’

Only later at home did Adrien realize she unconsciously had given him two clues that night. As to the handsome part - as far as Adrien was concerned beauty was a very relative and personal thing. Every guy he had so far considered was handsome. That could have been basically anyone. But she admitted that she had been acting different around her crush. How could that be, if Adrien hadn’t noticed? There was one possibility he hitherto hadn’t thought about - Marinette might have been seeing her mysterious boy outside of school. At the bakery, or even before her rainy walks. Maybe that was the reason she was so happy while getting wet? Somehow instead of feeling excited at this new conclusion Adrien felt a heavy weight setting in the pit of his stomach. Why was this making him so nervous?

‘Does your crush know about your feelings?’ Chat figured this would be the least invasive way of checking, if she had been seeing the boy before her walks.

Yet instead of confirming, Marinette dropped her gaze to her pink boots and shook her head sadly. ‘I’m too shy to talk to him about this,’ she confessed. ‘So no, he doesn’t know.’

Shy? He always thought Marinette was a very brave girl, and the few times he had witnessed her facing a difficult or dangerous situation, she always kept her cool. It was hard to imagine her not having the courage to do anything. But maybe her crush’s presence made her tongue-tied, like he sometimes felt as Adrien when encountering Ladybug?

Still, he felt a bit sorry for her. Somewhere out there was that oblivious boy, who got the heart of a wonderful girl, and instead of making her happy, he hadn’t noticed what was right in front of him. What a fool, Adrien thought. How that boy could not see someone as amazing as Marinette?

He decided he needed to find that idiot and knock some sense into him. Marinette deserved to be treated like a Princess. She deserved to be adored, loved and cherished. So he, or rather Chat, would not rest until she got who she wanted.

#mlfluffmonth #please #marichat #perdita writes #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #adrien agreste #rain #umbrella #crush #sneaky kitty #spying on Marinette

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its-ashleyreads · 4 years

Photo

Finished: 22/07/2020

Christmas Under the Stars by Karen Swan

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Summary:

For best friends Mitch, Meg, Lucy and Tuck, life couldn’t be better than it is in their hometown of Banff, Alberta. Meg and Mitch are about to be married, Mitch and Tuck have a thriving snowboard business, Lucy is expecting her first child, but all that changes during a winter storm that leaves one of them dead. Suddenly everything that once seemed so perfect is thrown into a new light. Relationships are destroyed, dreams dashed, and nothing will ever be the same again. But at least with all that darkness it’s easier to see the stars.

Review:

This book was dramatic as fuck. Every time I thought it had reached the peak of ‘shocking revelations’ another one was unearthed. But somehow most of the characters never really seem to deal with them. There were so many secrets revealed within the last 50 pages or so and the author didn’t give them a chance to sink in which made it all just seem a bit pointless. The story was interesting, I love the idea of one death in the friend group throwing everything into turmoil, but that premise didn’t really work for me in this instance because the author couldn’t choose between telling the story from just Meg’s perspective or the perspectives of other characters as well. I think for this type of idea to work she should have written either entirely from Meg’s point of view or given equal weight to Lucy and Tuck’s experiences. As a reader, it felt like Swan didn’t give a shit about any characters other than Meg and Jonas. Every chapter from Lucy’s perspective seemed to be writing her off as crazy, she hardly mentioned or grieved about Mitch at all, and there were very few chapters from Tuck’s point of view, when he was the second most important person in Mitch’s life.

I really enjoyed Meg as a character, and I thought she was super well rounded and complex. I like that she didn’t grieve for Mitch in that stereotypical way of just crying and screaming, because grieving is so different for everyone and there doesn’t seem to be too much representation of people just kind of, getting on with things after someone they love dies (at least from what I’ve read). I loved how independent she was and how everyone wanted to treat her like a wounded animal, but she was like ‘fuck that’ and fought off a bear instead. Like a literal bear. Female protagonists in books are typically shown to be either shy and meek, or strong and outgoing, but Meg was the perfect blend of both. That being said, the one part that I really didn’t like her in was when she went to dinner with her sister, and that stranger, Hap, grabbed her ass and then she was really apologetic about ‘overreacting’ and ‘ruining the night’ after she’d gotten herself out of that situation. Like, dude, a strange man grabbed you ass and it made you uncomfortable, so you left. That is exactly what you should have done! But instead of making that a teaching moment about sexual harassment, Swan had Meg go out with and then have sex with the creep. Go feminism!

Lucy on the other hand was so poorly developed I had to stop reading twice just to rant to myself about how much more compelling she could have been. Lucy starts off as the seemingly shy and meek archetype but by the end, had only one personality trait: crazy. Every wrong thing that happens in the entire book is pretty much just blamed on Lucy, and yeah, Lucy sucks but making her the real reason behind Mitch’s death and making him her baby’s daddy was just lazy. The fact that the tourists were back before Mitch went out to save them was dumb, the fact that Swan tried to play off Mitch’s death like a murder, also very dumb, but the dumbest thing by far was that Lucy somehow orchestrated his death. I understood, and even liked, that it was written that she was abusing Tuck and not the other way around. Female – male domestic violence is only ever taken seriously unless it’s the woman being harmed and I like that Swan showed how even “manly” men can be abused by their female partners. I could see Lucy being prone to violence in that way, but the way I read her character I could not see her being capable of premeditated murder and then not even feeling bad about it! I mean, that’s just my interpretation, maybe other people can see it, but I just can’t. I thought it was lame and that there was a real chance to build a complex villain out of Lucy but it was quashed by just making her irredeemably evil and then at the end of it all just saying, ‘she’s got PTSD, oh well!’

Tuck was another character that I felt just had so much more in him. We got a few snippets of his inner turmoil and I really wish that we got to see more. I couldn’t imagine losing someone that was essentially a brother and best friend combo. They grew up together, ran a business together, did everything together! Tuck’s grief should have been more prominent, especially since every time he was mentioned from Meg’s POV he was demonised. And let’s be clear, he was a douchebag, but he was a douchebag who deserved to be understood.

The love story portion of the book was completely adorable, and I was rooting for Jonas and Meg from the moment Mitch died. Jonas was so sweet and kind and respected Meg’s boundaries! (Wow the bar is literally so low) Like, obviously their meet-cute, if you can even call it that, was a bit out there (literally), but I didn’t even care because meeting a hot astronaut over radio is now one of my ultimate fantasies. I loved how Meg seemed so conflicted about letting herself fall for someone else so soon after Mitch, and how she kept having to fight with how she was grieving vs. how everyone else wanted her to grieve. Even throughout the story I kept catching myself judging her for “moving on too fast,” which makes me a huge hypocrite because I used to hate when people did that to me after I lost someone I cared about. But the best things about a book is when it makes you question yourself and how you view things. And that’s what reading is all about, looking at things from other people’s perspectives. I would say writing is about that too. Slipping on someone else’s skin. Thinking how they think, speaking how they speak, living how they live.

Which brings me to my next point: Canada. The descriptions of the Canadian wilderness and the landscapes were spot on! Truly wonderful descriptions about both Toronto and Banff. But what really makes Canada, Canada, are the people. And let me tell you, a Canadian would NEVER call a goalie a “keeper”??? We’re not at Hogwarts, pal! Throughout the book Swan consistently used English terms for things, which I gave a pass when she was speaking from Meg’s perspective, Lucy on the other hand was Canadian born and bred. She would never have called a stroller a ‘pram’ or a vacuum a ‘hoover’ or Alberta a fucking ‘state’! When thinking logically, I know that these are very dumb things to be mad about, but I’m a Canadian woman living in the UK and the language over here is vastly different from the language back in Canada and I don’t know, maybe I feel like it’s a bit of a misrepresentation of Canadian culture and phrasing, or maybe I just like to be outraged over trivial things. Who knows? Sure as fuck not me.

Overall though I liked this book. It wasn’t great or terrible, it was just ok. I had trouble rating this book at first because I felt like it could only either be 2 or 4 stars. I still don’t really feel like 3 stars suits it but it’s the only number between 2 and 4 so I guess it must be.

Also: There is literally no Christmas in the entire book. It gets mentioned near the end but that’s it.

#Christmas Under the Stars #christmas read #christmas romance #Karen Swan #fiction #romance #contemporary romance #contemporary fiction #chicklit #womens fiction #Ashley reviews #3/5

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eshtarwind · 7 years

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Tokyo 7th Sisters - Episode Queen of Purple Novel Summary Part 2

Continuing last time, here. I will proceed with my “summary” of what I remember about the novel, be warned there might also be some additional details like parts from the in-game episode in case they exist as referrals or maybe I feel like it has any significance in it.

Chapter 2. Meet Them There

Whilst feeling out of place in a bar brimming with adult atmosphere, Ferb and Yumeno sat by the stool near the counter. Murasaki served Ferb and Yumeno some juice drinks (which Yumeno said taste better because it is served by a beautiful girl and Murasaki was like, isn’t that irrelevant lol). As Ferb looked into the interior of the bar more closely--noting how an underage like her and Yumeno being there was not exactly a good thing and perhaps that is why Murasaki never invited them--Ferb thought how Murasaki had rejected her offer, it was a fact, and Ferb was sure there was a reason for it, but she hesitated to ask. Yumeno perhaps felt the same, but she talked in her usual chirpy, bright attitude to break the ice and the somber atmosphere. Yumeno commented how great it was for Murasaki to help tidying the shop, and Murasaki went like, I did it every day tho, it’s my home. And she asked like, is that the reason of her rejecting the offer, to help the shop? Murasaki then proceed to explain that if it were any other moment, it would not have been a problem, but not this time.

Turned out her mother had an accident and she broke her arm. Thus, Murasaki had to help her mother until that arm heals and it would still take time for it to heal. It seemed her mother is a single mother---but I will clarify later to make sure--and has been working for both of them all these times. Murasaki went like, I am sorry that I have to reject, while both of you had gone all the way here. Yumeno quickly answered that that was not a problem at all, which Ferb nod to (Yumeno did most of the talking, while Ferb just nod or confirmed), since that can’t be helped after all. Murasaki said that there are others with great voices in Nanasis she could ask for help, but Ferb was like, “No, I want it to be you and no one else.” Murasaki was like, “you stubborn.” “Well I am, when it comes to music.” but it seemed Murasaki had thought as much about Ferb, with how well they knew each other. Murasaki asked of Yumeno’s thought on it but Yumeno was like, I don’t mind for as long as it was what Ferb and Murasaki’s decided. Since that cant be helped, Ferb was about to ask Yumeno to phone Shihainin that they cannot do the project (at least not in that year--it was an annual festival), but suddenly someone came from the inner part of the store.

Murasaki Mom, Echizen Kon, came up and apparently she was a mesmerizing beauty which made even Yumeno silent (lol). Kon was like, you have your friends visit you--which is extremely rare--and you just reject them? Murasaki said, but you’re hurt and shop might get busy and all. But Kon was like, “I have hired a part timer over to help me so you don’t have to worry. I’ve been taking care of this shop while raising you all these years and I am not that fragile that I need an underage kid who can’t even drink sake yet to worry about me.“ She then proceeded that, unlike her, her two friends needed her, and no one else. Under hopeful eyes of both Yumeno and Ferb, Murasaki eventually “gave up” and said that she, too, wondered how her jazz would go with Ferb’s music. However, there came the next problem: who would do the drum. Just as they were contemplating the matter, the door opened with someone who would like to sign for part time job--and turned out that someone was Matsuri.

So Matsuri was looking for part time job to get more income for this new super good game and since the shop was stylish with good atmosphere along with good enough salary, she was interested. However, Kon had already hired someone else. So as an apology, Kon served Matsuri the shop’s curry rice and also served the same for Yumeno and Ferb. Being sharp, Matsuri noted how it was unusual to have underage kids like Yumeno and Ferb in a bar like this, the trio eventually told Matsuri their predicaments. Murasaki commented that the drummer she knew was a jazz drummer old man who came for mini live show at their bar from time to time but that won’t do, as perhaps he would not be able to put his heart into it t (as per Ferb’s words, not enough “fire”). With Yumeno knew no one, they asked if Ferb knew anyone in the light music to help. Sounding matter of factly, Ferb said that the light music club is busy with their upcoming live, but she could not help feeling really bad when the topic came up. As it was her who rejected them as well, over the cover band thing, and it would be awkward to just suddenly came and ask for their help with her own band.

With that unsolved, Ferb finally said, that it was useless to think about something that did not exist, then they would have to resort to recording for the drum--despite her own best judgment that it would not be as ideal as she would like with her song. However, with how Murasaki had decision regardless of her situation, it would be appropriate to do so. Matsuri said, from older person POV, that seemed to be the best decision to come to, and supported the decision. She felt bad that she could not help them, despite being older, the only drummer she knew where her friends who play drumming game but even then she was the best among them. Ferb was like, eh, there are such game? and Matsuri was like, what you didn’t know? lol. And eventualy they all decided to go watch Matsuri play the game at the game center near the station because Matsuri felt like (Yumeno was like, wow, game center date!!! #not).

Matsuri was like hey lets play highest difficulty with randomized notes! Yumeno: IS THIS THE LEGENDARY MATSURI GAMER?! SUCH HONOOOOR!! while Ferb and Murasaki were like,I kiiiiinda understand? reaction lol. Anyway there goes the playing and Matsuri actualy hit all the notes in perfect full combo and Yumeno was left flabbergasted (tbh she was the only one who understood what the heck Matsuri was doing) and Murasaki was like, “I dont really understand but that was awesome.” Ferb was silent all the while watching the banter (Matsuri was like, : see? that change your perception on me, right?). Yumeno then noted how Ferb was silent (you must have already fallen in love with Matsuri-san ! nuuu she is mine~ kind of Yumeno way lol) and Ferb was like, “You hit all the beat perfectly, that was amazing.”

Ferb was deep in thought and she said, “Matsuri-san, will you try drumming?”

With her words, suddenly the excitement of high score died away, and in a serious face that none of the girls have ever seen before, Matsuri replied slowly, like drowning all the sound of the game center around her.

“You see. Game and real world are different.”

~ End of Chapter 2~

Wow that was long. I actually went to a lot more details than I expected. It’s one of the chapters that I read over and over (the bar scene is among my favorite!). I actually don’t remember Chapter 3 that much so I guess I will do chapter 3 and 4 together. Ah well~ wait up for the continuation! (I have to cut here because my laptop started to stutter when it reached certain number of words, like now....)

Continue to Part 3

#tokyo 7th sisters #tokyo 7th シスターズ #qop #QoP Novel

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waynekelton · 5 years

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Pokemon Masters Guide - 12 Essential Tips to get you Started

The Pokemon franchise is no stranger to mixing up its traditional battle elements for the sake of its many spin-off titles, and Pokemon Masters (iOS | Android) is the latest attempt that you can try out right now. It may look like a fairly standard take on the franchise with its 3v3 battles, but there's a lot of real-time decision making and new rules in effect here that can trip up even the most dedicated Pokemon fan.

In this quick-fire guide, we'll highlight a few of Pokemon Masters' small mechanical quirks and dish out some helpful tips to overcome its challenges. That way veterans of the franchise won't fall victim to decades of now obsolete knowledge and muscle memory, and newcomers can jump straight in without feeling too overwhelmed.

Want to know what the best Sync Pairs are? We've got you covered.

1. Pokemon Only Have Single-Type Weaknesses

Unlike basically any other title in the franchise, Pokemon are only ever weak to a single element in Pokemon Masters. Veterans of the franchise will have memorized weakness chart in their minds a long time ago, but that's actually more of a hindrance in this game.

Rather than a Fire-type Pokémon being weak to Water and Ground, it might only be weak to one or the other. This is thankfully displayed beside each Pokemon on the field. But when these battles are all about quick decisions and fast fingers, you'll need to keep these strengths in mind before you go using an Ice-type move on a Flying-type Pokemon that's only actually weak to Electric.

2. Resistances Aren't A Thing

Staying on a similar subject, type resistances also go the way of the dodo in Pokemon Masters. Just like weaknesses, Pokemon would traditionally resist other types of attacks based on their own. That's not the case here. Here, there aren't any resistances at all. That includes complete immunity, too. So don't worry about using a Normal or Fighting-type move on a Ghost-type Pokemon. You'll still sock that Ghastly right in the face.

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3. Only The AI's Centre Pokemon Will Use A Sync Move

One of the stranger things about Pokemon Masters is how the rules of battle aren't identical between the player and the AI. Where you have access to a trio of Sync Moves to suit the situation, your opponent will only ever have the one.

Only the centre Pokemon on the AI team can execute a sync move. To make up for this, AI sync moves will always hit your entire team rather than just the one target like your own. It's usually a good idea to knock this Pokemon out early to avoid a team wipe in one big blow. Pay attention though - if the centre slot has more than one AI opponent in it, the new incoming Pokemon will pick up the Sync Move count-down from where it was left off. This typically means a situation where a weaker Pokemon starts off in the centre spot, and the replacement will the team's strongest Pokemon - an alternative strategy might be to let the chud fire off it's Sync Move first, before taking it out and the next one before it has a chance to fire it off a second time.

4. Level Caps Aren't Tied To Rarity

Trainers (or sync pairs) eventually reach what's known as a “soft cap” – a point where they can't be levelled up any further without jumping through a few hoops. Similar games usually lock this behind the unit's rarity (or star rank), requiring players to boost the unit's rank to unlock their level cap. Just know that that is not the case here.

While you can upgrade a unit's rank in Pokemon Masters through the Increase Potential menu, unlocking their max level limit is actually done in a dedicated window using completely different items. Firstly you need to have completed Chapter 4 (the one where you get the sync pair Erika/Vileplume) and then you need to go to the Training Area. No matter how many courses are available to you at the time (Supercourses will rotate in and out), at the bottom of the list will be a Special Training option called 'Battle Techniques'. It involves a single fight against an Ace Trainer, and you'll want to take Fighting-type Pokemon. IF you beat him, you'll unlock the Unlock Level Cap option in the 'Team' section.

5. Use Items to Speed Up Sync Moves

In your effort to knock out the opposing team's centre lead before they can get their Sync Move off, using items can really speed up the job. Items don't consume the Move Gauge but do still contribute to the Sync Move countdown.

So if you're trying to get a Sync Move off before your opponent, consider queueing up item uses on other Pokemon while another spams low-cost moves to accelerate the gauge. Remember: a low-cost move increases the Sync Move gauge just as much as a higher one.

6. Rarity Isn't Indicative of Overall Strength

There's no denying that rolling a 5-star character is an exciting prospect, and it's no surprise that people will cram their teams with as many 5-star gatcha rolls as they can. But Pokemon Masters isn't as clear-cut as that.

Just because a story character comes in at 3-star rarity, that doesn't mean they're completely useless by comparison. Any unit can be upgraded to a 5* with enough effort, and some of those story characters can easily rival a 5-star gatcha pull once they're boosted to the same point. So just because they're free, doesn't mean they're at the bottom of the tier list. They just need some TLC to really prove their worth. Don't write them off too soon.

And besides; with type advantages being a thing, almost every sync pair has a use somewhere.

7. Make Use of Status Combos

If you're having trouble knocking out a strong Pokemon before it has time to finish you off with a Sync Move, make sure you're making good use of status combos for some easy extra damage. Tapping and holding an attack or skill in battle will show you it's power, accuracy and additional effects.

Some attacks can inflict common status conditions like Paralysis or Flinching, and certain Sync Moves can exploit these for tons of extra damage. One early example is Flannery and her Torkoal. Torkoal's base attack, Ember, can inflict Burn with enough luck, and its Sync Move deals considerably more damage to a Burned target. It's best to build a team that synergizes well with these kinds of combos to exploit these bonuses and take down foes fast.

8. Items Don't Regenerate Between Rounds

Before you go spamming items early into a zone, be aware that they don't regenerate between fights within the same section. This means if you're going into a story zone with two or more fights, blowing all your items in that first battle to rush out a Sync Move might leave you grasping at straws later on.

9. Use The Suggested Team To Level Up The Rest

The Level-Up Training zone is a great way to boost low-level sync pairs, but you don't need to take them in to reap the benefits. Rather than making the easy fights difficult with low-level teams that can't exploit weaknesses, just use the training manuals rewarded at the end to level up these non-optimal characters. That means you can make quick runs through the level-up training fights with your better teams and use the resulting items to power up your weaker ones.

10. Turn On Battle Order In The Menu

By default, you can't easily see which Pokemon is next in-line to attack. If you absolutely need to know who's about to strike next, you can actually turn on a battle order indicator through the menu mid-fight.

Just open it up through the cog icon on the top-left and scroll all the way down. With the option toggled, an indicator on the right-side of the screen will appear with three slots denoting each Pokemon's position on the battlefield. Enemy Pokemon will show up in red, while friendly Pokemon will be blue.

11. Special Spotlight Store Events Don't Share Sync Pair Pools

We go more into this in our Events Guide, but the gist of it is that the game is always either adding new Sync Pairs, and/or specifically doing a 'Spotlight' on a Sync Pair to give you a slightly better chance of pulling them when you spend the in-game currency. What you have to understand is that each instance of a Spotlight (or other) store event is treated as a separate entity. So if Blue/Pidgeot and Olivia/Lycanroc both have Spotlights running, you have to make sure you've selected the right one from the store menus before making a pull.

Further to that, if a Sync pair is released after a Spotlight event launches, they will not be available to pull via the earlier Spotlight event. Each Spotlight event that goes live uses the more up-to-date version of the Sync Pair pool at the time it goes live. Any new pairs added don't get retroactively included into older Spotlight events, so beware!

12. Pay Attention to the Game News and Change-Log

It's not the most exciting of places, but paying attention to the game news section is actually a really good source of information. You'll be able to see what new challenges and special events are running, but more importantly you'll be able to see what the current major bugs are and what you need to be paying attention to. For example, the developers have advised that Android 10 is not safe to use with Pokemon GO right now. Another tip - recently there were was a major bug that took a little longer to fix, so EVERYONE got given 6000 gems for free. You can afford to do the 10-pair pull in the store twice on that, but only if you claim the gems from your claim box. If you didn't check the news, you might not have known it was there to claim.

Want to know anything else about the game? Let us know in the comments! Pokemon Masters is available on iOS and Android.

Pokemon Masters Guide - 12 Essential Tips to get you Started published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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comicteaparty · 5 years

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December 16th-December 22nd, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from December 16th, 2019 to December 22nd, 2019. The chat focused on Ingress Adventuring Company by kayotics.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Ingress Adventuring Company by kayotics~! (https://www.ingress-comic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 22nd to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. How do you think Toivo’s Adventuring Company came to be, and why is Toivo the only member? Do you think others might someday join, especially as Toivo completes more jobs?

Delphina

Oh gosh, I love Ingress SO MUCH. It's got so much humor and I love how Kay draws expressions. I think the ghost room scene is my favorite so far (https://www.ingress-comic.com/comic/chapter-3-08/). The "I ran out of space in my ghost room" line always kills me, and just the concept of, you know, a magician throwing all the spectral things he doesn't like in the attic and forgetting about them really speaks to Toivo's absent-minded character. I love seeing him and Aidan and Rosemary working together, and there are some very choice Rocky drawings (look at him hiss! https://www.ingress-comic.com/comic/chapter-3-20/) in this scene.

I do know a little of the backstory from hanging around with Kay, so while I hope Toivo will find more people to team up with, it sounds like his old adventure-mates have moved on/retired for the most part (like Dia and Aidan) and he's just still at it because of his atypical youthful elven vigor.

MJ Massey

I figured he needed something to do after his earlier adventuring day so he made his own "company" to still adventure a bit on the side while being a professor.

indogswetrust

1. I like the scene where Toivo is reading “moonlight” with his feet on his desk. big mood. Closely followed by him getting cranky at Spicer. 2. I think it’s just one of those business things. You start with a name and a concept and hire later.

Addendum to 2: adorable bitter ex boyfriend Aidan should join immediately

keii4ii

1. The last few pages of chapter 3! It was something to see Toivo not bounce instantly back to his usual 'cheerfully trying so hard but not succeeding' mode. Even though the ghosts had all been taken care of, the way the characters reflected about the incident gave it a lingering sense of importance. Potentially even hinting at Toivo's past relationships being more trouble than just bad dates like the one in chapter 2. (Re: the last sentence, I might be thinking of Kay's short story in the Haunted anthology? But honestly, I did get this impression even before reading the short story -- although reading it has definitely solidified it/ nudged it deeper into the "oh shit this is serious" territory.)

Sail

1. There are SO MANY good scenes that I love about this comic, but I think my absolute favorite one is in the first chapter (https://www.ingress-comic.com/comic/chapter-1-09/) when Toivo is just fumbling over his words in an attempt to not be crass, while just... being more and more crass. As someone who's loudly cussed in public without thinking and then tried to cover it up with more cussing, I related to this scene in the very fibers of my being, haha 2. I feel like Toivo gets extremely bored with his professor gig sometimes? He seems like the kind of person who needs something to be HAPPENING, and being a hired adventurer would be an ideal job for a wizard with a "gotta do stuff!!" personality. I don't know about others joining. I'd love to see Aidan or Dia go on one last adventure, and there's always the possibility of NEW people joining up at some point. But it's also been shown that Toivo is pretty reckless, and that seems like it would be a huge deterrent for any co-adventurers who... you know.. don't wanna die

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What aspect of the world so far has interested you the most? Also, what other things are you hoping to learn in regards to the world of the story and how Toivo might have helped save the world?

MJ Massey

Toivo is definitely my favorite. He's got so many angles to him--generally trying to be helpful and giving out his services, but having his own skeletons in the closet...or rather, ghost in the attic but even though there's been hardship in his past, he can still be cheerful

As for the world, I am definitely interested to see more of what's around and what systems are in place. Seeing more of the magical university Toivo works at would be neat. I'm also interested in what the rest of the adventuring party was like now that we've met two of Toivo's old chums

Delphina

Rocky is my favorite! He's so cute and feisty!

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

1. My favorite scene was when Toivo had to confront the ghosts of his past relationships! It was a super interesting character moment for him. 2. My theory is, he already had other people in his company, but they don't stay, haha (like Aidan). 3. Aidan is my favorite so far. He's just that grumpy guy with a good heart and I'm very into that kind of character. 4. Right now the storie's worldbuilding interests me a little less than the characters and their dynamics! Tho I was excited to find out more about magic (taboo and forbidden magic) recently.

keii4ii

I too love Aidan. Grumpy voice of reason with a good heart. But Rosemary is currently my favorite in terms of "character I really want to learn more about/ watch as they develop."

(is there any canon art of Rosemary and Toivo back when she was little? )

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

1) Oh, gosh, I’m not sure I can even pick a favourite. They’re all so good. I guess the scene at the end of the first chapter where the noble had to get a job as a janitor would be my favourite because it was the first time the comic made me really burst out laughing. 2) I imagine Toivo is so far above other wizards in skill that he feels he can get the job done better alone than have to ‘slow down’ for others. I think he created the company either to stroke his own ego or out of sheer boredom. 3) Definitely Toivo. I love how he is both incredibly competent and incompetent at the same time. He’s a deeply flawed and yet very endearing character- probably because of those flaws. I am very curious to know more about his daughter, though. I love how sassy and fed up with her father she is, so she’s a close second. 4) I think the mechanics of magic are very interesting, and I’d like to continue learning how it works. I am very interested in Toivo’s past, both in how he gained renown and what created the ‘ghosts’ of his past.

Delphina

I'm curious how other wizards/professors regard Toivo. Does he have peers? Or do they just steer clear because he's such a walking disaster?

indogswetrust

3. Rosemary. She’s so cute, I just want her to succeed. And find out more about her other parent! 4. Toivo saved the world? Is THAT how he got his professorship... mostly I just like the adventures

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What is your opinion on Rosemary and Toivo’s relationship? How might Toivo’s antics challenge what their relationship is, and do you think it can survive the tests its put through within the story?

indogswetrust

5. pass. i love them all :/ 6. Here’s the thing. Toivo is a great wizard and it seems like Rosemary is too? But they haven’t done a lot of practicing together. Like does he want her to join the family business, is he trying to keep the pressure off. Tbh, they seem to have a solid foundation, but Toivo is a bottle-upper (as illustrated with the ghost scene). I think he keeps a lot of secrets from his lil’ girl, and that could strain their relationship

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

5. I really love everything about the comic's art so I can't really answer this. 6. Rosemary and Toivo seem to have a good, loving relationship but I agree with the comment before, that Toivo keeps secrets that might not be great for their father-daughter relationship in the long run. I'm really invested in these two and I hope they can work it out.

RebelVampire

1) My favorite scene is probably when Aidan arrives and chastises Toivo for what I gather to be pretty standard Toivo shenanigans. Plus, I love the line, "I was not sulking. I was...contemplating. Mournfully." That link just made me laugh so much, plus the facial expressions worked really well for it. So really, just a good combo of shenanigans plus grump character who brings some sense into the world. 2) I feel like there are two reasons Toivo made the company. First, he was bored. I can't imagine being cooped up as a professor all the time is that exciting, so Toivo sought out some action. The second reason I feel is that in some ways, Toivo doesn't want to let part of his own past go. So even if it's a solo adventure company, it keeps something of the past alive for him. As for others joining, I don't particularly see that happening anytime soon. I feel like Toivo wouldn't even want it since that would make him doubly responsible for someone's well-being in a very high risk situation. And I just don't get the sense he's good at handling that sort of thing.

3) At the moment, my favorite character is a tie between Rosemary and Aidan. Which honestly, I like them both for the same reasons. They're super down to earth, and they both make great balances to Toivo's personality. And I feel like they give me a much needed break sometimes where I need some sense and logic thrown into the crazy situations going on. XD 4) I was really interested by that newspaper article that talked about the chapter 4 bonus page where it talks about Beasts appearing. I'm really curious what sort of effects this must still have on the people living, and also what sort of catastrophe brought them about even. Plus, it seems like this might be how Toivo helped save the world, so its high on my list of curiosities. Although like some of the others here, I'd also like to learn more about Toivo's university and what the education is like. And what's not to love about magic schools?

5) My fave illustration is definitely this one https://www.ingress-comic.com/comic/chapter-3-27/ I really love the composition between the foreground, middle ground, and background, and how it all draws your eyes smoothly to the background. I also love the nature colors and how they contrast with Aidan, cause it really makes his character pop. 6) Rosemary and Toivo's relationship kind of confuses me in certain ways. Like it's obvious they care about each other, but at the same time I feel there's like this...aura of distance between them. Like I feel like Rosemary has to look after Toivo more than he has to look after her, and for me, I feel like this creates a sort of rift. But at the same time, that does make their relationship unique and interesting. So I'm actually excited to see more obstacles coming up, because while I think they'll always love each other, I'm interested to see in each of them grow and kind of realize there are parts of their relationship that could be addressed more.

Eightfish

1. I totally second everything @Delphina said about this comic. The expressions are so good! And the ghost scene! I was literally laughing out loud, while also admiring what a crazy cool concept it was. I don't think I've ever seen anything similar before. I wonder who the dark lady was though? Could she be Rosemary's mother? 3. Toivo. It's rare to see older main characters, and I really like that. He's got a lot of traits that make his age relevant to the story, too: his daughter, his job, his outlook on life. He reminds me of a few professors I've had. I do wish his appearance reflected his age, though. I know he's half elf and all, but it'd be nice to see a cool older man design for a main character, even if he still looked younger than his actual age- like 40 instead of 70.

6. I think the single dad dynamic is cool and not very often seen! And it's a happy and loving relationship too. I didn't feel the way @RebelVampire felt at all about it. They seemed very close to me, with the joking around and teasing. Like a typical good father and teenage daughter relationship. It's interesting how we both interpreted it differently. I wonder how Kay intended it?(edited)

Delphina

I definitely get the impression Rosemary feels very embarrassed for the normal teenage girl reasons about her dad. I would love to see how their relationship ages as Rosemary enters adulthood (and also if she'll turn out to be as much of a disaster as Toivo)

Eightfish

@Delphina I didn't even think she was embarrassed. Maybe a bit exasperated? But also, underneath, lovingly amused? I don't think she'll end up like Toivo. More likely she'll be his opposite, like how many people turn out irl actively avoiding their parents' negative traits.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Given the comic has a lot of focus around the theme of dealing with your problems, what is your takeaway so far? Do you think Toivo will learn to deal with his own demons, or will he still continue to just avoid dealing with them?

Sail

I missed a few days of this due to pet emergencies... D: but i finally have a bit of time, so; 3. My favorite character is Toivo, of course! With Aidan coming in as an immediate second. It's hard to chose just one fave out of such a great cast. Toivo wins out for several reasons though. The was he's drawn is extremely endearing. He's so expressive with his face and hands, and I really love that. His personality is also charming in a chaotic dumpter fire kind of way. Overall he's just this well developed, complicated character that's instantly likeable imo 4. I really like the blend of the fantasy setting with small modern touches. I definitely want to see more of what society is like in this world, and maybe what it was like before, vs what it was like after Toivo and co saved it (and from what??)

5. I will mever recover from this panel: i think it speaks for itself

Sail

6. I feel like I'd like to see more of Toivo and Rosemary interact before I form any super big opinions of their relationship. I think they're pretty solid, though. There's clearly love there, and the usual strain that comes with a single parent trying to raise a kid alone. I definitely want to see more of their home lives and interactions. They seem like they're both trying their best 7. Uuuhhhh I'm a huge fool for Toivo and Aidan's scenes together. There's SO MUCH unspoken stuff there and it really comes through in their scenes. I think the part that grabs me the most is the familiarity. Even when they're not getting along they're clearly very comfortable with one another 8. In the immediate future, will Toivo learn to deal with his problems? Hahha, no, I don't think so. Somewhere down the line? Sure, probably. He's got a lot of time to learn and grow, and I think he will at some point. I also think Toivo is the sort of person that has to learn most things the hard way, so...

snuffysam

I think Toivo is at least going to start dealing with his demons now. He may not get through them all at once, and he may end up relapsing a bit, but... I think at least he's going to start making an effort.

I agree with @Sail . Toivo and Aidan clearly have a long history together, and it's interesting to see how we learn more about Toivo through that lens.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What do you think Toivo’s past history with Dia and Aidan is? How else might Toivo’s history play a role within the story?

indogswetrust

9. I like all the little details. The stuff on Toivo’s desk, all the careful characterization that is folded into the art. Kay helpfully labelled them for us when he had his feet up reading a trashy romance novel, and I’ve been watching for them ever since.

RebelVampire

7) I actually probably like seeing Aidan and Toivo interact the most. Once again, this goes back to my previous answer about liking that Aidan is kind of a good grounded contrast personality with Toivo. Unlike Rosemary though, I get this hint that Aidan knows a lot of things about Toivo that Rosemary might not necessarily know. So like there's this deeper bond I feel between them that makes me more and more curious about things. 8) In terms of Toivo dealing with his own problems, probably not for quite a while. Given how the ghost thing resolved, I don't feel Toivo has quite learned why being able to deal with your own demons is valuable in its own right. And I feel like it's gonna take some big shocks and metaphorical slaps in the face to get him to learn. But I do think it'll happen at some point. In so far, my main takeaway regarding dealing with your own problems is that it's good but hard. Like even though people like Aidan make it seem like its easy, Toivo shows us the actual anxiety and emotional impact that our personal demons and problems leave us with. So while we can logically agree with Aidan, we also feel empathetic and understanding towards Toivo since his emotions really capture pain and what the experience is like.

9) I really love the detail in the ghosts and how they're not only wispy and kind of not clearly defined (as ghosts tend to be) but you can also see stuff through them. I love when that extra effort is taken to make ghosts transluscent (since you could otherwise shortcut drawing bgs), so it's a detail I can appreciate. 10) I'm pretty sure Dia, Aidan, Toivo, and possibly others were an instrumental group to saving the world that was mentioned in the newspaper clipping. As such, they had many adventures and horrors together, but somewhere along the line lost contact as they each drifted into their own thing as the world stabalized. I do feel like Toivo is carrying some baggage from those days, and I think it's that baggage that's going to continue to drive Toivo into conflict with his own personal problems and demons. And that this will be a large theme in the story's content in general: Toivo just cleaning up his own messes a lot.

Sail

9. Kay's lineart is amazing, and really lends weight and appeal to the overall style. I really like looking between chapter 1 and the current chapter and seeing just how much even the inking has changed 10. It's pretty clear already that Toivo and Co. werefellow adventures, and probably thick as thieves. I'd love to see more about how they met and how they used to interact. I like to think they were a pretty tight bunch for a while there

keii4ii

10. This is a longshot of a guess, and I wouldn't be too surprised if I'm wrong, but... in addition to what others have said about Toivo and Co, I wonder if Toivo wants his old buddies to join his adventuring company not because he craves adventures, but because that was the one time in his life where he felt like he actually had his shit together. Enough to Get Some of the Things Done Right, at least. He does seem like the type who has a lot of energy and needs an outlet (such as adventures). But yeah, I wonder if he also misses that feeling of... having support that you can count on?

snuffysam

It's also worth noting that Toivo's friends have grown old without him, so I think that adds to a feeling of isolation.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. How do you think the situation with Spicer will conclude? Will she continue to pursue necromancy to bring her parents back, or will she turn a new leaf? Also, how do you think Toivo might help her?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. In general, what sort of adventures do you think Toivo will have in the future? Additionally, over the course of the story, how do you think Toivo will grow and change as a person?

RebelVampire

11) For me this comic's strength is its art. There's great character design, great stylistic choices, great effort and detail paid to the backgrounds, great facial expressions, and so on and so forth. It is just a pretty comic to look at and you can pause on any panel and be rewarded visually in some way. 12) I feel like the Beast or whatever it is will cause Toivo to get hurt for Spicer. And Spicer will get mad that someone else got hurt, but then Toivo will get to have a dramatic speech about that's what parents do. And then Spicer will get to witness what a real hero is like and inevitably confront the fact that her parents are gone and not coming back. But by choosing to live and stuff, she's honoring their memory. Or something like that. Afterwards, I feel like she'll start training with Dia maybe to become an actual hero.

13) I am looking forward to seeing more of Rosemary and Toivo interact. I'd actually like to see a situation where Rosemary is the one in trouble or caused shenanigans and Toivo has to put dad pants on. Cause I'm interested to see how Toivo reacts to having to be the resposible one. 14) I feel like we're going to see Toivo both fights beasts but also deal with regular school stuff in terms of adventures. Also probably some treasure hunting. However, I think regardless of the what adventure, all will feature some real heavy emotional stuff that addresses some personal problem in Toivo's life. As for growing and changing, I think overall Toivo is going to learn to become more responsible. Not just cause irresponsibility hurts those around him, but also because he's old enough and wise enough in certain ways people are going to look to him for guidance.

Delphina

That's a really interesting point @RebelVampire. Toivo is very childish and reckless in a lot of ways, and maybe in his past circle of friends he was allowed to be irresponsible, because someone else could pick up the slack/punch the dragon. But now he's alone, and he's continually being put in roles of mentorship with younger people (his daughter, his students, and now Spicer), I wonder if he'll find that responsibility isn't necessarily a thing that magically happens when your age reaches a certain number or an innate thing you're born with, but is being in the position enough times where you say "I've dealt with this before, and there's something I know that a person who doesn't have my experience needs me to provide".

kayotics

i know it's not quite over yet, but i just wanted to pop in and say thanks to everyone who participated in the book club. It was fun to read what everyone had to say about my comic!

Sail

I hope I'm not too late to get a last few words in! Tough to be nocturnal 11. The strengths are definitely in the art style and expressiveness, but also in the pacing of the story. Nothing feels like it's being rushed, or dragging on too long. Plot points and background information are revealed in what feels like a really natural way imo 12. I'm hoping Spicer will accept the things that have happened, even if they're awful. But I also know that that's going to be diffucult if she's on her own with no one to support her. Hey Toivo, you wanna adopt a second kid?? 13. The thing I'm most looking forward to is DRAMATIC BACKSTORY, and to see more interactions between Toivo and all of the supporting cast. I also want to see more of Toivo and Rosemary's home life 14. I can only guess about his furure adventures. I hope one of them is a successful date! Preferably an action-packed date involving a dungeon, and thrilling rescue opportinuties, haha. I hope Toivo will learn to embrace his flaws and his past, and learn not to get so wounded when romance doesn't quite work out

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Ingress Adventuring Company this week! Please also give a special thank you to kayotics for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Ingress Adventuring Company, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.ingress-comic.com/

kayotics' Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kayartics

kayotics' Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/kayrossbach

kayotics' Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayartics

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