#Like I wonder what her thoughts are about all these almost “human like” places Kirby and their friends frequently discover along with

[nev3rfound]

curled up : b.b

bucky hasn’t seen you all day in the compound, and it turns out you’re sick in bed. so being the loving yet oblivious boyfriend he is, he decides to provide some needed comfort. (1k)

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Walking into the shared living space within the compound, Bucky looks around, only to sigh in disappointment. “Anyone seen Y/n?” He calls out, only to be greeted by a series of heads shaking in response.

“You sure she’s not found someone else to annoy? Like Peter for messing up on his date with MJ?” Sam laughs, oblivious to Peter holding his hand up sheepishly.

“Erm, I’m right here, Mr Wilson.” Peter mutters, and Tony rolls his eyes, motioning to Peter to lower his hand back down.

“I haven’t seen her since last night,” Bucky admits quietly, unaware of Sam raising a brow to Steve. “and she’s not answering her phone either.”

Footsteps echo from behind, and Bucky knows it isn’t you as the footsteps stride through the corridor.

Loki stands tall as he passes Bucky with a smug look on his face. “Missing something, Barnes?” Loki questions playfully, hearing the metal plates in Bucky’s arm whirring as he forms a tight fist. “No need for that, I can assure you.”

Rising to his feet, Thor steps forward much to Loki’s disappointment. “Come on, brother, where is Lady Y/n?” Thor’s voice booms as he stands in front of Loki, recognising the sly look crossing his gaze. “Don’t make me ask you again, Loki.”

“I’d do what he says if I were you,” Tony chimes in from the couch, eyes never leaving his phone despite a potential argument brewing between a super soldier and two literal Gods.

“Well then,” Loki starts, looking between Bucky and Thor. “if you must know, Y/n is sick.”

Scoffing, Bucky crosses his arms over his chest. “She can’t be, she was fine yesterday.” Bucky reasons, but Loki simply looks at him before tearing his eyes away mischievously.

“Buck, she isn’t invincible,” Steve speaks up. “she’s only human.”

“Pitiful really,” Loki mutters, tutting to himself as he moves past the pair. “now if you’ll excuse me, I’m after some needed quiet after having to put up with Y/n sneezing and coughing two rooms down all night. Not exactly the kind of noise I like to hear from someone in the night.”

Turning around, Steve shakes his head as Bucky’s feet remain cemented in place. “Buck, go,” Steve ushers, and Bucky snaps out of his thoughts, rushing through the corridor toward the elevator. “god, young love, hey, Queens?” Steve jokes to Peter who nervously laughs.

“Whatever you say, Mr Rogers.” Peter mumbles, hoping by some miracle the ground will swallow him whole. *

Hovering outside of your door, Bucky can hear your dry coughs and faint swears leaving your lips.

“Hey, doll?” Bucky knocks on the door before opening it, revealing the room drowned in darkness; and at least twelve packets of empty tissues discarded across the floor.

“Bucky?” You speak up, sounding nasally. “I thought I told Loki I didn’t want anyone coming in here.” You add in defeat as you sink your head back down into your pillows, unaware of Bucky’s smile fading.

Closing the bedroom door behind him, Bucky creeps over toward you until he’s perching on the edge of your bed. Despite it being close to pitch black, a slither of light peeks through the blinds and Bucky can see your eyes are closed, but brows remain furrowed together.

“You didn’t want me to come check on you?” Bucky tries to hide the defeatist tone in his voice, but you open your eyes and reach out sleepily, flinging your hand on his.

“No, no I didn’t mean it like that,” You tiredly whine, and Bucky chuckles under his breath. “I didn’t want anyone getting sick, I’ve got into full quarantine.” You explain before coughing violently, a hoarse noise leaving your lips.

Bucky quickly picks up the glass of water you’re reaching for, and passes it to you. He listens as you gulp it down, a softer cough following before you lie back down.

“Full quarantine or not,” Bucky starts as he rises to his feet, moving around the bed to climb in beside you. “I’m not leaving.”

Feeling the dip in your bed, you roll over as a pair of arms wrap around you gently, lifting your body closer to his.

You hum in content, knowing there’s no use fighting and you don’t exactly have the strength to bother trying.

Resting your head on Bucky’s chest, his metal arm remains wrapped around you whilst his other hand rests on your hair, his fingers attempting to run through the tangled knots.

“Loki didn’t pass my message on, did he?” You suddenly ask, and Bucky pauses. “Stupid God.” You mutter, feeling Bucky’s chest rise and fall softly.

“He is, isn’t he?” Bucky remarks. That’ll show Loki for trying to get between him in and his girl. “Do you want me to get you anything? Like some soup? My Mom always made soup when I got sick as a kid.”

Shaking your head in response, you tug on the duvet, pulling it further over you both. “Can you just tell me a story? I wanna hear more about your family.” You whisper and Bucky tenses beneath you. “I, sorry Bucky, if it’s not something you’re ready to share that’s okay.” You ramble, but Bucky shushes you, returning to running his fingers through your now knotless hair. “I’d happily tell you, doll.” Bucky leans down and kisses the top of your head. “Well, growing up on Sundays,”

It was almost instantaneous that you fell asleep in his arms before Bucky was even able to get into any depth in his story. But it didn’t matter as you peacefully slept in his arms as the occasional snore left your lips.

Smiling to himself, Bucky closes his eyes, wondering how he ever got so lucky to find a girl like you; ill or not, you’re the most precious thing in his life.

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[doomarchives]

David Annandale’s The Harrowing Of Doom: An In-Depth Review

So, I was kindly offered an advance reviewer’s copy of The Harrowing of Doom by David Annandale for the Marvel Untold series, a new prose line revolving around Marvel’s villains. Although I’m not personally familiar, the author’s prior written work and academic scholarship indicated a strong background in fantasy, science fiction, as well as horror film and literature - all essential elements of Doom himself honestly, whether in his character, design, or formative influences. A promising start from the outset! 

To no one’s surprise, I was especially excited for this one. Doctor Doom is both my favorite Marvel character and area of nerdy comics expertise, and Annandale sounded like the perfect candidate to tackle him. 

The Harrowing of Doom centers around a conflict familiar to those who know the character. Taking place fifteen years after his ascension to the throne, Victor von Doom is still hellbent on rescuing the soul of his mother, Cynthia, trapped in hell by the demon Mephisto. His yearly attempts to save her have been fruitless thus far, but he believes he can really do it this time, enlisting the help of a new character, Maria von Helm, and some of his lesser known subjects (also new characters) to accomplish the task, by building a machine called The Harrower. The noble scheme is further complicated by the reappearance of Prince Rudolfo Fortunov, son of the monarch deposed and murdered by Doom years prior, who is equally determined to take back what he believes is his birthright by any means necessary. The novel is a relatively dense and detailed one, and as a true blue Doom enthusiast, I have a dense and detailed review to match.

The first thing that I personally take note of in any material involving Doom is the author’s perspective on the truth of Latveria’s “benevolent dictatorship.” It immediately speaks volumes about a writer’s perception of Doom’s accountability and sense of morality; it kind of ends up coloring his entire characterization. That being said, I was really pleased by the evenhandedness with which Annandale treats Doom’s Latveria and his influence upon his subjects. It slots in neatly with some of the greats, Lee & Kirby, Jonathan Hickman, Roger Stern, etc with the acknowledgement that Doom is indeed a despot with an iron fist and a will absolute, but one who cares for the wellbeing of his country. Through dialogue from his subjects like the skittish Father Grigori Zargo and diehard loyal Captain Kariana Verlak, the reader gets the sense that Doom’s rule may be the best leadership Latveria has ever known. (A brief aside: another great strength of The Harrowing of Doom that has to be mentioned is the fleshing out of these different original characters. Maria von Helm was a particularly welcome addition, as a close friend of Doom’s mother and a far more empathetic magic user compared to him.)

Verlak is openly married to Dr. Elsa Orloff, a trans woman and neurosurgeon of international renown. Both of them had experienced the Fortunov rule that predated Doom’s, with Orloff even having fled Fortunov’s Latveria when she first come out as transgender, in fear of his tyrannical rule and the dangerously transphobic legislature he enforced called “The Laws of the Person.” It is apparent that Doom exists in obvious juxtaposition to the prior ruler’s bigotry. Beyond the total erasure of all previous discrimination and state-enforced bigotry, he has Verlak appointed in a role of great prominence, gave Orloff the tools she needed to succeed in her field, and even shares an exchange with her where he remarks that he knows her from her publications in the Lancet Neurology and that he appreciates them for their “speculative” approach. In an excellent exchange between Father Zargo and the rebel Prince Fortunov, the priest, who is by far Doom’s number one fan, explains Doom’s mesmerizing hold on the populace and the benefits they reap from his rule, despite it being a despotic one:

“I’ll be explicit, all the same,” said Zargo. “Doom is a sun king, even more fully than Louis XIV ever was. Latveria is a world power. How? Because of Doom and only because of Doom. Latveria’s strength and its wealth come from his inventions. And the beams of his sun touch every citizen. Universal basic income, free healthcare, free schooling, free universities, free training to the highest level of your calling - all of these things flow from Doom.”

“Free?” Fortunov snarled.

“The price is obedience, yes,” said Zargo, “And yes, Doom is feared.” Zargo stopped himself from saying Vladimir was feared and hated. [...] “Even though Doom is feared, he also is Latveria in every sense that matters.”

What I really appreciated was the author’s ability to walk the tightrope of acknowledging how beneficial Doom is for the country and his protectiveness over his domain, whilst also acknowledging Doom’s intense paternalism that ultimately favors his own goals. Doom, as well-read comic fans would know, is heralded as one of Marvel’s master manipulators. It’s a great strength of this novel to see him exerting his willpower and the strength of his personality to manipulate and sometimes, fully overpower that of his subjects. Father Zargo is definitely the most profound victim of this, a man with ties to both the church and the occult. Through the novel, Doom insistently pushes him towards the latter, his priorities made clear in one sentence: “The work was what mattered. Zargo’s soul was not Doom’s concern.” An especially interesting scene occurs later in the novel. Without too much elaboration, Doom performs an experiment where he uses the old Latverian nobility as guinea pigs.  This was something I immensely liked, corroborating one of my own personal perceptions of Doom. It’s always made sense to me that Doom would continue to hold a certain amount of disdain for Latverian high society, even after he went from low class Romani boy to monarch himself. 

(“The Fantastic Origin of Doctor Doom,” Fantastic Four Annual #2.)

Afterwards his partner, Maria von Helm, muses aloud that she always wondered why Doom let vestiges of the old regime remain, to which Doom responds: “Now you know. The aristocracy has its uses, and the advantages of being disposable.” It’s maybe my favorite example in the book of the exceptions to Doom’s purported benevolence. He does want the country to flourish and for his subjects to prosper, but this intent can be superseded by his innately ambitious nature and his own personal biases. It’s clear at several points in the book that Annandale is obviously well-read on Doom himself, but it was especially in the capturing of this nuance that it really stuck out to me in a big way. (As well as the fun reference to Doom’s brief jaunt in the French Riviera in Supervillain Team-Up!)

Outside of this core aspect of his characterization, I really enjoyed how the novel not only built up Doom’s cult of personality, but emphasized the sheer magnetism of Doom himself, in person. Constantly, characters find themselves buffeted by strength of his will, craving his approval or cowering and scrambling to avoid his displeasure. It’s a great true-to-character depiction of interactions between Doom and Latverian citizens, dynamics that were only touched upon briefly in the periphery of most comics involving Doom. I think, ironically, this is also perhaps the source of one of the novel’s few weaknesses. By keeping the book very Latveria-focused, Annandale does an excellent job of adding world-building on every level, from expounding on Latverian national holidays to the layouts of Doomstadt to the country’s storied history with witches predating Doom and his mother. But the fact that Doom mostly interacts with those beneath him or those who work for him gives the reader a bit of a myopic, overtly flattering perspective of him as almost too certain, too powerful, too unfeeling. I suppose it serves the scope of the novel for Doom to be more an obelisk of a man than fully well-rounded, but I contest that one of the best things about his character is that his indomitable exterior hides a deep well of pain and uncertainty. 

(“In The Clutches of Doctor Doom,” Fantastic Four #17.)

(“Oath of Fealty,” Doctor Doom #7.)

The novel obviously perceives Doom as Byronic, there’s even excerpts from Manfred interspersed between chapters that I greatly enjoyed, but I did find the heart of the Byronic character a little lacking here. Where Manfred bares his soul alone in monologue or to others, Doom, for the most part, does not. There are definitely brief allusions to the trials he’s faced, but he seems rarely prone to doubt or vulnerability until the very end. (For example, the central task is the attempt to rescue Cynthia von Doom’s soul, but little time is spent dwelling on this very human connection between mother and son.) Or even self-admitted imperfection! Interestingly, I only ever caught one mention of his scars in the entire novel. 

The Harrowing of Doom seems to prescribe to the line of thought that the mask is the only true face of Doom’s that matters, but I think with that philosophy, it stays firmly within the character’s own comfort zone. And his psyche never feels truly challenged, because there’s no worthy challenger. Doom knows without a doubt that he is Fortunov’s superior, so there’s no real interpersonal friction there. It left me keenly interested in seeing how the author would write Doom in the presence of someone like Reed Richards, an opponent who has historically brought out Doom’s baser instincts and invoked his self-doubt, drawing out his flaws and humanity in the process. Hopefully Marvel approves a sequel!

Doubtlessly, it’s still a strong entry into Marvel’s Doom canon and an excellent read for anyone who enjoys the character and is familiar with his history. The novel gives a sprawling, detailed look at Latveria and fleshes out both country and countrymen with aplomb. I took real delight at the indirect peeks at Doom’s personality through other characters’s observations or simple exposition. Some notable examples include Doom’s occult librarian wondering if he had been appointed out of spite of his witch-hunter ancestry, Zargo noting the west wing of Werner Academy was dedicated to clinical research in a nod to Werner von Doom’s work as a healer, and my favorite: the paintings within Castle Doom being impressionistic depictions of Doom’s ancestors, “people long buried, long forgotten, and in their lifetimes ignored or worse.”  

The conflict also moves at an engaging, brisk pace and smartly takes advantage of the widely known fact that Doom is preoccupied every Midsummer Night and turns that into an opening to be exploited by Fortunov, who also is well characterized throughout the novel and even experiences his own personal growth.

(“Though Some Call It Magic!”, Astonishing Tales #8)

Essentially, the product is a great novel about Doctor Doom influenced by strong comic lore knowledge, Gothic and Romance literature, horror cinema (According to the author, Doom’s lab is modeled after the lab from The Bride of Frankenstein!), and fantasy. If that sounds like something up your alley, definitely check it out. It gets a wholehearted recommendation from me. 

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

[elliepassmore]

Elatsoe Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: magic, urban fantasy, ghosts, #OwnVoices, regional gothic, mysteries, Indigenous legends I absolutely loved this book, from the casual magic to the stories of six-great-grandmother to the ghosts to the creepiness of Willowbee. I'm such a sucker for those Tumblr posts about regional American gothic, and so much of the little details of this book felt like those but woven into a complete world. I liked reading about the little alterations made to our world to make it the one in the book, as well as some of the ways magic might be dealt with considering the way we deal with non-magical things. I thought the worldbuilding was really good, obviously, and I thought things were introduced in a well-paced manner. The mix of exposition and reveals were also good, and Little Badger did a good job of making the exposition not actually feel like exposition. I especially liked the way Little Badger brought some new aspects to some of the lore in the book, like how vampires technically needing to be welcomed onto Indigenous land or fairies being interdimensional beings. I thought the discussion of how magic interacts with the world was interesting, and I liked the added 'realness' of having two characters discuss the carbon footprint of certain magic uses much like the way we'd debate plane vs. train carbon emissions. Since this is kind of worldbuilding, I'll mention here that I very much enjoyed the creepiness of Willowbee. It's mostly a normal town from the outside, except for the fact that the occupants will stare down strangers the entire time they're in town. And the fact that there's a mansion on the outskirts and there are several misaligned parts of the town's history. The deeper into Willowbee and its history the characters go, the creepier the town gets. It's a really good mix of creepy without being over the top, and honestly it might be more of a situation where you go 'well that's...weird and unsettling' more so than it can be considered creepy, but still. The stories of six-great-grandmother were also a really enjoyable piece of the book and I liked hearing about her adventures. She seems like a really cool person and just absolutely gives zero fucks what other people think of her (though at least most people she comes across in the stories seem to respect her). The stories were definitely a good way to do some worldbuilding as well as give life lessons to Ellie and allowed for those things to be included in a non-intrusive, natural feeling way. I think it would be cool at some point to see some more stories about six-great at some point, maybe in a smaller bind-up or ebook. As for the characters, Ellie is the 3rd person narrator for the entire book except for one chapter 3rd person narrated by Vivian, her mother. Ellie's goal is to figure out what happened to her cousin while also keeping her family safe and preventing it from happening to anyone else. This book is a nice change from most YA books with a similar theme in that Ellie's parents are present and supportive of her and help her along the way to reach her goals, never once doubting her word. Family is a really big part of things and you can tell how much it means to Ellie. She's devoted to her family members and the traditions and secrets of her family. She's a good detective, willing to do the dirty work, and is smart enough to realize that live streaming some of her adventures is a good way to avoid being disappeared. I enjoyed reading about her relationship with her dog, Kirby, as well, who has been a ghost for 5 years but is still a wonderful companion despite his incorporeality. Kirby serves as both a pet, a warning signal, and a good way to explain some of the ways of the world and about ghosts. All the ghosts were very cool and I liked learning about the family's history with them and some of the family secrets about ghosts. Ellie's grandmother seems like a serious badass for having a mammoth as her ghostly companion, and I think she would be another good one to have a book about. Below is also an interesting concept and I like Ellie's realization that it isn't necessarily one point in time, but it can be multiple stacked on top of one another, like all the oceans or deserts that were in one place across the billions of years that place has existed. Vivian also added some interesting complexity to the family's use of ghosts, since like all eldest girls in the family she has the ability but doesn't use it as much as her relatives seem to. In her narrative chapter we get hints as to why that is and a time when it was different, which I thought added some nice layers to her character and the story and use of ghosts as a whole. Jay, Ellie's best friend, also features prominently in the book as someone who helps with her investigation. He's a rather optimistic character and acts as a good support during the investigation, pulling out some pretty good resources as well. Jay himself is a fairy and aside from the obvious mentioning of it in the beginning of the novel, there are some more subtle bits dropped throughout the book that make it realistic, such as the pointed ears he hides under his hair or the part(s) where he uses a will-o-the-wisp as a flashlight. I thought his interactions with Al were amusing, considering he's fine with the other guy until it turns out how serious Al is about his sister, though I think he's more grumbly about it than genuinely upset. Despite being what Ellie calls a "Celtic-and-Nordic American," Jay respects Ellie's culture and traditions and is respectful when inquiring about things he doesn't know. I enjoyed the interactions between Ellie and Jay and it's obvious how close the two of them are. While the book ends with all the loose threads tied and I think it'll be a standalone, if Little Badger were ever to write about Ellie again I could see the two of them being partners-in-investigation in/after college. Something I did find off about their relationship, though, was the fact that they've supposedly been best friends since babyhood, yet don't know some pretty basic things about one another. In one scene, Ellie mentions that she didn't think he was actually related to Oberon and in another Jay is surprised to hear Ellie's full name is Elatsoe, both of which seem like things you would know about your best friend. I mean, the first name one is something you would probably know about your regular friends too, so it seemed kind of weird that he never would've heard her full name before. There are other times where it seems like they're more 'newly best friends' than 'lifelong best friends,' but overall I enjoyed their interactions and their friendship. Most of the characters in this book were awesome in different ways, though there's not enough room to go over them all. Ellie's parents were both supportive and trusting of her, though they did still worry and caution her like parents do. Pat, her dad, comes across as a warm person and I liked the little quirk of his that's revealed at the beginning re: gas and survival stories. He's a vet, so it only seems natural that he's married into a family where the women raise ghost animals. Vivian is a teacher and seems to be the more protective of the two, though she's not stifling about it. She's the parent who's mostly with Ellie during the book, since the dad has to work and is only really in the beginning, and we get to see a lot of how her and Ellie interact and the advice she gives El. Another family member is the cousin-in-law, Lenore. Poor Lenore has just lost her husband and has a still-young baby. I sympathize with that and with her sense of grief and pain. What I do not sympathize with is the way she handles some things. For one, she seems entirely too dismissive of the family's culture. In one part of the book Ellie is reminiscing on a time she visited with her cousin and that even then she knew there was tension between Trevor and Lenore re: cultural traditions. Well, in present-tense Lenore seems to almost completely ignore some pretty major parts of their culture, such as burying those who've passed with personal items and not using their name to refer to them for a certain period of time. Likewise, she knows the dangers of human ghosts, yet she still seems to want Trevor to come back as a ghost *SPOILER* and 1) even attempts to disturb his grave to get that to happen and 2) is said to seem very happy when news he did come back as a human ghost breaks *SPOILER END*. Al is, as mentioned, dating Jay's sister, Ronnie, and is a vampire/cursed man. The lore behind vampires was interesting, and I liked how Little Badger used a version of them that sees vampirism as an illness, since it adds a layer of complexity to the world and reveals some of how discrimination that is applied in situations in our world is applied in the world of Elatsoe. Al seems like a pretty laid back guy and he clearly cares about Ronnie and Jay. He's more than willing to help with the investigation, even when it gets him into some pretty serious trouble, and he takes most things that occur in the book with a pretty chill attitude. Ronnie, Jay's sister, appears toward the end of the book with some friends and is 100% willing to kick some ass in Willowbee. With only being in the book for a short time, she seems like a cool character and seems decently close to Ellie and her family as well. One thing I felt a little weird about was the one scene where she and Ellie are on the phone and Ronnie says "I get that you're asexual, so, like, it can be a friend or zucchini or..." (201), which felt a little along the lines of 'I don't care if someone's white, black, or purple.' I really enjoyed Elatsoe and thought the characters, worldbuilding, and plot were all excellent. I definitely recommend it for fantasy lovers, and I'll definitely be reading A Snake Falls to Earth when it comes out.

[queenofthedramedies]

Legacies Opinions: 3x04 (or 2x20) Happy Anniversary: Let's Get Apocalyptic!

Hello, my lovely readers!

Welcome back to Legacies Opinions! There is a lot to break down, and possibly some muddling through what could happen to our beloved gang...

Last week we had a musical. This week we had an apocalypse! Yeah! Crazy! But we're used to going up and down in the TVDverse, especially with Legacies: Where almost anything can happen.

Personally, I enjoyed this epi. It had all the trademarks of a season finale--including a shocking twist that leaves our heroes wondering how the hell they deal. More on that later...

Before we get to the biggest twists and turns of the epi.: Let's give a round of applause to the BFF of S2: Jed and Kaleb. They bounded over their fondness for Alyssa Chang, but found each other, in the end. Go, Team Jeleb, or Ked?

We get to see the twins at work. Yes, that does mean Josie used her magic. For a quick minute. But she still has guilt points from hurting Ethan, at the beginning of the season.

And so it seems we might be seeing Jo, and Lizzie going on seperate paths. Seems Jo wants to take a page out of Hope's playbook, and try to be a human kid, for a awhile. No doubt The Super Squad, or Lizzie, will need Jo back in the fold, sooner, rather than later.

Speaking of Jo, we also saw her hanging out with Ethan. Could this mean there is a new ship? Easie or Jothan? Time will tell...

Lizzie will struggle, without her twin, and it seems that she might be losing MG, too, who was last spotted smooching on Alyssa! What! Yes! That happened! And right when Lizzie finally figured out her feelings for MG. And Lizzie might be trying to play it cool, but we know she's a fighter. She's gonna shoot her shot. But will Milton want to be hit by her arrow?

It looked like Alyssa was working toward being a Big Bad, and would be willing to make MG into her love puppet, at any cost, including his life! Ouch! But she's not quite as bad as she wanted people to think and there is more to her story. No spoilers about her back story!

We had a five second moment of Hethan, but Hope was little busy, trying to save Landon. But we did find out that Maya is still around. Where! We want Maya!

Couples of the Week:

Mizzie, because their story is so not done. They just have an epic slow burn to, drive fans crazy with.

And Handon! And, OMG, their story in this epi. is all over the place! It starts all happy, with plans for a date. A big date: Read sex date. Yup. Time to let all of those hormones run wild and free. But they have to live to get there first.

The Necromancer caused some problems with that, as well as Malivore. Yes, I said Malivore! And Land made a deal with his daddy, to take down The Necro! Can you believe it?

So, it looks like Malivore, and the monster-of-the-week, may be a thing of the past. Finally! Personally, I felt that they needed to deal with Mali, at the beginning of S2, and move on. However, there are some seriously funny moments, including The Necro losing his head, after Hope thought Land was dead, again, and channeled her own dad before taking revenge. There was also some Handon playing with The Necro head, who just will not shut up! Ha!

Who loves HandonXfire, because that is becoming a thing. And then they went through Mali-gope. Kind of "Ew!", but hold on to someone you love, tight.

The epi. ends with that big cliffhanger: Where Landon becomes (spolier), after he and Hope (spoiler). It looks like Landon might have triggered a Malivore power, but can Hope help him? I will say this: I do not believe this is the last we will see of Mr. Landon Kirby. Looks like we'll have to tune it, to find out.

Until next week, and the not-a-season-premiere!

Be safe!

-J

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part One

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: An AU originally based off of the 2012 TMNT universe, but can be compatible with most versions of the characters. <3 2.7k words. A03 link can be found here. Also special thanks to @cloakedrabbit and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading!

Looking back on the past couple of days’ events, April should have realized that kidnapping an endangered creature was a bad idea.

Well, scratch that.

Maybe attempting to break into a high security laboratory was where she went wrong. Or –

“This is totally wicked!” Casey Jones hollered from the driver’s seat as they took another sharp turn, tires spinning and spitting gravel up into the windshield wipers that were already working overtime. The creature in the backseat squawked and flailed as he skidded across the torn upholstery, desperately trying to sink his claws into something to keep from being thrown about like a rag doll.

“Slow down – and calm down!” The red-head snapped first towards the driver, and then over her shoulder at their passenger as she rapidly typed away on her laptop. A large jolt suddenly rocked the Jeep to one side and then the other, and April threw her arms out as a scream escaped her mouth. “CASEY! BRIDGE!”

Okay. So there were a lot of things that went wrong.

***

“Here we are!” A voice called loudly, causing April to jerk her head up and nearly lose an earbud in the process. “Now I know you’ve told me before, but remind me – what class is this project for? I don’t recall having to do anything like this until I’d reached graduate school.”

April smiled as she rose from her seat and shouldered an air tank onto her back. She carefully pulled the earbuds from her ears and tucked them into the bag of dry clothes she’d brought, then paused to looked out across the ocean. The sky was overcast that afternoon, leaving glare so minimal that even as the boat chugged to a stop beneath them, she was almost certain she could spy movement in the water below. “It’s for a dual-credit course. My science instructor knows that Dad is stationed here and that I study under him, so he said that I could use some of my research work as a science credit.”

“My word,” The fourty-something Japanese man at the stern shook his head in amusement as he pulled a lever to lower the anchor. The ship responded with a groan, lurching slightly at the movement, and the air was soon filled with a steady clack-clack-clack as chains were steadily released into the depths. “I swear, April – you work more than most kids your age. It’s a wonder you even have time to consider college courses. And you’re only – what – sixteen?”

“Seventeen as of last month,” April shrugged lightly and fought back an amused eyeroll as she continued to adjust her gear and flippers. Once she was certain they were secure, the girl reached for her camera and looped the strap over her wrist. She’d known Miles for a few months at this point and was pretty sure that they’d had this exact conversation every time they spoke. Her dad joked that his memory retention was about as long as that of the goldfishthat he studied. “Thankfully most of the college stuff is online, so I don’t have to worry about dealing with all of the paperwork from moving between schools. So it’s not too bad.”  

“Ah. Well then, I won’t keep you from your schoolwork any longer.” Miles tapped his wrist and jerked his chin towards the cloudy sky before moving towards the stairs that led below deck. Typically the rule was to never dive alone, but… “Remember, one hour tops, and then I have to check the boat back in for the evening – no exceptions.”  

“I know, I know – see you in a bit!” Positioning herself on the side of the boat, April fitted the mouthpiece from her tank into place, flashed an okay sign, and then pushed herself backwards into the rolling waves.

***

No matter how many times she dove, April could never not be amazed by the sheer beauty of the sea.She often wondered if she’d feel the same had her dad chosen a different line of work, but she ultimately pushed those thoughts aside and chose to simply be grateful that she’d always had the opportunity to live near open water. It was, after all, one of the only consistent things in her life.

She couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times that she had moved in her short life. Once or twice a year, her dad was reassigned to a new zoo or university and that meant uprooting everything and moving to the next body of water. Everywhere from Florida to Quebec to now Osaka – a large port city in Japan – had served as a temporary place of residence to April, her father, and the rest of the research team.

“Don’t worry, Pumpkin,” Kirby O’Neil had smiled at April over his mug of hot chocolate – a relocation announcement tradition in the O’Neil household. April remembered scowling into her own mug in response. “I spoke to the Board, and they’re willing to keep us in Osaka at least until you’ve graduated from high school. That way you can finish out your diploma in one place!”.

Five months later and the Board – a maniacal creature seemingly dedicated to repositioning its prisoners at random – had remained true to its word. April had quickly settled into the Japanese immersion class at her high school and was actually doing quite well in the school environment – enough so that the headmaster had paired her with another immersion student to help tutor him in math.

Casey Jones was an up-and-coming hockey player, the oldest child of the English Foreign Language teacher, and a big pain in the butt. Even though he was scheduled to graduate later that year, Casey seemed bound and determined to fail all of his classes – meaning that he and April spent more than the intended amount of time studying and hanging out together.

“It’s just you and me against Japan, Red,” Casey often joked as he would flash her a gap-toothed grin. “Us immigrants gotta stick together.”

If not for his cocky attitude and constant flirting, April might have thought that he was cute.

Might.

April gave a few kicks as she allowed thoughts of school to drift away and happily rolled in the cool water. Several silver fish darted out of her way as she sank lazily past, raising her camera in time to capture a couple of photos. Her blue eyes widened in awe as a class of clownfish and several jellyfish followed, and she rapidly snapped several pictures before they could float out of range. The water grew rapidly colder and darker with every few feet, aided by the clouds that were constantly drifting in front of the sun. Minutes slowly ticked away as her distance from the bobbing boat lengthened until it was no more than a misshapen shadow on the surface of the water above.

Thick, twisted chunks of orange and pink coral and a forest of seaweed eventually began to rise up around her, and she paused in the shadow of a particularly large structure to glance at the time on her camera screen – only twenty minutes left before she had to head for the surface. Yikes – that didn’t leave very long to get more decent shots.

She furrowed her brow in thought – maybe she could convince Miles or another research assistant to bring her out again tomorrow -?

Suddenly, a burst of movement out of the corner of her eye grabbed April’s attention and sent her reeling backwards against the coral. Hundreds of tiny fish blew past her in a frantic, unorganized mass, the undertow tearing at the surrounding seaweed and adding to the chaos and confusion. Before she could right herself, a much larger form shot after the fish, closely followed by another of similar size. The masses cut through the water without a glance in her direction, clearly intent on their prey and unaware that they had been seen.

April gasped as she righted herself and stared at the large, rapidly moving shapes that were quickly disappearing into the distance – what the heck had she just seen? For a moment she wanted to brush it off as simply two seals hunting dinner, but something made her hesitate. Something was off.

Heart pounding, she slowly peeled herself off of the coral wall and ducked into the thick seaweed. Once she was sure that she wouldn’t be spotted, April raised her camera and aimed it at the creatures. By now they were far enough away that the camera wouldn’t focus, but this confirmed what she’d thought she’d seen. Those were not the usual side to side movements that most fish travelled by, or even an up and down motion like dolphins or seals would use – these things had arms and legs that they were kicking like human beings.

Still not acknowledging April’s presence, the two creatures suddenly split up and each silently moved to one side of the school of fish. They then began to duck and weave, almost dancing with each other as they continued to direct the fish into a tighter and more condensed mass.

The numbers on April’s camera screen blinked a warning, reminding her that she only had a few more minutes before she needed to head to the surface, but she shoved the thought aside. She had to get closer.

With one hand firmly clutching her camera, April pushed off of the coral and began to propel herself through the clinging seaweed. The creatures had already put several dozen yards between herself and them, but appeared to be slowing as they closed in on their prey.

Moving through the dense seaweed was more difficult than her targets had made it look, however. The girl grimaced as her limbs repeatedly got tangled in thick pieces of the plant, slowing her motion until she tore them loose. She was almost to the edge of the seaweed when the bigger of the two let out a sharp clicking noise, causing April to freeze in place.

Before she could determine what was happening, a net appeared between the two beings and they cast it across the fish. The smaller creature then reached for a long strand of seaweed that had been wrapped around his forearm and tied the bag shut, thoroughly trapping their dinner. He squealed and clicked in pride, sounding like a dolphin that had just performed a trick and was now expecting a treat. The larger creature chirped in response and reached out to pat the smaller one on the head.

April kicked forward, mind reeling as she struggled to comprehend what she was witnessing, when a thick piece of seaweed tangled itself around her thigh and brought her chase to a stop. The sudden change in momentum caught her off guard, and April flailed her arms around in surprise – only for her camera to slip from her grasp. The small device, now free of anything weighing it down, rocketed towards the surface as the girl let out an exasperated string of curses that were only just masked by her mouthpiece.

Eyes straining to not lose the creatures amidst the bubbles that had stirred up around her, April violently jerked her leg to snap the seaweed. When the clinging inhibitor only seemed to tighten in response, she let out a huff of frustration and reached down to quickly untangle her leg. What met her fingertips, however, was not part of the slimy plants that surrounded her.

The girl let out a muffled stream of bubbles as she twisted around and gasped sharply. The dark tentacle around her leg tightened in response, and several more shot out from the shifting forest to pull at her arms and hair. April instinctively reached for the emergency knife on her belt, but the massive squid let out a fierce grumble as its tentacles tightened around her arms and pinned them to her sides. April’s heart pounded loudly in her ears as she struggled fruitlessly and let out a garbled yell of panic.

Had she been diving with a team, the others would have stepped in at this moment to help her get away. But now here she was, alone and trapped with her only hope nearly twenty minutes away from even beginning to question where she was.

Am I going to die down here?

Just as another tentacle snaked forward to tug at her airline, the water around her erupted into bubbles and April felt herself being violently thrown back and forth. The tentacles remained firmly wrapped around her body, but she felt their grip slacken ever so slightly as two blurs rammed into the squid’s head with claws outstretched. Blood filled the water as the squid flailed beneath its attackers, scaly skin tearing underneath their claws.

April screamed again as one of the creatures suddenly turned on her, eyes wide and ghostly white, and then began to violently attack the limbs holding her tight.

Even as she was being tossed back and forth, April could tell that the creature fighting for her freedom was like nothing she had ever seen in her research. Shape-wise, the creature appeared to be a mix between a human and a turtle, roughly several inches shorter than she was. The terrapin was a pale olive color, covered from head to toe with splotches of purple scales. Thick claws protruded from large, rounded limbs and with each swipe it was clear that they were sharp enough to cut through flesh without much effort. A ramshackle string of lavender stones hung from one of the terrapin’s upper arms, somehow not getting cut or knocked off during the fight, and a quick glance told April that the other creature bore similar decorations on its own body.

When the thrashing tentacles finally began to loosen, the turtle nearest to her grabbed April beneath the armpits and quickly jerked her out of their confinement while the other continued to distract the squid. The turtle’s claws dug into her sides painfully as it held her to its plastron and began to swim awayupwards, causing April to cry out and kick her legs in panic. A series of sharp clicks echoed in April’s ears as she fought, and then several things happened all at once.

The water erupted with even more noise and movement – though April hardly believed it possible – and then the arms around her slackened and fell away, almost immediately to be replaced by several pairs of hands that she could recognize as being human. The next few minutes happened as a blur – she vaguely remembered several decompression stops as they ascended, each accompanied by hands gently patting her body and checking for injury – but before she knew it, they were breaking the surface of the water. There her world continued to move in a confusing blur of shapes and colors as more hands hooked under her arms and heaved her on deck, where her diving equipment was quickly stripped away and replaced with warm towels and gentle touches.

April blinked rapidly, her eyes stinging as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. “What – ”

“We’ve got you, Little One,” A female biologist that April recognized from her father’s crew came into view amongst the blur of movement and blankets being piled on her shoulders, her face creased in maternal concern. “Delta Team was out patrolling and pulled up right alongside Miles just as your camera surfaced – we were afraid something terrible had happened to you! And – oh, you’re bleeding!”

“I –”

Miles’ voice suddenly broke through the chaos. “Give us a hand – we’ve got something big!”

Rina’s head jerked around to look at something out of April’s line of sight, and then she wrapped her arms around the girl and turned her away from the ruckus occurring on the other boat. The woman muttered something softly in Japanese, her eyes widening as she pulled April tighter against her body. “Oh my word…”

“What’s going on?” April turned against the arms holding her right as a full net thudded onto the deck she’d been on less than an hour ago. The large mass inside of it was curled inward and bleeding slightly, but one limp arm was clearly visible, bearing a bracelet of string and lavender stones.

Next Chapter

[sinjata]

Inuyasha / Kagome Fanfic : When Your Heart Makes a Wish - Chapter 3 - A dear memory

A/N: Hopefully you readers had peaceful All Saints' Day and Happy Halloween. ( ( ^ o ^ ) ) 

I have cried and screamed here like crazy today, because the news of the Yashahime English dub cast! They are all back; Richard, Kira, Kirby, Kelly, Jillian and David!!! I’m just so happy right now, you have no idea! I have been waiting those news so much! ♡ Ehem... I try to calm down now. ^^’ So, this chapter became a little long one, also very fluffy and syrupy sweet. Just warning! Hopefully no one will fall asleep, while reading. Oh, and thank you so much for reblogging chapters! :) Enjoy of reading!

Chapter 3 - A dear Memory

Kagome stares at the sky, feeling the coolness of the bench underneath her. One memory has been really hidden for a long time, but now Kagome decides to give it permission to come out. She sighs and clears her mind of everything else. Maybe it would make me feel better this time? Or then it just kills me... Kagome thinks and closes her eyes.

*****

The day began to turn into an evening at the well of a bone eater. Kagome squeezed the familiar wooden edges of the well with white knuckles. She had to get somewhere to calm down, this place was important to her and just right for it. Sango asked earlier about her well-being and Kagome did know well, why she was worried about her.

She was lucky to have Sango as a friend, with whom she was able to clear up her thoughts, like Sango did too with Kagome. Inuyasha and Miroku were certainly not the easiest travel partners. However, Kagome had not been able to give the correct answers to her questions. She felt somewhat restless and went through her distressing thoughts with herself.

Inuyasha was going to kiss me in my room back then and said he would protect me, but... I guess even then he was only thinking of Ki - Kagome couldn't continue her thought to the end, feeling like even the mere thought was still hurting.

“And when I come back here just for a moment, we just get into a stupid fight with each other. As always... Even that tells it, right? No, there's nothing else between us! It wasn't even two-timing before, because there hasn't been anything like that, right? Damn... If only I could talk about this with mom, she could -”

Suddenly she felt like she wasn’t alone anymore, but too late, when someone was already behind her. She startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Are you trying to drop me...? She thought as she turned to swing that hand away, but she stumbled and was going to fall into the well.

Kagome instinctively closed her eyes, waiting to fall into the glow of the well, moving to her own time. Or worse, she would just flop to the bottom of the well, among to the bones of the demons. At the last moment she felt arms around her and someone pulling her up from the well. But Kagome did recognize those someone's hands. Amazed golden-yellow eyes stared at her, while she realized that she was face to face with very familiar hanyō.

“Inu-Yasha...” she said in fright.

Their faces changed color in a redder direction, as they noticed how close they were each other and Inuyasha still holding on her for some reason. Why he won’t let go...? Or maybe it’s a good thing... Kagome thought, she was somehow feeling weird. She didn't know how well her numb feet would carry, if Inuyasha would let go of her.

Kagome didn't seem to be happy to see me here, but... Why I wouldn't want to let go of her yet? Inuyasha who was unable to move, thought.

“Oi... Are you okay?” Inuyasha asked softly.

“I’m... I’m just fine!” a little bit panicky Kagome responded with shrill voice, struggling away from Inuyasha's grip. No no no, that tone is already too much!

No, don't go yet… Uhh. Inuyasha thought a little disappointedly.

Kagome slammed into the ground to lean against the well, blinking her eyes. My heart beats like crazy, because of fright... Or for some other reason? Oh, shut up now, brains! Kagome said in her mind. She pulled feet against her chest and buried half of her face behind arms, suddenly feeling how the color flee from her face. Ooh no, did I speak out loud before?? How long has Inuyasha been watching, did he hear me? Damn snooper!

Inuyasha also sat down on the ground next to Kagome. Strange feeling... Where does this disappointment come from? Well, I prevented Kagome from escaping home! He thought contentedly.

“Were you going home? Keh, you shouldn't jump like that, head first! It can hurt if you just hit the bottom!” Inuyasha grinned, Kagome felt how a gust of anger wanted to come out and she had no time to stop it.

“You crazy, you almost scared me to death! Do you have to sneak around like that??” she turned to Inuyasha, spat the words from her mouth with anger in her eyes, but then she was little startled too by her own outburst.

Inuyasha rushed closer to Kagome, after surviving of the fright she caused.

“You were going back home, right?! Well, I'm sorry that I saved Miss sourpuss from falling! Should I just have given you a boost, huh??” Inuyasha barked back.

They looked at each other in anger and their bangs mixed together. Does she look - sad? Inuyasha noticed, when their gazes were reconciling.

He's so... Too close! Kagome swallowed her anger, shook her head and backed away from him.

Damn it... Why this always happens? Situations just explode in our hands, just like that. Even if I wanted something completely different... Inuyasha thought.

“I wasn't running away, what do you think of me?” Kagome glared him. Yes, I know... Sometimes I have gone without telling him, but Inuyasha was the one, who in most cases caused it.

“I just miss home sometimes, even now when I really should be there”, she said with an apologetic tone in her voice.

“Here I'm just able to be a bit closer to home, even for a moment”, Kagome said, while she stroked scar on her knee with her fingertips.

When Kagome has hurt her knee? Why she hadn't shown it to me? Inuyasha looked at her wondering. The “weathervane” seems to have subsided for a moment, but doesn't she like to be here anymore…? He worried.

“Homesickness, huh? Everyone always misses you back here”, Inuyasha said knowing really well, who misses the most.

“Hm, really?” Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who nodded with a smile.

“Thank you, you’re kind when you say that”, Kagome smiled and found herself feeling a little lighter.

Inuyasha often managed to annoy her, but also occasionally cheer her up.

“Keh, just saying...” Inuyasha mumbled while he chewed a straw, feeling how his cheeks heated up.

A moment of silence descended between them. Inuyasha cleared his throat and scratched head with a fingernail. He wondered, how to formulate his question and then just asked directly - to her horror.

“Kagome... About what, or rather, about who were you talking about recently, alone?”

Kagome blushed harshly, suddenly she just wanted to jump into the well and disappear for a moment.

“Wha... You - or no one else - should have been hearing my private stuff, you stupid!” Kagome snapped, struggling with controlling her anger. Why Inuyasha is always challenging me, at the worst moment...

Inuyasha was frightened, deciding to shut up. Why the hell do I never learn?! After all, that woman goes angry from zero to a hundred in seconds... She will probably tell me to sit, unless I won’t shut my snout in time.

If only I had a nose as good as Inuyasha's, I would have smelled him from afar... Kagome thought and snorted frustrated. Then she surprised herself with her courage. I guess there's nothing to lose, just my face.

“You know, about us”, she said like it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Eh-h...” Inuyasha heard enough to realize it, but he never thought Kagome would admit it to him like that. Why I had to ask... But I thought for a moment, that she would have someone else...

Kagome felt how Inuyasha solidify beside her. Before he got even whole word said, she continued to burble nervously.

“Just that there’s nothing... Uh... You’re just terribly kind, when you take care and protect me, as you do for everyone else around you too, because that’s how you act. And you mean a lot to me, but... There seems to be nothing else between us, right? I mean, if there was anything else, things would be quite different then, I think? Surely, we wouldn't be tearing off heads from each other like this, but instead... Uh... Mmh...” Kagome tried to sound light, but was terribly afraid that it didn't work out very well.

Just a badly escaped thought... How wrong I formulated all that, help! And I almost forgot to breathe... Kagome thought in horror, feeling suddenly weak. She forced herself to shut up and buried her glowing red face in the palms of her hands.

But instead tearing off what? Inuyasha became curious, but he knew he would not dare to ask. He was like a statue, not daring to look at Kagome or barely breathe. Nothing else? Have I just imagined everything...? He tried to deal about things he had just heard, but violent heartbeats and too fast galloping thoughts made it difficult. Luckily, I'm not in my human form now... He thought, then hearing Kagome continuing.

“We're just good friends, aren't we?” Even though I love you more than anything, I just can’t say that to you... Kagome finally huffed, though the rest only in her mind. She would have just liked to clog her mouth to avoid further humiliation.

Her mouth or no other part of her body obeyed of her commands at that moment. Kagome did not dare to look at Inuyasha at all, fearing too much of his reaction. She just had to get clarity to all of this, or she would have gone nuts. Yet remorse struck into Kagome, like a cold stone and the situation began to embarrass her badly.

Why did I answered absolutely anything, what on earth did I do?? How can I ever look Inuyasha in the eye again? What if he talks to others about this, how that silly woman might have imagined there was something between us? What if I just drag him into my own time for a moment and try to shut his mouth about the whole thing? Soon he's probably just bursting out laughing... Kagome didn't know what to do, her cheeks almost burned her hands and panic was growing inside her.

Inuyasha was in his thoughts, while he leaned his head against the edge of the well and stared at the sky. His hands were hidden in the sleeves of the kimono. What exactly did she mean? Her heart is pounding so fast... Where did all this come from now? Did she wish, that there would be - something else? Or is it just me, who hopes that Kagome hopes, that there is something else? Inuyasha sighed, his head was getting more and more confused. Damn, you're important to me, even more! I wish I could only dare...

“I guess so? You’re my best friend, I think...” Inuyasha said very cautiously.

Though he was regretting it right away and slapped his forehead with his hand. My mouth is always open on the wrong moment, damn it... Really, there isn’t man enough in me to admit my feelings, but to swing the sword is at any time?!

Best friend. Kagome was startled by her own disappointment, which she felt hitting into bottom of her stomach. Though she had imagined the worst she could expect to happen.

“I thought so, maybe it’s best like that... I have to go -” Kagome stated and tried to get up quickly to leave, tears were too close to fall from her eyes. What else did I even imagine...

“Oi, just wait! Don’t go -“ You’re really not running away from me! Inuyasha said and acted quickly.

She couldn’t get up, when Inuyasha captured her in his embrace. Please, Kagome. Stay for a moment...

“Inuyasha, what are you...! Let me go!” Kagome miserably wanted as far away from him as she could, but Inuyasha did not loosen his grip.

She tried to struggle away from Inuyasha, as if she had the strength against his powers. But she just had to get away. Becoming rejected seems to hurt more and more... Damn these feelings!

“Calm down, woman! Stop raging!” Inuyasha was a little surprised by Kagome's powers, even though she had no chance against him.

“Let go, did you hear me, you idiot!” Kagome shouted wildly.

“Just listen for a moment -“

“I don’t want to hear! Let me go! Inuyasha, si -”

“Kagome, NO!” Inuyasha exclaimed and covered her mouth with his hand in distress, feeling how the pearl necklace was already tightening menacingly around his neck.

“Don’t say that word! I want to talk to you, we have to talk or I’ll burst!” Inuyasha shouted, despair hearing in his voice.

Kagome just totally frozed. Did Inuyasha just block the sit-command?! Inuyasha seemed to be shocked about what happened.

“I’m sorry, Kagome... I'll never try to block that again, I promise, but I couldn't do anything else... Don't say it now, please! Just don't say the word...” Inuyasha was slurring breathlessly and when Kagome shook her head as saying no, he slowly took his hand off assuming she would at least bite him.

However, Kagome had calmed down a bit. No matter how chaotic the situation was, she noticed how good it felt to be in near him. I haven’t figured out until now how I've missed, that someone would keep me close. That he would keep close...

She turned to look at Inuyasha, who was pale with his head down, looking unwell. Kagome began to worry as she felt, that Inuyasha was shaking.

Inuyasha tried to calm down himself, which was not easy, as he went through a horror scenario in his head. What would have happened, if the command had been fulfilled with Kagome near me? She could have -

“Inuyasha?” Kagome said touching his arm and he raised his head.

“Hey, I-I’ll stay, don’t worry”, Kagome said quietly and although Inuyasha saw concern on her face, for some strange reason, it just reassured him.

“Kagome, do you realize this could have ended really bad way??” Inuyasha asked, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders, his eyes looking scared.

“I would have crushed you under me, if the command had been fulfilled. I really didn’t know, if I had time enough, but I had to try to stop you...” Inuyasha said before he went silent and let his hands fall down.

Inuyasha... Oh dear, what was I causing just now! Kagome felt, how cold shivers passed through her. He must have used all his powers to stop the command being fulfilled...

“I’m so sorry... I-I didn’t understand at all -” Kagome’s eyes filled with tears as she finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

Inuyasha just shook his head and pulled that sobbing girl into a firm hug.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you had -” he said but couldn’t end his sentence.

“Inuyasha, I guess you just saved my life, thank you...” Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha felt Kagome's warm breath on his neck. He embed his face in her hair, knowing that Kagome's scent was something he would never forget.

Kagome didn't know how long their hug had lasted, but she felt it calmed them both. Not knowing what Inuyasha still wanted to talk about, Kagome just was not sure, if she was able to hear what he had on his heart. But she could not leave, because that was the right place, where she had to be now.

Why couldn't this have happened before, how good it feels to be like this... Inuyasha thought with his eyes closed, Kagome in his embrace. After a while, Kagome moved a little further and examined Inuyasha with her gaze.

“Are you okay?” He seems to be somehow himself again, I’m so glad... Kagome thought, when Inuyasha nodded in response.

“You?” he asked, noticing Kagome's slightly pale face.

“I’m, but... Can I stay here, for a moment?” Kagome wanted to make sure, because she had just recently tried madly to go away from him.

Inuyasha was surprised, but he felt mere joy inside and the red color on his face might had revealed it to Kagome as well.

“Keh, as if I even would let you leave...” Inuyasha said without looking her in the eyes. You can stay as long as you want...

Kagome was relieved by the answer, making her feel more at ease. She decided to take a better position and touched Inuyasha’s hand as she took support from him.

“D-damn, you’re ice cold! Stupid, you should have said that you are freezing”, Inuyasha said, took off his red kimono and swing it around Kagome.

“No need to look at me like that. I do well without it, unlike you”, Inuyasha said as he placed kimono over Kagome, so that it also formed a hood on her head.

“Better?” he made sure, looking at her for a moment. That suits you well...

“T-thanks, I didn’t notice how chilly air already is”, Kagome said gratefully, but would not have wanted Inuyasha to get cold either. So warm, his warmth...

“I don’t want you to get sick. We don’t have time for that now”, Inuyasha said, took Kagome’s shaking hands between his and rubbed them to warm them up.

Kagome couldn't do else than stare at their hands, feeling how the heat spread from the kimono and Inuyasha's hands to her own body. Do best friends do - this? She thought and felt, how her heart was pounding faster.

“Kagome, it’s probably time for us to talk, about everything”, Inuyasha said after a silent moment, waking her up from her thoughts and releasing, reluctantly though, her hands.

Kagome knew that, what the end result would be, it remained to be seen later. After all, I can’t help it how I feel. The brain - or heart, let’s do this.

“All right”, she said and hid now her warm hands under the kimono, trying to stay calm.

Inuyasha was thinking hard and tried to put his word right. He didn’t want to ruin this, but he knew he could do it all too well. Just don't back down now, man! Inuyasha encouraged himself. The ears on top of this head sank a few inches down, as did his gaze.

“Kagome, I want to apologize for what stupid things I have ever done along our way. Even now and before at the village I just made you angry, I guess I always say the wrong things or things wrong. And I guess sometimes I was blind to see, what was happening around me. However, sometimes you haven't treated me so kindly either. I mean, I think I have suffered a few sit-commands, even when I have been certainly innocent...” Inuyasha said.

Wow, he really started... Kagome was puzzled by Inuyasha's flood of speech. She agreed but was still silent.

“On the other hand, when you think about it... In those situations, it may have been slightly my own fault too...” he muttered and grope his hair nervously with his hand.

Kagome listened and stroked the kimono in her hands. She was little amazed as he behaved like that. Who are you and where have you hidden my grumpy friend? She couldn't help but think. At least you can't be Shippo, his fluffy tail would have exposed him a long time ago.

“But... That one time, I felt like I had done something really bad, when you said you hated me. It felt... Damn it, it felt like a knife blow to the back!” he sighed. Or rather to the heart...

“And I would never want you to feel that way about me. It seems like - somehow I can't forget it”, Inuyasha remembered the words Kagome said at the time, and they still seemed to cut deep.

Kagome looked up. It feels miserable to see him like that... Inuyasha must have seriously thought about these things, as they still bother him.

Inuyasha fell silent, but when he noticed Kagome's staring, he looked at her.

“What now, did I say something strange?” he asked, seeming to soon lose his self-control.

Kagome shook her head quickly and continued reassuringly.

“No, you didn’t, I just got little sad about your words. I really didn’t know you were still thinking about the past like that. Oh and - I forgive you”, Kagome said smiling and put her hand on Inuyasha’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Inuyasha”, she continued, looking into his eyes and really meaning it.

“I don’t hate you. I wouldn’t even be able to do it, no matter how mean you were to me. And no, thankfully, you’re no longer as mean towards me, as you were in the early days”, Kagome continued quickly, when she noticed, that Inuyasha was preparing to rise to defend himself.

“I just couldn't imagine that we would be here like this, after you tried to kill me and take the Shikon jewel”, she said, but smiling.

I'm not that mean anymore, am I? Inuyasha thought and was ready to throw his protest, but seeing how Kagome smiled to him, he couldn't help but melt into smile himself too. She doesn't hate me, how hearing it can feel so liberating...

“Hey, I wasn’t really trying to... Look who’s talking, I've been a few times the target of your arrows, remember?” Inuyasha said and raised his finger in front of Kagome's nose.

Kagome touched gently Inuyasha's cheek, making him look at her little confused.

“But I didn't seem to be my real self in those situations, right?” Kagome looked at him, smiling sideways.

Inuyasha didn’t found no more defensive words and lowered his hand. Kagome knew him somehow all too well already, which he felt kind of strange, but in a good way.

“I didn’t know you then. You were a bit like an enemy, in your strange clothes. All I had was confused, betrayed feeling when you woke me up from the curse. All that bad what had happened, it felt like, it had just happened day before or something. I didn't know about anything else. The villagers were immediately bugging me as well...” Inuyasha muttered. And I didn't know yet, that I want to get to know you thoroughly...

“I understand. And it didn’t take long time, when on the second moment you tried to block the well with the stone, so I wouldn’t get back home anymore. And on the second, you forcibly pushed me to the well and blocked it, so I wouldn’t be able to return anymore. Because you wanted to protect me, right? And now... The well always seems to bring us together somehow”, Kagome said smiling.

While looking into Inuyasha's eyes, she surprised herself wondering, how much she likes them. Especially when his gaze is as calm as it is now, even gentle. Often when she had only seen those eyes flashing like lightning, from anger or something else. I just want you to be happy... Kagome lowered shyly her gaze, as she awoke from her thoughts.

“When I said that thing to you, I was just so upset back then, for too many reasons. And I couldn’t stop myself, so I just threw all my bad stuff towards your face. It was wrong and I guess, I hated more myself a little. I stayed because I wanted to, it was my own choice and you let me stay. I just - couldn't imagine how much it would... Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe at times I felt like you tolerated my presence, just because I was able to see the Shikon shards. To be honest, I was afraid I had made a mistake by staying - just for a little while. Not really knowing at all, what I’m to you and -“ Kagome explained.

Inuyasha listened intently, until he felt that he had to interrupt her. He suddenly grabbed Kagome by the hand, and it made her to look up at him.

“Ka-gome, even though at times you can be really reckless, intractable and insanely challenging... And... And even sometimes it may seem like we’re almost just strangling each other, I still don’t want to lose you because of any silly quarrel. Do you even understand, how much I care about you?” he said very seriously. And how damn hard it has been to admit it...

“Eh, I...” What exactly is going on here? Kagome thought, feeling like her heart would have forget a few beats. I care about you too, but...

“And no, it definitely wasn’t a mistake that you stayed. You haven't been with me just because you see the Shikon shards, you're with me because... I wouldn't have survived this far without you by my side, you have to know that. Also considering others; Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, you are very important to them too - a friend”, Inuyasha looked Kagome's hand in his as he spoke, and she listened quietly.

“Though, the worst thing about this trip has been almost losing you, more than once. To see, how you have got been hurt... It’s been hard, especially if I haven't been able to help in any way”, Inuyasha continued more gently and Kagome noticed, that he was going through different emotional states.

“Especially when I saw you three; you, Sango and Miroku lifeless, as Shippo told me that none of you were no longer breathing... And hear that awful silence, when I didn’t hear your heartbeats anymore. I remembered how you once taught us how to find a pulse in a hand or neck. I couldn't even try it, because I already knew, it wouldn't be found no longer from any of you...

I felt like I had lost the reason to continue our journey. I also felt like I was gradually being left alone again in my own little, beneath me friable world and that was my own fault. I have often wondered, how I would ever be able to return to your time, carry your lifeless body and face your grief-stricken family...” Inuyasha spoke quietly and was silent for a moment.

Kagome watched him with teary eyes. Inuyasha really cares, he does take care of us - all the time... She thought, when he continued.

“I have seen it in my nightmares, felted that heavy guilt and it has slowly torn me into pieces. Hearing Koga’s words over and over again, what he said when he realized, that you had been in great danger because of me. How cold your hands were, how your before so red as cherry blossoms cheeks were so pale... How he would never have let that happen to you. The truth is, that because of me you’ve been in danger so often, that it’s a miracle that you’re still here. And I’m so grateful, that you are”, Inuyasha said and wiped Kagome’s tears from her cheeks. My miracle...

“But we got you all back, thanks to Myoga flea, who removed the miasma. And I do hope, that we are together all the way and beyond. I will protect you with my life, as I promised. So, I forgive you”, Inuyasha stopped speaking and looked into her eyes, squeezing Kagome’s hand gently in his hand.

“Thank you, Inuyasha...” Kagome nodded slowly to him, thinking about everything she had just heard.

Inuyasha just realized to release Kagome's hand and acted, like he was going to scratch his ear. When she didn’t say anything for a moment, Inuyasha began to be a little impatient.

“Well, are you even a little happy now?” Inuyasha asked and his eyes twinkled of the enthusiasm he felt.

“Hm?” Kagome gave him a questioning look.

“Well, when I talked to you like this before, told you about my feelings and thoughts... You once said, that it makes you happy and that - I'm not alone...” Dang it, what’s with the face? Did I just make you sadder...? Inuyasha thought as he looked at her concerned.

She smiled at Inuyasha a little, nodding, for she was happy to hear Inuyasha's thoughts. They had had far too little time to talk to each other in private. Kagome just felt like all the emotions were somehow knotted together inside her, not being able to distinguish those from each other properly anymore.

Hmph. Something here is still not right, woman! Inuyasha thought and looked at her with suspicion. You’re too quiet, you’re never speechless... At least not for this long.

Kagome considered for a long time, whether she would dare to ask, what had been on her mind for a while. Well, once we're now opening up our thoughts... She sighed deeply and determined to dare.

“Inuyasha...” Kagome started and felt, how the painful piece already rose to her throat.

Inuyasha's expression brightened for a moment, but then very suddenly changed to another, seeing Kagome's face as she continued. Why does she look like that...? Did I do something wrong?

“I guess you still see only Kikyo in me, like before... Do you see her when I sometimes dress like miko? You couldn't even look at me then... And do I smell like her and just because of that, you think - that you care about me? I know, I’m useless now, because my powers are gone, but... I have tried to say in a million times, that I’m Kag -” Kagome finally cried out with a voice, that wasn't recognizable when it cracked, no matter how she tried to sound convincing.

This can't be true... How I haven't noticed this before, that she still thinks...! Inuyasha thought in shock and shook his head as he listened to her.

“Just hear me now and well!” Inuyasha interrupted, grabbed tightly from her upper arms and forced her to look himself in the eyes.

Kagome looked broken and it hurt Inuyasha like hell. It's my fault, that you are still feeling like that... He growled in his mind.

“When I look at you, what I see is just yourself, whatever you are wearing”, he replied firmly.

“You never, ever have to think about such things again!” Inuyasha said but began to feel hopeless. How in the world will I convince you? At first, I did see the features of Kikyo, but soon I learned to see you only as your own self and it’s just a good thing.

“Kagome, you have your own heart to take care of and that belongs only to you. And you smell only and alone just from yourself - damn good, do you understand, Ka-go-me?” Inuyasha said softly, smiling encouragingly and meaning every word.

He relaxed his grip, hoping that Kagome would finally believe him.

She tried to calm down, as her heart pounded in her chest so hard, that she was already little bit afraid for it. Damn good? He likes my scent... Kagome felt blushing completely. Does it feel like this, when you’re happy as can be? When you just want to scream for joy?

The fear inside her seemed to fade away. The times had been very demanding no matter in which time she was, so she didn’t properly remember, when was the last time, that she had felt as good as now. She couldn’t help but think, how adorable Inuyasha looked right now, how beautifully he spoke to her. A tear fell on Kagome's cheek before he had time to stop it. Inuyasha noticed it and took the tear on his finger.

“Hey, no more these, okay? I have seen those small pearls of yours so very often, aren’t they ever gonna stop hurting you?” Inuyasha asked little sadly.

Kagome landed now completely near to Inuyasha, pressing her ear against his chest. Inuyasha's breathing was blocked for a short moment, but he soon gave in to the familiar feeling of joy. He puts his arms around Kagome. It feels so good, when Kagome is close like this... Does she feel the same...?

“They don’t always hurt. Sometimes it’s the opposite, like now”, she explained closing her eyes.

She heard Inuyasha's heartbeat, which was unusually agitated, but he still seemed calm on the outside. Maybe it's some hanyō thing... Kagome thought as Inuyasha stroked her hair, like his mother had sometimes done to calm him down.

“I bet my head as a pledge, that you’ve cried a lot less in your own time”, Inuyasha muttered. You've cried too many times because of me...

“Inuyasha... I've felted here, in your time, more than I have ever felt before anywhere - with you”, Kagome confessed, to herself too.

Inuyasha's heart was beating faster than ever before, he couldn't calm it down. Is this the right mood, of what Kagome has been talking about? At least that's how it feels I think... Now. Or never. He thought, gathering courage. And I will sharpen my nails on everyone, who dares to spy on us! Inuyasha thought, glancing around them, not noticing others nearby. Be a man, do it!

“Kagome - I can’t say if there was something between us...” Keh, is there even any ambiguity in it... Inuyasha paused and continued slowly.

“But I hope you don't mind, when I make sure, that there's definitely something between us...”

Kagome rose carefully from Inuyasha's embrace and looked at him without believing her ears.

“You, what...?” she asked, even there really wasn't nothing ambiguous in Inuyasha's deep gaze, with which he shackled her.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome gently a little closer to him. He wants to kiss me - still... She thought, knowing her answer, and met Inuyasha's lips with her own. And I want to kiss him.

Inuyasha was afraid, that soon he would wake up from a dream, the best dream ever. Dear Kagome, my Kagome... He couldn't believe, that he had finally dared to show his feelings again like this. And even less, how Kagome responded to those.

“Inuyasha, I...” Kagome began and retreating from him a little, she lowered her head shyly as thoughts crisscrossed in her mind.

“Your answer might be ‘I don’t mind’, right?” Inuyasha asked happily, looking at her with his head slightly tilted.

Kagome smiled and her answer could be seen from her face, even miles away.

“But oh no, more than just my best friend, that sadly wasn't enough for that yet...” Inuyasha said hoarsely, looking into her eyes.

They are - sparkling! He smiled happily, as he slid his hand into nape of Kagome’s neck, caressing it and pulling her into another kiss.

Inuyasha's touch was driving Kagome crazy. I've never been kissed like this before... She felt that kind of sensation in bottom of her stomach, that made her want to get more closer to him.

Kagome wrapped gently her arms around Inuyasha's neck, and he didn't resist at all, but pulled her closer to himself.

As the kiss became more demanding, Kagome felt Inuyasha's sharp fang touching her tongue, making her draw breath a little.

“Sorry -” Inuyasha said, as smiling Kagome shook her head silencing him, continuing the kiss. I try to be careful, I don't want to bite you unintentionally...

Neither of them had not felt such a feeling before, neither would not want to stop. Not now, when the other was finally there - near, for each other.

But Inuyasha had to do so. He looked at Kagome while stroking her back.

“When your family... Eh... Interrupted us last time, at your home...” he tried to speak.

“Yes?” Kagome asked, she had cursed that moment in her mind so many times.

“I hoped so much back then, that Sota wouldn't have appeared at the door of your room. Because I didn't have no idea, how would I ever dare to do that again”, Inuyasha continued.

“It’s good that you dared now, and I didn’t mind at all”, Kagome said as a smile spread across her face.

I never want to forget this moment, you... Kagome said in her mind, resting her forehead against his.

“Are you going back home?” Inuyasha asked quietly.

Are you crazy, after a kiss like that? Kagome thought.

“Not yet, but tomorrow I have to go back. I only came to pick up my schoolbook, which I forgot last time, but time goes by so fast on this side... But I’ll be right back, as soon as entrance exams are over. We have things like Naraku and Shikon jewel to take care of, so we still have a long way to go. By the way, we should probably return to others, they may already be worried”, Kagome said. Though I would have liked to stay right here, even forever... She thought and wanted to remember everything from that moment.

“Yeah, we should go back. But I just want to say, you will get your powers back, I’m sure of it. Don’t worry about that, okay?” Inuyasha said to her.

“I really hope so. Inuyasha, would we still keep this as a secret?” she proposed.

Inuyasha nodded, as thinking the same thing. Although it might probably be somewhat difficult to hide my feelings anymore, after now when I have already revealed those...

“It’s agreed then”, Inuyasha replied, agilely rising from the ground and holding Kagome still in his arms.

“Do you want a ride?” he asked, kissing her one more time.

Kagome nodded with a smile, when Inuyasha gently lowered her to the ground and she jumped on his back. Feeling the warmth of Inuyasha against herself and the cool breeze on her face, as they ran through the forest towards the village, she felt a good feeling that totally filled her; happiness.

*****

Kagome opens her eyes and gets up to sit on the bench, slightly trembling. She is surprised, how the memories feel still fresh, even after those years.

A tear drops down from her cheek to her lap, but she finds herself smiling. I was so happy back then. Inuyasha not only wanted to protect me, he felt something much more towards me. But how was it supposed to end like that...

However, since that evening, as their gazes met, they both felt a longing close to each other. When they passed each other, their hands could only touch for a few seconds, but that was enough to make their hearts pound faster. On a few rare times, Inuyasha had unexpectedly hugged her, when they were hidden from the gaze of others, for even a tiny moment. Those little things, how big they were in those moments...

Kagome wakes up from her thoughts to look up at a bird, which rises on its wings from a branch of an old tree.

“I miss you, Inuyasha, wherever you are”, she puts her arms around her and whispers to the morning.

...To be continued...

A/N: That’s was it, hopefully you liked! On next week I’ll take a nap on a surgery table, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post chapter 4. But hopefully everything goes fine and that day will come sooner or later! Again, Kagome and Inuyasha shared their memories, each in their own minds, in their own time. That’s why there are perspectives on both points of view in the memory part. Just for clarification, why it’s like that. Take care and please, leave a word or two, what did you like about this chapter! Thank you for reading. ♡

[talesofsonicasura]

Keeper of Dreams

A story I written last year and can be considered a very weird brain child if I'm being honest. We've seen the ridiculous power that certain cute citizens of Dreamland can conjure up. Let's see how it goes involving a certain devil filled universe.

Children missing, wife slain and seriously injured, a dark knight treads to find the pieces of his now broken life. Funny thing is... Dreams come to those that least expect it and for Sparda, they can be his salvation, whether big or in case this particular case, cute and very small.

Long long ago, there existed a world of dreams. A place where innocent thoughts of every living creature manifested and brought to life. This world, Popstar, was the holder of the country of bliss known as Dreamland. It was very peaceful filled with all kinds of bright and wonderful characters in the shape of its citizens and wildlife. Dreamland was the core of the Dream World which existed between imagination and reality. Creatures of the dark, Nightmares threatened the balance to destroy Dreamland with the Dream World following.

However it had its own protectors, the Star Warriors and their leader, the Dream Keeper. The Star Warriors were fighters born from the hearts of the brave and kind, each powerful and unique in their own right. The Dream Keeper, their general, a being who possesses the essence of the God of Dreams himself capable of traveling from reality to Dreamland with ease.

Every Dream Keeper and their warriors were successful in driving back the nightmares while protecting Dreamland especially with the power of their strongest warrior. However all good things had to come to an end. Dreamland was under attack from the inside. Their strongest warrior had been taken over by a malevolent force that they had never seen before. The land was in a panic, especially since it was also the day that the child of their Dream Keeper had been born. A child who wouldn't be able to protect herself.

Whatever changed their comrade was devouring everything in darkness as it spread like a vile disease. Dreamland had to be abandoned, the sacred core and the Dream Keeper's child evacuated immediately. The Dream Keeper gathered all of his available warriors and his most trusted comrades. He turned to his main general but also closest friend and handed the warrior his child with a final task. "Protect her." The Dream Keeper was going to face his possessed warrior alone.

The Star Warriors tried to stop him but their most trusted general stood in their way. They realized their keeper's daughter and the core came first. With heavy hearts, the Star Warriors evacuated leaving behind their home empty of life except for their lost comrade and their Dream Keeper. One large flash of light was seen through the darkness that consumed Dreamland whole. A red butterfly fluttering towards them once the light had died.

Their keeper and most cherished friend were both forever gone. What was left of their fallen comrades was their two children. The Dream Keeper's daughter and the child of their fallen friend. Soon years had passed, the Star Warriors watched over the two children of that dark night, Rosa and Kirby. The young girl and the pink puffball were inseparable, never saw one without the other. The sacred core had crafted an item to house a brand new Dreamland, the Book of Dreams. They spent time looking for lost civilians and missing comrades but also a place where they could rest and recover.

Rosa and Kirby being trained to not only protect themselves but the Book of Dreams for it now laid on Rosa to protect it. The group had safely made it to their deceased generals home, the Planet Earth. The monsters of the past wouldn't be able to reach them in their previous general's realm. The rescue ship descended to the surface below, perfectly concealed within the woods of a place near a city called Redgrave. Kirby and Rosa, being as mischievous as young children were, ran off to explore the woods. An act that changed everything.

A little girl of around 7 years old was playing in the field of flowers within the forest. Her hair curly and pink like magenta roses, eyes a sparkling green and two yellow star shaped marks on her slightly rosy cheeks. Following her was a tiny strange creature. It was pink and reminded anyone of a puffball upon first glance, dark blue eyes, red shoe like feet, stubby little arms and absolutely adorable. Their names were Rosa Everglade and Kirby Kabai. Siblings in bond not blood.

"You have to be faster than that to catch me brother!" Rosa giggled. The little puffball Kirby giggled too before speeding up to catch up with his sibling. It didn't take long for Kirby to jump on the girl before they rolled and tumbled through the field laughing. Rosa however stopped when she spotted a growing puddle of red and a shadow covering her.

Her eyes looked up to meet the body of an injured male giant. His purple coat dyed in large blotches of red, white cravat stained crimson, white gloves though one was completely red holding a bleeding wound, skin deathly pale and ice blue eyes foggy under a monocle.

He eyed Rosa before his pale orbs landed on Kirby and those foggy blue widened greatly. The man wobbled then tilted before beginning to fall towards the ground. He would have hit it too, if two gloved hands didn't grab him. These hands belonged to a grey masked dark blue puffball with glowing yellow eyes, purple armored boots, dark blue shoulder pads marked by a yellow M and soft purple cape. "Papa Meta Knight. Is he going to be okay?" Rosa questioned looking at the dark blue puffball unperturbed.

"Don't worry little star. He'll be okay once Doctor Healmore treats his injuries but it'll take time for him to adjust upon seeing Kirby. For now let's return to the Halberd, everyone is worried sick about you both." The knight spoke, calm voice riddled heavily with a Spanish accent. Rosa merely scratched her head sheepishly while Kirby tilted his head clearly confused.

It had been a trap. An ambush to separate him from his mate and nestlings. Something Sparda foolishly ran into without thought. For a 2000 year old demon, he was such a fool. He was fortunate that he had survived but 1 cm to the right and the Legendary Dark Knight would've been slain for sure. Yet it was too late for his family.

Came back to a now burning home, missing nestlings nowhere to be seen or sensed and the still blood covered body of his human mate laying outside the park lifeless. His carelessness had cost him dearly but he couldn't lay there to die. His nestlings were out there somewhere, alive.

Thought about to rest up and regain some of his strength was interrupted when he had sensed it. A peculiar energy slightly demonic in nature but one he couldn't read the remainder of its whole. However it felt bright, similar to that of his nestlings. Very very close to the point it could be his two sons. Sparda pushed himself forward from there.

Dragging himself to that signature, his wounded body leaving a trail of red as he went. He couldn't stop… he had to find them… Then his eyes laid on magenta hair and green eyes… A little girl around his nestlings' age before falling on the source. A nestling of some sort...round and puffy but he could easily feel the ocean of power in its tiny form along with a shred of hope… Then everything went black.

A quiet beeping repeated in his head as he grumbled in pain. Bright blue eyes opened up to stare into dark blue and black cute orbs under glasses. These eyes belonging to a small blue puffball dressed as a doctor. What was the word to describe something like this creature? Cute...if he remembered correctly.

Sparda looked at what he guessed was the doctor who treated him with a bewildered look. "Good to see you are awake. You were quite beaten up when Meta Knight brought you in. Giving 7 year old kids scares like that isn't a smart thing to do." A soft adult male voice came from the puffball. Strange he would admit, but he would be a hypocrite to judge.

The puffball jumped off his chest as Sparda sat up on the hospital bed and now able to see his surroundings. He appeared to be in a 'medical bay' being the human's version of a healer though it appeared the room was mixed with things he'd seen in hospitals along with actual magic ingredients healers used from his memory used. A mix of past and modern being the term. "Where am I? May I ask thou name who healed me?" Sparda inquired, the puffball let out an amused chuckle.

"Thy name is Simon Healmore, chief doctor of the Halberd's medical bay. I asked my assistants to give you space since we didn't want to overwhelm you once you woke up. Would you like to speak with our captain? He was the one who brought you here himself after all." Healmore questioned, looking at the dark knight. He had a thoughtful look but nodded.

"You can come in Captain Meta Knight!" Healmore called as the armor knight walked in his cape coating his body almost like a count. Sparda was honestly surprised that the masked puffball was even able to carry him but he could feel the immense power in this Meta Knight's small body. Looks can be pure deception.

"I am glad you appear better now. My name is Meta Kishin or what my subordinates and my adoptive daughter Rosa calls me Meta Knight. I am the captain of the Halberd and it's crew." Meta Knight spoke before giving a respective bow. Sparda could smile at the irony of being rescued by a warrior like Meta. He was more humble than other devils who held the title of knight and even a fraction of the masked creature's power. "I thank you for saving my life. My name is Sparda, known to others as the Legendary Dark Knight." Sparda bowed back in honest gratitude.

"Can I ask why a devil general was attacked by his own kind? We already knew when I brought you in that you were a demon. Star Warriors can sense what is human and what is not. Your wounds reek purely of demon." Meta questioned taking the human disguised devil by surprise. He heard stories about the Star Warriors and their home, Dreamland. It was a fairytale for many demons since Dreamland holds the source of unimaginable power. Power that could rival every demon king that ever ruled.

"I betrayed my own kind by protecting humankind and had two children with my human mate… I was ambushed and led away from my family. Found my dear mate laying lifeless and both of my nestlings vanished." Sparda said softly in sorrow and regret.

Meta Knight's eyes turned light blue and Healmore had a saddened look on his face. "I am very sorry for your loss. Though if I may ask a question... how did you find Rosa and Kirby?" The knight questioned. No demon could lock onto the aura of a Living Dream. They can hide themselves from their supernatural senses unless injured or ill.

"I felt a faint signature of demonic energy similar to my nestlings. I followed it only to find the little girl and that small pink nestling instead." Sparda answered, Simon's eyes widening in response. "That explains it. The reason why Kirby has traces of demon energy… he must have been born of your children's dreams. The people of Dreamland are born from fragments of dreams, especially those of children. Kirby must have been made from fragments of your own children's dreams and in turn carry a signature similar to them." Simon explained as Sparda had a wistful look.

"Made from my nestlings' dreams? No wonder why I felt both Dante and Vergil's own energy from Kirby and the massive amount of power hidden deep inside. Can Kirby have the potential to seek out my sons?" Sparda questioned Meta Knight. "You are correct though Kirby isn't able to at the moment. He's too young to properly sense your children's energy but it doesn't mean your children aren't safe. On the night Kirby was created, a spell was cast." Meta Knight explained.

"Weaver's of this newborn dream. Granted protection under the Dream God's seam. Safe haven shall always be grant. Impenetrable from the force of any tyrant. Yet sanctuary shall isn't forever. If thy bond fell prey to hatred's endeavor. Death will truly flood. By the first crimson spray of thy own blood." Simon quoted. Sparda easily understood what it detailed.

"My children are safe...until they draw the blood of one another?" Sparda questioned. "Correct. If they purposely harmed the other with the intent to kill or with pure hatred, the spell preventing them from facing death will break. This spell is granted for each creator of a Star Warrior as a sort of blessing." Meta Knight explained. "Then it should give me time to find my sons." The former demon general picked himself off from the bed.

"I rather not rush off if I were you. It won't be easy finding your kids and you haven't fully recovered your strength yet. Fighting alone almost got you killed once and it wouldn't miss the opportunity to try again." Healmore spoke, Sparda looked back at the doctor. It was clear neither of them were going to back unless...

"I think an arrangement should be made. We'll help you recover and find your sons. In exchange, we wish for information about this world and a chance to find a safe haven to house the refugees on my ship." Meta Knight offered much to both occupants' surprise. Sparda went in thought for a moment upon those words.

The knight had raised very important points. He hadn't recovered his power and also had no resources that could help him find his nestlings. There's the fact he is alone and no safe place to recuperate or any leads. If he took Meta Knight's offer then not only could he get back his full power and find his sons but he will also have powerful allies to assist him and a place to go if things ever went to Hell. "Very well Meta Knight. I shall agree to your offer." Sparda said as Meta Knight bowed in agreement.

"Yay! Spar-Spar gets to stay!" Came a childish giggle for Rose and Kirby popped up from underneath a table to their surprise. "Great Kabu! Were you two hiding under there the whole time?!" Healmore asked, clearly taken off guard by the children's entrance. "Spar-Spar! Spar-Spar!" Kirby giggled while he nodded.

Sparda couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in amusement at the ridiculous name the two kids gave him. "Mischievous little imps aren't they?" Sparda asked, obviously amused watching the two children run around him. Out of everything he was called in his life, no one had ever called the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, Spar-Spar.

"Rosa and Kirby, if you have enough energy to run circles around our guest then you have energy to go to Susie and Magolor for your daily lessons. Or do I have to get Dedede to take you both there." Meta Knight asked as that got the sibling duo to stop in their tracks. "Ok! We're going meanie! Please don't get Pen-Pen on us! Come on Kirby!" Rosa exclaims, both kids ran out of the room leaving a trail of dust in their wake from how fast they went.

Healmore chuckled seeing how quick the little kids were to leave. "King Dedede sure left an impression on those two. Though considering his habit of taking their desserts as punishment and the sweet tooth both siblings have it's understandable. Now then Sparda, we did manage to find you a room to sleep in. However considering the large amounts of refugees, you'll be sharing a room with Taranza for now. Taranza is one of our best mages and highly skilled at our craft. He is also the best when it comes to showing the ins and outs of the ship to newcomers." Healmore explained.

"Very well. I thank you for your hospitality." Sparda answered, the small doctor escorted him out of the medical bay. The white haired man was greeted to an incredible sight that was held in this vast ship. It was a large plaza filled with so much life and energy. Trees, plants and all sorts of flora nestled comfortably amongst multiple stands, tents and businesses. Children of different forms and species were playing as the adults went through their normal lives. It looked more like a town than part of a ship. "Sparda, this is one of the numerous camps within the Airship Halberd. Welcome to Star Plaza." Healmore stated with a smile on his face.

First impressions were everything when it came to meeting new people or going to new places. And if Sparda was honest about something. It was that the Halberd wasn't any normal ship and neither were it's passengers. It was expected when a demon witnessed something only dreams held. And dreams can create the impossible and a bit of magic to bring it to life.

And that is it. Yes. I crossed Devil May Cry with Kirby. Sparda is alive in this because there is a huge lack of stories where he is alive. Not counting the ones that are misleading from inappropriate tagging. Hope you enjoyed it folks!

[despressolattes]

CONSEQUENCES | CHAPTER ONE | LEGACIES/THE ORGINALS

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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It seemed almost as if most of the world seemed to just mold around the absence of Hope Mikaelson, filling in the void she left. No one asked questions about the random occurrences that had no real explanation to how they happened. Landon Kirby and Rafael Waithe's life at the Salvatore school continued, almost as if no one wondered how they got to the school in the first place, how Landon woke up at the Malivore hideout... as if no one wondered who even discovered Malivore in the first place.

Everyone's lives just continued.

The Mikaelsons had photos with some girl they didn't know, but just chose to ignore them as if it made sense. It was life as usual, photos with some random girl not mattering anymore.

For Lilah, she "woke up" with tears on her face—but she had never gone to bed. She was sitting in the car on the side of the road, unsure where she was. In fact, she tried to piece together the last decade. What had she been doing all this time? She saw a road sign that said she was a few miles out from Mystic Falls.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Mystic Falls? That was where Stefan's life without her was. She winced as she felt pressure on her head, letting her forehead fall onto the steering wheel as she tried to breathe, memories flooding her brain.

She remembered moving to New Orleans when her father and his siblings made it back there, wanting to take back their old lives once it was made clear the Mystic Falls gang, Stefan's friends and family, didn't want them there. She remembered watching from afar as turf wars had broken out between the supernatural factions.

She remembered somehow getting tangled up in Mikaelson drama despite trying to stay away from them. She made friends with Josh Rosza, one of Marcel Gerard's vampires, and with Davina Claire, one strong teenage witch. She soon became integrated in the supernatural politics of the town, fighting alongside the Mikaelsons while they had no clue who she was. She was just Lilah Desmarais.

Her close bond with Elijah was equally comparable—by his siblings—to the one Klaus and Marcel shared. When the Hollow had hit New Orleans, looking for something to possess, it found its way into all of the Mikaelson siblings.

Being unable to stay away from his brother, Elijah chose to lose his memories and lived in France. Lilah tried her best to help Freya, who she would always see as her first mother figure, try to find a way to reunite their family without the Hollow taking over.

In the end of it all, Klaus took on the Hollow himself and chose to die to make sure his siblings could remain safe and together, Elijah going with him.

Lilah regretted everyday that she was unable to tell him the truth about herself, but when he died, she felt there was no need to tell anyone else.

As she turned the key to start her car and wiped her face, she nodded slowly, as if accepting the memories now in her brain. She clenched her jaw and shut her eyes once more, attempting to figure out why she was near Mystic Falls. It had been two years since the death of Elijah, but she had no idea why she was there.

Her phone was in her lap. She picked it up, seeing a call from an unknown number for a second, but then her phone got hot. She dropped it, and when she picked it back up, it was gone. Her phone started to go off, ringing. She jumped back in her seat, startled, until she saw that it was Josh's name.

"Josh?" she asked, whispering because she was still confused.

"Where the hell are you?" he asked on the other side. "I woke up and thought we were cleaning the apartment, but you're just... not here."

She looked around at the empty road, heaving out a heavy sigh. "I'm near Mystic Falls."

"Mystic Falls?" he exclaimed, before sighing. "Lilah, how many times have we discussed not trying to get in contact with Stefan's family? He passed away, you never got to see him again, blah blah blah, it's better we don't interrupt their happy lives?"

She nodded slowly, those memories also coming back to her.

"I don't know why I'm here," she said honestly. "But... I'm on my way home right now."

"What do you mean you have no idea why you're there?"

"I just... like... woke up?"

"We can have Davina check that out when you get here," Josh decided.

"Y-Yeah," breathed out Lilah, starting to pull back onto the road, starting her drive back home.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When she had gotten back to her apartment, the one she shared with Josh, she was still in a puzzled state of mind. It was like her memories were unlocking the more she got closer to New Orleans, like a door was opening to the life she lived. Things were fuzzy and then clear, while other things felt like they were just slipping from her. A girl's laugh and smile was stuck in her head for a while, until she up and forgot about it entirely.

She opened the door to the apartment, seeing Josh and Davina sitting on the couch. They both looked worried as she kicked off her shoes. In a picture frame by the door was photos from Davina's wedding to Kol, where she was the maid of honor, standing right next to Davina while Josh filled in as Kol's best man. She started to remember that night as well.

Josh and Davina stood up, quickly walking to her.

"You look like shit," Josh said, earning a glare from Davina. "What? Look at her! She looks like she fought someone."

She furrowed her eyebrows and ran to the bathroom, surprising herself when she knew where it was. She looked in the mirror, seeing her untamed hair wild, dried blood on her in places where there was no cuts.

"What happened?" Davina asked from behind her, her and Josh following her.

"I have no idea," replied Lilah, shaking her head. "I-I feel like... like..."

"Woah, woah woah," she heard Josh's voice slipping, getting slower and deeper as she felt like she was levitating, falling maybe, and she saw the ceiling of the bathroom before her eyes closed completely.

—

"...maybe she turned off her humanity?" a familiar, raspy voice said, muffled by the walls of the apartment.

Lilah regained consciousness, seeing she was in her bedroom. She looked around, memories of moving in, decorating, living there coming back to her. She got out of bed as she heard Freya's voice from the living room. Her aunt, the girl who she felt like was the only mother she had, now and back when she was with Dahlia. But she'd never know.

"For just a night? And turned it back on? Is it really that simple?" Davina asked.

"Uncommon, luv, but not impossible," another voice, an accented male one. Kol.

She rounded the corner into the living room, gaining the attention of everyone.

"Hey," Josh smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Disoriented," she replied, sitting down next to Freya.

The Mikaelson woman put an arm around Lilah, and she remembered meeting Freya for the first time, trying not to cry the first time she ever hugged her. She tried so hard for so long to live a life that was parallel to the Mikaelsons, but she just couldn't keep living that way.

She sat still while Davina and Freya ran some magical tests on her, trying to see if they could dig out what happened, but they couldn't. Instead, Kol said it would make sense if she had just gone on a ripper binge for the night, which would have explained the blood on her when they found her, perhaps turning off her humanity and then switching it back on in the morning.

That frightened her. That she had no recollection of what she had done, how many people she had killed, what kind of mess she left. She was able to remember her old Ripper days, and it left her an eerie feeling. But she just listened to everyone around her, deciding that would be best.

Josh placed his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her, massaging her to try to get her less tense as everyone piled out of their apartment. Josh had decided that cleaning could wait, and that Lilah looked like she was in need of a drink, so they all went to Rousseau's, where Lilah helped manage.

She didn't even notice the photos on the wall, pictures of Freya and some unknown girl. It wasn't common for her to look at those photos, so she walked straight passed them and sat at a table with Kol, Davina, and Freya as Josh went behind the counter to grab them some drinks. As she spent more and more time awake, the disoriented state she was in rubbed off, and she felt normal again, like she was fully in this life. Eventually, somehow, everyone at that table seemed to all forget that Lilah was even in Mystic Falls or missing in the morning.

Her new life in New Orleans was just starting, but to her, it felt like that had been where she was the whole time.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

CHAPTER TWO

Welcome to Book 3 of the Lilah Mikaelson/Side Character series! I've been trying to figure out what I wanted Lilah's life to look like after Hope jumped into the pit, how I wanted to have the memory loss affect her. As we all know, everyone seemed to just... keep living their previous lives, just without Hope. Even though it would make sense that they'd ask questions as to how so much happened: i.e: landon and raf's arrival, why hayley was with the mikaelsons for so long, why elijah and klaus died, etc. everyone only had their memories of hope repressed, but none of the other memories of their lives with her erased.

i tried the route where lilah also had her memories repressed like everyone else, but after trying to figure out how to incorporate lilah into legacies' actual storyline, i decided to go about it my own way. lilah is a whole different species of vampire, things that affect everyone else doesn't affect her.

so, why not have her entire past few years just erased? but not just erased, she gets filler memories... and everyone else gets filler/fake memories of her. where there's a Hope-shaped gap in the Mikaelson family's lives is almost filled with a whole new life for lilah. and those that knew her at the salvatore school... she just... also disappears with the memories of her cousin. even roman doesn't remember her—which is going to end with roman not being a student at the school, btw!

instead, the mikaelsons all "remember" life with lilah where hope never existed. i wanted to touch a lot on fate here. how lilah still ended up mixed in with the mikaelsons without hope, relationships she makes in the future without hope.

and i thought it'd be interesting to see how lilah would've lived her life in a world without Hope. in Side Character, we learn she only gets close to the Mikaelsons because of Hope. she would have never gotten close to them—since she hadn't been for centuries—if it weren't for Hope. so how exactly would her life in new orleans have been? and i just sat on that idea until i came up with this chapter, what life would have been as a consequence to hope never existing.

[dmydfilmreviews]

MARVEL MOMENTS

 So what they really did, as well as making a good load of films, was actually make a vast tapestry of genius interwoven moments like flicking through a big comic book! Ten years! Twenty something movies! A load of rubbish images at the end of the list because the last three films weren’t officially out on Blu Ray! Avengers assssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Tony Builds the First Suit

 Really it was a stroke of brilliance to start the whole shebang with Iron Man the self-made superhero. The backbone of the whole universe is that of Tony making himself and that all kicks off here, in a sequence that’s hugely thematically satisfying given what comes later. There’s also the fact that back in the day all this construction stuff was just fucking cool, a Nolan-lite bedrock for a blend of realism and fantasy that comic-book cinema had never quite nailed before. Seeing Tony improve his tech step-by-step is a quiet pleasure of these movies, the suits getting more and more outlandish but staying absolutely believable, just like the films, and that all kicks off here with one guy and a non-magical hammer.

Pepper Pulls Out Tony’s Heart

 I noted these all down before Endgame, honestly. Sob. It was always his story really. The best example of the foundational relationship of the MCU: They finish each other’s sentences!

‘Truth is… I am Iron Man.’

 They knew what they’d got from the very first. This ballsy coda sets the tone for the whole MCU, one of backed-up swagger, a willingness to fuck with the source material in the name of story and the general feeling that Robert Downey Jr. was God. All in like two hours. That they flipped the egotistically iconic line into an era-defining declaration of responsibility, growth and heroism a decade later is nothing short of remarkable.

Hulk and Betty in the Rain

 It’s uh… it’s a nice comic-book visual of a classic comic book romance, I guess? Look, Hulk came a long way later, but his forgotten love for Betty was the closest they ever came to the source material outside of the Hulk generally smashing and being awesome. It was sweet!

The Bit Where Hulk Suplexes a Giant Zombie Wolf on the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard

 wait was this in the Incredible Hulk

I’ve Successfully Privatised World Peace!’ ‘Fuck you, Mr Stark.’

 They got Garry Shandling in these movies!

The Suitcase Suit

 Now that is a cool-ass adaptation.

Black Widow Kicks Asses

 Yeah, after a whole movie of being reductive eye-candy she was still reductive eye-candy here. But the scene as a whole’s basically a perfect realisation of her moves in the comics, and showed Marvel were capable of doing someone who wasn’t Iron Man. Then they did EVERYYYYOONNNNNNEEE bonus points for Happy taking out that one guy and yelling ‘I got him!’

Tony and Rhodey in the Japanese Gardens

 Look, they just look cool, OK? No one said this was going to be deep.

Tony and Pepper as the Stark Expo Explodes

 They haven’t managed a lot of great romance, but this one hella works: Tony’s overblown mess of a movie expo exploding behind the true love of his life is a visual so great that Shane Black nicked it wholesale for the climax of Iron Man Three: Christmas in Croydon.

The Frost Giant Throwdown

 Wait, what’s happening? I thought these were the movies where Jeff Bridges rode a Segway? Are we in SPAAAAACCCCCEEEE?

Thor Can’t Pull It Off

 Out of the big three Thor’s arc of mythology to humanity might be the deepest and most satisfying of all. That starts here with his tearful inability to be worthy of his father, his world and, crucially, himself, leading directly into the first great Thor/Loki exchange, then a whole host of movies that eventually put him through the emotional wringer to self-acceptance. Hopefully?

Thor and Loki Battle on the Rainbow Bridge

 Yeah, it looks kind of goofy, but this is pure sixties Kirby, shorn of the irony the series would develop later. Beautiful.

Erskine Points To Cap’s Heart

 That’s it. That’s the character.

The Star Spangled Man!

 Who’ll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berliiiin?

That Whole War Montage That Ends With Bucky Falling From The Train

 Just smash after smash after smash of wartime Cap goodness that we’d never see again, ending with the ‘death’ that’d define the rest of his story. Steve lost as much as Thanos in his quest for peace but, y’know, he wasn’t a total fucking intergalactic dick about it.

‘I gotta put her in the water!’

 Man alive he waited for that date... whether you think the ending of Endgame ruins the moment somewhat (it doesn’t. sort of), this was still the biggest heart-tugger in the MCU at that point, and defined the characters of Cap and Peggy for years to come. Watch Agent Carter! Just bloody watch it!

'Lemme Put You On Hold’

 The stand out moment of The Avengers is basically all of it, but let’s start with the moment Black Widow finally becomes a character, a sequence of broad-strokes skill from Scarlett Johansson and Joss Whedon that begged for a movie she finally got way too long later. Bonus points for possibly the greatest Coulson reaction shot in a history of great reaction shots.

The Helicarrier Ascends

 OK, shit – this is series is big now.

The Whole of Stuttgart

 Whedon’s love of classical posh entertainment is seen in Angel’s superior ballet episode and his fondness for Sondheim, and he even gets a bit of the ol’ jewellery rattling in here in a perfectly pitched Loki-loving sequence that culminates in some fantastic bits for Cap before Iron Man AC/DC’s all over the place. This is where the comic book stuff really kicks off.

‘YOU COME HOME!’

 This Hemsworth’s fella’s really got something...

Forest Bro Down

 Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. The first real Avengers mash-up is just wonderful. This is where the wish-fulfilment really begins, in a quiet clearing, where three superheroes nearly beat the shit out of each other in classic comic-book style. The Avengers assembled.

The Whole Fuckin’ Helicarrier Sequence

 An absolute masterpiece of blockbuster juggling that had never been done before, this could be the third act of any other film. Over what plays out weirdly like a piece of theatre we get terrifying Hulks, mewling quims and awesome heroics, all expertly laced with wonderful character mash-ups and action we’d never seen before. Then Coulson dies. This is what Joss Whedon does.

‘There was an idea…’

 Fuck shit yeah there was, and it made for a hell of an Infinity War trailer six years later.

ALL OF NEW YORK

 Yep, all of it, but if we’re being picky it’s Hulk v Loki for the comedy side, the tracking shot for the action. As a sequence it’s never been bettered in the MCU, even in the open-mouthed joy-gush of Infinity War and Endgame. FIGHT ME

Go Fish

 Iron Man Three is a wonderful movie that works best as the sum of its parts, but there’s one bit that’s up there with the pantheon: the sky-diving rescue above the bay is such a joyous subversion of the usual third-act super-fisticuffs that it’s like something out of a 70’s Superman movie, only with a hilarious capper at the end where Iron Man explodes under a truck. Beep beep!

Running the Lemurian Star

 The Russo Brother’s action calling-card for their incredible MCU run, this sets up their vision of Cap’s super-subtle-super-serum-super-moves. From the off it’s a game changer in the way action’s shot across the MCU, clean-cut raid-alikes becoming the order of the day. AND THEN HE FIGHTS BATROC ZE LEAPER

Elevator Throwdown

 Yeah, yeah, we all know the actual bit in the elevator that’s spoofed to tremendous effect come Endgame, but remember this sequence ends with Cap TAKING DOWN A FUCKING QUINJET SINGLE-HANDED. The look on his face at the end says it all.

The Winter Soldier Street Fight

HE FLICKS A KNIFE MID PUNCH

Come and Get Your Love

 We’d seen a lot of cool shit from the MCU by this point, but this was something else again. It’s funny! It’s funny as fuck! What the fuck is this movie? And again, they know their own best bits: the return to this in Endgame is top drawer. What a moron.

The Kyln Sequence

 This whole breakout is the Guardians at their very best; squabbling in space, reluctant teamwork, loads of cool shit and leg theft. The bit where it all goes anti-grav is a treat.

WE ARE GROOT

 That’s it. That’s the movie.

…Stark…

 It’s a shame they didn’t delve deeper into Scarlet Witch’s hatred for the man who murdered her parents, but her barely contained rage is the keystone for Age of Ultron: deeper, nastier, more questioning of it’s heroes and their heroism. This one they brought on all by themselves.

Sun’s Gettin’ Real Low

 Yeah, maybe it’s for the best the slightly bumbled Hulktasha relationship was forgotten about, but this moment was pivotal in the character development of both. Beautifully shot, and leads to a primo Ragnarok gag.

Lift That Hammer

 You genuinely could have made a whole movie of these characters hanging out at an open bar. The Stan cameo’s great, the War Machine story bit gets an Endgame alien planet boost much later, but it’s the drunken worthiness competition that’s the real highlight, a seemingly fun throwaway that actually almost single-handedly sets up the whole character of Vision and the most fist-pumping moment of Endgame, a movie nearly entirely composed of fist-pumping moments.

Hulk vs Hulkbuster

 Pure comic-book wish fulfilment again, and how. From Hulk spitting out a tooth to Tony desperately pleading ‘go to sleep go to sleep go to sleep’, this mad clash of science pals knocks every Transformers movie straight through a freshly-bought-building. Veronica!

Well Done.

 Alright, Vision’s no one’s favourite Avenger, but he’s one who’s the satisfying product of several movie plots, one beloved supporting AI and the combined brains, magic and cool red capes of his team. Whedon performs his own mad-skillz level script trick to make us accept this fucking weirdo, first by giving him Jarvis’ voice, then having him stare out at a world and see his reflection in it, then having him lift an unliftable character-establishment hammer. None of this could be done by any other film series.

The Geometry of Belief

 Ultron’s climactic church-a-maggedon is short but perfect, a swirling mass of splash-page insanity that culminates in a glorious trinity of Vision, Iron Man and Thor blasting the shit out of their mad son like a magic triangle. The Avengers at their peak.

Vision and Ultron Have a Chat

 Whedon pops out these gems of detached humanism from time to time, and his sundown final exchange between The Avenger’s success and failure is a doozy. The most poetic little scene in the whole MCU, voiced by two creatures who look like nightmarish dildos. ‘A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts’ is an all-timer.

Big Bathtub

 Ant Man’s bedrock might be its family values, but it’s the shrinking that makes it stand out. The first time Scott drops into tiny-town is a Pixar-esque fun-burst akin to Stephen Strange’s nutso jump into infinity later, with deadly bath taps, thunderclap vacuum cleaners and mid-day apartment raves (?) all bringing a new level of threat and adventure to a series already teeming with variety. They should carry these ones on foreverrrrr

Cassie’s Room

 There’s something about this scene that sums up Scott’s whole character and hopefully sets up his daughter for future ant shenanigans: he is (was) unique as a hero with a family, and no matter how many Pym Particles he stuffs into his suit he’s always looked like a giant to his daughter. Plus, y’know, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Some Guy Crashes a Car at Night

 The catalyst for the great middle schism. Civil War is a masterclass of twisting, gut-churning reveals, and this is the quiet moment that starts it all.

QUEENS

 The perfect Marvel character, introduced into the perfect realisation of the Marvel Universe, perfectly.

Running Into Each Other At The Airport

LITTLE MAN IS BIG NOW I’M CLINT WE HAVEN’T MET YET I DON’T CARE WHERE YOU FROM KID QUEENS BROOKLYN I’M YOUR CONSCIENCE WE HAVEN’T SPOKEN IN A WHILE YOU GUYS KNOW THAT OLD MOVIE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK HOW OLD IS THIS KID ETC ETC OH MY GOD MY BRAIN HAS EXPLODED

Cap vs Iron Man

 ‘I don’t care. He killed my mom.’  

The Big Brain Burst

 They keep doing bits to expand themselves, and this is one of the best, with the most potential for the future. Fleeting, but dazzling.

New York Mirror Fest

 If the next Strange movies delve into this deranged nonsense then they could end up the greatest of all of them. This is the tip of the iceberg, and it’s still unlike anything else being done in mainstream cinema.

Mr Blue Sky

 In a movie that frequently reaches big and misses, at least it hits the spot at the beginning. This glorious celebration of family, space-craziness and genre subversion is everything Guardians does best. The Gamora / Groot bit is adorable.

Peter’s Civil War Adventure

 The perfect tone-setter for the story’s most-average joe, this ground-level view of the universe’s biggest clash acts as a whippet quick intro to Peter Parker’s world in the big bad MCU. It’s always a thrill to see him where he belongs.

The Homage to Getting Buried Under a Tonne of Crap

 Homecoming’s riffs on classic Spidey-lore are generally pretty subtle, but when it comes time to show what Peter’s really made of Watts rips directly from the best, first with the iconic Parker/Spidey face split and then with him holding up a whole fucking building like he’s nerd Hulk or something. The added ‘come on Spider-Mans’ are the adorable icing on the homage-o-cake.

Anytime That Immigrant Song Plays

Another!

Thor vs Hulk

 Yeah, it’s not perfect and it’s a little CGIey. But it’s Thor fighting the Hulk in a fucking galactic gladiator arena place run by Jeff Goldblum and it smashes and it’s full of fun callbacks to previous movies. Yes! That’s what it feels like!

Thor and Loki Do Get Help

 The perfect encapsulation of Waititi’s irreverent-but-with-tonnes-of-heart freshgasm on the story of Thor, this bit of hilarious dumb shit acts as amusing action beat and neat character resolution all in one. They’re friends again! They’re brothers! Thor throws him around like a rolled up carpet!

What Are You The God of Again?

 Oh right, so he’s the best Avenger now.

Killmonger in the Afterlife

 The bloody heart of the most emotional Marvel movie, when Erik Killmonger enters the Wakandan afterlife he finds himself in his own tiny Compton apartment, exiled with his father forever with the plains of eternity just out of reach beyond the window. Heartbreaking, and brilliant.

Thanos Arrives

 The opening of Infinity War is another example of their absolute mastery of tone; after the megaton funblast of Ragnarok we’re thrown into the end of that movie being ripped apart, before Thanos appears, dragging a battered Thor into frame, beats seven shades of green shit out the Hulk and murders two beloved supporting characters, all without breaking a sweat. If you weren’t excited before you were now.

New York Tussle

 The opening New York section of Infinity War is all very clever, acting as the only grounding Earthy moment in what’s a pretty out-there narrative in terms of existential stakes. You get Tony and Wong helping people off the sidewalk and Strange winking after halting the space-death-machine, but from there on out it’s full-bore comic-book smackdown fun, clashing characters who’ve never met and providing top-drawer banter about wizards and children’s parties. This is the page, up there on screen.

BRING ME THANOS!

 BRING ME THANOS!

The Thanos Fight

 Jesus fucking Christ. Up there with the end of Avengers and the Civil War airport battle, this is a perfect realisation of superhero action, with a bigger dose of high-level insanity courtesy of the Infinity Stones and Doctor Strange. Sublimely realised, incredibly satisfying, with real weight and thought put into the spectacle, it’s also fantastic in the narrative of the film, the culmination of its themes of desperation and inevitability. The first time you saw them try to rip off the gauntlet was unbearable.

The Snap

 Well, yeah. You’ll never get back the first time you saw this. And imagine seeing it as a fucking kid.#

Just a Girl

 Sure the big level-up CGI fest at the end is good, but it’s the comedy smackdown on the Kree ship that’s the most satisfying part of Captain Marvel, the shit-eating joy on Carol’s face as she discovers she’s way more powerful than the assholes who’ve been holding her back. It’s corny sure, but it’s hella fun.

Thor Goes For The Head

 Endgame is a shocking, disorientating blur to begin with, all the characters you loved acting in strange, desperate ways in a super-hero version of post-traumatic stress disorder. Tony’s meltdown is bad enough, but it’s when Thor just straight up fucking murders Thanos that you know this is going to get dark and serious. It doesn’t, it remembers it’s a Marvel movie, but the shot of him walking out into the blurred alien sun, cape aflutter, is a fitting goodbye to a more innocent time of heroics.

Ant Man and Cassie

 A moment that could be worthy of a whole movie itself, a desperate Scott Lang meeting his five-years-older daughter gives a joke character a serious moment in the same way Infinity War did for Guardians. It’s very odd, very sweet and very Marvel.

Love You 3000

 Morgan H. Stark is almost a little too on the nose as a wrap-up for Tony, but hell, she’s still sweet as all hell and a perfect capper to his story of fatherhood and responsibility. It’s a mark of the work they’ve put in that we’ll almost immediately accept the tired trope of kid-taking-over-mantle when she inevitably puts on the armour in a few years.

Steve and Peggy / Tony and Howard

 This is the bit in Endgame where I finally started tearing up: a lot of it is too-neat fan-service, but fuck it, they’ve put in so much effort that it works. This is the scene where you realise both of these long arcs are coming to an end, the resolution of Steve quietly making his decision to go back to Peggy and Tony getting the closer of discussing parenthood with his unknowing father. It’s corny sure, but so are comic books, and setting the whole bit at the height of seventies Marvel Comics mania is a loving nod to the imaginations that made all these crazy possibilities possible.

Widow and Hawkeye

 There’s a theme here. All of these moments are kind of cheesy and rely heavily on callbacks to previous bits… but at the moment it doesn’t matter because ENDGAME WOW. Maybe we’ll look back at it as a corny misstep, but for the moment, Clint and Tasha having one last, ludicrously overblown tussle for who gets to live is a sweet capper that never goes as deep as the others because they’re supporting characters. It still stings, and it’s a neat mirror to Gamora and Thanos in Infinity War. The red’s gone from her ledger! It’s on the rocks! Urrrgh

Nebula Kills Herself

 Again, they’re so good that they can spend a big chunk of time in what’s ostensibly the last big movie for their most beloved characters on making a lesser character beloved. Endgame spotlights Nebula even more than Infinity War did Gamora, using her self-hatred and fear of her father for compelling, wibbly-wobbly plot and character beats. The resolution of her story and her newfound place with her team should make for a whole different Guardians before we even get to Fortnite-Thor joining up.

Cap Wields The Hammer

 ‘I KNEW IT!’

Thanos’ Army

 One last escalation of scale. When Thanos’ army finally arrives it’s like something out of those apocalyptic Turner paintings, where the hordes of a ship-wrecked hell confront eternity under skies ripped from heaven. Only this time they’re facing one guy called Steve, and they’re fucked. Incredible.

Avengers… Assemble

 It almost lives up to what you always had in your head. The Marvel Universe, somehow done right.

Tony Hugs Peter Back

Awwww!

New Avengers Run the Gauntlet

 A surprising amount of Endgame’s grand finale is given over to the future hopes; while Strange gets stuck in with holding back a Biblical flood it’s up to Black Panther to grab the Infinity Gauntlet from Clint in a delightful callback to Civil War, before embarking on an intense relay race across the entire battlefield that begins with Scarlet Witch crushing the shit out of Thanos’ testicles and ends with Captain Marvel engaging the Mad Titan in a bone-crushing show of super-strength. And along the way if finds time to have Peter Parker dragged through the air by Thor’s hammer which was thrown by Captain America before landing on a Pegasus flown by Valkryie across an exploding sky of alien whales. Maybe the most satisfying run of action since the first Avengers.

I am Iron Man

 It was always going to be him really. Bonus points for Downey Jr. originally telling Thanos to ‘Fuck off’. Did anyone else keep thinking he was going to wake up and quip and everything would be OK? That’s how you make movies.

The Funeral

 It looks a little weird actually, like they weren’t all on set. But they were! The Marvel Universe again, holy smokes.

The Kiss

 Now that’s how you end ten years and twenty one movies. They’re movies! It was romantic! It was exciting! It was fun!

For TEN FUCKING YEARS.

Swing a Ding Ding Sir

 After five movies of fresh shit they've finally starting dumping some classic Spider-Man on us; the Euro stuff's fun and all, but it's Far From Home delirious climax that sees Spidey and MJ thwipping through the canyons of New York before bumping into ugly ol' J. Jonah JJ Jay Jay likes it's a freakin' comic book or something. Delightful, and also serves as a wonderful image of hope and joy post-Endgame.

What a fuckin’ ride. Here’s to the next... seventy six? Seventy seven?

wait did I leave any out

[i-see-7-cats]

Episode 26 thoughts

okay so i'm assuming this is going to deal with the fallout of ned stealing shade tree

and we're gonna learn if sheriff owens is going to reveal the existence of the abomination(s?)

also a lot of people pointed out that ned could be accused of killing boyd so that's gonna be fun

also where is the laptop? did agent stern take it?

"farts" is the best curse word

so.. the telescope. hopefully we'll get a few answers now because i am very curious

national very quiet zone

national absolute silence zone

wait how is he going to get in? there has to be some sort of security

duck,, please

"bear-abouts"

i also can't believe that worked

greenpeace girl? :D

random broken machinery is suspicious

collapsed 1988? isn't that 30 years ago, when the abominations started appearing in kepler? this is probably going to be important

"the very big telescope" is the best name ever

isn't checking out the secure building a good way to get caught?

what do you mean he gets a headache from approaching it

that's ominous as heck

an energizing headache? is this somehow connected to minerva?

the thing is though.. this lie is kinda very easy to verify so that's not great

who is this

why did she think duck died??

well yeah it's called high-school

see what i did there

nevermind she's fine with this

hi aubrey!

embedded moonlight? :D

"resort-road"

w o o d p a n e l i n g

griffin reading out possible side effects like that immediately makes me dread the Power of the DM

i guess we're lucky that the hotel actually is in kepler

the what hotel

the dude who was kidnapped by aliens?

now travis is just repeating advice from shmanners :D

bye eugene

i did not remember the dog and i'm very impressed

damn, aubrey is really good at magic

that music is ominous

ned gets his stuff back! i wonder if the abomination took the pendant

i do not like this

i assume the abomination did take the pendant?

another middle name! yay

how to: turn a key

oh fuck off! that was very rude! i cannot believe you

yeah! where did it go!

convincing npcs to do something "because i rolled well" is always great :D

someone accusing ned of potential burglary? :o why on earth would he think that??

and another middle name!

shit i don't remember why the scarf is important

did boyd wear one?

oh! happy birthday griffin!!

i stop listening for a few seconds and suddenly i hear "it's like a cool holster for your tooth-gun"

huh i thought we were like halfway through amnesty

though i couldn't really imagine what could be more challenging than the current bom-bom

a potential war between sylvain and the humans is kind of the nightmare scenario already

hearing that sarah is kind of the only person there (?) makes me very concerned for her

"space gunk"

1990 is also around 30 years ago

so this is connected to minerva!

what happened??

damn cliffhangers

i wonder if minerva could live on earth

ooh another one of these orbs! i think

f

what do mean it beeps

is it an alarm?

ouch

it's been so long since someone was hurt

not counting npcs obviously

f

what's up with people being pushed/falling into coffee tables

ouch

level up!

heck yeah lightning!

why are there random pieces of paper

floating

is this something that was there before and i just forgot about it?

i don't like this

agent stern?? has dossiers on them??

he didn't do anything basically the whole time and i didn't expect him to actually have done some work

i feel like this episode is going to end on a cliffhanger again

w

what why

what could be so important in there

like it already has all of ned's stuff

including, i assume, the pendant

what else does it want

this almost feels like it's going to return the stuff

but that doesn't make any sense

why take it in the first place?

oh wait

does this have to do with shade tree

is it going to frame ned? well it wouldn't really be framing but

if not, i'm very concerned for kirby

oh yeah i forgot about billy

but there are no knifes in warriors, it's about cats

i probably misheard something didn't i

so it did return ned's stuff

is it going to frame ned for stealing the laptop?? but there's no way it could have known mama would ask ned to get it and there would be no reason to turn it on

it could just read through the files in boyd's hotel room

but this means it was in amnesty lodge

so.. dani or agent stern?

aubrey still didn't tell anyone about dani did she

even though everyone knows it's a shapeshifter now

fuck? i still don't get how putting everything in the back room would be good for framing ned though.. why not put it out in the open?

oh

oh shit

oh no

oh no this is bad

fuck

why did i not consider this

oh wait it's because i thought it wanted the pendant for itself

you know, i still don't get what the plan here was

steal/take a bunch of stuff just to give it back?? it's very suspicious

oh so we're back with ned now

doesn't he still have one unasked question from the "read a bad situation" earlier?

whatever

oh so that's the deal with the scarf

:/

everyone was talking about how ned was going to suspected of killing boyd and can i just say: yikes that's an uncomfortable situation right now

this is going to look bad

the accent!! it's great!!

yeah everyone wants to know how ned is dealing with this

especially mochicane shippers

"galaxy-braining" is not a term i ever expected griffin to use

"you are just kinda zoned out and looking at the body" was also not something i was expecting to hear

how ironic would it be if saturday night dead was on right now

community insights?

wait is this the bom bom

oh no no no no no no

fuck!!

don't say it don't say it don't say it

fuck

perhaps this can still be played off as an advertising thing?

oh fuck!!!!!!!!!!

does this mean everyone can see the arch now

also fuck

fuck fuck fuck fuck

fuck no

shit

i mean we all suspected that this was the abomination's goal but fuck

well fucking hell

fuck

...okay now that i've calmed down somewhat i have a few questions

why bother with the unnecessary stuff?

sure it attacked people and that makes sense

and i think it took the laptop because it couldn't figure out why no one could see the gate

but like.. why bother with boyd?

why bother returning everything? there's no way it was planning for aubrey to find it

also i'm surprised it didn't try to paint the pine guard as the bad guys for keeping the truth from everyone and allying with the sylvans

since it doesn't seem to differentiate between regular sylvans and abominations

does it think it's doing what's best for everyone?

it doesn't really seem to view the pine guard as enemies

there were plenty of opportunities to hurt them

and it did give ned's stuff back.. was it trying to be nice?

and it could be justifying the killings by saying that a few sacrifices had to be made for the greater good or something along those lines

does it think killing the sylvans will stop the abominations from appearing?

but why would it want that, it's an abomination itself

or is it

we still don't know where the abominations are coming from exactly

maybe this is something different

also mama did say the abominations were appearing more frequently and were more dangerous

and we still don't know why

thacker wanted to find out but now he's possessed by the quell

what does the quell have to do with the abominations?

also we still don't know anything about the whole going feral thing

shit i just realized that's what's going to happen to people who are going to try to fight

they aren't protected from going feral or whatever

also i just realized the hornets are probably going to be at the gate that night

that means they could confirm what "ned" said

so could sheriff owens

he's not going to be happy about this is he

and neither will anyone in amnesty lodge

though i'm interested in what agent stern's reaction will be

are people going to assume ned is dead? because i don't think we've yet seen the abomination transform into anyone without killing them first

except dani

which is a whole other thing

why didn't it kill her? what's the deal with the book? the whole sacrifice thing was really ominous too

god it's too late for speculations i'm going to sleep

[radiodreadzone]

Irredeemable

WC: 4,451

TW: Blood, death and death mentions, mentions of panic attacks.

It was as casual a night as you could call it. A little ridiculous, a little wild and out of the park, all things considered, so far. Gwen had paired me off with two names I’d heard around the Club but never really run with before. Some hot-shot loud-mouth named Icy, and a calmer, reasonable sort in the form of Burrick. Missions with them so far had been...interesting. Icy was full of bluster, if not charming in his own way. I had more fun than I probably should have sassing him over the coms, Burrick occasionally interjecting. 

We weren’t nearly as thorough in our explorations as I was with Muse, Kyle, and Kirby when we all ran together, but it was gloriously chaotic. It was also deliciously funny to hear Icy screeching panicked complaints into the coms. I’d had to crank the volume on mine way down not only to prevent him deafening me like a flashbang, but to keep Sleepers and Lucids alike from swinging in my direction any time that Icy met with any aspect of misfortune.

I’d been following a trail of blood through the Maze, the gravity of the situation of a missing club member slightly shattered by Icy’s continued attempts to lighten the mood. His constant wittering was as ridiculous as it was soothing in a strange way. It kept me from thinking too much, even as he bypassed Sleepers and Lucids with apparent ease as we entered the Plexus. His words were drowned out by the great bellows above, but the hum of his voice over my earpiece was as consistent as ever.

“Looking at all this blood, they’re probably dead!” His tone was light, but I could see the jerkiness to his movements. As nervous as I was, maybe. Or maybe he just wasn’t graceful.

The blood trails when they were this long rarely had happy endings. A small part of my heart fluttered with a vain hope that maybe they would be...even as Icy scoffed at me for saying as much, going on about mortal wounds as we crept into Signal Relay. A Lucid was walking through on patrol, and ignoring Icy a moment, I took careful aim. 

“A robotomy!” Icy declared theatrically, causing me to snort as I took my shot, missing the Lucid’s back by a breadth, and ruffling Icy’s hair as the bolt barreled past.

“Did you just try to shoot at me?!” Icy barked in surprise.

“No. I missed the Lucid.” I stated, lowering my crossbow, even as I smiled slightly at him. Let him think what he wanted. I could already see the mock betrayal flash in his eyes, and I let it fuel my laughter, muffling it with a hand over my mouth at the proximity of the Lucid.

Then I saw the body behind him.

“Oh.” I said softly.

Another one down. Another one we’d lost. “Geeze.” Icy muttered. There was a beat of silence where he shifted from a slight sag in his posture to resume his apparent carefree air. “Well, they’re dead!” He declared into the coms. I could hear Burrick’s resigned sigh on the other end.

One more body that would be imprinted in my mind. They were turned away from me where they lay. I was glad for it. I didn’t need another face to add to the tally in my mind. I kept track. I never told anyone. But every time I saw another one of us down here...gone…

It was haunting, in it’s own way. But would they have anyone who would remember them? Who would tell their family? God. I didn’t even know who they were. But Gwen and Dax did. This would be another hard night for them. Another hard call.

I turned away.

He arrived so quietly and suddenly that had the thought that brushed across my mind not been so at odds with the swell of grief I felt in that moment, I wasn’t sure I would have noticed his presence at all.

SHE HAS GOTTEN AHOLD OF WHOM?

My steps out of Signal Relay stuttered to a halt at the flickering thought of inquiry, leaving me blinking in the half light. I could hear Icy saying something to me in the background, but I missed it in the moment of surprise and confusion. “Sorry...I don’t…?” It was a mad fumbling of words as I tried to gather my wits. He always seemed to catch me off guard.

Thee-I-Dare? Again? He’d been by earlier to speak with a teammate, and whatever they’d discussed had left her...troubled. She’d called it a night and bid us farewell as we’d left for another mission. I hadn’t expected him to come back. Much less to come talk to me.

What had I last told him..?

A flicker of a memory; staring down my reflection in front of the ritual mirror, wringing the worn edge of dad’s jackets in my hands. “Look I...I know you need more allies but...Don't let your sister onto the table.”

“OH!” I gasped, then shut my mouth hastily, staring behind me at the Lucid that I’d left behind. “Oh. She’s picked Chosen is what I meant.” I informed him. The rumors had circulated the boxcar like wildfire. Not only was their a new goddess vying for a space on the table, but she’d also started selecting her champions.

I suppressed a shiver. 

Icy was speaking again. “It was kind of cool that Thee-I-Dare stopped in earlier-”

“He’s back.” I chimed in, cutting him off.

Icy paused on the walkway across from me. “Who?” he asked, caught off guard, “Who’s back?”

“Him.” I threw over my shoulder, slinking in the direction of the Barracks. The rest, lost to the bellows above, was spoken into the radio, to let Burrick into the loop as well. “Thee-I-Dare is here.”

“Oh.” Came Icy’s realization, followed quickly by a swear at a Lucid who’d gotten too close. “What, is he talking to you, now?” 

Surprise colored my tones as I responded, “Yeah. Which...I did not expect at all…” And it was true. It hadn’t been so very long ago that he’d spoken to me last. Usually he’d spend time visiting others, speaking of various matters. His absence for longer windows was...expected. Even if I didn’t always enjoy the silence at times. Somehow Redacre and missions felt a little safer with him around, and I’d always enjoyed his company.

Burrick and Icy’s voices crackled on the radio again, though I couldn’t quite catch the words for the distraction of those that suddenly slipped quietly across my mind, a distant ebb and echo, making itself a prominent place in my attention.

I AM BOUND TO EACH RITUAL IN TURN

“I know...but you’ve…” I began, slinking down the long hallway towards the Barracks, easing down into the shadows there, my restless feet already taking me in the start of a long loop. I struggled to find the appropriate words, and as a result, unfiltered thoughts poured forth instead. “Honestly you’ve talked to me a lot lately. I figured...You had...Is it bad if I thought you had better things to do?” I cut off a moment, wincing, before I made an attempt to correct myself. “That’s not a jab at you, it’s more I feel I don’t say interesting things, sometimes.”

Silence extended for several long moments, leaving me wonder if I’d just choked a Voice to death on the foot I’d just shoved into my mouth. “I just...um…” I tapered off, as he spoke.

SPARROW, YOU FEAR MY SISTER.

To my credit, I didn’t flinch, though I did freeze in my tracks in the shadows. I felt...caught, almost. I didn’t sense admonishment from him, but still, shame burned low fires in my belly. “Yeah…” I admitted around a sigh. “Yeah I do.”

DID YOU THINK I WOULD NOT CARE?

Now I did flinch. 

I think you have better things to do with your time than listen to me be afraid. The words nearly shot out of my mouth, and I bit them back, just in time. Secondary to that came surprise, followed by a dribble of guilt. Yes...in a way I’d expected him to simply...continue on regardless of what I had to say about Seed-The-Grudge. I’d burned that ritual expecting him to consider it...but ultimately I’d thought I was speaking into silence again. The daimons had demonstrated that they always seemed to keep their own plans at the heart of matters, more so than the wishes and fears of the humans that they were hosted within. I guess the mentality had stuck more than I thought it had.

“I…” I stumbled to begin, trying to recover. “Look...I...You...you need allies, right? Every daimon counts?” Especially now. Especially for him. A Voice without a voice. Weaker and fragmented. He needed all the help he could get, even if I was wary of where that help came from. It was for the best if I just...cast that fear aside, right? “I thought...maybe...you know greater good versus...needs of…” I stopped, realizing how much that sounded like something that They would say. The individual less worth the effort than the group’s safety and purposes. “Fuck, that’s Their thinking. God. I just.” Frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair, fleeing the Barracks, heading back into the roar of the Plexus in an attempt to drown my own raging thoughts.

“I want to help you and I’m more used to...putting my own fears aside to help other people, I guess…” More secrets of self. It cut, admitting it to Thee-I-Dare. More weaknesses for him to know and understand. He didn’t judge, but at some point I expected him to step back and realize that in this town, in this struggle, I might not have what it took, even if I fought for it. “But yeah…” I finished softly, sliding off into the tunnels below a Somniloquy. “She scares me. She...I told you why. With my parents.”

He was silent for a few moments. I let it draw itself out, waiting, keeping my attention focused around me as I watched a Sleeper patrol past before I hauled myself up out of the underbelly of the Somni.

SLEEPERS SHE WOULD AVOID KILLING.

Some relief flickered in my chest.“Right. And I know...I think that’s what happened to my mom.”  If this new daimon started on a warpath, my mother might be safe. But...That was only half of it. “My dad…” I could hear the unease starting to creep back into my voice. “They picked him for some kind of project? A work project? And he hasn’t been home in a long time. I’m starting to think that maybe...whatever he’s doing for them is willing…” I had harbored the hunch for a long time. A fear never given voice. It felt too much like willing it to truth that way. 

He’d been gone so long. I could see the tired looks mom threw out the window sometimes, her eyes sad. She missed him even if she never gave a voice to it. I’d joined the Club in part to find him. To find out what had happened to him. To figure out what had taken him so far from us. 

YOU BELIEVE HE KNOWS OF IT ALL?

A chill that had nothing to do with the Maze crept over me. I saw my dad’s face in my mind’s eye. I pictured him here. In the Maze, wearing Their garb. I shuddered, shouldering open the door that lead to Dream Therapy. The green light was softer than the harsh glare within the Somni, and I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust as I shifted to the strange, man-made tree-tops. “I...I don’t know.” I admitted softly, wringing my hands around my crossbow. My eyes cast out across the twisted wood, the shifting fog, and the deep abyss beyond the catwalks.

“It’s...my best guess? We haven’t talked to him.” Not for a long time. It was like he’d drop off the face of the earth for days at a time. Then mom would tell me he called. I’d never spoken to him since he’d left. After being in the Club as long as I had...I’d wondered if he’d truly talked to her at all. What he was doing and what he was up to. The creeping suspicions were there. A deep rooted fear without a foundation, but stabilized by plausible evidence. “He’s the one that got the job offer from CHORUS. The reason why we moved here?” Well. Part of the reason anyway. I cast that thought away before the sharp pang could follow it.

Dad was a structural engineer. Military background. He was in good physical condition. Smart as a whip. I remember him saying that the offer that they’d made him was good. Really good. I wondered what else had been at play, now. What other subtle influences had crept in through the open windows of his mind. I drew my jacket tighter around myself. I could see him down here in the Maze with alarming clarity, if I tried to entertain the thought. And that worried me. 

“So it...seems to fit. Not that I would ask Them about it...The last thing I need is for Them to use that against me if he is.” ...Too bad that the ship on that had already sailed. One Light sent in a fit of grief and anger. They don’t know his name. They don’t know who he is. The thoughts were there, attempting to soothe me, even as the anxiety dwelled in the back of my head like a creeping vine. I wrapped my arms across my body, holding tight, stilling me, and waited in the deep silence.

SPARROW. IF HE IS ONE OF THEM…

The words came at last. I froze in their wake, fearing his next words. Waiting for what I felt in my chest could be words that damned or saved him.

IF SHE DOES NOT KILL HIM. YOU  MAY

My heart just...stopped. My breathing froze. The low drip of water and rumble of the Maze faded away as I focused on those words burned in my head. The image I held in my head of my father fractured. Vanished. 

Gone forever.

Just like Jacob.

I cringed so violently away from that thought that I physically recoiled. My voice came out a low hiss, barely a death rattle as I tried to suck in air that my body had forgotten how to process. “I don’t want to do that.” It sounded loud even as I rasped it, cracking across what had been silence prior. “I can’t. I can’t lose another person!” The burn of tears came again, and I was helpless to stop them as I felt them track down my face. A hand came up trying to muffle myself.

This is dangerous. You’re too loud. You’ll blind yourself if you cry.

It was a thought that I only had the ability to heed for a few moments before another crashing wave of grief, both old and new, buffeted me again. “I can’t lose another part of my family!” I whispered. “That’s why I don’t want her around! That’s why I’m trying to save people!” I was desperate to make him understand. These fears. They weren’t unfounded. I’d lost too much already. Didn’t he realize? Had he not lost too? Did he not remember those Hosts we had found? Their ghosts that lingered in the Maze and haunted him when we asked? 

How could he say that?

My radio crackled. I heard my name, called in Icy’s voice, followed by a yell. I stirred from my own private reverie. One hand wiped at my face as another reached down to grab the radio and flick the volume back up so I could hear him.

“Yeah?” I asked, hearing how muffled and small my voice sounded. I cleared my throat once, twice, trying to fix it. But I couldn’t choke anything else past the knot that had affixed itself there.

“It’s really awkward without you sassing me, what’s going on?”

“Not good things!” I managed to get out. The false cheer in my voice was obvious. I couldn’t bring myself to fix it. To smile at the banter. I couldn’t bring myself to do much of anything. Move. Breathe. I was now a machine of limited perpetual motion. If I froze any longer, I’d lay down and cease to move all together. I couldn’t let that happen. I bolted from Dream Therapy, seeking out the nook within the walls of Host Conditioning. That would be my next destination. Something to focus on.

“Well that’s not good.” Came Burrick’s quiet voice.

Icy followed not long after. “Ah. Sounds delightful, what’s going on?”

Right. I hadn’t explained much of anything. More vagueness. More hiding and secrets.

My voice was absurdly small against the empty air of The Throat, the giant body of the Maze echoing slightly as I finally managed to find my voice again. “I may have to kill my dad. If Seed-The-Grudge doesn’t get to him first…”

There was silence on the other side of the coms. Icy was the first to recover. “Ooh...that’s...that’s bizarre.” I could hear the puzzlement and shock that had crept into his voice, despite his best attempts to hide it. “...It is Thee-I-Dare you’re talking to, right?”

I hadn’t thought about that. Hadn’t bothered to verify or check. But I...I was certain it was. He’d come to me asking directly about a prayer I’d sent to him. I...I never said his name in it, I realized. More recoiling, more fear. Too much. Too much. I would trip myself right into a panic if I wasn’t careful.

I sniffed, lifting the radio again. “I think he means more like...collateral damage?” Did he? Or did he mean it seriously when he said I had to kill my father? Was it supposed to be an honor? Or an accident? I didn’t...couldn’t...understand. Not in that moment. My thoughts were too much of a blur. I chose to focus on something else. Before I got myself killed down here.

His words slipped forth again, doing little to soothe the ache in my chest at their crack and burn across my mind.

THE LUCIDS ARE BEYOND REDEMPTION.

I flinched back into the alcove. Beyond redemption. The thought repeated itself at full blast. Like an echo chamber across my mind. More tears slipped silently down my face, even as I bit down on my tongue, refusing to break more at the words, even as I could feel myself buckling.

No. God. Please no.

Icy broke through the din again, his voice shattering my panic. “Right uh...You need to start from the beginning.” 

Did I? Had I not been clear enough? I didn’t...I didn’t want to go through all of that. Not again. I…

“Sparrow, what’s going on?” He pressed.

I needed this to stop. I couldn’t do this from two sides. Not now. “Can I...can I take a moment later and tell you?” I managed weakly, begging in my head that he would leave it at that. That he would stop pressing.

“Sure.” He finally said. I sagged against the cold wall. “We’ll have a meeting back at the train car.”

“Sounds fine.” I whispered, relief leaking through me in a sluggish trickle.

“Tell Thee-I-Dare that ...that's not a very nice thing to say.” He came back through the radio one more time, ending his words on a nervous laugh before he called out to Burrick, rallying them both.

I remained there in the dark, pressed against the stone. I was sure in that moment that it was all that was holding me up, even as I stared blankly into the shadows and light of the room. My senses were strained. Waiting for him to say something else. Nothing came. So instead, I met the silence with my own torrent.

“I don’t...I know that...they serve Them but that’s my dad, Thee-I-Dare! I can’t just write that off! It’s not that simple!” Again, trying to impress the point upon him. I don’t know if he even...understood. Their idea of family was so different. So full of hate and anger. Rivalries and fighting. Did they know what it was to love someone so dearly that it felt like your heart was torn from your chest when they went somewhere you couldn’t follow? Could they even understand what it was like to lose a part of yourself irreparably? If any could..I’d thought he’d be the closest but…

SPARROW...IT IS NOT ME.

I COULD LIE. I CHOOSE NOT TO.

Some distant, cold part of me respected that. Respected that he would tell me the truth in this moment. Comfort while well and good did nothing in the long run. Did nothing to fix things when truth was necessary. 

Another part of me was so so frightened. 

My voice came out in a hoarse whisper, cluttered by the sniffles that tried to keep my nose from running haphazardly down my face. “I know. I just…This hurts. This hurts. And I...I know but...God.” I hadn’t meant to get emotional. A mission was no place for that, and made things riskier. I tried to pull myself back together. Tried to rally.

You can fall to pieces later. Not now. Not here.

“Either way.” I tried. “I get it. I don’t like it but I get it.”

No you don’t. You don’t understand at all. 

THEN YOU LEAVE REDACRE. FLY.

My head shot up, startled. That wasn’t what I had expected from him. What? My mouth hung open, working for a moment around words I couldn’t find or format. Finally I managed something as rationality kicked back into gear in the face of shock. “How am I supposed to do that? They’ve got us blocked in from all sides. I’m stuck here until something gives.” He’d asked the impossible of me.

WE CRIPPLE THEM, AND YOU RUN.

I stood there frozen, eyes wide. Realizations trickled in. How much risk that would be. How much he was offering. My mind tried and failed to process it, to accept it. More words tumbled forth from me. “...then what about the Club? What about you?” What would happen?

YES. BUT WE SPEAK OF YOUR ENDGAME

I felt dizzy. I couldn’t think straight again. I bolted for the other room. Seeking the tunnels that led to the bunker, led back to clear night air. It took until the hatch into the backyard had been shouldered open before I could find my tongue. Before I could think past humming static and noise in my head.

I couldn’t help but ask more of him. It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. “I don’t know if...if in that endgame. Does my family get to come?” His offer...it sounded too good to be true. But...could...could we all make it out of here? Could we run? Could we get away from this place? 

Could you even convince someone willingly participating in this to do that?

I flinched. 

“Is that even a possibility or with all this going on...is it just going to be me?” I threw myself over a fence, hiding in the tall grass on the other side. Before me the empty, yawning air beyond the Leap expanded outwards, the sight of the town visible below an endless expanse of stars.

THE ODDS DO NOT FAVOR GROUPS.

Alone then.

I sat there staring off the Leap.

For a moment, I could see it all. A thread unspooling before me. A future away from Redacre. I could break free of here. I could run. Survive, like he always told us to. I would never have to worry about Them. I would be beyond their reach. I could go find my grandma. I could be free. I wouldn’t have to be afraid again.

It was tempting. 

More than it should have been.

But...Alone. No Mom. No Dad. Left alone to their fate here. Muse. Kyle. Still left fighting for what they believed in. What I believed in. 

It would shatter every promise I’d made for the sake of saving myself.

“...then that’s the coward’s way out.” My tone was hard, even as the words that slipped from me were quiet on the night air. “And I won’t do that.” I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. “I won’t leave everybody. I won’t leave my dad. I won’t leave my mom. I can’t leave Muse or Kyle to face this.” I took a deep, fortifying breath. Something solidified in my gut. Something that felt less like a stone and more like…

Resolve.

“I’m scared of a lot of things but...I’m not a coward.”

SOUNDS LIKE A CHOICE. I RESPECT IT.

I had no sense for his tone. Had no idea if he found my decision to be a good one or utterly foolish. He didn’t judge. Not to our faces, anyway. I’m sure he had his own thoughts on each of us.

I shut my eyes, rubbing jacket sleeves across the sticky trails that remained on my face, slowly drying in the night air. “We’ll see what happens with it.” It was low, nearly lost to the soft hum of crickets that had begun chorusing in my stillness.

A pause. Then:

OUR RITUAL TIME ENDS, MY SPARROW.

My eyes opened again. My Sparrow. Maybe it had been the right choice then. Maybe I wasn’t a fool for all I’d done. There was a wry twist in my chest at the thought that I cared so much for the endearment. That it acted like a marker for how he saw me.

You’re a fool, Sparrow.

I turned away from that thought, before it could start down a path of doubts. Before I could remember accusing texts and notes scrawled in a boxcar.

“I know.” There was a pause. “Thank you...for telling me.” I expelled a long, slow breath. “I’ll have to think about things.” When I could think again. When all of this stopped being a confusing circuit in my head.

I WILL BACK YOU, EITHER WAY.

“It’s appreciated.” I whispered. Even now, even in my tumult, it was good to know that when things were at their worst, there was something, someone, there to back me up. 

SURVIVE.

And then he was gone to the night.

I stayed there curled in the grass. Quiet. Thinking. 

He’d offered me an out. 

It still rang in my head. Then you leave Redacre.

What would have happened if I’d said yes? What would it have cost him to let me even try? His Hosts, his chosen were so few. The resources at his disposal limited. And yet he’d still offered.

In that moment, he’d seen me not as a resource. Not as a Club member, not as something to help him win this war, but just Sparrow. A scared kid who was neck deep in things she didn’t understand.

But...he’d also told me that my father had to die if my suspicions proved correct.

It sat like a weight on my chest. 

Now what will you do?

I allowed myself another few seconds to sit. To think.

Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to fix this.

I stood and picked up my radio. “Alright. We’re good to go, guys.”

[plucky-belmondo]

Contemplation

Summary - Plucky becomes consumed by one of the cruelest aspects of life - beauty.

Ships - Otherworldly Bond, Of Teatime and Summons (friendship)

Trigger warnings - self-harm, blood, depression.

tagging @husband-of-lucoa since he helped me a bit on this! you’re awesome!

Beauty…

One of the goals that humanity strives for, just like perfection. We tell ourselves that we’re always beautiful, no matter what, but...does such a saying even work now…?  Today, we currently drown in the ideal that, if you do not make yourself look like a model or a goddess, you are perceived as “ugly” by everyone. So, that makes one become desperate to do whatever it takes to be “beautiful”.

“Because personality matters less!” is what society would say.

Plucky is the kind of person who believed in the opposite: personality over looks. Sure, you could date someone who has a pristine appearance, but the truth is that they turn out to be a completely different person….almost monstrous, to be exact. You could date someone who’s average but turns out to be nice in the end. Plucky was the latter. She was always a kind soul, rarely caring about her own appearance.

...Or, was she?

Honestly, as kind as she is, Plucky actually cared about her self-image...she considered herself average, really.

...That’s when it all happened. After Plucky saw “them”...her inner thoughts slowly clawed away at her psyche. It was like someone scratching a chalkboard with their bare hands -- shattering. The more those thoughts consumed Plucky, the more she was close to becoming increasingly desperate. Plucky could never compete with the royal beauty they presented, it was too much…!! Plucky could feel her worries grow within her, minute by aching minute...at this moment, she became a walking mass of depression.

There were many things she feared greatly -- one of them being the fact that Richter might leave her for one of “them”...she didn’t want that to happen.

Sure, Plucky could use makeup, but...she hated the scents they emitted.

After all, to her...natural beauty is what’s important, right…?

Plucky stared at her reflection within the bathroom mirror. Time moved slowly, the ticking noises filling the empty silence. She kept wondering, wondering….how were “they”  all able to maintain their beauty while fighting to the death? “I’m nothing…” Plucky muttered to herself, coarsely. “Why...would Richter love someone like me…? I’m just a walking pile of trash…” she placed her hand on the mirror, and stroked it a bit…

“What if...he does leave me for one of them…?” Plucky could feel herself tearing up after that.

She didn’t have the lovely blue eyes Peach had.

She didn’t have the heavenliness Palutena emanated.

And...she certainly didn’t have the mysterious charm Bayonetta showed off.

The hand that rested on the mirror...clenched itself into a fist. Oh, how Plucky wished she could let out her anger and shatter the mirror. But, she had to restrain herself, she didn’t want anyone to know about her issue. It had been like this for the past few days; Plucky would often stare at her reflection, becoming lost in thought. The life in her deteriorated, to the point where she’d just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.

The only thing Plucky can do for now...is sink to the floor and scream her heart out.

This was enough to draw the attention of her butler friend Ronove, who had been outside, tending to the plants.

As her cries died out, Plucky curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor, still crying.

The bathroom door swung open. “Milady, is everything alright?!” Ronove called, concerned. Plucky, who was still laying down, answered in a hoarse accent, “...I...I’m fine, Ronove....I’m just wallowing in my own despair.”  He approached Plucky and helped her get up. Out of all the people Plucky knew, Ronove was the only one who noticed Plucky’s current problem. Richter, Kirby, and Isabelle were currently away for SSBU.

“Milady, it is not in your behavior to act like this...would you like to tell me all about it?”

Plucky only nodded in silence as she and Ronove left the bathroom.

It was currently noon, and the sun was out, meaning it was perfect for snack time….and venting out your problems. Today was nothing complicated, just some black tea and a plate of cookies. As Plucky sat down on one chairs and Ronove on the other, Plucky grabbed one of the teacups, and gently held it in her hands. She then looked up at Ronove, and began to speak out to him.

Plucky softly clutched the warm cup, “I...I don’t understand it, Ronove…”

Ronove raised an eyebrow, “Hm? What is it you don’t understand?” he asked.

Plucky sighed, “You know how it feels when you’ve become aware of your self image, and you end up comparing yourself to others…? That’s….what I’ve been going through for the past few days. It just ate away at my self-esteem; I mean, the women in SSBU are more beautiful than I am, so why would Richter choose me over them...I just don’t get it at all…I’ve even hurt myself over such a thought.”

Plucky set the teacup on the table and pulled up one of her jacket sleeves, revealing a small scar on her arm.

“Milady…” Ronove started, with a hint of sadness in his expression. “Y...You shouldn’t be treating yourself like this...it is not beneficial to you or your state of mind.”

“I know...but for someone like me, it’s hard…” Plucky said as she took a cookie and bit it.

Still concerned for her, Ronove spoke in a reassuring tone. “...Allow me to offer you some advice. Beauty is within the eye of the beholder. Looks mean nothing, it is the personality that matters more. There is a reason why Master Richter prefers you over those women: it is your personality.” “M...My personality?” Plucky asked, curious. “Indeed. I have noted the difference between you and them. You are much kinder than they are.

“But the SSBU women are kind too! Just look at Peach and Palutena!” Plucky countered.

“...True, But, let me ask you one thing, Milady...do they help their opponent up and offer to heal them? The answer to that...is a clear ‘no’. They just leave their opponent on the ground, sinking in their own pain. Tell me, does that make them kind people? If they were really of royalty, they should’ve known better, instead of outright taunting their opponents. To me, they are nothing but cold-hearted...you, on the other hand, are the opposite.”

“I once served someone who was more vicious than they were….but I still stayed with her, to the very end. She still loved everyone dear to her, even her own opponent.”

“I...I see…” Plucky responded. “So, my kindness is what makes me different from them.”

She beamed a bit at this. “...Thank you, Ronove...I do try my best to be as nice as possible.”

“My pleasure, Milady.” Ronove nodded.

“I’ll be taking a nap if you need me.” Plucky said as she got up.

As she slept, Ronove thought to himself. He was rather skeptical at Plucky’s smile, and he was unsure of whether it was a forced one or a genuine one.

After cleaning up the table, Ronove approached Plucky’s sleeping figure on the couch, and laid a warm towel on her forehead.

“Hm...I feel as if her problems didn’t go away after our conversation...perhaps I should find Master Richter and confront him about it.”

Since there was nothing else to do in the house, that was the number one priority on Ronove’s agenda: warn Richter of Plucky’s state. He waited until Plucky was heavily asleep. Richter was away from the house, therefore, he was never aware of how his lover was doing. The sun was still up, so Ronove had a lot of time to do so. He got up from the couch and stepped outside. “Milady, I will be stepping out for a moment.” he uttered.

And with that, he disappeared in a flutter of gold butterflies.

A few minutes after the butler left, Plucky woke up from her short nap. She removed the towel on her forehead, and got up. Silence filled the entire house. Plucky looked around, and noticed that Ronove had gone out. She assumed that he was getting some groceries, so that should buy her enough time to be alone. Plucky, still in a depressed state, headed to the bathroom once more. She glanced at her reflection again, showing nothing but a disheveled version of herself.

Eyes slightly red, hair all messy...exactly what one would picture.

Suddenly, Plucky’s head started to ring.

“THEY ARE MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU”

“YOU’RE NOTHING COMPARED TO THEM”

“HE WOULD DEFINITELY LEAVE YOU FOR ONE OF THEM”

...Ah, it’s those thoughts again. Plucky clutched her head in agony, screaming for them to get out.

But all was futile. Her reflection had distorted itself into a shadow of her well-being, grinning eerily at Plucky.

In defense, Plucky punched the mirror with enough force to shatter it into a thousand pieces. She landed another hit. The more she did, the more shards would fall to the floor. Around the fourth punch, Plucky’s hands soon became stained with her own blood. After a few more hits, the mirror was nothing but a sad pile of glass panes. Plucky looked down at her own hands: small scars littered her palms, the pain from it just made it worse.

How sad it must be...for your own thoughts to claw away at you, to the point of injuring yourself.

All the pain, all her anger...caused Plucky to faint on the ground, with her blood slowly trickling on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Ronove had arrived at where the SSBU fighters were gathered at: a decently sized castle, big enough to hold in everyone. All of a sudden, he felt this sharp pain in his chest. Was it an omen of sorts? Paying no heed to this, he rushed inside to search for Master Richter. He could’ve asked Isabelle and Kirby for help, but he’s a demon butler, he can manage on his own just fine! High and lo he looked, trying to find the blue-clothed vampire hunter. He zoomed past many of the fighters, as if he were a ghost of sorts.

However, this made Ronove grow tired, so he slowed himself down, and walked through the halls instead. As he continued his search, he saw a...certain group glance at him, oh so much. Yes, by “certain group”, I was referring to the ladies of Smash Bros.. Ronove could hear them complimenting his appearance, even questioning if he was connected to Plucky. One of them tried to reach out to him, but Ronove stepped back. He then shot an icy cold glare at them. Perhaps he was angry at them for the pain they had caused Plucky?

“I have no time for your ludicrous comments...if I may, do any of you know where Master Richter is? It is for urgent reasons.” Ronove spoke, with a stern voice.

The sandy-blonde one, Zelda, had replied, “Ah, he is over in the courtyard.” She pointed east, as a means of guiding Ronove. He thanks her, and goes on his way.

When Ronove had arrived at the courtyard, it was just like as he imagined it - an area suitable for honing one’s skills. Some of the fighters were here, preparing themselves for their next big match. It took a while for Ronove to spot Richter, who was resting under a tree, along with a few others. Ronove thought of calling out to him, but that would be a silly idea, so he walked over to him instead.

When Richter noticed Ronove approaching him, he got up and stretched a bit.

“Ah, Ronove? What are you doing here?” Richter asked.

Ronove bowed and replied, with a bit of distress, “Master, I have come to inform you about something terrible… it is about your mistress, Plucky.” Richter tensed up at this. “It seems...she is not in the right state of mind as we speak...I have talked to her about it, but I fear that our conversation may have made things worse…” Worry started to grow within Richter, so he grabbed Ronove by the shoulders and asked, “Wait, what happened?! We need to go back to her, please!”

“As you wish, Master.” Ronove snapped his fingers, and he and Richter were taken instantly to the house.

“Plucky!?” Richter called out, his worries growing.

Where was Plucky, anyway? The first spot to look was the couch, but she wasn’t there.

“Perhaps she is sleeping in your room?” Ronove remarked. Richter took his advice, so he rushed upstairs. A few seconds later, he rushed back down, and shook his head in response.

...It wasn’t until Ronove noticed...something red on the floor, leaking from the bathroom. Ronove’s eyes widened. “Master, she’s in the bathroom!!” he yelled. The bathroom door was locked, so it took all of Ronove and Richter’s strength to break it down. Plucky was smart in locking the door, both from the inside and outside. With one more push, the door had been broken down, so hard that the hinges ended up being bent to a degree.

And,,,there Plucky was, unconscious on the floor, her hands injured.

It was like something you’d see in a crime scene...broken furniture, some blood here and there, and of course...the victim.

...Of course, Plucky wasn’t really dead, and there was no intruder. So, the only culprit is herself.

Richter gasped and his eyes widened in horror, while Ronove turned away from the awful, awful sight. “PLUCKY!!!” Richter yelled.

He kneeled down and cradled Plucky’s body in his arms. Why would Plucky do this to herself? Trembling with fear, tears started to form in Richter’s eyes. Plucky’s blood started to stain his clothes, but he didn’t care. There was a possibility that Plucky is dead, and it’s all his fault…!! He turned to Ronove and asked why Plucky would injure herself.

Facing Richter, Ronove replied, “Master, it is because she feared you would leave her for one of the women back at the castle...this is what we were talking about earlier. She became endlessly consumed by the dark side of her thoughts, causing herself to be distraught. I have been helping her while you were away, however, this injury of hers may have happened after I left…” he kneeled alongside Richter and felt Plucky’s pulse. “She is still alive. Her wounds are nothing too serious.”

Ronove then reached for the bandages on the shelf and tended to Plucky’s wounds, her body still in Richter’s arms. He didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

“I will repair the broken mirror. Lay Plucky down on the bed.” Ronove commanded as he picked up the mirror shards.

Richter did as he was told, and laid Plucky down on the bed. He glanced at her for a moment. Although Plucky is alive, he could tell that she was hurting from the inside. He gently placed his hand on hers, and whispered, “Plucky...I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that I never noticed your problems before...I should’ve stayed with you instead of leaving quickly…” the last bit made Richter cry again. As he grieved, however, he felt Plucky’s hand twitch.

“A-Ah...what happened?” Plucky asked, eyes half-lidded as she got up. “R-Richter…? What are you doi--” before she could even finish her question, Richter pulled her in for a tight hug, never wanting to let go.

“H...Huh?” Plucky muttered, feeling more awake at this action.

“I...I thought I lost you…” Richter said.

Ah, so it seems Ronove had told him everything from the get-go. Had it not been for him, then Plucky would’ve been dead by now. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Richter released his grip on Plucky, his hands now on her shoulders. Plucky tilted her head in confusion, wondering why Richter was back here and not with the rest of the fighters. They stare at each other for a moment, before Richter spoke again.

“Ronove told me...about the past few days, about how you were worried that I’d leave you for someone else…” Tears welled up in Plucky’s eyes, that was exactly it.

Was...was it actually going to happen? Plucky started to shake. “A...Are you…?”

...Without saying anything, Richter pulled Plucky in for another hug, this time being more gentle. He whispered in her ear in a soothing tone, “Plucky...I would never abandon you for one of them, I promise. My heart belongs to you, and only you, you know that. I love you more than life itself. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve known, more so than them. ...Hell, if I could, I’d marry you in a heartbeat!” ...the last part made both of them blush.

“U...Um…marry me?” Plucky asked, awkwardly.

“I-Ignore that last bit.” Richter said sheepishly.

...Their reactions were enough to earn a chuckle from Ronove, who had just finished repairing the mirror. It was as if the mirror never broke.

Later on, Richter left Plucky alone so that she could sleep. Sure, he could go back to the castle, but because of Plucky’s well-being, he chose to stay home. He was resting in the living room, reading a book of sorts. He often got up to check up on his beloved, and, as usual, she snoozed the day away. Other than that, Richter just read away, when Ronove joined him in the living room, setting down a teapot and a teacup on the small table.

“It seems Miss Plucky is feeling better after your moment with her.” Ronove said, as he poured some tea.

Richter looked up from the book he was reading, and smiled. “Yeah, she is. I reassured her that my love for her is eternal, and nothing will change it.”

“But why say that last part? The one about marrying her?” Ronove pointed out.

Richter grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, “...I...might’ve slipped a bit, but at least she doesn’t suspect a thing.”

Richter pulled out a small, black box and held it up.

“I’d love for her to become my wife...she makes me the happiest man alive. There’s no one else I’d spend my life with but her.”

“So...when are you proposing to her?”

“Hmm...on her birthday, since it’s next week.”

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #192: Steel City Nightmare!

February, 1980

Weirdly my first thought was that this could be a Superman cover. Because Wonder Man is very red and blue and I somehow overlooked Iron Man at first. And punching a big glowy guy full of kirby krackle is just the kind of nonsense Superman would get up to.

And later in this issue, Wonder Man ends up in a situation that reminds him of “an old Max Fleisher cartoon” and takes a page from the unnamed hero thereof.

So I wonder (ha!) if its a coincidence or if I’m picking up on an intentional homage.

Anyway.

Last time: the Avengers won their freedom from Agent Gyrich’s restrictions by ditching their senatorial hearing to go fight Grey Gargoyle. There’s more to it then that but basically the very short time when Gyrich had much sway on the Avengers is over.

This time: A steel city nightmare.

We actually start with Wonder Man and Tony Stark touring a steel factory.

And the narration reminds us of the easily forgotten fact that Wonder Man aka Simon Williams and Tony Stark were once competitors. Until Simon Williams got in huge amounts of trouble for embezzling money and then agreed to let a Nazi scientist experiment on him and then died.

But this steel factory belonged to Wonder Man back before all of that and Tony Stark asked him to come on the inspection to help him decide whether or not to add the factory to the holdings of Stark International.

I might be a kind of insensitive gesture if Wonder Man gave a crap about his life as a businessman, which he doesn’t. He just seems kind of amused by the blast from his past.

Meanwhile nearby, some of the workers ooh and ahh over getting to see a real superhero like Wonder Man from so close.

The foreman, Joseph Conroy, brags about seeing Thor use this very factory to repair Mjolnir a couple years back. Conroy even found a chip of Uru afterward and made a good luck charm/keychain out of it.

One of the other workers says something weirdly threatening though.

One of the other workers: “Maybe you’d better switch to rabbit’s feet, Conroy. That lucky charm don’t seem to be workin’ too good lately... does it?”

Conroy nervously excuses himself to get Wonder Man’s autograph for his daughter.

Aww, Wonder Man actually has fans. Children fans.

But later as Conroy returns from getting said autograph, another worker jumps out of concealment and smacks him with an ore spoon.

Knocking him over the railing and sending him falling right into the furnace.

Where he just. Vaporizes. Eesh.

Alas Conroy. You cameo from a Thor comic, you.

Unfortunately, in addition to the tragedy of a man being murdered, him falling into the vat of molten metal also spilled some molten metal on the cauldron operator.

Who obviously runs off screaming, suffering terrifying injuries.

But the cauldron continues on its automated way, operating on a pre-set rate of flow which pours molten metal all over the manufactory floor.

Less than good.

There’s no time to get all the workers to safety so the crucible has to be stopped.

Tony tries to slip away to become Iron Man but Wonder Man grabs his briefcase from him and throws it across the factory to hit the control panel.

Leaving Tony Stark just sadly watching and thinking “Aw, geez. My armor...!”

Its like a brief but effective example of how secret identities can backfire. I love it.

And the gambit works. The crucible stops pouring.

But the already spilled metal is still flowing towards workers so Wonder Man jumps off the catwalk to go save the day.

Wonder Man: “Somebody’s got to stop that molten steel! And since I’m the only Avenger around, it looks like I’m elected!”

I do like Wonder Man sometimes. Despite his insecurity and self-doubt, when the moment comes he almost always steps up.

Anyway, this is the moment where Wonder Man takes some inspiration from not-named-but-totally-Superman cartoons, grabs some I-beams, bends them into U-beams, and dams up the molten flow.

And it works! You’re two for two on good ideas, Wonder Man!

Then he hears someone calling for help and he rushes in.

One of the workers tripped and someone got his fool ankle stuck in the stamp press.

He begs Wonder Man to turn off the press but Wonder Man doesn’t know how to do that.

Despite once being an inventor businessman, he thinks best with his muscles. So he decides to muscle this problem.

So he jumps under the press and holds it up, gloating that he once fought Thor to a standstill!

A steelworker: “But no one can hold a stamp press back! It’s set for fifty thousand tons!”

Wonder Man: “Don’t worry, friend -- I’m Wonder Man! I once fought Thor to a standstill! And if I can *ung* do that... s-surely I can *ghk* ... can *urf* f-fifty thousand, huh? HHEELLPP!”

Thankfully Tony Stark shows up, a sentiment some would say they never thought would be expressed.

He pulls the worker free and tells Wonder Man to jump clear.

Buuuuuuuuut.... Wonder Man accidentally.... stripped the threads on the thing.

If he jumps out head first, he’ll get a flattened bottom. If he jumps out feet first, a flattened head.

Tony Stark thinks of a third option though.

Grabbing Wonder Man by the belt and pulling him out in all one go so he clears the press.

Good job, Tony Stark.

Yet another sentiment that blah blah et cetera.

So here is part of why I find Wonder Man so endearing I guess. He sure does goof up a lot, often related directly to him bragging about how strong and cool he is. He’s a very human character for a character that’s no longer strictly human.

Wonder Man: “*Whew* That’s what I get for being cocky. Guess I still haven’t had enough experience as a super hero to anticipate all the angles. Thanks, Tony.”

MEANWHILE, AT THE MANSION OF AVENGE

A man approaches Avengers Mansion and tries to gain access with a card.

REJECTED

The security tentacles grab him and then a net is dropped on him, and then laser cannons activate.

So I guess the security system is working.

Agent Gyrich bursts out of the mansion and demands to know who this guy is and why he’s skulking about.

Sid Bloat: “I-I’m Sid Bloat, sir. I-I live down the street an’ I got this neighbor who’s been playin’ his stereo real loud, y’know? My landlord won’t do nothin’ about it, but since the Avengers are good-guys, I thought, well...”

Henry Peter Gyrich: “You mean you’ve attempted to breach a top security installation to solicit some of the most powerful beings on this continent... for a noise complaint?!”

Also the card he tried to use to gain access when prompted for a clearance card was a credit card.

I’m just flabbergasted by that.

I don’t know whether the line of thought was trying to unlock the high tech front door lock like you could with a less advanced lock using a credit card. Or whether he was trying to pay an entry fee. Good lord.

The Avengers all come out to see what the fuss is and Captain America tells the guy that the Avengers are a specialized organization and don’t reeeeeeeeally handle problems like noise complaints.

Gyrich tells the guy to go to the police.

Vision floats out through the wall and says he’s heard that the huu-man method in this situation is hitting a broomstick against one’s ceiling “can be an effective mode of communication in cases such as yours.”

Sid Bloat leaves to maybe take some of these suggestions into consideration but really is thinking he should have gone to the Fantastic Four.

I’m not going to look it up because I don’t want to be disappointed but if the concurrent Fantastic Four comic this month or the following month didn’t have Sid Bloat show up with his noise complaint then comics are a failed medium.

With that little nonsense over, Gyrich is satisfied that the security on the Avengers Mansion is adequate and that some random asshole off the street can’t just walk into the place like he did that one time.

He doesn’t like their newly won autonomy but orders are orders and he’ll be checking up on them from time to time. But for now, GOOD BYE.

And the instant he’s gone, the Avengers go ‘welp time to expand our roster just because we can.’

To be fair, they’re only going to ask Hawkeye and Yellowjacket. Two additional people plus I think Ms Marvel is sticking around because Scarlet Witch is still planning to take some ‘me time.’

Falcon actually suggests Hawkeye because he thinks it might ease the bad blood between Hawkeye and himself which-

Look, Falcon. I appreciate that you’re a nice guy who would think of Hawkeye when this opportunity came up. But the ‘bad blood’ is entirely on Hawkeye’s shoulders.

He’s blaming you for a thing you didn’t want to do but were emotionally blackmailed into by Cap to fulfill restrictions set up by Agent Gyrich. But Hawkeye took the brunt of his anger out on you, the Falcon.

Fuck ‘im is what I say.

Not that it matters. The contact number that Hawkeye left with the Avengers is out of service now that Hawkeye has a better gig and better digs working at Cross Technological Enterprises.

Meanwhile, Janet calls Hank “Giant Ant-Man Yellowjacket” Pym and lets him know that he can rejoin the team as a full-time Avenger but he’s enjoying having time to do pure research.

Also some chemicals are boiling over and he doesn’t want to be the jackass that spills chemicals on himself and gains superpowers. Nope, he’s the jackass that tested chemicals on himself on purpose without doing any kind of other testing on living matter first.

But me calling back to Grey Gargoyle and also throwing my hands up in defeat at the lack of safety protocols in comic book science aside, Hank hangs up on Jan to go deal with some chemicals that are boiling over.

Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp: “Hank! What do you -- Hank? Hello? Ooo, Henry Pym, you’re infuriating! Just wait’ll I get home! I’ll show you! Or worse, I won’t show you!

Given what I know is coming, her trying to get him to rejoin the team has a foreboding feel to it. Geez.

Its true what they say. Not all of wisdom brings joy.

Later, after Wasp has gotten out of her superhero outfit to put on a nightgown to make a phone call to Hank and then gotten back into her superhero outfit to have a house meeting, uh, there’s a kind of house meeting.

Captain America: “Terrific. When we can’t add Avengers, they’re running out of our ears. But when we can add Avengers, everyone’s busy. Makes sense.”

Hah. A common problem to many in different permutations.

Beast suggests re-inducting Wonder Man. And I’m surprised it took so long for someone to make the suggestion. He was very recently with the team and verbally regretting that he’d have to leave it soon.

I guess they didn’t want to add too many people all at once and they wanted to soothe Hawkeye’s crybaby feelings and also wanted to let Jan hang out with her husband during superhero stuff.

But after that fell through, I’m surprised someone didn’t go ‘oh hey Wonder Man’ before Beast did.

But then, they’re besties. And I hope the X-Men never takes Beast back. Only bad things happen to him there. Or happened by him. I don’t think Beast would have broken the space-time continuum just to be a petty dick if he stuck with the Avengers.

Anyway, as we’ve seen, Wonder Man is in Pittsburgh with Tony Stark so why not bop over and surprise him with the offer?

But Vision notes that not all of them would be able to make the trip, seeing that Scarlet Wanda has her bags packed for her vacation time.

Vision: “Are you certain you must leave, Wanda?”

Scarlet Witch: “Yes, Vision. There are things I have to sort out. Things I’ve got to settle... on my own. Please try to understand.”

Vision: “Your decision is perplexing, my wife, and very human. I do not understand -- but I do accept.”

Vison + Scarlet Witch: “I love you.” -kiss-

Aww.

Geez. I’m really angry at John Byrne all of a sudden for no reason. Huh. Weird.

MEANWHILE, Pittsburgh.

The steelworkers set up a memorial for Joseph Conroy.

Since there’s nothing left of anyone who falls into molten slag, its tradition that the last ingot poured from the steel someone died in is set up on the grounds as a kind of tombstone. Tombsteel. Non-grave marker.

But the steel mill owner Vince Paretta is quick to reassure prospective buyer Tony Stark that this doesn’t happen often, swearsies! This plant has an A-1 safety rating! He then drags Tony off to finalize negotiations.

As the workers and executives leave the yard, the sky fills with dark roiling clouds. The recently placed ingot begins to quake and smoke and finally

OH YEAH

A giant naked flame man bursts out from within it.

Obviously, this kind of pyrotechnic makes some noise and inside the office, Stark, Paretta, and Wonder Man have heard it and see the fire man heading towards them.

Wonder Man tells Paretta to get his security team scrambled while Wonder Man goes to slow the thing down. But he tells Tony to stay right where he is, in the soon to be abandoned office.

Which conveniently gives Tony the opening to change into his armor.

Outside, this monster gets named in the most logical way possible. Some random thing that someone shouts at it, yelling "H-holy Hannah! That thing looks like a living inferno!” and thus we will call this creature Inferno. As the caption box lampshades “The description fits.”

Wonder Man rushes forward to fight the shambling mass of man-shaped slag. He just runs right up and puts all his strength behind one mighty THRAM of a punch.

“But Inferno takes that punch, and -- almost politely -- returns it!”

FWOBOMM and also a SKABASH as Wonder Man smashes through a wall, headfirst.

Iron Man flies up from behind the creature and attempts to take it down with a blast of repulsor. But the creature shoots some of its own molten slag substance at the armored Avenger.

He’s protected from the heat by the refractory coating on the armor but the extra weight from the cooling slag throws off his balance and he SPUTCHs to the ground.

And now that both he and Iron Man have been made fools, Wonder Man concludes that this Inferno is big trouble. He decides to activate the emergency beacon he was given when he became a backup Avenger.

But as he does, Inferno ominously looms over him.

IN THE RECENT PAST AT AVENGERS MANSION.

Jarvis is happy that the loosened restrictions on the Avengers means that he is allowed to perform monitor duty now. That way the Avengers are free to do the Avengersy stuff.

Makes sense.

You don’t have CEOs personally manning call centers. You probably don’t need a superhero to watch a bunch of monitors.

But maybe we should and do.

Anyway.

Just as Jarvis has said all of that, the emergency beacon goes off. Shortly, Ms. Marvel reports to Captain America that Wonder Man has activated his top priority emergency beacon.

Captain America: “But what could possibly be in Pittsburgh that could threaten Wonder Man?”

He was knocked out by a stone man once. Hell, he was knocked out by Beast once. Lets not act like Wonder Man’s durability isn’t highly arbitrary.

But here’s an additional thing. The beacon was designed to keep pleeping until shut off at the mansion OR if the beacon itself is totally destroyed.

And Wonder Man’s signal just stopped.

DUN DUN DUN!

Next issue: Battleground: Pittsburgh!

This is a two-parter and we’re only half done so I’ll have more to say when we finish that other parter.

One thing though: if the Avengers were going to end up going to Pittsburgh because of Wonder Man’s emergency beacon then why set up the plot point that they were considering visiting him to offer him membership on the team?

One or the other would have sufficed, comic!

Either they go visit and coincidentally end up there just when he needs help with a living inferno or they decide to offer him membership when he gets back from his trip.

I don’t know why this bothered me enough to comment on but that’s the world we live in now.

Hey, follow @essential-avengers. Not only for great content like this but older. BUT ALSO: I just remembered that I’d promised to cover some alternate Avengers if I hit 20 followers and we’re at 13. Which is more than half of 20 by at least three. If we hit 20 followers you can ask that I look at one of these significant alternate Avengerses. You could even ask me to take a peep at the Mangaverse Avengers or United They Stand Avengers, you bastards.

[afrofuturisticality-blog]

A first look at Afrofuturism

My introduction into Afrofuturism began with Black Panther, Marvel’s blockbuster hit directed by Ryan Coogler with an almost entirely black cast. I am glad that it was my beginning because I thought the movie was not only fabulous, but it was also inspiring to me as a black woman. Although, even as the character Erik Killmonger drew out a sense of sympathy and support as the little boy left behind, his reaction/actions were indicative of the stereotype a black man is expected to fulfill: one of hated, violence, and revenge. I was happy to see that blacks were not portrayed as the violent beasts that Colonizer propaganda has stereotyped us to be, but instead capable of thinking beyond that and able to be forgiving and supportive, even to and despite our oppressors. Even as an enslaved people and since, the black race has been forgiving and willing to work with the Colonizers to create a better world for all, even though that has never been acknowledged. Control and fear of retaliation has always been on the minds of the colonizers because they know they are deserving of feeling the wrath of the black man and others they have viciously oppressed.

Brilliantly done, Black Panther grew from a comic series written for Marvel and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, while Reggie Huggins, a black man, imagined and created the character Shuri. Huggins told our class when he visited that he wanted both girls and boys to be able to have a Halloween costume of a leader of Wakanda—Halloween costumes being the manifestation of the dreams children hold of being a super hero. He made Shuri strong, smart, funny, and able to fight as one who has been trained for true leadership since birth. Comics have often inspired young boys to reach for the stars and dream big. Shuri shows little girls that they can too. Huggins created Shuri for his animated Black Panther TV series written for Marvel. This movie helped me to imagine a Wakanda, a place where we (a nation of Black people, made up of many nations of Black people who came together in harmony) were technologically advanced, as perhaps we could have been. I especially loved the ending where T’Challa was questioned as to what Wakanda could possibly have to offer. Based on the propaganda the world has been fed about Africa and Black people, the question was expected, but knowing the answer could leave no doubt as to the superiority of their development. The feeling it gave me was tremendous.

Luckily, my Afrofuturism class began just after Black Panther’s release in the theaters and I went to see it a second time and was followed by a panel discussion including Mr. Huggins, Ruth E. Carter, the costume designer of the movie, and my professor: T. Due, an afro-futurism writer, recent Octavia Butler award winner, and a celebrity in her own right. I usually refuse to re-watch anything until enough time has passed for me to completely forget it, but I knew immediately after the movie ended that I wanted to see it again. Even now I would love to see it a third time. We were assigned the task of watching Episodes One through Six of The Black Panther TV series written and produced by Reggie Huggins, ending our Black Panther ride. The first novel the instructor had us read was Octavia Butler’s Dawn. As I began reading it, I felt as if I was watching a horror movie and became anxious. I considered dropping the course as I had dropped the same instructor’s previous course before my first day of class when I discovered it was going to have horror movies that I would be required to watch. I had many nightmares years ago when Alien came out, and to this day, I still remember the scene where the alien popped out of the man’s belly. I had nightmares for weeks and I do not watch any type of horror movies. I had wanted to stay in the class last quarter because almost everyone I knew at this school and all of my friends were in it, but I was afraid that I would not be able to get any work done because I was afraid I would have nightmares.

However, with the book, Dawn, I continued to read and discovered it left the scary behind and transformed into the weird. It was thought-provoking and curious. While it, like Alien, involved extraterrestrials, it was written in such a way as not to incite fear, but rather a sense of ewww – a shuddering in my soul. My daughter says I was “squicked.” However, it was very intriguing and I found it difficult to put down. It was an easy read when compared to the textbooks I am accustomed to reading daily, yet it too causes one to think and consider an alternative to life as we know now it.

Another discovery I’ve made is that W.E.B. DuBois wrote fiction even while a political activist, scholar, civil rights leader, historian and Pan Africanist. He wrote an Afro-futuristic short story named The Comet. It was very good also and like Space Traders—a short story written by Derrick Bell and produced for TV by Reggie Huggins—they each drew a sense that most if not all Black people engaging either would immediately believe they knew the answer to the question presented in each piece. I have found this new genre (new to me) to be based in reality and intriguing, while imagining an alternative future—one filled with the unimaginable. I remember when there were no computers or cell phones and I see those imaginings in Afrofuturism not so far off, as the world and its inhabitants continue to evolve in ways that include the unexpected. 

Of course our professor is very enthusiastic about our class and she has tons of reading, watching movies, movie shorts, and music videos for us to engage. She also showed us Janelle Monae’s short film Many Moons featuring Monae’s alter ego an android named Cindi Mayweather. It brought to mind once again how reality based this genre actually is with its lyrics depicting life and the realization that Saudi Arabia, a country that has historically been oppressive to women and so remains, has given citizenship to the first non-human entity—an android named Sophia. Immediately, when I heard about Sophia, I thought about how the women of Saudi Arabia must feel knowing that a machine has been designated as superior to them, and wondered what that would mean for Blacks. What new ideas have been or will be sparked in the oppression of Blacks? But I am too busy to let my mind go there as each day brings new concerns. With five classes this quarter and such a huge amount of material to cover, I am thankful that Afrofuturism has peaked my interest and it feels like I am taking a break when engaging the material, something new to me.

[svfedotov]

Punching Nazis for Freedom: Comics VS Fascism

With the world one button away from destruction and hate-rhetoric swarming the streets of America like a million cockroaches, your favorite comic reviewer has decided to do a very special article about the evils of Nazi Fascism through the that wonderful medium of superheroes (and a villain) punching Nazis. It’s no surprise that comics and Nazism have never gotten along, going way back to Captain America slapping the dickens out of Hitler during WW2, and the comic genre hasn’t slowed down since. Superman fought the KKK, Shazam punched Captain Nazi, and Hellboy, well Hellboy just likes punching people with goofy mustaches. With so many wonderful examples, it was hard to narrow it down to only a handful of samples, but hopefully the ones I chose prove that hate not only has no place in our comic books, but no place in America either.

 Punisher: War Journal Vol 2 #6-10 (2007) 

               Punisher is man who takes no shit. Having survived Vietnam, his family being killed, and being hunted by mobsters, he’s a one man hunting machine that’ll see all villains dead at his feet. In War Journal Vol 2, Punisher meets a brand new villain known as Hatemonger, a 6’ 2” slab of beef who preaches white supremacy and looks a bit like Captain America (a fact that sends Punisher to find him and “and shoot that guy in the face.”) Even in the Marvel database, Hatemonger’s occupation is listed as terrorist, another thing that Punisher hates and he who is hated by Punisher feels the sting of the Punishers bullets!

                 As a special treat, I have included two priceless pics of Punisher beating up Nazis. The first is him slamming a Nazi into a cactus full speed and the second, of course, is the kill shot of Hatemonger himself. Classic Punisher.

  Wonder Woman #240 (1978)

                 Oh Wonder Woman. What can’t be said about her that hasn’t been written a thousand times by a thousand talented writers? But did you know that she also punches Nazis? I’m sure you’re not surprised, she did emerge in the 1940’s when the Great War the Second was in full swing and you bet your last yellow onion that she jumped right into kicking some ass for America. In Wonder Woman #240, our heroine dukes it out with mysterious Nazi agent known as Siegfried the Speedster. Oddly enough, this Nazi accidently proves Wonder Woman’s innocence after she stands trial for treason when she was mind-tricked into seeing the American army as Nazi soldiers. So, all’s well that ends well? Either way, check out this pic of her knocking that punk right the fuck out!

 Captain America Comics #1 (1941)

                 You can’t have the name America in your moniker without knocking out a few fascist, so obviously, the very first Captain America comic has him giving the ol’ American Hello to Hitler himself. Hell, the first issue proved so effective in stirring up some pots, that on top of the overwhelming support, his creators Kirby and Simon, even got some serious hate mail, proving that it’s not art until someone threatens you’re life. But death threats aside, Captain America went on to be the symbol of American hope and kept fighting Nazism, fascism, and all things that threatened the American way of life for decades afterwards (current Hydra arc notwithstanding.) Pictured here is the famous first cover itself, complete with a first introduction of his sidekick Bucky, who goes on in his own comics freeing concentration camps.

 Action Comics #59 (1943)

                 Despite its alluring promise of Superman peeling open Nazi tanks like an orange and eating the delicious German fruit inside, Superman doesn’t actually fight Nazis in this issue. In fact, the majority of Action Comics that feature Superman versus The Reich did not have an accompanying story-arc and instead had other heroes out on the war front, as each issue acted more of an anthology than a one-man comic. Action Comics #59 has two war-related stories, one featuring The Three Aces blowing up a Nazi base and the other featuring Americommando delivering the last message of a British spy while managing to blow up one of Mousselines military bases. Still, I chose this cover because one, I thought it was funny, and two, what’s more awesome than an American space alien dismantling tanks to the horror of Nazi soldiers? Nothing, that’s what.

 Every Hellboy Comic Ever

                 Hellboy was born to fight Nazis. Well, he was actually born to take over Hell, but he was also born to fight Nazis. Even his backstory started off with him being called up by Nazi occult leaders only to be adopted by an American doctor and raised to fight those that brought him to Earth. This is what he does. Hell, there were so many issues and so many images to choose from, I almost didn’t know which one to go with! I decided to use this slash page as a representation of his Nazi-kicking powers; Hellboy keeping the world safe with only a fist and a quip. I don’t even know which issue this is from, that’s how much Hellboy loves beating up Nazis! Seriously, go grab one, he’s probably punching one three pages in!

Saga of the Human Torch #3 (1990)

                 Before there was Johnny Storm, the Human Torch was originally a humanoid android created by Carl Burgos in the 1939. Though he only had a handful of comics under his belt before being adapted to his more popular form by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he has definitely not been forgotten as proven by The Saga of the Human Torch, a 4-issue mini-series released in 1990. The series retells the origin of android Torch and in issues two and three, commences with a hearty Nazi ass-whooping ending in Hitler being set aflame! That’s right, true believers, Hitler set on goddamn fire! Though Hitler asks that his death be kept secret, we know the real story now. It was the Human Torch all along.

 Batman and Captain America (Elseworlds) (1997)

                 If you’ve been around the internet long enough, I’m sure you’ve seen this picture of Joker working with the Red Skull only to immediately turn the tables when finding out his partner was an actual, honest-to-goodness, Nazi. What the picture doesn’t answer is the many questions that surely follow such as: how did Joker and the Red Skull get together despite coming from two different comic companies and when did Joker get so cool? The answer is Elseworlds, a series of DC comics that basically answers every what-if question you ever had, this one being, what-if Captain America and Batman met up in WW2-era Gotham to secretly hunt down the Red Skull? With Red Skulls villainy and Jokers untethered hate (love?) for Batman, it’s no surprise that the two would naturally work together, but Joker will be damned if he’s caught trading hijacking tips with an actual Nazi. As he says, he may be a criminal lunatic, but he’s an American criminal lunatic. Trust me when I tell you, Joker punches the crap out of him.

                                                         **********

                 I’m going to end this article on a special message from Stan Lee himself but I will say this: wherever there is evil, there is hope, and where there is hope, heroes will emerge. Be that hero, stand up and fight.