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laurenhufflepuff2 · 3 years

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A list of fandoms I'm in (in no particular order, will probably be updated regularly. Some fandoms are more intense and some are more casual. Depending on the fandom, I could go on and on about fandom topics for HOURS. Let's get into it!)

Harry Potter, Disney, Marvel, DC comics, Miraculous Ladybug, Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra, Star Wars, Literature, Winx Club, Nintendo, Minecraft, Little Witch Academia, Voltron, Coraline

Details:

Harry Potter- I got into Harry Potter in 7th grade and now I am the resident expert in my family and in my friend group. I read all the books, watched all the movies (notably the British version), and I've seen the Fantastic Beasts films as well. I've also read Tales of Beedle the Bard (the Warlock's Hairy Heart was traumatizing) along with the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook (plus an updated edition). I also read The Cursed Child script and while I mean no hate to anyone that liked it, I hated what it did to the canon. I am in Hufflepuff with some Ravenclaw tendencies (I took the Pottermore quiz 3 times, 2 out of 3 I got Hufflepuff, the other time was Ravenclaw). I had a pottermore account and I was so upset when it got converted to the Wizarding World page. I cosplayed Hermione in 7th grade complete with British accent and even monologued as her for a talent show (classmates and teachers would recognize me as the Hermione girl all the way through high school). I was obsessed and I still love it even if J.K. Rowling has gone off the deep end on Twitter... yeah... my favorite character is Hermione but I also relate to Luna

Disney- there's so much that goes into the Disney part of my fandom list. I'm excluding Marvel and Star Wars from this part as they were originally separate entities before Disney got the rights to them. I have seen almost every animated Disney film ever and often use random movie quotes in conversation. My favorite villain is Maleficent, my favorite princess is Ariel (followed by Belle, Rapunzel, and Anna). I relate to so many of the characters. I'm not sure who my favorite Pixar character is though (I love Violet, Sadness, Dory, and Piper (from the short)). My favorite Disney fairy is Fawn. My favorite characters overall are Ariel and Stitch. Disney is definitely on the list as one of my biggest obsessions. My favorite movies are Lilo and Stitch, the Little Mermaid, Inside Out, Alice in Wonderland (original), and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Marvel- I mostly get my Marvel exposure through the MCU, other movies, and animated TV shows. I have difficulty reading graphic novels so most of my comic book knowledge comes from friends, posts, or wikis. My favorite characters are Spider-Man, Captain America, Peggy Carter, and Scarlet Witch. I also like Gwenpool, Deadpool, Spider-Gwen/ Ghost-Spider, Venom, Squirrel Girl, Daredevil, Mantis, Gamora, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, Loki, Bucky, Black Panther, and most MCU characters. Out of the X-men I really like Professor X, Wolverine, Mystique, Magneto, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver (either version- MCU or Fox).

DC- this was the franchise I was more familiar with growing up but again, graphic novels aren't easy for me to read so most of my knowledge comes from information pages about the comics or from tv/movies. My earliest experience with DC came from the 60s Batman series, with Catwoman and Robin being my favorites. I also watched the Wonder Woman series from the 70s and a handful of CW shows, my favorite of which being the Flash and Arrow. I also managed to watch all 5 seasons of the Teen Titans Cartoon Network series from 2003. With that being said, my favorite characters are Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Flash, Batman, Nightwing/Robin (Dick Grayson), Green Arrow, Starfire, Raven, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Alfred. I also like most of the bat family, and when it comes to CW I LOVE Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost and Cisco.

Miraculous- this is one of my guilty fandoms but since this is Tumblr I'm not too worried about it. I love Marinette and I relate to her on an astoundingly deep level (minus the stalking and obsession with potential lovers, that's creepy). If I had a miraculous, I'd probably want the Ladybug one, but the Cat miraculous, fox miraculous, and snake miraculous are good too. My favorite character is Marinette/Ladybug.

Atla/Tlok- I jumped on the avatar bandwagon just when it was starting to get popular, so I managed to get through the series before the memes took over everything. Same with Tlok, although i couldn't completely avoid the spoilers for that when i started it. I've been wanting to get into the comics because of the short story comics I've read, they seem easier to read than superhero comics. My favorite characters are Aang, Katara, Ty Lee, Iroh, Korra, Jinora, Asami, Suki, Appa, Momo, Naga, and Pabu. I also like Sokka, Mai, Zuko, Lin, Kuvira, Varrick, Zhu Lee, and Azula. I feel really sorry for her and while I understand that a redemption arc would undermine the importance of her corruption arc, I still wish she could have one. I would love to be a waterbender or an airbender... maybe a waterbender raised in the air nation? Obviously, being the avatar itself would be awesome. The show has taught me a lot of great lessons and put a lot of stuff into perspective for me.

Star Wars- oh boy, talking about this one is dangerous. I've seen firsthand the horrors of the Star Wars fandom but then again no one will probably see this anyway so... I've seen all the movies and I remember watching the clone wars series with my brother when I was younger but we fell wayyy behind and it's taking us forever to get back into it. I've also seen the Mandalorian and quite enjoyed it. I like the prequels unironically, in fact, the prequels are some of my favorite movies. I especially like how they switched from lightsabers being heavy weapons to light weapons that can be used for all kinds of tricks that make for epic battles like the ones we see in Revenge of the Sith. The sequels were fun to watch but when I would analyze them along side their predecessors, I came to the conclusion that, for me, they were good to watch but did not do anything good for the rest of the franchise. My favorite characters are prequels/clone wars Obi Wan and Anakin, Padme, Ashoka, Leia, R2D2, BB-8, R4-P17, the Mandalorian (Din Djarin), and Grogu. If I had a lightsaber I'd want it to be blue, but when I was little I got a purple one like Mace Windu because it was closer to pink and I was into pink at the time. I still have that lightsaber and none of my friends have a purple one so it's one of my flexes. I feel like I wouldn't make a good jedi because of attachments being forbidden, so I'd probably become a grey jedi.

Literature- this is a broad term I use to cover all the random books and stories I liked reading and have studied. So we have Shakespeare (Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet), The Great Gatsby (bored while reading, loved to analyze), Grendel (HATED reading, loved to analyze, Grendel really needed a hug and a friend), The Crucible, Fahrenheit 451, Dark Life (+ the sequel Riptide, both are by Kat Falls good reads, sci-fi and kind of dystopian), The Once and Future King

Winx Club- I think the show is trashy but I still love watching it. I haven't been able to get through season 6 though and I hated what they did with season 8 and Fate: the Winx Saga. My favorite character is Bloom along with Stella and Flora. I prefer rai to nick. My favorite transformations are magic winx, enchantix, and harmonix. My favorite member of the Trix is Icy followed by Darcy. My favorite Pixies are Chatta and Lockette.

Nintendo- mainly Pokémon above all else, followed by Animal Crossing. I have also played (mostly as player 2 or just never beat or watched my brother play) mario games, legend of zelda, pikmin, and kirby. Games I haven't played but I just liked the characters/the lore and probably learned about through Super Smash Bros. are Fire Emblem (Lucina mostly), Metroid (Samus and baby metroid), and Kid Icarus. Pokémon is where I'm most knowledgeable but you'll most likely beat me in battle. I am however great at MarioKart and I always destroy my friends at it. Terrible at fighting games though.

Minecraft- I like playing this casually. Sure, I'll play for hours and hours on end for months, but I prefer to stay exclusively in peaceful when playing Survival mode and I don't make anything too ambitious in Creative mode. I like to write, so sometimes I'll make a rough layout of the settings of my stories in different worlds. I prefer interior design and decorating when building, and when in survival mode I focus more on mining and gathering while my brother works on ambitious building projects. I just bring him the raw materials and furnish the interior when he finishes the outside.

Little Witch Academia- this takes up a smaller portion of my fandom list because there were only 2 seasons and a couple movies and I watched the whole series years ago, but I still enjoy it. At one point I wanted to cosplay Akko, and I loved the nod at Twilight through the Nightfall series. And I especially liked the twist that Shiny Chariot was Ursula, which I suspected for some time. The blend between magic and technology was fun to see, but I was so sad that the series ended RIGHT when Akko finally showed signs of magic proficiency. Also, Shiny Chariot being the reason Akko couldn't do magic was heartbreaking.

Voltron- this takes up a much smaller portion of my fandom list mainly because I haven't even finished it. I know hardly anything about Transformers aside from the Bumblebee movie so to me I just watch it for fun. It reminds me of power rangers, star wars, and star trek, and then there's just a transformer insert. But I don't know anything about Transformers so maybe the show is more rooted in canon than I think.

Coraline- I am in a love-hate relationship with Coraline. I have watched the movie several times, I've read the book, I've watched hours of theories and analyses on youtube, I've watched behind the scenes videos by Laika, and I even wrote a script for a fan film parody. I am amazed at how original the story is and how impressive the stop motion animation is but I also have recurring nightmares from it and it scares me/creeps me out to the max. If anyone asks what my scariness limit is, it's definitely Coraline.

#fandoms #about me #harry potter #disney #dc #marvel #avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #star wars #miraculous ladybug #literature #winx club #nintendo #minecraft #pokémon #little witch academia #voltron #coraline

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gritsandbrits · 4 years

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Also Jora's abilities and the full extent of them because I barely talk about her powers

I got the idea from watching Mr. Anybody's videos on Gwen and Charmy :) So now would be a good time to talk about what Jora's elemental power can do.

Overview: Jora is my main OC for Ben 10. A nature Elemental, her powers encompasses natural decomposition, giving her the ability to make plants rot, control multiple species of fungi, and minor Chronokinesis. She is the only main member of Team 10 to be a full human with no alien connection or origins. This was done to give a character a different theme from Ben, Rook and Kevin (aliens) and Gwen (magic), as well as to enhance the context of a human character having powers based on the planet Earth and aspects of the natural world.

Capabilities

- Mushroom Generation: Her most basic power, she can grow mushrooms and fungi. However she can't grow them outright as the environment and soil has to be suitable for any shrooms to take place. She can use existing visible samples of spores and expand them for useful attacks.

- Spore Manipulation: Jo can increase or decrease the toxicity of fungal spores, spray them directly in front of enemies, or create thick, blinding clouds. She carries spores in special vials that she keeps on her person. As an adult she csn sense spores floating in the air around her.

- Poison Immunity: Jo is immune to even the deadliest of mycotoxins. Her knowledge of poisonous mushrooms allows her to create healing potions to treats those suffering from mold poisoning, and to decrease toxic mushrooms to be safe for eating if other foods are unavailable.

- Healing Shrooms: Jo can use mushrooms clinically and scientifically proven to be beneficial and makes special concoctions to heal ailments such as bruises or dehydration.

- Hallucination Inducement: Using the spores of magic mushrooms she can cause a person to hallucinate by spraying the spores on them. It's not a power she typically likes using as she dislikes mental manipulation.

- Rot Inducement: Jo's second major ability, she has the power to spoil organic materials. Her power extends to plants, wood, fruits, and natural fibers. She has trouble using this power on humans as it only leaves swelling & bruising, worse case nasty open wounds, and her own reservations of using this power in combat. She has to get into close contact with that object and touch it with the palms of her hands. She can't shut it off, leaving her to wear gloves all the time (however this only applies to her hands). On the flip side she can slow and even stop the rate of decay once in place, and she can reduce the intensity of her power (removing dead skin cells, perfect for a facial). Her decaying power is weak against metal, minerals, glass, plastic, certain types of fabric, and most synthetic materials.

- Super-Fermentation: A sub-skill, Jo is able to ferment organic materials into alcohol, penicillin, perfumes, etc. She uses her penicillin & alcohol as essentials in her health kit; and perfume for smoke bombs (and emergency deodorant). As an adult she gains the ability to manipulate fossil fuels

Acid Spit: She gains this ability in her adult years; pretty useful for quick escapes.

Weapons and Gadgets

- Pixie Dagger: A pair of short pink and turquoise blades that serves as her primary melee weapons

- Thorn Cutters: A collection of flower shaped throwing projectiles and her primary long-ranged weapons

- Harvest Moon Crown: A diadem adorned with flowers and fruits, this grants Jo limited plant and fruit generation. To charge the crown she must place it under the light of the full moon; it's also weakest during the day and on nights of a new moon.

- Amanita Staff: A long elegant wood and crystal staff modeled off of the Amanita mushroom and her secondary melee weapon.

- The Oculus Oyster: A black seashell embedded with a pearl holding mystery power really me not knowing what power to give it shaped like an eye.

- Swamp Witch's Wand: A magical wand given to her by an alien swamp witch as a token of friendship during the Galactic Monsters Arc.

- Mother Nature's Gift: One of the most holiest elemental items, this grants the user all access to elements and nature. For a temporary time. The trick is that the token works with someone of a genuinely good heart. Anyone who tries to use it for malicious intent well...you'd see why they say "Damn Mother Nature you scary." The token also tends to change its shape depending on its current wielder or time period.

- Communicator: A wrist watch that looks exactly like the OV Omnitrix but allows her to talk to her teammates, access to the Extranet, and store data. She also has all her costumes "downloaded" so she can change out of them easily instead of having to find a bathroom or hiding spot.

Costumes

I plan for Jo to have a total of ten costumes, with a main costume for each season based on the colors of the rainbow & styles

- Season One: Pink, the magical girl inspired Petal Pixie suit

- Season Two: Orange hazmat based on earlier designs

- Season Three: Yellow, a frilly Belle inspired dress called the Enchanterelle suit (pun on enchant & the chanterelle mushroom)

- Season Four: Green, Forest Ranger-esque suit

- Season Five: Blue, another Hazmat called the Cryohazard suit

- Season Six: Indigo, possibly goth because we need more gothic magical girls

- Season Seven: Violet; scifi inspired Galaxy suit

- Season Eight: White; her "Ultimate" form with a decidedly goddesslike aesthetic

- Alt. Costume 1: Her adult suit that she wears in the 10k timeline; it is mostly red

- Alt. Costume 2: Scarab Suit, powerful ancient warrior armor colored mostly black modeled after the scarab beetle

Other

- Jo is adept at hand to hand combat stemming from her unwilling to use her full power on people

- However she is not the fastest nor physically strongest, otherwise she has balanced stats

- Jora's tends to forget things so she often keeps a list; she does make up for it by her resourcefulness and quick learning

- She can combine her powers with the life-granting Phoenix to restore the natural cycle of life and death

- Jora may have been born with her powers bur they haven't manifested until she was six years old. This is what makes her unique to Ben & Gwen in the OS: they had to learn to use powers they weren't born with to fight, while Jo was born with hers and never had prior use for them in certain situations.

Ok I'm going to have to stop there since I kinda made this post too long! But let me know what y'all think of her powers! Is she overpowered? Underpowered? I didn't want to make her a Mary Sue too much 👀 but overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. :)

#Ben 10 #Ben 10 Omniverse #Ben 10 Original Series #Ben 10 OC #Jora Holiday #Powers #Abilities #Elemental #Rot and Decay #Fungi #Death and Rebirth #Plants #Nature #OC Lora #Joraverse

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punksarahreese · 3 years

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Bloodletting | Fae!April

April’s backstory in my occult!au 🌱💚

CW: death, alienation (kinda)

***

April joined the the Seelie Court in a forest in Illinois when she was only little

Her mother was from Brazil though and joined the court when she was pregnant with April’s brother

Unfortunately their mother died in Noah’s birth and that left her children to the Court

There was sneaking suspicion that April and her brother were not actually full blooded Seelies, or full blooded Fae at all

Seelies were characterized by blue or violet eyes, regardless of the colour of their skin (Fae have different recessive traits)

April and Noah didn’t have those eyes though

Both of them had hetereochromia, their eyes a mixture of deep green and brown

April’s pupils were slit like a cat’s as well, giving her a rather intimidating look for a Seelie

April had always had the ability to manipulate the forest, going as far as being able to grow new plants and alter whole root systems

That wasn’t uncommon for a Seelie, but the fact that she had these powers since infancy was questionable

She had massive control over the Earth and all its creatures, which would be terrifying in the wrong hands

She was always super gentle though, unless provoked, which calmed the nerves of everyone (because Noah made them worry more)

She had the power to heal minor physical wounds with her touch, and she always felt drawn to those who were injured or suffering from mental trauma and pain

She just wanted to help those who needed her the most 🥺

There was no question that she had more power than they were expecting

And it made her an unstoppable force

She was very good at persuasion and very personable, so it was common for April to be involved in decision making and treaty meetings as she got older

She was friends with many creatures, including the niaids of the river and the fiendish little pixies who liked to play tricks

April was intimidating but also so alluring

Like there was just something about her that drew everyone in

The one thing that triggered her temper more than anything was anyone mistreating Noah

She would protect her brother with her life and wasn’t afraid to hurt anyone who even slightly upset him

When Crockett showed up in her forest she was defensive

She had only recently quelled a big argument between her people and the three pesky wolves who wanted to live on their land

So she was not ready for another turf war by any means

The presence of an Unseelie was a major threat in her Court’s eyes

But she thought something was different about this one

He was not like any other Unseelie she had met and he was clearly hurting

Something told her he just needed a place to belong

And April was nothing if not always ready to help

So she managed to persuade the Fae to let Crockett stay with them <3

#her story is obviously linked with Noah’s so it will be continued in his post <3 #chicago med #april sexton #fae!april #occult!au #bloodletting #my aus #my-writing #crockett marcel #fae!crockett #noah sexton #fae!noah

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jeontaeh · 3 years

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THIRTY NINE³⁹

✫ ✬ ✭ ✬ ✫

Taehyung walked into the dining room of the palace, and then stalled when he saw the rest of the boys (except Jungkook) there, all smiling and talking within each other. "Tae!" Namjoon called when he saw him, and Taehyung rushed up to them.

"They gave us tablets- we can contact our school now! Plus they've given us enough fuel and a map back to Scora VZ2," Namjoon said excitedly, Scora VZ2 being their planet. Taehyung let out a small smile.

"Seriously?" Taehyung asked, and Jimin smiled, clicking on his tablet.

"You know, being away from my tablet and phone and laptop for so long- I really felt like the seven of us connected more. I mean, if you go outside these days everyone's on their phones or something, y'know? I was really upset about our circumstances at first, but I'm kinda happy it ended up this way," Jimin said, and Lavender smiled.

"Yes. I'm glad your circumstances ended up this way, or else I would've never escaped that goddamn prison cell." Lav sighed, and then looked at Taehyung. "They gave me a pod that will take me back home."

"You're going back to Nour, Lav? I thought you said you'd come with us," Jin said, and Lavender's breath hitched. Taehyung saw Jimin tense up a little and walk away.

Lavender looked down. "I-I don't know. I have a responsibility back home. One that I detest... but it's a must. My parents are already very angry with me. The reason I got abducted in the first place was that I was running away from home." Lavender said, twirling her fingers around her waist length hair nervously.

"Then don't go back, Lavvie. Stay with us. Come to Scora. It's great there. The weather's always amazing." Yoongi said. "Plus, you can apply to the Space Academy! Or- or do whatever you want! You don't have to be tied down into a monarchy you don't want to be a part of."

Lavender gulped, looking down at her long hair. "I guess. I-I don't know, I will think about it. Thank you Min Yoongi."

Taehyung walked up to Jimin, who had a plate full of mashed potatoes. Taehyung watched Jimin dig a spoon into the mashed potatoes and stuff it into his mouth, tears in his eyes. He gulped it down and then looked at Taehyung. "I don't want her to go."

"I know. I'm sorry, Jiminie. I don't want her leaving either. She's one of my best friends." Taehyung said, and Jimin ate another bite, sniffling.

"E-everyone I've dated or been w-with in the past only c-cared about sex or-or was just plain mean. And f-finally I met someone..." Jimin squeaked and then groaned. "Why the fuck are these mashed potatoes s-so good?"

"I'm pretty sure they add cocaine in them. And Jimin, if you really feel that way then talk to her about it. I don't think she wants to go back either." Taehyung said, patting Jimin's head. Jimin nodded and then continued eating his mashed potatoes.

"Isn't it funny," Taehyung said, and then bit his lip. "We came all the way here for one main reason, to find my mother- and- and yet I never did," Taehyung said. Jimin frowned.

"Didn't that Queen bitch say that she was a slave here?"

"But she won't tell me! There's like a thousand slaves at this palace. How do I find her?" Taehyung asked, and Jimin hummed. He looked at the butler who was walking towards Namjoon.

"Hey. Butler dude. Who is Taehyung's mother tell us NOW or die."

"Jimin!!" Hoseok hissed with widened eyes, telling him to shut up. Jimin just frowned. "No! It's not fair! You tricked us so now you have to tell us!"

The butler looked hesitant, almost a little scared. He walked up to Taehyung. "Look. I don't think you want to know about your mother. It'll only lead to more confusion and-"

"Shut up!" Taehyung snapped, and everyone froze and looked at him with widened eyes, all the maids. "I don't care. I've gotten stuck here because of you guys. This isn't something small for me, okay? I've been waiting for this for 20 goddamn years- so I have a right to know who my mother is." Taehyung irked, eyes darkened grey. "You don't know how it feels."

The butler paused, and then looked down, sighing. "Ugh- fine. I'll tell you who it is." The butler mumbled. "But after the Queen leaves for her day trip- because there's no way she can find out I'm telling you this." The butler snapped, and Taehyung hummed.

Taehyung watched as the butler walked away, and then let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the boys with smiles, and they looked weary but smiled too. The doors of the dining room opened and Jungkook ran in, looking stressed.

"T-Tae-" Jungkook said, rushing up to him. Taehyung frowned, and Jungkook had tears in his eyes. "The rocket ship is stuck in my ass."

"That's a sentence I don't want to know the context of." Jimin said and then ran away.

Jungkook grabbed Taehyung by his arm and dragged him to the side. "I'm feeling sick," Jungkook said, pouting. "I-I threw up. I don't know why. I think it's the shrimp from last night."

"Oh," Taehyung said, and then gulped, pausing for a few seconds. "Yeah. Um. Yeah, it's probably the shrimp."

"Also the rocket ship- it- it got stuck in-"

"For fuck's sake, Jungkook," Taehyung said softly, and Jungkook looked down. "How do you always end up in these kinds of things, baby?"

"I-I don't know. Don't be mean." Jungkook squeaked, playing with his fingers. Taehyung ruffled his hair and then took his hand gently and led him into a washroom in the side.

Minutes later, and Jungkook was half naked, blushing brightly as Taehyung chuckled fondly into his ear and found the toy rocket (shaped like a pointy buttplug) half an inch into his ass.

"Baby there's no way you couldn't find this by yourself," Taehyung said, and Jungkook looked up at him, biting his bottom lip.

"I know. I wanted you to do it, though." Jungkook whispered, and Taehyung smirked and slowly pulled it out of Jungkook's ass, making Jungkook clench his eyes at the drag. Taehyung took it out and chucked it into the waste bin.

"You're so cute," Taehyung said and squeezed Jungkook's ass in his hands. Jungkook put his hands over Taehyung's shoulders, kissing him firmly.

They left the bathroom and then saw their friends in the dining room. Along with their friends was the butler, Zaivis, saying something to them. "Your ship is ready for you to leave."

"Not until you tell me who my mother is," Taehyung said, and the butler sighed. "Okay, jeez, I'll tell you."

"Where's Lavender?" Jungkook asked, after finding that she wasn't there. Jimin was sitting sadly on one of the chairs. "In our room," Jimin said.

Jungkook walked out of the dining room and rushed to Jimin and Lavender's room. He found it in the sleeping chambers and rushed into their bedroom. He saw the bathroom door open and rushed towards it, and gasped when he saw Lavender holding a fat pair of scissors.

"No! Lavender! I know I said mean things before but PLEASE don't cut your hand off." Jungkook let out, and Lavender frowned, turning around to look at him.

"What? Relax." Lavender said and looked back at the mirror. "I'm just cutting my hair."

"Oh," Jungkook said and walked into the washroom. "That's fun. A fun little trim before the trip back home-"

Jungkook screamed when Lavender chopped off her hair till her ear. "WHAT! What are you doing?!"

"I said I'm cutting my hair, Jeon Jungkook!" Lavender said, and Jungkook saw her long hair fall to the ground, and his mouth fell.

"But-" Jungkook began, and then Lavender grabbed her other side of long luscious hair and chopped it off, and all of it fell to the floor as well. Jungkook gulped. "W-why?"

"Princesses must be pretty and have long hair and must marry men who are tall and well built- and I don't want any of that!" Lavender snapped, and Jungkook had never seen her so serious. All her hair was cut off now. She just had a pixie cut now.

"Lav if you don't want to go back then you shouldn't," Jungkook said, and Lavender began cutting some strands from the side which were sticking out or too long. "You don't owe your planet shit."

"I have to go back," Lavender said in a small voice, and then looked at herself in the mirror. Her olive skin stood out, white hair in a pixie cut now. "My sisters Violet and Lilac are waiting for me."

Jungkook burst into giggled. "Why are your parents so into purple?"

"Girl, I've got no clue. At least I wasn't named 'mauve' or some shit." Lav said, and she and Jungkook burst out giggling again.

"I think your hair looks really cool." Jungkook said, and Lavender smiled at him. "Let's go back. Taehyung's going to meet his mom."

✭

Taehyung walked with the butler down the hallways. The butler was tall, short grey hair looked middle-aged, had soft silver skin and looked... scared. Taehyung felt bad for forcing the guy to do all this, but he couldn't help it.

"How's your home planet?" Zaivis the butler asked, and Taehyung hummed to himself.

"Don't need to make small talk, man. Just take me to her." Taehyung said, and Zaivis snickered. Both walked till the servant chambers, and Taehyung's breath hitched when they reached a certain room.

Zaivis opened a door. Taehyung waited with his heart beating rapidly, and then saw the maid from earlier sitting inside. Lailah.

Zaivis went in and whispered something to her, and Lailah looked up with big eyes. "W-what?"

Taehyung stood hesitantly. Lailah walked up from her seat and walked up to Taehyung. "You- you're from Scora?"

"Yeah," Taehyung said, trying his hardest not to smile. She had long grey hair, deep silver skin, and had dimples and deep blue eyes. "Y-you're... um, you're my-"

Lailah smiled. She looked at Zaivis, and then back at Taehyung, and then gulped. "Okay, I can't do this."

"What?" Taehyung asked, and Lailah sighed.

"Look, I'm not your mom." Lailah said, and Taehyung froze. "Zaivis is forcing me to say this."

"Screw you Lailah. Can't trust anybody around here!" Zaivis snapped, and Taehyung frowned.

"Okay, look. If it's such a big fucking problem then I don't need to know." Taehyung said, feeling disheartened, disappointed. "I didn't think you guys would be so... unwelcoming and cold. That's not the stories I read about Jupiter." Taehyung mumbled, and then took a step back.

"I just thought it'd be easier. Whatever, sorry for wasting your time." Taehyung said, and then turned around and walked away.

Lailah looked at Zaivis. "Just tell him the truth, Zaivis."

"It's not that easy." Zaivis mumbled under his breath, and then followed Taehyung.

Taehyung rushed outside the palace where their spaceship was and saw his friends standing beside it. He walked up to them. Jimin smiled at him. "Did you meet her-"

"No. It's whatever. I guess she's dead or whatever." Taehyung grumbled, and Yoongi frowned.

"Woah, hey- what's wrong? Don't say stuff like that, Tae-"

"I don't care anymore, Yoongi. I got my hopes up too high and my exact worst nightmare happened. I don't want this to get ruined further. I'm glad to come back to my roots. Now I can go back to my other ones." Taehyung said.

The doors of the palace opened and Jungkook rushed out. Behind him, Lavender rushed out.

"Lavender?" Jimin let out, frowning. "Oh my god- Lav! Your hair!"

"I cut it," Lavender said, rushing up to Jimin. "Park Jimin, listen. These last two weeks I spent with you were the best of my life." Lavender said softly, and Jimin tensed.

"You don't have to say all this. I-I swear- it'll make it worse." Jimin mumbled, and Lavender shook her head.

"No. You must know. I-I feel very fond for you in my heart. I like you very much and- a-and-" Lavender began, tears filling in her big black eyes. "I'm s-sorry I have to go,"

"It's okay, Lav. Hey, don't be sad!" Jimin whispered softly, smiling. "You're the princess. You're going to be amazing as the queen. And when you do become one, I'll come to visit you, okay?" Jimin said, and Lavender sniffled.

"Promise," Jimin whispered, and Lavender hugged him tightly.

Behind them, Jungkook was crying. Yoongi pet his back, but Jungkook cried harder. "L-Lav don't leave."

"Don't say that, Jeon Jungkook. You will make me cry more." Lavender said, and then pulled away from the hug and smiled at them. "Thank you for being so kind to me. And- and thank you, Taehyung especially, for everything." Lavender said, and Taehyung smiled at her.

He hugged her too, and Jungkook reached forward and hugged her too. Jimin tried his hardest not to cry, digging his fingernails into his palm.

"Tae where's your mom?" Jungkook asked, and Taehyung just shook his head, and Jungkook frowned.

"I think we should go now," Namjoon said, and the boys nodded. Lavender nodded as well. She kissed Jimin one last time and then waved her hand goodbye.

The boys began climbing onto the ship and then heard a voice. "Okay, wait!" A shout came, and they all paused and turned around.

"Dude, can we just go," Jin grumbled under his breath, seeing the butler Zaivis rush outside.

"Taehyung, half-human, look," Zaivis said, and Taehyung sighed. "You don't have to make up some excuse. It's fine-"

"No, no it's not." Zaivis said, and Taehyung frowned. "You don't- you don't have a mother."

Taehyung froze. Jungkook looked at Taehyung in worry. Taehyung looked down. "She passed away, didn't she?"

The butler gulped. "No." Zaivis said, and Taehyung looked up again. "No I mean, I mean you don't have a mother."

"You said the same shit twice," Yoongi mumbled, and Taehyung walked down the steps of the ship. "What?" Taehyung asked, and then Jungkook gasped loudly.

"Oh. My. God. Taehyung. Your dad's GAY."

"Shut up, Jungkook!" Everyone snapped, and Jungkook paused and looked down sadly, pouting a little to himself.

The butler sighed. "No, he's right."

Everyone froze. Taehyung's eyes widened. "Um- what?"

"Your father. He- he never impregnated a woman," Zaivis said, and then his breath hitched. "He impregnated a man."

"The gag of the century...." Jimin trailed, and Lavender nodded with widened eyes.

"H-he what?" Taehyung shouted, and then got all wide-eyed, frozen. "Wait- wait- then- w-who is my male mother...." Taehyung trailed.

Zaivis looked hesitant for like, 12 seconds, and then gulped. "Me."

"Bitch!" Jin let out, gasping widely. Jungkook was wide mouthed too. Jimin was on the floor. Namjoon was screaming. Yoongi and Hoseok had their hands on their heads. Lavender had her mouth covered with her hands.

"You-" Taehyung began, and then stopped for 8 seconds. "You're- you are my- wait," Taehyung said, and then took a deep breath. "You're- you are the- my father and you-you gave birth to me?"

"Yeah. Everyone can get pregnant here." Zaivis said, and Taehyung was frozen still.

"Look, I know, it's really surprising. When you came in and told me your name was Taehyung I... I freaked out. And then I heard you saying you were looking for your lost mother. Your father clearly lied to you... which upset me too." Zaivis mumbled. "I told the Queen. Which I shouldn't have- she's a bitch. She said I can't tell you the truth because I'm technically a slave here or whatever."

Taehyung had his eyes closed. He paused for a few seconds, and then opened his eyes. "You're my other dad?"

"Yes," Zaivis whispered. "I went to Scora VZ2 for college when I was very young. I-I met your father, Michael, in college. After dating for two years I got pregnant with his child and then had you." Zaivis mumbled. "B-but then I heard of the civil war that was happening back in my planet. I had to go back. When I did, m-my parents were stripped of their fortune and I was completely poor. I couldn't go back, I simply had no money! I began working in this palace, but things got worse and I became a s-slave here. I had no way of contacting your father. So I never did. I-" Zaivis began, and then looked down.

"He thought you left him," Taehyung said softly.

"I didn't. I-I was planning on going back. I just... I couldn't. And I hate myself for it." Zaivis said, and Taehyung took a step froward.

"I'm your son?" Taehyung asked, and Zaivis gulped. "You don't have to accept it. I just thought you had to know. B-because-"

Taehyung wrapped his arms around his father, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "D-dad I-I've been w-wanting to meet you for 20 years," Taehyung let out softly, and Zaivis smiled a bit.

"Oh," He let out, and wrapped his arms around Taehyung, chuckling lightly. "I've thought so much about you, son. I only had one picture of you from when you were a baby. Look, I always keep it with me-" Zaivis said, and then took out a picture from his wallet.

The boys all rushed in to look, and indeed, it was a picture of toddler Taehyung with his short grey hair and big grey eyes, wearing a diaper and sitting on a bed, hands in the air, looking very happy.

"T-that's me! You're telling the truth!" Taehyung said, and the boys all cheered and began rejoicing. Zaivis smiled, getting teary-eyed too.

"Now that you know, I hope you don't hate this planet anymore. I know it's been bad for you, but it's your home. I hope you go back and tell your father that-"

"No no!" Taehyung said, frowning. "You're coming with me!"

"Yeah!" Namjoon said, smiling. "Yes yes come with us!" Jungkook clapped his hands together, jumping.

Zaivis looked behind at the palace, and then looked back at them, and then let out a gentle smile. "Fuck it. I hate this palace. I'm coming." Zaivis said, and everyone began cheering.

"How old are you?" Taehyung asked, and Zaivis hummed. "41," Zaivis said, and Taehyung smiled. Same age as his father.

Everyone entered the ship, and Jungkook rushed up to Zaivis and began talking to him animatedly, telling him all about how he wasn't really a cat. Jimin watched with wide eyes, and then looked at Lavender.

"I will also fuck it!" Lavender said confidently, and everyone looked at her in confusion. "I'm coming with you, Jimin! I hate my family and planet and stupid sisters. I like you very very much-"

"Fuck liking!" Jimin snapped, and Namjoon sighed out. "Let's not fuck everything..."

"I love you, Lav," Jimin said, and Lavender wrapped her hands around Jimin's waist and picked him up, pressing their lips together. Jimin laughed and kissed her back. She was really strong for some reason.

"This is amazing." Taehyung said to Jungkook, who smiled and nodded. All 9 of them now walked onto the ship, and Namjoon rushed to the control center and did the one thing he'd been waiting to do since his first day here.

Type down the map for the route back to home.

✫ ✬ ✭ ✬ ✫

https://jeontaeh.tumblr.com/post/647230274808299520/forty%E2%81%B4%E2%81%B0

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best-childhood-book · 9 months

Text

Third Competition Masterpost

[bracket to be added]

Links to all the polls for the third competition

Preliminary Rounds

1: The Giver - Holes (here)

2: The Secret Garden - Legend (here)

3: The BFG - Island of the Blue Dolphins (here)

4: Stargirl - Smile (here)

5: Arc of a Scythe - Neverending Story (here)

6: Pippi Longstocking - Fudge (here)

7: Song of the Lioness - Swiss Family Robinson (here)

8: The Indian in the Cupboard - Heist Society (here)

9: Amulet - The Chronicles of Prydain (here)

10: Peter and the Starcatchers - Damar (here)

11: Julie of the Wolves - Emily (here)

12: Savvy - Michael Vey (here)

13: Circle of Magic - Goosebumps (here)

14: Odd and the Frost Giants - The Faraway Tree (here)

15: Five Children - Molly Moon (here)

16: Middle School - Greenglass House (here)

17: Clementine - Malory Towers (here)

18: The Littles - The Sea of Trolls (here)

19: Deltora Quest - Cold Awakening (here)

20: I Funny - Poison (here)

21: Ingo - Sweet Valley High (here)

22: Magic Shop - Island of the Aunts (here)

23: The Star of Kazan - The Moorchild (here)

24: The Genius Files - Willa (here)

25: Dragonhaven - The Cooper Kids Adventures (here)

26: The Dragonfly Pool - Iron Hearted Violet (here)

27: Sixty-Eight Rooms - Silver Brumby (here)

28: The Lost Conspiracy - The Kid Who Ran for President (here)

29: Dragon Slayer's Academy - Dear Canada (here)

30: The Vengekeep Prophecies - Weenies (here)

31: Cobble Street Cousins - Pixie Tricks (here)

32: The Strictest School in the World - The O'Clock Tales (here)

Round 1 Polls

Poll 1: Holes vs Bella Sara (here)

Poll 2: Nimona vs The Kid Who Ran for President (here)

Poll 3: The Spiderwick Chronicles vs Rowan of Rin (here)

Poll 4: Goosebumps vs The Search for WondLa (here)

Poll 5: Molly Moon vs Judy Moody (here)

Poll 6: Protector of the Small vs Island of the Aunts (here)

Poll 7: Song of the Lioness vs Unicorns of Balinor (here)

Poll 8: The Kane Chronicles vs The Unicorn's Secret (here)

Poll 9: The Earthsea Cycle vs Dear Canada (here)

Poll 10: Ramona vs Dragonhaven (here)

Poll 11: Lockwood & Co vs Dear America (here)

Poll 12: Dark Hills Divide vs Clementine (here)

Poll 13: The Babysitter's Club vs Deltora Quest (here)

Poll 14: Peter and the Starcatchers vs Adventures of the Bailey School Kids (here)

Poll 15: Pippi Longstocking vs The Fairy Realm (here)

Poll 16: Coraline vs Pixie Tricks (here)

Round 2 Polls

Poll 1: Holes vs Nimona (here)

Poll 2: The Spiderwick Chronicles vs Goosebumps (here)

Poll 3: Judy Moody vs Protector of the Small (here)

Poll 4: Song of the Lioness vs The Kane Chronicles (here)

Poll 5: The Earthsea Cycle vs Ramona (here)

Poll 6: Lockwood & Co. vs Clementine (here)

Poll 7: Deltora Quest vs Adventures of the Bailey School Kids (here)

Poll 8: Pippi Longstocking vs Coraline (here)

Round 3 Polls

Poll 1: Holes vs The Spiderwick Chronicles (here)

Poll 2: Protector of the Small vs Song of the Lioness (here)

Poll 3: The Earthsea Cycle vs Lockwood & Co. (here)

Poll 4: Deltora Quest vs Coraline (here)

Semifinals

Poll 1: Holes vs Protector of the Small (here)

Poll 2: Lockwood & Co. vs Coraline (here)

Finals

Holes vs Lockwood & Co. (here)

#best childhood book #masterpost #third competition

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alicepink-me · 4 years

Text

The New Guardian

Story Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an adult in the real world, guarding the Miracle Box in Master Fu's place. She's in love with Chat Noir, but refuses to tell him her feelings. New holders appear to fight the duo and shake up their lives. Marinette makes a tough decision about her future as Ladybug.

Chapter 22: The Cube Part 2

"Marinette!" Alya whisper shouted as she ran into the room, holding a blue cat. Adrien, Nino, and Juleka followed behind her and closed the door.

"Alya?" Marinette slid off of Luka's bed. "What's the . . . a cat? Why do you-"

"Shhh!" Alya hushed, setting the cat down. She ran over to Marinette and grabbed her hand, moving her across the room, away from everyone else. "There's an akuma outside, so we have to hide. I knew you'd be in Luka's room, so we came to "look" for you while we searched for a good place."

Marinette blushed. "But where's Luka? He went to get something about a minute ago." Alya's eyes shifted to the small cat on the floor. "No." Marinette's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open. "There's no way." She crouched down next to the feline. "Luck really isn't on my side of relationships." She pouted.

"We have ourselves a cat." Alya shrugged, turned to her friend. "And not just one. There are tens in the streets and probably more by now."

"An akuma?"

"Of course." Alya said, crossing her arms. "There's a cat woman turning the people of Paris into cats and we thought she'd be afraid of water, but sadly, she chased us anyway."

"Why would someone want to turn us into cats?" Marinette asked.

"I heard her earlier." Nino started, leaning against the wall. "When she was threatening Luka, she said that she had a few stray cats by her house, but her parents wouldn't let her take them in. She fed them everyday anyway and took care of them, but she witnessed two strangers abuse them. In a fit of rage, she was akumatized to turn everyone into her pets." He sighed. "It's a really strange solution."

"Then she turned Luka." Adrien added. "We tricked her for a moment after and bolted with the new blue cat."

"Poor Luka." Marinette patted his fluffy head.

Adrien stared. "So uh . . . Marinette, what were you . . . doing in here?"

"Oh u-um." Marinette gulped. "I was . . . looking for the bathroom!"

"The bathroom?" Alya squinted, obviously not believing it.

"Yeah, I had to go." Marinette said, backing towards another door on the other side of the room. "And since you guys barged in before I found it, I should probably keep looking." She turned around.

"Wait!" Alya said, Marinette taking a deep breath as she turned back. "Aren't you forgetting that Luka has one?" Alya moved to one corner and tapped her knuckles on the wooden door. "Right here." She said, looking at her friend strangely.

"Oh, I must have forgotten." Marinette's eyes widened as she smiled awkwardly. Everyone stared at her as she moved across the room. Alya would probably have questions later, but for now, there was an akuma and she had to do her job. This wouldn't be the first time for awkward situations and lame excuses anyway. "Thanks." Marinette's hand touched the door.

"We'll talk later." Alya whispered. "Look, I know you were trying to get close to Luka earlier, so your thoughts aren't gonna be entirely clear, but when you're done in there, we must focus on the akuma, even if two boys you've been interested in are in the same room, one being a cat at the moment."

"I get it, Alya." Marinette smiled, turning the knob. "I'm just overthinking a lot of things right now and my emotions are everywhere after talking to Luka earlier." Marinette tried to think of something that wasn't too random. She opened the bathroom door and slid inside.

Juleka picked up her cat brother and sat on the bed. "So what are we gonna do about the akuma?" Juleka mumbled.

"Ladybug should be here soon." Nino replied.

"Yeah, we can always count on her." Adrien smiled, feeling slightly guilty at his own heroic absence.

Marinette leaned her head against the bathroom wall. There were no windows and a zero chance for her to slip away. How could she possibly be Ladybug when Marinette was needed here? She couldn't talk to Tikki because Alya was probably still on the other side of that door. She could mutter her transformation discretely and maybe a lucky charm, but nothing more. Ladybug could never leave this tiny space to fight.

"Spots On . . . " Marinette whispered, closing her eyes. Without an escape, there weren't many options, but she needed something. Ladybug pressed her ear against the door, listening in on the other side.

"Uh-my dad just messaged me." Adrien blurted. "He cancelled my photoshoot because of the attack, but he wants me home immediately."

"But there's an akuma." Alya scrunched her eyebrows.

Adrien panicked. "I-I know, but he . . . needs me for something."

"Come on, man." Nino hit his shoulder. "You could get hurt if you leave and Ladybug and Chat Noir will have things handled in no time. There's no harm in staying."

"Okay." Adrien sighed.

Ladybug could tell by their voices that none of them were right next to the door. She took a step back in the small space. "Lucky Charm." She swung her yo-yo up, trying to be as quiet as possible. If she were any taller, it would clank off of the ceiling and shock them all, revealing her identity in the end, or maybe she was only overthinking. A small spotted mouse and controller fell into her hands, luckily unpackaged. Neither were bigger than three inches.

The villain was a cat, so this could come in handy and if she knew anything from her partner, cats can be fooled or easily distracted. But the hardest part now would be doing her job without her suit.

"Spots off." She mumbled, her transformation releasing. Marinette looked down at the mouse and controller before shoving them in the microscopic front pocket of her jeans. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door, slipping out. Everyone stared at her as if she was hiding something. I mean, she was, but they weren't supposed to know. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" Her eyes moved between them nervously.

"What was that light?" Alya tilted her head.

"What light?" Marinette froze. Adrien looked at her strangely.

"There was a flash of light." Alya stepped closer. "We saw it shine under the door."

"Yeah, it looked sort of like an alien abduction." Nino added.

"So what was it?" Alya asked again.

"M-My phone." Marinette pulled it out of her purse to show them the screen. "I saw a report . . . about Ladybug. She uh-just arrived at the scene to fight." Marinette made up. "It shouldn't be too long now."

"Really? There's already a report?" Alya whipped out her phone and moved back toward the boys. "I have to share a link to my blog imm-"

Suddenly, the cat woman burst through the door, debris flying everywhere. She shot a strange pink band at Alya that pushed her back, binding her wrist to the wall.

The band imbedded in the wall as Alya tried yanking on it. "A collar?" She inspected, turning to the enemy.

Marinette wouldn't laugh, but the enemy resembled herself when she was Ladynoir a few years ago. The only difference with this enemy was the giant canon like gun she carried, her red pixie cut and the brown color to her suit. Otherwise, she could easily be the female Chat Noir without puns. Hopefully there's no puns.

Adrien and Nino moved to attack the villain, but she shot them both with collars, one around Adrien's arm and one around Nino's neck. Adrien was bound to another wall by his elbow and Nino was turned into a cat with a green spot on his head.

"You guys will be the perfect additions to my litter." She grinned, hoisting her gun on her shoulder. Her eyes scanned the room. "I'm in need of two miraculous, but it seems Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't showed up yet, so . . . " Her smirk widened. "Maybe if I had a few hostages . . . they'd run to the rescue."

"They would come either way because you're turning everyone into cats." Juleka mumbled.

The woman took her gun and launched a collar that wrapped around Juleka's neck, transforming her into a black and violet, longhaired cat. "Maybe so." She replied. "But they may come faster if a few citizens cry for help in eminent danger."

"Hostages? So you won't turn us into cats?" Adrien questioned. He could feeling Plagg laughing inside his jacket.

"Don't worry, I will." She moved around the room. "But not until I get what I want."

"Which is?" Alya asked.

"Power." The villain stopped. "After I've handled my boss and given him what he demands, I can finally get my revenge."

Marinette had to play her cards right. Either as a cat or imprisoned, and if she maneuvered right, maybe she could do this right. Maybe this enemy hadn't noticed her yet, or she had just bypassed zapping her with the others. Marinette looked down at her hands. She needed to be in two places at once, but she had a plan. Marinette ran forward and stopped, holding her hands in front of her with her wrists together. "Wait, wait! You don't have to do this!" She shouted.

The cat woman immediately launched a red collar at Marinette, binding her wrists together. She internally sighed, thankful that she wasn't turned into a cat. "What do you want?" The woman asked. "If you're going to fight me, I'll just turn you now."

"No, wait!" She held her hands up. "I just want to . . . hear your side." Marinette said, dropping to the floor as if she was defeated. "If you are going to turn us into cats, we should at least know why."

"Marinette!" Alya shouted. "Don't charge the enemy like you have a death wish."

"I'm sorry, Alya." Marinette's hand inched to her front jean pocket. "I must not have been thinking." She watched the enemy as she slowly pulled out the tiny controller. Part of her plan included dropping the mouse back where she was standing outside the bathroom, so now, Marinette was one step ahead.

"Girl, you need to be careful." Alya sighed. "This is an enemy, not Ms. Bustier's classroom."

"Quit talking!" The woman pointed the gun to Alya before back to Marinette. "But since you're interested, I might as well tell you while we wait." Marinette smiled. "Recently, my pet was abused by a couple of strangers and I needed to take revenge. Maybe if everyone in this city had to live as felines, they wouldn't mistreats such animals. They'd actually understand. Maybe they'd think twice and respect all lives. It could be different. I could change things."

"They shouldn't have done that to your pet." Marinette agreed.

"I know, right?!" She yelled. "I mean, who does that? How sick of a person can you be?" She took a deep breath. "See that's my point in this. I deserve justice. You all need awareness and punishment."

"But why us?" Adrien asked. The woman rolled her eyes over to him. "Why not just punish the ones who committed the crime? We haven't done anything wrong."

"Are you questioning my methods?" She hissed.

"No-"

"Why aren't you listening?" She asked, stalking towards him. "That girl over there asked for an explanation and it's quite rude of you to interrupt my story."

"I just wanted to understand why we have to suffer for someone else's crime." Adrien reasoned.

"You still continue to keep me from finishing my story!" Her fingers tightened around her gun. "You know I should just get it over with and blast you all!" She rose her weapon, aiming at Adrien. "I wouldn't have to listen to you babble on. I could start my terror without your pathetic heroes. Wouldn't they have shown up by now if they were coming for you?" She grinned.

A small squeak was barely heard. The cat woman's ears perked up, twitching at the sound. Her eyes darted near Alya to see the tiny rodent toy crawling around. Her pupils widened. The mouse began to move towards her and her brown tail lifted.

'Please go after it. Please go after it.' Marinette hoped. The woman's eyes follow the toy.

"Look at the spots." Alya said.

"Ladybug." Adrien's eyes widened. "She must be nearby."

"Where is that stupid bug?" The villain asked, her eyes not leaving the mouse. Her gun dropped to the floor with a bang as her hands began to shake. "Maybe she's drawing me to her." The mouse hit the tip of her steal toed boot, striking a nerve as she closed her eyes. "What is she thinking?"

Marinette began to sweat. Her lucky charm couldn't have been wrong, but maybe she misused it. 'I really hope this works.' Marinette thought. 'I don't have many options without revealing myself.'

Suddenly, the cat woman dropped to the floor, her pupils expanding. Marinette quickly moved the mouse across the room, the villain chasing it. Alya and Adrien's eyes widened in surprise. Maybe she used it right.

For about a minute, everyone's eyes followed the tiny rodent as their enemy mindlessly followed it. By now, the woman was almost hypnotized and entranced with it. Marinette directed it towards the door, leading her out. The three looked to each other.

"Marinette." Alya whispered, motioning to her arm. "Try to get these collars off of us while that cat is distracted."

Marinette slyly slipped the controller back in her pocket as she stood up. She dashed over to Alya and tried yanking on the collar, her wrists still bound. "They're too strong." Marinette analyzed, pulling harder. She inhaled. "Maybe I should go look for something to cut them."

"Don't be dumb, Marinette." Alya said. "You'd walk right into a trap if you leave."

"Marinette can do it, Alya." Adrien spoke. "The enemy went the other way and Marinette only has to find something sharp enough. And besides, Ladybug's here now."

"Yeah . . . " Marinette agreed. "I mean not here here! Ladybug's not here! On the boat, but definitely not in this room! No! Why would-she's . . . I'm gonna go look for something to help." Marinette rambled before quickly exited through the other door and shutting it behind her. She sighed, leaning against it. Marinette looked around. She was in a red kitchen and dining room. While scanning the room, she set the small controller on a cabinet next to her. "Spots on." She whispered. Tikki zapped into her earrings and Marinette transformed again, grabbing the controller.

There was a wall of windows and glass doors at the end of the granite counter top. Ladybug tiptoed over and slowly turned the handle, wincing at the quiet shriek as she pushed it open and closed. Once outside, Ladybug jumped to the roof of the boat, creeping towards the front. She peered over the edge to see the woman suspiciously picking up the motionless mouse. Ladybug pressed on the joypad of her controller, reanimating the rodent. The enemy began chasing it again.

Ladybug watched from above, leaning on her fist as she thought. She'd spent the last minute trying to figure out where the akuma is, how to beat her, and where Chat Noir could possibly be. Besides the enemy at hand, Chat Noir should have been here by now. Maybe he got held up like she almost was. They are almost adults now, so their routines are a lot harder to accomplish. Ladybug really hoped he'd show up soon. She hadn't seen him in a few days. She smiled.

"Ladybug, where are you!" Cat woman shouted, dashing towards the rodent. Ladybug's smile dropped. "Show yourself!"

Ladybug squinted. 'Could the akuma be in a shoe? There's not many accessories on her suit.' She thought. Her eyes focused on the brown belt on her brown suit. 'A bag?' A small pouch, nearly unnoticeable, was tied to the villain's belt. 'It has to be there. That's too random to be a coincidence, especially since she hasn't used it yet. It could be a power, but that's highly unlikely.'

Ladybug stopped moving the mouse in circles, and directed it towards Luka's keyboard in the corner. The woman swatted at the mouse as it weaved around the legs and cords. Ladybug leaped down, standing over her with one leg on each side. She reached down and ripped the pouch off of her belt and tore it apart.

"Catnip." Ladybug analyzed, noticing the scattered bits as the black butterfly flew out. "No more evil doing for you little akuma. Time to deevilize!" Ladybug swung her yo-yo, snatching the insect. "Gotcha! Bye, bye little butterfly." The now white bug fluttered away as she waved. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug launched her remote in the air. The mouse disappeared as everything fixed itself.

As soon as their collars disappeared, Alya and Adrien rushed out of Luka's room with the now human again Nino, Juleka, and Luka. Ladybug jumped to the roof, out of sight in time, and sprinted back to the kitchen area. She passed a window garden box and slid, backing up to it. Perfectly timed and somehow impossible, a pair of small garden shears laid inside in the dirt. Ladybug snatched them and ran inside.

"Spots off." She uttered, pushing through Luka's bedroom door. Marinette tripped over her feet in the doorway and faceplanted on the floor just as her friends returned.

"Marinette?" Alya questioned, walking closer. "Where were you before and why are you on the floor? I guess Ladybug beat the akuma while you were gone."

"I . . . I went to get something to cut your collars, remember?" Marinette breathed, pulling herself off the ground and waving the shears in the air. "But you know me, I'm clumsy."

"Were you running with scissors, Marinette?" Adrien chuckled.

"Not my best idea." Marinette admitted. "But at least I wasn't turned into a cat."

#miraculous ladybug #MIRACULOUS: TALES OF LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR #alice pink #alicepink-me #ladybug #chatnoir #adrien agreste #miraculous #the new guardian #marinette dupain cheng #romance #fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

chille-tid-universe · 4 years

Text

Bridges, Taverns, and Caves

Later that morning, after at least some amount of rest, the party reconvened to discuss the next leg of their journey. To catch up those who had other errands to run the previous day, they recited the lore Elminster had gleaned from Brienne’s armor:

“Deep within a mountain spine

Where fire and stone become entwined

Dwelled a skilled but vengeful smith

Who made armor to mete justice with.

And for that act, who must atone?

The Hidden Forge, left all alone.

Find Xanderos and search his lair.

Your journey will begin there.”

Over breakfast, they argued about the significance of the lore. They were able to easily glean that their path must take them to the Spine of the World, far to the north but not impossibly out of the way. Presumably, they were searching for the location the armor had been created, some “Hidden Forge,” where they could discover some further clues. The location of the forge seemed tied to this Xanderos, of whom Elmister had admitted to having no knowledge.

The name sounded draconic, though it was short for a dragon. Elminster had explained that, as dragons grew and their renown increased, they would affix syllables to their names; the longer a dragon’s name, the more pride and history they would have. For such a short name, they might be looking for a particularly young dragon (or, as Elminster cautioned, a particularly secretive dragon who preferred anonymity to haughtiness - a foreboding sign, if it were the case).

Now, they debated over what kind of dragon it could be. Unable to come to a consensus, they asked Durnan for directions to the nearest library. As they left the Yawning Portal, there was a rumbling from the pit, and cries of “TROLL!” could be heard as the door shut. In the library, they spent an hour or two researching. They were unable to find any mention of Xanderos, but gathered what information on dragons they could find.

If it was a young dragon, it was possible it could be any kind - its short life would explain the length of its name. If it were a fully grown adult, then it was likely it could be a green or copper dragon, as they were cunning and placed more emphasis on intelligence than their brethren. It was possible a copper or green dragon might forgo adding to their name to remain innocuous. Likewise, it was unlikely to be a red, white, or gold dragon, as those appeared to be the most proud or territorial, and would not fail to improve their name as a testament to their own prowess or to cement their hold on their corner of the world.

It wasn’t much, but some preparation was better than none, and the party decided to head north for the Spine. Leaving the city of Waterdeep behind, they began their journey up the Long Road. Along the way, they fought bandits, assisted small hamlets, rescued cats, but at this point in their heroic careers these deeds were commonplace. The first item of interest on their journey occurred at a bridge.

The party came upon a sturdy bridge spanning a crevasse. As they made to cross it, a booming voice rang out: “To cross bridge, must pay toll.” They glanced around, but could find no one. Nissa picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it onto the bridge. “Try again,” the voice rumbled. Nissa shrugged.

She called out, “What’s the toll?”

A moment later, the voice replied, “Shinies - big shinies!”

The others began quietly discussing among themselves, but Nissa pulled one of her golden buttons from her pouch and tossed it next to the pebble. As it rolled to a stop, an enormous, hairy hand reached up from beneath the planks and slapped down on the button. It dragged it - and the pebble - over the side of the bridge. There was an appreciative “ooh!” followed by, “Good shiny, need more.”

“How many?” Nissa called out as Brienne and Ravain tried to shush her.

“Lotses!” the voice said. There was a pause, in which Ravain tilted his head, concentrating.

“There’s another voice,” he murmured, describing a light, high pitched voice whispering to the booming creature. As he finished, an open palm came up from the crevasse.

“This many bundreds!” There was a moment’s pause before the voice corrected itself, presumably at the quieter voice’s insistence. “Hundreds! Don’t be tricks-isy!”

“How ‘bout you talk to us face to face?” Nissa offered, trying to find a rock from which she could peer down into the crevasse safely.

“Face to face good. Come down under the bridge. It’s nice down here,” the voice said eagerly.

“Oh, do you have accommodations down there?” Melpomene asked, rolling her eyes.

“Many accolations,” the voice promised. The party glanced at each other exasperatedly. “Five hundred gold!” the voice demanded, proud of itself for stringing the words together properly.

“What if we don’t have gold?” Pock asked, hefting his hammer.

“Don’t have gold?” A smacking sound echoed from the crevasse as the beast presumably licked its lips.

“Hypothetically,” Pock clarified nervously.

Melpomene shook her head and wove a simple spell to create an auditory illusion of smacking lips back at the monster. At this, a crest of lichen began to rise from the depths of the crevasse atop a balding head, and the giant peeked up from behind the bridge. Melpomene responded by illusioning huge lips onto her face. The giant’s bush-like eyebrows rose as it cried, “Magic tricksies! Sneaky! I eat sneaky!”

Pock was ready. He held up his hammer, calling down a pillar of heavenly flame to collide with the creature’s wide head. It glanced off its brow, and the gnome darted forward, hefting his shield. Nissa had found her rock, and aimed around the edge of it to shoot at the huge form. Wun Way gestured at the large head and spoke a spell, creating a concussive blast at its temple.

The giant blinked away the debris that fell from its eyebrows and dropped its tree trunk of a club on Pock. The gnome jumped away at the last second, but the giant swept the tree into his body, knocking him down. It then reached out with its other hand and grasped Pock between its stubby fingers.

As it began to pull Pock towards itself, there was movement by its ear. A winged fairy fluttered into view and flew in circles as it squeaked a chant. A violet haze settled over Wun Way and Brienne, and their limbs grew slack, weapons falling to their sides. Stupefied gazes drifted over the battlefield. The fairy giggled and began to fly away.

Brienne’s glazed eyes began to focus, though it was a few seconds before she shook her head and gripped Mjolnir more tightly. In the meantime, Melpomene gathered her magic and shouted out, “Your lips look a bit chapped, love!” The words cut through the giant’s mind, and it raised its club-wielding hand to cover its mouth, clearly hurt. As it did so, Pock freed an arm and smashed his warhammer down on the giant’s thumb, drawing a grunt of pain from the giant as it swatted at Nissa’s bolts.

Wun Way shook off the haze of confusion almost immediately and focused her attention on the fleeing fairy. She drew power from her well of magic and spoke words of power in a singsong voice. Five bolts of magic curved out of her outstretched hand and honed in on the winged beast. As the first struck, though, the fairy fell from the sky, dead.

The giant was too preoccupied by the smashing treat in its hand to notice. Pock was still bashing on its thumb as the giant lifted him to its mouth, and the party let out a collective exclamation as it opened wide and popped the gnome between its teeth. As it tried to crunch down on the squirmy and tough shelled morsel, it leaned out from the crevasse to grab at Wun Way.

Unwilling to see another friend eaten, Brienne gripped her warhammer and dashed for the giant, pulling the thunderous might of Thor into her strike. A loud clap boomed and echoed in the crevasse as she hit the giant, but it stood its ground. As everyone regained their hearing, Melpomene called out to the giant again, this time with persuasive magic layered in her voice.

“That pixie mentioned a pile of golden buttons-” She pointed down along the length of the crevasse. “-down that-a-way! She said she was hiding it from you!” The giant became visibly angry and tried to talk with a mouth full of Pock. “But if you want to catch up to her, you’ll need to drop our friends! They’ll only slow you down.” The giant’s eyes were glazed over from the power of the suggestion spell, and he thought for a long moment before spitting the gnome onto his hand and dropping both people onto the ground. He spared the lost meals a final glance before turning and stomping off in the direction of Melpomene’s pointing finger.

Wun Way was a little bruised, but otherwise fine. Pock, however, was coated with giant spit and struggling not to retch. As they grabbed rags from their packs to help clean him off, Nissa grinned and came as close as her nose would allow. “What was it like in there?”

Pock stopped mid retch and calmly recalled, “Dark. And smelly.”

The next few days passed much as the days before had, though it was some time before the stench left Pock’s skin, and the first chance he got he bought a new set of clothing from a passing caravan.

One evening, the group was searching for a dry spot to camp (it had rained during the day) when they came upon a modest tavern. It touted itself as the Lusty Pixie, and seemed well funded and well visited, given how far it was from any major city or town. Within, a group of patrons ate and drank and relaxed after a long day of working the rocky soil of their farms. The largest concentration of people was in one corner, where some sort of a street performer had drawn the attention of a third of the patrons. The party ordered meals and drinks and settled in to watch.

The performer appeared to be playing a shell game with his audience. He would sweet talk one person into playing, then hide a pebble beneath one of three overturned cups. Some fancy sleight of hand later, the audience member would pick one of the cups, usually with much input from the rest of the audience. Occasionally one of the audience members would win, but the performer was definitely benefitting from the game.

As the most recent patron walked away, smiling and cupping a handful of coins, the man called out to the tavern, “Step up and play! Four gold maximum, and I’ll double your bet!” Melpomene glanced around, downed the last of her ale, and sauntered over to the gathered crowd. As she pressed her way to the front, the man caught her eye. “Would you like to play, sir? Er, ma’am?”

Melpomene grinned and prestidigitated a mustache. “Gladly. I’ll put down four gold.” The man graciously accepted her coin and, after showing her the pebble, began shifting the cups on his table. A few seconds later, he presented the trio in a new order and gestured for Melpomene to pick. She stared hard at each cup, then pointed at the middle one. The man shrugged apologetically and lifted each cup - the pebble was to the left. Melpomene groaned with the rest of the crowd.

“Chance to win back your gold?” he suggested, laying out a dozen coins to add to Melpomene’s lost bet. Melpomene grinned and nodded. As the man began shuffling the cups once more, Wun Way wandered over to the crowd. As Melpomene pointed to a cup, Wun Way smirked and muttered under her breath.

The man grimaced good-naturedly as he lifted the cup - only to reveal two pebbles. There was a moment of silence, in which Wun Way’s eyes grew wide as saucers, and then the crowd erupted with noise. Melpomene, looking just as surprised as the performer, prestidigitated a magnifying glass and bent to examine the pebbles. As she looked, she muttered under her breath to the performer, “This wasn’t me, but if you’d like I can help rope in a few from the crowd.” The man’s stunned face morphed into a smile and he gave a slight nod. Melpomene straightened up and raised her voice.

“That pebble wasn’t my doing! But you need to give me a chance to win back my gold!” She turned to the crowd. “Does anyone else want to get in on this? I can wager eight, no, twelve gold!” She managed to pull up an older man, who looked as surprised as the rest of the crowd as he slammed a dozen golden coins on the table. He could barely remember the last time he had this much wealth, and his nervous grin became a look of terror as the cups were shuffled. His relief was palpable as the cup was lifted, and a dozen pebbles spilled out onto the table.

As the lucky farmer walked away, fingers overflowing with coin, the street performer, shot Melpomene a worried look. She placated him with a wink and shouted, “It’s a sign! Who else wants to benefit from this?” At this point, nervous patrons began to avert their gazes and return to their suppers, but Melpomene was still able to bring up a handful of watchers who began digging in their purses, hoping to walk away rich. After a pile of coins was placed in front of the cups, the performer began shuffling. His hands were a blur over the table, and after a minute of furious motion, the cups sat still.

A hush passed over the crowd as Melpomene examined the cups with her magnifying glass. The dozen patrons whose money was on the line bunched up behind the aasimar, some of them clutching her coat in excited nervousness. As she pointed to a cup, Wun Way made a motion with her hand. The man braced himself as he lifted the cup, then saw that it was somehow empty. There was an exclamation from what remained of the crowd, followed by loud complaining from the people who had just lost their livelihood. The performer managed to sweep the contents of the table into a satchel, quick as a flash, hurriedly talking as he did so. “Oh, quite a shame, better luck next time, folks! A reminder that all purchases are indeed final. Tip your waiters! I’ll be back around these parts in the next, well, never. Good bye!”

With that, he was out the front door. Nissa was chuckling while Brienne frowned slightly at Wun Way. As they made their way back over, Pock tugged on Brienne’s sleeve. “Where’s the bag of holding?” Brienne’s heart leapt into her throat as she reached for the spot on her belt where the bag normally hung. The rope had been cut - the bag was gone. Nissa’s chuckling became an open laugh, until she realized her purse was also gone. Wun Way and Pock’s purses had disappeared as well, and they turned to the door to see a halfling running outside. The four jumped from their seats and darted for the door. Melpomene followed, laughing.

In the gathering dark, the group could make out the two figures running down the road. The party broke into a run. Wun Way tossed a spell ahead, and a series of hypnotic runes flashed around the pair. The halfling stumbled to a halt, seemingly enthralled by the patterns. The human continued to run, arm raised to cover his face. This slowed him down slightly, though, and Nissa pulled out her crossbow, crying “Give it back, you little shit!” Brienne had been sprinting after the two, and was only a few feet behind the man when the crossbow bolt whizzed past her head and thudded into the man’s back. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Brienne skidded to a halt over the man’s body, chest heaving as she caught her breath. A moment later, Melpomene arrived, preceded by her laughter. Brienne caught a devilish look in her eyes as the aasimar reached a hand out. A spectral shade tore itself from the corpse, flying out to Melpomene’s hand, where it washed over her body like a dark suit. Before Brienne’s eyes, the aasimar began to shift, and a few seconds later, the living body of the thief was standing before her. Melpomene smiled with the man’s lips and began walking to the stupefied halfling. Brienne shot her a dark look and followed her.

Nissa was gently removing the purses from the halfling’s limp grasp. She tossed the bag of holding to Brienne as she approached. “What should we do with him?” Pock asked as he accepted his purse from Nissa.

Brienne opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted. “We have some fun,” Melpomene said, a hunger in the deeper voice.

Brienne looked disgusted, and merely shook her head. She turned to Pock, a question in her eyes, but the gnome shook his head. “Someone should stand witness to the retribution of his crimes.” Brienne looked strangely at the gnome, but then turned and began to walk back to the tavern. At the door, she glanced back. She couldn’t make out more than a handful of shadowy figures standing in the middle of the road. She heaved a heavy sigh and walked back into the light.

Wun Way walked around the halfling, concentrating on maintaining the spell. “So, what did you have in mind?” she asked.

The halfling came to and was very surprised to find he was bound to a tree. He struggled for a moment, but was unable to free himself. He glanced around nervously, heart rate rising. In the early dark, he made out a hunched over form against the tree in front of him. “Gibbs! Is that you? Wake up!” There was a grunt, and then his partner’s voice burst out, a hissing whisper.

“Chaff! What happened?”

Chaff shook his head, then realized Gibbs wouldn’t be able to see it. “We were running the grift, smooth as ever, then that angel lady started helping you. I was able to lift a bunch of purses, then we made it out.” He paused as his scrambled memories fell into place. “We were running… Then there were shouts from behind us.” He stopped. “Then I woke up here.” He glanced around the darkened forest uneasily. “Should we call for help?”

“Who would help us?” Gibbs snapped, and Chaff was taken aback by the coldness in his voice. “We just swindled the whole tavern!”

“How did we get here?” Chaff lamented, struggling uselessly against the restraints. “Could it have been that angel lady? I thought she seemed a little suspicious. What happened to the knife you keep on you?”

“They obviously took it, you idiot,” Gibbs said. “I have half a mind to punish you myself.”

Chaff strained to see his partner in the dark. “What?”

“You were supposed to get us away safe!” Gibbs’s voice was filled with venom.”

Chaff’s lower lip wobbled. “We were on the road! I lifted the purses and we got away clean!” He pulled against the knots again. “Well, not exactly clean…”

A dark laugh burst from the shadowy figure. “Not exactly clean indeed.” The figure stood, obviously not bound by anything. “Do you know what happened to the last guy who crossed me?” An unearthly light seemed to be coming from Gibbs’s body; Chaff could see him now, but he looked different, somehow. Maybe it was just the bloodthirsty glint in his eye.

Chaff tried to swallow in a dry throat. “Ah, you n-never told me,” he stuttered.

Gibbs walked right up to his bound partner and leaned down. When he spoke, barely a whisper, a trill of fear slithered down the halfling’s spine. “Would you like to find out?”

Chaff began hyperventilating. “You, you wouldn’t do, do that to me! We’ve been through so much together!”

Gibbs seemed to consider this, tilting his eerily glowing head to the side. “You’re right.” Chaff’s heart skipped a beat. “I wouldn’t get my hands dirty.”

It was too much for Chaff. “Help!” he cried, once, before he felt a strangling sensation in his throat. Against his will, a laughing fit took him, and his exclamations were buried in frantic laughter.

“What’s so funny, dearest?” Gibbs’s eyes glowed as he placed a hand against the tree beside the halfling’s head. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

There was the sound of a snapping twig, and then a gnome emerged from the nearby bushes, wielding a crossbow and glancing between the two thieves.

Gibbs jerked his head at the approaching woman. “Oh, look at the halfling girl. Would you like her to help you?”

Nissa bristled. “I’m a gnome, Melpomene!”

Gibbs wasn’t listening, however. He drew himself up to his full height - Chaff didn’t remember Gibbs being quite so tall - and then he began to change. His eyes sunk into his skull, and the eerie light around his body solidified into a shattered halo. Skeletal wings shimmered into view, piercing his horrific body. As he reached out with a clawed hand for the halfling, Chaff gave a mangled yelp, then his eyes rolled back into his head.

Wun Way dropped from the tree she had been watching from. She hurried over to the halfling as Melpomene shed the shadow like a snake’s skin. The aasimar looked pleased with herself. Wun Way felt the halfling’s neck to confirm what she assumed. “Dead,” she said, voice deadpan. “Heart attack, looks like.”

Nissa was frozen, crossbow pointed to the halfling’s head. She had been unable to fire, unable to stop the madness and end the poor thing’s misery. Melpomene was rifling through Chaff’s purse, and raised a small ring, examining it before tossing it to the gnome woman. “Catch. Looks like a ring of invisibility. Silly dear should have kept it a little handier.”

Nissa caught it on pure instinct, blinking at it for a few seconds before she wordlessly began walking back to the tavern. Wun Way, seeing herself left with Melpomene and Pock, cleared her throat. “You ok, Pock?”

The gnome glanced up, as if confused by the question. When the half-elf nodded to the dead halfling, realization reached the gnome’s eyes. “He had it coming,” he said simply.

In the tavern, Brienne was finishing the last of her drink - a strong wine in a tall pewter mug. She nodded to Nissa as the gnome hopped up onto the stool beside her. Nissa waved down the barkeep and pointed at Brienne’s mug. Brienne raised an eyebrow as a new mug was placed before the gnome. Nissa drank long and deep before she spoke. “That wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be,” she said finally, as the mug thudded to the polished bartop, half empty.

Suddenly, the door banged open, and Melpomene and Pock strutted into the tavern. Melpomene walked straight to the bar and laid down a handful of coins. “A round on me!” she called, to cheers from the remainder of the patrons at the bar. Nissa frowned at the coins, and Brienne excused herself and made arrangements for a room.

The energy about the group was slightly different in the morning.

As they set out from the tavern, Wun Way was saying, “...and maybe next time we’re shaking someone down, we don’t kill them?”

“Or we kill them quickly,” Nissa offered.

“They stole over three hundred gold,” Pock stated. “That’s several death sentences right there.” Nissa stepped to the other side of Brienne to place the fighter between her and the other gnome.

Melpomene yawned and rubbed at her eye. She had bought several rounds for the patrons of the Lusty Pixie last night - “Returning their gold to them,” she had explained to Pock. “That’s the last time I help a con artist,” she mumbled, squinting at the weak sunlight filtering through the clouds.

“Well, I’m glad someone learned something from this,” Brienne said, frowning at the aasimar.

In the following days, the party passed through the Evermoor and the Lurking Wood with little to no incidents - certainly no more interacting with performers at taverns. Before long, they reached the foothills of the Spine of the World.The atmosphere about the group slowly changed, if not back to normal, then at least to be less antagonistic.

One day, Ravain hastily led the group under a copse of trees and pointed skyward. They were able to make out the small figure of a black dragon flying amongst the clouds. “So tiny! Looks like it’s a youngling,” Pock said cheerfully. Ravain scowled at the gnome and shook his head.

“Looks to be a full grown adult. At least it seems likely we’re searching for a dragon’s lair.” When the dragon had passed beyond their sight, the ranger allowed them to continue up the road.

It had been many miles since they had passed any sort of settlements. Ravain explained that any people who lived this far north would likely be living underground. “I’ve heard there are dwarven communities in the Spine.”

They made their way to the base of the Spine without further sightings of the dragon. It was slow going, but Ravain was able to track their way to the dragon’s lair. Getting there was not quite so easy. Ascending mountainous terrain was never simple, and was even less so here. It was cold, wet, slippery, and monotonously uncomfortable, but it was in one piece that the group arrived at the mouth of the dragon’s lair. Ravain regarded the party and nodded appreciatively. “You’ve all gotten better at this.”

They stood before a large mountain cave. Wind howled across the entrance, filling the air with a foreboding whine. Although it was quite cold outside, they lingered at the entrance, peering inside. Within, the mouth of the cave appeared to have been formed by melting the rock around it; rivulets of molten rock were frozen in time as they had dribbled down to the cavern’s floor. Further along, the walls of the cave were pockmarked.

Deeper in, those of the party with darkvision could see a makeshift nest of hay bales, straw, down feathers, and blankets. Ravain explained that black dragons generally preferred swampy, humid climates; this one apparently had adopted to the frigid weather.

“Well,” Pock said, leaning into the cave, “the good news is, no one is home. Oh, look!” Pock directed their attention to the cave walls beyond the nest. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, they could make out carvings all along the wall. There were lines of runes and several murals that appeared to be dwarven in origin.

After a quick discussion, it was decided that Nissa would examine the cave and see what the writing on the wall said. So the gnome donned her newly acquired ring of invisibility and vanished from view. Nissa walked along slowly, checking for traps in the piles of hay and keeping an eye on the shadowy corners of the cavern. Finally, she arrived at an important looking segment of wall with a line of shimmering text. The runes were not in common, however.

The rest of the group watched nothing happen, until a scrap of paper and a pen appeared out of thin air. The pen scribbled on the paper for a minute before they both disappeared again. A few seconds later, Nissa reappeared in front of them and pocketed her ring. She held out the scrap of paper where she had transcribed the dwarvish runes. Her handwriting was not particularly well suited for dwarvish, but Brienne was able to translate:

“What can run but not walk

Has a mouth but never talks

Has a head but never weeps

Has a bed but never sleeps?”

“A shoelace?” Pock offered, receiving glares from Ciri and Nissa.

“A river,” the rest of the party said at once. Nissa nodded and added, “And what is ‘river’ in dwarvish?”

After they had taught her the dwarvish word for river, she slipped her ring back on (just to be safe) and made her way back to the gently pulsating riddle. The gnome spoke the word, causing those who spoke dwarvish to wince at her pronunciation and accent, but the words began to glow. A low pulse of energy filled the cavern, and the script shone more brightly in a harsh orange-red color. Nissa yelped in surprise as the murals to either side of her shifted and began to rise, revealing a space behind them.

“Those aren’t rivers,” Melpomene stated as the group ran in to defend the gnome.

#dnd stories

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vierafication · 5 years

Text

Getting to Know: Faolan Kells

Was tagged by @an-honest-waltz for most of these AGES ago, so just gonna make one big ol’ post!

Bold those that apply, italicize if occasional or situational.

╳ FLAWS

♔ STRENGTHS

🖌 SKILLS & HOBBIES

[ BODY ]

Long legs. Short legs. Average legs. Slender thighs. Thick thighs. Toned thighs. Skinny arms. Soft arms. Toned arms. Muscular arms. Toned stomach. Flat stomach. Flabby Stomach. Soft stomach. Six-pack. Beer belly. Lean frame. Beefy/muscular frame. Voluptuous frame. Petite frame. Lanky frame. Short nails. Long nails. Manicured nails. Dirty nails. Flat ass. Toned ass. Bubble butt. Small waist. Average waist. Thick waist. Narrow hips. Average hips. Wide hips. Big feet. Average feet. Small feet. Soft feet. Slender feet. Calloused hands. Soft hands. Big hands. Average hands. Small hands. Long fingers. Short fingers. Average fingers. Narrow shoulders. Broad shoulders. Average shoulders. Underweight. Average weight. Overweight.

[ HEIGHT ]

Shorter than 140 cm. 141 cm to 150 cm. 151 cm to 160 cm. 161 cm to 170 cm. 171 cm to 180 cm. 181 cm to 190 cm. 191 cm to 2 m. Taller than 2 m.

[ SKIN ]

Pale. Rosy. Olive. Dark. Tanned. Blotchy. Smooth. Moles. Acne. Dry. Greasy. Freckled. Scars. Birthmarks.

[ EYES ]

Small. Large. Average. Grey. Brown. Blue. Turquoise. Violet. Pink. Green. Gold. Hazel. Crimson. Doe-eyed. Almond. Close-set. Wide-set. Deep-set. Squinty. Monolid. Heavy eyelids. Upturned. Downturned. Mismatched.

[ HAIR ]

Thin. Thick. Fine. Normal. Greasy. Dry. Soft. Shiny. Curly. Frizzy. Wild. Unruly. Straight. Smooth. Wavy. Floppy. Cropped. Pixie-cut. Afro. Pompadour. Shoulder length. Back length. Waist length. Past hip-length. Buzz cut. Bald. Weave. Hair extensions. Jaw length. Layered. Mohawk. Pony Tail. Braid. Locks. Box braids. Faux locks. White. Going Grey. Platinum blonde. Golden blonde. Dirty blonde. Blonde. Strawberry Blonde. Ombre. Ash brown. Mouse brown. Chestnut brown. Golden brown. Chocolate brown. Dark brown. Jet black. Orange. Ginger. Red. Auburn. Dyed. Thin eyebrows. Average eyebrows. Thick eyebrows. Plucked eyebrows.

[ TATTOOS / PIERCINGS ]

Full sleeve. Thigh tattoo. Neck tattoo. Chest tattoo. Back tattoo. Shoulder blade tattoo. One tattoo. Face tattoo. Hand tattoo. Henna tattoo. Wrist tattoo. Forearm tattoo. A few here and there. Multiple. No tattoos (for now). Monroe piercing. Nose piercing. Septum. Nipple piercing(s). Genital piercing(s). Industrial piercings. Earlobe piercings. Prince Albert piercing. Eyebrow piercing(s). Tongue piercing(s). Lip piercing(s). Top of the ear. Tragus piercing. Angel bites. Labret. Stretched out ears. Navel piercing. Inverse navel piercing. Cheek piercing(s). Smiley. Nape piercing(s). No piercings.

[ COSMETICS ]

Eyeliner. Light eyeliner. Heavy eyeliner. Cat eyes. Mascara. Fake eyelashes. Matte lipstick. Regular lipstick. Lipgloss. Red lips. Pink lips. Nude lips. Dark lips. Bronzer. Highlighter. Eyeshadow. Neutral eyeshadow. Smoky eyes. Colorful eyeshadow. Blush. Lipliner. Light contouring. Heavy contouring. Powder. Matte foundation. Shiny foundation. Concealer. Wears war paint from time to time. Wears make up regularly. Wears it from time to time. Never wears make-up.

[ SCENT ]

Floral. Herbal. Earthy. Fruity. Perfumes. Aftershave. Cocoa. Moisturizer. Shampoo. Cigarettes. Leather. Fur. Sweat. Food. Incense. Cologne. Whiskey. Wine. Fried food. Blood. Fire. Cold. Fresh. Metal. Rain. Chemicals. Baking!

[ CLOTHES ]

Jeans. Tight pants. Overknee socks. Tights. Leggings. Yoga pants. Pencil skirt. Tight skirt. Loose skirt. Tight/Form-fitting dress. Cardigans. Tunic. Blouse. Button up shirt. Band-T-shirt. Sports-T-shirt. Sweatpants. Tanktop. Cut off t-shirt. Designer. High street. Leather jacket. Thrift. Lingerie. Long skirt. Miniskirt. Maxidress. Sun dress. Tie. Tuxedo. Cocktail dress.High slit dress/skirt. T-shirt. Loose clothing. Tight clothing. Jean shorts. Sweater. Sweater vest. Waistcoat. Khaki pants. Suit. Hoodie. Basketball shorts. Boxers/Boxer-Briefs. Thong. Hotpants. Hipster panties. Bra. Sportsbra. Crop top. Corset. Ballerina skirt. Leotard. Polka dot. Stripes. Glitter. Cotton. Linen. Silk. Lace. Leather. Velvet. Patterns. Florals. Neon colors. Pastels. Light colors. White. Black. Dark colors. Fur/Fauxfur. Revealing clothing. Heavy armor. Medium armor. Light Armor.

[ SHOES ]

Sneakers. Slip-ons. Flats. Slippers. Sandals. High heels. Kitten heels. Ankle boots. Combat boots. Knee-high. Platforms. Bare feet. Loafers. Oxfords. Gladiator shoes. Leather boots.

So I personally don’t like this prompt because it assumes the character answers IC, but how many characters would actually let someone come up and interview them with this barrage of questions, some very personal, out of nowhere, IC? So I think it works better to think of them as... filling it out as a form themselves?

► Name ➔ Which one? ► Are you single ➔ I think so. ► Are you happy ➔ I’d better be. ► Are you angry? ➔ Thankfully, no. ► Are your parents still married ➔ Who?

NINE FACTS ► Birth Place ➔ Somewhere where the trees are tall and green and overshadowing, I think. ► Hair Color ➔ Like the earth. ► Eye Color ➔ Like the leaves. ► Birthday ➔ I do not know. ► Mood ➔ Fluctuating. ► Gender ➔ Leaning towards male. ► Summer or winter ➔ Summer. ► Morning or afternoon ➔ Can I say evening instead?

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE ► Are you in love ➔ With life itself~! Mostly. Usually. Sometimes. ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ It’s the stuff of faerytales. So of course I do! Would love to actually see it in action, though. It’s certainly elusive. ► Who ended your last relationship ➔ No relationships to end- so I have not suffered that terrible heartache so often written about! Ha! ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ Probably. I hope so. ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ I think the answer is yes, because I do not want them, if I can help it! Don’t like strings. ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Of course! Who or what, though, I cannot recall. ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ I hope so! ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ NO.

SIX CHOICES ► Love or lust ➔ Love! Incredibly useless, but really quite fun to mess with. ► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ Lemonade. ► Cats or Dogs ➔ Dogs are more reliable, cats are more fun. So... cats, then.. ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ Yes. ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ A wild night out leads to so many more interesting possible occurrences. The other option is boring on multiple levels. ► Day or night ➔ Oh, so this is where I can say night. Night, then.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS ► Been caught sneaking out ➔ Out of where? By whom? ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ I am far too graceful for THAT, but it is very humorous to see! ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ No comment. ► Wanted to disappear ➔ Not if I’ve enough distractions to keep me occupied at the moment!

FOUR PREFERENCES ► Smile or eyes ➔ Eyes tell a lot more than a smile ever could. ► Shorter or Taller ➔ Shorter people are easier to poke fun at, in my experience. ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ Attraction. ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ I don’t want anything THAT close to me, thank you very much.

FAMILY ► Do you and your family get along ➔ We fight sometimes. ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ It is certainly abnormal by your standards! If only you knew. ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ When I was a child, I tried to multiple times, but I just ended up running right back home again. Not voluntarily, of course, for the forest paths never lead you where you want to go, only where you don’t. ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Not kicked out, necessarily, but... locked up? Hidden away? I feel that’s a better term.

FRIENDS ► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ No! That would be silly. ► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ No. ► Who is your best friend ➔ I adore friends, of course, but I would not trust anybody to THAT extent. ► Who knows everything about you ➔ Only the ones back home, and I intend to keep it that way.

Thanks again Killian!!!! Not gonna tag anybody ‘cause y’all have already done these I’m sure. But if you haven’t, consider yourself tagged!

#prompt #about faolan

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squiddybeifong · 6 years

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can I get a early halloween cassrae? Maybe with kids and trick or treating??

A day early is still early, right?

–

“When’s she gonna get here?!” Melvin practically vibrated in place as she skipped around the apartment, the cape of her authentic Robin costume trailing behind her. Teether tottered behind her, using Bobby’s fuzzy leg for balance as his chubby fingers tried to grab at the girl’s cloak.

“Be patient, Mel,” Raven lightly chided. Timmy fidgeted under her, trying to keep still as she secured his belt and holster. The mage swore she wasn’t biased, but he was the cutest Han Solo that she’d even seen.

Raven ran her fingers through his gelled hair, ensuring that he looked just messy enough. “I told her introductions at 6 and that we’ll leave by 6:15.” Her braid fell down her back as she turned to look over her shoulder, winking at her oldest, “Besides, Cass’ll know all the best places to get the biggest candy bars.”

All three perked up at that; Timmy leaned to the side, peeking down at the Endless Pillowcases that uncle Vic had made for them. Who knew how much candy they could fit in those?!

Raven dusted his shoulders and let him join Melvin in excitedly jumping around, her lips curling as she turned to her last ward. Teether babbled and waved his hands up at her, smiling toothily as she picked him up and pecked his forehead. Black magic engulfed a star shaped pacifier and she popped it into his mouth, completing his Cookie Cat ensemble.

Absentmindedly, violet eyes glanced at the clock, three minutes until six. Maybe she had time to settle the kids down and recheck her makeup before–

Someone knocked on the door.

Melvin jumped up and practically backpedalled out of her pixie boots while Timmy screeched as quietly as he could, although the door still rattled in its frame at the sound. Despite herself, Raven couldn’t keep the cackle from slipping out of her and she stood, balancing Teether on her hip.

Another knock, this time more hesitant.

“Coming!”

Teether lazily pawed at the messy, looped strands of Raven’s hair as she carried him to the door. His eyes flicked down as the door opened and he waved at the woman who’d suddenly appeared.

The Bat looked gorgeous draped in fiery reds and shiny golds, and despite the fact that her costume was completely correct Raven couldn’t help herself, “Your scar’s on the wrong side, Prince.” Cass beamed a lopsided grin and leaned up for a quick kiss, lightly tugging her girlfriend’s hair. She pulled away to wiggle her fingers in Teether’s direction, signing, Nice hair loopies, Katara.

A squeak sounded near the demoness’ hip and both women looked down. Timmy was using her legs as a shield, his eyes barely peeking past to stare up at Cass. “Timothy,” Raven touched the back of his head, “I want you to meet Cass.” Rocking on the balls of his feet, he shied away and Melvin bounded up in between them, her hands resting on the short woman’s knees and her eyes squinting in suspicion, “You’re Cass?”

Mahogany eyes were amused, “Yes. You’re Melvin?”

Lightly tugging at her daughter’s cape, Raven floated an inch off the ground and ushered everyone inside. Bobby shifted until he was sitting up, his beady eyes brightening at the sight of Cass when she waved at him.

The Bat beamed down at the two oldest kids, biting back her snickers at the blonde Robin. She looks like Steph, she signed to her girlfriend. Crouching down so they were face to face, the firebender introduced herself, “Hi, Cass here! Nice to meet you.”

Her brows jumped as, instead of answering, Melvin and Timmy each put a hand to their chin and began circling her. The girl hmm-ed like Sherlock, her gaze a tinge more critical than her brother’s. Already used to such antics from her siblings, Cass sat criss-cross on the floor and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, patient as they inspected. Raven re-adjusted Teether on her hip, amusedly adding, “Introductions usually involve talking, you two.”

They eventually stood shoulder to shoulder, their hands moving from their chins to their hips as they side-glanced each other, confirming their assessments.

Finally, Timmy spoke, “She’s really pretty.”

Melvin’s face brightened up, the whites of her mask widening in excitement, “That’s what I was thinking!”

Cass chuckled, her eyes lighting up as she briefly met Raven’s gaze, “Thanks.”

She gasped as Timmy clambered over her legs until he practically sat in her lap. The Bat looked down, not even trying to stifle her laughter, “Hello again.” His freckles scrunched up with his nose as he asked, “Are you and Momma in love?”

Raven smiled, biting her lip as she leaned down to kiss her girlfriend’s temple, “We are.” Not one to be outdone, Melvin poked her head up and rested her chin on Cass’ shoulder. Her big blue eyes were surprised, but undeniably pleased, “I’m glad. Momma doesn’t usually make the best choices.”

“Oh?” Cass leaned back with her weight on her palms, letting both kids balance in her lap. Out of the corner of her eye she noted how Raven’s face contorted in the cutest way, her confusion palpable.

“Well, Momma doesn’t have the best praf–” Melvin paused, trying to remember the word. She glanced at her brother and then her mother’s girlfriend, “No, pref-something? Like the kinds of the stuff that you like?”

Cass timidly smiled, guessing, “Preferences?”

“Well, yeah! Hers aren’t the best.” Glancing at the demoness’ bewildered face, she leaned in to whisper loud enough for the whole room to hear, “When it’s snowing she drinks tea instead of hot cocoa!”

The fake Prince Zuko gasped, holding a hand to her chest in shock, “No.”

Melvin nodded eagerly, her blonde hair bouncing at the move, “Yes!” Glad that someone with good taste was listening, the mini Robin added, “And she thinks Luigi’s mustache is better than Mario’s!”

That got the superpowered woman grumbling into Teether’s hair, “Luigi’s is more aerodynamic…”

Timmy piped up, “And she thinks uncle Roy’s soul patch is stupid!”

Melvin opened her mouth then paused, hesitating. “Well, it is… But that’s not the point!” Looking back at Cass, the girl shrugged, “We just thought Momma’d date someone sorta ugly.”

Raven made a choked sound but the kids ignored her. Cass bit her lip, not bothering to hide her smirk as the girl hastened to explain, “But you’re really pretty! I’m glad we’re not sharing kisses with someone who is ugly.”

“Well, yeah.” Timmy nodded eagerly, “We’re cute, so Momma needs to date someone cute.”

Snorting, the empath sat down next to Cass, leaning her weight on the shorter woman’s shoulder. Her amethyst gaze slid over her kids, curious but concerned, “Where exactly is all this vanity coming from?”

Timmy pouted and slumped against Cass, looking at his sister as she countered, “Aren’t we cute?”

“That wasn’t my question.”

Cass stayed quiet, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from spreading. Still, she couldn’t stay quiet; not when Raven was doing her best ‘Mother Arctic Hen’ routine, “I think all four of you are cute,” she chimed in.

Teether babbled in agreement and Timmy eagerly nodded, beaming up at the woman. Melvin stretched out and rested her cheek against Raven’s, wriggling her shoulders and poking her mother’s cheek. Raven rolled her eyes, although a smile slid onto her face, “I think all four of you are cute, too. Some more prone to vanity, but still very cute.”

Clearing her throat, Cass rested her chin on Timmy’s head, “You know what cute people need?” Four pairs of bright eyes looked at her and the Bat grinned, mouthing the word, Candy.

As if they’d suddenly remembered exactly why they were dressed up (and horrified that they’d somehow forgotten), all three kids perked up, the two oldest getting to their feet and running for their Endless Pillowcases. Raven set Teether down and he tottered towards the door, futilely reaching for the handle.

Within thirty seconds all three were hovering near the door. Cass quickly joined them, her brows jumping up as the youngest reached up at her. They all turned as Raven reappeared, three lollipops in her hand.

A lazy smirk curled her lips as she gave Melvin the strawberry and Timmy the blue raspberry, “No eating the candy you get until we get back home, but you can start with this.”

She kissed Cass’ cheek and handed her the green apple, giggling as the Bat questioned, Candy pregaming?

“Yup. Otherwise they’ll eat everything as they get it and end up sick.”

Humming at her girlfriend’s wisdom, chocolate eyes turned to the baby of the group, free of any candy. “Oh,” Cass tilted her head to the side, easily shifting Teether on her hip until he blinked up at her, “No lollipops for you?”

The toddler shook his head and pointed at the keys hanging from the frame. Hearing Raven’s snickers as she unlocked the door, the Bat remembered his powers, grabbed a bronze key and let him take a bite. Smiling as she grabbed his pillowcase, Cass followed the other three out the door.

She watched as Melvin and Timmy pranced around, practically leaping as they skipped towards the elevators. “You four are getting along well,” Raven murmured quietly, warmly; although Cass knew her girlfriend well enough. The undertones of happiness and relief were buzzing just out of reach; obviously the mage hoped that she and the kids would get along well, but actually seeing it was a surprise.

The firebender bumped the healer with her hip, winking as they stepped into the elevator. Raven let out a breath, her contentment filling the elevator as she grinned down at her kids, “You three ready for some official trick-or-treating?”

Melvin bounced on the heels of her pixie boots, “Yeah!” Timmy smiled as he tried to find the bottom of his pillowcase, amazed that it really was endless. “D’you think we’ll get lots of candy?” He peered up at Cass, his face hopeful.

“Don’t worry. I know the best places,” Cass winked at the boy, easily popping the lollipop into her mouth.

“Do they have king-size candy bars?!”

The Bat held her hands a foot apart, grinning as the children screamed.

#cassrae #my goth wife's kids #cassandra cain #raven #tt melvin #tt timmy #tt teether #trick or treat #🎃🎃🎃#asked and answered #anon #anon i am SO SORRY #you asked me this on the last day of AUGUST (i know bc i made note when i first started writing) and i just... didn't write #like it STILL isn't trick or treating.. don't know why im haven't been in a spooky mood #im aesthetically spooky this year. not actually spooky #but! writing cass and the kids interacting is opening up some ideas... some really good ones ohmygoodness #technically making cass their other mom... making bruce a grandpa... maybe even add to the magic fam au??? GRANDPA CONSTANTINE!!!#oh boy this opened the floodgates #i can tell #ill rant about the possibilities later. right now i gotta keep this writing streak up. get some shit done #whatever anon whoever you are i hope you're having a spooky hallow's eve and that you like this #💕💕💕#fun fact just bc you waited so long: that ugly vs cute convo? i experienced it (from the outside ofc) once. i was babysitting these kids #their mom came home with her bf and they just looked at me and fucking asked me 'isn't he kinda ugly? like we're cute but hes.. not #OHMYGOODNESS i just kinda shrugged and shuffled away to get my money while their mom started chastising them #(if you want closure i mean he was kinda cute but he was like 50 so.... maybe not my type but definitely your mom's kiddos)#anywho lemme post this officially before midnight bc im time zone is so late

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