#ali and his friends are child soldiers

[onglai]

MATA is shady

I like the agency and all, but boy, aren't they scary

First off, the first thing General Rama decided to do after Ali got his hand on IRIS was to execute him before Bakar (and Jenny) intervened. And even then Ali was considered the agency's, and I quote, "property". That's illegal.

Secondly, while it's not explicitly said, MATA is a child soldiers factory. They're training children to fight their war whether inside Cyberaya or outside.

And third and lastly, by using Protokol Gegas as an excuse, they can abandon those child soldiers who've been nothing but loyal to them just because a mission doesn't go their way. While this is a noble moral code, again I repeat that literal children are expected to carry this code as we've seen during S1E7. Right on the next episode, even General Rama admitted that he was grateful Ali wasn't a good agent and had disobeyed a direct order because he wanted to save Alicia.

Bear in mind that MATA is Cyberaya's military first and foremost, founded and funded by none other than Dato' Othman to protect Cyberaya from threats. They're not created as a justice system like the police is. They're just there for Cyberaya's interest and could care less about people's plight such as the Pinggiran.

...okay, I've cooked enough. Time to sleep

[harrowharkwife]

the transcript for 615 isn't out yet so my sleuthing abilities are somewhat limited but i cannot believe how heavyhanded they were last night! about not only the running theme of eddie & time, but also the running theme of buck & luck.

we clocked (ha) the eddie & time theme awhile back, but if you rewatch s5&s6, there's a running theme of luck, too, and it's centered squarely around buck. it's a little quieter, sure, but it's absolutely there.

something about the way that eddie's root traumas all stem from the pressure he was under, this persistent pressure to grow up faster than he should have. an hourglass turned over and the sand running out, minutes and seconds falling grain by grain from cradle to grave. man of the house by age twelve, a husband and father and soldier by nineteen, a widow by twenty six. he's lived a remarkable amount of life in a remarkably short time, if you think about it. but he never had the time or the chance to point his life in a new direction, stuck on a set of predetermined tracks and speeding milestone to milestone through a life of inevitable conclusions and preset outcomes he never had the chance to choose, living his life for others instead of for himself, feeling like he's running out of time, like his window of opportunity to live authentically for himself is slipping out of reach. he's spent his whole life racing the clock, really- can i just get a little damn time?

something about the way that buck's root traumas all stem from this tumbling domino effect of misfortune, one stroke of horrible, tragic, no-good luck after another. daniel's leukemia, strike one. neither maddie nor margaret nor phillip being a match, one helluva strike two. baby buck's bone marrow graft, just...not taking, despite everything? strike three. he was born to be a 'miracle baby.' but that's the funny thing about miracles, isn't it? when you try to engineer them, all the luck runs out. so he grew up unlucky in love, unlucky in friends, unlucky in family. feeling, rightly or wrongly, like he was always the odd man out, always the one being left, always the one clinging to whatever good, bright, shiny, lucky little thing he can find, forever trying to make sense of his place in this world. of course he feels like he cheated death- in a sick, sad, tragic way, he was essentially born in a desperate attempt to cheat the looming spectre of daniel's. (of course it's understandable that parents will do anything in their power to save their child, of course the buckley parents should have gone about it better, these two things can coexist). when your life so far has been a series of unfortunate events, of course you're going to spend it chasing down every opportunity you see through your rose colored glasses to try and change that luck- even if it's too good to be true. even when the universe is screaming at you. even with a million red flags waving in the Santa Ana winds. it's a run of bad luck, but it'll turn around tomorrow. // feels like the bracelet didn't change her luck, it just made the bad luck more apocalyptic.

something about one in a million chances. something about beating the odds, surviving despite it all. something about the way that the tsunami AND the shooting AND the lighting strike are all the definition of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

something about jinxes, and curses, and dumb luck. 'cause what is fate, anyway, if not time and luck intertwined?

now feels like a good time to remind ourselves of the last words buck and eddie exchanged before the shooting. before the moment where everything changed.

eddie: should have gotten here sooner.

buck: nah, that kid's just lucky to have met you.

something about all those funny little sayings we have about love - right person, wrong time (abby?). right time, wrong person (ali?). wrong person, wrong time (taylor?).

(only took three tries to get it right.)

and then maybe, finally, when the timing is right, if you get a little lucky-

right time, right person. and so much love.

[beyondmistland]

Hello! I’m a fan of the Alysanne Maegor-Daughter AU!

I wanted to ask what headcanons you have about the women around Alysanne. Her mother, grandmother, ladies in waiting of the court, her Septa, Maegor’s other wives, etc. Female relationships are a bit lacking in ASOIAF. I hope Alysanne has friends.

I know GRRM took some inspiration from Henry VIII for Maegor’s wives, but sometimes it’s a little hard to see? Ceryse’s definitely Catherine of Aragon. So I imagine her to be well-educated, pious, and a have a strong bond with her daughter. With the other wives it’s a little more surface level stuff connecting them to RL figures.

I'll focus mainly on Ceryse, because she's the one I've thought about the most.

I imagine Ceryse as being highly intelligent and highly opinionated. A woman of culture and learning who can talk circles around most people, including her in-laws.

Given the fact Ceryse is ten years older than Maegor I also imagine she didn't put up with his shenanigans and made it very clear from the beginning she wasn't afraid of him, which I honestly think would have impressed him as much as it would have infuriated him. (There is no doubt in my mind Maegor would have bragged about marrying an older woman.)

Beyond that, I imagine Ceryse as being both very proud (or haughty according to Alyssa Velaryon) and very pious (or zealous again according to Alyssa Velaryon), two traits she would very much inculcate in her daughter and only child. ("You are the blood of Old Valyria AND Oldtown. Dragons bend to your will just as the Citadel and the Starry Sept bend to my father, your grandfather. Don't ever forget that, Alysanne. And don't you EVER let anyone else forget that either.")

Finally, I imagine Ceryse as being very adept when it comes to matters of etiquette and propriety (not unlike Alicent in the future). To use a description I came up with for one of the queens in my discarded epic fantasy setting, The Gray Compendium, "she wields courtesy like a lance and woe to the fool who dares to tilt with her."

I imagine, like Catherine of Aragon, Alysanne was close to her mother and that, by extension, she hated her father's other wives (though the bulk of said hatred would be reserved for Alys Harroway and Tyanna).

I also imagine Ceryse would not fail to surround Alysanne with a court and ladies-in-waiting of her own, as much to give her daughter a support system as to one-up Alyssa Velaryon. Naturally, some of those ladies-in-waiting would be daughters of Hightower vassals or personal friends of Ceryse. (The Velaryons and Hightowers being rivals throughout Targaryen history with the Baratheons occasionally shoving their way in-between is one of my dearer alterations to canon.)

Ceryse would definitely leave behind a treasure trove of correspondence for historians (down with the Citadel's monopoly!) to sift through. (I wouldn't be surprised if Ceryse' septa or even Alysanne herself wrote a biography of Ceryse's life.)

Ceryse and Visenya would have a...queer relationship. (Queer in the original sense of the word.) You wouldn't expect them to get along but they do, even if it isn't exactly the warmest of family ties.

Ceryse HATES Alys Harroway. Part of it is the whole polygamy issue but another aspect I imagine is that Alys and Ceryse are polar opposites with little to nothing in common. Ceryse' idea of comedy is a witty word pun or an obscure bit of religious/historical trivia, Alys' bawdy tavern jokes, the cruder the better. When Ceryse wants to display annoyance or anger her voice drops an octave, Alys will shout at the top of her lungs. Whereas Ceryse always maintains a certain amount of distance (befitting her station in her mind) Alys freely mingles with people of lower rank, even (*gasp*) smallfolk. You won't ever catch Ceryse eating with her hands or breaking a nail but Alys will gather firewood for soldiers on the march and bandage their wounds. On the other hand, Ceryse is the kind of person who prefers to keep her charity secret. Indeed, I imagine what drew Maegor's eye to Alys is that she has the same self-conviction as Ceryse while being otherwise completely different, a novelty Maegor obviously couldn't resist.

Ceryse FEARS Tyanna and for good reason. She sees Tyanna for what Tyanna is. The biggest threat to Alysanne (and Maegor).

I don't have much to say on Jeyne Westerling and Elinor Costayne other than that they both would have liked Alysanne and her them (after some initial frostiness of course).

Thanks for the question, anon

[ladystarksneedle]

When night comes

(An Alys rivers fic-let. Alys x Aemond if you squint)

Warnings: Mentions of blood, gore, death, child loss.

Word count: 1292

When night comes, the scorched earth breathes a sigh of relief, a temporary reprieve from the all consuming fires since dawn. The rivers hiss, with smoke billowing through every brook, shrouding the clear sky in a cloudy haze. The sky is silent for a while, before a lone raven perched on the castle weirwood caws, alerting her of his arrival before she can hear the leathery flap of wings and the giant gust of accompanying wind rattling the windows. Vhagar is a mighty beast of a time long gone. Austere and ferocious with a fire lurking underneath, much like her rider. Clad in night black armour dusted with soot, the night seems to welcome him into her embrace, save for the silver strands of his braid which gives him away. His hair shines like the stars littered through the night sky though he’s much like the moon himself. With his waxing and waning temper, his sharp edges and imperfections, his presence feels ethereal. He’s like an eclipse, threatening to consume everything in his path. As he descends from his mount, the soldiers shrink away, parting like the clouds he glides through all day, as he makes his way to her. She has never been one to cower, however caught in the piercing gaze of his lone eye she feels a chill pass through her.

She’s always been told she has a piercing gaze. Whispers have followed her around Harrenhal, about her evasive and chilling demeanor, casting her as an eerie and sentient creature. She’d never understood what it truly meant till she saw him. He carries himself with a confidence known to her. She’s seen all kinds of men in the life she’s lived. Proud and miserly, angry yet cowardly men, confident yet craven beneath, but never before has she seen the likes of him, in possession of such surety in himself inspite of having an insight into his upcoming doom. It takes a different kind of person to know how their life will end and to live each day with a renewed purpose and vigor directed at achieving their destiny. She’d considered herself special for a time, having the ability to see and hear mysterious things, which had been with her as long as she could remember. The voices were a part of her very being, shrouding her in an embrace of darkness and detachment. She’d made her peace with the life she was supposed to live and the purpose she was yet to fulfil, however she didn’t always possess the same level of determination that she now had . Long ago, when she was first confronted with her reality, she had been scared and unsure. She’d sought out a friend, a lover who she’d bared herself to, body and mind which had ultimately turned out to be a mistake. Fear ended up clouding whatever he’d felt for her, leaving her with no choice but to take measures to ensure it wouldn’t take root. Harrenhal was known for its curses and strong emotions had a way of seeping into its walls. You could get struck at any moment and fear was an emotion ever round the corner, waiting to creep in and wreak havoc on the minds of simple men. The impact of her actions was lasting. He had been a pleasant fellow, well liked by some of the kitchen maids despite knocking up a scullery maid on the side during the time she’d spent with him. How she’d managed to miss that, given her keen powers of observation, was an insult still fresh after many years. Nevertheless he’d turned up at the back of the stables a week later, rotting and being picked at by the ravens she’d come to admire. She’d stuck to herself after that, mostly. Granted she had lovers at times, even a husband, droll and harmless as he was, but her soul had been locked and thrown into an abyss since that incident. She considered herself a part of the Widows tower for much of her time afterwards, having lost child after child followed by her husband, soon forgotten by the castle, drifting and endlessly alone.

She’d realised later on that it wasn’t death that had come for her soul, as punishment for her revenge, rather she’d been asleep, resting and lying in wait for the fulfilment of her future. The first sign had arrived in the form of a red beast with the shrillest roar which almost shook the castle walls. A vision in black and red, this stranger of the night, a veteran of many a battle fought had sought refuge with her, not in the way she had preferred, but she’d had his ear for a time, to know it was time for her soul to wake.

“Blood calls to blood”. An old saying she’d read eons ago, upon which she’d pondered over time, seeking the answer out in places any normal person would be unwilling to. Summoning and enchanting, men, women and creatures of all kinds, trying to find the key to what lay ahead along with a moment of solitude, reprieve from the screams of the night she’d become used to, but to no avail.

The Rogue’s presence had been a welcome balm to her inner turmoil. He was as unpredictable as the wind, like a demon waiting to strike from the shadows, chaotic but calculated, enough to unnerve even her. She was glad in the end, when he took his leave. As much as he was a part of her future, she’d grown to miss the voices of warning in her head and his was not the blood which called to her.

Her soul singed nearly a year later. Wreckage. Carnage. The screams and horror did nothing but excite her that fateful night. The rivers of blood that flowed through the hallways, the terror that seized the castle made her more feel alive than she’d ever felt.

“When the weirwood weeps rivers of blood,

Burning flames shall lick the barren,

Till the eye which brings the flood,

A new strength to lift the famine.”

She felt as if she’d seen the light that night, illuminating the walls with swatches of white intermixed with red. She stood at the side as women wailed and cursed, silently observing the vision before her with a hidden smile. He’d noticed her shortly, regarding her with a raised brow and had asked that she brought to him. She’d fought the urge to cower, not out of fear but out of what was to come. He was a man of few words, her dragon, both then as he was now. He didn’t like delays and meaningless placation and her pleas were often left verbally unanswered. Touch had always been enough for them to fill each other’s presence, glances and grasps through the night, threatening to consume the fire which burned within both of them. The voices never hushed after him, much unlike she’d anticipated. She could feel their pull, even more so, whenever she lay with him, distorted screams chanting the same thing over and over again. In the aftermath of their own carnage she’d tell him all that she’d seen and heard and he’d hum is approval as he traced patterns onto her bare arms. In the night they could bask in the pull of the unknown, in the relishment of flesh with the hanging knowledge of their fates. Dawn as it broke again, would bring fire and unrelenting fury. The famine would not be quenched till the flames threatened to burst through her.

“When night comes, hold your dragon close.

As debt comes due,

Enemies shall arise anew.

And cursed azure shall guard the shadows.”

Harrenhal would have a new dragon soon.

[screwzara]

"You've been doing this since you were younger than me, haven't you abang?"

Only years of fighting literal aliens in battle kept Boboiboy from flinching. He turned around to come face to face with one of his oldest friends, well turned his head down. Ali was at least 15cm shorter, a fact that he forever loved to tease the younger boy about.

"Doing what?" Boboiboy asked sarcastically. They've know each other for more than half their lives-he knows Ali well enough to know that the conversation they're about to have is going to be emotionally taxing. Even if it's unhealthy or unproductive (Yaya's words not his) there's a part of him that wants to delay it as much as possible.

But Ali, strong, brave, stubborn-far too much like him Ali bin Ghazali doesn't let that happen. "Being a hero," Ali's voice is hard in a way that reminds him too much of the way his Dad's would shake after waking up screaming in the night, while speaking in hushed voices with his Mom and Mechabot when they think he's sleeping. The walls of their house were never that thick.

"Why," he asks, and stupidly he feels his eyes burn and throat tighten, "Why would you do this? It's not a game, Ali. You could get hurt."

"Of course I know it's not a game," Ali declares, voice cracking in the middle like boys on the cusp of puberty do, the same way his voice did just a few years ago, "I'm not a little kid, okay? Abang please I'm not stupid, you know I'm not. I know what you do is just as dangerous and scary. How do you think I felt whenever you got hurt? Don't ask, don't tell. We promised each other that after Mama died, but I feel like we should break it."

Boboiboy feel his heart break even more when he sees the tears building in the younger boys eyes. They did promise each other that. If you won't tell, I won't ask. It was unconventional with every other adult preaching honesty is the best policy, but they both knew somethings were just too awful to speak about. With parents that were the space version of ambassadors/soldiers, and a newly widowed dad and Uncle pulling away farther and farther each year. They both needed to talk about things that weren't stressful.

It would be hypocritical to be angry at Ali for doing the same thing he did when he was even younger. Didn't mean he almost didn't go into heart failure at the thought of his adik fighting with bloody weapons.

"If you're going to do this," Boboiboy says, voice somehow both resigned and hopeful, "Just promise me something, okay?"

Ali eyes are wide and shining while he nods, but not without the same weight his hold. He looks so young that it makes finding out he's a spy-a child soldier even more heartbreaking. But what can he say when he is but the same just doing it in space, with superpowers.

He can only hope Ali stays safer than him.

"Promise me," Boboiboy says, voice taut with the fact he knows Ali can't keep this promise, no matter how much he wants him too, "You won't die before me." A tear falls down his pale face as he says it.

Ali rears back, shocked. Before a sad look appears on his too young to be fighting, to be killing face. "You know I can't, abang."

He knows, God he knows. Just like he couldn’t promise Ali that he wouldn't get hurt while on his "job". He's not naive enough to think simple words from a mildly traumatised teenager can keep someone safe, as if casting a protective spell over them.

But....

Boboiboy crosses the barely 1m distance between him and Ali in barely a minute. Then engulfs him in a hug only the hecking apocalypse could tear apart. Ali holds just as tight.

"I can still dream, adik."

*sobs into my arms* omg omg omg-

This is.. i... i can't.. *screams*

I can just hear the pain in their voices as they have this conversation(and i see what you did there, taking full advantage of my mention of them seeing each other as their brothers)

I'm loving these, thank you *cries my heart out as i reread it*

[therooftopsofketterdam]

closed starter for @thiefofcrows

Where were you? I didn't know where you were... I didn't know if you... I don't need a weak link in my crew.

The words still lingered in her mind. The worried almost, crack of his rasp and the coldness that followed. It had settled in the mid of her stomach and coiled itself tight. A tension Inej was able to ignore until now. Until the Neshyenyer had placed it's final cut, slicing the shadows and driving them out.

Sankta Alina was safe. The Darkling was dead. Zoya and Nina stood by her side. That was all that mattered. They had won and despite the waryness in her bones and the safety of the blade against her back the coil in her stomach tightened as she walked alongside her comrades back to the palace grounds. Back to where they had left Wylan, Jesper... and Kaz.

Inej wasn't one to linger on words that were used to inflict pain. She'd had enough pain to last more then several life times. Her heart was set on making good on the promise she'd whispered to the Saints before departing on this journey.

Every abducted child, woman or man, all the people and indentures kept against their will would have a Wraith. She would retrace her steps, go and find her brother, then, together they would hunt down the slavers that took them from their family and their home.

When their small group finally reached the top of the hill and began their descent the acrobat caught sight of a familiar silouhette. Long, crisply tailored coat, straight stance, hand on his cane. Sharp lines and tailored edges. The coil inside her drew tighter as she watched him turn and stopped in his movement when their eyes met. It was gone before she could form thoughts about it. Inej turned away from him, stopping next to Sankta Ali... Alina to pass the Neshyenyer blade on to it's rightful owner. She felt almost naked without the swords weight against her back, but it had never belonged to her. It was fit for a Saint, not a Wraith.

After all words were spoken and all the promises exchanged, there was only one place left to go.

Inej made her way to her friends, past the rubble of a horrible battle, past fallen soldiers, past the survivors. She looked up to see Kaz looking at her glacier grey eyes warming to an almost cerulean, like sun hitting water and chasing away a storn. The coil inside her unraveled. She was home, with the people she called family, the boy she had so foolishly come to care for right there. Her lips called into a smile. They deserved a win.

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba @dogblessyoutascha

Part Fourty-Three

Summary:  Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a  lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of  mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to  irritate him every other century

Also on AO3

Merula bowed low. Queen Inari Konte returned the gesture, and motioned for her to join her.

‘Cairo suits you, your Majesty.’

‘Of course!’ Queen Inari smiled. ‘I am at home wherever I go.’

Her servants laughed around them. The Malian ruler had brought a retinue of five hundred serving women with her; they had moved into an adjoining section of the Qarafa district to her husband Mansa Musa, and had wasted no time in turning it into their own private paradise.

Merula leant back on the gilded lounge she had been directed to, and accepted a cup of wine from one serving girl as another began massaging her feet. Merula flinched inwardly, but allowed it.

‘You disapprove of slaves?’

Perceptive. ‘I am in the minority,’ Merula said.

‘And I thought perhaps the rumours were untrue. A rich woman who employs servants and eschews slaves.’ Queen Inari leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. ‘I look forward to seeing all the other contradictions in the secret ruler of this land.’

________________________________________________________________

When the caravan eventually left two months later – all 60,000 of them – they left catastrophe in their wake.

'Say that again.' Merula said, slowly.

'His majesty gave away 71,000 pounds of gold.' Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Amir Hajib was almost in tears. 'Children, soldiers, citizens. He was handing it over to beggars in the street!'

'The gold is worthless now,' Merula muttered to herself. Then she straightened.

'Is there nothing we can do?'

'Short of burying it in a hole in the ground, no, nothing.' The govenor of Cairo shook his head forcefully.

'..how long will this affect us?' Merula asked, turning towards her wife. She watched Ishtar's expression grow more and more grim as she pronounced sums to herself.

'Years.' Ishtar said, firmly. 'And we will not be the only ones affected. This will ripple out and spill across the world.'

Merula felt a knot forming between her shoulder blades. She resisted the urge to sigh and drew herself up straighter.

'We will go together to tell the sultan that his economy is ruined.'

Abu relaxed a little.

'In the meantime..pray for a miracle.'

________________________________________________________________

'Bless you for your assistance.' Pain flickered briefly across Queen Inari's face. 'We have been much troubled by recent events.'

The caravan that returned to Cairo from Mecca was quite different. Tales of starvation and bandit raids passed around, and Mansa Musa had humbly admitted to Sultan Al-Nasir that he had run out of money.

'You have been generous beyond measure to Cairo and her people,' Merula said, 'It was my pleasure to assist.'

And ease the burden on the economy.

Merula had made a point to gently corral the visiting monarchs into loans with a lower rate of interest than they perhaps would have found on their own. It was going to come back to bite her when they repaid, but in the meantime she had breathing room.

'The sultan has passed along many gifts also. Between the two of you I feel confident our journey home will be a comfortable one.'

Queen Inari smiled warmly.

'You must visit us soon. To share the splendour of our country with your family; it would be a memory I would treasure.'

'I hope you will treasure your memories of your visit to Cairo!'

'Of course!' Queen Inari took Merula by the hands and gently squeezed them. 'I have always valued the moments when I make a new friend.'

________________________________________________________________

'...the gold has arrived.'

Merula sighed.

'Do you suppose he knows that he has hurt us?' Ishtar linked arms with her as they made their way through the palace complex.

'Almost certainly. He is a smart man, and Mali has riches to share and then some. This has been a calculated attempt to upset everyone else and let his people thrive.'

'And if it was not?'

'Then Mansa Musa is the most generous rich man I have ever met.'

They stopped in front of a baggage train of armed guards and camels; Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Amir Hajib stopped loudly directing the men this way and that and turned to look at them.

'Try to convince His Majesty to keep the gold deep in a vault, as cushioning for lean times.'

'Is there a backup plan?' Abu asked.

Merula nodded.

'Start digging.'

Author's Notes

Mansa Musa and Inari Konte were the rulers of the Mali Empire, circa 1312 to 1337. In 1324 they went on Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca, stopping in Cairo on their way. Mansa Musa is considered to be the wealthiest person in history, with an estimated net worth of 900 billion US. Puppet History did a special on his Haj to Mecca:

"...Musa and his entourage lingered in Mecca after the last day of the Hajj. Traveling separately from the main caravan, their return journey to Cairo was struck by catastrophe. By the time they reached Suez, many of the Malian pilgrims had died of cold, starvation, or bandit raids, and they had lost many of their supplies."

"Having run out of money, Musa and his entourage were forced to borrow money and resell much of what they had purchased while in Cairo before the Hajj, and Musa went into debt to several merchants such as Siraj al-Din. However, Al-Nasir Muhammad returned Musa's earlier show of generosity with gifts of his own." (Wikipedia).

Allegedly Mansa Musa didn't know what his generosity had done to Cairo's economy and the world's. But it could also have been a deliberate attempt to undermine the world gold market so that Mali would rise to the top of the global economy.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s12e17 the british invasion (w. eugenie ross-leming, brad buckner)

trying to reserve judgement but 30 seconds in a flipped back to football when i tried this yesterday. let me count the ways i do not care about bmol backstory. glad to see eileen again

are you fucking kidding me. children have to battle to the death at the fancy magic school. quite possibly the least believable premise for traumatic backstory starter they could have thrown out there

sam really leaning into dean's space there lol

so american mol were just this chill little group of dorky researchers but british mol are this child crushing machine to churn out good little soldiers? mommy's blunt little instruments?

DR HESS Then let me make it blisteringly simple. We don't have time to court a handful of mangy Colonials. Not anymore. So either Sam and Dean and the rest of their ill-bred lot learn to obey, or you turn them over to Mr. Ketch... and start fresh. MICK Look, I don't think... DR HESS This is not a discussion. It's an order. Are you hearing me, Michael? Assimilate or eliminate.

this is so.... ridiculous. cliche, out of left field. really not gonna beat the "we're out of ideas" rap. speaking of, was trying to explain this season's plotlines to my friend and had the sudden brainwave of OF COURSE i know who the product of the lucifer kelly KLINE union is. typing out the name had me 🤦lol

SAM Hey, you talk to Mom lately? MICK Oh, shouldn't worry about your mum. Her and Ketch make quite the team. DEAN Would you want your mom working with him? MICK Well, I can't say. I never really knew my mum. Or my dad. I was on the streets till the Men of Letters found me.

oh a street urchin too! *adds to the pile*

WHY ARE YOU LICKING THE FLOOR'S PUSSY LIKE THAT I AM SO DISTRESSED. the licking was enough to make me cover the screen but the moaning i wasn't expecting 😭 dear lord. ace thing/me thing but my faves doing sex scenes weirds me out and this might have been worse lol way too much like actual sex

LUCIFER I figured out the rules of the house, and…well, all things considered, think I'd rather be here than rotting in the Cage with my drooling, insane – and not in a fun way – little bro Michael.

how did he manage to break michael? i'll be generous and assume it's a lie along with the whole "you win" business

so is mary humanizing mr ketchup or gonna fuck him or what

CROWLEY My loyal…ish subjects, these troubled times, I'm aware there might be some confusion as to where you're supposed to place your loyalty. Even with Lucifer back in the Cage, there are those of you who would try to help him… because he scares you or engorges you.

ew :p

i don't think even mark pellegrino can save this tired little game we're playing again

padalecki, please, no with the bad accent

very pretty lighting and backdrop

eileen accidentally killing sniveling bootheel of the machine so mick can overcome some childhood murderous brainwashing? and set up conflict with the mothership?

(yes to the fucking mr ketchup and she's gonna Have It All *beanie toss*)

ok.

(script)

wasn't sure if that was swoony over the flirting or freaked out, so i guess it was supposed to be swoony

his plotline is frustrating me but goddamn pellegrino is so good at making lucifer genuinely, distressingly creepy

ah so the plot conflict with bmol and an emotional beat for eileen. twofer

does the flirtation business ever go anywhere with eileen? i will admit that ellen eileen jody donna all kind of blur in my head from what i've read in fic (side characters that generally aren't involved in what i'm reading except very briefly that may have a familial-ish relationship with the boys, as i might them in the show i have small oh moments)

(oh the actress who plays dagon, ali ahn, was in 27 out of 36 episodes of the path, which i briefly tried to watch because hugh dancy is in it but it was a little too topical for my tolerance at the moment)

DR HESS These Hunters are out of control. The brothers Winchester, in particular, which Lady Bevell has exhaustively documented.

so fancy, brothers winchester. the whole moral high ground lady this is trying to sell is so fucking dumb because yeah forcing children to murder each other, they're totally better than the monsters! pick something else, writers, because this is just asinine

redemption arc for mick complete, time to shuffle him off this mortal coil ofc

DR HESS The grand experiment recruiting American Hunters has failed. Utterly. KETCH Mm. What would you like me to do? DR HESS Exterminate them. Every...last...one.

comically bad. where's your pet cat and eye patch

look they keep trying to reach cas and nothing, because cas decided to pop off to heaven and not tell them. le sigh!

[pluttskutt]

— Meet The cast

·  Jake Nescio — Jake is an orphan and only survivor of his world. He's an agent in the wildlife branch and works documenting biotopes. Hasn't earned the rights to hold a gun; nor does he want to.

·  Isabella Nescio — Like Jake, she's an orphan but not the only survivor of her world. Also, like Jake, she's an agent in the wildlife branch so she can keep tabs on him because she has clearance to use guns.

·  Aish Khan — An agent; like their childhood friends. They're a scrapper, a pilot, and graduated at the top of their class. Doubles as a wildlife agent and working at the HQ.

·  Natalie Dahl — Not an agent, not a soldier, not a rebel, but a grounded space pirate. Both her and Jake are sole survivors of their respective worlds. She got magic from her deal as a Patron though. He's just human.

·  Birk — As Jake would say, "Beguiling", and Birk would be so weirded out by the word he wouldn't even say thanks. He's just a regular guy. Nothing but wood carver who doubles as a healer. He didn't ask for a black box to be dropped at his doorstep nor the consequences that followed.

·  Millie — Demon spawn. Puny brute. Energic child. Has a knack of just appearing out of nowhere but claims she can't control that. Jake takes her under his watchful eyes when it becomes evident no one is looking out for her.

·  Alis — Captain of her crew dubbed the Space Pirates by witnesses to their deeds. Attempts at capturing her has proven fruitless due to her magic and added habit of setting herself on fire.

[silverwings22]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 34: Ocean's Lament

Chapter warnings: near death experience, child endangerment Series Warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a

Previous Chapter:

Next chapter:

Shiani was definitely sure Phee was their friend now. Once they’d recovered from the horrifying scenario of an abused Zillo beast, she’d quietly called the pirate and asked if she needed any help. Their family needed the credits, and the distraction. 

She’d been good for it though, and offered them a cut of her next adventure. It was a simple pickup, but she needed muscle in some seedy bar to get the artifact she was after. Apparently the guy who currently had it was well known for double-crosses, poisoning, and the like.

For now, Shiani was in the Marauder with Tech, watching him play a game while using Gonky for a table. She smiled, chin on her hand, as he made a move. “Isn’t that a 2 person game?”

“Yes. I am playing against myself. It is the only time this game is a challenge.” He said mildly, looking at her as she sat sideways in the pilot seat. He’d been letting her fly more, to cheer her up after how upset she’d been following the Zillo beast incident. It had been days of her staring into space and refusing to leave his side, and as much as Tech enjoyed being the center of her attention he didn’t like when she was upset. Shiani was bubbly and vivacious, full of laughter and questions. Silence didn’t suit her. 

She made a face at him, but her eyes stayed soft. “I’m getting better at it.”

“You are. It now takes me an average of thirteen minutes to beat you. When you began, the average was three.” 

Shiani kicked her feet, humming as she looked over at the workbench. Her armor was disassembled and halfway through repair, but Tech hadn’t wanted to be so engrossed in working on it that he missed the others calling for their pickup. He’d insisted she stay on the ship until it was repaired, even though Omega had gone with the others. “Tech? How come I didn’t go with everyone else?”

His eyes flicked back up to her, the furrow in his brow smoothing the longer he looked at her. “You already know the answer to that. Your armor is damaged.”

“But Omega went. She’s a kid, and doesn't even wear armor.” 

Tech paused, considering her face. “When it was initially determined that you would remain with us, Hunter and I agreed I would take primary responsibility for you, while he took responsibility for Omega. As you can see, it has led to the very parental relationship Hunter has with Omega, and our marriage. I had the final decision on your participation in the mission, and I chose to have you remain here.”

“Even though you would be a better pilot?” She cocked her brow curiously. 

“The last time you were out of my sight on a mission, you acquired the damage on that armor. I have not forgotten that.” He shook his head. “I do not think I will, any time soon. My preoccupation with learning all that I could about that Imperial research vessel delayed my return, and in that time you could have been killed.”

She wrapped a tentacle around his wrist. “But I wasn’t.” 

“I would prefer you to remain close to me from now on.” He watched one of her suckers stick to the plate on the back of his hand. “Particularly during times of danger.”

She sighed. “I was thinking about that, before the Zillo. The danger.”

“Yes?” He frowned.

“What if we found somewhere to be? Without you being a soldier anymore? We could have a home and neighbors, and just… be a family. Watch Omega grow up… maybe get a pet. Omega says tookas are cute, but she thinks everything is cute…” 

Tech smiled, his thoughtful expression returning. He wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he’d never considered truly settling down before. Even when he’d thought about the end of the war before the Empire, he’d expected that he’d still end up doing something military related and living on the move. The idea of waking up in the same spot every day, watching how it changed around him, was appealing. “That is not an unpleasant idea. But I would like to discuss a list of suitable pets. Omega and Wrecker will otherwise bring home some kind of large predator.” 

Her eyes lit up with delight and she clapped her hands, swinging her legs around to sit upright. Tech chuckled as she leaned over Gonky, careful of the game pieces but still reaching for a kiss-

"Tech, we need a ride."

A faint groan curled in the back of Tech’s throat and he gave Shiani an apologetic look. "We are on the way." 

She chuckled and dropped back into the pilot’s seat, getting them up off the ground and to the rendezvous point. “Well, I’m glad you like the idea anyway. Think Hunter will?”

“His prerogative has been trying to find safety for Omega.” He got up as they moved in for a landing, leaning over to give her the denied kiss from a moment before. “I will be right back.”

Shiani grinned, holding the ship steady and opening the ramp for him as he posted up at the door and provided cover fire for the rest of the family and Phee. They darted aboard with smoke bomb debris clinging to them. “Secure!” Hunter yelled.

“Copy.” She grinned, shutting the ramp and taking off to avoid pursuit. 

Once they hit hyperspace, Omega ran over to Shiani and Tech to fill them in on the mission. They’d avoided being poisoned and killed a kohoun. Shiani grinned at the story, wiggling in her seat. “Aww, I could have eaten that.”

“They are toxic, my dear.” Tech shook his head with a wry smile. “And I thought we had agreed you would not eat insects. I still find it objectionable to kiss you afterwards.”

She scrunched her nose and nodded. “Fine. Did you get the artifact?”

Phee nodded, holding up a tree-shaped statue. “Sure did. Omega here did great.” 

“Training is coming along well.” Hunter nodded, patting the girl’s shoulder. 

Phee eyed him. “She still needs to learn things besides being a soldier, and to have some friends her own age that aren’t her brothers.” 

“I do not see the issue.” Tech raised an eyebrow.

Shiani leaned in, listening curiously to Phee. If she had an answer for them…

"We are getting a message from Cid…" Tech’s attention was caught by the ship holo, and he clearly didn’t like what he saw.

“Just a recording. Not live.” Shiani clarified to Hunter, who sighed and walked over to the back of her chair. 

“Put it through. I’m predicting threats.”  

The thrandoshan looked angry on the holo, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. "Twenty rotations without a peep. You guys better be dead, since I've lost out on a lot of scores in your absence. Don't forget our mutually beneficial relationship, or how well we know each other. You'd better believe I'm doing more than threatening you boys."

Shiani knew it was just a recording, but hissed at it anyway. “She thinks that’ll make us wanna come back?”

"I didn't know you guys cut ties with Cid." Phee frowned.

"That mutually beneficial relationship wasn't so beneficial mutually." Hunter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And I’m pretty sure if I take Shiani back to Ord Mantell, she’s gonna just bite her.” 

Phee looked concerned, but patted Shiani’s shoulder. "I've known Cid a long time. She's a good ally, but a dangerous enemy to have. What's your plan?"

Shiani hesitated before speaking up. “A home, Phee. Somewhere safe, where Omega can grow up. We can’t do this forever.” 

Hunter nodded immediately, remembering her comment of leaving behind a legacy of broken parts and broken bones. She’d been right, Omega deserved better.

Phee grinned. “I might have an idea, then. Here, make for these coordinates.” 

“Where are we going?” Shiani programmed the navi-computer as soon as Hunter gave her a nod.

"You’ll see. I think you’ll like it.” She patted Shiani’s shoulder. 

“Welcome to Pabu.” Phee grinned as the Havoc Marauder broke atmosphere on a pretty blue planet. There was one jutting landmass, a spiraling island plateau covered in green. “Land up top, I’ll show you around.”

“It’s beautiful.” Omega cooed, eyes wide, as Shiani set the ship down delicately in front of a tower-shaped building. “What’s that?”

“It’s the Archium. That’s where the artifacts go.” Phee ruffled her hair, and led the Batch out into the sunlight once the ramp opened.

"My calculations indicate that the artifact you recovered is worth very little monetary value." Tech looked up from scanning the statue in her hand. 

"There are different kinds of treasure. Many people on Pabu are refugees. These artifacts are parts of their culture, worth preserving." 

Shiani’s eyes sparkled. “Like the datacore on Serenno.” 

Tech nodded, and Omega beamed as she spotted a girl about her age running towards them. "Auntie Phee!" The girl was adorable, dark skinned with beautiful and expressive eyes, with a large man behind her. 

Phee knelt to give the girl a hug, gesturing to the man first.  "This is the mayor of Pabu, Shep Hazard. And his daughter Lyana."

Lyana beamed and went straight to Omega to introduce herself while Shep came and held out a large hand to shake theirs. “Welcome to Pabu. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“This is Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Shiani.” Phee laughed, patting each of them on the shoulder as she said their names. “The little one is Omega.”

“She’s their sister.” Shiani explained, before pointing to Tech. “I’m his wife.” 

"Phee has never brought friends home before." Shep looked at the siren with a kind smile, and she brightened when he didn’t so much as flinch at her claws when he shook her hand. 

"She must really like you guys." Lyana whispered loudly.

"That's enough out of you." Phee ruffled her hair, giving the group a grin. “But yeah. I do like them.” 

Shep nodded, giving them another welcoming smile. "Please, join us for dinner.”

Hunter nodded agreeably, looking around at the politely waving townspeople. They all seemed as nice as the Hazard family, and it seemed almost wild to him how quickly they were all accepted as the strangers went about their business. He was used to squinting suspicion from the regs on Kamino, or nervousness as a squad of armored soldiers moved. Even Shiani, who was forever getting side eyed, was greeted with nothing but smiles and waves. 

"Your people are refugees?" Hunter finally asked cautiously, and it dawned on him that they were likely not the first family to arrive carrying weapons and trauma on their backs.  

"Many are. But they're safe here. Many come to start new lives, and as a father there's no better place to raise a child." Shep looked from Omega to Hunter pointedly. Shiani did her best not to giggle as the man picked up on who was the parent immediately. 

She slipped her hand into Tech’s. “Nobody looks scared of us here.” She whispered. “I like it.”

“It is quite nice, yes.” Tech nodded, tightening his fingers over hers. Squish squish squish.  He hoped the idyllic setting didn’t turn out to be disappointing. She looked so happy.  

Shep led them to a large banquet table set up on his home’s balcony, looking out over the ocean and the spectacular views of Upper and Lower Pabu. The label was laden with food, more than even a group of Wreckers could have eaten, and all of it looked delicious. Shiani’s eyes got big at the different types of fish and fruit, her blue tongue poking past her lips. “Wow…”

“Make yourself at home, and have as much as you like.” Shep smiled, sitting down with them and passing serving dishes around.  

A greenish primate hopped onto Shiani’s shoulder as she took a bite of a blue fruit she didn’t recognize but thought smelled amazing. “Hello, creature.” She cocked her head to the side and broke off a piece of her food to share. 

“You’re not going to try to eat it?” Wrecker teased.

“No. Got plenty of food, I don’t need to eat this… whatever you are, you are cute.” Shiani blinked as the critter examined her head tresses and poked at the metal bands.

"They're called moon-yos. The elders say they've been here since before Pabu was inhabited." Lyana smiled, giving one a piece of her own fruit. “They’re friendly.”

The one on Shiani climbed down and went to Omega, cuddling up to her as it climbed her shoulders. She laughed out loud, and all of the family turned to look at her with soft expressions. She hadn’t sounded so relaxed and childlike in a while… far too long, in their collective opinion. 

Tech slipped his arm over Shiani and said exactly what they were all thinking. "I have not heard her laugh like that for a long time."

“Baby Mega’s happy.” She tucked her head against his shoulder. “No Empire.”

Phee was telling her newest stories to Shep while they ate. Hunter chimed in here and there with his own experience, the spokesperson for the Batch to sum up what they’d been through. Shiani kept looking around at the beautiful island, taking in the sinking sun and all the green plants. She overheard Shep mention that the Empire wouldn't have much use of the planet due to limited resources, and that many people came to Pabu to start over… it sounded nice. To wipe the slate clean, forget everything and begin again somewhere this beautiful.

“I’m… full.” Wrecker finally said. “I’m never full.”

“I will make a notation to mark this momentous occasion.” Tech smiled, pulling out his datapad to mark the calender. 

Lyana grinned at Omega. “Have you ever been on a boat? On the water, not a starship.” 

"No. Do you have your own boat?" Omega was giggling still, holding a flower crown Lyana had made her. 

"Yeah. Let's take it out to watch the sunset." Lyana offered her a hand with a broad grin. “We won’t go too far.”

"Hunter, can I go?" Omega turned around, leaning over the edge of the table to all but beg. 

For a moment, Hunter’s instincts said to tell her no. But then the realization that this was the safest place either of them had ever been dawned on him. She could be more independent here, without a threat breathing down her neck. "Have fun." He nodded with a roll of his shoulders.

She squeaked with delight and have him a hug before running off hand in hand with Lyana.

Phee tapped Tech on the shoulder subtly. “Hey. Go take her over there and watch. You won’t want to miss this.” She whispered, pointing to a corner of the balcony facing the setting sun. Tech glanced over, noticing strings of lanterns hung from streetside poles down the side of the walking paths, and nodded. Phee knew how much Shiani loved lights, and was wingmanning for him. She was a great friend.  “Cyar’ika, come here a moment.”  

Shiani followed obediently, letting him draw her to her feet and walk over to look out over the island. It was a perfect, golden sunset that shimmered over the water like molten gold. When she looked over at Tech, the sun struck his eyes at the perfect angle to light them up. Brown eyes were gorgeous in the sun, striations of amber and mahogany radiating like a miniature sunburst of their own, contained behind those yellow-tinted goggles. 

He noticed her gaze on him as the last rays of dying sunlight started to vanish, and in the purple of twilight the lanterns started to come on. “The view you are looking for is this way.” He chuckled, gently catching her chin and turning so she could watch the lights come on. 

Shiani gasped as the paper-lantern like coverings glowed, cozy and wholesome, and wrapped her arms around his middle to snuggle to his side. “It’s beautiful, Tech.” Her eyes drifted back up to him. “I still think you’re the better view, though.”

Tech’s fingers still lingered on her soft jawline, and he couldn’t resist the urge to pull her closer and kiss her softly. Shiani hummed into it, slowly pushing his googles up so she could cradle his entire face in both hands without bumping into them. They stood there, suspended in the almost fairy-tale quality of the moment with the fireflies and lanterns, lips moving languidly against each other like they had all the time in the galaxy. 

Here, it felt like they did. There was no danger, for once. There was nothing rushing or demanding of them, it was just peace. Shiani couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d felt it… Tech wasn’t sure he ever had.

“I like this place.” She breathed when they broke apart, smiling when his hand pressed on the small of her back to bring her a little closer. 

“I concur.” Tech smiled. “I would not be opposed to staying. Permanently.” 

She nodded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We can talk to Hunter in a min-” With a deep rumble, the island shook like a beast waking from a nap. People walking the footpaths let out gasps and cries, while the homes rattled and the pretty lanterns swung dangerously overhead.

"Something's coming." Hunter stood up from the table, senses on overdrive. "That wasn't just a tremor."

Tech turned around, grip tight on Shiani as he pulled out his datapad to consult it. “Mayor, I believe this island is in significant danger of a sea surge."

"We haven't had a sea surge in three decades." Shep blanched. 

Shiani frowned, looking back over the railing. The water was running from the shore, a phenomenon she’d seen more than once in the shadow of Tipoca City. “When the water runs away like that, it’s not escaping. It’s winding up to kick you very hard somewhere that hurts.”

"The early warning system-" Shep didn’t even finish the sentence before the siren wailed, and Shaini’s ears pinned back at the sound. 

"Baby Mega and Baby Lyana are on a boat. The water will throw it into the island." Shiani’s eyes widened and she looked at Hunter, stomach dropping to her boots with sudden horrifying realization. “They’ll be killed, along with anyone below the tidal line.” She’d seen sea surges before, and the massive damage they did to Tipoca. More than once, the bodies of clones and longnecks had come drifting down into the sliver of territory she inhabited. 

Hunter nodded. “Tech, take Shiani and Wrecker and start evacuating Lower Pabu. I’ll get the girls.” 

They split up, Hunter heading for the ship while the rest of them started knocking on doors and urging people to head for higher ground. Phee ran up as Tech looked anxiously at Shiani. “This is taking too long. Many citizens will not make it in time.”

“We can deploy the rescue ladders.” Phee pointed up to a ledge above them, a barely visible bit of metal showing under the battlements. “The mechanism is up there.”

Tech nodded, pulling out a dart line and held up his arm. Shiani wrapped herself around him immediately and he secured an arm around her waist, launching them up the wall on the line. “Hold on.”

Phee watched them, whistling slightly at the seamless way they moved into each other…. They were cute. If no one drowned, she’d be sure to tell them.

Shiani and Tech hopped over the wall and quickly started working at the mechanism that secured the rescue ladders. “It is rusted.”

Shiani nodded, grabbing her screwdriver from her hip bag. “Manual release. You start over there, meet in the middle.” 

The two of them worked at it as fast as possible, snatching the rusty levers into position one by one and sending the ladders tumbling down to the population below. People started climbing immediately, helping each other to safety. Shiani and Tech were joined at the top, offering hands and tentacles down to pull up people climbing. The wall of water was in sight, coming towards them like a sucker punch from nature, just as both of them yanked Wrecker up to salvation and he turned to grab Shep. 

Shiani looked around at the worried faces gathered around, glancing up as she spotted the lights of the Havoc Marauder heading back towards them. “Is everyone alright?” Wrecker called out, booming voice carrying. 

People nodded, some clinging to each other and sniffling but alive and unharmed. 

Shep sighed with relief as he determined they had miraculously not managed to lose anyone. “Property can be replaced…”

Tech nodded, looking up as Hunter landed their ship, and both Omega and Lyana came running out. Wrecker gave them a tight hug and walked them to the large tree in the middle of the square to rest. 

Shiani walked through the groups of refugees, listening to them talk and introduce themselves. Whenever someone looked stressed enough to cry, she knelt and sang softly. It didn’t take long for her to be noticed and people started bringing her their most shaken relatives. Tech couldn’t help but smile when, as a he handed an elderly woman a shock blanket from the ship, he spotted her sitting on the ground with a group of Pabu’s citizens with them all wiping their tears and smiling for the singing siren. 

He touched Hunter’s arm lightly. “She fits in quite well, don’t you think?”

Hunter nodded, glancing at where Wrecker had fallen asleep with the girls using him a pillow. 

"Thankfully, no one was hurt. My people are resilient, we'll rebuild." Shep clapped the sergeant on his arm.

“It will likely take many rotations to rebuild most of Lower Pabu. Most of the homes there were destroyed.” Tech pointed out.

"We could stay and help. If you don't mind us sticking around." Hunter looked at Shep thoughtfully.

"You would be most welcome." Shep glanced at Shiani again, smiling as she picked up a crying toddler in her tentacles and waved them in the air gently, singing until the tears turned into laughter. “And after the rebuilding too.”

Tech walked over to his bride as she returned the much happier little one to his mother. The sun was starting to rise, and the newly gold light spread blush tones over her purple skin. She cocked her head to the side and carefully extracted herself from the pile of cuddles she was getting for her impromptu concert. “Everything okay, Tech?”

“Better than okay, cyar’ika.” He pulled her to him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We will be staying, after all.” 

[floresmarique]

Hello! This is the first one shot i wrote that you can find on my Wattpad too! Also, sorry if there are some mistakes, i'm italian so sometimes i still struggle a bit with my english but i hope you like it ♡

Plot; You are a new pupil in the Cobra Kai dojo and to impress John Kreese you fight with his best student, Johnny lawrence. But Johnny will develop some special feelings towards you...

WARNING: This one shot will contain smut and a bit of violence.

Tags; oral, swallowing, a little bit of bully Johnny at the beginning and a tiny bit of fluff.

Enjoy!

~

Since (Y/N) was a kid, she always wanted to enter the fascinating world of Martial Arts but never had the economic possibility to afford the lessons.

But now that she was in California and her parents had a new well paid job, they encouraged her to join a Karate school and she couldn't believe that when they first told her about it with smiling faces.They always knew that (Y/N) wanted to learn Karate as a child and, with the new money they were making, her parents supported (Y/N)'s passion, which made her happy.

Everytime she came back from school, she always stopped by that dojo called 'Cobra Kai'. (Y/N) couldn't stop looking at the perfect moves of those boys, at their amazing grit.

But there was a thing that worried her; she never saw a girl inside the dojo.

Not having girls was kinda old minded and sexist in her opinion.

It's the 80s, for gods sake!

She thought.

But trying wouldn't be too bad, right?

So one day after school, she finally decided to enter inside that place and the first thing her ears heard were some screamed words by the boys. They all looked like soldiers and the Sensei looked like the captain.

"Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!" They shouted in unison and (Y/N) furrowed her brows.

What kind of motto was that?

She didn't know what she was supposed to do, so she just cleared her throat to catch their attention, hoping to not get humiliated by them or the Sensei.

The Sensei looked very rough and rude and the girl noticed that he had a cobra tattooed on his arm, he was the only one with a black gi while everyone else had a white one.

She always wanted to wear one.

The tall man walked towards her, trying to intimidate her with his glare but (Y/N) kept her head high and stared him in the eyes with a straight face.

"How can i help you?" He spoke with a slight grin on his face.

"I'd like to join your dojo."

After her answer, everyone bursted in a loud laugh and (Y/N) started to feel uncomfortable, especially with the man's glare on her.

"We do not accept girls." Was his simple response and she wasn't surprised about it, but disappointed for sure.

"Why not? Girls are capable of kick asses just like boys."

She didn't expect to be that bold, but did she care? No.

She wanted to challenge herself and demonstrate to those immature people that girls can be just as strong.

"That's very brave of you..." He started to slowly walk around her in a circle, only to stop again in front of her with his arms crossed. "I could give you a chance."

(Y/N) smirked, proud of herself while she took off her shoes to stand on the tatami. She was so excited and loved to see the disappointed looks on the boys faces.

"Let's see how good of a fighter you are, shall we?" The Sensei said and she nodded, repeating in her head the techniques she found in some martial arts books.

She felt ready.

"Lawrence, come here."

A blonde, tall boy with a muscular figure stood on the Sensei side, his expression was filled with anger. (Y/N) also noticed that he had a black eye and a black headband wrapped around his head. She couldn't deny that he was pretty hot, but she was too determined to get distracted.

"He's one of my best boys." Sensei smirked and the boys shared an amused look while sitting down on the tatami in a circle. "Good luck."

The man walked away and she and the boy remained at the center of the tatami in the attack position.

The blonde smirked before speaking.

"I'm gonna go easy on yo-" Before he could finish his sentence, (Y/N) kicked him right on top of his stomach, which made the boys howl in amusement. She was the one smirking now, standing again in the same position as before.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you, blondie." (Y/N) stated, and that was where the boy lost it. He started attacking her with punches and kicks that she perfectly shielded, just to punch him right in the face and kick him on his black belt, making him fall on his back.

Before he could stand up again, (Y/N) positioned herself on his lap and bent forward to put her hands under his shoulders to block him with her dead weight. She once saw that position on a book and it was kinda awkward to do since it looked like she was hugging him.

She could smell his sweat and a little bit of perfume, but she also could feel his warm breath against her forehead and it made her shiver a bit. He was attractive and being that close to him clouded her senses so much that she didn't hear Sensei's voice.

"Enough, you can stand up." He demanded.

When they both stood up, the blonde guy adjusted his gi and looked at her dead in the eyes while (Y/N) observed the shocked expressions of the other boys.

"What's your name?" The Sensei asked, walking towards her again. She tried to catch a little bit of breath before answering.

"(Y/N) (L/N)."

"Well, (Y/N), you're in. Consider yourself lucky, this is a privilege."

(Y/N) couldn't contain her happiness and a smile formed on her lips. She was proud of herself and she was sure that even her parents would have been.

"Thank you, Sensei." She said, but before he could respond, she heard the boy behind them speak.

"What?! Is this a joke?!" The same blonde blue eyed boy spoke. "I let her win, obviously. I bet she is not gonna resist a week here."

"Johnny, i'm the one who makes the decisions here."

So his name was Johnny.

Johnny Lawrence.

She heard of him at school, he was considered the 'bad guy' along with his mates but (Y/N) wasn't intimidated by them.

(Y/N) smirked and held out her hand for Johnny to shake.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Johnny Lawrence."

He looked at her hand and then stared into her eyes with a killing glare.

"The pleasure is all yours."

Johnny refused to shake her hand and walked away, but that didn't wash (Y/N)'s smirk off her face because she had him exactly where she wanted.

She liked some rivalry.

Or so she thought.

For the next weeks, Johnny made her life a living hell.

He would tease her at school or he would start fights while she walked home, fights that (Y/N) either refused or won. Johnny had enough of that. He couldn't believe that a girl, a so innocent looking girl, could always beat his ass better than him.

On the other hand, Johnny also knew that he could hurt her bad if he wanted to, but the truth was that he didn't want to make her suffer. He didn't want to ruin her pretty face with a kick, so in a certain sense he let her always won.

Johnny knew about her even before she came into the dojo that day, he saw her multiple times around Ali or during P.E.

And he wanted her.

His friends thought that he still had his mind set on Ali, but he moved on as soon as he saw (Y/N) at school and when he saw her enter the dojo, his heart was beating so fast that he was afraid she would actually notice it. When she got on top of his lap to block him, Johnny smelled her hair and felt all of her warmth on his body.

And he got a boner too in that exact moment.

There was something about that look on her innocent face, about her fake naivety that he just loved and needed in every sense of the word.

He teased her only to be around her, only to hear her voice again even if it was just to tell him to fuck off.

But he wasn't the only one who was crushing hard on her.

Bobby, his mate, always talked about her to Johnny.

"I want to ask her on a date." He once told Johnny and the rage he felt inside was about to explode, but he couldn't let them know his feelings.

Not yet.

"Why would you do that mate?" Johnny scoffed. "Our plan is to kick her out of Cobra Kai. She will only cause trouble to our dojo. A girl, please, i don't know what Sensei was thinking. Everyone will laugh at us at the tournament because of her."

Johnny was talking bullshit.

She was perfect for Cobra Kai, she had determination and strenght that even some boys would envy.

She would kick everyone's ass at the tournament.

But he couldn't let Bobby ask her out, because he was sure that she would say yes. They always chatted a bit at the dojo during stretching and they even had two or three classes together.

"Johnny, i think you are exaggerating a little bit. She's a badass and god, so pretty."

And after that, Johnny knew that he had to make her his before Bobby would find the courage to ask her out.

And that time came soon.

After another lesson, (Y/N) went to the changing room to take a shower, as always. She was very surprised that there was a changing room for girls since she was the first one that was accepted, but she never questioned it and was pretty happy to have a whole changing room for herself.

She had plans tho, about revolutionating the whole Cobra Kai so that other girls could join in. She also wasn't a fan of their 'no mercy' motto, honor was much more important to her.

While cleaning up her body under the water, she mentally repeated all the things she learned during the last lesson so that she wouldn't forget them and she got so concentrated that she didn't hear steps inside the changing room.

She hummed 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' while wrapping a towel around her wet body and stepped out of the showers while looking down, adjusting the towel.

"Ohh girls, just wanna have- what the fuck are you doing here?!" Looking up, she saw Johnny completely relaxed on the bench of the changing room, his hair were still a little damp and the blue tight sweater he was wearing perfectly hugged his muscles.

"So is it true, you just wanna have fun?" He raised an eyebrow and gave her a cocky smile.

(Y/N) blushed and wrapped the towel even tighter around her body, embarassed.

"Johnny, what the fuck are you doing here?" She repeated, her cheeks were flushed, both for the rage and embarassment. "Can't you read? It says girls changing room."

"I'm exactly where i'm supposed to be." He stood up from the bench and towered over her figure. (Y/N) rolled her eyes and started brushing her hair while looking into the mirror. "I just wanted to see my dear friend."

(Y/N) widened her eyes and scoffed, shaking her head.

"Friend?" She scrunched up her hair and stared at Johnny's reflection in the mirror. "Since when?"

"Since today." He crossed his arms and observed her, amused by the situation.

"Ok, well, friend" she turned around and sighed. "Can we be friends after i get dressed? We'll talk about this later outside of the changing room."

"Change here, i don't mind. You will not need clothes anyway pretty soon." He nonchalantly said, trying to hide his grin.

"Well i do mind actually, what the hell are-" before (Y/N) could finish her comeback, Johnny pressed his lips on her soft ones, completely shocking her. It was a short kiss, just to see her reaction.

When he pulled away, he stared into her eyes and saw shock in them, but also something that made him smirk.

Lust.

She didn't slap him or even tried to back off. Her slightly open lips and her red cheeks said it all, Johnny didn't need words.

He kissed her again, but in a more ferocious way, and she did the same thing. All the attraction they had for each other was coming out from their bodies and actions.

Johnny backed off while taking her with him, so that he would sit on the bench with her on top of him. She gripped his large shoulders and moaned a little bit when she felt his boner against her thighs. Johnny groaned and held her neck with one hand while the other easily took off the towel from (Y/N)'s still wet body.

"I've wanted to do this for so long." He sighed into her mouth and deepened the kiss. His hands were roaming on her body, not knowing where to stop. He touched her shoulders, her breasts, her arms, her legs.

Her skin was soft and the smell of her was driving him crazy. (Y/N) kissed his cheeks, his forehead and then his lips again, with a desperation that made Johnny even more turned on.

"I always wanted you too..." (Y/N) softly said and caressed his cheek while leaving wet kisses on his jawline and neck. Johnny closed his eyes and then opened them again, he needed to see her desperate for him. He needed to remember her face, her body, the pretty shades of her skin. He wanted her to be printed in his mind for the rest of his life.

"Yeah?" His voice was a lot deeper than usual and also rough. "Fuck, come here."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her again, feeling her little fingers on the buttons of his blue jeans. He knew that she wasn't as innocent as she made people think. And he loved it so much.

"Wait-" He spoke with a ragged breath. "Am i- am i your first?"

He searched for her eyes and when she kept looking down, he raised her chin with two of his fingers so that she could look into his blue eyes.

"Y-Yes." She stuttered.

She was ashamed, but Johnny felt like he was touching heaven with his fingertips.

Because she was the first one for him too.

"You are my first too." He admitted and lightly kissed the top of her nose.

"What about Ali?" (Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief.

"We never did anything like this, only some make out sessions...but never like this." He caressed her lips with his fingers and bit his lip, staring down at her naked body.

He thought she was perfect, every curve on her body was, and he felt lucky to have her in that moment. To even speak to her. She was a goddess for him and he knew he needed to keep her in his life forever, because someone like her would be too hard to forget.

She was something else.

"You know, we don't have to rush..." Johnny calmy said, his voice was soft now and he made sure to keep eye contact with her.

He cared.

"I know, it's fine, i want to do it." (Y/N) said, confident about her decision.

"You want to do it... in a changing room?" Johnny raised his eyebrow and (Y/N) giggled at his shocked expression while caressing his golden damp locks.

"Well, wasn't it your plan?" She asked with a grin and Johnny rolled his eyes, a slight blush was appearing on his cheeks.

"Sort of..." He sighed "I just, i don't want our first time to be here, i want it to be more intimate and special."

(Y/N) thought about that and realized that he was right. They didn't even have condoms and it would have been too uncomfortable to have sex for the first time on a bench, considering the pain.

"I guess you are right." She nodded and gave him a peck on the lips. "But... we could do something else..."

Her fingertips traced the line of his abs, covered by his tight sweater. Johnny inhaled some air and rested the back of his head against the wall, grinning at her.

"Well, that was what i had in my mind in the first place..." He winked at her and took her hand that was placed on his belly, just to place it down on the buttons of his jeans. "Let's see how good you are now..."

(Y/N) felt a certain warmth in her stomach at his words and stared at his eyes while unbuttoning his jeans, her fingers were fast and almost desperate to feel him. Johnny eagerly helped her lower his pants, his white boxers showed the prominent boner under them.

(Y/N) slowly got on the cold floor, on her knees between Johnny's legs. Her heart was beating fast against her chest, she felt heat all up in her body and a deep desire for Johnny. She never saw a dick before, except for that one time in her old city where one of her friends had an adult magazine at school and showed it to everyone, and (Y/N) was pretty grossed out by the view of a penis.

"Do you want it?" Johnny deeply asked, his eyes were filled with desire and lust.

"Yes." (Y/N) said and slowly lowered the waistband of his boxers, only to display his full hard lenght.

She didn't feel grossed out now.

Johnny noticed her surprised expression and softly laughed.

"Like what you see, baby?"

(Y/N) shivered at the pet name and nodded, taking his member in her hand to observe it better. Johnny slightly panted at that and gulped, wanting to feel her hand around him.

"Stroke it slowly, baby..." Johnny placed an hand on one of (Y/N)'s shoulders to keep her going.

She did as she was told and observed his eyes and expressions to understand if she was doing it the right way and, judging by his heavy pants, she was.

"Like that?" She innocently asked, pressing her palm on his lenght while stroking it.

"Fuck, yes, like that" Johnny was already a moaning mess, (Y/N) never saw him look more vulnerable than that and she liked to be the one that made him feel that way. The skin of his dick was smooth and warm and it was probably 7 inches long. The head was red and wet with pre-cum that (Y/N) decided to taste with the tip of her tongue, causing Johnny to groan.

"Oh, god- yeah, keep doing that baby..." (Y/N) smirked at his desperation and pressed her tongue on the head of his cock, licking it up and down. Her eyes never left his face, he looked completely gone to the pleasure.

He looked at her with half lidded eyes, his mouth was in a 'o' shape and he was starting to sweat, (Y/N) could see it on his forehead.

Johnny caressed her hair, encouraging her to take his lenght inside her mouth more. His legs were tensed and (Y/N) gripped his toned thighs while going down on him.

"Mmh..." Johnny closed his eyes and thrusted his hips a little forward, but still carefully and slowly to give her time. "Keep stroking it while you suck it, baby..."

(Y/N) welcomed his thrusts into her mouth and wrapped one hand around the end of his dick, stroking it a little faster. The changing room was filled with Johnny's moans and the sloppy sounds of (Y/N)'s mouth wrapped around him.

She could feel herself getting wetter by the second and felt the urge to touch the area between her legs for some friction.

"Oh shit, yes, yes, i'm so close, love-" Johnny took her head in his hands just to feel her movements and opened his eyes to stare down at her. The sight of the pretty girl he wanted for months on her knees with her swollen lips around his dick, were too much for him. "Baby, i'm about to cum-"

(Y/N) looked up at him and managed to show a little grin while staying on his cock, bobbing her head up and down faster than before.

Johnny took the hint; she wanted him to cum inside her mouth.

"Fuck, you want it don't you?" Johnny bit his lip and rested both of his hands on the sides of her face, his cheeks were flushed and his forehead was wet with sweat. "I'm coming, oh fuck, (Y/N)!"

(Y/N) stopped her movements but kept his lenght inside her mouth, she felt his dick contract various times and then a salty and warm liquid squirted on her tongue. His thighs tensed even more and he never left his grip on her face while riding off his orgasm. (Y/N) made sure to swallow everything till the last drop before letting his dick out of her mouth.

Both of them were breathing heavily and Johnny looked high, still trying to recover from the intense pleasure.

"Fuck" he sighed and smiled softly while watching her standing up. She had messy hair and flushed cheeks, her lips were pink and swollen and Johnny couldn't help but to kiss her. "You are incredible, baby..."

"Well, thank you!" (Y/N) giggled and Johnny stood up, kissing her again but only to make her sit on the bench, on the same place he was some seconds ago.

"But i can't let you go like this..." Johnny was now on the floor, gently opening her legs while staring into her eyes. (Y/N) was dying of embarassment, no one ever saw her intimate parts and she felt self conscious about it.

"Shh, don't worry, let me admire you..." Johnny could see that she was nervous and it was important for him to reassure her. He slowly parted her legs without breaking eye contact. Once he saw how wet she was, Johnny licked his lips and slightly smirked at her, amused by her embarassed expression.

"Do you want me?" He whispered, leaving a wet trail of kisses along her thigh. His blue eyes never left hers while doing so. (Y/N) tensed, feeling him that close to her private area was making her sweat. "Tell me."

"Yes, Johnny." She gulped. "I want you."

He took both of her legs and rested them on his shoulders, getting closer to her pulsating pussy.

"Even out of this changing room?"

(Y/N) smiled and nodded, but Johnny wanted to hear her.

"Tell me." He kissed her inner thigh, getting even more closer to her vagina.

"Yes." She panted. "I want you, always."

Johnny grinned and before (Y/N) could blink, he pressed his entire tongue on her aching pussy, making her moan. He kept looking at her, holding her legs with his strong arms and he started to move his tongue in circular motions on her clit.

"Oh, Johnny..." She gasped and tugged at his blonde hair. Everything was new to her, she never felt something like that and she would have never imagined it to happen with Johnny. She for sure dreamed about it, but never expected it to become reality.

"You like it, baby girl?" He asked her, his voice was deep and his lips red and shiny because of her fluids.

"Yes, Johnny, so much!" She moaned when the blonde started sucking on her clit like he was hungry. He was breathing heavily against her, she could feel his warm breath on her pussy and it made her crazy.

"You taste so good, love..." Johnny whispered and reached one of her breasts with an hand to gently stroke her nipple. "You're so beautiful, fuck."

With his other hand, Johnny teased her entrance with one of his fingers but never left her clit untouched. He slowly inserted the tip of his finger inside of her, feeling how tight she was. (Y/N) let out a light squeal at that.

"How do you feel?" He asked her and slowly pumped the tip of his finger inside her.

"It kinda burns, but it's okay." She panted and nodded.

Johnny repeated the same action and watched as she threw her head back in pleasure. He smirked and added a little bit more of his finger inside of her while applying pressure to her clit with his tongue. He felt her legs shake a bit and heard her ragged breath and he couldn't help but think that she was absolutely perfect in those conditions.

She was close and he could see it and feel it.

"Please, Johnny- Oh!" Hearing her moaning his name made him pump his finger faster with the movements of his tongue.

"What do you want?" He groaned against her.

"I want to cum, fuck!"

"Look at me." He demanded. He needed to have her eyes placed on him, it was like a kink for him. "I want you to look at me while you cum on my tongue..."

(Y/N) looked at him but keeping her eyes open was an hard task with that intense pleasure. She wondered where he learned to do that since he said it was his first time, but he probably just was a natural talent.

Just like her.

(Y/N) felt a weird sensation build up in her stomach, a very heavy feeling and she knew what that meant.

"Johnny, i can't!" She panted and tugged harder at his hair, making him groan.

"Cum then, cum for me (Y/N)..."

And she did.

She did while moaning his name repeatedly, trying to look at him while her toes curled behind his back. Johnny had a proud smirk on his wet swollen lips and licked  her fluids with pleasure before standing up to kiss her sweetly on the lips.

(Y/N) still had a ragged breath and was recovering from her orgasm, but she was also scared.

What if he's gonna be an asshole again now and this was just a joke for him? She thought.

They both silently fixed themselves and (Y/N) finally got dressed. Her hair were almost completely dry and she didn't know how to act and wondered why he was so silent now, fixing his hair and clothes infront of the mirror. He looked like nothing happened while (Y/N) was still shocked.

"Will you go out with me this Friday?" He asked and turned around, resting his back against the wall. (Y/N) felt better after his question and gave him a smile.

"Well, usually, boys ask a girl out before they finger fuck her in a changing room-" she grinned and Johnny crossed his arms while letting out a laugh. "But sure, why not."

"Always a tease, aren't you?" He hugged her from behind and (Y/N) felt butterflies in her stomach while he rested his chin on top of her shoulder. "We could go to the Arcade, mh?"

Before she could respond, they heard the voices of the other boys outside of the changing room.

"Johnny!" They shouted. "We have to go, where the hell are you?!"

Johnny sighed and shook his head before speaking again.

"Seems like we are gonna need another shower when we get home, don't you think?"

(Y/N) giggled and gave him a fake disappointed look.

"Yeah, you jerk!" She laughed while putting on her shoes. Johnny gave her a peck on the right cheek and then proceeded to walk away. "Wait, Johnny, have you spied on me while i was under the shower?"

Johnny chuckled and turned his head to look at her.

"Doesn't matter anyway, now."

And after winking at her, he left the changing room with a big proud smile on his face. His mates were shocked when they saw him get out of the girls changing room and howled like little kids.

"Man, what did you do?!" Tommy asked while patting Johnny's shoulder.

Johnny shrugged and smirked.

"Nothing impressive, i'm taking her out on a date on friday."

Bobby was confused and Johnny could see the disappointment written all over his face.

"I thought you wanted to kick her o-"

"There are a lot of things you still don't know about me, dear Bobby" Johnny gave him a friendly slap on the cheek and then saw (Y/N) getting out of the changing room. She waved at everyone and gave a particular smile to Johnny, which he returned. "A lot of things."

[mcufandomhatespeopleofcolor]

Let's face it, if Shang-Chi featured a white dude, people would say it's fantastic

Oh definitely!!! Like he's a lot like Finn or what finn could have been in the sequel trilogy. like a child soldier who turns away from the life of a soldier and assassin and starts thinking for themselves. but also just the whole idea that living a simple life where you have friends and a job that pays the bills is infinitely better than to kill and oppress for the power.

Like I'm super psyched to see where Shang Chi goes from here! I hope he convinces his sister to use the ten rings (org) for good instead of world domination. but honestly I'm gonna be really mad if they give us a female Asian villain with no Asian superheroine you know?

mod ali

[kindness-ricochets]

ur thoughts on wylan and kaz? as characters or ur general hc's for them together after soc or anything else. just ur general thoughts on these characters in tandem.

In writing my response, I rambled for a bit and may and may not have actually answered your question... so while I hope this interests you and is what you meant, feel free to drop a line if I completely missed the mark!

They’re perfect opposites—by which I mean entirely different in all the ways they’re the same.

Wylan and Kaz share an almost absolute emptiness of coherent thought regarding themselves, Wylan emotionally and Kaz physically. Kaz always pushes himself too hard, he never sleeps, he’s basically made of coffee and spite. Wylan can overlook any level of mistreatment because he is so thoroughly conditioned to it, except that he genuinely believes this can be a form of love.

As a result, both deal with grievous personal wrongs using a loved one as a proxy.

Kaz has every reason to hate Pekka Rollins as the architect of his trauma and sometimes he does acknowledge this. He’ll have lines about Pekka taking everything from him. That he “had a lot of things”. It’s about Jordie, always. Avenging Jordie’s death is a perfectly valid motivator, but Kaz takes it to an extreme degree. (This is an interesting contrast between him and Inej, too. Inej recognizes that what was done to her was wrong; though deeply traumatized by it, she is able to recognize that she was mistreated, that she can seek revenge for herself and others like her.)

Wylan has every reason to hate his father. But he doesn’t. Not only doesn’t he, he blames himself every time. Jan wanted a real son, a proper heir, it’s Wylan’s fault; who else would love him enough to be honest with him? It’s only when he learns about Marya that Wylan can begin to process what his father truly is. Eight years of abuse culminating in attempted murder and public humiliation is one thing… not at all intended to downplay the horror of Marya’s situation, not at all! Just that it’s the only way Wylan is able to begin to process his feelings toward his father.

Maybe as an aspect of this, maybe as a coincidence to it, both are very conscious of the people are them—it’s just that Kaz’s consciousness is ruthlessly pragmatic while Wylan’s is sweet. Kaz is always aware of every player, how to use them, and how to manipulate them. Wylan is concerned—about Jesper losing his guns, about Nina catching cold in her skimpy outfit, about Alys who was sweet and silly and meant no harm to anyone. A perfect example is their conversation about Jesper.

[“]Who knows? Jesper may even win his revolvers back.” “I hope so,” said Wylan as they hopped onto a browboat crowded with tourists and headed south down the Stave. “You would.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Someone like Jesper wins two hands and starts to call it a streak. Eventually he loses, and that just leaves him hungrier for the next run of good luck. The house relies on it.” Then why make him walk into a gambling den?

Both have a personal connection to Jesper; Kaz does his closest approximation to loving him as a brother, while Wylan’s little crush is starting to feel like maybe something more. And they have opposite approaches to his addiction. Kaz uses it. Ruthlessly. (Granted, this is Kaz at his lowest, but it’s not especially different from how he treated Jesper in the beginning of Six of Crows.) Wylan wants to acknowledge his problem and help him avoid his addiction. He doesn’t want Jesper to have to suffer the loss of something important to him. This also shows in how Wylan and Kaz think about each other. Near the end of Six of Crows, Kaz essentially thinks that he doesn’t care about Wylan’s dyslexia because Wylan has other talents, other uses. Wylan thinks near the middle of Crooked Kingdom that he knows Kaz had other motives, but he still helped Wylan a lot, and is a friend. Kaz’s evaluations are weighed by use, Wylan’s by emotional impact.

Now I’m going to get nerdy. Even more so. When I did developmental psychology, my favorite was always Erikson, who essentially broke human development into stages of crisis and resolution. The 4th is “industry vs. inferiority”—basically, competence. And they resolve to extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. Kaz is industrious, competent and capable, determined from the moment he was reborn in that canal. He doesn’t stop. He makes plans and acts on them. Wylan feels inferior, and often struggles—even with things he knows how to do, he needs to be told to do them, or can’t quite put two and two together about the situation around him. (The fact that Wylan’s crisis comes to a more positive resolution, that he begins to develop competence, throughout Crooked Kingdom is… frankly, wonderful. Wylan wasn’t inherently bad at things. He just didn’t have support to grow.)

These opposite resolutions also relate to where they fall on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Kaz is left without the most basic things, physiological and safety needs, things like food, water, and shelter. He has to adapt and he has to adapt fast—because he’s alone. And if he’s going to survive, if he’s going to see Jordie given justice, he needs to get to work. Wylan has those needs met, placing him at the point of psychological needs—belongingness, love, esteem. Jan took care of Wylan’s basic needs, but dealt him blow after blow toward his psychological needs through isolation and emotional abuse. This highlights another difference: Kaz’s damage wasn’t dealt by someone who hated him. Pekka was just indifferent. The Barrel was full of lost children who would take a mouthful of bread from a weaker boy because they needed it to survive. It was indifference, for Kaz. But for Wylan, it was at best disdain, at worst hatred.

This sets them apart from the other Crows. Inej was 14 when she was taken by slavers. Jesper was around 16 when he was sent to Ketterdam for university. Nina was 16 or 17 when the Fjerdans took her captive. Matthias was I think 11 when he lost his family, which places him just on the cusp of two of Erikson’s stages, but the relevant resolution is to the fifth stage of identity vs. confusion—basically, “Who am I, and who can I become?” Those four developed competence in a more or less healthy way (purely in terms of competence since two were basically child soldiers, but still). Whereas Kaz overcompensates with relentlessness and Wylan freezes up. Both have this sort of jagged place inside them at exactly that point, that the others simply don’t have.

To me, this explains why Kaz and Wylan have the weakest balance between personal and professional lives. Kaz is always plotting, scheming. He has to learn to take a break from the monster and be the man. Wylan is locked up in his own mind. In his first narrated chapter, his first narrated page, he tells us that he feels out of place and doesn’t even know where to put his hands to look normal. Kaz is ready to take over the world while Wylan just wants to exist in his own little corner of it.

[disabledrunner5]

Rule Britannia headcanons:

My Quintus‘ name isn’t Quintus really, it’s Aurelia.

Well that’s her roman name.

Quin’s mother, Murienn was a Pict in Britannia and her father, Julius Lucius Barbantius, was from Rome.

Her parents met and fell in love whilst he was serving over in Britannia, they fell in love, he rescued her from being captured and sent to slavery, and nine months later...well.

Quintus was born in the 6th year of Emperor Trajan’s reign on the 14th of Ianuarius (14th January) 104 AD.

Julius and Murienn gave their children a Roman name and a pict name to protect them. Quin was called Alys (Pict) and Aurelia (Roman).

Soon after Julius had to return to Rome and his wife (in a loveless marriage which bared no children).

This version of Five had a younger brother like her other iterations. However he was her twin brother, Alpin or Lucretius.

Like all of her iterations, Quintus was disabled and because of that, in Roman Britain she was not expected to survive, however she defeated the odds of that.

As a child learned basic Latin and was told stories of her father by her mother.

When they were five, Quin and Lucretius’ mother was murdered and they were held captives of Aneas, sent to Rome they were put on auction, to be sold as slaves.

Thankfully, Julius stumbled across them, recognised the pair as his children and bought them with no intention of using them as slaves and instead adopting and claiming his biological illegitimate children.

Her stepmother had other ideas though and would treat Quin as a serving girl. Her father though showed her kindness and love and gave her a thorough education. Quin thrived on books.

Lucretius became popular and athletic whereas Quin was scrawny, quiet and picked upon with no friends until she met Samnium at the age of seven. He became her only friend.

She met Sam on a beach in Dalmatia, when her father was posted there and his father worked as a slave master there.

I have a head canon where almost (with the exception of Abel’s Buccaneers) every single iteration of Five has a crush on Sam but it’s always Sam who develops feelings first.

However in the Rule Britannia/Pax Germanica timeline, it is Quintus who develops feelings first.

She developed a crush on him fairly quickly after meeting Sam.

The name Quintus originated when she’d play on the beaches of Dalmatia with Sam and he’d call her Quintus because as a woman couldn’t be a soldier. He occasionally shortened it out of affection and Quintus, Quin and Quinque became a nickname for her which only Sam called her.

They’d play fort on the beaches, play marbles or read books together on a regular basis, occasionally sharing a honeyed dormouse or roasted legumes with each other.

Quin’s family died from an illness when she was thirteen, that she too was not expected to survive from.

Young Sam would visit her every day of her illness and that in itself made her feel better and more determined to fight through it.

after which she was raised in her home by her paternal uncle, Dominicus, who also taught her how to fight and be as athletic as her brother once was (although she still remained relatively scrawny).

She chose Quintus for her name when she joined the auxiliaries so Sam could find her in the military easier.

Oh yeah she joined the auxiliary because couldn’t bare the thought of Sam dying in a battle in her home country and she wanted to make sure he didn’t. So she pulled a mulan and decided to join up as a man.

Sam tried to convince her against joining upon figuring out what she was planning. A woman is not allowed in the army. He eventually relented over arguing with her but he’s secretly sworn to himself to look out for her so she doesn’t get killed.

She did not recognise Aneas as the man who had murdered her mother and essentially sold her and her brother into slavery when she met him, for she had blocked that horrific memory from her mind.

She wasn’t however, surprised when Aneas turned out to be using necromancy. She was however, when it turned out Sam’s birthmark was revealed essentially magic.

The night in the grove, safe from the revenants Sam and Quin had a chance to have a heart to heart, in which she almost admits her romantic love for Sam but she just doesn’t manage it.

She was utterly terrified in Tartarus although she didn’t show it at first.

Quin clung to Sam’s arm when they stepped onto the bridge together, bruising his arm in the process.

Because she thought she’d not lived a good enough life, due to survivors guilt from her past eating at her.

Thankfully, she had lived a good enough life. But that was the only way you could have got an inkling that she was terrified.

She was more scared for Sam’s life during the battle. Although she’ll admit it was pretty awesome being Cerberus for a while.

Yeah...Sam definitely sees Quin in a new light after the battle.

He makes her a full citizen of the Roman Empire and asks if she’ll take his name so they can be family. Although Quin is bothered by him addressing it as ‘your brother’ due to her feelings but she resides that she’d be okay as his ‘sister’....

But basically I have a head canon in most of the realities, Five and Sam do get together romantically so...

They totally get drunk after moving in with each other and Sam drunkenly admits that he only addressed it like that because most of the army still thought she was a boy. And they might have shared a drunken kiss. But only Sam remembers that part of the night and their relationship remains unchanged.

I’m definitely looking forwards to finding out what happens in Germanica with these two.

[ask-mbfad-bendy]

Benson the Ink Demon

“Born”: February 10, 1931

Age: 90

Height: 8’9”

Species: Altered Toon??? (Possible mutation)

Voice Claim: Jake Segura (Citizen Soldier)

Nickname(s): Ben, Bendy (he only allows Alyssia to call him Bendy)

Occupation: Mechanic

Hobbies: singing/entertaining online (TikTok, Twitch, YouTube), tinkering, camping, riding his custom built motorcycle.

Synopsis

After escaping the Studio with Al and Henry, Bendy went through an extensive recovery due to what Joey had done to him and the trauma he went though to become the monstrous creature. He no longer goes by Bendy and makes it VERY clear that nobody but Alyssia is allowed to refer to him as such.

He’s only recently (since 2,000) felt comfortable enough to start his music and online appearance. Though Benson hasn’t been in the profession for long, he’s already gained a massive following of both toon’s and humans alike.

F.A.Qs

• Benson is NOT fluffy/furry. The spikes and sideburns he has are all ink. They feel soft and squishy

•He’s not currently interested in romance. He’s never felt the need to have a partner. He’s always had Al around so has never felt the need for a significant other. He’s got his best friend, what more could he possible need?

•Benson TOLERATES Buddy. He doesn’t like the little gremlin imp. He hurt Al the day he was created so he’s basically on Benson’s permanent shit-list, despite Al forgiving the imp and taking him in as her child.

•Benson looks muscular by CHOICE. He used to look more limber and thin, but got called things like “Beanpole” and “Noodle Toon”; names he didn’t appreciate.

He’s always liked the biker/rockstar/blue-collar look, thus he made himself more bulky.

•While he can increase his “muscle mass” he can’t currently make himself shorter or even revert back to his “Bendy” form. This is mainly due to his trauma but also his desire to cut off any connection to “Bendy” and Joey Drew Studios.

•that being said he CAN change the density of his body, he can become a literal puddle of ink or be as solid as a rock.

•100% will liquify if startled.

•He still has episodes where he’ll start becoming inky. (his form starts to break down) It tends to trigger when he thinks about the past or tries to recall memories he’s repressed.

•the pink beaded bracelet on his right wrist is a gift from Aly and is a comfort object to him. Do NOT touch it.

•He’s the tallest toon to exist (in this AU). None of the other toons reach more than 7 feet tall.

•Does his best to hide his issues away from everyone. Aly reads him like a book; better than he can read her.

•the inky webbing between his horns are constantly forming and flowing down, EXCEPT when he sleeps

[screwzara]

What if after the Reunion at M.A.T.A bbb and Ali's friends exchange numbers and make a gc where they rant/rave about all the stupid thing bbb and Ali do.

Like imagine:

Bbb friends or yaya: bbb just did 'insert stupid self sacrificing act that will absolutely give tok aba high blood pressure and make his friends go grey before 20' and I kind of want to hug him and punch him at the same time.

Young Agents will be sympathetic and talk about all the crazy things Ali did that gave them high blood pressure.

Like imagine Fang and Rudy bonding over being kinda rivals/very very civil enemies with Ali and bbb but would still 100 PERCENT fight/kill anyone who dares hurt him.

And yaya and ying would bond with Alicia and Iman about being the only ones in the group with any self-preservation. ATTEMPTING to stop ali and bbb from doing stupid things.

Gopal and Viktor (maybe Kai too) talking about video games together and their best friends kinda worrying mental health slash COMPLICATED home life. Ghazali doesn't know his son is a literal child soldier/unpaid intern. Amato knows his son is a superhero but never showed up for all the traumatic events. (Where his son could've DIED)

Maybe Papa Zila and Uncle Bakar talk about being totally unprepared to take care of a bunch of demon chaos children.

The possibility are endless

Sorry for the ramble

OH this is the good stuff

Their friends be in solidarity, hehe

--------------------------------------------

Group chat:

Ying: God damn it, is bbb with you guys?

Yaya: We've been trying to find him for the past 20 minutes

Fang: he better be close by, he's on bed rest from a recent mission

Rudy: Oh, i saw bbb with Ali earlier. Don't know what they're up to so I've been following them

Iman: Wait what, rudy

Moon: Eeeee why didn't you ask us to join????

Rudy: because

Alicia: just tell us where they are

Yaya: Oh btw how r the others doing?

Moon: they're fine, just a little beat up is all

Gopal: eh u guys were talking without me

Ying: says the one who disappeared from our sight

Alicia: was this group worth it

The others are offline and resting rn

Meanwhile... (boboiboy showing him pictures of power spheres and talking about them):

Ali: Omg omg omg-

Boboiboy: hehe, calm down ali

Ali: how can I calm down that is awesome i

(XD this is the best)

Papa Zola and Uncle Bakar:

Papa Zola: Looks like BBB knows your kid

Bakar: he does, they've been friends for a while

....

Papa Zola(whispering into Bakar's ear): how do u deal these kids

Bakar(whispering back): i have nooooo idea

--------------------------------------------

Their friends will probably notice that bbb and ali act like brothers at some point and try to tease them about it and Ali would get really flustered

Bbb on the other hand would be a little confused at the conclusion(though he should have seen that coming since they literally call each other Abang and Adik sometimes)

--------------------------------------------

Bonus ->

Amato and Dr. Ghazali's friendship is... An odd one.

With added troubles that have been plaguing Amato's life, he hasn't been able to find much time to contact him though.

Ghazali has... kept a few memoirs of Amato, Mechabot, his wife and Aliya. Ali's presence helps with the loneliness(he liked it when bbb visited cuz neither he nor his son had to be alone those days)