#also this post is cautious about gabriel's return

[fnaf-one-machina-au]

Rules And About

Please read this post before interacting.

Rules:

Please respect the mun's boundaries. Do not beg for rps, as it will earn you a block.

No smut on this blog, ever.

There will be violence on this blog, but I will be sure to tag accordingly. It will be under the violence tw tag. If there is anything on this blog that triggers you, please let me know and I will tag them accordingly.

Please specify which verse you want to RP in in asks or in the notes. Otherwise, I will use the default AU, which is the Machina AU. If you want, I can pick one at random, but you have to ask me to do so.

Please do not force a reply from me. This will earn you a block.

This is a sideblog. Likes and follows will be from @fantasy-writing-and-more

This blog is duplicate friendly, so other versions of the same characters can interact.

About: This blog is canon Divergent and is au, oc crossover, head canon and canon friendly. The AUs will be described below.

Machina AU: The main AU of this blog. Machina is an alternate dimension where machines end up after they have been scrapped or destroyed. The machines have been given new forms or bodies, and are living breathing beings and live similar to humans with the exception of animalistic instincts. Machina itself is lush with life and provides everything the machines need. 

However, the machines from Machina can travel to the human world on a full moon while the portals are open. This is a time where outsiders can venture into Machina. Note: This is also in the Game Verse and Movie Verses. 

Game Verse: The animatronics are haunted by the spirits of the missing children. They aren’t exactly fond of adults but will gladly spend time with children and protect them. They don’t want history to repeat itself and they’re doing all they can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Movie Verse: The animatronics are haunted by the spirits of the missing children but they won’t attack without a reason. Like the Game Verse, they are protective of children. They don’t actively try to prevent history from repeating itself but they will stand up against William if they see fit. 

Post Movie Verse: Now free from William’s influence, they now linger in the pizzeria and keep a watchful eye on the Spring Bonnie suit as they know he will return. They’re extremely protective of any children that wander in and make sure adults stay out. They aren’t as violent but they will get violent if it is necessary.

Characters:

Freddy Fazbear: The leader and protector of the group. In the game verse, he has a fiery temper at times and it takes him some time for him to calm down when this happens. However, he’s relatively mostly patient with children. He responds to Gabriel or Freddy in both the Game and Movie Verses. In the Movie Verses, he has a much more even temper.  In Machina, he’s a successful businessman and can be rather introverted. However, he has a heart of gold and he adores the group that he now considers as his family. He prefers to go by Freddy but he will respond to almost any nickname he’s given. 

Bonnie: Freddy’s right-hand man. In the Game Verse, he’s difficult to read and is oftentimes calm. He can be a bit clumsy and goofy at times, especially  around children. He can become aggressive rather quickly around adults though. If he suspects an adult has ill intentions, he will attack on sight. In the Movie Verses, he’s essentially the same and has the vibes of a big brother to some children. Often being the silent protector. In the Machina AU, he’s a famous horror movie star. However, he’s very down to Earth and is kind and caring. He’s always concerned about the well-being of his friends and loved ones.

Chica: The lady of the group. In the Game Verse, she keeps a watchful eye over the children in her presence. Her cupcake acts as another set of eyes or a spy. She’s cunning and has definitely made plots to deal with adults that break in or seem to give off the wrong kind of vibes. In the Movie Verses, she is cautious with children and is  aware of her strength. She does feel some guilt from what happened because of William. In Machina, she owns a successful rustic restaurant and is a gentle caring soul. She enjoys spending time with the group.

Foxy: He’s the reclusive introvert of the group. In the Game Verse, he keeps to himself in his Pirate Cove. In the Game Verse, he is rather quiet and tends to spend time alone. He’s the silent surveyor. In the Movie Verses, he’s still reclusive but will gladly stay out of his cove for a child’s well-being. In Machina, he’s a boat captain and spends most of his time out on the open seas. He enjoys walking along the beach or stopping by a local pub on his off days. He’s the more easy going one of the group, carefree and happy he’s finally free from humanity.  

[your-brilliant-lady-m]

Part 5 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Guardians

Helloooo! Did you think I was done? No!

My PhD thesis chapters were approved last week, so have some celebratory meta. I haven't seen the latest Season 4 episodes, so do forgive me for not being up to date.

Welcome to the next part of my analysis of the basic concepts of Miraculous Ladybug. Today we are talking about Master Fu, Order of the Guardians and how little everything here makes sense. I highly recommend reading previous parts to fully understand this one, but I'll try to quote most parts of earlier posts.

Order of the Guardians

Order is an international and ancient organisation (New York Special showed us the guardian from North America and he was dressed like Su Han). Presumably, Miraculous jewels were created by these people. Guardians are responsible for the preservation of jewels and knowledge about them. They also distribute Miraculouses to worthy people around the world to combat mostly magical threats, but sometimes jewels are used against normal threats too. It's implied that Master Fu used Miraculouses during WW2 when he was in Paris. Perhaps he performed some spywork with Marianne, but the magical nature of his interferences was discovered and he was forced to flee, before returning to France many decades later.

Why does the Order need so many people to take care of a 3 Miracle Boxes? If its only purpose is to preserve knowledge, keep magical secrets and distribute Miraculous jewels then wouldn't it be more logical to have Master-Apprentice system? It's much easier to keep magic knowledge a secret and train a few people in martial arts than doing the same in the self-sufficient temple full of people, keeping in mind that a good part of them are teenagers and children, who are bad at keeping secrets. Also a single person can travel around the world much easier to give out Miraculouses. Imagine that we have a few active guardians traveling the world with Boxes. What do other people at the temple do in the meantime? They teach the next generation about the powers of each Miraculous and Mirakung Fu, but besides that?

Master-Apprentice system gives us more personal conflict between Fu and his mentor and makes his relationship with Marinette and Adrien more nuanced. In this scenario Fu accidentally caused the death of his Master at 14 because he wasn't careful. It makes sense for him to take on only 1 or 2 students if this is how things were done with Miraculous Guardians. This Wang Fu is very cautious and protective, he spent the majority of his life afraid of hurting someone else and never took an apprentice as a result. But now he is ready to try again, since he is not getting any younger and he likes these 2 kids. He wants them to succeed. Maybe Master Fu, becomes the father figure for Adrien in this situation and a guide for Marinette. Just think about it. This way writers avoid the need to develop all these extra characters (Su Han) and traditions related to the Order. All inconsistencies I mentioned before and later in this post are gone now! Hell, even memory loss and the changing of the Miracle Box shape could make more sense. We also raise the stakes post-amnesia, if it happens of course (the whole Season 3 finale didn't make sense, so stay tuned for my next meta). Marinette and Adrien are on their own now, there's no one who can give them answers. It's very fun scenario, which has potential to be brilliant. Any thoughts on that?

The existence of Order of the Guardians is not quite a secret, at least it wasn't in XIX century China. Master Fu in "Feast" says that guardianship was considered "a great honor". It implies that people who lived close to the temple of the Order knew about Miraculouses and what exactly guardians did for the greater good.

The existence of other Miracle Boxes around the world makes sense from a real-life perspective. Writers have the ability to create many stories set in the same universe and use them for merchandise and an almost unlimited amount of content. Judging by the unholy amount of specials in production, this is exactly what the creators are going to do. It probably won't go down well, but who knows?

However, it doesn't work in our main story. The main conflict is Paris-centred. Gabriel's motivations revolve around Emilie's resurrection and Season 4 gives us more reasons to suspect that Adrien's mom wasn't as wonderful as everyone says. Hawkmoth still remains the main villain of the show and most likely it's going to stay that way. There's no point in moving the main story to different places for the sake of introducing more Miracle Boxes from around the world. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't needed to fight something halfway across the world unless Hawkmoth also changes locations.

LB and CN are centrepieces of this franchise. They brought success and money to ZAG. Creators constantly need to remind the audience that this new piece of media with new characters who will never be mentioned again is connected to Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Writers have to come up with reasons to include our heroic duo into the story even if makes no sense.

New York Special had to introduce American Heroes whose names rarely come up in the fandom because people stopped caring about them or their stories shortly after the release of the Special. I barely saw any content dedicated to them. In order to bring LB and CN into the story, you have to include Hawkmoth too. Gabriel suddenly needs to get his hands on the Eagle Miraculous and goes to USA. Marinette and Adrien suddenly have a class trip to New York. Unfortunately, their presence in this story is required only to expand the world of Miraculous and attract fans of the show, so that they could keep an eye on new content related to newly introduced characters.

In the end, it's not their story. Events of the special don't affect main story of the show and the development of the love square is merely an illusion, because Adrien and Marinette are no closer than before. In season 4 LB and CN are growing apart and their test of trust in NY Special doesn't matter. Perhaps, some people don't see it that way and it's their right, but I find it hard to see NYS as a valid contribution to canon. I mean, even people in large portion of the fandom state in the tags on AO3 that "specials are not canon", "specials didn't happen" or "ignores both specials". It speaks volumes about continuity and preferences of your fandom.

Shanghai Special didn't give us more information about the Order, which is located in China, history of Miraculous jewels. We still don't know much about how Gabriel and Emilie found Peacock and Butterfly. Maybe, Marinette's family had connections to Miraculous jewels. Maybe, Adrien does some snooping and discovers research his parents made while Gabriel is away. All of these are relevant to the main story. However, we got something much different in the end.

Marinette chases Adrien across the globe and they make new friends. Fey becomes Ladydragon and now has a direct contact with Marinette through her uncle. Gabriel's desire to get his hands on the Prodigious comes out of nowhere. Apparently, he had been planning this trip for years, presumably even before Adrien was born. It probably happened at the same time as Agrestes found 2 Miraculouses. He bought bracelet-key (which is also a Miraculous apparently, but its Kwami is a Guardian of the Prodigious and they existed separately for a very long time - and let us not dwell on this mess) from some shady mafia boss, who can easily find out just who Gabriel really is (fashion designer billionaire) and use this information to blackmail him. This Special didn't answer important questions, but it gave us a new superhero character.

The real question is whether Miraculous as a project will survive long enough for writers to create content for every minor character they introduced in all specials. This is only a beginning after all.

Miraculous is not a global show and it can't be globalised in a way that makes sense, at least with Ladybug and Chat Noir in the centre of action. Case closed.

Mirakung Fu

I liked the idea of Mirakung Fu introduced in "Furious Fu". It makes sense and things rarely do in this show. Miraculous grants its holder superhuman strength, stamina, endurance and ability to fight. This means that essentially transformed heroes are guided by magic in combat. There's nothing personal in the way Miraculous holders fight. You can predict their moves and learn how to fight this magic guidance, which is what Su Han does.

However, if the holder has any special training, skills or knows any martial art in their civilian life then they become more dangerous opponents during transformation because now their fighting is a mix of magical moves and their personal knowledge, tricks and style. Therefore, Adrien and Kagami as skilful fencers have more chances of winning against someone who knows Mirakung Fu than Marinette, for example.

Memory loss

At the end of season 3, we find out several things:

apparently, now Miracle Box can change appearance to suit its guardian;

when Guardian passes down the Miracle Box to someone else, they lose memories not only about everything related to Miraculous, but also about pretty much everything in their life (Fu doesn't recognise Marianne, instead he experiences the love at first sight)

Master Fu trains Marinette to be the proper holder and next Guardian off-screen. He says that her training as the holder is complete in "Feast" and wants her to become the next Guardian. Fu told her lots of things, and yet, he never mentioned the fact that he would lose his memory after relinquishing the box, nor the fact that Marinette would lose her memory afterwards. She finds out about this from Wayzz after the battle with Miracle Queen and the letter that Master Fu gave her. That's not proper training! How on Earth do you forget to mention this memory loss? How?

Master Fu's amnesia is a convenient plot device that removes him from the narrative almost completely. That's mostly all there is to it. Why? Because it doesn't make sense.

Fu was around 7 or 8 when he started his training. The disaster at the temple happened when he was 14. He stated that his training was never complete, which means that he never passed any magical ritual, never swore an oath or was bound by some kind of spell that made him subjected to the rule of memory loss.

Miracle Boxes belonged to the order, not Fu. Their design reflected their country of origin because these Miraculous were made and kept in China. They were just standing there on the shelves not magically bound to anyone in particular. When Feast attacked, monks just tossed Wang Fu the miracle box and grimoire. No one at the temple lost their memory after Fu took the box with him (Su Han is the proof). Su Han not only remembers Fu and his mistake but everything that happened that fateful day as well. In "Furious Fu" Marinette explains Su Han that Master Fu lost his memory in the very first conversation they have. However, after Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Su Han on the roof and escape with the Miracle Box, the latter searches for Fu and attempts to take his staff from him. In this scene, Su Han acts like Fu knows very well what is going on and who he is.

Su Han should be aware of the memory loss rule as the Celestial Guardian. He remarks on the different shape of the Mother Miracle Box and calls her "incorrect", which means that Su Han should have been able to easily tell that previous Guardian lost his memory and the Miracle Box is now bound to someone else. But he doesn't say anything. Moreover, since Su Han is supposed to know about amnesia, he seemed awfully chill about forcing this 14-year-old girl in front of him to give up the box and her memories. Hell, Chat Noir wasn't on board with this. But we get zero reaction from Su Han.

During the first conversation between Marinette and Su Han, he doesn't ignore what she is trying to say, instead he actively comments on every word. Even if Su Han didn't listen when Marinette told him about Fu's memory loss, than he still should be able to understand that Fu doesn't recognise him, because of common sense and the "incorrect" shape of the box. But nothing of the sort happens. Because writers apparently forgot that "memory loss" is supposed to be known to everyone in the Order. On-screen it looks like Su Han is not aware of the "amnesia rule".

"Furious Fu" makes the concept of memory loss a plothole no matter how you look at it. Just like "Timetagger" and "Chat Blanc", as well as "Kwamibuster" this episode is not consistent within itself. It does not surprise me, however.

Grimoire and Guardian Staffs

Let's talk about the Miraculous Grimoire. Good things first.

There are no illustrations of Miraculouses in camouflage. Kwami can't read its contents, only guardians can. Certain elements are written in riddles as an additional precaution. The book contains only the information people have learned so far, which means that Miraculouses have more unexplored potential ("Mr. Pigeon 72"). It describes powers of each Miraculous, provides information about weapons, has instructions for potions that don't make sense (see previous parts).

Unfortunately, everything is about to go downhill from here.

Guardians are taught how to read the writing in this book. They can read it just like people learn to read texts in a different language. This means that one can read Grimoire like any other book (you don't need to consult some guide to decode each letter or word). Master Fu proclaimed Marinette an almost fully trained Guardian. He should have taught her how to read the Grimoire then (he doesn't know the code very well, but he knew enough to understand the general meaning and content of the book according to "Collector"). He didn't. We don't know why. He shows her powers of every Miraculous but doesn't teach her the code.

Master Fu knows that Grimoire now belongs to Gabriel Agreste. He knows that it's dangerous for someone else to have it. If they knew how to read the Grimoire, they could discover all secrets of Miraculouses and harm Ladybug, Chat Noir and other heroes. It's very important to keep the information about the code top secret because Fu is not the only one with the source material.

What does he do then? Master Fu proceeds to write a French translation of Grimoire for Marinette, a translation that he doesn't even need. He carries it with him at all times on a tablet (without any precautions) just like the Miracle box after "Feast". Naturally, it means that in "Miracle Queen", Gabriel and Nathalie easily managed to get their hands on the tablet and Miracle Box. It allows the plot to happen, sure. But it doesn't make any sense.

"Furious Fu" created another curious plot hole. It will probably be ignored, of course. Su Han has a staff with a magical compass that allows him to find any Miracle box, but not the Miraculous jewels for some reason. How does the staff work? Can it locate the box without the Miraculous? If yes, then it seems useless. What's the point in the ability to locate an empty box? If it can locate the box only with the Miraculous jewels inside, it implies that the staff can track the location of every Miraculous too. So, Su Han could just locate the Butterfly and Peacock without any problem. But he talks about reassigning Ladybug and Black Cat to adults and defeating Hawkmoth like locating the Butterfly is not possible. This situation makes the Guardian Staff a simple plot device that creates plot holes and its only purpose is to explain how Su Han found Marinette.

Also, I have a few more words to say about this. Master Fu had a Guardian Staff that was never mentioned before. I wonder why? That's because the staff didn't exist before "Furious Fu" was written. Writers just went: "Do you know what would be cool? If Fu's cane was really a secret Guardian Staff with a compass all along that he decided to keep even after he lost his memory? It would make people wonder whether Master Fu is faking amnesia, and everyone will definitely call him an awful mentor after this even though we kind of tried to make him a good and responsible person."

Fu didn't give it to Marinette and didn't mention it to her. Why? When he gave up his memory, he should have written about this in his letter at least. Why did he decide to keep it? He can't use it anyway now.

Please note how in the flashbacks Fu didn't take any staff with him when he escaped the temple. Su Han seemed to know how Fu's staff looked like. It means that Master Fu didn't make this staff himself, because it belonged to the Order.

Su Han wasn't even surprised that Marinette didn't have the staff as the current Guardian. Was she not supposed to have it? He never questioned the fact that the former Guardian without memories has the staff. Su Han actually returns this staff to Fu after he is deakumatized and Fu acts like they have never met before. Why did Su Han gave the staff back when he knows what it is and to whom it should belong (to him or to Marinette as the current Guardian)? The staff is useless in the hands of the civilian. Does Marianne know about its secret? We'll probably never find out, unfortunately.

Guardian Staff of Master Fu has a compass too and therefore this also makes it a plot device, just like Su Han's staff.

[lycorogue]

“What did you expect me to do?”: In Defense of the Car Scene and Alya

Okay, so I’ve been seeing a lot of salt lately (and I tend to follow blogs that stay positive and relatively salt-free with regards to the fandom) about the car scene towards the end of the Miraculous Ladybug NY special.

Mainly the “stupidity” of the writers having Alya demand that Marinette should have said something to Adrien when the car pulled up.

“Couldn’t you see he was just waiting for you to tell him to stay?”

I’ve seen fans counter “it’s not like it would have changed anything” or “what could she do against his father’s wishes” or “her asking him to stay wouldn’t have stopped Gabriel from demanding he come along” and other such arguments.

And, yes, as viewers and as adults (I believe most, if not all, of the blogs I follow are run by adults), WE know that those are all true. Gabriel, as Hawk Moth, has just set a dangerous supervillain lose on the city with a way to make NYC even MORE dangerous by turning the superheroes against the city as well. He wants his son the HELL out of there ASAP. Nothing anyone would say could change his mind.

We also know that the only reason Adrien was allowed to go in the first place was because Gabe-y was going to NYC himself and figured it was a convenient way to not have to hide that he’d be even MORE absent from Adrien’s life for a few days. Especially given that Nathalie is clearly bedridden after the events of the S3 finale and so Gabriel can’t even outsource his parenting onto her.

HOWEVER, as the CHARACTERS, none of them know that.

What they DO know is that Marinette is apparently a miracle worker. As far as they are concerned, Marinette is the Mr. Agreste Whisperer. There have been a couple of times that she was able to convince Gabriel to let Adrien do something. If she’s involved, he can go to birthday parties. He can host a Christmas dinner. He can return to school. He can sneak off to a movie. He can do impromptu photo shoots for his friend’s fashion line. He can go on international class trips. Heck, the fashion show that showcased Marinette’s winning derby hat MAGICALLY DREW GABRIEL AGRESTE HIMSELF OUT OF HIS HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS! One of the FEW times he’s left his mansion in a year (at least). 

If Marinette could do all that, despite the odds, despite Gabriel Agreste seemingly being steadfast in his decision, then why can’t she do so again? Why couldn’t she ask Adrien to stay with them, and then try to talk Mr. Agreste into allowing it?

She refused to sit idly by when Adrien said he wouldn’t be able to go on the New York trip. She stormed over to the Agreste mansion and “convinced” Mr. Agreste to let his son come. 

“My father told me everything. The only reason I can enjoy this beautiful sunset is you. I thought it would be impossible, but you believed in it. You're always willing to take a chance on something or someone, even when no one else is.”

...even when no one else is.

Marinette doesn’t give up on anyone or anything!

Until that moment. That moment when Adrien desperately needed someone to fight for him, to prove to him he’s worth fighting for, to validate that people DO value him and want him to stay. The moment when Adrien needed Marinette’s determination and positivity the most, and she failed him. (Not to salt on Marinette. I totally get why she froze. I’m just putting this in the perspective of the characters)

He had told Marinette that “You're always willing to take a chance on something or someone, even when no one else is,” and yet, apparently this is the point where Marinette draws the line. This is when she’s no longer willing to take that chance. HE’S not worthy of that chance anymore, and with everything that just happened between him and Ladybug, he FEELS that to his core.

Alya sees this. Alya can SENSE how much Adrien needed his defender in that moment, and Marinette just threw in the towel on him. Yes, Nino begged Adrien to not go, but it’s been shown multiple times that Nino truly doesn’t have any power over what Adrien can and can’t do. Sure, it may be a small bit of comfort that Nino wanted him to stay, but it wasn’t what Adrien needed in that moment. 

THAT is why Alya was so pissed at Marinette. All those times that the girl did over-the-top stunts to try to get Adrien’s attention. All the times Marinette has gone to bat for Adrien over “silly” things in the past. All the energy Marinette puts into proving Lila is lying. Then the ONE TIME someone clearly needs her to go to bat for them, and she BAILS!? THAT is when Marinette suddenly doesn’t think Adrien’s worth the effort!? Worse comes to worst, if Gabriel shrugs Marinette off and still demands that Adrien comes with, at least then Adrien still knows someone is willing to fight on his behalf, and that’s something.

But this? Not a single word? It snaps Alya. Trying to get over Adrien is one thing, but now Marinette is overcompensating to the extreme where she’s not even being a good FRIEND to him. Nope. This shit is NOT going to fly with her.

So she storms up to her bestie. She yells at her. She has no clue what inner turmoil is going on with Marinette. She knows nothing of Chat Noir. Honestly, at that moment I don’t think she even realizes Ladybug and Chat Noir are in NYC.

True, it’s a dumb move to send Marinette racing after Adrien in the rain when the city is on lockdown and a dangerous supervillain is on the lose. I’m sure Alya beat herself up about that the moment Marinette was out of view and Alya had a moment to calm down.

BUT THE GIRL IS FOURTEEN! SHE’S ALLOWED TO BE LASER FOCUSED AND NOT SEE THE BIG PICTURE WHEN HER EMOTIONS TAKE HOLD. KIDS ARE ALLOWED TO MAKE MISTAKES.

Also, let’s just face the facts. The amount of times Alya puts HERSELF in danger for a scoop, she probably doesn’t even truly grasp the potential consequences. I mean, yeah, she’s cut back on the self-endangerment a lot after becoming Rena Rouge, but still. Besides, NYC is flooded with superheroes, and at this point none of them have been influenced by the supervillian yet. As far as Alya’s concerned, how much danger could Marinette truly get in, right?

Plus, Alya never expressly told Marinette to go full-romcom-trope and chase Adrien down; meet him at the airport to beg him to stay. She just yelled at her best friend to shake her out of whatever teenage BS was going on with her trying to get over Adrien and make a flippin’ decision already (not that Alya was making that easy, but that’s for another post). Marinette simply made that decision on her own and Alya didn’t stop her. Maybe she tried, but Marinette moved too quick. We don’t know. The camera was on Marinette.

That notwithstanding, once Alya sees the news and knows that Marinette is now MIA, she probably has a MAJOR breakdown. We didn’t see it because it wasn’t important to the plot, but I trust that Alya doted heavily on Marinette the second she returned. Apologizing for her outburst and not focusing on if Marinette was okay. This is probably also where that 180 about deciding how Marinette feels about Adrien came from. Alya demanding Marinette figure it out NOW potentially put her in danger, so instead Alya has decided that Marinette SHOULD go at her own pace; there’s always tomorrow. We’ll see if that continues in s4.

Now, would I have written this whole car scene differently to try to avoid all of those narrative pitfalls? Maybe, but I’m also not a professional scriptwriter, so I can’t really critique those who are for their judgement calls. They went for the emotional gut-punch, and they kept the characters in-character. That’s all I can really ask for from them. 

At the end of the day, while it is always nice when shows take on the responsibility to educate their viewers and show them healthier ways to accomplish things, it’s not expressly their job. Their job is to entertain, and that scene WAS entertainment. It’s only with emotional and mental maturity, as well as an analytical and critical eye, does this scene present itself as problematic and therefore no longer enjoyable, despite it being fairly accurate with regards to how teenagers might think. 

Now, I’m not saying we CAN’T criticize the show. By all means, go ahead. I am still reading the salt and internalizing why it’s there so that I can learn and be better with my own writing. However, we should also be aware of how our own views and personal demands on storytellers might jade us to the show. In doing so, we should then be cautious about HOW we criticize the show, because the last thing this fandom needs is more salt.

[amethyst-geek]

My predictions for Felix’s role in season 4

A few episodes into season 4 (possibly episode 9 as we know that’s the episode titled Gabriel Agreste), Felix will return to stay with the Agrestes while Amelie has to go on a ling business trip. As to why Amelie is having Felix stay with the Agrestes in Shadow Moth-ridden Paris instead of having him stay with relatives back in London, I have a couple of explanations:

1. Just because London doesn't to deal with Hawk Moth, that doesn't mean London doesn't have its own supernatural problems. Zagtoon has a series in the works called Miss Rose, which is about a magical spy and this series will do with crossover with Miraculous in the upcoming London special, so it stands to reason, that London has just as much supernatural drama as Paris, if not moreso. Therefore, Felix probably has to deal with supernatural threats regardless of where he is, but at least in Paris, the damage caused by akumas and sentimonsters can be reversed by Ladybug. 

2. Felix’s paternal relatives have sort of lost interest in Felix following the death of his father for reasons that I’ll explain later in the post (though u can probably already guess if u read my post about a possible return of Chat Blanc). 

After Amelie leaves for her business trip, Gabriel asks Felix to meet with him in private. Gabriel then confronts Felix about the ring he stole. Felix tries to deny it, but Gabriel calls him out of his bullshit. Felix then states that Gabriel doesn’t deserve the Graham de Vanily rings and ask him if he even know the story of said rings. Gabriel says no, so Felix then proceeds to tell the story that Amelie told him. Felix tells him that when worn together, they give the wearer special powers. Gabriel then realizes how similar this sounds to the miraculous, particularly the Bat Miraculous he read about in the Grimoire. So he then takes off the ring he’s wearing and asks Felix to put it on to see if the story is true. So Felix puts on the ring, takes out the ring he stole out of his pocket, and puts it on his other hand. When he does this, a bat kwami appears. 

After silently kicking himself for not realizing sooner that he had a third miraculous literally on hand this whole time, Gabriel then takes Felix down to the basement. Felix is pretty weirded by this, and Gabriel then asks him if he remembers the deal he made with Hawk Moth. Felix responds “how could u possibly know that... oh crap you’re Hawk Moth aren’t u?” Gabriel confirms that he is and transforms into Hawk/Shadow Moth. Shadow Moth then asks Felix to use the bat miraculous to help him in his quest for the ladybug and cat miraculous. Felix (after getting over the initial shock that his uncle is Hawk/Shadow Moth) is hesitant because while Felix had offered to help Hawk Moth back in his intro episode, that was before the NY special (AKA the one where Hawk Moth threatened to start a nuclear war, not to mention having Mayura have a sentimonster wreck Paris then recall said sentimonster before Ladybug could fix the damage). Shadow Moth then proceeds to change back into Gabriel and show Felix Emilie’s coffin. 

Gabriel the proceeds to explain to Felix (and the audience) that Emilie had been using the damaged Peacock miraculous (ok we already knew that, but we still don't know how, and I hope that episode 9 will be the episode we find out via flashbacks). After the explanation, Felix then agrees to help Gabriel, but asks him refrain from trying to start another nuclear war (and to also stop akumatizing August. Not only is it really fucked up to akumatize a baby, but it also proven ineffectual). 

The next episode mark the debut not only Bat!Felix, but Swan!Lila (for those who haven't read some fo my earlier posts, I predicted a while back that the Swan Island location that was announced a sometime ago will be home to the Swan Miraculous, which Gabriel will get his hands on and give it to Lila). Throughout season 4 (and probably season 5) Lila and Felix will team up both in and out of costume to cause all sorts of trouble (with Felix only wearing the twin rings when he’s about to transform into Bat!Felix while he wears the ring he already had prior to his debut in his civilian life, this helps throw Ladybug off his trail). However, unlike Lila who has almost everyone fooled (save for Marinette, Adrien, and probably Alya now), a good chunk of Adrien’s classmates will be wary of Felix because of the prank he pulled back in his debut episode. Marinette will especially cautious of him because of the shit she saw him pull while she was Ladybug. That said, some classmates r willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the “impersonating Adrien to make them think he didn't like them” thing was an grief-induced isolated incident that he feels remorseful about (and I can see Rose being among the classmates to give him that benefit of the doubt, as she’s very trusting). He will still get along with Adrien for the most part =, at least in public. Also at some point in this season, we will also be introduced to Adrien and Felix’s maternal grandfather, an actor and film producer who comes from old money. 

Around episode 20 of season 4, Felix will then confide in his kwami about his backstory. At his dad’s funeral his paternal grandmother revealed that he was not the biological son of said dad and that this grandmother only tolerated Felix for her son’s sake but now sees no point in acknowledging Felix now that his dad was dead. After the funeral, Felix asked Amelie is what his grandmother said about his dad not being his biological father true. As it turns out, Felix is actually the son of Emilie and Gabriel and Adrien’s twin brother. When Emilie was pregnant, Gabriel’s career hadn't taken off yet and they were financially struggling enough so that they couldn’t take care of more than 1 child. Around the same time, Amelie and her husband were struggling with infertility. So when Emilie found out she was having twins, she decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone by letting Amelie secretly adopt 1 of her twins (or at least this is Emilie told Amelie; based on the interactions between Gabriel and Felix in the latter’s debut episode, I’m assuming that Gabriel isn't aware of Felix being his bio son and that Emilie convinced him that his Amelie just happened to get pregnant at the same time she did). This lead to Felix to become envious of Adrien for being the one Emilie apparently chose to keep. He also started to resent Gabriel for failing to realize that he was his biological son (because it’s pretty obvious, even if Emilie and Amelie r twins, the idea of them having identical-looking sons around the same time is pretty improbable, especially since the color of Felix’s hair and eyes is more consistant with with Emilie and Adrien than Amelie, so Felix is certain that Gabriel knows on some level he's his bio son (but Felix doesn't want to tell him until after Emilie has been revived as he fears Gabriel finding out any sooner that Emilie hid hid this from him might lead to him giving  up his plans to revive her). While bat kwami can sympathize with Felix’s angst about all this family drama (plus the bat Kwami hates Gabriel's guts for obvious reasons unrelated to the twin drama), the bat kwami points out to Felix that Adrien didn’t any more of the say in matter of which twin Emilie gave to Amelie than Felix and that given Gabriel’s controlling nature, Emilie may have done Felix a favor by giving him to Amelie and her husband instead allowing him to be raised by Gabriel. This causes Felix’s resentment towards Adrien to die down a bit... until he finds out Chat Noir’s true identity.

Somehow, Felix will begin o deduce/suspect that Adrien is Chat Noir. Since Felix knows Shadow Moth’s reasons for wanting the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, he sees Adrien being Chat Noir as a huge betrayal and decides then and there to destroy Adrien one and for all. The bat kwami tries to talk some sense into Felix, only for Felix to renounce him and place the bat miraculous in his pocket and put his civilian ring back on (which I headcanon as having belonged to his deceased adoptive father). He then asks Gabriel to akuamtize him into a superior version of Chat Noir. Shadow Moth is confused by this, but complies, and the akuma goes into Felix’s civilian ring, transforming him into the new Chat Blanc (if this sounds familiar, that’s probably because I wrote another post predicting that Felix will become the new Chat Blanc. He proves powerful enough for Ladybug and Chat Noir to bring out several temp heroes, but the heroes eventually manage to defeat him. Also during the battle, Shadow Moth overhears Chat Blanc 2.0 refer to Chat Noir as Adrien and Shadow Moth explains to Chat Blanc 2.0 that he saw Chat Noir and Adrien at the same place at the same time back in Gorizilla, and after the battle Chat Noir (thinking that Felix had been unwillingly akumatized and thus wouldn't remember what Shadow Moth told him) assures Felix that he and Adrien r separate people. Felix then goes home and un-renounces the bat kwami. Meanwhile, in order to ensure Felix believes that Chat and Adrien r different people, Chat Noir later approaches Ladybug and tells her “Felix thinking that I might be his cousin reminds me. Someone in my family keeps asking me if I’m Chat Noir, and don’t seem to believe me when I say no. Can I please borrow the fox so I can throw them off their trail?” So Ladybug loans Chat the fox. 

Later when Sabine is akumatized into Verity Queen and exposes Lila’s lies, she also finds out about how Lila framing Marinette back in “Ladybug” was partly motivated by Gabriel offering Lila a modeling contract in exchange for keeping Marinette away from Adrien. Confused as why Gabriel hates Marinette that much, she considers the possibility that maybe Lila fed him some lies about Marinette, but she decides to her lasso of truth on Grandpa Graham De Vanily (who happened to be in the tv studio with them as he and Lila were both scheduled for interviews) to get his opinion on Gabriel, this leads to a reveal that the the reason Emilie gave Felix to Amelie was not because she and Gabriel couldn't afford to raise more than 1 kid but because Grandpa Graham de Vanily forced Emilie to do so. You see when Amelie and her husband realized that they wouldn't be able to have biological children, they deciced to look into adoption. However, Grandpa Graham De Vanily loathed the idea of having a grandchild who wasn’t related to him by blood, so when the then-pregnant Emilie told her father she was having twins, grandpa Graham de Vanily (after asking Emilie is she already told Gabriel she was having twins yet, to which Emilie replied “not yet, he still thinks I’m just having 1 baby and I’ll tell him about the twins when he gets home) suggested that she give 1 of the twins to Amelie, then when Emilie said no on the grounds that she didn't want to choose between her kids, grandpa Graham de vanily threatened to use his connections to destroy Gabriel’s budding fashion career and make sure that he and Emilie couldn't get any kind of work needed to support their children. Bat!Felix (who made it to the studio in time to hear his grandfather’s confession, then asks Grandpa Graham de Vanily if Amelie was aware that Emilie had been coerced into giving her Felix, to which grandpa replies that he specifically told Emilie to not tell Amelie about the blackmail. And yes, this is when Gabriel finds out Felix is his biological son, and this would also be when Adrien (as Chat Noir) finds out Felix is his brother. 

Amelie returns soon after this and she is pissed at her father for forcing Emilie to give up one of her babies. 

[alrighttevans]

invisible strings

chapter 2: well I wonder

Ao3 link

chapter 3: dancing with our hands tied

Nothing out of the ordinary, except he was not expecting to glimpse his own green eyes looking back at him from Marinette’s notebook. He was not expecting that Marinette would have been drawing Chat Noir; that she would have been drawing him.

When Adrien woke up, he was certain he would have a happy day. His father would be out of town for the day; Nathalie had said something about an urgent matter to be solved in the English main branch of the Gabriel Agreste brand, meaning he didn’t have to worry as much as usual about following the carefully made agenda his father had for him. He also didn’t have to attend any photoshoots early that week, so he would have the extra free time he always eagerly waited for to expend with his friends, hence the long due lunch between the four of them that Nino offered to host. 

Therefore, it was settled that Alya and Nino, who had their last period in next door classrooms, would leave their classes and wait for him and Marinette, who happened to share their last period on Mondays, to join them as soon as their French class ended. Nothing out of the ordinary, except he was not expecting to glimpse his own green eyes looking back at him from Marinette’s notebook. He was not expecting that Marinette would have been drawing Chat Noir; that she would have been drawing him.

Marinette, the sweetest and most adorable girl he was ever so lucky to know had taken a soft spot for Chat Noir (for him!) and was so worried about his unusual posture in the photos running online, that she must have seen sometime during her morning — a photo that he was embarrassed for existing; he shouldn't have been that telling — or, perhaps, she even saw them herself, since he knew she was a late sleeper and her room was close from the place they had met —, that she had sketched Paris’s favourite kitten during class, for she was the most caring person to walk on earth. It filled his heart with such fondness; fondness that he already knew he held for her, but that only seemed to grow overtime, for such a remarkable girl cared so deeply not only about his Adrien persona, but about his alter ego, with the same amount of consideration as well. 

Adrien could see all the compassion she hold on her golden heart through her lovely bluebell eyes as she blushed and hid the notebook from his eyes, a bit taken back about him finding out about her worries, or as she nodded intently at him, while they made their way to their other two friends, or as she gave him her adorable smile multiple times during their lunchtime. 

And, furthermore, she showed herself as a protecting figure for him, defending his privacy from everything she dared to imagine could disturb him in any way whatsoever — and people did listen; after Alya made the post she promised to do, mentioning how Marinette had brought up the matter to her, most people deleted their own and apologized to him. He was ecstatic to see her fighting for him with such fervor. She had a very familiar fierce stare as she argued to rid Chat Noir of any inconveniences that may happen to upset him. She was so thoughtful, so sympathetic, so marvellous.

“You’re doing it again.” Plagg grumbled from his desk, where he laid on top of the remaining piece of his camembert. 

“What?” Adrien, who was lying down on his bed; his hands unconsciously placed over his heart, sat up to question his kwami with a puzzled expression, half offended that Plagg had the audacity to interrupt his track of thought when they were heading in such a pleasant direction. 

“Smiling like an idiot, that’s what. It’s annoying.”

“I am not!” He protested, throwing a scowl at the kwami’s direction.  

“Yes you are. You do that too often for me not to recognize it.”

Adrien huffed, before he allowed his softened expression to return to his face with the memory of the reason he was previously smiling “But she was drawing me!” He cried “And defended me from prying eyes! She cares about me! She’s just so lovely and she likes Chat Noir! How could I not be happy about that?” 

“Well, you don’t have to be so lovey-dovey about it.”

Adrien’s stare slipped to the group photograph he had framed over his desk, in which Alya took the photo, while Nino hugged her from behind; standing beside him, Adrien grinned, placing one hand over Marinette’s shoulder, who stood in front of him with a light blush creeping through her face — probably due to the sun; it was a hot day. He went back to the way she gave him her cute, shy smile just before they took the photo, accompanied by her bluebell eyes, so full of love, that shone just like Ladybug’s did — maybe he had a thing for blue eyes.

He snapped back from his little travel in time after hearing a long and dramatic sigh from his kwami, with wide green eyes, to look back at Plagg, who rolled his eyes at him, probably guessing where his mind had led him to. 

“Lovey-dovey? What? No! It’s just friendly. A friendly smile, that’s all.” He insisted with a nervous smile, gesticulating throughout his speech. “In fact, I should thank her. Yes, she deserves to be thanked for being so kind to me. Would she mind if I stopped by? Would she appreciate it? Would it be too much? Or would it be better if I left her a note? I'll do it, I’ll leave her a note.” 

In a quick jump, he rose from the bed and started searching for those fancy papers his father had given him to use to ‘write proper notes’ to ‘important people’, as Gabriel Agreste himself had put it. As soon as he found the familiar parcel that held what he was looking for, he took a sheet of paper and the best pen he could find on his desk. 

What should he write? He should probably keep it simple. If he said too much, he’d  probably jeopardize his secret identity. Besides, she was very intelligent. She would understand what he meant, he was sure of it.

“Time to go, Plagg.” Adrien called, as he wrapped the note inside the black envelope he had found inside his drawers, thankfully not marked with the Gabriel Agreste logo. 

From the now empty plate of cheese, Plagg groaned in discontent, theatrically placing his tiny paws over his tiny heart — it would be cute, if Adrien wasn’t so familiar with the kwami’s chaotic nature. “Why can't we stay here with good ol’ camembert instead of going out to chase girls?” 

“We’re not chasing anyone. We’re just showing our appreciation to Marinette.” He argued, as the little god sighed dramatically. “Come on, Plagg. I’ll buy you some stinky cheese on the way back.”

At the mention of his much beloved camembert, the kwami rose his head, clearly interested. Adrien smirked, he was getting through him. 

“Fine”, he finally agreed, floating to Adrien’s eye line with his arms crossed, “but just because you know I can't resist an offer like that, lover boy.”

“Plagg, claws out.”

Chat Noir leapt into his opened window, just after guarding his envelope inside his suit’s pockets, where he sat in a cat-like position, watching the parisian beautiful night sky that looked back at him with some kind of earnestness, whilst the stars sparkled just for him and the light breeze of the city of lights danced around him, bringing him the comforting sense of calmness and peacefulness.

Before he could expand his baton and fly through his city’s rooftops, his eyesight dropped to the Agreste’s garden, lying just below him. He could see the high gates and walls that guarded the mansion, the nice little path drawn between the grass and the beautiful and carefully tended rose bush.

The rose bush. 

Of course.

As quietly as he could, Chat Noir vaulted to the ground, making use of his knowledge of the mansion’s security system to carefully avoid any cameras that may spot him on his way to the rose bush. The flowers looked back at him, waiting for him to make his pick, whilst he searched for the prettiest rose he could find, for she only deserved the best, cropping said rose as soon as he found it. The scent of the flower soon reached his amplified senses, filling Chat’s surrounds with its delightful smell. It should do it. 

So, with the assistance of his staff, Chat Noir leapt into the parisian sky, cautious not to hurt the rose. 

It was like the light of the stars energized him, the night gave him strength, and the own city guided him to the Boulangerie Patisserie as he crossed all the streets and avenues that would lead him to her and soon landed on Marinette’s balcony, just above the bakery. 

Watchful not to attract unwanted attention, Chat pulled his envelope from his pocket and glanced around the environment, seeking the best place to set his note — on the door? the chair? the white box? the wall? — until he finally made the decision of placing the envelope over the small table in the center of the space, under the rose.

Smiling to his work, Chat Noir gave his back to his little treat, extending his baton to exit the Dupain-Cheng’s house, when the cry of his name had his head snapping to the floor below him, where Marinette stood, half way through her trap door, staring him in bewilderment.

With wide eyes, he froze right in the spot, hoping that his black suit could blend in with the night and make him invisible to human eyes, or that a new power of his would decided to manifest itself now, gathering the shadows to hide him or allowing him to travel between them and pretend he was never there. 

Perhaps, if he kept still, it would work. It had to work. She wasn’t supposed to see him! The plan was for her to find his note on the next day and know he appreciated her, when she connected the dots, without him having to explain himself for her! Ladybug would kill him if he ended up revealing his secret identity. He bit back a groan. So much for being stealthy.  

“You know, even though you’re not moving, I can still see you.” She pointed out matter-of-factly, almost as if she was reading his mind, when she stood on her full height on the balcony floor, folding her arms over her chest.

Shit. 

He wished Plagg would take pity on him and cataclysm him right there, but he knew his kwami all too well for that to happen.

Well, now all that was left for him was to play along and hope for the best.

Chat cleared his throat, pretending he wasn’t looking pawsitively stupid just a few seconds prior. “Good night, Mademoiselle.” He greeted her with a theatrical bow. 

She narrowed her eyes, watching him warily. “Is everything okay?” She inquired, before her baby blue eyes widened with realisation. Shit. She had figured him out. She totally knew he was Adrien Agreste and none of the lies that would slip through his tongue would convince her otherwise. “Oh, my God, is there an akuma?!” 

He didn’t think he had ever let out such a relieved sigh.

Wait.

An akuma?

Great, Agreste, he scolded, you got spotted and scared the girl. 

God, his whole existence was a catastrophe.

“No!” He was quick to deny, waving his hands frantically before her. “No worries, Princess, this cat’s got everything handled.” Chat reassured, pointing at his chest with one thumb in a familiar cocky pose, attempting to regain his composure. “Or should I say pawled?”

It was fast, and he would have lost it, if his reflexes hadn’t been heightened, but her lips quirked up very subtly in amusement, which was gone as fast as it arrived, giving place to an intrigued raised brow. “Oh, then why are you here?”

“I… I was just passing by, doing my paw-trol duties, that’s all.” Chat explained and she frowned, as if she was trailing her way into his actual reasons by looking at the holes of his story and uncovering the truth from his poor excuses. He absently scratched the back of his neck, nervously. Was he that much of a bad liar? “You know, a superhero’s work’s never done.” He was quick to add, trying to distract her with his theatricals, as he raised his hand to her eyesight and put a finger down for each item he mentioned. “Damsels in distress, ladies in waiting, I’ve got a lot of saving to do.”

“Oh, I can only imagine.” Marinette nodded, using an yet foreigner tone for him, that almost sounded teasingly, that he would sometimes catch her giving to some of their friends, before they fell into an awkward silence that hung hesitation, uncertainty and some stiffness into the air for the seconds that dreaded like hours, making Chat to unconsciously wag his tail, anxiously, before she decided to break it. 

“I… I saw the pictures.” The concern on her sparkling eyes and pressed pink lips was so pure, filled with only the best of intentions and wishes, just for him, and yet she gave him such a soft look, which almost sounded like an invitation to be loved by her. Marinette had made room for him in her heart with only the few encounters they’d had throughout the years and Chat couldn’t feel more exhilarated at the kindness she showed him. “Are you… Are you okay?” She held a lot of caution in her tone, a bit afraid to ask him the question that had been bothering her, reminding him of how shy she used to be around Adrien years back, but what caught his attention wasn’t the emotion on her voice, nor the nostalgia hanging in the air, but a detail he hadn’t paid any attention to before: her hair was not up.  

Marinette’s dark strands fell over her shoulder, like the night sky itself had decided to kiss her a blessing; like it had been so struck by her beauty that it prayed to become part of her. Adrien didn't usually see her hair down; it generally was up on a ponytail that let a few strands run free to contorn her delicate features, or a messy bun, when her usual lateness got in the way and she couldn’t afford the time to do her hair calmly — or even the ever so familiar twin pigtails, that had danced around her face throughout their younger years —, always to prevent it from falling over her face and interrupting her flying thoughts, poking her tongue out in concentration with narrowed bluebell eyes, trying (and managing) to solve all the problems that she faced. It suited her, the hair down. 

Feeling his face warming up by remembering he had yet to give her his answer instead of being enchanted by her locks, Chat looked away, sheepishly. “It’s really sweet that you’re concerned about me. You are very sweet.” At his second sentence, he peered up, too curious, too anxious, too engrossed in catching her reaction.

Through his night vision, Chat Noir managed to see signs of a light blush creeping over her own cheeks, accompanied by a light, warm smile that suited her perfectly. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m purrfectly fine, I promise.” 

“Well, if you think of something, you know where to find me.” She offered kindly, tilting her head to her trap door. 

“Yeah, I do.” Chat Noir waved at her, which she responded with an encouraging smile, before leaping into the city with the assistance of his baton, feeling his heart even warmer than when he first arrived. 

chapter 4: like it was the first time

[azrance]

NORTH OF POSEIDON. wip by @azrance​.

CATEGORY: young/new adult

GENRE: adventure, high fantasy

POV: third person, multi

FEATURES: pirates, found family, lgbt and poc rep, magic, mischief, curses, sea creatures, witches, mystery, crime, & more!

STATUS: early stages of outlining

SUMMARY: Just off the coast of Telikos lie the islands of Bythos, Pontus, and Tethys, together known as the Isles of Poseidon, which serve as a natural barrier between the mainland and the dark Voreai Thalassa, or the North Sea, beyond. Few are daring enough to journey beyond Poseidon, preferring to travel south along the coast instead, for those who do never return, or are never the same when they do.

Despite this, a misfit band of young pirates aboard The Red Ghost make voyaging beyond the islands their newest goal, looking to prove themselves to the world and to the veteran pirates who often laugh at their amateur raids and sprees. With new members aboard and yet another bounty over their heads, the crew sails North into their most dangerous adventure of all.

CREW:

Charlotte Monroe —  Feisty, protective, and kind-hearted, Charlotte has been a pirate for only two years, after abandoning her boring middle-class life in order to seek adventure.

Gabriel Hudson — Street-smart, observant, and emotionally closed-off, Gabriel has known nothing but the pirate’s life, having grown up as the only son of two notorious pirate lords. 

Parker Gray — Adventurous, daring, and nosy, Parker is anxious to delve straight into the life of a pirate after leaving his crowded, lower class home in search of a way to support his family.

Aera Gray — Cautious, kind, and attentive, Aera is reluctant to join her brother Parker in his latest adventure, but knows it could be a good (if unconventional) way to break out of her shell.

Kya Richards — Bold, serious, and inquisitive, Kya has jumped from ship to ship before landing amongst the crew of The Red Ghost, building a reputation as a headstrong fighter who can’t be fooled.

if anyone would like to be added to a taglist for this wip, shoot me a message or an ask and i’d be happy to! also, feel free to send any questions my way about the story, setting, characters, etc. (although of course i’ll be posting more of that info hopefully very soon!)

tagging a few mutuals just this once, hope y’all don’t mind! @neptunely​ @ninazeniks​ @tindletalks​ @adaparkwrites​ @lovebenders​ @rhyaxxyn​ @noloumna​ @the-ichor-of-ruination​ @sautrns​

[skylander5000]

Home Is Where the Guilt-Tripping Is

read on Ao3

Summary: Laura returns home, tired after a mission with the Avengers, to an insecure Gabby Kinney. How is she going to make her feel better? Probably not in the way your thinking.

or

Gabby is feeling insecure because Laura had been spending so much time with the Avengers. Laura is quick to fix that.

A/n:  So a couple of things before you read. This is sort of my own headcanon. Doesn't really take place at a specific time in the X-23 comics. For context, just imagine post- Age of Ultron, except Laura was there.

Laura had just got home, fresh from a week-long mission with the Avengers, suit covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. She was desperate to get out of the dirtied blue and yellow spandex and into a hot shower. The cheap, dingy hotel Steve had them set up at didn't have hot water, so a scolding shower sounded like bliss to her aching joints. It felt like the metal of her claws was grinding at her bones, creating unwanted and painful friction.

She set down her go-bag on the kitchen counter and stripped off the jacket she used for cover. In the dead of night, the bottom portion of her costume just looked like graphic leggings. If a pedestrian were to stop her, the possibility of anyone recognizing the pattern on them to be Wolverine's was unlikely. But just in case, Laura was regularly altering the suit's design to avoid that scenario. Besides, there was only a baseline for what the Wolverine looked like; muscular, dark hair, fitted in something resembling a yellow and blue suit.

A warm cone of yellow light from a floor lamp illuminated the small apartment. The only sound was the rain beating against the custom Plexiglas windows. She'd had them installed shortly after moving in, finding the hustle and bustle of the city unbearable with her advanced hearing. The intense tumult was now a nearly undetectable thrum that Laura only picked up on occasion. Nothing seemed out of place. Save for her desk, now cluttered with papers and an open laptop.

Gabby had been doing her homework here, she deduced. That wasn't an exceptional occurrence. The Xavier School was only a 30-minute bus away, and her sister often came to visit if things were a bit hectic. It turns out a building housing 50 or so teenagers wasn't the best place to study. Every now and then, the young girl would sleepover. She even slept over the day before Laura left for her most recent mission. A part of it was odd for Laura, though. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her little sister's company. Laura loved it, welcomed it even. Gabby was a calm and comforting presence. But, it had been a long time since Laura has had anything resembling a roommate, and she wasn't the most accommodating when it came to space. Privacy was an important thing for her, and while she trusted her sister, she was by nature, a cautious being. To avoid intrusion and unnecessary conversations, Laura made sure to establish some ground rules.

The first being that Gabby was welcome to come over anytime she just had to call in advance and tell someone where she was going. Last time the 13-year-old left without telling anyone, the X-men were out until 3 a.m. scouring the city of New York. Meanwhile, she was asleep on Laura's sofa, fast asleep with a frozen waffle in hand.

The second rule was probably the most predictable. Gabby was not allowed in Laura's bedroom without permission. She was also to stay out of personal storage spaces and the medicine cabinet in the bathroom unless it was an actual emergency.

The third rule was one the Xmen decided upon collectively. Gabby, if she was going to stay the night at Laura's, had to have her all of her homework done. Furthermore, she must be in bed by a decent hour, especially on school nights. Gabby, while she was sweet and innocent and pure, disliked anything to do with school. She went to a traditional middle school, after all. Laura and the other Xmen had all determined that she needed a regular, base education, along with her studies on mutants and power control. Gabby had shunned the idea from day one.

"Why do I need to learn what they do. I'm not human," The 13-year-old had argued. Jean had only sighed, adjusting to give the lecture she gave to all the students about how all knowledge was beneficial, no matter your species. Laura was quick to cut Jean off though, stealing Gabby's attention as soon as she spoke, "If you go you can have free roam of the ice cream shelf in the freezer," Gabby had agreed to go then, still with some reluctance.

The fourth and final rule was more for Laura's comfort than anything, cautious by nature, remember. Gabby needed to keep an extra suit at the apartment. So in case of an emergency, she could quickly act without compromising her identity.

Laura pulled her phone out the front pocket of her bag, shooting off a quick text to Jean and Natasha, informing them that she got home. Although, she was sure Jean was already aware. The telepath was always checking in on her, making sure she was okay. The brunette was quick to shut off the phone completely before returning it to the go-bag. She didn't like using phones, but they were a necessity for missions. The ringers were loud and annoying. Phone calls were even more of a strain on her ears, the static, and piercing rings very apparent. In her case, they did more harm than good.

She began the process of peeling off her costume as best she could while walking, managing to wiggle one arm out of the form-fitting material before halting. Suppressing a laugh, she distantly examined the person-shaped lump currently lying across the sofa. Its breathing was calm and rhythmic, the rise and fall, the only indication of life from how still it was lying under the many quilts.

Laura worked the suit down to her hips, leaving her in a black tank top. Cautiously, as not frighten the lump, she kneeled and placed a hand on what she thought to be the creature's shoulder. The fabric began to contort as it moved. Laura pulled back the blankets, evoking a small squeak at the sudden intrusion of light. She smiled at the sight before her. Gabby, long hair disheveled, squinting up at her with a line of drool across her cheek. Her school clothes were wrinkled so heavily that Laura knew Gabby was going to receive a lecture from whoever was in charge of laundry this week.

The young girl's sleepy expression did not last long, once she realized who'd woken her. She tumbled off the couch and into Laura, tightly hugging her chest, face buried in her neck. "Hey Gabby," The older laughed, reciprocating her embrace with the little remaining strength she had. Gabby said, "I missed you so much," "It was only a week," Laura chuckled. Gabby looked at her, her brown eyes impeccable replicas of Laura's, "It felt like more than a week," There was a pout on her face that tugged at Laura's heartstrings more than she liked to admit. She affectionately rubbed the younger's shoulders, "Come on Gabs, don't do that to me," Gabby relinquished her grip but stayed in the cage of Laura's bent legs. They were just a small reach away from each other. She knew Gabby liked it when they were close. Some called it clingy. Laura preferred to think of it has endearing. "You know I didn't want to go," That was a lie. Laura was thrilled to work with the Avengers again. But Laura was determined to wipe that pout off her sister's face. "But the Avengers needed my help,"

Gabby fiddled with her fingers, eyes avoiding Laura's at all costs. She had some apprehension. The girl had something to say, but either couldn't or was too embarrassed to admit it.

Laura lifted Gabby's chin so that they were looking into each other's eyes once again, "What's wrong, Gabby?" The 13-year-old gave the most sorrowful look Laura had ever seen on her innocent face, "Do you like them more than me?" "The Avengers?" Gabby gave a small nod in response. "Gabrielle," Her sister's full name was reserved for only the most genuine of moments when Laura wanted her to understand the sincerity of what she was saying. "Of course I don't, why would you ever think that? I love you more than anything,"

She hated seeing Gabby like this, all sad and doubtful. Her sister was the happiest, most optimistic kid she'd ever known. But now her innocent features were dejected, and her eyes were shiny with tears that threatened to brim. Laura's heart was aching and heavy, guilt pinging through her like a pinball machine.

"Natasha," Gabby spoke so quickly and quietly, if it weren't for her enhanced hearing, Laura would have never caught it. She sighed, an awe of realization passing through her in waves. She rubbed a calloused thumb across her sister's tan cheek, making sure to speak as softly and calmly as possible, "Just because Natasha and I are dating doesn't mean I love you any less," "Do you love her more than me?" The girl asked, finally looking up at her. Laura gave a reassuring smile, "I love you both, equally. But, the way I care for Natasha is different," Gabby gave a confused expression, brow furrowing adorably. Laura was quick to resolve her confusion, "I love you, platonically, and I love Natasha, romantically," She paused briefly to read Gabby's expression before continuing, "Now that doesn't mean I love either one of you more than the other. It just means that the way I love each of you is different,"

All seemed resolved, the discouraged mug replaced with the usually cheery one. But, there was a mysterious glint in those brown eyes that had Laura worried.

Gabby opened her mouth to speak again, except now there was a pout on her face. The pout that she knew bent Laura to her will, "Why're you away so much?" Her voice was that soft, innocent tone that could break Laura apart immediately. It was a cheap shot using both the pout and that voice, and Gabby knew it was. She was fishing for something.

Laura chose her next words carefully. If she knew her sister, and she bet she did, she was going to guilt Laura into doing something, Laura simply didn't know what that something was yet. She went in subtly at first, making sure that Gabby was off guard, mind clouded with the allusion of victory, "When I'm away it is to help my friends with problems they have trouble solving," She rubbed her thumb across the young girl's face once again, "Also, Natasha is a new addition to my life, and I want to make sure that she knows I care about her," Laura paused one more time, allowing what she said to sink in before she went in for the kill, "But if you dislike me dating her so much, I guess I can call things off," Laura knew it was a low, but so was what Gabby did. You know what they say, fight fire with fire, or in this case, guilt-trip with guilt-tripping.

Gabby turned her head away from Laura's stroking gesture, suddenly entranced with sofa. She knew she'd been found out, caught in the midst of deception. "No, I don't want you to do that," She kicked a socked foot tenderly against Laura's booted one. The older chuckled, rubbing the younger's arm in an attempt to show she wasn't mad.

There was a beat of silence before Gabby spoke, and when she did her tone had shifted into a hopeful, devious one, that both perplexed and terrified Laura, "Maybe if I met the Avengers I wouldn't feel so bad about you leaving,"

Laura cursed herself silently. Gabby had won, and she knew it, the coy, but still adorable smile on the 13-year-old's face said so. Laura stood, knees cracking as she did. She looked down at her sister and couldn't help but laugh at the puppy eyes staring right back at her. She sighed out, "Gabrielle, do you want to meet the Avengers?"

A piercing squeal erupted from the child, causing Laura to cringe slightly. She giddily wrapped her arms around Laura's waist, hugging her as tightly as she could. "Thank you, Laura!" She said, face buried in the older's stomach. Laura reciprocated the embrace with a gentle pat to the young girl's back.

Laura couldn't help but smile as she watched her sister run laps around the apartment, joyously chanting, "I'm gonna meet the Avengers!"

She sighed, eyes following Gabby around the room, "What have I done?"

[pompadorkery]

um.. can we get the continuation to the angelo and valak lore machonachos just posted?

:3Sooo~We left off here~With Angelo getting a call from Heaven itself. Before anything can be done about Valak, Angelo figures he’d better go and see what Heaven wants. He doesn’t need more trouble while he’s trying to save his husband, so he wants to take care of it. Plus, duty and all that. He’s a responsible guy. He’s not gonna shirk his duties and obligations. So, he goes on up to Heaven. He’s unsure of what’s in store for him. Did they find out about him and Valak? Are they going to punish him further? Is this the end for him? He’s cautious, finding himself surrounded by the archangels. Gabriel seems a little peeved, but when isn’t he? It’s Michael who speaks. He praises Angelo for his good work in defending when the demons rose up and began attacking humans. He saved countless human lives, and possibly halted a would-be demonic uprising.(Luckily, it seems as if Heaven is unaware as to why the demons attacked. Aka: they don’t know that the demons were trying to capture Angelo whilst Valak and Ahriman were fighting.)While Michael is giving Angelo high regards and praising him, Gabriel just keeps looking angrier and angrier. Finally, at the end of it, Michael offers Angelo something. He offers him his powers back. The full extent. And just to really sweeten the offer, Angelo is allowed to feel the power surging back into him.

He’s surrounded by a glowing light, his wings sprout feathers back to their full size, his hair falls over his shoulders, his eyes lose their glassy dead look and become a beautiful blue once again, and the seal on his neck fades to merely a thin scar. He’s allowed to gaze upon himself in a mirror, and honestly, in that moment, the offer is extremely tempting. He’s beautiful again. He’s powerful again. He can fly  again. He’s told that his duties on Earth could be relinquished, and he could return to being a Dominion. Of course, he’d have to earn back everyone’s trust, and he’d still be monitored, but he can be his true self again. It’s the hesitation that sets Gabriel off. He’s already annoyed that everyone is being so merciful to someone he deems unworthy. He chides Angelo for not accepting this gracious offer immediately. Why is he hesitating? Why wouldn’t he jump at the chance to be a Dominion again and regain his respect amongst the other angels in Heaven?When Angelo flat out refuses, it confuses the other archangels. They question why he wouldn’t want this, and if he doesn’t accept, the opportunity won’t be given to him again. He’ll have to live out the rest of his existence on Earth doing the same work he’d been doing for the past 40+ years. He’d have no chance to return to his former glory. He doesn’t say much, only that he’s content with his life in the land of the living. He’s fine living the way he does, and that one good deed doesn’t forgive his past transgressions. Aaand, that he has his own reasons for wanting to stay. Michael strips his power away. Gabriel scoffs and mumbles to himself, wondering why Angelo would refuse such an offer, how he’s ungrateful, all that. Angelo asks if he can leave. And Michael says yes, and that Heaven only needs him to continue his work among the humans, but besides financial support, Heaven really won’t have anything to do with him anymore. As Angelo begins to leave, and Gabriel makes snide comments, Angelo then asks, “So… we are done here?”After receiving confirmation, that yes, they are done. Angelo turns and decks Gabriel right in the face, knocking him back and few feet. Gabriel of course, whines and complains, but Angelo simply leaves and goes back home to continue on with the plans of getting Valak back. –To get Valak back, he needs a way to coax Kocell back. He’s an angel, he can’t just waltz down into Hell. He’s very unsure of what he’s supposed to do to get in contact with her. But, the answer comes to him unexpectedly. As if by a stroke of luck, Angelo spots a demon wandering around in human form. The demon isn’t really bothering anyone, and just seems like they’re just kinda living amongst humans like Valak did. So, of course, Angelo stomps right over to them and begins harassing them, grabbing them by the shirt and getting up in their face, telling them that he needs to get in contact with someone. He needs the demon to send a message for him. He needs the demon to tell Kocell that he wants a rematch. He wants to face off with her again. He gives the demon a specific time and place he wants to meet, and tells them to relay the message. There’s a bit of threatening on Angelo’s part to made sure that the demon does as it’s told. After that, it’s just a waiting game. Angelo tells Nevaeh that the plan is in motion. He’s nervous. Scared even. He doesn’t want to hurt Valak. But, whatever Kocell had done to him… that wasn’t his Valak. That was some sort of beast. Angelo and the girls make their preparations. They’re ready by the time Kocell shows up again. She’s boastful and showy as always, and makes a big deal of making her entrance with Valak in tow, looking just as feral as before. They’re a good distance away from the incomplete salt circles, so Kocell won’t notice them. It’s risky, but Angelo needs to lure the two demons to the circles. He needs to get Valak to chase him down again. Turning on his heel and pushing off with a powerful flap of his wings, Angelo lunges forward and away from Valak, coaxing him to chase after him. He just has to use his own legs to try and outrun Valak until he gets him to the circle. He can’t risk riding Heaven’s Bounty and disrupting the salt circles. He has to do this himself. He also can’t be too far ahead of Valak, because he doesn’t want him to notice the salt circle ahead of time.(Also, if anything went bad, he didn’t want Heaven’s Bounty to get hurt, because she would most definitely try to protect him if Valak attacked)He’s running as fast as his legs will take him, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Valak is behind him. Meanwhile, Kocell is following them, eager to see how her little pet does. She wants to watch. Unfortunately for her, she’s paying so much attention to Valak and Angelo, that she doesn’t bother to look down to her feet and to notice that she’s walked right into a salt circle. She’s literally stepped right into their trap. Nevaeh quickly rushes out and completes the circle, trapping Kocell inside. It’s a very intricate circle, it needs to be complex to hold the power of a demon general. Nevaeh doesn’t want Amber Lee anywhere near Kocell.  Plus, Amber Lee can’t see Kocell or Valak when they’re in their demon forms. Kocell was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected that Angelo would team up with humans of all things. Nevaeh immediately starts reading off Psalms that will banish Kocell back to the 9th circle of Hell. Amber Lee has poked her head out once she sees Nevaeh jumping into action, she doesn’t know if it’s time for her to act yet. Valak definitely noticed when Kocell got trapped. She’s definitely screeching and making a bunch of noise. Valak turns his attention to her, ready to save his mistress. However, Amber Lee happens to be right in his path. And, obviously, Valak would have no problem completely eviscerating her to get to Kocell. Amber Lee has no idea that she’s right in the way. She’s ready to close up the other circle, but doesn’t know when. She’s unaware of the demon ready to bulldoze her down. Angelo panics, seeing that Valak’s attention is off of him, and that Amber Lee is in danger.With no other choice, he materializes his whip. He cracks it towards Valak and snares his wrist, tugging him forward and dragging him down into the salt circle intended for him. He holds him there and gives Amber Lee the signal to close off the circle. The moment the circle is closed, Angelo releases Valak from the whip. The injury seems to be searing and smoking, the whip leaving a pretty nasty burn on Valak’s skin.

He’s, of course, snarling and nearly foaming at the mouth, looking on as Nevaeh finishes reading the passages and exorcises Kocell back to Hell. The ground opens up, and with a scream, Kocell is plummeted back to the very bottom of Hell, as if there was a weight around her ankle dragging her down. Needless to say… she’s pissed. Once the ground closes back up and Kocell is nowhere to be seen, attention turns to Valak.Angelo had hoped that exorcising Kocell would make Valak return to normal… but it’s not the case. He’s banging and pounding at the invisible barrier encasing him in the circle. He’s still the same. Still feral. Still wild. They restrain him with chains made of Holy Gold, while Nevaeh recites incantations to keep him settled while they get him back to Angelo’s apartment(luckily humans can’t see any of this going down).And once they get him to Angelo’s place, they clear a room to put him in, and restrain him with even more chains. They place a large salt circle around the room to keep him imprisoned. And a good spritzing of holy water doesn’t hurt either. Angelo can’t stay in contact with the Holy Gold for too long, and after having to drag Valak all the way back home, he can’t even really be with him. He has to keep him locked away in that room.(He had to physically touch the gold while locking Valak up, which is much worse than simply being in the presence of the Holy Gold. He can be in the presence of it alot longer than he can be touching it. And he’s already done too much touching for the day.)So. He just has to lock Valak in the room and then go to sit with the girls. Angelo’s mood is notably… down. He has his husband back, but at what cost?

[bananagreste]

when i ask about gabriel’s grand plan, i want to know what he plans to do to get his hands on the miraculouses, NOT what he plans to do if he already has the miraculouses on hand.

since canon doesn’t want to tell us what is his grand plan, here’s an au:

post-gorizilla but gabriel maintains his two brain cells so he figures out adrien is chat noir, despite adrien asking wayhem to act as his double

gabriel and adrien have the emotional talk where they promise to have better communication and spend more time together

gabriel allows adrien to go out and spend time with his friends; he also allows them to hang out inside his room bc it’s a cool room™

gabriel makes himself available to dine with adrien; occasionally invites adrien’s friends for lunch, claiming he wants to get to know them better

gabriel basically becomes the world’s friendliest dad

meanwhile

new superheroes are in paris!

gabriel keeps himself updated on ladyblog news, mostly looking for photos and video recordings for investigation purposes

gabriel notices a superheroes group photo that look oddly familiar to him and recalls a similar group photo of adrien and his friends

SHOOKETH

gabriel wonders if the superheroes know each other as civilians so decide to test the theory by switching from random akumatizations to calculated akumatizations to see how they would respond

the results are inconclusive so he remain cautious

however, he notice marinette, remembering that she’s the one who returned the grimoire to him, claiming she took the book for fashion reasons and wonders if it’s just an act since she is ladybug

don’t worry, marinette remain cautious

while he uses akumatization as the primary method to obtain the miraculouses, he tried to use an alternate method by taking the miraculouses directly from the kids

this method is only possible with adrien and marinette since the other three don’t have their miraculous on their person

it doesn’t work but nice try anyway

overall, while gabriel investigates the superheroes, he is also being investigated in return; however, neither know what the other is doing

master fu acts as the miraculous dealer, complete with hat and trench coat and only appear in random alleyways to pass the miraculouses

he’s never at the same place so don’t bother looking for him bc he will look for you so just hang around alleyways if you need him

the day they will have a showdown is when they have enough information to take the other out so whoever have more information can strike first

in case you wonder if adrien will experience angst when the truth comes out, he says, ‘it’s strange knowing he changes his behaviour when he knows i'm his enemy, but i believe he means what he said to me. plus, i didn’t know he’s capable of being the world’s friendliest dad lmao.‘

in other words, weird flex but okay

[bibliophileiz]

Review of Devil’s Bargain: Or, The Only Villain I like This Season is Sister Jo

Continuing my pattern of reviewing b*cklemming episodes as a coping mechanism, here are my thoughts on Supernatural’s latest episode “Devil’s Bargain.” 

Sister Jo

I admit, I got worried when I saw that first overly-sexual grace draining scene, but overall I liked Sister Jo/Anael -- if for no other reason than that it gives Season 13 an actual good villain. (Also apparently there’s a nine-year’s-long fandom theory Anna is the angel Anael? I had no idea.) Now if all those testosteroned bozos would clear the stage for her, we might have a cool showdown at the end of the season.

She’s kind of a Crowley 2.0 in that she understands the art of manipulation and surviving by her wits. I have no doubt she could play both sides easily. There’s still some cagey dialogue, no doubt -- Jo using the phrase “cost efficient” right after saying she’s a pretty good businesswoman made me roll my eyes. But given how badly b*cklemming ran Crowley’s character into the ground last season, I’m surprised Anael’s as well written as she is. I’d love to see her go toe to toe with a newly-powered-up Rowena

I’d also love to see a scene between Anael and Cas in which Anael’s “negotiating” the return of “the king of heaven’s son.” She’s reading it like a hostage situation and Cas is reading it like she’s betrayed heaven by propelling Lucifer to the throne. It will also be very interesting to see how Cas, in that circumstance, would react to learning of Lucifer’s promise to restore the angels’ wings.

Speaking of....

The angels

If those six angels kneeling before the throne at the end are the only angels left, then I’m actually all for the angels (sans Cas) getting their wings back. I’ve felt for a while the angels are kind of toothless now. Remember when Cas was so terrifying back in Season 4 that one demon wouldn't even say his name, just called him “the end?” It was chilling.

If you still have a whole host of angels left, bringing the wings back would feel kind of old hat. But if there are only a handful left and most of those have wings because they’re serving Lucifer, that makes them a threat again without just rehashing old plots. And I especially like the idea of Anael flashing her wings at Cas and his truck.

Ketch

Why, why, why is Ketch back? WHY?

Also, why does he keep bringing the same dumb deal to the Winchesters? “Let’s work together! Huzzah!” He actually says “huzzah!” Cas knocking him out was my favorite part of the episode. If only he had stayed in the trunk.

Asmodeus has more confusing powers

Did Asmodeus mind-whammy Donatello? I feel like maybe he did, but I’m not going to lie, I stopped paying attention to the scene as soon as I realized it was between Donatello and Asmodeus (read: immediately). I vaguely remember thinking he did something I’ve never seen a Prince of Hell do before but I was concentrating really hard on CandyCrush, so who knows?

Who’s on first?

I did not ... understand the motel scene.

So ... Sam, Dean, and Cas corner Anael outside the motel and she leads them back to her and Lucifer’s motel room. She knocks on the motel door and Lucifer answers, only for Dean and Sam to step into the room.

Lucifer then turns around and walks to the back of the room, only to have his way blocked ... by Cas.

Who just appeared. Magically.

Where did Cas come from? Is there a door in the back of the motel room? Where does it lead to? Did Lucifer and Anael get adjoining rooms? Why did they need two rooms? They don’t sleep, and they seemed to be having pillow talk on one shared bed anyway. Does the door lead to a balcony? Did Cas climb up the balcony? Why didn’t we get to see that?

But wait, there’s more. While Lucifer is distracted torturing Team Free Will, Ketch bursts in and throws ... something ... that flashes in a way that would be dramatic and impressive if this were Friends, but instead is kind of a letdown in a show where flashing stuff usually means someone’s about to die because the flashing thing doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t affect Lucifer or Anael, who fly away, but it also doesn’t seem to affect, you know, any of the other three people in the room.

What was it? What was it supposed to do? Kill Lucifer? Incapacitate Lucifer? In that case, why doesn’t it kill or incapacitate Sam and Dean? Does it only work on angels? If so, why doesn’t it kill or incapacitate Cas?

How did Ketch even get out of the trunk? This is the only question anyone in the episode thinks to ask, and the answer is: “I’m Ketch.”

Well ok then.

Roller Skate Girl and Cake Boy

The meet cute at the beginning gave me serious Charmed vibes, probably because my dad saw it and commented the woman looked like Phoebe Halliwell. Anyway, I kind of want to see b*cklemming try and write a Hallmark movie now. I’d drunk-watch the hell out of that movie.

Donatello

At least there’s a point to him being back this time even if he was the most forgettable part of the episode.

Also, when Kevin gets to our world, what’s going to happen? Will he and Donatello both be prophets? Will their powers cancel each other out? Will one be The One and Only prophet and the other go back to being a normal nerd? The people demand answers!

Dean and Cas are married

Dean and Cas aggressively apologizing to each other is my jam. Also I loved the “We’re boned” “Epically” exchange, followed by Sam’s WTF face.

Magical Maguffin

Oh, we have an archangel blade now? Nice to have heard of that before. Who names these things?

I mean, we do already have a weapon that kills archangels. You know, the Lance of Michael, the one specifically created to kill an archangel, wielded by an archangel, and which is currently in the custody of our dashing heroes?There would have actually been a point to bringing Ketch back if he told Asmodeus about the lance, given Mary told him about it last season. And then there would have been a point to Asmodeus if he disguised himself as Cas or someting and snuck into the bunker to take it. But that would have been an effective use of the villains, and we can’t have that.

Of course, we all know why the archangel blade was really introduced....

The one we’ve been waiting for

The archangel Gabriel -- our world’s version of him -- is back.

So ... on the one hand, of all the “dead” characters to bring back, Gabriel is one of the ones who makes the most sense, given the way he died is a way we now know archangels don’t really die. (Unless I’m remembering wrong. Doesn’t Lucifer stab him with an angel blade?) On the other hand ....

Yeah, that’s too many characters back and too much plot twisting.

Admittedly, I was never personally invested in Gabriel. I like the character fine, and I think Richard Speight Jr. is a great director and actor and seems to be a sweet person. I was totally on board for an AU version of him hanging out with AU Cas or AU Michael. But I was happy for our version to stay dead.

Now, if it were Charlie who came back, I would be throwing confetti, doing back flips, and excusing whatever plot gymnastics it took to make that happen, so I understand the jubilation of Gabriel’s biggest fans, and if one of the two people reading this are in that number, I am happy for you guys, I really am.

But I am also very, very worried about where the season’s going because it’s more than halway over and we have the following to wrap up:

- Jack’s sinister (ish) powers and his attempts to control them. - AU Michael’s plan to invade. - Ketch’s unnecessary double agent plot. - Asmodeus’ attempts to seduce Jack to the Dark Side and take over Hell. - Lucifer’s takeover of Heaven and attempts to win over his son. - Possibly the angels’ wings coming back. - Possibly Rowena’s power-up. - Run-of-the-mill Monster of the Week episodes, like the Scooby Doo one we’ve got coming up.

And now the showrunners want to throw Gabriel and an assassination plot into the mix?

It’s just a lot. And it’s the fifth -- count ‘em, fifth -- “dead” character to come back this season. It’s starting to feel like Game of Thrones or a really weird soap opera.

I feel like the showrunners are just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks and I don’t know how they plan to weave it all  together. I guess they could save Rowena’s plot (incidentally the only one I really care about) for Season 14 and/or Wayward Sisters (neither of which have been greenlit yet as far as I know) which narrows it down a little but ... only a little.

The only way I can see it coming together is if the three separate archangel camps -- Camp Michael (AU angels), Camp Lucifer (Anael and remaining angels), and Camp Gabriel (Asmodeus, Ketch, and the demons) -- all come for Jack at once, and the Winchesters have to scramble to protect Jack and help him wield his powers against all of them.

Which is a cool idea on paper, but still a lot to juggle. Here’s to hoping Dabb and Co. can pull it off.

[astralgabriel]

just my soul responding

sabriel coda fix-it fic - this one is quite heavy, with mentions of suicidal behaviour. if that is a trigger for you, please don’t read on

also posted here on ao3

One week.

It had been one whole week since Sam had carried the Messenger of God out of the Empty, pale and unresponsive in his arms.

Rowena had rushed back to the Bunker after hearing about Michael, the small witch bringing a much needed flurry of hope and energy back to the building. Charlie had opted to stay on the road, reaching out to all she could and warning them of Michael’s presence.

Dean’s absence weighed heavily on everyone. Michael choosing to lay low had only worsened that - no-one had seen Dean’s face for a week.

Sam worked like a man possessed, combing through every lore book for anything that could help get his brother back. He only slept when it was physically impossible to carry on, and even then for only a few hours at a time.

Castiel grew increasingly high strung. He had already been struggling with the impending collapse of Heaven and subsequent extinction of his species, and the loss of Dean had tipped him over the edge.

It was a simple thought from Jack one afternoon - “If only I had my powers, I could wake my uncle. He could help us.” - that set the wheels of a rather haphazard plan in motion.

Rowena was able to rip open a portal to the angelic afterlife with relative ease, the rift casting the library in a soft purple glow. Since the Empty could only play host to the supernatural dead, they’d settled on Sam crossing, with Castiel following if he hadn’t returned within a day.

The Cosmic Entity confronted Sam almost immediately, wearing a mockery of his image like a suit two sizes too small. It was the picture of destructive rage and barely concealed pain, its face contorted in an aggressive snarl; Sam narrowed his arms and lifted his chin defiantly.

“You can’t be here, human,” it spat out, squaring its shoulders.

“Tell you what,” Sam said, folding his arms across his chest. “You give me what I came here for, and I’ll leave.”

The Cosmic Empty stepped towards Sam, though the wince of pain took away from the intimidating gesture. “I don’t make deals with insignificant mortals like you.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to suffer then, because I’m not going anywhere.”

They came to a stalemate. Sam wouldn’t budge, and the Entity couldn’t pressure him into leaving. For Sam, this was little more than a minor inconvenience, but for the Cosmic Entity, the pounding pain inside its head grew and grew till it finally relented.

“What do you want, huh? How do I get rid of you?”

“Gabriel,” Sam said, smiling innocently. “I need Gabriel, the archangel.”

The Cosmic Entity scowled at him, but between one instance and the next, the Messenger’s unconscious form appeared in front of Sam. “You get him in the condition I received him. No more.”

Sam sighed, but conceded. Holding the archangel tight to his chest, bridal style, Sam left his twisted doppelganger and the unrelenting blackness of the Empty behind.

Relief coursed through him as he watched Gabriel’s chest rise and fall, slow and rhythmic, in the soft light of the Bunker.

For the first time in a week, Sam felt a spark of hope flicker to life inside him.

It had been five days since Gabriel woke. He had lashed out at anyone who tried to approach him, watching everything carefully with wild, unblinking eyes. Sam sat on the opposite side of the room and spoke to him in hushed tones till that feral look turned into something more familiar.

“Sam?” Gabriel had said, the name falling from his lips like a hopeful plea.

The sound of his name, uncertain and cautious, had Sam letting out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, it’s me,” he said, his smile spread wide across his cheeks. “It’s me, Gabriel. You’re safe. You’re alive.”

Gabriel surged forward with inhuman speed and gripped Sam desperately tight, fingers clawing into his plaid shirt. Sam held the archangel close, one hand cradling the back of his head, unsure how to handle the protective instinct rearing up inside him.

This was a being of immense power, who could twist time and reality with less than a thought, and in that moment, Sam wanted nothing more than to hide him away from the world’s cruelty.

Sam murmured meaningless comforts as Gabriel shook, silent sobs wracking his body. Gabriel crumbled under the gentle circles traced on his back; Sam realised, with a spike of sorrow, that Gabriel likely hadn’t felt simple kindness in years, maybe longer.

Slowly, the tremors running through Gabriel ceased, giving way to the gentle rise and fall of breathing. Sam noticed, with a soft fondness, that the archangel had fallen asleep against his chest.

There was something so warming about knowing that Gabriel trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms, that Gabriel felt safe enough to lower his defences completely around Sam.

Trying not to jostle the archangel too much, Sam slipped one arm under Gabriel’s knees and curled the other around his shoulders, lifting him. He figured that whilst Gabriel was probably tired enough to sleep most anywhere right now, a bed was likely more preferable to the floor.

Sam made to leave, but felt himself held in place by a gentle yet unnervingly strong grip; Gabriel blinked up at him sleepily, raw fear and need clear in his eyes. He didn’t have to say a word, Sam just knew.

Please don’t leave.

If there was anything Sam understood, it was that desperate need to not be alone. To feel the warmth of someone else, to know that this was all real.

Gabriel had forced himself to be functional - for us, Sam’s mind guiltily supplied - long before he was ready. For weeks, Gabriel had forced one foot in front of the other, shaped himself into the image of normality, and his stability had crumbled.

Sam nodded and smiled. When Gabriel finally let his grip fall, Sam shrugged off his plaid shirt and toed off his shoes. He paused momentarily before undoing his belt, stepping out of his jeans. Down to just his boxers and undershirt, Sam pulled the sheet back.

“I’ll just, uh,” Gabriel mumbled, stumbling over his words as he began shuffle to the opposite edge of the bed. “Sorry. Bet you didn’t have spooning with a hot mess on your to do list today.”

“Gabe, it’s okay.”

The smaller man stilled as Sam pulled him back against his chest, then melted into the embrace. Sam was careful to make sure his grip was loose; he knew just how restraining a simple hug could feel in the depths of a panic attack.

It didn’t take long for sleep to pull Gabriel under, every remnant of tension in his body rolling away.

Sam slept lightly that night. Every whimper and every jolt woke him, had him humming gently against the top of Gabriel’s head, pressing soft touches against Gabriel’s palm till the archangel calmed again

Not for the first time - and he found himself hoping not for the last as well - Sam marvelled at the miraculous being in his arms. Where Lucifer had ran jarringly cold, Gabriel was a gentle warmth, like compassion and love embodied in a small frame.

It had been three days since Sam had last spoken to Gabriel.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Wherever Sam was, Gabriel was not. Sometimes he caught fleeting glimpses of the archangel turning a corner, but Sam was never fast enough to catch up to him.

He probably just needed some space, Sam reasoned. Resurrections were always disorientating, especially the first time - it took a while to get to grips with the fullness of life again.

It was the first time since his escape from captivity that Gabriel didn’t have a distraction to occupy his mind. There was no revenge mission to throw himself into, or bizarre interdimensional rescue to take part in. There was just processing.

Still, every day, Sam knocked on Gabriel’s door, called his name. There was never a response.

At night, Sam was almost certain he heard muffled sobs echoing down the hallway. Every time he reached Gabriel’s room, he found the archangel fast asleep, curled up and nesting amongst all the pillows and blankets he’d been able to find.

Often, Sam lingered a little longer than necessary, committing the peaceful sleep expression to memory, before the self-loathing and suffering tore it away again come morning.

“Why couldn’t you have just left me there?”

Sam started at the sound of Gabriel’s voice, blinking up from his book. Gabriel stood in the doorway, shoulders slumped, watching Sam. There was something in his expression behind the neutral mask, something vulnerable and angry and exhausted spilling through the cracks.

“What?” was all Sam managed in response, frowning.

“I was finally free,” Gabriel said, the forced neutral tone slipping, exposing the raw pain in his words. “I had finally escaped, and you- You dragged me back.”

“Gabriel... You’re free, you know that, right? You’re safe here.”

The responding bitter laugh flooded the library with tangible malice, twisting something uncomfortably deep in Sam’s stomach. Gabriel’s feigned cool expression was gone, lips twisting into a snarl.

“Am I free, Sam? Am I really?” Gabriel bit out sharply. “I owe you my life. My gratitude. My servitude. My shackles aren’t physical anymore, but they’re still there.”

“And what’s that meant to mean, huh?” Sam replied, narrowing his eyes. Gabriel lifted his chin defiantly, challenging Sam. “Do you even know how difficult it was to get into the Empty, to convince it to let you go?”

“I never asked you to bring me back. I never wanted to be brought back!”

Sam felt his stomach drop as it all clicked.

“Gabe-”

“I did the whole noble, self-sacrificing death for- for you!” Gabriel yelled, his voice cracking. He paused and dropped his head, drawing in a shuddered breath. “I have nothing left to give, Sam.”

“Gabriel,” Sam said, his tone careful and controlled, “You knew you couldn’t beat Michael, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“... You didn’t plan on coming back to this world, did you?”

Gabriel averted his eyes, dropping his chin. “No.”

“Why?”

“Does it matter?” Gabriel replied, but the edge was gone - he just sounded tired.

Sam swallowed down his unease - there was something wrong about seeing his own demons and mental struggles mirrored in the Holy Messenger. “It does to me,” he said softly, watching as Gabriel shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Gabriel froze for a moment, looking torn between running and opening up, then sighed. He sat down opposite Sam, elbows propped up on the table, but still avoided eye contact.

“Every time I close my eyes, I see him. I know I’m free, but... I’m not. I’m still in that cage, still his little chew toy. I mean, what kind of archangel ends up as some demon’s bitch?” Gabriel laughed, but there was no amusement there, just pain and self-loathing.

“I always knew my brothers were better, stronger, that I was the runt of the litter. The holy offcut with a penchant for hedonism and humanity. Asm- uh, he didn’t just break me. He shattered me, and I can’t even begin put myself back together because I don’t know where all the pieces are.”

Sam wanted nothing more than to reach out, to offer a semblance of comfort to Gabriel as he opened up, but knew the archangel would simply shut down again if interrupted.

“I just- I wanted it to be over, Sam. I want it to be over.”

“I know how it feels. Trust me, I do. You just want it to be over, you want to escape it all and it seems like the only way.”

Gabriel stilled, his lips parted ever so slightly. Sam had his full attention. He wanted to be able to believe Sam, to trust in what he said, but there was still that lingering doubt at the back of his mind.

“Death isn’t the answer,” Sam said, watching the archangel carefully for any response. “It means no more suffering, but also means you never get to recover. You never get to rediscover the beauty in life.”

Gabriel’s lips drew into a thin line as he rubbed at his eyes with his palms, willing the growing urge to cry back down. “I don’t know where to start, Sam,” he said finally, his voice rough and low.

“I’ll help you,” Sam replied, offering up a hopeful smile. “We’ll all help you. One step at a time, Gabe.”

Gabriel nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Sam thought in that moment, Gabriel truly looked his age - the years weighed down on him, dragging his shoulders down, exhausting him to the bone.

“Come on,” Sam said, standing up and offering his hand. Gabriel looked up at Sam, furrowing his brow in confusion. “You need to rest.”

Gabriel allowed Sam to lead him by hand back to his room. He caught Sam’s wrist as the hunter made to leave, looked up at him with the same pleading eyes from days before.

“Stay?”

“Sure.”

[bethgreeneishopeunseen]

Boots is Beth Masterpost

Boots, or Binoculars Bethfoot as I like to call her, is one of my favorite things about Team Delusional. I love this mysterious figure. Since she first appeared onscreen, I and many other TDers have argued that she is Beth in disguise, hiding amongst the Scavengers. I archive all posts related to Boots under this tag (X), but for convenience here is a masterpost of evidence for why Boots is Beth. For reference, Sabrina Gennarino plays Tamiel, one of Jadis’s two hands. Talking Dead confirmed that Tamiel was Boots, after 7x10 aired, in the show’s Live Quiz section. This all part of the subterfuge, as you will see:

Boots filmed the gate scene on July 29th, 2016 (X). T$DF documented this shoot in their forum threads, but they never announced the information on their Facebook or Tumblr. Their general silence was odd, as the site had pictures and usually posts all of their pictures on Facebook. When @bethgreenewarriorprincess​  and I first heard this information, we were very excited as we had been speculating Beth would be connected to Alexandria’s gates. Beth is a coda of Sophia’s arc - the lost girl is found, hope lives on - and their characters are heavily connected to gates. Sophia came through the barn doors, shattering the group and their hope for the future. Beth would have been carried out of Grady’s gates after Coda. And Emily came through Alexandria’s gates for a surprise appearance

Emily posted a latergram on July 29th. She was very sneaky about it, even more so than usual (X). We believe that she filmed the tree scene in a private location, probably in a studio or on the studio grounds, while Sabrina Gennarion filmed as a stand-in for her. Sabrina filmed the shot that T$DF reported due to the risk of being seen is higher at the Gin property.

Christy and I have been theorizing that Beth would appear disguised/unrecognizable in a coda (after credit scene) for years. We thought the return would parallel Morgan’s return in season 5. We even considered that the imagery would be related to Beth’s shoes, as there was shoe-related imagery, such as Carl’s lost shoe in 4x10 and the boy’s lone shoe at the tracks in 4x11.

In 7x16 it was revealed that Jadis was Negan’s little bird. She told Rick that, “Tamiel came for the boat things. Followed ones who took. Made a better deal.” So Tamiel followed Rick to Alexandria, but then she continued on to the Sanctuary, meaning logistically she can’t be Boots. She couldn’t be in two places at once, as Boots got to Alexandria the same day that the Saviors took the boat things. When she kidnapped Gabriel, Boots had to steal a car. If Tamiel had transportation, she could have returned to Alexandria from the Sanctuary in that timeframe, theoretically, but then she wouldn’t need to steal a car. It makes sense if Jadis sent two scouts after Rick and Aaron, and if Beth were one of the scouts, she’d volunteer to watch Alexandria. After Grady, she would be cautious, and she’d have only seen Rick, not Maggie, not Daryl. She would want to scope out the community before making a move. 

Tamiel and Boots have different costume features (X) (X). Their shoes are similar, though Tamiel’s right boot doesn’t appear to have the indentation as Boots’. Boots’s sleeves are leather and have a shiny button on the wrist, while Tamiel’s sleeves are made from two different materials including a puffy winter coat. Beth wore fingerless in 4x16, during the flashback that included the line, “There’s a new sheriff in town,” and Maggie also wore fingerless gloves in 7x08, calling attention to that costume feature (X).

We know that Sabrina filmed at the gates because in that shot Boots had the same shoulder build, wide and masculine. She also has masculine hands with large knuckles, while Boots has fair, delicate hands like Emily. Boots has the same forehead creases as Emily as well a faded scar above her eyebrow, where Beth’s second facial laceration was.

(picture credit to @badassbethdixon​)

When discussing Boots’s identity on Talking Dead, Seth Gilliam was extremely nervous and stumbling over his words (X). He “confirmed” that Tamiel was Boots after Pollyanna (Jadis) talked about subterfuge in filming.

The Junkyard is a thematic mirror of Grady. While Grady was extremely neat and used its wards as slaves under a system of debt, the Scavengers live under a code of “We take, we don’t bother,” amongst an actual garbage heap. Both communities are parasites in complimentary forms. With all of that in mind, Jadis is a perfect set-up to be Beth’s adversary as Dawn was. Dawn was the Wicked Stepmother from Snow White while Jadis is the Wicked Witch, to Beth’s warrior princess/queen arc (X). Lastly, the Junkyard is the community original to the show since Grady. The set is huge and thus would be costly. Why build an elaborate set for a small adversarial group, unless it meant something BIG for a character? And no character has ever been given their own community for development, besides Beth.

TPTB added shading to the face when Boots lowered the binoculars, who was supposedly a new character that the audience would not recognize. Going by physical features, Boots was not theorized characters like Cyndi, Dwight, and Ezekiel. If Boots were simply a new character, the special effects was excessive.

TTD is not available in every country, and Tamiel being Boots also wasn’t announced in every TTD showing (i.e. show the Live Quiz) (X). Why withhold such important information from the audience? It’s also strange that TPTB would Boots up so much and then never officially reveal her identity on the show, like doing a close-up on Tamiel’s boots and then panning to her face.

Right around 7b aired TWD twitter responded to a tweet about Boots’s identity, saying it was Beth. This is an old TV trope called the sarcastic confession. They were truthful, but they couched it in humor to sound insincere.

Tamiel is an actual Biblical name referring to a fallen angel who taught humans about astronomy, which includes the Sun and stars (X) (X). Through symbolism, TPTB have repeatedly connoted Beth as the “Sun” in TWD as she is the light and hope for their world (X). Carl also taught Judith about astronomy so she could find her way if she were ever lost, and Beth would follow the North star to reach Virginia (X).

It’s clear that Sabrina never filmed as Tamiel on July 29th. And yet, Sabrina posted an old selfie from insider her trailer. She captioned it, “My first day as #Tamiel July 2016”. This doesn’t make sense, as she wasn’t wearing Tamiel’s costume at the gates (which is hanging behind her in the picture) and the Junkyard set wasn’t built until mid-August. Sabrina was likely on set in July so she and Emily could film the scenes that explained how Tamiel and Beth reached Alexandria after seeing Rick by the boat (X).

Sabrina promoted “Boots”/“Tamiel is Boots” once right after 7x10 aired (X). She has never again acknowledged Boots’s identity, which makes sense if she filmed with Emily. She would know that she should focus on promoting her character, instead of someone else’s character she was a stand-in for.

Don’t fight me on this. The scar is proof enough, everything else is just extra blessings from Bethus and Scott Gimple. The signs are really all there, and we’ve been reading them right right from the beginning.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: OFF-SEASON NEWS AND NOTES - VOLUME I

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Now that the Bradford pears and forsythias have sprung into bloom and are kicking in, the New York Rangers might want to put a giant set of forsythias in front of the XL Center to obscure the Hartford Wolf Pack after another spring without playoff hockey. The roster for 2019-20 is in the embryonic stage of development, however without a coaching staff, not much will be known until after a new Rangers President is named. That decision isn’t likely to come until mid-to-late May. GM Jeff Gorton is the final hockey authority in the MSG hierarchy and a lot will be ongoing as the presidential search process continues. As of May 1st, this is what the Wolf Pack roster might look like before any trades and the upcoming June draft in Vancouver is done. Goalies: Alexander Georgiev and Adam Huska. The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! Goaltender, Igor Shestyorkin, and forward, Vitali Kravtsov, will finally be coming to New York next season, but there are caveats. Neither has formally signed a contract, but that could be coming soon as both of their KHL contracts concluded on April 30th. Both will be in the Rangers prospects camp at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, CT while their practice facility undergoes renovations.  A report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post says that in Shestyorkin’s deal, there will likely contain a non-Hartford clause roughly along these lines; if he doesn’t make the Rangers he could be reassigned to SKA St. Petersburg, his KHL club. If he does make the Rangers, Shestyorkin would likely need some adjustment period to the North American smaller rinks. It's entirely possible that he could play for Hartford say for a limited period of time at the beginning of the season before being elevated and Georgiev either gets returned to the Pack or traded. It would be similar to the Dustin Tokarski, who is a UFA this summer and Marek Mazanec who rotated this season with Georgiev to get playing time when Henrik Lundqvist was playing long stretches. Brandon Halverson and Chris Nell have their entry-level deals expiring. Neither is likely to be re-signed. Defense: Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajak, Chris Bigras, Brandon Crawley, Sean Day, Darren Raddysh, and Joey Keane. Except for Keane, a rookie from London (OHL), they are all players returning some coming off season-ending injuries (Lindgren - a concussion, Bigras - ankle, and Hajak-shoulder). Day and Crawley had major struggles this past season. Bigras is an RFA and a player the Pack should re-sign if they are going to have to have some continuity. Leaving: John Gilmour, a Group 6 UFA (Unrestricted free agent) was undrafted and has not played 80 NHL games by his 25th birthday. Because of this unique status as an unrestricted free agent, under the CBA, he should and will likely sign elsewhere. A pro hockey career is a short one. This is a rare financial opportunity and with the Rangers currently having four defensemen making $4 million plus per year, it's not likely to leave much roster room. Defenseman Rob O’Gara, another Group 6 UFA, and one of the assistant captains this year, ended the year with an injury (back spasms). Like Gilmour, with economic freedom, he's likely to take advantage of it. O’Gara was cautious in his exit interview on breakup day. “It's very tough to be a part of something like this, with the season we had and to see how it affects somebody like our coach. You develop a relationship over a season, so when something like this happens, you feel personally responsible, even though we were together as a team. He helped me keep developing my game. Early on in the season, I went to get some mental help for my game (with a sports psychologist) and he also helped me come around on that end. We built that trust early on. It was big. I was trying too hard and not doing the things I do well.” A four-year pro veteran, O'Gara is getting healthy with his back and handling his pending nuptials in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine. In July, he'll marry his high school sweetheart, Isabella Wise, and letting the hockey economics take care of themselves. “You know the first three years between here, Providence, and Boston, I have seen all sides of this business. We (he and his agent) have talked informally, but my priority is to get healthy, get back to normal, plan my wedding, and we'll see what happens for next year,” O’Gara said as he departed with personnel from the locker room still having to carry his bags to his car because his back is still clearly not 100%. Josh Wesley, still Carolina Hurricane property, will likely be cut loose when the Charlotte Checkers end their run likely in June in the Calder Cup Final. Julius Bergman, a late-season acquisition from Ottawa, is an RFA. He is being pursued by several Swedish Hockey League teams and will likely return home. Darren Raddysh, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for Peter Holland, was unimpressive during his stay in the Connecticut capitol. He supplied just a lone goal on 23 shots in 22 games. Not sterling numbers for an offensive defenseman to say the least. Add in a minus-10 rating, and he shouldn’t come back even with another year left. Buy him out. It’s a worthy investment. Forwards: Steven Fogarty, Ville Meskanen, Ryan Gropp, Tim Gettinger, Matt Beleskey, Shawn O’ Donnell, Ty Ronning, Jake Elmer, Ryan Dmowski, Patrick Newell, Nick Jones, Shawn McBride Fogarty, a group 6 free agent, has already signed for next year at ($150K-AHL). Boo Nieves is another who was already signed. He would seem to be a logical choice to carry the captain's C next year. Lately, though that has been like having the scarlet letter on your chest and not a badge of courage since the last four captains have all been traded. Gropp must have a breakout year next season. He was better in the second half, but he spent three weeks in Maine in December to jumpstart his game. Matt Beleskey, if he isn’t brought out in the summer or packaged in a trade, will return for just two reasons. First, he has an extremely cap friendly contract of which the Rangers take just a $825K hit when he isn’t in the NHL on his last year of a four-year deal at $1.9 million per season that was originally signed with the Bruins and they need to fill a veteran spot up front. Meskanen, paired with Beleskey and Peter Holland for most of the season, was heading back to his home in Southern Finland to see his girlfriend and his dog. Losing his first pro head coach was not on his bucket list. “That’s not what I was expecting or wanted. I guess they want some fresh (new) blood here maybe it will be a change for the better. I liked both those guys.” The lanky winger showed progress and mental toughness, and he knows he has lots of offseason work ahead. “They were very honest with me about my play. I really liked when they told me what I had to improve on. Playing with Holly (Holland) was very good for me. He helped me (adjust) both on and off the ice and to get used to North American style. I know I have to improve my skating and get stronger to win the one-on-one open battles in the corner, so I’m looking forward to working on that in summer practices. I think I have a better idea of what it's like here and I will be more ready next year. I had no clue when I got here.” Meskanen replied with his sly, dry wit. Shawn O’Donnell provides another veteran presence that they will need, O'die is a good loyal soldier who knows he isn’t NHL material, and he accepts working with the prospects in their development. He is on an AHL deal only. Ty Ronning, who was misused most the season in Hartford and then suffered injuries, will look to play a full season in the American League for his sophomore season. The late-season rookie Elmer, Jones, Dmowski, McBride, and Zerter-Gossage all showed good skill sets and should be in training camp in the fall. The Vitali Kravtsov factor will be interesting if he is sent to Hartford to get quality playing time early a la Filip Chytil two years ago is an unknown. Tim Gettinger had some genuine understanding of what he needs to for next season after a season at minus 20 in his rookie campaign. “I have been more physical consistently in the offensive and defensive zone. It’s a big summer for me personally and everybody in the room to be fully ready for training camp in the fall. It’s gonna be a whole new coaching staff to adjust to, but we have to work harder and try to worry about the things off the ice and concentrate what we do on the ice,” commented the rookie winger while driving back to the Cleveland area for the summer. Leaving: Vinni Lettieri is an RFA (Restricted Free Agent). He just misses Group 6 status by five months, but he has no room in New York. The Rangers don't appear to believe he is top six forward material. He should sign elsewhere and could become the next Jonathan Marchessault, one of the Rangers worst player evaluation mistakes ever. Lias Andersson, shouldn’t be in Hartford. His was a very poor sophomore season in Hartford. He had just three multi-point games, was a minus-24 in 36 games and contributed just 20 points. He didn’t do much in New York either with six points in 42 games. It's too early to toss a 20-year-old aside and label him a bust, but he is a major project next season at either the NHL or AHL levels. He might be here or he might be packaged in a deal at draft time. The Rangers should have left him in Kitchener (OHL) last year where he belonged. Now he is about two years behind his draft class in development and he needs to learn has to go to the game, not thinking the game will come to him. Gabriel Fontaine had 26 points in 72 games and one of the more likable guys in hockey at the end of his three-year entry-level deal. He has one year left on his ELC deal and is really a bubble player for returning, It looks like he might head elsewhere as a buyout or trade. Sadly, Bobby Butler didn’t work out well here at all with a minus-26. He was shuttled on almost every different line and had some strong games, but not enough to make a difference. Butler was a real rental player. He lives at home in Massachusetts and worked his second job as Director of Player Development for a junior hockey team, the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) after practice with his father, John as the team’s assistant coach in the afternoon after practice in Hartford. He and his wife are expecting child number three next month, so retirement as an active player is much more likely to occur. The season left Butler feeling very empty. “The fans were great to us, wished we put a better product out there for them to cheer for. We tried to nip this thing early and every time we get back to a level spot, we got back to where we didn’t want to be it was very frustrating. I hate to lose and there was too much of it this year and it wasn’t like we weren’t trying-people like winners and it's tough coming off a losing season. I hope guys find that hunger for next year when they're in the gym in the summer,” said in his deep Massachusetts accent was genuinely disappointed as he completed his ninth year as a pro. The trade of Cole Schneider sunk the Wolf Pack. It was bittersweet as they lost a captain and gained an old friend, Connor Brickley. “I was happy to see Brick.  He’s a very good dude. We played together our first year in San Antonio and he’s a Boston guy, and once you make friends with a Boston guy, it's for life,“ Butler said with a laugh. The trade of the captain, he acknowledged, hurt the team tremendously, “It’s something you don’t see often except if you're in this organization where it happens every year.” Dawson Leedahl, who played just 29 games, was scratched for eight games and missed 23 of the last 24 games with a shoulder injury. He had zero points. With a year left on his deal, he likely won't be back and if he does it will be in Maine. Shawn St. Amant, who had a nice training camp earned an AHL deal never seem to fit in here. He did well when he was sent to Maine. He's more of an ECHL player and will likely be in Maine or elsewhere, next season. Its gonna be a long, interesting summer in Wolf Pack-land. Read the full article

[thecorteztwins]

MUTANT EMPIRE: SIEGE

I thought I had misplaced this book while cleaning, but I remembered today I had taken it to a LARP to read during downtime and then forgotten it was still in the bag. Chapter Five was more of the outer space plot, and Chapter Six...is still not back to Magneto's Manhattan, so I won't tag the magnets this time, but it does focus on Charles, so I will tag @captaindicks and @hexiva because we find out Charles’s preferences in women, who he’s okay with pushing his chairs, and the one person to ever guess Professor Xavier has anything to do with the X-Men.

Basically, Charles is getting ready to address the media. When he does so, he says that the President's current cautious course of action is correct and that the mass attack by the military suggested by Senator Kelly and Graydon Creed would, due to the Sentinels that Magneto has under his control, cause nothing but property damage and likely civilian casualties. While he agrees force is not unwarranted, this particular method would be useless. I think that's a good thing to note about Charles---he doesn't demand every situation be always handled peacefully, he obviously does see force as an option, and an option he frequently uses/condones. He just believes in looking at other options first, and also judging what SORT of force is needed for the right outcome. Hence why the X-Men have currently gone into Manhattan to handle this (the ones who aren't in space, anyway) I'm not sure if the public is aware of that, I've been kinda skimming for the parts that interest me. Also, reminder that this is the 90s, so as far as everyone knows, Professor Xavier is a human expert on mutants/mutant rights proponent, but he is a HUMAN and has NOTHING to do with the X-Men. He is then asked about the killing of humans by Acolytes “in cold blood” caught on tape and “the abduction of local reporter Trish Tilby and her cameraman” If you'll recall from my last post, Trish and her cameraman have not in fact been abducted, but chosen to stay in Manhattan of their own volition. It's understandable that people on the outside would assume a kidnapping though. Also, while the Acolytes did kill two humans last chapter, I would not say it was done in cold blood. A human mob was swarming them, and two attempted to kill them. Specifically, a man fired a gun at the teleporter Amelia Voght, who by reflex teleported the bullets away from herself and into him. Then a woman came at her with a knife, and Amelia teleported her high in the air, where she died from falling. The latter was deliberate, and definitely uneccessary, Amelia could have chosen another way to defend herself, such as teleporting the knife away, and the text specifies she's choosing to use this as a show of force to scare the others into submission. So I definitely would call it murder, unlike with the man, where it was automatic self-defense. But I can't see it as truly cold-blooded when the woman was still coming at her with the intent to kill or at the least cause bodily harm (albeit with good reasons of her own---as she herself said, this is “our city” and the Acolytes are the invaders taking over with the intent to make humans second-class citizens---in another story, this young woman would be the hero) But, I can see the cameras capturing a very different scene, especially since Amelia tried very deliberately to look remorseless and terrifying, since, again, it was an execution meant to discourage further attacks. Xavier condemns the actions of the Acolytes, but then defends Magneto, saying that though he may be a fanatic and terrorist, he is not a cold-blooded murderer and would never have committed such acts himself. I'm inclined to disagree, I think he damn well would kill humans threatening him with the same, but then, if the tapes don't show the aggression by the civilians, if they show Acolytes just picking two random humans for slaughter, then, yes, I agree, he's never been that type and the Acolytes have (as I mentioned in a previous post) However, Xavier doesn't let Mags off the hook either—he notes that Magneto is responsible for the actions of those under him and that “he had foreknowledge of the Acolytes penchant for death when he became their leader” which is indeed true. I would just like to note at this time that these are the SECOND gen Acolytes that Xavier is speaking of here; I play the first gen who, while terrorists, were shown to be more noble and scrupulous in their brief time alive than the largely bloodthirsty second-gens. Just so we're clear, folks. Don't want any confusion. He is then asked if it's true that he's working with the X-Men, a theory raised in this book by the anti-mutant government liason Gyrich, aka the one damn person to put two and two together on this as far as I can tell. Xavier totally deflects by saying he does know some of them such as Henry “the Beast” McCoy (whose identity is public) and then saying that things can be “misconstrued” and jumping into how the IMPORTANT thing is that the American people know that they are safe and turns that into a little speech. Lololol Charles. He also feels “strangely attracted” in an “odd sort of way” to the lady interviewing, thinking that “she still cares” unlike many of her jaded peers in the media business. The text says “But then, he had long since established a history of being attracted to beautiful, odd women. Moira MacTaggert. Gabrielle Haller, Amelia Voght, Lilandra...” and also that “He loved no other above Lilandra” but the X-Men needed him and that was why he returned to Earth after having lived for a time on the Shi'ar throneworld with her as her Imperial Consort. Basically, he was her Sexy Alien Babe and I love that. I also love his type is apparently not just “hot” but also “powerful and kinda weird in some way” Charles also wonders if his ability to walk is the price he paid for his dream, because...his spine was repaired in space by Lilandra's people, but when he came back to Earth, it got fucked up again by the Shadow King and he wound up back in the chair again. No, Charles, that's just the writers boomeranging. We also learn he generally prefers for his chair NOT to be pushed, and that when help is offered by anyone who isn't the X-men or someone he's close to, he generally declines. He also thinks how “the problem with Gyrich”, who I wrote this post on here, “wasn't evil or even “bad” and that “Gyrich was not a villain, but he was an extremely dangerous man all the same” which about sums it up really. You don't need to be “evil” to be dangerous. In a book which strongly features Magneto, I think that’s a pretty good theme to bring up (and I like that it gets to apply to people other than Mags too--I think remembering that bigots are human is a really important thing, because when you start thinking of them as just evil, you stop being able to imagine you or those you know could have bigoted ideas, because you’re not evil, y’know?)

[writingfromkitchenator]

Queen of the Crossroads

Masterlist

Chapter 5:  Death

Saphriel hadn't been overly sure what made her do it, but she found herself outside of Bobby's home, her gaze burning as she thought about all that she'd heard and rumoured.  There was something quaint about the house and Saphriel could understand why Sarah would retreat there.

With a small movement, she went inside.

There was cursing as she appeared before the four men and she rolled her eyes.  "Relax, if you are doing what I think you're doing, I'm here to help."

Dean, Bobby and Sam all had a gun on her.  "Yeah, right, like you helped Gabriel?"

Her eyes burned bright as she stared at them.  "That was not my fault."

"What?  So Lucifer just let you go?"  Dean spat.

Saphriel sighed.  "I...may have been a bit liberal about what I told you about my part in this."

"And here I was thinking that that was a trait only the little Winchester shared."  Saphriel turned to face the demon as he spoke, and found him looking her up and down.  "Or is she wearing on you?"

"I don't have to answer to you demon."  Saphriel said in a low voice.  "So I suggest you do shut up before I hand you to my brother on a platter."

"Only silver I hope."  Crowley smirks.  "I do hope you haven't underestimated that little minx in there, she is a tough one."

"And how would you know?"  Saphriel asked.

"She's a Winchester darling, hardly-"

"Shut up Crowley."  Both Sam and Dean said, earning a roll of the eyes from Crowley.

Saphriel sighed.  "Look boys, I am meant to be the deciding factor in this madness, no matter my views.  The fact is, is that those two can't kill each other, they're too equal, so-"

"You're the deciding vote."  Bobby said bitterly.  "And by the sounds of it, you are much more inclined to Lucifer."

She gives a small shrug.  "Michael has not approached me and despite what Lucifer has done, long term, it was always a better option anyway."  A sad smile tugs at her lips.  "I'm pretty sure that Michael hates me, that even if I were to join his side, he'd kill me as soon as he could."

"Great, you're on the end of the world's side, how about we just kill you and be done with it?"  Dean snarled, his gun surprisingly steady.

Saphriel raised an eyebrow.  "Not only could you not kill me if you tried Dean, if you did, you'd be killing Princess to."

"Princess?"

"A rather fond name that Lucifer-” She cut off, and for the briefest of moments, fury crossed her expression and she shuddered, before returning to herself as she frowned.  "Well, looks like she's getting a little stronger."

"I want to talk to my sister."  Sam said suddenly, lowering his gun.  "I want to know if you're telling the truth, that you are actually willing to help."

But Saphriel shook her head.  "I'm afraid I can't do that Sammy."

"Why not?"

"I don't suppose it would have anything to do with little Winchester being a demon now, would it?"

Saphriel froze and Bobby, Sam and Dean all stared at Crowley's amused expression.

"Oh yes, word gets around fast."  He said, carefully watching as Saphriel turned to face him.  "Not only that, but there is a certain air about you, not the usual angel inhabiting a human air, but something else, something a little darker."

She went to talk but was cut off with a groan, buckling over for a moment.

Straightening out, Sarah breathed hard, her eyes black.

"Holy fuck."  Dean breathed as he stared at her, blinking so that her gaze returned to normal.  "Sarah?"

"More or less."  She growled, a sweat breaking out over her forehead.  "I don't have long, and I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

It was clear that Bobby was speechless, staring at her with wide eyes, the gun shaking in his hand.  Sarah had to try and not notice, but she gives him a brief pained look before looking at her brothers.

"Saphriel is telling the truth, she wants to help."  Sarah said carefully.  "But she is also unstable.  I-"

She hisses in pain as her eyes start to glow and her hands clench.  "Damn bitch, I'm going to enjoy ripping you a-"

Saphriel regained the control, breathing heavily as she slowly unclenched her hands.  "I never would've expected a damned demon to be able to overwhelm an Archangel, guess I really didn't give enough credit."

"Told you."  Crowley said smugly.  "One thing that you Archangel's need to learn, you face a determined human, give them power, you see where you end up."

She snorts.  "Right, like she would've been any better treated under your care."

"Well, she would've had celebrity status, that certainly would've been a start."  Crowley's gaze went back to Sam and Dean, who were both pale faced.  "There is nothing you could've done boys, I wouldn't keep it too close to the chest."

Dean swallowed hard, deciding to ignore what just happened.  "Alright, you want to help, then you can-"

"It is Lucifer's work on your sister, not mine."  Saphriel said quickly.  "And nothing can change that back.  Even if I let her free, even new like this, she would be so much stronger than anything you had ever faced."

"Then how do you want to help?"  Bobby said, his voice threatening to break except he cleared his throat.  "Because after that I'm going to have great delight in making sure you leave Sarah's body."

Saphriel sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to explain.  "You have three of the horsemen's rings, correct?  Meaning you only need one more, and the only way you are going to be able to face Death is with my help."

Crowley snorts.  "I think they can manage without you darling."

"Lucifer has a spell on Death."  She said darkly, shooting a look at Crowley.  "The only way you are going to be able to get through it is with me.  I'm trying to do the right thing here, I did mean it when I said I didn't want this to happen anymore than you boys did, and now I have one dead brother and Dad still doesn't give a shit, so let me damned well help."

"On one condition."  Sam said, causing Dean and Bobby to look at him, his expression set.

"What?"

Sam licked his lips and shuffled a little nervously.  "When this is done, you walk her into a devil trap and leave.  We handle Sarah from there."

"You're kidding right?  Sarah is my true-"

"And I don't care."  Sam said, determined.  "You want to help, we need some sort of guarantee.  That's the deal."

Saphriel looked between Dean and Bobby.  "Surely you two can't agree to this?"

Bobby doesn't answer, opening a drawer and pulling out a bottle of whiskey and taking a swig, so her gaze goes to Dean.

"Dean," She spoke softly.  "Do you really want that?  The death of your sister for a way to stop the apocalypse."

"We won't kill her Saphriel."  Dean said coldly.  "But we sure as hell can't let you keep using her body, demon or not, I want my sister back."

"Technically-"

"Shut up Crowley."

Crowley smirked, watching the exchange.  Saphriel was bright, but he could clearly see the rising darkness in her, growing stronger even as they spoke.  Even if she agreed, he seriously doubted whether the Archangel would be able to hold onto Sarah Winchester that long, something that had Crowley very curious.

"Fine." Saphriel huffed.  "But after Lucifer is back in the cage.  After we've stopped this bloody apocalypse from happening."

Sam and Dean share a look, glancing at Bobby, who simply closed his eyes and took another drink.

Sam nods.  "Done."

"Good, then the quicker we do this the better."  Saphriel scowled at them.  "Because Lucifer is growing stronger and Michael now has a proper vessel, which means that this is drawing painfully close."

"Let's get a move on then, shall we?"  Crowley asked, stepping next to her.  "Oh, and before you say anything, I already know where Death is, so instead of wasting time arguing about it, shall we just go?"

Saphriel doesn't look impressed about having to work with him, but she bites her tongue and just nods in agreement.

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

She came through for them, the hold temporarily broken over Death, allowing Dean to talk to him.

Unfortunately for her, Crowley waited outside with her, her gaze locked onto the sky which was slowly rumbling darker, Crowley observing her.

"If I'm not mistaken, your brother doesn't like this."  He said cheerfully.

Saphriel made a noise, but made no other attempt to communicate with him.

Crowley smiled.  "You know that her brothers have no intent of letting you out of this easily?"

"Why are you still talking?"  She snarled.  "I thought my silence made it clear?"

"Just trying to pass the time, you know, before big brother interferes."  He said with a shrug.

Saphriel scowls.  "They both have more to worry about that me."

"I wouldn't count on that."  Crowley said.  "You are, after all, the only one with your true vessel, at this current time anyway."

"Your point?"

"Makes you the strongest."

Saphriel faces him, frowning.  "Again, your point?  I don't want to fight my brothers, it was bad enough watching Lucifer kill Gabriel."

"Of course, unless they attack you first."  He smirks at her indignant look.  "They are going to fight darling, whether you like or not, and one of them is going to die."

Saphriel thought about this, unnerved by the way Crowley was watching her.

"All I'm saying," He continued.  "Is if these boys fail, you are probably going to have to decide who."

"If you don't stop talking demon, I will smite you where you stand."  Saphriel growled, turning her attention back to the sky.

Crowley snorts in amusement.  "You know, if you want help, just ask."

"I don't need your help demon."

"I wasn't talking to you."

Saphriel goes to turn back to him, but at that moment there was a sharp crack of thunder directly overhead, Crowley vanishing, as Michael appears in front of her.

She was cautious.  "Michael."

"Saphriel."  He said slowly.  "What are you doing?"

She shrugs.  "Trying to stop this."

"This has been written."  He said coldly.  "You cannot change what is meant to be."

"Oh please,” She scoffed, rolling her eyes.  "We're all anomalies Michael.  Lucifer wasn't meant to be dick and fall, I wasn't meant to be a bitch and leave my post, you weren't meant to be a constant pain in the arse, but hey, here we are.  Are you really going to tell me that all that was meant to be written?"

Michael scowled at her.  "Must you be so painful all the time?"

"Must you?"  She questioned back.  "Honestly Michael, you just always have to be the righteous one, don't you?"

"Someone has to be responsible in this family."  He growls.

Saphriel scoffed, folding her arms.  "More like jealous because you weren't favourite."

Thunder cracked again, just making her smile.

"Aww, is big brother going to have a tantrum?"

Saphriel was thrown backwards with a loud crack, crashing hard into a wall, her body sinking to the ground as she groaned.

"First, you dishonour yourself by allowing this to happen,” He spat as he approached her.  "Then you dare insult me multiple times and have the hide to work with Lucifer!  You don't get the luxury of passing judgement on me Saphriel.  I will not hesitate to end your existence."

Saphriel chuckled, looking unfazed as she looks back up at him.  "You call that a hit brother?  I think you're suffering without your true vessel."

"Well at least I'm not using a demon to get mine."  He hissed.

"Using a demon?  Oh, you are behind the times."  Saphriel stood, brushing herself down.  "I'm not using anything.  Little Sarah Winchester said yes, thanks to Lucifer of course, much more than you've ever offered me."

"What?"  Michael snarls in disbelief.  "Lucifer turned her?"

"Well, I could hardly participate with dead vessel now could I?"  With a sharp snap of her hand, it was Saphriel's turn to send Michael flying, him crashing through a wall in a cloud of dust.  "I can see why you hit me.  That felt damned good."

Michael appeared back before her, a trickle of blood running down his forehead, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"Careful Michael, don't want to exhaust yourself before the big battle with Lucifer.  Just might end up bad for you."

Michael clearly didn't care, launching at her.  Saphriel smirked and let them collide, the thunder cracking overhead, lightning striking just a little too close.

In the midst of the fighting, they were both suddenly wrenched apart.

"Now children," Death drawled.  "Is that anyway to treat each other."

Saphriel was grinning, covered in dirt.  "I was having fun."

Michael's eyes sparked and he struggled against the invisible grip.  "She's only getting what she deserves."

Death rolls his eyes and sighs.  "And you honestly wonder why your father left, trying to kill each other like this."

"I wasn't going to kill him, just-"

"Enough."  Death shot her a dark look.  "Or I will make sure that you have no further part in this.  Permanently."

She snorts.  "You wouldn't dare.  I'm the only reason you are currently free of Lucifer's spell."

"Something I can deal with."  He said coldly.  "However your impertinence is tiring."

Michael goes to cut in, the fury wanting to be let out, but with a wave of Death's hand, he vanished.

"Now that I know you two won't destroy the city with your feud..."  Saphriel is released from the grip.  "I wish to speak to the Winchester."

"Why?"  But there was little point as Death snapped his fingers and Sarah clutched her chest, breathing hard and glaring at him with black eyes.  "I'd repeat her question but I can't say I'd like the results."

"You are a clever little thing, aren't you?"  He asked, amused.  "I can't say I expected this result when I took you to Hell."

"I know what you're talking about."  She said sarcastically and brushed the dirt off her clothes.  "This is totally what I expected."

"Your glib does you no credit."  He said, the annoyed tone returning to his voice.  "I trust you have no intention of letting this continue?"

Sarah folds her arms.  "First you take me to Hell, now you are asking me stupid questions?"

"Hell was hardly my choice."  Death said, eyeing her closely.  "And I am simply asking out of curiosity.  It took me hours to get you to move on, I can't imagine that that level of stubbornness would stand by this?"

"Of course not."  She said frowning.  "But I hardly think this is a good time to be discussing it."

"Oh, she's been put away for the moment."  He said lightly.  "You don't have to worry about that, besides, it wasn't really me that wanted to talk to you."

At that Dean stepped out, his gaze cautious as Sarah sighed.

"Naturally."  She said.  "What can I do for you Dean?"

"What happened Sarah?"  Dean asked.

Sarah pursed her lips and shook her head.  "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it bloody does-"

"No Dean."  She said sternly.  "Just as it doesn't matter what you intend to with me, because you know I can't let it get to that.  You just need to be ready for all this, because it's not easy."

"Sarah-"

"Dean, please."  Sarah sighs.  "First rule of hunting.  You don't have to feel guilty for me because I sure don't."

"You're a demon dammit, I can't just sit back and let that slide."  Dean said angrily.  "If we had simply insisted that you join us-"

"I wouldn't have and you know it."  Sarah looks at Death.  "Is there a point to this?  This is only hurting him."

Death shrugged.  "Seemed fair, you'll have little time to talk once all this is going down."

"Sam and Dean carry enough on their shoulders without worrying about me too."  She said harshly.  "This is just how it's gone and it's meant to be.  There is nothing to be done about it."

"It's bullshit is what it is."  Dean growled.  "I can't-"

"Things are different now Dean."  Sarah's voice went cold, getting the point across.  "You and Sam are just better off staying away from me, because if you don't, I cannot guarantee that I won't hesitate to hurt either of you."

Dean stared at her, his eyes shining, but a rumble in the sky got her attention.

"Lucifer is coming now, I suggest we end this discussion?"  Sarah turned her attention back to Death.

"Oh, very well."  He said and clicked his fingers, him and Dean disappearing and Saphriel once again returning to the surface.

"Dammit."  She cursed under her breath, glaring around before her gaze moved to the sky.  With a small movement, she hurried away from the storm brewing too.

[cryptodictation]

A thousand and one ways to return to football in Europe …

Public officials who venture dates for the return, technicians who are cautious and clubs that open their doors for players who want to train again. In Europe, when scheduling the return of sports activity, each country with its theme. These are the cases of Italy, England, Spain and Belgium that, whether through the State, unions or some of their teams, announced this Saturday the steps to follow during the pandemic parate.

The most curious initiatives belong to the Spanish Royal Society and Belgian Anderlecht, who decided to reopen their premises so that their footballers return to practice. Of course, the invitation is not compulsory: those who wish to stay at home will be able to continue with their volunteer home offices.

For the Basque team, the proposal – communicated the same day that they achieved a 20 percent salary reduction with their players – is that the return be this Tuesday, “individually and staggered” and following “the protocols established” by the health authorities, who have already given their “consent” for training, according to the club.

“I see it very risky, but if they see it that way it is because they will have given the go-ahead and they won't take any risks. I think you have to value the work that is being done to stop this pandemic and we will not rush it without having solved before the most important“Athletic Bilbao midfielder Dani García pointed out for his part regarding the Real Sociedad initiative, with which they must contest the final of the Copa del Rey once competitions resume.

Real Sociedad training, an image that could be repeated shortly. (EFE)

Regarding the Anderlecht, practices will resume at the beginning of the week. “Since Monday, players are welcome at Neerpede for traditional sessions, obviously respecting safety rules and health, “reported the press officer of the institution. According to local media reported, the initiative came from the team captain, the famous Vincent Kompany (former Manchester City) and it will also be of voluntary acceptance.

It is worth remembering that Spain is the second country with the highest number of affected for the Covid-19 with more than 160 thousand positives, approximately 14 thousand fatalities and where this Monday it will resume work activities; while Belgium registers 28 thousand cases (11th in the tragic ranking) and more than 3 thousand deaths, 327 of them in the last 24 hours.

Kompany, Belgian emblem, with the Anderlechet shirt. (AFP)

For his part, in Italy (147 thousand infected and almost 19 thousand dead), the quarantine extended until May 3 so quick of reflexes, the Sports Minister, Vincenzo Spadafora, came out to point out that the return to practice will be one day later, on May 4. “I want to activate federations and other issues in the sports system so that the resumption of training and activities will take place from May 4, strictly respecting the safety requirements will identify in agreement with the health authorities and scientific organisms “, indicated Spadafora.

President of the Football Federation (FIGC), Gabriel Gravina, was shown excited about the return. “When we have the green light for a gradual resumption, the world of soccer must be ready. For the role soccer plays in Italian society, I think we can make an important contribution to the country“he told the site Besoccer.

Where they did not share such enthusiasm was in the Association of English Coaches (LMA). “Our coaches do not want to return to the fields until the footballers have undergone the tests”, claimed the head honcho of the institution, Richard Bevan, before pressure for the return of activity in English football.

The Football League sent a letter a few days ago to the Championship clubs, a tournament in which Leeds led by Marcelo Bielsa is leading, League One and League Two expressing the desire to end the season despite the pandemic, so Bevan denounced that the opinion of the coaches has not been taken into account.

Bevan (right), next to the ex DT of the English Selection Roy Hodgson. (AFP)

“The most important thing is to be guided by the principle of health and to return them to a court without guaranteeing their safety is a great risk. Tests should be made available first to National Health Service workers, patients, and then tests can be made available to sport.“Bevan sentenced, putting a bit of sanity in the United Kingdom, which until this Saturday approached the 10 thousand fatalities (80 thousand infected) by the coronavirus.

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