#as if this were some my little pony friendship is magic bullshit

[breesperez139]

Dc x Dp Prompt #2

Danny loved his life. After his reveal to Jack and Maddie as a half ghost went right, everything started falling into place.

Vlad stopped his insane schemes once his parents were set loose on him. Sure he’s still mayor but he funds the town, keeps them protected from unwanted visitors, and is no longer trying to kidnap/adopt/clone Danny anymore.

Speaking of clones, Ellie was officially adopted into the family. She didn’t live with them full time with her obsession being freedom, but at least she has a home to return to now.

Dan was also adopted into the family. He is still on probation but turns out having their adopted family again (and as many ghost fruits as he wants) helped ease the rage. That’s not to mention Dan’s and Skulker’s bi-weekly figh- errr meetups.

Well at least there’s been no property destruction since he’s been crowned. After he and his rogues began scheduling their own meetups, his grades started going up again. So while he may never become an astronaut like he always dreamed of, he could still go up to space and see the stars whenever he wanted to.

Sure, being king wasn’t exactly what he wanted in life (or death) but he could protect his ghosts and liminals better this way. And considering his entire town is either ghost or liminal, it was just easier to protect them from the GIW and the government in general with a crown on his head.

Besides being king isn’t all bad either. He’s rich now meaning they won’t be racked up in college debt, he has cool artifacts that were gifted to the ghost king over the millennia that were left untouched but he’s not about to return them (they were gifts to the ghost king, practically funeral gifts like flowers but more rare and expensive), and he has crazy powerful Ancients as friends/family/mentors/protectors. He’s still a baby in ghost years and a minor in human years so he’s not expected to do much either way.

Life was going great, especially after Amity Park adopted ghost etiquette and ecto-infused food and beverages.

So why the Ancients are the Justice League of all people standing outside his front door with the Batman looking thoroughly freaked out the moment he opened the door? He hasn’t said anything yet either!! Stupid fucking government heroes.

[alpaca-clouds]

Brand Integrity - The thing Hasbro struggles with

Okay, let me keep up talking about DnD from a business perspective, though this time the topic is actually even wider and concerns not only DnD but also other franchises that Hasbro has the rights to. Because this is actually a pretty big... thing. It is not even just Hasbro, it is a lot of companies. It is something that technically everyone knows about, but... a lot of people doing the decisions seem to not understand: Brand Integrity.

So, what is Brand Integrity?

Basically it is a business concept or to be more exact, a marketing concept.

We all know that businesses and also franchises and general IPs all have their brand. To take a very simple example: The Brand of Pokémon is "family friendly entertainment with cute monsters". This is, for example, why the entire Palworld thing is so concerning for Nintendo, because Palworld very much immitates the style and look of Pokémon, while the content of the game very much does not fit the brand. From Nintendo's POV stuff like Coromon or Temtem is actually more acceptable, because it still fits the general brand, while Palworld very much doesn't.

But here is the problem that a lot of western companies have in this regard: They actually do not... understand what the core brand is from the perspective of their audience. And hence they will do things that harm their brand integrity, while refusing to do things that would actually not harm their brand integrity but could make them more money.

Causa: My little Pony

To keep at Hasbro, let us talk about My little Pony, because from a business point of view this was very amusing. So, we all remember when a couple of years ago (let's not talk about how many, because I am gonna feel OLD) My little Pony: Friendship is Magic released, right? And we all remember, how that show surprisingly found an audience outside of the intended audience of little girls, right? That audience being adults, often adult men.

And this made Hasbro quite nervous about the brand integrity. And I will fully agree with them, that this nervousness was not entirely without a cause. Because, yeah, some of the bullshit that happened within the Brony fandom were definitely harmful towards the brand integrity. Especially those things that made a big splash outside the fandom. And also stuff like... Look, I am not going to kinkshame anyone. But if you do an all age convention, maybe not allow nsfw fanarts and body pillows be displayed openly in artist alley, when there are actually visitors there who might be underage kids?

But let me talk about the thing that Hasbro then did, that I consider quite stupid: They did not market towards the bronies at all. Instead acting as if the bronies did not exist.

And that was... kinda stupid. Like, they actually could have made money if they had released some better quality and more expensive figurines and things like that. One of the big things that Bandai did with PreCure in Japan was exactly that: They realized that they had a massive audience outside of the core audience of little girls and hence released merchandise specifically for that audience. But Hasbro? Hasbro didn't, because they were quite afraid that including stuff for the Bronies would harm their brand identity.

Causa: Magic the Gathering

Now, I am not a Magic player, and Magic does a lot better than pretty much any other IP that Hasbro holds. And I am absolutely going to argue that the fact that the creative director is someone who was involved with Magic for decades absolutely plays into this. Because at least he seems to understand the actual brand.

We can absolutely argue about whether all the franchise tie ins Magic has been doing in recent years did harm the Brand Integrity - from what I gather voices among the fans do argue about that a lot. But I think something that you absolutely cannot argue about is one thing: AI absolutely did harm the Brand Integrity.

And yes, this is already foreshadowing on the DnD stuff, but let's talk about Magic first. Because if you have been following Magic News at all, you might have heard about this. How they tried to use AI in their products - and then were all Surprised Pikachu, when their audience went like: "Hell No!"

On this front I have to admit... I am not sure what Hasbro and WotC actually think the brand of Magic is. Because frankly, if they did not realize that the great artwork and detail in storytelling through the cards was not part of the brand, I honestly think they are not doing their job.

And yes, that brings us to...

Causa: Dungeons & Dragons

Even before I started to obsess about DnD last year, I actually followed this aspect for a while from a purely "professional" Point of VIew, as it was quite interesting to see how this played out. And here I actually have a good understand what the Brand that WotC thinks they are selling is: "A core ttrpg fantasy experience for the whole family."

Ever since the start of 5e they really went in hard for that one. And don't get me wrong, I think some of the stuff they did was really good. That is stuff like working with sensitivity advisors to remove things like racism, misogyny and queermisia from the rules and the official worldbuilding. And this is very good and very laudible, because it did open up the franchise to a lot more people, who felt alienated by the way the franchise had been handled before.

The thing where they kinda misstepped though, was by generally scrubbing it so clean to make it very kid friendly. Older editions of DnD did have some sexual stuff in there, which 5e did away with entirely in fear that it might harm the new brand integrity.

The bigger point where they stumbled however was in misunderstanding a core part of the brand: The community aspect of it. That is how much of it has to do with homebrew, with community, with creating the game together. And they doubly did not understand it. Which showed in both the thing with the OGL - and the aspect of AI art.

Let's be clear: Nothing that Hasbro/WotC could have done would have been able to harm their brand integrity as much as the entire OGL disaster last year. Because this exchange between players was always a core aspect of the brand as the players understood it.

Them trying to take that away is, what pushed a lot of players to other ttrpg systems and loose confidence in the brand.

And they then trying to replace some art with AI didn't help. As like in Magic, the brand - as the players understood - absolutely involved the great quality art.

What they need to learn

Something that western companies really do need to learn is, that you as a company actually have only so much influence on what your brand actually is. The fandom will define part of it. And if you try to define it against what the fandom actually thinks, it will harm your brand more than anything.

It is kinda funny to me, because I always have the comparison to Toei/Bandai, who ended up embracing the brand as understood by the fandoms.

I mean, heck. Digimon is a great example. Digimon was not profitable for the longest time - until they gave the fandom, what the fandom wanted. Instead of marketing Digimon exclusively to primary schoolers, they included the adult fandom.

This does not mean do everything to the audience's whimps. But... It really helps to listen to how your actual audience understands your brand.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

The gender non conformity post you reblogged, it really hits for me in some ways (you reblogged something else that hits even more, but it's taking more time to figure out words since it hits deeper)

Like... well first off I don't really like the term gender non conforming cause it's just like... GNC... like the damn vitamin store my mom used to blow all out money at? Just don't like it as a term, but never thought of better. Not really a label kind of person, but it probably describes me... but only in a way

See I like what I like and I do what I do. I don't really divide any of the world up into masculine of feminine. I like woodworking, I want to learn sewing, these are just activities

Thing is I also liked My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and I'll tell you that a lot of the people talking big talk about gnc stuff now sure were happy to complain about a guy liking that show and say all kinds of stuff about what a monster you must be

Makes it real hard to really want to interface with that crowd, that and that I feel like I can never actually say what's on my mind and have them listen without trying to decide for me either that it means something about my gender or sexuality, or that it means I'm a bad person

Like for instance I can talk about how I often wish I was a woman, but at the same time I don't particularly feel like one and don't have any interest in presenting differently. Just kind of wish there was a girl in my place instead (could have something to do with me preferring women's company and being raised by a mom who always was talking about how terrible men are)

It's more like if I were a shape shifter I'd probably spend most of my time as a lady, but sometimes shift back to this, or maybe something else... I don't know... don't think on the details much cause doesn't really matter, and can't talk about it much cause when I do people just tell me I'm trans and it's like... I don't think that's it, I've known trans people, actually had someone ask me if I was ftm or mtf cause I made them feel understood enough they just assumed I was... and I don't feel like that

(In part just think that everyone would like me much better if I was a girl, me included, but I really wouldn't want to be a part of it and have her be someone totally different)

Anyway... as far as gender non conforming goes, I'm probably not if you mean not identifying as a guy, but I am if you mean just thinking people should be left alone to do their own shit. That a guy wearing a dress isn't wearing women's clothes, he's wearing his cloths and why should I care or bother him

...don't know... who knows, might even just be being an asshole or a fool with all this. You know, I'm pretty damn far left on a lot of stuff, and like... just want to let people be themselves and be into who they want, called them what they want me to, and doesn't really matter to me their gender. You want to be called he and wear a dress, don't see how that's my business or problem sir, you know?

So I don't know... just don't feel at all like a good fit for most spaces. Kind of ends up feeling like a lot of them despite saying they're against gender bullshit fall right into enforcing it, just from new angles if I'm honest

Not to mention I don't trust a lot of these people cause like I said, you get nothing but horror stories if you ask people about bronies, and whatever I guess that's their prerogative to tell it like they think they saw it

But me, I just saw a bunch of people like me who thought it was a well made show and liked it, who had a big focus on charity. Sure felt a lot like it was people not really liking men engaging with non masculine stuff and then making up reasons to be mad after the fact and looking for stray cases or just making stuff up but... you know that's just my perspective

Not to mention I feel like a lot of these circles don't particularly like straight cis guys, and like whatever may be going on under the hood for me, that's not really anyone's business, and I'd rather them see me as straight and cis if they aren't gonna like that, cause I don't really care to be given an exception... you know?

Anyway, this went way too long and probably is just a bunch of trash, but don't really ever get the chance to talk about this stuff... so there's some of my thoughts on it

Just want to be left alone to be my miserable self however works for me, and kind of just want to see everyone else also left alone to be themselves, and it feels like a lot of people who say they support that can't even manage to just like let a guy were a skirt to the office... I don't know that I've really articulated myself great on this but... I kind of give up

Have a nice day, might be tossing a thought at you about something else you reblogged but... like I said, that one hit a lot deeper. This is just me kind of frustrated, other one... yeah

Take care

I'm a big fan of words like genderfucked that rather aggressively refuse to be comfortable about how they assert themselves in the mental-emotional sense for a lot of the same reasons you describe. I like being imposing rather than ostentatious if you know what I mean about the difference innflavor between the two.

I honestly don't know much about the MLP community. Never really watched it as a kid, couldn't really get into it as an adult, but I knew folks that were and like. It seemed like a pretty great exercise in gender exploration and emotional intelligence skill building.

I think people get unpleasant when they feel uncomfortable, and as much as we are making waves in what's considered normal and fine, there are still these culture lines that are really harrowing to cross for most if not all. I used to play around with that when I still had all my hair. Doing aesthetics that, at first glance maintained a veneer of professionalism and compliance, but which were clearly antithetical if you looked any closer. It made people nervous. Which ironically made them much less likely to be shitty to me. Something about my choices made it hard for them to figure out how to do me harm. Some didn't like that I took that away as an easy option so they doubled down on it instead of being thrown off guard. Not ideal.

Anyway, I suspect that a lot of the reaction to MLP was the same sort of deal. You require me to confront how pissed I am that I can't immediately identify how to do you harm, so I'm gonna start flailing and biting at random like a cornered prey animal.

[goatpaste]

dippin a lil bit into my fake bullshit ‘my little honse lore’ stuff

iv talked a bit about the houses and the alicorns here

https://goatpaste.tumblr.com/post/621595079803584512/why-do-you-draw-unicorns-with-like-round-horns-i

and also vaguely in those talks mentioned ‘the first’ so i wanna dip into that stuff

The First, the first pony to ever exist (and by ponies, is said to be the first thing to have existed) No one knows where she came from, what her life was before equestria. They said she was made from a child wish and dreams. she was an alicorn, the first of her kind. She was made with the great gift of creation and life. 

through her powers she made all equestrian life, she created the earth ponies, pegasus and unicorns. As well as mothered all alicorns.

The first watched over all equestria and was a being of mercy and good grace, bringing love and friendship wherever she went.

however as time progressed the three races of ponies began to separate and fight over land and rights. Watching her own creations fight against each other instead of using the gifts she gave them to work together filled the first with sorrow, but even more so when many of her own alicorn daughters didn’t feel the same way she did. Some letting their houses of ponies fight, even favoring and supporting one pony race (often the one who brought the most offerings). Some alicorns feeling their place  too important to bother themselves in mortal pony affairs.

As The First watched on with sorrow as things got worse she made the ultimate sacrifice and broke the bonds of her very being and made herself into a ‘pure’ essence. separated into six gifts she was given to alicorns and ponies who she trusted. she became the elements of harmony and the power of friendship continued to mend all that was broken by hatred into many generations.

Then there is ‘Darkness’ 

Darkness plays an important part of The First’s story. 

Originally Darkness was another alicorn of her creation, for when the First originally came into being she was all alone. so she made herself a friend, the first creation’s true name changes from story to story. Popularly named Equnity.

Equnity cherished her friendship with The First, by her side as she watched her build equestria from the ground up. Loyal to the creature she saw as a mother. 

however as houses were established, the ponies building up societies and so on. Equnity was expected to find herself in this developing world, she was given her own house ‘the house of Migration’ and herself being known as the Alicorn of change and balance. the idea that to keep balance change must be made, nothing stays the same. something something about seasons changing and migration or whatever. it wasn't important to her, it never really was. (her lack of interest in actually helping and controlling and fixing migration and seasons also plays into the fact that ponies themselves have to do it themselves)

Despite her own teachings, she longed to go back to when it was just her and the first. she didn’t want to spend her days accepting these blessings, protecting ponies, changing seasons and giving out advice. She just wanted to be by her side. 

As a divide between the ponies and alicorns began Equnity took the lack of ponies in her house to take things into her own hooves. she starts visiting the house of magic, speaking with Princess Bluebelle. she learned magic from the kind hearted pony that The First was friends with. 

Equnity learned magic, powerful magic. not as strong as Bluebelle’s magic or the first but strong enough to strand out and ‘make a change’. she was going to get The First attention.

Equnity used her magic, but she couldn’t have expected what would have happened to her. as she used these new skills out of hatred and insecurity she turned into that of a monster. A being of pure darkness that infected anything it touched, finding these cracks and slivers in them of fear, sadness and anger and twisting it until it shattered. 

Equnity transformation was the final breaking point into The First, this was when the First turned herself into the elements and attempted to banish Darkness from equestria. 

Little too late as darkness was spreading fast in this world of anger.

in a way both The First and Equnity live on, the first in the spirit of the elements and Equnity in all that is evil, all the bad thoughts in ponies minds. 

[nightcoremoon]

it's evident people haven't watched enough kids media to adequately understand just what constitutes a kids show as opposed to a show that kids can watch and be entertained by

when I was a kid I watched king of the hill and blues clues (among other things). king of the hill is NOT a kids show by any stretch of the imagination; it is an adult animation, replete with fairly heavy subject matter, sexual themes, political humor, cultural references that kids won't understand, discussion of religion in the modern day, depression and suicidal thoughts, adultery, puberty and sexual awakenings, body image, propane, propane accessories, and ultimately above all else what it means to be family. and blues clues is a show about a man who plays with a shovel & pail, talks to his condiments and mailbox, and sometimes he teleports into the felt dimension, all while playing Sherlock Holmes hercule poirot with his dog, and teaching kids how to count and draw and recognize colors and learn their ABCs. do you see the fucking difference? no? then I'll make it more clear.

dora the explorer & go diego go, mickey mouse clubhouse, handy manny, octonauts, bob the builder, super why, wild kratts, zoboomafoo, jojo's circus, wow wow wubbzy, stanley, doc mcstuffins, max & ruby, wonder pets, bubble guppies, ni hao khai lan, backyardigans, little einsteins, caillou (ugh) and p*w p*trol (double ugh), these are all undeniably kids shows. their audience is children (and the occasional adult by age with severe intellectual disabilities) and maybe the parents whose brains are too fried to care what's on the tv. these shows main purpose is to educate while entertaining on subjects one would encounter in preschool and kindergarten. counting 1-10, ABCs, basic color, basic language, basic intrapersonal skills, basic emotional literacy, problem solving, using your imagination, what sounds do animals make, breaking the fourth wall to ask the audience to answer what's 2+2 or tell them a lesson they learned today like I LEARNED TO NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER or some simple message like that. it's always light, there's no edgelord grimdark "what if they were dead the whole time" bullshit. it's just good clean simple wholesome [except for paw patrol] programs for kids to be distracted for a little bit of time, while also letting them walk away having said they learned something. at least half of the time dedicated to every single one of these shows is devoted to the same shit over and over again. I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map WE FUCKING GET IT YOURE THE MAP! backpack backpack I'm the backpack loaded up with things and knickknacks too, anything that you might need I've got inside for you. we did it we did it we did it HOORAY! come on vamanos everybody let's go, come on let's get to it, I know that we can do it,

WHERE ARE WE GOING

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

THESE SONGS ARE BURNED INTO MY BRAIN AND THEYLL BE STUCK IN MY HEAD UNTIL I DIE

say click take a pic, the hot dog dance, CAN HE FIX IT???, pizza! spaghetti!, THE DOC IS IN AND SHELL FIX YOU UP, max & ruby ruby & max max & ruby ruby & max MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX MAX & RUBY RUBY & MAX, wonder pets wonder pets we're on our way to help the friend and save the day, we're not too big and we're not too tough but when we work together we've got the right stuff, goooOOO WONDER PETS YAAAAY~, yoooour backyard friends the backyardigans (weve got the whole wide world in our yard to explore, thATS WHY EVERY DAY WEEEEERE BACK FOR MOOOORE), were going on a trip in our little rocket ship SOARING THROOOOOUGH THE SKY!!! little einsteins!

I swear to god I've been forced to watch so much children's television in my life it's no wonder there's no room left for serotonin executive function or the ability to speak to morons

point is I know my way around kids shows. my sisters were born in 98, 02, 05, 06, 10, and 18, I think, I don't even know because they're all a blur, I'm literally closer in age to my parents than to my youngest sibling, I never stopped being exposed to kids shows. I know what is and is not a kids show.

adventure time? not a kids show even though kids watch it. it's a "for everyone" show. it's got a target audience of 100% of the planet. steven universe? not a kids show even though kids watch it. miraculous ladybug? not a kids show even though kids watch it. scooby doo? not a kids show even though kids watch it. I'm not discussing the history of adult acceptance of animation, adult animation, or anime, so don't ask. dexter's laboratory. the grim adventures of billy & mandy. codename kids next door. teen titans. fairly oddparents. kim possible. invader zim. AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER. totally spies. courage the cowardly dog. the proud family. SPONGEBOB F*ING SQUAREPANTS. powerpuff girls. foster's home for imaginary friends. oh yeah you know what's coming next. my little goddamn pony friendship is mother fucking magic is not. a. kids. show. even though kids can watch it. it is a cartoon. it is an everyone show. that's why it's disingenuous and fucking stupid to decry any fan over the age of 7 as a pedophile and a weirdo creep; it participates in the infantilization of femininity. why is it ok for 20somethings to keep watching aang and squidward and finn & jake and zim and "return the slab" and everyone's totally fine wth that but when it's twilight sparkle suddenly everyone's like whoa you're a huge fucking loser for watching this girly wussy baby show for girly wussy babies. oh some bronies are sex crazed perverts? I'm sorry have you seen just how much porn there is for spongebob? oh some bronies are cringe? I'm sorry have you met half the steven universe fandom? oh some bronies are fascist rick sanchez kinnies with fedoras and katanas? BREAKING BAD FANS, HELLO!?!?!?

this is such a stupid tiring boring argument. maybe magic talking horses being friends and turning their friendship into magic rainbow nuclear fucking arms and blasting the evil out of a demon and turning her into the coolest fucking half-unicorn biker lesbian in the world is something that brings me, and adult, pure wholesome joy, in between bojack horseman and dark souls and breaking bad and deftones and fallout new vegas and jojo and cannibal corpse and other bleak depressing edgy shit that also brings me comfort. and MAYBE me at 16 starting to watch MLP:FIM becoming finally comfortable with the outward public expression of "traditionally feminine" interests is the main reason why I realized I was a girl when I did, and MAYBE I just like how pretty the colorful ponies look, AND MAYBE I KIN WITH ONE OR TWO OR EIGHT CHARACTERS, WHAT OF IT?

AND MAYBE ITS LITERALLY THE BEST LONG RUNNING FANTASY TV SERIES ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW* SINCE GAME OF THRONES FUCKING SUCKS

but whatever, kids watch it sometimes so it's illegal for anyone who's not a kid to enjoy it, but only if it's something girly because liking girly things is bad because girliness is inherently bad, and the only things that are good have predominantly male casts*. right? right??? wrong, fucker. g4mlp has so much more in common with adventure time & atla than with blues clues or dora the fucking explora...r.

but keep in mind I'm saying this while hugging a blues clues plushie my grandma gave me for valentine's day because it reminds her of when I was a baby because I may not watch blues clues but it still means a lot to me for nostalgia and is 50% of the reason why I love ray charles. kids media isn't necessarily bad. I still do enjoy watching it with my little sisters. all this is is me being anal about categorization because I'm autistic and I LIVE for categorizing everything.

*besides atla obviously

[saijspellhart]

Could you do 8 for Radicalshipping? I think it would be sweet :)

8. Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand. (Radicalshipping)

3. A breathy demand: “Kiss me” - and what the other person does to respond. (Radicalshipping)

16. One person pouting, only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person. (Radicalshipping)

“I knew he only liked me for my body,” Bakura spat. He flicked a duel monsters card at the TV and watched it hit the screen and deflect off of Malik’s face and join its brethren on the floor.

They were watching a tournament on the television, and the broadcast was currently wrapping up Malik’s latest duel. He’d been successful of course, and they were in the post duel interviews where Malik was answering questions about his plays. Ryou was with him, their arms thrown over the other’s shoulder in congratulations and friendship.

Malik leaned his head against Ryou’s and smiled at the camera, bright and proud.

Bakura flung another card at the TV.

“I like your body.” Yami Marik pulled off a pair of headphones, and turned away from his game at the desk.

Bakura threw a card at him too. “That’s the whole point you twit! This isn’t my body.” He gestured to himself, his thin lanky frame. There were muscles, because Bakura worked for them. But they weren’t incredibly defined because Ryou had never had that sort of stature. Upon being given a second chance at life, the gods had humbled Bakura by giving him a replica of Ryou’s body, rather than his original body. “And now Malik is shacking up with my former host.”

Marik eyed the television which was still showing the interviews with Malik. He’d been purposely ignoring this portion of the broadcast. Seeing his other half always stirred troubled emotions of resent and anger in him. Feelings he was working hard to overcome.

“They look like friends to me,” Marik remarked.

“Feh,” Bakura shuffled the stack of cards in his hand. He was lounging across the couch, one foot crossed over the other. The floor around the apartment was littered with Duel Monsters cards that he’d been throwing for the last hour.

“Well he certainly wouldn’t like you for your personality,” Marik snipped. “You’re an insufferable bastard.”

“Prick,” Bakura spat.

“Bitch.”

“Wanker.”

“Look! Yugi’s on!” Marik suddenly leaped from the chair and vaulted over the couch. He snatched the remote off the coffee table, and was already turning up the volume. Bakura didn’t bother to move his legs, which didn’t bother Marik at all. He climbed onto the couch, crouching on it like L from Death Note rather than a sane normal person.

Then again, Yami Marik was not a sane and normal person. In the years of separation from Malik—and with the gift of his own body—Marik had grown into himself. In some ways he had matured, grown, and mellowed out, but in other ways he’d developed his own idiosyncrasies, and still had a streak of impulsivity that reared from time to time.

Marik turned up the volume, and even Bakura sat up straighter. The two men watched as the small “King-of-Games” appeared on screen stepping up to a podium on a duel stadium. This tournament was using a classic stadium, rather than Kaiba’s portable duel disk system.

Yugi waved to the crowd, and smiled. Then the cameras switched to his opponent, and they watched as a different person, a taller guy with black hair and a ball cap, stepped up to the opposite podium. He too, waved at the crowd. But he followed it up with a fist pump that awarded him a round of cheers.

Bakura flicked a card at the guy on the screen. It struck the man’s ball cap before bouncing onto the floor.

“Boo!” Marik voiced both their thoughts aloud.

The two Yamis resented their absence from the tournament. They had not been allowed to sign up due to a lack of identification. Kaiba promised that he was working on creating identification for them, as well as obtaining credible backstories and citizenship. They’d only been given their fleshy new bodies less than six months ago, and it had taken a lot of convincing from Yugi to persuade Kaiba to help Marik and Bakura.

Suffice to say Kaiba wasn’t exactly in a rush.

So here they were, at home—Yugi’s home, because he had been the only one willing to take them in—behaving themselves. Sort of.

Yugi’s apartment was a mess right now. The carpet blanketed in a layer of trading cards that Bakura had spent the last hour and a half throwing about.

The desk where Marik had been faired no better. It was covered in the empty cans of energy drinks, sodas, and the occasion alcohol. Marik had a tendency to stay up all night playing MMOs, and the lack of sleep only enhanced his usual crazy unkempt appearance, rather than detract from it. Amongst the cans were the various wrappers of plant protein bars and veggie chips; there were also a few cards here and there that had managed to find their way amongst the mess.

The tournament commenced after a handful of commercials and a few more interviews with the other contestants. It was mostly speculation of who they thought would win, and what strats might be employed from each player.

Bakura muttered his own commentary about Yugi’s strategies, and Marik grunted in agreement.

And then the duel was underway. Yugi was first to go, and played a face down card before ending his turn, and letting his opponent retaliate.

Ball-cap Boy, as the Yamis labeled him, lost his first summoned monster to Yugi’s trap hole.

“Kick his ass!” Screamed Marik. He was clutching the remote between his fingers like a demented gargoyle.

“Not a bad start,” Bakura remarked. “The field is wide open for Yugi to make a counter attack, and Ball-cap Boy only played one face down card.”

The turn passed back to Yugi. He drew a card.

“Yugi has cards to sweep the field of magic and traps,” Marik nodded at the screen, stating the obvious. It wasn’t necessarily for Bakura’s benefit, as they were simply voicing their own thoughts and observations.

Right on cue, Yugi used a Mystical Space Typhoon, and sent Ball-cap’s card to the graveyard. Then he used a Pot of Greed, drew two more cards, and played a Black Magic Ritual spell card. He sent two monsters from his hand, to the graveyard as tribute, and summoned Magician of Black Chaos right to the field.

This was followed by the activation of the field spell, Yami. Which cast the whole holographic playing field into a black and purple miasma. The change in field giving Yugi’s Spellcaster and Fiend type monsters a boost.

Which included Magician of Black Chaos.

Yugi struck his opponent with a savage blow to his life points, then ended his turn. His hand was empty of cards except for one. It was a vulnerable position to be in, but he did have a very powerful monster on the field.

“YAAS!” Marik bounced on the couch and howled at the TV.

“Babysitter had a very lucky hand to start with,” Bakura remarked. “This will hardly be a fair match.”

“Don’t care as long as Yugi fucks him up.”

Bakura nodded his agreement, and they both continued to watch the game unfold.

The duel didn’t conclude as one-sided as the Yamis first predicted. Ball-cap Boy managed to make a come back, and get rid of Yugi’s Magician with a spell card. After that, he had Yugi on the defensive for a bit.

But when the match finally concluded it was with Yugi’s decisive victory.

The cameras momentarily followed the loser as he slunk offstage, as well as a shower of trading cards and popcorn from Marik and Bakura.

When attention returned to Yugi, interviews and congratulations commenced. With his latest win, Yugi would be attending the semi-finals tomorrow, where he would face off against Malik Ishtar, Mai Valentine, and Weevil Underwood. They would draw names tomorrow to decide who would face off against whom.

The Yamis continued to watch the broadcast even after Yugi had excused himself from the cameras, and mysteriously disappeared. No one appeared to be able to locate him again for further interviews, and turned instead to interview various members of the crowd about today’s matches.

Twenty minutes later the apartment door flew open, and the spikey little “King-of-Games,” entered the apartment. He tossed his bag on the floor next to the shoe shelf.

“I’m home! Did you guys catch my duel?”

Bakura quickly snapped the television off and looked over the back of the couch.

“Of course not. I don’t watch bullshit.”

Marik fixed Bakura with a dark stare. Then turned and draped his large frame over the back of the couch to watch Yugi kick his shoes off.

“Oh.” Yugi’s face drooped a bit. “What were you guys watching?”

“The news.”

“My Little Pony.”

This time it was Bakura’s turn to fix Marik with a death glare. “We do NOT watch My Little Pony.”

“Keh, speak for yourself,” Marik muttered, “Discord is my kindred spirit.”

Yugi hung up his jacket and approached the two of them with an infectious smile. A smile different from his other ones, and one he only seemed to wear when he saw them. Whether it was coming home from a long day, or upon seeing them whenever they picked him up from university.

“Did you win?” Bakura inquired, folding his arms over the back of the couch.

Marik struck him with his unsocked foot, where Yugi couldn’t see. “Of course he won. Babysitter is the King.”

“I lost. Big time,” Yugi lamented. He dropped his eyes and kicked the carpet in shame. “Sano, will go on to the semi-finals tomorrow.”

Marik held out his arms, beckoning Yugi to come close for a sympathetic hug.

When he did, the Yami scooped him up instead and dragged Yugi over the back of the couch and onto the cushions between him and Bakura.

Yugi yelped in surprise.

Both Yamis drew over him like a couple of predators. It was akin to being flanked by a lion and lynx.

“Let us console you,” Bakura purred.

“We’ll ease the sting of loss,” Marik added. “Tell us how it happened.”

“You definitely should have won.”

“Especially the play with the graceful charity, and the discarding two dark magicians from your hand to boost the power of Dark Magician Girl. That was a wicked thing to do~”

“Marik! You absolute knob-head!”

“I knew it,” Yugi giggled, and a grin spread over his face from ear to ear. He stared up at the two Yamis. “You did watch my duel.”

One Yami was baring his teeth and scowling so hard that creases formed on his brow. The other was grinning with feral delight.

“I never wanted to play this game in the first place,” Marik defended. He turned his attention to their babysitter and picked up Yugi’s hand, placing a chaste kiss to the back of it. “You sacrificed your most precious monster cards so callously for power. How unlike you. We must be rubbing off on you.” he purred almost sensually.

It sent butterflies squirming in the young man’s stomach.

“Congrats of the victory, My Precious,” he hummed the words against pale skin before dragging his long tongue over Yugi’s hand and fingers. The endearing nickname was something he’d coined for Yugi after the three of them binged a Lord of the Rings marathon. Bakura refused to use it, preferring his own terms for Yugi. So this one was uniquely Marik’s.

“It was a good duel,” Bakura grumbled. He folded his arms over Yugi’s bent knees and rested his chin upon them.

Yugi couldn’t help but beam up at him even whilst Marik slipped one of Yugi’s fingers into his mouth. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch that over the sound of my hand being molested.”

“You kicked ass,” Bakura snarled louder, his cheeks suddenly flushing a deep pink. His eyes were staring at the floor off to the side though.

“Thanks.” Yugi knew the admission didn’t come lightly. Bakura was generally sparse with his compliments, and praise did not fall from his tongue lightly.

Marik was now biting Yugi’s fingers, but this didn’t bother him at all. Marik tended to be very bitey, and on numerous occasions Yugi had to get creative covering up various bruises ranging in spots from his neck to his calves.

He leaned his head back to meet Yami Marik’s lovely lavender colored eyes.

“I won my duel. So, do I get a victory kiss?”

A sinister grin pulled over Marik’s face, Yugi’s fingers still caught between his teeth. He released the thoroughly molested hand with one final lingering caress of his tongue and leant forward to place a kiss on Yugi’s cute mouth.

A pale hand intercepted, two fingers placed against Yugi’s lips before Marik could kiss him. “But I thought you lost?” Bakura sneered.

Yugi shot him a pouty look.

“We can pretend he won,” Marik tried to pry Bakura’s hand out of the way.

Bakura pushed against Marik’s forehead with his other hand. “We don’t reward losers.”

“Oh, just kiss me.” Yugi huffed, sounding a bit breathless in his demand.

“Babysitter ordered.”

“Well in that case...” Bakura pushed Yugi’s knees apart and crawled between them. He dipped his head under Marik’s nose and his mouth closed over the Game King’s. It was soft but aggressive, wasting no time coaxing Yugi to let him in, and then letting his tongue slip into the kiss.

Marik growled above them.

Bakura paid him no mind. Relishing the taste, lips moving, molding, and coaxing delightful noises from the male below them. He stole breath and sound like the thief he was, and swallowed them both. And his hand trailed over Yugi’s thigh, fingers raking over more sensitive areas until Yugi arched against him.

They broke apart for air, and Bakura watched Yugi pant, with a playful hunger in his half-lidded eyes.

Yugi blinked, and refocused just past him.

Marik’s mouth was twisted in a pout, and he looked very left out.

Yugi reached both hands up, and dragged the Egyptian down for an upside down kiss, that was more teeth than lips, but no less intense and heated.

Marik made a noise akin to a growl, but more hungry and throaty, and slipped his own hands under Yugi’s head to grasp fistfuls of his colorful spiked hair.

Both men continued to lath the little King-of-Games in attention. Occasionally squabbling with each other over possession of Yugi’s mouth. But both of them spoiling their little keeper with touches and affection.

If someone had asked Yugi six months ago if he would ever have two boyfriends—and both of them the former Yamis of his friends, Malik and Ryou—he would have laughed and called them insane. Six months ago he had still been mourning the loss of Atem. Moping about his departure for the afterlife, even though three years had already passed since the ceremonial duel.

Six months ago he had tentatively taken in the homeless, aimless, pitiable Yamis; whom the gods had saw fit to grant a second chance to redeem their souls. He had been the only one of their friend group willing to give these two the second chance he felt they deserved.

And for awhile they resented him with the same disdain they showed the rest of the world.

But Yugi never ceased being patient and kind, freely giving them his friendship. No strings attached.

They had come to accept it begrudgingly at first. And then coveted it selfishly.

Somewhere along the way friendship had morphed into affection, and feelings became complicated.

A strange relationship of hate, friendship, lust, and loyalty, that sometimes left Yugi feeling lost and drowning. He really liked them both, maybe more than he should. And they couldn’t seem to decide if they liked him, or hated him, but they certainly wanted him.

Things were now very complicated.

All this, compounded on the sinful things they were doing with their mouths, was enough to fray his nerves and light his skin ablaze with sensations and confusing emotions. It left Yugi extremely overwhelmed and dizzy.

He broke from all the attention to catch some much needed breath. Marik and Bakura backed off looking mischievous and starved, their eyes dragging over their little Babysitter like he was a juicy piece of meat.

“Why are there duel monsters cards all over the floor?” Yugi asked, finally taking in his surroundings and the state of his apartment.

“Because Bakura was huffy about staying home, and decided to fling his trading cards at everything,” Marik explained, sounding equal amounts amused and annoyed.

“Actually,” Bakura corrected. “They’re all Marik’s cards.”

Lavender eyes shot up.

“What?”

~0000~

So this was interesting to write. Sorry it took me so long. I had to agonize how I wanted to write this ship for the longest time. Pondered over their dynamic, and what circumstances would even bring them together. I hope this was satisfactory. I did a have a lot of fun writing this. Mayhaps you’ll have fun reading???

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff ~ Stray Thoughts: School Raze {MLP}

*sigh* Well, it’s the end of season 8 *loading gun shells* had some bad episodes here and there but it wasn’t that bad. But now, it’ll be a bit sad that I gotta say goodbye for now... *cocks shotgun* Roll it.

That’s Close enough

PART 1 (Tartarus’ Door)

Derpy! Aww, it’s a wonderful thing that you’re the first pony we get to see. Man I can’t see this going wrong in any-- *sees Cozy Glow*....I think I’m gonna hurl.

Ooh, I like the new rainbow haired background pony. Having some muted colors for her mane with a nice pink for the body. Easy, yet unique pony design I’ve seen in a bit

“Friendship Assistant“ Short for “Pastor’s kiss ass”

Silver Stream likes crosswords? That... doesn’t feel out of place for her

Wait, how do you keep saddle bags on as a pegasus? Wouldn’t they be blocking their... ability to fly?

Rainbow’s loyalty is as bold as how she dresses in style

One look into Cloudsdale and I’m seeing fake news. Storm clouds can’t survive in altitudes higher than the regular clouds. We gotta drain the swamp in the Rainbow factory

Glim Glam being the rock as usual. Though it begs the question, if you’re standing on something and you don’t have wings, will you still fall?

Not scared to immediately being proven wrong. That’s the warrior’s way

And why is Yona falling to her death the scene before the intro? Not COOL, show! 

Also, it’s a wonder, right? A character’s gonna die? Turn on the happy music.

How Ocellus was able to catch the admittedly heavy yak is something else

Man, characters can get over trauma pretty easy

OH NO, magical erectile dysfunction

Nothing to worry about? One (best yak) nearly became a pancake, Twilight, you taking this pretty easily.

I agree with Glimmy’s memeface, that was uncalled for, Twily

Snap, Ms. Glimmer

Yeesh, Rarity, you did that to yourself

Tirek? My my, best villain making a return?

That was gross. Thank you, Spike.

Why do potions need magic? It’s juice mixing.

3 DAYS?!

Wait, why do the others wanna go? Why not-- nevermind, it’s safe

Friends, pack your bags. We’re going to hell!

Surviving Discord’s shit is a bar you really gotta cross to challenge anything

Cozy, go dry yourself off

I smell a sabotage, and I’m glad the student 6 pick up on the child’s bullshit

That was casually speciest, Cozy

YONAAAAA! Standing up for her fellow dragon! Though, I gotta agree with Gallus. Who protests with homework?!

Cozy, I had enough of your shit

Huh, they’re already regretting the trip to hell. Wimps

So is the school an all day school? There’s a night school, so what?

Head Mare? More like Head Ass

Wow, ponies can be a-holes

Uhhh, Darla, why’d you leave the villainy open?

That was certainly a convenient yet useless artifact

Ah good, Pinkie was gonna sacrifice herself for the greater good

Okay, I want a book cataloging these animals of Tartarus

OH NO, racist allegory pony is back!

Cerberus!! Oh, I always wanted one.

TIREK! Good seeing ya

rerorerorerorerorerorerorerorerorerorero~

Oh, you didn’t think of this, did you ponies?

Come on, I’ve seen Kiwi farms eavesdrop better

Actually, nature would’ve killed off ponies if the other animals had their way

They’re college students, racist allegory pony, what the fuck would they want with magic?

Glad you’re standing for your fellow pony, Sandbar,

We got a “What in Tarnation?” folks. Giddyup

Wait, what revenge? You literally have no part in this.

Also, Pen pals with a demon. I think there’s an anime for that.

Cozy Glow was pen pals with Tirek? Gasp.

My god, Glim Glam! Wait, would that mean she’s gonna die in that orb or absorb the magic of that orb?

What realm? Why not just absorb the magic? You’ll practically have the infinity stones’ power in your hooves

Also, I like the 3D scene they did here. That is the best scene of this show period

“Friendship is Power“ Well... I mean-- you’re not THAT wrong.

For a future Empress of Friendship, you sure picked the right tape for making that crown, you cheeky ass clod

TO BE CONTINUED (after a commercial break)

Part 2 (Infinpony Crisis)

I just love when all shit is about to go down, then HAPPY INTRO TIME

Come on, Spike, this is no time for semantics

So that was the plan? Draining the magic to give Tirek some company? There’s GOT to be more to this plan.

Good job, Rainbow, you did them proud

Twilight, I know it’s not gonna work, but I am intrigued

We need to build a wall around Equestria, and make the dragons pay for it

Well you have a point, racist allegory pony, Twilight has caught the idiot flu over this season

JESUS CHRIST, it’s the hands of the damned!

You just now remembered your other friends, Sandbar?

Nice hostage room. Oh yeah, have ya’ll tried the window?

Also, have I mentioned Yona being the best? (MANY TIMES) Well it’s true. I’m glad she has undoubted trust in her friends

Okay, you get a brownie point for that line, Mayo pony

Also, nice crowbar

Also, 3rd best moment from Yona. Though I do not ship her and Sandbar. Gross.

Honestly, racist allegory pony is the most annoying part of this story

Alright, Cozy. I’ll cut ya some slack for shutting him down like that.

Oh no, they’re gonna throw him in the hot box

I’m glad ponies are easily impressionable enough to agree to chain bondage

This little girl has a fucking skull. What?

So... let me get this straight Cozy, you cotton candy headed nut, your plan is to run the school to get more friends. More friends equaling more power over Equestria, I suppose by having influence over the public for being such a kiss ass? When there is a goddamn castle right next to the school with everything a pony might want, need, in taking over the world. In addition to dropping all magic to another realm to keep the mane six in hell with Tirek, because you can’t think of owning the magic yourself?

Holy shit, this is the most unnecessarily convoluted plan in the history of the show. I thought Starlight did worse, but no.

Gloating wouldn’t ease that L of yours, racist allegory pony

Yona, never change. You are a highlight of this episode

Also, consider yourself redeemed, racist allegory pony

Good job, Tirek. You now have prison mates.

Wow, who knew Pinkie was more of a villain than a literal demon?

Okay, that was funny. You get another point, Cozy

*shudders* Finals.

Wait, how did you get all those pony down there, Darla?

Open the door, get on the floor, pony up on the dinosaur

How would they know it was the third day?

Tell her off, Gallus! Second best character

As much as this is quite a climax, I am not liking those ghost hands

The tree of EHARMONY, back at it again with the deus ex machina!

Okay, so Yona is honesty, Silver’s laughter, Smolder’s loyalty, Gallus is generosity, Sandbar’s kindness, and Ocellus is magic? Makes a bit of sense.

And that’s why Yona is best. She’s everything Applejack isn’t

Everybody duck, it’s explosion time

By the tools of Equestria... WE HAVE THE POWERRRRRRRR!

Pretty lights

Haha, and Tirek failed

Come on, Glim Glam, nothing wrong with a Yak hug

Ah, Cozy *rubs hands* you survived.

Alright, real talk.... Cozy, you fucking clod. Not only were you never convincing, not only was your plan remarkably crazier than Starlight’s of all ponies, not only was your motive behind this the 3rd dumbest I’ve ever heard from this series, but my god, you have failed to realize that what you tried to do was never gonna work in any fashion soon as the public thought for themselves. At least Starlight had her magic and charm to fool her town before the jig was up, YOU relied on sheer ignorance to hopefully get whatever it was you wanted. *chuckles* You make Frank Underwood look like a saint, you curly headed nutcase.

And you think you were gonna make friends somewhere else after you literally threatened to wipe away all magic? Bravo, show, you made me chortle harder than I imagined.

“Oh no, my tiny wings can’t outrun the law”

Well you say that, Neighsay, but Twilight really isn’t suitable for running a school. I think the season proved that pretty well.

It’s only been one semest- fuck off, show, it should’ve been well over a semester!

Though this might mean more student 6, which means more Yona. I’m down with that!! *BANG BANG*

What does he think friendship is, a currency? Who wrote this?

Thank you, CMC, you did your part

“Oh my god, they put a child in hell?“ Well, she did try to erase magic, as well as send 7 characters to their potential deaths and trap 7 more characters in the same hell. Compared to the other villains we’ve had, she genuinely pulled worse. So really, I’m indifferent about it, especially when I don’t... like her or care about her.

But she’ll be back?! *deep groan* I guess with Yona being around, there has to be an equivalent exchange somewhat. Plus we don’t know her origins so I guess it’s reasonable. Bad way to end the season, show.

But you know what? This was all fun. Won’t deny that.

So, woof, moral of the story? Well, just because you have friends, doesn’t mean you’ll have power because of it. The same way having followers, subscribers, whatever, doesn’t mean you're a permanent influence over them. Real friends give you power, power that you can use for the good of yourself as well as others. Your real friends give you the wholeness that you might’ve never been able to discover yourself, whether it be with wisdom or with laughter. “The more the merrier” is not a wrong idea to have, but quality should come before quantity, if that make sense.

MY LITTLE PONY: Friendship is Strengthening Your Pact

~See Ya Next Season~

[cdc1345711]

Rick And Morty/My Little Pony Crossover Part 3

(After last night’s night of drunken intoxication the Mane 6 and the two humans are woken up by the most useful means of wake ups-the sun)

Rick:(Feeling the sunlight on his face get’s up and yells out the window)HEY CELESTIA TURN THAT GOD DAMN OVERSIZE LAMP OFF I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!!!!!”

Twilight:(Waking up)Uuuuh(and seeing everyone passed out and sleeping in weird positions)Oh sweet Celestia what did we do last night?”

Rick:(Pointing in the direction of Twilight)Don’t you WHO you did last night haha”

(Just then Rarity wakes up........right next to Twilight)

Rarity:Morning Dar......(sees she’s next to Twilight and they both blush causing a big squeal)”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”

Morty:OH MY GOD WHAT-UH(feels his head)God my head hurts.....”

Fluttershy/Rainbow Dash:(Seeing the other sleeping next to each other)AAH”

Fluttershy:OH MY GOODNESS I’M SO SORRY RAINBOW DASH”

Rainbow Dash:NO I’M SORRY FLUTTERSHY!!!!”

Applejack:I think I speak for everypony......I uh mean every-BODY here when I say never again will we drink ‘that’ type of cider again”

Rick:Not making any promises to that(drinks from his flask and sees someone is missing)hey were’s that annoying pink one with the ear bleeding high voice?”

Twilight:What??? where’s Pinkie”

Morty:AWE CRAP WE LOST HER”

Rick:Fan-Fucking-Tastic,looks like we got ourselves a ‘Hangover’ scenario Pony edition”

(Just then Pinkie arrives with boxes that is most likely breakfast)

Pinkie:(Acting like she was unaffected by the alcohol)Morning everyone-while you guys were sleeping I went out to get us supplies for breakfast-I got pancakes,muffins,toast and waffles”

Rick:How about some bacon and eggs?”

Pinkie:Tee-hee silly Ricky,ponies don’t eat meat or eggs”

Rick:Call me Ricky again and i’ll send you to-oh wait use that line already-shit-uh........know what call me ‘Ricky’ again and you can go fu-UGH-ck yourself,because I doubt any’pony’ else wants too”

Pinkie:Well I would but again this is a kids show so I can’t really ‘fudge’ myself”

Rick:Nor do I want to see you ‘fudge’ yourself.......be a waste of fudge”

Twilight:(Confused by what they’re saying she looks at the clock and freaks out)OH NO WE’RE GONNA MISS THE TRAIN TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!!!!”

(So the group hauls flanks and asses to the train station-ignoring their hangovers-and gets there in time to buy tickets and get their seats and arrives at the Crystal Empire-only to be greeted by Cadence herself)

Morty:(Still feeling the hangover)Ugh-my head is still hurting,how do you deal with this Rick?”

Rick:Years of practice Morty.......(sips from his flask)years of practice)”

Cadence:Welcome everypony to(sees their faces)my goodness what happened to you girls?”

Twilight:Please don’t ask(she hears small baby talk and immediately thinks)is Flurry here?”

Cadence:Yes she is(brings out Flurry to meet her Auntie Twily)”

Flurry:Twi-lah uhh”

Twilight:AWE(uses her magic to float her over to her)Your Auntie missed you so much(kisses her cheeks)”

Rick:(To Morty)Morty whose the baby?”

Morty:Flurry Hearts Princess Cadence’s daughter and Twilight’s niece”

Rick:How the Hell did 2 lesbian ponies make a baby-did they magic themselves up some dicks to help?”

Morty:Princess Cadence is married to Twilight’s brother Shining Armor”

Rick:(Hearing the word ‘brother’)Wait the’re ‘straight’ couples in this show? I just thought all the ponies were gay”

Morty:No they’re-well some are-but not all”

Rainbow Dash:Hey know were the nearest bathroom is.....”

Cadence:Yes it’s right there(and in a flash Rainbow flies off to the bathroom)wow-but seriously why are you girls like this?”

Twilight:Well uh you see......”

Morty:We stayed up all night partying and we’re still kinda tired”

Cadence:Awe-okay makes sense”

Rick:You know that’s bullshit right?”

Morty:Well sorry I didn’t want word getting out Twilight and the others got drunk and ruin her image”

Rick:Uuugh-God dammit Morty”

(While they wait for her- Rainbow Dash flew out of the bathroom-whether to either use it or puke-she spots a newspaper with an ‘interesting’ image)

Rainbow Dash:Oh by the Princesses(grabs the newspaper and flies to her friends)GUUUUUUUUUYS(puts it on Rick’s lap)look at this...”

Rick:My God.........you use Newspapers,I mean I know you don’t have the Techno-UUUGH-gy for smartphones or tablets but......”

Rainbow Dash:It’s what’s on the front page(the image was Rainbow and Fluttershy making out while the others watched with the title ‘Princess Twilight’s Royal Fun Night’-much to the other embarrassment)

Rick:(Reading the paper)As of last night Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle,her friends and 2 monkey like creatures were drinking what looks like cider but has a different ‘affect’ than normal ones causing her friends to grow closer to one another,maybe being promoted to the Princess of ‘Love’.....’-’Monkey Like Creatures? those mother Fuc.....”

Fluttershy:(Tearing up)Oh.....my....Nooooo”

Rainbow Dash:Our lives are ruined”

Twilight:Who did this???”

 Morty:(Reading who wrote it)Awe crap.........Flim and Flam”

Mane 6:’GASP’”

Rick:Da fucks a ‘Flim and Flam’?”

Morty:Two con-ponies who try to trick ponies into giving them their bits”

AppleJack:Those low-down dirty varmints”

Rarity:The nerve they’ve gone too far”

Cadence:I swear we’ll stop them”

(On their way to the castle they meet with Shining Armor-reading the newspaper)

Shining Armor:Twily I read the paper and don’t worry we’ll stop the Pony who made these articles pay”

Twilight:It’s nothing important-what is important is helping Rick and Morty find a crystal to get home”

Morty:Really Twilight? I mean it is our fault(whispers ‘Mostly Rick’s’)that this happened maybe we should.....”

Twilight:Morty I get what you’re saying but bringing you home is more important-I bet your family is worried sick about you”

Morty:(Realizing he hasn’t been home for a day)Oh man I like totally forgot about Mom.Dad and Summer”

Rick:I take you on adventures that last a month or even a year-I doubt they’ll be worried”

(Int he real world......or at least Rick and Morty’s Universe-Jerry is trying to call his son......for the 14th time)

Jerry:MORTIMER SMITH YOU CALL ME BACK RIGHT NOW!!!!”

Beth:Wait Morty’s full name isn’t ‘Mortimer’?”

Jerry:Wait it’s not? always thought it was?”

(And while Jerry and Beth are talking Summer is sitting on the couch flipping through channels until she hits......)

Summer:Uh Mom Dad.........Morty and Grandpa Rick are on My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic”

Jerry/Beth:WHAT??”

Jerry:Honey that is impossible(sees Morty and Rick talking with the Mane 6,Cadence and Shining Armor)holy crap they are on MLP-and it looks like they found Twilight,Pinkie Pie,Applejack,Fluttershy,Rarity and Rainbow Dash, that’s smart(Beth and Summer look at Jerry in a kind of ‘really,you watch this kid’s show’ look)hey it’s a good show that me and Morty like to watch”

Summer:Dad-a grown man watching a show about cartoon ponies with his son is creepy”

Beth:Summer-rewind the episode and see why they’re on My Little Pony(as they rewind a voice says ‘previously on My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic’ and Rick and Morty say their portal gun is destroyed,need to get back and the Mane six helps them)so that’s it”

Jerry:(Makes an annoying sound)Why.......why does Rick have to ruin everything I love(Beth and Summer look at them)hey this show is the only thing that makes me happy-except you Beth heh heh(Beth just roles her eyes)”

Summer:What should we do? what would Grandpa Rick do?”

Jerry:Get shit-faced,sleep,wake up,make fun of us just for living then make something in his garage”

Beth:That’s.........actually pretty accurate”

Beth:So let’s do it then-me and Jerry will find something to make into some dimension-portal hopping device while you Summer stay here and keep an eye on Dad and Morty”

Jerry:(Wanting to be the one to watch it)Uuuuuh”

Beth:Shut it Jerry”

(Back in Equestria-Rick and Morty and the Mane 6 walk to the Crystal Mine and are looked by everypony whose read the newspaper)

Rarity:Doh I wish they’d stop staring at us”

Rainbow Dash:Hey at least you don’t have your face on the cover like me and Flutters here(Fluttershy covering her face with her wings)”

Applejack:(Spots something that burns her eyes)Oh no......(it’s Flim and Flam selling the news papers)”

Flim:Step right up-don’t be shy”

Flam:Come and get the hottest selling paper ever to hit the shelves”

Twilight:Let’s go another way”

(But it’s too late the brothers see them and immediately take action)

Flam:Well if it isn’t the Princess herself along with the love-ponies ‘FlutterDash’-”

Flim:Mind giving us another picture?”

Rick:I take you ass-bags are Flim and Flam which by the way retarded names”

Flam:Oh and they brought their monkey companions too”

Rick:I ain’t no fucking monkey you horse-shit con-artists”

Flim:Certainly has a mouth on him dear brother”

Flam:Quite dear brother......”

Twilight:Please let;s just go......”

Morty:Come on Rick these two aren’t worth it”

Rick:(Begrudgingly grrs)You’re lucky(sips from his flask)”

Flam:I wonder what he’s drinking?”

Flim:Whatever it is,must be awful”

Flam:Possibly the same liquid that made the Princess and her companions act like fools”

Flim:Seems like it dear brother”

Flam:Of course more profit for us”

Flim/Flam:Hahahahahaahahhaha”

(Rick sees that their taunting is making the girls even more sad and decides......)

Rick:Fuck it-Morty hold my flask(gives the flask to Morty and walks up to Flim and Flam)”

Flam:Oh look the Monkey is back”

Flim:Care for a banana....Wait what are you......”

(And in seconds-and off panel)Rick is beating the crap out of both brothers causing all kinds of bodily pain to the pony brothers)

Rick:(Over their beaten bodies)ANY OF YOU ASS-HOLES GIVE THESE PONY SHIT FOR WHAT THEY DID LAST NIGHT-THIS IS GONNA BE YOU(lifts up Flim and Flam’s head while the ponies drop the newspaper and run away-Rick then let’s go of them)”

Morty:(Runs up and kicks Flim in the side and Flam in the face)That’s what you get BITCHES-HUWAHHHHH”

Rick:You’re welcome......”

Applejack:Didn’t have to beat them to a pulp you know.........but I’m glad you did”

Rarity:Me too”

Fluttershy:Me three”

Pinkie:Me Four haha”

Rick:(Smiling)Again you’re welcome”

Rainbow Dash:And Morty nice kick”

Morty:Thanks”

Twilight:Alright-let’s help these two Mo-”

Rick:Don’t you fucking dare.......”

Twilight:Teehee-let’s help these 2 people get home”

Rick:That’s better”

(The Mane 6 and Rick and Morty head off to the Crystal Mines to find suitable diamonds for Rick’s machine)

THE END

[mlp-rants-concerns]

No Second Prances Review

I know I’m about 2 years late but I need to get this episode off my chest. This episode was the worst episode of Season 6 with To Where And Back Again and Every Little Thing She Does not too far behind. I went in with low expectations and that’s exactly what I got. This was the episode that made me not like Starlight to this day. But first here are some things I noticed and or were positive/interesting then I’m going to talk about the Mane 3.

Pro’s

Pinkie Pie actually got a speaking role and it was more than one line, considering the fact the other two episodes with Trixie she hardly talked.

New backgrounder a in Ponyville

Spike interestingly not being present

Character Continuity

Twilight did nothing wrong and was completely justified in her actions and ended up being right

Con’s

Trixie

As soon as I saw the preview for the episode I knew I was gonna dislike this episode. Once again Trixie shows up trying to get back at Twilight for something that wasn’t her fault but Trixie’s because her biggest secret is that she was jealous of Twilight...What. A. Shocker. So Trixie makes friends with Starlight to ultimately get back at Twilight and beating her at something. One line I want to point out is this:

Trixie: Everypony always says they'll give you a second chance, but deep down, they never forget.

I mean you were the cause of that Ursa Minor that nearly destroyed Ponyville because of your boasting and you became a dictator and enslaved Ponyville and forced the citizens into manual labor. What did you think was going to happen...nearly every villain whose been redeemed has went through this in the series/movies and honestly only a few have managed to move past their mistakes completely (Luna, Discord, and Sunset) so that’s not uncommon. What Trixie needs to do is own up her mistakes and actually sincerely apologize to Twilight without having an ulterior motive but...let’s be honest that’s not happening anytime soon.

Starlight

Yes, I understand that Starlight is still going through her phase of trying to let her past go...oh wait she still hasn’t let her past go nevermind. Most of the lines she said are so contradictory with her actions in the episode that it makes her unbearable to watch and not like able...

1. Starlight’s worries about ponies in Ponyville finding out about her past...you only affected the Mane 6 and Spike and the ponies of YOUR VILLIAGE. She should’ve been worried if her old village would accept her after what she did...Oh Wait. Nevermind. That’s an insult to Luna and Sunset who actually had to deal with criticism from others.

2. Starlight getting upset about Twilight not trusting her to make her own friends: Twilight knows Trixie, Starlight doesn’t. Twilight has clashed and been a victim of Trixie before and Starlight doesn’t know about any of that. Even Trixie admitted to Starlight that she wasn’t nice and Twilight was right. If Twilight didn’t know what she was talking about she wouldn’t have said anything or was looking out for Starlight and what happened: Starlight ended up getting played and cried and ran off so that’s your fault.

3. When It Comes To Magic I Don’t Make Mistakes except for the time where I brainwashed my villiage so that cutie marks are evil so that I can force friendships and nearly destroying Equestria multiple times in a time loop and NOW I’M INSECURE ABOUT MY ACTIONS TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN’T MAKE A FRIEND IN THE FRIENDLIEST TOWN IN EQUESTRIA

4. “Nopony else in Ponyville wanted to be my friend”...If the writers expect me to feel sorry for this ⬆️ they have very low expectations. Starlight didn’t even TRY to make a friend with any of the ponies she passed by on the way to the spa. She didn’t even make friends with any of the Mane 5’s suggestions...except Angel but he’s Angel so. This line is bullshit. You can’t expect someone to feel sorry for you if you don’t put in effort like Sunset did. Yes she got rejected multiple times but she made an effort to do so on their own.

5. “I’m so glad we don’t have to go to that boring dinner” And with that line, Starlight Glimmer lost all my respect as a character. Let’s remember that Twilight planned that dinner for her to showcase how well Starlight’s been doing. Twilight didn’t have to do that for her. Twilight didn’t have to give her a second chance. Twilight could’ve sent Starlight’s ass to Tartarus or some shit but she didn’t, she let Starlight into her home, made her a student of her teachings, and Starlight says that shit. That was straight disrespectful. And she left Celestia, the ruler of all of Equestria waiting at the table. Starlight’s either bold or dumb as fuck for that one. She deserved to get what came to her for that.

After the episode aired, Starlight was official my least favorite character in the G4 franchise with Trixie at second worst.

Overall the episode gets a 1/10 that 1 being the good things I mentioned and Twilight.

[texanredrose]

Six Degrees (Megacrossover Fic)

... I wrote this four years ago and the fact that I did occurred to me again. So. I’m just going to say that the following includes characters from: Gundam Wing, Homestuck, Venture Brothers, Outlaw Star, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, American Dragon: Jake Long, Teen Titans, Beetlejuice, Hercules, Mass Effect, Kim Possible, Dragon Age: Origins and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few but fuck it, play a game and see if you can catch all the references and nods to other media because I literally can’t remember them all. And as much of a cluster fuck as that sounds, it’s really just a slice-of-life with Heero Yuy and Rose Lalonde being best friends, Kim being a tired police officer/momma with her adoptive son Beastboy, and Relena Darlian and Kanaya Maryam bonding over perhaps the most ludicrous batch of morgue employees in the history of ever. Here’s the crossover no one asked for and you’re welcome.

At ten minutes until closing time, Rose Lalonde was quite ready to be done with the day. Two of her employees called in, leaving her to run the book side of the store while Melfina ran the café, both of them flying solo through a relatively busy Thursday. It wasn’t anything either of them couldn’t handle- Rose had started Jasper’s café and bookstore while running the whole thing by herself, back when it was half the size and tucked away in a seldom tread part of the colony, and Melfina was a bartender before opting for the less hectic scene of a café- but it still irked her that both sides of the store ran shorthanded. She had half a mind to lecture her two youngest employees about commitment. However, in their defense, it wasn’t as though she didn’t see it coming; Twilight mentioned that her brother would be returning from the expedition sometime this week and Jake cited pressing family concerns which he had warned might be a possibility the week before. One could never be quite sure when the expeditions would return, given the nature of space travel past the jump point, and Rose was hardly one to argue about familial obligation. Both assured her they would be present for their next shifts, so it wasn’t as though they quit without warning and she would be doing this all week. In the end, she was just tired from a long week and looking forward to the following day. She typically worked Fridays and Saturdays, given most of her employees attended either the local high school or the university a few blocks over. She remembered well the way teenaged partying went from her own days spent at university on Earth, but once a month she took both days off and left the store with Melfina and the kids, hoping nothing burned down in her absence and drinking a glass or three of wine to ease away the stress. If anything, she was looking forward to the wine.

“Rose,” Melfina said, her voice soft as ever but still managing to slightly startle Rose. She must’ve zoned out while watching the clock. She turned her head to note that Melfina had already donned her blue shawl, the color complimenting her eyes nicely as she smiled. “I’ve already cleaned up the machines and restocked the line.”

“Thank you, Mel. You can head home.” Rose nodded, pushing off from the counter and heading for her coat and purse hanging by the door to the back room. “Give Gene my regards.”

Melfina nodded, heading out through the front door, keys in hand so she could lock it while Rose saw to arming the security system. Before it shut, however, she poked her head back in, a slightly apologetic smile on her lips. “Rose, you have a visitor. Do you want me to tell him-“

“No, it’s fine,” Rose replied, setting her coat back on the peg and turning towards the stairs up to the café. So much for heading home. “Let him in before you lock up.” Without a word, Melfina admitted one of Rose’s favorite- if not always punctual- customers before locking the door and heading towards her car. Rose was busy making the coffee upstairs but could hear her friend walk around downstairs, searching for a particular book, before following her up to the café. He took a seat at his favorite table, far enough from the window for the average passerby to miss while still able to admire the view of the colony as it gently sloped up. She noted it took him a little longer than usual, as though something was on his mind and he was having trouble deciding how to handle it. His choice of book invariably boiled down to three genres, depending on what was on his mind: military history- someone’s opinion challenged his enough he sought solace and stabilization in facts before attempting to evaluate the opinion properly- , law enforcement strategies- something or someone at work had challenged his authority, professionalism, or tactics-, and allegorical or satirical works criticizing political groups- some sort of red tape or administrative bullshit was preventing him from doing something he felt important. As she poured the cups, she could hear him open the book and begin turning pages, likely searching for where he left off last, and projected how the night would go based on previous encounters. The man could move silently if he so desired, and it often translated to a cup or two enjoyed in companionable silence at the end of a long work week. Given how much noise he was making, though, it meant he wanted to talk, and at length, which wasn’t that unusual. However, she could usually tell which section he’d visited before ascending the stairs, giving her some hint as to the topic for the night. Rose turned around, bringing both cups to the table where he sat and with a fond smile on her lips. He was intently staring at the page in front of him, skimming the information before moving on to the next page, searching for something. His eyes were a deep, dark blue that bordered on black when he was being especially thoughtful, and his tousled chestnut hair sometimes reminded her of childhood friend John Egbert back on Earth. Except, there was no mistaking their personalities; John was a gregarious, slightly immature bundle of positive energy while Heero Yuy was a very quiet, very reserved, and very private man. Setting his cup down in front of him- black, of course- Rose cradled her own, waiting for the creamer to finish blending before taking a cautious sip. After regarding Heero for a moment longer, Rose eyed the book he was so fixated upon and raised her eyebrows. “And here I thought we’d gotten past the point where you could surprise me.” Rose chuckled, a soft smile playing on her lips as she reached out to pull the book away. “I wouldn’t rely on that, if I were you.” “Then what’s it doing in your store?” He lifted his gaze to meet hers, frowning slightly as he reached for his coffee. Though he was certainly more anxious than usual, it didn’t show in his voice or movements, only in his choice of reading material. Rose shook her head, sliding the book to the side and closing it. “Because it’s not a bad reference for teenagers, and the amount of college students who come here demands I make certain concessions, but you’re a grown man, Heero. There’s no advice Dating for Dummies can offer you that’ll actually work.” “You and me both,” Heero replied, taking another pull of his coffee before leaning back in his chair. He passed a hand over his face and Rose noted the fading indention on his wrist from the band of a disposable glove. “You took another paramedic shift. Is there a reason you’re working overtime?” He shook his head, leaning forward slightly. “Not overtime; I volunteered today.” “You’ve been volunteering a lot.” Rose leaned forward, a smirk on her lips and one brow raised. “Is there a particular reason for that?” He regarded her a moment before grunting out an affirmative response. She was actually a little surprised he was being this straight forward about the issue. Usually, extracting answers from him was about as tedious and painful as trying to get her brother Dave to make sense during his ironic irony phase. If she hadn’t been so accustomed to patiently prodding her conversational partner for information or intrigued by the need to do so, she might’ve kicked Heero out of her store three years ago when he showed up at closing time, drenched from the colony’s rain system and impassively staring at everything around him. It was the first time she’d ever stayed late for someone who didn’t even buy a book but it started a strange tradition, and once she finally got him to open up a little, Rose had found a very intelligent, very self-aware person underneath that monotone voice and slight scowl. Their conversations ranged from the usual commentary on their work day or chosen professions to politics, religion, psychology, or whatever the hot topic of the week was in the universe. Much like herself, Heero never felt quite comfortable going to a bar- although for entirely different reasons- late at night to unwind, and both his work schedule and personality acted as barriers to anyone trying to become his friend. If Rose didn’t own Jasper’s, she probably wouldn’t know him as anything other than one of the police officers patrolling the colony. More than once, though the conversations were decidedly rare, they’d discussed their love lives, or lack of such as the case may be. Rose had made a few attempts, prior to moving to the colony, all of which ended within a few months but Heero had admitted after much poking and prodding that dating wasn’t something he’d ever really… done, per say. He didn’t see the point back when he had the time and, since he worked so often, it wasn’t very high on his priority list now. It was still there, though; Rose had drawn the conclusion long ago that, while he wasn’t quite one to go out and make friends, he appreciated the ones he had and wanted to have other, deeper relationships. He just had no clue how to go about it and it was easier for him to simply act like it didn’t bother him than do something about it. Which, of course, made the current edition of their late night talks absolutely delicious. Rose took another sip of her coffee to hide her amusement. “So, am I to try and guess her name or are you going to be so kind as to give me a hint first?” Heero shot her a glare to counter her mirth before sighing. “Name’s Relena Darlian. She’s a nurse at First Colonial.” “That’s a pretty name,” Rose commented, earning a slightly more heated glare from Heero, which she dismissed with a wave. “Oh please, Heero, I’m not trying to steal your girl. I wouldn’t dream of it.” “She’s not my girl.” Rose liked to think there was an unspoken ‘yet’ at the end of that statement. “And I seem to recall you telling me a story about trying to steal your brother’s girl once.” He pointed out, glancing back to the book before drinking more coffee. “Actually, that was a boy, and the whole incident was based on principle. He challenged me, I accepted; simple as that,” Rose replied, setting her half drained cup aside and lacing her fingers, resting her chin atop them. “Now, back to the matter at hand, I’m guessing you met through work, unless you were shot recently and forgot to mention it. Again.” Heero grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was just a graze; Kim overreacted.” She returned his flat look with an unimpressed stare, which he would invariably take to mean that she neither bought that line nor did she appreciate him downplaying the incident. Rather than continue down that particular road, however, he shrugged. “I met her two weeks ago after that big crash over on Fifty-Fourth. Usually, we just brief whoever receives the patient about the name and vitals and turn over any miscellaneous information to the desk clerk. She had me tell her everything.” “Control freak or perfectionist?” He drummed the fingers of one hand against his arm before uncrossing them and leaning on the table. “Neither. She wasn’t curt or rude about it and she didn’t try to belittle me about my medical knowledge. I told her there was likely massive internal bleeding due to the nature of the collision- that he’d need surgery- and she ran with it.” “Maybe she heard about the last time someone tried to question your medical training,” Rose offered, earning a subtle shrug in response. “What impression did you get?” “That she was more concerned with making sure her patient was going to survive than proving she was the one who could save him.” Heero ran a hand through his hair, doing very little to the disheveled locks. “The nurses and doctors down at First Colonial always act like we’re in the way once we’ve passed the threshold, like they don’t need us to do anything aside from bring them the casualty.” “Yes, we’ve discussed your resentment of their superiority complexes several times.” Rose pointed out. “But what about this particular incident has you reading Dating for Dummies at eleven o’clock on a Thursday?” He frowned at her, brow furrowing. “I’ve met her more than once.” “Something I wasn’t aware of until just now, thank you, though I did suspect as much.” Heero sighed. “I think she only works the Emergency Room. She’s been there the last four shifts I’ve worked.” Rose cocked a brow. “New policy on vacation days; no more cash-ins, it’s use or lose after we hit seventy. I have ten to burn before the end of next month.” “Which translates to: you’re taking yours now because Kim needs them later.” “Her anniversary is next month. She wants to take hers then and we both know Chief will go ballistic if his two favorite lunatics are on vacation at the same time.” “I see.” Rose nodded, returning his slight smile with one of her own. Heero often made it sound like his relationship with Police Chief Anderson was one of mutual respect and agitation. Then again, Rose wasn’t sure she’d handle the duo so well if they were her employees; Kim and Heero seemed to share the mentality that nothing was too difficult for them to overcome, which often got them into situations no sane person would willingly walk into, much less charge into headfirst. It was a desirable trait for a first responder and an admirable trait to an extent. That extent ended when violent death was involved, crossing the threshold from ‘brave’ into ‘stupid’ more often than not, a fine line neither officer was willing to admit existed. “Although, given the timeline you’ve just laid out, and knowing you as I do, I suspect you haven’t had much time for sleeping.” “I sleep well enough.” Heero lifted his hand to rub at his eyes but caught himself. Not in time for Rose to not notice but she ignored it anyway. “What do your other interactions lend to your overall perception of this Relena Darlian?” “She’s driven, focused on the task in front of her, intelligent, well read...” He paused, as if weighing how to proceed, and was prompted by Rose’s slight nod. He ran a hand through his hair again, leaning forward and lowering his voice. “She’s very kind. When she talks to the patients, you can see her make this instant connection with them. She’s got a presence about her that just eases people. When she walks into the room, she commands it, but not through physical intimidation. Just force of personality. I admire that.” Rose nodded slightly, tapping a finger against her lips. “I think that’s the closest I’ll ever come to hearing the stoic Heero Yuy mooning over a girl.” Heero sat back and frowned. “You’re making fun of me.” “No, I’m reveling in the moment. There’s a difference.” Rose chuckled as he rolled his eyes. Rather than continue teasing him, she continued her questioning. “Have you actually spoken to her in a conversation that didn’t include the words ‘laceration’, ‘gunshot wound’, or ‘third degree burns’?” Heero shifted uncomfortably. “No. Not yet. That’s what I was investigating-“ Rose clicked her tongue with a shake of her head. “Investigating? Heero, you must learn a little flexibility in your vocabulary.” “Investigating is an accurate description of my actions,” he replied defensively. “It implies you’re looking at this as a case from the perspective of a police officer which, I should mention, might be too clinical for a pathologically kind nurse.” He favored her with a sour frown before looking at the tabletop. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know how to do this.” Rose reached across the table and patted his hand. “That’s what lesbian best friends are for.”

Looking thoroughly unsurprised, Heero picked up his cup only to realize it was empty and set it down again. “You finally decided to stick to women.” “In theory, if not in practice,” she replied, shrugging one shoulder while gesturing to him. “But of the two of us, you actually have a shot at something, so let’s focus on that. Do you know anything about this woman other than her professional work ethic? Anything that might hint at the two of you being compatible?” Very briefly, genuine confusion showed on his face. “I thought the purpose of dating was to discover that information.” “Technically, the purpose of a date is to discover compatibility; the continued version known as dating is typically founded upon already discovered compatibility.” His frown said quite clearly he was not amused with her word games. Rose had to smile at how serious he was acting. Given this was Heero Yuy she was talking to, she sincerely hoped Relena was a patient and forgiving sort. “Well, let’s start with the basics. The next time you see her- and there’s no bleeding people demanding her attention or yours- introduce yourself.” “She knows who I am.” Rose cocked a brow in disbelief. To his credit, his glance away was very brief. “She knows what I do.” “She knows you work full time as a police officer, you’re a member of the SWAT team, a qualified EMT, and a volunteer firefighter?” Rose waited, ready to list off other things she’d learned about him over the past three years that might warrant some acknowledgement. He crossed his arms again and pursed his lips but relented. “Okay, so I introduce myself. Then what?” “Ask her if she’d like some coffee or if she’s hungry. You know every little hole-in-the-wall and mom ‘n’ pop shop on L1, especially in this sector. Pick a place she’d never think to look for where the food is excellent and the environment is cozy.” Heero’s face said quite clearly that he thought she was insane for suggesting he paid attention to things like a cozy environment before he buried his face in his hands and sighed in defeat. “I hope she opts for coffee.” “I’m not going to hit on her for you because I am wingman to no one due to ineptitude,” Rose pointed out, standing up and refreshing his cup. “However, you are welcomed to bring her here if you want. Melfina is still the best barista on L1 and the familiar environment might ease your nerves.” “You make pretty good coffee too.” Heero offered, accepting the full cup before Rose reclaimed her seat. He smoothly ignored the comment about him being nervous and Rose was only a little disappointed he didn’t rise to the bait. “The tea you usually drink is alright.” “I would appreciate the compliment if black coffee was actually difficult to make. Also, you hate tea, so I’m not sure how valid your opinion is on that front.” Heero shrugged. “People who like tea drink it.” Rose sighed. “You should really stop trying to derail the conversation at some point. Setting my skills with liquids aside for the moment, have you accepted the possibility you’re going to end up finding something wrong with her? Or how difficult it will be to maintain a relationship when you’re both working long shifts and odd hours?” “No.” He drummed his fingers on the tabletop thoughtfully for a moment. “Should I?” “Not necessarily.” Rose chuckled. “While they are valid concerns, I bring them up because those are the excuses you usually give me when you won’t talk to someone. She must really be special unless...” She narrowed her eyes at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” He shifted slightly under her gaze, his face impassive. “Did you hear about the attempted robbery over on seventh?” “Of course. The incident was resolved peacefully.” Rose narrowed her eyes further, encouraging him to make his point. “I was on patrol that day. She talked the armed robber into turning himself in when we arrived.” He took a sip from his cup. “She was unarmed. I watched the security footage myself. She walked right up to him, convinced him to return the money, dismantle his weapon, and wait patiently until we arrived. It was… not how I would’ve handle the situation, but impressive.” Rose sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and smiling. “I believe the relevant term is ‘folie a duex’ and now I get it. She’s just as certifiably insane as you are, albeit on the other end of the spectrum.” Shrugging, Rose glanced out across the colony, admiring the lights that painted the veins of the colony. It wasn’t as breathtaking as a clear night sky, but it was beautiful in its own way. “She sounds like an interesting woman. You should at least try- and I mean really try, Heero- to ask her out. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?” “She could be as annoying as you,” he replied, drinking his coffee without so much as cracking a smile. Rose, on the other hand, grinned.

She would never claim to have nerves of steel but Relena Darlain did not scare easily. Stepping off the elevator into a darkened hallway in the basement of a hospital did raise her heart rate a bit and it did invoke a sense of foreboding in her that she couldn’t immediately dispel but she wasn’t scared. 

Just alert. Ready in the event something did happen.

As the elevator doors closed behind her, Relena set off down the hallway before her, noting the one to the left looked like it lead to a maintenance door and to the right had warning placards on the door at the end and another door that probably lead to the stairwell. At least the path before her seemed to actually go somewhere, though she wasn’t entirely sure where it might lead.

She could stare at the floor plans all day- and had, for at least one of her shifts- but Relena wasn’t the kind of person who learned by just reading the information. It tended to blend together, one sentence melting into the next, and while she could come away able to repeat the material almost verbatim, she never felt like she fully understood it. She preferred having experience to really cement the information in her mind and wandering the halls of her new workplace seemed the most logical course of action to familiarize herself with the place. 

Also, being unable to answer when stopped for directions was also a bit embarrassing; she’d rather not rely on someone else to come to her rescue in such matters. As she passed under a dim security light, she tried racking her brain for what was actually kept in the basement. Maintenance access, of course, a few specialists for non-human biologies, but she was sure there was some sort of clinic or department also housed in the basement. Not that she could clearly remember anyone saying so; maybe she read it on one of the signs scattered throughout the hospital. As she continued down the hallway, Relena reached up and released her golden brown hair from the rigid bun she’d put it in that morning and sighed in relief. She truly hated buns but it was a necessity to keep her field of vision clear, not to mention away from her patients’ wounds. With only her own echoing footsteps to accompany her, Relena continued down the hall, slowing occasionally to read the plates set beside the doors to identify the rooms. Three were storage rooms, one was a holding area for medical waste, and one was written in a language she couldn’t quite place. It was familiar- one of thousands she’d studied over the years- just not to the point of recognition. She really only ever learned how to speak small phrases, rarely focusing on how to write out the words. At the end of the hallway was another cross section, with halls leading to the left and right. However, before her was a set of heavy looking double doors with a somewhat dim light inside, the first she’d come across that showed a hint of activity, but lacked a plate to identify it. With only slight apprehension and a little bit of effort, Relena pushed one of the doors open and stepped inside. A cursory glance was all she needed; this was the morgue. Only two tables appeared to be, well, occupied, light blue sheets draped over the stone still humanoid shapes, and there was another set of doors off to the right. Various tools were laid out on the countertop against the far wall, all clean, and there were a few carts in the corner carrying more tools and boxes for gloves and masks.

Curiosity satisfied, Relena turned around to exit and was confronted with a tall, stern looking man, grey and white streaks coloring his hair and goatee. As her eyes widened in surprise, he seemed to grow taller, the red gem that clasped his black and gold cape around his shoulders glowing with its own light. “Who dares enter the realm of the deceased?” He bellowed, his smooth baritone combined with the dramatic billowing of his cape and the glowing of the gem paralyzing Relens with a primal sort of fear. “Do you seek accommodations?” He stepped closer, towering over her as she shrank back. “That can easily be arranged.” “Oh, Byron, stop scaring the poor girl.” A clipped feminine voice called out in a reproachful tone, though it was somewhat muffled. “She is a nurse, not an intern.” “Oh dear.” The man- apparently Byron- suddenly stepped back, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. “I do apologize, my dear, my mistake entirely.” Relena blinked and shook herself, the fear leaving her the moment he stepped back. He was still a full head taller than her but he wasn’t towering anymore, the gem seemed to glint dully, and his cape hung listlessly off his shoulders. Had she imagined all the rest? “I hope I didn’t make too terrible an impression.” “Uh…” Relena chanced a look over her shoulder to find the source of the feminine voice- which she didn’t, just one of the doors swinging slightly, and that just furthered her questioning of her own sanity- and stammered out a quick: “N-no, I shouldn’t have- I’m new to the ER staff and was just trying to familiarize myself with the hospital, I didn’t mean to intrude-” “Oh, that’s quite alright, really,” Byron chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. “We simply aren’t used to visitors down here. Not live ones, anyway.” “We have had issues in the past with surgical interns trying to sneak in here when we weren’t looking, hoping to use our cadavers as practice.” A woman about Byron’s height entered the room through the swinging doors, a purse in one hand and a white lab coat draped over her arm. Her voice was the same as the one from earlier, a clear space between each word as though they were being pronounced very carefully. The woman’s slate grey skin and candy colored horns clicked in Relena’s head the moment after taking note of them; she was a troll. “Given it is both disrespectful to the recently passed and quite dangerous on occasion, it is a policy to give them ample reason not to try such a thing again.” “We’re actually quite talented at it, if I do say so myself,” Byron said as he untied his cape, striding over to pluck his own lab coat off a peg next to the one the woman was resting hers on. The gem remained, though, matching the red sweater he wore. “The local high school contemplated extending us invitations to their annual celebration of All Hollow’s Eve but reconsidered when someone raised the question of paying for therapy.” “I’d have to vouch for your abilities myself, given my firsthand experience,” Relena tried to make light of the situation while recovering her senses; she felt she was only moderately successful at masking her slight distress. “Is it a requirement for morticians here to be able to terrify people?” The woman smiled, revealing what Relena previously took to be two small incisors resting on her bottom lip as two very long fangs while Byron chuckled. She had momentarily forgotten that trolls were strictly carnivorous. “It certainly does not hurt.” The troll extended her unoccupied hand. “I am Doctor Kanaya Maryam and this is my accomplice, Doctor Byron Orpheus.” “I’m Relena Darlian.” She shook both offered hands while telling herself there was nothing to be scared of; they were doctors, regardless of their appearances, and they wouldn’t be working at the hospital if they we intent on killing her. At least, that’s what she hoped. She hadn’t really paid much attention to First Colonial’s screening process. “I sincerely didn’t mean to come barging in here.” “Nonsense. The pursuit of knowledge of any kind is a worthwhile endeavor.” Byron glanced at the clock. “However, I would suggest leaving soon.” As she opened her mouth, curiosity written on her face, the troll laid a hand on her shoulder. “I will accompany you.” Kanaya offered before turning her attention back to her co-worker, motioning towards the tables. “These have already been checked, Byron, but there are fifteen in the secure room waiting to be inspected. I do not expect any trouble but one can never be sure. We also received a new request from the police about half an hour ago but I was not able to review it.” Byron sighed. “As long as it’s not another exhumation, I really don’t mind. Busy work helps ease my mind a little. I’ll get started on it tonight, if events permit.” “Thank you. Hades will be here in the morning to assist with transportation arrangements.”

Byron frowned, opened his mouth to say something and then closed it without saying a word. After a brief pause, he tried again. “Oh goodie.” Kanaya shook her head slightly as she steered Relena back towards the elevator. “Have a calm night, Byron.” He inclined his head before setting off to venture further into the morgue. “The same to both of you.” As they walked down the hall, Relena glanced over her shoulder. “Not that I would want to interfere with your work or anything, but why did we have to leave?” “Hospital policy.” Kanaya chuckled, looking at her through the corner of her eye. “I suppose you’ll hear a version of the story at some point, so you might as well hear it now, from the source.” With a heavy sigh, Kanaya reached out and punched the call button for the elevator, turning to regard Relena with a soft smile. “Five years ago, I was admitted to this hospital after a vehicle collision. I was pronounced dead on arrival and sent to the morgue. However, it is a peculiar facet of my caste that, sometimes, rather than submit to death, an individual will come back to the land of the living as a rainbow drinker. I am one such individual.” The elevator arrived and both women stepped inside. “Rainbow drinker… given that trolls come in varying blood colors, I take that to mean you are a troll version of a vampire?” “Yes, though we do not generally operate by the same rules as the various subsets of human vampires.” Kanaya winced. “Well, that is not exactly true. You are aware of the subset that sparkles in direct sunlight?” “Of course. They’re rarer on Earth in comparison to the colonies, given artificial light doesn’t expose them in such a way, but I’ve heard of them before.” Kanaya nodded. “Well, in that vein, rainbow drinkers glow. Quite brightly, in fact. Given Trolls are nocturnal by nature I suspect this to be a self-defense mechanism of sorts. It took nearly two years for me to learn how to voluntarily control it but it occasionally… well, if I get too flustered, it becomes a very obvious sign of anxiety.” She frowned. “Painfully obvious. Of all the changes I have endured, it is easily the most aggravating.” Relena smiled politely, stepping out of the elevator as it arrived at the ground level of the hospital. Kanaya was a step behind her, jade coloring her cheeks. “Oh, dear, I was rambling again,” Kanaya sighed. “Sorry; it is a habit I have yet to outgrow. At any rate, upon returning to life, I found myself confronted with another individual- the man who caused the collision, actually- who had returned as well. Unfortunately, he had reanimated as a mindless zombie and was trying to kill the orderly who was monitoring the morgue that night. I dispatched the zombie and was hired to work in the morgue shortly afterwards; being undead myself, I am far less likely to provoke an antagonistic response from the recently undead. After years of working both day and night shift, Byron and I have noticed that, if someone is going to return to the land of the living, this is about the time of night they do so. It ranges between just before midnight and a little after three in the morning.” She tilted her head to the side. “Though, to be perfectly frank, we have no idea why this particular time frame is most appealing.” Relena’s eyes grew wide as she glanced back at the elevator. “Is Dr. Orpheus going to be alright?” Kanaya nodded, flashing her a fanged grin. “Byron is also well versed in dealing with the reanimated. More so than I, truth be told; he’s a practiced necromancer of thirty years or so. Very few could rival the man’s knowledge of the undead and even fewer could handle the creatures the way he does.” Sighing in relief, Relena’s shoulders relaxed slightly. While she had no desire to fight the undead that evening, she wasn’t keen on leaving someone to do so alone. In hindsight, it was a tad bit silly to suggest senior members of the staff might not have the situation well in hand. If she noticed this, Kanaya said nothing, merely smiling politely before speaking again. “Are you parked in the north lot?” Relena laughed, brushing aside her embarrassment. “Actually, I don’t own a car. This is the first time I’ve ever been to a space colony, so I decided I wouldn’t risk getting distracted while behind the wheel.” She nodded towards the double doors leading to the emergency room. “As much as I enjoy helping those who come to the ER, I’d rather not be a patient myself. Besides, I could do with a little exercise.” “I see. I suppose I can see the wisdom in that.” Kanaya looked towards the main entrance to the hospital before returning her gaze to her companion. “Do you at least live close by?” “It’s only three blocks, just off Fourteenth Street.” Relena started towards the entrance, the troll easily matching her stride. Kanaya worried her lip with one fang. “That is quite a ways to walk at this time of night. Would you like a ride?” “I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way. It’s really not that far,” Relena protested, stepping out into the night and trying not to take a reflexive step back. When the colony shut off the main lights to signal the coming of night, all that was left were lights that lined the streets, perfectly spaced out, and it formed lines on the sloping sides of the colony, strange boxes on the horizon to replace the stars. It was strange, something she still hadn’t quite accepted since coming to the colony. She sighed; one thing she missed about Earth was watching the phases of the moon. “Nonsense,” Kanaya continued walking, completely unfazed by the spectacle. “It is no trouble to me at all. I will likely be awake for a few more hours as is; I might as well be somewhat productive and courteous with my time.” Relena chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “You’re the type of person who meddles in the affairs of others, aren’t you?” “When I see reason to… or if I am bored,” Kanaya conceded with a laugh, Relena joining in as they walked to the mostly empty parking lot. “Some habits do not break, I suppose. I have been something of a meddler since my youth.” Glancing toward the mostly empty street, Relena relented. “Well, seeing as I’m not up to breaking anyone’s old habits this evening, I suppose I’ll just have to accept.” “Excellent.” Kanaya smiled, pulling out her keys. 

Kim woke to someone gently shaking her shoulder, resisting the urge to ignore the shaking, curl up, and drift back to sleep. Opening her eyes, the redhead found her wife smiling down at her, hands on her hips as she shook her head. “Come on, couch potatoes, time for bed. Unless you’d rather continue not watching whatever is on the TV right now,” Shego said, laughing as Kim forced herself awake. Garfield had curl up against her at some point after she sat down, though she couldn’t remember if she was conscious for it or not. She barely remembered trudging through the door after work and her stomach was quick to remind her that yes, she had forgone heating up dinner in favor of collapsing on the living room couch. “Kimmie. Garfield.” “I’m up,” the redhead replied, sitting upright and shaking her son. “Come on, Gar. You heard the woman.” “I dun wanna,” the teen groggily replied. Kim ruffled his forest green hair to no avail and sighed. She was half tempted to side with him and just go back to sleep on the couch. “At least make it easier on me to carry you to bed, buddy.” Shego offered, rubbing his back. He cracked one of his eyes open, ear twitching as he concentrated, and then the teen morphed into a flying squirrel. A flying squirrel with green fur but Shego couldn’t complain; Garfield was by no means large for a fourteen-year-old, thin and lanky as he was, but she was in no mood to deal with the boy’s dead weight while ascending the stairs. “That’ll work.” “Good night, Gar, I love you,” Kim mumbled sleepily, scratching behind his head. He chittered something in response, most likely reciprocation, before falling silent again. Shego picked Garfield up in his squirrel form and nodded towards the kitchen. “There’s a container in the fridge. Grab something to eat and come to bed, Cupcake. We all have an early morning tomorrow.” Kim groaned, getting to her feet and stretching. She hadn’t even changed out of her uniform. Great. Kim tried responding to her wife while stifling a yawn, muddling her words only a little bit. “-oaorrow ‘y ‘ay ah.” The green skinned woman- a few shades lighter than Garfield’s own tone- rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky I speak tired Kimmie. Yes, I’m aware you don’t have work tomorrow; we promised to go down and visit the garage, remember? Drew’s been talking my ear off about it.” Kim scrunched her nose slightly while working out her stiff neck. “Do we have to go? Drew’s a weird guy. The way he talks sometimes makes me think of mad scientists and world domination.” “Yes, because Ron is the picture of mental health,” Shego replied, placing a gentle kiss on Kim’s forehead before smirking at the redhead. “We have weird friends.” “Speaking of Ron, he was talking about visiting sometime next month.” Kim quickly continued, noting the narrowing of her spouse’s eyes. “I suggested towards the beginning of the month.” “Good.” Shego nodded, wrapping an arm around Kim as they left the living room. “I don’t want the buffoon spoiling the mood for our anniversary. Or the afterglow.” Kim raised a brow at the lecherous grin on Shego’s lips but Garfield’s animated chittering put a stop to the banter before it got started. “Hey, we gave you ample time to retreat to your room. Not my fault you decided to stick around and see your moms making goo-goo eyes at each other.” Shego half-heartedly lectured, releasing her wife and turning towards the stairs. “I’m going to put the squeak toy to bed. Go grab some food. And don’t fall asleep again.” “Yes, Warden,” Kim mockingly replied, turning towards the kitchen. She paused at the entrance to watch Shego ascend the stairs, long raven locks bouncing with each step and holding their son in her hands. A serene smile came to her lips as Shego reached the top and Kim proceeded into the kitchen. The decision to adopt a child was a debate between the couple for nearly two years. Shego thought they were ready; Kim heavily disagreed. She had just graduated the Colonial Police Academy, her work schedule was hectic, she wasn’t even sure if she was going to do well on the force, and her first three partners hadn’t bolstered her confidence any. Kim believed a child would need stability and she wasn’t sure if she could offer that. Then she was partnered with Officer Heero Yuy, a strong jawed man with a will of steel whom few could work with for any extended period of time. For some reason she would never understand, though, she and Heero had clicked instantly. Perhaps it was their determination or their commitment to the job or maybe they were just alike enough- and intuitive enough- to get past the things other officers saw while being different enough to function as a balanced duo. Heero respected Kim’s skills in hand-to-hand combat and physical agility; Kim respected Heero’s familiarity with any and every weapon imaginable as well as his tactical mindset. They thought and acted quickly, leaving their former partners in the dust, but together they were nearly unstoppable. Heero also had the benefit of seniority which brought some much needed constancy to Kim’s work schedule. Even though she was older than him by a year, he was a much calmer person, less apt to allow his emotions to control him, something he had to teach Kim about during their first few months working together. She started to enjoy her job and really feel like she was accomplishing something, like she was succeeding, and that’s when Shego brought the issue up again. Much to her surprise, Heero sided with Shego once she finally got around to telling him what had her zoning out while they were driving through the streets. He asserted, as Shego did, that love and compassion were more important to a child than what their parents did for a living and Kim had to concede that their knowledge did trump her own, given both of them were adopted and she wasn’t. Her parents were thrilled to learn they’d be grandparents soon; really, she was the only one who seemed terrified of the prospect. But then they met this wide eyed twelve-year-old with a goofy grin, pointed ears, skin and hair the color of grass, who could morph into any animal he saw, and Kim was hooked. He laughed the loudest of all the kids, his movements full of energy, but when the attendant called him away from the other kids, Kim could see the hope in his eyes clear as day. She could also clearly hear the whispered, hurtful words one of the children uttered that caused a slight stutter in his step. His smile never faltered though she saw the shine disappear from his eyes. Kim suddenly found herself wondering if this little boy was really happy or if his laughter and his smile were just for show and it nearly broke her heart. Garfield became a Possible that day. She and Shego became mothers. Everything just fell into place. “Kimmie?” Shego’s voice jerked Kim out of her revere. “Are you okay?” Kim looked down at the sink; apparently she auto-piloted her way through dinner and was just staring out of the kitchen window after depositing the container in the sink. “Yeah, sorry. It’s been a long day. Heero took one of his vacation days today and Kiyone’s out too, so-” “Oh dear Lord, you were paired with Mihoshi, weren’t you?” Shego sighed, shaking her head. “You poor thing.” “It wasn’t that bad,” Kim replied with a chuckle, walking over to her wife and kissing her lips. “It just… takes a lot out of me.” Rather than press the matter, Shego led the way to the master bedroom. “And here I was hoping for some fun tonight. Don’t even start,” she said, effectively silencing the objection on Kim’s tongue “you’re tired and you need some sleep, especially since we’re dealing with Drew and his cousin tomorrow. I don’t want to hear you complaining about how I kept you up all night, so let’s just get a good night’s rest.” “All right.” Kim pouted, trying to hide her gratefulness. Working with Mihoshi was… an exercise in abundant patience and a little luck. There weren’t any major calls today though so it could’ve been much worse. Still, sleep was calling, and it was all she could do to put away her dirty uniform properly and throw on shorts and an oversized shirt before she hit the sheets and was out like a light. Shego, on the other hand, took her time changing, turning off the lights and sliding in next to her wife with an impossibly wide smirk. She kissed Kim’s temple, barely disturbing the redhead’s slumber, and settled down for the night with a smile.

Relena watched through the window, slightly entranced by the colony night, the way the squares of light seemed to revolve around the car. While it was entertaining to say the least, it also firmly proved her theory about her driving skills and she was instantly grateful she took her brother’s advice to find an apartment close to the hospital regardless of price. Not like she was paying the bill at the moment anyway. Wishing to return her mind to the present, Relena looked over at Kanaya. “Who’s Hades?” “Beg pardon?” The troll arched a brow in her direction, obviously taken off guard by the abruptness of the question. Relena had to laugh at her own impatience. “Sorry. What I meant was: you mentioned Hades would be by in the morning.” “Oh! Right.” Kanaya sighed, a little smirk on her black lips. “I’m sure you noted Byron’s enthusiasm. Hades… is not the easiest person to get along with but he is, essentially, our boss.” “Wait, do you mean the Hades? As in, Lord of the Dead Hades?” Relena’s brows rose in shock at Kanaya’s nod. “Of course; who else would be in charge of the morgues and mortuaries?” Kanaya chuckled as the car came to a rest at a stop light. At night, the colony lights operated on timers, and they tended to run long. “He comes around a few times a month to round up any wayward souls. He visits everyone, of course, but he pays our little slice of morbid real estate special attention. It was on his recommendation that I was hired at First Colonial. He arrived just after I dealt with the zombie and decided I could keep my soul, provided-” “Provided you were a good little girl and ate all your dinner.” A male voice suddenly finished right behind Relena and she whipped around in her seat to stare at the man suddenly in the backseat of the vehicle. “My ears were ringing and I decided to- Hey, dollface, haven’t seen you around before, which is good news for you if you know what I mean-” “Hades, what are you doing?” Kanaya sighed, watching the apparition in her rearview mirror with a fond, fanged grin. “What, I can’t pop in on a dear friend?” He leaned forward, the blue fire atop his head shifting with the movement but appearing completely harmless to the vehicle itself. “I’m hurt, Kan, absolutely distraught. You’d think you’d show a little more gratitude towards the doorman who barred your entry to a rather eternally dull existence in the underworld. But, hey, what do I know?” “Hades,” Kanaya warned, so intent on her impromptu passenger, she initially missed the changing of the light. When she returned her eyes to the road, she passed through the intersection and pulled over, putting the vehicle in park so she could attend to Hades without getting distracted. Sitting back heavily, the lord of the underworld sighed. “Did you really have to schedule that schmuck for tomorrow?” Kanaya rubbed her temple with one hand, the other one the wheel. Though she probably should’ve stayed silent, curiosity got the better of Relena. “Do you and Dr. Orpheus not get along, Mr. Hades?” “Whoa, drop the mister babe; I’m a god, not a door-to-door salesman,” he turned his glowing blue eyes on her. “And who are you, exactly?” “Relena,” she replied, accepting his offered hand. “Relena Darlian. I’m a nurse at First Colonial.” “Well isn’t that nice.” He gave her a grin before releasing her hand. “Look Relena, babe, think about it. Do you really think the lord of the dead would have a good working relationship with a necromancer? I mean, come on, this ain’t a hard gig- bozo gets knocked off, soul comes to Tartarus, my head count goes up by one, someone get the abacus- but when you got guys trying to bring those souls back to the realm of the living, then they get axed again- you see where I’m going with this? It’s a bit of a pain in my neck trying to keep track of who’s just regular old dead and who’s dead dead.” Hades sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have enough to worry about sifting through my newcomers and making sure jerk hero so-and-so gets into Valhalla alright and jerk sinner so-and-so gets sent to the correct circle of Hell, not to mention the reincarnation chuckleheads or those who think they can reincarnate if they ask nicely enough. And yeah, I got some help, but St. Peter can be a real pain when he’s vetting the souls going to Heaven, the guy’s anal retentive to the max. You think I got time to track down souls who should already be chilling in the promise land all because some schmuck can’t accept that death is a thing that happens and move on?” Relena smiled innocently. “Well, you do have time to pop in on dear friends.” Kanaya and Relena laughed while Hades rolled his eyes. “Everyone’s a critic.” “But seriously, Hades.” Kanaya composed herself, smiling at him over her shoulder. “You know full well I have weekends off now that we have BJ and Mordin to cover. So why are you really here?”

Hades ran a hand through his flaming hair and down his neck, sighing heavily. “You asked me a question a few months back, Kan. I came to give you the answer.” “Ah,” Kanaya replied, looking forward with unfocused eyes. “I take your reluctance to mean the answer is not to my liking.” In the pause that followed, Relena put her hand on her seatbelt release. “Perhaps I should-“ “No, it’s fine,” Kanaya said, smiling sadly as she continued looking down the road. “I merely asked Hades how long rainbow drinkers… live, for lack of a better term.” Closing her eyes a moment, she sighed slightly before turning her gaze to the mirror. “What did you find?” “Every single rainbow drinker to become a permanent resident in the afterlife,” Hades replied. “And each of them pretty much said the same thing. They- you won’t expire like a loaf of bread, Kanaya. The whole immortal schtick is the real deal and it takes some pretty extraordinary measures to break it.” “Yet they walk the realm of the dead.” Kanaya sighed, reflecting quietly a moment before shrugging. “Thank you, Hades. It does little to comfort me but I appreciate your assistance nonetheless.” “Don’t mention it.” The backseat of the vehicle started filling with blue smoke. It was odorless and tasteless, as though it was only an illusion of smoke, and Relena had to resist the urge to reach out and wave her hand through it to see if it reacted. “Send my love to Mordin and Beetlejuice, would ya?” As Hades was swallowed by the smoke, Relena looked at Kanaya. “Beetlejuice?” “Do not say his name again,” Kanaya instantly replied, checking the backseat to ensure Hades had left. Relieved, Kanaya shifted the vehicle into drive and started down the road once more. “BJ, as we call him, is a poltergeist who can be summoned to any place at any time if his name is uttered three times. It ensures he is never late to work but can be a little problematic from time to time, seeing as… well, he is something of an asshole and his abilities greatly exacerbate his condition.”

Relena chuckled, raising a brow at her companion. “And Mordin?”

“Is a salarian scientist and doctor with an impressive knowledge of various species’ biological compositions as well as combat maneuvers and tactics.” Kanaya shrugged. “He says he was part of the salarian military and word around the hospital is he operated with STG, though I am not entirely sure what that means. Some sort of special unit, from what I understand.”

“So the morgue is staffed by a rainbow drinker, a necromancer, a poltergeist, and a Special Forces doctor, and is often visited by the Lord of the Dead himself, and you have to actually try scaring people off?” Relena shook her head. “Those interns must’ve been insane.” Kanaya nodded. “It seems what brilliance they have in the field of surgical medicine, they lack in common sense.” With one last turn, the duo finally reached Relena’s apartment complex. “I do apologize for the delay; Hades tends to drop by unexpectedly and I’ve found not giving him my full attention makes him a bit moody.” “It’s fine,” Relena said as she gathered up her bag. “It was great meeting you and the others; the nurses in the emergency room don’t really socialize much, for some reason.” “A lot has happened in the past few months that you probably have not heard about yet; a lot of people are trying to keep to themselves a bit more than they used to but they will warm up eventually. Just swing by the morgue sometime and I will fill you in,” Kanaya said, pausing a moment before continuing. “I apologize for subjecting you to the conversation between Hades and I. It is something I have wondered since I read my first book regaling the supposedly fictional tales of rainbow drinkers and I am still sorting fact from fiction.” “Don’t worry about it,” Relena smiled, opening the door and stepping out. There was a question at the tip of her tongue but she refrained for the time being. Perhaps once she knew Kanaya better. “Thank you again for the ride!” Kanaya inclined her head and Relena closed the door, turning towards the complex while ignoring the weariness suddenly overcoming her. The last hour or so had really taken a lot out of her and it was a long day even before all that. She almost groaned in defeat when she realized she had work the following day but she couldn't, in good conscious, complain. She’d wanted this, begged her brother for it, and now she was living the dream, so to speak. As her key slid into the lock of her apartment, Relena took one last look out at the colony draped in night. The sight was slowly starting to grow on her.

Rose armed the security system and quickly exited through the shop’s back door, closing it firmly behind her before attending to the dead bolt. Heero was standing just a few feet away, scanning the immediate area and waiting for her to finish locking up. After the third pot of coffee, Rose had decided he needed sleep more than he was willing to admit and set him to work washing the cups and machine while she put the book back and left some instructions she’d forgotten about for Twilight and Melfina in the morning. Turning back to her friend, Rose favored him with a smirk. “You realize I’m completely capable of walking to my car unescorted, yes?” Heero nodded. “It’s occurred to me once or twice.” “I suppose I should be flattered you at least considered it,” Rose laughed, heading towards the parking lot just around the corner. “Do you have work tomorrow? Of any sort?” “No, I’m off,” he replied. Silence began to settle between them, accompanied only by the muted noises of the slumbering colony and their own quiet footsteps, when he decided to break it. “Would you like to see a movie tomorrow?” Rose raised her brows in surprise but smiled. “Of course. Do you have one in mind?” Heero nodded. “Warden’s Oath. It’s based on the Grey Wardens’ crusade to end the Ferelden Blight.” She pursed her lips in thought, tapping a finger to her chin. “Wasn’t there a witch who aided the Grey Wardens in that blight? Morrigan, daughter of Flemeth?” “You’ve heard of her?” Between the two of them, he was the clear history buff, and she smiled as she mentally evened their score for surprising the other. “I read her grimoire when I was younger; her mother was one of the strongest witches in the universe during her time. Morrigan was her natural successor and the work she put into expanding her mother’s power was admirable.” Heero was one of the very, very few people who were aware of both her affinity for the dark and magical as well as her ability to use certain forms of magic. Mostly destructive forms, though she constantly assured him that she would never endanger the colony for the sake of practice. “According to the grimoire, they’re still lurking somewhere in the universe, Morrigan and her mother, constantly chasing and fighting each other for supremacy. Maybe even the entire party she travelled with during the Blight; she reflected on her journey with the Grey Wardens very thoroughly and I think she took a liking to them towards the end, even Alistar. I’m curious to see how they portray her.” Heero grunted. “I want to see how well they portray the battles. The loss of the King’s forces at Ostagar was a clear rout but many accounts of the events that follow don’t seem to agree on the later battles.” Noticing Rose’s look, he added somewhat begrudgingly. “I’ll pay attention to the characters too.” “Right. You still can’t tell me the name of any character from Final Destination.” “That’s because they were idiots with poor situational awareness.” Rose shook her head in amusement as they reached the lot, her keys already in hand. “Your empathy knows no bounds.” “And you’re a ball of sunshine,” he replied, heading towards his own vehicle, a black sedan with tinted windows and a ridiculous brush guard. She slipped behind the wheel of her coupe, depositing her purse in the passenger seat. “Call me when you’re ready. But not before noon, please.” “Don’t drink yourself into a coma,” he called over his shoulder. He slid into the driver’s seat of his sedan while Rose started her vehicle. He waited for her to pull out of the lot before following suit and she watched as his taillights became tiny red dots in her rearview. She could hardly call her life on the colony exciting or adventurous, but she did enjoy the occasional bump in the road and, knowing Heero as she did, this development promised to bring with it all manners of oddities. Watching it all unfold would be entertaining, to say the least. She just hoped her friend would survive the entire process with his sanity intact.

[marvelandponder]

Bling-Bling, Darlings

Really, what we’re asking when we pose a question like that is what is Rarity’s character based on. It’s more than fair to say at this point the Elements of Harmony themselves are obsolete, but they undoubtedly helped to form the characters and set a course for their development in the series as a whole. 

And since the real aim of this post is to map Rarity’s character-arc over the course of all 7 seasons and counting, it only made sense to me to start at the beginning.

Or, rather, before the beginning, in the show’s very development!

Once upon a time, when Lauren Faust first dreamed up our main cast, all the Elements were pretty well the same as what they would be in the show. All, except Rarity. Before she was the Element of Generosity, she was the Element of Inspiration.

When I was looking over Rarity’s biggest lessons and teachings, I found that the themes of inspiration and creativity carried over into the show in interesting ways. Not just that she’s a dressmaker, and uses her medium to bring out the beauty in others, but that that creativity may have turned into her biggest character flaw. Her greatest tool and yet her biggest burden.

I think Rarity’s generosity still very much defines the core of who she is, but what I’ve always admired about Rarity is her complexity. Her versatility, her presence. All of these things are owed, in part, to the theme of her development: Expectation Versus Reality.

Of course, this is just my interpretation, but as far as I see it, this over-arching theme usually presents itself in either one of three ways:

How we see Rarity, and how she really is

How others see Rarity, and how she really is

And most importantly, how Rarity's flights of fancy (emphasis on the fancy) conflict with reality

So, this fashion week, I’d like to take some time to appreciate the true beauty that is Rarity. Finally. With this, every member of the main 6 finally has their own editorial (I... clearly didn’t time this out well), and so it seems we saved one of the best for last. Here’s to you, Rarara!

A Tale of Two Rararas

From the beginning, we knew Rarity always dreamed of living in Canterlot. And already, I want to pause in the episode-by-episode run-down to say the fact that Rarity never conflicts with Twilight over this just speaks to her strength of character. 

Sure, there are certainly times when Rarity can be petty, but as Green Isn’t Your Colour proved very early on, even when she does feel envious, her selfless, giving nature wins out, and she won’t hold it against anyone. A far cry from most diva characters, isn’t she?

But to round back to the point, I always found it a tad ironic Twilight lived the life Rarity thought she wanted. Growing up in Canterlot, rubbing elbows with nobles and royalty, and even becoming a princess. The glamour! The intrigue! The... socially awkward bookworm who saw none of these things as opportunities to be taken advantage of.

A part of me thinks that if Rarity were to grow up in Canterlot instead of Twilight, that Rarity wouldn’t be nearly as down-to-earth as ours is. And whether she’s self-aware enough to realize that or not, Rarity’s never once begrudged Twilight for living out some of her dreams. Instead, she’s just dying to hear about it and support her.

Which leads us to the first major Rarity storyline, in Ticketmaster: wanting to marry a Prince she hasn’t met. This is, of course the set-up for an example of what I was talking about early, the whole expectation versus reality thing with Rarity’s fantasy of a perfect love life coming into conflict with the reality of the jerk she was fantasizing about.

So, we next move onto Look Before You Sleep, and it’s here where we give props to the Rarijack shippers: they’re not wrong that this relationship is cute and important. 

This touches on the second part of the theme that I mentioned, how other characters continually learn that Rarity is more than meets the eye. Applejack and Rarity getting to know each other on a deeper and deeper level throughout the series is one of the bigger demonstrations of Rarity’s true depth.She’s not just about frilly dresses and all things frou-frou, as AJ initially believed.

In fact, to skip ahead by one, she’s not your damsel in distress or the frightened princess, either. A Dog and Pony Show is among the classics of season 1 in my book because it’s one of the first times they just straight up tell you Rarity’s resourceful and capable without mincing words. Because hell yeah.

That’s one of the episodes that really play with audience expectation for Rarity, and having it relatively early on was an excellent way to establish Rarity has more character depth than most other fashionista characters in shows for little girls.

Going back to the one we missed, you’ll find another true classic: Suited for Success. I could argue this has a connection to both of the Elements Rarity was initially thought to embody. Her generosity is on full display, not only making these dresses out of the goodness of her heart, but tailoring them to each of her friends’ tastes despite being a fashion expert herself. Then of course there’s the inspiration or creative aspect of it, how Rarity’s struggles perfectly emulate the struggles of real-life professional creatives trying to please all kinds of picky customers.

To add on, I just want to say this episode made me admire Rarity quite a bit. Both her determination to make her friends feel beautiful and her savvy business tactics combined with her creative passion are wonderful traits to have at her core. As entertaining as her dramatics can be (a special thanks goes to Tabitha St. Germain, who never once makes Rarity’s explosions of emotion anything but endearing), have not one but two deeper layers to Rarity makes for an excellent main character.

As we would come to see, both of those core traits have their pitfalls. Green Isn’t You Colour is a fun example, though, because it plays on the negative side to Rarity’s Inspiration Element and yet the positive side of her Generosity. Rarity’s always dreamed of living the glamorous life of a famed seamstress, which leads to her being envious of Fluttershy when she gets to live that out (by the way, if you hadn’t guessed by now, Rarity’s extremely relatable to all creative types). And yet, it’s her giving nature that stops her from being selfish and greedy. 

Next in chronological order is the Cutie Mark Chronicles, and this is one of my bigger arguments for the theme I’ve been talking about so far.

So, Rarity’s horn leads her to a rock, and I think with that long build-up of being dragged all over, there’s that expectation being built up in little Rarity’s mind that this must be important. Again, her tendency to dramatize things gets the better of her. Which is why she freaks out when she gets there and it’s just a big dumb rock---but we all know the rock itself breaks her expectations even further when it’s broken, revealing the true beauty deep within the layers.

Expectation, meet reality.

Speaking of, the Best Night Ever is all about that theme, and I think it goes without saying how Rarity experiences it firsthand like the rest of the girls.

Next up is Sisterhooves Social, and I could make the argument that Rarity’s expectations for her little sister not accounting for her well-meaning intent is what causes the conflict. As well as the fact that the reality is, as a little filly, Sweetie Belle isn’t yet capable of garnishing a breakfast the “proper” way, or doing laundry without shrinking the clothes. Rarity’s an adult with adult responsibilities, so really the lesson becomes about appreciating that inner-beauty/good intent that her little sister has while forgiving the lack of ability.

Then, Sweet and Elite happens, which is probably my favourite Rarity episode to date, in part because it reminds me of an excellent Simpsons episode, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield. Rarity’s had dreams of living in Canterlot since before the first episode, expertly demonstrated by the song The Type of Pony Everypony Should Know.

But even though there are wonderful elites like Fancy Pants in Canterlot, Rarity finds the bullshit of devaluing ponies like her friends is in fact pretty damn toxic, and that the social hierarchy that she’s admired for so long would put ponies she loves at the bottom. Again, awesome episode, really demonstrates what you might think would be a simple story about Snooty Rich People v.s. Humble Country Bumpkins into a story about a character’s changing worldview on class systems.

After that, we move onto Rarity Takes Manehatten and--- wait, that can’t be right... What do you mean there wasn’t a Rarity episode for almost two seasons?!

I seriously had to have this pointed out to me by the ever insightful @digikate813 because as much as I love Rarity, I didn’t even notice until I really looked.

In part, you could argue because Rarity got so many episodes and starring roles in season 1, that might’ve been the reason they held off on developing her in season 3 (that, and obviously the shortened 13 episode run), but still, not a fun time to be a Rarity fan.

Anyway, Rarity Takes Manehatten. Season 4 was all about showing how the characters could either betray their Element, like Rainbow Dash and Applejack, or be betrayed by it, like Pinkie, Fluttershy, and of course Rarity. Twilight ended up literally having to choose between magic and friendship (which, by the way, still shocks me that her fatal flaw is that, to quote my favourite book series from my childhood, she “would give up the world to save a friend”...). 

And for Rarity, her episode ends up being the antithesis to Green Isn’t Your Colour, where she’s at her best creatively, but her giving nature ends up biting her in the ass. And yet, it’s still the same overarching theme: with the blind trust she places in Suri Polomare with her fabric, Rarity fully expects that Suri is well-meaning. She doesn’t even for a moment hesitate until it’s too late, and the reality of, as Suri puts it, being in the big city.

After that, it’s time for more Rarijack, as we take a look at Simple Ways. Essentially my take away from the episode in terms of Rarity’s overall arc is that she and Applejack, at this point, know each other better than they know themselves, which continues the theme of looking below the surface to find the true beauty within.

Speaking of true beauty, next we have Inspiration Manifestation, which is the episode I first thought of when thinking about the theme of this post: that in some ways, they ended up using Rarity’s old Element of Inspiration as her biggest flaw.

Yes, you can argue that the greedy Rarity we see in Return of Harmony is the literal antithesis of our beloved fashionista, but you can’t deny that the delve into the dark side of Rarity’s dramatic imagination and expectations for how things should/will be much more, this episode being the prime example.

Under the dark magic’s influence, Rarity’s version of Ponyville is... really gaudy. Gold paved streets gaudy. What’s interesting about that is that it becomes more about glory than it is about making it aesthetically pleasing, because when she comes out of it, she seems really taken aback by it. This wouldn’t be Normal Rarity’s ideal Ponyville, it’s just a way of showing herself as the most creative, most beloved pony there is.

And honestly, again, Rarity is extremely relatable to creative types. How many of us have wished we could just manifest our creative thoughts instantly, no work required (but would probably end up abusing that power if it were real)?

Continuing on, we have Canterlot Boutique next, and as Rarity’s very own Magical Mystery Cure or Crusaders of the Lost Mark, it really does emphasize the theme I’ve been talking about. Rarity’s expectations for owning her own boutique in Canterlot and creating a dress known all across Equestria comes into direct conflict with the reality of the business aspects of it all. 

To the point that her business manager is made to seem to the audience like a villain for a while there, until Rarity finds the solution and we realize Sassy Saddles isn’t evil, and can in fact help Rarity’s dream. Even the solution itself is to make her business (manager) work by her rules, and cultivate her creative expression. An excellent episode for an excellent end-cap to Rarity’s goal.

Now, here’s a question: did Rarity’s character arc end when her goal was reached?

Drama Horse Sans Drama?

Because up until this point, that whole expectation V. reality thing has mostly been centered around Rarity learning how to be more grounded, appreciate intentions as opposed to results, and realize her dreams of living the high life often don’t take into account what that might actually entail.

But in Canterlot Boutique, well, she did learn the harsh reality of that situation, but I don’t know that she applied it universally, realizing that she herself didn’t account for how difficult it might truly be.

I think it was a huge step in her development, but she’s far from done growing, and far from done being overdramatic about things. But there is a shift after this to Rarity teaching others.

Rarity Investigates! is an easy example. Rainbow Dash doesn’t have faith in Rarity’s deduction skills because she assumes(/expects) that Rarity’s focus on details is only frivolous.

In Made in Manehatten, Rarity’s main role is to reassure Applejack that even if she’s out of her element, she’s still useful and contributing. On the flip-side, Applejack’s “Day” Off demonstrates how close they are by having Rarity make Applejack relax for once.

The Cart Before the Ponies is an exception to many things, though. Here, Rarity’s once again the one in need of a lesson, as she gets lost in her pursuit of righting a past wrong to the point that she’s blind to the reality of her sister currently wanting to try making her own cart.

P.P.O.V. might seem to buck the trend of Rarity and Applejack understanding each other, but I think that’s due in part to how each character was trying to get out of their element, and thus, totally confused the ones who know them so well. So, yes, Rarity doesn’t understand the “sea madness” Applejack has.

Moving on up to season 7, Forever Filly has Rarity again in the student role, learning the opposite of what she did in Sisterhooves Social. There, it was that Sweetie was too young to be as capable as Rarity expected of her, but here, it’s that Sweetie Belle can’t stay young forever. I see what you did there, writers.

Honest Apple shows Rarity helping Applejack not be a dick about her opinions, and giving young, up-and-coming fashion designers a platform she would’ve killed for at their age. What a good horse.

And then we have Fame and Misfortune, an episode that showcases, among many other things, Rarity’s response to harsh criticism. The episode sets out to prove the mane 6 still have flaws, and it certainly does, proving that even though Rarity’s learned quite a few lessons, that Element of Inspiration in her/her creative side still wants to be loved and valued for her work.

But I’ll leave us off on her part in Campfire Tales, because while it may be a small role, it proves, in essence, what Rarity truly values is a blend of both the Elements I’ve been rambling about. Rarity admires Mistmane not for her popularity or status, but for the way she gives to others by spreading beauty. Generosity and Inspiration combined.

Just like Rarity herself whose proved herself more entertaining, more heartfelt, and more beautiful than meets the eye. I wouldn’t say she’s done growing, but whether it’s the knowledge she’s gained through personal growth or fashion advice, Rarity will always share beauty.

I do MLP editorials like this and MLP episode reviews for all your MLP needs! and here’s the last three things I did, featured:

Triple Threat Review, Campfire Tales Review, and Top 10 Lost MLP Content

Also to celebrate finally finishing all members of the mane 6, take a look here to see me go through the other girls’ character arcs and other mane cast related topics:

Sunset, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image Wouldn’t be Possible Without...

Rarity by Flizzick Fancy Rarity by RegolithX

Go check out those talented artists!

Yours Ever, R

[feministformation]

The “Anti-Feminine” Issue in Entertainment and American Culture

Despite the fact that a woman invented narrative filmmaking (before her there were no stories in film) and the fact that women were the first film directors, it has been seen as a "male career" and if one woman does direct a film and it does poorly, somehow Hollywood feels entitled to say "female directors don't work" or if a crappy superhero film starring a sexy women bombs because it  only focused on sexualizing the heroine, Hollywood says, "women can't star in action films" or if a "girls TV show" whose only focus was to sell a bunch of pony toys based on the bland show does poorly, producers say, "girls don't watch cartoons," or if all the comics offered to girls to read feature women sexualized and saved by overly masculine men and violence, comic book distributors say, "girls don't read comics."

Enough with the excuses! Girls read comics and have been since it's creation. Especially in the 1950's, and in the 1960's women far surpassed boys in readership. Many times Japanese comics (Manga) are very popular as well as independent comics by women who actually know how to cater to their audience.

Many girls love action figures too! Ninja Turtles and Wonder Woman as well as male superheroes. Katniss Everdeen is one of the most iconic heroines from the book series, "The Hunger Games." Did only girls read those books? No! Boys and girls and men and women read it because it was good! Millions of kids and adults read Harry Potter not because it was written by a woman, but because it was a really good series! People want genuinely good stories and characters, despite if it stars a male or female.

TV shows like “The Powerpuf Girls” and “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” although mostly catered to girls, have boy viewership as well. And more importantly the shows weren’t made to be “a show for girls” but rather to just make a good cartoon that has female leads because they are so incredibly lacking in animated cartoons.

Many TV shows star women and with Netflix and Amazon original series, as well as new web series constantly coming out, there are more people creating more works of art that cater to them and to others that otherwise are not represented. People are tired of seeing the same hot actresses with bland personalities be the girlfriends or wives of the male leads. Or if they do fight they wear some sexy outfit and just show off their flexibility. Shows like “Veep,” “Fargo,” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” as well as “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Jessica Jones” have top viewership and star woman. And who watches them? Men AND women. What? Crazy, right?

It took Hollywood forever to realize that a group of women in a film would be a success, like “Bridesmaids” or “Pitch Perfect,” meanwhile films like “Ghostbusters” were met with such scrutiny beforehand, although the film had the same caliber comedy, was teared down before it even came out.

"Wonder Woman" is the next superhero film coming out. To say you aren't going to see it because it stars a woman, is the definition of sexism. To say it's a "girl's film" is bullshit. It's another superhero film starring one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. And no boy or man should be looked down upon for seeing a film starring a woman. And yet they are.

The point then comes down to this. There’s this acidic, underlying theme that anything “woman-led” is somehow un-masculine and not something a boy or man should be into. That in turn is telling women, “We aren’t going to support you and go down to your level. Our male ego is too fragile to think for ourselves.” To me, being a true man or woman is thinking for yourself. Don’t let other men tell you what you can and can’t watch or do or like, especially if the attitude connected to is “weakness.”

Men who show up at women’s marches because they want everyone to be treated as equals, who wear pink shirts just because they like the color, who’s favorite character in a video game is a woman because she’s awesome.

This false idea that women only want “bad boys” that treat them like crap is to look at one type of woman, probably not worth your time, and say all women  want men like that. I think most men and women want someone that respects them, their decisions and beliefs, and enjoy being around. Therefore, if you want a girlfriend and you respect women, you’re already in the lead!

[nightcoremoon]

god the anti fanfiction crowd is really pissing me off. they think that 500-word fluff drabbles are the extent of fanfic potential. I've read 300K masterworks for avatar the last airbender, jak & daxter, an invader zim / harry potter crossover, miraculous ladybug, and fucking my little pony: friendship is magic that have vastly superior plot design, prose, character development, pacing, flow, and most importantly CREATIVITY than a significant portion of original literature on the market.

these people do this shit for free. they pour their hearts and souls into their own personal interpretation of someone else's characters. do you have any earthly idea how much love has to be needed for something in order to write a fic? how much passion and care and drive? you sit in your box and you disrespect these artists and you push people away for no reason other than you don't understand it. you can't. you're so arrogant and closed-minded inside your own toxic personality that there's no possible way you could ever truly immerse yourself inside a fandom, inside a community.

true, I've written some garbage in my past. some smut. some weird crossover bullshit. some jokes for fun. barry b benson from bee movie X buzz from honey nut cheerios titled simply" honey nut" is something I want to write for the lulz, as well as more recently the idea of perry the platypus x knuckles the echidna but eating custard made from the others' milk and eggs. this exists. this is candy. it's memes. it's jokes. it's mindless funnies. but this is not a good representation of fanfiction as a whole.

I can link you to dozens of excellent stories written by amazing authors who want nothing more than to take characters they love and put them in different situations for entertainment, for heart, for healing, for poignant discussions about society, life the universe and everything, and yeah sometimes romantic love between characters who weren't given a chance in the canon because idk maybe they died or they were handled by bigoted creators or production or something. for all the same reason people write original books.

but it takes a special kind of ignorance to say that only people with the MONEY and the RESOURCES and the TIME to get an original work published and sold en masse are allowed to be heralded as the ONLY TRUE PURE WRITERS. that stephenie meyer and jk rowling, the epitome of privilege, are granted the magic crown of having their works christened "valid" by you nameless anonymous leeches, while starmoon123 and bongfucker69 and zxcvbnm and xErin_The_WriterX and trihexinator101 and countless other random names I literally just made up [that honestly might actually exist but I'm not looking them up] could be literally any person in the world with a phone or computer, publishing FREE STORIES for other people's viewing pleasure.

you miserable assholes disrespecting fanfic would be exactly the same as telling people who draw art of fictional characters that their work is meaningless and invalid because they aren't drawing their own original creations. and that's bullshit. art is art is art. fuck you.

your opinion is unfounded, unwanted, and incorrect. and I'm not sure which is worse.

[ellenlucasonlinedatingblog]

Scarleteen Mix #7: Friendship Is Magic

We're ponying up and belting it out for our friends this time around!

There's a big lovey-dovey holiday coming up tomorrow. Whatever. This year we're choosing to loudly appreciate and celebrate the love in our friendships, and all the love we've got for, and feel from, our friends. Life can be rough, and friendship really is magic.

A few years ago I talked some here about why I think friendship is a mighty important topic in sex and relationships education:

Friendship is at the core of any and every deep, excellent, happy, healthy relationship, whether we're talking about a friendship that doesn't have any romance or sex in it at all, or we're talking about romantic relationships, sexual relationships or both. We think friendship also has an awful lot to do with healthy family relationships, mentorships, and pretty much any ongoing human interaction we could possibly have.

Our relationships with people will tend to be fluid through our lives. Friends can become lovers, lovers can become friends or family. Our super-sexy-whoo-hoo booty call can wind up being someone we later call co-parent; someone we thought was only eye candy can turn out to be a person we ultimately consider our best friend in the world. Someone we thought was the great big love of our life can wind up a footnote; someone we thought was only a footnote can become the great big love of our life. While for some people, someone they eventually create a family with may be a romantic or sexual partner, for other folks, that person may be a best friend where those aspects of a relationship don't come into play or aren't even wanted by either party. And of course, while for some people, friends with benefits is a bullshit way of getting sex with no intention of ever being a friend, for other people, the "benefits" in an FWB truly do occur within the context of, and as part of, a bonafide friendship.

We know how vitally important it is for everyone to have a strong support network in their lives. Our friends are who we will tend to go to first when we need some good, outside perspective on our other relationships from someone we know cares about us, someone we know we can trust. Even if and when romantic or sexual relationships are something we want and something we have, those are never the only kind of relationships we all need. Just like when we have a meal, we need more than one kind of nutrition, when it comes to a healthy life, we all need way more than just one kind of relationship. We need our friends, and they need us.

Caring for other people isn't always easy, nor is caring for ourselves in relationships. The first elective -- by choice -- relationships we'll usually have are with friends, and so friendships are usually the first relationships where we learn about that, about how to treat others with respect and care and be treated that way in mind, where we learn about when to stick it out and when we need to get gone, about boundaries and the lack of them, about things we can do that earnestly help people, and things we can do which really aren't helping anyone at all.

Learning how to be friends gives people some of the most important relationship skills any of us can have.

While we hear the phrase "just friends" a lot among our users, we really don't think there is anything "just" about friendship. We think friendship is a big deal.

Truly. So, whether your friends are your boyfriend, your dog, your best friend from almost the minute you were born, your third cousin, your booty call, your Dad, your guitar teacher, your downstairs neighbor, your brother, your girlfriend, your iguana, your teammates, your band, your Mom, your gaming group, your sister, your cat, your uncle, your cool new friend from work, your lover, your secret crush, your guardian, your gerbil, your stepmom, the kid you mentor, your choir director, your sponsor, your lab partner, your co-author, that cool person you always talk to the whole way home on the bus, your training buddy, the lunch lady, your locker next-door neighbor, or anyone else, this one's for them.  And for you, friend.

This mix was created and curated by myself, Sam, Chanté, Al, Siân, and Alice O. You can go pal around with it over on Apple Music or Spotify. 

We're Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes

Freedom! '90 (Remastered) - George Michael

Us Against the World - Play

You're My Best Friend - Queen

These Are Days - 10,000 Maniacs

Not Alone - Matt and Kim

Team - Lorde

What About Your Friends - TLC

Good Old Days (feat. Kesha) - Macklemore

Color in Your Cheeks (Remastered) - The Mountain Goats

If He Tries Anything - Ani DiFranco

Grigio Girls - Lady Gaga

Friends - Bette Midler

With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

I Wanna Be Like You - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Friendship Update - The Go! Team

Don’t Wait (feat. Chance the Rapper) [Chance The Rapper & The Social Experiment Remix] - Mapei

The Chariot - The Cat Empire

I Hate Seagulls - Kate Nash

Wherever You Are - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Dear Old Friend - Patty Griffin

Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John

Lean On Me - Bill Withers

Scarleteen Mix

mixtape

relationships

friends

friendship

support

companionship

love

like

fun

music

from MeetPositives SM Feed 4 http://bit.ly/2WVOSHf via IFTTT

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff ~ Stray Thoughts: {MLP} Non-Compete Clause

Ah, finally, a school episode. Was beginning to think this was a pointless marketing endeavor.

Oh, DHX, sometimes I forget you animate in flash

Fluttershy? Winning with the popular vote? Heheh, you read my mind well, show

Quit trying to be humble, Fluttershy, you are the best. Side note, why is she sitting on the hard floor?

Okay, so apparently, it’s been about 9 months since the school’s been around. I’m not one for keeping track of continuity, but we had 9 months to have a relative school episode and they haven’t committed to their own gimmick for almost a fourth of the season? Phooey on you, show.

BIG BOOKS?! [petrified screams]

I’m possibly studying Calculus this fall, Twilight, don’t slap math into this

Teamwork field trip? Oh, like Burning Man! RIP its co-founder.....

Pinkie Pie? More like shade on the fly

I feel a Cold War vibe coming from these two

YONA?!! Aw yeah, this episode’s better already

Gallus, shut up

Canoe racing? Shed Building? AUGH, what is this, Survivor, season 5?

Apples have a smell? I mean, cooked or baked ones, yes, but I never knew plain apples had a scent

“Cause that’s all I have in my life. Apples and hard work.” Applejack, you could’ve given them anything else to do beyond sweat!

As 1 can see, the kids clearly know how to read the room.

Put one foot, in front of the other, put the other foot Down. Down. Down.

Rainbow Dash, you can’t just construct a building in the sky

Why mu- nevermind, I’m keeping this safe for work

M’kay, they can clearly hear you two.

Thank you, Smolder, glad you and the audience on the page.

Ah, failure. An inviting scent of memeable yore

Yona, never change

Yeah, just ditch the mess you made, that’s how professors handle things.......On second thought, that is how many teachers handle things nowadays. Ouch.

Gotta go fast

Yona afraid’s of water? By Poseidon's choad, I will smite the ocean, one molecule at a time

MY LITTLE PONY: Friendship is Student Endangerment. The Magic School Bus did a better job protecting their kids, come on.

You can just say piranhas

Well that ROCKED! Aheheheheh, they almost died

Ocellus and Silver Stream saving Yona is a highlight of this episode

Also, I oughta turn Dash and AJ into HORSEMEAT!

Sandbar, nobody likes a know-it-all. Except Bullwinkle, he’s cool

Honestly, I could tell that they never got past their pissing contest phase

Yes, stop Twilight, she might lecture the kids to death

Okay, I am getting tired of the one eyebrow raise meme face.

What made Twilight think they were worthy of being teachers again?

Ach, I’m annoyed by their humbleness already. Doesn’t help that AJ and Rainbow are voiced by the same person, and I can HEAR IT!

Okay, I’ll say vines work better as a bridge, but they could’ve just uprooted a dead tree and thrown it over. Or would that not be eco-friendly? Or sensible?

Good. You two deserved that.

Awww, those predatory fish look cute. Can’t wait ‘til they eat

I’m sorry, but you two stunk this episode. I can’t care about the lesson you’re sharing to each other, you failed and you’re the reason why you’ll never be best ponies to me. Good day!

Awww, Ocellus looks cute with them sharp, big teeth. Eat them, please.

Yeah, we had to save our teachers’s butts! A+s for everyone!

I’m surprised that the kids covered their professors’s butts too........they’re totally going bust AJ and Dashie’s balls for some homework passes, are they? OH, I hope so.

M’kay, a good way to end the episode, by annoying me.

So what did we learn ya’ll? Welp, as a student, it’s never wrong to speak up to your teachers when they be on that bullshit. If you wish to be treated with respect, then sometimes you have to get that respect yourself and show the adults that you deserve reasonable attention, too. It’s alright to follow a leader, but it’s another right thing to step up to be the leader, especially when the leader(s) you have clearly aren’t doing that great of a job.

MY LITTLE PONY: Friendship is Working Your Own Path

[megaslaythraxicasworkblog-blog]

Introduction

My description of what this blog is about is very vague. However, every post for every day I go to work will give more in depth detail of what exactly my work environment is like. This introduction may also do some justice. I welcome you to this introduction and blog and thank you in advance.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started with some important background information. So first of all, I have never had a job before. The reason being me applying to many places, but none calling back. My job I have now is technically a mistake. I filled out an application, and handed it in about a month ago. My friend and I had an argument about employment in America. I argued that the job market apparently is bad at the moment, using me not having a job as proof. I still stand by this, as my acceptance for this job was a total mistake, and why is what I will explain in a little bit. My friend kept saying that the job market is doing well, backing himself up with statistics. Now, you can use the internet for all kinds of statistics saying whatever, but I don’t buy it. I don’t trust statistics simply for the reason that they can be manipulated to say whatever you like. An example would include using racial crime statistics as an excuse to say black people are more likely to be criminals, which is obviously bullshit and racial profiling. Anyway, my point is, I take raw evidence, experience and people I know as proof, since it is the only thing that can be confirmed when talking about issues like these.

Anyway, I decided to prove my friend wrong using another method, which was to call the company I applied for a month later and see if they would hire me. As you can tell, this plan backfired and I got the job. I’m not complaining though (even though I will be, as this is technically what this blog is for if you break it down). How I got the job though was really strange. First of all, I called them and asked them if they got my application. The person who answered the phone said they have not heard of an application under my name, so they told me to speak to a manager. The manager looked and said that there was no application. They told me it probably got thrown away, which I know is for sure what happened, from some jack-ass employee. The manager was so nice as to give me an interview, having pity for me and my now-garbage application. I swear that this would have not been the case if the manager ever got to see my application, as every place I’ve applied to (I’ve applied to a lot) have rejected my applications.

I went to my interview a few days after all of this. I was already nervous, even though it was just an interview. I walked an hour just to get there, and an hour just to get back, since I had no ride, because I have no car, and no money. I went in, and to my surprise, my future manager was extremely nice. A lot of questions were asked, most of them really easy. I’m gonna be honest though, some of them were hard, and I had to lie just to answer them at a not awkward timing. It’s a really bad habit. Everyone here knows how much I love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but I’m sorry Applejack, I have an issue with lying. I understand that honesty is important and builds trust, but when I’m under a lot of pressure I tend to lie to make things easier for myself. Sometimes I even do it without even knowing it. Sometimes I literally don’t even notice until I stop talking. Anyway, about half of what I said during the entire interview was straight-up lies. From the personal questions to my scheduling availability. Most of it I didn’t even mean to say though. I just got super nervous, and said what I thought would be a good answer, no matter if it applied to me or not. I even lied about my availability. Right now I’m working part time, but I didn’t want to have a lot of hours, even if it still counts as part time, so I said that I visit my dad on Fridays and Saturdays (it’s actually Tuesday and Thursday nights). My reasoning behind this is less hours and not having to work on weekends (except for Sunday). Friday is a better day, anyway. I plan on working on my honesty, but goddamn I needed to lie just to get a fucking job. I can honestly tell you that I feel a little bit insecure about my true competence though. That’s probably a huge reason why I lied. Though I acknowledge that lying is almost always wrong, I was pissed off to the point where I felt I had to just to get a job, and it’s kind of true. If I told the entire truth I honestly probably wouldn’t even have this job. I plan to work on being honest in the future, but I kind of needed to lie at that moment. I will update everyone on how my honesty is coming along in the future. For now though, I will focus on work.

We all know the story by now, I got hired and we all lived happily ever after... until I start ACTUALLY working. A few other factors I still need to bring light to. First of all, I’m a transgender girl struggling to transition. I’m currently closeted to most people (unless I really trust them) and “crossdress” to feel more like a woman. Being transgender will certainly be a huge issue when working. First of all, everyone will see me as a male because of my voice and appearance (I’m trying to look as feminine as possible, but when I’m dressed up the closest I can get to feminine is an androgynous look). It will be hell. All of my co-workers, customers and managers thinking I’m male and not expecting me to even question or say a word about it; just blindly accepting it. I will have to dress as male, suppress my gender dysphoria, not say a word about being trans, not use a woman’s bathroom (or any bathroom, because I’m not male either and they don’t have gender neutral bathrooms where I work), and overall have to deal with this shit every day. I will let everyone know how it goes in these entries though. Another problem I have is work anxiety. One irrational fear I have for some reason is working. I find the idea of doing what someone says and getting paid less for doing so not only unfair and enraging, but physically and emotionally terrifying. Just thinking about work makes me really scared and makes me not want to work at all whatsoever. I know this sounds insane, but I can’t help my brain from thinking this way. Again, I will let everyone know how this goes in the entries I write. Another thing is transportation. I have a car, but don’t have it registered, nor do I have the insurance for it. I, nor my parents can’t afford either. It is obvious I have to pay for it with money I make in this new job, however, I really don’t want to because I despise insurance. I don’t want to have to pay $200 a month just because the fat-cat insurance companies paid lobbyists to force their corporate policies into law. In case you don’t know what that’s all about, do research. But yes, that is the ONLY reason why it’s a law. Because these companies indirectly made them laws. It’s complete bullshit. Not to mention also extremely sexist. Insurance companies say different genders have to may more or less because of, once again, profiling sexist statistics. Not to mention, they also do not acknowledge is someone is transgender or not. They also do not acknowledge non-binary people. Also, this happened: I called an insurance company just to ASK what their prices would be for me, and they kept calling me SIR over and over again! Without even asking me or apologizing afterward. They did it OVER AND OVER again, and it aggravated me. It was only because of my voice, and I couldn’t take it for another second. I eventually freaked out after the 5th time they called me, “sir” and told them that I can’t do this shit anymore. I got extremely pissed at them because of their insensitivity. I haven’t called them again to this day for this reason. This is an example of how corporations AND government still discriminate based off of gender and sex. There is much more than just this, but this is just one example. One I experience first-hand, and couldn’t physically handle. I REALLY don’t want to pay these cunts a single penny, but they’re forcing me. It’s seriously disgusting and evil. I want these people to take a look at themselves and see what they are doing, because they are pure evil. Sometimes I even wonder why I even should work. Just to pay the government, and support a sexist corporate fascist machine just so I can drive and not have any or barely any money left over? Yeah, doesn’t sound very fun to me. This could possibly be the reason I quit if I decide to do so. Working just honestly doesn’t seem worth it to me if this is all it’s going to be. If all this bullshit is what I’m going to have to deal with in the future. I want to drive, but GODDAMN, PLEASE make it easier and less discriminatory for us! For God sake, I need a car to get to work. I walked to an interview, and it took an hour to get there and an hour to get back. I don’t wanna have to do that every fucking time I go to work. I want this shit to be abolished or at least made fair as soon as fucking possible. If anyone has a solution or anyway things could possibly be made more fair, PLEASE let me know, and I will do anything to support this cause. Anyway, all of these reasons and more are far more than enough for me to NOT work. So let me ask you all: WHY should I work?