#children of unknown fathers are common and I think we can all guess how that happens

[herdingsnails]

While looking through old parish archives I found a boy that was registered as having an unknown mother. And the father waited 13 years to have him baptized. There must be e really good story behind this and I'll never know it!

[viatagrinner]

Many of you write such interesting theories about Gilbert.

I want to participate too... (Lol, the route will be out in less than 24 hours.)

But my theories usually don't come true and I pay attention to unnecessary things.🤣😅

Here are some thoughts on Gilbert's route.

Childhood.

1. I don't get the feeling that Gilbert was born in the palace and lived there originally.

It seems to me that his situation is the same as Jin's. Lived somewhere far away until father found out/remembered he had a son. Perhaps Gil lived in an orphanage or a place with lots of kids. Maybe the foster parents had a lot of children.

Why?

He's good with kids (communicating with little Luke as well as the kids from the Christmas event), the kids trust him, he knows tricks, how to entertain the kids and how to communicate with them.

Yes it is manipulative, but a man who grew up in the cold and cruel court of the emperor could hardly have found common ground with such ease.

2. (I get a sense of deja vu, as if I read this in someone else's post a long time ago.)

He is not the emperor's son at all.

Gil is from a captured kingdom. And the emperor adopted him.

国王 - kokuou - king.

This title, for example, was used by Silvio's father.

"王" (ou) means "king".

But Obsidian is an empire.

皇帝 - That's what Gilbert calls his father.

皇子 - ouji - imperial prince.

But "王子" is used to describe Gilbert.

A traumatic accident.

The implication is that Gilbert used to be ordinary, perhaps somewhat like Emma in his kindness.

1. What happened to the prince? The answer in the "More Love with the Beast" event.

In "More Love with the Beast," Chapter 2, there was an episode when Gilbert saw a book with a "sinister black cover" in the bookstore where Emma worked. The girl does not know what country it is from, but it is written by a promising author.

The darkness of the imperial court was depicted in detail, a very realistic description of the darkness of the human heart.

But she liked the main character.

Gilbert was interested. (Even the heroine paid attention to it.)

What did she like about the character? She liked his unwavering conviction, and whatever intrigue he faces, he insists on his innocence.

Even in the face of great evil, the hero never gives up, sticks to his convictions.

Emma wants to emulate this hero. Gilbert remarks that this character is like a girl. "Honesty and purity." And he asks her never to change.

2. In the recent event, (The Prince is a bodyguard.)

I think we will meet this character again.

???: Listen, Gil. I'm on your side no matter what.

???: I promise. I won't leave you alone. So... okay?

It's a male.

Because he used 俺 - ore. For women, that's rude.

3. In Clavis' dramatic ending, Gilbert notes that he and the 3rd prince are similar.

Both don't trust people. People are tedious until they "break".

So, my guess:

It doesn't take a genius of deduction to figure out that the book describes the court of Obsidian.

А) The main character in this novel is Gilbert.

This man, who told Gilbert that he would be at his side, ended up betraying the prince.

From that moment on, Gil's behavior changed.

There used to be "honesty and purity" in him, but not anymore.

B) And you know, while I was writing, I remembered something else... Clavis' dramatic ending again. (Chapter 24)

Gilbert: People can be controlled by fear, and there's no fear more effective than love.

Perhaps the main character was this unknown man who promised not to leave the prince, but the fear of losing this man made Gilbert give up on him and everything good about himself.

Current Situation.

Again, thanks to the story of Clavis and a bit of Silvio, we know that there are two factions in Obsidian: the Imperial faction and Gilbert's faction.

The Imperial faction is brutal, corrupt, and "rotten".

The emperor and his men spare no one.

Again the story of Clavis, and again the Dramatic ending: Liden, the head of the area where Emma and Clavis ended up, was the Emperor's man brutally suppressing the resistance (I don't remember very well what he was killing people over).

Thoughts about what happens next.

1. Why is the prince in such a hurry? Maybe he found out that his father wants to go to war again with Rodolite, Benitoite, and Jade?

He doesn't want to let that happen. And he needs to take the throne. Why then is he hanging around in another country? He wants to get to know a future ally and then maybe an enemy.

2. It's not a violent game after all. It is unlikely to show or tell that Gilbert killed his father. More likely to send him off somewhere and take the throne (second CG.)

I think the art where we are shown a "gothic" Emma, and where Gilbert said that "bad guys don't care if they're loved or not" (sorry, I don't remember his exact words, and I'm too lazy to look) is the dramatic ending. The prince hasn't changed. He remains a sinner, will "repaint" the heroine in darker shades, but will be happy with her. Here he became an emperor, perhaps a slightly better version of his father.

3. The prince sometimes (though in events) calls himself a sinner, and he kills people very easily, but does not repent of it. Perhaps even for him, killing his father (even his adopted father) is a sin.

4. Does Gil have a second eye?

I wish... And a different color. 😍😅 But most likely the eye is lost. Perhaps it was a punishment from the emperor. Maybe it has something to do with that unknown man.

5. Yves & Gil

This is where I looked. Because I didn't really remember the plot.

The only thing I found.

Willow's mother was a princess (English version) and 王族 - Royalty (Japanese version).

What does that give us?

Imperial family - royalty

Difference between 皇族/王族.

皇族: Emperor's (天皇's) family

王族: King's family

Yves' mother may have been a member of the royal family of the fallen kingdom.

It is unlikely that Yves is the son of the emperor. But he could be related to Gil.

[moonlit-imagines]

Misbehavior (Part 2)

Jason Todd x batkid!reader

warnings:

a/n:

prompt:

part 1

Jason and you had completely lost track of time during the bonding session he’d enacted over ice cream, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

It was starting to get dark out, that meant that you’d have to start patrol soon.

“I guess we’d better get out of here.” You sighed while wiping melted ice cream off of your hands with a napkin.

“Yeah!” Jason slapped the table, making you jump back. “Yeah, we do! We’re going to see Bruce!”

“What are you going on about?” You asked while shoving your garbage together, a little intrigued by Jason’s sudden excitement to see Bruce. He was never excited to see Bruce. Ever.

“I’m gonna give that trust fund baby a piece of my mind.” Jason grabbed his trash and threw it away as he stormed out the door, giving you barely enough time to catch up. You rushed to the car and fell into the passenger seat, not even able to close the door before Jason his the gas. He had this look in his eyes, one that you only saw on special occasions. Like when Alfred makes margaritas.

“Wait give me your guns before we get anywhere near there.” You instructed as he swerved around three different cars. “And slow down, for god’s sake. Remember when Dick got in that car wreck? New stations ate that stuff up, we don’t need that kind of publicity again.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jason laughed at you as he flipped through the radio stations.

“Guns.” You demanded once more.

“Don’t have ‘em. Came unarmed. Because of the school.” You crossed your arms and stared at him until he noticed from the corner of his eye and groaned. “Under the seat.”

“Thank you.” You perkily answered while leaning over and fishing for his weapons. Crisis averted.

“Okay so, I’m gonna go in the Batcave and give Bruce a piece of my mind,” Jason explained over the blaring speakers, “I need you to stay nearby just in case he decides he’s sick of my shit and like, call’s Ra’s to undo my resurrection or something!”

“What?” You shouted back, trying not to laugh at his plan.

“Are you asking what did I say or are you asking what am I talking about?” You tried to reach for the volume knob, but Jason just pushed your hand away. “Don’t you dare turn my music down!”

“Jay, it’s a commercial!”

—————

Jason had stormed through the Manor full-speed while you loosely followed, wondering how this would turn out. The two of you arrived to the grandfather clock in no-time, Jason rotated the hands to open the wall.

“Why the fuck isn’t it opening?” Jason grumbled as you pushed him aside. “Don’t tell me he changed the code.

“You put in 10:46.” You poked the minute hand a smidge upwards and stepped back as the Batcave entrance revealed itself.

“So fuckin’ tedious.” Jason muttered while rushing down the stairs, leaving you to scramble after him. Your footsteps left an echo each time you hit the metal, which always scared you for some reason. Or maybe it was the fact that there were holes in the steps that revealed a drop into the great unknown. “Bruceeee!” Jason called into the cavern of delusional know as the “Batcave.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The adoptive father that you had in common pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat before the Batcomputer. “What is it, Jason?” He asked, swiveling his seat to face the two of you. “Y/N, you should get ready for patrol.”

“No, no, no, y/n. Stay right there.” Jason commanded with his arm out, halting your from any further movement. “Bruce, are you fucking kidding me?”

“What’s the problem this time?” He asked bluntly, seeming to just barely care about Jason’s anger. I mean, he was usually like this, it wasn’t new or anything.

“This kid right here. This one.” Jason pointed to you. Well, to the right of you. You weren’t exactly where he thought you were behind him. “You need to start giving a shit, because man, this kid is special.”

“I care about all my children equally.” Bruce’s lies rolled right off of his tongue, it was fascinating.

“Bullshit, man!” Jason shouted back at his father, you were beginning to think this was more personal than ever. “I’ve been talking to this kid for like, six hours. Bullied, ignored, talented, badass, and some other stuff! But do you care about any of that? You didn’t even care enough to pick them up from school!” Jason’s face was starting to get a little red, you were contemplating whether or not you shoukd step in and give him a break.

“I had work to do, Jason. You know this.” Bruce was showing absolutely no remorse, it was sickening. Your stomach was literally turning whike you watched.

“If it were Tim or Damian you would’ve sprinted out the door, don’t even lie!” Jason replied, watching Bruce’s eyebrows lift up. “I barely knew y/n before today, and that sucks. That’s my little sibling, I should know more about them. Quick, tell me their middle name.” Your dad was silent, proving your brother’s point. “Uh-huh. It’s m/n.”

“Jason, you’re out of line—” Bruce attempted to scold, but you couldn’t win that game with Jason Todd.

“I’m bot finished yet!” He snapped. “I fuckin’ love this kid. No joke, love ‘em. How can you not?” Listening to this boosted your ego more than you’d like to admit, you weren’t used to all this praise. “That’s my little sibling,” he repeated, “that’s family that gets it.” Before he could go on, a few more of your siblings entered the cave.

“What’s going on here?” Tim asked, triggering a vein-pop in Jason’s forehead.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, replacement?” He rolled his eyes and looked over to you, who was actually doing the same! Heartwarming how that happens.

“Jason has decided to lecture me on how I parent my children.” Bruce answered Tim’s question in such a generalized way that your brother just couldn’t stand for.

“Y/N’s been getting bullied at school and he doesn’t give a single fuck!” Jason announced the the Batclan.

“You didn’t have to tell them that part, Jay.” You whispered while tugging on his sleeve.

“Oh, yes I did. It’s a sympathy tactic.” He whispered back and went on with his speech. “He doesn’t pay any attention to y/n. None of you do! That’s no way to treat one of your own!”

“Get over it, Todd.” Damian clicked his teeth and shoved right past you two, ready to get on with patrol.

“Well, if that’s how you feel then fine! Y/N, pack your shit, you’re staying with me tonight. It’s too crowded in this stupid mansion anyway.” Jason rested a hand on your back and led you out of the cave. “Gonna stop me, Bruce? Didn’t think so.”

taglist: @thatwaspossession // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove // @kinoko-kai //

[aerltarg]

Maybe this is a stupid question, buuuuut:

I just can't imagine a world that Rhaegar comes back from the Trident, wins the war and becomes king. No, I'm not a anti Rhaegar, matter of fact I like him very much, I'm just can imagine how would Lya, little Jon, this whole affair, would settle in the capital. The norm that fics (at least those I read) tend to follow is to make Rhaegar:

1. A douche, paranoid and destiny-obessed king.

2. Completely incompetent, aloof monarch, that deep down has a heart of gold, but can't really be understood.

I mean, isn't he supposed to be a scholar since he was a kid? What's are your thoughts about it?

oh, yeah, i can totally understand this! it's is the whole point in canon actually, "the wrong man came back from the trident". you would expect a hero win against his antagonist and have a happy ending w his lady love but it doesn't happen. instead the subversion happens to them with rhaegar being killed by robert who becomes obviously a shitty king and lyanna dying after him. they were never supposed to have happy ending, they were created as tragic and doomed and dead from the beginning for the whole plot to start, jon to have his parentage mystery and dany to take the passed baton as the last dragon, prophesied savoir and the heir who has to carry entire house on her back now.

as for the realistic rhaegar wins aus that's the difficult question. tbh we just don't know enough abt their situation, plans and wishes. you see, e.g. in agot we can be right in ned's head and see his motivations, what he was thinking abt, what he was planning, what he was hoping to do. but if his story was told the way rhaegar's was i bet he would have his own crowd of haters and ~intellectuals~ jumping out every two seconds w their "hot takes" how actually all hints abt what rlly happened (ned being a good man w his own sense of honour, justice and experiences affecting him and the deal w cersei's children) doesn't matter and he was an ambitious prick, planned to grasp the power by being joffrey's regent and make his daughter sansa queen. (you can actually insert there any bullshit and still don't reach the level of stupidity of such "hot takes" this fandom loves so much lmao). also he would be blamed to the hell and beyond for being too stupid and not foreseeing the future and actions of other ppl bc ofc after everything happened it's so easy to say what was so obvious to notice. also they would say that the deaths of his men and horrible fates of his kids are 100% his fault and even straight up say he killed them lmao. i can rant abt it for hours so yeah. this is a situation w too many unknown variables bc it depends too much on actions of too many characters we don't know enough abt. the only thing it's possible to tell for sure is the fact that there couldn't be any perfect solutions since things got too complicated at this point.

such fics as you've mentioned tho are just a part of this dumb fanon where rhaegar is "too prophecy obsessed"/"incapable of love"/shrodinger's rhaegar both smart and stupid at the same time/whatever/all of this combined lmfao. the man was notably intelligent from the early age as you've absolutely rightly mentioned, his guesses abt himself being tptwp have nothing to do w egocentrism as some parts of the fandom would want us all to believe unless he wouldn't be so reasonable abt it and later on, after so many years, wouldn't have changed his mind and thought his son could be tptwp.

and literally fuck all antis that think you shouldn't consider prophecies that hold real power in this fantasy world lol. you know, aegon the conqueror was said to be motivated (or at least partly) to unify westeros by the prophecy and still got the treatment of perfect/maximum close to perfect figure of a leader everyone should look up to from the narrative and grrm. prophecy obsessed much, huh? i don't even talk abt all these parallels between him and rhaegar grrm put there not for bitches to ignore them completely! and i will never get tired of reminding that dismissing prophecies is UNWISE for targaryens of all people. the house whose story is built on the dream of young daenys and her father aenar that listened to her despite common sense (or what local "anti magic"/"anti prophecies" clowns consider to be common sense). targs would be as dead as the rest of dragonlords if not for daenys the dreamer. who else in the world has as many reasons to take prophecies seriously as them?

yet antis out there act as if rhaegar is one dimensional weirdo whose every character trait is abt mf ~prophecy obsession~. like how can they miss one of the main points so badly?? the game of thrones distracts ppl from the real danger beyond the wall, yk, the one rhaegar was aware of and meant to deal with. there wouldn't be such a problem if he became king and had as many years of head start before ice zombies apocalypse as ignorant bobby b did. rhaegar had to die just for westeros to sink in shit and our main heroes to save everyone to make this story more epic LMAO

so yeah, too many ppl portray rhaegar as this one dimensional robotic creature without any knowledge of what feelings are idk even for what reason. it seems these ppl can't read for real bc rhaegar was not only intelligent af as well as dutiful ("it seems i must be a warrior" but "he loved his harp more than his lance") but also. ugh emotional?? my boy had constant emo sessions w brooding at ruins of summerhall, sleeping out there beneath the stars all alone and writing songs that made all women cry. does it sound as someone who "isn't capable of love" lol? folks act as if he was completely heartless from the day he was born (bc he didnt play w other kids ig??) but in reality their emotional range is less than the one of a spoon in comparison to rhaegar's lol. i'm not even gonna address the horrible attitude of demonizing him for his implied depression, vile clowns never listen to themselves when they talk abt targaryens and their "madness".

tldr; these fics are mostly lame af and suck at characterization if they're making rhaegar like that lol. anyway his character isn't abt being a good or a bad king, it's abt being a would-be-king for characters in books and readers in reality to sigh over his tragic aura and pretty aesthetic abt how it could've been. however, grrm clearly doesn't write rhaegar as evil or incapable as some parts of the fandom would want to try to persuade others. realistically speaking in the scenario where he wins there couldn't be any perfect decisions but it's a territory of speculations on thin air and lit nothing more since canon doesn't provide us with enough information to rlly theorize anything instead of building biased headcanons some ppl call "analysis".

but remember what barristan said about rhaegar while practically watching him all his life, from a literal baby to the man grown:

“I know little of Rhaegar. Only the tales Viserys told, and he was a little boy when our brother died. What was he truly like?”

The old man considered a moment. “Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“Prince Rhaegar’s prowess was unquestioned, but he seldom entered the lists. He never loved the song of swords the way that Robert did, or Jaime Lannister. It was something he had to do, a task the world had set him. He did it well, for he did everything well. That was his nature. But he took no joy in it. Men said that he loved his harp much better than his lance.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

[writer-panda]

The Hit on the Groom and What Became of It - Chapter 4/I’ll never let you down (in an open casket)

Chapter 1  -|-  Previous -|- Next

The Hit on the Groom and What Became of It - Chapter 4/I’ll never let you down (in an open casket)

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As she hanged up, Marinette rushed to the doors and let her mother in. The previous night she spent mostly on working with Kwamis to prepare. Most were in agreement that she needed to act and not leave her kitty’s fate to chance. Tikki protested for a bit, but in the end, she saw that there was no changing Marinette’s mind and joined in on scheming. Except she had no way of tracking Adrien. Not… until she received the call!

Except now her mother entered. Sabine greeted her daughter by giving her a bone-crushing hug. 

“I was so worried! When the police called I couldn’t just sit there and wait!”

“Maman. It’s alright. I’m okay. See?” The girl did break away from the hug and smiled.

“I know. But I couldn’t help but worry.”

“Maman… Adrien’s been kidnapped.”

“I know.” Her mother’s expression didn’t reveal any emotions now.

“I… he’s been miserable ever since that wedding mess, and now this.”

“I know.” Again, nothing. 

“He’s my friend.”

“Not the love of your life?” Sabine questioned with a bit of amusement in her voice.

“No. He doesn’t need another fangirl. He needs a friend. Someone who can support him. I… I wasn’t a good friend before this…” She didn’t reveal that she wasn’t a great partner either. Chat hid things well, but from time to time his shell cracked. She should’ve seen the signs. She could’ve done something. Or at least do something with Lila. She had connections and Lila deserved a lawsuit or five. 

“Oh, sweety. You were a great friend. You are a great friend. I’m happy to see you’re not about to chase after some misguided love, but after friendship.”

“I know I’m only… wait, what?” Marinette.exe stopped working. If the problem keeps repeating itself, please contact customer service or the nearest Kwami. 

“When I was fifteen, I dropped out of… school to explore the world on my own. It wasn’t until a few years later that I met your father.” Sabine said in a bit dreamy voice like she was reminiscing. “We had several adventures across Europe before finally settling down in Paris.”

“But… Papa’s a baker.” Marinette protested. “I thought he was always a baker, like his father.”

In response, her mother chuckled. “No. Your father had much more in common with your Nona than with his father. I met him when he was fighting in an underground cage-fighting club.”

“Whoa…” Marinette’s eyes widened. That was a story she never heard before. “So how did you two got together?”

“I will tell you some other time. The point is, I know that even if I took you to Paris with me, you would’ve run away to look for your friend.”

“Maman!” For a moment, the girl wanted to protest. But then she decided that there was no point. “Yes… you’re right. But I can’t just let it happen! If the police find him, he will end up back with his father!”

“I know. And what’ll you do about it?” Her mother had this mysterious smirk on her face.

“I guess… I need to be the one to find him. I will get him situated somewhere safe. Maybe stay with him for a bit. He’s smart. And a quick learner.” He mastered being a superhero faster than I did.

“Good. Then you have my blessing.” 

“I can’t just abandon-” Marinette.exe stopped working again. Contacting the customer service might be in order. Technically, Sabine kept hinting about it. Practically, Marinette would miss a clue even if she was holding a gun to its head. “I have your what now?”

“You can go. Save him. Find yourself. And maybe kick some asses while you’re at it.”

“Most parents would be worried sick about their not-yet-adult children running off to an adventure.”

“You wanted to know how I met your father. The answer is I was the first to beat him in that cage.” Sabine’s smirk was replaced with a serious expression. “Of course I will worry, sweety. I’m your mother. But holding you back now will not help you. You’re a strong young woman and to be fair, I’m not sure how we could hold you down. You have steady access to the rooftop and two years of parkour training.”

“What now?”

“Did you honestly think we wouldn’t notice you sneaking off through the balcony?”

“And you didn’t even tell me?” 

“It would be hypocritical of us.” Sabine defended. “And if the worse came to happen, I had several… souvenirs from our travel around the world.”

“Thank you, Maman. I promise I will come back; And call you often. Well, maybe not too often.” Marinette already dashed to start packing. 

“Of course you will. And don’t get into too much trouble. I would hate to have to go and find you.” Sabine threatened with a bright smile on her face. 

“I’ll try, Maman.” The girl was only half-listening now. She couldn’t waste any more time. She learned how to trace the call about one-and-a-half years ago when she was still a bit ‘stalker-ish’. 

Sabine watched her daughter with amusement. So many memories returned to her now. Youth mostly well-spent if someone asked her. The ‘mostly’ part came to bite her just that moment as her phone pinged. She quickly checked the message and frowned. 

“I’m sorry, my little cupcake, but I need to go check it. An old friend turns out to be in town.” 

“I’ll call you later!” Marinette called from where she was furiously working on her laptop. 

When Sabine left, the kwamis swarmed her immediately.

“Your mom is so cool!” one of them cooed.

“And she’s one bad-”

“Roaar!” Tikki scolded the tiger kwami. 

“What’s the plan, pigtails?”

“Adrien’s call was made from within Gotham City. He’s still here for now. I also managed to track him to Burnley.”

“Didn’t that mercenary you called mention some Lawton?” Trixx offered.

“Yeah. I did try to search him up, but the only one with that name that I managed to find is Zoe Lawton. Wait. There is more!” She beamed up. “An old article in some Mexican newspaper.” She clicked on the link and read it aloud for her co-conspirators “Floyd Lawton, also known as Deadshot, was recently arrested after an assassination of a small group of smugglers. It is yet unknown if it was a hit or was it personal.” The article went on, but there was nothing more of interest.

“So the guy’s a mercenary too? That’s good. He’ll bring Adrien to you.”

“Not so fast. I remember hearing about him. Deadshot is one of the few mercenaries who try to keep some resemblance of a code. He’s also noted to be soft around children.”

“Isn’t Adrien almost an adult though?” Kaalki asked rather uncaring.

“Have you met the guy? He’s a literal ray of sunshine!” Plagg protested.

“So… he won’t deliver him and won’t return him.” Seeing that some Kwamis didn’t understand her logic, she clarified, “I don’t think that if he learns how Gabe treated his son he will be in any hurry to return him.”

“That makes sense.” The little being all nodded in agreement.

“So what’s the alternative?”

“He could adopt him,” Ziggy suggested.

“Please.” Marinette dismissed the idea. “He’s not Bruce Wayne.”

“He could smuggle him out of the country.”

“No. Everyone’s looking for him.” Roaar countered. “He would try to lay low somewhere.”

“Burley is large and full of potential safe houses.” Marinette started to think. “But there is also a large concentration of organized crime. Alone, we would have a hard time, but if we got them to help…”

“Is it wise to involve more criminals into your schemes Marinette?” Tikki asked skeptically.

“Don’t worry, sugarcube. To catch a bird you need wings. To catch a criminal you need crime.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works.”

“What’s the worse that could happen? I will go there as Seamstress. I won’t even appear in person. Right, Trixx?”

“You can count on it.” The fox kwami grinned.

“But… but…” Tikki wanted to scream her head off. Why did the previous guardian choose a juvenile criminal for her holder. Marinette used to be such a sweet girl. Where did Tikki go wrong?

---------

It was dark when an eerie mist filled one of the less-than-legal clubs in Burnley. From among the smoke, a figure entered. She was wearing a godet-type black dress with a side-cut that reached to her belt. The dress was overlayed with a very visible deep-blue corset that pronounced her blue eyes. It had some intricate laces on it. She also wore a puffy-sleeved blazer (also black, but with a dark blue finish) with large and very pronounced cuffs. Around her neck was a white double jabot fixed to a choker with a large black gem surrounded by diamonds. Her long deep-blue hair was let loose and hung over her shoulder. A simple black-and-white domino mask hid her features.

As she marched, one of her legs shifted the fabric to reveal she was wearing dark-blue socks reaching above her knee and black leather boots. A knife was strapped to the right one and several leather strips around her thigh and knee suggested she had more weapons on her. 

One of the men whistled.

“Looks like the entertainment arrived, boys!” Several cheered at that shout. At least until the man who dared to say it ended pinned to a wall with a rather large needle holding his jacket in place. It was also uncomfortably close to his jugular. 

“I’m not entertainment.” The Seamstress hissed. 

“Then you’re not invited.” Several men got up, many were holding now-empty bottled which they turned into impromptu weapons. 

“You will help me find what was taken from me.” She demanded.

“Yeah? Or?” One of the men laughed before charging at her. 

What followed next was perhaps the strangest carnage Gotham City has seen in years. The Seamstress danced between the attacks with almost unnatural grace and agility while stabbing the attackers in various places with large needles. None of the hits were life-threatening and most would heal within hours. The wounds were meant to incapacitate with minimal long-term damage.

By the time she reached the far end of the bar, almost every man was laid out on the ground groaning in pain or scrambling in fear.

“I am not asking. You will be rewarded for your obedience.” She then disappeared into the back alley. One brave/foolish enough who still had some fight left rushed after her, only to find the place completely empty. 

On the rooftop, Marinette let out her breath. She didn’t use any miraculous for that one, but she kept Plagg’s ring on. Chat Noir wasn’t seen in some time, so it would’ve been easier to explain that the ring was stolen by a criminal. She would really need to thank her mother for all the training she forced on her ever since the Akumas started to appear, as well as the lessons during her childhood. Those were all only the most basic grunts tonight, but she got their attention. One of them would run to their boss. There, she could actually do what she planned. 

--------

Just like she predicted, some of the less injured guys left the bar in hurry and drove their bikes to another part of the district. They disappeared into a three-story building. The windows were boarded, but some light seeped through on the top floor, so that is where she climbed. Indeed, by hanging on the edge of the window sill, she was able to hear the panicked screams inside.

“...and then she just disappeared! It was like that damn Bat, only much more terrifying. She was so small, and yet there was this… this… aura of power.”

Thank you Chloe for being queen B. Marinette stifled a laugh. Mimicking Chloe was the right choice. 

“Probably another one of his useless brats.” The boss dismissed them. Marinette decided that it would make the best impression if she contradicted him right now.

She wondered for a moment how to enter the armored building. She could rip the boards away and enter that way, but she was aiming for ethereal, not brute. In the end, she pulled a pair of glasses and put them over her mask. 

“Kaalki. Would you please help me break into headquarters of a criminal organization to scare them into serving me?”

“How many sugar cubes is it worth?”

“Ten. No more, no less.” Marinette had a small window of opportunity. 

“You’ve got a deal.” 

“Kaalki! Full gallop!” The light enveloped Marinette. When it died down, she was still in her outfit, only now the blue accents were brown instead. The gem on her neck held the symbol of a horse miraculous. “I love magical clothes. So easy to maintain the image.” Marinette muttered before a blue portal opened before her and she entered.

Inside, the five men (two who came to report, the boss, and his two guards) watched as the blue portal opened before them. The mist started to pour through it as well as through the boarded window. A figure calmly stepped inside.

“I didn’t expect the Gotham criminal organizations to be so… cliche.” She commented. Two needles sailed through the air and pinned the guards to the wall. Her horseshoe weapon waited patiently on her back should she need to use it.

“Who… who’re you?”

“Me? Oh. I’m The Seamstress. I had business in Gotham, but a fool dared to double-cross me. I need to find him.”

“Why… W-why shou-should w-we help… help you?” One of the guys from the bar asked.

“Oh. I’m not asking. I’m telling you that you’ll help me.” She informed. “I’m about to make you an offer you shouldn’t refuse.” 

The boss was now shaking. Damn city with its damn overpowered supervillains. They think they can simply run things as they want. First Red Hood took out most of the top brass of the underworld and then this? Working on his father’s farm was sounding more and more appealing. Then there was the shouldn’t. The reference to the classic movie was not lost, but she said shouldn’t. Not can’t. Once more he remembered how Red Hood took over. Submit, or die. This was the same. She clearly wouldn’t hesitate. He liked to think he could see those things. 

“I’m waiting.” The lady growled. “I’m not used to waiting.” Channeling Chloe is actually fun here. 

“Fine. You can have my seat. I’m going back to dad’s farm. Just let me go and you can have them.” The boss stood from his seat and motioned for her.

Marinette.exe is not responding. Do you want to execute the process? Not yet. 

She managed to keep enough cool to smile and take the seat, although she didn’t even register what was that. 

She would panic later. For now, tracking Adrien. “I need to find where Floyd Lawton, also called Deadshot, is hiding with my… asset.”

“It… I will see to it, Boss… lady.” One of the guys from the bar nodded very fast before rushing out of the room.

“I… will bring you the list of current assets.” One of the guards informed and walked somewhere. They were used to aggressive takeovers. This was their third. Boss change, guards remain. This was honestly the first time the previous boss managed to escape with his life. 

Meanwhile, Marinette finally realized what just happened. She really wanted to hit her head on the desk, but she was too afraid to show any signs of weakness. Why did she end up in this mess again?

----------

Sabine Cheng was waiting for her plane back when an airport guard approached her.

“Lady Cheng?” Sabine’s blood froze for a moment, but she refused to show any outward reaction at her past codename. “There is a man who wishes to discuss some… past debts.”

Damn it. And here she thought that bald bastard would forget about her. He had several more suitable people. He knew the risks of angering her.

Then again, she knew not to anger him either.

“Lead the way.” Her face was stone cold as she stood up. 

Inside a comfortable private lodge sat a blad man in a suit more expensive than the yearly revenue of her bakery. 

“Ah… Lady Cheng. I’m so happy you could’ve joined us.”

Sabine looked around and noticed that there was another man there, standing slightly in the shadows. A man she came to despise just as much as Luthor. Standing there was Gabriel Agreste.

“I can’t return the pleasure, Luthor.” She snarled, not letting her gaze drop from Agreste.

“Figured you’d say that.” The billionaire laughed. “But it doesn’t change that you came.”

“Be quick. I’ve got a plane to catch.”

“About that.” Lex smiled. “I’m afraid you won’t be on that plane. I need you to do something for me.”

“Sadly, my calendar is full for the foreseeable future.” She retorted coldly.

“Then you will clean it. Unless that is, you want me to tell my good friend the president about your little assignment for me twenty years ago. If I recall, your pardon didn’t cover that particular crime.” The man chuckled.

The only upside of this whole situation to Sabine was that Agreste finally realized exactly who she was. Or at least how dangerous she was. The deal she made ensured that Lady Cheng disappeared from everywhere but some people’s memory. To her dismay, Lex didn’t forget. And he still had that damning evidence.

She also knew exactly what was the job.

“I don’t do jobs involving kids, Luthor.” She seethed through gritted teeth. It wouldn’t matter, but she hoped it would at least give him a pause.

“Adrien Agreste was about to be married. I think that can calm your conscience. He was all but adult.” That despicable man dismissed her concern, as she predicted.

“I’m a little rusty. Don’t you have someone younger? Someone who would actually want to do this?” Sabine deadpanned. She kept true to the deal she made for her and her husband’s pardon and didn’t do any… extracurricular work.

“Alas, the fact you’re unwilling is why I need you. You see, the client, whoever they are, picked Agreste Jr. as a target in a… battle royale of sorts. It quickly stopped being about the ludicrous money reward. It’s now about proving who’s the best. And they won’t stop until they deliver him to that mysterious Seamstress.”

“So what do you want? I’m sure you could’ve bought some of them to drop the glory part.” She really didn’t want to do this.

“I offered to pay five times the price, but most of the competent ones want a shot at whatever that job is. A mysterious benefactor with no history, nonexistent in any database in the world, paying a small fortune for a simple job and offering further work? Doesn’t it sound familiar?” Lex reclined in his chair and smiled.

“One job only. I want everything you have on me. And ten times the bounty.” She noted his discomfort. “Don’t give me that look, Luthor. You can afford it. My daughter’s about to start a university.” Sabine turned to Gabriel. “I must thank you for the idea. Homeschooling really helps when one is gifted.”

“I’m sure we can come to an agreement,” Lex grumbled. If he didn’t know the quality of her works, he would’ve laughed at the price. Except he foolishly revealed that he was desperate.

“Oh, I’m sure we can.” Sabine smiled. She was like a cat that just caught a mouse.

[mischiefandspirits]

Are You Sure About That?

((Warning for blood and blood drinking))

The seedy streets of Gotham were filled with whispers about the demons and monsters that roamed the city, and outsiders and Gotham’s lawful scoffed at how superstitious the criminals could be.

Gordon had worked alongside Batman enough to be quite sure there were no demons in Gotham. Sure, the vigilante was a little standoffish, but it was Gotham. Likewise, the Robins and Batgirls were all good kids. Maybe the first Robin’s smiles were a little eerie, but that was likely just the contrast with his mentor. Maybe the second and third liked morbid humor, but that was just how kids were these days. Maybe the fourth Robin was a bit temperamental and harsh, but he was young. Maybe the Batgirls’ movements were a little uncanny, but that was probably just the training. Maybe Nightwing seemed a little too cheerful about the stuff they dealt with, but the kid had been doing this since he was young. He could have a worse coping mechanism. Red Hood was the only one he’d really consider monstrous, but the guy was a former crime lord turned anti-hero and he had been getting better since the Bat had taken him under his wing.

The members of the Justice League rolled their eyes whenever someone brought up the rumors. Batman was grim, overly serious, and secretive, but he was a good man who only wanted the best and always had plan after plan to help the league succeed.

The Titans thought the rumors were hilarious. Sunshine Boy Nightwing? A demon? Who could believe the guy who was always flipping around and laughing at his own bad puns was some dark monster?

The Outlaws didn’t believe it, but they understood why someone might make the mistake of thinking Red Hood was a monster. The guy was vicious and maybe a little messed up in the head, but then again so were they.

Young Justice scoffed at the rumors. Corvid was incredibly intelligent and an incredible fighter, but he was also an absolute mess who couldn’t remember to sleep, eat, or drink on his own.

The Teen Titans stared dumbly when they heard the rumors. Sure, Robin was rude, brutal, and a bit entitled, but calling him a demon was a little much, especially considering the team had a cambion member.

The Birds of Prey ignored the rumors. Oracle was a godsend, even when she had to give up the cowl because of an unknown accident. And Batgirl was a brash spitfire, but she was always willing to lend a hand. Likewise, Huntress mostly stuck to herself, but she could be kind and personable when the time came.

The public, well, as time went on they saw more and more of Batman and his companions working with their teams on the news. It was quite clear to everyone that the group was nothing more than baseline humans with incredible training who were out to make the world a better place.

Yet the rumors persisted.

Because in the shadows of Gotham, where only the darkest of souls and their victims could see you, there was no reason to hide.

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

Nightwing licked the blood off his talons as he listened to Batgirl’s story, idly kicking the unconscious gangster at his feet every so often.

“Why didn’t you just kill him, Fatgirl?” Robin huffed from Nightwing’s side and the imp ruffled the tiefling’s hair, carefully avoiding his horns.

“Killing shouldn’t be your go-to option, hdiiga,” he chirped.

“Don’t do that! You’re getting saliva and common blood in my hair!” Robin snarled, slapping away his hand.

Nightwing smirked and leaned down to lick a speck of blood off his youngest brother’s cheek, pulling back quickly when Robin screeched and tried to punch him.

“I’d say it’s an improvement,” Red Hood teased as he finished tying up the gangster he’d had taken down.

“Mind your place or I will put you back in your grave!”

Wiping some blood off his mouth, Hood smiled at Robin. “Go right ahead. I could use the nap.”

“If you’re counting on me to resurrect you, I’ll remind you that the last time I did that, you tried to banish me,” Red Robin said, not looking up from the laptop he was hacking into as his shadows soaked up the blood on him.

Nightwing and Batgirl groaned as the zombie and demon settled into a familiar argument.

“Well maybe if you’d brought me back properly as you did for your blonds, then I wouldn’t have tried to banish you.”

“That was different! I was less experienced when I brought you back!”

“I should have been easier to bring back! I was already a zombie!”

“EXACTLY! You came with a bunch of extra complications!”

“Are you two ever going to let this go?” Batgirl asked, eyes on the gangster she had knocked out. His face was twitching with distress as she twirled her fingers across his forehead, occasionally pulling them away to see the small moment of peace he got before she began brushing them across his forehead again. The revenant looked up at Robin and winked. “And killing’s boring, Human-Bird. Everything ends way too fast.”

Robin clicked his tongue. “I will never understand why we should waste our time torturing someone who has nothing worth telling? If we’re not going to kill them then why bother attacking them at all?”

“Because it’s fun?” Nightwing and Batgirl said together.

“There’s always something you can get out of someone, even if it’s just sustenance?” Red Robin offered.

Hood shrugged when the tiefling turned to him. “Don’t look at me. I’m the white sheep, remember. The only reason I could give you is that listening to B lecture about maintaining appearances by limiting deaths and going after insignificant criminals gets really annoying after a while, and that’s never stopped me.”

“Are you five done?” Oracle’s hissing voice echoed through the alley as the green mist that had been hovering across the ground began to rise in serpentine forms.

“Just finished downloading the data you wanted,” Red Robin said, closing the laptop and passing a thumb drive to the snake coiling up him.

“Alright, the police are three minutes out so either clean yourselves up or get out of there.”

“I will head in. I need to wash off the common blood and,” Robin glared at Nightwing, “saliva.”

The imp smiled back unrepentantly. “I’ll go with you, hdiiga.”

“I should probably take off as well,” Hood said as the two left. “I still need to check on a few things in my territory. Maybe grab another bite to eat.”

“Please clean up after yourself this time. I don’t exist just to disappear all your bodies.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll behave. Not really in the mood for a lecture from His Majesty anyways,” Hood said with an eye roll and swatted the serpent on him off so he could grapple away.

“Guess it’s just you and me on babysitting duty, Red,” Batgirl said. She stood up and stretched before walking over to Red Robin. “Mind helping a lady freshen up?”

The demon snorted, but his shadows rose to clean the blood off her. As they waited, Red Robin raised his guise to make him appear human and Batgirl pulled up her scarf to hide the part of her pure-white face that wasn’t covered by the cowl.

Once they’d gone through the motions with the humans, Red Robin took off on his bike and Batgirl headed up to the roofs.

“Alright, O. Take me home!”

The green mist that had nearly disappeared in the presence of the humans flared to life and condensed into a large serpent that coiled around the revenant until she couldn’t see anything but green. The mist dispersed after a moment, leaving her standing within a summoning circle at the center of the Clocktower.

Oracle was sitting in front of her at a desk surrounded by computer screens and candles with green flames. A scrying bowl sat in front of her and a laptop was across her lap. As Batgirl stepped out of the circle, the scrying bowl stopped glowing and the candles went out all at once. The otherworlder set her keyboard on her desk and spun her chair around to face Batgirl, the white light fading from her eyes and the light from the screen catching eerily on the cracks across her skin that kept her from glamoring.

As she pulled down her cowl, Stephanie tossed Barbara a pendant glowing with psychic energy. “Brought home dinner!”

“Thanks. Your dinner is in the oven. Tiết canh.”

“You’re the best!”

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

Hdiiga is an Impish term. It directly translates to mean an infant imp, but it more generally is used as a term of endearment used by parents for their children or older siblings for their younger siblings.

For the record since they didn't appear:

Bruce is a demon king from the same demonic realm as Tim

Selina is a demigoddess who was granted powers by a cat goddess and, as a result, can reincarnate up to nine times

Helena is a cambion that came about as a result of a shared night between Bruce and one of Selina's past lives

Talia is completely human as was Damian's father (Damian's tiefling traits are a result of Talia and Ra's infusing Damian with Bruce's power during his time in the incubator in hopes of earning Demon!Bruce's favor. They are not aware that Demon!Bruce and Batman!Bruce are the same person)

Bernard is also a revenant (he and Steph were the blonds Jason mentioned)

[honorable-wanderings]

Word of Honor - Episode 2 Part 2 - Mirror Lake has more Fire than expected

In an interesting twist of fate Zhou Zishu decides to take the nice munchkin up on his offer to crash at his place for a while.

Thumbs up my dood

----------

Now the fuck are these guys?

Oh cool. Thanks.

---------

See? Children chants are creepy! Always!

But especially when driven by plort! (plort was a typo but I’m Keeping it.)

----------

Finally people treating our man with common decency and respect! Who knew he just needed a fancy bookmark?

Oop. Nevermind

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

I have discovered the joys of fucking with people and I’m never going back again

----------

A fuck this guy again. I’m assuming we’re not supposed to like him? But I don’t like him either way. He has no...  je ne sais quoi

He boring. Basic. Bland.

It ain’t good.

----------

Oh and also you know how you wanted us to keep tabs on Zhou ZiShu? Oh well um.. it’s going great! Great! Yeah... except for... we can’t find him.

-----------

Well if this ain’t a whole ass mood?

-----------

Midnight already? Time for the pain pins to poke me painfully!

This sure is a weird version of Cinderella

gross

----------

Okay okay so normally the 7 torture nails block your chi? I’m understanding? So you can no longer do martial arts. And he would rather die than lose all his martial arts so he put the nails in slowly so that he could still have SOME of his martial arts. But the point of the nails is still that he wants to die and feels he deserves to be punished as well? Right? So having his martial arts helps mediate the pain which lessons the punishment

and if it weren’t for the punishment aspect couldn’t he have just like... faked the nails? Or would they have been able to tell? I mean this is all dramatic and all but where are your motivations Zhou ZiShu?

work with me here

----------

Hey?! That’s not sunlight?!?

----------

Love me a good silhouette shot

----------

And suddenly everything is on fire???

----------

Rude

----------

After watching like 4 people get killed in front of him and a lot of fire and ransacking our protragonists finally thinks perhaps he should get himself involved.

----------

How is everything a fucking boomerang???

-----------

Pffffff I love it

Tunk thunk

----------

In another interesting development, the boat man from before is important?????

Also our boy is doing his best with that hat

----------

Okay I know he’s like a master of disguise and all but like he doesn’t seem to be doing much to actually... hide? Still love his wiggly sword style

----------

Um take the kid and fucking run maybe????

---------

*stalks you from a not very inconspicuous distance*

Didja miss me?

No

----------

Hate to see you leave but love to watch you go

----------

Fuck I hate being disarmed.

----------

This place looks strangely similar to the woodshed...

---------

The fuck are you?

Wouldn’t you like to know?

Yes I would. That’s why I asked

----------

There’s just nothing quite like a near death experience to bring people together.

----------

Take this kid and run!

But sir, you don’t seem to understand! I am the Best Boy! I simply cannot just leave you to die.

----------

Don’t worry kid! You can’t get in trouble anymore! Your dad is fuckin dead! Surely that’ll bring you some comfort!

----------

Random Local Boatman is surprisingly honorable and happens to be in debt to the father of the kid who was nice to you that morning.

Life sure is weird.

----------

He doing him best

---------

Though it is absolutely understandable, he reacts to being touched by that paper the way I react to walking into a spider web.

-------

Gramps is a badass

-----------

I do have to say these guys do seem to be much better trained than the usual evil henchmen. And you have to appreciate their aesthetic.

----------

Seriously!! The best boy!!!!!

This man has helped in a little bit exactly once to repay him for his own kindness an this little teenager is willing to just die for him without hesitation.

Like no, son, the two old men are doing this so that YOU live. You have it backwards.

----------

Surpriiiiise I’m stalking you too!

----------

Oh no the henchmen are falling into the drawing things out to emotionally torture their prey thing. Don’t y’all know that giving the protagonist time to recover and/or study your moves is how you die? Did you even GO to henchman school?

----------

ahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Just.. omg. The noise he made. “Dwaaah!!!”

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

Okay kid I know you’re young and under a lot of stress and never really got into the whole martial arts training thing but grandpa is doing better than you literally laying down and covered in cuts. Just sayin

----------

Aw nuts

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

*ding*

Please take your protagonist out of the oven as cooktime has been completed.

----------

The fighting editing style seems to be a weird splice of nice crisp slowmotion view of the action and spliced together jump cuts and zooms that make for an odd kinda hard to follow combination. But at least I guess they tend to end on ‘cool pose x”

----------

“Hey, Beggar! You’re good at martial arts. Somehow this surprises me even though I already knew that???”

----------

Unexpected trust fall ends better than anticipated

----------

Das gaee

----------

He’s bendin’ over backwards for you!!

--------

Unexpected but definitely varied emotional investments on the fact that Gramps is dying.

----------

Look at him being all humble.

----------

Ooh he could be in a medical drama. That is the perfect like sad close your eyes and head shake no I’m sorry he’s not gonna make it. Bravo.

Very delicate.

----------

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me”

----------

I’m guilt tripping you into a found family and you’re gonna like it punk

---------

Sick dude, whats your name? Shit no one’s asked me that before somehow I’m not ready..

Uh.uh... Zhou Xu.

Nailed it.

“Zhou Xu? Naw that doesn’t sound right.”

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

May you learn from this never to underestimate, rob, and otherwise harass your local old boat man for you never know when he may force you through guilt and honor into taking on a ward and a quest under penalty of being haunted by his old ass ghost forever

----------

Uncle Li has died and most of the group is much more upset about it than they would have anticipated that morning.

Poor ChenLing is having a rough day.

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

RIP Uncle Li. So much for living a carefree couple of years lying drunk in the sun.

It looks like even now you can’t escape your responsibilities Zhou Xu.

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

Group of hereto-unknown men arrive in poor time to stop the bonfire

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

“What’s wrong?” Um... maybe... fire??

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

I say again, thank you for labeling the people I’m supposed to remember.

Also, why did y’all have to wait for orders before checking out the fuckin boats?

Y’all dumb.

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

Hey, Wen KeXing, Not trying to throw off your groove or anything but maybe a funeral isn’t the best time for flirting? Perhaps? Maybe?

I know you don’t have an ‘off’ switch but maybe a pause button?

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

“are you done?”

“Never.”

----------

It deadass took y’all this long to introduce yourself? You’ve been stalking him all this time and you never thought to go “btw my name Wen KeXing? Comment t’appelles tu?” Come on man

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

Our best boy is having his not best day. D:

Don’t worry. Your new family will stalk/care for you.

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

“A-Xiang! Make some food!” “No shit Sherlock I already did.” “My ideas are the best. :D”

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

Eat your food!

Eat your food!

Eat your food!!

Eat your FOOD!!!

EAT YOUR FOOD!!!!

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EAT YOUR GODDAMN FOOD?

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

“Oh my GOD we get it you can fucking read! Oh my god.”

---------

If I prove I can read too will you pass me a damn pancake?

Fuck yeah.

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

GOD DAMN IT SOMEONE EAT FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK

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

Um excuse you this group only has room for one little bitch and it ain’t fuckin you, you hear me little girl?

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

I am very sorry. Thank you for saving my life. I would like to re-assert my status as “best boy”.

HEY WHAT THE FUCK????

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

Wen KeXing: 👀

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

Please increase your friendship level before asking personal questions.

---------

Nya Nya you were useless when your home was burned to the ground and your family was killed waaaaah how pathetic are you!!

Can you fucking not?

My B.

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

BEST BOY INJURED THIS IS NOT A DRILL

----------

Our Man Zhou ZiShu respects bodily autonomy!

Do not touch my fuckin’ boy or I will fight you!

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

And we end the episode with Wen KeXing being horny on main!

Sir, keep it together. There are children present.

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

School Dance

For Maribat March day 25 theme school dance

Master List

“Now remember class,” Mrs. Davis spoke, “The Father Daughter dance is tomorrow afternoon at 5 till 7, make sure you get your tickets at the booth near the cafeteria.” 

“Yes Mrs. Davis.” All the students answered in unison. 

Little Charlotte Martha Brown-Wayne walked out of her 4th grade class with her best friend, Faith Couffaine, in tow. 

“So Char, are you going to be going to the dance?” Faith asked, her blue eyes locked onto Charlotte.

“I don’t think so Fae.” Charlotte turned so that her brown eyes faced the ground.

“Why not? Me and my dad are going to be there!” Faith exclaimed, fixing her headband that somehow got tangled in her thick black hair.

“Yeah because you have a dad, I don’t think moms are allowed.” Charlotte replied, tucking some stray pieces of her dark brown hair behind her ears.

“Oh please, just bring one of your moms, it’ll be fine!”

“But Fae-” She turned her head to face her best friend.

“No don’t Fae me. I already got my ticket and I know your parents are just waiting for you to ‘remember’,” She used air quotes, “to get yours. You’ll be fine Char, plus isn’t your mom really looking forward to this?” She didn’t wait for her to answer, “Exactly, so I expect to see you there.”

“Fae-” 

“Bye Charlotte, you better not leave me hanging!” Was the last thing said before she raced to hug her mom and leave in her limo. 

“Ugh, really Faith.” Charlotte then walked to the place where Alfred was always parked in order to pick her up. 

“Hello Miss Charlotte, did you have a good day at school?” Alfred questioned as he got out of the car to open the door for her. 

“It was fine.” 

“Now you’re not forgetting anything are you?” Charlotte froze like a deer in headlights, acting was not her strong suit. 

“No?” Neither was lying, just like her maman. 

Alfred opened the door for her and she quickly ducked inside, Alfred returned to his seat but didn’t move. He also didn’t lock the doors. 

“Miss Charlotte, why do you not want to go to the dance?” A simple question with a complicated answer, at least in her mind. 

“Everyone is gonna be there with their dad. I won’t because I don’t have a dad. I would be there with mom, I’d be the outcast.” 

“I don’t believe the gender of the parent you bring should matter as long as you have fun.” 

“It's called the Father Daughter dance for a reason Alfred.” 

“A simple label that should not matter Miss Charlotte.” He thought for a minute, “Tell me Miss Charlotte, will any of your friends care that you bring your mom?” 

She thought back to what Faith had been saying the entire week. “No.” 

“Will your classmates?” 

She thought again, she didn’t interact with her classmates a ton, but none of them seemed to mind the fact that she had 2 moms. “Probably not.” 

“Then what is the problem?” 

“It's just-I’ll look weird because I’m the only one with my mom. Everyone else will be there with their fathers and I’ll be there with my mother.”

“Like I stated before Miss Charlotte, it matters not the gender of the parent as long as you have fun with them. I have no doubt that some of your classmates will be their fathers but will be miserable.” 

Charlotte snapped her head up to look at him, like the mere thought of one of her classmates being miserable with their father at the Father Daughter dance was impossible. But it seemed reasonable, she knew quite a few of her classmates who talked fondly about their mothers but not their fathers. And when the subject of the Father Daughter dance came up, they never participated in the conversations unless asked, and their answers were never enthusiastic. Plus Alfred was always right, that’s what her mom, maman, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandfather taught her.

She nodded her head in determination, opening the car door and saying over her shoulder, “Be right back Alfred!” 

She pulled a 5 dollar bill out of her backpack pocket, one that had been haunting her for the past week. She made her way to the cafeteria then to the booth right next to it. 

“Hello Charlotte. Here to buy a ticket?” The lady, she’s pretty sure is a fifth grade teacher, asked.

“Yes ma’am.” She handed her the 5 dollar bill and received a small slip of paper in return.

“Remember to show that to the lady who will be at the entrance tomorrow. That’s the only way she’ll let you in. Promise not to lose it?” 

“I promise.” She smiled at the woman before racing back to where Alfred was waiting. 

-

“Mom! Maman!” Charlotte called as she entered the manor. Not hearing their voices she assumed they were in the kitchen so she went to her room to drop her backpack off and change into some more comfy clothes. 

After changing out of her uniform and into some leggings and a t-shirt she made her way to the kitchen where she found her moms. 

Her maman was baking something, probably cookies, while her mom watched her, occasionally handing her ingredients. It wasn’t an uncommon sight for Charlotte, in fact they had family baking days every Sunday. The only hard part was getting their attention, since whenever they baked they were always in their own little world together. 

Her eyes caught the frosting that she was guessing her maman had just finished making. Perfect. 

She made her way over to the bowl, grabbed the spoon, and took a big bite of the sweet treat. And as predicted,

“Charlotte!”

She turned and there her maman stood staring at her, hands on her hips as she tried to fight the smile off her face. Her mom was trying to hold back her giggling in the background. 

“Hi maman. Hi mom.” 

“Why are you eating frosting? When you know you’re not allowed.” Her maman gave her a pointed look. 

“It was the only way to get your attention.” 

“She’s not wrong Nette.” Steph interjected, coming up to stand next to Charlotte. She crouched down so she was at Charlotte’s level, “Did you get the ticket.”

“Yes, it's in my backpack.” 

“Ok make sure you don’t lose it. We all know you have your maman’s memory.” 

“Hey! My memory is not that bad!” Marinette protested. 

“Anymore. We all know what your memory was like when you were younger.” Steph reminded. 

“...Fine. I’ll give you that.” 

“Can I help frost the cookies?” Charlotte asked.

“Of course my little ladybug. Pinkie promise not to eat any frosting?” Steph held out her pinkie to Charlotte. 

“Yes mom!” Charlotte held out her pinkie, returning the promise. 

-

“Charlotte! Are you almost ready!” Steph shouted from outside her room. 

“Almost ready mom!” Charlotte replied as she adjusted the golden colored clip in her hair. 

“Charlotte you look great.” Marinette came to stand next to her in the mirror. 

Charlotte ran her hands down her black and gold dress for the umpteeth time. Whatever she did, something just didn’t look right. But she didn’t know what.

“Something doesn’t look right.” 

“I think I have an idea of what might help,” Marinette took a gold necklace off her neck, “Here you go.” 

“Wait Maman, isn’t this your favorite necklace.” 

“It is, but I think for tonight it’ll look best with you.” Marinette put the necklace around Charlotte’s neck and clipped it in the back. “There, what do you think?” 

“I love it,” She turned around and hugged Marinette, “Thank you Maman!” 

“Of course my beautiful baby bat. Now don’t keep your mom waiting.” 

Charlotte opened the door and met her mom’s face on the other side. 

“Well look at you little ladybug, ready to go?” Steph held her arm out to Charlotte. 

“Yes mom.” Charlotte took her arm as they headed outside where Alfred was waiting. 

They seated themselves in the back of the car when Steph noticed the necklace. 

"Charlotte, where did you get that necklace?" 

"Maman gave it to me. Do you like it?" 

"Yes, very much. It even goes with your dress." 

"It kinda goes with your dress too."

"I see, did Maman ever tell you how she got that necklace?"

"No, why?"

"We have arrived Miss Stephanie and Miss Charlotte." Alfred spoke.

"I'll tell you later." Steph promised. 

“You better.” Charlotte grumbled as they got out of the car, unsure if her mom actually heard her. 

-

“They’re pretty cute huh?” A man asked Stephanie. Both parents were watching their respective daughters dance together, the two girls forgetting about their parents that sat only a few feet away. 

“Adorable. I’m Stephanie, by the way, Charlotte’s mom.” She held her hand out to the man. 

“Ethan, Jasmine’s dad.” He returned the handshake. 

“I don’t suppose we could arrange some playdates in the future?”

“Of course we can. If I don’t tell Jazzy that she can see her friend again then she’ll have a riot.”

“Well would you look at that! Both of our children have at least one thing in common!” 

“Here you can put my number in here.” He slid her his phone. 

“And you can put yours in mine.” She handed her phone over.

After putting their information in the other’s phone, they both took their respective phones back and glanced at the names.

“Well Mrs. Brown-Wayne, it seems we will be seeing each other quite a lot in the future.” 

“It seems we will Mr. Cook.”

-

Marinette got a video sent to her later that night. From her lovely wife. She opened up the video to see her daughter dancing with another girl. It seemed she had inherited another one of her traits, the inability to hide her blush. 

Marinette giggled to herself as she watched her daughter continue to dance with the unknown girl. It seemed like the other girl was having fun too, if the smile she was wearing and the glow in her eyes told her anything. 

The video was followed by a text, ‘I think there will be many more playdates in the future.’ 

Marinette smiled to herself as she tucked her phone away. Fully planning on getting answers the next day on this mysterious girl who had captured her daughter’s heart. Young love was always so cute to watch.

-

“Maman?” Charlotte asked as she was being tucked into bed, the night’s events had taken a toll on her. In the comfort of her bed she was struggling to keep her eyes open. 

“Yes my baby bat?” Marinette asked as she sat on her bed. 

“Mom never told me how you got that necklace,” She lazily pointed to the necklace that had returned to its original place on Marinette’s neck, “Can you?”

“That’s quite the story, maybe when you're older.”

“Aw, but mom said she would.”

“Did she say she’d tell you later?” 

“Uh...yes.” 

“When mom says later, she really means not for a long time.”

“Oh…”

“How about about this, in around five years-” 

“Five years!” 

“Yes, when you're 15, the age I met your mom, I’ll tell you the story.”

“You promise?” 

“I promise.” 

“Pinky promise?” Charlotte held her pinkie out.

“Pinky promise.” Marinette linked her pinky with her daughter’s. 

“Okay goodnight Mom.” Charlotte snuggled into the blankets and closed her eyes. 

“Goodnight sweetie.” Marinette gave her a light kiss on the forehead. 

She made her way out of the room, silently closing the door, before making her way to her and her wife’s bedroom. She entered and heard her wife getting ready in the bathroom so she sat down on the bed and waited. 

She didn’t have to wait long as only a few minutes later her wife came out of the bathroom and sat down with her on the bed. 

“Hey what’s on your mind?” Steph asked as Marinette laid her head on her shoulder. Her hand subconsciously fiddling with the gold necklace that sat on her neck. 

“Did you tell Charlotte that you would tell her the story of how you got me the necklace?” Marinette got straight to the point, she had learned that sometimes it was much better than beating around the bush. 

“Maybe.” 

“Stephanie.” 

“What! She asked and-” 

“You should know better! The necklace has to do with how we met!” 

“Yeah but-” 

“No buts! You know we didn’t meet the most child friendly way!”

“I know, I just thought that she would forget about it after the dance.”

“I told her I would tell her when she turns 15, now she’s going to be counting down the days till then.” 

“I’m sorry Nette.”

“It’s okay Steph, I just wish we had a little time before she knew.” 

“She was going to find out eventually, at least now we have a date to prepare ourselves.” 

Marinette’s mind went back to a time where her only worries were what to wear for her next date with Stephanie. Where she didn’t have to worry about her best friend dying, or the grief that followed. 

“Come on let’s not worry about it tonight.” Steph brought her out of her stupor. 

“Yeah, goodnight Steph.”

“Goodnight Nette.”

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

You have literally no idea how long this took me to write. There will be part 2, I kinda left you guys hanging, but that won’t be for a long time. Anyways I do hope that you enjoyed, like I said in day 24 of Maribat March, Story, I will be posting 2 of these each time I come back from the dead. Now I am going to go finish school work so I don’t fail! Who knows when you’ll see me next?

@maribatmarch-2k21 

[9worldstales]

THOR: HEROES & VILLAINS

So, since “Thor: Heroes & Villains” give a lot of useful extra info unknown to most, I thought to share what I thought worthy. I still recommend to buy the booklet. It’s not overly difficult to find it ‘used’, it’s usually not very pricey and it’s a great source of info.

It’s worth to remember this is a booklet printed in 2011 so its info cover only the movie “Thor”.

The booklet structure is meant to cover the various character of the movie and give some basic info about them (realm, aliases, relatives, companions, abilities/attributes, purpose, occupation, weapons, animals, gears, story). Mind you, you don’t get all those info for all the characters, for some there’s more, for some there’s less.

I’m going to mention only what the movie skipped which I think can be interesting, I’m not going to transcribe the whole thing… but as usually I’ll comment what I’ll quote.

ASGARD

“The men and women who call it home have superhuman strength, live for thousands of years, and are extremely loyal to Asgard present ruler…”

MY TWO CENTS

I’m just mentioning this because nowhere it’s discussed the Asgardian view on their ruler. So it’s interesting how here they said they aren’t just ‘loyal’ but ‘extremely loyal’.

ODIN

Relatives: Father, Bor (deceased), mother, Bestia (deceased); brothers, Ve and Vili (both deceased); wife, Frigga; sons, Thor and Loki

Abilities/attributes: The mightiest of the Asgardians. Odin wields a massive power source called the Odinforce, which allows him to control energy and the elements. [To possess and use the Odinforce is very draining. At various times over the course of his reign, the king has to enter Odinsleep. This restores his powers.]

Weapons: Gungnir, a mighty spear, filled with the Odinforce.

Animals: Eight-legged steed named Sleipnir who can run on land and air.

Story: The ruler of Asgard, Odin wants to pass the throne on to his eldest son, Thor. But he worries his son is not ready. When he is forced to banish Thor to Midgard, Odin becomes distraught and falls into a deep Odinsleep.

MY TWO CENTS

Okay, I almost copied it all because it was almost all extra info for who’s only familiar with the movie. So the idea was to keep the original Odin family minus Cul. I keep the explanations on the Odinforce (what it controls, how it’s in Gungnir, how it drains Odin causing him to fall in Odinsleep regularly) even if some of them can be figured by the movie. I also kept the story part because there are two interesting points, one is the implication Odin WANTS to pass the throne to Thor, is not just he’s the older brother, the other is that him falling in Odinsleep like that is due to him becoming distraught due to Thor’s banishment, not due to Loki discovering the truth, though I guess that didn’t help make his day.

I’ll mention in older plans for the movie it was also high time for him to fall in Odinsleep as he had postponed it for too long and that was also why he wanted to rush passing the throne to Thor. Those plans though might have ended up scrapped as in the movie Frigga said ‘they were unprepared’… though this might also refer to how Odin dropped down abruptly when maybe previously he managed to reach his bed.

FRIGGA

Abilities/attributes: Beauty, Asgardian strength, and great patience

Story: As Odin’s wife, Frigga has been his constant companion and voice of reason for centuries. Loyal and true, she is also a loving mother to Thor and Loki. While she tries not to, she favour her youngest, Loki, who is often in the shadow of Thor. After Thor is banished and the king goes into Odinsleep, she relies heavily on Loki, for better or worse.

MY TWO CENTS

We get no mention of Frigga’s family prior to her marriage or if she’s meant to be a Vanir like in the comic so I didn’t bother writing down the part about her relatives. We get a confirmation Frigga has Asgardian strength (which probably hints she’s meant to be Asgardian and no more Vanir) so she’s not what you could call a weak woman, at least for human standard. They establish the marriage as one of love for her side. The fact they go and say she’s the voice of reason makes me think they wanted to remark Odin can be unreasonable. They establish she’s a loving mother and that, although she favours Loki she tries not to show it (differently from Odin). I think that the idea beyond saying that she relied heavily on Loki is that because she was distraught for Odin, whom she loved, she ended up passing the throne and the responsibility connected to it on Loki (I take when Odin fell in Odinsleep before she took up the regency but this time she entirely passed the job on Loki) without realizing in that moment Loki wasn’t in the best psychological shape to be left alone to handle all this… though I am, maybe speculating.

Still, in the movie she doesn’t seem to understand how big of a blow it was for Loki to discover the truth and in the novel is said she loved Odin a lot so I guess this might be the idea behind her behaviour. My general impression is they’re trying to drive home the point Frigga loved her children and tried her best but made some SERIOUS mistakes in dealing with them that ended up leading to what will happen at the end of the movie.

THOR ODINSON

Aliases: Warrior of Asgard, Son of Odin, the mighty Thor

Companions: The Warriors Three, Lady Sif

Abilities/attributes: Thor possesses physical powers superior to those of normal Asgardians.

Weapons: Made of Uru metal, the mighty hammer Mjolnir lets Thor control lightning, rain and thunder. …

Gear: Thor’s helmet is quite distinct. The eagle wings on either side represent his nobility. …

Story: Eager to take the throne, Thor is quick to act and slow to think. …

MY TWO CENTS

Yeah, I cut various parts from Thor’ profile but they weren’t saying anything new. Now... Thor is the only one in the booklet who’s called ‘Thor Odinson’ with the patronymic, where Loki is just ‘Loki’ and Odin is just ‘Odin’. I found interesting among the aliases Thor has ‘Warrior of Asgard’ as if he’s just the representative for them. Why did I put the ‘companions’ part? You’ll see when I’ll talk about Loki. So Mjolnir also control rain, I’ll say this was implied by “Thor: The Dark World” and it was Mjolnir which has the power to control lightning, rain and thunder… which is confirmed by “The Art of Thor” which says the runes on the hammer originally said ‘he who wields this hammer commands the lightning of the storm’… later adapted in “Thor: The Dark World” to fit with what happened in “Thor” so that, in it, the writing says ‘whosoever hold this hammer if he be worthy shall possess the power of Thor’. There were no comments on Thor’s helmet on “Marvel Studio Visual Dictionary”. As for Thor’s story I left only the part describing his character because it’s telling while the rest is just about what happened in the movie.

LOKI

Aliases: The Trickster, Master of Magic

Companions: Sticks to himself, but is closest to Thor

Abilities/attributes: Superhuman strength, increased life span. Regarded as one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of Asgard. He can make himself appear to be somewhere he is not, shape-shift and teleport. He is often the voice of reason to Thor’s impulsiveness and is usually relied to talk his older brother out of sticky situations.

Gear: Like his brother, Loki also has a helmet that he wears for ceremonial purposes. …

Story: As Odin’s younger son, Loki has always known the throne of Asgard will never belong to him. He has, however, tried his best to be a good brother to Thor and a son Odin could be proud of. When Thor travels to Jotunheim, it is Loki who sends a message to their father in order to prevent an all-out war. Still, he cannot stop Odin from banishing Thor. …

MY TWO CENTS

So, relevant points are that the movie knew Loki was a Master of Magic and originally there were more scenes with him using powers… likely cut because magic in movies requires expensive special effects. He’s not however the only sorcerer, which I find worth mentioning because, when the Warriors Three decide the Frost Giants should have invaded Asgard thank to the help of a sorcerer, they decide it has to be him as if there weren’t other options (in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.S.” it will be said Lorelei too knew about the paths Loki used to move through realms. It probably wasn’t common knowledge but not that rare among sorcerers). And here comes why I reported the companions of Thor. Because in Thor’s case his companions didn’t include Loki, just the Warriors Three and Sif, while in Loki’s case they don’t mention those four, but mention Thor. Basically Thor was the link between the Warriors Three and Sif, and Loki, while the 5, left on their own, didn’t consider themselves companions. In the novel though, it was the Warriors Three and Sif who relied on Loki to get his brother to think. The booklet doesn’t bother to describe why Loki has horns on his helmet but you can find the info on “Marvel Studio Visual Dictionary”. Here it’s just said he wears it for ceremonial purposes, which makes sense because in “Thor: The Dark World” they leave him without it. Regarding to how Loki always knows since he’s the younger the throne would never belong to him, this matches with the novel… but seems to clash with how Odin said ‘Only one of you can ascend to the throne. But both of you were born to be kings.’ It’s worth to mention originally that scene wasn’t meant to be included in the movie and even Alan Taylor mentioned it made Odin look bad “Thor and Loki are interesting because their father’s so completely screwed up their childhood. You don’t tell two boys that they’re both meant to be king, but only one will make it!” [The art of Thor: The Dark World]

The booklet remarks how Loki tried to be a good brother and a good son, differently to what “Thor: Ragnarok” says. This also has a story purpose because “Thor” was meant to be the movie in which Loki ‘falls’ in the metaphorical and literal sense, an origin story. If everything were to be dated prior to it, “Thor” wouldn’t be an origin story anymore, merely the breaking point. I mentioned how the booklet remarks that it was Loki who sent a message to his father, confirming as true what Loki says in the movie because in “The Hero’s Journey: Thor” it’s said it was Heimdall who warned Odin. So, you know, if you were thinking Loki lied, he did not. Also the booklet implied if he could, Loki would have stopped Odin from banishing Thor, which is why he tried to talk with his father as Odin and Thor argued. After discovering the truth about himself though, he clearly changed his mind and wanted to make it permanent.

THE WARRIORS THREE

Companions: Thor, Loki, Lady Sif

Attributes: Known on Asgard as the strongest and bravest of men, they rarely leave Thor’s side. Volstagg is large, even for an Asgardian, and he enjoy everything to excess. … Fandral thinks quite highly of himself, and his ego often gets him in trouble with both warriors and ladies. … He [Hogun] doesn’t speak often, but when he does, it is important to listen.

MY TWO CENTS

Credits when it’s due the Warriors Three list Loki as a companion… but the story goes that they rarely leave THOR’s side. So my impression that the companionship is only due to Thor being a bridge remains. I’ve left the character descriptions because they really have a small role so their character can end up being missed.

SIF

Companions: Thor, Loki, The Warriors Three

Attributes: The fourth member of Thor’s entourage, Sif is the fiercest of Asgard’s female warriors. …[Sif] is often the first to leap into battle. But Sif is also a voice of reason, and she often tries to consul Thor- even when he doesn’t want to hear it.

MY TWO CENTS

Same as with the Warriors Three Sif also includes Loki among her companions, but she’s a member of THOR’s entourage. I’ve left her character description for the same way I left the ones of the Warriors Three… even though her character is easier to figure out from the movie than theirs.

HEIMDALL Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge

Occupation: … The Bifrost Control is the device that starts the Bifrost.

Abilities/attributes: Superhuman strength and super senses that enable him to hear and see across the realms.

Weapons: His sword can be inserted into the control device to open the Bifrost – but it’s also a mighty weapon.

Story: … To try to figure out who is behind it [the attack by the frost giants] Heimdall allows Thor, Loki, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif to travel to Jotunheim…

MY TWO CENTS

Not much to say about him. The booklet doesn’t talk of his character and gives us only some technical data. Basically his motivation for disobeying to Odin’s order and sending Thor and Co to Jotunheim was just he wanted to know who was behind the attack. I thought worth to mention it because in “The Hero’s Journey: Thor” Heimdall claims he knew Loki was somehow responsible for it but didn’t know why he allowed them to go to Jotunheim, just that Thor was being insistent and persuasive and that if he hadn’t allowed him, Thor would have found a way to do so. So yeah, they changed things.

FROST GIANTS, JOTUNS

Attributes: Extremely large (bigger even than Asgardians) and strong. Able to withstand extremely cold temperatures.

Weapons: The Frost Giants have the ability to mould ice into various weapons using their skin and body structures. Some Frost Giants have large head that they can use as rams while others have long arms that can form swords of solid ice.

Story: After Odin took the Casket of Ancient Winters from Jotunheim, the realm began to collapse. Now it’s a shadow of its former self, and the Frost Giants who live there are eager to seek revenge. Laufey, king of the Frost Giants, will stop at nothing to once again control the Casket of Ancient Winters, which will return Jotunheim to the power it once enjoyed.

MY TWO CENTS

I still have no idea why, although it’s called Casket of Ancient Winters in multiple side materials, in the movie they just call it Casket. Whatever, this confirms taking it away from Jotunheim damaged Jotunheim, even if it doesn’t explain why. On the other side it affirms Laufey doesn’t just want it to restore Jotunheim to a better state but back in power.

I think the idea is that they are the same as Malekith. In “The Art of Thor: The Dark World” Craig Kyle says “The thing that makes Malekith, especially, a madman, is this: while he could probably restore a single world and give his kind an island on which they can live peacefully and safely, it’s not enough. He needs it all back. The universe was once theirs; he wants it all back. A piece is not a valid solution. That’s why he’s an extremist.” And Alan Taylor said “Malekith and his people have been gone for 5,000 years, and they’re coming back to-in their minds-right a terrible wrong. They’re driven by vengeance. Basically, all Malekith wants is the universe.” I think for the Frost Giants it’s the same. The Dark Elves wanted to bring obscurity back because for them light is bad… so it was also a fight for survival… but it became also a fight for power where compromises can’t be found. The Frost Giants were probably meant to be the same, they NEEDED the Casket to save their planet but in the same time they would want to abuse of its power. Then the movie cut the role of the Frost Giants so much it kind of got lost and so they recycled this plot for the Dark Elves. Still, it’s a pity because it would be interesting and it would open up also more points to ponder. By not helping the Frost Giants, the Asgardians leave them in misery that feed their wish of revenge, worsened by Laufey’s greed. It’s basically a post WW1 situation, which would have been very interesting to discuss but… it kind of gets dropped along the way, the effects of the lack of the casket completely removed from the movie so as to paint the Frost Giants more like the monsters Loki fears they are.

[On a totally unrelated note as this is not a Marvel book, “Loki – A novel” by M.G. Farija revisits not just the whole story of Thor turnings all the Norse gods into humans but the whole conflict between Asgard and Jotunheim in a more politically realistic way which is kind of awesome so I wholeheartedly recommend it… never mention I love Loki and Thor in that book… LOL, I might end up writing a recommendation post just for it…]

THE DESTROYER

Purpose: To destroy. The Destroyer is Odin’s fiercest weapon. … However, when called upon to protect something, the Destroyer fills with Odinforce and is virtually indestructible.

Weapons: The Destroyer’s head is used to direct Odinforce directly at the enemy. … The Destroyer is an enchanted suit of armour forged by Odin; its body is unbreakable. … The Destroyer has no soul and no life.

Story: Thought by many to be a myth, the Destroyer is tasked with guarding the vault, which holds Asgard’s most dangerous relics, including the Casket of Ancient Winters.

MY TWO CENTS

Not much to say here, while the movie implies Loki sees what the Destroyer sees and hears what the Destroyer hears in the early version of the script he just gave it the instruction to ‘Ensure his brother does not return.’ Since the Destroyer was thought to be a myth it’s possible in the original idea of the script he didn’t get how much of a deadly weapon it was… though the name is kind of telling. Anyway it’s kind of pointless to discuss it as, ultimately, in the final cut of the movie, Loki was given the chance to have the Destroyer spare Thor and didn’t so what previously could have meant to happen is kind of erased.

JANE FOSTER

Abilities/attributes: Smarter than the average human, determined and kind-hearted

Gear: Jane’s Pinzgauer, which serves as a research vehicle, helps her to view and record the occurrences happening over the Puente Antiguo skies.

Story: … Both jaded scientist Dr. Erik Selvig and wided-eyed student Darcy Lewis are with Jane when she first encounters Thor. …

MY TWO CENTS

Not much of interest is said about Jane. As her kindheartedness in the movie didn’t stand out much because overshadowed by her interest for science I thought it was worth pointing out she’s kind. Also Selvig is only described as ‘jaded’. So really they didn’t care much for the Earth party.

PHILIP COULSON

Weapons: As a member of SHIELD, Coulson has access to advanced technology and sophisticated weapons—he even mistakes the Destroyer for one of those weapons.

Story: Upon meeting Thor, Coulson suspects the mighty warrior might be a great asset to the top secret Avengers initiative… but will Thor agree?

MY TWO CENTS

Despite Thor entering in their property and attacking his men Coulson wasn’t terrible at all with him and even let him go although he knew Selvig was using a fake I.D. to drag him out. If the idea is he was trying to make friend with him because he believed he could be part of the Avengers… well this makes things interesting.

So well, that’s all I found of interest that wasn’t explicitly said in the movies or that might have been said in a movie and denied or put into discussion in some other material.

Again I recommend you to just buy the booklet as it’s worth it and since it’s pretty small it won’t even take too much space in your collection.

[todoroki-waifu]

ayoo! I saw that requests were open so here I am! Anyways can I requests that there's a fem reader that is best friends with todoroki and he's dating (anyone) and one day when class 1a is chilling in the living room having a movie night and a kid from the future time travel there and everyone is confused asf and sooner or later it comes out that the child was todoroki's and the readers child and everyone's like damn cuz yk he has a whole s/o next to him LMFAOSJJ IM SO SORRY THIS IS SO CONFUSUNG😭😭

I’m so sorry this is so late! 😢 Thank you so much for your request! And it wasn’t confusing. This was an interesting one. If I did misinterpret it wrong, I’m sorry! Lol hope you like it ^^ 

Note:  __(u/s) will stand for unknown/unnamed significant other for Todoroki.

Todoroki x F! Reader (kind of?)

Word Count: 1,987

Genre: Angst, slight fluff, sci-fi, maybe a little fantasy? (whatever time travel would fall under)

Warnings: Female reader and Todoroki with a gender neutral s/o.

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

Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, __(u/s), and Jirou were preparing snacks for class 1a's weekly movie night. Iida, Midoriya, and Jirou were the first to leave the kitchen, bringing with them cups, beverages, napkins, straws, and disposable plates. While Todoroki finishes up placing a variety of chips into different bowls, he looks over at his __(u/s).

He smiles fondly at them, walking over to his partner and wrapping his arms around them.

"Need any help?"

"T-todoroki-kun! You scared me." __(u/s) was concentrated on microwaving the popcorn at the correct temperature, afraid of triggering the fire alarm.

"Really? Am I that frightening?" He pouts slightly.

"Not at all! I guess my mind was elsewhere. I wanted to make sure that I didn't burn the popcorn." __(u/s) laughed sheepishly before pecking his cheek.

Both heads turn towards the kitchen entrance when they hear the sound of steps entering.

"Relax! Just me." You saw their slightly stiffened look. They were a fairly new couple so they were still getting used to showing their affection in front of other people. Todoroki and his partner were only comfortable around you, being that you're his best friend.

You've known him for a while and have been there for almost an entirety of his childhood and up to now. He still has yet to tell his significant other about his past, the poor boy afraid of scaring his current lover. 

Well, he'll tell them some day. Just not right now. But that was how much Todoroki trusted you.

He was also so grateful that __(u/s) was comfortable around you. __(u/s) knew of his and your relationship and although they were a bit weary of you in the beginning, they ended up loving you later on. You proved that you retained no feelings for the half and half student and that you had the same intentions as the rest of class 1a. Which was to be his loyal and supportive friend.

"Didn't mean to interrupt. Mina and Toru wanted some ice cream." You quickly went to the freezing, grabbing two tubs of the frozen dessert along with two huge spoons.

"Don't take too long, bestie. I want to get some cuddles with __(u/s), too." You joked as you walked out to the common area.

------

Midoriya saw you approaching the group and was the first to assist you.

"Here, let me get that." He grabs the two cold containers, placing it on the table. "Who wants which flavors?"

He calls out to the gang while a few responded back and you helped the All Might fanatic. Once you finish passing out the bowls, Todoroki and his partner come out with a few salty snacks to add to the menu.

You sat in between Midoriya and __(u/s) on the floor with a plate full of assorted goods. Todoroki and __(u/s) share a bowl of chips and ice cream, the couple feeding each other occasionally. You smile at your best friend, so happy for him.

Although you were a bit jealous that he found love before you. You felt like a third wheel whenever both of them would ask you to hang out.

Oh well. Romance will come whenever the time is right. Besides, you weren't that focused on relationships nor did you really have anyone in particular that you liked.

Your thoughts refocused on the blaring music coming from the TV, indicating the start of the movie. You excused yourself after a while, heading to the kitchen to grab some more water bottles for yourself and for a few.

When you reach the kitchen door, a small swirl of blue energy blocks your way. You watch as the ball of energy expand and white electrifying rays spread from the center. Before you could react, the energized orb immediately explodes, the blast causing you to fall onto your bottom. Not only did you feel the force push you back, but you felt a sudden weight holding you down.

"__(y/n)! Are you okay?" Midoriya and Bakugou are the first to respond to the blast with Todoroki not too far behind them.

"Y-yeah, I think so?" You replied, carefully sitting up. You look down at the weight on your lap, noticing it to be a small child with ___(hair color) hair and a single streak of white and red. When they peer up, you see dark grey and light blue eyes staring back at you.

"Mommy?" The child blinked up at you then smiled brightly. "Mommy! I found you!"

"M-m-mommy!?" You screeched out, feeling the little one embrace you tightly.

"You're a mother?" Uraraka chimed in.

"I didn't know I was one!"

"Mommy, where did your big belly go? Did my little sister finally come out? Where is she? I want to meet her! I'm so excited to be a big sister!"

"Excuse me!? Little sister?"

"You had another baby?" Hagakure gasps loudly.

"How? I never got pregnant! I don't even have a boyfriend nor am I seeing anyone!" You answered her back then sighed loudly. "H-hey kid, ummm, first off, are you okay?" You wanted to make sure this tiny stranger wasn't injured.

"Yes, mommy! I'm okay."

"Alright, well, I hate to tell you this but I'm not your mom. But maybe I can find her for you?"

"What do you mean? Why do you say that? Of course you're my mom!" Her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"It's just kind of impossible. Listen, you said that I had a big belly and you were waiting for your little sister, but right now, I don't have that big belly. I didn't even know you were having a sibling."

"M-mommy, are you-you j-joking? It's not funny! Waah!" Your future daughter begins to cry loudly and you immediately hug her.

"Don't cry! Everything will be alright! We're going to find your mommy, okay?" You look around the room to your classmates, sending them a pleading look.

"Hey man, that's your brat." Bakugou stuffs his hands into his pocket, about to not involve himself in your little dilemma. He didn't have patience for children at the moment.

"Bakugou!" You scolded him. "She's not a brat. She's just lost and scared.  Take it easy on her. And if you want to be a hero, help me find the kid's parents. Isn't that what a hero is supposed to do?"

"I ain't no babysitter!"

"Dude, that's not manly at all! Let's help them out." Kirishima places a hand on his blonde friend's shoulder.

"Time travel!" Midoriya blurts out of nowhere. Once he receives his classmates' confused gazes, he finally begins to clarify. "I think she's really your daughter, __(y/n). She looks a lot like you and she seems really attached to you. She must've came here from the future when that blast happened. That's the only plausible explanation."

"I'm sorry that everything is confusing and scary right now, but I think I figured out what's going on." Midoriya squats beside you and your daughter, placing his hand on her back. Your daughter sniffles a couple times before looking at the green haired boy.

"Uncle Deku? How... how come you're so small?" She wipes her eyes while he could hear a few snickering in the background.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you're noticing that everyone is different. It's because-"

"Daddy!" Your daughter gasps loudly when she finally sees Todoroki. She jumps out from your arms and rushes to the dual quirk user, holding her tiny arms up to him. Todoroki blinks at the child, unsure of what to do.

"Huh? How come you're not holding mommy's hand?" She notices Todoroki's fingers linked with __(u/s).

"D-daddy?! You mean, Todoroki-kun is the father?" Midoriya shrieks at the reveal.

"W-what?" __(u/s) frowns deeply, slowly slipping their hand away from Todoroki. "You mean, you and __(y/n)? But I thought that... "

"Wait, no, that is impossible. She must have me mistaken for someone else. __(y/n) and I do not harbor any feelings for one another nor do we share any children together. Please believe me." Todoroki attempts to grab __(u/s)'s hands, but they back away quickly.

"Yeah! Shouto's right! We're only best friends. That's it. You know that. How can we have a kid together when we're not even a couple? He likes you; not me. I might be single, but I'm really not interested in anyone at the moment."

"Daddy, what is going on? I thought you love mommy?" Your poor daughter was unknowingly exacerbating the situation.

"I... I gotta go." __(u/s) starts to gather their things.

"Please, wait." Todoroki grabs their arm but they pull back suddenly.

"Don't, Todoroki. This is too much. I don't think I can continue this." He tries to plead with them to stay, but __(u/s) shakes their head. "Just, please leave me alone. And please don't contact me. Either of you." ___(u/s) eyes both you and Todoroki.

Your best friend watches sadly as __(u/s) leaves, the room being weighed down by the silent tension. It was only when Denki utters a word that brought back the noise.

"Damn... " The electric hero feels a sudden, sharp jab to his right side. He looks at the source to find Jirou glaring at him.

"Mommy? Daddy?" The little one blinks at Todoroki and then at you, uncertain of what just transpired. You knew your best friend needed space to himself for now so you decide that you would approach him later. Besides, you felt like you were responsible for his breakup. You felt too embarrassed to face him.

So instead, you focus on your little girl, gently grabbing her hand and pulling her to the side. Midoriya begins to explain to your daughter why things were so different and she slowly begins to understand.

-------

Todoroki walks outside of the dorm building, situating himself on the first few steps. His mind tortures him by replaying the scene where his relationship crumbles. He doesn't understand. What could he have done to preserve his romance with ___(u/s)?

But then his mind directs him to his future daughter. Todoroki was a bit angry, yes, but he couldn't blame the young child seeing that she came from a very different timeline. It honestly wasn't her fault.

Then who's fault was it? His? Yours?

No, it was no one's. If he was truly meant to be with you, why wasn't he jumping for joy? Because at this point in time, he was simply not attracted to you. He honestly didn't understand how you two formed a family together.

Then his mind wanders elsewhere.

Would being around you continue to ruin his future relationships? Would he truly be happy if you ended up being his lifetime partner? According to his future child, you two were going to have another one so that had to mean something.

But he didn't love you. 

Yes, he cared deeply for you and you both knew everything and anything about each other, but you and him had a different kind of bond.

Then the thought of sacrificing his friendship with you for the sake of his future relationships began to hurt his heart. But you'd understand, right? Todoroki wanted to find love eventually. He also did want to work everything out with __(u/s).

But would separating himself from you be the right answer? How would that affect the future? He felt so torn. He has a family with you in the future, but his heart does not yearn for you. And you don't love him back like that either.

Right?

As he thinks on his feelings for you, he goes back to when you two were children and when you first met. He remembers almost everything that you two shared together all the way up to the present. 

The arguments. The late night study sessions. The dangerous villain encounters. The hero internships. The cultural festival. The laughter.

Your warmth. Your kindness. Your smile.

His heart slowly starts to beat faster.

But he didn't love you, right?

[a-d-curtis]

Haggling the High Stakes

Everyone knows that Aang loves to haggle.

It certainly had become a running joke among their friends at least. Thankfully Aang’s haggling abilities had improved in spades from the first time Katara had witnessed him trying to negotiate with a pirate. Skills improved, he still brought just as much enthusiasm to it now as he ever did.

Katara found it pretty ironic, that for a guy who put so little stock in “worldly possessions”, the act of bartering brought him such great joy. Truthfully, Aang really did care little for “possessions” – he didn’t own a lot of things, keeping his life almost monastically lean. But there was something about the act of haggling -- the game and theatrics involved in getting the best price -- that would bring out the shrewdest of tradesmen in him.

Aang “talked price” in a way that was so obviously airbender. The way he and the vendor would flit from topic to topic, bantering good-naturedly, talking about seemingly unrelated topics that would then circle around to either drive up or down the price. The way he would feign interest in another item at the stall to, in a round about way, pull down the cost of the original. Or even walking away to examine another vendor’s wares to then be called back by the first seller, who suddenly appeared more willing to part with a product he earlier claimed he couldn’t bear to part with. Aang’s tactics weren’t as directionless as they might appear from the outside; he knew the price he planned to end at, he just employed a lot of weaving and schmoozing and crafting in the getting there. It was rarely strait forward and involved a lot of dramatics, but in the end, almost always, Aang walked away with what he wanted and for a price few others could hustle.

It was not uncommon for Aang to spend forty minutes or more wrangling price with a vendor at a bazaar, only to turn around and give whatever he had bought away without thought. “It’s the quest, Katara! Not the prize…”

Since Aang rarely shopped for himself, he was notorious for offering his “skills” to others, to spend their money for them. “Oh, Suki… I saw you looking at that saber over there. Want me to negotiate a good price for you?!” “Hey Sokka, I see that bag does look great with your new boots, but don’t buy it unless they throw in the belt for free!” “Toph, let me help you out here. I’m sure I can find something here for better quality and half the price!”

It was not unknown for him to approach perfect strangers in an effort to keep them from paying too much. “What’s the problem, Katara?! That peddler was clearly gouging that guy! I’m pretty sure it’s part of my duty as the Avatar to keep people from getting ripped off!” “Sure, sure, Aang,” she’d placate him as she’d steer him away from other people’s shopping business.

The glow on Aang’s face after cutting a great deal was almost Avatar State-esk – a wide toothy smile, self-satisfied smugness, lots of backslapping and handshaking post-haggle with any truly artful hawker. Katara found it hard to hold back a laugh with how truly pleased her boyfriend got after “whittling a great bargain”: chest puffed up, arms swinging proudly as he would recount the play-by-play of the exchange, his footsteps barely touching the ground.

Aang claimed that he had learned from the best. “Monk Gyatso didn’t love things, but boy did he love the process of bargaining for things! And no one was better at it, Katara! Monk Gyatso was a real master of the art. Wish you could have seen him in the zone!”

A nostalgic, far away look coming to Aang’s smiling eyes, “Did I ever tell you about the time Gyatso traded his glider for a couple of hopping lamas? Well he bought them from a one-legged butcher who thought Gyatso’s glider staff would make a perfect crutch. Well Gyatso took the lamas and sold them in the next town over to a soybean farmer for twenty whole silver pieces! The farmer’s fields had gotten infested with chokeweeds (and everyone knows hopping lamas LOVE to eat chokeweeds!). The farmer was so happy he gave Gyatso a big batch of his fresh made Tofu as a bonus!

“Well Gyatso took the twenty silver pieces to the local carpenter and bought a mahogany peg-leg (complete with a built in boot) which he took back to the one-legged butcher to trade for his glider back. The butcher was super happy! Gyatso gave him some of the tofu too (with a suggestion that it made an excellent substitute for meat). Not only did Gyatso save two hopping lamas from certain death, get a big basket of fresh tofu, AND help out a cripple, he did it all without loosing a shilling!

“But that was just the beginning! Gyatso took the tofu to the All-Nomad Airball Tournament and gave it to Cook Lhakyi to add to the pre-games feast. Gyatso knew that Monk Sangyal, one of the Head Monks from the Northern Air Temple, had a thing for tofu, but he also knew it gave him some serious gas. You see, Monk Sangyal was scheduled to referee the match between the Southern and Northern Air Temples, but we all knew he never called a fair game for the South. But once he’d loaded up on tofu, let me tell you there was NO WAY Monk Sangyal could stay in his seat when he was gassy – we’re talking shooting ten feet in the air every time he, you know, uh, broke wind… so he had no choice but to bow out of that match as referee, which left Monk Dhondup as the backup referee (and he was always more fair). PLUS with Monk Dhondup refereeing, it freed up his front row seat for Gyatso, which is what Gyatso wanted all along! PRIME spot to watch the championship tournament, which was why he went to the market to buy the lamas in the first place! I tell you, the man was a haggling Master…”

Occasionally Aang would get so caught up in nattering a deal, however, that he would completely loose track of his larger goal. Once at the end of shopping for traveling supplies (and taking way too long to do it in Katara’s opinion) Aang proudly held up what looked like a pair of pirate eye patches he had just spent the last twenty minutes negotiating for. “Look what I got, Katara! I really walked away with a steal for these! Not only did I get a great price, but I got the guy to throw in the second one free of charge!”

“What are you going to do with one eye patch, Aang? Let alone two!” Katara asked in exasperation.

Sokka joined in, “Yeah, wouldn’t two eye patches kind of defeat the purpose? I mean, if you need patches for BOTH eyes, why not just wear some dark glasses?”

“Or go all natur-al – like me,” Toph added pointing a confident thumb to her blind eyes.

Aang’s posture deflated as he looked down at the patches in his hands. “I guess I just got a little caught up in the moment…” he admitted.

“No point in being a cheapskate chaffer if you end up buying useless junk, Twinkletoes.”

But Katara had laughed out loud a moment later when she turned to see Aang and Momo both wearing matching eye patches and chittering out of the sides of their mouths like pirates together. Katara was beginning to think that it wouldn’t matter how much older Aang got, he was likely to be a kid-at-heart forever.

And admittedly, she loved him all the more for it.

But when the two decided to get married, and it came time to negotiate the bride-price, Katara began to dread Aang’s affinity for haggling with a new kind of apprehension.

Honestly, the fact that paying for a bride was still a tradition at all in her village rankled her. But it was common practice in both Water Tribes for the prospective groom to pay a bride-price to the woman’s family upon engagement.

“It’s archaic, Dad!” Katara had argued heatedly. “Not to mention humiliating! To be… bought… like a good canoe or a new polar-bear dog saddle?! Its completely demeaning.”

But Katara’s Gran Gran had stepped in and put her foot down, “It is tradition! Tradition as old as memory in our culture. Paying the bride-price is a covenant that helps to solidify a marriage union, to make it a promise between more than just a man and his wife, but between the couple and their tribe. And you will not rewrite thousands of years of history in one fell swoop, Katara!”

And so the couple had begrudgingly agreed to go through the motions of negotiating the bride-price, which was done in a sort of ceremony, in front of the whole tribe.

………

The sun was just setting over the horizon as the tribes people gathered in the large rounded gathering hall for the negotiation. Given the high profile of who was getting engaged tonight, the turn out had been nearly comprehensive – most of the village’s families were in attendance to Witness. The tribes people sat close together, shoulder to shoulder with their children on their laps, all straining to see and hear the impending negotiations. The prospective bride and groom would enter last.

Aang flew in on Appa just a few minutes before the negotiation was scheduled to begin, giving the couple little time to talk before it all began.

As the two entered the assembly chamber Katara grabbed Aang’s elbow whispering in exasperation, “Cut it a little close, didn’t you Aang?!”

Aang shifted the knapsack on his shoulder and kissed her forehead in apology, “Sorry! I got held up gathering… well never mind. I’ll tell you later.”

As the two entered the packed room, the chatter quieted down, all eyes on them. Chief Hakoda sat on a mat to the east of a fire in the center of the room; Gran Gran knelt by his side on the south. Katara looked at the empty place by Hakoda’s side, knowing that if Sokka weren’t at Kyoshi Island today he would be sitting with their father. For a fleeting moment, she missed her brother terribly; feeling that somehow if he were here then perhaps he could help diffuse this feeling of dread in her chest.

Aang was directed to sit on a mat directly across the center fire from Chief Hakoda. Katara knelt down next to her Grandmother; Kanna reaching out a withered old hand and gripping Katara’s hand in hers. “It will all be okay, my little Snowflake,” Gran Gran whispered.

But Katara was not feeling like it would be okay. Her stomach clenched in nervous dread. She had no idea what to expect from tonight. Traditionally, a bride price would be paid in trade: a good pair of sled dog-foxes, or a two-week supply of tiger-seal meat, perhaps a leather handled hunting spear thrown in for finesse. However, with the end of the war, and the prosperity and commerce that had returned to the South Pole, money exchanges had become more common. And given that Katara’s father was the Chief (and Aang unlikely to pay in meat), a money price would be the most likely exchange.

To date, the prices in coin generally ranged from twenty to thirty gold pieces, although last month a man from the North had paid the unheard of price of forty-five gold pieces to secure the hand of a girl from Katara’s tribe!

Katara looked over at Aang and groaned. He didn’t look at her, his face serious in the flickering firelight as he regarded her Father. She thought she could see his brain figuratively warming up for the negotiations ahead; preparing for the haggle of a lifetime! She had to look away.

Katara imagined Aang driving such a hard bargain that he would manage to buy her hand in marriage for a warm winter blanket. Inexplicably the thought made her chin tremble as she bit back tears of shame. This whole thing was so humiliating!

Katara knew that these events were anything but quick. Sometimes, when an agreement could not be decided upon right away, they would retire and continue the negotiations the following evening. Katara sighed thinking of Aang’s incredible bargaining stamina, and wondered how many days this would take. As the ceremony began, she tried to prepare herself for a long night…

A large basin of water and a small ceramic jug were brought in and set on the floor opposite the fire from Katara and her Grandmother. Aang and Hakoda both dipped their hands in the water: the washing of hands symbolizing the washing away of any past ills between them. Then both drank from the jug, first Hakoda, then Aang, as a promise to bring no deceit to their bargain and as a show of goodwill between the two parties.

Hakoda cleared his throat, preparing to recite the traditional opening words. He spoke as much to the gathered tribe as to the man seated across from him, “Avatar Aang, what brings you to sit at the fire with me this night?”

Aang responded also from rote, “Chief Hakoda, I sit with you this night to ask for the honor of marrying your daughter,” Aang’s silver eyes caught hers for a moment, “the esteemed Master Katara.”

Everyone there knew of their history. How she had left the village to rescue the Avatar, had helped to teach him to waterbend, had fought with him to end the Hundred Year War, and how they had fallen in love in the process. The two had been a couple for years now, this moment coming as a surprise to no one. But tradition called for certain sentiments to be expressed regardless.

Hakoda spoke up boldly: “Katara is my only daughter, my strength and support, my one great reminder of her mother who I loved with all of my heart. To part with her would be to loose a piece of my own soul. What merits do you claim, Avatar Aang, to be worthy of the hand of my daughter?”

Although she knew this type of speech was all part of tradition, Katara was nonetheless moved by the genuine emotion behind her father’s words. Back strait and tall, Hakoda sat with the confidence of a proven chief. But even with his chin held high, Katara could see that his eyes were soft, even a little sad.

This tradition was part of protecting his daughter, of ensuring that she would be cared for. Although she still did not like the idea of a bride-price, Katara began to appreciate the value in the ceremony. For her Father’s heart, if for nothing else.

All eyes now turned to the Avatar. It was his turn to respond. To build himself up, to lay out the many reasons that he could and would be a suitable match for Katara. To prove that he was powerful enough, capable enough, to protect her and provide for her needs.

But Aang said nothing.

Katara’s eyes darted to his face as he stared into the flickering fire, trying to read his expression, to understand the unexpected pain behind his furrowed brow.

She was fairly well acquainted with Aang’s griefs, and she had a pretty good idea what kind of insecurities he was wrestling with right now. She knew that he worried for her safety, that he worried that somehow her affiliation with him might put her in danger. Aang had worked hard to forgive himself for running away before the war, knowing that he had been just a child, afraid and lonely. But the knowledge that whether he had run away or not, he was the reason his people were massacred, plagued him. As much as she tried to reassure him otherwise, he worried that she would somehow be the same. His anxieties had gotten so bad a couple of years ago that he had even tried to cut ties with her; to break up in a half-baked attempt to keep her safe. Of course she hadn’t bought it, and truthfully he hadn’t really wanted her to, but it had dug up some intense buried pains for both of them. Sometimes she wondered if he would ever be free of his twin demons: grief and guilt.

After an uncomfortable silence Hakoda cleared his throat and asked again, this time his voice a bit softer, “Aang, what makes you worthy of my daughter?”

Aang looked up, locking eyes with Hakoda, and spoke quietly, “I’m not.”

Hands covered mouths as whispers were exchanged among the Witnesses, an audible murmur rippling around the room. Katara was sure she could hear her brother slap his forehead in exasperation all the way from Kyoshi Island!

“Aang…” Katara started to speak, but was silenced by her Gran Gran’s firm hand on her own. Of all the times to leave your Air Nomad humility behind, Aang, it would be now! Be Water Tribe and proudly proclaim who I know you are!

“I am not worthy of Katara,” -- another murmur rippling through the crowd -- “But I will do everything in my power to keep her safe and to make her happy. She means everything to me…” Then sitting up straighter, he added with conviction, “And there is no one who would love her more than I do.”

Although this was a discussion of marriage, it was strangely taboo for declarations of love to be expressed. This event was more about practicality than sentiment. Katara could see some people shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Even though it was supposed to be Aang trying to convince Hakoda of his merits, Hakoda spoke up for his soon to be son-in-law, helping him to save face in front of the Tribe. “I know, Aang. I do not doubt either you capabilities nor your motives.”

As though worried that Aang might declare his adorations again, Hakoda quickly pushed forward the process. “As you know my daughter is dear to me, and her leaving my household will be a great loss to us all. In a demonstration of your capabilities to care for my daughter, and as a small way to alleviate our disadvantage at her loss, I propose that we agree to seventy-five gold pieces as a bride-price for your engagement to Katara.”

There was a loud buzz of surprise from the onlookers. Seventy-five gold pieces?! Starting a negotiation this high was unheard of! Katara looked at her father in surprise. Why?

The noise grew steadily until the tribe members shushed one another loudly to hear the Avatar’s response.

Katara knew this was when the counter offers would begin. Somewhere well below the first offer but with room to go up in price as the two parties would parry back and forth until landing somewhere in the middle.

“Chief Hakoda,” Aang began, his voice carrying throughout the room, “No, I couldn’t pay seventy-five gold pieces…”

Katara’s forgotten embarrassment returned as she looked down to her lap, remembering why they were here, waiting for “Aang the Haggler” to begin bargaining in earnest.

“… I simply could not feel right about paying any less than five hundred gold pieces.”

There was a collective gasp from the room… before it exploded in noise!

Some people got to their feet, some yelling out, still others sat in astonishment, mouths hanging open stupidly. Cries of “Has he lost his head!?” and “Clearly this foreigner does not understand!” and “FIVE-HUNDRED GOLD PIECES?!” could be heard.

Hakoda himself sat back in silent bewilderment.

Katara, finally overcoming her own shock, hissed at Aang, “Do you even HAVE five hundred gold pieces?!?” before her Gran Gran slapped her hand again with a “Hush!” and “It is not your place to speak in this!”

Aang, face stoic, (although the edge of his mouth showing the slightest hint of a grin) looked at Katara and nodded, almost imperceptibly. Then, reaching into the rucksack at his side, he pulled out two full drawstring pouches, and set them before Hakoda with a heavy jangle.

Hakoda looked down at the bags in silence, then up at Aang like he would protest, but couldn’t seem to find his voice. Aang sat at the ready, as though prepared to offer more. Surely this was the strangest bargaining in the grand history of bride-price talks! This night was destined to go down in tribal history: a story to be told, and retold, for generations to come!

Aang spoke again, “No amount of money or treasure could ever compare with the privilege of spending my life with Katara. No matter the agreed upon price, I will forever be in your debt. But I hope you will accept my offer -- but a fraction of what I wish it was -- that I may receive your blessing and permission to take your incredible daughter, Katara, as my wife. I promise to honor her, and respect her, and to cherish her with all that I am until my soul moves on from this life to my next.”

The room was still loud and chaotic as Hakoda, his voice seemingly still unrecovered, looked back down at the bulging coin bags in a stupor. Then nodded once. Twice.

And that was that.

Technically, the bride-price was agreed and the engagement was official. Too bad there was too much disbelief and chaos in the room for the usual congratulations to be extended.

Gran Gran pulled on Katara’s elbow, leaning into her with a husky laugh, “One thing I like about your Airbender, Katara – he never ceases to surprise me!”

Katara couldn’t agree more.

……..

Having received Hakoda’s nod of approval, Aang wasted no time in grabbing Katara by the hand and pulling her out of the hubbub of the still startled and excited crowd. Running and giggling the two stole out into the chill night, only slowing once the din from the assembly hall became but a distant hum.

The moon shone her beautiful beaming face brightly upon them, as though sending her congratulations. They listened to the music of the back and forth of the waves on the icy shore. For a time they just walked in silence, holding hands and bumping shoulders, smiling widely. The glances they shared were, for some reason, unexplainably coy, like their new official change in relationship status hadn’t had time to feel real yet.

At long last, Katara broke the silence with a tease, “Not your most impressive performance as a haggler back there, Aang.”

Aang, unable to hold back his radiant smile, looked down and laughed. “Ah, but even a good haggler would never low-ball a truly fine treasure when he finds it. I could never insult your Father with an offer so far below its worth.”

Unable to hold back her smile, Katara raised a flirtatious eyebrow at him, “Oh yeah?” She couldn’t help but feel important, and so, so loved. Contrasted with the humiliation she had felt earlier at the idea of being bargained for, the difference was stark.

“Yeah.” Aang sighed with a dopy grin as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. “Besides,” he began, his mouth close to hers, his breath coming in warm puffs on her lips, drawing her own mouth to tilt upward seeking his.

“I still walked away with a steal!”

……………

A/N: I must admit that I based some of this on my own love of haggling =) So… how much for a review, eh? ;)  ;)

[princesssarcastia]

more aos!trek sense8 au

hi! I’ve decided to commit to the crazy and continue writing this au.  i have no fucking clue what I’m doing, but I am a sucker for outsider POV, so uh.  have some outsider POV.

                                                           —

Little Nyota has a voracious appetite for languages and alien cultures and the stars; smart as a whip, too.  None of them laugh when her five-year old brow furrows and she declares she’s going to learn all of the languages, because—

Well.  If Lela would believe it of anyone, it would be her niece.

But this is...unexpected.

After that Starfleet recruiter turned up at their class, she begs and begs and begs, twirling around the yard to find one old-enough relative to take her on a tour of the outpost in their city.

Lela knows what it feels like to be so excited about the future you can’t breathe, so she smiles and agrees.

The tour guide for the Starfleet outpost is Vulcan, of all things; a rarity, though more common here than other parts of the world.  The dry heat of their city is apparently similar to that of Vulcan. 

And when the Lieutenant greets their group, Nyota straightens her spine and offers the ta’al right back, with a carefully articulated Vulcan phrase.  A greeting.

Lela stares at her niece in shock.  No Uhura had taught her that, and it wasn’t offered in school yet.  How...

The Lieutenant raises an eyebrow, more expression than Lela’s ever seen on a Vulcan, and says something else to Nyota, who nearly vibrates with excitement before screwing up her face and replying again.  She didn’t just pick up stock phrases, she’s actually speaking Vulcan.

They head out for the tour soon after; Nyota whispering to one of her invisible friends the entire time.

No one seems to know how Nyota learned to speak Vulcan, when Lela asks, and eventually they write it off as part and parcel of raising a linguistic genius.

—

Alexei watches on, curious, as his nephew goes through what looks like basic fencing sets: lunge, parry, riposte, repeat.

Every so often he will adjust his stance, as though he’s being corrected.

Another one of his mind-friends, no doubt.  After everything he’s seen in his life, Alexei saw no reason to doubt Pavel’s claim that he shared a telepathic bond with six other people.

It didn’t hurt that verifying their existence was relatively easy, once Alexei had their names.

“Watch your footwork on your retreat, Pashenka,” he calls firmly, observing how Pavel reacts to the interruption and the criticism.  Smiles, when his nephew corrects himself again and throws him a grin without pausing.

These mind-friends of his are good for Pavel. 

—

Amanda retreats to the balcony in the early morning, as she always does.  The cool night air hasn’t entirely dissipated yet, allowing her to enjoy the fresh air until the heat of the Vulcan day chases her back inside. 

Today, Spock follows her.  He’s spent less and less time sitting with her as his schooling progresses.  It hurts her heart, a little, to watch him draw away, and she suspects the attitudes of his classmates may have something to do with it, but she also knows her son’s devotion to be just like his father would have pulled him in that direction anyway.

So she gives him as big a smile as he can be comfortable with when he settles across the table from her. 

“Mother, I have a query,” he says solemnly.  Her mouth twitches at the expression on his face, just a little, but she knows better than to laugh at her serious boy.

“Go ahead, Spock.”

“Do humans ever exhibit signs of telepathy or empathetic abilities?”

She blinks.  “Certainly.  Humans of non-human descent often take on such abilities.”

He frowns, just a little, and she sees she must have misunderstood him.  “But do humans ever spontaneously develop telepathic bonds with one another as children?”

Something in her stills.  She recalls her studies of the Eugenics Wars on Earth and takes a deep breath.  “Not in recent memory, but there are unconfirmed reports of such bonds developing before the Eugenics Wars.  It’s believed if the ability ever did exist naturally in humanity, it died out then.”  Amanda hesitates, then says, “There are some family records of that period to indicate that my ancestors may have possessed something like this ability.”

Spock’s face clears, and Amanda knows she guessed correctly.  “Spock,” she says gently, “have you experienced one of these bonds?”

“Yes, mother.  Six of them.  Nyota and Jim were unable to determine the origins of the bonds through their research, but I predicted you would have some knowledge of it.”  Something she wouldn’t hesitate to call satisfaction or pride on a human brushes across his face. 

“Six,” she breathes.  There is no reason to lie, and Spock’s preternatural telepathic abilities are well documented.  This is not beyond the realm of possibility. 

Sarek, she knows, will ask how long this has been happening, want to calculate the distance between Spock and these other people, measure the strength of the bonds.  But those are questions for Sarek to ask.

Instead, Amanda asks, “What are their names?” and sees her son’s face brighten for the first time in ages

—

Sharon monitors the signals from USS Shenzhou, USS Farragut, and USS Prometheus, all schedule to check in with Command today, when she notices a sonic anomaly in one of the transmissions.  Only, they don’t look like subspace, more—

“..hear me?  —lo, can you hear me? —fleet command, —me?”

Her eyes narrow.  That voice doesn’t sound right, and they’re not hailing from any assigned frequencies.  How the hell...

She boosts the transmission.  “This is Starfleet command; state your name and location.”

“Oh, thank god!  Uh, my name is Nyota Uhura and you have to send a ship to Tarsus IV, now!  Governor Kodos, he’s—”

The voice cuts out again.  Sharon frowns and responds.  “Kid, I have no idea how you got on this frequency, but this is reserved for Starfleet communications only.”  She makes a note in the log and then scrambles the line.

Only, five minutes later it happens again.

“Starfleet command, can you hear me?  This is Nyota Uhura again, you have to listen, please he’s ki—”

Who the hell is this girl?  “Listen, Uhura, this frequency is reserved for Starfleet Command.  You need to clear it for official business.”  She reaches out to scramble the line again when her voice comes through, much clearer this time.

“Please, he’s killing them, he’s shooting them!  You have to listen, please!”

Killing?  “Who’s killing who?” She says sharply, hands hovering over the controls.  God, what the hell, the girl sounds genuinely distressed.  Val’tk turns to look at her questioningly and she waves her hand at him.

“Governor Kodos, on Tarsus IV.  He’s—he shooting them.  He told them he had to kill them, the crops are failing, they don’t have enough food, please you have to send someone right now!”

“Tarsus IV?” Sharon replies.  “The new colony near uncharted space?”  She hesitates.  This would be a hell of a prank to play, but...

Muting her transmitter, she turns to Val’tk.  “When was the last transmission from Tarsus IV?”

He eyes her, but pulls up the logs anyway.  His eyes race over the data.  “A few days ago; nothing out of the ordinary.”

She frowns, and unmutes.  “Look, nice try, kid, but seeing as you’re on Earth and Tarsus hasn’t reported crop failures of any kind, there’s no way what you’re saying is true.”  A few more seconds and she initiates traceback on the signal, putting her somewhere in eastern African Confederation.  

“Now, I’m ordering you to surrender this line, as it’s reserved for Starfleet Command only.”  And she scrambles it again, kicking Uhura, whoever she is, off the frequency.

But then the kid comes back again.

“Starfleet Command, this is Nyota Uhura, again.  I’m not going to stop until you listen to me!  Please, just—please.  Jim needs your help!  They’re running away from the guards now but I think—I think everyone’s dead,” her voice breaks, and Sharon hesitates again.

Jesus, this is crazy, there’s no way.  But...oh, fuck it. 

“Look, Uhura, there’s no proof what you’re saying is true.  Where are you even getting this information?”  She asks.

The line falls silent, for long enough that she considers switching it off again, but then Uhura comes back. 

“You can...you can contact the Vulcan embassy. What’s your name?”

And now they’re back to crazy, but there’s still something about this...”Lieutenant Sharon Cartwright.”

“Lieutenant, contact the Vulcan embassy and tell them your name.  They’ll put you through to...to someone who can confirm what’s happening.”

“Look, kid, I don’t have time for—”

“Please, I’m begging you, please.  The longer you wait the more people are going to die, just contact the embassy!”

Fuck.  Is she really doing this?

“Hey, there’s...” Val’tk interrupts.  “Someone from United Earth just requested access to the Tarsus IV data transmissions.  It’s here in the logs.”  Sharon turns to him and feels something uneasy work through her stomach.

She stares at Val’tk for a long moment.  “Alright, kid.  Please hold.”

What even is the line for the Vulcan Embassy in San Francisco?  Her fingers fly through the contact list, and she pulls up their number.

Man, she’s going to get in so much trouble for this if they’re wrong.  “Vulcan embassy, this is,” she blows out, “Lieutenant Sharon Cartwright from Starfleet Command.  I’m told you can put me through to someone to confirm what’s happening on Tarsus IV?”

A pause, a long pause, where Sharon goes back to thinking, this is nuts, I just got pnked by some asshole with a ham radio, when the Vulcan says, “One moment.  Connecting you to Ambassador Sarek now.”

“Ambassador Sarek?” she blurts, but they’re already putting her through.

The ambassador doesn’t waste any time. “Lieutenant Cartwright, I can indeed confirm what Ms. Uhura has told you about Tarsus IV.  Governor Kodos’s guards have opened fired on the colonists, for reasons unknown at this time.  We do not yet know how many are dead.”

Sharon just...stops.  Checks that she’s really taking to the Ambassador from Vulcan again.  Stares back at Val’tk, who hasn’t stopped looking at her.

“I’m going to...put you through to Commander Aldrin, Ambassador.”  She mechanically transfer’s the Ambassador’s line, sends a notification that her CO needs to pick up the comm right the fuck now what the fuck is happening.

Then she takes Uhura off hold.  “Uhura, the Ambassador confirmed your story.  I don’t,” Sharon laughs shortly, hysteria bubbling up her chest, “I have no clue what’s going on, kid, but I’m pretty sure you do.  Where are you getting your information?”

Crackling silence, then, “I share a telepathic bond with one of the colonists.”

“And what’s his name, kid?”

“Jim Kirk.”

Telepathic bond, fuck.  How clear is it?  “What’s Jim Kirk,” she looks at Val’tk pointedly, “doing right now?” Val’tk moves hurriedly to pull the information up.  Fuck if this isn’t either of their jobs, but also fuck if Sharon’s going to foist this off on someone else.

“Running.  He’s—they’re running.  When he figured it out he grabbed people and they starting running and the guards started shooting and now they’re outside and it’s loud and—”

I put this kid on hold, Sharon thinks.  I kicked her off the line, twice.  “Okay, Uhura.  It’ll be—” alright? no it won’t, fuck, “the Ambassador is talking to Starfleet right now, we’re aware of the situation.  Just keep talking to me, okay?  Can you do that, Uhura?”

“...yes.  Yes, I can do that, Lieutenant.”

—

Chris blinks at the sight of that crazy Russian genius kid everyone keeps going on about waving his hands in Spock’s face yelling about math.

And then raises his eyebrows when Spock starts clearly arguing back, with more agitation in his movements than Chris has ever seen before, even that one time they got into it with the Tellarite delegation on that one planet.

Huh.  Now that he thinks about it, they’re about the same age, even though Spock seems so much older in Chris’s head.

“Lieutenant Commander Spock,” he calls out, stepping forward to insert himself into the conversation, just because he’s curious.

Spock immediately straightens and pulls out of whatever staring contest he’d been in.  “Yes, Captain.”  He salutes, picture perfect, while the Russian kid is still pulling himself out of whatever fugue math-rage he’s in.

“At ease.”  Chris nods to the kid.  “And who’s this?”

“Oh!”  He gets off a salute and immediately starts babbling.  “Chekov, sir, Pavel Andreievich.  Sorry, sir.  We were just arguing about the mass gap and Yang-Mills existence.”

“Of course you were.”

—

Hendorff spend the entire shuttle ride trying not to send angry, confused glances at Uhura.  His abdomen is still bruised like a peach from where she planted her foot in his stomach out of nowhere, just because he hit the townie hitting on her.

Yeah, he was buzzed, but she was clearly miles ahead of this asshole.  She should be thanking him.

But instead, she and the asshole spend the entire ride sitting next to each other, leaning into the space between them.  He’s had classes with Uhura before, last year, and they see each other in passing around campus; not once did she seem like she was...basking in anyone’s presence like she is right now.  Even helped him with his fucking seatbelt!

At least the asshole seems just as awed to be sitting next to her, but come on.  He calls bullshit.

And then the shuttle lands.

They dock right on campus and the other cadets start unlatching and pouring out the hatch, bleeding off in twos and threes while Captain Pike does final checks before shutdown.  Uhura and the asshole practically leap out the door, and Hendorff catches up just in time to see them crash into a group of cadets waiting just outside.

He recognizes them, mostly; the same guys Uhura spends all her time with.  Not that Hendorff is keeping tabs, its just that everyone knows who they are.  Academy rumor has it they’re either going to run the ‘fleet someday, or burn it to the ground.

All four of them, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov, have the asshole in a death grip, seeming to clutch at whatever part of him and each other they can reach.  He feels something like unease run down his spine.  Maybe...maybe they know each other?

Fuck, of course they knew each other, you don’t hug a stranger like that.  Now the question is how the hell do they know each other.

As he sidesteps them (still basically right in front of the shuttle hatch, like they hadn’t noticed they were in the way and about fifteen different people stopped to gawk) he hears the asshole say, “When does Bones get in?  And where the hell is Spock, huh?”

At that point, he mentally throws up his hands and surrenders to the confusion.  No fucking way he’ll figure out how a dumb hick from Iowa knows Starfleet’s brightest cadets and Lieutenant Commander Spock before even setting foot on campus.

[scribblingfangirl]

CHILD SURPRISE | The Witcher - Part One

not my gif!

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Author’s Note: My first request! Thank you so much nonnie! I’m sorry it took me so long and I really, really hope you like and enjoy what I came up with. I’m very aware that this is mostly a shorter and changed recounting from Ep. 6 and that you’d probably wanted to see more of the aftermath, but somehow that’s where my mind went and I had to follow it. Please excuse me if I went totally against your will. I could do a part two if you wanted to? Or rewrite it?

word count: ~ 1.9k

request: Hello! Please could you write something where the reader is Geralt's child surprise (instead of Ciri) and they find out that Geralt said "I'd rather use my child surprise as bruxa bait"? Perhaps set during that mountain scene with Jaskier & Yen? 🌷

warnings: swear words, mentions of death, spoilers for Episode 6 of The Witcher

.•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•..•´¯`•.

You were sitting on a bench in front of the tavern when they came back. The room you were actually supposed to wait in seemed to grow smaller by the minute and your bouncy legs were no longer satisfied with walking the same line up and down while waiting impatiently for Geralt and Jaskier to return.

You hadn’t been travelling around with them for long. As the daughter of a common farmer, you would’ve never travelled with them, but there was that little and annoying law of surprise. Once claimed, the law was inevitable. And well, long story short, your father had been saved by Geralt and kind of insisted on the law as repayment. They then parted ways and Geralt said that he’d come to get was is rightly his. A few years later their paths crossed again and Geralt met his child surprise. You.

You quickly jumped up as you saw them in the distance, running towards them. “What happened? And who are they?” you asked curiously, pointing at an old man, you’d later know him as Borch, and his two female warrior companions.

While Geralt gave you an angry look, otherwise completely ignoring you as he passed, Jaskier hooked your arm in his and pulled you with him. “Nothing a kid like you has to be concerned about,” he said as you both followed the others into the tavern, “but there might be a story coming up.”

x-x

And what a story it would be. You were off to a dragon hunt! You couldn’t believe it! And so the race to the mountaintop began. It was actually a rather pleasant adventure if one forgets about the death of that hirikka creature and Sir Eyck. Having other people around you meant that you didn’t have to spend time with Geralt or better, he didn’t have to spend time watching your every move. Jaskier, however, he probably should have.

“We’ll watch each other’s backs until we reach the next peak, then every man for himself. What say ye?” the dwarf leader asked Borch.

“Let’s go.”

“Go on. I’ll catch up,” Geralt said in your direction, but looked solely at Jaskier and then followed the mage called Yennefer.

You had yet to get properly introduced to her, but you’d seen the glances she had thrown you over the camping fire and during your travels. Each time it felt like cold water running over your back and it was as if your blood turned to ice. “Quick question, do we like her?” you asked Jaskier as you watched Geralt walk away, following his instructions and walking behind the dwarfs.

“I don’t.”

x-x

“Yeah, you’re right, this is a shortcut… do death!” Jaskier exclaimed as he leaned slightly around the curve, glancing warily at the wooden pathway.

“We should turn back,” Geralt said behind you, putting a hand on your shoulder, “This is not a place for a little girl.”

“I’m not a little girl!” shaking off his hand you stomped up to Jaskier, following his glance, “I’m not afraid of heights!”

“You heard the girl.” Yennefer grinned and for the first time, her smile was full of warmth and encouragement. The ice in her eyes gone.

“See ya on the other side!” the dwarfs yelled as they passed you and started walking along the floating wooden path.

“Yeah, yeah, yes,” Jaskier mumbled to himself and then turned around to you, “Ladies first then?” But before you could say something Yennefer had already pushed him in front of you, urging him to go on.

Everything that happened afterwards was a blur to you. The adrenalin that rushed through your veins and your beating heart the only memory of the horrible accident. You didn’t see how Borch lost his footing, only heard Jaskier scream. The wooden path vibrated dangerously under you and let him push you against his chest.

“Geralt! The planks won’t hold!” Yennefer shouted as another vibration went through the wood, more planks loosening up under your feet. And then you heard Jaskier gasp and Yennefer sigh sadly.

x-x

You were sitting beside Geralt on the stone, overlooking the beautiful yet tragic view, still shaking due to the aftershock.

“Here,” Jaskier wrapped you in a blanket as he took a seat beside you, stroking your back soothly while he turned to Geralt. “You did your best,” he said in the most calming voice he could muster, “There’s nothing else you could have done.”

The wind blew while he waited for Geralt’s response and his hand left your back to join his other one in his lap, as you heard him breathe out. “Look, why don’t we leave tomorrow? We could head to the coast. Get away for a while. A little bit of sea salt never hurt a child.”

Yet again Geralt didn’t say anything, just kept staring into the distance. You three, probably a very unique looking bunch, stayed there in silence, basking in the last sun rays of the dying sun. Then Geralt stood up without a word, making his way to Yennefer’s tent on top of your own resting place.

“Come on,” Jaskier whispered, embracing you, “Let’s get you to bed.”

x-x

The next morning you were awoken by a bird cry. You were laying back to back with Jaskier, sharing the blankets as it got cold during the night. Heaving yourself into an upright position, you realised that you were alone. “Jask? Jask!” you woke him up, nudging his side, “Where are the other ones?”

Jaskier lifted his head with a snort. “Uh,” blinking he looked around confused, sniffed and sat up as well. Then he stood up, still a little bit stiff from sleeping and walked around the camping site. “Geralt? Dwarfs?”

“Well thank you, I could’ve done that myself.”

“Alright, but thanks to me you see the dwarfs over there though,” he said as he pointed to your left and in the distance, you saw little tiny black dots lined up along a path. 

“They’re not moving though. You sure-”

“Yes, let’s go!”

x-x

You had laughed at the dwarfs as you passed them. “Are we… queuing for something?” Jaskier had asked. The moment you and Jaskier had seen the scene in front of you, you started to run.

“Oh fuck!” Jaskier quickly turned around to you, a shocked expression on his face. “You didn’t hear that from me.”

“Really?! Dead bodies everywhere, an old man fell to his death and that’s what you think about?!”

“I’m panicking, okay?! Let me!”

“Yeah, whatever. What hell happened?”

x-x

A lot, apparently. Not that anybody would tell you, or Jaskier for that matter. You were sitting with him, looking down at Borch, Yennefer and Geralt who were talking about things neither you nor the bard needed to hear.

“What happened?” you asked while you scratched the ground, carving tiny lines into the sandy stone floor.

“Hm? Your guess is as good as mine,” Jaskier stated and looked at you.

“No, I mean way back then. How... Why did Geralt save my father’s life?”

“Oh… well, that’s a funny story actually,” Jaskier chuckled embarrassed and scratched the back of his head, clearing his throat.

“How could we ever know?” Yennefer then asked loudly as she stood up which made you and Jaskier snap your heads towards them. “Disregard for other’s freedom has become quite your trademark.”

You couldn’t make up what Geralt answered, but it obviously didn’t help as Yennefer angrily shouted, “I didn’t need your help!”

“Like fuck you didn’t!”

“There, say you heard him from him,” Jaskier mumbled beside you and you punched his shoulder, “Ouch.”

“And you, you flit about like a tornado, wreaking havoc, and for what? So you can have a baby?” Geralt's words made you both look down to them again. “A child is no way to boost your fragile ego, Yen. I would know! I have one now!”

She scoffed. “I’ll take advice from you about children as soon as you take responsibility for the one you bound to you and then abandoned!”

“Abandoned? She’s here, isn’t she?”

“Are you really sure about that? I haven't seen you talk to her once these past few days. If I didn't know better, I'd say she belonged to the bard,” Yennefer said, already walking up the slope you and Jaskier were sitting on. As she passed you, she threw you a pleading look. Run as long as you still can.

Meanwhile, Jaskier had stood up and had made his way downwards to Geralt. You stood up as well but kept your distance. Unsure if you wanted to walk after Yennefer, who was making her way back or stay behind for Jaskier.

“Phew! What a day!” Jaskier tried to lighten up the mood with a chuckle, “I imagine you’re probably-”

“Damn it, Jaskier!” Geralt suddenly screamed, making you flinch as his voice even reached you in full force. “Why is it whenever I find myself in a pile of shit these days, it's you shovelling it?!”

“Well, that's not fair-”

“The Child Surprise, the djinn, all of it! If you hadn’t run into that stupid ambush and dragged the farmer with you, he would have never been able to burden the law of surprise upon me! All I wanted was to save your ass and now look at this! If life could give me one blessing, it would be to take you off my hands! And you know what? The child too! Because I'd rather use my child surprise as bruxa bait but that’s not going to happen as we’re bound by destiny!”

It felt as if you were back on the wooden path, the planks breaking under your feet as you plunged into unknown depths. It shouldn't hurt that much. You knew it, it was as clear as the morning sky that Geralt had never liked the thought of you. You were a burden he had picked up during his travels but never welcomed like Jaskier.

Your legs were moving without your consent, carrying you away from Geralt, away from Jaskier, away from the last piece of life you had. What were you now, an orphan? You parents didn’t die, but you wouldn’t be able to go back to them, you couldn’t run from your destiny. Could you?

“You could come with me, you know?” Her voice was soft, even caring as she appeared by your side. Or where you fast enough to catch up with her?

Your mind was racing, your view blurry with the tears that had found their ways into your eyes. You wiped them away, sniffled and looked up into the face of the mage. Her smile was warm and inviting. “You might not be my child surprise, but seeing as we both are bound unwillingly to that witcher, we might as well stick together, right?”

[insomniacowl]

Neon Genesis Evangelion analysis chapter 12: Eva Unit-03 Secret of Class 2-A

A piece of Shamshel core fragment

 While Shinji and friends were fighting off the angels invading Japan, Evangelion Unit – 03 and Unit – 04 were under construction in Nerv’s American base. The two new units were different from Unit – 02 in two ways. First was the choice of the color, but more importantly, the equipment of the S2 engine. Unit – 03 was meant to be the first model to be built to use the S2 engine. 

Just to refresh, the S2 engine is just a name that humans are using to call the fruit of life that the angels carry in their core. Then it raises the question, “How was it possible for Nerv to have built it in the first place?”

We are told that the S2 engine planted into unit – 04 was made by restoring the shard of Shamshel’s core we see in the early part of episode 5. Yet the implementation fails and Unit – 04, along with the whole of Nevada base disappears in what can be called the “Mini second impact”.

 The moment of destruction

 Due to this unforeseen (?) accident, America immediately transports Unit – 03 to Nerv headquarters in japan. The headquarters is then granted the authorization to conduct an activation test on the unit and they choose Suzuhara Touji as their candidate.

 We shall not delve into the fate of Unit – 03 as I believe there is not much to be said of it as of yet (We will get to the dummy plug later chapters). But let’s talk about the core of unit – 03. As we have seen in the past few chapters, each soul contains the soul of the pilots’ mothers. Therefore, we can make an educated guess that Touji’s mother is inside Unit – 03’s core. 

Then we come to the question of, why are all the pilots in class 2-A of the third Tokyo private academy? One thing that all of these students have in common is that they have been identified as potential Eva pilots by the Marduk institution. In other words, even if it wasn’t Touji, the pilot of Unit – 03 would have been chosen from Class 2-A, and it was Touji who met the required criteria for the selection.

Kaji the Great detective

 Let us quickly cover what the Marduk institution is. On the surface, it is an association created to choose the appropriate candidates to pilot the Evas. But we learn in episode 15 through Kaji that it is made out of 108 non-existent paper companies, showing that such an institution does not exist. In other words, it is just a cover for Nerv to avoid potential problems that arise in their process of choosing the pilots. 

 It suggests that the process of choosing Eva pilots is highly inappropriate at the least and it will cause a social outcry if the method was to be made public knowledge.

Type that worries, and the type that demands

With this in mind, we can ask the question, why did Marduk institution brought all of these children together in this class? To understand this, we need to understand the criteria for becoming an Eva pilot. To move the Evas, the pilot needs to have ridden it on their own accord. But this is not enough to explain the special trait of the students of school 2-A.

 For example, in episode 18, we see Kensuke pleading Misato that he wants to pilot the Eva. Yet even when he showed such desire to do so, he was not considered as a pilot. Rather, it was Touji that was chosen to be the Pilot of Unit – 03. Of course, there is a substantial difference between ‘want to pilot’, and a ‘have to pilot’ (remember that Touji was offered to have his sister in a better hospital if he were to become a pilot), there is definitely a more important reason to why Touji was chosen over anyone else.

 Let us also consider that if they are in the same class at school, then they are all fourteen years old. We could try and the hypothesis that age might be a requirement in the criteria of piloting the Eva. While it may not be needed for them to be exactly fourteen years old, it is around this age that teenagers undergo puberty. 

 Perhaps it is the confusion regarding self-identity during this stage of development that makes it easier for them to share their emotions with the unknown entity that resides inside Eva’s cores.

Our problematic trio

 To add to that point, teenagers are not too childish, but neither do they tend to have the necessary social skills like adults. Think about it for a moment. Neither Shinji, Rei, nor Asuka can be said to have been sociable. It is too apparent in Rei that we can gloss over, Shinji too showed much difficulty in forming close bonds with his peers, and Asuka had a bright and positive demeanor, yet she was plagued with a distorted sense of pride. This kind of mental state likely serves as a positive reinforcement in their desire to pilot the Evas. Returning to Kensuke that we touched on, he can be considered as one of the more social ones among the students of Class 2-A. So was Hikari.

 To such children, they did not need to rely on Eva; rely on ‘a different self’ for a sense of identity

Kensuke is out of consideration due to his sociable nature

Hikari is also out due to her being too normal 

Due to such difference in the key trait (required to pilot the Evas) among the children of class 2-A, we could say that this is also not the only criterion that Marduk institution used to choose these students. If so, my argument to what this criterion is can be answered by considering the Shinji and Asuka's common trait; having their mothers’ souls trapped inside of Eva’s core.  

My argument is that the most important criteria to be selected as the pilot of Evas is not in any of their inherent abilities, but if there is a suitable soul that coincides with the potential pilot. In the settings document of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s story, it explicitly mentions that ‘Inside of Each Eva’s core, it carries the soul of the pilot’s mother.’ (except for Unit – 00 and the mass-produced units. I will talk about them in the following chapters). Therefore, it is likely to be a fact that the minimum required for the activation of Evas is the existence of a corresponding soul of the mother of the pilot in the core, and from here on out, I will talk with this being taken as common knowledge.

This is another point that supports this theory. It can be easy to overlook as just a coincidence, but all of the students we get to know in class 2-A do not have a mother. For Kensuke, we only hear of his father. Hikari lives without her parents, just her sisters. Even Touji only has his younger sister, Father, and his grandparents. All this points to the fact that All of the students in class 2-A do not have their mothers at this point, and we can make an educated guess that they have been sacrificed in creating the spare cores. And their children have been collected using the Marduk institution and are classified under the name of ‘reserve Eva pilot’.

It is a frightening thought, but if we take a moment to think about it, it helps us answer other questions. Why would these children, whose families are not too well off living in the danger zone of Tokyo – 3? We can only make an educated guess as there are no clues to what has allowed this to happen. But I present to you a scenario of what could have happened. The mothers of the students of class 2-A signed up for the contact experiment in exchange for financial rewards during the period of war and famine. The contact experiment is the one that we know both Yui and Kyoko took part in and they have likely met a similar fate. The results of the experiment their families were told would have been ‘Death from unforeseen circumstances’ and the families would have been compensated financially and with the right to live in Tokyo – 03.

 It is a terrible thing to imagine, but this is the best I could think of to answer the questions of, why are all the students of class 2-A selected by the Marduk institution, how can the ‘right soul’ be ready when the pilot has reached the age of 14, and have a specific one exist inside the core of Unit – 03. Such questions cannot be answered if the pilots were selected at random, and this scenario can answer many questions that we have asked in this chapter.

Ritsuko: Among the pilot candidate…

Gendou: You choose the fourth one?

Ritsuko: Yes, there is one that we can prepare the core for

Gendou: I will leave it to you

 To add some final points, in episode 17, Ritsuko tells Gendou that “there is a child that the core can be prepared in a short notice”. This implied to us that the core and the children exist as a pair and the right combination is required for the piloting of the Eva. In other words, somewhere in Nerv headquarters, there exist as many spare cores (With a soul inside each of them) as there are students in class 2-A.

 All that is needed is for Ritsuko to choose the appropriate one and plant it into Unit – 03. 

Touji is handsome when seen up close

What puts the nail in our coffin is presented to us in the PSP version of the game ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion 2’ there during the fight with Leliel, if we were to select Touji, he meets his mother, just as Shinji did in the TVA.

The kind-hearted brother going to meet his sister (Sister complex)

 Ending off, let me address the point that is bound to arise, the argument that the soul inside the Unit – 03’s core being that of his sister.

 This claim, at least within my ability to search, first appeared in Kitamura Masahiro’s “Complete Evangelion explained”. He argues that Ritsuko’s line about being able to "prepare" a core immediately as referring to using Touji’s sister who is injured and in hospital. Indeed, we are not shown the state Touji’s sister during the series, therefore I can see why he makes an assumption that Touji’s sister is either in a vegetative state or has gone crazy as Kyoko did. 

 I argue that this is a gross misinterpretation made from ignoring the role Marduk institute plays in the pilot selection process, thus it is losing legitimacy as it does not take into consideration all of the relevant pieces of the puzzle. 

Furthermore, he supports his argument by referring to the tone of Ritsuko’s voice as she says that line as being depressed. But I would like to point that even if it wasn’t Touji’s sister, Ritsuko who knew the truth of the cores would not have said that line in any other way.

 Even without child abuse, Nerv is already a horrible place.

[justsassysworld]

Five Demons and a Baby Part 1

Fem!reader x The Conglomerate 

Word count: 1,498

Five Demons and A Baby

Mr. Scarabee, you probably don't remember me, but we met at Mardi Gras. You swept me off my feet, laughing and dancing the night away. We finished the night at my apartment. When I woke up the next morning you were gone, with no words and basically no way of getting a hold of you.

I've written and rewritten this letter more times than I could count in this last week, too many times really. Every time I get ready to send it, I start thinking, He left, he wouldn't care what you have to say. Then another part of me argues, He deserves to know, you can't put this off. I made it all the way to the post office the last time, but the person looked at the address and warned me away. They told me some unbelievable, terrible things about you, and the people you associate with. Things that scare me.

The strange thing is, if they're wrong, I wouldn't worry so much, but if the rumors are true, I know I'll need your help, our baby will need your help.

God, writing that, even knowing I might not even send this letter, sets my nerves on end. Maybe the stories set my imagination off, but I've been having strange dreams ever since that night.

Sorry, I'm rambling. The important thing for you to know is that I'm pregnant, and it's yours.

Curled up on your couch, you second guess yourself, again and again. It's been almost a week since you finally sent it. It must've shown up by now and you find yourself constantly rationalizing, refusing to admit it might not have been the right thing. The book in your hand and the silence of your home do little to quell the voices in your head.

      Sudden banging at your door has you jumping and letting out a startled shriek. Before you even have time to think, it explodes inward, making you jerk to your feet. Your eyes search for whoever, or whatever, forced it open, but find nothing. Your chest heaves as his energy rolls into the room.

His well polished, black leather shoes catch your eye first. Trailing up his body, your gaze takes in his expertly tailored suit, his tattooed fingers grasping his cane, the beautiful gold paisley detailing on his jacket, green scruff at his jaw, firm and set lips, and finally it settles on his glowing eyes, one green and one purple.

A feral grin lifts his lips as he purrs, “Evening, chaton.”

Shadows rise around him, twisting, rolling, reaching. For you.

Wanting to take a step back, you feel yourself topple, feet caught by something. With a squeak, you brace for impact, but quick as a whip, he clasps your wrist, jerking you back up and into his chest. Gasping, you look to your feet, to avoid his gaze and to see what tripped you, but what you see makes no sense.

Your feet are encased in darkness.

Soft yet firm fingers dance across your jaw, lifting your eyes back to his. His other hand snakes down to your belly, resting just over your belly button.

“Is it true?” he whispers, voice thick with some unknown emotion.

Biting your lip, you nod, voice failing you.

Drawing in a deep breath, his grip firms. The air grows thick as he bites out a sharp command and your home is suddenly filled with strange men. In the blink of an eye, you watch in shocked horror as they start to pack up your apartment. Far faster than should be humanly possible, you find yourself in an empty room, alone with a man who, while being the father of your unborn child, is a stranger.

Fury has you remembering how to use your voice. “What the hell? What the fuck are they doing?”

You try to jerk out of his embrace, but before you can his fingers are twined in your hair, pulling you close, well, closer.

He dips his head to rest it against yours.

“Cher, cher, cher,” he breathes against your ear, sending a shiver through you. “I've got many enemies out there, people just waitin' to find some chink in my armor, and here ya are.”

Your lips tremble as his breath fans against them.

“I tried protectin' ya, leavin', but it won't be no time before they find ya now, and you were right.”

Confused, you ask, “About what?”

“You need me to keep ya safe, both from my enemies and our bebe,” pulling back, he searches your eyes, the intensity searing through you. “It ain't common for my kind to have children, at least not ones they stick around for, so I've got a lot of research ahead of me.”

“Oh,” you squeak out, shocked by the power of his emotion. It's almost enough to make you forget his underhanded tactics.

You try to move away again, but when he just holds you tighter, you resign yourself to tell him off from right there in his arms. Taking a deep breath, you look deep into his eyes, and go off.

“I know you're some big, bad ass, boss type man, but that doesn't mean you can just sweep in and take over my life. It might not be much, but this apartment is my home, and I have no reason to leave it. The only reason I sent you the letter is that you deserve to know about your child, it had nothing to do with wanting anything from you. If I need anything, or something comes up, I'll let you know, but until that happens, kindly have your goons bring back my stuff and get the hell out.”

You feel the growl before you hear it and just as you recognize the mistake, you find your back pressed against the wall, body caged. His eyes glow, both with fury and literally.

Fear has you frozen. What the fuck are you doing? you ask yourself. You've heard the stories, you know just how dangerous the man in front of you is, and stupidly you antagonized him. One night, one incredibly hot, satisfying night, and you felt far more comfortable around a relative stranger than you should have.

The evil grin that slowly stretches across his face is equal parts terrifying and, much to your shame, arousing.

His breath tickles your lips as he mumbles, “Oh, chaton, chaton, chaton, while I love this fire, you need to remember just who you are dealing with. I can be a very understandin' man, but only as long as you remember that I am a very dominant man, and while the only pain you feel at my hand you will beg for, I will take care of the both of you. Which means you will listen to me.”

As you open your mouth to say...something, his lips meet yours, commanding, domineering, drawing a response. While it starts hard and rough, the kiss softens as you do. Melting against him, your hands skim his body, one wrapping around his neck, the other grips his shoulder. His growling chuckle sizzles on your lips, drawing you deeper into his embrace. Everything he does calls to you in a way nothing ever has before. His teeth scrape against your tongue, your lips. Moans and gasps pour from you as you're helpless to stop them.

Time has no meaning; seconds, minutes, hours, what're those? All you need to know in this moment is the feel of his hands against your stomach, against your neck, how his body cradles and presses you against the wall.

Overwhelmed, needing air, you turn your face away, breathing deep. Not deterred, he trails kisses down your jaw, nibbles your neck, biting down where your shoulder meets it.

“Scarabee,” you gasp, making him growl and grind against you.

Just as his hand moves to your chest, a deep chuckle sounds from behind him. Your eyes snap open and you find Scarabee's back to you, blocking out the intruder.

“What the hell are you doing here, Zhuk?” he grinds out, fury evident in his voice.

Another chuckle sounds from the new man. “My friend, did you really think you could leave the way you did and no one would follow? You have been distracted lately and we have been concerned. Of course we were curious as to where you were going.”

Your brows furrow. “We?” you squeak out before you can stop yourself.

The laughter that fills the room comes from multiple sources and your curiosity has you stepping out from behind Scarabee before you can stop yourself. You find yourself trapped by four sets of eyes.

They all look shockingly similar, and yet completely different, a shocking mix of kind and sever, curious and indifferent.

“Scarabee,” you manage to squeak out, “who're your friends?”

Before you can get your answer, you see a flash and everything goes dark.

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 107

 “Oh, look.  They’re making it rain.” stated Aid flatly, just seconds after the match started.

 “Lucy can protect against that, right?” I asked hopefully.

 She nodded, but was pursing her lips as if she was considering something.  “Please, just call me ‘Luce’ already.” insisted Luce, still staring upward.

 “This isn’t just rain…  They would’ve waited till we were outside if it was.” replied Four after several seconds of silence as we all thought.

 “You’re right.  Wow.” agreed Mariasha.  “Interesting move.”

 “What?  What’s happening?” I asked, feeling more than a little afraid to find out.

 Staring at the ceiling, Mariasha said, “Apparently, the quadruplets came up with a way to cause extremely rapid oxidation.  I’ll counter the rusting, but this is going to take some focus.  I won’t be able to look for Layla at the same time.”  Seeming to catch my look without even glancing at me, she said, “Yes, I technically could, but we’re fighting at their level, remember?”

 I frowned and asked Four “Any chance you can counter the spell itself?”

 He shook his head.  “I don’t have any idea how they’re doing it.  They probably bounced ideas off their father last night or asked their mothers for assistance, guessing you’d have a metal base.”

 I sighed and briefly considered giving up.  I was out of my element and obviously a poor commander for this, but my father would throw a fit if he heard I just gave up.  “Valeria, get our attack force to the top of their base.  I’ll need you to stay here as another line of defense, redepositing anyone who appears back over there.”

 She nodded, and a portal immediately appeared next to her.  The others hurried through without a thought, but I stared at the opening in awe.  I could feel the metal around their base, and an idea popped into my head.

 “I believe I just felt their flagpole, it’s metal like ours!” I exclaimed excitedly.  “Valeria, can you create tiny portals?”  When she nodded, I said, “Make portals just big enough for you to fire through at different locations around their base.  If you see an enemy fire, but be ready to widen the opening if I tell you too.  We can snatch their flag if you happen to create a portal next to it.”  Pointing, I said, “I think it’s a bit farther that way.”

 I grew excited as Valeria searched, concentrating on finding that flag before our enemies found ours.

 “Aid, Dea, and Stormcrow are out.” announced Mila, probably not even a minute after the team had left.

 “What!?  What happened?” I asked in surprise.

 My teammates both shrugged.

 “Rona’s out.” announced Mila seconds later.

 My fortress was feeling all too much like a prison at the moment.  “Is there anyone outside of our fortress yet?”

 “Not that I see.” replied Mariasha immediately.

 I felt her ability to see other places was more than a little unnerving, but I was glad that she was on my team.  I took a little while rearranging the fortress to create a hallway from me to the outside, allowing me to see.

 Bolts of lightning rained from the sky, and the earth exploded outward.  Walls of fire appeared to block the path of my team.  Giant plants acted as water cannons, shooting from different directions.  Drones buzzed around in the sky, shooting small bursts of water.  In the middle of it all, Four, Lucy… er… Luce, and Doc were still moving forward.  The lightning veered off in odd directions, water bounced off invisible barriers instead of striking, and the group walked on air when the ground opened at their feet.  A gust of wind suddenly pushed at them, blowing their hair wildly, but Four held onto Doc before she flew off.  I had to remind myself that this was just a game to them.  Where I often spent weekends alone on video games, they had each other to practice warfare.

 “No…  Our flag’s gone!” exclaimed Mariasha.

 I stared at the spot where our flag had been uncomprehendingly for several seconds, and then I shut the fortress again, thankful that I didn’t see any blood splatter from an unknown source.  Layla had somehow traversed that battlefield and strolled right into our fortress because I wanted to see what was going on.

 “Open the portal wider!” I ordered in desperation, feeling their flag nearby.

 “I wouldn’t…” started Mariasha as I hurried through.

 I ignored her, looking at my surroundings.  There were stone walled corridors lit by torches, but I could feel the flag just beyond an ornate stone fountain.  Three small pools of water sat vertically from smallest down to the largest as the water streamed from a pot held by one of the quadruplets.  Her sisters stood guard, each by their own pool.  The rest of their team was there as well, but I was betting this to be some sort of secret passage.  I tried twisting the head of the lowest sister, having to dodge when a stream of water shot out from one of the other guardians till I fixed the head.  Was this just a trap, or was it really a passage?

 I stood there, glaring at the fountain and considering whether or not to just destroy the wall, when I noticed a seam around a stone in the lowest pool.  I used a spell to push it rather than risking myself this time.  The wall to each side of the fountain swiveled, revealing a path.  I hurried inside and grabbed the flag, which left me frowning.  The flag stayed in place even after the pole moved.  I was so focused on the illusory flag that I nearly missed the water shooting at me from multiple directions.  Luckily, a path to the side opened as my entrance had shut.  I jumped into it only to find Ella staring into my eyes.

 After helping Ella reset the trap, I went out to assist the others.  Something seemed wrong about me taking orders from the quadruplets, but I knew I was supposed to do what they said.  One of them was the team captain, and I had no hope of knowing which.  There was a water gun made out of solid metal as if it had been made just for me.  I gladly used it along with the different spells I knew to shoot water at Four and Luce, but I had to dodge quickly as some of the streams turned back at me.

 The battle was intense, but my team scored a point not too long after I had joined the fight.  Layla had captured the flag.  I was instructed to retreat and regroup with Layla, but found myself gliding alone underground on a sheet of stone not long after.  Wait, not alone.  Someone was holding my hand, but I didn’t know who.  I heard Layla tell me to open the metal fortress I had designed and obliged her.

 “Marisha?” questioned Messy when she saw me.  She studied me up until I pointed my floating water gun at her, and then I had to dodge as water appeared all around me in flashes of light, attempting to hit me.  I slammed the door between us shut, but heard knocking on the other side just after.

 “I got them!” exclaimed Layla a little after I heard Mila announce it.

 I had forgotten Layla was here.  Trusting her, I opened the door, but she wasn’t there after all.  Neither were Mariasha or Valeria.

 “Make sure to guard the base for us!  We don’t want them retaking it.” she told me from nowhere.

 Not too long later, I was standing closer to the mansion when I had a weird feeling pass through my head.  “We lost.” I stated in shock as the fact registered.  “I helped us lose!?”  Ella was staring into my eyes with a smile.

 Mariasha patted my arm.  “Everyone gets Ella’d from time to time.” she assured me.

 “Yeah, don’t feel bad.” insisted Four with a smile.  “The quadruplets played us from the start.”

 “Sorry if you feel weird.” apologized Ella.

 I stared at her for a second before quickly averting my eyes.  Her power was extraordinarily potent.  I knew there were spells to manipulate minds, but I hadn’t heard of anything quite that effective.  Without experiencing her magic, I probably wouldn’t have believed such a spell could be so effective.

 “So that room was a decoy?” I asked, putting the pieces together.

 “Made just for you.” stated one of the quadruplets with a big grin.

 “Please, don’t feel bad.” insisted another one of them.

 Then a third said, “Decoys are pretty common in our games, and having Ella guarding the decoy is just good sense.”

 I nodded, feeling the strategy did seem effective.  Bewilder the enemy and then capture them.  Still, I felt a little ashamed for falling into their trap that easily.  Father would be interested in hearing about this little match, despite my loss.  I really doubted he’d be too surprised that I lost after hearing what these kids were like in more detail.  Their abilities were extraordinary.