#even in claymore which is much more what they mean... everyone still looks so clean? pretty? just not rough enough

[art-heap]

I know I reblogged this before but I came back to maybe look thru the tags and replies for some suggestions and the unbridled rage I got upon seeing "you mean rwby? honkai impact? sailor moon? kill la kill? precure? she-ra? my little pony?" NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get that maybe some of these have Women or Girls Who Fight or are Strong and sometimes Diverse...

but fundamentally, None of them do this:

[twelfth-harbinger]

Hello!! I just finished reading your Zhongli piece and it’s so so good! I love the way you write and your descriptions, unlike other writers who just dive into dialogue and feels very 1D, yours is 3-D!! I love it! Do you plan on continuing the Zhongli one with part 2 NSFW?!?

Also, may I please request a NSFW Diluc piece with female reader, who’s his co-worker/bartender who works at angels share with Charles?

Thank you for your hard work!

A/n: Firstly, yes!!! & thank you!!!, ilysm <3. Secondly Diluc is fucking hot & this is something I couldn’t get out my mind once I read your request. Pls Enjoy ^^

Mentions: Master Diluc likes being called...Master Diluc. Don’t taunt him it’ll lead to something spontaneous and igniting! Bar sex.

Warnings: Nsfw! So spicy hehe

The Angel of Angel’s Share

He spotted you on his occasional endeavors to Angels Share, being an outstanding and tremendous help to Charles when it came to cleaning up and serving drinks to the patrons of his humble business. You insisted that Charles let you help out once in a while as a side job — you needed the mora. Upon getting Dilics rather passive approval in a letter you got in! You spend most nights tidying up, wiping down tables and cleaning glasses periodically. Many of the bar patrons converse with you. Calling you the literal Angel of Angel’s Share. Your beauty was no secret, every man and woman there simply adored you. How could they not? You were friendly, outgoing and most importantly, kind. Your smile was as radiant as the sun itself and of course Diluc had to witness it with his own two eyes. Word did not spread around his establishment without him in the loop. Kaeya frequented the bar more often to flirt with see you; he was a regular before, but now? You rarely go a night where you don’t see him, even if it’s for a short while. Charles has to make snide comments about him slacking off to get him to leave.

All it takes is one night for things to burn brightly into something new, a night akin to this one. Diluc stood behind the counter to relieve Charles for the night shift — he had been there all morning and the night before. You walked in as Diluc was speaking to Charles, you wasted no time in maneuvering to the second floor to clear those tables first.

“Enjoy your night off Charles, I’ll take it from here.” Diluc waved him away and well, it left you there with him. Not alone of course, not yet. As the night pressed on you entertained the customers, served them delicious drinks Diluc prepared and made friends with Stanley?? The busy happy hour of Angels Share gave you no time to take a break. Not until it was well after hours and Diluc had locked the doors to Angel’s Share for the night.

“Good work today.” You chirped happily, as you sat at the bar of the counter atop a stool. Diluc prepared you spiked wolf hook juice on the house; it had a bearclaw kind of taste to it. One of Dliuc’s hands held an empty glass whilst the other dried it with a plain off-white dish cloth.

“I should be saying that to you, you overachieved tonight.” He didn’t mean for his comment to come off as brash, even though it did. You glanced up at him over the top to your glass, your eyes narrowing slightly in amusement. He quickly corrected himself with a light clear of his throat. “Not...that, that’s a bad thing. You..did well.”

Talk about awkward, you and he hadn’t spoken much since your employment over the past few months. You were undoubtedly curious about this handsome man with hair the color of fire. All dressed in black and a wielder of a claymore. He had to have some form of immense physical strength to do so and it only made you wonder what else he could do.

“Why thank you Master Diluc.” Your lips curled into a coy smile as you peeked up at him over the rim of your glass once more. His eyes were like flames too, and his gaze made you burn. It’s strange, so many people address him as Master Diluc regularly and yet you were the only person that was able to stoke the fire within him. Intentionally or not he enjoyed the way it rolled off your tongue and he wanted to hear it again. His hand stopped moving in the glass and he set it down neatly next to the others that were lined up.

“There’s no need to thank me, everyone deserves recognition for their hard work.” He played it cool, you’ll give him that. You stood up, hopping off the stool to the bar, only to walk around it and move past him. You were shorter than he was, he saw the top of your head. He was in the midst of asking you what you were doing but you stopped in front of him to drop to your knees. He fucking froze, he watched you completely unsure of what was going to happen next. He prayed to the gods that you weren’t going to do what he wanted you to do. He wouldn’t be able to keep it together otherwise and he doubted he’d stop you. With a cheeky grin you stood back up with a large jug of homemade grape juice in a hand. He exhaled quietly, letting out a silent sigh that caught in his throat. His face remained straight with a hint of a slight irritable frown threatening the corners of his lips. You proceeded to stand in front of him, turning your back to him to pour a glass of his favorite beverage.

“I know you don’t drink and I heard you liked grape juice from your brother. Why not sit and join me for a while?”

His eyes drifted down the back of your figure before he stepped aside shamefully, Kaeya rubbed off on him more than he cared to admit. Even so, he was ignoring any and all signals you were sending him. Or at least he was trying his very best to. Certainly nothing came that easy— a passing thought you both shared. He sat beside you at the bar, it was silent for a little while. You looked at him with a slight turn of your head and moved to place a hand on your cheek. He lowered the glass from his face and looked over at you. Seeing him up close was making you nervous, you thought you had it in you to seduce this man but you began having second thoughts. He stared at you as if he was trying to read you like a book. It only made things more complicated which lead to you doubting yourself even more. Kaeya never made you this nervous even when he flirted with you.

“My brother told you I liked grape juice what a nuisance.” He said, breaking the silence; he had to the cat ripped out your tongue. You looked at the glass jug and then at him and finally smiled, breaking a light sweat from your overthinking.

“O-Oh, yes haha.. he was teasing you quite a bit.” Diluc didn’t find it amusing Kaeya could get under his skin like it was his job. A light ‘tch’ left his lips as he raised his glass. You followed suit needing more liquid courage than you initially thought. “It’s okay,” You sighed out, you cheeks warming from the bitter sweet drink. “Apple juice is superior in any case.” Diluc looked at you and a light smile crossed his features as he shook his head.

“It’s not.” He stated, “At all in fact.” You caught his semi playful gaze, you narrowed your eyes a little at the comment. “Sunsettia juice is even better in all aspects.” You chuckled and lowered your hand onto the table.

“Coming from the juice enthusiast himself why am I not surprised.” Diluc smirked a bit, finding your comment funny. He looked at you and your radiantly warm smile; it really did resemble that of the morning and setting sun. The two of you remained there conversing with each other well into the night, losing track of time. He hadn’t felt this at ease with anyone by his side in a while. Jean was a great friend to talk to but she was so busy he rarely got to speak with her. He was too in his own right, running the wine industry in Monstadt was no easy task.

“Do you enjoy working here?” He asked as you stood up to stretch, the tables in the back still needed to be cleared, a few drinking tankards, bottles and glasses were scattered about. His question made you think, you loved the night atmosphere of the tavern and the people that came with it.

“Of course I do, it’s very inviting I dare say more than Cats Eye.” You looked his way with a grin he stood up along with you a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Though I do have my work cut out for me here.” You quipped lightly before making your way to the back of the bar where a wooden bench table sat nestled in the corner with a small cabinet and barrel behind it. Diluc followed after to aide in an easy clean up you worked hard enough for tonight. With your back turned you bend over the table without fully walking around it to reach for the glasses and tankards. Your arms were quite short given your stature, without thinking too deeply into his actions Dilic stood halfway behind you to grab the bottle.

“It’s fine to take a break once in a while. There is no need to overwork yourself.” He stated plainly as he picked up the second bottle that sat next to the first. Unbeknownst to him you felt his presence the moment he stepped up behind you. He smelled like a freshly lit fire in the middle of the Whispering Woods his warmth drew you in. You stepped back somewhat unintentionally, your backside grazing him lightly as you turned around to face him. Even on your toes you wouldn’t be at eye level, he stared down at you a bit embarrassed by what he believed was his fault. He opened his mouth to apologize, you couldn’t stop yourself from stealing a kiss. When your lips pressed against his in a sweetened and heated kiss, you noticed Diluc tensed up. The bottles he had fell over onto the surface of the table. Upon hearing that you pulled away and stood flat footed against the edge of the able. You avoided looking at him and tugged on the ends of your hair sheepishly.

“Sorry I...don’t know what came over me, I thought maybe...“ With your half hearted apology you trailed off looking up at Diluc who stared down at you with a perplexed look in his eye. With his gloved hand he reached up to cup your cheek and leaned down to press his lips firmly against yours. His other hand moved up to hold the other side of your cheek. He wanted to kiss you the moment everyone left. Your lips moved in time with his, your hands finding themselves holding onto the sides of his coat. Without breaking the kiss, he lowered his hands to your waist and then to your thighs. In one swift movement he effortlessly lifted you to sit you on top of the table. The bottles on the surface rattled upon him doing so, slightly moving the table in the process. Your hands moved up his chest from his sides as his own slipped further down your legs to hold onto your waist. His pants were growing tighter by the second, you were so beautiful and he hadn’t voiced it yet. Not that he was given the chance to, the moment you both came up for air you pulled him into another fierce kiss, you legs locking around him in efforts to draw him closer. You needed him to ruin you on that table top and he wasn’t going to deny you of one of life’s simple pleasures. After all this man made it so that people could drink happily within the safety of Angel’s Share. Your tongue moved past your lips and Diluc gladly glided his own over yours to gain access. His hand moved back up to your cheek only to slip down to your neck to hold you in place as his other hand moved up the side of your thigh to squeeze. His leather gloves felt so good on your skin, you wanted to feel more of him.

Your hands moved from his sides to his pants, fumbling with the belts and buttons to try and get them loose. Diluc moved to kiss your neck, his warm lips trailing hot kisses against your soft skin. He made an audible sound, a muffled moan as he kissed the nape of your neck. You tugged him closer upon finally undoing his bottoms. His hand wandered down your side and moved to hitch up your work tunic, the other pulling onto the string to your top. He yanked it down to reveal your bare chest, as he exposed your legs and thighs. He was going to thoroughly enjoy fucking you on top of that table. A slight smile crossed his features as his index finger and thumb moved down to grip your chin, he tilted your head up to look into your eyes. Never has a man made you this weak with such a simple gaze.

“Is this what you want?” He asked quietly, he wasn’t going to begin without asking you. Your brows furrowed in need and you nodded as your eyes searched his face. His own were a bit complacent when he didn’t move to give you what he knew you wanted; he wanted to hear you say it. He only moved in to kiss you once more before his lips found the skin of your neck again.

“Diluc..please.” You whined, he smiled lightly against your neck and kept kissing. You wondered why he was only kissing you, unbeknownst to you his hand moved down in between your legs and his crotch to free his fully hardened member from the confides of his trousers. “M-Master Di—“ Your breath hitched in your throat and you moaned out the rest of his name, a deep growl moving past his lips as he slipped inside of you. He stretched you out continuously as you contracted around his length in utter bliss. Your legs squeezed around him and his hands gripped your waist and thigh. Pulling you closer to his chest as he bottomed out inside of you. Your eyes rolled back as he pushed himself further; your lips parted in a light moan and your hands tangled in his red locks. Diluc’s hand moved from your thigh to your neck to hold you in place briefly as he leaned back to look at your face. It was intoxicating, if he could get drunk off your facial expressions he would. He pulled back and thrusted hard into you, your body jerked up and the table moved along with the bottles and glasses on top of it.

You cried out in pleasure and your hips bucked against his. He bit down on his bottom lip to surpress a groan, he thrusted once again, finding a hard and steady rhythm that left your body jerking upwards against the table and your chest exposed for him to see. An alluring sight that made him thrust even harder and your loud moans to fill the atmosphere of the bar. Mixed in were his own light goans and mild grunts, even as he laid you flat onto the table he didn’t stop. Though the pace slowed a bit, he became more forceful with his movements which made your back arch into his chest and your legs shake. You were going to cum a lot harder than you expected, you could feel it and so could he, you caught wind of a faint smirk that slipped across his face as he kissed you. A kiss deep enough where you could lose oneself. Your hands tugged at his hair and your face pleaded with a need for release.

The bottles, tankards and glasses had since fell onto the floor of Angel’s Share. Not that either of you could be bothered by it now. As your climax rushed at you like a battering ram Diluc groaned out low into your ear the sound made your body quiver, you were about to milk him dry. Your hands slipped out of his hair and fell back onto the table as you convulsed in an intense high. Diluc held you in his arms and sat you back up, with your legs wrapped around him once again. He turned and sat on the edge of the table with you on top, allowing you to ride out the rest of your orgasm as he filled your depths with his hot seed. The feeling itself made you shutter as he buried his face into your chest and his arms wrapped around you, the moan he let out was something you could never get tired of hearing. The area in Angel’s Share that you two both shared had grown hot, the sweat you broke out was enough to cause your breathing to be ragged.

“Master Diluc...” You mumbled into his hair with closed eyes and a smile, his hands rested on your waist as his head rested on your chest. He moved back to look up at you, his hand moving to brush your cheek. He kissed your cheek as he pulled back to look at your face.

“Yes?” He replied, a smile crossing his features, you grinned at him finding the humor in his answer. You kissed him once more, this time slowly to savor the taste of his lips. He looked up at you, his eyes flickering like fire. “There’s going to be a shipment at the Dawn Winery from Liyue, Charles usually comes to pick it up but, I trust you enough to be there in his stead.” Upon hearing those words you knew you’d see him again.

“I will gladly be there, Master Diluc.”

Bonus

After your visit to the Dawn winery a few day ago, you decided to get an afternoon drink at Angel’s Share. Outside you ran into Kaeya and Diluc sitting at one of the tables outside. Kaeya spotted you first of course and when your eyes met Diluc’s a smile surfaced onto your face and his own softened a bit. Which, caught Kaeya’s attention quickly; being the absurdly perceptive man that he was.

“You’re here early, I thought your shift doesn’t start until sundown.” Kaeya spoke with a smile that was suspiciously sly. Diluc sat there with his arms crossed and a placid frown on his face, you sat with them and looked at Kaeya unamused.

“I thought I’d get a drink before my shift, I’ve been quite busy as of late.” You replied moving a hand to rest on your cheek, Diluc was silent and Kaeya looked between you both before his eye settled on you.

“Have you now? You know, a few days ago I went to the Dawn Winery looking for you and Diluc seeing as Charles said you were going to be there.” Kaeya held up a letter from grandmaster Jean and waved it in the air idly. “I needed to deliver a letter from the active grandmaster to Diluc and hoped I’d run into you there and yet...I couldn’t find either of you.” Diluc frowned deeper and your smile began to fade slowly, your hand moved up casually to cover your mouth a bit and Kaeya’s smile grew as he went on. “So, I took it upon myself to look around given your maids told me you were in his study.” Diluc’s expression shifted from displeasure to pure annoyance. You were a bit nervous though wondering if you two had been found out already. You knew the answer in the back of your mind though. “When I couldn’t find you there I saw a maid walk out of the west wing hallway with blush staining her cheeks so, naturally I went that way and much to my surprise there you two were behind the semi closed doors to dear brothers bedroom-“ Diluc snatched the letter from his brother and narrowed his eyes. He stood up and narrowed his eyes at him.

“You finished ?” He asked, short tempered as always, you were a blushing mess on the other hand, with your face covered in attempts to hide your embarrassment. Of all the ways to be found out, it had to be Kaeya happening across you two at the Dawn Winery! Kaeya chuckled lightly and leaned back in the chair.

“Ah-Ah you interrupted me brother, I was just getting to the good part.” You peeked up at him and shook your head Dliuc let out and irritable sigh and turned his back to Kaeya and then looked over at you, a smile on his face one he’d only show to you really.

“I’ll see you later.” You nodded with a warmth to your cheeks as he walked off ignoring Kaeya all together. The three of you knowing Diluc was working tonight with you again. It left you two sitting there in a painful kind of silence where only one of you were inflicted and the other found it jovial.

“He must like you.” Kaeya sighed raising his wine glass to his lips, you glanced over at him with a slight glare and he smiled your way.

“Your point?” You retorted, it lead to him shrugging lightly as he finished the drink. He stood up, preparing to take his leave, moving to place a hand on his hip.

“None really, it’s just he got to you before I could.” Kaeya wouldn’t admit to him being beaten at his own game, he also wouldn’t voice at how it made him proud and happy for his brother at the same time. You looked at him with a straight face and he chortled. “You’ll make each other happy, especially with the sex you’re having. I’m not worried.” He patted your shoulder before he walked off in the opposite direction of his brother. Leaving you there blushing and with the future to think about, one where both you snd Diluc shared.

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 53

For everyone reading this it’s only been about four days since the last update, but it’s been like two weeks for me between writing and editing XD Suffice to say, life was kind of weighing me down. But here we are. Claymore has appeared and everyone is together. Seemingly to Ix’s expectations. What does that mean? Read on and find out in...

     -Sonic, Rosy, what’s going on. Guys!-

     “Hmhmhmhmhm,” the laughter of Saber the Red filled the room that Sonic and Rosy had caught up to Ix in and distracted them from Tails’ voice across their wrist device radios.

     “No!” Rosy shouted in surprise as Saber had appeared but a moment sooner, and after Claymore had strode into the chamber. What made Rosy scream however was that Saber had taken one of his namesake weapons from his shoulder pylons and jammed it straight up into Claymore’s midsection.

     “Ho!” Claymore shouted as he looked down at the far nimbler suit of armor. “You would show yourself now, traitor!”

     “Come now Claymore, I had hoped you would be more of a challenge than the autogolems you have roaming these halls.”

     “Curious,” Ix remarked as he looked back at the scene behind him. “How long did I slumber for the Sword Knights to turn on each other. Truly, the state of this world is wrong.”

     Twirling his staff for but a moment above his head, Ix slammed it into the ground, the crystal Rose at its head shining a bright purple. In response the ground cracked and splintered, a torrent of Rings bursting forth in response.

     “Ho! “Claymore shouted as he fell to a knee. “You would risk your own destruction as well foul mage. I had believed you would face me in battle at the heart of Tower Point.”

     “There is little need,” Ix remarked as Fukurokov and Fang stared at him in horror. “I can eliminate two knights at one time and simply choose a new vessel to continue my pursuit.

     “Then…? Ho! It was a trap!”

     “Sneaky,” Saber commented and withdrew his sword as he stepped back from Claymore. “I did not come to be buried this day however.”

     “Neither did I!” Fang shouted before turning pleading eyes onto Rosy. “You hafta get me outta this Rosy!”

     “You think I’ll let you get away?” Doctor Fukurokov leveled Fang’s own gun at the treasure hunter’s head to emphasize his threat. “And what trickery is this! You promised me a return to glory!”

     Turning the pop gun from Fang, Doctor Fukurokov took aim at Ix, and quickly paled as the stone golems rose around them. It was the opportunity Fang needed however and he fell back and lashed out with his tail. “Gah!”

     “Sorry, but I’m not hanging around here any longer,” Fang laughed as he knocked his gun free of Doctor Fukurokov’s grasp. Catching it as he braced himself on his tail, he shook the firearm a moment before springing up into the air and shouted at Rosy. “This time, I’m ready Rosy!”

     “What!” Doctor Fukurokov’ shouted as he saw a Ring Gate appear in Fang’s path disappearing with the jerboa-wolf hybrid in an instant. “Who~?”

     “Was that really a good idea, kid?” Sonic asked looking at Rosy who looked quite pleased with herself. At least until Sonic asked.

     “Soni~c,” she whined and puffed up her cheeks. “Fang is my friend and I had to help him, and now that he isn’t in danger, I can try to talk Ix down.”

     “It’s too late for that, Lady Medium,” Claymore scoffed as a dark purple mist began to swirl around his left arm. “The foul mage has already taken his leave. You fell for his bait and now he likely has another vessel en route to the heart of Tower Point.”

     “To think you failed so badly Claymore. Your sleep has made you rusty,” Saber mocked the far larger autogolem knight.

     “And you have lost all honor, Saber! Ho!”

     With his trademark shout, Claymore became a well of gravity and everything in the room became stuck in his pull. Ix’s stone body along with his golems were pulled apart, the debris pulled into Claymore’s body. A body which healed and grew with the consumption.

     “What is this!” Doctor Fukurokov shouted helplessly before being pulled off his feet and right into a Ring Gate that appeared before him and vanished.

     “You would save your obvious enemy, Ring Mage, Sonic the Hedgehog?”

     “You’re getting closer,” Sonic shook a finger at Claymore. “Just drop the mage bit and we’ll be good. Well, after I clean up your mess, stop Ix, and yeah, make sure no one gets more hurt than you already have today.”

     “Hmhmhmhmhm, it’s too late for that,” Saber laughed and took to the air and out into the cavernous main hall beyond the small room everyone had gathered in. Form his new vantage point, he could see everything collapsing around him and an army of golems rising past the golden twinkle of collected Rings. “Pir’Oth has already begun to collapse the whole of Tower Point. Soon, Yoluku will wake again! Hmhmhmhmhm!”

     “Yeah, not happening! Let’s go Amy!”

     Grabbing Rosy’s wrist, Sonic took off so fast she barely got her feet under her. When she did, Sonic noticed the drag immediately as she still had a long way to go to catch up to him in the use of his speed. Not wanting to waste time, Sonic scooped her up into his arms, and just in time to avoid collapsing debris.

     “Phooey!” Rosy complained, puffing up her cheeks even as she nestled into Sonic’s embrace and blushed happily. There was conflict in that joy though as the situation had gotten dire. “Why did it have to happen like that?”

     “Doesn’t matter,” Sonic dismissed the past. “But if we don’t do–”

     -Guys! Please tell me you’re okay. The data is going crazy and the whole city is starting to collapse!-

     “Tails!” Rosy shouted before remembering she had to activate the radio on her wrist.

     “Tails! I was right! It was Ix, and now he’s collapsing the whole city. I don’t know what to do, but Sonic and me are heading towards Ix now! And hopefully, we stop him. But you need to get out of here! It’s not safe, and–!”

     -What is that!-

     “What is what?” Sonic asked as the whole of the catacombs began to tremble and shake as though the entire landmass was being torn apart.

     The answer did not take long to be discovered.

     As Saber flew out of the growing sinkhole Tower Point was becoming, he was joined by the Tornado under remote control from a desperate to not lose it Zooey. Following them, not in pursuit but rather growth, Claymore emerged.

     He had grown massive beyond compare, the collapsing city feeding his gravity well. Whether or not the people of the city were spared as he grew was a mystery, but his artificial frame could easily harbor them all as it grew.

     “Are we going to be able to get away from that?” Draw asked looking at the absurd sight of the impossibly huge autogolem and the storm of purple clouds that swirled around him.

     “I couldn’t rightly say, lad,” Gill confided from where he joined Draw on the Deck of the Skyskipper. “It’s likely that knight will consume us all.”

     “I thought I was going to be safe here!” Fang surprised Gill and Draw as he came out onto the deck. “What is that fox girl doing!”

    Running to the deck and leaving the other’s confused, the sight of the Avocado Green joining the Skyskipper had no meaning to Fang. Neither did Mighty as he ran by him to demand an explanation, even as Zooey worked to open a Ring Gate large enough for both airships. Mighty did not follow Fang or return to the bridge as he watched the cloud of darkness around Claymore’s left arm become a giant maw of light filled darkness. With that looming maw the knight took a massive bite out of the city with.

     “SO~NI~C!” Rosy cried out at the top of her lungs as everything collapsed around her and Sonic within the gigantic maw.

     “Just get ready!” Sonic yelled as he tossed Rosy into the air in front of him.

     “Wah~!”

     “Just don’t enjoy this too much!”

     Leaping up after Rosy, he grabbed her hand and spun her about into him as he curled into a tight ball forcing her to do the same. Together they formed one giant rolling hedgehog ball and plowed through practically everything in front of them with growing speed. Until finally, they broke apart and Rosy flopped onto her back with swirling eyes and red face.

     “I said don’t get too excited,” Sonic sighed as he looked back at Rosy behind him. “That was simply the Rolling Combo Tails and I came up with. You didn’t do bad for your first go at it though.”

     Unsteadily stumbling to her feet, Rosy smiled as Sonic flashed her a thumbs up. But the expression did not last for long. Sonic had donned a dead serious look and turned his attention forward to the heart of the clockwork sphere they had arrived in. Following his gaze, Rosy gasped.

     “Ix!”

     She could not find the words to continue however as there were two of him. A wooden one, and one like the autogolem knights. A clockwork skeleton with a suit of armor built onto it, and of course his signature flowing purple robes.

     “So, you really had laid a trap for us,” Sonic gritted his teeth as he looked at the swirling gyroscopic device around the autogolem Ix, and how it and the gears within the clockwork sphere had nearly come to a halt.

     “One I had not expected you to survive,” Ix acknowledged his plan. “Yet, you do not seem to be the hero foretold of by the medium. My plans remain unchallenged. You two are far, far, too late, and there is nothing the fool Sword Knights can do to stop me. I am but one step closer to returning at last to the side of my old friend.”

     “We’ll see about that!”

     “KYAA~!!!!!”

     “Amy!”

     Sonic stopped mid-preparation to leap forward as Rosy suddenly screamed. Turning back, he saw the red light of a Red Star Ring pouring from her left eye, her face trapped in a moment of true fear. “AMY~!”

     ~Those were the last words I remember hearing Sonic say while I could see him. Everything after that is almost pure darkness. I can’t really remember anything. But I know I saw the Gear Star Ring in my eye crumble some more, letting the gear be fully connected along three points of the star. I just wish I hadn’t seen that in Sonic’s beautiful green eyes. He looked so desperate as he reached for me, but then I was just gone. But I heard it. At least for a moment. It was my voice. I was talking but it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me, and I’ve never been so scared.~

    “I am most afraid not, Dirt Dweller. ‘My’ Medium is gone.”      

Scene 53 · CLEARED Party Crashing, to be continued

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And isn’t that a doozy to end it on? XD Don’t worry, the next scene is out on Saturday (or already if you’re reading this after the publication date). As for who has possessed Rosy. Well, I’ve finally introduced my AU’s villain and I hope you enjoy this initial tease into their character. Next scene is the end of Season 1 and huge changes will be coming after that starting April. Please enjoy and I hope you’ll continue to follow me on The Journey!

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Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”) - Vocaloid Version – Azina, Masayoshi Soken – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”)

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[blazingstar24]

RWBY Role Reversal AU

In which Ozpin is the evil immortal king of the Grimm and Salem is long suffering immortal ex who now run Beacon. This is really more focused on what  the Ozluminati to look like if they were team WTCH in this AU. So some are not a super clean switch of roles. Also this AU has some Ironqrow, Cloqwork, and Ozwood? Ironpin? Whatever their ship name is, in it sooooo yeah. This is gonna be a long post y’all hence the read more.

Let’s start with Qrow. Qrow would switch places with Tyrian.

So in this AU, Qrow is more like Jinx from Teen Titans. He can more or less control his bad luck semblance or even if he can’t, he doesn’t care who it hurts. He likes the chaos. He has fun bringing misfortune to others

Since he’s switching with Tyrian, Qrow gets a bit of a personality change as he is equally as devoted to Oz as Tyrian is to Salem. He’d never dream of punching Oz unless he asked him to do so.

Due to Qrow not having guilt about bringing bad luck, he’s a lot less angsty. More cocky like how he acted in his fight with Winter but add the fact that he’s going for the kill in every fight.

Not much of a strategy guy as we want to keep his allusion of being the Scarecrow in. So he’s definitely not the brains of Oz’s circle. He’s the wild card, the ticking time bomb you let off to spice things up.

Since Tyrian is a scorpion faunus and this adds to the creep factor of his character, Qrow’s bird transforming ability gets changed a bit.

Oz’s magic will now be more like Salem giving Cinder a Grimm arm. Oz needed Qrow to get to places faster so he gives him wings. Nevermore wings with the ability to use the feather attack with it as well. But use it too many times in one go, and Qrow will have to walk back instead of fly.

So if you hear the flap of wings, yet there’s no Nevermore in sight....there’s something more dangerous than a Grimm lurking.

Next up we have James Ironwood who clearly would be switching with Watts but also has some Hazel elements as Oz’s inner circle that we have the most info on only has 3 ppl(Qrow, Ironwood, and Glynda) so some ppl have to merge.

While James is switching with Watts, he is not on par with Watts in skills with tech. So he’s less of their resident hacker and more of their strategy guy and their in to get into Atlas’ secrets

A major change is the weapons Ironwood will use in this AU. While I love Due Process and the black one I have dubbed Guilty Verdict, I want Ironwood to be more a dark paladin rather than a gunslinger. He still had his guns before he joined Oz but I’ll get into everyone’s new backstories later(I mean just imagine the beauty of the image of dark paladin James kneeling at Oz’s throne)

Dark paladin Ironwood fights with a claymore. Tbh, I thought the anime verison of these swords were actually how they looked like. You know the big ass blades, but most blades were just longer and slightly thicker. Greatswords and claymores were about using two hands.

So his weapon is going to be more of the anime style rather than an accurate one because it’s RWBY and it’s somehow also a gun. He also wears more of an armor type of outfit to complete that dark knight look. Think Xander from Fire Emblem Fates type of look.

Ironwood is intensely loyal to Oz, not as much of a fanatic type as Qrow, but of like a Cinder in the v8 trailer. Oz found him at his lowest and built him back up to be his strongest warrior. So like a knight, Ironwood gladly kneels in front of Oz’s throne ready to give up everything if he is asked to do so.

While he is switching with Watts, he has a more Hazel like personality. Speak when spoken to kind of guy. More stoic and definitely does not argue with Oz as much as he does in canon. Also more like Hazel, whoever takes Emerald’s and Mercury’s place in this AU, Ironwood more or less looks out for them.

If Oz is against them, he’s most likely not going to step in as Oz’s word is law to him. But aside from that, he’ll make sure Qrow isn’t terrorizing them too much.

Finally we have Glynda who would be switching with Cinder. This is where things get a bit messy and are not clean switches.

Glynda’s story would be similar to Wicked rather than the Wizard of Oz story since Salem is on team good and Oz is on team bad. 

So like Glinda in Wicked, Glynda is willing to do what it takes to get ahead in life but with more of an evil twist rather than the Wicked version doing it because she doesn't see the point in fighting the status quo. 

Glynda is willing to what she must to gain power and to rise up in the world, thus Oz gives her the chance to do so. 

She’s already blessed with a powerful semblance, so clearly she is meant for great things. And those who cannot see the potential in taking more power are too weak to truly advance in the world. Why be a good witch when you could be a queen? 

The one thing that stays from her canon character is that she’s the one keeping the boys in line. Even Oz. How are we supposed to take over Remnant if we keep blowing our cover for your hot chocolate runs! 

What does get kind of messy is if Glynda would be the Fall Maiden in this AU. Since we all assumed Oz never had Glynda take the powers because she was too old to count as a young maiden. But Raven is able to be the Spring Maiden so I would say Glynda could become the Fall Maiden. 

Relationship dynamics between the three:

Glynda and Ironwood get along the best. This is less of them actually liking each other and more of Glynda doesn't have to keep him in line for the most part. Ironwood likes her work ethics and they mesh quite well when executing Oz’s plans. Neither care about the other’s personal life so they aren't here for friendship between villains with each other.

Qrow and Ironwood would be the second best working unit of the Ozluminati. This is due to Qrow constantly bothering James rather than James actively seeking out Qrow’s companionship. In the beginning, Qrow’s antics bothered James a lot. However, he has grown on him quite a bit. Qrow tends to flirt with Ironwood a lot on the job and off the job which flustered him at first. Presently? James has started flirting back to throw a curveball at Qrow. They surprisingly work well together despite Qrow’s style of combat being very different than Ironwood’s. When Oz wants destruction, he sends this pair in. 

Glynda and Qrow are the worst of the three. Qrow’s chaotic nature and fighting style clashes too much with Glynda’s straightforward tactics. Qrow’s reckless use of his semblance often annoys Glynda as she is in the line of fire when they are paired together. These two are constantly fighting over incredibly petty things. It isn't really a meeting if Oz hasn't had to use his powers to shut the two of them up so he can talk. 

This post is kinda long so I’m splitting it into separate posts. The next one will be detailing backstory and their dynamic with Oz. 

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Taking our sweet time (seriously, there's no need to hurry)

Whenever life gets too much to handle it should be socially acceptable to say fuck it and peace out for a while. I get that constant procrastination isn't good but sometimes you really need to step back and take a goddamn break.

You don't have to take on the world all at once - in fact you don't have to do anything at all just to feel worthy of something. It's the little things that matter and your worth shouldn't be measured solely by your achievements. There's nothing wrong with being average - or even below that - what should matter is that you're happy and doing what you like.

At least that's what I'm hoping to get across to Pai and her adventuring companions. From burnout to things not going as planned due to factors out of everyone's control, they are definitely in need of a break.

Pai's stepping into the world of perilous adventuring after running across Connie, a wanderer who's made a name for themselves in Bonsai Harbor. Connie's from another world, having been separated from their sibling. Along the way, they saved Pai from being eaten by a slime crystal monster, so now Pai feels indebted to them. They haven't known each other for too long but they act like old, playfully bickering buds.

While trying to find their footing, Pai suggested seeking help from the Knights of Windwail and the Adventurer's Guild. Then they got wrapped up in adventuring, world quests, and earned the status of honorary knights. Along the way they came across other adventurers from the Knights and the Guild, forming their own adventure team.

Amber was the first friend Connie and Pai made at Bonsai Harbor. She was the one who taught Connie how to use a wind glider as well as the ins and outs of the city. As an outrider of Windwail and master pyro archer with ties to the Adventurer's Guild, she got them covered. Pai says that they're lucky they ran into Amber as she knows a lot about pretty much everything Bonsai Harbor. It's fun listening to her talk about her home, the other team members, and their latest adventures - she's basically the group's spokesperson.

The second friend they met is also a knight, Captain Lucien, also known as Luci to friends and elders. He's a well known swordfighter with piercing cryo powers that can freeze anything for a short time. Luci was a big help for Connie and Pai when they got cornered by fireball slimes. In return, the duo offered to help him retrieve a stolen katana, which resulted in them discovering other lost weapons and earned the trust and respect of the head of the Windwail Knights.

Noelle and Bennett were next to join the gang of adventurers, coming to them at the right time by chance. Connie, Pai, Amber, and Luci were ambushed on the outskirts of the city while on an investigation when their reinforcements came to the rescue.

Pai summoned Noelle by accident as she happened to be nearby when things were going south. Noelle is who they call a maid without a master - meaning she does things like cleaning, cooking, and running errands for pretty much anyone who calls for her. Rumor has it that one can easily summon Noelle just by calling out her name to the wind, which is what Pai did. As a fighter, Noelle can summon a geo shield that provides healing powers when activated, plus she's got a badass looking claymore sword that's not only great for fighting off enemies, but also for mining and destroying obstacles.

Bennett also happened to be nearby when the gang was attacked. He's an adventurer with pyro powers who hasn't had too much luck in recruiting members for his group. He's a good fighter, but for some reason things never really work out in his favor, so that's why no one seeks him out. It's a shame because he's a sweet and likable guy but his bad luck overshadows the good. Up until meeting Connie and Pai, he was considering giving up as an adventurer because he wasn't getting anywhere. Then he heard Pai screaming for help and came running along.

Since Noelle and Bennett didn't have anything better to do, they decided to tag along. Noelle still gets summoned once in a while, mainly for menial tasks that don't take too much out of her day. Of course, with the gang being all the way over here at the camp, they're all on vacation from their jobs - most for the first time in years, if ever.

It's a good thing Pai dragged them out here because they all deserve a vacation. And not only that, they deserve regular vacations - time where they can breathe and do nothing without feeling guilty. Given what they've all done over the past several weeks, it's no wonder they're feeling burnt out.

After saving the city and earning the status of honorary knights, Connie and Pai set out to explore the nearby city of Starcatcher. Before heading off, they gained another member - Seraphina the idol of the Windwail Church. She's got hydro powers and the ability to heal. She was the one who helped Connie sneak into the cathedral basement to retrieve a cursed artifact and came to the rescue in the nick of time by healing the gang during a showdown with a monster terrorizing the city.

At Starcatcher, the gang met up with Xingqiu and Xiang. Connie and Pai had met Xiang earlier when she was visiting the harbor and helped her gather ingredients for a cooking contest. Connie was hoping to run into Xiang again in the near future so as soon as they arrived at the city, they went looking for her. Apparently they just missed her as she was out on another culinary adventure.

Then Connie and the others were caught up in commissions there, getting familiar with the city. While searching for a rare book, they met Xingqiu, a descendant of a once prosperous family who helped the gang get through the red tape for intel. He's a master swordfighter with hydro powers that can form powerful whirlpools. Pai and Luci were a bit skeptical of him as he seemed to pop in and out whenever he wanted without explaining, but in the end he earned their trust.

Xiang finally met up with the gang not too long after they finished a mission involving finding jade fragments in the ruins. She joined just in time to help take down a bunch of ruin guards, except that didn't go so well. The gang barely made it out alive before having to retreat and Sera and Noelle's healing powers can only help so much. So they decided to put that off and focus on other missions.

But then the quests started to pile up as more of them were beyond their scope. According to Luci, all of them are capable fighters - on their own. As a team, their biggest problem is that they're too slow, especially when it comes to fighting large monsters like ruin guards. The problem lies with efficiency - the team lacks coordination. That, along with the group not being the most prepared or equipped - the latter is something they're trying to fix - is what's dragging the team down.

Though, to be fair, no one really knows what they're doing. After all, Pai and Connie met by chance and their team just kinda fell together. We don't know if we're getting any closer to helping Connie reunite with their family, which is the main reason why they're going on all these missions. As for the others, they're just there for the ride, not knowing exactly what they're doing either, but are more than happy to help when needed.

I have to say, I'm flattered that Pai decided to take Connie and the others all the way here. I don't know where Bonsai and Starcatcher are other than really, really far out there. Pai doesn't really come out here much - I think she only comes to see Jamie, so I'm guessing that's how she knows about the camp. I also heard it's not easy to travel from where's she's from as they're pretty much like different dimensions, making it even more impressive.

So far, I think the break's been helping out a lot. It's been nice getting to know the others and just hanging out with them. Again, it's kinda sad that most of them had never taken a vacation before, so the idea of leisure took some getting used to. Aside from introductions, we mostly steered away from talking about quests and missions.

Noelle, of course, enjoys running errands. She likes collecting fruit, fish, and bugs, and getting to know the campers. Noelle kinda reminds me of my mom as she finds doing things like cleaning relaxing. It's not surprising that she likes speed cleaning videos as they can be satisfying to watch. I wouldn't mind watching videos with Noelle sweeping the cabin or scrubbing the counters - she makes those tasks look fun!

Amber's into hiking and climbing into high places where she can jump off and glide. She's teaching me and Daisy Jane how to glide and it's a bit terrifying, though I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I think that's the closest I'll ever get to flying!

Now that she has a lot of free time on her hands, Amber wants to make custom gliders for the team - and for me, Daisy Jane, and Isabelle as well. They look hard to make, so the fact that they can be made by hand is impressive. All of Amber's gliders are handmade and it takes a special skill to not only make a glider that looks pretty but also functional. She used to take orders for custom made gliders before things got too busy so she's glad to be getting back into it. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Seraphina has been getting into impromptu jam sessions with the campers, putting on a little concert every night so far. She's got a lovely voice with a pure sweetness I find endearing. Being out here at the camp has helped her get back into singing so she hopes the nightly concerts will keep her going. Her love for poetry shows through her lyrics as she has a way with words and evoking emotions through imagery.

She says the camp kinda reminds her of Bonsai Harbor, particularly the meadows, which probably explains why she's inspired to sing again. As much as she enjoys adventuring, she misses her home a lot. Still, Seraphina knew what she was signing up for when she wanted to tag along with Connie and Pai. While her roots are in Bonsai Harbor, she wanted to take the opportunity to explore the world around her. If it wasn't for Connie and Pai, who knows when she'll get another chance to do so?

Luci, as expected, took some adjusting to the whole idea of leisure. He's not what they consider the workaholic type - in fact, he's pretty lax - but he's the kind of person who's mind is usually on work mode. He's task oriented, always thinking about getting stuff done, preferably without too much time and effort. It's understandable that he wants the team to be in tip top shape by practicing their fighting skills and coordinating their efforts, but it's not healthy to be constantly focusing on that. After all, the main reason why they're all here is to get their minds off that.

While there will be fighting practices eventually, for now it's best to take it easy. According to the others, Luci's not one to stress out over things, so the fact that he is starting to get a little bit stressed is a warning sign. He was a bit restless and fidgety at first, but he's in a completely unfamiliar place and not doing any adventuring or knight stuff for the first time ever so it's understandable. In a way it kinda feels like post grad life when you're pretty much done with school forever and now you don't know what to do with yourself.

Like Noelle, Luci's been running errands and hanging with the campers. He's been trying a bit of everything - hiking, fishing, bug catching, gardening, building furniture - he's a jack of all trades. So far, he's been enjoying all these activities, especially crafting stuff with Reese and Cyrus. In fact, when he got a look at Daisy Jane's gyroid designs, he wanted to join in on the fun too!

Looks like the adventure team's gonna be back at the camp for a gyroid event (or more) as Noelle, Amber, Xiang, and Seraphina want to design stuff as well. So there's potential for many more visits, which will be amazing!

Xiang's been cooking up a storm - figuratively for the most part. Thankfully, since it's outdoors, damage was minimal - though it's fire so while it wasn't that bad, the potential for disaster was high. Thankfully Seraphina and Xingqiu quickly put out the fires so crisis averted.

She's the kind of chef who likes experimenting in the kitchen, coming up with the most unusual recipes. Apparently the slime creatures they fight off leave essences that can be edible, so she keeps vials of them. Fire ones are spicy, wind ones have a dry, bitter flavor, icy ones are kinda minty with a hint of honey, water ones are umami - it's interesting to learn about. Other unusual ingredients Xiang has on hand are ground up boar horns, jade sparkledust, snowflake ash, and clearfish scales.

Don't let the unusual ingredients fool you - most of her food is not only edible, but also delicious. There's a reason why the gang isn't worried about starving if stranded in the middle of nowhere. Xiang can even make dirt edible - something which she's trying to do but hasn't figured out yet.

Xingqiu has taken an interest in gardening, which is perfect because I have been once again neglecting my garden. Maybe neglecting is a strong word but lately, other than flower events, I haven't been planting much. I'm trying to keep up with that but it's so much effort, especially trying to cross-pollinate for rare flowers. Xingqiu considers himself a novice when it comes to planting flowers but he's already got much better luck than me with getting rare seeds. I think his water powers have something to do with the blooms coming out more vibrant and full than usual.

He and Noelle have also been into taking interior decor classes with Lotte at the Happy Room Academy. Speaking of that, I've kinda fallen behind on those classes too. Sunny's rank is Legend while I've been lingering at Master - I didn't even know there was a Legend rank until Sunny told me.

Well, just because I run the camp doesn't mean I can do everything. I've tried, but as the camp grew, I had to learn how to prioritize. While I can put in some time to gardening and catching up with Happy Room Academy classes, they're not something I really want to do. As for gardening, I kinda have a love-hate thing so tending to that feels more like a chore than a fun activity. I'm not the best at gardening and I'm okay with that.

As for Connie, they've been working nonstop since meeting Pai. They've kinda fallen into the leader role by default and as a result has been under a lot of pressure. They mentioned feeling a bit guilty, like being miscast in a role or something. There's also the fact that Connie pretty much started from the ground up, so they worked extra hard to earn everyone's respect as well as be able to fight in combat on the same level as the others. They've done so much in such a short time, Pai was right in trying to get them to slow down.

Like Luci said, they're all capable fighters, but as a team they still have a lot to learn. To put it bluntly, compared to other adventurers in terms of combat and strategy, they're pretty average. All of them admit they're a bit of a mess - then again, who isn't? As much as they have accomplished together, there's always a voice in the back of their minds questioning whether they could've done better. And it's not just themselves, it's also the societal pressure to not only do well, but to exceed and be the best. While that tries to be a motivating message, it does more harm than good.

That brings me back to my main point - you don't have to be exceptional at what you do. It's a message I'm still learning myself, especially since I grew up in a culture where I'm told that I'm not trying hard enough if I'm not constantly pushing my limits. Despite what society wants you to think, it's okay to be average, to just be.

After all, none of them chose to adventure for status and prestige - they're pretty much here because they seek excitement and want to help Connie. As for Connie, they never expected to become somewhat a hero in Bonsai Harbor and Starcatcher, they just wanted to help others. So what if they stumble more than fly? Just because all of them can't take down a massive monster doesn't make them less capable as adventurers - it just means combat isn't one of their strong suits yet - and that's okay. After all, they're still getting to know each other and such.

For now, we're all just gonna take our sweet time just chilling out. Self-care's important, but sometimes we get so caught up in everything else that we put ourselves last.

[danwhobrowses]

WWE Wrestlemania 37 Day 1 - Review

Big Card, Not so big build

But it is that time of the year, we Stood, we Delivered, and now we shall Showcase for the Grandest Stage of them All

I got hyped for it by watching Bret vs Owen so I do have expectations, I haven't been spoiled too much save for the Main Event and the fact that there was storms that delayed the event, I dunno if they cut that content but we shall see Note: I am gonna bold who I predicted to win per match as well just to show how right/wrong I was

Spoilers for Wrestlemania Night 1, You Have Been Warned

Pre-Show The opening panel was not so great; Booker (with a captain Hook moustache), JBL, Lawler and Rosenberg, bunch of contrarian drivel really and trying to make Braun/Shane out like it deserves on the card just doesn't sit with me, that match robbed a potential Father/Son Tag Title Victory for the Mysterios (I know the Dirty Dawgs won on SD but I feel like they wouldn't have retained if it were Mania). Most of the promo packages were good at the least since they can cut out all the shoddy booking decisions and act like some stars were underbooked over the past year. I will say though, selling BelAir and Banks as 'the first time a women's singles match has main evented Wrestlemania' is a bit of a slight on the triple threat - which would've been 1v1 if Vinny didn't want to be adamant in adding more feathers to Charlotte's peahen plumage - it was still a singles match, sometimes WWE's desire for 'first time evers' are a bit insufferable. Also this is not 'the most important match of Cesaro's career', that is a terrible thing to say about a non-title match revolving around Rollins feeling embarrassed. The Hall of Fame recap was a mixed bag as well, mainly because I disagreed with some of the inductions and the way they tried to sell them bigger than what they are, but I was glad for some - Liger, Bulldog, Molly Holly, Kane...still waiting on Lillian and Andy Kaufman to get inducted though. Sonya also popped up to promote the tag turmoil and retreading the main event, she was super natural and should've been on the whole panel, or in the ring. Sonya's talents are wasted right now.

No Match though! An Hour of Recap lacked any entertainment seeing as we'd see all these promo packages again on the main card. So overall this was entirely skippable.

Main Card...Delayed Vince opened the event to address the crowd, which was kinda nice actually. It was a much more inclusive introduction than just having someone singing America the Beautifu-oh they're still doing tha-boooooooobs! It's also kinda weird looking at the roster not even on the card on the stage, like this is their only contribution for the entire year...

The intro package was a big obnoxious too, dude does an okay Jack Sparrow accent but it kinda went on a bit long, 10 minutes into the main show and there's no wrestling y'know?

Byron out with a super white suit as well, looking like Liberace as weather warnings echoed the arena, with news that it'll be worse tomorrow I hope that arena has a roof. With the delay WWE pulled with interviews, Big E even showed up to join his New Day buddies. Cole's 'Wrestlerainia' did not land and Braun saying 'I'm fighting for everyone whose been bullied' doesn't land either, we had this story with Nia and Alexa years ago. I also hate 'Herstory', like the literal word I hate it, History has adapted well beyond gender. Sure, it evolved from the Greek Histor which means 'wise' or 'a learned man' but the His is not the agent noun, the Tor is, and it's a gender neutral noun, if it were a Latin root then it'd be masculine but its root is Ancient Greek - there's your Etymology lesson for tonight.

The irony though, the moment fans get back in the arena they have to come back out because of rain.

Main Card - This Time Around Titus and Hulk came out as hosts to ramp up the crowd, it was kinda uncomfortable in context really, plus we don't need a third rundown of the card. Reminder that those in bold was who I earlier predicted to win.

WWE Championship - Bobby Lashley [w/MVP] (c) def. Drew McIntyre (Ref Stoppage Submission via Hurt Lock) Starting hot with the World title match again, bit odd to see Lashley do his point pose on the ramp and no pyro, but both men fixed their eyes on each other and barely looked away. Their history goes beyond WWE after all, not that the commentary would tell you. The did come out with a ton of falsities though, I know the WWE Championship was at several times the most prestigious belt in wrestling but not all the time in that 60 years, Big Gold Belt, IWGP and 10 Pounds of Gold had times too, AEW also can tout that, but Cole's most baffling claim was that you'd need to win it to be a Hall of Famer - on the same year Bulldog who never won a world title was inducted. No quick draw like last year, the match started with some meat slapping, Drew even gesturing a fuck you with the Bras d'honneur to Lashley after knocking him down. Both men would trade blows and advantage, Drew almost locking an armbreaker but Lashley clubbing free - very weird camera cutting there. Lashley hit 2 throws and a neckbreaker to regain the advantage, he didn't get the Futureshock but he hit a nice Northern Lights Suplex. Lashley hit his newer version of the Dominator and an Uranage but both only kept Drew down for 2, he almost got the Hurt Lock as Drew fought back with some blows and a front-facing Alabama Slam, he tried a superplex but Lashley fought out, tried a kimura but got knocked down, so he went for the Tree of Woe throw he does. Lashley gets him with another Uranage but Drew kips up, belly to belly, Futureshock, Futureshock, Futureshock! 1, 2, No! Drew calls for the Claymore but Lashley rolls out, MVP coming late, Drew then does a Tope onto both. He goes up top but almost gets caught with the Hurt Lock, an Exploder and a Flatliner puts Lashley in the driver's seat, he tries for the Hurt Lock again but is driven into the Turnbuckle, Drew then locks in the Kimura but Lashley gets to the ropes. After trading shots Lashley lands into a boot and a headbutt, Drew looks for the Claymore but MVP shouts to distract him, allowing Lashley to dodge and get the Hurt Lock in, Drew tried to fight back, tried to roll out of it by kicking the turnbuckle but Lashley cinched it in tight, fading, fading, and the ref calls the bell.

A very good opener this one, big men slapping meat can hardly go wrong. Not too many false finishes either and MVP only psyches Drew out rather than got fully involved. It was right for Drew to fade rather than tap too. First prediction wins, I did think it was a risk but I expected it because WWE had sold the idea that they wanted Drew to win in front of a crowd, but he had held the title for most of the year, so I anticipated the swerve. Still, we didn't have to break up the Hurt Business for this, hopefully Lashley gets more time to shine.

As Lashley celebrated with some strange camera switching we moved to Titus, the NWO and a Bayley segment. Bayley trying to sell her Ding Dong Hello and being denied some Two Sweets, a huge waste of Bayley's talents especially with the year she has had.

Tag Team Turmoil for a shot at the WWE Women's Tag Championship on Night 2 - Natalya & Tamina def. Naomi & Lana, the Riott Squad [Liv Morgan & Ruby Riott], Billie Kay & Carmella and Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose (pinfall by Tamina on Ruby Riott via Superfly Splash) Props to Billie Kay selling the lack of cohesion in her and Carmella's entrance as they started the match against Lana & Naomi. Naomi started with the advantage but it was traded to Carmella when Lana was tagged in, then to Billie, then back to Naomi. A double facebuster flattens Billie but Carmella breaks the pin, after Carmella throws Lana out Billie rolls up Naomi - who is also strengthened by Carmella lying on the floor but using her feet to keep Billie up right - for 3, eliminating that team. Naomi is not happy, as she should be that was a huge waste, as the Riott Squad come in. Sporting Suicide Squad Joker (Ruby) & Harley (Liv) outfits, the Riott Squad start hot but are foiled by Carmella's tag. Liv is the feeder to Carmella and Billie's combos, they try the same rollup trick but they are caught by the ref, Carmella's dumped allowing Liv to hit a codebreaker and hold Billie down for Ruby's senton for the 3, the two embrace but Carmella superkicks Liv as Dana & Manda arrive in pink, Mandy humorously slipping on the ramp did not go unmissed. With Liv taken out Ruby tried to fight alone, Dana hits a top rope blockbuster but Liv comes back to break the pin. Dana hits a spinning neckbreaker and tags Mandy in, a pin for 2 by Ruby opens the door for Liv to be tagged in, a Codebreaker/Riott Kick combo lands but the pin is broken by Dana. Cole accidentally calls Mandy 'Dana' as she rallies, Dana comes back to dump Ruby out as they land the Superplex/Swanton combo on Liv, Mandy pulls Ruby from making the save but Liv reverses the pin for 3. The announcer then wrongly says that the Riott Squad were eliminated and has to be corrected, making you think this wasn't the plan. Natalya and Tamina pick up the scraps, Natalya tries a Sharpshooter but gets rolled up for 2, she drops Liv onto the ropes and tags Tamina in. Natalya hits a powerbomb but Ruby breaks the pin before being dumped out by Tamina again. Liv fights both women enough for Ruby to tag in, an assisted spear on Tamina leads to the Codebreaker/Senton combo but it hits for 2. They set up the Codebreaker/Riott Kick but Tamina yanks Riott away and superkicks Liv. Natalya returns to hit the Hart Attack on Ruby, looks to set up the Sharpshooter but instead tells Tamina to take point, Superfly Splash gets the win. The champions look on on a monitor at their opponents.

A bit of a mixed bag this one, the wrestling was clean but I think external botching brought it down, as well as questionable booking decisions. Naomi is a multi-time champion she should not be pinned so quickly. I did again correctly predict Nattie and Tamina, but I personally wanted the Riott Squad to win, it was the Heyman dressing down that motivated me to pick the Daughter Combo - also weird that they acknowledge Tamina's heritage given what Superfly did. The Riotts at least got a great showing, the finish took a bit of a long time considering that all Liv took from them was a superkick and was out for 2 minutes, hopefully this'll inspire booking to push them which is well overdue. As for Tamina and Natalya, heel vs heel is a tough one, they didn't look like babyfaces here and while I do have them to win the titles this was not a good look for their chances.

Cesaro def. Seth Rollins (pinfall via Neutralizer) Seth entered the ring with a homage to the Andre OBEY print on his tights, followed by his Cesaro smear ad, then Cesaro in a weird choice of just a black jacket as well as black and yellow tights similar to his Wrestlemania XXX attire.

Cesaro starts with a huge uppercut and setting up the Swing, but Seth wriggles out, tries a big boot but Cesaro hits the Dragon Screw and tries for the swing again, but fails again. Cesaro gets a corkscrew springboard uppercut but Seth hurts his arm on the ropes, he gets an uppercut as Seth climbs on the turnbuckle but he kinda didn't get all of it. Going for an Avalanche Gutwrench Suplex, Seth rolls out into a Buckle Bomb for 2, Seth then preys on the arm, Cesaro's arm prevents a rally as Seth hits the Superplex/Falcon Arrow combo for 2. Cesaro flurries with uppercuts, he tries the swing but Rollins keeps countering, first a rollup then going to ropes followed by an Enzugiri, when he tries the Stomp though Cesaro gets the swing, 9 spins causes the arm to give way but he locks in the Sharpshooter (probably why Natalya couldn't/wouldn't do it last match), Rollins gets to the ropes and powers out of the Neutralizer, knee strike and a sling blade sets up for a Corkscrew Frog Splash for 2. Seth sets up the Ripcord Knee but gets lifted into a Neutralizer! 1, 2, No! (Commentary saying again 'and now Cesaro begins to doubt himself), Cesaro tries it again but lands into a Pedigree! 1, 2, No!

Seth gloats surviving both of Cesaro's big moves, clubbing the back of Cesaro's head with his hand and then his leg as he prepares a stomp, Cesaro then hits the uppercut, UFO! Gestures for the Swing and gets it! 23 Rotations, Neutralizer, 3!

That's what I'm talking about! Indy Darling match with some great spots, good crowd involvement and a proper babyface win. Cesaro thanks the crowd as they cheer him on, Seth did show some great creativity which I kinda hoped Cesaro would but it was a small thing in otherwise a great match. I guessed with my heart on this one unlike the Tag Team Turmoil, because of my Universal Title plans really, Cesaro has been given the chance to earn the push we all know he deserves and he's took it, now we can push him further.

Post-match they recapped the AMBR and 4-Way, bit off to say 'Veteran Experience pays off' when Rey was the most experienced of them all, also the 4-Way should've been on the mania card and the tag turmoil on SD. They interviewed the Dirty Dawgs to talk the Raw Tag titles, which was a bit rough to see, it's clear what the pecking order is in Vince's mind.

Raw Tag Championships - AJ Styles & Omos def. New Day [Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston] (c) (pinfall by Omos on Kofi via Double-Handed Chokeslam TITLE CHANGE) Annoyingly the Champions came out first, but they were introduced by Big E, a Fusion Dance hologram graphic paired with their entrance as they came out in Red to rep the Tampa Bay Bucs in what would've been their 2020 attire, cheekily the 2020's last 0 was scribbled out and a 1 added. Blue trumpet though, couldn't recolour that. AJ and Omos came together too but no matching attire, Omos looked like he was going for dinner. AJ also looked like he stumbled a bit at the start.

Kofi goaded AJ into starting the match rather than Omos, leading to some liquid sequences from both former WWE Champions, each respectively rolling out of an SOS and Calf Crusher. After a back body drop Kofi stared down an unimpressed Omos, then twerked which hurt my soul. Kinda heelishly, Xavier tripped up AJ when a throat chop gave him a reprieve, leading to them keeping AJ in the corner, including the Unicorn Stomp as Omos continued to look unimpressed. Against Xavier AJ tried to drag him to his corner, but cannot get to Omos' halfhearted reaching. A team bulldog only gets 1 though. Kofi then continues to block the corner so AJ goes out of the ring to run around, only to be intercepted by Xavier. AJ continues to try and get to Omos, even being flattened by a splash by Kofi, when setting up their finisher though AJ elbows Kofi away, a visual exchange between the now free AJ and the top-turnbuckle Xavier preludes AJ finally tagging in Omos, Xavier frightened as Omos finally has a smile on his face. The 7'3 giant no sells Xavier's and Kofi's offense, charging into both on either turnbuckle, then a backbreaker to both. AJ then jumped over Omos to hit the Phenomenal Forearm to deal with Woods, Omos hit a two-handed chokeslam then pinned Kofi with one foot for the titles.

I didn't like this match's narrative, the wrestling was fine but the story wasn't done so well. For one, New Day acted more like the heels by bullying AJ and keeping him cornered, for second, Omos didn't really 'wrestle' he just no sold and did 3 safe moves and third, New Day are 11 time tag champions, Kofi a former world champion and they pinned him like that. Disrespect. The fact that the SD Tag Titles are second fiddle to a match where it's just AJ Styles plus the Great Khali, and that's Raw's Division right now, Two Thirds of New Day and this mismatch. This only highlights the severe lack of depth and WWE's booking hypocrisy. Next time you read about a 5 foot something wrestler not getting a title or a push because they're 'too green' or 'can't talk' remember that Omos won the tag titles on his debut match after doing a backbreaker, a turnbuckle tackle and a double handed chokeslam.

Humorous though is that WWE cut to a cringy Corbin ad break just as AJ was falling off of Omos' shoulders, I saw that WWE. We also cut to Sasha preparing for the match as the cage began to lower.

Steel Cage Match - Braun Strowman def. Shane McMahon (pinfall via Running Powerslam) The apathy for this match remains high considering that Shane showed up a couple months ago to steal a card slot from someone who could've been wrestling all year. Shane enters in his usual way, Braun with blinding fog and a train sound effect, cringy commentary as well as Shane keeps the door shut. Elias and Ryker soften Braun with chairs, attacking the legs and gifting Shane a chair who unloads on his grounded opponent. Once he feels he's done enough he tries to leave by the door, but Braun pulls him away, he tries to climb over the cage but gets pulled away, Braun declaring that he won't escape. Shane does his tacky jabs dodging Braun's wide swings, he tries to climb out again but Braun grabs him, but there's a planted piece of sheet metal that he uses as a weapon. After a 1 count Shane tried to escape through the door but fails, Braun decides to throw Shane into the cage walls, opening Shane to be struck by his blows and sandwiched between the cage walls, the leg gives out before the powerslam allowing Shane to ram Braun into the cage wall and DDT him, Coast to Coast gets 2 and Elias and Ryker climb the cage, hoping to pull Shane over, but Braun tackles the cage wall to knock everyone off. Shane makes the climb again but Braun is gripping onto him, bags are planted on the corners of the cage as Shane cracks Braun with a toolbox, as Shane celebrates he gets his leg over, he waves his hand through the cage at Braun but he grabs it, peeling off the cage wall to pull Shane back inside. Braun considers leaving but pulls Shane to the top of the cage, throwing Shane to the ring floor. Braun shouts at Shane, hits the running powerslam for 3.

It's good to be wrong here, though when I predicted Shane to win it was more a Pyrrhic win like being sent through a cage wall - because the build had Braun foolishly act like cage matches never have interference. This was a match, Shane planting weapons and using Elias and Ryker to prove himself 'smart' and Braun just powers out of it, the ripping the cage wall to drag Shane back in was a good spot - if not overly convenient since Shane could've dropped and gloated after - but it didn't need to be Wrestlemania.

Bayley comes back this time to the announcers table, bullying Cole out of his seat, but she's made to look stupid since Byron of all people tell her that they're waiting for the Hall of Famers, the HOF package happens again and the inductees able to attend appear on the stage, graphics of those who couldn't on the screen, NWO get their own entrance though with the NWO-painted Big Gold belt, bit unnecessary really they have enough spotlight.

Stone Cold announces the next mania in Texas in the AT&T Stadium, Booker then joins the announcer's table.

Bad Bunny & Damian Priest def. Miz and John Morrison (Pinfall by Bad Bunny on Miz via Crossbody/Electric Chair combo) A bunch of men dressed as bunnies hop into the ring before Miz and Morrison lipsync their diss track entrance. After the promo package Damian Priest makes his entrance, wearing the HBK Bondage shirt and sporting the purple, Bad Bunny appears atop of a Monster Truck in a pre-recorded segment with a lot of camera cuts, leading into the live version, looking like Rufus from Bill and Ted.

Miz and Morrison goad Bad Bunny to start the match so Priest tags him in, Miz mocks Bunny for a free shot and gets floored with a blow, waistlock and another punch, after a brief flurry Miz slows Bunny down but then gets caught with an arm drag, a toehold and a roll up for 2. Morrison attempts to snap Miz out of his frustration, but every offense he gets Bad Bunny comes back, this time with a spinning headscissors. Morrison's tagged in but gets headbutted, a 'bunny hop' jumping elbow, Miz's cheap shot leads to some heat feeding as Miz does some mocking bunny hops. He rolls over Miz for 2 but gets flattened with a boot, Morrison punishes Bunny on the announcer's table who then does a Spinaroonie while they continue to punish Bunny and incite Priest. Bunny gets a tornado DDT to open up the Hot Tag who cleans up house with strikes - more annoying camera cuts though. Chokeslam only gets 2 because Morrison breaks the count, Bunny comes in and both men hit stereo Falcon Arrows, both for 2, Priest does a tope, Bunny crossbodies from the top corner. Priest sets up his finish but gets caught with a Skull Crushing Finale, 1, 2, Bunny breaks the pin. Back into his corner Morrison tries to keep Bunny from being tagged, but Bunny hits a Canadian Destroyer onto Morrison on the outside of the ring, Miz and Priest awestruck. Priest sets up the Electric Chair, Bunny crossbodies and that's 3.

I may not know who Bad Bunny is, or particularly like his music, but he definitely meets the standards of the work celebrity guests should put in if they wanna be booked for a match. Bad Bunny did far much more spots than Omos, granted his punches flooring Miz was a bit unbelievable but overall he shone in an entertaining match, I feel bad for Miz and Morrison really, Miz was WWE champion about a month ago for a week and Morrison left at the top of Impact and AAA to come back for this? Maybe if he pairs up with his wife he'll get the booking he deserves. Also don't really know why Booker needed to be there on the announcer's table, aside from one mock spot and a GI Bro mention he didn't influence the match at all

SD Women's Championship - Bianca BelAir def. Sasha Banks (c) (Pinfall via KOD TITLE CHANGE!) And so comes the Main Event, the Royal Rumble winner comes out a sparkly EST outfit with tassels, Sasha with a black and neon green attire that definitely stood out. More shoddy camera cutting though kinda upset the flow of the entrance.

On Pre-Show - 'These two are in the Main Event regardless of Race, Regardless of Gender' On Main Event - 'For the first time two black women are having a title match on the main event at Wrestlemania' ...poor form WWE. Especially since you followed this with a Snickers plug.

The Bell rings as there are close ups on an emotional Bianca, duelling chants from the crowd as Sasha overpowers BelAir, leading her to kip up and get her own advantage, almost landing the KOD early. BelAir's power catches most of Banks' assault so she opts for counter-wrestling, she looks to count BelAir out but then decides for a Suicide Dive, but BelAir catches her and presses her back up the stairs and into the ring. Dropkick by Sasha gets 2, Bianca hits a powerslam but her handspring moonsault is blocked by Sasha yanking at the hair, using it as leverage to drive her knee into BelAir's head, Shining Wizard only gets 2. When Banks tries the knees in the corner she's planted with an Uranage, she tries to yank Bianca's hair into the corner post but Bianca powers her into it instead, a barricade crossbody also misses but the count is up to 6, both women roll in, BelAir uses an inside cradle to momentum herself up to a Vertical Suplex position, she slingshots 2 of the sides but Banks struggles, Bianca powers her back up but Sasha struggles again, BelAir powers again and lands the suplex but it takes a lot out of her. After clotheslining Sasha who was pulling on her hair, BelAir flurries with strikes and a running shooting star, Glam Slam hits but Sasha gets the knees up for the 450. The two trade pins and BelAir hits the Powerbomb for 2, she tries again but Sasha goes for a facebuster, Double Rotation Tornado DDT gets 2 for Sasha, a clunky Frog Splash which might've been a Meteora that Bianca was out of position for hits BelAir but only has 2, Sasha starts getting frustrated and goes for the arm, snaps it against the ropes then throws BelAir into the steps, she goes for the Bank Statement, wrapping Bianca's hair around her arm for added leverage, she tries to rebound off the ropes but Bianca rolls back to rope break, Sasha yanks the hair between the rope and stomps on her hair in frustration but this gets Bianca angry, she sets up a Superplex but is thrown off, she tries what looks like a Stratusfaction but gets locked into a Tree of Woe double stomp, Bianca avoids it and the running knee strike, landing the 450! 1, 2, No! Bianca freaks out, she was so sure that was it, but now the anger sets in, KOD set up but Sasha pulls the hair to right herself, Bianca cracks Sasha with her hair and tries again, but Sasha wriggles to try a Backstabber, Bianca escapes that, spins her around and lands the KOD, 1, 2, E.S.T.

A really good match from both women, met with a great ovation for Bianca. The match liked to prey on Bianca's hair a lot which may've been a little overdone, I would've liked to have seen it get a bit more than 18 minutes too. I predicted Sasha because I think Rhea's winning hers (I still do) and Sasha has once again yet to have a major Wrestlemania win, but I'm certainly not unhappy with BelAir - she put on a great performance here, especially with the fact that she fumbled her NXT Women's Title match against Baszler earlier, showing a lot more maturity and a strong face character to get behind. WWE should not have overdid the booking on this in the build but for the night, it is Bianca's night to close day one of WrESTlemania.

Conclusion NXT Stand and Deliver set a high bar for Wrestlemania to pull off, and for Night 1 at least I believe they definitely met it. There were a few downs, shoddy camerawork, non-wrestling botching and heavy mistreatment for Naomi, Bayley and the New Day but on the other hand we had great matches out of Cesaro, Bad Bunny and the other title matches including the main event, aside from the tag turmoil I'm not upset with the winners. Becky teased us with appearing before the show but it seems like it was a fakeout, was kinda hoping she'd be back but maybe it'll be Night 2

We will only find out on the night though, and there's a lot more to look forward to.

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Fifty: Kalypso

Satyr Butts and Catching Up

             Kally was happy they waited until she was awake to fill in the group about what happened. Frank wanted to wait until everyone was up, but Axel and Calex did a convincing job dissuading him from waking Euna.

Clovis had gently beckoned Kally out of her surprisingly peaceful dreams and Chris Rodriguez and Matthias Severe Hanson very ungently pulled Pax from inside his nest. Hazel was even generous enough to give Alabaster a white board and some dry erase markers.

           Kally feared the first thing he’d write was, My helm or your first born child.[1] Considering the ingredients he kept for his spells, she wasn’t sure what he’d want if she’d lost something of his that was so important.

           All of their possessions were gone when Kally woke up: her notebook, messenger bag, and his Cloven Terror helm. Even her clothing was gone. Instead, she woke up with an IV drip in her hand, a surgical smock, and pain with each breath. She had barely been able to pick up her glasses from the pillow beside her.

           It was creepy to think someone had changed them. The only people Kally knew well at camp had also been unconscious. For the time being, Kally would just pretend that was one of Will’s powers: magically poofing people into surgical-friendly clothing.

           The only person in the room who was allowed to keep their weapon—and Kally guessed “allowed’ was a strong word—was Euna.

           Instead of asking about his missing things, Alabaster scribbled down, Why? and pointed to the balloon beside his sleeping bag. It depicted a satyr on one side and the satyr’s ass on the other with a note that said, “Poke me; I sing!” There were also streamers strewn off his IV stand.

           “Apparently this is how a certain child of Hermes decided to thank you for saving his brother,” Dr. Claymore said. He never looked up from the book he was reading, though the smile that he cracked said he’d watch the Stoll set up everything while Alabaster slept.

           Alabaster’s fingers flashed over the board to write, Ajax. No.

           Pax, meanwhile, pouted.

Axel sighed. “His arms are too messed up to throw anything at it. Trust me. He tried.”

           Frank and Reyna sat in foldout chairs they’d managed to stuff into the room, moving Lapis’ closer to the weird bird cage in the corner. Hazel stood ready by the door like the most unassuming of guards. None of them wore armor, just SPQR sweatshirts and workout pants. Hazel’s fingers tensed around her spatha’s hilt. Reyna twirled her knife into the edge of her seat. A sword hung at both her and Frank’s sides. Every time Euna mumbled in her mossy cocoon, they would startle and go for their weapons.

           While nibbling on some microwave breakfast sandwiches, Reyna got them up to speed.

           “Apparently, after Prometheus brought Axel and Pax back here, he contacted Helios—”

           Kally felt her jaw drop along with a piece of egg. “Wait—that creepy, former sun god that used to work with Hemera?”

Kally remembered Helios and Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, dream-messaging her to say that Hemera had been taken.

           “Creepy is a forgiving choice of word,” Reyna said, looking utterly unamused.

           Frank coughed off to the side. “Reyna may have brought Helios up to speed on the last few decades of equality on gender treatment.”

           “With her fist,” Hazel said with a giggle. Whatever transpired must have been intense. Hazel was fanning herself.

           Axel smiled, looking impressed. Although Merry and Calex had informed Kally about his flirt-session with a cat goddess, Kally had a feeling no one could distract Axel from this praetor.

           Reyna cleared her throat and continued, “Prometheus contacted Helios—”

           “And said there might be an open job listing for Sun Chariot Driver,” Pax filled in, bouncing on his haunches.

           Apparently, before Kally woke up, Pax had been refusing treatment. She forced him to take some ambrosia with a Reese’s Stick. Now, she was wondering if the extra sugar before real food was a bad idea. Though, with the barely convincing smile on his face, she wondered if Pax was acting as peppy as possible to distract everyone from how he actually felt.

           Reyna nodded, looking a lot less like she wanted to strangle Pax than Kally would expect. “If Nyx wanted Hemera to come back alive, Eris told Nyx that she had to wrap Apollo in the Golden Net and keep him there, but didn’t mention anything about the chariot. When Nyx’s old business associate showed up to borrow the Sun Chariot, she didn’t try to stop him.”

           “How did Helios know where to find them?” Calex asked. He leaned up against the wall, sitting on top his sleeping bag. Kally winced anytime she glanced at him. Half his handsome face was covered in some vicious scabs that cracked when he talked. The bandages peaking out of his clothing indicated that wasn’t the only part of him that was cracking.

           Merry, sitting between them, would occasionally frown and apply pressure with a clean cloth when something bled too much. Her face was marred with bruises, and when Kally had tried to put a thumb at neutral position to see how Merry was feeling, Merry had shaken her head and mouthed the words, later, sweetie.

           Frank snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Augh, you should have heard Helios. ‘I helped find Persephone when Hades kidnapped her. You think I can’t find someone as high on his own sun fumes and flamboyant as Apollo?’’

           Hazel frowned. “They really don’t like each other. After Sadie, Leo, and Jason got Hemera and Lapis back and Lady Nyx let Lord Apollo go, he stormed back here. Helios had come back to get rid of Python’s corpse—”

           “Corpse?!” Calex and Kally echoed.

           Her head spun. She had put her everything into the last light javelin she threw, but… corpse?

           Calex slipped a hand past Merry to offer Kally a high five. “Nice play, Kassand,” he said.

           Kally struggled to raise her arm that didn’t have the skin graft. Every move made her ribs burn. On the list of reasons she found her powers stupid, having the ability to conjure the heat and brilliance of the sun without being fireproof topped everything else.

Seeing her slow movement, Calex leaned the extra way to tap her hand.

“Thanks for the assist, McKenzie,” Kally said, sincerely hoping they’d be well enough and the chaos would settle enough that she and Calex could scrimmage each other on the soccer field. Every time they high-fived, it made her long for a fun, normal-seeming soccer match.

           “Python will reform one day,” Reyna said. “Until then, Helios pried out her fangs for the two of you. Thalia already called dibs on one of the eyes to add to her Aegis shield.”

           “Thalia’s okay?” Axel asked, his ears perking up at the name.

           Reyna nodded. “Once Lady Diana saw the sun fall, she returned to check on everyone. Thalia is with Lady Diana now, assuring that Lord Apollo doesn’t skip out on details when they explain everything to the other Olympians.”

           The squeak of a marker brought everyone’s attention to Alabaster. He held up his white board. If his jaw wasn’t wired shut, he looked like he might have been smirking.

           Helios and Apollo didn’t get along?

           Kally suddenly wondered whose side Helios was on during the Second Titan War and why Prometheus, who apparently had been hiding since Mount Othrys’ fall, had been comfortable going to him for help.

           Hazel continued her story from where Kally had interrupted. Kally felt her cheeks get red, realizing how much she’d derailed them.

“Helios’ actions helped save the camp, but Lord Apollo was furious the older deity had borrowed the sun chariot. And Helios began shouting at him for neglecting his employees. He demanded Lord Apollo give Hemera, Eos, and Astraeus more benefits and more days off during the winter solstice. I thought they were about to start brawling, but that’s around when Artemis showed up and calmed her brother down. It was…” Hazel smiled softly. “Kinda sweet. You could tell Helios really cared. He only left to check on Hemera and make sure she and Nyx were okay.”

           “At least he had some redeemable features,” Reyna grumbled. She flexed her hand and Kally noticed the bandages around Reyna’s knuckles. “And Lord Apollo helped a little with the healing before he left. His song saved Lou Ellen and Michael Kahale.”

           Alabaster made a noise.

           Kally glanced over to see him covering his stitched jaw, where she knew a bone had been sticking out a day before. Judging by his pallor, he must have tried to talk.

           Kally didn’t have the heart to ask which people Apollo hadn’t been able to heal. A moment of silence passed; everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.

           Pax stopped rocking on his haunches. “So, two of the Special Seven are here.” He pointed to Hazel and Frank. “I’m going to guess Piper and Annabeth are still doing some massive sleep marathons to get rid of the kissing disease and the buboes. Commander Valdez just left, and his good mood means he’s got his blond Superman around. Where’s your Aquaman?”

           The tone of his voice was a little too careful. Kally didn’t understand the seriousness of the question—she assumed Percy had other important things to do now that he wasn’t glued to a chair—then she saw the way Merry jutted her jaw to the side.

           “After Jason assured him that he’d focus on reconstruction, Percy went to spend the day with his parents and little sister,” Hazel said, “I think the whole family is coming to help out tonight. He’s a little rough though. Um… I think the early stages of mono are setting in.”

           Kally held her breath as Pax, Axel, and Lapis all turned their gaze to Merry. Even Calex frowned in concern, showing she hadn’t told him about anything yet.

           Reyna cleared her throat, sitting up.

           Merry waved the diversion off before Reyna could begin. “I guess I can’t really avoid the Debby Downer anymore,” she said. The buoyancy vanished from her voice. “I…”

           Her gaze had sunk to the floor. Reflexively, she tapped her collarbone, like she expected the music dial on her jacket to appear. After sucking in a shaky breath, she looked back up, glancing from Pax, to Axel, to Lapis. “Baby Jackson is safe… but, by the time the EMTs got there...” A silent tear rolled down Merry’s busted cheek. She withdrew her hand from Calex’s reach when he tried to touch it. “Hiro is paralyzed from the waist down.”

           Kally froze. She could hear the sound of three different cheeks popping.

“He fell onto one of the parapets… I shattered his mind. It was all I could think to do when—he’s at Mount Sinai hospital.” Merry’s breath was so short, she sounded close to hyperventilating. “I-I’m sorry.”

           Kally felt her mouth hang open in surprise. Iciness in her stomach made her set the half-eaten breakfast sandwich down. Her appetite was gone.

Merry hated violence. She wouldn’t even hurt bugs. Shattering someone’s mind? Was that even something Merry could do?

           Tears streamed down Pax’s face.

           Axel closed his eyes.

           Lapis choked into his gag. His chair thudded on the ground as he thrashed.

           Pax shot up from his bedding.

           Frank rose to intercept him, but Reyna shook her head.

           Pax scurried to Lapis. With a whimper at moving his arm with the injured shoulder, he tore off Lapis’ gag before anyone could stop him.

           That mustn’t have been what the praetor thought Pax would do. Maybe a hug. Not giving a psychopath their most dangerous weapon back.

           Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all tensed. Kally expected Lapis to cast some kind of Egyptian magic and send everyone’s faces smashing into the ground.

           Instead, Lapis sobbed, tearing making black lines as they mixed with his charcoal liner. “He’s alive. Our stupid grime-licking Dartface is still alive. You hear that, Tufted Ears?” Lapis looked up, his expression one of crazed glee. “There are still four Pax boys! Eat garbage, world! You can ‘t eradicate us that easily!”

           Pax and Axel released broken laughs. Pax snuggled, as best as he could, against Lapis.

           Axel muttered something back to Lapis in a staccato language that Kally could only guess was Mayan. The Egyptian barked something back that made them burst into more sob-laughs.

           Merry looked understandably speechless. She hugged herself and huddled further from Calex’s worried glance.

           Axel exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. “Merry, we expected you to do what you needed to do. Hiro babysat Percy’s little sister for days and was willing to cut off her fingers without a moment of hesitation.”

           “His mind was more like a mirror hanging out at a skeet shooting lounge,” Pax croaked.

           “But he’s alive,” Lapis repeated, rubbing the coal-tear streaks against his sleeve. “Our crazy bastard is alive.”

Lapis sat up to glare at Reyna. “I’m going to hug my brothers,” he announced. He muttered something in Egyptian and his bindings disintegrated.

           The Romans clutched their weapons tightly as Lapis rose. He half-dragged Pax, half-limped over to Axel’s sleeping roll and collapsed beside him, dragging Pax down on his other side.

           “We’re going to be a Facebook-friendly, snot-happy family, and we’re not losing any more of us. But, I’m still kicking both your sorry asses for all this shit later,” Lapis said, rubbing his face on some of Axel’s bandages. His scowl darkened when he pointed to where Merry was now sobbing into her cupped hand. “Don’t think you’re off the hook though, Wine Babe. You’re coming over all the flippin’ time to try to fix up Dart Face’s messed up head.”

           Merry didn’t complain. She nodded her head feverously. With that tiny hint at forgiveness, she leaned toward Calex.

           Despite all the terrible things Lapis had helped put them through, Kally felt her own eyes warm. Axel and Pax looked so much more relaxed with their family member beside them, like neither cared what was going to happen next. For a moment, she could picture some of the stories Pax had told her, about them playing in the school yards of Belize or pranking the carnival with Frasco. Her gut twisted to realize there really were only four members left when there used to be seven in their Tumbling group.

           Like Reyna had read a book on how to ruin family moments, she twisted her knife deeper into her chair and said, “We need to talk about that.” Frank and Hazel’s expressions fell. Alabaster made a low growling sound, closer to something Axel might make. Dr. Claymore shut his book and examined them carefully.

           “Merry being a Wine Babe?” Pax choked through hiccups.

           Reyna ignored him. “Frank and I discussed matters with Chiron and Annabeth. Considering Merry’s father’s position at camp and her importance in saving Percy’s little sister, we believe the Olympians will overlook her involvement with the Triple A Chimera,” Reyna said.

           Kally felt her stomach make a valid attempt to punch its way out.

           “We believe Calex will also be absolved of any crimes, as well as Kally, especially considering their prominence in taking out Python. However, Euna is a different matter. Her declaration and continued vehemence towards the gods will make her a target for Olympian ire and they’re going to be looking for a target after this humiliation.”

           Kally glanced over at Euna. The daughter of Demeter snored softly in her moss and grass cocoon. Despite the scythe in her hand, Euna looked peaceful, in a weird feral dryad sort of way.

           Any relaxation Axel might have felt about having another sibling close must have tensed away. He sat up, away from Lapis and Pax, pulled his shoulders back, and raised his chin. “You’re not taking Euna without a fight,” he said.

           Reyna sighed. She stood and walked over to Axel’s sleeping bag. When she knelt down, his gaze remained firm. Then, Reyna pressed the butt of her knife into Axel’s bandages.

           Pax and Lapis exchanged a look and a short conversation in Mayan. One of Lapis’ hands shot up and Pax shoved it down.

           Axel’s face paled at the pressure on his wounds. He collapsed backwards with little more than a grunt.

           “Will says that you’d be dead if that goddess hadn’t helped you heal,” Reyna said, sheathing her knife. “And Euna’s not the only one we’re worried about. The Triple A Chimera isn’t safe. New Rome has wanted to hunt you down for years, and I assume the gods want the same. Look at what Ares did as an unofficial punishment. Image what it would be like with a full consensus.”[2]

Kally could feel the saliva building in her mouth and she swallowed back the urge to vomit. The thought of Pax’s fresh injuries and both brothers’ internal turmoil flashed through her head. She still couldn’t believe the Greeks and Romans worshipped gods that would force people to kill their own family members. She knew Axel and Pax had screwed up in the past—they’d even betrayed her—but nothing warranted what happened to them.

“None of you could defend yourself right now. The spellcaster doesn’t have a mouth to cast a spell. The thief can't use his hands to throw a smoke bomb or plan an escape. The tank isn’t strong enough to hold up against the gentlest press from the butt of a knife,” Reyna said, her tone tight.

           “You said butt,” Pax whispered, though his face was still pale.

           No one laughed at Pax’s joke. None of them were in a condition to help the Triple A Chimera or Euna escape, except maybe Euna herself. Even then, maybe not. Tearing one god apart left Euna comatose for a day. What would Euna do if they summoned her to Olympus with the twelve gods?

           Squeaks interrupted the ominous hush. They glanced over to Alabaster as he flipped his white board over, What are you saying?

           His scowl was intense.

           “I’m saying that we’re grateful that you helped save camp, but that doesn’t make up for your crimes in the past.” Reyna’s sternness didn’t break under his glare.

           Merry, Kally, and Calex exchanged a terrified glance. This wasn’t right, and they all knew it.

           Frank cleared his throat. “But, we are also saying there is a lot of chaos happening at camp right now and it’s hard to keep track of who is here and who leaves and who was supposed to be guarding the Pax Mobile. Hazel, wasn’t it supposed to be Dakota?”

Hazel coughed and became very interested in something outside their room. “I’m not sure. I thought Dakota had a sugar crash and Bobby was supposed to take over for him? It’s kind of hard to say.”

After dealing with Axel and Pax for so long, Kally was relieved to see that Hazel was a terrible liar.

           Tension eased from Kally’s chest. Merry squeezed Kally’s shoulder. Calex chuckled.

           Axel still looked concerned as he struggled to sit up. Although they made it as subtle as possible, Kally could tell Lapis and Pax were helping him, especially when Lapis rolled his eyes. “Reyna?” he asked, like he was looking for affirmation.

           Although Kally usually looked at Axel as a leader of sorts, she wanted to hit him with a, shut up and accept it speech.

           Reyna folded her arms across her chest. Her face was unreadable. “If I didn’t want to face the Olympian’s wrath, I wouldn’t be here when the sunsets. That’s as long as Thalia suggested she could stall the Olympians, if there was a need. But, also, I would get out of here as soon as possible, in case any guards decided they wanted to change how vigilant they were being. Speaking of which, Zhang?”

           Frank sat up, and Kally got the feeling he often forgot he was a praetor. It made him a lot less intimidating and made Kally feel even worse that she’d given him a massive concussion during one of their… misunderstandings. With the Triple A Chimera on the run again, Kally wondered if any of those misunderstanding would be cleared up, or if the Triple A Chimera would go down in the history books as exclusively monsters.

           “We should decide who we wanted to post here, since Leo and Sadie might consider leaving early for their trip without telling anyone and there might be a gap in the guard,” she said. There was a hint of humor in her tone as she turned to step out the door.

           As Frank went to stand, Axel said, “Wait, I’ve been meaning to say something to Praetor Zhang.”

           Reyna continued out the door with little more than a wave. Apparently she was done with Pax nonsense for the day.[3]

           Frank paused. His expression twisted to one of trepidation and Kally couldn’t blame him. Out of all the heroes of Olympus, this shockingly nice son of Mars had taken the brunt of the injuries from their group, both mental and… emotional.

           “I’m sorry about your ear,” Axel said. The comment felt almost like a casual formality and Kally contemplated whether maiming apology letters were a thing.

           Frank reached up to touch the bandages still plastered to the side of his head. He frowned. “Yea, I’m still pretty mad about that. But… um… Sorry my dad made me interrupt your date. I would have at least waited until you were alone to arrest you. Do you guys… know what happened to it? My ear, I mean? Will said we could have reattached my ear if we had it…”

           Frank looked a little queasy. Kally had to wonder: if someone ripped off her ear, would she rather they had eaten it or the ear just been lost?

           Alabaster and Pax exchanged a glance. Axel’s face remained blank, but he puffed up his cheeks and popped them.

           The son of Hecate tapped his white board to draw attention to him. After an uncomfortable period of marker squeaks, Alabaster held up his board, No. It would be weird if we took it, right?

           Frank’s shoulders slumped. “I just wish we hadn’t lost it,” he said.

           Calex cleared his throat. Kally made herself look anywhere but at Frank. Merry glanced at all of them with a disapproving, confused hum.

           Before anyone could stop him, Pax let out a nervous giggle. “Oh, we didn’t. It’s in a tube of formaldehyde in Alabaster’s basement.”

           Frank paled. His mouth moved a few times in horror. Hazel’s eyes went wide.

           “I just wish we’d lost it,” Frank corrected forlornly. If possible, his shoulders sank lower.

           “Oh!” Pax said, “Speaking of not losing things that could emotionally destroy cute Canadian boys.”

           From within his blanket nest, Pax withdrew a charred stick and balanced it on his busted hand like he was presenting a baby lion.

           Hazel reacted first. She snatched the stick from Pax’s palm and held it close to her chest. “When did you get this back?!”

           “We thought Atë still had it!” Frank said. He rushed to Hazel’s side, slipping a hand to hers to touch his stick.[4] “Thank—wait, were you the one that set it on fire during the fight? I felt that.”

           Frank scowled at Pax.

           Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “If I said that I gambled your life force for a good cause—Aye!”

           “What Ajaxapax is trying to say is that he’s sorry for stealing your piece of ugly kindling in the first place,” Lapis said. His fingers were pinched tightly around Pax’s ear. His charcoal-lined eyes narrowed as he gave Pax a devilish grin. “Just ‘cause Tufted Ears traumatized you doesn’t mean you get an easy pass.”

           “But—but my year of consequence-free pranking!” Pax squeaked, squirming to break Lapis’ hold.

           Hazel tucked the stick neatly into Frank’s pocket. “When did you get it from him in the first place?” she asked. “Frank is really careful with his stick.”

           Lapis released Pax so he could give a proper explanation.

Heat rose in Kally’s cheeks. With everything going on, she couldn’t remember why she was so enraged by the mention of that stick, but she knew it was something that made her furious.

As they watched, Pax’s features shifted. His skin darkened several shades as his hair lightened to a cinnamon. His black eye lightened to match the hazel one. His frame shrank. Within a few seconds, there were two Hazels in the room. Fortunately, his hand stayed busted and bruised as a dead giveaway in the event that they decided to play a quick round of Ring around the Rosie. Pax-Hazel altered the way he was sitting, mimicking Hazel’s shy demeanor.

Frank’s jaw dropped.

Real Hazel gasped.

           Hazel-Pax batted his-her eyes at Frank and fanned her face. When he spoke, his accent mimicked her slight Louisiana one. “Oh, the day after we arrived in New Rome? It was just a little detour that Frank and I took on our walk to the training fields.  I needed you two to be too flustered to communicate, so no one would realize there were two Hazels walking around. And I needed a centurion that the praetors would trust to go into the principia on their own.”

           “Wait, what?” Axel demanded, scowling at Pax.

           “You dodgy perv,” Calex said, putting the good half of his face into his hand. “Do you want these blokes to go back on letting you go?”

           Frank looked like he couldn’t decide if he was going to be sick or if he was going to turn into a rhino and gore Pax. Hazel looked horrified. “You were mean to Frank? As me?!” she asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

           Kally remembered why she was in the let’s hurt Pax party.

           “Yea, ‘mean.’” Hazel-Pax lost the act. At real Hazel’s appall, he gave Frank an endearing smile. “She’s so cute and innocent.”

           Frank seemed to decide on goring Pax. He stood back to full height and Kally could see him tensing for an attack.

           Lapis twisted Pax’s ear again. Pax shrieked while morphing back into his raven-haired, hazel-and-black eyed, Hispanic self.

           “Aye! Okay! Okay! I’m sorry I impersonated your girlfriend and rocked your morning!”

           “We’re giving you this head start because you saved the camp,” Frank told him, shaking with rage, “But, once we help rebuild the camp, I’m fulfilling my father’s quest and dragging you before the Olympic council in place of your brother.”    

           With the threat, Frank stalked off down the hallway.

           Hazel paused. She walked up to Pax and punched him in the face.

           Pax squealed again, pressing his ruined palm to his face. “Well deserved punches are the most painful!”

           Hazel’s mouth moved a few times. She blushed. When she couldn’t think of the right words, she stormed off after Frank.

Although Kally knew Pax’s words were light, the tone was choked, like all his obnoxious bravado had met its match. For an uncomfortable moment, she wondered if Pax had been intentionally a jerk to let Frank and Hazel focus on that, instead of going easy on him after… everything.

           Kally shook off the feeling. She was still mad at him for doing whatever he did with Frank while they were almost-not-really-dating. She was also mad that she couldn’t decide if she did or didn’t want to know what it was or if that even mattered. There had been so much going on, and so much almost dying, that Kally hadn’t had a chance to think about her feelings for Pax, or that Alabaster had kissed her in the infirmary, or that Alabaster and Pax had dated, or that Pax had locked himself into a hopefully platonic date with his half-sister. There was still too much going on to acknowledge that train wreck.

           New rule: no flirting until at least one month after the most recent traumatic event. Preferably with everyone in safe locations with fewer gods trying to kill them.

           Kally glanced at Pax, wondering how long he’d make it before—

           “What did you do?” Axel demanded again, his voice tight.

           Tapping emitted across the room and Alabaster pointed to his board. And why did you need access to the principia? Unlike Axel, Alabaster looked amused.

           “Yep, still illiterate,” Pax reminded him, though Kally suspected he’d dodge that question regardless. “Let’s just say that Frank might know these hands better than Alabaster or Kally. And really, that—in itself—is a crime.” Pax held his hands up and winked at Kally. He blew a kiss to Alabaster as best he could. Although he was trying to look playful and cute, the way his shoulder slumped and the discoloration of his hand almost distracted Kally from the obscenity. Almost.

           Axel sighed. “Lapis, can you hurt Pax for me?”

           Pax didn’t squeak fast enough when Lapis snagged his ear. There was a split second where Kally could see Pax examining his hand. His forearm twitched with movement, but only his thumb folded to the bruised skin. A sickness returned to Kally’s stomach when she realized he was trying to move his other four fingers. All their hard work reattaching Pax’s tendons had been undone. She wondered if he’d ever be able to move his fingers again.

           In one way, that felt like karma, with how much of a sneak thief and pickpocket Pax was. But then Kally remembered how much Pax liked to paint and sew and bake for others. She remembered how he used his pickpocketing to help his brother combat his nicotine addiction.

           That moment of Pax’s silent recognition past, then he was whining under Lapis’ grip. “Aye! Okay! I lied! Kally still knows this hand better!”

           Merry shoved Kally’s shoulder while humming Let’s get it on.

           Kally felt like her face had caught fire, her head scrambling to figure out what he was—

           “Because I cut it open for surgery?” she half-asked, half-explained. That’s the only thing he could—  

           Something made a loud thump. Kally jumped. Pain exploded in her ribs and she inhaled sharply. That’s when she remembered there was an adult in the room, listening to this whole conversation.

           Claymore had slammed his book shut, which Kally didn’t even remember him reopening. “As charming as this teenage idiocy is, it might be prudent to follow the praetors’ suggestion of haste. The Triple A Chimera and Euna are on a timeline. I don’t want to see what will happen if they change their minds.”

 ***

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed :D Stay tuned next week for Kally’s chapter, A Stalling Resolution. And, afterwards, stay tuned for the Part One/Part Two epilogues the following weeks! We’re so close to being done!

 ***

Footnotes:

[1] Pax would like to say that Alabaster probably wants to say this regardless, but not with the same intention that Kally fears.

[2] I just had to note the amount of swearing and anger Mel wrote in her betanotes about this. XD

[3] Mel beta note: “BUT YOU LOVE ONE PAX’S NONSENSE, RIGHT?! THERE’S STILLL A CHANCE, RIGHT?!”

[4] I will leave this how it sounds and judge all of you for saying anything between this cute Canadian and sweet New Orleans girl could be dirty.

[whiskeyworen]

Gonna get so much hate from Star Wars ‘fans’.

Lemme start with saying that Force Awakened and Last Jedi.... were EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED IN A NEW STAR WARS GENERATION. So many people love circling around just the Skywalker clan, as if they’re the only ones in that fantasy universe who can use the Force. Even though their own canon movies say there used to be MILLIONS out of trillions who could. That said, having seen the new trailer for Rise of Skywalker, I’ll add this; it’s STILL following the idea I love. The idea that there is a bigger universe than the original cast. Oh, they still feature, yes, but they are not the central focus. And since I’m going to get some people raging at me (maybe) that ‘I just don’t understand’, keep in mind that I have read a fair amount of the AU, and I actually got quite sick and tired of the whole universe orbiting the Skywalker clan and their spawn. It left no opening for anything new and unexpected. That’s why I was quite happy with the idea that Rey is literally a nobody, someone with NO blood relation to the Skywalker clan, who is now seemingly by fate or destiny, or blind luck, gifted with Force usage. She is that diamond-in-the-rough, that clean slate character. But that brings with it a double-edged sword. With Luke, his path was always straightforward. Even at his worst, he was still ‘clean’. He never really was tempted to the dark side. Rey can be. Oh, not tempted by someone like Kylo Ren, Snoke, or, judging from the new trailer, either the spirit of/the recording of Palpatine. No, if she travels a darker path, it’s because she chooses it and there’s no one who can or would stop her. Which I think is great. Because Dark does not mean Evil, at least to me. Rey is very strong emotionally, and hard to break down in any way. A lot of her strength, I feel, comes from her emotions, but she never truly loses control of them (like a certain Anakin did, or his grandson). That’s going to make her very scary in a way that can be good or bad. It’s the unexpected. Everyone expects her to follow the footsteps of Luke or early Anakin. I think she’s forging her own path. She’s not good, she’s not bad. She’s still caught in the middle, choosing which way is best for her. Which makes her unpredictable and dynamic. Oh, she definitely does not like things; she doesn’t like oppression, or bullying, or being treated as weaker. She doesn’t like being looked down upon. But while, under certain circumstances these things could lead to an Anakin-like fall from grace, they could also lead to an evolution. A forging of a new kind of not-Sith, not-Jedi force wielder. Someone who lets their emotions guide them, but is not LOST to those emotions. Now I feel like I’m wandering away. There was another thing, which might negate all I’ve said, or completely flip it on its head, and that TOO can be a good thing.... I’m going to call it right now, as I’ve been calling it from the Force Awakens; Rey is the lost granddaughter of Palpatine. She doesn’t have Skywalker blood; she has Palpatine blood. Her ‘parents’ were Imperial handlers who took her FAR from the line of battle as a child, to some nearly nameless desert world, in order to hide her until they needed her. Either as the heir to the Throne, or as a replacement figurehead should the Emperor have fallen for some reason. That the only reason no one came back for her was that everyone in the limited circle that knew of her existence was killed in Return of the Jedi or in subsequent fights. I’ll go one further and add a twist that maybe the Emperor, in a bid for creating the ‘best heir possible’, an heir with his blood, tremendous Force power, and one that would be accepted as a visible successor, went and combined his own DNA with that of Lord Vader, then gender-flipped it, with Rey as the result. Keep in mind his own homeworld of Naboo traditionally had an Queen, and though he ruled through power and fear, perhaps a female replacement for him would be more accepted as a ruler in ‘peace times’? My only ‘evidence’ for it is a few little details. 1: Abandoned for decades on a desert world that everyone pretty much forgot. Perfect hiding place for an heir you don’t want anyone to know about yet. 2: Strong enough Force powers to scare Kylo and interest Snoke. 3: Fast learner of those Force powers. In ONE interrogation, Rey not only was mentally assaulted, but learned to resist that assault, push back, and counter-assault. In a matter of minutes. She also learned how to ‘suggest’ to weak-spirited people after TWO tries. Her accuracy with the Falcon’s weapons, a system she was not trained in, has never used, and a ship she was unfamiliar with, and she still manages to pop top-of-the-line TIE fighters, one while in the middle of a vector-change flip. Gotta love how the Force can let you sense a little into the future to make magic like THAT happen. 4: She fights like Palpatine. Take a good look at her fighting style when she takes on Ren at the end of Force Awakens. For someone who’s only presumably used staffs for fighting, which are sweep/swat weapons with only a little bit of jabbing, she uses that saber in an almost fencing style. Not the traditional samurai-styled way of swirls and swoops and deflects. Not even Kylo’s own Claymore style of just pounding on an opponent with the blade. Hers are elegant deep stabs, misdirections, and close parries. I wish I knew more about sword fighting, but her style looked a hell of a lot like Palpatine’s style when he took on the Jedi. And she learned that style in practically instant fashion...unless of course that style was already present within her. Like Muscle Memory. Or... DNA memory?... LoL. These are just my thoughts. I am fully unsupported by the general fandom, and my friends in this. Whether she’s a nobody choosing her path, or a Palpatine granddaughter still on the edge of going Dark, I’m looking forward to this new movie. You won’t find any hate from me. Also, please don’t send me hate. It’s an opinion, and compared to what’s going on in the fandom right now, it’s a goddamned HAPPY opinion. Let it be.

[athyrabunlord]

Thoughts and Notes about ep1-5

This is a continuation of this post here, and some extras too. It’s less casual and more organized this time.

I now have rewatched ep1-3, and then watched ep4-5 which I was strongly recommended to do because those will answer some of my questions.

Tl:dr version - ep4-5 did nothing to endear the MC duo (if anything, it did the opposite), but provided interesting insights on other characters and thus are worth the watch

The (once again very long) version:

As said above, I have now watched ep4-5 as per recommendation because I’m told that I missed a lot from skipping ep4-5, that reading summaries wasn’t enough because that messes up the narrative. Fair enough, I agree with that and therefore decided to watch for myself.

Before that though, I rewatched ep1-3 just to see what else I could have missed. I must say that it was very interesting in this rewatch now that we know more about Nana and Hikari. Many of Nana’s lines in these earlier episodes are indeed foreshadowing. Her friggin’ first line is a foreshadowing.

One thing to add here that I missed mentioning in my previous post is that, yes it’s strongly implied that Karen have not participated in the loops’ Revues/that ep1 is the first time she participated.

==================================================

Notes about Ep1:

The narration of the play Starlight, of little Karen and Hikari and when they made their promise; the play’s cast was the girls in their Revue outfits with Hikari on the very top

Maya pointing out that she couldn’t see Hikari’s heart, which both Kuro and Nana expressed their surprise’; since the scene switched to the stairway, we don’t know what Nana’s expression is then - surprise about that insight on Hikari, the rogue factor, or surprise about Maya able to sense that? Ep7 did reveal a lot, but not all yet

I knew Kirin’s eyes were green but now that I’m staring at them, I think they’re the same/close to the shade of Nana’s green

Hikari would’ve lost to Junna if Karen hadn’t intervened, and then Junna lost due to the element of surprise.

Revue of of Passion - with help of ep8, it’s obvious now why Hikari would’ve lost, she no longer had her passion after all

=================================================

Notes about Ep2:

Just as Kirin warned, both Hikari and Junna reminded Karen not to speak of Revue in public (the first rule of Fight Club is, you do not… cough); Mahiru’s reaction was confusion, Nana’s was surprise, implying this could be the first she finds out of Karen participating the Revue

Maya and Claudine, pls go a get a room X”DDDDD the chemistry between these two good lord

Hikari noting that Karen doesn’t have enough shine, that’s why she wasn’t chosen in the first place; Karen countered that what Junna said made her heart doki/making her want to understand and try harder (on top of the fact Hikari’s back with her here)

Nowhere was it stated that ep1’s 3-way match didn’t count or does count; however, the fact ep2 is “Day 2 Audition” implies there is some sort of impact

Junna said the moment she became Stage Girl was when she was 8; interesting note is that it’s implied she watched a play of Starlight or similar, but the cast was shown as mannequins in contrast to ep1

Revue of Desire- Junna wants to be a star; she wants to shine and step out from the shadows, to surpass Maya and Kuro and thus she tried and tried so hard just to keep up; in my rewatch here, I note that Karen didn’t even talk-no-jutsu… she just said she wants to become stars with Hikari, and the next moment landed that decisive blow

After that, Kirin remarked he now knows why Karen wasn’t originally chosen, implying Hikari and Karen’s fate are shared

Maya defeated Kuro but neither’s stories are shown enough at this point to judge whose desire is stronger

Summary: still cannot accept Junna’s loss. If Junna doesn’t have as much talent as the top girls, she at least has passion and work ethics and desire to win which Karen lacks at this point; even if I take a step back and say Karen’s desire is stronger than Junna’s… so, having a goal to due to a childhood promise is more favorable/stronger in the Revue than a desire to reach the star through hardwork? Hmm. I’ll just say Junna lost because she was overthinking and, quoting her, the simple-minded ones are stronger lol

========================================================

Notes about Ep3

Nana seems (pleasantly) surprised when Junna and Karen seem so close; could be due the fact this rerun truly is different

I really must mention I like the start of Claudine and Futaba’s growing bond/dynamic

Kaoruko talking to Mahiru about how Hikari’s presence brought all the changes; it could’ve been just an off-handed comment, or does Kaoruko know more than she seems? (even though ep5 appeared to be her first entrance to Revue and her centric ep6 didn’t confirm that)

Still irked by what Karen told Hikari - “I’ll be back after I win!”; I’ll just put it as her being idealistic and believes that her dream is enough fuel to lead her to victory, especially after the match against Junna

Seriously, Kuro and Maya, I have a room all prepared, go for it, let it all out gah pls just go at it

Revue of Pride - Maya expressing surprise that Karen is even in this Revue; meaning she has never considered Karen as a possible rival, or she thought Karen didn’t have a goal/reason to be top star; she asked Karen just what had she offered in exchange, to reach for the star? Indeed, what had Karen offered?

Kuro vs Futaba, and flashes of the other girls in their Revue outfits (but only Nana’s katanas were shown); was this implying that there have been other matches by this Day 3 of Audition already? If anyone has a chart of who’s fought who already on which days, that’d be great (I’ve seen some on twitter but can’t find them anymore).

Allow me a moment to gush over Maya’s part in the duet of ep3 again. Those lyrics are just so damn good lol. And also goddamit that beautiful animation

Instead of herself, Maya mostly talked about Kuro; I’ve already talked about this in my previous post but yeah, I love them. This is KuroMaya

Interestingly, after her victory, Maya said “the passion with her (Kuro) is…”, trailed off; well, I guess we’ll wait for a Kuro-centric ep to find out more

Hikari trying to intervene but couldn’t; implying Kirin really did sneakily allow Karen to crash the audition in ep1, or Karen has some sort of power that allowed her to sneak in without Kirin’s notice

Conclusion: while Maya is indeed more superior in skills than Karen, this being Revue of Pride implies that due to Maya’s pride/confidence in her skills and acknowledging what’s at stake, she defeated Karen

============================================

Anyway, finally here we are, ep4-5. I took into consideration all the points that those arguments have made against my post and what I should look out for:

explanation/evidence in Karen being so powerful (ie. improving enough to defeat Claudine)

The impact of Karen losing to Maya has on the plot/character development

The resolution of the Mahiru-Karen relationship (as well as, the Mahiru-Karen-Hikari situation)

The Karen-Hikari bond being a strong enough fuel for the viewer to relate to and root for them

Summary/Notes about ep4

Once again we’re shown that little Karen and Hikari’s promise was made after they’ve seen the play Starlight; however this time, while played by the girls, they’re in the actual play’s outfits and the two as the lead; for the first time, we’re shown exactly what happened after the two leads reached the top; Karen was… affected by the red light (interestingly, her own jewel color), and then the scene continued to the next line of how ‘their dreams could never be’

Bana-nice; Nana seems happy at the new term, perhaps because that’s never happened in any of the reruns before

Sigh, really, making a ruckus in the morning, disturbing most of your dorm mates’ rest, and ditching your hallway cleaning duties, that’s just rude and disrespectful; Karen did apologize and promise to be back soon (which she didn’t)

Kaoruko talks to Futaba about the Revue audition, foreshadowing ep6

Hikari reminding/making sure Karen remembers their promise, and the two chatting about various things, while walking around the city dragging her suitcase and making Karen chase after her for the whole day; I’ll… just leave it as because Hikari haven’t been back to Japan for 12 yrs and thus want to do a bit of tour around; also, Karen mentioning she felt that she and Maya were on totally different stage

Important Note: we’re shown yet again that Kuro was practicing, as per all previous episodes; that’s 4 eps in a row; why specifically keep showing her practicing, out of the other girls? I’m really excited for her centric ep

Also seriously MayaKuro please, I beg of you, do something about your sexual tension *writhes* a claymore couldn’t cut it in half X”DDDDDD

Ahem. Kuro asking Maya why she’s in the Revue, and Maya replying she’s jealous at the very thought of someone else being the Top Star; implying she wanted to win to keep their status quo of her being no.1 and therefore, her partner/no.2 will remain Kuro

Hikari trying to warn Karen of the stakes, of what it means to lose at Revue; Karen just assuring Hikari she won’t lose again because she wants to shine, that she’ll be so brilliant and intense that she won’t lose to everyone;

Hikari reminding Karen there could only be one winner; Karen refuted that Kirin never said that - rather, the winner could be whoever presents the most dazzling revue; Hikari is in disbelief since there’s no way they’d get special treatment like that; Karen assures Hikari it’ll be okay (At this point, I think that’s exactly what will happen lol)

Once again, Nana looks very happy about ‘bana-nice’ and that this is the first time they made up alibi to get past roll coll for the absent duo

It was never shown that Karen or Hikari contacted the girls that they won’t be back; sure they ran out of money but, surely their phone still have battery? If not, that’s utterly irresponsible of them to just get out like that and expect things to work out

The rest of the girls are such amazing friends; Karen thanked Junna for doing her cleaning duties; in spite of the dorm head finding out and Junna freaking out about the hardcore training as punishment, the bottom line for Junna is that she’s glad Karen and Hikari are safe; the rest of the girls welcome them back

Conclusion, if you really ship KarenxHikari, you’ll probably enjoy it. If not, well, you’ll enjoy all the other moments and appreciate the other girls.

===========================================================

Summary/Notes about Ep5:

For Mahiru, Karen has always been a source of light, absolutely brilliant; however, so are the others in this prestigious Academy; Mahiru thought everyone but herself is radiant; it’s implied that she’s been struggling with this inferiority complex for a long time

Once again, Nana seems pleased at Karen’s change; however, her gaze was cloudy and displeased when the GroupB girls suggested Hikaren as the leads, that she should move forward and strive for improvement; def foreshadowing of ep7

Mahiru had such trouble waking up Karen in the morning, shown in previous episodes; now, Karen woke up early to train with Hikari, now that she’s made a promise to Hikari that she won’t lose again and will catch up to Maya. Good for her to finally be motivated, but coming from Mahiru’s POV, that’s painful. The unspoken question of “I’m not good enough to motivate you?” lingers in the air

We learn about Mahiru’s background; that she came from a large family, who owns a farm, and it had a been a huge deal for her to get accepted into the Academy, enough to get interviewed

After a bit of… stalkerish behavior from Mahiru (which I suppose is meant to be presented as comical but I just cringe) in which Hikari is always present and thus stopped Mahiru from really doing anything, Mahiru finally snaps, telling Hikari not to steal her brilliance which is Karen; Hikari is irked by the casual use of the word ‘steal’ (which is explained later in ep8)

Mahiru receives the mail about the Revue, marking this as her first fight

Revue of Jealousy - in a way, this makes sense why it’s only now that Mahiru qualifies to participate in Revue; on a side note, I really, really dig the song…

The whole thing is presented as comical in an almost psychotic, creepy way; of course, Mahiru’s completely snapped; she’s scared of losing her place, of losing her shine; she’s the one who had always been by Karen’s side but now…

Mahiru’s. Weapon. Is. Badass.

Also, a note, you -can- intervene in other Revues somehow; if Mahiru or Karen wanted, they could have started fighting Maya and Futaba; Kaoruko and Junna; Hikari and Kuro then and there

Anyway, it’s very painful to watch Mahiru chasing after Karen. “I just want to be useful again.” “Do you not need me anymore?”

After Mahiru’s self-deprecating rant, Karen counters that Mahiru has her own shine and lists all the qualities she likes about Mahiru, making her recall the joy of being accepted to this Academy and so on

And then, Karen won. If going by my above points, this is Revue of Jealousy so in that aspect, Mahiru definitely should have won. If not, still I don’t see how Mahiru so easily lost. As mentioned in my previous post, where is the supposed damage from being repeatedly thwonked by that mace/scepter? Karen did a ‘homerun’ to win but, urgh, she won because she made Mahiru recall her own shine??

Afterwards, we’re shown Mahiru acknowledging her own shine, which has always been there since middle school, and that she won’t rely on anyone anymore.

Conclusion: I tried to remain as neutral as I could but now I’m sitting here, tasting bitterness and just overall horrible for Mahiru. Those summaries I read before were nice and sugarcoating in comparison now that I’ve watched the real thing. If the ep’s intention is to make viewers feel horrible for Mahiru, then in that aspect it’s a successful delivery. If the ep’s intention is for the viewer to accept Karen and root for her… My opinion of her went from neutral to you’re such a horrible friend who doesn’t deserve Mahiru at all. I want to like you Karen, I really do because you’re the MC, but I really can’t, not after ep5.

I feel like full extent of Mahiru’s despair was just dismissed. Her issues, not just the jealousy of Karen being ‘taken away’ from her side, felt really downplayed. Sure, Karen did give her hope and the other others’ acknowledgement at the end, the warm and family-like atmosphere soothe her, but the scale is just too much to justify that change. You do not just overcome years of feeling inferior over one supposedly inspirational speech. Ep 5 isn’t just horrible on the Karen-Mahiru relationship now, it’s a slap in the face to the character of Mahiru. I’m… appalled. Really, put yourself in Mahiru’s shoes.

Now, going back to the four points I listed before writing about ep4-5, none of them are answered/resolved. Karen trains yes, but Kuro has been training for so much longer and she was better than Karen to start with. Karen losing to Maya made her want to start training harder and her plan to defeat Maya is to become more radiant. Um, ok. The other two points I already said above.

======================================================

And so, I’ve come to a final conclusion that:

You either adore Revue Starlight in spite of its faults (or for some people, blind to the faults), and/or ship Karen x Hikari and/or considers Karen a good MC;

or;

You’re still watching Revue Starlight by ignoring its faults because you like the other characters/ships/elements too much, and/or really don’t care for Karen x Hikari and/or find Karen lacking as MC.

If you’re watching the series and don’t belong to the two groups I mentioned above, please, please comment on this and shed some light as the middle(?) ground since it’d be nice to see a completely different perspective.

[aylamoenwyb]

Character Profile – Gylda Rose

FULL NAME: Altadmal Osson of the Tumet COMMON NAME: Gylda Rose NICKNAME(S)/ALIAS(ES): Sis, Rose, Little Flower, Angel, Lady

AGE: 21 BIRTHDAY: 1st Sun of the 1st  Astral Moon APPEARS HOW OLD: 21

RACE: AuRa- Xaela NATIONALITY: Tumet

GENDER: Female SEXUALITY: Straight RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Taken

Physical

HAIR: Strawberry Pink-Blonde EYES: Serene Blue

SKIN: Warm Ivory with Obsidian Scales.  Her cheeks shimmer in iridescent freckles  HEIGHT:  5 Fulms

BUILD: Slender.  Athletic and light.    

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Her cheeks are lined with sparkling freckles.  She has a  deep still pink-healing scar from a claymore smashing into her shoulder.  

COMMON ACCESSORIES / APPAREL: She still wears her hair in a tribal fashion, albeit she’s softened her tribal looks and made them more Eorzean.  She prefers youthful clothes that move and is often in outfits good for training or being outside with her precious Hawk companion Hank, or Yol, Ayrn. She was recently gifted a diamond-ice bracelet with a winged rose charm upon it she also always wears.  A gilded rapier with a wolf’s head emblem is also often strapped to her side.  

Personal

PROFESSION: Student. Courier. Lady of House Elune-though she is currently very much unaware of the meaning or gravity of the title, thinking it mostly a term of endearment and respect. HOBBIES: Falconry. Reading. Training. Painting. Knitting.     TRAINING: Even though she was a gatherer for her native tribe, everyone in the tribe learned at least some basic fighting and defense skills.  So her whole life has been about training and learning to defend oneself.  Once she reunited with her older sister, she began training with Shinji of the Calar.  At his mate’s suggestion, Rose then started to study magic with Bryte and Mr. Sha.  Which led ultimately to her enrolling in the Conjurer’s Guild but also meeting and training with Lord Shiro Elune both in magic and battle.  She also briefly was given a lesson from Sir Hoku Soliare,

ALLEGIANCE(S): Her family. Shiro’s Family.   RANK(S): None AFFILIATION(S): House Elune, Goldbrand,  Sea Lurkers

LANGUAGE(S): Xaelic- native speaker. Common tongue- now fluent but gets a little flustered if people speak to quick or use to many euphemisms, Hingan- rusty but fluent as she lived in Kugane for almost two years earning her passage to come to Limsa.

SOCIAL STATUS: Unknown mostly. A bright, brash kind-hearted young woman. So noticed by most in a positive way when she does pull attention.  FINANCIAL STATUS: Modestly Poor. Though really, she’s ‘wealthy’-just she would never dare think that.  She is greatful for Lord Shiro’s kindness and care over her but she does not expect it and is proud in her own right of her humble apartment and world she had accomplished on her own.

CRIMINAL STATUS: Squeaky Clean.  

EDUCATIONAL STATUS: Student-well educated, both in a formal lesson way and more informal tribal way.  She did not until recently however attend school formally but rather was tutored.

TITLE(S): Lady, Hero of the-Blue Scales

RESIDENCE: Currently, The Diamond Sky though her mail is still delivered to her apartment in the Lavender Beds.   BIRTHPLACE: Tumet Winter Hunting Grounds, Azim Steepe

RELIGION: Proud daughter of Nhaama  PATRON DEITY: Halone SPIRITUAL BELIEFS: Nhaama, the Duskmother will always watch over her chosen children.  Protecting, comforting and guiding them along life’s paths.

Relationships

SPOUSE(S): N/A PARTNER(S): Lord Shiro Elune CHILDREN: N/A

PARENTS:  Father: Batu Osson Tumet   Mother: Shona Osson Tumet SIBLINGS: several but only Ayla is living nearby. OTHER RELATIVES: Tumet Tribe

ENEMIES/RIVALS: True enemies unknown. Even most of her ‘enemies’ are fond of her or grow a strong fondness oe admiration for her.    

BEST FRIENDS: Ayla.  Mr. Sha.

PETS: Hank her Hawk and Ayrn her Yol.

Attributes

STRENGTH: Above average-especially if you factor in her slight stature.  AGILITY: She is nimble and fast. Sometimes it almost seems as if she is so graceful and lightweight she could fly. WILLPOWER: Average.  She is bright and determined but this is usually undercut by her lack of self assuredness and brashness.     INTELLECT: She’s smart and studious.    WISDOM: Her empathy and ability to see things from another’s viewpoint make her wise beyond years in many ways.  However, she is still a hot-headed little warrior girl who is easily hurt and pushed to fight.   CHARISMA: Sweet. Caring, Sincere and open she does not sway with quick with or flattery.  Instead she wins over hearts and respect with her straight forward nature and genuine interest in and compassion for others.   Though the flip side of this is when she gets upset at someone, it is taken even harsher than the same words spoken by almost anyone else.

COMBAT SKILL: She is not afraid of a fight. And she has trained across multiple fighting styles and weapons.  She is a fierce opponent.   

ARTISTIC SKILL: Painting. Knitting. Rope making and if you are very lucky and trusted, you might get a glimpse of her singing, dancing or playing her tribal lute.    TECHNICAL SKILL: Below average.     MAGICAL SKILL:  Still developing but what she’s learned so far is potent when added to her already impressive for her age, physical battle skills.  

—— HABITS —— • Chews her cheek  when nervous or unsure • Twists her tail in her hand • Addresses everyone by their title with two exceptions. 1. Family. Or. 2. You lost her respect/the title you ‘carry’ you don’t deserve in her mind.  

—— FEARS —— • Harm to her family. Mice.  Being trapped in a confined space.  Being Captured again.

Favorites

COLOR

: Pink, Blue, White, Furs.

SMELL

: Cherry Blossoms, Lord Shiro’s Cologne, Campfire 

FOOD

: Steak, Roasted Dodo, Omelets

DRINK

: Tea, Champagne

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE

: Champagne

@captainkurosolaire @shadragonheart

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 51

Well, a lot happens in this scene, though it took me forever to put it together due to all sorts of problems on my end. Unfortunately I’m a horrible proof reader so I hope the events flow and don’t feel wasted. So, instead of panicking and throwing a fit about it, I’ll let everyone dive right into...

    The hanger doors folded out and a chill wind rushed into the belly of the Skyskipper, Zooey’s coral red airship. Normally it served as home for Zooey, Tails, and Rosy, but when they first found a red star ring it became their base of operations, including for Sonic and Mighty. As Claymore’s Banquet unfolded below, it also served as an observation platform for the Engineers, who Zooey had forged a strong alliance with while sky racing using Sonic and Tails’ planes; the Tornado and X-Tornado. Today though, it was Sonic at the controls of the Tornado, with Rosy blissfully on his lap in the now cramped cockpit.

    “I kind of feel like I should have taken Tails’ plane.”

    “Don’t be like that, Sonic~♥,” Rosy giggled and Sonic rolled his eyes before looking out at Zooey who was preparing to man the deployment arm for the plane.

    “You ready to bail if things go sideways?”

    “Not too far. Besides, the Ring Gate Beacon is working perfectly. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting back here.”

    “Then we’re off!” Rosy shouted excitedly and thrust a fist cheerfully in the air.

    Sonic smirked as he dodged Rosy’s enthusiasm and began throwing switches as he started up the silver-winged, red biplane. With Rosy’s arm up in the air though, he noticed a light blinking from under the cuff of Rosy’s glove. “We got a call, kid. How about you say hi to Tails while we head out.”

    “Yay!”

    Bringing her arm down and trying not to get in Sonic’s way, Rosy depressed a button on the wrist device she wore. “So, is this Mighty or Tails!~♥”

    -Oh~! This technology is amazing! It’s a lot more advanced than what we installed on my ship.-

    “Blister?” Rosy asked confused. “Why do you have–”

    -Don’t worry about it Rosy-lass,- Gill’s voice came across the wrist radio next He also seemed to quickly change his mind. -No. Definitely worry about it, Rosy-lass. That knight is more trouble than we realized. But we got in contact with Tails, Mighty, and the koala before he took them out of here. Tails insisted that we get their stuff and meet you at the stage. He’s worried Rosy-lass. Real worried, especially after I told him that Claymore sent most of his autogolems into the catacombs. He insists that your lad is going to need to stop someone. We don’t know who, but Claymore called him a Ring Mage.-

    “Ix!” Rosy declared with surprise.

    “You don’t know that,” Sonic countered, but Rosy did not even puff up her cheeks as she countered him. She attempted to wear a smile for him though.

    “Just call it my girlish intuition.”

    “Right,” Sonic replied offering her a more comforting smile before flashing Zooey a thumbs up. “We’re good to go, Zooey. Send us on our way.”

    “Just come back please. Sonic, Rosy. And make sure you bring Tails and Mighty with you.”

    “You got it!” Sonic promised Zooey as she activated the launch arm, and the Tornado was lifted out of the airship.

    “We’ll bring our new friends too,” Rosy cried out as the Tornado was released and fell away from the airship. “You’ll love them!”

    ~Normally I would love flying sitting in Sonic’s lap while he pilots his plane. Tee-hee~♥ This might be my first time. I don’t think we ever have. But the thing is… Well, something isn’t right.

    ~I know Sonic doesn’t believe in destiny. He believes in forging his own path. But the gods are real. I don’t remember, but Sonic I’m sure does. The Rings will always remember, and he can create Ring Bonds, so he surely does. I know we must have met a few. And this scene as we fly past the other airships and towards the main cathedral, it looks like something they would do.~

    The scene before Rosy was ominous, even as it was beautiful. From the complex of towers that made up the main cathedral of Tower Point, the spire of the main one was aimed straight at Yoluku above. Behind it, the sun rose into the morning sky, and began to set behind Yoluku. An upside-down sunset and the spreading of an ominous smile.

    Beyond the clouds that adorned the blue sky, an eclipse night began to fall, and the stars came out to watch the banquet below, the red crack in the sky splitting their number.

    It was a sight that many below marked as the beginning of the end of the world. Claymore the Purple however would not stand to let Yoluku win. With Tails, Mighty, and Draw with Mote hiding in his coat, trailing him, Claymore descended a massive stairwell that took him and his contingent of autogolems onto the stage that overlooked the main plaza. Compared to the three-meter-tall suit of armor, the stage looked small. Looking up as he did past the tower and to where Yoluku mockingly watched the festivities, it was Claymore who looked small.

    “Ho!” Claymore shouted out in victorious triumph, challenging the small planet in the sky to face him. “This is why we host this Banquet my good people! To show you that as long as even one Knight of the Order of the Sword stands, foul Yoluku is but a harmless bauble in the sky. It is only those that would carry out Yoluku’s will that you need fear. And one comes to us now!”

    Turning his attention, and in turn that of the gathered masses to the skies, Claymore eyed the Tornado as it weaved through the airships.

    ~I bet the scene from the stage is amazing! But it’s getting hard for me to pay attention. The Gear Star Ring that sometimes replaces my left iris is back, and it hurts so much. I guess that means the gear is turning, so something big is about to happen. Or maybe Saber the Red is here.

    ~It’s really hard to say what is going on though. I just hope it isn’t as bad as it sounds like Tails thinks it is.~

    “Hey kid, are you okay?” Sonic asked noticing Rosy clutch at her shoulder, and her cards within the shoulder puff of her leotard.

    Rosy didn’t hear him though. Her cards were freezing, and there was a voice creeping through her skin whispering in her ears.

    It’s alright. You can still have fun. There is yet still plenty of fun to be had…

    “Amy!” Sonic yelled and shook Rosy from her stupor.

    “Oops!” Rosy apologized and stuck her tongue out. “Sorry. I think something was trying to talk to me. But I’m here!”

    “And so are we,” Sonic let Rosy know that they had landed.

    “Aw~! I missed you do a flyover didn’t I!” Rosy whined as Sonic playfully chucked her from the cockpit. “Ack! What was that for!”

    “You were taking too long, and got a little distracted,” Sonic smirked as he flung himself from the cockpit and glared across the stage. “And I don’t think our host is willing to wait much longer.”

    “Ho!” Claymore shouted and looked taken aback as Rosy took Sonic’s offered hand and helped herself up. “You would treat the medium under your care so carelessly. You are no knight Ring Mage!”

    “And what about you, Sir Buckethead,” Sonic countered. “Attacking people out of the blue to kidnap little girls–”

    “I’m not a little girl!”

    “–and kidnapping her friends when that fails,” Sonic continued ignoring Rosy’s rebuttal. “That doesn’t sound much like a knight either. Or maybe I’m just out of the loop and you guys don’t put much stock in being honorable anymore.”

    Pulling free the finger he had started scratching at the inside of his ear with, Sonic looked at it a moment before blowing on it and walking away from Rosy. She didn’t wait at the plane and took up pace behind Sonic as he approached the towering autogolem.

    “You would challenge my honor? Ho!” Claymore laughed. “You are brave Ring Mage, but your friends remain unharmed.”

    Motioning out with a hand, Claymore displayed where Tails, Mighty, and Draw were in shackles under autogolem watch. Mighty offered Sonic a shrug as Sonic’s look begged to know why he hadn’t broken free. Draw just looked irritable, which was almost expected of the young koala. He knew he was in trouble, but there were some naiveties that he still possessed that kept him from panicking. Tails was not so fortunate.

    “Tails!” Rosy cried out, the obvious fear and dread on her best friend’s face tearing at her heart. “Just wait right there! Sonic will have this cleaned up in no time!”

    “There’s no time to wait!” Tails yelled back. “I’ve been reading since I got here, and if what I’ve read is true, if we don’t stop the Ring Mage in the catacombs below the city, the Near Lands will be blown apart and absorbed into the Far Lands! Rosy! The whole Near Lands are a Red Star Ring!”

    “What…?” Rosy asked confused, but still trembled at the implications of Tails’ words.

    The statement even gave Sonic pause and he looked out at Tails questioningly. “Are you sure about that Tails? I’ve already used two of them. I would think I would have noticed.”

    “How would he have found that out from books in the cathedral?” Claymore’s stunned question answered Sonic’s question and he turned an angry glare back onto the knight.

    “You had a problem like this stirring, and you came to pick up our fight,” Sonic nearly snarled.” I don’t think you have your priorities in order, Sir Buckethead.”

    “You underestimate the armies of the Preservers,” Claymore countered and drew his sword. “A Ring Mage who would challenge me to battle and is in possession of a medium is a far greater threat!”

    “Your wrong!” Rosy interrupted and held a hand to her heart. “Sonic doesn’t hurt people unless they’re already hurting others. You took our friends because you wanted to take me. You wanted to know if I could hear Yolk saying something. You obviously want to protect this beautiful world. That makes you like Sonic and all of us then. Ix though… Ix won’t stop. He told me the world has to be righted. That he has to find to his friend no matter what. That once he does that the world will be returned to how it should be. If he’s here and he can affect everywhere and the Red Star Ring these lands are built on, everyone’s homes… then you have to let us stop him!”

    “And how can I know you can be trusted, Lady Medium?” Claymore challenged Rosy’s pleas. “Do you think me blind to the Yoluku Device in your eye? Even now Yoluku could be whispering in your ear–”

    “If that’s Yolk then please tell them to get out of my head!” Rosy yelled as she squeezed her hand tightly around her shoulder.

    “Rosy! Don’t tell me…?” Tails’ panic shifted as he saw the pain clear as day on Rosy’s smiling face, as well as her trembling knees and the water vapor that flowed out of her sleeve. “Rosy! You have to put your cards down, or at least give them to someone else!”

    “You remember that too, huh, Tails?” Sonic remarked and surprised Rosy.

    “Sonic? What are you talking about?”

    “This isn’t the first time you’ve had a god messing with you through your cards, kid,” Sonic spoke, fighting to keep his anger in check. To help, he turned again towards Claymore, a ready recipient of his ire.

    “I wanted to wreck that tin can you’re wearing and reveal the fairy I’m pretty sure is hiding inside,” Sonic began before turning his back on Claymore and walking away, a guiding and protective hand on Rosy. Looking back as he returned towards the Tornado, he continued with cocky anger, “but it looks like you’re getting my help whether you want it or not.”

    “I will not accept the aid of a puppet of Yoluku,” Claymore countered and took a step towards Sonic and Rosy, reaching for them with his empty hand.

    “I figured you’d say that,” Sonic shrugged as he tossed Rosy into the cockpit. “But fortunately, I’ve already planned for it.”

    Sticking his fingers in his mouth, Sonic whistled and made quite the show of the signal to action. Looking back at Claymore one last time, he smirked and wagged a finger. “And I’m no one’s puppet. My only master is the wind that blows free!”

-----

And we survived XD I hope the scene flowed well, and I’ll do my best to make sure the rest of the Season 1 finale is good. As you can probably guess by this text, at the time of this commentary I haven’t written it yet. Things have been pretty crazy, and hopefully are less crazy when this posts. Still, I’m really hoping I have a great finish in store for everyone! Wish me luck!

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Scene 51 · CLEARED Party Crashing, to be continued

Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”) - Vocaloid Version – Azina, Masayoshi Soken – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”)

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Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.