#i am attacked by hundreds of crows
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bumblebeebats · 5 months ago
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Sometimes little pleasures in life are loadbearing. Whenever someone is like "If you'd just give up tea and coffee and sugar and--" im like I'll stop you right there. Because if you finish that sentence i am going to kill everyone in this building and then myself. If i have to face the horrors of the world without my little jar of caramel flavoured instant coffee i am going to go full American Psycho. Believe it or not, my main priority in life is not to have perfect teeth or be an Olympic athlete or look like a supermodel, but to actually enjoy living, because I spent far too long not doing that and it royally sucked. And boy, some people don't like hearing that. Particularly dentists
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bumblebeebats · 9 months ago
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As someone who's had to bake gluten free for several years, watching ppl do shit like this with regular bread feels like literal space age magic to me. Gluten free dough is a consumptive Victorian child who must be coddled and wrapped in silk and prayed over night and day if he stands half a chance of making it to adulthood as anything but a slab of featureless rice mush, and regular bread bakers are out here making whole ass sculptures and quilts and shit. Screw riches and eternal youth, baby, if the devil was real i'd sell my soul in a heartbeat just to be able to rip apart one of these loaves like a feral hog. If you're intestinally capable of digesting gluten I need you to do something for me right now and close your eyes and spend a moment treasuring this fact. and then go and deep-throat a baguette in my honor
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zorosangell · 5 months ago
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⛥゚・。 round two
synopsis: things get a little heated during a sparring session between you and the moss-haired swordsman. and the results are... inconclusive.
cw: part 2/3 (possibly more), fluffy fluff, comfort, awkward zoro, awkward reader, i hate writing fight scenes
a/n: this took me ridiculously long for no reason
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"Are you wearin' down on me, swordsman?" you asked, cockily, letting out a small grunt as your broad sword clashed with his katana, sending sparks flying through the air. "I thought your parries were faster than that."
He scoffed at your obvious taunt, biting back a smirk as you both pushed off, landing on opposite sides of the crow's nest for a quick breather.
"I could ask you the same thing," he panted, rolling his shoulders. "Footwork's gettin' sloppy."
You snorted, the adorable sound resonating deeply within the swordsman's chest.
"You wish my footwork was sloppy."
Just like that, you both were back at it, attacking and counter-attacking each other at speeds many could never hope of achieving.
And you both were only sparring.
"I think that's bounty's starting to go to your head," you weaved around one of his swings. "A billion berries can't buy you a new neck to support it."
He chuckled, forgoing the direct approach and opting to attack your sides, shifting his stance in order to compensate.
"Spoken like fifth place," he grinned, teasingly. "If I knew any better, I'd say you're jealous."
You gasped at the outlandish statement, nearly losing focus as he swung for your hip, your sword just barely making it in time to divert before you attempted to sweep his feet.
Sadly, he manged to jump out the way.
"I am not jealous!" you scoffed, throwing away your sword—the signal to begin the hand-to-hand section of your session, "I don't know if you've forgotten, but I entered this little race a little later than everyone else. And I still managed to make it to 950 million."
It was true.
The day after the banquet, your mother had all but kicked you out of the castle, going on and on about how as heir to the throne, it was your duty to explore the world before assuming the position, and that joining Luffy's crew was the opportunity of a lifetime.
And, of course, you understood her point, seeing as she had personal experience—she began traveling the seas around the same age with some infamous pirate crew led by a man named Rocks.
Though, a small part of you was a little worried.
You had never even stepped foot off Nabis before, so how the hell were you going to sail across the sea?
But, to your surprise, you managed to get along swimmingly with the Strawhats.
Making jokes... telling stories... sharing scars.
In fact, it went so well that by the time the banquet was over, Luffy was practically begging you to join—he reasoned that he had never met a real knight before, and wanted one on his crew.
Which brought you here, several hundred miles away from home and on month six of your journey across the sea.
Sprinting forward, you both quickly began exchanging hands, weaving, dodging, and striking in almost perfect sync.
Zoro grinned, pleasantly surprised to see that you'd taken the offensive this time, your movements speeding up in an obvious ploy to distract him while you dealt a final blow to his feet.
'Gonna have to do better than that.'
To say you both were "just crewmates" would be a criminal understatement.
You both were infinitely more than that.
Your relationship was completely different from what he had with the rest of the crew, from what he'd ever had with anybody before.
Sure, he and Sanji were relative in strength, but the cook didn't care about training, and the swordsman couldn't stand him, anyway.
He and Luffy were close, but the captain would much rather goof off and eat than work out, much less converse about sword techniques.
You were the first person to actively share the same interests as him, and actually have the strength to match.
If he finished a thousand push-ups, you finished a thousand push-ups.
If he was holding weighted handstands, you were holding weighted handstands.
If he was doing four-hundred pound squats across the deck, you were doing four-hundred pound squats across the deck, all the while chatting about a new thing you learned or a new weapon you'd been meaning to buy.
And it wasn't just training.
You and the swordsman did practically everything in equal measure.
Drinking... napping... laughing, everything.
He'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy it, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy you.
Suddenly feeling something attack his ankles, Zoro's eyes went wide, the man grunting as you swept his feet and knocked him on his ass.
But before he could even think to counter, you pounced, straddling his hips and pinning his wrists above his head with a triumphant grin.
"How's that... for fifth place?" you panted, taking a moment to bask in your victory.
You had never beaten him in hand-to-hand before.
Embarrassment burned up Zoro's neck at how easily he was taken down, his cheeks taking on a faint tinge of pink.
Not only because of that, but because of your compromising position.
With the way you were sitting, and the way you were leaning, your core was parked right on top of his crotch, and your tits were hanging right in his face.
'Goddamn it...'
And if that wasn't enough, you were wearing one of Nami's tiny tube tops and a pair of booty shorts—the navigator said your ancient wardrobe was in dire need of revitalizing.
Before you could react, Zoro used his strength to overpower you, flipping you both over and pinning your wrists above your head.
"I've seen better," he taunted, playing off his surprise.
Pissed you let your guard down, you let out a frustrated huff, leveling the swordsman with a miffed expression.
"You know, the gentlemanly thing would've been to let me have my win," you pouted, struggling in his grasp to no avail.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that," he chuckled, his grip ironclad. "Besides, I thought you liked a challenge?"
"Don't act like I didn't have you on the ropes, swordsman," you smirked, defiantly.
"Oh, now I'm swordsman?" he cocked a brow, amused, as he leaned in closer.
"You'll be Zoro if you let me go."
"How about I be Zoro and keep you here?"
"Real caveman of you to refer to yourself like that."
"You mad me beat you again. You sore loser."
"You asshole."
At your antics, you both laughed, the sound of his genuine one sending a thrum of warmth through your stomach.
You had been surrounded by men all your life—warriors, soldiers, leaders—and not one of them ever made you feel the way you felt around him.
In his presence, you felt light as air, yet at the same time, heavy as rock.
It was indescribable, and also unprecedented.
Since birth, you'd been trained to keep your emotions in check, both as a princess and a warrior of the royal army.
Yet, somehow, whenever you joined the swordsman's company, all that training seemed to go right out the window.
As your laughter died down, your eyes met in intense stare, the air between you two quickly thickening with tension.
And suddenly, in a sharp pang of instinct, you surged forward, crashing into his lips with a little more force than intended.
Instantly, Zoro's eye blew wide, completely taken aback—though he made no move to pull away.
He wanted to do everything but that, actually.
Yet you, judging by his facial expression, quickly realized that you'd made the wrong call.
"Oh, Great Hera," you muttered, utterly mortified as you pulled away.
The man was completely frozen, his expression unreadable as he stared down at you.
"Zoro... words cannot express how—"
Without a moment's hesitation, he leaned in, one of his hands leaving your wrist and cupping your cheek, pulling you into a passionate kiss which you more than happily reciprocated.
Newly free, your hand found its way to the nape of his neck, teasing his hair as he moved to hook his arm under your waist.
At your eagerness to reciprocate, Zoro smiled into the kiss, slightly relieved that you didn't punch him in the gut or put him in a Nabisian choke hold.
This was a long time coming, and now that he had you in his clutches, he could agree it was well worth the wait.
The two of you pulled back for air, awkwardly meeting each other's gaze.
"So...?"
"Yeah," he blurted, flushed from ear to ear.
"..."
"..."
"Wanna go for Round Two?"
"Yes."
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sabine-smitten-obviously · 1 year ago
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and now i have to find myself a tower in a forest near a wall ...
... and look for a black, dark sorcerer !
You love fairy tales? You love Good Omens? You loved Aziraphale and Crowley in medieval clothes? Then you will love this not so little fanfic i dearly recommend to you!
Villainous by @ineffablepenguin
What it is about:
Once Upon A Time…
There was a red-haired sorcerer who lived alone in a high tower, and a blond prince who lived in a palace full of people. And they were both of them desperately lonely.
The Kingdoms of Empyrion and the Sorcerers of Apollyon have hated each other for hundreds of years, ever since the Great War. They do not interact, other than to occasionally try to kill one another. And they certainly do not make friends.
Crow is an exhausted sorcerer who just wants everyone to leave him the hell alone: for the Sorcerer’s Council to stop harassing him to live up to his potential, and for wannabe Empyrion Heroes to stop attacking his tower to try and kill him. Until one day when he meets Prince Azra of the High Fells, who doesn’t behave anything like he’s supposed to…
Part fairy tale, part fantasy, all love story. There’s magic, and grand romantic gestures, and Heroes and a handsome Prince, and a Villain. There are even some wild heroics, though not necessarily from who you would expect. At its core it’s simply about two (relatively) sane people living in a mad world who find each other.
What i love about it:
🫅🏼 I mean - fairytales? And a lot of them? I found it very nice to guess all the tales when stumbling upon a hint. Nice touch: in the epilogue there is a list of all the fairytales which have kind of flown into this fanfic and i am quite proud that i only missed 1 i actually know (and of course those i dont know).
👑 This story is RICH - and i mean really rich. It goes into details over everything and sometimes it reminded me of books written bei Hermann Hesse because of all the little things that kept coming and being mentioned. On my e-reader it was 566 pages! And yes, it took them about 200 pages for their first kiss 😅 That said, its always drawing a picture and reading the story is kind of seeing in your imagination. Obviously nothing is ineffable for @ineffablepenguin 😉
💪 The action scenes: oh my, its like a Schwarzenegger-movie, you cant stop reading, its fast, its furiuos ... oh, thats another movie, ngk.
🩷 The character development: both of our beloved angels start out being insecure of their roles, their place and their worth. But - this is the first fanfic i ever read, where both of them get to be BAMF !!!!
🩷 The plot: i love being suprised - i mean we do know a lot already, diving into a GO-fanfic with the tag "happy ending", right? So there were some really interesting turns and sometimes i wondered "ok, just how will this play out? How will the author get to unknot THIS?" And i have to admit, sometimes i really didn't see it coming. Very nice!
🩷 The healing: i dont know if it was on purpose or the author just felt like our ineffables needed to hear and think stuff, but actually the way their characters develop and how they help each other with it, what they are thinking etc ... reminded me a lot of trauma-therapy. So as one of those few (ähem) people who really spiraled after the big 15 of S2, this was such a nice feeling.
💫 the epilogue - this story doesnt end at happily ever after. Instead we get to know, how they make a living for themselves and sneak a little into their daily lifes. I truly appreciate that, its a nice way of comforting the Reader out of the story.
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This wonderful art is from @pinkpiggy93! 🩷
Most beloved quote:
"And i love you too, my dear," he said firmly. "You are so very easy to love."
And isnt this quite a sentence, we all need to hear?
So if you are into good omens, fairytales, long fanfics to really dive in to for several hundred pages, some surprises and of course a happy ending - this is quite the story for you.
🩷🤗
Reading is not a hobby, its an attitude.
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monstersdownthepath · 1 year ago
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Herald of Besmara: Kelpie's Wrath
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CR 15
Chaotic Neutral Colossal Outsider
Adventure Path: Skulls and Shackles: The Wormwood Mutiny, pg. 86-87
When one thinks of Besmara they likely think of "piracy," but her other two areas of concern are 'strife' and 'sea monsters.' One may thus believe that Besmara's Herald may be a powerful pirate captain, or perhaps an intelligent sea beast which either inhabits or commands a vessel. The most visionary may believe that Besmara's Herald could be nothing less than a whole crew of people running an enchanted ship! So when a mysterious fog rolls in and the lights of a ship that wasn't there alight from nowhere, the party may be tempted to look towards the helm, or the prow, or perhaps even the crow's nest to try and spot who's commanding the intimidating galleon... only for the skull at the front to tell you to quit eyein' its aft like some kind of pervert.
Indeed, Besmara has an elegant solution to the problem of what her Herald would look like. It's not a crew on a ship, or a sea monster, or a singular captain, it's a ship made of a sea monster which captains itself and utilizes a crew of zombie sailors when needed. Despite it's skeletal appearance and ghoulish powers, the Kelpie's Wrath is as alive as any demon or dragon, though it can passably imitate the feared ghost ships which haunt the seas at night, able to conjure ghostly lights (Dancing Lights), fearful sights (Major Image), and zombie fights (summoning a crew of up to 20 draugr) seemingly at a whim and wielding terrifying, spectral weapons and even whole ghostly creatures as though they were limbs. Many crews who've found themselves in its sights mistakenly believe its illusions and conjured zombies to be the real threats, unaware that the ship itself is their true enemy... and even if they did, it's unlikely to help.
Have you ever fought an enemy that was its own stage hazard? You don't want to, especially if that enemy can Plane Shift or Teleport with you in tow... or just immediately dive underwater. Though you have to fail a DC 18 Will save to be shanghai'd into another plane, having a ship suddenly teleport out from under you or dive a hundred feet underwater and drag you behind it is a real danger regardless of the situation, and it puts you at a huge disadvantage if you can't immediately clamber back aboard YOUR ship, fly, or walk on water. And if the phantom ship resurfaces right next to you...
Actually, what am I talking about? "If?" No, when. It's a pirate in service to the Queen of Pirates, and pirates are quite famous for never fighting fair. If you find yourselves prey to the Kelpie's Wrath, it's going to use every trick it has in the most underhanded ways it can. Let's take a look at what that entails...
We'll start with the obvious: It's an entire ship. Nearly a hundred feet long and hovering around 25 to 30 feet wide, the Wrath is a battlefield unto itself, but you absolutely do not want to stand on it to fight, because that's just asking for a terrible death. Engaging it from afar means you 'only' have to deal with its 40ft space and 30ft reach, denoting which part of itself it's focusing on defending, which is still a radius that covers most traditional battle maps entirely. Because you're only ever going to be encountering the Wrath on the high seas (regardless of what world or plane those seas are on), staying out of its reach is practically impossible unless you're using Pathfinder's rules for ship combat to engage it with a vessel of your own (WARNING: Do Not Do This), and you will inevitably be forced into melee with it... and then, unfortunately, forced onto it, which as previously mentioned is almost certain doom.
Everything within the Wrath's threat radius is subject to its trio of incorporeal touch attacks, which manifest as immense clawed hands, ghostly weapons, spectral sailors, and skeletal sea beasts of ages past, each one raking over the ship's target for 3d6 untyped damage plus 3d6 Electricity AND 3d6 Fire damage. The primary danger presented by these phantoms is that the party may not immediately know what's going on or recognize just how the attack works; the Wrath can conjure a crew of draugr to fight atop it AND it can use Major Image at any point within its reach, letting it clutter up the battlefield with obstacles which present no true danger to the party but which it can use as vectors for its incorporeal attacks, potentially making a party member out uselessly against illusions, insubstantial phantoms, and inconsequential minions.
Muddying the waters further, Wrath can use Seeming 3/day to swath its draugr sailors in magical disguises to make them appear more important than they truly are. Able to communicate telepathically, the ship can give complex orders to its entire crew at once to run baffling distractions or attack in tandem with it to make them seem like true threats, a tactic especially useful if the party doesn't yet recognize the ship is alive (or foolishly believes that only the skeletal figurehead is alive). Kelpie's Wrath thrives on sowing confusion when it attacks, and a DM would do well to remember that, describing its attacks and abilities in terms which feel ambiguous, like they could be coming from anywhere, like that one fancy draugr at the ship's helm that's dressed up like the captain or the strange balls of light dancing along its sails.
Even if the party feels like something is wrong, they'll have to go with their gut on this one; magic is unreliable when fighting the vile ship. Not because of any aura or unique ability it has, but because its space/reach means it can make extremely good use of its Disruptive and Spellbreaker feats, the former making it more difficult to cast spells defensively while in its threat radius (which is everywhere), the latter provoking Attacks of Opportunity if you fail the check to cast defensively.
Its touch attacks aren't just bad because of the damage, either. Being hit with two or more of them in a round lets it Keelhaul the unfortunate victim, repositioning them as a free action. Now, a reposition is a Combat Maneuver, which means it has to roll a CMB check versus the target's CMD. The average CMD of a 10th level Human Fighter is hovering anywhere between 25 and 35 depending on if they dumped Dex (WARNING: Do Not Do This) or got ahold of Str boosting items, and let's see what the Kelpie's Wrath has for its CMB...
+41?!
ah, right, Colossal size. This thing can juggle most players. Hope your party cohesion didn't rely on people being in specific positions!
In case you're not sure how the maneuver works: if you're repositioned, the attacker can shunt you into another space so long as that space is A) Within their reach, and B) within 5ft of your previous space... but for every 5 points the attacker's CMB check beats your CMD, that's another 5ft of movement. Now, remember how gigantic the Wrath's threat radius is? That's a LOT of potential spaces you can be shuttled into, and every 5ft you're moved from its Keelhaul you take an additional 1d6 damage because it's literally using your face to scrape barnacles and algae off itself. Keelhaul is an especially potent ability if used on the high seas, because the ability specifically states that it can use its repositions to drag victims underwater, forcing them into the ever-dreaded underwater combat scenario. Even if you've got Water Walk or Fly on, it can still shove you right into the drink if it beats your CMD by enough, forcing you to waste precious time getting back into the fight... if only to push you back down again, because pirates don't fight fair.
Also, Keelhaul specifically states "a creature hit with two or more of its attacks in 1 round," meaning AoOs and other off-turn attacks count. If you take one hit during its turn and then get schmacked because you triggered Spellbreaker or its Combat Reflexes, you're going into the soup.
If it doesn't want a victim in the sea, it also has the option to shove creatures directly into the center of its space, at which point victims are automatically dragged into its cargo hold and battered by treasure and captured supplies. This is treated as the swallow whole ability, victims taking 1d10+7 damage until they can get out, but it's not especially obvious what's going on, meaning players might waste their time trying to find an exit door out of the cargo hold or try to clamber back out the unyielding door when the 'proper' solution is to make a new door.
If the party manages to find out that swinging at the phantom limbs and illusions is useless, attacking the ship below their feet isn't exactly easy. The Kelpie's Wrath is magically reinforced, having an AC of 30 (hint: target its measly 6 touch AC) and DR 10/Lawful. It's got 30 Resistance to Acid, Cold, and Electricity, as well as 10 Fire Resistance and, of course, if you find yourselves managing to get past its defenses to outpace its Fast Healing 10, it can still suddenly poof away to rebuild, and if you think you can just use Dimensional Anchor or similar, it can still pop its once-per-minute Rush to crank its swim speed from 60ft to 150ft for one round, diving to the sea floor in a single round to give itself breathing room... and potentially taking breathing room from whatever schmucks are trapped in its hold.
And you know what? I've typed down... 12 entire paragraphs without even touching the Wrath's ranged options. This was on purpose! Because the Wrath is meant to get right up next to the ship it's attacking, and has every tool it needs to do so, including the ability to turn itself and its crew invisible 3/day or shroud its entire space with magical fog. Compared to all the shenanigans it can pull to get into melee and then make everyone wish it didn't, its ranged attacks need a little more preparation and math on the part of the DM, something they may not want to do on top of everything else it's already got. This is because its only ranged attack is using Telekinesis to hurl a storm of whatever garbage it's amassed at targets within 180ft of itself.
The Wrath can catapult up to 375 pounds of objects or creatures in a single action, not only allowing it to throw actual ammunition (which deals a flat 1d6 damage per 25 lbs; max 15d6 for a full weight object), but whatever it may have on hand or in its hold that it doesn't especially value. Since it can use Telekinesis at will and the spell itself has a tremendous range, there's no reason for it to ever run out of ammo, as it can simply dredge stones and wreckage from the sea floor and ferry it into its stores for later... but of course, there's nothing stopping it from using its enemies own cargo against it, or even lifting its enemies directly and throwing them around with nothing more than a thought. Most Medium-sized Humanoids weigh between 150 and 200 pounds, letting the Wrath snatch up two people at a time to toss around like ragdolls, including straight into the air if it wants.
There's something to be said about it hurling things far more dangerous than bricks and cannonballs, though, like casks of oil and a lantern, or barrels of Green Slime, or its own zombie crewmates. The Long range of Telekinesis also means it can get up to some pretty dangerous shenanigans if an enemy ship gets just a little too close, as it can pilfer cargo from a range, loose sails, send weapons hurling into the seas, or even spin cannons around just as they're about to fire if it readies an action to do so. Much like its phantom weapons, its telekinetic power helps make its illusions and zombie sailors all the more realistically threatening, adding to the confounding puppet show it puts on to throw people off.
The Kelpie's Wrath is one of the most dangerous Heralds a party to encounter, because they're going to encounter it on the seas (one of the most dangerous environments to fight in), AND they're not likely to even know it's nearby until it's dragging their crew to a watery grave. Even if they do, a DM can play up the possibility of it being a ghost ship for a while before any of them wise up to what they're really fighting, by which point someone might already be neatly folded and packed away in Davey Jones' Locker. It's not only dangerous for what it can do, but why it does what it does; most Heralds are only encountered if a god is offended, or has sent them on an important mission, but the Kelpie's Wrath freely wanders all creation in its off hours, attacking vessels with wild and greedy abandon. It's one of the few Heralds that an unlucky party may just randomly encounter, and thus have no possible way to prepare for.
You can read more about it here.
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hiscrookedsaint · 8 months ago
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𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
#: 𝐈𝐈
𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Kaz x fem!reader
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: With the heist beginning, Y/N's quiet bond with Kaz begins to grow─unspoken yet undeniable. Amid whispered leads and dead ends, a deeper mystery starts to surface, one that ties not only to their mission but to Y/N's forgotten past. Some truths are stirring, and Kaz may hold more of them than he lets on.
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2368
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Blood, gore, mentions of injury & mentions of death.
𝐀/𝐍: I apologize ahead for any spelling or grammar errors! Thank you for taking the time to read this fic I've been working hard on. :) This chapter is shorter compared to the others yet to come.
𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
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~Y/N~
I had followed Kaz, Jesper, and Inej around the city like a lost puppy. We visited different people and places, hearing a variety of responses. The four of us were in an office facing a woman smoking a cigar in her hand. "Tell us how to safely cross the Fold."
"The Fold? If I knew safe passage through that, I'd be wealthier than the whole Merchant Council." she replies. Inej brings up a counterpoint. "You told me you brought in girls from Os Alta. The other side." "Yeah. The hard way. Lost a few to those damn volcra, too."
Nothing at the first stop.
We head towards an alleyway, located near the popular part of Ketterdam. Jesper meets someone supposedly knowledgeable. "Nah, there's no trick to it except how it makes people disappear from time to time." Jesper asks, "I heard you bragging of a way to make a path."
"I was taking kruge from a tourist. A little lie. The Fold keeps those Ravkan bastards and their Grisha attack dogs in check. Can you imagine how dangerous it would be if it wasn't there?"
There is not anything useful from that guy, either.
The following person we went to was a Fjerdan guy. He was engaging in street fights and competitions. Most likely trying to win some kruge. "Just go around." Kaz didn't like to hear that answer. "It stretches all the way north to the Fjerdan border."
"Ja. So go to Fjerda. March through the permafrost." "How long will that take?" Kaz asks. He replies. "From here? Four months. Maybe five." "We don't have that kind of time."
"Either you take your time or you take your chances."
He went off, and Jesper motioned for us to regroup. We all started walking, and he asked me, "If Kaz had told me correctly, your power is one of a Grisha level with no element needing to be manipulated?"
I nod and half smile. "Kaz is correct, but I know I am so much more than what he says I can do."
"I understand, but why did you lay low until now?" Jesper asks. I let go of my tenseness, and he messes with one of his pistols. "Living the solo life, then changed in an instant. What changed your mind?"
I look at Kaz and Inej. Kaz has something alluring about him. I can't figure it out. I say, "I wanted a change, I guess. Being by myself was getting... upsetting. I had this urge that I needed to get out like an unknown power is trying to crawl its way out of my soul."
Jesper adds, "And you were lonely?" I nod in shame and look at Inej. "Inej helped me realize what my potential could be. How my power can change everything." I move some of my fingers around and ease my anxiety.
Kaz leads us to the Crow Club, and we sit at a table near the back. Where others couldn't hear in on our conversation. We are silent until Jesper breaks it abruptly. "Here's what I don't get." "We're going to be here all night," Inej adds.
"Rude. Why haven't they tried going under it? Just dig a tunnel." Kaz immediately shuts his thoughts down. "Tried that. More than a century ago. Something... heard them digging."
"So it was made hundreds of years ago by that crazy Grisha..." "The Black Heretic." The one who started all of this mess. "Yeah, the one who controls shadow. They've got one in their army now, don't they? General Kirigan?"
Inej says, "Your point?" "If one of his kind made it, can't he unmake it?" I slightly frown and hate how this General sounds. "Have you ever put out fire by adding more fire?" I slightly smirked, and Jesper asked, "Then what's the opposite?"
"A Sun Summoner? Right?"
Everyone looks at me, and I continue, "I mean, everything has to have an opposite to exist within each other—fire and water, light and dark, and so on and so on."
"Doesn't exist." I look at Kaz, and he quickly glances at me before staring back into the abyss.
"Doesn't exist yet," Inej says. "Dreesen comes into town, doesn't waste a minute. Sends out for a crew to steal something but doesn't specify what. Is it heavy, is it large, is it worth more than a million on the black market? Maybe he doesn't know."
Inej voices her thoughts. "We can let this one go, Kaz." "Sounds like a trap, anyway." Jesper takes a drink out of his glass. "A trap would sound easy. This is something else."
One of Kaz's workers approaches him, seemingly with good news: "Boss, Boss. We intercepted a note from Dreesen." "Did you, now?" He continues, "It's for the owner of the Orchid. Says they require the services of a Heartrender. Tonight."
"A Heartrender? Why?"
The worker shakes his head. "Doesn't say. Just they need it before midnight." I see Kaz's gears turning in his head. "You don't bring in a Heartrender unless you need an answer out of someone who isn't willing to talk. That's how we get this job before anyone else. Bring Dreesen a Heartrender."
Kaz stands up, eager for the new job. "Boss, just one problem. Pekka Rollins knows." "Pekka Rollins." I look over at Inej, and she shrugs at the sound of that name. We all get up and follow Kaz to the Orchid.
We reach the outside, and Inej walks beside me. "Don't feel too intimidated by Kaz. Sometimes, he acts like a loose cannon, especially when Pekka is brought up."
I feel my eyes glow, sensing this new sign of my powers. Pekka Rollins did something to Kaz that cannot be forgiven so easily. I can sense his feeling of vengeance whenever Pekka Rollins is brought up, I'd have to save that thought for later.
After 15 minutes of walking through the streets, we reach the Orchid. Kaz goes inside, and motions for the three of us to wait outside.
It only took about 5 minutes before Kaz hastily exited the building, followed by a Heartrender. We all follow behind for the next 20 minutes of silence. Before reaching Dressen's, the Heartrender speaks up.
"I really appreciate new business, but you've only paid for an hour of my time, and I have to be back at the Orchid," she says.
"The Orchid isn't safe tonight. Your life's in danger with this job. Make yourself scare for a few days afterwards." I look at the two and sigh. "Mr. Brekker, are you threatening me? Really? Even if I'm nice, my Boss will call the stadwatch on you."
We reach the gate and stop in our tracks. This Heartrender is getting annoying. Kaz says, "It's not me you're in danger with. It's Pekka Rollins." "My boss would call the stadwatch on him as well." the Heartrender says. "Which is why your boss is already dead."
Kaz marches forward, and I slowly follow behind him. One of his guards sees us and asks, "Who are you lot?" "We're here to see Dreesen."
Kaz and I reach the fenced gate and see the guard greet us. "You're not with Pekka's crew. And you brought a freak with you, look like the eyes of a monster to me." Kaz replies. "And you're not in Pekka's pocket anymore if you don't owe him. She's not a freak or monster, I'd trust you still have respect for women in this part of the city."
He tosses the guard the bag of kruge, and they catch it in time. The guard opens the gate and grants us access. Jesper catches up with us and asks Kaz, "Hey, where did you get that coin?" The gate shuts behind us, and we hear some commotion.
"Hey! One of these has a hole in it!" I widen my eyes and look at Kaz. "Inside. Inside."
The five of us hurry inside, and one of his guards brings us with Dreesen. He opens the door, with Kaz leading front and center. "One look and I can tell. Criminals. I'm not meeting anyone 'til midnight."
I am assuming that is Dreesen. "We heard you needed a Heartrender." Kaz says. Dreesen stands up from his desk and is intrigued. He replies, "Hmm. All right, she stays, the rest of you, out." The Heartrender begins to walk forward, and Kaz holds out his cane in front of her.
"She stays. And we have an exclusive on this job." "Mr. Brekker. No businessman worth his salt hires his first applicant." Dreesen stands in front of his desk and gives us a better look. "No. No, I understand. Of course, I will have to report you to the guild for kidnapping and harboring a prisoner without chain of title."
"You wouldn't." I smirked, knowing that Kaz had something up his sleeve, as he always does. He says, "No businessman worth his salt bargains for what he can take." Dreesen seems intimidated and goes up to Kaz's face. All that we can hear is the deep inhaling and exhaling of breaths.
I look to the side of me and see the Heartrender raise her hand. "I have to be back in an hour." The two look at each other before Dreesen speaks up. "All right, come on." He exits the door behind the five of us, and Kaz immediately follows.
He leads us into his basement, and we see someone tied up in a chair with a hood over their head. Kaz stops walking, and we do as well. "Who's this?" he asks. Dreesen goes to the person and says, "So you don't know everything after all. This... is Alexei Stepanov."
Alexei's face was beaten so severely. Cuts and dried blood were all over his face. Like they tried to get him to talk by using brute force first. Dreesen continues. "Two weeks ago, young Alexei here crossed through the Fold on foot. Alone."
He walks over to the desk and takes off his coat. "How?" I ask. "They're keeping it quiet, but allegedly he was one of a few witnesses to... an event." Dreesen pours some wine for himself, and Alexei mutters, "Water."
Inej doesn't hesitate to pour a glass of water for him and bring it over for Alexei. He drinks the water like his life depended on it. "What kind of event?" Kaz asks.
"I know an expedition was swarmed by volcra. Should've been a total loss, but something happened. Some device detonated. Obliterated the volcra, lit up the dark like a forest fire. I know it wasn't a fire or else no one would have survived. This was some invention no one had seen before. He knows. But he doesn't seem to be able to articulate his account of events. Some form of traumatic lapse."
Dreesen walks back to us, and I look at the ground to keep my thoughts. Kaz motions for the Heartrender to do what she can for Alexei. Inej walks back over and stands next to me. The Heartrender gets down to his level and assures him. "You're safe now. Now you can just speak and I will just listen."
"All right." "Tell me what happened in the Fold. What saved you?" she asks. Alexei looks deep into the eyes of the Heartrender. "You won't believe me, but... it was a Sun Summoner." Dreesen walks over and crouches in front of Alexei.
He asks, "Who was it?" "If I tell you, you'll set me free?" Dreesen nods. "You have my word. I'll set you free. You're in Ketterdam now, Alexei." He needs more convincing. "You can go anywhere in the world from here. Just imagine. Come on."
"Her name is... Alina Starkov."
A ringing in my ears and a pain in my head make me lose focus.
Alina Starkov.
Why have I heard that name before? I close my eyes in pain, and I open them up to something from my past I vaguely remember. The orphange in Keramzin.
I see a younger version of myself running in the field and trying to escape. The environment around me is crystal clear, and something feels off. Like this memory in the field was happening again, that's how clear it was to me.
I turn around to see two kids similar in age to my younger self. One looks like a Shu girl with long dark hair. Another was a boy with curly hair. He didn't look like Shu but deeply cared for his friend. "We can't just let Y/N go, Alina. She tried her best to get it back for you. I think she's going through a rough time."
"Mal, I think she's hiding something. I am not upset about the book and drawing supplies. She's never kept quiet to herself. There is something else going on that we should talk to her about."
Mal... and Alina.
They knew me back in Keramzin, the orphanage, but I don't remember them. I knew the Sun Summoner as a child, and she knew me. I even talked to her. But clearly, she also hid something.
My mind snaps me out of this memory with a gunshot. I open my eyes wide to Alexei dead on the floor—a bullet to the head. I see Dreesen put his gun away and walk over to the body.
"We are now the only people west of the Fold with this information. My ship sails for West Ravka at dawn. If you can prove that you have a way through the Fold and back, I'll put you on that ship with an advance. If you don't, I'm giving this job to Pekka Rollins."
~Kaz~
"Give me a day. I'll have a plan." Dreesen begins to walk away and looks back at me. "You have until sunrise, then your ship will have sailed, Mr. Brekker. The prize is one million kruge. Now bring me Alina Starkov."
Dreesen walks away, and I look over at Y/N. Something happened to her after the supposed Sun Summoner's name was mentioned. She looked like she was in a trance, that could almost pass off as her staring off into nothing. I'll have to inquire about that with Y/N later.
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cwen-northwice · 1 month ago
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Tonight, ladies and everyone else, I am going to eat crow. I said somethings last week here that I don't necessarily think were wrong, but tonight I've learned some extra considerations that are worth merit.
To whit, last week I asserted
First, it should be said. I have once again struggled with my eternal nemesis: measure. I went several passes with a Noble Gentleman and he, as many other before him observed that I missed many (most) of my thrusts by by an inch or two. With better control of measure, I could have had some solid strikes. He did give me a recommendation that in general, I find to be unhelpful at best and at worst something like to scare off newcomers. He advised I get a new sword. To his credit, he immediately offered me one of the longer loaners they had on hand, which is better than most I've had this same exchange with whose advice is truly just buy new expensive weapons. I declined the offer as I'd rather improve my technique than just use different equipment. All the same, if you find yourself in a situation where you are advising newcomers or even just more junior fighters than you, unless you have been asked for an equipment recommendation, I would advise against suggesting spending money as a solution to an issue with technique. Not everyone has four to eight hundred dollars for a new sword.
The Noble Gentleman challenged me again on this this week. I gave him the same answer as before: this is what I can afford and this helps me practice a skill that I wish to develop. He did not discredit those but he gave me two extra considerations, the second building from the first. These considerations do not negate what I said in regards to advising the spending of money. I still believe that is wrong minded. He made clear that he was offering me loaner equipment to help me develop as a fighter and not dismissing my finances. What he was recommending was not gate keeping, but building consistency.
First, I received a lesson in etiquette. Historically, duels were fought with matched weapons. Combatants insured that neither was receiving an advantage from their equipment as a matter of honour. I have said before that blaming one's weapon is "loser shit" and that holds true here. If both weapons are equal than neither can complain the fight was unfair. He even told me the history of one particular duel where a man was sentenced for murder because the man used a sword far longer than the agreed upon case which proved to the court that he had premeditated an unfair and lethal advantage and not simply fought an honourable duel. The lesson here was, whether I like it or not, presupposing I am an honourable fighter (which I do hope I am and will be) then I will be fighting with weapons longer than what I am accustomed to.
Which takes us naturally to the second point. If I only practice with my short weapon, then I will naturally train my body to attack from the range of a short weapon. The problem arises the day I match someone using, say, a 42" blade. If I have an extra six inches of blade I am not accustomed to, then I will strike them as if it's a 36". In this hypothetical, rather than simply tapping them with my point, I would instead be running them through with a half foot of unnecessary force and acceleration. The problem is well demonstrated with the swords in hand, and I fear I'm conveying it poorly. To say it plain, my sword would strike earlier than my body expects it to, and so the force of my attack will carry through even after I've struck. This is how people get hurt. Inexperience with longer weapons will lead to me one day miscalibrating a strike and hurting someone.
I do not have a counter argument. Near as I can tell, the Noble Gentleman is absolutely correct. I had not considered the implications for safety in my adamance to use only the equipment I have. Blaming the equipment may be "loser shit" but hurting my fellows and companions for my pride is "villain shit" and that's worse.
So I have agreed that next week, the Noble Gentleman and I shall practice with 38"s. My prediction is that I will land more successful blows. According to Thibault I should be fighting with a 39" and I find I am often just an inch off a good strike. My hypothesis is my body is naturally responding to a measure of near there. That said, I think the extra length will mess with my point control. Needing to wrangle the extra metal will impact precision. Regardless, I think now that expanding my horizon in this regard will be good for me in the long run.
I still won't be pressured to purchase a new sword until I'm ready though.
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bumblebeebats · 1 year ago
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Found my 53yo very-much-not-online father in the kitchen today meticulously arranging cutlery on the countertop and i was like 'what are you doing' and he looked up at me with the world's most shit-eating grin and said "Your mother told me this is how you rick-roll the Youth" and i looked over and it was fucking. Loss.jpg.
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bumblebeebats · 8 months ago
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I once had a computer problem so weird that it was escalated through like 4 different tiers of Apple Care until I was on the phone with this incredibly earnest guy who told me [in the thickest Eastern European accent imaginable]: "Oh my God... This is so strange... Haha!! Oh my God!!! Charlie, I will tell you, I have never encountered anything like this in my seven years of working here! All my days are spent usually helping people with stupid nonsense, but Charlie, you have brought me a PUZZLE! You have brought me a GIFT! I am FASCINATED! Now, I am going to get my manager, but Charlie, I PROMISE you. I PROMISE YOU, I will be back soon. PLEASE, Charlie, stay with me, and I PROMISE I will return to you and my manager and I will take care of you. OK?" and yes thank you i did tear up
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warderfromtheborder · 2 years ago
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Destiny: the year of Very Well Structured Things In Sets of 2
Defiance+Wish: The Sovs Mara and Crow, the Eliksni Misraaks and Eramis, and the Regular Ass Humans Devrim and Petra(PV counts as a regular-ass human she isn't a figure of prophecy or royalty in the reef she's a cop who's been promoted too much out of necessity)
Deep+Witch: The Truncated Heros Sloane and Eris, the Osmium OGs Xivu and Savathun, the Concerned Boss-Parents Zavala and Ikora, and the Wriggly Enablers Ahsa and Drifter (okay you got me) I mean the Nonhuman Guides Ahsa and Immaru
Lightfall: Osiris with no Sagira and Nimbus with no Rohan and Caiatl with no Recognizable Dad and the Witness with no Disciples and Chioma with no Maya and the Vex with no Chill the Living People of Neomuna with no Meatspace to live in. (The dreaming city curse will never end and the people on Neptune will never get to leave the matrix Im sorry but that's the way it is)
The story and themes for this year of Destiny are SO GOOD the writers have done SUCH A GOOD JOB. If making a tighter relationship between the expansion narrative and the seasonal narratives was one of the goals this year they fucking knocked it out of the park, I can't put any of these arcs into its own box because they have been knit together so sturdily. It's all one great narrative, one Very Big narrative, they haven't done it like this before!
(And Im so mad people couldnt stop shitting on Lightfall they are stoping themselves from seeing how good the WHOLE NARRATIVE IS they are probably gonna say come march/near TFS launch "uhh yeah the seasons were good i guees but maybe they shoulda worked harder on Lightfall I mean who even likes Nimbus" and for their Ignorance and Haterism I am sentencing them to reading part two of The Two Towers while they get attacked by Paper-Tube Ninjas and a broadcast system shouts at them 'YOU CANNOT HAVE THE VICTORIES IN RETURN OF THE KING IF FRODO AND SAM DIDNT KEEP WALKING ALL THE WAY TO MORDOR' for 100 hundred years.) (The link there is I didn't get the Point of that part of Two Towers when I first read it and assumed the whole would have been better without it. Obviously...I was wrong, and so are these clowns who think Lightfall has a bad story)
The name of the game this year is Resolution, Catharsis, Armistice, Acceptance. The structuring is so simple and so elegant and so well executed, the 2s, the 3s, the mirroring and the inverting and the unfathomable gloriousness of the victories personal and community and galaxy wide. There is no way to overstate the bitterness of Amanda's death, the relief of exhalation when Sloane retreats, the VINDICATION of Eris's vengeance.
You remember when Zavala 'discovered' Crow's former identity? How that was the crowning on-screen narrative jewel in destiny up to that point? What I am saying is EVERY ARC THIS YEAR IS AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN THAT BEAT AND DESERVES AS MUCH RECOGNITION FOR THE ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SO MANY COMPLEMENTARY COMBOS PACKED INTO ONE EXPANSION STORY.
If Shadowkeep was the first sign of symptoms, if Beyond Light was trying to irradiate the disease, if Witch Queen was a tug of war with scar tissue, then Lightfall is the world after recovery and making peace with what will Never Be The Same, and the home and family that has been changed forever but is still Your Home and Your Family. We don't stop fighting but we also don't stop loving and growing and caring.
One last thing for my fellow Sjur copium addicts out there: Sloane's retreat was mirrored and inverted by Eris's victory, so for the complementary-ness of the story to continue, Amanda's death and Crow's subsequent emotional anguish over losing the person he fought with but who also saw him for who he really is will need to be mirrored and inverted by SOMEONE who Mara fought with but who also saw her for who she really is and I expect you will agree this is SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE reasoning that Sjur's comin back home.
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blackjackkent · 5 months ago
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OK, so - post-Smuggled Relic Case, we have a couple of different potential avenues to go down.
The main quest appears to follow up immediately with another bit of business in Minrathous. The quest is called "Shadows of Minrathous" and Neve wants to go back and check in with the Shadow Dragons about whether they've found anything regarding the gods.
I also have two companion quests - "Echoes of the Past" with Bellara in Arlathan, and "Coffee with the Crows" with Lucanis in Treviso. We also have three quests in the "Factions and Regions" section; I'm underleveled for two of them, but "A Slow Poison" in Treviso is available.
Obviously, Helena wants to go straight back to Minrathous cos it's where she's most comfortable, but I think we'll save that to look forward to. Let's start with going back to Treviso, since we can kill two birds with one stone there, and then we'll do Bellara's quest to lay potential romantic foundation, and then we'll go back to the SDs. ^_^
So... fantasy Italy time!
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Treviso really is beautiful, actually; I want to go there in real life.
Our instructions for "Coffee with the Crows" are simply to "spend time with Lucanis" by meeting him in the marketplace. Unsure if Bellara is going to be third-wheeling our coffee date or not.
Before we head off for that, though, we have some business in the Crows headquarters at the Cantori Diamond. There's a merchant here we can level up, and also a conversation with Teia and Viago to kick off "A Slow Poison":
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"I could have daggers in a hundred necks by nightfall."
"No doubt. But more necks would present themselves tomorrow."
"I have other daggers."
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"Am I interrupting?" Helena asks, cheerfully inserting herself into the conversation without an invitation.
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"Forgive Teia," Viago says dryly. "She gets testy when a contract is delayed."
Helena raises an eyebrow. "Help me out here - what contract?"
"One that may involve you," Viago answers, matching the expression.
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"You want help against the gods. We want Treviso free. We now think they may be the same problem," Teia explains.
Helena's eyebrow lifts further, questioningly. This is interesting news. They only just recently discovered that the Venatori's activities of late have been tied to the rise of Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain. But now the Antaam occupation in Treviso might also be connected?
"The occupation has a face," Teia goes on. "The Antaam commander, Kithlord "Butcher" Daathrata. But Viagao thinks killing him outright is shortsighted.
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"The Butcher took the city suspiciously fast," Viago says, with a patient air that suggests he's had this conversation more than once. "Removing him is useless if someone else can repeat that - with the help of gods, or something else. Despite it being the outcome, assassination is not about killing. It's about sending a message."
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"And what message would that be?"
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Viago's jaw tightens. "The Crows rule Antiva," he says firmly. "And Treviso will be free."
Helena chuckles. "You're in charge? Antiva has a king."
Viago narrows his eyes at her. "And the power of a king is enforced by armies. Antiva has no army; it has the Crows."
"There's a reason Antivan coins have portraits of guild leaders, not royalty," Teia puts in. "We're patriots. Crows can't field a battalion, but we protect our nation our way."
(A/N: I've seen people discuss how various factions in this game have had their rough edges sanded off for Veilguard. Definitely seems to be the case for the Crows; this 'patriot' business is a far cry from Zevran's Crows who raised child slaves and maintained torture prisons. It works within the aesthetic/themes of this particular game but it's a bit of a canon softening unfortunately.)
Helena smiles faintly. This sounds very much like an echo of her own feelings about Minrathous. She likes Viago, she decides; he's a bit more stoic than her own fiery attitude, but he has an appreciation for subtlety rather than direct attack, and he values the place that he lives in.
This is a cause she would have been inclined to support anyway - but the fact that it apparently ties to her own battles only sweetens the deal.
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"The gods care about taking Treviso?" she asks curiously.
Viago shrugs. "The Butcher wants Treviso. The gods may just want the Antaam."
Teia frowns irritably. "But Antaam distrust magic and outright fear demons," she insists. "They should be enemies."
"Power can turn anyone against their own interests." Viago's voice is low, bitter. "Their own people."
Helena hoists herself up on a nearby barrel and leans back against the wall with a thoughtful expression. "Sounds like you think the occupation wasn't just about force."
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Viago nods grimly. "Cruel as the Butcher is, he didn't break the city with a siege. It was sudden and complete."
"Like he had it all mapped," Teia agrees. "Where to march, and what to close off to choke resistance."
Helena frowns. "He had inside information? Spies?"
"He had something," says Teia.
"And until we know what it was," Viago says firmly, "kililng him isn't the contract."
Helena juts her jaw out with a pensive air, taking in these details, filling them away. "Butcher Daathrata - what do you know about him?"
Again a shrug from Viago. "The Antaam army fractured," he says, "split among warlords. And he seems to have kept the most traditional discipline. And the rank and file like it - his numbers keep growing. But the Butcher himself is... odd."
Helena blinks. "Odd how?"
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"He gives daily speeches," Teia says. "About how the occupation is somehow 'merciful'. And the way he talks, it's... familiar." Her eyes spark angrily. "It's like he thinks he belongs here. And I won't have it."
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Helena gives a sharp nod, hopping back off the barrel and onto her feet. She has the measure of the situation now. "Helping the Crows helps everyone in the long run," she agrees. "What's the first step to your message?"
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"We have a scout named Dareth," Teia says. "He said he was onto something the Butcher was hiding."
"He was in the Drowned District," adds Viago briskly. "So that's a place to start. Find our Crow and help with his contract."
Helena nods again. "Find your Crow. Then what?"
Teia smiles coldly. "We break this occupation. We craft the message one step at a time."
"And when we finally assassinate the person who leashed Treviso," Viago says, his voice lowering to a dangerous softness, "that death will tell everyone - the Crows rule Antiva. And Treviso *will* be free."
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bumblebeebats · 1 year ago
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You've heard of the tinyhouse trend, now get ready for ThinHouse™���
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Headcanon - Vox uses Nanobots / Tries to Change Al
This one is fucked up, and I never really had a use for it.
---------------
Tonight we are Vee-ctorious
Vox uses a fight as a disguise to inject some nanotech riiiight into the wound from adam, as well as hooking into Alastor’s technological biology with his cables. He uses that connection to begin an attack from the inside right into the airwaves, the brain, the nervous system all bound up with radio based magic that fights back.
The tech manipulating the outside into a newer, sleeker more modern format, creating a radio demon for the 21st century much to the horror of the demon whose own flesh is rebelling against him, his powers unable to revert these tiny machines he does not understand. You kill a hundred, and more continue to swarm, his powers were already depleted when Vox started this.
Vox is gloating “Yes, I’ve finally fucking got you, Alastor! This time, I’m going to be the one moulding you into something perfect… even if I have to drag your ancient deer ass kicking and screaming into the future. How does the head of your own podcasting service sound? Hah, that’s right, you can’t answer right now can you? Well the answer is yes. You’re going to do it, and I can absolutely make you. So just sit back and let the ‘bots do their job… hurts less if you just let it happen.”
Husk, who had been in the middle of a rather nice date with Angel in the back atrium of the new hotel, freezes as his collar appears, the chain beginning to change to electric blue as it hurtled towards him, only for the green to flare once before it shattered. All at once, his overlord powers snapped back like a punch to the face, it was disorienting… as was the sudden sheen of silver tipping his claws.
“...fuck.” 
“Husky… ya free?” Angel grinned, unshed tears brimming at the waterline, shocked into stillness by the sudden shockwave of power. There’s a beat or two before his eyes widened. “Wait, does that mean Smiles is-...?”
“...it’s worse than that. It means Vox got him and I gotta go kill him.”
“Vox?”
“Nah, Al. It’s part of our deal… he snuck it in there a while back, but I get it. My collar would break if Vox ever got to the Radio Demon and he couldn’t escape, and I just have to… go kill him, for real. It’s kinder than anything Vox will do to him.”
“What? No, you can’t kill the fucking Radio Demon, he’s an Overlord!”
Husk rolls his shoulders, yellow aura tinging the man as his clothing snapped back to something that screamed made man, all confident gambler and not scraggly bartender…
“Yeah? Well, Legs… so am I. I’ll make this fucked up date up to you later, alright?”
Something sparkles in those eyes in response that wasn’t fear, but they didn’t have time for Angel to work through this new little excitement. He waves the other off. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe I think this makes it more interesting, huh? It’s kinda romantic to go get our weird deer uncle back, as a couple, huh?”
Husk laughs. “You’re ridiculous Angel. I like that in a man.”
A frantic shadow arrives to Husk’s location to latch onto his arm, imparting in flashes the location and that Alastor was ‘almost gone’.
It portals them to the location easily enough, but then pools on the floor in a glitching mess.
Vox is barely aware of their arrival, too busy gloating, monologuing and managing the variety of wires and bots in their reconstruction of the demon before him, the clothing switching to more modern attire, patterns of circuitry sliding under Alastor’s skin and up his antlers.
Dissolving his stitched smile through a combination of magic and technology. Come up with better explanation re transformation. Last to go are his red eyes, filled with rage and terror, they flick towards Husk and Angel in the last second before they flash black… radio dials gone, the Voxtech logo taking their place. And the demon stops fighting.
“YES! YES I FUCKING GOT YOU FINALLY!” Vox crows, fists clenched in celebration as he shouts his joy to the universe. Additional cables latch onto the body before him, pulsing lights feed something down into the unresponsive radio demon, echoing under the skin as it fed to the brain etc.
The television demon crouched, hand on the too-still radio demon’s cheek, a vicious mockery of affection no matter how genuine Vox thought himself to be. “Hey, just let it happen, Al. I promise it’s not that bad… in fact, you’re gonna love what me and Vel have cooked up for you, your own little niche in the technological age, not just podcasts but audiobooks and internet radio. We’re thinking of calling it Vaudible… thought you might like that. Hmmm… you’re less fun all quiet like this, but I can’t say I don’t like being able to finish a sentence without your smart mouth ruining the moment.” 
There’s a pause, “Heh, speaking of your smart mouth… there’s a few other things I think we’ve both always wanted to do that you were too stubborn to try. Lucky for me, you’re a little more compliant now, and my tech might finally fix the fucked up parts of you that won’t let you love me back. Gonna be fun letting Val and Vel have their turns with you… but you’re going to be mine first for a long, long time, deer. I waited so long for this…” 
Vox tilted the deer demon’s face towards him and pressed his mouth hard against the slackened expression there. Caring little for the slight twitches that tried to jerk from his grip, his eye starting to swirl as the pulsing wires redoubled their efforts to bury the consciousness within the husk before them.
Angel was sick to his stomach. Sure, it was nothing on what Val had put him through, but he never liked seeing someone forced… and at least he had good experiences to drift into when things got too fucked up. This was… well, it was Violation on a level beyond the physical; just the idea that Vox was also in Alastor’s head right now, not letting him pull away from the nightmare of being touched in a way that clearly horrified him, was enough to fill Angel with rage.
Husk stepped in first, however, clearly disgusted by the situation.
“You might want to put your tongue back in your freaky mouth, Vox, ‘cause I want a word.”
Those electronic eyes analyse the demon before him. “Ohoh-hooooo, look who got his powers back from daddy-deerest, hmmm? No need to thank me. But if you’re looking to get your pound of flesh from Al, you’ll have to wait until I’ve had a chance to pound that flesh first… in every way imaginable. He’s been teasing me for decades, and I want a chance to break him first before any of his former thralls try to get revenge, okay? I think that’s fair.” 
He might not love Alastor, or want to return to being friends like they sort of once were… but hearing someone speak about the guy like that was galling. Husk knew Alastor disliked touch, and wasn’t interested in ‘all that tomfoolery’ around sex and relationships, he just Was Himself and the world moved around him. It was weird, and some thought he was fucked in the head for that (Husk would argue that the love of murder was, in fact, more significant than the lack of interest in carnal acts and dating), but it rarely ever came up anymore. 
This was revolting to the Overlord on a deep level. Reminded him how closely linked Vox and Valentino were, how fundamentally similar the pair were under all that showmanship and the thin veneer of civility that drew in the masses.
His lip curled in anger, but he managed to sweep it back into a gambler’s bland smirk. All easy confidence and nonchalance, the kind that you wore no matter how fantastic or abysmal the hand you’d been dealt was.
“You sure? I mean, I know you always had a thing for him, but at least he never had ya on his chain… think I deserve to at least get my licks in, so he knows I’m going to be gunning for him when you three are done with whatever you’re up to. I just know there probably won’t be enough left to even recognise what I’m gonna do…”
Vox actually appeared to consider this. “Well, you do make a fantastic point, Husk… and you’re welcome to join in after we get first dibs on the ‘ruining’ front… but I can see how it would be frustrating to wait for revenge. Fuck knows I understand, because I’ve been plotting this shit for decades. And today, of all days, I fucking WON over this smug bastard… and now he’s mine.” 
Angel shifted uncomfortably, and drew Vox’s attention accidentally. Funny how something 8ft tall could shrink down when he was anxious.
“Oh? You brought Val’s little pet here too?”
“Course I did.” Husk replied, smoothly lying on the fly. “If you’d had to live with Alastor swanning about the hotel and lording his overlord status over ya all the time, always shoving it in your face that you were a Thing and not a Person… well, you’d wanna be here to see him get his ass handed to him, too. Right?”
Vox laughed. “That true, angelcakes?”
The consummate actor, Angel’s expression flushed vengefully cruel and broke into a wide cruel smile of too sharp teeth. “You betcha tight techno ass, Boss, I’ve wanted to put that deer in his place since he turned up at the hotel. Maybe on his knees, in fronta me, with his mouth full if ya know what I mean…” 
The words were sour on his tongue, but he’d played this little tightrope walking game with Valentino before to know how to keep his true feelings quashed down, to say and do only what they wanted to see. To be convincing.
“Hmmm, now that… I think I want to see. I’ll talk to Val about adding that to the next set of shoots, it’ll be a ratings bonanza with the weird demographics he attracts. Everyone who ever lusted after this creepy fucker, everyone who ever wanted to fuck him until he just shut the fuck up, the people he defeated bitterly, and of course his weird die hard fans of that little show who would listen to him cough for an hour rather than turn off the radio. We’ll get them all if we go ‘Adult Video killed the Radio Star’ on him.”
“Now you’re Dirty Talkin’ my language, tech daddy!” Angel simpers, his eyes watching and assessing the Overlord to find a clue as to how to proceed. One of his lower arms is in his pocket, blindly texting Vaggie for support right now, because right now they needed help majorly right now.
“So, you gonna let me take a swing before you ruin him beyond anything I can get satisfaction outta? I mean, I promise not to break anything too vital, but it’s just… you don’t get a chance like this all that often, right?”
“True, true… look, you willing to make a little deal, overlord to overlord? No souls. Just a friendly little deal where I let you whale on Al for a few minutes, and you find yourself open to a little meeting with the Vees when your Casino is back up and running. We’re all about promotion and ad revenue, and your joint was a swinging success before any of us even had a chance to reach out… imagine what we could do together, hmmm?”
“That all? Tch, you got a deal.” 
(deal sealing magic)
Vox steps aside with an elaborate wave at the vaguely stirring deer on the ground, some of the wires snapping away with bloody pops to allow others to drag the demon upright. “Just because we’re all friends here, I’ll even let our resident scarlet starlet take a shot if he wants. Just don’t aim for anything too annoying to patch up, there’s only so many times you should have to deal with a partner bleeding out from some fatal nonsense mid-fuck. Ruins the mood.” 
“Really? Gee, thanks Boss!” Angel chirps, hiding his eye twitching by forcing his smile wider as a tommy gun appeared with his fifth arm. He swallowed sharply in order to get the next line out, playing distraction as Husk sauntered closer. “You got any preference for the shot, Boss? I know some people like an extra hole in the right place, makes it a whole new level of… sinful.”
The television begins to actively glitch at that, flustered by the idea, and flickering as his mind created options. 
Husk grasped Alastor by the chin, digging his claws in and growling. “Why aren’t you smiling, ‘boss’? Suddenly not so happy to see your little pet cat with his claws extended, huh? Well, lucky for you, I got orders not to fuck you up too badly… but I’m here to remind you that you chained down an Overlord, not just any sinner, when you stole my life from me!”
Angel hazarded a glance at Vox and was horrified to find the man was visibly aroused. He fights instinct to not simply shoot the picture box in the dick right there and then.
Husk makes a show of raising Alastor off the ground, and then stopping short as the cables tugged, too short. “Hey Vox, you got an extension cord for these things or can ya drop ‘em for a sec? Hard to piledrive a guy into the pavement without enough leverage, you know?”
Clearly the phrasing was sending Vox on another tangent, as red spilled out down his screen from a sharp toothed grin. “Hmmm? Oh, yeah, of course… piledrive away, pussy cat.”
Cables snapped free easily, and Husk raised the other again, before bringing him down hard. Sinking the other a few inches into the concrete below.
“...Husk… er…. Please…”
“Hah! He’s BEGGING that’s fucking pathetic, Bambi, you know it’s not gonna work. Not with Husk, not with me, or Val or Vel or hell, even Angel Dust here…” Vox laughed, chillingly.
He didn’t understand. Husk did, though.
His claws flexed out and his arm raised, ready to deliver a fatal blow as it descended again, but the glint of the angelic capping caught Vox’s attention. 
A cable whips about his arm and yanks back. 
“Y0000ooU@$%uuuuuuuuU Fuckin$%$%g DARE?!” Vox howls, squaring up to Overlord form in rage. “That’s MY FU@%$cKINg deer, and you just what… decided to M333rcyyyy kill hi111m? Fuck off!"
Angel’s fingers are on the triggers, tensing to pull when he gets a Husk-less shot, heart pounding. And then the cavalry arrives.Niffty launches herself through the portal at Vox, dagger outstretched to take him out… but he turns his screen into a feed of her face and she freezes, pupil shrinking. Next, Charlie and Vaggie, both armed with a weapon. They force Vox back as a rather frustrated looking Lucifer arrives as well, taking in the whole scene with a pointed frown on his face.
With a sigh, he gestures to Husk. “Bring him over here so I can block whatever the tv guy is trying to use to drag them both into that camera over there.” etc.
Vox is killed with non-angelic steel, so he’ll reboot, but his body is photographed and uploaded to media. #radiosnotdead as an injoke.
Charlie is beside herself to learn what happened and almost happened.
Vaggie is not a fan of Alastor, but she winced at the idea of being bound like that and forced to-... she shuddered, kicking the corpse again. 
Angel asks the king for bleach to wash his eyes and mouth out, and Charlie has to grab the manifested bottle out of reach before anyone can hurt themselves. 
Husk is angry and frustrated and relieved and annoyed. He failed… but Alastor was sort of safe now, right? He could keep his freedom?
Niffty had to be restrained. She was feeling a strong desire to perish from Alastor, and wanted to help… so the knife was removed from her hands, and the Spider kept his limbs on her.
Lucifer was more confused than anything.
“I have no idea what he did, but I can barely see the smug fucker’s Self i there anymore. It’s all… blue, where there should be red.”
“Charlie… like I said, you gotta just… let me end him. He…” How to explain it? “Look, Vox has been obsessed for decades and never took no for the answer it was, and Al knew one day the guy would try something desperate enough that Vox might win and force him to be whatever the box wanted. My contract says I need to kill him, if that happened… so just… go back to the hotel, cause I don’t want you to see this.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. WE are going back to the hotel, and someone here or all of us are going to work out how to fix him,because if it could be done then it can be undone. No killing. No more-...” she chokes. “No more lost friends. Understood?”
“Yeah, yeah, if you insist. C’mon… if he’s going to live, I’m gonna need t’change his bandages anyway.”
“Husk.” 
Shit, he fucked up. 
“Look at me.”
His eyes turn to meet hers at the Royal Command in the tone.
“WHAT. BANDAGES?”
“The, uh… the ones covering an injury that was taking time to heal?”
“And how did that happen?” 
“Well, Overlords fight, Charlie, it-...” she frowned deeper. “Okay, fine, he can’t force my silence so… Adam hit him pretty good, and it won’t heal right. Pretty sure it’s why Vox managed to get the upper hand today.”
[Back at hotel, managing injury, manage to disperse the remaining nanobots by angelic purge, can slowly revert body over time. Powers and thoughts changed.
Confused and angry, Angel provides solace. Vox is disgraced. Valentino dies somehow in this fic.]
..
As an aside, maybe its finally revealed to everyone in the hotel that having a phone means that they officially have a small deal with voxtech, which they never realised until someone uses the airwaves to make the tiny rings appear, chains electric blue and stretching off into their smartphone screens.
Which pisses off Lucifer. His phone doesn’t have the connection, only because Vox is sure he’d die for being so presumptuous, but Charlie’s has a binding clause. It’s something small in the agreement when you power up the phones. Each gen is different and the Agree & Continue information is altered based on the plan each person is on. 
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happyocelot · 2 years ago
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I'm still not that familiar with the sequel, but I think Inuyasha and Moroha would be like Genma and Ranma...you know? I just get that feeling.
For InuKag Fluff Week, Day 1: Comfort! Let me know what you think! :)
@inukagfluffweek
In the modern era, she would have woken up to the sound of her alarm clock.
With a robotic beep-beep-beep, it would signal the end of sweet, blissful sleep and plunge her into the nightmare world of studying for tests she hadn't prepared for because she hadn't been to school because she had to face off against a murderous spider demon five hundred years in the past and her grandpa had told everyone in school that she had a debilitating case of maple syrup urine disease (what even was that, jii-chan?) and she also needed an emergency kidney transplant for some reason he never really explained and even through all these wild and ludicrous excuses, no one had yet asked them to produce certifications proving these illnesses because the school administration clearly wasn't that bright and for SOME reason they still required her to take all those tests ANYWAY (after her grandpa told people she needed a kidney transplant) and maybe life in the modern era wasn't all that it was cracked up to be and maybe...
Maybe...
"C'MON! I COULD BLOCK THAT IN MY SLEEP, MOROHA! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!"
And there it was.
Kagome pulled the covers up to her ears. After years of living in the feudal era, she had trained herself to finally wake up to the roosters crowing at dawn and to go to sleep by the time the sun would set, which was around...7 pm. This would have been difficult for her eighteen-year-old self in the year 2000, at the turn of the millennium, with electricity long since introduced into every single home and wreaking havoc on her circadian rhythm.
She had struggled against that background to accomplish a 4 am wake-up and 7 pm bedtime. That was her achievement, a monumental one she would have thought laughable in the year 1996 or 15-whatever, when she had met Inuyasha for the first time.
Against all odds, Kagome had become an early bird.
"OH, YEAH? THEN TAKE THIS, OLD MAN!"
A gale-force blow sliced through the air. Kagome heard something break in the distance.
She groaned.
It was two in the morning.
Against all odds, she had become an early bird. Against all odds.
Now Inuyasha and Moroha had apparently decided that this wasn't enough, and resolved to punish her circadian rhythm yet again, pushing it to limits she had never known existed.
Why were they practicing swordfights at two in the morning?
She needed her beauty sleep, dammit.
She flattened a hand over the smooth skin of her eyes, which were definitely going to have dark circles in the morning because her husband and daughter had gotten hyper and –
"KAZE NO KIZU!"
Something broke again.
What the hell was wrong with her family.
Kagome decided that checking right now wasn't worth it. She could inspect the mass destruction tomorrow.
"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! ARE YOU MY DAD OR MY GRANDPA?"
So original, Moroha.
"WE'LL SEE WHO'S LAUGHING AFTER THIS! HIJIN KESSHO!"
Why did they all have to shout out their attack names? Did they all live in Sailor Moon? Showing Inuyasha that manga all those years ago in 1997 was a terrible mistake. Now he was going to shout out attack names for eternity and she would never get her beauty sleep.
"I WAS HOPING YOU'D BE USING MEIDO ZANGETSUHA!"
That was never going to happen and both of them knew it.
They knew that her wrath would be legendary if they ever tried.
Kagome was, in fact, the one who ruled this household with an iron fist. These late night/early morning shenanigans were only possible because she allowed them, however grudgingly. They would come to an end fast if some fool decided to bust out Meido Zangetsuha.
"DO YOU WANT TO DIE, MOROHA? YOUR MOM WOULD KILL US!"
She smirked and rolled onto her side.
Against all odds, she somehow drifted off to sleep.
She woke up long past the time roosters would crow at the dawn, cocooned on both sides by Inuyasha and Moroha, her little girl's leg wrapped around her belly and Inuyasha drooling onto her shoulder.
Evidently they'd grown tired and come back into the house at some point last night, or perhaps they had run out of things to blow up. Both seemed plausible.
Ah, well. She'd inspect the mass destruction later.
She had beauty sleep to get back to.
Waking up to the sound of her dear husband and darling daughter duking it out, flattening valleys, and creating massive craters at the edge of the forest in the feudal era wasn't so bad.
At least she didn't have to worry about math tests anymore.
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edible-paint-janyx-dot-com · 7 months ago
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I'm posting twice a day ?!? YEAH!
KNY oc part 2!
Also special mention to my pookie @puerile-treats cuz it's her birthday (Happy birthday pooks)
Tsubaki Tsugikuni (次国 - 椿 Tsugikuni Tsubaki)
"For five hundred years, I've thought to myself; Why am I still alive? Why hadn't I thought of finally accepting death? Why am I not tired of wandering for five hundred years? How dare you speak to me as if you didn't do anything wrong? Most of all, let me ask, what makes you think I still care for you as your niece? Muzan, the other uppermoon demons, you... You all fill my heart with hate. I don't care if I go to hell, I will drag you all down with me to the darkest of pits and the hottest of flames and you will not escape." - Tsubaki Tsugikuni to Kokushibo, while trying to protect Muichiro Tokito and Genya Shinazugawa in True feelings
Alias: T. Tsugikuni, Onishika("True form"), My niece(By Kokushibo), Demonic entity(By Kokushibo upon seeing her "true form")
Race: Human(Formerly), Demon
Gender: Female
Age: 19(physically), 500+(Chronologically)
Height: 182cm(6'0)
Weight: 73kg
Hair color: Black to red
Eye color: Maroon
Affiliation: Demon Slayer Corps, Tokito family
Occupation: Informant, demon slayer
Combat style: Light breathing, hand-to-hand combat, Flora manipulation and fauna transformation
Status: Alive(Before sunrise countdown arc) - Desceased
Brief background information:
Tsubaki - That name should be familiar to demon slayers from the sengoku era of someone were to ask. And they would all answer the same thing: Tsubaki is the daughter of Yoriichi and the niece of Michikatsu. She was kidnapped and turned into a demon by Muzan when she was 17 and stopped aging at 19, in the arms of her father, they were both exiled from the demon slayer corps, Tsubaki had some self restrain from eating humans, Yoriichi served her favorite food and she knew she was a demon, however had morals - Fast forward to the Taisho era, Tsubaki was watching over her quiet garden where animals lived. Suddenly, she heard commotion coming from her garden, she ran out into her garden to find out a slayer infiltrated her home, he was attacking a giant swan she created with her blood demon art to keep anyone from entering her home, however, she watched from a nearby perch - The slayer had successfully killed the swan. The demon slayer asked her to reveal herself, Tsubaki, who was shapeshifted into an owl, stood on top of a tree, the slayer decided to play smart and said that he could see her. Tsubaki stood behind the boy, wearing a cloak. The two exchanged a glance at one another, the slayer confused and Tsubaki calm. Tsubaki took her hood off and welcomed the slayer in to her home. She served tea and some cake to the slayer. She inquired why he came to her and he admitted, he managed to decode a message on the back of the corps rule book, out of curiousity and desperation to get stronger, he managed to disclose her location with the help of his Kasugai crow. Tsubaki just stared at the boy in shock, she would've never imagined that this boy, so small and young would be able to decode a message as old her all by himself. Then the boy admitted that he asked for some help - However, he did it almost all of it alone, Tsubaki regained her composure and introduced herself. The boy shook her hand and hoped that she'll take him as her student, Tsubaki asked for his name, she would do her best to mentor this boy. The boy introduced himself as Muichiro Tokito.
Uniform description
As far as it goes, Tsubaki does not wear the demon slayer corps uniform.
General appearance
Tsubaki wears a standard kimono colored in red with her obi colored gray. She has a blade and a bow with a bag of arrows on her back. And she does wear a cloak which is colored a dark green, to blend in with the surrounding nature at night along with a red eyepatch. But as Onishika, she gains antlers and a more demonic appearance such as cracks on her face, long claws and hollowed out eyes.
Inspirations:
Athena (EPIC: The musical)
Odysseus (EPIC: The musical)
Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Samurai
Pianos (Don't even ask why)
Xianyun (Genshin Impact)
Overall abilities:
Tsubaki has years of wisdom and skilled swordsmanship, along with the help of her blood demon art which allows her to quickly evade capture.
Demon slayer abilities:
As a human: Tsubaki only possessed skilled sowrdsmanship and quick movement speed, however, she was also skilled at hand-to-hand combat.
Demon slayer mark: Tsubaki had unlocked her demon slayer mark prior to the final battle, however, Muzan was unaware of the trouble he has caused.
Transparent world: Tsubaki can see through the transparent world, memorizing all of Muzan and Kokushibo - She was shocked to realize that her father was right about Muzan's anatomy...
Songs that would sound similar to her personality:
Warrior of the mind - She is badass, Muichiro and her interacting would be similar to Athena and Odysseus.
Scylla - Since Tsubaki and Onishika are the same people, Onishika would tell demons she's against to drown in their sorrows and fears.
We'll be fine - Tsubaki would be the time to reassure that Muichiro's fine the same way Athena would assure that Telemachus would be stronger.
Odysseus - Like Odysseus, she's a monster after realizing it.
I can't help but wonder - This can either be taken with Yoriichi, Uta and Tsubaki as Odysseus, Athena and Telemachus or Tsubaki and Muichiro as Telemachus/Athena with Odysseus. Because at some point, Tsubaki will wonder if she led Muichiro astray after revealing who she truly was. At the same time, Odysseus and Telemachus would be Yoriichi looking at Tsubaki as his daughter, not a monster.
Trivia
Tsubaki's name can translate to "Camellia" as in the flower, however if "Tsu" is translated it would mean "To harbor" and "Baki" could mean "fang of steel" and her surname, Tsugikuni, is comprised of the meaning: "to inherit, succeed"(Tsugi) and "country, kingdom"(Kuni). And her demon name, Onishika, Oni translates to "demon", shi means "death" and ka is added as a suffix or translated to "mosquito".
Tsubaki saw people as friends, however she was a hermit.
Kagaya found out about her because of the Corps handbook. To add to this, she's also the author of the corps handbook.
Tsubaki can play the Koto and biwa.
Tsubaki is quite secretive, despite her tall stature, she can hide well with humans.
After Nezuko conquered the sun, Tsubaki thought of touching sunlight herself - Only to find out she was fed blue spider Lily before, however she didn't want to touch sunlight as Onishika.
Tsubaki can be described as dangerous however, that didn't stop Muzan from taking her away and holding her hostage. However during the final battle, Muzan feared her.
Tsubaki loves her parents dearly, she wouldn't trade them for anything.
She has never married. Never will.
Tsubaki has neat handwriting when she isn't rushing, however if she is, it's a mess.
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chaos-bringer-13 · 1 year ago
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I have been summoned to this post but I don't really have many thoughts about this one unfortunately.
Can they make zeta-tubes between two planets? I have no idea how those things work in canon, but imagine Clark and Kara having to somehow parent a few hundreds of toddlers while constantly portalling between Earth and whatever planet this is happening on. They gotta ask Bruce for money. And if he knows any good babysitters that won't ask questions and preferably have experience in war or natural disasters handling.
The whole story should have Yakety Sax playing in the background. All the time. As Clark and Kara are escaping their kidnappers, as these PETA guys try to catch them again, as Clark and Kara are trying to manage a bunch of toddlers with superpowers...
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This is what they look like after just two days of this btw.
Also did they really get classically UFO-kidnapped? Lol.
Alien PETA
So in the 90s Superman animated series there was a collector of the last of any species. And that got me imagining what if there was an intergalactic endangered species protection agency?
Kal El and Kara are the “last” survivors of the Kryptonians. Living on another planet that gets attacked by other aliens all the time. This protection agency hears about it and investigates. Only to find the near extinct kryptonians doing a lot of fighting with not only invading species but also local ones. Clearly this is a hostile environment that kryptonians need to be relocated away from.
And since we’re dealing with sci-fi stuff anyway we could have them learn that Kara had been rescued from stasis on the former kryptonian colony Argo that also everyone else died on because Krypton going boom shifted Argo’s orbit and made it freeze over. However there are still lots of frozen bodies that DNA can be collected from, and so the alien cloning tech this species could be saved from the brink.
So a plan is set in motion to Relocate the survivors to a better suited environment, and use cloning to jumpstart the population. Can’t go to fast though. In past study and experience it is best for the clones to grow up naturally as possible with adult members of their species.
They try to calmly approach and talk to the Kryptonians about relocating, but just unfortunate luck has that encounter happening at the same time as an attack from some local group called an injustice league. Well clearly a more direct action will be needed.
Soon from Clark and Kara’s perspective. They had just won against the injustice league and did the arrests and start of clean up. Now it is night time and they are going to their respective homes when there is a Red light shined on them that is like that of a red star chasing their powers to drain. They try to dart away and get to cover, but not before the red light had weakens their invulnerability enough that they can get hit with what looks like height tech tranquilizer darts. Next thing they know they are together in what to them looks like a room on a transport ship.
I could have missed it but am surprised that this hasn’t been done before. Anyway let’s see what people will come up with from here. What escape plans will the cousins think of? Rescue party from the justice league?
Tags! @confusedshades @jedipirateking @spicy-apple-pie @dragonsrequiem @zeestarfishalien
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