#i know he was stressed about having a butt pirate on his team

[kramerblogrealgood]

Logan Roy at the end of S3 trying to decide if he should side with the kids or Tom

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML AU: Childhood Soulmates: NY Special

(Spoilers below. But you bet your A** I had to do this.)

Okay so takes place after Miracle Queen (I am probably gonna retcon the Chat blanc episode version)

-So  just to be clear, Loveater and Miracle Queen end much differently in the au So naturally the special will change a Lot because of it.

-Chat noir still gives Ladybug the Yellow rose, as a token of friendship. Because he is cheesy like that. Ladybug smiles and thanks him for it.

-The class still gets to go to NY because of Paris America friendship day.

- Marinette still is hyped and ready to convince Gabriel that Adrien should go with the class. (Marinette is Processing her feelings, because ever since her talk with Kagami as Ladybug, she realized Adrien might be in love with her. Or, in love with another girl. Due to the stress of everything that day she actually cant remember the details. And she now thinks she could be wrong.)

-Adrien is bummed because he cant leave Paris with Marinette and his friends. Kagami whoops his butt.

-Kagami tries to cheer him up “Maybe when she gets back you will actually confess. and I can have a decent fight again.” No cheek kiss, cause Kagami knows.

-Gabriel agrees to Marinette’s request because he has a reason to now. Plus convenience.

-Adrien is ready to decline it, But Plagg really sells him on the idea. Plus. “What could be more romantic then confessing to your true love in another country?”

-Adrien complies, only because he is sure he can get back to paris quickly.

- Marinette now realizing that this might be a chance to finally confess how she feels... And that kind of freaks her out a lot. Maybe she shouldn’t confess. Afterall, they can just go sight seeing like friends do. But first she needs to make sure Paris is in good hands.

-Cue the ladybug and Chat noir rooftop scene. No romantic teasing. Chat noir promises her that Paris will be fine.

- Marinette was late but thanks to Luka, she was on time.

-Luka wishes her luck. (No cheek kiss for him) But a hug as thanks.

-Marinette makes it on the bus and Alya teases her. Marinette tells Alya that this is just going to be a nice fun trip. No romance, just hanging out with her best friends, there wont be a single romantic event.

-Alya rolls her eyes. “Sure there wont be”

- Marinette ends up sitting next to Adrien on the plane. Its awkward on both their fronts.

-Because Adrien wants to confess, but also feels this bit of guilt creeping on him

-Marinette feels this tension and cue the Hi-jinx.

-Marinette ends up in the front of the plane because of shenanigans. Her using this time to reassess. Adrien is her best friend, her childhood best friend. Yes, she loves him. But does that mean in a romantic light? Is he really in love with her?

-She gets up and watches the sunset, along with adrien.

-The two share a moment. Adrien decides now is the time.

-Adrien is about to confess, when Supervillain attack!

-The heroes saving the day is unchanged

-Adrien now feels even more guilty and almost gets ready to double back to paris, but Plagg tells him its fine.

-They get to the hotel. Aeon sees Marinette and Adrien. (Those two are made for eachother.) Jess agrees.

-Door problems.

- More confident Sabrina catches the eye of American Boy. Max notices, and is slightly jelly. (Yes Sabrimax is a thing in this au. Dont @ me)

-Chloé is a lot more hostile. She and Sabrina butt heads.

-Marinette and Adrien end up meeting Aeon and Jess.

-Adrien does the introductions.

-”Im Adrien, and this is my future wife, Marinette.”

-Aeon is super happy about this. Jess felt her eyes go wide

-Marinette usually a comedic yelling adrien and telling him to knock it off while he chuckles is not there. Marinette is just super red and silent. Adrien is confused. But then turns red correcting it himself.

-”Actually she is my childhood friend, Marinette.”

- Aeon almost Squees.

-”See Jess! I knew it”

-”Anyway, sorry for interrupting..”

-Jess helps them out.

-So they have fun at the party and Nino does his bro move with the hotdogs.

-Cue floating Adrinette Dancing scene. (Adrien realizes this was the perfect moment to confess and beats himself up over it later. He thought now wasnt the time because with how weird marinette was acting earlier.)

- Jess and Aeon are now team adrinette and Totally collude with Alya and Nino to put them in danger.

-Cue sh*t hitting the fan with Akuma techno pirate and Sentimonster Robustus back in paris.

-Chat noir realizes he Super f***ed up bad. (Pretty much everything happens the same way in canon.)

-Ladybug gives him a earful just as she did in canon because ‘He deserved it’ adrien knew that was true.

-Aeon almost gets destroyed like before.

-Ladybug and Chat noir have to flee.

- Adrien feels even worse, because he adds on the guilt of putting in paris in danger just to be with Marinette. How could he be chat noir after this massive f*** up. He was selfish, arrogant, and completely destroyed his partnership with ladybug. He renounces his miraculous and runs off. He wasnt worthy of being chat noir.

-Ladybug is devastated.

-Adrien going into the car just like in canon. He cant even look Marinette in the eyes, he is so ashamed of himself.

-Alya tells Marinette that is this really how she wanted this to end. That she is fine with this?

-Cue bike scene and her crash. Where Marinette really grasps it. She does love her best friend. And it just hurts more now with everything on her mind, and with chat noir.

-The stuff with the other heroes is pretty much identical, including Hawkmoth akumatizing and giving the eagle miraculous to Techno-pirate.

- Aeon of course finds Adrien and has a bit of a tougher time convincing him. But she does it with the recording. He thanks her and they head out

-Ladybug and Chat noir reunite. Chat noir appologizing. Ladybug telling him to NEVER do that to her again. They are a team.

-The plan is pretty much the same and they defeat him the same way.

- Aeon offers to delete her memory of their identities and Ladybug and Chat noir thank them.

-”It is fitting that its you who is under the mask. You both are incredible together.”

-”What does that mean?” Chat noir is perplexed.

-”Dont worry about it.” She giggles.

-Chat noir heads off.

-Marinette and the class do the Banner for Adrien.

-Adrien is happy about it.

-”I will tell Marinette how I feel. But next time, I wont compromise being a hero to do it.”

-Plagg pats his kitten.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

640-642: "Explore! Fairies' Island - Green Bit!", "The Unknown World! The Tontatta Kingdom!" and "The Stratagem of the Century! Doflamingo Makes His Move!"

Doflamingo using Fake News before it was cool.

Watched three episodes to make up for not posting on Saturday. Damn, am I glad I watched up to 642. The reveal of the Tontatta people and what Violet was up to *did* move the plot along. But Doflamingo is the centre of trouble and strife. When he shows up, you know it’s about to get real.

And boy, Doflamingo really is a proper joker, isn’t he? Just loves to play little tricks on people. Little tricks like taking control of the press and releasing fake news just so you can murder another pirate.

Such a prankster!

Zoro Ages 40 Years Through Confusion and Stress

Before I get to the Main Event, gotta update on Franky and Sol, plus Zoro and his new pal Wicka!

In Zoro’s storyline, the action kicked in with him dashing about Acacia Port Town, seemingly yelling and muttering to himself. A small child was scared. His mother advised him to not look Zoro in the eye.

Meanwhile, somewhere about Zoro’s person, a small voice ordered, “Get to Flower Field already!”

Ah, thought I. Zoro has teamed up with the thieving little fairy from earlier.

Sure enough, a flashback confirmed it, along with another tasty nugget of news that tied Zoro’s story neatly into the main plot.

After the sack of stolen stuff whacked Zoro on the head, Zoro spotted the little thief. The game was up. Tiny thief introduced himself as Wicka. He belonged to the Tontatta Tribe’s scouting unit and he was freaking out about Zoro - a Big Human - having seen him. Of course, Wicka couldn’t share any information - apart the fact he was supposed to report to his chief that the Donquixote Family were about to destroy the Strawhat Pirates’ ship.

Obviously, Zoro was interested in this development. He was about to haul ass back to Sunny but, alas, his faulty GPS kicked in. (He is the only one who hasn’t left Acacia Port yet, lmao). As Wicka had broken his ankle in the fall, he offered to guide Zoro back to shore in exchange for a ride to a place called Flower Field.

Turns out the Tontatta People have a conflict with the Donquixote Family too, though Wicka wouldn’t spill the details. (I’m still thinking a lot of them are being forced to work in the Smile factory.)

As for Franky and Sol, they are heading the same way, funnily enough. (Maybe Flower Field is the headquarters for the Resistance.) On the way, Rebecca spotted them from a Colosseum window. She shouted after Sol, who acted pretty weird about the whole thing. Pretty much was like, “Oh, so you entered the competition even though I told you not to. Okay.”

There is obviously a crap ton of history between these two because Rebecca cried and shouted back, “I’ll win so we can live together!”

Sol was all surly about it. “A warrior who cries will not easily win,” and rode away on Franky. Then, when he was safely out of earshot, he told Franky how he had something he wanted to protect and that he could not shed tears from his tin eyes.

Gotta say, I’m getting weird vibes from this relationship.

Ceci N’Est Pas Une Punch

As for Luffy Lucy, the Block C battle is officially underway! I was super hyped to see this fight but the action kept cutting away from it. Now the Feathered One has flapped onto the stage, he’s hogged the spotlight and some of the hype has worn off.

Still, that whole sequence of Luffy winding up Gomu Gomu stretchy punches and declaring, “That was a normal punch. Oh, that one? That was a normal kick. A completely normal kick.” Even after several fellow competitors observed, “Hey, that guy’s arm stretched. Isn’t that exactly like that Strawhat Luffy guy’s power?”

No.

No it wasn’t.

It was just a normal, run of the mill stretchy punch. 

Do not listen to Cavendish who is being manhandled from the area shrieking “I’LL KILL YOU, STRAWHAT!” at the top of his lungs. Do not listen to Don Chinjao, who is stomping about, growling about murdering Garp’s grandson every five seconds.

All trickery and lies.

And speaking of...

You Just Lost the Circle Game

Ah, I am so glad Sanji’s little subplot has merged into the main plot. It had begun to border on unwatchable. I breathed a sigh of relief when Violet turned the tables last episode. I thought she might even be a CP0 member in disguise, seeking to shackle Sanji and trade him for Luffy.

Nope.

It’s less complicated than that.

It turned out Violet was an assassin hired by Doflamingo to prey on Sanji’s weakness for women. The chuckling thugs surrounding her laughed it up. This guy is worth 70 million and he was fooled by Violet’s act? What a dumbass.

She shit-talked Sanji for about five seconds. “Did you really think a guy like you could win my heart? How funny!”

This was before she unveiled her Glare Glare fruit power which allows her to see into people’s minds (legit amazingly useful power, to be fair). She asked Sanji some Important Questions. Why had Strawhat and Trafalgar Law become allies? What brought them to Dressrosa besides the business at Green Bit? What was their ultimate plan? What were they up to?

But inside Sanji’s mind, all she saw was PINK PINK PINK. Which, I am guessing, means Sanji’s head was filled with nothing else but thoughts of LADIEZ. (Bit of a disservice to Sanji, but okay.)

Understandably, Violet was freaked out. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking of you,” Sanji answered. “The way you looked at me in that moment, I knew you were telling me the truth when you asked me to kill someone for you. I believe in women’s tears!”

I blinked and reached for my sick bucket.

Amazingly, Sanji’s charm worked on Violet. Not only did she turn on the hired thugs, she also ran away with Sanji and let him peer into her mind to discover the trap Doflamingo had laid for Trafalgar Law.

Very generous. Sanji, I take it all back. You are a smooth operator, after all.

Little People: The Only Thing That Has Legit Scared Robin Since Enies Lobby

Back at Green Bit, Usopp was having flashbacks to Bowin Island and Caesar was shrieking for Doflamingo. Law basically told him to hold his horses because they had a bit of walking to do first. Caesar would be handed over at 3pm at a further distant point of beach.

Then Usopp’s keen sharpshooter’s eye spotted an ominous object. A Marine ship grounded on the bay, snarled in a plant’s grip. Robin concluded the cuts that freed the ship from the plant were fresh and that the ship hadn’t sustained much damage. 

Ruh roh. That meant the Marines were on Green Bit.

Caesar freaked out. He was a wanted man with a sky-high bounty and a list of crimes that would make Magellan’s hair curl. Now Doflamingo had resigned from the Shichibukai, there was no law protecting Caesar anymore. If he was left on Green Bit, cuffed and defenceless, they’d arrest him! “THIS IS HELL!” he wailed. “I’M DOOMED!”

While Usopp hissed at Caesar to stfu, Robin side-eyed Law. “Why are the Marines here? You look like you’re hiding something, Law?”

Law claimed it was a coincidence. How could he control the Marines? (Though the flashback to his chat with Smoker when he admitted he was headed for Green Bit says otherwise. Not control. More a subtle manipulation.) Still not sure how much of the Marine presence here is Law’s or Doflamingo’s doing. I’m thinking Doflamingo’s to be honest. Maybe Law expected Smoker and found Fujitora instead? More on that later, though.

At any rate, Law set up a recon plan. Robin and Usopp would scout the area, searching for Marines. He would walk to the handover point with Caesar.

Robin and Usopp saw some shit in that forest, let me tell you.

A gang of fodder Marines fell victim to some of Wicka’s fellow tribespeople. A spokesperson called Leo demanded to know if the Marines were good or bad people. 

“We are Marine soldiers! We protect people!”

But when they would not hand over their weapons, the Tontatta fighters stripped the Marines almost butt-naked (they left the underpants for their cousins, the Underpants Gnomes).

A similar thing happened to Robin. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small, shadowy figure retreating with stolen clobber in hand. She set a mille fleurs and caught a very angry little dude. She did try to ask him if they had robbed the Marines, but the Angry Little Dude’s friends returned with anaesthetic slingshot ammo.

The next thing, there are a few shots of shadowy stitches and Robin stirs awake to find lots of Tontatta people slithering about under her clothes (kinda creepy) and going through her stuff. Notebook, candy, den den mushi. Oh yeah, and her body was stitched to the ground by Leo.

Luckily, Robin is the kind of person who can stay calm in trying situations. She kept her cool and asked questions. Where was she? Was Usopp okay? Had they grown all the massive plants on the island?

The answers were that she was in the Tontatta Kingdom, they had captured Usopp and he was fine and, yes, the plants were their doing and there is no plant they cannot grow. 

Robin figured she could easily escape with her DF power but that she had to be careful not to cause a stir. When they asked her why she had kidnapped one of their own people, Robin answered she had caught him out curiosity. That was it. She hadn’t meant any harm and she would never tell anyone she had seen them.

“LOL, OKAY,” Leo said. “YOU CAN GO. HERE ARE ALL YOUR BELONGINGS EXCEPT THE DDM WHICH WE RELEASED INTO THE WILD.”

That was funny. 

It was all going well, until Robin discovered she only had two minutes to meet with Law at the handover point. She made to leave but the Tontatta people were like, “NO. NO ONE LEAVES. GIVE US YOUR WEAPON.” (What is it with them and weapons? Are they planning to go to war with the Donquixote family? They’ll get their tiny asses handed to them.)

They were about to strip Robin, but another Tontatta random ran up, saying not to harm Robin. That she was the partner of the Legendary Hero! The Big Human who had come to save them all!

Yes, I thought! The Legendary Hero? There’s only one person that could be. Usopp’s bullshitting skills have come through!

Law Falls for Doflamingo’s Fake News

For that reason, Robin and Usopp didn’t make the the handover on time.

Well, Robin did.

Sort of. The usefulness of her Devil Fruit power has climbed a few notches. Remember she showed she could clone herself in Fishman Island? Turns out she can do this long-distance too. Even though she is underground with the Tontatta people, she was still able to send a message to Law.

Unfortunately, Robin’s clone arrived just as Sanji’s Bad News did.

While Law and Caesar were standing on shore like they were waiting for Godot, Law’s DDM rang. It was Sanji with the best damned plot twist.

“You’ve gotta get out of there! Doflamingo didn’t resign from the Shichibukai. Even if you hand over Caesar to him, there is no trade!”

Law was shook. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense--”

“We’ve been doublecrossed!” Sanji shouted. And told Law everything Violet had shown him. The flashbacks revealed something very interesting. The crowd below Doflamingo’s rooms, begging him not to abdicate, were assuaged when CP0 turned up and told them the newspaper reports were “a mistake. Just a false report. We will let the world know through an extra edition of the Coo News at 3pm. You mustn’t tell anyone until then.”

3pm, eh? Convenient timing on Doflamingo’s part. Now the residents of Dressrosa being awfully calm for a nation whose king has just abdicated makes a ton of sense.

But the news came too late for Law. Out of the trees, Admiral Fujitora marched with his men. Fujitora did not seem pleased to have been fooled by the false report. The jury is out on how much Akainu really knows, but he is going to talk with the Gorosei at Mariejois (that’ll be an interesting conversation). Right now, Fujitora is still following orders to be there at the handover point.

Law realised he was screwed.

“You’re the new Admiral, aren’t you?” he said.

Then Doflamingo flapped down.

In his shrieking enthusiasm, Caesar almost ruptured something internal. “JOKERRRRRRRRRRR!”

But Doflamingo only had eyes for Law. (Murder eyes. I cannot stress the murder part enough.)

“Hey, Law. Well done! I didn’t expect to see a Marine Admiral here. Since I’m no longer  Warlord, I’m scared as hell.”

Now I think about it... maybe Law had deliberately led the Marines to Green Bit under the mistaken assumption Doflamingo really had resigned. If everything had gone as Law had planned, the Marines would have rocked up, arrested Doflamingo and Caesar and Kaidou’s supply of Smiles would have dried up.

But it didn’t work out like that.

“Liar!” Law growled. “Answer me, Doflamingo! You used the authority of the World Government to fool the whole world only to deceive ten people? How?”

“Often the more spectacular the magic, the simpler the trick,” Doflamingo replied, giving nothing away damn it.  “People usually have a stereotypical idea or assumption like, ‘that’s ridiculous!’ and that’s what causes a blind spot.”

He was clearly referring to Law here. Law had assumed there was no way Doflamingo had the power to pull such a massive, world-scale trick. I mean, CP0 have been drafted in here. They report directly to the World Government. Doflamingo has some hefty connections. There is no denying it at this point.

“Nobody can really do such a thing, even if he hatched some scheme. You’re a pirate!” Law seethed. “Even if you’re a Shichibukai and a king you don’t have the power to spread a lie over the world! The only people who have the power to do such a ridiculous thing are the Celestial Dragons--”

Law’s words caught in this throat. He remembered what Vergo had said to him at Punk Hazard: “You don’t know Joker’s past and that will cost you your life.”

My jaw dropped. SURELY NOT??? Was Doflamingo a Celestial Dragon?

Even Law thought the same as me. “Don’t tell me you’re--”

Doflamingo, cagey as always, said only, “It’s a bit more complicated that that. But I have only one purpose here, Law. I just want to kill you.”

Dem veins, man.

Vein’s a-poppin’

I hope Law has some tricks up his sleeve because he is caught between an Admiral and Doflamingo. It ain’t looking good for him right now.

Should’ve checked Snopes, Law. Verifying fake news is super important, man.

Pan’s Labyrinth? Is that you?

[plumeriafairy14]

Voltron Noragami/Noragami Aragoto AU HCs!

Allura as a goddess. Probably like the god of war like Bishamon from Noragami. (Since she can kick ass in her sleep in canon). She has 6 Regalias (Shinki) with her that she had collected and who had overtime, grown on her. Over time, they have bonded through countless battles and have become an unbreakable team, family.

Shiro

Shiro is Allura’s first regalia. She found him when she was a relatively new god who wandered the world looking to start her path and create a name for herself.

His first form was a chipped wooden ring that Allura wears on her right hand. He packs a real punch when Allura uses him.

Over many years, the two of them become closer and they become an efficient duo. 

During one of the fights with Allura’s enemy, a god of calamity named Lotor, Shiro risks his life and his name to protect Allura and he evolves into a Blessed Regalia. From a wooden ring, Shiro becomes a polished obsidian ring with a beautiful cut violet stone. When activated, Shiro shifts and covers Allura’s right arm with a metal gauntlet that Allura can use the same way Shiro uses his arm in canon VLD. 

As Allura took in more regalia spirits, Shiro takes a stand as everyone’s commander. 

They’re like parents!!! They get stern and tired when the younger regalia (except Coran) fight and bicker. But the shrine they live in becomes rowdy with life and laughter. 

They develop feelings for each other even if it’s lowkey (Like Visha and Kazuma)  When there are other people around, they act professional but when it’s just the two of them, Shiro cares for Allura and does little things like make her tea or give her a back rub after a long day of fighting phantoms. He combs her her while he sits by the hot spring while Allura bathes. Shiro is like a doting husband who takes care of his overly stressed wife. Allura cares abotu Shiro very much as well and he often comes to him whenever there’s something bothering her. If there’s someone she trust to open up her heart to, it’s Shiro.

Yes, they kiss each other good night, good morning, after battle, or at random times of the day. Of course, when no one is around to see but it’s just SOOOOOO obvious. 

Coran

Coran is the second regalia Allura takes in. They met when she and Shiro got in a misty forest. 

He helps Shiro and Allura find their way out but as they start to part ways, Coran admits that he doesn’t enjoy wandering aimlessly in the forest. So, Allura takes him in.

Coran’s regalia form is a cane sword. However, by nature, he doesn’t like to fight if not needed. He enjoys keeping the shrine in tip top shape. Cleaning and making sure things are in order. He makes the meals and he transforms the ten thousand year old rundown shrine into a beautiful place that attracts tourists and people to pray to Allura. 

As more regalia joined Allura, Coran is genuinely happy that the shrine became filled with laughter. 

When Shiro is too busy with his duties, Coran’s usually the one who break up Keith and Lance when those two get on each other’s throats. 

He is very observant! When he first met Allura and Shiro, he immidately knew that the goddess and her ragalia had a special bond. Even if Keith and Lance bicker a lot, Coran knows all about the pining. 

When Allura goes out to battle phantoms with her regalia, Coran always makes sure that they all come home to a nice home cooked feast. 

He’s so precious. Protect him at all cost. 

Lance

Lance is the third regalia Allura takes in. Allura finds him sitting by a river one winter in his white spirit’s robe, looking utterly lost and confused. 

Out of all of her regalia, it was Lance who brought Allura to tears when the memories of how he lived and died flashed before Allura’s eyes when she claimed him as he own. (LAAAANGST) Of course, by the rules, Allura can’t tell anyone about it. 

Lance’s regalia form is a pistol (A .50 Desert Eagle, to be specific) 

His aim is so good that he’s dubbed as The Sharpshooter. That skill is amplified a hundred times with Pidge’s calculations guidance. 

Lance fights with Keith A LOT.

He also pines for Keith... A FUCKING LOT.

But in the heat of battle, Allura can count on Lance and Keith to be a flawless duo and they never let her down. Those two can hack and shoot through anything and they help make Allura even more lethal as a goddess of war.

LOTOR TRIED TO PIRATE LANCE ONCE. (hooolyyy shiiiit) It was during a low point in Lance’s life when he started to doubt himself and his abilities. The doubts and the distrust also taints Allura, blotching her right leg with bruises. 

Lance got in pretty deep in the rot and they had to use that painful cleansing ritual. Shiro, Coran, and Keith performed the ceremony. It was pretty painful to watch (especially for a certain mullet-haired regalia) but it had to be done.

Lance is always the one making jokes during a stressful situation in order to ease the tension and lighten the mood for his goddess and fellow regalia. But when shit hits the fan, Lance also means business. 

Hunk

Hunk is the fourth regalia Allura took in. She actually found him while she was on her day off and grocery shopping with Shiro and Lance. Hunk was sitting in an alley with his knees hugged to his chest and he looked incredibly terrified. 

Hunk is a gladiator armor type regalia. Lightweight and easy to move in but boooy he provides Allura with amazing (and fashionable) protection.

His episode reveals that he’s being chased by phantoms so he’s pretty shaken. He’s been hiding in alleys and scavenges dumpsters. 

Allura fights off the phantoms with Lance and Shiro then she takes Hunk in to her care. 

Hunk and Lance become best friends and they’re always chilling in the shrine after Coran makes them do their chores. 

He’s also an amazing cook! He and Coran often bonds in the kitchen and the team’s meals became 74539% better after Hunk joined the family. 

He’s a gentle sunshine child. Pure and too good for this world. 

Keith

Keith is the fifth regalia Allura took in. It was actually a last minute decision for Allura. She went off on her own (despite Shiro’s protests) to ‘run an errand.’ Since Shiro was occupied with some duties as her Divine Vessel, Allura went off with Hunk and Lance. 

Keith is a blade type regalia. A black bladed katana with a red slit that ran the length of the blade. 

Lance and Hunk are good but the phantom Allura fought was too fast for bullets. In the heat of the battle, Allura spotted a floating tongue of flame flickering in the darkness and knew that it was a spirit. 

Lance was like, “My lady, what are you doing? Are you even sure?” and Allura’s like: “We don’t have a choice right now, Lance!” then Allura takes Keith. (This scenario is similar to how Yato named Yukine.)

Keith is pretty hot headed and he can get quite crass sometimes but on the inside, he’s actually a tender cinnamon roll. 

He and Lance always butt heads, pretty much every goddamned minute when Keith was new. But over the course of time, the two started to bond more and they make a great team (range/close combat combo).

When Lance underwent the purification process, Keith was one of the three that participated and it hurt him so much to see Lance in pain like that. 

BECAUSE HE HAS FEELINGS FOR LANCE.

After Lance is cleansed and he falls it was Keith who caught him and cradles him in his arms. 

Not that he would admit it. But he’s a pining dork, according to Pidge. 

Keith usually trains with Shiro to hone his skills and the two become like brothers but Keith still respects him as his superior. 

When he’s not training, he usually takes quiet walks around the shrine and read the wishes that the patrons hang on the posts. On rare occasions that the wish plaque had the handwriting of a child and the wish was simple (ie. finding a lost cat) Keith asks permission from Allura to go out and ‘grant’ the wish. This also boosts Allura’s credibility towards shrine patrons too. 

Keith’s wish-granting-mission partner is Pidge. They’re such bros. 

Pidge

Pidge is the latest addition to the team and the one who is the youngest. Actually, it was Lance and Keith who found her wandering around when Shiro sent them out for an errand. There was a storm that day. Lance and Keith were fighting in a train station platform because they got off the wrong stop and they blamed the other.

Believe it or not, Pidge’s regalia form is actually a headband. (The same one she wore as Katie Holt in the canon VLD). But besides being a fashion accessory, Pidge actually extends to a glass scope over Allura’s left eye. (Her abilities are very much similar to Kazuma’s in Noragami.)

“Shut the fuck up, you two are making a ruckus. You should just kiss and go on your way.”

Klance: “!!!!?????!??!?!” *intense tsundere blushing* 

However, there was a phantom in the train station and the three of them have to fight their way through and get away. Lance and Keith can’t just leave this smol sassy salty girl on her own and it was obvious that she was just like them so they bring her home to the shrine. 

At first, Pidge didn’t want to because she didn’t want to be a burden, but Allura has a kind heart so... yeah. 

Lance’s memories and the way he died might have brought tears to Allura’s eyes because of how sad it is. But Pidge’s story actually leaves Allura frozen in shock and horror because of how traumatic it was. 

She does all the tech stuff that aide Allura in her hunts for phantoms. Maps, calculations, aura readings, google,... Just leave it to Pidge.

Pidge is the one who guides Shiro, Lance, and Keith during offense for a more exact hit on the target. 

Pidge is a sass master and she’s comes up with unbelievable conspiracy theories. She’s hella intelligent and is often the one who comes up with plans. 

So, there you go! I don’t think I’m dedicated enough to write this and I have a ton of project on my plate already. But if you’d like to use these for a fic, just let me know and please give credit! I’d love to read it! 

[claudysummer]

for meme, Kanera.

Yes! Fucking YES!!!

General:

Rate the Ship -  Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Till Kanan dies (I’m sorry, but he and Ezra have to die in order to Yoda and Obi Wan to be last jedi, badum tss). And even after that, Hera would still love him.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - I still have ‘A New Dawn’ on my ‘To Read List’, but I pre-imagine Kanan falling inmediately after hearing her on a freedom-speech. Hera would take one hour more, or so... 

How was their first kiss? - You remember in Pirates of the Caribean III when Elizabeth and Wil finally get married and they kiss, epicly, in the middle of the storm, slicing enemies, with a musical crescendo? That’s how.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Tough one... I don’t know. They just happen to be married prior to SWR begining XD

Who is the best man/men? - Chopper, probably, I don’t know if they already had Zeb in the team by then...

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Uh... Chopper?

Who did the most planning? - Kanan. He’s the kind of guy that would stress over the tiniest detail by that time.

Who stressed the most? - Kanan.

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - The Empire :P and Cham because Hera’s daddy issues

Sex:

Who is on top? - I picture them switching a lot. Or even spooning while sex so none would top... Neither is more dominant than the other, they’re pretty balanced in that sense

Who is the one to instigate things? - Mainly Hera. But Kanan also submits ideas...

How healthy is their sex life? -Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - Twice... Perhaps even three... Kanan cheats because Force Sensitive and Jadi training, and Hera usually needs more than just once to really get there.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - They try at least to get one each. They’re an interspecies couple, so they have to be aware of the differences between their bodies. As long as both have gotten the chance to reach orgasm, they’re pretty satisfied

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - It would be cruel (even for me) to let Hera alone with a little baby, so I don’t picture her getting pregnant... Besides, they’re in the middle of a war, and both already lived one while they were children, so I picture them not wanting any son or daughter until the Empire would be down.

How many children will they adopt? - Ezra and Sabine

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Change diapers by ‘solving the kids’ messes and you have the entire training of Ezra.

Who is the stricter parent? - Kanan on the surface, but Hera in the deepest. Kanan just shows it more easily, but Hera is the one whose “You’ve disapointed me” hurt the most.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Kanan. He will always be the one to stress.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Both. But again, Kanan stresses easier about anything

Who is the more loved parent? - You just don’t pick a favourite parent!

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Both. 

Who cried the most at graduation? - Kanan. He would even record it and send it even to Thrawn to show how proud he is of his babies growing up so quickly.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Both.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Kanan. I headcanon that younglings did a lot of housework in the Temple as both grounding and meditation, so he cooks quite good actually. Hera can cook also, but she’s usually wasted after piloting, repairing, commanding... so she keeps her cooking for special occasions

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Given their ‘war children’ stories, I think they both know what it is like to have problems to get a meal, so none of them is very picky. I you can eat it, eat it, because you don’t know if you are going to have another chance.

Who does the grocery shopping? - They usually send Zeb and Ezra.

How often do they bake desserts? - Not regularly. The Empire is a war-focused dictatorship, and historically, under said regimes, cooking supplies like sugar, baking powder and other luxuries are scarce. It would be extra difficult for them since they’re wanted outlaws.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - They eat anything they can get.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Hera.Since she doesn’t cook a lot, she tries to do it when she wants to celebrate something (even if it is just getting away of a chase by sheer dumb luck)

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - They can’t afford to go out... Drawbacks of being a rebel in the Empire...

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - None. That’s something that happens when Zeb, Sabine or Ezra cook (because of that they are forbidden to even try). Both Kanan and Hera are skilled enough in the kitchen to not burn anything.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Again, Zeb or the kids. Chopper is told to help but he messe more than he cleans

Who is really against chores? - Chopper.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Zeb and Ezra. The pet is Chopper. Chaos ensured.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Chopper

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Kanan ALWAYS stresses the most

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - No one. They’re creditless.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Hera. She has more to clean, because of the lekkus and all the motor oil she ends up getting while doing the reparations.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Chopper doesn’t need to be taken out, but if he did, they would send probably Zeb.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - I don’t know the holidays they might have in the Galaxy... Previous to the Empire, I mean...

What are their goals for the relationship? - To end up both alive (oh, darlings...) and finish the Empire.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? -Hera. Kanan knows the pressure she’s under as a Rebellion Captain, so he tries to let her rest and relax as much as they can allow themselves to.

Who plays the most pranks? - Honestly... I don’t see any of them playing actual ‘pranks’... But Hera seems most likely to tease Kanan, on a low degree, though...

Whoah... That was a long one... But I’m happy I got this couple, since I have little content of them, and they are so lovely... Thank you very much for asking! ^^

[filmnovelizations]

Hook

A pirate named Tickles pumped wildly at a concertina while cannons exploded in sheets of fire and the cheers of the pirate crew rose to new heights.

This is a good novelization. It’s as well written as you could reasonably expect from a novelization, and it expands on enough aspects of the movie to make it less of a waste of time. The movie is far from perfect, but mostly gets away with its imperfections on the strength of its cast. They both have a problem that still thoroughly bothers me though...

The story starts at a school play. Peter’s daughter is playing Wendy in Peter Pan. During the play, he gets a call from work and they need him for an urgent meeting. The next night his family is flying to London for a very special event in Granny Wendy’s honor, so he schedules the meeting for the A.M. The problem with that is his son’s big baseball game. It’s apparently the last game of the Santa Series. When they get to London, the Darling house is decorated for Christmas. There is no payoff to this apparently necessary Christmas setting. The whole setup is cliche with the school play and the busy father missing the baseball game, but it doesn’t make sense. The school play in December isn’t a bullshit holiday celebration. It’s Peter Pan, which is considerably more dangerous than any school is likely to perform with kids her age because of the rope-flying. And maybe little league baseball is different from where I grew up, because I played little league baseball and I never played a game within three months of December. Literally no one thinks of baseball or Peter Pan as related to Christmas but here we are shoehorning Christmas into a story that has nothing to do with it.

The only justification I can imagine for the Christmas setting is the rather blatant uncredited theft of Ebenezer Scrooge’s story arc. Maybe there was an earlier draft of the script that was more of a Christmas Carol version of Peter Pan and it was too convoluted so they trimmed it down and changed it but kept the wholly unnecessary Christmas setting anyway. I don’t know, but it bothers me. It’s still essentially Peter Pan as Ebenezer Scrooge, and I was hoping the novelization might at least acknowledge that influence somewhere. It had the perfect, simplest opportunity to do it too. There’s a moment where Captain Hook’s private library is mentioned, and Sir James Barrie is called out as his favorite author. As the book (and movie) had already mentioned J.M. Barrie twice, and as it’s weird for Barrie’s own character to be a fan of the writer that’s famous for making his life miserable, it seemed a perfect opportunity to throw Dickens out there. I can see Captain Hook being a fan of Oliver Twist in the sort of misunderstood way that villains have to misunderstand reality to be villains. He’d read Oliver Twist and be delighted by the criminal treatment of orphans. Mistreatment of orphans is literally his greatest joy. Instead, he’s supposed to have loved J.M. Barrie’s books where he’s the villain that never wins. Nah.

“Poop Shoot--five thousand!” Ace cried jubilantly, cocking back his top hat. Don’t Ask propelled Thud Butt and the point chart up beside him. “Nope. Butt Tick---two hundred.”

As for something that I’m glad the novelization explained, look at Peter’s daughter Maggie. As a kid, I never thought twice about her part of the story, but she basically gets tossed aside and forgotten. She’s not immediately receptive to Captain Hook’s attempt to brainwash her, so he has her taken away. Later, we see her inexplicably singing a lullaby that briefly reminds her brother of their mother and makes all the pirates cry. And then she’s screaming for help during the final battle. In the novelization, after she’s taken away from the brainwashing session, she’s locked in a cell with some Lost Boys that Captain Hook keeps as slaves. They count his treasure. It’s talking to them, and explaining to them the basic idea of a mother, that results in her singing the lullaby. She sings from the cell too, not wherever the fuck this is...

And as for where the novelization does Jack better, look at the death of Rufio. In the movie, Rufio dies saying he wished he had a father like Peter. Jack’s like, “I’m sorry, dad.” And from then on, he’s completely forgotten the apparent years of neglect. Here’s the book version of that moment.

There was a momentary hush as Jack stared down at the fallen Rufio. He felt as if his stomach had been turned to stone. For despite being outwardly a replica of Hook, Jack was decidedly something else inside, where it matters. The thrill and excitement of being a pirate had long since disappeared. The anger and disappointment of being Peter Banning’s son had evaporated. His dad had kept his promise this time, he had come for Jack and Maggie. And Jack’s memory was stirred by the keeping of that promise--his memory of home and family, of quiet evenings playing board games at the kitchen table, of being read to and reading back in turn, of words of encouragement and wisdom offered when life got a little tough, of all the things that were good and true about his parents.

I don’t think this would have been difficult to portray in the movie. It’s very quick flashbacks, similar to the way we see Peter’s quick flashbacks when he remembers he’s the Pan. We saw Wendy at three or four different ages there, but we can’t see two or three quick, very simple happy memories that Jack experienced with his father? The movie makes it look like he’s always been a shitty father but focuses on a brief moment in his life where he’s being shitty because of work stress. With no reason to believe he’s behaved any different, Jack’s turnaround at Rufio’s death doesn’t make much sense, even in Neverland. Worse than that, this happens moments after his father tells him it took three days to realize his kids were his happy thought. That’s supposed to be, what? Heartwarming? For three days, a fairy and a team of children struggled to remind you what made you happy and you remembered numerous business deals before your own kids, and you want your kids to be happy about that? Would’ve been nice if you’d remembered their existence makes you happy three days ago when Captain Hook said you could take them home if you just flew up to them and touched them.

Thud Butt wrapped himself into a ball and the Lost Boys rolled him down the ramp, scattering the pirates like tenpins.

As for Terry Brooks’ writing, I enjoyed it. I have minor complaints that are nitpicky at best. I became increasingly annoyed by one of the Lost Boys’ speech impediment, and by Brooks’ preferred use of “about” instead of “around”. For example: Then he set them both down, picked up a startled Moira, and whirled her about as well, lifting her off the floor as if she were a child. It’s not wrong at all. It’s just a nitpicky thing that I’m surprised happened enough to bother me. There’s also the part where the Lost Boys shave Peter. It’s creepy and I’m glad the movie left it out. The movie just has the immediate aftermath where they also put warpaint on him. He’s standing there without a shirt and you maybe don’t realize Robin Williams doesn’t have body hair, but it’s because the Lost Boys stripped and shaved him.

If you want the paintings, go here.

[kingofthewhatpod]

Fanfic Friday #3

Oh god, oh dear, oh no. This was supposed to come out last Friday, and yet it was delayed for a week without any news. I mean, I did technically tweet it last Friday but maybe anyone who follows me can forgive me because this week you get both? And.... er... I’ll try to do better? Maybe I’ll do another post on my real thoughts about Fanfic Friday, but if you’re reading this, and you just want to get to the good stuff, let me delay no more!

I return to Fanfic Friday’s roots (after only a single week off, ha) of seeing how I would teak a non-canon arc. Heck, maybe I'll have constructive creativity for a canon arc one day. But not this day. Because I was originally sending these out as tweets, my thoughts in places are brief. Adventure in the Ocean's Naval was fine. It was palatable. But I don't want a slightly overcooked hamburger and some fries. I want steak with garlic mashed potatoes.

Things I liked:

The mystery of the island, however short lived

The guardian monsters

Captain Joke didn't have friends like Luffy, and that was his downfall

Things that could be improved:

Usopp/Nami didn't do much of anything

Magic not explained

who cares about Joke?

As before, I'll keep the premise. Mysterious island, land of adventure? check. But this time, there's no octopus, no immediate fight. Luffy and Zoro andd the ship still fall down below because hijinks. (maybe Zoro is napping and doesn't keep a careful eye on Luffy, who gets bored and starts messing around on the ship, or he sees a cool bug. And him running around somehow dislodges the anchor long enough that they fall). So they all end up down below, and they meet a rather shady old man (think Jafar disguised as the beggar) who tells them about this wicked cool treasure of the gods. It's on the other side of the island if they're brave enough to get it. It is said to grant any wish.

Usopp and Nami are probably freaked out, Sanji would very calmly be like "who would fall for that?" but Luffy has decided to go check it out, and Zoro is just like "he's the captain." So they end up going, some more willingly than others Now, you'll notice this call to adventure is some kind of bad guy (you know what? Make it a poorly disguised oni. Everyone notices except Luffy), instead of some kid. Firstly, I'm usually not a fan of the kid characters- even if they're related to the deeper themes. But also, maybe there *is* a village down here, and they meet a crying Hamu who is like "don't try to go get the treasure! Even Captain Joke, the hero pirate of the village couldn't do it!" But why would that deter Luffy? Answer: it wouldn't.

Luffy could be all "Yeah, but I bet he wasn't as strong as I am. I'm going to be King of the Pirates." (King of the What Now?) Maybe Hamu comes with to watch this idiot in action, maybe he just stays behind. The crew will come back through for the ship anyways and they can tell him about their adventure. Now, they get halfway across a suspiciously empty field, when all of a sudden these stone walls come up from the ground, creating a labyrinth and separating the crew. Luffy might try to rocket up but there's some magical barrier. Also you can't go back the way you came, inwards!

Now, Luffy will basically get lost and increasingly frustrated. I cannot stress how funny this mental image is, as he yells and rampages but to no avail. I don't think the Straw Hats can hear each other. As I mentioned in episode 25 of the podcast, it'd be interesting if the Straw Hats faced off against the former Joke pirates. You get just enough characterization through dialogue and actions that you feel like you actually know this character. Also, I want to touch on the nature of the Joke pirates. Joke was betrayed, just like in the original. But instead of faceless shapes, there are 4 you can clearly see. Also the hint of *something* off-camera giving off a dark red light.

Spoilers: But because Joke's commanders were evil-hearted, they became tainted, causing their forms to morph and become... well, weird and monstrous. We can imply the other no-name members of the Joke pirates were killed in the labyrinth or by these commanders

Anyways. Zombie commander guys facing Luffy's crew one on one. Zoro first. He faces a man clad in weird armor (because One Piece), who constantly bangs on his breastplate, simply saying "Strong! Strong!" He's very bulky and has tusks. Maybe make him look walrus-ish. Anyways, he's very strong, and he hits hard. Zoro can't pierce his armor, and there's no obvious weakpoints. This guy's deal is that he just wants to be strong, as a dark reflection of Zoro's own ambition. He wants it so bad he'd sell out his captain to make a deal with a monster. Eventually Zoro wins, I think by using the butt of his sword to BANG right on the dude's helmet, and then breaking the monster commander's weapon, maybe burying him beneath the rubble created by slashing the walls  surrounding them. And of course Zoro gets a badass line. "What good is strength if you won't use it for your captain?" Because he is a GOOD, LOYAL BOY. Or maybe a comment on his enemy's internal weakness. "If you're too weak to stand and you get knocked down, stand up again even stronger"

Sanji's opponent: A rockstar with a wicked cool guitar and cool shades and a flashy jacket. Yes, I said a rockstar. This is One Piece which has all sorts of crazy character designs. Does it make sense that he has an electric guitar? Do I care? The ideological reason they're suited for each other is because this guy (maybe he's like a creature of the lagoon. Yeah that's it. He's more frog-ish) likes ladies but he's vain about it and only cares about himself (betrayed Joke because being a priate wasn't cool anymore). Anyways he fires actual music note shaped projectiles by strumming his guitar, and Sanji can't really get close at first. That is, until... maybe Froggy says he'll hunt down Nami? Yeah, and then Sanji kicks tthrough these weird music notes, runs forward and kicks him in the face! 

"Coolness can't be forced," Sanji remarks, adjusting his tie. "And no woman would ever want to kiss you." (Also, side note, I'm not a huge fan of the shonen trope of suddenly becoming stronger when someone is threatened. But I couldn't think of a way for Sanji to win otherwise. I need to get better at this. That’s what having a weekly schedule is meant to help with!)

Usopp's opponent: A squid looking guy who hides behind cover and always runs from battle. He betrayed his captain because he was afraid of what would happen if they continued their journey. Usopp tries to snipe him when he comes up from behind cover but Squid boy is very fast. Usopp wins by purposefully acting all angry and firing a bunch of his explosion stars, secretly taking out the cover further down the battle field until the next time squiddy tries to run he gets blasted in the back. "How can a man run from danger for his whole life?" He asks with a smirk. Bonus points if his knees are still shaking while he says it

Nami: She faces a fairy. Yes, a lady who got all shrunk by the monster's power. Maybe a flying sea horse-ish type design, to keep it aquatic. She, like Nami, is money obsessed, and didn't want to share her treasure with Joke. She's another agile one and shoots giant bubbles. Can Nami polevault with that pole of hers? Yeah, let's say she can. So she leaps over one of the bubbles and maybe throws a coin past the lady, causing her lady to quickly look away- unable to resist the allure of gold- just in time for a nice solid smack of the pole. "Try thinking about others once in a while" is Nami's line before she continues through the maze.

Now, it seems the maze is magic in nature (no duh), and the Straw Hats (minus their captain) have come out of the maze. And before them is the treasure. But before they can approach, the red light from earlier. oh no! It's the old man from earlier! (who could have guessed???????) He gets huge and reveals his true form, growing in size, saying he'll never give up his treasure. But before the battle can start, you hear it. CRACK! WHUMP! CRACK! Cracks are appearing on some part of the maze wall behind them. It explodes and in comes an enraged Luffy! Angry that he was lost for so long. Bonus points, Sanji kicks a piece of rubble that was going to hit him, Zoro cuts a piece that was flying at him, and the eternal butt monkey Usopp gets hit in the head.

Luffy: Who's this? Zoro: Dunno Sanji: That's the old guy from earlier. Luffy: Whaaaat?? Grandpa wasn't a good person?? Nami: Honestly, captain... Usopp: *recovered from the rubble* Hey, Luffy, what was that, you jerk!!!

Now, the point is that this monster likes to sow chaos. Just like in the original special, Joke was betrayed because he had crappy friends. And The Straw Hats seem incredibly disorganized. So the monster king grins. "How would you like to join me and I'll grant you your wish?" Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, each of them get all quiet and start walking over to accept the deal. Luffy is watching them, a look of mild confusion on his face. They stand right in front of the thing and the monster grins. "Good," he says. All four of them at once give him a solid whack, kick, shot, and slide. "As if!!!"  They cry in union. Luffy grins and punches the big creature in the gosh darn mouth. Well, probably the nose but I like to say "punch in the mouth"

He's not defeated *that* easily, and maybe if I spent more time rewriting and drafting this I could come up with an exciting narrative. The point is that the monster is too strong for even Luffy on their own, but they fight as a team.

You might think Luffy tends to prefer to fight alone, and maybe he does for a while. But the monster *could* wish himself stronger, and it could look like Luffy is about to lose when his crew mates save him, allowing him to prepare for an even stronger punch that will finish it. And of course the wish granting gem breaks. Of COURSE Luffy sends the monster flying and he smashes into the thing and it gets launched with him over the horizon or something. Of course everyone's mad but Luffy shrugs it off, since it's more about the journey than the destination So... yeah, that's basically it. Luffy comes back to the village, Hamu is like "How did you do it?" and Luffy just grins and is like "with help from my crew." And it's a sweet moment. Hopefully you liked it! I feel like this was the longest one yet.

Happy Friday everyone!

[elusionramblebamble]

It’s that time of year again, aren’t you excited? Team oMG is!

You can find team oMG on Twitter at @C_B_Catalano and @shaunaholyoak

Before we dive into our wishlist *rubs hands together* we’d like to tell you a little about ourselves, and why we can’t wait to pay it forward, and help a fellow writer out.

So, I’m Cass *wave* and this is, oh, possibly my 4th time revising this bio post. Revisions are crucial in all aspects of life, and most definitely in this contest, keeping this in mind, if you’re willing to get down and dirty with us, like kill your darlings –even the one you swore you never would– read on!

This is my first year as a Pitch Wars mentor. I am thrilled to be entering this new world with the most amazing, absolutely awesome, co-mentor Shauna Holyoak! We met a few years ago during another Twitter pitch event, and joined a group of similar contest hopefuls. And thank the stars I did because they are some of the most supportive, caring writers and CPs I’ve ever met in this journey!

PCC for life!

Let me say, (and I cannot stress how important this is), the friends you find in the writing community, especially from events like Pitch Wars, are worth their weight in gold.

If you manage to make even one friend during Pitch Wars, trust me when I say you are the ultimate winner already. Now, back to business 😉

Meet Shauna:

My name is Shauna Holyoak, and I expend roughly 25% of my energy writing and 50% of my energy resisting the urge to hunt down and consume all the frosted sugar cookies. I made a chart.

Writing MG is my favorite. My debut novel MY PAPER ROUTE AND OTHER DEADLY THINGS will be published in spring 2019 by Disney-Hyperion. Half of my writing time is currently spent pinching myself about that last part (please don’t turn that into a story problem for me to solve—it will break my brain).

I live in Idaho Falls, Idaho with my game-board designing husband, six of our children and two naughty dogs. Amy Poehler makes me happy, and Leslie Knope makes me happier.

I grew up on Ramona and Fudge books, which instilled a love for spunky, strong characters (also, see above).

And then Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry taught me just how powerful middle-grade fiction could be. So I tend toward contemporary, but MG fiction with strong characters and all the feels is ultimately what gets me.

I am so excited to be co-mentoring with Cass (she is AWESOME!) for this year’s Pitch Wars. It was my entry last year to Brooks Benjamin and Caroline Thompson’s team (spoiler alert: I didn’t make it) that got me the feedback I needed to shine up my manuscript and win a slot in #PitchSlam. That led me to the best agent (shout out to CARRIE PESTRITTO!) and then a pinch-worthy two-book deal!

Pitch Wars is a tremendous opportunity, and I’m so grateful and excited to be a part of it. Also, I can’t wait to fight over entries!

Hi y’all! I’m Cassandra Newbould aka C.B. Catalano, and I cannot wait to read all your words. And fight over entries with Shauna. We will duel to the death for a book we love!

Back in the day I was that girl who enjoyed being sent to their room, because hey! extra reading time! Anything from Little Women, to the Black Stallion. If I could hold it, I was reading it. My lust for all the words continued on through teenage-hood. That’s when I fell in love with all things fantasy, and would dive head-first into the lands of The Tortall Universe, Shannara, and Darkover to name a few. *Sometimes* when my sis and bff would sneak out to go party I’d stay home to read instead. They’d laugh, but there was nothing better than curling up with a good book, a good blanket, and a good dog in my opinion.

*curling up with Jake Gyllenhaal wouldn’t be too shabby either 😉 *

When I had my kiddos, I would spend the evenings telling them the most outrageous stories I could make up in the hopes it would send them to sleep. Eventually, as they grew, they encouraged me to write them down and so my journey as a writer began.

Last year I entered another amazing Twitter pitch event called #DVpit and that is where I met my magnificent and stellar agent, Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media inc.

She fell in love with my MG retelling of Treasure Island: THE MISADVENTURES OF JEM HAWKINS: staring Kick-butt hacker girls, and lady pirates, and all the adventure a girl could want.

Before that, I interned for a NY literary agency for 8 months. Also, I know the ways of middle graders well. My middle son is in the 8th grade this year and my daughter made it through without too many battle wounds a few years ago 🙂

Did I mention I love to write and critique queries? Yeah, I know. But I do, I swear, and I’m happy to say my #NoQS mentee went on to get an agent 🙂 GOOO VALARIE!! so, if you have any questions about how I work as a mentor ask @ValBodden on Twitter.

My husband, a computer engineer who has run the gamut: from MySpace and creating its Open Social platform to autonomous cars for Ford, and I met as teenagers, and had our daughter when I was 22. We have been married 17 years, moved over 21 times together in over 7 states, and have 3 lovely children, 2 awesome cats, and 2 Muppet puppies, otherwise known as Newfypoos.

Seriously, Muppets.

When I’m not writing, I’m probably playing with my children, playing poker (I want to be a professional poker player when I grow up) cooking with the hubs, painting, drawing, and/or drinking wine. I love everything Baz Luhrmann (he can seriously do no wrong) and am a die-hard *end of world genre* movie buff. For TV, I adore Outlander, Black Sails, Shameless and any and every cooking/baking show known to man. Also, I cannot stop watching the tiny houses shows. I’d love to, but I can’t bring myself to.

Now to the exciting part. DUN  DUN DUNNNN

What we’re looking for in a nutshell.

Middle Grade.

Give us all the feels, all of them! While Shauna leans more towards contemporary and I, fantasy we both agree we’re down for either, and welcome them with open arms –with a few minor exceptions–

If your manuscript contains any of the following we’re probably not the best mentors for you:

Younger MG, sorry but upper MG is our jam

Sports

Horror

Hard Sci-fi

Novels in verse

Now, while we aren’t the best for these stories, as we wouldn’t be able to do them the justice they deserve, we are certain you and your amazing manuscript will be able to find another mentor who will help you achieve that next level of fantastic, and we wish you the best of luck!

So what else are we looking for? Well, if any of your books have the feel of these below send them our way. Please. Pretty please with a query on top?

A Snicker of Magic

The Girl Who Drank The Moon

A Wrinkle In Time

Monstrous

Counting By Sevens

The Thing About Jellyfish

When You Reach Me

Mockingbird

Holes

Percy Jackson

Wonder

Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events

The Gauntlet

Rules For Thieves

We joyously welcome diverse and own voices stories with open arms. *grabby hands*

Give us your girl mcs that aren’t afraid of what the world thinks of them. Both likable and unlikable. Give us Hermione Grangers stuck at sea, or Katniss with an obsession for oil painting. Give us your MG Inej Gahfas, Nina Zeniks, (and we can’t forget your Kaz Brekkers), all tied up in the ultimate group heist, if you please. Give us your STEM stories (please, pretty please?) Sibling stories or complex girl friendship stories are a quick way to our hearts! 🙂

We’re down for quiet stories that tug at your heart, or action packed fantasies where the world-building blows your mind. Re-tellings set in a modern world or contemporary dramas thrown back in time. Make us laugh. Or cry. Just make us feel like we never want to put your story down!

However, having said all that, if you have a story that doesn’t fit anything we’ve said above and you feel like you want us anyway, send your ms our way. We both love surprises and can’t wait to find out what we end up falling in love with!

What we can bring to the table for you:

Helping you find a killer voice, pointing out areas that could use work without taking over your story, tackling pacing issues, building complex and believable characters, DIALOGUE! and attention to detail, or lack thereof.

*warning* If you aren’t able to attack your ms with an open mind and willingness to rip it apart and build it back even stronger, perhaps we aren’t the right mentors for you. We will never demand that something be changed, it’s your story after all and you know it best, but you entered Pitch Wars for a reason and hopefully we can help you polish your shiny jewel even farther than it is now.

Good luck fellow writers, may the odds be ever in your favor!

Have you been sitting here wondering where you can find out more about Shauna? Well, here is the link to Shauna’s blog

Shauna’s amazingly awesome blog

Shout out to Brenda Drake for this opportunity for all of us, may your reign be long and fruitful!

Main Blog Link

Links to the other spectacular mentors below:

1.

Shari Schwarz

2.

Shari Green

3.

Gail Villanueva and Isabelle Adrid

4.

Niki Lenz

5.

Melyssa Mercado

6.

Erin Latimer

7.

Hannah Karena Jones

8.

Mae Respicio

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Pitch Wars Mentor Wishlist 2017 It's that time of year again, aren't you excited? Team oMG is! You can find team oMG on Twitter at @C_B_Catalano and @shaunaholyoak…