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persevereforahappyending · 8 months

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Maybe in Another Life |1|

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Hunter of Artemis!Reader

Summary: You are a Hunter of Artemis, but you start to question what you truly want when you meet Clarisse and get to know her.

Warnings: Slight Titans Curse Spoilers

Word Count: 3.7k

Note: This will be following more of the book plot specifically 3-5 so there will be slight spoilers as this goes on. If you've read the books, it will be obvious that I've shifted the timeline slightly.

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 14 | ch. 15 | ch. 16 | ch. 17

You were in position, arrow at the ready as you waited in the trees. Your sisters were around you, scattered throughout the woods as they awaited orders just like you. You watched as a couple kids fought the manticore, fought was being generous, they seemed to be losing. They were trying to protect some kids but ended up finding themselves caught between the monster and a helicopter, humans never knew when to mind their own business.

Finally, the horn sounded, your goddess gave the order and you and your sisters let your arrows fly. Every single one of your arrows pierced into the monster, into his arms, his legs, and yours found a home in his neck. You couldn’t help but smirk as you watched him stumble back.

The manticore roared, eyeing the woods, he didn’t need to see you to know you were there. He fired his spikes aimlessly into the woods, hoping to hit at least one of you. You smirked at seeing the spikes coming directly at you before notching another arrow and letting it fly. You and your sisters’ arrows intercepted every single one of the monsters’ spikes perfectly, disintegrating them in the air.

All the kids looked around confused, trying to see through the darkness of the trees. You and your sisters were never seen though, not unless you wanted to be seen. Your goddess signaled for you to show yourselves, you all rushed forward, ready to end the monster. Zoe was given the order to take the shot but one of the girls that had been originally fighting it jumped on its back, compromising Zoe’s shot.

You all waited, bows at the ready to get a kill shot of the monster, then Zoe finally gave the order. Once again you and your sisters let your arrows fly, each one nailing the monster in the chest and neck. The monster staggered back but he wasn’t down yet, he let out another roar before quickly jumping over the cliff, the girl still on his back.

“Annabeth!” one of the boys yelled, running forward as if he was going to follow her over the edge.

Your goddess mumbled something about mortals not being allowed to witness her hunt, then she raised her hand and the helicopter that had been hovering over them turned into a flock of birds. You smiled, shaking your head as you looked up where the helicopter had been, oh how you loved it when she turned people and things into animals.

“Zoe Nightshade,” someone said. You turned to see Zoe standing toe to toe with one of the kids you all had saved. When you got closer you couldn’t help but smirk, recognizing the girl.

“Thalia Grace,” Zoe said with an eyeroll.

“Well, well, well,” you said, slinging an arm around Zoe as you approached the group. “Look who’s no longer a tree.”

“Y/N,” Thalia said with an eyeroll.

You smiled; Thalia wasn’t your biggest fan, but she hated you a lot less than she did Zoe. Unlike Zoe you hadn’t done anything to directly make enemies with Thalia, she wasn’t the biggest fan of Hunters after her last encounter with all of you, but you also just tended to rub people the wrong way. Most people found you too intense and arrogant.

“Four half-bloods and a satyr my lady,” Zoe said, informing Artemis of the kids you just saved. You rolled your eyes, Zoe, always being so formal.

“Some of Chiron’s campers, I see,” Artemis said, approaching the group.

“Annabeth!” the boy screamed again. You furrowed your brow, that name sounded familiar. Your eyes flitted back to Thalia, that’s when it clicked, Annabeth had been the little girl traveling with Thalia and that boy from a few years ago. “You have to let us go after her!”

“I’m sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help.” You tilted her head at Artemis, she was great at recruiting young girls to the Hunt, but she really wasn’t the best with people, which was saying something because her and her brother were the most ingrained in the mortal realm, walking amongst humans more than any of the other gods.

Your ears perked up at the boy’s name, tilting your head at the one you now knew as Percy Jackson. You had heard of him, everyone had heard about him, son of Poseidon, another child of the prophecy. You looked from him to Thalia, realizing a child of Zeus and Poseidon now walked the earth again, either one of them could be the one from the great prophecy.

“Who do you think you are?” Percy questioned. You raised an eyebrow at the boys’ guts, he clearly had no idea who he was talking to.

“Watch your tone,” Zoe snapped, shaking your arm off her, quickly throwing a glare over her shoulder at you as she approached the boy.

You shook your head with a smirk. Zoe was your goddesses second and she was technically older than you, born a whole thousand years before you even. Physically though, she looked younger, she was stuck at the young age of fourteen whereas you were frozen at seventeen, meaning, you loved to treat her like a little sister.

“It’s okay,” Artemis said. “I sense no disrespect, Zoe.” She stepped forward so she could stare Percy in the eyes, but she never offered him a hand. “I am Artemis, goddess of the Hunt.”

“You’re a goddess, why can’t you go after Annabeth?” Percy asked once again, clearly having a one-track mind.

“She is gone, can’t you sense it?” You sighed, it was obvious the boy couldn’t sense it, he probably had no idea what he’d even be trying to sense.

“Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“Some sort of magic,” Artemis looked around, confused as to what kind of magic could make the girl disappear. “She’s vanished. But trust, if she can be found, I will find her.”

Percy didn’t seem happy about her answer, but he grumbled, having to accept that there was no way he’d be able to go after his friend. The conversation quickly turned to the two kids the half-bloods had been protecting, Nico and Bianca, orphans, demigods, their parent unknown. Nico seemed very into the idea of being related to a Greek god, it was a little concerning how excited he was. Bianca on the other hand had a more reasonable reaction, it was hard for her to deny the truth though after being attacked by a Manticore.

Artemis ordered for camp to be set up while she talked to Bianca. Zoe smirked as soon as Bianca agreed to the conversation while Thalia glared at her. You knew Thalia’s feelings on what was about to be discussed but at least she had the decency to hold her tongue this time. When Nico asked if he could join, Artemis had the decency to redirect his attention to the satyr friend of the demigods, Nico didn’t seem to realize he was being pawned off, all too happy to talk about his little figures and game with the satyr.

You made yourself scarce, moving as far away from the others as you helped set up camp. As you walked away you could already hear the bickering between Percy and Thalia starting, it seemed the friend they lost had been their mediator, it was only a matter of time before they tried to kill each other without her. You and your sisters worked effortlessly, the motions of setting up camp having become second nature, even without any sort of magic you had the whole campsite set up in minutes. One of your sisters blew the whistle, signaling for the wolves to come out. You glanced up to see Thalia and Zoe now bickering, you shook your head then went back to more important matters, giving treats to the wolves.

You watched as Zoe approached Percy then led him into the tent you knew Artemis was residing in. Zoe gave you a nod as they passed, you gave one in return before giving the rest of the treats to the wolf. You quickly brushed off your hands and followed behind Zoe and Percy. Once in the tent Percy took a seat next to Bianca, Zoe took a seat on Artemi’s right and you stood behind your goddess on the left. You eyed your guests, Bianca looking deep in thought, barely registering that Percy had sat next to her, her mind most likely playing over all the benefits of Artemis’s offer.

You stood dutifully to the side as Artemis explained her whole deal to Percy, he seemed confused by the whole ‘rejecting romantic love’ thing, he couldn’t fathom the idea of why someone would ever accept that. He wasn’t disrespectful about it though, you would give him that, most men when they stumbled upon Artemis or the Hunters they didn’t understand, didn’t try to understand, and it always cost them, Artemis made sure of that. You couldn’t help but smirk when Percy’s eyes widened when Artemis and Zoe started talking about the last boy to have seen your camp and how Artemis had turned him into a jackelope. Her turning boys into jackelopes was secretly one of your favorite things, there was a part of you that always hoped a boy would stumble upon your camp and she’d turn him into an animal.

You zoned out a bit, making sure you could still hear the conversation around you. Percy was filling in Artemis on the manticore and what he had said before you and your sisters arrived. Percy’s details were vague and confusing, but Bianca clearly had the better memory and helped fill in the gaps or correct Percy on wording if he got it wrong. You didn’t fully tune back into the conversation until Artemis said she must hunt this new monster.

“We’ll leave right away, my lady,” Zoe said. You stood at attention ready to follow them into the next hunt.

“No, Zoe. I must do this alone,” Artemis said. She glanced back at you to make sure you knew she was serious. You frowned, Artemis may have been a goddess but the idea of her going off and hunting this unknown monster didn’t settle right with you. Despite your reservations you honored your goddesses’ wishes and kept your mouth shut.

“But, Artemis-” Zoe did not keep her mouth shut.

“This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me.”

“As… as you wish, my lady.”

Zoe also having reservations about Artemis going off on her own didn’t settle your uneasiness. Zoe was a rule follower, she was the type of kid you hated because she’d rather follow rules than do something fun. You always followed your goddesses’ orders but that didn’t mean you didn’t like to have fun. Usually, you were the one arguing with Artemis, respectfully, and Zoe would snap at you.

You continued to remain silent through the following conversation until Artemis asked Percy to escort the Hunters to camp Half-Blood. While once again Zoe went to argue with Artemis, you could only groan. You knew there would be no swaying Artemis on this decision, with her going off on a mission so dangerous that she didn’t even want her Hunters by her side, there was no question that she’d want to know you were all safe. As much as you hated camp half-blood, one of the only things Zoe and you ever agreed on, you had to admit it was the safest place for all of you.

You smirked when Artemis mentioned them having rebuilt the cabins that got burnt down last time because of the Hunters. “That was a fun time,” you mumbled. Artemis flicked you a glare and you raised your hands, silently agreeing to not set cabins on fire this time, at least you’d try to. You couldn’t make that promise and she knew that, the campers just had a way of irritating the Hunters, it wasn’t your fault with how you and your sisters reacted.

“Have you made up your mind, my girl?” Artemis asked, looking at Bianca.

Your eyes shifted to the younger girl, you knew before you all came into the tent that Artemis had been informing the girl of what it meant to be a Hunter and offering her a place. Percy’s eyes widened in shock, and he instantly tried to convince Bianca joining the Hunters wasn’t the answer by telling her how much fun camp was. Zoe was quick to shut that down by telling him being a Hunter can offer much more than camp ever could, such as immortality, and they’d be immortal unless they fell in battle, or they broke their oath.

“What oath?”

“To foreswear romantic love forever,” Artemis answered. “To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally.”

Percy’s mouth hung open as he seemed unable to process why anyone would choose that. You continued to remain silent while Zoe snapped at him telling him Artemis didn’t discriminate by birth and you all weren’t demigods. Which was true, Artemis accepted any girl into the Hunters, demigods, nymphs, mortals, literally anyone as long as they were willing to take and honor the oath. For those that broke the oath though… Artemis might have been one of the kindest gods around, but she was also one of the most unforgiveable, you had personally seen what could happen if a Hunter broke their oath.

Percy tried a new tactic, telling Bianca how Nico wouldn’t be able to become a Hunter. Artemis agreed with that but mentioned how Bianca could still see him every now and then. Bianca looked down at her hands, going over everything. Taking the oath and choosing to follow Artemis wasn’t an easy decision, especially to someone so young, you had seen many girls take it out of impulse and then fail to honor the oath later on. Artemis would accept any girl willing to take the oath at any age, she tended to like them younger though, before they could fall for boys and fall in love with someone. You were a rare case in that regard, you took the oath at seventeen and though some closer to the same age or even older than you had taken the oath before they never ended up keeping it.

You could understand Bianca’s predicament, you hadn’t had any siblings, at least you didn’t think you did. You had been with Artemis for a thousand years and you didn’t have many memories of your life before then, everything from that time slowly fading. You had seen girls with siblings take the oath before, it always took its toll on them. Artemis would allow the girls to visit their siblings from time to time, but time was always scarce, it could be a visit every few years and not last more than a day and while the girls would remain the same age forever, their siblings would age and eventually die.

“Is it worth it?” Bianca finally spoke up, looking at Zoe.

“It is,” Zoe answered. No one was more proud to be a Hunter than Zoe, it was why she had been with Artemis so long, it was why your goddess chose her as her second.

Bianca shifted her gaze to you. This happened almost every time, before a girl agreed she’d look to Zoe and you, you were physically the oldest and Bianca had been at Artemis’s side the longest, with you following right after. If anyone clearly thought this life was worth it, then it was the two of you.

“It might get weird hanging out with a bunch of people at least three years younger than me,” you joked, earning you a glare from Zoe. “But I have never regretted my decision.”

Bianca nodded, taking in both your and Zoe’s answers. “What do I have to do?” she asked, looking at your goddess.

“Say this,” Zoe said. “ ‘I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.’ ”

“I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis,” Bianca repeated.

“ ‘I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.’ ”

“I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.”

“Now, once lady Artemis accepts the pledge it will be binding.”

“I accept,” Artemis said.

You smiled at your new sister as Artemis and Zoe welcomed her. It was a big decision to make but the second Artemis accepted the pledge you could see Bianca physically relax. Bianca loved her brother, you gathered that much but not knowing their godly parent and growing up orphans for so long meant Bianca had to grow up fast, she spent her life making sure her brother was okay and doing what was best for him, never getting to choose something solely for herself.

You had to hold in another groan when Percy asked how all of you were getting to camp when Artemis informed him, she was going to ask Apollo. Zoe once again didn’t hide her distaste for the situation and did groan, thankfully she didn’t try and argue with Artemis about this. When you all left the tent and packed up camp, Zoe stood on Artemis’s right, her arms crossed as she glared up at the dark sky, just waiting for the sun god to show himself. You couldn’t help but silently chuckle at her.

You laughed at Artemis’s complaints about her brother always being lazy. When the sunrise eventually came a sports car came speeding down from the sky, parking not too far from your group. Apollo jumped out of his car happily greeting his sister, much to her annoyance, before waving a flirtation grin at all of you, like usual. Zoe glared at him, you rolled your eyes, and the other Hunters took a few steps back, getting as far away from him as possible.

You waited as Artemis asked her brother to take all of you to camp, watching as he quickly turned his sports car into a large bus. He smiled widely, gesturing at the giant bus. The Hunters quickly shuffled forward, throwing all their gear into the bus before making their way on it and all the way to the back.

“Here, sweetheart. Let me get that,” Apollo said, smirking at Zoe as he tried to help her with her gear. Zoe quickly ripped her bag away from him, clenching a fist.

“Brother,” Artemis chided, preventing Zoe from decking the sun god in the face. “You do not help my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart.”

Apollo sighed dramatically, holding up his arms as Zoe passed by, making sure to bump him in the shoulder on the way. Zoe followed the other Hunters, making her way straight to the back of the bus.

Apollo smiled widely when his eyes landed on you. You had your bag slung over your shoulder with one hand, looking unamused as he approached you. “Hello gorgeous,” he said, slinging an arm around your shoulder. “how’s my favorite Hunter doing?” Apollo smirked. You scoffed, rolling your eyes before elbowing him in the gut. He groaned but quickly recovered and threw his arm back around you, leading you onto the bus.

You were the only Hunter to not have complete disdain for him. Despite finding him annoying you were also the only one to entertain him. At first Artemis would always chastise him when he would flirt with you but after a few hundred years of never being swayed and only seeming amused by his failed attempts she eventually let it slide, she knew you’d never break your oath for her brother or any guy. Apollo also took the form of someone around your age, and you had to admit it was nice having that around sometimes.

“Okay, so who’s driving?” Apollo asked once you were all on the bus. He looked back at your sisters, you followed his gaze to see them all pressed together on the back bench, practically sitting on top of each other to get as far away from him and Percy as possible. You decided to humor him and take a seat up front with him, Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Nico.

Percy mumbled he was only fourteen when Apollo looked at him. He then looked at you, wiggling his eyebrows as he smirked. You answered him by scoffing, crossing your arms and turning your attention out the window. He then turned to Thalia who reluctantly took a seat behind the wheel.

After getting off to a rough start you had a death grip on the seat, glaring at Apollo as he casually shouted directions at Thalia. Percy was gripping the back of Thalia’s seat as he yelled directions at her as well, for someone who couldn’t drive he sure had a lot of opinions on what she should do. You weren’t sure what was worse, the fourteen-year-old yelling directions or the fifteen-year-old driving who had been a tree less than six months ago.

Thalia turned the wheel sharply, crashing you all right into the lake at camp half-blood. Everyone flung forward with a groan. You looked up to see Thalia gripping the steering wheel as she stared unblinking out the windshield. Apollo, completely unbothered by the rough landing, applauded Thalia on the back, singing her praises.

All of you quickly piled out of the bus, watching as Apollo took off, switching back to a sports car as soon as the last of your feet stepped off the bus. Percy and Thalia took Nico to go meet Chiron and inform him of everything that happened. You watched as Zoe led the rest of the Hunters off to cabin eight. With your bag slung over your shoulder you looked around at the camp, most of the campers not even awake yet or the few that were were sleepily making their way to get breakfast. With one final eyeroll you sighed and made to follow your sisters. You could only hope your goddesses’ hunt would be swift because you couldn’t imagine wanting to be at this place for more than a day.

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x you #clarisse x reader #pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #maybe in another life

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wingedhelix · 4 months

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When Sonic realizes what he's done.

Inspired by @flightyalrighty's Infested AU/Comic. (GO CHECK OUT CHAPTER 1!!)

Artist notes under cut!

I instantly thought of the "hedgehog screaming at the ground" meme when everyone started talking about Sonic coming too and realizing he's DRENCHED in what could very well be his little brother's gore. The inspiration gave me the motivation to finally start breaking out of the art block I've been fighting for a long time now, this is the first (half) rendered piece I've done in almost a year.

It's rough but a step in the right direction! (This idea grabbed me by the neck like feral Sonic and beat me tell I got it out of my head)

Infested in the first real work of horror that I've really engaged with and I absolutely love it! The Sonic fandom desperately needs darker-toned stories like these that really pick apart the characters and give us older fans something to think on.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #infested sonic au #Infested Sonic Comic #tw blood #tw: blood #WingedHelix #HelixArt

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alexyskinnerstories · 6 months

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Bella's Aunt - Ch. 1

( Airport Outfit)

I've arrived in Forks Washington from New York it was a long flight everyone got off the plane and headed inside to airport building I walked to the baggage area and got all my luggage I left the area and headed to the front of the airport I made it to the outside I look for my brother I couldn't find him I grab my phone and was about to call him when I heard my name being shouted I turned and see my big brother I smiled while tearing up I ran over to him leaving my luggage behind once I got close I jumped in his arms hugging him tightly he does the same we both were sobbing I hear some people saying sweet things about us Charlie tries to put me down but I hold on tighter and shook my head he just sighed and left me to cling on him he walked over to my luggage and started walking back to his cruiser I don't know how he managed to do that but he did got me in the front seat of the cruiser then he put the luggage in the back of the cruiser he drove from the airport to his home once we've arrived a sigh fells from his mouth I was confused on why he suddenly became upset I was about to ask what was wrong but he spoke first

Charlie: Bella isn't here I was hoping she would so I could surprise her with you being home I guess she's with her boyfriend and his family

Me: It's alright Charlie we can still surprise her call her and tell her that she needs to be home by dinner time and that's something important

Charlie: That's a great idea sissy I do it when we've got you relax how you're boys doing why didn't they come with you?

Me: Their mother wanted to spend one more with them and I allowed it for two more days or if they want to come earlier or for more time the house I bought here is being finished being renovated it should be done in a few days and then I'll move in

Charlie: Oh How are things going like in the co- parenting I haven't heard any updates about it not after you won full custody of them

Me: Yea sorry about that it was busy after that I had to move my apartment I had got to live at the time then I had to deal with the move them to a different high school and then also doing my online course after that I had graduated with my third degree and the boys are in their last year so when they come they may go to Forks High School or Quileute Tribal School I don't know yet

Charlie: That was a lot maybe you should send them to forks high Carson and Camron with be with Bella she's gonna start her senior year next month and they can watch over her

Me: Alright I'll think about it but why would they need to watch over her

Charlie sighed and breathed in deeply speaking with venom about is Cullen boy that Bella is with currently

Charlie: It's her boyfriend I don't trust him one bit he doesn't give off any good vibes he is always at the house or taking Bella her and I don't spend much time together his always interrupting our time together and taking her away and she changing like her personality and style it seems like he manipulating her she becoming more like his sister Rosalie it all just seems weird and she's been wearing makeup and it not only on her face

Me: So you're telling me you believe that he's manipulating her, abusing her, and molding her to be like his sister

Charlie: Yes that's what I believe is happening.

Me: Alright I'll get them into Forks High and have them watch over her and I'll get them to come here in a week in a half

Charlie: Thanks sis I appreciate it

Me: No problem brother family is forever and always

We made it to Charlie's house and brought my stuff into the house Charlie put my thing in the attic where my room is he came back down the stairs and told me that he's gonna call Bella to come home at dinner time and make sure he says Edward couldn't stay he sent me to freshen up before dinner come around I nodded and headed upstairs to my bathroom

* Tiny time Skip *

I finished my shower and walked out of my bathroom I walk to my closet and pick out some clothes I text Charlie to say am cooking dinner and that I need him to the grocery store and get the ingredients I gonna make Salmon stuffed with spinach and parmesan cheese with shrimp and spinach alfredo I got dressed and went downstairs I see Charlie about to leave

Me: Hey Charlie do you have any AB here

Charlie: Yeah there's some in the very back of my closet in the safe the code is momma's birthday

Me: Thanks Char I make sure to depose of them before Bella gets home

Charlie: I'll be back as soon as I can sissy

Me: Alright Char see when you come home

Charlie leaves out of the door and drove off I immediately ran to his room and go to his closet and open the safe I grab three bags and down the first two I go to the living room and watch Netflix I watched a show called Charmed I start the show and slowly drink the last bag

* Time skip*

I was on the twelfth episode when I heard a car pull up I could hear two voices I quickly set the bag on fire and coated the scent because I could only hear one heartbeat I walked outside and leaned against the door frame I looked in the car see Bella talking to her boyfriend

* Bella Pov *

Edward just pulled into my dad's driveway and began to tell me that he'll be coming to see me at night I nodded and looked down gathering my stuff suddenly he spoke again

Edward: Bella who is that

I was confused I looked up and turned my gaze to where he was looking I gasped and quickly got out of the car and yelled for my auntie Annabeth I ran to her screaming her name I finally made it to her and crash into her crying into her chest she hugged me tightly rocked us left and right we pulled from each when we heard someone clear their throat.

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

^ Fake Blood I Repeat Fake blood^

#reqs open #black reader #x reader #x black reader #the originals #werewolf reader #Twilight #Klaus Mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #gxg #esme cullen x reader #esme Cullen x oc #g!p reader

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imfluentinfangirlandgay · 11 months

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Casting Pearls Before Time - Ch 1

Hi, yall. I know, I know, it's been forever since I last posted fic, why the hell am I doing it again? I thought you were slain finally? I thought you'd collapsed on your laptop and someone put an end to your reign of terror? Unfortunately for you, no, I came back. Enjoy this piece I've had sitting in my drafts for easily over a year and never finished.

-Fluent

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Six months after suddenly reappearing, Ingo encounters someone he thinks he remembers. Only problem is, he can't remember anything before he returned to Unova, so it's hard to say

Word Count: 2200

Emmet walked in-step with Ingo as they traversed the empty streets of Nimbasa. Their day bags were slung across their shoulders, gently bumping against their sides with every step they took. All was quiet. The dark sky sprawled above them. Emmet fully believed stars were up there, he had seen them himself, though with the light pollution from Nimbasa City, it was hard to see them now. A stiff breeze blew down the long street, whipping his white coat and trying to nab his hat off his head, pinching at his ears and making them sting. Autumn was well on its way to Unova. The Deerling he and his brother had fought earlier was molting its summer green fur to make way for the denser, coarser orange.

Emmet glanced at his brother, still half-paranoid he would not be there. He was still right next to Emmet, his small, neatly trimmed beard and longer hair reflecting the streetlights. His eyes wandered from streetlamp to streetlamp, as though he were still enamored with electricity. He could be. Emmet did not know.

It had only been six months since his reappearance, that day ending the longest three years of Emmet's life.

Emmet had scoffed in annoyance when Elesa barged into his home yet again, tugging by the arm insistently. It was not the first time she'd done this. "Emmet, you have to come with me. Now."

"Elesa, I am busy." It was not incorrect. He was working through some reports from that week that he'd fallen behind on. It used to be Ingo's job but since he was absent, the duty fell to Emmet. He sat at the wooden desk with his hat off, his hair long and unkempt, his ungloved right hand resting on his forehead, the fingers intertwining with his silver hair as his left scribbled out some nonsense on the notebook paper. A couple Joltik that had been sleeping by the eraser jumped and skittered away in surprise, leaving sparks in their wakes.

"Emmet, seriously. You're coming." She continued to tug on him, effectively pulling him to the ground.

"Elesa," he snapped. "I am busy! I cannot get air right now-"

"Emmet. They found him." He stopped struggling immediately, staring blankly at her from the floor as she continued to speak. "He's in Sinnoh. They're flying him over here, I just got the call from Skyla. They're landing at her airport in two hours. He's coming home."

He laid still for another few moments as the information sank in, his eyes wider than saucers. Then he stood so suddenly, he nearly knocked Elesa over. "I am Emmet. I am prepared. Let us depart immediately." For once, she didn't tease him for leaving his paperwork behind as she hurriedly led him out the door and away from the apartment. He was so shocked, he’d forgotten his hat and shoes.

He spent an hour fretting in the lobby. What if they were wrong? What if it wasn't him? Why was he in Sinnoh to begin with? Had he left? Was he sick? Elesa hadn’t mentioned anything about that, and surely she would if he were, right? She had not said a word since she had fetched him from his home. What if she didn’t mention it just to make him feel better and not worry? She wouldn’t. Would she? What if he hadn’t wanted to come home? What if-

What if it was his body? What if he was dead-

“Em, talk to me.” Elesa had shaken him from his thoughts. Without him even speaking, she read him like a book. “He’s safe, Em. Doctors checked him over and said he's a little malnourished, but fine.” She had assessed him before continuing, watching the runway with him. “They did mention one thing, though.” He felt white-hot adrenaline spike through him. This was it, this was where the other shoe dropped. “He… he has severe amnesia. He can hardly remember anything about Unova, his pokemon, or anything else from before he disappeared. And while he was gone, he doesn’t remember much from that, either. The doctors said to be careful with him and-”

“He’s got amnesia?” He had turned to look up at her and listen to her response-

“Emmet? Are your systems operational?” Emmet blinked a couple times and refocused himself, looking at his brother. They had stopped walking at some point and Ingo was watching him with concern. It seemed he had been trying to get Emmet’s attention. He seemed to do that quite often.

“I am Emmet. I am alright. Destination: home.” He began to walk again as Ingo set his hand on Emmet’s shoulder.

“Do you hear that?” Ingo was watching something just past Emmet, not quite focusing on him.

Emmet knit his brow, but heard nothing. “I have hearing loss, Ingo. I cannot hear well.”

“Ah! My apologies.” Emmet had reminded Ingo of this fact many times before. He was still trying to remember many things about his life before Hisui, as well as his life while there. Emmet had never heard of a region called that before and neither had anyone else he’d talked to. Perhaps Ingo was mixing up a name he’d heard with the region? He had definitely been in Sinnoh. “I hear something like scuffling from over there.” Ingo nodded to the mouth of an empty alleyway. Emmet cocked his head, not able to hear anything. Ingo did have better hearing than him, though Emmet’s eyesight was better of the two of them.

“Toss out a pokemon, just in case,” Emmet advised. Ingo did, tossing out the large Gliscor he had carried home from Hisui. Ingo approached the alley, his body taut and ready to spring. Emmet hung back, as it was obvious that Emmet was much less prepared to deal with this than Ingo was.

Gliscor peeked into the alleyway first, screeching loudly after it saw something. It flew into the alley and a few small pokemon burst out. Trubbish. All were honking and gargling as they quickly took off, shuffling out of the alley and scattering into the night. Ingo plunged into the alley as soon as the last one left, leaving Emmet to scurry in after him. What was he doing?! Gliscor seemed to have it handled-

He saw a girl. She was wearing very little, only a pink and white dress with ostentatious tails and several bangles on her arm. A pink headpiece adorned her head. She was pressed against the wall, shaking horribly, her pale face almost ghostly in the low light. Her eyes were wide with fear. Gliscor was flitting around her, screeching in happiness. Her eyes followed the creature closely. She was hardly blinking. Did it know this girl? Emmet was unsure.

She knitted her brow as Ingo came into view. She watched Emmet’s brother verrry carefully, confusion in her gaze. Ingo had stopped too, watching the woman. He cocked his head.

“Hello. I… feel that I may recognize you. Might I ask your name, Miss?” Ingo’s voice was startlingly loud in the space around them. Emmet almost wanted to cover his own ears, though he knew his own reception of it was muted.

She continued to stare at him for some time. Emmet wondered if she could talk.

From her mouth tumbled a series of words that Emmet could not understand. She was still watching Ingo with wide eyes. Her body was beginning to shake like a leaf in the wind.

Emmet blanched. His mouth dropped open with Ingo’s response, in the same language she must have been speaking.

The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded. Then she said something else Emmet could not begin to comprehend. Ingo’s posture relaxed some as the two spoke. This continued for a minute or two before Emmet grew bored. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Ingo’s shoulder. The girl’s attention flicked to him, making her tense up again even as her eyebrows knitted together again. “Brother, who is this? Do you know her? She speaks the same way you did when you reappeared.”

“Ah! Yes, I do believe I remember her… somehow. Not very well, mind you. She says she simply appeared here, she seems to have fallen. She hid in this alley because the cars and lights were confusing to her. I believe we met in my last terminal.” Ingo’s eyes flicked between Emmet and the woman.

“What is her name?” Emmet asked him, tilting his head. Ingo met his eyes but said nothing for a moment.

“She cannot remember.” He turned his attention back to the girl, who was looking between the two of them, her eyes wide. She spoke, asking a question, from the sound of it. Ingo responded in kind.

“What are you two saying? I cannot understand.” Emmet grinned a little in confusion as he said this. This was not how he expected his night to go.

“She is asking about you. I am explaining our relation, currently. I am concerned for her, though. I feel that she was rather close with me in my last terminal, but I cannot remember why…” He brought a hand to his chin as he thought.

“Like a girlfriend?”

“No!” His voice was louder than even he had intended, and the girl flinched. “You know that neither of us care for those kinds of connections! She is merely a friend… maybe even a close friend. Perhaps I will recall more as time goes on.”

“Hmm.” Emmet simply hummed his affirmation, smirking at Ingo’s outburst. “What is she going to do?” he asked.

Ingo shook his head. “I fear for her. It is clear she has nowhere to go. Perhaps… would it be alright if-”

“Yes. She can stay.” Emmet did not need to hear the rest of the question in order to understand what he was about to ask. Ingo relayed the information to the woman, whose posture began to relax slightly again. She said something in return. Ingo nodded and beckoned, whistling to Gliscor. It was still sticking close to the woman, though she did not seem to share the sentiment it had. She recoiled from it.

The girl followed the twins home, glancing feverishly at the buildings and the pokemon around. Thankfully, not many people were out anymore. It did not take long for the three of them to find their way to the twins’ apartment. Ingo led them inside as Emmet unlocked the door, swinging it open. Several Joltik met them at the door, sparking and buzzing in excitement. Emmet smiled brightly as he scooped them up. “Did you wait for us? Oh, look at you, guarding the house while we are gone! Come on, babies, I’ll feed you. I know you lot are hungry- Marvin, stop trying to get to the sockets! I told you no!” He scooped up all the Joltik he came across, sweeping them into the kitchen so that he could feed them properly. After he was finished and the spiders were all happily munching, Emmet went back to the main room to remove his uniform. Ingo already had.

“Emmet, take your shoes off.”

“My babies needed nourishment.”

“It is nearly time for this batch to go be released anyway-”

“Do not ruin this for me, Ingo.” Emmet grinned as he shrugged off his coat and neatly hung it up in the closet. Ingo rolled his eyes as he retreated to their bedroom, likely to change and prep things for their guest.

Speaking of which, she stood by the door, watching him intently. Emmet waved at her, still smiling. He might as well try to be cordial, he figured. “I am Emmet.” He pointed at himself. “Emmet.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Em-met?”

Emmet nodded vigorously. “Emmet! I am Emmet!” Then he pointed at her. “You?”

She shrugged her shoulders, casting her eyes down at the ground. Emmet noticed that her cuffs were adorned with light-colored stones, all cut perfectly circular. “Emmet?” Ingo emerged, his hair mussed from his hat, hauling a blanket. “We have no guest room, so I believe we may have to make do with the couch.”

“That sounds doable. If she does not remember her name, how should we address her?”

“Allow me to ask.” He turned and translated the question. She paused, not speaking, picking at her cuffs in embarrassment.

“What if we called her Pearl? She seems fond of them.” Emmet pointed at the stones in her cuffs and necklace, making her flinch. Ingo asked her a question again in the strange tongue, which she replied to eagerly.

“She likes that notion. She says that the word holds some sort of importance for her, though she cannot remember what it is. Regardless, it will suffice for now.” Ingo clapped twice. “Bravo! Now, Emmet, if you would like to shower first, I can show Pearl around a bit. Perhaps make sure our partners do not get too close. She seems rather frightened of pokemon.”

Emmet nodded and strolled from the room, grabbing a towel and a change of clothes as he marched into the bathroom. Afraid of pokemon? How unfortunate. What an odd night it had been, he marveled to himself.

[Next]

#submas #my writing #ingo #pokemon #emmet #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #subway bosses #pkmn #pokemon elesa #irida

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mysteryshoptls · 1 year

Text

SR Ace Trappola Apprentice Chef Personal Story: Part 1

"Master Chef"

Part 1 (Part 2)

[Cafeteria – Judging Venue]

Master Chef ― Ace Version ～ Let’s Make Minestrone 1～

―A little while before cooking starts.

Ace: Welp, here goes Master Chef. It's a bit of a pain, but I'll just bang out this class as fast as I can.

Idia: Sheesh, he was all smiles during the greetings, but now he's completely changed… I can't understand these kinds of folk with their absurd communication skills…

Ace: Hm? Did you say something? Why the long face, Idia-senpai?

Idia: Eeek!? N-N-N-No, uh… N-Nothing… It's just…

Idia: J-Just that you look real confident… But does anything in the world really go that smoothly, I wonder?

Ace: It'll be fine. It's a program aimed towards amateurs, so it's not gonna be anything too difficult!

Ghost Chef: Alright, you two, we're about to start. Ace-kun, Idia-kun, start heading towards the kitchen.

Ace: Okaaay! Thanks for taking us under your wing!

[Kitchen]

Ghost Chef: Now, we're going to have you make a Minestrone, Ace-kun.

Ghost Chef: We have in stock some thick and tasty looking bell peppers today, so let's try to put more in the soup than normal.

Ace: A minestrone, huh… Sure, sure, that's that tomato-flavored soup that we sometimes get on our lunch plates.

Ace: That's got a ton of ingredients, sounds like it'll be a hassle. Is this really something a beginner like me should be doing?

Ghost Chef: Hahah, no need to act up. All you'll have to do is cut up the ingredients and let them simmer.

Ace: Really? That's it? Whaaaat, that's so easy!

Ghost Chef: But, like you said, there are a ton of ingredients, so you'll need to put in a little bit of effort.

Ghost Chef: Alright, let's start with cutting this bell pepper in half lengthwise. Once you've taken out all the seeds, cut it up into smaller pieces.

Ace: Okaaay. How small are you wanting it?

Ghost Chef: For this dish, we want the bell pepper to be the main ingredient, so it should be a bit bigger than the other ingredients… Maybe about 2cm squares.

Ace: 2 cm squares, huh. Gotcha.

[chop, chop, chop, chop, chop…]

Ghost Chef: Good, good, not bad. They're all really close in sizes, and you're handling that knife well.

Ace: Heheh, thaaaanks. I haven't really used knives that much, but I've watched the upperclassmen use them back in the dorm all the time.

Ghost Chef: Ah, right, you're a Heartslabyul student. Do you often help out with making their pastries?

Ace: Yeah, sometimes I get stuck with that duty. But usually I'm just helping out the upperclassmen, so I don't know how to do anything too difficult.

Ghost Chef: I see, so you learned this from watching them. You must have been really skilled to be able to pick these abilities just by watching.

Ace: Thanks! But hey, this is pretty easy, so.

Ghost Chef: Haha, well, that's promising to hear. Then, I'll bring over the other ingredients, so go ahead and chop up the remaining bell peppers for me.

Ace: Okaaaay ♪

Ace: …Whew. Just like I thought, it's not that hard at all.

Ace: Doo-doo ♪ Master Chef is the bestest～ ♪

Ghost Chef: Oh my, aren't you in a good mood? Have you finished cutting up the bell peppers?

Ace: Ah, I'm almost done…

Ace: EH!!?

[THUD]

Ace: Ch-Chef… What's with this crateful of veggies…? You're not saying that I'm gonna be using all of these now―

Ghost Chef: Ahahah, well, of course there isn't a pot out there in the universe that can hold this much.

Ace: Ahahah, riiiight! Whew, that scared me…

Ghost Chef: Well, in the end, I'll have you go through everything here. But for now, I think you only need this many onions, and…

[THUD]

Ghost Chef: This should be enough for one dish.

Ace: JUST ONE DISH!? AND YOU'RE TELLING ME I'M GONNA BE CHOPPING UP THE REST OF THE VEGGIES AFTER THIS, TOO?!

Ghost Chef: That's right～ Soup is a popular dish, both by itself, and as part of a set, so we'll need a lot of ingredients.

Ghost Chef: We're not only going to be making the minestrone in this pot, but in a few others as well, so we'll have you prepare it all!

Ace: You serious…? Sure, it's just cutting up veggies, but still, this amount is just…

Ghost Chef: Oh come now, you're so skilled, Ace-kun, so I'm sure it will end swiftly! Now here, start peeling these onions!

Ace: Yessir…

Ace: ...I take back what I said earlier. SURE IT AIN'T DIFFICULT, BUT THERE'S JUST WAY TOO MUCH TO DO!!!!!

Part 1 (Part 2)

Requested by Anonymous.

#twisted wonderland #twst #ace trappola #idia shroud #twst ace #twst idia #twst translation #twst masterchef

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starlitangels · 1 year

Conversation

Good Boy Audios Incorrect Quotes (Part 1)

Faithful, to Albus: Are you done pretending I'm not the love of your life?

•••

Makkaro: I think the words you're looking for are "I surrender"

Guardian: The words I'm looking for I can't say because Zed is present

•••

Albus: Now, remember what I told you, Faithful. The quickest way to a man's heart is...?

Faithful: Through his third and fourth rib!

Albus: That's my girl!

(Devlin: You're horrible)

•••

Ulysses: How did none of you hear what I just said?

Pandora: I’ve been zoned out for the last two and a half hours

Fenrir: I got distracted about halfway through

Odin: Ignoring you was a conscious decision

•••

*Thud!*

Faithful: What was that?

Albus: My shirt fell!

Faithful: It sounded louder than that

Albus: I was still in it

•••

Pandora: Fight me!

Odin: What are you gonna do shortstop, kick me in the shin?

*one minute later*

Tyr, entering the room: Why is Odin on the ground holding his leg?

Ulysses, laughing: Pandora kicked him really hard in the shin

•••

Faithful "Resting B!+ch Face" Koria: Sometimes I wish I looked more fragile and feminine like a dainty flower but I do enjoy looking like I hate everyone

•••

Ulysses: *screaming* You IDIOT!

Odin: *also screaming* I'm sure you're right but why?!

(also Devlin and Albus in that order, or Paradise and Yargwynn)

•••

Devlin: Did you just refer to a knife as a people-opener?

Albus: Should I not have?

•••

Paradise: WHAT DID YOU DO!?

Yargwynn: Shockingly, none of this.

•••

Odin: Do you think I can fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?

Ulysses: You’re a hazard to society

Pandora: And a coward. Do 20

•••

Albus: I'm not lying on the floor physically, but I am lying on the floor spiritually

•••

Darling: Is there a word that's a mix between sad and angry?

Makkaro: Disgruntled, malcontented, miserable, desolated

Frank: Smad *insert Frank laugh here*

•••

Pandora: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Odin: IDK, why?

Pandora: To get to the idiot's house. Knock knock

Odin: Who's there?

Pandora: The chicken

Odin: ... I won't punch you on one condition

Pandora: Okay

Odin: Go tell that joke to Ulysses

•••

Faithful: Devlin, have you seen Albus?

Albus, lying facedown on the floor: Present

•••

Zed: Never break someone's heart. They only have one.

Makkaro: Yeah! Break their bones! They have 206!

•••

Okami: I've brought you here because I crave the deadliest game

Odin, nodding sagely: Knife Monopoly

Okami: ... Okay I was gonna hunt you for sport but now I really wanna know what Knife Monopoly is

•••

Paradise: Is anyone else scared?

Yargwynn: Not really. I've already lived longer than I expected

•••

Faithful: This can't get any worse

Albus: Sure it can. Just give me a minute

•••

Tyr: Odin, we tried things your way.

Odin: No we didn't?

Tyr: I did it in my head. It didn't work.

•••

Albus: *wears a dark grey shirt*

Devlin: Ah. Breaking out the spring colors I see

•••

Odin: I have an idea. But I'm going to need your permission

Fenrir: Why do you need my permission?

Odin: Because if I mess it up, I don't want it to be just my fault

•••

Paradise: Can I make a suggestion that doesn’t involve violence or is this the wrong crowd?

•••

Makkaro: You guys are idiots, did you know that?

Frank and the Boney Boys™: In our defense, we actually do know that.

•••

Albus, to Kravitas: I'd tell you to go to Hell, but I don't want to see you again

#Good Boy Audios #GoodBoyAudios #GBA Faithful #GBA Albus #GBA Devlin #GBA Bastard Warrior #GBA Fourseen #GBA Tyr #GBA Odin #GBA Pandora #GBA Ulysses #GBA Yargwynn #Space Pirate Saga #GBA Paradise #GBA MotH #GBA Zed #GBA Guardian #GBA Makkaro

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princesscolumbia · 6 months

Text

Ānzhuōniichuan - Chapter 2

Insomnia has been making a total mess of my ability to do things, including doing the stuff necessary to get rid of the insomnia. On the plus side, I've managed to get enough sleep this last week to recover enough to finished a chapter, so please enjoy:

Summary:

Ranma and Ryoga's journey, now with their new Chinese friend Xian Pu, takes them to a dojo in Japan.

Notes:

Been dealing with insomnia that's played merry hell on my ability to get, like, ANY writing done 'cause I'm just out of spoons before the morning is half over. Finally managed to grab a few time slices as I've been forcing myself to recover to get this written. Lost Little Wolf - The Minor Key Ch. 14, Double Isekai Ch. 10, Return to Recipient Ch. 6, And at This Point I'm Afraid to Ask Ch. 5, Deviation Ch. 9, Lost in the Dark Pt. 1 Ch. 2, Fission Ch. 10 Pt 2, and a few unpublished works are still on deck and work will continue...even if a bit slowly.

Preview below the cut:

Akane sat on her heels in the way that her friend Sayuri had marveled at since they were in elementary school together, feet flat on the ground, her knees up against her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and chin resting on the little nook between her kneecaps. She was watching Ranma as the (currently) girl sat cross-legged in front of the family shrine. Ranma's eyes seemed to drift back to the largest picture on the shrine quite regularly; Akane's mother. Tears formed a track down the redhead's cheeks, and Akane had to admit that this part-time girl looked very cute and (dare she say it?) huggable. Akane was doing everything she could to fight the impulse to wrap her arms around Ranma and just hold her until the crying stopped.

"...stupid pops..." Ranma sniffled for probably the twentieth time since they'd come out here.

"Ranma..." Akane ventured, "Why did you turn yourself into a girl?"

Ranma blinked the most recent tears out of her eyes and turned to Akane, seeming like she was waking up from a daydream. "Huh? Oh..." she wiped the tracks off her face and said, "Didn't wanna cry as a guy. Aint manly."

Akane snorted, "'Manly'? What's being a man got to do with it?"

Ranma took a deep breath, "Nothin' really, just..." she wiped at her eyes again, "...pops just always kept hammerin' on me 'bout bein' 'manly,' and I thought that's just how guys'r'supposed to learn how to be guys. 'A real man does this,' 'a real man acts like that'... 'course, half'a that was the same as the bullshit 'bout bein' honorable, an' he never was."

Akane settled herself into a proper sitting position, opting for cross-legged like Ranma was doing instead of the seiza that 'proper girls' were 'supposed' to do. Yeah, she could sit seiza, but sometimes cross-legged was more comfortable. "Seems like your father was a jerk," she said, trying to keep Ranma talking.

The redhead sighed, "Yeah, Ryoga and Xian are helpin' me see that and tryin' to teach me how to be, I dunno, the kinda person I want to be. Still gotta long way to go, though. Like, I still don't know what I said wrong earlier."

Akane scrunched her brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"When I asked if you were a glass cannon," she sighed, "I just...a glass cannon is somethin' that can pack a hell of a punch but breaks real easy. Sometimes that's just how some martial artists are, I'm just tryin' to ask a question but something I said is wrong..." Ranma went from a little bit sad to teeth-grittingly frustrated in the space of a few words, her hands suddenly bunched into fists.

Akane found herself momentarily at a loss for words, "...but...being called a 'glass cannon' is a bad thing. Like you're trying to make fun of someone for having a weak defense."

Ranma turned to look at Akane, her jaw slightly slack, "But...I'm not trying to...I just...what?!" Her bunched fists were suddenly up and scrubbing at her eyes as a stuttering sob escaped her again, "F-fucking pops!" she stammered out, "R...Ryoga thought I h-hated him 'cause I just used the same things pops did to get me to spar with him! And since w-we started travelin' t-together with Xian they..." she heaved a couple of sobbing hiccups, "They've been t-tryin' t'teach me not to be mean 'r' cruel, an' it's like everything I say is mean! I thought that's just h-how you knew someone c-cared! And...and pops taught me that!"

Akane couldn't hold back any longer. She practically threw her arms around the smaller girl, muttering the little calming phrases and making the noises that Kasumi did whenever she couldn't handle the stress of life any longer or the Hentai Horde was particularly aggressive and nobody else would listen.

The two of them sat for a while, Ranma safely curled up in Akane's arms, the taller girl gently rubbing Ranma's back to comfort her. After the tears finally petered out, Akane realized that she was feeling something she hadn't expected for someone who'd revealed they were born a boy under the fabric of the silk shirt. She paused in her up and down motion, fingertips gently probing back and forth. Before Ranma's back could tense up any further, she asked, "Ranma...is that a bra?"

The redhead let out a nervous chuckle, "Y-yeah, got it a couple days after we got back to Japan. I had...no idea that there was such a thing as a sports bra, but...it works for me an' Ryoga 'cause of the curse." They disengaged enough for Ranma to look down at her own chest, as though the shirt wasn't there, "Pull 'em on like a shirt, the band stretches when we get hit with hot water and nothin' in the cups to really stick out or be obvious when we're in guy forms." She sighed, mostly seeming to need the breath to recover from the emotional outburst, "Didn't know...pops always made it seem like women wore bras 'cause they were weak or somethin'. Xian got kinda sick o' me fightin' without wearing one an' challenged me t'wear one during a spar an'...well, I don't think I wanna go without one ever again while I'm practicin' the Art, and since everything's practice..." she shrugged.

Akane could say quite well she didn't know any boys that didn't want to do martial arts without a bra. Now that Ranma seemed to have regained some of her emotional equilibrium, they separated, both now sitting cross-legged and facing each other. "Ranma...do...um..."

Ranma, for her part, just sat and waited for Akane to get her thoughts in order.

Akane took a deep breath, "I...my sister was right, I've been...every morning I have to fight a horde of boys just to get into school. And they made it clear they're intention is to overpower me and..." she swallowed, the fear she used to fuel her anger every day welling up inside her, "...take advantage of me."

"What?!" snapped Ranma as she started from her seated position. To her credit, she seemed to come to her senses and sit back down, "...sorry," she muttered.

Akane smiled, her expression pinched from the anxiety of the morning brawls bubbling inside but grateful that she seemed to have stumbled onto someone who was just as indignant about it as she was, "Thank you, Ranma. But," she took another deep breath, "I guess I've been letting them twist how I see boys up..."

Ranma nodded, "An' if yer enemy gets inta your head, then they're the ones pickin' the battlefield."

Akane mirrored Ranma's nod, "So because I need to...overcome this weakness, I need to ask you a question and hope it's not, like, the rudest question I could possibly ask."

Ranma tilted her head in a motion that reminded Akane of nothing less than a kitten encountering an ice cube for the first time, like she had no idea what was going to happen next but curiosity was driving her to learn no matter what and damn the consequences.

Taking that as encouragement, Akane plowed ahead, "Are you a boy or a girl?" She bit her lip, suppressing her embarrassment at having even had to ask.

Ranma's gaze seemed to turn inward, "...you know, I guess I'm a little of both?" she said after a while. "I mean, before the curse, I'd've told you I was a guy, 100 percent, but a lotta that was based on what my pops said, and we both know how much of a dumbass he was. But...I mean, I like bein' a guy sometimes. I want to be taller and more muscular and have longer reach an' all that. And sometimes I just like seein'..." she blushed, "Um...what I was born with between my legs." Akane blushed at that as well, which Ranma clearly picked up on because she said her next sentence in a tumble of words, "Not, like, in a hentai way or nuthin', but just 'cause it's, you know, what I 'spect t'see. But since I got the curse, I'm...I dunno, kinda seein' lots of stuff different. Like, chocolate is different!"

"It is?!" blurted Akane.

Ranma nodded enthusiastically, "And ice cream with chocolate? Gods! No comparison! I mean, I never got the 'guys don't eat sweets' thing before, but when I'm in girl mode it's like my tongue was made for sweets! And..." she blushed, "I...kinda like lookin' cute and...pretty. And I'd kinda like t'wear a dress an' just...be a girl for a bit."

Akane found herself smiling, easily imagining taking the redhead on a shopping trip with her friends Yuka and Sayuri.

Ranma grimaced, "Aint a fan of the cramps, though."

Akane thought her eyes would pop out of her head, "...cramps...?! Like, you have a period?!"

The redhead tossed her head back and let out a melodramatic groan that lasted nearly thirty seconds before slumping down (clearly exaggeratedly) and grumping, "Apparently I'm an 'early developer,' 'cording to Xian's granny. They weren't expectin' Ryoga or me to have our periods for, like, two months or somethin' so didn't say nothin' at first 'cause Xian was already fixin' to give me an' Ryoga 'the talk.' Then 'bout a week after we got back to Japan I woke up hurtin' like crazy and Xian had t'call home 'cause she thought it was somethin' else and Elder Ku Lon just laughed her wrinkly ass off so loud I could hear it over the phone an' across the room." She straightened, "Aint..." she turned green, "Bleedin' yet, but I gotta carry a pad around just in case now."

"But...you change back and forth, right? Can't you just, I don't know, stay a guy as much as possible during it?"

Ranma curled her lips and stuck out her tongue in irritation, "That's what I asked first thing. The magic of the curse aint, like, givin' me a new body every time. It's just flippin' me back an' forth between bein' a guy and bein' a girl like I'd been one the whole time. I can stop the period with hot water, but the second I flip back to girl-mode the period picks up right where it left off. Now I gotta wear either panties or briefs no matter what 'cause boxers sure as hell don't hold a pad."

Akane paled slightly, "Oh, um, are you...? Is it...?"

Ranma shrugged, "Nah, that was last week and was short 'cause I guess it was my body's first time an' all. But it was two days and tryin' to hide that your pad's slipping fucking sucks, let me tell you."

Akane turned as scarlet as her name for a bit as she imagined being in a similar situation. Frantically trying to drown out her scattered thoughts, she asked, "So when should I think of you as a boy?"

Ranma shrugged again, "Any time I am one, I guess. Xian and Ryoga've been tellin' me to use hot or cold water whenever I'm feelin' more 'boy' or 'girl.' That's why I got the water in there," she pointed to the house, "When I was feelin' like I needed to cry. I just...don't feel much like a boy, so I changed."

"Huh...I guess you're kind of lucky like that."

The smaller girl's face scrunched in confusion, "What are you talking about? It's a curse!"

Akane held up a hand placatingly, "Yes, and it's awful that it happened to anyone, but there've been times I kinda wished I could turn into a boy to take on the horde. Not really any other time, but if I could just once take 'em on as a man I bet they'd think twice about trying again the next day."

Ranma's smile was strained but sympathetic, "I guess I can see that."

"So do you...I guess... 'switch' mentally, too?"

Ranma shook her head, but then seemed to think about it and tentatively bobbed her head in a single nod, "I didn't think I did at first, but lately if someone says 'he' or 'him' about me when I'm in girl-mode, I start lookin' around for who they're talkin' about. And a few days ago I had a cop tryin' to look me up...long story, but we'd had more'n a few times the cops tried t'put me in jail 'cause my pops used my name for his bullshit, an' I was just...tired of it and already in girl mode, so I made up the name 'Ranko,' kinda on the spot, and yesterday I was in girl-mode and Ryoga said my name...er, she said 'Ranma' three times before I realized she was talkin' to me 'cause I just kinda started thinkin' of my girl-mode as 'Ranko.'"

They were quiet for a bit, the sound of the rain muting the rest of the outside, making them feel like their entire world was just the dojo.

He...she has periods, wears a bra, thinks of herself as a girl... Akane could almost feel her worldview shifting around in her head, I mean, sure, sometimes he is a boy, but even as a boy he was treating me better than any of the boys at school...ESPECIALLY Kuno! She had no idea what this meant for her in the larger context of her life, but her family's school was all about learning and adapting and growing in spite of everything thrown at you and becoming better than everyone else because of what was thrown at you.

She came to a decision, though exactly what the conclusion was or the path to get there she couldn't say. Smiling warmly, she reached out and offered her hand to Ran...ko. "Well, then hello Ranko, I'm Akane. Would you like to be friends?"

Akane didn't really understand the phrase 'lighting up the room with a smile' until that moment when Ranma practically glowed in response to Akane's offer.

Read the whole thing on AO3

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captainsolocide · 11 months

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solo talks about cbs elementary part 1

okay so yesterday I made post wondering if anyone would be interesting in hearing my cbs elementary thoughts. in the tags of that post I threatened said that one note was all it took to make this (a fleshed out series? of posts detailing pretty much everything I've ever thought about this show) happen, and for better or worse, I got that note, so instead of studying for one of my two midterms I have next week, I started this!

I am currently in the first half of season 4 but I started recording my thoughts from the very beginning. unfortunately they are very disorganized, so at least until I get to where I am currently watching I think I'm going to group these by multiple episodes. This section covers about the first half of season one

Since I've watched past the episodes I'll be talking about at first, I thought I would also add commentary if I have any hindsight to add to any of them. Any future knowledge commentary will prefaced as such.

Enjoy! and don't be afraid to leave your own thoughts if you feel so inclined, even if you completely disagree. I am insane about them so I am always ready to discuss :)

the good:

Holmes getting weird with his investigating (i.e. sniffing the walls, crawling around on the floor, licking things, etc.). It is very important to me that Holmes is, at the end of the day, a weird little guy

bitchy Holmes! Also very important to me! This also ties in with Holmes having emotions, but basically I just want Holmes to be written like the drama queen he is. (future solo thought: Elementary and JLM consistently do a good job of portraying him as such)

Avoidance of both teh stupid Watson and angry Watson trope. At this point, that's perfection

Holmes hates rich people! (future solo thought: I did not realize just how much copaganda there is in this how. it's very difficult to portray some of his more left-leaning ideals in shows like this, so I'm honestly glad for whatever scraps we can get)

I think Holmes having tattoos is a good call for a modernized version of him

crediting Watson with helping even when she hasn't done anything — this is something ACD!Holmes does as well and I think it's really funny (of course we know that Watson actually does help, just not always in obvious ways — sometimes even she's confused when Holmes thanks her, it's just funny the way he does this because he very rarely elaborates)

Encouraging Watson to make her own deductions (future solo thought: at this point in my watching this I didn't realize they were going to make Watson a detective in her own right, so this goes double now)

Telling Watson that she's necessary to his process fairly early into their relationship — we love codependent besties <3

Watson as a puzzle — not everyone likes this read of their relationship, but personally I love it

"WATSON!!!" — when Holmes yells her name like this I cannot help but be reminded of Jeremy Brett which can only do good things for my opinion of JLM's version

Holmes having daddy issues is always fun to explore, not mad at all if they decide to do more with this (future solo thought: I was very correct in this lmao)

Holmes just 🧍‍♂️-ing next to Watson's bed to wake her up occasionally. Again, reminds me of Brett, and it's objectively funny

"My dear Watson," I love this sentiment in the books when Holmes was saying this every other sentence, so seeing him say that at a time where it's not as common. It means a lot. To me.

Holmes' reaction to Watson calling herself his friend 🥹🥹

CIGARETTE ASH MONOGRAPH YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

Okay. This one needs some explaining. Holmes starts out misogynistic does go in the good BECAUSE I think his growth through that can be a really interesting and important thing to watch — it shows that even the smartest of us can hold unconscious biases that we need to do work to undo

the bad

The reworking of Watson's backstory — not all of this is bad, in fact some of it was necessary to distinguish Joan as her own character, but I do resent how Watson's tragic backstory in this meant that her doctor title is not used, and I feel like taking away Watson's injuries was missed opportunity as well

no live-in Mrs. Hudson = Watson getting relegated to house keeper duties, something that character does not do in the books. wonder what the difference is here? (future solo thought: this was a bigger issue in season one, I think. as far as I can tell, there seems to be a more even sharing of household chores as their relationship develops more, but my point for early season one stands)

Copaganda. It's lame and not in line with Holmes' characterization if you think about it for more than two seconds. I understand he works with them sometimes, but the amount of respect they have Holmes have for the police is disgusting. there have been several episodes I could barely finish because it was just so so bad

Holmes called Freud a genius in season one. girl.

#cbs elementary #sherlock holmes #joan watson #solo talks about elementary

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arthropod-concoctions · 1 year

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Uprooted - chapter 2

(ch 1 - ch 3)

Crush the flower petals, add them to the boiling water, let it simmer for a while. Scott had done it a million times before, and barely needed to think about the process as he prepared yet another batch of turquoise dye. They were still coming out more blue than he wanted; the ferns he was using for green pigment weren't terribly effective, but he knew the only way to get greener dye was to use cacti, and the desert those grew in was a no man's land. Scott looked in the pot again- it looked more cyan than turquoise. He sighed. Well, Jimmy won't be able to tell the difference anyways, he thought.

Speaking of Jimmy, he seemed to be taking his sweet time today. He'd left for the nearest village very early, while Scott was still half-asleep, and it was now nearing sundown and he still hadn't come back. Worry began to grow in the back of Scott's mind; what if he'd had an accident or encountered a red-lifed somehow? It was entirely plausible, given Jimmy's luck.

But at that moment, as if the Universe wanted to ease his nerves, Scott looked outside and saw Jimmy pulling a cart full of items through the gate to their garden. He was wearing some kind of cloak with a hood that covered half of his face- Scott thought it looked a bit silly on him. Nevertheless, he was very happy to see Jimmy. He got up and went to the door to greet him.

“You're back!” he called out to him.

Jimmy seemed to jump at Scott's voice; he was looking at the ground, not meeting his eyes. “I'm back.” he set the cart down, but didn't walk any closer to the house.

“Oh god. I don't like that tone of voice. What's wrong?”

Jimmy seemed to sigh-- it was hard to tell from the distance. “I- I've had a bad day, Scott,” he said. Then he looked up at Scott and lifted the cloak from his head.

He looked dreadful. His skin was sickly pale, and seemed to be falling off of him at places. There was a hole in his forehead, from which a trail of dried blood came down his face, and a very faint trail of smoke seemed to be emerging from it.

And worst of all, his eyes were glowing red.

Scott, who had walked a few steps out of the door, dashed back inside, slammed the door shut and leaned against it. He took some deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. It didn't work.

Jimmy was Red. Even his anxious mind couldn't have conceived of the possibility that Jimmy would come back to the house as a red-lifed today. He'd dismissed his worries of Jimmy getting into just one accident as himself being overly anxious; and now he'd apparently had two?

Even more, apparently no one had been around to dispose of the body properly the second time around, although his flaky, burnt skin indicated that they did try. But cremating a Red was tricky, he'd heard, and now Scott had to deal with the consequences; a killer wearing the face of his husband.

Scott let out a sob and slid downwards, still leaning against the door. He'd half-expected Jimmy to try to break in, but that didn't seem to happen. He's playing the long game, Scott thought. Knowing he would have to leave the house eventually.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but eventually Scott heard a sound: the familiar creaking of the fence gate leading to the pasture for their cows. A chill went down his spine; was Jimmy going to kill the cows?

Slowly, quietly, Scott got up, then opened the door. This is a bad idea, his rational half screamed, but he didn't want to just sit back and hide as a red-lifed destroyed his livelihood mere meters away. But when he peeked out of the doorway, he saw Jimmy, not butchering the cows, but instead approaching them slowly with an armful of wheat. They shied away at first, but then Scott saw Daisy, the eldest of the cows, get closer to Jimmy and gingerly begin eating out of his palm. The other cows followed, and Scott too left the doorway and approached the pasture.

He walked slowly. When he was halfway to the fence, Jimmy turned around to look at him, and he froze. Part of him wanted to turn around and go inside again, but Jimmy didn't look dangerous at all; he just looked sad.

“I'm just feeding them,” Jimmy said. His voice was hoarse, Scott noticed.

Scott swallowed a lump in his throat, then said: “What happened, Jimmy?” His voice still cracked.

“There was a fight in the marketplace, and then on the way back I met some thieves, and...” Jimmy trailed off. “I found your boots again, by the way.”

“...What?”

“Those boots you lost last time. Turns out some guys stole them, and then they tried to sell them back to me. They're on the cart.”

Scott hesitated. Was this a ploy to get him to turn his back to Jimmy? But no, there was a safe distance between them, and more importantly, Jimmy wouldn't have thought to do that. So he walked over to the cart and had a look. Sure enough, his favorite cyan boots were there, although there was more metalwork on them than before, and they were covered in blood.

Scott traced the blood with his fingers, then turned back towards Jimmy. “You didn't... kill anybody for these boots, did you?”

“No. of course not,” Jimmy replied. “They killed me for those boots. That's my blood on there.”

“Oh.” Scott looked at the boots again, and felt more revolted somehow. “That's not better.”

Jimmy shrugged apologetically. He was out of hay now, so he walked back towards the fence gate. Now that he was closer, Scott could see his red irises again; he felt the hairs on his neck raise up. When Jimmy opened the gate and stepped out of the pasture, Scott sprinted back into the house, and slammed the door shut yet again.

This time Jimmy did come to the door; although he didn't try to break it down, he just knocked gently. The sound still scared Scott. “Can I come in?” he asked.

“No!” Scott replied.

Jimmy didn't respond. Scott closed the sliding lock on the door, and went to his bedroom, feeling more alone than ever.

#arthropod writes #third life fic #third life smp #scott smajor #jimmy solidarity #flower husbands #trafficblr #home is being uprooted

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tokiro07 · 1 year

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Undead Unluck ep.1 thoughts

[Four Years and an Anime, Baby!!!]

(Contents: Ch.1 comparison, pacing, animation)

Note: For the sake of this review series, I'm going to avoid any overt references to the later events of the manga. Anything I have to say on that topic will be relegated to their own posts, so anime-onlys can read these too if they're so inclined

And we're off to a great start!!!

Easily the thing that I'm most excited about is the new intro, expanding on To You, From Me (Fuuko's manga, for those who didn't catch the name), which we got basically no information on in the original. I do think it's a little odd that the scene we saw doesn't resemble the one Fuuko is seen reading pretty much at all, but I do like what David Production is going for with it

As a long-time fan, I thought that intro was really cool, and bodes well for how David plans to adapt the manga going forward, likely expanding on or adding scenes that weren't present in the manga to help build atmosphere or context. However, my roommate, who is completely unfamiliar, was strongly confused and taken aback by the strange animation and surreal imagery, so I worry that this addition may be offputting to newcomers. Fingers crossed everyone can overlook that

Aside from that, the beats of chapter 1 are pretty much intact, though a lot of it was sadly truncated or removed for the sake of streamlining to fit the half-hour timeframe, which is to be expected even if it is a bit of a shame. I really loved Andy testing the limits of Unluck, keeping careful track of the relative size of the debris based on how long he touched Fuuko, but in the interest of time, skipping that and keeping the note about how it works is serviceable I suppose

I also think it's a little weird to have Andy and Fuuko alone at the bridge rather than drawing a crowd, especially since they're in such a crowded city, though I'm sure it's more cost-effective to only use the characters who matter instead of animating a bunch of nobodies milling about and being voiced by however many extras would be required. It picks up the pace, and gives way to a very funny reinterpretation of the events of the manga with Andy simply rocketing his head back to where he started instead of Fuuko going to the ground to inspect what she'd done

The most important moments, being the meeting, the haircut, and the battle, were all executed spectacularly, so the connecting moments in between being less than stellar is perfectly acceptable. I don't have any trouble believing that people will enjoy themselves watching this and be engaged enough to continue on

Andy's animations were very fluid and imaginative, I particularly loved the touch of him floating the knife on a jet of his blood rather than just balancing it on his finger while letting himself bleed. The blood on Andy's teeth evaporating after Fuuko stabbed him was also a great way to indicate how Undead works, whereas in the manga his teeth are just mysteriously clean a few panels later, potentially misleading readers into thinking that it's a continuity error. Oh, and Andy's body vanishing after he tosses his head to Fuuko? It's so clear that someone on this team is familiar with the source material, adding details that would logically be present even if the author didn't portray them in the original, which is great because Tozuka is already extemely detail-oriented

I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of the voice actors. I've never really liked Yuichi Nakamura too much, and I just don't think he's the best fit for Andy specifically. Moe Kahara is a pretty new actress, I believe, and she just sounds kind of...unrefined, I guess? I'm sure she'll grow on me, or she'll get more experienced and give a stronger performance as she goes, so I'm not going to write her off, I just thought she sounded a bit generic here. Whether that's a matter of skill or direction is also debatable, so again, I'm not going to rag on her too much

The opening theme, though played without the visuals as per usual with first episodes, sounded rad, and I'm super excited to see the full thing next week. I'm sad that I have to wait for it, but I'm more than happy enough with the episode itself that I don't mind

Overall, though I obviously have to say that the corresponding manga chapter is better, I greatly enjoyed the first episode and highly recommend it both to newcomers because it does a solid job in and of itself and to manga fans because it provides a nice new perspective on the source material. I'm pretty hard to please with this sort of thing, or rather pretty easy to disappoint, so for me to walk away with a strongly positive attitude is a huge mark in this adaptation's favor

Not only am I still excited to see how this anime goes going forward, my confidence in how well it's going to present the story I love so much has only gone up, so I can't call this episode anything other than a rousing success for me. I hope you all enjoyed it too, and I can't wait for episode two!!!

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #uu anime #4y1a reviews

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plantcrazy · 10 months

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How to make a Chapter Cover

Righty'O!

I'll do my best to keep everything spoiler free/ minor, however that won't really be possible for anyone who hasn't ready Lost Children so... you've been warned?

(Aka. This is your chance to leave and go read it)

Alrighty, today I'll be walking you guys through my process of making Ch.11, 12 & 13's cover!

Normally I make different covers for each chapter, however since these chapters are more strategic divides to give the reader a chance to breathe (, one big chapter chopped into 3 parts), I felt one cover for the lot would work.

IDEAS

I had no ideas going into this, so my first thinking was to re-work the original Rocket Launch cover. Swap out Wilhelm & Ahnoldt for someone else, since that scene they're drawn from has been scrapped. In general, the idea was to use my improvement skills in composition/ design & character anatomy to produce a higher quality cover.

For doing my idea, I make pen thumbnails, to experiment with composition & posing. This way I can try out different ideas without feeling too committed to them, or spending a long time on it.

I tried my re-work idea, but I didn't really feel it.

Instead, I started by writing down the important/ relevant characters in these chapters. I do this to make sure I, A) don't miss anyone, & B) select the most important ones as you can't fit EVERYONE on a cover without making it crowded.

Another thing I'll do is make a note (if I don't remember half-way through, like I did here,) of other things or characters which I want to show a visual image of. I'll do this to tease or hint at something which I feel may not come across well in writing, or I want to reinforce for the reader to notice. It's like another level of foreshadowing.

Eg. The cover for Part 1:

Take notice that the Triple Threat ending isn't glowing. This could either be interpreted as the past that led Henry to his current path, or the fact that him changing the timeline has broken the Triple Threat ending, creating a new one in it's place.

A bit more of a spoilery example, but the cover for the Checkmate Part 2 & 3. Notice the character's have a blue glow to their eyes. Anyone who's read the chapters after, what do you think this blue glow is suggesting about what they're seeing?

Another question I would hope the reader would ask from seeing this is, what other character is shown with a light blue? Could there be a relationship between that character and what is happening?

ANYWAY

Usually, the process of making thumbnails can be anything from 1 to 10, but I found and settled on an idea quite quick today.

I sketched out one other idea first, playing with the idea of Sven's storyline, but quickly scrapped it feeling it was A) Spoiler heavy, B) These chapters aren't written in his POV & C) his segment only effected one of the three chapters.

I felt I needed something more generalized which lead me to this layout:

A design which incorporates elements of all three chapters, but done so in a fashion which gives little away. I think the only thing this cover spoilers is that no, Ahnoldt isn't dead following the end of Ch.10.

With my idea thumbnailed, I start on the sketch.

I'm no good with digital line art and my sketches are... meh, so for me, it's easiest to draw my sketches traditionally and use them to make clean digital line art from later.

This is as far as I've got in progress, so I'll return once I'm ready to start the digital part :D

In the meantime, have these re-designs of Ellie & Henry, and what is a re-design for Katie, but I think your first look at her...?

#thsc #lost children of the ccc #fanfic #cover #how to #cover art #art wip

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the-savage-garden · 11 months

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Nitpicking ACOWAR Ch 15

I had meant to upload this awhile ago but I honestly forgot and was working on other things. Also October is my favorite month (it was also my birthday month) so I just wasn't in the mood to be thinking about this book. I've been working on writing for November too so I also didn't want this on my mind either.

Anyway...

This got a little long so I'm just putting 1 chapter for this post and possibly the next.

Chapter 15

-”They did not leave the palace built into the upper parts of a flat-topped mountain overlooking the city. They did not ask for anything, or anyone.” I’m pretty sure the sisters can’t even leave the House of Wind without help anyway. The 2nd sentence doesn’t equate to the 1st with how it’s written.

-”Unsurprisingly, Cassian and Azriel were casually seated in the dining room across the hall, eating lunch and marking every single breath Lucien emitted.” Lucien was given the ok by Mor yet Cassian and Azriel still think he’s a threat? Also “marking every single breath” should be a metaphor, not framed as literal.

-”Cassian smirked at me, brows flicking up.” Why? It bothered me that ACOMAF characterized Cassian as just someone that makes innuendos and nothing else, I assume this is going back to that?

-”I shot him a warning glare that dared him to comment. Azriel, thankfully, just kicked Cassian under the table.” Yep, Cassian was going to go back to being a living innuendo again. I forgot how bad these interactions were again.

-”I fought my cringe as I halted in the threshold.” Sentence that describes how I feel about this book.

-”I fought my cringe as I halted in the threshold. Lucien was still in his travel-worn, filthy clothes. His face and hands, at least, were clean, but … I should have gotten him something else. Remembered to offer him—” The others didn’t offer Lucien any change of clothes?

-”The thought rippled away into nothing as Rhys appeared at my side. Lucien did not bother to hide the slight curling of his lip.” So, because Lucien still dislikes Rhys, Feyre is just going to hate Lucien because of it? Like offering courtesy to your “enemy” doesn’t mean your giving in, or at least I think so.

-Lucien stares at the rings on Rhys and Feyre’s fingers. That’s right, they eloped off-page for some reason in the previous book.

-”I’d told Rhys before we did so that I had half a mind to deposit his ring at the Weaver’s cottage and make him retrieve it.” I don’t even know why Feyre forgives Rhys for this. That whole plot point was awful.

-[He’d laughed and said that if I truly felt it was necessary to settle the score between us, perhaps I could find some other creature for him to battle—one that wouldn’t delight in removing my favorite part from his body. I’d only kissed him, murmuring about someone thinking rather highly of themselves, and had placed the ring he’d selected for himself, bought here in Velaris while I’d been away, onto his finger.] I feel Rhys would have deserved being skinned alive by the Weaver for what he’s done. Instead this is used as “playful banter” and it sucks. Also that was a really clunky way in bringing up that Rhys bought a ring.

-”Any joy, any lingering laughter from that moment, those silent vows … It curled up like leaves in a fire as Lucien sneered at our rings. How close we stood. I swallowed.” It’s almost like even if Feyre is happy, reality is still there, and how messed up it is that she ended up with Rhys after everything that he’s done. To what Rhys has done to Lucien (in the 1st book).

-[My mate leaned against the carved archway and drawled to Lucien, “I assume Cassian or Azriel has explained that if you threaten anyone in this house, this territory, we’ll show you ways to die you’ve never even imagined.”] I choose Lucien over Rhys any day.

-”Indeed, the Illyrians smirked from where they lingered in the dining room threshold. Azriel was by far the more terrifying of the pair.” Azriel is also bad at his job and is boring, how terrifying.

-[“But,” Rhys continued, sliding his hands into his pockets, “I can understand how difficult this past month has been for you. I know Feyre explained we aren’t exactly as rumor suggests …”] I remember that “sliding his hands into pockets” is supposed to be threatening but it’s just goofy to me. And I hate it.

-[“Elain has been cared for. Her participation in life here has been entirely her choice…] Yeah, I’m sure they were her “choice” just like all the choices he gave Feyre too.

-Rhys explains things about what happened between him and Feyre to Lucien.

-[“I will only say this once,” warned the High Lord of the Night Court.] I know this is supposedly supposed to be threatening but it comes across as childish to me.

-[“I was going to call the wedding off,” I cut in, taking a step toward Lucien. “You knew it.”] I honestly wish Feyre did go through with calling it off instead of dealing with what happened in ACOMAF.

-[Rhysand went on before Lucien could snap a reply, “I was willing to lose my mate to another male. I was willing to let them marry, if it brought her joy. But what I was not willing to do was let her suffer. To let her fade away into a shadow. And the moment that piece of shit blew apart his study, the moment he locked her in that house …”] Why aren’t either Feyre or Rhys letting Lucien even say anything? Also keeping note of this “explanation.”

-”His wings ripped from him, and Lucien started.” I don’t remember his wings working this way in the 2nd book?

-[Rhys bared his teeth. My limbs turned light, trembling at the dark power curling in the corners of the room. Not fear—never fear of him. But at the shattered control as Rhys snarled at Lucien, “My mate may one day find it in herself to forgive him. Forgive you. But I will never forget how it felt to sense her terror in those moments.” My cheeks heated, especially as Cassian and Azriel stalked closer, those hazel eyes now filled with a mix of sympathy and wrath.] It got even more childish than I was expecting.

-[I had never talked about it to them—what had gone on that day Tamlin had destroyed his study, or the day he’d sealed me inside the manor. I’d never asked Rhys if he’d informed them. From the fury rippling from Cassian, the cold rage seeping from Azriel … I didn’t think so.] How does Cassian and Azriel being angry mean that Rhys didn’t tell them what had happened? Also Feyre really should go over boundaries with Rhys because yikes.

-[Lucien, to his credit, didn’t back away a step. From Rhys, or me, or the Illyrians.] I really hate the posturing these characters do.

-”The Clever Fox Stares Down Winged Death. The painting flashed into my mind.” I’m starting to think I should go back to save all the titles of Feyre’s paintings to show how dumb they are.

-”...his expression smoothing into lethal calm…” I hate how calm is used next to lethal.

-[“Feyre did not dishonor or betray Tamlin. I revealed the mating bond months later—and she gave me hell for it, don’t worry. But now that you’ve found your mate in a similar situation, perhaps you will try to understand how it felt. And if you can’t be bothered, then I hope you’re wise enough to keep your mouth shut, because the next time you look at my mate with that disdain and disgust, I won’t bother to explain it again, and I will rip out your fucking throat.”] Because Lucien was glaring at them we got all of this posturing shit from Rhys? This reads like a middle schooler writing about “owning” a bully and I find that funny. Also Feyre didn’t give enough hell to Rhys honestly, she just hid away in a cabin for a week.

-”Rhys said it so mildly that the threat took a second to register. To settle in me like a stone plunked into a pool.” The threat became even more pathetic.

-[I counted the heartbeats, debating how much I’d interfere if he said something truly stupid, when he at last murmured, “There is a longer story to be told, it seems.”] I’m pretty sure Rhys is the one that said stupid things. I know Lucien has to give in to keep his life intact but I don’t think if he heard the longer story that it would change his mind (I’m sure SJM will just write Lucien changing his opinion on Rhys anyway.)

-”And then … I’d have to figure out what to do with him. Unless my mate already had some plan in motion.” Welp, whatever friendship Feyre had with Lucien, it sounds like it’s dead.

-Feyre tells Lucien she’s going to see her sisters and asks if he wants to come and forces a grim smile.

-”Lucien weighed my offer—and the three males monitoring his every blink and breath.” I’m so lost by this.

-”He only nodded. Another wise decision.” I wasn’t going to include this but I keep staring at it. Lucien is surrounded by assholes and I just want him to be ok, I just want Feyre and Rhys to drop dead for doing this to Lucien. I used to only just find Lucien ok but this book has made me like him more.

-”We were gone within minutes, the quick walk up to the roof of the town house serving as Lucien’s tour of my home. I didn’t bother to point out the bedrooms. Lucien certainly didn’t ask.” I know that Feyre is with Rhys and the townhouse is her home now but I don’t think she even knows what’s even in the house?

-”Azriel left us as we took to the skies, murmuring that he had some pressing business to attend to.” Making a note of this.

-”There were indeed matters afoot. Plans in motion, as they always were. And once I finished visiting my sisters … I’d get answers of my own.” This phrasing bothers me, I don’t know why.

-”The House of Wind had been carved into the red, sun-warmed stone of the flat-topped mountains that lurked over one edge of the city…” I don’t recall the mountains being described this way in the 2nd book?

-Feyre continues to describe things by listing stuff. Mentions Hewn City.

-”...tucking in strands that had been whipped free by the gentle wind Rhys had allowed through his shield while flying.” But why let wind through his shield? Also I don’t remember a shield being used for flying being a thing in the 2nd book?

-Feyre mind-speaks with Rhys and tells him to go inside the House of Wind, she wants to talk to Lucien. Rhys makes a bad joke by suggesting Feyre’s going to push Lucien over the railing, another reason why I hate Rhys. The more this book throws Lucien under the bus the more I’m going to like him. Feyre at least has the decency to glare at Rhys for this.

-They bring up discussions they already had. Lucien being confused by Velaris, etc.

-[His eyes dropped to the carved balcony rail. “Even though we had no part in that … I’m sorry. But —that’s not what I meant.”] Is this supposed to make sense?

-Rhys and Cassian were eavesdropping, what a way to respect Feyre’s boundaries there.

-Feyre tells Lucien about what happened with Rhys in an attempt to bring him comfort that Elain and he are safe here. Feyre also brings in Rhys to tell his side.

-”None of the vulnerable, sorrowful bits that had reduced me to tears in that mountain cabin.” The parts where Rhys justified why he treated Feyre terribly? To “protect” her? And Feyre just accepted it because the author said so?

-[When we were alone, Lucien rubbed his eyes. “I’ve seen Rhysand do such … horrible things, seen him play the dark prince over and over. And yet you tell me it was all a lie. A mask. All to protect this place, these people. And I would have laughed at you for believing it, and yet … this city exists. Untouched—or until recently, I suppose. Even the Dawn Court’s cities are nothing so lovely as this.”] Ah, there it is, the justification that what happened is “fine” and Lucien accepts it too. Like, Lucien was there UTM and even saw Rhys parade Feyre half-naked and give him lap dances while she was drugged, and here he is pretty much going “well, if there was a reason behind it then it must be ok.”

-“We don’t—we don’t enforce protocol and rank here.” That’s funny, that’s exactly what Tamlin said in the 1st book.

-[“Obviously. Rhys lives in a town house, by the Cauldron.” He waved an arm to encompass the city.] Remember when Rhys mocked Tamlin about enforcing rank? I know that the book claims he was pretending but I find it ironic.

-[“I hadn’t realized I was a villain in your narrative,” Lucien breathed. “You weren’t.” Not entirely.] Making note of this.

-”I didn’t add that Rhys had told me my sister hadn’t asked about him at all.” An earlier chapter had Mor tell Lucien that Elain was waiting for him, it was framed like it was the truth but then why drop it? It served no purpose.

-Feyre leaves to see her sisters, Lucien tells her to go get him when she’s done and waits by the railing.

-Mentions of Elain and Nesta have connecting rooms. They find Nesta in a library.

-Cassian is tense while they go to meet with Nesta.

-”...the three of us strode down the stairways of the House, the red stone halls dim…” I’m going to have to find out if the walls are red back in the 2nd book aren’t I?

-”Cassian volunteered no information. And I might have asked Rhys down the bond had he not opened one of the doors.” I see everyone is really bad at boundaries in this book series.

-Feyre notes Nesta is more relaxed than she’s ever seen her, until Nesta notices them and she goes back to how she normally is. Feyre also notes that Nesta was beautiful as a human but is even more devastating as a High Fae. Feyre focuses on how Cassian is reacting to Nesta.

-”She was in a pewter-colored gown, its make simple, yet the material fine. Her hair was braided over the crown of her head, accentuating her long, pale neck…” Making note of outfits for funsies.

-[As her focus again returned to Cassian and she added, “What do you want?” I felt the blow like a punch to my gut. “At least immortality hasn’t changed some things about you.”] Nesta gives the most mediocre response but it’s framed like she’s being mean? I was expecting something else I guess.

-[Nesta’s look was nothing short of icy. “Is there a purpose to this visit, or may I return to my book?” Rhys’s hand brushed mine in silent comfort. But his face … hard as stone. And even less amused.] Nesta had been reading and got interrupted, so her response makes sense. But Rhys? It’s not even that bad. What was Feyre expecting exactly? This whole thing is framed so weakly.

-Cassian becomes an asshole and gets into Nesta’s space and looks at the romance book that Nesta was reading.

-[Nesta whirled to me. “You—accomplished it?” I clenched my jaw. “We’ll see how it plays out. I made sure Ianthe suffered.” At the hint of rage and fear that crept into Nesta’s eyes, I amended, “Not enough, though.”] This is one of the things that bothers me with SJM’s writing, having a ‘good’ character, no matter who, always responding with anger for someone else. It makes characters act too similar to each other.

-[“And, again, why are you here?” She snatched her book from Cassian, who allowed her to do so, but remained standing beside her. Watching every breath, every blink.] I know SJM just wants to make it clear that Cassian is interested in Nesta but this is a little too much, it’s made worse that it’s from Feyre’s POV too. Like, my siblings have never been nosy about each other’s romantic relationships so I find this weird.

-[“I wanted to see you,” I said quietly. “See how you were doing.” “See if I’ve accepted my lot and found myself grateful for becoming one of them?” I steeled my spine. “You’re my sister. I watched them hurt you. I wanted to see if you were all right.”] This bothers me, having Feyre speak “quietly” with Nesta makes it look like Feyre is being treated like a victim here even though in previous books Feyre had no problem arguing with Nesta before. It comes across like Feyre is doing it deliberately instead of what SJM intended.

-[A low, bitter laugh. But she turned to Cassian, looked him over as if she were a queen on a throne, and then declared to all of us, “What do I care? I get to be young and beautiful forever, and I never have to go back to those sycophantic fools over the wall. I get to do as I wish, since apparently no one here has any regard for rules or manners or our traditions. Perhaps I should thank you for dragging me into this.”] Nesta has already been shown to be bothered by becoming a High Fae and she has every reason to be but this is framed like it’s an attack on Feyre and I’m confused on why it is?

-[Nesta snorted. “But it’s not me you should be checking on. I had as little at stake on the other side of the wall as I do here.” Hate rippled over her features—enough hate that I felt sick. Nesta hissed.] I’m confused why Feyre is bothered by this? Because Feyre has already expressed she doesn’t like Nesta so why does she care at all? Feyre didn’t seem to care about Nesta in the 2nd book, so why change it? Like, in the 1st book Feyre wished her sisters would starve to death, she clearly doesn’t care that much about her sisters.

-[Rhys’s jaw clenched. “I have asked you over and over if you needed—”] Feyre’s sisters have no reason to like Rhys, what was he expecting?

-[“Why should I allow any of you”—the last word was shot at Cassian with as much venom as a pit viper—“to get near her? It is no one’s business but our own.”] Why is this framed like Nesta is in the wrong for acting like this when it makes sense to be like this?

-[“Elain’s mate is here,” I said. And it was the wrong thing to utter in Nesta’s presence.] What did Feyre expect by bringing that up? Why is SJM writing her like this?

-[“He is no such thing to her,” she snarled, advancing on me enough that Rhys slid a shield into place between us.] Rhys thinks so little of Nesta that he really thought Nesta was going to hurt Feyre? SJM is really going out of her way to make Nesta the bad guy here. Also I get the impression that Nesta knows she has a mate and is angry about it and is projecting onto Elain here. If I was Feyre I’d be pissed at Rhys for putting up a shield here, I also have an older sister I don’t like but if I had someone that I was dating pulling this I’d be very angry at them.

-”As if he, too, had glimpsed that mighty power in her eyes that day in Hybern. And did not know how it would manifest.” Another thing, so in the 2nd book Tamlin loses control and almost hurts Feyre and it’s framed like he’s being abusive even though it was an accident. SJM is setting Nesta up to be just like that here, and it’s wild that accidents are seen as worse than intentional abuse.

-[“You’ll what?” Cassian crooned, trailing her at a casual pace as she stopped perhaps five feet from me. He lifted a brow as she whirled on him. “You won’t join me for practice, so you sure as hell aren’t going to hold your own in a fight. You won’t talk about your powers, so you certainly aren’t going to be able to wield them. And you—” ] I forgot how much of a dick Cassian is. Also are they going to force Elain to meet Lucien? No wonder Nesta is being protective over Elain.

-[“Shut your mouth,” she snapped, every inch the conquering empress. “I told you to stay the hell away from me, and if you—” “You come between a male and his mate, Nesta Archeron, and you’re going to learn about the consequences the hard way.”] Cassian is on my shit list now, it’s becoming a long list now. I hate the mate bullshit in this book series so much.

-[I cut in, “If Elain is not up for it, then she won’t see him. I won’t force the meeting on her. But he does wish to see her, Nesta. I’ll ask on his behalf, but the decision will be hers.”] Why is she directing this at Nesta? Cassian literally said “you come between a male and his mate…” and yet Feyre dismisses it and goes for Nesta instead?

-Nesta brings up that Lucien sold them out to Hybern (even though it was Ianthe but I do get that she’s angry so I give her a pass because she doesn’t know any better). Feyre says it’s complicated. Nesta brings up their father, Feyre dismisses the concern and thinks in her head that she is glad that she doesn’t have to explain to her father what happened because he's been doing business on the continent for a few months.

-[Nesta only shook her head, turning toward the chair and her book. “I don’t care. Do what you want.” A stinging dismissal, if not admission that she still trusted me enough to consider Elain’s needs first.] I guess a lot of people like to be dismissive towards Feyre, I guess she’ll have to get used to it now that she’s with Rhys, who also has been like that. Nesta’s motivation makes sense though, she has no reason to trust anyone from the Night Court but she knows she has Feyre’s trust.

-[“I’m sorry, Nesta.” She didn’t answer as she sat stiffly in her chair, picked up her book, and dutifully ignored us. A blow to the face would have been better.] Why would physical assault be better than being ignored? Also of course Nesta won’t say anything, Rhys and Cassian are in the room, what does Feyre expect? She'd get a different response if it was just the two of them.

-Feyre is more concerned with how Cassian feels about Nesta now, she seems to care more for a relationship than her sister. I know I wrote that Feyre doesn’t care that much for her sisters but this makes it even more clearer where her priorities are.

-They move on to Elain next, the room is filled with sunlight and all the curtains are pulled back to bring in as much sun as possible.

-”Her hair was down—not even braided. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen it unbound. She wore a moon-white silk dressing robe.“ Keeping note of appearances, this one is Elain.

-Feyre makes note that Elain still wears her engagement ring and that she has become too thin and as pale as fresh snow.

-”Nesta’s rage was better than this … shell.“ So, Feyre finally realizes how bad things are for her sisters. Also I see where some of Nesta’s rage comes from, she’s upset about what has happened to Elain.

-Feyre is making a lot of comparisons to death about Elain.

-”I had done this. I had brought this upon them—” Actually yeah, it is technically Feyre’s fault, she had no reason to tell Ianthe anything about her sisters but she did it anyway. And then she got her sisters involved again in the 2nd book. I don’t have any problem with Feyre making this mistake and I’m glad the book doesn’t brush it away (like it does with the other things). Though the 2nd book had a weak reason for Feyre telling Ianthe anything (Feyre wasn’t honest with others but suddenly decided to tell Ianthe things? It wasn’t built up well).

-Elain wants to go home, Feyre says she knows. Then Elain brings up that her human fiance will be looking for her, they were supposed to be married next week.

-[I put a hand on my chest, as if it’d stop the cracking in there. “I’m sorry.” Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion. “Everyone keeps saying that.” Her thumb brushed the ring on her finger. “But it doesn’t fix anything, does it?”] One of the few things I like so far.

-Feyre freaks out and Rhys comes in to comfort her, one of the few times Rhys does something right. Elain repeats she wants to go home when Rhys asks her if she wants anything.

-Lucien apparently lied about staying on the balcony because now he’s at the doorway instead. Of course SJM has to make it all about how the sisters’ “mates” are reacting to them huh?

#anti sjm #anti acowar

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popculturebuffet · 3 months

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Next up for Cartoon Network era of shows, who is your favorite character from each of late 2000s-early 2010 era shows (I included the final 3 that began before the big logo change in May 29, 2010 and rebrand to make the next one less heavy since a lot premiered in 2010-11) you've seen like: Chowder, Transformers Animated, Ben 10 Alien Force, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, The Secret Saturdays, Adventure Time, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, and Generator Rex?

I"m also going to throw a brucey bonus one in here that wasn't produced by Cartoon Network, and i'm making an exception for. (Transformers Animated was it turns out so it wasn't needed but I incldued it in the teaser just inc ase) I als oonce again thank you for doing this

Chowder: A hard choice but the boy himself is such a fleshed out and hilarous character and i'ts a shame his actor retired, though I respect it. CH Greenblat's first show stilll holds up: intensely silly, whimsically creative and deeply hilaroius. Outside of the nightmare that was panini, this show is still a great time and well worth yours.. and one I go back to frquently

Transformers Animated: It's been a while so i'm not firmly sure so i'll go with Wreck Gar, he dares to be stupid. Also having Weird Al voice him was too brilliant and the concpet work. But the show itself is amazing, a creative reboot that found new ways to do the autobots war against the evil force sof the deceiptcons by making optimus a rookie, having the tick be his asshole superior, and our heroes a ragtag bunch against a far stronger deciptcon army and delightful supervillians. I love this so much.

Ben 10 Alien Force: Julie: Sh'es a well done love intrest with a pet blob dog thing. Easy pick. Alien wise it's jetfire. As for alien force itself.. it's my faviorite of the four ben 10 shows i've seen (i.e. everything but the reboot). Or at least seasons 1 and 2 are, season 3 is a bit of a mess. It's clear they had a solid intresting if retcon heavy plan for seasons 1 and 2, giving us an intresting and horrifying meanace in the high breed, the glory that is parodox and a great main trio. Though as I said season 3 is a hot mess. But compared to the not terrible but still messy things to follow it's at least more consitent.

Flapjack: Peppermint Larry whose the right mix of hilarious and creepy. As for the show itself.. i'm not a fan. I respect it's impact on animation, top notch vocal cast, and gorgeous animation.. but it's too much of a gross out show and deeply disturbing for my taste. It's a me thing, but yeah the show lost me after a while, but i'ts not bad just not my forte.

The Secret Saturdays: Doyle. You combine will fredle's Terry McGuinnis voice with a badass bounty hunter , bad influence and fun uncle and you got a stew going. The series itself I badly need to revisit and is a fun adventure show with a well built cast, world and twist. Criminally underated and canceled before it's time, though still at least managing a satisfying finale.

Total Drama Island: The Brucey Bonus that's been on my mind since the reboot is currently airing in the us and i've watched half of it. (Need to go back and finish it that's on me etc). But while it wasn't made by cn so I wasn't going to obligate you to include it, I had to as before our next entry it was the big breakout for CN for a while. Flapjack was good and got praise over time and Chowder was well loved, but Total Drama was the big star for a bit. Faviorite is hard to pick, but for this season i'll go with gwen. Time would not be kind to her but teenage me couldn't get enough. And adult me can't get enough of the show, as it's well done, with only a few rough edges and season 1 is so good few other seasons have competed. It's got a great cast, great challenges and a lot of good jokes. And farts but that's Total Drama for you, you get numb to it.

Total Drama Action: Harold because he' smy boy, but really no one was on top game this season. This season is bad.. not as bad as some later seasons, but it's clear they had no real direction for it, gave up on their first antagonist halfway through, and derailed trent. While I was never big on trent and gwen, that whole fiasco leaves a bad taste in the mouth for the rest of the season and courtney's derailment, while not a stretch is a waste of a good villian turn by making her invincible. The film themeing is okay, but it's clear they were not ready for the sequel.

Adventure Time:Jake. I know same name and all that, but the guy just has chill dumbass energy for days, one of the best scenes in teh show (Jake , your president now), and is easily John DiMaggio's best performance. The show itself is excellent: it did stumble a bit after rebecca sugar left for something i'm sure we'll get to next time, but while I left the show after a while, it recovered and has since gone on to have two excellent spinoffs with more coming and a movie. The show wasn't perfect, but damn if it wasn't important to animation as a whole, saved cartoon network and generally just... slaps.

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: This one's.. a bit more mixed. Character wise, Julie looses it, but Sir George picks it up as one of the franchises best villian, a knight who simply hasn't adapted to a far less simple world. Ultimate Alien itself.. is a mixed bag. The villian for the first half of season 1 is generic as fuck, though Kevin's return to evil was brilliant and while it had some weird bits (gee ben your really gonna kill your best friend huh?), it worked far better than it had any right too. The second arc likewise followed the pattern: started messy as hell, picked up well after with the forever knights ressurgence. It's not as messy as omniverse to a point, but it's just kinda okay overall. The ultimate transformation was a neat idea, Sir George is great but it has a lot of bad one offs, questionable decisions and a general lack of direction at times.

Generator Rex: Now bringing me the oppsite of the above, Generator Rex. Breach is my faviorite , from her creepy design , to her creepily perfect voice acting and redepemption arc (and weird chemistry with rex). The show itself though is underated: while it has minor tonal issues here and there (Having wacky shenanigans episode ina fairly horrifying setting and the rock soundtrack sometimes clashes), it compensates with a brilliant horrifying concept, a dumptruck of memorable characters too big to list here, and really going hard, exploring the implications of this fucked up world with whole cities turned evo, rex's parental substitue and secret agent buddy given orders to kill, and Rex struggling to find SOME normalcy. It's an underated classic that badly deserves a reboot at some point.

#generator rex #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #adventure time #total drama #the secret saturdays #the marvelous misadventures of flapjack #chowder

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