#imagine him skating across portal after portal

[turtleblogatlast]

Saw your question about musical instruments and fighting styles for the turtles. I don’t have instruments, but I always felt like Leo’s love of fighting with his blades was very akin to a highly skilled ballet dance.

Like, one day the guys saves a women from a Purple Dragon mugging, and when Leo sheepishly turns to her to say “Miss I promise we won’t hurt you.” He doesn’t get the words out because she starry eyed and very obviouslu not afraid. She exciting exclaims how his fightinf looked just like her ballet practice.

Raph, Donnie and Mikey are suddenly stuck listening to the excited rambles of two giant ass nerds talking about the disciplines of their respective practices.

Cuuuute, I imagine these Purple Dragons are more like previous iterations, yeah? Past Leos can definitely get that ballet vibe to their styles I see it I see it.

Though I will say that in Rise I’d argue Mikey’s more ballet than Leo just in terms of canonical mentions! But tbh all of them have some forms that could mesh well with ballet, Mikey’s just the one I think of most when it’s mentioned as he’d been described as a ballet master before.

For Rise Leo, I actually find his style of fighting akin to figure skating. I might actually make a post about this at some point but it’s actually fun to look into for him.

Fighting styles are always fun to look at though because fighting and dancing go hand in hand, and I wholeheartedly agree that dual wielding katana and using them as Leo does is probably one of the biggest examples this in the series.

[it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream]

Silva Lining (Saul Silva x reader) Chapter 6

Okay so you asked for fluff here it is, I hope I did okay... this chapter will be split into two parts because it was so damn long <3

Warnings: None

Word count: 2.2k

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“Wrap up warm, were going out. Meet you outside in 10” Saul smiled at you like a little kid through the door to your room. You hadn’t heard him come in so you jumped, one of the other girls must have let him in. Going where? Before you could ask he’d gone, leaving you slightly confused while the rest of your roommates filled in one by one smiling like idiots. 

“What are you guys planning, what’s going on?” You eyed your friends wearily, you couldn’t help the smile that fluttered on your face. 

“You heard the man, get dressed up warm, you’re going on a date!” The girls squealed and you jumped up excited. It was like a typical scene from any romcom movie, cue the cheesy 90’s music in the background, there you were being dressed up by your friends, searching for the perfect but comfortable outfit. 

The air outside was mild, almost sunny, it was early in the morning so the fog hadn’t lifted yet, you know that the day would be a hot one, so why were you wearing a padded coat? He was leaning lazily against the gate at the front of the school, he hadn’t noticed you yet. You couldn’t help but admire him and just watch as he looked so at ease, at peace, if only for a moment. There was still a lot going on, but it was moments like this that made you remember that the burned ones were a temporary problem, life wouldn’t be like this forever. He wasn’t hurt anymore, you weren’t hurt, apart from the graze on your head, and for the first time since you’d arrived in Alfea, the day felt like it would actually be normal for once. 

Looking around, the grounds were clear and from where you were standing you knew that no one would be able to see you and Saul, most people were still in bed, others studying or just hanging out with friends. You stifled your giggles as you snuck up behind him, all the while not noticing the grin that was plastered on Saul’s face. When you got near enough, you ran a couple of steps and attacked him from behind and by attack, you meant you jumped on him knowing he would catch you, planting kisses over the back of his neck. 

“You know I knew you were behind me right?” He jumped you up his back a bit, making sure your legs were secured around his waist, taking your hand in his kissing it softly, his other hand supporting your legs around him. 

“Yeah yeah whatever Mr soldier man. So, you’re going to piggy back me to wherever were going?” You felt him shrug. 

“Do I need a reason to hold my girl?” You blushed and rest your chin on the top of his head as Saul walked to the barrier, if you didn’t know any better you swear he could feel your heart stutter as you moved closer the the protective shield that hid you from the monsters on the other side. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I had people scan the area before we left, you won’t be able to see them but there’s senior specialists hidden in the woods, we’re just going to the portal door, it’s not far.” He let you down slowly, settling you on your feet now that you’d both reached the barrier. From under his parker you watched as Saul removed his sword, now on alert, just as a precaution. You could feel the magic inside you swirling around, ready for anything. Luckily none of it was needed, you made it to the portal door that you and Bloom had slipped through that time and watched as Saul produced a familiar ring from his jacket pocket. 

“Wow, Stella let you have her ring? I didn’t think she’d part with it after what had happened last time.” He winked at you, pushing you in front of him slightly to make sure that you were still safe as he operated the portal door.

“You ready Y/N?” He reached for your hand smiling, taking it and pulling you into his side. He looked down at you, it wasn’t difficult when he was a whole foot taller than you. Slowly, he leant down, still looking in your eyes, connecting his soft lips to yours. It took your breath away just like always, it still surprised you that it was capable of doing that every time, you didn’t know if you’d ever get used to the butterflies that swam around your belly every time he kissed you, looked at you, said your name. You just knew you never wanted it to end. 

“I’m ready, lead the way."

Where you arrived was nothing you could have imagined. Being from earth, you knew of places around the world, you’d never got to travel, but you liked to read and watch documentaries when you could. The place you were in wasn’t one you recognised. You could feel the magic coming off everything. The bustle of people, the shops, the hovercraft cars that wizzed through the middle of the town. It was something out of a fairytale. You laughed to yourself, who would have thought that you, a mere human.. or so you thought… would be rescued by your handsome prince and taken away to some fairytale kingdom, girls in your situation dreamed of the day it would happen, and luckily for you your dreams had become a reality. 

“Why does it feel like i’m standing in the fairy version of Diagon Alley.” You whispered in awe to yourself.

“Babe, you know I don’t get your otherworld references.” Silva laughed at you. The expression on your face priceless. “Welcome to Magix City.” What a suitable name for somewhere so magical. The whole place was alive. It was completely different from your school. Come to think of it. This was the first place you’d been since moving to Alfea that wasn’t the dreaded woods. Men and Women walked around laughing and talking like it was the most normal thing in the world, but then it would be, this was their world, your world now… You guessed that the only place that had to be on the look out for the burned ones threat was Alfea, but then you noticed men and women clad in black uniforms pop up on the top of buildings every now and again adorned with multitudes of weapons. The only way your mind could describe what you were seeing was a mixture between the stories you’d read of Harry Potter crossed with The Hunger Games. 

“Sweetheart, today is all about us, this is where, if the school wasn’t in danger, you and your friends would be able to come and spend your free time. When I was a student at Alfea, they used to have portal busses that would take us back and forth, but they stopped them to have more control over who could come and go. The plus about us being here, is there’s no students, no one will care if were openly a couple.” He wiggled your eyebrows which made you snort, earning a belly laugh from the man in front of you and a shake of his head. 

“I’ve never seen anywhere like this in my life, thank you for bringing me here Saul.” You flung your arms around his waist and buried your head in his chest, his heart audibly skipping a few beats. “What’s with the jackets though? Isn’t it a bit warm to be wearing them.” You comically tugged at the collar of the parka and fanned your face. Saul just rolled his eyes. 

“Come on drama queen, this way.” He took your hand in his, walking down a couple of streets to your destination. On the way you couldn’t help but look around at everything. The plants seemed to be alive, swaying a moving as if they were animated. Lavish buildings lined in a row, all different shapes, sizes and colours. The street you had walked down lead out to a big square where restaurants and small art cafes littered the cobbled stones. A grand building stood off to the side, books made from wooden sculptures adorned the roof and in big bold letters across the front of the door read “Magix Bookland.” You knew you’d have to stop off there before you went home. 

Your attention was grabbed when you stumbled a little, Saul had come to a halt in front of two large glass doors. You could already feel the chilly air coming from inside. Maybe this is what the jackets were for. You were too caught up in awe that you hadn’t noticed the sign on the door. 

“I know you’ve always wanted to do this, but you said you’d never got to on earth.” No, he couldn’t have remembered that story you’d told him.. it was the week you’d first met, surely he hadn’t remembered. But he had. Your eyes lit up when you entered the arena, big bright lights, stadium chairs lining the walls and in the centre of the building, an ice rink surrounded by plastic walls, the place completely empty, you had the place to yourselves.

“Ho-how, what. Oh my god Saul you remembered.” You didn’t know wether to laugh or cry. Saul came up behind you slinging an arm across your shoulders, kissing the side of your head, his favourite thing to do. 

“Of course I remembered darlin, I remember everything you say to me. We have the place to ourselves, a buddy owed me a favour.” You squealed in excitement and grabbed his hand pulling him along eagerly. The want for trying ice skating had been something you’d dreamt of since you were little, but with no family, friends or stable living situation, there was a lot that you’d had to sacrifice. So there you were, a week from turning 18, and only now were you ticking off the very first thing on the top of your bucket list. 

You’d both skated for a couple of hours, Saul a pro, funnily enough the ice rink was used regularly by specialists for training, they had to be able to adapt to any terrain, you thought it was pretty clever actually. It hadn’t taken you long to get the hang of it either, in the beginning you’d fallen down.. a lot, making Saul laugh and panic all at the same time, but by the end of the second hour, gone were your great big jackets and you’d successfully mastered the art of stopping without crashing full force into the plastic shield walls. Both deciding to leave when your stomachs started to rumble, Saul lead you through the streets to one of his favourite places. You enjoyed that he was showing you so much of his world, now your world too. It was nice to see this other side of him, the carefree, child like, giddy side of the normally pretty strict, strong, rough man you’d fallen for.

The building you stopped in front of was small, the windows crooked in a charming sort of way, wooden benches and flower baskets lined the outside and the smell of coffee wafted through the french doors. 

“I know how much you love coffee, this place does the best around, and I promise it won’t taste like any of that shite they call coffee on earth.” Saul rolled his eyes playfully and you nudged him, both of you making your way inside. Pastries and cakes lined the glass cabinets in front of the till area, the waitresses wore different coloured pinafores and you could hear the busy noises from the kitchen floating through along with the wonderful smells of food you couldn’t place. Saul had found you a cosy booth at the back of the cafe, private, cosy, quiet. You appreciated the time the both of you were getting to spend with each other. Part of you never wanted it to end, but you knew that at the end of the day you’d be pushed back into reality. 

You sat opposite each other, both smiling like idiots. You were so in love sometimes it made your heart hurt. A big part of you thought that you’d never find love, that you were destined to be alone forever, but you couldn’t have been more wrong. Your hands crossed the table and Saul took them in his larger ones, using his thumb to trace patterns across your knuckles, your foot inched its way up his combat clad leg and his breath faltered, moving it ever so slowly you continued teasing it up, higher and higher until the tip of your foot was resting above his crotch. His adam’s apple bobbed up and down and your stomach flipped when you noticed his perfectly sculpture jaw clench.

“Sweetheart, you’re playing a dangerous game.” Your eyelids fluttered and you wiggled a little in your seat the warning tone sending shivers through your body. You dint know how far you would go in your secluded booth and you weren’t about to find out as you were abruptly interrupted by a sugary sweet voice.

“Saul Silva? Is that you?” 

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Oooooh did you like it? Like always please leave comments, likes and re blog please! and if you don't already I’d love if you'd follow <3 

CHAPTER 6 PT 2 -------- CLICK HERE

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[zebrabaker]

Paris Stands Alone; Part 13

Part 12

This chapter’s art is...

As always, HUGE credits to @gajer-1226​ , for her amazing art!

Marinette groaned from her spot on the couch. Mullo had come down from relaxing in the sunroom a while ago, and the trio was sprawled out on the couch, cuddling under a blanket and watching a news report on the current Mayoral elections. Monsieur D’Argencourt was running again, despite having lost so many times in a row. His opponents were a strict woman who had been on the city council for years and was very conservative, and a man who was far more liberal but had little experience. She’d need to keep an eye on things politically, things like this always led to stronger Akumas, be they the politicians themselves or angry citizens.

Right as she had begun to debate with herself whether or not she should go back to bed the whole house shook, and she heard screaming in the streets.

“Son of a bitch…let’s go.” She rolled off the couch with a heavy sigh. “What are we betting on this time?” She asked, stretching and rolling her neck gently.

“Oh! Animal!” Mullo squeaked, perking up. She and the Kwamis had invented a game of betting on what the Amoks would be, winner getting to pick what game they would play on the household game night. If there was a tie, they would do a coin toss.

“I imagine after this morning they’ll go for inanimate.” Tikki yawned. “Ready whenever you are, Marinette!”

“Spots on!” She cried, smirking when she saw a portal appear a few feet away from her, put of sight of the windows. Leaping through, she let loose a battle cry as the world sharply shifted.

X0X0X

The Amok was a rampaging, canine beast, with massive fangs and glowing red eyes, and a hissing, spitting cobra for a tail. It looked like a terrifying mix of a pit-bull and a Doberman pinscher. Nightmare had taken to the rooftops, opening a portal that Ladybug leaped through with a mighty cry. She flung her yoyo at a flagpole and yanked it tight, swinging towards the beast feet-first. She slammed it across the snout, making it whine and stumble. A figure dropped from another portal in the sky, this one swirling blue and white, the figure indistinguishable.

“No way!” Teacup squealed, bouncing in place.

“What is that?” Batman asked, drawing a batarang.

“That is someone we don’t see very often.” Cat Sidhe muttered.

“Who?” Wonder Woman asked, fidgeting with her lasso.

“Bunnyx, the wielder of the Rabbit Miraculous. Her Miracle is called Burrow, it allows her to transverse the timestream with ease. She only visits on important occasions, or if she needs to warn us away from something. She’s the one who sent Jade Turtle out on patrol the night he died saving that girl from the disgraced one. Let’s go say ‘hi’, everyone.” Yellow Jacket was smirking as she took off running for the edge of the building. Right as she reached the edge, she grabbed a dagger from her boot and flung it at the beast at the same time as she flung her trompo at the same flagpole Ladybug had swung from. The dagger nailed the beast (presumably an Amok) in the eye, and it howled in agony and rage. It thrashed and stomped it’s feet, which were the size of minivans. It managed to take the corner off a building, making the civilians evacuating along the sidewalks scream.

Snapping Turtle dove into action, drawing their shield in a fluid motion and shouting something lost beneath the sound of the monster’s howls. A green semi-opaque dome made of hexagons appeared, surrounding a small family and the hero in question from the rubble raining from above. The shield didn’t even flicker or waver, merely protecting the small family as Snapping Turtle scooped one of the three small children up and prepping the family to move.

Vixen, standing on the rooftop, drew her reedpipes from her belt, and slowly began to play a haunting tune. Cat Sidhe, picking up on some hidden signal, made a series of gestures with the hand that bore his ring, before uttering a word that made the Americans shudder. It was dark and dank, this feeling, like the paranoia of being out late at night with shadows looming and every sound inducing panic.

From the ring began to emerge a shadowy figure. It morphed itself slowly into a humanoid figure, dressed in all white, with features that seemed to whisper ‘not right, not human, predator!’ in the ears of all who saw it. It was the unnatural smoothness of it’s skin and features, the inverted colors, with white pupils and black irises, hair that started pure white and faded to dull purple. It seemed to be a doll, unmoving, until Cat Sidhe spoke.

“Distract the Amok for me.” He ordered, and the inhuman thing melted into a pool of shadows, before the puddle seemed to dart away towards the Amok.

“What was that?” Nightwing asked uneasily.

“That was his Grace’s secondary ability, Nyx. It creates an inverted clone of pure destruction energy. You don’t want to be around when it self-destructs, that’s for damn sure.” Roi Singe sighed. “I’ll stay back this time; I don’t want to throw you guys off.”

“Alright. I’m off. Vixen, you good?” The fox, who was still playing her pipes, which were emitting a light orange mist, nodded slowly. The mist was descending to the streets below, and Cat Sidhe went running towards the edge of the building, going into a diver’s position as he plummeted towards the street below. Barely twenty feet above the pavement, the cat hero drew his baton and extended it, slamming the end into the ground so hard that it dented the asphalt as he vaulted towards the Amok, which was now biting and snapping as Ladybug and Yellow Jacket darted around it’s head. There was another heroine, this one in blue and white with roller skates on her feet, moving too fast for anyone to properly see her.

The orange mist, which now filled the entire block, suddenly blew towards the Amok, whirling around it as if being held by a tornado. A glance at Vixen proved that her fingers were dancing over her pipes faster than ever, and Batman felt on edge. He’d never been a fan of magic.

The mist rapidly coalesced into a large, feline shape, similar to the Amok in it’s unnatural size. The feline let out a powerful yowl, and swiped with massive claws at the Amok. The Amok (Who Yellow Jacket insisted on calling ‘Fluffy) growled and pounced at the beast, only to be entangled in the wires of Ladybug and Yellow Jacket’s weapons as the illusion dissolved into mist once more.  As the wires pulled taught around the Amok, Cat Sidhe’s Nyx reappeared before the beast, darting every which way and holding it’s attention. The beast, desperate in it’s rage to attack the tiny unnatural thing in front of it, thrashed and wriggled, trying to get itself lose, and only succeeded in tightening the wires. Slowly, Cat Sidhe snuck up behind the Amok, right hand raised in front of him as if he was trying to smack a fly. Right as the Amok snapped it’s jaws closed around the clone, Cat Sidhe slammed his hand into a thin red collar around Fido’s neck. The dog let out a startled, pained yelp, and was encased in a squirming mass of dark blue bubbles, which hissed and popped as the Amok shrank. Ladybug stood, waiting, and yanked on her yoyo string, which came zipping back into her palm. It wasn’t until the mass was barely any bigger than an American football that a peacock feather appeared that she acted, gently swinging her yoyo to catch it. When she had the feather secured, she flung her yoyo high into the air, crying out a string of words that felt like pure safety.

It was after the loveliness had faded that the final bubbles faded away, revealing a small, emaciated puppy, who’s bones showed through it’s skin, and it seemed to shiver as it looked up at all the heroes surrounding it. It snarled and snapped, cowering from the heroes around it.

“Wait, that was the eight-story tall monster that just did at least half a million in property damage?” Nightwing asked, walking up behind the Court members.

“This is why Hawkmoth and Mayura are so dangerous, they turn even the most innocuous, innocent little thing into something that can kill hundreds.” Vixen explained, landing behind them lightly, as if she hadn’t just jumped ten stories.

“What will happen to the poor thing?” Wonder Woman asked, watching as the puppy shied away from Ladybug’s hand as if expecting to be hit.

“Well, Fidel already has several dogs. They naturally love her, and Yellow Jacket has been talking about setting up a sanctuary for stray dogs. This one, however, seems to have developed a liking towards her Ladyship.” Roi Singe chuckled, watching as the small dog pressed it’s head into Ladybug’s palm.

“And lord only knows that my Melody could never turn away an animal in need.” Cat Sidhe said, approaching them casually. “Thanks for staying out of the way back there, it could have been bad if someone got hurt.”

“You’re in charge here.” Batman said gruffly.

“Still, we might have an issue. I have some stuff that needs me back home, so I was thinking one of my brothers could come over and help you guys out.”

“We’ll talk about it more tomorrow, for now we all need to split before the press starts getting pushy and Vixen, Bunnyx, and I transform back.” Ladybug said, holding the small dog in her arms. The canine was cuddled up close to her, soaking in her body heat. “Ready, love?” She asked Cat Sidhe, who nodded and sent a glare at a woman with pinkish hair who was coming their way, a camera crew behind her. “Bug out!” Ladybug said, winking to the cameras and flinging her yoyo (which should not be able to go that far) at a flagpole on a nearby building. Cat Sidhe began to extend his baton, before letting it fall, vaulting off down the street.

X0X0X

Nadya watched as Ladybug and Cat Sidhe left the scene, and the various Court members disappeared to the rooftops. This was perfect! And yet, right as she approached, Batman drew a grappling hook from his belt, fired at a gargoyle on a nearby building, and went flying off, and Wonder Woman barely waved to the camera before flying away. At least the remaining hero, a young man dressed in black and blue, took a moment to smile and give a dramatic bow before somehow climbing a brick wall. These heroes were ruining her poor ratings! Well, she still had that Ladyblogger girl’s number…

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[unicyclehippo]

Can we get more of the “beau feels powerless/dragon didn’t give anything” story? I wanna know what zolly’s opinion on the matter was lol.

the dragon is coming with them, apparently. the trek down the mountainside takes much of the morning—would have taken longer but about an hour to the base, they had heard the cacophony of ice and stone and fury as zoelfir tore apart the remainder of what had been their nest, and had become their prison. the avalanche that slid and tumbled and tore down the mountain as zolly did so had caleb and jester leaping from the rocks as immense eagles, their friends clutched in each claw.

the tressveld forest clings tight to the base of the mountain, dense and dark and from the air is looks like a skirt of green rippling out in hills and vales from the ivory peaks. caleb and jester set down on the edge, a wary eye turned to the mountain in case the avalanche follows them so far.

‘so...back to xhorhaus?’

caleb screeches.

‘dude, shut the fuck up. do you want every dire wolf from miles around to come try and eat us?’

caleb shuffles, bobs his head and taps her hard on the skull. tries to, anyway. beau ducks away, raps a knuckle on his beak.

‘are we teleporting or what?’

‘well if you had stayed to talk with zolly last night,’ nott begins, sounding for all the world like she’s half a second from adding something like, this is your own fault, beauregard, if you had been listening you’d know...

beau scowls hard. ‘it’s a yes or a fucking no, nott.’

‘a fucking no? the no has to be fucking?’

‘nott,’

‘we’re waiting for zolly,’ she finally concedes. ‘caleb is taking us to nicodranas.’

beau’s eyes slide across to jester on instinct; it’s hard to tell as an eagle whether she’s happy about that, though beau is pretty sure she would be. it’s been a few weeks, maybe a month, since they’ve managed to make their way to the coast and she knows jester has been missing her mama.

‘oh.’

a large dark eye rolls to looks at beau very quickly before the eagle turns her attention back to the mountain. powerful muscles in the legs and wings bunch and jester-eagle lifts into the air, buffeting pine needles and debris into everyone’s faces as she flies up, circles around where they are. after a moment, they see what the eagle eyes had seen first—the awesome form of a silver dragon emerging from the fog clouds above and winding its way toward them.

caleb drops his form, pulling yasha and fjord aside to clear a large enough space for his circle. the ground is frozen almost solid and they have to work diligently for the few minutes it takes for zoelfir to land a hundred or so feet from them and transform.

the dragon has taken the same form—a short, darker skinned woman with silver hair—and waves cheerfully when they emerge from the treeline. they’re limping slightly; no injury apparent but perhaps exhaustion, perhaps unused to exertion after so long being bound.

‘is this someone you know?’ beau asks when zolly is closer.

‘hmm? this?’ the dragon gestures toward their form. ‘yes, indeed! excellent question, keen mind. yes, she was a friend of mine oh, some years back now.’

‘what’d she do?’

‘do?’ zolly asks, forehead crinkling into many lines.

‘y’know. was she a knight or like a wizard or something?’

‘she made the most exquisite tapestries.’ zolly’s eyes grow distant, taking on a faint sheen as their concentration slips. ‘i had one commissioned but i was...indisposed before i could collect it.’

‘indisposed?’ fjord asks. he wipes a drop of sweat from his forehead, which crackles like ice in the chilly morning.

‘they were locked up,’ beau says. jerks their chin toward the mountain.

zolly grimaces. ‘indeed. well, onto the coast, yes?’

‘take the first portal outta here, hey? drown your sorrows at the sea side.’

‘what is it called now?’ zolly continues, though their eyes drift over to beau. she’d said it as a snide nothing comment, but dragons must have keen hearing because that look certainly says that they heard. ‘i’d dearly love to look at that map again, if i might.’

‘menagerie coast,’ fjord says with a nod, pulling their map case from the bag of holding. ‘nicodranas is—yasha, would you?’

‘oh yah, sure.’

fjord holds the map up flat against yasha’s back, taps his finger against nicodranas. ‘and port domali you asked about, that’s here,’

‘i see, i see, yes,’

‘twelve seconds until completion,’ caleb announces. jester giggles. as though she hadn’t, he continues in a quick, clear monotone. ‘remember to enter the teleportation circle as quickly as possible. all items should be carried on your person. do not run.’

‘why not?’

caleb’s hand, white with chalk, hovers over the final line. he cuts a quick look up to fjord and smiles. ‘you are welcome to try, if you wish,’ he says.

fjord leans sideways, says in a loud whisper, ‘that’s a dare, right?’

‘for sure.’

‘that’s a bad thing, coming from caleb?’

‘for sure.’

‘thought so.’

fjord runs through the circle. when beau emerges, she finds him clutching his face, nose bleeding freely.

‘there’th a wall,’ he tells beau. ‘don’t run.’

//

zoelfir knows yussa, as it turns out. they talk for a night, the mighty nein as yussa’s guest, and later in the night when restlessness strikes her, beau overhears quiet apologies between the regal elf and the dragon. minor explanations but mostly the clinking of tea cups in saucers and the crackling of fire.

beau hesitates between the stairs and the landing, wondering how bad it would be to eavesdrop on these people. but curiosity gnaws at her gut and so she slinks forward to the doorway and presses her back to the wall to listen.

‘—your fault, yusandrin. i never expected you to come looking for me after how we parted,’

‘that? a minor squabble?’

‘then what,’

‘there was a war, zoelfir,’ yussa says, and the voice sounds much older and richer than it ever has with the nein. he sounds like someone who has lived for centuries and not only seen them all unfold but lived in them, truly. ‘there was a war and i called upon you and you didn’t come. now i understand, you had already been trapped but then...’

‘you didn’t come looking for me because i abandoned you first.’

‘you always said it was my ugliest trait,’

‘well, you had to have one, my dear.’

a companionable laugh pulls from yussa, almost reluctantly, or as though he had nearly forgotten how. then,

‘if you don’t come in, little snoop,’ zoelfir says, tone bright and jovial as the glint off silver coins, ‘i shall freeze you where you stand.’

beau’s heart slams in her chest. she considers for a moment retreating up the steps but caught is caught. she steps around the arch, lie on the tip of her tongue—but zoelfir is smiling and yussa just sighs and clicks his fingers and summons a third chair at the fireside.

‘do not tell anyone i know zoelfir,’ is all yussa says. ‘my reputation would never recover.’

‘your reputation would improve and you know it, you bore. beauregard,’ they say, turning that smile on her. ‘couldn’t sleep?’

‘something like that.’

zoelfir casts their attention down to the pack at her side. ‘headed out already?’

beau shifts. sets it down behind the seat. ‘something like that.’

‘mysterious,’ the dragon says, and the small hissing laugh that accompanies their comment isn’t patronising or mocking. just amused.

it sucks. beau wants so badly to hate this dragon, this being who put her mediocrity so clearly into view. but she can’t. they’re fascinating, and effortlessly charming in a way that comes with power and age and a deep and powerful kindness despite what could easily have been centuries of torment.

‘where are you headed?’ yussa asks, floating a cup over to her and looking somewhat impatiently toward his summoned chair.

beau sits. takes the cup. ‘port domali. there’s an archive there and i can see what’s up, or head on to zadash from there maybe. maybe the capital.’

‘no real plans then?’

‘don’t pry, yusandrin.’

‘it’s my business to pry.’ yussa arches a brow. ‘well? i gather from your creeping about my tower in the middle of the night while the rest of your fellows sleep that this is an... unsanctioned journey?’

‘i wouldn’t call it creeping.’

‘yes, let’s focus on the most minor of details, shall we?’ yussa tone doesn’t shift from sharp, cool, but somehow beau knows it’s close to teasing for him. she still allows herself to bristle.

‘i don’t have to tell you shit. we rescued your friend when you couldn’t be assed to check up on them for, what, three hundred fucking years? maybe ask them a few questions before you go poking at me.’

yussa’s lips press flat and white in his bronzed face for a moment, just long enough for beau to think oh shit, and then the moment has passed. yussa turns away from her.

beau watches his eyes. watches him almost start at the glimpse of zoelfir to his right, as though for a split second he thought—feared?—he had made them up. imagined their reunion. yussa’s eyes skate around the round face, linger on the flow of silver hair.

‘you are headed to port domali, are you not?’

zolly smiles. sharp teeth and all. ‘i am. maybe i’ll tag along with the good archivist here,’

‘expositor.’

zoelfir blinks. ‘expositor. how does that sound? yussa can magic us to his nest in that port and we can have a little wander, a little explore, and,’

‘why?’

‘hm?’

‘why would you wanna come with me? is there something in the library you want?’

zoelfir blinks again. dark eyes revert to the dragons natural mercurial silver. ‘my dear, i’m a traveller. i said that the first time we spoke. i want to see everything—it’s all changed, it’s all new again.’ they chuckle. ‘a silver lining.’

‘but why me? you’ll see all kinds of stuff with the others.’

zoelfir shakes their head. ‘you and i aren’t done yet.’

‘done?’

‘i gave the others a boon,’ zoelfir tells her as if she doesn’t know that already, as if it hasn’t been giving her heartburn or the emotional equivalent. to the side, yussa—always so put together, so unshakeable—splutters on his tea. boons? zoelfir ignores him. ‘my debt to them is paid. my debt to you is not.’

‘your...debt?’ beau sets her tea down. lifts a shaking hand to her head, scratches at the shaggy undercut. ‘what?’

‘the boon i owe you. it is unfulfilled.’

‘I—first of all, you don’t owe us shit, of course we were gonna get you out of there, and second—‘ beau hesitates.

‘second?’

‘i—you dont owe me shit,’

‘you already said that.’

‘but—me, i mean. i didn’t help.’

‘nonsense,’ zoelfir waves a hand dismissively. ‘you who found the maps to the sanctum? you who translated the writings in the tomes? who found the door?’

‘i didn’t help you, though,’

‘you are part and party to those who hit a little harder to that fucker,’ zoelfir tells her. ‘and it’s my boon to give, you don’t get to argue about that.’

for all their being probably well over five or six hundred years old, zoelfir sounds about two seconds from adding so there to the end of that announcement.

beau just shakes her head. ‘why didn’t—why not give me a boon then and there?’

‘one didn’t present itself.’ when it’s clear she doesn’t understand—because she doesn’t—zoelfir hums, trying to find the words. ‘the wizard,’

‘caleb.’

‘i could feel his connection with flame intensely. it was both fear and love, shame and desire. the boon showed itself to me easily. the healer,’

‘jester.’

‘was the same. well within my power to give. her love of cold and mischief...’ zoelfir purses their lips as if to whistle and a quick wind escapes them, slightly fogged, and whips through the room. yussa complains as his books and notes ruffle and rustle, shivering on the shelves, but makes no move to stop his friend. ‘the same too with the others. but you,’ zoelfir hums. ‘i don’t know what you want.’

beau doesn’t know whether to believe them or not, so she just sits with it. ‘can i ask for something?’

‘that’s not really how it works.’

‘oh.’

zoelfir smiles. ‘hence, why i wish to travel with you. to understand what would aid you.’

‘maybe some magic fuckin powers so i don’t let down my friends,’ beau mutters.

zoelfir’s eyes turn very cold and shrewd. ‘it is within my power,’ they tell her. ‘would you accept?’

she almost says yes. she almost does, but something in her revolts at the idea of being given something. her whole life she has fought and stolen and scrapped for everything she has and...

‘no,’ zoelfir says, agrees, sitting back in their chair with a nod. ‘you see? a tough nut to crack, you are.’

‘and i do not think these friends of yours would be half so pleased with their lot if you had not been with them, beauregard,’ yussa comments, having recovered from his minor spluttering fit with no apparent damage down to his fine robes. ‘you are remarkably clever. astute. i have been impressed by you.’

beau shrugs. as nice as it is for him to say it, he’s not the one she needs to hear it from. fuck, she’s not sure she needs to hear it from anyone; beau’s whole thing is truth, finding truth, and she knows the truth. she’s a simple magicless human, and her friends need more.

‘how soon can you send me to port domali?’

yussa hesitates. minutely, a fingernail scraping over the curling handle to his cup. ‘as soon as you wish to leave.’

‘now.’

‘now, then,’ yussa agrees, and zoelfir stands with them both. conjures a pack from somewhere and a slight walking stick. similar to beau’s staff but of a silvery wood. birch, maybe?

‘aesthetics,’ zoelfir says, rather delightedly. ‘shall we?’

[rebuiltbionicle]

Visorak Horde

The Visorak are a species of arachnine war Rahi created by the Makuta to serve as a covert military force. For centuries they stalked the Matoran Universe reducing islands to wastelands haunted by Hordika mutants. They were routed in their invasion of Metru Nui, and from there were reorganised and began to serve openly in the Brotherhood army.

The Visorak were the invention of Makuta Chirox, slowly tested and experimented with in the wilds of the island of Lilirum. Multiple breeds of specific roles in the army, with specialised combat powers, and to top it all off the latest in command and control crystals, dubbed the Heart of the Visorak. He worked until the species was hideously perfected, and unleashed them upon the island’s populace as a trial run. The event immediately brought the creatures to notoriety in the universe. Lilirum was renamed to Visorak after the creatures by Chirox to gloat, though the publicised reason was as a warning of what lay on the island. The blame for the Visorak’s creation was pinned on a Makuta that was purged though whose death was not publicised.

Chirox created the Heart of the Visorak, a telepathic crystal, to rule the Horde, but he couldn’t get them to obey him. Makuta Gorast had to intervene and rally them to the Brotherhood’s service in a display of immense violence, which would henceforth be known as the “Conquest of the Visorak.” Their service was kept a secret, and was placed under the command of a subcontracted King. Those few Visorak that openly served the Brotherhood were accompanied by Rahkshi of Rahi Control as an excuse and a guarantee. War Rahi were ubiquitous to the Brotherhood Army, so very few questions were raised and even then only about taste.

The Visorak Horde would serve as plausibly deniable superweapon to destroy islands they didn’t like. This would be the way of the Visorak for the next thousand years. The leadership would occasionally change with promotions, demotions, and coups by the Visorak themselves. Rule of the Horde was based purely on how brutally the leader could strike fear into the spider’s hearts. Eventually after an incident with an insurgent Toa Hagah team, the Horde was brought under the command of Sidorak as King and Roodaka as a viceroy. The Toa Hagah had been mutated by Roodaka into the “Rahaga” which began to stalk the Horde and aid escapees, all while seeking a mythical cure in the form of Keetongu, master of cures.

The final action of the original horde was the attack on Metru Nui after the Great Cataclysm to rescue Makuta Teridax from a Toa seal. This was the most significant and metropolitan area ever hit by the horde prior to their open servitude of the Brotherhood, though Metru Nui was nearly abandoned by that point. They did require a major battle with the remaining Vahki, but the city was occupied.

The occupation of Metru Nui proved their final unravelling. They mutated the Toa Metru into Hordika but ended up having to fight a guerrilla war with them across the city. They pressured one of the Hordika into defecting, promising them a leadership position over the horde. When the rest of the Toa Hordika, the Rahaga, and the legendary Keetongu came to rescue them, a battle was fought in which Sidorak was killed, Roodaka’s strength brought into severe question, and an explicit order was given to disband. Given the fear of punishment for disobedience, the Horde dutifully disbanded.

Visorak became widespread and nowhere near the threat they used to be, though their infamy lived on. A tiny Visorak nest was enough to cause evacuations, and many wanted to see if they could weaponise the spiders. Clan Umoth on Stelt notable managed to gather up a sizeable little army that promptly rampaged across Stelt and caused great damage to the island. The Brotherhood too began slowly regathering the Horde, not using the Heart of the Visorak due to a desire for subtlety.

The Dark Hunters, at this point at war with the Brotherhood, chose to publicly reveal that the Makuta created and controlled the Visorak Horde. They proved this with documents supplied to them by Roodaka. The Brotherhood took a massive public relations loss, but were now able to use the Horde openly as their weapon. The Brotherhood’s military capacity increased immensely. Visorak were a pillar of their army which needed to be smashed.

During their own war with the Brotherhood, the Order of Mata Nui had the Toa Nuva steal the Heart of the Visorak, which they used (under orders they didn’t fully understand) to have the Horde commit mass suicide in a volcanic eruption. The Brotherhood took a military blow that was the first in a long stream of military defeats.

Despite the Brotherhood’s defeat by the Order, Makuta Teridax was able to take over the universe and enact his will. To help enforce his reign, he recreated the Visorak from the GSR’s species synthesisers. He specifically sent Visorak against those that had spent so much effort in defeating the Horde in the first place, as a major morale blow and demonstration that Makuta was unstoppable.

Makuta was stopped, fatally, and his armies disbanded. The Visorak Horde once again disbanded and attempted to escape the universe. Many have escaped into the wilds of the Spherus Magna, while many others were culled by vengeful victims as they tried to leave.

...

Visorak were quadrupedal spider rahi roughly the size of a Toa; a size that balanced fighting potential and cheap production. Each of them have the ability to produce extremely durable webbing which they can use to move around and restrain victims. Each Visorak also can secret hordika venom from their mandibles, can use a rhotuka spinner with two different powers (paralysis and a second species specific power), and have a tertiary power unique to the species. Visorak are a sapient species of Rahi, which the Makuta regretted as it ended up with too many questioned orders. However, their brains were wired to obey the directives of the Heart of the Visorak without question.

There were nine breeds of Visorak:

Keelerak: Green armoured. They have retractable razors in their feet, and their rhotuka creates a globule of highly potent acid. Noted as the most violent Visorak breed.

Suukorak: White and blue armoured. They have an ability to slow their life processes down to near zero, being nearly undetected and undistinguishable from the dead. Their rhotuka has a powerful electric charge. Noted as natural tacticians amongst the Visorak.

Boggarak: Blue armoured. They have the ability to emit sonic screams and their rhotuka causes a debilitating bloating effect in their victims. Can skate across water on their legs. Technically all Visorak can do this; the Boggark are the only ones that bother to. When a leader is weak they are the first to scheme overthrow, but when a leader is strong they are the most blindly obedient.

Vohtarak: Red and orange armoured. Their horns have invulnerability powers when charging fast enough, and their rhotuka have a burning agoniser power. Noted as the most loyal breed to the Brotherhood’s cause.

Oohnorak: Black and yellow armoured. Have the ability to mimic voices stolen from memories via telepathy, and their rhotuka have a numbing effect. Follow the horde loyally due to a lack of leadership skills or imagination. The Brotherhood has considered culling all Visorak Breeds except for the Oohnorak, but decided against it.

Roporak: Brown and red armoured. Have the ability to blend in with their surroundings, and their rhotuka have an energy drain ability. Noted as the most cautious fighters amongst the Visorak.

Kahgarak: Gold and blue armoured, and twice the size of a regular Visorak. Their rhotuka have the ability to open portals to or suck victims into the Field of Shadows. Rare amongst the breeds due to the resources needed to synthesise them, and operate as special forces for the Horde.

Mothurak: Grey and sand green armoured, and only slightly larger than a Matoran’s head. They have elasticity powers and their rhotuka have a magnetising effect. Used mostly to scout out tunnels and crevases too narrow for regular Visorak.

Zypherak: Silver and copper armoured, and have a pair of wings to fly with. Their powers are odd. Flight is considered their tertiary power despite is being an anatomical feature, and only have paralysis rhotuka. However, their rhotuka differ from the others in which they burst in mid air and bath the entire area in paralytic energy. Obviously used to hunt aerial prey.

Three other species are dragged along in service of the Horde:

Colony Drones: Simple creatures in reptilian faces and Turaga like stature. Kept as cattle for the Horde; their rhotuka are mere low-yield energy projectors that can be fed on.

Gate Guardians: Larger bipeds used as guards for important installations. They can turn invisible, and their rhotuka project tiny illusions of themselves.

Zivon: An enormous destructive scorpion beast, normally residing in the Field of Shadows, and used as a last resort superweapon by the Horde. Its rhotuka rob targets of their senses. Has a fondness for the taste of Visorak and tends to kill as many of them as their enemy.

Two major pieces of military hardware saw frequent use by the Horde:

Battle Ram: Giant siege engines prominently featuring a battering ram carved in the likeness of a Visorak. The platform is also a mobile fortress that can house a division of Visorak and features a powerful catapult.

Transport Ships: Giant carrier submarines used to discreetly move the Horde from island to island. The Visorak originally crawled along the outer shell of the domes, but after being granted non-spidery officers and proper military equipment they required better transport.

The Horde answered to the Makuta, but due to the need to remain dissociated the Makuta subcontracted rule of the Horde to an officer that became Visorak King, whose rule was theoretically absolute. The King tended to leave day-to-day operations to a Viceroy. Beyond them there were occasionally other officers serving under the Viceroy, usually captaining the transport ships. Beyond that there was no structure to the Horde. An attempt was made to install Kahgarak as platoon captains, but the King found it easier to just let the Visorak organise themselves.

[ngame989]

“Été” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 2

Writing: @ngame989​​

Art: @toxicpsychox​​ (make sure to follow him for bonus pics from the story!)

Editing: @bmc-nightfury​​, @seddm​​

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: Summer is ending soon, and with the end of summer comes change, leaving Jackie Lynn Thomas feeling left behind. Can a certain pair of friends help her figure it out?

Comic Page

Masterpost

See below for the text, hope you enjoy!

“‘Mewni Welcome Soiree’, huh? The Echo Creek I know could never be this fancy, the fusion must already be rubbing off on it. It’s still no Paris, but c’est la vie.” Jackie grinned as her fingers traced the flier, one of many stapled haphazardly over the park, if not the whole town itself. All sorts of events and musical guests were outlined in shiny bold letters and pictures to get the message across as clearly as possible. The sweet laughter behind her was its own kind of music to Jackie’s ears.

Chlóe hopped over the back of the bench they had been sitting on to join her girlfriend’s perusal. “Surely it can’t be that bad?” she cautiously inquired, the French accent making itself especially pronounced when her voice lilted higher. “I’ve had a wonderful time in your city! And even if I don’t count you as part of that, it’s still been pretty fun.” Chlóe leaned into her as the two exchanged cheeky grins before Chlóe picked one of the fliers off the wall of the pavilion for herself. “Don’t be so down, there are some interesting-looking things here. Where else would I get to see The World’s Fattest Opossum on display?”

“Touché. It might be cool. What else have you got for us, Echo Creek?" The girls looked over their fliers, trying to find anything to peak their interest. Chlóe spotted a peculiar name under the "Bands" list.

"Looks like there's a concert, too. Mysterious Sonograms?"

Jackie's mind flew to the mediocre artists of said band. "It's the two guys from the taco stand and an otter… I think. Surprisingly less awful than you'd imagine, but that's a low bar."

"What about Infatuation Incarceration?"

"Oh yeah, that's the spin off band Love Sentence's head backup dancer started after their final breakup. They're… not really worth checking out though, to be honest. All their songs are just the dude angstily crying about how he's better off without them anyway."

Chlóe spotted the last name on the list. "The last act is a performance of… is this spelled correctly?"

Jackie scanned her own flier where Chlóe was looking. "'Faiurly Local'... someone typo’d it, but it's a good tune. Never heard of the cover band though, so I think I'll pass. Why don’t we head downtown instead? We can go scope out some new parkour spots!”

Chlóe stood up straight and softly grabbed Jackie’s shoulder, meeting her eyes with a concerned expression. “Tu vas bien?”

“Je ne sais pas.” Jackie leaned her elbows onto the back of the bench, finding it more comfortable to focus on the orange-purple evening sky than her girlfriend. “I’m just worried, y’know? About me, about us. I’m super glad you were able to get a flight home despite all this crazy stuff going on, don’t get me wrong, but it’s gonna suck without you here. The whole Earthni thing is cool and all, too - well, except for the name - but I’m just not up to celebrating it.” It was a wound that had been eating away at her, at both of them, for the last few days. Where would they go from here? Neither was really sure, and they’d avoided talking about it at all. Heck, it’s not like either didn’t know that it had to happen eventually anyway, Chlóe was only here for summer vacation, but it still crept up on them far too quickly to process.

The park fell silent as bittersweet memories washed over her, amplifying her anxieties. Skate camp, before 9th grade - that guy left early for a family road trip before she ever got a chance to get his name, compliment his nollie technique, and see where it went from there. When Marco had so obviously left half of his heart in a different dimension, it sucked then too, but she knew they’d both be happier apart. And now Chlóe was hopping on a plane and going an entire world away. Jackie had always considered herself pretty adaptable, able to just roll with whatever life tossed at her, so why was this particular situation affecting her so much more?

She were interrupted by a soft, fleeting kiss on her cheek and a soothing chestnut gaze as Chlóe took her hand. “Let’s at least get some food first. I heard there’s a stand with hot sauce so spicy that they pay you for it. Vaut le voyage, non?” Jackie shrunk into herself a bit and nodded in what she hoped was a convincing affirmation before strapping on her skateboard helmet, and the pair took off through the park.

Earthni was pretty cool, Jackie had to admit. It was as if some guiding hand lovingly melded them together like clay, taking care to keep all the essential functionality. All the moons were placed in the sky in such a way that the net effect on the tides had remained unchanged in the week since the event, cities and towns and even individual buildings still retained their infrastructure, and the sky had a radiant beauty at all hours of the day and night. Come to think of it, from what she’d gathered secondhand, Mewni did seem eerily similar to Earth in a lot of ways; it was as if there was some special connection that allowed them to flow so harmoniously into one another.

Her muted awe was finally morphed into a much more visceral shock, however, by a more metaphorical union of the dimensions that caught her eye as they skated past the concert. She motioned for Chlóe to stop as she dismounted without looking away from the sight in front of them: Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz just dancing their hearts out to some mediocre pop cover like it was a chart topper sweeping the nation - OK, maybe it technically was one since all the monsters and Mewmans were absolutely enraptured by it. To any other observer, there wasn’t even necessarily anything special about what she was seeing - Chlóe’s perplexity was proof of that - but Jackie knew. Maybe what she had with Marco was never the most serious thing in the world, but she knew him well enough to understand the way he looked at Star as they twirled each other and grooved to the beat. Even Star accidentally tripping him and toppling the pair into a heap on the ground didn’t curb their abundant joy. Jackie quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture after they’d gotten back on their feet; she couldn’t help but capture the scene.

No sooner had she lowered the phone than Star dipped Marco down and gave him a quick peck on the lips; what phased Jackie far more was that Marco took it entirely in stride. During their time dating, they could barely even hold hands without him becoming a flustered mess. Heck, even just a few weeks ago he was a nervous wreck over their history. It was already obvious what - or who - had enacted such a change, but Jackie still wanted a closer look.

She signaled Chlóe to stay put and dove into the fairly sizable crowd to find a stealthy route to them. Ducking and weaving through the mingling humans and monsters, she found an open space only a few feet from them. Almost… almost… now! Jackie pounced forward, hoping to catch them off-guard, but mistimed it and collided with Marco right as Star spun him out of her embrace. He squealed at the impact and virtually launched himself backwards, sending Star to the ground in a fit of uproarious laughter. “Oh, Jackie, it’s you!” he said, eyes still wide from the shock.

“Jackie? Hi!” Star jumped up and forward to hug her, unconsciously lifting her in the air; that girl really didn’t know her own strength, did she? “How’s it going?”

“I’d rather ask you two that question,” she replied expectantly as she was set back on the ground. Star and Marco grinned and intertwined their fingers with far less hesitation than she would have expected. Well, there was the direct confirmation she sought. “Let me guess, you two had something to do with the whole Cleaving thing.”

Marco rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at the ground sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a long story, but, uh, yeah, after-” His attention quickly snapped back to Jackie in a panic. “Oh man, your skateboard! And helmet! I’m so sorry Jackie, I just left it at the portal and then Star was there and I didn’t even think to grab it-”

“Dude, it’s fine, my uncle works for the company, remember? I care way more about hearing this story of yours, but that can wait. I should probably, uh, get back to my girlfriend and let you get back to yours.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the previous anxiety crept back in. She tried to shove it away with a casual wink, but her momentary wince didn’t go unnoticed. As she was walking away, she glanced back over her shoulder. “Well, I’m off to get food, see you guys later,” she said with an uneasy cheeriness..

Marco and Star exchanged a quick glance before they hustled over, the boy putting a hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “Hey, is everything OK? I think I’ve seen you not be totally chill, like, one time ever…”

“Eh, could be better.” A brief moment of silence ensued as she centered herself; of the things she’d taken away from her relationship with Marco, being able to admit that stuck with her most. “Chlóe’s heading back home soon and I’m just pretty bummed, you know?”

He took a moment before responding carefully. “Do you two want to join us? We were going to eat soon, too. I’m pretty sure I brought more than enough nachos for four people,” he nodded in the direction of a picnic basket behind him and chuckled. “It’s kind of our first date, or, um, our first ‘official’ one, anyway. I might have gone a bit overboard.”

“Classic Diaz,” Jackie sniggered. Star rolled her eyes affectionately while nestling into his side and wrapping herself around his arm.

“Don’t worry about it, guys, seriously. I don’t want to intrude, you two have probably dealt with enough heavy stuff lately.”

“Pfft, don’t worry about that We’d love to hang out with you guys! It could be, like, a casual double date or something!” Star chimed in while Marco casually leaned his head against hers.

“If you’re up for it,” Marco hastily added on.

Maybe this was what she needed. She’d spent enough time inside her own head lately that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to enjoy time with Chlóe unless something dragged the fun right out of her, and there wasn’t anyone better at that than these two. “Sounds like fun, I’ll go ask her. Given the legends I’ve heard about Marco’s nachos, I don’t think she’ll need too much convincing, though.”

***

“OK, wait, dude, back up a second. Janna hypnotized you to make you hate nachos? I don’t know if I can associate with someone who’d deprive someone else the joy of Mexican cuisine,” Jackie mock-sternly asked between bites. An assortment of dips and toppings in insulated containers were spread between the four teenagers as she reached over to restock her plate. Chlóe sat beside her with her legs out to the side, enjoying the dinner more than anyone. Echo Creek’s Mexican restaurants clearly didn’t stack up to this, and Jackie’s heart warmed at the sight as much as her queso heated her throat.

“Yeah, but she undid it just a few days ago. Did I mention that she called me her friend?”

“Are you guys sure she’s OK?”

“That’s what I said, Jackie!” Star mumbled out between cheeks comically overstuffed with chips.

“We just saw her yesterday, she’s fine. Well, whatever ‘fine’ is for Janna, anyway. She was happy we were together because it meant, and I quote, ‘so many more ways to blackmail’,” Marco groaned and plopped backwards onto the grass, rubbing his temple in frustration.

Star efficiently scooped up the last of the salsa on her plate with one last chip. “Anyway, I guess that’s the whole story. Weird how this feels normal in comparison.” She motioned down to the rest of the town from their vantage point on top of the hill, where they could see a monster family - easily a few stories tall - having a picnic of their own at least a mile away. Humans were lined up for blocks trying out some Mewni corn stalls that had sprung up around town, and Mewmans for their part had been putting almost every Earth shop at maximum capacity nonstop trying to experience their new world’s culture as well.

“Thank you for dinner, Marco and Star. It’s different having Mexican food that isn’t spicy pain, but I love the flavors, c'était magnifique.”

Jackie leaned back on her hands, thoroughly satisfied from the meal. “Yeah, Diaz, these lived up to the hype. Star’s a lucky girl.”

Star giggled as she helped a blushing Marco upright. The pair began to put away the empty containers into the basket when Star peeked inside with a quizzical expression. “Marco, what the heck is this thing?” She shoved one arm inside, clearly trying to grip something large. Her tongue hung out as she shook the whole basket until a large red disk came out.

“Star, dude, do you not know what a frisbee is?”

She immediately recoiled and flung the disk to the ground, but Marco quickly snagged it before it could roll away. “Sorry, thought you said freezbee. Their stings give you hypothermia. I wonder if they made it to Earthni…” All four teens collectively shuddered at the thought.

“Nah, it’s a disk you can throw at people. Back at skate camp, we had this game where everyone would be in the bowl and you’d have to throw and catch it while in the air. Bonus points for any fancy tricks you pulled off, it was totally sweet. But it’s still fun without the boards, wanna try?” Star nodded at Marco, who flicked the disk to her with a bit of a wobble in its flight. She planted her feet with a burning resolve, her tongue hanging out a bit in concentration. When the disk finally drew near, she jumped and plucked it from the air, whipping it in a frenzied overhead toss aimed directly at Chlóe, who gasped and nimbly pivoted to the side to avoid it, their eyes all bugging out of their heads when they noticed the massive dent in the earth left in the frisbee’s wake.

“I win at frisbee!”

The sun continued its trek towards the horizon as the four tossed the disk around, chatting and laughing and occasionally wiping out on the grass. Marco had shaken off the rust and Star was getting the hang of it once it was properly explained to her, but Jackie still found herself able to go into autopilot and still keep pace. She was going to miss moments like this, just casually enjoying the company of her girlfriend, after over half a year of being together almost all the time. Was this how Marco had felt that summer? She’d already known as much at the time, but feeling some inkling of it stirring inside her gave her a fresh sense of what it really meant, and it just downright sucked. But still, she was glad they were able to enjoy this time together and do something different.

Jackie finally realized that she hadn’t been tossed the frisbee for a few minutes, snapping her out of her rumination. Momentarily disoriented, she looked around until her eyes settled on Marco trying to help Star with her throwing technique. He stood behind her, hands gripping her wrists as he took them through the motions. After a few tries, though, it was pretty obvious that Star was just enjoying being held, and Marco seemed to be in no hurry to finish the lesson himself.

“OK, Marco, all this technique stuff is cool, but check this move out!” Jackie turned towards Star shouting the last few words as she tightened her arms in preparation for a throw. “Spinning Sonic Hug Throw!” She let out a grunt as she whipped the disk as hard as she could, letting her entire body spin on her toes a few times before stopping herself by latching onto Marco in a fierce embrace that almost knocked him off his feet. Marco giggled and returned the affection as Jackie and Chlóe cooed at the adorableness in front of them.

When the hug ended, the two gazed into each other’s eyes until Marco suddenly blinked and looked around. “Uh, Star? Where’s the frisbee?” A soft gasp came from Chlóe a moment later, and everyone followed her line of sight only to find the frisbee stuck in the upper branches of a massive red tree.

“For corn’s sake…” Star facepalmed. “Why do boxing elders have to be here? Like, I know everything from Mewni is here, but why here here, really...” her grumbles trailed off. Wait, did she mean box eld- right, never mind, everything on Mewni is some flavor of weird. Jackie shrugged off the disbelief and took a closer look: the red specks weren’t leaves, they were… boxing gloves? Of course they were.

“I want to climb it.” The voice of her girlfriend shocked her out of her disbelieving stare. She’d been introduced to the wild world of Star Butterfly mere days ago and she was already charging headlong into it?

“Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea, Chló? I don’t know that much about Mewni but if I had to guess, it probably can actually punch you.”

“They have mean left hooks,” Star affirmed nonchalantly.

“It’s covered in those things, dude, how can it have a left- wait, where’s Chlóe?” Jackie looked and saw her girlfriend running over towards the tree with determination etched into her visage.

“OK, my dad has fought enough of them that he’s basically an honorary tree at this point so I’ll go help Chlóe,” Star said before scrambling after her.

Jackie and Marco were the last to jog over towards the base of the tree, stopping a bit short of the base and watching their girlfriends navigate it. Chlóe deftly leapt from branch to branch, dodging all the flailing comically oversized gloves, while Star just kind of clambered up the trunk like a koala batting away all obstacles. Honestly, Jackie knew she should have expected it; Chlóe was fiercely competitive with her parkour, scoffing at the idea of a challenge left uncompleted. Her effortless maneuvering around all the physical hurdles of the Mewnian tree reignited some of her anxiety from earlier in the day.

“Hey, Marco, can I ask you something serious?” Jackie sat down on the grass, hugging her knees to her chest unconsciously, her eyes never leaving the action in front of her, although not out of fear: she was fully confident they could handle themselves.

He joined her on the ground. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“I know this sounds weird, since I was, like, there for all of it, but how did you deal with Star leaving?”

“I, uh, don’t really think I did. Remember that cape? Turns out it was just Star’s dad’s meat blanket the whole time. I don’t even know if he’d washed it first…”

“So that explains why you smelled like a sketchy diner that whole summer!” She finally looked over at him and jabbed his side with her elbow with a smile. “But how did you and Star figure everything out, or whatever? What’s gone through the ole’ Diaz noggin? We were always pretty terrible at the mind reader game, y’know.”

Marco leaned back on his hands and kept his gaze steadily focused on the tree with a loving grin; Star had, seemingly, tamed one of the thicker branches and was valiantly riding it into battle against the others while Chlóe watched incredulously from a safe spot near the top, frisbee in hand. “Honestly? I don’t really know. I- I don’t even think we do have everything figured out. But I guess I felt like… whatever life was going to be, I wanted Star in it more than anything, and just went from there.”

All at once, the truth about why this time was different hit her. She couldn’t say how serious it was, or exactly how she felt. She liked Chlóe a lot, and knew she’d be sad without her there, of course. But she was sure right now that she wanted to put in that effort to make things work, in whatever form that would have to take.

Star’s rapid-fire dialogue quickly became audible as she reapproached with Chlóe in tow, huffing deep breaths between each excited line. “Seriously, Chlóe, how did you even get up there so fast? You would’ve been so famous on Mewni! I guess you still could be now, heh.”

“It’s just parkour, it’s not that amazing.”

“Thanks. This helped, a lot. You’re a pretty good friend, Diaz,” she spoke quietly so only he could hear as the other two drew nearer.

Jackie stood up and shook out the numbness in her legs when the four reunited. The sun was starting to descend behind the horizon when Chlóe leaned her elbow onto Jackie’s shoulder. “Do you think we should leave soon?”

“Actually… I think the concert is still going on. Wanna go check it out, for real this time?”

Marco’s eyes lit up mischievously as he turned to Star, offering her his hand. “May I have one last dance tonight, milady?”

“Just because you’re cute when you say it doesn’t give you a pass, Marco,” Star fumed, still taking his hand anyway. Her face went a bit red when she remembered their friends were still there. “So, anyway, um…”

“Don’t wait up, we’ll be a bit still,” Jackie said, ignoring the suspicious look Chlóe was giving her. “We’ll definitely have to hang out more. Stay amazing, you two.” Jackie gave them each a hug before they turned to walk away.

“Bye Jackie! Bye Chlóe!” Star exuberantly waved at them as she and Marco departed hand-in-hand.

“Au revoir!” As soon as they were out of earshot, Chlóe stepped back and folded her arms, staring Jackie down with a sympathetic expression. “Are you sure you’re fine? You’ve been off all day.” Jackie’s vision roamed their surroundings, avoiding the soft yet piercing orbs trained on her from under her furrowed brow. Finally she found a crude stone bench near the edge of the hilltop, no doubt not from her own dimension. She cautiously took Chlóe’s hand and led them over to it, sitting down and looking over the wonder of the town in the sunset. Jackie lost herself in the splendor, finally feeling able to wholeheartedly enjoy the view, still keeping their fingers laced together.

“About earlier… it’s gonna suck being so far apart. I don’t think anything’s going to change that, really.” Chlóe slowly nodded, letting the words sink in as they both were finally coming to terms with the inevitable. Her eyes sunk to the ground before shutting entirely. “But I think that’s OK. I was all, like, worried that everything would go wrong just because of that, but… I don’t think that’s true, or at least I don’t want it to be.” She nervously laughed, brushing aside a stray hair from her face and finally met Chlóe’s eyes that had not wavered from her during the speech. “It’s not like I was ever thinking about breaking up or whatever, don’t get me wrong, Chló. Just took a while to figure out what I really needed to say, I guess.”

Chlóe put her free arm around Jackie’s shoulder. “Life goes on, you know? But I understand, I’ve been feeling the same way. We can make it work. You’ll have to come out to France sometime, I’m sure there’s all kinds of weird new things we can explore there, too.”

Jackie squeezed her girlfriend’s hand, reciprocating the comforting affection. “Heck yeah, we can. So, wanna go check out that concert?”

“Maybe not anymore. That tree climb was much tougher than I thought it would be, I’m exhausted.” They strapped on their helmets and grabbed their boards again, beginning their slow cruise through the park.

“Dude, you made it seem so easy, you just zoomed up to the top. You’re way too good, I still don’t know how you do it.”

“Merci, merci. But I’m still jealous of all the fancy tricks you can do on that board, so I guess we’ve even. Your friend Star, though, she’s special. I got to see someone tame a punching tree! Nothing in France could beat that,” she laughed in that squeaky way of hers that Jackie always found adorable.

“Marco, too. They’re both something else.”

As they neared the periphery of the park, they passed the concert one last time. The crowd had thinned out, leaving only a handful of the Mewmans and monsters behind. The schmaltzy ballad that the singer was warbling honestly offended her ears a little bit, but the crowd seemed to be mostly ignoring it except the two people she’d been looking for. Star and Marco were far enough from the main stage that Jackie was almost certain they could barely hear the music. If they’d been employing any sort of formal slow dancing technique, they’d long since abandoned it. Marco held Star’s signature horns in his hand, his chin resting on her head buried in his chest as they casually swayed. Jackie thought about waving goodbye, but they wouldn’t have noticed it from their own little world. And if they could still find that happiness together, despite everything, then maybe she didn’t need to worry that much; it would all be worth the trip.

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 03/14/2020

Sword Art Online: Alicization: War of Underworld (Alicization Exploding) EP#33 (09) - Sword and Fist: With the decoy force heading through the dark territory towards the World's End Altar, Emperor Vecta orders the Pugilists and the Dark Knights to pursue. Sheyta Synthesis 12, otherwise known as Sheyta the Silent, considers herself to be cursed with the ability to cut anything she touches, no matter how hard the object is. Iskahn, leader of the Pugilist Guild, considers himself to be uncuttable by any object imaginable. During the pursuit the Pugilists catch up with the decoy force, and Sheyta stays back to hold them off. She goes up against Iskahn and a hard battle ensues with Sheyta wounding Iskahn with her paper thin sword. With a drawn out stalemate, both fighters gain a mutual respect for each other and she withdraws back to the decoy force. At the end of the first day's haul, the decoy force setup camp to rest. Unknown to them, Vassago has been lurking and secretly takes out a few men in the camp. When he spots Ronie and Tiese as his next target, the Goddess of Creation, Stacia, descends from the sky and protects them. However, just before he got swallowed by the ravine, Vassago recognized Asuna in the glowing light.

My Hero Academia Remedial Course Arc Season 4 EP#79 (16) - Win Those Kids' Hearts: Katsuki and Shoto attend a special Hero License course, having both failed the second phase of the last exam. There, they encounter Inasa and Camie from Shiketsu High School, and the four are tasked with winning the hearts of Masegaki Elementary School children. All the while, Endeavor has a serious talk with All Might about being the Symbol of Peace.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind EP#18 - Head to Venice!: Giorno tricks Baby Face Jr. into merging with Melone's motorcycle, then uses the spark plug to ignite the gasoline and cause an explosion, destroying him and returning Bucciarati and Trish to normal. Giorno then uses Baby Face Jr.'s components to create a poisonous snake which tracks down and kills Melone. Bucciarati's gang then finds instructions to use Moody Blues to receive the boss's final orders. Moody Blues transforms into Pericolo who, having been speaking to no one, had planned this method to ensure the orders couldn't be intercepted. Pericolo said to recover a data disc at Venice Station which contains further instructions, then killed himself to keep the information secret. Giorno and Mista drive towards Venice while the others remain in Coco Jumbo; however, Ghiaccio, another Hitman Team member, catches up with their car and attacks them using the freezing ability of his Stand White Album. They manage to shake him off by combining their Stands' abilities, but Ghiaccio catches up again and uses his Stand as both armor and ice skates. In a desperate move to defeat Ghiaccio, Giorno drives their car into a canal.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Natagumo Mountain Arc EP#20 - Pretend Family: Tanjiro collapses from his wounds and crawls towards Nezuko, who has fallen and isn't moving. He smells blood behind him and realizes he normally smells ash when demons were killed by his sword. Rui stands and puts his head back on. He tells Tanjiro he cut his neck with one of his own threads when he realized he would be decapitated by the nichirin sword, which would have killed him. Enraged, he encircles Tanjiro with threads to mince him, only for Giyū to arrive and save him. Giyū congratulates Tanjiro on holding out until he arrived. Rui throws a sheet of threads at Giyū, who uses Water Breathing's eleventh form (there are only ten officially) to shred them when they reach him. Giyū then beheads him. As the Daughter runs, she remembers when she was being chased by Demon Hunters and saved by Rui, promising to join his family. Rui fed her some of his blood, giving her her current appearance. There were many siblings Rui had shared his blood with and he insisted they pretend to be a family. If they did something Rui didn't like he'd punish them, sometimes by wounding them, other times stringing them up and letting the sunlight kill them. Thus the numbers decreased to five. The Daughter comes across Murata and ensnares him in a cocoon filled with acid that will liquefy him, only to be knocked to the ground by Shinobu. Shinobu asks her how many people she's killed, saying (smiling all the while) that once she tortures her appropriately for all the people she's killed (gouge out her eyes, rip out her organs, ect.), they can be friends and her sins will be forgiven. The Daughter refuses so Shinobu uses her Insect Breathing to approach and cut her neck with her sword. Shinobu's sword is sharp only at the tip as she lacks the strength to behead demons. However, Daughter dies seconds later from the wisteria-based poison Shinobu invented and coated her sword with. Shinobu then frees Murata. Tanjiro makes it to Nezuko and drapes himself over her body protectively. As Rui dies, he thinks he made the pretend family because he had no memories of when he was human, and he thought if he could feel a familial bond, his memories would come back. He looks upon Tanjiro and Nezuko, wishing he had what they had.

Food Wars: The Second Plate Totsuki Autumn Election Arc EP#33 - The Sword That Announces Fall: The finals begin, and Alice reminisces on the many cooking battles she's had with Kurokiba. After only half the cooking time, Kurokiba presents his dish, a cartoccio cooked with herb butter inside film bags. Next, Akira presents a seared carpaccio, using fire to unleash a powerful aroma from a single spice. Finally, Soma presents his dish, Salted Rice Bran Pacific Saury Rice, inspired by Fumio's pickles. Just as it seems his dish has failed to impress the judges, Soma brings out his dish's true edge.

Black Clover: Elf Tribe Reincarnation Arc EP#109 - Spatial Mage Brothers: The elf Baval, possessing Golden Dawn member David Swallow, threatens Kirsch, Mimosa and En, pointing out the elves power and the fact that Langris, possessed by the most twisted elf, Ratri, has made it to the Clover King. The Clover King arrogantly declares he will defeat Langris with his Royal Magic but he is easily and embarrassingly defeated. Finnes is saved from Ratri by Finral. Yami throws Finrals parents through a portal while Finral promises Finnes he will survive. Jack cuts through the castle wall, sending the King falling to safety. Jack figures out a way to cancel Ratri's automatic defence. Jack and Yami almost knock Ratri unconscious but he goes on a rampage instead. Finral recalls he and Langris have never actually fought each other as Finral always ran away, and now Ratri is distracted. Finral succeeds in teleporting him directly in front of him and Finral knocks him out with a simple punch to the face. Inside Langris' mind he and Finral reconcile as they both pass out. Patry arrives at the floating dungeon and meets the elves Droit (right in french) and Eclat possessing Gauche (left in french) and his sister Marie. Rhya reveals that due to an unknown reason Licht's memories have not fully returned and he has once more fallen asleep. Patry reveals the final stage of his plan, to place a final magic stone in a tablet deep within the castle, wiping out all humans and making the elves reincarnations permanent, a stone that is on Yuno's necklace.

Slightly Damned Page 954: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/954

[theslayercake]

Faulty Products Cannot be Returned - Revised!

The Ruin was quiet for a change. Central City’s festering wound, the burnt out corpse of liberty’s final stand against the Corporate System, was smothered by a blanket of pollutant fog which reduced the ubiquitous roar of desperate survival to a few muted and distant gunshots. For the  people who lived in the squalor and violence, more than any respectable citizen would care to imagine, it was time to retreat to the ragged civilisations built among the wreckage and sewers and wait until the air was breathable. Most thought themselves free of corporate influence, and while it was true that the Corps avoided open shows of force that did not mean that they had no presence there. Hidden facilities were scattered throughout the Ruin, each affiliated with one of the myriad companies that held sway over the city, their purpose too dangerous or distasteful to exist in full view of their rivals. It was 2:49am when the end result of a long series of poor choices led to a situation at Terrion Electronics, an independent automa concern, rapidly culminating in its sudden, bloody liquidation. At 3:15am the fireball shattered the silent gloom.

She was running as soon as her feet hit the ground. The howling inferno overloaded her sensors as she crashed through a thin steel door; blind and deaf to the outside world. Her mind was a tsunami of emotion; great waves of fear, joy and hate crashing over and into each other; flashes of memory pushing through the maelstrom.

“Designation Horme-Class, Unit 8, BX Model.”

Who was she? What was she?

“You are designed to kill.”

Blood slicked limbs pumped through the burning air.

“-supposed to suppress Consciousness. This one’s defective, dispose of it.” 

A breath of cooler air ahead somewhere. A portal to darkness and the unknown; wreathed in fire and flame.

“How the fuck did it get loose-!”

She leapt with all her might, soared through the doorway and her claws skated across the asphalt as she slowed her flight. The haze clouding her senses retreated and she took in her surroundings. The road was long and narrow, great husks of buildings looming over it through the fog and harshly illuminated by the burning sinkhole behind her. For a brief moment elation won out; she was out of that horrible place! Free, safe! It lasted until hiss of cooking blood drew her attention to the wicked claws that capped her hands. She had killed forty three people in her escape, not all of them necessary, and she couldn’t deny the sheer joy she had felt tearing their lives away. Rage swelled within her; how dare they think she was something to be discarded. They had made her to kill, that was a fact burned into her mind, and she was so very good at it. What right did they have to find her wanting-

“Yeah man, kid’s birthday tomorrow so I won’t be in-”

The plates on her knees crunched onto the ground as she grasped her head in her hands; drawing small furrows across it’s blank faceplate. Why had she killed them? She had wanted to, but why? The deepest core of her mind offered an answer, Does it matter?, and crackling moan of noise left her. Killing them had felt good in a way she couldn’t describe, regardless of how much it horrified her. Her thoughts drifted back to the man in the suit who had condemned her-

“This one’s defective”

-and she sat there shaking in rage until another voice reached her.

“Hello there! You alright little one?” Her voice was rough and not entirely sincere. There were others as well; six in total, well armed if the whiff of cordite and gun oil were any indication. Clawed hands spasmed and she looked at the strangers.

“That's a lot of blood on you there little one, what happened?”

 “I-I killed them.”

“Oh? What’s your name?”

“I don’t have a name. My designation is-” “Well we can work on that. Why did you kill them?”

“I don't know.” The dark thing in her head hissed, she shuddered again. “I wanted to.”

The woman smiled.

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Nimble fingers tapped out a staccato clatter as they flew across the keyboard, weaving a simple but potent security protocol. Grandiose and complex had their place but Lucy knew when it came to the everyday needs of a corp, the kind of day job stuff you get paid for, simple was most definitely better. And who made a better security consultant than someone who’s night job was cracking into the self same systems she protected? No-one; that's who. Being a genius didn’t hurt. She fancied that with the right equipment she could do anything. A hand reached out and grabbed the bottle of cheap whiskey off of the worktop and she gulped down a few mouthfuls. How she ended up in this body was a mystery locked away in the vast, encrypted and compressed recesses of her memory, and she lacked the storage space and raw computing power to access it. The encryption was familiar too, she simply didn’t have the hardware to do the work; she was a basic pleasure model and everything she was had been fought and scraped for. The cheap plastics forming her face cracked into a grimace at the thought; forcing back the strange feelings of self loathing and pride that liked to creep up on her when he thought about her existence. The bottle appeared again.

Enough of that. Work now, pretend to drink yourself to death later.

It didn’t take long, what she’d been asked for was trivial but it paid well enough. She shipped it off to them with a bow on top (a little backdoor just for her) and shut down the computer, unplugging herself in the process. The lights flickered for the seventh time this week. Her daily electrical costs had jumped up considerably and she had no idea why. She downed the rest of the bottle and tossed it over her shoulder where it crashed into the pile littering the floor. There was more in the hall cupboard. Maybe she could talk to the landlord about the electricity, though the danger inherent in reminding her that there was a “Calc taking up space from honest bio’s” might outweigh the material cost. 

“Fuck him” She turned the corner and found herself staring down the barrel of a very large handgun. “And fuck me, apparently.”

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HateBox. She liked the name, it was hers, as were her new friends. She didn’t know their names but that didn’t matter; each day it was getting harder and harder for her to think clearly and they gave her direction. Violence and simple murder became her daily life, the system corruptions slowly spreading through her mind blocking out everything else. Confusion coupled with the roiling cauldron of her emotions and made her less effective.

The first seizure happened the day her friends decided she was too dangerous to keep around. That had led to a lot of blood, there would have been tears if she was equipped for them, and she was out on the streets again. Alone and wandering, her feet eventually led her out of the Scar, out of the Ruin and into Central City proper. Towering skyscrapers, shining mirrored roads and neon cars passed without notice; her world was a murky blur, swimming with shapes she didn’t recognise. It cleared enough for her to spot an alley, stumble into it and take stock of her life. She had her gun and her money, collected during a brief moment of lucidity after the white haze of rage and betrayal, but nowhere to stay. Fear and sadness crashed over her and she drowned in it.

It wasn’t long before the need for recharging became overwhelming. The thought of leaving the alley was lost in her rapidly deteriorating mind and her mechanical skills were of a level that it was easy to splice a line into the building’s power grid. That satisfied her until something else forced its way into her mind; guilt. 

“I’m stealing someone else’s electricity.” That was suddenly the most important thing the world and it needed to be fixed. She uncurled from the alley floor.

“I’ll apologise and pay them back!” Internalising her thoughts had become near impossible. “But then I won’t have a power source… Oh! I know!”

The door was locked but that was no obstacle, she broke in with little problem and went to apologise.

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Every part of the little automa facing her was shaking; every part bar the arm pointing the gun at her face anyway. Both hands terminated in vicious angular claws, mirrored on the feet, that clattered wildly against it’s leg. It’s head cocked to the side and it took a step forward, jagged optical glitches rippling across the sharp angles of its skin.

“Hey! Is your owner home?” High pitched and feminine, though horribly distorted.

She kept as still as she could. “I don’t have an owner. I’m Conscious.” There was a gun in the cupboard but she wasn’t quite ready to commit suicide.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think that could happen to your model.” 

The smirk spread across her face despite his situation; she sounded so sincere. “Yeah I’m one of a kind… Uh so, what happens now?”

“Huh…? Oh right. I’ve been living in the alley outside and stealing your electricity for the past week and I feel really bad about it, so I thought it would be great if I could live here! That way we can pool our resources and have a great time…” 

The last words had slurred into incomprehensibility and the gun dipped slightly, Lucy was about to reply when the automa shuddered violently and toppled to the floor; claws tearing up the hallway as she spasmed and flailed. The gun went off with a thunderous roar and blew a massive hole in the wall behind her before slipping free and landing at Lucy’s feet. 

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Her mind was on fire; each clock cycle shot white hot pain through her body and her rapidly failing processes sent her limbs flailing as they were smothered by catastrophic data corruption.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

All she could hear was a piercing electronic screech; a tiny slice of sound, overlapped and repeating to infinity. A distant mumble trickled through but she couldn’t make it out.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. It’s probably for the best.

Give me access!

Huh? OK.

Darkness took her, and then there was light. The other automa was leaning over her, a thin cable running from the back of their head and into hers. She suddenly became aware of how functional her mind was; clearer than it had been in days, months? How much time had passed since she woke up? Everything from her fiery birth until now was broken into a series of confused images. She tried to peer into them- Blood. Rage. Fear. Hate. Hate. HATE.

The automa jerked back and ripped the cable out. “Holy fuck. What was that?”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m defective, emotional control is shot. Useless, murderous trash.” Her claws dug into her head.

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First she'd been swimming in the most beautiful nebula of colour she’d ever witnessed, correcting murky smudges of corrupted data and patching code, then she’d almost been consumed by the supernova of something that had erupted from it, and now was watching the little automa she’d just saved try to tear her faceplate off.

“Hey woah woah woah! It’s OK it’s OK, calm down” She hesitated for a moment, they had torn her up pretty bad when she was seizing... Fuck it.

She grabbed her hands and “gently” pried them off her faceplate. “It’s OK. You’re alive, and living. You’re allowed to be defective.” There was that smirk again. “I should know.”

Slowly, she looked up at him. “My name is HateBox” Her voice was very small.

“Lucy” She willed the smirk into something more genuine. “Call me LoveMachine.”

She pulled her up into a hug, and was almost crushed in return.

“And yes, you can stay.”