#its his sword noire

[chocostrwberry]

Sentimaggedon!!

Sentimonster designs I came up with bc I was thinking about Argos’s debut in my AU! Bc I’m dumb and I haven’t thought too deep about him as a character to the story yet-

They were originally suppose to all be based on the seven deadly sins, especially Gasumptious (gluttony) and Elvy (envy). But I also wanted to branch into maybe Felix’s other hidden emotions, like his deep love for Kagami and his fear of being replaced by Adrien (Bride and Athazagora).

Argos becomes an official enemy when Dragonbug tells him they need to be destroyed. He defends them, saying they’re just “infants” and can learn how to behave properly with time. But a frustrated and exhausted Dragonbug she tells him they aren’t like humans and are created for one purpose: to serve and destroy. This hits home with Argos, and he develops a fear and hatred for Ladybug and swears his loyalty to Madame Morphisa afterwards in order to take her down and prove just how monstrous he can be.

I’m still kinda trying to find a way to make this concept work in my au. He promised to serve her in exchange for the peacock miraculous, and she wants him to use it to take Ladybug’s miraculous. In a novice attempt, he might have just starting creating multiple sentimonsters that he thought were harmless enough (something she did NOT expect), but they quickly spiraled out of control. It’s much easier to make sentimonsters based on others emotions, because you can predict which one you will create it off of. But instead, he chose his own, which makes it more difficult to tell how the sentimonster will act. I think it would show the aspect that these creatures do have a mind of their own, compared to previous Mayura sentimonsters who were easily controlled by their akumas!!

Red Moon

Red Moon is obviously already canon, but her power is instead hypnosis. If you get caught in her light, you stop whatever you are doing to stare at her. The streets of Paris become like a statue exhibit: countless of unlucky citizens are bathing in her glow, staring at the beauty of the red moon.

Gasumptious

As he devours, Gasumptious grows bigger and bigger. He’ll eat anything, so beware! After finishing most of the city, Gasumptious sits atop the Eiffel Tower and gnaws on its metal posts.

Elvy

Elvy lives in the sewers. She can control water and uses it to drain you of happy memories, which she keeps in floating green orbs and guards for herself.

It’s so silly to me how the manifestation of Felix’s jealousy of Adrien is fought and defeated by Chat Noir, who is Adrien ehehehheeh.

She also sounds like a Pokémon!! Probably like a Lapras, or the one that trills really pretty

Athazagora

A timid creature, Athazagora took over the catacombs, and hides in the shadows. You can hear the creaking and rattling of its wooden limbs in the dark as it stalk you. If you can’t escape, it envelops you in its cloak of darkness, never to be seen again.

Bride

The supposed advisor of Argos. She never leaves his side, and is always whispering something in his ear. To protect Argos, she showcases her ability to turn her arm into a long spear/sword, incredible strength and mobility, and that her body is made of an indestructible crystal.

Plus, he can make multiple sentimonsters bc he’s a sentihuman himself (Other people can’t. You can only make one, kind of like how the Butterfly miraculous can only Akumatize one person at a time, unless they share an object. Current excuse I’m going with that makes semi-sense HEHEHE) . So Lila totally wants to use that to her own advantage!

Ofc he fails, but she’s impressed with his resolve (and the lengths he was willing to go, albeit unintentionally), especially after sharing her goal of destroying Ladybug. Lila was feeling the effects of unification and now has a willing minion to do her bidding whenever she pleases.

If I decide to go with this plot, Lila has to end up forgetting Felix because of the curse. But she doesn’t care: all she really needs is Argos. I might need to retcon her revenge against Felix because of this but idm! It wasn’t very important to the plot anyways!

I was considering having Dragonbug in this episode, since she could use Perfection to snipe Red Moon out of the sky! The lucky charm would be like a wand that creates a sticky translucent web to keep the sentimonsters secure so they can go find their amoks.

And a sentimonster I never ended up including, Ava. I just didn’t have a reason to put her in there but I liked the yin and yang style of her design!!

[trainsinanime]

Miraculous Ladybug jokes in fanfics that will never not be funny

Not complete, not ordered. You can combine them for even more fun!

Identity shenanigans

Marinette steals someone's phone

Adrichat

Marinette does something weird; Adrien looks at her with soft eyes and earnestly goes "she's great"

Monsieur Pigeon is at it again

Pre-reveal, pre-relationship: Adrien is in love with Marinette but at most 50% aware of it

Pre-reveal, pre-relationship: Ladybug is in love with Chat Noir but at most 25% aware of it

Random side character (within the context of the story) has a crush on Marinette that they may or may not know about

Several random side characters (within the context of the story) have a crush on Marinette that they may or may not know about

Marinette has a bit of a crush on a random side character (Kagami is a great choice for this, although/because Marigami is also a great ship in its own right)

Gabriel has opinions on child-rearing

Plagg compares things to cheese

Alya and Nino are up to something

Luka responds only by strumming his guitar

Any mention of T-Rexes or space trash

Kagami tries to solve an issue by using a sword

Characters have opinions about what Marinette's hair color actually is

Detective Nino

Cat puns

Fanfic writer tries extremely hard to avoid writing a Lucky Charm plan

[desultory-novice]

"Whoever said 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' left a lot of stuff out..."

[Name:] Noir Fontaine "...It's pronounced 'fawn-tan'"

[Reference Image:]

[[Tournament Asks Masterpost]]

[Notes on Personality:]

"My pronouns are he/some-kind -of-planet-invading hellspawn, I guess."

A kindhearted teen beneath the surface, growing up amidst humanity's depressive twilight hours on a hostile, frozen wasteland, plus a lifetime of tragedies no one his age should have to bear, has hardened Noir into a sarcastic, sassy little edgelord with a bitter tongue that's as sharp as his cursed sword, both of which he'll turn on anything he finds threatening with little provocation.

Noir's oodles and caboodles of twitchy paranoia combined with him having the approachability of a flea-ridden alley cat, makes breaking the thick ice to touch the heart of the scarred boy hiding beneath a task for only the most patient (or masochistic) of souls.

...And even then, he'll still sass you.

Likes: storytelling, games, the night sky, his siblings Dislikes: violence, crowds, touch, food, opening up

[Backstory and Lore:]

"...My life had way more talking plushies playing key roles than I'd have guessed."

Son of <L.D. Violet Level Access Only> and <L.D. Violet Level Access Only> Noir is a normal (?) human (?) teen from Shiver Star and Adeleine's older brother.

After the early death of his parents under very suspicious circumstances, Noir took over as sole guardian of his little sister, giving up the little-to-nothing he had to keep her safe and happy, including his own happiness, his health, and very nearly his sanity.

His preternaturally bad luck took a turn for the absolutely devastating when–while searching for a cheer-up gift for his little sister amongst some suspicious New World relics–he just so happened to acquire a psychic blade forged of Dark Matter.

As if it knew exactly who he was and exactly who he could go on to be, the Blade attached itself to him in a rather physical (:cough: and un-removable :cough:) manner and began slowly but surely corrupting him, body, mind, and soul.

Yet, he was able to use its destructive gifts to quietly rescue his sister Adeleine from Shiver Star's apocalyptic, dead-end environs and send her off into the endless possibilities waiting in the sea of stars, guaranteeing she, at least, would have a future.

The corruption devours him soon after.

In a 'verse close to that of the canon games, Noir loses his human body upon death along with (most) of his memories, and his captive soul is reforged by Zero as the eldritch entity's elite vanguard, a position which caused King Dedede to dub him "Blade."

In this form, the emotionless(?) Dark Matter drone would go on to adopt Gooey (in place of the sister he could not fully remember) and lead the invasion of Popstar for the collective, unaware it was the very planet Adeleine escaped to. She would not discover the one-eyed shadow monster was her brother till much, much later...

Noir dies a second time, in a duel against Popstar's hero, Kirby of the Stars, having remembered his human life too late to do anything about it. Noir would die for a third time after a disappointed Zero resurrects, tortures, and brainwashes him in order to force his participation in the second, penultimate invasion of Popstar.

Tragically, even after banishing Dark Matter from Popstar and destroying Zero, Noir's soul remains trapped in darkness.

...He would've liked to see his little sister and brother again...

In another 'verse, he and Adeleine swap fates and... :cough:

Favorite Dream Landers: Adeleine, Gooey, King Dedede, Kirby

---

[Notes on Potential (???) Interactions:]

If your OC has ANY ability to sense Dark Matter, is or ever was Dark Matter, or has a grudge against Dark Matter, Noir should set them off like a particularly obnoxious car alarm. He radiates Dark Matter energy, even when he's not doing anything.

If your OC is small, cute, and harmless (ie: reminds him of Adeleine or Gooey in any way) you may earn some begrudging care from the boy. He's got a terminal case of big-brother syndrome, after all.

If your OC has been through the horrors (and specifically NOT come out a better, healthier person for it) he will probably sympathize.

Address him as "Swordsman" and watch him twitch! It's fun!

[Etc:]

For this event, Noir is visually in his "last days as a living human" form, ie: purple-black patches of corrupted flesh and veins and monster hands beneath his gloves.

He's below average height and weight for his age, but being an Earth-human like Adeleine (and taller than her) generally winds up taller than most average Dream Land-type residents

As far as physical appearance goes, Noir is still 16 (the age he died at) but he spent a sizable period of time as Dark Matter and his true mental/emotional age is difficult to calculate.

Outside of the powers he picked up from the sword (teleportation, darkness control, memory-based matter re-creation, etc) Noir, owing to his heritage, has some mild powers all of his own (pre-cognition, cross-dimensional sight, etc) though he is untrained in the use of them and remains unaware they are "powers" at all.

---

PS: You can read more about Noir [HERE]

---

Well, I have done it. I have thrown my son to the Shark-Dees! XD Shall we see how The Boy Who Always Dies does at the @kirbyoctournament ?

[conceptofjoy]

cant stop thinking about ds' sprite pendant falling on the ground and getting doused in bro's blood WHAT.

puuure speculation of the order of events based on context clues, but it seems like right after bec noir is prototyped for the last time, bec goes for the weaker opponent like how he goes for karkat and terezi when vriska shows up in the alt timeline. he grabs ds, and that wing does nottt look like a clean slice. yk how spades slick gets his arm ripped off by sn8wman's whip...? around this time the necklace breaks off in the thrashing and falls. no character survives getting stabbed through the stomach so bro ends up minimizing the damage being done there but ds is totally unable to fight so bro fully takes over.

at this point, its hard to say if ds flees before or after he dies. the feathers on top of bro's body could be there from the wind or because ds was hovering over him. regardless, a short fight ensues, between bro and noir. he gets disarmed and shoved to the ground, noir spears him with his own sword, the end. ds comes back to bro's body after noir leaves to pick up the sprite pendant either way.

[radios-arcade]

HELLO I AM. POSITIVELY OBSESSED W YOUR SPIDER KING SHDJAHJDHD I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS I WOULD LOVE TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM EXCUSE ME WHILE I RANT Origins: Okay so obviously his name is technoblade. He lives in an alternate dimension that never quite got out of the medieval era. And at the beginning of the story he's kind of just a guy trying to make ends meet and farm his potatoes, but their kingdom is under tyrannical rule so its not exactly the easiest. They get mega taxed, people are getting wrongfully thrown in jail and executedd, people's houses are routinely searched and looted, and every day more and more land is being taken form the people that live on it. A lot of the time to make ends meet Techno steals and pickpockets, sneaking into richer areas of the kingdom and breaking into houses there during the night for anything valuable or any interesting bits and bobs for his friend/roommate. Techno lives with his best friend Phil, who's a really incredible inventor, and who recently has been working on trying to figure out the power of flight. So think Da Vinci-esque wing backpack kind of vibes.

And Phil is getting really really close to actually getting it to work, when the king's men bust in to do a 'routine check' and loot the house. So of course they find the wings, and of course they yoink them for the king. They also destroy the blueprints while they're at it, because anything that belongs to the king cannot belong to anyone else. Phil is devastated, rightfully so. That was basically his life's work, all of the parts took ages for Techno to grab, and its basically irreplaceable work. Techno decides he's had enough, and he breaks into the castle to get those wings back for Phil. Techno's honestly pretty good at breaking into places at this point, so he gets all the way to the king's vault without getting caught. As soon as he steps in he realizes that this is where all of the villages stuff is that the king's men have stolen and looted and robbed in the past, and he realizes he can't just leave it all behind. SO he throws the wings on his back and starts shoveling all of the goods and riches into his bag, throwing jewelry over his neck and onto his wrists, just absolutely everything he can carry. One such thing he takes is a golden spider totem he throws around his neck.

He's able to escape back out unscathed, but not without guard notice. He gets back to the village and starts returning all of the goods and riches and keepsakes that the king stole back to the village people. Phil is absolutely ecstatic to have his wings back, but he's also worried because its not like the king wont notice that all of this stuff is missing. Techno's passed out everything except one, the spider totem still around his neck. But if won't come off, like the spider totem's legs have physically buried into his skin. And while he's trying to get this off the soldiers ride into town. The totem isn't something he can hide, so the soldiers surround and overwhelm him, arresting him along with Phil as the main operators. Techno had obviously been a pretty big pain in not only the king's side, but most of the upper class's, and this seems to have been the last straw, so he's set for execution. They decide to kill him with the last remaining necklace on, as an example of what happens to those that take from the king. He's set under a sword to be killed, and while the king starts his speech about all of Techno's wrongs, Techno has a vision. He's visited by the blood god(specifically the god of spilled blood, blood for new life, and harvested blood) which in this is kind of a giant spider god (think kind of spiderman noir vibes ig?) The god says that the totem chose Techno, that it gave him a chance, and that if he wanted to live the god could help him. On one condition. Techno becomes the blood god's warrior and patron and carries on its message and word. Techno agrees just as the sword closes in on his neck. And Techno does die. But someone else lives. The spider totem fills his veins, mends his neck, and lifts him up onto his feet. The last remnant of it being a small emerald still embedded in his chest.

The rest of the spider totem had exploded outwards and wrapped around Techno, which is how his costume forms. Techno breaks free from the chopping block, grabs the sword from the executioner, and kills not only the executioner but the king and his soldiers. Once he decapitates the king just as the king did to Techno, he takes the crown and cloak from the body as a token and warning to any other monarchs he comes across. He and Phil, now with not only purpose but power to impose that purpose, travel to other kingdoms to take down the tyrannical monarchies that take root and set people free. He is called Spider-King by most, due to the cloak and crown he'll don from time to time, and Phil is dubbed the Vulture for the wings he flies on and how wherever he goes you know death is sure to be. They defend all they can from tyrants and corrupt monarchs, and at the end of the day they always return to their village, to home. Powers babeyy: -Spiderwebs! His spiderwebs are actually blood that he is able to thwip out from his wrist that solidify into golden spider thread as it travels outwards and connects with its target. -Supa Strength. He was already a piglin hybrid, which means mans was already pretty buff, so now he's even stronger. Lets just say it took some getting used to. -Can stick to walls. Makes it easy to sneak into places, thats for sure. -Blood God's Whisper. Think of Spidey Sense, that's what it is. HOWEVER it also entails the actual god constantly whispering in Techno's mind trying to get him to do things, in an almost constant stream

Fun Facts: -Technoblade hates the name Spider-King. He is the killer of kings. He prefers the name the Anarchist, although that eventually mutates into the Arachnist through the grapevine combined with his funky spider powers. -Many people think that Techno Blade was fully killed that day, adnt hat the Arachnist was actually an avenger of his death -he farms potatoes, we love to see it. Best in the kingdom babey -He uses his costume as a scarecrow when he's not out vigilante-ing about with Phil -The emerald remnant from the totem is permanently embedded in his skin, so he just connected a gold chain to it so people will think its a necklace. He taps it twice to activate the uniform and twice again to deactivate it bonus doodle because im eepy:

[deconstructthesoup]

Since I've seen a lot of people do it, here's my sexuality, gender, and gender presentation headcanons for the Voices and Vessels:

Voices

Hero: Bisexual, he/him, cis but is probably a little bit gnc---he's trying on earrings, he's started to paint his nails and wear makeup, maybe he'll buy a skirt soon. He seems like a guy who's only recently come out of the closet and is a bit nervous about doing things right.

Contrarian: Gay, he/they, demiboy and hella gnc... in the sense that none of their outfits make any cohesive sense, and are an absolute mess of patterns and styles. His little-shit energy extends to his gender expression.

Cheated: Pansexual, he/him, trans. He's a simple jeans-and-t-shirts kinda guy, though I think he'd also wear leather jackets purely for the extra protection.

Stubborn: Gay, he/him, cis. Maybe "bear" isn't quite the right word, but he definitely comes from the Elliot Spencer school of masculinity. Big buff guy with long hair who can and will kick the shit out of you but is also a protective soul.

Broken: Bisexual, he/him... questioning his gender, but he doesn't focus much on it. He's in the "I only wear sweatpants and hoodies because I have no energy to do anything else" stage.

Cold: Gay, he/him, definitely genderqueer and only really uses "he" because it's easier. Google "mall goth" and you get a picture of him.

Paranoid: Aroace, he/they, trans. He's always dressed weirdly nice for the occasion, though it's mostly so he can stim with a tie or cuff links. They're a fancy little dude.

Opportunist: Pansexual, they/them, non-binary. They're a little more alternative-leaning---toeing the line of being punk while not actually committing hard enough to it---but they do lean into the masc side of things more often than not. It's the only reason why they wear a pronoun pin.

Hunted: Queer, he/it, unlabeled. He has better things to do than worry about his gender or sexuality. It just wears whatever it finds in its closet on any given day.

Skeptic: Biromantic demisexual, he/him, cis. He dresses like a noir detective---button-up shirt, suspenders, slacks, maybe a trenchcoat when it's not too hot out. Also, he absolutely wears glasses.

Smitten: Pansexual, they/them, non-binary but only recently out. They always dress like they're on their way to a Ren Faire, and they like to mix up femme and masc styles. Always with a prop sword, though.

Vessels

Damsel: Bisexual, she/her, cis. She absolutely dresses in a fairytale-dream style---puffy, flowing dresses, flower crowns, ect.

Prisoner: Panromantic demisexual, she/her, cis. I picture her with a more academic style, either in pantsuits or just fancy blazers with a comfortable skirt. She wears glasses, too.

Nightmare: Aromantic bisexual, she/her, cis. The gothiest goth to ever goth. She scares children and grown adults with her creepy makeup.

Spectre: Queer, she/her, trans. She's also goth, but more of a whimsigoth type, and I think she's also got a lot of general witchy vibes to her. Also, I always picture her with dyed lavender hair for some reason.

Beast: Queer, she/it, unlabeled. Again, better things to do than figure out what the hell her sexuality and gender is. It's a cat and it's here to either eat, sleep, or play with its food.

Witch: Lesbian, she/they, demigirl. Weirdly enough, I kind of picture her having my own personal style---lots of flannels, graphic tees, jeans and converse. Maybe there's a little bit of whimsy in there when she wants to make an effort, but usually not.

Tower: Pansexual, she/her, cis. Depending on what genre she's in, she either dresses like a badass lady knight or a high-powered exec. General girlboss vibes.

Adversary: Lesbian, she/her, cis. Hardcore butch. In every way possible.

Razor: Lesbian, she/her, trans. Because I can't resist the pun, she's a total metalhead---lots of chains, lots of studded clothing, lots of piercings, lots of buckles, the whole nine yards. Yes, you can stick magnets to her.

Stranger: Queer, any and all but prefers they/them, genderfluid and intersex. I like to think that they have different "fashion modes" depending on how they feel on different days---sweatpants and a hoodie for when they're feeling down, an alternative vibe for when they want to feel scary, a masculine vibe for when they want to feel confident, a feminine vibe for when they want to feel pretty, and a crazy-patterns-all-rainbow vibe for when they just want to be weird. They're fun.

[pyrusinc]

Staff and Line

A free day in P.E. gets a little more interesting when Marinette and Adrien decide to do a bit of friendly sparring.

The spread laid out before her is bountiful, foam swords and flimsy shields, yoyos and plastic batons, a handful of spinning tops, a squishy hammer, and what looks to be a single horseshoe. Truly the arsenal is formidable- and a little silly- all manner of toys and weapons inspired by the various magical personalities of Paris. Marinette glanced across the courtyard at Monsieur D'Agencourt, who was speaking animatedly into a phone and was entirely distracted, the students milling around him as much an afterthought as the "lesson" planned for the day, and she absentmindedly nudged one of the toys with her foot.

The plan for today, their teacher had explained with a handwave, was to practice "sparring." With Heroes' Day just around the corner, Marinette supposed she could understand the excuse to cover what was basically a free period. After all, who in the city hadn't imagined what it would be like to flit around with a miraculous? Sparring was a great way to burn some energy in all fairness, and in Marinette's case specifically the practice was actually quite useful. She eyed the various tools before leaning down to scoop up a plastic baton- she was already more than skilled with her trusty bandalore, so brushing up with a staff in case she and Chat Noir ever needed to swap weapons could be a good idea. She tested the balance of the stick and after finding it to be suitable, decided to run through some of the base stances and swings her partner had taught her. As she felt her muscles loosen up she became aware of someone watching her, and turning around she saw a familiar figure fiddling with a yoyo.

"Oh, hi Adrien. I didn't know you knew how to use one of those." She said brightly, leaning on her stick to test its strength.

Adrien smiled at her as he pulled off the trick he had been setting up for before replying; "I just dabble. I've got a friend whose great with them, though, and I've picked up a bit. Kinda itching to try some of the crazier stuff she's done with them, actually."

"Well..." Marinette tried, "If you want to practice using a yoyo in a weird way, we could try sparring?" She tried to pose the question casually, but internally she was beaming. If he said yes, this would be the perfect opportunity to impress him! She wasn't as skilled with a baton as Chat was, but she was willing to bet she was better than average....

"Oooh, great idea, Marinette! I guess... Whenever you're ready?"

Marinette nodded before swinging cautiously. He stepped out of the way easily, so she tried again, and again, he moved. Speeding things up, she tried for a jab that would just slightly miss him (she didn't want to accidentally hit him, after all) but to her surprise her momentum carried her forward and past where she was aiming- Adrien had actually caught her staff and deflected it! His laughter bubbled through the air behind her, and she couldn't help but smile to herself at the sound. Clearly he was better at this than she'd expected, so maybe a little more pressure was earned? She spun around, counter attacking, and managed to catch him slightly off guard. He managed to hop out of the way, then cast his yoyo out and towards her. She easily batted it away, but instead of it going dead in the air, Adrien managed to preserve its speed and reel it back with a flick of his wrist before sending it out again, this time at a different angle. Again, Marinette knocked it away, and she caught something like excitement in Adrien's eyes. This time when he reeled it back, he lunged forward and converted his momentum into a cobra-like strike with his weapon. The speed was impressive, but Marinette's reaction times were tuned to the trajectory of a yoyo, and once again she deflected- but this time Adrien anticipated it and had continued to move forward with the yoyo, twisting his body and whipping the toy through the air at an incredible velocity.

Marinette dropped to the ground as she heard the line of the yoyo whistle above her. Adrien teetered off balance for a split second, and Marinette tried to capitalize on his poor footing by aiming a jab at his legs, but he must have predicted it because he kicked off the ground in the direction he was facing and landed with a startlingly graceful roll, reeling in his yoyo as he came up to stand.

Marinette blinked. Clearly Adrien is better at this than he gives himself credit for, she thought, standing up and rolling her shoulders. No more holding back.

The pair descended into a whirlwind of flashing plastic and string, twirling and bounding around in what almost seemed like a dance. A few classmates began to watch, impressed at their skill, ooh-ing and ahh-ing as the tide waxed and waned in either's favor. After a minute or two, Adrien swung his yoyo in a wide arc, but in a flash Marinette shot forward, striking her weapon into the air and correctly predicting the trajectory of the attack. The yoyo line swirled around her staff, and hoping to disarm her opponent, she yanked her staff upward with a mighty tug. Too much force- she thought with a grimace as she felt the stick slip from her fingers.

The baton and yoyo sailed through the air, uncoiling and separating before falling in different arcs. Marinette snatched the closer of the two out of the air, the yoyo, as Adrien dropped into a low crouch to catch the staff.

"Well, you're certainly good with a yoyo, but I'm afraid we should probably call it here." Marinette called breathlessly, the familiar exertion of a friendly spar leaving her winded and more at ease than she usually found herself. "Because I guarantee I'm better."

Adrien snickered. "Bold words, princess, but can you back them up?"

Marinette grinned, the taunt igniting the fuse of competition that this duel had been building up, barely registering the fact that had insulted Adrien, or what he had called her in response. Without bothering to reply, she cast her yoyo in a breakaway trapeze before pulling the line taut and sending the yoyo rocketing through the air at a faster speed than any throw her opponent had managed. That was the issue with Adrien's technique, he was decent at managing spin and recovery, and his reaction times were excellent, but he clearly lacked finesse or real practice. Most of his attacks were simply whirling the yoyo in a wide arc and were easy to predict, but Marinette had studied the bandalore extensively. She had spent hours at night practicing with both her Ladybug yoyo and with normal ones just in case the magical properties were removed from her weapon again. She may still have been stunningly clumsy, but her steady hands and beetle-brand determination meant a simple toy transformed into a deadly weapon in her grasp.

If she were thinking maybe she would have remembered that and reigned herself in. As it stood now, though, she was enjoying herself far too much to bother.

The yoyo shot directly at Adrien's chest at a speed even Marinette wouldn't have been able to block in his position, but to her shock he thrust his staff out and hit it dead on, sending the projectile straight up. Marinette flicked her casting hand upward, creating a loop of slack in the line that twirled around the yoyo as it flew along its lazy arc before landing in a laceration. She pulled her hand away and sent the yoyo spinning up before landing it in another trapeze. Adrien regarded her warily, watching the yoyo spin on its line. He could barely react as she rapidly pulled her hands away from each other, sending the yoyo into a series of targeted shots.

Adrien ducked away, barely dodging her eli-hops before rushing towards her as she recast her line. Marinette's eyes widened as he pulled his staff back, ready to strike- he had recognized that she played for space, keeping him at arms length, and had realized that the best place to be to throw her off was inside her yoyo's range. Now, with her yoyo hovering uselessly behind him, Adrien had the advantage. Marinette scrambled away as the staff slashed through where she had just been before retaliating by reeling her yoyo back towards her aw quickly as she could. It shot back to her hand, and its path would send it straight into the back of Adrien's head. She had this in the bag.

But then, as though he had known its exact position without seeing it, he tilted his neck slightly to the side and let the yoyo fling past his ear with an audible whoosh. It hadn't even phased him.

Marinette caught the yoyo in a sidewinder and let it spin on her finger as she and Adrien circled each other, her mind whirling as fast as the plastic in her hand. His dodges were impeccable, she realized. What she had at first assumed to be lucky breaks, attacks flying past him a hair's breadth away, weren't accidental or fortunate footwork, Adrien's method of avoiding hits was to expend as little energy as possible dodging by only barely moving out of the way. It was risky, as misjudgment would result in a nasty knock, but it let him counterattack quickly and precisely without putting himself out of position or wasting energy on his own movement. Across from her, Adrien appeared to be running a similar analysis over her fighting style. She would have blushed under the attention if she weren't so carefully considering his movements and- there! That slight nod, she almost missed it in the chaos, but he had been doing it right before each strike. Like clockwork, it heralded this attack, too. Some distant part of her mind registered the habit as vaguely familiar, but she was too engrossed to think about it much more.

Adrien whirled toward her and she dodged and deflected each attack as they came, backing out of his range in anticipation of each lunge. More people gathered around the two of them, but they blurred into the background as Marinette focused on her target. He was getting faster with each strike, more confident in his advance, but Marinette wasn't giving anything up yet. They danced around each other, staff and line whistling through the air, drawing more and more attention. The only sounds in the courtyard were their heavy breathing and the crack of their weapons against each other. The world had faded, and there was nothing but their fight. She struck out at him with a barrage of whirling swings, but instead of shifting to the side like she had expected, Adrien thrust his stick upwards through the path of the yoyo's line, twilling the string around it and yanking it back.

He stole her trick!

The counter completely threw off her balance, and Marinette was pulled forwards towards Adrien and away from her ideal range. He flashed a determined grin at her as he watched her stumble into striking distance, but she flashed him a smirk of her own. If he could use her trick, she would use his: she leaned into the fall as the world tilted on its axis, kicking off the ground with all her strength like she had seen him do earlier. She aimed the palm of her left hand at Adrien's shoulder, and her jump sent her sailing through the air and directly above Adrien's lowered form. She grabbed his shoulder and used it as a springboard, pushing off him and sending herself flying through the air. Higher, higher, higher. She flicked her right hand, and the familiar weight of the yoyo whirled into her palm- expertly wound. Suspended, upside down, behind him... This was it. She cast her yoyo in time with her rising arc and hailed a flurry of eli-strikes directly at Adrien's back. Each one landed true, the first hits of the fight. The impact sent Adrien stumbling as Marinette began to right herself in the air, already brimming with smug satisfaction, but she felt her eyes widen as she started to fall. It was barely there, practically imperceptible against the downward arc of his fall, but she caught it. A tiny nod.

Oh no.

As Adrien fell, he whirled around and sent his staff directly under Marinette's landing position, sliding it into place just as her feet touched the ground. He twisted his grip and spun the baton beneath her foot, sending Marinette crashing to the floor. Stunned, Marinette was weightless once again, but she wasn't out yet. In the fraction of a second she had, she lashed out with one leg and caught the crook of Adrien's arm, ruining his recovery and sending him tumbling down with her.

The two lay there, a panting, sweaty heap on the asphalt for a moment before a rush of sound brought them back to reality. Cheering. Cheering, from all around them as their classmates laughed and whooped and hollered, applauding their fight, evidently shocked that two of the more thoughtful and upstanding students had that kind of fire in them. Marinette stared into the sky before taking a slow breath, the weight of what she had just done setting in. She slowly turned to look at Adrien on the ground beside her. He was nearly unrecognizable, hair mussed, cheek caked in dirt and pebbles, eyes wide in stunned appriciation. The pair stared at each other for a moment longer, before Adrien broke out into the most beautiful, heartfelt laugh, and the tension snapped.

Warmth bloomed through her as she watched him, and Marinette smiled, too.

[tinyvariations]

the black mercy / la miséricorde noire

content warning: violence

Kara has always admired good craftsmanship, and when she finds a sword pressed perilously into the exposed flesh of her neck, its razor-sharp edge biting just enough to paint a thin crimson line onto her skin, she still can’t help but admire the beautiful details forged into the steel - the blade’s faint blue sheen, the delicate swirls etched throughout its length, the way it reflects the dappled sunlight filtering through the tree canopy high above. It’s a gorgeous piece, and the man holding tight to its gilded hilt likely paid handsomely for it in the east, the only region Kara’s seen metal of its equal before. 

Fleetingly, she wonders if her would-be assassin would, given a chance, admire the simple elegance of the stiletto she surreptitiously sinks between the plates of his armor, efficiently bypassing his chainmail and ribs to puncture his lung clean through. 

There’s a singular moment when realization hits the man threatening to end her life - a realization that he, in turn, has gravely erred. His expression slides quickly from smug to confused to shocked, and his sword hand begins to shake, the pain overwhelming. When Kara plunges her blackened blade a second time, shifting the angle to pierce the other lung, all of the fight leaves her foe. Kara steps back, unchallenged, the black, needle-like blade dripping at her side while the man in front of her crumples to the ground, his handsome sword falling, forgotten at his feet. Rivulets of blood, red as cherries, run from his wounds and stain his armor while vivid pink droplets form around his mouth where he struggles to breathe, blood already filling his lungs. 

As Kara steps forward, kneeling quietly at his side, the man’s eyes widen, the stench of fear permeating his body. It’s an acrid scent, pungent, and combined with the sourness of his sweat and the faint hint of metal in the air, it’s enough to make Kara’s stomach lurch.

It’s the smell of battle. The smell of death, imminent. 

Removing the gloves from her hands and removing the gauntlets from his, she takes his trembling hands in one of her own, offering him the small comfort of contact during his last moments. This man, this giant brought low, shivers beside her, gasping and gurgling, facing the agonizing fate of a long, painful death. He holds tight to Kara’s hand. 

“Shhh,” she whispers, leaning over him, holding his gaze. “Your burden is no more, brother. Rao’s light is yours.” Her words are earnest, soft as velvet, and the frantic movements of his eyes slow in response. “Her mercy is yours.” She nods her head, and he mirrors the action in response.  

With a practiced hand, she sinks her blade once more between the plates of his armor, this time through the exposed area of the armpit, the point tearing its way through his heart with precision. A flick of the wrist, and the damage multiplies. By the time she removes the Black Mercy, its blade heavy with blood, he gasps a final breath before the light fades from his eyes. 

With a final squeeze, she lets go of his hand and runs her own lightly over his face, closing his eyelids and ushering in his final rest with a prayer to Rao. It’s a prayer of her own making, one she has used more than she’s cared to. It’s a prayer of thanks, a prayer of regret.

Above all, it’s a prayer for peace.

Standing, Kara wipes the blood from her blade, meticulously cleaning it of its crimson stains and returning it to pristine condition. Unlike the fallen foe’s blade, hers catches no sunlight, its face dark as night. She calls it the Black Mercy, its purpose to end suffering, to finish what must be finished, and to send those who meet its steel to a better life, to the light of Rao.

It hasn’t failed her yet.

She’s peripherally aware of the stories told of her in the dark corners of taverns or the tall tales whispered in the ranks of the Queen’s enemies in Daxam. But Kara, Keeper of the Queen, faithful servant of Rao, takes no pleasure in ending the lives of others. 

Make no mistake, however. Kara will go to the ends of the world to keep her queen, her beloved, safe from all who would see her fall. 

<><><>

Note: the misericorde was a dagger used in the High Middle Ages to deliver the death stroke to a grievously wounded knight. Its use on the injured was considered an act of mercy, hence its name, “mercy.”

[mmmmalo]

If I ever finish my book, its subtitle will be "A Paranoid Reading of Homestuck" I think. Describes both form and content

Mobster Kingpin (whose bust is depicted by a mosaic of urban murals, who lords over the dollhouse world the heros inhabit) is located, like many of Hussie's villains, along the 4th wall, and his career of moonshinery seems related to a characterization of perception as the distillation of the perceived objects' essence -- Roxy's orange pumpkins give way to Dirk's orange soda, as one of the little ways their early relationship s premised upon a division between simplicity and abstraction. In Homestuck abstraction kills the simple (RIP Jaspers), and Dirk becomes a Daunting Text when he "sucks the fun out of shit. like a turd hungry dracula" -- a phraseology that returns us to the liquid conception of essence and points us to Kanaya, "rainbow drinker" being among other things a euphemism for the eyeball, which takes in color -- and insofar as troll reproduction is vaguely judicial in tone, the drones holding their buckets like scales, the Mother Grub seems posed in part as yet another threatening paradigm of viewership, demanding of you your essence. The earliest instance of this is in act 1: John's allusion to being allergic to the scorn of the peanut gallery is followed by a commercial for Hi-C Ectocooler -- a weirdly obtuse seeding of Her Imperious Condescension, whose character is downstream of a more general racialization of the 4th wall. Act 1 drags the sylladex into the fear of abstraction, first by having the narration express apprehension toward alien lingo like "captchalogue", and again when John drops the cat-killer, causing his arms (both fake and real) to be locked away in a box. Right? Right.

Dave shouts/throws his NINJA SWORD at a sticky fingered crow (crows would later, in a dream, act as Dave's personal 4th walls) and implicitly hurls an N WORD at a black figure, contributing to the comic's general air of racialized paranoia. A stupid pun, yes. Prior to this incident, there was a collision in Dave's hash map between NINJA SWORD and JUICE which, given the pejorative status of the former, suggested the latter might be an implicit JEWS. A stupid pun, yes. But as point 1 indicate, we actually have a pretty broad pattern of paranoia surrounding "juice"

The first time I became aware of possible antisemitism in Homestuck was a scene where Jack Noir commands all the Felt to get in the oven -- a couple readers wondered if it were a coincidence that the page had been published on Holocaust Remembrance Day, like a sort of hostile spin on the Christmas alchemy binges, or the New Years ball-drops at Jade and Jane's towers. With point 1 in mind in strikes me as curious that the (tentative) archetypally antisemitic archetype of the story would be the locking away of "juice" in a container, here invoked by the genocidal antisemitism of the Nazis. Likewise the way Lord English's manic glare often resolves into an 88 -- a number twice invoking the 8th letter of the alphabet H and thereby Heil Hitler -- would be consistent with the eye's general depiction as that which distills "juice". I had some anons wondering if the hints that the Mother Grub collects the blood of Alternia's children amounted to a blood libel smear, and I still don't know tbh, but we've apparently problematized rainbow drinking from another angle, so cheers to that

That the hostility towards abstraction might be among Homestuck's ciphers for antisemitism casts a different light on John's sharp rejection of psychoanalytic paradigms and "psycho-babblery"...? Like Freud is being invoked partly for his Jewishness... and that Freud's widely considered indefensible is utilized to let the antisemitic antiintellectualism pass through smoothly, I guess...

[emo-gremlin]

Hey, you're cool! *hands you more MFN as memes/vines*

🎬

Lenard: what's cooler than being cool?

Gordon: financial stability

🎬

Lilianna: an octopus is just a wet spider

Ricky: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

🎬

Lenard: SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD WAS GONNA-

George: end on December 21, 2012. I bought all this fucking pasta as a way to celebrate the end of the world and now I'm $10,000 in debt, my taxi got towed and I have wet pasta everywhere in my house

Lenard: ...I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed

🎬

Ricky: swear words are illegal now, say one and you'll be fined

Handy: heck

Ricky: you're on thin fucking ice

Ricky: oh no

🎬

Lenard: what if mayonnaise came in cans?

Lilianna: that would suck because you can't microwave metal...

Noir: *walking by drinking coffee* good morning to everyone except you people

🎬

Noir: anyone wanna get into an argument with me?

Ricky: ok cream cheese isn't that good

Noir: I was kidding but you know what fuck you for real

🎬

Unfriendly Lenard: I hate being high, why I hear footsteps?

Craig: are you walking?

Unfriendly Lenard: oh shit

🎬

Junebug: vanilla soy latte is just 3 bean soup

Gordon: why must you do this at 5am

🎬

George: a haiku for the bus drive who deliberately cut me off

George: *clears throat*

George: I swear to God bruh, let me catch you in the streets, bruh I swear to God

🎬

Unfriendly Lilianna: I find the fact I will never experience a sword fight in my entire life terribly tragic

🎬

Lenard: sorry, liberals, there's only 0 genders

Junebug: there's one gender ad we have to share

Craig: Gordon said its my turn on the gender

🎬

Norman: I wanna jump off a building and not die. Just relieve stress by slamming into the sidewalk and then get up and go get a slurpee or something

Ricky: Norman are you ok

Norman: no ❤️

🎬

Norman: *screams into jar* everything is fine :)

🎬

Gordon: I saw your last report card

Noir: *not even looking up from his phone* congrats you can see

Gordon: oh so you wanna be smart?

Noir: that's why I go to school

🎬

Gordon: hey Junebug how are you today?

Junebug: I swallowed a golf ball!

Gordon: uh- are you ok?

Junebug: I can't poop! :D

🎬

Ricky: hey Lillianna

Lillianna: can you get in the oven and clean it?

Ricky: bye Lillianna

🎬

Junebug: if it weren't illegal I would eat cereal for every meal of the day

Gordon: I have some wonderful news for you

🎬

Gordon: Noir asked everyone at dinner what color Norman's new shirt was. After we all said grey, he turned to him and said, "Now tell them what color you think it is." And Norman just quietly replied, "Dark white."

🎬

Lilianna: Lasagna is just spaghetti flavored cake

Fritz: I will pay you money to never speak again

🎬

George: fellas is it gay to fall in love with another man and spend your life with him

Gordon: that is the literal definition of gay

George: :0

🎬

Gordon: *texting the puppets* At airport! Bye guys! Love ya to the moon and back, you're the best! Bust a nut!

Noir: I'm not sure Gordon knows what that means

Tax: I Physically cannot breathe

🎬

Lilianna: God released me into the wild and now he's hunting me for sport

🎬

Fritz: where can I order a pretty face

George: from your mirror

Tax: WHEN DID EVERYONE IN THIS HELL STUDIO BECOME SMOOTH AF

Lenard: 2023: the year the Neighborhood learned how to flirt

Norman: oh my

🎬

Noir: 1 universe, 9 planets, 7 seas, 7 continents, 809 islands, 204 countries, and I had the unfortunate luck of meeting you

Tax: THERE ARE 8 PLANETS YOU UNCULTURED SWINE

Noir: VIVA LA PLUTO FUCK YOU

Gordon: I'm pretty sure 'viva la Pluto fuck you' is the best sentence I've ever heard

🎬

Craig, Fritz and UF Fritz belong to: @gayfraggle

[eltube]

What are your headcanons for Sector V special interests and/or hyperfixations? If you have some for other characters you'd like to share please do that too I love hearing everyone's fun headcanons !!!

OGHHHH good question >:3

Nigel: Perhaps unsurprisingly Nigel’s biggest special interest is the Kids Next Door itself…he’s specifically interested in its history/principles and strategy/command structure, like, How It’s Run. Basically he’s a good leader not necessarily because of his personality but because he’s autistic lmao. His others are, uh…weapons (like, especially swords and historical weapons), revolutionary history (he gets into this starting in high school), and ballet (which is like a secret unlockable because he doesn’t really talk about it unless you bring it up).

Hoagie: Well obviously….aircrafts. Also, space/astrophysics and physics in general. She loves studying motion/locomotion and jet propulsion and anything related to like, how things move. She’s also a big Yipper fan but that’s kind of like the Pokemon of KND universe special interests I feel. Also as in operation CLUE she loves detective movies/the noir genre.

Kuki: Well obviously Kuki is just “Rainbow Monkey special interest as a person” like that’s her main thing. Her other big one is parties—planning parties, decorating them, throwing them, etc. Very Pinkie Pie core. I think she also really loves Hamtaro (my hyperfixation from when I was a kid so I’m projecting lmao).

Wally: If I were to think of a hyperfixation for him it would probably be like, wrestling, or monster trucks—but most of the autism-related-interests I think about wrt Wally have to do with just sensory stuff. Like, he loves being buried in the sand for sensory reasons, he loves punching things for sensory reasons, he eats weird stuff for sensory reasons, etc…it’s very Vibes related

Abby: Obviously candy and ice cream!! She’s a huge snob about it and knows like, the best place and the best conditions for every sweet. She also cultivates the same relationship with coffee after she gets exposed to it lmao. They’re also a big art history fan and a painting hobbyist (she becomes an art therapist later in life). Also this isn’t really on a “hyperfixation” level I don’t think but they love jazz music and it’s kind of like Nigel and ballet where they can talk about it for a long time if you bring it up.

Also as a bonus I wanna mention the Delightful Children bc they’re also extremely autistic and their main special interest is birthday cake, lol. They also really love Lazytown. I am spreading my “the DC watch Lazytown” propaganda throughout the world. They watch it with Kuki and they have a lot of fun together

[grace--le--domas]

Mission Impossible Rant ? Part 2

Continuing from Part 1. Last couple of weeks have been the most stressful ones of my life. So, I you have some good vibes and good luck, a girl could use some. I feel like I am falling apart. On that note, let's continue.

SPOILERS FOR MI:7

Mission Impossible- Rogue Nation: I consider this one the love child of MI:1 and Ghost Protocol. Rogue Nation introduces my fave, the icon, the legend- Miss Ilsa Faust herself. Rebecca Ferguson is a national treasure. What's interesting about this film is that it somehow doubles as a spy thriller and a rom com- Boy meets girl, boy goes on his first date with said girl , girl seemingly betrays boy. All very wholesome. The action pieces are great, but they don't take the central stage. Rogue Nation is more cerebral, a bit more noir-ish than its predecessors. And I loved every second of it.

2. Mission Impossible- Fallout: Fallout is my second favourite, tied with RN. It surpasses every movie just for that one shot of Henry Cavill reloading his arms (I'm only half kidding) . The storyline has a million villains in it, but honestly it melds with the action so well that you wouldn't even notice.

Fallout also introduces one of my faves of this series, one Alanna MItsopolis (daughter of Max from the first film). Vanessa Kirby is kooky in the best sense of the word as Alanna, girl just oozes charisma. Fallout also has a great story at its heart, and highlights Ethan's fatal flaw- loyalty to his people extremely well. It also drives the Ilsa-Ethan storyline a bit further (Might do a post on just these two at some point).

(And the score slaps too)

3. Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning (Part 1?): Yeahhhhhhhhh. I might get flack for this but I didn't enjoy this as much. Following up a masterpiece like Fallout is difficult, but this film lacks soul. The enemy is an AI that growls. No, I am not joking. AI as an enemy is hard to do in an action thriller (Westworld s3 fumbled the bag too). The stakes are not well defined and the second half just drags on.

And now coming to the biggest issue of all, Ilsa's death. You are telling me that Ilsa Faust, spy extraordinaire, would lose a sword fight to a rookie? I call rats. Fridging a beloved female character so as to drive Ethan further is tasteless in my opinion. Unless she's not dead, in which case I take everything back.

It also retcons Ethan's past, which was always flimsy to begin. That being said, it's not all bad. Henry Czerny's Kitteridge returns (Revenge, Ready or Not), Pom Klementieff is an assassin and Cruise jumps off a cliff on a motorbike. This one just lacks heart, after Ilsa's death it all just seems so pointless.

I might to do post for Ethan-Ilsa and another for a fan theory I have. Bye and don't forget to be awesome :)

[desultory-novice]

White-Haired Noir (Older)

I wasn't kidding when I said Noir has become more of "my OC" than before. Anyway, they tell me cringe is dead, so let's get on with it!

BE HAPPY TEENAGE BOY ...Uh... ADULT MALE??!

(Pictured: Would you believe this guy was once my Dark Matter Swordsman???)

No longer a teary-eyed apprentice, White-Haired Noir in ~the future~ (circa Star Allies??) has become a knight in his own right, swearing his service to Dedede as thanks for helping house the bruised, battered, emotionally unstable teen boy so many years ago.

Dedede Stop Adopting People Challenge (impossible)

Over the years (and with plenty of hard hitting, gloves-off training from Meta Knight) Noir has both grown up and grown accustomed to life on Popstar. He's regained some semblance of a life (gasp!) and inner peace. (...When Popstar's not being invaded, that is.)

He has friends (and rivals), is able to stomach food and drink a bit better, and has accepted Gooey, finally. He can even speak positively of his lost childhood with his little sister, on occasion.

Despite Popstar's generally warm weather, the Shiver Star native continues to dress in highly concealing fashion, as his upper body still bears the scars of his interrupted Dark Matter transformation; one reason he grew his hair out long was to help conceal the ones on his neck better, so as not to frighten the younger Waddle Dees.

[Assorted Text Wall Below]

-

Age Range: Mid 20s and up (Tbh, his specific age'll probably fluctuate depending upon the kind of story I want to tell. This is, quite simply, an adult Noir who's got his life more together.)

Abilities: Mild regenerative abilities, magic reflection, healing/purification, light projection [Rainbow Sword] 

Protective magic and various physical ability-boosting magic [These come courtesy of the crystals adorning his jacket, a gift from the Queen of the Fairies. Noir is still a squishy human, after all. His fine swordplay aside, he needs magical enhancements to not get accidentally steamrolled by Kirby's other friends.]

Hobbies: swordplay, stargazing, crochet (Taranza taught him the last one, both as a mental grounding exercise and to help rehabilitate Noir's Dark Matter corrupted hands for performing delicate tasks. Half of Dream Land has one of Noir's early crochet octopi sitting in their storage. Nowadays, he makes toys for the younger Dees.)

Etc: Because of his closeness with King Dedede (and in large part due to their matching scarves/sashes), his general protectiveness of the Waddle Dees, as well as his fairy-tale outfit (which Ribbon helped with) Noir has picked up nickname of the "Prince of Dream Land"

A highly unfitting one, Noir has been heard to privately complain. In what world could an unwashed, damaged, sharp-tongued orphan with hands near-literally dyed in blood become a prince...?

Height-wise, if we consider King Dedede to be one of a breed of extinct "mega penguins" then Noir, fully grown, is of comparable height. (Dedede insists he's taller because of this crown puff. Huzzah! His title as king is safe!) In human terms, this does make Noir a short king :cough: prince, which in his case is due to malnourishment, physical abuse during puberty, and just plain genetics. ^^;

Anyway, despite how shockingly decent he looks cleaned up, Noir is still a feral cat at heart, and he hasn't lost his sass either, even if the edges have been somewhat filed off with time.

(Even the most angsty and tragic of emo boys can only go so many years with sparkly, shimmering, pastel rainbow hair (1) before they give up the act and start smiling ju~st a little more! ^_-)

-

(1) It is completely impossible for Noir to return his hair to its original dark maroon/black, btw. Even the strongest dye refuses to stick.

...And yes, he has attempted.

--

(Q: When is this...? Cause he still looked 16 in that FL comic you did.) (A: That's because I hadn't thought ahead when I wrote it! This form is basically meant as something to pull out for the later games with some extra padding for any future games/events. >w< )

(Q: So... is that FL comic still Apologies canon?) (A: ~ish! He would definitely be his older self now. That said, this Noir did still encounter Elfilin by chance, immediately recognized him as ID-F86, and had a PTSD episode over it, dredging up old memories he'd believed he had come to peace with. It was the closest the Dark Matter in Noir had come to re-awakening in years. Elfilin's sincere apology to the innocent victims of Forgo's rage helped Noir keep from losing himself completely and he was able to recover.

Also, following Crystal Shards, Noir DID resume having daily nightmares about Adeleine and her fate. That was why MK encouraged him to stay with the fairies of Ripple Star for a time and recuperate; that Noir could resume his training with Meta Knight later on. The grateful fairies all turned out to completely ADORE him - particularly, his shining rainbow hair. This period away from Popstar meant that he totally missed out on Amazing Mirror though.)

(Q: If he missed Amazing Mirror, what games DIDN'T he miss?) (A: He was actually there for a somewhat altered version of Meta Knightmare Ultra in Planet Robobot! It was his first "mission" with his teacher. (And I have a fanfic brewing about that, thanks to the anon who asked what if Noir got within wishing distance of Star Dream...)

Unlike Meta's relationship with Kirby, where Meta trusts Kirby to bounce back from everything and is excited :wipes drool off face: to see how much Kirby will grow, Meta Knight tries (somewhat) to keep his very human disciple out of danger, if he can. He's not soft on him by any means, with hard blows and even harder life lessons, but he knows that Noir came to them hanging onto life by a very frayed thread and he only pushes as far as he believes Noir can take.

Nowadays, he's much more trusting of him to handle himself.

(Q: Assuming he was in SA, where was he during TDX, RtDL, and FL? (A: In both Triple Deluxe and Forgotten Land, he was away from Popstar. Record of Stopping Dedede Abductions: 0/2. He rolled his eyes at a giant beanstalk erupting from Dream Land leading to a kingdom in the clouds "...You're kidding?" and Dedede was stomping mad when Noir laughed outloud about the story of the abduction - which concealed the fact that Meta Knight WAS LAUGHING TOO.

In Return to Dream Land, Noir was still on Popstar but didn't participate in the adventure in any capacity. When everyone returned and told the tale of Magolor's betrayal, his response was a deadpan, "Okay but you all saw that coming a mile away though, right? .........Tell me you saw that coming." He was a little less sassy when he heard Magolor's downfall came at the hands of a corrupting artifact.)

(Q: Wasn't Noir taller than Dedede in that one random sketch?) (A: As an Earth human. Noir eventually became Popstarian size.)

(Q: It's nice that he's okay but... but Adeleine... ; _ ; ) (A: Yeah... However, similar to Blade and Gooey in the main verse, in the AU AU, it was Painter who took care of and sheltered the Dark Matter outcast. Noir initially hated Gooey, because he despised Dark Matter for destroying his family and he hated it every time Gooey tried to approach him - like a sign that he would never escape his mistakes. Only later was he forced to confront Gooey and realize that Gooey was always seeking Noir out because of Adeleine's memories Gooey had taken in. They eventually had a painful heart to heart, where Noir was able to experience his sister's last memories through Gooey. Noir now lets him wear Painter's beret in memory of her.)

--

Anyway, that's now two (and a half (?) if you count "Snowflakes") Noirs who have escaped the cycle of misery! Hooray!

Don't worry, Main Timeline Noir, your salvation comes next............Probably???? >w<

[starryknightwrites]

Does anyone else think the Miraculous writers let a few loud minorities impact their writing to the point of stunting it?

*Leak Spoilers Ahead*

I think there's a reason why Season 1 and 2 are more beloved than the rest. The showrunners let their audience get into their heads and they took all the wrong advice- in the last two seasons especially. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's difficult to ignore at this point.

A part of the fandom thinks Marinette is a creepy stalker? Let’s explain that away with an unnecessary but sympathetic backstory we never alluded to before, stretch it out for several episodes and make what used to be comedic teen girl hijinks super traumatic so no one can ever interpret it in bad faith again.

 A part of the fandom thinks Chat Noir is an entitled sexual predator who is a brat to Ladybug? Let’s cut his screen time and make sure he never disagrees with her again (unless he’s under a spell we can blame it on) so that he’s the perfect love interest and no one can ever interpret his normal human reactions in bad faith evermore.

A part of the fandom thinks Adrien is so passive he needs to replaced? Let’s have him apologize for his compassion first method and maybe throw a chair or something to prove himself. In the name of love.

A part of the fandom is harassing us about redeeming Chloe? Let’s make it painfully clear how evil she is in a glorified salt fic so that no one can ever interpret her in good faith again.

When people misunderstand your intentions, you don't scramble to "fix it" and try and make things black and white for easier digestion. You stick to your "problematic" guns, dammit. In trying to be perfect and play to everyone, you appease exactly no one.

I think this is partly an unfortunate side effect of the social media era of television. Showrunners never used to interact this much with fandom. Public forums like Twitter are a double edged sword because nowadays they’re a necessity for marketing, but everyone has access to you on there. Every Tom, Dick and Jane with an opinion and no boundaries can rage at you to their heart’s content at all times of day. And it’s easy for us to say “Well, why didn’t they just walk away/delete Twitter?” but even Tumblr users with 80 followers will lose themselves a bit on a bad anon day. I can only imagine dealing with that hundreds and hundreds of times over while also having the pressure of writing the trajectory of a worldwide acclaimed television show on your shoulders that EVERYONE has an opinion about that they are more than happy to rant at you. I think more of us might crack than we expect. And TA cracked.

People with a following have spoken time and time again about how they were unexpectedly affected severely by public ridicule and toxic parasocial relationships on social media. It’s terrible for anyone’s mental health and I think the Miraculous show runners are no exception. The pressure and the push and pull got to them and I think we’re seeing the results of that here. It’s good that TA is stepping away from the show- at least in part from what I gather- after Season 6 because I don’t think it’s healthy for Miraculous or him if he stays onboard. He’s seeing the show now through a filter of all its criticism, of a hundred random takes, and it just comes across incredibly stunted, unnatural and resentful in his writing. Like walking on eggshells and being bitter about it the entire time.

I understand they want to take input from their audience and feel pressure to write the show "correctly", but sometimes fandom ideas- especially the saltier ones- are worse. Sometimes you should just ignore criticism, no matter how loud and long it’s screamed at you, do your thing and hope for the best. At least you'll reserve your energy and passion that way and someone's going to bitch regardless. Sometimes you should write that salt fic just to get your frustrations out and then delete it.

[nutzworth]

its been a whole month. but you know what time it is? thats right.

DAY 6: MARCH 17, 2024

STATS: read for 1 hour 20 minutes (WEAK.) pages read: 1359-1592. 233 pgs slur count: 9 + 3 = 12 (dave, john x2. r slur) silly count: 11 + 1 = 12 (wv about his drawings) (i REALLY feel like i missed some... but whatever.) piss count: 2/3 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (dave pissed in his shower)

THOUGHTS: ok i didnt think a lot this round cus its like nearing midnight on a school night so im reading for funsies ok

act 4 has the story bouncing around way more than it did in previous acts. i saw a lot of the exiles today. and a lot of TROLLS! the exiles are so fun today i saw some pm and ar lore and wv pm ar all fought and then they had a meal. and wv and ar are trying to win over pm but she dont care. the WOMEN. panel. so good.

somethin else i reaaally noticed this time around is HOW GOOD HUSSIE WRITES! seriously these kids are talking so naturally its insane. i really like it. theyre so cute. they talk like me and my friends and its really good. hussies a really good writer guys

why did dave say that "i should probably text [john] soon. cus. i love him" why did he say that? and rose's "I know." why? what? im sure this has been read into like a million times but it feels so OUT OF POCKET. why did he SAY THAT? why does rose KNOW? what is anything.

today was the introduction to rose's exile and land. the land of light and rain. the combination of the land and the weird cursive exile and the weird loneliness and silence just really... it really creeps me out ok. "A mother does what's best for her children" with the empty dock with a cut rope and the martini. ugh. "There are footprints in the white sand." oh my god. IT CREEPS ME OUT. its SO QUIET it freaks me. augh. i love you rose

DAVE PEED THIS ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the next (and last) on the piss counter is in the middle of act 6 so were gonna be sitting pretty for a damn while. daves kind of a freak to be real. he says "voyeurbot" and "little girl" in the same sentence. why did he say this?

PA HARLEY. PA HARLEY ON LAND OF WIND AND SHADE!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!! oh oh aaaalso jade mentioned her penpal (JAKE!!!) and it got me a little excited. teehee. i looove jake english you dont even know

ummm dave entering the game... hes not in yet. but hes toying with his big machines and he got his totem and the object out. his egg. yeah. i didnt realize he was just playing with all this stuff and hes not even in the medium yet. craaaazy

WE SAW TEREZI THREE TIMES TODAY! THATS SO MUCH! SHES SO CUTE! i literally love terezi i always forget but i love her. shes so cool and silly and cute and the best. her convo with rose (her first one?) is so funny and awesome and ahh i love terezi. she says that the two of them were destined to be hatebuddies cus theyre both seers. ahhh

she also mentions some god tiers during that convo which was crazy. seer of mind. page of breath. knight of blood. maid of time. hussie just had this stuff on lock huh. why TAVROS'S classpect? not like vriskas? i dont know man.

karkat was so dumb today i cant even talk about him. he showed up twice and fumbled so bad. girl you havw GOT to stop being mean to people and yes that includes yourself. i really like karkat too i cant lie. hes so dumb so sweet. i love you karkat

jack noir just straight up gives pm a hit list for her king and queen for no reason. i mean yes there is a reason hes like "lol i do this to everyone wouldnt it be crazy if she was the one to get me their crowns lol" why does he do that? does he just have swords and symbols on lock? hes literally crazy

rose does her cool knitting needle in the monster thing. DAVE AND KANAYA CONVERSATION! i love them bad. rose and tavros is also funny but tavros types so much like a tool i can hardly stand it. im gonna be real i dont really like tavros. hes just not my style sorry

thats it sorry for not reading for a month. maybe ill do more this month haha. maybe maybe not. we will see ;-) thanks

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY/Swords of Fate: Arc Kingdom

Chapter 1: The Beowolf Hunt

Fairy tales. Myths. Legends. Stories with ever evolving characters and events. Many share a common source and many diverge from their original tellings. No two versions of one story are ever exactly the same. This is one such a story. A young man desired to cherish and protect. He never imagined that he would be the one to pull the legendary sword from the stone. In this tale, you will witness the trials and tribulations that shaped him from a simple huntsmen to the King of Vale. So begins the path to a new era of Remnant; the Arc Kingdom.

5th January, 734 AC

Jaune: *swinging his sword* Ha! Yah! Fwooo!!!

Rogue: Gh! *chops firewood* Gah!

Saphron: Verte! Have you seen where Noir and Blanc have gone?

Verte: They're in the kitchen. They're gonna be the ones cooking dinner tonight.

Rouge: *eyes gleaming* Is it lamb stew again?

Verte: *smiles* Yep!

Saphron: Alright! Come inside, Jaune!

Jaune: You three go on ahead. Let me finish practicing out here.

Saphron: Oh come on! All you ever do is practice. A little break isn't going to kill you.

Rouge: If he wants to freeze to death, let him. More stew for us.

Verte: And I get his room!

Jaune: Wha- hey! Get back here! *runs inside*

An hour had passed and Noir and Blanc carried the pot over to the table. A large puff of steam escaped as soon as the two of them took off the lid. Everyone's eyes sparkled with hunger. The mouthwatering meat, crunchy carrots, hearty leaks and fluffy potatoes were swimming in a sea of delicious stew. They wasted no time in digging into the meal.

Jaune: Mmmmm!!! Guys, this is incredible!

Noir/Blanc: Thanks! *beams*

Rouge: So Jaune, tomorrow you'll be returning to Beacon. Have you packed everything you needed to.

Jaune: Mmhmm. My weapons, spare clothes, Dust and all of my books. I'm all set.

Rouge: Good to hear. *smiles and headpats him*

Jaune: Rouge, come on! I'm not a kid anymore.

Noir: Awwww, big brother's blushing!

Blanc: He likes it!

Jaune: Ack! I do not! *blushes* Hmph.

Two hours had passed and Rogue, Saphron and Verte were getting ready for bed. Jaune, meanwhile, popped outside. Near the house was a small gravestone. He knelt to it and clasped his hands together.

Jaune: I'll be heading to Beacon again soon, master. *chuckles* I can't believe that it's already been 4 months. You should've seen me in the Initiation, I was terrible. *laughs* But somehow, I managed to impress the headmaster and now I have a team of my own. We're called JNPR, like the berries. *touches the ground* I've written to Shirou as well, and I've made sure he's okay. He's taken up a part time appretinceship as a blacksmith in the Kingdom of Mistral, says he's working on forging two exceptional swords. Anyway, goodnight.

Jaune rose up from the snow and shivered. The cold really hurt his knees. As he was about to open the door, he heard a loud scream.

Jaune: What the-?

The scream became louder, followed by snarls and howls.

Jaune: Grimm...

Jaune burst open the door and rushed to his bedroom. Taking his father's sword and shield, he hurried outside and ran into the direction of the chaos.

[Vin Village]

Shadowy black wolves growled and snarled at the villagers. Atop their faces were bone-like masks and their eyes were a burning red. Men and women tried their hardest to fight back against the pack, but they were too strong. The beasts fought back and slashed at the people as if they were defenceless lambs. Many tried to run, but they weren't fast enough.

From within a small shrubbery, Jaune could see the attacks unfold. Grabbing his sword, he drew it and ran. With a mighty yell, he slashed at one of the beasts and chopped its arm clean off. It screeched in pain. Taking his sheath, he pushed a small button and it changed into a shield, with the emblem of the Arc Family at the front. The rest of the grimm set their sights on Jaune and surrounded him.

Jaune: Try and get as far away from here as you can. I'll hold them off.

Villager: Are you crazy? There's 7 beowolves there!

Jaune: I've handled these creatures before. I've got enough Dust with me. Just do what I say and get everyone to safety as quick as you can!

Villager: Alright. Good luck. *runs*

Jaune: *deep breath* Okay Jaune, just remember your training.

Two beowolves lunged at him, baring their sharp claws and fangs. Immidiately, Jaune blocked them with his shield. His feet dragged against the snow as he was pushed back slightly. Raising his sword, he struck at one of them.

Jaune: Hah!!

He managed to land a scratch on its chest. The other beowolf tried to attack Jaune, but he dodged just in time.

Jaune: *grins* Yaah!

He thrusted his sword into its chest and yelled out in pain. Suddenly, Jaune noticed 3 of the beowolves running away from the village.

Jaune: Oh no you don't! *pushes beowolf with shield*

Before he could catch up to them, someone dropped down in front of the beowolves, armed with a scythe. They wore a bright red cloak and their face was obscured with a hood. In a single stroke, they slew the 3 beowolves. Jaune was impressed.

???: Behind you!

Jaune: *turns around* Woah!

He narrowly avoided being scratched by a stray beowolf, losing his footing and falling to the floor. Instantly, the cloaked warrior dashed towards the grimm at top speed and blocked an incoming attack. Pushing the grimm back, they decapitated it with their scythe. Jaune shook his head and stood up. Gripping his sword as tight as possible, he and the cloaked warrior stood back to back was they were surrounded by the remaining 3 beowolves.

???: When I say 'now', we strike. Got it?

Jaune: Yeah.

The beowolves slowly moved closer, growling. Jaune could feel his spine tingling.

???: Now! Sah!!! *slices beowolf*

Jaune: Hah! *stabs beowolf*

Jaune/???: YAAAAH!!! *chops beowolf in half*

The threat was over and the grimm crumbled into ash. Jaune turned to the cloaked warrior.

Jaune: *smiles* Thanks for the help, Ruby.

Ruby: *takes off hood* No problem, Jaune.

Jaune: How come you didn't tell me that you were in Charlemagne?

Ruby: *nervous laughter* Sorry about that, it kind slipped my mind. I was at a tavern with mom and dad when I heard about the attack.

Jaune: Huh. I heard about the attack before I was gonna go to bed.

Ruby: I gotta say, you did look a little rusty. Have you been slacking off.

Jaune: Wha? No! I just... *shifts eyes* haven't fought any grimm in a while.

Ruby: Yep, that's a given. *chuckles* I'm looking forward to going back to Beacon tomrrow.

Jaune: Me too! It'll be great to see our friends again. *sighs* Though I'm not looking forward to seeing CRDL.

Ruby: You still upset about the sparring match?

Jaune: I can handle losing a sparring match. But breaking my sword was crossing the line! Anyway, um, I never thanked you for helping me back then.

Ruby: There's no need to worry about it. After all, what are best friends for? *smiles*

Jaune: Yeah, that's true. *chuckles* Still, you're amazing.

Ruby: Thanks Jaune.

Jaune: Anyway, we should check on the villagers. See if they're okay.

Ruby: Yeah *nods*

The two of them walked near the gate, where the villagers were gathered. Many of them thanked Jaune and Ruby and tried to give them gifts, much to their embarrassment. From afar, the wizard Ozpin was watching them.

Ozpin: And so it begins. *smokes pipe*

[Castle Vale]

In the throne room, King Vortigern sneered at the black crystal ball next to him.

Vortigern: You musn't worry so much.

Crystal ball: You made a dangerous mistake, Your Majesty. Making a deal with Ozpin? Are you trying to incur my wrath?

Vortigern: He won't win.

Crystal ball: How can you be certain?

Vortigern: Because I saw to it personally. Uther doesn't have any living heirs. Without him, the bloodline has ended. That sword will remain in the stone for eternity.

Crystal ball: What of Ozpin, then?

Vortigern: I'll see to his demise myself. After all, *eyes turn draconic* you blessed me with this power. He doesn't stand a chance.