#or be a victim of her ambush attacks that she's been learning from her training

[tinapaysmp]

Guess what? I went back to watching Scott's pov and this time I'm planning on finishing it. I guess the Jimmy pov would have to wait even far longer.

I'm aware that I'm watching him as a means to an end, mainly for both fWhip and Pearl in my AUs. But hey, it'll tick him off the list of povs I haven't watched.

[lovesqueaky123]

Age: young adult

Rank: blooded

Height: 7 feet, 6 inches

Gear: wristblades (left gauntlet) : two serrated knives : cloaking field : plasmacaster : wrist shield (right gauntlet) : combi-stick : flechette grenades

Bio: Lamaya was born into a badblood clan, a band of murderous and dishonourable marauders. Lamaya never displayed the violent madness her clan were known for. After maiming a lecherous older warrior in her teens, Lamaya fled by stealing a ship. With little idea on how to actually pilot the vehicle, she ended up crashing on the blue-green world her clan often visited their viciousness upon.

Earth.

Lamaya found herself in the Rocky mountains, armed only with her mother's serrated knives and a stolen bio-mask. With an entire world to explore, without the risk of being attacked by a larger male, lamaya set out to investigate her surroundings.

Ultimately, her hunger drew her towards humanity. The smell of food lured her down towards a farmer's house, where she encountered the hunter's son. After getting over his initial nervousness, the boy brought her some food, thus gaining her trust. She decided that humans weren't acceptable prey, but decided that there's plenty of other things to kill. Her theory was confirmed when she found a dead cow that had been ripped open from the inside, and a dead facehugger nearby. Despite her slave-like position in her clan, even she had heard stories of the "hard meat" and that her race viewed them as the worthiest of prey. Desiring her blood mark and unwilling to allow them to run rampant, Lamaya decided to hunt down the Xenomorph.

Lamaya was able to track down the Xenomorph nest within a few hours, but the arrival of other Yautja, 6 hunters from her clan looking for her, had considerably complicated things, as did an unrelated Yautja enforcer here to kill them and deal with the Xenomorph infestation.

Lamaya managed to overpower and kill one of the badbloods, and took his gear which she used to make her first Xenomorph kill, saving the enforcer from a Xenomorph ambush. Grateful for her potentially saving his life, the enforcer, kataashak, offered to train her in the ways of battle.

Lamaya proved to be a quick learner, and through Kataashak's trial-by-fire tutelage, she quickly racked up an impressive number of Xenomorph kills, including two Praetorians and later disemboweled the Xenomorph queen so Kataashak could kill it.

Even after the Xenomorphs were dealt with, kataashak stayed to continue training lamaya, honing her into a deadly warrior. She tracked down and killed the other badbloods, taking both heads and weapons as trophies. Kataashak eventually left for other fights, but Lamaya decided to stay, having befriended some humans (and liking the meats they fed her) However she soon turned her attention to the darker Elements of humanity. Serial Killers, war criminals and other villains became her prey, and word soon spread of an unseen assassin, an invisible executioner who would appear, dispense swift and brutal justice upon the guilty, and leave with their severed heads. Using a small ship that kataashak left for her, Lamaya travels the globe, ever seeking to wet her blades with the blood of the monstrous and murderous.

Personality: like most Yautja, Lamaya is a strong-willed and ruthless hunter, well-versed in the ways of battle and willing to fight for any reason she thinks is good enough. Fearsome, headstrong and dominant, Lamaya tolerates no insult and seldom backs down from a challenge. Unlike many of her kind, however, lamaya is quite friendly with humans once she knows them, and is polite and respectful towards those she decides to trust and speak to, even learning more than one human language so she can communicate easier. She won't hesitate to kill anyone who threatens the innocent. Since she's only interested in obtaining trophies, Lamaya often gives any victim's wealth to those she thinks needs it, or at least leaves it where it can be found.

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

HiJack AU - How to Train Your Dragon Plotbunnies

Don’t be confused by the Gifs lol. In this AU, Jack maintains his brown hair.

Previous

Once the others started seeing Hiccup in a new light (because of the tricks) it pisses off Jack to no end that even Snotlout is getting chummy. Mostly because  he couldn’t go about hitting him or making jokes on his expense when he was actually being nice for once, even if it had been a conditional thing.

Jack wasn’t one to make the first hit, after all. If he messed with Snotlout every time he wanted it would make him no better than the bully. So he maintained pulling pranks on the guy when, and only when, he picks on Hiccup... Which didn’t happen often, since Hiccup started applying what they’ve learn from Toothless during training.

Jack helps Hiccup give the villagers the slip when he starts getting famous then meets him and Toothless later at the lake.

On one part, Jack is glad the villagers finally see Hiccup being great. He's just sad that's it's based on a lie and even Hiccup doesn't like how much it escalated his reputation. It's also to Jack's ire that their approval of Hiccup is so conditional and based on traditions.

At Hiccup’s first test flight with Toothless, Jack wasn’t around because he needed to watch the sheep and town children. (Also, the moment really is to further help cement the bond of Hiccup and Toothless. Jack may be inserted in this AU for self-indulgence purposes, but it would still be maintained as Hiccup’s story with Toothless)

Hiccup was going to leave with Toothless which made Jack angry when he found out.

Jack was the one who attempted to show everyone in the village that dragons weren't so bad, because he knew the alternative would be Hiccup doing it. And he couldn't risk that.

Hiccup came clean that it was his doing but Stoick maintained that it was possibly due to Jack's influence.

Jack was sent away from living at the Haddock household, with Stoick informing Hiccup that when Trader Johanne/Aster/North docks in, Jack will be no longer allowed to return to Berk so they would have to find another place for him to settle in, much to Hiccup's and Gobber's dismay.

Luckily, that never had to happen.

Jack sneaks into the ship Toothless gets trapped in hopes of freeing the dragon when he gets the chance although he had no idea what to do to fly out since he wasn't an expert in it as Hiccup was.

A Viking caught him and he was later put into the brig.

Similar to the movie, Astrid is the one who talks Hiccup into thinking of how to fix things.

Fishlegs comes running in to tell them that he saw Jack sneaking into Stoick's ship earlier.

And that further gave him the resolve to act.

When the ship sinks, Jack sinks along with Toothless. Despite his rising fear, he dives down further to try and release the dragon. When he starts losing consciousness, Hiccup swims him back to the surface while Stoick goes to free Toothless.

Astrid usually hangs with them, Jack was still her sparring partner hand-to-hand. But now, she competes with Hiccup in Dragon-related specific ventures.

Conversations/Interactions:

[Scene cuts to the Arena, in the middle of a training session]

Hiccup: You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?

[A Nadder fires at him, only missing with Jack pushing him down and out of the way.]

Hicup: WHOA!

Jack: Maybe not right now, Hic? 

Gobber: Focus Hiccup! You're not even trying!

[Gobber focuses to the ring, Jack stands by, protected behind the gates of the dugout of the arena with his cooling Salve ready and extra buckets of water filled if needed.]

Gobber: Today is about teamwork. Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which.

Fishlegs: Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, by crushing its victims--

Hiccup: [On edge] Will you please stop that?!

[Astrid punches Snotlout in the face, and Ruffnut throws her bucket at Tuffnut, who is then dragged into the wall of smoke.]

Astrid: Wait. 

[A dragon tail knocks them off their feet]

Tuffnut: *running out of the mist, screaming and running to his retreat blindly* OH, I'M HURT! I AM VERY MUCH HURT!

Jack: I got him. Tuff! This way, tch! Follow the sound of my voice! That’s the damn opposite way to my voice, you idiot!

Fishlegs: Chances of survival are dwindling into single-digits now. 

[One of the Zippleback heads emerges from the mist. Fishlegs throws water at its face, and it angrily spews out some green gas.]

Fishlegs: Oh. Wrong head.

[The head sprays a large stream of green gas, and Fishlegs runs off screaming. The head turns its attention to Hiccup and the other head comes into view, spitting electrical sparks]

Gobber: Fishlegs! Now, Hiccup!

[Hiccup throws the bucket of water at the spark-spitting head, but it literally falls short of the dragon head]

Hiccup: Oh, come on!

Jack: YOU HAD ONE JOB HIC!

[Hiccup rides Toothless, tugging the prosthetic tail fin with a rope to change its position. The wind blows at them and they tumble backwards]

[Toothless crashes into a field of Dragon Nip and rolls in it comfortably.]

Hiccup (cont.): Whoa! [holds up Dragon Nip]

[Everybody is gathered around another bonfire night. Gobber looking at Jack who had a minor sprain on his ankle after a particularly failing attempt teaching Toothless how to fly]

Gobber: Tell me again how ya got that leg busted up?

Jack: Fell off the roof checking on a repair at Trader Johanne/Aster/North’s shop.

[Jack says this as he continues making more of his cooling salve, his leg propped up on a stool. Gobber rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Hiccup’s taking notes in the side on what not to do one his next tail design. This scene would be part of one of the clips in the montage.]

[Scene cuts to Hiccup still holding up the Dragon Nip, but at the Arena]

[Hiccup grounds a Gronckle during training by rubbing Dragon Nip on its nose.]

Fishlegs: What was that? Some kind of trick? What did you do?

Tuffnut: How'd you do that?

Ruffnut: It was really cool.

Fishlegs: Hey, Hiccup!

Snotlout: Hey, Hiccup, I've never seen a Gronckle do that before!

Jack: Uh, I forgot my Salve ingredients. Hiccup, come with me. *Takes Hiccup by the arms and starts walking backwards to the arena* You guys go on ahead. 

Hiccup: What he said. We’ll, uh, catch up with you at bonfire tonight.

Astrid: *Scowling in suspicion*

[Hiccup and Jack later exits the Arena when the coast was clear]

Phlegma: Congratulations, Stoick! Everyone is so relieved.

Starkard: Out with the old and in with the new, right?!

Hoark the Haggard: No one will miss that old nuisance!

Ack: The village is throwing a party to celebrate!

Stoick: He's gone?

Gobber: Yeah... most afternoons with Jack. But who can blame him? I mean the life of a celebrity's very rough.

Stoick: Hiccup?

Gobber: Who would've thought, eh? He and Jack are getting closer than ever because of it, guess he’s the only one not smothering him. That said, I should probably tell you something about Jack...

Stoick: Are we really talking about Hiccup here? He’s doing well in training?

Gobber: You could say so. *shrugging* He has this way with the beasts. Never seen anything like it before.

[Hiccup gets approved as the most astounding trainee by the village elder, much to Stoick’s pride]

Gobber: You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!

Stoick: Ha, ha! That's my boy!

Jack: Er yeah, way to go. Woo~ *Claps half-heartedly in celebration with the rest of the Viking teens as some of the other Vikings celebrate inside the ring with Hiccup* So fun...

Hiccup: [Sarcastically] Heh. Oh, yeah! Yes! I can't wait. I am so...

[Scene cuts to at the cove]

Hiccup: ...LEAVING! We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever. Ah, man...

Jack: And what makes you think I’m letting you leave without me, Hic?

Hiccup: Gah! Jack? How long have you been here?

Jack: I got here while you were busy hearing everyone sing your praises. *Hops down the rock* And if you’re running away, I’m going with you.

[After arguing about it for awhile (I don’t write angst well, and I kinda consider arguements as part of that) Hiccup finally relents to having Jack come along]

Hiccup: Well... I guess having you along for the ride wouldn’t be the worse thing. It’d be good to talk to someone who has a wider vocabulary than snarls and growls.

Jack: Whoa, wait... We’re flying out of here?

Hiccup: *Stares at Jack incredulously* Well, we can’t take a damn boat out of here.

Jack: We could... Like, if we sneak out at the dead of night and we commandeered it. Toothless is kinda dark, he wouldn’t be seen..

Hiccup: More complicated. I thought you were aquaphobic. You never mentioned being acrophobic, too.

Jack: Never thought it was an issue that would come up. *In deadpan* You know, people by nature not really big in the whole ‘flying’ thing. Not to mention, the first time we rode Toothless together, I ended up spraining my ankle.

Jack: That. And I honestly don’t think he likes me as much as you.

Hiccup: That was one time. He’s mellowed out since the first few times. C’mon, just trust me.

Hiccup: And you dismounted too soon. More like jumped off, really.

[Toothless likes it every time Hiccup takes him flying. As Jack said humans not big on the whole flying thing by nature, dragons don’t have a penchant for remaining grounded for long periods of time. Thinking it was just another one of their flight sessions, he went all out with speed, spinning, and diving in and out of the sea]

Hiccup: Toothless! The idea is to make Jack less hysteric!

[Toothless responded by doing a quick loopty-loop above the clouds with Jack screaming and hanging on to Hiccup for dear life, his legs hooking around the shorter boy’s waist]

Hiccup:  Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile...

Jack: Of course! Mellowed! Perfect, just lovely, Hic! So glad I trusted you!

[When Toothless finally reached the ‘mellow’ stage Hiccup’s talking about, he shows them a good view of the sunset before taking them up to the Auroras and starry night]

Jack: Okay, now I could get use to this. *He untangles himself from Hiccup* Guess you cured me out of the acrophobia. 

Hiccup: Well, that was quicker than with your aquaphobia. But I’m glad. It is amazing, isn’t it?

Jack: Not as amazing as you.

Hiccup: Eh. I try.

Jack: No, Hic. I mean it, you really are amazing. Your heart’s always been in the right place. Berk’s not home to me because I’m stuck living there; you’ve made it home to me. It’s one of the things I love about you.

Hiccup: Yeah, well... Wait. What?

Jack: You heard me. 

[Before Hiccup could reply, Toothless started to make a sudden turn and brings them to dragon island. They found about the gigantic dragon and now Hiccup can’t run away out of good conscience.]

Jack: So, what are we going to do? Tell them?

Hiccup: No, no. They’ll find out about Toothless. We can’t tell them. They’d hurt him.

Jack: So then what? Everyone’s going to expect you to kill a dragon tomorrow. I don’t think that’s any less cruel an alternative than everyone hurting Toothless.

Hiccup: I know, I know. Just... Just give till tomorrow. I’ll figure something out

Jack: *Looks unconvinced, but he relents* Okay Hic, if you say so. I just want you to remember one thing, no matter what happens tomorrow.

Hiccup: What?

[Jack proceeds to kiss Hiccup quickly before running off first into the forest and back towards the village. In a daze, Hiccup watches after him before a small smile starts to break out. Momentarily, Toothless appears beside him, looking at him in puzzlement. Hiccup scowls at the dragon, embarrassed]

Hiccup: What are you looking at?

[The next day at the dragon ring, as everyone started to gather there for Hiccup’s first slaying of a dragon, they’re surprised that Jack was the first one inside. By the time Stoick and Hiccup were arriving, Jack had released the Nightmare from the gates and tried taming it in an attempt to prove the dragons, by nature, don’t intend to harm unless provoked. He uses the ‘I’m not one of them’ that Hiccup uses in the movie, only I guess there’s more truth ringing to that.]

[Similar to the movie, Stoick stops it by banging at the mental cage barring the arena, which triggered the Nightmare to attack]

[Hiccup moves to help Jack and ends up getting caught in the dragon’s clutches instead, then enters Toothless]

[Hiccup walks out of his house marveling that dragons were freely roaming around Berk, and his father approving of it all]

Jack: Hey Hic.

Hiccup: Jack! You're still here.

Jack: Yeah, well, I would've stayed by your bed side, but between the bed and the Night Fury, there really wasn't...

[Hiccup cuts him off by kissing him in front of everyone. Raising a brow, Stoick turns to Gobber]

Stoick: I'm gonna need your help building Jack his own room.

Gobber: Sounds 'bout right.

[Jack and Hiccup pulls away, looking rather silly in their daze.]

Jack: I could get used to that...

Script here

Bonus (Cause I don’t know if I’ll do elaborate ones later of 2 and 3 [LoL I’ve been putting off actually watching 3 cause I don’t that very one particular angsty scene and I dunno if I’m ready to not get depressed after watching it and not just seeing pics and GIFs of it]

In the series, the first appearance of Dagur, it was also his first time meeting Jack. He flirted with Jack thinking he was a girl since he was first introduced as a Medic. He thought all Viking men grew into warriors eventually and assumed Jack was short for Jacklyn or something.

Hiccup, with annoyance, went to correct him before the flirting went further.

Jack was quick to display why he shouldn’t be quick to underestimate him.

Astrid was quick to kick his ass for being such a misogynist. 

Instead of encountering Heather, it would be (teen) Jamie (from ROTG) that they happen to find.

Unlike in the series (where they display as if Astrid was jealous of Heather and Hiccup) it’s Hiccup jealous of Jack and Jamie.

Astrid is the first to figure out Jamie's real intentions, similar to Heather's; to steal a dragon for Alvin the Treacherous to save his family.

Astrid and Jamie bonds after that. Unlike Heather, Jamie and his family finds a home in Berk.

In this version for "Gift of a Night Fury" Jack would make an actual decent holiday treat.

If his guardian is Aster, he'd make a decent Eggnog. If his guardian is North, he would make good fruitcake. And if I maintain Trader Johanne, it would be a decent Yaknog.

After all, when he stays with Stoick and Hiccup, when father and son are busy he ends up being the one to cook.

Hiccup would call Jack 'my Snowflake', alluding to Jack's love for winter. Parallel to Hiccup calling Astrid 'Milady'

Hiccup tastes Jack's treat, likes it, and teases Jack about being a good housewife.

Jack blushes. Hiccup realizes what he said and remembers they're dating.

Toothless rolls his eyes at the background.

In the first scene, while everyone was at the Dragon race, Jack and Hiccup were flying on Toothless. 

Although Hiccup was still the only one who could, in a sense, drive Toothless, since the contraption to help control Toothless’s tail was also where Hiccup’s prosthetic went.

So Jack couldn’t really help maneuver Toothless when Hiccup jumps off to hover ahead in his flight suit.

During Valka and Stoick’s singing and dancing of their wedding song, Gobber continues to dance by himself with Jack clapping and Hiccup tapping his foot, till Jack finally pulled Hiccup up to dance himself.

While Hiccup and Valka was grieving for Stoick, Jack had gone after Toothless, knowing that Hiccup didn’t really want to send him away. (If I do kill him haha)

He ends up getting taken by Drago along with Toothless, since he attempted stopping him from doing so.

Jack doesn’t get his personal dragon until after movie 3, Luna. So he usually just rides with Hiccup.

If I ended this HTTYD HiJack AU series till 3, it wouldn’t have taken so long for the dragons to return and they would’ve return a day after the wedding.

wedding gif came from a video of @little-hiccups

[multiverseforger]

Honor Guest served as a deadly assassin known as the Silencer for Leviathan until Talia al Ghul allowed her to retire. She then proceeded to create a happy, normal life, marrying a man named Blake and having a son named Ben. After a civil war sparked within Leviathan, Honor was forced to return to her role as the Silencer to protect her family.

History

Early Life



Honor as a student at St. Hadrian's

Little is known of the early life of the girl who would later become Honor Guest, other than the fact that she wound up in a clinic owned by the scientist Jonah Nine at a young age. Through unknown circumstances she gained the unique ability to project zones of silence from her body. The leader of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul, learned of her power and hoped to recruit her to his organization. He sent her to St. Hadrian's Finishing School for Girls to be trained as an assassin. Ra's' daughter, Talia al Ghul, visited Honor at St. Hadrian's and saw her as the perfect candidate to help her forge a covert organization of her own, one that would replace the need of the superhero; she would call this organisation Leviathan.[1][2] Talia continued to train Honor for several years to become an agent of Leviathan who would do whatever she thought necessary to assist in the organization's cause.[3] Talia gifted Honor with the nanode, a microscopic device that would reweave clothes into a battle suit and provide Honor with various devices for her mission.[4]

Over the years Honor became more and more skillful and effective in her role as an assassin until she was given the codename of The Silencer by her mistress.[4] The Silencer displayed unyielding loyalty to Talia's cause, not once requesting for any form of release from her duty. Ra's would often send assassins from his League to combat Leviathan, hoping to sabotage the organization before it was fully created. However the Silencer was always able to cut these assassins down, thus keeping Leviathan floating. In time Honor came to see Talia and Leviathan as her family, as it was all she had ever known.[1]

Meeting the Batman



The Silencer's run in with the Batman

On one occasion Honor was sent on a mission to Gotham City by Talia, however she was not informed what the premise of her mission was. When she arrived in the city she met a real-estate worker named Blake Guest, whom she hired an apartment from. She waited in the apartment for days until she was given directives from Talia, who informed her that she was there to protect the Batman from assassins sent by Ra's al Ghul. While on route to the Batman's possible locations Honor noticed a mugging undergoing. Deciding to help the victims she descended on the muggers and murdered all of them, this brought the attention of Batman who attacked the assassin for murdering the thugs.[1]

After a brief skirmish between the two fighters Ra's al Ghul's assassin the Reaper arrived. The two fought together against the powerful cybernetic warrior, however his skill and body mods proved too much for the pair of them. As the Reaper beat Batman to a pulp Silencer saw her opportunity, she grabbed the Reaper's sword from his back and used it to decapitate him, she then took advantage of Batman's crippled state to escape the scene with no further incidents. After the completion of the mission Honor began dating Blake Guest as she started to believe that she wanted an ordinary life for herself.[1]

End of the Silencer



The Silencer's last fight

After a sparring match against Talia Silencer worked up the courage to ask if she could be released from her eternal work. Talia agreed to let her live a normal life as long as she fulfilled one last job for her old friend. Talia ordered her to kill a former Leviathan member, Guile, who was planning to trade Leviathan's secrets to the authorities in exchange for freedom. The Silencer shadowed Guile for days and learnt that he had a family and just wanted to live an ordinary life. [5]

A few days after this Silencer made a move on Guile hoping to eliminate him and earn her freedom, however she was intercepted by Deathstroke who was widely considered to be the most effective mercenary alive. The two battled until Honor was able to temporarily disable him by kicking him out a window, she then intercepted Guile and shot him in the head before Deathstroke could recover. The mercenary informed Silencer that killing Guile would cause a civil war in Leviathan as all trust in the organisation had been broken. Honor was then able to escape from Deathstroke with her life.[5] Honor was granted her wish and left her life as an assassin behind her, settling down in Charleston, marrying Blake Guest and having a son, Ben.[4]

Back to Business



The Silencer reactivates

During her daily routine, Honor was assaulted by an old Leviathan peer known as Killbox, who told her that she was on the wrong side of the supposed Leviathan civil war. After killing Killbox, Honor went home where she was greeted by Talia al Ghul. Talia told her of the dangers the supposed war might bring upon her and her family and gave her the nanode she used as the Silencer. Blake offered to have Talia for dinner but Honor wanted nothing to do with the Leviathan Civil War, and so decided to take Talia to the airport. While driving Talia out of her neighbourhood the pair were attacked by Bloodvessel and Breacher who worked for a man named Quietus - a leader of a rebel Leviathan faction. As the pair were about to kill Talia, Honor put on her suit and defended her former boss - becoming the Silencer once more.[4]

After a brief fight Honor was able to gain the upper hand on Bloodvessel and Breacher eventually killing the pair. When she turned around Talia had disappeared into the night. She then called for Leviathan Cleaners to put a lid on the whole incident, which managed to fool her husband and the rest of the neighbourhood. Since she had retired from Leviathan, she had to accept a meeting with Mr. Remedy, the right hand man of Quietus. The following day, she went to a meeting with him at a "Maulmart", a weapon depot for Leviathan, where she was ambushed by dozens of assassins, in violation of Maulmart's supposedly neutral status.[6]

She managed to escape by making use of stun grenades and her powers, but was badly wounded in the process. Honor exited the Maulmart just as an orbital strike destroyed it, ordered by Quietus, who sacrificed scores of cybernetic assassins and Remedy in the process. The Silencer also threatened Talia al Ghul, saying she would kill her if the Demon's Daughter failed to put an end to the civil war, which was putting Honor's family in danger.[7]

Captured by Deathstroke, Honor fought with the mercenary but was then convinced to sell Talia al Ghul to end the Leviathan civil war after she realized that her former mentor had blown her cover and forced her into a war.[5] The next Sunday, she brought her son to a diner, where she was approached by Talia. The two of them were then ambushed by killers from both Quietus and Gunn, two underbosses warring for the control of Leviathan. Honor and Talia made short work of the ambushers but when the former head of Leviathan threatened Ben, the Silencer killed her friend and left the diner, deeply shaken by what she had done.[8]

Protecting Nightwing



Honor destroys Nightwing's bike

A short time later, Honor learnt that a Leviathan assassin called Endgame was targeting the hero Nightwing, as he wanted Nightwing as a trophy for his faction of Leviathan. Silencer decided to assist Nightwing in repelling the would be assassin. She tracked him to the Isle of Harm where he planned to take place in a cosmos spanning annual race, where the winner would be allowed to receive the answer to any question. While awaiting the beginning of the race Nightwing was attacked by Endgame, but was driven off by Silencer after she opened fire on him from a distance. Before the race Silencer noticed Endgame plant a bomb on Nightwing's bike. When the race began Silencer destroyed Nightwing's bike in order to protect him from the assassination attempt.[9]

Silencer then picked up Nightwing and explained to him why she was there, he told her that he was there to protect his friends Willem Cloke and Vicki Vale from the villainous Wyrm, who wanted Nightwing to ask a question for him that would greatly effect the cosmos. Honor was then able to help Nightwing fend off Endgame once again, knocking him out of the race in the process. When the pair reached the finish line in first place Honor bid Nightwing a farewell and wished him luck with helping his friends.[9]

Ending the Demon's Daughter



Honor battles Cradle and Grave

After the skirmish in the diner Honor seeked to end her problems once and for all, she discerned that the only way to do this was to find the body of Talia and destroy it, thus ending the woman's grasp on her family. Honor knew that Talia's body would be taken to the Lazarus Pit in Khadym for revival and so hoped to intercept and destroy it from there. Honor planned a trip for her and her family to go to Action Land, a Superman themed theme park, as it was located in Sansaro which was near the border of Khadym. During the flight to Sansaro Ben pointed out that a little boy from the diner was present on the plane, Honor immediately recognized the boy and his partner as the freelance assassins Cradle and Grave.[3]

Realizing she had to take them down covertly she drew the pair down to the cargo hold where they revealed that they were tailing her so they could inform the underbosses of Talia's location, thus earning a hefty sum of money. After hearing there reasoning the Silencer engaged the pair in combat. Cradle shot a cannon into the side of the plane hoping to kill the assassin, however the Silencer used the opportunity to send the pair flying out of the plane to their deaths. Honor and her family then reached the resort without anyone realizing what had caused the damage to the plane.[3]

After reaching the resort Honor met up with Iverson, a Leviathan data broker who she believed could help her stay out of trouble in the rogue nation of Khadym. Iverson informed Honor that the best way into the lawless nation was through a smuggling truck that occasionally made shipments into the nation. Iverson also told her that the two major players in the war were Quietus and Gunn. When she went to intercept the truck she discovered Quietus was also attempting to cross the border in order to eliminate Talia. Believing she was still an agent of Talia, Quietus attacked Honor and a fight broke out between the two of them. The pair soon came to realize that they had been set up by Talia's magical lieutenant Lady Wishbone, who wanted to eliminate two of the biggest threats to Talia's Leviathan. At that moment Honor and Quietus became afflicted by a magical spell, this spell caused the pair to swop bodies with each other, meaning Honor was now stuck in Quietus' body. When Honor went to confront Quietus about what they should do she noticed he had left.[10

[littlemisssquiggles]

This one is probebly simpler to answer but possibly now but, which of Salem's faction do you think is close to a point they might be kiled off? For me Hazel is currently safe atm, Cinder is neutral point she already had two fakeout deaths but possibly still has some plot. It is a toss up between Watts and Tyrian given both have a point that could be there end. Watts being executed by Ironwood as a show of force to Salem and Tyrian's desire to please Salem by recapturing Ruby.

Hello again Crystal. That’s actually another good question and I do agree with you on your predications to some degree.

I believe Hazel will be kept around since there is still some unresolved business between him, Oz and Oscar. I have a feeling we could potentially get a rematch between these three characters. Not to mention that as of V6, there also seems to be a growing connection between Hazel, Emerald and Mercury. Particularly Emerald. I quite liked Hazel’s display of empathy towards Emerald where he was willing to sort of take the full brunt of the punishment from Salem for their---well technically Cinder’s failure---at retrieving the Relic of Knowledge during the Battle of Haven.

I feel like this could potentially lead into Hazel becoming a sort of fatherly older brother type character for both Emerald and Mercury. Both of these kids have been victims of not having a proper support system throughout their lives with Mercury being a survivor of child abuse at the hand of his own father and Emerald never having a family to begin with. Not to mention that Hazel still has his own inner demons to heal from regarding the death of his sister. This is why I love the idea of there being more potential moments for these three---Hazel, Emerald and Mercury---to bond since I can actually picture the prospect of their relationship being exactly what they need in a sense.

Mercury never felt the love of a devoted parent---particularly one that’s male. I can easily picture Hazel filling that void since he practically had to be both an older brother and a father figure to Gretchen. He definitely acted like one during his outburst at Oscar back at Hazel.

“…She was only a child! She wasn’t ready!”

I’m actually curious to see how Hazel would react and treat Merc upon learning his backstory of abuse. The same could be said regarding his response to learning that Emerald has never had a family before and had no one (outside of Cinder) to look out for her. Bottom-line, what I’m getting at is that I think a strong family dynamic could develop wholesomely between Hazel, Emerald and Mercury. Through Emerald and Merc (or at least Emerald), Hazel could potentially have a second chance at being a better big brother by looking out for the two teenagers partnered to work with him (to some extent). So yeah, that’s where I see Hazel’s story potentially going along with him making amends for his relationship with Ozpin through his connection to Oscar (maybe; not sure).

Regarding Cinder Fall---to be honest, Cinder could go either way for me at this point. For me, Cinder could either live long enough to see herself overthrow Salem and become an even bigger threat to Remnant than the Wicked Witch (see my Red Queen Cinder Fall headcanon right here and here) or…she can succumb to the Grimm inside of her and practically transforming into inhuman monster in the process. I can’t help that feel like Cinder’s descent will come at the hands of the very Grimm arm that has now fused completely with her body. Notice how back in V7, during her clash with Winter  Schnee, even after Winter had succeeded in cutting off Cinder’s Grimm arm, rather than the arm just falling limp to the ground, it regenerated back into the place on Cinder’s body.

It was like watching a lizard grow back its own tail. The Geist Grimm arm has become so integrated with Cinder’s biology that she’s able to regenerate it---rather painfully--- at will. I can’t help but feel like that right there is a clear foreshadow either for Cinder’s rise or fall. Like I said, Cinder could either end up surviving yet again and ascending to become a powerful Grimmoire (half Grimm, half human hybrid) to overthrow the likes of Salem and take her place as the new Red Queen and leader of the Grimm (after pilfering Salem’s magic in the process)…OR…she could lose what little shred of humanity she had left---finally giving herself fully to accept the full power of the Grimm that’s become a part of her; literally becoming an abomination of man that our heroes will have no choice but to slay.

Cinder could either live or die in my books and it can work either way. I just like the prospect of her overthrowing Salem and becoming a worst final boss than her more intriguing than her being killed off. But that’s just me.

Regarding Arthur Watts---not going to lie; apart from Hazel, Watts is the second member of Salem’s Inner Circle who I legit like and wish to believe in his redemption. The way how I see it, Watts could either end up being redeemed through begrudgingly offering to aid our heroes for his own self-preservation upon learning the full truth about Salem and her intentions with Relics or…he’ll just spend the rest of his years in prison to make amends for his actions against Atlas or something along those lines. I believe Watts could possibly live through the potential Fall of Atlas. But again, this is just my opinion.

This leaves Tyrian Callows. Again, I’m going to be honest, I think Tyrian could be the one most likely to be next on the chopping block in regards to main villain deaths. For me personally, the only fitting death I can picture befalling Tyrian is if he were to die somewhat ironically.

What I mean by that is… imagine if…Salem was the one who ends up killing off Tyrian in the end or rather, it’s a case where Tyrian fails in his mission against our heroes and he becomes so distraught at the mere thought of dying by Salem’s hands as a result of failing her a second time that the Scorpion Faunus just offs himself.

Picture it…Tyrian is given another opportunity to redeem himself for failing to capture Ruby Rose. But he ends up failing a second time after being thwarted by the combined efforts of JNR and potentially Qrow Branwen. Maybe it’s even a case where Tyrian does succeed in capturing Ruby and our little red rose is literally whisked away to Salem’s castle by a Winged Beringel while Tyrian is left to fight Ruby’s allies and prevent them from going to save her.

That could be another interesting take. Even though Tyrian is defeated and possibly killed, Ruby still becomes a prisoner of Salem to some degree. That’s another cool thought for the table of potential possibilities.

Going back to Tyrian---a part of me wishes to believe that Jaune might contribute to Tyrian’s official defeat. In V7CH5, Vine suggested to Jaune that he should try ‘extending his aura’ and this was followed up in the next episode---V7CH6--- when we saw Jaune training with Nora while Oscar observed and kept check of his aura levels on his Scroll. As remarked by Oscar, Jaune was able to recover and replenish his aura levels immediately after taking damage.

“…Nice. Your recovery is getting faster…”

Bearing that in mind, I have a feeling that that little detail is going to come back at some point during V8 particularly in respect to Tyrian Callows. In V7 CH7, during the attack on Robyn’s election victory party, we saw that Tyrian was able to use his semblance to cut through an individual’s aura. If it’s been established that Jaune is able to quickly recover his aura then currently, everyone’s favourite Arc boy is the only one who has an edge over Tyrian.

At the moment, Jaune’s semblance is the perfect counter to Tyrian’s since even if the Scorpion Faunus is able to cut through Jaune’s aura, his attempts will be proven futile since Jaune will just recover his aura immediately after taking damage. Thus, my hunch now is that Jaune may play a part  in Tyrian’s ultimate defeat. I think the only way for Tyrian to truly go down for good is through death considering the fact that his whole backstory has been him constantly evading capture.

To stop a cold-blooded killer, you basically have to kill the killer, right?            

I’m also curious to know if we’ll have Qrow getting a chance to enact revenge on Tyrian for killing Clover. After all, it was his own weapon that Tyrian heartlessly used to murder Clover and frame the Branwen man for his death. Wouldn’t it be the most fitting karma if Tyrian receives his comeuppance by having Qrow blindside him and cut him down from behind using Harbinger, just as how he did Clover.

I’m not saying that I’m all for Qrow murdering Tyrian---I guess what I’m more picturing is a better rematch against Tyrian that parallels the events of V4 where he made his first appearance to the RNJR group. During that encounter, RNJR was completely powerless against Tyrian leading to Qrow’s intervention.

Personally I’m digging the concept of a reverse parallel to V4. In that season, we saw Tyrian fail to capture Ruby for Salem resulting in him being defeated by the efforts of Qrow who came to his niece’s aid after her and JNR were overpowered by Tyrian.

In V4, it was Qrow who came to RNJR’s aid when Tyrian arrived to take Ruby. What if…for V8, it is JNR who end up coming to Qrow’s aid after Tyrian succeeds in capturing Ruby?

Picture it. Perhaps…it’s a scenario where Qrow was out doing reconnaissance alone in Mantle with only Ruby. However things take a turn for the worse when Tyrian leads an ambush against the two. If I recall correctly, Qrow was inspired by the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Well in the Wizard of Oz story, I remember there being a part where the Scarecrow is ripped apart by the flying monkeys who were successful in capturing Dorothy for the Wicked Witch of the West.

Perhaps… there could be a RWBY equivalent to this in V8 where Qrow gets brutally injured during an ambush by Tyrian Callow who leads his own army of Winged Beringels, resulting in Ruby being captured this time as a powerless Qrow could only watch helplessly as his niece is whisked away to become Salem’s prisoner.

As for Tyrian, he arrogantly stays behind to finish Qrow off and further mock him over the events of Clover’s death; ultimately leading to Jaune, Nora and Ren all arriving in time to save Qrow this time; just as how he saved them in V4.

I think that could potentially be a neat scene to see; dontcha think?  

Tyrian facing off against Nora, Jaune and Ren again alongside Qrow---I’d love to see that. Heck yeah! I’m definitely digging the idea of Tyrian facing off against a stronger Team JNR who actually give him a good run for his money this second round; especially Jaune with his semblance.

I like the notion of JNR succeeding in defeating Tyrian with Qrow getting his chance to finally cut Tyrian down for what he did to Clover.

Basically what this squiggle meister is trying to say with my jibber jab is that I don’t expect Tyrian to survive for another volume.

Of all the villains in Salem’s army, he’s the one I expect to see go down next; more so than Cinder Fall since I’d like to believe there is a sliver of a chance that Cinder could survive long enough to see herself rise higher and succeed beyond the likes of even Salem. If Salem is the Black Queen then I am 100% on board with Cinder becoming the Red Queen equivalent to that; becoming a more heartless, blood-thirsty and monstrously power-hungry threat beyond the likes of what Salem set in store for her. I’m all for the satire of Salem basically creating her own worst enemy in Cinder. Consider me a firm advocate for that headcanon.

Beyond that, my money is on Tyrian to be offed next. As for how he’ll die, that’s anyone’s guess. If I had to picture it, I can see Tyrian going out one of two ways. Either Salem is the one to kill Tyrian or… Tyrian commits suicide in a twisted ‘I’d rather kill myself than face the anguish of crawling back to my beloved goddess after failing her a second time’ type of deal in the event that he does fail to capture Ruby a second time.

As weird as that may sound, imagining the look on Tyrian’s face at the prospect of being killed by Salem makes me curious. Tyrian literally worships Salem so how would he feel if she was the one to kill him. Will he be genuinely stunned or will it be another example of him accepting everything in the name of his divine goddess; even if it meant his own death.

Or…since I brought up the prospect of Tyrian succeeding to capture Ruby for Salem…perhaps…it can even be a scenario where, after Tyrian is defeated and completely overpowered by the efforts of JNR and Qrow, knowing that there was an off-chance that the heroes might use him against Salem to find Ruby, Tyrian commits suicide out of spite; thus eliminating the group’s only chance at finding and rescuing the captive Ruby.

This could’ve been a cool idea if Ruby was taken all the way back to Salem’s castle in the Dark Domain and since the members of Salem’s inner circle were the only ones who knew the whereabouts of where Salem resided, finding Ruby would be a wild goose chase---granted that Salem kept her alive long enough for her comrades to save her.

When I look at it like that, colour me intrigued because these concepts aren’t bad to ponder on. But again; this is just me once again putting my thoughts and ideas out there. 

Overall, I hope I was able to answer you again Crystal. Please let me know if I did with your thoughts on my thoughts, thanks.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)  

[essays-for-breakfast]

Battle of Stars

Melizabeth Week Day 7: AU

Author’s note: This is a Star Wars AU - for self-indulgent reasons - with almost no semblance of the original plot, and the author flexed all her nerd muscles while writing this. Forgive me!

The Manta class troop transporter tilted sideways as the pilot battled against the harsh winds of Ruusan’s upper hemispheres, and Elizabeth swallowed a wave of nausea from the sudden jolt. Her hands found their way to the lightsaber at her side all on their own, and the cool metal calmed her stained nerves. Fear was an unnecessary emotion for a Jedi to harbor, especially for a newly appointed Jedi Knight. Elizabeth had earned this title through hard years of training and field missions on the most outlandish terrains the galaxy had to offer, always under the guiding hand of her master, Hendrickson.

If her master could see her frightened face, he would surely remind her of the pure light of the Force that protected every Jedi and led them through even the most difficult times.

The Force is with you, Padawan, even when your fear prevents you from seeing it, was his favorite mantra, and he had made sure Elizabeth could recite his teachings in every situation, no matter how precarious. Including the smoldering battlefields of Ruusan.

But despite the calm stream of the Force inside of her, Elizabeth tensed when a projectile exploded a mere armlength away from the outer shell of the transporter as the shields absorbed the bulk of the damage. The ship tumbled sideways like a confused Aiwa, and Elizabeth dug her fingers into the leather handle above her head. In the cockpit, separated from the troop compartment by an open bulkhead, an alarm howled, a warning that the shields had dropped under twenty percent. Another hit and they were done for.

And despite the cacophony of nearby explosions and the constant up and down of the troop compartment, Jedi Master Diane stood unmoving between the Republic soldiers, as firm as a rock in the raging seas of Glee Anselm.

The older Jedi offered Elizabeth a reassuring smile. “There is little to worry about,” she said, “the Sith don’t have the resources to hold a crossfire like this up for long. Their troops will need to spare their blaster fire if they want to stand any chance during the ground assault.”

As if on command, the sound of laser artillery penetrating the sky and the handful of republican transporters faded to be replaced by the buzzing of engines as their unit continued their descent without further troubles.

“I wish I had your confidence, Master,” Elizabeth said.

“It is all a matter of experience,” Diane said. “The more battles you fight, the better you will learn to understand the nuances of warfare and what aspects you should focus on to gain the upper hand. Didn’t Master Hendrickson teach you these things?”

“He did, and we assisted our troops in a few skirmishes along the Tingel Arm. But Master Hendrickson values the role as peacekeeper more than that of a general. Whenever possible, he dragged me to some distant planet to study the local fauna and help those in need.”

At the time, Elizabeth had found these trips into the Outer Rim boring and unfitting for a Jedi, after all, the war with the Sith threatened to destroy stability all throughout the galaxy. And as soon as Elizabeth had traded the Padawan plait for the title of Jedi Knight, she had volunteered to join the constant stream of supply units headed for Ruusan, one of the most heated and most crucial battlefields, to support her fellow Jedi in the fight against the Dark Side. But the grueling minutes before the fight, during which she could do nothing other than trust in the pilot’s ability to land his vessel safely, almost made her miss the peaceful fields of Dantooine.

Diane nodded thoughtfully. “Your master is a wise man. With priorities that are sadly becoming more and more rare among the ranks of the Jedi. Even the council grants Master Ludociel more freedom to carry out his feud with the Sith than necessary.”

“But aren’t the Sith and especially the Emperor an evil that must be destroyed to bring peace to the galaxy?” Elizabeth asked. The Jedi temple was filled with nightmarish stories about the Sith and their dark arts, and she had been warned of the tempting yet destructive nature of the Dark Side since her days as a Youngling.

“Some Jedi would say that, yes. But fighting for the sake of fighting is meaningless – I would rather avoid the path that leads to more conflict.”

A jolt went through the transporter that made Elizabeth’s teeth smack against one another, and a second later, the bulkheads opened to allow Rusaan’s sandstorms to enter.

Elizabeth squinted but jumped into the open as the first hail shower of blaster bolts rained onto the transporter to leave smoldering marks on its shell. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me, Elizabeth recited the ancient saying of the Guardians of the Whills, and activated her lightsaber. The blue bolt of pure light sent the blaster fire back to its marksmen; one Sith trooper went limp behind the makeshift trench he had used as cover.

Diane was leading her troops forward, green lightsaber in hand, and soon their unit advanced through the enemy lines and towards the goal of their mission: the ancient temple embedded into the mountain range ahead. Before the war had come to Rusaan, the stone structures had represented a shrine to the local population sited amidst a prospering forest, but the Sith had since burned down the trees and had turned the temple into one of their strongholds – where the forces of the Republic planned to secure crucial data about the enemy’s plans and tactics. Elizabeth had garnered this information from the official report handed out during the mission briefing, but the burned earth in the mountains’ shadow still turned her stomach upside-down. Master Hendrickson would have shed a silent tear had he been tortured with this view.

Elizabeth silenced the cries of injustice in her heart and filled her mind with a feeling of peace the way she had been taught. Guided by the Force, she pathed her way through the enemy defenses and the dunes of sulfur-heavy sand, swung her lightsaber in a perfect display of Soresu, the third form of lightsaber combat, and never halted until she reached the entrance of the temple, a gaping chasm filled with the stench of the Dark Side.

When she failed to detect enemy presences in the immediate area, Elizabeth turned to meet Diane’s eyes across the battle field. The Jedi Master briefly paused her chain of heavy-hitting attacks, and called out to Elizabeth over the buzz of laser artillery that announced the arrival of enemy reinforcement.

“Take a few of my men and advance into the temple. We will join you shortly.”

Elizabeth waited for three heavily armed republican soldiers to catch up and offered them a nod, before they climbed the final steps and entered the shadows. Inside, the howling of the storm faded to distant background stereo, like interference on a flawed comm channel.

A chill befell Elizabeth in her light Jedi tunic, but she fought the unease with a few calming breaths. Water dripped from the detailed reliefs on the wall, hinting at an underground spring located deep within the mountain that collected Russan’s sparse rainwater. The tiny streams reflected the glow from Elizabeth’s lightsaber and the small search lights attached to the soldiers’ helmets, but apart from that, the hallway with its high ceiling was cast in shadows. Somewhere in the dark, a stream of water gurgled along. Always in expectation of an ambush, their squad crept forward.

“No heat signals up ahead,” one of the soldiers informed after performing a scan via his HUD. With the anonymous helmet, Elizabeth had difficulties identifying the soldier, but she believed the voice to belong to a man named Howzer, one of Master Diane’s top commandos. “Thanks to the storm, the comm’s already dead. The sand could’ve messed with the scanners too.”  

“Stay on guard,” Elizabeth said and followed her own advice by dropping into a defensive pose as she placed step by step forward.

The Sith were well known for their traps designed to take out unexperienced Jedi. One of her training partners during her temple days, a kid named Mael, had run into such a trap on one of his first field missions, and he was declared missing by his master ever since. In all likelihood, the Sith had long disposed of his corpse. Or they had taken him to their outpost on Korriban to use him in their experiments. Separate mind and body, mutate the flesh of their victims, or turn them into weak-willed puppets to add to their army; Elizabeth had read reports on these and crueler methods of torture when her master hadn’t been around to see.

She shook the thought off and concentrated on her environment. The Force might offer you glimpses into the future, but you can only use this advantage if you remain in the present, as Master Hendrickson liked to say.

Her crono confirmed only a few minutes had passed, but the walk through the dark felt like hours before Elizabeth and her squad came across a durasteel gate too technological advanced to fit into the old hallways and high-rising pillars around.

Howzer ordered his men to take cover with clipped gestures before he tapped the control panel embedded into the stone next to the gate. The bulkhead protested with a shrill squeal as the opening mechanism pulled the durasteel aside to reveal the chamber beyond. A multitude of screens enlightened the room to give the impression of a control center, but before Elizabeth fully realized the situation, a shadow rushed past her, followed by one and then a second outcry.

Elizabeth spun and skidded on the polished floor tiles as she caught a glimpse at their attacker. Two of her men had slumped lifeless to the ground, and above them towered a male human with a cold grin on his face. The red of his lightsaber painted bloody hues onto the walls. He was no doubt a Sith, his poisoned aura like a nexus of evil appalled Elizabeth to the core.

She had never faced a Sith before, and all her passionate preaches about fighting and destroying the scoundrels of the galaxy vanished, washed away by the cold imprint this man left in the current of the Force around her.

The blaster bolts hurrying past her head tore Elizabeth out of her paralysis as Howzer targeted the Sith with mechanical precision. The Sith’s face remained unflinching, and he deflected the shots with arrogant ease until the play bored him and he reached out with his unarmed right hand. Elizabeth could almost see the Force as it twisted between his clawed fingers. Howzer gargled but still managed to pull the trigger while the air was ripped out of his lungs by the hands of the Dark Side. His efforts amused the Sith more than anything, and he sidestepped the laser bolt without a change in expression.

Elizabeth finally regained her sense of self and jumped into the fray with a parade of swings aimed at the Sith’s head. His green eyes widened for less then a second before he raised his weapon to deflect. A mix of red and blue danced across his boyish features.

“Send for reinforcements, I’ll hold him off,” Elizabeth yelled, and Howzer, who had dropped to his knees as soon as the Sith’s attention no longer rested on him, obeyed and staggered towards the exit.

Elizabeth and the Sith parted, and his lips twister into a malicious grin. “How bold of you, Jedi, to think you can hold out until your unit arrives.” In his mouth, the word Jedi sounded like an insult rather than a title to command respect.

Instead of an answer, Elizabeth dove into the stream of the Force and allowed its wise hands to guide her next moves. She charged and turned her forward momentum into a chain of short swings with varied angles but minimal countermovement. Despite his smaller statute, he parried her attacks with enough physical strength to sent a quiver down her arm muscles every time their blades clashed. He retreated with quick steps that always allowed him to meet her with the advantage of a strong stance. Elizabeth’s best chance of victory was to pin him down and prevent him from dealing out hits himself. A small hope at best.

While she had trained all variants of combat her teachers at the temple and later Hendrickson had to offer, Elizabeth had never battled an opponent as versed with their lightsaber as this Sith. Each movement was a perfectly calculated effort, each shift in stance a display of uncounted practice sessions. More than one with the Force, he became one with his lightsaber the longer the duel proceeded. Elizabeth had seen Jedi Masters enter a fighting trance that reduced their reaction time to a fraction of a heartbeat, and the speed of this Sith rivalled the best of them.

If he had intended to end the fight, he could have done so numerous times over. But for some reason, Elizabeth’s efforts seemed to entertain him.

He allowed her to push him back with an endless loop of the same hits in slight variation, amused by her inability to alter from the patterns she had learned at the beginning of her training; his dark aura had disabled Elizabeth’s ability to strategize, and those fight patterns ingrained into her muscles were the only tactic she could rely on.

But apart from a physical and speed benefit, her opponent had another advantage to use in his favor: knowledge about the terrain. And as Elizabeth dared to hope she might corner him between the wall and her blade, he dropped low, struck for her legs, and stood behind her in one single motion. Elizabeth evaded the hit but tripped on the slippery tiles. She expected to stumble into the wall, but the ground beneath her suddenly vanished and she fell into the canal hugging the wall that had been obscured by shadows. The water didn’t run deep, and Elizabeth’s joints protested as she absorbed the impact with a roll.

Soaked and on wobbly legs, Elizabeth met the eyes of her opponent standing several meters above with a relaxed posture that screamed victory.

“Don’t try it if you want to make it out alive,” the Sith said, and Elizabeth gritted her teeth. With the aid of the Force, she could have catapulted herself back to ground level, but he had a point, he would cut her down if she tried.

“You fought valiantly, Jedi,” he continued, “but I’m afraid your efforts were in vain. Thanks to our little dance, my troops have gained enough time to destroy any information you and your pathetic ensemble of light bringers could have used against us.”

“You never intended to uphold this base.”

The Sith grinned. “No, my master generously surrenders these empty halls to the Republic. There are far more interesting targets worth pursuing. I look forward to face you on another day on a different battlefield, Jedi. For the time being, I must take my leave. My master is not a man of patience.”

Disheartened, Elizabeth lowered her lightsaber. The entire operation had been a failure from the start; the Sith had anticipated the advancements of the Republican army. But if Elizabeth stroked her opponent’s ego, perhaps she could gain at least some information of value.

“Your master must be a great figure in the war if he polished your skills with a lightsaber to these impressive degrees.”

The twitch of amusement in the corners of his eyes showed he had seen through her charade. But he stooped to an answer regardless. “You might have heard of him as the one who stands above the Ten Commandments, the elite of the Sith Empire. I merely carry out his plans. So long, Jedi.”

He saluted mockingly and disappeared out of view. Elizabeth remained in the canal while the water brushed past her boots, too shocked to speak or move. The man she had fought was no ordinary Sith, no distant servant of the Dark Side without prowess or knowledge of the enemy’s plans. The man with the blond hair and the excellent footwork was Meliodas, apprentice of the Emperor himself.

By the time Master Diane and her men arrived, Elizabeth had regained her composure and confirmed the failure of the mission and the destruction of valuable data. But her thoughts kept circling around Meliodas and the ease with which he had defeated her; he thought so little of her he had revealed his identity for the sole purpose of his amusement.

And while the soldiers searched the control center for minute clues the Sith might have overlooked in the haste of their departure, Elizabeth swore to herself to train harder and learn the fighting trance technique.

The next time she would face Meliodas, she would best him. To bring the galaxy one step closer to peace. So that the light of the Jedi might withstand and cast away the darkness of the Sith Empire.

[creepingsharia]

Tax-Payer Funded Islamic Propaganda Forced on Teachers in Michigan, California, Georgia, Texas, Florida

"teachers were subjected to two days of Islamic propaganda, where Islam was glorified, Christianity disparaged, and America bashed”

TMLC Uncovers Tax-Payer Funded Islamic Propaganda Forced On Teachers

A SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

August 22, 2019

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national nonprofit public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has uncovered evidence of a well-orchestrated Islamic propaganda campaign aimed at teachers in school systems throughout Michigan and several other states.

Concerned about a two-day mandatory teacher-training seminar on Islam conducted by a Muslim consultant hired by Michigan’s Novi Community Schools District, TMLC filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the workshop.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Law Center, commented on the results of their investigation, “We found that the teachers were subjected to two days of Islamic propaganda, where Islam was glorified, Christianity disparaged, and America bashed—all funded by Novi taxpayers.”

Moreover, during the past five years the school district has presented no teacher-training seminars focusing on Christianity, Judaism or any other religion – only Islam.

The hired Muslim consultant was Huda Essa, a resident of the Dearborn area and of Arab descent. She appeared before the Novi teachers in a hijab, the Muslim headscarf, billing herself as an expert in “cultural competency” and “culturally responsive teaching.”

Most disappointing was the fact that of the more than 400 teachers attending the workshop, not one teacher challenged Essa’s denigration of Christianity or attacks on America.

TMLC inspected dozens of internal school documents, including audio recordings of Essa’s presentation.

The information on Islam she provided to Novi teachers was riddled with falsehoods and errors of omission that were clearly meant to deceive.

Essa provided no truthful information on Sharia law and jihad, two of the most important aspects of Islam. All references to terrorism were dismissed as having nothing to do with Islam. White Christian males, she suggested, are more dangerous than Islamic radicals.

Essa is the face behind Culture Links LLC, a Michigan-based consultancy. She describes herself on the Culture Links website as an advocate of social justice who encourages children to “take pride in their many identities.”

But, as TMLC discovered from the Novi documents, the one identity Essa does not celebrate is that of patriotic Americans who believe in our nation’s exceptionalism. 

And her message extends far beyond Novi.

Essa’s client list reveals she has been spreading her “trash America first” philosophy to colleges, universities, schools and professional educator associations throughout Michigan, California, Georgia, Texas, Florida and beyond. In Michigan alone her website lists nine school districts as clients – Oakland County Schools, Ann Arbor Schools, L’Anse Creuse Public Schools, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Roseville Community Schools, Farmington Public Schools, Dearborn Public Schools, Birmingham Public Schools and Melvindale Public Schools.

Under the banner of promoting diversity, inclusion and a multicultural approach to education, Essa sets about comparing Islam to Christianity, calling them “mostly similar.” The one big difference, she claims, is that Islam is the world’s “only purely monotheistic religion.”

Islam’s holy book, the Koran, came straight from Allah to the prophet Muhammad and, unlike the Jewish and Christian scriptures, has never been altered or changed, she told the Novi teachers. Significantly, the Koran commands Muslims to “Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.” (Koran 9:5)

Her message was clear: The Koran is superior to the Bible. But she did not address the fact that it calls for the extermination of Christian and Jews.

While quick to indict America as guilty of “cultural genocide,” Essa was silent on the 1400 years of actual genocides, also known as jihads, in which Muslims wiped out Jewish tribes on the Arabian Peninsula, and slaughtered millions of Christians throughout the Middle East, North Africa and the European Continent. Referring to Islam, Winston Churchill wrote, “No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.”

Novi’s Islamic teacher-training is just the latest example of professional Islamic indoctrinators infiltrating U.S. public schools even as Christianity has been forced out of the classroom.

“This type of infiltration amounts to an Islamic Trojan horse within our public-school systems,” Thompson said. “No other religion gets this kind of special treatment in our schools.”

Only action by patriotic American parents will put a stop to the indoctrination of teachers and students. They must attend school board meetings and call their board’s attention to the existence of unconstitutional Islamic propaganda whenever they find evidence of it in their children’s schools. And when their board is unresponsive, they must be willing to take legal action to stop it whenever the law permits.

TMLC has several active cases involving public schools bending over backwards to promote Islam while trashing Christianity.

In New Jersey, seventh-grade students at Chatham Middle School were taught “Islam is the true faith,” required to learn the Shahada, or Muslim creed, and forced to watch videos that sought to convert them.

TMLC is representing another student at La Plata High School in Maryland, where pupils in world-history classes were taught that “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian” and “Islam at heart is a peaceful religion.”

Jihad, meanwhile, was introduced to La Plata students as a “personal” spiritual struggle, having nothing to do with using violence to spread the faith. And, like in New Jersey, the Maryland students were forced to learn the Five Pillars of Islam and memorize the Shahada.

A SERIES OF DECEPTIONS

Essa spent a great deal of time in her Novi presentation talking about Muslim women, whom she described as victims of Islamophobia on the part of bigoted Americans.

...

Here are some other facts uncovered by TMLC’s Freedom of Information Act requests:

Novi school district has no guidelines for the selection of presenters for teacher-training events.

The school district did not fully vet Huda Essa before selecting her as a presenter and providing her with data about the school district and its students.

Essa was given access to data from student and teacher surveys.

The school district said it had no records that would indicate it ever conducted a factual analysis of Essa’s presentation.

The school district signed a contract on August 2, 2017, agreeing to pay Essa $5,000 for her two-day seminar on August 28 and 29, 2017.

Read the entire disturbing press release at the link below.

[sepublic]

Behold! The completed story bible/plot summary for Part 2 of Bionicle: RaE! Adapting the events of Bionicle 2016, the story really begins the change near the end. Once we’re done with Part 2, we can finally move onto the new storylines I wrote for Bionicle: RaE, because believe me; Even AFTER Part 2, we’re not even halfway done yet!

Below is an excerpt for those interested;

           Ever since Ekimu and the Great Forge’s reawakening, the Okotan alliance has grown to greater power than ever before. The City of the Mask Makers, reclaimed from the Brotherhood, has begun to function as the new capital of Okoto, with thousands making new homes in the once-abandoned City, giving new life back to it. All the while, infrastructure and technology is improved, each day becoming closer to what it once was in the Creation Age; And while still far from that ancient progress, the Okotans remain hopeful.

           Deep in his forge, Ekimu the Mask Maker labors endlessly, refusing to give himself breaks. While he has been willing to stop and sit down to explain the nature of Life energy, and has considered taking a break to teach others of Mask-Making, he is mostly concerned with creating new tools, weapons, and Masks of Power for the Okotans to use. Dimly aware all those years, trapped and suspended in a crystalline prison, Ekimu has been wrought with guilt over his complicitness in the Great Cataclysm and the death of millions, as well as failing to see Makuta’s corruption and stop it. To cope, he furiously makes himself work day and night to give the Okotans the fighting chance they need to stop Makuta, desperately hoping to fix the mistakes he blames himself for.

           Naturally, people have noticed this and are AWARE, but are helpless to do anything about it. The main priority is to improve Okoto’s infrastructure, technology, and power, while also reclaiming lost lands before the Brotherhood of Makuta begins its inevitable counter-attack. The Toa are training with new Masks of Power, weapons, and tools, and Okotan cultures mix and clash in the City of the Mask Makers as people recover from the old wounds of the Skull Spider wars. The Red Serpent, the legendary Rahi controlled by Fenrakk, has continued its residence in the City of the Mask Makers, now a vehement ally of the Okotans. Likewise, the Skull Slicer has been rehabilitated and reforged by Ekimu, reclaiming his lost name Matau and becoming the colloquial, unofficial, ‘Toa of Air’ after absorbing Lewa’s Mask of Air during their battle. With new, sleek, aerodynamic armor and upgrades, Matau promises to be a welcoming ally, though others are wary.

           Regardless, beggars can’t be choosers when the Brotherhood of Makuta, after a few months, launches its inevitable counter-attack against Okoto. Furious over the loss of his Skull Spiders and Fenrakk, Makuta unleashes from the rivers and wilds his new army of Energy Leeches, organic, writhing, and ravenous creatures that constantly hunger and can drain Life energy by latching onto a victim. Many Okotans, caught off-guard by these new enemies, die horrifically as Makuta seizes huge amounts of Life energy to support his campaigns. Nevertheless, the Toa and Okotans quickly learn to adapt, fighting off against these new threats, led by Jumala, Lord of Energy Leeches and another one of Makuta’s sons, the Rahkshi. Also aiding the Brotherhood is a new generation of Skull Spiders, controlled by dozens of smaller, less powerful Command Spiders. The Skull Puppets and Warriors also provide aid, with their commanders returning for vengeance, now led by Kodo the Skull Basher.

           As new battles recommence, and formerly vanquished foes such as the Nui-Jaga return to assault the Okotans, the Toa maintain a steady and fast alliance, learning to better be a group, team, and even unorthodox family of sorts. While it’s a bit unusual learning to live in the City of the Mask Makers together, the Toa become accustomed to one another and form closer bonds. Meanwhile, an imprisoned, incapacitated Kulta and Kojol are interrogated beneath the City of the Mask Makers, to no effect.

           Takua the wandering vagabond eventually takes a journey to the Swamp of Secrets, meeting with an old friend; A reclusive prophet who gains visions by inhaling the decaying fumes of a dead beast’s corpse, said to have come from the future. These visions warn the prophet of future events.

           During the Skull Spider wars, the prophet had requested her existence be kept secret, with Takua honoring these requests while still trying to convey them to the other Okotans by ‘suggesting’ courses of action that aligned with the visions given by the prophet. Amidst conversations, it’s revealed that Takua knewabout Makuta, a few years before the Toa arrived; The dark spirit himself had appeared to her once and attempted to sway her to his side. Takua refused, and Makuta in turn haunted her every now and then, threatening to kill everyone she cared about if she explained his presence and role with the Skull Spiders.

           Scared and feeling helpless, Takua didn’t bother mentioning Makuta, feeling it wouldn’t change anything and she’d just get a lot of innocent people killed. Now, with Makuta’s identity and role revealed anyway, she’s considering revealing her dark secret, but is at the same time unsure…

           Regardless, the prophet receives a particularly brutal, staggering vision, in which she warns Takua of a horde that will raze Okoto to its foundations, releasing a horrific ‘Darkness below’ that will consume everything. Concerned, Takua ponders if she means the Energy Leeches; Either way, Takua takes it upon herself to investigate ‘The Darkness Below’ and see what it means, venturing into the tunnels beneath Okoto and going farther down than usual.

           In the aftermath of one battle with the Brotherhood of Makuta, Lewa, Toa of Jungle eventually comes across a strange phenomena in the jungle, feeling a consciousness that is moving through it. Surely enough, he tracks it down, and the being manifests as a Dragonfly-esque creature. Introducing herself as Uxar, she has initial reservations towards Lewa, but his bright earnestness wins Uxar over as the two become quick friends. Their day ends when Lewa is called back to help, and he promises not to tell the others about Uxar on her request. And from the shadows, someonewatches…

           The two eventually meet once more, only to be interrupted when Uxar is suddenly ambushed by a dark, oaken being she calls ‘Umarak the Hunter’. Leading a pack of vicious, metallic Shadow Traps, Umarak pins down Uxar and begins draining her Life energy. Naturally, Lewa attempts to stop him and briefly engages in a conflict- He’s easily defeated, but it provides a distraction for Uxar to escape. Frustrated, Umarak lets go of the matter, warning Lewa that darkness is rising and that he, of all people, can’t stop it.

           Lewa eventually regroups with the others and attempts to research into the matter, casually asking about Uxar and Umarak without mentioning he met the two. Takua ventures deep below Okoto, travelling through long-abandoned tunnels as she nears a massive, living presence beneath…

           She eventually comes across a massive pit that extends infinitely, seemingly solid-black near the bottom; And surely enough, tendrils of shadow suddenly burst and emerge from it, thrashing wildly and causing the earth to shake as they reach for Takua. With quick-thinking and action, Takua narrowly avoids the shadows, and heads to the surface, shaken. Lewa learns about the Elemental Deities in Kokoro, learning how each one is the conscious manifestation of the six elements; And Uxar is one of them, representing Jungle.

           Takua inevitably overhears Lewa’s mention of ‘darkness that is rising’ and questions him on it, and vice-versa. The two exchange a coy, awkward series of interrogations where both try not to reveal directly the secrets they have, while still implicitly telling that the others DOES have secrets. Nevertheless, the two are sympathetic to each others’ situation and try not to press further until express permission is given. Meanwhile, the other Toa battle with the Brotherhood of Makuta, and notice phenomena as well; While in the drifts, Kopaka notices what seems to be a wolf-like being bounding through the snow, chased by metallic monsters. He tries to investigate, but is left behind. Tahu spots a moving, slithering trail of flame deep in the Region of Fire and is momentarily baffled by it.

           Takua and Lewa’s research culminates when the two consult Lumi and learn the story of how the Elemental Deities fought an ever-encompassing darkness named Umarak. Unable to defeat it, they formed the island of Okoto, trapping Umarak underneath it and seemingly imprisoning him…

           At this point, the duo desperately wants to talk, and so make concessions and agree to mutually break promises. Takua explains about the prophet and her warning, and Lewa talks about his meetings with Uxar and Umarak the Hunter. They figure out that Umarak, somehow, is on the surface, but at the same time below it, and is trying to free the darkness below. Takua, recalling the nature of the Skull Spiders to Fenrakk, wonders if the Hunter is actually just a receptacle for Umarak, the darkness below, to act and function on Okoto’s surface with.

           Either way, they consider this important and ponder discussing the recent events to the others, and likewise hear of what is clearly the Elemental Deities moving throughout Okoto, active. Lewa tracks down Uxar, admitting he broke their promise, and asks what’s going on. Uncertain and unsure, Uxar finally cracks and explains how Umarak managed to somewhat escape his prison by tunnel a portion of his darkness to the surface, infecting a tree and forming a receptacle for him to act through.

           Ever since, Umarak has been slowly, gradually draining the Elemental Deities of their power, ambushing them with guerilla tactics, seizing a portion of power, before fleeing. Over the centuries, the Elemental Deities have become weakened, helplessly unable to stop Umarak’s efforts despite best attempts.

           Lewa naturally offers to help them, mentioning Takua’s prophecy, to Uxar’s concern, who sees it as an omen –along with their current state- that the Elemental Deities are soon to be fully consumed by Umarak, their power used by him to raze Okoto clean to its foundations, breaking apart the island and freeing the darkness below. Lewa wonders where all the stolen power has been hidden, and Uxar admits that the others tried finding it, yet failed.

           Regardless, Uxar hesitates on accepting Lewa’s offer, mentioning that the Elemental Deities have a complicatedrelationship with the mortal Okotans. Things are quickly made more complex when Jumala, having tracked down Lewa, ambushes Uxar, hoping to drain her and Lewa’s energy, ever-starving and ravenous. This in turn summons Terak, Deity of Earth, who vengefully battles against him, and the chaos attracts Umarak’s attention. Another battle is held, and a few of Lewa’s allies arrive to help. Terak and Uxar escape, but not without Terak losing a portion of his power, much to his chagrin. Terak angrily regards both the Okotans and the Brotherhood as he and Uxar flee, and Umarak chases after them.

           The others interrogate Lewa about his relationship with Uxar, and cracking under pressure, he explains everything, except for Takua’s prophecy, not wanting to out her. Recognizing the threat of Umarak, with the Elemental Deities now concerningly low on power and thus close to being completely drained, the Okotans consider forming an alliance with the Deities, realizing they could be beneficial in the war against the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Jumala reports to his father Makuta, explaining the situation.

           Makuta reflects, recalling how he once tried to form an alliance with Umarak and was declined. At first he let it go, but now that the Toa know about the Elemental Deities, they’ll likely try to ally with them. And needing assets and advantages desperately, Makuta decides he refuses to let the Okotans to have any advantages over him, and decides to recommence attempts to ally with Umarak.

[kreeborn]

                          ❝ FOR THE GOOD OF ALL KREE ! ❞

KREE COMMANDER AND LEADER OF STARFORCE

Crowned the hero of the Kree-Skrull war, Yon-Rogg had it all - the fame, the respect and the authority to command the entirety of the Kree military if he wished it. He, however, chose to remain a faithful Commander of the Kree Empire, a tutor for young generations to come, sharing his knowledge with those willing to learn, and those not willing as well. The peak of his career perhaps was being appointed the leader of Starforce, an elite Kree military force tasked with executing high risk tasks and missions around the Empire and beyond. Among one of the many Yon-Rogg was tasked with was the locating and execution of Mar-Vell, a Kree scientist gone rogue in her attempt of creating the so-called Core and helping the Skrulls escape the complete annihilation they were facing from the Kree.

FINDING CAROL

For that task, Yon-Rogg decided to take Minn-Erva with him, his star student and perhaps the best sniper the Kree military forces had. After chasing down Mar-Vell and the pilot navigating the terran spacecraft, he discovered Mar-Vell had died, but the girl piloting the spacecraft didn’t. It was a stand, one against one, him against her, all until she decided to shoot the core instead of him. The explosion emitted a something that, to him, felt like a heat wave mixed with the wave of breaking the sound barrier. Once on the ground, Yon-Rogg was able to turn in time to see the girl absorb the Core’s powers when it should have killed her instead. In awe and slightly fascinated, his feet carried him over to the girl, amber eyes spotting half of what appeared to be dog tags. Were they the girl’s? He picked them up, the remaining half reading out ‘ V E R S ’. It had to be her name.

6 YEARS OF WAR AND LIES

Against Minn-Erva’s protests and desire to kill Carol, to Yon-Rogg known as Vers, the Kree Commander decided to take her with them instead. On the way back to Hala, however, they were starting to lose her. She was slipping away. The medic on board the Helion suggested immediate blood transfusion in order to save her, and once again, against Minn-Erva’s protests, Yon-Rogg offered his own blood, knowing that the Supreme Intelligence wanted the Core’s powers, one way or another. They didn’t even reach the outside of the Halan orbit when Vers was back on her feet again, though very confused and, what she would never admit, scared, as she didn’t know where she was or what had happened in the first place. Right then, Yon-Rogg told his very first lie to her, saying how she was attacked by Skrulls, their mortal enemy, and that they were lucky to get her out alive. 

To his surprise, Vers believed that story, mostly because she was uncertain about everything. She had no memories, no recollection of who she was, and there was question after question during their flight back to the capital planet of the Kree Empire, and even after arriving. Yon-Rogg took Vers under his wing, teaching her all he knew, learning more about her in the process, not just her personality but also how she handled her powers. It didn’t take her long to become his new star student, at that time Minn-Erva completely tossed aside and forgotten. 

Over the course of 6 years, Yon-Rogg watched Vers grow into a a highly competent fighter, with a stubborn and determined mind to end the Kree-Skrull war and be crowned a hero of the war just like her mentor. The two of them by then had a very strong relationship, that went beyond the mentor-mentee one - Vers was a friend, something Yon-Rogg usually didn’t have, and something he cherished greatly. She was also like a daughter to him, one that would always come to him during early morning hours, waking him up and seeking advice and comfort in him after her nightmares. While Yon offered both to her, he worried at the same time. Her past was catching up to her.

As the Supreme Intelligence deemed Vers fit enough to go on her very first mission as a member of Starforce to get the Kree scout Soh-Larr back from being in Skrull captivity. Little did they know that it was in fact a Skrull ambush so they could get Vers. With the communications on Torfa going downhill, it was easy for the Skrulls to get their hands on Vers, and that was only the start of the reveal of lies Yon-Rogg spun around Vers for six long years.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END & YON-ROGG’S DOWNFALL

It took him communication calls, so many more lies to Ronan the Accuser, and even more convincing to keep Vers in the state of mind she had to be - she was Kree and the Skrulls were her enemies. Yon-Rogg, however, wasn’t an idiot. He could see her slip from those beliefs, suspected that she was doubting it all, and truly, soon enough Vers knew it all. She was Carol, was suspected dead after the plane crash, and once Yon-Rogg, after arriving on Terra, learned what had happened, he was left with no choice. The Supreme Intelligence tasked with an order he had to fulfill. Carol had to stay alive and be brought back to Hala. It meant a fight, one that he, after so much struggle, lost. Fearing for his life, he begged her, pleaded her to not send him back. Yon-Rogg knew what would happen. Failure was not a word known to the Kree. It wasn’t tolerated nor was it practiced. He couldn’t go back empty handed. And yet, Carol sent him back to Hala, without her, without the Cube. It would be his end.

The Supreme Intelligence was, needless to say, enraged. Their poster boy of the Kree propaganda and star soldier failed. Yon-Rogg was deranked immediately, the fine apartment in the city center taken away as well, with him tossed into the torture chambers deep beneath the headquarters of the Supreme Intelligence. He went through countless hours of torture, as a reminder that failure was never an option, especially not for him. During that time, Ronan, who had previously witnessed the range of Carol’s powers, forged a strong alliance with Thanos, the mad titan. He was to keep the Kree safe from Carol and in return, the Kree would be at his disposal for anything the titan needed, which later turned out to be the search for the Infinity Stones.

After his release, Yon-Rogg was appointed Ronan’s right hand man, practically a lap dog to do his bidding - a way to get his rank back quicker than usual and a way of redeeming himself for what he had done and for allowing Carol to slip out of his grasp right before he completely had her converted against the Skrulls. And yet, things didn’t stop there.

MEETING VALEERA (MVSPELHEIM)

Apart from being Ronan’s right hand man in the alliance with Thanos, Yon, after obtaining his rank back as well as the living quarters he had beforehand, continued doing what he did best when not on mission - teaching. He taught children, little recruits who were eager to learn. It was, in many ways, something to help him cope with what he had been through the past years. Children were innocent, such bright little spirits that even brought a smile to his face. He worked in a much more relaxed environment, training kids and occasionally telling a story or two about his missions, tending to leave the bloody and gore parts out of them, finding that the kids deserved to have a happy childhood before joining the military.

He was interrupted during one of those training sessions, his superiors requesting him to meet with a new trainee, and the moment she walked in, Yon-Rogg had bad flashbacks. Blonde hair, slender but fit figure, powers she couldn’t control - Carol. Except she was Valeera Surturdőttir, the daughter of the ruler of Muspelheim himself, a princess, royalty, somebody who reminded him of his last trainee too much for his own comfort. He hated it, despised it, went to his superiors to appoint somebody else to train the princess. They wouldn’t hear it. He was to train her and nobody else.

It was painful. Despite being a good student, Valeera was just as stubborn and determined like he was, not letting up on things despite doing them wrong at times. It drew Yon up the wall, always having disliked not having things under his control when they should have been. And then, one late night, as both of them were awake, sparks flew. He had been denying his feelings for her for the longest time, going by the good old ‘feelings are a distraction’, but what was the point? They couldn’t show their relationship in public, the laws didn’t allow it. Any Kree in a relationship with a non Kree would be sentenced to death. Did that ever stop them? Never.

KREE-XANDARIAN WAR AND INFINITY WAR

Not long after the, should anybody know, scandalous relationship between Yon-Rogg and the princess, there was a riot on Hala. People were standing up against the Supreme Intelligence, slowly realizing that the tyranny, manipulation and abuse had to stop. It was a long battle, those loyal to the Intelligence going against their own kin - sibling against sibling, parents against children and vice versa. In the end, the rioters came out victorious and chose an Emperor to rule like it was supposed to be ruled. The Emperor, in some ways wanting to continue what the Supreme had done for centuries on end - the expansion of the Empire.

With Xandar as the bordering planet, they were their first target, and the Kree-Xandarian war went on for decades. When not in battle, Yon-Rogg was at Ronan’s side, the Accuser now on the search of a purple orb, as he described it, a task given to him by Thanos, and when not doing that, he was with Valeera, though their time together was becoming scarce. Being the devout soldier her was, Yon-Rogg put his duties in front of everything else, even his own personal life. By the end of the war, when the leader of the two Empires signed a truce, there were many victims on both sides, one of them being Valeera’s mother. Unknown to him, Yon was there to even witness it as Ronan killed the woman.

There was so much death. Death of loved ones, of colleagues, comrades and people who were his superiors. By the time Ronan died by the hands of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Yon-Rogg had discovered that the Empire was flawed, the alliance between the Kree and Thanos only leading to more destruction. His suspicions were correct, as a few years later, Thanos had managed to gather all of the Infinity Stones needed. Yon-Rogg was there, the majority of the Kree military joining in the battle of Wakanda, when it happened. THE SNAP. Half of the universe gone like that. Half of the Kree gone like that. Kree, who had promised to help, who had hopes that Thanos would protect them. He never did. From anything. Not even when Ego, the celestial, threatened the entirety of the Empire with his expansion. He didn’t protect them from the Snap. Nobody was spared. That was it for the Kree Commander. That was the one thing that spilled the cup over.

ENDGAME AND BEYOND

The return to Hala was painful. Half of the population was gone. Returning to his family home, he discovered his parents gone, his two younger sisters remaining. He moved them to his place, took care of them, trying to do anything to make them distracted from thoughts of their parents gone. While Yon himself never was connected too much with them, he knew that Mart-Enna and Rhia-Non were, especially Rhia, the younger of the two. Five painful years passed with the only good news that came to Hala being how Thanos died. Still, it was little consolation. People had to learn to move on and cope with the situation. And then, the unexpected happened.

Thanos called to arms.

While confused, Yon-Rogg, like most of the reminder of the military, answered the call. Terra again. Complete destruction everywhere. Avangers against Thanos. Surely they could take down 6 people and their companions. They were fighting for the gauntlet, Yon and his battalion trying to keep things at bay. It was pointless. The big green guy got it, snapped his fingers. More people appeared. Portals opened, revealing even more. And then, an unstoppable force. The battle stopped as an unrelenting force destroyed the Sanctuary II. Carol. After so many years, not having seen her once, she was there. She was there and landed right next to him. It felt like their last encounter. One versus one, his gun pointed at her while a pleading look was seen on hers. 

Instantly, he was sent back into the past. All those restless and sleepless nights where he would comfort her and give her advice, all the fun moments they share together. She was like a daughter to him, a daughter he never had. And now here she was, pleading with him to stop it all, begging him to choose her over anything else. It was that moment when Yon-Rogg had remembered why he hated Thanos, why he so vigorously protested against him ever since the Snap happened. All they were doing was wrong, all of it. Among the people watching them, the battle still at halt, he spotted Valeera as well. He never told her about the alliance with Thanos, or that he sided with him out of obligation more than out of want. He couldn’t do that anymore. He had to change sides.

Code 57-TK8. Switching sides on the battlefield. 

The moment he issued the command, every Kree spacecraft was aimed at Thanos and his still loyal followers. The end of the battle, however, couldn’t have been avoided. Tony Stark had sacrificed himself for the welfare of the entire universe. It was such a selfless act, one life in exchange for trillions of others. He attended the funeral, a small and quiet one, reserved for family and friends, yet Yon felt the need to be there. He owed the man that much, even if he never knew him. The fact that he saved the universe was enough to pay his respects. 

After the funeral, Yon lingered a bit longer on Terra, for the first time feeling conflicted about everything. A major part of him didn’t want to go back. Going back would mean being a military lap dog, having no future with Valeera, the woman he loved more than anything else, their lives always at risk should they be discovered. It would have also meant that making amends with Carol would be impossible. Perhaps... perhaps it was time to change and turn a new page in his life. A new life on Terra, far from the cruel and imperialistic grasp of the Empire. 

Where Yon-Rogg’s journey will take him? That’s yet to be seen.

[kithas]

The Kid and the Vines

Here’s the first day of #demonchildrenweek2019 in written format: Host Possessed by their demon: 

You can also read it here

The silence was deafening, barely broken by the ship docking. Alyx, the captain, was the first soldier to set foot in the ground of the main square, the only place on the TITAN School to have enough open space for a ship to land in. In it’s prime, more than a hundred students from all ages and origins gathered at Taris III’s TITAN School for Gifted children, where the kids raised in other facilities around the TITAN controlled universe who displayed peculiar traits were brought, so their potential would be trained into any profitable follower skill. But the place the recon squad found was very different. The main point was the silence. No noise from the living quarters, by the eastern wing, nor the academic district, through the western passage.

“I have a bad feeling about this” Barathrum Beta broke the silence, looking around. Maybe trying to see through the foliage that decorated the main square, trying to decipher what had happened in Taris III, or trying to anticipate any hostile action from the unknown attacker. “No” Alyx replied. “What we have is our mission”. She looked to her white soldiers, weapons ready to fight, and took a breath. The distress signal from the planet was all they had to start with. No message, no details on the attacker… At headquarters there were a bit of a rush to clarify the situation, as Taris III was supposed to start a new line of followers in short time. Alyx knew she would answer to no other than Strategos Six, and she knew they were not forgiving to leave empty handed. “Team Beta, with Barathrum to the academic district. Team Alpha, with me”. She looked to her second in command. “Our top priority are survivors and advanced systems that could have witnessed whatever happened here. Search for clues, for any anomaly. Don’t leave anything”. And she rested her hand on Beta’s shoulder. “And be careful”.

Beta’s instinct was rarely wrong, and she also sensed something bad, something stale. It was clear people didn’t answer to their calls from orbit for a reason. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to find Taris III people. She was wrong. “What the hell is this”. Well, it wasn’t fair to be asking that question. It was clearly a hand. It was clearly an arm. It was clearly a leg. It was clearly blood. But it was hardly a person, not anymore. “This isn’t good”. The tension within the squad was palpable. “What is this, Silent Scavengers?”. The soldiers kept murmuring, but Alyx, who was already by the stairs that gave entry to the first complex, hushed them. “Two, scan the surroundings for any life signs. If there is any survivor, I want to know. The rest of you, shut up. It is clear than a hostile force has gone through here. Our destination is the communications center, at the sixth floor, and, as I intend to get there in one piece, I suggest deactivating your comms”. She knew it would be to no effect, they were not veterans, just regular troops, and she was supposed to train her. But to send new flesh into that type of missions… Well, she knew exactly wat high command was thinking. There was only two actual people in that mission, both Barathrum Beta and Alyx, sent to investigate the distress signal and radio silence from Taris III. The other ones… Well, little armored mice in what everyone thought was a lion then. And it was, judging by that slashes. As they went through the floors, they would see the whole extent the beast, it was clearly a beast, had gone in their rampage. “What the hell is this” muttered Four. “Another Ciretako?” “Shut up” blurted Two, still life scanning the floors for any life signs. “We’re not in a Star Destroyer. We’re in a damn school, and they don’t have whatever this looks like in schools”. Big slashes around the walls, bodies hacked to pieces. It was bizarre to think what could have happened in there. Just some hours before, that was a school, filled with life, and kids, and learning. Now the blue ad screens on the wall were broken and splattered with dark red, and the only thing the life scan picked up were the soldiers.

Except, it wasn’t. “We’re not alone”. The squad froze in site when Two spoke. The corridor they were going through, at the end of which was the communications center and probably the security camera recordings, was as empty as the other three ones, and the other thing left were the corpses of the victims. “Are we talking about…” They al had readied their weapons, but Alyx wanted confirmation. “It is… I-I’m not sure” Two looked shaken and unsure, as if the life scan was failing him. “At the third room on the eastern wall. A small outline, around hundred thirty beats per minute… I’m not sure, could it be…” “A child… a scared child”. Nobody said a word. Two nodded, silently. The thought of a kid, just around the ages of ten-to-seventeen that were trained in the complex being subject to all that horror that managed to shake up trained soldiers was not easy to swallow. “Team Beta, we’re about to establish contact with an apparent survivor. How are you faring out there? Again, we’ve found what looks like a kid”. She looked at Two, and the other ones, who were taking a defensive stance around the door of the room. “Team Alpha, we’re… This is insane. It’s all full of slashes. What are we going against?” “I hope I knew” Alyx said. “Be careful. Over and out”.

The complex was big enough to be a colony on its own, and it had its own guards if any of the childs were unruly. That meant that thing which attacked the complex was able to overpower the guards, again after doing all that damage, and stop all of them to send a more detailed signal. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to look around too much. Maybe their best course of action would be to take the witness and to establish their base camp on the main square securing the place for the arrival of reinforcements.

The room Alyx and Two entered in was actually tidy, as if the monster hadn’t even been there. With a few personal touches from the young man who seemed to have lived there before, a blonde guy with a liking of music from what it looked like, there were just another door for the individual bathroom just up ahead. “Hello?” Alyx looked at Two, who, covering her, nodded. Everything looked okay. A small, scared girl curled up inside the bathtub, they didn’t know if the red on her hair was natural or just the blood who dirtied everything outside. “Hey” Alyx went first, kneeling over just so she would be at the same height of the kid’s hewad, covered up by her hands. “My name is Alyx, He is Two” the captain pointed to her assistant, who still seemed shaken. “I know that you’re terrified right now, kid, but we’re here now. Were the good guys, okay? You’re not alone anymore. What’s your name, sweetie?”

Two stopped her by her shoulder. “Captain”, he said, dryly, pointing with the head to the smashed mirror. A smashed mirror, just inside the tidy room where the supposed beast didn’t enter. The kid, again, looking through the hands before her face. When she raised her head to look at them, Alyx noticed something who made her reconsider their mission. Just another word, muttered with enough fear to get to her assistant. “Horns”.

The bloodstained girl got up, slowly, while Alyx stepped back. Maybe it wasn’t a big hulking beast the one who attacked the complex. “This isn’t a kid”. Two guessed right. “You know, I looked for her”. The trembling voice of the horned being sounded like the one of an actual child. She wasn’t a child, not anymore. “But she wasn’t here. You… you have a ship, right?”

“Call reinforcements” Without averting her eyes from the horned being, who had started to unravel six dark arms from her back, Alyx pushed Two. “Reinforcements? What? RUN!” The spiked claw of the demon already went through Alyx when Two ran to the room, feeling all the spiked tentacles coming out of the bathroom, like a vine whose branches grew too fast, and, as he avoided the surprised and clueless soldiers guarding the door, he knew it was an ambush from the beginning. The distress signal, the massacre, it had been all for them, and they all had fallen in it like noobs. And now, the only thing left while he ran, shooting blindly behind him, were the screams of the rest of the squad, while the spiked tentacles of the Possessed child tore them apart like paper.

[newstfionline]

MS-13, Trump and America’s Stake in El Salvador’s Gang War

By Ali Watkins and Meridith Kohut, NY Times, Dec. 10, 2018

SAN SALVADOR--On a cloudy afternoon, Mayra Ayala shepherded her family along the winding footpaths of a hillside cemetery in Ilobasco, a town about 35 miles from the capital. The group of nine clambered over dozens of brightly painted mausoleums while descending to a purple tomb topped with three crosses.

Two years had passed since Ms. Ayala’s husband, José, and two of her sons--Vladimir, 21, and Douglas, 19--were murdered by members of the street gang MS-13. Mr. Ayala, a community leader in one of the gang’s strongholds, had routinely spoken with Ilobasco’s mayor and police officials, who were trained by American advisers to build rapport with residents.

But to MS-13 leaders, those conversations signaled that Mr. Ayala was an informant--an allegation his family denied. One morning in March 2016, they ambushed Mr. Ayala and his sons at the family’s tile workshop.

Ms. Ayala, 45, and most of her children are now in hiding, moving between homes in their old neighborhood. They are supported by her son Alexander, who survived the slaughter and is seeking asylum in the United States. She is ambivalent about America’s involvement in her country: One of its initiatives to combat gang violence destroyed her family, yet in many ways it has made the neighborhood safer.

“Talking to the police is a death sentence,” Ms. Ayala said. “But it is good to have the police at the districts, because if they weren’t here, we wouldn’t be alive.”

The United States has stepped up its engagement in the country over the last two years, dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars and dozens of law enforcement and military personnel to fighting the violent gangs that send so many Salvadorans fleeing to the American border. The goal is to create a self-sufficient Salvadoran justice system. But the consequences of the effort are difficult to assess.

American advisers are training the police officers who arrest gang members. American dollars are building the prisons that hold them. At an American facility in San Salvador, detectives are learning how to investigate crimes. It is part of a plan to send $750 million into Central America’s violent Northern Triangle--El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras--and one that, American and Salvadoran officials say privately, would be disastrous to end.

President Trump, though, has periodically threatened to walk away. He views MS-13 as a dangerous force in the United States, but has expressed skepticism about the efforts to help root it out in El Salvador. Little more than a month ago, he pledged to pull American support from the region.

Mr. Trump’s wavering commitment and fiery rhetoric--including claims that most Salvadoran immigrants are gang members in disguise--have at times endangered the fragile inroads his embassy has made in a region where American involvement, dating back decades, has historically been viewed with suspicion.

“Not all Salvadorans belong to a gang; we are not MS-13,” Ms. Ayala said. “We are just poor.”

“President Trump is right to attack the MS,” she added. “We Salvadorans do need his support.”

Despite the targeted American investment, the Salvadoran justice system is struggling to maintain basic security, let alone improve it.

El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America--60 killings per 100,000 residents--and just one forensics lab to process evidence. The small facility holds one of the country’s two bullet-analysis systems and a collection of outdated blood-testing contraptions handed down from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Paper evidence bags are filled with bloody clothing and guns.

“This is the only crime lab that receives bodily fluid from a crime scene anywhere in the country,” said Gloria del Carmen Cárcamo, the lab’s director. But without D.N.A.-testing technology, her facility can’t match the clothing to victims or suspects.

Prosecutors can request D.N.A. testing through a medical examiner, but the results aren’t stored centrally and can’t be easily searched. For a country that had nearly 4,000 homicides last year, the implications are staggering.

Ms. Cárcamo’s facility expects to get more equipment and D.N.A.-testing capabilities in the next three years, thanks to a private donor. Her lab--where an American adviser is posted full time--also received part of the $140 million the United States spent to prop up El Salvador’s justice system in 2017.

Even when evidence is processed, justice is rarely served. Often, the families of victims, like the Ayalas, don’t push for an investigation, afraid of gang retaliation. When crimes are prosecuted, fewer than 1 in 20 lead to a conviction, according to United States estimates.

Overhauling the system is a herculean effort for a country that only began rebuilding it in the early 1990s, as part of the peace accords that ended its brutal civil war. Three decades ago, the Reagan administration backed El Salvador’s military-led government in that guerrilla conflict, which killed more than 70,000. Since then, the United States has tried to position itself as more a law-enforcement partner than a military sponsor.

“The United States is the country that cooperates the most with us,” said Howard Cotto, the commissioner of El Salvador’s national police. The American interest is not just to curb the flight north by Salvadorans. MS-13, which originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s, continues to have a strong presence in some American cities. “It is hard to separate MS-13’s actions in the United States from those in El Salvador,” Mr. Cotto said.

[hannah-deserved-better]

Two Angels in a bed SPN rare-pair #21

SPC Rare ship round 21 @truthfulnomad Vs @rodiniaorzetalthepenquin

Prompt: Bed sharing

Word count: 2,000

Warnings: Implied assault, violations, violence, trauma

Summary: Castiel comforts Hannah after she violently had her grace stolen from her.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15539439

Two angels in a bed

“We’ll find whoever did this, I promise,” Castiel said as he locked the motel room door and turned to face the angel perched on the edge of his bed. Hannah’s body trembled as she hugged her arms against herself.

“I feel weak,” she stammered softly, her voice shaky as she looked up at him after he walked across the room to stand in front of her, looking at her ruined disheveled form for the first time. “Tired, nauseous. Is that normal?”

“At first yes,” Castiel admitted. He felt his cheeks flush red with heated rage as he looked over her injuries. Her clothes were torn and dirty and she sported a large bruise directly under her eye which was turning a dark angry purple. He spotted a few cuts and bruises in the holes of her grey blazer and blue jeans. He’d kill whoever did this, he swore to himself.

“It gets easier,” he assured her as he cautiously sat down beside her on the edge of the bed, glancing at her with a look of sympathy. She looked at him and he couldn’t quite place what he saw in those deep blue eyes of hers, except perhaps a vulnerability, a frailness that had not been there before this.

Who was he kidding? It never got easier. Hannah had lost her grace, and not just lost it, it had been violently removed from her body by her own kind. It was one of the most terrifying things that could happen to an angel. She’d been violated in a way that a human could never hope to experience. Her essence, her angelic lifeblood had been removed and with it, her power, her immortality, leaving her vulnerable and shaken to the core.

“It helps to talk about it,” he suggested after watching as she visibly shook, her eyes wide with fear they darted around the room nervously. She held her hands out in front of her, examining the way that they trembled. “If you want to.”

She glanced up at him. “I-t’s c-cold,” she stammered, her eyes studying his face, closely, as if suddenly needing to take in every single feature. “I’m so cold…”

Castiel responded by removing his trench coat and draping it around her shoulders. He didn’t realize that simple act of comfort would have been the catalyst for the turbulence of her emotions to break free, but as her lip started to tremble and one lone tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, he moved to brush it away from with his thumb and she practically melted into his arms, head colliding with his chest as she broke into soft sobs.

Castiel blinked, not quite sure what to do at first. How did he comfort an angel who had been the victim of such violence? He’d had his grace forced out of him before but nothing like this. Metatron had taken his grace to be used in a spell, the angels who had ambushed Hannah, attacked her, forced the grace out of her body, and then, for added measure, had beaten her afterwards, as if to remind her of her sudden humanity.

“Why did they do this?” Hannah sobbed against him. Castiel sighed and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her, tight and secure. Gently gripping the back of her head while she buried her face into his chest, he just held her as she wept.

“I don’t know, Hannah,” Castiel murmured, pressing his chin on the the top of her head. “I don’t know. But it’s going to be okay. I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

Hannah said nothing for a moment, as if digesting that information, wondering if she could trust this. After a moment, she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes red rimmed, the tracks of her tears visible on her face. She looked him in the eye for a moment and he just looked back, they studied each other.

Castiel felt the sudden flutter of his stomach as he continued to stare. He effortlessly pressed his palm to her forehead and let his healing powers flow to her, healing her physical injuries completely, then, in an effort to sooth her emotional injuries, he cupped her face in both of his hands. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “I don’t know how but I will. But in the meantime, you should-”

He was cut off when she suddenly surged forward to press her lips to his urgently. He grunted, a little startled by the sudden kiss, but when she turned her head slightly, deepening the kiss, he felt his resolve melt away. He brushed a hand to the side of her face, moving his fingers through her hair as he returned the kiss, closing his eyes tightly savoring the sensation.

It was this act that completely erased Castiel’s changed thoughts. It awakened something within him, something he never knew he was capable of. This sudden growing need for her, was this what lust was? Or was this something more? The feeling of her soft lips, how her skin felt under his finger tips. The way he wanted to make every angel who dared to touch her suffer.

When she broke the kiss to train her eyes back on his, he searched her eyes for meaning. “How did you learn to do that?” he whispered softly. Her eyes glistened with sensual depths. She only shrugged.

“It felt right,” she replied, her voice equally soft and full of emotion. “I felt as though I needed to… am I wrong?”

She frowned for a moment as the thought that she might have made the wrong move crossed her mind.

“You’re not wrong,” he assured her, gazing at the woman draped in his own trench coat. He sighed. “You’re in a vulnerable emotion state, you may not be thinking clearly.”

“And what if I am thinking clearly?” she asked. “I’m human now… don’t humans possess the freedom to choose their own fate?”

“They do,” Castiel confirmed as they continued to lock eyes, his voice softening to a whisper as he realized the longer that he looked at her, the harder that feeling in his gut was to ignore. “But most humans are also aware that their choices have consequences.”

“Consequences,” Hannah repeated as her eyes moved to his lips, “you mean like sexual intercourse?”

Castiel flushed red at her bluntness. She cocked her head, puzzled. “W-well,” he stammered. “Yes, in some cases, I suppose it could lead to that.” He played innocent, trying to ignore the growing heat between them.

Hannah’s eye glanced to the bed they were sharing at the moment. Then she glanced back at him. “Let there be consequences then,” she suggested as she leaned forward and kissed him again.

Castiel didn’t need human instincts to know what to do next. He let his feelings, his desires direct him. That familiar feeling of sensation in his lower body, that heat that seemed to engulf him, that feeling of electricity when he touched her. He brushed his fingers gently through her hair while simultaneously letting himself press against her, encouraging her to lower herself down onto the bed.

As Hannah lay down on the bed, her legs dangled off the edge as Castiel sat on his knees above her. He gazed down at her, admiring her. She only gazed up at him, waiting. He knelt down and kissed her deeply, opening his mouth as he tenderly, amorously connected with her. She breathed in, placing a hand on his chin as her breath on his mouth sent shivers along his spine like he had never felt before.

As they remained, their lips locked together, neither daring to break the connection, Castiel slid his hands under her and in one fell move lifted her and pulled her farther up onto the bed, lowering her head into the pillow. She made no move to stop him, only kept kissing, her breath becoming more hurried, her touch becoming more intense.

He sat up to pull at his trench coat pulling it free from her shoulders, then her own grey blazer, one by one removing her clothing. As he knelt to pull off her white blouse, he looked into her eyes. “Do you really want this?” he asked. She nodded but there was this sudden look of fear in her eyes as she lay there, topless, below him. Castiel frowned with concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up on his knees. She was shaking again, suddenly avoiding his gaze. “Hannah…”

“I can’t stop thinking about them,” she said, eyes flicking to his. “What they did… I liked this, what we were doing… but all of a sudden I can’t stop thinking about them. How they hurt me…”

Castiel sighed in sympathy as he looked over her bare chest and torso. The mood was quickly gone but the need for intimacy was still there between both of them. She needed comfort, but this wasn’t the kind of comfort she needed. He realized how traumatized she truly was.

He said nothing, just got off the bed. He took off his shoes and his own clothes, changing into a simple t-shirt and night shorts. Then he approached her. She lay on the bed watching him curiously. He pulled off her shoes which prompted her to sit up. He pulled the blankets of the bed back. “Lay down,” he instructed softly. “It’s okay, Hannah.” He had a plan.

She slid herself in between the sheets and he got into the bed with her. Gently, he pulled her into his arms. She lay her head on his chest as he tucked them both into the bed. He just held her like that as she buried her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her bare back soothingly.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’m sorry I ruined… this…”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Hannah,” Castiel murmured, holding her as they lay in bed together. “Shh…” he soothed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Somehow, this felt just as powerful as what they had intended to do. This was as intimate, as passionate, as loving as making love could ever have been. She needed this and he could be this for her for as long as she needed. It would be a long time until the trauma fully left her and for her to heal properly.

After a moment of laying in his arms, she lifted her head to gaze into his eyes, her own eyes glistened with moisture. “Will you stay here with me?” she asked. “Sleep here with me?”

“Of course,” Castiel replied, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Of course they both knew that he was an angel and didn’t need sleep, and with her grace gone, she did, but that didn’t matter. She wanted him to sleep with her, to hold her through the night, keep her safe, and that’s what he would do.

She lowered her head to kiss him deeply and he closed his eyes savoring the moment before pulling her back into his arms.

That was how they stayed that night. And that was the first time Castiel shared a bed with someone he loved, really loved. There was no sex, no giving into carnal desires, just two angels sharing raw intimacy in a way they both needed. Castiel knew it wouldn’t be their last moment like this.

[carryonmywaywardcaptain]

A New Life: Part Five

Masterlist coming soon! (For real this time. I got caught up in writing. Oops.) In the meantime, here’s Part One Part Two  Part Three  Part Four

Series Masterlist

Summary: Your family is killed while you are out celebrating Fall Break with some friends from college. You’re about to take your own life when the Winchester boys come rolling in. They turn your world completely inside out, but along the way you discover a new purpose in hunting and a love you never even dreamed could exist.

WC: 1,848

Warnings: slight angst, language

A/N: Y/N’s first hunt doesn’t go as planned and Dean becomes grumps... I realize posting these so close to each another kind of takes away some of the fun, but I just can’t help writing it at the moment! Part six is probably coming tomorrow haha.

.

.

Your bedroom door swung open and slammed into the wall. You nearly jumped out of bed.

“Riiiise and shine, sweetheart!”

You groaned as you realized Dean had kicked open your door for yet another early morning workout. “Five more minutes,” you mumbled as you sink back into your pillow.

“Monsters don’t rest for anyone, and we won’t either. Hop up, sweetheart, we’ve got work to do.” He yanked the covers off and playfully threw an extra pillow at you. You huffed and dragged yourself out of bed. These early morning workouts were getting old, but you had to admit they were paying off.

Dean trained you physically, day in and day out. You worked on different fighting techniques and he showed you how to disassemble and clean your weapons. He taught you how to pick a lock, how to think outside the box for tools, and what to do if you got tied up again.

Sam worked with you on learning the lore, and he tested your knowledge constantly.

“Ghosts.” He would prompt you.

“Salt and burn the bones. You can shoot them with rock salt, but pure iron works for a few minutes if you’re in a bind.”

“And if they were cremated?”

“Uh…improvise? Try to figure out what else is tying them to our world, keeping them from crossing over.” Dean walked in the room and laughed. “See, Sammy? She’s already catching on. Improvising is what we do best.”

“Decent enough answer. I’ll take it,” he chuckled. He hesitated before giving you the next prompt. One you had only briefly touched on. “Vampires.”

You clenched your jaw. You knew as well as he did that you’d been researching that one yourself. “Cut off the head. Dead man’s blood weakens them.” A dark thought crosses your mind as Gideon’s menacing smirk flashes behind your eyes.

“Hey,” Dean said gently, as he put a hand on your shoulder. “We’ll get ‘em. Just gotta stay focused and keep working hard… You’re doing great.”

You looked up at him, and reached up to place your hand on top of his. Sometimes it seemed like Dean knew exactly what you were thinking. Of course, maybe it was obvious what you’d think of when talking about vampires. You gave him a small smile, squeezed his hand, and let yours fall back into your lap. Dean turned and left the room again.

“Well, what’s next, Sammy?” You asked with a smile playing on your lips. Ever since you started calling him “Sammy,” it felt like you had really become part of the family. He returned your smile, but you were interrupted when Dean came walking back around the corner into the library. 

“Uh huh.” He was speaking into his phone. “Yeah, we’ll check it out… Thanks man, you too… Bye.”

He turned back to you and Sam. “That was Garth. He’s got a lead for us.” This time he spoke directly to you. “What do ya think? Ready for your first job?”

You swallowed hard. Despite all your training, you still didn’t have any actual experience out in the field and you felt wildly unprepared. It must have shown on your face, because Dean continued.

“You can stay here, sweetheart. It’s not any big deal.”

You shook your head. “Nah. Practice makes perfect, right?”

The impala hummed along the highway as you made your way to the small town Garth had called about. 

“Alright, let’s go over it again,” Sam turned in the front seat so he could see you. “What are we dealing with?”

“Werewolves it sounds like. Victims are mauled, so local authorities are probably figuring animal attack. But they’re also missing their hearts, and I’m pretty sure bears don’t do that.” You shutter. “Silver bullet or knife. Probably aim for the heart just to be sure.”

“I’ll be damned.” You meet Dean’s gaze in the rearview mirror, his eyes dancing in amusement. “You do catch on quick.”

The boys dropped you off at the hotel before heading to the coroner’s office to check out the bodies. You settled in and started reading up on the victims; who they were, how and where they died, anything they may have had in common. It took hours for you to pour over all of the information, but you found that each of the victims had reportedly gone missing from the same bike trail in a forested area just south of town. Their bodies were all recovered in different places, but you knew it was probably part of the staging.

When the boys got back, you let them know what you’d found.

“Yeah, that’s what the police told us too…” Sam trailed off. Your face fell as you realized you hadn’t really helped at all. Sam quickly added, “but it was a great find! Pretty sure you found the pattern a lot faster than the cops did.”

“Smooth save, Sammy,” Dean smirked. “Anyway, we should definitely go check it out.”

Late that night the three of you quietly made your way down the trail, guns and flashlights drawn. You had established that you were probably looking for purebloods, because there wasn’t a full moon and the attacks had occurred over multiple nights.

Sam caught a glimpse of a worn down path just off the trail and signaled to you and Dean. You followed it for a ways, and found that it led to an overgrown clearing. There was a cabin in the clearing and lights shown from the front windows. The three of you fanned out to surround the cabin.

Your heart was racing. This didn’t feel right. You couldn’t possibly luck out and ambush a pack of pureblood werewolves like this...could you? Couldn’t they hear you or smell you coming?

You heard snarling and a loud crack across the clearing. Your heart sputtered, then kicked into overdrive. You wanted desperately to run across the clearing to see which of the boys were in trouble, but you knew they’d be furious if you took off and made yourself known. You had to keep out of sight. You continued to make your way to the cabin and flattened your back against the wall. You heard the front door crash open, and a bunch of commotion. You took a deep breath and peeked through the back window.

Sam was slowly pushing himself up off the ground and he was surrounded. You counted six figures standing around him. You tried to listen to the muffled voices. “...We were even sticking to small towns to lay low. Why can’t you hunters ever just mind your own damn business?”

Sam mumbled something, and you assumed it was a smart ass remark based on his smirk and the responding snarl that followed.

Just then, Dean kicked the front door open and started shooting. You didn’t hesitate like you’d imagined you would. You ran to the back door, flinging it open and running inside. Swallowing your fear, all you could think about was getting to the boys.

You ran down the short hall and into the front room to see that Dean had taken out two of them. You heard a snarl right beside you. You spun around and shot instinctively, and a third werewolf hit the floor.

You turned back around to see that Sam was holding his own with one, while Dean was going back and forth between the last two. He threw a couple punches at one then kicked it into the wall. Picking up a wooden chair, he whirled around and broke it over the other. He drew a knife out of his boot and raised it up to stab the werewolf on the ground. The first one that he had struck was back up and running toward him.

“Dean, look out!” 

You shot at it and missed. It whipped around and started running at you. Dean lunged and grunted as he wrapped his arms securely around its legs, tackling it to the ground. The werewolf that Dean had struck with a chair was back up, coiling to pounce on him. You jumped between the two of them as it came crashing into you instead, sending your gun sliding across the room.

You were pinned to the ground, holding its face at arm’s length as it snapped its fangs at you. Looking into its canine eyes, you lost a little nerve until you heard Dean making smart comments at the one he was struggling with. Willing yourself to focus, you hooked one of your legs around and rolled from underneath it, just like Dean had taught you. It punched you in the cheek and you fell back to the ground. Dean had finished off the werewolf he’d been fighting and rushed to help you. 

He got in a few good punches before it struck him to the ground too. It drew back its arm, then struck Dean in his chest. You screamed and lunged forward, somersaulting with the werewolf as you both crashed into the leg of a table. It leaped back up and you felt the its claws sink deep into your shoulder. It secured its grip on you and threw you into the wall, knocking you out cold. ___ “How could you be so reckless and stupid! You could have DIED--what the hell were you thinking!” “Dean, I wasn’t thinking I just-” “That’s right! You didn’t think at all! You just-” “Dean, that’s enough.” Sam had cut him off. “All things considered, she held her own and did really well. We’re all alive and that’s what matters. We got the job done.” “Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get some sleep so we can get back to the bunker.”

Now, here you were. You sat safely in your room back at the bunker, thinking back to your first hunt and everything that had happened after you woke up at the hotel. You’d had a concussion and needed some stitches in your shoulder, but you thought you’d taken them like a champ. Sam had been relieved when your eyes finally opened, but Dean hadn’t hesitated to rip into you before finally giving you the cold shoulder.

Sammy had tried to reassure you that Dean wasn’t really mad at you; that sometimes he just got this way after a close call. He said Dean would come around soon, and that everything would be normal again.

It wasn’t.

Dean barely looked at you, and he would only grunt in response when you asked him a question. You did your best to avoid him, and you were angry with yourself for being so upset by his silent treatment. It was just Dean. If he wanted to be mad, you couldn’t control that.

You groaned in frustration. You didn’t like how much this was bothering you or how much you were thinking about him. You knew you hadn’t done anything wrong-- in fact, you’d kind of kicked ass-- and he just needed time to come around and see that himself.

You were reading way too much into this, and you decided to just go to bed. Hopefully this would all blow over soon.

Part Six

Tags:  @maddieburcham1 @jamrsgang @oswlin29 @amanda-teaches @anotherwaywardsister @growningupgeek @because-imma-lady-assface @obsessivecompulsivespn @imascreamerbabymakemeamute  @impala-dreamer @riversong-sam @ericaprice2008 @olkathefoxi @the–real-wombat

[fauzhee10069]

Kill Bill, should I watch it?

Recently, I’m into action movies and their beautiful choreography. I’ve learned from some of the movie analysis from youtube regarding the choreography, camera and editing techniques. One of the movie I watched was Kill Bill (not the full movies but several clips), thing that got me to this movie actually was “Gogo Yubari”… yeah, I watched the clip for her actually. I am also interested in a character named O-Ren Ishii (played by Lucy Liu), she was really deadly and elegant.

I got little spoilers from youtube comments: so apparently this story is about the circle of revenge, a woman is taking revenge because her wedding got crashed… not an ordinary crash though, it was massacre. What is the full story?

Most audiences prefer not to get spoilers at all, because with spoilers, they can't fully enjoy a work. Maybe you don't agree with me, but I'm actually the type who likes spoilers before enjoying that work. Why do I become such an audience? Maybe because of my bad experience who had seen a work with a disappointing storyline, either because it was bad written or simply because it’s not my cup of tea.

Since then I prefer to be spoiled before I start watching it… I don’t want to waste my time with a story that will only leave a bad taste to me. Fanfic writers generally use their creative ideas to write and fix things that are disappointing in an original (canon) story… sadly I’m not that creative and very good at writing stories.

Enough about me, let’s see how the story goes…

<warning!!! This will sound more like rants, if you are a fan of “Kill Bill”, you may end up not liking it!>

Taken from the wikipedia page:

Kill Bill: Volume 1

A woman in a wedding dress, the Bride, lies wounded in a chapel in El Paso, Texas, having been attacked by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She tells their leader, Bill, that she is pregnant with his baby just before he shoots her in the head.

So, this is what actually happened in the wedding massacre. The Bride had a wedding but got attacked by her former squad. She told Bill, their leader that she is pregnant with his baby just before he shot her in the head. The Bride was Bill’s lover then (her own leader before she defected. So, she was about to marry someone who was not the father of her baby? Poor that groom, he either died or married for nothing. Was the beginning of this story about “jealousy”?

Four years later, having survived the attack, the Bride goes to the home of Vernita Green, planning to kill her. Both women were members of the assassination squad, which has since disbanded; Vernita now leads a normal suburban family life.

Flash forward to four years later. The bitch who was also the member of ‘Deadly Viper Assassination Squad’ finally got her dream domestic life, she was also involved in the wedding massacre. Poor The Bride, maybe this wasn't just revenge, a feeling of envy could just arise in her heart seeing Vernita is living right now.

They engage in a knife fight, but are interrupted by the arrival of Vernita's young daughter, Nikki. The Bride agrees to meet Vernita at night to settle the matter, ...

Good, it is wise to not to involve a kid in this.

... but when Vernita tries to surprise the Bride with a pistol hidden in a box of cereal, the Bride throws a knife into Vernita's chest, killing her. Nikki witnesses the killing, and the Bride acknowledges that Nikki may one day seek her own vengeance for her mother's death.

Ah shit, The Bride ended up killing Vernita in front of her daughter. Now she will be haunted by Nikki's anger that will turn to take revenge on her (instead of panicking, she looked cool though). This is what I said about ‘the circle of revenge’, it will never end. To be fair, The Bride did not intend to kill Vernita in front of Nikki.

Vernita was guiltier than The Bride because she immediately attacks her when her daughter was there. To be fair though, Vernita on 1-vs-1 with "the deadliest woman in the world" The Bride won't have a chance to win.

The Bride acted in a self-defense but being a former assassin she was and coupled with the anger of a burning grudge, she cold-bloodly killed her.

Four years earlier, police investigate the massacre at the wedding chapel. The sheriff discovers that the Bride is alive but comatose. In the hospital, Deadly Viper Elle Driver prepares to assassinate the Bride via lethal injection, but Bill aborts the mission at the last moment, considering it dishonorable to kill the Bride when she cannot defend herself.

Back to the flashback, apparently, Bill still loves The Bride. If I am Elle Driver, perhaps I start to question Bill's leadership. He had caused the massacre due to his personal issue. After he could have killed The Bride with his shot at that time, now he was even giving her a chance to live (and get revenge on him). Dishonorable? The mission you gave to Deadly Vipers (out of jealously) has absolutely no honor in it!

The Bride awakens from her four-year coma and is horrified to find that she is no longer pregnant. She kills a man who tries to rape her and a hospital worker who has been selling her body while she was comatose. She takes the hospital worker's truck and teaches herself to walk again.

She was raped when she was in a coma and a hospital worker had been selling her body all this time? Why does this sound ridiculous? This sub-plot is also completely insignificant to her journey of revenge. To be honest, does this scene ask me to sympathize with The Bride as a rape victim or to see her as a badass woman capable of killing right after she woke up from her coma? Yay, strong victim! You raped the wrong woman, FOOL! Don’t mess with her!

Plus, how can a hospital worker have been selling The Bride’s comatozed body? Is there zero supervision at the hospital? How can he get away for four years?

It would be better if The Bride just simply woke up from her coma, then recalled her traumatic wedding and then simply ran away from the hospital to take revenge. Perhaps, have another Deadly Viper who ignored Bill's order and tried to kill The Bride the moment The Bride suddenly awoke. No raping shit.

She barely could walk but she was able to kill a man… was muscle atrophy being picky to The Bride’s body parts?

Resolving to kill Bill and all four members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, the Bride picks her first target: O-Ren Ishii, now the leader of the Tokyo Yakuza. O-Ren's parents were murdered by the Yakuza when she was a child; she took vengeance on the Yakuza boss and replaced him after training as an elite assassin.

I have read a youtube comment (too bad I forgot to take a screenshot), s/he said, “unlike The Bride who took revenge on her own choice, as she married and left Bill and Deadly Vipers of her own choice. O-Ren had no choice in her past, she was just a helpless child who witnessed the murder of her parents.” Although taking revenge was her choice too, O-Ren’s situation was more similar to Nikki.

The Bride travels to Okinawa, Japan, to obtain a sword from legendary swordsmith Hattori Hanzō, who has sworn never to forge a sword again. After learning that her target is Bill, his former student, he relents and crafts his finest sword for her.

At this point, I feel that The Bride is indeed a very special person (hence her status as main protagonist LOL). Is it a coincidence that Hanzō Hattori doesn't like Bill and inwardly wants to get rid of him too? This sounds like he used The Bride that happened to target Bill to get rid of his former student.

Luckily for The Bride, it seemed like her revenge was running smooth, Bill let her live and now she got the finest sword from her former lover’s former master.

At a Tokyo restaurant, the House of Blue Leaves, the Bride defeats O-Ren's elite squad of fighters, the Crazy 88, and her bodyguard, schoolgirl Gogo Yubari.

Gogo TwT

She and O-Ren duel in the restaurant's Japanese garden; the Bride gains the upper hand and slices the top of her head off with a sword stroke.

That's the best way to make sure your opponent really dies, behead her! Luckily for The Bride, Bill and his Deadly Vipers squad would never do that to her.

She tortures Sofie Fatale, O-Ren's assistant, for information about Bill, and leaves her alive as a threat. Bill asks Sofie if the Bride knows that her daughter is alive.

I'm actually starting to question whether Bill, Deadly Vipers (and The Bride) are truly assassins, maybe I mean they are assassins that sometimes have a standard. Of course they can't work effectively because since the beginning, the background of this story is just a personal issue between Bill and The Bride, Deadly Vipers with their killing ability is just an accessory.

In short, The Bride opens the way for Sofie to get revenge on her… and the daughter is alive.

Kill Bill: Volume 2

Four years before the events of Kill Bill: Volume 1, the pregnant Bride and her groom rehearse their wedding. Bill, the Bride's former lover, the father of her child, and the leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, arrives unexpectedly and orders the Deadly Vipers to kill everyone at the wedding. Bill shoots the Bride in the head, but she survives and swears revenge.

Back to the initial backstory and poor the ‘nameless’ groom.

In the present, the Bride has already assassinated Deadly Vipers O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green. She goes to the trailer of Bill's brother and Deadly Viper Budd, planning to ambush him. Budd has been warned by Bill of her approach; he incapacitates her with a non-lethal shotgun blast of rock salt and sedates her. He calls Elle Driver, another former Deadly Viper, and arranges to sell the Bride's unique sword for $1 million. He seals the Bride inside a coffin and buries her alive.

Buried her alive?? The more I see this, the more I get convinced that they are not really assassins, let alone professionals. Selling The Bride’s sword was a brilliant idea though.

Depending on the depth, The Bride may not survive. But considering that this is a fictional story with various flashy assassins who are borderline superhumans (especially The Bride), burying her alive would only give her a chance of survival.

Plus, it’s funny that only Bill's brother Budd managed to subdue "the deadliest woman in the world" and yet he got the same character induced stupidity like his brother Bill for not immediately kill The Bride on the spot.

Years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Mei refuses to teach his students; the technique that supposedly kills any opponent after they have taken five steps. Bill takes the Bride to Mei's temple for training. Mei ridicules her and makes her training a torment, but she gains his respect.

A flashback of how The Bride would survive with her asspull (and it also indirectly involved Bill the lover).

I don’t need to know that Mei had ridiculed her and made her training a torment, it's clear that the awesome The Bride will make it through it all. She is like the best Deadly Viper (and a f*ck buddy) Bill ever got.

In the present, the Bride uses Mei's one-inch punch technique to break out of the coffin and claw her way to the surface.

BINGO!

Elle arrives at Budd's trailer and kills him with a black mamba hidden with the money for the sword.

That backstab is hurt…  and the only Deadly Viper (and the guy) who survived from The Bride died by his greed <cough>black mamba<cough>.

She calls Bill and tells him that the Bride has killed Budd and that she has killed the Bride, using the Bride's real name: Beatrix Kiddo.

This bitch is sly.

As Elle exits the trailer, Beatrix ambushes her and they fight. Elle, who was also taught by Mei, taunts Beatrix by revealing that she killed Mei by poisoning him in retribution for him plucking out her eye.

Because you are not special Elle, unlike The Bride- Beatrix whom was easier to taught. Still, Elle has her own right to take revenge for him plucking out her eye.

An enraged Beatrix plucks out Elle's remaining eye and leaves her screaming in the trailer with the black mamba.

That's sadistic!

Will Elle have Beatrix’s bullshit for surviving, just like when Beatrix was buried alive, Elle's fate was also ambiguous. Even though she was blind, there is a chance that Elle managed to get out of the trailer before being bitten by the black mamba. Even if she got bitten, she was the one who prepared that black mamba, as the the professional assassin, she should have prepared the antivenom… only if she had a status as protagonist though.

So other people can't have a revenge besides you, Beatrix? Or because Pai Mei is your favorite master who has praised you so you hate Elle who had killed him for retribution? Yeah, this story is about you.

In Acuña, Mexico, Beatrix meets a retired pimp, Esteban Vihaio, who helps her find Bill. She tracks him to a hotel, and discovers that their daughter B.B. is still alive, now four years old, spending the evening with them. After she puts B.B. to bed, …

Good that she knew that her daughter is alive and finally met her. They have been estranged for four years but of course it was very easy to immediately act as a mother and put her to sleep. No awkward feeling, although of course little kid is easier to approach (than a teenager).

... Bill shoots Beatrix with a dart containing truth serum and interrogates her. 

Yeah, you don’t really want to kill her, Bill... because you still love her.

She recounts a mission in which she discovered she was pregnant and explains that she left the Deadly Vipers to give B.B. a better life. Bill explains that he assumed she had died and mourned her for three months; he ordered her assassination when he discovered she was alive and engaged to a "jerk" that he assumed was the father of her child.

If only you two can communicate better, Bill doesn't need to make Beatrix take revenge and he wouldn't lose so many of his precious Deadly Vipers squad members.

This personal issue that started all of this sounds ridiculous, but whose fault is it? Bill who was childish and jealous, without cross-checking immediately carried out the wedding massacre? Or Beatrix who decided to disappear in order for B.B to live a normal life without communicating with her lover Bill? She even took advantage of the poor guy who became her groom and died in vain.

Beatrix disables Bill and strikes with Mei's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, which she had kept secret. Bill makes his peace with her, takes five steps and dies. Beatrix leaves with her daughter.

Of course her revenge still had to be resolved, but in the end, Bill himself is the one who decided to die.

The next morning Beatrix is shown crying as she still loved Bill, but at the same time she laughs uncontrollably; a collateral effect of the truth serum, Bill's last gift for Beatrix, so B.B. couldn't see her in tears. Understanding his gesture, Beatrix whispers "thank you" to the late Bill and starts a new life with her child.

Congratulation, this tragic assassin couple had caused the death of many former Deadly Viper members and a daughter (Nikki) who lost her mother (Vernita).

Now, it’s time for Beatrix to live Vernita’s life with her daughter B.B. as a single mother.

The Circle of Revenge

Though Beatrix is the main character, the main theme, the circle of revenge started way back when O-ren was a child,witnessing the murder of her parents by the Yakuza, she took vengeance on the Yakuza boss and successfully seized his position after training as an elite assassin.

Far a few years later, it was Beatrix's turn to take revenge for having her wedding brutally crashed. On her way to get revenge, Beatrix killed Vernita in front of her daughter Nikki, her action has the potential to continue 'the circle of revenge' if Nikki intends to take revenge on her in the future. She also let Sofie Fatale alive (after cutting off her hand of course), another one who potentially will take revenge on her.

In addition, there was also Elle who once took revenge on his master Pai Mei for him plucking out her eye (he was such sadistic master). Beatrix indirectly served as the circle of revenge for Elle, apart from taking revenge for her ‘wedding massacre’, she also took revenge for the death of her beloved master.

My thought

Maybe you can guess it from the way I comment. Yeah, Kill Bill’s storyline is not my cup of tea. My issues are:

The flashy and unrealistic portrayal of assassins

The Deadly Vipers weren't like assassins, but more like fighters with murderous intent. They use acrobatic movements and cool ninja techniques to finish off their opponents. Real assassins don't use a lot of acrobatic moves and techniques to kill their opponents. They do it discreetly and inconspicuously, then in one motion when the target is off guard, they immediately executed the target. Besides, they don't have to be a superhuman.

To be fair, we don't see ordinary people as targets in Kill Bill, Beatrix was targeting her fellow assassins (which their capability is quite difficult for her). Of course, Beatrix (who was taking revenge) still didn't do the real assassin code: blending. She wore a very striking yellow jump suit, looking like a woman who was fully prepared to fight (I know that it was Bruce Lee’s reference but still...).

Knowing Tarantino, aesthetics and symbolization are his stronger points than realism. It was possible that Beatrix had this appearance as a symbol that she had indeed left the path of life as an assassin, hence she ignores 'assimilation/blending'. In addition, as the main protagonist, she will symbolically attract attention with her striking appearance in front of the audiences, whereas the people inside the movie just suspended their disbelief and didn’t give a single glance at her.

Unfortunately, Kill Bill which is filled with highly capable people (borderline superhuman) gives ordinary people almost zero chance of being able to deal with them. This is a film about numerous deadly fighters disguised with the word of ‘assassin’.

Over-centralized protagonist

Beatrix is a former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who is described as "the deadliest woman in the world", yeah… her character establishment has placed her as ‘the special’. Of course this is not a problem when played correctly or subvertly <cough>Saitama<cough>.

But Beatrix is not just that a deadly former assassin, she is also Bill's ex-lover (so of course, she had received more special treatment from Bill than the other members). Besides that the main plot of these films is about personal matters between Bill and Beatrix. What's annoying is that their problem has involved many other members and their lives.

I have my own life too is probably what the other (non-main) characters have been shouting about.

Even more annoying, Beatrix and Bill's personal lover issue have ruined the lives of others (Nikki).

The rape of the comatozed Beatrix? What for? To pity her (as the rape victim) or to admire her (as the badass who killed her rapist)?

Outside of Beatrix's talent, I feel like the plot hands her everything on a silver platter. First, she avoided the death from silly reason (not the shot during her wedding), when Bill stopped Elle to kill her via lethal injection… Beatrix survived death because of her former lover’s sentimental feeling (aka the plot).

Second, she managed to get the finest sword from her lover (Bill)’s former teacher, Hanzō Hattori because muh revenge.

Third, she avoided death once again because another character induced stupidity, Budd had sealed Beatrix inside a coffin and buries her alive… only to show how awesome Beatrix mastering the so-called difficult technique from Pai Mei.

Only Beatrix did the killing right when she beheaded O-Ren (though not so in Elle’s case).

I would not say that Beatrix is Mary Sue, but she is kinda Sue-ish to me. Her status as both "the deadliest woman in the world" and her (former) boss's lover (Bill) made it so. I think that Beatrix could be a better (and interesting) character if she ditched one of those aspects.

Let's see if Beatrix is just the former lover of her former boss Bill, but with average abilities of Deadly Vipers (perhaps at the level of Vernita or Elle, or even below them). We can see that she will need more struggle on her journey to revenge. She also (should) not get an easy pass like getting a Hanzō Hattori’s sword because of 'muh revenge' and became the favorite student of Pai Mei (and learn the deadliest moves from him) because she's a genius and talented.

Instead of seeing Beatrix as superhuman, we may see her as a cunning woman who may employ cunning tactics to get rid of her opponents. With this we can also see how the assassin portrayed here comes closer to reality. It would be like how JJBA gave Lucy Steel a chance to kill deadly Stand users. Hence, in the true world of assassination, Beatrix doesn't need the finest sword to murder someone.

Now, let's see if Beatrix is just "the deadliest woman in the world" without the convenient privilege from her (then) lover who was also her (former) boss. With her talent, perhaps Beatrix will still be Pai Mei's favorite student, but she will not know about Pai Mei through Bill. Then, on her journey to get revenge, she won't get ridiculous asspull from Bill's sentimental feelings.

I'm also sure that Beatrix knew Hattori Hanzō from Bill as well.

If only Bill was simply her former boss without any love, Beatrix's journey of revenge will be more like O-ren’s.

Beatrix as the top-tier assassin and Bill’s love interest made her got everything on a silver platter as the main protagonist.

Ishii O-Ren could be a better main villain than Bill, she is also more interesting character than Beatrix

Ishii O-Ren was the main villain in volume 1, though I would rather say it as the 'final boss'. Unlike Bill and his sentimental feelings for his former lover, O-ren as a villain has no reason to make it easy for Beatrix.

Bill led the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, which has already been disbanded for around four years. O-ren became the leader of the Tokyo Yakuza, she also had the Crazy 88 as her elite squad of fighters, schoolgirl Gogo Yubari as her bodyguard and Sofie Fatale as her assistant.

Too bad, besides Gogo with her potential, none of them were no match for Beatrix.

O-ren’s backstory (in my opinion) is much more interesting than Beatrix's journey of revenge in two-volume. Her childhood tragic past for witnessing the murder of her parents by the Yakuza should be more traumatic than Beatrix's wedding massacre. I don't mean to invalidate the tragedy of Beatrix's wedding, but O-ren’s past as the motivation for revenge is still objectively more tragic than Beatrix's because:

“Unlike Beatrix who married and left Bill and Deadly Vipers of her own choice. O-Ren had no choice in her past, she was just a helpless child who witnessed the murder of her parents.”

”Unlike O-ren, the wedding massacre which became Beatrix's motive for taking revenge was caused by her own choice of leaving Bill secretly and marrying someone else.”

O-ren also successfully took vengeance on the Yakuza boss who murdered her parents and even replaced him as the leader of the Tokyo Yakuza. She had succeeded without the aid of someone having sentimental feelings to her. I wish there will be a separated prequel of Kill Bill about the journey of O-ren’s vengeance.

Kill Bill: Volume 3

From Kill Bill: Volume 2’s wikipedia:

In April 2004, Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly that he was planning a sequel:

Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my "Dollars Trilogy". I was going to do a new one every ten years. But I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age.

Nikki is just like O-ren, the death of her mother (who was murdered) was not the result of her own action. Of course it will be interesting to watch the continuation of this ‘circle of revenge', I felt that Nikki would probably be a more deserving protagonist than Beatrix. Beatrix is more like a selfish protagonist, not intentionally but through the plot that made it so. This was about the lover quarrel between "the deadliest female assassin in the world" and “the leader of the assassin squad” which caused various casualties.

The concept of Nikki’s journey of revenge also sounds promising by involving Sofie Fatale as Nikki's mentor. Of course Sofie also has strong motives considering Beatrix had amputated her hand and tortured her, she had also killed her superior O-ren. If Elle is magically survived (with similar asspulls like Beatrix got in her story), she might join Nikki and Sofie as well.

I'm a little curious though, why does Sofie get all of Bill's money? Didn't Bill love Beatrix so much, why doesn't he leave his money to Beatrix (and their daughter B.B.)?

I'm a little worried about Tarantino needing to wait at least 15 years for this sequel, I hope he (and the core actors/actresses) lives long enough to make Kill Bill volume 3 with Nikki as the main protagonist and Beatrix as the villain.

In December 2012, Tarantino said there would "probably not" be a third film"

It will be a shame if Nikki’s story will be canceled.

However, in July 2019, Tarantino said that he and Thurman had talked again about a possible sequel, and added: If any of my movies were going to spring from my other movies, it would be a third Kill Bill" In December, Tarantino said he had spoken to Thurman about an "interesting" idea for a new film: "It would be at least three years from now. It is definitely in the cards".

Hopefully, we can immediately witness Nikki's revenge in action!

How to end ‘the circle of revenge’

As Tarantino wanted to plan, Nikki will be raised by Sofie Fatale who got all of Bill’s money. I wonder, whether Beatrix will be the leader of another deadly squad which will serve as the sub-bosses for Nikki or will Beatrix live a quiet life with B.B. but hard to catch by Nikki?

Whatever it is, though Beatrix already passed her prime, Nikki still has to deal with the woman who was once known as "the deadliest woman in the world".

In my opinion, Beatrix as "the deadliest woman in the world" might works better as the big villain than the main protagonist, therefore we can see how Nikki will be struggle against her.

I guess that Sofie as Nikki's mentor will die in the middle of the storyline, she was not that tough in the previous story.

The thing that should be noted is that Beatrix still has her daughter B.B. Killing Beatrix while by leaving B.B. as a survivor will only likely continue 'the endless circle of revenge'. Of course within ± 15 years, B.B. has also become a grown-up.

Then considering that B.B. is the daughter of "the deadliest woman in the world", it is highly likely that Beatrix taught her some martial arts and assassination techniques. Although it is also possible that she did not teach her because she wanted to give her daughter a 'normal life'.

But the assumption that B.B. have been taught the art of killing by her mother, what should Nikki do to end this 'circle of revenge'?

By killing B.B. first before Beatrix, leaving Beatrix as the last target.

But what about Beatrix who wants to take revenge for her daughter's death? Of course this will still be different from Nikki’s revenge, because her daughter's death is also the result of her past actions.

Unlike B.B. if she takes revenge for her mother's death, then her revenge will be exactly the same with Nikki's revenge and situation.

The audience will feel the difference regarding Beatrix's revenge for her daughter or B.B.’s revenge for her mother.

There are still ways to play it differently though, let's say that Beatrix dies before B.B. and B.B. intending to take revenge for her mother’s death, the only way to fairly end 'the circle of revenge' is by having both Nikki and B.B.kill each other and die at the end of the story. One could be by instant lethal attack while the other could be by poison that works for a certain time.

Or maybe one of them committed suicide but to be honest I don't like the concept of this one. I feel cheated because suicide is a reflection of the selfishness and arrogance of a character. She died by her own choice, even though it might end 'the circle of revenge', but still… her death will be a 'choice' rather than a 'consequence'.

While Kill Bill: Volume 3 aka Nikki's journey of revenge is only a dream right now, there is this brilliant fanfic that portrays the feelings and grudges of adult Nikki very well:

Did I Make You Proud, Mother? by EpicKiya722

Conclusion/TL;DR

I don't think I will watch Kill Bill until the next sequel exists and tells about Nikki and her journey to get revenge. All of these circles of revenge need to end soon and Beatrix also deserves the consequences for her revenge.

Until Kill Bill volume 3 starring Nikki Green getting released, I would rather watch Stephanie Patrick, Eric Draven or even Yuki (aka The OG Beatrix-Oren’s fusion) over Beatrix Kiddo for another vengeful assassin.

P.S: actually, reading at the ending story of Kill Bill volume 2, I think that I have actually seen this movie. The movie was quite entertaining even though I did not really know the full context. Now that I've read the full spoilers I don't think this story is my cup of tea in any way.

[mylifeisanartisticmesswrites]

Failure

His name was Eric Fireneck. 

Bold. 

Charming. 

Flirt. 

Kind. 

Dead. 

The year 5289, there wasn’t much left on planet Earth. It was certainly not love. The planet was reduced to rubble and destruction prevailed throughout. You would think some other force played part in the world’s destruction; I am here to tell you, that is not the case. Earth was destroyed by power hungry fools. Everyone else who suffered was an ‘unfortunate’ victim of the ‘greater good’. Greater good, my arse. Those of us who are alive are subjected two things – be tortured, or serve these fools for the rest of our days. 

The Earth was covered in red skies, ashes showered down. The sound of bullets and bombs was a norm. No one was shaken by the sound. The buildings, which once had stood high and looked glorious, were reduced to nothing by rubble. The world was divided; the strong countries took over the world. From one hundred and ninety-eight countries, only five remained. I was in the Islamic Republic. I was one of the very few female generals in the country. I got my reputation for being the best. Nothing but the best was acceptable. 

I remember my whole squadron had waltzed in an ambush. The soldiers made a poor decision and thought it was wise not to consult me. The minute I found out, I had rushed to their aid. All of them were dead and I was taken, prisoner. They, the British Gala Empire, gave me two options - serve them or be torture for the rest of my days. 

I had refused to serve them, and I was tortured endlessly for months. They had tried to take my dignity and pride, by raping me, prodding me, humiliating me. I was too stubborn for them, a little too stubborn that it caught the attention of a British general.

 I remember I was beaten senselessly because I fought back. I bit a man’s penis off. The general was just passing by that day when I pulled that bold move. I remember getting up and spitting the blood out and flesh out of my mouth. I had wiped my mouth when the other guards had attacked me. I had managed to fight the guards, it had been a while where I was engaged in battle. One of the guards managed to punch me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of my lungs. From there, they got the upper hand and the beating had commenced. I had curled on the ground, protecting my face with my arms and hands, my legs being tucked onto my stomach. 

He had halted the beating and pulled me up. He had brushed the dust off me and punished the guards heavily. I was shocked, to say the least, was an understatement. I had received several bruises but thankfully nothing was broken. My face was purple and blue, but it was nothing new, I was used to it. 

The pit of despair, as many called it, was a gruesome place. It made Adolf Hitler look like a saint. It was an open ground, stretched for miles, covered with people who refused or couldn’t join to serve. Bodies were never moved, and no one got a proper burial there. People were forgotten. Children were killed on the spot while the adults were tortured slowly, making each day worse than before. People weren’t given clothing, and if they were wearing, it was from the skin of the deceased. May God have mercy on their souls, but it was the way to give us some form of dignity. Dignity was just a meaningless word for the damned. 

The British General dragged me away from the pit of despair. He had handed me over to the help and ordered them to clean me up. I had refused, protested, argued and even charged against him. Screaming at him, I rather be beaten, then be his concubine. He dodged my attack effortlessly and twisted my arm behind my back. I knew my mistake; I let my anger get the best of me, that’s why he was able to do what he did. However, he didn’t hurt me, he could have broken my arm there and then, but he didn’t. He let me go and told me to clean up and just walked away. 

That was when I noticed him. I really noticed his jet black hair which straight and silky and fell right on his shoulder. His grey eyes reminded me of a mist which seemed to visit the world every other day. His face was quite handsome, and his physique, complimented him, he didn’t look strong, he was lean but he was well built, which was proven by his defence maneuverer. He was wearing a black shirt and pants. I watched him walk away, only to be tugged by a maid ushering me to the bathroom.

 I was stripped, waxed, scrubbed, brushed, washed, polished. It must have taken at least a few hours before I was done. I was given a new set of clothes and my rags were burned in front of me. The bruises I once I had been healed by the healers and I was taken to the room where the general was. I looked around the room only to realise it was an eating area. The General was seated and smiled as he saw me, pointing and telling me to come forward. I had huffed and walked over to him. I was later served food, which I had taken my time eating. I couldn’t just gobble it down. I wanted it to last as long as it could. He was looking at me like I was an alien. I put my fork down and looked at him.

“Is there a reason why I am here?” I was a stubborn fool but I took pride in my hardness.

He had laughed and just smiled. “Fight for me.” That was all he said. He didn’t explain, he didn’t go into detail. He just spoke those two words. I crossed my arms and sighed softly.

“You know who I am then." 

"Indeed." 

"Then I don’t fight.” I had gotten up and walked to the door. I could tell he was smiling. I was beyond annoyed. 

“You fought today.” He had a smirk on his lips. “Twenty guards and not a scratch. After what? Five years. A little rusty, but I’ll take it." 

I had growled and I turned around. "I am not a fucking chess piece.”

 "Oh but you are my darling, Sonya. The whole world compromises on chess pieces and players.“ He was smiling and tapping his chin. He got up and walked over to me. I was shaking with anger. A wet anger, I had invested my life for the world and I got too attached once.

 He had sensed my anger and sighed, placing his hand on my head and rubbing it gently. "I know what happened, and I know you aren’t to blame for their death. But it was supposed to happen, if not there, then somewhere else." 

I curled my fingers up and made a fist, tucking my thumb in and punched the general in the chest. He didn’t budge and my head fell, my hair covered my face as tears streamed down my cheeks. He pulled me into a tight embrace as I cried my heart out. I never cried when I was in the pit of despair; I never showed one sign of weakness. No one there knew who I was and I made sure to keep it that way. He just walks along and I become a weakling. I pushed him away and took a deep breath. "I am not going to fight.”

He nodded, but the smile was gone. His expression looked like he was thinking of something. He rang a bell and a maid appeared. Ordering her to take me to the chambers so I could rest. She bowed and led the way. I couldn’t sleep that night, I had gotten out of bed and went to the gym and turned on the fight simulator. I wanted to see how rusty I was. I used to be one of the best, but now I couldn’t go on without getting hit. 

I had received bruises and cuts all over. Anger fuelled my desire to move forward. My clothes seeped in blood. Every time the simulation would end, I would order it to start again. I think by the twentieth time, I had managed to go so far without a bruise, but my body was sore. My instincts that I once prided myself in had kicked in and I managed to go on all night. I was barely able to stand when morning came. There was so much a body can take. Running? I could go on forever. Fighting without any place to catch my breath, I would only last twelve hours. I was breathing heavily, blood was dripping down on the ground. 

The General was alerted to my whereabouts when I had refused to leave the fight simulator. I was exhausted and sweat was trickling down my forehead. My sweat had mixed with my blood, the room was spinning around me as I tried to keep my breathing steady. I remember the adrenaline pumping through my veins, my survival instincts were in overdrive, anyone who approached me was attacked – expect him. He had subdued me after thirty minutes. He fought with me and I nearly had him, if it weren’t for my exhausted body trying to fight to stay conscious. He must have sensed it because I remember he was sweating by the time my body caved in. My world going black when I couldn’t stand anymore. I remember he had caught me and took care of me. I remember he lectured me like my brothers used to. He had ruffled my hair and asked me again to join his army and I had refused.

Every night I would go and train thinking he would have no knowledge of it and every day he would ask me to join his army while he would tend to my wounds. I think at some point he decided that it would be better than I knew he knew, that I would go out every night and fight, so the lectures stopped and he just tended to my wounds. Three months of rigorous training had passed, and I finally agreed to join his army. He never stopped asking. I think he knew I would join him. We had gotten close, I had regained my former general status and soon I was invited to the social gathering accompanied by him. He would flirt and charm girls shamelessly and I would be there to scare them away. People talked about how we were lovers.

 Truth is, we never were. I believe we were fond of each other but never as lovers are fond of one another. I had begun to fight on the front lines again and led armies to victories with him. Years passed by and the world was still not ready to give up the senseless fighting. I lost many soldiers, but I learned from my mistake and never brought myself to become attached. I mourned on their deaths and then avenged them. There was never a battle I had fought were I could have saved, my soldiers. The General knew this and helped me to stay steady.

 He couldn’t ask me to resign, I knew he fought with the president to fire me, but the president was a selfish bastard. The General turned on him. He had infiltrated the president’s lodging, gave the president a chance to redeem himself, I guess things didn’t work out. Next morning, word had gotten out that the president was assassinated. It was all over the news. I remember panicking and finding him with the greatest difficulty and when I did, I was going to join him, be by his side. But he refused. 

He had refused to have me in fear I would be killed. I remember fighting him just so I can join him, but in the end, my emotions had me defeated. He had hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead before leaving me. One of the hardest things in life was watching him walk away and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him.

 I remember putting on a brave face and getting by through battle after battle. I think my heart shattered when someone caught him and executed in front of the world. I had never cried so hard. I was completely broken. A few days after execution I was given a parcel and a letter. I was sent off to a battle when I received it. It had turned out, he had killed a traitor and it was found out moments after his execution. I was the closest thing to family he ever had, so I was given the news. He had died a hero. I thought all my tears had dried up, but new tears appeared and I cried once again. I kicked and screamed and broke everything in the room. That was the first war I lost.

[ajricci]

Activation || Amadeo & Noah

While Noah walks Haukea through the woods, he runs into AJ right before he is attacked. Then things get really weird. 

AJ finally had the information he needed, the next step was figuring out what he was going to do with the information. He could try to find the families of the victims or the witnesses that he now had access to, but he couldn’t be sure that any of those people would be interested in talking to the son of the man accused of murdering their daughters. So that was out until he could think of a better plan. He also needed to get medical records from the hospital of the victims, but without access and with Blanche a little busy avoiding death by poltergeist he figured that would have to wait for a while too. Far down his list were revisiting crime scenes looking for anything that the police might have missed from the original murders. It had never been a priority because two years later the chances of finding anything were almost slim to none. But he had nothing better to do today, so that was how he found himself out in the middle of the woods just a few miles from the university wondering just what he thought he was going to find at this long forgotten murder setting.

Hooking Haukea’s leash onto her harness Noah closed his truck door smiling down at his happy puppy. In all his days at the barn this was probably the thing he missed most, Haukea’s little face doing one of those Labrador smiles up at him. Ruffling her fur a bit Noah picked his water up from off the side of his truck bed and they were off walking across the parking lot towards the trail. He didn’t really know which one they were going to take yet, but something was pulling him towards…. The left one. Yea they were going to start on the left one and then work their way back, or around, or whatever. He wasn’t to fussed about where they went as long as he was with his dog. And that’s how he found himself walking through the forest with his pupper on her lead in front him not a care in the world.

Not surprising to AJ in the slightest, there was nothing at this crime scene to find. Besides a short string of crime scene tape weighed down by a fallen branch, AJ would have been unable to tell that the place had once been the scene of a murder at all. There had just been too much time between now and then for anything noteworthy to be left over. There was always the possibility that the police had done their jobs efficiently and found everything that had been noteworthy. He kept his cool and made sure not to lose his temper. This was just the first crime scene after all. The first step in a long investigation and he knew that not turn he took could lead to the end of the rainbow. A twig cracking in the distance made him spin and pull his pocket knife free from his back pocket. Maybe he should start bringing his dad’s gun with him. But the guy walking his dog through the woods barely looked like they intended on hurting Noah. “Hey” AJ said, folding the knife back up and stuffing it away, “How’s it going?”

Looking down at Haukea as she barked a small warning Noah held her leash tighter as the boy approached. Normally Noah wouldn’t have given him a second thought, no normally he would have just given a nod and walked past. But it was late afternoon and the kid was folding up a knife and stuffing it in his pocket, a movement that wasn’t exactly alarming but not exactly something that gave him a happy rainbow feeling. “Hey” Noah replied with a small little wave as Haukea tugged at her leash a little. She wasn’t usually a puller, but she was quite the happy-go-lucky pup, always trying to put her nose in potential danger. “Kea heel” He commanded making his dog swing her body tighter towards him as he slowed his pace down before the boy. “And it’s going good, you know out for a walk and everything, how’s it going for you?” Noah asked hoping his face wasn’t as full of suspicion as his chest was.

AJ knew that he must look crazy roaming through the woods and pulling his knife on the first person that happened to walk by. So he tried to diffuse the situation by letting a smile to slip across his face and laughing nervously. He brought his arm up and scratched at his neck. “Sorry I’m a little jumpy. Never know who you’re going to run into out in the woods after all.” He was making sure to sound extra friendly and extra awkward. Awkward was always the best way to make others less suspicious. “Cute dog.” He pointed out, hoping the dude would welcome the misdirection in conversation.

Looking from him to his hand Noah just let his face do the talking, lips pursed in a small line “Yea” He nodded not knowing exactly what else to say to that. Because if you wanted to set someone at ease that was probably not the way to go about it. But then again if this wasn’t like some sort of ambush the Boy was probably a lot smarter than Noah with his knife. Although Noah guessed having brute werewolf strength could be comparable. Noticing the other boy change the subject to something better Noah though calmed down a little. Ok woodland serial killers didn’t usually call dogs cute after all. Right? “She is,” Noah agreed looking down at his dog and smiling softly “Name’s haukea,” He continued as Haukea’s wagging tail made him feel better about the situation. “It means snow white in Hawaiian” He didn’t exactly know why he was offering that information up to the boy but you know, why not. It was friendly information about a safe subject after all.

“That’s adorable.” AJ wasn’t sure how much longer this small talk was going to go on. He didn’t have a lot of experience talking to random strangers in the woods. He hated small talk, he found it useless and time consuming. But the last thing he needed was some concerned civilian calling the police about some suspicious character in the woods. The police department and the media would have a field day if they got the opportunity to tote a Ricci into the station. “You must be a Disney fan? Or a Grimm’s fairy tales fan.” Maybe quoting those ridiculously dark horror stories wasn’t the lightest of conversation. “Uh AJ” He offered his name up, closing the gap between them to hold out a hand in introduction.

“Yea, I was pretty proud of myself for that one” Noah quipped back with a small smile. He was happy this was going better, but then again how could things not go better when they were on the subject of dogs? It was Noah’s favorite. Standing there shifting his weight from foot to foot, Noah gave Kea a sit command, seeing the ‘I want to jump all over this stranger and lick him to death’ action in her yes. “And it was more of a I wanted a princess name for my little princess, and that was the one that seems to stick” He could feel the blush start to rise in his checks but he fought it hard. Men can want to name their dogs’ sweet things, and know about princesses, and put dogs in sweater when it’s cold too ok. It’s not like. A thing or anything you know. Shaking it off though Noah was grateful when the kid decided to introduce himself “Noah,” he replied to the boy before gesturing to the excited dog struggling to stay still and sitting while there was a new person to greet just inches “Oh and she knows how to shake too if you wanted to be really formal about it”

 AJ didn’t want to shake the dog’s hand. He had nothing against dogs or cats or really any pets in general, but he also had no desire for one either. His parents had never had a pet, said that they travelled too much for it to make sense. AJ vaguely remembers asking them for one when he was younger but as the years went on he enjoyed the freedoms no pets allowed him. Plus, he wasn’t an overly sentimental enough guy to really get attached to a pet. “Uh shake” AJ did as was suggested though, because that was how polite small talk went. Surprisingly, the dog listened and soon AJ was holding her paw and shaking before letting go and giving the dog a good pat on the head. “She’s well behaved” AJ complimented, impressed by her skills. Another reason his dad had never wanted a pet, didn’t want to take the time to actually train one. “I never had any pets growing up.”

Watching Kea get to show off her hard work with a lovely shake had Noah practically melting in his tennis shoes. And even more so when AJ remarked on her being well behaved. It had been and still was a lot of work keeping up with her training, but Noah knew in the long run it was all worth it to have the best behaved dog around. “Thanks” Noah nodded at the boy before putting his own hand on his dog’s head to silently praise her for being good. “It was a struggle at first but she’s learning, aren’t you girl” She wagged her tail on up at him. Looking over toward AJ though Noah’s smile fell slightly when he told him he didn’t have any pets “Wow, that sounds rough. I mean my dad was a Vet so we always had animals around.”

AJ shrugged, “It wasn’t too bad I guess. My family and I travelled a lot so we never really had time for one. Wouldn’t be much of a pet if he was locked in his cage all day.” Another bonus of never owning a pet was the lack of fur floating around his home. He still found cat hair on the clothes he had worn to Blanche’s that night. He would have to be careful to make sure to never wear black to her or the Parrish household again. Cats were the devil. He heard the crunching of leaves and glanced behind him but was met with an empty forest. He had been careful to not pull his knife this time around. It had probably just been a deer or an oversized squirrel. This was the forest after all. “You two seem close though.”

“Yea I feel real guilty about putting her in her crate while I go to like an hour class so I can understand that.” Noah commented with a slight wrinkle of his nose, looking down at his puppy for a moment. But then without warning she stood, tail straight out body ridged. It maybe only took a split second before he felt it too, the little prickle on the back of his neck that made him feel uneasy, and the sound of crunching leaves. Looking around Noah squinted into the forest along with the kid, wishing that for once he’d actually had werewolf powers so his low light vision was better. But he didn’t. And if he was being honest it was probably some brave forest animal anyway, coming over to see what all this ruckus was about. Placing a hand on the back of his Neck, Noah gripped Haukea’s leash a little tighter the feeling still lingering on. “Yea, she’s helped me a lot like emotionally with things” He shrugged out hoping that whatever it was would pass quickly so he could stop feeling like he was on edge and ready to rip someone’s throat out with his teeth.

Emotions was a conversation that AJ did not touch. He wasn’t comfortable with people talking about their feelings to him and he definitely wasn’t comfortable talking about his feelings to others. Before he fell down that rabbit hole AJ decided that it was time to cut the conversation off and get out of the woods. He hadn’t learned anything from the crime scene but AJ was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to find anything out either. It was too old, too weathered to hold anything useful. “Well I should start heading back towards the campus I was just looking for some good running trails.” AJ still faced Noah but began taking a few steps backwards and pointed back in the direction of the college. “It was nice meeting you though. And your little dog too.” He laughed politely to try to maintain the friendliness.

Still feeling on a little on edge Noah just nodded at the boy when he said he was going to head back toward campus. Noah should probably head back to the parking lot too, but he’d wait until the teen was at least out of eye shot before doing that. Didn’t want to be a creeper after all. Especially in these creepy woods. Laughing slightly at the wizard of Oz reference though the older boy waved at the teen “Nice to meet you too knife boy, and be careful with that ok, wouldn’t want to scare anymore hikers” He quipped back feeling like an old grandpa, but a you know like a caring old grandpa. Not a weird one.

“Knife boy. Nice” AJ laughed before giving a slight wave and then turning around and starting his hike back towards where his truck was parked on the campus. It wasn’t too long of a walk, though without the path students would usually follow the hike would take a little longer, but AJ had been hiking his entire life so this would present no real challenge to him. He had only just barely crossed over the long forgotten string of caution tape still on the ground when someone crashed into him from the side and slammed him into the dirt. He was rolled onto his back and his throat pinned by a hand that connected to a woman in her mid to late twenties. Her skin was fair but her hair was pitch black and although the face seemed familiar he knew he had never seen this woman before. Thewo man had crawled on top of AJ, pinning both hands above AJ’s head and using her knees to pin AJ’s legs to the ground. “How fucking dare you come here after what your father did?” Great. Another fan of his father. What the hell was she doing out here then? AJ tried to speak, to say anything, but he couldn’t talk with the hand pressing down against his throat. Instead, AJ focused his entire attention on getting free, choosing to squirm against the woman’s weight crushing down on him and trying to get anything, an arm or leg or something free. “Your father kills my sister. I guess I’ll return the favor.” She freed her hand from AJ’s neck and AJ took the opportunity to take a much needed breath. The relief was short lived however, when the woman held the hand up and AJ watched as her nails began elongating to the point that they were longer than the knife currently unreachable in his back pocket. That’s when AJ truly began struggling.

Something was not right, Noah could sense it the second that AJ disappeared along the trail. It was as if the air was charged with uneasiness more so than when he first felt it. Standing there though Noah didn’t know what to, If he was a real werewolf he probably could sniff, or track, or just figure it out himself. But he wasn’t. He was just a man with way above average strength and olfactory senses for his body, a man with doubts. Luckily for everyone though Haukea had no doubts, and while Noah stood motionless his loyal dog used her instincts to charge off after AJ, a sharp growl dissipating in the air after her. “Haukea!!” Noah shouted sprinting after her only able to watch for now as his dog sunk her teeth into some woman holding AJ by the throat.

The dog had been quick and in all honestly had probably saved AJ’s life, but she hadn’t been quick enough. AJ couldn’t begin to describe the pain he felt as the man pressed his elongated nails against the surface of AJ’s stomach and then slowly began forcing them into his skin. The move had been deliberately slow, a show of power. He wanted to take his time with AJ. The pain became only more intense as the nails sunk deeper into his gut. AJ was careful not to scream, he ground his teeth together but forced his mouth to remain closed. He shut his eyes so tight he felt he would pop a blood vessel. Then he heard the man scream. Peaking an eye open he sound the dog- Haukea- biting at the man’s arm and as the man readjusted to get free of the dog’s teeth AJ finally felt his opportunity. In as swift of a motion as he could in the pain that he was in he used one leg to kick one of the man’s knees out then levelled his other against the man’s chest and kicked. AJ was expecting to have enough time to scramble away from the man, instead he watched as the man flew across the air and cracked against a tree at least fifteen feet in the air. The fall from the tree to the ground seemed to move in slow motion and as AJ and the man both looked bewildered from what had just happened, it was short lived as the man found his footing and took back off the way he had come.

Still running towards the situation Noah tried not to let the acrid smell of blood wafting off of the younger boy dissuade him from his goal. Which you know was save his dog and AJ. But apparently the kid had it all covered, as the woman flew backward, Noah’s tennis shoes skidding to a halt near AJ’s head. Ok that was. Well. That was interesting to say the least, this whole unexplained superhuman strength thing. But he couldn’t overthink it now, not when it could just be a fluke of human ability. Listening to Haukea bark the intruder away Noah stood ready above AJ till she came back toward him muzzle covered in blood but tail wagging. Yea she really was a good girl. Crouching over the boy Noah let the adrenaline take him eyes assessing the situation quickly and efficiently “Hey we’ve got you now, just breath alright” Noah ground out as he swiftly pulled his own shirt over his head bunching up the fabric and pressing it into the gash on the boy’s stomach.

The next thing AJ��knew another figure loomed over him and then pain shot through his body as he realized pressure was getting put on his stomach. His arms flailed out in defense and caught against skin. His vision was blurry, but he wiped at his eyes and finally focused in enough to see Noah kneeling beside him, shirtless. Why the hell was he shirtless? Further investigation revealed the shirt Noah had been wearing balled up and being shoved against AJ’s still bleeding stomach. He mumbled his protests and knew exactly what a gut wound meant. It meant that he was in deep shit right now, depending on how deep the wound went. It had sure felt deep in the moment. “You’re ruining your shirt” Was the first coherent thing that he got out of his mouth.

Mind running a mile a minute as he tried to go over all of the first aid protocol he knew, Noah looked down at the shirt in his hands the edges already tinged red. His shirt was not going to last long, and he knew time was crucial. But luckily for the pair AJ was coherent and talking so that gave them a little extra time. “It was either this or my pants. So you’re welcome” Noah retorted hoping that would keep the kid talking a little bit as he racked his brain for what he could do, but there was really only one thing they could do right now. “Alright so based on what I know about gut wounds we are going to need to get you to the hospital ASAP ok.” Noah said calmly looking down at the boy and hoping he wasn’t in the mood to complain. I mean Noah could probably keep him contained long enough to get him to his truck…. But then again there was that fluke of strength thing. Yea it was probably best if the kid came along quietly “So if you can hold this close to your stomach, I can carry you to my truck. Sound good?”

As a kid, AJ’s father used to take him hunting. AJ had never been a fan of the sport personally. Found it unnecessary in a world where they could buy meat at a grocery store minutes away. He liked to leave the killing of animals to those that were actually stranded in the wilderness. But he remembered they used to sit up in the trees and talk about his father’s cases. One particular case talked about a wife who shot her cheating husband in the gut and left him in their house alone for hours. It was his father’s final words on the subject that stuck with AJ. “It’s just like a deer if you shoot it in the gut. The best cure is a headshot.” That sentence kept ringing in his ears as Noah was giving him instructions. He definitely didn’t like the idea of being carried though. “Nobody is carrying me anywhere” He grumbled and swatted at his hand still pushing against the wound. AJ put pressure against it himself and then held his hand out to Noah, “I got the wound just help me up.” Maybe refusing help from someone offering was dumb, but his dad had always taught him to put pride first. AJ knew it was bad advice but still had always seemed to follow it.

Frowning slightly as the kid professed his slightly morbid ideology Noah looked for something to tie the shirt onto AJ. But there wasn’t anything really, unless he tied Haukea’s leash around the boy, “Well it’s a good thing that I believe in modern medicine then and neither of us have a gun” He replied back with a wink, un-hooking his amazingly patient dog from her tether. He wouldn’t tie it around the boy yet but he’d keep it handy just in case the kid couldn’t keep it together. Especially when he was insisting on walking himself. “You walking by yourself is not going to help your chances any, trust me on that one” Noah said taking the boys arm with one hand while also scooping his other against the kids back. “On three ok, one, two three” Gently Noah pulled the boy up letting him decide on how upright he really wanted to be.

AJ had to hold back the groan as Noah lifted him up off of the ground. He had been lucky the guy with him had been plenty strong in his own right and could basically lift AJ up with little help from AJ himself. He wasn’t sure how easily he could pull himself up off of the ground at the moment. He had been injured plenty of times throughout his life. Multiple injured ankles plus a broken bone from hiking accidents. Open wounds from self-defense training taken too far. Getting jumped by the kids at school. None of those injuries had hurt this badly. “I can walk.” AJ argued, dragging his feet across the dirt mostly supported by Noah, but still convinced that he needed to do this on his own. The weirdest part was that as he dragged his feet across the dirt worrying that the hike was taking too long and he was going to bleed out, he could tell that walking was starting to become easier. He felt his feet actually catching the surface and soon he was supporting himself. “I bet this isn’t how you planned on spending your day. Certainly not how I planned on spending mine.”

Supporting the kid as they walked Noah looking back to make sure Haukea was following, giving her an easy ‘follow me’ command while he was at it. If he was being honest she probably didn’t really need a command, as never strayed to far from his side normally. But the last thing he wanted was to get AJ to his truck and suddenly have his dog be nowhere to be found. Focusing his attention back on AJ Noah gripped a little tighter as AJ tried to argue “And I can definitely carry you, but I don’t think either of us are going to get our wish.” Noah retorted wishing the kid wasn’t as stubborn, help was a good thing after all, especially if you are at a risk of bleeding out over the carpet. Loosening his grip a little as he felt the kid get the hang of walking like this (although Noah did get a little tingle of strangeness about AJ’s sudden and new found walking abilities) Noah just scoffed playfully at the boy. “Nope. But Thank god you cleared that up for me, because I was getting a little concerned that getting attacked by a strange woman with creepy nails was some sort of kink of yours” He joked hoping that would keep the boy talking.

As AJ continued to walk he could tell that something was not right. Or rather, maybe something was too right. While walking put most of its stressers on leg muscles, the stomach was definitely being exercised too which meant that with a wound like his he should be in searing pain to the point of passing out or at least needing to be carried by Noah. There was no logical explanation as to why he was up walking. The wound still hurt and blood was still leaking from it, but the pain was bearable and red was not pouring from his stomach like it had before. “Well she completely ignored my safe word, so that was fucked.” Chances were she had recognized AJ from the news and saw the opportunity, but what the hell had she been doing there in the first place? And most importantly, what the hell was she? Not human, that was for sure. “Thanks. By the way. Your dog too.”

Snorting slightly at AJ, Noah felt the edges of his lips turn upwards. Yea this kid was going to be just fine. “Hope you used a good one for that,” Noah retorted as they walked “My go to is monkey slut” He grinned at the other boy now, anything to keep him talking and coherent, though it was starting to seem easier as time went on. Though there was the thank you that made Noah have to turn away a little bit. “Well I wasn’t going to stand by and watch you die.” He pointed out trying not to make a big deal out of it. Because It wasn’t like he did it for the thanks or anything, he did it because. Yea. He wasn’t going to watch another person die on him without being able to do anything. He wasn’t going to have that blood on his hands too. “So you know no need to thank me, or her, she already gets enough treats. But um are you ok?” Noah asked changing the subject as he looked down at the rag Aj was still holding to his stomach. He was leaning less on Noah now, which was not some sort of adrenaline fluke that should be happening. If anything Noah should be carrying the boy by now, with him screaming in pain, or like passed out, or something that wasn’t practically walking by himself.

“Monkey Slut? That’s a new one.” AJ sincerely hoped that that was a reference to some modern production that AJ he was unfamiliar with and not just some random thing that Noah had come up with on the spot. Or worse, his actual safe word he used for BDSM. Personally he cared little about what people were into sexually, he just felt bad for anybody that Noah may sleep with that had to actually hear the phrase Monkey Slut used during intercourse. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” The better his stomach was feeling the more he realized that this was not normal just as the strength he used to kick that woman off of him wasn’t normal. The same way that the woman that had attacked him wasn’t normal. The strength could hypothetically be explained by adrenaline; the same way that the woman who lifted the car off of her baby had. The healing didn’t make sense though. It either had to be AJ’s or something that the woman did, and AJ wasn’t guessing healing was not the girl’s endgame. Either way, his wound wasn’t normal which meant that a hospital would be of no use to him. But he had an idea who might be able to help. “I can’t go to the hospital.” AJ said suddenly, happy to be get over the awkward conversation that entailed thanking others. “I need to get back to my truck.”

“Yea, helps as a password too. You know if you think all your friends are clones or something” Noah replied knowing that AJ probably wouldn’t get the reference. But that was ok. Anything to keep him talking, especially since this was starting to get weirder and weirder as they kept walking. Stopping Noah looked straight at AJ as he mentioned not being able to go to the ER. “Like I can’t got to the hospital because my parents will find out, or like I can’t go to the hospital?” Noah questioned with a raised eyebrow the signs all starting to make sense. Weird people after him, super strength that seemed to come from nowhere, high pain tolerance, probably super healing ability. This kid was not a normal kid, and instantly Noah felt himself become even more protective of AJ.

“What friends?” AJ asked, the pain still pulsing at his stomach making him seem more serious than he had actually meant to be. AJ hadn’t kept the company of friendship in almost two years. The closest thing he had to friends now were a few people he had driven home from Prom night when they got wasted off of some mysteriously tasteless spiked punch. Sure, he had learned some pretty crazy things about each of them over the summer, but the fact remained the same that the only times he had seen them had been in situations when one of them needed the other’s help. That sounded more like a partnership than a friendship to AJ and that was exactly the way he preferred it. Friendship was messy and only opened him up to letting his guard down and being stabbed in the back. “You can pick whichever reason you want, but I can’t go to the hospital.” He fidgeted and pushed himself free from Noah’s support. AJ swayed for a second but by some miracle managed to stay upright. “I appreciate your help. But my truck is that way.” He pointed off in a different direction.

“You talking to me on that one punk?” Noah questioned with another raised eyebrow, not knowing if the kid was trying to make a joke orrrrr what? Or maybe this kid didn’t actually have any friends, there was that. Pushing it out of his mind though Noah tried not to hold AJ too tight as he squirmed away from him, but part of him didn’t want to let go, even as he was finally forced to. Standing there as Haukea whined at the both of them Noah didn’t exactly know what to do. Because he wanted to make sure he got to where he needed to go, that he didn’t die or something, that he had, well a Pack if he needed it. But of course admitting that could prove to be the thing that pushwd the kid away, and he knew that, which is why he found himself backing away slightly, holding up his hands in a non threatening way. “Look I don’t know why you don’t want to go but if it’s for the reason I think it is I just want you to know I’m not going to hurt you.” He stated calmly “Like I honestly just want to help. And I know people who can help if you let me” He continued already pulling up Eliza’s possible schedule in his mind.

AJ stared at Noah as if he were insane. “Punk? What are you, forty? You’re like three years older than me.” AJ didn’t have the time to deal with Noah right now. He didn’t seem like a bad dude. He was understandably concerned about letting a boy who had just been stabbed in the gut wander off by himself without going to a hospital. If the situation had been reversed AJ would probably be doing the same thing. As little as AJ cared about the personal lives of others he had less interest in watching them bleed out to death while he did nothing to help. He could be an asshole, but he wasn’t heartless. “I don’t have any friends.” He decided to clarify, not understanding why he would think some random kid in the forest would be making fun of him while still leaning against him for support. “I get that you want to help and that’s real White Knight of you and all, but I don’t fucking know you. And I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” AJ was began up slowly while still facing Noah. If Noah refused to let him go off on his own AJ couldn’t outrun him, not with his stomach in the shape it was. “I am going to figure it out myself.”

Ignoring AJ’s qualms about calling him a punk (because he didn’t know punk was an old man word now?) Noah stood his ground next to Haukea the dog still whining her displeasure at the both of them fighting. “Friends or no I’m sure as hell not going to just let you go off by yourself” He crossed his arms across his bare chest. Because yea, no sir Noah was not leaving his side until he had to, friends or not. And especially not. Feeling himself get more frustrated by the minute Noah took a breath knowing that time as precious here. But of course that was when Aj decided to make a comment about him “white knighting” the situation and it all went downhill from there. “This isn’t me white knighting, this is me trying to make sure a young man like yourself doesn’t end up dead in the woods.” He snapped wondering if the thought of dying was just absolutely a foreign concept to the boy. And that when Noah felt it in his chest, the sudden realization that no this kid probably didn’t know just how fragile life was at time. He didn’t know that he was being helped by a person who had been through not one but two horrible near death experiences, one of which left him an orphan and a werewolf. Gathering himself though Noah tried not to project these feeling onto AJ, knowing he was growing too invested into this to be of any good assistance. He needed to stay sharp and focused after all, not emotional. “Your strength, your healing. I know where that might come from, and I know people who might be able to help. No hospitals involved.” He said quietly, hoping that would convince the boy. But they just sort of stood there at a stalemate for a few breaths and Noah couldn’t take it anymore. “Please. Please just let me help you to your truck. Or like. Drive you somewhere. I don’t want to wake up next week to your obituary knowing I could have done something” he whispered looking up at AJ a desperate pleading in his eyes.

Jesus, what the fuck had happened to this dude to make him so fucking dead set on helping a random stranger in the woods? One that clearly had no interest in being helped. “Aren’t you White Knighting? I don’t even want your help and you’re still trying to gallop in and sweep me off my feet.” Quite literally, considering he had planned on carrying AJ through the woods less than twenty minutes ago. It was obvious this was becoming personal. Yet AJ had no clue why the hell he seemed to know about strength and healing. AJ was curious about it himself. Almost curious enough to follow along with him. But once again the knowledge that AJ knew next to nothing about Noah, didn’t even know if that was his real name. For all AJ knew Noah could have been working with that freaky chick to get AJ on his side. Noah clearly knew something AJ didn’t about this apparent strength. There was no way that an injured AJ was going to trust him with little to know knowledge on the guy. “I don’t have any fucking clue what you’re talking about. But if you’re so sure about this shit then you shouldn’t need to worry about me dying anyways.” He needed to go, but couldn’t without some sort of head start. The dog wouldn’t be too happy about this, but AJ started forward back towards Noah. He didn’t hate the guy, not from what he knew of him. But that was very little and AJ wasn’t willing to risk it. Once close, AJ tried to summon the same rage and fear that existed in him when that bitch was on top of him and shoved Noah to the ground. The dog went wild, and the sudden strength forced his stomach to sting and his ears to begin ringing. But AJ ignored all of that and turned on his heels and took off into the forest hoping that his adrenaline would kick in quickly and take the pain away.

Opening his mouth to respond, Noah closed it getting the feeling that there was nothing he could do to change the kid’s mind. Though that wouldn’t stop Noah from following him to make sure he was ok. Surely the kid couldn’t object to that right? Right? But before Noah could even say anything more on the subject AJ was launching forward at him, hands coming at him. And if he had been ready he could have withstood most of it, he could have dug his heels in the ground and refused to be budge like he did in football. But the cruel fact of the matter was he hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t been standing his ground like in football so he went over landing on his ass and skidding slightly against the dirt, the force of AJ’s pushing feeling like. Well feeling like exactly the way his uncle would have pushed him, only confirming Noah’s fears. There was something supernatural about that boy and there was nothing he could do about it.

@hawaiianhalfwolf