#reconstructing their backstory in the back of my head...

[r1k-y9]

redrew my characters... AGAIN !!

my babies <33

[midnightsun-if]

Just wanted to say, as a straight guy, I'm also gonna be romancing scarlet by a proxy a step further than usual proxy (usual proxy is the fact the mc in an if is the mc, a step further proxy is the kc having to be female, which I'm...not.) I'm just gonna see the scenes and vicariously reconstruct in my head. Which is fine by me anyway.

I just always remember what a bi friend showed me when she wanted to romance a straight girl; she just edited the fucking code. In fact she's gonna do that for Koda. Not that she dislikes him being gay, just so that she can have that indulgent fantasy and then change it back.

So If it ever bothers me that much (it wont and if it did id have to deal eith the backstory dissonance of it being related but i would be able to manage), I'll just do what she did to indulge in the fantasy and then put it back. Hell, she changed a male only ro in another if to a fem ro. Lots of editing, but she did it. Of course, it was full release and some other complicated stuff if it wasn't and even when it was it was complex, but she changed the variables, adjusted pronoun use, and changed stuff minimally, but that was a LOT but of course, that's one of the rules of the internet. Make something, anything at all, and the people of the internet will do anything and everything with it, no exceptions. Infinite monkeys on infinite keyboards type deal.

… Please don’t do this. If Scarlett was meant to romance Male or NB MCs then she would be and the same goes for Koda too (and the later NB Only RO).

I get that Scarlett and Koda are only fictional characters, but I created them the exact way they should be… So, I guess I don’t appreciate people wanting to go in and change a core makeup of their character just so they can have an indulgent fantasy — as you put it — because that somehow makes it worse…

Now, I obviously can’t stop anyone from doing this, but I can request to not talk to me about it. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to see it. I don’t want anyone to send me questions about it. I don’t want any part of this in the slightest.

I truly don’t know what else to say on the matter without getting heated… So, I’ll just leave my response as is.

[fromtheheavens]

Introducing… the Prophet (˚0˚)!!

I think it’s about time I yap about my self-insert…(including many religious references!!)

Backstory

The Sons of Abraham are one of the most influential families on Earth, often swaying the public opinion. Caelum’s family descend from Abraham (God’s Most Loved Wizard) and every time a Prophet dies a new one is born. This is because God blessed Abraham’s descendants with the Gift of Eden. This gift takes many different forms but it is contained in an ornate hexagonal box with a sundial clock on its lid. The Gift of Eden makes the prophets exceptionally well-gifted and skilled at using their powers. These prophets are often revered and admired because of their physical and spiritual prowess.

Back during Solomon’s reign over Jerusalem, it was common to see a Son of Abraham doing mystic works. In order to gain power, Solomon grew close to the family and was soon able to further his own abilities with their guidance. This made him a close family friend.

Caelum was always quite a bright child. From learning how to speak at a mere 2 months old (not coherently…) and excelling in school Caelum was always full of surprises. The biggest surprise being that he had the power to manipulate energy. Still, this power has its limits. In order to give life, he would need something with an equal amount of energy (Same with healing). For teleporting, he would have to reconstruct his entire body at a molecular level in order to appear in another space. For phasing, he would have to align his own atomic structure with the structure of the object in order to slide through perfectly. Etc. etc. Caelum’s power, though overpowered, would take thousands of years to master, so even though he is quite powerful, it has taken him years of training to get to where he is.

Caelum was born 05/01/2001 in the Dominican Republic. His upbringing was overall great and he was trained to have control over his powers at a young age (Accidents would’ve been detrimental). Caelum’s father always made sure that he was both physically and mentally strong enough to take on the weight of being a prophet. They always went to private events and balls where him and Yorila enjoyed being mischievous. Speaking of Yorila, Caelum was at Abraham’s Daycare when he saw someone fall from the sky. Well, not really the sky. More like five feet. At first, they passed out since they had slammed onto their head (Stupid stork..), but eventually they came to their senses and woke up. Caelum was about five and she was four. Though he nearly named her Heaven, since it seemed she fell from it, he settled on Yorila instead.

Since the Prophets identity can’t be revealed to the public he must always wear a veil. (With embroidered religious iconography which would kill me to render) So anonymous…..

[schadennorth]

SALESMAN HCS PLZ 🙏

HELLO HI YESSIR

✶ headcanons - the Salesman from Squid Game LONG post below because i'm so normal about him <3

☞ i’m on the fence with what his real name is. the placeholder i’m using in crying lightning right now is Min Dakho, but we’ll see if i stick with that. i was going to call him minjun but it doesn’t really fit to me, if ykwim

☞ achillean (i genuinely can’t picture him being attracted to women for the life of me). i may headcanon him as transmasc or somewhere on the gender non-binary spectrum but i’m still rolling that thought around in my head (this is all because of the one time i was zoning out and my subconscious screamed TRANS SALESMAN! with zero elaboration)

☞ i lowkey have an entire made up backstory for him that goes something like

he was a strange kid, having grown up very neglected and poorly socialised; this is partially because didn't go to preschool as his parents couldn't afford to send him

later had a younger brother who he constantly felt inferior to, as his parents diverted their attention to him and were blatantly biased towards him

when he was in his teens, his mother passed away from a terminal illness which wasn't detected or treated in time

after her death, his father became an alcoholic and was eventually fired from his job, effectively leaving dakho as the sole breadwinner of the family

to get money he started throwing hands in fight rings with other young adults (i bet on losing dogs or whatever. /ref @calindean LMAO) and taking on multiple part time jobs

he eventually saved money to send his younger brother to university. despite his resentment, he still cared about him and would rather die than let his future be wasted like his was (Dakho definitely had the potential and intelligence to further his studies, but didn't have the opportunity to)

when his younger brother was away, Dakho was drafted into the games and began working there

his father spent all the money he'd earned on gambling, and eventually joined the games himself (and as we know Dakho solved the problem of his deadbeat dad by shooting him in the head)

there is a longer, more detailed version of this hiding in my notes app, but i plan to make a bunch of drawings to accompany it and then show it all off in a longer, separate post so that’ll have to wait haha

☞ he enjoys psychoanalysing people and observing their behaviour (especially to figure out how their thought processes work and what pisses them off), but this comes with the downside of him being painfully aware of his own mentality and all the things he perceives as 'wrong' with himself

☞ I DO NOT fw the cocky self-confident bastard interpretation of his character.. gi hun hit the nail right on the head when he said he puts his mask on and does whatever his masters tell him to. it's all a facade. inside he is PATHETIC and needs acknowledgement to the point where he'd willingly reconstruct his entire being to get it (but that's just my opinion idk)

☞ generally leads quite a hedonistic lifestyle outside of the games; in he back of his mind he knows that he's been so absorbed into the morals of the games that he essentially does not own his life anymore. as such, spends his time outside of recruiting pursuing things he wants to do, in some feeble attempt at deluding himself into thinking he's still his own person

☞ to continue my previous thought i'd think he's very very conflicted, constantly at the mercy of the two polarised perceptions of reality that crash against each other like waves eroding a cliff face in his mind; one half of him very much knows that he's been brainwashed and views some warped version of the world, while the other part of him is violently in denial and strongly prefers to believe that the games' morals are objectively correct (i could write a whole essay about this but i'm also lazy </3)

☞ he's definitely a compulsive liar. he'll make stuff up for absolutely no reason, and he'll remember all the lies he's told to the point where he mistakenly starts believing they're the truth himself (especially if he told them a long time ago)

☞ i have a stupid crack headcanon that he knows online slang and will unironically use it to piss off his coworkers at the games, but that's mostly just a silly joke. all fun and whimsy!

anyways yes i'm done yapping about him for now thanks for reading. stay alive salesman nation

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Ghost's skull - Wild Rambling #2

\tw: gore, body decomposition, body parts? Idk

Is it bad of me to headcanon super dark theories of where Ghost's skull came from?

Okay, let's, first of all, suspend disbelief because he obviously has MULTIPLE of them across the last 3 games, he's had at least 2, if not 3.

(Check the detail around the eyes, especially. Unless he's been sanding off parts of the bone so it sits flusher to his face - I wouldn't put it past him - then from MW2 to MW3 it wouldn't have changed that much)

(Not to mention THIS abomination that's got a completely different cut to the forehead and eyes and is sewn to a different balaclava)

But let's, for the sake of this, treat them all as if they're the same skull mask.

In my head, let me start out by saying that I headcanon that that's a REAL human skull. Not a little Halloween mask. (Peep all the imperfections and cracks on it)

So then that begs the question of WHO that skull belongs to.

Firstly, it's large enough to fit his nose and eyes and be somewhat aligned with his mouth and forehead. It likely means it's an adult male's.

Second, considering all the cracks on it especially around the eye sockets, he's had it for a WHILE and has been patching it up.

Now, if we go with the whole '09 Ghost backstory/comic book Ghost backstory... then Ghost was taken by Roba, buried alive, had his family killed, etc. etc.

Then it makes sense that Ghost would steal whatever gear/equipment he can on his way back to the US border and then again on his way to the UK when he finds his family dead.

That means he'd likely have stolen weapons, clothes, gear... (Like he advises Johnny to do in MW2 'welcome to guerrilla warfare' and all). But he wouldn't come across someone with a whole skull front sewn to a balaclava...

Which means he did it himself.

Then, my brain hcs three possible origins for the skull:

When he was buried alive, he was buried with someone else (Vernon), and he took HIS skull... (as an extra way to conceal his identity on his search for Roba)

Or...

He took the skull off the remains of the men that killed his family... (it would help avoid detection that the body he switched dog tags with was not Simon Riley bc no facial reconstruction)

Or...

It's Roba's skull. (And a constant reminder for Ghost of the stuff he's survived and of the enemy he's decimated... Of all he's lost... And of who he's been forced to become.)

That's my fave theory.

[braveclementine]

Volterra and Volturi

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Twilight characters or locations. I do own Davina Mikelson and Marcel. I also own the backstory for my OC. I do not condone any copying of this.

Davina P.O.V.

As Alice drove, she chatted about what the rest of the family had been doing. I found that they had moved to New York. Carlisle was teaching at Cornell part time which was, you know, just fantastic. So glad he was enjoying himself.

Emse was doing some historical reconstruction of some seventeenth century building. Emmett and Rosalie had gone to Europe for a honeymoon. Jasper was learning philosophy at Cornell. Alice meanwhile, had been doing some digging about her own past.

"My name was Mary Alice Brandon. I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughter- my niece- is still alive in Biloxi."

Mississippi.

"Did you find out why they put you in. . . that place? What would drive parents to that extreme? Even if their daughter saw visions of the future. . ." Bella asked.

"I couldn't find much about them. I went through all the old newspapers on microfiche. My family wasn't mentioned often; they weren't part of the social circle that made the papers. My parents' engagement was there, and Cynthia's. My birth was announced. . . and my death. I found my grave. I also filched my admissions sheet from the old asylum archives. The date on the admission and the date on my tombstones are the same."

The Cullens had been completely together- Edward was not with them- and they had been spending Spring Break in Denali with Tanya's family.

'Maybe Carlisle and Tanya are together' I thought blandly and was glad that I hadn't dragged Sam up there when I'd wanted to. That would've meant running into Carlisle and Sam probably would've tried killing him.

I sighed, peering out the window.

Once we got to the airport, I quickly made sure that my wig was in place before getting out of the car. Alice quickly bought three tickets to Italy. We would have to make a stop in New York and then board another plane through a connection to Italy.

There were no problems in the airport. People barely looked at me, which was such a relief I could laugh. My passport wasn't even looked at twice. Soon, we were on the plane. Bella's leg was bouncing up and down and Alice muttered, "It's faster than running."

Bella simply nodded.

I pulled out the book I'd brought with me. Yes, I know, I brought a book to save Edward from his demise. But really, if we were going to die, then I wanted to be enjoying a book.

I was reading The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It was the fourth book in a series of six. It truly was a shame that I might not have the chance to finish the series off.

Alice lifted the phone off the back of the seat as the plane rose into the sky while Bella eyed the stewardress. I listened in to see who Alice was talking to. ". . . changing his mind. . . a killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square. . . mostly things that would expose them- he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction. . . No, you can't! Tell Emmett no. . . Well, go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back. . . Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?"

Pause.

She nodded, "Exactly. I think Bella and mom are the only chance- if there is a chance. . . I'll do everything that can be done, but prepare Carlisle-" His name sent shocks through my heart, "- the odds aren't good."

She laughed with a catch in her throat, "I've thought of that. . . Yes, I promise. Don't follow me. I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out. . .And I love you."

My heart caught in my throat. I felt so bad for her.

She hung up and closed her eyes, leaning back in her seat, "I hate lying to him."

I nodded. I hated lying to Sam. There was definitely a chance none of us were getting out of this.

Not that it mattered to me. My parents- dead. My brother Kol- dead. There was Sam and my werewolf sons. . . but they could get along without me. They'd be okay without me. They could survive. Sam had Emily. They had each other.

I rubbed the tattoo on my wrist. I loved them. I truly loved them. They were my family now. I wish I didn't have to leave them.

"Tell me everything, Alice. I don't understand. Why did you tell Jasper to stop Emmett, why can't they come help us?" Bella asked.

"Two reasons. The first I told him. We could try to stop Edward ourselves- if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him, you're alive. But we can't sneak up on Edward. And if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act that much faster. He'll throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down."

She paused, thinking deeply and then added, "That's the second reason of course, the reason I couldn't say to Jasper. Because if they're there and the Volturi kill Edward, they'll fight them. Bella. If there was any chance we could win. . . if there was a way that the four of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can't, and, Bella, I can't lose Jasper like that."

Especially since he'd spent so much of his life fighting.

"Couldn't Edward hear you, though? Wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that I was alive, that there was no point to this?" Bella asked in confusion.

"You can lie with your thoughts." I answered quietly.

"Exactly." Alice said sadly. "If you had died, I would still try to stop him. And I would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as I could. He knows that."

Bella gritted her teeth in frustration. I could only imagine her anger. If Carlisle had tried pulling this crap I would be angry too. After all, they didn't want us anymore. They had casted us aside like an unwanted dog that bit to much. Carlisle hadn't even bothered to say good-bye to me.

"If there was any way to do this without you, Bella, mom, I wouldn't be endangering you two like this. It's very wrong of me."

"Don't be stupid. I'm the last thing you should be worrying about. Tell me what you meant, about hating to lie to Jasper." Bella said, shaking her head.

She smiled grimly. "I promised him I would get out before they killed me, too. It's not something I can guarantee- not by a long shot."

"Who are these Volturi?" Bella asked. "What makes them so much more dangerous than Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and you?"

I mostly stopped listening at this point. I knew they were dangerous. Aro could hear every thought in your head with one touch of your body. Marcus could test familial bonds, test and see where they were weak, gauge how strong they are.

There was Jane who could cause pain by looking at you. And then her opposite twin Alec who would cause no feelings at all. Then there was Demetri who could track you down knowing nothing but your name. Felix was as strong as Emmett, maybe stronger. Chelsea keeps the guard together with bonds and can also break bonds. Renata was Aro's shield. Santiago who also possessed great strength. Heidi was a bit of a fisher, able to lure the humans into Volterra for the others to eat.

I shivered, pulling out my earbuds. I drowned myself in babymetal so that I couldn't hear anything else.

I let the heavy metal with cute Japanese little girl voices sing in my head until I felt a jarring motion and realized we had landed in New York. Huh, it had felt rather short.

I pulled out my earbuds as Bella made Alice get up. We ran to get to our connection, but it was worth it as the plane took off almost immediately. I immediately set myself back into Baby metal, trying to fall asleep.

A few minutes- hours really- Alice motioned to both Bella and I excitedly. I groggily extracted my earbuds from my ears, wondering what she was so excited about. Night had fallen outside the windows.

"What's wrong?" Bella muttered.

"It's not wrong. It's right. They're deliberating, but they've decided to tell him no." Alice said with a smile.

That was good?

"The Volturi?" Bella muttered again.

"Of course, Bella, keep up. I can see what they're going to say."

"Tell me."

"Can I get you ladies a pillow?" A male flight attendant asked. I knew my wig was slightly loose so I didn't dare look at him.

"No, thank you." Alice said.

"Tell me." Bella said again.

"They're interested in him- they think his talent could be useful. They're going to offer him a place with them."

"What will he say?" Bella asked curiously while I gingerly fixed the hairline on the red wig. The bun was starting to give me a headache. I would be able to take it off once we were in Italy.

"I can't see that yet, but I'll be it's colourful. This is the first good news- the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him- 'wasteful,' that's the word Aro will use- and that may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better for us."

Okay so it was good news. Good.

"Alice?"

"What?"

"I'm confused. How are you seeing this so clearly? And then other times, you see things far away- things that don't happen?" Bella asked curiously.

"It's clear because it's immediate and close, and I'm really concentrating. The faraway things that come on their own- those are just glimpses, faint maybes. Plus, I see my kind more easily than yours. Edward is even easier because I'm so attuned to him."

"You see me sometimes." Bella added.

"Not as clearly." Alice said.

"Clear enough you saw her cliff diving." I grunted.

Bella sighed, "I really wish you could have been right about me. In the beginning, when you first saw things about me, before we even met. . ."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked curiously.

"You saw me become one of you." Bella muttered so quietly I almost missed it. I almost sighed aloud.

Alice did sigh. "It was a possibility at the time."

"At the time." Bella repeated dully.

"Actually, Bella. . . Honestly, I think it's all gotten beyond ridiculous. I'm debating whether to just change you myself." Alice finally said.

I froze and so did Bella.

"Did I scare you? I thought that's what you wanted." Alice asked, confused, staring between the two of us.

"I do! Oh, Alice, do it now! I could help you so much- and I wouldn't slow you down. Bite me!"

"Jesus Bella." I hissed. "Shut up."

"Try to be reasonable." Alice said. "We don't have enough time. We have to get into Volterra tomorrow. You'd be writhing in pain for days. And I don't think the other passengers would react well."

"If you don't do it now, you'll change your mind."

"No. I don't think I will. He'll be furious, but what will he be able to do about it?"

"Nothing at all."

She laughed quietly and then added as an afterthought, "You have to much faith in me, Bella. I'm not sure that I can. I'll probably just end up killing you."

"I'll take my chances." Bella said stupidly.

"You are so bizarre, even for a human." Alice pointed out.

"Thanks." Bella said.

"Oh well, this is purely hypothetical at this point, anyway. First we have to live through tomorrow."

"Good point." Bella sounded excited. She looked sideways at me, "Will you be a vampire?"

I shook my head, "There's no point. Instead of a life time of sickness and suffering, it would just be endless forever suffering. No thanks."

"When you're a vampire, you might capture Carlisle's attention." Bella pointed out. "He wouldn't need distractions."

I scoffed, "Why would I chase a man who doesn't want me? If he doesn't love me as a human then he's not going to love me as a vampire. I shouldn't have to change myself to permanently to get his attention. Besides, Vampires aren't allowed on the Quileute rez so I'd much rather stay human thank you very much."

Bella was silent for a moment, probably lost in her own world again.

I fell back asleep and didn't wake again until the sky was turning pink and orange. I noticed Alice's late night enthusiasm was gone as we started to touch down in Florence, Italy. She was already talking to Bella and I listened in as I stretched, getting ready to exit the plane.

". . .got very close. He changed his mind at the last minute."

"He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle. Not at the end." Bella murmured.

"Probably."

"Will there be enough time?" Bella questioned.

"I'm hoping so- if he sticks to his latest decision, maybe." Alice said, but she didn't sound particularly hopeful.

"What is that?" Bella and I asked together.

"He's going to keep it simple. He's just going to walk out into the sun."

I didn't know if it would be enough. There were a lot of things that could be say. Reflective surfaces taped to his skin, glitter, sparkles, diamonds imbedded in his skin- hey rappers did weird things like that all the time- etc. There could be a very good reason for why his skin was sparkling. Grand effects for whatever.

". . . wants the biggest audience possible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there. He'll wait till the sun is exactly overhead."

"So we have till noon?" Bella asked.

"If we're lucky. If he sticks with this decision."

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?"

"That depends on how fast you drive. . . Bella? Davina?"

"Yes?" We asked together, looking at her. I pulled on my leather jacket, fixing my wig slightly when no one was looking.

"How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"

I grinned.

---------------

We careened down the road in a bright yellow Porsche. Honestly, I was having the time of my life, beaming, the wind down just slightly to feel the heavy breeze rolling through.

"There's Volterra." Alice announced after about fifteen or so minutes of driving. We'd been weaving in and out of traffic which had been terrifying at first, but I knew Alice wouldn't crash. I wasn't even wearing my seat belt.

I looked over to the see the city that looked like it was built on a mountain. It was all the same tan colour and it looked like a maze of walls and roads and buildings. The main plaza was probably smack dab in the middle, making it a literal maze. The surrounding area was forest of green trees and luscious fields.

We were so totally dead.

Alice drove through the roads, showing me that there were indeed layers to the city. She beeped as she tried not running people over. Everyone jumped out of the way, everyone was also wearing red which was really, really weird.

"Why are they all in red?" Bella asked as Alice moved through a large crowd of people.

"Saint Marcos Day festival." Alice replied with complete indifference, "They're commemorating the expulsion of vampires from the city. It's the perfect setting."

I snorted from the irony.

"The Volturi will never let him reveal himself."

"We have five minutes." Bella was practically crying in the front seat. I could feel my heart beating faster as my stomach churned at the deadline.

"Bella, just breathe." Alice said.

Police officers stopped us at the next check point. "Let's go." I muttered to Bella, throwing my door open. Bella threw her door open as well and we started to run.

"Where are we going?" Bella shouted after me.

"The clocktower of course." I shouted behind me.

Bella and I ran, pushing past people in red as much as we could. We ran up stairs, down alleyways as we searched for the clocktower.

The sun was beating down on us and I stripped off the leather jacket, wishing I'd brought something different so I could just tie it around my waist. Instead, I just held it under my arm as I sprinted, pushing past more people.

Me and Bella came to a stop as we reached a wall of people that were watching a parade go by.

"Come on." I muttered, starting to push through people. If I had to cross the parade to get to my son, I would.

Me and Bella dashed through an opening in the parade, continuing to cut through people. I could see the clock tower in front of us.

Pushing through the crowd of people, we suddenly found ourselves in front of a fountain. 'Well damn' I thought.

The clock hit twelve.

"Fuck." I cursed aloud, jumping up on the fountain, running along the edge of it like a balance beam, except it was wider than a beam.

I could see Edward walking out of the door and I could hear Bella screaming Edward's name behind me.

"Damn you Eddie." I muttered, sprinting towards him. I could hear splashing in the fountain and I knew that Bella was running across the fountain. I leapt off the stone fountain edge as he finished unbuttoning his shirt. Bella suddenly tore past me, water flying off her shoes as he stepped out into the light, tackling him backwards into the church.

Bella and I shoved him together into the clock tower, the doors slamming behind me. "Bella? Mom?"

I huffed, furious now that Edward was alive and in my sights, "You complete arsehole Edward Cullen!"

Edward looked slightly abashed, but he couldn't keep his attention on me for long, turning to Bella instead. I rolled my eyes, leaning against the stone wall. We'd probably have to stay here until night set. I hoped Alice could find us.

Was Bella really going to forgive Edward so quickly? Oh yep, they were kissing. Well damn.

I really hoped we took planes straight back to Forks and then they could go to Alaska to see the others. The last thing I wanted to do was see Carlisle again. The others- fine. My kids- fantastic, Esme- wonderful. Carlisle- fuck me.

Wrong choice of words.

Screw him.

No, wait.

Shit.

Suddenly, there was a noise like an elevator and I looked over to see two pale, male figures making their way over to us.

One was slightly smaller with blond hair while the other was bigger, hulk like, with dark hair.

"I won't be needing your services after all, gentlemen." Edward said, holding Bella close.

"Aro wants to speak with you again." The bigger folk said.

"No rules were broken." Edward protested.

"Nonetheless, we should take this conversation to a more appropriate venue." The smaller man said, looking at me and winking. I raised an eyebrow. Now that he was closer, I saw the blond was more of a dirty brown blond.

"Fine." Edward said. "Bella, Davina, why don't you two go and enjoy the rest of the festival?"

"The girls come with us." The bigger man said.

"Ooh lovely." I snarked under my breath.

"No. You can go to hell." Edward said.

"Eddie." I said sharply, raising an eyebrow.

Alice stepped in at that second, lowering the head scarf she had been wearing. "Come on guys. It's a festival. You wouldn't want to make a scene."

"We wouldn't." The dark haired man said when a third figure appeared. She was mostly definitely blond with large red eyes.

"Enough." She announced, tossing her hood back.

"Jane." Edward whispered.

"Aro sent me to see what was taking so long." Jane said, looking up at the darker haired man, then the lighter, looking at the other three, then me, before turning and going back the way she came. There was a no nonsense air about her and it made Edward follow after, Bella's hand tightly in his own. Alice followed after and I went with them.

The other two vampires waited till I passed by to bring up the rear.

The bigger man held out a red robe for Edward to put on, which he did.

"Go ahead." Jane said as she reached the part where the stairs turned downwards. We walked past and now the three of them were bringing up the rear.

Now that Edward was safe, I truly wasn't scared. We would meet Aro. We would either live or die. Personally, I preferred life, but it truly wasn't the biggest worry if I died. Although, admittedly, I hadn't redeemed myself yet and would probably be going to hell.

Eternal hell.

Lovely.

We finally filed into an elevator. While the others stood upright and stiff, I leaned against the wall. The better looking man, the small one who had winked, was staring at me. I looked back.

"Don't touch. I bite." I said, raising my eyebrows.

He grinned, "Oh, I like you."

I titled my head a little in acknowledgement. Jane snorted up front. The elevator music was horrible.

"Opera. Terrible." I muttered as the doors opened. The man snorted in laughter. The bigger man rolled his eyes.

We stepped into a lobby of sorts, a human woman behind the desk. I was surprised, but perhaps I shouldn't have been.

"Is she human?" Bella asked up front. I was walking between the man that seemed to like me- or at least I amused him- and Alice.

"Yes." Edward said.

"Does she know?" Bella asked after a few seconds.

"Yes." Edward was being quiet, like he didn't want anyone else to hear, which was ridiculous because I could hear which meant the vampires around us certainly could.

"Then why would. . .She wants to be." Bella answered her own question.

"And so she will be." The man next to me said.

"Or dessert." Jane said calmly ahead of us.

I rolled my eyes.

Jane opened up two double doors in front of us and revealed a large room that looked like a dome. In fact, it probably was. There were quite a few windows, but not enough for the light to fully reach the ground and make the vampires around us sparkle.

There weren't many vampires at all, two guards near the door, a young man in the middle of the floor, and three sitting upon thrones up on an altar.

"Sister, they send you out to get one and you come back with two." The vampire who must be Alec said. "And two halves making three. Such a clever girl."

I bit my tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark.

The vampire sitting upon the middle throne- most likely Aro- stood, throwing his arms out wide. What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all!" He stepped down the steps as we stopped.

He clapped his hands together, walking with normal speed towards us. Honestly, he wasn't that bad looking. His long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and despite his three thousand year old age, he didn't look a day over thirty. His eyes of course, were red and I liked to image what they would look like if they were golden.

"Isn't that wonderful!" He finished. He reached out for Edwards' hand, "I love a happy ending. They are so rare."

I agreed. They were pretty much nonexistent.

He said something in Italian that I didn't bother understand because- I didn't know Italian. But whatever it was made Aro turn to look at Bella and he said, "Her blood appeals to you so much. . . it makes me thirsty."

I nearly snorted, but kept my attitude. Pretty sure a royal vampire king wasn't the kind of vampire I wanted to piss off.

"How can you stand to be so close to her?"

"It's not without difficulty." Edward responded.

"Yes, I can see that." Aro laughed, still holding Edward's hand. I had thought he only needed to briefly touch it, not hold it for extended periods of time.

I shifted my attention to the two vampires on the other thrones. Caius was even more handsome than in the painting. Not as good as Lucius Malfoy, of course, but still, rather decent. Marcus on the other hand looked like he had never gotten over the English days of King George.

I had clearly missed conversation as Aro turned his eyes to Bella and said, "Fascinating. I would love to see if. . ." He finally dropped Edward's hand, stepping back, "you are an exception to my gifts, as well." He held out his hand. Bella, after some hesitation, stepped forward and gave Aro her hand. "Would you do me the honor?"

I let my gaze wander until it landed on the other vampire again who winked. I smirked and then turned my attention back to Aro who was looking rather perturbed.

"Interesting. I see nothing. I wonder. . ." He turned his back, walking slightly back to his throne, "Let us see if she is immune to all our powers. Shall we, Jane?"

I hesitated for a fraction of an inch. Jane, of course, created pain with her mind. I did not want that to be used on Bella, but at the same time. . . I did not think that it would.

"No!" Edward protested, going to move in front of Bella when I stepped in front of Edward.

"Don't." I warned him. "Edward, stay calm and stay here."

Edward hesitated under my stern gaze and I raised an eyebrow. Jane turned her attention on Bella. Edward went to move and I put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't."

We waited, watching as Jane continued to gaze at Bella. Bella gazed back and nothing happened.

Aro started to laugh. I took it back. It was terribly creepy and I was really starting to dislike him. I let go of Edward's shoulder, moving back into the background.

"Remarkable." Aro said, clapping his hands together. Jane stared at him. "She confounds us all."

Aro turned to me, "And who are you?"

"Davina Michaelson." I replied.

"Ah yes, the Cullen mother." Aro said softly. "Carlisle's mate."

I rolled my eyes. "Not really, but sure."

"And does Edward have difficulty reading your mind?" Aro asked.

"No." I replied.

"Might I?" Aro asked, holding out his hand.

"I quite like my privacy, thank you."

"Mom." Edward hissed under his breath.

I wavered, glancing at him and then at Aro who looked intrigued.

If I was going to tell someone all of my deepest, darkest secrets, this vampire was the last person I wanted to know. Not to mention, Edward would be able to see everything as it flashed through Aro's mind.

It was uncomfortable feeling. Aro would know every moment of my life from the moment I was born to now. He would know about my relationship with Carlisle, what happened with my parents, and how I had nearly killed three different vampires using wooden stakes and a lighter.

"Edward, stay out of his head and mine." I said, holding out my hand.

Aro ignored it, stepping forward, his hands on either side of my face, pressing his lips to mine. I was shocked and froze. Memories flooded my mind. My first step, my fourth birthday party, playing in the ocean with Sam, my Uncle Josh greeting us at Fort Knox, Azim, my first kiss, the bombs, the death, the screaming, and everything else up until this moment.

Aro didn't let go of my hand for a very long time. It was cold, like all vampires hands, and there was a smoothness to it that suggested age. Almost soft.

We stared into each others' eyes before he finally let go. "You have one of the most traumatic lives I have ever seen." Aro whispered. "How do you handle it at such a young age?"

"I'm Davina Michaelson. I survive." I stated flatly.

"Strange, and your blood does not appeal to me, nor anyone else in this room." Aro murmured, almost to himself.

"Pretty sure that's a good thing." I said and I saw the man smile out of the corner of my eye. Felix on the other hand rolled his eyes.

"Indeed, although you were Carlisle's blood singer. . ." Aro said slowly.

"He has a theory that I'm one side of the spectrum for every vampire. Either the side that does crave my blood period or the side where I'm the blood singer. It's just lovely." I said sarcastically.

Aro smiled, bemused, "So what are we going to do with you now?"

"You already know what you are going to do, Aro." Marcus said from his throne, slouching like he didn't know what good posture was.

"They know to much. They are a liability." Caius said.

Well, so much for thinking he was good looking. I'd stick with the guy who seemed to like me.

"That's true." Aro said.

"Okay so, we're liabilities now." I stated, "But when we become vampires, that makes us not liabilities, right?"

Aro looked at me, "I did not realize you planned on becoming a vampire."

"Alice promised Bella to change her after we saved Edward from trying to die." I replied.

Edward shot me a look.

"And yourself?" Aro asked, raising an eyebrow.

I titled my head, thinking. "I told Carlisle to give me a few years. I wanted to be at least twenty five or older."

"And you're twenty now?"

"Almost twenty-one." I responded. "Coming April."

Aro tilted his head to the side, judging me. I looked at Alice, "You could show him."

Alice nodded, taking off her glove, extending her hand to Aro who took it in almost delight. I watched as Aro and Alice stared at each other. "Mesmerizing." Aro responded in an almost breathless whisper, "To see what you have seen. . . before it has happened." Aro moved in front of Bella, "Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal." He caressed her cheek. I pursed my lips. I wondered what her gift was going to be.

"Go now." Aro said, backing away from us. "Make your preparations."

"Let us be done with this." Marcus said from his throne. "Heidi will arrive any moment." He stood up.

"Right, time to go." I said, hooking my arm through Alice's.

"Thank you for your visit." Marcus said to us.

Right, well at least he was polite.

"We will return the favor. I would advise that you follow through on your promise soon." Caius said, not rising from his throne. "We do not offer second chances."

Wow, just a ray of sunshine.

"Goodbye, my young friends." Aro said in delight to our backs as we exited the room.

"Nice fishing Heidi." The young man said as we passed by a tall vampire wearing a red dress and black gloves with heels. I felt sick, watching the people file past, especially when I saw that there were two children in the group.

"You have children in the group!" I protested as Edward and Alice led me and Bella faster and farther from the group.

The man looked at me, at first amused, and then almost apologetic. "It happens."

I swallowed hard as I heard the screams. Edward and Alice pushed us through the doors, blocking out the screams.

We went up the elevator.

"Which one are you?" I asked the man. "Santiago or Demetri?"

He looked just the faintest surprised that I knew the names and he said, "Demetri."

"Ah, the tracker." I said with a nod.

He smirked. "Indeed I am. And I think you would make a lovely vampire."

"I'm sure." I smirked.

He brushed my cheek lightly as the doors opened.

"Careful," I warned lightly. "I still bite."

He laughed lightly as I exited the elevator.

"Mom, you shouldn't flirt with him." Edward muttered.

"Yes, well as I am single and not seeing anyone, I have every right to flirt with whoever I feel like." I muttered.

Technically, the Volturi weren't bad people. I supposed if I did become a vampire, I could always come back here. I could see a life as part of the guard, specifically alongside Demetri. But then again, I don't think that would help with my attempts at redemption.

I knew all three of them would be curious about what Aro had meant about my life, but it wasn't any of their business. Edward was safe. Him and Alice would go back to Denali with their family, leaving us alone again.

I wondered if the wolves had caught Victoria yet, or if when we disappeared, she went too.

We caught another plane out of Florence- I had redone my red wig as I had taken it off once we'd landed in Florence the first time.

We landed in Rome and I called Sam.

Emily was the one who picked up, "Davina? Are you alright? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm on my way home. I need Sam to pick me up at the airport. Or any of the boys for that matter. We land early in the morning, I have no idea what time it is there right now. I just thought you should know."

"Okay, I'll pass along the message." Emily said, sounding exhausted.

"Thanks Em."

I hung up, leaving the bathroom and rejoining Edward, Alice, and Bella as we got ready to board the long flight from Rome to Atlanta.

I fell asleep during the flight as I was exhausted, dreaming about bombs, running, screaming, and vampires.

I woke up with a headache, feeling sicker than I had in days. I drank a sprite to keep it down. Once we landed in Atlanta, I hurried to the bathroom to throw up and once the plane from Atlanta to Seattle was ready to leave, I felt better.

I fell asleep on this flight as well, feeling well rested when I woke up as the flight landed.

Edward, Alice, and Bella were the first off the flight and then Jasper was there, standing in front of Alice.

Aw shit, the family was here.

I looked around quickly, ignoring the blond and red head in the corner. I couldn't deal with Carlisle right now.

"Davina!" I heard a familiar young voice call.

I broke out in a grin, seeing Seth, Jared, and Sam there. I ran over to them, hugging them all fiercely. "Hey guys."

"Why are you wearing a red wig?" Seth asked in confusion. I took it off, stuffing it in my bag along with my fake passport.

"No reason." I lied. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Sure." Sam said, glaring over my shoulder.

"Sam, ignore them." I muttered.

"Are you alright?" Jared asked in concern.

"Yep, just flirted with a few vampires, saved Edward's life, no big deal."

"Alright, well come on mom." Jared said.

"Wait," I paused, really taking in the fact that Seth was here with Sam. I looked from Seth to Sam and then poked Seth's right arm. "Do you have a tattoo there?"

"Oh yeah." Seth grinned, "It's honestly so awesome."

"What colour wolf are you?" I asked.

"Grey." Seth said excitedly. "Leah's one too."

"What!" I exclaimed.

Sam slung an arm around my shoulder, "You smell terrible."

"Thank you ugly." I muttered. "Come on, let's go."

Carlisle P.O.V.

My anxiety swelled as Davina stepped off the plane, looking more beautiful than ever. I felt better than I had in months and I took a moment to see just how sick she was. She was thin, the unhealthy kind of thin, and she didn't give us the time of day, heading straight for the wolves when she landed.

Alice and Edward hesitated, noting my reaction.

"She thinks you hate her." Alice said, sounding apologetic, glancing between Edward and myself. "I think. . . I think you have some things you need to tell both of them Edward."

Edward looked completely ashamed of himself, but was more focused on Bella than anything else, "Yeah, I will."

That wasn't comforting at all.

[felikatze]

ok now that we've yapped we wanna know do you have any sonic hcs you wanna share. or aus. or aus for other stuf.....f.. <deeply curious

um um um you get. me talking about metal sonic. for very long.

the main sonic AU thing i have slow boiling up there is like. robian metal sonic theory except he gets deroboticized by accident except he's still 12 yrs old because robots dont age. and now he has to deal with a) being flesh and blood again b) being twelve years old. i rotate it in my mind with my sibling because metal sonic has become blorbo incredibly fast somehow and i blame Complex Inquiries on ao3 which is SO GOOD. also this fic it's evil. and basically my AU thing was lowkey spawned in opposition to it (AFFECTIONATE) because . stares at the sky. man.

gets a bit embarrassed gushing about it but proceeds anyway. ahem. (clears throat.) basically metal just slams head first into the roboticizor on little planet and the only person who witnessed this is sonic, but metal, having just had a Major Fucking Revelation (he did not know he's actually sonic from an alternate timeline) just Bolts and everyone who meets him just goes "hey why is classic sonic so sad. also why did he bite me. also why is he here." because considering generations and forces, why WOULDNT they assume he's classic sonic, right, and this just kinda pisses him off worse. because now he's being delegated not to "the sonic copy" but to "the baby sonic" so pick your poison honestly.

in my mind's eye he DOES look exactly like classic but like. more unkempt. gloves are torn so he can claw at people. (there's a whole dilemma about how he'd view his robot form as "superior" because a) it's actually faster (thanks to upgrades) than he is now as a 12yr old b) claws and lasers are simply cool c) customizable. (i love transfem metal sonic and HONESTLY honestly. if i play the long con that IS where this Au can end up. but only with a very careful long con and character development.)

so you have sonic, who is deeply confused because he ALSO doesn't know metal's backstory and just thinks metal got turned into a flesh and blood child somehow and man he has GOT to get that guy like a bath and some good chili dogs, everybody else wildly concerned why classic just blew up a town, and metal just exploding internally at all times.

very fond of the "classic is mute" hc also (tho i think that's just Game Canon thanks to generations) so metal also struggles to communicate a lot since robot hands werent actually dexterous enough to do sign properly and now he's suuuper rusty, as is everybody else who knew sonic back then, because they haven't needed to use sign for years.

i think at some point also metal just goes back to eggman. hey fucker turn me back into a robot i need to kill sonic absolutely right now. now the REAL kicker is eggman didn't even know metal's backstory, because the roboticizor is a design he just reconstructed from his future self back then, decided he wasnt gonna bother with something SOMEONE ELSE came up with, and then promptly forgot about it. so eggman is also confused. what do you MEAN you're metal sonic. what the fuck. ok i guess you can have some gauntlets and a jetpack go fuck shit up.

i dont have plot beyond this i simply like to spin it.

I also keep thinking abt What Continuity this would be set in because i fucking LOVE metal in idw i love his hesitation and his Choice to reject sonic's outstretched hand and go back to eggman and i ADORE his whole bit with Belle where she wants to save him and.

but there's also a lot of potential in Sage being Dad's Favorite when metal is very much eggman's special boy in idw. like Sage & Belle both have such unique perspectives about them but they don't exist alongside each other and metal has a different relationship w eggman compared between idw and the games that i can't decide which is more narratively interesting to pursue because "ok maybe you started warming up to your creator after the whole betrayal bit and a huge chunk of that does turn out to not just be programming but your own volition, and now when you were in trouble you turned back to him again, this time with No Shot of it having been programming, but now you get to remember that he's actually nothing to you and stole your future and committed the greatest possible atrocity against you" is. is a Bit for sure.

but also compared to "you hate him so fucking bad you need him dead but you need sonic dead even worse so you have no choice but to team up with him and are forced to reckon that he CAN be kind, he can be kind to someone who was the age you were once, but the version of him back then wasn't. she made him kinder but you weren't enough so you just get to suffer."

it's both. it's both so good man i can't pick.

like metal definitely also just tries to blow up the world super sonic style 100%. and has to be talked down into at least accepting what happened so he can even begin to process it. and accept that the Sonic he Used To Be has been dead and gone for years. ego death has already occured. he's already been someone else for ages and it's about time she saw that at least.

which is of course where i can bring the transfem angle in as metal is forced to redefine herself and come to terms with her continued existence. yippie yay.

anyways yeah. metal sonic. i love her.

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - In Fear of the Phantom

Welcome back to Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, and now we're getting into a problem many reboots and adaptions face - what happens when you try something different. Today's episode isn't really that special, serving as a bridging point between the next stint of episodes focused on the gang's love lives.

Except for featuring the Hex Girls of course.

Not to overshadow the main villain, which would be extra funny considering their backstory, but come on that's what y'all are here for.

Yeah, they got a bit of a redesign since their last few appearances in the two billion direct to DVD films. Fans DID NOT like this, and in a later episode they had to actually address the backlash while also scrapping these outfits for the original ones. They also steal Luna and Dusk's hair dye and gave Thorn's highlights a diminished role.

My personal opinion? Eh, I would've preferred a middle ground between the two, but for reboots I encourage designers to go all out since it's their own thing. So for Mystery Incorporated I would've either kept the redesigns or gave them completely brand new looks a second time. The OGs have a more cohesive aesthetic, but I like how MI experiments by giving each girl their own Alt style. It's probably Dusk who could probably use a new outfit though, since her Tank Girl getup doesn't mesh as well as Thorn's "Pagan School Girl" and Luna's "Lesbian Thespian" outfits do. Actually, maybe one of those Scene Kid reconstructions of School Uniforms would've worked better?

Oh yeah, this nerd.

Backstory: Like most lesbians Velma is a massive fan of The Hex Girls, snagging front row tickets for the Scooby Gang just in time for them to witness a "Phantom" try to murder Thorn on stage. As with every mystery the gang decide to take it upon themselves to do the cop's job to keep the concert going while protecting the band.

This leads to an exploration of the show's two main ships, Fredphe and Shoob - again, yes really.

This show is really good trust me on this.

Scooby outright calls Shaggy a cheater for going to prom with Velma instead of hanging out with him like they always do, and replaces Mathew Lillard with a wooden dummy much to Shaggy's chagrin.

Fred meanwhile comes out as nonbinary a teenage boy with emotions as he finally grasps Daphne's romantic interest in him. All thanks to an entire song written by Daphne where she uses Fred's special interest to get through to him.

Behold, one of the best songs made for a television show in history.

Before this spectacular moment of audio interposed with occasional Zelda CDI-level animation (to be fair are you even looking at the animation in the first place) we got some Phantom shenanigans. Mostly him responding to Scoob and Shag's ability to warp time and space by just setting them on fire, probably the most effective thing one these guys have attempted so far.

Design: Obviously a homage to The Phantom of the Opera, and as we go through the series, you'll start to notice a lot more homages that Wikipedia will kindly point out for you. Though you can also see a bit of Comic Supervillain in his design, so much so that he doesn't seem to fit with the show's own aesthetic. He wears a black full body suit with a gigantic, taller than his own head, Dracula collar and grim reaper-esque hood. He has a fabricated piece of his outfit that goes over his shoulders like Football Pads, but with a sleeker design as it attaches his cape to the main costume. His cape is black but its interior is lined with a sparkling holographic material.

His mask, belt, boots, and glovers are all made of golden mechanical pieces, as they actually allow him to charge up bolts of electricity to fire at the teens in our show. This tech is never explained, and he really only uses it a few times before forgetting he has these weapons at his disposal.

His mask is the best part of the outfit, legitimately cool while evoking a gas mask. It's almost like it was made out of several pieces asymmetrically stuck to each other with large bolts, like if C3PO was mangled in an accident and put back together with recolored bits of R2-D2. There are several short, cylindrical ports on his gauntlets, boots, belt, and mask that occasionally glow green.

Reveal: Shaggy, with an extensive knowledge of obscure musical groups as we'll be shown time and time again, recognized the shiny material of The Phantom's cape as belonging to a One-Hit Wonder named Fantzee Pantz. And once that's discovered it's pretty obvious that the other suspect, The Hex Girl's manager, is not the culprit as he was just as responsible for Fantzee's obscurity as THG.

No, the true culprit is the girl's songwriter, who first attempted to sabotage them through badly written songs but was thwarted by the girl's talent and popularity - So he then turned to just trying to kill them, and Daphne. He ends up taking Scoob's dummy to jail with him, but the original duo patch things up by then - letting us look back at Velma who got sidelined so badly this episode.

2/5 Goofy as hell design for a goofy character, probably the most "Villain of The Week" we've encountered so far. In fact, he'd probably fit in better in Miraculous Ladybug than this show. Not that bad otherwise, just not as impressive.

[multiversal-bridge]

My Journey Through Hyrule

So I wanted to write up something about my experience playing Tears of the Kingdom, because everyone's story in an open-world game is going to be inherently different, especially if you choose to lean into the idea of telling a story.

Spoilers for the big twist in the geoglyph memories cause I gotta talk about it.

0. Introduction

So what was my story?

Some backstory: It's useful to know that back when I played Breath of the Wild for the first time, I headcanoned Link as a trans woman because gestures broadly at BotW's entire thematic apparatus. In particular, I focused on the theme of rebuilding your identity from scratch, and the anxiety of reconnecting with someone who was incredibly important to you when you're not sure if you're the same person anymore.

So in the implied 5 or so years between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I imagine Link would have begun transitioning, even if this isn't reflected onscreen (barring mods). I think she would have been very close with Zelda as someone who understood and accepted her. I suspect they would have been able to bond over the idea of breaking free from one's imposed identity.

My Link was also pretty cautious and a planner, wanting to be highly prepared with anti-Guardian armaments before facing Ganon to avoid another Calamity. (IRL, I definitely overprepared, but that's okay, it was fun). I also really enjoyed taking notes and making hand-drawn maps of different regions during my playthrough, so you may imagine that during TotK, my Link is doing that, too. Also speculating wildly about all the unnamed bits of ruins and trying to reconstruct the archaeology of ancient civilizations.

The Sky

So, starting off, it's pretty delightful that the first item of clothing you can put on in the sky is a skirt.

Okay, it's the lower half of a tunic, but you can actually wear it as a skirt if you choose the right top, one that doesn't hang down too much. These tops are: the climbing shirt, the sheikah top, the rubber armor (which looks very punk), the frog top, and, surprisingly, the flame-proof armor. So my fashion choices throughout the game were largely based around these tops and the skirt. My favorite outfit was pink Gerudo topnot + pink climbing shirt + skirt. I generally went for a pink and black aesthetic, with occasional reds. I wore pants only when I needed extra shin protection.

I'm sure I spent my time in the Great Sky Island the way everybody spends it, exploring and worrying about Zelda.

Among the mysteries of the sky: a gold-and-white dragon above the Sky Islands, filled with light. A photograph of the dragon, taken from the back of a Wing device, became one of my treasured possessions. I didn't understand what the dragon was or what it meant for my journey, but I could appreciate its majesty as I had the dragons of the world below.

Dropping down to the formerly bottomless swamp to go to Lookout Landing was a thrill, and it was delightful to catch up with everyone there. There was a real sense of comraderie as we made plans to fight back against a smarter, more tactical Ganon with an army of clever monsters.

Following the game's encouragement to do the Rito quest first, I began by exploring the western side of the map. I had the idea that I would explore everything in the west before heading east, but in practice, I found myself needing to go to Kakariko and Hateno pretty early on for their resources. Still, I was able to save some areas in the game, like Eldin and Zora's Domain, for later on. I chose to do the regional phenomena in the exact reverse order that I had done the Divine Beasts; therefore my TotK order was Rito -> Gerudo -> Goron -Zora, which turned out well.

2. Into Hyrule

Link's travels were a rush of exploration as she tried to find out what had happened in Hyrule. I would rush into new areas to find towers and geoglyphs and piece together my understanding of what was going on, starting with the west and moving to the east. All the while, I was exploring local sky islands and the Depths beneath each nearby chasm. I was also taking pictures for the Hyrule Compendium. I hadn't done this for Breath of the Wild, but in Tears of the Kingdom, it became a fun travelogue of my journey that I could reminisce on when I saw each entry. I think Link, for her part, was fascinated by the new plants and creatures in Hyrule and the ecological changes that had happened to the existing ones (durians were not in season). I'm sure she also tried to piece together the history and geography of the Depths.

My first encounter with a set of Gloom Hands took place at the old Exchange ruins near the road to Hebra. I'd been expecting to explore a familiar ruin, maybe with some monsters camping there, and was NOT prepared for what awaited me inside. I fled, but soon discovered the landscape was lousy with the damn things. Outside Hateno, I managed to catch a glimpse of one of Ganon's phantoms before having to run from his blade. Link developed a theory that these were the dark spirits who had been animating the Guardians during the Calamity. It would explain a great deal.

Heading north to the Great Forest, I found the last of the geoglyphs on the side of Death Mountain, and the terrible truth about what had happened to Zelda fell into place. I stood there stunned into silence in Akkala. The fact that these were her memories, and so Link was witnessing her own visuals and sensations during her transformation, had to be devastating on multiple levels. She flew above me, and I tried to reach her, but couldn't. She was already too far away.

The next time I saw her, passing by the Tabantha sky islands, I flew to her. I couldn't find a way to take the sword from her without hurting her, so instead I sat down on her shoulders and tried to give her some kind of comfort. I didn't know if it was possible, but I had to try. I had to try. I stayed with her for four days and four nights, tracking her progress around Hyrule, eating and sleeping atop her back. Only when she'd done a full loop and returned to the Tabantha sky did I finally return to my quest.

At least I was among dear friends for my next journey, catching up with Riju and Bularia in Gerudo Town to slay the Gibdo Queen.

3. A New Approach

Around this point, I became frustrated with my approach to the game. As with Breath of the Wild, teleporting wildly around the map and doing multiple quests at the same time was less satisfying than overcoming obstacles to move through the world. I craved a stronger narrative through a sense of place. I resolved to stay in one place as much as I could. I could go to areas above or below, just not outside of the area I was currently exploring. I could teleport when starting a new expedition or hop over to visit some useful resource (the dye shop, the stores, the Great Fairies), but not otherwise. I justified this by deciding that Link only had so much "juice" in the Purah Pad teleportation system, and so was conserving it unless there was some need.

This worked exactly as hoped. I found myself really enjoying and exploring each region. I still had a tendency to do an initial "foray" into each new area before running off to another, but when I came back to it, I was committed.

I caught up with the engineers of Tarrey Town and glided south to rescue the refugees of Lurelin village from the invading monster army. I spent a great deal of time in Necluda, mapping out the Necluda Depths in detail (including by hand) and pondering their geographic features. I was also fascinated by a strange factory, with a jeweled machine resting at the center, and outposts that seemed to refer to arms and legs, yet I couldn't yet make sense of it. Regardless, it intrigued me deeply.

Then, gathering as many bombs and as much courage as I could, I returned to the Deku Forest and slew my first phantom beneath the tree. I helped the Gorons deal with their drug crisis and ventured into Death Mountain with Yunobo, which took no small amount of lizard-based potions.

It was around this time, too, that I returned to flying with Zelda and finally retrieved the sword she'd been keeping for so long. I knew I couldn't rest until I did so - she'd given so much for me to have this opportunity, sacrificed all she had. It hurt that after so long spent fighting the Calamity, she'd fallen back into self-sacrifice. I had some hope that when I took the sword I might be able to bring her back. I saw her again, but in a vision, not as I'd hoped. I couldn't speak to her; I couldn't save her. I had to accept that she was really gone.

4. Great Expeditions and Mysteries

Meanwhile, the mystery of the massive stormcloud to the south had always intrigued me. I'd made some initial attempts to fly to it, but in the past it had exceeded my grasp. Then I finally landed on it, but found myself stopped by a mysterious door.

Now, after Death Mountain, I returned to the Thunderhead Isles with the vitality to open the great door. Revealed was a marvelous mystery beneath the floor, a mask leading me by flight to Tobio's Hollow, where not long ago I had explored the Zonai ruins trying to understand their secrets in vain. Now the door opened, and I found myself back at that mysterious factory, suddenly awake with purpose. I took counsel with the spirit sage Mineru, and learned her secret story. I fumbled around with trying to control a giant robot but found her a worthy ally in combat. We confronted another robot of her kind and secured a new alliance through the power of punches. I felt like I'd discovered a great treasure hidden by the ages.

Next came a massive expedition to explore the Gerudo desert. I ventured far and wide with sand seal and hovercar, gathered as many lizal tails as possible for upgrades, and solved the mystery of the Eighth Heroine. I also cruised around the Gerudo Desert Depths, confronting Yiga and visiting giant skeletons. I mapped Gerudo depths and Gerudo skies in great detail. I retrieved Vah Naboris's mask and made it my signature look while in the desert.

After that, I returned to Zora's Domain, to catch up with Sidon and help my old friend with benefits destroy the source of pollution in his kingdom. That took us high above the Zora skies, a fitting culmination of my quest for the temples.

The sages and I flew by triplane into Hyrule castle, pursuing a vision of Zelda. But I already had a dark suspicion that the Zelda we would find there was only an imposter. My blood boiled as Ganondorf, the monster of past and future, mocked our hopes. We overcame his phantoms, but not without great struggle. We returned to Lookout Landing to discuss and regroup with Purah. The group was surprised to hear me explain that I had already retrieved the Master Sword made contact with the sage Mineru.

It wasn't yet time for that, though. I had a lead to chase. In my confrontation with Master Kogha beneath Zora's Domain, he had mentioned that he was heading to Hebra, and he claimed he had a weapon to give to the Demon King that might end the world.

So began my great Hebra expedition, where I explored the province I had only glimpsed before. I convinced the last of the Great Fairies to return to the world and be consulted on fashion; I fought Frost Gleeoks and Frost Taluses and captured them on camera. I found the Great Skeleton of Hebra, and found more of Colgera's species nesting in the Hebra Depths, which I also thoroughly mapped.

Thankfully, Kogha's threat turned out to be more hot air in the form of another Zonai robot. Mineru and I made quick work of it. I also found the legendary garments of frost scattered about the land's caves, and with Mija's help, unlocked their hidden potential.

Ganon was gathering forces by the day, calling them to his lair each blood moon. I knew I had to act soon, but I also wanted to be ready. I decided to undertake one final expedition, where I would travel in a circle around the map, dealing with unfinished business and gathering resources.

I had a device in mind, a flying machine that would let me travel across the country with the swiftness of the breeze. I tinkered and tinkered with its design until I had it perfectly balanced, precisely right. Two fans. One steering stick. One beautiful machine.

The hoverbike.

5. Final Journey

This was my last tour:

In Tabantha, I gathered resources from Mt. Satori. At the edge of the Gerudo cliffs, I joined Farosh and rode with her through her entire flight path in and out of the Depths, taking claws and spikes when I could. I returned to the Thunderhead Isles to find resources to upgrade my charged robes and solve lingering questions, then offered a claw to the spring in Faron. I returned to Hyrule Field, where I gathered more vitality and fought a Thunder Gleeok in the old Coliseum. I sent in the last of my reports for my part-time newspaper job, then headed north. I helped unlock the secrets of the Typhlo Ruins and fought the King of Gleeoks lurking underneath.

Next, I went to Eldin, where Dinraal was flying. I rode with her, just as I had with Farosh, and touched down on the last of the sky islands I was yet to visit. I helped the monster-control squad clear out a cave, and retrieved the Ember robes, which I enhanced with fire fruit and fiery Lizal tails. I flew to Akkala to visit the Spring of Power and enhance my beloved horse Betsey, then reached out to the local racers to send them to help Lurelin's revitalization. Then, in Zora's domain, I retrieved the rest of the Zora armor and did a walking tour of Sidon's new inscriptions.

After that, it was time to return to Necluda. I caught Naydra heading out of Necluda, and did a couple of loops with her around the region. I touched base with Robbie, and made my pilgrimage (carefully - there were gloom hands about-) to the Spring of Wisdom atop Mt. Hylia, glowing with icy power.

Then I sailed in my tidy little boat down to Lurelin as the sun set beside me. The racers were already talking with the mayor, and we soon had set up a thriving racing scene to draw in new tourists. One last shrine up on the hill, and it was time to depart. I rode Betsey north, all the way back to the Forgotten Temple, to confer with the Mother Statue whose power I had restored.

Then it was time. I flew for Hyrule Castle and the Hyrule Castle Depths to confront the Demon King.

6. Ganon

I was armed with the Master Sword, the Lightscale Trident, the Boulder Breaker (plus Igneo Talus heart), Dawnbreaker (though not the Scimitar of the Seven), the Great Eagle Bow, the Fierce Deity's Sword, the Dusk Claymore, and the White Sword of the Sky, enhanced by a shard of Zelda's horn, plus anything else I could get my hands on. I had as much stamina as I could get, but only thirteen hearts (I had been overleveled last time, and wanted a difficult fight).

I spent a couple of hours exploring the castle, looking for any treasures and any secret assets that Ganondorf might have hidden away. Then I dove into the dark.

The fights ahead were tough, particularly when I was surrounded, but I had the aid of the Sages. I suprised myself by being able to slay a Silver Lynel, whose horn became the blade of a weapon I hoped to use against my final foe.

We fought our way past the army of monsters, into the secret root of evil. Gandondorf rose, taking his resurrected form. I squared off against the swordsman -

And got my ass thoroughly kicked. I had made one crucial mistake: always bring more sundelions than you think you need. I narrowly escaped being flattened while poisoned by gloom. Still, I managed to learn his patterns and find ways to dodge his blows. The thrill of battle filled me as I dueled my familiar foe. Master Sword and Lynel Blade struck against demonic blades.

The Demon King was fully awakened now, and I struggled to break through his stance. I thought I might be wearing him down, but he was draining my strength, too, and I struggled to drive the last blow home. He was too good at dodging, anticipating my every attack.

Then, I struck out without warning, randomly, almost blindly. He dodged--

But didn't dodge the next blow, where, faster than he could anticipate, I thrust my blade up into his neck.

And before I knew it, I was facing a dragon.

Zelda and I spiraled through the sky, locked in a deadly dance with the embodiement of evil. But as many times as I plummeted from the demon dragon's back, Zelda was always there in a heartbeat to catch me, and we were rising, rising together, back up to the top of the sky again.

In the end, I struck the Demon King's wounds with two blades. One was the Master Sword. The other, the White Sword of the Sky.

Both of them in honor of Zelda.

And then Ganondorf, the Calamity, the source of all our pain and suffering, disintegrated in an explosion that shook the sky.

I felt Rauru and Sonia's power flowing through me, and I let it pour into Zelda, and watched as she was reborn.

And then we were both falling, plummeting from the sky, and again I tried to get to her, to grasp her hand--

This time, this time I reached her.

*

7. Epilogue

What might the future hold for Link?

If what I've done since my playthrough is any indication, her future adventures might involve exploring and mapping the rest of the Depths, enhancing the magical robes of the ancient Zonai, and setting new records in human flight into the stratosphere. There will be rebuilding, and time spent cataloguing plants and animals, and conversations with Mineru about Zonai history.

But it won't be Link alone. Wherever she goes, she'll be with Zelda. Following her, exploring with her, researching all the mysteries of the world with her.

That, I think, would be the most important thing to her. Not anything that she herself has done.

But that this wonderful, remarkable person, this brilliant and open-hearted person this girl who loved her and accepted her even after so much had changed, this girl who sacrificed everything for her family and sacrificed even more for the world, that this girl gets to be happy, she gets to live, she gets to be safe.

She's safe. She's here, and she's safe.

That's what matters.

[youreavicioustrollop]

S5 E7: Ghost Stories

ooooh, buried alive! truly the most horrifying thing for me and many others. ooooh, i love the sound amplifying thing!!!! close enough to hear him scream because he's close enough to the surface!

omg, it's Lou!!!!! i'm so glad you're not dead. and also yay narrator!taylor kelly. "buried alive, that's the stuff of nightmares." I AGREE

oh yay, we're back to the harry storyline! i mean, yikes, PTSD, but I'm glad we're back here. he sees him out in the world! ooooh, athena's going to therapy! good for her. she needs it.

look at these different establishing shots of bathena's house and the hospital! dude's eaten so much pudding though, this is such fun set dressing. also love that taylor's questions are just as thorough as Lou's. :) a JOURNALIST. off-the-record! a police officer in part to guard against taylor.

CHIMNEY!!!!!! he's talking to Hen and he took Buck's hint about the church bells!! "The one if by land, two if by sea church?" oh, i didn't know there was an exact replica! that's cool. personally my fun fact would probably be that other churches also have similar bell systems and chimes! But hopefully Chim understands her past in Boston! Oh, he does. Yay. :) The violent threat towards buck is unnecessary, in my opinion, Buck wants Chim to find her as much as he does!

Chasing ghosts! Eva is back???? i'm so intrigued.

May! She's so empathetic! I love this pink shirt of hers. I want one, but it probably doesn't come in size fat. Also May's ideas are great. They should all listen to her.

Eva!! She's so femme here? oooh, she's leaving California. Apologizing to Hen as one of her steps :((( I can't get over how femme this top is for Eva. Like she looks good I'm just baffled. But they're both crying! aww.

Hen telling Karen immediately! Oh but this is a mini fight. Oof, Hen says Eva is sincere and Karen says that's why she can't trust her! awww

Chim to the rescue!!!! OMG IT'S THE GUY HE LEARNED TO BE A PARAMEDIC WITH!! ELI!!!! omgggggg that's amazing.

"The woman's a menace" i dunno Lou, I love her. I like her journalist instincts paralleled/compared to the police detectives. I like that she's bouncing her ideas off of Buck, and has all the information. And Athena and Lou are equals discussing the case! Oop! They come to opposite conclusions! So close.

Karen is her own investigator, digs in. <3 I love her. "I have been worried about you since the third date" AWWWWWW. Eva saying that Hen will never leave Karen because she loves her more!!

"I did some old fashioned investigating."

OMG IT'S DAVID DELUISE1!!!!!!!! i love him. every time he shows up in a movie or tv show i'm DELIGHTED. i love Lou and Taylor both being confused. and I love the interrogation scenes spliced together with the flashback reconstructed scenes.

Chim and Eli!!!!!!! Eli's wife is watching Jee-Yun while they get a drink!!! This is such a good conversation. Maddie's got a voice in her head telling her lies! Chim can take a breath instead of looking like he's been on a month-long bender. "You can be the Howie that she needs" "it's funny almost no one calls me Howie anymore" awwwww. Except like Maddie and Albert, I bet. Maybe not even Albert.

oh no, what is harry doing???? is he re-tracing his kidnapping route????? okay???? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! he just fell through the floor?????? calling his mother instead of 9-1-1??? okay, sir. why are you pulling him up by his arm when he told you his shoulder was hurt?? excuse me? anyway, yay athena and harry coming back together as mother and son.

"i've got a fire extinguisher stashed under the bed just in case" that's SO CUTE. Karen and Hen are So CUTE. We love healthy communication in a marriage!

"finding the truth can be risky... but it's important" "the truth is worth everything" okay, Taylor. also, i'm loving this extended time in buck's bedroom. and i've just realized this is a Taylor plot episode. (and i don't feel like we've seen eddie At All) does taylor have a backstory where someone she loved was murdered/?? what is her backstory she hasn't told buck yet?

oooh, Lou and Harry chatting is so good! yay!

these are the plotlines I was wanting to come back to after 5.5, and immediately started the next episode over. I'm so glad I didn't have long to wait!!

[jupitersmoon167]

Godusa - Prologue

Rating: T

Alright. Well. I’m actually doing this. Cool, cool cool cool.

Well, first things first. I started writing this about a month ago and literally just finished writing it. So it’s safe to say that updates will vary. It may take me months to even finish Chapter 1 (which I haven’t even started on). This is an idea that I've had for quite a while, and the basic planned plot line is there, I just have to get it on paper.

Fair warning, this story is going to potentially dive into multiple other MCU properties. And relationships in this series will only be platonic unless stated otherwise.

I own none of the characters shown/mentioned other than my OC Elina (which you can learn more about here, but only if you don’t mind being spoiled on her backstory). Rating may change overtime as well.

“I require your assistance.”

Elina looked up from her book to see Wong standing at the library entrance. “Assistance with what exactly?”

After the whole Scarlet Witch fiasco a few months ago, and America began her studies in the mystic arts at Kamar-Taj, Elina stayed to help reconstruct the temple. Since she had nothing better to do, and with America being in good hands and not needing Elina’s protection like the teen used too, Elina was happy to help.

Though, once reconstruction was complete, Wong asked her to stay in the temple for the time being, wanting to keep a close eye on the multiversal traveler. And while Elina understood his caution, she was starting to grow bored. There was only so much the young avatar could do without leaving the premises. So, she often passed the time in the library, reading mystical textbooks that were in abundance. This is where Wong found the girl. Sitting at a table, surrounded by stacks of books, delving deep into a book covering the known history of Ta-Lo.

“Well, you’ve been expressing your displeasure these past few weeks regarding your stay here-“ Wong began before Elina cut in.

“Wong. You know that I’m extremely thankful for allowing me and America to stay here. But it’s been a few months, and I’m beginning to grow a bit restless.”

Wong nods his head in understanding. “Yes, I imagine you’re not used to staying in one place for this long? Especially with your kind of lifestyle.”

Elina didn’t know if he was referring to her multiversal traveling or something else. “That’s putting it lightly.”

Wong walks away from the library entrance and towards Elina’s table. “Which is why I have decided to allow you to assist the London sanctum with a task.”

Elina’s interest peaked. “What kind of task exactly?”

“They’ve recently gotten a hold of an artifact of Egyptian origin. And seeing your…obvious relations, I was hoping you could assist them in identifying it?” Wong asked her.

Elina paused for a moment, contemplating his request. After a few seconds, she replied. “I’ll have to talk to him first, if that’s okay?”

Wong nodded back at her in understanding. “Of course, take all the time you need.” He began his way back towards the library entrance. “You know where to find me.”

Elina nodded her head absently as Wong retreated from the library. Once his footsteps faded, Elina stood up from her chair, closing the book she was reading. Seeing as she was done reading for the day, she put all the books on the table back in their respective places, the librarian giving her a small nod in thanks as she left the library. 

Walking down the long outside walkway of the temple, Elina catches a glimpse of a group sorcerer's training in the courtyard. Among those training was America Chavez. The whole reason for Elina being here. After defeating Infinity Ultron, Elina was instructed by the Watcher to protect the girl as she traveled the Multiverse. Elina doesn’t exactly know how long she and America have been traveling together, but it was enough time for the two girls to become great friends, even see each other as sisters. 

From the corner of her eye, America sees Elina. She enthusiastically waves at Elina, a glowing grin on her face. Elina smiles and waves back before America’s attention goes back at her teacher. After a few moments, Elina continues on to her destination. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elina soon finds herself back in her room, given to her by the sanctum sorcerers as a place to live for the duration of her stay (however long that may be). Instinctively glancing at her surroundings, her eyes stop on the set of pictures sitting on the side table. Picking up a photo, she sits on her bed and looks at it, seemingly dazed. Lost in her thoughts, the girl doesn’t detect the presence of an individual until they speak.

“Why the tears, young one?”

Elina wasn’t aware she was crying. Now aware of the tear stains on her cheeks, she quickly puts the photo back on the nightstand and wipes her eyes. After clearing her face, she looks up at the figure in her room, Khonshu. Egyptian god of the moon, and her caretaker.

“Hey Khon.” She rasps out, setting the photo back down on the table. “How are you?”

“I should be asking you that young one. I was only gone for a few hours, what happened?” Khonshu gently asked the girl.

Elina shook her head. “Nothing. I was just…reminiscing I guess. About the past.”

Khonshu tutted at her, taking his hand and placing it on her head, gently petting her hair. “What have I said about this? There’s no use shedding tears over the past like this.” 

“I know, I know. I just…I miss them so much.” Elina mumbles back to him. “It’s been years, I know. But that doesn’t change the fact that I miss them.”

“They wouldn’t want you spilling tears over them. What’s done is done. There’s nothing that could’ve been done.”

Elina nods her head in understanding. “I know, Khon.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “Wong came to the library to ask me to help with something.”

“And what exactly would the Sorcerer Supreme of this Earth want from my avatar?” Khonshu asked her as he set his hand back down to his side.

“He asked me if I could help the sorcerers of the London Sanctum identify an artifact they found-“ Elina started before Khonshu interrupted her mid sentence.

“Absolutely not!” He replied, bristled. If the old bird still had his feathers, they would surely be ruffled. 

“Khon…” Elina softly interjects before Khonshu continues on.

“We’ve avoided the attraction of the gods of the Overvoid for so long during our time here. We cannot afford to garner any more than we already have when we first arrived here.”

“…You know what the artifact is, don’t you?” Elina accuses him. “That’s why you’re so worried.”

He lets out a long sigh, shaking his head. “It’s times like this where I curse that you were gifted with the worm's intelligence.” 

Elina rolled her eyes at the nickname. It came from a place of respect, Elina knew that. But at the same time, it was condescending to her papa. 

“Khon.” She interjects again. “If we’re going to stay here, even if it isn’t indefinitely, it’s only a matter of time before we come across some trouble of some sort. I can’t stay at the temple forever.”

The god let out another heavy sigh. After a few moments, he speaks up. “You’re right. It’s just been so quiet. I’ve been hoping that you would continue to keep your head down, after everything you’ve been through these past few years. You deserve to rest.”

Elina smiled plaintively at the moon god, grabbing his free hand that wasn’t holding his staff. “And you of all people should know by now that I can’t do that.” she murmured.

The god squeezes her hand in reassurance. “I know that, young one. But I can’t help but wish, and I know I can’t stop you. It’s not in your nature.” He chuckles. “Something you get from your mother.” 

Elina snorts. “If I didn’t know better, you just complimented her.”

“What can I say, she grew on me over time.”

Elina laughs, much to the gods pleasure, happy that he cheered the girl up, even momentarily. “Man, she’d be gobsmacked if she heard you say that about her.”

The god titters. “Alright, that is enough. I have a reputation to maintain. Can’t have others knowing I grew soft.” 

Elina rolls her eyes at that, knowing he’s just saying that to move the conversation on. “So….you’ll let me do this then?”

“You and I both know you were planning on going with or without my permission.”

Elina chuckles once more, letting go of his hand. “It’s like you said big bird, you grew soft.”

Khonshu grumbles before he disappears out of thin air, leaving small trails of sand in his place.

Elina smirks, knowing that she was right. Even if the god wanted to disagree for appearances sake and save his reputation. But the girl had the god wrapped around her finger ever since she was a child. There was no lying to her. Standing up, she glances once more at the photo before retreating from her room, heading off to find Wong. 

She wouldn’t know it at the time, but Khonshu had every right to be worried. For Elina Spector-Grant had already got the attention from his own variant. And his avatar was already on the lookout. 

[the2ndsanctuary]

This is me asking about your transformers ocs

• Who was ‘born’ first?

• Who is the most temper-mental?

• Any of them a ‘class clown’?

• Name a favorite aspect of each [physical build, backstory, personality, etc.].

• Do your ocs enjoy earth and learning about human customs? Or is it beneath them?

I'll die for you thank you

There's a group of bots traveling around the space pretty aimlessly, consisting of Riff, ex-communications officer (so he likes to say but he's still pretty much in charge of the ship when captain isn't there), Monarch, an ex-phase sixer, twins Cleft and Treble who used to be mechanics for racers, Fleewheel, a used-to-be-smuggler pretty much, and the captain himself, Emberfist. Fairly there's more people... But that's all crew for now! Let's just say they interact with each other the most.

- Emberfist is the oldest! He's been around since times Before Megatron's decepticons, and feels very strongly about what both factions did to their home. He's forged as well! After him goes Fleewheel, then Riff, then Cleft and and Treble, then Monarch.

- Riff, I'd say. He tries to play it cool- a lot, but after everything that happened with him he's barely holding it together, from being an impulsive blabbermouth to a shutdown recluse. Good thing Ember figured out he's better at work and doing his weird music thing rather than just sit and sulk.

- Fleewheel. LOL. He's always this 👌 close to be kicked out of the ship, but for the same reasons that keep him there - his mouth and dumb sense of humor. He's a fun among the sad for what it's worth.

- I'm Yet to make designs for a lot of them, so bear with me 🤡

Riff might be my favorite out of all of them, I'm pretty happy with both his design and backstory/character. Fairly he started off as a sona (like most my favorite ocs do LOL), so he has combination of red and black that i love to work with. I find his disdain with war because of jis personal losses and desire to let them duke it out and leave him out of it also my favorite part.

Emberfist i love cuz in my head he looks like a very tired, a very done with everything mech. He's a monoformer, as well, so it didn't exactly make his life any easier. He's an engineer and he's the one who even built their ship! Overall i just like him, he cares for his fellow cybertronians who are tired and hurt, and pretty much welcomes anyone on his ship and won't be scared to protect it with all his might.

Monarch has one of my favorite designs I've ever done, i love the colors and her wings are torture for me to figure out but i love them nonetheless. Her story is also very fun to me she's just the biggest traumatized loser. She's a triple changer who could turn into a jet and a bomb. She was supposed to have an indestructible spark casing and such, so whenever she used her bomb alt mode, she'd be able to reconstruct herself. She, well. Never found out if it works LOL she just left when she was on her first mission cuz she got so so scared. Love her.

The twins are fun to me because i. Love twins. They play music all the time and are very high energy, it's fun to watch. They're small and frisky and generally just a delight. You'd think they cause mischief but they're more of snitches actually LMAO they don't get along with Fleewheel well.

As for Fleewheel... Anyway.

(Joking i actually think he's very silly i love silly guys who are just asking to have shit beat out of them)

- Only Fleewheel's been on Earth, actually! Had a lil rendezvous with Swindle there. Wasn't impressed much, and surely isn't looking forward to coming back there (though humans are quite entertaining)

As for others, they've HEARD, probably PASSED it at some point in search of energon, but didn't dare to land. For reasons. Riff downloaded a lot of Earth music at some point, though, and he's been menace about it ever since.

[lemonshrimpart]

Had this Psychonauts fanart idea floating in my head for a bit! Post reconstructive surgery checkup—the bandages are off and he gets to see hair starting to grow back ;_; !!! Cal is in therapy and slowly working through his trauma and finding some balance. Will he gain lost psychic abilities back through emotional healing?🤔 Anywho, I adore this funky lil character and the depth they added with his backstory. He finds his moral compass but still needs major TLC. Idk y’all this was self indulgent bc I needed some sort of hopeful conclusion. LET HIM HEAL❤️‍🩹

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 327 Spoiler Analysis: Home Sweet Home

OH MY GOD, GUYS!!!  DEKU GETS A BATH!!!! 🎉🛁 🧼   My broccoli boy finally gets squeaky clean, gets some sleep, and we finally get some R&R time with the Class 1-A kids.  It’s not close to the happy-go-lucky days of old, but it’s some time with the kids nonetheless.  I’m glad Horikoshi put some heart and humor in this chapter because god knows we needed it.  But, let’s be real, this is the calm before the storm:

The chapter starts off with what everyone and Horikoshi has been wanting for Deku since he went on his mission: A motherfuckin’ bath 🛀 🧼🛁!   Kaminiari and Kirishima lead the Class 1-A boys to carry Deku into their side of the UA Alliance bathhouse (looks real nice btw) and give him a good power-wash.  The whole sequence is very comical!  The boys are rushing in and poor Deku has this O_O face on him like “what is happening?” 😂 We also see some of the boys butt naked 😳  It’s clear that Horikoshi had fun drawing this thing and it was fun to read 💚

Bakugo is with them of course and you can actually see his scars from when Shigaraki stabbed him.  He’s not bleeding, but you can see those scar patches on his skin.  I’m curious of how fan artist are going to draw him from now on.  I would like to see that fan art 👀

There’s also some bubble sfx coving Bakugo’s crotch and a translator said it might say dick or penis.  I’m curious what the officials will say.

But, Bakugo being Bakugo is still aggressive towards his classmates.  More playfully than before, but still.  He reminds everyone that he still intends on being the best there is and that everyone is still his rivals (also friends, Bakugo).  HE EVEN MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO CALL DEKU IZUKU!  LIKE HE ALMOST SAID “DEKU” BUT HE CHANGED IT TO IZUKU AT THE LAST MINUTE!  AND DEKU SAYS THAT CALLING HIM DEKU IS JUST FINE LIKE THAT ANGER THAT ORIGINATED FROM THE NICKNAME ISN’T THERE ANYMORE AND IT’S A FREINDLY NICKNAME BKDK FRIENDSHIP GROWTH YOU LOVE TO SEE IT 🧡💚  

After Deku’s bath, he’s sitting in the commons talking to the rest of Class 1-A.  Well, most of them.  Mina tells Deku that Ochako and a few other students went to bed after everything became ok again.  So, I definitely didn’t see Tsuyu, and it looks like Shoji, Aoyama, and Hagakare weren’t in this chapter either.  Ochako I understand; her speech must’ve been emotionally taxing.  Aoyama and Hagakare are the top suspects for being the traitor in the fandom and this isn’t helping their cases.  I don’t know about Tsuyu and Shoji though.  They’re both mutant-types, but characters like Ojiro or mutant-like people like Jiro, Mina or Tokoyami didn’t get outcasted.  Horikoshi did hint that Shoji would be getting something soon.  But, I really am just speculating here.

Now that Deku’s back, everyone has questions for him.  Though I understand why, this has gotta be overwhelming for Deku.  At least they’re not mad at him for hiding OFA.  They seem very understanding actually.

Then my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto Todoroki, comes in all handsome right out of the baths 💙  He’s drying his right side while you can see a steam cloud on his left.  So, it is canon that Shoto drys himself naturally with his heat. His entrance is so pretty that even Mineta’s questioning it (shut up, Mineta, you’ll never be as beautiful as him).  And yes, I might be a Shoto simp, don’t judge me I see y’all too 👀

Anyway, Shoto asks everyone to let Deku sleep since that was pretty much the whole reason they brought him back.  Problem is, Deku can’t because he really needs to apologize to All Might for abandoning him.  AND AFTER HE SAYS THAT THERE’S A DETAILED PANEL OF SHOTO POINTING TO ALL MIGHT LIKE “UH, MIDORIYA? HE’S RIGHT THERE” AND ALL MIGHT LOOKING FROM THE WINDOW LIKE A HORROR VILLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE 😭

All Might comes in and apologizes to Deku for not being able to support him when he needed it, but Deku says that All Might support him more than enough.  Mina also scolds All Might for not saying anything when he left.  She wants All Might to apologize to everyone for that.  Though I’m glad Deku and All Might have reconciled (I honestly thought that last convo between them was going to be THE LAST for a hot minute), Mina has a point.  All Might did bail on all of them without any warning.  Kinda messed up in general.

All Might apologizes and he is going to fight with everyone regardless of his physical state so that he can see that flame continue to shine.  However, he warns the kids that they got info on the villains and that the final decisive battle is coming soon.  If the whole “Final Arc” thing hasn’t been hammered into your head, there you go.  I’m also glad that Stain’s speech did end up motivating All Might further.  Who knew?

So, All Might is off to help Endeavor since he’s got unfinished business to take care of.  But, the kids are wondering why Endeavor (and probably Hawks) isn’t entering UA entirely yet.  Shot reminds them that Endeavor is still connected to Dabi and that his presence alone would cause more discourse.  People’s minds can’t change that easily.  Shoto of all people would know.  

As Deku FINALLY SLEEPS 💤 and Shoto puts a blanket over him (possibly warmed by his left side 🔥) 💙💚 Shoto acknowledges how his presence might be making people anxious too even though it’s not his fault at all (thank you, Kirishima for doubling down on this btw ❤️🪨).  But, things are different and Shoto’s going to show that so that everyone can be at ease like he wants as a hero.  There’s even this sweet small smile on his beautiful face as he says this.  He’s grown so much and he’s pretty to boot I love him so much *HANDS IN FACE* 💙❄️🔥 

EVEN KIRISHIMA’S CRYING FROM HOW MANLY SHOTO IS I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!

And now Jiro steps up and says her piece.  That she knows how hard it is to convince everyone to change their minds for the better.  Like with those two critics from the Culture Fest.  Even so, they accomplished this before, so she thinks they can do it again.  She even gathers all the band members to emphasize on this.  I love how Jiro uses her earphone jacks to rally the band and how she literally drags Bakugo by the shirt for a cute group shot.  None of these kids are afraid of Bakugo anymore LOL ��!  Also, Momo is the tallest out of all of them in this line up shot (except for Bakugo who’s still being dragged on the ground).  I think she’s roughly 5ft 6-7 inches?  She’s the tallest of the girls I know that, but damn.  She towers all of them.  Even me...  She’s also very pretty in this shot and it’s her birthday as I’m posting this, so happy b-day Momo ❤️

And we get a beautiful panel of Jiro leading everyone to make sure that they’ll go beyond with making everything better than it was before.  We get a nice group shot of the rest of the class agreeing with her with a smile including Shoto with a small one (did I mention that I love him?) 💙💙💙 And Deku’s in the center still sleeping away.  I hope he has good dreams *kisses forehead*💚  And go Jiro for stepping up to the plate too 💜!  All these kids have grown so much.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Finally, the last pages show Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist going somewhere, maybe Tartarus.  They got info out of Dr. Ujiko via polygraph and the Nomu Research Group at Central Hospital.  They predict that they have 2 months until Shigaraki’s ready to go again, so they’ll need 1 month of preparation.  But, the info Stain gave All Might gave them more info.  His letter ended up being a personal letter to All Might (Stain really is that nuts...), but there was a microchip in the blade Stain left containing the security records from Tartarus.  It’s not stated how this info affected the mission at hand, but it sounds like it has to do something with the time frame.  So, I’m curious if they have less time to prepare or more?  Given how this is the Final Arc, Imma say less.

Finally, the teaser asks “How are the villains moving?”  I wonder if that means we’re switching to the villain’s next week.  I would love to hang out with the kids more, but I would also like to know what our villains are up to.  Like, where the hell is Himiko Toga?  Is Spinner still questioning shit?  What happened to Mr. Compress after he mauled himself to help Shigaraki and the others escape?  Also I think we need more info on this dude’s backstory given he’s the grandson of the famous Robin Hood villain who’s name definitely didn’t escape me... 😐  Is Dabi laughing his ass off from the utter chaos he started?  Is AFO still smiling like the evil mastermind he is?  Is Shigaraki as crispy as he was earlier?  I was going to ask about Twice but... 😭

So, yeah!  Love this chapter.  Really good transition chapter into whatever happens next.  I’m kinda sad we didn’t see Deku fight off more past villains during his vigilante days.  We got Muscular and Overhaul and I think that’s it?  Didn’t see any of Overhaul’s minions or that teeth-blade villain (Fish-something?; he broke out, but we haven’t seen him since) or Re-Destro or his goons.  I don’t count as Gentle or LaBrava as villains anymore and they were never truly evil to begin with.  Regardless, it was a really cool arc to see a more dark side of Deku.  I’m really glad Horikoshi made great use of his bunny hood and metal mask finally.  Deku really did look demonic for some time.  Also, seeing Deku badass is always a plus.  And seeing the deconstruction of hero society and the possible reconstruction of it was really good too.  Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately, but we can do our best to make it that way.

I’m also glad that we finally got our kids back in top form.  Not just being heroes, but being teenagers too.  They all had great moments especially Iida, Ochako, and now Shoto as they should.  But, Bakugo’s apology was peak for me.  Over 320 chapters of development and build-up lead to that moment and it really is one of the best in the series.  It lives in my head rent free.

So, we got 1-2 months in-manga-time until what is probably the final battle of the series.  God, I can’t believe we’re actually nearing the end of this series.  I started reading it back in 2018 when shit was rough for me. I found this series after listening to the music and reading the hype around it.  I watched the show then I read the manga and it really helped me.  Saved me from a dark place actually.  I will miss this series when it’s done and I will be greatly for the joy Horikoshi has gifted us.  I’ll try to save the farewells for later.  I’d say this series has at least 1-1 1/2 years to go.

Me @ the kids and All Might:

[taiblogcomics]

All Out of Outlaws

Hey there, that live service you paid for but only used once. I hope you liked last week's anniversary review as much as I liked writing it. Now we're back to the usual stack. We're on a streak with Red Hood junk, so let's get back into it~

Here's the cover:

Since it's an anniversary issue of its own, the cover is way glossier and higher quality than usual. I don't object to homaging most of Jason's old teammates in the sky, but why the fuck is Crux there? Like, why would you remind us of Crux? Nobody liked Crux, nobody even remembers Crux. At least he's partially covered by the logo, but not nearly enough. Like, Isabel's worth way more of a cover appearance than Crux. Anyway, other than Crux, this cover's pretty good. Very movie poster-esque.

So this book takes place "one month ago". That somehow means it takes place after issue 48, AKA the unnecessary tie-in issue, and that other story arc that ended last issue. You got that? One month ago is after the tie-in story, but before the story that just ended. You can tell all this because Bizarro is still here instead of trapped in hell, and Jason Todd's narrating to himself about how Punchline tricked him regarding Duela Dent. Yeah, there's no moment showing how he realised this, even though that'd make good story in itself. No, he's just here because he's already pissed at the Duela deception.

After the flashback, we return to the present. This is after issue 49, just so you know where we stand. It's pretty clear Artemis and Jason have just slept together. That... seems odd to me. It's odd to them as well, so that's forgivable. Jason acknowledges that really he just needed some human contact. Because, like, Roy is dead, Bizarro is in hell, and Starfire is in space. Thankfully, he mentions Crux not at all. Jason thinking Crux is a friend worth missing would be more disbelief than I can willingly suspend. Anyways, they're interrupted by a welcome sight.

The loud yelling returns us to seeing Monsieur Mallah yell like a drill sergeant at the Outlaws of Tomorrow, or whatever those kids were called. You remember them: Devour, Doomed, Cloud 9, DNA, Babe in Arms and Mombie (which I swear I came up with before it was ever written in an issue), and Vessel. Anyways, they were my favourite part of the last dozen issues or whenever they first appeared. Jason points a gun at Mallah to try and get him to stop yelling at the kids, and Ma Gunn calls him out on it. Basically, she's hired Mallah and the Brain to train these kids, since Jason keeps skipping out on it. If he disapproves of her methods, then he should train them himself. He concedes the point, and opts to leave the kids in her care.

Jason leaves, heading up to Dr. Veritas' lab. This is where Duela's ended up after they rescued her from the flashback. She's alive, but part of her recovery has been reconstructive surgery. Her repaired face has basically left her non-verbal and mostly unresponsive. Jason has a plan, though. It's probably supposed to be his pocket, but I swear it looks like he's taking this out of the fly of his jeans. That's extremely worrying, almost as worrying as what actually happens: Jason hands her a rubber Joker mask, and she puts it on. With her "face" restored, she starts laughing--and doesn't stop. Jason wonders if this was a good idea after all. I'm gonna go ahead and venture "no"~

Following that, we advance three weeks, where Duela has been doing physical therapy in Suzie Su's private gym. She's been struggling, and is still mostly non-verbal, but at least communicates in laughs and animal noises. Jason decides the best way to get her to improve is to taunt her. Surprisingly, it works: when he dumps enough insults, she's able to stagger to her feet well enough to attack him. He says he knew she could do it with the right motivation, and she's pleased with herself. Pleased enough that when the time skips ahead again, she's perfectly verbal once more.

This scene takes place in a graveyard. Not just any, but the very grave that Jason once upon a time clawed his way out of. Naturally, she thinks that's cool. This is Jason's "don't make the same mistakes I did" lecture, but Duela doesn't want to hear it. She's too mad at Punchline and Joker for treating her like shit. Jason understands, but he says he'll be there for her when she decides to change her mind about being a crazy psychopath. They both return home to Ma Gunn's, but while Jason laments some thoughts to Artemis, Duela decides to escape. Just like the teen she is.

Partway off the grounds, she actually encounters Pup-Pup. Yeah, the talking Superman plush doll is still somehow hanging around. I might pick on this series a bit, and rightly so sometimes, but how many other comics do you know where a sapient talking plush toy of one of the world's greatest heroes is a recurring character? That's fantastic. That's exactly why I read comic books. Anyway, she stops to chat with Pup-Pup, because when life throws that much weirdness at you, you stop and interact. She relays an exaggerated version of her backstory to him, talking about how her father beat her while her mother laughed, and she killed them both in the end. Pup-Pup sees right through it, and the pair of them end up hanging out all night until Jason finds them both asleep in the yard the next morning.

So it's a bit later, and they're in New York. A bank's been broken into by... Agent Smith from The Matrix?? It's a group of guys in shades and suits who are all identical and refer to themselves as sharing a single collective mind. I don't care that they call themselves "The Chairmen", that sounds like Agent Smith to me. Fortunately, the Outlaws are here to beat them up. Joker's Daughter and her pal Pup-Pup have joined as the pre-requisite third member(s), but partway through the fight, the strain of the fight causes Duela to have some sort of mental break.

Very suddenly, it's no longer funny for Duela. She's not into the violence or death. She is just a teen, after all, and I guess it built up over time. The rest of the Agent Smiths are dealt with while Jason comforts Duela and removes the Joker mask from her. No doubt he's going to store it back in his trousers. And so, after the fight, Duela gets cleaned up, dresses like a normal person, and returns home to her parents. Artemis imparts the wisdom that it doesn't matter how you live, as long as you're living the way you want, it's the greatest act of defiance there is. Jason also allows Pup-Pup to stow away in her backpack, just to keep an eye on her.

After returning Duela to her home, Jason and Artemis ride on for a while. Then, abruptly, Artemis pulls over. It's as far as she's going, at least with Jason. But they both agree: he doesn't need her around anymore. He's a capable guy who can stand on his own two feet. And so Artemis also departs, she taking one road, and Jason driving down the other. And that road Jason's on? Why, it's the road home. The road back to Gotham. Jason muses that he was an okay sidekick, a crap supervillain, and a great outlaw. But what he was most of all... was a good friend.

I’m gonna say to start out with that I think this is a good issue. Heck, I think this is a great issue. It’s very character-driven, which is kind of what I always want in these things. Would much rather read something that develops the characters than just another fight scene.

I guess the issue, then, is A) does the character development make sense, and 2) do we care? And honestly... I don’t really care that Joker’s Daughter got a happy ending. Nor do I really feel it was earned. We’ve followed the character’s entire history on this blog, after all. Honestly, it probably would have made a lot more sense if she’d stayed on as part of Generation Outlaw. I just don’t think there was any build-up to her sudden realisation that “oh crap, everything I do sucks”, and thus her sudden retirement/redemption doesn’t feel earned.

But hey, at least Crux wasn’t in it~

Next issue, Jason finally goes solo!

[parachutingkitten]

Messing Up

A.k.a. Morro guides Harumi through the afterlife.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Happy Ninjago Writers’ Day!

Yeah... I’m finally updating this one. Never thought I would. My last update was over 2 year ago. But hey, I guess that’s the point of Ninjago Writers’ Day. Of all of my fics, this one, by far, I have gotten the most direct requests to continue, even though I don’t like Harumi, or Morro, or Lloyd, or writing for villians, or things without the nindroids. But... here we are. Hope you like it! I think it turned out pretty well. Maybe if y’all are lucky I might get around to updating it in less than 2 years next time.

Happy Reading!

“I see something!” My heart leaped in my chest as I strained my eyes at the looming shadows in the distance. “I can finally see something! Where are we?” 

“We’re almost there,” Morro smiled. 

“It’s so good to see something other than just white!” I ran through the grass, towards the building as it came into shape. Finally. Something real. Something to latch on to. “Look at those big beautiful walls! Isn’t it great!” I turned around, looking back at him and regaining my breath while I waited for him to catch up. 

“I can’t see it,” he shrugged. “But that makes sense. I mean, I’m not super familiar with Ninjago City, nevermind the outskirts of it.”

“We’re at the outskirts? We’re that close?” I turned back around, facing towards what I could figure was the direction of the city.

“Yeah, just a few more minutes, and we’ll probably be able to see city center.”

As we got closer to the building I noticed it wasn’t getting any clearer. Like it was covered by some thick fog that I simply couldn’t get through. I guess I didn’t remember whatever building this was particularly well. As we continued more and more blurred shapes cropped up on the horizon. I could feel my heart sink as I remembered what it was we were walking into.

“You sure it’s a good idea to take me back here?” I asked. 

“Just trust me,” he shook his head. “I had to do it too. This is what needs to happen.” 

We walked in silence a while longer as I stewed on our inevitable arrival. What we see is based on what we most remember. What would that mean for Ninjago City? I could only hope it would look different than how I had last left it. I had done so much damage to so many people… 

So many families.

I couldn’t walk back into that level of destruction. Not with the amount of guilt still weighing on my chest. I didn’t know if I could take it. The buildings slowly filled in around us as we continued walking, more vague walls and windows that hung in different levels of fog, all obscured from my vision in slightly different ways, all reconstructed from various bits of my memory. For once though, it felt like I might have been walking in a real place again. And that I might actually be somewhere that wasn’t just the rubble left from my own arrogance. 

“Do you really think he can fix all the mess I’ve left behind?” I sighed. 

“Knowing him, he’s already taken care of it,” Morro shrugged.

“You think? That quickly?” 

“I’m counting on it,” he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Morro stopped, looking up at something. My gaze followed his to see our destination staring back at us. There it was. Ninjago city. We stood at the center of everything and yet I hadn’t realized that we had arrived. It was different from what I had imagined to say the least. So much of it seemed incomplete. So much of it was partially destroyed, cracked, damaged, but some of it was just… gone. 

“Where’s Borg Tower?” I glanced around, trying to fix my eyes to it, but it’s glow was nowhere to be found. “And the Zane statue, and-”

“If it’s not here, then you must be remembering from before they were built,” He explained. 

I took a few steps further into the main courtyard. It felt so empty compared to the one I had left behind. This was the most prominent version of Ninjago City in my mind? That can’t be right… can it? 

“This is the day they died… isn’t it?” I turned back around to face him, tears filling my eyes. “This is the day my parents died, that’s why my mind’s latching onto it, that’s why I’m seeing this.”

His eyes turned back to the city, understanding what it was I must be seeing. “I’m so sorry Harumi, I-”

“You dragged me all the way out to Ninjago City,” I stopped him. “just to have me see this?!”

Morro stepped towards me, a bit cautiously. “Harumi, I didn’t know what you would see-”

“You keep on telling me that Lloyd can fix these things I did,” I could feel my voice raising out of my control as tears began to spill down my cheeks. “But I get here, and all I can see is the one day he wasn’t able to fix things!”

“You think I like this?!” He yelled back. “You think I like carting you around, talking about the one person who took everything away for me?”

“Well, you certainly have been sticking up for him.”

“I hate him!” He screamed. “I hate everything about him! I hate his stupid self righteous attitude, and his hero complex, and his chosen one backstory, and how he thinks he can go into anything on his own expect to win. I hate it!” 

His eyes narrowed as he moved closer to me, tears continuing to fall from my eyes.

“But you know what I hate most about him? It’s that he’s right. He can do all of these things, he can save the day. And as much as I hate it, we’re the ones he had to clean up after, so we don’t get to complain when he does it.” He passed me up, continuing across the courtyard a few steps before turning back around.

“You want closure? Because that’s what we’re doing this for! I thought maybe you might want to see him again! Goodness knows I don’t!”

I cleared the water from my eyes, processing what he had just said. 

“...see him again?”

“You ever wonder why we’re the only ones in this endless void?” He threw his arms out, gesturing to the empty streets around us. My eyes stayed locked on his, struggling to resist his question.

“Where is everyone else?”

He sighed, turning around again, continuing through the grass. 

“Come on. We’re almost there.”

“Where?” I called after him.

“...To the place where you died.”