#something to show belonging to the empire as a whole but with 1. a tie pilot element and 2. an exile element

[air-mechanical]

Consider all of the TIE fighters lost. Mark their captain for a citation.

This is why Thrawn's people are so loyal to him. He'll deploy his troops when needed - he'll spend his resources without regret so long as something can be purchased with them - and will honour them if they don't return home. They will be remembered. This was important for his people and for Thrawn himself pre-exile. But for the critically low numbers currently aboard The Chimaera In Exile, it's critical.

[adrenaliner]

Analysis of deaths in Breaking Bad

Disclaimer: there may be contain an overthinking, as well an oversight of something. The order of deaths is random and not conditioned by anything, I may decide to include someone else later.

1. The death of the Salamanca twins.

         Although the twins are not the key characters, nor they are not necessarily deeply well written, but they are extremely colorful characters and complement the whole Salamanca family very well, perfectly revealing the spirit of their kin.

         Their only goal was to avenge their brother's death, if not to Walter, then at least to Hank. Which, fortunately, they cannot manage to do and are sent to the hospital. And although it was not their decision to die, I like it how adamant their goal of "failed = died" becomes. The death of one of the twins was not shown to us, only marking it as a fact, but the second one is shown with severed legs! As if he had lost his brother, he had lost a whole half of himself. They didn't show us that they loved each other dearly, but throughout the series they performed exclusively together and never clashed. And although it was not the wounds from the torn off legs that caused the death of one of the Salamanca duo, but the fact that Mike poisoned him later, there is absolutely no emphasis on this detail. The last scene in which the remaining twin is seen is the moment where he desperately tries to crawl to Walter with bloody stumps, ignoring blood, IVs and everything else. But his brother was cut off from him and now he is desperate, even if he still has his goal.

         Also, this scene is a clear parallel to the the twins' first appearance, when they, along with other residents of their village, crawled to the religious altar in honor of the Mexican holiday – St. Jude's Day. It was an annual ritual of worship to their deity, to which believers come to ask for help, luck, survival and protection (Salamanca belong to the cult of Santa Muerte). At the altar, the twins honored the memory of the deceased Tuco and hung an image of Heisenberg, because they obviously asked the deity for help in their revenge for their brother. Well, in the end, the survived twin, or rather his half (half of the half, in nutshell, haha), is crawling in the same way to the living and very real Heisenberg in the flesh.

         In general, the twins are thoroughly imbued with a sense of duty and culture of their kin!

         By the way, although his legs were amputated due to the fact that they were crushed by the wheels of a car, but the cut wound itself matches with the twins' signature weapon - an axe.

2. Gustavo's death

         And the main rival of the Salamancas, we can say that he fulfilled his duty, although also at the cost of his own life, and was able to die side by side with the last of the Salamancas, AKA his greatest enemy - Hector.

         Gustavo dies from the explosion of a bomb that Walter secretly slipped by his side, so to speak. The explosion is obviously something sudden, abrupt and very, very epic, as well as the manifestation of rage and power in Gustavo, just like, in instance, when he cuts the throat of his innocent guard with his bare hands, just to indicate his dominant status in the amphetamine empire. The bomb is exactly how Walter sees Gustavo: something motionless, ticking softly, but ready to explode at the most inopportune moment. Interestingly, in the future, Mike himself will compare Walter with a bomb in exactly the same context. So, even after the explosion destroyed the whole room, Gustavo casually leaves and adjusts his tie, emphasizing his perfectionism, dominance and absolute equanimity. We also see that the explosion blew off half of his face clearly in the middle, leaving one side clean and untouched, and the other ugly and frightening. This once again emphasizes his perfection, as well as a clear division of his personality into a respectable and quite normal one, the one that he represents to all people around him, and his hidden - vindictive, domineering and slightly psychopathic half, which scared poor Walter.

         An interesting fact! In exactly the same way, his face was previously also divided in half in one important scene, but with the help of light (BrBa generally enjoys using this technique, but with Gustavo it is used very clearly brightly, it attracts attention). In that case, this hidden nature of his was still hidden, remaining in the dark. Immediately, it revealed herself, as if he had been hiding it all this time solely in order to be able to quietly get to the last of the Salamanca family.

3. Hank's Death

         The relationship between Hank and Walter is parallel to the relationship between Agent Schrader and Heisenberg. Like Walt, Hank draws a very clear line between family and work, and for him, the confrontation with Heisenberg cannot be interrupted just because his brother-in-law turned out to be Heisenberg. Neither did Walter stop fighting when his secret identity was revealed. And this confrontation became as important for them as for L and Light from the Death Note, nothing would make them stop, they both knew that at all costs one must lose and the other must win. That is why they find themselves, firstly, in a remote desert, where there is no connection with their wives and children, whom this struggle should not involve, and secondly, exactly where it all began! It was there where Heisenberg first revealed his chemical talent in all its glory. Despite the fact that Hank and Walt are not alone, Gomi, Jesse, and especially the crowd of Nazis were just extras and an inseparable part of the work at that moment, especially since all these people are one enemy caste for Hank, even if among them there was also the one he trusted. In fact, Heisenberg and Agent Schrader were one-on-one and met face to face for the first time on their battlefield, where the very first amphetamine cooking and a good part of the investigations took place. Despite the fact that they were both disarmed and in the sights of the Nazis, they were still focused on each other, the situation gave them time to realize, and, roughly speaking, to say goodbye, and for Hank to accept defeat. At that moment, Hank's value as a family member outweighed their criminal struggle for Walter, when a Nazi with a gun in his hands addressed Hank as "federal", Walt desperately shouted "his name is Hank!", but it was too late. Hank was lying on the ground in front of Walt, showing his defeat. He simply admits and accepts his loss as a fighter on the side of the DEA, feeling even prideful about it, because he did not change his priorities at the last moment, unlike Walt. Despite the long dialogue between them and the Nazis, Hank himself says that the person who is holding him at gunpoint made the decision to shoot him ten minutes ago. At last, Hank admits that Walter is the smartest man he knew and demands to shoot. And they're shooting. Hank dies painlessly and instantly from being shot in the head. He would not have needed a painful death, because, like I said, he himself accepted defeat when he realized that there was no other way out. The bullet came into his head as quickly as the realization that Heisenberg was spinning right under his nose this whole time.

4. Mike's death.

         Here I want to bring up not only the moment of Mike's death itself, but also what preceded it scenes earlier. Mike devotes all his free time to his beloved granddaughter, for whom he earns money in such a dirty way and lives for. The moment he finds out that the police have found out about his crimes and are already on their way to arrest him, he is also with her and peacefully guards her while she swings on the playground. In this scene, for the first time in the whole entire series, his face reflects not severity, sullenness or calmness, but sincere fear and uncertainty about what to do. At this moment, Mike is behind his granddaughter's back, which once again emphasizes that she does not know and does not see a drop of all his sins and crimes, all of this is a secret to her. At the same time, a police car appears in the frame with her, which shows how the hidden criminal part of Mike's life will inevitably collide with his peaceful human daily life, no matter how hard he tried to distinguish between family and work, and the fact that his granddaughter is about to find out everything, because the car is almost in her sight.

Mike has to leave his granddaughter alone and run away without even saying goodbye or explaining himself :( Then all sorts of fussy events occur, during which he intends to run away and hide, but all this obviously hardly makes sense to him, not only because he will never see his granddaughter ever again, but also because he did not keep all the money for her in a hiding place, but put it in the bank, and It was on the transfer of money there that one of his seemingly trusted people got busted. Mike meets with Walter, who was supposed to give him an important bag with money and weapons, and say goodbye forever, because even despite what happened in the scene earlier, Mike was going to step away from working with Walt and Jesse anyway. Finally, Walter wants to ask Mike for the names of some trusted people from prison, unfortunately, I don't remember why exactly, and says that the least Mike should do to thank for their alliance. Mike sums up the thoughts that he never really hid anyway – that Walt is a terrible egoist, consumed by pride, and that he destroyed a perfectly organized system in which he originally had his place and the opportunity to earn the right amount of money. And on emotions, outrage and paranoia so typical of him, Walter commits the most unnecessary and senseless murder in the entire series, shooting Mike with a pistol a moment before he managed to leave. Moreover, the gun was stolen from the same bag he brought to Mike. The car drives off about ten meters and crashes into rocks, and Mike gets out of it and goes into the thicket, to the shore of the lake. There, Mike sits down devastated on a rock, staring into the distance. Walt resorts to him and even at this moment he is still paranoid, he points a gun at Mike and takes the weapon from him, which he does not oppose at all. Walt even apologizes and says that he remembered where else he could find out the names, that all this could really be avoided. Mike asks him, quote, to shut the fuck up and let him die in peace.

         There is no complicated symbolism, vivid images, but it was his death that prompted me to write this whole analysis, it is as simple and direct, but terribly touching as Mike himself. It also seems important to me that this scene is much less filled with details than the scene of his last moments with his granddaughter, which shows how low self-worth is without a family and that she is all what was important to him. Despite the fact that he was practically the most adequate, honest and loyal character, the criminal world ruined him too, because all these qualities did not save him from the world into which he voluntarily immersed himself. He was able to tell Walter everything he thinks about him, but that didn't change the fact that he died at his hands, died of absolute stupidity and will spend the last moments of his life next to the man he hates. Mike dies slowly, calmly and without any action, watching the serene forest, as he watched everything that was happening, somewhat detached from the outside, both in the criminal and in the ordinary world during his lifetime. With his life gone, the setting sun sets. As soon as the screen goes out and the credits begin, quiet sad music begins to play and we hear the steady creak of the swing on which his granddaughter swung when he saw her last time.

5. Walter's death.

         Here everything is actually very simple and clear. Having dealt with all the unfinished business, redeemed all his possible sins and at the same time satisfied all the needs of his self-realization, Walt remains on his own. The last person he sees or talks to is Jesse, who was faithful to him basically to the very end. And Walter literally releases him from slavery, the responsibility for which, although he is not fully responsible for, still takes place under the legendary name of Heisenberg. You can't fix what you've done before, but as far as possible, Walt atones for all his sins and puts a gun in his hands, for the first time putting Jesse truly above himself and trusting him to make the decision whether to shoot Walt or not. Quite predictably, Jesse did not do this and simply savors the long-awaited, absolutely deserved freedom, for which this time he did not have to fight alone and fight with Walter. Walter remains completely alone and the only thing he has in the last moments of his life is his dear meth lab. And he is genuinely happy. This is not a situation in which he is content with the little that he has left, because for him it is absolutely not small, it was the real meaning of his life. The laboratory will always remain faithful to him, not only because it is literally a material inanimate object without an opinion, but also because Walter has never sinned against it, he has always cooked meth perfectly, observing all the rules of the chemical business from the very first season, even the most meticulous. He lies down serenely on the floor of the laboratory, ready to die with a clear conscience and a happy heart, and the song Baby Blue - Badfinger begins to play.

         This song very clearly confirms how I describe his love for chemistry, because according to the original idea of the song, it is about a great love for a girl, but it is obvious that in the context of the series, the song is dedicated neither to Jesse nor to Skyler...) The opening line of the song "Guess I got what I deserve" fits the BrBa context especially well, which many interpret as something negative, because Walter was left all alone, but above I have already thoroughly described why everything is not so unambiguous and it is very difficult to call Walter's ending bad. The main thing is that everything is fair and right and he really got everything he deserved.

         Also, the affectionate nickname "Baby Blue" refers to Walter's trademark blue meth.

Guess I got what I deserve

Kept you waiting there, too long my love

All that time, without a word

Didn't know you'd think, that I'd forget, or I'd regret

The special love I have for you, my Baby Blue

         I also want to compare how the moods of Mike's and Walt's deaths differ. They are very similar people in everyday life: quiet, staying somewhere in the background, calm and peaceful, and justify their secret criminal career by doing it for their family. But Mike actually pursues that exact goal, while Walter only started with such a motive, and then only justifies himself with it. Left alone, Walt finally finds real happiness and satisfaction, and the song playing at the end of his story is bright, loud and cheerful, it is generally a proper song with lyrics, verses and chorus. In Mike's case, it's just a quiet and dreary melody, accompanied by memories of his granddaughter – a squeaking swing. Left alone, he is practically empty and has nothing but longing for his family.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Getter Robo Retospective - Getter Robo Part 1 -Ryoma Nagare

So, Iv’e been wanting to do an overall retrospective of the Getter Robo manga franchise for a while now, and since the Getter Robo Arc is nearing it’s finale as of the time of this writing, and will either give it a definite ending, or be the final nail in the coffin that the series will never be finished before Getter Robo falls into public domain, I thought now might as well be the time to do it.

As such, I’ll be doing an overall analysis over the entire collection of Ken Ishikawa’s Getter Robo manga series, it’s plots, themes, characters, and covers the various ideas this crazy and amazing sci-fi series covers.

Also, this retrospective will NOT cover the various anime adaptations, or the behind the scenes stuff that has gone on with Getter Robo over the years, such as Go Nagai being credited as the writer of the original manga despite only having come up with the overall concept and designs for it(the rest was by Ken Ishikawa), or the way that Ken went back and added in some extra chapters in the original two manga to explain some things and to tie the early manga more closely into what came after.

For the purposes of this retorspective, I will be focusing exclusively on the manga itself, and what it has to offer, without going into anything else.

And of course there is no place better to start, than the beginning.

So, what is the story of the original Getter Robo Manga?

Well, the overall plot of the original manga is about the conflict between two sides of a conflict, as laid out rather well in it’s prologue chapter.

The first is our protagonists, the Saotome Institute of Japan, who’s leader and namesake has invented the titular giant mecha, the Getter Robo.

Powered by a revolutionary newly discovered form of energy called “Getter Energy”, this enormous metal behemoth is a fighting machine unlike any other.

This war machine was originally supposed to be used for space exploration, but due to necessity, it has instead been reworked into a fighting machine.

It’s only weakness is that it requires 3 different living pilots to operate it to draw upon its full strength.

Opposing the Saotome Institute, is the forces of the Dinosaur Empire

An empire of humanoid Sentient Dinosaurs that long ago was forced to flee the Earth’s surface after it was bombarded with a strange kind of energy from space that was deadly to their kind, their only way to survive being to use their incredible technology to hide on the only place on Earth where the rays couldn’t reach them. The Earth’s very core.

Now, after millions of years underground, and the rays that forced them beneath the earth to begin with having seemingly ceased, they have finally returned to reclaim the earth’s surface for their own. At it’s disposal, it has incredible technology, and giant cyborg dinosaur monster in it’s quest to wipe out the newcomers, the human race, to achieve total dominance over the Earth.

If you think this premise sounds very generic, and you’ve seen it in some form or another in countless other Mecha series, you are not wrong. Ancient evil group attacking the protagonists, and only the new giant robot can stop it, probably the biggest stock plot in mecha overall, having been done in everything from Neon Genesis Evangelion to Megas XLR in some form or another. The set pieces and details are different, but the overall plot is the same.

However, where Getter Robo fits into this, is that it was one of the first giant robot manga there was, and many, many of the tropes and ideas it pioneered would be used and imitated by its successors.

In fact, I would argue that Getter is the second most influential mecha series in history, only second after it’s big cousin, Mazinger Z.

However, we are not here to detail how it influenced the manga industry, but how Getter holds up on it’s own, and in this regard, despite having a plot that has been overused time, and time again by it’s successors, this isn’t really that much of a problem for Getter Robo. Because like any good Mecha series, Getter’s biggest strength is it’s cast of characters.

Starting off in chapter 1, we are introduced to the first of the Robot’s giant pilots.

Ryoma Nagare.

Each of the pilots of Getter Robo is given an introductory mini-arc to set them up, and Ryoma’s is easily the best of the 3.

We are introduced to the main character of most of the franchise at a very unusual spot to open a main character, especially for a Shonen protagonist.

At the end of a revenge story.

To put it bluntly, Ryoma does not start off this series as a particularly likeable, nor good person, as his introductory scene is him crashing a perfectly legal martial arts tournament and beating the everloving shit out of it’s referee, it’s participants, and the judges who arranged it.

His reasons for doing all of this?

Revenge for his old man.

As it turns out, Ryoma had a massive beef with the arrangers for this contest, as his father, Ichigan Nagare was a pro karate champion back in the day, whose reputation was purposely destroyed by those arrangers.

Now he’s come to take revenge by utterly crushing their disciples on national television, to hammer in the point that his father’s martial arts was superior to theirs for all the world to see.

During this whole thing, we also get a very good look into how Ryoma thinks at this point in time.

When the arranger tries to appeal to the “Sacredness” of the Sport to get him to stand down, Ryoma laughs in his face, proclaiming that there is nothing sacred about combat at all. The only thing that matters is who emerges as the victor.

This is backed up by how he doesn’t show the least bit of compassion or honor to the first of the contestants he defeats, easily smashing him to the ground then gloating over him after having demonstrated the sheer difference in the combat prowess between the two of them.

He is very blunt about the fact that he believes that one should pursue strength for strenght’s sake alone, and never stop until you have crushed anyone who stands before you. Always train to get stronger, and always seek out those who can challenge you and beat them too.

Might makes right.

This is a REALLY good introduction for showcasing Ryoma as a character. How he thinks, his immense near superhuman strength, his ruthlessness, his pride in his own strength.

It also ties in directly into the themes of this series, as this kind of thinking is essentially Evolution itself boiled down to it’s bare core. The survival of the strongest. What is the point of Evolution after all, if not this? Those with the traits to survive and thrive will do so, while those who cannot, will be crushed by those who can, who in turn will pass down what made them successful to begin with.

Of course that is not what the actual message of this series is, but it is a concept that this series is rather blunt about, and it’s not a coincidence that the most prominent of all the main characters of this series began his journey while believing wholeheartedly into that ideal.

All in all this scene is just great, and it sets up Ryoma really well, as well as making it clear that this is a boy who has a lot of growing to do as a person.

And so, having achieved his life’s work that he’s trained for for years and years, Ryoma nagare quietly leaves the arena, leaving behind a dozen bruised, battered and broken men on the ground.

Of course this display of power has not gone unnoticed, as in the audience were two men from the Saotome Institute who came here hoping to find someone strong enough to pilot their giant robot.

As it happened, they just found one that fit the bill rather spectacularly.

Then in the next scene we are showcased Ryoma’s home.

Ryoma Nagare, a fighting genius that at the tender age of 16-17 smashed the greatest karate practitioners in Japan with ease while being outnumbered a dozen to one, lives in a ramshackle part of town, in a rundown old building that has broken windows, a leaking roof, and can at best be called a ramshackle cottage.

It’s a rather brutal contrast to the sight of the prestigious, well made and maintained karate tournament building we were just in.

Inside we find the sight of something else rather unusual for a Shonen protagonist. Having now achieved his goals, and avenged his father’s memory, Ryoma is slowly starting to come to the realization that this has all been one giant waste of time. He hasn’t actually earned anything on this journey. His father is dead, he’s still poor, and his only belongings is this shitty building and the clothes on his back.

As we learn here, Ryoma has spent his entire life being trained in martial arts, to insane degrees even for an adult man, much less for a child. All for the purpose of one day doing what he did today, and avenging his father’s memory.

This scene really hammers in the fact that for all his ridiculous strength, Ryoma is a child, and he has a child’s way of looking at things.

He thinks back fondly on being pitted against stray dogs in death matches, and he reveals here that in his mind, this was all about “Redeeming” martial arts somehow, as if this display would really change anything in the grand scheme of things within the sport.

It wasn’t of course. This was all about revenge. Everything Ryoma ever trained for was for this moment, this moment of what should have been absolute and total triumph as he achieved a truly spectacular victory and proved his father’s fighting style the best in all the land and he has proven that he himself is the strongest fighter in all Japan.

Instead he is coming to the realization that so many people that wasted their lives on vengeance have come to over the years. That it was all a giant waste of time.

Revenge is a suckers game.

Having achieved his goals, Ryoma has found them to be completely empty, and has nowhere to go. This is a really fascinating way to open up a character arc, as usually a character that learns the lesson that David Xanatos knew so well, happens either at the end, or somewhere later down their line. Ryoma however, learns it in the very first chapter, and now has to find something else to live for.

However, his soul searching is then interrupted by a few gentlemen from the Saotome institute.

Who immediately tries to kill him.

Now before I discuss the next part, I wanna praise this overall scene, because it really works great within the context of this chapter.

Ryoma has been introduced as a massive asshole, who firmly believes in the mantra of Might makes right, and he doesn’t feel any regret at having brutalized a dozen of innocent people, just the fact that he realizes that there was no real satisfaction to be had from it. Now the other shoe drops, and HE is attacked in his own home, completely unprovoked for reasons that frankly he has no personal involvement in on his own side. While this attack does have an in universe reason behind it, it main purpose is that it serves as a nice cathartic moment for the reader, as while he’s never going to legally punished for what just happened at the tournament, he is punished by the narrative for his actions, which is something i’ve seen far, far too many stories do over the years fail to do with asshole protagonists.

It also serves to put Ryoma’s current belief in Might Makes Right to the test. After all, aren’t these men doing exactly what he said that those who practice martial arts should do? Seek out those stronger than them, then crush them.

All of this makes it a shame that it is horribly undercut by the one, genuine stain on the original manga. Namely that one of the attackers is this guy.

And it’s at this moment you realise, oh yeah, this was made in 1970’s Japan. The unfortunate fact is that Mangaka of this period generally based their depiction of black people on early American comics(Which had plenty of this kind of artwork), and Ken Ishikawa was unfortunately not an exception to this rule.

He would THANKFULLY not repeat anything like this later down the line(his depiction of black people is far more natural and realistic in later manga), but hot damn is it both uncomfortable and distracting to read the pages with this guy. And it’s a real shame too, because frankly, not only is the following fight scene very good as a narrative punishment for Ryoma, but it’s just a good fight scene in general.

Unlike the Tournament fight, which was mainly a beatdown to establish Ryoma’s ridiculous strength, this is an actual fight, which showcases Ishikawa’s ability to draw energetic, exciting fight scenes where action flows very naturally.

It also shows that for the kind of ridiculous strength Ryoma possess, he isn’t some superhuman, as early in the brawls he’s heavily wounded by the rather mundanity of taking a throwing knife to the shoulder. This is in general something that makes action if Getter Robo stand out from other shonen series too. When characters, or Robots for that matter, takes hits, they rarely shrug them off with no problem, instead taking real, genuine damage that doesn't just instantly go away. They might power through them, but that isn’t the same as them disappearing into the ether.

In any case, the battle ends up outside the house when Ryoma is thrown through the wall.

He’s then forced to do the classic, catch the blade between the palms of his hands trope, which is depicted much more believable than most cases I’ve seen, as despite succeeding, it still left him bleeding from those palms.

Ryoma then redirects the blade into the big guy who is attacking him from behind, killing him. I really love how the artwork sells that this is a desperate move on Ryoma’s part. He is genuinely fighting for his life here, and he’s pulling out every trick he has to to win despite his wounds.

He then follows that up by ripping the blade out, and throwing it at the knife thrower guy. I also like that after doing so, he immediately falls flat on his ass, in a rather realistic manner(he is fighting in the rain after all, so the ground is undoubtedly pretty slippery.), while also showcasing the force of the throw. My only main complaint is that for this one panel Ken forgot to include the wound and the knife on his shoulder, as I think it would really sell just how desperate Ryoma is here if we’re visually reminded in the moment that, oh yeah, he’s powering through and using the arm whose shoulder has a knife in it to to throw this thing.

Thankfully, that missed opportunity for visual grittiness is more than made up for by the next part.

Having now effectively won the battle(I think the swordsman broke his foot in the fall, at least that’s how it looks), Ryoma suddenly realises that, holy shit, he just killed someone. The contrast between here and how he looked as he challenged the tournament fighters couldn’t be more different. The cooky, arrogant youth is completely gone, and you're reminded that Ryoma is just a kid. A kid who just had to kill someone. The bravado is completely gone, leaving only a kid who is tired, confused, in pain, and probably pretty scared.

He is then approached by the man who just had 3 grown ass men jump and attack him, Dr. Saotome.

Wounded, and mentally exchausted as he is, he is in no position to argue as Saotome declares that Ryoma is what he’s been looking for, and as one of his men rips the knife out of his shoulder, Ryoma screams before losing consciousness from the pain. Afterwards he is dragged into a car, and bandaged up.

Then as they're driving, the’re attacked by a giant flying dinosaur that grabs unto the car and flies away with it, Ryoma and Saotome barely managing to get out in time, alongside one of Saotome’s unlucky goons who breaks his neck in the fall.

And so ends Chapter one of Getter Robo.

All in all, other than the horribly racist black guy, this is a really good first chapter, that sets up Ryoma Nagare really, really well, showcasing his way of thinking, his origin, and where he needs to grow, while also showcasing his ludicrous strength, and that he is fully capable of going balls to the wall to win a fight, which will be showcased many, many times in this series. It also ends on a reminder of the fact that oh yeah, this is a series about one side vs dinosaurs, as Ryoma gets his first introduction into the enemy he will be fighting time, and again in this manga. It also gives a distinct first impression of just how ruthless Saotome is, as he is perfectly willing to send 3 dangerous goons on a teenager just to test his prowess in battle, which is absolutely going to come into play in future chapters.

All in all, it’s a good start. Not an amazing beginning, but certainly a good introduction to our first main character.

[dinner-djarin]

dar'manda (Mando x f!reader)

Chapter 1: The Only Way Out is Through

Summary: Things have been quiet since The Mandalorian's disappearing act on Nevarro. However, things change quickly at his sudden return, and the changes are sure to impact your own life. That is, if you don't screw it up for yourself.

Warnings: Canon typical violence, yearning/awkward flirting/reader doesn’t know how to act around Mando, Cara Dune lol (I feel like she needs a warning)

Word Count: 3.8k

Prologue - Next

In the weeks that the Mandalorian had been gone, things on Nevarro had taken a turn for the worse. Ever since making his grand escape, remaining Imperial officers seemed to get word of a Mandalorian bounty hunter gone rogue. He took some sort of “package” right out of their hands, and they really didn’t like that. So, they sent out every bounty hunter idiotic enough to go after a Mandalorian. And to double their efforts, they effectively made Nevarro their new base.

Well, that probably wasn’t exactly accurate, but either way it seemed like every stormtrooper left was sent to keep watch in case their prize ever returned.

You could not imagine that anyone would be stupid enough to come back to the place where they so flagrantly disregarded every rule of the Guild, and yet – there he was. Walking into town at the side of his...former boss. As he approached however, you noticed he probably wasn't there by choice. His hands were bound in front of him, and a muscley looking woman, with a very large gun, was not too far behind them. Well then, you think to yourself, I guess no one crosses the Guild, not even Mando.

Just as they enter town you being to consider the precarity of your own situation. With the town being occupied by stormtroopers, times are tough. Curfews have been put in place and wandering through town is highly discouraged. The marketplace has turned into a ghost town as people have become less and less inclined to spend time outside of their homes. They might come by for the basics, but business is definitely not what it used to be. So, you often find yourself with “free time” – moments you should realistically be working – where you instead spy on the invaders who have ruined your already unpleasant life. Basically, the exact thing you were doing in that very moment.

It's a matter of fate that he showed up just as you made your way to the town entrance. Even more so when you overhear a conversation between the Guild leader and the Mandalorians captor.

“Things got really heated once Mando crashed the safehouse” you hear the Guild leader say.

“Slip him his blaster” whispers the woman. These words bring you utter confusion. Did she mean slip Mando his blaster?

“Not yet,” he says under his breath.

And suddenly you are more confused than before. Why would she say something like that? How did any of this make sense? You’re thankful you were not seen as they pass by you, but you think you perceive a subtle change in the reflection from the shiny metal helmet that your eyes have been locked on to. His gaze fell to the metal orb that was trailing the trio through the city centre. When he looked back up however, he did not return his gaze to the direction he had been looking previously. Now you think, and you know it’s completely self-centred of you to do so, but you feel like he is staring straight at you. You don't think he would be able to see into the shadows that were providing your cover, but something about the angle of his visor as he walks by sends a shiver down your spine.

The three of them and the metal orb enter the cantina and you adjust your position in attempt for a better view. Only a few minutes later does a blaster shot eviscerate the long transparisteel window on the front wall of the building, allowing you a glimpse of the chaos inside. A plethora of various blaster bolts ricochet through the building, evidence that the situation was drastically more complicated than you initially observed. However, the next events prove that things could still get worse for the group inside.

From the safety of your hiding spot, you see the scene unfold. The entire courtyard of the village is filled with stormtroopers in seconds, and then you hear it. The unmistakable screech that has haunted you since you were young. A sound that would forever be branded into your head, as it signaled the end of your childhood. The last time you heard that sound was the last time you saw your father and brother.

The Tie Fighter lands right in front of the cantina, completely blocking your view of any further events. You take that as your sign to get the hell out of there, knowing the level of destruction that is sure to follow. Even with the high amount of adrenaline pumping through your veins, you manage to keep a level head and find your way back to the marketplace, where most other citizens are gathered.

You quickly alert everyone to the impending danger nearby, and although some are slow to react, they begin to gather their belongings and search for safety.

Luckily, you recall a nearby alley that would lead to the part of town furthest away from the calamity, and you tell them all to make their way there immediately. Once you were sure that no one was left behind you head towards the alley only for an explosion to go off somewhere near the cantina. And although the source of the blast is far enough away not to injure you, the shockwave ripples through a one of the buildings, whose integrity was already questionable, causing it to crumble and block your previously secure exit route. With your mind in panic mode, you glance over to a spot which had caught your eye a hundred times before, a spot you kept noticing the Mandalorian disappear to.

You quickly run for cover hoping no other buildings decide to fall apart in the meantime, and you find the passageway was actually concealing a staircase which led to the sewers. Unsure of where to go next, your adrenaline high mind keeps you moving fast, taking random turns, having no understanding of where the tunnels lead to and where the safest exit may be. It wasn't until you rapidly took a corner and ran straight into an armoured chest plate that your mind stopped running wild.

A few second too late you realize it wasn’t the armour you would have hoped to see. The Mandalorians captor stands in front of you, with a package wrapped in her arms. Beside her is the Guild leader. You stand there dumbstruck and panting, unsure of what move to make.

The Guild leader approaches you, but you recoil, stepping back.

“What did you do to him?” is all you can think to growl at them.

“He’s just sleeping.” She attempts to assure you, “Wait how do you know the kid?” the woman asks, evidently confused by your accusation.

“What kid? No, the Mandalorian. You captured him. I saw you two walk in to town with him handcuffed”

“Young lady, I think you are confused. Please allow me to explain our situation.” the leader states, taking another step closer to you. This time you stand your ground, making clear you want answers.

He explains his name is Greef Karga, and the woman is Cara Dune, an ex-rebel shock trooper. And despite walking into town with Mando handcuffed by their sides, they were actually all in on the plan together. However, it seems that once they got inside things went south, a habit Mando seemed to be making for himself. It turns out that this elaborate scheme was set in place in an attempt to save a tiny green baby from the Empire, which now rests in the woman’s – Cara’s – arms.

You have no idea what to think. There's no way any of this can be true. Although, you then recall the conversation you overheard as they entered the town, and everything else seems to line up with your own experiences of the past hour.

You also realize that the Child must be the reason Mando went rogue in the first place. And after sneaking a peak at his resting wrinkly face, you completely understand why. After only one look, you’d probably jump in front of speeder for that little guy.

But before you can make up your mind on whether to believe Karga or not, Mando rounds the corner being supported by a very tall, very thin droid that you recognize to be an IG unit. As they approach, Cara hands off the baby to the droid and attempts to support Mando, and for some maker-forsaken reason you decide to help too. As you slide your arm under Mando’s shoulder and rest your hand on his back you feel him tense – you know you’ve made a mistake. But it’s too late to turn back now, so you carry some of his weight and continue on down the ominous path. The only way out, is through.

Your mind is running at 100 parsecs per hour. This is the closest, physically, you’ve been to anyone in years, and if that weren't enough you seem to be in the middle of both your wildest dream and worst nightmare. You can’t remember the last time you were tucked under someone's arm, and pressed up against them so tightly, if you ever were. And in your panicked state you start to realize you’ve basically been holding your breath this whole time, making your heart beat erratically and your head throb. But just as you think you might pass out from your stupidity, the Mandalorians voice shakes you back to reality.

“Stop.” His word sends you into a new panic. Were you thinking out loud? Could he read your heartbeat through his helmet? Did he know what a complete mess you were at his touch? “I can stand,” he says, finishing his thought.

Oh thank the gods.

He lets go of you and switches something in his helmet to look for tracks, and you allow yourself to finally take a deep breath.

“We’re close,” he states. After a moment of stabilizing your heartbeat and focussing on your breath900, you quicken your pace, subtly placing yourself just behind Mando’s left shoulder as he leads the group through the tunnel. You’re close enough to catch when he mumbles, “I know you.”

“And I know you,” you respond playfully, disregarding the severity of the situation you’ve found yourself in. You’re not quite sure how Mando’s mere presence can affect you so brutally, to the point of forgetting how to act like a normal human being.

“From the market.” He doesn’t ask.

“That’s me, good to see you in one piece. I was worried when I heard about the stunt you pulled. Crossing the guild...not sure I've ever heard of anyone getting away with that.” Oh man why are you talking so much. You just need to shut up now. Literally no one wants to hear-

“Worried?” a hint of genuine curiosity hidden in his question. Well of course he found the one word in your entire sentence that incriminates you. There’s no way he doesn’t know about your crush now.

“Umm well of course, I think everyone was. It’s all anyone could talk about for weeks. Nothing that exciting has happened around here in a while,” you quickly blurt out. He turns his head for a moment and examines you.

He is silent, evidently noticing the way you awkwardly avoided his question. You stare at him trying with every muscle in your face to remain composed. You know he sees right through you – must be that bullshit reader – but you think if you maintain eye contact long enough, he’ll just move on from your stupidity. And he does.

“How did you get here?” He returns to his task of following footprints. The question and abrupt change in topic jars you, although if you had to guess, you think he must have picked up on your complete awkwardness, possibly confusing it for suspicious behaviour. You hope he doesn’t think you untrustworthy because if it.

“There were explosions, and I tried to help everyone out, but the path became blocked and the only way out was some curtain hiding a staircase.” Your explanation, you realize, now sounds completely ridiculous, especially in the flustered manner you are depicting it in. Even so, you continue, “I went to hide but it turns out it led straight down here. So, I tried to find an exit, but I bumped into them instead,” you finish, glancing behind you towards Cara and Karga.

“If you came in from the market you should have passed the covert,” Mando stated almost accusingly, increasing your worry over whether he thought trusted your story.

“I’m not sure I didn’t really see any-” but his question is immediately answered by the pile of discarded Mandalorian armour in front of you.

The Mandalorian stops, and you can see just how suddenly his body language changed. Even injured, he looked deadly as he led you through the tunnels, but at the sight of the remnants of his clan, he is weak. You can feel the sadness, remorse, and pain emanating from him all at once. And as you stand beside him you barely realize you’ve gently reached for his hand, gripping it tight and squeezing it to convey your condolence for his immense loss.

But after a moment, he moved forward and away from your grasp to kneel at the sight of his fallen brethren. Cara suggests the group leave, but he won’t. He will not leave the armour in its discarded state.

Suddenly, the mood shifts, and you see the Mandalorian transform before your eyes. He storms towards Karga, accusing that he and the Guild members must be responsible. Karga denies, but you think Mando might be on the verge of strangling him when suddenly another modulated voice fills the tunnel.

A golden warrior stands before you. Her presence shocks you. It reveals some element rooted deep, a feeling you can only describe as warm… or familiar? She explains, as she gathers the scattered armour, how revealing the covert brought the presence of Imperials. When Mando offers her to join him, she rejects, maintaining that her place is to gather the remains of her people.

You all follow her into a small room with a forge in the centre of it. “Show me the one who’s safety deemed such destruction,” she demands.

“This is the one,” Mando responds. Gesturing to the baby that was wrapped tight to the IG unit’s chest.

“This is the one that you hunted, then saved?” she asks.

“Yes. The one that saved me as well.” And with that statement you find both an answer, and more questions. That baby saved him? How the-

“From the mudhorn?” she asks.

“Yes.” he responds, making you even more confused than ever. The baby saved him from a mudhorn?

“It looks helpless” she states.

“It’s injured, but it is not helpless. Its species can move objects with its mind.” As if this conversation could get any weirder. Move objects...with its MIND.

The Armourer begins to detail battles between Mandalore the Great and some species of wizards; the species this child belongs to. She also tells Mando that he is now responsible for the baby – his foundling. And finally, she tasks him with finding these sorcerers and returning the baby to them. When Mando questions the outrageous turn of events the woman has only four words in response:

“This is the Way.” Suddenly that warm comfort you felt before resurges, but only for a moment, as Cara reminds the group of the urgency of their situation. You need to find a way out before Imperials catch your tracks. The Armourer then suggests the group find a river of lava that will lead all of you out of the tunnels. Right…

River of lava, or Imperial Troopers. What the heck did you get yourself into? Either way it seems you don’t have much of a choice. After receiving a mudhorn signet on his pauldron, the Armourer pronounces that he and the child are bound as father and son; a clan of two. Cute little family they’ll make. When the droid gets ready to defend the group from incoming Imps, it hands Cara the child who looks very uncomfortable with it, so she passes him to you.

Stunned and confused you look to the Mandalorian who shows no sign of discomfort with you holding his now adopted son, not that you’d probably be able to tell. Either way, it seems you’ve acquired a new responsibility.

Blaster fire rings just outside the room as the woman hands Mando some flying contraption, and your group decides you might need to get a move on.

You approach the lava river, only to notice the boat has melted to the docking point. Karga and Mando struggle to free it, but Cara just gives you a smug look. “You boys mind getting out of the way?” she warns only to blast the points where the boat was attached, successfully freeing it from its molten chains.

The boat quickly begins to drift from the dock, but just as you start to lift your foot over the edge to make your way inside, you feel a strong hand against your lower back, guiding you the rest of the way. Once you steady yourself on the boat you glance up at the visor which is pinned straight ahead, unwavering and unwilling to meet your gaze. His seemingly disinterested reaction makes you anxious to know the true intention of his touch. He must just realize your safety is attached to the bundle you are currently cradling against your chest. Obviously, he is only looking out for the child, you just happen to be the person responsible for his transportation. If Cara were the one holding his son, he’d probably be helping her instead. Right? Simple as that.

Even so, you can't help but notice the way his hand flexes after it returns to his side.

For just a moment your mind slips, and you let yourself think that there might be something there. That the short conversations and fleeting looks shared all those weeks ago might have held more weight than you believed. That when you were admiring his head-to-toe armor upgrade, he may have been examining you back. That he might have actually liked the fact that you worried about him in his absence. You allow yourself to think that underneath that metal, stands a man who might be gentle, and kind. A man who helps you into a boat when he himself is injured. One who is willing to leave behind everything he knows in order to ensure the security of a child.

You snap back to reality, however, when Karga notices the light at the end of the tunnel. But just when you think that your journey is almost over, Mando informs you otherwise. A battalion of stormtroopers line the edges of your only exit route. No one in your group can come up with any satisfactory solution, until the IG unit comes forward.

“They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child. This is unacceptable. I will eliminate them, and you will escape.”

Mando is quick to point out that the droid would never make it past the troopers, but the droid insists. Apparently, his manufacturer's protocol dictates that he cannot be captured and must self-destruct. He asks that Mando look over the Child once he is gone, and you swear you can hear a hint of sadness through his filtered voice. Your hypothesis is confirmed by the IG unit, and your heart warms slightly for the metal man. The droid reaches over to say goodbye to the child for the last time, patting him gently on the head, then steps into the lava river and heads down towards the mouth of the cave. You all stare silently as you watch him approach the troopers when suddenly-

Fire consumes your vision, and it overwhelms your senses. Not having actually seen an explosion in your life you seem to be the only one on the boat who is at all fazed by the sudden wall of heat and deafening boom created by IG-11’s sacrifice. In the process you cover the child with your body and wince back into the hard wall behind you. Cradling the child and shielding yourself, you almost don’t notice when the wall grabs your hip and steadies you in front of it.

Suddenly, you’re flushed with embarrassment, realizing all at once the wall was the Mandalorian and both of his hands were still gripped onto you, holding you tight against his chest plate.

But your shock only lasts a moment before the unsettling screech of a Tie Fighter pierced your ears for the second time that day. And before you could process, the Mandalorian was using his body as a shield, protecting you and the child from the blasts, and simultaneously shooting at the new threat barreling towards your group.

Will this day ever end, is the only thought in your head before Mando is flying through the air using the jetpack given to him by the Armourer only minutes ago. However, you distinctly remember her saying he would need time to get used to it before it would ‘listen to his commands’. Nevertheless, he jerks through the sky in a desperate attempt to bring the Tie down.

You watch as one of the wings are ripped off by an explosion and the tie crashes to the ground. The Mandalorian lets go just in time and falls quickly towards the ground, igniting his jetpack at the last second to make a rough landing right in front of you.

The child squirms in your arms at the first sign of peace so you set him down gently. He awkwardly runs over to Mando and hugs his leg, creating possibly the cutest sight you had ever seen. Again, your heart can’t help but melt for the new little family, and you wonder how these two are going to get by. A child with magical powers, and a father who’s built to kill. Not a pairing you would bet on.

Cara and Karga then try to convince Mando to stay on Nevarro and help the both of them sort out the aftermath of today's events. But the Mandalorian insists on sticking to his mission. The child is now his first priority and finding a group of near-extinct ancient sorcerers does not sound like easy work.

“We have a long road ahead of us, but the journey is necessary. I must return him to his kind, no matter how long it takes.” You hear him reason with the pair, refusing their kind offers to remain on the planet with them.

If you know one thing about the Mandalorian it's that everything he does is completely intentional. No one could force Mando into something he doesn’t want to do. If he is sure of this path, he will follow it through till the end.

And from your short interactions, you know he spends time forming his thoughts in order to get his point across. Each sentence is carefully crafted so that they are clear and concise. You know he means every word.

Maybe that's why the next words out of his mouth come as a complete shock to you.

“Would you like to join us?” he asks directly to you.

What the kriffing heck did he just say? You're so taken aback that you embarrassingly bark out your response, your brain evidently getting no time to process the question, so instead if vomits out the first word it can think of: “No”.

You follow it with polite ‘thank you’s’, hoping to erase the awkward tension in the air, and the Mandalorian jetpacks off with the child leaving you to dwell on your utter stupidity.

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

Chapter 2

Notes: Honestly, I hate this chapter too wow. I really spent so long trying to edit this into something I could bare to publish, but I still really hate it. I did not want to write a chapter like this, but I also needed a way to put the reader into the story and the only way I could think to do that was by using an existing episode. So here we are. But I SWEAR, after this it gets good. Like not only does the story get good, but so does my own writing (relatively) so if you just bare through this, I think you’ll enjoy the rest.

Taglist: @peppywitch @tobealostwanderer @thecraftyartist

If you wanna be included in the tag list let me know! The next parts are gonna get great. I hope

[scourgewins]

A Bendy and the Ink Machine and Good Omens Crossover (Chapter 1)

(I felt inspired to write the scenario in this roleplay brought up in this ask. I’m not sure how many chapters there’ll be; it probably won’t be a lot. I’m super nervous to post this for some reason! We’ll see how this goes!)

(Warnings: None)

Joey was halfway through writing his first name when he chucked his pencil at the far wall and dropped his head onto his desk, shutting his eyes. He opened them after a few seconds to let them travel slowly up the stack of papers next to him. He made a face of dismay, mustache bristling angrily.

“So much work…” he groaned quietly to himself, closing his eyes again. Maybe he could just will it all to be done. If he thought really hard, it would all be complete and he could do something far less mind-numbingly dull. When he cracked an eye open, the paper hadn’t budged and somehow seemed larger than before. Heaving a sigh, he lifted his head off the desk, noticing where he’d signed as “Jo” on the paper he’d been going over.

He couldn’t possibly be expected to do all of this. That was just plain inhumane. I need help…

He dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. Everyone in the studio was working double-time to meet the next deadline. If he pulled someone to come help him, some part of the next cartoon would inevitably suffer. No, that could never be allowed to happen.

Perhaps one of his cartoon children could help. Joey’s face brightened then dimmed. Neither Bendy, Boris, or Alice could read or write fluently. Plus, they’d all become distracted within the first minute of helping; reading over reports and signing papers wasn’t exactly the kind of fun a toon went for.

He was truly on his own. Unless…

Now here was an idea!

He could summon a demon to help him!

Joey leaped to his feet and started to pull open the drawers of his desk, withdrawing his ritual book, some candles, and an inkwell and brush. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? A demon could read any sort of contract in seconds and forge any signature. He’d be done in no time!

Humming happily to himself, Joey got to work drawing the pentagram and setting the candles just so. He flipped through his book and found the passage on summoning a low level demon. No need for any major evil entities; those could be quite a handful.

Joey started to recite the chant, realizing too late a blob of ink had landed on a few of the words. Panicking, he improvised what he wanted to say, hoping his Latin was up to snuff.

I summon thee, demon of the highest level. (He said highest because the highest level of Hell belongs to the least evil of the lot. The lowest levels are where the really bad folks go. It was something he’d learned the hard way.)

The circle began to glow red hot, and Joey backed away quickly, hoping against hope whatever came out wouldn’t incinerate him on the spot. There was a whoosh as red hot Hellfire erupted upward. Joey felt his blood run cold despite the heat. That was definitely a bad sign.

He could see the vague figure of a demon in the middle of the inferno. They were tall, much taller than Joey. As the flames died down, the summoner was able to ascertain more details about what he had summoned.

The demon’s hair was as red as the flames lapping at it and stylishly slicked back from his forehead. For a second, Joey thought the gaping black circles on his face were his eyes, but on second glance could see they were sunglasses. The demon wore a full black suit, complete with a gray tie. His hands were stuffed in his pockets but withdrew to steady their owner as he adjusted to his new surroundings. Then he was straightening from the slight slouch he was in and locking eyes with Joey.

Joey held his breath and clutched his ritual book to his chest. Should I call for help? Maybe if I move fast enough I’ll make it to the door. Is this a high-ranking demon? Oh boy, I’ve really put my foot in it now.

The demon stepped out of the circle as the last of the flames died away. He eyed Joey up and down from behind his glasses, sizing him up.

Joey felt he should say something, “Uh…”

“Where am I?” the demon interrupted. He had what Joey believed to be an English accent.

“You’re in Joey Drew Studios.”

The demon rolled his hand, motioning for him to continue, “And that would be in…”

“Oh! New York… in the United States of America!”

The demon threw his head back to sigh loudly, “Of course! It had to be across the blasted ocean!”

He faced forward again and slouched into a more relaxed stance, not at all putting Joey at ease, “Look, I don’t do the whole ‘selling your soul’ thing, alright? And I’m not going to do you any demonic favors, so you can go right ahead and send me back.”

Joey blinked, “Well, uh, okay, Mister…”

“Crowley.” Crowley supplied through gritted teeth.

“...Crowley, I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get the portal up and running right away.”

“And why is that?” Crowley asked after a beat, taking one menacing step forward. Joey took one step back and met with the wall. He pressed his back against it and tried for a reassuring smile.

“I can’t do a ritual immediately after finishing another one. I need time to recharge!”

“You look well enough to me.” the demon said.

“Yes, well, I’ve had practice. But it is always harder to send demons back than to summon them, especially one from so far away a place as… England, right?”

“How long will this recharging take?”

Joey pondered for a few seconds, “I don’t think it should take more than an hour, plus a few extra minutes to get the summoning circle back in order. You’ll be home in no time!”

“I’d better be.” Joey gulped at those ominous words.

“Yeah, uh, sorry again about all this. I just wanted a lesser demon to help me with some paperwork. Not that you’re lesser!” Joey hastened to add, “I just, um… said the wrong words…”

Crowley raised an eyebrow, “You wanted me to help with your... paperwork?”

“Not you! Some demon, yes.” Joey nodded to the stack on his desk, “It was becoming really boring.”

Crowley followed his gaze then turned back to him, ”Let me get this straight: you summoned a demon from Hell to assist you with office work?”

Joey nodded, “Yup!”

The sunglasses on Crowley’s face started to slip down his nose, enough for Joey to see slit-pupiled, yellow eyes underneath. The demon readjusted them and shook his head, “Usually people want me to give them a paper that they sign.”

Joey waved the notion aside, “Oh, I did that a long time ago. Feel free to roam the studio while I get everything back in order! He slapped a hand to his face, “Oh, silly me! You don’t even know what this studio’s for, do you?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

Joey ignored him. Generally, ignoring a demon was not a wise course of action, but Joey tended to get excited when talking about his beloved studio.

“This here’s an animation studio! We create state of the art cartoons for your viewing pleasure. Our title character is even a demon!” Joey gestured to one of the posters on his wall. Crowley gave it a once over then turned back.

“Not really into cartoons.”

Joey gasped loudly, “Not into cartoons?! That’s probably only because you haven’t seen one of ours before. I’ll have to have one of my employees show one to you, or, er, I guess they are all pretty busy…”

Crowley sighed, “Look, I don’t care about this little cartoon empire of yours. I’ve got a lot of work to do myself, back in London. I need you to send me back as soon as possible. Are we clear on that?”

Joey sagged in disappointment but still nodded.

“Perfect. I’m gonna go for a stroll, and when I come back in an hour’s time, I expect the portal to be ready.” The demon snapped his fingers and the door to Joey’s office flung open. Giving Joey one last commanding look, he sauntered out, the door slamming behind him.

Joey noticed he’d kept an iron tight grip on his ritual book and relinquished it now, letting it flop on his desk. He collapsed into his chair and again looked at the stack of paperwork. If it wasn’t for the circle still painted on his floor, Joey might have thought he’d imagined everything.

Alright, now to figure this out. Joey hadn’t been entirely truthful with Crowley. He did need time to recharge, yes, but the summoning had been fairly simple and he would have been okay to perform another ritual when he’d been asked. There was just the simple problem of Joey being not entirely sure what he’d done the first time. The ink blot on the page had forced him to recite Latin on the spot. He had a rough idea of what he’d said, but it had clearly backfired, seeing as how who he’d summoned was definitely not a lesser demon and definitely not one to be trifled with.

It’ll be fine, he told himself, You’ve got this!

For his own sake, he hoped he was right.

[vagrantblvrd]

Been Here Before (1/1)

Summary: Michael’s made a lot of questionable decisions in his life.

Notes: Michael's character wearing the Tron suit in recent GTA V videos gave me the idea for an alternate version of A Place So Dark where he's the one who dies instead of Gavin. (And then has the whole supernatural shenanigans happen to him. Because reasons.)

(Read on AO3)

Michael’s made a lot of questionable decisions in his life.

Just about everything he’s ever done in life would fall under that category when he thinks about it, because they all led to him ending up in Los Santos.

Which, fine.

Made sense in its own when way considering the whole questionable choices thing – of fucking course he’d end up in a city like Los Santos before long.

But then he had the bad luck to run into Gavin, didn’t he. Let his guard down and let the little shit into his life, let him burrow under his skin to the point he couldn't imagine life without him in it.

Got soft. Got stupid.

Made the mistake of thinking they could do better than their shitty little apartment and the shit Michael did to pay his share of the rent, put food on the table. The terrible things he did and fought tooth and nail to keep Gavin from finding out about.

Squirreled away money here and there, took riskier and riskier jobs hoping he could use the extra money to get them out of Los Santos.

Get them to somewhere closer to normal where he could look into getting an honest job, get out of the criminal life and all that Vinewood happily ever bullshit.

Oh, no mistake where he’d end up when he bit it, not with the things he’d done. But maybe, maybe, he could pretend for a little while.

Live the white picket lifestyle as long as he could and hope it would be enough. (Getting Gavin the hell out of Los Santos alone would have been worth it. Get him settled in a city where he could have a normal life was what Michael wanted.)

But then he’d run into Rat-face and Carmine and Michael’s had to learn the hard way not to ask too many questions, doing what he did, but those two?

They made his skin crawl, left a bad taste in his mouth.

Carmine was a petty, vicious bastard and Rat-face didn’t seem to have anything resembling a conscience.

Gave Michael job and expected him to carry them out, no questions asked.

And he did, for a while.

Figured the poor bastards they sent him after deserved it.

No such thing as an innocent in this line of work, this kind of city, or so he told himself. A job’s a job and he was getting paid a lot to handle their little problems so he kept his head down and did what they told him to even if he hated himself for it.

But then they wanted him to send a message to some asshole, remind him who he worked for.

“The hell does his wife have to do with this?” he’d asked, unthinking, stunned by the sudden shift.

Missed the look that passed between Carmine and Rat-face as he’d stared at the photo they’d given him to ID her, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. (All too aware he was in too deep to back out now, that Carmine and Rat-face wouldn’t just let him walk away with everything he knew.)

“We’ve got a newbie,” Rat-face had said, tone to his voice setting off alarms in the back of Michael’s head. “We want you to show him the ropes.”

And Michael -

In too deep to back out, secrets – people – of his own to protect and he’d known then there wouldn’t be a happy ending for him.

He’d been right, of course.

Carmine and Rat-face saddling him with this asshole with a sour face who didn’t like him one fucking bit. Looked at Michael like he knew he wasn’t cut from the same cloth as him, as Carmine and Rat-face, but too low down in the pecking order to just come out and say it.

Ignored Michael when he told the fucker to hold back when they started following the wife. Told him they should learn her habits, routines first before they killed her. Left the message Carmine wanted to get across to her husband.

Made it ugly, messy, and almost got them caught by the cops and so damn smug like he’d done something good.

Michael knew he was living on borrowed time after that. Knew it was only a matter of tie until they had Sour-face put a bullet in his back if they didn’t do it themselves and he started planning.

Intended to take what he knew and go to someone who could do something with it, put Carmine and Rat-face and that empire they were building and bring it tumbling down. Cut deals here and there, called in favors.

Did what he could to keep Gavin clear of it all because Michael knew he’d end up in jail after the dust settled – if he was lucky If Carmine and Rat-face didn’t catch wind of what he was up to. Wanted to make sure Gavin didn’t get caught up in any of it by association, tried to set things up so he’d be out of Los Santos when it happened. Surprise him with a trip home to see Dan again, but he never got the chance to set that part of things in motion.

Carmine and Rat-face and all of Michael’s shitty choices in life that got him killed.

“Fucking hell,” Michael mutters, pressing the heel of his hand to his chest.

Memory of a gunshot still fresh in his mind and Carmine’s face filling his field of view.. Stench of the warehouse they kept him in those last few days, pain and blood and questions he never gave them the right answers to. (Gavin on the other end of them, and Jeremy and the handful of people Michael refused to hand over to those fuckers.)

And what does he get for all of it?

Fucking gray.

Cold and choking as it creeps in through his mouth and nose and snakes its way down his throat and into his lungs.

The goddamned bike.

Sleek little thing like something Vinewood would dream up for some dumb movie. Low-profile and glowing softly. Pulsing in time with the beat of Michael’s heart along with the stupid suit he’s wearing.

It's not what he was expecting when Carmine pulled the trigger.

Thought he’d land in some approximation of hell, or more likely nothing at all.

Just bang, no more Michael Jones, colossal fuck up.

Not...this.

There’s a tug in the back of his mind, someone – something – that wants him to get on the bike. Do something instead of stand there and sort through his jumbled memories like an idiot trying to figure out how the hell he ended up here.

(Terrible life choices.)

There’s a low growl from the bike, impatient, and Michael laughs because what the actual hell is his life? (Afterlife?)

“Fuck off,” he says, and looks around.

Gray as far as the eye can see, like mist rising off the ground and this chill in his bones.

No one else around. Nothing else around except for the damn bike and the sense he’s wasting time, tick-tock, get a fucking move on Michael Jones.

Vague memories of shows he watched with his family, friends, as a kid. Spirits and ghost and all their unfinished business and is that what he is now?

Carmine shot him in that warehouse and here he is. No trace of what that fucker did to him to show for it aside from the memories. (Phantom pain and the anger simmering in his chest the bike seems to echo.)

Middle place between heaven and hell and this sense of growing urgency to do something before time runs out and no idea where to start with that.

Another growl from the bike, and maybe, maybe, if things weren't so weird Michael would pass it off as an engine that needs to be tuned. Something off with it, who the fuck knows.

But here and now?

It feels angry, in the back of his head. Like something alive, and when he walks over to it, lays his hand on the bike it feels warm.

Just about the only thing in the place that does, himself included.

Could be the fact it’s a bike and the engine’s been running the whole time, but he doesn’t think that’s it.

“What the fuck,” Michael mutters, because the anger seething in his head stills for a moment.

Goes quiet and still and the growling stops. Feels like he’s being watched, weighed and measured and who the fuck knows what happens if he’s found wanting.

(Trapdoor opens and he falls into hell where he belongs, or his stupid brain made all of this up and he wakes back up in that damn warehouse to live his last moments, maybe.)

The bike snarls, low and furious and Michael pulls his hand back. Stares at the damn thing, because what does that even mean?

“Use your fucking words,” Michael mutters, but it’s a bad joke, some weird reflex after being around Gavin so long and the way he just...doesn’t sometimes. Bird noises and Gavin noises and unintelligible gibberish he claimed were British slang but were just Gavin-isms. “Fucking seriously.”

The bike’s headlights snap on, piercing through the unrelenting gray around them like a beacon and Michael -

Hell if he knows what he’s doing anymore, because he tosses what common sense he has to him along with the last shred of caution, and grabs the helmet resting on the seat.

Whatever the bike wants him to do has to be better than this.

========

Surprise, surprise, Michael was wrong.

Again.

For starters, he’s been dead for a while. (Was dead? Fuck knows what he is now.)

He’s been dead for a while and Gavin is off playing junior detective.

Cozying up to Carmine and Rat-face because he’s good with computers and Michael missed the part where Gavin wasn’t as squeaky clean as he thought.

“Fucking Christ,” Michael mutters, because Gavin is an idiot who’s going to get himself killed.

Couldn’t buy whatever story the cops fed him about Michael's death and went looking for answers and goddamn this is a clusterfuck.

Gavin’s set himself up in a shitty little apartment, mess everywhere and a complete disaster in the making.

“You idiot,” Michael says, heart aching because Gavin should have forgotten all about him and moved on, but like the idiot he is, he didn’t. “You goddamned idiot.”

========

Somewhere on the south side of the city, a warehouse is on fire.

Before things got to that point however, there was general chaos and screaming. Gunfire, followed by an explosion and then actual fire. (Hence the warehouse being on fire.)

There was also Gavin about to get a bullet to the head and Michael’s careful plans for the night had gone to shit.

(Go in. Fuck shit up. Get out. Not a complicated plan, but it’s all he needs at this stage of things.)

God, just the thought of it – of Gavin sticking his nose where it has no business being – makes Michael angry all over again. Has him doing an about face and stalking over to the little idiot in question.

They’ve had little run-ins before this, Michael watching Gavin dig himself even deeper into Michael’s mess and helpless to stop him because Gavin.

Terrified something like this would happen and lucky as hell to be in a position to save Gavin from himself.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?”

Gavin just stares at him.

Stares and stares and stares, and the longer he does the angrier Michael gets.

He knows Gavin, can guess at what stupid explanations – excuses – he’s about to give him and all that anger burning away inside Michael gets tangled up in the fear and worry for Gavin until they might as well be the same thing.

“Michael?” Gavin says, so damn quiet.

Staring at Michael like he’s seen a ghost and Michael stares back until he realizes he’s still wearing his helmet.

No way for Gavin to know it was him until Michael snapped and started yelling at him, and even then Michael's supposed to be dead, isn’t he.

Died in an accident and why the hell anyone bothered with coming up a story as flimsy as that he’ll never know. Not like Carmine and Rat-face couldn’t have slipped the authorities a little bribe and spinning some sordid tale of Michael’s misdeeds in life. Paint him as just another scumbag getting their just rewards here in Los Santos, but whatever.

Michael pulls the helmet off and scowls at Gavin. Holds tight to his anger to hide how scared he is. (All the things he never got around to telling Gavin he should have made time for. The shit that got him killed, that almost got Gavin killed. Where they go from here.)

“Yeah,” Michael says, and the anger’s still with him (always), but the way Gavin’s looking at him, it doesn’t make it into his voice. “Yeah, it’s me idiot.”

Gavin makes this noise, some godawful thing Michael never wants to hear again because it’s too raw of a sound, broken and wrong, coming from someone like Gavin, and then the fucker tackles Michael.

Michael’s helmet gets knocked out of his hands, bounces somewhere past their feet as he catches Gavin, chokes a little when Gavin latches on tight. Lanky limbs and ungainly as hell but Jesus fuck does he have a hold on Michael, arms wrapped around him like he never wants to let go and hell if Michael doesn’t feel the same.

Carmine and Rat-face are still out there. Michael’s still living on borrowed time with all his unfinished business, but like hell if he won’t make time for this.

(Just this once.)

[marybeatriceofmodena]

(1/2) I agree with everything you say but I'm too afraid to say so myself. Especially because if you don't agree 100% with how Rey is being portrayed, folks think you're being misogynistic. I wish we could be more open to discussion. You can love a movie or a character and still don't agree with certain aspects of them. For example, yes, Kylo became Supreme Leader, but his "victory" was undermined 5 minutes later when Luke trolled him in front of the fo and what was left of the resistance.

continued: (2/2) His win felt like a loss, which is a good thing for redemption, but it means two failures in a row nonetheless. In other hand, Rey’s biggest loss was being wrong about Ben Solo and her parents. Yes, she made mistakes but they didn’t bring her consequences she wasn’t able to overtake in the same movie. At the end, her bad choices don’t stop her from becoming the resistance savior. It feels like she can’t do no wrong, which makes it hard to sympathize with her as much as I can with Kylo.

*

Well, I think the problem why people are a bit more “jumpy” is that there have been a lot of bad takes - on both sides of the debate. I’ve seen some pretty bad anti-Rey/pro-Ben takes myself. Like, I prefer seeing them as two flawed individuals who ended up fucking it all up because of their flaws, and because of a lack of communication? 

I might also be influenced by how star-crossed lovers stories usually go: it often happens that lovers in star-crossed romances are separated due to outdated or bad societal conventions - that’s actually EXACTLY what happened with Anakin and Padmé. And honestly, if I was writing IX, I’d follow Rose’s words about “saving what we love, not destroying what we hate” to heart, and have the war end not by the Noble Resistance/Rebellion defeating the Evil First Order/Empire (because c’mon, it’s the OT all over again, you can do better), but by people overcoming their differences, working together, and ultimately show how absurd war is. 

That’s what TLJ was about, especially in respects to the Finnrose plot: both Finn and Rose discover that the people behind the war machine don’t care about who’s the bigger dog in the galaxy and all that matters is your own personal gain - and the First Order, as well as the Resistance, all play a part in oiling that machine. Not to mention that Solo was basically an introduction to the underground crime world, who also make their profits out of weapon dealing, so I don’t think that was a coincidence. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t stand against oppression and injustice - you absolutely should, since the opposite would be going against what Star Wars has always been about. 

But war is what has always been the cause of every single trial the heroes went through: war is what provoked the Clone Wars, initiated the enslavement of millions of men because they were clones; war is what led Ahsoka Tano to leave what was the equivalent of her family behind after the irreparable had been done; war is what eventually drove Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader, and killed Padmé; war is why Luke and Leia grew up and never knew who their real parents are; war is why Luke’s aunt and uncle were killed in a gruesome matter, just for being indirectly implied with a matter they wanted no part in; war is what killed not only Leia’s adoptive parents, but her entire planet as well; war is what killed people like Jyn, Cassian or Bodhi before they were given a chance to actually live a peaceful life; war is eventually what tore Han and Leia apart, destroyed Luke’s work of a lifetime, and drove Ben to the Dark side. 

So… wouldn’t it be fitting that the war is won not by a big epic battle of good vs. evil… but people coming together to pursue a common goal, and not care about clans and factions and all the like… but like the Rogue One team, do it even if you have the whole galaxy against you because it’s the right thing to do? 

If it was up to me, I’d have Rey, Ben, Finn and Rose team up and plan to take down the First Order from the inside, because it’s the best way at this point to end it all. Rey does it because she has decided to become part of Ben’s life and, to become part of his family and also finding the belonging she always longed for, she helps take down the very organization that tore them apart in the first place, but this time, with Ben, without any conditions, as equals. Ben does it because he realizes on his own that like for people like Finn, Rose, and all the Stormtroopers, the First Order has ruined his life. And if he wants to help establish a new order and make the galaxy a better place, the First Order has to go too. Finn does it because he doesn’t want to fight against his brothers and sisters in arms, and because they, too, want to be free and have lives of their own. And he accepts to do it alongside Ben because he may not understand why Rey loves him, but he trusts her. And Rose does it because in every child who has been indoctrinated by the First Order, she can see Finn in them, and with her planet being enslaved, she realizes that, well, it could have been her. 

* 

And to get to the rest of your ask… yes, Ben is sympathetic because as much as he’s an asshole, you understand why he’s the way he is. Of course he messes up. Of course he gets humiliated. He needs all those things in order to be able to grow, understand his mistakes, and learn. THAT’S what makes him sympathetic. 

Rey… obviously, she learns what really went down between Luke and Ben, which makes her realize that when it comes to heroes and villains, it’s not always the way it seems. So far, so good, and it’s actually brilliantly done. The problem is that as I said for her rescue plan, while her heart was totally at the right place, the plan itself… honestly needed more work, and Ben pretty much had to save her ass. 

And look, I’m a-okay with Rey being impulsive, jumping to conclusions, heading head first into trouble - it makes a lot of sense with her background and characterization. It doesn’t make her unlikeable AT ALL, it just makes her a fully fledged character. The problem here is when those flaws aren’t treated as such - and that’s what’s frustrating, lol. But ya know, it’s a writing problem. Not a problem with the character specifically. 

So if she can do no wrong… how can you “sympathize” with her? Because “sympathizing” with someone implies that either they’ve done something bad, either they’re involved in a touchy situation, either they’re affected by a bad situation. 

And sure, you can argue she got her heart broken - but my issue is that the movie doesn’t show that. All it took was one little scene where she leaves the Throne Room teary-eyed, looking at Ben but turning away. Instead, straight after the Throne Room fight… next time we see her is her being all happy-go-happy while shooting TIE fighters. So because of that, it makes her look like she doesn’t care - which is not what you should be going for, lol. 

But again, to know whether it’s a bad writing decision or not, we’ll have to wait until IX. But all I want Rey to realize is that in order to help Ben, and help the galaxy against the First Order, she can’t drag Ben around, and she can’t expect him to just follow her around because she thinks she’s right or her heart is at the right place. She needs to work WITH HIM. Ya know, do the couple thingy, like, TALK. COMMUNICATE. 

[theonetheycallsagey]

Home Invasion

Wow, this one was really fun to write. Action turned up to 11 created a grittier and more intense story. This takes place after the fall of Beacon, where we catch up with one Dash Ospreay as he finds a familiar face in the least likely of places.

Dash belongs to me.

Sienna belongs to @gruntnuker-rwby​

"Ospreay Industries: Celebrating 25 Years of Being #1" 

"Hm. That's what they came up with?" Dash muttered to himself. He stood on the upper balcony, a staircase spiraling to the ground floor on each side. He watched as everyone was filing into the ballroom, exchanging small greetings while waiting for the party to really begin - or at least whatever Atlas qualified as a party. It had only been a couple years, but Dash couldn't help but feel so far removed from this world of clinking martini glasses and fancy suits, such as the one he was clad in now. However, being the heir to one of the biggest corporations in all of Remnant, Dash knew that it almost virtually guaranteed that he would have to show up to its anniversary celebration. 

The next hour consisted of Dash standing by his father's side as he was introduced to several business associates and Atlesian upper class members, none of which were memorable enough for him to recall. He tried to feign interest but it was clear he was not engaged at all. Any attempts of conversation he tried to make were only met with "Why did you leave Atlas for Beacon?" or "You should've kept playing ball" or "You should be starting to run the company". Even when Mr. Schnee himself came to visit his Ospreay Industries partners, Dash couldn't be bothered to listen. He only noticed Weiss mirroring his expression of boredom, shackled to her father just as he was to his. 

To his relief, Dash was eventually set free. He retreated to a corner by himself and spent most of his time staring at gold watch on his wrist, hoping it would tick faster. When he looked up, his eyes glanced toward catering tables. Sat there was his little sister Dawn, clad in a fluttery red gown and her hair let down. She didn't notice her brother approach her, as she was too focused on working in her sketchbook. 

"Do Mom and Dad know you have that with you?" Dash said sternly, arms folded. Dawn's head snapped upwards to face him, and she timidly pulled the book to her chest. Dash shook his head and broke his mock coldness with a chuckle. He lightly messed with Dawn's hair, getting her to let out a childlike giggle. 

"Hey! Quit it!" she said. When she lowered the book to continue where she left off, Dash peered over his shoulder. 

"Whatcha working on?" he asked Dawn. He saw a sketch of a building, one that looked amazing given her age. However, the building looked all too familiar, and when Dawn pointed to a mural on the wall, Dash figured out why. It was a painting of Beacon Academy, one he had seen before at Weiss' concert. 

Gravitated to it, Dash approached the picture and studied it for a few moments. All the memories came back in a vivid rush. Sapphire constantly keeping the team up at night with talk of pillow fights. Bickering with Solomon over car culture. Making bets with Auburn with absurd stipulations. Meeting different teams from all schools for the tournament. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes before a deep breath recomposed him. This was definitely the last place he could have his public persona crack, something that he took great effort in maintaining. 

"I hope they're all ok," he thought to himself. He turned back around and leaned against the wall next to the painting, and moving his sport coat sleeve out of the way, he checked his watch again. "Almost done." Blankly staring forward, Dash sighed as he expected his boredom to resume throughout the night. That was, until a female voice loudly called out from the balcony above him, one that he couldn't see the source of but instantly recognized. 

"Tone Ospreay." 

Everyone's discussions were quickly stopped and replaced by hushed murmurs of confusion. Their attention was drawn to above Dash to someone on the balcony. He sprinted out from under it and his eyes widened in shock at seeing Sienna Umberon. However, she looked far removed from her days at Beacon where her team and Dash's would regularly hang out. Now, her usual outfit was traded for a White Fang uniform, and her heterochromatic eyes hidden behind a personalized mask. 

"Faunus labor, child labor, frequent factory explosions, the list goes on. Quite the rap sheet. One that could almost rival your master's," Sienna said. 

"What is the meaning of this?! I don't care how you got in but I'll have every force in Atlas come to throw you out!" Dash could hear his father yell back, while he was still too stunned to react. 

"Oooooh Schnee's lapdog thinks he's got a bite," Sienna said with a chuckle. "Don't bother with that. You're gonna listen to what I have to say." Dash snapped his head back around to see his father still adamantly stubborn. A sudden shatter of glass pierced the scene and made way for the sound of something metal clanging across the ground. Dash surveyed the middle of the ballroom floor and caught glimpse of a cylindrical object rolling to a stop. "Stun grenade!"

"Whether you want to or not." 

A bright flash. A deafening bang. It was enough in itself to cause Dash to stagger back. But something else - or someone - had also thrown him off his feet. By the time his senses had returned to him, he had realized a deer faunus with short brown hair and a similar mask was on his back, keeping his head forced to the floor. From what he could see, a whole White Fang squadron had invaded the party, all armed to the teeth. Each one of his family members was held back by a Fang member, and Dash could feel anger swell up at seeing a muscular soldier with ram horns with his arms around Dawn. Sienna sauntered down the stairs and headed towards Tone. 

"Thousands of faunus go into your factories with the hope of making enough to feed their families. They desperately try to survive through godawful working conditions just to get paid like dirt. And if they actually manage to stay alive, there's a good chance they'll get laid off anyways." She was now in Tone's face, with the White Fang soldier behind him forcing the owner of Ospreay Industries to look up at her. 

"I've seen firsthand just how flashy your family is," she continued, side-eyeing Dash with that comment. "And the fact that you act so flashy without even a hint of guilt is a fucking kick in the teeth to faunus everywhere." Her speech was now through gritted teeth, years of anger and frustration finally culminating. Stepping back to scan the area, she saw everyone paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything against the surrounding fleet of troops. 

"You're all guilty here!" Sienna said to address the whole room now. "You've all helped create this Atlas empire that has made it a crime for a faunus to even exist! No money for bills. No way to raise a family. No escape." She clenched her fists and turned her back to everyone. 

"Well, Ospreay. If I'm not allowed to have a family, you're not either. Tear this place to the ground!" 

The girl on Dash's back yanked his head up by his hair, forcing him to watch as the White Fang squad began dismantling the party. They vandalized anything in sight, and would not stop until everything the Ospreay family owned in this household was ruined. Dash watched as Sienna made her exit through the two grand doors that led to the rest of the house. The ram faunus followed suit, still with a tight grip on Dawn, taking her with him despite her cries for help. 

"Dawn!" Dash yelled. The deer faunus jerked him up to his feet and slammed him into the wall, keeping him firmly pressed against it. 

"Not prepared for this one, were you Richie Rich?" she said in Dash's ear. 

"I'm always prepared," Dash replied. Without a moment's hesitation, he moved his leg free and kicked his captor in the back of the knee. She groaned and reeled back, loosening her grip on Dash enough for him to spin around and catch her in the temple with a jumping knee strike that knocked her out on impact. All of the other soldiers turned their attention to him, and he quickly ran toward the direction that Sienna left in. He slammed the doors to the ballroom shut behind him, then toppled over the shelf next to it to serve as a barricade. 

He sprinted through the Ospreay estate as fast as his dress shoes would allow him, following the trail of carnage Sienna was causing. Along the way, he ditched his sport coat and his tie. He only had one thing in mind: getting his sister safe. And he knew he would have to fight for it. He eventually made his way to the garage, where he saw Sienna and the ram destroying the red sports car parked in it. 

"I knew you were a wasteland punk, Umberon. But I didn't think you'd stoop this low," Dash said to reveal himself. Sienna's fox ears twitched at the sound of his voice. Dawn smiled brightly at the sight of her big brother, but the smile was abruptly cut off at the sound of Sienna laughing. 

"Y'know. I really should thank you. The way you treated people was one of the main reasons I decided to join the Fang. I can finally repay you for all the disrespect you've shown me," Sienna said, all the while approaching Dash slowly until they were face to face. 

"I'm honored," Dash coldly said back and barely finished that statement before aiming a right kick to her head. Sienna immediately caught his foot and whipped him into a dragon screw takedown. Dash landed hard on his back, temporarily winded, allowing Sienna to put her boot on his chest. 

"The Fang has made me stronger, Dash. Faster, too. Better than training at Beacon had ever made me," she said before driving her heel down on his sternum. 

"You think I've been slouching around?" Dash roughly said back before he suddenly swiped at Sienna's other foot, tripping her up enough to kip back up to his feet. He went for another kick, this one similar to the first but coming from his left foot this time. Sienna caught him again, but this time Dash followed up by leaping up and driving his right foot into her ribs in a modified dropkick. Now she was the one flat on her back. 

The ram faunus charged at Dash, and Sienna moved back to grab Dawn and tie her down before she could escape. Dash sidestepped him and stayed close, firing off a flurry of kicks. But, they had little effect on the monstrous soldier, as his physique dwarfed Dash's athletic 5'10 frame. The ram picked Dash up with ease and slammed him onto the hood of the car with enough force to crumple the hood and break the windshield. He rolled off of the car to avoid another incoming blow, then before the brute could get to him again, he swung open the passenger side door, hitting him and keeping him back momentarily. 

"C'mon big bro! You can do it!" Dawn said to cheer on her brother. But, the ram faunus closed in on him again and lifted him by the collar of his now disheveled dress shirt. He threw Dash into the electrical box on the wall, denting its cover. It creaked open, so the ram repeated the process, this time sending Dash into breakers underneath, causing sparks to fly. The ram smirked at his handiwork until he noticed that Dash was unfazed. What he didn't know was that Dash's semblance was kicking in - conductivity. 

He lurched forward again, and Dash responded by grabbing him by the throat. All of the voltage that was going through Dash's body was suddenly going into his as if Dash was a human lightning rod. Upon letting go, the ram staggered back, gasping for air. While he was struggling to regain his breath, Dash nailed him with a kick to the midsection, finally dropping the behemoth to one knee. He then stepped back, jumped above him, and drove his head into the ground with a vicious curb stomp. 

With the goon now rendered unconscious, Dash turned his focus to Sienna. She looked up at him, looking less than pleased, flicking her fire dust infused claws to make a spark. The spark ignited and she got into a ready stance with her claws now ablaze, putting her own semblance of fire manipulation to use. Bolting to her, Dash aimed a baseball slide to her ankles. Sienna telegraphed his move and jumped over it. Dash rolled back to his feet and ducked his head to miss a right hook from Sienna, then a left. 

He rolled under the next punch to get behind her, but Sienna was a step ahead and turned around quicker than Dash could react. She wrapped him up in a bear hug, the fiery gloves searing his chest. Dash screamed loudly, the agony in his voice too much for Dawn to handle as she cringed and tried to look away. He eventually mustered up the strength to flip Sienna over his shoulders and get her off, but the damage had already been done. Dropping to one knee, he glanced down at his singed chest through the remnants of his burned shirt. A red sheen glowed across the length of his body. His aura was depleted. 

He weakly got back to his feet as Sienna walked toward him again, looking to end the fight. But, with a roaring battle cry and a last burst of adrenaline, he charged his assailant again. He hit her with a series of punches and kicks, each one doing more visible damage than the last. Finishing the combo off with a heel kick to her chin, he was finally able to ground Sienna. But, he wasn't able to revel in the moment for long, because a sharp cry of "Dash help!" from his sister swiftly spun him around. Two White Fang marked aircrafts had landed in the front yard, one of which had unloaded two soldiers that were taking Dawn away.

"Dawn, no!" He took half a step forward then suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened before looking down. Shakily moving his hand to his stomach, he could barely fight the tremors to see his hand now holding a crimson pool. 

It hurt to stand. 

It hurt to breathe. 

He collapsed to the floor. He still couldn't process what was happening. The adrenaline was long gone at this point. His usually electric yellow eyes expressed anguish as they looked up to see Sienna looking at her blood stained claw. Dawn's pleas filled the air one last time before being silenced by the distinct sound of a jet taking off. The ram faunus had now regained consciousness and joined his squad leader. 

"What do we do with him, boss?" he asked Sienna. 

"What's our one rule?" she said in response. 

"No deaths." 

"Then he comes with us. And he does not die. I’m not finished with him," she said. The last thing Dash saw was the ram leaning down next to him before everything faded to black.

[chaldeluxe]

LONDON: CHAPTER 5.

____________

Andersen: Hoh. Not bad for a hideaway. I like it. I’ll take the study.

Andersen: I’ll be unpacking, so call me if you need something. Ah, and if you’re entering, be sure to knock.

Mordred: ... Ahh, I’m exhausted. Twice as much thanks to the luggage. Three times, even!

Jekyll: You’re treating my sofa so roughly again… if possible, I’d like it to be a guest-only… … no, nevermind.

Jekyll: It’s fine as is. Listen closely, Mashu and Gudako.

Jekyll: Jack the Ripper appeared again. Only this time it wasn’t to murder a woman under the cover of the fog.

Jekyll: They’ve got Scotland Yard under siege. I’ve received telegraphs for reinforcements from police stations all over London.

Mordred: That bastard’s finally shown up again!

[CHOICE]

1. Is that some kind of fated encounter for you? 2. An acquaintance of yours?

Mordred: Yeah. They’re a Servant. Assassin Class. We fought a lot in the fog, but…

Mordred: Every time they get away. I can’t lock ‘em down. They just escape into the fog!

Mordred: That and I can’t remember a single concrete detail about them. Not their face, or form, or even their abilities. It’s frustrating as hell… !

Mordred: Best I can do is nod my head whenever I hear the name Jack the Ripper like, ooh yeah, that Assassin!

Mordred: Damn. My head’s all fuzzy just thinking about that asshole!

Jekyll: You two might’ve run into them as well. What do you think? Do you recall fighting an Assassin?

Mashu: Ah…

Mashu: Now that you mention it… it sort of feels like we did. A surprise attack... by...

Mashu: That’s right… we got ambushed. My memories are suddenly coming back to me.

Mashu: I almost forgot everything. But, there has to be some reason for what happened...

[CHOICE]

1. A skill? 2. A Noble Phantasm?

Mashu: Yes, Senpai. That must be it. I wonder which one it was, though? A skill or Noble Phantasm.

Mordred: That one’s quick to run. If we don’t get moving, they’ll have cleared out already. Let’s go!

Andersen: What, you’re leaving? You should’ve said something. If you’re going out, let’s see... I’ll take a scone, then.

Mordred: Like hell you're going! Well, not like you’d be useful if you did…

Mordred: … hold up. You think we’ll have as easy of a time as before?

Andersen: That was an phenomenal exception. Don’t go depending on me for everything. And just what are you looking to get out of us authors, truly?

Andersen: Do you think of me as some all-knowing being? If so, you’d best reconsider.

Andersen: Listen up. Authors are just morons whose words run off the page simply because they couldn’t get anything in life!

Andersen: Do you think someone like that could ever be useful?

Mordred: … I was stupid for even asking. Let’s get moving, Mashu, Gudako!

// SHIFT TO OUTSIDE. //

Mordred: Full speed ahead to our destination. Mashu, carry Gudako. It’s a race against the clock.

Mordred: There’s no way a human can keep up. We’ll head straight for the Yard with pure Servant sprinting power.

Mashu: R-Right …excuse me, Senpai. It’s just for a little while.

[CHOICE]

1. Try not to drop me. 2. Likewise. Sorry for this.

Mashu: O-Okay.

Mashu: …I’ll be as careful as possible. Be sure not to let go of me, Senpai.

Mordred: Hey, get movi--- tch. Soon as I say it, there's enemies at our flanks!

Dr. Roman: Huge enemy readings. They’re closing in from all directions. Break through before they surround you!

// BATTLE. //

Mordred: We almost crushed ‘em all! Forget the rest. We’re making a run for it, Mashu!

Mashu: Right!

Dr. Roman: She sure is full of moxie. I guess they don’t call her the Knight of Treachery for nothing.

Mashu: That’s right. That combat efficiency is straight out of the legend.

Mashu: As swift and accurate as a bolt of lightning across the sky, the point of her sword never wavers.

[CHOICE]

1. Knight of Treachery? 2. You mean Mordred?

Dr. Roman: Ah, that reminds me--- no one said anything to you, did they, Gudako-chan?

Dr. Roman: The Knight of Treachery, Mordred. A Heroic Spirit manifested in this world under the Saber class.

Dr. Roman: He’s[1] not from this era, of course. His origins lie in the 5th-6th century with the legend of King Arthur.

Dr. Roman: The individual who brought about the end of an era. The one person who literally staged a rebellion against King Arthur.

Mashu: And it was by all means an exceptional rebellion. It was the first time someone had ever rallied together anti-Arthur forces made up of their foreign enemies.

Mashu: In order words, Mordred stood alone as the King of Treachery. If times had been more peaceful, perhaps she might’ve even succeeded the King.

Mashu: There are countless legends about Mordred’s bravery as well. As one of the Knights of the Round---

Dr. Roman: They called him the son of King Arthur. Only they also said the King never properly acknowledged his child.

Dr. Roman: That may be the reason why he changed their mind about the rebellion. So why did Mordred still defy King Arthur at every turn?

Dr. Roman: I suppose only he--- she[1], would know the real reason why.

[CHOICE]

1. The rebellion succeeded? 2. The rebellion was a failure?

Mashu: … yes. The knight Mordred lost her life during the Battle of Camlann.

Mashu: In reality, it was more of a tie. She wielded the Demonic Sword Clarent against King Arthur in battle.

Mashu: King Arthur fought with his holy lance and pierced the traitor.

Mashu: The king himself had also fallen, mortally wounded when---

Mordred: What’re you blabbing about over there!? Get moving already!

Mashu: Ah, r-right!

[CHOICE]

1. Let’s go!

Mashu: …Roger, Master!

// BATTLE. //

Mordred: They’re closing in from the side, one after the other!

Mordred: Pick up the pace again, Mashu!

Mashu: Okay… !

Dr. Roman: Sorry to interrupt while you’re en-route. I’ve got a hot report straight from Da Vinci-chan!

Dr. Roman: It’s about those huge, armored, mysterious robots. I’ll be reporting the results of our findings concerning the Helter Skelters.  

Dr. Roman: It’s as accurate as we can be while still analyzing, but here’s what I’ve got, based on the preliminaries.

Dr. Roman: First of all, they’re not golems. Traces of magical mechanisms can’t be confirmed with video evidence.

Dr. Roman: Though they’re purely mechanical… there’s still a lot I don’t get. It seems like they’re running on steam engines. Any other details are unknown.

Dr. Roman: It seems like technology you’d find in our time, the year 2017.

Dr. Roman: Made with some kind of hidden or long-lost technique---

Dr. Roman: Almost like they made rapid progress with their super technology by taking a different path from our world.

Dr. Roman: … ...yep.

Dr. Roman: … well, of course. Of course you wouldn’t answer, ‘cause you’re busy running and stuff…

Dr. Roman: That’s enough out of me. Do your best out there!

// BATTLE. //

Jack the Ripper: … ....huh?

Jack the Ripper: So you came from that direction. Then, hehe, we’ll… What should we do with you?

Jack the Ripper: Should we kill you? One, two, three. So many. A whole lot.

Jack the Ripper: Hehe. We already killed a whole bunch, but we’re still hungry. Starving.

Jack the Ripper: All ‘cause Mr. Policeman didn’t have much magical energy.

Jack the Ripper: So, thank you! We’ll eat your magical energy up and be full!

Mordred: We made it---

Mordred: Or not, it looks like. The smell of blood… so the Yard’s been wiped out.

Dr. Roman: I’m detecting two other signatures besides you guys. Jack the Ripper and one other.

Mashu: I can guess pretty well who the unknown Servant is. That man over there---

(???): Yes. I just so happen to be a Caster Servant. One of the three pulling the strings of that “Project”.

[CHOICE]

1. The Demon Fog Project? 2. Why’re you doing this?

(???): We have several of our own conditions and circumstances. You may call me “P”, if you wish.

P: I’m afraid you were just a tad too late. The poor Scotland Yard has already been annihilated.

P: They all died in such horrid, gruesome ways. For you see, that child hasn’t an ounce of compassion in her heart.

P: It was all necessary, however. An unavoidable sacrifice. It almost seems a tribute to the fallen when you say express it in such a way.

P: Truly, man is a creature who ought to be adored. Both love and affection are such dazzling things.

P: How sad, that the cause sometimes takes precedence.

P: Something we required was tucked safely away in Scotland Yard’s headquarters.

P: As one would expect, the Mage’s Association, Clock Tower, reside in the British Empire. They applied a strong magical seal to the place.

P: Thus they, while unfortunate, ended up posing a grand obstacle to our cause.

Mordred: What's with this blowhard. Who gives a damn about love or affection!

Mordred: You went and put your hand on what’s mine again. You, who are not the king, have touched that which belongs to the king.

[CHOICE]

1. You killed innocent people despite being a Heroic Spirit? 2. Don’t you have any pride as a hero!?

P: Indeed. And that is why I cannot show any sadness.

P: Those bound to hope should be noble. Those bound to love should be brilliant.

P: I’m not likely to save them with this paltry power of mine. That alone should be clear when you consider the aforementioned outcome.

P: This era will fall to ruin. Even humanity itself will fall to ruin.

P: Annihilate desires, love, humanity’s progression, and only four idiosyncrasies will remain in this left behind world.

P: What a miserable outcome it’ll be. But neither you nor I can stop it.

P: No. If you’re unable to stop it, that is---

Mashu: … you’re contradicting yourself.

Mashu: I feel a deep discrepancy in those words of yours, Caster. No, P. Who are you, really?

Mashu: You’re using Jack just to take human lives. It sounds to me like you’re the one who lacks an ounce of compassion.

P: That may very well be true, beautiful young lady.

P: I’m nothing more than a wicked magus in the end, it seems. Even now, I command an innocent girl.

P: Jack. I’ll leave the rest to you.

P: Do as you like. That girl may even be your Mother, you know.

Jack: Eh? Is that… true. ?

Jack: So that’s how it is. Hmm. Then… we’ll treat you just like our own Mother.

Jack: Will you let us go back? Deep, deep inside of you… inside Mother…

Mordred: Forget it. You’re going straight back to the Throne. Here’s where you die.

Mashu: We need to think of a way to stop Assassin in her tracks. ...Senpai…

[CHOICE]

1. We’ve got to stop her. 2. Let’s start this.

Mashu: ---OK! Master!

// BATTLE. //

Jack: Mo… ther…. no…. no, no, no… it, hurts…

Jack: Why… why did you…

Jack: … why, did… tell me... hey… …?

P: Farewell, child who knows naught of love. One day, you’ll obtain the affection you seek.

P: ---now, then. I suppose this is where I die, felled by your hand.

P: The cold-blooded magus is defeated by the hero. Therein lies the sole answer I seek.

P: But. I must carry out my role first.

P: Farewell, you heroes who walk on a radiant path. And you, Knight of the Round---

P: I pray for your continued existence as a champion of justice who strikes down treachery.

Mordred: Wait! Shit, he vanished! Magi always do this!

Mashu: Spatial Transportation--- that’s the spell that let him be forcibly removed.

Mashu: It was originally a form of magecraft that could hold a candle to True Magic. Using it like that... it’s very possible that a Holy Grail is…

Dr. Roman: It’s very likely. At least for the sole mastermind who’s behind the “Demon Fog Project” that’s trying to destroy this era.

Dr. Roman: Otherwise, it’s possible that possession of the Holy Grail was transferred to him.

Dr. Roman: I wonder what his true purpose in London is…

Mordred: I could care less. All we’ve gotta do is flush him out and flatten him!

// TO THE LEAGUE OF GENIUSES. //

P: … I’ve returned safely.

B: Psssh… kohh…

M: Good work. …that girl was defeated, then?

P: She died, unfortunately. We've suffered a sequence of failure since Mephistopheles’ loss.

M: It won’t affect that much. All we need to focus on is carrying out the “Project”.

P: Yes. I suppose so. You’re right. We three are Servants. All we need do is follow the whims of our Master.

P: There’s no need to wallow in regret. You should be moving forward with your own “Project”, yes?

M: …I know.

B: Creating a path for this world and its civilization--- therein lies the greatest mission for we wise scholars.

B: If this world were incinerated, both humanity and civilization itself would be well on its way to that established point of demise.

B: We would no longer be---

[1] Roman only uses カレ and 彼 (kare, katakana then kanji, he/him) in reference to Mordred when he gets carried away talking about the legend here. Mashu doesn’t do that in that segment. Once Roman catches himself, he corrects himself to 彼女 (kanojo, she/her) which is also what Mashu and everyone else uses for Mordred usually.

It’s difficult to put in English because in Japanese pronouns aren’t necessarily required when referring to someone and Mashu isn’t using any during the exposition. It’s only supposed to be Roman, so the official translation probably missed the context and falsely had Mashu use he/him too while explaining Mordred’s legend.

Editor V note: Since it’s a topic in tandem, everyone uses kanojo for Mordred and usually she doesn’t slice their throats open so she doesn’t care about pronouns. Just don’t call her or treat her explicitly like a man or a woman. That’s why she threatened Jekyll in the other chapter.

[rdmfavcpls]

Dragon of Japan Chapter 1

Prologue - http://rdmfavcpls.tumblr.com/post/159914962777/dragon-of-japan-prologue

Title: Dragon of Japan

 Pairing: Sebastian/Ciel Mai/Lin cheating Madoka/Naru previous Mai/Claude

 Category: Crossover Black Butler/Ghost Hunt but I am trying to keep it mostly Ghost Hunt. Rating T-M will slowly progress.

 Summary: Mai is a demon and she’s within the top 3 powerful demons, but she still holds human emotions within her demon life. She got over Naru’s rejection quickly but now she’s dying and her brother steps in to help her. What adventures will await the new and improved SPR? Warning: There is some Naru bashing and Naru is not a main character in the story. Lin is a lot more talkative in this which I will explain within the story.

 Author’s Note: So I too have fallen victim into the Ghost Hunt Black Butler crossover universe. However, I looked through the crossover section and I am surprised that there is not a crossover with Ghost Hunt and Crimson Empire! So that’s possibly going to be my next project as well. Expect for the first case where the characters are introduced, the cases are influenced by nursey rhymes. Disclaimer: I do not owe any rights to Ghost Hunt or the Black Butler franchise. Please enjoy the story and constructive feedback is always welcomed. ~~Story Begins~~ Chapter 1 - A Haunted Manor

“Uhh...Uhh...Uhh,” Hosho Takigawa gaped as he stood outside of large metal gates that blocked public access to the large yard with well taken care of hedges and trees, a smooth driveway separated the yard as black streetlight lanterns rocked on their posts, riding the gentle breezes of the wind. Further away from the gate that they were waiting to be opened was a large two story mansion painted white, but the many balconies had furniture outside with fresh flowers enjoying the sun.

Takigawa - a part time monk that earned him the nickname of ‘Bou-san’ or Monk-san’. However, no one has been able to call him ‘Bou-san’ since the somewhat mysterious disappearance of the heart and soul of SPR. His light brown hair was still tied into a pony, the bangs framing his face, his light brown eyes didn’t hold as much life in them but awed at this haunted manor and the fact that his mouth was hanging open. He was wearing all black and vowed to wear all black until they find and see his precious Jou-chan in person. Preferably alive and not in a morgue.

“Takigawa,” another voice spoke. “I didn’t ask for all of you to join me if you are just going to gawk at it.” The voice belonged to the face of SPR and the leader, Shibuya Kazuya or also known as “Naru”. His black hair was still cut around his face, the end just brushing against his neck brought out his blue eyes, plus the fact that was the only color on him. He still wore all black clothing which was his trademark look.

“Sorry, mate,” an Australian accent spoke, “We have not been investigating a house quite like this as a team in a while.” Father John Brown was wearing a buttoned up sky blue shirt with regular blue jeans, a cross necklace was resting against his chest, his blue eyes were almost as perfect as puppy eyes and his blonde hair was cut short so his curls wouldn’t be noticeable.

Then a loud thwack was heard then silence as Ayako Matsuzaki hit her on-and-off again boyfriend, her long red hair was pulled and twisted into a bun, her brown eyes glared angrily at him. She was wearing a blue sleeveless turtleneck shirt with a white sweater and a black skirt. “You don’t have to make yourself a bigger fool than what you already are!”

“Naru,” a voice that sounded small and cute and fit perfectly with the doll-like appearance of Masako Hara. Her black hair was cut shorter in the back but was longer in the front, a perfect frame to bring out the lavender eyes that looked worried and scared, a pink sleeve with green floral pattern of her kimono hid her frown. “There are so many spirits here, they cry out in pain and confusion. There is also a bad vibe coming from the house, I’m scared.” The tall stoic man mentally rolled his eyes as the famous medium clung onto his charge’s arm. Everyone loved Kazuya Shibuya but he no longer really cared. His charge had been sleeping with his girlfriend who he was going to propose too (even though his heart started to have feelings for another) when his girlfriend sent him the wrong email. Needless to say, the chinese onmyouji broke it face-to-face with her but his charge still liked to fool around and apparently so didn’t his ex-girlfriend. The black hair was cut short for easy care but was still able to cover his blue eye leaving his grey eye able to see what was happening. He still wore long sleeved white business shirt with a black tie and black dress pants.

Koujo Lin desperately wanted to get away from his charge (he was counting down the days until his charge turned eighteen) but welcomed the antics and distractions SPR brought. They made him feel at home somehow, which was important for the backbone of the organization.

“Let’s get going,” the final member spoke with a smile as the gates slowly creaked open. “The Phantomhive is a big sponsor of BSPR and we shouldn’t keep them waiting.” That was Osamu Yasuhara who had his black hair tied in a simple pony, letting it grow out now for some weird reason, his round glasses were needed to let the bark brown eyes to see clearly instead of blurred shapes and colors. He was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans.

“I really don’t want too,” Masako responded. “That vibe from the house.” “I agree with Masako,” Ayako spoke looking at the mansion. “It doesn’t seem like it but I’m getting an ominous feeling from there as well.”

Lin looked at the house, the two females were hesitant about the house but he was drawn to the house. He felt like that by coming here, his whole world will change, there was something powerful within that house that was begging, pleading, and longing for him to show up, to bind themselves to him or to make a contract with. He knew he was being lured into a death trap but he couldn’t resist the pull.

“It’s only going to be for a couple of days,” Naru responded not even shaking Masako from his arm, a sign that he was thinking about making her his next plaything for the week or two. Lin knew karma was going to come back and bite his young boss but for now, he just bears with it since he had bigger things to worry about, like how to warn Ms. Hara about her crush’s heartbreaking ways.

As they walked through the gate, their equipment being delivered to the mansion the day before and the owner specifically asking for their vans to be left at the gate. They were busy talking amongst themselves that they didn’t notice one of the drawn curtains in the upper floor move as a man around the age of twenty-three watch them as they got closer to the mansion. The man’s long black hair reached his shoulders in a neat fashion, his red eyes danced with pride as they got closer, the light from the sun revealed an professional butler outfit that was traditional with the times.

“Soon, you’ll be fed,” he spoke the figure lying on the bed in the darkness. The only response this man got was heavy breathing that sounded like it hurt and occasionally turned into painful gasps of air. “Soon, you’ll be well again.” The man let the curtain closed as he proceeded to leave the room.

He had guests to take care and what type of butler would he be to the Phantomhive’s if he wasn’t there to greet their upcoming guests. None of our questions were answered in this episode? What type of show is this? It only led to more questions like who was the mysterious butler talking too? What is this case about? Where is Mai? I’m sure she wouldn’t be happy about Masako clinging all over Naru.. Stay tuned for A Haunted Manor part 2. Our questions had better be answered. Oh shoot, I just broke my nail.