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number5theboy · 4 years

Text

ALRIGHT

THIS SEASON

IT WAS A LOT

my liveblogged thoughts under the cut

Episode 1

· Exhilarating! I love Ben

· Ben already has more lines in these first five minutes than he had in the first season

· This montage is good

· ALLISON BABY

· Luther yelled for Diego first I love this

· Diego is immediately in vigilante mode…….hot

· THE SHOT PARELLING VANYA’S FIRST WORDS

· Vanya is a mess we love to see it

· The shot of Five’s feet hitting the puddle? So aesthetically pleasing

· The battle scene is such a smart way of reintroducing everyone’s powers and their Final Form™ succinctly

· I love Hazel. So much.

· The Umbrella Atomic Explosion™ is SO clever I love it

· ALRIGHT UNCHARTERED TERRITORY LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO

· Oh Hazel and Five make me soft

· Agnes and Hazel had a good life

· Hazel is so dead

· Welp that took no time at all

· “How many times did I say bulletproof briefcases?” ily mister five

· I love the Swedes they’re stupid

· Are we ever gonna know what Agnes made Hazel promise?

· Five is honestly world’s best character

· FUTURE HEADQUARTERS

· “Well the truth is out there!” abkdkblhlkbkhl

· I shouldn’t make quick judgments, but conspiracy nut guy is nice and I hope he doesn’t turn out evil, because I also through Harold was nice in the beginning

· Diego got himself arrested already what an idiot

· Asddjgflkflhfl Diego’s problems all put out

· Okay, set-up for Diego’s character arc of self-actualisation we love to see it

· Lila is awesome, but I hope they don’t make her crush on him excessively

· Diego and Five is an underrated duo

· THEY ARE SO BICKERY

· Five is jut gonna murder him sometime along the way

· I LOVE FIVE SO MUCH WHAT A LITTLE SHIT

· Oof Vanya is so cute in that outfit

· This scene perfectly encapsulates women having to listen to men

· VANYA’S GOING TO MILFTOWN Y’ALL

· I cannot tell white men apart, does Carl look like conspiracy nut guy or is it just me?

· As usual, Ben and Klaus are bad at everything

· “neither does your beard” icon Ben Hargreeves

· I support Ben pummelling Klaus

· I passionately hate the beard and love the coat

· Why do all the white men look alike, I thought this poker dude was a Swede

· I KNEW BEN WAS LYING

· “Pick a better time to self-actualise!”

· I still hate the beard, let’s see if it grows on me

· Yusuf Gatewood………….hot

· By far the hottest couple so far in TUA

· Please tell me she’s not still hung up on Luther

· Yes she is goddammit

· The moon thing is cute though, I can appreciate that

· Luther finally gets a well-soundtracked fight scene I love it

· OI THAT WAS BRUTAL HOLY SHIT

· Oh Luther is pulling a Five in feeling bad about his excessive violence

· I already hate his boss

· Raymond marry me pls

· Allison marry me pls

· OH MY GOD VANYA LAUGHED

· Sissy and Vanya have excellent chemistry

· Oh I see the deliberate parallel with Vanya, Umbrella Academy, you aren’t fooling me

· SWEDISH ASSASSINS BABY

· Do you think they’ll say a single word or?

· Literally the only way this show knows how to signal danger is through flickering lights

· Two bopping fight scene and Five hasn’t been in any of them

· Lila and Diego have no braincells between them it’s beautiful

· Alright, she knows how to fight……..supicious

· If this show wasn’t so hellbent on making Luther and Allison a thing, he would be best ace rep

· Lmao “I don’t give a shit” I love you Luther

EPISODE TWO

· ALRIGHT THE HANDLER IS BACK???????

· Okay so Hazel and Cha-Cha are dead but that pestilence still runs around??? Bruuuuuuuuuh

· Kate Walsh is still hot though

· AJ??????

· THE FISH SMOKES?!?

· God the Commission is such a capitalist hellhole

· Oh there we have 743

· H E R B

· Okay I am here to see her humiliated but please no redemption arc for her

· I love the deliberate parallels between Five and the Handler

· “Like a masseuse?” IDIOTS

· Oh Five is so lost and vulnerable baby boy

· Also the character developments in Luther!!!!!

· “Dad should’ve left him on the moon.” Five is, simply said, an icon

· Oof Sissy is SO cute

· I’m already not ready for Five to find Vanya

· Lila is so extra can we keep her

· Great now I have sympathy for Carl

· Luther’s new outfit looks so good on him

· OH LUTHER IS THE FIRST ONE TO SEE HER

· Well that was dramatic and didn’t lead anywhere

· Alright two episodes in, Civil Rights plotline hasn’t been fucked up yet

· WHAT THE FUCK IS THE SWEDE DRINKING SO CONSCPICOUSLY

· ELLIOTT IS THE NAME OF MISTER CONSPIRACY

· “cousins on my robot mother’s side”

· “Imagine Batman, then aim lower.”

· Lila is great I love her

· Diego is gonna throw both Five and Lila through a wall at some point

· Five is so ready to throw Diego under the bus

· Klaus Hargreeves, world’s worst cult leader

· ……….did Klaus built a cult on pop lyrics?

· Klaus and Raymond bonding I love it

· DIEGO AND FIVE BEST TEAM

· REGINALD IS THE UMBRELLA MAN

· OH LUTHER IS GONNA FIND HER HOLY SHIT

· THE BARN FROM THE PROMO PICTURE

· This scene is so good

· “You shouldn’t be the one to apologise.” I’M GONNA CRY

· Tom Hopper and Ellen Page are so good in this scene

· WHY DID HE LEAVE

· What the flying fuck is up with the Swedes

· BRO WHAT THE FUCK

· Is Five ever gonna bring up the fact that he was supposed to kill Kennedy or?

· Raymond is wasted on someone who doesn’t give him her whole heart

· What the FUCK, Klaus

· Why does she remember her name tho

· The violin starting up when she talks about the callouses on Vanya’s hands

· Brotherly bonding is my new favourite scene

· Do the filmmakers know that your scene can be suspenseful and well-lit

· Okay maybe baby Pogo is cute

· There is gonna be no Five murdering spree, the blood is solely from Pogo

· Next well-soundtracked fight scene

· The choreography of this!!!!!

· Man Reginald is a shitty dad before he even becomes a dad

· Diego cannot catch a break poor baby

EPISODE 3

· SHITTY WIG ON KLAUS ALERT

· THE LEVITATION IS BEN I HATE THIS

· So far, all title card umbrellas have not disappointed

· You are running in a straight line you really should hit her

· Yep, Watchmen flashbacks

· Luther remains cute and awkward

· THEY ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER BABY

· S E Q U I N S

· SNEAKY LADY ALLISON IS BACK

· FINALLY

· A HUG

· Allison and Klaus are so cute

· What in the goddamn Looney Tunes is this outfit lady

· WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU LADY

· ALLISON HARGREEVES YOU QUEEN

· This spooky ghost show is great

· Everyone going off on Five is great

· @ this show stop ripping Vanya and Five apart and let them be soft

· Diego is so naked this entire season

· Diego and Lila are a good dynamic

· Elliott is a babe I love him

· The Handler continues to be creepy about Five

· So much driving

· Luther is baby and Raymond deserves better than to deal with all the baggage from all the Hargreeves brothers

· HE SHAVED THE BEARD

· Ouch this is awkward

· I don’t get why they didn’t cast normal Dave to play young Dave they’re not that far apart in age

· Oh he’s gonna have to let Dave go

· Oh this scene must be so triggering

· Oh shit’s bad and it’s only episode 3

· PUPPY???

· WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT LILA

· WHAT DO YOU MEAN THANKS MOM

EPISODE 4

· Oh my god the Handler is pure fucking evil

· She learnt the fighting from her mom alright

· THE RED BOOTS WERE THERE ALL ALONG

· Man I hoped that the antisemitism was gone

· Vanya being protective of Luther :’)

· Luther only has shitty father figures

· I can’t believe they were better organised last season

· Why do you hate the Vanya/Five dynamic so much, show?

· Five got an extra dose of asshole today this season huh

· Reggie is probably the twelfth

· Oh boy Klaus is a trainwreck

· That marriage is also a trainwreck

· I understand Ray though

· Why is there Styx on this soundtrack

· Oh Klaus baby

· GALA NIGHT BITCHES

· Five is a smart young old man

· Oh baby is eating his heart out

· Oh the hug makes me soft though

· Honestly, Tom Hopper and Emmy Raver Lampman have such cute chemistry

· AWKWARD DARLING MAN

· “Doomsday” *nervous chuckle*

· Ballroom lessons as kids

· This is an excellent dance scene

· OH MY GOD MOM WAS MADE AFTER A REAL WOMAN

· THIS SHOW MAN THIS SHOW

· Reggie is gross

· Diego’s mommy AND daddy issues are put on blast this season

· Sissy is such a babe

· Man we got budget BUDGET for this season

· Alright, the white violin can revive people now cool cool cool

· How different her powers are when powered by love

· I love Elliott I hope he survives the eason

· I am down for Luther and Elliott getting high together

· LET’S GO LESBIIIAAAAAAAAAANS

· God Allison and Klaus make me so soft

· I am very supportive of Elliott and Luther becoming bros

· You already shanked one son, go poker stick another one

· YES EXCELLENT FIGHT MUSIC

· They both?????? Just left him to fend for himself??????????

· Ancient Greek??? Bitch what

· This show is rated for violence and we have barely seen any!!!!!! What!!!!!!!

Episode 5

· Okay baby Pogo and Grace is adorable

· Why is Pogo in space now

· THEY KILLED POGO

· AGAIN

· Hargeeves got a hug before Five did what the effing fuck

· He might be a dick but his instincts are good

· Haha old cowboy

· Ben is so done

· Vanya……..Sissy……..my heart

· Wow Reginald continues to be a massive arse

· Luther/Diego/Five are DUMB and I love them

· “No, bro, he shanked your heart.”

· God the Handler!!!!!!

· THE MUSIC AT THE REUNION

· We didn’t even see Five reunite with Allison and Klaus!!!!!

· GOD WHAT A SISTERLY UPGRADE

· KLAUS VANYA AND ALLISON HUGGING

· Allison and Diego rights babey!!!

· Are the Swedes ever gonna say something or

· LILA AND FIVE TEAM-UP LET’S GO

· I’VE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH I’M GONNA CRY BABY

· The red-blue dynamic in Luther and Diego I live for that

· Luther and Diego are gooooooood together

· What is up with that

· Klaus, Vanya and Allison are dumbasses and I love them so much

· Alright where are the Swedes doing and why is that tree so creepy

· Oh the youngest Swede just went tits-up

· Please tell me Five is finally getting a fight scene

· Excellent fight scene

· Great, now I feel sad for the Swedes

· They deffo have a cooler aesthetic than Hazel and Cha-Cha

· This cover is beautiful

EPISODE 6

· This wig looks better than Klaus’

· Also Ben has barely been in this season where is he at

· Oof Ray is so cute

· The Handler and Five have such good chemistry holy shit

· Diego, Luther and Vanya are a god-tier dynamic

· We love the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

· BENNY BOY HAS A CRUSH

· Wait how is this only episode six I feel like this is already the pensum of the first season

· Clothing montage baby!!!!!

· God they look so good together

· Oh Allison can be RUTHLESS

· THE BINGO CARDS

· Oh no no no no I didn’t think Klaus and Dave could be even more tragic

· THEY TALK

· God she is so fucking creepy stop lusting after a child

· World’s most satisfying elevator shot

· This scene is chaos I love it

· God everyone just harps on Diego’s daddy issues jesus

· Oh baby no

· Oh babies no

· NO NOT THE DISSOLUTION OF TEAM ZERO

· Why are there so many antisemitic dogwhistles in this

· This scene between Five and Reginald is good

· NOT ELLIOTT

· Oh no no no no Carl

· Alright at least this promises a good fight scene

EPISODE 7

· This polka music bops

· Wait how did he get to 1982

· HE SAID FUCK

· Man Carmichael was out so quick

· No fish-eating?

· Awwwww Klaus and Ben have a heart to heart

· Oh God, Diego and Luther have no brain activity between the two of them

· That is a Look

· Oh this montage of Ben rediscovering touch

· The writing of this show was oddly prophetic

· Oh wait Vanya’s gonna be incarcerated too right????

· Oh this is heart-breaking

· Really?????? Ben’s the dorky one???

· Oh my god Ben is getting a hug and Diego is so soft

· Man why are Five and Vanya so antagonistic

· FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

· Dude a fight between them would have been so epic

· Diego

· You idiot

· Oh Allison really loves him and he loves her

· Oh I am so sad

· Yeah this episode is infinitely worse than the day that wasn’t

· FUCK YEAH BACKSTREET BOYS

· What the fuck

· Yo that is sadistic as fuck Allison what the flying fuck

· This scene might ruin the song for me

· There definitely was an easier way out

· They fucked it up

· I am not surprised

EPISODE 8

· Oh she speaks Russian

· Five just snapped and honestly deserves it

· Yeah I feel for the Swede

· What is it with commission assassins and axes this season

· “Your vagina needs fresh glasses.”

· Nepotism

· Oh Grace is turning on him baby!!

· Ha remember when we were all like ‘oh no they’re making Reggie sympathetic’

· Yeah so much for that

· Five and Luther are……..soft

· What the fuck is up with that

· AYYYY BUTTHOLE SURFERS ON THE SOUNDTRACK

· Oooooohhhhhhh trippy kid scene

· Also Reggie is bad at German

· I love Luther and Five so much

· We finally get to see older Five’s tie pattern

· Alright Lila makes me uncomfortable

· FIVE IS GONNA GO FERAL Y’ALL LET’S GO

· Man after the last rampage you’d think they’d upped security in this place

· Herb for president!!

· Some catch Diego’s ego is going berserk

· Oh not again

· Dot is a rebel now

· Everyone is ragging on Five, even Five

· This is so trippy

· Oh yeah the brains. Forgot about those.

· I……….sad

· Oh my god oh my god oh my god

· Of course it’s all the government’s fault

· Love how they just walked into an FBI building

· Bro what the fuck is going on

EPISODE 9

· Allison is always there for Vanya and I love her

· Hello Klaus and Diego are so cute

· Oh my heart you go Klaus

· So much for that

· BUT BEN

· YOU ARE CLIFF-HANGERING BE INSIDE AN EPISODE

· Crazy Five is an idiot I love him

· “I’m the daddy here” is not the gazelle, but it’ll do in a pinch

· The 743!!!!!!

· Oh God, Harlan is in danger

· She loves him?!? You barely know the man!!!!!!

· WHAT’S ON THE PAPER

· Oh it’s her file

· HELLO LET US SEE THE FIVES TYING TO OFF EACH OTHER

· This continues to be trippy

· These visuals are so stunning

· This is my favourite scene so far, this is so good, this is an excellent talk

· NO

· NOT BEN

· “I’m askin’, Carl.” You go Sissy, love you, you’re doing excellent

· Alright, we have a mini-Vanya here

· Oh I hate the Handler so fucking much she is the worst

· What a plot-twist

· Oh god so much is going on in this season

· Oh we get fish-eating, but it’s not Five? That’s lame

· Why are they all so hell-bent on making stupid decisions

· Klaus you idiot

· Oh that SON OF A BITCH HARGREEVES

· What the fuck what is on the dark side of the moon

· What the flying fuck what the fuck what tebdjbdgkbjdsgkbjgsdjgnj

· WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE GOING TO WAR

EPISODE 10

· Oh the kids are back for Ben’s funeral

· I hate this

· Reginald is just. The worst.

· My emotions are all over the place

· Oh……..babies

· OH MY GOD DIEGO

· AND FIVE

· It wouldn’t hurt to go to an abandoned farm

· God this is a family of shitty choices

· I don’t want Ben to be gone

· FAMILY TIME

· Oh shit I totally forgot about the last Swede

· BRO THE STAKES

· YEAH THIS LOOKS BAD

· ALRIGHT Harland is gonna be alright

· All these assassins have shit aim

· HE’S MATRIXING

· LILA’S ONE OF THE 43

· SHE CAN ABSORB AND REDIRECT THEIR ENERGIES

· ONE OF THEM ONE OF THEM ONE OF THEM

· Awwwwww they love each other

· Oh great THEY’RE DEAD AGAIN

· Oh now LILA will have to fix the timeline

· Wait now they’re all dead

· The swede to the rescue?

· Please tell me she’s dead for good this time

· We love a de facto protagonist saving everyone’s asses once more

· GO VANYA SAVE THE BABY

· Dot and Herb are precious dumbasses

· This is heart-breaking, but I understand Sissy so much

· WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CLIFFHANGER

#tua spoilers #not that you'd understand much if you don't watch the episodes #personal #come yell at me in my inbox please

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otonymous · 4 years

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HOW ARE YOU SO AWESOME AND FUNNY AND JUST-ALL ROUND GREAT 😭 you seriously are adorable and I swear, your blog genuinely makes me happy and it instantly makes me feel better if I'm down. The way you respond to asks, the whole hyping up the thirst and being spot on with your great humour, it's awesome!Your writing is just- *chef kiss*. It's perfect. All Hail Lady Otonymous, the rightful queen

Dearest Nonny,

Please take a look at this gif:

This was literally me when I read your comments. It was like someone had given me a briefcase full of cash. In fact, it actually felt better than that. I cannot even begin to tell you how much your incredibly kind feedback means to me. I am so touched right now, I’m at a loss for words to describe it. So I must do what any sane person would do and allow the men of Mr Love: Queen’s Choice to express my love for you via finger hearts and other cavity-inducing, cozy cardiac poses LOL 🥰🥰🥰

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU so much! 💕 - Otonymous

#crying in the club rn #seriously #TYSM Nonny #you're awesome #q&a #anonymous #thank you so much #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mr love dream date #mlqc lucien #mlqc gavin #mlqc kiro #mlqc shaw #mlqc victor #mine #gif with purchase #fresh prince of bel air

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calliecat93 · 4 years

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Well everyone… Chapter 11. We are in the home-stretch now. At this point, IDK what’s going to happen. Things seem okay. Mantle trusts Ironwood again, the Grimm are under control, Watts and Tyrian are being confronted everything seems to be going our heroes way. I’ve had my problems with these past two chapters, but I’ve still been extremely anxious for this one. Everything seems to be going right, but can it last? Or are we about to approach our darkest hour?

Overview

We pick up right where we left off with Watts vs Ironwood. As always, describing fight scenes in these reviews is always hard since I can only really say ‘this is awesome!’ Which it is! Ironwood is clearly stronger physically and just as strategic as Watts. But not only is Watts actually capable of defending himself but since he has control over the biome system, he has the battlefield advantage. It’s a very badass fight, and to top it all off we get an awesome new song. And to my shock, ti is sung by Caleb Hyles. For those who don’t know, he is a cover artist (mainly of anime) and he actually did a cover of Red Like Roses Part II with Casey last year. Which is likely how he got the gig, and I ain’t complaining cause the song is awesome. Is the soundtrack here yet?

Eventually though, the two combatants come to a standstill. They’re both out of bullets… but Watts is already one step ahead. He’s able to trap Ironwood by using his rings Hard Light Shield to trap Ironwood’s arm in the grates. Any attempt by Ironwood to pull himself out only burns him and burns him badly. Watts resumes his work looking for something within the tower’s databanks… but is shocked when Ironwood frees himself. It leaves his arm severely burned, but he’s free and he pumbles Watts into the ground. He soon has him down, and he holds him over the lava field below. Ironwood says that he’ll sacrifice everything in order to stop Salem. Watts’ response? That he indeed hopes that he does. We don’t see if Ironwood drops him or not, leaving his fate currently in the air.

In Mantle, Qrow, Clover and Robyn face Tyrian and manage to take him down. So… that’s it. Watts and Tyrian are down. The bad guys lost. The good guys won! Right? RIGHT?! Well… looks are deceiving, aren’t they? Ironwood returns to his office, his arm bandaged and he has Watts’ briefcase. But he stops in his tracks and his expression shifts from exhaustion to horror. He calls Winter, asking her if anyone had gotten into the Academy. She says no, clearly confused and shocked. She runs back inside, Cinder watching from afar. Due to this, RWBYJNR and Ace-Opa are called back despite evacuations still going on. They are all understandably confused. JNR decides to go and get Oscar while RWBY goes on ahead with Ace-Ops to meet with Ironwood.

RWBY and Ace-Ops (minus Clover) enter Ironwood’s office, and the headmaster/general is not happy. Why? He reveals what he found: a chess piece. To be exact a Black Queen chess piece. The same symbol that Salem used when she attacked Beacon. When she took over Ironwood’s forces. This re-triggers Ironwood’s paranoia, realizing that Salem was one step ahead of him once more. Now he’s questioning everything. Salem’s forces are in Atlas. Was this all ehr plan For Atlas’s forces to rescue Mantle? For this to distract the heroes so that she could accomplish this? Even when Weiss reminds him that Mantle is back on their side, all it does is anger Ironwood more to the point that he punches his desk. You know how he cracked Jaques when he did this in V4? Yeah deja vu, huh? But needless to say, the general is losing it.

Ruby notices that the chess piece is made of glass. Black glass. Yep, it’s Cinder. This concerns everyone, and now Ironwood worries that Hazel is there as well. The RWBY girls try to calm him down, assuring him that they can figure this out… but the general is doubtful. Not just about the situation, but of them. It’s at this point that he questions how Robyn knew about the Communications Tower, forcing Yang and Blake to confess. Ironwood and the Ace-Ops are furious to hear of this even as Blake and Yang try to say they only wanted to help and that Robyn could be trusted. Everyone begins arguing and poor Weiss looks like she’s going to lose it when she says none of this matters. But to Ironwood loyalty always matters, and RWBY has broken his. During this, we see Watts’ briefcase move… and we finally get to see what’s inside it.

It’s a Seer Grimm. But not just any Seer. We hear someone talk. Salem. The Seer cracks and falls to the ground, and out of the crystal ball emerges an apparition of the Grimm Queen herself. Everyone is shocked… well, except Ruby who immediately points out that they beat Watts and Tyrian. However, Salem reveals the true extent of her plans. She never intended to win. She only sent Watts and Tyrian to set the stage… for her. That’s right folks, Watts and Tyrian were only there to cause chaos and allow Salem to make her move personally. She tries to tell Ironwood to surrender for the good of Atlas, but he refuses. Salem continues, essentially telling him that defiance is foolish and to just make it easier one everyone by surrendering.

Ruby refuses. She points out that they know everything. That Salem is immortal. But it doesn’t matter. She has still failed. She still hasn’t won. She may be unkillable, but she isn’t unbeatable. Ruby swears then and there that they will stop her. Salem turns to face her… and says that her mother said the exact same thing. This shocks Ruby, and it only gets worse when Salem says that Summer was wrong too. We see flashes of a downcast Summer standing before a grey sky, a dark parallel to when we first saw her last volume. Ruby, who may or may not be seeing this, starts to unravel. Tears pour down her face and her Eyes fluctuate, even briefly unleashing the light at one point. By the end, Ruby crumbles to the ground and breaks down. Yang can only console her as Salem’s apparition fades away.

Everyone is stunned, especially since Salem is now on her way. Ace-Ops is stunned that this wasn’t detected. As it turns out, the alarms are offline, either turned off… or already destroyed. With this revelation, Ironwood makes a decision. He informs Weiss that he’s already sent Winter to claim the Winter Maiden’s powers, despite Fria not being dead. He intends to keep the Staff and Lamp away from Salem, which a still tearful but calmer Ruby questions. After all, he allowed them to keep the Lamp. But that was before the secret was revealed, so he feels that he has no reason to trust them now. But that’s not all. Yang has realized that Amity isn’t done and it was just a lie to lure out Watts. With time gone, Ironwood decides to use the power of the Staff to raise the Kingdom even higher. So high that the Grimm can’t ever reach them again. But if he does this, recall all the forces and make the kingdom unreachable, he will leave Mantle to die.

None of RWBY is okay with this whatsoever. Ruby begs Ironwood to hold his ground with Mantle but he only says that sometimes to do the right thing, hard choices have to be made. RWBY refuses to allow this… but Ace-Ops support Ironwood. The girls are shocked, Weiss even asking about how the council will react. But Ironwood says that they’ll say nothing… when he declares Martial Law. That’s right folks, we’re at that point now. They protest and when their loyalty is questioned, Ruby says that they’re loyal to those counting on them. But she’s stunned silent when Ironwood coldly replies that they’re saving who they can... and that RWBY is in their way.

At this point, Ruby’s Scroll goes off as Jaune tries to contact her. Ruby, using her Semblance to get out of Ironwood’s range, informs not just Jaune but also Qrow, Robyn, Clover, Winter, and Penny about the general’s plans for Martial Law. Before she can finish, however, Ironwood blocks the comms. He declares that until Atlas and the Relics are safe, RWBY is being put under arrest. Ruby points out that they aren’t just going to let them take them. Ironwood knows… and leaves the girls to face against the Ace-Ops. Back with JNR, Jaune is understandably shocked about what’s going on. But the reason why he called? JNR is outside their trashed room. The place is a wreck, torn up robot parts everywhere. But worse of all, Oscar is gone. And I don’t think that he left to get a change of clothes this time.

Review

The Overview alone was three pages long on Google Docs. I think you can tell that this was a Hell of an eventful chapter based off of that. So, first of all… CRWBY I am so, so sorry that I ever doubted you. I was not happy with how these past two chapters were handling things. I didn’t hate it mind you, but it felt so… easy that all of a sudden, everything was going the heroes' way. All the secrets came out with no backlash. Everyone was suddenly able to work together. Ironwood handled the revelation far too well. But now? Now I know why it felt that way… because it was too easy. They lulled us into a false sense of security and then dropped this on us.

CRWBY, you bastards. I love you.

There is so much to go over. I guess the best place to start is the main act. Which means we need to talk about Ironwood. As I said in my Chapter 7 Review, Ironwood is one of the most complex characters of the series. Throughout this volume, and the past volumes, we have seen how he is a well-intentioned person, but he makes all the wrong choices. He’s trying so hard to be this strong figurehead. Trying to be like Ozpin. But he isn’t. He is a broken man who doesn't know what to do. He was close to shoving away his humanity altogether, but the past two chapters seemed to fix this. He reached a breaking point and Oscar helped him through it. He revealed the truth. He accepted the revelations from Oscar. He started to do everything right… until now.

All it took was a chess piece. The same symbol that broke him before. That was all it took to re-ignite his trauma and snap completely. He told Watts that he’d sacrifice everything to stop Salem, and he meant it in the darkest way possible. Watts knew it too. He lost the fight, but he still beat Ironwood because he knows that Salem is coming. He knows that he’s pushed Ironwood over the edge. He didn’t know about Cinder’s part, but even so, he did his job. And Cinder, who wasn’t in on any of this just had to leave her calling card to scare him. She said as much in the last chapter. And it worked. Ironwood has turned on RWBY. He is declaring Martial Law. He is leaving Mantle to die. He is doing exactly what Salem wanted; divide them.

Ironwood isn’t evil. He isn’t. When you look at everything as a whole, you can see why he’s doing what he’s doing. He is trying to do the right thing. He feels like he has no choice and is doing what he can to save as many lives as he can. Like he said, doing the right thing means hard choices. This is one of them. But it doesn't change the fact that he’s leaving innocent people to die, even though they have the situation under control. If they kept going like they were, they might have had a chance. Thy had Mantle on their side. They had the people united. All they’d have to do is plan how to track down Cinder and prepare for Salem’s forces. But unfortunately, Ironwood’s paranoia consumed him. You feel for him but there is no denying that he’s crossed the line. He’s trying to save his kingdom, but I think that his choices here may just rob him of everything, especially himself.

So how much of this is RWBY’s fault? Well… a little bit, but overall this isn’t at all their fault. Yes, Ruby held back Salem’s immortality. But when that came out, Ironwood accepted it. He might have been shaken, but it wasn’t enough to make him angry until he saw the chess piece. Saw that Salem outplayed him once more, and even then she technically hadn't. Cinder left it just to mess with him, and it worked. We can debate forever if Ruby made the right choice or not. But Ironwood’s paranoia was a problem long before the heroes arrived. We saw Ironwood upsurge control from Oz in V2, feeling that he was in the right, and of course, we know how that went. We saw him slowly unhinge in V4, and we see the full extent here. The embargo, robbing Mantle of resources, the police state. He went to extreme measures, hence why the heroes were reluctant to trust him to begin with. It didn’t matter if Ruby told him sooner or later, this was likely always going to happen from the moment they entered the kingdom. From the moment that the Fall of Beacon happened.

In the end, RWBY’s biggest offense was keeping the secret about Salem’s immortality, and Yang and Blake about Robyn. But those are ultimately minor details that don’t matter amid the current crisis. Yes, it ultimately made Ironwood no longer trust them, but again that likely only happened because of his re-ignited trauma. RWBY tried to be reasonable. And unfortunately, that failed. They lied, and now they’re paying the consequences. Would them doing it differently have changed anything? I don’t know. I doubt that they do either. But no matter what, Ironwood is again making all the wrong choices. RWBY knows this. In the end, they are devoted to protecting everyone and they know that there are better ways than allowing a whole city to die. But they can’t reason with Ironwood, and so far it doesn't look like Ace-Ops are going to bend either. This is bad. Really bad. But after how annoyed I was at the lack of consequence and the resolution being too easy, I am glad to see this. Actions have consequences. Things aren’t just this easily resolved. We’re seeing everything come to a head now, and I am terrified about it.

But on top of all of that, we have Salem. Oh God, Salem. I think we all kinda knew by now that the whole plan was to cause chaos to allow the Wicked Witch to attack. Like last volume said, “You want something done, do it yourself.” The Flying Monkeys are coming folks. It was such an eerie scene. How Salem maintained this calm, almost motherly presence as she tried to make Ironwood surrender for Atlas’ sake. This woman only gets more and more terrifying with every volume. But then there is her interaction with Ruby. This is something that I’ve wanted for so sooooo long. We see Ruby talk back against Salem. She speaks how they know everything and they’ll win regardless. We see Ruby the most determined that she’s ever been as she stares down this Grimm woman, and it is one of her best moments thus far.

But Salem breaks her. All by bringing up Summer. How she had been wrong just like Ruby. It’s… such a painful scene to watch. We see Ruby shocked as she puts the pieces together, and she loses it. The emotions overwhelm her. So much so that her eyes go haywire. For so long. Ruby has concealed her feelings and hidden behind a mask of optimism. It was always for everyone else’s sake. But she can’t with this. The revelation that her mother died at Salem’s hand. It overwhelms her and she finally, finally breaks down. The others reactions also hurt. Weiss is just shocked. Blake clearly wants to console Ruby, but she doesn't know how on top of her own shock. But Yang? She immediately tries to console her sister, but you can see the pure agony in her expression. After all, Summer was her mom too. She puts it aside because Ruby needs her, but you can just see that this hurt her just as much. It’s such a well done, but emotionally crippling scene.

But this whole episode just re-ignited how much I love Ruby. Before the big reveal, she doesn't even flinch when she sees Salem. She points out more or less to her face that they know everything about her, and they will defeat her. Then after her breakdown, what does she do? She stands against Ironwood, refusing to let the people of Mantle die along with her team. When Jaune contacts her, she immediately informs him and everyone else about the Martial Law. Even at her lowest point thus far, Ruby stood up and did what was right, And she had her team there, standing by her side. I thought we were heading to another V5 situation where Ruby’s development got wasted. But I was wrong. Not only is she facing the consequences of her choices, but she’s being the hero that she is meant to be.

But even so, it’s bleak. This is indeed the darkest hour. The moment where everything has gone downhill. On top of all this, we have Cinder going after the Maiden. We have Winter and Penny at the facility, and I get the feeling that one or both aren’t coming out unscathed. On top of WInter potentially killing an old woman. Then Neo has supposedly kidnapped Oscar, and only JNR knows it. Will they try to track them down? Try to help RWBY? I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t think that this volume is going to end happily. At all. Like Penny said before, “It’ll be just like Beacon again!” She was right, in the worst way possible.

Still, we had good stuff. The Watts vs Ironwood fight was freakin’ epic. They both have their own skillsets and it shows. Add that to the badass Caleb Hyles song, and you have a very memorable fight scene. The Tyrian fight was kinda anti-climactic, but not bad. Robyn’s dart blowing up and her kicking him in the face were a delight. The musical score was freakin excellent as well, especially during the Salem scene and the final few moments. The pacing was strong, especially compared to the past two. Honestly, I can forgive that now because I now see why they did it that way. It was all for this. And they did so flawlessly.

Chapter Twelve Predictions

Oh God… I really don’t know. I’m hoping that Marrow will turn on Ace-Ops and use his Stay power to let RWBY escape. He definitely appears to be the most reluctant about all of this, so it’s possible. Cinder’s likely gonna interfere in the Maiden transfer and it’ll be her against Penny and Winter. Still pretty sure that Winter isn’t getting those powers. Neo has Oscar but if he’s still free, we may see him fight back. Who knows what Ironwood is going to do right now. We have to see what Clover ultimately does, and if he sticks by Atlas, it’s likely gonna be him against Robyn and Qrow. Oh and Tyrian is still there so he could use this to escape. Really I only know one thing: it's gonna be Hell.

Episode Stats

Favorite Character: Ruby Rose Favorite Scene: Ruby confronting Salem Least Favorite Scene: Tyrian Fight Favorite Voice Actor: Lindsay Jones (Ruby Rose) Favorite Animation: Watts vs Ironwood Rating: 10/10

Final Thoughts

I loved this chapter. It’s the first all volume that I’ve given a perfect score. The past two really did have me concerned about the direction, but this? This was perfect. All of my concerns have been alleviated. The action was good, the drama was on point, and it left me with so much dread but so much satisfaction. We have two chapters left folks. It’s gonna be one Hell of a conclusion. Can’t wait~!

#rwby #rwby7 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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thorne93 · 5 years

Text

Stan Lee University (Part 4)

Prompt: What would the Avengers be like in college, more importantly, what would they be like if Y/N existed around them?

Word Count: 2031

Warnings: drama, language, betrayal

Notes: This is based on a HC from @carryonmyswansong. They helped brainstorm and write part of this series. In this AU, no one will have powers, everyone is a normal human. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong

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

The following Monday, the club you resided over was ready to meet. The food was ordered, the room reserved, the guest speaker had arrived and you’d talked to him for a little bit. The guest speaker started to go around the room before the meeting actually began, and was talking to them while you got the presentation set up.

“So do you also wear a cape?” Stephen suddenly said from beside you, making you jump slightly. He was so close to you you had no idea how he got there, or when, and why you didn’t notice.

“What?” you asked, confused.

“Oh, I just noticed your course load is rather heavy and you manage all this. I was just wondering if you also wear capes when you’re saving the day and being a superhero,” he said with a faint smile.

You shook your head and laughed before going back to the screen.

“I’m hardly a hero. Just a college student with zero social life and a lot of late nights,” you muttered.

“Sacrifices, huh?” Stephen murmured.

“Yep. But I’m sure you know all about that, being in the same boat I’m in.” You glanced down at the time. “Shoot, only got five minutes. Okay, can you sign this sign in sheet real quick so I can round everyone up?” you asked, handing him a clipboard. He scratched his name and email and you looked at it. “Strange? Your last name is Strange?”

“Yes? Why? Is that… strange to you?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Other than the really bad pun, no. It’s… I like it.” You smiled fondly to yourself. “You do realize you’ll be Doctor Strange, right?” you asked, laughing a little.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” he said cheekily before you shooed him away to go sit and you called attention to the room to get the meeting going.

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

“Did you read?” Loki asked, leaning over towards you just before class.

“Yeah, why? Did you not?”

“I did, I just thought this was stupid. I wanted to hear your take,” he said casually.

“Oh… Well I suppose it’s a little… how do I put this… very rose colored glasses,” you said, trying to decide if that was the right way to word it.

“You’re being too kind. This was optimistic garbage. The first three chapters are empty…”

“Have fun telling that to our professor,” you said, reminding him of the class discussion.

“I have no problem telling her that I think this is utter crap.”

“I can’t wait to see what she says,” you said with a coy grin.

“Believe it or not, Y/N, you can stand up to people,” he retorted. “It does happen.”

“Hey, I stand up to people all the time,” you snapped, frowning.

“You don’t seem the type,” Loki said with a bit of amusement in his voice.

“I just stood up to you, didn’t I?”

“Prove it then, when the professor starts this discussion, tell her how you really feel. Don’t sugar coat it either,” he pressed.

“Fine. Easy. Sharing my opinion with the class, I do it all the time.”

“Good, then this should be like a walk in the park,” he noted before folding his hands behind his head and leaning back.

The professor dashed into the classroom, threw her briefcase down, grabbed out her book, checked the time, and called attention to the class. “Alright everyone, what did we think of those first three chapters?”

For a moment, everyone was quiet, too shy to say their piece.

“Anyone? Did anyone like it, love it, hate it?” she asked as she stood at the podium.

Loki glanced to you before raising his hand quickly. “Y/N has something she wants to share about the book,” he proclaimed.

“Oh?” the professor said, turning to you on Loki’s right. You shot him a glare full of daggers before you cleared your throat.

“I, uh… I thought it was wildly and hopelessly optimistic. I mean, they live in horrid conditions but somehow cling to this odd notion of hope that somehow everything will be okay, that someone will come rescue them. I just don’t see how that’s plausible… It felt very… childish to me. No adult would think this way. No adult would look at their situation and say ‘everything’s okay’.”

“Interesting, so you think it’s--”

“Bad. I think it’s bad. The grammar is just… did he even learn grammar? The story jumps around and I can’t tell where we are, and when I can tell, it’s just total shit. If you picked this book as a starter to say ‘It will get better from here’, good, I hope so. Or if you picked this as an example of a crappy book, then job well done.”

With that, you sat back in your seat and Loki glanced sideways at you, giving you an approving smirk, almost as if he were proud.

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

Later that night in your dorm, between your studies, you checked your email. Your advisor had sent you an internship opportunity. Well, to be correct he sent it to all the psych majors, which meant Wanda got it too. You didn’t think she would be interested in something like this. It was clinical psychology and she wanted to work with schools, children, counseling. This was definitely more up your alley. Still, you wondered if she would even try for it.

You emailed your advisor and stated you were interested and wanted to see if you could get an interview for the spot. Within ten minutes he replied and gave you all of their information to set it up yourself. You called the company and secured an interview for next week. If all went well, this could very well be the company you did an apprenticeship at, or even got you into medical school.

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

The next day you were back at class with the science trio, happily taking physics notes. As soon as class ended, the four of you began walking out of class together when a younger kid came bouncing up. He had to be a freshman… maybe a sophomore. He looked really young, but then again who were you to talk? You were nineteen and everyone else in your class was twenty-one and up.

“Hey, Petey,” Tony said as he greeted the bright-eyed young man.

“Who’s this Tony?” you asked politely.

“Guys, meet Peter Parker.”

“Is he…?” you asked, not sure where to take the question, just hoping Tony would fill in the gap.

“Oh, hey guys. Nice to meet all of you. Wow, this is great. Tony talks about all of you all the time,” Peter said, his words tumbling out like a flood.

“Really?” you asked, giving Tony the side eye.

“Pete here is a sophomore in my robotics class,” Tony explained. “He also shares the bathroom across the hall from Bruce and me.”

“Oh, very cool. Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N. This is Bruce, and Stephen,” you said, introducing everyone.

“This is awesome. I don’t have a lot of friends, well not here on campus. See I tested out of senior year so I graduated early…”

“Just like Y/N,” Tony noted, giving you a pointed look.

“Yeah, how about that,” you mused watching the brunette boy walk backwards in front of all of you. “What’s your major?”

“Double majoring. So far it’s computer science and physics.”

“Oh wow, Tony, a man after your own heart,” Bruce joked, pushing his friend.

“Har-har. Mock if you want but Pete here is the real deal. He might even be as good as me,” he stated, impressed.

“Is there room for anything besides your ego in that head?” Stephen suddenly asked from beside you as he leaned forward to address Tony.

“Just my great fashion sense and the ability to land any woman,” he informed confidently.

“Oh, is that all?” Stephen asked with an amused eyeroll.

“Sounds like you’re doing some great things, Pete. That’s awesome. We’ve got a science club if you’d want to join,” Bruce offered.

“Who’s the cult leader now?” you asked, eliciting a shy smile from Bruce.

“You still are,” Tony interjected with a smug face. “We’re just followers. Big difference.”

“Oh, right. More money being a leader, I forgot,” you teased before making your eyes cross to give him a stupid and goofy face.

“So Y/N, you graduated early too?” Peter asked as he fell in line with the four of you.

“Yeah I--”

“Graduated early?” Tony interrupted, sounding floored. “She could barely drive a car and she was coming to college with us. Imagine my surprise when this little freshman suddenly shows up on orientation day.”

You blushed slightly while Stephen slid his eyes towards you in curiosity. He had no idea you were younger than him. The way you carried yourself, your knowledge, your class level -- it all seemed like a junior or senior. He was suddenly even more intrigued than he had been.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal, Tony. We knew each other before I got here,” you reminded.

“Yeah, but I was pretty pissed that you came and joined us. Made me and Banner here look like trained monkeys.”

“Are you sure that was Y/N’s doing?” Stephen asked, making you, Peter, and Banner chuckle.

“You all can laugh all you want. I’ll remember how much you mocked me when I’m a famous billionaire.”

“And you’ll remember how much we love you,” you said lovingly as you wrapped an arm through his and leaned your head on his shoulder, looking up at him.

“If this is love to you, I’d hate to see what it’s like when you don’t like someone,” Tony retorted sarcastically. “Speaking of, I’m off to my lab.”

“You mean your super secret lab that no one is supposed to know about?” you asked.

“Yes, that one.”

“Wait, lab? Secret? Oh, Mr. Stark you gotta show me this!” Peter requested excitedly as he stepped back out in front of all of you again.

“Okay, kid, don’t call me Mr. Stark, makes me feel old. That’s weird… Secondly, you can’t see it, it’s a secret.”

“Well who all knows about it?”

“Well now, all of you,” he said with an eye roll.

You laughed. “He’s being a drama queen. Only Bruce and I have been to it. See, Peter, freshman year, towards the end of spring semester Tony broke into one of the labs in the old science building. It was an old lab, no one used it, hardly any equipment in there. It was one of the ones in the basement, right?” you explained as you walked.

Pete nodded, hanging on your every word.

“Well… he wasn’t authorized to use it, obviously. It’s considered trespassing. Tony worked in there for about three weeks. He got a project built for one of his classes. It was a really cool invention. But one day, he came back and…” You paused, having to laugh a little. “And the lock had been replaced with a new one, with a key in an envelope sticking to the door.”

“Holy… So was there a note or anything?”

You shrugged and shook your head. “No. No one from the faculty has contacted him, and no letter or anything has ever been left there. We just all came to the silent understanding that it’s Tony’s lab.”

“That’s freaking awesome!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Tony said, raising his hand.

“Why? Don’t want him to follow your criminal behavior?” Stephen remarked with a raise of an eyebrow.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything illegal.”

“Except trespass…” Stephen noted.

“Okay, fine. I broke into an empty lab for space and tools to build something for a project that got me grant money. Sue me,” Tony snapped.

“Boys, boys. Don’t fight. Tony, Bruce, let’s go to the lab. Stephen, I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” you said as the three of you started to veer away from Stephen and Peter.

He waved a small wave at you and smiled. “Yeah, sounds good.”

“It was nice to meet you, Peter,” you stated sweetly.

“Yeah, you too, Y/N,” he said as he blushed before rubbing his neck.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Forever Tag List

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SLU

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#stan lee university #bucky x reader #loki x reader #stephen strange x reader #bucky barnes #loki fic

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universal-kitty · 6 years

Text

So I’m thinking about Borderlands again... Listening to music used in Borderlands... So I thought, why not go for it again? Explain my SI in one, comprehensive post, make another tag-series out of it (to go with my BnHA Edition one), and make it easier on us all, huh?

So here we go! Borderlands, the Self-Insert Edition! Featuring my SI, Rena “Gremlin” Marlow...and co.

Rena Marlow, a daughter of a brilliant scientist of their galaxy and a mother known- if lesser- by her photography of various planets and stars.

Brown hair parted down the middle with strands of brown hair that fall next to her face, in later years; in childhood, she just has fringe. Dark green eyes and wears glasses.

A happy, oblivious kid growing up. Liked to believe in fairytales, love at first sight, superstitions... A whole bunch of things. Very imaginative, in that sense.

Idolized her father. People seemed to adore him and knew him wherever he went. He spent long hours in his lab, making Rena daydream of all the cool things he was inventing back there. She was never allowed back there, usually, so she stuck to waiting around and staring at his lab door.

Eventually, he did invite her in, one day. Wanted help. The idea was so cool! Helping her dad with a project?! Wow!!! What cool thing would she get to work with?

...It wasn’t at all as pleasant as she’d hoped.

What he needed help with is all she’d ever know as “The Machine”. A smooth, pure white, helmet-looking contraption with lots of cords going into it, during the early days of her father hammering out the details of it.

It hurt then, too. Not being fully worked out, it tended to shock her a lot. Strapped down to a chair, she couldn’t go anywhere... Her father would carry her back to her room and- at some point- the process would begin again.

Carried on for a few months until it didn’t hurt anymore; it started...teaching her things. Suddenly, she knew all about oceanic life and could speak of it at a college level. Write her own studies on plant life. Her father was proud of her, The Machine didn’t hurt anymore, and even her often space-case mother praised her. It felt...amazing!!

Eventually the testing stopped, though. Her father brought in a guy to help and Rena was growing up, as the years passed.

In about junior high, she met a guy. Absolutely starstruck by him and settled on them being “soulmates” within a month or two... Not that it was just her saying this, mind you; her boyfriend certainly encouraged it.

Her friends were cautious, but supportive. Be chill, girl. Still a lot more in life, you know? Besides, considering who her dad is...?

Rena didn’t pay it much heed. Instead, more plans for the future! More dreams and secrets and quiet moments...

Well, until another few years later. Wandering the town at night, heading home...and spying that- just down the street- her supposed “boyfriend” was being sweet to some other girl, said he loved her, and kissed her.

It destroyed her. Her home life had never been stellar and she’d been hoping that with him...she’d be able to get out. They’d be a “happily ever after”.....

Rena instead decided to run away. That night. Get as far away from here as possible. Pack her bags, slip as much money and a little more as seemed necessary...and as a final knife to the back, steal The Machine.

It’s no secret it’s been killing other people, anyways. They can’t handle their minds being fed so much information, so it tends to backfire and rapidly destroy their mind... Rena’s never had that issue, though. Likely for growing with it as it evolved...so hers now.

Books it off-planet that night and goes as far as she dares within the next solar cycle or two.

Stays on another planet for a few months. Fakes an ID and goes to a local college... Who calls her out for being a daughter of Dr. Marlow anyways and practically sweeps her in with excitement.

Ends up acing everything far too easily, thanks to The Machine. But it all gives her a good starting point into the world ahead and a fancy piece of paper that basically says, “congrats, you understand what a Science is.”

At this point, understands: biological science (biology, zoology, oceanology), botany, geology, chemistry, ecology, and physics. And she’s just getting started!!!

Keeps running once more ‘til the funds are running low...and that’s when she finds Hyperion.

Initially joins under Tassiter, still recruiting people for Hyperion. He’s...doubtful of her true age, but accepts upon seeing what she can do when he allows her a trial run of things he wants to see done. Fast and experienced despite her face, he lets her join.

Enters R&D from that point on, at first as an on-hand assistant...before rising up to earn her own private lab and assisting with bigger and better projects. Rena proves herself worthy of it, and Hyperion bends a little to allow her, when possible.

It’s around this time, as they move into Helios and continue to set up, that an old crew hunts down Rena. They force her to accept their black-market deals or they report her back to her father... After all, they work for him, too, but are always lookin’ to cut a deal with the better side. Rena gives in.

The events of the Pre-Sequel go down. Rena largely keeps herself locked inside her dark laboratory, hiding away in one of her cabinets. It’s a terrifying, defining moment for her...and one that also helps survive the inevitable Jack takeover.

Honestly, that goes over like day to night for her. One minute, it’s still a “Tassiter” owned company, then before she knows it, Helios is complete and “Handsome Jack” owns the place. Well, okay then. Let her have her coffee as usual, oh Jack sir, and we’re all good.

Honestly, barely leaves her lab. Too much work going on. If not a Hyperion-issued project, then one of her own designs. She’s got a lot of room to work with and she’s gonna make the best of it, dammit!

Still manages to make a friend or two; meets Leah around this time. A very cheerful young woman who’s somehow dug ABBA out of their grave and is fond of “Dancing Queen.” Helps Rena keep in touch with her “feminine side” not that she sees much point to it...

They hang out a bit, anyways. It’s the only time Rena is guaranteed to sleep. Especially in a proper bed.

(Doesn’t sleep in the employee-issued rooms. Gives her paranoia of being alone; she’d rather be close to her work than stuck in a near-permanent panic attack.)

Her first pet project? Lizards. With a whole process of breaking down other key DNA sequences from other species. Why? Lizards....into dragons.

Silverstreak is her “main” partner. Silver dragon, with blue eyes. Incredibly bossy and sassy to the others; easy to assume their leadership position.

Other dragons include:

Apophis: Big male dragon, slightly bigger than Silver. Purple and gold scales, with four eyes total. An absolute jerk who tries to harass Silver, but they have none of it. Would kill a family for a cornchip, probably. And he doesn’t even like them!!

Dymri: Forest green dragon, with brown horns and a streak of fur down his back, with tufts on the bend of his forelegs and hind legs. Is now missing his left wing, due to Apophis ripping it nearly entirely off. (It ended up being amputated.)

Munda: Dymri’s mate. Ended up sprouting a lot more fur than he did, but in a more unusual color: green. Looks like a dappled forest with blue eyes and an attitude.

Poseidon: Blue, serpent dragon. Fairly big, though not as much as Apophis. Likes hanging out in water... That with his scale color, thus, the name.

Firestorm: A red, wyvern dragon. No arms, just wings, only hind legs. Red scales with bright green eyes. Truly a charmer.

Smokey: Firestorm’s mate. Dark scales that give off a black-grey color, which inspired her name. Red eyes. Has a tuft of fur at the end of her tail.

Sugar: Another female dragon named for her brown and cream-colored scales. Also a wyvern, with her hand-wings. Very sweet and friendly to anyone she meets. Small streaks of feathers from head to her tail.

Little Angel: One of the G2 dragons, along with three others of her nest. Has a broken horn on her right side. Black and white-splotched scales. A little trooper and totally not named after a certain siren...

.....Along with many more who are still unnamed to this date. From the first set (G1s) to the babies some pairs have had (G2s).

Cue the events of Borderlands, as Rena continues to raise dragons and serve Hyperion. Depending on who-what-where, this may be where some romances start their growth...but we’ll get to that later.

People continue to bother her. A nickname surfaces... “Gremlin.” Because she’s pretty short (at 5′2″ without her trademark heels), tends to be more active when most people would feel the need to sleep, and creeps around with a hunched back, more often than not. Truly, a gremlin among them.

Nothing really happens in this time period up ‘til BLands 2, in which Rena decides to perfectly time a trip to Pandora with a small group of scientists. Nobody’s really gotten personal with studying the Pandoran landscape, have they? So... Guess Rena will do it, then!

Only to find out why nobody has ever done that; raiders and bandits. Infiltrating the camp barely a week in.

Everyone is murdered. Rena escapes with the briefcase that holds The Machine, but is otherwise alone and stuck on Pandora.

Ends up trying to blend in, after a few weeks. There’s only so much an intelligent woman could do here...but how about one who acts like your typical psycho? Worth the shot, at least.

Slowly, the good scientist slips away into a woman masquerading madness while seeping into it, at the same time.

Pops is one of her first friends on Pandora. Someone she trusts...and a father figure to her. He’s a big man who knows hacking and coding, so she learns a bunch from him. They build robots together! It’s awesome.

From there, she gets introduced to this eye-guy waaaaaaayyyyy across the way over a call from Pops to that other guy. Rena ends up making him “Fly Boy” to do deliveries without leaving home.

Said guy looks out for Rena now, getting her new glasses whenever she breaks hers.

Made a few other bots in her time. One that only screamed “fuck” at the top of their lil’ volume, a fixed Claptrap unit with no sense of direction, and a bot named Sparky. But bandits destroyed him a few days into life. RIP, Sparky....

That nickname Helios gave her? Gremlin? Others call her that, now. All know of Gremlin!! ....Well, not all, but a lot.

Including Pyrotech and Meowzer. They run a small gang of bandits and are probably dating...? Gremlin still doesn’t know, either way, but she survived meeting them, so that’s cool.

Met another person who calls himself Scabbs. Largely because he’s got CIP (can’t feel pain; a marvel that he’s still alive when Pandora is your home planet) and so has a fair amount of scars and scratches... Ever since meeting up with Rena, she’s essentially adopted him and makes sure he’s got no life-threatening injuries.

Which is lowkey hilarious, considering Scabbs has made it 17 years without dying, so he’s not exactly in need of a parent, but... He likes Rena, so it’s cool.

Stocks up on weapons, clothes, and masks. All looted from dead bodies and washed up a little. Rena herself as taken to wearing a black tank top, torn up into a crop-top look, a Marauder jacket, and altered, brown pants. Has boots for shoes. Where she got ‘em, nobody knows.

Is stuck on Pandora all the way ‘til Tales... In which she tends to join up in an attempt to get back to Helios and get all of her shit back.

With that covering the basics... Let’s get down to the AUs, then the shipping verses after that, ey...?

AU 1- AI Rena: There’s two verses for this AU. (As long as this post already is.)

Verse 1: Rena owns the Wildlife Exploration Preserve shortly before the events of Tales. However, she didn’t realize one of her pet projects wasn’t bonding to her properly. While going in for feeding and check-ups, the beast killed her and activated a failsafe that resulted in an AI version of herself being activated.

Rhys, having no concept of safety, jabs a port into his head to try and get information on more pieces for Gortys. Just like a time before with Nakayama, Rhys instead downloads a whole ‘nother AI into his noggin.

Now he’s got an Asshole and a Know-It-All Scientist taking root in his skull. The good news is Rena is much nicer to him than HJack is. The bad news is the two bicker a lot because of it.

Where Jack is blue with yellow eyes, Rena is a green holo with- at first- light, green-yellow eyes. Over time, her eyes shift to yellow, however. Nobody is sure why, but Rhys and Rena agree to blame Jack for it. (Who is proud at her matching him, but less thrilled to be blamed for something he didn’t do... Intentionally.)

Lots of Rena snarking Jack. He can touch her, being another hologram like he is, but he can’t hurt her. Turns out her processing power comes from The Machine itself, so she can easily overpower his cruddy design from Nakayama.

Has a side path where she can enter a basic, non-perfect android body to reboot the systems at the Preserve, but later needs to transfer in another, more humanlike model to function better.

....HJack is not pleased with her upgrades, considering she’s getting the better end of the deal than he’s got. Rhys isn’t impressed with that tone, either. >:/

Verse 2: The Machine takes it’s toll on Rena. Her mind could better withstand it’s power, having being an unwilling subject in the early days of it’s development, but... Even her mind can’t keep this up forever.

It starts with forgetting her name. Won’t answer to Rena, but Gremlin works.

Forgetting her nickname.

Slowly, everything she’s ever learned starts going away. Bit by bit, losing what memories The Machine gave her. Rage sets in around here, recognizing her memory is no longer perfect and putting her into a panic of self-awareness.

Memories of people slip away now. Often cries for her ex or where her parents are.

Eventually is confined to bed, where her brain is failing to the point it can’t remember to continue to make the organs function. It’s around this point that she finally dies.

Her personality and memories were embedded into The Machine; her final goodbyes to friends and loved ones. Her AI keeps people from using it after her and requests that it be destroyed soon.

Just like in the first verse, her eyes start out a yellow-green. Then a yellow... If not destroyed, AI Rena’s eyes will sometimes flicker to red, showing how deeply the corruption has started effecting her.

Either way, The Machine will be unusable. Just as how Rena believed it should’ve been.

Siren AU: An AU in which Rena was instead born a Siren. She sports green tattoos on her right side and often made them glow when she was younger, for her amusement and not understanding who she was...or her powers.

Not that her parents helped any. Her mother was just completely confused and arguments over what to do with her were had a lot. Rena’s mother wanted to get her checked out at a hospital. Her father believed she truly was a Siren and wanted to experiment on her.

The arguments eventually drove Rena away and- living on Elpis at the time- Rena began the first dip into her powers: summoning her Siren wings (in a light green tinge) and flying away...off Elpis! Taking a trip to Pandora in order to hide from her fighting parents.

Phasecommand- Her main Siren ability. When executing, her eyes roll back and it summons Pandoran beasts/animals to her side to control and fight her enemies. However, any creatures that don’t disperse afterwards can be considered enemies to her allies or her, if she accidentally hurts one.

When using Eridium, her tattoos will change into more of a teal color and glow more.

Likes the idea of people, but prefers the animals and Guardians. People are too much for her to handle...

Somehow still summoned little dragons...? Is only ever seen with ones the size of cats or lizards, but it’s presumed that- like her main verse- they’ll one day mutate to full, dragon-of-legend glorious sizing.

Dragon AU: In one of two paths, with either Rena being one of the dragons of Eridian times OR having accidentally turned into one of her own dragons.

Either way, her dragon form typically looks a little something like this.

The first verse has her being more curious and prone to friendliness...but ready to snap if she senses ill intent. Still, tries to be optimistic, at least. Rests within a cave near one of the vaults.

About the size of a two-story home, if not a little bigger.

Rena speaks Eridian, but has the capacity to learn present day English, if given the time to learn.

The runes on her body allow her to safely use Eridium. By using it, her systems can filter it properly into a variety of uses, from specialized fire to shape-shifting!!

Verse two is just...Rena being done with this bullshit. All these years of science, for what? To be stuck as a dragon?!? The only useful thing that comes of this is not only does she now understand the world through a dragon’s eyes, but their language, as well.

Turns out, the language of the dragons is actually original Eridian and not whatever mumbo-jumbo you hear most present day speakers go for. It’s an interesting bit to learn, however it’s debatable if the cost was worth it.

(Will eventually return to normal with an understanding of Eridian, but I like just putting my SIs through nonsense, too.)

otp; Science and Violence (Rena/Jack): As literally pulled out of the RP @punk-opossum and I did a few months ago!! Cause I basically consider that “canon” for this ship, now. (Okay, with a few bits I’ve added in, but LARGELY pulled from our RP.)

They’ve been around each other since the beginning, really. Rena oblivious and never noticing Jack, but he’s seen her around. Quiet, nerdy gal who bothers nobody and does her job. Is kinda cool, but no other opinions.

Then, we truck over to the events during Borderlands 2...and things get tossed around like pizza dough. [Note: Nisha and Angel are dead at this point.]

Starting with Jack bothering her workspace. Shooting her head of department and declaring her in charge of Literally Everything R&D now. Rena is just trying to fucking work, ohhhh my god.

Not only that, but Jack casually shoves the Destroyer project from Nakayama right into her hands, as well. Rena has never been more overwhelmed in her life....!

And that’s BEFORE all of the innuendos and Jack’s husky voice getting way too close to her ears!!

...So yeah, it definitely starts as what should’ve been a fling, but attachments get all sorts of muddled. Rena’s the sort of balance Jack finds himself craving and, well... He’s fucked, but giving her the little things she thought she lost when her ex cheated on her. So maybe...it’s okay?

Lots of Jack being thirsty while Rena’s trying to work. Or him being clingy when she wants to go back to work... Far as Jack’s concerned, his job is full of free time and is so boring without her around. However, Rena can actually prioritize her work and keep this company’s science division flowing, soooo.... Hmm.

Rena has the struggle of a lifetime, but she still ends up getting her trip to Pandora to do on-planet research...much to Jack’s paranoia and displeasure. (Which ends up being right on the money, despite his best efforts.)

Can’t believe Rena would be dead. They can’t find her body either, so like... Far as Jack’s concerned, she isn’t dead. Doesn’t mean he’s any more pleased or sane about the whole situation, though.

Jack goes full-tilt into madness, sending people hunting through Pandora to try and find Rena. Hilariously, they’re always close, but either she just left her camp or they pass right by her hiding spot.

They don’t find each other until a few years later, when Handsome Jack himself is personally tearing a town apart on Pandora, still engulfed in his hatred for the planet and presumably taking Rena from him.

He aims his gun at a kid, but freezes. Something about her little tanned face, dark brown hair, and...hetrochromatic eyes....has him frozen in his tracks. Then her mother comes running up, their eyes meet, and Jack nearly roars in realization.

She’s dirty as hell, hair messed up and toting new scars from Pandoran life, but that’s Rena...!! Who’s... Who’s the kid, though?

He nearly has another freakout at her assurance this little girl- Carina- is his daughter?????

He’d want to not believe it, but Rena consistently swears off having messed around with anyone else. Oh, and the fact Carina happens to have eyes like her papa. (But unlike his heterochromia, hers is central; a different color surrounding the pupil.)

With this, they kicked off most of Jack’s thoughts for the Warrior, instead Jack now focusing a large chunk of time for the fact Rena’s back, not dead, and was badass enough to raise and protect a baby on Pandora. Mother of the Year award?? Y’all know who it’s going to.

Carina ends up being Jack’s lil’ princess. The only reason she’s not a spoiled brat is cause Pandora does shit to ya and also Rena knows the limits of taking care of kids; so really, she’s mothering both Carina and Jack.

THOUGH BEFORE I FORGET!!! There is a subset of this verse where also Angel is alive, didn’t have to keep being treated like she was, and- while it was a bit late- still managed to get a better mother figure. Oh, and Carina still happens later in this same verse, so her mood improves even more to have a little sister.

...Jack is totally a little salty that Rena and Angel get on so well. He’s an ass, but does love his daughter, so he’s like a sulky cat, knocking stuff over and hovering around, hoping for attention and acknowledgement.

Rena keeps Jack in line those days, so...eventually Angel and her father get on a better foot than before and he’s very okay with everything and clingy to his family.

otp; Rulers of Pandora (Jack/Rena/Nisha): In which Jack and Nisha take in one of the local Hyperion nerds to spice things up... Only to decide, “naaahh, she’s a keeper.”

Took her into their fray around the early events of Borderlands. Where things are fun, but could be more fun... You know?

Jack’s seen Rena around before, but never gave her much thought... His mind is simply too here-and-there to keep notice for long when he’s trying to pick at more shallow aspects to bring in.

Nisha catches her eye, though, and decides she’s curious when Rena immediately looks away, blushing up a storm.

Turns out, Rena can’t handle Nisha. At all. Immediately turns into a klutz around her. Nisha finds it fucking hilarious and proceeds to drag her off to show Jack...who also realizes how hilariously awkward Rena is. They’ve taken her in, since.

Primarily still spends a lot of time up on Helios, but on occasion, will go down to Pandora to spend time with Nisha once HJack gives her Lynchwood.

Is definitely the little “pet” of the trio and is mercilessly teased by them for it, but anyone else messes with Rena? You’ve now got two of the six galaxies most lethal minds on your ass. Start running.

Nisha: I don’t like cute things. I kill cute things. Rena: cooing over some baby skag bc she’s an idiot Nisha: .........For fuck’s sake--

In other words, both Nish and Jack both soften up a bit for Rena. Which is a mistake for anyone else to see, cause while they’ll let their favorite nerd frolic in a field of baby animals, they’d still sooner shoot an annoying pest.

Nisha and Rena are the only ones to know about Jack’s true face under the mask. Nisha doesn’t really care, but Rena? Loves it.

Two Murderers and the Embodiment of Sunshine. That’s how you sum them up.

otp; love like fools (Rena/Rhys): I don’t know what Imma do with this anymore, but it exists as a verse, so I’m gonna heckin’ include it.

Met around the events of BLands/BLands 2. Rena had overworked herself on a project and was hiding in a break room. Cup of orange juice in hand and staring at it. Rhys couldn’t sleep, so he came in... They had an awkward conversation, but not much else.

Curious, Rhys starts stopping by the R&D department more and starts realizing the issue: she never takes a break or seems to get much rest. Work, work, work, day and night. Isn’t that exhausting??

So Rhys takes it on himself to get her food and drink. Mostly snacks, but whatever works. He also tries to ask about her projects, but it largely goes over his head when she starts doing her usual round of science talk.

He tries, though. So that’s nice.

His crush is obvious as shit as time keeps going on. Even his friends notice. Leah notices. Rena? Does not. She is oblivious as heck. Rest in pieces, Rhys.

Literally nothing happens there. Just Rhys doing his best to get Rena’s full attention with no luck. Right up to her eventual trip-and-trap to Pandora.

They don’t meet again ‘til the events of Tales! While wandering around the landscape, Rhys bumps into “Gremlin”, realizes she looks familiar and...

Rhys: ...Are you Rena? Dr. Marlow? Gremlin: Who...? WAIT A MINUTE!!! YOU?!? Rhys: Y-YEAH!!! YOU’RE ALIVE?!?

Everyone else is confused, but Rhys and Rena proceed to catch up. Meanwhile, HJack is making comments that are making Rhys’ face pink and trying to mentally shut the AI up before he says something embarrassing to Rena.

Which basically happens anyways, cause he excuses himself to walk away, thud his head into the caravan, then walk back trying to act like nothing happened. Where were we? #Concern from Rena.

She joins the troupe for fun times, being surprisingly okay when Rhys admits that HJack’s AI is like...inside his head. Just chillin’ there. Well, when not being usual Jack, but you know.

(In some variations of this, AI Jack was programmed to know Rena, so he’s twice as insufferable as usual. However, this isn’t often the case.)

It takes Rhys forever and plenty of nagging from HJack before he even tries to smooch Rena. And even when he does, it was still a terrible idea, cause Jack wouldn’t shut up. Thankfully, Rena’s still pretty chill about the whole thing.

Fiona and Sasha warm up to Rena over time, Vaughn’s heard about her from before, so they all pal up while Rhys has a crisis over HJack ruining his romantic life. It’s a nice break from freaking out around other people, at least.

Joins them on the trip to Helios. She needs to check up on her babies... It’s been so long....

An expert at sneak, a duck around cameras and back up to the old employee living quarters... It’s amazing what a brush, hot water, and a change of clothes can do for a person. (Gotta readjust to heels again, though.)

While Rhys and Fiona are taking over Helios to get the next piece for Gortys, Rena makes her way back to her lab. Not everyone is gone, but... A lot of the G1s have passed away and even a few G2s. Silver and Apophis stay strong, but have been slowly getting bigger in Rena’s absence.

Encourage the trope into an old, cleaned out nesting box and start figuring out her escape plan from there, trying to get in contact with Rhys and Fiona. Only for an eerily familiar voice to pour out around Helios...and announce Rhys the new leader of Hyperion?!

Shit. Shit, shit, shitshit- Now what? She didn’t think Rhys was gonna be in cahoots with Jack! I mean, yeah, he idolized the guy.... Jack embarrassed him a lot, but he still seem to think it was pretty neat...... Awh, hell. Still! Gotta get outta here!!

Ends up smoothly making her escape in a ship with some of her more friendly co-workers: Dan [the Man] (a pilot who used to fly HJack’s private ship; trans, demisexual with a preference for men who is a coffee addict) and Leah.

...And then Helios crashes not too long later. Dan is...less than impressed (internally freaking out, however) and Leah is basically having a panic attack.

Rena tries giving them advice for surviving on Pandora, but Dan later finds Atlas (now being rebooted by Rhys) and decides with Leah that they’ll join up.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, Rhys owns the place. Dan is brought on as his personal pilot (”Sweet. So, where’s the coffee machines around here?”), Leah is hired for PR, Cassie (a blonde lesbian who’s only ever done secretary jobs most of her life) joins later as his secretary...and Rena? .....Shit, Atlas doesn’t really...have an R&D department, do they...?

Rena nervously points out that- if he finds the muscle, they could retake the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve. Take over, do some rebuilding and remodeling... Make it not only into Atlas’ new R&D, but also a way for Rena to continue her penchant of creating dubious creatures. Also because the dragons are only getting bigger as their generations continue.

Pyrotech and Meowzer decide to join in, along with Pops calling in a few favors. Bandits v. bandits to clean out the place and serve as muscle while WEP is getting remodeled. (Also, they’re getting paid, so other bandits looking for a handy buck hop on for the more beneficial side.)

Rena gets a new look to symbolize her Atlas change (a black, long cloak with a hexagon pattern on the inside, black tights, black heels, and an ombre, orange-red-to-yellow, turtleneck dress; hair is also pinned up)! Power couple of Atlas, basically everyone agrees. And kind of like in another verse, Rena keeps him in line....when he’s not having to do the same for her!!

Rhys: I’m not sure....making a monstrous, three-headed dog is a good idea, babe. Rena: I didn’t come here to make wimpy science, Rhys!! I came here to kick ass, take names, and do SCIENCE! But thank you for your opinion~ Rhys: ......oh no.

6-legged to 8-legged cats are realized under Rena’s flourishing arms. A three-headed dog. The dragons prosper and return to Pandora, honoring Rena as their Mother, as Silver- and later Apophis himself!!- have done.

She even creates an android in secret. Names them Aria and they have learning software. Everything about life, they must learn on their own. Starting with the Preserve, and then one day... Leaving home to formulate their own experiences.

Later in life, Rhys and Rena have a daughter, naming her Vela. (A reference to the trio of constellations that Carina is also a part of.)

Has about as much common sense for safety as her mother does. Rhys is terrified for her safety on the daily. Because of their lack of fear, Rhys tries to keep Vela with him at Atlas HQ more than at the preserve with Rena.

otp; nerdperion (Rhys/Rena/Vaughn): ...I mentioned it once. Then the idea snowballed from the initial idea and the “what ifs”.

Look, I can’t deny it. It’s the nerd trio that most only dream of. In their Hyperion days, you had the money man, middle manager, and the top scientist.

By the time of Tales, you have a bandit leader in his own right, an Altas CEO, and woman who is held back by only her set-in-stone morals.

Vaughn and Rena going on raids out on Pandora, protecting people and the Children of Helios. Perhaps even with the dragons as backup...?

Rhys constantly has to worry for these two dorks, but that’s why he has a steady wing in Atlas for healing stuff. A fair bit of research passed on from Rena, to be fair, but still.

Vaughn takes lessons from Rena how to ride beasts. Like dragons! Was it a good idea? Not really. But nobody got hurt, at least!!! And Rena also solidified the saddle designs for them, so that’s pretty cool, too.

Rhys is a little more boring on that side of the coin in the regard he’s mostly just running a company, but still. Vaughn helps out from time to time and Rena’s running the entire R&D division of Atlas, so.....

otp; scientific haikus (Rena/Zer0): In which my first crush from Tales lives on...and it’s a rather unlikely couple, honestly.

Starting right off the bat with the fact she never really knew about them until one of her Pandoran raids? They showed up to kill some people and then just kinda...disappeared.

That first meeting bothered Gremlin for weeks. Who?? Who????

Meeting them again...and again..... Never getting the courage to confront them out of fear. (What if they slice and dice her up, too?? She’s lived too long to get struck down now...) But despite that, she eagerly daydreams about the oddity...

Also, isn’t as sly as she thinks; Zer0′s been knowing, they’ve just been waiting for Gremlin to go first. Though, she hasn’t been...so that’s a bit of an issue.

Eventually, they make sure that their next target will be in an area they know Gremlin frequents. When she shows up...Zer0 finally gets the chance to introduce themselves.

Zer0: Finally, we meet / Finding you was difficult / My name is Zer0; pleased. Gremlin: .....Did... Are you speaking in haiku?! Zer0: :) Gremlin: ...holy shit; nice.

They strike up an odd sort of friendship from there. Meetings become random again, though Zer0 takes time to listen. They actually are able to call her Rena in private which is...nice. Kinda easy to forget that was her name before the whole “stranded on Pandora” bit.

Zer0 ends up enabling her collecting habits, too; brings back not-too-bloody clothes and trinkets they find while out and about on jobs. She gains quite the collection, thanks to that!!

Actually wanted to offer assistance when Zer0 took on the Gortys hunt, but joined up only later on and... HOLY SHIT, HYPERION EMPLOYEES!!!

It’s wild, seeing familiar faces and talking about the past. Zer0 has...some concerns, but otherwise trusts the group with Rena.

This includes their plan to invade Helios, in order to get the final piece Gortys needs to access the Vault of the Traveler. They’re not thrilled about her involvement in the plan, but Rena still knows a lot about Helios and the Hyperion system. Her going with ensures things will go even more smoothly, so... Who are they to deny their crush friend from helping others?

....And then they hear it all went to shit. Though they showed up, trying to find Rena among the wreckage... There was no luck. They get upset over this for quite some time, but without a body... Zer0 keeps a metaphorical ear out. Won’t believe she’s dead yet. Not yet.

Eventually, when Rhys gets in contact with Zer0 for help with the vault, they meet up again. Rena is ecstatic to see him again- having since become the head of Atlas’ R&D and gone hunting to assist with this, too- and Zer0 is just happy to be right; she didn’t die back then after all...

Is surprisingly handsy from there on out, flashing the smile or heart emoticons, a hand on Rena’s waist, etc.

Everyone else catches on to Zer0′s affections far faster than Rena herself does, that’s for sure.

Rena: It’s nice... I’ve never really had a lot of platonic affection, you know? Fiona, sighing: N-No, that’s not... How do you not see what’s going on, here?? Rena: .........what? Everyone: s i g h s Rena: ????????

They do eventually ask her out when nearly everyone on the team has them to spare them the oblivious misery, cause- once again- Rena sure ain’t gonna do it.

Also cause Gortys has been trying to ask about them dating anyways, so-?? Just do it???

Zer0 still takes a while longer to get the right words to say that fit their haiku format, but the actual confession...? Well, at least it feels like the right note to end an adventure on; seeing her eyes light up, smile breaking free, and hugging the other tight around the waist was good. Great, even!

...Though with Fiona and Rhys temporarily disappeared...who runs Atlas?

Thankfully, Rena knows Cassie personally and has her and another person- Dan, a pilot for Rhys’ personal ship (and once worked under Handsome Jack, as well)- back her up on heading Atlas for a temporary period of time.

Zer0 sticks around for a time, just to make sure a mutiny doesn’t rise up and try to take Rena down. They only back off once her guard-friends from R&D make their way over... Again, just in case.

Zer0 goes back to work not long after that, though makes sure to visit more often. It not only makes them anxious to not know how Rena is doing (if she’s still alive), but also because they’ve started getting used to her touch. Touch starved? Zer0? ....A little.

Starts even exposing her face around her, Rena admits. What they look like? Well, pffftt, she’d never tell~!

otp; i ruv you (Rena/Timothy Lawrence): Oh, it started as a joke...then I was in too deep and now it’s never been better~

Thanks to both of them being workers under the Hyperion brand, they end up meeting sooner rather than later.

Much like Jack, Tim noticed Rena around: sitting in the Hub and people-watching, walking by her lab... Things like that. Didn’t pay too much mind, but then...he got hurt. On his face.

Rena, being the oldest lasting employee not killed off yet by Handsome Jack, is given the old papers for the build of Jack doubles and given some people to work with by HJack himself in order to fix up Tim right.

It’s love at first appointment; she’s gentle, knows what she’s doing, and eventually he’s looking back to the usual. The little smile she gives as he left? ...His heart was racing for an hour after, he swears by it.

He starts visiting her more, after that. Whether because he allowed himself to get hurt or it’s after a mission and he’s got some extra free time before his next one... He hurries to that lab of hers in order to chat.

Befriends the dragons she creates happily. Silver doesn’t bond to him in the same way, but they tolerate him and will let Tim hold them. It’s so cool!!!

Then Rena admitted to him one of her other projects...wanting to create multi-legged cats. Tim was thrilled at the trust, nervous over the project, but Rena assured all would be well. The dragons have done wonderfully, so that will go well, too!

He got the chance to kiss her when she was patching him up again. He’d tried to lean forward, but she stopped him a moment to finish up...then, shyly, asked if he wanted to try that again...? He lit up and they both got into a hasty, messy kiss that had them giggling in delight.

...With that, their unofficial dating started! (Which HJack quickly knew about and considered doing something to one of them to end it, but overall decided if any news got out, he’d actually take Rena as his own and make his doppelganger regret getting into a relationship behind Jack’s back; capiche? Tim nervously agreed.)

Still... Her move to Pandora made him nervous. Especially since his next assignment was on Elpis, so if anything happened...!

Rena kissed his cheek and assured him she’d be fine. It would be very in and out; no need for worry!

When even Jack was troubled by the report that came in later, Timothy was up in arms ready to shoot down some psychos.

HJack: Like, nobody reported her body. Which could be a sign she’s not dead? But it’s Pandora; who knows? Tim, sweating and shaking: Please...just fucking shut. Up.

Backtalking the boss is bold, but Tim is all kinds of done with this news and needs to ditch for Pandora in order to find Rena. HJack allows this more out of interest for the “game” than anything else.

Timothy ends up- more or less- a sort of permanent presence on Pandora while trying to find Rena. Doesn’t much notice or care when Jack’s insanity summons the Warrior...or when he’s taken down. Besides, people spook more easily to hear Handsome Jack died, but see his masked face even still on Timothy’s own.

Not getting answers on where Rena is...stresses him out, though. Makes him bitter, that maybe someone did kill her... He expresses his anger in a bit of murder and then sulks more over how this is turning him into a lesser Jack after all... Makes the guy almost sympathetic.

But with a few years passing, Atlas suddenly rises up out of the crashed ashes of Helios...and if Tim has any hope left for the lost Rena, might as well go there, right?

He scares the shit out of Rhys, walking in looking like Handsome Jack in the flesh. (Not even his secretary tried to stop him, looking like he did; dirty and murderous.)

...Though it’s actually just some resting bitch face and determination. Tim ends up explaining everything and Rhys even more hurriedly explains that she’s not dead!!! In fact, he just sent her over with a group of hired bandits to the WEP! She’s going...to be heading his new R&D department, you know...

Tim almost doesn’t want to hope, but he jolts out of there faster than Rhys or Cassie can stop him and is rushing to the Preserve in hopes to catch her there and maybe help out in the firefight.

Ends up finding her in a car just outside, all tanked up and safe as she directs everyone to where they need to go...but oh shit, handle that on your own for a bit; there’s a guy outside the car. She walks a little closer...and screeches, stumbling back.

Tim: No, no!! Rena!!! It’s me, it’s Ti- Jimothy!!!! It’s me, not Jack! Rena: ......Timothy?

She hesitantly lets him in and Tim at least proves that- despite his appearance- he is definitely not Jack by patting her over, realizing she’s alive, and then kissing her breathless.

Rena explains her situation having gone by “Gremlin” up to this point and pretending to be a psycho on occasion in order to live. The new friends she’s made up until that point. Tim tells her about the years he spent trying to find her, hoping she wasn’t dead.

As self-promised, he cuddles her in his lap for a little while longer, then kisses her again and joins the firefight outside to clear out the preserve.

Hyperion’s fallen, Atlas is a rising venture... Why not? Student loans sure don’t matter anymore.

He largely stays with Rena at R&D; her personal bodyguard and more-official-than-in-the-past boyfriend.

She also makes good on the multi-legged cats, as mentioned in the past. Tim decidedly loves them just as much- if not more- as regular cats.

ot3; ??? (Maya/Rena/Krieg): So hear me out... I will never learn. This will be neverending. I’m just as disappointed in me as you are. Also, Tumblr removing line breaks is the bane of my existence. Fuck this website. ANYWAYS!

Rena...met Krieg, first. In passing. He was a part of the slag experiments, Rena works R&D.... You hear about this sort of thing. She did, with her sharp ears and too-caring-attitude, despite working for the most monstrous corporation in the six galaxies.

Still, she was never able to help him or anyone else... Despite desperately wanting to. Despite catching his eyes once, guilt eating her up from the inside. (A pity-look from another one of them, Krieg used to think.)

They didn’t meet again until much later, during the events of Borderlands 2: Gremlin stuck on Pandora while Maya and Krieg were deadset on dethroning Handsome Jack. Y’know. Her old boss?

Krieg almost doesn’t recognize her when he’s out wandering, but it’s seeing her dirty face that strikes a chord in his sensible side. He remembers her! One of Hyperion’s own... What’s she doing out here? Alone and without company...?

Not that Krieg cares; seeing someone who was in any way involved with hurting him sends him into a fit of rage, trying to attack her with all he’s got! Rena dodges, not understanding...until she realizes who this psycho is...

It’s the worst first meeting- putting his first interaction with Maya in the dirt- as she eventually bursts into tears trying to apologize to him. It startles Krieg to stop, listening to her as she’s pitifully curled up in the dirt, hands up in a show of surrender, apologizing to...him.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you back then!! I wanted to, I really did, but I... I couldn’t! I’m sorry, Krieg, I’m so, so sorry!!!!”

Maya returns to this scene unimpressed, giving a Look to Krieg before helping the still-sobbing Rena. They both take her back to her shambling little base...and Krieg stares at the coat on the wall. The last reminder of who she was...

It occurs to him, then, that they’re in a similar spot. He lost his mind to slag, becoming a psycho, his mind barely together...and Rena is losing her sense of self, too. Going by Gremlin to blend in, faking insanity to blend in...but how long of that before it all becomes too real? Before she changes for good, even without influences like he’d gotten...?

Maya is more than content to help and leave, but Krieg...feels guilty. It’s a rare show of clarity and kindness from the big guy...and that’s when Maya realizes she’s lost the battle before it’s even begun.

They do take down HJack eventually, but frequently stop by to check in on Rena from there on out. Krieg likes poking around and laying on the stolen mattress she has. Maya finds out she’s actually super smart...and it’s fun. It’s nice.

You grow to like- even love- Krieg for his lucid moments. Appreciating his more violent ones for the defense they provide, as well as the enemy-sweeping he can do. Her powers work well with his might.

Add Rena into the mix, it’s brains, balance, and brawn. It works out even better than Maya could’ve predicted....and yeah, she kinda ends up falling for the scientist, too. Would’ve never pegged herself as the polyamrous type, but... She and Krieg share the sentiments.

Rena and Krieg keep each other balanced. Maya doesn’t have time to baby anyone; she keeps going at her own pace. Anyone who wants to keep up has to pull their weight...but Rena is a natural nurturer. When she’s a little loopy, they use a language only they can really understand. (It takes Maya some time to adjust to.) When Krieg gets frustrated, she helps him through it. To get back in touch with his old self. It’s comforting. Very comforting.

Maya and Rena, on the other hand, share a lot of conversation about....anything and everything. Maya talks about her Siren powers and pieces of her life. Rena talks about her own life- a lot more openly- and the science she used to do on Hyperion. How proud she still is of those times. Maya’s endeared to those moments.

It also later comes in handy... When Maya needs to depart from Pandora to go back to Athenas some time later, wanting to further underside her Siren lineage. Pandora only answered so much, after all...

Won’t let Rena or Krieg join, but the two keep each other company in the meantime. Waiting for Maya to come back home.

18 notes · View notes

thehuggamugcafe · 6 years

Text

Alouette II: Your Jealousy

The head of a certain barista glanced up as she stared from behind the service counter, blinking her eyes as they shot toward the café’s front door. How odd. For a moment, she could have almost sworn that there was a bell, its merry jingle reaching her ears... In fact, she was sure it was the bell above the entrance of her small establishment too, come to think of it... Shrugging it off as barely scraping by for the amount of time her small business had been open, she chalked it up to the jitters of a novice, smiling as she approached the table where her first customer sat.

“How was it? It wasn’t too bitter, I hope? What sort of drink would you like to help wash any unpleasant aftertaste away?” Mod Barista asked, removing the notepad and pen from the front pocket of the barista apron she wore. A hum left the barista as she nodded, jotting down the customer’s requested drink as it was uttered. “So... A flute of rosé: bubbly and a little sharp on the tongue, but with a round taste. Is that right?” No sooner had the last word been scratched down on the blank paper in blue ink, Mod Barista smiled as her eyes bore a quiet twinkle of mischief.

“I’ll begin the preparations immediately. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best. Excuse me.” The barista nodded before turning on her heels, walking back to the service counter. The smile was still on her face, just barely there, but noticeable. Her first drink! She couldn’t mess this up! Then again, she always did like a bit of a challenge, anyway...

OOC: Guys. You guys. All of you. You’re so damn precious. No, seriously, you are all so awesome and amazing. How are you liking my posts so far, both new and old? I may not look it, or appear to be, but I am an utter novice when it comes to stuff like this. Not so much as writing, but... What I’m writing so far, you know? ...Um... I think I confused myself there, but fear not. I will work my ass off to make this part just as good as the first part, or even better than the first part. Hopefully.

This barista would like to take the opportunity to apologize for making the s/o/reader being such a trashy bitch towards Akira in the first bit. Poor baby, all alone out in the cold. Or sleeping on the couch, to be precise. Ahaha. No worries, my thirsty dears. I’ll be more gentle to him from here on out. One remorseful, apologetic s/o/reader coming up!

Also, kouryuudielysion, I will begin prepping your request/order the moment I’m finished with this one. I can’t guarantee when I’ll have your request up, but I will have it posted as soon as I can, I promise. Thank you for giving this barista some seriously good food for thought!

The heels of your shoes clicked over the sidewalk, wading your way past couples ranging from teenagers, young adults, middle-aged, and to the elderly. The giggles of children rose up in the chilly early spring air, their little hands clasping around their mothers’ slim knuckles as soft, but lightly stern words of maternal scolding were heard. The complaints, whispers of pointless gossip, crow-like smiles, and hisses of rumours were heard from the occasional group or cluster of women, teenagers, single and married women alike.

You stopped in the midst of a small ocean of people, your lips pursed as you looked up from the glowing screen of your phone, flicking a glance around. The part of the city you found yourself in was positively bustling with activity, it gave you the impression of the inner workings of a bee hive. A bee hive with scores of drones who were either buzzing about, putting forth the minimal effort required, or were lazing about and doing nothing at all, and with no queen bee in sight.

Shopping bags hung from the clothed arms of women as they walked out of clothing stores, the heels of their boots clicking over the sidewalk as they walked. Businessmen gripped briefcases, holding a tall or medium-sized Styrofoam cup in their hands, sipping on their doubtlessly hot drinks as they walked. Elderly couples sat on benches, grumbling on about how the younger generation were so “damn disrespectful.” Others shambled on by, their wrinkled lips pulled back to form smiles as their grandchildren or great-grandchildren giggled, shrieked, and hopped over cracks on the sidewalk, holding the children’s hands in their large, wrinkled, and calloused fingers, hinting of decades’ worth of hard work.

“Hey, move it, you placid bitch!”

You were jolted from your thoughts by the impact of a hand shoving into your back, hard, almost sending you toppling to the streets. Thankfully, you staggered forth a few steps, clutching your phone to your chest. You paused only to catch your breath, not having expected the sudden force of movement at all. However, that didn’t stop you from whirling on your feet, your brows furrowed, a frown clipping your lips as your face was set into a scowl, glaring at the women who were walking past you.

“Hey yourself! Say ‘excuse me’! Or apologize at least!”

The heated words had been spoken before you could even think to stop yourself from speaking. The words rolled off your tongue, flowed past your lips as natural as water, too quickly for you to even pause to think. You expected the women to do a lot of things. You expected them to sneer. You expected them to spit at the ground near your feet. Hell, you expected one of them to go so far as to slap you at the very least—but they didn’t do anything, much to your surprise and quiet relief. Despite your small outburst, you’d rather avoid confrontation, especially out in the two-faced, judgemental eyes of the public. You were generally quite a “shy mouse for such a naughty kitten,” as a certain someone often phrased it...

Instead, the women smirked and sneered, their crow-like smiles honed in on you for a few more moments before continuing on their way, their heels clicking as they walked before disappearing around the corner. Sighing, you held your cellphone out, pointing your eyes down at the illuminated screen. Using the internet on your phone had always been something of a pet peeve for you at times, but you were determined to persevere. No, you had to push through the butterflies that fluttered about in the pit of your stomach, the jitters that caused your hand to shake lightly.

Calm down. Calm down, you quietly assured yourself, taking in a breath to harden your wavering resolve. You’ve been here before, but unlike all the other times, you’re not going to chicken out and go back home. It was true. Unbeknownst to Akira, you’d been on the street you stood in the midst of at the moment, you’d been swarmed by clusters of the same people going about their business, several times in the past month.

Every evening after your part-time shift ended, you’d take out your phone and input the name and address of a certain host club/café on the GPS of your phone the moment a miniature map of the city popped up on the small, illuminated screen of your cellphone.

Every evening you’d follow the tiny blue blip on your phone, your nerves of steel suddenly turning to a pile of gooey mush upon seeing the velvet blue skylark that made up the logo of the host club/café. The very same hue of velvet blue letters that made up the establishment’s namesake, Alouette, that was above the host club’s/café’s entrance.

Every evening the scorching determination you’d feel would turn to ice-cold hesitation, the sure-fire gait slowing to a wimpy stride. Your fingers gripped your cellphone in a tight grip as icy beads of sweat trailed down from your forehead, hitching in a breath as you stood across the street from the host club/café, rooted in place.

Every evening you’d pause in mid-stride upon seeing a familiar head of frizzy black hair. Every evening you’d swallow down a lump in your throat, a lump that was the size of a bowling ball seeing a certain bespectacled young man loitering outside the velvet blue entrance of Alouette. Every evening you’d watch as a warm, welcoming smile that practically oozed charm curled his lips, passing out flyers during his break.

Every evening you’d watch from the other side of the street, or shyly peeking out from the side of a building, ignoring any odd stares you received from the people who passed by, your eyes fixed on a certain onyx-eyed young man as you watched from a distance you deemed to be safe. Every evening you watched as Akira was surrounded by a cluster of giggling, doe-eyed women ranging from high school students to college students, first-time mothers to thirty-odd-year-old housewives, all desperate for some real attention from a man for a change.

Every evening your blood would turn to ice, freezing solid in your veins as a pair of warm onyx eyes would flick in your direction, but you’d seek shelter behind the corner of the closest building, or disappear into a crowded cluster of people. Every evening you’d sigh in defeat, chalking it up as another failed attempt to strut into the host club/café, Alouette, like you owned it in order to apologize to Akira at long last.

Every evening you’d trek back home in low spirits, returning to the dimly lit interior of the apartment you shared with Akira. You’d return to being your usual lukewarm, distant self, condemning Akira to yet another night on the couch. It was a seemingly endless circle of pockets of awkward silence during dinner, washing and drying the dishes. An endless loop of hugs that weren’t returned, of kisses on the cheek, and of course, sleeping alone in your bed for another night.

If you were being completely honest, you were getting sick of it all. As far as you were concerned, Akira deserved to hear words of sincere remorse from your lips. He deserved to see you bawling your eyes out, to see them well up with tears. He deserved to see you groveling on the ground, begging for his forgiveness. He deserved to hear you pleading him to give you another chance, that you’d do better, try harder in the strained rut of a relationship you both endured for the past month, and see to it that you fixed your past mistakes.

More importantly, above everything else...

Akira deserved to have the kisses and hugs he’d given you returned to him, two-fold. He deserved to see your smile, to hear your laugh again, to see your eyes sparkling with joy and life. He deserved to feel your arms looped around his shoulders, to hold you as humanly close as possible, and take as many lip-locks from you as he desired to take.

Akira deserved to hear words of praise from you as you sampled the meals you had taught him to make, and while you were never that big of a fan of coffee originally, a cup of coffee from Akira may as well have been a blissful sip of heaven on your tongue. He deserved to see your gaze honed on him, your irises lit with glowing praise of his culinary handiwork. He deserved to be enveloped with a hug, to receive a quick peck on the lips, whispering a promise of him receiving a “special reward” later on in the evening.

Akira deserved to recall how it felt to lie in bed with you, curled up against your form, clothed, partially dressed, or as bare as the day you were born. He deserved to wrap his arms and legs around yours, keeping you close as your head laid on his chest, listening to the calm, steady beats of his heart. He deserved to familiarize himself with your body, tracing every bump, every curve with his hands, cooing sweet nothings in your ear. He deserved to hold you in his lap, to look down at you while you lathered your tongue over his twitching cock, to scour your lovely visage as you moaned his name beneath him. He deserved to take you from behind and rock you into paradise with his hips as he reached around to play with your dripping folds, toying with your wet pussy with his fingers.

That is, if he isn’t already seeking out the company of other women to satiate his sexual desires...

No sooner had that particular thought crossed your mind, the green-eyed monster chose to run its bitter poison through your blood. Jealousy heated your blood, and you swore you saw a flare of dark green at the edge of your vision. You took a few moments to inhale and exhale, the sharp click-clicks of your heels in sync with your breathing as you neared the host club/café, Alouette. You forced yourself not to show any noticeably unpleasant emotions, refusing to allow even a hint of your true feelings to show on your face.

No. No. No. No, no, no, no. You would not... You could not think such things now.

Unless you saw it happening right in front of you, you refused to believe that Akira was cheating on you. Still... In the back of your mind, you felt a twinge of hesitation, of doubt, and worry—but more than that, the emotion that hit you harder than any other sensation was the icy knife of fear twisting itself into your chest, dead center.

Inhale. Exhale.

The host club/café’s logo, Alouette, cast a glow of velvet blue amidst the hustle and bustle of the city’s night life, typical of a Saturday evening. It was terribly cliché, but to you, it was reminiscent of heavenly gates looming before you, beckoning you inside a world filled of angelic men who were lorded over by a goddess with icy eyes, a goddess who possessed a demeanour that was as brisk as a winter evening.

Inhale. Exhale.

The familiar velvet blue skylark was in your sights, a sight which caused you to swallow a gulp.

Inhale. Exhale.

The click-clicks of your low heels sounded unnecessarily loud to your ringing ears, even though the mindless chatter, the shouts and complaints, the laughter of countless people, the sizzling of cooked food, and honking horns hung in the nocturnal atmosphere the closer you drew to a certain establishment.

Inhale. Exhale.

Finally, you stood before the host club/café, sparing a quick glance up at the café’s entrance, your gaze landing on the all too familiar velvet blue skylark that was situated above the host club’s entrance, as though you checked to make sure you were at the right place. A quick glance down at the glowing screen of the cellphone you held confirmed that, yes, were indeed in the right place, judging by the blinking blue dot on the illuminated screen of your phone.

Inhale. Exhale.

Your phone vibrated in your hand as a notification message popped up on your phone’s glowing screen, blinking owlishly as your irises stared at it in quiet contemplation.

“...Hm?” you murmured, swiping your index finger across the screen, bringing up your inbox.

Soon, a message stared back at you, and your heart began to beat faster as you stared at the message box on the cellphone’s screen.

You have 6 new messages from Akira Kurusu.

Swallowing a glob of saliva that was the size of a tennis ball, your finger—your shaking index finger—went through all the messages your live-in boyfriend, and lover, had left you throughout the day. The messages that you hadn’t bothered to look at until that exact moment, just as you’d done every other time Akira left you text messages for the past month.

“Good morning, my love. Did you enjoy breakfast? Was I being too forward with you again before I left for work? I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. If you’re feeling pressured to respond, please don’t be. Really... You’re quite a stubborn one aren’t you, dear? I just miss the feeling of your lips against mine.”

“It’s lunchtime. Did you remember to take out the leftovers from the fridge, the leftovers of last night’s supper before you left for work? Please make sure to heat it up before eating it. I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

“I’m surrounded by women all day, you think I’d compare it to heaven. It isn’t. The only heaven I’d want to reside in is wherever you are, my kitten.”

“I’m finally on break. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m jealous of the other hosts. I’m the only one here who isn’t receiving any messages from their cute lover, after all.”

“Please respond, my darling. You know that I have eyes for you and only you, right?”

“I love you, my Treasure.”

With a nod of determination, you steeled your resolve, slipping your cellphone back into the pocket of your spring coat. You raised a hand, bringing the collar of your coat closer to your neck, a shiver possessing you as there was a sudden gust of chilly air that whispered by you. You paused to intake another breath, swallowing another gulp as you took a step forward—only to be bumped into by a woman with three other females, causing you to stumble at the sudden jolt of momentum that hit your stationary form.

In your irked state, the giggles that poured from their crow-like smiles were reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, and before you knew it, a sharp “hey!” had left your lips, causing them to halt momentarily. They spared you a quick, once-over look before they smirked, exchanging sneers as they snickered amongst each other, walking straight into Alouette as though they owned it.

“...Jeez,” you muttered to yourself, straightening your spring coat as you breathed a sigh through your mouth. “She bumped into me, and yet she didn’t even try to apologize.”

What a bitch! you hissed mentally, whereas you chose to dismiss the incident. You didn’t want to cause a scene out in public, and right on the host club’s/café’s steps no less.

You’d heard the tales about Ai Nitta from the rumour-loving, gossiping housewives who lived in the apartment building, and you knew she wouldn’t stand for any negativity occurring inside or outside her establishment. Other than Akira, the last person you wanted to rub the wrong way was the owner and manager of Alouette, Ai Nitta.

You straightened your posture, you tapped the heel of your shoes on the sidewalk, you held your chin up and swallowed one last gulp before, at last, you entered the host club/café. The click-clicks of your shoes caught the attention of a few nearby hosts the moment you walked inside, who exchanged smirks and nudges to the ribs, their eyes honed in on you as you took a few baby steps into the host club/café.

Your gaze slowly took in the interior of the host club, quietly taking in what your surroundings had to offer you. The host club that doubled as a café was busy and bustling, something that didn’t surprise you. Based on your past visits, you could affirm that morning, noon, or night, but especially during the evening hours, Alouette was never short on business when it came to the hosts catering to their female customers and, on occasion, their lovers.

Some doe-eyed women hung off of the arms of handsome hosts, others sat in the hosts’ laps, and some rested their heads on the hosts’ shoulders. Charming smirks curled the men’s lips as another host poured sparkling champagne or dark wine into a glass that was held aloft by dainty fingers, fingers with manicured nails covered in glistening nail polish. Some ring fingers bore a wedding band here and there, diamond-encrusted rings that glittered underneath the café’s florescent lighting—and yet despite their wedding bands, some women still pressed their glossed lips to the men’s smirking lips.

A grimace pulled at your face as you looked away, preferring to further take in the sights the host club and café. It was reminiscent of a high-class restaurant. Fancy white tablecloths, elegant chairs and tables, expensive-looking cutlery, wine glasses, and a food trolley was pushed to a table to your right, where a group of laughing hosts sat with giggling women. The lighting set the mood of a warm, welcoming atmosphere, the mahogany wood floor and the briefest glimpse of a staircase that led to the second floor caught your attention. The staircase was just as polished as the floor was, giving off the sense of being impeccably clean, gleaming with a shimmer that was almost painful to look at.

Seeing the expensive food and drinks, standing within such a high-class atmosphere, and watching the well-dressed men sitting with the women who reminded you of pricey dolls you’d see in store windows, you suddenly felt... unnecessary, unwelcome, reminding you of your low, middle-class social status. A jolt of self-awareness hit you as you raised your arms, bringing your coat-covered limbs up to wrap your hands around the fabric that shielded you from the chilly spring air. You suddenly felt self-conscious as a few gazes—and from the men and women alike—landed on you, giving your still, slightly shaking form a quick once-over glance.

You breathed a sigh, rubbing your hands over the fabric of your spring coat that covered your arms, dropping them to your side, glancing up at the sound of a few sets of heels clicking as three smiling men approached you.

“Good evening and welcome home, mistress,” the men chorused, completely in sync with each other, their voices reminding you of warm, melted candy. Smooth, seductive, and oozing flattery as they smirked or smiled down at you.

“M-Mistress?” you whispered, feeling heat rise from your neck to warm your cheeks.

“Come sit down, mistress. You must be tired after working hard all day, no?”

“Um... Uh... I-It’s nice to meet you, but... T-That’s... I’m... I’m here... I’m here to see...”

Your stuttered protests fell on deaf ears as, smiling, one of the hosts wrapped his glove-covered hand in yours, leading you away from the entrance of Alouette and over to an empty seat.

“Thank you very much for tonight, Akira.”

There was a noticeable croon to the female’s voice, as warm as honeyed candy, but it was who she was talking to that mattered, and upon hearing the name “Akira” reach your ears, your attention snapped to where a dark-haired woman stood with a certain frizzy-haired man. The duo walked down the staircase that wound in the middle, the woman’s hands draped around Akira’s arm as he raised a free hand, raising it to the back of his neck as it was rubbed sheepishly before pulling his hand away.

“You’re quite welcome, Miss Danielle. It was my pleasure to service you.”

A giggle that sounded obnoxious and high-pitched left the woman, simpering flirtatiously as she batted her eyelashes, staring up at the onyx-eyed young man with warm honey-brown irises, breathing a pleased hum as she rested her head on Akira’s shoulder.

Can this well-dressed slut be any more obvious in what she’s trying to do? You seethed mentally, feeling—no, sensing—a hot rush of anger wash over you. The emotion was fueled by a new wave of jealousy that quickly followed the initial hit of green-eyed envy, the jealousy that pumped its bitter poison through your veins.

Your jaw became set as your free hand curled to form a shaking, white-knuckled fist. Instinctively, your gaze fell on a half-full glass of sparkling champagne on the table you and the three hosts were passing. For a moment, and only a moment, you considered wrenching yourself free of the male host’s grip, snatching up the glass of champagne, walk briskly over to where Akira stood with that “Danielle” lady, and see how she’d appreciate having to wash the champagne stains out of her clothes later on.

However, mere seconds before you seriously considered acting upon your instincts that were telling you to do something, anything about the situation, a host took possession of the half-full glass of wine and raised it to the glossed lips of a woman sitting in his lap.

You inhaled, slowly and deeply, releasing it in the form of a whoosh.

Calm down. Calm down, you mentally chided yourself. Remember where you are.

“Mistress? This way, please.”

The voice of the male host fell on deaf ears, your deaf ears to be precise. You swallowed a thick gulp, one that stuck to your esophagus as it slid down your throat. Your gaze remained on Akira and the dark-haired woman, watching as she chuckled before she raised a hand, wrapping her dainty fingertips on the back of Akira’s neck, dipping him down closer, closer, and closer still... Their lips were almost touching...

“No!”

The abrupt yell had left your lips before you could even think to stop yourself from speaking, earning several aghast, confused, and annoyed murmurs and looks to go along with the affronted whispers.

“What’s her deal? Honestly, young women these days.”

“What’s with the yelling?”

“So much for a relaxing evening tonight.”

“Oh wow, look at her. She looks very angry.”

Indeed, the brunette woman with honey eyes did look annoyed; her brows pinched the slant of her eyes as she shot you an irritated glare, clicking her tongue to further show her vexed state. However, you noticed too late that Akira had raised a hand, gently pressing his fingers to the woman’s lips, stopping her from knowing the soft warmth of his mouth against hers. The demon’s onyx eyes were honed on you, observing you and your current state in silence, before lowering the hand away from the well-dressed woman’s lips.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, someone spoke. Akira.

“Well, this is an unexpected surprise, Treasure.”

#persona 5 #p5 #akira kurusu #incubus!akira #s/o #reader #jealousy #jealous s/o #jealous reader #alouette #alouette II #alouette prompt #askkrisachan #the spicy goodness will be served up soon #barista's honour #please enjoy this treat everyone

17 notes · View notes

placetobenation · 3 years

Link

RIP Jon Huber.

Words can’t do justice. To all that knew him, he was a devoted father, husband and wrestling superstar. Gone far too young at the age of 41 due to a non-COVID-19 lung issue. We’ll always remember Brodie Lee, Luke Harper and Jon Huber.

Kudos to All Elite Wrestling for a tremendous tribute Wednesday night on TNT. Extremely well done on every front.

This one's for you #BrodieLee pic.twitter.com/2wNFJEK82y

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 31, 2020

A tribute to #BrodieLee #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ZptMKH1Hst

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) December 31, 2020

The WWE also released a tribute after AEW’s show.

Husband. Father. Friend. Superstar. WWE Superstars & friends pay tribute to Jon Huber. (via @WWE) pic.twitter.com/8CUd1fQnwZ

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 31, 2020

RAW

RESULTS

Keith Lee defeated Sheamus to win shot at WWE Championship

Gran Metalik defeated The Miz

Shayna Baszler defeated Dana Brooke

AJ Styles defeated Elias

Mustafa Ali defeated Ricochet

Charlotte Flair defeated Nia Jax by DQ

The Hurt Business defeated The New Day, Jeff Hardy & Riddle

WHAT is @AlexaBliss_WWE thinking? WHAT is @RandyOrton thinking?!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/tBXlzsBHve

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton

That was something I will say that. I didn’t know whether to love it, hate it or just walk away from it. Yes, it was some sight seeing Alexa Bliss call out Randy Orton, begging him to light her on fire as he did to The Fiend. Of course, we don’t know whether Orton dropped the match to a fully engulfed with gas Bliss as the show ended. It was indeed a true cliffhanger in that mode. But, do we really believe that Orton would now intentionally murder two people on national TV? I’m not quite sure, other than shock value, what the WWE is looking for with this angle. We’ll all see Monday night for the next episode of RAW.

Thumbs Up:

Keith Lee vs. Sheamus was as good as expected. I really did think it was going to be Sheamus going over in this one, but I do think it works better having Lee get another shot at McIntyre while Sheamus stews the defeat and puts off an encounter with his BFF for a bit.

.@AliWWE: "Join RETRIBUTION. What is your decision?@KingRicochet: #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/PJcAGuQDjs

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

AJ Styles vs. Elias was very good. Good to see two “bad guys” go at it and just get after it without the old heel cliches. Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet was its usual good stuff. I wish they would come to a resolution to the matter as its not helping either side with the same ol’ story each week. I’d like to see a darker side or Ricochet in my mind. Take off the masks from RETRIBUTION and form a true stable that has a chance to do something.

They were right all along…@mikethemiz is ONCE AGAIN Mr. Money in the Bank! #WWERaw @TheRealMorrison pic.twitter.com/Xvt6T6VHYl

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

The Miz getting his Money In The Bank briefcase back is a good thing. Having him lose to Gran Metalik to bring him down wasn’t needed. It only would’ve made sense to bring The Miz down if they had dragged it out for a couple of weeks. Having him down for about an hour or so did nothing. They need to build The Miz up to more than a cartoon character of comedy to truly be a challenger worthy of Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship.

Thumbs Down:

Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax – I just can’t get behind anything that Nia Jax is doing these days. Charlotte Flair is The Queen, but there’s no flow or chemistry when these two get together. Why waste it? And another thing. Let Shayna Baszler be a bad ass by herself. It would work better for her.

Angel Garza. Please, I’m begging them to stop the romancing the rose storyline. It’s been old since they started it back around WrestleMania. It’s even older now. It’s doing nothing to move Garza forward. At least he got the 24/7 Championship victory over R-Truth on Tik Tok!

NXT

RESULTS

Bronson Reed defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Breezango

Mercedes Martinez defeated Valentina Feroz

Pete Dunn defeated Roderick Strong

Lucha House Party defeated Legado del Fantasma

NXT North American Championship Match: Johnny Gargano defeated Leon Ruff to retain the title

.@Lady_Scarlett13 likes what she sees.

#WWENXT @WWEKarrionKross @ArcherOfInfamy pic.twitter.com/mUjkxY9r29

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 31, 2020

Thumbs Up:

Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong. The rivalry continues between the Kings of NXT and The Undisputed Era. Dunne’s look really good the past couple of weeks in singles competition against TUE. As for Roddy, well, he continues to be Strong.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back!#WWENXThttps://t.co/JJ72EIWNb1

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

Another year of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong make an interesting entry. I’d love to see WWE bring in a few teams from outside NXT to make things interesting too.

"It means something to me. To me, it's proof. Not only proof that I belong in the ring with you, but proof that I belong at the top of #WWENXT." You deserve it, @KORcombat. #WWENXT #NXTAwardMatch @FinnBalor #NXTYearEndAwards pic.twitter.com/JyI8HPBvse

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

A wild brawl just broke out between @WWEKarrionKross & @ArcherofInfamy on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/bVm6lB7sHt

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

Balor vs. O’Reilly. That’s about as good as it gets on the mic with these two. You could feel the passion, the reality, the urgency and yes, we’re ready for round 2! Adding Karrion Kross into the mix with Scarlett just puts it over the top. Doomsday is here. Tick. Tock. Oh, hi Damien Priest. That was a very good segment!

Rhea vs. Raquel vignette. The Last Woman Standing match is going to be awesome. Let’s just say that New Year’s Evil is stacked folks!

Highway Robbery:

Shotzi Blackheart over Pat McAfee for Breakout Star of the Year. There’s no bigger Shotzi fan than me, but even I can admit that McAfee took NXT by Storm and is a star in the making. He proved it on the mic, behind the scenes and yes, even in the ring during WarGames. Here’s hoping the WWE doesn’t keep him on the shelf too long.

Lucha Like!

Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado showing up to take on Legado del Fantasmo was a cool surprise. Long live Lucha Libre! Pretty cool week for Gran Metalik with wins on both RAW and NXT over 48 hours.

Meh:

Year-end awards presentation. They were kind of just there. Obviously, the tie-in with Balor vs. O’Reilly for the match of the year was a home run to set up their in-ring promo. All the rest, I could’ve done with online.

Johnny Gargano’s curse-breaking win over Leon Ruff did what it needed to do. That’s about all.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Non-title Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E defeated King Corbin by DQ

Big E & Apollo Crews defeated Sami Zayn & King Corbin

The Riott Squad defeated Tamina & Natalya

Carmella & Bayley defeated Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair

Otis & Daniel Bryan defeated Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura

Kevin Owens defeated Jey Uso

Another level:

.@WWERomanReigns just sent @FIghtOwensFight crashing inside the #WWEThunderDome!!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Xz2e8JCqqH

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sure, on its face, another Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso match seems like filler. But, oh no. Not when the Head of the Table is involved! First off, Owens and Uso beat the snot out of each other with KO getting the expected knockout victory. Then, and you could see Roman Reigns foreshadow it earlier in the show by saying “they” don’t understand, “they’re” trying to take away what we have, Reigns was going to get Owens for making a match against Reigns’ wishes. Every week, they take the best angle in the WWE up a notch! It’s the very first attack through the ThunderDome crowd! I’ll be honest though, I thought Adam Pearce was in danger of an attack too. Maybe that’s next week?

Thumbs Up:

.@WWEBigE and @WWEApollo pick up the win on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/5tXhcI6UqE

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

I like the way they are bringing a lot of people into the mix for Big E’s Intercontinental Title run. Sami Zayn as former champ, King Corbin as first challenge and now Apollo Crews as friend and Open Challenge acceptor for next week will keep it fresh. Zayn is awesome no matter what and making Big E look strong out of the gate will eventually make him a contender for Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship.

The Riott Squad keeps winning. After months of going nowhere, it’s good to see Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott on a winning streak even if it is beating Tamina and Natalya with the help of the annoying one, Billie Kay. There’s got to be a better way to use Billie, right?

#SmackDown Women's Champion @SashaBanksWWE has encountered an obstacle in this tag team match… a negative one! pic.twitter.com/9lqE7jV4Om

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sasha. Carmella. Bianca. Bayley. Getting them all together in the same ring makes Friday night a winner for all of us. Loved that Carmella gets the pin to get her some juice back after losing at TLC. Damn, Reggie has some moves! Can’t wait to see him in a ring soon too!

WOAH. @SonyaDevilleWWE is BACK on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/AcId1KWFDV

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sonya Deville is back! That’s good for business although we do need an explanation as to how one loses a loser leaves town match and then returns back so soon. We know the reality of it due to her stalking case, but how the WWE plays it on TV will be interesting.

I could’ve done without the drums and the predictions, but that was one helluva beatdown by Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler on TSP. The Dirty Dawgs deserve some gold in their future!

Interesting:

Otis & Daniel Bryan teaming up was fun. Chad Gable + the YES movement sure is inspirational. Will it be more than a one-time effort? Even Otis looks better with Bryan, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in the same ring. The three amigos salute at the end was hilarious!

Annoying:

Billie Kay’s gimmick.

Parting Shots:

With so many tag teams forming on the fly in the WWE these days, I’d love to see an old-school Crockett Cup tournament in the WWE. Take it across all three brands, maybe bring in some indy teams as well and I think it would be a fun event for 2021. There’s absolutely room to make some odd and unique pairings and match-ups instead of the old and tired matches.

Coming up this week:

RAW Legends Night WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee

NXT – New Year’s Evil hosted by Dexter Lumis NXT Championship: Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly Damien Priest vs. Karrion Kross Fight Pit Match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher Last Woman Standing: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar vs. Gran Metalik

SMACKDOWN Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E vs. Apollo Crews

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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tokupedia · 7 years

Text

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Double

2010:

Protecting the Earth is an Angel’s Duty! Tensou Sentai Goseiger debuts as the 34th Super Sentai season.

HeartCatch Pretty Cure aka THE BEST CURE SERIES EVER as deemed by some of Pretty Cure’s fans debuts and joins Goseiger and Double on Sundays. The season is slightly more mature with the subject of grief over the death of loved ones as one of its story arc themes and has great action in it. It also has a connection to Sailor Moon in the fact that Cure Moonlight is voiced by Sailor Mercury!

After years of silence with nothing new on TV or film whatsoever, Garo returns in Garo: Red Requiem, a full-length feature 3D film which introduces the awesome Makai Priestess Rekka and the lovable Makai Priest Shiguto as the allies of Kouga.

After the successful crossover with Decade in the cinemas last year, Kamen Rider Fans get even more Den-O with the Cho Den-O Trilogy.

Samurai Sentai Shinkenger vs. Go-onger: GinmakuBang!! debuts in Japanese theaters and marks the only appearance of Hyper Go-On Red.

Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial, the sequel to the Ultra Galaxy movie, debuts in theaters.

Space Battleship Yamato gets a live action adaptation on the silver screen.

Tokusatsu actor Shunsuke Ikeda, best known as Ichiro/Kikaider 01, died from complications of his long battle with diabetes. He was 69 and fans in Hawaii and around the world mourned his passing.

During the All Kamen Rider vs. Dai Shocker film, the evil Shadow Moon was laying the smack down on Kuuga Rising Ultimate and Decade, when the rev of a motorcycle stopped the super villain in his tracks and a mysterious figure on a bike broke the two parties up by stopping in the middle of the brawl.

On opposing sides of the field, the Riders saw a Green Rider...

while Shadow Moon saw a Black Rider (No, not that one)

But then the mystery Rider spoke up after a disagreement about his color from the two sides: “I’m both actually. My name is...Kamen Rider... Double. *turns towards Shadow Moon* “Now...Count up your Sins!”

This strange hero spoke with two voices and could easily beat up Shadow Moon using USB thumb drives that contained his powers. However, things got weirder when the hero got into an argument with... himself as one half of him said he wanted to go home as the rest of the Kamen Riders could finish off the weakened Shadow Moon. The other wanted to stay and “get to the good part” (possibly his Rider Kick or weapon finisher), but reluctantly agreed and then drove off....much to the bewilderment of his seniors who witnessed his fight.

This was the start of a brand new tradition, where the old Rider would get a bit of help from his successor and pass the torch.

Planning

Toei needed to change the schedule up to stay on budget, so they made a bold move as Kamen Rider’s premiere would be moved into the Fall of the year and air throughout the majority of the following year. This also put the series in a unique position as it would run alongside 2 Sentai seasons before switching up for the next show. The merchandise sales of the single Rider Series in tandem with the 2 Sentai seasons would in theory give enough cash revenue to balance the books.

Another change is the fixture of Support Robots, while Hibiki is considered the alpha prototype of the concept, this season cemented its place in the Kamen Rider series (With Gaim being the only series thus far to opt out.)

Then the belt itself began to change, while Ryuki switched the belts away from the format of being attached to the bodies of the Riders, Double improved the belt’s combat ability even further. No longer was a Rider constrained to a single form or weapon via a singular input system, but now could diversify their abilities in various ways by using multiple input modules and transformation devices.

Sure, this was done to make Kamen Rider even more toyetic to boost profits and cover rising production costs, but writers and staff when on their A-game made it feel like a natural evolution of the franchise and not a forced toy commercial.

When it came time to plan W....I should explain that real quick. The show and titular Rider are different in terms of label in a manner similar to Faiz. The English word “Double” sounds like the Japanese pronunciation of the letter “W”. But since the show romanizes the hero to Kamen Rider Double on toys and on the title card, the Rider is referred to as Double and the show is W because of the Japanese text of the show’s title showing the english letter W.

Anyways, when it came time to plan W, the “Fall 10th Anniversary Project”, the staff was debating on ideas and one argument they had was that Double should be all red. Toei thought since Red was a heroic color it would test well with focus groups. PLEX disagreed with the Toei staff and saw inspiration from the Showa era, wanting a Rider who harkened back to the original Double Riders with a green and black body color.

(Double, as drawn by Ishinomori assistant and concept designer Masato Hayase)

In fact, the designers wanted a lot of Showa elements back in the franchise, something the producers and writing staff were adamant about or outright felt was a bad idea. One of them was Yasuko Kobayashi, when the design staff proposed the return of a beloved aspect of a Rider costume that had been missing for over 25 years for the main heroes: the classic scarf. She at first saw it as unsightly for a modern audience and too “Showa-y”. But she eventually caved into the pleas of putting it on under the condition that she chose the color: silver instead of the proposed white color.

Another proposed idea when the writers decided on a neo-noir detective theme was that the hero would wear a Sam Spade/Columbo style trench coat over the suit. But the staff nixed this as they realized it would make Seiji Takaiwa’s job more difficult as he would be wearing a heavy coat over a costume.

(*in a Peter Falk voice* “The last time I trusted a dame was in Tokyo in 1971, she said she was going out to get a bottle of sake. Two hours later, the agents of Shocker marched into Japan!”)

The love letter to the Showa Era didn’t stop at a scarf and a color scheme. Double has allusions of influence from Kikaider 01, Kamen Rider X, Black, Chojin Barom 1 and The Skull Man. The main Gaia Memory that Philip carries is called Cyclone, a reference to wind energized Riders from days of old and the original motorcycle Ichigo rode. There is even Bat and Spider monster villains during the early days of the incidents of the story and Bat and Spider gadgets the heroes use in the grand tradition of that mythology gag.

The next phase was marketing and whoo boy, did this series get the royal treatment. In addition to the new Movie Wars series and a summer film, the series had its own clothing line, several radio shows on a fictitious radio station with some connecting to the show and continued the promotion of Ganbaride with Double getting his own sets of cards. This was also the start of the Legend Rider series of toys, as Bandai made Gaia Memory toys based on each Rider.

Avex got multiple bands and artists together to create exclusive new “bands” for the show with most named after a Hurricane event such as Labor Day or Galveston 19. The music entertainment label even pulled some strings to get 2 members of the hit idol group AKB48 to be recurring supporting cast as Queen and Elizabeth. It truly was a love war..

Futo itself feels like a real city, with locations, businesses and people that you get to know. The world building was so well done that future Rider entries still touch it up every now and then. (Ex. In Drive, we learn Futo is just outside Tokyo and later see Futo Tower in the distance at an amusement park when Drive is fighting a monster!)

Now, let’s meet Futo’s resident local Superhero!

CYCLONE! JOKER!

Real Names: “Phillip” (Raito Sonozaki) and Shotaro Hidari

In 1999, a criminal element unlike any that ever had been seen before in Futo began emerging; distributing a drug-like device that enhances humans into superpowered monstrous beings known as Dopants. The only force that could stop the source of the city’s tears was someone Shotaro would later simply would refer to as “The Boss”, Sokichi Narumi, a private detective who was a real man’s man and moonlighted as a Kamen Rider with the help of his childhood friend. Despite his best efforts, the crime of the city continued.

Later, while on a case to bust the bad guys on Christmas Eve 2008, Shotaro and Sokichi snuck into a warehouse distributing the drug-like Gaia Memories. Unfortunately, the bad guys found out they were sneaking around and a fight broke out. Due to his youth and stubbornness, Shotaro disobeyed an order to stay put from his boss and found a young eccentric man who had no memories that they dubbed “Phillip” after the famous private eye Phillip Marlowe from the Raymond Chandler novels. While trying to escape, The Boss got shot up pretty bad in a hail of gunfire. With his last breath, Sokichi told his protege to finish the case and become a man worthy of wearing his hat, giving him his prized fedora as he dies from blood loss.

Surrounded by guards, an armed helicopter and a monster later known as the Taboo Dopant, the eccentric Phillip asks his new friend a question and opens the briefcase they were carrying: Do you have the courage to ride with a Devil?

The two use a belt in the briefcase with Gaia Memories and as the guards and helicopter fire their guns....a new figure emerges from the blaze unharmed and destroys the entire floor with a gust of powerful wind (helped by the helicopter crashing into the building).

Jump ahead to late 2009 and Akiko Narumi has come to collect on her father’s detective agency as its new landlord (unaware her father has died). She gets ready to evict Shotaro until a case comes up and she finds all the weird stuff they do, like a hidden garage with a massive vehicle and Phillip scribbling on boards any data they can find on cases. But then Akiko finds out her evictee is a superhero and at first wants to evict the both of them right away, but then decides after being saved it would be better to help people and continue the Narumi Detective Agency. The trio continue investigating cases and stopping Dopants, while under the vengeful eye of the Sonozaki crime family and learning much later there is an even bigger enemy in the shadows pulling the strings.

But as their exploits grow, the citizens of Futo christen their masked savior as “Kamen Rider” and Philiip and Shotaro work hard to deserve that honor, fighting crime to wipe away the city’s tears and making villains count up their sins!

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Double_Driver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Gaia_Memories

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Memory_Gadgets

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/HardBoilder

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Rotation-Interchange_Base_RevolGarry

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Metal_Shaft

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Trigger_Magnum

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Transforming_Gaia_Dinosaur_Fang_Memory

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Transforming_Gaia_Bird_Xtreme_Memory

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Prism_Bicker

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Lost_Driver - Used in emergencies only or when one of the halves of Double isn’t available.

Powers and skills:

Phillip has a genius level intellect on par with a supercomputer and thanks to his connection to the Earth’s True Gaia Memory essentially has a mystical kind of Google search he can call upon. This allows him to accurately find people, places and objects if specific keywords are given that produce the results he is looking for.

Shotaro is a skilled brawler and a competent detective as he was trained by Sokichi. He is able to see small details the police sometimes overlook.

Both of them as Double are pretty diverse.

Cyclone: levitation or slowed descent via wind manipulation, wind energy blasts, capable of creating tornadoes and elemental augmentation of weapons

Joker: Enhanced strength, superior fighting skills and reflexes.

Luna: Mr. Fantastic like-Elasticity on the left side of the body, illusion generation and homing projectiles or giving the Metal Shaft rubbery lasso/whip-like capabilities.

Heat: Pyrokinesis, explosive generation and elemental augmentation of weapons.

Metal: Higher defense and strength and elemental augmentation of weapons. Summons Metal Shaft weapon

Trigger: Expert Marksmanship, enhanced firepower which can be strengthened further by elemental Gaia Memories. Summons Trigger Magnum Weapon

Fang: Feral instincts, Bladed weapon/projectile

Xtreme: Laser blasts, Twin Maximum Drive capability, instant analyzing ability to discover weak points, shield generation, swordsmanship. Capable of evolving to a higher state using wind power to give Double wings and stronger attack power.

Weaknesses:

When Phillip enters Shotaro’s body via memory transfer or vice versa in the case of the Fang memory, their bodies are at risk of being taken or destroyed, which could result in one of them..one of them....dying. *Cyclone Effect starts playing and the typer fights the urge to start crying*. If one or both of them has a status effect inflicted by a monster, that will carry over to Double in some cases unless Xtreme form is activated. Even then, there is a chance they will still be affected. Phillip has a one track mind as once he finds something that fascinates him he won’t stop until he knows everything about it, usually this could take hours or days for him to finish depending on the subject. (I like to think we on the internet have all had moments like that)

The key to Double is keeping the two users in sync with each other, if they cannot agree on something that causes them to fight intensely or in one instance where a villain used Phillip’s amnesia against him, the sync destabilizes and Double either de-transforms or gets weaker.

Speedy opponents can swipe away all of Double’s Gaia Memories save for the ones in his belt, thus putting the two-in-one hero at a major disadvantage.

Lastly, the Memories themselves have risk. A “Twin Maximum”, a move where Double uses more than one Gaia Memory in his base forms, is very dangerous as the suit will overload with energy and the Double Driver will act erratic. The energy surge will cause possible harm to both users, but Shotaro gets the worst of it as it causes physical damage to his body and could kill him. Its only perk is a more powerful attack but it is too foolish to attempt such a life threatening tactic unless it is a last resort. Twin Maximums can only be pulled off by teamwork with Accel or using Xtreme form.

The Fang Memory causes Philip to go berserk if Shotaro does not reign in his partner, as it regresses Philip to a savage mindset if he does not impose his will into it. As explained in expanded universe material, there is a FangMetal and FangTrigger form but the Joker Memory’s compatibility combined with Shotaro’s will make it the best candidate for Fang. The use of the other memories would result in Shotaro losing control and Phillip going completely wild. The use of this memory also tires out Shotaro as he needs to use all his willpower to keep Phillip’s mind stable from its side effects.

The last one is that Gaia Memories are capable of breaking, so it is possible that the duo could lose their powers on a more permanent basis.

Signature Finishers:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Maximum_Drive

Enemies:

Dopants

(A Masquerade Dopant, an example of Dopants and the common grunts of the Museum)

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Dopants

Dopants are superhuman beings created when an ordinary human injects a Gaia Memory directly into their bodies. Each Gaia Memory is based on an object, concept, person or animal. (Ex. Dr. Shinigami, Apple, Time and Triceratops)

Due to the drug-like effects of the Memories being directly inserted into the body of the user, some people who use Gaia memories have mental or physical health deterioration and become unstable and even more violent. There are also side effects in some cases if the memory is destroyed, such as the Yesterday Dopant having a mind wipe occur from the powers leaving her. Some side effects are more fatal if the user has “O.D.” on the Memory as their body will break down and dissolve. Basically, this show in its own subtle way is sayin’: Don’t do drugs kids, it’ll mess ya up and you could die.

Double uses his Driver to filter out the bad stuff of a Gaia Memory to use its power safely with no ill side effects (for the most part). But so does...

The Museum and The Sonozaki Family

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Museum

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Sonozaki_Family

The Museum is an organization run by the aristocratic Sonozaki Family whose goal is to evolve humans and save life on earth in an event called the Gaia Impact. The Sonozakis have Memory Drivers that filter out the negative side effects...not that it changes who they are on the inside as they are wicked in some regards. (Though they redeem themselves in some ways) The head of this prestigious crime organization is Ryubee Sonozaki. Despite being an old man, you do not want to underestimate him as the Terror Dopant...

Also this is the first time in Rider History we have had a pet as a monster lieutenant: A cat.

(*Dr Claw Voice* Ryubee: I’ll get you next time Kamen Rider...next time. Mick: MRRREEEEEOWW!)

And lastly we have...

NEVER and Foundation X

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Category%3ANEVER

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Foundation_X

NEVERS or Necro-Overs are, to put in the simplest terms, sentient pseudo-zombies who retain the knowledge, skills and faculties of their former living selves and are designed to be a breed of super soldiers. Despite interest and development by Foundation X to use them, they were soon abandoned after Gaia Memories were developed. One of them was a Kamen Rider who proved troublesome for Double and nearly killed him, though he was once a good person who slowly went mad from his undead nature.

Foundation X makes their presence known in this season and after the failure of the Sonozakis and their own ranks to stop Double and prove the value of Gaia Memories, the organization got word of another power source even greater than that of Gaia Memories to research...

Though Double/Joker gets to have fun (Maximum) driving them outta their town every so often when they try to reclaim their former territory to set up sinister research projects.

Final thoughts

Kamen Rider W is a beloved entry of the franchise and many newcomers get it recommended to them when asking where to start. The mindset is it is much like a western superhero show with a bit of Scooby Doo/noir mixed in. There is a mystery to solve and a bad guy to catch, defeat and unmask. (Though some of the mysteries are a bit smarter than that cartoon by giving you a bait and switch on who the monster of the week is!)

Unlike most Rider shows, the bad guys for the most part get their powers taken away after the beatdown and they are handed off to the police or get help instead of killed outright (though there are exceptions). In fact, this is the first time since Agito we see a Rider cooperating with the cops and even helping them. (It also helps that Accel is a cop too.)

I on the other hand say you need to go to Decade first as that first Movie War depends on you watching that show to see that final story chapter and understand what is going on. But if you don’t want to watch the Movie War...you kinda have to given Kamen Rider Skull is part of it and the episodes plug the film blatantly at one point to tie into the story.

Other than that, you will have a Hard-Half Boiled good time watching a recent perennial fan favorite!

WBX~ CRIME IN THE CITY!~

#kamen rider #45th anniversary #kamen rider w #kamen rider double #maximum drive #gaia memory #hard boiled #detective #raymond chandler #fan favorite #neo noir #super hero

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