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jelly-pies · 4 years

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Dancing From Now On

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Pepper remembered their first dance. Contrary to public knowledge, it had not been at the annual Stark Industries gala.

Tony and Pepper's first dance took place months before that, alone at the mansion, late after a long day of work. The music had been Pepper's idea, to relax. But the dance had been Tony's.

"Getting better, Potts." Somehow cheerier than usual, he spun her slowly around the workshop. "Nobody will ever know you had two left feet. Hardly believe it myself, if my toe wasn't still throbbing."

Pepper huffed. "Not all of us could afford dance classes, you know."

"Well, it's not that hard, see? We're just swaying." Tony pulled her in, an inch closer, meeting her eyes. And for one moment, Pepper was purely dancing with the friend she was secretly in love with—not the boss who depended on her, or the playboy whose one night stands she escorted out of the mansion every few weeks. Just Tony. "Just dancing."

Their casual flirting was one thing. But this was getting dangerously close to something else—so Pepper ended the moment. JARVIS stopped the music, and when Pepper looked back after collecting her things, Tony suddenly looked away as if he'd been caught staring.

Maybe he had.

"So, you're good?" Tony asked casually, hands fiddling with some tools he picked up. "No stumbling over anybody's feet at the next gala?"

"We're good." Pepper matched his light tone. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Potts."

"And Tony... " She paused at the door. Did she imagine that expectant look he sent her way, or was it just the lighting? "Um… that contract you still have to look over. Don't show up tomorrow without it."

"Which one?"

"Tony."

He chuckled. "I got it. Have a good night."

Maybe it was just the lighting.

"Good night," Pepper answered, and exited the room with deliberate steps.

She turned back before the landing. Tony was facing away, bringing up holo-screens, flexing his hands—and suddenly she remembered the feel of those calloused fingers against her own, drawing her closer.

Tony looked up. Pepper turned away, determined not to be caught staring.

But maybe she had.

Pepper remembered their first dance. And she remembered how it led to much, much more.

Their second dance, that one was at the Stark Industries Firefighter's Family Fund benefit. A backless blue gown, a little banter, an almost-kiss on the roof. Another moment Pepper ended before anything could begin, even though she half-wished something would begin—had been wishing it those dreadful three months of Tony's disappearance.

As Tony left to get them drinks, Pepper turned away to hide a growing blush. She didn't see the way he looked back at her from the door.

Tony reentered the building, and didn't see the way Pepper looked after his retreating back, either.

Years later on another rooftop, after a disastrous Stark Expo, the kiss became real.

They even had a witness, who deadpanned, "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

Tony put his arm around her as they faced Rhodey, and Pepper couldn’t help thinking how that gesture must make them look like a real couple. She found she didn’t mind. All of a sudden, plans of her resignation as CEO didn't seem so urgent.

Tony turned back to her as soon as Rhodey left and challenged, "How are you gonna resign if I don’t accept?"

Pepper laughed, letting the action release her anxiety and near-death stress and girlish romance. "I…" And Tony was leaning close. She stopped him with a finger on his lips. "Tony, if I don't… we can’t…"

"Come on, it’s us. We’ll figure something out." And there was that look again. Pepper wasn’t so quick to blame the lighting this time. "Ms. Potts?" Tony took both her hands. "Pep?"

It was too late to stop this moment, and Pepper knew it. But the doubt must have still shown on her face because Tony took one look and continued, "Remember when we danced? The first time, Malibu? You crushed my toes about a hundred—"

"Please let that go."

"—but we made it work."

Pepper took a breath. "We did."

Tony smiled, eyes shining—that's how Pepper could always tell if his smiles were real. She could also tell that both of them were done holding back… whatever this was.

"We are pretty good at dancing," Pepper replied.

Tony couldn't see her face as they embraced, but if he did, Pepper was sure he could tell her smile was real, too.

A private night at Stark Tower after the New York attack, that was the third dance. Or fourth, or fifth, maybe. Pepper wasn't sure she needed to count anymore.

She was only sure of two things. Swaying together in their home, with JARVIS playing soft music overhead, her arms around the love she had almost lost—and had accepted she would come close to losing, over and over again, for the sake of saving the world—Pepper was only sure of these: that she wanted herself and Tony to have a thousand more dances to come.

And that she could never know which one would be their last.

They danced that night on yet another rooftop, after the events with the Mandarin.

They didn't dance after Ultron.

Or for several months after that.

But the next time Pepper and Tony finally held each other in their arms, they held on tighter, and neither let go for a long, long time.

This wasn't how Pepper imagined it, for several reasons.

Tony’s smile was different. There was a sadness in them that lingered like ashes, but he smiled anyway, holding her close—which was a feat with Pepper's growing belly, but they made it work.

There were fewer guests. Several seats they left vacant on purpose, scattered around the lakeside like lonely souls. Some people held the belief they were there, in spirit, and that's what mattered. Pepper wasn't so sure; pure sentimentality had prevailed on her to leave the seats out.

Apparently sentimentality ran high this evening. The band played the song she and Tony had first danced to, oh so long ago, in a mansion long since blown to bits, by an AI, a friend, long since gone.

There was no publicity in what had once been anticipated as the event of the decade. A single ray of sun through gray clouds instead of all-around sunshine, in what was supposed to be the happiest day of Pepper and Tony's life.

But the people they loved—those that were left—celebrated with them, and that was enough. A simple reception at their new house, and the wedding was over.

After the lake grew quiet and the stars came out, the newlyweds slow-danced through the night, just the two of them.

This wasn't how Pepper imagined their new life would start. But start it did, with a dance.

"Getting better, Potts," Tony whispered beside her temple, their heads pressed together.

"Not so hard without the floor length gown. I know that was my idea, but God, don’t let me do anything like that ever again."

Tony chuckled and spun her slowly until she faced away, then wrapped his arms around his wife, their four hands interlocking on top of her belly.

Pepper had long lost count of their dances. But she knew this was one she would always remember.

It was Tony who broke the silence. "You guys still here? Scoot."

Pepper turned where he was looking: Rhodey’s wedding presents on the mantelpiece, staring at them—two plushie seals. And she laughed. Tony could always make her laugh.

“Fighting over a grape?” Pepper recalled.

“I never really got that image, to be honest.”

“Hm.” She turned back to Tony, cupped his cheek, and leaned in. “Let’s see about that.”

"That’s it! You’re doing it!" Tony spun their daughter around until the song ended, and Morgan collapsed in giggles on the floor. Tony scooped her up and tickled her with his stubble, making the giggling grow louder.

"Dad!" Morgan laughed. "Mommy, save me!"

Pepper swiftly rescued the toddler, only to drop her on the couch and blow raspberries on her stomach a second later. "In this house—" another tickle, and Morgan squealed— "nobody—escapes—dancing!"

Morgan finally succeeded in pushing her away as FRIDAY started the next upbeat song, and soon all three were back on their feet.

“Not that it's a competition.” Tony walked in. “But she loves me three thousand.”

“Oh, does she?”

“You were somewhere on the low… six to nine hundred range.”

Tony could always make her laugh.

Even the night after the Avengers came to visit. The night their new life, that Pepper knew in her heart could never last long, started to melt away.

Tonight there was no music, no dancing. Only the crackle of the fireplace, the weight of the future, and Pepper’s words hanging in the air— "But will you be able to rest?"

Tony didn’t answer her. He didn’t need to.

But Pepper held his hand, and Tony kissed her cheek. And when they finally went to bed, they held each other tighter.

Tony held her hand, and Pepper kissed his cheek. "You can rest now."

Tonight there was no dancing.

Two cylindrical compartments stood along the garage wall, one of them forever to be empty. In the other, Pepper put her Rescue suit away by herself. Crossing the room, her fingers couldn't help lingering over Tony's reserve helmet—Tony's desk—Tony's tools—Tony's presence. She could always feel it in his workshops.

Their first dance had been in his workshop.

The memory jolted her, pulling Pepper's eyes back to the last gift Tony left: her Rescue suit slumped in its compartment, looking as battered as she felt. Pepper remembered what it was like to take the suit to battle. To fight side by side with her husband, gauntlets firing in sync, guarding each other's back. A team to the end.

Did that count as a dance? Because otherwise, Pepper realized, she didn't remember the last time she and Tony danced.

She remembered their first, though—would always remember it. JARVIS’s song, their wedding song, strained in her ears—she could almost feel Tony's calloused fingers around hers—dancing in his workshop late at night.

But in this workshop, on this night, Pepper could only cry.

Pepper still danced.

She danced with Rhodey, and they leaned on each other, the way they had learned to do long ago.

She danced with Happy, bouncy little head bangs as they cooked Christmas dinner together, and for a moment the house was full of music again.

She danced with Peter, years later at his wedding, whispering "We’re so proud of you" in his ear.

She danced with her daughter. Morgan always pulled her to her feet whenever a lively song came on the radio— "In this house, nobody escapes dancing!" And they laughed. And they danced.

Pepper still danced. Just not with the one person she most wanted to dance with again.

When years had passed, and Morgan was grown, and the house was quiet most hours of the day, Pepper developed the habit of sneaking out on the balcony on clear nights, and looking up at the stars.

Some of her favorite dances with Tony had taken place under the stars. Like the rooftop. And their wedding.

Pepper didn’t remember which dance had been their last. But she remembered the first. And the second. And the thousands that came after that. Maybe that was enough.

In the quiet of the lake house, with only the strains of their wedding song echoing in her ears, and the stars above her, forever her witness—Pepper danced.

- "Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Last [Dance])," The Eraserheads

Lahat ng pangarap ko'y bigla lang natunaw

Sa panaginip nalang pala kita maisasayaw

(All of my dreams are suddenly gone

Only in dreams can we dance from now on)

#THIS IS ENDGAME COMPLIANT BTW #pepperony #pepper potts #tony stark #mcu #fanfic #angst #character death tw #did I have 3+ other wips I started first and wanted to finish first? yes #did I dump my endgame feels on this angsty one-shot instead? also yes #jelly's

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murdereraisuha · 4 years

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screaming about chapter 5 but more coherently this time

This is gonna cover 1. the recent update’s events in comparison to my previous theories & expectations, 2. the winner of the VDC and Vil’s character development 3. Kalim & Jamil’s character development, and 4. the main story moving forward

Spoilers for everything up to 5-67. Word count: 2117

So, in my “Jamil is Snow White” theory post, I used the events of the original Snow White to try and guess how TWST chapter 5 would correlate to it and what characters would fill what roles (Snow White, huntsman, prince, etc.) in the story.

Originally, I kind of assumed the beginning of chapter 5 would line up to either the beginning of the movie or halfway through when the Queen is already hatching her plan to get Snow White with the poison apple. However, it seems like the movie events have actually been compacted into 5-57 to 5-67.

After the NRC rehearsal, Vil becomes the most beautiful, corresponding to the beginning of the movie when the Queen is still the most beautiful. Then, Neige, out of his natural cuteness rather than hard work and practice like Vil, usurps him, representing the point Snow White becomes the fairest in the land. The next part with the apple juice and Rook coming to the rescue is a mix of the next part of the movie, when the huntsman tells Snow White to run, and the part of the movie with the poison apple. Then, the MC and the rest of the dance team kind of act like the dwarves by fighting the Queen/Vil. However, other than that, everyone follows their corresponding role: Neige is Snow White and Rook is the huntsman.

I think the story as it has played out makes sense. I was initially startled by Vil suddenly going murder mode, but. To work so hard on this song and choreography and training up your team, only to have the media love your lifetime rival who’s only brought an arrange of a kid’s song with clumsy singing and dancing to the table, potentially crushing your plan for victory here... I understand Vil’s feelings here and the sudden, desperate decision to curse Neige.

Rook’s actions after that don’t seem too out of line with what we know about his personality and his unconventional beliefs/actions regarding beauty and Vil’s beauty. Seriously though, wtf please don’t just drink poison. Anyway, I really enjoyed Kalim coming in then. The way he noticed Vil’s face being like Jamil’s before his overblot? The part when he tried to remind Vil that no one drank the juice so Vil hasn’t hurt anyone yet? Good stuff right there.

However, the way things played out also disappointed me somewhat. Though we had a Kalim & Jamil interaction, we still haven’t had a good resolution to their character/relationship development, so hopefully that’s in the final part of chapter 5. Furthermore, though Kalim did slap the apple juice away, I really felt like he and Jamil would have had more involvement with poison/curses in this part considering all the stuff in this chapter about Kalim being poisoned in the past.

There’s also the fact that all Jamil did was evacuate the area, it was Kalim and Rook who were around when Vil overblotted. The pattern of the previous overblot causing the next has kind of been broken. It could mean that the pattern was actually the dorm leader causes the next overblot?? Anyway, I’m hoping that Jamil will have his time in the spotlight in the next part.

-----

So that kind of brings me to the future. First off, who will win the VDC? Personally, I think that it will be NRC. With everyone so enthusiastically proclaiming in 5-67 that they’re going to win the championship, it would feel off for them to fail. From things that Vil has said this chapter, like in 5-37 when he admonishes Deuce that effort isn’t enough to succeed, it seems like the bad route/worst case scenario of Vil’s outlook is to lose hope that his efforts will ever give him success or a happy end. Therefore, the good route would be for him to keep hope, to keep the belief that he can get his happy end, and I think winning the VDC would be the thing that would support this belief. I do not think he would learn much from losing; if he has already lost and got relegated to the role of villain so many times before, one more time would not mean much to him.

Other people have said that Vil also needs to learn to chill and stop holding people to such high standards, which is something I agree with. Though Epel’s beliefs on masculinity and power were pretty harmful, Vil’s methods of trying to correct those beliefs were also harmful. Vil’s treatment of Epel at the end of Epel’s ceremony robes story seriously left a bad taste in my mouth. The thing is, something or someone would need to prompt a change in Vil’s beliefs for a change to occur. After Deuce and Epel’s outing, they seem to be pretty chill with Vil, so there aren’t any conflicts in the group. I can’t think of anyone in the team other than Kalim and maybe Ace who would have a strong enough opinion on not pushing yourself too hard that they would try and give that opinion to Vil, and Kalim’s already had a big interaction with Vil in 5-62.

So, I feel like any further Vil character development this chapter would come from an interaction with Neige. Going back to the debate of who will win VDC, we know that Vil resents Neige for always being the hero. If Neige won yet again, would Vil take what he says to heart? However, if Vil won, that would be a new situation. I think that the first things he hears from a Neige that has finally lost would be impactful to him.

I’m not sure though of all this though because of this line in 5-66:

Vil’s saying that throwing a tantrum and taking it out on other people was awful of him. Though it obviously refers to his attempts to murder before and during his overblot, it could also point to an overall shift in mindset regarding how he treats others. His attempts to mold Epel into a poison apple, for example, stemmed from his own ambitions and frustration at Neige, which you could interpret as a sort of tantrum that he then took out on Epel. Vil may have already learned to relax on pushing his high standards on others.

Regardless of if that’s true or not, I personally think that Vil and Neige still have a lot that they could learn from each other, assuming my perception of Neige as being innocent rather than a white lotus is correct. Vil’s team’s performance had a lot of cohesion and rehearsal put into it, but it was very competitive focused. On the other hand, Neige and the dwarves obviously had a lot of fun with their performance. However, it was clumsy and they were ill prepared. Therefore, Vil could teach Neige more discipline and planning while Neige could teach Vil about how to not lose sight of finding joy in your work.

-----

As I have already said, I’m hoping for more Kalim & Jamil stuff in the final part of chapter 5. I originally theorized that something would happen to one of them, probably Kalim, and that would lead to some sort of reveal about their feelings and the chapter would end with them clearly on the trajectory to repair their relationship and really become friends.

Since nothing happened yet and neither got poisoned/cursed, I think then that the event that sparks the finale of their character development would probably relate directly to the VDC. First off for our possibilities, we have the two’s families watching as Jamil takes the spotlight as a main vocal while Kalim is in the back. Given what we know, I don’t think Kalim’s family would be too happy about that. The conflict from that definitely seems like it could result not only in some sort of understanding between Kalim and Jamil, but also maybe even a change in Jamil or his family’s status. For a less dramatic possibility, we also know from 5-47 that Jamil’s sister will be coming to watch. If she makes an appearance, perhaps she will have some unexpected insight to say that would lead to a discussion & development between Jamil and Kalim.

Finally, my Jamil becomes the most beautiful theory might still be partially true, though idk if that’s just me not wanting to give up on it cause of how funny it would be. Basically, the theory was that, after the VDC performances, the internet/media become super interested in Jamil due to how talented and handsome he is. I originally thought that could serve as a factor for Vil overblot, but now I think it could prompt some discussion & development between Jamil and Kalim due to it serving as a clear example of Jamil finally showing his true ability and by how much Jamil was letting Kalim win. Furthermore, Vil might be affected by an event like that. Though the overblot’s already happened, perhaps something happening with Jamil specifically would lead to something happening between him and Vil, fulfilling the pattern of the previous overblot doing stuff with the next. I’m out of ideas for the Scarabia boys, so let’s continue.

-----

Honestly, I don’t think anything will happen with Idia and Ortho outside of a quick teaser at the very end of the chapter. Considering that we still have to cover all the stuff with the VDC performance and its results and the aftermath of the results, Idia’s presentation thingy might not even happen until chapter 6. ?

Idk, rn I’m more concerned about the overarching plot with Mickey Mouse than I am about chapter 6 Ignihyde shenanigans. So, we had a little flash of the Queen/Hag during the day, and also we finally discovered that Malleus is Malleus. So things are picking up a bit. I’m not sure if something unexpectedly big this chapter will happen though. I’ve seen people saying that the boss was surprisingly easy so there might be another big battle coming up. I don’t actually play the game so I don’t know anything about that, is it intentional or is it just that the chapter took so long to update that y’all had tons of time to beef up your boys? For me, it did feel like the Vil overblot was the climax of the chapter. With all the other stuff like the VDC results and the Scarabia boys’ character development, I don’t know if there’s any more room. There could be some big new info with Mickey Mouse or Grim’s bad eating habit, but I can’t picture something happening that would warrant another boss battle.

I do have some thoughts on Mickey Mouse, but I think I’ll save my memey ones for another post and wait for the end of chapter 5 before getting my serious thoughts together. Anyway, now a little talk on chapter 6. So, we have 4 options: chapter 6 will be something regarding Idia’s presentation, something regarding Deuce borrowing the magical wheel, something combining those two plot points, or something else entirely.

Well, for something combining those two, Riddle was the one wanting Idia to go do the presentation in person, right? So, Idia probably doesn’t like Riddle that much. Maybe he wants to make some sort of plan to get back at Riddle. What can he use?

Uh I just looked back at 5-39 to figure out what exactly is up and one translation says Deuce forcefully borrowed the magical wheel and another says he borrowed it as a huge favor??? The original says 無理言って借りてきた, deepL translates it as forcibly borrowed, 無理を言って means asking for something unreasonable. What exactly are the circumstances here?

Okay whatever, look, Deuce is in some sort of debt to Ignihyde. Idia could use him since he and Riddle are in the same dorm. Idk my train of thought got wrecked by the translation confusion.

But anyway so we know Deuce is probably gonna be Meg. I’ve never watched Hercules and I don’t know anything about it aside from what I’ve just read on wikipedia. The summary there says that Hercules kills a bunch of monsters and becomes famous then Hades holds Meg hostage in exchange for Hercule’s powers and Hercules accepts the trade but then “Hades reveals that Meg was working for Hades all along” ??? And then in the end though “ Hercules chooses to remain on Earth with Meg”. So what happens, is Meg good or what? Alright it might be better to at least wait for whatever sneak peek of chapter 6 we get at the end of chapter 5 before speculating. Let’s end this here before it gets any longer.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst spoilers #twst analysis #twst theories #vil schoenheit #kalim al asim #jamil viper #update screaming

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your-dietician · 3 years

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Over 270,000 people sign petition for France vs Switzerland to be replayed

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/over-270000-people-sign-petition-for-france-vs-switzerland-to-be-replayed/

Over 270,000 people sign petition for France vs Switzerland to be replayed

Switzerland’s goalkeeper Yann Sommer (R) saves a penalty by France’s forward Kylian Mbappe during the UEFA EURO 2020 round of 16 football match between France and Switzerland at the National Arena in Bucharest – GETTY IMAGES

Over 270,000 fans have signed a petition calling on Uefa to replay the Euro 2020 last-16 match between France and Switzerland because “the rules (of the game) were not respected” when Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved Kylian Mbappé’s decisive penalty.

Mbappé’s miss resulted in the world champions crashing out of the tournament in Bucharest after leading their eventual conquerors 3-1 at one point in the match.

But a petition was launched by a disgruntled French fan, Pierre, in the aftermath of the penalty shootout, demanding that Uefa replay the tie because Sommer’s feet were over the line as Mbappe struck the ball. Goalkeepers need to keep at least one foot on the goal-line when facing a penalty, otherwise the spot-kick can be retaken.

Neither the referee nor Var intervened on Sommer’s save but more than 270,000 people signed the petition – which has now been closed – despite several different angles showing that Sommer’s foot was on the line when Mbappé kicked the ball.

The hosts of the petition, leslignesbougent.org, wrote that “Uefa had been officially approached to gauge its position on the matter”, and that Pierre had informed the host site that he wished for the petition to be closed after the angles showing the legality of Sommer’s position came to light. “Our servers exploded,” the site added.

The original petition read: “During the penalty shootout of the France v Switzerland match, goalkeeper Sommer was not on his line ahead of Mbappé’s shot. We ask that Switzerland’s qualification is cancelled so that the match can be replayed.

“Sport must be played within the rules and that evening the rules were not respected.”

02:53 PM

Czech Republic v Denmark

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand says the team is looking to Christian Eriksen as an inspiration ahead of the match against the Czech Republic in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.

Story continues

Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening game of the tournament. Team-mates were left shaken after seeing him receive emergency medical treatment on the field.

Hjulmand says “we’ll play with that heart of Christian Eriksen once again.”

The winner will face either England or Ukraine in the semi-finals.

02:49 PM

Masterful Jordan Pickford has joined an elite band valued more by his country than his club

Unlike at Everton, when Pickford wears an England shirt he looks like he is sure he belongs out there, the undisputed No 1.

Jamie Carragher’s latest column for Telegraph Sport.

Jordan Pickford celebrating England’s last-16 win – GETTY IMAGES

02:38 PM

The Battle of Rome

Paul Ince’s bloody headband, chaos in the stands – and Southgate’s dark side.

England’s last trip to the Italian capital, in 1997, was another game they could not contemplate losing. David Seaman looks back on that momentous night.

Paul Gascoigne (L) and a topless Paul Ince (R) – GETTY IMAGES

02:20 PM

England get to work…

… with the quarter-final against Ukraine just over 24 hours away.

Kalvin Phillips of England trains during the England Training Session at St George’s Park on July 02 – GETTY IMAGES

Mason Mount of England trains during the England Training Session at St George’s Park on July 02 – GETTY IMAGES

Tyrone Mings shifting some tin – GETTY IMAGES

01:56 PM

Boris Johnson says he has no plans to reduce Euro 2020 stadium crowds

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he did not plan to order a reduction in crowds attending the remaining Euro 2020 matches due to take place at Wembley.

Crowd capacity at Wembley will be increased to more than 60,000 fans for the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 under a pilot scheme announced last week.

“Of course we’ll follow the scientific guidance and the advice if we receive any such suggestion,” Johnson said in response to a question at a news conference, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said she was worried about Uefa’s decision to let more people into stadiums.

“But at the moment… the position is very clear in the UK, which is that we have certain events which we can put on in a very careful and controlled manner with testing of everybody who goes there.”

01:34 PM

England fans in Rome

The first pictures are beginning to filter back home…

Fans gather in Rome ahead of Ukraine v England – Rome, Italy – July 2, 2021 – REUTERS

12:20 PM

Germany’s Kroos announces retirement from international football

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has announced his retirement from international football after his team’s exit from the European Championship, the 31-year-old said on Instagram.

The 2014 World Cup winner earned 106 caps for his country, contributing 17 goals and 19 assists.

Kroos said it was clear to him “for a long time” that he would not be available for the World Cup in Qatar next year.

He said his priority now would be to focus on his club career with Real Madrid and spending time with his family.

Reuters

12:16 PM

The eight defining games of Raheem Sterling’s England career

From scapegoat to star man, Sterling has been the object of anger and criticism but is now England’s most experienced player and one of Euro 2020’s pre-eminent players.

Here, Sam Wallace runs down the eight matches that have defined his international career to date.

England’s forward Raheem Sterling celebrates the first goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 round of 16 football match between England and Germany at Wembley – GETTY IMAGES

12:00 PM

Emma Hayes signs new Chelsea deal

A revealed by Telegraph Sport in May, Emma Hayes, who has starred as a pundit at Euro 2020, has signed a new deal to remain as manager of Chelsea, the Women’s Super League champions have announced.

The 44-year-old has been with the club since 2012 and guided them to four WSL titles, two FA Cups and two League Cups. Hayes’ side were also Champions League runners-up last season.

She said on Chelsea’s official website: “Everyone knows what this club means to me.

“The work we’ve done together over the last nine years has been hugely rewarding, full of growth of the women’s game, accompanied with winning, which is one of the club’s key values. I really look forward to keep building on the successes we’ve already achieved and I’m delighted to have extended further.

Emma Hayes the manager of Chelsea Women lifts the Barclays FA Women’s Super League trophy after the Barclays FA Women’s Super League match between Chelsea Women and Reading Women at Kingsmeadow on May 09, 2021 in Kingston upon Thame – GETTY IMAGES

“It’s been a year and a half without fans, so I can’t wait to welcome them back to our home and share with them the wonderful team we’ve built together.”

Having retained the WSL trophy and the League Cup in 2020-21, Chelsea fell short of adding the Champions League as they were beaten 4-0 by Barcelona in the final in Gothenburg.

That was a first appearance in the final for the Blues – who reached the semi-finals in 2018 and 2019 – and the first by an English club since Arsenal, who had Hayes as assistant manager at the time, won the competition in 2007.

11:24 AM

Some more Premier League news…

Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour has joined Norwich on a season-long loan deal.

The 20-year-old impressed for Scotland in a goalless draw against England at Euro 2020 on June 18, before then having to self-isolate after returning a positive Covid-19 test.

Following his performance at Wembley it was reported that several Premier League clubs were interested in signing Gilmour on a temporary basis.

Newly-promoted Norwich have won the race for his signature and Canaries boss Daniel Farke feels Gilmour is a “perfect fit” for his Canaries team.

“We are really happy to have brought Billy in,” said Farke, who saw midfielder Emiliano Buendia leave for Aston Villa for £33million last month.

“We must say a big thank you to Chelsea and all those involved for making this deal happen. I think it helped that in the past we have shown that young players with potential are in good hands here at Norwich City.

Billy Gilmour – GETTY IMAGES

“He will help us to achieve our targets. We still have to keep in mind that he is an unbelievably young guy and that he hasn’t played regularly on this level. We have to give him some time and space to improve and find his rhythm.”

Gilmour made 11 appearances for Chelsea last season, starting three Premier League matches.

The former Rangers youth player was an unused substitute in both the FA Cup and Champions League finals as Thomas Tuchel’s side lost the domestic showpiece to Leicester but beat Manchester City to become champions of Europe.

11:10 AM

The England team Gareth Southgate should pick to defeat Ukraine

Telegraph football writers pick their XIs – and you can too, by clicking here.

We have asked our writers to pick who they would like to see face the Ukrainians, especially bearing in mind that four of the England squad are on yellow cards.

10:50 AM

How England can beat Ukraine and take another step to glory

What do we know about England’s opponents? What are their strengths and what are the areas to exploit? Who are the players to watch out for?

Telegraph Sport spoke to Ukranian football expert Andrew Todos and former Norther Ireland manager Michael O’Neill, who masterminded a win over Ukraine at Euro 2016.

You can read our big match dossier by clicking here.

Graphic depicting England and Ukraine’s star players

10:30 AM

England at full strength for Ukraine

Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad all trained on the eve of England’s Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine.

The reward for Tuesday’s 2-0 last-16 win against Germany at Wembley is Saturday’s clash against Andriy Shevchenko’s side in Rome.

The Three Lions fly to Italy on Friday afternoon and the full squad trained at their St George’s Park base that morning.

Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were among those in action, having left isolation on the day of the Germany match after coming into contact with Chelsea team-mate Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for Covid-19 after playing for Scotland against England.

Harry Maguire, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Phil Foden are a booking away from a suspension heading into the quarter-final.

Manchester United defender Maguire, who was named man of the match on Tuesday, is set to join manager Southgate at Friday evening’s press conference in Rome.

10:23 AM

Captain Kane reporting for England training

JULY 02: Harry Kane of England trains during the England Training Session at St George’s Park on July 02, 2021 in Burton upon Trent, – GETTY IMAGES

10:08 AM

In Premier League news…

From our reporter, Mike McGrath.

09:44 AM

Achilles

No, not the Trojan war hero, but the cat that lives in St Petersburg’s Hermitage museum. He chose Spain while attempting to predict the result of tonight’s quarter-final.

Probably no need to play tonight now – the cat’s called it…

Achilles the cat, that lives in St. Petersburg’s Hermitage museum, chooses Spain while attempting to predict the result of the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter final match between Switzerland and Spain during an event in Saint Petersburg, – REUTERS

09:23 AM

De Bruyne and Hazard

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez will give Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard until the last minute to prove their fitness ahead of tonight’s Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with Italy.

Manchester City star De Bruyne suffered an ankle injury during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Portugal, during which Real Madrid’s Hazard also limped off with a muscle problem, and neither was able to train with the rest of the squad on Thursday morning.

However, speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the game in Munich, Martinez said: “We all know that we are fighting against time, but we’re going to take until the last minute to make the decision.

“Every day that goes by, every time they can sleep and get three meals and get some treatment, we see an improvement, and then we’ll see [today] if they can be involved or not. Unfortunately at the moment, we cannot make a decision.

“Obviously it will be difficult for [today] – a soft tissue injury in Eden’s case, maybe is difficult for a game like tomorrow, and for Kevin, having a ligament problem maybe is a bit different.

“But it’s more a medical decision. At the moment, it’s not a football decision; [today]it will become a medical decision in the afternoon and then we’ll make a football decision after that.”

De Bruyne left the pitch looking dejected in Belgium’s win over Portugal – GETTY IMAGES

Martinez could do with having all his most potent weapons available for a clash with an Italian side which is unbeaten in 31 matches, while both teams are bidding to become the first to win 15 consecutive European Championship matches since the start of qualification.

09:06 AM

In case you missed it…

Neil Diamond told The Telegraph yesterday how “thrilled” he was that England fans were singing his famous ‘Sweet Caroline’ song at Wembley.

“Well, I hope you can do it again – here’s to England”, he told The Telegraph.

The 1969 song has featured in every England victory celebration at Euro 2020 and was a high point of celebrations after the team beat Germany 2 – 0 in the round of 16.

After the match, striker Harry Kane and coach Gareth Southgate both told the media how much they enjoyed hearing fans belt out the song in unison.

08:52 AM

Tournament odds

The bookies have England now as Euro 2020 favourites – even at 2/1 in some outlets.

Then come Spain (3/1) followed by Italy (4/1), with Ukraine the outside shot with bookmakers at 33/1.

08:41 AM

Magic Monday

A look-back at the day that proved internationals reach parts that the club game cannot.

As if Spain 5 Croatia 3 wasn’t enough, Switzerland and France also served up a classic on Monday night. What made it so memorable?

Read Thom Gibbs’ excellent breakdown here.

08:30 AM

RIP Charlie

08:16 AM

Predictions for this evening

Let us know in the comments below!

I’m going Spain and Italy to progress… just.

08:14 AM

Alvaro Morata

As Sam Dean writes, Alvaro Morata has scored 21 goals in 44 appearances for his country. He has won 14 major trophies in club football. He has played for four of the biggest clubs in the world and he has been transferred between them for a combined total of more than £170 million. If he finds the net against Switzerland on Friday, he will become the highest scorer in Spain’s European Championship history. Everything about his CV, and his list of accomplishments by the age of 28, suggests that Morata must be one of the continent’s elite forwards. And yet, for many people, the former Chelsea striker still seems to be regarded more as a punchline than as a top-level predator.

Read about how Morata has emerged from the darkness in a bright, dangerous Spain side.

Spain’s Alvaro Morata celebrates after scoring his side’s fourth goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between Croatia and Spain at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen – POOL GETTY

07:59 AM

Can Switzerland do it again?

A reminder of how the Swiss got there in the first place.

They knocked out the world champions, France, on penalties, after fighting back from 3-1 down.

Refresh yourself on events in Bucharest by clicking here.

Kylian Mbappe missed the crucial penalty for France – GETTY IMAGES

07:35 AM

The Swiss are back!

Remember this bloke?

Swiss fan reacts to their victory over France

Topless and fully clothed, desperate and ecstatic: a Swiss football supporter has become a viral sensation after cameras zoomed in on his rollercoaster emotions watching his team beat France in the Euro 2020 tournament.

Found by Swiss media after images of him yelling and grimacing during Monday’s match went round the world, Luca Loutenbach has already amended his Twitter account to describe himself as the “Nati’s official meme since 28.06.2021.”

The Nati is the nickname for Switzerland’s national football team.

Loutenbach, 28, told Switzerland’s Blick TV that he was “just a normal fan”.

But those filming the game thought otherwise, zooming in on him several times during the play as he perfectly encapsulated Swiss fans’ ecstasy, dejection and frenzied joy – starting off wearing the Swiss red shirt and ending up topless and screaming.

The images quickly went viral, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeting one with the comment “man of the match”.

“A star is born,” Swiss public television RTS said.

“Thanks for all your messages, what is happening to me is unreal,” he wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

“I’m actually quite discreet, even if that wasn’t on show during the game. So this is fun for one or two days, but I hope it will ease off a bit after a while,” he told Swiss TV.

Such is his fame that Switzerland’s airline Swiss has gifted him a free ticket to Russia to see his team play Spain in the quarter finals on Friday in Saint Petersburg.

The country’s tourism agency has also contacted him via Twitter to offer a relaxing weekend away in Switzerland.

07:18 AM

Good morning!

Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the build-up to quarter-finals day, with the first two last-eight games kicking off tonight. Switzerland face Spain in St Petersburg at 5pm before Belgium take on Italy in Munich at 8pm.

England midfielder Jack Grealish said captain Harry Kane is the best player he has ever played with and tipped the Tottenham Hotspur forward to break the Premier League scoring record.

Kane drew a blank in each of England’s three group games at Euro 2020 but scored the second goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Germany which put them into a quarter-final clash with Ukraine in Rome on Saturday.

Grealish said Kane, or “H”, was a deadly finisher but also praised his work outside the box.

“No one here would ever doubt ‘H’,” Grealish told British media on Thursday. “He’s the best player I’ve ever played with.

“He’ll break the Premier League record and the England one but he’s not just a goalscorer. He’s unbelievable when he drops deep and finds passes and puts it through people’s legs.”

Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer with 260. Kane is seventh on the list with 166.

Grealish came off the bench to play a role in both goals in the win over Germany but the 25-year-old said he was uncertain if he would start against Ukraine, given the attacking options at coach Gareth Southgate’s disposal.

“It’s difficult. I’m always playing every minute at Villa. I have to be realistic about myself and the talent that we have, especially in my position,” he said.

“You’ve got six players that play either side of Harry that, in reality, could play for most clubs in the world — myself, Jadon (Sancho), Marcus (Rashford), Raheem (Sterling), Phil (Foden) and Bukayo (Saka),” he said.

“That’s scary how good us six are. That’s not being big-headed. That’s just the truth.”

Reuters

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allisonxmoynihan · 4 years

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quarantine fun ~ j. hughes

Request: can you do something like you are in quarantine with jack and his brothers and its just lots of competition and spending time with ellen but at the end of the day you and jack are in his room just watching movies and cuddling and talking about life and old ntdp teammates?

Word Count: 1548

Before quarantine started you were all set to go visit Jack’s family with him as a way to get to know his family better and see where he had spent so much of his life. Lockdown orders were put in place a couple days into your visit but the Hughes family was delighted to have you stay with them and help you during this hard time.

Of course this meant you got to spend lots of time with Jack, but also with the rest of the Hughes family. You definitely weren’t complaining though, because three boys having endless competitions was time consuming yet extremely fun.

You were drinking green tea with Ellen in the kitchen, the two of you looking at old photos of the Hughes bunch.

“Oh, this one you’ll like,” Ellen says as she slides a picture of Jack helping her in the kitchen across the table.

You pick up the photo, holding it in your hands as a smile blossoms across your face, “Wish he’d help me in the kitchen instead of just saying he wants food.”

Ellen smiles, “Jack’s more of a taste tester,” she laughs looking through more photos.

Jack strolls in with Luke and Quinn following behind him. “Mom, we’re gonna go practice” he mumbles as he reaches for the door handle, abruptly pausing.

“Mom, do you have to show my girlfriend baby pictures?” Jack groans, throwing his head back as a light blush creeps up on his cheeks. You smile softly, raising the mug to your lips to try and hide the smile.

“She’s helping me scrapbook.”

The three boys look unconvinced, as Ellen always loved to show her sons’ girlfriends baby pictures of the boys at any chance she got. Ellen sighs, putting the photos away, “y/n why don’t you go play with the boys?”

Your eyes widen, “o-oh, no. no, um, I don’t really play hockey, like um, uh-”

Jack and Quinn start cracking up at your shock and embarrassment, and you send a glare their way.

“y/n! That’s perfect! You can be goalie! We got some good equipment too!” Luke says, running into the garage.

“I’m gonna go help with the great equipment,” Quinn says, following after Luke.

Jack smiles down at you, reaching for your hand and guiding you out the door where you see Luke and Quinn grabbing some yarn and pillows, an old helmet, and a bunch of sticks.

“Oh no,” you mumble, a knot growing in the pit of your stomach.

“Best goalie equipment in town y/n” Jack smiles as he starts to grab some pillows and help his brothers make sure you’re protected.

Once Jack makes sure you’re secure and safe with the pillows wrapped snugly around you, he helps you tie your skates and puts a helmet on your head.

“Jack, this is unfair” you start to protest.

“We aren’t going to hurt you, c’mon, it’ll be fun” he says, holding his hand out for you to take.

Jack leads you to the road where Quinn set up the net and you look at the three boys, “No hard shots or I’ll fight all of you, and that’s a promise.”

The Hughes boys laugh at your comment before mumbling out an “okay”.

The boys were just screwing around and having a good time, occasionally taking a shot on net, which you frowned at because quite frankly they hurt. You couldn’t help but stare at Jack with admiration in your eyes as your thoughts began to wander. You loved watching him play, the way his eyes lit up with love for the sport, the creativity and passion he had was evident, he just glowed and you loved seeing him so happy. You were brought back to reality after a particularly hard slap shot from Jack and you felt tears sting your eyes, but you quickly fought them off, praying you wouldn’t have bruises later. Needless to say, you weren’t exactly having fun with this particular activity.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Ellen step outside with a watering can, watering the flowers she had planted around the front walk way. She looks out at the street smiling at her three boys and how much fun they were having. Secretly you were hoping she’d come and ask for your help with something, but she just walked back into the house.

Without any warning you see Jim skating down the driveway with a stick in his hand, “Can I join you?” He asks, only he doesn’t wait for an answer as he steals the puck from Luke and takes a hard shot on net, which you wince at. The boys and Mr. Hughes continue to mess around and try new tricks on one another as Ellen comes back outside.

“y/n, why don’t you come help me make the boys some lunch”

“MOm, we need her in goal,” Luke shouts before turning his attention to you, “y/n, please, you’re doing so great and we really need the practice.”

You smile and nod as you rip the pillows off and take the skates off, “you guys will be fine without me!” You say before running inside, thankful for an excuse to stop getting pucks hurled at you.

You and Ellen chit chat about her scrapbooking plans, which you promise to help her with, as you make quesadillas for the boys. Almost as if they smelled the food on the stove top, they came running in from outside. “Wash your hands,” Ellen instructs as she puts the food on different plates.

You were aware that teenage boys ate fast, but it never failed to amaze you that they could consume a whole quesadilla in a matter of seconds.

“Quinn, basketball or ping pong”

“Ping pong” he mumbles before shoving the last of his quesadilla into his mouth.

“y/n want to join us for 2 vs. 2?” Jack asks, jutting out his lower lip and giving you puppy dog eyes.

You laugh at his childish action, “Sure Jack”

“Great, so we’ll be on a team, and we’ll show Quinnie and Luke who’s boss”

You quickly glance at Luke before looking back at Jack, “Oh, I’m actually going to be Lukey’s teammate for this one,”

Jack’s jaw drops open, “You’ll pay for this”.

Next thing you know, the four of you find yourselves in the basement engaged in an intense ping pong battle, you and Luke losing quite miserably. And not shockingly at all Jack and Quinn end up winning.

Your favorite part of every day was night time because it was the only time you and Jack got to be alone together. The two of you were sprawled across his bed, both of you on your phones doing something. You tossed your phone to the side and pressed your body into Jack’s side, snuggling up against him and resting your head over his chest. You smiled softly listening to the steady beat of his heart. Jack placed his phone on the nightstand, “What do you want to watch tonight?”

“To all the boys?” You ask, batting your eyelashes up at him.

He laughs as he pulls up netflix, “again? We watched that last night.”

Regardless of the fact, he pulls the movie up anyway, wrapping his arms tightly around your waits as he presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

“Jacky?”

‘What’s up baby”

“Do you miss the boys?”

“The boys?”

“Like Alex, Trevor, and Cole. Y’know, the boys.”

Jack shifts awkwardly underneath you, and you frown as you have to readjust yourself.

“Yeah, they’re like my brothers, I miss them sometimes. Y’know they saw me at my best and my worst and never bailed on me.”

You nod slowly as he continues, “I drifted apart from the majority of the team, unfortunately, but I still got Turcs, Z, and Cole. I hope I always have them by my side”

You smile, “well, I’m glad you still have them in your life, and they’d be dumb to leave you anyway”

Jack hums softly, “me too”

The two of you cuddle in silence for a few moments as the part where Kitty sends out Lara-Jean’s letters scrolls across his tv.

“Hey Jack?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen to us?”

“What do you mean”

“Like, I don’t know. You’re in Jersey now, but what if you get traded or I graduate and move or something. Besides, there are so many beautiful girls in Newark that are probably so much better than me, and like I couldn’t blame you for wanting to be with one of them.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t say that. No one, and I mean no one is better than you, okay? And I can promise you, that no matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere. I will be by your side every step of the way, okay? We’re in this together.”

You smile, leaning your head up to press a kiss to his lips, “Okay,” you mumble against him.

“You definitely can't get rid of me that easily, y/n”

“Good,” you say before kissing him again.

He pulls away, a wide grin on his face, “now can we watch the movie you wanted to watch?”

#jack hughes #trevor zegras #alex turcotte #ntdp #new jersey devils #nhl #ntdp imagine

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secret-engima · 5 years

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Random Titus HCs for Future’s Blurry Verse

-Smol Murder Child.

-Quickly becomes the Tol Murder Child because he was always on the Tol side but now with Glaucus and Ardyn stuffing him full of good food (with Besithia chipping in surprisingly, even if his dietary rants borderline nature documentary tone on the “care and keeping of angry adolescent homo sapiens”), he shoots up in height like crazy.

-Was never more smug than the day his latest growth spurt made him taller than Glaucus. GLORIES in being the tallest person in the room just about wherever he goes.

-Rabidly dedicated to Glaucus and Co. Even Besithia, for all they fight and snark like the worst kind of siblings.

-Ardyn is the Team Mom. Titus is Ardyn’s Team Mom since no one else is going to do it with regularity.

-Proudly proclaimed himself Ardyn’s Shield.

-Ardyn choked on his spit.

-Glaucus just laughed and then dryly asked why Titus wasn’t HIS Shield, to which Titus said that one, Glaucus didn’t need any help in a fight, and two, since when couldn’t Titus be BOTH their Shields?

-Ardyn flinched at that because THANKS FOR THE TRAUMA GILGAMESH and anyway Glaucus will probably pick up an OC for his Shield at some point anyway so it will be a moot point.

-Will Throw Hands with literally anything. Only reason he didn’t run off to Throw Hands with Gilgamesh on Ardyn’s behalf is because Ardyn and Glaucus make a point to NEVER MENTION that Gilgamesh is still around after telling Titus and Besithia Ardyn’s backstory.

-Guess what happens when they meet the Chocobros 1.0 and Clarus and Regis mention the Tempering Grounds within earshot of both Murder Children.

-Gilgamesh is MORE THAN A LITTLE AMUSED at the sight of Glaucus busting into the Tempering Grounds right in the middle of the Climactic Battle, already cussing out the two winded, frazzled, very humbled Murder Children for this stunt. He doesn’t even protest Glaucus taking them home even though they technically “lost” the fight by leaving with Glaucus.

-btw Gilgamesh now is missing an arm (again, same one as last time too, funny) and has a deep rend in the back of his armor. He’s impressed by how well the two hyper competitive murder children worked together in a pinch.

-Titus and Cor get along like two Really Aloof cats that you THINK should hate each other and fight all the time but instead like to lurk in a corner together and brood over their respective idiots adults.

-Are still hyper competitive.

-Do not stick them on the same battlefield if you want the other side to have any survivors.

-When not brooding together, Titus and Cor play wrestle (and by play wrestle I mean try to kill each other without Glaucus noticing, so basically everything but broken bones and stabbing implements are allowed).

-Titus is basically Cor’s older, taller, crabbier twin sib.

-Somehow Titus is the Braincell when they run off together. Probably because he’s used to momming Ardyn. Titus is not thrilled to discover this but it does nothing to stop them from running off and Doing The Things anyway.

-Titus will forever hold his greater height over Cor’s head (literally and pun intendedly).

-Cor has taken to spring boarding off Titus’s back during battle.

-Tank DPS and Rogue DPS, that’s Titus and Cor in a fight, basically.

-Both Cor and Titus look up to Glaucus. A Lot. Glaucus is a Despair™.

-Titus thinks Regis is weird.

-Then again his measuring stick for LC behavior is Ardyn and Glaucus so it’s no wonder he thinks Regis is weird.

-Likes pushing Clarus’s buttons. It’s fun.

-Think’s Weskham is the best thing since sliced bread. Mostly because Weskham can successfully Mom Ardyn, which gives Titus a much needed break.

-Calls Cid “Gramps”.

-Cid does not appreciate this nickname.

-Not sure if he’s gonna be Captain of the Kingsglaive or not, but I know he WILL meet the the glaives and end up riding herd more than once.

-Titus is a Regret™.

-He takes back everything he ever did to stress out the adults in his life.

-Glaucus stop laughing and HELP. THE ULRIC IS DOING A DUMB AGAIN.

-Adores Noctis and Prompto with every fiber of his being. Every. Fiber. Will Throw Hands for them against anything.

-Is Very Not Sure how to handle the day Cindy gets a Massive Crush on him.

-Help how does one deal with one’s pseudo-niece stuttering and blushing in his presence all the time. Help.

-Cor, who has been dealing with crushes from just about every prepubescent human being ever since he was 15: Pretend you’ve never had an ounce of social awareness in your entire life. If you ignore it hard enough, maybe it will go away.

-I cannot emphasize the sibling vibes between Titus and Cor enough. These two are Murder Children who are united in their Murder Child-ness. They have the same deadpan sense of humor and are the only person who can get away with cussing out or nicknaming the other.

-Titus calls Cor twerp.

-It took YEARS for Cor to stop trying to stab Titus whenever he did that.

-Only stopped because he was tired to Titus tucking all of the knives into his armiger and not giving them back.

-Cor, in retaliation, calls Titus a VARIETY of things, the mildest of which is Beanpole and Pickpocket.

-Titus has no need to come up with multiple nicknames in retaliation since “Twerp” gets a reaction every time.

-Everyone picture the faces of the new Crownsguard recruits the day Titus visits and announces his presence with an amused, “Hello, Twerp.” And their MARSHAL, the FAMED IMMORTAL (Titus is called the Undying, which is basically the same thing but mass media needed a way to differentiate between them btw) twitches violently and flings a knife at the newcomer who just entered on instinct. Titus just catches the knife and tucks it away, inciting a garbled, wordless growl from Cor. Just.

-The Marshal. The famed Immortal. Their BOSS.

-And this guy who walked in just called him Twerp and lived to tell the tale.

-Then they realize this is Titus Drautos, the Undying, and figure ... yeah if anyone can get away with it it’s Titus.

#Secret Engima Rambles #The Future's Blurry (the Past is Trap) verse #titus drautos

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yetanothergamingcouple · 3 years

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24 Hour Gaming Event

Better late than never. Here is our piece on the 24-hour gaming event we went to last September. There will be a post in the next couple of days explaining our silence but for now please enjoy our account of the event.

The awesome Rachel and James over at Bake Battle & Roll organised a mammoth 24-hour gaming event in aid of Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The event kicked off on Saturday 12th September 2020 at 14:00. Katie (occasional guest reviewer) and Kirsty’s mothership joined us for the first 2-hours, and we kicked it off with a couple of games of Side Effect. Katie won both games and the mothership was completely confused by it.

Next we tried a new game to us all, Chronicles of Crimes. Kirsty had been eyeing it up for a while and was excited to try it but was left a bit disappointed. The premise is good, but it was a bit awkward and clunky to play with 4 of us as we had to keep passing Kirsty’s phone around us all.

Kirsty forced the group to play one of her new games, Ghosts Love Candy, we didn’t quite play it right but Andy was surprised at how decent the game was. It’s a fun card drafting game with a cutesy spooky vibe. Kirsty absolutely destroyed the rest of us and won by 10 points.

The last game we played with Katie and the mothership was Cards Against Humanity. Katie had been wanting to play this for years but since she only turned 16 this year the answer has always been nooooo…until now! She was thoroughly disappointed in her crap cards and had to skip a turn to change her hand. As their time was coming to an end we decided to play to 5. It was a close game with us all having 4 wins, but Kirsty managed to steal the tie-breaker game…with rock, paper, scissors.

Kirsty’s mothership and Katie then said goodbye and we were left to fend for ourselves. Kirsty has had her eye on Arkham Horror which is a very heavy/complex board game and a fellow gamer, Chris, became very interested in playing with us and offered to help out. He showed us the basic game mechanic and rolls and we got stuck in to fighting the monsters and teleporting to the Netherworld. Between the three of us we beat the game and a great time was had by all. It’s definitely one that we’d like to buy, but we feel it’d be better with more players.

After such an intense game we felt like something lighter, so we broke out Fluttering Souls and took it easy for a while. It’s a light card drafting game that’s based on the Japanese legend of The White Butterfly. This is one of the games we own and brought with us. Andy won all of the games this time.

After a quick snack another player, Josh, came and asked to join us. Josh chose Side Effect, another game from our collection we brought with us, and we explained the rules to him quickly. As an avid board gamer, Josh picked up the rules easily and won many of the games we had together.

Next up was Everdell. This is a beautiful game with very tactile pieces and a large cardboard tree, which the Meeples of Bake Battle and Roll, James and Rachel, keep on display in a glass cabinet rather than deconstruct it after each play and stored in the game box. We setup the board and managed to read the rules but as this was a new game to both of us and a game of Monster of the Week was due to start we packed it away. We did intend on coming back and playing it later, but Monster of the Week ran over, and we never managed to go back to it.

Neither of us had heard of Monster of the Week let alone played it but it turned out to be a simpler Dungeons & Dragons with simple character creation and rolling. The Keeper (read as DM in Dungeons & Dragons) was Chris and we were playing as ghost detectives a la Scooby Doo. Andy was a street thug/gangster and Kirsty’s character was a mundane. Chris was an excellent Keeper and let us get away with lots of silliness in the name of fun. We gave the NPCs silly names like Mrs. Mister Brown (a drama teacher) and Jason Barson (The bartender’s son). Andy dealt the final blow to the boss ghost with a holy shotgun and we all cheered. Subsequently we have purchased the game book for this and hope to run our own campaigns with our friends.

After saving the world from evil-doers Andy headed over to the Switch to play Mario Kart while Kirsty played Dungeon Mayhem Monster Madness with the James, Rachel, Chris and Josh. James and Rachel had previously played the base game Dungeon Mayhem before so were familiar with the rules and both Chris and Josh picked them up quickly. Josh was the first to be knocked out quickly followed by Chris. It was a close as to who would win, James knocked out Rachel and then Kirsty knocked James out but there was only 2 HP in it.

Kirsty was very much peopled out by this point and decided to have some solo time while Andy played Dungeons and Dragons. This was a team battle royal. All players fighting against progressively harder monsters using pre-created characters. Andy chose a wizard and spent most of the time stood still casting spells galore. Some players were upset that there was no levelling in the event, but we had lots of fun. Everyone was getting pretty tired and James was struggling to run the game so we called it a day.

While Andy was still playing Dungeons and Dragons and once Kirsty had recovered a little she played a couple of games of Rhino Hero. It’s a relatively simple game premise but a lot of fun, especially when you are able to box other players in. You choose a superhero and build platforms with the aim of moving up to the top. You have to roll the dice to see if you move or down, and if so how many levels, or stay where you are. If you are on the same level as another superhero you have to battle to determine who remains there and who moves down. An added complication is the need to hang monkeys from some of the platforms. They are tricky to attach and often fall off when adding new platforms.

We had a small break with some food and coffees and was invited to a game of Talisman. A large game which took a while to play. Players have to work their way from the outside of the game towards the centre. Fighting monsters and trying to find a talisman in order to progress. There were a few laughs and people being turned into toads which raised a lot of laughs. Kirsty fought off all the opposition to claim the victory and we all concluded it was a fun game but not a good game.

Kirsty was very excited to see Bake Battle and Roll had Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas board game in. It’s a very basic game that leaves a lot to be desired. We decided to pack it away mid-game in favour of a bacon sandwich. It had so much potential, but it just fell short.

After a quick run to a nearby café to grab some bacon and egg sandwiches Andy invited Chris to play Space Crusade. He’d been excited about it since the start and didn’t want to disappoint him. This was a quick run of the mission Seek and Destroy and some rule bending to make the game fun. The game ended in a firefight between the Dreadnought, Chris’ Commander, and his plasma gun Marine. With the Dreadnought closing in on him, Chris managed to destroy his enemy and claim the victory. Andy was happy to have killed some of Chris’ Marines and shows that the alien player can win too.

While Andy was playing Space Crusade, Kirsty played Disney Colour Brain with Rachel and Em. You have eleven cards in your hand and one or a combination of cards will answer the question. Getting it right is only half of the battle to scoring a point you need the other players/teams to get it wrong to walk off with the points. It was simple and mind-numbingly easy to grasp but highlighted Kirsty’s need to watch more Disney-Pixar films. Kirsty just managed to scrape a win before moving on to a game of Red Panda. The aim of the game is to get rid of all your cards or be the last player standing. The graphics are super cute and colourful. It’s very much a luck-based game and although it’s clearly a game aimed at children and families it’s a nice filler game for adults.

As exhaustion was finally settling in we opted to play games we were familiar with and cracked out Side Effects again. We played two games with each of us claiming a victory before moving on to Fluxx. It’s been a while since we played the physical copy of Fluxx as we’ve got into the habit of playing it on our phones. Neither one of us can recall just how many games of Fluxx we played nor even who won. Sleep deprivation really took out Kirsty’s competitive nature. After Fluxx we went back to Fluttering Souls, once again neither one of us remembers who won.

We decided we’d see if we could use sleep deprivation to our advantage and tap into some psychic ability to play The Mind. Andy didn’t have high hopes for success and Kirsty was unsure she could count to 2 let alone 100 but we still tried. We’re still unsure what dark magic was afoot but somehow, we managed to reach and complete level 12 with 2 lives remaining. It was as if we were thinking as one.

Being on a high from the win of The Mind we thought we could successfully take on Forbidden Dessert. Oh how wrong were we. We started well, got everything set up and a strategy of who was going where. That quickly went downhill as Andy started to move Kirsty’s pawn and Kirsty kept getting confused by which way the wind blew. All in all it was a disaster and we soon realised we weren’t in a fit state to play Forbidden Dessert so we packed it away.

Andy was a little amazed that Kirsty had never played Dobble before and decided it was due time she did. We played all 5 variants of Dobble in the rule book before Chris wondered over to join us. We played 3 more games of Dobble with Chris before moving on to our final game of the 24-hour event, Sushi Go! Chris hadn’t play Sushi Go! before so we invited him to join us. Andy quickly explained the rules and our final game was underway. Chris picked the rules up well and if not for having the least amount of puddings would have come in 2nd, Andy thought he had the most with 3 but unfortunately for him Kirsty had been squirreling them away and had 4. Andy did manage to win this game though by 3 points.

The 24-hour gaming event was brought to an end with the raffle draw. Between us we came away with a £30 voucher for Punch Menswear in Doncaster, Men’s hair products from Anarchy Hair Salon,

2 Reaper miniatures and 2 hand-made cotton cloths. Kirsty did also win a Big Potato plushie but gave it to the raffle drawer as he seemed disappointed his dad didn’t win it.

It took Andy a couple of days to recover and get his sleep pattern back to normal and Kirsty was just about recovered a week later. It was a fantastic experience with some truly amazing people and games. We would definitely be up for repeating the experience…Kirsty would just need to book a week off work to recover.

A huge thank you to everyone that donated and sent messages of encouragement. When Rachel and James first started they wanted to raise £1000, between donations, sponsorship and raffle tickets they’ve managed to raise £2245. A massive congratulations to both of them for organising such an amazing and successful event.

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write-like-you-mean-it · 4 years

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A Hunter’s Prey: Loss and Text Messages

It's been about five days since I’ve met the troupe. The more that I’ve been here, the stronger my relationship was to the rest of the team. Slowly, I was realizing why Machi kept this side to her while also staying so close to them. From what I’d gather, Feitan and Phinks were friends even if they wouldn’t admit it. Shizuku, Kortopi, and Bonolenvo hung out together in a pack. They were quieter but self assured. Shalnark was the extrovert of the group and would travel between the smaller groups. Franklin was a silent giant who seemed more attached to Chrollo and Fetian than anyone else. Lastly, Machi and Nobunaga always seemed to be attached at the hip to each other. Which was quite interesting because for as long as I knew my friend, she had never been interested in any guy that was interested in her.

Daybreak was the alarm for the team. If you didn’t wake up to the sun, you’d quickly be awoken to the sound of shouting from across the room. Usually it was Phinks who was particularly grumpy in the morning. This particular morning, I realized that it was time to ask Chrollo about Illumi joining the team.

Weirdly enough, most of my dreams were consumed with thoughts of him. Each day, I found myself looking over the same conversations over text. There wasn’t much material but it was something. Every day, I would send a small message in the hopes that he’d return one. None ever came.

Instead, Chrollo had taken the place of Illumi. Every night, we’d have a conversation on the balcony. They were always different. One night was Chrollo explaining the constellations of the stars. The next night, he asked me about my job and childhood. Whenever I’d ask him about his past, he’d divert the conversation to anything else.

Tonight was going to be the night. I’d ask him about the team and tell him about Illumi. I had to. Things were getting desperately serious. Machi was even discussing letting me stay. My mind told me to take the offer. It was the best thing for me; however, something was forcing me to go back.

We’d been up awhile at this point. A contest to see who could lift the most weight compared to their body size was happening. Machi and I refused to participate. Instead, we sat in the corner to talk.

“I wish you’d told me about your job earlier. This was a blast,” I said while we watched Kortopi trying to pick up a second box.

“Was?” she questioned while reclining back. She’d placed some pillows as comfort to make a nice chair. “You’ve decided to actually leave to go back to that monster.”

I was taken aback by her words. “Monster? Illumi isn’t a monster. He’s just a little broken.”

Machi sighed. “I’ve never seen you defend a guy so adamantly. Everytime you talk about him, it’s always positive. You never talk about the fact he kidnapped you, took you as a slave, forced you into a relationship, never talks to you, makes you go on missions, makes you learn Nen… Shall I continue?”

“I get your point,” I said. “It’s just different. There’s something there. I-I know there’s good within him. “

“You’re going to try to fix him. That’s what happened with your last boyfriend. Instead of letting go, you tried to fix him. Y/N you need to let Illumi go. Even if you wanted to fix him, there’s too much to unpack. Years and years of living with his family.” She looked for a second in both directions. She was keeping a watchful eye out for Kalluto. “He’s only been here for a bit and I can already feel like he needs to prove something.”

“-I know,” I interrupt. “I-I just need to work this out for myself.” Shouting was heard from across the room. Phinks had stacked up ten heavy boxes while Franklin was trying to add more. Shalnark was coxing them on. I shook my head and turned back to Machi. “I promise. If I get hurt, I’ll come back here. As long as they’ll let me.”

Machi smiled and said “If they know what’s good for them.”

Again, the shouting caught both of our attention. Phinks was trying to show off for the rest of the group. It was pretty entertaining. All the members were. “So, you and Nobunaga?” I ask mainly due to wanting the conversation to change.

“What about him and I?”

“Even if you didn’t want to tell me about your job, you should have told me about your crushes.”

“I don’t have a crush on him,” she defended while finally sitting up. I rolled my eyes.

“Oh no you don’t. Sure,” I said while holding my hands up. “You could fool me. Even though I’m here, you’ve not left his side.”

“He lost someone close to him. I’m trying to make sure that he’s okay.” She paused for a moment as her eyes turned towards the rest of the team. “We all have. Last September was rough for us.”

I could feel the pain in her voice. I remember last September, Machi going off the deep end for a bit. We rarely talked but I thought it was due to being busy at work. That was the excuse she gave me. While I know she really was busy with this work, there was something else wrong. She would call me crying without much comprehension of words. I sat and listened for hours while she talked until early morning. It wasn’t until the night of the party that she was finally acting like herself. That's why I went. That’s how my drink was spiked and how I ended up here.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said while putting a hand on her shoulder. “I must’ve worried you when I disappeared.”

“Yes you did,” she said while wiping a single stray tear from her eye. “I can’t lose more of them. The people are more like family than anyone else. There was so much I wanted to tell you but couldn’t.”

“At least I know now.” I tried to smile as if to help her. “I’ve met all these people and you can call me whenever to talk.”

She nods her head. I guess a few members had noticed our conversation. Nobonaga called out to Machi; “Hey, come show us up.” Machi patted my head but went to follow. The best part of meeting the troupe was finally being able to see my best friend happy once again.

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

I waited to go out to the landing until I was sure every single person was asleep. This time, I took a blanket as I knew it was going to be a long talk, and I wanted to be prepared. Time passed until Chrollo finally found me. He’d snuck out with Feitan earlier to go run some errands. He arrived back at the bunker as the competition was ending.

“You seem to like the stars,” said Chrollo. I heard the clanking of metal as he climbed the rickety stairs.

“I could say the same for you,” I said while feeling my heart quicken. It only happened when Chrollo was talking with me. I wish I could make it stop.

“They are beautiful. Plus, they’re always better with good company.”

“Do you like flirting with your subordinate’s friends?” I chuckled while turning my attention to him.

Chrollo’s eyes flickered while a slight smirk lay on his lips. Instead of standing far away from me. He decided to stand close enough that our shoulders almost touched. “Do you like flirting with your friend’s boss?”

I could feel heat rising in my cheeks. “I-I’m not flirting with you,” I stutter. “I’m just talking. We’re having a conversation. That’s all this is.”

“You wouldn’t keep coming up to this fire escape in the hopes that I would talk to you if you truly just wanted conversation.”

I had to turn away as every inch of my face felt hot. I bit my lip to try and silence any thought that would come to my head. ‘I’m doing this for Illumi,’ my brain repeated. It became a mantra because I had to say it so much. “I come up here to see the stars. I haven’t been able to see them in so long.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been a little bit busy.” I wanted to say that ‘d been chained and couldn’t leave, but that was too much for him to handle. “Machi told me you lost a member. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Chrollo leaned more onto the post. “We lost two. One was my own fault.”

“That can’t be true,” I said while turning to him.

“It was. I was a little tied up. She chose to save me over her own life.” Chrollo turned to look at the stars. “I tried to make this group to continue even if I was gone. I was not the head but another leg. Everyone was needed to function; however, I must’ve not presented that well enough. A life for a life.”

“I see,” I said. We fell into the same silence as I did regularly with Illumi. I felt so comfortable that it made my heart ache. My thoughts ran wild with the possibilities of how Illumi could be doing. “How did Kalluto join?” I realized my mistake as I was not to make it known that I knew the Zoldycks. “He said that he joined recently.”

“I’m not sure,” Chrollo said. “He’s been here for a short while. I was gone when he joined. In fact, he replaced Hisoka. Machi told me that you two had met before.”

“That’s what she meant when she said he was a work friend. You trusted him here? To be a part of the troupe?”

Chrollo sighed. “He defeated the past member. He had a right to join the group. He was also a lapse in judgment. Which is why our battle will be coming up soon.”

“You’re going to fight Hisoka?” I ask, a little surprised. “Why?”

“We have a lot of unfinished business to attend to. I only have a few more steps then I feel prepared. Unless you have an exceptional Nen ability.”

I shook my head. “I just know it from books. I rarely have had a chance to train. I won’t be good in a fight.”

“I bet you’d be wonderful,” said Chrollo. I could feel the heat rising once again. I wished that Illumi would say this to me. I’d be so much easier to push through the harsh workout regiment if he could give some love or say a compliment.

“I can promise that I am not. Thank you though.”

“Machi told me that you had a question for me. I think you’ve spent enough time with us to understand the dynamic of our team.”

“What hasn’t Machi told you?” I question. I was becoming concerned that she would’ve mentioned Illumi.

“That was all she said.” Good.

“It has to do with joining. Do you have slots open?”

“If you’re wanting to join, you might need to fight one of the members-”

“-No” I interrupt. “I love it here but I’m better as a guest. I’d rather come and go when I please. You can think of me as a contractor. I was actually inquiring about someone else.”

“Ah,” said Chrollo. “I should have known. A girl as beautiful as you would be taken.”

“Y-you know?” I ask.

“I could see it in your eyes when you talked about the someone else. It’s almost the same glimmer you get when I compliment you. Interesting that you haven’t mentioned him before in all our night talks.”

“He-I- Our relationship is complicated,” I mumble. Complicated seemed like a lie. Our relationship wasn’t complicated. It was straightforward and messy. It was a push and pull. It was the quiet silence before a hurricane. It was complicated.

“I see.” He runs his hand through the messy hair. “If you want to uncomplicate yourself, I will still be here. Metaphorically speaking that is. We do move around from mission to mission. You can always talk to Machi or you can have my number directly.” Chrollo pulls out my phone from his pocket.

“Where’d you get that?” I ask while feeling around to see if it truly was mine.

“Feitan is a good pickpocket,” he said while tossing me my phone. He rambled off a few numbers that I guessed were his phone number. I put in his number and he checked to make sure. “Call if needed.”

With that cue, he started to walk down the stairs. “W-wait,” I shout. “I didn’t get to ask you how to join.”

“Illumi will need to ask him himself,” Chrollo said while continuing to go down the stairs. “He can send you as a reference after he asks. I don’t like others doing his bidding. Plus, I’d be nice to see you again.” As he got to the final step, Chrollo turned to look at me. “I would check your messages. It seems that he doesn’t enjoy our nightly meetings.” A smirk formed on his face as he disappeared into the darkness of the room.

I quickly look through my phone. There were only 3 simple messages from Illumi.

Have you completed the mission?

Why are you disappearing with Chrollo at night?

I am coming to get you.

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#Illumi #illumi x reader #A Hunter's Prey #hunterxhunter #hxh #a hunters prey #chapter 21

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misssophiachase · 4 years

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Reality Bites - Chapter 4: Gimme Shelter

Synopsis: Caroline is the long-suffering producer on America's number one reality television program Meet the Mikaelsons. The wealthy, English family are difficult but Caroline has to stick it out so she can get the promotion she's been eyeing. Enter arrogant, second-eldest sibling Klaus Mikaelson who has every intention of messing with her plans.

Playa Palmilla, San Jose del Cabo

"Oh, come on, love, don't be like this. I'll let you pick which bedroom you want?" He offered by way of an olive branch as they collected their bags from the trunk of the cab.

Yes, maybe he felt a little bad. What with crashing her flight and cancelling her accommodation and then insisting she stay with him. Klaus decided it sounded a lot worse than it actually was. He told himself before the flight that it made perfect sense for them to fly and stay together but upon further reflection, and her outraged reaction, he was starting to get a complex.

Yes, Klaus Mikaelson usually got his way, not because he insisted upon it but because ever since he could remember that was just the way things were. Of course, coming from a famous, wealthy and powerful family dynasty that was expected and it had just become second nature to Klaus.

Until Caroline Forbes breezed into his life.

Rather than feeling put out by her adverse reaction, Klaus reveled in it. He was so used to people doing and saying the right thing around him, but Caroline Forbes had absolutely no filter and wasn't ashamed to tell him when he was being an ass, as she liked to put it. Judging by how frequently she did it, Klaus really should have learned his lesson but, when it came to her, he was greedy for more.

Caroline didn't bother to respond or wait for him, just powered off bags in hand to the private villa on Palmilla Beach they'd booked for the week. Klaus was trying to ignore just how good she looked in that floral dress with her blonde hair hanging loose around her shoulders in soft waves. Although, Klaus was beginning to realize that was just her default setting.

She opened the door ahead of him and stepped into the open plan living area. He'd be shocked if she found a problem given the picturesque views from the floor to ceiling windows, simple but modern furniture and its spacious and airy feel.

"Well, that's the least you could do," she growled, finally responding. "I want the one with the biggest bathroom."

"I think you'll find there's only one joint bathroom between the rooms," he explained. She walked over to inspect the layout and noticed the interconnecting doors from both bedrooms to the bathroom.

"Unbelievable!" She muttered. "I can't share a bathroom with you, I mean what if I'm in there and you walk in on me in the shower?"

"Well, you could just as easily walk in on me, love," he winked teasingly. He could tell she wanted to bite about that particular endearment but she obviously thought there were more important battles to win today.

"You do realize that if I still had my original booking I wouldn't have to share at all?"

"You do realize that your original room is a shoebox compared to this, right?"

"Yes, but it was my shoebox," she insisted, her blue eyes blazing angrily. "One that apparently wouldn't be available any longer because it's peak season, except your assistant managed to find both Kat and Bonnie rooms at short notice."

"Well, when you're a Mikaelson…"

"Yes, life is so easy when you're a freaking, Mikaelson," she shot back, and Klaus couldn't miss the venom in her voice. It felt almost like a slap in the face. Why did she hate him and his family so much? Being a producer of their reality show would be a good start but Klaus knew there was more to it. She marched towards one of the bedrooms before he could properly respond.

"I take it I've got the other bedroom then," he assumed, placing his bags on the bed.

"Why can't my friends just stay here?" She asked, appearing again, hands on hips. "There's plenty of room. We could have a sleepover and paint each other's nails and then have a pillow fight in our underwear."

"You seriously do that?" He was joking but it didn't stop her from rolling her eyes in his direction.

"We both know the rules about fraternization amongst the crew and the ban against friends visiting the set. In fact, a little birdie told me you actually came up with those," he replied, taking a seat on his bed and patting the spot next to him.

"Trust me, Elijah will be thanking me for that rule," she replied mysteriously, making him curious about exactly what that meant. "And I am not sitting there. It's already bad enough we are staying together, I mean it's hardly professional given the aforementioned rules."

"We are co-producers, if the rest of the crew has a problem, they can speak to me about the accommodation arrangements."

"The crew I'm fine with given they're my rules and I'm also their boss, it's your brother. He sent me a text with a childhood taunt about us K-I-S-S-I-N-G in a tree accompanied by multiple, kissy-face emojis."

Hearing her say that, Klaus immediately felt a stab of something right in his chest, he decided to blame it on the interesting food they served in Coach. They'd briefly run into his family outside the airport but he'd happily ditched their too-close-for-comfort limousine for a cab with Caroline.

"Please tell me you're talking about Henrik?"

"Do you really think Henrik would do that? He may only be sixteen but the kid is one of the most mature teenagers I know and given the circus he's growing up in that is impressive." Klaus immediately felt pleased that she thought as highly of her little brother as he did. But back to his younger, more wayward brother.

"Wishful thinking on my part, I guess. How exactly does Kol have your cell number? I remember it took me at least a month to procure that."

"He asked," she replied, shrugging her shoulders lazily. "I thought it would be rude not to oblige."

"Unbelievable," he growled. "What else does he send you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. I'm his producer and he's one of the cast," she explained. "It would be unprofessional of me to divulge those details."

"Why are you so hard on me?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. It was something he'd been wondering for the longest time but never had the courage to ask. Klaus knew he could be difficult and a little arrogant at times (he blamed his upbringing for that particular trait) but when it came to his family, he was the least of her troubles.

"I'm not," she murmured, although her indecisive tone was telling Klaus she was lying. "But you definitely give me more grief."

"I give you grief? You do realize I have immature Kol and spoilt Rebekah as siblings, right?" He shot back. "I'm no trouble at all, in fact, not only have I lightened the workload with the producer duties, but I also suggested this little trip so we can rate the pants off the competition. I mean who wants to watch five conceited brunettes whose names start with the same letter shop?"

"Plenty of people but I'm not going into our competition with you again. However, I need to correct you on a few of those outrageous claims, Mikaelson," she argued stomping on the spot briefly. Klaus had discovered that's what she did when she was trying to make a point. "Number one, you stole half my job without asking, I might add. I never gave it to you and I was handling the workload just fine. Number two, I still maintain that you brought the entire team down to Mexico to hook up with your ex and ogle other women on the side." He stood up to interrupt before she held up her finger to stop him. "Yes, I said ogle. And number three, I'm going to go shower now for dinner with my friends before I say something else I might regret."

"Wow, so much restraint, Forbes," he scoffed sarcastically and moved closer, the distance between them not so far anymore. "Number one, I didn't steal, I asked for the producer job and number two sounds like someone is very jealous about who I do and do not ogle."

"Oh, you are way off-base, mister," she huffed, poking him in the chest accusingly. "I could care less what or who you do, I'm just stating a fact. Although, please refrain from doing it so close to my bedroom."

"Well, I'm sure you can ask the set medic to keep you warm at night if you feel left out, sweetheart." It just came out, and he immediately regretted it. Klaus was starting to realize she had that effect on him but she didn't retreat and neither did he, their gazes held, heated and intense.

He'd be lying if Doctor Wonderful hadn't taken him by surprise after showing up on set to swoop in and save the day. His mother Esther was still frothing at the mouth over his 'soulful, brown eyes' and Klaus had found himself wondering just how close he and Caroline were. Not that he liked Caroline in that way, Klaus was only trying to make sure things on set were professional. Given Caroline invented the rules she should be happy he was adhering to the protocol.

"I cannot believe you just went there," she drawled, finally looking away. "My love life and who I choose to sleep with is none of your business."

"You started it," he muttered thinking it sounded much more mature in his head. "But you can't go out with your friends tonight, mother has summoned us to a private dinner at her villa to discuss the shoot."

It was kind of true, Klaus insisted that he'd only attend if Caroline was invited too. He couldn't explain why he wanted her around all the time especially given how much of a hard time she gave him.

"I don't do family dinners, especially with the Mikaelson Brady Bunch, I would need way too many Margheritas to deal with that." He cocked his left eyebrow thinking that was a strange thing to say. About the family dinners and not about the excessive alcohol.

"Welcome to my world, trust me mother will have more than enough alcohol. How do you think we survive Christmas and every other holiday each year?"

"Mikaelson," she groaned. "You really hate me don't you?"

"Yes," he scowled, thinking she should have her own show because she could be just that dramatic. "Look, if you don't want to go then, by all means, let her know. I'm sure you have her cell number too and text her regularly."

"I cannot believe you," she muttered. "It truly is your mission to destroy what little social life I have, isn't it?"

"You do whatever you need to do sweetheart, I'm going to shower," he strode past her and towards the bathroom.

"But I said I was showering first!" She whined.

"Well, it looks like you're going to have to wait your turn," he teased, giving her one final smirk before shutting the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later and Klaus was enjoying his shower, well except for the constant interruptions.

"Mikaelson get your butt out of the damn shower." She banged on the door in short, sharp bursts. The frequency of her interruptions was increasing. Klaus smiled evilly, he was having way too much fun annoying her.

"You know it would go a lot quicker if you didn't knock so often, love. Maybe it would be easier if you just came in and helped me with all the hard to reach places?"

"Over my dead body," she muttered. It seemed to work as her knocking finally stopped. Klaus chuckled to himself thinking that he'd won this latest battle. It was only when he turned to put back the cake of soap on the dish, that the water went freezing cold. Klaus screamed, jumping back in fright. It was only when he heard her laughing on the other side of the door that Klaus knew who was responsible.

"Ooops, I turned the faucet on! Was I not supposed to do that?" He leaned in and shut off the faucet, shaking his head as he did it. Maybe this particular battle went to her but Klaus knew the war was far from over.

You can read and review on AO3 and FF

#reality bites #gimme shelter #misssophiachase #klaroline fanfiction #klaroline #my writing

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lhmayo · 4 years

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What I Needed to Know About Life I Learned by Playing Dungeons and Dragons

As a child, I was a loner. I was an only child, and my mother was a single parent raising her son in the 1980s. I grew up pretty isolated, especially from other children. All I had were comic books and a bunch of action figures.

I never got close to my cousins and relatives. It always felt like there was a barrier separating me from them. I also did not get close enough to form friendships with the neighborhood kids. While I did play with these children, I didn’t really feel any kind of meaningful attachment to most of them.

These feelings of isolation and loneliness would continue until my teen years. I morphed into a lonely, angry and socially awkward teenager. This was all bound to change however. As luck, or fate would have it, a kid in my class brought a book to school one day and began to show it around to the rest of our classmates. Curiosity struck, and I absolutely had to have a look.

My then-classmate brought his brother’s copy of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook and was offering to teach the others how to play. Looking at that beautiful cover had hooked me, and I asked if I could come along and play.

The rest as they say is history, and since that day I’ve been gaming on and off and have remained a loyal fan of Dungeons and Dragons over the years.

The game not only helped me cope with the isolation I felt, it helped me open up to others, making friends along the way. But, that’s not the only thing I learned from playing Dungeons and Dragons. I also picked up a few life lessons along the way.

Here are a few things I learned from playing the world’s greatest role-playing game.

People Differ From Each Other and That’s Okay

The fantasy worlds of Dungeons and Dragons are just like the real world. Every place is a melting pot of many races and cultures, with each rich in their own special way. Every one of us is different, and that’s great.

In the game, elves, dwarves, humans and other races live and work with each other in a challenging fantasy world.

Not all races get along, but if you want to succeed with your party, you need to learn to put aside your preconceptions and cooperate with each other. This makes all of us stronger, not just in the game, but in the real world too.

Life Isn’t Always A Competition You can’t do everything by yourself. Sometimes you will need a helping hand or two. I discovered that both the game, and life, can be better when we all lend a hand and help each other reach our goals. Whether it’s defeating the troll that is keeping the townsfolk from crossing the bridge, to helping each other finish a critical work project, working together with each other will always be a better road than competing with each other.

Talk Things Out While running in with guns blazing does have its appeal, it’s no secret there are many more times where sitting and talking things through and coming to a mutual understanding is the better option.

Instead of turning those goblins into a pincushion with your arrows, why not talk to them first? They might have some information crucial to your party’s quest. Having problems with a colleague’s behavior? Strike up a conversation with them and find out why they’re acting like that before you go complaining to your boss. Talk to each other and understand what and why everyone feels or thinks the way they do.

You Will Get Better at Things Back to the game. You always begin by thinking about your campaign. Your character starts out as a novice, a greenhorn adventurer. You probably sucked at fighting monsters, and your one spell made loud noises. But if you practice, have patience, and work hard, you will improve. You will get better.

When it’s all said and done, you will get to where you want to be, both as a person and as an adventurer.

Stay True to Your Word Being true to your word is a sign of maturity. It tells people you are the kind of person who says exactly what’s on your mind and you do what you say. In game as well as in reality, remember that when you make a promise, be ready to keep it.

Failure Isn’t the End of The World Dungeons and Dragons taught me that no matter what happens, no matter how badly I fail, I can stand up, dust myself off, and try again.

Maybe you died fighting an army of orcs, or the cleric has a resurrection spell handy. Did you fail to protect the king from assassins?

Nothing to do but chase after the villains and bring them to justice. Maybe you failed a course in school or your boss didn’t like your work. It all comes down to standing back up from failure, and bouncing right back.

Never Lose Hope No matter how insurmountable the odds seem, no matter how difficult the job or how powerful the evil wizard is, you need to remember the results are never predetermined. Your chances of success may be small, true, but there is always a chance, right?

Go ahead and give it your best shot. There is always the chance you’ll make it. Remember, even the mightiest dragon may one day bow to a man.

Think Outside the Box

There will be times when a wild, out of the box solution is the best solution to a problem. Think creatively, and write your own rules for success.

Don’t Split Up the Party When you work as part of a team, everyone needs to have each other’s backs. Stick together, help each other, and be a team player. Keep the members united in purpose and scope, and you’ll survive the toughest dungeons and the hardest jobs.

Enjoy Life Dungeons and Dragons is about overcoming the odds, hairsbreadth escapes and epic battles. But it can also be about the quiet moments, too.

Helping townsfolk out in your game world can have the impact of a titanic fight against powerful foes. Hanging out with friends while you help build their deck isn’t just about construction work. It’s also about making memories, too. Learn to enjoy the simple things in life: good friends, good food and the promise of adventure that’s just beyond the horizon. Starting today, learn to live, laugh and love.

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incorrectsmashbrosquotes · 5 years

Text

The Beginning... Episode 1 Part 3

Game 1

Ganondorf: Alright, alright alright! It’s finally time fro our first game of Volley-Bomb! Representing the Crying Goombas is Link, Leaf, Red, Joker, and Rosalina! Representing the Ugly Koopas is Samus, Roy, Pit, Lucina, and Erdrick!

In the Confessional

Samus: I had high hopes going into the first round. I mean, Leaf and Red can barely be qualified as teens. They’re tiny. Then again we’ve got Pit... but the kid’s an angel! And he’s beaten Dark Lords and Evil Gods without any Pokemon.

Ganondorf: The rules are simple... don’t kill each other! Oh, and stay on your side of the court. Aside from that? Go nuts!

Joker: Wait, seriously? No rules?

Ganondorf: People don’t want to see a fair fight! They’re here for blood, guts, and the occasional booty shots. *to the camera crew* Make sure to get Link’s moneymaker. Apparently fangirls like it.

Link: *covers his butt with his hands*

Ganondorf: And, without further ado... BEGIN!

*Link serves the bomb, throwing it over to the other side. To counter it, Erdrick draws his sword and uses it like a baseball bat, sending the bomb flying back to Link’s side.*

Link: Oh, so that’s how you want to play?! *draws the Master Sword* I’m the sword Ping-Pong champion!

In the Confessional

Link: Finally! That Final Boss sequence in Ocarina of Time pays off! Never thought I’d be thanking Ganondorf for something.

*Link charges up and unleashes a Great Spin sending the bomb back over with the force of a comet. It hits Lucina and the subsequent explosion sends her flying out of the arena*

Ganondorf: Point, Goombas!

Lucina, legs sticking out of the sand like a reverse ostrich: Sorry guys.

In the Confessional

Samus: I may have spoken too soon.

*the game begins again. This time Samus serves and sends it over to the other side. Rosalina catches it with her wand and whips it around her head like a sling*

Rosalina: Let me drop THIS bomb on you!

Everyone: ... *crickets chirping in background*

Rosalina: What, I thought it was a good one. *sighs* Oh well. *hurls the bomb back to Samus’ side*

*Roy intercepts the bomb and ripostes, countering and sending it back at Link’s team.*

Samus: Nice one flame-brain!

Joker: Oh yeah? How about this! *dramatically rips mask off, summoning Arsene* ARSENE! FIRE YOUR- *as he is preparing his epic anime-style attack the bomb hits him square in the chest sending him flying and dispelling the Persona* Oww.... my everything.

Ganondorf: And the Koopas even the score!

Link: Okay, no more screwing around! *picks up a new bomb* Just call me Marcellus Wallace, ‘cause I’m going Medieval on your ass!

In the Confessional

Rosalina: Oh, so when Link does a one-liner it’s cool! How is that one different from mine? Puns make great one-liners!

*Link tosses the bomb in the air and draws his bow and arrow. He lines up a shot and send the arrow flying. It hits the bomb and sends it over at Samus’ team.*

Pit: Oh yeah? Well two can play at that game! *Pit fires Palutena’s bow and sends the bomb right back at Link*

Link: Grr! *fire his bow again, hitting the bomb and repeating the process.*

Samus: I don’t think so pretty boy! *Samus summons up her Power Armor and Z-Jumps into the air. She fires her Zero Cannon, blasting the bomb down with such force it takes out both Link and Rosalina*

Ganondorf: Oh, snap! That’s two-fer! Way to play for keeps Samus!

In the Confessional

Link, bruised and bloodied: Okay, not gonna lie... that was pretty hot.

Samus, her Power Armor flaling away: I play to win.

Ganondorf: Damn! Guess it’s down to just Redie Freddie and Leafy Green for the Goombas. How are they gonna get outta this one?

Red: Welp, guess it’s time for Plan P.

Pit: Plan P?

Leaf: Plan Pokemon!

*Leaf and Red throw their Pokeballs, summoning Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.*

Roy: Wait what?! They can do that?!

Ganondorf: Nothing says they can’t.

Erdrick: That’s totally cheating!

Ganondorf: Guess who doesn’t give a shit ya Goku rip-off.

Confessional

Erdrick: It’s not my fault I was designed by Akira Toriyama!

Leaf: Bulbasaur! Use Vine-Whip!

Bulbasaur: ‘Saur! *grabs the Bomb with their vines and throws it into the air*

Red: Charizard! Use Flamethrower!

Charizard: ‘Zard! *Blasts fire at the bomb sending it at Pit with the force of a meteor*

Pit: Oh, applesauce. *Gets blasted out of the court*

Ganondorf: Oooh! And that’s another one for the Goombas!

Samus: Alright, that’s it! *turns to Erdrick and Roy* Morons! Swords out!

*Erdrick and Roy draw their weapons. Samus nods and spikes the bomb over the net.*

Leaf: Bulbasaur use Vine-Whip! *Bulbasaur grabs the bomb out of the air and tosses it high*

Red: Squirtle, use Hydropump! Charizard, use Flamethrower at the same time!

Charizard: 'Zard!

Squirtle: Squirtle!

*Squirtle and Charizard use their attacks at the same time. The resulting blast on the Koopas side blasts Samus, Roy, and Erdrick off the court*

Ganondorf: Holy Jompin' Gibblets! Red and Leaf win the first Game with an abolutely EXPLOSIVE VICTORY!

Red: Boo yeah!

Leaf: Pokemon Power! *they high five*

*The others of their team come and crowd surf them while Koopa Team picks themselves up and dust themselves off*

Samus: Well, that was the most humiliating thing ever.

Erdrick: My three favorite Pokemon just beat me up! This is a dream come true!

Samus: Lucina, hit Erdrick for me. I'm too tired.

Lucina: *whacks Erdrick upside the head.*

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Game 2

Ganondorf: After that explosive display, it's time for Round 2 of VOLLEY-BOMB! Both teams gave a great effort and, frankly, both deserved to win... is what I'd say if I were a LOSER! The Koopas sucked harder than a Hoover vaccum making sweet, sweet love to a Roomba!

Peach: Well... there's another image to repress with alcohol.

Ganondorf: The Koopas are going to need this win just to tie it all up. This time we've got Daisy, Ike, Corrine, Marth, and Bonny Janet representing the Goombas! Opposing them is Zelda, Dark Pit, Robyn, Peach, and Captain Falcon!

Captain Falcon: Aw yeah baby! Let's get this party started!

Dark Pit: I hate everything.

Peach: Uhh... Dark Pit? How are you not sweating.

Dark Pit: I'm an emo. Emos don't sweat. We simmer along with our burning hatred for all things bright and happy.

Confessional

Pit: Pittoo scares me sometimes. But I know that deep down he's a big old ball of sunshine! He's my brother after all. How bad can he be.

Confessional

Dark Pit, stabbing a voodoo doll of Pit: Why! Won't! You! DIE!

Bonny Janet: Ai'ght ya bleedin' coonts! Time ta show these hootin' tootin' flea-ridden, sheep-humpin', rat-faaced, doo-lillies tha' the Goombas ain't ta be messed with!

Corrine: Yeah! ...I think. Was that supposed to be inspirational?

Ike: Yeah.

Marth: How can you tell?

Daisy: The adorable Scot is right! LET'S FUCK 'EM UP!

Peach: Umm... Daisy darling? I'm right here.

Daisy: THERE ARE NO BREAKS ON THE ASS-KICKING TRAIN!

Confessional

Daisy: Yeah... did I mention I can get kind of competitive?

*Peach pulls down Captain Falcon by the arm and whispers in his ear*

Peach: Take Daisy out first. She's good. Too good, you get me?

Captain Falcon: *nods*

Ganondorf: Alright my funky-fresh friends! Let's get ready to ruuuuummmmmmmmbbbbbllleee!

*The battle is joined. Captain Falcon serves the bomb, sending it flying at Daisy. Daisy whacks the bomb with her baseball bat and sends it back over.

Daisy: GO LEGALLY BRAIN-DEAD BY CHOCKING ON MY ENTIRE ASS!

Zelda: Well that's just uncalled for! *Zelda summons up her armor to whack the bomb back over*

Ike: AETHER! *Ike swings Rangell, the sword wreather in blue flame. The bomb flies over... and out of the court entirely*

Ganondorf: Ooh, tough luck! Ike is out!

Corrine: What?! You didn't say anything about that!

Ganondorf: It's one of the basic rules of Volleyball Corrine, get with the fucking program girl.

Corrine: But this is Volley-Bomb!

Ganondorf: Look, I'm the host and I say that Ike's out.

Marth: Corrine, please just drop it.

Corrine: But he's just pulling this out of his ass! What we can use our powers but we can't knock the ball out of the court?!

Ganondorf: Okay, you know what?! You're out to missy. Grab Hunk of Burning Love over there and get off my court.

Corrine: WHAT!?

*Ganondorf Warlock-Punches her off the Court*

Ganondorf: ANYONE ELSE WANT SOME!? *turns to Ike* HOW ABOUT YOU MUSCLES!? YOU WANT SOME

Ike: Nope! No. Nuh-uh. *leaves and collects a delirious Corrine*

Ganondorf, cheerful again: Alrighty then! The Goombas are down two players. Can they make a comeback? Let's find out!

Confessional

Corrine: Okay, arguing with the Man-Child of Evil may not have been my best move. But I don't like assholes doing whatever they like! Such a prick.

Bonny Janet: A'ighty then... we're fooked ain't we?

Daisy: No we aren't! No yet! Come on guys! We can still win this. If Red the Twig and Leaf the... well Leaf the Leaf can pull off a win against all odds then we can too! So let's roll up our sleeves, grease those elbows, and WIN! THAT-

Captain Falcon: Falcon PAWNCH! *The bomb, struck by the Falcon Punch, hits both Marth and Bonny Janet, koncking them out of the arena*

Daisy: Game... Fuck.

Captain Falcon: FALCON PAWNCH! *Falcon knocks Daisy out of the arena with another bomb*

Ganondorf: AND LIKE THAT THE SECOND GAME IS OVER! THE KOOPAS TAKE AN ABSOLUTELY EXPLOSIVE VICTORY! Not losing a single player and absolutely DOMINATING the Goombas!

Captain Falcon: Oh yeah! High fives all around!

Ganondorf: And with that, the score is all tied up. You know what that means. It's time... FOR A TIEBREAKER!

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Tiebreaker

*The entire cast has assembled, including those nursing injuries.*

Ganondorf: The rules of the Tiebreaker are simple. Each team will select one, I repeat: ONE, champion each. These two champions will play each other in a 1 v. 1 game of Volley-Bomb. But this time, instead of ten player and one bomb... it's ten bombs and one player each!

Marth: Well, I'm out.

Robyn: Me too.

Red: Cowards.

Marth and Robyn: Yup.

Ganondorf: So, select your champions and let's get to this Sudden Death Elimination!

With the Goombas

Link: Okay, so since most of us are nursing injuries and they're probably going to be sending out Captain Falcon... who should we choose?

Bonny Janet: Oh ho? So now yer askin' our opinions?!

Link, fed up: Bonny, shut up! I don't know what crawled up your ass and died but shut up and let me talk!

*there is a long moment of silence as Bonny Janet glares at Link... but remains silent*

Link: Thank you.

Corrine: I can't go. I'm still working through that concussion.

Leaf: You all look pretty banged up.

Red: And they'll probably be planning for our Pokemon. We won't be able to pull that trick again.

Daisy: I'll go.

*They all look at her*

Marth: Daisy-

Daisy: No. I owe it to the team to try. Besides, I owe Falcon a little bit of payback.

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

*The battle lines are drawn. Captain Falcon representing the Koopas and Daisy representing the Goombas. Ganondorf grins evilly and throws all ten bombs into the arena, ten to Daisy and ten to Falcon*

Ganondorf: Lights! Camera! SLAUGHTER!

Daisy: Oh yeah! *Daisy catches four of the bombs and delivers a massive kick upwards, sending the last one into the atmosphere. Daisy*

Catpain Falcon: You're going down girlie! *Falcon catches one, two, three of his bombs* Falcon KICK! *Falcon kick's one of the remaining bombs at Daisy.* Falcon KICK! *Falcon sends the other one at Daisy

Daisy: Sorry Falcon, but this flower's got thorns!

Confessional

Rosalian: And now Daisy's doing one-liners two?! Ugh.

*Daisy catches both bombs and sends one sailing at Falcon. Falcon dodges as the bomb hits the ground. Daisy throws the second one, but Falcon dodges again.*

Falcon: Hah!

Daisy: Sorry Cappy... I'm not done. *Daisy prepares to throw her remaining four bombs.*

Captain Falcon: Aww crap.

*Daisy throws three of her bombs. In a panic, Falcon responds. The bombs crash into each other, exploding on contact with each other. Falcon is officially out of bombs and Daisy has one left*

Daisy: Dodge this Falcon Dick! *Daisy throws the final bomb*

*Captain Falcon front flips over it. The bomb hits the ground where he had been standing moments prior.*

Captain Falcon: Wait a minute... we're out of bombs. What now?

Daisy: Oh... are we?

*Captain Falcon frowns, not understanding. Daisy smirks and points up. Falcon looks up and sees the final bomb. The one Daisy launched skyward, hurtling right towards his face.*

Captain Falcon: Aw, fu-

*the bomb explodes in his face, launching Falcon out of the arena. Daisy has won!*

Ugly Koopas: NOOOO!

Crying Goombas: BOO YEAH!

*The Goombas race forward, wrapping Daisy in a massive group hug*

Ganondorf: Well Holy Hell! That was one awesome tiebreaker! How're ya feeling Falcon?!

Captain Falcon, from the CF shaped hole in the nearby cliff face: No mommy... I don't wanna wear the pink bow...

Ganondorf: Eh, he'll be fine. Goombas! *The winning team stands at attention* I promised you a reward and now I'll deliver! You win invincibility, you cannot be voted off this island tonight. In addition, your team has earned... a beach party!

Crying Goombas: WOO HOO!

Ganondorf: There'll be good food, fine drinks, and all the volleyball you can play! … The none explosive kind, of course.

Confessional

Daisy: Wow! So this is what it's like to be the hero? To be the one who saves the day?! It *sniff* It feels good.

Ganondorf: Koopas. I'll be seeing you at the bonfire site, where you will vote off one member of your team. *evil grin* See you there.

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The Bonfire Ceremony

*As the lights of the Goombas' beach party blaze in the distance the Koopas sit in front of a massive bonfire in sullen silence. Most are nursing injuries and glaring daggers at the team bellow them on the beach. Peach sits with Pit and Zelda on either side of her*

Confessional

Peach: I was confident that I wouldn't get voted off, especially after the poor showing of Samus and Falcon. Then again both are pretty powerful. I'm not sure if their failures today will be enough to get them voted off. Samus is more tolerable company, and she didn't fail as spectacularly as Falcon did. Still...

*Ganondorf walks around the fire to face the Koopas, carrying a tray of One-Up Mushrooms*

Ganondorf: Welcome, losers, to your first bonfire ceremony! I have on my plate, nine One-Up Mushrooms. These one-ups represent immunity and safety for the coming week. If you fail to receive a marshmallow, you will walk the Dock of Fools, board the Boat of Failures, and be taken away from the Camp forever. And, lose your chance to ear the twenty million dollar reward.

*the Koopas shift around nervously*

Ganondorf: When I call your name, I'll throw your mushroom. The first goes too... Peach. Ganondorf throws it at Peach* Next up... Erdrick. *The Hero gratefully catches the mushroom.* Zelda. *Zelda catches hers* Roy. *Roy spear his mushroom as it flies at him* Pit and Pittoo.

Dark Pit: THAT'S DARK PIT!

Ganondorf: Shut up and eat your mushroom! *Pit happily eats his One-Up as Dark Pit begrudgingly chews on his* Next is... Robyn. *Robyn sighs in relief and eats her One-up* The second to last Mushroom goes to... … … Samus.

Confessional

Samus: I was actually scared that I would be voted off first episode. Whew! I'd of never lived that one down.

Ganondorf: I have, on this platter, the last One-Up Mushroom. Falcon, you let your team down when they needed you the most. And Lucina? You got knocked out before anyone else, pretty pathetic.

Lucina: Fuck off.

Ganondorf: Prettier girls than you have tried sweetie.

Lucina: Hmpph.

Ganondorf: And the last mushroom... goes too... … … … … … … Lucina!

Captain Falcon: What!?

Confessional

Peach: Sure, Falcon's strong, but Lucina is by far the better thinker. Strong can be replaced. Thinkers can't.

Confessional

Dark Pit: He's the one person on my team more annoying than Pit.

Confessional

Roy: Call it a Fire Emblem bias... but Lucina should stay.

Captain Falcon: This... this can't be happening!

Zelda: Sorry Falcon... I wish it didn't have to-

Falcon: This is bullshit! I-

Ganondorf: Cram it buddy! *Ganondorf grabs Falcon by the scruff of his neck and hurls him to the Dock of Fools* And that's your first episode of Total Drama Smash Bros! Falcon is the first to go, but have we seen the last of him? And what will become of the new teams? Find out next week, on Total, Drama, SMASH BROS!

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And that’s a wrap on episode 1! I’m so excited for this series you guys. I’m going to have so much fun with it!

I really hesitated to put Falcon down as the first off, but he was one of the few characters I didn’t have long term plans for. Sorry if you wanted him to stay.

Also, for a bit of extra fun, submit your own ideas for challenges! It will definitely help get my creative juices flowing.

Be good people!

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fuse2dx · 4 years

Text

June '20

Trials of Mana

Maybe not the highest profile remake Square-Enix have put out in recent memory, but one that was pretty exciting for me. I played a fan translation of the Super Famicom original some 20 years ago, so while it's not particularly fresh in my head, there's just enough there to enjoy some infrequent little pangs of nostalgia. The move to 3D has made for some welcome changes to to combat - jumping adds a vertical element to combat that wasn't present before, and enemy specials being clearly telegraphed and avoidable puts a little more control in your hands. There's still a good amount of 16 bit jank though - combo timing feels unreliable, the camera's often a pain, there's plenty of questionable hit detection, and you definitely wouldn't want to leave your fate solely in the hands of your party's AI. Willing to put most of this aside, what actually mattered more to me was that it still had the kind of playful, breezy nature, it looks and plays nicely, and that it progresses at a nice clip. Party selection will change the way you fight moment-to-moment, but only provides minor and very brief deviance from the main storyline, most of which is the kind of schlocky cartoon villainy that will have you looking for a skip button before it would illicit any kind of emotional response. But you know what? Overall, I still enjoyed it a lot.

So while it may not be revolutionising the action RPG, what it does show is that Square-Enix is capable of acknowledging their history of previously untranslated works, and that they also now have a pretty good template for getting a B-tier remake of such titles out in a reasonable timeframe. Where do I send my wish list in to, team?

Sayonara Wild Hearts

As a one-liner found on the back of the box, 'A pop album video game' is about as on-the-nose as it gets. The old "it's not for everyone" adage is definitely applicable, and its defiance of traditional video game metrics is not in any way subtle. How sophisticated is the gameplay? Not particularly. How long is it? Not very. But how does it make you feel? Now you're talking. It presents a simple but deeply relatable story of a broken heart, and leads from there with a catchy tune into a fast and colourful onslaught of new ideas, perspectives, and concepts. That is to say: it has the potential to make you feel all kinds of things.

One especially celebratory note was how well the game is structured to fit into the album structure it boasts about. Stages flow quickly into one another, and while shorter, more compounding numbers are often about introducing new ideas and themes, moving on to the next is a few simple button presses and a brief, well-hidden loading window away. Inevitably there are more standout stages, those that feel like the hit singles; the longer, verse-chorus-verse type joints that grant the space for more fleshed out visual story telling, and that smartly synchronise their percussive hits, soaring vocals and the like to appropriate beats of play. A lot of the gameplay can easily (and cynically) be reduced to "it's an endless runner", but to liken this to a cheap re-skin of a confirmed hit-maker is to wilfully dismiss so much of what it does better and so much beside. You can play it on damn near everything, and for the time it takes, it's well worth doing.

Twinkle Star Sprites

I've meant to play this countless times before. I've almost certainly passed it by while strolling through arcades, the Saturn version has never been hoovered up into my collection, and the PS2 collection this particular version belongs to - ADK Damashii - is no longer a cheap addition to anyone's library. The digital version of it for PS4 however was however recently on sale at a point that saw me receive change from a fiver. David Dickinson would be proud.

Having now credit-fed my way through the game's brief arcade mode, there's no doubt in my mind that the nuance of its systems are going to be glossed over in this rather ham-fisted appraisal. At least at face value, there's plenty of character and charm to appreciate in its colourful and cutesy style. As a two-player, vertically split-screen title, its a pretty clean break from a lot of a shooter's typical characteristics - rather than 6(ish) stages of hell, its a series of one on one battles - and all the better suited to 2 players for it. As enemy waves come at you, taking them out in chains can generate attacks to the other player; however if these attacks are too small then it's entirely possible they'll be killed off again, and an even bigger attack will come straight back at you. Think of a bit like competitive Tetris, but with shooting rather than puzzling. It's a neat and curious little game, that's likely best experienced properly, with a friend on the other side of the sofa to hurl abuse at.

Blasphemous

Let's get the lazy-but-effective description out of the way: it's a 2D MetroidVania Souls-like. You've got "that" type of map, definitely-not-bonfires and definitely-not-Estus Flasks. You are encouraged to return to your body upon death, the combat system is very reliant on parries and dodge-rolls, and there's even a dedicated "lore" button to use on every item you pick up.

While this likely sounds dismissive, it's more about addressing the elephant in the room. To give some context, these are both types of games that I love, and the end product here has done a pretty good job of bringing them together. The exploration is pleasantly open - gatekeeping is typically done less by specific items and abilities, and more by just which areas you're brave enough to poke your head into. It's a little bit of a shame that most of the new abilities have to be switched out for others rather than adding to a core arsenal of moves, but at the same time its base setup gives you plenty of ways to deal with any number of combat scenarios. This is of course best demonstrated by the boss encounters, which are wonderful affairs - big, gruesome, thoughtful variations on approaches to combat, which drop in at a nice pace to keep you from ever getting too cocky. The theming in general is wonderful, and the name is certainly appropriate - there's a lot of deep catholic inspiration in its gorgeous backdrops and environments, but then layered on top are some chilling elements of religious iconography, along with a cast of disturbing devotees and martyrs to sufficiently unsettle you. It's arguably a small intersection of the gaming population that it'll appeal to, but if you're in there, it's a real treat.

Death Come True

The first thing you see upon starting is the game's central character breaking right through the fourth wall to tell you directly not to stream the game or to share anything that might spoil the story. The first rule of Death Come True, and so on. I consider myself fairly well versed in such etiquette, so to then have the screenshot function entirely disabled for the whole game felt a little like being given a slap on the wrists for a crime I had no intention of committing. I don't envy the team trying to market it, that's for sure.

The reasoning behind this is clear at least - it's a game that is in total service of its plot. Consider a mash-up of a 'Choose your own adventure' book and a series of full-motion videos, and you're mostly there. Unless you were to walk away from the controller or perhaps fall asleep, there seems very little chance that your play time will deviate from the 3 hour estimate - which will certainly put some people off, but is understandable given the production values, and personally, quite welcome in the first place. In terms of replay value, there are branching paths that a single route will obviously skip: as an example of this, in looking up a screenshot to use in lieu of taking my own, I found a promotional image of the central cast, only to not recognise one of them at all. One thing that such a short run-time does ensure though, is that minute-for-minute, there's plenty of action; without wanting to speak about the story itself (rather than in fear of reprise for doing so, I might add), it kicks off with plenty of intrigue, shortly thereafter switching to full-on action, and then strikes a pretty fine balancing act between the two for its run time. It doesn't get quite as deep or as complex as I would've hoped given the team's pedigree, but I do like it, and think it'd actually be a pretty fun title to play with folks who normally don't concern themselves with games. By the same token, it's probably not for the 'hardcore' types looking for something to string out over dozens of hours.

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

After the generous main course that was Persona 5 Royal, I figured that I'd follow up with dessert. I did however wait until a weekend where I knew my girlfriend would be away, so as not to trigger any unpleasant flashbacks to looped battle themes, and the chirpy, indecipherable voices of Japanese schoolkids that made it so painful to endure as a non-gaming cohabitant.

Immediately, it's clear that very little has changed since Persona 4's take on the rhythm action genre. The core game, while still functional and fairly enjoyable, hasn't changed a lick. Perhaps the most notable improvement to the package as a whole is in scaling back on a dedicated story mode, and instead just having a series of uninspired but far less time-consuming set of social link scenes that pad things out. The biggest flaw is repeated wholesale though, in that trying to stretch out noteworthy tracks from a single game's playlist into a dedicated music game leads to repetition - and there is a much less prolific gathering of artists involved in remixes this time. I'd be willing to wager that it's a very similar story once again with Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, but I'm not about to ruin a perfectly good dinner to start with the sweet just to find out, if you'll excuse a second outing of the metaphor. Still, again compare these to Theatrhythm though - where Square-Enix plundered the Final Fantasy series in its entirety, along with spin-offs and other standalone titles to put together a library of music worthy for the one single game. Cobble the tunes from Personas 3-5 together into one game, and you're still coming up very short by comparison.

#trials of mana #seiken densetsu 3 #sayonara wild hearts #twinkle star sprites #blasphemous #death come true #persona 5 dancing in starlight

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bard-of-worlds · 4 years

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Darkening Dawn Chapter 3

Lilith walked out of the bathroom of the room in the hotel she checked into dressed in a bathrobe, her hair flowing down her back, having finished a shower before she would order a meal. Her target was at the region’s Professors lab and after the excitement earlier she had slipped away to rest and finalizes her plans. She had released her Pokémon to feed them, taken her clothes from her one of her Item Cubes and was currently deciding on what to wear when she meets up with the prince.

“Nido nid rina.” Her Nidorina said as she bumped her legs as her other Pokémon looked up from their bowls as she sat on the rooms bed.

“Don’t worry girls I order something in a few minutes. I’m still worried about the seals on the ‘Prince’. I mean I wasn’t able to see much from so far away and I will be the first one to say I don’t know much on the subject. But if they weren’t a prototype, then who or what was the experimental subject.” Lilith wondered as her Pokémon adopted looks of concern.

“Yeah I know where would they get a test subject like the prince but that’s only if they care if he survived. These are the Crusaders we’re talking about but really, are they that dedicated to protecting humanity?” Lilith said as she and team exchanged looks of concern she sighed and she shook her head.

“Come on girls let’s stop with all the doom talk. Let’s see what’s on the local news channel, maybe they’ll have the Baccer results, and then I’ll order something.” Lilith said as she reached for the remote control. she turned the room’s tv on and changed the channel…TO HER PRINCE ON THE NEWS FOR SAVING A POKEMON BY RISKING HIS LIFE?!? Lilith just starred in shock, not moving a single inch or reacting before her Nidorina bumped the bed and she exploded.

“TWO HOURS! I LEFT HIM FOR JUST TWO HOURS! How can he get into something where he risked his life how, just how?” Lilith said as she hugged her legs to her chest as she rocked back and forth on the bed. She perked up when she felt something rub against her legs, looking up she saw her Liepard on the bed while her Nidorina looked at her from the floor with her Skorupi on her, both given her a look of worry. Reaching she scratched her Liepard under her chin and sighed.

“I’m good girls. Teacher said the boss was quite the dare devil when they were teens, so I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Once I find a way to make contact with the prince, get a feel on where he’s going and what to use as a cover for being here in the region. I’d bet you gals would like it if we hit a few of the contests around here, hu?” She smiled when she saw her Pokémon smile and start to cheer, back home their teacher had sent them into the Contests to teach her humility, she had learned that and taken to the arts of training Pokémon to use their moves differently like a bat to the night. Her Nidorina had even evolved during one contest battle, scoring them the trophy! Hearing a beep from her phone she smiled as she connected it to her laptop, she had the prince’s history of his journey now, all the competitions he had ever been in, now all she had to do was find a style to hit Kalos with and she was golden. Looking through the data she smiled, a way to have heard of him and maybe a reason to have come here, just what she needed.

“Well girls get ready to the Lovely Lilith is back on the circuit! So lets’ eat girls, tomorrow it’s time to meet and greet!” Lilith proclaimed as her Pokémon cheered around her, a smile on her face as her shadow on the wall behind her grew wings from her shoulders.

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Serena stared at the TV in shock, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Ash, that was Ash! He’s in Kalos, in Lumo City! He’s in the region, I can’t believe it he……… he almost died! How the heck did that happen, what was he doing to have fallen off the Tower like that?! Serena thought as she stared at the screen, her mind blue screening as

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A teenage girl in a black shirt with a v neck that exposed the top of her large cleavage under a black well-traveled coat and black pants leaned against the wall of the Pokémon Center. Her face was bare except for a bit of black lip gloss and a pair of glasses. She smiled as she saw Bonnie, Clemont and Ash talk with Nurse Joy. She walked toward them as Ash started to speak and reached for his backpack

“Can you register my Quest Scanner here too Nurse Joy?” Ash trailed off as Nurse Joy adopted a look of confusion which worried Ash.

“Quest Scanner?” Bonnie asked Clemont as she turned to her brother. Ash turned to them and let his thoughts fly. Come on! I know some countries don’t follow the Treaty but not to give out Quests too?! How do they expect Trainers to earn money, part time jobs that take weeks to earn anything?!

“I believe they call them Task Trackers here in Kalos. The Alola Reg call them Job Watchers.” A voice said behind them, turning Ash saw a girl his age dressed in black with black lips and sunglasses.

“Sorry to cut in but I figured I should help out before everyone spends too much time trying to figure out the terms a fellow Old Worlder used. You can call me Lilly and…say aren’t you Ash Ketchum?” The girl said as she gave a start as he turned to face her.

“I’m Ash Ketchum, do we know each other.” Ash asked as he tried to remember if he ever met the girl before him.

“No we’ve never met but a teacher I had showed me your performance at the Wallace Cup, and a friend of mine stumbled across what you did in Crown City while looking into a company the League took over.” Lilly said dryly as Ash rubbed the back of his head.

“A teacher?” Bonnie asked as she gazed at the girl.

“Ya, back home I’m a Pokémon Coordinator of some small fame and student of someone pretty famous locally and after the end of the season last year she said it might be good if I tried something differently after coming in the top 4 and then the runner-up the year after.” Lilly said as she beamed with pride.

“Wow! You’re a keeper! Please take care of my brother.” Bonnie said as she looked upon the girl.

“Bonnie, I thought we talked about this!” Clemont cried as a mechanical hand grabbed his sister and picked her up.

“Sorry little girl but I never date anyone I don’t know, so what your name blondie?” Lilly purred as she looked at Clemont who went red at Bonnie’s and her words and started to stammer.

“What did you do in Crown City Ash?” Clemont said as he turned to look at Ash, trying and succeeding to make Ash the center of attention.

“Ehhh, nothing much really. Just reunited a mother and with her child, exposed a prominent Businessman as the worst Eco-Criminal in the region with a crime 20 years old that he almost got away with and got the scum to confess on live TV. And this is Bonnie and her brother Clemont” Ash said as Bonnie and Clemont starred at him.

“Your Task…er Quest Scanner can be registered with Officer Jenny, her office handles all Tasks and handles payment after the person who issues one send a notification that it was completed. And how can I help you Ms. Lilly?” Nurse Joy interrupted.

“Since Kalos usually only does the Showcase I was wondering if I had to register as a Coordinator here or not.” Lilly said as she brought out a Pokédex.

“No but the Professor has a list of where and when the Contests will be held, you’ll have to talk to him for that information and with the damage to his lab you might have to wait a bit, and a new trainer is coming for her first Pokémon today.” Joy said as Lilly stared at Ash for a bit. She shook her head before anyone noticed her look and smiled at the three of them.

“So where are you guys going, from what Nurse Joy said I have to wait a while before I can get the info I need.” Lilly said as the four of them walked out of the Pokémon center

“Bonnie and I decided to travel with Ash for a bit; we need a change of pace for a while.” Clemont said as he rubbed the back of his head and looked toward the Prism Tower. And when I’m back, I’ll be stronger and more powerful.

“So it’s straight on to Santalune City and the Gym. Maybe we’ll run into you again.” Ash said as he gave Lilly a smile.

“Maybe, it’ll depend on where and when the contests are. So see you.” Lilly said as she walked off. Her faces showed nothing but inside her thoughts were going a mile a minute. An Aura Link! The prince already has a soul-mate?! Just what kind of life has he been living and what affect are those seals having on him! To block it an Aura spark from joining with its chosen Aura, something like this is just NOT done!!

Lilith’s glass showed a spark of a humans Aura dissipating when it met the seals. Just what hell did the seal-maker create if it could block a soul-mate bond. She went dead still when the thoughts hit her, did it happen with others, did Ash have more than one soul-mate? Gotta stop thinking about it, I need to find this girl, if I’m lucky then I’ll meet her at the Professor’s lab. I’ll make up a report on what I saw and my actions and mail it to teach, she’ll get it to the boss.

Jenny snarled to herself as she slammed the phone down into its cradle. The international police had laughed off her concerns that the Kanto criminal group was expanding into her region. Something about the Rockets she describe as being the bottom of the barrel, to call back if the Tooth Fairy joined them with the Easter Lopunny. Those criminals almost cause the death of a trainer and when she brought it up it caused the person answering to laugh even harder when she described the person in question. The bastard said something about sending her a file once he calmed down and hung up on her. A noise at the door caused her to glare at two trainers and a little girl who jumped a bit at her expression.

“Can I help you kids?” Jenny asked as she got her emotions back under control. She identified the gym leader and his sister and the black haired trainer looked somewhat familiar but she couldn’t place him, a flaw she had when her emotions were agitated.

“Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center said I could register my Task Tracker here?” The black haired trainer said as he handed over a Task Tracker. Connecting it to her computer she loaded it with the regions security passcode and grabbed the Trackers serial number before handing it back to him. A chime from her computer pulled her back toward it, the file the international police was going to send her, maybe she would get some answers, and she absently handed the Tracker back to the boy and waved him off.

“Thank you Officer Jenny.” The boy said as he and the others left her office.

“All part of the job, have a good day.” Jenny said robotically as she opened the file. The first few pages were about the Rocket members she had described and the pages after were about when and where they had committed criminal acts. After a while next few page she noticed that the same trainer ID kept coming up as both victim and stopper. Then another chime and an email entitled ‘Protector’ appeared.

“Didn’t my cousin in Unova mention that a trainer had earned a title from the Pokémon Rangers and the International Police?” She muttered to herself as she opened the file, to no surprise it was a trainer bio, the kind of files the government kept of trainers that caught their eye. As she started to read accommodations for valor, for saving people and Pokémon, for defeating criminal gangs she recognized the ID as the same one in the previous file. The final page was the photo ID and when she saw it she shot up from her chair.

“THAT’S THE KID FROM LAST NIGHT, WAIT HE WAS JUST HERE!!” Jenny cried out as she looked into the hallway in shock.

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“Frankenmons attacked a courier in the Wind Road?” The speaker was a tall man in a purple tuxedo and a black cape with an Eevee on his shoulder who lead two pale attractive women in maid uniforms down a hallway. The woman on his right had blue hair in a pageboy style, her blue eyes had black eye shadow above and her blue lips were set in a frown, in her ears were two white gems and by her side walked a Glaceon with a collar with four white gems. The maid on his left had flowing red hair that reached her waist, the only makeup she had was red lipstick and blush with two red gems in her ears, a Flareon was by her side whose front legs had clawed boots on.

“Yes Master Alex, Lady Joy ordered all off duty morticians to assist in retrieving all parts from within the corpses post haste. She entered the castle two hours ago according to a local agent so this is likely a briefing about them to quell the rumors. Though a few days ago Lady Camilla sent her apprentice out on a mission and the same night the Elites were summoned for a meeting, so there is that which I am sure one of them will bring up. ” The blue haired woman spoke with a cold tone as she followed .

“One of Morg’a’s little temptresses is dating one of the security staff called to transport the materials harvested, the bitch probably bugged the poor sap with a seal. So she’s probably the source of most of the rummors. Hope the fool she’s using had a good time with the little tramp at least, but given what I had when one tried to use me, I really, really doubt it master. And like sister Sarah said, one of them will bring it up.” The redhead’s voice was full of passion as she strutted down the hallway.

Alex smiled as he thought of the meeting a month ahead of schedule, a summit of the Elites and now Frankenmon, the times were getting quite exciting, what next, did they find the Queen and Prince? He gave a chuckled at that thought, he had probably taunted murphy, but if that happened, those harpies would die of shock.

Turning a corner he stopped cold as he saw what was guarding the door to the meeting chamber. Two humanoids in full plate armor holding lances with two Haxorus with black body armor stood sentinel.

“Master, those are Highguard.” Sarah said as she reached Alex and stared with him at the door guards. Alex slowly gained a grin on his face that as he eyes twinkled.

“My dear cold Sarah, my passionate Ellie, this is going to be explosive.” Alex proclaimed as he walked down the hallway as his two maids looked at each other and sighed.

“Tell me again why do we love that man-child sister?” Ellie said as he followed after him.

“The sex, definitely the sex.” Sarah answered bluntly as the two of them followed their lover down the hallway while Alex only gave a small smirk at the words his followers exchanged.

Walking into the throne room he moved toward the left side and gazed around the room. A few people in clocks were debating Aura casting by the window, representatives from the School of Aura, they only came when there was an important announcement, were the Frankenmons were made by someone they expelled and escaped the law. The last Chimera breeder supposedly caused the procedures to change, but there are geniuses out there.

A few of the Families had a few more members then just their heirs with them, more girls than boys again, were they trying the catch the bosses eye with a pretty face? He nodded his head at his allies among the Lords as they passed each other as he led his party toward windows, and saw with no surprise that saw that the Lady Morg’a was dressed to the nines in the middle of a small crowd of ladies, was she trying to draw in others with her beauty. And she was striking today. Her long black hair flowed down her back to her thighs; her jade dress stopped at the middle of her breasts, with a cut show the inner sides with a green gem in the shape of the Grass-Type symbol resting between her breasts. Her dress went to the floor with a slit that revealed white stocking clad legs in green high heels. Her lips were painted a vibrant green, while eye shadow of an aqua green shade brought out her green eyes. Her Roselia was next to her with a grass symbol around its neck. He noticed her eyes never left a target across from her and saw who Morg’a was watching; the newest of the Highlords, the Lady Cleo Ro Clor of the Desert Realm was talking with a few lords who, if he remembered their homes locations right, bordered her territory. She cut a striking figure with her dark skin in a form fitting white robe dress that showed off her figure while still giving off a classy feel. All the makeup she wore was a simple black lipstick, while her black hair was in a simple pageboy style. Her Krokorok was standing next to her, a simple Ground symbol around its neck, showing that the simple things had a class all its own.

“So you made it to this thing youngster?” A gruff voice said as a heavy hand landed on his other shoulder. Turning he saw an older man with a beard in a white shirt and black pants next to an Ursaring.

“Sir Viktor, how are you old man? How was that Chimera hunt you went on a few weeks back, it was an Ice Fire mix that was the pack leader?” Alex said as he smiled at his friend and ally among the Lords.

“Me and mine handled it, but I gotta talk to you about it afterwards. You’ll never guess whose territory it they never even sent a scout towards.” Vicktor said darkly as he glared toward Morg’a group.

“I’ve dealt with such things in my own lands my friend, after the meeting let me track down the last two members of my old team to have a talk for old times, you can join us.” Alex said with a sigh as memoires of days long gone pasted behind his eyes.

A commotion near the front caused them to turn and saw three of the Elites walk into the room, each shadowed by one of their Pokemon. Lady Camilla was followed by her Zoroark, the brown haired robed form of Magnus walked next to his Golurk while Mordred was dressed in a simple smock and pants was walked next to his Chesnaught. Following after them was their lord walked with his Mightyena with Lady Joy walking after him in a black gown with a white Crobat on her shoulder. So a briefing by Joy was part of this after all, but why were both Camilla and Magnus here? Why were the Highguard outside? I think this might be bigger than I thought. Alex thought as he looked over the gathering.

Morg’a smiled and gave off an air of sophistication looking at the Elites entering the room but she let her thoughts tell her true feelings, confident that the Psi-Changer she wore around her neck kept them to herself. So that bitch Camilla is taking part in this after all. So whatever reason she pulled that brat from the party is important. Damn that idiotic little tramp for not getting closer to the slut! It probably was her little beast that was attacked after all. But she’s only been gone a few days, and in Kalos of all place!

As Dracula sat upon his thrown, all before bowed and curtsied to show respect for their liege lord. Before anyone could speak up about the nature of the gather he raised his hand for silence.

“My loyal subjects let me cut away all the rumors you’ve heard. Approximately two hours ago the Lady Joyce briefed me upon the 8 Frankenmon that tried to intercept a courier using the Wind Road. Lady Joy, if you would care to take over?” Dracula said as he gestured at Joy who curtsied as a holo projector appeared before the throne.

“Thank you my lord. As per my orders when I was informed what had entered my morgue, all personal were recalled and all machines were removed from the bodies before all but two were incinerated. This decision” Joy began before Morg’a stepped forward and interrupted her.

“Two of the bodies were kept from the final peace Lady Joy? Forgive my impudence but aren’t all Frankenmon bodies supposed to be incinerated after the foul machines which move them are taken from their corpses by rule of law?” Morg’a melodious voice interrupted, causing murmurs to spread among the crowd at this seemingly breach of law. Joy gained a small frown before she continued.

“Normally, yes that is the law. But the bodies were reanimated by an unknown process and power source. As the bodies were inspected, it became apparent that the machines were split in two different configurations. From what my limited mechanical knowledge told me, one type had a receiver of some kind while the other had a transceiver. The bodies saved were the ones most intact with detailed notes were made on where each machine was removed from the individual corpse. However both types had a few similar parts, this one we are having the most trouble identifying the components purpose.” As Joy spoke the projector glowed, showing a diagram of a machine connected to two broken crystals with the crystals each connected to one side of a hexagon stone.

“The gems aren’t like anything we’ve seen before. The hexagon seems to be artificial and seems to be the main power source, one of my people theorized that the gems act like a kind of converter. The fact that they were able to use attacks is a cause for concern, but the most distressing thing we’ve discovered is that there is no way for an external power source to connect to the stone, we have no idea how these things receive power at all.” Joy finished as murmurs started back up.

“This is troubling, tovarish.” Victor whispered to Alex as thoughts raced through his head. One of the only ways Frankenmons were found was the massive electrical power drain they used to recharge. And with the fact they were able to use Pokémon attacks…Wait, what were the attacks used elemental propertiess? Could there be a connection? Alex thought as his mind raced, signaling his group that he was doing this alone he started to walk through the crowd toward the throne. Alex exited the crowd until he was next to Morg’a and bowed to Lady Joy.

“Lady Joy, do we know what attacks were used by the subjects.” Alex said as he saw the scowl Morg’a sent him, curious. Did she want to score a point with that or keep people from asking? Just what is your end goal you Grass bitch

“As the witness was a Pokémon, a psychic copy of the incident was made. From what Lord Magnus divined, the moves used were Flash Cannon and Arial Ace.” Joy trailed off as she looked at the hologram.

“So moves of two elements and two gems. Were any gems recovered intact?” Alex continued as Joy called up data.

“All gems were found shattered. A failsafe or the result of battle…” Joy trailed off as she turned and shared a look with Magnus. Mordred stepped forward as a hologram of the Homeland appeared.

“Thank you Headmistress for your report, Lord Alex, Lady Morg’a for your points I give you my thanks. As of 1 hour ago our lord has issued orders that the patrols groups along our shore are be increased in size. The remains are to be turned over to the School of Aura as soon as the masters exit this chamber for a period of one weak for a detailed examination. All lords are to take any action they believe is necessary in their territories its security, all suspicious events are to be investigated by local authorities.” Mordred began as a map of the Homeland sprang from the holo-project identifying the various territories

“Wait one minute Commander Mordred! How was a single courier identified by those monsters and from where did the courier come from? What was its cargo? These facts would affect any plans we make to protect our citizens.” Morg’a interrupted with a smirk. Joy had a look of worry on her face while Camilla had a sever frown

“From the machine’s localization before we removed them, some of them were hooked up to the eyes of the corpse, so a possible Aura sensor is possible. The cargo….” Mordred began until the person behind him interrupted and spoke loudly.

“Was an Aura scan of my son.” Dracula declared as he stood up from his throne.

Alex blinked, their lord couldn’t have said what he thought he’d heard, did he?

“I Declare this for all within this chamber to know! After years of not knowing their fate, my Queen and my son have been Found! Even as we speak, measures are being undertaking to return them to our shores!” Dracula proclaimed as the chamber exploded in conversations.

Morg’a had a wide smile on her face while on the inside her thoughts were complete anarchy. Arceus Damn it! With that old slug found she’ll be back and warming his bed within the next year! All my plans to find and influence her replacement just went up in smoke! I should have known that those stupid Crusaders wouldn’t kill them!

“My lord may I be the first to offer my congratulations on such wonderful news! If there is anything that any of us could do to help I’m sure my fellows would jump at the chance!” Morg’a said with cheer in her voice. Alex merely looked at her and let his eyes grow hard. So they did find D, and I think my people needs to spend a little time making sure that that tart doesn’t try to send anyone after little whoever go the scan or the kid

“I can only say that in this matter the Lady Morg’a speaks for me as will my lord. If there is anything my people and I can do to help you have but to command it.” Alex said as he bowed to his liege lord as the other Lords and Highlords copied him.

“Thank you but as I said measures are being done to return my beloved to me. May our people stand forever against all who would threaten us!” Dracula declared as he got up from his throne and his Pokemon followed him out the door. Alex looked at Camilla and fixed the right side of his collar and saw her and Magnus clench their right hands before he walked back to Victor and his maids. He grinned to himself as he walked. Time for an old friend and her son to come home at last, but how did they find them? And who better to ask then her brother and her best friend? He thought with a grin as he walked away with his two maids to ‘celebrate’.

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Cleo sighed as she and her Krokorok walked into her inner apartment. That meeting had been as nerve wracking as the rumors that had been swirling around the local net. The reality was even worse, Frankenmon powered by unknown means, and able to use attacks! That wasn’t even touch the fact that the Queen to be was alive with the Prince, that changed everything! When she returned she had given orders that all local wild Pokémon dens were to have surveillance equipment set up, if anything came to harvest fresh corpse, they would see them if they hit the dens. Why did she ever have to be chosen as the High Lord’s successor anyway? It was supposed to be just a simple Quest, why did her predecessor have to use it to choose replacement before he died, she was just an orphan who had to play peacekeeper at the orphanage. She didn’t like to fight, and his will that said she had to build her household herself without any of the previous staff, thank Arceus that Marshall Asim and his crew had stayed on and the homunculi maids. But things were hard; she had her pen pal to chat with! With a smile on her face she walked toward her computer, her Krokorok pulled out the chair to let her sit down and signed into a chat room. She had meet her friend on a message board about the impact Pokémon and human settlements had on each other, and since then the two of them had had conversations about care and feeding, exchanged recipes and helped each other deal with problems. She did feel a bit bad that he thought she was a middle management in a company who got promoted after her superior left, but the rest of the world wasn’t like her home, they didn’t have Lords and High Lords and to burden a doctor with her political problems just wasn’t the right thing to do.

SandyLady: You online Doc?

RockDoc: Hey Lady, how was your meeting.

SandyLady: The boss’s wife woke up from her coma, she’s going to return to the company but the medicine that helped wake her was almost stolen by thieves so security of all divisions were raised, and two people on my level are fighting with each other, I’ve had to issue a few orders that might get people hurt in the name of said security, what about you?

RockDoc: I have a bit of a problem myself; the mother of one of my old friends sent a quite inquiry about a girl she’s worried about, wants to double check something and my job says I should make it official, but everything I feel screams me to keep quit, I’m a bit conflicted.

SandyLady: So keep quiet and look into what might happen if you don’t, you might find something you don’t know you know about would happen. But why do you feel what you that way?

RockDoc: Thanks for the advice Lady, it’s a supervisor who would receive the report just rubs me the wrong way, something about them feels wrong to me.

Cleo went cold as she rereads the last message; some people Aura’s were able to ‘sense’ the nature of people, when they were hurt and needed help. Most of them became public servants, doctors or police if Doc felt something wrong about his supervisor, then they might be trouble if he went official on this. One piece of advice old man Victor had told her when she was sworn in was to trust her instincts about people and Pokémon. Said instincts said the Lady Morg’a was a trustworthy as a coin left in the sun was cold, so she trusted the advice.

SandyLady: Doc, one bit of advice I think I can pass on to you; always trust your instincts. Your hindbrain might be seeing what your forebrain can’t.

“Lady Ro Clor! We have a situation!” A voice called from her door. That was Marshall Asim, but he should be out along the dunes, helping set up the observation cameras. If he was back then there might be a rather large problem that needs the local High Lords authority.

“I’ll be right there!” Cleo called back as she typed one last message and walked toward her door, her Krokorok falling in step behind her. The duties of a desert High Lord never ended, but she was ready to meet them. Opening the door she was met with Marshall Asim, a hard faced black haired man wearing a black cloak over black clothes with a Braviary wearing a Searcher’s Gem next to him.

“What happened Marshal?” Cleo demand as he would only have his Braviary with him if he was searching for something before he came to see her. Gesturing for her and her Pokémon to follow him he led them down the hallway. His Braviary took flight and flew ahead and out a window.

“Everything was going like clockwork M’lady, we had finished setting up most of them when we hit the Northern Mountain, one of the caves is or was used by a herd of Trapinch as their nest, it was empty and it showed signs of a battle. Thankfully we found the herd at an oasis, but the herd defenders were all injured. The team I sent into the cave discovered a hole in the floor that led into a chamber; it looks like an early Ritual chamber. The battle damage in the cave looks like the herd was attack from the cave mouth and then who ever made the hole was attacked by something inside. The problem is a sand storm swept the region after this all happened, at least we think so.” Asim as he led her into a room with a map of her territory, marked with symbols for her towns, cities and Pokémon dens.

“Send word to all towns nearby to be on alert, anything or anyone out of the ordinary is to be reported at once. Once night falls patrols are to be run between the cities for the next week. The Trapinch are to be relocated to a territory where they can prosper, send word to the School of Aura, I want an archeological team to be sent to study those ruins as soon as possible. And put the Gates on full alert for the next 2 weeks, if people broke into that chamber I don’t want it to be easy for them to escape.” Cleo Ro Clor, Highlord of the Inner Desert commanded as she gazed upon a map of her lands. What happened when the chamber was breeched, what did they wake up and who were they? I always knew I would face a trial by fire, this has to be it. Cleo thought as she walked through the palace to the situation room.

SandyLady: Sorry Doc, duty calls. Good luck with your problem.

Brock sighed as he read the last message SandyLady had sent him. For a corporate manager she always had the right thing to say to help him. Maybe it was wrong to let her think he was only a doctor, but the problems of a Gym Leader, even one who was away from their gym weren’t for the faint of heart. Just last week he had helped to take down a pack of Houndor and the alpha Houndom to relocate them to stop a swarm of Paras from raiding the city, thankfully his Marshtomp had evolved and defeated the alpha. The Pokemon Rangers had a nice valley far enough away that was perfect for the Dark Fire types, and there was supposedly a river full of water types between the valley and the habitat of the Paras, so there was no way for them to go after them or return to their old habitat.

Getting up from his computer he thought back to Delia’s message. She had sent a text that she was worried about a new hire at her restaurant, and was that a surprise when he and Misty first visited Pallet Town! To think Ash had grown up in around a commercial restaurant, and that it was famous! But the girl was the problem or had a problem. She had been settling in fine but all of a sudden she had started to jump at anything and seemed to have closed off from people. Delia had contacted him because she had a Johto accident and he currently was at learning about medicine in Viridian City and was wondering if he heard anything from Johto from either the towm or his position as a Gym Leader. He had sent back that he hadn’t heard anything, but he didn’t tell her that a few days ago he had run into Karen, a member of the Elite Four, while his party was hunting the pack in the mountains. Sure she had said something about a monstrous creature she was tracking but Brock didn’t think a Chimera was connected to the girl, but like he told SandyLady, something about Karen was just wrong. He couldn’t describe it but he’ll trust it for now and contact a few of the gym leaders in Johto through couriers, maybe one of them had heard something.

As Brock walk out of his room he never thought that maybe the monstrous creature Karen was hunting was really the girl in question, never thought that maybe others were watching people like him who would help her without question. Brock never saw the glint of light a pair of binoculars gave off as a silent watcher cataloged his activities.

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Lilith was able to identify the Aura from the sparks and had tracked her to and from a bus stop and was able to finally catch her and was currently tailing her toward the Professor’s lab. When she saw the girl in question she was able to get a general read of her Aura, this girl was someone with a good heart and a bit of creativity, and watching the interactions she had when she interacted with people and Pokémon between her and the lab she seemed to be a pleasant person. A good fashion sense, natural beauty and what looked like a great personality and a bit of creativity, the prince had a good one after him.

Lilith let a smirk grace her lips before she walked a tiny bit faster; she had to time this just right, she reached for a button on a crossing post and hit Serena’s hand.

“Sorry about that, you need to cross too?” Lilith asked the honey haired girl.

“Yeah, I’m heading toward Professor Sycamore lab, what about you.” Serena asked as she looked at the black clothed girl. There was something that seemed to pull Serena out of the shell she had around herself.

“The same, he has some information that I need for my journey. Oh, sorry I forgot to introduce myself, the names’ Lilly and you are?” Lilly said she offered Serena a hand.

“Serena Yvonne, nice to meet you Lilly.” Serena said as they both walked toward the Professors lab.

“Nice to meet you too Serena, so have you decided on a goal for your journey?” Lilly asked as the walked toward the lab’s door.

Serena only blushed and walked faster, opening the door, pretending that she hadn’t heard anything.

“Hello? Is Professor Sycamore around?” Serena called out as they walked into the building

“That’s me. I’m up here.” A voice called out from atop a set of stairs opposite the doorway

“Huh? Hello there. I’m Serena and this is Lilly.”

“I bet you two are here to become Pokémon Trainers.” Sycamore said as he smiled at the two girls as he walked down the stairs.

“She is, I’m here for the information you have on when the Pokémon Contests happen.” Lilly said as she held up a Pokéball.

“Yup. Also, Professor, I saw this Trainer on the news. The report was all about how he had saved a Garchomp.” Serena said as she went a bit red in the face.

“Oh, you're talking about Ash.” Sycamore said as Serena smiled. Ash, I knew it!

“I ran into him at the Pokemon Center. He said he was heading for the Santalune Gym.” Lilly said, causing Serena to turn and look at her.

“Santalune Gym? Hmm. Professor, may I choose a Pokémon?” Serena said turning back to the Professor.

“Of course. And do you have any idea which Pokémon you'd like?” Sycamore asked. Lilly stood back and watch with a smile. A trainers first Pokémon was a mystical moment that only happen once for anyone, and only after a while did people understand what happened to them.

“Yup.”

“All right. Everybody out!” Sycamore called to the right before a woman in a white lab coat led three forms into the room.

“These are the Kalos Pokémon new Trainers may choose from, Fennekin, Chespin and Froakie. Which Pokémon will you choose as your partner?” Sycamore asked as he turned back to Serena with a smile.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

P A treon.com/bardofworlds for special rewards for all patrons

Crusaders: Knights who launched attack on Homeland and kidnapped Ash and Delia

Aura Link: The result of two or more auras connecting, the people must meet and spend time with each other first, but when entering an area of 50 miles area sparks seemingly flow between auras unless something is blocking connection

Psi-Changer: Aura Equipment: Gemstone Type Special. A Gem that creates a false ‘mind’ that is the opposite of what the wearer is thinking, a convert defense against mind readers

#pokemon fanfiction #Pokemon AU #Ash-Harem #Dhampire Ash

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neverwatchedonepiece · 5 years

Text

650-651: "Luffy and the Gladiator of Fate - Rebecca!" and "Protect You to the End! Rebecca and the Toy Soldier!"

NARUTO-KUNNNNNN

So Bartolomeo is basically Hinata.

He collects Strawhat posters.

He is their biggest fan.

You guys were right.

This is hilarious.

I love him. xD

“I SENT YOU MY BLOOD, LUFFY!”

Once Luffy and Don Chinjao left the ring, the clean up and reconstruction team moved in. As of now, three contenders could potentially move forward to challenge Diamante: Jesus Burgess, Bartolomeo and the Not-So-Mysterious Lucy.

I say “not so mysterious” because everyone and their gran fighting in the next round knows who he is now.

And I have a theory: Bartolomeo, Rebecca and Luffy will team up against Burgess in the next round.

Why do I think this?

Well, once Luffy left the ring, pursued by Cavendish, two fodders happened to pass by Bartolomeo. He overheard them talking shit about Luffy.

“Why does Cavendish keep yelling Strawhat? As if he’d be here. That’s the guy who couldn’t even save his brother’s life. Anyone could do what he did if he doesn’t have to save anyone’s life!”

For some reason, Bartolomeo Did Not Like This. He pinned the fodder and almost crushed him with a barrier. At first I thought Bartolomeo’s reaction was something to do with Ace. Maybe they were friends once?

Nope.

The real reason was Even Better.

“What was that joke you made so lightly?” Bartolomeo growled. “Listen, Luffy-senpai will become the standard bearer for this era. He will become the Pirate King!”

No, I thought. No way. Bartolomeo was a Luffy supporter? How? And why Luffy-senpai? Had Luffy unknowingly taught him along the way?

The answer? Sort of.

Bartolomeo was there at Loguetown.

“I saw it with my own eyes. Over two years ago. At Loguetown in East Blue. On the legendary scaffold where Roger died, Luffy-senpai shouted it out then. At that moment, straight from heaven, came a bolt of thunder which saved his life. What I saw was a miracle!”

And thus Luffy’s Biggest Fan was born.

Seriously, this guy used to be a gangland boss (had taken over about one-hundred and fifty towns). But he began to follow the news stories. Alabasta, Enies Lobby, Impel Down and Marineford. He made a fan shrine with his bounty poster collection! In the end, Bart’s hardcore fanboy status reached the lofty height of emulation. Inspired by Luffy, he sailed out to sea.

And it turns out Bart does not take kindly to anyone talking shit about his idol.

While Luffy dodged Cavendish, Bartolomeo peeked round the wall and watched. “I can’t approach him. When it comes to it, I can’t do it. I’m too nervous to go anywhere near him. The scar under his left eye. It’s real! He’s so cool! Oh... my eyes are suddenly blind with tears. That stupid Cabbage shit. I want to beat him to death and save Luffy!”

It’s nice to know Luffy has such a dedicated in-universe fanbase.

And Don Chinjao can be added to the club too. He joined Cavendish in thundering after Luffy because he wants to place his grandson’s Happo Navy under the command of Garp’s Illustrious Grandson. What a result, right?

Except Luffy was thoroughly weirded out, wondering why these three crazy guys were chasing him.

Luckily for him, Rebecca was around.

Teach Takes Another Level in Scumbag

She grabbed his arm and hauled him off. There was a more private place nearby where no one else went.

On the way, they passed Jesus Burgess. He was in the middle of a DDM call. A very familiar voice was on the line. So familiar, it caused a visceral reaction in Luffy. He screeched to a halt immediately.

It was Blackbeard. And they were having a weird conversation.

“By that logic, Shiryu is no different,” Teach said.

“But I can’t trust Aokiji!” Burgess complained. “Uh... Hold on a sec, Captain. Strawhat is here.”

This piqued Teach’s interest. “Eh? You there, Strawhat?”

“You’re Blackbeard, aren’t you?” (You know when Luffy remembers you straight away that you must either be A) Really Good, or B) A Real Asshole.

“Yeah, it’s been awhile. Heard you’re fighting in the competition, Lucy. But my man, Burgess, is gonna win the Mera-Mera Fruit. I can’t wait because it’ll be like having Ace in my crew. He turned me down in the past.”

OOOOFT.

Wow, that one was a low blow. To be honest, I really like how Oda employs Teach as a long-term adversary to Luffy. Teach’s panel/screen time is economical but every time he appears, Oda really ramps up the enmity between him and Luffy. No exchange is ever wasted.

I was pretty proud of Luffy for keeping his cool here. It shows how much he’s matured as a person and as a Captain.

I am also intrigued by why Burgess is worrying about Aokiji? That was pretty random. Is our favourite ex-Admiral really operating in the underworld now? Is he trying to wangle information from the Blackbeards? Hmm... Don’t think Smoker would like that. Then again, he has had a hard lesson on Punk Hazard. Maybe he will be a little more cynical in future and won’t dismiss intel from pirates out of hand.

Justice for Toys!

Post Blackbeard Encounter, Rebecca led Luffy further away from the chaos. On the way, Luffy was distracted by free food samples. Just before he cleaned out the stall, Rebecca offered to buy him lunch, even though she didn’t have much money.

What a nice gesture, right?

Rebecca found a deserted looking area and Luffy smashed into his bento like it was Blackbeard’s face. Through mouthfuls of food, Luffy asked where they were. Rebecca explained it was quarters for the gladiators. They called it “a prison” (which, we learned later, it literally was).

Since Luffy’s life revolves around piracy and food, he asked Rebecca if she was hungry and if she wanted some food.

This triggered an Obvious Trauma Flashback. Smol Rebecca and her mother beneath the tree in Flower Field. Smol Rebecca saying, “I’m hungry.” Her mother replying, “Okay, do you think you can stay here alone for a while?” Then suddenly... dead mother.

Rebecca said tightly, “I don’t get hungry.”

Although I figured there was guilt here, I didn’t link Smol Rebecca’s food request directly with her mother’s death. Not until the big reveal of Rebecca’s past.

That unwitting conversational misstep must have pushed Rebecca into enacting her plan. She had intended to lure Luffy into a quiet area and kill him. When she turned on him, to my surprise, some randoms in bandages piped up from behind bars. “YEAH, GIT HIM, REBECCA!”

But Rebecca had picked on the wrong competitor.

Or, when you look at it from another angle, exactly the right one.

Luffy was able to fend her off while still tucking into his delicious meal. It was an embarrassingly easy win. The gulf of ability between them was so wide, she was never on Luffy’s radar. Right now, beating Rebecca would be like swatting a fly. (Not disparaging her general fighting ability, but compared to Luffy, most people would come off worse.) She was no threat, therefore Luffy wasn’t angry about the assassination attempt.

Luckily, she bought Luffy lunch. Especially since she didn’t have much money. He loves food and would appreciate that. Any other offence would pale in comparison to that act of generosity.

“I’m not gonna do anything to someone who bought me food,” Luffy said when Rebecca insisted he just kill her and get it over with.

Then Luffy noticed the “mummies” - the prisoners in bandages in the background. Rebecca explained the situation. She and the other guys in the room are “convict gladiators”, pretty much like the system in ancient Rome where slaves and criminals could be slung into the arena and ordered to fight to the death.

To ramp up Doflamingo’s evilness, they also said, “The king says we can be released if we win a thousand times. Everyone who tried to escape got shot. There’s nowhere to run for us. Before Doflamingo became king, gladiatorial matches were not to the death. In this kingdom, there are very bright and very dark sides.”

So Doflamingo brought in the Delayed Death Penalty for criminals. I guess it’s a way of ushering capital punishment through the back door. Entertain the masses and get rid of undesirables in one go. Few will object because most love the Colosseum games. The ones who won’t fight, or the really dangerous ones likely to talk too much, are turned into toys. That’s iron control of Dressrosa right there.

And Rebecca is not a fan.

“Today an army led by Sol will come to let us out by provoking a battle against Doflamingo. He is willing to sacrifice his life to destroy the kingdom. But I’m gonna do it before he does. I don’t want to just be protected anymore. I want to protect Sol this time! I’ll win today’s competition no matter what and will kill Doflamingo with the Mera-Mera Fruit power.”

I thought I’d figured out Rebecca’s motive to fight. Poor kid with no food, no family, maybe resorted to petty criminal activity, was arrested and now she wants to escape. Amongst all the crap that happened to her, maybe Sol was her only friend.

Luffy was like, “Why are you worried a toy is gonna die?”

Rebecca just smiled and said, “You’re not from here, so it’ll be hard for you to understand. Toys are the same as humans (wait til she finds out they *are* humans. She’s gonna flip tables). They are friends to the friendless. Siblings for those who have none. Lovers for the loveless. I don’t understand why they’re not able to live with us. Since I lost my mother, Sol-san raised me. He’s like a father to me (I bet he is).”

Luffy actually listened to this (which is a huge accomplishment, Rebecca. You should be proud of that) and said, “You don’t look like a prisoner to me. Buy me lunch again sometime!”

Rebecca walked out to the ring and said, “See you at the finals.”

I like her confidence.

Then a flashback kicked in that showed me how wrong I was about Rebecca’s motivations.

Oda Really Likes Princesses, Doesn’t He?

The sad tale of how Sol came to raise Rebecca opened with a scene of Smol Rebecca and her mother living quietly on Flower Field, picking flowers to sell in town. They had a lovely house. An idyllic life. But don’t think I missed that one empty chair at the table. (Sol is totally her dad.)

Then there was fire. The King Riku army was setting town on fire. This really puzzled me. (I’m still not one-hundred percent on this. Are we talking the actual King Riku or the Resistance King Riku Army here?)

Soldiers chased Smol Rebecca and her mother, Lady Scarlet. Diamante headed the charge. Sol stepped in and defended them. After the battle, Smol Rebecca and Lady Scarlet hid out in Flower Field. Rebecca said she was hungry. Lady Scarlet knew it was a risk but she sneaked into town to buy food. She was shot and killed. Sol brought her body back, along with the food she’d died to buy Rebecca.

Smol Rebecca nudging her mother’s dead body and telling her to get up was like post-stampede Mufasa and Simba all over again. It was Very Sad. ;_;

She almost cried but Sol clamped his hand over her mouth. Enemies were still looking for her.

“Your mother was high-born. Do you know we have a new king now? The new king wants to capture all the former nobility. He even wants to capture you because your mother’s blood runs through your veins. I’m gonna protect you unti the end with my life. Until the day you are filled with happiness, I will always be by your side.”

Wait... I thought. Rebecca is a noble???

What the hell?

What was going on?

Was the battle the night before a civil war in Dressrosa? One that Doflamingo won against King Riku?

Who Says Politicians Never Keep Their Promises, Eh?

Because here he is. On a podium. A shiny new king wearing his all time fave feather jacket. The adoring crowd chanted his name. “Doflamingo! Doflamingo!”

He made a speech. Par for the course with new kings.

“The Riku Family has been running this poor country for centuries! In the end they became shameless and robbed money and goods from citizens for themselves. I’m gonna make this country wealthy, instead!”

This is where I lost track of the situation. From what has been revealed about people turning into Toys, I thought Doflamingo “brought someone in” to do that. I figured that would have been *after* he gained power. But Toys were around before that. Sol is proof.

What gives?

And the people of Dressrosa *really* hate King Riku and anyone associated with his bad, corrupt family. Unfortunately for Rebecca, not only is she a noble, she is also King Riku’s granddaughter. Her status is also well-known in the Colosseum. When she walked into the ring, the commentator introduced her as the Phantom Princess of King Riku’s line. She was booed and vilified by the audience. “BURN IN HELL! CORRUPT FAMILY!”

I get the feeling Doflamingo engineered this somehow. It’s all too perfect a narrative. Doflamingo, the saviour, sweeps in and saves Dressrosa from the evil, corrupt family, while he is as bad, if not worse. Or maybe Doflamingo did have good intentions, but, as always in life, matters snowballed and he became hella corrupt himself. Leaning more towards deliberate coup at the moment.

I am also highly suspicious of the gladiator Ricky. It’s very close to Riku and there was definitely an older gent under that mask...

“SELL THEM FOR STRAWHAT MERCHANDISE!”

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #monkey d. luffy #donquixote doflamingo #bartolomeo #rebecca sugar #sol the toy #lady scarlet #king riku #diamante #cavendish #don chinjao #dressrosa

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