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ripslingerfan13 · 11 months

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Chapter 5: Hisashi & Relization

“Um,…I think we’re both good, thank you.” Unlike Laverne, Frederick had calmed down realizing that Whitney was no threat…neither unaware of a fourth companion.

“Hisashi, how is he doing?” The mystery female voice ‘Sensei’ asked her young student Now Hisashi, “No need to worry Sensei, looks like this guy is no threat to Frederick.” Hisashi gave a wave of his red furry paw reassuring his Sensei. “Good, now remember you are only allowed to interfere if Frederick is in danger.” Hisashi laughed a little “Sensei! You’ve told me that like 5 times already! I promise I won’t do anything that I don’t need to do!” “Alright then Hisashi, I’m trusting you, good luck.” “Thanks Sensei.” Hisashi was sitting on top of a tree several feet away from them, keeping himself invisible as he watched the two conversed.

“…I wouldn’t want to subject a kid to such a grueling tale right now.” Whitney held his head down as both Frederick and Hisashi stared at him curiously. “But to put it lightly…” looking up to give Frederick direct eye contact “I used to be a really bad person…” Hisashi’s ears perked up at this as he listened in, of course saying something like that would make anyone suspicious.

“…I was a person who spiraled out of control in pursuit of getting everything I thought I was entitled to.” Whitney sulked in shame as he thought back to what he had done to Calpernia. “It got to a point where I didn’t care if it ruined people’s lives…or if it almost cost me my own.”

Damn dude! What the hell did you even do?! Hisashi thought as he continued listening in.

“That’s just the way things were in my family.” Both boys were shocked to hear this. Wait what?! Hisashi leaned over as if he needed to be closer to hear even better than he already can, ears perked up as he listened closer, curious and a little concerned as to what this guy’s family had taught him.

“We were taught to always defeat anyone who stood in our way and to take what we wanted…Especially from each other.” WHAT?! Hisashi's teeth clenched, snarling, his four tails wagged fiercely, yeah he was definitely pissed. You’re supposed to teach your children to be fair and kind to each other! Not to turn your backs on each other just to get what you want?! Just hearing that, Hisashi was already concerned about Whitney’s family. “Then I got these stripes and had to immediately abandon my home forever. I was forced to leave behind all the titles, possessions, and comforts I grew up with…” Whitney raised a hand to caress his tiger striped cheek. “…but also all the toxic habits I grew up with too. And eventually I realized I was much better off without any of them.” That’s good, at least he knows he's better off without his toxic family…though I can’t help but feel like I’m jumping to conclusions. “The endless competitions and comparisons...” Sensei says I should always hear both sides of the story…but? “The violent, gladiator-style fights to win Father’s affection each week…” Uh… and just like Frederick, Hisashi went pale trying to comprehend what he had just heard. “The contest to see which son could most effectively torture political prisoners…” Huh?! Face now green, ears flat against his head as he started to shake. “Oh! Did you have to recite those daily Machiavellian chants too?” S-Sensei~ Hisashi was now shaking like a leaf. “I heard Hisashi…just pray to Inari we never run into them.” Sensei too sounded just as horrified.

“Um, to be honest, listening to you kinda makes me feel like a jerk for ever complaining about my dad.” Frederick scratched the back of his neck, still a bit shaken by Whitney’s story. “Sure, I feel like a disappointment to him all the time, but there were no…um, gladiator fights…” “Your name is Frederick, right?” Whitney inquired, finally pulling off his hood, “You know, getting these stripes on my face wasn’t what made me change my outlook. It was due to the guidance of some very kind people I met that I could start to set my life straight.” Whitney held up a finger as if he was about to give some wise words “So, allow me to pass along some kind words I heard. --They’re also coincidently the same words I wish I could tell my father when he had me and my siblings see who could torture prisoners better:” Hisashi shuddered Can he please stop talking about that! “Pain is not a competition.” Heh, now these guys I’d like to meet. Hisashi relaxed a little as he layed back down on the tree branch. “It is also not what you look like on the outside but who you are on the inside.” Frederick perked up at this, during their conversation Frederick had explained to Whitney what had happened the last week and a half, including Lance and his father. “The painful emotions you feel are valid, Frederick. But you get to choose when you’re ready to heal from them and change your story.”

This is the weirdest dude I’ve ever met… Both Frederick and Hisashi thought in unison as Hisashi laid on the tree branch tails and a leg hanging off as he continued to tiredly watch the two converse… He couldn’t help but chuckle as Frederick got flustered when Whitney asked him why he was traveling. What’s the matter, kit? Don’t wanna admit that you were so desperate to see your girlfriend that you ran out without thinking! “Sorry that’s another consequence of this cur--I mean these tiger stripes...I became really keen at sensing fear and panic in others.” Ok, is this guy part tiger or something?!...And it sounded like he was going to say something else? “Y-you know, actually, I feel really refreshed after that stew!” Frederick stood up abruptly, “So I think we’re just gonna head back home now!!” Using his tails to scoop up Laverne, “Let’s go, Laverne” “Bleaaat!” Much to her dislike. Ah! Here we go! Hisashi stood up as he saw Frederick was ready to leave…he relaxed after Whitney convinced them to stay the night.

…1 hour later…

Can that guy stop staring like that?! It’s seriously creeping me out!!! Hisashi had tried turning around hoping that not seeing would help to ignore the fact that Whitney was staring out in random directions, despite even knowing that he cannot be seen sadly did not make sleep any easier…

…The next morning…

When Frederick awoke, though slightly annoyed to find Laverna sleeping on top of him found that surprisingly she wasn’t as heavy as she used to be, using his tails to pick her up and set her down next to him. He stood up and stretched before catching a whiff of something… something that also awoke Hisashi.

Mmm…Something smells great! Hisashi’s nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff and cracked open an eye to see that Whitney had caught a deer and was cooking some of its meat over a freshly lit fire. He stood up from his tree branch stretching as he shook the tangles out of his tails, taking a swipe at his face with a paw before eyeballing the abandoned deer carcass, licking his lips as his tails wagged behind him. Hisashi no. Sensei’s voice echoed in his ear as Hisashi’s ears flattened. Aww, come on Sensei! It’s still fresh! Hisashi whined as he slumped on his tree branch. And they would notice if it suddenly disappeared. Hisashi gave a small pout as his tails seized wagging. Look, Hisashi, Whitney is obviously no threat. Take a break, clean up in the river and catch yourself some breakfast. I will inform you if Frederick decides to leave. Hisashi quickly perked up Really! Sensei arigatō! Hisashi gladly hopped out of his tree, still invisible, heading away from the two and off to clean up and catch some food…

Feeling that he was far enough away from the two Hisashi finally made himself visible, looking very similar in appearance to Frederick, well his fox parts at least. Slightly pale skin tone with bright red fur, small tips of white on the ends of his four tails, claws and a diamond shaped patch on his back. His hair was about shoulder length and just a little bit spikey at the ends. His dark eyes spotted a small river just ahead of him as he trotted over and jumped right in…once finished bathing shook himself before using his flames to dry out the rest of his fur. Hisashi is a ‘Kasai’ , a fire type kitsune. There are 13 types of kitsunes, Tengoku(heaven), Kukan(dark), Kaze(wind), Seishin(spirit), Kasai(fire), Chikyu(earth), Kawa(river), Umi(ocean), Yama(mountain), Mori(forest), Sanda(Thunder), Jikan(time), and the Ongaku(Sound). There is not much known about kasai, but it is believed that their ability to control fire is due to their omnivorous diet which allows them to adapt and thrive in different environments. Or perhaps it is simply an adaptation to their environment, a way to keep warm in cold environments and ward off predators.

Once dry Hisashi scanned the area carefully, sniffing the air to find his closest meal… Oh! His ears perked up as he caught a whiff of a jaguar! Perfect! I always loved a good chase! Great way to work up an appetite! Hisashi always preferred to go after larger and faster animals for his meals, not only were they a lot more filling then the other smaller animals, but the chase and often fights helped him to improve a bit on his hunting skills. Alright… Hisashi licked his lips as he made his way to his morning breakfast. Kari o hajimemashou. (Let the hunt begin.) The jaguar was lying down licking its paws, when it caught a whiff of its visitor and quickly stood up turning to Hisashi’s direction ready to fight…until it took another sniff and his scent made the jaguar nervous. Crouched down in the grass Hisashi grinned when he saw the jaguar’s ears flattened as he started to back away. “That’s it buddy, go ahead start running.” It turned and took off, Hisashi leaned forward before leaping from the grass and started in a pursuit of the fastest animal in the world…or not. Yeah, it didn’t take long for Hisashi to catch up, swiping at the jaguar’s hind leg causing it to stumble a bit to where Hisashi leaped forward and clapped his jaws into the animal’s backside. It let out a yowl crumbling to the ground as it turned to swipe at his face causing him to jump back a little but Hisashi was quick to wrap a tail around its midsection. Pulling it close as Hisashi clamped his jaws tightly around the jaguar’s neck, not letting go squeezing harder until…snap! it finally stopped moving. “Wahoo! Hisashi 1 Jaguar 0!” Hisashi cheered for himself as he laid down and began to dig in.

…Don’t worry guys I won’t go into any details, so in the meantime let’s check back in on Frederick and Whitney…

Frederick still wasn’t quite sure if he should continue on to the Pastel Kingdom or just head back home, he was certain of one thing that his brothers have to be at the Pastel Palace by now. They have to be worried, wondering where I am…but… Frederick glanced down at his ‘claws’ once more as his chest tightened and tears threatened to fall. But after what I did to Lance…Blaine stayed with me in that forest for over a week, but Lance…H-he- Frederick sucked in a breath as tears filled his eyes. He-He has to be scared of me after that. And I wouldn’t blame him! Frederick wiped away the tears that threatened to fall, he wasn’t sure what to do. I can’t face him after that! And I can’t go home either after I did the same thing to father! And Gwen! I tried to hurt her too! I can’t go to the Pastel Kingdom either!

Unable to stop it Frederick burst into a fit of tears! “I don’t know! I didn’t even know what I was thinking coming here! I was so confused then, but now I’m even more confused!” Frederick struggled to wipe away the tears that just wouldn’t stop. “I can’t go home! I hurt my family and I tried to hurt my friend too! I can’t face her, I can’t face any of them after everything I’ve done! I can’t go anywhere not like this! I have no home! I’M A MONSTER!!!” Frederick wailed, tears streaming down his cheeks!

“Oh,...well I can help with that if you want.” Whitney stated unusually calm to the situation. “Huh?” Frederick looked up, still trying to wipe away his tears. “I can show you one of the things I learned from the people who took me in after I left my kingdom.” “What?...Really?” Frederick took a moment to completely dry his tears. “You know…You keep saying you were this awful person or whatever, but you turned your life around after meeting these amazing people. Who are they…?” Whitney put a finger to his chin and thought “Hmm, I guess I would describe them as…beings that I couldn’t even believe existed when I was younger…”

Beings that he couldn’t believe existed when he was younger? Frederick raised an eyebrow in confusion. They sound like mythical or even magical…mythical? Frederick suddenly thought of something but that thought was quickly interrupted when Whitney continued speaking… Once again, even though he seems odd, I can really relate to what he says sometimes… Frederick thought as he listened to Whitney’s story “All the horrible things I used to think…All the regretful things I’ve done…” “...” “All the torturing of others in the torture dungeon,-” And once again Frederick went pale as Whitney reminded him yet again just how insane his family is. NOPE, I take it back again…!! “UGHH, ok ok! I get it!! Jeez!!”

“Anyways, I learned that those memories aren’t trying to hurt us.” Whitney continued on with his explanation. “But they can get a little out of control and fill our heads with thoughts that aren’t useful to us anymore.” Frederick looked back up at this, “So if you can clear some of that clutter away, you can sometimes start to see what’s really in front of you in a different light.” “...H-how would I even do that?”

“By sitting and making some room…would you like to try?”...

…After calming down completely, Frederick moved to sit down with Whitney in a more spacious part of their camp. “It may not be right for everyone, and it will be hard at first, but the more you do it, the easier it will get.” Frederick tilted his head “But for starters…just close your eyes and sit quietly.” as he watched Whitney close his eyes and take a deep breath, before doing the same “...Uh…ok.”

…loser loser loser… “...Hm?”

LOSER LOSER LOSER FAILURE FAILURE FAILURE!!!...MONSTER!!!

“AAH…!!” Frederick’s eyes shot open, before sulking in his spot “...Um…I don’t like this.” Whitney turned confused when he heard Frederick shout “There’s a very mean voice in there. I-it’s kinda always there, but I’m pretty good at blocking it out usually. Not if I do this, though…” And now there’s something worse… Whitney thought for a second “Hm…do it just once more if you can. But this time, try to listen to where the voice is coming from.” Frederick seemed very nervous. “And if you do meet the source…be kind.” ‘Meet the source…?!’ What is he talking about…? And confused… “Uh…sure just once more.” He took a deep breath and let it out before trying once again…

LOSER LOSER LOSER FAILURE FAILURE FAILURE!!! Frederick shuddered as he listened to the voice trying not to run away this time… “...?” Only to look to his right and find a younger version of himself sitting in a trunk repeating the same two words over and over again… So after having a talk with his very rude younger self… “There’s no time for books and hobbies anyway! We have to catch up to Blaine and Lance!” Younger Frederick shouted to where Frederick just cocked his head in confusion. “Um…do we really though? I mean I know they still go along with those ridiculous ideas of father wanting them to be perfect, but they don’t really care about those things honestly. And they…” Frederick finally gave a small smile “They still care about us.” Then Younger Frederick retorted “Yeah! They’re the only ones who give a crap about us while to father we’re nothing but the family failure!! He doesn’t even want to be associated with us!” that smile faltered

“And after what you’ve done to your own brother,” Frederick froze a chill going up his spine as a new darker scarier voice joined in. “Your ‘oh so loving brothers’ will soon feel the same.” He turned to find another figure entering the room, it was of him in his current state…except his appearance was far more frightening! His claws and mouth were coated in blood, and while only Frederick’s irises were red at the time, this ‘monster’ Frederick his eyes were fully red. And finally his fur wasn’t even white it was pitch black and had an almost shadowy aura around it. “W-what?! Who are you?!” Frederick took several steps back, unable to take his eyes off the monstrous version of himself. “Why, I’m you of course. At least what you are now.” He stepped forward, getting into Frederick’s face with a wicked grin on his own. “It won’t be long before Lance and Blaine want nothing to do with you, why they might even kick you out of the kingdom.” “THEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT!!!” Frederick shouted back a voice filled with anger and rage that a part of him would even think that. “LANCE AND BLAINE ARE MY BROTHERS!! THEY LOVE ME!! THEY WOULD NEVER ABANDON ME!!” Then it hit and Frederick now knew what he needed to do. “That’s right, Lance and Blaine would never leave me…so how can I do the same to them!”

Frederick stood up from his spot abruptly startling Whitney a little as he saw the look in Frederick’s eyes, “Uh, hey…How’d it go? You realize anything?” “Y-yeah…I realized…” Now that a part of him seemed a little clearer now “That I need to see my brothers now!”

Hisashi had arrived at this moment, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me!! The next time I see you again, I promise I’ll repay you!!” Oh! Hey Sensei looks like I got back just in time. Looks like Frederick’s getting ready to leave. As he watched Frederick run to the tent to get Laverne. That’s good, Hisashi, now remember to be extra careful once you enter the kingdom. You got it Sensei! “--Wait! I don’t care about that, but you need to know that one session of this isn’t enough to change your mindset forever!! Your will power--will run out…” Whitney trailed off realizing that Frederick wasn’t listening. “Laverne, it’s time to get up!--OW! Don’t slap my hand away!”

…Hisashi was running at full speed to keep up with Frederick, Damn! This kit is pretty fast for a newbie! He was definitely surprised at how fast Frederick was given that he still has a lot to learn about his new body. Frederick was running faster than he ever had before with a not to happy Laverne wrapped in his tails, silently begging Frederick to just let her walk, neither of them aware that Whitney is slowly walking behind them heading in the same direction…Right now the only thing on Frederick’s mind was getting back to his brothers!

I need to get to the Pastel Palace! I have to get to Lance and Blaine!

Note: So yeah unlike the comic Frederick's first concern is his brothers once that is settled will it get back to Gwen. And in case you haven't figured it out, yes Hisashi is now alone keeping an eye on Frederick while his sensei is away.

Also I need some ideas on what 'Sensei's' name should be? It needs to be majestic, beautiful, and powerful, it needs to be a name that represents power, wisdom and heart. Comment below your name ideas!

#ao3 works #cpc #cpc fanfiction #cpc frederick #cursed princess club #fanfiction #read on ao3 #cpc whitney #kitsune

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jq37 · 4 years

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The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 4 The Grand Tournament

An Extremely Normal Tourney

It’s time for the royal tourney! A tourney that Brennan, who would never lie to us, has assured us will be all fun and games and only simulated danger! What could possibly go wrong?

For an exhaustive answer to what should be a rhetorical question, let’s join our PCs on the tourney grounds where they’re getting ready for their respective events.

Just to give you guys a quick rundown of who’s doing what:

Theobald is in the Joust, facing off against Lady Plumbeline.

Liam, Ruby, Lord Citron of Fructerra (Banana man), and Lady Freccia of Cerecia (Spaghetti Illithid woman) are in the archery competition.

There are two melee bouts going on:

One is a Vegetanian knight (Bonathan--french fries dude), Anabelle, Grissini, and Jet

The other is Keradin (Bulbian paladin from last ep), a Ceresian Gladiator, Scravoya (wife of the meat dude Amethar called out last episode), and Amethar.

The only person sitting out the festivities is old-man Lapin who is chilling in the high rollers box with the Pontifex, Alfredi, and some of the other important peeps we met last episode.

Lord and Lady Cruller are watching Jet’s fight and also have taken Primsy under their wing to keep her away from Stilton who Theobald has warned everyone about.

While Brennan rolls initiative for a million NPCs, the PCs mess around with the Message cantrip and Jet worries that something bad might happen to her dad during the tournament. Ruby says that, if anyone tries anything, they’ll stop it.

On to the matches!

In the first round of the archery competition, Liam does well with a 23 (he’s only beaten by Citron who gets a 25) and Ruby (who’s not really equipped for bow shooting at this distance and can’t get a magic boost without putting herself in major danger) lags behind with a 10.

In the main melee battle, Scravoya (who is fully just a t-bone steak with eyes) outright threatens Amethar and he leans into it, saying they should take out their competition so they can 1v1 each other. A very good idea but with only an 8 Persuasion roll to back it up, it doesn’t work. Amethar tries to make the same deal with Keradin but, when he’s rebuffed, goes into a rage and goes for Scravoya, hitting her for 19 points of damage. On her turn, she returns the favor for 16 points.

Jet decides to take a page from her dad’s book and tries to ally with Annabelle...by bringing up her ejection from the line of succession, her refusal to wed, and also declaring that she also won’t wed--each of those statements probably being enough to cause a scandal on its own. But even with disadvantage on Persuasion, Jet gets a 20 which means that while the crowd is scandalized, Annabelle is touched by the show of solidarity and salutes with her sabre. Then Jet hits Grissini for 21 points of damage, giving us insight into what his type is because his response is to instantly go full heart eyes for her. Doesn’t stop him from dealing a bunch of damage to Jet on his turn though.

Meanwhile, Lapin--saying it’s a request from the king--has Lord and Lady Swirly (who are in the box with him) hold comically full glasses of wine for when Amethar’s match is done, something they don’t question at all. He foregoes a “real turn” so he can act when something actually happens.

In the joust, Theobald and Lady Plumbeline run at each other and Theo super hits with a 24. The joust is supposed to be three rounds long but on a 15 Athletics to her nat 1, Theo absolutely sends her flying off her meep and ends it--and the chance at getting to name herself as a candidate for the Emperor’s successor--right then and there. He hops down off his meep to help her up but she slaps his hand away, picks herself up, fully crying, and runs off the field.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Back in the main melee, Brennan asks for 3 Con saving throws from Amethar, activating both mine and Lou’s Fight or Flight. Brennan says that Amethar takes 8 piercing damage and then 22 points of damage that are not halved (even though he’s raging) which brings him down to 6 HP. And, on top of that, he’s suddenly having trouble breathing.

Zac decides that this is a good time for Lapin to take his turn but, on an 8, doesn’t notice anything is wrong. Like yeah, Amethar’s hurt but it would be weird if it wasn’t. It’s a melee. Amether also rolls Perception and, with an 8, though he knows that something sharp cut into his side when he bumped into Keradin and the gladiator (which is weird because they’re all fighting with blunted weapons) he thinks he could have just gotten scratched by their armor or something.

Liam and Jet both fail their Perception checks on their turns to notice Amethar is in dire straits.

Oh Amethar’s turn, having realized that something Weird and Bad is happening, he fully nopes out of there and Disengages so he can hop the fence to the pen where Jet’s fight is happening (the one Cruller is watching) and lie down to signal to everyone that he’s not fighting anymore and needs help.

Unfortunately for him, Scravoya fails her Wisdom save and jumps the fence to continue wailing on Amethar, knocking him unconscious.

Lapin, paying off the Looney Tunes gag that he set up on his first turn, hip checks Lord and Lady Swirlie to make them throw the wine in Alfredi’s face. While she’s distracted, he does some sneaky healing on Amethar (13 pts) which no one clocks though Brennan doesn’t tell *them* that.

Amethar, while unconscious, sees his sister Rococco in a field of wheat in the spot where she died, who tells him to get up. In the real world, he does.

On Jet’s turn, she prepares to exit the fight to help her dad. Grissini notices that she’s distressed and asks if something’s wrong. When she says that someone is trying to kill her dad, he stops fighting, throws down his weapon, and tries to get the Pontifex’s attention.

As soon as it’s his turn, Theo accesses the Speed Force, runs all the way to Amethar, and disarms Scravoya. Jet is suddenly more interested in learning a disarming blow.

Ruby runs over to Jet to help out if she needs to (and, mechanically, so their lockets are in play) and also sends Yak up to keep an eye on things.

Cruller jumps down to help stop the fighting and check on Amethar, finding that Amethar can’t speak. He calls for a healer and Keradin comes over. Ruby makes him drop his mace as he passes her but he gets there and kneels next to him.

Liam casts Detect Poison and Disease since Amethar looks pretty sick (his deception roll to hide it is only a 10, yikes) and Brennan says there’s definitely poison happening. But oh no Brennan. You’re not getting away with just that. The language of that spell says you ID the type and location of poison in range.

Brennan reads the card to confirm that his shit is thoroughly fucked and then narrates that Liam detects a poison cocktail in Amethar which delivered 22 points of poison damage (he saved so 22 was half), gives the Poisoned condition (which he also saved from), and also silences the person for an hour (which is why he can’t talk). And location? Liam smells the same poison that’s in Amethar’s body on two daggers on Keradin’s belt. Liam calls him out (without explaining what’s going on very well--luckily Theo starts yelling poison to make things more clear for the audience) and casts Hunter's Mark very openly without really disguising it.

Father in danger, Jet tries to attack Keradin but misses twice. Amethar, on his turn, gets up, goes into a rage, and hits Keradin (whose eyes go blank and soft) and then backs up from him.

Scravoya keeps fighting because she’s a woman in a rage and on a mission (rather than anything especially sinister, a previous check showed that she thinks Amethar is cheating or wussing out which is why she’s kept fighting).

Back in the box, Alfredi is still chewing out the Swirlies and not really paying attention to the other insanity going on. The Pontifex meanwhile is watching intensely and is so shocked she can’t really move or speak. Lapin yells for them to call off the fight (21 Persuasion) and, even though he probably shouldn’t be giving orders while sitting next to someone who outranks him so completely, the Pontifex ignores that and yells at Keradin to kneel and he does so immediately.

The horns blow, the fight stops--even Scravoya stops. But we’re still in initiative. Anabelle jumps over and knocks Keradin further down. Grissini starts mobilizing guards to stop anyone running away. Theo tries to get the daggers from him and fails. Luckily Ruby is next and she casts Hex (giving Keradin disadvantage to Dex) and just barely grabs the poison daggers from Keradin’s belt with help from Yak, holding them up and loudly declaring their existence to the crowd like the performer she wants to be. The daggers are made of pure water which is super deadly to sugar people. And luckily, on a nat 1, no one notices her spell. Cruller goes after the fleeing Ceresian gladiator and we exit combat.

Keradin is grabbed by guards and is double arrested by the Pontifex and Grissini in a church/state tag team. Alfredi glances at Lapin and then comes down and heals the Poison condition from Amethar.

Liam tries to do a better job at disguising his magic as just non-magical ranger knowledge but doesn’t do a great job, even with help from Ruby.

Jet tries to see if Anabelle is on the level and her read on her is shaky because it’s been a crazy like minute and a half for her. She then apologizes for inadvertently embarrassing her. Anabelle says she needs to learn to be less quick to run off at the mouth outside of Candia but she doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings (especially since her scandal is like only the 9th craziest thing that’s happened at this point).

Lapin’s Big Day

The security minded people start to arrange escorts and guards and all the stuff you do when an assassination attempt happens. Theo wants to be part of the investigation. Lapin sees Alfredi talking to the Pontifex and pointing to Liam. The Pontifex then comes over to Grissini and says that the church would see Keradin hanged for his actions. Grisinni tells her that the Candians want to talk to him first and she’s fine with that. She leaves, followed by the meat people. Before he leaves, Senator Ciabatta checks in with Amethar and, without explanation, says that he doesn’t believe Keradin acted alone.

Liam is ready to just peace out into the woods before he’s tried as a witch but Theo tells him to stay. Cruller comes back and says that they arrested the dude he had been chasing down. They decide to split up with the kids and Tartgaurd going with Amethar to lay low--and to protect Liam--while the old dude squad--Theo, Lapin, and Cruller--go to supervise whatever’s going on with Keradin so he doesn’t just get disappeared before they can talk to him. Theo gives Jet Sprinkle (whose eyes he can see through) and they split up.

Anabelle comes over and introduces herself to Amethar, calling it a great honor as her dad was good friends with him. Jet makes a comment about her thighs being weapons because she hasn’t learned anything from her talk with Anabelle (who, for the record, doesn’t disagree with the content of the statement, just the appropriateness).

Prince Cabbage also passes by and they get the sense that he was not paying attention to anything that was going on and just had it explained to him after the fact (which, dude, how do you sleep through that???? Unless he didn’t and he wasn’t paying attention for some wild, Pepe Silvia reason, but too much craziness is going on this ep for me to start Wild Mass Guessing for no reason).

Lapin lets the others know that the cat might be out of the bag re: Liam’s magic and Cruller points out that it’s way easier for the church to off him than Ruby so he’s potentially in a LOT of danger. Even the king might be powerless to stop any retribution. Theo suggests that maybe if Liam was made a knight, that would give him some protection. Lapin thinks he might be able to talk to the Pontifex about it. And if neither of those work, Cruller can try and spirit him away back to Candia.

Plans set, they go find Keradin who is chained in a dungeon guarded by Grissini and his men. Lapin does an Insight check with advantage (helped by Theo) and our boy gets a nat 20! On that nat 20, he knows that Keradin is of such unshakable faith that he is immune to being mind controlled. He’s just an extremely loyal follower of the church who’s never had an independent thought in his life.

Lapin asks for the room to be cleared so he can have a conversation with Keradin and Grissini says he’s under orders from the Pontifex to not let Keradin get-got before the church has the chance to do it. “Oh,” says Lapin. “So you’re calling me, a man of that that same church, a liar and also a murderer? Interesting.” Grissini is so cowed that even without Lapin rolling Intimidation or Persuasion, Grissini deeply apologizes and clears the room.

Lapin makes like he’s going to break him out of his chains and asks Keradin where he’s supposed to meet with his co-conspirators. On a 25 Deception (!) v. Keradin’s 3 Insight, Keradin says that there was no plan and he was supposed to just let Amethar die on the field and walk away. Lapin asks where he can get another dagger so he can complete the attack and Keradin says he got his three from Alfredi!

Information gleaned, Lapin slaps Keradin across the face and calls back in the guard, telling them to arrest Alfredi. On a 22 Persuasion, Lapin is able to get Grissini to agree to this bold order and they head out.

Keradin loses his shit and starts pulling at his chains, yelling, “Apostate!” at Lapin who leans in and drops the rawest line anyone could have at that moment.

“Where is your Bulb now?”

Medal of Honor

When Lapin DID THAT my first thought was, “Man, I wish I still had Honor Roll on my recaps so I could give it to him.” Then I remembered I make the rules here and I can do whatever the hell I want.

What an absolutely BEASTLY set of moves from Lapin. I’ve always said, Zac is quietly super smart but always hampered in-game by the himbos he chooses to play but man did he make up for every insane, “Are you my Dad?” from S1 with his CRAZY flex this episode.

One of the best things you can do as a player is do something so logical and natural and fitting that the DM can’t help but give it to you, roll be damned and he got that from Brennan this episode.

Not to mention setting up his distraction a round in advance, coming up with a *great* way to get info from Keradin (in the moment I had no idea how he was gonna play that), taking Alfredi off the board so early into the game, and that sick, sick, mic drop of a line that forced Brennan to end the episode.

He went from sitting out the entire tournament to undisputed MVP of the episode. What a champ.

*Also, would be remiss if I didn’t mention that his gag of just creepily appearing on the king’s shoulder is my fave of the season so far.

Things I’m Concerned About

Well the number one thing I’m concerned about is a thing I didn’t even notice until I rewatched for this recap. Ruby grabs two water daggers off of Keradin but then Keradin tells Lapin that Alfredi gave him three water daggers. Which means that either water daggers are one use (3 - the one he used on Amethar = 2) OR, both more likely (assuming max drama at least) and troubling, there’s a third dagger floating around out there. And that’s such an easy thing to miss in the heat of the moment when you’re playing. So the question is, who has that third dagger? It would be weird if Alfredi had it--why give it right back to the person who gave it to you? If this is a Bubian conspiracy, maybe one of the other officials like Onionpatch--he would be an unexpected candidate. Either way, I hope someone clocked that bit of info or will soon because that’s a dangerous thing to just be lurking.

I’m concerned about how far down this rabbit hole goes (pun unintended but consciously retained). When Brennan said Keradin’s eyes went blank and soft during the struggle, I was thinking maybe mind control but he’s apparently immune to mind control (which I think means he’s at least a level 8 Paladin since that’s when they gain immunity to charm spells and abilities--so I guess he was just surprised at the turn of events in that moment and that’s what that was?). So how corrupt is this church? Does it go all the way to the Pontifex? Do they want a specific person on the throne or do they just not want a Candian on the throne since they’re well known for being lax with enforcing the magic restrictions, something the church would surely hate.

I’m concerned Theo might have inadvertently made an enemy of Plumbeline. Or, like, driven her to do something rash. Like, we know he was just being a good guy but she was obv not in a good headspace in that moment. It wasn’t a bad move from him--if she’d reacted well it would have been a good relationship to have, but the dice just weren’t on his side.

I’m concerned about what it will take before the children start thinking about the ~implications~ of their actions. Like, Jet airing royal laundry and declaring to not marry in front of everybody and Liam not even trying to hide his Hunter’s Mark at Keradin? This is the Actions Have Consequences season! I keep saying that and I’m sure it’s gonna continue until someone dies! And speaking of..

Like...come on. It’s gotta happen, right? And the longer they murder-block Brennan, the worse it’s gonna be when it happens! And like...I realllllly wouldn’t want to be Liam right now. It occurs to me that this would be a good opportunity to throw Liam under the bus for Ruby’s sake. Not saying they SHOULD do it obviously or that they would--in fact they started doing the opposite immediately. But if my main thought was protecting Ruby, I would accuse Liam--son of the traitor who openly did magic at the royal tournament--of having done the magic on the road, and that clears Ruby and he’s a much easier scapegoat.

Five Six More Things

Very funny that Ally basically only refers to Anabelle as, “the hot one”. Like that’s the only thing about her that stuck.

Let’s say Plumbeline had won and put her name up for consideration. Do you think her dad would have named her over Amethar? Like, I’m sure Amethar would be fine with it seeing as he doesn’t really want the job but I dunno.

What would win? An intricately plotted assassination attempt or a level 1 spell and a disengage action? LOL, RIP Brennan. Truly, Brennan was thwarted at every turn this episode. Amethar running away alleviated the need for everyone to make some near impossible Perception checks. Theo Usain Bolting over and disarming Scravoya. Liam clocking the poison stopped Keradin from doing any funny business and narrowed their suspects to one instead of literally everyone on the field. Ruby grabbing the daggers made it clear what was going on and showed that they were the victims of an attack not whatever all that nonsense looked like out of context. If they had played this any differently, Amethar would probably be dead. And, at no point watching that do you get the sense that this was a planned story event they were meant to get through shaken but unscathed. Brennan was gunning for him (“Stop trying to kill my dad!/Stop having you dad be the king!/Fuck you!/Fuck you!”).

I think it is very endearing that Grissini, upon hearing that Jet needed help, immediately started to wildly flag down the Pontifex but, upon actually talking to the Pontifex later, was very formal and hesitant, showing that he really just dropped all his inhibitions and social graces to help Jet in that moment.

What an INSANE thing to witness as an attendee of this tournament. Like, truly a year’s worth of drama within about 2 minutes. WILD.

Emily and Siobhan have a quick conversation about whether Alfredi is working with the cheese bandits where Emily cites, “Pasta with cream sauce” as evidence and if this season’s plot twists occur in such a way that they can be retroactively tracked by something like “foods that go together,” I am going to scream. I am also fully prepared for this to be the case.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #the royal report

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f4liveblogarchives · 3 years

Text

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #241

Sun Dec 20 2020 [12:49 PM] Wack'd: Front-cover tagline is one font change away from being a Jeopardy! clue

[12:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Who is "Kang the Conqueror"? [12:51 PM] Wack'd: We open on Nick Fury showing the Four a digital map of Africa with a huge glowing spot indicating a massive power surge [12:51 PM] Umbramatic: welp [12:51 PM] Wack'd: Ben thinks "maybe the ay-rabs got some new power source" which, y'know, fun [12:51 PM] Umbramatic: oh geez [12:52 PM] Wack'd: Anyway the cover's got Black Panther on it, so naturally this surge is on the Wakandan border [12:53 PM] Wack'd: T'Challa won't let SHEILD in, and he's resigned as an Avenger, but Fury figures since the Four are old friends T'Challa might let them do some snooping [12:54 PM] Wack'd: Ben naturally is like "wait, if you're respecting Wakanda's sovereignty how did you guys flag this" [12:55 PM] Wack'd: Turns out SHEILD was following some other weird phenom and stumbled into this by accident. Said phenom turns out to be Attilan flying to the moon [12:55 PM] Umbramatic: oops [12:55 PM] maxwellelvis: Good thing Reed's collar stretches. [12:56 PM] Wack'd: Reed says he took special measures to make sure every airspace that got violated got a message not to worry about it which 1. seems like a good way to make folks worry and 2. I guess he forgot to send SHIELD that memo [12:58 PM] Wack'd: Hmmm. Not sure I like this

[12:58 PM] Wack'd: Also Raiders had like just come out which is weird to think about [12:58 PM] Umbramatic: ben is cosplaying [12:59 PM] Wack'd: He's cosplaying a Mightey Whitey character for an Africa trip which. There are worse options I guess [12:59 PM] Umbramatic: oh [01:00 PM] Umbramatic: that did not sink in at first [01:00 PM] Wack'd: We're still doing huts and loincloths, huh? I am increasingly wondering when he Afrofuturism kicks in and we get a Wakanda that's less...this

[01:01 PM] Umbramatic: ...same [01:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Not until black people start writing for Black Panther. [01:01 PM] Wack'd: (Probably once Black people get a crack at writing it tbh--yeah [01:01 PM] Wack'd: Also: did Bryne change Ben back to a lump for the sole purpose of justifying let's-you-and-him-fight bits [01:02 PM] Wack'd: Because if so that's...actually pretty clever [01:04 PM] Wack'd: Anyway the Four + Frankie go undercover as a safari complete with pith helmets and fatigues. Which always feels more like cosplay than realism when fictional characters do it no matter what the era [01:04 PM] Wack'd: Like when characters from the American south wear white suits. I always assume it's something that got come by thirdhand even though who knows maybe it's a thing [01:05 PM] Wack'd: Well something’s up

[01:07 PM] Wack'd: Hm. The implication that Wakanda has gotten less superstitious because of Europeans is certainly gross!

[01:08 PM] Wack'd: The Four get a closer look and find some Russians had also been investigating. Operative word being "had" because they're all skeletons now [01:08 PM] Bocaj: No telling where the meat ran off to [01:09 PM] Wack'd: No telling indeed [01:10 PM] Wack'd: No sooner do they start investigating than the team are ambushed by a squad of folks in gold-and-red Roman centurion cosplay. Not wanting to blow their cover, the team lets themselves get taken hostage, but Sue turns invisible before she's noticed so the team has an advantage if things need to pop off [01:10 PM] Umbramatic: spooky scary [01:11 PM] Umbramatic: what's with all the fucking cosplay this issue [01:11 PM] Wack'd: The team are led through a mountain stocked with Kirby-esque tech and led out the other side to:

[01:12 PM] Umbramatic: well [01:12 PM] Umbramatic: when in rome [01:13 PM] Wack'd: You know when I asked when the writers will realize Wakandans should probably have some degree of advanced architecture and whathaveyou this is not what I had in mind [01:14 PM] Wack'd: Frankie knows how to deal with sexual harassers and also racists

[01:14 PM] Umbramatic: good [01:14 PM] Wack'd: ...god I hope the guy under that helmet is white because if this isn't deliberate I'm gonna go apeshit [01:15 PM] Wack'd: ......unless I guess a white guy saying that doesn't necessarily mean the white guy writing it is deliberately writing a racist, considering *gestures at Wakanda's whole deal* [01:15 PM] Bocaj: I hope this isn’t nova roma [01:15 PM] Bocaj: That’s supposed to be in South America and also they tend to wear black face [01:15 PM] Bocaj: Not Claremont’s finest hour [01:16 PM] Wack'd: Does the name Gaius Tiberius Augustus Aggrippa mean anything to anyone. Also does it mean anything period, like, is that actual Latin [01:16 PM] maxwellelvis: It's just nouns [01:17 PM] Umbramatic: it sounds like a lot of emperor names mashed together and also that [01:17 PM] Bocaj: It sounds like all Roman names because there were only like twenty names and every Roman used every so far one [01:17 PM] Bocaj: Caligula’s real name was Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus [01:18 PM] Wack'd: Having lost the element of surprise Reed orders an ambush but GTAA manages to neutralize their powers. Including Sue's, which, how'd he even know she was there, c'mon [01:18 PM] Bocaj: Boo [01:18 PM] Umbramatic: boo [01:18 PM] Wack'd: It is time now for the traditional sequence in which the entire team is locked up and has to escape [01:19 PM] Bocaj: It sure happens to them a lot [01:19 PM] Bocaj: You’d think Mr Miracle was a fantastic four member at this rate [01:19 PM] Phantom: Hmm it's interesting how much I associate Latin with species names [01:20 PM] Wack'd: It turns out the deception vis-a-vis Black Panther was just the ol' Queen Amidala gambit. T'challa gets in a Batman boast about how you can't neutralize his powers because his powers are just having worked out a lot [01:20 PM] Umbramatic: MUSCLES [01:21 PM] maxwellelvis: This was before the Heart-Shaped Herb was a thing? [01:21 PM] Wack'd: T'Challa has been put in a slave gally because of course. Reed and Frankie are shackled in dungeons to the ceiling. Sue....has been stripped naked and left in a lavish bedroom [01:21 PM] Umbramatic: ...oh [01:21 PM] Phantom: of course [01:22 PM] Wack'd: GTAA has had "games called in [her] honor" which I assume means Gladiator. Maybe he'll surprise us by being big into baseball, who knows [01:22 PM] maxwellelvis: What are the odds that Byrne actually knows what gladiator games were like? [01:22 PM] maxwellelvis: I'm guessing not very good. [01:22 PM] Umbramatic: GTAA is really into esports [01:22 PM] Wack'd: Middling to low [01:23 PM] Wack'd: T'Challa tries to break Frankie out of her cell by just being like "hey, I'm your king, knock off this fuckery" but the guards aren't having it [01:23 PM] Bocaj: “You can’t neutralize my powers” is a weird flex when you get caught anyway [01:23 PM] Wack'd: Yeah [01:24 PM] Wack'd: GTAA decides to exposit his backstory to Sue [01:26 PM] Bocaj: I like to imagine that she makes the blah blah gesture while he talks [01:26 PM] Wack'd: He was an ancient Roman soldier sent to investigate a "falling star" which, of course, was actually an alien spaceship. He managed to dispatch its sole occupant and steal their armor, which imparted to him great smartitude [01:26 PM] Bocaj: Sure, of course [01:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Aaarrgh! No! Not another Prester John! [01:27 PM] maxwellelvis: John Byrne, have you no decency at all, sir?! [01:27 PM] Wack'd: By the time he got back his platoon had pulled out of the region for reasons unknown so he did what anyone from another culture with superior force and no mandate does when stranded across borders and take up dictatorship as a hobby [01:28 PM] Wack'd: So, uh. [01:28 PM] Wack'd: There are some...coloring discrepancies...in this book [01:29 PM] Umbramatic: oh [01:29 PM] Wack'd: I glossed over a panel with a Black Frankie Raye because, uh, I didn't really have a good joke about it, frankly [01:29 PM] Wack'd: But it seems instructive because there are two flashback panels where GTAA is colored Black and then a further three where he's a white guy [01:30 PM] Bocaj: In fairness [01:30 PM] Bocaj: That is in character for a Roman [01:30 PM] Bocaj: The dictatorship as a hobby I mean [01:31 PM] Wack'd: Dude has gone increasingly mask-off, racism-wise--during his backstory he boasts about rendering all his subjects mute because their language offended them and trying to teach them Roman was a bust because he still hated their "gibbering monkey voices" [01:31 PM] Wack'd: So, uh, I guess we'll see if this issue ends with An Aesop [01:31 PM] Bocaj: .... [01:31 PM] Umbramatic: wow dude [01:32 PM] maxwellelvis: He... DOES know there were black people in Rome, right? [01:32 PM] Wack'd: Bryne? I mean it's the 80s [01:32 PM] maxwellelvis: Either or [01:32 PM] Wack'd: Most pop culture assumed every country had monoracial societies in The Past until like ten years ago [01:33 PM] Bocaj: Not that rome wasn’t racist to anyone not from rome but [01:33 PM] Wack'd: You can pin a lot on Bryne but "yeah of course Romans were all white" is pretty on par [01:33 PM] Wack'd: Oh also GTAA deliberately named himself after Caligula so there's that settled [01:33 PM] Bocaj: Sure [01:34 PM] Umbramatic: so we can stop calling him Grand Theft Auto Anarchy [01:34 PM] Bocaj: We don’t have to [01:34 PM] Wack'd: Anyway GTAA wants Sue as his bride and if she refuses he will force Johnny and Ben to fight [01:35 PM] Wack'd: ...to the death, not like usual [01:35 PM] Bocaj: Ha [01:35 PM] Bocaj: It’d be funny if she was like “oh is it Tuesday already?” [01:35 PM] Wack'd: *long, deep sigh*

[01:36 PM] Wack'd: Thankfully Sue's immediately like "his powers come from his helmet, right? All I gotta do is take the helmet off" [01:37 PM] Wack'd: Turns out that helmet granted lots of powers [01:37 PM] Wack'd: Like immortality for him and his subjects [01:37 PM] Wack'd: And structural integrity for his city [01:37 PM] Wack'd: And the suppressive effect on the Four's powers [01:38 PM] Wack'd: Aaaaaaaaand there's no ontological inertia [01:38 PM] Umbramatic: ._. [01:38 PM] Wack'd: So just by taking the helmet off GTAA and all his slaves immediately die and the city crumbles [01:38 PM] Bocaj: Of course [01:38 PM] Wack'd: Kind of a bum deal for the people who spent twenty centuries in servitude [01:39 PM] Wack'd: "WE'RE FREE!" 💀 [01:39 PM] Bocaj: Sue: “well that’s the most people I’ve ever killed at once” [01:39 PM] Umbramatic: F [01:40 PM] Bocaj: “I never wanted to be dead, Surfer. Frankly, I only died out of peer pressure” [01:40 PM] Wack'd: And so everyone escapes, Reed does an exposition dump, and the story immediately ends [01:40 PM] Bocaj: No moral? [01:40 PM] Wack'd: Nope [01:41 PM] Umbramatic: "don't wear funky alien helmets kids" [01:41 PM] Wack'd: So...maybe Bryne was just being racist. I mean it seems probable but also it goes waaaaaaay mask-off in a way I don't think even Bryne woulda thought acceptable [01:43 PM] Wack'd: Anyway I do not think I have time for another issue before I gotta leave for work. Perhaps when I return later this evening we will do the next story, which is about everyone's favorite established Four baddie [01:43 PM] Wack'd: Terrax the Untamed [01:43 PM] Umbramatic: :O [01:43 PM] Wack'd: Who despite being from the 70s and thus far more recent I still had to look up

#1982 #John Bryne #The Main Book

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freudensteins-monster · 4 years

Text

A Banner Reunion

A WinterShock follow up to A Banner Day. Set post Age of Ultron and Ragnarok, not really Civil War compliant, and there’s no Thanos or looming Infinity War. Also posted on AO3.

The first person Bucky Barnes met as he stepped off the last quinjet out of Wakanda was Darcy Lewis. She looked more uptight than her file photo would suggest (Bucky had read the files of all facility staff on the flight over, and Darcy’s maybe twice), and seemed to have taken Pepper Potts as her style icon. The wavy brown hair from her file photo was pulled back in a tight bun, and the colourful sweaters and jeans had been replaced by a sharp business suit and sharper heels.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes. I’m Darcy Lewis. I manage the upstate facility and act as the team’s PR manager. I’ll also be acting as a liaison between the facility, your legal team, and other interested parties. If you have any questions, day or night, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

She handed him a crisp white business card. Bucky took it with his shiny new Wakandan arm, noting a complete lack of reaction from Miss Lewis.

“Science Wrangler?” he read aloud.

“I have new ones on order,” she replied with a long-suffering sigh.

“Thank you, Miss Lewis,” he smiled, tucking the business card into his jacket pocket. “But all I really want to know right now is which way to the mess hall?”

Miss Lewis smiled, but before she could respond Steve clapped him on the shoulder and led him away for a second breakfast.

Over the next couple of weeks he received dozens of updates via Miss Lewis from his legal team about their attempts to have him cleared of all charges relating to the crimes he committed as the Winter Soldier (and the few he committed after), but he never saw her outside of their meetings. Not in the mess hall, not at team movie nights, not even in passing. According to Steve she was drowning in work and pretty much lived in her office. She needed help but had refused to hire assistants, not trusting the vetting process with all the enemies the Avengers had accumulated.

Feeling guilty, and just a little too curious for his own good, Bucky went in search of her office. He heard her before he saw her. It sounded like she was having the argument of the century with a disgruntled voice that reminded him of his old drill instructor. He was going to leave her to it and try again later when he heard his name being thrown about. He crept closer, keeping out of sight of Darcy and the holograph she was arguing with.

“How can you stand there denying the dangers posed by enhanced individuals when you’re harbouring the fugitive James Buchanan Barnes, the most prolific assassin in living memory?”

Bucky winced but Darcy narrowed her eyes at the hologram and stood her ground.

“Sergeant Barnes’ location is not a secret, nor is he a fugitive. He surrendered himself to the Wakandan authorities and per the agreement his legal representation made with the US government - which you’re well aware of, I remember how much you bitched about it in the press - he is on house arrest at this facility until his trial commences, if it ends up going ahead at all. And if you think he’s going to give up what little freedom he has now and could have in the future and sign this joke of a document, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Her opponent sneered. “Last I checked, Miss Lewis, you weren’t a lawyer.”

“Not yet, anyway. But I did pass my Civics 101 class, and I watched a lot of SchoolHouse Rock! as a kid: This is not a bill, or a law, or an official policy of the US Government. Even if it gets ratified by the UN, you cannot enforce it as it goes against the Constitution and violates a US citizen’s 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendment rights.”

“Wanda Maximoff-“

“-is a dual Sokovian-US citizen; I made sure of it. And if you can somehow round up a bunch of asshole commandos willing to enforce this PR nightmare to appease your bruised ego, the governor of New York - who gifted this land to the Avengers - and all his friends on Capitol Hill are going to have something to say about it. Especially after the so-called World Security Council tried to nuke his hometown while the Avengers were risking their lives to save his constituents from aliens. So,” she continued, tossing the intimidated stack of paper aside and waiting for it to hit her desk with a satisfying thump before continuing, “until you can put together something less offensive than this pile of crap, we don’t have anything more to talk about.”

“Listen here you little-“

“Sorry Thad, you’re breaking up. I think your country club is going through a tunnel.”

Darcy disconnected the holographic video call with a wave of her hand and fell into the closest chair with a dramatic groan.

“Wow…” Bucky remarked, stepping into her office. “I take it we don’t like that guy.”

“We really don’t like that guy,” Darcy concurred, tossing her heels across the room in irritation.

“What’s his deal?”

“General Ross’ deal is that he wants all the power. And since superheroes have lots of power he wants them, preferably conscripted into service of the US government or locked up in a submersible military black site paid for with taxpayer dollars that he thinks I don’t know about. He’s been this way ever since Bruce’s accident.” At Bucky’s lack of recognition she continued, “Bruce was trying to replicate the supersoldier serum for the US Military, reporting to General Ross. Things went boom, Bruce turned into the Hulk, escaped Ross’ clutches and went on the run. Under the guise of bringing the Hulk in, Ross approved another human trial of the supersoldier serum. He ended up creating what the media dubbed as “the Abomination” – twice the rage of the Hulk, none of the ability to reconnect with his humanity. And while Bruce was forced to go back into hiding for the next five years for his part in destroying Harlem, General Ross didn’t even get knocked down a rank. The bastard shouldn’t be able to breathe in DC’s direction, let alone have a hand in policing “enhanced individuals,” so naturally he makes a perfect choice for Secretary of State,” she scoffed.

Bucky watched her for a moment before reaching out to help her up from her chair. “You look like you could use a drink. C’mon, I’m buying.”

“Dude, it’s like 10am,” Darcy argued, but took his hand regardless.

Two floors down and one building over in the facility cafeteria Bucky watched on with barely disguised amusement as Darcy made love to her Mocha Frappuccino.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff.”

She’d put on some flats and discarded her jacket before leaving her office, and once they were seated and waiting for their drinks she set her glasses down on the table and took down her hair.

Bucky loved the way she smiled when she was able to let go of the stress of her job, even if it was only for a moment, so he did what he could to give her more of them. Tuesday morning coffee breaks became a regular occurrence, and if she missed dinner Bucky would check in on her to make sure she took a break and ate something. Eventually he asked her to schedule all their meetings and anything to do with his legal issues as her last tasks of the day, that way if she was snowed under and running late he had an excuse to invite her to join him for dinner afterwards. He was working up the nerve to ask her to dinner without the pretense of work when the Asgardians arrived.

Steve stood beside him, watching as the huge ship landed just beyond the facility's - and Bucky’s - boundaries.

“So it’s true?” Darcy asked, out of breath from the short run from the administration building. “He’s really back?”

“Yeah, Thor’s back. You were there when he crash landed the first time, right?” Steve asked.

“She tased him,” Bucky informed him with a smirk. “I read the report.”

“Yeah, I totally tased him. And introduced him to Pop-Tarts. But I also lost him in the breakup – it’s been, like, almost two years since I last saw him.”

It didn’t stop her waving like a lunatic the moment Thor ambled down the spaceship’s ramp, a small village worth of people following close behind him.

“Oh, this is going to be so much paperwork…” Darcy muttered as the god caught sight of them.

“My friends! Lady Darcy!!”

“Thor! What the hell happened to your eye?” she asked when he wrapped her up in one of his godly hugs.

“It’s a long story, lightning sister.”

“Did you bring all of Asgard with you?” Steve asked as he and Bucky watched the strangely dressed visitors make the most of the sunshine and soft grass.

“As many as we could save,” Thor admitted somberly. “I know that their arrival will cause some problems for your world’s governments but any aid you could provide my people in our time of need would be gratefully appreciated. A new homeland, perhaps?” he added, managing to do pretty decent puppy dog eyes even with only one good one.

“I’ll make some calls,” Darcy offered, flashing Thor an indulgent smile.

“Thank you, my lightning sister. And for your efforts, I have brought you a souvenir.”

“Space souvenir? Cool!”

“Aye, very cool,” he smirked, putting a hand around her shoulders and directing her gaze to where a man wearing psychedelic monk robes was trying to make his way through the crowd of Asgardians.

Darcy’s expression fell and Bucky almost rushed to her side.

“Bruce?”

At the sound of his name the man looked up and regarded Darcy sheepishly.

“Hey, bunny.”

“Bruce!!” Darcy was off like a shot, shoes abandoned in the grass as she all but threw herself on the new arrival. “What the hell happened to you? I hacked everyone trying to find you but not even Phil had eyes on you. Why didn’t you call me!” she cried, hugging him so tightly Bucky was worried the guy might not be able to breathe.

“I’m so sorry Darcy. I was stuck in Hulk mode up until a couple of days ago. He was like a gladiator on this trash planet in the outer reaches of the universe. It was crazy.”

“Not as crazy as these clothes, dude,” she teased with a sniffle, tugging on the gold vestments.

“Yeah, they’re a lot. But I had to Hulk out again on Asgard and these were the only spare clothes lying around on the spaceship. Oh, I gotta introduce you to some new friends,” he exclaimed excitedly, leading Darcy back towards the spaceship.

Bucky watched her go, his heart breaking at the sight of her reuniting with her fella. She’d mentioned Bruce a few times, but he hadn’t realised they had been an item. Maybe, since he’d apparently disappeared on her, it had been too painful for her to talk about. Bucky left Steve and Thor to organise the SHIELD agents that had descended to deal with the alien incursion, and left Darcy to her reunion.

In the weeks that followed Bucky hardly saw Darcy at all. She was spearheading talks with the Norwergian government to establish New Asgard within their borders and spent the rest of her time managing the needs of the refugees who had set up a temporary camp in the field where they landed. She was also fending off demands for the arrest of Thor’s brother, who apparently was more hated and feared than the Winter Soldier was.

In an effort to reduce her workload Bucky had offered to deal with his legal team directly, even though he hated how they talked down to him when giving him updates. But it made Darcy’s life easier so he took it on, often bringing Steve in on their conference calls to act as a buffer when he felt he was close to snapping at one of his condescending but very, very good lawyers.

Now that he had no reason to bother Darcy he saw her even less than when he first arrived, though he did hear that Bruce had dragged her out of her office once or twice for a late dinner. They never seemed as touchy feely as they had when they were first reunited and they hadn’t spent any time alone together behind closed doors (not that he’d checked security footage). Maybe they weren’t together any more - a lot can happen in two years, Bucky mused. Maybe Bruce had moved on - he was always gushing about that intimidating and frequently drunk Valkyrie woman. Or maybe, Bucky hoped against hope, Darcy had. The question was keeping him up at night, and since Darcy was too busy to be bothered with his insecurities he sought out the famous Dr Bruce Banner.

Bucky found him a few days later, after another postponed coffee date, in one of the facilities labs, looking over some holographic schematics.

“Sergeant Barnes, it’s nice to see you again. What can I do for you?” Bruce greeted with a smile.

“I’m not interrupting?” he asked, gesturing at the complicated calculations.

“Not at all. It’s just a project Tony wants a second opinion on. It’s his way of saying “I missed you too,” he jested.

Bucky bit the bullet. “It’s about Darcy.”

“What about her?”

“I just… I feel like a real shitheel asking, but I gotta know; are you and Darcy together?”

“Together like…”

“Dating. Are you dating?”

Bruce’s eyes almost bugged out of his skull. “Did Tony put you up to this?”

“Stark and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms,” Bucky admitted.

“And Darcy never mentioned me? She said you two had been hanging out a lot before she got sidetracked with all the Asgardian refugee drama.”

“She mentioned you plenty. She just never mentioned that two of you were an item.”

“And she also never mentioned that I’m her father, I take it,” Bruce replied with a smirk.

“...What?”

“I’m her biological father. I am not dating her,” Bruce reiterated. “But I take it you want to?” he teased.

“Uh… yes?” he winced after his brain came back online after processing this new information. “Did you not want me to? I would understand,” he murmured, gesturing vaguely at his shiny new arm as though his bloody history was written on the metal plates.

“I don’t get to have a say in the matter,” Bruce remarked, not unkindly, as he returned most of his attention back to the glowing calculations. “and I’m kind of the last guy who should be giving you grief over things you did when you weren’t in full control of yourself. Besides, you’ve probably known her longer than I have at this point.” He smiled sadly at Bucky’s confused expression. “The first time I met Darcy was when she and Jane moved into Tony’s tower. She told me I was her biological father about two weeks later. Before that moment, I hadn’t even known I had a daughter. We had maybe three months of getting to know each other, eating takeout in my lab once a week, and then Ultron happened. I quite literally disappeared off the face of the earth. I come back, and she’s all grown up and practically running the world,” he laughed. “She’s also crushing pretty hard on a certain supersoldier, in case you were wondering.”

“Yeah, well, Steve is pretty cute I guess,” Bucky mused, ducking his head to hide the blush in his cheeks behind his hair.

Bruce smiled. “Ask her out, Sergeant.”

Bucky delivered a Mocha Frappuccino to Darcy’s office that night and asked her to have dinner with him whenever she found the time. She blushed something fierce as she said yes, and Bucky committed the image to memory.

A month later they were officially a couple, but with Darcy’s crazy workload and his looming trial they were taking things slow. He’d only kissed her goodnight a couple of times but he’d stopped resisting the urge he had to wrap Darcy up in his arms the second she was off the clock.

He was indulging in said urge the night of the Asgardian farewell party - the Norwegian deal had gone through pretty quickly all things considered, and Thor and the last of the Asgardians were heading out to New Asgard in the morning - when Tony Stark made his trademarked grand entrance. He had barely taken two steps out of his latest Iron Man suit when he pointed a finger in their direction.

“What’s the murderbot doing with his murderarm around my niece?”

“I’m not your niece, Tony,” Darcy called over everyone else's scolding.

“What are you talking about? Bruce is your bio dad, I’m his science bro; you’re totally my science niece.”

Darcy giggled. “That’s not a thing, Tony. And to answer your totally offensive question; we’re dating.”

“No, I forbid it.”

“You don’t get to have an opinion.”

“Of course I do. Everyone loves hearing my opinions.”

“We really don’t,” Bucky heard Steve mutter into his beer.

“I don’t want to hear them, Tony. I’m a big girl and I make my own choices.”

“You make terrible choices,” Tony mumbled petulantly.

“I tell Pepper the same thing all the time,” she teased.

“How dare you!” Tony gasped, feigning offence. “Do I at least get to give the Russian menace the shovel talk?”

“No, no shovel talks. I don’t want you scaring him off.”

“If the Hulk didn’t scare me off, doll, nothing will.”

“Awww.”

“That’s not the way I remember it,” Bruce chimed in.

“Shut up,” Bucky retorted over Bruce’s chuckles. “Besides, I already got the shovel talk from Valkyrie. She takes her role as angry-mom very seriously.”

“Who’s Valkyrie? Wait, did you say mom?!” Tony squawked, turning to demand answers from Bruce.

“Hulk like angry girl,” Thor teased.

“Where is she? Is she here? I have to meet her.”

“Tony! Tony, stop. She went to New Asgard two days ago. No! Step away from the suit!”

As everyone one laughed at Bruce trying to keep Tony away from his suit Darcy leant in close, sending a shiver down Bucky’s spine as she whispered in his ear.

“How about I say goodbye to Thor and you walk me back to my room, Sergeant?”

Bucky smiled. “Whatever you want, doll.”

#a banner reunion #darcy lewis is bruce banner's daughter #not that bucky knows that #wintershock #darcy lewis/bucky barnes #darcy lewis #bucky barnes #bruce banner #thor #steve rogers #tony stark

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gh0sti3x-x · 5 years

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my view on Lucio's route

@ all the Lucio stans, are yall okay???? (Long rant ahead because yeah and some cursing if you're uncomfortable with cursing)

Anyways, I just decidedly (and impulsively) play Lucio's few updated chapters yesterday. And oh man, am I in fucking "love", and here's why: as someone who gets really intense with relationships, I tend to take things too quickly and I'm always a slut for affection. If someone shows me affection, I will fall very deeply in love. It doesnt really help that he just showers the apprentice with as much love and tender touches as possible (I spent all my God damn coins I had saved up for Muriel's next update just to be "loved" bro). As a Asra/Muriel/Julian stan, I really do feel guilty that I'm playing Lucio's route and decide to be a fucking slut. From the routes before, Lucio is always depicted as an asshole (esp. in Asra's and Muriel's, so much as to show he "killed" Asra's parents and forced Muriel to be a gladiator and forced him to kill just for Lucio's entertainment.) I always had a deep hatred for the goatman for making my babies lives a living hell.

Aside from this, they make him seem like such a good guy in his own route. And I got to thinking, did the devs to this on purpose to show how much of an egotistical asshole Lucio is by showing us how he views himself? He always praises and showers the apprentice with love when they first meet and basically fuck not a few chapters later. Is this to show that he's so much of a narcissist that he doesnt want the MC to view him as a bad man for all the shit he's done? Of course he's lonely! But he's lonely for a damned good reason!!

Comparing Lucio to a certain person I know is like them looking at eachother in a mirror (might I add that this person really hurt a friend of mine so fucking bad. Then there's the group's dumbass to go and defend him)! They both caused harm to the people we care about, they both have pity parties because boohoo I fucked up and now I'm all alone!, and they both always try to blame others for their own problems or for the fucking choices they made/make!! And there's some choices in there that always defend Lucio/have his back and tell him he didnt do anything wrong when everyone else around know differently. This is what fucked me up the most the more I thought about it. Because he shows a different side to MC, MC is more vulnerable to be taken advantage of and turn MC against everyone. (Now that I'm adding this last part, I could theorize this is how the reversed ending could go: Lucio manipulating MC to turn against their friends.)

And as someone who tends to give love away way too easily, Lucio can take advantage of an MC like this. An MC who is very much so generous and selfless with their love. Because as one like this, we dont usually get the same amount of love we gave away. So when someone comes into our lives and call us sweet names and shower us with gifts and hugs and shit, we technically devote our selves to them! With someone vulnerable from having so much heartbreak, Lucio can take advantage of that. Do you think he really loves the MC? I feel like he's just taking advantage of MC's help and would leave them laying on the Lazaret if it meant getting into more power again and getting his own body back.

As much as I really like all the affection in his route, I cant shake aside how much of an asshole Lucio is. He always gets so jumpy and nervous when you ask him to admit his wrongs. He tries to change the subject and try to make you believe he's a good person who's just so misunderstood! (*cough* just like our dumbass friend who just went up and straight up went out with this dude, not being fucking considerate of our friends feelings!)

In a way, I'm kind of shitting on Lucio's route (and maybe some hardcore stans) because he's just so comparable to a narcissist and a fucking perpetrator! And that's what he technically is, admitting it or not.

What broke my heart the most when playing Lucio's route is the way Asra had responded:

As much as he didnt/doesnt want MC binding themselves with blood magic to Lucio, he still cares about the MC's feelings. Asra basically fucking admits he feels guilty for not watching out for the MC!! He blames himself because he cares about MC going out with Lucio McFuckface. (I'm getting angrier by the minute as I talk about how much of an asshole Lucio is.)

Lucio always blames Asra for not being there when he needed him, always disappearing when he needed him. Lucio is a grown fucking man, he doesnt need to be a bitch baby to Asra. Lucio always takes the opportunity and chance when given just to blame Asra. Got lost in the spiritual world? Oh, it's Asra's fault for dragging us here!! There's a wyrm chasing us through the forest because I didnt keep up my end of the deal (mind you, he sacrificed his OWN dad's heart and almost had his mom's)? It's probably Asra who sent him to kill us!! The devil's chasing after us because, again, I'm a dumb bitch baby who couldnt keep my end of the deal AGAIN?? Damn you, Asra for tricking me into thinking it'd be easy to get a body for me!!

I should probably end my ranting here before it gets even more lengthy and I break my God damn phone.

#love #the arcana #the arcane game #lucio x apprentice #the arcana asra #asra alzanar #asra x apprentice #bro im just so.... aside from the coming from Lucio.... im so god dman worked up

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nothing-personal-my-dear · 6 years

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Spartacus: Vengeance Rewatch - Episode 1: Fugitivus

Sex Scene: All of them. They went to a whorehouse.

“Cock”: 4

“Cunt”: 2

“Kill Them All”: 0 (I wonder if this is said at all in S2 or 3)

“Fucking Gaul”: 3

Slow motion Face Punch:0

Episode Name Dropped by: Aurelia

Memorable Death: Aurelia

Favourite Line: “We must stand as one, or fall divided.”

- This is the greatest way they could have introduced the new Spartacus actor. It was amazing.

- Spartacus facing down that horse is beautiful.

- AGRON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- DONAR!! =]

- He’s still throwing his bloody sword.

- I love that Donar has this axe thing, it’s awesome and sets him apart from the other gladiators.

- This beginning fight scene is so well done.

- Agron oh gosh. He’s so angry, so crazed by his grief. Everyone is so wary of him, but like he lost his brother. My poor baby.

- “I believe the man dead.” – the moment I fell in love with Donar and his bromance with Agron.

- I can always rely on Agron to say “cock”

- Spartacus has never really been a savage until right now when he carves a message into a dead guy’s chest. Seriously, wtf.

- I’m so in love with Agron’s necklace.

- Ha! Rome, it looks like it’s still being built. That’s hilarious.

- Pompey mention!

- What is with all those masks?! How fucking creepy.

- “Where youth plummets, maturity may soar.”

- As someone who hasn’t ever paid any interest in wars, all this undoubtedly historically accurate war talk is super boring.

- Everyone under the sun is named Marcus

- Varinius!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh man, seriously. Just, Brett Tucker is an Aussie actor that has been in basically everything! I can’t take him seriously.

- AND HE FUCKING SAID MONGRELS!

- Seriously this triangle between Ilithyia, Varinius, and Glaber is basically the entire subplot of S2.

- The one thing I get super bored of in Spartacus is men and their egos.

- Mira is literally in the sewers and she’s still a queen.

- Oh hey, the Veteran!

- The kid that says “I will kill many Romans” looks like Tyler Lockwood from Vampire Diaries.

- You can actually see Mira’s face fall when Aurelia comes into view. Like she knows that when Aurelia is around Spartacus can see no one else. It’s not a romantic thing, it’s a Varro thing.

- Agron and Donar bromance, I love it. Almost makes up for Duro’s death, almost.

- The Gauls are mostly comprised of New Zealanders – just an observation.

- I sometimes can’t believe that the gladiators treat the house slaves so poorly and sometimes don’t seem to give a fuck about any slaves still in chains.

- “Rabbits” - I still don’t understand this.

- Oh, Acer.

- Yessss Mira!!!!!

- Oh the showdown between the Gauls and the rest of the slaves is so intense and beautifully done.

- I really like that even with the new actor they still put all the same scars on him. Good job.

- Oh gosh. Mira loves Spartacus so much…..and S2 Spartacus clearly cares for her way more than he did in S1, but still. She deserves better.

- “I have proven troublesome to kill.”

- Gah, the thing with Spartacus in S2 is he cares more about killing Romans than protecting the other slaves. At least Mira and even Agron are there to pick up the slack.

- “I hear you wish to command my men.” – when I first heard this I thought it very antagonistic, like the fractions were splitting apart. But it’s more of Spartacus being the head honcho, and Crixus being a General that leads his own fraction but still reports to Spartacus. Warfare is not my thing but I’m learning.

- Yeah, because a curtain is going to give you so much privacy. Everyone can still hear you guys.

- “Did his blood bear fruit?”

- Trebius! Ah!

- Arena games!!! Oh how I miss you!

- Seppia really freaking frustrates me. She is so childish and has no idea the kinds of games she’s playing. She’s a fool.

- Seppius and Seppia are fucking right? That’s what they’re implying? A whole bunch of incest? I wanna hate it but I can see it.

- I don’t understand how the gladiator fights could be boring? Or how Batiatus’ gladiators could have made it more entertaining? You’re still watching two dudes kill each other.

- I haven’t even watch Star Wars but Oenomaus in that cloak gives me Jedi vibes.

- That guy in the alley gives me Pirates of The Caribbean vibes.

- On one hand whenever I see Oenomaus I’m like “Don’t hurt this precious baby.” But then again “Hell yes baby you kick their asses!”

- Holy shit!!!!!!!!!!! Arm bone through the skin!!!!!!! Shit! Knife through the eye!!!!! Ah! Right through the jaw!!!!! Oenomaus is such a badass!

- Aurelia talking about how much she wants to go back to Janis. Well, you shouldn’t have left him in the first place! Her pride was as foolish as any man’s.

- “That lopsided grin. Eye’s promising mischief. I’ve seen in many times, upon his father.” –seriously my shipper heart. Spartacus loved Varro, it’s canon.

- “I fell to love the crooked bend of Varro's lips long before the man himself.” “As did I.” – IT’S MOTHERFLIPPING CANON I TELL YOU.

- I mean Spartacus can be a kind man when he wants to. He’s just very single minded.

- Gotta give their art department props. Having a fake pregnant woman be naked, and it look real….like damn, they deserve a pat on the back.

- I am loving Ilithyia’s purple gown thing though, wowzah.

- Marcus Crassus mention again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- “She was a fucking bitch” – I find that fucking hilarious.

- Agron said bleat! Goat reference! My shipper heart!

- Wow, Spartacus said “whores” somehow that’s more shocking than anything else on this show.

- I love Agron’s loyalty to Spartacus but I wish Spartacus would see it too. In this season and the next he kind of treats Agron like crap.

- “You had me at whores.” – I love Donar.

- “Avoid unnecessary risk.” Sparty, baby, do you realise who you talking to?!

- Loving the idea of Mira, Donar, and Agron planning behind Spartacus’ back. These are the people who want to protect the other slaves, not spend every day covered in Roman blood.

- “As are all things, in pursuit of a woman.” Gotta love the salty gay trope. Agron pulls it off swimmingly.

- “I will tell Janis of you. Of the man who loved his father above all others.” CANON. I really didn’t ship Spartacus and Varro this much the first time around.

- “I gave my word. Blood and Honour. It yet speaks to the man.” as said in S1.

- Gladiators in hoods is everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Woman with a massive dildo fucking a dude. Yep.

- Oh! I think this is the first penis shots we’ve had in a while.

- Guy on Guy sex. Well then. So much gay sex in this series, it’s glorious.

- The four guys throwing the girl around makes me super fucking uncomfortable, especially when you can hear her. She is so not enjoying this.

- Another memorable death = dude jerking off and just as he’s about to finish, gets a sword through his throat.

- It’s gotta suck so bad for all these guys that are dying with their dicks out. Especially that guy that got a sword right between the legs. Ouch.

- Never noticed but there’s a very very large woman in the whorehouse and a skinny guy on all fours in front of her. I’m so curious about what’s happening there.

- How many innocent body slaves died in this attack???

- Poor boy with cum all over his face.

- Trebius is so fucking disgusting. Peeing all over that girl.

- I get that this girl is probably horrendously traumatized but she really have to go and kill the only lead they had to Naevia.

- AGRON KICKING THE SHIT OUTTA TREBIUS COS HE SOLD HIM AND DURO TO BATIATUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahh my heart!

- I seriously hate Spartacus in this scene and it kind of tainted him for me. He’s telling Agron that he can’t kill Trebius as revenge for Duro, BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT SPARTACUS IS DOING WITH GLABER! He’s such a fucking hypocrite!

- Crixus sticking his hand inside Trebius’ gut is so gross.

- I get that Glaber is angry at Ilithyia but she clearly has some PTSD that is triggered by that house and he’s forcing her to stay there. Not cool.

- OVER THE CLIFF!! Yes Ilithyia!

- There’s no logical reason for that mask to be there, except to provoke memories.

- Flashback penis.

- I never noticed but Ilithyia has a really big mouth.

- I honestly thought the figure was gonna be Spartacus, I was so surprised to see Lucretia.

- Lucretia being out of her freaking mind is magical. All the props to the actress.

- “What fragments her shattered mind yet holds.”

- Seriously, the male ego.

- Old woman slave = headcanon that she ran the whole Battiatus household. Also, that young boy slave is super attractive, how has Agron not noticed this?!?

- “Grab your fucking cock.” – oh wait, maybe he has! Ha!

- Foreshadow of Agron not thinking house/body salves are worth much. Ahhhhhhh how wrong he shall be ;)

- “We knew this day would come” SPARTACUS YOU MADE THIS DAY COME, YOU WROTE A FUCKING MESSAGE! Gah!

- Angry little lost boy. Agron is my fave if you can’t already tell.

- “That is no longer my title.” – poor baby.

- “There is but one place for an animal without honour.”

- Singleminded Spartacus is one of my least faves.

- I love how they take Lucretia way back to the drought, to before Spartacus killed Theokoles.

- I really love how in this show they show woman with pubic hair, COS IT’S FUCKING NATURAL and women shouldn’t have to shave because society tells them to.

- “Smashed upon the cliffs.” – foreshadowing!

- Argh! This leaning back shit women do during sex scenes on tv annoys the hell outta me. That move is done purely for the male viewers. For the women doing it, it’s really fucking awkward.

- “You bark as a dominus.” “Sheep stand idle if not prodded by snapping jaw.” – I love Agron and Donar moments.

- “Let us compare teeth and have answer.” – they are basically talking about comparing dick sizes right?????

- Lucretia with dark hair and wearing a purple dress. Goddess.

- “Do not shed fucking tear.”

- Fucking love that Lucretia is the one to spot Spartacus.

- Seppius rolling his eyes at Glaber. Me too, bro, me too.

- Ah the foreshadow of Glaber and Seppia. Yuck.

- The rebels coming to Spartacus’ aid. I love their loyalty.

- Seriously Donar and his axe.

- Agron picking up Aurelia and throwing her over his shoulder. It’s hilarious because she is so freaking tiny compared to him, and also cos he’s super gay and doesn’t understand females at all.

- Lucretia and Crixus seeing each other again is super powerful.

- MIRA with a “fucking Gauls.” Did not see that coming.

- “Do any of us hold fucking worth to you?”

- Mira’s little rant to Spartacus is all well and good, but did she have to be mean to Agron.

- The Spartacus and Crixus bromance is strong in S2.

- VENGEANCE NAME DROP.

- Agron looks so little, so small and young. My baby.

- I still fucking hate Aurelia.

- I do love that Agron was willing to go and fight Glaber because of Aurelia, someone he didn’t even seem to like at all.Baby’s got a heart.

- THE BEGINNING OF THE REBEL ARMY!!!!!!!!!!!YAAAAAS!

#spartacus #spartacus vengeance #vengeance #spartacus rewatch #season 2 #2x01 #fugitivus #crixus #agron #spartacus agron #donar #mira #aurelia #lucretia #ilithyia #glaber #naevia

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grovyrosegirl · 7 years

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MCSM Countdown Day 8

Hiya everyone! Oh gosh can you guys believe we only have ONE MORE DAY until season 2? Crazy right? I just want to say that this has been my first time particpating in a countdown like this, and it’s been great! Everyone in the community have been making such great things, it’s so much fun. I know I don’t talk much and I’m not the most active blog, but being in this community has been a blast. And I really do appreciate all the feedback I get on my writing, it really means a lot to know people enjoy it! You guys are all so nice and amazing! I hope we all have even more fun with the arrival of the next season! Alright so enough of my rambling, here’s a little something I wrote for day 8 of the countdown. Today’s theme: A Journey’s End? I hope you enjoy!

After days of trying to get the bare minimum of sleep that was possible in between portals, Jesse thought a bed would be a blessing. And true, the soft mattress and warm blanket in the dormitories was a step up from the cold stone floor of the hallway, especially for her still sore back. Give Hadrian the smallest, most microscopic bit of credit that was even remotely possible to find, at least he’d given the prisoners still full of false hope something nice to sleep on. But she still couldn’t make herself fall asleep that easily.

Jesse turned over on her side, allowing her to catch a glimpse of her friends in the remaining beds nearby. All of them were fast asleep. Harper and Petra both lied on their backs, the ladder having tossed her bandana onto the floor. Lukas slept on his side, his blond hair a complete mess with frizz and out of place strands, probably from it being under his goggles for so long. Ivor appeared to have shifted sideways and kicked the covers off in his sleep, and his snoring filled the otherwise silent room. The fact that neither Petra or Lukas hadn’t woken up from it only proved how exhausted they were. Jesse didn’t blame them. She’d never felt so tired in her life.

The room they were in belonged to the former red team, according to Harper. The same team she had unintentionally eliminated from the games entirely during Spleef. Before the group went to sleep their first night here, they’d looked around the room. Jesse had felt a small painful sting in her chest when she’d uncovered some belongings left behind by the team, including an unfinished book, a couple of dandelions, and a cookie that someone on the team must’ve been saving. Judging from what she’s seen so far in this place, the Gladiators most likely shoved them all into the mines before even bothering to clean out the dorm.

Jesse looked over to Lukas again, something popping up in her memory. Right. Still had to find a way to get his journal back from Slab…

She turned over to the other side in the bed, her face now looking out a nearby window. A light snowfall was just ending. Some snowflakes were still stuck to the glass window before melting into water drops. Her drowsy eyes drifted to the Nether portal where Facemeat stood guard the other day. She felt her hand grip a corner of the pillow, as a voice in her head hissed a chilling reminder.

You mess up tomorrow, and that’s where you’re all getting thrown in.

The answer to this insomnia became clear. It wasn’t where she was sleeping. It was where other people were sleeping. Here she was in a warm building, tucked into a bed, and at the same time, her two best friends (and one unlucky bystander who happened to share the same name as someone she missed) were crammed in obsidian cages. Also at the same time, more people were stuck in the quartz mines. The Nether in her world was risky to just travel in, and from Lukas and Ivor’s descriptions, the Nether here was just as bad, if not worst. She shuddered at the thought that the miners might actually be forced to sleep in that inferno. Especially if that old urban legend about beds exploding in the Nether were true…

Jesse sat up and quietly let out a sigh, hugging her legs close to her. The slim hope that her speech encouraged the other competitors to rise up tomorrow wasn’t bright enough to put her thoughts to rest. She frowned and placed her palm against her forehead.

Oh sure, let’s tell them all that their idol who keeps them going is a fake. Nice job, idiot.

There were times where Jesse wanted to tell herself to shut up. This was one of them.

Deciding that some fresh air was her only chance of clearing her head enough to fall asleep, she stood up from the bed. Jesse tiptoed across the carpeted floor of the dorm room to the door. She slipped out into the dimly lit hallway, slowly as possible as to not wake up her friends, and closed the door behind her.

Jesse found herself on the third-floor balcony of the building. It was the highest one and gave her a decent view. The snowfall before had ceased, and the night sky was once again clear of clouds. She exhaled and watched the cloud of her breath dance around in the air as she rested her arms on the railing.

From the spot, she could see two of the Gladiators on patrol below. Although the two seemed far too immersed in a game of rock-shears-paper to notice her watching them. She glanced up ahead at the snowy landscape outside the walls of the Competitors’ Village. Seemingly it appeared to be completely untouched by any building, with the tall snow-covered pine trees, a crystal waterfall flowing into a frozen river, and a polar bear resting on a hilltop with her cub snuggled up next to her. Jesse couldn’t help but find it nice to look at, snow biomes were rare and far to travel to back home, if she wasn’t in the current predicament, she probably would’ve wanted to explore it a little more.

“Sup?”

The sudden voice in the quiet night caused Jesse to jump up slightly. To her surprise, it hadn’t come from behind her, but rather above her. She leaned back slightly to meet two blue eyes and blonde strands of beaded hair staring down at her from the rooftop, “Nell?”

“Jesse, dude!” She whispered excitedly, “Why didn’t you tell me you were a night owl? I would’ve invited you up here, like, way sooner!”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing up there?”

“Stargazing,” Nell extended out her hand, “wanna join the party?”

Jesse took a quick look back down, the two Gladiators now squabbling with each other about the other cheating in their round, and then back up at Nell, accepting the offered hand, “Sure.”

She climbed up the side, Nell now using both of her hands to pull her up. Jesse planted her feet firmly on the rooftop with a small oomph, as Nell released her and brushed off some snow next to an already clear patch. She looked up at Jesse with a grin and patted the empty spot next to her before lying flat on her back. Jesse moved to the spot, awkwardly trying to lie down in a comfortable position. The clear sky now full of stars, Jesse stared up.

“Don’t you get cold up here?” She asked Nell, whose eyes were glued on the sky.

The girl gave a shrug, “Meh, not really. These team uniforms are super toasty.”

Before Jesse could respond, Nell’s eyes lit up. She nudged Jesse’s arm and pointed upwards, “Check it out! My favorite one’s out tonight, Major Shovel!”

Jesse blinked, trying to connect the dots of the group of stars Nell pointed to. No matter which angle she tried, they didn’t seem to make a shovel, “I uh…didn’t know there was a constellation named that.”

“Oh well, I guess it’s not like an official one. I don’t actually really know the constellations that good, so I make up my own,” Nell explained. She directed Jesse back to the sky, her finger moving from spot to spot, “Okay, okay, so that’s Major Shovel, the Big Beetroot, Enderman Minor, the two crossed bones…”

She trailed on and on with different names. Jesse gave up trying to see the images in the sky, but smiled and nodded as Nell continued. The friendly green team member’s lighthearted antics were relieving in this environment. Just for a moment, Jesse could keep her mind off of everything weighing on her. At least until a realization entered her head. With all these constellations, made up or real, Nell remembered them all. Which just begged the question; how long had Nell been here?

“Oh,” Nell’s voice perked up, her finger stopping at a small cluster of stars, “I haven’t named that one yet.” She turned her attention back to Jesse, “You wanna give it a shot, brah?”

Jesse tilted her head up, “You want me to name it?”

“Yeah! You’re like, the first person who actually wanted to do this with me,” Nell explained. “Em and the others usually just tell me to go back to bed. I did get Herzog up here one time, but the dude fell asleep after five minutes.”

“Hey uh,” Jesse began, a look of uneasiness forming, “speaking of Em, how are things between you two? I mean, you know, after what happened in the race. Are you guys okay?”

Nell’s smile dropped, her gaze shifting away from the girl next to her and moving to stare at a nearby pile of snow, “Uh, yeah, I mean we’re not exactly cool with that thing she did, but like, I’m not really that mad. Don’t tell her I told you this, but I think Em’s more bummed about it than me,” Nell paused to let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “And I’m the one who almost fell into lava. So that’s saying something, I think.”

“Yeah?” was all Jesse could muster.

“Yeah,” Nell said with a nod, her voice became quieter, “Em’s not a bad dude, Jesse. She’s just, like what’s a good word? Tired, I guess. Majorly tired. She’s been here way longer than I have. And, don’t tell her I told you this either, I think there’s some bad blood with her and the Gladiators. They’re big jerks to everyone here, but Em, man do they like to pick on her.”

Jesse recalled the race just a few hours ago. Now that she thought about it, the Old Builders sure used that “Former Gladiator” title a lot. She didn’t doubt that Em could’ve qualified to be a Gladiator, seeing how the girl had been a powerhouse back in the few minutes she was Jesse’s “ally” during the race. But why in the world would Hadrian reduce someone that strong to a competitor? Or, now that Jesse was fully aware of how low the creeper-in-a-purple-suit would stoop, maybe the better question was; what did Em do that made him angry enough to make him want to do it?

Nell continued, “I think I just sorta figured that Em needs a friend. Someone’s who not gonna leave her. So I’ll be that brah to her.” Her blue eyes darted to the side as she quickly added, “Even if she does dunk me off a wall to my doom. Like I said before, I want to help people.”

A minute of pure silence came. Jesse couldn’t stop looking at Nell, who now tried to distract herself with the starry sky once more. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something in Nell that struck a chord in Jesse. She could’ve easily held a grudge against Jesse for the hostility she’d shown after thinking Lukas and Ivor were dead. Instead, she’d apologized and generously given Jesse access to her wheat stash. Perhaps, beneath the lax nature and strangeness, was a person who had the simple yet pure motivation of helping others just because it was the right thing to do. In an odd way, Nell felt like the girl that Jesse used to be. The girl that Jesse wished she could be again.

Looking back up the sky, Jesse raised her arm. She used her pointer finger to play connect the dots with the star cluster, finally making a shape out of it. After using her free hand to tap Nell on the shoulder, Jesse smiled and said, “That constellation right there? Let’s call it: the Mighty Pickaxe.”

The cheeriness returned to Nell’s expression as she glanced up, “I like it! Righteous, brah.”

Slowly the young leader sat up, moving to get up, “Well, I think I’m going to try and head back to bed. Thanks for everything, Nell.”

“Sure thing, dude. Tomorrow, we’re all so gonna be like Tim- wait, not real, right. We’ll be like…like…uh…” The blonde tapped her chin as she trailed off.

Jesse got back on her feet, “Look, I’ll be like me tomorrow, and you be like Nell tomorrow. Do that and I’ll know we’re going to win.”

“Kinda weirdly-worded, but sounds good,” Nell gave her a wave. “Night Jess.”

The ravenette returned the wave as she walked back to the edge of the roof. Before climbing back down onto the balcony, Jesse caught one last glance of Hadrian’s Palace, peering over the village like an eye built into the cliff. Her brows furrowed, knowing that he was lounging around while her two friends sat behind obsidian. She could picture the arrogant smirk he probably had right now, expecting Jesse to throw the match tomorrow so he could return to pulling the strings of this nightmare he called a game. She would prove him wrong. Oh so wrong. Jesse was no Tim. She was no Nell either. But she was Jesse, no matter what. And Jesse never goes down without a fight.

#mcsmcountdown #mcsmc day 8 #mcsm #mcsm spoilers #minecraft story mode #my fanfics #and I just realized this got really long than I thought it would OH GOSH

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wagooglet · 7 years

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TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OCS!!!!

ashdsjfs i’m so glad you want to hear about them..!!! i have two vague shitposts here + here- but i think it’s time i… (gently, i begin to sit down at a table) elaborate. under the cut cuz it’s kinda a lengthy read. :’D thanks for your interest!

All of this madness begins with an emo kid by the name of Yukio Tamotsu. Because he’s so emo and technically not a human, he likes to trot around and act like he’s big fucking shit. He grew up in a household which condoned violence, but.. uh, it doesn’t condone his actions. To put it in layman’s terms, he’s a complete nutcase. Yukio seeks for perfection (something he isn’t, cough cough), and takes it upon himself to make others perfect. He’s charming, at a glance- and uses his charm to lure people who he believes have a potential for perfection. This perfection he gets by.. hurting them. He scratches them up, burns them, cuts them, with the thought they’ll become ethereal beings in the end. Which never happens, considering that he’s torturing normal humans. As soon as he finds that they’ll never be his nonexistent standard of perfection, he decides to beat them up about it (physically and mentally), often to the point where they mentally submit to him (and he can possess them to let them be his like.. pawns.)

Enter Mikiko Orochi; a 19 year old man with ginger hair and a beaming smile. Naturally speaking, he isn’t perfect- but Yukio sees that potential in him. And.. uh, well, everything you think happens. Yukio tricks Mikiko into a friendship (Mikiko foolishly believes Yukio loves him), only to trap him in his house. Of course, since Yukio isn’t human, other forces have to interfere. About 9-10 months into the whole.. Mikiko.. snatchery, an outside force (my partner’s oc) confronts Yukio, kills him, and takes Mikiko from his possession. There’s something special about Yukio, though. His power (albeit, his only), has a regenerative ability. As many times as his conscience wills him, Yukio comes back. There’s a catch or two, however. One, you don’t come back the same. Meaning, your physical appearance is more dilapidated. Two, it’s an extremely painful process. Mikiko goes off to live with this man (the man that saved him, named Sig), while Yukio goes crawling back to his boss, in retrospect. That being Michael.

Michael’s an incredibly powerful, benevolent demon. Heir to the throne to a now fallen kingdom whiles back; he was trapped in a rock (yeah.. a rock. Mikiko’s pet rock, to be precise) for an innumerable amount of years. Of course, Yukio doesn’t have an actual job, but he looks up to Michael. Michael owns a large, ivory mansion and has plenty of space to house Yukio. He doesn’t like Yukio in the slightest, but he sees a potential in his power, thus keeping him around. Yukio whines, of course, and Michael doesn’t listen. Later on, Sig comes to meet with Michael, unbeknownst to him that Yukio’s there. Incredibly long story short, Yukio throws a temper tantrum (like he does, always), and Sig and Michael get married.

In a distant completely dictatorial kingdom, dubbed Thot Land: Home of Hoes, their judicial system is FUCKED. They have one person in charge (he is qualified for his job, though), and he uses his big eye to peer into people’s souls. His name’s Tony Bo Bony The Pizza Slut (Tony, for short), and he’s a judge. He uses his powers to peer into other’s souls and judge them. Pretty much, he can see into people’s memories, and sense the truth. With this, all verdicts are made PRETTY easily, right? Wrong. The king wants everything to himself, of course. As soon as Tony makes his verdict, he has to send it into the king to be verified. Most cases go with Tony’s verdict, however, almost all cases of treason are voted guilty, whether or not the suspect was proven guilty by Tony’s magic. So.. it’s shit and fuck over there. Tony has no friends, since they were the type to giggle about overthrowing the king. The King took this lighthearted banter seriously, and had all his friends hung (in front of Tony, because what good king wouldn’t?)

Respectfully.. this dude’s really promiscuous. The king, anyhow. Most anyone in the legal system is a succubus- and they use this to their advantage.

Yukio had kids. In case you were even wondering who’d bed with the damn guy, someone did, and he had two kids. With his ideology, you can tell that they did not turn out well. (i.e, making babies have fucking gladiator fights.) Of course, someone finally noticed, and during Yukio’s.. eternal punishment, he was taken by the king of demons™ to work as a maid. Nowadays, he spends most his time in a dog muzzle and a dress, working and being spat on by people he hurt. Karma sucks like a bitch.

Yukio has a brother named Jax. Nothing to note about him- he’s incredibly powerful (almost as powerful as Michael), but he doesn’t flaunt it a lot. Of course, Yukio killed him when they were children in a vain attempt to impress his father, so Jax was.. sent to work at an interdimensional Chili’s. Okay, so he isn’t actually at a Chili’s (it’s an inside joke), but he’s prying for a promotion. He spends most his time with another demon, and trying to make amends for his brother’s heinous acts against his children.

Oh, and meanwhile, Mikiko’s hit his damn growth spurt. He hasn’t seen a dear friend for about 11 years (cough cough, crush), so he goes to law school in hopes to be able to meet up with this person once more. And that takes up most the 11 years he’s vanished. He does meet up with the friend, things get gay. He’s an international prosecutor and my boy. is. beefy. He started working out in hopes to make himself stronger (physically, and mentally).

Oh, and there’s an awkward historian waving in the background. Nothing special about him. His name’s Riley and he has a really old cat. He’s awkward as fuck dude.

There’s also Atlas- a deity who turned out to be the king in the aforementioned kingdom Michael was supposed to rule. He floats around and acts like a TV announcer. He’s currently working with one of Yukio’s sons (Seth, the other named Laurent), to help the poor kid feel better.

that’s all! it took a while to write up, but there you have it! i know i forgot something, just ‘cuz there’s a lot, but a lot of the worldbuilding was done with my wonderful partner! i don’t have a lot of my ocs drawn, but you can see, like, four of them here, if you so desire. thanks a ton! i love talking about my ocs!

#this took a LONG time to write #chia.txt #ask #anonymous #ocs tag #oc tag #ocs

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