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let-me-love-you-loki · 4 years

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Planning Too Late

A/N: This came from a suggestion by @lakamaa12 and takes place six months after Y/N and the Bucks met.

Early March in Southern California was unusually overcast and crisp. I sat outside one of my favorite Riverdale coffee shops wrapped in a long sleeve thermal and a Young Bucks hooded sweatshirt, nursing a steaming double espresso between my fingers. My phone sat on the tabletop next to me, waiting.

I sat back and let out a sigh, just about ready to call it quits and head back to my apartment. My eyes closed for a moment and, when they opened, a face filled my vision. Bright blue eyes and a cheesy grin looked back at me. At first, I thought I’d scream. Then I laughed deep in my chest and sprang up from my chair.

Nick Jackson stood a few feet away. I took a long moment to look him up and down. He wore his favorite Clippers hat, his long light brown hair in a looped ponytail, a navy zippered hoodie, and a pair of plain black sweatpants with worn sneakers. He grinned wider and I practically ran at him, throwing my arms around him. Nick grabbed me with both arms around my back and picked me up. My legs locked around his waist and I hugged him as hard as I could.

“Oh, God, I’ve missed you,” I whispered as he held me tight. “I hate it when you guys are in Japan. I absolutely hate it.”

He laughed and put me on my feet. “You do just fine without us, Y/N, and you know it. Matt, on the other hand…”

I blushed at the mention of my boyfriend. The elder Jackson brother was dark where his brother was light. His eyes were so dark they sometimes seemed black. His hair was a thick curtain of deep brown that he often wore in a knot on the crown of his head. Matt kept a beard—or at the very least some impressive mutton chops—while Nick was always cleanshaven or sporting a day’s stubble.

Some people might think it was odd that I’d see my boyfriend’s brother before my boyfriend—particularly when they’d been gone for weeks at a time. But it wasn’t strange, not for me. Nick and I had been friends as long as I’d been dating Matt. I’d met them both on the same day, at the same time.

Plus, we were meeting for a very specific reason. Matt’s thirty-first birthday was coming up. And Nick and I had two days to put together a surprise party before the two of them left for another tour.

Nick sank down into the chair at my left and picked up my cup. He took a sip and made a disgusted face. He stuck his tongue out a couple times and gagged. Drama queen.

“What the hell is that?” he asked, shaking his head and practically hacking like a cat with a hairball.

I took my seat and grabbed the cup. Without a blink, I took a large sip of the bitter liquid. “That is a double espresso with cream,” I replied with a grin. “Matt got me started on them.”

Nick wrinkled his nose. “You should meet Kenny. He’s into Vietnamese coffee. It’s sweet. Ken drinks it like a fish, but Matt hates it.”

Nodding, I pulled the little moleskin notebook from the pocket of my hoodie. “Okay, no Vietnamese coffee,” I said dramatically before schooling my features. I moved closer so that we could talk. “Seriously, Nick… you know him better than anyone else. What kind of party would he want?”

***

Nick looked at the list on his notes app. Y/N had sent him a dozen things to pick up and order for his brother’s surprise birthday party. He thought back to those precious few hours where they sat at the table in the early spring air and talked. Sure, they’d talked about Matt, but Nick felt a little spark of warmth in his chest at the knowledge that he’d been the first one to see her. It was a petty sort of victory, one that made him burn with guilt, but he couldn’t help it. His moments with Y/N were precious and far between, and they were almost always coupled with Matt.

Shaking his head, Nick walked up and down the aisles of the party supply store. He glanced down at the list—white and green balloons, white and green streamers, white and green napkins, white plates—and picked items off the shelves. She hadn’t asked for it, but he grabbed a tank of helium and one of those felt boards with letters. He added a few fabric table cloths and a cupcake tower.

He hardly blinked at the final total, even though he hadn’t gotten a few things on Y/N’s list. As he carried the bags out to the Nissan, he caught sight of another shop in the strip mall. He stopped dead in the center of the street and smiled. It wasn’t quite what Y/N had sent him for, but it would pull the whole theme together.

And, more than anything, he knew it would make her smile. She would throw a wonderful birthday party for his brother, and she would be happy.

The bell jingled over the door as he stepped inside. He walked up to the counter and asked for the manager or owner. The woman who came up to meet him reminded him a little of his mom.

“I’m sorry to take up your time, and I know this is a weird request, but…”

***

“Oh, Nick,” I said, feeling tears burning in my eyes. Looking around the small space we’d rented, I couldn’t help but marvel at everything he’d done. What I’d hoped would be a fun party for us to spend time together before he dashed away to wrestle, Nick had turned into an amazingly themed birthday celebration for his brother.

Nick stood at my side with his hands tucked into his pockets. Sweat glistened along his hairline. He must have been working for hours to put everything together. I looked up at him, feeling my lips curve into a wide, bright smile.

“Well?” he asked, rocking back on his heels. He caught his bottom lip in his teeth and blushed.

I took another glance around. The tables had been draped in alternating green and white cloths. Little domed lids marched from one end of the tables to the other, held down with handfuls of individually wrapped minds. Along the side of the room, a pair of tables had been set up with the food. They were both draped in green cloths. On the wall behind them, a set of alternating green and white streamers hung from a cluster of balloons. One held sandwiches, vegetable and fruit trays, and other finger foods. The other had been decked out with desserts.

A felt board sat in the center, the letters arranged on the surface to read Frappe 31st Birthday, Matt! A cupcake tower was already set and filled with chocolate cupcakes iced in green or white buttercream. Clear plastic cups sat in neat rows next to the cooler filled with ice and drinks. White paper cups were filled to brimming with caramel popcorn mixed with chocolate candies.

And everything was emblazoned with the Starbucks logo.

“How did you manage this?” I gasped, running my fingers over the felt board. “How did you even think of this?”

Nick grinned, his eyes going bright. “I picked up the stuff from the party store, and there was a Starbucks right there. I went in and told the manager what we were doing. Since it wasn’t a whole lot, she gave it to me pretty cheap.”

I turned toward him and stretched onto my toes. It didn’t matter that he was sweating. He had done so much to make this party perfect for Matt, and I couldn’t help but be grateful. I put my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“You’re amazing, Nick! This is…” I blinked back tears again. “Matt’s going to love this.”

***

Nick walked at Matt’s side. His brother was frustrated. It was their last night before they had to fly out for another two or three weeks for a tour and they were running late for dinner with Y/N. Matt looked sideways at Nick.

“Why are we here?” he grumbled, crossing his arms.

Nick tried not to grin. “It’s just for a minute. There’s a promotor here I want you to meet.”

Matt stuck his hands in his pockets as he followed his brother through the front doors of the building. Nick led the way into a small, dark room.

“Hey?” Nick said, fumbling loudly against the wall.

In an instant, the place flooded with light. “Surprise!” People sprang up from every direction. It took Matt a moment to realize what had happened. It wasn’t until he saw his parents, his other brother, and his sister that he started to make sense of things. When he saw Y/N standing by a table wearing a Starbucks apron, he felt his heart go wild in his chest.

“You!” Matt said, practically racing across the room. He swept his girlfriend into his arms and kissed her sweetly. He hugged her tightly and swayed back and forth. “Is this why you’ve been so preoccupied this weekend?”

Y/N smiled, and Nick thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful. He watched her look at Matt as if he’d hung the stars just for her. Then she turned to look at him, and it felt—just for a moment—as if he was the only person in the world.

“It wasn’t just me,” Y/N said brightly, gesturing to the table filled with Starbucks paraphernalia. “Nick is the one who did all this.”

She held her hand out toward him, wiggling her fingers to get him to come closer. When he was within reach, she took his hand in hers and tugged him close to her side. “I couldn’t have thrown this party for you without him.”

Nick smiled and felt his heart skip in his chest. He thought back to that moment in the store. He’d been right. Y/N had smiled and laughed and loved every moment and ounce of sweat he’d put into the touches he put onto the party. It had made Matt happy.

But more than anything, it made her happy.

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@mox-made-me-do-it @lakamaa12 @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @justamess44 @lilred91 @imagineall-the-fandoms @maelleoute @librathepheonix13

#planning too late #the too late tales #too late tales #nick jackson #nick jackson fanfiction #matt jackson #matt jackson fanfiction #young bucks #young bucks fanfiction #aew #aew fanfiction #polyamory #polyamorous relationships #matt x reader #pining

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mrneighbourlove · 5 years

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Red Typhoon: Ch 9. The Storm

The battle for paradise island had begun. Onslaught had plunged the waters into pure chaos, and ships sailed to engage one another. Lex and Liz were struggling in the water, when they felt someone tugging at them. Revy had dived in after them, struggling to swim. "Will you two please kick!"

"Take the bitch down!!!" Corsaire shouted his orders, the age old command of his arm thrust forward in an indication to take aim. "FIRE!!!"

"The girls!" Seer stood on the ship, trying to find his balance. "Bakura! The girls!!!"

Bakura dove into the water, and as he was underwater, he noticed one of Adda's counter measures. Breed Gyrog were unleashed into the waters, and one in particular was massive. Swimming to intercept the fish from reaching the girls, Bakura took a bite to leg. The sheikah struggled under the water, stabbing into the monster to let him go. Revy was able to get Liz and Lex onto the side of the boat. "UNCLE SEER! BAKURA NEEDS YOUR HELP!"

"Cap'n, there's something inhuman in the water." Seer's heightened senses were picking up the Gyrog zipping through the sea. He did not notice it before, the blast having stunned his senses. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

"SEER!" Corsaire exclaimed in exasperation. "I just fished you out of the water! Don't make me jump in there again!!!"

"I'll be fine! The chains aren't constricting me anymore!"

He dove back into the water and started to shift. When he was fully transformed, he bit the Gyrog in half and maneuvered to where Bakura could hold onto his fin. Then, he swam in the direction of Lex, Liz, and Revy. Squeaking at the ladies, he swam underneath them, letting them crawl onto his back.

All of them crawled onto Seer's back. The ocean was turning into a blood bath. Pirate and Navy ships pulled up against each other, tearing one another apart with cannon fire. Bakura patted Seer's back. "We need to get on the ship old friend."

"Taaaaaakeeee... brrrrrreaaath." Seer's voice sounded so strange in his whale form, much deeper and sort of harsh. "Hoooold oooonnnn." With that, he dove under the water and hurriedly swam back toward the ship.

Adda's capital ship veered around the island, focusing cannon fire on Corsaire's support ships. "Tear them all apart. I want every one of those fuckers rotting in the ocean floor."

Using the Wind Waker, Adda started to call upon storms to ravage her enemies.

With the sails, Corsaire's ship was able to dodge the cannon fire. However, the Hylian and Danjuran Navy were having locked in battle with the other ships of Adda's. The captain expected Adda to play dirty despite any deals. Still, he had one final idea that could possible take down Adda's ship and get that blasted wand out of her hand.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!"

Adda wasn't expecting a full on tackle by Corsaire, but it certainly worked. She fell backwards, dropping the Wind Waker, and felt her ship tipping slightly to the right. With a growl, she grabbed her shotgun, inserting the shells. "Bastards. Come on. Come get me."

Adda's crew members were getting reorganized when Corsaire's men and woman invaded the Pirate Queen’s Capital ship. It was the size of a massive cruise vessel. Scarlet deliberately attacked the non Gerudo members of the crew, using her battle axe to rip apart a few Zora and Lizard men. Looking down at Gerudo engineers, she spoke in their native tongue. "Lie on your hands and knees, and you'll be spared."

Some did. Others didn't. "You're the traitor!"

Bakura took his sai, and made quick work through the light hitters. He had to find Adda before Corsaire, but as he was pushed back by an Iron Knuckle, he knew that would be unlikely.

Corsaire was old, but he was still damn sneaky. His ship was holding onto Adda's, and she could not reverse out of the situation. His ship could go forward or backwards, despite the sails, for in the bowels of his ship, there was an engine. The Sea Witch was his own creation, and he knew he'd be damned if he didn't cover all the potential bases of a battle at sea. Finding Adda, he took aim with his pistol.

KA-POW!

His shot went straight through Adda's hat and knocked it off.

Adda reeled back, and she shot towards Cosaire with her buck shot. Cocking the next shell in, her blood was pumping. She shot as Corsaire as he dove for another spot of cover. As Corsaire shot again, Adda hid behind a pillar.

Once Seer had ensured the girls and Bakura were safe on the Sea Witch, he decided to finish his task that he was unable to the last time there was a battle. Come heaven or hell, he was determined to sink that awful ship of Adda's. Swimming at full speed, he rammed against the ship, the wood breaking in the hull.

Adda rolled, firing at Corsaire's cover with two shots.

"Will someone take that deranged woman out?!?!" Corsaire loaded his gun while the mast covered him. "Mojo! Shoot at----WHOAH!!!"

Seer ramming the ship caused it to started to turn on it's side. It was sinking.

Adda took the change of the ship in stride. With gravity on her side, she jumped kicked Seer, her foot driving into his chest. Up close, she wore her Gerudo Golden Gauntlets, amplifying her strength to ludicrous levels. She wore a fine black sea coat, and her hair was wild like fire. Drawing her sword, she smashed Corsaire's gun out of his hand by directly cutting the revolver. "Let me give you the kiss of death Corsaire."

The blow stunned Seer in the water, but luckily, just for a moment. In his Direnor form, he was able to take a hit much more effectively than when he was a human man. There were broken bones, but no pain he had not known before. Before Adda could shoot his captain, this time, Seer was not going to show any mercy. Lunging out of the water with his mouth wide open, Seer attempted to chomp around Adda's midsection.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Adda dodged, throwing herself away, and giving Corsaire enough time to grab his sword, and Seer to transform back into a human and not leave himself exposed.

In the sinking ship, Lex, Liz, and Revy were fighting other Gerudo. It disturbed them to be fighting girls their age, some even younger. The three tried their best to avoid killing them if they could.

Scarlet threw herself between Adda and Corsaire. "Sister! This needs to stop!"

Adda eyes glared with sadness and fury. "You lost the right to call me a sister of the tribe when you left me alone."

Another explosion from a Hyrulian Cannon rocked them, sending Scarlet sliding away. Adda grabbed her sword, and barely intercepted a strike from Corsiare. Bastard was aiming for her neck.

The transformation and back exhausted him, but Seer had to help fight. His crew was outnumbered. Corsaire and Adda were sword fighting from what he could hear. The captain was using his arm as a shield, yet Adda was just as good as Corsaire with a sword. He had to end this. Feeling on the ship, there was a dagger beside a body. He grasped it, charged toward Adda... and sunk the blade into her back.

Adda gasped, the stab knocking the wind out of her. With a quick motion of pure adrenaline coursing through, she got a hit one Corsaire's leg, getting him to one knee. She gave him a kick to the face to hurtle him away. Whirling on Seer, she punched him with the hilt of her blade, and amplified by the gauntlets, she broke one of his ribs and threw him against the door to the bridge. Grabbing her revolver, she cocked it, and fired. She no longer had any hesitation. Seer wanted her dead. So she’d end his life first.

The girls had fought their way to the deck of the ship. They'd still have half an hour, maybe more, until it sank. Revy couldn't believe her luck when she found the Wind Waker. She smiled at her mom, who was being guarded by Bomba. "MOM! I GOT THE WIND WAKER!!!"

Liz saw her father being throttled by Adda. When her mother pulled out that gun, she moved on instinct. Jumping, Liz threw herself in front of Seer, taking the bullet. No one saw where it entered, but Liz's body landed with a thump against the deck.

Adda froze, her world going cold. Her blood drained from her face as she saw her daughter, limp on the deck. She dropped her gun as she lost sensation to her fingers. What had she done. "No.... oh god no."

"LIZ!!!" Halvar screamed when he saw his lover get shot. He tried to make his way to her, but the Gerudo woman kept him back.

Seer was on his knees, gathering Liz into his arms. His breath hitched. She was not breathing.

"No, no, no, don't you die on me!" Seer shook her hard. "Liz! Wake up! Wake up!!!" He laid her flat on the ship and pressed his mouth on top of hers, trying to force air into her lungs. Feeling of her body, he gasped when he felt blood on his hands. Her chest, she was bleeding, there was blood, if he did chest compression and pushed the bullet closer to her heart… "Liz!!! Please! Please wake up!!! Answer me!!!"

His little girl.... was she gone? She could not be gone. Seer's despair turned to rage. He snarled at Adda, "You... you did this!!!" Slamming her against the mast, Seer had always been rather meek in person. But now, he was a completely different man. His hands were gripping her shirt holding her off the ground. The features of his Direnor side were showing, but were horribly distorted. He was going into what the Direnor's called a 'Berserk Hold', unable to hold onto rational thought. "You murderer! Your quest for power killed your daughter!!! Killed my Elizabeth!!! I'm going to rip you limb from limb and make you pray for death!!! Tell me, Adda," His voice was starting to become distorted as well. "Was it all worth it?!"

Adda looked blankly down at Liz, reaching a hand for her when Seer easily threw her about. Her voice cracked, as tears left her eyes. She realized how much of a monster she grew into. "No."

Bakura saw the whole situation play out from Seer stabbing Adda to her shooting their daughter, but was unable to interfere in time. As Seer threw Adda against the wall, Bakura was rushing to his daughter, intent on saving her life. "Seer, you need to calm down!"

When a Direnor was in a 'Berserk Hold', it was as if a veil was pulled over their eyes. Seer could not think rationally. The only objective on his mind was to kill Adda for taking his precious Liz away from him. With the massive amount of strength surging through his body, his other hand grasped Bakura around the throat and brought him closer to his face. Half of Seer's face resembled a twisted version of his Direnor side. There were jagged teeth coming from his uneven mouth and his eyes were almost black.

"Don't interfere unless you want to die alongside this filth."

With a heave, Seer tossed Bakura halfway across the ship. Then he dragged Adda by her throat over to the side of the ship, taking her overboard with him. He intended to make good on his threat of tearing her limb from limb.

Idiot. Bakura was in the middle of surgery on Liz when was pulled from her. Seer didn't even notice Liz coughing blood from the wound as the bullet Bakura was getting out was slightly moved. The man ran as fast as he could to Liz, his adrenaline kicking in. "No, no, no, no."

Diving next to her, Bakura focused, praying for a miracle. And he was given one. The knowledge Seth kept from him on teleportation magic was free to explore now. Taking a deep breath, Bakura felt the bullet fall from inside Liz's body into his hand. Gasping with relief, he quickly applied what healing herbs he could to put inside his daughter's bullet hole.

Adda was gasping, her hands around Seer's hand. She was feeling her life drain. Taking a small dagger, she stabbed it into his hand, desperate for him to free her.

Seer felt no pain. Nothing registered in his mind. He was not himself, he was going to live up to his name; a killer whale. The Direnor was halfway shifted and opened his large jaws to bite off Adda's head.

"I won't let you succumb to your demons." Bakura dropped two portals. One sent Seer hurtling into the sea by some enemy ships. If he wanted to bring destruction, he could do it out there, and not biting Adda's head off in front of Lex.

The second portal dropped Adda in front of Bakura. She looked up at him, terrified of the look of anger in his eyes.

"NO NO NO NO!!! DAMN YOU BAKURA!!!" Seer was screaming profanities and frustrations as he headed back toward the Sea Witch and Adda's ship.

The moment Adda was back on the deck, Corsaire pulled a gun and held it point blank to the back of her skull.

"Give me one good fucking reason why I shouldn't blow your head off right here."

Bakura didn't look at Corsaire as he spoke, his eyes deadlocked with Adda. "Because you'd be executing her in front of my daughter."

Lex was watching in the near distance, knowing she couldn't stop her uncle even if she wanted to.

Adda slowly stood, her body slumped against a beam. Bakura grabbed her by the collar, and with Corsaire’s gun pointed to her head, Adda was sure she was going to die. Instead, Bakura’s expression softened. “Liz is going to be ok.”

“…I never meant to hurt her.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

"Do you think she deserves to live after all she's done?" Corsaire was angry. This woman had kidnapped his brother. She had hurt so many innocents. "Nothing justifies the torment of the innocents. That is what my men and I have always lived by. She," He knocked the end of this pistol against her head. "Has killed those who did nothing against her. I've had to explain to many families of why their loved one is not coming home. I had to search for years to find Seer, and now, she has hurt her own flesh and blood. She is a killer. Not just for the incident that happened in Uskar, but Hyrule, Danjur, and Labrynna too. If she lives, she'll cause more destruction and death. Scarlet begged me not to harm the innocents on this island and I won't, but the same cannot be said for Adda."

Adda fell on her hands and knees, not making a move to defend herself. She merely looked at Bakura. "I never stopped loving you. I want you to know that in the end. I’m sorry for being so petty."

"I know. And despite you hurting me by protecting the girls from Seth, despite all the pain you brought about with the destiny I threw you down, despite all the destruction for the sake of power.... I could never find the will to stop loving you."

Adda was stunned. Everything she did, and he didn't stop loving her back. Her defeat was now final. "You foolish man..."

Bakura looked to Corsaire, swallowing the bulge in his throat, causally speaking. "She can be my responsibility. Locked up in Hyrule. It was Seer who shot my daughter indirectly by stabbing Adda in the back. I can look past that because Liz is going to live. She's going to grow up with the fox prince. And Lex is going to find so much fortune in her life. Shoot her here, now, in front of them, and they'll never forgive you for that."

"Seer did nothing, this monster shot Liz." Corsaire snapped at Bakura. "Adda cannot be your responsibility if you're in love with her. Too many conflicts, Bakura, you know that. Take Lex and Liz away, and step aside. She's meeting a bullet right here and now. I can live with the girls hating me, but I cannot live with the fact of knowing Adda might try to hurt my loved ones again." He ordered the assassin. "You pledged your loyalty to Uskar and Hyrule all those years ago, and to my ship, my crew, and myself. I order you to return to the ship with the girls."

"It was an accident on her part. I won’t let you execute her here. " Bakura spat back.

Lex was going to run to her mom if Scarlet didn't stop her. "UNCLE CORSAIRE! DON'T YOU DARE!"

"We can't stop him Lex..."

Adda stood up again, looking Bakura in the eyes. "It's ok.... we should let this happen. This is what I deserve."

Bakura shook his head in denial, but slowly, it was dawning on them they had no happy way out of this. "You and Seer. You're acting mad, you know that?"

"Says the crazy man." Adda's voice was defeated, even when she traded humour.

"Got that fixed."

"Did you now.... we could have been so happy together, couldn't we?"

"We could have..."

Adda walked forward to give Bakura one last kiss. If this was the last time, at least she would have it with a man that loved her.

Before Corsaire could execute her, a floosh of air rushed behind him, and he was sent flying by the claw of Onslaught. The dragon grasped Adda and Bakura with his claw tail, squeezing them together. "How touching. But you've let your weakness drag you too far down. Goodybe Captain Adda!"

Onslaught threw the two of them at the end of the ship. Seer looked from the water, Liz was just opening her eyes, and everyone else starred in horror as Onslaught's mouth charge up his plasma. Releasing his fire, a beam headed straight towards Bakura and Adda. They took one last look at each other, than, everyone witnessed as they were caught up in a massive explosion.

"Long live the Queen." Onslaught flexed his wings out, giving a roar of victory. With the only person who knew how to conduct the Wind Waker dead, he would finally rule the oceans uncontested.

Revy saw this armoured dragon. He radiated death, his aura making her legs shake. In an instant, he blew Bakura and Adda up, and possibly killed Corsaire. He saw the monster smiling down at Liz with a toothy grin. So, with all the courage she could muster, she jumped to attack. Throwing her axe, she sent it flying at the unprotected foot of the dragon. Onslaught at didn't care at first, until Revy snapped her fingers, and a bolt of lightning flew down from the sky into his foot, the axe acting like a lightning rod. It certainly shocked him awake. The dragon growled as he got over his first bout of pain. "Magic?! Shame you can't pierce my heart little snack!"

Onslaught walked towards her on two feet, and reeling his arm back, swiped at her with his claws.

Corsaire was knocked unconscious, and floating in the water. Luckily, at the last possible moment, he had lifted his metal arm to protect his chest from the sharp claws. He still had a sizable knot on his forehead and some scratches. Seer swam over to his captain and held him, above the surface for air. Corsaire coughed and sputtered, groaning, but still alive. The Direnor could sense the dragon's presence and decided the best thing to do for the moment was to look after his captain. He did not have the best fighting abilities and would just get in the way.

Revy, was not so lucky. She drew her sword, protecting her body from three out of four claws, but Onslaught slapped her across the ship, one of her eyes being cut out by the one claw that reached her flesh. With a toothy grin, he looked towards Rat. "Adda told me you begged for Scarlet to stay and raise her kids. Did you know I was the reason she had to fight her little war? And tell me, was this brat I just hit yours or Adda's?"

Rat's breath hitched when he saw Revy tossed around by Onslaught like a rag doll. It took every fiber of his being not to rush to his daughter. He had to keep his cool. Years in the gladiator rings were starting to pay off now. He never thought he'd be grateful for it, but now, he sure as hell was.

"Aye, me did, but me's not ashamed of it." Rat had to think quick on his feet. The dragon had an armor-like body. His bullets would not pierce it. He had to have something with more power behind it. The gunpowder barrel... Onslaught was close to it. If he was fast enough, he could draw his gun and shoot it. Maybe the blast would at least stun the dragon for a while so the crew could get away. His fingers twitched, ready to react. "You's just a big, fat lizard who's a bully. Why don't you go a-crawl back into your hidey-hole and stay there?"

"How about this instead?" Onslaught swatted the barrel Rat was eyeing with his tail towards the gladiator, and fired a bolt of plasma as got close, igniting it near Rat. The dragon was intelligent, having followed Rat’s eyes to the barrel. His feet and wings were the only exposed parts of his body. Explosions and firepower could hurt him, but he could regenerate. His foot was already stitching itself together from the axe the brat threw. Magic was his only weakness, but he wasn't concerned. That's why he had the near indestructible armour around him. It was almost invincible from the outside.

Lex rushed to her sister, looking on in terror at Revy being injured. "Sis! Get up! We need to help them!"

"I... I can't... I'm too weak."

Lex saw Halvar making his move against the dragon. "Our best friend is dying! Your boyfriend is gonna commit suicide being out there! Get up!"

Rat was knocked overboard by the explosion, the fire burning various parts of his skin.

Halvar, however, reacted by shifting instantly. His huge fox form leapt across the ship and onto Onslaught's back. Growling, his teeth pulled at the armor, trying to rip it off the dragon to expose a weak point on his neck. His claws dug into the metal, the horrid screeching sound filling the air as Onslaught tried to shake him off.

Onslaught roared, thrashing about, until he used his tail to reach up and grab Havlar by the fur with its claw. Throwing the fox onto the ground, the dragon turned on him, and bit down into his neck. He would have applied more force for a killing bite, if Scarlet didn't slam her axe down, cutting deep into the dragon's right wing. He released the prince with a roar of fury, and blasted at Scarlet. Her armour kept her alive as she was shot down a floor into the sinking ship.

"Liz! Scarlet said we're Twinrova. We have to work together to beat this guy!"

"I'm feeling too weak Lex. We're nothing..."

Lex squeezed Liz's hand, he magic radiating. "No. We're a team. That's what we are."

Liz looked back into the hopeful eyes of her sister, and she pushed her own magic back towards her. Their energies combined, and a beauty of blue and red light radiated from them. Stepping from the light was a singular woman. Her hair glowed of fire and ice. With a smirk of confidence and courage, she fired a beam of the two elements at Onslaught, just as he was about to dig into Halvar. The blast sent him flying through a mast, and the whole beam fell on him. Throwing it off him, he felt his armour effected by the intense temperatures of their magic. The bitch actually made Onslaught worried for his life. Flying into the air, he gave a roar, and fired a stream of plasma at the witch. Twinrova fired her magic back, and the two streams collided, forming a ball of energy in the middle, until they both detonated. The magic backlash nearly tore the ship in half. As Onslaught was pushed back by the explosion, Twinrova went over Halvar, shaking him awake. "Halvar? You ok?"

Halvar's thick fur had protected his neck, but Onslaught's teeth still had cut through to his skin. With a nod of his fox head, he signaled he was all right. Nudging the fused twins onto his back, the Direnor showed his teeth to Onslaught, growling.

The remaining crew members were trying to help some of Adda's leftover girls. Mojo and Juju were helping those who could walk onto the Sea Witch, while Pockets carried the injured. Acrobat was readying the sails, knowing that the Sea Witch was their best chance to try to outrun this dragon. Seer had climbed up the side of the ship with the unconscious Corsaire, taking him below deck to a bed. Bomba, however, had been hurt pretty badly. During the ensuring chaos, a stray shard of metal from the dragons blast had struck him, piercing his liver. He knew he did not have long, having already lost too much blood.

Onslaught roared, charging towards Halvar on wings of death. Twinrova jumped off Halvar, delivering a punch of fire that exploded against the dragons face, revealing a side of his skin as his armour was torn from his head. As she shot a blast of ice close range, freezing his chest and arms so he couldn’t grab her, Onslaught's tail snatched the woman by the leg and threw her next to Revy. Knowing the wolf would intercept, he flexed, breaking the ice, and shot a blast of plasma at the girls.

Halvar did the only thing he could do. He ran toward the girls, grabbed them both in his massive mouth and dove into the water.

Onslaught was already flying next to them, a cruel smile as his plan had been calculated perfectly. Grabbing Halvar, he held him close, and pile drived him directly onto the Sea Witch. The girls were sent rolling to either side of the ship, and the dragon kicked the wolf away with his clawed foot.

Scarlet grabbed Bomba and jumped off the sinking ship back onto the Sea Witch. "Stay here. I'll get you medic once I tear this things head from his body."

Onslaught looked upon all the faces of the crew, plasma simmering from his mouth. "Pathetic. Once I'm done here, know that I'll raid Hyrule first."

"GO TO HELL!" Scarlet swung her axe, smashing it against the dragon's face in series of heavy blows. Onslaught's skull was even split apart as she swung directly downwards. It was not enough to kill him, however. No steel could. Firing a bolt of plasma at her feet, he knocked Scarlet down. With a snarl, his tail grabbed her and smashed her against the deck of the Sea Witch, breaking her armour apart. His wings flapped hard to make wind gusts that kept the twins and Revy down. His jaws opened wide, ready to snap down on Scarlet. "Time to die Gerudo!"

Bomba was wheezing and already starting to see black spots. He knew his time on this earth was not much longer, yet, his friends were in danger, his brothers needed help. Watching as Scarlet tried to battle Onslaught, Bomba got to his feet. Coughing, he spat up blood in his hand. Then, with a determined grunt, Bomba wiped the blood from his mouth and saw Onslaught getting ready to make dinner out of Scarlet. He was never a big man, nor was he considered one of the stronger crew members. At that moment, however, Bomba was the strongest force on earth as he rammed into Scarlet, Onslaught's jaws snapping around his midsection instead. The blood splattered everywhere, on Scarlet's face and ran down the dragon's jaw.

"Oh, me lovely lassie... how me wishes we had more time." Bomba choked on words. "You're... quite the woman."

Scarlet looked at Bomba, complete terror filling her face. "B-Bomba! NO!!!"

Onslaught, with no hesitation, threw Bomba into the air, and bit down into him as he came down. SNAP!

His jaws cut Bomba in two, his upper half being swallowed, and his legs dropping to the floor. The entire crew went silent with terror initially. With a disturbing chuckle, Onslaught scooped the legs up and gobbled them down.

Mojo and Juju were screaming for their fallen brother. Pockets was too stunned to move, paralyzed by shock. Acrobat was yelling at the others to do something, to fire upon the monster, to avenge Bomba. Seer heard the broken wail from Scarlet and rushed back to the deck after making sure Corsaire would be fine. He smelled blood. Bomba's blood.

"No..." Seer felt his heart clench in his chest. "Not... not Bomba!!!"

Revy and the twins felt hopelessness as Onslaught roared with laughter. The dragon scraped his claws against the ships deck, then stood tall. "Show your respects for your fallen man! Know that he'll be digested, and become part of me! But don't worry, you'll see him all very soon!"

Onslaught flew just above the deck, and charged one final beam of plasma to tear the ship apart.

Bomba always used to joke that when he died, he was going out with a bang... either that, or death by tit suffocation. Though, what the crew did not know was like all good bomb makers, Bomba had a self-destruct option should the worst ever happen to him. He refused to ever be a burden to his crew, and boldly declared that he would gladly take down the enemy with him. In all their years together, never did he have to act upon that promise.

Until now.

Inside of Bomba's necklace, he kept the deadliest powder on the planet. A pinch would bring any palace to ruins. He kept a teaspoon of it inside a small metal rod on a string around his neck. Every crew member assumed it was just a necklace and never knew of the true contents inside of it. If he pulled the top of the rod out, it would cause a spark and ignite the powder.

So Bomba got his wish. He was not going to be dragon food. He was going out... with a bang.

The plasma from inside Onslaught's stomach ignited it, and his body exploded. A massive detonation tore his body apart, his metal shell having no protection from a blast that came from the inside. What was left of him was almost a skeleton of burning muscle fibres. Half his head was gone, and 90% of his body was lost, scattered across the sea. What was left of his brain generated the simple thought over and over of how this could have happened. He was Onslaught, Terror of the Sea and Sky. Wasn’t he invincible?

Twinrova and Revy saw a heart beating, pulsing with dark magic. Already, yet at a sloths pace, the dragons body was trying to repair itself. He would get no chance. The Gerudo ladies poured their magic together, and with a scream of righteous fury and grief, fired a blast of lightning, fire, and ice which launched the rest of the body out to sea, and a second denotation rocked the battlefield. An explosion of magic blew what was left of Onslaught to atoms and scattered him into the wind. The war out on the ocean had come at many prices too terrible to speak, but with the word of Adda falling and disappearing, and Onslaught detonating, the morale of the remaining pirates plummeted. They either surrendered to the navies, or fled. The war on the sea was won.

Twinrova took a few deep breathes of exhaustion, than split apart, a bright light singling the defusion. Liz and Lex both fell unconscious, while Revy fell back, finally feeling the sting of her missing eye.

Meanwhile, Scarlet fell to her knees where the blood stain of Onslaughts first explosion took place, where her Bomba laid. She looked to Seer, and a part of her wondered if it was all worth it. So many lives lost, all to save one blind man.

"... we... we need to get the girls taken care of." Seer tried to keep his emotions in check. "And get the Sea Witch away from this sinking one." He pulled Scarlet to her feet. "Come on... our work isn't done yet."

#So sorry not sorry #crossover #ridersoftheapocalypse #Captain Adda #Seer #Bakura Saibot #Corsaire #Liz and Lex #Twinrova #Revy #Scarlet #Rat #Bomba #Gerudo #Pirates #Onslaught: Terror of the Sky and Sea #Red Typhoon #Please share thoughts with comments!

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Ice Cream News May 2018

Ice Cream News May 2018 Compiled by Carpigiani UK

Ice cream is never far from the news and the month of May has been no exception. We have compiled our favourite news stories relating to ice cream.

An Irish ice cream shop is going viral after it made a special Heinz Tomato Ketchup gelati flavour for pop star Ed Sheeran

Apparently, the singer-songwriter is so partial to the condiment he has a pic of it tattooed on his arm and insists his assistants always have a bottle on hand.

Step forward Gelati (it operates in Enniscrone, Co Sligo and Ballina, Co Mayo ); earlier this month it announced that not only is it stocking ketchup ice-cream, but that it's giving away cones for free too.

Want to get a free ice cream? Gelati has confirmed that all “fans who produce a ticket for his upcoming gigs” will get a free Heinz cone.

Delicious? Well, own Michael O'Dowd assures perspective-customers that it really is “lovely” and tastes a bit like a Bloody Mary.

Canadian zoo faces charges after taking bear out for ice cream

A private zoo in the Canadian province of Alberta is facing charges after a bear from the facility was taken through a drive-thru Dairy Queen in a pickup truck and hand-fed ice cream through the vehicle's window reports The Guardian.

News of the outing emerged earlier this year after Discovery Wildlife Park, located about 70 miles north of Calgary in the town of Innisfail, posted a video on social media showing a captive Kodiak bear sitting in the passenger seat of a truck.

The video later showed the one-year-old bear, known as Berkley, leaning out of the truck's window, enthusiastically licking an ice cream cone held by the owner of a local Dairy Queen.

Amid widespread criticism, the video – along with a second one showing Berkley licking frosting off an ice cream cake – was taken down. However, we have managed to find it for you:

youtube

At the time, the zoo said the drive-thru run had posed no danger to the public, as it had taken place before the Dairy Queen had opened for the day and that the bear had been secured by a chain throughout the entire outing.

Wildlife officials in Alberta said that the zoo and its owners are now facing two charges. “Under the terms and conditions of the zoo's permit, the charges are directly related to the alleged failure of the park to notify the provincial government prior to the bear leaving the zoo,” Alberta Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.

One count stems from the bear's jaunt through the drive-thru, while the other dates back to 2017. At the time Berkley had just arrived as an orphan from a facility in the United States and the zoo allegedly failed to inform officials the seven-pound bear was being taken home nightly so that she could be bottle-fed.

The zoo's owner, Doug Bos, said he planned to plead guilty to the charges, noting that this was the first time in the zoo's 28-year history that it was facing such charges.

“We made a mistake. I'm embarrassed about it,” he told the Guardian. “Every time we take an animal off the property, we're supposed to notify Fish and Wildlife, send them an email, and we forgot to do that in both instances.”

He said he had been happy to hear of the charges. “I'm glad that they followed through with it because it shows how strictly regulated the zoo industry is in the province,” he said. “Because there are so many people out there that think it's not, they think anybody can just do anything they want.”

Bos said that wildlife officials had not necessarily taken issue with the bear's outing to Dairy Queen but rather the zoo's failure to request permission beforehand. “That's all we did wrong,” he added, noting that the bears have been taken off the property many times for a range of reasons.

“We've done lots of TV commercials, Super Bowl commercials with bears and food … Some of them the bear was in a grocery store and wandered up and down the aisles.”

He emphasised the difference between bears in the wild and the zoo's bears, describing those in the facility as hand-raised and well-trained.

At one point the zoo's bears had even learned to pee in a cup, he said, in order to participate in a Scottish veterinarian's study aimed at measuring baseline norms for bears. “These bears aren't just your average bear that we go snag out of the wild and do this.”

In light of the incident, provincial officials said they had also revised the conditions of the zoo's permit. The facility will now be required to provide more details when requesting permission to transport animals and will have to keep the animals in a cage, crate or kennel during transport.

Ice cream parlours buck the high-street trend

Having analysed 67,157 premises in 500 town centres, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that, with nail bars, bookstores, coffee shops and craft beer bars, ice-cream parlours are one of a handful of growing sectors. Overall, the high street is shrinking. For every 11 new high-street units, 16 close. Yet the number of ice-cream parlours, historically seen as a seasonal seaside concept, rose by 20% last year.

Vanilla prices reach record high – hitting British ice cream makers

Vanilla costs have hit record highs in the last two years and it's beginning to impact the ice cream industry in Britain reports The Independent.

At approximately $600 (£443) per kilo, the in-demand ingredient now costs more than silver.

While the rise in price may not necessarily impact major retailers and brands – some smaller businesses are struggling to keep up.

One of these is artisanal ice cream maker Ruby Violet, which has been forced to stop selling its vanilla flavour due to the surge in costs.

Speaking to the BBC, founder Julie Fisher explained that her London-based outlets have taken vanilla off the menu “for the foreseeable future”.

Another UK-based business reconsidering its vanilla options is the family-run company, Snugburys Ice Cream.

Based in Nantwich, Cheshire, the farmhouse ice cream outlet produces 40 different flavours, a third of which contain vanilla.

They are now paying 30 times more for the ingredient than they have done in the past.

“It has really gone up, so last year we decided to buy it forward by a years worth,” said Cleo Sadler, who runs the company with her two sisters.

“We had to make a decision as to whether we would absorb the costs – which we did in the end,” she told the BBC.

It's something they don't want to have to compromise on in the future, regardless of the costs, given that their company uses all-natural ingredients and therefore using an artificial vanilla flavouring would go against their values.

Vanilla prices have surged since March 2017 when a cyclone hit Madagascar – where the bulk of the flavouring is produced – and subsequently destroyed a number of vanilla plantations.

This led to poor harvests and reduced production rates by 30 percent, causing the subsequent inflation and prompting fears of a shortage.

If this happens, it's undoubtedly going to hit Brits pretty hard, considering that vanilla has been the most popular ice cream flavour in the UK for decades, according to the Ice Cream Alliance.

Pizza, eggs and ice cream: have alternative museums gone too far?

The Museum of Pizza, opening this autumn in New York, may or may not acknowledge this piece of history, and there's a reason why.

It's a selfie museum. Rather than hanging photos on a wall and outlining the chronological history of pizza, it's a tourist-aiming pop-up space fit for a digital-savvy generation, featuring a pizza beach, a pizza cave and several funhouse spots to pose and celebrate pizza.

Call it the Kusama effect. Since Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Room exhibition has taken off (the recent Los Angeles opening of her show at The Broad sold out their 50,000 tickets in less than two hours), it has fueled a debate around selfie-friendly art.

Although Kusama's artworks were not necessarily made for the smartphone (many were made in the 1960s), it's still part of the “made-for-Instagram” exhibits, or “selfie factories”.

The Museum of Pizza is not alone in its selfie-driven takeover. On 16 June, a new pop-up devoted to avocados opens in San Diego and the Museum of Candy opens this summer in New York, boasting a 15-room exhibition, a life-sized unicorn made of candy and “the world's largest gummy bear”.

It was partly propelled by the Museum of Ice Cream, which launched in New York in 2016 and tapped into a serious demand. They sold more than 300,000 tickets priced at $18 in the first five days of its opening in 2016, resulting in a $5.4m haul. It has since travelled to Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco, where they almost doubled their ticket price to $38 and sold out six months' worth of tickets in less than two hours.

Meanwhile, the “real museums” are struggling to pay the bills.

How giving a crying child an ice cream whipped up a social media storm

It seemed like a random act of kindness by a stranger who bought an ice-cream for a distressed child – but then social media got involved and the situation curdled reports The Guardian.

Picture the scene. A child is crying outside your house. Friends have money to buy ice-cream – but the child does not. What do you do? One obviously kind thing would be to step in, stump up the cash and ease the child's tears with an ice-cream. And then, what with it being the 21st century, you might relay the tale on social media

Enter our “hero”. However, one man can't help noticing that our good Samaritan has the word “vegan” in her bio, but he's pretty sure the ice-cream product she gave to that child was not vegan. Time to message her and check. And when she doesn't give an answer to his satisfaction, tell her that she has made “a severe mistake”, and, what with it being the 21st century, post all the messages between them on social media.

The internet goes to work. @7AnthonyDagher7 now has more than 9,000 replies to his tweet exposing those messages, the vast majority asking why on earth he is criticising someone for doing something nice like giving a crying child ice-cream.

And, because it is the 21st century, he sets about the Sisyphean task of replying to them. So far, almost a quarter of the 3,000 or so tweets he has sent in the six years he his account has existed are replying about vegan ice-cream.

Non-vegans may be thinking, what can possibly be so bad about ice-cream? Nothing dies to produce milk, does it? Vegans will profoundly disagree. The dairy industry relies on keeping cows pregnant and having calves to produce milk. The calves are taken from their mothers shortly after birth, causing distress. Vegan-friendly ingredients are among the fastest growing trends in the ice cream industry.

Still, after being in the eye of the social media storm for a day, @itsallzara put it succinctly: “All this because I bought a sobbing child an ice-cream, I guess next time I'll leave the poor kid crying outside my house because Anthony didn't like it.”

How the “99” ice cream got its name

This is how 99 Flake ice creams got their names… and it has nothing to do with the price reports The Sun

It's a popular myth that the cones got their name because they used to cost 99p, sending most Brits into a frenzy of moaning about inflation and the rising cost of Freddos – currently 25p, FYI.

But Cadbury introduced the first ever flake 99 in the 1920s when the cost was much closer to 1p than 99p.

So where does the name come from? Even Cadbury admit that the reason has been “lost in the mists of time”, but old quotes from a sales manager may shed some light on the issue.

In the article, which appeared in the Cadbury works paper, one Mr Berry said the name came from Italian soft ice cream makers in County Durham, back in 1928

He said: “They were trying ways of introducing other lines to increase their sales, which in those days were largely in the form of sandwich wafers.

“The possibilities were obvious if we could get a suitable line, both in shape and size and texture – and the most promising was Flake, which at that time only sold as a 2D line, and therefore had to be cut with a knife to reduce its size.”

At the time, the Italian king had a special guard made up of 99 men – and anything really special or first class became known as '99'.

Hence the humble 99 Flake ice cream was born.

However, one Scottish family is debating the claims.

They said their ancestor Stefano Arcari, who opened his shop in Portobello in 1922, would break a large Flake in half and stick it in an ice cream.

They reckon a Cadbury representative 'borrowed' the idea after visiting his shop, and say the name came from its address – 99 Portobello High Street.

Either way, it has absolutely nothing to do with cost

Ham and french toast ice cream for breakfast?

For too long, ice cream has been relegated to the pudding part of our diets writes The Metro

So you may want to take inspiration from the ice cream makers at Windy Brow Farms, a small dairy farm in New Jersey, who have been busy creating an 'Only in Jersey' collection of ice creams. Flavours include 'local maple syrup, house made challah French toast and caramelised Taylor ham'. Yep, French toast and ham ice cream – the summer brunch of dreams. But how do the ice cream makers ensure that you're not just getting a bowl of soggy pork scraps? Apparently, the pork is cooked, fried and cinnamon-and-sugar-topped before it gets mixed into the ice cream – so the crispness is all locked in before it even touches the cream.

all salty. all sweet. all weekend long. • #tayhamicecream #porkrollicecream #porkroll #taylorham #onlyinjersey #jersey #njeats #jerseylove #eeeeeats #icecream #f52grams #thrillistfoodporn #foodporn #buzzfeast #buzzfeedfood #saltysweet

A post shared by Windy Brow Farms (@windybrowfarms) on May 11, 2018 at 9:00am PDT

The saltiness of the pork is balanced out by the sweetness of the French toast and maple syrup, giving you that heady mixture of salt, sweet and cream. And for the vegetarians among us, the farm is also making sweet corn and tomato pie flavoured ice creams, which are going to be available later in the summer (because believe it or not, we're still in spring…). Crack out your ice cream machines: maybe it's time to put brunch on ice.

May 2018 Ice Cream News:

What a crazy month for news involving ice cream. Is the first outbreak of sunshine that has caused the surge? If so, here is to a hot and long summer of amazing ice cream news.

The post Ice Cream News May 2018 appeared first on Carpigiani UK.

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