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theabstruseone · 1 year

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'TIL a papyrus scroll indicates that, during the building of the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III, the workers were upset about their treatment and, rather than discussing it with them, management served them a large meal.

'The workers didn't think that was enough so occupied the Valley of the Kings refusing entry to anyone until they were given a raise and "cosmetics" (research shows it was a form of sunscreen).

'So not only does workers organizing a strike and forming a picket line for better wages and workplace safety conditions date back TO THE FRIGGIN' BRONZE AGE, but also management has been trying to placate discontented workers with a pizza party.'

And then that went viral on Twitter and I got hammered with people trying to "Well ackshually" about my three-tweet-long thread on a thing I'd learned just that morning I turned into a joke about corporate pizza parties. So I decided to research and here's the entire story.

TL;DR: I was pretty much right except it'd be closer to say "donuts/cupcakes in the breakroom" rather than "pizza party".

The events took place sometime around 1157 BCE (specifically the 29th year of Ramses III’s reign) in the village of Deir el-Medina, a worker village for the people who worked on the built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

BTW, the site itself is fascinating as it was first excavated in 1922 and ended up being one of the most thoroughly documented accounts of community life in the ancient world and proved the builders of the Pyramids were middle-class skilled artisans and craftspeople, not slaves.

You also have to know that this era of history is around the start of what’s known as the Bronze Age Collapse. Some sort of environmental catastrophe happened that caused widespread crop failures across the ancient world.

Now what precisely happened is strongly debated, but generally several groups from elsewhere in Europe and Africa known as the “Sea People” attacked the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, which caused most of those cultures to collapse.

Also, commerce was a bit different as they were (oversimplified explanation) on the bread standard. Salaries were measured in values of beer and bread as the recipes for those were standardized and made up the basics of the diet.

So while common laborers would be paid in literal beer and bread, more highly-valued workers would be paid in an equivalent of a larger allotment of beer and bread. So they’d get paid “100 loaves a day” worth of oil or metal or coin representing the value.

Now, for our tale. This comes from the contemporary account of the scribe Amennakhte. If anyone wants to read along, a photo of the scroll along with a translation is available to read for free at https://libcom.org/article/records-strike-egypt-under-ramses-iii-c1157bce

On Year 29, Second Month of Winter, Day 10, a group of workers walked past the guards and sat at the Temple of Menkheperre stating it had been 18 days since they’d last been paid, staying the night in the tomb saying “We have matters of Pharaoh”.

The following day, a scribe brought the workers 55 “s'b-cakes”. So yes, a “pizza party”. I can’t find any reference to what this is precisely other than “fine bread” that was worth more than a large loaf of standard bread.

Seriously, I wasted an hour of my life trying to figure out what “s'b-cakes” are exactly so if anyone knows please tell me.

Anyway, it didn’t work and there was “quarrelling” at the temple of Ramses II. The translations says “chief of police” which doesn’t seem quite right but I’ll go with it, but anyway he said he’d fetch the mayor of Thebes.

The mayor claimed they didn’t have enough to pay. The workers responded by saying “The prospect of hunger and thirst has driven us to this. There is no clothing, there is no ointment*, there is no fish, there are no vegetables.”

They then said to go tell it to the Pharoah directly. On Day 12 (the day following the “quarrelling”), they were given their ration they were due during the previous month (basically, they got their back pay). It was 21 days late.

Side note: I got some pushback by an “Egyptologist” for calling the “ointment” a type of sunscreen and…yes, it was. Some translations mark this as “cosmetics” but it was a medicinal balm used to prevent and treat sunburn. What the hell else would you call it?

So Day 13 (the fourth day of the strikes) and Mentmose, the “chief of police”, apparently took a side. He told the workers to lock down the work site and continue their protests, and that he’d lead them to the temple to continue the sit in.

His words (recorded by Amennakhte): “I’ll tell you my opinion. Go up, gather your tools, close your doors, fetch your families, and I’ll lead you to the temple of Seti I and let you settle down there.”

At this point, the tax master Ptahemheb came out to talk to them making a list of all the things they demanded. On Day 15 (sixth day of the strike), they tried another “pizza party” with half a sack of barley and a jar of beer for each worker.

Amennakhte doesn’t say what their response was exactly, but does say that the workers brought torches so they could continue the protest in the dark. So I take it the response wasn’t good.

Day 17 (eighth day of the strike), the head of the temple came out and asked what demands to bring to the Pharoah for them. And they gave a detailed list of what precise wages they wanted for each of the workers.

On that day, they were given what they asked for in rations for the second month of winter. They may have also been paid early as they should have been paid on the 21st or 28th day depending on the source.

So we’re now in the third month of winter (no exact date written) and they’re still striking. Worker Mose said basically “As Amun as my witness if you drag me away I will come back and start robbing the tombs.” I couldn’t fit the whole thing in one tweet.

Reshpetref, the proctor, said “We will not come back, you can tell your superiors that. For sure, it is not because of hunger that we strike, but we have a serious charge to make. Something bad has been done in this place of the Pharoah”.

We’re on the fourth month of winter now, Day 28 (so over three months of striking now) before the Vizier shows up. This is the government official that handles day-to-day business and is second only to the Pharoah.

He says he just got promoted so isn’t authorized to give them their wages (at least partially true, he’d just been promoted five days prior) and even if he could, there was nothing in the granaries to pay them with.

The granaries may have been empty because of the other issues going on with the Bronze Age Collapse or it may have just been the rampant corruption speculated of the government of the era, or he may have been lying.

On the first month of summer Day 2, the crew got two sacks of grain as their ration (they’d demanded 5 ½ sacks each). The foreman Khonsu told them accept it, then go down to the market and tell the Vizier’s children about it.

Amennakhte (who again, is writing this scroll) stopped them and said NOT to go to the market since they’d been paid and if they did, he’d have to have them arrested. He doesn’t mention they were only paid a third of what they were owed.

First month of summer, Day 13, passes the guard post saying “We are hungry” and continued their sit in. They shouted at the mayor of Thebes as he passed, who then got them 50 sacks of grain to tide them over until Pharoah paid them.

That’s the end of this particular scroll, but there’s evidence that strikes continued throughout the reign of Ramses III as there are records of more workers being hired to transport food and supplies to the workers.

The scroll also leaves out some of what happened in between dates. For example, it wasn’t one single long strike, but a series of them. After they were paid their wages the first time, the workers went back to work.

However, they were told that was their pay for the third month of winter and not the second so they wouldn’t be getting paid again, sparking the second strike that lasted into summer.

There’s also a big deal in Egyptian culture at the time called “Ma’at” or basically “The Order of Things”. Nobody had any idea what to do with the striking workers because workers weren’t supposed to strike. They were supposed to work.

Sure, they were treated well and the village of Deir el-Medina lived at what could be called middle-class standards for the time period, but they weren’t supposed to rebel against their betters in this way. It was unthinkable.

There was also a big festival coming up to celebrate the 30th year of the reign of Ramses III and a lot of the government officials were focused on that, more concerned with maintaining order than actually managing the country.

I should also note I paint Amennakhte as on the side of the government rather than the workers when the opposite was likely the case. The strike wasn’t recorded in the official government records as Egypt tended to cover up their losses.

That said, we do have some records like those of Amennakhte showing that, once the workers realized they had the power to organize, they used it all the way through the New Kingdom.

The last entry on the scroll doesn’t directly involve the strike, but is related. On the first month of summer, Day 16, one of the workmen provided evidence that government officials were stealing from the tombs.

One of them, Weserhat, was one of the ministers who shorted the workers payment previously. The other, Pentaweret, may be the son of Ramses III at the center of the “Harem Conspiracy”, an assassination plot that took place between 1 to 3 years later.

In summary, the workers were unpaid due to corruption and management enriching themselves, they went on strike, management threw them a pizza party, that didn’t work, and they eventually got their demands.

Though I guess if you want to be completely accurate, it was more “donuts/cupcakes in the breakroom”…

#egypt #ramses iii #ramesses iii #labor rights #strike #pizza party #donuts in the breakroom #union #union strong #Also before anyone says this is Ramses III not the Pharaoh of Exodus #That was Ramses II almost a century earlier and a completely different dynasty #Not going to open the can of worms that is archeological evidence (or lack thereof) supporting biblical accounts of history #But either way the events are unrelated as they were 70-100 years after Exodus would have been #ancient egypt #ancient history

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kaeyachi · 9 days

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I THINK I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE STORY QUEST, AND IT IS CYNO'S STORY QUEST CH 2

Spoilers Below!

Shameless Cynonari shipping up ahead as well folks ✌️

Ok, I'm just gonna bullet point the entire thing coz I don't have much time (i basically speedran the quest a bit as well) so here are my thoughts:

Cyno and Cyrus then Naphis and Tighnari having basically the same hair is a bit funny to me ngl (but it is cute)

Naphis and Cyrus old man yaoi ✌️ I'll get back to this later but I clocked it early on

THIS QUEST IS BASICALLY A DREAM FOR CYNONARI AND KAVETHAM SHIPPERS. THIS WAS UNREAL PLEASE

Cyrus inviting Tighnari for lunch was cute

Cynonari + Collei probably do a lot of camping trips together 🥺

Collei is also more confident lately! You go girl!! WOOHOO

3 tents...1 for us and paimon...a scene where we see tighnari alone in his...and collei in her own tent...then we find out that cyno left for a supply run and tighnari is already awake...should we be connecting some dots here? (Cynonari shippers come get yall juice)

THE KAVETHAM SCENES IN THEIR HOME WERE INSANELY SOFT AND DOMESTIC. Also, Kaveh sitting on the table is *chefs kiss*

Tighnari was so quick to say he'll run after Cyno. I immediately started sobbing coz wow does he have a fast reaction when it concerns Cyno's safety. He probably would have gone after Cyno alone if we weren't there 😭

Kaveh, Alhaitham, Dehya, Candace, and Faruzan repeatedly telling Cyno to ask for help if he needs it makes my heart soft

Tighnari, meanwhile, doesn't even tell Cyno to ask for help. He straight up just rushes to his side, and that's adorable af. I swear it was starting to look like Tighnari has a one-track mind when it comes to Cyno's safety. Some of his braincells fly off! (good thing he has plenty)

SETHOS. MY SON. HE LOOKS SO GOOD. SETHOS SWEETIE IM ADOPTING YOU IN THE NEXT UPDATE (also wow that was not the voice i was expecting for him in EN, but I aint complaining!)

I keep coming back to it, but Tighnari is really quick when it comes to Cyno's safety and really doesn't pause lmao. Bro cut off Cyno's offer to ask Sethos with a hand and just started walking

new area pretty 🥺 I keep taking screenshots and pictures. got me going "omg! a lotus head column!!"

THE LORE WAS SCRUMPTIOUS BY THE WAY

THE ANIMATION FOR THE CYNO VS. SETHOS FIGHT WAS ALSO INCREDIBLE

Sethos downgraded from 5-star to 4-star caught in 4k hd ✌️ from polearm to bow too

look, the cyno lore was expected, BUT THE TIGHNARI LORE AS WELL?

Hermanubis being a Tighnarian and was King Deshret's chosen familiar hundreds of years ago, and now a full vessel of Hermanubis and a descendant of the Valuka Shuna meet and became friends in the Akademiya and are now companions 🥺

"I like that story." Yeah, I bet you do cyno, sethos basically called you and tighnari soulmates/ destined to meet and be together 🙄 also the ears to cyno's head gear actually really does represent tighnari's ears in some way after all lmao. i remember people making jokes about that

um...why is Bamoun buried like a pharoah?

NAPHIS SCOLDING CYRUS SO HARD LMAAOOO. he worries in his own way

Faruzan scolding everyone is so funny to see pls

cyno, tighnari, and collei having codes and gestures to give each other messages 🥺🥺🥺 tighnari and cyno used to say those codes back in the akademiya for each other, and now, in Cyno's own words, it became a family tradition 😭

Kavetham library date 🩷 then them returning to said date after our coffee sesh 🩷🩷🩷

Cyno taking us to his secret base and APPARENTLY ITS A CYNONARI DATING SPOT BACK WHEN THEY WERE STUDENTS. Y'all think they did the "It's beautiful." and "Yeah (looking at the the person instead of the view)" trope? coz the view was fr beautiful

Cyno and Sethos are officially brothers! yipee! (i will fr be pulling for him to complete the family)

THE PICTURES LISA TOOK OF CYRUS AND CYNO WERE SO CUTE 😭😭😭 cyrus and cyno are planning on visiting mond hehe

I need to review the entire quest again coz i bet i forgot some things BUT CYNONARI AND KAVETHAM NATIONS WE ALL WON

#shameless cynonari shipping ✌️#kaeyachi randoms #cyno #tighnari #alhaitham #kaveh #gi cyno #gi tighnari #gi alhaitham #gi kaveh #sethos #gi sethos #genshin impact #genshin impact spoilers #cynonari #kavetham

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littlecello · 6 months

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Lazarus: An Autopsy

So. I just got back home, and though I have to get up at stupid o'clock for work tomorrow morning, I am sitting down at my computer to give you all as much of a detailed write-up of the table read as I can. Please bear in mind these are my and Fern's opinions personal opinions, so if you disagree with anything said here, that's totally fine! This is all coming from the perspective of people who have been in the fandom since 2012 and 2009 respectively, and both of us love the show very dearly.

Now, without further ado - here is a summary and discussion of the table-read of the pilot episode of Lazarus. The detailed write-up is under the cut, but I want to share this shaky train-doodle I banged out on the way home to give shape to my own feelings:

Set Up

This was a dramatic table-read, meaning actors were sat on stage, taking the roles of the main and side characters, plus one narrator who read out the scene-set ups in the script. This was a complete reading of the pilot-episode as it would have aired on TV, complete with songs playing over the speakers as they appeared in the show (off the top of my head - Another Brick In The Wall, Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Ukulele Version), Life on Mars (yes they went there), Merry Christmas Everybody, and several more). It's important to note that this was not performed by the original actors; rather, they brought in a troupe of actors associated with the BFI, called the BFI Players. Unfortunately they aren't credited on the BFI website and there were no printed programme notes, so I can't tell you their names. Notably, though, Ashley Pharoah (co-writer of LoM) was present; after the table-read, there was a short-ish Q&A session.

Lazarus Pilot: A Summary

We start in 2024, with a car chase. Sam Tyler, now DCI of Internal Affairs of Greater Manchester Police, is hot on the pursuit of a Constable who we later learn has raped multiple women while on duty. Notably, Sam is driving exactly the way Gene would, ignoring regulations, nearly running over pedestrians and a cyclist. Sam apprehends the PC on the campus of Manchester University, which is filmed by the assembled students of the lecture that's been interrupted (a quote from the script: "heteronormative queer trans students") - that video subsequently goes viral as another example of police violence. It's clear that the PC is guilty of his crime, but he's let off, and most of CID pretty much turns against Sam. Sam's DI, incidentally, is biromantic and asexual, which is also turned into a joke with Sam making some acephobic remarks.

The next day, Sam finds the rapist PC dead - hanging from a lamppost as though he's died by suicide. CCTV reveals that about an hour before his death, a car idled in front of his home, and the PC had hurled abuse at said car. The driver cannot be seen. That same car is seen at a carehome in Didsbury, idling there just like it did in front of that house... and that car is also confronted, by none other than a geriatric Gene Hunt.

Here is where we start to realise that this Sam is different. It seems he never went back to 1973. He never had that accident, he never met Gene Hunt - he is, however, married to Annie Cartwright (only until half of the episode though, at which point she says they need to get a divorce). A lot of anachronisms going on here, but those will get explained a little later in the episode. Sam also starts having visions - first of a Space Hopper that keeps passing him by, later Clangers from the Planet of the Clangers appear to him. He keeps remembering lines we've heard in Life on Mars ("I never stitched anyone up who didn't deserve it", "If you can feel things you are alive, but it's when you can't feel things that you know you aren't alive", etc). Eventually, he goes to visit Gene in the care home and invites him for a drive, to see if that will jog any memories.

Gene, however, has other ideas - he eventually forces Sam to stop by the roadside, insisting "I'm going back! I'm going BACK!" The two start arguing, and then it devolves into a physical fight, which pushes them into the road... at which point, they are both his by a car. A red Audi Quattro, in fact, and just as everything fades to black, we see someone with white cowboy boots and a white leather jacket get out of the car...

1977. Sam wakes up utterly hungover in the Cortina, next to Gene who's driving. These are their 70s selves. They get to the station, where they find out that they've both been suspended due to Gene assaulting the Superintendent ("I didn't assault him, I strategically placed him... in a bin."). The department has been disbanded and taken over by none other than Derek Litton. Sam and Gene leave, with Sam driving home... to his wife Annie. On his way, he realises that he must have dreamt about 2024, and obviously doesn't understand what is going on. He talks to Annie about it, who becomes upset that he's starting to talk about all the future stuff again. It becomes clear that the case that Sam was investigating in 2024 (the dead rapist PC) is mirrored in 1977. And, crucially, near the end of the episode we realise that Gene also has memories of what we saw happen in 2024... and just at the end, when Annie is on her own, she suddenly sees the video footage mentioned at the very top (the fight at the MU) playing on the TV, and realises that Sam was telling the truth.

The Good

Let me start with the really enjoyable part of this afternoon - the actors who performed the script for us. They all did a brilliant job, especially Sam's actor. I'm pretty sure he must have studied up on John Simm's performance, because he got Sam's tone and cadence so closely to the original that I could really believe he was the character. The production was done well too, with the songs being played over the speaker system; plus, the narrator was absolutely brilliant at setting the scene, reading the descriptive bits of the script with loads of character and humour. The other actors were great too (Litton got a fantastic impression). The only one I wasn't convinced by was Gene's actor, because he gave his Manc accent a very theatric drawl that sometimes made him sound like a pirate. Definitely didn't come close to Philip Glenister's brilliant delivery of his lines.

Speaking of lines, there were some genuinely funny jokes in this. The whole scene with Litton was hilarious, and some of the modern-day jokes landed quite well too (Sam's DI pulls an "ok boomer" on him, to which he responds "that's Gen X I'll have you know").

And of course, I have to mention that it was SO LOVELY to meet a bunch of you in person!!!! It was lovely to chat, and thank you especially to @bisexualroger and friends who came and said hello, you genuinely made my day 🥹 The Bad

Sigh. Buckle up.

This table-reading really cemented for me what I've been saying for several years: The writing in Life on Mars is very mediocre. What made the show so amazing and special was the fact that the crew and actors took that material and elevated it to the heights we know and love. If you take that away... All of its shortcomings become very glaring.

This was even more obvious with Lazarus. Although we have to remember that this was a pilot, which means it was basically a sales pitch to studios and as such they tried to cram as much exciting stuff into it as possible, on the whole it just came across as very confused and embarrassingly self-referential. The characters often (but not always) came across as caricatures of themselves. The script often pointed out the race/ethnicity of characters in ways that felt very unnecessary and strange (more on that later). Most of the dialogue that took place in 2024 was incredibly stilted (again, more on that in a little bit). Most crucially, although it's clear that Lazarus was trying to bring Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes together to tie them up in a neat little bow, it just felt far too all over the place, even for a set-up episode (Lazarus as a whole was planned to be two series with 6 episodes each, like LoM). The Ugly

Basically, this show was supposed to be commentary on the present-day commentary between the public and the police... written from the perspective of two Old White Men(tm) with an unhealthy amount of nostalgia for the past who seem to think of the police as literal guardian angel, which is why they made Gene an actual angel (this is confirmed by what Ashley told us the ending of Lazarus would have been, which I will write up tomorrow because this would be too much for this post).

So, what does that mean in practice? It means that everything that was set in 2024 was an absolute shitshow. There were jokes about "wokeness" in every scene - things such as gender identities, diversity, ethnic food, vegan food, recycling, climate activism and more were only ever played for laughs, with a clear emphasis that everything was better in the "good old days". Especially all the jokes about gender and sexuality made me so angry, seeing as the fandom who has kept the show alive for the last 10 years is overwhelmingly queer.

Worse than that, this show would have been absolutely choc-full of copaganda. We already learn in the pilot that the entire philosophy is that "bad cops" are simply "rotten apples" that need to be removed from the force, which can only happen from the inside (this is Sam's role as DCI of Internal Affairs). And also, the public are just way too mean to cops, for no reason whatsoever - this is very literally shown in a scene in 2024 where a male PC touches a drunk woman's arm in sympathy and she yells at him "DON'T TOUCH ME", whereas in a mirrored scene in 1977 we see a PC giving a woman advice, who seems to be extremely grateful for it and even squeezes his hand for it. Which, if you know ANYTHING about what was going in Manchester at the time, in the wake of the Yorkshire Ripper and the associated police failings, is laughable at best, and an insult at worst.

Furthermore, during the Q&A, Ashley Pharoah unintentionally told on himself and Matthew Graham. I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said that when they both realised during the watchalong on twitter back in 2021 there still were a lot of fans of the show, that's when they felt compelled to properly give Lazarus a go. It very much came across as him saying "we loved the attention and wanted more of it, oh and also we thought we had something to say about the state of affairs regarding the police". Which, as I have laid out above, frankly is a sick joke. After everything that's happened - the protests in 2020, the way police forces in the whole country handled the Sarah Everard case, the fact that the current Chief Superintendent of GMP is an old conservative guy - the fact that Matt and Ash had the audacity to shop a show like Lazarus around to be picked up for TV is... astonishing. The confidence of white men, eh?

In Conclusion

Both Fern and I are very, extremely glad that Lazarus was not, and never will be made into a TV show. We are very glad that we get to keep Sam, Gene, Annie and all the others as they are. And we are also very glad that we went to this table-read, since we can now stop wondering what could have been. It's done and dusted. And, funnily enough, this has invigorated my fandom fire for LoM. I now want to create art of the characters I've come to know and love, to reinforce who they are to me. They are our characters now, Ashley and Matt. You don't get to play with them anymore. You don't get to twist them and put them through the wringer.

Tl;Dr

#Life on Mars #Lazarus #drawing lark #cello rambles #uhh I don't know what else to tag #I don't want to start fandom drama but I also wanted to give my personal opinion #off to bed I go now

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mochie85 · 1 year

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Dear, congrats again on this milestone! I’m sooo happy for you and hope to keep enjoying your amazing writing and talent in this place 💜

I want to make a request with a song, just if it inspires you, so no pressure (;

Brut Gold - Chapter 1 Loki & Lia

1K Celebration Masterlist | Brut Gold Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

Summary: Loki sees you dancing in his club and is immediately infatuated with you. Pairing: Mob!Loki x Female Reader/OFC Word Count: Over 3K Warnings: No Smut, angst, killing, language A/N: Part of my 1K follower celebration. I want to thank @coldnique for this request and for introducing me to this song. I love this song! It is now on heavy rotation in my playlist. And the following scenario is what I pictured when I first heard it. So I hope you like it.

The haze of the club seeped through the walls and into the lungs of every guest attending that night. The air was heavy with deep breaths and sighs. The music was so loud and deep you only had yourself for company; because no one else could hear anything you could or would be saying.

The large hall was dark, with vintage speakeasy furnishings and two bars that boasted to have every drink imaginable. There were private booths in the back that were separated by curtains of red and chrome. Curls of smoke could be seen wafting out when the curtains were pushed back to reveal secrets and obscurities.

Beyond that were the private rooms of the owners where they conducted their daily business.

The Odinsons. They were brothers from an old family, with ties to the royal households of Norway dating back a long time. With money stretching even further back.

Back here, the curls of smoke were thicker with lace and the music was replaced by the screams of people whom the brothers had deemed worthy of their attention. Good…and bad.

Loki had just collected his dagger from the body slumped on the floor. His second-in-command, Fandral, quickly approached him and handed him a handkerchief to wipe his blade. “Thank you, kommandør. Be a dear and dispose of the trash, will you?” Fandral nodded silently to Loki as Hogun leaped up to help him.

“Brother, if you keep killing them, we’ll never find anyone to distribute our product,” Thor said, with an amused grin. He sat with his legs crossed on the back couch, looking like a Pharoah presiding over his kingdom. His crisp white suit hung delicately along his muscular frame. Quite the opposite of Loki’s leaner figure clad in an all-black ensemble.

“Well, if we started recruiting more loyal soldater, I wouldn’t feel the need to kill them.” Loki retorted.

Just then, Lady Sif walks through the door with a tiresome expression on her face. “Another one, Loki? I just saw Fandral and Hogun carrying a black duffel bag to the back.” Loki could only shrug as he wiped his blade clean.

“There she is!” Thor yelled. “My wife. My heart.” He held out his arms for her to join him. Sif pulls out her dagger and places it against Thor’s throat.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“Ooh. I love it when you’re feisty.” He says pushing the blade away from himself slowly. She swings it back his way, expecting an answer. “No, I did not.” He sighs.

Satisfied by his response, she stows her blade and sits on his lap. Loki watches as Thor nuzzles up to his advisor-turned-wife, rolling his eyes at the blatant expression of love between them.

Deep down he knew he was jealous. Not of Thor, but of the connection he has with the person he found to love. But Lady Sif had always been by their side. She grew up in this life. She knows the harsh truths about sacrifice and gains. She was their rådgiver, their adviser.

Loki wanted someone outside of the chaos. Someone who doesn’t know who he is and doesn’t expect anything out of him but love and affection. That was hard to find in the line of work he was in.

He finished cleaning his daggers when Fandral opens the door and whispers to Loki, “It’s done. Volstagg is driving it to the junkyard as we speak. The front of the house needs your presence though.”

“Thank the gods. If I must stand here another minute, I might witness the creation of my future niece or nephew.” Loki whispered back, making Fandral look at what was happening on the couch. He just rolled his eyes and followed Loki out of the room, leaving the two lovers alone.

Closer and closer, Loki struts to the front of the house. The music got louder. The air got thinner. And his heart raced faster in time with the beat of the music.

Loki stopped at the threshold of the large hallway, flanked by Fandral and Hogun on either side. Those closest to them stopped and stared. The three were a sight for sure. All three were dressed impeccably in black slacks and dark shirts. Loki looked the most devastating of all with his shirt sleeves still rolled up and his top buttons still loose from the ‘sentencing’ he carried out moments before.

He looked around the club and saw a large sea of people swaying and gyrating to the music. It was busier tonight than usual. The locals mixed in with the tourist crowd for the summer.

A twinkling flash of gold caught his attention in the middle of the room, and he spotted you dancing on the floor.

Everyone else stared at them. Knew of them. But you- you remained unaffected and joyous as you continued swaying your body to the deep bass of the music. Loki was mesmerized. He’d never seen you in his club before. The sway of your hips made the gold sequence of your skirt catch his eye and he couldn’t look away.

As soon as they sat down, they were bombarded with attention. Some were from lower soldaters, soldiers who wanted to be in the inner circle and paid their respects. While others were of a more sexual nature. Loki ignored them all and just watched you.

He watched as your hands ran through your hair, your body moving to the beat. Your head thrown back lost in the music. He wondered if that’s how you would look, lost in passion, in between him and his bed.

You came in with a bachelorette party. The women you were with all clamoring for attention from the other clubgoers, getting drinks and compliments. You shone brightly behind them, keeping a low profile, just dancing and being protective of your friends who would otherwise end the night with some predator. Loki saw that as a positive quality of yours. Protective, loyal, caring, and gorgeous. He could see all the stares of appreciation you got every time you passed by someone.

He scoffed at the laughable attempts that were directed your way. All of which you turned down. He continued to watch you dance with your friends from one of the private booths in the back. He instructed his bartender to give you and your friends top-shelf drinks and made sure that no one else bothered you for the rest of the night.

Never, had anyone affected him this way before. Just one look at you and he was stunned. He never put much stock in fate or destiny. He always relied on his judgment and instincts. So, this fleeting moment of obsession alarmed him. “Find out all you can about her, Fandral. And don’t alert my brother of your research.” Loki asked his kommandør. Fandral and Hogun looked at each other quickly and let a sly smile pass between them.

Loki would’ve caught their little interaction, had it not been for some ingrate that tried to get handsy with you. Loki growled his displeasure from his seat. But you quickly slapped the cretin’s hands away and pushed him off. When the lowlife tried a second time, Hogun got up to take care of the situation. He’d seen the way Loki was all night. Loki hadn’t paid a single attention to what was happening in front of him. He was too preoccupied with you. Hogun knew that if things didn’t deescalate quickly, he’d have a whole other mess to clean up.

Loki placed his hand on Hogun’s shoulder, stopping the deadly assassin from continuing. Instead, Loki made his way to you as Hogun followed behind closely. “Thor won’t like this if you make a scene, Loki,” he whispered in his ear.

“Who said I was gonna make a scene?” Loki paused with a solemn face. Hogun huffed in response. “Take that scum to the back. Make sure he doesn’t have use of those hands for the foreseeable future.” Hogun knew better than to roll his eyes at him. He simply nodded and grabbed the offending fool off by his collar.

Everyone gave Loki a wide berth as he walked right up behind you. Up till now, he’d only been watching you. But there was something about that handsy boor that stroked his possessiveness towards you.

He started to sway in time with your body. His arms snaked around your hips, as his lips came dangerously close to your ear. You were about to turn and slap whoever decided to get frisky with you until you heard Loki’s velvet voice caressing your ear, “Dance with me.”

There was a deep command laced in his tone. You had never heard a voice sound so sensual. So confident. His touch was firm but reverent. As if he were the lead dancer instructing your body on how to move. Your body relaxed into his. A sly smile formed on your face as you felt his hands trace your curves.

Loki twirled you to face him. You first noticed his eyes. They were cunning and sharp. They were also the brightest green you had ever seen. His smile was what you liked the most. His thin lips gave way to a wide smirk that promised fun and excitement. You could feel his strong arms holding you close to his body as you both swayed slowly to the fast-paced music.

“I’ve been wondering when you would make your move,” you said to him.

“So, you’ve been watching me, have you? I’m flattered.” Loki purred with a guarded smile.

“It’s hard to miss someone whose got the attention of everyone in the room.” You continued as you swayed your hips.

“Likewise, my dear. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you.” He whispered in your ear. A blush formed on your cheek from his charm. “Have a drink with me.” His tone left no room for refusal. Loki kissed your hand as he leads you back to his private booth. Everyone you passed just stared at you with judgment or awe.

He signaled to his barkeep for a drink while he held the curtains open for you to slide in. Soon after, a scantily clad woman, wearing the tightest mini skirt you had ever seen, walks up with a tray. She holds out the bottle for Loki to approve and he nods his head without taking his eyes off you. The pop of the bottle startled you and made you jump closer to his embrace. She eyed you suspiciously as she poured a gold bottle of brut with a spade on the front label. His eyes viciously glinted as he felt your body press up against his.

He snaked his arm tighter around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him. “Have you ever had Armand de Brignac before?” he whispered in your ear.

“No. I can’t say I have,” you smiled as he reached for his glass, dismissing the bottle girl. Loki held it up to his lips and took a sip. His eyes noted how you looked down at his throat, watching him swallow the expensive champagne.

With closed lips, he leaned in close to you. He pressed his mouth to yours and puckered slightly opening your lips to the cool champagne in his mouth. You sucked on his kiss as the taste of the champagne coated it. It was tart with hints of fruits. The bubbles were still evident as they tickled in between your joined lips. You drank the rest of the champagne from his mouth. His hands held the back of your head steady, helping you drink from him. When you had finished, a trickle fell down your chin to your throat. He was quick to wipe it away with a hooked finger and brought it over to your mouth to lick off.

You played along with his game and wrapped your lips along the length of his finger, licking the drop of bubbly from the bend.

“Delicious, is it not?” his voice hitched.

“Yes,” you said breathlessly. “Very much so.” Your mind tried to catch up. Your body was thrumming with adrenaline and hot need. Your bodies were turned towards each other in the private booth as his hand continues to caress the hairs on the back of your head.

“Would you like another taste?” he offered, looking down at your lips. He grabbed the flute without waiting for your answer. As if he knew you would say yes. Hoped that you would say yes.

“Yes, please.” You whispered, making him smile. He brought his lips towards yours again and you happily drank his sweet champagne kisses. Your hands roamed his shirt, pulling on his shirt collar to move closer to you. When you had drank every last drop, you snaked your tongue in between his lips and tickled the roof of his mouth.

When you finished, you looked down at his throat again and your fingers traced the outlines of a snake tattoo on his neck. Loki rumbled at the feel of your fingers on him. “You dangerous creature. I don’t even know your name.” His breath smelled like the champagne, crisp apples, and fruit.

“My closest friends call me Lia,” you whispered as your fingers followed the tattoo down to his collarbone.

“My friends, if I had any, call me…” Loki started but he was soon interrupted by someone calling out your name.

“Lia!” Your cousin slid the curtains open, much to the protest of Hogun standing guard. She had on a tiara with a veil and a sash that said wifey around her shoulder. “Lia! There you are!” Rosaline glared at Loki and grabbed your hand. “We have to go. Other clubs to visit.” Rosaline gave Loki a tight smile as she pulled you out of the booth. She looks vaguely familiar, Loki thought, but couldn’t put his mind as to where he’s seen her before. The bachelorette get-up surely didn’t help his memory either.

“Ok. Ok. Hold on a second.” You told her as you scooted out of the booth. Loki held on to your other hand, not wanting to let go.

“Lia.” He called out. “Will I ever see you again?” he smiled as you got up from the booth.

“I…”

“My cousins just visiting for the wedding,” Roseline answered. You gave her an angry look for talking on your behalf. “Come on. Let’s go.” Rosaline dragged you quickly away from the private booths and back to the safety of the group of girls you came with.

“What’s the deal, Rose? I thought you wanted me to find someone tonight?”

“Yes! Someone. Just not that one.” She said as she grabbed her purse and coat. Everyone in your group was doing the same, getting ready to go to the next club.

“What do you mean?”

“Girl, do you know who that is? No, of course you don’t. Ugh. Sometimes, I hate daddy for sending you away. All these years without my bestie…”

“Rose! Who is he?” you interrupted her, as she wrapped you in your coat.

“That is none other than Loki Odinson. Part owner of this club. Along with his brother, Thor Odinson.”

“Odinson?”

“Yes! That Odinson! The same Odinson that’s rivals with the Barnes family. You know…my fiancé!” The realization made you look back to the booth you had just shared. Except this time, Loki wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by another man. Striking blue eyes and an imposing figure, clad in all white. Thor Odinson.

“Brother, I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and you cause all kinds of mischief,” Thor laughed as he sat down in the booth. Thor watched you walk away, being towed by none other than Rosaline Strange. “If I ask you to stay away from her, would you listen?”

Loki ignored his question and watched as your cousin, undoubtedly, informed you of who he was. “I saw what Fandral was researching for you. Would you like to know who she is?” Thor dangled the information in front of Loki, baiting for any response.

“Her name is Juliette ‘Lia’ Banner. Daughter of Bruce and Donna Banner. Donna, her mother, is Strange’s younger sister. Her parents both died a long time ago in an accident. They weren’t ‘in the life’ and wanted to keep their daughter out of it as well. When they passed, Strange honored their wishes and sent Juliette away to boarding school and Uni abroad to keep her safe. Apparently, she just graduated and is in town for the nuptials of her cousin Rosaline and James Barnes.”

“Barnes?” Loki said alarmed.

“Of all the juicy details I said. That’s the one you pick up on?” Thor chuckled. “She’s got too many ties for us to unravel Loki. Leave her be.” Thor warned resolutely.

“I don’t know if I can, Thor.”

“What do you mean you don’t know if you can? You have to. Or else…”

“Or else, what? Thor? Cut me off like you did Hela?”

“DAMMIT LOKI! You knew that was her decision.” Thor slammed his fist on the table making everyone in the vicinity jump. “I can’t protect you if you go after this girl. It would be a war for sure with Barnes and we don’t need that right now.”

Loki sat there quietly; watching as your group prepares to leave. “I’ve never lied to you brother…” Loki started. Thor just raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “…Regarding matters of the business and family. I’m telling you right now, that I want her.”

“How do you even know she wants you back? You can have any goddam cunt in here tonight. Hel, this whole club wants to sleep with you. Take your pick. But not her Loki!”

“If she turns to look back…”

You walked towards the front entrance, the chill from the summer night was flowing through the doors making you hold on tighter to your coat. Your cousin and her friends all laugh and beckon you outside to join them. Each step you took forward felt heavy. You couldn’t help it. One last look.

Both men stared at you as you made your exit. Shivers ran down your spine as you replayed his last words to you, ‘Will I ever see you again?’

God, I sure hope so, you thought.

⬅️ Series Masterlist | Brut Gold: Chapter 2➡️

@alexs1200 @a-witch-with-words @athalialaufeyson @britishserpent @cakesandtom @crimson25 @el-zef @fictive-sl0th @gigglingtigger @glitterylokislut @goldencherriess @holdmytesseract @holymultiplefandomsbatman @huntress-artemiss @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @immersed-in-mischief @kellatron55 @kikster606 @kkdvkyya @ladyofthestayingpower @lokidbadguy @lokiprompts21 @lokisasgardianvampirequeen @lokisgoodgirl @lokisninerealms @lokischambermaid @lokixryss @loopsisloops @lucylaufeyson3 @luvlady-writes @michelleleewise @mischief2sarawr @mukagentropy @muddyorbsblr @nopenottodayson @one-oblivious-nerd @ozymdias @peaches1958 @salempoe @sarahscribbles @sarawr-reads @silverfire475 @springdandelixn @starktowerrooftop @theaudacitytowrite @thedistractedagglomeration @thomase1 @vickie5446 @vbecker10 @wheredafandomat @xorpsbane

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rougeaerie · 20 days

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Outfit Rundown: Blouse, Headdress, JSK: Atelier Pierrot Socks: Innocent World Shoes: Windsor Smith Accessories and Jewellery: Vintage, local jeweller, and offbrand

Point of Coord: Comfy Kuro to See Ramses II 𓂀

Went to the city yesterday in incredibly rainy humid weather. We managed to dodge every single shower by either being indoors or underground at the time, which was nothing shy of a miracle.

We saw the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharoahs exhibit which was really amazing. There's not really words for how well-staged and frankly awe-inspiring it was.

We also checked out the renovated museum while we had time afterwards, and looked into their new minerals room mostly. They've added so many new specimens to the displays! I really want to go back one afternoon and do nothing but the new museum displays, honestly. I wish we'd had more time, but we were meeting a friend for dinner.

#egl fashion #lolita fashion #atelier pierrot #innocent world #windsor smith

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crazycatgirl420 · 8 months

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Gotham's Black Rose

Dpxdc fanfic Sam is Bruce Wayne's daughter, adopted by the Manson family. Everlasting Trio, toddler Ellie. Pharoah Tucker, Witch Sam, Space Ancient Danny, and Cujo too.

"How do you feel now?" Mrs. Foley asked, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.

Chapter 3: Revelation

Sam removed the tinfoil from her hair. Purple, with a smattering of black, but her hair was mainly a bright vivid purple now. Her purple contacts were back, and last night she even got her nose pierced.

"Better," Sam said. "I feel more like me now,"

"That's good," Mrs. Foley said. "Remember to clean up, dinner will be done soon and Tucker finished whatever he was doing for you,"

Hacking into the Justice League's database of DNA records, to cross-reference her DNA too. It's the largest DNA database in the world. If her biological parents were Heroes or Villians or otherwise employed by such a person then explaining the chaos that was her life would be easier. If not, then she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet them. Her life was messy and complicated and dangerous, bringing someone unprepared into her life would be an unnecessary risk.

"Thanks Mrs. Foley," Sam said. "I'll be down soon,"

The test finished running while they were eating. Sam and Tucker left the table, nervous and excited in equal measure.

"I can't look," Sam said, closing her eyes at the door to Tucker's office.

Tucker took her hand and pulled her in.

"No fucking way," Tucker said, pushing Sam into a rolling stool and spinning her around to face a monitor. "You're gonna wanna see this," Sam leaned back into Tucker's chest, covering her eyes with her hands.

Tucker clicked away on the keyboard, his arms loose around her shoulders.

"It's someone horrible isn't it? Like an intergalactic Tyrant or someone who hates kids or maybe someone who hates nature or magic-"

"It's Bruce Wayne,"

When an outsider ran a DNA test using the Justice League's database, Hero identities were locked away on a separate server and only those with Civilian identities connected to the Justice League could be found.

It was one of B's many contingencies against enemy hackers. Tim was waiting in the monitor room for Kon to finish his appointment with Canary, when a screen flashed. Tim watched as the Civilian files were shuffled through by the outsider, as the DNA sequence searched for a match. He watched as it stopped on the file of Bruce Wayne and confirmed a parental match.

Finding out who B's new mystery child is was easy. He synced to the hacker's computer, turned on the camera, and there they were. This hacker had an impressive setup, he even had audio.

"I'm a Wayne?" The purple hair girl asked, staring at the screen. "I think I'm gonna be sick,"

"Oh yeah, that's gotta be some cosmic irony or something," the hacker, leaning over the young woman's shoulder said. "An anti-capitalist and her multi-billioniare capitalist father,"

She elbowed him in the gut.

"Any idea who my mother is?"

"Nope, seems only Wayne was on this database. Your mother is probably one of the many supermodels Wayne took to bed so frequently,"

"My whole identity is a lie," the woman said. "If I decide to meet him I probably wouldn't even be an outcast anymore..."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "What if I am only an activist because the ones who raised me aren't? What if I only befriended you and Danny because they didn't approve of you? What if I'm actually an entirely different person than I thought I was and I become some shallow backstabbing arrogant snob as soon as Bruce Wayne says he's proud of me for something?"

"If you don't want to meet him, you don't have too,"

"We're moving to Gotham. He's gonna be everywhere,"

"He doesn't have to know Sam," the man said. "If you're not ready we won't tell him,"

Tim pulled up the records of the woman, the unknown Wayne child, and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Samantha Manson, Seventeen years old, born October 13th at Gotham Private Hospital and adopted a week later from the same hospital by the Manson couple, raised in Amity Park Illinois, an average B student and an activist for nearly any cause she found. From school food to animal rights to nature preservation and restoration to illegal pride parades. She bought an apartment in Gotham near Gotham University, for her and her boyfriends Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton, and Danny's daughter Eliza.

Bruce had a completely civilian daughter. The batchat was going to freak out.

#dpxdc

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doomandgloomfromthetomb · 15 days

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MC5 - Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw, Michigan, January 1, 1970

Since we said goodbye to John Sinclair yesterday, let's say goodbye today to Wayne Kramer, the MC5 co-founder also passed away this year. The Motor City 5 at the dawn of the damn 1970s! Things were gonna get darker during the decade ahead of them, but onstage in Saginaw on New Year's Day, they sound like true rock n roll gods.

The band's second LP, Back in the U.S.A., would be released a couple weeks later, and the band tears through a fair amount of that LP, in addition to plenty of stuff from the debut. Kramer is on fire throughout, dueling marvelously with his six-string comrade Fred "Sonic" Smith, kicking out the jams like there was no tomorrow. Maybe there wasn't any tomorrow.

Wayne Says: The MC5 took a different tact. Although we loved Miles, we plugged into the more angry and the more passionate visceral free jazz movement of the late '60's- the music of Coltrane, Ornette and Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. Joseph Jarman (Art Ensemble of Chicago) lived next door. This was the community that we had. We were all sharing this sense of what was happening in this off-shoot of jazz that seemed to parallel what we felt what was happening conscious-wise in the streets. They were way more committed and way more passionate than what Miles did. What we were really trying to do was, in my opinion, the same thing. There was no difference between what Joseph Jarman and Charles Moore and the MC5 were doing even though we came from a guitar rock perspective and they came from a traditional jazz perspective. We were all trying to get through that door that Sun Ra opened up, that Ayler opened up, that Coltrane opened up, that Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp opened up. That was the music that inspired (us). That's what we were striving for.

#mc5 #wayne kramer

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achaotichuman · 13 days

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Personal Rant

TW- Discussions of attempted rape, homophobia and transphobia.

I just got back from church, unfortunately I have to attend lest I risk disownment from everyone I have ever known or loved, and I need to share my thoughts out loud, or I am going to literally explode.

First and foremost, if my brother (for example) came home and told me that his boss had tried to force him to have sex with her, to the point that she grabbed him and tried to force him down. Then he had to shove her away and leave his coat behind because she had grabbed it, I would not be congratulating him on resisting the temptation of sex, I would be calling the police and filing a report for attempted rape.

Joseph's story of being forced down by Pharoah's wife, and just narrowly escaping is not a story that shows how he was a man of God who refused a temptation from the devil. It is the story of a victim of attempted SA and systemic oppression. He was then thrown in jail because Pharoah's wife claimed he had raped her. That isn't the story of him trusting in God, even if he was later released and appointed to a higher position of power. I am certain if we asked Joseph, he would not want to go through any of those trials again. They were not proof of his loyalty to God; they were the result of him being preyed on by a person of higher authority.

The fact that this people are trying to sell this story as a great act of resistance against the temptation of the devil, and not the heartbreaking story of a victim who was not given justice until literal decades after is disgusting to me.

Latching off of this, they tried to make out like Joseph nearly being raped is a good example of resisting homosexual impulses. One commentary from someone was likening homosexuality to being a diabetic. In her words "If you have diabetes, that isn't your fault, but that means you should steer away from eating cake because that isnt good for you."

Basically, saying being gay is an illness like diabetes, and not a genuine part of a person. When talking about being transgender, all anyone wants to talk about is that some people 'identify as animals and that's disgusting.'

I'm transmasc, and I have to sit there and play the part as the pretty cishet young woman who serves god and agrees with everything being told.

I am sorry but tonight was my final straw because how fucking dare you liken Joseph escaping being SAed to a person resisting their natural urge to be themselves in the name of your god.

If you asked any of these people about being cishet, they would answer with God created man and woman to be together have relations with each other. Agreeing that wanting to be with someone and have sex with someone is an extremely natural thing and is a big part of their person.

But somehow that doesn't apply to gay people. Somehow, they simultaneously say that people are genuinely born gay, but at the same time that 'doesn't have to be a part of their person and they can resist it'.

And they claim to be completely non-hypocritical, and only speaking the truth of God.

Anyway, sorry for this, I strive to not post that much personal stuff because I want my blog to be an escape from the real world. But I needed to say this.

Please, if recognize the religion I am talking about here, do not put it in the comments. And please no one start arguing with me on these points, this is my venting and not an open topic.

I also wanna say thank you to everyone who interacts with me on this site, you guys have been my lifeline this past couple of months.

Okayyy I feel better after typing this, bye bye!

#religion #religious trauma #i think #im sorting this stuff out #personal post #personal rant #sorry for the rant #tw sa #tw sa mention #tw homophobia #tw transphobia

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kujakumai · 11 months

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Sorry but what was Mariks goal in Battle City? The dub said he wanted to rule the world but I think that was a dubbism.

Marik was raised with the belief that according to prophecy, one day the pharaoh will return (and that "you will know [the pharoah] by the gods he wields") and at such time he and the rest of the clan were to turn over the millennium items so that the pharaoh will regain his memories, after which the tombkeepers "will have no reason to exist."

Marik does not like this prophecy, and deeply resents the idea that he and his ancestors are supposed to dedicate their lives to suffering in the dark for thousands of years for some jerk, especially since the pharaohs ghost will or whatever (he believes) killed his father. He also interprets the "have no reason to exist" bit to mean he and his family all die at the end.

Marik's plan is to do some good ol fashioned "exact wording of the prophecy" trickery. If you'll know the pharaoh by the god cards he wields, then all Marik has to do is get all the god cards FIRST, and get rid of any other candidates, then the prophecy will have no choice but to determine that Marik Ishtar was the true pre-ordained pharaoh all along! This puts him in a position of divine power, gets revenge for his father's murder, and probably allows him to avoid mass tombkeeper death; it also sort of symbolically re-takes the past few millennia of tombkeeper servanthood away from the pharaohs who ordered their entombment and gives it to one of their own.

Obviously a lot of the underlying facts Marik is operating under are wrong (he killed his own father, and the pharaoh's return means the tombkeepers as an institution ceases to exist and the people themselves are free to live new lives) and we have no idea if this would have worked even if he had successfully knocked out Atem and collected all 3 gods. But I do appreciate a good literal-prophecy gambit.

#this is distinct from Yami Marik who is simply doing whatever the fuck he wants

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kissofthemis · 3 months

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Berry and Marius bonding moment. C'mon.

"I told you, Marius, I'm sorry!"

Rosa looked genuinely apologetic as she clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

But nobody could outdo Marius von Hagen at the artbof being pathetic, and the pout on his lips almost convinced Rosa to abandon her plans for today. "But Miss... it's supposed to be your day off! It's the weekend!" he whined.

"I know that," Rosa replied in a whine of her own. "But I promised Kiki that I would help her study today!"

"Why can't she come over here?" Marius pleaded, grasping at some way to prevent his darling from leaving for hours. "The manor is huge! We have the space."

"That..." Rosa hesitated. Marius felt a blush rush to his cheeks as Rosa gently bit her lip while she contemplated his offer. He hated when she did that-- it was almost too hot to resist. "That's a bad idea," she stated bluntly at last. "Kiki wouldn't be able to focus."

He hated to resort to this argument, but desperate times called for desperate measures. In a last-ditch effort, Marius pointed at Berry. "But what about the baby?"

"I'll be back tonight! Consider it time for you to bond with him!"

Berry's immediate side-eye at Marius suggested he wasn't too keen on that idea.

And now, here Marius was, with a fresh dribble of blood on his forearm and a grouchy cat flicking his tail aggressively from atop the couch.

Or perhaps it was a gesture of triumph?

"Bonding time, she says," Marius huffed as Payton dabbed at the scratches with a soapy washcloth. "I don't even know what that means."

"If I may, young master," Payton interjected calmly, "I believe the young miss wishes for you to get along with Berry even when she is not here."

Marius furrowed his brow. "Doesn't she know I didn't exactly have friends growing up?" he grumbled under his breath. "I can't get along with people my own age, let alone a little guy like Berry.... What do kids even like these days...?" His eyes suddenly lit up as though he'd come up with a brilliant idea. "Should I download some games on my phone?"

Payton, ever the master at keeping his composure, did not even pause in his continued treatment of Marius' arm. However, his tone slightly betrayed his exasperation. "I do believe the young miss intends for you to engage in a more... interactive activity with him in order to properly bond."

Marius sighed and nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, you're right," he conceded. "How do I do that? Hmm... Payton, what would you recommend for father-son bonding?"

Now even Payton found himself somewhat at a loss for words. Father-son? "Catch, perhaps?" he proposed as he finally applied a bandage to the cleaned-up wound.

Marius turned his arm over, inspecting it, then gave it an approving nod. "Catch?" he echoed, followed by a quick chuckle. "Payton, you can't play catch with a cat." He puffed his chest, as if that were the most obvious statement in the world. "Oh, you know what he might like? Cats enjoy fish, so perhaps a trip to the bait & tackle store?"

Marius rose to his feet and turned towards Berry with a pensive look. "The collars we have will all be too big for you, since they're sized for our Pharoah Hound... unless..." With a smirk, he began to squat down to Berry's level with his fingers twitching at his sides. "C'mere, Berry!"

"Mrrow!!!"

~~~

Marius tutted under his breath as he watched Payton toss the tube of antibiotic ointment into the trash. "Do we have more?"

"Fret not, young master," Payton told him with a gentle, polite smile as he pulled a fresh tube out of the first aid kit. "We will need to order more, however. I did not anticipate..."

"Yeah, me either," Marius huffed, sparing Payton the awkwardness of saying it and himself the embarrassment of hearing it: "I did not anticipate you would get this injured in one day by one cat."

"It's not my fault!" he added quickly. "Nobody ever told me I can't grab a cat like that!"

As if on cue, a sharp hiss came from underneath the couch.

"You told me after I did it, not before!" Marius retorted. "That's useless!" With a dejected sigh, Marius turned his gaze towards the window. "Bonding," he murmured. "And I can't take him out anywhere...."

"Ideally, you are present when the young miss returns," Payton pointed out. "Brace yourself. The soap may sting."

"Then I shouldn't take him to the studio, either," Marius mused. "Plus I can't say I trust him around all my supplies. I don't want to explain to Rosa how Berry turned into Strawberry if he knocks over red paint." As if he had come up with another brilliant idea, Marius' amethyst eyes twinkled like the rarest, most dazzling jewels. "But watercolors are safe! Payton, could you bring some paper and watercolors? And I-- ouch! Damn, that does sting!"

"Apologies."

"And I will turn on cartoons!"

~~~

"Maaaarius!" A sing-song voice echoed throughout the spacious building as Rosa returned from her outing. "Marius, I'm baaack!"

No response?

"Marius?" Rosa had expected Marius to be waiting eagerly for her to return. Was he entangled in combat with Berry? She wanted to hope for the best, but with the two of them...

Keeping her expectations low was safest. Sometimes she couldn't tell who was the human and who was the pet, with the way they were always going back and forth and trying to get the upper hand (paw?) on each other.

"Marius? Berry?"

Not in the living room.

Not in the kitchen.

Not in the backyard.

Finally she came to Marius' bedroom. She hadn't expected the two of them to be in here, mainly because both of them could be bizarrely territorial, but with no other place left to check...

"Misssssss!"

A low whimper greeted her as soon as she opened the door. Marius was lying on the ground, with Berry curled up atop his stomach.

Scattered papers decorated the ground, some of which were covered in brushstrokes and pawprints of paint, others of which were still blank. The room had transformed into a child's makeshift studio, with colors and brushes and patterns and "canvases" everywhere. To top it off, the faint sound of children's television hummed in the background as it played from Marius' huge personal screen.

"Missssssss," another pitiful whine rose from the floor. Tears covered Marius' eyelashes, glistening like dewdrops. "Is it really okay to ask others for help? To rely on others? Is it okay if the world is a bit too much for me to handle alone?"

"Marius..." Rosa's chest squeezed tightly. What had prompted this sudden emotional inquiry? Had he reached a breakthrough in bonding with Berry? Had something happened while she was out?

As she thought of an answer, Rosa's eyes anxiously flickered to the TV. A blue Australian shepherd immediately caught her attention.

"Not Bluey!"

#tears of themis #marius von hagen #Marius x Rosa #Tot #thanks for the ask!

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tobiasdrake · 2 months

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Random thought about the final episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Ozai's means of defeat.

The role of the Avatar is to preserve the balance between the Four Nations. The show never really delves too deeply into, like, what that actually means. What is the balance between the nations?

We know what it's not. It's not committing genocide and conquest. It's not taking everyone's bending away so that nobody has powers anymore. It's not letting Spirit Satan eat the planet or whatever.

But there's not really much of an indication for what it is. What is the balance? And that's because there's not really an answer to that. As Legend of Korra goes on to show us through the origins of Avatar Wan, the Avatar isn't really charged by anyone to do anything. This is entirely a self-imposed task. The closest thing to some kind of patron deity or whatever that the Avatar has is Raava, and she's mainly just there to chill with her bestie and enable the Avatar's unique powers.

There is no real definition to what the balance is. No correct state of the world, that the Avatar must preserve. The Avatar just. Like. Has to use their best judgment. They are not a servant of the supreme authority in the world; They are the supreme authority. And they have to use that wisely.

This is why Aang wrestles with the concept of the balance in the comics with regard to Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom, and why Republic City can be born into the world as a fifth nation without disrupting the balance. Because the balance is a flexible concept; It doesn't really mean anything. It's just an easy way of codifying the idea that the Avatar will fuck you up if you use your power irresponsibly.

The role of the Avatar, in actuality, is about the legitimization of beneficial systems of power and the eradication of harmful ones. That is the balance. I said above that the Avatar is the supreme authority but in truth, they aren't even that. They're the validator of authority. They possess no real political power; They are a spiritual leader, recognized as the supreme political influence, and so serve as a check on the existing structures of political power.

That brings us to Ozai.

The Firelord is a monarch. His right to govern is derived not from his people, but by the inherent specialness of his bloodline. He was born into power because the circumstances of his birth automatically recognize him as a better class of human than the common person. This is what's known as the Divine Right of Kings or Divine Right to Rule; Something that Azula even name-drops in "The Crossroads of Destiny".

"You were born with nothing, so you've had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with."

But what is the Divine Right? What is this special recognition? It exists in many different cultures and speaks to the faith of the region and era. In Ancient Egypt, the Pharoah was the mortal incarnation of the god Ra. In European monarchies, the Divine Right is the Christian God's recognition of the monarch's specialness. In China, the Mandate of Heaven states that the emperor is blessed by heaven.

The Divine Right has manifested in many ways across many cultures but the idea is always the same: Our supreme deity acknowledges that my family is supernaturally qualified to lead our nation, like none other.

But Avatar doesn't have deities. It has spirits. And it has the Avatar, spiritual leader and supreme political validator.

That is what brings us to the power in this moment.

Shorthand is the artistic practice of using small literal details to convey greater symbolic and metaphorical meaning. What happens onscreen is representative of something greater.

The literal text of this scene is that Aang, given a shiny new power-up by a passing Lion Turtle, takes away Ozai's superpowers and now he can't fight anymore. Then they lock him away in prison.

But taken within the context of their political and spiritual roles, Aang's energybending means more than its literal interpretation. Because Ozai is a king. He even trades out his Firelord title for the more blatant Phoenix King, just to make sure that the meaning isn't lost.

This moment is more than Aang taking Ozai's powers away. It's simultaneously a humanist and religious denouncement. It is the revocation of Ozai's Divine Right, taken from him by the one being in the human world of Avatar most closely associated to divinity. Ozai declared that the Mandate of Heaven permits him to burn the Earth Kingdom from the face of this world. And in this moment, the man named "Heaven" looks down on him and says, "No."

This is what the Avatar is, and what they mean to the world.

#avatar the last airbender #aang #ozai

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celestiall0tus · 3 months

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Tales of Bloody Bug and Chat Noir - Chapter 12 - Pharoah

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Alix ran around the new Tutankhamun exhibit in the Louvre. Jalil followed her and explained each display. She took notes before he started in on his theories to the next. She made her way to Tutankhamun’s specter as their dad joined them.

“How’s everything going, you two?” Alim asked.

“Amazing. I’ll have the best project for History yet,” Alix beamed.

“And you, Jalil?”

“It’s unbelievable! You managed to get everything I need,” Jalil exclaimed.

“Need for what?” Alim pressed.

Alix rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go.”

“Indeed. I want to direct your attention to the scroll on this wall.”

Alim and Alix followed Jalil as they approached an adjacent wall.

“So, Dad, you know this, but for Alix, the one with the scepter is Tutankhamun the First. There, opposite, is Nefertiti, his princess. There are exactly one hundred mummies beside them. She died several years before him and the sun god, Ra, took her as his goddess.”

“Get to the point,” Alix said.

“I am. Tutankhamun wanted to bring his princess back to life by offering the sun god a new wife. The scene illustrates a ritual he devised. However, nobody has ever fully deciphered the hieroglyphics, but I have. It’s a magic chant that needs to be recited in order to complete the ritual. I’m sure of it. I just need the scepter and I can carry out the ritual.”

“I mean, that’s cool and all, but it looks like you need a human sacrifice for the ritual. Aren’t we long past that?” Alix asked.

Alim sighed. “Jalil, I love the interest you take in your study, but even if it were to work, I can’t allow you to do that.”

“Yeah. And the human sacrifice thing again. Who would you even use for it? Did you even think of that?”

“Indeed, I did. The lucky sacrifice I picked is none other than Chloe Bourgeois,” Jalil announced.

Jalil pulled out a crudely drawn imitation of Chloe. Alix snickered while Alim scowled.

“Alix, don’t laugh at that.”

“I mean, it’s kinda funny,” Alix admitted.

“No, it’s not, young lady,” Alim scolded.

Alix pursed her lips as Alim stepped closer to Jalil.

“As I’ve said, I admire your dedication and passion for history and the supernatural aspects of it, but I cannot allow this. Not only because I cannot stake my entire career and our livelihood on a potential legend, but I will not let you indulge in these murderous fantasies.”

“Don’t you see it’s perfect? We could discover the secret to resurrection and keep Alix safe. No more anger, no more worries.”

“How would this help her?”

“Because Chloe is clearly a focal point for a lot of Alix’s anger and stress. We remove that and-.”

“Absolutely not. Jalil, do you hear yourself? We should be helping Alix work through it to the point. Not eliminating the cause without knowing the reason why. Without getting rid of the roots, it will spread. If not Chloe, it’ll be someone or something else.”

“But-!”

“Enough! I won’t hear of this anymore. I want you to take the day off, Jalil. I need you to get your head on straight before you even consider coming back here.”

Jalil opened his mouth but closed it and stormed off.

“Dad, you’re not upset that we aren’t making progress on my… issues, are you?” Alix asked.

“Alix, honey, no. You are young and going through a lot of change in your life while dealing with a past trauma. It is a challenge, but we’ll handle it at the pace that you’re comfortable with. That is what matters most.”

“But what if we never find out? What if I don’t get better?”

“Sometimes that happens. Which, we just need to learn to adapt, just as our ancestors did. We are still human and capable of so much. Even if you never find the source of your anger and trauma, you’ll learn to adapt and live around it. Sometimes it’s all we can do. Much like your mother.”

“Was she hurt?”

“Well, let’s just say she didn’t have the upbringing you and Jalil have. Far from actually. It made her very slow to trust and guarded. I’m still amazed I got through her walls, but I’m glad I did. I got to be with the most amazing, flawed woman and human I’ve ever known. On top of that, we had two equally amazing and flawed children, just like we are.”

“Is that why you push me to make friends?”

“It is another reason, yes. I know it’s cliché to say love saved us, but it really did. I wasn’t half the man I was before I met your mom. She made sure to toughen me up and in return, I softened her. With me, she was able to open herself up, even if it was just a little.”

“Did Mom have trouble too?”

“Oh, yes. And I’d get to hear all about it, but that was all part of the process. It’s a slow and painful one, but one that must be taken at your own pace.”

“Excuse me, but are you the Director of the museum?” Nathalie asked.

Alim and Alix turned to the entrance where Adrien stood with Nathalie and Gorilla. Alim stepped forward.

“I am. May I help you?”

“My boss’s son heard about this exhibit arriving and wanted to visit it to gather information for a school project. Is it open?” Nathalie explained.

“It may not be open just yet, but I can allow this. After all, my own daughter has been doing the same. Uh, Alix?”

Alix stepped up beside Alim. “Yeah?”

“Would you assist him while Jalil is out for the day?”

“Do I have to?”

“No, but I would appreciate it.”

Alix considered, approached Adrien, and gave him her notes. “Give these back to me or you will hurt.”

“That’s not what I exactly had in mind,” Alim remarked.

“Sorry, Dad, but I do have to get to roller derby.”

Alim’s eyes widened. “I forgot about roller derby! It’s not a match today, is it?”

“No, just practice.”

“Thank goodness. Do you need a ride?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks though.”

“Stay safe, Alix. See you for lunch!”

Alix waved goodbye and headed for the museum exit. She stopped when a tall, muscular man with roseish black skin, blue glowing eyes, and decked out in gold Egyptian jewelry, shendyt, and mask. She eyed Jalil’s scarab necklace in the collection of jewelry.

“Jalil?” Alix asked.

“Jalil is gone. I’m the Pharoah!”

Alix grimaced and ran. She headed back to the Tutankhamun exhibit. She made it down the steps when Pharoah blocked her path. She skidded to a stop and scrambled back.

“You’re fast, Alix, but not fast enough.”

“Enough, Jalil! Cut the fucking crap!” Alix roared.

“Alix?” Alim called.

Pharoah turned where Alim’s voice came from. Alix took the opportunity and ran to hide. She transformed into Bloody Bug and ran back to the exhibit. She spotted Pharoah approaching Alim while Adrien, Nathalie, and Gorilla made their escape. She chunked her yo-yo in, and it wrapped around Alim. She pulled him out of Pharoah’s path.

“Go! I’ll keep him busy!” Bloody Bug yelled.

Alim hesitated, then ran.

Bloody Bug turned as Pharoah closed the gap. Her eyes widened to see his mask had shifted to a lion’s head. He landed a blow on her side and sent her into the wall. The impact created a crater with her plastered to the bottom of it. She took a sharp breath as she felt the pain through her suit. He reached in, grabbed her face, and lifted her up.

“Fucking bastard! That hurt!” Bloody Bug roared.

“Then let’s make this easy for both of us. Give me your earrings.”

“Over my dead body! Lucky Charm!”

Ladybugs swirled and created an unassuming box. Pharoah laughed and picked it up.

“Is this the best you can do, little bug?”

Bloody Bug snarled and swung her legs up. She hit the corner of the box and it exploded. Pharoah yelled as she was propelled back. She rolled and staggered to her feet. She headed out of the museum as she heard his furious screams. She got as much distance between her and Louvre as possible. She slipped into an alleyway and de-transformed. She leaned against a wall and groaned.

“That hurt.”

“This is bad. We should go see Master,” Tikki said.

“My thoughts too, Tikki. I think we should use elation. What do you think?”

“Maybe call Bomb Bee back too?”

Alix nodded. She stuck Tikki in her cap and headed for Wang Fu’s massage parlor. She headed in and found him finishing with a patient.

“Ah, my next client. I’ll see you next week,” Wang Fu said to the patient.

Alix slipped past the patient and shut the door. “I’m going to need help again.”

“Twice in a row? It’s not that one girl again, is it?”

“I’d rather that. No, my brother was akumatized into this demigod thing. He had a normal mask, then it was a lions, and then I was seismic punched into a wall with my own impact crater. Still feel the sting of it.”

“Not to mention she blew up the exhibit and scepter that Jalil wanted to use to perform an ancient sacrificial ritual. So, he’s going to be coming right for her,” Tikki added.

Wang Fu’s eyes widened. “That’s… concerning to say the least. Alright, one moment.”

Alix took a seat while Wang Fu retrieved the Miraculous Box. She lifted her shirt to check for bruising, but didn’t’ see anything. She had expected to see a massive black bruise of Pharoah’s fist in her side.

“Don’t worry. So long as you have me on, you won’t sustain any injuries, though you’ll feel the pain still,” Tikki reassured.

“Fucking lovely,” Alix groaned.

“Alright, here we are. Make your choices,” Wang Fu said.

“How many am I allowed?” Alix asked.

Wang Fu considered. “I’ll lend you three this time. Just as before, they are to be returned immediately after.”

“Well, I know I want elation and action, but what would you suggest for a third?”

Wang Fu considered, then took off the turtle shell bracelet he wore. “This belongs to the kwami of protection. I think you can guess what it does.”

Alix snorted. “I don’t know. It might take a lot of guesses. Oh, you have anything I could give Tikki to recharge?”

Wang Fu nodded. He left and returned shortly after with a plate of store-bought cookies. Tikki munched on a few before she flew up.

“All good.”

“Good. Saddle up, it’s going to be a long run,” Alix said.

“We aren’t transforming?”

“You said it yourself. He’s coming for Bloody Bug. It’d take longer, but we’d keep the others safe until we get the jewels to them. Now, in the cap.”

Tikki giggled and hid under Alix’s cap. Alix messaged Marinette, asking where she and Alya were. She waited a minute when Marinette said she and Alya were at Places des Vosages. She put her phone away and headed to the location. She spotted them with Nino, sitting on the fountain. She slipped into an alleyway, transformed, and lassoed the three of them. She pulled them into the alley with her.

“Woah! Bloody Bug? What’s up, dude?” Nino asked.

“No time. I need help. I decided to pick a fight with a god and pissed them off. You three are going to help.”

Alya squealed and jumped forward. Bloody Bug handed Alya the bee comb. Alya bounced, put the comb in her hair, and transformed into Bomb Bee.

Nino’s jaw dropped as he pointed at Bomb Bee.

“Surprised? You should be.”

Bloody Bug snapped her fingers, getting Nino’s attention. She held up the panja bracelet for Marinette and the shell bracelet for Nino. “You two have the same deal as Alya. You get these for one time, help me, and give them back. Marinette, prove yourself strong and not too soft-hearted by accepting elation. Nino, you’re just here, so congratulations.”

Marinette put on the panja bracelet while Nino put on the shell bracelet. Orbs shot out and circled them before they morphed into a magenta tiger kwami and a green turtle kwami.

“Alright, make this snappy you two. We have a god hunting me,” Bloody Bug urged.

“Oh my. Very well. I am Wayzz, kwami of protection. Pleasure to meet you, young man.

“And I’m Roarr! Kwami of elation at your service, girlie!”

“Tell them what they can do and how to transform,” Bloody Bug interjected.

“Right. You can generate a shield saying ‘Shelter.’ To transform, say, ‘Wayzz, shell on.’ To de-transform, say, ‘Wayzz, shell off,’” Wayzz explained.

“And for me, when you say ‘Clout,’ you can deliver a devastating sucker punch! Oh, and “Roarr, stripes on,’ to transform and ‘Roarr, stripes off,’ to de-transform,” Roarr yelled.

“Be careful with these powers. One per transformation and then you have five minutes before you turn back. Now, suit up,” Bloody Bug ordered.

“Wayzz, shell on!”

“Roarr, stripes on!”

“Sekhmet, give me your strength!” Pharoah demanded.

Chat Noir ran in as Pharoah’s mask shifted to a lion. Pharoah clapped his hands together that sent a shockwave that repelled Chat Noir. Chat Noir scrambled to his feet as Pharoah grabbed his face.

“Where is that wretch, Bloody Bug?”

“Couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”

“You’ll soon change that tune when I-,” Pharoah started.

“Hey, ugly!” Bloody Bug yelled.

Pharoah turned to see Bloody Bug standing atop a nearby building. He laughed and dropped Chat Noir. He stepped forward when Bloody Bug jumped down and approached him.

“Bug, what are you doing?” Chat Noir asked.

“Oh, you know. The same thing as before.”

Chat Noir raised a brow as Bloody Bug didn’t move. He stepped forward to intervene, but she held up a hand and counted down from five. He tilted his head when she got to one and used her Lucky Charm that created a simple book.

“A book? That’s just as useless as your bomb,” Pharoah mocked.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. The book is a trident true that’s never failed me before.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Pharoah reached for Bloody Bug, but she jumped back. She hurled the book at his head that staggered him. Chat Noir jumped in and knocked Pharoah off his feet temporarily. Pharoah got back to his feet as a massive spinning top slammed into him. Bomb Bee and a cerise tiger heroine stood atop the spinning toy.

Chat Noir’s jaw dropped, and eyes widened seeing the tiger girl. He was captivated by her simple, yet beautiful tiger-themed suit that was cerise, the perfect blend of red and pink, of femininity and aggression, accented elegantly with bronze stripes. Her deep magenta hair was pulled back into a pair of high pigtails that whipped wildly in the wind. All that paled in comparison to her savage, orange tiger eyes that shone with a wild delight.

“Cowabunga, my dudes!”

Chat Noir snapped out of his trace as a guy in a turtle themed superhero suit shield surfed past him, pulled along by Bomb Bee. He tilted his head at the nagging familiarity of the turtle hero’s voice.

“Curse you, Bloody Bug! Too cowardly to face me alone?” Pharoah roared.

“Aww, is the cowardly lion too scared to face us?” Bomb Bee mocked.

“Excuse me?”

“C’mon, meow meow. Let’s see how those tiny claws compare to a real wildcat.”

Bomb Bee gestured to the tiger hero, who stood ready to fight. Pharoah shook his head and went for Bloody Bug, but the turtle hero cut him off as Pharoah’s attack bounced off the turtle shield.

“I don’t think so, my dude. You want Bloody Bug, you’ll need to defeat me. Before you defeat me, you’ll need to beat them.”

Pharoah roared and reared his arm back for another attack.

“Shelter!”

A dome-like turtle shield covered the turtle hero, Bloody Bug, and Chat Noir. Pharoah pounded on the barrier, but it wouldn’t relent.

“Anyway, will he does that, name’s Carapace, dude Noir.”

“You… seem familiar. Have we met?”

“Can’t say we have. If we have, hit me up. I wouldn’t mind this hero gig again.”

Chat Noir hummed as he looked back at the tiger hero. Pharoah finally turned away from them back to Bomb Bee and the tiger.

“Fine. I’ll squish you two first.”

“Let’s test the strength of your claws, kitten. Clout!” the tiger exclaimed.

Chat Noir watched as the tiger and Pharoah’s fists connected that sent shockwaves out that ripped apart the street. They stood even for a brief second before the tiger pushed back against Pharoah. He struggled to fight against her when Bomb Bee snuck around and used Venom to paralyze him.

Carapace dropped the shield, allowing Bloody Bug to take the necklace and break it. The Akuma flew up from the broken pendant. She caught and purified it, then grabbed her book and threw it up.

“Miraculous!”

The book burst into a swarm of ladybugs that repaired the damage done while Pharoah reverted to Jalil.

“What happened? Where am I?” Jalil asked.

“You were akumatized. I had destroyed the Tutankhamun exhibit and painted a target on myself. Now, any reason you went into that exhibit?” Bloody Bug asked.

“I… wanted to used Tutankhamun’s scepter to perform a ritual. I hoped to prove one of my theories true, but also protect my little sister.”

“Little sister?” the tiger asked.

“Yeah. She had a foul run-in with that awful Chloe Bourgeois and was nearly consumed by her rage. It sent her spiraling and I just… I wanted to keep her from that happening. She was so scared of it and I hated seeing her so broken down. I felt like I couldn’t do anything when I should be able to. I’m her older brother, and I can’t do anything to help her. What good am I to her?”

Bomb Bee started towards Jalil when Bloody Bug knelt.

“Your sister sounds like a hard case to crack, which I can relate to. It’s not easy going through life with those challenges. She’s going to have her highs and lows as we all do, but the biggest thing you can do is just be there for her. As long as you do that, you’re doing great.”

Jalil’s eyes widened as Bloody Bug saw a flash of recognition. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I promise I’ll be there, always!”

Bloody Bug chuckled nervously. She patted Jalil’s head, then pushed him away as her earrings chirped.

“Bug, you’re about to change back,” Chat Noir said.

“Fuck. Cat, get this man back to his home. Carapace, Bomb Bee, and Lady Tigress, move it.”

Chat Noir watched the four of them all head in different directions. He watched the tiger, Lady Tigress, vanish before he scooped up Jalil.

“Where am I taking you?” Chat Noir asked.

“Uh, the Louvre.”

“Right-o! I’ll have you there faster than you can say ‘meow.’”

Alix returned home after she gave the miraculous jewels back to Wang Fu. She managed to swing by roller derby, but she had missed practice. Her coach would have laid into her, but she explained Jalil was akumatized and she didn’t want to put the team at risk, which shut her coach up. She had checked her phone periodically on her way home to see Chat Noir had eagerly messaged her, asking about Lady Tigress. She had put her phone on silent as she ignored him, not wanting to indulge his curosity.

Alix headed for the stairs when Alim called to her. She turned as he grabbed her shoulders and looked her over.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt? Any injuries, bruises, or anything?” Alim asked.

“I’m fine. It was just practice, Dad. We don’t actually hurt each other until match time.”

“You’re talking about… derby? No, Alix, not that. I’m talking about your fight with Pharoah. You’re not hurt, are you? I saw the impact and the overall destruction of the exhibit, but-.”

“Wait, Dad, you aren’t saying I’m Bloody Bug, are you?”

“Alix, you can’t fool me. Well, maybe. I didn’t recognize you immediately. It was like I saw you, but it wasn’t you. It was… such a strange feeling not being able to recognize you from your face. As your father, I should, but I couldn’t. I likely wouldn’t have until you spoke. I didn’t place the voice immediately, but I know your tone and speech patterns. They’re just like your mother’s.”

“Yeah, you can’t hide the truth from us, Alix!” Jalil yelled.

Alix glanced over as Jalil ran down the stairs and joined the conversation.

“I heard it too. It was harder for me to place, but I caught on once I recognized where I’ve heard such a tone before.”

“Ah, fuck it. Fine, yes. I’m Bloody Bug,” Alix admitted.

Jalil gasped. “We knew it! How do you do it? Did you gain them from some ancient ritual or a blessing from an old god?”

Alix rolled her eyes and took off her cap. Jalil and Alim looked at Tikki, who was curled up taking a nap.

“Interesting. Looks like Jalil’s theory of magic creatures might have some weight after all,” Alim mumbled.

“Does that mean you’ll-,” Jalil started.

“Absolutely not. Jalil, we have to keep this secret. That means no interrogating whatever this creature is or revealing any information regarding Alix’s superhero identity.”

“So, wait, you’re not mad? And you’re not going to tell me to stop?”

Alim sighed. “I would like to, but I know you. You listen when you want to but have developed a habit of disregarding the rules. Not all, but a lot of them. I know if I told you to stop, you’d just keep doing this. It’s how you are and how your mother was. You both are the types to learn by doing. It won’t matter how much I warn you otherwise, you’ll still do it to find out for yourself.”

“That’s not always true. I listen to you sometimes.”

“Yes, but would you listen to me on this?”

“Probably not.”

“Exactly. I don’t necessarily like it, but I can’t stop you. I want to keep you safe, but I can’t always. You’re in those stages where you are becoming your own person. As much as I’d rather shelter you, I know she wouldn’t want that. She’d have encouraged and supported you, so that’s what I’ll do. For you and for her.”

Alix took a shaky breath. “I appreciate it, but you don’t have to do everything for her if you don’t want to.”

Alim chuckled as a tear fell. “Well, maybe not, but it’s how I can honor her memory and wishes. To see you both happy and strong, just like she will have always wanted. For you both to live a life where you could be yourself. If being Bloody Bug is part of that for you, I will support it and you.”

Tears fell from Alix’s eyes as she hugged Alim. “Thank you.”

Tikki yawned and sat up. “What’s going on?”

“Ah, she’s awake. Greetings, little creature. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Alim said.

Tikki blinked. “Uh, Alix?”

“They know. My voice gave it away,” Alix said.

“Oh. Yeah, the glamor isn’t the best in this age, but we’re also not designed for this kind of environment. So, yeah,” Tikki remarked.

“What’s the glamor do?” Jalil asked.

“It masks our holder’s identity. The appearance is the big one, except it can’t mask the immutable like body mass and height. It can also hide the voice, but not necessarily the tone and speech. Which, I guess that’s how you figured it out, Mr. Kubdel?” Tikki asked.

“Yes, but please, call me Alim.”

“Well met, Alim. My name’s Tikki.”

“Likewise, Tikki. Are you by chance hungry? Is that something you can do?” Alim asked.

“She can and probably is. I didn’t have any extra snacks packed, so, yeah.”

“Not to worry. I’ll help you with that. What do you eat, Tikki?”

“Sugar. Preferably sweets.”

“Well, that would explain the boxes I’ve been seeing from that one bakery run by Tom and Sabine.”

“Yeah, I’ve been treating Tikki a little more. Plus, I had received a free box of macaroons from Tom last week for when Cat and I kept Marinette safe from Evillustrator.”

“Treating me or yourself?” Tikki grumbled.

“Hey! I get hungry too and they do have the best pastries in all of Paris. So, I’m allowed to indulge too,” Alix remarked.

Alim chuckled. “Alright, you two. I can swing by and get some pastries for Tikki. Let you use your money on other things, Alix. Just make sure you’re still careful out there, ok?”

“Always. Thank you, Dad.”

Alim smiled and hugged Alix. “Always, Alix. I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

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