#<- in case people need to filter it because I know people mentioning tics can trigger other people's tics | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 5 years ago

Text

Stay Safe (Early Years)

Summary- 3.7k Curtis Everett x Y/N. Curtis is appointed by McGregor as second and preparing for the McGregor Riots. Traumatic almost Non Con event described. Written by request for @that-damn-girl. Thank you so much for your love of Curtis babes. This is a complete rewrite, I have another version that I might post later as a “this could have been what happened between these two” lol.

Curtis sat among the men, his back braced against the wall, listening. They were collected to hurry to Gilliams, which could only mean one thing. McGregor got word somehow about the next part of the plan, for the revolt. The revolt they been planning for the past two years, Curtis had just been allowed to join McGregors inner circle, and now he leaned forward to see a map of the train cars and McGregor had his finger on one. "The water car. This here is where we gotta get past. From what this map says, there is only one water car.”

Curtis scanned the map, but it was so dirty and worn, it was hard to tell what else they were looking at. It seemed a good portion of the front end was sleeper cars, entertainment cars. The middle, working class. They were growing food, making goods, and what also looked like hospital cars. Then a few storage cars and finally water. It made no sense to Curtis why they would have the water car so far back, just before the prison. Shouldnt it be near the front?

“Okay, so we go take the water car, or get past it?” Another member asked, shrugging. “Its like 7 cars to get up to the water car. How much further do you want to go McGregor?” Absently McGregor scratched at his beard, thinking. “What do you think Gilliam, make it the goal to get up to at least these food cars? We need it, desperately. They been halving our rations for some time now.”

“Tactic to weaken us.” Gilliam sighed, rubbing his face and leaning forward slightly on his cane. “They know were gonna feed our children first. Weve already proven that ages ago.” The mans rheumy eyes glanced at Curtis, who looked away from the gaze.

Curtis’s placed his palm against his arm, easily feeling the scar through the fabric of his jacket. Most everyone... The guilt of his actions in the past flashed across his face momentarily before going back to his cold demeanor. Clearing his throat, he spoke up. “Where did you even get this intel anyways? Does anyone know if this map is accurate?”

“Its accurate, I paid dearly for this, and lets leave it at that.” McGregor gruffly stated, agitated that he would be questioned. Curtis quieted his questions as McGregor continued, laying out the rest of the plan. Which was simple enough. The ones in the first row would charge the meager amount of guards who did the daily head count, and get a hold of there weapons. Keep one alive, that was the important part. They needed his accessibility to open the doors. “Remember, Keep at least one alive, prefer two though. Just in case.” He stressed to all of them. “Not a word to anyone either. This will all stay hush until were finally ready.”

“When is that gonna be?” Curtis decided to question again, and Gilliam this time answered. “Its almost new years, and there will be more activity back here.” The whole group groaned. Every year Minister Mason brought the tail end boiled eggs, and did a long winded speech in several languages about how Wilford was the divine and merciful. “So after we cross the bridge and do the tail end mockery, we will start.” Gilliam rubbed at his face. “Okay, leave me now. I need to rest.”

With shuffles the people started to filter out, when McGregor stalled Curtis from leaving, leaving just the three men left in Gilliams space. “Curtis, we needed to speak with you specifically.” McGregor said, and Gilliam nodded in confirmation.

“What?” Curtis asked, his brows arching in question.

“Im tempted to keep you from going son, simply because if something happens to me, I need you to take up this cause.” McGregor tapped on the map. And Curtis shook his head in confusion as to what he is saying.

“I dont understand, nothing is going to happen, were going to make it to the food cars.” Curtis stated with conviction.

“We probably will, but we also need to be realistic here Curtis. If we dont get that far, there needs someone to take right over and keep this up with Gilliam. Getting the people out of this cage is the most important. I know your young son, but people already respect you. Your cool headed and smart, I know I will be leaving it in capable hands. And its just a precaution. Plan B.” McGregor explained. “And no one but Gilliam knows, so dont go mentioning it to anyone.”

Curtis nods, still trying to process, and he looks between the two men. “Im not sitting this out, I refuse to. Weve come to far to sit it out.” and the two other men shook there head.

“We already figured you refuse to sit out, but your not gonna be in the very front in that initial charge, your going to bring along the rest until we at least get enough weapons in hand.” Curtis was glowering already at this news and before he could say anything, Gilliam said sharply. “Curtis its already settled. You will do this cause Im asking you to.”

Blue eyes that were enraged shut down at those words, and he gave a nod. Turning, he ducked out, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, lost in his thoughts as he weaved around the people doing there usual activities. When a holler caught his attention, and lifting his gaze, he saw you with a whole pile of kids racing down the aisle. Grabbing one into a hug, your tickled him and he squealed, making all the kids twist back like a flock. They all tackled you, and you mocked scream, tumbling out of sight into a bunk with them. His worries temporarily set aside, he made his way down to where you all disappeared.

“Y/N, you still alive in there?” He ducked down enough to look in, and your hand shot out to grab ahold of his, which he pulled you out, your face flush with laughter, and you grab a hold of his coat to steady yourself. “With those little hellions? Never... they make me so proud, I raised them to be ruthless.” Giggling while you are still trying to catch your breath and you wag a finger in the bunk. “You all better be hidden when I come back.” Hooking your arm through Curtis’s, you pull him away, still brushing your hair from your face and smiling up at him.

“Where you been all day?” you questioned as the two of you walk away from the bunk, and the kids scramble out to go hide away from you, you glance over your shoulder to take notice where they are headed, not that there was many options for them to go. As long as they werent disturbing other people to much. Turning back to Curtis, you tilt your head to look up and study him, his face was clouded and agitated, you could see where he was tensing his jaw enough to tic, something was certainly on his mind.

Giving you a side ways glance, he gave just one word and then it all clicked for you. “Gilliams.” Of course, not that you were exactly privy to it, but you heard the whispers making there way through the train. It was like a match sparked being thrown on gasoline, snaking its way among the people, giving them all hope, and restlessness. Already you seen a spike in your parents clinic of people getting into mild fights. Dabbing away at the cuts and scrapped knuckles, warning them to keep clean as possible cause infections set in so easily.

It was a ignited fire that was only getting hotter with time.

You press your shoulder against his to drag more words out of him. “What else Curtis?” He looks like hes about to say more, working the words up from his chest, his eyes sharp in there resolve, and before he can open his mouth to fill you in, McGregor comes up from behind, and clasps Curtis’s shoulder in greeting. “Hey you two, coming up to the front soon? They are about to hand out protein bars.” A look, one that you very well caught, passed between them. An uneasy feeling sinking in your chest.

“Yea, we will be headed up soon.” Curtis snaps a bit at him, and you wrinkle your brow at the odd interaction. Curtis watched McGregors retreating back, and tugged you lightly off to a small cubby, you stumbling into the out of the way place between the pipework that crisscrossed in the space between some bunks. “Curtis? what is this about?”

“Listen to me Y/N, shits about to happen. And its gonna be just what youve been hearing. Im sure you and your folks will be part of clean up, but promise me you wont leave this car till weve made it through, okay?” Curtis’s eyes searched yours looking for confirmation, anything that you were going to listen to him. A slight nod is given, and you pick at your hands before reaching out, and fisting your hands in his jacket.

“Dont fucking get killed either Curtis, promise me that, okay? I know your going to insist on going.” So matter of fact, you knew your friend, he wouldnt be able to live with himself otherwise. You watched him for years punish himself for his desperate acts in the past. That fear that anyone would hold it against him, the way he grasp at his arm when he thought it was all to good for him. You knew, Curtis still hadnt forgiven himself.

“I wont, I promise...” Fake promises, he couldnt look you in the eyes when he said this, no one could never know if they will return once they leave this car, but your look made the man ache in his chest. How he wished he could bring back that smile you had on just minutes earlier. You shined, a softness in all this hellish darkness. You have been there for him since the beginning, you came right out of that darkness from where you were hiding with Mat and fell to your knees, trying to stop the bleeding where he tried to cut off his arm. Curtis didnt even know how to react that day, when you at 13 showed more compassion then any of the others did, then he did. Your eyes wide in your fear, and yet you refused to pull away from him “Its okay, you dont have to do this, see?” Your words still echoed through him.

It just continued, always you were piecing him back together again, seeking him out to wrap an arm around him when he missed human touch, making sure he felt you vibrate against him in your laughter when you leaned against him, your grin seeking his to flutter for a moment on his lips, teasing voice singing his name.The times your tears soaked on his shoulder, your hug rattling in his hold as your sadness penetrated the anger. When did it all really matter that much he held onto you like a life line? His life line. At some point for him, you crossed that line as just friend. And he felt it blossom through him with a heated desire he never felt before. What would it be like.... to have you as truly his? Forever his? You were just to good for the like of him. He would be a dark mark on you, scrubbing forever to rub out his stain.

Curtis didnt know how it happened, but in that moment, he had to know. Had to know if you were just as soft in his arms as you were strong, and his hands moved to cup your face, your cheeks fingers pressing back into your hair, and that was just what he imagined, silken tendrils wrapping around his fingers. You went wide eyed in those seconds, and yet never pulled away as if he was scaring you in any way. Your eyes softened for him, and when he pulled you in closer, your head tipped to meet him. That first touch, a soft press of lips was innocent sweetness, soft brushes of lips and breaths.

Your innocence certainly made him continue forward gently, a tilt of his head and soft nibbles on your lip, a press of his tongue made you open in surprise and he let that kiss deepen. You were clumsy in it, always a little behind, but Curtis led you with encouraging strokes, the whole sensation dragged out a moan from you, a flush of your body pressing into his. His hands tightened slightly in your hair, and breaking from you, his forehead leaning against yours with soft pants shared between you. No you werent his, but what he wouldnt give for you to be. He was still trying to calm the fire you laced through him in that kiss.

“I promise... I will come back Y/N” Crystal blue eyed promises now, and you accepted it far better this time, your lips still tingling from the contrast of soft kisses and brush of bristling beard, to his tongue filling your mouth, laying claim to you as his.

But havent you really been his for a while? Even when you didnt know it, he was your safety, your dark guardian.

Always looking out for you, protecting you.

Drawing your way out, you are sure to slide the curtain closed for your patients privacy, and start making another round to see to other people, chat with them, just see if they need anything in general. You dont notice the wandering eyes following you, weaving through the people till you got to a quieter part of the tail end. You didnt notice, not until its to late when an arm shoots out in front of you, making you pause momentarily as it blocked you. “What the... Eric, what do you want?” You try to duck under his arm, but the mans grasp on your arm pauses you. A glance his way showed a handsome young man, blond locks curling around green eyes, that glinted coldly at you, and he firmly without any choice of your own backed you against the wall. “See youve been playing little home nurse again Y/N”

“Just helping mom and dad, can you please let go?” You try tugging your arm from his grasp and his other hand came up to your face to trace the curve, obviously not ready to loosen his hold, for whatever reason you would clam up around him, your heart fluttering and your breath quickening. Some would think it was innocent attraction. But it was more fear of what he would eventually do to you if given the chance.

“When you going to let me kiss you huh? I dont see why you keep fighting me on this.” He hovered closer, his breath washing over your face and you wrinkle your nose at it. It was hot and sour to you, you tried to pull back but there was no where else to go, so the back of your head would thump against the cold metal wall.

“Im not, I dont want to and you cant change my mind.” You wriggle once more trying to get him to stop digging into your arm. “So how about you go find one of the other girls? I know there are plenty who want to be with you.”

“To easy, I rather like the one who denies me” His voice dropped deeper, making you panic sightly. His eyes, you hated the way he would stare at you, following you from wherever he was, like you were a prize to be had. "I figured it's about time I change your mind about it though." You strain out of his touch on your face and go to push against his chest to stumble him back.

"I said no! Fuck no would I ever be with you, let alone kiss you" you snap at him, turning to leave, put distance between you two, back in a crowd. Eric was to coward to try to anything with people around. He snarled though, wrapping an arm around you.

Effectively he pinned your arms helpless and your back against your chest, falling back harder then you expected, making you helpless, his hand clasped over your mouth, effectively muffling any protests you had. "What you think your to good for someone like me sweetheart. If your good enough to get Curtis's dick wet, think you can mine as well without this much of a fight." Your eyes widened at his words. I haven't, were not, stop!... Just friends, you think in as your panic is washing over you, and he manipulated your head to fall back to his shoulder, you try twisting out. Then he pressed his face in your neck, and bit you, what started as a sloppy kiss turned into a bruising bite, yelping at the shock of pain and you try kicking him hard enough in the leg behind you to drop him. The tread of your boot slid down the inside of his leg, and he pushed you away from him to crash you against the trains wall, hard enough to bounce you off, making you groan from the harsh impact.

Erics hand whipped you around, effectively pinning you with his body. No way to leverage a kick again, and hands pinned your arms down to keep from attacking. "Fucken shit head!" Your voice raised into yelling at him, where was everyone? It was eerily quiet and no one around, he smirked at your struggles, dawning on you when you saw how turned on, felt how turned on. That foreign bulge dug into your belly. "Keep struggling Y/N, just makes me hard for you, so cute thinking you don't want this."

"Your vile Eric, like those front end pigs" nothing but disgust dripping from your tone, trying to hide your fear. But he knows, it just widens his predatory grin knowing your words were masking the fear coursing through your veins. His lips hovered so close, mocking tone as he brushed them barely against yours, as you tried tilting your face away. “Come on Y/N, just one little kiss for me. Do it and I will let you go.”

You glare at him and spit, right in the fuckers face, it runs down his eyes and nose, and you smirk at him as he starts cussing and wiping his face on his sleeve. “You little fucking cunt whore! Nasty pig think you can get away with that shit?!” His hand releases you and goes to hit you when a grasp catches his wrist, wrenching it back. Both yours and Erics eyes go wide in surprise, and you see Curtis glowering behind him, firmly twisting Erics arm hard, then harder again he snarls out. “She sure as fuck is gonna get away with it. I think she told you no”

Curtis jerked Erics arm further and a crack was followed by Eric screaming and letting you go, you slid away from his grasp, Curtis jerking him forward to take where he had you pinned before. They were evenly matched in size, but Curtis had him crushed between his body and metal, his face distorted as you glanced up. It struck you in this moment just how opposite these two men were. Curtis never once raised his voice in the time youve known him,but he had to raise above Erics squealing out in pain and anger. “When a person tells you no, It fucking mean no. You owe Y/N an apology.” He pulled Eric off the wall, and kicked at the back of his knees to drop him in front of you.

Curtis loomed over him, his arm still firmly twisted up between his shoulder blades, and growled in the mans ear. “Say it, or Im going to wrench it right off your body.”

“Im sorry!” you could see the effort it took Eric to say it, but Curtis clearly wasnt satisfied.

“AGAIN!” This time he really roared, Eric cowering a bit, and remorseful, he started again.

“Im sorry Y/N, I promise to never touch you again!” Curtis glances at you and nods that its okay, he had him firmly and you stepped forward, grasping the mans hair, and tipping his head back.

“Touch me ever again, or ANYONE on this train, your dead, do you hear me Eric? I will have no problem watching you die, either by my hand or another. Am. I. Fucking. CLEAR?”

“Yes! god yes, just let me go, it wont happen again.” Eric pleads, and you step away from Eric, and circle around to Curtis’s side. Shoving him harshly away, Eric rolled to a stand and clutched his arm, racing away as fast as he could. The coward, would probably make up some lie to cover face when he made it to your father to reset the arm. You stood next to Curtis, still fuming. Your fear from earlier forgotten, now you were just enraged watching where the coward disappeared.

“Hey, he aint gonna try messing with you again.” Curtis let his hand rest against your shoulder, looking down at you.

And thats what Curtis always did, he never expected more from you, not a thank you, not any kind of favor. He simply needed you to be safe, that was all he ever asked for from you. It was something that you could give him, he so desperately needed.

You lick your lip, they are still swollen from the kiss, and you blush just a bit at the memory of his mouth on yours. He tipped his head, letting his thumb brush lightly on your cheek and he moved to kiss your forehead.

“Thank you for that Y/N.” and you shifted in closer to press your face against his chest, your arms sliding around his torso, just holding him, memorizing this feeling right here, cause your first kiss, shook the words right out of you.

You didnt know what would happen in the days to come, but you knew that right now, things between you two changed, having finally crossed that line.

Tags- @jtargaryen18 @what-is-your-plan-today @official-and-unstable-satan @p8tn0lish @stardancerluv @princess-evans-addict @patzammit @that-damn-girl @curtisbbq @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123 @thatweirdwalangpake

#curtis everett #curtis everett x y/n #snowpiercer #amber writes #sweater writes #soft #trauma #fanfic #chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #curtis everett fanfiction

88 notes · View notes

currentfandomkick · 5 years ago

Text

Miraculous Team and the Batboys- Mundane Monday and Plot is Connecting Maybe

HEY so thank you all for waiting, puppy plus work being mobbed is hell, so this took forever to get brain power to write... oh well.

Marinette was on guard when she came into class. Her meeting of the “End Gabriel Agreste” Club with its core four members—herself, Chloe, Nino and Sabrina—went well. They were now 15% away from their goal.

Apparently Felix snatched up 3% on his own and gave it to MDC while she was away. Apparently it was his way of a peace offering… or a bribe not to kill him on sight. She wasn’t sure which… yet.

Properly awake and with her favorite drink (blend of dark roast, cream and a tiny bit of Energy Mayhem Special) she was good for the day. Everyone had their usual orders in their seats.

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed a text from Red Robin on her phone, currently a rose and bird emoji label.

RR: So, scale of one to ten, how bad is it if I accidently figured out your partner?

Marinette took a deep breath at that, checked the classroom (Nino was off with Kitty Section debating how to fix the ‘off’ bit of the rift in Rose’s latest song—something about it not ‘punching right’ and Luka being busy with his other band, Chloe and Sabrina were currently fighting Bustier in her office, Alya was conspiring with the Girl Squad on Lila’s end since she wasn’t in, Max and Kim were obviously eavesdropping on that conversation while Nathaniel was off in his own world). Damian still hadn’t come in, and Adrien wasn’t in yet… she wondered if her Chaton was going to sleep in for once.

LB: Please tell me you haven’t told your team

She kept her breathing steady, not letting panic overtake. That would alert people she didn’t want knowing, to looking, which leads to suspecting and rumors and theories and she’d like to avoid that entirely—especially since she still can’t really lie.

RR: I have a feeling you would kick us all out if I did, so I haven’t.

Marinette sighed, tension leaving her shoulders.

LB: Good. Keep it that way as long as you can, okay?

RR: They’re detectives, once they have the pieces they’ll put it together… also, why is your team so easy to figure out?

Marinette winced at that.

LB: Dumb Magic Rules.

Like the one that training a wielder young will prevent corrupting them to use it for personal gain. Like the one where a Guardian cannot be a True Guardian until they connect to the entire Box or Set of kwami. Like the one where Fu can’t give up being Guardian until she’s fully fledged… and that means until she can reclaim the Nooroo and Dusuu and heal Dusuu’s miraculous. That when she does—when she does Fu is gone.

She kept her breathing steady. nothing that they wouldn’t see as Typical Marinette Fretting Over Orders… not that they knew she had those cleared for the month.

“Good morning Dupain Cheng.”

She put her phone away easily, quick to keep up Typical Marinette (no plotting or superheroing here, just Typical Marinette, Baker’s Daughter and Keeper of Secret Drink Menu).

“Hi Damian, how was your weekend?”

“Annoying.” She winced at that. He didn’t exactly have friends here, and time differences are a horrible strain on them… Maybe Ladybug should keep an eye on him… just in case. “I hope yours was adequate.”

She was really wondering who taught him French today… he was being less him and more… stuffy than usual.

“I just needed some time away...” Honestly, she needed a lifetime away from Bustier and Hawkmoth… Lila was manageable (now).

“I am glad you were able to then.”

She was wondering where her deskmate went and why he wasn’t looking at her… Maybe she overdid it last week? She—no. She is stopping her analysis brain from going off and---

“Hello Marinette,” grinned obviously Not-Adrien. Seriously—how did they all fall for it back then? Body language, facial tics, accent—its all wrong.

She narrowed her eyes, not aware that Damian was doing the same beside her.

“Aw, didn’t you miss me?”

Nino came over then, scrunching up his nose as they both could tell Fake Adrien Agreste from the real one with ease now.

“What are you doing here,” Nino was definitely tired… He was not applying his sleep schedule quiz results at all. She was so lecturing him… lunch. She could pencil it in for lunch after wrecking Felix for taking Adrien’s place for the day.

“Oh, good to see I-Love-You Girl isn’t the only one that grew a brain since I last saw you all.” Felix raised an eyebrow at Damian, lingering. Plotting. “You’re new.”

“American Transfer, leave him out of whatever’s going on in that thing you call a brain.” Marinette was not going to deal with an akuma over this. Nope. She was not dealing with that again—or a series of Akuma… God she was going to kill Felix personally if he did. Chloe was untouchable as the Mayor’s daughter, but him? She could take him down again.

“And where’s my bro?”

“Your precious Ladybug,” He sneered, “didn’t cast whatever she did last time, and he’s home sick since his allergies are acting up. I figured it’d be as good a time as any to pull our old switcheroo to keep his Father-Farthest away.”

Marinette twitched at that. She knew she was forgetting something… She sent a quick text to Red Robin.

LB: Why didn’t you tell me it was Mr. Pigeon irl, not video!

RR: …you thought I figured it out from a video?

Marinette rolled her eyes openly at her phone, ignoring Nino as he threatened Felix with his own brand of Bro Shovel Speech.

LB: detectives, most of our battles are caught a decent amount on video, and most of Paris knows that Mr. Pigeon makes him sneeze. Really not a hard recon.

RR: I think you are overestimating my willingness to watch amateur video at length when I can outsource.

Marinette huffed at that.

LB: So you trusted them to not miss major clues when you were all working on different things and would miss key connections?

RR: we’re on the same page as a team. Plus, I get better info filtered with my apps

LB: Magic Fucks Things Up

RR: I’ve noticed.

She looked up to see Damian staring ahead, and wondered if she did something, or didn’t or—NO! Bad Marinette—no going down Rumination Ruin until its time to sleep. She needs daytime for Plotting, Nighttime for Anxiety and Regrets to run wild.

She kept her attention forward when class began, pointedly Not Talking To The Gremlin but not busting him either—she wasn’t going to get Adrien in trouble. Bustier may not notice the abuse signs, but a few other teachers had, and were given the ‘heads up’ by Nino and Chloe and Sabrina.

Lila was the only one unaware of the switch when she left during lunch to drop off a few deliveries her parents asked her to handle when the rush hit. Mostly to one elderly home, and one to her favorite Rescues Only center.

(if she was seen cooing at Lord Murder—yes she knows that’s a Bad Name but the giant kitty amputee was named that years ago before she was found and stubbornly refuses all other names. So, Lord Murder (Never Lady, she hisses at that) it was.)

She blinked when she saw Damian walk in on her checking the Lord Murder’s prosthetic.

“Hey Damian.”

“Dupain Cheng.”

Marinette nodded in acknowledgement and hoped he didn’t catch her calling Lord Murder “the lord and master of murder, the most deadly kitty in existence, and yes, clearly the most cunning of kitties to manage to scratch Mean ol’ Jean with the new paw when it doesn’t even have claws, because you are The Lord Murder, kitty of cuteness and wrath to all unwanted bath times.”

He was watching her then. “Lord likes you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, as yes, her favorite rescue (sorry Chat) likes her. She’s the one who argued them into letting them try out prosthetics and handled the funding (officially as MDC) and may have gone overboard on checking everything from the fits and materials and… yeah, okay, she could admit that the giant fluffy Norwegian Forest home in a millisecond if it wasn’t for the health code violation (soon… Gina mentioned she might stop renting out her old house soon as the current group was only a quick temp and she didn’t want someone else living there that wasn’t like family… and something about her Lost Son using it for the moment. Maybe she could convince Maman and Papa to let her do house sitting is she breaks out the Kitten Eyes.)

“Yes. Yes she does.”

Then Lord slow blinked at Damian. She wasn’t sure if she sould be offended or worry her favorite might be adopted by someone else, or glad that it was a serial pet adopter that actually took care of their pets and would be just as nuts as her about making sure Lord Murder was happy and healthy.

“I see she likes you too.”

She could feel Tikki dying in her bag… yes, she was being… awkward. She got it…

“Anyways, I should get going, still have a delivery to do and all so…”

She didn’t, she just really had no idea how to broach the Awkward that was Damian Greyson at the moment.

“See you tomorrow.”

That got him to pause. “Tomorrow?”

“Uh, gymnastics for the rest of the day, making up for what I missed so…”

“If you see the Other Grayson, tell him he is not to hug you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I…” Brother, father, maybe cousin or legal guardian or friend of his father’s. Too many possibilities, too much to spiral on that she can’t right now. SO.

“O. okay then.”

“Good.”

Marinette waited for him to leave the room, looking at a Too Amused Lord Murder.

“Don’t you start with me, I know I’m a mess on a good day. And no, I’m not overthinking this time Lord, I’m planning, there’s a difference… And no, its not an Alya Plot.”

Those went sideways too fast.

She left with ease and froze at the text from Red Robin.

RR: Can we meet up tonight? No traces that way.

She sent a time and place and –If no akumas happen.

THANK YOU ALL FOR WAITING. it has been a hellish time at work and extra shifts and war-zone lately on top of Precious Puppy Bonding and Care. As always, edits when I can get there and any comments or things you'd like to see expanded on more, leave a comment and I'll try to work it in if it flows.

As you can see, Plot Lines are converging soon.

Big Question though--what kind of Lila Exposed By Class do we want/are angling for? I can go legal or social backlash, blacklisting from Agreste brand, or some combo, or keep it a background element as I don't like how cannon Lila is written and the characters altered to make her bad lies work, so...

Other inquiry--do we want Dick to see Marinette take down someone (probably trying to rob her) on her way out of her gymnastics place on her way home using a few Obviously MIxed Gymnastics and Specific Brand of Martial Arts that feels oddly familiar to Nightwing who tells Red Robin and for him to groan as 'Coffee Angel, Why!' and then the next day its 'oh. Coffee Angel is also That Woman's Granddaughter. It all makes Sense now.' (as i hc Gina as probably busting a few drug, weapons, and human trafficking rings on occasion as how she met Jason back in the day) OR for him to only see the end as Nightwing and stare as she took them down and used her earbuds as 'makeshift handcuffs' while she's calling Sabrina as "I'm fine, no dodged their hits and yes i didn't get gassed this time... yes I'll let the medics look me over and no i'm not going to vanish before they get here unless Akuma, Yes if that happens i'll go to the hospital after--Look, i think i saw a shadow just move. I'm going on Akuma-mode now so... Thanks!" before running to meet up with Red Robin and have it take meeting Gina and looking between Gina and Marinette and how she responds to Jason trying to spar with her and then it clicks? I can go either way, but... Tim figures them out quick and straight up says at one point "I mean, Queen Bee after Style Queen, inverse colors... I've seen the multiverse, I had her pegged after seeing her in the bakery last week." All while Not Telling The Bats as Marinette's team doesn't even know and he has a feeling (correctly) she'll react Badly if she isn't the one to tell him before he comes clean, and ears her bolting as 'no support, team leader, and often absentee and likely disabled mentor, civilian life was a wreck for two years and her civilian safety net is only JUST reforming... hm. That's Famil--Oh.... well... wait until trust is there and let her move on that front, try not to set her off and offer help in what she'll allow--or risk pissing off the demi-goddess of creation and his Coffee Angel. Which he'd like to avoid, please and thank you.

Yeah, Tim is definitely going to Project on Marinette in this.

Also, I see Jason or Dick as Getting Marinette is InvolvedTM next... and Damian being the one to confirm the suspicions.

Prefer Jason Big Brothering or Dick "New Sister Mode Engaged" to suspect she's a temp hero? (Jason via Have You Seen Her in a Spar--and it's Gina's Granddaughter vs Dick 'Her Moves are Too Familiar, Maybe Ladybug uses her as a Body Double and trains her?' as the first Suspicion Arisen among the Bats.

#maribat #daminette idea au #miraculous team and batboys #my writing #my writings #how do you tag #long post

46 notes · View notes

tf2humbug · 7 years ago

Text

After I answered a question yesterday about the possibility of Medic (or any other TF2 character) being a psychopath, I got to thinking about what might actually be the deal with these guys. Obviously, they’re abnormal, but I don’t like writing off weird characters as just being crazy and/or stupid.

I dug into what I understand about the characters—the core mercs as well as the Administrator and Miss Pauling—and came up with this run-down of how I think they might be diagnosed if evaluated by a modern psychiatrist.

A disclaimer! First off, please take all my conjecture with a big ol’ grain of salt. I’m not claiming to be an authority on either psychiatry or neurology, and this is just my personal interpretation of the characters. It’s fine if you don’t agree! Also, I want to be clear that I mean no disrespect to anyone who might have any of the conditions I mention. I hope my tone comes off as respectful and not exploitative.

One last thing. I feel like this should go without saying, but just in case: DON’T USE THIS LIST AS A WAY TO DIAGNOSE YOURSELF. If I mention something that strikes a chord with you, by all means research it, but talk to a professional if you seriously suspect you might have a mental issue. I am NOT a professional!

Now that all that hemming and hawing is out of the way...

Scout

Not to rely on stereotypes, but I think ADHD is likely. His impulsivity, hyperactivity, and need for stimulation are strong indicators. He also has a tendency to self-medicate with massive amounts of caffeine and sugar from all the soda he drinks. Oh, and it’s been pretty heavily suggested that Scout is dyslexic, which I believe to be the case.

Soldier

It’s pretty much directly stated in the comics that he has brain damage, resulting in delusions and cognitive impairment that border on dementia. (Think Gary Busey post-motorcycle accident.) The comics suggest he was brain damaged by lead poisoning in the water, but I’m certain he had preexisting problems from old head trauma. That helmet has an important function!

On top of that, I think Soldier’s a good candidate for Tourette Syndrome, but I don’t mean the coprolalia version you see in TV and movies, where someone involuntarily shouts obscenities. He commonly has sudden verbal outbursts (”MAGGOTS!”) and physical tics (saluting, marching, etc.) that manifest in his drill sergeant persona.

Pyro

Oh, boy. Okay. Pyro is a hell of a puzzle, and I could go on for pages, but I’ll boil it down to what I think is most likely. Of course, they exhibit pyromania, but possibly also synesthesia?

One possibility is an “eccentric” mood disorder that manifests as a loss of contact with reality, among other symptoms. That would be either Schizotypal Personality Disorder or full-blown Schizophrenia. The distorted Pyroland version of the world fits this really well, and it’s possible that it might be a chronic thing, with Pyro constantly filtering the world through their delusions.

The other likely possibility is some sort of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, where seizures in a focal part of the brain yank Pyro out of reality without sending them into the physical convulsions you associate with general epilepsy. This would suggest that Pyro does touch base with reality but gets “transported to Pyroland,” instead of living there all the time.

Demoman

This one is easy. Demo’s a severe alcoholic, to the degree that stopping drinking cold turkey would probably kill him. In the comics, his body even rejects normal food and drink because it’s learned to get energy just from booze, and his body, in times of withdrawal, can make its own alcohol supply, which an actual real thing. It’s called Auto-Brewery Syndrome, where microbes in the gut can convert carbs into ethanol. Demo must just have the most advanced case of it in human history!

Heavy

He seems completely neurotypical to me, aside from the hints of both psychopathy and PTSD that come with being a mercenary. I do think he used to have problems from sleep apnea, but some surgery cleared that up. Now he just snores like a chainsaw. (Yes, I know sleep apnea isn’t a mental condition.)

Engineer

I suspect, but I’m not certain, that he may be in the very high-functioning part of the Autism Spectrum, with savant-like qualities. Maybe he got his 11 PhDs and abilities as a human calculator just from being driven and extremely intelligent, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he were wired differently. If it is the case, he’s learned to compensate incredibly well in his interpersonal behavior. That Texan charm is a pretty effective tool for putting people at ease, I bet.

Medic

Like I said before, I don’t like simply labeling characters as “crazy.” Yeah, he’s got the mad scientist thing going on, but I think that stems from Bipolar Disorder. Specifically, I believe Medic has type I, which is what people usually think of when they imagine bipolar behavior: extended periods of elevated mood (or hypomania) punctuated with full manic episodes, which can take on psychotic features. There may or may not be periods of depression. He doesn’t seem to swing that way, but it’s possible.

He’s DEFINITELY a self-medicator. I mean, duh. Huffing Medi-Gun fumes and a bit of drinking probably help to calm him down when he gets too high-strung. I doubt he takes pills for it, e.g. lithium or anti-convulsants, because of the high likelihood of side-effects. I could see him doing some DIY ECT, though. Getting too unstable? A few brain zaps, and he’s right as rain!

Bonus fact! Did you know that a German term to call someone insane is to say that they “have a bird”? It might come from folklore about insane people literally having bird familiars living in their heads, or it might be something like calling someone a “crazy cat lady,” where people who keep birds will talk to them too much and seem a bit off. Just thought that was interesting!

Sniper

I personally believe he probably has some Agoraphobia. Not to a debilitating degree, but he hates being stuck in what feel like insecure places. It’s actually a symptom of Avoidant Personality Disorder, which I think is pretty likely for him. It’s thought to result from feeling abandoned and alienated by other people at a young age. (*cough*orphanedbybirthparentsandraisedinAustralia*cough*) In addition to agoraphobia, signs include self-imposed social isolation, emotional distance, mistrust, and an inferiority complex. If he does have APD, he’s integrated it neatly into his occupation, where distance is a good thing.

Spy

Similar to Heavy, he seems pretty neurotypical to me. It’s possible that he had some similar issues to Scout when he was younger, but if so, he’s learned to compensate. He does exhibit the most psychopathic traits of all the mercs, but like I said before, I don’t believe any of them are actually true psychopaths.

Administrator

Classic megalomaniac! She’s got textbook Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Everything about the way she presents herself screams narcissism: grandiosity, a thirst for power, arrogance, a sense of entitlement, lack of empathy, and extremely manipulative behavior. Maybe she has good reasons for her narcissism, like being an 150-year-old supervillain, but I digress.

Miss Pauling

Poor thing. I’ve mentioned it before, but my pet theory is that the Administrator broke down her original personality and built it back up to make her a useful pawn, capable of appearing very unassuming and responsible while performing cold-blooded acts of violence guilt-free. She’s a perfect tool, with limited freewill and no room in her mind for cognitive dissonance to slip in. To her, I imagine it feels like living with with Depersonalization Disorder, where either the world around her or her own actions take on an unreal quality as a way of shielding her mind from the nasty parts of her job, but on the outside, the effect is seamless.

1K notes · View notes

funkymeihem-fiction · 8 years ago

Text

The A-Mei-Zing Outback Adventure Chapter 19

“Zǎoshang hǎo! Good morning, Roadhog,” Mei greeted the enormous man cheerfully, tossing her already-packed bag into the pile in the hallway. Roadhog lifted one hand in response before a little movement of his masked head indicated he was looking past her, at the lanky figure rising up behind her. “Hehehe, yeah, we had a good morning, all roight,” Junkrat said, leering his toothy grin as he reached out to goose her bottom. “Real good.” Mei’s face reddened on cue, and he grinned all the harder when he saw the tips of her ears change color. She turned and smacked the back of his hand with a scowl. “Stop that,” she said, “I know what you’re doing, trying to embarrass me. Huài dàn.” After spending more time with the junkers, Mei could read Roadhog a little better now. Not on the level of Junkrat, of course, who could carry on hours worth of one-sided conversations with little more than an occasional grunt or wrinkle of the forehead as responses; but now she could spot subtle little movements of his facial muscles, little tics and tells that spoke of the man behind the mask…And right now, he was rolling his eyes at them both. “Sorry!” she called after him, as he grumbled under his breath and ambled off back into the kitchen. She shot Junkrat a little dirty look as she adjusted her glasses, but he looked all the more gleeful for it, especially when she lifted a finger and shook it at him sternly. “Are we going to have to talk about this? Don’t make Mr. Roadhog uncomfortable.” “Lovey, I think if we’re talking levels of ‘uncomfortable’ what Roadie and me’s had to deal with, hearing us going at it is pretty damn low on the charts.” “Well maybe if you weren’t so loud…” Junkrat entwined his arms around her once more, his voice going high-pitched and wavering in an incredibly poor falsetto version of Mei’s accent. “My name’s Mei, I don’t want nobody to know I’m a moaner, not even when I’m getting it good, don’t want anybody to hear me going ‘ooooooh! Oooh Junkrat! Oooooh yeees, mmmmhh’!” “Oh my gosh! Stop!” she sputtered, shoving at his chest before trying to cover his mouth with both hands, as if to stifle his lewd noises by force. “Ooooohhhh Junkrat! Oooh, I’m gonna-OW!” he cried a little louder, interrupted suddenly as there was a cracking noise and he was suddenly bulled to the side when Snowball appeared from nowhere and slammed into his shoulder again, smacking its antenna across his head once more. “Ow! Son of a bitch bot, I know where you sleep!”

Mei separated them once more, pulling the enraged drone into her arms and holding it away to protect it from the irate junker, looking more than a little exasperated. “You two stop it, both of you! I swear I’m just going to leave you both here and just go to the drop point with Roadhog. We’re meeting back up with the others in just a few hours and we’ll have to give our official reports, can we at least try to be a little more professional? I’m already going to have…a lot to deal with.” She wrinkled her nose unhappily. “Dr. Ziegler is going to want to see us immediately, I know. And then I…I really need to apologize to Winston. I still need to set up a few things now that we have the eco-monitor online, once I get back to my equipment, not to mention all the damage costs and paperwork…” Snowball uttered a rather unpleasant mechanical scraping noise that she guessed was supposed to be sympathetic, its visor lights still flickering and broken as it flashed happy emoticon eyes up at her. She offered it a little smile, patting its dented body. Junkrat ruefully rubbed at the red mark across his temple where the malfunctioning weather drone had managed to strike him. “Professional is one of my many middle names, darl. I mean…if they ask me right out, I’m obliged to tell ‘em, right? Legally, officially, to make sure that I ain’t Stockholming you too bad? Because I got a feeling that monkey didn’t take too kindly to it at all, and he wasn’t fond of us in the first place. So they’re gonna strap me to a chair and grill me about how I done you?” “That is not how it would go, even if they did broach that subject,” she replied. “I am just going to sit down with Winston and explain everything, how things happened and how it went so out of control. And then if Dr. Ziegler does want to approach a more…psychiatric angle on things, I will be more than happy to handle that as well. You haven’t done anything wrong, Jamison. Nobody has. Don’t worry, we just need to focus on the extraction now.” Junkrat jabbed an oil-stained thumb behind him. “Well, Roadie says he’s got the Hog running and ready to roll! Didn’t have much to do while you were sleepin’ at first, so we sorted this place’s scrap heap and whipped something up, with the help of yours truly of course. Engine’s still janky and it don’t sound right, drives Hog right up a wall, but it should hold us and all the weapons. Speakin’ of!” She blinked as Roadhog’s heavy footsteps approached once more, this time holding a simple pulse pistol that looked comically tiny in his enormous hand, pinched almost delicately between two fingers. Mei wrinkled her nose as he carefully dropped it out into her outstretched palm. The blank lenses peered down at her as he rumbled a low, “Do you know how to u-” “I know how to shoot,” she said a little more sharply than she meant, and bit her lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I just haven’t had to use a gun in a very, very long time. It was part of our training back in the earlier days of Overwatch…The, erm, legitimate one. Commander Morrison always said I hesitated too much and my reaction times were slow but complimented my form on headshots. I still prefer my cryo-gun. It’s been years since I’ve had to shoot anything else.” “For what it’s worth, darl,” Junkrat said helpfully, “It always gave me a half-chub whenever I saw you sink an icicle into someone’s front lobe. Even mine, sometimes, durin’ the training.” “Jamison, that’s…actually really weird...” “Anyways eh, I always say aiming’s overrated.” He gestured to his frag launcher sitting by the door, along with a veritable arsenal of grenades and mines stacked atop each other. “Been working on that boom pile for days now, should see us through!” “Through what? What are you expecting to happen?” Roadhog lightly patted the enormous metal hook on his sagging belt. “Told you you don’t bring dropships inland. Seen people try anyway. Sand and winds give away the stealth field, and there’s always someone on the lookout for anyone stupid enough to give it a go.” Mei swallowed unsurely, looking down at the little pistol. The junkers had been adamant on that point when she’d first brought it up months ago, had even laughed at her for the very idea. She had the feeling that both of them had partaken in attacks against inland expeditions before, and no doubt that the fighting between junkers and crew would be absolutely vicious in the unending search for scrap and money. She turned to them with a frown, straightening her glasses. “Do you think it will be that bad? Can you…tell the other junkers to stop, maybe?” Both junkers immediately dissolved into outrageous fits of laughter, Hog’s enormous belly shaking mightily and the filters of his pig mask barely muffling the booming thunder of his voice, and the more vivacious Junkrat literally fell onto the floor, holding his ribs and shrilling giggles so hard that he nearly started hyperventilating. Even trusty Snowball seemed to be triggered by their glee, shaking back and forth and uttering rapid buzzing sounds as if to laugh with them. Mei frowned severely at them all and folded her arms as she leaned back, clenching her jaw and half-lidding her eyes, her expression long-suffering as she waited for it to be over. Roadhog recovered first, snorting a gulp of air and shaking his head with a simple, “No.” Junkrat remained sprawled on the floor near her feet, choking and wiping a tear from the corner of one eye with a dirty finger, leaving a smear of black on his cheek instead. “Ask ‘em to stop, Roadie! Why didn’t we ever think of that before! Oooh, near busted me gut on that one, lovey. Yeah, junkers ain’t exactly unified, and me and the pig man there ain’t exactly popular blokes with any of ‘em nowadays. Fuck me, even Tilda was a sook compared to the big nasties back in Junkertown.” “Okay, I get it, it wasn’t a bright question,” Mei grumbled. “What can we do?” “Do? Ain’t nothing to do about it. Your monkey was fuckin' insistant on sending a rescue ship, we just got to reach it before it gets arse-blasted roight outta the sky and they chop it up for parts, along with whatever fuckin’ omnic pals they’re stupid enough to send with.” he spat bitterly, wrinkling his nose at the mere mention of Overwatch’s robot agents. She gave him a hard look, choosing her next words carefully. “I doubt Winston would send an omnic on this…particular mission. But I don’t think we can be picky if he does. We need help. From anyone. Even the bots, if they do show up, so just…be prepared, in case.” Roadhog gave a dangerous low rumble, and Junkrat looked ready to answer with something he’d probably have regretted later before making himself turn away. The contention between the junkers and the omnics had caused no small amount of trouble at first. The addition of omnics to the team had been hotly debated even before their arrival, despite their only representatives being arguably the most peace-loving specimens on the entire team. Zarya and Torbjorn made their distaste of the situation clear, but military discipline bade them both keep it in check other than the occasional insult or thinly veiled threat. Roadhog and Junkrat had no such qualms about team cohesion, and only the presence of Genji and the others had kept them both from outright destroying Zenyatta on sight, even while the robotic monk plead for a non-violent compromise. There had also been an issue with Junkrat attempting to eat Bastion’s pet bird, which had ended with the junker’s peg leg shot to pieces as both parties fled in opposite directions. To say that there was ‘peace’ between them even now would have hardly been accurate. She had been firmly on Zenyatta and Bastion’s side, but had been too intimidated by Roadhog to ever speak up against him, and Junkrat had never seemed very affected by her accusations of being a bully and omnic-hater. And though she hated to admit it, even though she still did not agree with them and probably never could…she understood their reasons a little better now. The wasteland did things to a person, twisted them, warped and poisoned them as it sought to kill them like it had killed everything else here. It could make even a good person know what hate was, fill them with bitterness and violence. And she had only experienced it for a few weeks. She could not imagine spending a lifetime here, or growing up here, knowing that every moment of pain or hardship had been caused by one direct source. She decided not to pursue that particular topic any further, making a mental note to possibly try and tackle that issue somewhere down the line when things were a little less dire. Besides, this time it would be other junkers, not bots, that they had to worry about. She carefully tucked the little pistol into her belt, though its very presence still felt a little alien to her compared to the comforting weight of her freeze gun. But with her cryo-liquid tank empty and broken miles upon miles away in the wreckage of the red zone, the gun would be her only real defense… Well, her first line of defense was actually the junkers, and they both looked downright eager for a fight. Junkrat had promptly forgotten their near-argument over the omnics, and was happily adding another box of grenades to the pile, counting them under his breath. Roadhog was palming the handle of his hook in a way that looked far too erotic for Mei’s liking, so she turned away and distracted herself with the jugs of water, picking up two of the smaller ones and pushing open the screen door. The Hog was waiting just outside, freshly repaired and with one of Junkrat’s crazy faces newly painted on the dented sidecar. The others joined her, packing in and tying on as Hog tested its weight before finally giving them both a thumbs up. Mei gave the sidecar a worried look, almost filled to the brim with rattling grenades and mines all loosely crammed inside, with barely enough room for even Junkrat’s scrawny legs, much less her own. The lanky junker sniffed at one of his frags before shrugging and merely tossing it inside as well, clattering loudly and making her jump. “Um, Jamison, are you entirely sure they’re all secure and safe like that?” “Don’t you worry your beautiful head, Mei darl, those ain’t going off until I want ‘em to…Or unless we crash. Oi! Hog, mate! Don’t crash or we’re all going up, I got enough payload here to cause the second apocalypse!” Hog gave him another thumbs up and Mei uttered a resigned sigh. Carrying nothing more than weapons, some fuel, and water, Roadhog mounted his bike and Junkrat vaulted into place in the sidecar, slithering into place like he’d done a thousand times before before looking to the little climatologist standing awkwardly nearby. He batted both scraggly brows, grinning widely and patting his lap with a few lewd smacks of his palm, wiggling slightly. “Sorry, ain’t no room left except right here! Come on, get comfy!” She gave him a rather flat look, but took his hand as he reached out, scooting in over the side and landing with her elbows clanging against a stack of mines. She straightened quickly, scrambling onto his lap and trying to get as small as possible, clearly disliking being surrounded by hundreds of active explosive devices on all sides. Snowball circled around them before wedging itself into a tiny space still left under the sidecar’s lid, offering Mei a comforting pair of happy emotive eyes. It seemed the little bot was just as eager to get going as the rest of them. Mei glanced around her. “…Seatbelts?” Both junkers began laughing again. Junkrat whomped the side of the car with a loud clang, signaling Roadhog, and with a kick of his armored boot and the rattling roar of the Hog’s new engine, they were off. ***

She had ridden briefly in the motorcycle during the attack of Tilda’s gang, when she and Roadhog had ambushed them from the side. But it had been the first time she’d ever ridden in a vehicle with actual, antiquated wheels. She was unused to the strange feeling of the physical road beneath them, bumping and rattling and vibrating through her bones. Some men, like Roadhog, were never content unless they felt the roar of an engine and a highway beneath their wheels. But Mei could swear she felt every pebble or crack they ran over, shooting straight through her spine as she tried to keep herself steady, her face turning a light shade of gray-green. The ride was having a very different effect on the other passenger sitting beneath her, and when she felt something jab into her rear, she absent-mindedly went to remove it, thinking one of the pieces of scrap metal or grenade pins had gone astray. What her fingers found was neither of those things, and she gave Junkrat a scandalized look, adjusting herself atop his lap primly, having to yell over the noise of the engine. “Jamison! Really!?” “What! It’s the vibrations!” “Well, stop!” “Can’t help it! I’m just an average bloke what’s vibrating all around with you on my lap, what do you expect! Ain’t you feelin’ it too? Thought sheilas loved vibratin’ things!” “Don’t say things like that! And I’m feeling…sick?” “Aw, love. Well, try not to chunder, can’t have your liquid lunch gumming up the frags if we need ‘em. Here, if ya need to, just lean out over the side and then you can yak or piss or whatever and it’s gone in the wind, that’s what I do!” Mei turned another shade of green and hid her face in both hands. This rescue couldn’t come soon enough. The Hog continued thundering along the road, clouds of red dust billowing behind them. Mei tried to distract herself with the scenery, though there was not much to look at. The yellow zone was not as bereft of life as the red zone, but there was little to see beyond red rocks and dirt, scrubby, thorny desert brush, and the very occasional struggling tree. She did spot a number of lizards, sunning themselves atop the stones or slithering about in the shade, and once Junkrat tapped her shoulder to point out a lone kangaroo that was standing and glaring at them from the side of the road. It did not look like the friendly roo she had once pet at a wildlife zoo. This one was warped by radiation and was missing patches of its hair, and had what looked like an extra leg growing and dangling from its belly, its toes warped and claws curled. Mei could swear it was giving them a rude gesture as they passed it by. It seemed like the people of Australia were hardly the only things suffering in this land. They drove on for several hours, pausing only to top off from their gas can and a bathroom break, where Mei quietly puked the remains of last night’s dinner into a bush while Junkrat awkwardly patted her back and offered her water. Then it was squeezing back into that awful sidecar and back atop his lap. At least he wasn’t trying to get handsy with her anymore while she tried to rest, instead taking a pair of binoculars and peering at the oncoming horizon as they rode onward. Occasionally he’d giggle or frown at something he saw, when he suddenly began banging on the side of the cart, startling Mei and causing Roadhog to slow to a stop as the engine idled. “Oi oi oi! I see somethin’, real far off! Mei, scoot?” He awkwardly maneuvered out from under her, squishing her to one side as he struggled to stand. His immense height towered above her as he straightened his long spine, stretching upward as he clicked at the focus buttons on the old lenses. “Ohhhh, I think that might be them. Welp, looks like that’s a fair bad bit of luck there! They’ve already been spotted, looks like they got a crowd!” “What!” Mei pushed at him to stand as well, nearly causing them both to fall over as she snatched the binoculars and peered through them. It took her a moment to find what he had even been talking about. It was incredibly far off still, but with the higher-powered focus, she could see the shape of MV-261 Orca, Overwatch’s main dropship. Its stealth field had apparently been dropped, and even as she watched, she could see little flashes of yellow light and clouds of black smoke puffing silent around it…explosions, hitting it from below. The rocks on the horizon obscured whatever was on the ground, but judging by the sheer amount of little cloud puffs, the Orca was already taking a beating. “R-Roadhog! Can we go a little faster please! I think they’re under attack, and they’re not even near the meeting point yet!” Junkrat pulled her back down into the cart as Roadhog pressed the throttle, wheels spinning in the dirt as they took off. The wind whistled in her ears, holding her scarf onto her head as sand pelted her glasses, gnawing at her bottom lip. Her companions had not been kidding about not taking dropships inland. She never should have lost her temper with Winston and cut him off. She should have kept communications up while she still had them, should have warned them about taking something smaller, or maybe they should have given them a few more days to take a roller after them, or maybe they should never have sent a rescue at all. Worse yet, they had no equipment to even try and establish communication with the ship, and were going in blind. The red storms were avoidable now, with the eco-monitor keeping a watchful eye on things. The outback’s vicious inhabitants, less so. She felt Junkrat tense under her, and almost scolded him again before she heard him growl suddenly, one arm encircling covetously around her. She turned and saw that they were no longer alone. Further away, on both sides of them, were the telltale smoky red trails of other vehicles traveling through the dust. One was an old wheeled roller like theirs, an ancient truck armored with metal plates and a large harpoon-like gun mounted on its back, the other a more modern levitating utility vehicle. Both were manned by other junkers. The hover-jeep veered a little closer to them, and one of the men in the back lifted his gun and gave a whoop of delight. Junkrat flashed his wide smile and lifted his frag launcher in reply. As far as anyone knew, they were just another pack of junkers who had heard about the ship that been stupid enough to fly over outback territory…Years ago, they would have been just that, just two more men heading to help rip apart whatever they thought they could get, their blood boiling as they readied for a fight. Now he was readying for a fight, but to protect that very dropship. Not that he particularly cared for the Orca or whatever combatants they’d sent along inside it, but if Mei was sick and that ship was her hope of getting better, he’d blow up every other junker in the whole desert if it meant getting her on board and out of there. She had shrunk back against his chest, looking up with an unsure expression as the other men drove nearer. He squeezed her side, his other hand still on the trigger of his gun just in case. Roadhog was similarly wary, occasionally glancing from side to side to mark their progress. They couldn’t afford to start a battle now, even if it would thin their numbers a bit. They simply drove on, as other dust clouds appeared on the horizon…more junkers racing to reach their gruesome prize. The ship itself was still struggling in the air, becoming more visible the closer they got. It was still miles out from the agreed meeting point. The hull was already showing signs of damage, as the remaining defense turrets struggled to keep their attackers at bay. Even as Mei watched, there was a faint booming noise from the rocks, and a volley of rockets launched from below, striking the bottom of the ship as another turret came loose and fell to the ground in flames. Javelins peppered the Orca’s underbelly, some still attached to cords and chains, slowing and weighing it down. The whole ship was starting to list dangerously to one side, and Mei gave a little cry of alarm as she stood up in the sidecar, pointing ahead. “H-hurry! We have to hurry! I-I think it’s going down!”

#meihem #junkmei #meirat #fanfiction #funkyfluff #junkrat #jamison fawkes #mei #mei-ling zhou #roadhog #mako rutledge #junkers #attack #overwatch #outback #adventure

51 notes · View notes

dailymihyun-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Top Ways to Make Your Photos Look Professional

There is no silver bullet to making a professional picture. It often takes years of practice; however, as a newer photographer you'll find that there are some things that will dramatically improve your photography without much effort.

But after you apply the tips on this page and get to the point of being a competent photographer, you'll find that your progress will be slower and you'll have to work harder to make your photo just 1 or 2% better.

But here are the simplest things you can do to quickly see an improvement in your photos.

Tip #1: Capture Interesting Lighting

Lighting is number one on this list for a reason. It's easily the most overlooked aspect of photography for beginning photographers, but professional photographers obsess about it. Lighting is the most important thing to making a photo look professional.

Now what makes lighting look interesting? First of all, it's different from what we normally see. Second, it highlights the subject and presents it in a good way.

There are many ways to make a portrait photo have more interesting lighting. You could simply place the person in the shade in order to put even lighting on their face, or you could turn their back to the sun so that hard shadows don't rake across the face.

With landscape photography, time of day is absolutely imperative. 95% of the landscape photos in my portfolio of the best shots I've ever taken were photographed in the very early morning at sunrise or late in the evening at sunset. Beginning photographers often overlook this important tip and try to make a photo in the middle of the day. That's rarely a recipe for success.

Chose a Clear Subject By Zooming In Tight

If you're having a difficult time getting a composition to make sense, the problem is most likely that you've chosen too many subjects at once. Decide on what one subject will be the center of attention, and you'll have a much more interesting picture.

It's incredibly rare that I see a photo that is photographed TOO tight. Zooming in on one part of the scene is almost always the right answer for new photographers. It takes most of my students a year of learning photography before they finally dare to zoom in tight. How long will it take you?

ON THE “BEFORE” PHOTO ON THE LEFT, YOU SEE WHAT A PHOTO LOOKS LIKE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA. ON THE RIGHT, I SHOW THE SAME PHOTO AFTER APPLYING ONE OF MY ONE CLICK LIGHTROOM PRESETS. YOU'LL GET SOME OF MY FAVORITE PORTRAIT PRESETS ALONG WITH THE LIGHTROOM AND PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEO TRAININGS.

Digital Styling

Often, I see photos submitted to me in a portfolio review (starting at only $39) that is beautiful, but just hasn't been styled yet. Digital styling is applied in Photoshop and Lightroom and allows the photographer to creatively change the colors, contrast, and exposure.

While I personally am not much of a fan of the filters on Instagram, we have all seen a photo that looks much more trendy and creative when a filter is applied to it.

If you feel like you're ready to learn this part of photography, I highly recommend getting Lightroom and taking my Lightroom 101 class to help you get started with the software.

If you just learning photo retouching basics, you can address professional photo retouching services online like WeEdit.photos or FixThePhoto that can do any photo enhancement for several dollars.

WHILE DOING A SENIOR PICTURE SHOOT LAST MONTH (WHICH WAS FILMED FOR MY “PHOTOGRAPHY START” CLASS), THE MODEL MENTIONED SHE HAD HORSES. OBVIOUSLY THE SHOOT SUDDENLY INCLUDED THE HORSES BECAUSE THEY ARE AN INTERESTING SUBJECT. I WANTED TO TAKE A PHOTO SHOWING HOW MUCH THE GIRL LOVES HER HORSE, SO I FOCUSED IN ON THE FINE DETAIL OF JUST PART OF THE HORSE TO CAPTURE THIS SHOT.

Interesting Subject

Capturing an interesting subject is usually the simplest part of photography. Even non-photographers know that some things are more interesting in a photo than others.

My advice here is actually the opposite of what you may think I'm going to say. It's not that you should find something interesting to shoot (though you certainly should).

My advice is that you should be careful not to be TOO taken by the subject. If you are too excited about the subject, it can be easy to forget about all the of the other things on this page. Capture an interesting subject, but once you've found it, remove yourself a bit from the excitement and pay attention to everything else you need to do.

Crisp Sharpness

There are so many factors that impact the sharpness of a photo that it can be difficult to know what is causing a reduction in sharpness in your photos. But I have found after coaching thousands and thousands of photographers that the problem is usually that the photographer did not get the focus quite right.

When taking a picture of a person, it's essential to put the focus point exactly on the eye of the person you are photographing.

If you want to learn to focus properly, I highly recommend reading my article with 10 tips on getting sharper photos.

CAPTURING THE SKYLINE FROM AN UNUSUALLY HIGH ANGLE PROVIDES A MORE INTERESTING LOOK THAN FROM DOWN IN THE STREETS.

Unique Perspective

Sometimes I find an interesting subject, but just not an interesting place to photograph it from. If you look at professional photos, they are very often taken from non-obvious spots. For example, a photo of a CEO will be photographed from down low, looking up at the person to make him or her look more powerful. Or, in the case of photographing a city, we often want to get to a very high perspective to shoot down and see the whole city.

Such was the case a few months ago while I was speaking at a conference in Chicago and photographed the skyline from the top of one of the tallest buildings so that I could see the whole city at once.

Creative Composition

Composition is probably the most difficult thing on this list to teach in a short amount of time, but it makes a tremendous difference.

If you have an important upcoming shoot, I highly recommend that you start learning composition by at least learning the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is the most basic rule of composition that basically tells the photographer to imagine a tic-tac-toe board on the frame of the picture, and to put the most interesting part of the photo on the intersection of those lines.

SHOULDN'T BE TOO HARD TO PICK UP ON THE “TOUGH GUY” MOOD I SET FOR THIS PHOTO OF AN ATHLETE THAT I TOOK WHILE TEACHING A FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP EARLIER THIS YEAR. BUT NOT EVERY MOOD NEEDS TO BE SO OMINOUS. THE MOOD COULD BE BRIGHT AND CLEAN JUST AS EASILY.

Mood

Mood is an oft-overlooked aspect of photography, but I find that it's an excellent way to learn to make a photo more impactful. As you take pictures, ask yourself “What mood will this photo convey?”

By asking yourself that question, you will avoid taking a photo of a person with a blank expression. You'll recognize that the person's expression isn't conveying a mood and you'll change it. This can also happen in a landscape. Look at the photo below of the bird in front of the sunset and you'll see that the exposure which was too bright did not convey a serene mood.

Proper Depth-of-Field

Depth-of-field is a hallmark of professional photography–especially professional pictures of people. Shallow depth-of-field means that the subject of the photo is sharp, and the background is blurry. Learning this technique can instantly transform your photography to something much more professional looking.

To take a picture with shallow depth of field, follow ALL of the steps in this recipe:

Put on your longest lens

Set the camera to aperture priority

Set the aperture as low as it will go

Step as close to the subject as you can while still allowing the lens to focus

Place the subject far away from anything in the background.

Put the focus point on the subject

Take the picture

WITH AUTO SETTINGS, THE CAMERA TOOK THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT. IT'S OKAY, BUT IT ISN'T INTERESTING. THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT HAS A CREATIVELY DARK EXPOSURE THAT MAKES THE COLOR IN THE SCENE POP. THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT CONVEYS A MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE MOOD.

Proper Exposure

Exposure means the brightness or darkness of a photo. It's probably the thing that beginning photographers put the most work into learning.

There are three ways to control the exposure of a photo: aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. If you're not sure how they work together and how to set them, take some time to read my free photography basics series.

Digital cameras are very good at coming to a neutral exposure, but the truth is that the neutral exposure is not always the best exposure. For example, suppose you are taking a picture of a person on a bright sunny day. The camera will likely make the face of the person dark and the background too bright. The “neutral” exposure is mid-way between exposing for the face and the background.

But as the photographer, you know that the face is far more important than the background, so you will brighten the exposure for the face and let the background go bright. Go for the proper exposure, not the neutral one.

BY SHOOTING A PANORAMA IN THIS LOCATION, I WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE THE GENTLE CURVE OF THE RIVER, WHICH MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE PHOTO. MY GUIDE, ANDY BEALES, POINTED OUT THIS LOCATION TO ME AND IT WAS A WINNER!

Viewing the Photo Large

After you apply all of the other tips on this page, the way you present the photo will also make a major difference in how it is viewed by those who see it. Don't you dare put a tremendous amount of work into a photo and then print it out at 8×10. Show your photo large to have a bigger impact!

Have you ever walked through a photography gallery? Notice how HUGE the photos are? It's because almost any photo looks better and more captivating when it is viewed full screen or on a very large print.

Learn Photography!

If you're ready to sink your teeth into photography and learn to master it, I highly recommend you read my free photography basics article series. I poured hours into that tutorial to make it the very best way to learn photography, and tens of thousands of people read it every month. I'm sure you'll love it.

Conclusion

If you can only do a few of these things in your photo, make it these: capture interesting lighting, use a creative composition, and remember to digitally style the photo afterward.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Harmer

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Jim Harmer is the founder of Improve Photography, and host of the popular Improve Photography Podcast. More than a million photographers follow him on social media, and he has been listed at #35 in rankings of the most popular photographers in the world. He blogs about how to start an internet business on IncomeSchool.com..

Comments

REPLY Vic Anthony Vallejera

REPLY Dr.N karthik

REPLY Dennis Pritchett

REPLY Susan chesnut

REPLY Brian

REPLY Doug McIntosh

REPLY Sean

REPLY Angela Ferguson

REPLY Photo Finley

REPLY Kauma Oviya

REPLY Ria

REPLY Dr P

REPLY Kara Riley

REPLY shaan khan

REPLY Florence Fiona

REPLY James Bergman

REPLY Jamese Smith

REPLY aji

REPLY Summer

Very helpful tips and I want to learn light room editing

I love photography!!!! I am just a beginner!!!your advices mean a lot!!! Tanx in advance!!!

Good basic advice. I have found that myself and others tend to pick up a new camera and want to get out there immediately snapping pictures, it’s human nature. However, learn what your camera has to offer to improve your photography with little effort on your part. Most of us are impatient, and when we get things working finally, we tend to forget that there are tonnes of features in our cameras that we haven’t even touched on. I slow down, take the manual, set up on a tripod with an appropriate subject for trying everything with the camera, like a brick wall, or the fireplace facing, or even a stuffed animal or doll, and go through the manual in detail, you’ll know your camera much better. Happy snapping.

REPLY Rick

Sometimes camera features can actually get in the way of taking good photos, especially for a beginner. For people who are just starting out, I always recommend learning the exposure triangle (ISO, exposure time and aperture) and learn how those three components work together. Experiment with different settings and see what happens. Reformat your card and start over again. Waste some pixels in order to learn those basics. Once you get a feel for the exposure triangle, it’s much easier to get out of auto mode and start using some manual settings to get what you want. I bought my 5DmkII almost five years ago now, and I have no idea where the manual is. I don’t think I’ve seen it since I opened the box.

REPLY Shirly Lutchavez Lim

Hi! im looking for someone who can practice with me taking picture of my self. i really want to be a Model. but i cant send PORTFOLIO to Agency becuase i cant afford someone taking pictures of me. Agency need a good picture from me. im Asian from Philippines age 28 years old. no kids. my vital status. 75-F – 33 – 37. im here in Sweden. if you know someone please refer me. thank you so much

kindly Regards Shirly Lim,

mike

Abisoye oluwasegun Barnabas

will u give me you facebook account so i can see how you look, good opportunity is waiting for those who has an edge to to deal with

Hire me ..WhatsApp +2347086546624

Nice article thank you for sharing

This is so helpful even for beginners like me. Following all the way from Kenya.

thank you for sharing these valuable tips!

Loved this article. Full of interesting and helpful tips. Good work again from the IP team

This makes a good checklist of considerations before taking photos. Thanks for sharing!

LOVED IT! It was very helpful

The way you teach us feel listening to a class without any boring. Makes more interesting to learn Photography skills.

Great collection of tips! Nicely written. Thx

HI just bought a cannon 70 d upgrade from my 450 D, interesting reading some comments about getting good lens than a new camera , just what the guy in the shop said looking at the quality of pictures . Being mainly an amateur and having not really spend time with the manual and settings on the previous camera ,really appreciate a comment above Dennis P . I think learning the difference between the snaps under different settings is important,.Like wise learning to take the same snaps in different lighting especially outdoor settings .

Just a question? What editing program do you use to edit photos like these? or what do you suggest?

AuthorREPLY Jim Harmer

@Kara Riley – Almost every pro photographer I know uses Lightroom for most of their editing.

Just a question? What editing program do you use to edit photos like these? or what do you suggest?

Definitely, this post is very effective for the photographers. You are targeting on some vital things about photo. This helps us to make a photo more attractive and real. Thank you,.

When I take photos I often focus too much on making them interesting, weird, or funny. I love taking photos of my daughters dress up parties. However, not being a professional I don’t often think much about lighting or background clutter, there is a lot of the latter in my home. How much of this kind of stuff can be fixed with photoshop?

I just wanna say this has been so helpful, to me and my kids. Because I’m a normal mom, and you wanna know how to take good pictures. Not for you but for your kids, also, the future. When you kids look at old pictures it’s VERY, important to see. How they used to look when were younger, how they changed, do they still look the same? That’s how I feel.

Sir, when we click a portrait behind a landscape, do we position the person in the center of the image or any side?

Sir, when we click a portrait with landscape as background, do we position the person in the center of the image or any side?

Hello,

I am new to photography and I am attempting to open an Etsy shop so I can make a living selling online. I am however, having trouble with the photography portion of this experience. I purchased a very expensive macro lens from Canon ($600), thinking this would solve my problems but I feel it has just made me become even more confused about how to take good photos that sell the product well. Not all of my photos are bad, but I am using a professional lighting (soft box-just one) to light up my jewelry in a lifestyle shot. It is doing the opposite and making the jewelry appear dark and everything else appears sort of colorless and washed out. I dont know how to correct this, and I feel like I have tried everything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

REPLY Unity Paledi

If you use too much lighting ,you gonna need to increase your ISO, to maybe 800,1200,3200, or lower your exposure to -2,-3,

you have to keep on changing to settings depending on your environment,

Comment navigation

Newer Comments →