#And now looking it up I have confirmation that they do in fact have the same voice actor <33< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[g1rld1ary]

christmas eve - sirius black x fem!reader

wc: 2405

cw: pure fluff, swearing, you meet sirius' friends on Christmas eve

me: happy christmas eve chickens!!!! hope u r all staying safe and happy and enjoying the holidays!!!! xxxx

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If you had been asked in school if you would ever fancy Sirius Black, you would have said never in a million years. Sirius Black was a loud-mouthed, annoying, entitled son of a bitch. However, many years later, you would only say your boyfriend was a son of a bitch — you hated that woman.

If either of your respective groups of friends had been asked the same question, you were sure they would have given identical answers. In school you were quiet, polite and stayed under the radar. And Sirius was, well, Sirius. There was no way the two of you would ever get along.

Admittedly, you still didn’t exactly look the pair. Sirius and his dark silky hair, electric silver eyes and intimidating worn leather jacket, and you with your muted colour palette and unassuming appearance. Yet, you thought you went together pretty well. Still, you could both understand that even time and maturity didn’t make your get together more expected. In fact, you were probably the last person the marauders expected to show up to their Christmas Eve dinner.

When Christmas Eve finally came, Sirius and James were busy setting up his and Lily's dining room for the perfect holiday event. Decked in horrendous matching Christmas jumpers with terrible puns stamped across the front, each boy broke into laughter whenever they caught a glimpse of the other’s across the table as they lay down the fancy cutlery. Remus and Lily, cooking in the other room, had opted for more neutral red and green jumpers as a tribute to the season.

“Come on, mate, we’re brothers yet you’ve kept this girl hidden for months now, can’t you just tell me?” James begged, arranging the centrepieces to be spaced how he knew Lily liked.

“Patience, Prongsy, you’ll meet her soon enough. Promise you’ll be nice to her?”

“When have I not been nice?” James cried, hands up in mock offence. Sirius just shook his head, turning to arrange some pillows.

James cast him an inquisitive look, protective wasn’t usually Sirius’ style, which meant that something about you was really different. He’d been considering that for a while, and his suspicions were only confirmed with every passing day.

There were three main reasons that James thought Sirius was (for lack of a better word) serious about you. Firstly, Sirius was healthier. With the family he was born with, it wasn’t surprising that Sirius had a host of trauma and mental health issues. And though he’d tried therapy and meds a handful of times the habit had never really stuck and he’d always had a level of discomfort in his own body. Lately, though, Sirius had seemed more relaxed and in control. James wasn’t stupid, he knew that a partner couldn’t fix anyone, but he was absolutely more inclined to approve of one who made his best friend feel like himself again.

Secondly, Sirius was more private. Sirius had always had an outrageous sense of humour, uninhibited when it came to sex jokes or sharing conquests. But recently James had noticed that while Sirius still made jokes they were aimed at other people, he’d almost completely stopped talking about his own sex life. Of course, when prompted he would boast about how sexy his girlfriend was and how incredible and active your sex life was, but it was never Sirius bringing it up, or making gross comments about your body and what you could do with it.

Finally, Sirius was gentle. He’d always been charming, but the unfiltered adoration in his eyes when he spoke about you took James aback — he’d never seen it in his brother before. It was so pure and well-intentioned that James knew in his core that Sirius was head over heels and the fall was not coming to an end any time soon.

As the clock ticked by the gang all trickled in, the dining room filling with warmth and laughter. At five minutes past nine, you rang the doorbell.

“Is this the girlfriend?” Lily clapped with delight, jumping up and down with Mary.

“I’ll let her in. Play nice,” Sirius said with a stern sweep of the room, satisfied when his friends all played along, nodding solemnly.

Standing on the Potter’s doorstep you were ball of anxiety. You hadn’t seen any of the marauders — apart from your boyfriend — since you finished school, taking a muggle job. Thankfully Sirius opened the door, greeting you with his toothy smile.

“Hi, lovely,” He said, engulfing you in a bear hug. You giggled, wrapping one arm around him, the other holding up a purple umbrella.

“Hi,” You smiled back, “Sorry I’m late, all the houses look the same.”

“What are you talking about? You’re right on time.” A lie, but a kind one so you let it be. You shook the water off your umbrella before stepping inside.

Safe in a warm home you leant up on your tiptoes to plant a kiss on Sirius’ lips as he slid the coat down your arms, hanging it up on a hook beside you. You were half-tempted to just stay in his arms for the rest of the night and abandon the dinner altogether, but you figured that wasn’t possible while you were inside someone else’s house. It seemed like Sirius had the same idea, pulling away with a groan.

“Come on, everyone’s waiting to meet you.” You followed him out of the entryway, calming yourself with a breath.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present my girlfriend.” Sirius revealed you dramatically as you waved shyly, shifting in your small brown heels.

“Uh, hey—”

“Holy shit, it’s you?” Marlene slammed her hand on the dining table. You jumped slightly, squinting to figure out what was going on. Your mouth dropped open as you connected the dots and looked up at Sirius.

“Do they not know we’re dating? Sirius!” You scolded him, smacking him on the bicep. Sirius floundered for a moment, struggling to summon the charm that usually got him out of trouble.

“In my defence,” He preached, “Would they have believed me?”

“I would not have,” Peter put in helpfully. You laughed, putting a hand to your forehead in exasperation.

“I guess I don’t blame you. It’s nice to see you, Peter, by the way. Long time no see, I’ve heard so much about you all.” The group all shared a look, something akin to guilt growing that they hadn’t seen someone they graduated with for years.

“And we know nothing about you,” Lily said with an expectant look to Sirius, “Since your boyfriend was so insistent on keeping you hidden away from us.” Sirius just shrugged, lifting his hands in surrender.

“Oh, baby, are you ashamed of me?” You teased with a dramatic pout.

“What’s there to be ashamed of? You’re perfect.” Sirius swooped down to press a kiss on your cheek. You grinned subconsciously as Mary and Marlene mirrored your expression. Sirius had dated a lot of people but they’d never seen him be so gentle.

“Is anyone else scared of Sirius being a normal human being?” James stage whispered and the others all agreed, joking at their friend’s expense.

“Enough gossiping about me you heathens, I’m helping Lily serve up some food. Right, Lils?” Sirius made a summoning motion and Lily followed him, a small smile still on her lips. He’d chosen wisely, Lily was the least likely to tear him to shreds about his behaviour.

You sat shyly on one of the couches in the Potter’s living room, studying your nails as you tried to come up with conversation.

“So, are you working, studying?” Remus asked kindly, putting you out of your awkward misery.

“How’d you and Padfoot meet — again?”

“How’d a twat like Pads score a girl like you?”

“I’m working, I run a muggle bookshop. Sirius came in one day by chance and just kept returning until eventually we started going out.”

“Sirius reading?” Mary asked incredulously, drawing laughter from you. You nodded happily, glad to talk about your boyfriend.

“Surprising I know, but he’s been really into it over the last few months!”

“Can I just defend myself and say that I was shopping for Remus’ birthday gift the first time,” Sirius popped his head through the door, “I didn’t start reading until I wanted to get her to like me.” You shook your head with a smile, rolling your eyes playfully.

“I was going to say I couldn’t imagine Sirius perusing a book store for fun, but it makes a lot more sense when you say it’s for a girl,” Marlene teased, popping up to help Sirius bring the dishes to the dining table.

“Hey! I’m an intellectual now, you arse.” Sirius pulled out your chair for you as the group migrated to the dining table.

“Yeah, okay, Padfoot,” Remus snorted and Sirius scoffed in false annoyance before you all fell silent, devouring the meal.

You ate and shared stories for hours and you felt strangely at home among the group. At some point Sirius, sitting beside you, threw an arm over your shoulder and you cuddled into his warmth.

You loved learning about the Marauders, you only remembered fragments from school since you were never close with any of them. James being an auror made perfect sense when you remembered his amazing DADA performances, and Remus becoming a teacher was a wonderful sequel to his long tutoring sessions in seventh year. Lily expecting a baby so young had shook up their home life but the house had clearly started getting child-ready even though it was months away. Regardless, the group welcomed you warmly and you felt immediately at home.

“I just can’t believe that you of all people are together. I mean after all this time, how you both were in school… what are the odds?” Peter asked, reaching over the table to take another scoop of vegetables. You bit your lip and tried to control the heat creeping up your neck.

“I think we balance each other out,” You reasoned, “Sirius is such a… distinct character that he needs someone boring like me to bring him down.”

“You, boring? You’re the daughter that everyone wants!” Marlene laughed, sipping a red wine.

“I couldn’t function without her.” Sirius laced your fingers together, gaze heavy on you. “She reminds me to take care of myself, go to bed before three A.M., and of course, is hot and sexy as fuck.” That was the Sirius his friends all knew, but the school-era immaturity was gone. No longer was it the ladies-man Sirius Black trying to get into someone’s pants, instead, it was Sirius making a dumb joke with someone he loved.

“Sirius!” You cried, covering your face with both hands, including the one Sirius had attached to yours. Times like these you could feel the differences between you — Sirius was known for his crude humour, you would never bring up how sexy you thought Sirius was, joke or not, especially not in front of people you didn’t really know.

The night progressed with more reminiscing and storytelling, and you listened enraptured as they told story after story of pranks and parties, a life you were unaware of being led right beside you at school. You all ended up tipsy, an embarrassing stack of empty wine bottles building up at the end of the table.

As you were told was a common occurrence, the group all decided to just stay over at the Potters, pulling out mattresses and spots on the sofa with practised speed. You took the place they gave you, grateful to still be welcome.

Swaddled in blankets, Sirius was the first asleep, dead to the world in a matter of moments. For someone who stayed up half the night, he really did pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Whenever he was with you, anyway.

Someone across the room called your name in a whisper, wand faintly illuminated. You sat up to look their way, finding the rest of Sirius’ friends looking at you.

“We just wanted to say we really like you, and we’re really happy for you and Padfoot, even if we were weird at the start,”” Mary said and you couldn’t contain your grin.

“And why weren’t we friends in school? We would’ve gotten along great,” Remus added, rubbing tired eyes.

“I would have been putting a target on my own back,” You confessed, “You were all in the same house, confident in yourselves and could defend yourself against the bullies. I was alone in my house and deeply insecure. Even if we were friends I would’ve gone back to my common room at the end of the day and been vulnerable. It was easier to just be alone.”

“You thought that through.” James nodded appreciatively but you just shrugged, a fact was a fact.

The conversation moved away from you for a while, whispers and stifled giggles bouncing across the room.

“You know that Sirius is in love with you, right?” James blurted out of nowhere, slapping a hand over his mouth.

“What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He looks at you like he’s your whole world. He raves about you all the time; how great you are, how he’s so glad he met you. He’s my brother and I know him better than he knows himself; he’s mad for you.”

You took a moment to let that sink in. You hadn’t put too much thought into whether Sirius loved you, you’d always just been happy with the way they were going.

“Oh,” You hesitated. “I hadn’t considered that. Well, um, I should probably get to sleep, I have a lot of family to see tomorrow.” It was a poor excuse, you knew, but that was a big word.

You bade the group goodnight once more before snuggling into Sirius, and he instinctually wrapped his arm around your waist. As you drifted off to sleep, the thought crossed your mind that maybe, love wasn’t so out of the picture.

[kaeyachi]

HOW WE CAN USE KAEYA'S CHARACTER VOICELINES TO PREDICT THE PLOT OF GENSHIN IMPACT:

Really long lore post! Grab a small serving of popcorn, maybe.

So, do you all remember my post about how frequent Kaeya mentions fate ? And how suspicious it is, especially with the current plotlines in Genshin?

Other than that suspicious thing he's got going, there are several voicelines from him that are incredibly interesting to go back to as well, especially with all the current facts we have.

Just to name a few, we have him talking about his grandfather fighting a hydra before we even went to Liyue, and in a short animation posted in Genshin's YT account a year before the Albedo quest, he tells Klee to be careful at night because monsters walk around looking like a knight to trick people.

But for now, I will focus on a certain group of his EN voicelines- More about Kaeya".

ALL "More about Kaeya" voicelines could have been AND can still be used to predict the plot of genshin- very fitting for someone who keeps despairing about fate. Here is how:

First, with the 2 voicelines have already been officially addressed in Archon Quests by other Khaenri'ahns:

"Khaenri'ah? You sure know a lot! The legacy of Khaenri'ah is long gone. The sinners are all that's left, and they're not worth mentioning."

Back then, before the interlude quest from update 4.7 was ever released, I actually just assumed this was just the teachings of Kaeya's father to him, because Clothar had mentioned back in update 3.5 that "salvation for a sinner can only come from a sinner". We probably assumed at the time that being a sinner included ALL Khaenri'ahns.

It turns out that Kaeya had told us who the sinners are- The Legacy of Khaenri'ah: the group of characters that put their nation under Celestia's terrifying gaze for their work. They are called the Legacy not only for their power and influence, but also because they are what made Khaenri'ah the cursed nation that it is today. This is the sinners' legacy.

Meanwhile, Clothar told us what these sinners are doing - finding out how to give their cursed nation "salvation." This is why Vedrfolnir (Dainsleif's brother and one of the said sinners) had inspired Clothar to form the Abyss Order. This could be taken as our twin agreeing with the sinners' plans.

These Alberich men and their subtle and confusing lore drops, I swear...

Technically, I guess we can say that this was a lesson from Kaeya's father, but now it was clear that his father was talking about an actual group that can be called "The Sinners of Khaenri'ah".

But that brings up a question... why did Kaeya try to divert the focus from said group? Why are they "not worth mentioning"? Especially with the fact that our twin is actively working with them? Was this meant to guide us away from that trail? Or perhaps this is a subtle foreshadowing that the plot of these sinners would fail in all their attempts/plans?

"Is the Abyss Order causing you trouble? If there's anything bothering you, you know you can talk to me."

Either way, this actually confirms that Kaeya knows of the Khaenri'ahn/Abyss Order plot in general. Like, come on now, he already spoke of half truths when questioned by Dainsleif! He didn't know what the full weight of carrying an Alberich surname is, but he did mention that what Dainsleif told him finally answered questions- questions he wouldn't have had if he was told nothing. He is really proving Diluc's assessment of him- you can really only trust half of what he says at best.

This one right here actually predicted/foretold what update 3.5 will contain. There was a reason why this is what we got for "About Kaeya". This wasn't just about him as a knight, it was because his ancestor, Clothar, involved in the Abyss Order's creation. This is part of his family history.

This, however, makes me curious as to what his personal relation to the Abyss Order actually is. Do we take this voiceline as him just being a knight that recognizes our problems with the Abyss Order after what happened with Dvalin? Or do we take this as special treatment from a descendant of its founder who is reluctantly watching over his birthright? This is not the only concern regarding this. If he really is loosely working with the Abyss Order, this means that this entire time, he may have been in cahoots with our twin! Suddenly, the intel he gave us during the prologue is less truthful than it originally was, huh? The information is real, but how he really got it is being put into question...

It seems like both of the dialogue made me think that he has been in contact with our twin in some way this entire time. Very interesting...(at the very least, it would make Kaeya get a laugh at Amber posting missing posters in the most random of places)

Also...it was actually in the surname too lmao. Alberich means "ruler of supernatural beings" after all. (technically, this would have referred to elves, but there doesn't seem to be a clear connection from the Alberich clan to the elven race yet...but one can only dream of elven Kaeya)

Now onto the voicelines that will for sure tell us about what comes next (and what might possibly happen):

" The title of Cavalry Captain is nothing to grt excited about. Now that I think about it, the Grand Master took all the cavalry from Mondstadt, so there's none for me to captain..."

It's the age old question of "Why did Varka take the cavalry, but not their captain?"

It's a funny thing to think about, but it really does raise the question as to why Varka did so, because it's really REALLY weird to not take the captain. The simplest answer is that Kaeya's intel network is far more important than taking him away on an expedition, and gathering intel is hard when the head of it isn't starionary, but we also have to consider the fact that Varka would have an idea about Khaenri'ah in the first place.

Perhaps bringing Kaeya around what seems to be a search for answers and solutions isn't the best idea? What if all this searching is connected with Khaenri'ah? Learning more about how the nation was destroyed would probably be beneficial for the Grand Master to know to protect his nation, after all...

But what if it doesn't involve Khaenri'ah at all? Well, we still have the alternative of Varka wanting Kaeya to be by Jean's side. Kaeya is efficient with his work, but he is also the first to hammer in the idea of self care.

Kaeya has shown several instances of caring for Jean in secret (just like he does for so many others, actually). The first being in Jean's story quest where he planned a party for her. Another is Jean calling him out and thanking him for doing the backlogged KoF paperwork in secret. Finally, he convinced Jean to go with him, Albedo and Klee in Simulanka.

Kaeya is also the 2nd in command if Jean is out of commission AND the one who seems to be doing negotiations. Varka knew that Jean needed support, and Kaeya is the best support anyone could ask for as an official Knight.

As for the last idea, Kaeya could have rejected the offer of joining the expedition himself and offered his entire cavalry to go in his stead. It could be for various reasons, ranging from wanting to stay for Jean and Diluc to being afraid of going against his father's orders of Kaeya needing to stay in Mondstadt. The Grand Master's expedition is taking too long compared to Kaeya's short negotiations meetings in Sumeru and quick vacations in Liyue, Veluriyam, and Simulanka.

But one thing is clear- this situation will definitely be addressed someday, and I'm sure it goes deeper than Varka simply wanting to take the cavalry away from their captain.

"There are a total of ten captains within the Knights of Favonius. But truth be told, not all of them have what it takes to be leaders."

There are 5 captains stationed in Mondstadt- Jean, Kaeya, Albedo, Eula, and Hertha. The other 5 went with Varka.

Kaeya doesn't seem to have any problems with the ones that stayed with him in Mond...so does this mean that this is a setup for upcoming conflict within the Knights of Favonius? Is there a captain or 2 that would cause concerns?

Also, I'm not sure if this is a translation error, but " not all of them have what it takes-" sounds like he doesn't count. If it isn't an error, I could also connect a theory on that.

What if Kaeya isn't the official cavalry captain? What if they are just saying that as his public role because they can't expose the real one- intel. Suddenly, Varka leaving him would make even more sense because the cavalry isn't his to captain, and this could also confuse their enemies' information. This has been a long standing theory in the fandom, but I wonder if this would actually hold up well and accurately based off of Kaeya's lines.

"My eye? My eye is fine. There's nothing unusual about hiding one's body parts from view. It's the same reason I wear pants... or any other item of clothing, for that matter."

Just gotta put it out there, but his eye is definitely not fine ✌️

Technically, this was already explained as him having a scar, but also, did we consider the idea that he could be lying again? Also, we should consider that Kaeya is really good at telling half truths, and a good actor to add.

Also, I kinda hope his hidden eye will be revealed as gold for a specific reason. From the source material, Alberich stole the gold of the Rhine river (yes, from Rhinedottirs) to create a ring. What better place than in an eye? The current model for his skin has it the same color as his visible one, but placeholders exist.

There actually isn't much to say about this one because we don't even know if there really is anything wrong in the first place. We could hypothesize that it's a spying eye, a curse-containing eye, the eye of King Irmin, or the eye that could see beyond the fake sky, but that is as far as we could go with it.

But the odd voiceline from Paimon regarding that eye sure did fuel a ton of those theories. We don't know where Paimon really came from, and all we know of her is that she is part of Teyvat that has a connection with Celestia, so her mentioning that Kaeya is hiding a "big secret" in regards to that eye is sure to send alarm bells to any theorist.

So yeah, that's about it for now. Kaeya definitely has way more voicelines to be concerned about, but the way these specific ones ended up playing out in the released lore is very interesting to me.

Also, I just found out that my dot connecting regarding the travelers were proven by the damn XBOX wings of all things... and you know what? I'll take it. A win is a win *eyes my other theories warily*

If you are still here after my long somewhat delulu theories, then congratulations! Have a Cookie:

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Fresh from the oven!

[okaysonny]

the one where they lose yenna ╎ zack + johan

❤️ @always-lovingly — hope you like it!

ᯓ★ summary: eli bestows zack with the greatest honour: babysitting yenna. nothing will go wrong, right?

ᯓ★ details: fluff, no reader, spoilers for 517 onwards, canon dynamics. (aka zack and johan's relationship is platonic)

ᯓ★ wc: 3.4k - on the longer side...sorry

ᯓ★ A/N: I HATED MAKING THIS!!! comedy is really hard to write + i feel like i waffled too much... made a post about it, but this fic is drawn from s2, ep6 of friends (the one with the baby on the bus)

how did they get ben back with no paperwork/confirmation? idk but it makes my job easier #yes

divider: @thecutestgrotto

"what? you want me to look after zami tomorrow?"

"…her name is yenna" eli smiles at him sheepishly. "and yes. i have to unexpectedly work at the fruit stall. derek got a stomach bug and there's no one to cover for him. plus, the daycares closed on saturdays. would you mind?"

"…eli…i can't believe this…"

of course. eli should've expected this. what eighteen year old wants to spend their saturday babysitting?

"sorry zack. don't worry about it. i'll get someone else to— "

"i can't believe you're trusting me to babysit zam— i mean yenna!" a beam of light is practically shining on him.

eli blinks. he swears he can see zack's eyes well up.

"do you really trust me to? you really think i'm worthy?!"

well, he wasn't expecting that. eli laughs softly, shaking his head. "well…you visit her a lot and you're really great with her. i think you'd do a good job"

zack covers his mouth, trying not to cry in front of the beauty department's only guy. he does visit yenna a lot. how can he not? the fact that the baby he found happened to be eli's daughter…it felt like fate.

he coughs into his hand, composing himself, before looking at eli with determination - the determination of being the best babysitter in the world. "…it would be my honour"

eli smiles softly. he was hesitant in entrusting yenna with someone who misnames her half the time. but now, he doesn't regret it one bit.

"…thanks, zack"

"oh…you really came prepared, huh?"

zack has come prepared. he still owns that baby carrier from before. he also wears something without buttons this time. and he still uses gel, but not too much gel, because the spikes could stab her.

"of course!" he nods enthusiastically. "only the best for zam— yenna! mesh ventilation to ensure maximum comfort!"

eli can't help but chuckle. "that's…very nice of you"

with one hand, eli hands zack a list of instructions and a bag of supplies. his other hand is holding yenna, as adorable as she always is.

"…if anything happens, call me. i'll try make it back as soon as possible" he hesitantly hands yenna over, her little hands grabbing at zack's face.

"ba!" she squeals.

his eyes light up. "zam— yenna!" he cradles her head gently. "don't worry, eli ! she's safe with me!"

he nods, exhaling slowly. he reaches out to stroke her hair fondly. "you have a good time with uncle zack, okay? i'll be back before you know it" he whispers.

eli steps back, checking the time on his phone. "shoot, i need to go. you'll be fine, right?"

zack grins, using yenna's hand to give him a little wave. "yes, yes. go and chop fruit or whatever"

eli waves back and zack watches as his figure slowly gets smaller. he looks down at her, speaking with conviction.

"alright, zami. uncle zack will give you the best day of your life"

"what the hell, man? why'd you bring a baby here?"

okay, so saturday just happened to coincide with his study session. but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

zack hastily covers her ears. "don't swear in front of yenna! this is eli's daughter, y'know?! i'm an uncle on babysitting duty"

johan looks down at yenna with a mix of contempt and confusion, her big eyes staring back at him.

"ba?"

she's holding a baton with the top of a toy wand attached to it. his brows furrow, remembering his fight with eli.

Are you messing with me? What's with the toy?

whoops. in his defense, how was he meant to know?

johan sighs in exasperation and closes his book. "we're not getting anything done if she's here. by the way, don't expect me to help, alright? you're on your own"

"hmph. yenna doesn't want to hear your obscenities anyway" he pats her head protectively.

he rolls his eyes. "yeah, okay"

yenna suddenly starts smacking her baton-wand against the edge of the table, the smile never leaving her face.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

zack stares at the wand, already dented from her relentless attack on the furniture.

"alright yenna, that's enough of that" he says nervously, gently prying it out of her hand. she immediately starts to fuss, her big eyes tearing up.

johan glares at him. "nice job, genius. now she's going to cry"

"hush!" zack snaps. he waves the wand awkwardly in front of yenna’s face. "see, yenna? it's all better!"

yenna, unimpressed, lets out a wail that could rival a siren.

johan groans and presses his fingers to his temples. "you need to get something to keep her quiet. a softer toy maybe"

zack perks up at the suggestion. "hey, we should go to the city! we can grab something real quick!"

"we?"

"yes, we. you're not sitting on your ass while i do this alone" he grumbles.

johan stares at him in disbelief, but yenna’s cries grow louder, and he visibly gives in. “fine. but if she screams on the bus, i'm out”

zack grins, already packing up. he turns to yenna with a cheerful voice. "alright princess, let’s go find you the perfect toy!"

"...gross"

"you're gross" he mumbles, as they make their way to the bus stop.

zack awkwardly adjusts the baby carrier strapped to his chest, yenna wriggling furiously against him.

“why is she squirming so much?” johan asks, sitting in the seat across from him, his arms folded.

“she’s probably uncomfortable” zack shifts the straps again. yenna lets out an irritated whine, kicking her tiny feet against his stomach. “c’mon, work with me here…”

johan leans back. “maybe she can sense you have no idea what you’re doing”

“real helpful, johan. you wanna take over?” he glares at him while holding the carrier steady.

“pass”

“yeah, that’s what i thought” zack adjusts the carrier again, but yenna’s whining only gets louder. people start glancing over, their expressions ranging from amused to annoyed.

“okay, okay. hang on” he sighs in defeat, unbuckling the straps, gently lifting yenna out of the carrier and onto his lap.

“so now you’re happy, huh?” zack mutters. yenna’s only response is a delighted giggle as she smacks his knee with her baton-wand.

“you’re spoiling her” johan comments, deadpan.

“what do you know about babies, johan?”

he shrugs. "if you say so"

yenna, meanwhile, starts squirming again, clearly eager to explore her surroundings.

“you wanna stretch those tiny legs?” zack carefully sets her down on the floor of the bus. she stands unsteadily for a moment, then takes a few steps, laughing as she bangs her toy against the metal pole by their seats.

“...are you seriously letting her walk around here?”

“she needs some freedom!” zack defends himself, his eyes flicking between yenna and johan. "she's only a baby, it’s not like she’s gonna go far"

“...right”

“calm down. i'm watching her!” zack beams confidently, leaning back in his seat while keeping one eye on yenna.

for a moment, the two of them sit in silence, the bus rumbling along as she continues her wobbly exploration of the aisle.

“...y’know, you’re pretty calm for someone who's scared of babies”

johan shoots him a glare. “i’m not scared of babies”

“you totally are! the look on your face when she said ‘ba’ was priceless”

johan’s eyes narrow. “keep talking and i’ll make you ‘ba’ yourself”

they continue bickering, their voices overlapping as yenna toddles around the aisle, occasionally smacking the bus poles with her baton-wand.

the bus screeches to a halt at their stop. zack stands up, slinging the bag full of baby supplies over his shoulder. "alright, this is us"

johan follows closely behind as they get off, stepping onto the bustling city street. the sound of car horns and chatter fill the air, and zack immediately starts scanning the area.

“so” johan drawls, looking around. “what exactly are we looking for? a squeaky duck? a magic wand that doesn’t double as a weapon?”

“something soft, like you said” zack adjusts the straps of the carrier on his shoulder. "i never want to hear that banging noise again"

johan opens his mouth to speak, but pauses. his eyes flick down, then back up to zack, his face suddenly paling.

“...zack?” his voice is unusually tense.

“what?” zack asks distractedly, glancing around for a toy store.

johan's face is laced with panic.

“where’s the baby?”

“what are you talking about? she’s right—”

but she isn't. he glances down at the empty carrier on his shoulders, his voice catching in his throat.

we left her on the bus.

"johan, you rat!" zack snarls. "how could you forget about our child?"

"how the fuck is this my fault? you’re the one babysitting her!" johan snarls back. "and what do you mean our child?"

the argument attracts curious stares from passerby.

zack waves his hand dismissively, his movements frantic. "who cares?!" he yells, sprinting off. "we need to catch that fucking bus!"

zack hears johan groan, but his footsteps quickly follow after, the bus luckily still in sight as it makes a turn.

"it's fine!" zack pants. "we just need to alert the bus driver and it'll be fine!"

they turn around the corner, but stop in their tracks.

they're both flabbergasted as it's joined by two other identical buses on their route, the traffic blocking the vehicles out of sight regardless. something out of a 90's sitcom.

zack's lip begins to tremble. he's a dead man. will he die without knowing mira's touch?

he aggressively shakes his fist at the sky. "OH COMPASSIONATE BUDDHA!!! why have you forsaken me?"

"...what the fuck? relax. let's just..." johan pants, trying to catch his breath. "let's just think, okay? there's gotta be a way to fix this"

they both stand in contemplation.

they can fix this, right?

"thank you! please come again~" eli hands over the bag of fruit cheerfully, waving the customer goodbye.

his smile falters.

strange. he suddenly has a weird feeling.

he shakes his head, shrugging it off. it's probably nothing, he says to himself.

"the transit authority!" zack exclaims, an imaginary light bulb appearing on his head. "the bus drivers' hand all lost property to them. we just need to call and let them know we left a baby! she has to be with them! no idiot would leave a baby on the bus!"

johan nods, both of them blissfully unaware of the irony. "i was gonna say that"

zack scoffs. "sure you were. now, all we need to do is—"

zack's phone rings. he looks at the screen, his eyes widening in horror.

"i-it's eli" he stammers.

a smile tugs on johan's lips, slightly amused. he gestures to the phone. "answer it. it's gonna look suspicious if you don't"

zack glares at him, but doesn't argue. he breathes out slowly before accepting it.

"eli !" his voice is incredibly high pitched. "what's up? shouldn't you be chopping lemons or something?"

"i'm on my break" he laughs. "i just wanted to check in. is everything okay, zack?"

"everything's fine!" he chirps. "me and yenna are having a great time!"

"...that's good. would you mind putting her on the phone? i want to hear her voice" he says gently.

fuck.

johan smirks, not even trying to hide it anymore, watching zack in anticipation.

zack closes his eyes, pausing.

he does the only thing that comes to mind, shoving the phone near johan's mouth. the latter's face drops.

what the hell are you doing? he mouths.

zack covers the phone so eli can't hear.

"act like a baby" he hisses.

"over my dead body"

"just do it, you hobo! or i'll tell your mom you failed english again" he glares.

"...you wouldn't"

"wanna find out?"

"um...zack?" eli speaks up again. "what's going on? is she—"

"...goo goo?" johan squeaks, removing zack's hand from the speaker.

zack winces. he's heard better acting in porn.

radio silence.

"is she okay? she sounds a bit—"

"i think she needs a diaper change! bye eli !" he hangs up quickly.

johan stares daggers at him, his cheeks slightly flushed. "i'm gonna beat your ass"

zack shrugs, googling the number for the transit authority. "you can beat my ass after we find zami"

"...i thought her name was yenna?"

the human resources department is a picture of monotony, the ticking of the clock being the loudest sound in the room. the clerk behind the desk often jokes to himself that he lives in a time loop. every day was the same — forms to file, complaints to process, and the occasional awkward phone call. nothing ever changes, and he's stopped expecting it to.

until today.

the phone on his desk buzzes, cutting through the endless drone of routine.

“transit authority here” the caller begins briskly. “we’ve got a...situation. someone called claiming they left a baby on one of our buses”

the man blinks, the pen in his hand frozen mid-air. “a baby?”

“yeah. a little girl. we’ve got her safe now, but we’re bringing her over to your department, since...you know, you handle these things” the voice sounds exasperated, as if they can’t believe they're saying this either.

he swivels slightly in his chair, still trying to process the information. “so, wait. someone just...left their baby on the bus?”

“that’s what we’ve been told” the caller says with an audible sigh. “the guy on the phone sounded panicked. i told him to go to your building”

"...what kind of idiot leaves their baby on a bus?"

“i’m asking myself the same question”

hanging up the phone, the clerk leans back in his chair, shaking his head in disbelief.

this is new.

he glances at the clock, bracing himself for what kind of man would walk through the door.

or men, he should say.

the door to the department bursts open, startling the clerk so badly he nearly knocks over his coffee. his head snaps up, expecting one man, but instead, there were two.

they both look like they just sprinted a marathon. the first, a broad shouldered guy with a baby carrier strapped awkwardly across his chest, is hunched over, gasping for air. his face bore the genuine panic of someone who just lost something irreplaceable.

the second young man follows behind him, his sharp eyes darting around the room, like he’d rather be anywhere else.

the clerk stares at them, dumbfounded, as they both stand there panting. finally, he clears his throat, glancing at the baby carrier. “so… i’m guessing you’re here for the baby?”

"y-yes! the baby...we called about the baby! is she here?" zack heaves.

"...she's here"

zack and johan sigh in relief.

"is one of you the father?"

zack rubs his neck shyly. "ah...well no, but we know her very well. can we collect her?"

the older man crosses his arms. "if neither of you are, you'll need to call one of her parents, so we can confirm guardianship"

fuck.

zack looks at johan in wordless communication. it'll be awkward. it'll be difficult. but they both know what they have to do.

"w-what i meant to say was..." zack slowly wraps an arm around johan's shoulder, cursing his sudden high pitched voice. "we're actually both the fathers"

zack leans his head against johan's, trying to control his trembling lip as he smiles sweetly.

the clerk presses his own lips into a thin line, not looking convinced.

johan sighs and briefly scrunches his nose before laying his hand on top of zack's, leaning into his touch. his smile is incredibly fake and plastered. he's afraid he'll commit murder otherwise.

"mhm..." johan manages to croak out.

radio silence.

if the clerk doesn't believe them, it seems he doesn't care enough to press further. he shrugs, gesturing to the door at the back. "alright. right this way—"

that's all they need to hear before they bolt to the door, flinging it open.

yenna is sitting on a small cot, gripping her beloved baton-wand in one hand. she’s completely unbothered, her big eyes scanning the room with innocent curiosity. she gives the wand a few lazy taps against the cot, unaware of the trouble they had to go through.

the moment zack spots her, he rushes over, scooping her up without hesitation. “yenna! we’re so sorry! your uncles are so sorry” he says, his voice filled with guilt. he hugs her tightly, rocking her gently. “uncle zack won't let this happen again, okay? never, ever”

standing just behind him, johan watches silently. "...you’re so ridiculous" he mutters. but zack knows he doesn't mean it. he knows him too well to not spot the softness in his voice.

he doesn’t look back, too wrapped up in stroking yenna's back. "couldn't care less, mommy's boy"

as zack shifts yenna in his arms, her tiny hand stretches out behind him, her fingers reaching for johan. johan hesitates for a moment, glancing down at her outstretched hand, before gently taking her little fingers in his big ones. the room is quiet, the world around them seeming to pause.

johan’s lips curve into a small, genuine smile, one he doesn’t realise he’s wearing. he gently plays with her fingers, a silent exchange passing between them.

zack glances over his shoulder and freezes when he spots it.

a slow grin spreads across his face. “i knew it!” he blurts out, triumphant. “i knew you secretly felt the same way!”

johan's ears turn faintly pink but he doesn't let go of yenna’s hand. “...shut up”

zack snickers. “you don’t fool me anymore! everyone knows you’re actually a big softie”

johan grits his teeth, his grip not leaving her fingers. "whatever, man"

they don't see the clerk silently watching them through the door, his hand hovering over its knob.

he did think they were lying. they were way too jittery to be convincing.

but the sight of the scene made him stop. the broader one, cradling the baby so protectively and murmuring apologies with a guilt-stricken face.

the other, quieter one, gently holding the baby’s hand with a softness that doesn’t match his standoffish appearance.

it’s a moment so tender, so raw, that the clerk pauses, his hand lowering from the door knob. maybe he was being too narrow-minded.

he shakes his head with a bemused smile and turns away, leaving them to their privacy. as he walks back to his desk, he mutters to himself.

"what a progressive world we live in"

after parting ways with johan, who pats yenna's head for a little too long, he sits on a bench, waiting for eli's return.

"okay zami. you had a good time with uncle zack and uncle johan, alright? nothing crazy happened"

"ba!" she chirps back, as if she understands.

zack nods solemnly. "good"

"zack! hey!"

he sees eli walk over, sally with him.

zack spots eli's jaw tense a little less as he sees yenna safe and sound. she instantly reaches out, squealing at the sight of him.

"there you are..." eli beams, gently carrying her. "did you have a good time with uncle zack?" he says softly.

yenna aggresively shakes the wand in response.

he laughs and then looks up at zack. "so, how was it? did she give you much trouble?"

he waves a hand dismissively. "of course not! cool as a breeze. no problems at all"

"wow" sally grins. "eli, you should have him babysit more often!"

eli smiles, his gaze shifting back to yenna. "yeah...thanks a lot zack. i was worried because you hung up suddenly...i guess i was just being paranoid"

i'm off the hook! zack tries not to appear too excited.

he sighs, looking pleased with himself. "psh. don't worry. just had to focus all my attention on her. i'd never leave her out of my sight"

he nods, removing some lint from her clothes. "yeah, i get it. seriously, thanks a—"

he pauses, his smile suddenly dropping.

"hey zack?"

"...yes?" he looks up in anticipation.

is he gonna promote me as official babysitter?

eli turns yenna around, lifting her dress up slightly to reveal a big, bold PROPERTY OF HUMAN SERVICES stamp.

"what's this?" he asks, his voice a little too sweet.

zack's face drops. he can feel comical sweat beads appearing on his forehead.

"w-well that's uh..." he begins, but the words don't form.

eli silently hands yenna to sally, the grin now wiped clean from her face, being replaced with awkwardness instead.

eli smiles at him as he walks closer, pulling his sleeves up and cracking his knuckles.

"sally? please cover her eyes" he says quietly, his stare never leaving zack.

"wait eli !" he splutters. "let's just talk about this! it was—"

PUNCH

"owww! fuck! okay fine! just watch the hair—"

PUNCH

A/N: posted this on boxing day because zack is a BOXER 💜

[pixiecaps]

i do really love the contrast between fadel and bisons reaction to finding out style and kant are snitches who have been lying to them the whole time because i think just looking at their characters on a surface level you’d expect fadel to be the one that gets angry, the one that has an explosive reaction. and you’d probably expect bison to be the one that feels sad. but that ends up not being the case at all and actually switching.

fadel reacts almost defeated in his realization. i dont think it was surprising for him at all. he first suggested the possibility to bison earlier. but its that moment after he gets confirmation and chooses to hug style and holds him so tightly where you see just how in love he was. he wanted this to be real more than anything. so badly. even though he knew. so in his despair he allows himself that final moment where he can dance slowly with style like he did with his past lover and hold onto that singular moment where everything is okay for just a second longer.

meanwhile for bison it is much clearer of a betrayal and almost anger towards himself. bison reflects on the night at the bowling alley and every way he was swayed into believing kants words that have now left him and his brothers lives in jeopardy. for bison it isnt just about having fallen for an informant but the fact he ignored every sign, despite every warning fadel gave he still didnt realize in time, he did just what fadel had told him not to. he was blinded by this love. after finally having had a taste of a normal life bison began to hope that everything could be different and it completely lowered his guard. all he could possibly feel in that moment is anger and frustration for having thought what he had was real and that he could escape from all of this. for bison this is everything he didnt wanna believe coming true all at once.

[vulpixisananimal]

[A:3 C61] [TW for: imagery of mutilated, bruised, and bleeding body] (Odile)

(It was sundown on the third day Ramos was out. No change.)

(You were sitting in the living room. Research notes splayed in front of you. You scoured every inch of your writing for anything that could help. Siffrin was asleep on Isabeau on the couch in front of you. Poor Siffrin had been having panics, but had been getting better. Although, it was concerning who it actually was you talked to.)

(Mal, Asterion, and Saffron. Only those three came out.)

(Asterion would stick to himself, talking silently, eating, and keeping in sight of you all. Any time any of you asked about what happened he froze up. It was clear, honestly, that the only reason he didn’t hide in his room was to alleviate all of your worries for him.)

(Mal would disappear for hours a time, only to return and drag Isabeau away. You asked him what that was about, but his lips were, for once, sealed. You had your suspicions, however.)

(But Saffron. . . They were the worst of all of them when it came to communicating. Getting them to admit they're saffron was pulling teeth. Getting him to admit he needs food was agony. And, you could see behind his smile.)

(“Persecutors need love just as much as anyone in order to heal.” That’s what the booklet Vixul gave Siffrin said. You could confirm it was true, but that didn’t make their biting remarks any less hurtful.)

(. . . Tension was high. If you could figure out how to help Ramos out of their catatonic state then. . . You took your glasses off and rubbed your eyes.)

(The issue is simple: Ramos’ catatonia was caused, indirectly, by mind craft. And the only one who knew mind craft was Ramos themself. So, what do you do?)

(You could continue to hope and pray for conventional remedies to work. You could look for an expert in psychology, or maybe even acupuncture. But you might as well wish to win a coin flip at that point! Ha, ha. . .)

(. . . Even with a grand library in your mind you couldn't think of anything.)

(Except. . . One thing.)

(. . . . . You didn't want to consider it.)

(You were considering it.)

(. . . . You finish considering it, and stand.) “I need a break.”

(The half asleep Isabeau opened an eye.) “Hmm?”

���I'm going to the library.” 

“M’kaaay. . .”

(You've got your notes, coat, everything you need. You waste no time and leave the house, headed directly to the library.)

(You go over the plan in your head. Merlon is back, so there is no truce. Attempt to talk to him. Keep your distance. Look out for any surprises from Merlon, talk politely. Appeal to his soft side, and look for a way to keep him distracted so he can't read your thoughts. He's fast, and your craft type is at a disadvantage, so direct combat is a bad idea. What about a trade? Information for assistance?)

(You couldn't trade any old thing you knew, he's a historian. Perci would know about the Expression of Search’s Elaborate Dance of the Guide. No, it would need to be something more. . . Exciting.)

(You continued to walk. What about What Loop looked like? Call craft? The fact that your party has met gods multiple times now? The fight with the king?)

(. . . Siffrin’s cosmic temper tantrum would be best kept quiet.)

(You made it to the library, you'll check here first. You walk up the steps and into the lobby. The librarian from a few days ago was here, sleepily sipping a cup of tea. They waved.) “Madame Odile, good to see you again.”

“Hello, same to you.” (You walk up to the counter.)

“. . . Tea?” 

(You paused, then smiled.) “. . Please.”

“Camomile or ginger.” (They ask, getting up.)

“Ginger, please. No milk, no sugar.” 

“Perfect, I just boiled the pot.”

(You watch them go. A cup of tea would be perfect. Something to calm your nerves before, whatever happens happens. A moment later they were back, and handed you a cup. You thank them, then move into the library proper.)

(It didn’t take long. Perci was sitting at the center of the library, at a grand table. Books to either side of him. A chessboard to the left. You could hear the familiar scribbling of a pen. Your steps echoed through the silent building as you approached.)

(You stopped a few feet back from him, and waited.)

(There were a few moments where the only sound was that pen, before he finally stopped. He looked up, then back down again.) “. . . Madame.”

“Percival.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“. . .” (You walk around the table, place down your tea, and take a seat.)  “I have come to strike a deal.”

“Have you now.” (He’s smiling, the face of a man truly absorbed in his work.) “I thought we weren’t all buddy buddy now.”

“You know why, Percival.” (You glare at him.)

“Haa. . . That, I do.” (He clicks his pen and puts it to the side.) “Three days already? That is worrying, but what do you want me to do about it?”

(You sip your tea, and stare directly at him.)

“. . . You’re very good at hiding your thoughts, Madame. And I must say, after the inn, I would sooner ride a bull off a cliff than try and tame your mind.”

(You keep your face neutral.)

“. . . . . That is to say, I should be giving you some more respect.” (Perci looks at you, then turns and grabs the chessboard, and starts setting it up.) “Chess? It’ll keep my mind wandering to yours.”

“Thank you.” (You huff.) “I’m no idiot, and while I can respect your mind games, I, for one, like cutting straight to the point.”

“Very respectable.” (He finishes placing the last pieces. Darkless on your side, Lightless on his.) “So, after you, madame. Light before shadow, after all.”

“Of course.” (You pick up a pawn, forward two.) 

“So.” (He moves a pawn to match.) “You would like help with Ramos.”

“Yes.” (Pawn to cover.) “Either you help them recover, or teach me some form of mind craft to do it myself.”

“Ah, well that’s an issue, isn’t it?” (Knight forward.) “I will not teach you mind craft, and I doubt your companions will let me into Ramos’ mind.”

“That is an issue.” (Pawn forward.) “Why can’t you teach me?”

“And give you a dagger to stab me with?” (Knight takes a pawn.) “You would have to give me something good in return.”

“I see.” (Pawn takes the knight.) “Then how about what I found on our travels?”

“Hmm, tempting.” (Bishop forward.) “Very tempting, madame.”

“The ascent through the Dormont House of Change?” (Pawn forward.) 

“Getting there.” (Pawn forward.) “Dormont is a nice little town, isn’t it?”

“Hmm? Have you been?” (Pawn takes a pawn.) 

“Oh no no.” (Bishop takes a pawn.) “I’ve just heard so much about it when researching you all.”

“Really now?” (Knight takes a bishop.) “But of course, rumor can only tell you so much!”

“Ah of course, of course.” (He thinks, then moves a pawn up.) “After all, you tend to hear the strangest of rumors.”

“. . . Like?” (Knight takes a pawn.) 

“Oh nothing too strange, just. . .” (Queen takes a knight; advantage to Perci.) “Giant cracks in the sky of an unknown shade, a cloaked figure dozens of stories tall, small things like that.”

“. . .” (You move a rook.) “Just silly rumors.”

“Oh? Is that the same with the rumors of the king?” (Queen takes a pawn.) “That he was an islander too?”

“. . .” (Move the king.)

“An islander just like my bonded, just like your traveler.” (Queen takes a rook.) “I wonder, do they share some other connection? Perhaps even a family member?”

“. . . Whoever Siffrins family was, they weren’t like the King.” (Knight takes the queen.) “If anything, the King's family would have been like your own.”

(Perci is stunned, looking at the board. He glances up, then back. He castles his king.) “And what would you know about that?”

“Quite a lot.” (Bishop takes a pawn; advantage to you) “Percival Monet, the youngest of the Monets, who destroyed his own family.”

“. . . That’s nothing-” (Knight forward.)

“Oh it’s everything.” (Bishop takes the knight.) “I did not recognize that swear you use, Perci. So, I got curious.”

“And what does that have to do with anything?” (Pawn forward.)

“I looked it up in a teenager's book about swears.” (You chuckle, pawn moved up.) “It’s Poterian.”

“. . .” (Pawn up.)

“A Poterian swear that’s only really used in very old, rich families.” (Knight takes a pawn.) “And from there, there’s only so many families to check.”

“But there isn’t a book in the library about the Monets.” (Pawn takes pawn.) 

“And the House of Change library?” (Bishop takes a knight.) “The secret library? Each house has one, after all.”

“I. . .” (He pauses, looking over the board, eyes wide. Rook forward.) “. . . What do you know?”

“The Monet family. One of the oldest and well known in devoted Soleanist society. Old money. And old corruption.” (Bishop takes a pawn; Perci is in check.) “The last Monet’s were disgraced, the two house leaders at the time.”

“. . .” (Move rook.) “What else?”

“Just that the only Monet with any reputation left, is a historian.” (Bishop forward; Perci is in check.) “And that historian, is you.”

“. . . . . . Hah. . .” (Perci lowers his head.) “Ha, HA! HAHA!! Oh yes! Madame, I knew you were brilliant. From the moment I touched your mind, I knew, I just knew, you were something else.”

(His rook takes your bishop.)

(You lean forward. Something was wrong about this board. You had been counting moves ahead, but there were errors. You didn’t take into account some pieces, pieces that were there but you just, didn’t focus on them. They were out of the way, not a problem. He took your bishop, and you could see the next moves clearly. Next, your knight, then rook, then queen, and then. . .)

(Checkmate.)

“. . . . ha. . . Haha!!” (You sit back with a sigh.) “. . . How.”

“Ah, took you long enough.” (Perci looked at you with a smug smile.) “It was the tea.”

(You look at the cup of tea, then shake your head.) “You took control of the librarian, and spiked the tea with some sleep or relaxation agent. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough to graze my hand without me noticing.”

(Exactly.)

(In a motion, the tables and chairs melted into the floor. The bookshelves expanded, the ceiling disappeared into a thick fog miles in the air. Lanterns lit the endless halls. Perci seemingly disappeared. You stood in your headspace.)

(I don’t think vast is an accurate enough word to describe your mind, Odile. Your voice echoes through the library.)

(A better word for it would be private! You turn, where are you?)

(You pull a book off a shelf. Why, I’m just over here!)

(The hallways shift once again as you glide towards his voice. You can see him! Get, OUT-)

(Your breath catches.)

(You can only begin to imagine what form of hell Perci must have gone through to end up looking like a walking corpse. No, not a corpse. A corpse could at least rot.)

(He had scars, bruises, pinpricks, lines that look as if someone was sewing something into his skin. He had rashes from shackles, his nose was broken, one eye droopy. His clothes were torn and now looked more like a university uniform with the crest torn out.)

(He looks at you, the look he had, it was. . .)

(Hello, Madame. She looks so similar to how she does in reality, except for the fact she floats ever so slightly off the ground. Are you so tied to your own self image to not experiment a little, Madame?) 

(Gems alive. Something hits you in your soul, some emotion, some fear. You take a step back. Why do you-)

(Look like this? Oh, Madame~ You close the book, drop it, and turn to her. Please, allow me to show you!)

[maisnamedmoon]

Identity Reveals #1

I postet this on AO3 too, just incase you want to leave Kudos or follow me :)

Here is the link v

"Coordination only works if you don't have siblings!" (Nightwing)

With the monitors and alarms beeping no one notices when the monotone Voice of the Zeta beams calls out “R24 Richard Grayson-Wayne”. Until the man walks to the front of the room “Good evening Justice League”

“Who are you?”, Green Arrow was the first to react, already pointing an arrow at the intruder, “And how did you get in?”

“I am Richard Grayson, ex chief of police of Blüdhaven and now your link between the police and military force on earth and yourselves.” The raven haired man said, giving a small bow before frowning and turning around to the computer, just for him to press a button and the beeping of the alarms to turn off. “I’m here to coordinate this Alien intrusion”

“We don’t need someone to coordinate our missions” Batman growled.

“I believe you don’t have a choice there, Batman”

“No, he is supposed to be here, I got a call this morning. Nice to meet you” Superman said, trying to calm the still sceptical heroes. Their questions were quickly forgotten, when an explosion rattled the Watchtower. Everyone jumped into action, Grayson quickly turning around, pressing his earpiece, informing whoever was on the other side of it that they were under attack, while typing away on the computer. Batman walked up next to him pulling up files, letting out little grunts and huffs when Grayson throws aspects and ideas for plans.

“Everyone got the new team groupings on their screens, suit up for battle” Batman calls out, still typing.

When the heroes got back into the room, now suited up, they heard what sounded like Grayson trying to not hit someone over comms “Get your ass moving Arsenal and take Red Hood with you ….. Don’t question how I know he is there ….. I literally could not care less if he refuses to take part in this or not ….. Tell him I’ll take his patrol privileges away from him if he doesn’t ….. Yes I can do that, do not test me, Roy ….. he better be” He lets out a huff of frustration and continues to talk, now with someone else it seems “Grayson to troops, status report” With each answer he got cities on the map in front of him turned different shades of orange, yellow and red, marking the severity of the attacks they were under.

And then he started to call out team names and cities, appointing the teams of heroes to different cities all over the US. “Batman, I need you to go to Gotham and coordinate the cave” Who without even the slightest hint of the BatglareTM that everyone, who tried to command him got, turned around and walked to the Zeta tubes.

“How did he do that?” Green Lantern asked looking in the direction Batman just disappeared in. “I don’t know but I’m more concerned with the fact that he knows Arsenals civilian identity” Green Arrow frowned, looking at their new team member.

With Grayson on comms coordinating the different teams, including military forces, the Justice League, Young Justice, Teen Titans and the situation that is Gotham, the whole ordeal was surprisingly easy to deal with. As more and more of the Justice League hero teams came back to the Watchtower, more cities on the map, that were before various shades of red, turned green.

Now with most of the cities Alien free and most of the Justice League teams back, Grayson only had to check in on the teams not stationed on the Watchtower, “Kaldur’ahm, status report”.

Aqualad’s voice called out through the monitor room: “All clear over here, Rob, some minor injuries, but nothing too concerning” The heroes seemed to slump a little bit, knowing that their sidekicks are fine.

After also confirming with the Teen Titans that they were fine, there was only one more team to account for: “Dick Grayson to Batcave”

“Access denied” The monotone voice of the computer rang out.

“Richard Grayson to Batcave” He tried again.

“Access denied”

“Oh you are so fucking dead RR” Dick let out a sight. “Nighwing to Batcave”

“Here Batcave” A male voice answered, slightly amused.

“Batcave, status report! Also Timothy, I will personally rip your head off and burn all your coffee!”

[brokenpieces-72]

Kit-Mas

CoD Hybrid AU | Navigation

Note: Happy Holidays y’all, I could help but imagine Kit having their first Christmas. Their age is not gonna be the most accurate, but I figured it was pretty cute. Spirit had a good Christmas herself so it felt only fair Kit have one as well.

You don’t really know much about Christmas or the holidays but it’s a chance for Johnny to go home and introduce you to his family, or rather the rest of the family. You’d heard about it and your were curious, picking up on it faster than most kids your age.

Spirit came to base, getting some leave for the holidays. There were some gold trimmings on her antlers as she stepped into the room where Johnny was helping you get dressed.

“Very festive.” Johnny commented. Spirit was confused, until Johnny gestured to her antlers. She patted at her antlers and then rolled her eyes. Very funny. Your team likely did that when she was asleep at her desk. Johnny got your shirt on, and you padded over to your auntie who picked you up with joy.

“How is the little minx?” She asked, giving you a boop.

“Very excited. Been telling her about the holidays coming up.”

“You told Ma about her? Right?” Your aunt asked. Johnny confirmed it.

“Told her I was adopting… didn’t tell her it was a kitsune.” Johnny admitted. Your ears twitched as you looked to the door, as did Spirit. Simon knocked before stepping in, his balaclava over her face.

“Boo!” You shouted to him. Simon had gotten used it by now.

“Johnny? Did you tell your mother about me?” He asked. Spirit cleared her throat but didn’t say anything. Johnny admittedly hadn’t told his mother about Simon, well he had but not that part. The important part. The fact that they were together. His Ma knew her son’s preferences, just not that he was in a relationship.

“So that’s a no.” Simon commented on Johnny’s stunned silence and red face.

“Not yet.” He admitted. Then Simon noticed your Aunt was avoiding eye contact. Simon folded his arms, looking your direction. You looked at your aunt, tilting your head. Johnny noticed the attention on Spirit and joined in.

“I… mentioned you two were spending some time together… that was it!” Spirit said.

“So she knows.” Johnny concluded.

“I didn’t tell her out right.” Spirit said defnsivelh.

“Bad.” You said. Johnny snickered while his adopted sister looked at you offended.

You’d never been to Scotland. But it was a new world and your curiosity kept Johnny on his toes. Actually it kept all three of them on their toes. Spirit watched over you as much as she could, wanting to give your parents a chance to be together when they could. Simon was hardly bothered by your presence, if anything he was fine being your escape.

As soon as the door to Johnny’s home opened you hid behind Spirit, as Johnny hugged his mother. When Spirit moved in to hug her mmother you then hid behind Simon. Simon received a handshake at his request.

“I understand da mask stays on?” Ma asked politely.

“Yes.” Simon confirmed. “While I sleep as well.”

“I’m sure that’s not the only other time.” She said, making Johnny blush, and Spirit snort. Simon just chuckled while you shuffled further behind his leg. The new lady noticed one of your tails peeking out and ushered Simon in to close the door from the cold. You kept hold as Simon stepped carefully inside. The woman knelt down in front of Simon, and gave a warm smile.

“Hello dear. Ya must be Kit.” She said.

You gave a little nod. The woman held out her hand for you to shake. “That makes mae your gran.”

“Gran?” You repeated.

“Why donnae we get you and your da settled in?” She said. Johnny offered his hand and you hurried over to it, still shy. Johnny led you down the hall with Simon close behind, while your Gran and Aunt caught up.

“She’s very adorable.” Gran said. Spirit couldn’t deny that. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

“I’ll go put my stuff away. And come back out.” Spirit said.

Johnny showed you what to do to unpack, and had you try to take a nap. Jet lag was a bitch, and he insisted you rest instead of following him out. Would he stay with you? Sure. He could use a nap himself, as could Simon. Spirit had been fortunate to sleep on the ride over, but would need some sleep herself.

You fell asleep easily. When you awoke Johnny wasn’t there anymore but you didn’t mind. You took your patchwork toy with you out with you, and found Johnny relaxing with a drink in the living room. You shifted and leapt over to him curling up in his lap.

“Steamin’ blood Jesus!” A Scottish voice said in surprise. Wait, he didn’t have a Mohawk. That’s not Johnny! You looked around for someone familiar and panicked, scurrying over to the most familiar smell in the room, tried to hide in the cushions next to them. Thankfully it was Johnny’s scent as he set down his drink to dig you out of the cushions.

“I leave for a day and there’s a new animal in the house.” The man commented. Johnny shot him a look before uncovering you from a cushion, seeing you gnawing anxiously on your toy.

“Aye…it’s alright. You wanna come out?” Johnny asked. You take his offer with enthusiasm and you leapt into his arms. He caught you and sat back down.

“You want to meet your new niece?” He offered his brother. Johnny’s brother came over and you sniffed his hand. Smelled like Johnny, but you were still cautious. You nibble at the man’s fingers. Johnny sighed. You were acting up, more than he’d seen before. Spirit and Simon noticed it too.

“Cute little critter aintcha?” Your uncle commented. You let out little yelping growls as you continued to gnaw on his fingers.

“I know who she be taken after.” Gran commented. “Would some critter like hot chocolate?”

You stopped biting when you heard the word chocolate, purposely emphasized. Your ears perk in curiosity. You shift back and follow both Spirit and Gran to the kitchen to try this new concoction. Spirit made sure there was a couple marshmallows.

“So… what is it like being a grandmother?” Spirit asked.

“Hardly any different than being a mother for the second time, just more tired.” Her mother joked.

Your tails swished around excitedly, smelling the sweet drink. Your gran was sure to cool it off a little, but Spirit warned you that it was still hot. It tasted so sweet and good. As you continued to drink it Spirit and Gran continued chatting.

“Very responsive critter for such a wee age.” Gran commented.

“Kitsunes are very intelligent creatures based on what I’ve found.” Spirit added.

“Talkin in front of her may not be a bright idea.” Gran said a little concerned.

“Ma, she’s been living on a military base, she’s heard plenty.” Spirit assured her.

“Yes yes I can imagine with how foul a mouth Mae boy can have. Dearie stop checking that blasted phone.”

“I’m still on call.” Spirit said.

“Put it down and quit fussin until they actually call.” Gran said, holding your aunts phone.

“Stop.” You said, with a marshmallow and chocolate moustache on your upper lip. Spirit put her phone away in her pocket, her hands going into surrender.

The next morning Johnny came in to wake you. Through tired eyes you stretched and yawned. Johnny told you what he planned on doing with you today, hoping to get the jet lag out of you. Your gran was getting some help from your uncle in the kitchen, used to feeding bottomless stomachs. You scurried over to Simon who immediately picked you up, and set you on his lap. By now Simon was just as much as your dad as Johnny was.

You were fed a forkful of scrambled eggs and allowed to chew while Simon ate his. Simon took a moment to skim over the newspaper. While you waited for your next bite. You tried to reach for his plate but he kept it away from you. So instead you looked up at him, mouth wide open, with Simon looking back down.

“Ah!” You said.

“Would you like some more?” Simon asked, sarcastically. You nodded, mouth still open. Simon got you another bite, and fed it to you, your ears twitching.

“More.” You asked, with food still in your mouth.

“Finish it first.” Simon told you. You gave him a pout and he just went on with his business. Spirit sat and watched her lieutenant being a good parent. You did finish your mouthful before asking again.

“More.” You said, less demanding this time.

“What’s the magic word?” Simon asked just as your Gran sat at the table, with Johnny watching the interaction continue.

“Fuck.” You answered. Spirit nearly choked on her drink. Johnny was trying not to laugh while trying to set you straight. Gran had a look of shock, flabbergasted you knew the word at a young age. Simon meanwhile was laughing so hard at your confidence with your wrong answer.

“It’s please Kit, say please.” Johnny said trying to not look like a bad parent in front of his own mother. Ma was just trying to hold back her tears from laughing after that display. Yep you were Johnny’s little one alright.

“Please.” You said and Simon gave you more food. Spirit took a moment to settle her laughter before continuing to eat while Johnny buried his face in his hands.

You found that you loved the snow and the area Johnny lived in, had plenty of open forest areas. Shifting and scampering around was your favourite past time, and Johnny wasn’t about to stifle your curiosity. Simon stood some distance, watching you play with your dad, getting dropped into snowbanks, giggling away while Johnny laughed at your giggling. You were tossed snowballs to try and catch in your fox form, only to lose track of them and look around to figure out where they had disappeared into. Of course Johnny showed you how to make snow angels. Making a snowman needed extra hands, so he called over Simon to help.

Johnny was able to find some sticks and stones for the face. Simon held you up to put them in. Your tails swished around, pleased with your work. Then you took Simon by the hand after he set you back down. You pulled, leading him to where the snow angels were.

“Very nice.” He said. You tugged his hand before letting go and laying back down on your angel to show him how it was done. Johnny gave his partner a fond smile, while Simon decided to humour you.

“Like this?” He asked, trying to imitate you. You nodded and clapped for him.

“You’re a natural Simon.” Johnny said. Then his ears twitched. Yours did too, as you both looked in the same direction, a faint howl calling out in the woods. Johnny muttered something, but you didn’t pay attention. Instead you started to scamper off towards it.

Johnny chased after you but Simon was quicker, snatching you up with a shadow by one of your tails. You squealed as he dropped you into his arms, giving you some tickles. Johnny growled low, as his brother stepped out of the house.

“You’da think they’d fuck off for the holidays.” His brother commented.

“Just means Kit cannae go out by erself.” Johnny commented. You don’t quite make out what was said, too distracted by the spidery fingers on your stomach.

“We have our rights, they need to live with that.” Spirit argued.

“It donnae matter to those bobags.” Your gran said.

“We’ve made all the calls, and told them to fuck off in every way.” Your uncle said. As the discussion continued, your father stood off to the side, Simon next to him.

“Why didn’t you mention this?” He asked.

“I thought it had all been sorted.” Johnny said sighing. “Don’t go calling Price, I’m not draggin’ em out ‘ere.”

“…will it come to that?” Simon asked.

“Hopefully no. Right now I’m focusing on giving Kit a good Christmas.”

“You could be sitting alone in a cold shed, and it would still be a good Christmas for me.” Simon commented. Johnny gave him a smile. “We can try it.”

“Reminder to the ghost and dog I can still hear you.” Spirit said. The two men blushed but showed no shame.

“That settles it. No one, and I mean no one goes out alone. That includes you Mr. Riley.” Gran said, staring Simon down. Something about the older yet smaller woman calling him Mr. Riley had him keeping his mouth shut with no objections.

You heard everything, spying on them through the crack in your door.

The next day is much more fun, as you’re taken into town with Spirit tagging along, and pulling you on a sled. You waved and greeted everyone warmly, which was a little out of character for you. You received many smiles and adoring expressions, for your sweet and abrupt greetings. You were so freaking cute!

Johnny made sure to carry you every time you went into shops. Not wanting you to get lost in the forest of customers’ legs. You got to try a few treats from bakeries, Spirit making sure you had something more healthy in between. Nope you don’t get to say no to apple slices or carrots. The last thing anyone wanted was for you to have a belly ache from all the sweets.

Your dad seemed weary of a lot though. You noticed he was often the one holding you, and would look around first before handing you off to someone else. At one stop you remained seated on the sled reaching for him, opening and closing your hands. You wanted uppies and Johnny seemed to relax a bit. Then you put your hands on his face.

“Dada?” You asked tilting your head. Johnny smiled.

“I’m okay Kit. Just tired.” He said. You started to make funny faces at him, and he properly smiled this time. The first one didn’t feel real enough to you. This one was better. Simon called Johnny attention over to an aisle. The tree had yet to be fully decorated, and Johnny figured you should have your own ornament. One that was special to you. He asked you to pick one out, and let you reach out for one.

There was a small ornament of a curled up fax that caught your eye. You reached for it and Johnny took it off the hook for you. Of course you picked a fox. But it made you happy.

As you made your way over there was a woman with her beagle at the counter. The beagle caught sight of you and started to growl and bark. You shifted on instinct, and tried to scramble over Johnny shoulder to get away. Johnny was quick but you were quicker, spring from his shoulder as the woman lost her grip on the leash. The beagle didn’t get very far though. Sure it was able to chase you down an aisle or two, cause a commotion and what not but it didn’t account for the little fox to have back up. You found it right away jumping on to Spirit who turned at the sound of the dog approaching. Spirit caught you and held you close while the beagle growled.

Spirit tried to soothe you but you were scared and squirmy. Then Spirit turned her attention to the beagle, that was snarling and wanting a fox snack. One thing about your auntie, is that she is very nice and very sweet, but she can be very scary. As she’snsoothing you stares down the beagle with an intense look in her eyes. The dog tries to hold it’s ground until Spirit show her own snarl.

You’re looking away but you can hear the beagle go from Hunter to submissive house pet in a second, whimpering and whining. It soon scampers off to its owner who is trying to argue that a fox shouldn’t be in the store to begin with. Your aunty is focused on you, cradling you as you shift back to your human state, sniffling. It’s then your aunt gets a look of realization which she masks quickly.

The ornament is paid for, and you’re loaded on to the sled to be taken home.

It isn’t long that you’re taken out on the sled again, down hill. The night was closing in, the sun going down every trek back up the hill. Johnny eventually passed the top of the slope, and continued walking to take you home. Your tails continued to swish around, still happy and giggling after all the joy of the day. You noticed your dad kept looking around as he pulled you along. Simon and Spirit were still at home, but your uncle had joined in, taking Johnny’s place going down the hill with you. The two were both keeping watch around. You started doing it too, your ears turning to pick up on any noise.

“Awoo!” You howled and both your dad and uncle stopped looking back at you. Your uncle held his chest, relieved it was only you. Johnny sighed.

“No howls Kit. Not tonight.” Johnny said before continuing on. You overheard the brothers conversation.

“Wee risk taker ya got ‘ere.” Your uncle said.

“We haven’t told her anythin.” Johnny pointed out. “Hope we won’t have too.”

Spirit showed you how to make snowflakes out of paper, while your Gran was working in the kitchen. The guys were out, leaving you at home with the girls and more cocoa. It took a bit to figure out how to make the snowflake without separating it.

Spirit helped you put them on the tree before turning on a Christmas movie, tucking you in on the couch, to help Gran in the kitchen.

As you watched the stop motion figures gesture about the screen, your eyes grew tired. As always you had your plushie, clutched in your arms. The soft faux fur of the blanket, reminding you of Johnny when he was shifted. Your ears twitched from time to time, when there was a sharp or odd sound from the tv. It was enough to drown out the conversation in the kitchen. Johnny told you that it was a happy time of year. Yet there were so many hushed concerns and softly spoken worries. The smiles didn’t feel quite right, like there was something wrong but they wanted to keep you from it.

“Should we tell her?” Spirit asked.

“Absolutely not.” Gran said. “What she donnae know wonnae ‘urt her.”

“But she does. Kitsune’s are highly intelligent, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what goes on with Johnny when he’s working.”

“I’m not sayin’ she’s stupid, that wee bugger is trickier than her father.” Gran said. Spirit chuckled, imagining how her brother might have been in his youth. “I’m sayin, it’s er first Christmas and even though she’s family, it donnae mean she need be in our drama. Too young to bae out on er own, and my boys wonnae be letting er run into the road.”

Spirit continued to peel potatoes, sitting in a chair over a bucket to collect the peels. Then she felt a warm hand on the side of her face, and Gran giving her a kiss. “Nor will my daughter.”

Spirit smiled, leaning into her mother. “Perhaps Johnny will have some luck.

“So yer not doing anything?” Johnny asked, frustrated.

“M’sorry mate, not much we can do.” The cop said. “Unless they come in your property.”

“We have a kid, what if she goes into their property?” Simon asked, his mask only covering the lower half of his face, no skull on it. The officer did seem unsure at the point.

“Look, all I can do is tell ya to keep an eye on her. I cannae go bargin’ down the door over a possibility.” The officer reasoned. Johnny had to admit, he had a point. They’d come to see if more could be done through safer means. If a cop knocked on the door a message could be made but if one of them knocked on the door, it could just cause more problems.

“Thank you for your time.” Simon said, giving the officer a respectful nod before escorting Johnny out.

Outside Johnny’s brother was waiting. The expression on Johnny’s face told him the answer they’d gotten.

In the car, Johnny was staring out the window.

“You said it was bad.” Simon said. “Didn’t specify.”

“Another pack.” Johnny replied, as if that was the only answer needed. Ghost waited and Johnny continued. “They have older ways of thinking, but came to ma, inviting her to join them. Turned them down we thought that was that, but then we came home one break and things got ugly. They didn’t like we had Spirit cause she was a fae and they had bad experiences. They could pick up on other scents from the team on me and thought it was sketchy. They’ve made some threats, nothing but we came to a mutual agreement to stay within our territories. I think Kit’s scent might have set them off.”

“Me as well probably.” Simon commented. Johnny reassured him that it was okay, but Simon was still concerned.

You were still awake as they talked about it. You heard an address, and you knew what you wanted to do next. Tomorrow you were baking cookies. Perfect for your plan.

“They haven’t touched us yet.” Spirit pointed out. “I get it, you’re a dad and protective, but so far nothing has happened.”

“Donnae mean nothin.” Johnny said.

“…If it escalates then we’ll deal with it.” Simon assured him. “Your pack is not at risk, they are capable of fighting it.”

“I know… I know. Just with the blood that got spilled last year, I want to avoid any problems.” Johnny sighed.

Ma showed you how to make cookies, and you got very messy. She didn’t seem to mind, but had to keep you from eating the dough. Once you cut them all out you’re sat in front of the tv again, while she puts them in the oven to bake. A blanket was wrapped around you while Simon decided to sit down with you.

“Lap?” You asked. “Please?”

Simon appreciated your manners and sat you in his lap. A happy little bundle of fluff. Simon leaned back, taking a few breaths. The holidays weren’t very fun for him, but he had a support system. A good one. Johnny was close by, and you seemed to pick up on how he was feeling. As the movie played you realized your plan would be difficult without help.

“Help?” You asked Simon, looking up at him.

“You need the bathroom?” He asked. You shook your head then looked around before getting off his lap and running off to your room. You came back with paper and crayons and got to work showing your plan to Simon. He sat patiently, enjoying a bit of the movie himself while you scribbled frantically. Once you finished, you practically smacked him on the face with the drawing. Simon looked at the drawing, doing his best to decipher it. You stood waiting patiently for him to finish.

“Kit? Come to da kitchen.” You heard Gran call. You scampered off, excited to decorate your cookies with sprinkles and icing.

Meanwhile Simon was examining your drawing still. You drew Christmas shapes like trees, candy canes, and stars. There was what he is pretty sure are wolves. An arrow pointed from the shapes to the wolves, with what looked like you and him nearby as well. The last part of the drawing was a happy dog face. Simon raised an eyebrow. Okay… you wanted to give your cookies to… Johnny? No it was a pack. The neighbour pack? You wanted to do it with Simon. Uh…

Simon got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. “Ms. MacTavish? May I have word?”

Gran nodded and you saw your drawing in his hand. Simon took Gran aside, down the hall. To talk to her. The way Johnny had talked about it, approaching them might be dangerous, but maybe bringing Gran would make things a little easier. Right now he was an outsider to the whole thing, with only the context he’d gotten from Johnny. Simon explained the picture you’d drawn as best as he could.

“You’ve raised a lovely girl Mr. Riley.” Gran told him, with a warm smile.

“I… thank you. More I’m concerned that if I go with her it might seem like a threat.” Simon explained.

“Bringin’ yer little one with cookies is a threat to ya?” Gran asked, almost in shock.

“No no.” Simon said quickly. “Just… he’s been on edge, and been helping me with my own problems. Wouldn’t be far to make his life harder.”

Gran was pleased with Simon’s concern. Your kindness was touching as well. Her son knew how to pick them.

“Don’t you fret.” She said kindly. “I had been meaning to visit them to talk, just aven’t ad anyone to come with mae.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

When they came out, they found you weren’t in the kitchen, but there were a few cookies missing. They had been in the hall for a while, but long enough for you to eat that many cookies? Simon went to the living room while Gran puzzled over the cookies.

“Found her.” Simon called. You were on the couch curled up in front of the tv…asleep? Were you that tired? Maybe you didn’t want to get in trouble for eating too many cookies. Wait… your plushie was missing. Simon’s eyes widened. He went to the front door and found your boots and jacket missing.

“Shit.”

You had to hurry, hoping your illusion would hold up. You found a small gift bag and put your favourite cookies in, and rushed to the different wolf scent. The plushie was tucked into your coat pocket as you went as fast as your little legs could take you. It was very cold but you could handle it. Except you didn’t bring your mittens, they were stored in a cubby that was too high for you, and you wouldn’t be able to hold the bag very easily with them on. You didn’t have a hat either. The wind had picked up just before you left. You told yourself it would be fine. You had a mission, and you would complete it.

You were shivering by the time you reached the home and noticed a large man with a tail like Johnny’s.

“Hello!” You called. The man straightened and looked up, confused. Then he caught your scent.

Johnny was restless the whole way home. Simon was already on his way to the other pack, Gran staying home just in case. Every worst case scenario ran through his head while Spirit tried to comfort him. This was horrible. The only really relief he had was that there wasn’t a ransom request.

Johnny got out of the vehicle, and hurried up to the door. Spirit had to hold him back from breaking it down, calling after him. If Simon was right and Kit was trying to make peace, property damage wouldn’t help anyone. Simon was behind Johnny when he pounded the door.

No response, he tried again. There was a loud but muffled bark from inside. Simon caught Johnny’s arm before he could try to break in. Then there was a grumpy voice calling from inside. “I’m fuckin comin!”

Johnny lowered his arm and the door opened, revealing an older man. Another werewolf hybrid, this one much more experienced. His brow raised seeing a very tense and ready Johnny. Then the man glanced at Simon, who had some dark wisps coming off of him. Up the man’s walk was Spirit who stayed back. The man’s attention returned to Johnny.

“Yer a long way from home.” He grumbled.

“Where’s my daughter?” Johnny demanded. The man stared at Johnny, calmly. Johnny could pick up your scent in the house.

“You ‘ave a daughter?” He asked. His voice was genuine.

“A kitsune, about two years old.” Simon clarified, the wisps receding. All three men relaxed a little.

“A what?” The man asked.

“Nine tails.” Simon said. The man gave a single nod in realization.

“Ah. About that.” He said. Johnny panicked, but sensing his worry the man held up a hand. “She’s fine. ‘Owever she was nearly frostbitten when she got ‘ere.”

“She fled without us knowing.” Simon admitted. “Illusion magic.”

The man nodded, in understanding. The man looked back inside, past where Johnny and Simon could see. “I take it you’ll be wantin er back. I just hate to pull them apart.”

Johnny and Simon shared a look, just as Spirit came up behind them. The man looked at Spirit’s antlers and ears for a moment. Spirit cleared her throat, rubbing her neck.

“Would you three like to come in?” The man offered. “Your little one is sitting with my niblings in front of a movie. Got her a blanket and some cider to warm her up.”

The three went inside.

The man explained everything. When you arrived you held up the cookies to him, and said, “peace”. Seeing you were cold, he couldn’t in good conscience turn you away. Didn’t know where you’d come from either until he recalled the night his nephew thought he had a chance to catch a fox. Honestly he wanted to show peace as well, but didn’t upon smelling other hybrids, he was concerned about the reception he would get.

“I would like to apologize on behalf of my family for any trouble we might’ve caused.” The man said.

“Thank you.” Johnny said. He looked over hearing giggles, smiling to see how well you were getting along with the other kids. Spirit was sitting with them, letting some of them inspect her features, chatting with some of the other parents and aunts. Simon was sitting with Johnny, sipping his mug.

“You’ve raised a good one.” He told the two men.

“You’re raising some good ones yourself.” Johnny returned. They continued to watch the kid’s play, Kit shifting from fox to human to scurry around.

“There’s a full moon comin’.” The leader said, not taking his eyes off the kids. “Should ya need or want, you’re welcome to join us. First step to makin’ amends.”

“I’ll be alright. But thank you.” Johnny assured him. Spirit checked her phone before looking up at Johnny. Phone call. Shit, he was supposed to tell Ma about what happened.

“We best be off.” Simon commented. The man gave a respectful nod standing up with them, and escorting all of four of you out. You had to say good bye, and gave hugs to your new friends, plenty of tails wagging, and pleas for five more minutes.

“Come on Kit.” Spirit said, picking you up, and getting your winter gear on.

“Thank you little one, for the cookies.” The man said. You held out your hand to shake and he smiled, shaking it. You all walked out but just before Simon stepped out the man stopped him.

“You’re doing a good job.” He told Simon. “Happy Holidays.”

“Happy Holidays.” Simon said.

[catlady48]

On Loki in Marvel Rivals

Disclaimer: I know very little about the comics, except what I learned from posts here on Tumblr. Also, this will be a very long post.

I think Marvel Rivals did a great job with Loki's moveset. He's a ton of fun to play and other then that I kind of miss a move with throwing knives, I think his fighting style matches with what we see in the 2011-2013 movies. He is quite a bit slower though.

Loki's character model is very weird, you've probably seen the screenshot by another user that commented on his weird figure in the game. He has a narrow waist, but is uncharacteristically muscular and has broad shoulders. Just no. At least they didn't give him the over-muscular arms many male characters seem to have in this game. Some design choices here are a bit... questionable, to say the least. As for the outfit, I think OG!MCU!Loki would definitely wear the coat, pants and outer armour pieces, but I'm not sure about the rest of the outfit, especially that neck thing. I just don't think that's his style. I also have a bit of beef with what they did with his helmet. Those extra pointy bits are so unpractically. It will hinder with movement and Loki tends to rely on agility a lot in his fighting style (in the MCU at least, I still don't get why they made him so bulky here). The whole thing also looks a bit overdesigned when compared with the MCU's far more smooth design. I do like that the Jotun!Loki skin has the MCU!Jotnar design, since it's definitely a lot better than their design in the comics.

And now the elephant in the room: characterisation. The characterisation of all the characters in the game tends to borrow more from the comics, but some elements are taken from the MCU. Especially the fact that Hela is still the sister of Thor and Loki. However, the Scarlet Witch thankfully gets to have her comics backstory and personality rather than some of the more questionable things they did to her in the MCU (cough AoU cough).

This also goes for Loki, who seems to be most inspired by the older comics interpretations of him. The main point about his character that they keep pushing is that he wants to rule Asgard. SIGH. Guys, I know this is what the older comics used to be like but this hasn't been a thing for quite a while now. Neither MCU!Loki (series and Ragnarok don't count due to grave mischaracterisation sins) nor recent interpretations of comics!Loki want the throne. In fact, in the comics, Thor even says that any Loki who says they want a throne is a liar. Of course, being an entirely different timeline/canon/interpretation, Rivals can do whatever it likes and unlike the show and Ragnarok and some comic runs you can't really fault it for that. But still, I would've like to see an AoA or post AoA Loki interpretation for this game personality wise.

He is also quite arrogant in some of his lines, though some of them are reminiscent of some of the showboating from The Avengers. The thing is, even comics!Loki has/had a lot of self-esteem issues so just waiving those away doesn't sit well with me. On the other hand though, he seems comfortable with himself so good for him.

Sadly, they're going with the Loki is an untrustworthy, scheming bastard that must not be liked by any other character thing and the whole "christianised Tricksters are evil" thing and I had hoped for a more nuanced takek, personally. Especially since Thor and Odin are framed as 100 percent good people. Writers, I get that this is a funny hero shooter game and you wanted a Thor-Loki conflict for the Asgard maps, but you're letting so much nuance slide here.

The story is that apparently, Loki saw many futures in which Asgard was destroyed and the only thing way it and its people survive is if he gets to rule it, which confirms to him that he is meant to do just that. To this end he puts Odin in the Odinsleep and banishes Thor to a different timeline and strikes up an alliance with Hela, who wants to expand Hel. It's left in the middle if he's going to betray her or not. In order to save (at least, judging from backstory, I hope that's where they're going) Asgard, Loki wants to reshape the future using the Chronovium from Yggdrasil, which is causing it to die and obviously Thor is trying to stop that, assuming that Loki is just trying to conquer everything. So yeah, the game implies that Loki is just an evil tyrant (give me back nuanced Loki and nuanced Loki-Thor family dynamics, please!), especially since Ratatoskr seems to beg the player to save Asgard from him and Hela, because surely they will cause Ragnarok (the apocalypse not the movie in this case) or something (to be fair Hela wanting to expand Hel is a bit problematic but still, I want my messed up Asgardian family dynamics).

It's a bit unclear but I'm assuming they're going with the comics backstory where the adoption happened later and they didn't lie to him about it. There is a bit of phrasing in his profile that I absolutely hate due to what it implies: "but his true nature could not be undone and Loki would come to fully embrace his role as the God of Mischief" (by Odin's adoption and raising of him). Guys this implies that he was A. Born inadequate or B. Frost Giants as a race are uncivilised. Which is very bad. But also that he had to be civilised, which... Yikes. I'm sure this is not what they intended, since from surrounding context it's more about his identitiy as God of Mischief, but still terrible phrasing.

However, there are also good things about his characterisation. People, they've characterised him as actually competent! This is already such an improvement over the recent MCU characterisation that I'm willing to cut everything except the True Nature thing a bit of slack (I know, the bar is in Hela's realm right now). Also, his sass is amazing again and he has some great lines. I think given the writing and characterisation, his VA did a solid job with him. And while the characters are wary of and often actively dislike Loki, it never feels like the game is trying to humiliate him, which is again a breath of fresh air.

Loki does have a weird facial expression at some moments in the game. It's like he deliberately pulls the most evil face he can think off just for kicks, which is a very Loki thing to do, to be fair. That and the obvious scheming face and pose that reminds me of the infamous Ragnarok mural also exists in the game. (You know, the one that depicts Loki with exactly such a face and that couldn't even have been made in canon since Loki is in his TDW appearance and he was in prison at that time?). Sadly, I think the game implies it as serious, which is a missed opportunity. (To quote Fury: "I recognise that the council game devs have made a decision, but seeing as it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it.") Also, between this and the arrogance, it does seem like they've made him into a bit of a charicature of himself, but again they're not actively humiliating him, so while I kind of hate, I do feel myself willing to forgive it. I think it's more that they've taken his facade at face value than anything else, which is why they're missing all the nuance. Still, this was made in better faith than Ragnarok and the show. I just think that these particular writers weren't at all familiar with the Asgardian characters (do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not sure who the writers of this game are).

There is a conversation between Loki and Psylocke where Psylocke states that god or not, respect is something to be earned not taken, to which Loki replies with: "Clearly you haven't met my father" and I love that. Also, if you play Strange on Thor's team on the Yggsgard convoy mission map, an NPC version of Loki will show up to taunt him, which to me feels like revenge for Ragnarok (the movie, not the apocalypse in this case). This made me laugh out loud.

Another thing that I liked is that while there was a reward that you can get if you as Hela team up with Loki to defeat Thor and there is a reward for using the backstab move, there is also a reward for helping Thor as Loki, called brotherly love. (Sadly, there is also a Hulk Smash award for smashing Loki. Because *iconic* scene. In the movie it was fine, even somewhat funny the first time, but this joke has grown a bit stale now. Especially considering recent developments in the MCU characterisation wise.)

(By the way the backstab move which honestly feels to me like Xenoblade's infamous backslash, and makes me internally yell out said Xenoblade art's name everytime I use it. Positional extra damage is a valid tactic to me and totally not a scummy move in a game where everyone gangs up on the healers from behind. Spark you implications about traitors!)

To finish, I have very mixed feelings about this characterisation. there are a lot of things that were done better than in the recent MCU interpretations, but also a lot of this I just completely disagree with. Still, for me it's not so glaring that I want to stop playing the game and since it's entirely it's own continuity it likely won't affect anything else (going to knock on wood here). They really don't need to use the og!mcu!characterisation, I just want some nuance here and I disagree with all those people yelling about this game having perfect characterisation's especially since characterisation has varied between movies and comics runs. I also kind of want to see the more modern comics interpretation or even better, the og!MCU!characterisation in a game. But that's wishful thinking. Here's to hoping they don't do anything unforgivable with him in the rest of the lore, since I do enjoy playing the game. I would hate to have to rage quit over unforgivable characterisation sins like in the MCU.

[theredconqueror]

A different kind of shock strikes him now as Lucanis provides him the answer, like an icy water plunge. An answer that defies logic. Why would Lucanis get him such a thing, when his words had indicated that he wanted the other a world away? That they might never be what they had once been, blurring the boundaries between right and wrong? Had it been meant to accompany the apology, perhaps? But which had perhaps seemed to pale compared the offering of a knife upon a throat? "Oh, Lucanis..." He is sorry now, for those frost-filled days, and time wasted, when instead he might have had the other in his arms. In this moment, he is tuned into Spite, unconscious of even doing so, but how could he not be? The three of them all blend together, melding body and emotion, and for a moment he almost thinks the demon-desperate thought is his own, but it isn't. It should embarrass him, how another is party to his weakness here, as Spite is not Lucanis, and yet... he's found a fondness for the spirit, unique from his thoughts for the assassin. A momentary glance grazes over, as he can barely bear to keep himself from looking at Lucanis for long, but it is enough to say: you are remembered, too, and; thank you. The demon had not cautioned Lucanis away from him. He thinks, even... that the spirit might have been encouraging, a kindness he doesn't deserve. But such solid thoughts are lost as he melts into Lucanis, who somehow seems surprised that he is touched by the gift. Is it born from the misunderstanding that he is a man who could have everything? It might be true, but it does not change the fact that so few think of him, and even less that might give him something. The only gift he has in his room is Varric's mirror, and suffice to say, there shall be no further ones from the dwarf. A low sound rumbles in his throat as confirmation that he does so appreciate it. He mouths back the words: I promise, but does not dare take a kiss from the other. It tortures him to hold back and wait, but he does. It is difficult to imagine Lucanis aching for him, like a candle that kept burning out in a winter's storm. "You don't need forgiveness for that..." He absolves him of this sin. With him, it will never be a sin... Mercifully, Lucanis finally kisses him, and only then does he press back, with a fiery fervor, as he had thought the assassin would deny him and chastise him for his impatience. But Lucanis does not reject him: he gives. He has to catch his breath and swallow down his golden pride that threatens to crawl up his throat and clamp his mouth shut. Instead he repeats the word thrice like a prayer, as if it will save him, and it does, as he is granted the mortal's lips upon his again, and again, and again. But the word damns him just as much, as the cool metal in his fingertips anchors him to the memory where he last spilled everything: how it began with a knife and finished with the beginning of the end of the world — dragons with eyes and wicked hearts. He is panting, catching his breath, like a man drowning and trying to lift his head above the water as he chokes on that word of weakness. His skin feels on fire and that no amount of water can douse it. He is trying to pretend to have a first life for a second time, but he knows that is impossible. He keeps close, one hand on the other's heart, the other holding the makeshift dragon. His sharp teeth hunger for answers, logic, that stable ground only words can bring him. "When did you know...?" He asks, perhaps selfish to pry, and unsure if even Lucanis can answer, if he can pinpoint the moment of want. "Why didn't you say anything?" They are here in this moment because he had reached out, with a hand, with a gesture as clear as day, of intent. And what if he hadn't? Would Lucanis have burned in secret? Until when?

It's not so much he wants to kiss Valrys again and again; more than that, these human desires fanned by an infernal, damning urge, he wants to relearn vocabulary words from the shape of the other's mouth as even his lungs turn impatient, longing to close in and breathe the same air again. Something in his chest settles at the immediate confirmation — one so easily granted as if, perish the thought, Valrys could barely deny him anything — and Lucanis revels in the invitation to observe, categorizing the minute shifts of an expression that's grown ever more dear to him over the moons. Surprise leads to an appearance that appears closer to gutted, strung open from chest to gut with everything spilling out, more exposed than he's ever seen the mage.

When? The answer comes in a forthcoming manner, unable, in turn, to deny the man any honesty in such intimate quarters. "When you first told me to leave." Voice a low murmur, recalling the long weeks of terse silence, the days filled with a numbing chill, he adds, quieter, "I was out for the week's supplies, and saw it." Didn't think twice, Spite fills in, equally fond, and perhaps even fonder as its attention sits on Rook with what might resemble satisfaction.

[ Our senses hunger for TOUCH. Desperate. In the way rivers empty themselves over waterfalls. ]

A faint noise gets caught in the back of his throat, and Lucanis melts against the embrace after only a moment's hesitation — the glimpse of the other's smile enough to put to rest any reservations. Somewhere in the world, the moonlight slants, a blade of grass experiences its first rain. In here, the aquarium's glow casts them silver, and he basks in the warmth found within Valrys, his welcoming hit, every word dipped in sincerity sweeter than honey. "You do?" Love, what an odd phrase to choose for something simple as a gift, but he deigns not to chase for more, content with what he's attained; by what's already in his arms. "Promise me it's not the last time," he whispers, lips brushing against the other's as he mouths the words. The motion tender, he admires Valrys' jaw with a firm glide, hands slowly moving to cup the back of his head, to keep him close while slowly pulling him ever closer, wanting for a lucid, lurid moment for the rib cage to split open if only for the world to see how steadily his heart plays a staccato tune. All because of: "Forgive me. I believe I've been aching for your touch for longer than I've thought possible." As if desire is a shame. As if there's nowhere else to put this burgeoning, festooning emotion that threatens to overtake everything he's known for all his life. And Lucanis kisses him sweetly, heart humming with the need to grow a garden somewhere. Plant a tree. Watch the stars until they turn into sunrises by his side.

Beg and begin, both have the same origin. "Ask me again," he murmurs, kissing back each and every time Valrys speaks. Please, please, please. What a fragile, wonderful thing. How frightening it is, to be overcome so wholly by a feeling he thought himself incapable of ever expressing.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[chiropteracupola]

sometimes you start to wonder what the historical record for the guys you made up looks like in the fictional world where they existed. and then you make some fake documents about it.

[moth and compass is a collaboration with @natdrinkstea!!!]

[truethes]

the fun thing about luoch.a is the realisation of how his defense isn't donning a mask, he's more of an actor instead. the version of him that you meet is typically the version of him that you, as a person, have interpreted in your head - and one in which he, in turn, will continue to play off as and, effectively complete that role.

like please think complete angelina joli.e girl interrupted rn: i'm playing the villain baby, just like you want.

[qstarhalo]

Just found out that Chloe Stilton from "Horseland" shares the same voice actor as Blueberry Muffin from the 2003 adaptation of "Strawberry Shortcake". Peace and Love on earth <3

[cestacruz]

Mmm Jeanne

[anzfaulkner]

Ok yk what I think I need to run a poll I need to know what the pipeline is for ppl who like went to public school or didn’t have many friends or smth & basically had zero exposure to what is & isn’t socially acceptable until eventually branching out social circles and learning more

SO HERE IS THE QUESTION maybe this is actually a natural human experience maybe im just fucking autistic idfk. All I know is I’m still incredibly fucked up from smth that happened a decade ago and I’ve never bothered asking if anyone else has gone thru smth like it

[lilac-melody]

I think me and Duck were switched at birth or something LMAO

All of my siblings are amazing at art, don’t even need to try. But I can sing and dance. Hell, I made the highest choir that a freshman could get into back in high school choir tryouts, and then in my second year I was in the highest choir + I tried out for a “show choir” (which was singing and dancing, only 10 - 12 girls could get in and only 2nd highest and highest choir girls can try out) and made that as well.

Meanwhile, Duck’s amazing at art and their siblings are good at singing...