#I swear send me another message pretending it's a new commission and I will do it!! :)

[fragglerockopinions]

.

[artxyra]

If you're still taking requests, I got another one! So, Marinette was out getting icecream, but got chased by a guy for a mile. Nobody was near until she reached a park. Damian is by a tree when he saw her. Marinette goes up to him and acts like they're dating and makes an excuse. While pretending to clean his face she explains and Damian decides to play along, but his brothers hear and see everything. After the guy is gone Mari asks to get coffee, they start dating, then explain to the fam.

Note: Alright school is no officially over. Stress levels are down and now I’m battling the mindset of wanting to do nothing when I want to do something (yay summer brain). I hope you enjoy. Might make small changes here and there.  

Have anyone told Marinette that she would find her forever by running away from a stalker, she would have awkwardly laughed in their face and run off into the distant. Well, that is exactly what happened.

Her day was simple, she had a commission that was due any day now, a paper to write for a class assignment, and had to help her parents with the bakery. So, when she began to feel accomplished for the day, she decided that getting ice cream would be the best reward during this nice day. Originally, she was going to invite her closet friends to join her but knowing them they always have plans when she needed them the most, so that made her decision clear.

Walking down the familiar path to the nearest ice cream parlor, Marinette hums the latest Jagged Stone hit song. Had she paid attention to her surrounding, she would have seen a large silhouette off to the distant following her for the past block.

Paying for her strawberry ice cream cone, Marinette was on cloud nine. The cold dessert in her mouth felt like all she did today was worth it. Sadly, that ice cream cone only stayed in her hands for a moment before following to ground.

The ice dessert melts away as a shadow looms in the background.

Had someone told Damian al Ghul Wayne that he would meet is forever by pretending to be her boyfriend, he would have slit someone’s throat and told them to never talk to him again. If only that was the case.

The Wayne family decided to come to Paris, France to talk about expanding the business overseas. Bruce had been in meetings all day alongside Tim which left Damian at the mercy of the most annoying of active brothers, Dick, and Jason. He wishes that his sister would join them, but they opted to stay in Gotham in case their active villains decided to run rapid with the Bats temporarily gone.

Damian also wishes that they had brought Titus, as the Great Dane would have loved the open park to enjoy, but instead, the dog is in the hands of Alfred back at the manor.

Everything was fine until a hand touch on his shoulder causing him to reach for his hidden knife.

“Please pretend to be dating me, someone has been following for that last mile.” A voice told him in French. He turns to see a panic teen around his age looking at him with pleading eyes. Side glancing to the side, he sees a silhouette looming over the fence staring in his direction. Tsking, Damian lowers to her ear and whisper, “Qui.” The girl’s eyes widen, and she grips onto his arm tighter.

“I’m so glad I found you, mon amour. You should have come with me to get ice cream; you would have loved it.” She said loud enough for her voice to carry across the park.

“I’m sure I would have, Angel.” He replies before guiding her over to the picnic set up that Dick had made before chasing Jason when the anti-hero made crude jokes. He glances back over to the fencing; the silhouette is still lingering causing Damian to tsk again.

Picking up a sandwich, he hands it over to the mysterious girl, who takes it with a smile before ripping it apart and pretends to feed Damian. Begrudgingly, Damian takes a bite and pulls the girl closure in the process. Her eyes widen at the sudden gesture, but she relaxes as if it was second nature for her.

“We should do this more often; you know I love a romantic picnic in the park.” She says leaning into his chest. Oh, how much Damian hopes this doesn’t become a public outbreak.

“Angel, I’m sure we’ll have more dates like this. How about a sunset dinner next to the Seine?”

“I would love that.”

Together they pretend to be a happy couple. The stalker never leaving their sight. The girl was growing anxious as they continue to keep up their act. To Damian he wonders why he even agreed to be this girl’s pretend boyfriend, he never does something like this. Maybe it was the hero (excuse me vigilante) in him? He truly doesn’t know. The girl would glance back every ten minutes like clockwork as does he because the minute the stalker was out of sight, they would stop this charade and go on acting like they never meet.

For Marinette, this was a whole new feeling. The moment she felt something was off, she dashed away leaving the rewarded dessert. Looking back, she saw that she was being followed at a similar pace to her own. Her eyes dart around looking for someone that could potentially help her. She found no one. The streets practically dead, an odd sight for a city usually booming with life.

Marinette ran for over a mile, thank kwami for her Ladybug training, as she would have gone off the deep end and crash for how fast she was running. Coming closure to the park, she spots a dark-haired male standing overlooking the park. He was perfect. Glancing behind her, Marinette sees her chaser slowly closing the gap between them. Making a mad dash for the male, Marinette grabs hold of his arm and quickly explains the situation.

A wave of relief past through her when the male replies with a yes in French. Little did they both know, that yes locked their futures together.

Marinette swears that pretending to be someone’s girlfriend had to be the most stressful of jobs. The chaser didn’t leave for over an hour. She and the person she randomly claimed spoke about romantic dates, the scenery around them, and even ate someone else’s picnic meal. To which Marinette feels very bad about it.

Her cheeks flush red that could match her Ladybug suit when she ended up taking a napkin and wiping away crumbs of food. The male became stiff when she did that, but thankfully it was enough to get the chaser away from the park.

“I’m so sorry, I dragged you into that.” Marinette proceeds to ramble, getting a slight chuckle out of the male to which cause a loud gasp from two males from behind them.

“Did she really get the Demon Spawn to laugh?” The tall one in blue asks with wide eyes as if he just saw the biggest moment since whenever.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure she did some dark magic or something.” The one with a strand of white replied causing her pretend-boyfriend to tsk and look away.

“What are you two doing back. I would I thought Todd had killed you or something Grayson.” He said standing up and offering a hand to Marinette.

Marinette looks between the three males and awkwardly rubs the back of her neck. Her phone dings to life. The three males engage in a somewhat heated conversation, well it more like the two males ganging up on the pretend boyfriend.

“Shoot.” Marinette cries out looking over the message. She then quickly turns off her phone and gains the males’ attention.

Walking over to the male she spent the last hour with, she smiles and says, “How about I offer you some coffee as a thank you? But I really need to leave, so if you want some…” She tries to make sense of her conversation but ends up failing, badly.

“Tsk. Angel, I would love to take you on that offer,” He replies sending a chill down her spine, but it was a good chill.

“C’mon.” Marinette grabs his hand and they dash out of the park. “By the way, my name’s Marinette.”

“Damian.”

“Sweet, you’re going to love the coffee.”

Their first official date just so happened to be that Seine date they had pretended to plan just days before Damian was scheduled to return to America. They stayed in contact through Skype calls, text messages, and private social media accounts. It was Damian who invited her to Gotham just a year after dating and countless visits to Paris. Marinette took that moment to get to know his family and she was in a huge shock when she found out that he was the Damian Wayne from Gotham. The family, of course, had a good laugh that would go down in the family history books. Demon Spawn’s girlfriend had no idea who he was for an entire year of dating.

“Well kids, that is how your father and I met.” Marinette says tucking in the twins into their beds. Damian watch from the doorway with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. It was moments like these he is forever grateful for agreeing to say yes on that day. He found his forever just like she found hers.

Turning off the lights to their kids’ bedroom, Marinette takes Damian’s hand and kisses his cheek.

“You know the next time we go to Paris, let’s visit that park again.”

“Of course, Angel.”

Embracing each other, thy walk to the direction of their bedroom for the night.

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[haloshornsinkstains]

Other Side [Songfic, slight Dabi x F!Reader]

While I’m working on Kinktober stuff and my head is a mess, here have a songfic that wouldn’t leave my damn brain for the past few weeks after I saw an animatic based on this song (The Other Side from The Greatest Showman). It just works? Also, apologies on the quirk, I was rewatching Bungou Stray Dogs and <3

CW: Female reader, alcohol, swearing, mention of unwanted groping, Endeavour is a dick... otherwise, pretty SFW

You groaned, pressing your head against the bar and gesturing to the bartender for your usual. Hearing the glass set down beside you, you looked up and smiled, taking a long drink. “Thanks Ryu.” The bartender smiled sympathetically. “Boss still a dick?” “The biggest flaming dick in Japan.” You grumbled. “They’re still keeping me on office duty. I break one creeps jaw and they trap me inside. Mirko punched a reporter and she’s still a top hero.” “Hey, it could be worse. You could be not working under the number one hero.” “No, that makes it worse.” Ryu frowned. “How?” “I hate him. I always hated him.” “Then why don’t you just leave and work for someone else.” You scowled at your glass, left hand leaving dents in the wood of the bar where it rested. “Not allowed.” “Bullshit. And stop denting my bar.” “Truth. Believe me, I’d leave if I could. But I can’t.” You sighed, lifting your hand from the wood apologetically. “Sorry Ryu. If I left I wouldn’t get to be a hero any more, even if all I do is paperwork I worked my ass off for this.” Ryu shrugged, spotting another customer signalling him out of the corner of his eye and smiling apologetically. “Sucks I guess. I’ve got people to serve, shout if you want a top up.” “Believe me, I will.”

You heard a glass set down next to you, the unmistakable heat of a body taking up the seat to your right. "Hey there princess." The voice was gravelly but so familiar. "Nope. I've had more than enough Todoroki bullshit for one day." You growled, staring daggers at your drink.  "Sorry, you must be mistaking me for someone else." You turned, narrowing your eyes at the man sat next to you. "Dabi. You remember I've known you way too long to fall for your bullshit right? And I am so not in the mood." Dabi went to lift his glass, only to find it stuck to the bar, your skin giving off a faint red glow. "Come on princess, I only want to talk. We can bitch about that asshole like old times." You sagged a little, the glow fading and his glass suddenly much easier to lift. You knew he wanted more than to just talk, Dabi's talks always came with attempts to recruit you into the league or, if he was drunk or high enough on adrenaline, his bed. But he was an old friend, and one of the few people more than happy to join your Fuck Endeavour and Fuck The Hero Commission rants. Shaking your head you gestured to one of the darker tables in the back, this might have been a very shady bar but Dabi was well known enough now that even here someone might be dumb enough to try to call the pros. And you liked this place too much to see it turned to ash. 

  You both settled into your seats in the back, you nursing your whiskey with a frown. "So what did dear old dad do today?" "Existed?" You huffed. "Bitched me out for not downplaying the damage caused in one of his 'rescues' while I was writing his reports for him. Which turned into more general belittlement of my attitude, abilities as a hero, quirk… basically he covered all the bases." "You know they'll never let you leave there right? You'll be doing paperwork until you die." Dabi drawled, you glared at him. "They're keeping you there because you're too dangerous to them, you know too much and you were caught sympathising with a villain. He hates you, he won't hesitate to put you down at the first sign of defection. You're trapped." "I didn't sympathise with a villain. I just didn't disagree with all of his ideas regarding the behaviour of heroes. I didn't exactly agree with his methods, I liked Ingenium plenty thank you very much." You grumbled, swirling the amber liquid in your glass. “He was friendly, and fun.” "Still… you hit like a truck when we were kids, I'd love to see what damage you can do now." He hummed, eyes flashing bright for a second. "You could be very dangerous. So they lock you up in an office doing filing for a man that hates you like a good little minion." "You're alarmingly eloquent today." You took another sip, setting the glass down and closing your eyes with a deep sigh. "I worked my ass off to be a hero, why would I want to throw that away?" "Oh, so you enjoy being his little secretary?" Your eyes flashed, skin glowing red as his chair creaked under the sudden strain of the gravity increase. Dabi just smirked, that stupid smug look that told you he knew he'd won. "Just listen to my proposal?" You sighed, the oppressive pressure dissipating in an instant as you waved at him to continue. Maybe he'd put a new twist in the spiel this time.

"Right here, right now I put the offer out I don't want to chase you down I know you see it"  “We do this on a near weekly basis, you have quite literally stalked me to this bar, if that’s not chasing me down what is?” You scoffed and shook your head, eyes flicking to the bar while you debated how many more drinks you were going to need after this. "You run with me And I can cut you free Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in So trade that typical for something colorful And if it's crazy, live a little crazy" "Well at least you acknowledge your league is entirely batshit." "You can play it sensible, a king of conventional" "Conventional? Really? I'm wounded." "Or you can risk it all and see Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play 'Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take the ride It'll take you to the other side 'Cause you can do like you do Or you can do like me Stay in the cage, or you'll finally take the key Oh, damn! Suddenly you're free to fly" You drummed your fingers on the table, honestly the bird metaphors were a bit weird but he was starting to sound like he had a point, which was…. Alarming. You needed to shut this down fast or you’d break.

  "Okay, my friend, you want to cut me in Well I hate to tell you, but it just won't happen So thanks, but no I think I'm good to go 'Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in" Dabi scoffed. "Really? Didn't sound like it five minutes ago." You shot him a glare. "Now I admire you, and that whole show you do You're onto something, really it's something Don't you know that I'm okay with this uptown part I get to play 'Cause I got what I need and I don't want to take the ride I don't need to see the other side So go and do like you do I'm good to do like me Ain't in a cage, so I don't need to take the key Oh, damn! Can't you see I'm doing fine I don't need to see the other side"

Dabi laughed, gesturing at the dingy bar and the glass in your hands with possibly the most judgemental look on his face you’d seen in years.  "Now is this really how you like to spend your days? Whiskey and misery, and parties and plays"

You sighed again, but your shoulders were sagging now and he knew he was winning. You couldn't pretend you enjoyed this any more, restrictions and abuse breaking you down into someone much easier to tempt and mould.  "If I were mixed up with you, I'd be the talk of the town Disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns"  You huffed, waving a hand vaguely in his direction.  

"But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a little Just let me give you the freedom to dream And it'll wake you up and cure your aching Take your walls and start 'em breaking Now that's a deal that seems worth taking But I guess I'll leave that up to you" He stood to leave only to find the gravity of your quirk forcing him back down. He knew then that he had won, they'd turned a hero. Shigiraki might take some convincing but that didn't matter right now. Your resolve was crumbling.

"Well it's intriguing, but to go would cost me greatly So what's in it for me?" "Freedom. You want to punch the next guy who touches you inappropriately through a building? The League won't question you for a second, and there's no paperwork." You shook your head. "You'll have to raise the price a bit more than that." "Its a big fuck you to Endeavour?" "That was weak even for you. Dick has hated me since I was, what, five? All I’m doing is giving him an excuse to come after me. He'll be after my head as soon as I leave, and as much as I’m loathe to admit it we both know he's powerful." "You get to spend all the time you want with your favourite childhood friend…" his smirk turned wicked and knowing. "No one to stop you, no questions, no hiding in the corner of a dingy bar. And I guess Shigaraki is okay.” "You play dirty, you know that right?" "Well, I am a villain." Rolling your eyes you knocked back the last of your whiskey and stood, holding out a hand to him. "Well, guess I'm pissed off enough not to care any more. Congratulations Touya, you win." Grinning Dabi took your hand, ignoring the use of his old name in favour of pulling you in for a hug. “Oh, you’re going to be amazing Princess.” “I’ve always been amazing.” You chuckled. “Take me to your leader before I change my mind.” Dabi grinned. “As you wish.” “And no burning down my favourite bar!”

The pair of you stepped outside, Dabi sending a quick message on his phone that was shortly followed by the appearance of a swirling black void. "No wonder I've never seen you on the subway." You joked, though your fingers tightened anxiously around his. "Time to move up in the world princess." He chuckled, tugging you forwards into the void. "You know I don't like...holy shit." You stepped out into a different dingy bar, several faces snapping up to look at you as you appeared. Dabi was a comforting presence at your back. “No more corners of dingy bars huh?” You murmured, shooting him a sideways glance. "Hey Dabi, what's with the midget?" You bristled. "I am not a…" "Shit, that's a pro!" The villain speaking launched at you, intent to kill flashing hot in his eyes. Already irritated and more than a little on edge you activated your quirk, watching him fall flat on his face as overwhelming gravity pulled him down. Dabi had crumpled to his knees behind you, the others struggling to move.  "Princess."  You just growled. "She's with me, with us." Dabi continued. "Princess?" With a huff you released your quirk, watching warily as the villain who'd gone to attack you pushed himself to his feet. Dabi's hand on your shoulder made you flinch but his grip was strong, somewhere between restraint and support in case wide scale use of your quirk had taken it out of you. It was hard not to appreciate the gesture, even if you felt fine. "Meet Graviton. She's… an old friend." "I didn't know you could make friends." Your head snapped around at the sound of the voice, focusing in on Shigaraki sat at the bar, watching you from between the fingers of the hand on his face. "I've got more than you creep." Dabi snapped back, fingers digging into your shoulder. You tipped your head back a little, raising an eyebrow at him.  Shigaraki scratched at his neck, eyes never leaving you. "Why is she even here? She could be a double agent."  You couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled out at that. "Hah, no." "Why are you here?" You were glad for the dim lighting, the constant attention making a blush rise on your cheeks. "I had a really bad week, and Dabi asked nicely. Even said please." As much as you tried to be nonchalant you couldn't hide the slight tremble in your voice. Shigaraki scoffed and you finally looked away from him. "I'm sick of being stuck doing paperwork because the Heroes say so. I worked hard to get my license only to be told I'm not allowed to do anything except sit in a cage with someone I hate. Guess I finally had enough. I was told you'll let me use my power." "And she really wants to punch Endeavour in the face." Dabi added cheerfully. "Oh yeah, that too." "I trust her, and you should know by now I don't drag in just anyone." "Shigaraki, she could be useful. She has inside information and that power was impressive." The black void behind the bar spoke, startling you a little and pulling a quiet chuckle from Dabi.  "Fine. Make yourself useful, if you try to betray us I'll kill you." Shigaraki huffed, standing from his seat. "Kurogiri, I'm going back to my room." "Welcome to the League [name]."

[jaggedwolf]

TSCOSI Ficlets #1

Villains pretending to be redeemed

McCabe is an inconvenience. Park had hoped they would panic, betray him, add credence to his cover. Or that Patel would get suspicious at someone Park never mentioned, take care of that problem. No luck there.

They're alive, and worse, they're on the Iris with him and the merry band of insurgents. 

Now Park has to keep track of everything he's ever let slip to McCabe, make sure none of it contradicts what he tells the rest of them. Quite frankly, he's not trained for this. He's not even being paid for this. 

The crew gets more used to his presence. McCabe quickly realises Park has nothing to offer in this life and they'd have better luck looking expectantly at someone else. The gaping hole that used to be his left eye doesn't get infected. All things in favor of his operation.

Yet, every day on this ship tires him.

He wants to walk out of the airlock and let the cold vacuum of space take him. He wants to corner Patel to tell her everything so she can end things with a bullet to his head. He wants to go to sleep and never wake up. Screw humanity, screw the IGR.

He wasn't made to be a spy. If they hadn't had Shelly, he never would have agreed. 

Frederick might be dead or incapacitated (another great aspect of the on-the-run life was the complete lack of information he was used to), but the IGR has an excellent chain of command. Someone else is in charge of Shelly now, someone else knows the terms by which Park could keep her safe, someone else is listening to the coded messages Park taps into his watch every night.

So, he wakes up. 

Spends yet another day pretending he cares about the lives of anyone on this ship.

Time for a sex-off

Violet really isn't sure what she's witnessing, but she figures she'll follow Krejjh's lead and watch. Eat some of their fruit jerky while she's at it. 

Arkady frowns at Brian's most recently made point. "Okay, what about a bar?"

"Uh, dude, did you forget I literally worked at a bar on Rydell? Yeah I've had sex in a bar." Brian chuckles.

"With a bartender?" tries Arkady. 

Arkady's losing this argument and knows it. Krejjh certainly thinks so. They hoot and holler with every act or partner Brian lists off. Though Violet imagines they'd do the same if Brian had confessed to an entire life of celibacy. 

Brian's smile shrinks. "Alvy."

"Shit, dude." Arkady shoots a worried glance at Violet, as if Violet is any better at lightening the mood. 

Brian shrugs it off. "It's fine, man."

Seems fair enough. Violet's been tracking Arkady's yes's - she's not trying to, but her brain logicking out her girlfriend's past seems to be an unmutable feature - and many of them had to have dated from Cresswin or the war. Has to be some losses there, even if Arkady’s deft tale-telling elides that.

Brian suddenly looks pleased with himself. "You've never slept with a Dwarnian."

"No shit," grumbles Arkady. 

"First Mate Patel, are you saying this doesn't entice you?" Krejjh struck a ridiculous pose, their face offended. 

Arkady squinted at Krejjh, silent. Violet snickered. She refilled all four cups of moonshine, idly attempting to retrace the origins of this conversation. 

"Moving on," Arkady finally says, turning back to Brian, "sex outdoors."

"You got me there, bud. Nope," admits Brian.

"I think," says Arkady, "that this competition calls for some calibration. You're half a decade older than me, you've had more time at this. Back me up, Violet. You're the scientist here, isn't there something about experiments and controls?"

Arkady smiles at Violet, her face playing at casual, her dark brown eyes filled with warmth. Her leather jacket's half-slipped off her, and Violet's gaze is transfixed by the revealed bare arm as if she's never seen it before. She wants to pull Arkady into a kiss, drag her back to her room and do about fifty percent of the things Arkady's listed. There are plenty of experiments and controls she'd like to test there. 

Instead, Violet breathes out and responds with a "There are way too many factors at play for both of you, even without the age difference. I'm not sure any calibration would be fair."

Krejjh and Brian high-five. Arkady sulks, leaning even more into Violet, and Violet can't help but think they've won regardless.

Shaky Hands

Sana, Violet decides, is a far better patient than Arkady. It's a comforting fact to latch on to as Violet examines the burned flesh of Sana's forearm, the preliminary treatments done. Sana doesn't object to Violet's procedures, nor does she take offense to Violet asking if she's injured anywhere else.

"Rest of the crew?" asks Sana, her breaths ragged and eyes unfocused. She's seated on the medbay cot, her uninjured side slumped against the wall. Her shaking fingers are interlocked in her lap. Adrenaline after-effect. Temporary reflexes of muscles and tendons that would fade away.

"In the cockpit. We're clear of the planet, from Arkady's last update." Violet sets up one of the medbay's scanners above Sana's arm.

Sana simply nods, closing her eyes.

The Iris's medbay is a large room, with Sana and Violet only occupying a small corner of it. A pang of guilt strikes Violet. Maybe Sana would have appreciated having someone else around too.

Violet looks over the scans on the screen and the diagnostic inferences the software has made. "I may have kicked Arkady out of the medbay."

"Good call." Sana smiles weakly, dimples showing. "Can't have the first mate distracted while the captain's out of commission. How's my arm looking?"

"With the Iris's equipment, you might not even have a scar after this." Violet flashes what she hopes is a reassuring look at Sana. "You'll want to keep use of that arm to minimum, though."

"Okay." Sana doesn't relax at Violet's good news. In fact, she seems tenser. She blinks open her eyes. "And the tremors? There's nothing to worry about there?"

Sana sounds uncharacteristically disbelieving.

"Captain, I can take more scans, but I'm not seeing any nerve damage, if that's what you're worried about."

Sana sighs, her body relaxing against the wall. "Thank you, Violet."

Conversation to have later, maybe with some cross-referencing of Sana's medical history. It had taken a while for Violet to notice that the captain's reticence in sharing details of her own experiences, especially compared to the others.

"It'll take me a few minutes to wrap your arm up, you can go to sleep after that." Violet retrieves what she needs and starts work on Sana's arm

Sana shakes her head. "We should head back up to the cockpit after this, I'm sure the others have questions."

Violet fixes her gaze on Sana. "Didn't you make an announcement the other day that everyone had to listen to me when it came to medbay stuff? You're in the medbay, ergo-"

"I should listen to you." Sana almost looks proud. "Are you sure they don't need anything from me?"

"They're fine, and if they did, Arkady would have commed me by now." Violet adjusts the pillow on the cot. "You can rest, Captain."

Gunpoint

Arkady stared up the barrel of the gun pointed at her. She scowled. Made a show of pressing her wrists against the handcuffs that trapped them behind her back.

"Well, human," said Krejjh from the other side of the gun, a forced grin on their face, "the tables have twisted."

The dwarnian mercs behind Krejjh chuckled. That boded well. Meant they were buying the hasty cover story. Two of the mercs were whispering, jostling each other, and finally someone yelled at Krejjh something in Dwarnian. Whatever it was, it startled Krejjh.

"Why would I"-Krejjh stopped themself, hand holding the gun dropping limply by their side. They continued their reply in Dwarnian. That only seemed to piss off the mercs more, and an argument ensued.

The only non-English Arkady had ever learned was a healthy smattering of swear words, but the merc's expressions provided plenty of reading material, as did the way Krejjh's ears flared back. Easy enough to guess at the little group bonding suggestion Krejjh had rejected.

The mercs had started to doubt Krejjh. Shit. Two against ten would've been risky even if Arkady had been armed. She took a second to assess the situation before arriving back at her original decision. If they survived this, hopefully Violet and Sana wouldn't get too annoying about it.

"Hey, ass!" Arkady's words carried over the din of voices arguing in Dwarnian.

Krejjh turned to her, face stoic, but Arkady could see the signs of confusion. Krejjh hadn't had to do too many in-person cons. Might as well make it a little easier on them.

"Yeah, you, you purple piece of shit," spat Arkady. When Krejjh only took a single step towards her, she kept going. "What, you're too scared of humans to even approach one you've restrained?"

Krejjh's voice was uncharacteristically slow and serious. "I've never been scared of a human." They took another step forward.

This close, Krejjh blocking most of the other mercs from view, Arkady risked glancing at the gun and then Krejjh's brilliant red-yellow eyes. She gave the slightest nod. Krejjh's arm jerked, and they snarled, "You-"

"Me," mocked Arkady. "I've killed so many of your kind during the war. Pretty satisfying. Some deaths were quick and simple. Others, not so much. Want me to go through the list? The first one, now-"

The gun struck right against Arkady's nose, sending her stumbling to the ground shoulder-first. Blood filled her nostrils and relief her lungs in the same haggard breath that followed. A loud roar of approval came from the mercs, even some clapping. Arkady pulled herself back up to one knee. A sliver of blood slipped over her lips into her mouth.

Krejjh was panting heavily. They still looked pissed as hell at Arkady's little speech, and that'd work great for the crowd. Krejjh spun back to the mercs. They waved a free hand back at Arkady. "That good enough for you, fellas?"

The merc that had first yelled at Krejjh clapped them on the back. Arkady's lips quirked, and she reshaped the grin that threatened to show into yet another scowl. She shouldn't have doubted Krejjh pulling through.

For all the shit she'd given Krejjh, at the end of the day, they were a soldier, same as her. 

Accidental Guardianship

One of the teenagers - the human one - has been staring at him recently. Longer than at anyone else. (He is excellent at noticing when he's being watched. It had been a useful skill to cultivate.)

Park briefly considers the possibilities. Perhaps she thinks him the biggest threat on this ship? Laughable. No depth perception, and Patel and the Dwarnian both exist. She's uncomfortable with the eye-patch? No, given her and her friend's background, she's seen far uglier sights than him. He snorts midway through considering the idea that she's chosen him the way her friend has chosen the Dwarnian. He has nothing to offer there.

It doesn't seem to be a problem yet, so Park does nothing. He thinks she isn't planning on stabbing him in his sleep with that knife of hers either, but he does check the locks on his door. Better to be safe.

Instead, she finds him in the kitchen one evening. Her footsteps are silent, and her question entirely unexpected.

"You were an analyst for the IGR, right?" Her brown eyes are intent, but wary, as if he might react the wrong way.

Park presses his hands flat against the table where he sits, and decides not moving is the best strategy. "Most people lump it all together under 'Agent' but yes, that was my job title."

"My mom did that too." The teenager slowly flexes her hand. "At least that's what Dad always said." Her hand stills into the form of a fist. "Then again, he always said she'd ditch it and finally join us again, so who knows what he knew."

An unexpected distaste settles into Park's mouth. His job had been a good one. Hard-won, too. But there was a very good reason Park had made sure the only person he was responsible for over those years had been himself.

Shelly had been the exception. Then again, she'd barged into it all. Left him little choice in the matter. Or perhaps that was a justification to cope with how little he knew about her current state.

A matter for another time. The teenager looked at him expectantly, and he realizes, dread in his gut, what she wants from him.

"There were many analysts working for the IGR." He tries to say the words kindly, but that's never been one of his strengths. "I wouldn't have-"

"What? I'm not stupid, of course you wouldn't know her," the teen spits out defensively. "I...wanted to know what the job was like." She crossed her arms. "If you're not still following the IGR's NDAs."

That he could do. Should he? That was probably in the presentation the captain and Violet had given the crew without the teenagers knowing: Acceptable Conversation Topics For Fourteen-Year-Olds. (Arkady had several objections, and not that Park disagreed, but it made the already thorough presentation even longer.)

He'd hated when adults had lied to him when he was growing up. Always subtleties they assumed he didn't understand, or they thought the world would right itself before any of it became his problem.

He is tired of lies. The others can harangue him about it tomorrow if they want.

Daemons

He'd expected the worst in Zone Z. There was plenty of data to be gained from a spare body and its daemon, with no useful intelligence coming from either. He didn't need to be a scientist to list the obvious experimental setups - separation, intercision, simply touching his daemon.

He always had lacked imagination.

Hyeona's gurgling croaks used to be a reassuring rumble. As he had worked overtime, the raven perched on his shoulder. As he had woken up in the morning, her beak pecking at and rearranging his hair. As he'd walked away from Agent McCabe for the last time, her black wings fluffed up just enough to brush against his ear.

He didn't think he could hear any of her calls the same way. Not after they'd been the background music to her pecking his right eyeball out, claws digging deep into his face. The IGR had a fondness for turning allies against each other, and what greater allies were there between human and daemon? He wondered if forcing Hyeona to do that had been a new level of achievement for them, or if she'd simply demonstrated an existing technique.

After, she didn't look at him.

She didn't look at him as they finally left Zone Z, she didn't look at him as he didn't shoot the dwarnian, she didn't look at him as they boarded the Iris. She flew as much as she could, even chose the ground to rest her feet on over his shoulder. There were too many practicalities to discuss in those early days of the renegade life, and that detail, like so many others, was pushed aside. In any case, the facts were simple.

His hands were the cleanest they'd been in decades. Still, his soul turned away.

[lizzieart]

Hey!! As much as I'd enjoy the idea I doubt I'm worth that much to you, but I'd love to hear about the characters you've created and if they are based upon anyone you know or knew for the ideals behind them. Hope you get this soon I'm interested in your stories.

Well first of all bless you, and second you are already worth that much to me because you took the time out of your day to send me a message!  Seriously, thank you.  I am a lonely garbage can.  And third, yes, some of my characters are loosely based on people, but most are just based on traits I relate to and/or admire.

I’m going to put the rest of this answer under a read more; if you choose to read it, buckle up, ‘cause there’s a huge fucking wall of text below.

It all started with a homebrew one shot my friend Cait was running in the winter of 2013.  I had never played a tabletop RPG before (I’ll still say tabletop even though she was running it online), but I had always been interested in her worldbuilding and characters; it was a frequent topic of discussion for us.  Plus, I trusted her pretty much explicitly with my sensitivities, so even though I was anxious, I agreed to join up.  The campaign didn't start for a few months after, so I spent plenty of time asking Cait as much as I could (without spoilers) about her world.  After all, I was (and still am) a person who completely overthinks every little detail of something I’m into (yay special interest fixation).

Just some background on the setting; there are two groups of people in this world, magi and non magi.  Magi were heavily persecuted (like at the threat of death) for hundreds of years, but not so openly in present time (although this can depend on region).  The Havens is a city built almost exclusively by mages, for mages.  It was a fortress that provided sanctuary to mages during wars long passed, and in more peaceful times turned into one of the largest universities of the arcane in the Uplands.  There are other countries/continents other than the Uplands, but those have not been planned out at this time (to my knowledge).  Anything else world related I should be able to answer as we go along in the rest of this text (or if you send me another ask; though we’ll see if you want to after this lmao).

Saoirse was a real diamond in the rough for a while.  I knew my babe was in that mess of ideas somewhere, but it took a bit to figure it out.  I decided on a name first (I had been aching to use the name Saoirse), and I drew quite a few pictures of her before I settled on a design, but even that changed over time as I grew accustomed to drawing literally anyone else besides other white people.  I had educated myself and knew what nasty tropes to stay away from and made her a person.  She's a confident, powerful, mentor figure, and her exuberance for life and love of her family has gained the adoration of colleagues and friends alike.  She has her faults; she tends to overextend herself trying to help people or gets caught up in her work; but it all stems from a place of great compassion; she is dedicated to making the world a sweeter place.  To be honest, somewhere along the way Saoirse turned into everything I want and hope to be.  She has a family and friends who she is close to and love her dearly.  She never has to hide her feelings or work to earn their love.  She just has it.  Saoirse is a child of love in its purest form.  And she brightens up my life every day.

Brennya started out as one of Cait's NPCs, but a relationship grew between her and Saoirse after the events of the one shot.  Cait and I aren't always in contact due to life issues and school and work, but she let me keep writing interactions between Brennya and my other characters regardless (thank you).  Also, while it is a side note, have I ever mentioned that Cait’s absolutely brilliant?  She double majored in English and Geology and then got accepted into grad school right after that.  I love her.  So even though I can't (and wouldn't out of respect) claim Brennya is purely my character, I was allowed to continue writing for her.  And the way I write Brennya is honestly pretty personal.  Brennya is closer to the person I am currently... and have been in the past.  Brennya is loved now too, but Brennya was not born into love.  Love was conditional, a commodity contingent on success; personal worth built on actions and achievements, not being.  She grew to be a successful scholar nonetheless, but success rings hollow when you have no one to share it with.  She can be deeply cynical of the intentions of other people and readily manipulative of others (getting what she can from them before they have the chance to do the same to her).  She expects deceit and is truly thrown off guard when confronted with an honest person (like Saoirse).  She wants things like family and connection and truth, but has a hard time believing they exist for a person like her.  So she pretends that she is impervious to those feelings; that wanting those things is trivial in the span of existence; until she can no longer deny it.  When she meets Saoirse, it's not easy at first.  Being truly cherished at no expense of your own is difficult to understand for someone like Brennya (and for someone like me), but it is a truly beautiful thing if you can accept it.  Meeting Saoirse’s family is overwhelming for her at first too; they are an intense bunch; but they accept her almost immediately, simply because she makes their daughter happy.  Brennya acclimates eventually.  

Personally, though I’m still not in a great situation, I have healed from of a lot of bitterness I used to hold.  Seeing them happy inspires me to do better in my own life; realizing that while it may take time, it will ultimately be worth it.  And that someday I will be able to love and trust fully.

Anyways, the rest of them are a little more lighthearted in nature, I swear!!

Aoife is Saoirse’s sister and the middle child of the Keir siblings.  She’s the fun, flamboyant sibling; always jovial, super pretty, and damn good at making others feel welcome.  Aoife sees everybody as a potential friend.  Gods help you if you mistake her good nature for weakness though; she’s a powerful force to be reckoned with.  She’s a vital part of the Bluewater Town Guard, and she loves her work, preferring busy places like the town square or the docks, where her nature as both a protector and people person can flourish.  She also adores the town’s children and always makes time for them.  She lives in a house on the Keir property with her wife Mazneen.

Mazneen is my newest character, so forgive me for not having a lot on her yet (I’m trying to do something new while being culturally sensitive).  I also think it’s important for me as her creator to state explicitly somewhere down the line that she is a trans woman (representation is a high priority for me), but with the really angry and reactionary culture of tumblr these days, it’s really hard to create trans characters without someone getting upset (watch, someone will write a really angry callout for me not ‘performing her gender right’ or something…  well guess what buds, there’s no one right way for a trans woman to be trans!  BEGONE TERF!).  What else I can tell you is that she is outgoing and so incredibly sweet, and loves helping people see the beauty inside themselves like she sees in herself.  Mazneen is also a savvy businesswoman and trader originally from the Havens, and has family, friends, and business contacts there (I just haven’t gotten that far in her writing).  She currently lives and works in Bluewater with Aoife’s mother, Meirna, in her tailoring business (accounting and supply are her specialties).  They mostly make clothing suitable for cold climates like Bluewater, but occasionally produce some finer pieces on commission.  Their regular clothing is really popular amongst the whalers and even gets shipped to other parts of the Uplands.  They’re basically running something like a fantasy L.L. Bean if that makes any lick of sense.

Meirna, who I mentioned earlier, is the Keir siblings’ mother and the wife of Roarke.  She is a woman of great intelligence, tact, and grace; people used to tell her that had she not married a whaler she could have been a favorite of the Havens elite.  But she chooses to completely disregard this, and to this day she is more than happy with her life; she is still in love with her husband Roarke, runs her own well-known business, and has three very successful children.  I also have the inclination to make her deeply spiritual in some way; the Uplands actually has a few religions with a decent pantheon of gods, but I haven’t quite figured out the details of that yet.   Regardless of spirituality (or lack thereof), people look to her for comfort and guidance.

Roarke is the father of the Keir siblings and Meirna’s husband.  He’s a retired whaler but still an active part of Bluewater’s whaling guild.  Being retired certainly doesn’t keep him from being out on the water though; he just fishes for a lot smaller catch these days.  He loves the outdoors and has a fire for life that just can’t be tempered.  But he’s also a MEGA DAD.  Like the best Dad I imagine one could hope for.  He loves his family so much and he’s so proud of his kids and all their achievements.  Intense honestly just isn’t strong enough to describe the way he lives his life.  Roarke is the epitome of ALL THE TIME ALL THE TIME.  Just a huge dude with an absolute heart of gold.  Where else could Aoife have gotten it from?

Arlen is the youngest of the Keir siblings, and takes after his mother more.  His intelligence and patience are unrivaled; and his charismatic and comforting presence gives him the perfect bedside manner as a physician.  He studied at the Havens like Saoirse and Brennya, but with a focus on medicine instead of arcane arts and archaeology (Saoirse and Brennya's concentrations, respectively).  He’s an accomplished healer and has been instrumental in improvements made to Bluewater’s current health awareness and services.  He spends time every year to make trips to Snowshower, the large city northeast of Bluewater, and sets up a free clinic in the impoverished areas of the city.  He eventually ends up in a relationship with Rory after some time (still working on those details).

Rory also started out as an NPC.  He was originally the character that was Saoirse's call to action; a former student in a spot of trouble, and Saoirse just didn't have the heart to turn him down.  Except that the trouble he was in was, in fact, much more trouble than originally stated; a large debt with a notorious Poppyport (a city on the southernmost coast of the Uplands) crime syndicate, Redbloom (also can you guess their specialty lmao).  After the events of the job, Saoirse finds out that she's only thirded his debts.  Turns out he's got some serious impulse control issues and formed a gambling habit that, as you can probably imagine, got way out of hand.  He has an intense need to impress people with flashy displays, always trying to one up himself and others, but quite often these gestures fall flat.  Rory was chasing that dream of being famous and left Bluewater a few years back, only to become known as a fool.  And even though it was free publicity, bad publicity is only just publicity until you owe a crime lord his debts.  So Saoirse takes a risk and flees Poppyport, making her way back to Bluewater with Rory in tow.  Redbloom has no ties to a whaling town like Bluewater, it isn’t profitable enough.  So now he’s stuck in Bluewater for his own safety, and it would have driven him nuts if it weren’t for befriending the Keir family.  He still isn’t a huge fan of life in Bluewater, but his work and friendships keep him well grounded.  He eventually starts dating Arlen sometime into the timeline, but I haven’t written any of that yet; it’s only a series of ideas right now.  I do also want to look into writing a resolution with the whole Redbloom debt, but we’ll see where the story goes.  He’s always been…  A little all over the place.  He was a mandatory character and I really had to think about a way to work him into the story, and even now I’m still not completely satisfied.

I guess my main point is that I’m not nearly finished yet; I’ve only just begun getting bits of my story down, but I’m dedicated to expanding this family and their world and I just really love them all to bits.  And apart from their main story I’ve got some alternate universes I like to work on too, like their Dragon Age AU.  I’ve actually written quite a bit of meta and dialogue, and even drawn some for that one.  I haven’t really shared it with anyone yet though; haven’t figured out a delivery method that feels quite right yet.  I tried starting a blog for it, but it got stuck in the development phase a few months back.  Maybe I’ll try and figure that out soon.  I’ve just got so many ideas!  Anyways sorry for the wall of text and thanks for hanging in here with me with I figure shit out!  If you have any more questions I’d love to answer them! 

[thisdaynews]

A noun, a verb and Rudy Giuliani: Biden’s new punchline

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/a-noun-a-verb-and-rudy-giuliani-bidens-new-punchline/

A noun, a verb and Rudy Giuliani: Biden’s new punchline

“Rudy is in so many ways a perfect messenger for exactly what this administration stands for, and that’s why voters reject it,” Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said, underscoring the campaign’s eagerness to use Giuliani as a White House poster boy.

Bedingfield also delighted in Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman after their indictments — a problem because the president and his son and namesake had been separately photographed with the two Soviet-born Florida businessmen. Before they were arrested Wednesday night at Dulles International Airport, the men were had planned to meet Giuliani in Vienna, Austria.

“Giuliani’s cronies — who Trump pretends not to know even though he’s pictured with them multiple times giving the thumbs up, no less — have been arrested trying to flee the country, one day before Rudy was scheduled to join them in Vienna and hours after dining with him at the Trump Hotel,” Bedingfield noted.

Polls show Giuliani is deeply unpopular and likely a liability for Trump when it comes to public opinion — a fact noted by both Biden advisers and members of Trump’s inner circle, one of whom described the indictments and Giuliani’s previous and widelypannedperformances on cable news as a “disaster.”

Only 31 percent of voters have a favorable impression of Giuliani, while 53 percent view him unfavorably, giving the former mayor a negative net favorability rating of -22 percent, according to a Fox News poll released this week but taken before the indictments of his associates. Trump’s net favorability rating is also negative, -13 percent, while Biden’s is positive at 6 percent in the poll.

Underpinning Giuliani’s poor standing with voters: a relatively high number of Republicans view him unfavorably (29 percent) while independents give him a net rating of -41 percent and Democrats of -58 percent. Giuliani only polls better with Democrats when compared with Trump in the Fox poll.

“The president would be better served if Rudy wasn’t on television,” said a top Trump adviser,echoing three othersimilar sources. “The president would be better off if Rudy was not the face of this. No one really likes him, but somehow we’re stuck with him.”

Giuliani did not return calls and messages for comment.

A former Giuliani adviser, Rick Wilson, said the former mayor and federal prosecutor “lost his way” as he became a lobbyist and insider. He had his own deals overseas and got so entangled in them, Wilson said, that he was like Trump’s now-convicted former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who had so many interests in Russia and Ukraine that “he became like an Eastern European warlord.”

Giuliani, Wilson said, was transmogrifying into an object of ridicule akin to a “Looney Tunes” character known for schemes that always fail and backfire.

“Rudy has become the Wile E. Coyote of this scandal,” said Wilson, who advised Giuliani when he was New York mayor in the 1990s and early 2000s, a potential U.S. Senate candidate in 2000 and a presidential candidate in 2008.

“Rudy’s out there running off of cliffs, smacking into road signs and watching his own schemes just blow up on him to defend Trump,” Wilson said. “And if defending Trump is like catching the Road Runner, Giuliani is going to do that everyday and fail, no matter how absurd the situation is that he finds himself in.”

The animus between Biden and Giuliani traces back decades, famously surfacing in their respective failed bids for the presidency in 2008, after which Biden joined Barack Obama’s successful ticket and served as vice president until 2017.

At the time they were running, Biden accused Giuliani, who had earned such high marks for managing New York City after 9/11 that he was nicknamed “America’s mayor,” of cynically using the tragedy for political gain years later.

“There’s only three things he [needs] to make … a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11,” Bidenjoked, calling Giuliani “probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.”

Giuliani biographer Andrew Kirtzman said the 9/11 gibe would have stung the former New York mayor.

“His 9/11 halo was everything to Giuliani — his experience that day changed him and became intrinsic to who he was. He had to have been deeply angered by what Biden said,” Kirtzman said.

Earlier this year, Giuliani fired back at Biden over the 1994 crime bill that has become something of a political liability for the Democrat in the primary. Both Biden and Giuliani had worked for its passage.

“The 1994 Crime Bill passed by Pres. Clinton and Speaker Gingrich, with Biden & Schumer as the leaders in Senate and House, helped me and the NYPD reduce murder from @ 1,900 a year to @ 500 and then under Mayor Bloomberg to @ 350. That’s over 20,000 lives saved,” Giuliani tweeted May 15, before Trump’s latest attacks on the law.

Referring to pressure on Biden to disavow the bill, Giuliani added: “Joe don’t cave.”

Biden isn’t the only Democratic presidential candidate to zero in on Giuliani: Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called on Attorney General William Barr and the Federal Election Commission to investigate Giuliani for potential campaign finance violations.

More than a year after Trump took office — and after the president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen was convicted in a separate federal campaign finance scheme involving hush-money payoffs to a porn actress — Giuliani began working as Trump’s personal lawyer in Ukraine.

Since then, Giuliani has been the prime force driving Trump to focus on attacking Biden’s son Hunter Biden over a lucrative consulting contract for a Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma, when his father served as vice president.

A Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, had been investigating Burisma, and Joe Biden successfully pushed for his ouster; Giuliani and Trump have characterized the situation as a quid pro quo.

But the prosecutor’s investigation into Burisma had stalled long before, numerous Ukrainian officials say, and Shokin’s ouster was due to standing U.S. policy and international pressure to get rid of him because of perceptions he was corrupt and ineffective.

In TV appearances, Giuliani has waved around an affidavit signed by the disgraced former prosecutor who swears he was dismissed because of the Burisma investigation. Unmentioned by Giuliani: the affidavit is filed on behalf of a Ukrainian gas magnate, Dmitry Firtash, who is employing two Trump loyalist attorneys to fight extradition to the U.S. in another corruption scheme.

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Firtash lives in Vienna, Austria, where Giuliani’s now-indicted associates, Parnas and Fruman, were headed on one-way tickets.

Both Giuliani and Trump have pressed Ukrainian officials behind the scenes to open an investigation into the Bidens. During a phone call with Ukraine’s president in July, Trump asked for an investigation into Biden as the United States withheld financial aid — a move that led to the impeachment inquiry in the House.

At first, Giuliani denied on television that he ever pressed Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. But he reversed himself in the same Sept. 19 interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, admitting that, yes, he did push for the investigation.

The Biden campaign reacted to Giuliani’s double-talk by calling on cable news to ban him, asserting that he’s a fount of disinformation.

At the same time Giuliani had been trying to gin up an investigation of Hunter Biden and the natural gas company he worked for, a group of businessmen and GOP donors name-dropping Giuliani and Trump werereportedlyworking in Ukraine to get a piece of lucrative natural gas contracts steered to Trump allies. Giuliani’s entanglements have become so suspect that conservative columnists have alsofrettedthat he’s “taking Trump for a ride.”

On Wednesday, when Biden first called clearly for Trump’s impeachment, the candidate singled out Giuliani, mocking his ethics.

“Now there are reports that not only did Trump send Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, to carry out his scheme and co-opt the State Department — and, as alleged, allies of Giuliani were also working a side deal at the same time to make millions in Ukraine,” Biden said. “A corrupt scheme with an additional helping of corruption and self-dealing on the side: Classic Trump. The abuse of power is the defining characteristic of the Trump presidency.”

On Friday, Giuliani’s name was brought up again, this time with House impeachment managers, who tooktestimonyfrom U.S. diplomat Marie Yovanovitch. She had been ousted from her job in Ukraine after Giuliani became a point man inspreading unfounded smearsin right-wing media against her.

“I do not know Mr. Giuliani’s motives for attacking me,” she said in a written statement. “But individuals who have been named in the press as contacts of Mr. Giuliani may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, other Republicans, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, ducked for cover and had to return what they believed had been tainted political contributions from Parnas and Fruman.

Biden’s campaign reacted with a fundraising pitch to donors.

“The tide is turning,” the campaign wrote. “These Trump allies who helped Rudy Giuliani try to smear Joe Biden in Ukraine will face a court of law and the Trump Administration is facing an impeachment inquiry.”

Sally Goldenberg contributed to this report.

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