#I think she does that both cause obviously he's the person it's easiest to pin all her frustration on

[rotisseries]

i don't read enough loz fic to know what the popular fanon is so maybe this already exists but there should be a revali and zelda besties agenda i think it would be good for them

[darks-ink]

Spark

Prompt: How does being constantly exposed to high amounts of ectoplasm affect the citizens of Amity Park? Prompt by: @robotbeowulf Word count: 2,487

[AO3] [FFN] [more Phic Phight fics]

---

Danny shrugged, shifting his backpack to lie a little more comfortably on his shoulders, and pretended very hard to be a regular student. It wasn’t easy, but it hadn’t been easy for the last two years. The constant secret-keeping from everyone was wearing on him.

Not to mention the constant ghost attacks, of course. He was pretty sure all of Amity Park was covered in a thick film of ectoplasm by now, considering how much of it he and the other ghosts spilled and fired during the almost-constant battles. Sure, his parents said that the stuff evaporated and then returned to the Ghost Zone, but his parents also said that humans couldn’t have ghost powers, and Danny was the (mostly) living proof that that wasn’t true, either.

He was jerked from his thoughts—literally—by a fist, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him against the lockers he had been walking by.

“Hi, Dash,” Danny muttered, trying to hide away his weariness with apathy. “Good morning to you too.”

“Fentonia,” Dash growled back, leaning in close to Danny’s face. A little too close, thank you, ever heard of personal space? “Finally.”

Danny bit back the automatic reply—aw, were you waiting for me?—and settled for grimacing at Dash.

Not that that went over well, of course, because Dash’s other hand found its way to Danny’s shirt as well. With Danny well in his grasp, Dash lifted him, slamming him against the lockers again, this time with his feet off of the ground—no easy way of getting out. Not without using his powers, at least.

“What’s wrong, Fenturd?” Dash asked, pressing Danny against the lockers even harder. “Ghost got your tongue?”

Ha ha, how creative. How funny. Danny was sure he’d come up with funnier jokes in his sleep. “Fuck off,” he grunted at Dash as his back was slammed against the hard metal behind him again.

“Ooh, he’s got bite today.” Dash leaned back a bit, a vicious grin on his face, then crowded Danny against the lockers again. “Oh, no, never mind. Looks like he’s all bark.”

Danny snarled back at Dash before he’d really thought about it—before he could stop himself, really. It wasn’t even words, really, just an animalistic snarl and the pulse of his core that meant his eyes were glowing.

Oh, fuck. And Dash was way too close to miss that.

“Hey, there you go!” Dash… cheered? The fists clenched in Danny’s shirt released, and his feet thumped down on the ground before he’d really caught on to what was happening. Dash was already turning away from him, nudging Kwan. “See, I told you Fenton could do it too!”

That… was not the reaction he’d expected to get to ghostly glowing eyes. What the fuck?

Kwan laughed audibly, and Danny wrenched his eyes away from Dash and towards the other boy. The… the laughing, visibly cheery boy.

Seriously. What was going on?

“So, uh… No bullying anymore today?” Danny asked, and then felt like he could kick himself. Absolute moron. Who asks that sort of thing?

Dash snorted, apparently amused (amused???) by Danny’s idiotic question, and waved a dismissive hand. “What’s the point? I got what I was after.”

Okay? Good? That explained absolutely nothing. If anything, Danny felt even more confused. Had Dash seriously been bullying him trying to get him to glow eyes his? To snarl at him?

What???

Apparently he vocalized that last thought, because Kwan’s eyes turned back to him, a hesitant grin on his face.

And then Kwan’s eyes flashed a bright, glowing, cyan.

Danny, still leaning against the lockers he’d been pressed to, froze up automatically. He knew what that meant. Had spent enough time combing through his parents’ research—and with his own experience—to know that briefly glowing eyes couldn’t be caused by ordinary ghostly causes. An overshadowing ghost altered the eye-color of their host, but that was constant.

And, if there had been a ghost, Danny would’ve felt them. He’d grown more than strong enough to sense ghosts even if they were hidden in a host.

“He’s had them for a while.” Dash spoke casually, like this wasn’t a big fucking deal. “We couldn’t find anybody else with that brand of ecto-contamination, y’know, so Kwan was feeling super down about that.”

“Dash,” Kwan groaned, sounding put-upon. As carefully as Danny listened, the only thing he could hear was the undercurrent of care Kwan held for Dash. For his friend.

“Shut up, man.” Dash nudged his friend, then picked up his explanation that didn’t explain anything. “See, but I knew I had seen you do them too. The glowy eyes, I mean.” Dash underlined the latter with a vague gesture at his own eyes. “So I just had to push you into doing them while Kwan could see, to prove that he wasn’t the only one.”

“Uh.” Danny blinked at them, feeling like he missed everything Dash had said after the words “ecto-contamination”. What?

No, seriously, he knew he’d uttered that word a lot these past five minutes—even if only in his head—but what?

“You had to get him angry, though,” Kwan muttered, bumping shoulders with Dash. “You know that’s not the only way to make them glow.”

“Yeah, but it was the easiest to push him into,” Dash easily admitted.

And then, while Danny was still reeling, feeling like he’d missed at least seven steps in this conversation, Kwan stepped in closer and shot him a bright smile. “Thanks, Fenton. I feel a ton better.”

“Uh, yeah.” Danny blinked, watching the two of them wander off like nothing happened. “You’re welcome?”

“Man, what was all of that?” he muttered to himself, staring at the empty hallway for a moment before pushing himself away from the lockers. He desperately needed to talk to Sam and Tucker, see if they had any idea what all of that was about.

Somewhere, he kind of wished that Jazz was still in Amity. She would definitely know what the hell all of that was all about.

Seriously. Dash had just casually muttered the words ecto-contamination, and then suggested that it was common enough for there to be accepted variants of it.

How had Danny missed all of that?

!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

“There’s Val,” Sam whispered, leaning in closer. Danny followed her gaze and, indeed, there was the girl they’d been looking for all morning.

Well, it figured that they wouldn’t manage to pin her down until lunch, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Sam and Tucker hadn’t known what the stuff with Dash and Kwan had been about, either, so they had decided to ask the only person they could reasonably ask: Valerie Gray.

But that, in turn, meant that they had to just sit on the knowledge until lunch.

At least she had picked a distant enough seat that they could talk in private. Small blessings.

“Let’s hope she actually knows what’s going on,” Tucker muttered, before nudging Danny forward. “You go first, dude.”

So quick to sacrifice him to the ghost huntress. Danny shook his head but walked over, slipping into the seat opposite of Valerie. “Hey, Val.”

“Danny,” she greeted him back, raising an eyebrow at Sam and Tucker, who sat down on either side of him. “Well, this feels like an interrogation all of a sudden.”

He shot Sam a meaningful glance, but she just grinned back, pushing herself to sit more squarely on the seat. Rude.

“Danny had a weird interaction with Dash and Kwan this morning,” Tucker started explaining, breaking the tension before it could really go anywhere. “We were hoping you could offer… I dunno, some clarification, since you know them better than we do.”

She snorted, leaning back slightly. “They’re Dash and Kwan. Every interaction with them is weird.”

“Well, yeah, but they were…” Danny paused, briefly hesitant to mention it—what would Valerie think of ghost-powered humans?—before powering through. “They were talking about ecto-contamination, and known variants of it.”

The look they got in response was flat. Flat, and clearly confused.

After a long and exceedingly awkward moment of silence, Valerie cleared her throat and asked, clearly hesitant, “None of you noticed?”

“Noticed what?” Tucker frowned, glancing between the three of them and Valerie.

“That pretty much everyone in Amity Park has ghost-like traits?” She raised a questioning eyebrow at them. “Everyone, but especially the kids here at Casper High, has ecto-contamination so bad that we’re all, well. Becoming a little ghost-like.” She paused, shook her head, then asked. “None of you seriously noticed?”

Danny drew back, considering his words, but before he could really think about it, Sam had already flapped a dismissive hand. “The three of us spend so much time in and around Fentonworks that we’re already contaminated to hell and back,” she dryly explained. “And honestly, Valerie, how much time do we really spend with anyone outside our direct circle?”

“Fair enough,” Valerie allowed with a shrug. “Right, so, it mostly seems to be caused by the Portal and the constant ghost attacks. I mean, obviously, right?”

“Right,” Danny agreed, ignoring the way his stomach was turning. He’d tried so hard to keep everyone safe, but had the presence of ghosts been endangering them all along? Had the spilled ectoplasm really affected people, and so badly too?

“Now, what we started noticing pretty early on is that people generally only display a single ghost power, once they become contaminated enough to actually have a discernible ghost power. Some people consider them distinct variants: people with invisibility, with intangibility, flight, etcetera.”

Sam and Tucker both hummed, thoughtfully. Valerie raised her other eyebrow at that, then shook her head and continued on.

“Generally people don’t get contaminated enough to display more than those basic powers, but exceptions exist, I guess. And your contamination is probably way worse than anyone else’s, except maybe actual ghost hunters like the Fentons.” She made a face. “And that’s assuming their jumpsuits don’t protect them, which I doubt.”

“I’m pretty sure they do,” Danny mumbled, trying to inconspicuously watch both of his best friends from the corner of his eyes. The more Valerie explained about the ecto-contamination that apparently haunted all of Amity Park, the more their expressions twisted into something they usually called “suddenly understanding weird shit that had been happening”.

It was, unfortunately, a somewhat common expression these days. What with ghosts becoming a common thing, and all that.

“I… Some of the plants in my greenhouse grow unusually well whenever I’m near. Some even seem to react to my presence…” Sam admitted, her voice quiet, uncharacteristically reluctant. After a moment of hesitation, she tacked on, “And sometimes, when I really really don’t want to deal with my parents, they just… overlook me, like I’m not there at all.”

Like she was invisible, they all heard, despite the fact that Sam didn’t say the words.

Seemingly encouraged by Sam’s admission, Tucker added on, “I rarely, if ever, charge my tech. Their batteries just don’t seem to empty as long as I have them on me. And sometimes when I’m digging into code, it feels like… like I can alter it directly, like I’m tapping into some inner world that doesn’t—shouldn’t—exist.” Just like Sam, Tucker also paused for a moment. “When I’m running from a ghost or whatever, sometimes I run into an alley that I know has a dead end and never hit the wall.”

Like he was just phasing through it, going intangible before he hit it.

Danny swallowed through the clog he suddenly found in his throat, watching Valerie turn a meaningful look to him. She wanted him to tell her about his— his ghost powers. But he couldn’t just pretend all of his powers came from the contamination of living at Fentonworks, could he?

And he definitely couldn’t pick certain powers as acceptable and others as not.

“I… I guess weird shit has happened to me too, yeah,” he finally admitted, cautiously, hoping she guessed the source of his reluctance wrong. “But I never really thought about it, to be honest. Anything I could blame the ecto-contamination for could just as easily be caused by actual ghosts.” And in a way it was, of course. Anything caused by his ecto-contamination was caused by an actual ghost: Phantom.

“But,” he tacked on, knowing Valerie wouldn’t just let that lie. She was far too stubborn not to investigate. “Dash and Kwan apparently saw me with glowing eyes?”

Valerie hummed, then nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. I know Kwan has the glowing eyes variant as well, so that would explain why they’ve been targeting you.”

“It’s been around that long?” Sam asked, leaning forward, clearly curious despite herself. “I figured it would’ve taken longer than that to show up.”

“Oh, no, that was long after I got kicked out of the group,” Valerie said dismissively. “But Kwan saw me with a ghost scanner one day, and he begged me to scan him. I guess he was seriously worried that he had been overshadowed, even if overshadowing doesn’t work like that.”

“I don’t think he got rid of that fear, to be honest.” Danny shrugged, uneasy. “At least, he seemed pretty cheered-up when I, uh, glowed my eyes at him and Dash.”

Tucker snorted, and Danny could see Sam crack a grin as well, probably at his word choice. Well, fuck them. What did you call it, if not “glowing your eyes at them”?

“Anyway, I can’t help but notice that we all told you, but you haven’t said a word about what you can do,” Sam prodded, nudging Valerie. “Come on, Val.”

“Yeah, that does seem a little unfair.” Tucker leaned forward as well, an expression of genuine curiosity on his face.

And, honestly? Danny kind of wanted to know as well. Her ghost hunting suit probably hadn’t protected her, and her new suit definitely didn’t. If anything, the Technus-made suit probably had just worsened it.

“I…” Valerie visibly hesitated, then gave in. “I can fly, a little. It’s not really all that great, but at least I won’t break anything if I ever fall out of a tree or something.”

She said it with a light tone, like it was just a casual joke. All Danny could think of, however, was all the times he’d seen Valerie fall off of her hoverboard, especially at the start.

He carefully does not wince.

“That’s pretty neat,” he forced himself to say instead. “Less lame than glowing eyes, at least.”

Valerie grinned back at him, but before she could say anything the bell rung.

“Guess we’d better head to class,” Sam said with a grunt, pushing herself off of the bench.

“Yeah.” Tucker got up as well, then nodded at Valerie. “Thanks for the explanation, Valerie.”

Danny followed suit, shooting her a smile. “Same. Thanks, Val.”

She had given him a lot to think about.

[spenciegoob]

Who Needs Luck?

A/N: hi! I solely wrote this because of my 3 recent visits to NY (no, I sadly did not meet mgg)... plus i’ve been going there my whole life.. this is becoming the longest authors note, but as i’m writing I just want to say the people who work at food trucks in nyc are the nicest people ever, ask them about their day (AND TIP OMG PLS)

Summary: Reader invites Spencer to go to New York City with her where he finally sees the beauty right in front of him.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Category: Fluff!

Content Warnings: reader can’t drive very well (I apologize if this is a callout post), slight road rage, language

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.4K

____

I never considered myself a lucky man. Life had proven time and time again that no matter how many four leaf clovers I set out to search for, how many pennies on the ground faced heads up I stumbled across, luck was never on my side. I’ve learned to live with it, accepted my fate as the world’s smartest punching bag long before I was even in college.

But then I met her, and as cheesy as it sounds, I didn’t need luck that morning.

The second I woke up, the universe seemed to have it out for me specifically. I swung my legs over my bed, and in my half asleep daze stepped on my glasses, successfully breaking them. Unable to see on my short trip to the bathroom, I stubbed my toe… twice. Once I finally finished my morning routine more methodically, I walked out of my apartment only to bump into a stranger, sending the coffee she was holding all the both of us.

I had tried to apologize so many times, cutting my words short when they didn’t feel right. I had gotten through a series of “I’m, uh, oh, I, you,” before her smile interrupted my thought process, leaving me awestruck instead.

“That’s okay, but you owe me a coffee now.” She giggled, actually giggled, even with the scorching liquid causing her shirt to stick to her body. “Maybe… together?”

I didn’t hesitate to agree, taking her up on the offer that weekend and never looking back. Even when a loud crash, followed by a quiet, harsh ‘shit’ woke me up in a startle, there was no regret. Maybe just a little concern for my girlfriend who now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, can be seen holding her knee on the floor of our bedroom.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispered out, grabbing onto the dresser to stand straight again. Once she was on her feet, she came over to sit on the edge of our bed, immediately running her fingers through my hair. If I wasn’t so worried about her knee, I probably would’ve fell asleep again.

“Are you okay?” She giggled at my scratchy morning voice before nodding her head. It’s then I realized how the sun hasn’t even begun to rise, the room still pitchblack. “What are you doing up?”

“Getting ready to go to the city, sleepyhead,” she said as if it was the most obvious answer, but truthfully, it left me with more questions.

“At... 5 am?” I sat up, glancing at the alarm clock three times just to make sure I was reading it right. She may have always been a little strange, but usually at a reasonable hour.

At this, she stood up to continue getting ready for the very early morning. Now I notice why she fell, the piles of clothes leading to the closet had to have at least half of her outfits compiled together.

“Well, yeah. I want to get there before noon.” Even in my perplexed state, I rose from the bed and carefully tiptoed around haphazardly thrown clothes to reach her.

While wrapping my arms around her waist still hidden under my t-shirt, I questioned. “It’s right outside? You have 7 hours.”

She turned to look at me funny as if I wasn’t the one digging through clothes and waking up before dawn to walk literally 5 minutes to my desired location. My eyebrows must have subconsciously furrowed at one point, because she brought her hand up to stroke her thumb on my forehead. Immediately, I felt the tension melt, no longer caring to correct my confusion. She still did it anyway.

“Not DC, silly. New York!” I wish it were untrue, but my heart dropped at her words. She was leaving, going to a city I wasn’t familiar with beyond reading about, solving cases, and memorizing subway maps. Is this how she feels every time I board that jet?

“W-what? You’re just going to New York City?” I inwardly cringed at how desperate and sad I sounded, but I really didn’t want her to leave.

“Mhm,” she mumbled, turning back around to return digging in her closet.

“For how long?” Please change your mind. Please change your mind. Please change you-

Realizing that I was fully awake, she let out a boisterous laugh, allowing the way it bounced off our four little walls to return back to us. It was a sound most treasured. “I was hoping to get back around 9.”

“What?” I leaned back to look at her like she was absolutely preposterous. I mean, she was!

“Roadtrip!”

That’s how I found myself in the passenger seat of her car, no coffee in my hand because I wasn’t allowed until I have “a real cup of coffee.” Whatever the hell that means better happen soon, because as much as I loved watching the way she concentrates on the road in front of her, my eyes were starting to droop.

“It’s going to be another 4 hours. You can sleep, my love.” How she knew me so well, I will never be able to figure out, but I was out before we even made it across state borders.

That however, didn’t last very long. My girlfriend may be short and sweet, but behind the wheel? That’s a different story. The horn to her car is a very familiar sound when I’m jolted awake by a sudden stop.

“Really, asshole? Go!” She yelled, slamming her hand against the top of the steering wheel before looking over at me. “Hey, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to wake you yet. I forgot how awful drivers are here.”

“Where is here exactly?” I questioned, sitting up from my slouched position to find cars practically on top of each other on a road not wide enough for two lanes.

“New Jersey. We’re 10 minutes away.” Wow, I didn’t realize I slept for that long, and I have to admit I’m a little surprised I wasn’t woken up sooner.

“How are we 10 minutes away? It’s at least another 30 to get to the tunnel.” Looking at our surroundings didn’t help me determine our exact location. To the left of us, there were dozens of graffiti murals on the side of what I assumed was another elevated highway. To the right, sidestreets with local businesses ranging from auto repair shops to fast food joints to gyms.

“Nuh uh, stop analyzing mister. You’ll know when we get there.” She waved a finger in my directions, putting a pin in my scrutinization. I pouted right back, successfully playing along to the theme of her scolding me like a 5 year old.

“I don’t like surprises you know.” It was the truth, but her contagious laughter that filled the car made me slightly less disinclined to stop asking questions.

“Oh I know, but trust me, you’ll like this one.” She went to go reach over to grab my hand from where it was resting in my lap, but stopped short and retracted in favor of slamming the horn. “Oh, come on!”

***

“So you drove to a train station... in New Jersey?” I asked while she was… attempting to park the car.

“Well, yeah. I’ve been taking this route since I was a little girl.” Once she finally figured out how to evenly space a two door convertible in a very spacious parking spot, she unbuckled her seatbelt, and was quick to grab her bag from the backseat. “Well, come on mister, we’re going to miss the train.”

To be quite honest, I have never been so lost in my life. I could probably pinpoint our exact location on a map if I wanted to, granted I was given any sort of information, but part of me didn’t want to. Scratch that, all of me didn’t want to, because my entire life has been planned out in front of me before, but right now, I get to be spontaneous with the most beautiful girl on the planet.

“Don’t let go of my hand,” she told me, lacing our fingers together and pulling me forward. “Don’t stop to look around, you will get pushed.”

We made it inside, and if I thought the DC transit system was bustling with people constantly, this place was so much worse. There were hallways left and right, all packed with people in a rush. It seems everybody had some place to be and zero time to get there.

“Upstairs.” We walked up two flights before reaching a platform, buying our tickets and making it just in time for a train to arrive. “I know they come every 8 minutes, but thank god we made this one,” she said as she sat down.

The cart we were in wasn’t too crowded, and once I finally found a map on the wall across from us, I saw that it was a direct ride to the World Trade Center.

“You said you took this train when you were little?”

“Yeah, I went to the city a lot as a kid. This was the easiest, and the cheapest way there.” A small smile played at her lips, obviously the product of some childhood memory. “I used to hop it.”

“Of course you did,” I laughed back with her, thinking about how an innocent looking child would be the first person to get away with sneaking onto the train.

***

“I said it before, I will say it again. Do not let go of my hand.” This time it was more stern, and if I were being honest, I would say that it got me the slightest bit nervous. She must have noticed, she always does, because she continued. “Don’t worry, it just gets congested and I don’t want to lose you.”

She was right about that, it indeed was very congested, but that was okay because she was holding my hand, and I would follow her just about anywhere if it meant she kept looking over her shoulder and smiling when she saw me. Once we made it across the way, and in front of heavy looking glass doors, she turned to me and started walking backwards.

“You okay? This is definitely not off to a great start.” She was wrong, it was off to a perfect start.

“Yeah, I’m okay, but you might want to watch where you’re going,” I said before her back hit the door.

“Please I can get here with my eyes closed.” And then we were outside, and all 5 of my senses were hit immediately. The sun was shining down on us, and before I could complain about not bringing my sunglasses, she handed them to me. My heart fluttered at the innocent act, taking the sunglasses with such gratitude even though she had already moved on to retrieve hers. “Do you smell that?” She asked.

“There are a lot of answers to that question,” I told her, not knowing if she was talking about the smell of the construction happening at the corner, the permanent garbage smell or something entirely different.

“The hotdogs, silly. Come on, there’s nothing like ‘em.” This time, I laced our fingers together, not because I was scared of losing her, I was, but I just really wanted to be closer to her. She didn’t mind, in fact, she let out a content hum and leaned her head on my arm as we walked to the stand.

“Can I get four hotdogs with sauerkraut and two grape sodas,” she asked the vendor, who politely nodded before moving on to prepare our food.

“You’re going to have a heart attack by 35,” I said as I nudged her with my shoulder. She gave me a small push back before answering.

“Is that a doctor’s diagnosis?” She asked as she took our now ready food into her hands, after paying the man before I even had time to blink. I just grabbed the two cans of soda and followed her where she was making a beeline for a park bench. “Watch out for skaters.”

“Yes, it is indeed a doctor's diagnosis.” I unwrapped one of the hotdogs before taking a bite. I closed my eyes and let out a content hum. “It may be a little worth it.”

“Exactly.” We sat there quietly, enjoying the warm weather and sounds of wheels against pavement. At one point, she rested her head against my shoulder, and I am convinced wherever she went would be Heaven.

***

“Are your eyes closed?” We found ourselves with both our hands interlocked, my eyes closed while she walked backwards. I gave an ‘mhm’ before she continued. “We’re here, just keep them closed, and…” her words trailed off. “Okay open.”

I opened my eyes to her holding her arms out in the middle of the largest bookstore I’ve ever seen. “Surprise!” My eyes were bouncing everywhere. It wasn’t too crowded, the large stairwell across the store catching my eye first. There were bookshelves tens of feet high, all loaded with different genres and authors. To the right of us, tiny knick knacks and pins and socks. It was beautiful.

“Wow,” I whispered out, still stuck in my place admiring our surroundings. She was beaming up at me, a hint of pride at her successfulness to drag me 6 hours away to the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.

“The Strand has always been my favorite place in the city. Come on, let’s go explore.” She grabbed my hands again, pulling me deeper into the store towards a shelf labeled adult fiction.

***

Six books, three pairs of socks and a postcard later, we were back on the busy streets of New York, aimlessly walking and admiring the tall buildings and different attractions. Well she was, I was admiring the way she was looking around like it was her first time here. Maybe I should have been paying more attention to our surroundings, but no amount of skyscrapers or fountains could possibly ever match up to her level of beauty. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” I asked randomly, startling her into jumping a tiny bit before giggling. She stopped us, turning to face me fully before reaching up to grab my face in her hands.

“Once or twice.” The kiss we shared on the New York streets were no different than the ones before, but this time, it felt like a silent promise. A passing between two lovers that no matter where we are, our love is the most beautiful thing there is. “I love you too, dork.”

___

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[obeymeaskme]

Obey Me!: Human and Demon Hearts!

A/N: I will be pinning a master list for ALL chapters uploaded, and adding links to said master list!

Chapter One: The Arrivals (2/2)

Word Count: 2213

Rating: 18+

Lights had filled the room. Purples, reds, greens, blues, yellows, golds, and pink flooded around the house like snakes searching for it's meal. Finding their targets still fast asleep, they coiled around their bodies until they were both covered head to toe. In almost an instant their bodies were swallowed whole, and the colored fog had disappeared as soon as they arrived. Leaving no one in their wake. Just the house. Empty of any breathing soul.

Through the closed eyes of the young girls, the colors still swirled. They were almost hypnotized by it. To each of their own the colors formed happy dreams, calming scents, and other promising visions. Even then, a black haze had started taking over. Though they were not awake their bodies had felt the shift and difference in their surroundings. Their skin no longer felt the soft warm beds. Now they lay flat on their backs upon two cushioned slabs. The air around them had grown hot, and uncomfortable. Their dreamy visions had finally faded to black, the panic set in, and they opened their eyes. Fully hoping their dreams turned into a nightmare. Concern and paranoia had set in as they shot up and locked eyes on each other. Fear evident in their faces.

Thoughts of cults and kidnappings came from their mouths as they tried so hard to figure out where they were. A loud and controlling voice echoed from nearby. They turned to the voice only to be met with seven uniformed men sitting under a high pedestal where another man sat, dressed in red. Noelle was first to stand up, her shaking feet feeling the stone cold ground that sent a shock through her body. Instantly, she stretched an arm out in front of Bella to protect her. The height difference between Noelle and Bella seemed comical to the seven men sitting at ground level, as various snickers and smirks were targeted towards them. The man above them speaking out again.

“Please, Don't be so afraid! You were brought here with good reason, and pure intentions!”

“What? Are you gonna brainwash us or something? Cause that would be the only "good reason" I can think of....”

Noelle spat back at the man, but shrunk slightly as he stood up, and frowned. Feeling looked down on, the girls tried to walk backwards for a door, but they only found the slabs they had woken up on.

“There will be no brainwashing, and you're more than welcome to leave at any time you desire. But only if you agree to change into more formal clothing, and listen to what I have to say...”

Noelle had yelped at the additional person who seemed to have been already standing by their side waiting, and holding on to clothing. A pleading look on his face had the girls silently agreeing to play along. Within the small amount of time they got dressed they seemed to have shaken off the general shock. Both of them seemed to admire the large banners decorated with different animals. They hung above the seven men in what was perceived as their rankings.

The silence that fell was broken too soon by the man in red who was obviously the leader of the group, and the silent servant who offered them clothes had stood next to him. Everyone now was on the same ground level.

“Let us try this again. I am Lord Diavolo, and you are the current hosts at the Royal Academy of Diavolo. Also known as RAD...”

“I knew it! It's a cult!”

Noelle exaggerated, and ruffled her nappy hair as a couple chuckles echoed around them. Her reaction almost lightened the mood.

“Not quite. I am the soon to be Heir of Devildom. The more civilized section of Hell's Layers. Or what some Humans tend to call the Underworld.”

The girls shook their heads in confusion. And for a few seconds they both looked at each other. Unsure if the truth was being told, but if it was...

“Wait... You said RAD. Oh dear god no. We tossed those out! We never gave them back to that creepy old lady! SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW US!”

Noelle seemed to panic as more and more irrational thoughts spewed out. A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she shrunk under the large man's touch. She reached back for Bella, but Bella had already backed away, fear seeping into her face.

“Those papers you filled out were connected to the ones in my office. As you filled those out, it carved ink into the papers here was well. Infused with my own magic. We call it Bleeding Applications. The main goal of my academy is to get an understanding of humans, demons, and angels in order to one day have peace between the three realms.”

Relaxing, Noelle nodded and looked back at Bella. Silently telling her that it's okay to get closer. She frowned as Bella shook her head no and opted to sit on the slab instead.

“Why us? We thought it was just a joke. What if we lied on those papers?”

“Well did you?”

“... No...”

“Perfect! I'd like to personally welcome you to the program! That is... If you agree to stay...”

A discussion took place about the new house they just bought, and their new lives they would miss out on. The teal haired servant that had guided the girls earlier was known as Barbatos. He was given the job to see that the newly acquired house would be taken care of as needed, and their payment would be completely paid off if they agreed to the program, and succeeded in staying. “But in hell?” Thought Noelle. “That's close to a death wish”. And as if her mind was read, they were introduced to the seven men who have been secretly judging them this whole time.

As the introductions went along it was revealed they were not just demons, or the school's council members, but they were all brothers. Lucifer. The eldest, who seemed to be the most put together, was the Avatar of Pride. Red eyes, and neatly kept black hair giving him a devilish charm, but an arrogant one as well. Mammon. The Second born who had made the most noise and laughter, and was obviously looking down on the girls. White hair, and unnatural blue eyes said trust, but he was the Avatar of greed. One to watch out for. The third born seemed bored of the whole situation, and would look away when either girl made eye contact. Dark lilac hair, with shiny orange eyes; the avatar of Envy. That was Leviathan. Fourth born, Satan, had given both the girls unwanted shivers as he was the Avatar of Wrath. The blonde hair and greenish blue eyes were comforting, but told them to run and hide. The fourth born, Asmodeus, was drilling holes into the girls with his own set of orange lush eyes. The mention of Lust made them both frown and slightly cringe as a quick wink was sent their way. Sandy hair was swept to the side flamboyantly. The last two were a set of twins. A redhead and a black haired male who's bangs were dyed white, and they shared purple eyes. Neither seemingly bored, or interested in the meeting. They were Beelzebub; Avatar of Gluttony, and Belphegor; Avatar of Sloth.

A bell rang out as soon as introductions were done, and everyone but the first born (Lucifer) had left. Stomachs growled and the girls looked around, avoiding his stare. Becoming impatient he walked by them. Nose in the air, and not bothering to even look at them.

“If you decide to follow me, I am heading to the cafeteria where we will give you a list of things you may want to avoid eating while you stay here. That is, if you have the gall to...”

Gulping they followed. The Cafeteria was empty, and it was no surprise to any of the demon brothers. As their food was handed to them, they both grimaced at the purple sludge consistency in front of them. They were soon forced to eat it, especially if they planned on eating any other foods that may contain poison. As much of the food in Devildom seemed to consist of. Soon after their crash course the girls were left to their own devices, and did their best to talk amongst themselves. Their decision to stay or leave weighed heavy.

Upon agreeing to stay, Lucifer seemed rather pleased with the news. The first genuine smile the girls had seen from him. It was then their task to talk with the brothers and decide who they chose as a tutor, who would also act as a guide.

Bella had immediately followed Noelle, and they first talked to the youngest, thinking that they would be the easiest to get along with. While they were not wrong about it, Bella seemed to relax more with the Sins of Gluttony, and Sloth. It became apparent that it was a two for one deal, and Noelle had stepped back to visually analyze her choices. By which she just looked at the remaining choices and their current activity. Satan and Asmodeus was almost an immediate no go. She feared she'd anger the wrath god, or be seduced. Neither of those were a good thing for her, or her mental health. Then her eyes laid upon Leviathan. The name stuck from TV shows she's watched in the past. Furthermore she couldn't help but recognize the hand held device in his hands.

Walking up to him with a bit more confidence, she sat beside him, and watched him for a few seconds. She recognized the sounds of Mario Kart being played. Perking up she waited for him to be seemingly done with his race.

“You know, I'm kind of a fan of racing games.”

Leviathan had rolled his eyes and gave her a frowning glare. It was obvious he didn't want to be bothered at this time. But before the conversation could continue, the bell rang, and Lucifer arose from his seat, his brother's watching him for instructions.

“I'm glad to see that you two have finally made your decision on your tour guides, and over all protectors-”

Noelle heard a quiet protest come from Leviathan, which was quickly shut down by Lucifer's glare.

“-Though they are now assigned to be your guides, this does not mean you must befriend them, or be attached at the hip. They have duties and hobbies of their own, and I expect you both respect that. Feel free to reach out to any of the brothers with questions. Now with that being said, you may head back to the council room, and collect your personal belongings, and devices.”

The bell had rung, but an eternity set in as Lucifer explained to them on how they were to settle in. Eventually they had collected a few bags of personal items, and enough clothes to get through the week. On top of that, they were given an allowance for other necessities, and any other luxuries they desired. It also turned out that the demons Bella and Noelle had been assigned were also key to their class schedule. Bella's classes consisted of study halls, history classes, along with a gym class. The final class earning a shared groan between Belphegor and Bella.

Noelle had a small bit of luck with more hands on classes such as dark arts, an actual art class, and potions. Though the tour between classes with Levi as her guide consisted more of him complaining about some 'Normie' having to follow him around. Noelle made mental notes of some complaints as to not make him mad.

The tours finally came to an end, and they were led to the House of Lamentation. A large Mansion where the Brothers lived, and where the Girls would be hosted for the school year. Dinner had passed by and soon the girls were brought to their rooms.

They hardly had time to admire the Gothic design of the home, as the girls split ways at the top of the stairs. Bella had taken a spare room closest to them, but Noelle had made her way down the hall. Leviathan had made a comment about how he's literally two doors across the hall from her room. He wasn't the nicest it seemed, as more insults of having to 'babysit' was made. An even bigger groan was made as he opened the door. It was a rather large storage room, that apparently Mammon was supposed to clean out before any new students arrived.

Arrangements were quickly made, and it seemed like Noelle would be staying in the living room until the storage space was cleared out. The darkness surrounded Noelle as Leviathan had left her alone rather quickly to go read Manga. Even though Noelle had expressed her fondness about the Japanese comics, it reached deaf ears, but was still greeted with a small 'whatever'. The night washed out the remaining lights. And Sleep was surprisingly attainable.

[sifeng]

Chinese Drama Villains

Villains are just as essential to a story as a hero. If you have a weak villain that has no personality beyond evil, and no reasoning behind their actions besides “because they’re evil”, then no matter how good your hero is, the story still won’t be compelling.

Today, I will compare 7 different villains from four different kinds of dramas - wuxia, xianxia, harem and revolutionary era. The eight villains can also be grouped into three different categories based on why they do what they do - for love, for power, and a struggle internally.

The eight villains I will be analyzing are as follows:

Sui He (穗禾) played by Wang Yifei (王一菲) from Ashes of Love (香蜜沉沉烬如霜) - Xianxia

Xian Fei (娴妃) played by She Shiman (佘诗曼) from The Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略) - Harem

An Lingrong (安陵容) played by Tao Xinran (陶昕然) from Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传) - Harem

Hua Fei (华妃) played by Jiang Xin (蒋欣) from Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传) - Harem

Yang Kang (杨康) played by so many different people but from the most recent one its Chen Xingxu (陈星旭) from The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传) - Wuxia

Zhou Zhiruo (周芷若) played by so many different people but from the most recent one its Zhu Xudan (祝绪丹) from Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠龙记) - Wuxia

Feng Manna (冯曼娜) played by Tao Xinran (陶昕然) from Rookie Agent Rouge (胭脂) - Revolutionary Era

They can be grouped into the three categories I mentioned before in this order:

For Love - Sui He, Hua Fei, Zhou Zhiruo (kind of)

For Power - Xian Fei, An Lingrong

Internal Struggle - Yang Kang, Zhou Zhiruo (kind of), Feng Manna

Let’s analyze each category separately. Also sorry Yang Kang is the only guy villain here, but lets be real, in recent dramas haven’t the villains always been ladies?

For Love

This group is the easiest to determine what their motivation is: love. For all three, they are the second female leads (arguably) and cannot get the leading man because he obviously belongs to the female lead. 

Sui He (穗禾) played by Wang Yifei (王一菲) - Ashes of Love (香蜜沉沉烬如霜)

For Sui He, love is one of two factors that causes her to do the things she does. The other factor is because she wants to please the Heavenly Empress to keep her position as the leader of the Bird Tribe. But evidently, it seems that love is her primary motive, as the scene in which she completely breaks down is when Xu Feng (male lead) reveals he never loved Sui He and only wanted to see if she really killed Jin Mi (female lead)’s parents. When she looses leadership of the Bird Tribe, yeah, she’s sad, but not as sad as the aforementioned scene.

Hua Fei/Nian Shilan (华妃/年世兰) played by Jiang Xin (蒋欣) - Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传) - the one in hot pink

Hua Fei’s motive is just love. She already has power within the harem (she’s tied with the Empress), and her family is super important and powerful as well. The only thing she wants is the Emperor (male lead)’s love. When the emperor is more interested in the new concubines, Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan (female lead), Hua Fei is ready to destroy them. She gets Shen Meizhuang out of favor by tricking her into thinking she was pregnant, and while she tries, on many occasions, to get Zhen Huan out of favor as well, it seems her ideas don’t work. 

Zhu Xudan (祝绪丹) as Zhou Zhiruo (周芷若) in Heavenly Sword and Dragon-Slaying Sabre (倚天屠龙记)

Zhou Zhiruo could technically be in two categories here, but let’s just talk about how her love for Zhang Wuji (male lead) affects her decisions. After Zhang Wuji leaves her at the altar after Zhao Min (female lead) intrudes on their ceremony and offers to help Zhang Wuji find his godfather only if he leaves with her, Zhou Zhiruo sheds the mask of innocence that she wears. She uses her unorthodox Nine White Bone Claws to try to kill Zhao Min, and this isn’t her first attempt to kill Zhao Min. She tried once to stab her in the stomach while she was sleeping, but got caught by Yin Li, who she had to kill instead. She then tried to make Zhang Wuji kill Zhao Min by pretending that Zhao Min had killed Yin Li and stolen the swords. The reason for her attempted assassinations is she is jealous that Zhang Wuji likes Zhao Min (though some of her other evil actions are for a different reason).

So What Do These Three Have in Common?

Love leads these three female villains into killing at least one person. For Sui He, she kills the Water and Wind Immortal, for Hua Fei she succeeds in giving Zhen Huan a miscarriage, and for Zhou Zhiruo, she is forced to kill Yin Li to silence her. Love drives these three into a frenzy, and they are willing to do anything or kill anyone to get the love of their respective male leads. 

Some Others in this Category:

Zhao Sese (赵瑟瑟) - Goodbye My Princess (东宫)

Su Jin (素锦) - Eternal Love (三生三世十里桃花)

Chun Fei (纯妃) - Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略) - kind of an exception though since she loves the second male lead

For Power

This type of villain is seen commonly in harem dramas, and some heroines even have this as their motive (Zhen Huan, Wei Yingluo). Their basis for their horrible actions is primarily so they can gain power, usually so they can be above those who had previously stepped all over them.

Xian Fei/Hui Fa Na La Shu Shen (娴妃/辉发那拉·淑慎) played by She Shiman (佘诗曼) - Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略)

Xian Fei had once been a kind and unfavored concubine who didn't bother to play in court politics (but then again, in the beginning only Gao Guifei cared at all). But after her family’s fall from power (of which she cannot do anything for), she changes dramatically. She starts by killing Jia Pin, and making all sorts of ploys to bring Wei Yingluo’s downfall. While she doesn’t hate the emperor, her motives for getting higher in the court have nothing to do with him. Her ending, while not as bad as some of the other ones, is rather tragic, as she becomes an empress that is isolated and given no real power, similar to how she started out.

An Lingrong (安陵容) played by Tao Xinran (陶昕然) - Empress in the Palace (甄嬛传)

Like Xian Fei, An Lingrong starts out weak, unfavored but still good-hearted. She is grateful for the friendship of her two friends, Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang, even though the emperor could care less about her. She actually starts out at the lowest title possible for a concubine and stays there for like eighteen episodes. As her power grows a little stronger, she begins to develop an inferiority complex, and she believes Zhen Huan is trying to sabotage her (even though she’s not). She ends up betraying her two good friends in the beginning and going to the empress to become her minion. Throughout this development, her title grows and grows as does her father’s importance in the court. As her power grows, her personality shifts from kind and innocent to jealous and eager to gain more power. 

Some Others in this Category:

 Hong Shiguang (洪世光) - My Amazing Boyfriend (我的奇妙男友)

So What Do These Two Have in Common?

They both start out weak and unfavored, though Xian Fei’s rank is considerably higher than An Lingrong’s. While An Lingrong doesn’t need a tragedy to get her power hungry quest started, she does require assistance at first from Zhen Huan. The two ladies both use subtle plots and schemes to bring down their competitors, and both kill somebody. Xian Fei straight up chokes Jia Pin (though not with her own hands of course) and An Lingrong causes Zhen Huan’s miscarriage by giving her an ointment whose scent causes miscarriages. Both rise considerably in power, and loose their old personalities, replacing them with a desire for power and revenge. 

Internal Struggle

This is my favorite type of villain, and also the most complex. This group of characters have some sort of struggle internally, usually on whether to do what others say, or do what seems to be easiest. They are the most emotional of these villains because even though they seem to be tough and strong on the outside, inside they have no clue what to do.

Yang Kang (杨康) played by Chen Xingxu (陈星旭) - Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传)

Honestly, while watching the 2003 and 2017 versions and reading the novel, I felt really bad for Yang Kang, but he definitely does do things we as watchers cannot forgive. His struggle is between whether he should accept his fate as a normal Song peasant or continue being the Jurchen Prince he once was. His real father, Yang Tiexin was a Song peasant, as was his mom, Bao Xiruo. After Yang Tiexin was supposedly “killed”, Bao Xiruo married Wanyan Honglie, a Jurchen Prince, so Yang Kang could have a good life. When Yang Tiexin was revealed not to be dead, Bao Xiruo and Mu Nianci (Yang Kang’s love interest) both convinced him to accept his father was Yang Tiexin, and escape the city to live a peasant life with his real family. He refused, and Wanyan Honglie decided to run after the reunited family, this led to the deaths of Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo. Their deaths, as well as Yang Kang’s new struggle of “who am I?” leads him to Mu Nianci, and he finally accepts he is Yang Tiexin’s son, and a normal Song peasant. But, life as a Song peasant obviously is not as comfortable as life as a Jurchen Prince, and he constantly switches and back and forth from Song peasant to Jurchen Prince. When he discovers the reason Bao Xiruo and Yang Tiexin were separated in the first place was Wanyan Honglie; Mu Nianci, Guo Jing and Huang Rong all tell him to kill Wanyan Honglie. He is about to, but cannot do so, because well, duh, this dude raised him. For eighteen (something) years, he thought he was Wanyan Kang, and not Yang Kang.

This brings me to why he’s a villain - the things I said before, that doesn’t make him a villain, it makes him a human. But what does make him a villain is when he is willing to betray his true country (Song) for Jin, and when he then lies to Mu Nianci. 

Is he allowed to not be willing to leave the comfort of the palace? Yes. Is he allowed to not have the guts to kill Wanyan Honglie? Yes. Is he allowed to help Wanyan Honglie once in exchange for Wanyan Honglie raising him? Yes, even twice. But, is he allowed to betray his country and the person who loves him the most just for some title and some riches? No. Sure, he can stay in the palace as a Jurchen prince, but the fact that he used Mu Nianci’s connections to get information about Song army advancements and then TOLD THEM TO WANYAN HONGLIE is unacceptable. 

But I do think it ought to be said - Guo Jing, Huang Rong and Mu Nianci were being way too cruel when they asked Yang Kang to kill Wanyan Honglie. That’s like asking you to kill this man who did nothing but be nice to you and raise you as a parent should for your entire childhood. Who is cruel enough to do that? 

Feng Manna (冯曼娜) played by Tao Xinran (陶昕然) - Rookie Agent Rouge (胭脂)

I also felt really bad for Manna, especially in the beginning. In the beginning, her best friend is Lan Yanzhi, and they’re really close - that is until Yanzhi decides to betray Manna. Yanzhi decides to help the Nationalist Party by infiltrating Manna’s house and revealing how Manna’s parents are Japanese spies. Yanzhi does make the Nationalists promise that in her infiltrating the house, these actions will not hurt Manna (but of course they do). Yanzhi’s spying causes the death of Manna’s parents and the destruction of the friendship the two girls had.

So, doesn’t Yanzhi seem like the villain here? Well, two reasons she isn’t, what Manna does after these first few episodes, and because Yanzhi was helping her country (ooooh, I should do an antihero analysis too! Yanzhi would fit so perfectly). After the death of her parents, Manna can only rely on San Ge, the person she loves the most. And eventually, she is forced to go and help the Japanese, something she does with joy, and she really (really really really) wants to capture Yanzhi and torture her too. She ends up being a huge spy for the Japanese, and when she does capture Yanzhi, she unleashes all sorts of torture on her (mental, physical, all the sorts). Her willingness to betray her country just because of a broken friendship does paint her as a traitor, but you do have to consider the fact that she has no where else to go. Her parents were traitors, and so who will believe that she’s a hero? Another factor that makes her a villain is the fact that she believes her parents were correct, she believes that they’ll go to heaven, even though they were evil and wicked. While of course, we, as children (usually), see our parents as good people no matter what they do, Manna should have seen this situation in context.

But now that I write this, Manna is a very pitiful character, and if this story was told from her point of view, Yanzhi would 100% be the villain. Out of the people on this list, Manna has the most reason to do what she does, and while its not correct (what she does), she really had no other option.

Zhou Zhiruo (周芷若) played by Zhu Xudan (祝绪丹) - Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre (倚天屠龙记)

We’ve already seen how love impacts Zhou Zhiruo’s decisions and her evil, but another factor that causes her transformation is the pressure her master, Miejue put on her before her death. Miejue made Zhou Zhiruo promise not to ever love Zhang Wuji, and even to kill him. She made her the new leader of Emei, but also said that if Zhiruo disobeyed her, then Miejue would never get to experience peace in the afterlife. Zhiruo, who loves Zhang Wuji, but also Miejue doesn't know what to do.

On the Island, she steals the two swords, and while she tries to kill Zhao Min, her master had told her to kill Wuji. She cannot bring herself to do that (meaning she has disobeyed her master and that Miejue will not find peace in the afterlife). She then gets the Nine Yin Manual, and practices the Nine White Bone Claw skill, though she only learns the inferior unorthodox version. Zhiruo kills Yin Li, and pushes all the responsibility onto Zhao Min, continuing to pretend she too is a victim. After being left at the altar, she decides to follow through with Miejue’s orders and becomes the true leader of Emei. She shuts up one of the Emei students who used to talk trash about her by continuously hitting her with her blows until the student finally accepts Zhiruo is truly the leader. 

So What Do These Three Have in Common?

They’re being told to do one thing, but they cannot. Yang Kang is told to be a Song peasant, since he’s supposed to be one, but he would rather be a prince. Manna is told she should be sincere to her country, but the only people who will accept her are the Japanese. Zhiruo is told to forget her love for Zhang Wuji, but she loves him too much. This kind of struggle leads them to do cruel things out of confusion or anger. These are the most complex villains, with motives that go beyond just one thing. They do bad things because they cannot live up society’s expectations of a good person, and go the opposite way instead.

So What Makes a Good Villain?

The ones I’ve included as analysis are all good villains, but my favorite, in terms of how complex he is, is Yang Kang. He are real, human, and his motives go beyond just one reason. Manna was also really complex, and also she had just a great transformation. She is kind of forced into the role of a villain because there’s no where else to go. Honestly, though she does some bad things, people in that show (Rookie Agent Rouge) all do bad things, even good guys, so she’s a great reflection of how cruel society can be. She’s a victim, and because no one was willing to help her, or because she wasn’t wiling to accept the truth, she turned into the villain. My least favorite type of villains is the “do it for love” type, since, realistically, few people would go to the point of murder for love. 

One of the reasons I feel like Manna is such a good villain, is because Tao Xinran played her role so well. Jiang Xin’s Hua Fei was also SO GOOD! You can see that behind that mask of power and sass, she’s just a little girl who wants to be loved by the one she loves. So, while writing is very important, I think acting is very important as well. You have to create a good character, with human traits and realistic motives, and also an actor or actress has to be able to play out these traits. 

[kdtheghostwriter]

Building A Better Protagonist

Yes, predictable I know. But it’s me after all. You should have expected no less. Jokes to the side, though, this fella is in the upper crust of main characters. Certainly of the main characters named ‘Jack.’

A good protagonist is the fuel of any narrative. A bit obvious when broken down like that but many do forget. The audience is more or less stuck with this character for the duration of the story - in some cases for years - so it’s important to give them a good reason to follow along.

There are several ways to do this. The most practiced and effective method is with a dynamic character arc that moves the protagonist both physically and tonally. The wider the arc, the more interesting the story (with other variables added of course).

I almost wrote a similar piece about Kylo Ren, but I don’t feel like tempting Stan Twitter today, so I’ll stick to more familiar waters.

Even in a fictional world, the first impression has to count. It’s different in this context because in real life, someone’s initial opinion of a person is often enough to shape their view of them going forward. When crafting a narrative, one has the advantage of steering that opinion, even changing it from scene to scene.

When we first see Jack, our impression of him is that of every Devil May Care action hero of the era. He’s a mile in the air, about to cross into hostile airspace, and is openly smoking a cigar with minutes left until his base jump. Further on, we get a close up of his shit-eating grin as he spots beehive hanging above an enemy soldier. Functionally, this is just the game directing you toward the easiest way to clear a path without engaging in combat. On top of that we get to see how different this Snake is from the established series protagonist, Solid Snake.

Naked Snake: Slapstick Comedy Enthusiast

Fast forward a bit (past the superhero landing and intro card) and we see something different entirely. Jack is speaking with his mentor for the first time in five years and his demeanor changes. No longer confident and aloof, he is pensive and anxious. Annoyed at the woman known as The Boss for leaving without a proper goodbye. We don’t know who this person is but we know what affect she has on our protagonist. Put a pin by this point.

 Jack’s mission is to retrieve a Russian scientist who defected to the States but was transferred back GBA style after the Bay of Pigs. You see, because Jack is a CIA agent during the Cold War. He is devoted completely to the cause of the US Government - observing his directive without protest. This is where his thematic journey starts, so to speak.

The Boss warns him that the Mission is all that matters in war. Your comrades today could be your enemies tomorrow [foreshadowing!!] so it really isn’t worth it getting attached to anyone in the field of battle. This is Jack’s first lesson and the first obstacle he must overcome as his teacher defects to Russia and throws him into a ravine.

(Quick aside here as this piece is about Big Boss and not The Joy and while I think her character is fascinating and complex in equal measure, it would also require another essay entirely. So, quick notes here. She didn’t actually defect. She was a double agent deep undercover trying to intercept a nuclear weapon. The mission went sideways so she had to defect for real to save her cover.)

This is a clear turning point, both in the story and in the character. The warning of The Boss has come true. Your beloved mentor is now the antagonist. Literally the Final Boss: the last person you fight on your journey. Jack spends much of the runtime processing this. He is also told by multiple people on his path (including Ocelot, a triple agent working for your CO) in basic layman’s terms that he has to kill The Boss. She’s an enemy of the State and directly opposes his objective. The bulk of the game is Jack building up the nerve to do this.

We’re a long way removed from the guy smiling and cracking one-liners. Over the course of the story we see him traverse the aforementioned arc. It’s more than just the superficial journey of Point A to Point B. We see Jack move emotionally, becoming more cynical and unsure of his mission. He physically changes, too. Losing an eye halfway through, he spends the rest of the game in the eyepatch he would later become famous for.

Movement of any sort is inherently dynamic. It’s well enough to simply have a character move from one end to another. To add texture to the narrative, though, there should be questions. How long will this journey take your protagonist? Where will it take them? Is the end of their arc the end of the story? Will the journey change them? If it doesn’t, why not? How will the other characters react to them? These are all minor things that add up over time as the audience keeps track of the different moving parts. In this example, it’s important to remember that Snake Eater was the third numbered installment in the Metal Gear franchise. Essentially, a look back in time to see the first steps of Big Boss and his descent from war hero to series villain. To do that, we have to ask questions.

Why did The Boss betray Jack and why does he care? As mentioned before, she had a mission that was compromised. As a double agent in enemy territory, there was no backup to speak of for her. In order to protect the US Government from being implicated in this very covert, very illegal operation she was forced to take the fall as an international terrorist and this is not even the saddest part of this story.

Jack is understandably distraught by this because in addition to being his mentor, it is heavily implied the two lived together for some time. His feelings for her are complicated, but they are obviously quite strong. Once it becomes clear what he has to do, his psyche begins to falter.

How does this change him? To answer that, we get to the real saddest part of this story. The Boss is true to her word from the beginning of the story. Devoted to the mission until the end. She tells the story of her child being born on the battlefield in WWII. She is still a US soldier, but in spirit only. In the interest of avoiding an international catastrophe, The Boss becomes a Russian asset and to make the Heel Turn more convincing, her best student is the one sent to stop her.

In killing her, Naked Snake becomes Big Boss and is so traumatized by the experience, he leaves the Green Berets, goes AWOL in South America and attempts to found a nation-state composed solely of mercenaries. But that’s another game entirely. I don’t need to say this, but Snake is fucked up for life by this. The naïve, bright-eyed soldier we start the game with is crushed by the system he swore to protect and it turns him against it full stop. Big Boss spends the rest of his life warring against it.

 Recall if you will what I said about “steering” opinion. We are sympathetic to Snake because we identify the shock and hurt of the betrayal; we want to follow him to victory because of his personal charisma. Then we discover the truth. Worse still, we see the truth through his eyes. That is, the eyes of someone who remembers the exact day they lost contact with their loved one. Five years separated from your favorite person, and you’re reunited in order to end their life. The Boss is no longer the mean woman that tried to kill you in the Act One finale. She’s a tragic figure, specifically because of how we view her through the lens of our main character.

It’s such a powerful weapon in prose. And so, it never fails to astound me to see paid professionals – people in charge of multi-million-dollar franchises – do little or even nothing to exploit this totally free, always effective method of storytelling.

 “This is the main character! Clap for them!”

“They’re not doing anything.”

“Clap pls!”

“They haven’t even said anything interesting.”

“They’re tall and have a chiseled jawline! That is worth one clap!”

 As the kids would say, make it make sense.

[stansbooty]

unspoken thing xi // reddie

“When are we going to do something about this unspoken thing between us?”

words: 3276

ao3 link || all chapters

chapter 11: senior year part iii

For the next week, it seemed as though nothing had changed. Eddie and Richie decided to not tell anyone what had happened. Although it was eating Eddie up inside to not be able to say anything to Bill or Stan, who had watched his mental breakdown and seen what this whole situation had done to him. They had been there to watch him go from seemingly not giving a damn about Richie Tozier to being friends to clearly have a crush on him. But Eddie was anything but selfish, all his friends knew, he would put everyone else’s needs in front of his own.

Because of this, he knew that what Richie wanted was to feel this out first, see where it would take them, before they even told their friends. But Eddie also knew that he promised Stan a year ago that he wouldn’t date Richie. And it was making him feel pretty damn terrible.

“You knew Stan had a crush on you, right?” Eddie asked one day after school as they lay in Richie’s bed.

“Yeah but that was last year.” Richie responded, readjusting his arm so he could curl Eddie into his side. “He’s over it. Everyone said so.”

Eddie hummed a response. “Yes, but did you ever know how long it was.”

“Bev told me freshman year that some kid in her class had a full blown crush on me. Never thought he would end up being one of my best friends, but, hey, life is weird.”

“He was practically in love with you for three years.” Eddie spoke softly, afraid of saying the wrong thing. He almost felt dirty talking about Stan’s crush with the object of his affection. But he also felt as if he needed to talk out his feelings, get everything out in the open. And it’s not like Stan was subtle with his crush. “And you never felt anything for him?”

Richie let out a sigh and with his arm not pinned under Eddie’s body, ruffled his hair. “If I’m being honest, Eds, I tried. It felt good to have someone be into me and, you know, I love Stan, he’s great. So I spent a lot of time with him outside of school in the beginning, really tried to get myself to see him that way. Bev caught on and told me not to force it.”

“Bev seems to catch on to a lot of things.”

“That girl needs to be a P.I. or something. She can pick up on things from a mile away.” Richie agreed.

“She knew I had a crush on you.” Eddie’s voice was barely over a whisper. He still felt odd admitting it out loud, after so much time burying it deep within him, never thinking the emotions would see the light of day. “Everyone else liked to tease me, joke about it. But Bev actually knew.”

Richie stayed silent, staring up at his ceiling. Eddie breathed in the scent of Richie’s shirt from where he was pressed against his side. He smelled so different up close, by himself. Boy was the easiest way to describe the scent, a mix of deodorant, vaguely sweat, and laundry detergent, all coming together to create something uniquely Richie that couldn’t be replicated. 

Eddie continued. “She always told me that it was okay. That I didn’t need to hide it, to be so deep in denial. But you can’t possibly understand what it’s like to have these feelings that you so desperately believe would end a friendship if they came out. To be best friends with a guy who had such an intense crush that it caused you to work yourself into being sick with anxiety over what would happen if he found out the truth.”

He heard Richie take a deep breath, but did not seem like he was going to speak.

“I didn’t know what to do. So I ignored it. I didn’t admit it to anyone, not even Bev, until after that stupid night of truth or dare.”

“Stan asked me, before that stupid night, as you put it,” Richie finally spoke up. “if I liked you.”

“He did what?” Eddie sat up, removing himself from Richie’s side to sit with his legs crossed, facing the boy still laying down.

Richie looked up at him. “I thought that was him admitting he was over me without actually saying anything. He asked me one day if I liked you, because everyone was making jokes about it. I was too afraid to say anything but no.” He sat up as well, grabbing Eddie’s hand with his own and setting them in his lap. 

“Did you want to say anything but no?”

Richie chuckled. “I really thought you could read me like an open book, Eds.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you before, that you’ve always been everything.”

Eddie felt his eyes prickling and welling up with tears. “I don’t know what that means.”

“It means from that day I saw you our freshman year, you’ve always been the one in the back of my mind. I didn’t even know you then, and you showed up at my baseball game and my brain was just screaming The cute boy is here! and I pathetically couldn’t even talk to you after that. And then we became friends and it’s like you started to occupy my every thought and by the time we were juniors, I was head over heels for you, Kaspbrak.”

“Really?” The tears welling up before in his eyes had now spilled out, dripping down all the way to his neck, dampening the collar of his shirt.

“Every damn joke I’ve made has been the truth.” Richie leaned forward to press their foreheads together, breathing in each other.

Despite declaring their feelings for each other a week ago, they had yet to talk about exactly what those feelings entailed. 

“You know when that fucking chicken game happened and Stan stormed off and I realized he wasn’t over it, that he was just curious, I felt like utter shit.” 

“It’s not your fault.”

“You know, I may not know what it’s like to have feelings for the same person my best friend does. But I do know how it is to have a friend have feelings for me and to feel so trapped by it. To not be able to do anything in fear that I’d hurt a friend.”

“I never thought about it that way.”

“Bev helped me through that, too.”

“So she knew?”

“Bev claims she knew the beginning of sophomore year, apparently I didn’t shut up about you or something.” He smiled widely. “But she was the first person I told when I figured it out myself.”

“God,” Eddie chuckled. “That girl deserves a prize or something for dealing with all this emotion baggage.”

Richie laughed as well, pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. “Despite it all though, at the end of the day, I’m just so damn happy I get to kiss you.”

Eddie pushed him so he was laying on the bed and kissed him again.

Eddie wasn’t good at lying. He never thought he was. He guessed it made sense that everyone made all those jokes about him and Richie before, they could all tell what was going on inside his own head while he simultaneously was lying to himself. So, when Bill cornered him after school as he was walking to his bike, his body instantly filled with tread.

“I don’t believe you.” Bill stated.

“Huh?” 

“When you told me and Stan that you and Richie worked on your project a week ago and everything was fine and normal. I don’t believe you. Something happened or you’d be freaking out.”

“I told you,” Eddie’s voice wavered. “I’m just trying to get over it, he obviously doesn’t want to talk.”

“Get your bike, I’m driving you home.” Bill put his hand on Eddie’s backpack, guiding him to the bike racks.

The minute Eddie shut Bill’s car door behind him, Bill began the interrogation again. “You wouldn’t be this chill about it.”

“How do you know?”

Bill looked over at him for a second, eyebrow raised. “Really? You’re going to play that card?”

Eddie found it best to not respond. 

“Is it because of Stan? Is that why you didn’t say anything?”

“You know, he claims he’s over Richie. But I know he’s not.”

“So, you’re just going to keep this from him? You know that would hurt him even worse.”

“What do you want me to do, Bill? I like Richie, okay? Everyone knows that now. I don’t want to lose him but I don’t want to lose Stan either. I figure if I keep this a secret, I can keep them both.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I’m sparing him from the hurt!” Eddie argued. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, okay? He doesn’t need to know this.”

“And what exactly is this?”

Eddie took a deep breath. “I don’t know. We’re together, I guess. It’s new, and not official, but we both wanted to keep it a secret for a while, see what this could be.”

“So that day?”

“I asked him if he was going to ignore what happened. I told him I liked him. We kissed. End of story.”

Eddie felt himself about to cry for what felt like the millionth time that week. He hated it, that he got so full of emotions so quickly. But he always felt things in extremes, and he was so full of stress and worry that the tears just squeezed out of him at every chance.

“Hey, hey.” Bill reached over and grabbed Eddie’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, it’s okay. I know how hard this has been.”

“I’ve talked to Richie about everything.” He sniffed. “About how difficult it is to like the same person as your best friend. How frustrating it is to not be able to do anything about it but it seems like everyone else knows what’s going on. It’s been so hard and Richie is the only person I can talk about this but he hasn’t been there for every step of this.”

“You can talk to me, now.”

“But I can’t. It’s not fair. Richie doesn’t want to tell anyone and it’s not fair to ask you to keep this a secret from your best friends.”

“It’s not fair of Richie to ask that of you either.” 

Eddie slowed his breathing down to the point where he was no longer about to tip over the edge into crying. “He doesn’t want to rip a hole in our friendship group or anything before we’re stable.”

“That’s ridiculously dramatic.”

“It is Richie.” Eddie said and Bill chuckled at that. “But I get what he means. Like, changing the dynamic of everything before we’ve even figured out how to go from friends to whatever it is we are.”

“I guess.” 

The rest of the ride to Eddie’s house is in silence. Thoughts swirled around Eddie’s head at a million miles a minute. He knew that what he was doing was wrong. That he should tell Stan. That lying to him and Bill in the first place wasn’t the right call. But he also knew that he had a chance to have something real with Richie. The highlight of his entire week had been the little moments he was able to have with him in private, kissing, talking, even just sitting in silence, taking in the other, thinking about everything that had led them to this moment. 

He was stuck in the middle of a situation that seemed to have no good outcome. He had seen in one of Richie and Ben’s many baseball games a player that would run back and forth from base to base, while a ball was thrown back and forth between the player guarding said base, the runner having no way to win. He felt out of breath and nervous, as if he was the one running at the end of a championship game. Telling Stan would relieve a big weight of his chest, allowing him to actually relax, but it could end up hurting him so bad their friendship wouldn’t recover. 

When Bill parked in Eddie’s driveway, he grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving the car. “Whatever you do, just remember, you and Stan have been friends forever. I don’t think anything can get between you guys.”

Eddie could just hope and pray that that was true. 

Eddie was in the middle of doing his homework when something smacked against his window, causing him to jump. He smiled and ran to the window, opening it, to see Richie waving in his yard.

“My mom’s not home, just come in!” 

When Richie got to his room, he ran in and pushed the books off his bed, opening his arms. “I missed you, Eds, come here.”

Eddie rolled his eyes but hugged Richie nonetheless, who then pulled them both down onto the bed. “You just saw me today.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t able to do this.” 

Richie leaned down to connect their lips. Eddie responded by moving his arms up so he could run his hands through Richie’s messy hair, pulling him even closer. He doesn’t think he’d ever get sick of this. Of Richie’s body pressing him into the bed, of his hands running up and down his sides, of the way his body feels between his legs. Their kisses range from messy and desperate to soft and slow and everything in between. They’re feeling each other out, trying to see what works, much like dancing, trying to find the right rhythm. Richie disconnected their lips and Eddie breathed out hard, panting from the lack of air and let his head fall back on his pillow. Richie put his face into the crook of Eddie’s neck, placing a soft kiss there, then brought his face back up. 

“Eds?”

“Yeah?” Eddie looked up at him, his face flushed and his lips swollen.

“You wanna go on an actual date?” His eyes flickered across Eddie’s face.

He smiled widely and nodded. “Of course.”

They leaned in for another kiss but were interrupted by a knock on the front door.

“Who’s that?” Richie asked.

“Why would I know?” 

Another knock.

“Should I get it?” Eddie asked. 

“Ignore them.” Richie gave a harsh kiss to Eddie’s neck, nipping slightly, causing him to squirm.

Then Eddie heard the unmistakable sound of the door opening, followed by Beverly’s voice booming through the house. “Eddie, I know you’re here and I know your ma’s not, so I’m coming up.”

“Shit.” Eddie pushed Richie off of him. “Shit, shit, shit.” He scrambled to get up.

“Fuck, uh, where should I go?” Richie asked, standing up, looking around.

“Closet.” Eddie shoved him, opening the closet door and pushing him in. “Please, stay quiet.”

“Damn, Eds, this is a small closet, are you sure -?” 

Eddie closed the closet door harshly, ensuring it latched close and Richie was in there as he heard the footsteps approach his bedroom door.

“Bev!” He smiled when she opened the door. 

“Why didn’t you answer?” She asked, looking around the room.

“I didn’t hear you, I was doing homework…and listening to music.”

“Oh.” She smiled.

“So, what’s up?” He asked, sitting down on his bed, and tried to discreetly pick up his books from their scattered position on the floor.

“I just wanted to talk.” She shrugged, taking a seat at his desk. “Things have been weird, and I know it can’t be easy for you.”

Eddie swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“Richie told me that he tried to talk to you the other day and you ran away. Why did you do that?”

“Uh…” 

“I know this whole Stan thing is difficult, but I’ve been telling you it’ll be fine. You’re into him! And it devastated him when you ran away. He was full on crying while he was telling me.”

“Crying?” Eddie tried not to let himself smile, instead putting on a look of concern.

“Okay, I shouldn’t say anything, because he told me in confidence, but I really want you two to get together.” She sighed. “He’s, like, really into you. Has been for a while now. Like he never shuts the fuck up about you. And I know for a fact that you’re into him, despite you never wanting to admit it. Attracted to, yes, like, no.” She ended with an attempt to mock Eddie’s voice. 

“Bev, I’ve told you,” He takes a deep breath. “With Stan, it’s just too complicated. I’m afraid.”

“So, go talk to Stan, and then go make out with Richie.”

Eddie smiled. “Making out with him is really nice.”

“What?” Bev coughed.

“What?” 

“It is?”

“I mean -” He felt his face heat up and he couldn’t get any words out, just noises.

“Eddie, what the hell aren’t you telling me?” She stood up from her seat, walking towards him.

“I mean, it probably is, it’s not like I know, I wouldn’t know, hey have you ever kissed him, I’m sure you’d know, it’s nothing, Richie? Richie who? I don’t know -”

“Bev!” Richie fell out of the closet.

She screamed loudly, putting her hands up to defend herself before she processed who had fallen into a heap on the ground before he scrambled up.

“What the fuck are you doing in there?” She yelled and then whipped her head towards Eddie, pointing her finger accusingly at him. “What the fuck is happening here?”

“Beverly, oh my lovely Beverly.” Richie walked towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “You can’t say anything.”

“Are you guys together?”

Eddie and Richie looked at each other for a moment, both of them stammering. 

“I mean, we make out and we’re going on a date soon.” Richie spoke.

“Richie!” Eddie said harshly.

“What? She caught us!” He shrugged. “Please don’t say anything, Marsh.”

“Why?”

“We’re trying to keep it a secret. We need to figure it out.” Eddie explained.

“We also need to figure out how to tell Stan.” Richie pointed out.

“Don’t remind me.” Eddie ran his hand through his hair in frustration. 

“What…” Bev squinted her eyes, looking between the two of them. “Wh – how did this happen?”

“We talked about it after that day.” Richie shrugged.

“And that’s that? Years of repression and denial and drama and it’s this nonchalant?” 

“What did you want?” Eddie asked.

She laughed a little. “I don’t know, I guess this is just weird.”

“Trust me, we know.”

They fell into comfortable silence, Richie walking over to where Eddie was sitting on the bed and pressing a kiss into his hair. Beverly smiled at them, her heart warming at the gesture. Eddie looked up at Richie, grinning and wrapped his arms around his middle in a hug. Bev had been on both sides of this journey, seeing what it was doing to not only her lifelong best friend, but her new friends as well. She had witnessed Richie in very out of character tears, tears that really only came up when it came to Eddie. She saw Eddie full of anxiety any time Richie was mentioned, his head and his heart constantly at battle. She couldn’t help but be happy that they seemed to be completely comfortable with each other, their bodies seeming to be void of all tension.

“We’ll tell everyone else eventually.” Richie said with a smile. “We just like having this little bubble for now.”

And with everything else they had gone through, she felt as if they did deserve their little bubble.

[eternal-love-song]

Melt Your Icy Hot Heart

Mina and Todoroki villain AU. They meet, wreck havoc, and slowly fall for each other.

[Todoroki/Mina] [Developing Relationships, Villain AU, Pyromania]

Mina loved the smell of smoke. It was such an appealing scent, almost seductive to her. She found it both soothing and exciting. Whenever she caught the scent of it in the air, she couldn't help but follow it to it's source.

Now fire... fire was the most amazing thing in the world to Mina. The way it danced in slow hypnotic waves, lunging and lurching in all directions. The bright, bombastic colors from red and orange to blue and white. The way everything it touched popped and crackled and turned to ash. Even the sounds, roaring and screaming for the sake of roaring and screaming. Mina loved it!

She met Todoroki the day the hero Endeavor's house burned to the ground. She followed the scent of smoke until she was drawn toward light instead. Her blood was pumping with excitement and she practically danced when the sight was finally before her. It was an astounding sight. Dancing, raging, screaming, singing as loud and beautiful as any fire she'd ever set herself. And in the center of it was the most handsome boy she'd ever seen, not the least because of the fire coming off of half his body and feeding the flames.

"You did this?" she asked excitedly.

He didn't respond to her, didn't turn to her, and she wondered if he could even hear her over the roar of the flames. She bounced closer to him.

"Who are you?" he questioned once she was close enough. The fire stopped coming off of him as he waited for her answer.

"Call me Alien Queen," she told him. She'd considered the name 'Demon Queen' when she was younger, it was something she'd been called sometimes, but she didn't want to live up to that name. Demon was too easy. Alien was something more, something unfathomable. That's what Mina wanted to be. "Your work is beautiful. Will you make more?"

He looked at her then and her breath hitched. It wasn't because of the thrilling mismatch of colors or the attractiveness of his face, it was because of the striking scar that marred half his face.

"Who did that to you?" she asked him. "Tell me!"

"Endeavor," he answered quietly. That would explain why the house was burning.

"Come with me," she said, reaching out for his hand. "They don't deserve you, but I think that I do."

He watched her for a moment, tilting his head as he thought, before finally reaching out and taking her hand. It was warm. She loved it. Mina smiled widely as she began to pull him away.

Todoroki didn't talk much. That was fine, Mina could talk enough for two when she wanted. He watched her a lot. She moved when she talked, made wild hand gestures and bounced on her heels, and he never took his eyes off of her for a second once he gave her his attention. The problem was getting that attention in the first place. He could be so withdrawn and quiet, staring at nothing and lost in thought. Mina hated it, but she let him be.

Todoroki wasn't just the fire starter she'd thought he was. His quirk was dual wielding fire and ice and, while the ice wasn't anywhere near as mesmerizing to her, she'd quickly realized it was really impressive.

"My acid can melt through your ice," she told him once. "That means one day I'll be able to melt through your heart."

Her intention was to flirt, but she was pretty sure he didn't take it that way.

"You'd never be able to gain that much advantage over me," he told her.

She sighed at that, pouted, but of course Todoroki wasn't the type to realize that he needed to apologize and so eventually she had let it go.

Mina became very protective of Todoroki very quickly. He was strong, of course, and he'd never lose to anyone in a fight-- and Todoroki got into fights very often, having made it his mission to ruin Endeavor's name by trying to frame him for Todoroki's crimes or, Todoroki's contingency plan, having the hero's name associated with his villain offspring-- but he had been hurt on the inside. His heart was scarred and Mina wasn't keen on letting anyone do something like that again. She wanted to make him feel better and she took to trying to make things "even."

"A scar for a scar, right?" she said when he'd caught her during her latest project, using her acid to mutilate people the same way he had been. "If I can't heal you so that you're like you were before, then I bring the whole world down to your level."

Todoroki wasn't the type of person to say "thank you" but she thought the look on his face, stunned and obviously touched, did so all the same. She grinned at him. His only obvious reaction was to move closer to her, standing over her as she continued her work.

Mina was more social than Todoroki was. This lead to her having way more friends and way more enemies. Mina's friendships usually involved things like spray painting walls, stealing from malls, and other equally fun but juvenile activities. Her fallout's often involved her using her acid to brand whoever had earned her ire. Once she had Todoroki, that evolved to her having him burn their hideouts, which did more damage but didn't lose her as many friendships. A hideout could be replaced, a brand could not be removed and people held grudges over that kind of thing.

She was pretty sure Todoroki only did it because it gave him another excuse to make Endeavor look bad, but she thought that he probably liked her enjoyment of the flames, as well. More than once she'd caught him staring at her as she danced around the fire and she took his attention as a compliment.

Todoroki didn't like to be touched. Mina attributed that to his being scarred and tried to ease his loneliness in other ways. Sitting nearby to him, offering affection that he never took her up on, complimenting him and telling him how much she wanted to touch him, which inevitably went from being friendly to flirty pretty quickly. Eventually, "does not like to be touched" became "does not like to be touched by anyone but Mina."

The change happened slowly. After a particularly bad fallout with one of her oldest friends, one that she liked so much she didn't want to brand or burn them afterwards, she'd thrown her arms around Todoroki and cried. If she'd been thinking she would have noticed how stiff he was, how surprising it was to not be pushed off or that he didn't use his quirk on her. Though if she'd been thinking, she'd never have done it at all. He didn't touch her back, but after that moment he didn't turn her down when she offered affection, even if he never admitted to wanting it.

So sometimes she would touch him to test the waters. She'd place her hand on his when they sat together, usually earning her a raised eyebrow but nothing significantly worse than that. She'd lean on him when she was tired and he'd only make a sound of acknowledgement that didn't hint toward annoyance or pleasure. It was enough for her. By the time she started hugging him, he leaned into the contact and she would grin broadly at him every time.

Mina had been half in love with Todoroki since the moment she met him, half on fire and wholly beautiful, but once she was able to hug him freely, she knew that she was entirely smitten. And, she suspected, Todoroki probably loved her, too. He wasn't good at feelings though, so she never told him this and she never asked. As long as he stayed by her side, she'd consider herself right.

Mina never liked fighting Pro heroes too often. It was usually more of a hassle than it was fun and having fun was what Mina wanted to do most of all. But sometimes she watched and lingered nearby when Shouto did so. It wasn't just for the fire. Well, it mostly was at first, but eventually it was because she wanted to look after him. She never expected that he would need protection, Shouto was strong enough to take care of himself. Still she watched from afar, keeping a careful eye on everyone's movements.

Then one time he was in a fight with Best Jeanist and Mt Lady, keeping them far away with his fire and making it difficult for them to get close enough to really hurt him. Best Jeanist couldn't use his quirk effective when the fire burned through the threads he manipulated and Mt Lady was trying to do less damage to her surrounding after a mess she'd made not too long ago, so everything was fine. That was, until Midnight showed up. She seemed to come out of nowhere and Mina was rushing forward with her acid immediately.

Midnight had been one of her idols, and maybe she still was, so Mina knew a lot about he quirk worked. The possibility that Shouto could keep the half dressed hero away was decent, but if she snuck up on him, Shouto was at a huge disadvantage. And Mina would be at a disadvantage fighting Best Jeanist. Mina considered herself good, but she didn't consider herself Top 5 Pro Hero good. Not like Shouto. One wrong move and he would have her pinned.

She saw the moment Midnight got close enough for her quirk to reach him and though Shouto's last burst of fire pushed them all away from him, he still started to go down.

Mina knew what she needed to do and she didn't hesitate to do it. She took off her clothes as she raced forward. Maybe it was a little embarrassing, but if Jeanist didn't have anything to grab onto her, she'd have a better chance of getting away. Luckily, speed was one of her best assets. She reached Todoroki in no time. He was heavy, but Mina wasn't a slacker. Even if it wasn't the easiest feat, she could pick up one boy.

The fire... was a problem. A very pretty, mesmerizing problem. She didn't have time to watch it and she had to keep reminding herself of that so that she didn't stop and stare. She'd almost gotten caught so many times before because she couldn't stop herself from staring into the flames, but Shouto was much more important than that. She wished that she had some protection as she raced into the flames to escape, the pain causing her to cry out and the smoke making her eyes water a bit.

Mt Lady's clumsy efforts to catch her resulted in the Pro Hero getting an acid burn to her hand and, luckily for Mina, also helped her avoid the flames a little. She was faster than Midnight, though she still caught a lashing across her back.

"Indecent girl! Haven't you any shame?" Midnight called after her.

"You're one to talk!" Mina yelled back. She gathered all the acid she could and threw a wall of it toward Midnight. She didn't look back long enough to see what damage she did. It wasn't long before she considered herself "safe" but she didn't stop until they were back at their hideout. Running through the city was embarrassing enough, not the worst but certainly not good, passing out was the humiliating part.

"Ashido! Ashido!" She woke up to Shouto calling her name. It was cold, very cold. Shouto was doing that. There was ice around her. "I didn't know what to do, you were hurt..." Shouto wasn't prone to babbling, this was new. It was also new when he threw himself on top of her. He was careful, but she still winced slightly.

"I'm okay," she told him. 

"You don't look okay," Shouto told her.

She smiled at him. "It's okay. There's a number in my phone, a doctor, I'll be okay..."

Shouto quickly went to retrieve her phone, handing it to her so that she arrange a meeting. He stared at her, which at first she attributed to being because of her injuries before remembering that she was naked. She blushed. "Um... I probably don't look very appealing right now, do I?" she asked with a nervous laugh. "I'll, um..."

Shouto handed her something to cover up with. "You've always looked appealing," he told her. "Now probably isn't the time to say such things though, Ashido."

She laughed. Shouto was so practical sometimes. Only he could make a statement like that, complimenting her while she was completely naked, lack any hint of sexuality. "Mina," she told him. "Or you could call me Queen?"

He smirked at her, looked away. "Maybe later," he said. She couldn't help the way her heartbeat faster and her hopes skyrocketed. "Now really isn't the time."

"If it was though?" she couldn't help asking.

Shouto leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring having him this close. He smelled like smoke and icy air, crisp and heady all at once. "Mina," he said softly. Shouto usually spoke softly, she liked it. "When was the last time I turned you down?"

She... couldn't remember. She'd started to take it for granted that he would brush her off and though she still flirted and made jokes, she didn't attempt to take them too seriously anymore. Her eyes flew open to look at her and he was actually smiling. Mina felt a giddy smile of her own spread across her face. "As long as you're already here," she told him, "You might as well kiss me."

To her surprise, he actually did.

[lore-a-lie]

Bonus Chapter: Courting Disaster

Love Hotel

He knew he shouldn’t be doing this. There was no getting around that fact.

Monokuma caught him in a moment of weakness, and he was an idiot for letting his loneliness overtake him. This was no way he should be “reaching out” to others. He knew this wouldn’t solve anything.

The bear told him that if all went well he’d be the only one to really remember this. That throws a lot of suspicion over how “consentual” anything in this love hotel can be. As if anyone would ever want him.

But if his partner really wanted to go that far what was he supposed to do? He wanted some connection sure, any type he could get his hands on like a miserable thief, but not like this. And the last thing he wanted was to make someone else here miserable. None of them deserved that.

Except Korekiyo, but if that’s who he found on the other side of the door it would be an entirely different story.

Monokuma claimed he couldn’t move bodies after all. So if that bastard showed his face no one would need to suffer a trial until at least three people who “visited” this place found him. Two visits minimum.

More than enough time for him to make his peace so he could confess. He was ready for any execution Monokuma could give him after all. Being here has already been a reprieve from what he deserved.

Attacking him like this would be underhanded sure, but it’s not like his “victim” hadn’t done the same. Any guilt he felt for thinking this way was easily outweighed by not recognizing the threat that he was.

In some sick way that was who he was hoping was waiting for him in that room now. At least then he wouldn’t have to put his morals against someone else’s “fantasy”.

But of course he wouldn’t be that lucky. In some sicker sense he turned out even luckier.

Because when Ryoma Hoshi opened that door it was Kaede Akamatsu sitting on that tacky bed.

He should have walked away, but he didn’t. Out of everyone she was the person he least wanted to cause any trouble for, and he definitely couldn’t take knowing he ruined her night on a whim.

She was in her normal clothes again, and considering how short her skirt was he wasn’t sure if this was meant to be a gift or a curse. So he chose not to think about it, and let the awkward silence stay.

Girls are unpredictable after all, and while he’s obviously both under qualified and undeserving the least he could do is try to fit whatever ideal fantasy was in her head to the best of his ability. With some limits.

There was no way in hell he was low enough to let things go too far now. She deserved a lot better.

The silence clearly wasn’t actually doing Kaede any favors as it looked like the longer he kept quiet the more nervous she was becoming. Unless this too could be part of her “fantasy”? Girls can be weird.

“U-Ummm… Do you remember what today is?” She began when the pause got to be too much to bear.

Okay, that’s pretty tame. I mean she’s gotta know where she is, and it’s probably not her birthday. My girl used to tease me about how guys never remembered the important dates or milestones. Maybe her fantasy is just being in a long term relationship? Boy that’s cute. But it suits her. Sweet, simple, earnest.

“Oh? And I here I was hoping you forgot or I got the date wrong. I mean, it’s our anniversary right? Didn’t really find the time to get you anything though, sorry. It kinda snuck up on me.”

“Y-you remembered?” (What? Was I supposed to not know it? I thought girls normally prefer “reliable” guys. Unless she prefers them to be the sort she can help build up into that. Like Shuichi was. Oh well.)

“Was I not supposed to?” he tried asking with what he hoped came across as a smug smirk. It wasn’t like he could really backpedal now right?

“Sorry, it’s just my friends told me boys could get kinda forgetful about these things.” She answered with a blush as she scratched at her cheek in embarrassment. But she wasn’t unhappy about this. Good.

“They’re probably not wrong, but it depends on the guy I’d think.”

“Then I guess I’m one of the lucky ones!” (GOD WHY IS SHE ALWAYS SO CUTE? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad one anymore, what’s wrong with me?)

After taking a moment to let out some nervous giggles Kaede straightened herself out to ask him a question. One that must have been pretty serious to have her worked up like this.

“It’s okay to not do presents or anything I think. But since it’s our anniversary… I want you to say it, Ryoma…” (Uh oh. Okay. This can’t be too hard, right? What could she possibly want a guy to say here?)

“... I love you?” (Ooookay, no that was not the right answer. Great going Ryoma. But damn if that look on her face isn’t worth it. Geez even her little cowlick is so frazzled it’s practically heart-shaped.)

“W-w-what?!” Kaede’s face was nearly the same red as the cheesy lighting as she tried to recover.

“Sorry, did you want me to say something else?”

“W-well, I mean… I’m not complaining, but it’s not what I was expecting. It’s nice to hear though! Since I was the one who confessed to you and all.” Despite her teacher-like pose she was still redder than a beet.

Ryoma swallowed a bit as he ran through his options. (It’s not like she’d remember this, so why not play along with it? We’re just talking, so it should be harmless. So why not be a bit more honest to yourself?)

“It’s true enough. I still have no idea why you kept chasing after a guy like me anyway.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that! I mean, we’ve been together this long.”

“Just pointing out the obvious sweetheart. You coulda done a lot better than a guy like me.”

There was a distinct gasp as Kaede’s face flushed. For a horrifying second Ryoma worried he’d broken her out of the dream before he realized this was a good thing. (Okay, found it!... What did I say though?)

“... Can you call me that again?”

“You mean “sweetheart”?”

If it was possible her face got even redder as she covered her face with her hands and started kicking her legs like some giddy little kid. (WHY DOES SHE KEEP ACTING SO CUTE?! IS THIS MY PUNISHMENT NOW?)

“This… is the first time you’ve called me something other than just Kaede.”

My heart can’t take this. I’m pretty sure if she gets any sweeter I’ll get diabetes. I know I don’t deserve this. I never will again. I gave all this up a long time ago, so why do you have to keep taunting me like this?

“So, you want me to get in the habit of calling you by a pet name? Do I get one too?” He asked, playing the part of confident naive brat best he could as he teased her a bit. Heaven knows how long it’s been since that stupid cocky kid and everyone he loved died over some dumb bet. But no one else will now.

“Hey, no fair! How come I’m the only one embarrassed by all of this?”

Before Ryoma could come with any response Kaede turned and tried to take him into her arms, which considering their height difference ended up causing her to lose her balance and practically pin him to the bed. Which was marginally less embarrassing than him being treated like a weird teddy bear. Again.

Okay please no gross thoughts, that’s not allowed here. Definitely not in this position. Damn tall people. Well, okay she’s not really that tall. Still, nearly everyone’s “tall” compared to me.

“Uh, sweetheart? You gonna let me up now or…”

Kaede looked nearly as mortified as Ryoma felt, but she didn’t seem like she was going to be moving. (Great. Now how am I going to get out of this? No matter what she thinks she wants, nothing is going to happen here tonight. End of story. Even I’m not that much of a fuckup, I haven’t fallen that far just yet.)

“... Ryoma?”

“Yeah?”

“Hug me.”

“O-okay.” (This isn’t taking advantage of anything right? She’s not against hugs, no real harm done.)

“More like this…” She whispered as she positioned herself so she was genuinely holding Ryoma, and tightened her grip. (Easy for you to say, your arms reach all the way around and then some. Tallll people.)

He really tried not to think about where the way she moved him left him in regards to her body. Not the easiest thing to do, with her heartbeat hammering in his ears, but he did the best he could.

“Can you hear my heartbeat?” (I REALLY WISH I COULDN’T RIGHT NOW SWEETHEART, THANKS FOR ASKING. No gross thoughts, no gross thoughts, think of ANYTHING else. Like… Sharks. Fucking fish.)

“Y-yeah.” (Creepy slimy fish with their cold dead eyes and pointy teeth. Piranha. Barracuda. Whitetips.)

As if taking some mercy on him she finally moved them so her head was on his chest instead, which was a lot less awkward. Not that it stopped his face from burning any, but at least she didn’t comment on it.

“I can hear yours too, Ryoma. It's my favorite melody. It envelops me in a warm, strong embrace... more than any other song can do. It fills me with courage... Ryoma, you play my heart better than I play the piano.” (So fake. I know it is, like it’s a script written for someone else. So stop feeling happy dammit!)

“I know the feeling sweetheart.”

He could feel her giggle as much as he heard it this time. “You called me sweetheart again~”

“Only to build your sense of security so that going back to “Miss Akamatsu” would be hilarious .”

This time her laughter got to the point she had to get off of him, to keep from anyone getting hurt, as she lightly hit at his chest for being a “jerk”.

“Well… If we're being honest, then... I really wanted to hear you say that... It’s like, as long as you give me this courage, I can do anything. What should I do now?” (NOT WHAT I THINK YOU WANT TO DO!)

“Hey, uh… If we’re being honest today then I got something to say too. Sorry if it’s not the sort of thing you wanted to hear though. ‘Cause if you want to try anything… farther, well I… Don’t think I’m ready. You’ve always been braver than I am, you know? Sorry.”

Yeah right, she’s not going to buy this. It’s true, in a sense, but you’re a guy with a pretty girl in a bloody love hotel of all things. Odds aren’t exactly in your favor Ryoma.

“O-oh! No, that’s okay! I wouldn’t want to force you or anything. But it’s not like you’re a coward either.”

Holy shit that actually worked. Hallelujah, the universe doesn’t hate me after all. But try to tell that to Kaito. Hell, it’s not even like he’s wrong. Just look at me. Hard to say I’m not trying to run away, isn’t it?

Trying to help ease her panic Ryoma took Kaede’s hand in his own. It was so different. Where his is tough, worn, and calloused from his hard work at tennis and prison, hers is still soft and barely blemished. A pretty fitting metaphor for them both, probably. All the more proof his hand isn’t the one meant to be here with hers.

With a bit of hesitation Kaede began awkwardly cuddling him and he wasn’t really in a position to object anymore. He did all he could to balance what she needed and what he couldn’t allow himself to do.

It was nice though, as they went back to talking like this. Just a couple of idiots, spending time together. Time only one would remember, while still needing to stay “in character” for the other’s peace of mind.

“Hey, Ryoma? I remember in Tennis the word “love” kept coming up, as if it was the number “zero”. What’s that supposed to mean?”

This doesn’t prove anything. This isn’t meant for me, she’s just adapting to me being here or something. Anyone can use buzzwords for an Ultimate’s talent to make it more “personalized” without meaning it.

“I remember hearing once it was because both players having no points meant they “still had some love for each other” or something like that.”

“I promise that won’t change, even if you let me “score”,” she slyly replied, smiling like a fox who got into the henhouse. Or Kokichi, since the two really have been hanging out together too much for comfort.

That didn’t make the words coming out of her mouth sound any less wrong, even if this wasn’t just based on another one of the hotel’s scripts or something else in the hotel messing with her.

“... Please never say anything like that again, okay Sweetheart?”

“Aww, but you thought it was kinda funny didn’t you?”

You mean “cute” not “funny”, and just because you’re always adorable and I’m a sucker for puns.

He couldn’t help but snort a little at that, there was no saying no to her playful pout. “Yeah I did.”

The conversation went like that until they got tired, but at the very least he was content. Knowing he had no right to be didn’t change that, as he felt Kaede’s warmth beside him. It helped knowing her dreams, if she had anything like that about what happened tonight, would be both pleasant and innocent enough.

The dream was nice while it lasted, but they always need to come to an end. They were too different, even without “ideals” getting in the way. Her courage was a shining light that encouraged others forward and helped keep them together. A sun like that was far beyond his reach now, even if Kaito kept denying it.

All he wanted was for her to be happy. The others too, to a lesser extent. That’s why he was willing to sacrifice so much for them still, if a life like his could be considered in such terms. A life that was already destined for death row shouldn’t be long enough to be worth much right?

He had no future, so he should try to help those that do the best he can.

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[transmogrified-benmaxwell]

Why did you choose those specific zodiacs for the characters?:O

Sorry this took so long to respond to, but exams and finals have really been beating the literal shit out of me! I’m still glad you asked anon because I have lots of thoughts on this! Here’s the post anon is referring to in case anyone wants to see who is who.

Dallas: I don’t have too much to say since he’s already a Taurus, naturally I do see him more as a Pisces. Pisces tend to be the more gentle and compassionate of the signs and also tend to be more fearful in general as they are sensitive. They have a self sacrificing nature so that others will love them and not leave them and sometimes they become overly emotional when unable to cope with certain situations (i.e. Dallas being mad about Malek leaving to go to college even though he knows its irrational, but then not bringing it up because he’s self sacrificing his feelings to not make Malek upset).

Malek: If Malek isn’t a Gemini I don’t know who is. Like, this boy is a social butterfly which most Gemini’s naturally are and people are drawn to him. More often than not, people are attracted to his duality of a personality which enables him to be both intellectual (bitch wants to major in Bio-Chem and something else like double majoring and in such INTENSE fields???? He’s a fucking GENIUS) and creative/artistic (uhm??? he can sing and play three fucking instruments and even draws a little like??) which tends to be a trait of the twins. He’s well-spoken (boi speaks 3 languages and knows ASL come on now) and is funny/witty which is another trait people tend to like him for and is what makes Gemini’s more sociable. However, a downfall to the Gemini’s vast thinking is the persons indecisiveness. Malek can’t even decide at first if he really likes Dallas or is just pitying him and then when the feelings get stronger he can’t decide to tell him or how to act and it creates lots of conflict and doubt. Gemini’s don’t always have the easiest relationships because of their indecisiveness which leads to nervousness and I think is reflected a lot in Malek’s feelings for Dallas.

 Poppy: I know a lot of people kind of associate bad feelings with Scorpio’s, I actually think Poppy represents a lot of the good qualities neglected by other people that Scorpios have! Poppy is loyal to death and is very secretive in all the right ways (she literally is seeing both of her very close friends pinning over one another but shes too loyal to disclose the others secret even if something good could come out of it). She’s a strong and powerful force to be reckoned with which is why I think a majority of the baseball team respects her. However, sometimes her overwhelming passion and power are what can cause her to get confrontational (I know Poppy and Dallas have had a few hashing outs that were ugly and this makes sense for the two signs as Poppy can get jealous and resentful while Dallas can be sensitive and overemotional which can make the signs clash occasionally). At the end of the day though, Poppy really just has an overly protective and passionate heart and like most Scorpios, just really freaking wants some love. 

Parker: I thought Parker might be a Taurus, but after reading about all the signs I really found him to be a Libra. Libra’s are naturally the peace keepers of the group and have an affinity for beauty and harmony. Maybe Parker doesn’t actually go out of his way to make peace, but his common neutrality towards situations (literally one post I remember is he’s just like “I love both cats and dogs can we all get along” when discussing who was a cat or dog person I think? it really solidified this idea) and choosing to recognize both sides helps everyone feel balanced and maybe even wanna get along even if it’s just for his sake (not that they all fight or anything that frequently?). Parker’s absolute adoration for nature and hiking and the outside makes sense with the Libra sign as they have a thing for peace and beauty which can both be seen in nature through Parker’s eyes. Also, his general charming sweet nature can totally be seen by everyone (uhm let us not forget how Shook Tyler was when Parker gave him the honey lemony thing with ease bc Parker is a sweetheart and even though he’s shy, he can lowkey be a charmer without knowing it). His downfalls are seen in the Libra sign as he’s prone to being able to see both sides to any situation, but this can leave him feeling voiceless as sometimes people have a black and white way of thinking. He often retreats and gives up when conflict arises and lets others voice over him, rather than actually giving his peacemaking opinions. I believe he’s also got a strong empathetic nature which can be a downfall when it leads him to being manipulated or guilted into believing things very easily. 

Ben: Hmm Ben was harder as I don’t have too much information on my boi yet, but I found him to be like a Sagittarius because of his good humor and natural friendliness. Everyone likes him and everyones his friend because we’re all attracted to his humorous nature and positive outlook on most situations, however, I think maybe this is what can cause him to repress lots of his feelings. His willingness to be positive for others and neglect his personal needs can cause him to ignore his own feelings to make sure he isn’t bringing anyone down? I’m not sure, I’d have to know more and so this is my guess, but if this is it then he’s likely a Sagittarius as they often forget to tend to their own needs when trying to be sunshine for everyone else and never wanting to lose the positivity their friends/family bring them.

Blake: Aside from Malek’s, I think Blake’s was the easiest sign to critically evaluate and put out there because he’s so OBVIOUSLY a freaking Cancer. Those under the Cancer sign are absolute softies and are so freaking lovable, but sadly, you can only see this side of the sign if you get close enough to break through their hard, grumpy outer layer. More often than not, Cancer’s have a hard time expressing their real emotions and this can partially explain Blake’s “I hate everyone” personality because it’s so much easier to pretend he hates everyone else when really he just can’t talk about how much he hates himself. This can also help explain Blake having negative feelings towards Dallas because Dallas is more sensitive and isn’t quite on the same level of hiding emotions as Blake is and how Blake might see it as is, here is this kid who’s open (somewhat) about his feelings which is pathetic and is loved more than he is meanwhile Blake’s putting all his emotions and feelings in the closet to not burden those around him and he’s regarded as an asshole. Another downfall of the Cancer sign that Blake has is his clinginess because afterall, once he finds someone he can actually open up to, it’s hard for him to ever want to let go of the one person that brings that out of him. This can really make him look like a needy, grumpy jerk, but honestly this boi just wants some love and relief my guys. Just some more little things, Cancer signs are so imaginative and loving/protective and this can be seen in his love for theater and literature, and his way of treating those he’s especially close close to.

Tyler: Lmao lowkey made Tyler a Taurus because it’s got a very nice compatibility with the Cancer sign and I’m Gay™, but also not the only reason. The Taurus sign is a stubborn one, much like the Bull that represents it. This can be both good and bad as he’s stubborn when it comes to arguing and fighting, but this can be great when the person of the sign is on your side of things as they are fiercely loyal and willing to be patient with those willing to try and he’s very reliable. This is kinda shown in Tyler’s friendship (hhMMMM 👀) with Blake as he stubbornly cares about Blake despite his negative tendencies and stays loyally by his side. This somewhat leads to Tyler enabling Blake as once said in a post, but Tyler can’t help it under the Taurus sign because once he’s become attached he’ll do whatever he can to make his partner happy (even if it’s not always by the best means). This can lead to some self sacrificing which the Taurus sign will happily do (only if they want to though, never by force they are too stubborn for that) and kinda explains why Tyler enables Blake despite his better opinion and sacrifices being batter so that Blake can. Much like the Taurus sign he craves stability and some kind of routine, but also too much can be boring.

Phoebus: Okay don’t judge me for this but essentially, my first reasoning for making Phoebus an Aries was because I saw this pun about Aries signs that always “ram” through their problems LOL and it led me to just think this is how Phoebus battled through his osteosarcoma. Literally just slammed his head at test results in doctors offices until they changed to healthier ones. Aside from that idiotic note, Phoebus is witty and confident much like the Aries sign which is what causes him to clash with Malek when he acts all foolhardy and shit. If Malek and him could stop being so competitive, you’d actually find they’d be pretty compatible friends (or lovers???). He’s energetic and full of an adventurous attitude which will likely lead our poor mans in trouble. RIP

Dev: I don’t really know, in a lot of ways Dev just kinda reminds me of Malek and this leads me to connect them as Gemini bros. Dev is charismatic and a social butterfly and those are some high characteristics of the Gemini sign since they’re supposed to be the best communicators. 

Noah: I solely made Noah a Leo because Leo’s tend to have an almost pretentious nature around them as they tend to think highly of themselves (not all Leo’s, lmao not here to offend anyone!) and having the upbringing Noah does it only makes sense. He’s not afraid to speak his mind which is both beneficial (he helped our eggman the greg man when he stood up to his father) and negative (I wouldn’t say he probably hasn’t offended a ton of people in his time). A positive though is he’s clearly “creative” much like the Leo sign with his making movies and stuff.

Paulina: We really know nothing about Paulina yet, all we know is she is absolutely stunning and has the purest smile. I really just want her to be a sensitive Pisces because they can be the most caring and endearing sign of all and if I get to see that smile forever because she is constantly being a sweetheart than I will die accepting her as a Pisces taking it to the grave.

Charlie: We also don’t know a lot about Charlie, but since she is the team manager I put her as a Sagittarius under the assumption that she can at least be somewhat disciplined and is really good at organizing and being productive. I assume she is ambitious and maybe in my minds eye I like to imagine her as a sweet ol’ grouchy pants so pessimism is her Thing™

Sara: I’m all for loud and proud shameless lesbians so I was reading up on Virgo’s and the word comes from the word Virgin which by original definition meant ‘beholden to no man’ so my gay ass starts kicking and I am like, yes yes Sara is a Virgo die hard lesbian who will never bow down to the cis white man! But aside from that nonsense, Virgo’s tend to be independent creatures and this is a vibe I get from my girl Sara, she probably keeps lots of things unsaid about herself whether from shyness or past drama or both. However, she’s not so independent that she is uncaring or unloving and she likely tends to fret over the others wellbeing when they act foolish or put themselves at risk (i.e. my girl Sara will take a baseball to the face for Poppy 2k17 its time to ride or die bitch theres no going back)

Ari: Maybe I’m just biased towards Capricorns but I just see them as the grouchy “i love you now shut the fuck up” types and this is what I get from Ari. Much like other Capricorns, it’s difficult for Ari to express their feelings ESPECIALLY ones of affection (Ari “I’m allergic to loving expression pls don’t ever smile that fondly at me again I might vomit” Florenosos). Instead, due to the hiccup in miscommunication, they tend to relay their feelings using other likely troubling means (i.e. Ari bullying Phoebus to show affection lmao same). 

Wendy: Honestly Wendy’s feminist ride or die attitude is what led me to Aquarius because this sign tends to be the humanitarian of the signs and strive for equality in all aspects of life. She freaking defaced school property to prove a point my guys she’s a freaking Aquarius like only the Aquarius sign goes that hard and to such lengths to make sure their voice is heard.

Greg: Gregman the Eggman is a Virgo because he’s hella shy and independent. Boy can’t speak for himself for shit but often makes sure to look out for others (i.e. making sure Noah doesn’t do dumb shit and protecting the five foot weasel even though he can’t communicate the problematic things said weasel does). He’s practical and analytical and this often is what leads others to dismiss him as boring because he’s too shy to show any other side of himself or his interests. All in all, the eggman needs better friends and to erupt from his yolk filled shell.

Welp that’s pretty much all I got. I could literally be on the ball or so far from the truth that Bell is literally laughing their ass off at my poor attempt at analyzing these characters. NEVERTHELESS, I tried and here you go. Go read eerie crests here and thank/support the precious author and artist @littlestpersimmon for the content we get