#amity squad only knows because they walked in on them once

[wandixx]

Relationship reveal with side of mind-control (or, really, the other way around)

to that one anon who asked for relationship reveal M'gann/Danny one-shot, here is another take I mentioned

Trigger warnings: mind control ofc

M’gann just needed to get closer. It’ll be alright if she just got a little closer.

“Are you trying to kill us dude?”

Answer was apparently yes as Robin barely jumped out of the way of an ectoblast. M’gann knew true answer was no, she knew Phantom well enough, after long calm nights under starry sky and comfort after breakdowns in the closets and heart-to-heart over battlefields and kisses stolen in the quiet moments of in-between. But for some reason, now he was acting against everything he was and stood for. Red eyes were probably point towards an explanation.

“What even is your beef with us?!” Artemis yelled, shooting one of her special arrows at him.

Right, Team didn’t know Danny. She was going to introduce him soon, when the time was right, gods, she even convinced him to join the Team and was just waiting for Batman’s approval. And now Phantom got worst possible introduction.

M’gann just needed to get close enough to snap him out of it. She could of course just use her psychic powers from where she was but it was a nuclear option. It was better if she handled it the ‘normal way’.

For all he was great fighter, Phantom stood no chance against the whole Team, even when he was in his right mind. As it was, however had in their clutches didn’t know full extent of his abilities and were absolutely pathetic at using what they did know about. Though intangibility made it a bit tricky-

Oh, wait, Kaldur’s water attacks countered it, Danny plain and simple hadn’t had a shadow of the chance.

“Don’t knock him out” she demanded over the Mindlink, right when Kaldur scooped Danny out of the sky, pinning his hands so he couldn’t fight anymore and Conner jumped at the ghost, fuming with anger.

“Don’t lapidate this one M’gann, they are not a robot”

“Excuse me, what?!”

“It was one time Robin, one time. And I know he is not a robot, I can read his thoughts”

“I sooo need to hear this story”

“As you wish Artemis, as you wish”

“Could you all just shut up and focus?!”

“Thank you Superboy”

“So, what’s the plan?” Wally asked while pacing, trying to work off excess energy after battle finished too soon.

“Oh, I’m going to talk to him”

“They tried to burn our heads off, I kinda doubt you can talk them out of anything”

“He is mind-controlled. And he is my friend, I taught him how to fight it. He just needs a little help, it seems”

“Get to it then Miss Martian, he is trying to slip”

She nodded and kicked off to fly, stopping at Danny’s eye level, just slightly breaching his personal space.

“Hey Phantom,” she started softly “I need you so use what I taught you o-?”

“Shut up” Danny’s mouth spat in distinctly not-Danny way.

“I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to Phantom and if you don’t leave I’ll make sure he kicks you out or do it myself” she didn’t bother with niceties, she didn’t bother with putting an inflection in her voice.

Danny’s body snorted.

“I won with psychics stronger than you. I just also know Phantom well enough, he’d prefer to do it himself and he can do it. If you don’t leave now, you’ll learn how much worse is it to be kicked out instead of leaving peacefully”

Slowly, so painfully slowly she reached out to put hand on Danny’s cheek. Touch always helped ground him and there was a chance it would distract whoever controlled him at the moment. Red in his eyes dimmed for a second or five. She smiled gently “Yes, just like that Phantom, you’ve got it. Just how we trained, alright?”

She got a little closer but not enough to lose view of his eyes. She could tell whether he was back in control just by using his powers, even without breaching the boundaries Danny was comfortable with. But she simply wanted to see his whole face and for him to see her whole face, like he did during hours upon hours of their practice.

She could feel his muscles twitching between expressions, as his eyes changed colors like police lights if they were red-green instead of red-blue. M’gann kept steady stream of assurances, slowly brushing thumbs against his cheeks. If situation wasn’t so dire it would probably feel pretty nice. She’d need to bookmark this idea for later.

At last, the whole spectacle ended, with Danny’s eyes turning back to their soft green his face pressing into her hands like it was his only salvation. M’gann grinned enthusiastically barely containing relieved laugh.

“You did it Da- Phantom! You did it!” she yelled before giving him a quick kiss and engulfing him in the hug, despite the water still holding him in place, few feet above the ground “I knew you could do it” she whispered to his ear. Kaldur asked if it was safe to approach so she waved them forward. As soon as Atlantean freed Danny (also getting water out of her cloths, which was nice) she lowered them both to the ground.

Danny’s hands hesitantly reached to hug her back, squeezed like his life depended on it and then he started shaking apart in her arms. She slowly lead him to sit on the ground when it was clear he could hold his own weight at the moment.

“I’m sorry” he whispered, as if he struggled to even make a sound “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry”

M’gann ignored growing wet patch on her shoulder, clinging to him just as strongly as he did.

“You did so well. There is nothing to be sorry for, you did so well”

“I’m sorry I- You- I should’ve- I’m”

“She is right,” Kaldur stated calmly “You are not to blame for being mind-controlled, especially since you broke it at first give chance”

“But I- I attacked you”

“Comes with the job, really” Robin said with almost imperceptible strain in his voice characteristic to the hand stand.

“I could’ve hurt you”

“Ha! You wish,”Artemis snorted.

“I really don’t”

Everyone snickered lightheartedly and Danny relaxed at clear lack of hostility.

“What about a collateral damage?”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere there is no collateral to be damaged”

“This is not what collateral means on it’s own-”

“This is not the point. Phantom, are you looking for things we should hate you for?”

“I have hard time believing you don’t”

“Danny, I love you but you’re an idiot right now. I told you they won’t hate you”

“Superboy still looks like he considers which of my bones he should break first”

“Not yours but whoever’s mind-controlled you. He has a bit of a history with that”

“Exactly”

“Huh. And you could probably do it too if it’s a guy I think it is” Danny whispered with some sort of amazement in his voice “That’s relieving. I’d hat if you hated me. Miss Martian told me a lot about y’all”

“Can’t say the same about you, sorry”

“That’s fine, I asked for it. I’m Phantom, I’m from Amity Park and usually I fight other menaces who try to stir some shit and worry about collateral damage and not the other way around. Pleased to meet you, sorry it happened like this”

“So like… you’re a small town hero, right?”

“Now, that might be a bit over-”

“Definitely a hero,” M’gann interrupted “With personal arch nemesis, regular rogue gallery and all that”

“Miss Martian also called you her friend,” Kaldur said, clearly trying to learn how that happened without outright asking the question, but he would get anything but, judging by Danny’s sudden grin, that could be called sly if he still wasn’t clearly shaken by the whole mind-control ordeal.

“Oh c’mon M. That’s not what you called me last week when we made up in the broom closet”

She loved that boy but she should’ve let Conner knock him out when she still had a chance.

[thatrandomsarahchick]

Tucker has always understood that, while both his parents loved him deeply, his father couldn't deal with the stress of his mum's job. To keep the family safe, they agreed to part ways. Mum erased all the digital records of her family, and they pretended that she died in a tragic accident. It sucked, but they knew that she still loved them and that the world was better off with her keeping it safe.

In this scenario, the GIW is a fake government organisation, but nobody from Amity Park knows that yet. They're a quasi-legal paramilitary organisation that's funded privately by an anonymous billionaire and makes their revenue through selling energy blasters on the black market.

Tucker, while an excellent hacker, didn't even know to look for this information, so as far as he knows, they're completely legit. They've been getting better at their jobs recently and there's been talk of putting the town under martial law. The GIW want to test every single resident for their ecto levels and 'cleanse' them.

Tucker knows that Danny would never survive the check. He's not even sure if Sam or himself would survive, given their extreme exposure to ectoplasm. They need to get out, and they need a safe place to go. He knows he's not supposed to contact his mum, but she's the most powerful person he can think of outside of Amity that can be trusted.

Tucker has everything ready to go. They're going to Elmerton under the guise of a weekend trip to Valerie's house, it's the only way that they could get out past the border patrols. Elmerton is close enough that there is a light GIW presence, but far enough away that he can get cell service to the outside world.

Valerie, the only other person he'd informed of his plan, was ready and waiting for them. She loudly proclaimed about how much junk food she had brought for their movie marathon, causing the nearby GIW agent to roll their eyes and walk away. Once they were inside, she brought out the burner phone that Tucker had arranged for her to buy. Her job now was to explain the plan to Sam and Danny, while Tucker called for an extraction.

Amanda was sitting in her office, going over the files for her latest project - a suicide squad - when her private phone rang. That phone was never meant to ring. The only people who had that specific number were her husband and son, so it had damn better be one of them on the line.

A quick exchange of codes later and she was assured that it was her son and he was speaking freely. "Mum. I need an extraction for myself and three other teenagers, and I need it yesterday. Please, I can't explain over the phone - they could be listening - but the government is after us because we got contaminated by extra dimensional energy, and they're going to kill us."

"What's your location? I will have a discreet squad dispatched immediately. Keep calm, act natural, you know the procedure."

"Yes, mum. We're at XXX location, in Elmerton. We got out under the guise of a movie marathon weekend at a classmate's house."

"I'll have them arrive as a pizza delivery van then. Code phrases are 'I didn't think that much meat would fit on a pizza' and 'you haven't lived until you've tried it'. I expect a full debriefing once you arrive, son. Stay safe."

"You know me so well. I will, I promise. I have my hard drive with me. I'll see you soon."

Amanda put down the phone and took a deep breath. Whoever was hunting her baby was about to feel a world of pain. But first, she needed him out safely. Then maybe she might give her suicide squad a test run against whoever thought it was OK to go after her family.

DP X DC Prompt #84

Tucker rarely gets to see his mother, too dangerous see. But when the choices are Amanda Waller and the GIW? Tucker chooses his mother to save his friends.

@evilminji @hdgnj @itshype @thatrandomsarahchick

[polar534]

Hockey Injury Pt. 1

So Hockey AU was... surprisingly more popular then I thought. Which is good, because I still have ALOT written down about it, and I intend to add more. (It's become a bit of a coping mechanism to write about.) So, in the set-up post I warned that I had a bunch of notes regarding Amity's hockey injury. Well, welcome to a 3-parter folks! That's right. I've got that much written.

Anyways, this first part will be a general text-dump summary of events, the second will be a Luz centered more detailed 'story' about what happened on the ice. And the third will be focused on both girl's healing after the fact.

So vague explanations and warnings aside. Have part 1. Under the cut cause I have ~problems~

In essence. Amity gets like... really injured. It's bad. Like she is laid up in a hospital bad. They don't even have time to get her to the demon dimension where they usually take her when she gets injured (because different biologies and hiding her witchiness), so she gets taken specifically in Camilla's hospital.

They were only barely able to sneak her away from the emt's on duty at the game.

The team becomes immediately suspicious and HIGHLY concerned but they can't do anything because Amity is hurriedly rushed out of the place and to the hospital. Camilla is completely freaked but she also knows this could be much more serious then anyone realizes, because if they take Amity to get the help she needs right now, they'll find out she is a witch. She barges into the hospital first and pulls aside the doctor she works for and explains, completely deadpanned, that the other girl who lives with them is a witch from a different dimension but there's no other place to take her.

Luz is in the hallway with Amity, and is completely shutting down. She is barely holding it together. She knows it's bad because she's only ever seen her mom like this once. And that was when Luz got deathly ill with the flu one year. Amity is barely conscious so there's no need for Luz to be brave.

Luz is alone and terrified. She's spiraling.

The doctor, having worked with and been taken care of by Camilla for years agrees in a heartbeat to not only treat Amity but to make sure the entire treatment is confidential. They get the xray's back and its serious. The broken bone has cut a major vein inside Amity's shoulder. She's bleeding out. They don't have time to worry about the different make up. They rush her into surgery and Camilla needs to be a part of it.

Luz is alone. Waiting.

She knows there's a chance Amity... is just not coming back.

She knows there's a chance of losing her.

And Luz completely shuts down.

During this time, the team secretly tracks down where the family went. As soon as someone pulls it up on their phone, they ditch all of their equipment and leave immediately, mid-match, much to the other's teams confusion.

They crash into the hospital, rushing past the nurses and security trying to stop them. They find Luz out in the hallway from the surgery room, and she's fully awake, but she's unresponsive. They can't get an answer out of her. So they sit there with her. Completely silent. Waiting.

The staff eventually catches up with the teens, but where they expect to find a bunch of rowdy teenagers, instead they find deathly quiet kids, all quiet in fear, they know there was warning put out to all the staff about privacy regarding this emergency surgery. So they buzz off and leave the teens be.

Nobody speaks a word, nobody moves a muscle until Camilla pokes her head out of the room, a couple of hours later. The team all become responsive and alert but Luz doesn't budge.

Camilla understands immediately. Knowing too many people will be overwhelming for Amity while she recovers she beckons Luz in first.

Luz, moves slowly, like a zombie. The team being extremely concerned about both girls but they have each other.

Amity is awake when Luz comes in.

Luz stiffly walks over to her and Amity knows something's wrong. Something broke her girlfriend.

"So. This is where your mother works right? It's so much more clean then the hospitals in the Isles." Amity points out, completely seriously.

Luz cracks. She is so incredibly relieved that she sobs, with a massive smile on her face.

"That's... that's not good Amity!"

It breaks both of the girls and they both laugh and cry as they have a soft moment. Luz updates her on everything that happened after she fell unconscious.

Camilla on the other hand is informing Eda and Lilith what has happened. Some members of the team leave the hallways to find some food and overhear their conversation. Specifically the frequent use of the word: Witch.

***

The next couple of days are spent with Amity being laid up in bed at home, with Luz absolutely spoiling her and fussing over her to the point of annoyance.

King, Eda and Lilith all go to the human realm to check up on their Blight child the night of the injury, Eda and Lilith are concerned but they also know Camilla has an absolute handle on the situation. They trust her to take care of Amity and promise to visit daily until she's better, warning the poor witch that they'll be telling the twins and Willow and Gus first thing in the morning. (Which was a whole thing) King... dallies at the portal to go home that night. Luz picks up on the little guy's worry immediately and knows he won't just admit to wanting to stay with the girls.

So she insists on stealing him for the night, for therapy of course and King takes the hint and runs with it. Insisting that his subjects NEED him.

This makes Luz feel much better because Camilla insists that Luz cannot miss classes despite her girlfriend being bedridden. So she entrusts King to take care of Amity. Which is a relief to King and Amity, because Amity is kinda tired of being babied and King isn't one to baby. He'll take care of her, but they mostly just chill out together and complain. King curling up on Amity's stomach while they both rest.

Meanwhile the team is concerned as well. They discuss the idea of Luz at first being the witch the mother was talking about, because it just kinda fits with her being quirky and an outsider to most everyone else.

So they confront her on it one day when they go to check on Amity, as she's walking them out.

Luz. Finds. This. Hilarious.

She loves it and is so incredibly excited because 1. They know now. And 2. They aren't afraid!! They aren't mad, just worried as to why the girls would keep it a secret.

However they got something wrong. And that's who the biological witch is. Luz points out the teeth and the ears and it suddenly clicks.

Amity is a witch.

Cue that night, Luz getting chewed out by Amity for telling them, but the girls both really giddy that they now have another place they don't have to hide in. They make a plan to have a serious discussion with the team about the need for secrecy.

But more angst. Back to the days immediately following the injury, Camilla comes in one night while Luz is visiting Eda and Amity is alone.

She has a serious talk with Amity about the danger she was in, and just how hurt she had gotten. Camilla wants to be honest and straightforward with her. Amity could've died that night. She brings up the idea that maybe the witch may want to reconsider her decision to continue next year. Just that Camilla will never stop worrying about her. Its soft and gentle and Camilla really is just concerned about her.  

Amity is quiet that night when Luz comes home. (She can't spend the night anywhere without her girlfriend, no matter how much she loves Eda) Quieter then Luz has seen her in a long time.

It worries Luz, but she just holds her girlfriend extra tight, knowing that Amity will talk to her when she's ready. That's their agreement.

The next day, Amity tells Luz she is quitting Hockey.

The witch is in tears and its incredibly obvious that she doesn't actually want to quit the sport. Luz begs her to explain and Amity breaks down and tells her that its her fault, and that she's been so selfish to worry Camilla like this. That she needs to quit. She fucked up. She got hurt and it made Camilla, Luz and everyone so incredibly worried.

Her toxic upbringing is coming back, the damage her parents did on her not quite leaving, Amity truly believes that she has deeply upset and offended Camilla and then that worry stetches into her team and Luz. That she needs to correct the problem that she made for other people.

Luz takes her by the shoulders, very seriously and tells her that Camilla loves her. Unconditionally. That worry comes not from a place of inconvenience, but out of care. That her mother would be 100x more upset if Amity sacrificed something she cared about, just to make Camilla feel more comfortable.

Luz admits to worrying about losing her, but she also gushes about just how HAPPY hockey has made Amity and how she loves seeing that happiness on Amity.

How incredible it looks on her.

Luz then proceeds to get Willow and Gus to come crashing through the portal to which they explain, Gus methodically and scientifically, and Willow from the heart, that Amity is doing wonderful and its clear that she is enjoying herself.

They original squad all have a night of support for Amity. Because that's just what a family does. Camilla overhears most of what Amity fears and let's her daughter and her friends handle it. Though she feels awful about how she made the girl feel like that worry was because Amity did something wrong. She takes a field trip to the demon dimension to talk with Lilith and Eda who explain that she's doing wonderfully. That not every parent is perfect or can be. They tell her everything that night about Amity's parents. Most of which Camilla has pieced together from the time Amity had been living with her, but alot of it is still shocking. Horrifying.

Its a night of healing and learning all around.

[prinxlyart]

How do you think some of the other parents would react to the blight parents journey to redemption/being fully redeemed? I think it would certainly be shoking at first and they'd be skeptical because of how much of a reputation the blights have built

Ooooo this is a good one I like it okay let’s see

Willow’s Dads

I think Willow’s dads have an especially sour attitude towards the Blight parents just because of Willow’s personal history with Amity and those 7 years of non-stop depression their daughter suffered because of Alador and Odalia’s actions. They’re extremely skeptical of the Blights trying to “turn over a new leaf” and are convinced they’re only saying so because they want to get something out of it. They’re also both especially protective of the Blight children after they’d originally escaped the manor simply because what the ever loving fuck did those two sorry excuses for witches think they were doing to these kids???????

After Willow explains why Amity stopped being her friend all those years ago, her dads sort of. Accidentally adopt? Amity? Sort of? They legit tell her that she’s welcome to stay with them any time and for as long as she needs if she ever has any trouble, etc etc, and no joke they offered their little 2-bedroom flat to the blight kids when they were first discussing their escape plans. They wanted to be absolutely certain these kids would have a safe place to go the moment they flew the coop.

They love Luz. No question. Okay, maybe one question: why is she so insistent that she try to make those good for nothing Blight Socialites see the error of their ways? Their heads are so far up their own vain asses; they consider Luz’s newest quest to be an impossible one. They’re rather surprised when Luz reports back that her talk with the Blight parents actually went in her favor. They still won’t believe it until they see it though, which Luz concedes is fair. It’s not until Camila (who they also love) also reports back weeks later that she made them cry and that they bound themselves in an everlasting oath to Luz that they were going to do better that they finally believe it.

They defo still don’t like it, but yknow. They’re trying? Which is more than they could say of most of their childrens’ lives? And it’s extremely tense; even though all of the Blight children are adults now, these two Very Good Dads (still with no names; please Dana I’m begging you) find themselves acting as chaperones occasionally to the Blight kids when they meet up with their parents. Usually when it involves Amity (as she’s the future daughter in law), but they also don’t hesitate when Edric or Emira ask for their backup as well.

Viney’s Parent(s)

I’ve seen a lot of fanfics where Viney only has one parent and I don’t know why that’s so common. Regardless, Viney’s parent(s) would be fucking livid at the Blight parents. Not only did they openly criticize their daughter (viney) to her face, but also just the years of shitty parenting they inflicted upon their daughter in law and her siblings??? Super not okay. In fact, they were so spiteful, it was a common theme muttered under their breath at Viney and Emira’s wedding. Viney’s parent(s) could almost constantly be heard whispering something about how glad they were that Odalia and Alador weren’t there or how disapproving they would’ve been at any display of affection the newlyweds would share. Long story short, they fucking hate the Blight parents. Where Willow’s dads are much like Willow in that they would let their anger simply simmer and fester like a dark storm on the horizon, Viney’s parent(s) would be the vicious winds of the storm fast-approaching.

Similarly to Willow’s parents, they offer the Blight kids their home if they ever need it. I’m not sure if Viney has siblings or not but regardless, they’d figure out at least three different bedroom solutions for the Blight kids if they ever needed their help with anything.

As much as Viney’s parent(s) love the Blight kids and want to protect them, they actually find planning Viney and Emira’s wedding as the only parent(s) rather difficult. Although that lasts for all of five minutes before the doors are blown off their hinges and Willow and Luz’s parents (and parental figures) burst in like a super hero squad. These adults all want to make sure all of the Blight kids are happy, not just the one that associates with their respective daughters. It just adds fuel to the fire when all of these parental figures show up and the Blight parents don’t.

When they do show up while they’re all trying to plan out our girls’ triad wedding, Viney’s parent(s) have nothing but cold, venomous hatred in their heart(s). How dare they try to reinsert themselves into Amity’s life at a time like this???? It actually takes everyone in attendance of this wedding planning meeting to keep them from just ripping the Blights to shreds where they stood.

Everyone Loves and Respects Camila Noceda. It’s like an unspoken law in the Boiling Isles (and probably also in the human realm, but we’re not there rn). As soon as Camila explains why the Blight parents are even allowed to be at the meeting is because of their willingness to change and the effort they’ve already put in to making amends with their children, Viney’s parent(s) back down. But they don’t stop seething.

I don’t think they truly believe the Blights are in it for their family and not for some other ulterior motive until the day of the wedding. Like, it literally takes Alador walking his daughter down the aisle and taking his seat and just dissolving into tears for them to actually believe they’re here for their daughter. They see Odalia holding his hand tightly and dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief which is more emotion than they’ve ever seen from Odalia Blight ever. They’re only finally convinced that the Blight parents are capable of changing during the wedding itself. After that point they go much easier on them.

Luz’s Family

I think Eda and Lilith have more personal ties with the Blight parents. We know they all at least went to school together and likely have interacted in the past. Lilith much more recently as the Ex-Head of the Emperor’s Coven and likely actively checking in with other coven heads and their immediate subordinates while also attending to her coven leader duties. I think if they hadn’t been witnesses to Camila ripping them to shreds, they would find it hard to believe too.

Whether or not they believe it, they have very little faith in Alador and Odalia’s ability to actually change much. Or at least, Lilith has the least amount of faith. Eda’s got faith in the Nocedas wedgie-ing those stuck-up Blights into acting like civil witches. And if anyone can melt some ice-cold hearts, it’s the Nocedas. Eda trusts her girls.

Lilith doesn’t not trust them, she’s just worked professionally with them in essentially the same office as them (probably different departments) for the last 20-30 years and hasn’t seen them change once. They seemed somewhat happier in the workplace after their children were first born, but they kept themselves strictly professional at all times. Unless, of course, they were bragging about what new accomplishment their children had achieved. All this to say, the Blight were not so easily swayed.

I think between the Bligjt parents and Lilith there’s a lot of like? Reciprocal Validation in their progress to be Better? Like, Alador and Odalia look to Lilith as a sort of example for someone that used to be in their position thats spent the last several years working hard to change all of that and be worthy of Luz and Eda’s time and attention (and respect. Sometimes Luz still struggles with that one). Lilith sees the Blights’ progress from the view point of someone that’s gone through those same struggles of unlearning everything you thought you knew and building it back up into something more healthy, and she lets them know that they’re doing well, at least compared to her when she was in that same place however many years ago. Idk if the Blights and the Clawthornes were ever friends during school but I like to believe that at least during the hard parts of the Blights redeeming themselves, they do make a real friend in Lilith as someone that understands exactly the mental place they’re coming out of and trying so hard to fix.

Eda generally keeps to herself when it comes to the Blight parents. She loves the Blight kids, of course, one of them is head over heels for her own kid and she’s been a proud bystander watching their relationship flourish over the years. She’s fiercely protective of the Blight kids; any time any of them show up at the Owl house with distressed looks, she immediately puts a kettle to boil and starts prepping some tea before they can even start hashing out what new complicated BS they’ve got stirring in their noggins. She started doing this as a way to not have to deal with teenage hormones because when did her house become a teenager safe-haven??????? But then continued it over the years because all the kids found comfort in the small act of love and care. Even though Emira and Viney are married by the time the Blight parents begin their Redemption Journey, Emira will still stop by the Owl House from time to time and just sit and have tea with Eda (as a fellow trouble-maker, Eda feels a special kinship with the twins. She never minded the Twins’ presence in the Owl House despite all her complaining that her House had turned into a teenage clubhouse).

Any time the subject of Alador and Odalia comes up in conversation, Eda just sits back and crosses her arms and shockingly, remains silent. She knows it means a lot to so many of them; Luz and Camila seem especially invested and she cares for those Blight kids more than she’d ever admit out loud, but she’s not here to get involved. She’ll quietly support her kid’s noble efforts and be on standby in case shit hits the fan, but otherwise she wants nothing to do with the Blight parents.

King is surprisingly observant when he wants to be. He can see just how much this means to Luz and to Amity and knows that while teasing here and there might be okay, he would respect their wishes to continue trying to make the Blight parents decent people again. But that doesn’t mean he likes Alador or Odalia. He, just like Eda, had been among the ones the Blight kids had turned to when they were at their lowest points and seeking comfort over the years. He’s acted as those kids’ teddy bear for years. He only wants them to be happy (he insists it’s so he can stop being the Family Snot Rag but everyone knows it’s because he loves them). So he, like eda, remains silent whenever the topic of the Blight Parents comes up in conversation.

King and Eda defo talk shit about the Blight parents when it’s just the two of them. They will rant for hours about how shitty the Blight parents are and how undeserving they are of this second chance that Luz is giving to them. Whenever other people bring them up, Eda and King will exchange glances and eye rolls. King will often go to Eda’s lap (if she’s sitting) and pretend to nap on her. He’s actually listening and gripping Eda’s dress in his claws as a reminder to Eda to not say anything. Eda does the same under the guise of petting him; she’ll run her fingers through his fur and just grip tightly whenever she feels him starting to grow agitated under her hand. They don’t like the situation, but they also don’t need to be part of it.

Camila’s so fucking tired you guys. She’s long since accepted that her daughter lives in the Demon Realm and that the demons living here tend to only be different in physiology compared to humans or witches. Otherwise, they’re exactly the same as any other person.

No, the true demons, Camila’s discovered, are those like the Blight parents. Those that neglect their children in favor of something so frivolous as social standing and at the same time, thrust ridiculous expectations on their children to behave in the same way such a social standing would require. Withholding affection as something to be earned rather than giving it as the basic need children require. As if their love was something to work for like Luz doing all of her chores (and not forgetting them) for a month to earn a new book. She’s disgusted to say the least. But! Luz is her whole world. And the Blight children are a part of her world. Putting in the work to change the Blight parents for the better rather than just writing them off as a lost cause is something that means a lot to Luz (and by extension, the Blight kids who Camila’s adopted in her mind. She adores Amity and loves watching Eda interact with the twins). So she’s ready to put in that effort. If only so she can scream at them to their faces about the million ways they’ve fucked up and get away with it.

Camila doesn’t....like Alador and Odalia, just sort of on principle. If anything, she pities them. What sort of lives have they led where they think treating their children so horribly was even an option? As she helps guide them into being decent people, she does get to witness their actual personalities break through the tough exteriors they’d crafted for themselves. Alador is a dork. Odalia is quite smart despite her dumb life choices. Both are extremely talented in the magic paths they’ve pursued. Alador is like every man ever and cracks dad jokes that literally only Luz (and sometimes Edric) finds funny. Odalia has a quick-witted kind of humor that you have to stop and think about before it sinks in what she’s said.

It takes a long time for Camila to actually be able to stand their presence, but I think she tolerates them by the time their daughters’ wedding takes place. After that point it’s a matter of chipping away at those stony exteriors they made decades ago to get their real personalities out into the sunshine. By the time those masks are gone, Camila finds she actually doesn’t mind them being around. She’s okay with them being in-laws. I’m not sure if they ever become like. Friends? But they certainly come to a point of mutual respect. Eventually.

Thank you so much anon!! This was a super cool thought exercise :0

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 5 Part 7

Once more, I arrive, with Midnight Striga in tow!! Everybody Clap Your Hands!!

Boyd was utterly bored. Groaning, he slung his knife, Radical Chop, over his shoulder, lightly kicking the twitching corpse next to him, one of Reticulus’ leftovers. Those were never fun to deal with, ‘cause they were already dead! What was the point of a killer guarding a corpse, instead of, you know, killing? Eh, maybe he could practice his mutilations, he had been getting a little rusty in that regard. Humming to himself, he slung the ragged body beneath his feet into an upright position; a girl from the looks of it, brown hair styled into three rings on the top of her head, her left eye gouged out, and missing her tongue. Glancing down he saw that her heart and stomach had been extracted. By his estimate, he’d say she was about 12, verging on 13. Ah man, he could’ve had such fun with her!

Sighing, he twirled his knife before pointing the tip towards her. The knife lengthened, stretched, and bent, contouring around the edges of her face, slowly and cleanly skinning off the layer of tissue. If only that eye wasn’t missing, then he could’ve added it to his collection! Ah well, better luck next time. While he was seemingly distracted, one of the nearby Witches decided to make a break for it, a boy whose hair covered his eyes and possessed rather bat-like ears. Without even glancing his way, Boyd’s knife shot out like a bullet, cleanly slicing through his throat in an instant. He didn’t even have a chance to scream, how boring!

“Stupid Witches, can’t even die properly.” He grumbles, flicking the boy’s blood off of his precious blade. “Stupid Reticulus, never leaving any good corpses to slice up.” He briefly wonders again as to why, exactly, he was being stuck with this stupid job. He was one of the Squadron’s best killers, so why were his talents being squandered? He mulled it over in his head, knife idly slicing through the girl’s corpse, when a creak drew his gaze forward. As the reason finally clicked, he deadpanned. He was being used as bait, and as a test; great.

Three kids stood in front of him, staring at him like he was some kind of fucking monster; to be fair, he was one, no doubt about that, but it was always so annoying when people looked at him like that. He briefly contemplated trying to figure out which one Reticulus wanted to test, but decided it would be more fun to just kill the little shits. Not like they really mattered anyway. The chunky girl with the glasses started doing that stupid circle thing they did to cast spells, can’t have that. His knife shot out, smoothly slicing through her wrist and across her face, stabbing through her eyes into the brain.

Before the other two could do more than widen their eyes, he struck again. His blade ripped through the neck of the Mint-headed girl, and wasn’t that a color, sending her head rolling. Before the smaller boy could even scream, the knife slammed through his skull, entering through one ear, and exiting out the other. Scowling, he called Radical Chop back to him. No trouble at all, not even worth the effort of being clean. He sighed, only for a familiar, sharp pain to rush through his body; he had been stabbed. Glancing down, he was both surprised and not to see a dagger driven into his gut, the angle allowing for it to be dragged into his other vital organs easily. He spoke up, perfectly calm in the face of his death. “You can drop the invisibility now.”

As the air next to him rippled and faded, he was pleasantly surprised to see another kid, her face carefully blank save the familiar rage in her eyes, the kind he saw in all the kids who saw him kill their friends. He smirked. “Gotta say, pretty cold of you to throw your friends into the grinder like that.”

The girl snorted, calling over her shoulder. “Gus! Drop the illusion.”

“Got it!” A young voice called out, the corpses of the kids fading along with the blood coating his precious blade, the kids from before shimmering into view, ready to pounce if things turned dicy for the kid stabbing him at the moment.

Boyd snorted. He had underestimated them. He gave the girl who had effectively killed him a smirk. “So, you’re the little rat Retic wants to test, eh?” He laughed at her furious expression. “If you’re looking for him, he should be up ahead, going over the latest batch of bodies. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Before they could blink, he whipped his blade, his beautiful Radical Chop, up to his head, driving it through his own skull.

Gus gagged, while Amity and Willow looked on stoically. It was certainly an improvement over Gus actively heaving and the girls shouting. It was to be expected, as this was the fifteenth kill by this point, though they had only gone for the stealth option when they saw how quickly he had killed that Witch trying to get past him.

Amity glanced down at the Witch the man had killed. She recognized him. “Hey, I think I know this one.”

Luz walked over, glancing down at the bat-eared boy, curious. “Really? Who is he?”

Amity shrugged. “I honestly don’t know him personally, but Skara was interested in him a little.” She sighed, knowing that she’d have to deliver the news to her friend. “I really hope she takes this well.” She glanced up at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, seeing Willow giving her a comforting, if hesitant smile, which she returned.

Luz sighed. “Let’s go, we’ve still got to take down Retic if we want this to end.” The others nodded. Bracing themselves, they moved, ready for the fight to come, or so they thought.

Eda moved to Lily’s side, shaking her roughly. “Come on Sis, we don’t have time for this!” She cried, frantically gesturing to the crowd under attack. She bit her lip, tilting Lily’s head up. “Listen, Sis, I know we usually don’t see eye to eye, but if you can’t get out of your head, that crowd is going to die.” She thought she saw a flicker of light in her eyes. “You always said you wanted to be in Bonehead’s Coven to help people, well now’s your chance to prove it! Those people up there? They came here to see you, because they believe in you! Are you really going to let them down!?” She got down on her knees, pleading. “Sis, I need your help, as painful and ridiculous as it sounds, it’s the truth! Please!” She glanced back at Rudolph, who had paused, enjoying the show. The bastard was enjoying watching her beg for her sister’s help.

Rudolph snickered, and laughed. “It truly is amusing to see! Earlier, I had lamented your decision to keep the wretched thing alive, but I see now that I was wrong!!” He cackled, relishing the look of enraged confusion on Eda’s face, even as the crowd desperately fought to survive.

“What in hell are you talking about, you psycho!!” Eda growled, bracing herself to defend if necessary.

Rudolph gave her an ugly smirk, oozing amusement. “Simple. You may not have killed her body, but you certainly killed her spirit! She’s lost the will to live, I’d say!” He cackled, soaking in the look of dawning horror on Eda’s face, the soul-crushing realization of what her display had done, even if she couldn’t comprehend how.

“No.” Eda breathed out, slowly walking away from Lily. “That wouldn’t happen, not with her! She’s too strong for that to happen!”

“Is she?” Rudolph mused, genuinely curious. “Everything we’ve gathered has pointed to a woman with a rather fragile ego; seeing her baby sister showing her up once again must’ve been quite the shock.” He was amused at Eda’s denial; for all she claimed to be the strongest on the Isles, a statement not totally devoid of fact, she seemed to be a tad oblivious to the fortitude of those around her.

“Gathered…” Eda muttered, her eyes widening. “You’ve been spying on her!?”

“Oh her, the schools, the government, you, everyone really. We carefully staked this out ever since we arrived.” He placed his hands on his hips, looking pleased with himself. “I must say, we certainly displayed an impressive amount of restraint, building all of this up.” He shrugged. “Normally, we just come and kill everything and everyone we come across. It was quite the learning experience!”

“You…” Eda growled, pure hate coloring her voice. “Just who do you think you are!?”

“Why, my dear, I think I’m the one leading the attack on your people, at the moment at least.” Rudolph cheekily replied. “After all…

“... We are the ones who hold the power in this situation.”

Mattholomule silently cried behind a stand, the crazed laughter of the maniac out front still ringing in his ears. He had just seen a woman torn limb from limb by flying chains, her organs and blood splattered all about. Bria sat next to him, biting her lip, while Gavin and Angmar played Rock-Paper-Scissors to figure out what to do. That choice was taken from them, however, when a chain yanked Bria out of hiding, prompting the three to scream in fear.

“It is simply the way of the world, after all. The powerful thrive, the weak die. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Emira held in a curse, while Edric hyperventilated next to her. Two squads of the invaders had just finished corralling a group of kids into a corner. She closed her eyes, trying to tune out the screams, Edric silently crying next to her, as the Mages ripped the children apart in a hail of magic. Glaring daggers at the murderers, Emira paused, a plan coming to her. Whispering to Edric, who nodded firmly in agreement, the two slunk into the shadows.

“Why, it is only natural for those with power, namely us, to do with it as we- HURK!”

Reticulus loomed over a potential donor, their limbs spread by his veins, dislocated from his body and acting as ropes to bind and restrain his target. He licked his lips. It wouldn’t do for the fools to potentially damage his prize with unnecessary struggling, now would it? Just as he reeled back to rip his prizes from the worthless husk before him, his body registered the sensation of a blade digging into his arm.

“Just shut your fucking mouth.” Eda warned, the butt of her staff slammed into the sadist’s gut. Seeing his hands take on that icy glow, she raised her leg, slamming him back with a kick to the chest. “You don’t know anything about the people of the Isles!” She shouted, her eyes spotting Bump summoning some Abominations in the stands, directing them at Rudolph’s troops.

“You think just because you’ve got a lot of power, you get to throw it around, and we’ll just take it?” She countered his frost with a fireball, landing a cracking blow across his jaw. When Rudolph slammed his hands against the ground, summoning an encroaching sheet of frost, she ripped it away with a shockwave of magical force.

“Your resistance to the inevitable is growing irksome!” He yelled, forming a fang of ice around his hand, lashing out at Eda. She blocked his blow with her staff, grunting as he forced her back. Spines of ice formed along his arms, stabbing towards Eda. “Your people are a pack of sheep, blindly following the words of a false prophet in their inane desire for safety!!” He encased her wrists in ice, preventing her from casting, before slamming his forehead into her eyes. “You may well be the strongest on the Isles, but that title is as hollow as their leader’s words!” He slashed his blades at Eda’s sides, a cry of pain ripping from her throat. Unbeknownst to either combatants, Lilith twitched at Eda’s cries.

“I…! Have stood on my own two feet… my entire life!” Eda choked out, hands grabbing at the claws currently pinning her in place. 

“I do what I want to do, nothing more… nothing less…!”��

Bria screamed, feeling the skin of her arms and legs stretching from the chains pulling her in either direction. The pain was like nothing she had felt before. Angmar and Gavin were being pinned in place, metal blades pushing into their hands to keep them from casting. She was… she was going to die here. Tears came to her eyes at the thought.

The maniac tormenting her gave a demented giggle, gesturing for the chains to rip her apart, once and for all.

“Stay away from Bria!” A young voice shouted. The agent turned in shock, his casting forgotten, as a fist as large as his torso careened towards him, pulping his skull. Standing defiantly, was Matty, tears of rage in his eyes.

“But for all that I hate Bonehead… I love the Isles… and the people who call it home…!” 

With the plan prepped and ready to go, Emira glanced towards Edric. Grimly, she nodded, with him flashing a thumbs up in response. In perfect sync, the two yanked on the cords they had set up, releasing a colossal explosion of smoke into the groups of killers. Working in concert, the twins cast a spell onto the two groups. When their vision cleared, both groups saw the other as a squad of Coven Guards. Reacting to the apparent enemy, the two sets of invaders unleashed their magic upon each other, and in a matter of moments, all were dead. The twins dropped the spell, clutching each other in relief.

“So if you think I’m just going to stand back… and let you kill people because you feel like it… then you’re even crazier than you look!!”

With a scream of rage, Luz drove her blades into Reticulus’ eyes, while Willow used her vines to rip free the near-victim, Amity conjuring up her Abomination to cushion the fall, Gus using his Illusions to guide the way to the exit. Using his broad back as leverage, Luz pushed herself off of his body, landing in a crouch near the others, eyes glaring daggers at the hulking monster before them.

Rudolph scoffed, his humor long gone. “And did you forget that my magical frost builds up and hampers you further the more of it you are exposed to? Hmm?” He accused, eyes narrowed in contempt.

“Nope!” Eda gamely replied. “I just decided I hated the look of you more than I was afraid of dying against you.” Her cheeky grin turned daring, eyes bright with challenge. “Even if I die, I’ll have died fighting for my freedom. Give me your best shot, you two-bit bully.”

With a roar of rage, Rudolph reared back his arm, fully intending to skewer the arrogant Witch who dared to challenge his might! His eyes widened in surprise, however, when his attack clashed against a raised staff, brilliant aquamarine eyes glaring at him.

“Stay. Away. From my sister.” Lilith hissed.

[manlyquail]

RNBWM vs Winter / Ace Ops

So, I doubt this is going to happen given how Episode 6 ended, but part of me was imagining a sort of reverse Sasuke Retrieval Arc taking place over an episode or two in which Ruby, Nora, Blake, Weiss, and May (Rain-boom?) find Penny in the show, but end up being tracked down by Winter and the Ace Ops who *also* want Penny. Then, one by one, each member of the group ends up in a duel of sorts with a member of the other team, as a “I’ll hold them off” / “I can handle this, go get the objective” sort of situation. 

The way I viewed this scenario is as such:

Shortly after Amity falls back from its place in the atmosphere, the broadcast to all of Remnant goes out. Ruby, watching this broadcast with the rest of RNBWM panics and wonders what happens. Moments later an urgent call from Pietro reaches Ruby, the distressed man shouting about something being wrong with Penny. He manages to give their coordinates, saying that Amity is drifting back down, but that he desperately wants Ruby to go rescue Penny. Some sort of shift in Amity causes them to lose communication briefly or something, and in a moment of panic Ruby wonders what to do next. She rushes to share this information to her team, who are still in shock over the broadcast end, and looking after an injured Nora. Nora, surprising everyone, wakes up and grumbles out that she’s good to go. Despite the rest of the team insisting, Nora grabs Magnihild and refuses to simply lay in bed while their friend is in danger. So, they squad up, taking either the ship May already stole, or perhaps even some secret special / custom Schnee transport vehicle and head down into the tundra.

A Grimm manages to attack them as they flee, causing the vehicle to crash close to the coordinates. Still, their priority is Penny, and after checking that everyone is okay they hike out into the blizzard. A short time later they find Penny, whose systems are still rebooting / handling the fact they’ve been hacked / what have you. Ruby lifts her up, and the group detects faint communications from the outpost Jaune Yang and Ren are broadcasting from / their scroll broadcast that we see the Ace Ops originally track down. So, they decide to start heading in that direction.

However as they walk, a blizzard picks up, causing their vision to be drastically reduced. Something is eerily familiar about the way the blizzard is swirling around them, and Weiss sudden has a realization. Suddenly taking a combat stance, she rushes from the group and pierces a snow white Beowulf appearing from the fog, and jumps back to the group announcing they’ve been found. At first, the group is confused as to the look of the Grimm, but as Weiss uses her glyphs to counteract the effects of the storm, the air becomes clear and the Ace Ops are revealed to be standing a short distance from them.

After a brief amount of talking, Weiss insists that she’ll hold them off, and that the rest of the group just needs to get to JYR and they’ll hold an advantage. Using her glyphs, Weiss manages to hold the Ace Ops in place at great strain to herself as the others retreat across the landscape, but Winter simply shakes her head and using her own glyphs breaks the others free. Sending the other four to chase after their target, Winter stands her ground and prepares to fight Weiss.

The battle starts much like it did in training we’ve seen between them in the past. Each summons slain foes to brawl it out between them, glowing white and blue creatures ranging from small beowulves, to ursa, lancers, and the Knight, until each burns through enough Aura that they cannot sustain this fighting style. Weiss begs Winter to stop this, that taking Penny is not the way to solve things, but Winter can only point out that their attempt to raise Amity into the air failed and they are left with no other options.

The two resorts to more direct combat, crossing blades and using glyphs for ranged attacks and to increase their own abilities. Weiss feels sad, sad that Winter has always followed her own path up until now and not even letting Jacques, their father, tell her what to do. To see her suddenly following orders from a man as far gone as Ironwood is painful to Weiss, and Winter insists that Weiss is simply too naive and can’t see the bigger picture. Weiss admits that their views may be different, but one thing has changed, and that she no longer feels bound or compelled to walk in the shadow cast by her older sister.

As the two fight, the Ace Ops manage to catch up at least part way to the rest of the group. To their surprise, they find a single faunus girl with her weapon drawn ready to fight them. Wasting no time, Harriet rushes Blake and tries to punch her, only for her to fly through the shadow of her semblance and crash into the snow. Looking around to try and find the source of the shadow, Blake appears once more in time for Elm to try and smash through it only for her to fail once more. Realizing they’re stalling, Harriet calls for the group to run with her, but Blake actually attacks this time causing a further delay in their movements. As she goes in for another attack, a snap of his finger and a shout of the word “Stay” from Marrow causes Blake to slow in place. Taking the opportunity, the rest of the Ace Ops run past her to follow the tracks in the snow.

Marrow drops his semblance, letting out a sigh as he regains his composure, and Blake stares back at the group of Ace Ops she let by. Deciding at the very least she’ll stop Marrow in her tracks, she prepares to fight him but is surprised by his hesitation. Glaring him down, she asks why he’s doing all of this if he can sense it isn’t the right decision. Marrow refuses to outright admit his doubts in Ironwood, but instead turns the point to his nature as a faunus. As a faunus in Atlas, in the Atlas Military, and so far as to be in the Ace Ops, he stands as a symbol to all of Atlas that the faunus aren’t to be taken lightly. He’s an inspiration to those who feel oppressed, and a symbol of strength and determination to those that might still try and treat the faunus as just animals.

Blake admits that she respects his position, and that if circumstances weren’t as they are she would think him a hero, but given how things are he’s still wrong. She knows what it’s like to believe you’re doing right by the faunus by following a certain path, but by following the wrong people you only do more harm to the faunus. Because of Ironwood, the faunus in Mistral are suffering, and if he enacts his plan then all of those faunus will die. All the faunus Marrow has spent his life trying to inspire will die because of his actions, and what then? Who will be left to inspire after all is said and done.

Marrow admits that he wishes he could believe that, but if Atlas falls, then so too may all of Remnant. The faunus of mistral or the faunus of the world, he knows that in the bigger picture he’ll do more for the faunus by following Ironwood than he will following a bunch of kids, and proceeds to attack Blake.

Up ahead the Ace Ops hear an explosion, followed by another. There’s a sudden snowstorm they hadn’t been prepared for given the clear weather they’d been experiencing up until that point. Knowing both Weiss and Winter are having their duel behind them, they take a cautious approach into the dense cloud of snow, unsure of what’s causing it. There’s a blinking light from within the snow, and a grenade with a heart flies into the group and detonates into the snow shooting up more of a protective cloud to block their vision. Elm, in her frustrations, uses her own weapon to detonate a rocket in the arm, the rush of warm air from the explosion bursting out and revealing a rather large clearing. To their surprise, a scarred and still injured Nora stands before them, her weapon in the form of a grenade launcher as she stands weekly on her feet. The three stare, taken aback by this opponent, when Elm takes a step forward. Promising that this will be an easy encounter, she insists Vine and Harriet move on ahead while she handles this girl. 

Nora, too weak to try and stop either of the two running past her, simply transforms her weapon back and stares at Elm. Elm is slow, unsure exactly of what to do, but decides that at the end of the day she has a job to do. She takes a slow step towards Nora, Nora matching the motion and moving towards her. With a look of worry, Elm comments that in Nora’s state, if she doesn’t hold back she can’t be held accountable for what might happen to Nora. She doesn’t even think Nora has any Aura left, and it would be a shame to waste such a potential youth for such a lost cause. Nora, outside her usual bubbly and talkative self, instead simply shakes her head and tightens the grip on her weapon.

Elm with a heavy sigh rushes Nora and the two let their hammers collide. Both are pushes back, Elm is surprised by the strength Nora can muster in her condition, but Nora simply smirks and assumes her stance once more. In a dramatic roar, boasting about how much she loves this girls enthusiasm to the end, Elm charges Nora and the two have their battle.

Vine and Harriet are surprised when Vine is suddenly struck. There is crunching in the snow, and Harriet is struck down as well. The two look around trying to figure out what is happening when Harriet is struck again. Vine’s eyes see steps in the snow, and creating tentacles from his aura via his semblance, he whips blindly out in an arc towards Harriet and is shocked when he collides with something. The aura is sliced cleanly through as May reveals herself with a smug expression. She goes to strike Harriet again, but in a burst of light Harriet is gone. She shouts to Vine that she’s sick and tried of this game of cat and mouse and is going to go on ahead to stop Ruby and retrieve their objective. With a nod, Vine regrows the aura tentacle and stands to face May, who takes up her weapon.

Now, these two have an interesting dynamic in that they have yet to meet as far as I know, but as the Happy Huntresses and the Ace Ops are sort of opposite sides of a coin, they have the potential for an interesting dynamic. Vine comments on how he wishes that the Happy Huntresses could have worked together with the Ace Ops, that up until their betrayal it seemed a good chance that Ironwood and Robyn would make incredibly allies and unite Mistral and Atlas. May laments this point as well, but argues that it was Ironwood that turned on them and all of Mistral first, before vanishing. Vine’s eyes follow the snow as he whips outwards at her location, but May extends her semblance outwards to hide vision of his own outstretched aura, and May wastes no time cutting away at it. She chuckles at how much aura she must think he’s wasting, and that if the Ace Ops are so bad at thinking out strategy then it only makes sense they’d have a plan so terrible as to try and abandon Mantle to save themselves.

Vine insists that this plan is to help all of Remnant, that he holds sorrow for those lives that will be lost, but what war isn’t won through sacrifice. He offers that Ironwood allowed them to complete their plan, that they were aware of how Penny had hacked into their systems, how Pietro was planning to use the login, and that the Ace Ops in the end had decided to back down. They were given their chance, their opportunity to raise Amity into the sky, but they failed. If they had succeeded, Vine and mostly likely the rest of the Atlas Military would’ve stood down and extended the olive branch, but things are how they are and he has no choice but to follow through with Ironwood’s plan. May takes a moment to thank him for the opportunity, that she too is hurt that the plan failed, but she still doesn’t think the path Ironwood has chosen is right, and the two continue their fight.

Ahead, Harriet is tearing through the snow as quickly as she can. In a rage, her semblance pushes her to faster and faster speeds as a speck of red comes into view. Smirking, she tears past and slams into Ruby, catching the girl off guard and causing her to drop Penny into the snow. Penny, still unconscious and shut down, simply sinks down into the snow. Ruby rushes to get her but Harriet speeds by and slams a fist into her cheek, sending her spiraling away. Smirking, Harriet turns to reach for Penny, when a burst of rose petals behind her slams into her back and sends her toppling away into the snow. Standing and staring at Ruby, standing protectively over Penny, the two prepare to fight.

Ruby ends up doing more of the talking in their battle. As Harriet rushes her Ruby does her best to take more evasive maneuvers, but still doing her best to place herself between Harriet and Penny. She insists that they can still make this right, that Amity achieved the goal of sending the message to all of Remnant that Atlas is in need of help. She’s seen what people can do when they come together, and that after the faunus helped Haven, stopping even a member of Salem’s inner circle and preventing another incident like the Fall of Beacon, that this message can be used to save Atlas.

Harriet laughs. She tells Ruby that the two of them should be familiar enough with speed to know that it would be impossible for the forces they’d need to stop Salem’s army to get there in time. That the problem at their doorstep isn’t just going to wait while their allies gather, and that this is something that needs to be handled now. Their only chance is for Atlas to fly from Remnant, to save as many people as possible and reestablish communications across the planet. Even if the message got out, the Kingdom’s still can’t talk to one another, meaning it would take even longer for anyone to ever get there. Ruby says that this still isn’t the right option, that sacrificing the people of Mantle can’t be the right path to choose, but Harriet has decided she’s done. No more talking. The two continue to fight it out until an earthquake shakes the surface beneath them. Hesitantly looking around, wondering what the source of this sensation was, they feel it again, and again. At this point, all the fights have stopped, and Harriet puts her fingers to her ear to listen to communications being sent out. Ruby pauses, standing over Penny, when a massive tremor shakes the ground, and she bears witness to one of the most horrific scenes she’s ever seen.

Even from the distances the group stand at, the effects of Salem’s surprise attack are obvious. A river of Grimm, of a dark essence of fear itself, rushes upwards towards the city. The protective Hard-Light barrier stands no chance, and the city is breached. Moments later, the defensive barriers above begin to fall, and the shield protecting all of Atlas visibly collapses. Immediately all the battles stop, the weight of the situation causing them all to panic as they realize what is about to happen.

However, Ruby hears another sound amidst the rumbling. As Harriet shouts into her ear piece, behind Ruby a figure stands. Penny stands, and Ruby is elated to see her friend is okay. She rushes to hug her, but suddenly a fist collides with her chest and knocks her back. Penny, with no signs of emotion whatsoever, rises up slowly into the air. She looks between Harriet and Ruby, her eyes glowing red as she jets off towards the city just as the enormous whale Grimm slams into onto the surface. Ruby is left confused, the rest of her team and the Ace Ops in equal fear, as Yang Jaune and Ren approach the scene. They’re confused as to where Penny is suddenly going, and all Ruby can do is shout for her friend as she flies away.

---

Basically this is a set of circumstances I’d imagined happening to give weight to the Ace Ops decisions and let us see Penny to know she’s okay after her little tumble. To see a rematch of course, to let all the emotions of all the characters known before things go sideways, to really sow those seeds within the Ace Ops, a few who are already on the edge of flipping sides... I don’t know, just a fun idea I had for an alternative scene :D

[kenzieam]

Amity Confidential - Chapter 6 (Eric X OC)

Rating: M (swearing/smut/anger/other adult themes :p)

**Possible Trigger Warnings, Sensitive Subject Matter**

Genre: Drama/Humour/Angst

Thanks everyone for the re-blogs and support!!! IT IS SO AWESOME!!!

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A new standalone story for Fox and Eric - NO, NOT THE PWP I WAS ASKING ABOUT EARLIER…..THAT’S IN THE WORKS STILL - Thank you everyone for indulging me and my ramblings, you are my lovelies!

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**Possible Trigger Warnings, Sensitive Subject Matter**

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It was early the next morning when Fox gradually began to wake up again, Eric was pressed to her side, his strong arms banding her, his face buried in her neck.

“Eric?” She murmured.

Still asleep, he only nuzzled his face further into her hair with a contented sigh.

Suddenly, Eric’s phone began to beep and he startled slightly, then groaned and rolled away from Fox, reaching for the nightstand.

“Coulter.......What?! You’re fucking joking......alright, give me an hour...okay! Half an hour.” Eric sat up with a groan, his gaze regretful.

“What?” Fox asked quietly as Eric reached down and gently stroked her cheek. He sighed heavily before answering.

“That was Max, I have to go back to Dauntless.” He paused, as if unwilling to say more, then huffed and continued. “The leaders are meeting to decide whether to charge me with murder, Jack brought truth serum and they’re going to interrogate me.”

Fox inhaled sharply, her eyes widening with alarm, “Eric, no.” Her heart began to race, if Eric was found guilty, anything could happen, he could be stripped of his leadership title (not that that mattered to Fox, she’d love him even if he was a janitor, but Eric’s identity was so tied to being a Dauntless leader that Fox was worried about how he’d feel if it was taken from him), he could even be sentenced to death, to firing squad; Fox’s stomach dropped at the thought, Eric had been protecting her, had saved her from a madman, this was her fault.

Eric read the thoughts crossing her face and frowned in concern, his hand gently cupped her cheek and he leaned forwards, pressing his lips to hers in a soft but insistent kiss. Pulling back, he rested his forehead to hers, adjusting his body to avoid leaning on her and causing Fox more pain.

“This is not your fault,” he murmured. “It’s Blaze’s, he could have just accepted your decision and stayed away, instead he tried to kill you....I will never apologize for saving you from that.” He pressed one more kiss to her lips, Fox couldn’t stop the fleeting thought that this was his good-bye to her; and pulled away. Fox watched with tears in her eyes as he left the room, not looking back.

Despite the hours she’d just spent sleeping in Eric’s arms, Fox felt exhausted, and even though Eric was a verifiable furnace of body heat, Fox was cold, a bone-deep chill that had nothing to do with her anxiety over the leaders convening to decide Eric’s fate. Her eyelids fluttered and, as a nurse appeared with a new syringe, closed; her body sagging back into the bed.

Someone calling her name pulled Fox from unconsciousness later. Wincing, Fox squinted, focusing reluctantly on the owner.

“M-Max?” She wheezed, trying to sit up. She felt Max’s hands on her shoulders, heard him shush her and tell her to lay back.

“You look like shit Fox, just lay back.”

Nodding, Fox fell back, breathing hard. “Are you here about Eric?”

Max nodded. “The faction leaders have convened and are waiting for me, Eric has been subjected to the truth serum and interrogated. We only need your testimony now. Tell me what happened from the beginning.”

“What happened?” Fox mumbled.

“Yeah, tell me why I have a Fence Commander dead in the Chasm, a leader half-dead in the hospital and another leader being investigated for murder, enlighten me LaRue.” Max snapped.

Fox sighed. “It started when you sent us to the Amity festival together, and the wine was spiked.” She looked at Max and he nodded; the poisoned wine investigation was still going on, and was becoming a massive can of worms, with the security of stored serums now being reviewed in every faction.

Fox glanced away before continuing. “We both drank the wine, and then slept together....I tried to break it off, tried to stay loyal to Blaze but....my heart wasn’t in it, wasn’t his anymore. I fought back and forth with myself for a week about what to do, and then Blaze came home from the fence and I confessed, told him I couldn’t marry him. He was furious, but I didn’t hear anymore from him. Then....I was walking home from the Pit and....Blaze attacked me, swung at me with something, Eric said it was a pipe...he tried to hit me again and then tackled me, but I was so disoriented from him hitting me that I could barely fight back.......he was going to rape me first, I could hear him pulling at his pants. He grabbed my throat, growled that ‘I’d give it to Coulter but not him?’ then....it must have been when he stabbed me, I felt two sharp pains in my stomach.....he was choking me, everything was going dark, then Pax grabbed me and I could hear screaming and roaring as he carried me away. I woke up here, feeling like shit.”

Max nodded, “your description of the attack matches the security camera footage, as well as Eric and Pax’s testimony. There is no question that Blaze intended to kill you; rape you first, then kill you. The question is whether Eric used unnecessary force in dealing with him.”

Fox opened her mouth to answer but Max waved his hand dismissively. “I would have said yes except for two points. Firstly, I have known Eric since his initiation and have worked closely with him ever since. Eric is supremely, fiercely loyal to those few he chooses to let into his circle, will do anything for them once they have earned his trust; I expect nothing less for the woman he’s given his heart to.”

Fox’s heart thumped painfully and the back of her eyes began to tickle.

“Secondly, once you were removed from Blaze’s range, he turned his rage on Eric. The camera footage backs this up. He fully intended to kill Eric after being denied you. I don’t know if you saw, but Eric has defensive wounds to both forearms and hands. Blaze slashed at him with the same knife he’d stabbed you with. This takes Eric’s actions from defense of a loved one to defense of his own life. I will remind the other faction leaders of this when I return to Dauntless. Thank you for your time, Fox. I hope to see you back soon.” He patted Fox’s shoulder once then stood and left.

Fox watched him go, then sighed shakily and relaxed back against the bed, unaware until now that she’d been full of tension while answering Max. His words kept replaying through her head, I expect nothing less for the woman he’s given his heart to. Eric’s quiet words to her last night, his head buried in her hair, I need you. Marry me baby, please, and this morning, I will never apologize for saving you, joined Max’s in circling her thoughts and Fox shivered; the thought of another being willing to kill for you was a heady sensation, but Fox realized with a jolt that if the situation had been reversed, she would have done the same, and not just because she’d chosen Dauntless, had dripped her blood on the hot coals. She would do it because already, in so short a time, Eric had become her other half, her reason for being, and the thought of continuing her life without him was inconceivable, she’d rather die saving his life than continue without him. The knowledge hit hard, but didn’t alarm Fox, it filled her warmth, a sense of peace.

Cursing herself for not being able to stay wake, Fox’s eyelids fell closed again.

A gentle touch and dip of the mattress woke Fox later, familiar powerful arms banded around her and warm breath tickled the back of her neck.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Eric murmured into her throat.

“Tired, and I’m cold.”

“You are,” Eric murmured, tightening his arms and rubbing her skin gently. “Have the nurses been in lately?”

“I....I don’t know, I’ve been sleeping....what happened with the interrogation?”

Eric’s lips caressed Fox’s shoulder before he answered. The truth serum had been uncomfortable, he’d fought it before giving in, spilling more secrets than he’d have liked to. They’d wanted to know how long he’d been in love with Fox, if he’d forced himself on her at the festival, threatened her in any way to make her break off her engagement to Blaze. Eric had fought back bitter rage as he spat his answers, why would he force Fox to do anything? He loved her, and she him, the amity serum had just brought to the surface what they’d been fighting to keep secret from each other all along. Blaze had just been a sore loser, Eric did not regret his actions, he would kill Blaze all over again if he could, he would kill anyone who threatened Fox. His eyes had flashed dangerously with this veiled threat and Max had nodded barely perceptively in return.

“They dropped the charges. Not guilty. I told Max I’m taking two weeks vacation starting now. When you get out of here I’m taking you away for a few days, and we’re going to be alone finally.”

Fox didn’t respond and Eric nudged her gently, “Fox?”

Fox tried to answer, but managed only a shudder instead; in spite of all the sleep she’d gotten today, she was still exhausted and despite her blankets she had been shivering all day. Eric’s brows furrowed in concern as he felt her full-body tremble and he raised his head, nudging Fox ever so gently.

“Fox? Answer me...Fox?” Eric’s tone grew anxious, Fox had woken when he’d curled beside her just minutes ago, but now she’d gone oddly slack in his arms. Her body temperature was alarmingly low, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. Where the fuck have the nurses been?! Eric reached for the call button and stabbed it viciously, his heart beginning to pound in fear.

A nurse walked in and hadn’t even opened her mouth yet to ask the problem when Eric barked at her to ‘get the doctor now!’ the nurse hesitated and Eric roared at her. “Now, goddammit!”

Turning his attention back to Fox Eric touched her cheek, slapping it ever so gently. Fox’s head snapped limply to the side, her eyes were half-open and a bluish tinge coloured her lips. Eric’s heart nearly stopped. “FOX?!” He yelled, cupping her chin, his eyes wild. This had happened so fast, one moment she was asking about the interrogation, the next she was deadly silent, deadly pale. Pure panic and adrenaline shot white hot through his veins and he rose onto his knees beside Fox’s motionless form; his hands grabbing her shoulders as he screamed at her to wake up. Feet pounded in the hallway and the doctor ran in, followed by a pack of nurses.

“What-”

“Something’s wrong!” Eric roared, “haven’t you been watching her?!” His voice was a strangled mix of rage and fear, his eyes blazing.

Indignant, the doctor set his jaw, “she is exhausted from her ordeal-”

“Fuck that!” Eric screamed, “she’s fucking blue!”

That seemed to finally penetrate and the doctor whirled, barking at the nurses. They descended on Fox like a pack of wolves and Eric felt himself bodily pulled away. He paced back and forth, fighting the nearly overwhelming urge to throw the staff aside and pull Fox into his arms, scream her awake again, but he forced himself to stay out of the way. Equal parts rage and panic boiled in his veins, where the fuck had everyone been? Hadn’t they noticed something was wrong with her? Why the fuck did I leave her? I should have been here! Eric was pulled from his thoughts by more nurses and doctors running into the room, someone barking orders. Fox was transferred to a gurney and Eric watched helplessly as her motionless form disappeared.

[italright-blog1]

Changing Part 4

Hey guys, hope you like it!❤

“Jesus Four.” I say, pulling my shirt down and pushing Eric off of me. All Four does is stare, a questioning look on his face. Without speaking I try and let him know that I’ll tell him all about it later. He nods, understanding.

“Well?” Eric asks, making me break eye contact with Four. He clears his throat again.

“You’re needed in the control room. Factionless took down some of our cameras again and Max wanted to discuss a plan with you.” I hear Eric curse under his breath. I look at him, his usually neat hair is tussled, sticking up all over. He still doesn’t wear a shirt, but his pants are set low on his waist. I blush.

“I can’t.” He says standing up, walking to the kitchen to get his now cold coffee. “I have to take care of Sage, she can barely walk on her own.” He takes a sip from the mug and pours the rest down the drain.

“I can take care of her. You need to go.” Four says, his face cold, so different from how it usually is when I’m around him. I know it has to do with Eric, both of us have hated him since initiation.

“Fine.” He says after seemingly thinking it over for a minute. He walks out of the room, pulling a shirt over his head when he reenters. Its black, just like every other piece of clothing he owns. He walks towards me, my heart pounds, scared of what he’ll do. Before he reaches me he grabs his jacket. I sigh, relieved that Four won’t be seeing any other PDA for now. He’s about to walk out the door, when he turns around.

“Sorry, forgot something.” Eric hands me his points card.

“What’s this for?” I ask him, tilting my head.

“For clothes. While you wearing my T-shirt is sexy and all, I don’t think its all that great. Buy yourself some new clothes.” With that he leans down and lightly kisses my lips. A blush crosses my cheeks.

I slip the card in his back pocket, just as he is sitting up. Being around some con artists growing up has its advantages. He should know that I’d never take his money.

“Thank you.” I say, shifting on the couch. “Now leave, Coulter.”

“Alright, alright, fine.” He says and walks out the door. I’ve almost forgotten that Four was there until he sits next to me on the sofa.

“What the fuck was that?” he asks me, his voice is low and calm. I know he’s angry but he’d never admit it.

“I have no idea.” I reply and lean my head down to rest on his lap. He sighs, knowing that forcing me to talk won’t help any, and places his hand on my waist, pulling me into him more.

***

“Okay, I understand that much, but you guys didnt.. you know, you guys didnt..” Tobias says

“No, God no, me with Eric like that, no.” I reply

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure.” He shakes his head up and down, his hair bouncing slightly as he does so.

“I dont even like him, I dont think. I mean how could I, my entire relationship with him is based off of hate.” I say, its not wrong. I honestly, until now have ever felt anything towards Eric except hate and on occasion jealousy. Thats only because the bastard took a leadership job.

I sit up from Four’s lap, having been laying there for almost 2 hours. When I face him, he smiles. “What?” I ask

“Nothing,” he says “Its just that you still have the locket.” With this he moves his hand to touch my neck, grazing the gold chain. “Is the picture still okay?”

“Yeah, its fine.” To prove so I open the locket and show him the image of my mom. His smile fades the longer he looks at it.

“I’m sorry.” He says it low, almost a whisper so quiet even I didnt hear it.

“Dont be.” I grab his hand and hold it in mine. Sometimes I feel like Tobias is more concerned about my past life than I am. I remember the first time I told him the entire story of my upbringing, and how he told me his. Turns out shitty fathers are a common thing. Not so much shitty stepdads for him but, he still understood.

“Were you okay when Eric, initiated it? When he first started?” He asks, his eyes on our intertwined hands.

“Yeah,” my voice barely a whisper “It was so.. Different, it was okay. It didn’t remind me of him at all. Eric was gentle, he wasn’t. Besides its been a long time since it happened so its not as bad anymore.” Once again he nods, this time pulling me into a hug. I sigh into his chest. I dont know what I would do without the big softy. He about the only family I have and one of the only friends I care about.

“I love you, Sage.” He says and kisses the top of my head.

“I love you too.” I say, squeezing him tighter. “When do you have think Eric’s coming back?” He sighs into my hair.

“Soon. He will probably be back in half and hour but leave again after that. Max will most likely send him and a squad to repair the cameras and that’ll take all night. I dont see why they even need to send them out there anymore and risk the-” I cut him off, not wanting to hear another one of his long rants about the leaders acting weird.

“Can I stay at your place tonight?” I say, moving my body just far enough away from his to look him in the face.

“You know you can. Why even ask?” I shrug and lean into him again.

“Can you do me another favor?” I ask

“Depends.” I hit him lightly for his reply, smiling. “Okay, fine, what do you want this time?”

“I can’t walk, or I guess I shouldn’t, can you get my wheelchair?”

“Fuck no, what are you trying to do, runs way from me.” He teases. I lift up my index finger in protest.

“No. Not run away, just slowly roll.” I say, he laughs, moving his body quickly he grabs my sides, pinning me under him.

“Thats it.” he says, a huge smile across his face. He tickles my sides, making me spasm and laugh too loud. “Now say you won’t leave me!” He screams over my howling.

“N-ne-never!” I manage to get out. His eyes narrow when I says this and I know that I’m in for hell.

“You asked for this.” He say moving his hands from my sides to my neck. I scream even louder. At this point people probably think I’m being murdered behind this door. “Now say it!” He says again.

“Fin- okay. I won- wont. Leave you” I say, once I finish he let’s me go, relief flooding my body. I’m finally able to breath. I smile and so does he. “Asshole.” I say to him.

“That the last straw.” he says, making my eyes go wide. He grabs me and heaves me over his shoulder, my eyes now level with the hem of his shirt. I see the bottom of his tattoo, a sliver of the Amity tree showing. I scream again as he carries me down the hall, me hitting his back, him telling people we walk past ‘excuse me.’