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inklingofadream · 1 year ago

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Ink's 2023 Fic

It’s the end of another year, and you know what that means! Or you joined me this year and don’t, one of the two. At the end of every year I post a list of everything I wrote to become my blog’s pinned post for the upcoming year. However, this year, it’s a bit different. We’ll get to that in a minute.

According to my AO3 stats, I posted 709,908 words of fic in 2023, across 8 fandoms and spread over 64 individual works. That’s a 765.784% increase in word count from last year! I’m unwell!

Normally, I post everything I wrote, split up by fandom and in chronological order, with basic stats and descriptions that vary between synopsis, liner notes, excerpts, or all of the above. However, 45 of those 64 works were written for Whumptober this year. Since they’re mostly for The Magnus Archives (dominating the list as usual) and many of them are very short, I’m not going to list all the TMA fics. I’ll list my favorites and ones I think got less attention than they deserved, as well as all fics for other fandoms, and since that’s my most popular stuff I’m listing it last/under the cut. Wordcount and relationships (romantic or platonic, healthy or not) are listed, but check the AO3 tags, warnings, and notes, as I won’t be including the content warnings here.

Batman

Mom’s Been On a Parenting Kick Lately- 9k, WIP, Talia/Bruce, Talia & Batkids;This is still getting off the ground (I need to get back to it), but I’m excited about the future of this fic! It’s my take on Jason’s post-resurrection time with the League of Assassins, but with timelines turned into spaghetti to facilitate bonding. Talia is currently in possession of 3 batkids, but she isn’t done stealing Bruce’s kids yet :)

i'd walk a wire, jump through a fire for you- 800, complete; literally just just shy of 1k about Dick have feelings about falling and parents

The Locked Tomb

lyin’ on our backs and countin’ the stars- 900, complete, John&Gideon; I’m actually shocked there aren’t way more John and Gideon “bonding” fics out there. This one also has a backstory for Gideon and Ianthe’s friendship bracelets!

The Adventure Zone- Balance

old worn out suit and shoes- 600, complete, Taako&Lup; Post-finale nightmares for Taako, now that he can remember he has a sister to lose

Malevolent

Please Come Back To Me- 2.9k, complete, Parker&Arthur; Parker lives and goes to hunt down and kill whatever used Arthur to try to kill him.

You’re here. That’s all I need to know.- 300 complete; Arthur finds Faroe in the bath.

Living, Dead, or Undecided?- 1.7k, complete; Arthur is sacrificed to the King in Yellow as punishment for what happened to Faroe.

His head and limbs were heavy with ornaments, much of his flesh left unprotected from the elements. It was far too mild a summer evening for that; he deserved to freeze or burn at the freedom of open air. His thoughts were fuzzy with the overpowering cacophony of scented oils and chanting. He was deposited at the top of the hill, too gentle in slope to burn at his atrophied muscles, on a stone slab. They chained him in place, the seeping stone finally sapping enough warmth from his bones to feel appropriate.

Dracula

i still see your ghost- 200, complete, Jonathan/Mina; Some fill-in angst about Jonathan seeing Dracula on September 22… which I did actually write on September 22.

Hannibal

I can’t remember if I cried- 1.7k, complete, Abigail/Marissa; This is actually a concept I came up with in high school lol. Hopefully, someday I’ll write a fic expanding on the shipping kernel of the concept.

Hench

The Kind of World Where We Belong- 1k, complete, Anna/Quantum; AU where Leviathan dies and femslash ensues.

The Magnus Archives

The Vampire Saga- 68k, 6 works, Jon/Martin; The first of several shared universes with @suttttton on this list. Vampire!Elias snacks on Jon until Vampire!Martin gets hold of him instead, fluff and romance ensue. The new works this year both feature Gerry!

The Vampire Saga Route 2- 38k, 7 works, Jon/Martin, Jon/Elias, Jon/suffering; Shares a few fics with its predecessor, up to Martin entering the picture, this is the darker version. Fic this year mostly focuses on Jon meeting Tim and Sasha, and the gang rescuing Danny from the Circus. And the aftermath thereof. I’m really proud of the Circus stuff I wrote!

Bird-Verse- 37k, 7 works, Jon/Beholding, Jon/Martin;Spin-off of cult au, also with Sutton, featuring a happier resolution to many of Jon’s problems, so he gets to live with all his friends and marry Martin. Except for how this year’s additions are about him dealing with the lingering cult intrusions and trauma :)

Indent AU- 50k, 2 works, Jon/everyone;My first foray into writing smut. I’m very proud of it, and I’d say it deserved more love than it got, but I’m realistic about the content being very much not for everyone.

Cult AU Bad Ending- 9k, 2 works, Jon/Beholding, Jon/Jonah; This is a good time to mention that, as I have 10,000 Cult AU derivatives, they have their own AO3 Collection now. This one is a far future fic where Jon is immortal with Jonah and sad about it. It’s a crier.

Interesting- 3.7k, complete, Jon/Elias, Jon/Martin; This is an old fic of Jon and Elias in the Panopticon that got a new chapter for Whumptober! It took about 2 years to get that draft to publication…

restless soul who always skips town- 900, complete, Jon/Peter; This is the one I most wish got more attention. Peter keeps Jon in the Lonely.

When Peter comes, it's wonderful. Peter is a person in a way the Archivist isn't and, he knows, Peter even sometimes leaves the fog. He knows it because Peter gives him journals that are red and gold and violet, so different from the limited palette of the fog and the Archivist and Peter that they make the Archivist's eyes hurt.

dead if they knew- 6k, complete, Elias/Jon/Tim; I had SO much fun fiddling to differentiate the four POVs from each other!

Familiar AU- 16k, 4 works, complete; Jon is kidnapped by Elias and turned into his familiar; for Sasha, Tim, and Martin, it’s a long, hard road to rescuing him.

no beat, no melody- 600, complete; Canon-compliant fic in between Jon getting the tape of the birthday party from MAG161 and the episode itself, hanging around the safehouse in the Depression Zone.

welcomed you with open doors- 1.6k, complete, Martin/Jon; Spiral!Martin in a role reversal au that swaps him and Michael. Martin is much more proactive as the Distortion (and more liable to fall in love with nearby Archivists)

save some face (you know you’ve only got one)- 1.4k, complete; Sasha is altered by the NotThem instead of killed. Half body horror, half giving her my fibromyalgia, all bad times!

somebody once broke me- 2.7k, complete, Jon&Gerry; Gerry lives! Visibly monstery Avatars! Jon gets kidnapped from a kidnapping! It’s all the hits for my body of work ;)

remember this moment- 3.8k, complete, Jon&Daisy; I initially planned this fic for, I think, Februwhump 2021. It’s been slated for every Februwhump and Whumptober since, and FINALLY finished!

Take Me Through the Darkness- 15k, complete; Superhero AU, ft. epistolary interludes! Several more of my greatest hits! (And also Jon getting kidnapped from another kidnapping.) My personal favorite is Jon thinking Tim is a hallucination and crying.

look upon your greatness (and she’ll send the call out)- 8k, complete; Cult AU AU where Georgie tracks Jon down a few months after his kidnapping.

The chances of Jon being abducted, held somewhere, and still alive are so narrow that they might as well not exist. Checking the resources the charity sent, Georgie realized it's even grimmer than that. She struggles to picture Jon doing anything to appease his captors. It's extremely easy, however, to picture him literally or figuratively daring them to kill him.

Something Wretched About This- 2.9k, complete, Jon&Tim; Jon returns from the Circus without vocal cords, and he and Tim have a moment of peace, if not reconciliation.

just like a real-life thelma and louise- 6.6k, complete, Sasha/Annabelle; Sasha and Annabelle have superpowers and escape from the lab experimenting on them.

Kinky Polychives AU- 70k, 2 works, WIP, Polychives; My second, much fluffier smut verse. I tagged Jon as “horny for predicaments instead of people” and I think it’s the thing that’s been commented on specifically by the most people lol

til the veins run red and blue- 200, complete, Jon/Martin; I really like the Lonely, and I don’t know why I don’t write it more. This one is a little Somewhere Else coda with Jmart

come home (to my heart)- 8.7k, complete, Jon&Gerry; a fusion of Little Archive and cult au where Jon is the specialest boy in the whole Cult of Beholding, and Gerry grew up with Mary. If anything I wrote this year gets a sequel, I think it’s this. The fic is all Gerry POV, but I had a chunk written in Jon POV I cut, ft. Jon convincing Beholding that he can definitely wander London solo and it’s FINE, he won’t disappear in the house of a murderer or anything… ;)

Extras- 18k, Jon/Martin; My fae au is complete, but this is a bunch of little bits that inspired me beyond the bounds of the main story, like meeting Melanie, Martin proposing, and so on.

sitting pretty on the throne, nothing more i want (except to be alone)- 217k, WIP, Jon/Beholding; Cult au wraps up another year! Hopefully, by this time next year, it’ll be complete at LAST!

Beneath the Stains of Time- 98k, WIP; Also a contender for longfic that I hope to finish in 2024! This year, we FINALLY got to the gang figuring out Jon’s identity and now it’s all unraveling…

Little Archive- 85k, WIP; Last but certainly not least! I’ve been so happy to see the warm reception for Cecile and Anika this year 💗

#tma #malevolent #hench #hannibal #batfam #dracula #taz #tlt #wrap-up #ink post #ink writing #ink fic

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esta-elavaris · 2 years ago

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Fallen Through Time

Part Six [3,845 words]

An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Also now on AO3 (restricted to registered users only thanks to AI mining, sorry!) and FF.net.

Masterpost - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - *Part Six* [you’re here!]

Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @missfronkensteen @dancerinthestorm @teawithshakespeare

It was mere days before James encountered Theodora Byrne again – although this time she appeared in much better shape, with more colour to her face and a great deal less swaying as she stood, and rather than traversing structurally unstable docks, she was in the town square. It was a fair day – sunny, but not stiflingly hot, with a fair breeze that kept winding its way through the settlement – and so there was little risk of her being overcome by the heat, as he suspected she had been last time. James also had to admit that seeing her milling about outside of local establishments made him far less suspicious than her scrutinising the build of the ships at the docks. All in all, it was a much more favourable state of affairs. Or so he thought upon first glance.

Then – to his exasperation – he began to notice the details. Most surprising of all to him was the fact that she could not be blamed for any of the aspects of her current situation that he found distasteful. She stood unmoving as a monument on the street by the jeweller’s shop, her hands folded before her amidst fine skirts of a deep green colour that suited her far more than the white ever had. Her attention was fixed on the thin air before her eyes, and anybody who spared her just the one glance might be forgiven for thinking that she was lost deep in thought – or perhaps merely taking in the town.

A second glance, though, would find the steely set of her jaw, the fact that her knuckles where stark white…and that there were tears in her eyes. Slowing his stride, he looked about – mostly to see if others had noticed, for the last thing the Swanns needed was their guest having a hysterical breakdown in the middle of the street. Instead, he found the source of her tears. Amelia Simmonds and her gaggle of ladies, standing between James and Miss Byrne with their backs turned to him. Their ignorance to his presence could be the only explanation for the words twittering from their mouths.

“She’s not bad looking – I was expecting a savage.”

“Not bad looking?” Amelia scoffed. “Her nose is crooked, her eyes are too far apart and very beady, her lips are too thin, and she has a jaw more befitting a man than a lady.”

It might have been difficult to gather how Miss Simmonds had put together such a thorough assessment with what appeared to be mere minutes of observation, were it not for the fact that none of it was true. Since her arrival, James had hardly been ignorant to the fact that Miss Byrne’s good looks – which were becoming more apparent as she recovered from her misadventure – would only bode ill if she was a malevolent force. Plenty of fools were only too happy to believe that a fair face could conceal nothing ill.

“She’s tall, too, for a woman – and doesn’t carry the height half so well as Miss Swann does.”

“I had noted her poor posture myself,” Amelia replied, a smile in her voice. “Likely earned from a lifetime of shovelling excrement and hauling crops. That’s all her sort is good for – and even so, an ox can do the latter with more proficiency. And grace. You can dress it up in silk, but you can’t hide it.”

“Not with that accent.”

“They should fall on their knees and thank us for ever taking an interest in their miserable little country. How could they manage without the King’s supervision? Instead, here they are, begging once again for our guidance. How the Governor can stand to have one in his home, I’ll never know-”

James could hear no more of this. Whatever his suspicions of Miss Byrne were, they were far from set in stone, and so there was every possibility in his mind that he was currently bearing witness to needless cruelty against a woman who had already been through much. Sighing quietly, he squared his shoulders and comforted himself with the fact that any awkwardness that would soon arise could not match the regret he would feel in his home tonight if he sat back and did nothing.

“Miss Byrne.”

His voice was unnaturally loud and bright even to his own ears – but it did the job. The women fell silent, turning with slack jaws and parting as he strode through their little group and straight towards the one they’d just been picking apart, knowing full well she could hear every word.

It was little wonder that, when she turned and caught sight of him, the stony façade slipped for a moment and clear dread fleeted across her features before she managed to bury it. Given their prior encounters, she likely thought he was here to make it worse.

“Captain Norrington,” she greeted him softly, looking away and blinking furiously in an effort to dispel her upset. “Good afternoon.”

“It pleases me to see you looking so well-recovered. Are you well?”

At that, she forgot her tears and stared at him like he had gone quite mad. In response, he glanced in the side using his eyes only, in the vague direction of the women behind him. She caught on quickly – although she still seemed barely able to believe what was occurring. Their shock, he suspected, was only matched by that of the one standing before him.

“I…yes. Thank you. Yes. I think I tried to push myself a bit too quickly last time, but I feel much recovered now.”

He forced a smile, all too aware of the utter silence that had befallen those behind him. “I can sympathise – I often find it difficult to remain idle. Still, it seems to have done you good.”

“It has. That, and the kindness of the Swanns. They’ve been very generous with me.”

As she spoke, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nervously looking anywhere but in the direction of the women (nor at him, by extension), almost visibly searching for something else to speak of lest he go racing off and leave him at the mercy of her critics once again.

“And what brings you into town today, might I ask?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back and trying – for the first time in his life – to appear as easy and sociable as Groves.

It didn’t come particularly naturally to him. Nor did he wish it to.

“Fresh air…some window-shopping…and, well, an ill-fated errand.”

His brow furrowed. “You wish to purchase a window?”

A laugh bubbled up and out of her throat at that – and it was difficult to say who was more surprised by it, James or Miss Byrne herself, for she quashed it quickly and he found himself oddly disappointed by that fact.

“Sorry – no. It’s just a turn of phrase.”

It was then that he became aware of the predicament he’d stepped into. He’d entered this small-talk expecting Miss Byrne to use it as a way of excusing herself and slipping away, but she showed now signs of doing so. However, if he said his goodbyes and left her now, as he would have without any outside factors, the chatter would resume. Likely twice as fiercely, at that.

The pragmatic part of him may have been trying to furiously insist that he’d given her ample opportunity to take her leave and that she had not, so her predicament was thusly her own fault. But though her hands had unfurled from the tight fists they’d been in, there was still a distinct sheen to her gaze, and her jaw was clenched so fiercely shut that it was a wonder her teeth had not begun to crack. Could it be that she was so distressed that she hadn’t recognised the exit he was providing her with?

“Perhaps…” he hesitated, and then resigned himself to his fate, “Perhaps I might walk you back to the Governor’s mansion, and you can tell me of this ill-fated errand.”

She blinked at him with wide eyes, and it was of some strange relief to him when he found that she was as reluctant to accept the offer as he had been to give it. In fact, she even seemed tempted to ask if he really meant it. Thankfully, she thought better of it. And then, for better or for worse, and accepted.

“All right. That would be nice – thank you. Maybe I could use the advice of a real Port Royal expert.”

There was no denying she’d piqued his curiosity with that, and so James turned and waited for her to step into place by his side before they would walk. The journey, unfortunately, would take them right alongside the women he’d just all but rescued her from, but James had faced greater perils – and if Miss Byrne’s story was to believed, so had she. He had to admit, however begrudgingly, that he was impressed by how she raised her chin and walked by them as if they hadn’t just come perilously close to driving her to tears. He’d half expected her to brave the steps with her gaze cast downwards and her fingers picking anxiously at the sleeves of her dress.

All the same, once they turned the first corner and were out of sight (and now, likely, a hot topic of discussion), her shoulders dropped a good few inches in relief and she sighed quietly.

“Thank you for that. Really.”

He saw no use in playing coy and pretending he did not know what she meant.

“It was no trouble.”

“It was kind. And it was highly appreciated.”

It was then that James recalled words spoken to him by Governor Swann – as he fought Miss Byrne’s case, following their unfavourable introduction.

It seems to me that Miss Byrne, through circumstances we are not yet aware of, has learned over the course of her life not to expect kindness, nor help. Perhaps not even decency. That is where her words came from, not disrespect. Elizabeth says Miss Byrne ties herself in knots every time we have the servants alter one of my daughter’s dresses so that she can wear them once she is well enough, you know. Hardly the behaviour of one setting out to take what she can and give nothing back. And Elizabeth has a mind to adjust that sad world-view for the better, and I have no mind to dissuade her from that goal – especially not as she herself seems all the happier for it.

James had not the heard to argue with that. Not then, and not now. The Governor had referenced the fact, albeit tactfully, that Elizabeth had not managed to find any kindred spirits among the Port Royal ladies. Given the display he’d just witnessed, James could see why. If Miss Byrne proved to be a remedy to that fact, he could never begrudge her that. So long as Miss Byrne meant no harm. And he had not enough proof of that to be comfortable. Yet.

“You don’t have to walk me back, you know. They can’t see us – I can make the rest of the way on my own.”

“I said that I would,” he said, “And you have not yet told me of this ill-fated errand. I confess myself curious.”

She sighed and continued walking alongside him. At first he thought she meant not to answer at all, but when he glanced at her again he found her frowning at the path ahead, and he could see she was trying to decide where best to begin.

“That sort of thing doesn’t usually get to me,” she said finally. “I don’t usually…cry. It was ridiculous of me, I shouldn’t have gotten upset – I shouldn’t have given them any sort of reaction. It was what they were after.”

James bowed his head, uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had unexpectedly taken. “It was understandable.”

“Maybe, but it was also stupid. I’d just been in to see the jeweller, you see.”

“The jeweller?” he frowned.

A strange destination for one who had washed up on their shores with nothing.

“Yes, it’s…”

Trailing off, she sighed once more and then sifted through her skirts in order to find the pockets concealed within. Once found, she reached a hand in and withdrew what looked to be a necklace – and a strange necklace, at that. The chain was thicker than most, with a solid but cleanly cut heart-shaped pendant. It was flat, albeit just slightly thicker than a shilling, with no engravings or jewels adorning it. Still, simplistic or no, it was fine. Surprisingly fine. And were it a souvenir from past misdeeds, he doubted she’d be so foolish as to needlessly showcase it around Port Royal.

“May I?” he asked.

She handed it to him. Reluctantly. James was almost tempted to be amused by that – what did she think? That he would abscond with it? Or send it hurtling into the bushes? She trusted him enough, at least, to comply. He could work with that.

“This is all I have from home,” she explained. “It was a birthday gift from my father a few years ago. Elizabeth is very taken with it, she says she’s never seen anything similar around here. And you have to understand, when I eat it’s from their kitchen, when I dress it’s from Elizabeth’s wardrobe, when I sleep it’s under their roof, when I needed a doctor it was them that paid the bill, and I…I have nothing. I have no way to show my thanks in a way that could ever be sufficient.”

Seeing that she was far from finished, James handed her the necklace back wordlessly. She accepted it quickly, holding it tightly in her fist as she brought it to her chest in a way that didn’t seem entirely deliberate.

“If it wasn’t so sentimental, I’d give her it in a heartbeat. But it was from my father, and I don’t know if…well.”

A moment was needed, then, for her to collect herself.

“Miss Swann would never knowingly accept it, given all that you have said of it, if indeed she knows how much it means to you,” he said – aware of how the awkwardness seeped into his voice.

“I know that. And it wouldn’t be much of a thank-you gift if she’d only feel guilty once she knew all of the facts. So I went to the jeweller today – I had a few coins from home and I knew that even if they weren’t valued as money, they might be worth something. He pretty much laughed in my face and told me it would barely be enough to make a necklace of tin. Elizabeth doesn’t seem like a tin kind of lady. Offering her nothing would be better than offering her that.”

“I’m sure she would appreciate the gesture, if nothing else.”

“Of course she would, she’d be very kind about it, but that would just make it even more embarrassing. Like when a child makes something and you pretend it’s a masterpiece in order to please them.”

James snorted, watching with curiosity as she opened up her palm again and frowned down at the necklace.

“Maybe I should just give her it,” she sighed quietly. “It’s only a thing. My dad would laugh if he saw how much sentimental value I was putting on it.”

Something in that statement gave him pause. Could it be that she truly was the daughter of a soldier, then? How often had it been hammered into his men (and James himself, too, when he was a lad) not to place too much sentimental value on things. Things, after all, could be all to easily lost in the heat of battle – particularly when that battle was at sea. Even more foolish than falling apart over it was to risk one’s life to try and retrieve it before the ship went down. It seemed a strange mindset for a man to pass down onto his daughter, but James could not pretend he was blind to the logic in it.

“The choice is yours. However…I would caution you against it.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, and then seemed to give herself a shake. “Yes. You’re probably right. Anyway, the jeweller wasn’t particularly kind about the whole thing – so I was grappling with the disappointment, the embarrassment of being treated like the world’s biggest imbecile, and then…that. And worse, I couldn’t even say anything in my defence because the last thing the Swanns need is their guest starting arguments in the streets. I’d just be giving those women what they wanted – and you know when they recounted their version of events, they’d conveniently leave out the provocation that preceded it.”

A surprising amount of eloquence from one who purported to have such humble origins. It was of some small relief that he noted that it was hardly the speech of a pirate, either.

“Why not leave?”

“I didn’t want ‘em to think they’d run me off.”

“And so your solution was to stand there and silently listen to it all.”

“Well, when you put it like that it doesn’t sound like the masterplan I believed it to be.”

James laughed. Just a little one, but he couldn’t help it – there was something oddly disarming about her humour that caught him off-guard. When he didn’t have cause to find it tiresome.

“I’m sorry you got roped into it,” she added.

“There are a number of people who should be offering their apologies for what just took place. You are not among them.”

She nodded and offered a weary smile – although she may not have agreed, based on the fact that she said no more. There was still much of the walk to continue on with, thus far they had barely left the town behind them, progressing onto the dirt roads that the carriages used by those who lived further up the settlement. The quiet, at least, and the relative lack of eyes on them, gave James an opportunity to think.

Apparently, he took so long in doing so that he dragged her out of whatever thought she was lost in when he spoke again.

“The blacksmith.”

“Sorry?”

“The blacksmith – or, rather, his apprentice. Not Mr Brown.”

“Will- er, William Turner, isn’t it?”

“The very one. You know of him?”

“I’ve heard of him. We’ve never met.”

Uneasiness flitted through James at that, and he found himself hoping that she knew of him because of the similarities in their coming to Port Royal, and not because Elizabeth had taken to speaking of him often.

“He may be able to help you.”

“A blacksmith?” she asked doubtfully.

“Think of the craftsmanship that goes into all of the elements of a sword’s hilt. And a scabbard, oftentimes. Mr Turner is…well, he may be swayed. Should you bring him your coins and your tale of woe.”

“My tale of woe?”

James snorted at the sheer disgust that laced her tone. “For lack of less melodramatic phrasing. Although melodrama is what I’m recommending, on this sole occasion.”

“I’ll practise my blubbering.”

“You did not get the idea from me, should anyone ask.”

“Of course not. Thank you.”

They lapsed into silence then, and he was relieved to find that she didn’t rush to fill it with inane chatter about the weather, or the walk itself. Nor of the eyes that seemed to follow them from behind the windows of the few carriages that rumbled by them. They drew fairly near to the Governor’s mansion when she next spoke.

“I’m not keeping you from your work, am I?”

“No, I was at lunch.”

“That’s worse, I think.”

“I do not ordinarily take it – I use the time to go walking instead, and so the time was spent as it ordinarily might be.”

Even if it was with a touch more awkwardness and sociability than he’d usually opt for. Lunch was usually a break from people, but it seemed she was already grappling with the temptation to apologise again and so he disguised that fact. In any case, if she began warming up to him, he’d be more likely to learn more about her. Such would not be the case if he heaped guilt upon awkwardness.

“Don’t they say an army marches on its stomach?” she asked instead.

“They do. Thankfully I am in the navy, and so I sail in place of marching.”

She laughed quietly – a sound that was surprisingly soft and warm. “Touché.”

By then they were at the gates that would lead up to the Governor’s mansion, and James had already begun to slow when Miss Byrne stopped.

“If I can ask one more thing of you, Captain…” she hesitated, and James felt warier than he would show. “If you wouldn’t mind not telling Elizabeth – or Governor Swann, for that matter – about this, here, today. With the women. They’d…she’d want to do something. Or say something. I don’t want to bother her with it. She’s done enough for me, and it’s only as big a thing as I make of it, you know?”

James considered it a moment, and then he sighed. “Very well.”

He had to concede that she had a point – and the smile he was rewarded with was not half to weary as the others, almost as bright as the hair that blazed atop her head in the warm afternoon sun.

“Great. Thank you. Really – you’ve been an utter legend today. I know we got off on a questionable foot, so I appreciate your stepping in all the same. And the advice.”

I suppose I found her rather charming. That was what Groves had said, was it not? He supposed he could see why – but much of it was lost beneath the endless questions that surrounded her. More still, now that he’d seen her necklace, spoken properly with her, and begun to suspect that she really had been speaking truthfully when she claimed she was able to read.

Thankfully, he was a resourceful man. Answers, he did not doubt, would follow suit. He would see it so.

Notes: What’s this?? Amiability? Chivalry? Don’t worry, it won’t last. I know we haven’t seen Elizabeth for a bit, too, but fear not – she’ll return with a bang in the next chapter! She was originally going to be in this one, but the length was getting on a bit anyway, and the scene works better if I slot it into the next one, anyway.

As far as the status of Ireland and England as far as this time period is concerned, here is what Wikipedia says – “During this time, Ireland was nominally an autonomous Kingdom with its own Parliament; in actuality it was a client state controlled by the King of Great Britain and supervised by his cabinet in London.” So while not officially under control of England, I find it feasible to think it would be common enough knowledge for the likes of Port Royal’s upper crust to comment on it.

#catch the wind #ctw #james/theodora #james and theodora #fallen through time esta-elavaris #ftt #james norrington/oc #james norrington x oc #pirates of the caribbean fanfic #pirates of the caribbean fanfiction #james norrington fanfic #james norrington fanfiction

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bubblegumbeech · 2 years ago

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Help Me decide what to write

I have decided to start doing regular updates to force myself to actually keep a writing schedule. AS SUCH, here's a list of WiPs I can start working on. Ones I have started publishing will use their titles, ones I have only in my WiPs folder will be by description (not including my current One Piece AU that I plan to finish before October with sporadic updates.)

Feel free to ask questions.

#Bumble thoughts #Bee's writing #asking the audience #Fanfic

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bizarreohmart · 2 months ago

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pinned! 📌

✨hi! my name's ether, or carrie, i'm 22 years old, i go by they/them pronouns, i like the color purple, and i'm a student in game design specializing in concept art and 3D modeling.

this is my main blog, so if you follow my sideblogs you'll see me interacting from here.

[au/fandom-specific directory] - WIP sideblogs:

@bizarreoharts - [WIP] art blog @voiceoftheparanoid / @the-long-quiet - [WIP] slay the princess meme blogs

other socials:

bluesky

portfolio website [WIP]

(topics and byf under the cut:)

things you might see me post about (current topics in bold):

podcasts: malevolent, the magnus archives, the magnus protocol, the silt verses, welcome to nightvale

video games: psychonauts, wanderstop, dialtown, the legend of zelda (twilight princess, majora's mask, etc.), slay the princess, the world ends with you, in stars and time, mouthwashing, persona (3, 4, and 5), spiritfarer, disco elysium, great god grove

books/comics: house of leaves

tv/movies: severance, arcane, transformers, everything everywhere all at once, the apothecary diaries, dungeon meshi, wakfu the animated series, my little pony

music: the crane wives, will wood, vocaloid (many different artists)

misc.: homestuck (and hs^2, hiveswap, etc.), half life vr but the ai is self aware, moomins (comics, melody of moominvalley, and moominvalley 2017 mostly), starkid productions (hatchetfield, etc.), dimension 20, meow wolf exhibits (omega mart, house of eternal return)

additional tags: #friend tag (i have very talented mutuals who you should look at the art and writing of, hint hint), #inspo (inspiration for things i'm working on), #save (just a saved post tag), #my art (self explanatory), #important (catchall for . raising currency for a cause and serious politics)

before you follow:

this blog has a zero tolerance policy for racism, homophobia, transphobia, zionism, and any other bigotry. don't expect me to debate, i will block you very quickly based on these criteria.

i don't have a "dni" list, i block liberally based on whatever i don't want to see.

i do sometimes post nsfw here, typically these are tagged under #cw nsfw or #cw nsfw text. text memes is as far as it will stretch here for nsfw content, however. minors and people uncomfortable with that should filter this out (my blog is otherwise sfw and this is very rare.)

potential triggers/sensitive content is tagged with "#cw [x]". if i miss tagging something, please let me know.

i am always open to talking about my interests, send me an ask or dm if you want to talk!!! please!!!!

#about #pinned #its that time of year . its been actually three years since i've updated this lol #tried to make the list of interests/topics as concise as possible + leave out things that i havent posted about in forever

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empresskaze · 6 months ago

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My sick fics list - updated 2/10/25

Updating my list since my last one was horribly out of date. Not everything is added but 95% is so posting it (mostly missing small drabbles) If you like my stuff please consider buying me a ko-fi <3

ORIGINAL WORKS - organized by pairing

Clicking on the pairs name will take you to their stats page (not every stats page is completed yet) Also for any posted to Ao3 you'll need to be a registered user to read them.

Liam and Gabriel

Morning Coffee (original version)

Morning Coffee. Afternoon Tea (redone version)

Fairytale of Newhaven (sequel to MC)

I’m Yours (companion story to MC and FoN)

Inquiéter (sequel to FoN)

In Sweet Slow Motion

Love Like Ours

Vacation

Sick Days

Gabriel-centric drabbles

Liam and Gabriel drabbles - currently just links to the tag on tumblr, I'll be making them their own Ao3 series eventually

Aiden and Barrett

The Diva and The Lawyer - drabble collection

Give Em The Old Razzle Dazzle

Wedding Bell Blues

Noll and Ren (and Jasper)

Restoring Life

Cold Summer’s Day (not complete)

King of Nothing At All

Drabble Collection - just links to the tag for now

Vincent and Emmett

Running Out of Time

Let Me In

Honey Lavender

River and Colin

Table For Two (not complete)

Drabble Collection

Ambrose and Cecil

Drabble Collection

Beckett and Mathias

Drabble Prompt

Brush Strokes

Distraction

Other

Elliott - written for @gay-for-the-snz

Peach Tea

The Alto and the Organist - SS for @feelingthefever

The Starling and the Sandpiper

Of Pride and Stubborness

Fanfiction

Noragami - SS for Alias

In Time - Shouwa Genroku Rakugo (Kiku) Written for @leapyearkisses

With You - Yuri!! On Ice (Viktor) Written for @leapyearkisses

Fire and Ice - Yuri!! On Ice (Viktor)

Love and Miso Soup -Yurii!! On Ice (Viktor)

One of Those Night - Voltron (Shiro)

No Rehearsal Tonight - Shouwa Genroku Rakugo (Kiku)

Ice and Regrets - Voltron (Shiro)

Read To Me - RQG (Wilde)

All I Can Do - RQG (Wilde)

I'm Not Sick - RQG (Wilde)

Old Habits - Malevolent

Domestic - Malevolent AU

I Would Shiver The Whole Night Through - Jayvik

Collection of RQG Drabbles - Wilde

Collection of TUA drabbles - Klaus

Collection of Good Omens drabbles

Collection of TMA drabbles - Jon

Collection of Arcane Jayvik drabbles

#master list #finally made a new one!#this wont be pinned but the link will be in my bio

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ofstarsandskies · 1 year ago

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A Comprehensive List of All of Julius' AUs

We've done Ludger's, now it's Julius' time! I advise you check Ludger's list as well due to Julius' often being companion pieces to Ludger's!

Xillia 1 & 2 Canon-Related Verses

Otherworldly Seeker -- Xillia1+2 AU: Julius searches for the missing Ludger, and ends up chasing a lead in the world hidden beyond the Schism, Rieze Maxia.

Gentleman Thief Crown -- No-Curse & Thief AU: Julius moonlights as the well-known gentleman thief called Crown while working as a Spirius Agent. When he finds out too much about Origin's Trial, Spirius assassinates Crown's reputation, but Julius still tries to gather the Waymarkers before Spirius or Victor can.

A Not So Ordinary Life -- Modern AU: Spirius' former Crown Agent who also worked as the Kresnik Syndicate's right hand before Bisley's "mysterious death". Now works as an IT Contractor who happily uses his not-so-small fortune to further Ludger's dreams.

Unfortunate Prodigy -- Pre-Xillia 1 AU: Half-brothers Julius and Ludger are on the S.S. Zenethra as it crosses into Rieze Maxia. Sets out to try and find the lost Waymarkers on this side to poor results, being a literal teenager.

The Unknown Star -- Bad End+ Angelic Layer AU: Special Spyrites which directly interface with human thoughts are created for a game called the Spyrital Layer. Under the alias Crown, Julius is the top deus which is a secret known by a small few.

Other Tales of Game Verses

Deteriorating Absorber -- Tales of Berseria AU: The Kresnik clan make a pact with Innominat to absorb malevolence into themselves and wield it into what they call the Corpse Shell. Julius' absorbed malevolence has since deteriorated his body and is causing him to catalyze into a Anomalous Orb.

Breaking Oathkeeper -- Tales of Zestiria AU: Maotelus becoming the new Empyrean leader forces the Kresnik clan to swear Oaths as a means of strengthening their pact with Innominat's strength. Julius' Oath was giving up his sense of taste.

A Knight's Pride -- Tales of Graces AU: Julius was a knight and instructor at Barona's Knight Academy. He's dishonorably discharged after trying to flunk Ludger out for fear of his safety, but is then reinstated when Cedric takes power.

Original/Unaffiliated Verses

For What is Truth -- Julius Detective AU: Julius opens the Kresnik Detective Agency with his little half-brother Ludger as the office keeper. Has a reputation for taking on any case, no matter how "trivial" it seems.

ETC. Games/Anime Verses

Lying Former Vessel -- Genshin Impact AU: One of the original halves of "Kresnik", Istaroth's current vessel. When his brother tries fleeing to the Dark Sea, Julius lies to cover him and is cursed by the Heavenly Principles to fade from existence along with the original Ludger, who now goes by Victor.

Companion of Remembrace -- Honkai Star Rail Verse: Kresniks are followers of Fuli who seek to become Memokeepers. Julius supports his little brother, Ludger, who wants to accomplish all his life's dreams before becoming Memokeepeers together.

Hymn of Hopeful Days -- FE:Fates AU: Kresniks are descendants of the ancient Mage Dragon Kresnik who live up in the mountains of Nohr. Julius tries to flee their village who's planning to kill the royal family with Ludger, but ends up surrendering himself to let Ludger escape alone. He holds out hope Ludger will one day save him.

Knowing Time -- FE:3H AU: Kresnik is a Nabatean who has limited control over time who survived Nemesis’ slaughter by fading into obscurity. Bisley hands Ludger & Julius over to TWSitD as per the plan to wreck the church for not recognizing Kresnik as part of the 10 Elites

London's Finest Saboteur -- Code:Realize AU: Co-owner of the Kresnik Family Kitchen in Lowtown London. Julius pays the majority of their bills using money he earns as a Twilight Agent.

Crown -- .hack//G.U. AU: Leader of the Twilight Brigade seeking to remove the AIDA infecting his little sister, Elle. The AIDA Chromatus is buried in his left arm, which manifests as a cursed armor unless kept in check.

Misaimed Innocence -- PsychoPass AU: Went unpunished for murdering his half-brother's mother due to his low Crime Coefficient and his Spirius' influence. Is later made an Enforcer after killing kidnappers who tried kidnapping him and Ludger for ransom.

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the-banana-0verlord · 2 years ago

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Hello! My name is Lilian the Banana(Lilian not my real name though) and you’ve tumbled across my blog! I am writer who specialises in X Readers, especially for the anime game Twisted Wonderland. I can write for other fandoms if requested, although my requests are closed as for now. The fandoms I write for other than Twst are:

🌻 Demon Slayer/Kimetsu No Yaiba 🌻 Obey Me! 🌻 Link Click 🌻 Nevermore(on webtoon) 🌻The dark Lord's confession(also on webtoon) 🌻Revolutionary girl utena Now this is what i will write about mainly: 🌻 Angst, fluff 🌻 Yandere 🌻 Male and female characters, although mainly male characters 🌻 crack fics And now what I won’t write under any circumstances: 🌻 NSFW, smut(please keep in mind I am a minor) 🌻 Some specific characters in the fandoms listed(ex: Zenitsu or Rollo Flamm) 🌻 Characters under 14(unless it’s platonic) 🌻 Male readers (as I am a female, i always write with f!reader in mind, even though I mostly write gender-neutral reader to include everyone, but writing a specifically male reader is not possible for me) Here is my masterlist, containing everything I’ve wrote. I’m also running a long term Dracula x F!Reader fanfiction on Quotev moots list Lilian and Mallilian Aus masterlist Oc Masterlist Drawing box Where to find me on various platforms

Current event(s):

Fall Season event // Winter season event // Spring season event // Summer season event

side blogs:

@the-banana-0verlord-reblogs -- reblogs blog @the-lord-of-malevolence --malleus roleplay blog @the-king-of-thorns -- overblot malleus roleplay blog @bestutenacharactertournament --tournament blog for the best revolutionary girl utena character @lilian-draconia -- for self-shipping

Tags:

#bananawrites --For fics #bananadoodles --For my art #heoverlordmonologues --For anything random #mallilian --Self-ship tag with Malleus #bananareblogs --Self-explanatory #banana’s moots --My mutuals <3 (might do seperate tags for each of them) #bananaanswersasks --also self-explanatory

About me:

🌻 My pronouns are she/her/they/them and I’m aroace 🌻 I am a scorpio 🌻 I am a French Canadian from Quebec 🌻 My hobbies other than writing are drawing and making puzzles 🌻 My favorite character in Twst is Malleus, with Deuce and Jamil following closely 🌻I’m fifteen 🌻My favorite aesthetics are light and dark academia + cottagecore

My requests are currently closed but if you simply want to talk my askbox is open, anon or not!

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mybedroomceilingsbored · 7 months ago

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aw, thanks for the tag!!

Last song- Baby, You're a Haunted House by Gerard Way

Currently reading- It by Stephen King

Currently watching listening to- Malevolent

Currently craving- caffeine

Coffee or tea- tea

A hobby you'd like to try- the guitar!! I'd love to learn but don't have one :(

AU- this isn't an au, but i've been working on episode notes/character and influence lists/indexes for each TMA episode, I've got a full notebook filled with my notes, summaries, and analyses :)

tagging @puppy--boy, @wistfulenchantress, @yelenapines, @galaxys-universe, and whoever else wants to hop in :)

Get to know me game

thanks for the tag @lady-of-imladris :D

Last song: Body Better by Maisie Peters

Currently reading: fellowship of the ring (rereading, but you know)

Currently watching: heartstopper. I'm procrastinating it and I don't know why

Currently craving: a nose I can breathe out of would be great. and chocolate chip muffins

Coffee or tea: I like iced coffee a lot. would sell my soul for some. but generally, tea

A hobby you would like to try: earring making (and maybe crocheting?)

An AU you're working on or thought of: i don't even know dude. my brain is a jumbled mess and I couldn't sort through it if I tried

(no pressure tagging: @sad-girl-shit11 @sparkledbun-random )

#tag game

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multifandombullshitbabes · 2 years ago

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HELLO

ok cool now that THAT is done, hi :) I'm Sara/Sera. Aro. Lesbian. Genderqueer (she/they/he). Libra. 21. Art college. INFP. etc.

This is a blog where I'll do whatever the fuck i want with the fandoms I like, even the ones i have blogs dedicated to. Just because.

My og posts are all tagged "hey look i posted a thing" so. yh.

I'll put here some fandoms that I DEFINITELY will be at least talking about:

both Top Gun movies

Merlin BBC

Sherlock BBC (yh ik sue me the show was fun)

Warrior Nun

The Magnus Archives

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (ONLY the books. That show sucked, I'm sorry not really)

Treasure Planet (most underrated movie EVER, yep)

Rise of The Guardians

all Kung Fu Panda movies

Nope

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Wednesday

The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor

The Untamed

Anne with and E

Teen Wolf (i have a weakness for this show yall, idk)

Arcane

First Kill

The Witcher (only the show, sorry)

The Sandman

Girl From Nowhere

Suits (i have not finished season 5 cuz i know its gonna get shitty so apologies)

Black Sails

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

both Venom movies

Like Minds

Moon Knight (TV show)

Sharp Objects

Suspiria 2018

Whiplash

Jennifer's Body

The Pirate (1948)

Derry Girls

Criminal Minds

Cocaine Bear

Knives Out + Glass Onion

Into the Spider-Verse movies

TMNT 2012

Reservation Dogs

The Bear

Marble Hornets

Creepypasta

Stardew Valley

8 Women (2002)

Nimona

The New Girlfriend (2014)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Harlan Coben's Shelter

Malevolent (podcast)

ATLA

Blue Eye Samurai

Kubo and the two strings

Midnight Burger

After School Lessons for Unripe Apples

Supernatural (im on season 9 rn)

House of the Dragon

Once Upon a Witchlight

Detroit: Become Human

Person of Interest

Outer Range

CURRENT HYPER-FIXATION: Arcane, Person of Interest

Theres a TON more, I'll add them as I remember them and as I also consume them. From this list tho, pls send ur thoughts!! Just know im more active in some fandoms than others. This list is not on a particular order, so yh!!

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AO3 Link: SpookySweet (please check out my works, I will love you foreva)

---

TAG LIST:

"hey look i posted a thing" - any posts originally mine

"rebloggin time" - every time i reblog something and I add to it in the post itself, not the tags (text, images, etc.)

"come get yall headcanons" - all headcanons/au posts of mine, reblogs included

"shit talking but seriously (or not)" - discourse/fan wank tag, any criticism posts/reblogs i might make

"this is me writing lads" - my writing

"shitpostti" - shitpost/crack posts of mine

"YOU ASK I ANSWER" - answering things from inbox

"so artsy rawr XD" - art tag

"poi crack videos" - person of interest youtube videos tag

#hey look i posted a thing #fandoms list #i hope this will be fun lmao

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immabethehero · 4 years ago

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Marvin’s MegaBirthday Story

Guess who made a Megamind AU with Marvin as the title character?

Here’s a quick list of characters so you won’t get confused about who’s who:

Marvin, The Malevolent Magician - Megamind

Dr. Schneeplestein, the Doctor - Minion, but human

The Brighton Shepherd - Metro Man

Jackieboy Man, the Red Marauder - Sidekick to the Shepherd, original role of sorts

Chase Brody, news reporter - Roxanne Ritchi

Anthony/Anti - Hal Stewart, without the creepy simping

CW: Police brutality, hints of starvation, strangulation and mentions of electrocution

It was a glorious day in Brighton City. Even the weather seemed aware of it as the sun shone down brightly on the silver skyscrapers and the brand new museum built into the city square.

To celebrate the city’s greatest superhero, the grand, new museum had been dedicated to the city’s greatest hero: The Brighton Shepherd. In between the two buildings was a giant curtain, hiding a 55 foot statue for the superhero.

Reporters came to the site as early as 6 am before the crowds could roll in. Among them was the up-and-coming journalist, Chase Brody, who ran the news vlog: “Just Your Average Report”. Wearing a brand new grey and white suit to honour the Shepherd’s signature colour, Chase did vocal warm-ups while his cameraman, Anthony, set up the equipment. Unlike Chase, who had dressed handsomely for the occasion, Anthony simply wore a graphic t-shirt and a fishing vest with blue jeans. Chase tried not to let that get to him. In all the fifteen months he’d known Anthony, Chase had never seen the man wear anything other than graphic tees and the fishing vest. Today obviously wasn’t much different to Anthony.

“We’re on!” Anthony said. Chase held up his microphone in time for the camera light to turn red; he exclaimed, “Happy Brighton Shepherd Day, Brighton City! It’s a beautiful day in our beautiful downtown, where we’re here to honour a beautiful man: The Brighton Shepherd. His heart is as big as an ocean that’s inside a bigger ocean. For years, he’s been watching us with his super-vision, saving us with his super strength, and caring for us with his super heart. Now, it’s our turn to give something back! This is Chase Brody, reporting live from the dedication of the Brighton Shepherd Museum.”

Chase signaled to Anthony, who snorted as he turned the camera off.

“Damn, the stuff the producers make you read nowadays is incredibly cheesy. Have you considered writing your own stuff?”

“I have. That was one of my pieces,” Chase said with a grin. He reveled in Anthony’s look of horror.

“I mean… I can’t believe that in our modern day society, they let… actual art get onto the news,” Anthony stammered out.

“Nice save, Anthony.”

“Cool. Can we go get a coffee now?”

“Come on, it’s time to get into the Brighton Shepherd Day spirit!” Chase said, nudging his coworker.

Anthony rolled his eyes. “Please. If the Brighton Shepherd really was all that great, he’d be able to properly protect you from the Malevolent and his crazy Doctor. For someone who gets kidnapped and rescued all the time, you sure don’t have good security.”

Chase sighed. This debate again. “I mean, it’s good for my channel! I get to film bits and pieces of the Malevolent’s laboratory! Great publicity.”

“You take too many chances with that man, I swear. What happens if the Malevolent snaps and gets violent with you? The Shepherd and his sidekick won’t be there to protect you. You could die, Chase.”

“The Malevolent won’t hurt me. If he truly wanted to, he would have done so the first time he kidnapped me,” Chase snapped. “If anything, he just wants me for more publicity. I am a popular news source.”

“Yeah? Well, they don’t always strike at first sight, Lois Lane. The dude might be waiting for the perfect moment to torture you,” Anthony continued. “I mean, even if he doesn’t invent the machines, his sidekick is smart enough to make them! I swear that man has seen some stuff and wants to inflict it on the city.”

“The Malevolent and Doctor never want to torture. Their machines may look scary at first, but they’re useless. They only want to scare.”

Anthony began loading up the truck. “You’re too trusting.The Malevolent Magician has the power to mutilate and kill in ways your “friendship-is-magic” brain could never comprehend. The Doctor is no better. They’re both just waiting to strike. Once they do, the Shepherd’s presence won’t feel so reassuring, hm?”

Anthony had his back turned long enough for Chase to feel a cold presence beside him. The smell of gas flooded his senses. The reporter turned to hear a window roll down, though he didn’t see a car. Odd.

Instead a white plague doctor mask glared back at him. Chase groaned. Here he thought he might be able to avoid being kidnapped and used as leverage by the Malevolent Magician. Apparently not! The Malevolent’s sidekick, simply known as the Doctor, was here to claim his damsel in distress.

The Doctor raised a spray bottle and squirted it directly in Chase’s face. Chase barely had time to scream as a sudden drowsiness overtook him and the whole world went dark.

Step one was complete. The annoying vlogger was in the back of the van. With that accomplished, it was time to pick up the villain. Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein, known to the city as the sidekick to the Malevolent Magician, drove through the busy town square and out of the main city.

The prison where the Malevolent lay was outside of town in a secluded location, or rather, in the middle of the highway leading into the city. Despite its odd location, the security was incredible. 200 security officers patrolled the site, with at least three officers supervising a special room under intense lock and key. The Malevolent himself was usually locked in large chains that only unlocked at certain times, or if Mal had behaved himself for a certain amount of time.

Schneep arrived to see the prison in chaos. Sirens blared loud enough to burst a person’s eardrums while police ran into the grey building, yelling to each other and pulling out their guns.

Amid all the chaos stood a man with a thick white moustache, standing in front of the large electrical gates, The man held up his wrist enough for Schneep to spy a silver watch on his wrist and sighed in relief. The watch had worked.

“Well, hello, good looking. Need a ride?” Schneep said, opening the door.

“Always, my dear doctor!” the man said as he hopped in. He slammed the door closed as Schneep slammed his foot on the gas and flew off.

The man twisted the watch’s case and transformed back into Malevolent. The supervillain turned to Schneep with an evil grin. “Nice job sending me the watch, Doctor! Let’s ride!”

“As you wish, my Wickedness!” Schneep yelled.

The maltreatment Mal received from the prison was not lost on the doctor. His sharp cheekbones were grimy and more pronounced, and his wrists were almost skeletal. Dark shadows hung below his eyes, and it was not from eyeliner. Schneep held back a sad sigh. Thank goodness he left a snack for Mal when they returned to the evil lair. That part could be solved.

Back at Brighton City Square, the show was ready to begin. As city officials made their speeches, two superheroes waited behind a painted brick wall to make an entrance.

The illustrious Brighton Shepherd fixed his mask and combed his dark brown hair back. Beside him was his sidekick: the Red Marauder, clad in red, green, and blue leather. Marauder kept peeking behind the wall.

“Malevolent is safe behind bars as of right now, you can relax, Jackie,” Shepherd said, rubbing his protégé’s back.

“I can’t find Chase!” Marauder whispered back. “I’ve scanned the crowds three times and there’s no sign of his face.”

“Perhaps he’s stuck in traffic?” Shepherd said, smoothing out the creases in Marauder’s blue cape. His sidekick really needed to learn how to take care of himself.

“He would have sent me a text if that had happened,” Marauder said with a sigh.

“Went for a cup of coffee with Anthony?”

Marauder turned to the crowd. “Anthony is currently eating a donut by one of the food vendors. I think Malevolent and the Doctor kidnapped Chase again!” His eyes filled with tears.

The Shepherd sighed and put a hand on Marauder’s shoulder. “Okay, when the mayor does her speech, we’ll do a quick speedrun through town. He can’t be far. Don’t worry, we’ll get him back.”

Marauder nodded, blinking back tears. No time to cry when there’s a battle.

“Shepherd? It’s time,” an employee whispered. The Brighton Shepherd cracked his neck.

“Show time, baby.” He punched the painted brick wall concealing him, creating a perfect hole. “Alright, put your hands in the air!” he yelled to the crowd.

The lair lit up as the car entered and parked in its appointed place. Marvin threw the door open and breathed in the familiar smell of the evil, abandoned, Monster Munch snack factory. A long time ago, it smelled of moldy cheese puffs and rat manure, but now it smelled of malevolence, metal, and a whole lot of cologne.

No matter how many times he arrived, the sweet scent always relaxed the supervillain after a hard day in jail or fighting the Shepherd. “Oh Doc, there’s no place like our evil lair!”

“I’ve kept it cold and damp, just the way you like it!” Schneep said, hauling the sleeping Chase out of the car.

A swarm of tiny robots flew over to Marvin, their engines whirring with delight. The model was a small purple circle with four robotic legs that could grip and lift up to 1,000 pounds. Of course, each had cat ears attached to the sides of their heads and a cat tail at the back. The CATs, Marvin had fondly called them. Their singular glowing yellow eyes in the center of their body looked up at their darling master.

“The CATs have certainly missed you, sir!” Schneep exclaimed.

Marvin bent down to caress their smooth heads. “Did you miss your daddy? Who’s a menacing little android? You are, yes, you are!”

One CAT held up a ball of twine. Marvin grabbed it and tossed it across the lair, the CATs trailing after it.

Two older models of the CATs held up a curtain while two others held up Marvin’s new suit. Marvin gratefully ripped off the ugly bluish-grey prison rags and changed into his white button-up, black dress pants, and sparkly purple vest. A CAT draped his famous black cloak with magenta lining around his shoulders while another handed him his beautiful cat mask with the magician’s card designs drawn on. He happily donned the mask with pride and stepped out.

“How do I look, Doctor? Do I look evil?” Marvin asked, spinning.

“Horrifyingly striking, sir,” Schneep said. He opened a small gate to an elevator platform, “Shall we?”

At the top, Schneep set Chase down on a chair while Marvin checked all the monitors and buttons.

“Everything ready?”

“Of course! I would never leave anything unchecked before a big event!” Schneep said. Beside the doctor, Chase began to stir, grunting and yelling muffled by the bag.

“He’s awake! Quick everyone, places!” Marvin ordered. He jumped onto his chair and motioned a small CAT to lie down in his lap while he fixed his hair once more.

Schneep ripped the bag off of Chase’s head as Marvin twirled his chair around, menacingly stroking the CAT. “Mr. Brody, we meet again.”

“Would it kill you to wash the bag?” Chase complained, “it fucking stinks and the spray bottle is no better!”

“You can scream all you want, Brody, I’m afraid no one can hear you!” Malevolent announced. Chase remained stone-faced.

Marvin frowned. “Why isn’t he screaming?”

Schneep sighed exasperatedly and bent down next to Chase, “Mr. Brody, if you don’t mind-”

“Screaming sounds a lot like this: aaaahhhhh!” Malevolent demonstrated. “I mean, that’s a poor example but-”

The CAT sitting on his lap bit his hand. Malevolent emitted a high-pitched shriek as he tried to shake the little robot off.

“Not to sound like a sadist but it’s more fun when you do it,” Chase deadpanned.

“Very funny,” the Doctor snapped. “You’ll be singing a different tune when the Brighton Shepherd is defeated right before your eyes!”

Ignoring both of them, Chase decided to examine the observatory, the usual spot for Malevolent and Shepherd’s battles. Most of it was the usual, a long control booth circling the room, full of buttons and levers that would release death traps, lasers, and other lame inventions. Above the panel were monitors of different sizes. On one side of the elevator was a broken vending machine where Doctor grabbed his sleeping spray, while on the other side was a strange metal sphere with axes and spikes sticking out of it (Chase asked and even Malevolent had no idea what it was).

“Speaking of watching, do you have your camera set up?” Malevolent asked, finally yanking off the biting CAT.

“Yup! It’s in the pin this time! Anthony helped me set it up!” Chase puffed his chest out to show it off.

Malevolent ran a hand through his thick black hair and twirled around, letting his cape fly in the wind.

“So guys, what’s on the menu for today? Robosheep? Typhoon cheese? A big ball of aluminum that will roll around town?” Chase asked.

Behind his plague doctor mask, Schneeplestein grinned. It was his time to shine! “Actually, we created a cool ray that uses the sun to make explosive lasers, wanna see?!” He excitedly rushed over to the main control booth and began typing in the passcode to turn it on.

Marvin yelped and pulled Schneep away from the booth, “Easy there, Doc, we’ll show it in time!”

“Brody wanted to see it!” Schneep protested. “It’s not like it would hurt, would it?”

“Think, Doctor! He’s using his nosy reporter skills to find out all our secrets!” Malevolent accused, snarling at Chase.

Chase rolled his eyes, chuckling. These two could be quite entertaining. “What secrets?! You’re so predictable!”

“Oh, that’s the insult for today?! Tell me, my dear Brody, would you call this predictable?” Marvin pulled down a lever and the floor around Chase opened up.

“Your alligators, yes!” Chase nodded in greeting to the snapping reptiles. “Yeah, I was just thinking about these guys on the way over!”

Truth be told, Chase was dreaming of riding a large parrot to Disney World while in the car. But Malevolent didn’t need to know that.

Marvin turned back to the panel. How dare Chase see through his armour?! He quickly slammed a button. “What about this?”

A sharp razor painted blood red danced in Chase’s face. “That’s kind of tacky.”

Marvin punched another button and a junky invention of multiple chainsaws attached to the ceiling lowered down. The chainsaws had gotten their chains stuck to each other and could barely move. Chase pretended to contemplate it. “Mm, juvenile.”

Marvin pulled another lever. “What about this?!”

A giant fart gun shot green gas out. Chase gagged. “Gross and immature!”

“What’s this one do?!” A weak fire machine coughed out small bits of fire.

“That’s just sad,” Chase said. He looked up and nearly jumped out of his seat. A small spider floated downwards. “Is the spider new?”

Marvin turned to Schneeplestein, who merely shrugged. When this was all over, Marvin was going to give him a stern talking to about bug extermination in the lair.

“Ah yes, the spe-dair-a,” Marvin whispered as he advanced closer to Chase. “Even the smallest bite from Arachnis Deathicus will instantly paralyze-”

Chase blew the spider onto Marvin’s cheek, causing him to scream again. Schneep punched him hard enough to knock him over.

“GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!!!! IT BIT MEEEEE!!!” Marvin screamed as Schneep continually smacked him with a newspaper. The spider fell off of Marvin’s cheek and began advancing to the control panel.

“STOP IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!” Marvin howled as he crawled away from the disgusting creature.

After five minutes of Marvin’s dramatic wails and crawling and Schneep swearing like a sailor, Chase finally put an end to the spider’s life by stomping on it when it got close enough.

Marvin crawled over to Chase and grovelled at his bound feet. “Thank you, you are a lifesaver!” He suddenly spied the pin. “Is that still on?”

Chase smiled smugly, “I’ll burn the evidence if you let me go and we’ll never speak of it again.”

Marvin stood up, scowling, “Absolutely not! We haven’t even gotten to the fun part! Let’s pay your boyfriend and godfather a visit, shall we?”

Back at the town square, the mayor had finished up her rather short speech, “It is with great pleasure that I present Brighton Shepherd to his new museum! When you’re ready!”

Shepherd’s laser eyes cut the rope and the great curtains fell, revealing the giant statue of the superhero. A brass band played loudly over the sound of a cheering crowd.

Jackie applauded happily for his mentor, but couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous. In all fairness, the Shepherd had been around longer than he had, and he was still familiarizing himself with the city.

A sudden chill running up his arms woke Jackie from his thoughts. He looked up and gasped. Dark clouds quickly enveloped the museum. People shrieked in terror as a big, black blimp hovered above the great building, rolling down two large projection screens underneath. Once positioned on each side of the magnificent statue, a small circular robot holding a camera turned the screens on, showing the face of the one to blame for the chaos: the Malevolent.

The Brighton Shepherd and the Red Marauder flew up, Shepherd holding up a microphone.

“If it isn’t the Malevolent!”

“Bravo, Brighton Shepherd! Congratulations on your new museum!” Malevolent drawled, clapping slowly.

The crowd began to boo loudly. Malevolent blew a raspberry at the crowd, “So immature!” he scoffed.

“Should have known you’d try and crash the party!” Shepherd said.

“Oh, I intend to do more than crash it! This will be a historic day you, and Brighton City, will not soon forget!”

“We all know how this ends!” Shepherd said. “With you behind bars!”

“Ooh, I tremble in my kitten-skinned cape,” Malevolent hissed, playfully wrapping himself up in his cape. The cape was actually made from cotton, but the city didn’t need to know that.

“What do you want with us, Mal?” Shepherd demanded.

“First off, don’t call me ‘Mal’,” Malevolent snapped. “Secondly, if you and your tomato sidekick don’t leave town in an hour, then this will be the last you ever hear of Chase Brody!” Malevolent punched a button and the left screen presented the kidnapped Chase tied to a chair.

“I knew it!” Jackie muttered behind his mask.

“Don’t panic Chase! We’re on our way!” Shepherd cried out, earning a cheer from the crowd.

“I’m not panicking!” Chase responded, smiling.

Malevolent pretended to gag. “Oh, please. You have to find us first before you save Chase.”

“We’re at the abandoned observatory!” Chase quickly called out.

Malevolent suddenly turned off Chase’s camera, yelping, “WAIT DON’T TO LISTEN TO HIM-”

It was too late. Shepherd and Marauder were already flying above the dark grey smoke. Shepherd quickly spotted the broken down space observatory near the dangerous part of Brighton City beach and pointed it to Marauder. The two began their flight.

Back at the lair, Schneep watched the superheroes from his monitor. “Shepherd and Marauder approaching, sir!”

Marvin turned to Chase, who shot him a smug grin. Marvin only smiled in return.

“Like we said, you’ll be singing a different tune when you see what we have planned!”

The Shepherd would almost be here. Chase closed his eyes and ducked his head for the inevitable ceiling crash.

Shepherd and Marauder flew through the opening of the observatory and landed. Or rather, Shepherd landed gracefully on his feet while Marauder tripped and fell over. Behind them, the heavy doors slid shut.

Shepherd looked around. The place was quiet and eerily empty. No sound of any cat-bots. No evil laughter from the Malevolent.

“Something’s wrong…” Shepherd muttered. He turned to the doors. Were they locked in?! He ran over to check.

Puzzled, Chase looked up. Where were they?

Malevolent reveled in Brody’s confused expression. He fiddled with the control panel, opening up one of the walls.

“You didn’t think we were in the real observatory… did you?!”

Chase could stare in horror as he spotted the real observatory. He couldn’t believe it. He had led the two superheroes right into a trap.

Malevolent laughed triumphantly. “Ready the Death Ray, Doctor!”

Doctor typed in the passcode and pulled the lever down. “Death Ray ready-ing!”

In the real abandoned observatory, Shepherd and Marauder desperately tried to get the doors open.

“I can’t believe Malevolent actually tricked us! How did he seal the doors?!” Marauder moaned.

“Don’t worry Red, we’ll find a way out,” Shepherd said, smiling.

“Over here, boys,” a voice like ice called out. The superheroes turned to see a large projection of Malevolent smiling down on them.

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve fallen right into my trap!” Malevolent boasted.

The Shepherd motioned Marauder to find an escape before turning to Malevolent. “You can’t trap justice! It’s an idea! A belief!”

“Well sometimes the most heartfelt belief can be corroded over time!” Malevolent responded.

“Justice is a non-corrosive metal!”

“Then I will just melt it with the heat of revenge!”

“FYI, revenge is best served cold!” Shepherd corrected him. From the side, Marauder shook his head. As much as he respected his mentor and feared Malevolent, their “witty back-and-forth banter” was lame.

“It can easily be reheated in the microwave of evil! Don’t doubt me!” Malevolent snarled.

“Well I think your warranty is about to expire!” Shepherd declared.

“Fuck you, I have an extended warranty!” Malevolent retaliated.

“Language, my dear sir! And warranties are invalid if you don’t use the product for its intended purpose!” Shepherd roared.

“OH! Girls, girls, you’re both pretty!” Chase yelled from his seat. He turned to Malevolent, exasperated, “My whole body is sore. Can I just go home now?!”

Malevolent turned around to throw an empty can of Cola at Chase. It bonked off the side of his head.

“You’ll just have to wait, dear Brody! Your beloved superheroes first must prove if they can escape the inevitable power of the sun! Fire!”

Marauder conjured a shield for himself and Shepherd. When the Shepherd made no move to protect himself, Marauder realized nothing was coming. What happened?

Meanwhile, Marvin approached Schneep and the machine. Schneep learned against the panel, snoring softly. Marvin poked him, “Doctor, wake up!”

Schneep startled, “Oh! Sorry!” He turned to the machine, “The machine is still warming up. I expect we have a few more minutes before it fires.”

Marvin’s face turned as red as Marauder’s suit. “Warming up?! The sun is warming up?!”

Chase started laughing, “The sore arms and legs are definitely worth this riot. Just you wait, the Shepherd and Marauder will be on you in min-”

Malevolent tossed another empty can at Chase. Chase immediately shut up. “That’s better.”

“Don’t worry Chase, we’re on our way!” Marauder yelled from the monitor.

Malevolent stomped over to the camera, “Get here faster, I’m this close to throwing his stupid ass off the balcony!”

This caused Marauder to flip. “Hang in there Chase, I’m coming!” He rocketed up to fly out, only to crash into the ceiling and fall back down unceremoniously.

“Marauder, we’ve talked about this! You need to think before you do anything!” Shepherd lightly scolded. “Now, what do we have that can create a hole in the wall?”

“This whole day is a mess…” Doctor muttered from his spot at the panel.

“I’m sorry, whose side are you on?!” Malevolent demanded.

“The losing side!” Chase interjected.

“Everybody shut up,” Malevolent ordered. He sighed, rubbing his temples. “You know what? I need to take a nap. Call me when the ray is ready!”

“The ray is ready!” Doctor announced. In seconds a bright beam of yellow flew down, destroying the observatory in seconds. Fire and burning metal fell out of the demolished observatory, some of it flying directly towards the lair.

Malevolent quickly waved his hands in a circular motion, muttering. A shimmering purple bubble wrapped around Doctor and Chase. As debris rained down, Malevolent deflected them with bursts of purple fireworks. Chase watched in amazement, gaping.

“I keep forgetting he can do magic...” Chase muttered. “He uses so much technology instead.”

Doctor laughed, “Well, he’s not called the Magician for nothing.”

When the commotion calmed down and the debris stopped coming, Marvin twirled around, blowing a stray hair out his eye. The bright glow of the burning observatory behind the magician outlined his epic form. “Did your camera get that, Brody?”

Two more pieces of falling debris gracelessly smashed into Marvin. Chase happily squealed upon seeing the dusty forms of the Brighton Shepherd and the Red Marauder.

“I… should have seen that coming,” Marvin squeaked. “How did you escape so fast?”

“Laser eyes are a wonderful thing!” Marauder answered, giving Marvin a playful wink as he stood up. Marvin stuck his tongue out.

“The gig is up, Mal. We’re taking you back to jail, where you belong!” Shepherd declared. Marvin sighed and slammed his head down on the floor. Naturally, he lost. Again.

Schneep’s distressed cries snapped Marvin back to attention. He turned to his head to see Marauder on top of a struggling Schneep. Schneep’s whimpers and half-sobs were lost on Marauder, who continued tying his wrists behind him.

“Might as well send the Malevolent’s accomplice to jail as well! That way he won’t escape again!” the sidekick reasoned.

Something in Marvin snapped. “NO!” he screamed, startling the Shepherd. With his nemesis off his back, Marvin set his eyes on Brody and magically put the reporter in a choke hold.

Chase gasped raggedly as the air left his lungs.

Marvin whirled around to face Marauder, growling, “Let the doctor go!”

“Get your hands off Chase!” Marauder yelped, staring helplessly at his struggling brother.

“First, free the doctor!” Marvin shouted. He tightened his grip on Chase, lifting him out of the chair.

“Put Chase down!” Marauder roared, eyes glowing red.

Chase wheezed pathetically, black spots darting in his vision. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He let out a strangled sob, tears falling. In all his time with Malevolent… he had never felt so scared.

Jackie’s eyes lost their glow and he loosened his grip on the Doctor. Underneath him, the Doctor moaned in pain.

“Let him go, Red.” Jackie turned to Shepherd in shock. The usually optimistic and brightly-smiling superhero had a grim expression on his face. Jackie spluttered.

“B- but- The Doctor will just free the Malevolent again! We could stop them both once and for all-”

“You heard me. Let him go,” Shepherd ordered. Reluctantly, Jackie stood up and backed away from the Doctor. The shaking man took no time running to the stairs and quickly disappearing.

Marvin waited until Schneep’s footsteps faded away before releasing Chase, gently laying him down. Chase gulped in tearful breaths, his body trembling. Marauder rushed over to free Chase while Shepherd tied the magician’s hands behind him.

The minute his hands were free, Chase threw his arms around Jackie. Jackie gently hugged him.

“Are you okay?” Jackie whispered. Chase nodded, still gasping.

“I’ll take Malevolent to jail,” the Shepherd said. “You get Chase to a hospital!” He took off, Malevolent dangling in his arms. The magician waved goodbye as he and the Shepherd disappeared into the city.

Jackie picked up Chase bridal style and started flying as well.

He kept the flight light and steady to keep Chase from getting sick. Chase buried his head in Jackie’s shoulder for most of the trip, eyes squeezed shut. He hated heights.

As they arrived at the hospital, a medical team waited outside to take Chase in. After the first few kidnappings, a special team offered to dedicate themselves to healing Chase in case he needed it.

“Ja-Jackie?” Chase stuttered. Jackie looked down at his almost unconscious friend.

“Ma-Make sure th-this doesn’t reach An-Anthony, oh-ok?” Chase begged between gasps.

Jackie nodded, confused. “Alright… I won’t tell him.”

The cell stunk. No one here ever bothered to put an air freshener in his jail cell, despite Marvin’s numerous polite requests to have it put in. According to the security guards, the Malevolent “could use it as a weapon” or a “gas bomb”. Please.

Marvin sighed as best as he could. As if to enact revenge for strangling Chase, the security staff had clamped an even smaller chain around his neck, making it hard to breathe. Or move. Or do anything. The rest of his body wasn’t much better, with a larger chain wrapped around his waist and movement sensory chains bruising his wrists. If he tried using any magic, the chains on his wrist would shock him. After today, electrocution was the last thing Marvin needed.

Marvin looked up to check the premises. After checking to make sure the guards were gone, Marvin snapped his fingers, careful not to move his wrists too much. Immediately, the chains loosened, allowing Marvin to take a shuddering gasp. He knew the minute he heard the guards coming to check on him, he had to tighten them again, so he took advantage of the situation.

At least the Doctor was free. He wasn’t being made to sit in a stinky, small cell, wrapped in large chains that threatened to strangle him at any moment. He was free to relax after a hard day, planning for the next breakout. For now, Schneep could rest.

Marvin leaned back against his chair, closing his eyes. Schneeplestein would help him escape again. For now, the magician himself will think of another plan to get back at the Brighton Shepherd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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