#he doesn’t think they’re stupid enough to open the portal again just for him

[fandomish]

Thinking about how Leo always flips his shit and searches recklessly for his brothers when they go missing/are separated but probably genuinely didn’t expect to be saved at all when he locked himself in the prison dimension

[mochiwrites]

SCARIAN PARENTHOOD ARC????? I just saw that post Mochi PLS make this canon this is so fucking sweet ;~; grrgrhhhhhhh that would be so adorable 😭

canon you say? 👀

——————————

Of everything Grian expected from this day upon waking up with a snoring husband in his ear, a secret breach was not a part of the list. Trying to break into Mumbo’s vault, restock The Entity, get Hotguy’d by Scar, all typical occurrences. Searching the server far and wide for a strange anomaly that got past the firewall? Not even close to a thought on his mind.

Still, here he is, checking around the Rift for any strange or unusual entities. Grumbot Prime beeps behind him, watching as he looks over the shifting portal. He doesn’t see anything too unusual upon a surface level gleam of the place.

Up above, he hears the telltale flap of an elytra, along with a call of his name. Looking up, he spots Scar gliding into the cave, landing nearby. “There you are! I swear you took off like a rocket as soon as Xisuma finished explainin’ everything!” Scar heaves a breath as he pauses to catch it. “Have you found anything?”

Grian steps back from the Rift as he shakes his head. “Not yet. I was just about to open my Eyes to search for anything that’s hiding,” he answers. Easily does he slip his hand into Scar’s, lacing their fingers together. “What about you?”

Scar’s lips tilt low in a light frown. “I checked by the Elven Tree and Cookie Emporium but couldn’t find a thing,” he sighs, squeezing Grian’s hand. “Was just about to check Scarland if you’re willing to come along?” His voice carries something hopeful in it, making Grian smile despite the pile of nerves that sit in his stomach.

There’s only a handful of things that can break through a server as strong as Hermitcraft, and Grian has every reason to fear it.

“Yeah,” he answers. “Let me do a quick sweep of the place first.” Grian leans toward Scar to press a kiss to his cheek before looking back toward the Rift. He shuts his eyes with a quiet exhale, internally flipping the switch of his Watcher magic. Keeping his normal eyes shut, a ring of purple eyes float around his head, painting his view in a mix of code and a lavender tinted haze.

He hears Scar mutter beside him, “hot.” Grian promptly elbows him, the feathers of his wings fluffing. Scar laughs in return, although the sound is a little breathy.

Ignoring the distraction of his husband, Grian scans the Rift. Almost immediately is he overwhelmed with the strings of code before him, making him wince. He’ll be feeling that later in the form of a killer headache. But that’s a problem for future Grian. Present Grian has a completely different problem at hand. Lying within the code of the Rift is lines of broken numbers, a small hole. The numbers flicker in and out, and Grian swallows thickly.

“Well,” he starts, voice weak, “I’ve figured out how the anomaly got in.” Guilt already starts to flood him, as he realizes this is his fault. Who knows what he’s gone and accidentally allowed in. Stupid.

“That’s great!” Scar cheers, though one look at Grian’s uneasy expression and he wilts. “Or… maybe not?”

Grian doesn’t answer, Eyes still reading through the ruined code. He picks up on some kind of trail of numbers, and realizes it’s traceable. His eyes open and he looks at Scar. “I think I know where it is.”

Scar squeezes his hand again, a silent reassurance of I’m here. “Lead the way, G.”

——————————

Of all places, they’re brought to a forest not so far from Scarland. The warped numbers twist around the leaves and branches, creating an easy enough trail for Grian to follow. They walk along a path as they look around, keeping an eye out for anything strange.

They come to a small clearing within the forest and that’s when they find their anomaly. Sitting by a pond is a little girl who looks no older than six. On her back are two little wings, the feathers in a complete state of disarray. She wears what looks like an old dress, tattered and singed at the edges. Bandages cover her hands and arms, and she has some light scrapes and bruises.

Grian and Scar share a look before they look back at the child. He gestures for Scar.

“Uh—hello there!” Scar begins, sounding a bit unsure.

The girl startles, her wings fluffing up as she whips her head toward them. Her eyes widen with fear as soon as she sees them, hurrying to her feet.

“Wait!” Scar exclaims as she goes to run. However, he doesn’t have to do much for she trips and lands on the ground with a pained cry. He looks at Grian, who wears a similar expression of concern. Scar looks at the girl again, taking a few small steps toward her. “Are you okay?”

Hastily, she pushes herself up onto her knees, wings opening in an attempt to make herself bigger. Her big brown eyes are filled with tears, expression tight in terror. “S-Stay away!” she shouts, her voice shaking and wet. “I don’t wanna go back!”

“Go back?” Scar repeats, confused, taking another small step forward. “We’re not gonna make you—”

“I said s-stay away!” she yells again, her eyes flashing purple. Grian’s breath catches at the sight of it, and if he needs further evidence of this little girl’s identity, she looks right at him. Afraid. “H-He’s gonna bring me back! He has the big scary eyes like all the others do!”

Grian thinks he’s going to be sick.

“What?” Scar looks over at Grian, confused. He stares at the avian for a second before his eyes widen in realization. “G, your magic thingy! Make them go away!”

Right, he didn’t shut his Eyes—that’s what’s scaring the poor kid even more. Letting them close, he feels a soft pressure against his skull, and Grian grimaces. Lovely time for a headache. Pushing that aside, he looks at the girl. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologizes. “They can’t reach you here, I promise.”

She still looks afraid, and Grian winces.

“Why don’t we introduce ourselves, hm?” Scar smiles at her as he sits down on the ground. “I’m Scar, and this lovely man right here is Grian. We’re members of Hermitcraft, the server you’ve stumbled into,” he introduces cheerfully as Grian sits beside him. “What’s your name?”

“I…” the girl begins, though her eyes well up with tears. “I don’t remember…”

“Hey, hey, that’s alright! Why don’t you pick a nickname to be called for now?” Scar’s smile doesn’t waver, staying warm and gentle as he speaks to her. He never fails to amaze Grian, truly. Scar really is a wonderful man.

The girl blinks at Scar, looking confused. “A… nickname?” she asks.

“Yeah! It can be whatever you want, we just need a name to call you by,” Scar explains. “Everyone deserves a name.”

Her expression scrunches as she tries to think of a nickname, deep in thought. Grian can’t help finding the sight adorable, watching her wings twitch. “I… I wanna be called Sunny,” she decides on, and the smile Scar gives her is so bright.

“I think that’s an amayzin’ choice, Sunny!” He grins at her, watching the way her eyes light up. “Do you think you could tell us what happened to you, Sunny? You said you didn’t want to go back… did you run away from someone?” The two of them already know the answer to this, but they have to be sure.

Sunny flinches at the question, her wings folding tightly to her back as her shoulders rise. The tears are quick to return as she looks down at her lap, shaking. “T-They… they were really tall and had a-all these big wings…” she sniffles. “They w-were really scary… and they’d m-make me do training that really hurt…”

Grian’s hands curl into tight fists, some protective feeling clawing at his chest. Just hearing how trembly her voice is leaves Grian’s blood boiling. Seeing how little she is, knowing what the Watchers are like, his heart cracks. Judging by the hitch in Scar’s breath he has the same reaction, the man frowning.

“I-I’m sorry,” the little girl apologizes, looking up at the two of them as she sniffles. “Please don’t t-tell Them I’m here..! Don’t make me go b-back! I just… just wanted to see the sun…” Her tiny wings wrap around herself as she trembles, and Grian feels his heart breaking in half. She looks so small and afraid, he can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for someone at her age.

“It’s okay,” Grian’s speaking before he thinks, avian instincts crying for him to protect her. “No one here is going to make you go back. Not if I have anything to say about it.” There’s a stubbornness to his voice that catches him off guard, and he can feel Scar’s eyes on him. For the moment he ignores it, focusing only on soothing the scared child before him. He’s not good with kids like Scar is, but he’s sure going to give it his best shot. “Hermitcraft is a safe place for runaways like us. You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.”

Sunny stares at him with open surprise, her brown eyes shiny as new tears start to form.

Scar doesn’t bother hiding his own shock from Grian, but he quickly covers it up after, keeping it for much later, when it’s just the two of them together. For now, he nods earnestly in agreement, “You’ll be safe here, promise. Once we explain everything to our admin I’m sure he’ll have no problem with you staying!”

Grian watches as the girl begins sniffling before her little wings flutter and she’s flying right into them. It catches both of them off guard, Grian’s own wings flaring as he and Scar hurry to catch her. She presses her face into Scar’s shoulder as she shakes and cries and Grian looks at his husband. He sees the same protective gleam within the depths of his eyes, and Scar nods at him.

They’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure she stays here.

[owl-falls-au-gravity-falls]

How will the talk between Stan and Ford go? Because I’m afraid that all I can see, is Ford wording everything terribly.

Because the topic of, him being not at all happy that Stan had attempted to find his way to get home, makes its sound like he had never wanted Stan to come back at all.

That, with the fact that he thinks that they shouldn’t try reopen any more portals, makes it also sound like that now he doesn’t want the Hexside kids to find a way back to their home either.

Also if the topic of him thinking that Stan is still irresponsible and an idiot, comes up, It’ll also make it seem that he hasn’t changed at all, and looks down on him, and really doesn’t know him at all.

And that is how Stan takes it, and so he’s now upset and angry at his brother, because in his mind, Ford had basically told him he had wanted gone or even dead. And is of course upset on the Hexside kid’s behalf, cause now he also thinks his brother, doesn’t want the children to get back home to their families.

And to make it worse, the children basically hear all this, and they are now divided, with the Hex Squad obviously being on Stan’s side. Dipper and Mabel being split, because on the one hand, them having had experiences with inter dimensional things, they somewhat understand the dangers and fears that Ford may have, however on the other, they want to help their new friends find their way home, no matter what it takes. And they’re upset at Ford for what they think is him saying that hadn’t ever wanted them to meet Stan or for Stan to even come back.

EN INGLÉS

How will the talk between Stan and Ford go?

Very good question, your observations are very good, but I have a way of answering your questions with the following draft that I have been saving for an occasion like this.

What happened to Ford all these years in this AU?

Most of us would agree that Ford wouldn't want to risk the universe just to save one person, that added to his resentment from the past, which is still present, and the last fight they had, would cause Ford to get the idea that Stan hated him, or worse, that he had died

Believing in his own lies, Ford would close the portal to prevent Bill from coming to this world, as a consequence, Bill would torture him with visions of his brother in his worst moments on the boiling islands, Ford would see how his brother lived much worse situations, how he had to fight against a curse that turned him into a monster, how sometimes he had nothing to eat, and he even saw that he was on the verge of death, what he never knew was if those visions were real or not

30 years later, Mabel and Dipper would arrive at Gravity Falls and meet their uncle Ford, someone paranoid and reserved, but who gets involved in hunting monsters for study, in this universe, their research would be taken into account but would go through a very long evaluation period

In this universe, Mabel would feel disconnected from her uncle and Dipper, since Ford would constantly separate them, this due to the fact that Mabel looked a lot like Stanley as a child

For most of the summer, the children manage to live more with Ford, Dipper admires Ford's discoveries and is excited to know more about him, when the government unexpectedly arrives at Gravity Falls due to a strange alteration of gravity, Ford realizes that possibly something is trying to open the portal

When Ford and the children arrive in the basement to find out what is happening, the portal opens long enough for Ford to see a ghostly version of Stanley

Ford would first be scared to see Stanley again, but when the shock was wearing off, Stan quickly tells him what he had experienced on the boiling islands

And the children were in shock and excited to meet another family member

To clarify, no, Ford has changed, but the fear of Bill coming back, plus the now fear of losing Dipper and Mabel made him do stupid things…

He loves his brother, he wants him back, but he's also terrified of the consequences

That doesn't mean he doesn't love Stan

And in fact, something interesting happens a few weeks after Stan and the Hex squad arrive in Gravity Falls

I'll do an individual post about it

Since the comic is still in progress, and I feel like my point will be better understood here, I'm going to show everyone the script for my comic. I'll keep working on the comic, but this will answer the main question about Ford.

Dialogues from the comic “a tale of two stans”

Mabel: Oh my god, oh my god! What’s your name?!

Stan: Oh, ah… I’m Stan… Stan Pines

Dipper: Pines? Wait does that mean you’re…?

Ford: Stanley… my brother…

Mabel: You had a twin brother all this time and you didn’t tell us?!

Ford: I-I… I…

Stan: I’ll pretend that doesn’t matter for now. I’m so happy to see you! Look at you, you’ve gotten so old!

Ford: How… How are you so young?

Stan: Oh, that… well Eda, a great friend, helped me with that, anyway, as I was saying, are you okay? What happened when I left? Who are these little kids?

Ford: I… ah, right… this is Dipper and Mabel

Stan: Dipper and Mabel… interesting… nice to meet you, kids… what are you exactly? My brother’s kids?

Dipper: ah… n-no, we’re your nephews… technically great-nephews, because our grandfather is Shermie

Stan: I have nephews and I… did I miss that? Did it really happen 30 years? … I’m sorry I got in touch with you so late… but I’m here! Almost…

Mabel: how exciting! we have another uncle! can I call you uncle stan?

Stan: sure, pumpkin

Mabel: you gave me a nickname! I love it!

Stan: hahaha, I like this girl, she’s weird

Dipper: how… how is it possible that you appeared out of nowhere? why do you look like a hologram?

Stan: A what?

Mabel: Like a ghost!

Stan: Oh, sure, maybe the magic of this place has something to do with it…

Dipper: Wait, did you say magic?

Stan: Yeah…

*Stan takes out a journal that he carries with him everywhere

Stan: Maybe if I find the right combination of glyphs, we can create a better portal back, for that I need more titan blood… it will be a complicated task, since there isn't much… but if I find enough, we can make the portal's magic work…

Mabel: Hehehe, wow, you sound just like Uncle Ford

Stan: Like a nerd? Yeah, that's the curse of being on the boiling islands… are you okay, kid?

Dipper: It's… it's incredible! Are you saying that magic exists?!

Stan: Well, there's not only magic, there's a whole world full of magic and other things

Dipper: This is- I can't even… Living in Gravity Falls… I never thought any of this could be possible!

Mabel: There are gnomes and minotaurs! Why did you think magic didn't exist?!

Dipper: I don't know! I thought the only weird place in the world was Gravity Falls!

Dipper looks at Stanley with excitement-

Dipper: I waited so long to meet someone like you! I don't know what to say! I have a lot of questions!

Ford: Dipper, I don't think-

Dipper: Tell me everything about yourself! What do you do?! What do you eat?! Is there a different language in that place?! How did you survive?! Do you breathe oxygen?! How do you do magic?!

Stan: Wow, wow! Easy, little one, one question at a time - he smiles - let's start with the basics, shall we?

Dipper: Oh, right, sorry, it's just that, I find it amazing how you managed to do… -waves his arms trying to make himself understood- this!

Stan: Well, not everyone can open the closest thing to a portal to talk to someone from their own dimension, but I did it so… yeah, I'm amazing

Dipper: Exactly! Now, what's the place you're in like?

Stan: The Boiling Isles are the complete opposite of a fantasy book and it's… great, there are witches, weird creatures, a magic system, super old-fashioned covens and we're on top of what would be called the corpse of a being called "the titan", not to mention that this is my Talifriend, Lupin

*Stan shows them a little phoenix on his shoulder

Mable: Aaaaaaah! How cute! Where did you get it? I want one!

Stan: These little guys can be created with a special wood, they serve as companions and as staffs, it has helped me learn magic, although I learned the basics with glyph magic

Dipper:…- shocked -… how can I get there? I need to know everything!

Stan: Well, I'm working on a way to open a portal, this is the closest, but it's a step forward! If I get enough materials, I think I'll be back in a few weeks, months at most

Dipper: A portal! What is it?! How do you build it?! Can you-?!

Ford: A portal?!…- terrified- You?! Don't make me laugh, you idiot! You're no good at that stuff! I'm the genius here! How are you going to create a portal?! Paper and cardboard?!

Stan: Th-that's right! I don't know much about these things but I'm doing it! This is the proof! - points to himself

Stan tries to touch something, But he blinks a little when he tries to touch a pen and it goes through him

Stan: Ah! Well, it'll take some time But, if I keep working on this, I can make it work! And I'll be back! And we can forget that everything that happened!

Ford: It's been 30 years Stanley! You better stay there! It's clear that you enjoy your stay there, besides, do you think that anyone here has missed you?! No, obviously not! Then, stop your nonsense and go bother somewhere else! Stan freezes at those words

Mabel: Uncle Ford! That's horrible! Why do you say things like that to him?!

Ford: Because it's the truth! Stanley hasn't done anything worthwhile with his life! What is he going to do now that he's an old man without a brain?! Not to mention the risks of opening that damn portal! For all I care, he can stay there and die of old age!

Ford regretted saying that last thing, one thing was to push Bill away, another thing was to completely hurt his brother, he really loved Stanley, but he couldn't risk the world for a silly thing, they weren't going to pay millions for one person, even if it hurt him

Stan: Ford…

Suddenly he feels a tug, he had agreed with Luz to wear a rope around his waist in case the portal was being dismantled on the other side

Stan: No, no, not yet! Not yet! - he pulls on the rope - I'm so close now! I can't give up!

Ford: Get out Stanley! And don't even think about coming back because here! No one is waiting for you!

Stan: … Ford… - he keeps being pulled, but he fights - Listen to me, Ford! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! For the science project, for ruining your life! - between tears - All I wanted to do was come back here to tell you that I'm sorry! I'm sorry! For everything!

Ford feels his heart breaking at the desperation of his brother, his younger brother, his twin, but he knows that if he gives in, Stanley will try again and he can't take the risk, no matter how much he wants to tell his brother that he really has forgiven him.

Ford: … go now

Stan: … I'm sorry… - he says one last time while looking down -

Dipper and Mabel panic when they see Stan fading away

Mabel: No, you can't let him go! - she takes Ford and Stan by the hand

Dipper: He's your brother, you can't abandon him!

Ford: He was the one who ruined my life! Don't expect me to forgive that being so… so… DESPICABLE!

Dipper: … And to think I admired you… You are despicable! - approaches Stan -

Mabel: You still have something to come back for! We want to meet you! Please don't give up!

Ford: They say that because they don't know him!

Dipper: …-looks at Ford with hatred and then looks at Stan- let this not depend on him… you want to go back, right?, Stan…

Stan: I…

at first, Stan only wanted to see Ford again… But now that his hopes of recovering his old friendship were broken… He no longer has a reason to stay except…

except this pair of twins who do want to have him there, who want to meet him

Stan: … Yes, I want to go back…

Ford is not able to say anything, his heart wants to see him, to hug him, but his mind tells him that according to logic, that could cost the world everything

Stan: … I will return… I promise… And this time I will do things right

*Stan looks at both children

Stan: I can't wait to see them in person and hear their adventures

Both children smile

Ford no longer knows what to say so that Stan doesn't open the portal

Stan begins to fade

Stan: goodbye…

Stan fades away and disappears

...

and well, answering the other part of your question about Ford not being happy to have the Hex Squad helping Stan create a new portal, I mentioned that at first he wasn't happy that Stan didn't listen to his requests, that doesn't mean he's not happy to see his brother, in fact, after having warned him many times, he showed that he was actually happy to have his brother back

The only thing he couldn't stand is that Stan doesn't seem to hate him

this doesn't mean he's not angry with Ford, but he's not very happy with the fact that Ford chose to save and protect the universe over his brother, he understood that, but it was still painful to accept this situation

Stan and Ford don't talk much in the first few weeks, but as they babysit all the kids, Ford and Stan grow closer, even going to the lake for a quiet chat

Dipper and Mabel are more supportive of Stan, but they also come to understand Ford

Eventually, the Hex Squad would come to understand Ford as well, especially Luz, as she is also afraid that her actions will end up hurting everyone else

In another post, I will show Ford and Stan's conversation about the situation with the Hex Squad

Sorry if I went on too long in this post, I wanted to clarify some doubts :3

Thanks for asking

EN ESPAÑOL

¿Cómo será la conversación entre Stan y Ford?

Muy buena pregunta, tus observaciones son muy buenas, pero tengo una forma de responder a tus preguntas con el siguiente borrador que llevo guardando para una ocasión como esta.

¿que ha pasado con Ford todos estos años en este AU?

La mayoria de nosotros estara de acuerdo en que Ford no querria arriesgar el universo solo por salvar a una persona, eso sumado a su rencor del pasado, que sigue presente, y la ultima pelea que tuvieron, causaria que Ford se hiciera a la idea de que Stan lo odiaba, o peor aun, que habia muerto

Creyendo en sus propias mentiras, Ford cerraría el portal para evitar que Bill llegara a este mundo, como consecuencia, Bill lo torturaria con visiones de su hermano en sus peores momentos en las islas hirvientes, Ford veria como su hermano vivia situaciones mucho peores, como tenia que luchar contra una maldicion que lo convertia en un monstruo, como a veces no tenia nada de comer, e incluso veia que estaba al borde de la muerte, lo que nunca supo fue si esas visiones eran reales o no

30 años despues, Mabel y Dipper llegarian a gravity falls y conocerian a su tio Ford, alguien paranoico y reservado, pero que se involucra en la caceria de monstruos para su estudio, en este universo, sus investigaciones si serian tomadas en cuenta pero pasarian por un periodo de evaluacion muy largo

En este universo, Mabel se sentiria desconectada de su tio y de Dipper, ya que Ford los separaria constantemente, esto por el hecho de que Mabel se parecia mucho a Stanley de niño

Durante casi todo el verano, los niños logran convivir mas con Ford, dipper admira los descubrimientos de ford y le emociona saber mas de el, cuando el gobierno llega de imprevisto a gravity falls debido a una extraña alteracion de la gravedad, Ford se da cuenta de que posiblemente algo esta intentando abrir el portal

Cuando Ford y los niños llegan al sotano para averiguar que ocurre, el portal se abre el tiempo suficiente para que Ford pueda ver una version fantasmal de Stanley

Ford primero se asustaria de ver a Stanley de nuevo, pero cuando el shock se le estaba pasando, Stan le cuenta rapidamente lo que habia vivido en las islas hirvientes

Y los niños estaban en shock y emocionados por conocer a otro familiar

para aclarar, no, Ford si a cambiado, pero el miedo de que Bill regrese, mas el ahora miedo de perder a Dipper y a Mabel hizo que hiciera cosas estupidas…

ama a su hermano, lo quiere de vuelta, pero tambien le aterran las consecuencias

eso no quiere decir que no quiera a Stan

y De hecho, ocurre algo interesante unas semanas despues de que Stan y el Hex squad llegan a Gravity Falls

hare una publicacion individual al respecto

ya que el comic sigue en proceso, y siento que aqui se dara a entender mejor mi punto, voy a mostrarles a todos el guion de mi comic, seguire trabajando en el comic, pero esto respondera la pregunta principal sobre Ford

Dialogos del comic “a tale of two stans”

Mabel: ¡oh por dios, oh por dios! ¡¿como te llamas?!

Stan: oh, ah… soy Stan… Stan Pines

Dipper: ¿Pines? Espera ¿eso significa que tu eres…?

Ford: Stanley… mi hermano…

Mabel: ¡¿tenias un hermano gemelo todo este tiempo y no nos dijiste?!

Ford: y-yo… yo…

Stan: fingire que eso no importa por ahora ¡estoy tan feliz de verte! ¡mirate, te volviste tan viejo!

Ford: ¿como… como estas tan joven?

Stan: oh, eso… pues Eda, una gran amiga, me ayudo con eso, en fin, como decia ¿estas bien? ¿que paso cuando me fui? ¿quienes son estos pequeños niños?

Ford: yo… ah, claro… ellos son Dipper y Mabel

Stan: Dipper y Mabel… interesante… mucho gusto, niños… ¿que son exactamente? ¿los hijos de mi hermano?

Dipper: ah… n-no, somos tus sobrinos… tecnicamente sobrino-nietos, porque nuestro abuelo es Shermie

Stan: ¿tengo sobrinos y yo… me perdi eso? ¿realmente pasaron 30 años? … lamento haberme puesto en contacto con ustedes tan tarde… pero ya estoy aqui! Casi…

Mabel: ¡que emocion! ¡tenemos un tio mas! ¿puedo llamarte tio stan?

Stan: claro, calabazita

Mabel: ¡me pudiste un apodo! ¡me encanta!

Stan: jajaja, me agrada esta niña, ella es rara

Dipper: ¿como… como es posible que hayas aparecido de la nada? ¿porque te ves como un holograma?

Stan: ¿un que cosa?

Mabel: como un fantasma!

Stan: oh, claro, tal vez la magia de este lugar tenga algo que ver con eso…

Dipper: un momento ¿dijiste magia?

Stan: si…

*stan saca un diario que lleva consigo a todos lados

Stan: tal vez si encuentro la combinacion correcta de glifos, podamos crear un mejor portal de regreso, para eso necesito mas sangre de titan… sera una tarea complicada, ya que no hay mucha… pero si encuentro suficiente, podemos hacer que la magia del portal funcione…

Mabel: jejeje, vaya, suenas igual que el tío Ford

Stan: ¿como un nerd? Si, esa es la maldicion de estar en las islas hirvientes… ¿estas bien, niño?

Dipper: es… es increible! ¡¿estas diciendo que existe la magia?!

Stan: pues no solo existe la magia, existe todo un mundo lleno de magia y otras cosas

Dipper: ¡esto es- ni siquiera puedo… viviendo en Gravity Falls… ¡Jamás creí que nada de esto podía ser posible!

Mabel: ¡existen gnomos y minotauros! ¡¿por qué creías que la magia no existía?!

Dipper: ¡No lo se! ¡Pensé que el único lugar raro del mundo era gravity falls!

Dipper mira a Stanley con emocion-

Dipper: ¡espere tanto para conocer a alguien como tú! ¡No sé qué decir! ¡Tengo un montón de preguntas!

Ford: Dipper, no creo que-

Dipper: ¡Háblame de todo sobre ti! ¡¿qué haces?! ¡¿qué comes?! ¡¿hay un idioma diferente en ese lugar?! ¡¿cómo has sobrevivido?! ¡¿respiras oxígeno?! ¡¿cómo haces magia?!

Stan: ¡wow, wow! Tranquilo, pequeñín, una pregunta a la vez - sonríe - empecemos con lo básico, ¿Te parece?

Dipper: oh, claro, lo siento, es que, me parece sorprendente como has logrado hacer… - mueve sus brazos tratando de darse a entender- ¡esto!

Stan: Bueno, no cualquiera puede abrir lo más cercano a un portal para hablar con alguien de su propia dimensión, pero yo lo hice así que… sí, soy asombroso

Dipper: ¡exacto! Ahora, ¿cómo es el lugar donde estás?

Stan: Las islas hirvientes son todo lo contrario a un libro de fantasía y es… genial, hay brujas, Criaturas raras, un sistema de magia, aquelarres superanticuados y estamos encima de lo que se llamaría el cadáver de un ser llamado "el titán", sin mencionar que este es mi Taliamigo, Lupin

*Stan les muestra un pequeño fénix en su hombro

Mable: ¡aaaaaaah! ¡que tierno! ¡¿donde lo conseguiste? ¡quiero uno!

Stan: estos pequeños se pueden crear con una madera especial, sirven como compañeros y como bastones, me ha ayudado a aprender magia, aunque lo basico lo aprendi con la magia de glifos

Dipper:…- shokeado -… ¿cómo puedo ir para allá? ¡Necesito saberlo todo!

Stan: bueno, estoy trabajando en una forma de abrir un portal, esto es lo más cercano, Pero es un avance! Si consigo suficientes materiales, creo que estare de regreso en unas semanas, meses como maximo

Dipper: ¡un portal! ¡¿cómo es?! ¡¿cómo lo construyes?! ¡¿pue-?!

Ford: ¡¿un portal?!…-aterrado- ¡¿tu?! ¡no me hagas reír, cabeza hueca! ¡tu no sirves para esas cosas! ¡yo soy el genio aqui! ¡¿como vas a crear un portal?! ¡¿papel y cartón?!

Stan: ¡E-es cierto! ¡No sé mucho de estas cosas pero lo estoy logrando! ¡Está es la prueba! - se señala a si mismo

Stan intenta tocar algo, Pero parpadea un poco cuando trata de tocar un bolígrafo y lo traspasa

Stan: ah! Bueno, tomará algo de tiempo Pero, si sigo trabajando en esto, Puedo hacer que funcione! Y volvere! Y podremos olvidar que todo lo que paso!

Ford: ¡ya pasaron 30 años Stanley! ¡es mejor que te quedes ahi! Esta claro que disfrutas de tu estancia alli, ademas ¡¿tu crees que le has hecho falta a alguien aquí?! ¡no, obviamente no! ¡entonces, deja tus estupideces y vete a fastidiar a otra parte! Stan se congela ante esas palabras

Mabel: ¡Tío Ford! ¡Eso es horrible! ¡¿Por qué le dices esas cosas?!

Ford: ¡porque es la verdad! ¡Stanley no ha hecho nada con su vida que valga la pena! ¿¡qué va a hacer ahora que es un anciano sin cerebro?! Sin mencionar los riesgos de abrir ese dichoso portal ¡Por mí, que se quede en ese lugar y muera de vejez!

Ford se arrepintió de decir eso último, una cosa era alejar a Bill, otra cosa era dañar por completo a su hermano, en serio amaba a Stanley, pero no podía arriesgar el mundo por una tontería, por una persona no iban a pagar millones, aunque eso le doliese

Stan: Ford…

De repente siente un tirón, había acordado junto a Luz llevar una cuerda en la cintura en caso de que el portal se estuviera desmantelando en el otro lado

Stan: no, no, aún no ¡Aún no! - jala de la cuerda - ¡Estoy tan cerca ahora! ¡no puedo rendirme!

Ford: ¡lárgate Stanley! ¡y ni de te ocurra volver porque aquí! ¡nadie te esta esperando!

Stan: … Ford… - sigue siendo jalado, pero lucha - ¡Escuchame, Ford! ¡Lo siento! ¡Lo siento por todo! ¡Por el proyecto de ciencias, por arruinar tu vida! - entre lágrimas - ¡Todo lo que quería hacer era volver aquí para decirte que lo lamento! ¡Lo siento! ¡por todo!

Ford siente como se le rompe el corazón ante la desesperación de su hermano, su hermano menor, su gemelo, pero sabe que si cede, Stanley lo intentará de nuevo y no puede correr el riesgo, por más que le quiera decirle a su hermano que realmente ya lo perdono

Ford:… ya vete

Stan: … Lo siento… - dice una última vez mientras baja la mirada -

Dipper y Mabel entran en pánico al ver que Stan se desvanece

Mabel: ¡No, no puedes dejar que se vaya! - toma de la mano a Ford y a Stan

Dipper; ¡Es tu hermano, no puedes abandonarlo!

Ford: ¡él fue quien arruinó mi vida! ¡no esperen que perdone a ese ser tan… tan… ¡DESPRECIABLE!

Dipper: … Y pensar que te admiraba … ¡Tu eres despreciable! - se acerca a Stan -

Mabel: ¡Aún tienes algo por lo que volver! ¡Queremos conocerte! ¡Por favor, no te rindas!

Ford: ¡eso lo dicen porque no lo conocen!

Dipper:…-mira con odio a Ford para luego mirar a Stan- que esto no dependa de él…quieres volver ¿no?, Stan…

Stan: yo…

al principio, Stan solo quería volver a ver a Ford… Pero ahora que sus esperanzas de recuperar su antigua amistad se rompieron… Ya no tiene razón para quedarse excepto…

excepto este par de gemelos que si lo quieren tener ahí, que quieren conocerlo

Stan: … Si, quiero volver…

Ford no es capaz de decir nada, su corazón quiere verlo, abrazarlo, pero su mente le dice que según la lógica, eso podría costarle todo al mundo

Stan: … Volveré… Lo prometo… Y está vez haré las cosas bien

*Stan mira a ambos niños

Stan: no puedo esperar para verlos en persona y escuchar sus aventuras

Ambos niños sonríen

Ford ya no sabe que decir para que Stan no abra el portal

Stan se empieza a desvanecer

Stan: Nos vemos…

Dipper: … Y pensar que te admiraba … ¡Tu eres despreciable! - se acerca a Stan -

Mabel: ¡Aún tienes algo por lo que volver! ¡Queremos conocerte! ¡Por favor, no te rindas!

Ford: ¡eso lo dicen porque no lo conocen!

Dipper:…-mira con odio a Ford para luego mirar a Stan- que esto no dependa de él…quieres volver ¿no?, Stan…

Stan: yo…

al principio, Stan solo quería volver a ver a Ford… Pero ahora que sus esperanzas de recuperar su antigua amistad se rompieron… Ya no tiene razón para quedarse excepto…

excepto este par de gemelos que si lo quieren tener ahí, que quieren conocerlo

Stan: … Si, quiero volver…

Ford no es capaz de decir nada, su corazón quiere verlo, abrazarlo, pero su mente le dice que según la lógica, eso podría costarle todo al mundo

Stan: … Volveré… Lo prometo… Y está vez haré las cosas bien

*Stan mira a ambos niños

Stan: no puedo esperar para verlos en persona y escuchar sus aventuras

Ambos niños sonríen

Ford ya no sabe que decir para que Stan no abra el portal

Stan se empieza a desvanecer

Stan: Nos vemos…

Stan se desvanece y desaparece

...

y bueno, respondiendo a la otra parte de tu pregunta sobre que Ford no estaba feliz de tener al Hex Squad ayudando a Stan a crear un nuevo portal, mencione que al principio no estaba feliz de que Stan no escuchara sus peticiones, eso no significa que no este feliz de ver a su hermano, de hecho, después de haberle advertido muchas veces, mostró que en realidad estaba feliz de tener a su hermano de vuelta

Lo único que no podía soportar es que Stan parece no odiarlo

esto no significa que no esté enojado con Ford, pero no está muy contento con el hecho de que Ford eligió salvar y proteger al universo que a su hermano, lo entendía, pero seguía siendo doloroso aceptar esta situación

Stan y Ford no hablan mucho en las primeras semanas, pero mientras cuidan a todos los niños, Ford y Stan se hacen más cercanos, incluso van al lago para charlar con más calma

Dipper y Mabel apoyan más a Stan, pero también entienden a Ford

eventualmente, el Hex Squad también entendería a Ford, en especial Luz, ya que ella también tiene miedo de que sus acciones terminen perjudicando a todos los demás

En otra publicación, mostraré la conversación de Ford y Stan sobre la situación con el Hex Squad

Disculpa si me extendí demasiado en esta publicación, quería aclarar algunas dudas :3

Gracias por preguntar

[strawberry-smog]

SHERMIE.

Man, I hate this guy. While overthinking the Gravity Falls timeline brings me joy that only trying to put together a miscut puzzle with a boxcutter and some paint to scribble over the pieces that just don’t match anything can, Shermie is one of the fandom’s eternal lore tangles that just annoys me. I would prefer to simply never think about him, and yet after that stupid book taunted me about him again, I am opening this can of sherms and thinking about him and how he fits into the timeline and the wider Pines family dynamics.

I feel like most of the more lore-interested fan content, or at least the stuff concerning Stan and Ford, tends to go for the Older Shermie fan theory. And even though this is something that makes the most sense out of the mechanical number-crunching timeline part of the story, on a character writing level older Shermie just rings false to me: Stan and Ford are so defined by them being the only two people in each other’s lives from a young age, and even if Shermie was old enough or estranged enough or both to have never had any significant interactions with his baby brothers, I think the mere existence of an older brother would’ve cast a shadow over their childhood as something to idolize or something to be afraid of ending up like.

Plus, we’ve got Ford being given Filbrick’s wedding suit as a young man and the present day Stan-as-Ford inheriting all of the family’s old junk, which both seem to point towards Ford being the eldest son, although I will concede that this works for a no-contact Shermie too.

All of this seems like it should make me a Younger Shermie truther, but that doesn’t exactly feel right to me either - it works better for the older Pines family dynamic, but once you get to the younger generation you have to start thinking about the timeline again and how the unavoidable double teen pregnancies fit into the story there, and subjectively I feel like that doesn’t really fit the way Dipper and Mabel are presented. To me their branch of the Pines family seems a bit more insulated from those kinds of big dramas, with Dipper and Mabel as kind of these average middle class kids living a pretty normative life who find out about all the skeletons in their family’s closet over the course of the show. Also you’d think Stan would at least mention Shermie’s pipe game.

So if Shermie isn’t their older brother or their younger brother, who is he? Well, I don’t know, to be perfectly honest. I know there’s the time paradox gag in Lost Legends, but Shermie going through some crazy time dilation adventure is also something that feels off to me for the boring grandpa role he plays in the family dynamic, and it adds unnecessary wackiness and intrigue to the otherwise more grounded extended Pines family.

The scant other mentions of him aren’t very helpful for getting a clearer picture - Ford writes about him weirdly distantly for a brother in his journal. The only reference to him is him being full-named like he’s a stranger - which, I mean, I think it makes sense for the writers because it clears up any lingering “wait, is Shermie short for a male or female name?” confusion amongst people who didn’t play the DS game, while still letting them avoid “my older/younger brother” phrasing so as not to highlight the awkwardness of his place in the timeline and avoid canonizing a birth order for him. And to be fair, Ford in general seems 0% interested in his family once he gets back from the portal too: there’s some brief mentions, but he doesn’t have any questions about what they’re up to or whether his by-now-quite-elderly parents are even, y’know, alive. I think based on what Bill says about his family in the Book of Bill it can be assumed that Ford was estranged in all but name from his parents by the time he met Bill and being hunted across dimensions for 30 years certainly didn’t give him any opportunities to change his opinion on that, but this is getting off topic.

Anyway, now that I’ve rambled for a bit here’s me going through every Shermie theory I can think of and trying to present some evidence for all of them.

Theory 1: Shermie is Stan and Ford’s older brother and THE BABY is his child

Problems: The Pines are explicitly stated to only have two sons in ATOTS, and Ford is surprised to find out that he has niblings

Solution A: Shermie has been estranged from his family for long enough that the local high school principal has no idea he exists, and his parents don’t care to correct the mistake

Problem A: If Shermie isn’t in contact with his family why would they be looking after his baby?

Solution B: Shermie is not estranged, but for whatever reason the principal of Glass Shard Beach High has no idea he exists (he didn’t go to that school? The principal recently transferred from somewhere else?) and his parents still didn’t care to correct that mistake

Problem B: This makes it weirder that none of the characters in the flashback bring up his existence, and also doesn’t solve the issue of Ford acting like he hasn’t had niblings before Dipper and Mabel

Solution C: Shermie is trans and from the other characters’ perspective back in the 60s the principal was correct when he said there were only two Pines boys

Problem C: This still doesn’t solve the problem with Ford acting like he didn’t have any niblings, and maybe makes it a bit weird that Ford wouldn’t make any mention of it if he transitioned after 1982/3

Solution D: One of the above theories is correct and also THE BABY is not Shermie’s child but a fourth sibling or a random other baby being babysat

Problem D: who is this goddamn baby???

Solution E: Shermie IS estranged from his family and has also fucked off and left his child for them to raise

Problem E: Doesn’t really jive with him being at Dipper and Mabel’s birth or Stan calling him “a square”

Theory 2: Shermie is Stan and Ford’s younger brother and THE BABY

Problems: this makes both him and Dipper and Mabel’s parent very young parents, alongside possibly implying that Shermie died very young with how Stan refers to him in the past tense in Gnome Gemulets

Solution: there’s really nothing in canon saying they weren’t teen parents or that Shermie didn’t die in his forties (or that Stan wasn’t just using the past tense because he was telling old stories), it’s just kind of awkward

Bonus evidence: while Stan’s weirdly personal story about watching movies with your girlfriend leading to children ruining your life in Little Giftshop of Horrors is A) from a non-canon episode and B) said by Hirsch on twitter to have been something Filbrick said to him growing up, if you ignore Word of God it works pretty well as Stan remembering what happened to Shermie

Theory 3: Shermie is a normal age to have preteen grandkids but also isn’t Stan and Ford’s full brother

Problems: this is ridiculously blatant fanwank with zero in-text support aside from Stan and Ford never directly calling him their brother. It also has the same issues with who exactly THE BABY is as the standard Older Shermie Theory

Solution A: Shermie is Stan and Ford’s cousin and they’re referred to as great uncles because “first cousin twice removed Stan” doesn’t have a great ring to it

Problem A: when Ford hears about Shermie’s grandkids he specifically calls them his niece and nephew. While sure, this could be part of the same reasoning that has Dipper and Mabel calling the Stans their uncles in this theory, Ford at this point has no preexisting relationship with the concept of being especially close to kids-of-his-cousins'-kids, clearly wasn't very close with Shermie when they were both on the same planet, and singles out niece and nephew with a special kind of excitement that makes it seem like he's interested in the idea of a sibling of his having kids, rather than just more cousins which is something pretty much everyone has

Solution B: Shermie is a half-brother to Stan and Ford from another relationship of Filbrick’s

Problem B: this adds yet more convoluted family drama with zero canon evidence to the Pines family. However, since there is zero evidence for it there’s also nothing to really dispute it, seeing as how it’s mainly fanfic that has little relation to the canon backstory

Bonus evidence: Counting in dubiously canon sources such as Shmeb-You-Unlocked and the Stan DVD Commentary, Filbrick has had at least two careers before becoming a pawnbroker, which he was all throughout Stan and Ford’s childhood. Plenty of time to have had an entire other family, perhaps?

Theory 4: Shermie is THE BABY but Shmebulock’s conspiracy board from Lost Legends was correct when it brought up the possibility of a time paradox surrounding Shermie

Problem: wouldn’t the other characters notice that he was the wrong age?

Solution: it’s Gravity Falls so you can’t actually rely on people to act like normal human beings. This is another one where there’s no real evidence against it, it’s just kind of weird

Theory 5: Sherman is Stan’s middle name, and by calling them “Shermie’s” grandkids Stan is signalling to Ford that they’re secretly his grandkids… and THE BABY is his kid that he never got back in contact with, I guess?

Problems: why would Ford cover for this. Why wouldn’t Dipper and Mabel notice their grandpa doesn’t exist. Why

Solution: come on man

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

These Are Not Our Masks Chapter 7!

@daboyau

@that-0n3-shr00mi3-guy

@iobsesswaytoomuch

@sady-is-secretly-an-alchemist

@dluebirb

@burritello3000

Mikey screams again, falling backwards in an attempt to get away.

Leo’s mask tilts and stares him down with the black, soulless part that covers his eyes.

Mikey scrambles back until his shell hits a wall.

“What did you do!?”

Leo’s head turns towards the blood on the floor before he looks back at Mikey.

“It’s pretty clear what I did. Do you need to see it again?”

Mikey shakes his head almost immediately.

“I-Is he-“

“Dead? That’s up to him. If he’s not stubborn and gets himself treatment from an actual doctor instead of trying to fix himself up with his fake degree.” Leo says, voice dripping with disdain.

Mikey did not see any of this coming.

Not by a long shot.

“I-I thought you were working for him-“

“That’s what I wanted you to think! That’s what I wanted everyone to think! Including him. I was biding my time until he finally showed me what I needed.” Leo picks up Mikey’s mask from the floor.

Mikey’s eyes follow the movement.

“The mask…?”

“How to make it. That’s all he was good for. Now we can really complete the set!”

Footsteps signal the arrival of two more people.

Mikey looks up in horror.

Raph and Donnie.

Leo’s body language seems giddy as he twists around to look at them. He sets the mask down on a table.

“Took you longer than I thought to show up!”

Raph snarls at him.

“You come after us for not followin orders and then merc the boss? We ain’t just sitting by and takin it! You’re gonna bring him back and then you’re gonna take punishment.”

Donnie holds out his hands, they’re gloved and letting out sparks.

“Oh please, let me do it.”

Leo’s body shakes like he’s laughing hysterically, but no sound comes out.

“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say it’s Draxum making you so stupid! You’re outnumbered!”

“Check your math, inferior. There’s four people in this room.” Donnie corrects.

“And only one person fighting a winning battle.” He shakes more.

“Quit playin games.” Raph hisses.

Leo finally let’s out the manic cackling that’s been building up.

“But I love games! I want to play the one where you guess how many bones I’ll break!”

“No! Leo! Don’t!” Mikey screams.

“Aww, of course Leo won’t.” He promises.

Raph comes at him first, fist cocked to connect with Leo’s jaw. Leo doesn’t move an inch, opening a portal right in front of him. Another portal opens next to Donnie, causing him to get hit hard enough to make a dent in the floor when he falls.

“Artemis will.”

Mikey screams again. His throat is starting to hurt from how much he’s doing it. He stands up and tries to get to Donnie, but Leo shoves his arm hard across his plastron.

“You know that feeling of wanting to help that you keep making everyone else’s problem? Take it and shove it down deep inside or I’ll make you, got it? SUCK IT UP ALREADY!” Leo hisses, moving his hand grabbing Mikey’s head before tossing him to the ground again.

Mikey lands on his shell, yelping in pain.

Raph goes into a frenzy.

He starts attacking without any real strategy or direction. Raph just wants to hit him. Leo ducks and weaves, not moving quickly, but just enough to keep Raph’s attention trained on him and only him.

“What’s wrong, Atlas? Afraid for them? Ah ah ah, what did you just say about not behaving correctly?” Leo hops back.

Mikey doesn’t have a single clue about what to do right now. Is Leo on his side? Should be help Raph and Donnie? He can’t exactly escape, Leo is way too fast and ready to hurt him if he tries.

Can he really just watch and do nothing?

Does he have a choice?

Leo hides his hands behind his back and makes another portal. Mikey can see how he slows down slightly, hands appearing in a portal again. He doesn’t know what he’s doing until he sees the movement of Donnie’s gloves being pulled off his hands.

Raph slashes at Leo with sharp claws only for his body to start jolting at the electricity running through it. Leo has a glove pressed to Raph’s neck and holds it there until the snapping turtle falls to a knee.

“This is the way you’ve always been, huh, Atlas? Stubborn to a fault, and for what? Nobody appreciates what you do. A defender, a protector, former leader, wasted in a rage filled beast who can’t bare to be alone. Go to sleep. I’ll be taking over the show.” He presses the other glove to him.

Raph falls over completely, twitching.

Leo tosses the gloves into yet another portal.

Donnie pathetically drags himself over to Raph once he has an ounce of consciousness and lays over his arm.

Leo giggles, the sound echoing in Mikey’s ears.

This isn’t Leo. It’s not by a long shot. It isn’t Draxum either, it’s a completely different evil that’s more heinous than anything they’ve encountered before.

Whatever it is has his brother under its grip.

He can’t get anyone back if Leo is like this. He won’t let him.

An idea pops into his head.

There’s one thing Leo has tried to stop this entire time, even when it hasn’t made sense, especially when he said he wanted it to happen.

While Leo is distracted by having Foot ninja come in and remove their injured brothers, Mikey shakily grabs the mask.

Leo quickly spins around as he hears metal move off the table. His head tilts once more.

“Icarus, what do you think you’re doing?”

Mikey swallows hard, hands still shaking as he holds it in his hands. He can feel the evil radiating off such a deceptively cute mask.

“Y-You don’t want me wearing this yet. T-Tell me what you’re planning. Wh-Why you’ve gone against Draxum. Wh-Who’s actually in control!”

He wishes that he could be as tough as nails as he needs to be when demanding such a thing, but it’s so hard to muster that after what he’s seen and who he’s talking to.

Leo stares at him.

Mikey feels his nerves on absolute edge.

Leo starts circling around him.

Mikey gets the odd sensation of being a fish in a fish bowl while a cat tries to figure out a way inside.

Or a way to get the fish out.

“Finally….” Leo mutters.

“What…?”

“FINALLY! I’ve been trying to rip your heart out from your brain this whole time! You still went way too soft but I can work with that!”

Leo grabs Mikey’s arm and starts pressing the mask closer to his face.

“Leo!”

“What!? I thought you wanted to threaten me! Take a good look at what’s going to happen to you!”

Mikey barely manages to keep the mask from being put on. He’s always been strong, but Leo is on another level right now. He shouldn’t be able to do this.

Mikey can see the tendrils reaching out towards him. It makes him sick to his stomach. This is the last thing his brothers saw before they lost themselves.

Think Mikey, think!

He said he wanted everyone to assume he was working for Draxum, but why? He said he needed to know how the mask is made to complete the set, but his mask finishes it!

Doesn’t it?

Why didn’t he want the mask on him before?

Why didn’t he hurt April or dad?

Why isn’t he trying harder?

Is he….stalling…?

His eyes widen as he pauses his struggle.

“You….you want to mask them too!?”

Leo rips the mask away.

“Ding ding ding! You finally get something right! That’s all I’m going to give you. Want some bonding time? No? Too bad.”

Mikey feels the ground under him vanish as he falls through a portal. He lands on a cement floor and groans in pain. His eyes are drawn to the bars in front of him. Leo really put him in a cell. He’s gone full supervillain, if that wasn’t obvious enough already.

Directly across from him, he sees that Donnie and Raph have their own, separate cells. It makes sense he’s keeping them apart. The way they are, they’d probably attack on sight.

Can those bars hold Raph back?

He hates how he has to hope they can. It’s not right to be this scared of his oldest brother. That’s only reserved for when he’s truly angry, lecturing about missed training or reckless behavior.

Raph is supposed to be the one who makes a scary world so much more bearable. The moment Mikey goes into his shell he knows who will be one of the first to grab and hold it tight, not letting go and silently promising to take care of him when he’s too overwhelmed.

He’s taken it so much for granted. He knows that. Mikey always assumed that he’d just have Raph doing things for him for….ever. He thought he’d always have Raph period.

His eyes move to Donnie next.

He’s still out cold.

When will he wake up?

He will wake up, right?

Raph hit him pretty hard.

Donnie would probably hate Mikey thinking like that. He doesn’t want to be seen as weak. He already covers up the shell he was born with to ease the anxiety of having it at all.

Donnie wishes he was as gruff and tough as he tries to make himself out to be. Behind every evil laugh and joke about hurting his brothers, there’s a longing to be more connected to them. To understand each other.

Mikey starts whining and whimpering. Two of his brothers are right there in front of him and he feels more alone than ever. He can’t be brave. It’s impossible.

“…Icarus…..” A soft hiss draws his attention back.

Mikey rushes to the bars, grabbing them and pressing himself close enough to squish his face.

“Donnie! Donnie, are you okay!?”

He’s sat up, gripping the bars tightly himself.

“What do you think!? That pathetic, sniveling rat avoided punishment now but I will make him understand what it means to suffer!”

Mikey sighs.

Really, what was he expecting?

“You sat there and did nothing! You coward! Weakling!”

“Leave him alone….” Raph grumbles from his place on the floor.

Of course he’s-

Wait, what?

“R-Raph?”

“Ica-….Mikey….”

Mikey gasps, desperately reaching his arm through the gaps. Raph is way too far away for him to actually ever reach him but he wants to try anyways.

“Raph! Raph! Are you actually you!?”

Raph grips the mask on his face. It’s slightly loose, he attempts to pull on it but it only earns him a loud grunt in pain.

“I-I’m tryin to be. I-It’s hard.”

“It’s okay! It’s okay, I know you can do it! I just need to know how! You have to tell me why your mask is loose!”

Raph grumbles, still in pain and unable to think as clearly from the damage done to him.

“Shock, the shock, made….made everything hurt….it started….making it let go….but it’s coming back. It’s healing. It wants me back.”

“No! You have to fight it! Don’t let it take you again, please! I need you! I can’t do this by myself!” Mikey pleads, near tears.

Raph smiles at him. It’s genuine, but pain is written all over it.

“You….you can, Mikey. I know you think I d-don’t trust you, y-you think I won’t let you go on your own because I-I look down at you, but i-it’s not why. It’s m-me. I’m scared. F-For you. I….want to protect you….I need to….I have to….I believe in you!”

Mikey’s tears flow freely now.

He’s losing him.

Again.

He blinks the tears away hard as he watches the mask slip itself more into place, taking his brother away and leaving something awful instead.

Raph hisses and clicks, Donnie responding to it in turn.

Mikey knows now what he has to do.

It will hurt them, it’s going to be incredibly difficult at best, and it might kill him at worst to try.

He still has to to try.

[daddyplasmius]

this is let grief do its work, a fic (currently unedited rip) I started as a kind of sister fic to hand on my stupid heart, another fic I'd written earlier and uh. yeah. you guessed it. haven't finished. I'm working on this on the side, Flying Over the Pit of Death + its sister fic & my original novels being my main focuses right now. I will most likely continue lgdiw sometime in the future, it just isn't my main priority. Like all of my fics, this idea is free for anyone to take & run with. if/when I finish this fic, the edited version will go on ao3. For context: this is just a prologue of sorts, depicting vaguely what is happening on the human side of the Portal the month after the Accident. On Danny's side, he's been chillin' in the Ghost Zone, where he ended up after half-dying, believing he's fully dead (he's not) & only realized he's still alive after it was too late for him to tell everyone what happened cuz like, awkward & embarrassing lol. HOMSH takes place a year later, when things come to a head. I feel it's important to reiterate that, although Danny isn't actually dead, the characters think he is & act accordingly. okay author's infodump note complete, fic under a readmore

“when they first go, let yourself think every selfish, no-good, dirty, angry, filthy, horrible thought. let the waves of anger wash through you. let grief do its work.” ーCaitlyn Siehl; Grief Counseling

On the first day, Sam had thought that, maybe, Danny was just busyーtoo busy to answer their texts, and their calls, and everything else. But then Tucker called her. It was a horrible game of telephone at first. Danny’s parents told Jazz, who told Tucker, who told Sam, and that’s how the communication went for two days until she and Tuck had enough.

They went to FentonWorks, the big, ugly building on the corner of Mockingbird and Cedar, and were surprised to find no one home at all. Not even Jazz. And, for the first time since they’d known the Fentons, the doors were locked. And when they tried to talk to Jazz later, they would find that they’ve officially filed a police report.

ー

Danny Fenton is missing. The last time Sam talked to him she was making fun of him, for being too scared to go check out the Fentons’ new Ghost Portal. She knew he was freaked out by stuff like thatーby ghosts. Now she doesn’t know if she’ll ever see him again.

There’s just no way. He can’t be gone. She literally saw him on Saturday. His empty seat in homeroom on the first day of school is the thing that does it. There’s this gap in the desks where he should be, but he’s not. Like he’s already haunting her.

It makes her sick. Everythingーeverything in her head, everything she knows. Despite what Dash and his asshole friends say, Danny wouldn’t run away. And the longer a person is missing, the more likely it is that they’reー

Sam doesn’t wait for the bell. She leaves Tucker in homeroom, goes straight to the bathroom, and wipes her face down in the sink, water turning black. Suddenly, everything macabre, everything dark and creepyーit just disgusts her.

She goes home early. No one even says anything, not the school, not her parents, not Tucker. Alone in her room, Sam starts to shake. She sobs once, something seething just under her skin. She stalks over to the wall where most of her horror movie posters are taped and starts tearing them down, one by one.

ー

Danny Fenton has been missing for a week, and Tucker, staring at the sweater his best friend forgot at his house, laid across his computer chair, thinks he’s starting to feel it.

Opening his phone, he feels it again. Looking at his texts, he feels it again, and again, and again.

Saturday • 4:47 p.m. Danny Phantom: xD Danny Phantom: not playing tonight, ghost portal opening night 👻 Danny Phantom: can play tmrw tho Too Fine: hell ya txt u then Danny Phantom: 👍 Sunday • 10:20 a.m. Too Fine: yo still up 4 doomed Too Fine: dued Too Fine: dude* Too Fine: you there Sunday • 10:21 a.m. Too Fine: txt me when you wanna play Sunday • 11:58 a.m. Too Fine: you up?

Tucker lets his phone fall on his bed. He doesn’t bother checking in with Sam. She’s been out of school and ignoring him for the last three days. It’s almost been a week sinceー

He gets up and stumbles to his chair. He sits down, careful not to mess up Danny’s NASA hoodie. Tucker turns on his desktop, types in his password, checks his emails. He messes around for as long as he can before he literally cannot take it anymore. He just can’t ignore it.

God. His best friend is gone. Is he coming back? Is heー

It’s like something inside his chest cracks. Without thinking, he pulls the NASA hoodie into his lap, and then over his head. It’s been here too long. It still has that smell of ozone and copper on it, though.

Tucker leans back in his chair and stares at the wall.

ー

Danny was home. That’s the thing. The last time Jazz saw him, he was inside the house, and she never saw him leave. He must have, at some point. She has no idea why, or for what, but he must have. It’s the only rational explanation. Danny left. Something happened. He never came home.

She feels the panic rising, gripping her throat again. She puts the candle down on the bleachers. Wipes her face. Whoever is speaking to the crowd of students holding vigil is a mess of white noise in her ears. It doesn’t help. It should and it doesn’t. A lot of things are the opposite of what Jazz knowsーthought they are.

She almost wishes it had just happened at home, been a little less drawn out.

As soon as it pops into her head, she feels sick, disgusted at herself.

But no one goes missing this long and lives. A very small percentage do. And if it had been some accident in the lab, like she always feared would happen, at least they’d have a body to mourn. At least they would know.

ー

Sam’s parents pretend they aren’t happy. They have to look worried, grieving, because what would the neighbours think if they didn’t? She can see through it, unlike them. They always hated the Fentons. They always hated Danny. They always hated Sam’s fascination with the macabre.

Well. They got what they wanted.

It’s like he’s in everything. She isn’t even looking for him, and he’s still there, still everywhereー

Sam rubs her eyes on her sleeve before she can properly cry. There’s no body. He could still come back. A month is a lot, but he could stillーhe could show up. Someone could find him alive. He could be alive.

Her parents look at her from across the lavish, stupidly large, solid wood table. She should know what type of wood it is but it’s like the information is behind a fogbank. She can see the silhouette. She just can’t make it out. Mom places her cutlery down neatly, dabs her mouth with a cloth napkin, and clears her throat.

“Sammy-kins…” She starts, and the rage inside Sam bubbles up like lava bursting through rock. “There’s been… We…”

She looks to the side for help, from dad. He looks incredibly awkward for a moment before turning to Sam with an expression she hasn’t seen since grandpa died.

“Saman… Sam.” He says, simply, slowly, and the lava in Sam’s gut turns cold, and heavy. “They’ve found evidence that has given them reasons to believe that… your friend is gone.” He’s never spoken this softly. Ever. His voice is barely audible above the blood rushing in her ears. “They’ve called off the search.”

ー

Tucker didn’t expect nightmares. He wakes up and he panic-cries into his pillow and hopes to whatever god or deity is listening that ghosts in dreams aren’t real. He can’t explain the fear. Everything is incredibly normal, more normal than his dreams ever have been, and then Danny walks in.

He would give anything for this to happen, right now, in real life. He’s afraid, though. In his dreams, a sheer terror overcomes him. He can’t get away fast enough. He can still hear his own voice echoing in his head. “You’re dead! You’re dead!”

It’s a wrongness he can’t quite graspーor doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to be afraid of his best friend. Tucker wants him back so badly. But his brain knows the truth, even if Tuck is digging his heels in and refusing to budge.

Someone knocks on his door, and he tenses.

“Tucker, sweetie? It’s…” Mom takes a deep breath. “It’s time to go.”

He grits his teeth and shoves his face into his pillow so hard he can’t get air. He stays like this until he can’t. He gets up.

Tucker walks across the floor like a zombie, barely aware of what he’s even doing. He manages to put on the suit his mom put out for him yesterday, and goes downstairs. He refuses breakfast. The three of themーmom, dad, Tuckerーgo out to the car, and drive to his best friend’s funeral.

ー

Jazz stares at the closed casket. There’s a pair of police officers out of uniform, or maybe detectives, standing in the corner by the photo album laid out on a table looking haunted. Aunt Alicia, uncharacteristically wearing a plain, black dress, sits with mom and dad at the other side of the room. Jazz stares at the casket and she tries to imagine that it’s not empty. That it isn’t making her scream inside with the frustration of it all. Her baby brother is gone. They couldn’t even find him. And probably never will. Because that’s how these things end.

Tucker walks into the room. Dark bags circle his unfocused eyes. His parents are right behind him, his father’s hand on his shoulder. Tucker looks at the casket. He turns away, catching sight of Jazz, and when his parents break off to meet hers, Tucker walks over.

He picks at his sleeves. Says nothing. Jazz tries to pick at the grief counseling she knows she’s studied for fun, but finds herself falling short.

She doesn’t see Sam or Mr. and Mrs. Manson walk in, but suddenly they’re there as well, smiling tightly and giving their condolences to Jazz’s parents. Sam doesn’t walk over. She stands in a corner and stares at a wall with purpose.

Jazz breathes slowly, willing her heart to stop pounding. She counts the stages she can see in front of her.

Too much Acceptance, all from strangers who never even knew him personally. She glances at Dash Baxter, tugging on his tie and looking annoyed. She can feel Anger in her. But also Denial. Bargaining. Depression.

And somehow, Acceptance, too.

They’re not stages. She never really got that before. You feel them all at once, all the time, and they don’t go away. The intensity changes, turning from a background hum to bright bursts of emotion at any little reminder.

She looks at Tucker out of the corner of her eye. She wonders if he’s feeling that way too. Being bombarded by the stages of grief in a way no one prepared them for. Is this why mom and dad never let them get any pets? Besides Danny’s gerbil, which promptly disappeared before she could even get used to the rodent’s smell. What happened to it? Was it rehomed, or is its body still somewhere around the house, unfound, unlooked for?

The stages start over, skipping between Depression, Anger, Denial, the emotions falling over themselves. She wished the cops would leave.

Not soon enough, it’s over. The funeral home employees usher them out, the rooms and halls now empty. The drive home is simultaneously the longest and shortest ever. She stares up at the brick and all she wants to do is sleep. She heads inside intending to do just that.

She takes her shoes off at the door. Mom and dad take off their jacks and move to settle in the living room. Mom is holding a tissue to her eye. Jazz hesitates for just a moment.

Should she do something? She feels like she should do something, anything. She wants to suggest therapy. She’s afraid to open her mouth, though. Jazz can feel the blame on the back of her tongue, ready to spill out. That would be the worst thing for her to do, and she doesn’t know if she has the strength to hold it back, because for fucks sake, if they just watched their children, this wouldn’t have happened.

Jazz turns to the stairs and starts climbing them. She doesn’t get halfway before she’s blinded by drywall dust and knocked off her feet.

[heckinconfusedparade]

Nine Finds Sonic Boom Part 2

Part 1 vvvv

Eggman is a determined man. His access to the multiverse has granted him more power than he thought- and with great power, comes great oopsie-daisies.

Orbot and Cubot whisper amongst themselves as Eggman fiddles with the controls for his warp pad. They’re concerned for their safety and for Eggmans safety. He seems pretty hellbent on getting a Tails on his side. They hope that if another Tails comes around it’s someone like Mangey or hell, even a little kid. That would be more fun than a dangerous Tails. Their Tails is dangerous enough because of his inventions little consistent bugs.

Eggman evilly giggles and rubs his hands together like a house fly “it’s ready.. Orbot! Cubot! Pull the lever!!”

“But sir, you’re right next to-“

“JUST PULL THE LEVER YOU LAZY BAGS OF BOLTS!”

Orbot sighs and pulls the lever. The familiar portal opens up, and a small figure appears. Indeed the person to come through is Tails, but he looks.. familiar.

The new Tails glares and growls at Eggman. Eggman screams “NO NO NOT YOU AGAIN!”

Nine doesn’t speak. His eyes dart around as he inspects his surroundings. His 7 mechanical tails spread out as he charges at Orbot and Cubot who cling to each other. “Please don’t hurt us!!“ Cubot pleads.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”

Cubot panics “um uhh.. cause we’re cute?”

There’s a pause before Nine lunges at the two robots who start screaming. The two bots end up with their heads on the floor. Orbot says to Cubot “nice going.” To which Cubot says “at least we aren’t dead!” And Orbot shushes him saying “don’t give him ideas.”

Nine approaches Eggman who starts sweating profusely. He presses a button and some badniks pull up. They don’t last a second against Nine. Nine thinks this level of evil is absolutely pathetic and almost laughable. Eggman goes to his desk “I’ve had it with you! You and your stupid spider legs!!”

Nine looks at him “what is ‘spider’? Nevermind. Send me back or else we will have problems.”

Eggman laughs nervously “unfortunately there’s a c-cooldown!” Nine responds by smashing his desk. He starts pulling apart and turning over every furniture in retaliation. “MY BEAUTIFUL FURNITURE PLEASE LEAVE IT ALONE YOU CRETIN!” Eggman pleads. Nine starts going for him. Eggman learns that this kid is FAST.

Nine is chasing Eggman through his own home, he is literally scurrying on the walls like some kind of hell spider. Eggman gets his Eggmobile and hops in to fly away. Guess what? Nines not far behind. He can fly too! And with enough deTERMINATION he can and will last the oceans length.

Sonic is laying on a beach chair catching some nice Z’s in the sunshine. All is calm, all is bright. Until Eggfucker1991 flies over screaming like kittens were just beaten to death with a water bottle in front of him. Sonic at first thinks ‘hm the flies sound really weird today’ but then he opens his eyes and spots the terrified Egg Man. What on Mobius is happening?? Then he spots Nine, and he starts waving his arms frantically to get his attention.

“NINE NINE OVER HERE!!”

Nine looks over and his eyes light up in recognition. He’s seen this bastard before! He leaves Eggman and flies over to Sonic, only now letting the fatigue get to him. Eggman immediately retreats back to his lair, again mumbling about a stupid fox and his stupid spider legs.

Sonic smiles at the little dude “it’s really nice to see you again! You missed quite a bit.”

Nine pants “yeah. Yeah just. Gimme a second.. can’t feel.. my tails..” aaaand he collapses. Sonic looks around in a panic. Nine immediately tries to stand back up, but Sonic stops him and opts to carry him instead. He’s gonna visit the person he knows can make this kid a nutritious meal. AMY!

Sonic reaches Amy’s house in record time and pounds on her door. Amy opens the door looking rather annoyed “you’re gonna break my door-“ she notices Nine in his arms “oh! Nine! Hello!”

Nine gives an acknowledging nod. Sonic barges in and lays Nine on Amy’s pink couch. “What’s wrong with him?” Amy asks, propping Nines feet on a pillow above his head level since he’s looking rather groggy. Sonic tells her about the episode on the beach, and that’s all she needs to start whipping something up. Nine consumes his food like a man starved.. cause he is! He fainted because he had very little to eat. He finished the leftovers from his visit to the SCU a while ago.

Once he’s recovered, it’s time to head out again! But Amy carry’s some snacks in her purse so if Nine gets hungry or feels faint again, he can have something to munch on.

They walk into the village. Sonic lifts his arms up and rests his hands behind his head in a relaxed saunter, “Tails will be happy to see you!” Sonic laughs, “right after he’s done being happy to see his girlfriend.” He nods towards Zooey and Tails in the distance. Zooey has Tails’ hands in hers and they’re talking about something. Tails’ tails begin to wag. Then spin. Then oooh boy he’s taking off! Zooey pulls him back to her for a second to give him a goodbye kiss on the cheek before letting him fly away like a very happy bird. Tails has a stupid puppy love grin as he floats off. Amy coos at the sight. She’s so happy they’re happy! Sonic has a proud smile. Nine is. So confused.

The group follow Tails in the sky until he lands back at home. Tails sighs and droops like those lovey dovey teenage girls in 2000’s shows. He snaps out of it when he sees he has an audience. He scrambles back to his feet and attempts to return to his normal confidence. Now he notices Nine!

“Nine! You’re back!”

“Wasn’t my choice.”

“How so?”

“One second I was cruising through shatterspace, and the next Im in that Dr. Eggmans lair!”

Tails gets to think thonkin. Sonics face lights up as he remembers “NINE CHASED EGGMAN OUT OF HIS LAIR” he says enthusiastically slamming his hand on Nines back. Tails laughs “Aw man I missed it!” Nine steps away from Sonics hand “I also tore things apart, including those weird geometric robots he had.” That last part makes the 3 gasp. “Y-you killed Orbot and Cubot??” Amy stutters. Nine groans that she’s even concerned for those things “no I did not. They were still yapping when I left em. They told me not to dismantle them because they’re cute.” Amy sweats and smiles nervously “don’t you think.. they are kinda cute?” She asks. Nine rolls his eyes “the only thing cute about em is their concept of excuses.” He taps away on his wristband to connect to his shuttle.

Then he remembers something. He looks at Tails “YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND??” His sudden change of tone startles Tails who takes a moment to find words “y-yea! I do! Her names Zooey!” his answer makes Nine raise an eyebrow “and you’re all sappy about it,” Nine says “you flew away looking like my Sonic talking about chilli dogs. You looked dumb.”

Tails frowns “are you not happy for me?”

Nine shrugs “I’m neutral. Romantic relations for the most part allude me. The only girl I’ve ever thought was pretty was someone another Tails already liked. So it’s not that I’m not happy for you, it’s just the idea is mostly foreign to me.”

Tails’ smile returns “oh ok I get it! Tell me about this other Tails!”

Nine shares his experience in the X universe. Being hit by debris in space, meeting Cream and Cheese (Amy is trying to convince Vanilla and Cream to move to Hedgehog island), getting upset with Tails, kicking Knuckles, meeting Cosmo and thinking she was nice, meeting Chris, and the new upgrades Chris and Tails gave his shuttle.

Tails is noting this all in his head. New potential multiverse destination!

Sonic ain’t know who Chris is.

Amy is a little peeved that Nine talked about her other self as annoying, but maybe soon one day she’ll understand.

Nine also talks about his time in the SCU. The others are excited to hear their little rascals are doing well.

Knuckles and Sticks emerge from the tree line, having a small disagreement.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Sticks has her arms stiff to her sides in anger. Knuckles huffs “Im inno-kent-“

Sticks stops to fully turn to Knuckles and glare at him “ITS INNO-SENT!! INNOCENT! Stop watchin tv it’s meltin your last braincell!”

“Bold of you to assume I HAVE a braincell!” Knuckles says with absolute confidence and braggery in his tone. Sticks scoffs. Then the two spot Nine. They run to him to greet their lil friend. Knuckles has learned to not pick up the fox as much as he would love to, but that doesn’t stop his enthusiasm!

Sticks punches the lil man’s shoulder “Hey, Nine! What brings you back to our neck of the woods?”

Knuckles scratches his head confused “the forest has a neck?”

Sticks looks at the echidna with her annoyance towards him resurfacing “no. It’s a figure of speech.”

Nine tells them again about how he chased Eggman out of his lair and destroyed the interior. Sticks and Knuckles get a good laugh out of it!

Tails then asks a question that he’s been pondering for a while now “Did you find your Sonic, Nine?” Nines expression drops “I did.” He scowls. Amy and Sonic look at each other in concern, “then why do you look so upset?” Amy asks.

“Sonic is an idiot. I finally find a place where we could start fresh. I wanted to make a better world with him. The world he lost, and the one I never had. But he insisted that The Grim wasn’t going anywhere and that he’s needed somewhere else. He said some other really stupid things that I’ve pushed out of my head. So I let him leave.” Nine says, glaring at the ground with such heat it could turn to glass, “if he doesn’t want to stay with me, that’s his problem. If he wants to chase a dream that ridiculous, that’s his problem too.”

The others are quiet. They don’t know what to say. Nine has always been alone, and that sucks. He finally finds someone who likes him, and that someone wants to go back to old times, which also sucks.

Nine sighs “I apologize for killing the mood.”

Amy sits him down in the sand “no, don’t apologize. I believe that talking about our feelings is a good way to heal and get everything out in a healthy way. You’ve been through things I couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard it must’ve been. You’re so young. I don’t know if you need to hear this, but I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you for making it this far.”

Nine looks at her disbelief. What a kind thing to say! He’s gonna cry about this later. “Thanks..” he says. He’s gonna be strong for now.

“Sorry to change the topic, but do you happen to know a version of you with a sick Mohawk?” Knuckles asks. Nine raises an eyebrow “nooo..? A Mohawk? What?” He chuckles a little, finding the thought of him with a mohawk absolutely ridiculous.

Tails laughs “his name was Mangey! He’s another version of us, but he acts like a puppy! He was fun.”

“Maybe I’ll meet him one day.” Nine says.

They hear a large splash in the ocean. A few moments later, Shadow but smaller, drags out a smaller Sonic who’s hacking up water.

“Hhhhahk- Shadow” Sonic coughs “why???”

Shadow drops Sonics arm onto the sand “you wouldn’t show me your fancy hand things.”

“SO YOU PIN ME DOWN UNDER WATER??” Sonic lifts his head up “that’s sick, man!”

Shadow narrows his eyes “want to know what’s sick, Sonic? Destroying our world.”

Sonic goes silent.

Shadow notices the others who are looking upon him in shock.

“Why are there two of you?” Shadow asks.

-TO BE CONTINUED-

[phantom-rambling]

Danny enters the Ghost Zone through his parents’ portal. He shuts it behind him with a convenient little remote from his pocket before anything can escape. Familiar channels in the infinite green expanse lay open in every direction. Yet, he hesitates. His white hair waves like mist as he hovers.

He’s about 19 now and nearly as tall as his dad, though not as stocky. His frame is lean and muscular, stretched taut with constant exercise. A little overstretched, even. Looming and harshly angular. Luckily, his black jumpsuit has grown with him over the years. The insignia on his chest has even smeared a little. He wound up with the sharpest of his parents’ facial features, completing the image of a predator ready to spring at a moment’s notice. At least, that’s what the public seems to think. The electric green eyes probably don’t help.

Nope, there’s no time to think about that. He knows he has to make a decision before it’s too late.

The easiest thing to get his hands on would probably be Dora’s spare amulet. He wouldn’t mind owing her a favor. But then, a giant dragon might just stir up more trouble than it would solve. And there’s no telling if he could keep his head on straight for long enough without going on some kind of primal rampage.

There are plenty of cursed weapons, but the “curse” part tends to get ugly and fast.

Pandora’s box is also definitely out.

Danny rubs his chin and thumbs through several other options in his mind. Too risky to get. Not powerful enough. Boobytrapped. Too cursed. Way too cursed.

He repeatedly brushes past a candidate that refuses to stay away. He can’t believe he’d even consider it. He wishes he’d never looked it up.

But… An undead army sworn to the Ghost King’s Crown could be a pretty sure bet. It would be dangerous to get. It would change everything. The others would never forgive him. But it would be enough. Could he really take down the King just to get his stupid hat–and get saddled with wearing it for the rest of his life? The forums were kind of vague about that part. Maybe there’s a way to borrow it? As if that’s never come back to bite him before.

What is he thinking? It’d be overkill.

Then again, it might not be enough if he waits. What’ll he do then?

He winces, pushes his hair back, and lets out a deep sigh. He needs to get a hold of himself–and away from everything.

Danny dives down into the green, heading away from floating doors and islands, toward vast cavities of amorphous space.

Tangled bodies of semi-formed ectoplasmic matter dance and collide to draw the landscape into being. Plumes of shimmering fog in dark shades of green, purple, and red conceal the origin points of what little inherent structure the Ghost Zone has, far far below in humid chasms. Terrifying wormholes suck in their surroundings and take them who-knows-where as who-knows-what.

The budding scientist in Danny wonders what could be learned about the universe if this phenomena were studied in depth–or even how they’re influenced by the mingling personalities of eons of passed life. The brainless adventure-seeker in him just wants to see them up close.

Something else is drawing him along. It’s almost prickly, like a current of static electricity. Curiosity takes the lead as he traces it through migrating clouds of soft phthalo mist. By the time he reaches the other side, he can’t tell if he’s lost the trail or acclimated to it.

Everything around him is moving. Enormous shapes travel together in droves–some solid, some less so.

He levels out and glides through the grooves of a brainlike field of reddish rock. The motion of flight pushes the Ghost Zone’s thick chilly not-quite-air into his lungs. He loves it.

As he meanders his way through junction after junction in the canyons, his attention begins to drift.

Even if he doesn’t do it tonight, it’ll have to be soon. The Guys In White have only been getting busier, and he shudders to think what they might be up to next. He may not even be free of prying eyes here in the Ghost Zone.

Self-consciousness prickles at his neck. There’s a lot he can’t see in here. He raises himself in an effort to oversee the entire maze just in time to reach its end. He swings his legs forward and comes to a stop, hanging in mid air. The rock cuts off at a sheer cliff face. The area beyond–a mass of impenetrable shadow–yawns before him. Danny can’t tell if it’s a trench so deep that light can’t reach the bottom or if there’s some kind of obscuring force field shutting it out. The trench is so impossibly wide that it completely fills his view, aside from a puff of white breath from his own mouth.

Wait, what?

Danny turns just in time to see the giant spiny claw of a primeval crustacean inches from his face. Its shell is the same color and texture as the terrain, as if it had just stood up from its place as part of the rock. He can preserve his momentum if he doesn’t try to run, and so dives between the claw and the creature’s body. The serrated pincer digs into the ground beneath where he was. Its smaller claw reacts without hesitation, but Danny’s reflexes are even faster. He grabs the dull side of the shell and freezes it solid to the shoulder on contact. The crab maneuvers back and snaps with its big claw. Danny pushes off of it with his foot to get away from it, bringing him even closer to the creature’s mouth. With a sickening crack, a seam along the center of the exoskeleton opens up, revealing a sea of stinging white tendrils that threaten to envelop their prey. Danny only has a few seconds to think. There’s no way for him to get up enough speed to get away without getting stung, and he doesn’t want to find out what that’s like. He draws his shoulders inward with his hands extended forward. The excess energy in his body is made volatile and forced out through his fingertips. Jagged threads of green lightning leap through the waving tendrils, searing and crackling. Danny sizes up his victory as he shakes out his hands. The crab monster takes uncoordinated steps backward. Its joints make clacking sounds that clash with the degrading tendrils, making an awful chorus. It’s so loud, the boy doesn’t bother with a quip. He also doesn’t notice that some of the noise is out of sync until it’s too late.

There’s a shadow at his feet. He has just enough time to raise a shield before a second crab whips at his head. It’s like getting hit by a rocket.

The world is a blur. Danny tries to counteract his momentum, but he just ends up spinning. In a blink, he’s enveloped in the darkness of the trench below. He can’t see anything. There’s nothing to sense at all apart from the rushing in his head and the pounding of his heart. He keeps trying to slow down and eventually gets the head rush to stop. By then, he can’t see light in any direction. There’s no way to tell up from down.

He produces a bolt of energy from his hand like a torch, but it is almost immediately swallowed by the dark. It takes effort to hold one up for more than a few seconds as he tries to get his bearings. Cold seeps in. Danny’s no stranger to cold, but this is something more. Gnawing. Creeping and oppressive. The air tastes stale.

Something rough drags at his arm, and he wheels at it violently. When he tries to get some light on it, he finds nothing there.

Danny lets instinct take over to keep himself calm as he looks for a way out.

~

Time passes. He has no idea how much. The cell phone in his pocket won’t turn on. It could be hours. It feels like hours. Every once in a while, he brushes something sharp that stokes his adrenaline and paranoia. He’s so tired–not like he would from flying or fighting. He’s drained in a way that feels like he’s being hollowed out. Despite his best efforts, worry leaks in as time gruels on.

He can’t be gone this long. Especially at night. There must be something he’s not doing to break out. He has to try harder. He should have paid more attention before. He could be stuck here forever, and it’s all his fault.

Suddenly, Danny bumps into something solid. He reflexively kicks against it and gets pushed back. He pauses. Nothing so far has been anchored in space like that. He feels it over. It’s flat and smooth with the texture of wood. His fingers bump a metal knob. Hardly thinking, he turns it and pulls. The door swings open, letting warm air and light spill out from inside. He pulls himself through by the doorframe and shuts himself off from the darkness with a heavy click.

He stands in the entryway and breathes, pushing out all the cold dead air. He warms up a little, but the fatigue lingers. He really does feel like he got hit with a rocket. Or maybe a bus. He tries his phone. Still useless.

Danny looks around. The entryway extends to a hallway leading out to some steps that head down. The hall is unlit, but the room beyond glows invitingly. There are hooks with hats and jackets hung on the walls, along with a long thick rope tied in a loop. Pairs of shoes clutter the floor. The door he just came from is purple with a little window at the top that’s been taped over.

Weird.

He has no idea what might lay beyond the steps, but he certainly isn’t going back outside. If he can find another door in here that leads to a different part of the Ghost Zone, he might be able to get back to the portal. If he’s really lucky, the inhabitants might not know him.

He walks cautiously down the hallway. His brain feels like it drags behind him as he goes.

The steps lead to a living room with hardwood floors, pastel orange walls, and rounded wooden doorways leading elsewhere. The furniture is a mix of styles and sizes–all soft, colorful, and well-used. It’s very cottage-y. The disembodied doors Danny’s been through before usually lead to the domains of ghosts. Their homes often manifest as exaggerated shades of places they left or desired in life. This one feels more like a home to be lived in than a distorted memory of one. Even if it does look kind of goofy.

Instinct tells him not to let his guard down. It could be some kind of illusion. And there’s an unfamiliar energy in the air.

Danny pushes off the floor with his toes and silently floats through a corridor further into the house. The pastel walls and wood floors cut abruptly to bright blue walls and cement floors. The architecture’s completely different. Acutely modern, rectilinear, and borderless. It’s like being inside a stone carving of a house. He peeks inside some rooms and finds each a completely different style unto itself. Some are cluttered with drifts of antiques, containers, and brick-a-brack that are just as disparate in style as the house. Many look ancient–tarnished and corroded. Others have bizarre everyday objects that Danny nearly recognizes. If they don’t have some quality that makes them totally nonfunctional, they’re plastered with a poor imitation of a brand name.

He moves on, trying every door he can find. More rooms. More hallways. He loses track of how they wind and connect, pulling tricks of direction on his own mental map. He’s too dizzy to figure it out. With a sinking feeling, Danny realizes that he’s once again lost in a place that seems to go on forever.

Then, he notices a smell. Salty and hearty, like something cooking. It’s subtle at first, beckoning him back the way he came and down a hallway he passed up earlier. Green wood paneling and yellow carpet. The smell of actual food is by far the weirdest thing so far. His apprehension has been completely exhausted by this point, replaced with subdued confusion. And he’s suddenly very hungry. He follows the green hallway to a set of stairs leading upward. Echoes of music bounce down to him from somewhere ahead. He ascends.

 The stairs end at a smaller living room with unpainted wood paneling. There’s a brown L-shaped couch and a big TV in the corner, a dining table and chairs next to the far wall, and four tall picture windows that glow with daylight beneath orange curtains.  A pop song Danny’s never heard of blares in his ears from a nebulous source.

Danny immediately wonders if he managed to stumble through a natural portal to the real world and has just been wandering around some eccentric collector’s house well into the morning.

The music stops. There’s noise and movement directly to his left, in a kitchen with peach and white tile and counters. Someone is standing at the stove. They were in the middle of cooking a pan full of scrambled eggs, apparently.

“Hi there,” they say.

“Uh, hi,” Danny responds absently. He’s so tired.

An awkward pause settles in as Danny fails to read the person’s face.

“Do you wanna have some eggs?” they ask.

The toaster on the counter pops up.

“And toast.”

Danny blinks.

~

The next thing Danny knows, he’s sitting at the dining table with a plate of eggs and toast in front of him and a glass of orange juice to go with it. Across from him sits the person who made them, stiffly eating and drinking from their own plate and glass.

“So,” they ask, “what brings you here?”

Danny swallows the bite he already took.

“I just got lost, I guess.” The eggs are bland and dry. He has a sip of juice and looks the room over again. “I definitely wasn’t expecting to end up anywhere like this.” The juice doesn’t taste like orange. Maybe it’s tangerine or something.

His host makes a short noise of acknowledgement, but Danny can barely process his own words. It’s like trying to think through tar. He sits up straighter and tries to shake it off.

The person sitting across from Danny has hair nearly the same shade as his. Their shirt is red, almost the same as their skin. They look calm, but they keep squeezing their fingers together.

Danny finally realizes how strange this must look and digs up some manners.

“Uh–I’m sorry for barging in like this. I promise I won’t be long.”

He hopes they won’t even ask about his hair and eyes. Maybe they’re used to having ghosts wander through if they have a portal downstairs.

“Don’t worry about it,” they say evenly. “Do you need to… call anyone?”

“I should. I don’t know how long they’ve–”

Danny stops halfway through digging for his phone. He looks at the host, who sits there with a fork in their mouth. The unnatural feeling is still in the air. Danny had nearly forgotten.

Something’s wrong here, but he isn’t about to show that he knows it.

Danny retracts his hand without being too quick about it and relaxes into the chair.

“Y’know, it can wait. I think it’s dead anyway. So, you live here?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you usually leave the door to the pitch black void unlocked?”

Danny jabs a thumb over his shoulder at the stairs.

“Oh, I didn’t know I had one,” the host answers with a scratch of their head.

Danny just nods. At least they’re a terrible liar. There’s something off about their face, but he can’t focus on it.

“I mean. It’s never really bothered me, so I kinda forget about it. I’ve had this place so long.”

“Then, there’s another door?” Danny asks casually.

“Hm. No. I use the windows.”

“Those windows right there?” he points at the ones behind the table.

“No, bad idea. Rose bushes.”

Danny almost snickers.

“Where is this anyway?”

“Kansas.” They answer nearly the same moment Danny finishes asking. “It’s Topeka, Kansas. I’ve lived here for 20 years. And I’m. Marv. –Y. My name is Marvy.” They clench their jaw as soon as they’re done tripping over their script. “And you are…?”

“Just passing through. Like I said, I got lost. I’ll be out of your hair in a sec.”

Just as soon as he can stand. His head isn’t clearing up much.

“What were you looking for?” they ask innocently, breezing past the fact that Danny didn’t answer the question.

They’re on to him. Think of something fast.

“Someone. A troublemaker.”

“So, you’re like a bounty hunter?”

“I guess I’m more of a sheriff--for better of for worse.” He pretends to sip some juice.

“Is the person you’re looking for dangerous?”

Don’t sell anyone out, Fenton.

“Just a little guy. No big deal.”

The host is silent for a good ten seconds, then lets out a tiny “oh.”

Crap.

Danny glances at the window, putting together an exit strategy. He’s picturing a rat maze on a soundstage deep in Guys in White HQ with flood lights everywhere.

He feels like an idiot–getting shuffled from one trap to the next and lured in with food like an animal. The toast doesn’t even look real. They must have laid out that trail in the Ghost Zone to draw him close to the trench. Did… did they send the crabs, too?

Odds are good that there’s a knockoff ghost shield around them now. He’s broken through those before. It’s gonna hurt, though.

“I’m sorry,” his host interrupts the silence, probably reading Danny’s masked suspicion. “I’ve never had a thing–person–like you. Here. Before. But I won’t tell. You don’t have to worry.”

Danny was inches from making a run for it before that last sentence.

“You won’t tell what?”

“I won’t tell anyone what you are.”

Danny’s blood runs cold. Have they figured out his secret identity already?

“That’s an awfully nice thing to do for a stranger,” he says, trying not to put the last nail in his own coffin. “Can I ask why?”

“No reason, I just don’t want to make any trouble for you. It’s not like I ever go anywhere or talk to anyone.”

What kind of veiled threat is this?

“What kind of trouble?” Danny asks almost too lightly.

“Having the wrong people find out. That’s the big fear, isn’t it?” They finish their juice in one long sip.

“So, what would I need to do to pay the favor back?”

The host shakes their head and speaks with a smile.

“All you have to do is do nothing to me.”

Danny can’t think of what to say to that. He just stays still.

Satisfied with their answer, the host leans against the backrest and absentmindedly raises their right arm in a vague open gesture. Danny hears a sliding sound from the kitchen, and a pitcher of juice flies with unseen force into the host’s ready hand.

They both stare at the pitcher. The host has a perfectly guilty expression on their face. They try to recover by putting down the pitcher and folding their hands, by which they end up moving everything on the table by about an inch without touching a thing.

“I, uh, er… Oops.”

Danny disappears. By the time the host reacts, he’s already at the exterior wall. His intangible body pushes through the wood–or tries to. For some reason, it won’t let him through. It doesn’t burn like a ghost shield. He just sinks an inch in and stops, as if there’s nothing beyond. He pulls himself out and lifts the curtain of one of the windows. Nothing but white light. It’s hot, like the light source is right up against it. He can’t pass through that, either.

“I can explain.”

The host is standing up and looking at him, though not directly. Danny realizes they’re focused on the raised curtain in his grip. He drops it, and the host’s eyes dart frantically around. Danny tries the ceiling. When it stops him, he ricochets down toward the stairs. As if reading his mind, the host gasps, snaps around, and points at the opening in the opposite wall. And then, it’s just a wall. Danny slams against it head-first. Stars bloom in his vision. His invisibility fails him. The host stares, motionless with their hands splayed at their sides, as if trying to hold something in place. Their captive scrambles up to where the wall meets the ceiling like a cornered rodent.

He summons everything he has left to raise an ecto-bolt.

“Let me go,” he demands.

“I can’t,” the host says shortly. A little panicked, even.

“Wasn’t asking!”

Danny bids the bolt to fire, but it just flickers in his palm. His arm already hurts from holding its own weight. This isn’t working. He lets the bolt dissipate and tries to draw the energy back into his hand. Instead, the threads of green light slither down in a flash and pepper the room with burn marks. The host is alarmed and shrinks into themself without changing stance. It looks… wrong. Like they’re squished. Danny can’t remember their colors being so bright, either.

“What are you? What did you do to me?” Danny practically begs.

“Nothing. I’m just a guy, y’know? A guy,” they beg back.

Danny scans them up and down. The host jolts on their heels when they get a look at themself. Their hair is the shade of their skin which is the shade of their clothes–which are suddenly deep blue. They’re a silhouette in play-doh.

After a little more stammering, the host lets out the rest of their breath and drops their shoulders.

“Fine. You got me.”

The play-doh form blinks away, replaced by a distinctly human figure in its place. They’re about a head and a half shorter than Danny, and a few years younger too. Their face is round and boyish with tiny freckles across their light peachy skin. Their hair is so wild that it probably hasn’t seen a comb in weeks. It’s a different color every time Danny glances at it. He can’t believe he felt any air of menace from someone who looks like a burned out high schooler–down to their faded pink socks, heavy grey sweatpants, grape-purple pullover hoodie, painted nails, and the blue plastic star-shaped studs in their earlobes.

“Happy?” the host asks through uneven teeth. “It wasn’t a good disguise, anyway. I panicked.” Their voice is a little raspy and isn’t through breaking, which makes Danny realize it barely had any character at all before. “Go ahead and wipe me. Throw me in front of your bosses or whatever. Just make it quick.” They raise their hands in surrender.

Danny stares, dumbfounded.

“Look–I’m sorry, okay?” the host continues, insecure in the face of Danny’s silence. They flick a hand, and the stairs are suddenly back. “I’m not trying to be a bad guy. You’d freak out too if someone was after you.”

Danny can feel his back phase through the wall as he begins to drift.

“What are you talking about?” he asks.

His genuine confusion makes the host’s defeated blue eyes widen.

“You… you’re not here for me? Or, are you even one of them?”

Danny tries to say something, but nothing really comes out. His stomach keeps telling him he’s falling.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Listen, you gotta promise not to tell anyone. It’s important! I mean. Uh.” They run their fingers fraughtly through their technicolor hair and then extend a hand. “We got off on the wrong foot. My name’s Tim.”

Danny catches a break. He passes out after slipping out of the wall. He’s back in human form by the time he hits the floor.

------------

PART 2

INDEX

Edit: I tweaked the header a little so it’d read better.

[percontaion-points]

Covet chapters 104-107

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 104

Nuri gave us a week, but here she is after only three days going back on her word.

I can’t even pretend to be shocked that Flint’s shitty mom is being shitty again. 

“You gave in to a vampire—you gave in to Cyrus, who you hate—because you’re as weak and power-hungry as the rest of them.” 

“Grace, stop,” Uncle Finn tells me, and there’s a warning in his voice— in his eyes—that I’m going too far.

WELL, SOMEBODY HAS TO TAKE THESE ASSHOLES DOWN SEVERAL PEGS. MIGHT AS WELL BE THE LITTLE GIRL THAT THEY’VE SHAT ALL OVER FOR THE PAST YEAR. 

“You’ve lost any support you might have had from me,” she hisses.

This is a joke, right? Even when Grace made the deal with Nuri literally not even three days ago, she knew that Nuri was so goddamned full of shit.

Nuri showing up and arresting Hudson after three days instead of the promised week is simply proving Grace right. 

“All right, then.” Nuri swings around to her guards. “You heard her. Seize the gargoyle.” And just like that, my life changes. Again.

Chapter 104 summary: Grace feels as though the actual graduation ceremony is beyond underwhelming. Especially considering that there are four different groups of supernatural creatures. There’s no pizazz… There’s no showmanship!

Hudson comes over to her later, and things are stupid awkward between them. She apologises for having tried to help Jaxon. He says that she’s got nothing to apologise about; that he loves his brother, too, and obviously wants to help him. 

Right then, Nuri comes over and arrests Hudson again. In doing so, not only is she breaking her promise with Grace, but Finn also reminds her that the school is supposed to be safe grounds. Nuri flaunts some newly changed law that any law-breakers can be arrested so long as they’re not actually students at the school. Finn says that you simply cannot change the law and tell nobody about this. 

Grace and Nuri get into it, as which Grace calls Nuri a lily-livered chicken-shit with no real power. Nuri calls Grace an immature baby. As Nuri takes Hudson away, Grace says that it’s her right as Hudson’s mate to go with him. She tells Finn that Macy will explain everything later, and she’s hauled away, too. 

Chapter 105

“He’s my son, Finn.” She looks devastated. “I’ve given Cyrus everything he wants. Why would he do this?”

Did this lady wake up and take an extra dose of her stupid pills this morning or what? She’s got a negative IQ if she thinks that Cyrus was EVER on her side!

I can’t wrap my head around it as they walk us into the forest—and straight into a portal that Cyrus obviously had opened for just this occasion. Then again, I realize I don’t have to imagine it. I’ll be seeing it firsthand soon enough.

Chapter 105 summary: Nuri’s guards are more than a little rough with slapping the cuffs onto Grace. 

After Grace has been handcuffed with the anti-magic cuffs (which I’d like to remind you are fucking pointless), Cyrus comes over and issues an arrest warrant for Flint. For trying to kill the last gargoyle. Grace is floored by the man’s audacity… Mainly because practically everybody there already knows that he’s so goddamned full of shit. 

The only one who’s more floored than Grace is Nuri. She legit thought that siding with him and doing everything he wanted was somehow going to protect her and her family. Grace wants to rub it into her face, but she doesn’t like kicking people when they’re down. 

After Finn breaks up the would-be fight between Cyrus and Nuri, Nuri goes over to her son. She tells him that since Grace is still alive, all Flint has to do is “atone for his sins”, and then he’ll be out of there in no time. 

Grace wonders exactly what kind of a place that this is, but then remembers that she’ll be there soon anyway. 

Chapter 106

I take a deep breath and reach for the ring…and can’t do it. Removing it now would be like giving up on Hudson. On us. And I know I will have to eventually to save Jaxon, but I can’t do it today. I’m not ready to lose him yet. “I’ll keep it.”

Chapter 106 summary: Grace falls through the portal, where she comes face to face with a scary lady. I’m pretty sure that she’s a medusa. The woman takes Grace’s gargoyle powers, which freaks Grace out more than anything. She makes Grace stand in a small box, where wind blasts her, and then there’s some fire that doesn’t quite touch Grace. 

After that, she makes Grace change into a black prison jumpsuit, and takes all of Grace’s jewellery. But not the promise ring. She tells Grace that the prison is not a “get out of promises” card. Grace doesn’t know what Hudson promised her, but decides to keep the ring on. 

Chapter 107

And that’s before a low, terrifying growl comes from seemingly nowhere and makes every hair on my body stand straight up.

Chapter 107 summary: The lady takes Grace to some sort of processing room, which despite being staffed by zombie-looking creatures, is so ordinary and mundane that Grace feels a little better. Hudson and eventually Flint come in after her, and the guards who were taking care of the initial processing leave. 

As they’re sitting there, the boys say that the check-in people were Basilisks, not medusas. Flint will not stop talking about some prisoner named Remy, and asks a bunch of times to be put in a cell with him. As they’re being led away, they ask who Remy is. Flint said that it was the last thing his mom said to him. 

The zombie-creatures shove the three of them into a room, but rather than a room, it’s a chute that dumps them out somewhere. The thing that might be Remy starts growling, and scares Grace something fierce. 

[bridgetserdocksketches]

A Supergirl Big Hero 6 AU inspired by this comment on Twitter

Closeups and overall concept below the cut

Lena and Kara were building Baymax together. He was their project. Their brainchild. They were supposed to finish him together. So of course Kara, the asshole, got herself stuck in the Phantom Zone.

Okay. That was unfair. It wasn’t her fault. And she’s not an asshole (well, not entirely).

It’s Lex’s fault. He opened that stupid portal. He wanted to get Kara - get Supergirl - out of the way. And he wanted to hurt Lena. The prick succeeded on both accounts.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Kara was gone, Lena lost Luthor Corp, too. Lex wasn’t satisfied with simply removing the single most important person in her life. No, he had to go and take her company from her. The one thing she knew she’d be able to rely on when she inevitably spiraled after Kara’s departure. Just... gone. All in one fell swoop, everything Lena cared about was gone.

Well... almost everything.

There was still her friends. Or rather Kara’s friends. The Superfriends. They were still out there, fighting the good fight. A few of them reached out since Kara (Alex, mostly). But they only wanted to talk. And Lena didn’t want to talk.

There were a few personal projects she could work on, sure. But so much of that research was tied up with Luthor Corp. It wasn’t proprietary, so she could go and collect it any time she wanted. But that means seeing her brother again. And she will not give him the satisfaction of seeing her like this.

That really just leaves Baymax. And Lena just... She just can’t. Not without Kara.

But that’s not going to get her down. Or as down as it could. Because when the world is at its most bleak, and you’re down on your knees, and every time you try and stand someone always forces you back down, there’s always alcohol.

And that’s how Lena finds herself here. In her darkened kitchen, drinking some random bottle of scotch. Not the Glenfiddich 18 year, though. She won’t touch that one. Kara got her that one.

No, instead she’s drinking the twelve year Glenlivet that... someone got her. She can’t remember who. And sitting in a half dark kitchen because she didn’t care to turn on more lights as the sun set a few hours back. And she is most certainly not thinking about a certain blond asshole that left her far too soon.

Tonight is truly shaping up to be another shitty evening spent alone. One for the history books, to be sure.

It’s as Lena’s getting up to get some more ice that it happens. She smacks her knee right into the corner of the island. Right in that sweet spot, sending pain shooting up her thigh.

“Ow!” She exclaims, recoiling away from her assailant. She glares down at the island as she grinds out “You motherfucker,” carefully enunciating each syllable so that they’re all dripping in venom.

The island doesn’t respond.

But there is still a response. From farther in her apartment. In a selectively forgotten corner comes three beeps in rapid succession, followed by the distinct sound of air inflating. Rapidly. A sound all too familiar to Lena.

She whips around on the island chair, nearly knocking herself to the floor in the process. And her eyes land on him. Fully inflated and awkwardly standing in his charging pod. He blinks at her, the telltale signs of his software finishing its startup. And then waddles out of the charging pad a few steps.

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

So, if you couldn’t tell, this AU would take place in season 6. Or some variation of it (I dunno, I haven’t watched past season 2). It would follow Lena - and eventually the rest of the Superfriends - as they do everything they can to bring Kara back from the Phantom Zone.

But at first Lena just doesn’t want to help. She kind of implodes a little with Kara gone. And then Baymax shows up and he doesn’t really give her a choice in the matter.

As for how Baymax came to be, he started as Lena’s passion project. Something that would be undeniably good. Something even her worst critics could agree was a force for good. And then Kara met him, and things changed.

Lena still did the majority of the creative work. She wrote the code. She did the assembly. She designed him. But Kara got to test him out. With a carbon fiber skeleton and the ability to lift 1,000 pounds, not just anyone could be on the receiving end of a malfunction. And in typical Kara fashion, she had suggestions:

“He doesn’t look all that friendly... maybe a rounder shape. You know, friend-shaped!”

“Oh! Maybe he could give lollipops if the patients are good! What? No, of course not just the kids.”

“Would it be possible to teach him how to do a fist bump?”

And it all added up to make Baymax Baymax.

So now whenever Lena sees Baymax, all she can really see is Kara. And somehow, just like Kara herself, Baymax is enough to give her hope.

[toothlesshat]

Aaaahhhh Big Mama having to come up with a little deal on the fly because she was just so worried about Leo and then having her staff come in to clean themlaor up is just so cute!! Legit I can imagine the boys all just staring at her in complete confusion and suspicion because 1) Big Mama always has an ulterior motive 2) the fact she is even there is concerning and the only reason they haven't kicked her out yet is because they're not stupid enough to think they can actually kick the spider yokai out without consequence and they can't really afford to have to move out with Leo hurt, and 3) sheef bafflement about the situation is leaving them completely stunned and it wasn't until she turned and saw Raph's eye and Mikey's hands that they snapped out of it, mainly because she was suddenly pouring thay motherly concern in them. Donnie only got away with it because he had put his battle shell on (despite having explicit orders to keep it off while his shell heals) the moment his sensors tracked Big Mama. He'll get his turn when he is told by Casey to take it off when he comes in.

SKDJDKKD I love the image of everyone standing dumbfounded in the open while her bodyguards run around the lair cleaning everything from head to toe. They have no idea what to say because they can barely believe it’s happening!?

Her next concern is Raph (who I firmly believe is her favorite) because next to Leo, he got roughed up the worst. I have this headcanon that Raph secretly likes the idea of having a mom because they’re characterized to be so gentle and affectionate, a lot of things Splinter wasn’t at first. So Big Mama will be cradling his head, trying to check for infections or see if she can do anything to ease the pain of it and he’s like “Big Mama it’s okay! Raph can take care of himself!” But his big ol’ alligator tail is wagging behind him. When she concludes his eye is definitely healed and he’s just dealing with the side effects, she gives him some of her own personal eye care supplies (like face care stuff, the eye patches with cucumber water and what not).

Next is Mikey who she actually heard about in passing because of him opening the portal with his bare hands. He’s skeptical of letting her inspect him, but as we all know, Mikey is the quickest to come around to newly turned villains. So when she starts asking questions and offers him a pain relief cream, he’s happy to entertain her and finds that she’s actually really fun to talk about when she’s not trying to kill them.

Last is Donnie who is the most scarred from his time with Big Mama. He doesn’t want to entertain her or acknowledge her, and is mostly guarding his lab. There’s not much she can do to change his mind in this time, but she does compliment his work on how efficient it was to save the world. He tries really, really hard not to like the praise, but damnit the parent aged adult strikes again.

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here. 

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield… 

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over. 

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes... 

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up… 

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory. 

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!! 

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus 

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub 

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night… 

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor 

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑 

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully… 

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

[jackrrabbit]

Sidekick /// Dabi x f!Reader x Shigaraki (18+)

Summary: During a rescue gone wrong, a rookie sidekick catches the attention of two villains.

A/N: Thanks for 1k followers!! This is the fic that made me create a smut blog/lowkey inspired this. imho this might be the spiciest thing I’ve ever written 😳 also wanted to call out @kazooli​ because this is highkey inspired by her lol thanks queen

Tags/warnings: quirk kink, reader’s quirk makes other quirks stronger, noncon, threesome, lots of foreplay, outdoor sex, mild overstimulation, degradation, mild violence, threats, chronological/temporal inaccuracies, fucking long

You can hardly be blamed for not recognizing them. It’s only been three weeks since you debuted as a pro, and you’re not even really a hero. You’re a sidekick, and apparently you’re not important enough to have been briefed on the major villains you need to look out for. You’re just…doing your duty. Rescuing civilians indiscriminately. Stupid, naive little sidekick. It’s not your fault that the lives you just saved belong to the two most notorious villains around.

Still, Shigaraki can’t wait to see the look on your face when you find out.

///

The disaster you ‘rescue’ them from—the League’s bar crashing down, the result of a small-time villain’s poisonous gas quirk—isn’t even a disaster. It’s a minor annoyance, sure, but Shigaraki and Dabi would have been fine without you…even though both of them missed Kurogiri’s warp gate and ended up trapped under a wooden beam in the wreckage of the building… Okay, it’s more than a minor annoyance. Shigaraki hacks violently as the cloud of foul-smelling steam and powdered debris enters his lungs. The poisonous quirk doesn’t seem to be having the same acid-burn effects on his body as it did on the building, but he can’t assume it’s harmless.

Father… Shigaraki took Father off his face to drink at the bar earlier before the gas hit, and now in the confusion the severed hand is either buried underneath the rubble that used to be the League’s main base or somewhere else out of view. “Father? Father!” Shigaraki calls out, attempting to shift under the crushing weight of the beam.

“Shut up,” Dabi says from somewhere to Shigaraki’s left. “Kurogiri took it in one of the portals, I saw it.” He looks worse than Shigaraki feels—something hit him in the face as the bar collapsed, and a few of the staples (piercings? stitches? whatever) on his right cheek are torn open and bleeding.

“Are you lying to me?”

Dabi sneers and rolls his eyes. “Let’s just get out of here.” His palms glow blue and Shigaraki follows suit, letting four fingers sit on the wood that’s pinning both of them to the ground. It’s too heavy to lift, so they’re going to have to get rid of it…a task that seems significantly more difficult when it becomes clear that neither of them are positioned at the right angle to touch it.

Shigaraki tries to wrest his arm out enough for his thumb to touch the wood, but it’s impossible. Beside him, Dabi’s having the same issue. “Shit, I can’t reach—“

“Is someone there?” Confident, clear, and oddly robotic, your voice cuts through the din of gurgling water from cracked pipes and police sirens like a lit flare in the darkness. Shigaraki tenses and halts his attempts to get free from the beam, and a second later Dabi mimics him.

“I heard voices.” The same unfamiliar voice rings out through the half-light, now accompanied by a body—your body, taking a series of awkward jumps down the piles of rubble to land in front of the two of them. The outfit you’re wearing is ridiculous: a pair of metal boots that clang against the cement wherever you step, matching braces on your arms, and a space-age chrome motorcycle helmet to top it all off.

A hero. Shigaraki’s lip curls in disgust as your head turns his way.

You scan the scene quickly, eyes resting on the two men trapped in front of you for a moment before you turn back to the opening in the wreckage. “Found two civilians!” you call out to the rescue workers just in case they’re within earshot, although it’s unlikely.

Dabi snickers under his breath. Civilians? Even in the chaos, you should’ve known the second you saw them who you’re looking at. Are you faking ignorance? Got something up your sleeve?  It’s either that, or you genuinely don’t recognize them. Priceless.

You kneel down in front of the fallen beam and give a half-hearted attempt to pick it up. It doesn’t budge. No surprises there—if it were light enough for you to lift by yourself, the two men held down by it would have no problem getting out with their combined strength. You’re going to have to use your support gear to get it off them.

But first—you search for a memory of your rescue training. Reassure the victims. They’re probably panicking.

“It’ll be okay,” you tell them, your voice coming out mechanical and distorted from the helmet you’re wearing. “You’re going to be okay. I’m here to save you.”

This time, Dabi has to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. Ah, yes…they’re so lucky that there’s a do-gooder little hero around to rescue them, because they’d be helpless otherwise. The laugh is still audible, though, and Shigaraki shoots him a glare.

You raise an eyebrow at their expressions. Did he just laugh? Well…you’ve heard that people sometimes have inappropriate reactions in times of crisis. The dark-haired man seems more badly hurt, so you creep toward him first, careful not to disturb any of the debris and trigger an avalanche reaction. “I’m going to check your injuries now,” you tell him, and your gloved hand brushes away a sweep of spiky hair to examine the sizable red bump growing on his forehead.

Ouch…there’s no way that doesn’t hurt, but the man’s not letting any of the pain show on his face. Instead, he looks disinterested at best, and at worst? You almost get the feeling that he’s eyeing you up under your hero costume. Not that you can blame him. Damn this skin-tight bodysuit—it leaves basically nothing to the imagination.

“Does it hurt a lot?” you ask him. “I don’t think this is too serious, but they’ll look you over for a concussion when I get you to first aid.”

Dabi shrugs and you frown. Is the non-verbal response because of the ripped stitches in his face? Is it too painful to talk? Or could there be brain damage? Or maybe he’s just a man of few words or something…?

“Can you get on with it? Pick up the fucking beam already,” Shigaraki hisses.

Startled, you pull your hand away from the other man’s forehead. That ungrateful little…nope, nope, don’t get annoyed, he’s just in shock. “O-Of course, sorry. Just gotta make sure it’s okay to move.”

Luckily, the beam doesn’t look like it’s supporting anything else that’ll fall if you pick it up. You crouch down next to one end and steady your feet against the cement, lifting up with all your strength while activating the effects of the support items you’re wearing. When you feel the metal on your arm braces grow warm, you remind yourself again to thank the developer of your costume. You may not be a fan of the way-too-tight bodysuit that clings to everything, but the strength-enhancing armor that you wear on your arms and legs more than makes up for it.

A second later, you hold back a grin. It’s moving! You try to ignore the unpleasant screech of metal against stone as the beam slowly lifts into the air. As soon as the men get out from under it, you pant and let it crash back into the ground. “You guys okay?”

“Mm…yes,” Dabi replies, running a hand over the torn piercings in his cheek. “Got any more gas masks for the poison mist?”

“Don’t worry! The Commission is familiar with the villain who created it, and the gas isn’t harmful to anything living. Only buildings. It’s a troublesome quirk, but we’ve got it under control.”

“Then what’s with the helmet?”

He can hear the hesitation in your reply, even distorted and tinny through the metal speakers. “Uh…I, well…”

Now that you’re getting a good look at them, the two scarred faces in front of you seem weirdly intense, considering you’ve just saved them from a collapsed building. The dark-haired man’s eyes are…very, very blue next to the burned-looking skin underneath, and the other man’s greyish-blue hair isn’t quite long enough to obscure a pair of red irises that are scrutinizing your face with obvious hostility.

You give a nervous shake of your head to clear it. “Um, the helmet is…it’s dangerous if I take it off. I should get you guys back to the rescue area, I need to meet up with my hero…” Without thinking, you take a step back and then one more, not knowing exactly why you’re backing away when you’re supposed to be escorting them. “I’ll just lead the way?”

With your third step back, though, you bump into something hard. What was that? Your head jerks around but before you can identify what it is that stopped your retreat, you feel the faint sensation of something tapping lightly on the back of your helmet.

And then…it just…crumbles.

What just happened?

You cough and shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of dust. A breeze whips through your hair, sending a chill through you in more ways than one. How? No one pulled the helmet off; you would’ve felt it if they had. More dust sticks to your face, and you rub your eyes so you can open them.

Behind you, Shigaraki waits with outstretched fingers an inch away from your neck. If he had to explain the decision to decay your helmet strategically, he could—you’re a hero, a potential threat, and he wants to know what you’re hiding under that outfit just in case you figure out who they are and decide to turn on them.

But really? He didn’t think about it that much. It was an impulse reaction to you walking away from them; a tantrum. Child-like.

Once your stunned face is exposed, Dabi has to wonder what you were even trying to hide. You’re…surprisingly ordinary. Young-looking—a rookie, fresh from hero school graduations a few weeks ago maybe? Large, expressive eyes, lips parted in shock, but nothing particularly interesting. Shigaraki cocks his head to the side to study your face too, and both of them are so focused on your appearance that it takes a moment for them to notice the feeling.

Well, feeling isn’t really the right word, but there isn’t a word for the way your quirk works. Dabi’s eyes widen when it reaches him and behind you, Shigaraki stiffens. You notice.

There’s an involuntary quiver in your voice as you break the silence. “Y-You guys must have strong quirks if you can feel it just from that.”

Dabi sucks in a breath. So this is your quirk? It’s different…he’s never felt anything like it, not that he’s exactly sure what it is. There’s some kind of energy in the air around you that he’s breathing in, a feeling like taking a shot of espresso after days of sleep deprivation.

No, it’s stronger than that. The head rush after doing a line of cocaine would be a better metaphor.

Either way, he’s awake—more awake than he can remember feeling in a long time. Heat rises to the surfaces of his palms unbidden, his quirk appearing without him calling it. “What is this?”

“…It’s called Boost,” you say, licking your lips as a dry wave of heat radiates out from the man in front of you. “I can strengthen other people’s quirks. That’s why it’s dangerous—if the villain finds us—“

“It must have been hard to get through hero school with a quirk like that,” says a raspy voice from behind you.

What—? Your head twists around. When did he—

Shigaraki grips your shoulder with three fingers, holding just tightly enough to keep you from stumbling forward and away from him. His pinky and ring finger hover an inch over your costume, careful not to disintegrate the fabric he’s touching—although with the power sparking through his veins at the moment, it almost feels like three fingers would be enough.

“…Doesn’t really seem like the kind of quirk a hero has.” His voice, soft and pondering (a weird contrast to the harsh architecture of his facial features you’d seen earlier), feels very close to your ear. Something soft tickles your cheek. His hair?

A voice (an instinct?) deep inside of you is telling you to run. You ignore it. This is normal, right? It’s not uncommon for civilians who’ve just suffered a traumatic villain attack to have questions, even if those questions seem irrelevant to the situation at hand. You have to answer, even if your gut is churning. “I’m not really a hero. Not yet. For now, I’m a sidekick to one of the pros—and speaking of which, I really need to find—“

“But how does it work?” Dabi doesn’t notice himself making a conscious decision to step forward, but he does anyway and being closer to you feels right. He can see the trepidation on your face as he gets close enough to reach out and touch you, but you can’t really ask him to stay back, can you? Not when your quirk feels this good?

“I—“ Is it unreasonable that you think you’re being trapped right now? They’re just a couple of civilians, right? The question itself is common enough. People often wonder how you can be a hero. It’s a concern you’ve had to address dozens of times over the years. “Well, I work with rescue operations, especially with other heroes who have healing-type quirks. I can also assist in combat in some situations.”

“In combat? If you’re with a hero and a villain, you’ll enhance both quirks. Seems counterintuitive,” Dabi says, half aware that his voice is getting lower.

“And you clearly don’t have physical abilities. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have…these.” Shigaraki taps three fingers on the metal brace on your right arm.

“The effects can be unpredictable. And I can increase the degree of the enhancement with physical contact.”

“Contact?”

“Yeah. The gloves of my costume come off. My quirk is way stronger when it’s skin-to-skin.” The words tumble out of your mouth before you can stop them.

You shouldn’t have said that.

Shigaraki’s ring finger and pinky, which were hovering over the arm brace, come down to rest on the cold metal. The effect is instant: no crumbling, no slow decay—it’s there, and then it’s dust. His quirk in action, boosted by yours.

“What—What are you doing? What did you just do?” You try to pull away from him, but he holds you tight by your collar. His other hand comes up to grip your chin, and in one long sloppy stroke, he licks you from your neck up to your jawline.

You shudder. So does Shigaraki.

“It’s my quirk,” he tells you slowly. His breath is steamy warm on the cold, wet trail of saliva painting your throat. “Decay. Have you heard of it?”

You flinch away from his hand and your back falls against his chest. Of course you’ve heard of the Decay quirk. You might be a rookie, but even civilians know about the young, impetuous head of the League of Villains. Jesus, how had you not recognized him earlier? White hair, red eyes…you should have known. You should have left him under that beam. “Shigaraki…Tomura.”

“So you’re not completely clueless. Do you know me, then?” Dabi asks. He would think he’s the more noticeable of the two (the burn scars usually identify him), but you just stare up at him with the same deer-in-the-headlights look as before. Smirking, he lights a blue fire in his palm and it jumps up toward your face—not just the small spark he intended, but a bright, high flame. “Maybe this will help you remember.”

“The Forest of Beasts incident. You’re the one who started that fire,” you whisper. You’ve seen the TV coverage of the attack on UA’s training camp, the abduction of that teenage student, the forest lit up blue from wildfire. No wonder his skin looks burned.

“Dabi,” he corrects you.

Breath is coming out of your mouth in shallow puffs. Are you hyperventilating? Is this what hyperventilating feels like? You’re definitely panicking. They’re so close to you, caging you in between them. The smoke from the blue fire is uncomfortably hot over the exposed skin of your face, and Shigaraki’s lethal hands are still touching you. If they want to kill you—and why wouldn’t they?—you’re fucked.

The flame goes out and Dabi’s hands come down to squeeze your wrists. His palms are hot like he was holding them in front of a lit stove. It’s not painful, but it’s a threat.

“I’ll fight,” you say.

Your voice is trembling, and Shigaraki likes it. The effects of your quirk, the way he felt when he licked your face… And you’re afraid. He can see it in your shoulders, the quivering of your torso pressed into him. It’s nice. He wants to feel it more.

You’re struggling against their hold, and Dabi feels the urge to laugh. “You’ll fight…the two of us.”

“If you try to kill me, I’ll—“

Before you can finish your sentence, Shigaraki’s hands flit down to your metal support gear and disintegrate it. Shit. He’s fast, and you’re helpless.

Dabi releases your wrists and cups your face in a mockery of intimacy. His eyelids flutter closed as his skin meets yours… Fuck, he could get used to this. You smell so good, sweet and soft and clean, like fruity shampoo. What is that, watermelon?

Life must be difficult for you, hm… Everyone around you must want to touch you constantly. It seems like Shigaraki enjoyed licking you—maybe bodily fluids are an even stronger conductor of your quirk? Pushing easily past your resistance, Dabi forces your jaw upward and kisses you.

Oh…yesyesyes, just like that. Perfect. Dabi has to bite down a groan as his tongue enters your mouth. It’s ridiculous for someone else’s spit to taste this good, but he’s right—your quirk is amplified by the contact from the kiss.

After a moment he has to break it to regain focus and make sure he’s not burning you. You cringe away from him, your cheek brushing against Shigaraki’s neck, but Dabi tangles his hand in your hair to pull you back. He runs a finger against your closed lips, letting the pad of his fingertip heat up until your mouth drops open in response to the threat.

“What the hell are you doing?” Shigaraki asks, voice laced with revulsion. Privately, you agree. What’s going on? You were sure you were about to be either burned to a crisp or decayed into the equivalent.

Dabi laughs under his breath. “Try it. It feels crazy good.”

Curious now, Shigaraki wrenches your head around and tilts your jaw up to repeat Dabi’s action. When you refuse to open your mouth, he taps your jaw warningly and a hiss of fear escapes you. Would he really kill you? He decayed your support gear so quickly—would it be the same for your body?

Well, what’s going to stop them?

You open your mouth.

Shigaraki’s lips are harsh and unsentimental against yours. His tongue sweeps over the inside of your mouth, invasive and brutal. He grips you forcefully, his face pushing you deeper into the strained hold with your head twisted toward his. You’ve never been kissed like this before. His spit—it’s in your mouth.

And Dabi’s hands are on your waist. “How do you get this thing off?” he murmurs, pinching the fabric of your bodysuit.

A surge of panicked adrenaline gives you the strength to pull back away from Shigaraki. “What? No, you can’t!”

“Are you going to stop us, little sidekick?” Dabi mocks. “I think I can burn it off without too much damage.”

“Let me.” Shigaraki takes hold of the cloth, careful so when it dissolves into dust his hand isn’t touching you, and within a second—a second—you’re left shivering in just your underwear and boots.

“Help!” The plea squeaks out and you hope blindly that there’s a hero close enough to hear you. But is there even anyone who can fight them? You certainly can’t. “Help me! Somebody!”

“Shut up.” Dabi sends up a tongue of flame from a fingertip and you shriek as the heat sears against you. “Oh, come on. You should feel lucky. Bad guys like us usually don’t hesitate to take heroes out.”

“I don’t— Please, I’m just a sidekick, I’m a rookie— What do you even want from me? Just let me go, I won’t tell anyone! Please let me go.”

“Well, I think I know what I want.” Dabi traces circles over the tender skin of your hips, playing with the elastic of your underwear. He meets Shigaraki’s eye over your shoulder. “I think he wants that too. Right?”

“Yeah, I want…I want to fuck her,” Shigaraki hums. This isn’t like him, but he can’t help himself. You’re different. Leaving you here and never feeling this stimulant again isn’t an option. He buries his face in the juncture of your neck and shoulder, bites down on the soft skin there, and sucks.

You whimper, half from his answer and half from the sensation of his chapped lips on your neck. “Why are you doing this?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but…you smell like something I want to eat. Especially this.” Dabi kneels down in front of you and hitches one of your legs up over his shoulder so you feel his hot breath washing over your clothed pussy.

You whine and attempt to wriggle back away from him, but Dabi’s grip on your thigh holds firm. His other hand brushes against the fabric of your panties to rub up against your slit and another surge of panic jumps up your throat. You can’t let him do this.

You kick your foot against his back, desperately attempting to make contact using the heel of the high boot that’s the only piece of outerwear still left on your body. It hits him awkwardly and he growls. “Damn it. Can’t you keep her busy?”

“Ahh…” Shigaraki ceases his oral assault on your neck and scratches a fingernail against one of the bright red marks marring your skin. He feels almost dizzy from the way your quirk is affecting him. Behind him, the broken expanse of wall digging into his back is the only thing keeping his focus. “Behave, sidekick.”

Before you can respond to the mocking title, Shigaraki’s face is against yours and his tongue is in your mouth again. Rough fingertips work up under the band of your sports bra and pushes it up over your tits. You screw your eyes shut at the sudden feeling of cold air on your nipples, and you know without looking that they’re standing up. Shigaraki gropes you thoughtlessly, keeping one finger lifted off of your skin, and you gasp on his tongue.

“That’s better.” Dabi’s mouth returns to brush against your panties. To be honest, eating you out isn’t the first thing on his mind. What he wants—what he really wants—is to shove you up against the wall and fuck into you and find out what your quirk feels like when you’re wrapped around his cock. But you’re probably not wet enough for that, and it’s not like Shigaraki is going to do anything to take care of you. Dabi would be surprised if the other man’s ever eaten pussy before in his life.

Besides…you smell good. It’s not even just the feeling of your quirk exciting him. The rich, feminine scent of your pussy is inches away from him, and Dabi is dying to make you cum in his mouth.

A moan curls up from deep in your throat as Dabi caresses the lips of your pussy through your underwear. You don’t bother protesting—at this point, it’s unlikely that any plea you could muster would stop them. Your earlier begging didn’t do much besides spur them on, but you still cry out as softly as you can when an unnaturally warm fingertip slips under the cloth of your panties to dip into your slit.

“Oh? You’re wetter than I expected. Are you enjoying this?”

Your frantic denial falls on deaf ears. Shigaraki rasps out a laugh and bites down on your neck again. He’s supposed to be keeping you still, but he can’t help enjoying the way your almost-naked body feels as you press yourself back into his chest, trying to force some space between yourself and Dabi.

Your squirming is no problem for Dabi, though—you’re so soft and vulnerable and the velvety skin of your inner thigh looks so delicious… He nuzzles against the area of bare skin and latches on to it, sucking until he’s sure you’re going to have a mark in a few minutes. The thought of leaving hickeys on you like a teenager is sickeningly nostalgic. You’re probably going to try to forget this when they’re done, aren’t you? But you won’t be able to, not when you’re covered in love bites and bruises. You’re going to be marked up for weeks.

Fuck, he’s hard.

Too impatient to bother taking off your panties, Dabi just pushes them aside to gain access to your damp cunt. His fingers feel hot—too hot, almost unbearably hot; you feel like you could melt into a puddle and your pussy is certainly slick enough as he pets your clit and slides one finger in, then two… You whimper and shake your head, silently denying what’s happening to you. The intrusion is uncomfortable, but Dabi’s fingers quickly find that rough patch inside of you that makes you want to beg like an animal. You hate it, but it feels good.

“She’s so tight,” Dabi says with something like awe in his voice. You can hear Shigaraki panting behind your back.

“Get on with it,” Shigaraki says.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

For a second you just feel Dabi’s humid breath against your dripping cunt before he closes the space between the two of you and his tongue slides onto you, laving over your cunt to come to a rest on your clit. A sound you’ve never heard yourself make before forces its way out of your mouth as Dabi eats you out in earnest, rubbing his tongue against your clit in a stuttering rhythm that gives you no time to catch your breath.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Your head rolls back onto Shigaraki’s shoulder. You feel like crying for a million reasons at once. Maybe you’re already crying—the sounds you’re making are almost like sobs. You want him to stop. You never want him to stop. Your hands twitch as you fight the impulse to fist them in the villain’s hair and pin him down between your thighs.

“Fuck, oh fuck, no stop please stop, ah…!” The stream of gibberish coming out of your mouth crescendoes into a real sob as you feel your climax coming. No—you can’t—you can’t cum here, in this broken-down bar, on the tongue of a villain, but it doesn’t matter that you can’t, because you’re going to cum anyway.

“Please don’t, please let me go—“ You writhe uncontrollably as the desire to cum sweeps over you, but Dabi just curls one arm around your thigh and pulls his face away so he can push his fingers back in, angling his palm to grind roughly over your clit. The harsh, rough texture after the warm wet softness of his tongue is enough to push you over the edge and you cry out your orgasm, your pussy clenching onto Dabi’s fingers as he works them in and out of you.

Unable to support yourself, you crumple like paper, and only the two villains you’re sandwiched between keep you upright.

“Fucking finally,” Shigaraki growls, and he pushes you down so your knees scrape painfully into the rubble. Your earlier resistance was cute, but so is your dazed compliance as he pulls your hips up to meet his.

“You’re going first?” Dabi asks incredulously. After he did all that work getting you off? No way.

“You can use her mouth,” Shigaraki tells him. His cock is straining against his pants and he groans as he releases it and rubs it over your panties. He could decay them, but…they’re cute. Pale pink, peach-pink, except for the wet spot over your cunt. Precum is already dribbling out of his cock as he pulls your panties to the side and lines it up with your pussy. Jesus-fucking-christ, you’re wet, sopping and slimy. Doesn’t that mean you’re begging to get filled up? Shigaraki hears himself sigh as he slides the head of his cock up and down your slit so it’ll be wet enough to go in.

You’re still out of it, dizzy from your orgasm and the tension of the situation, but you snap back to your senses with the feeling of something hard pushed up to your entrance. “Wait!” you yelp for what feels like the hundredth time. The gravel scattered over the wreckage where you’ve been forced onto your hands and knees digs painfully into your flesh as you pull away from Shigaraki, but he holds fast to your hips with pinkies raised.

“Uh-uh,” Dabi admonishes with a grin, as if he’s reprimanding a dog for not coming when called. He settles himself in front of your front and kneels again. Your hair is mussed but still silky soft and he takes a moment to enjoy the way the strands slip over his skin before he tangles his fingers close to your scalp and yanks your head in his direction, forcing your cheek to chafe against the crotch of his pants. It’s not difficult to tell what the the thick bulge is through the fabric, and you try to flinch away only to be caught again and immobilized.

“You’re going to take care of us,” Dabi tells you. “Like I took care of you. Okay?”

No, it’s not okay, it’s absolutely not okay, and you would say so if you didn’t see Dabi’s expression darken at your obvious denial and feel a wave of acrid heat coming from his hand in your hair. The smell is worse than the feeling, honestly—you’ve had enough run-ins with hair curlers and flat irons to recognize the smell of hair when it’s three seconds away from burning. “Okay! Okay,” you answer, panicked, voice muffled by the fabric of Dabi’s pants.

“Good girl,” he purrs, and the heat fades.

“I’m not waiting any longer,” Shigaraki says from behind you.

“Then don’t.”

You whine, too scared to try to get away again or even plead with them to let you go, but it doesn’t matter. Shigaraki’s cock presses into your pussy, and there’s nothing you can do to stop him as he slides into you, inch by inch, torturously slow. Is there anything to bite down on? You need to do something, anything to distract from the pain of Shigaraki’s cock stretching you out. He’s big, impossibly big.

Eyes squeezed shut, you bite your lip until you can taste copper and scrabble around blindly until your hand finds loose fabric to grip. It’s something of Dabi’s, probably the coat he’s wearing if you remember correctly, but your brain isn’t exactly working right at the moment—

“You were right…shit, she’s…she’s so fucking tight.” Shigaraki’s voice is low and labored with the effort of not thrusting into you all at once. “Feels like…she’s trying to push me out…”

Fuck it, he thinks. Would it really be so bad if he did push all the way into you in one stroke? It’s better to just get it over with, isn’t it? Yeah…you’d probably prefer him to do it quickly. And besides, he can’t wait another second to feel you all the way up to the base of his cock.

Your strangled whimper is drowned out by his satisfied groan as he shoves the rest of the way into you in a single sudden thrust. The pain knocks the breath out of you in a gasp, and your eyes fly open as you clutch Dabi’s coat like a lifeline.

“It hurts—!”

“Yeah…yeah, I bet it does,” Shigaraki pants, holding your hips steady as he thrusts in and out of you. The bored nonchalance of earlier is gone, replaced by a feral intensity as his cock carves its way through your pussy. If you didn’t know better, you’d think there’s something affectionate in his voice.

For Shigaraki’s part, he can hardly think of anything aside from the soft, hot, wet cunt wrapped over his dick. It’s taking every vestige of concentration he has left to make sure he’s holding a single finger on each hand away from your skin. It’s pure bliss. Your body was made to be fucked like this. He wants to live inside your pussy, he wants to do this every day, every minute. Fucking you raw is the best he’s felt in months…years. And it doesn’t hurt that your quirk is still working on him, still sending pleasurable shocks of energy that make him feel simultaneously like he could keep you pinned down for hours and like he could cum any second.

“Oh, she’s crying,” Dabi says, tilting your chin up so he can look into your eyes. You flinch and try to jerk your head away, but his hand is still holding you by your hair and he’s so much stronger than you are. They both are, even without using their quirks. “Look at me.”

You comply, more by reflex than any real desire to obey. It’s pretty striking to Dabi how cute you look as Shigaraki pounds into you so fast and deep you can hardly catch your breath. Your eyes are glittering with unshed tears, your tits bounce with every thrust, and you’re still holding onto Dabi’s coat like your life depends on it. It’s almost like you’re pulling him closer. Adorable.

“She can…take it,” Shigaraki responds breathily between thrusts. “Such a good whore, taking my big cock in her tight little pussy…”

The backhanded compliment jars you and you feel hot tears spill over your cheeks. “I’m—not—a—whore,” you manage to say, each word punctuated with Shigaraki’s skin slapping against yours.

“Really?” Shigaraki’s pace slows and he leans closer to you so he can reach an arm around and swirl two fingers against your clit. You mewl like a kitten at the unexpected stimulation and he laughs rudely. “Feels so good…can’t believe the heroes don’t want to fuck you like this all the time…”

You shake your head desperately and bury your face in Dabi’s chest, barely noticing him stroking your hair and then reaching down to unzip his pants.

“No, no, I bet that’s what you do as a sidekick, right?” Shigaraki’s thrusts are back to frenzied jerks, and he rubs over your clit just as roughly. “Spread your legs for your hero…you’d make a great personal cocksleeve. Or maybe they rotate you around so every pro hero gets a turn…?”

“No, I don’t! No! Ah— ahnnn…” The denials pierce the air uselessly as the villain’s cock fills you up again and again. You’re not a whore, you’re not…even if it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the growing pressure of Shigaraki teasing your clit in time with his cock rubbing against your sweet spot. It still hurts—he’s so big, bigger than anyone you’ve ever had sex with before, but there’s no way you’re going to admit to yourself that it’s starting to feel good.

“…Is my cock better than All Might’s?” Shigaraki’s words are cut off by his own grunt of pleasure as your cunt twitches around him.

“Shut the fuck up,” Dabi cuts in. “I’m sick of hearing a guy’s voice moaning. I’m going to get soft.”

Past the point of comprehending the situation, you look up at him gratefully, only to reel back in shock as Dabi frees his own cock from his pants and it brushes against your cheek. Trying to pull away from him is more instinct than rational thought, but he holds you just as easily as before and forces two fingers into your mouth. You tense, ready to bite down, (and hopefully take a few knuckles off) but he sees it coming and suddenly your mouth is horribly burning hot.

“You’re going to suck my cock now,” says Dabi conversationally, extinguishing the flame almost as soon as he started it. It’s not so bad—probably more like a coffee burn than anything else—but you’re coughing and spitting anyway. “Say yes.”

“…Yes,” you whisper, voice barely intelligible.

“Good little sidekick. And you’re going to be very careful. You’re not going to use teeth.”

You nod, unable to mount a defense with Shigaraki mercilessly fucking you from behind.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“Y-Yes!” you squeal as Shigaraki finds a particularly sensitive spot inside you.

“Good.” Dabi drags your head down to hover over his cock and massages your jaw until it falls open. “Suck.”

One of his hands falls to your shoulder to try to stabilize you, but you can’t help feeling the threat in the motion. You quickly duck down and attempt to ignore the heady smell of sweat and precum as you trace your tongue up the underside of his dick. He’s big too, maybe thicker than Shigaraki, and you hate yourself for feeling lucky that it’s not this cock inside your pussy right now.

The stunt Dabi pulled burning your mouth made you salivate, and you let drool coat your tongue as you lick around the head. But it’s not working—you rock forward every time Shigaraki stuffs his dick back in your aching pussy, and Dabi’s cock smears over your mouth haphazardly.

“I said suck. Not lick.” Suddenly (although you don’t know why you keep expecting some kind of warning before these villains find a new way to violate you), Dabi grabs the back of your head and shoves his cock into your mouth. Your throat constricts involuntarily as the thick head triggers your gag reflex, and all three of you shiver in unison.

“Do…do that again,” Shigaraki says, voice strained. “She tightens up…when you do that.”

Dabi smirks and thrusts into you again, relishing the warm, humid cavern of your throat around his cock along with the pure swell of energy from your quirk enhancing his. His rhythm matches Shigaraki’s and his cock hits the back of your throat with every rapid pump, making you gag and clench like you’re trying to milk the cum out of him. What a perfect little slut… He can see from Shigaraki’s sloppy movements that you’re squeezing around his cock every time too.

The feeling of having one villain cock buried in your pussy while another ravages your throat is unthinkable, even more so with Shigaraki’s fingers on your clit coaxing out an earth-shaking orgasm. But you’d almost be able to forget what’s happening—god knows you’re delirious with sensation, barely able to keep track of who’s doing what to you—if not for the sound. The wet slap of Shigaraki’s hips against your ass, the horrible squelching from your (dripping wet, even if you don’t want to admit it) pussy as his cock pistons in and out of you, your choked moans and gagging noises, and above it all, the unrestrained voices of the villains fucking into you.

You feel like a fuck toy, a sex doll, used without mercy by the two most evil people you can think of…and you’re about to cum.

Your voice is getting louder by the second, and the pulsing of your cunt around Shigaraki’s cock is telling him exactly how close you are. He curls his body over yours to get a better angle to rub your clit, enjoying your high-pitched whine in response. “Yeah…that’s right…good girl. Cum on my cock…like a good little sidekick.”

You keen and goosebumps rise on your skin as Shigaraki licks at the sheen of sweat on your back. He feels your climax almost as soon as you do… If your scream wasn’t stifled by Dabi’s dick in your mouth, everyone within a one-mile radius would know you were getting fucked silly, yeah? The walls of your pussy clamp down on Shigaraki’s cock, your body begging for his cum, and he grips your ass to make sure you can’t get away as he comes to his own orgasm inside of you.

Fuck… Shigaraki could die right now and be happy. He keeps stroking your clit, knowing it’s cruel, knowing you’ll be overstimulated and sensitive and that it’ll hurt to keep touching you like this after you already came, and not caring because every time the tips of his fingers push that little magic button, you shiver and squeeze him like you’re trying to milk him dry.

Shigaraki gives a few last thrusts, pushing his cum deeper into your body, fucking it into you so you’ll be dripping white for hours, and then finally pulls out. The slurping sound your cunt makes as his cock leaves your pussy is obscene. So is the cloudy trail of mixed white and clear fluid that connects your pussy and the head of his cock until he pulls it away. He loves it.

Knowing that Shigaraki came—inside you, no less, the inconsiderate bastard—Dabi grips the back of your head and tugs you down to deepthroat him. Your walls twitch involuntarily and Dabi groans, letting himself shoot his load down your throat. “Yes…yeah…yeah…just like that. Swallow.”

You don’t swallow. You don’t do anything but gag on his cum and gasp as he thrusts into you. Dabi pulls you off of him, annoyed and ready to threaten you into submission again…until your head lolls to the side and he can see that your eyes are closed.

“Shit, she passed out.”

“…What? Are you kidding?”

Dabi slaps your face lightly. You wince in your sleep but don’t wake up. “Nope. Must’ve been when she came the second time.”

“Is she…” Shigaraki trails off, not sure how to end the question. ‘Okay’ isn’t exactly right.

“She’s breathing, if that’s what you’re asking.”

The two of them wait for a moment, but you don’t move. When he catches his breath, Shigaraki wipes off his dick and pulls up his pants. Dabi does the same. Without them holding you, you flop down into the fetal position on the broken concrete. “What now?” Shigaraki asks.

Dabi wipes the sweat from his forehead. “You tell me, leader. I’m surprised Kurogiri hasn’t opened another warp gate to get you back. Guessing you don’t have your phone either?”

“…We can go to Giran’s place to meet up. They’re probably waiting for us there,” Shigaraki says, scratching at his neck.

“Do you have cab fare?”

“I don’t have my wallet on me. You?”

“Not enough for a cab. We’ll have to take the train. You can owe me.”

Shigaraki looks down at you. You make a pitiful scene, naked except for your boots, sports bra, and cum-soaked panties. Your neck is bruised red and purple, and you’re shaking, shivering in the cool air now that the sun has sunk further toward the horizon and you’re not being touched. “Are we going to leave her here?”

“What, you want to bring her on the train with us? You don’t think that’s gonna look suspicious?”

“Well…” Their eyes meet and Shigaraki knows Dabi’s thinking the same thing he is. You have a lot of potential as an asset. They haven’t even had the chance to see how your quirk boosting works in combat, but Shigaraki almost wants to pick a fight just to give it a try.

And fighting power aside, Shigaraki isn’t a fan of the possibility that he’ll never get to fuck you again.

“Yeah, I know. But she’s a pro hero’s sidekick. She can’t be too hard to find.” Dabi shrugs off his coat and crouches next to you. You’re limp enough that he has no trouble lifting you into his lap and guiding your arms through the sleeves of his coat. Once you’re wrapped in the black fabric, he does up the buttons, combs through your hair with his fingers, wipes the mixed cum and spittle off your chin, and admires his handiwork. Sure, anyone looking closely at you will know at least a little about what happened—you’re still sweating in the cold, you have that undeniable ‘just got fucked’ look all over you, and the smell of sex is overpowering. But at least you won’t have to walk back to the rescue tent in your filthy underwear.

In your sleep, you nuzzle into Dabi’s chest, reaching blindly toward the source of warmth. He grins and strokes the back of your neck, soothing warm fingers over the bruised skin there and enjoying his last opportunity to touch you and feel your quirk working…for now, at least. “You know, I wonder why villains don’t get sidekicks. Seems a little unfair, right?”

Shigaraki’s sneer matches Dabi’s as he bends down to run his fingernails over your cheek, almost hard enough to hurt. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC is Half-Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar Part 2!

Part 1 Lessons 1-5 Lessons 5-6 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

Okay, They’re Your Cousins but You’re Not Sure How They’re Related to You...

(Barbatos, Simeon, Solomon, and Luke)

(It’s mostly Luke)

Barbs likes smol Lucifer. Smol Lucifer likes Barbs. They bake together with Luke. MC nearly set the kitchen on fire. MC needed to learn to cook.

MC is forever delegated to mixing duty because they refuse to admit that they don’t know how to work the oven.

Simeon is the one telling MC embarrassing stories about Lucifer and the rest of the Student Council from when they were all angels. Lucifer never hated Simeon more than when he found out that Simeon told MC about how hard Lucifer cried when he got to hold baby Mammon for the first time. MC was sworn to secrecy.

Well... sworn to secrecy, but if Uncle Mammon just happened to find out through a series of coincidences it wouldn’t be MC’s fault, right?

Simeon also tried to help teach MC to fly... but he kept distracting them with stories about Lucifer and Michael learning to fly.

“So my father was even WORSE than he told me he was?!”

“Yes, he actually challenged Michael and Raphael to a race at one point. Lucifer ended up slamming directly into a wall because he didn’t know how to stop.”

“SIMEON!”

Solomon was absolutely fascinated with MC. How did their half demon half human nature affect their reaction to certain spells and potions? Do half demons have more or less magical strength than normal demons? Can half demons make pacts with humans? Wait- Lucifer why are you taking MC away they were talking- Lucifer!

Immortal troll needs to troll. MC is the unwitting victim of many of Solomon’s shenanigans.

“Why must I speak in rhymes?! This is the end of times!”

“MC, just stop talking.”

“Father, I don’t mean to be a bother but-”

“So the rhyming spell works the same on half demons... interesting...”

“Solomon...”

“I’m leaving, Lucifer. I’m leaving!”

Aw! Two kids in the Devildom! They were fast friends. Sure, Luke was a little annoying and MC was a bit of a dick, but their mutual smallness and desire to impress their parental figures brought them together.

“Michael’s just so cool and amazing! The way he flies, the way he commands everyone... I want to be just like him someday!”

“Is that why you’re making a cake?”

“Michael has a sweet tooth, and I want to impress him.”

“I wonder if Lucifer likes sweets...”

“Why would you want to give HIM sweets?”

MC just gave Luke a toothy grin and started making the dough for the cake.

Remember back in Lucifer’s section where I said MC would keep their lineage a secret to freak people out? Yeah... they kept it from Luke. At first it was a joke! They were going to tell him! They just uh... it got really awkward. They planned on revealing it to Luke right after they learned how to properly fly so they could swoop in, pick their angel buddy up and zip the two of them to school. It’d freak Luke out at first, but it was meant to be funny! MC would have even sung the song from Aladdin! It um... didn’t turn out that way.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” MC growled at the lesser demons that were crowding Luke.

“O-oh... uh... nuh-nothing...” a few of the demons backed off, mumbling a few harried apologies to MC as they scurried away. The remaining demons seemed a tad more... hmm... they say there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

“M-MC! You can’t fight demons! I’m an angel I-I c-can...” Luke sniffled, but tried his best to step in front of MC.

“Oh please, the little half-breed and the lowest ranked angel are going to put up a fight?” One of the demons jeered, a few of the remaining demons joined in.

MC’s eyes narrowed, their glare as cold as the worst winter storm. “I’m going to tell you once, and once only,”

Their wings sprouted from their back, horns now fully grown and on display, teeth sharper and glistening in the light. Hm, it seemed half demons could make their eyes glow too, how delightful.

MC gave the other demons a sweet smile, it would have been comforting if it weren’t for the amount of teeth they were showing off. They lazily placed their hand on Luke’s head and lightly moved him out of the way.

“Leave, or I will make you regret ever crossing us exchange students.” MC’s carefree smile couldn’t mask the malice that coated every single word that left their lips. “Run along now, you’re not needed here.”

The demon that had started the taunts stiffened, he looked from MC, to Luke, to the other demons, before scoffing and shaking his head. “Whatever, the two of them aren’t worth it anyway...”

When the offending demons weren’t leaving fast enough for MC’s liking, they snapped their fingers and shot a fireball right behind the fleeing demons’ feet. They cleared out pretty quickly after that.

“Luke?” MC turned to look at their friend. “Are you...”

Luke was backing away. That look in his eyes, he was... scared. Scared of MC...

“Y-you’re a d-demon?” He whimpered, taking another step back.

“Half demon, actually.” MC let their demonic elements disappear. “I meant to tell you, I really did! It just was never the right time-”

“You lied to me! You said you were human! But you’re a demon like the rest of them!” Luke shouted, he wiped at his eye with his sleeve and sniffled. “I tried to help you, but you just..! I thought you were my friend!”

“Luke- hang on!” MC took a few steps forward, but Luke was already running away. MC felt something twist in their gut, something awful. That ball of innate pride twisted and practically screamed, filling MC’s head.

“He’s not worth it!”

“You’re above him anyway...”

“If he can’t understand how perfect you are, he doesn’t deserve your kindness.”

“Don’t grovel for his forgiveness. He’s beneath you.”

“Your help was rejected. Let him hate you. You’re the child of one of the most powerful demons in the Devildom, who is he to make you upset?”

The thoughts filled MC’s head as they desperately tried to shut them up. They were their father’s child, their pride wouldn’t be easily combated.

“Just be quiet!” MC clawed at their head.

“You’re better than this. You’re better than this. You’re better than this-”

“Luke!” MC called out again. “I’m sorry!”

It truly was a shame that their friend didn’t understand how much an apology from MC really meant.

They guessed Luke was right, wasn’t he? Demons were nasty awful liars. MC was no different...

That hurt.

Lucifer noticed his kid was moping around, not even Detective Toe Beans could cheer them up. Mammon even came home covered in mud from a failed money-making scheme and it didn’t even make MC crack a smile! He needed to get to the bottom of this.

Upon hearing the reason for his child’s woes, he was fully ready to break down the door of Purgatory Hall and throttle the little chihuahua, but Lucifer came to his senses and realized that MC probably didn’t want that.

He teamed up with Simeon and Solomon the things he did for MC... And managed to get both Luke and MC to the Demon Lord’s Castle to hang out with Barbatos.

It didn’t take a genius to realize that Luke missed his friend too. Sure they called him a chihuahua sometimes, but they were still the bestest friend he had made during his time in the exchange program... maybe ever...

Maybe... just maybe... he overreacted. MC did protect him after all, and they never tried to hurt him...

Barbatos was fully ready to fulfill his role as Luke’s second dad and help his angel-son make up with his friend.

It may have been awkward at first, but the two had to join forces to stop Solomon from getting within a hundred metres of the kitchen. Nothing brings two people back together more than fear for your tastebuds.

Mission success. Lucifer could relax knowing that his kid and the chihuahua were back to being friends. Maybe MC could convince Luke to quiet his infernal yapping... Lucifer was trying to work here!

For some extra fluff, after many days of asking and asking, Lucifer and Simeon agree to take Luke and MC up to the human world for Halloween. They got to go trick or treating, and everyone complimented MC and Luke on their ‘costumes’.

*insert sitcom laugh track here*

Sure, it may have been a little immoral for MC to use their powers to manipulate the humans into giving Luke and MC more candy but... candy...

Oh shit would you look at the time- they had to get back to the Devildom for Diavolo’s birthday party- MC STOP WITH THE CHOCOLATE! THE SIGN SAYS TAKE ONE! DON’T BE LIKE MAMMON.

The exchange year had been a success. Well... sort of. MC wasn’t exactly the average Joe human the Student Council expected, which is why after a lengthy break where MC went back to the human world to visit their other parent and human friends, the seven rulers of Hell (+MC) were sitting and waiting for the new exchange students to arrive.

Unlike the previous year, the entire student council was present. That included Levi who they had to physically drag there, Belphie who was carried there and had to be placed in his seat because he was completely passed out, and finally Mammon, he just had to be threatened.

“Father,” MC pouted from their seat next to Lucifer. “Why isn’t my chair as big as yours?”

Lucifer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Because you’re much shorter than me. You can have a bigger chair when you grow a few more inches.”

“Mmm...” MC murmured, crossing their arms. “Are the students going to get here, or what?”

“Can you be patient?” Lucifer asked. “They’ll be here any moment now. I can trust that you’ll behave, right?”

MC looked scandalized, placing a hand over their heart and gasping. “Father! Of course! I’ll be the most polite person these humans have ever met!”

Not so deep down, Lucifer severely doubted that.

“Come now, Lucifer and MC!” Diavolo said from his elevated seat. “It’s almost eight am!”

Right on schedule the portal opened, two sets of screams followed.

“The next big priority should be making the trip more comfortable.” MC huffed. “It’s demeaning getting dropped straight down like that and just slamming into the floor.”

“Hm.” Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Perhaps instead we can just teleport them up to the Celestial Realm, start a war, and have them crash through not one, not two, but all three barriers between the realms with no portal.”

“Father...” MC matched Lucifer’s eye roll. “That has the same energy as ‘when I was your age I walked to school 100 miles through a blizzard!’ The polite thing to do for the exchange students is to not let them hit the floor at 100 mph and possibly give them a concussion.”

And slam straight onto the floor the two other exchange students did. Well, one of them slammed right into the marble, the other had tried in vain to use their wings to slow their decent or fly back up.

Wait...

WINGS?!

WAIT THE OTHER HAD HORNS?!

THEY BOTH HAD-

Oh and would you look at that... one looked like... and the other looked like-

Shitballs.

Lucifer had to keep himself from actually shouting in frustration. One normal day... one day of no exchange student issues was all he asked for...

“Out of over ten million candidates out of over eight billion humans...” Lucifer grumbled. “How in my father’s name did this happen again?”

(OOOOOOOOOO SEQUEL BAIT!)

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 28: Summer Changes (School)

AO3

Prev

A week after the Disney movie marathon, Marinette was finally back on patrol. No thanks to her dad though. If it was up to him, she’d probably never patrol again. Luckily for her, (unluckily for him) her brothers were adamant on her coming back to the field. Which led to her current problem. Hanging upside down from a gargoyle near Wayne Enterprises.

“Ukht, what have you done?” Damian asks, and though she can’t see his face, she can tell by his voice that he’s exasperated. Join the club, she thinks, at least you’re not upside down.

“Why do you automatically think I did something?” She asks, trying desperately to turn around so that she can talk to him. It was really awkward talking to someone when you couldn’t see them but you knew they were near you.

“Because you are the one hanging upside down,” Damian says flatly. She huffs.

“It’s not like I want to be, Robin. It just kind of happened,” She says.

“And how exactly did it happen? I have never seen your yoyo betray you like that before. Not even in the videos when you were still very new.” Damian says, and she swears he’s smirking. He’s definitely laughing at her on the inside, and as much as she wants to be frustrated, she can’t. It wasn’t easy amusing her little brother (unless you were an animal) so she wasn’t about to ruin it.

“Hood made a bet relating to this exact gargoyle and I’d never been this way before and I just, I don’t know. Somehow I misjudged where my yoyo was going and next thing I know, I’m tied up and Hood is gone.” She says, sighing.

“Where did he go?” Damian asks.

“Over here so I could record the dumbass trying to untie herself.” Jason says with a snort, she manages to turn just enough so she can see him and stick her tongue out at him. He chuckles. “You’re the one who somehow tied herself up with a magic string, I’m just getting the proof so I can show Wonder Woman.” He says and Marinette’s jaw drops.

“You wouldn’t dare!” She screams, struggling against her yoyo, finally able to get the string to loosen slightly.

“Oh, I’d dare.” Jason says and Marinette just knows he has a huge smirk underneath his stupid helmet.

“But Wonder Woman is the coolest person ever and she can’t see me like this!” Marinette complains, trying not to grin when she feels the string start to move the way she needs it to. She ignores Jason’s next remark, instead focusing on the string and- yes! She free falls for a moment, laughing at her brothers’ panic before she swoops up and jerks Jason’s phone away from him.

“You little shit!” He calls after her, starting to chase her.

“You’ll get it back once I delete the videos!” She calls back, laughing as she continues swinging through Gotham, a warm feeling in her chest as she looks over the city that has quickly become her second home.

---

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” A voice screams, making Marinette jump out of bed with a yelp. She clutches her hand over her heart, glaring at her oldest brother.

“Are you trying to make sure I don’t make it past my fifteenth birthday?” She asks with a huff. Dick just grins.

“Happy birthday kiddo! I can’t believe you’re already fifteen!” He exclaims, picking her up in a giant hug. She wants to complain, ask him to let her down, but it’s nice, so instead she returns the hug the best she can. Until she glances out the window.

“Richard Grayson.” She says in a tone she usually reserves for enemies. She feels him stiffen, the hug turning into more of a restraint than a cuddle.

“Yes?” He says.

“Did you honestly wake me up, before the sun, because it’s my birthday?” She asks.

“Yes?” He says, his voice cracking slightly. She purses her lips and lets out a long sigh.

“Dad has a no killing rule.” She says, and suddenly she’s back on the ground.

“Oh would you look at the time, Mar’i needs another bedtime story loveyousomuchgottagobye.” Dick rushes out, practically sprinting out of her room. She just smiles and shakes her head. She’d learned intimidation tactics from Jason and Damian, who both claimed her size made her an easy target against bad guys. They were right, of course, so she was fine with a few extra lessons. Seems they were working. Deciding to call her Maman and Papa since she’s already awake, she frowns as it goes straight to voicemail. It would be nearly eleven in Paris, so the bakery shouldn’t be too busy. She quickly checks the Akuma Alert App to make sure she hadn’t missed anything while she slept. Nothing. So why weren’t they answering? She had assumed they would be waiting for her call since it was the first birthday she’d spent without them. Sighing, she lays back down on her bed, closing her eyes and trying to fall back asleep.

As she lays there, she frowns as a realization hits her. This was the anniversary of her birth mother’s death. Her mood instantly sours and her stomach churns. It was the first year that she could do something about it, the first year she could visit her grave. Quickly making a decision, Marinette throws on a pair of black leggings and an oversized black hoodie. Hopefully no one would spot her.

“Kaalki.” Marinette calls out quietly, not wanting to wake Tikki (who had somehow slept through Dick’s intrusion).

“Oooo, Guardian, are we sneaking out?” They ask, an amused smile on their face. Marinette frowns.

“Yes, but it’s for a good reason.” She says, and Kaalki snorts.

“Whatever the reason, I’m happy to be of assistance.” They reassure her. Marinette smiles and calls the transformation, opening a portal in the cemetery where her birth mother is buried. Her Maman had taken her once, right after telling her she was adopted. It was extremely hard to avoid being akumatized that day, and Marinette steels herself before dropping Kaalki’s transformation. Today would probably be even harder. Pulling the hood over her head to try and hide her identity, she glances around the cemetery, unsurprised to see the small place empty. Despite its small size, it was well taken care of, with beautiful trees adding shade and creating a melancholy feeling. Taking a deep breath, she walks over to the tombstone in the far corner, underneath the Willow tree. Bridgette Le. Died July 9th. Marinette barely notices the tears that start to form as she sits down, tucking her knees into her chest.

“Hi Mama. I-I’m sorry I haven’t really been by to see you much. Did you know I’ve been spending the summer with Dad? Sometimes, I wonder if you would’ve been okay with that. None of us really know why you left, why you didn’t tell him. I’m not blaming you, I just wonder if you would’ve been okay with me knowing him.” She talks, though she knows she’ll never hear a response. And she tries to pretend that fact doesn’t hurt her. “I have brothers. Four of them. They’re all great in their own ways, but they all also make me want to rip my hair out. Three of them are older, Damian’s younger than me. He kinda acts like a big brother at times though. And I have a big sister, Cass. She doesn’t say much, but she’s awesome. She’s in Hong Kong right now, so most of our conversations have been video calls. I have a niece, too.” Marinette stops, wiping furiously at her eyes. She didn't want to cry. At all. But knowing her birth mother would never be able to be part of her life, would never know any of these people like she did- it was hard.

“Guardian, please breathe.” Kaalki says, floating up to sit in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette blinks at the Kwami before listening to them. If they were worried, then Marinette was more lost in her head than she originally thought.

“And today’s my birthday. I was excited at first, and then I remembered the other thing that this day was. Remembered that it’s also the day you-” Marinette pauses, and grits her teeth. “I am so sorry, Mama. I am so sorry that I caused your death.” She chokes out, dropping her head onto her knees, trying to suppress the sobs threatening to break out of her chest.

“We need to go. Marinette, we need to go.” Kaalki urges, patting her cheek urgently. Marinette calls the transformation and falls through a portal, closing it quickly to keep the butterfly that was surely after her from following. She definitely didn’t need to test how far the victim had to be to be akumatized. The second she lands, she lets the transformation drop and the sobs break out.

“Shit Pixie.” Jason curses, and suddenly she’s wrapped in a warm hug, sobs tearing through her as she continues to apologize.

---

Jason Todd had been through a lot of weird shit. Waking up in a pool of green water after being fucking murdered by the Joker, was weird. Emotional baby sister falling through a portal into the room and sobbing? Also weird. But also heartbreaking. He grabs onto her and just holds her, desperately trying to give her some type of comfort.

“Shhhh, it’s okay Pix. I got you.” He mumbles, holding her close. Damian rushes in, sword drawn, face scrunched up when he sees them. Jason shakes his head, this wasn’t something that they could fix with a sword. He wasn’t exactly sure why his baby sister was crying so hard, but he had caught a couple of muffled apologies, so whatever it was, he didn’t think it was something that he (or Damian) could kill. Or, rather, maim, since she was against murdering people that were against her for some reason.

“Has anyone seen Mars, she’s not in her room-” Replacement starts, freezing as he walks into the room.

“Excellent situational awareness, Drake.” Damian mutters, glaring at him. Jason shoots both of them a glare, now was not the time to be fighting. Especially since the kid’s other parents were on their way to celebrate her birthday. If they showed up and she was sobbing, they’d take her home and never let them see her again. And Jason was NOT going to let that happen.

“Anyone know if M’s decided to not kill me yet?” Dick asks, walking into the room with a huge grin that falls the second he sees what’s happening. Jason resists the urge to roll his eyes. Apparently none of his brothers could read a fucking room. Instead of staying at the edge of the room like Damian and Tim, Dick walks over.

“Hey kiddo, it’s okay. We’re here.” He says softly. The kid pulls away from him, though he can tell it’s a little reluctantly, before launching herself at Dick, her sobs starting to die down. Jason lets out a short huff, running his fingers through his hair as he tries to think of what could have set her off. There were no akuma alarms, but she fell out of a portal. Which means she was out of the manor when she got upset. He watches as Dick pats her hair gently and whispers to her. God, he’s such a dad. Then again, he’s been mother henning him and their other brothers for years, so it’s not really a surprise.

“I’m sorry guys.” Marinette says suddenly, her voice small as she stays hidden in Dick’s arms.

“No need to apologize, Pixie Pop.” Jason reassures her. She finally pulls away from Dick and Jason’s heart, honest to god breaks at the broken look on her face.

“She died in childbirth, you know.” She whispers, and suddenly it makes sense. Why she was sitting there sobbing on her birthday, why she’d fallen out of a portal.

“That is not your fault.” Damian says firmly, walking over and standing face to face with Marinette, something Jason knew annoyed the girl. Damian was two years younger, but a little taller than her. She didn’t seem to mind now, though.

“But it was. If I hadn’t been born-” She starts and Jason frowns at the thought.

“The world would be a much shittier place.” He says with finality, not leaving room for her to argue. “Pix, you’re amazing, and the world would really suck without you. Never be sorry you were born.” Jason says firmly, stumbling slightly when she launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Thank you Jay.” She mumbles, and he can tell she’s crying again, but this time it’s not sobs, so he thinks it’s fine.

“Come on, let’s all watch a movie.” Repla- Tim suggests and Jason raises an eyebrow at the idea, briefly wondering what kind of movie he’d pick. They all pile on the giant sectional that Bruce had bought specifically for impromptu movie nights as Tim sticks the DVD in. Jason just snorts as the title card for “The Addams Family” comes on, settling back in the couch, ready to watch one of the greatest movies ever.

---

“Thank you again for flying us out here for her birthday.” Sabine says, smiling at him. Bruce returns the smile and nods.

“Of course, thank you for letting her spend the summer here. I know she’s appreciated the break from her classmates.” He says, his smile quickly fading at the confused look on both Sabine and Tom’s faces.

“What do you mean?” Tom asks.

“Marinette hasn’t told you?” Bruce asks, suddenly regretting bringing it up. Why hadn’t she said anything? They were her parents too. Sure, she’d made it clear they couldn’t know about Ladybug, but her class wasn’t a hero problem. They were a civilian problem.

“We knew that she wasn’t hanging out with them as often, and that she didn’t talk about her class as much as she used to. We just assumed that she was busy.” Sabine says, her face a mixture of sadness and anger.

“My apologies, I assumed she’d talked to you.” Bruce says, feeling as if he had crossed a line. Would they be mad at him, for her telling him something she hadn’t told them?

“She’s always looking out for others first,” Tom finally sighs, a tired smile on his face. “She probably thought she was saving us from being akumatized.” Bruce’ jaw clenches. Had Marinette really suffered in silence to avoid being forced to fight her parents?

“We can continue this conversation later, right now we should focus on her birthday.” Sabine says, placing a hand on Tom’s arm. He nods and Bruce makes a note to talk to the two about the possibility of her switching schools.

“She’s probably in her room.” Bruce says, leading the two towards the stairs.

“Actually, Master Bruce, the children are all in the informal sitting room. I believe they snuck down to have a movie night after Master Dick woke Miss Marinette to wish her a happy birthday.” Alfred says, Bruce watches his face and knows that’s not all, but doesn’t press. It had to be something that he couldn’t talk about in front of the Dupain Cheng’s.

“Of course they did. Thank you, Alfred. Alfred, this is Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain, Marinette’s parents. Tom, Sabine, this is Alfred Pennyworth. He’s the man who raised me.” Bruce says, smiling at him. The three exchange pleasantries and soon Bruce is leading the two to the sitting room. He pushes the door open gently, careful not to let it slam. He spots a sword on the floor near Damian and quickly grabs it, moving it away. If he was woken up suddenly, he would still panic and attempt to fight his way out.

“She looks so peaceful.” Sabine whispers, and Bruce smiles, a genuine smile, he didn’t have to fake a smile when most of his children were together and safe and happy. Or, quiet, at least. It was rare.

“I’ve found them like this several times.” Bruce admits, pulling out his phone to show the two all of the pictures he’d taken of the kids piled together sleeping. Sabine and Tom smile widely at the pictures and Bruce quickly sends them their favorites.

“B, I swear to god, I can sense you in here. Let us sleep.” Jason mumbles grumpily.

“Sorry Jason, Marinette’s parents are here so it’s time to get up.” Bruce says, amused at the way his son’s hair was attempting to defy gravity. Jason looked around sleepily, waved lazily at Sabine and Tom, and then collapsed back on the couch. Bruce sighs. “Would the two of you like to have a cup of coffee while we give them a few more minutes to sleep?” He offers.

“That would be lovely.” Sabine says, and Bruce leads the two to the kitchen, hoping Tim (who had sat straight up after Jason flopped down) would take the hint and wake up the others.

---

Marinette sighs happily as everyone sits down at the table for dinner. The day had been amazing, despite the rough start. And her Dad had even flown her Maman and Papa out to spend the day with her. They couldn’t stay for long, they had the bakery to run after all, but it was still nice to see them. Marinette glances at the end of the table where a place was set, but no one sat.

“What’s with the extra plate?” Jason asks, turning to Alfred who was sitting in the chair next to it instead of his regular seat.

“It is for Miss Le.” He says, and she can almost feel everyone freeze. Her throat tightens, but she still smiles at him with watery eyes.

“Thank you, Alfred.” She says quietly. He nods.

“You are quite welcome, Miss.” He says. She clears her throat and looks back at her Maman, noticing that her smile was also a little sad. It had been all day, but Marinette was certain it wasn’t anything to worry about. Bridgette had been close with her Maman, surely she was just mourning her today, openly for the first time in a long time.

---

Marinette groans at whoever is trying to wake her up.

“Five more minutes.” She mutters, burrowing deeper under the covers. It was summer break, why wouldn’t anyone let her sleep?

“Come on sweetheart, your Papa and I want to talk to you and Bruce.” Her Maman says, and she immediately sits up. Was she in trouble? Had her Maman figured out the whole Batman thing? Had she figured out the Ladybug thing?

“Uh, okay.” She says, sliding out of bed and stepping into slippers. She wasn’t sure how serious the conversation was, but since her Maman didn’t stop her from walking out of the room in her pajamas, she relaxed slightly. It couldn’t be that serious, right? She follows her Maman into her Dad’s study, glancing wearily at the clock in the corner. Her Maman was often too observant. Hopefully she didn’t notice anything odd about the clock. They all sit in silence for an entire minute until Marinette can’t handle it anymore.

“Am I in trouble?” She asks hesitantly, looking between her parents’ faces.

“Of course not, we just- We noticed how different you are.” Her Maman says and Marientte frowns, furrowing her eyebrows. Different? She was different?

“How?” She asks.

“You’re happier than I’ve seen you in months honey. Your smile reaches your eyes, you talk freely, you seem peaceful.” Her Maman says softly, and Marinette blinks in surprise. Had she really been so easy to read in Paris? Had her parents really been able to tell? She’d wanted to hide it from them, not let them see how everything was piling on her, crushing her. She didn’t want to worry them.

“What do you- how-” She stumbles over her words, trying to figure out where she messed up.

“We didn’t know why until we talked to Bruce.” Her Papa says and she turns to glare at her Dad, feeling a little betrayed. He holds up his hands in surrender.

“Marinette, you didn’t tell me not to tell them about your class.” He reminds her, and she huffs.

“Guess we can cross mind reader off the list of things you can do.” She mumbles, making her Papa snort.

“It wasn’t just that though. We’d seen how restrained you had become, how you never went out with friends and you stopped talking about them.” Her Maman says softly. Marinette grits her teeth, hugging herself to try and hold herself together.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” She says, her voice barely audible. That wasn’t the main reason though. She didn’t want to fight her parents, and if they knew everything going on with Lila, they’d definitely be akumatized. She couldn’t fight them. Not if she could help it.

“What would you say about transferring schools?” Her Maman asks suddenly, and Marinette jerks her head up, looking at her with wide eyes. Transfer schools? It would be great, amazing, fantastic, but- but her classmates would still come to the bakery. Still give her the same odd looks they’d been giving her since they found out that she’s a Wayne.

“What school?” She asks, because yes, that makes a difference. Chloe had transferred schools not long ago, and Marinette did not want to trade Lila for Chloe. She’d rather not deal with either of them, if she was being honest.

“Gotham Academy.” Her Maman says, and Marinette feels lucky that she wasn’t drinking anything, because she would have definitely done a spit take. Gotham Academy? As in, live in Gotham year round? What-

“Are you giving me up?” She asks, suddenly hurt. Her Maman’s eyes widen and her Papa pulls her into a giant hug.

“Of course not honey.” He says, rubbing her back gently and squeezing her lightly.

“We asked Bruce if he thought Gotham Academy would be a good school for you. He offered to let you fly home some weekends, and any of the breaks you want. Or to fly us out here if you have time off school. You don’t have to say yes, and you don’t have to make a decision right now.” Her Maman reassures her as her Papa lets her go. Marinette turns to look at her Dad, his face unreadable.

“Would you really be okay with that?” She asks, and he nods.

“We all just want you to be happy, Marinette. Wherever that may be. And we’re all willing to work together to do that.” He says and she smiles, letting out a soft sigh.

“I- I’d need to think about it a little more,” She says, running through the idea in her head. It seemed perfect, besides the whole ‘bouncing back to Paris for attacks’ thing. But she’d been doing it all summer, it had been fine so far. And maybe, maybe, Hawkmoth would even be defeated by the end of summer. No matter what, things were changing and Marinette was trying her best to keep up.

Next

Tag list:  @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[stanknotstark]

Research and Dating (No They Aren’t Connected)

“So, if you could kidnap me really publicly that would be great.”

“...why?”

“I kinda forgot about this research essay due tomorrow? And like, my prof knows I’m a hero- I even brought my laptop so I can write it in your cell. Is the wifi password still the same?”

It’s Thursday at 8 P.M. and your essay is due in 4 hours. It wasn’t that you had procrastinated it’s because-nope, ya, you procrastinated. Now you were freaking out about it when the glorious idea came to you. 

There were, of course, perks of being frenemies with Loki. You have visited his his base of operations before, his ‘evil lair’, been thrown into one of his cells and ‘suffered’ until he got bored of the Avengers searching for you like chickens with their heads cut off and made theatrics by showing up to them with you in his hands and ‘failing’ to keep you away from the Avengers saving you. 

In all actuality, you had sat in a golden cell but Loki had sat right outside the cell with a chair and read while eating an apple. You couldn’t read the title of the book so you asked him what it was about and Loki had been a little hesitant but fell into your pure curiosity and explained what he had been reading. You’re sure he liked your curious mind as you started asking more questions and challenged the ideas the book gave. It lead to a long discussion of morals, and death, and at one point whether apples or pears were better. It was fun is what you’re trying to say. 

That’s how your friendship blossomed.

So, you call up Loki, yes he has a cell phone, and ask him without explanation at first, “So could you, like, kidnap me but publicly?” 

You can hear the cogs turning in Loki’s head at your request. “Why?” He asks in a smooth voice, betraying no emotion.

“I kinda forgot about this research essay due tonight? And, like, my professor knows I’m a hero. I’ll even bring my laptop so I can write in your cell, the wifi password is still the same right?” You ask Loki. 

Loki sighs over the phone, you can imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose with closed eyes. 

“Yes. Fine. Be at Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes.” The god says and hangs up. 

You smile and pump a fist at your best friend’s save. 

You’re at Madison Square Garden in record time and Loki makes his entrance a show. 

You’re sitting down outside the stadium when Loki materializes from green clouds of magic that open a portal then float into the air as if they’re a sign that’s flashing the words ‘Loki is here!’ in the night sky of NYC. When he sees you he rolls his eyes but people start paying attention so you play along with his ruse.

“Loki! What mischief do you plan to get up to today? It doesn’t matter, I need to bring you in!” You yell at him, almost laughing at how stupid this all seems, and push civilians back behind you. 

Loki chuckles darkly, “You. You are my mischief today, your poor Avengers will never find you. You will become my slave.” Loki says with a voice that is dark but his eyes light up with amusement.

By now hundreds of people have stopped their night to watch you and Loki, phones out and recording everything. 

You smile sardonically at Loki, “Not if I-”

Loki grabs you and pulls you and teleports. When you’re at his base you sigh and pat him on the arm as he pulls from you. 

“Thanks, I owe you big time Lokes.” 

Loki frowns at the nick name you chose. “Please refrain from calling me that or I shall teleport you to your professor and have you face the repercussions of procrastination.” Loki threatens. 

You chuckle, roll your eyes, and head to the cell. It’s just in case someone actually does pop in to ‘save’ you. 

When you’ve settled in the cell Loki raises the golden barriers and magics a chair near to settle with you.

“What do they have you writing about now?” Loki asks. 

You had asked him for help writing other essays because Loki has an eloquent way of speaking. You felt it made you sound smarter and because you spent consistent time with the god you had fallen into talking like him sometimes.

“It’s for my disability class, the sociology class?” You ask Loki if he remembers you telling him about it, at his nod you smile, “Ya, so basically we’re to argue whether we feel prostitution should be legal or not in America considering how much it helps the disabled.” 

You laugh at Loki’s frown. 

“Which side do you argue for?” Loki asks with a small squint as if trying to determine the side before you tell him. 

“I believe it should be legal but have restrictions and rules. If in the wrong hands it could be really bad but at the same time if it’s in good hands it could be really good. It’s a risk but we won’t know how well it’ll work if we never try, you know?” You say with a pondering look. Loki purses his lips but nods at you. 

Loki magics a book into his hands and lets you start writing away. The whole thing is very comforting to you. Sound wise, you can hear Loki let out puffs of breath when he finds something amusing in his book, Then, there’s the rhythmic tapping of your keyboard as you write. Other than that you just enjoy being with the god, even if you aren’t interacting with each other. 

You’ve been harboring a crush on him for awhile but have always kept it hidden. You value his friendship too much to do anything that could jeopardize it. Not to mention, Loki hadn’t shown anything on if he likes you or not. He occasionally flirts with you in battle but that’s about it. So, you feel you know he isn’t attracted to you like that. 

“Loki what’s another word for great?” You mutter.

“Glorious, grand, impressive?” The god supplies you with choices. 

You hum but don’t say anything and continue typing. After you finish your paragraph you look at Loki who glances at you. 

“Thanks.” 

Loki smirks at his book, “Anything for you, darling.” Loki says in a low voice while reading his book. 

See, the nick names had started early on. At first they had confused you but when you had been in battle and helping Tony, Loki had called Tony ‘sweetheart’ so you reasoned Loki just had a thing for nicknames. That doesn’t stop the jolt in your stomach when he does call you sweet names like that though. 

You shake yourself out of your reverie and continue writing. You’re like one, maybe two, paragraphs from being done. You try your best to elongate time to hang out with Loki more but when you finish your essay you don’t have any other excuse. 

That’s why, when you finish and close your laptop with a small ‘click’ and Loki stands and asks if you would like to spend time at his apartment, you’re shocked. 

You stand looking at Loki with wide eyes. 

Loki takes this as an answer and coughs a little, bringing a hand up to rub at his face, he’s trying to hide his embarrassment. 

“I am sorry, I crossed a boundary, it won’t happen again.” 

“No!” You yell, nearly dropping your laptop as you reach towards Loki. You scramble to hold it to your chest again and look at him, shyly pushing a lock of hair behind your ear. 

“I would love to. I was shocked, I always figured I’d be the first to ask.”

Loki looks at you a little doubtfully but sees the truth in your answer and smirks. Instead of replying he waves a hand and the barriers disappear then he holds his hand out to you. You gladly take it and suddenly you’re both standing in a tidy apartment. 

It’s very modern and looks costly. The furniture is all contemporary and different shades of white, brown, and gray, with the occasional splash of emerald green in throw blankets and decorative pillows. You don’t really notice but Loki still holds your hand. 

Loki pulls you by his hand towards his kitchen and puts a kettle of water on on the heating stove top.

“Tea? Or are you more of a coffee person?” Loki asks you with a glance as he pulls out his tea. You finally realize Loki has yet to let go of your hand but you’re not going to complain.

“I love both, but tea will be good for now.” You say lightly, glancing down at your clasped hands when Loki isn’t looking. A small blush heats up your cheeks and you let a stupid smile cross your lips.

You and Loki settle against his bar, still holding hands, while you wait for the water to heat in the kettle. 

“I never had the chance to ask but why are you studying psychology and sociology? I figured a superhero’s salary would be quite enough to live comfortably? Don’t tell me they under pay you.” Loki asks, his tone laced with a threat when he says the last part.

You chuckle. “No, it pays well enough, enough to pay my way through school. I want to help people though, that’s what makes me truly happy. So, naturally, psychology and sociology were natural choices because they help me understand people, the way they think, how they tick, so I can better help them.” You explain.

You look up at Loki who looks at you with an unreadable emotion on his face. Loki then brings a hand up, tucks a rogue lock behind your ear and keeps his hand there. “You are too precious for this world.” He whispers as he looks at you. You feel you cheeks heat up and can’t keep eye contact with Loki. 

Loki clears his throat and drops his hand from your face, looking away from you as well. However, he doesn’t stop holding your hand. You feel your hand become clammy from nerves and hope this doesn’t gross out Loki. At the thought your hand twitches in his and Loki merely squeezes your hand. 

“What other hobbies do you favor, seeing as they obviously kept you preoccupied enough to procrastinate your paper?” Loki asks. 

You smile at the ground because you realize Loki is trying to better know you. 

You look up at Loki again, who is already looking at you. “Well, surprisingly enough research and reading are my main hobbies.” 

“Oh?” 

“I love learning so I read up on whatever subject pulls at my attention at the moment.” 

“And what draws at your attention right now?” Loki asks curious.

You flush and look at the ground, kicking it softly with the toe of your shoe. You mutter the answer.

Loki chuckles, brings his free hand up to tilt your face till you look at him. “Say that one more time, where I can hear it darling.”

“Norse mythology.” You say softly, embarrassed. 

Loki’s eyebrows lift in shock. The look on his face showing that he did not expect that answer at all.

Thankfully the kettle begins whistling and causes the moment to be broken and forgotten. 

Loki makes a cup of tea for the both of you and you both move to his living room, seated on his couch. You’re both sitting close enough to touch at the legs but don’t hold hands anymore. You set your mug on the coffee table in front of you, too hot to hold. Loki however basks in the heat of his cup, his hands wrapped around the mug as if he has just come in from a blizzard.

“I have plenty of texts you may borrow if you want to learn about the true mythology.” Loki offers, looking at you calculatingly.

You had hoped Loki would drop the subject seeing as your research was drawn from your want to learn more about Loki than actual Norse mythology. 

Whatever, shoot your shot, right?

“I’d much rather hear your tales than anyone else’s.” You say, your hands picking at your jeans with nerves. 

Loki hums with a small smile as he takes a sip of his tea. “Of course, darling. There is no better way to learn than from the source of such tales.” Loki says smugly. 

You feel a smile break over your lips as you look at Loki who basks in his arrogance.

“I better watch out, stroking your ego,” You say, Loki raising a brow at your mischievous smirk, “Otherwise you might start sounding like Thor.” You say to knock Loki down a peg. Loki scoffs with a roll of his eyes but you don’t miss the twitch of his lips.

“Do not compare me to my oaf of a brother.” Loki says, finally setting his mug of tea down, resting his hands in his lap. You also don’t miss the twitch of his hands, as if they want to reach out towards you. 

There are too many signs that Loki obviously likes you, it’s almost overwhelming, but you keep yourself pulled together before you ask him the question.

“You know, I’m just kind of going out on a limb here, but uh...You ever plan to ask me out, take me on some romantic dinner or something or do I need to give more incentive?” You say, the confidence in your voice a facade because inside you’re freaking out. 

Loki keeps a blank face as you look at him. Then, he lets a smirk break out over his lips, glances at his tea but his eyes come back to yours. 

“Is that such a good idea? Considering you are still my enemy?” Loki asks.

You grab your tea so you have something to do with your hands, sipping from the earthy, spicy liquid. You let yourself think, letting his question roll off your shoulders and shrug. “I could care less what the Avengers think but we can keep our relationship hidden if that would keep you happy?” 

Loki purses his lips, his eyes squinting at you. “They would cage you, would they not? If they knew you were fraternizing with the enemy?”

“Yes, but I have no doubt you’d let them keep me for long.” You smile at Loki who huffs out laughter. 

“You truly want me?” Loki asks. You don’t fail to hear the insecurity in his tone. 

You set your tea down, grab both of Loki’s hands in yours and look at him, baring all your emotions on your face. “More than you will ever know.” 

Loki squeezes your hands with a soft tilt of his lips.

“Then I suppose it is inevitable. Shall we partake in a date tomorrow night, say seven?” 

You smile at Loki. “I would love to, Lokes.” 

Loki rolls his eyes at the nickname but you know he doesn’t mind it, much. 

Needless to say, you were granted an extension of time to turn in your essay while also scoring a date with your crush.